Chapter 12: Dry, Dry, Bones
Lapiston sat on the horizon like a row of shattered teeth. The brick silhouettes hid amid a haze of black sand. The air reeked of sour meat and ash.
Kaspar and the other drivers parked in an L shaped formation. They tucked their supplies in the L's crook. Ludwig and Roy carried Larry out of the truck. Konrad stood beside Rocky, arms full of stakes. Rocky spiked the ends of a domed tent in the pumice.
Rocky wiped his brow, "that should do it."
Roy settled Larry in the tent and welcomed the respite from the biting sands. Larry's eyelids fluttered. He stifled a yawn into his fist. His head slumped forward.
"Sorry squirt," Roy whispered.
"S'okay." Larry blinked slowly.
Ludwig paced back and forth. "How long do you think we have until those bandits come back," Ludwig stood at the edge of the tent, and he watched the city limits for azure tincture.
"It won't be long, now that they know we're here." Roy limped behind Ludwig.
Mario dragged a crate to the end of the truck, Luigi ran to his side and hoisted it to the ground. Daisy pried the top off with a crowbar and passed supplies around. Flashlights, survival bags, and canteens.
Ludwig crossed his arms and stood beside Luigi.
"Should've waited for one of you two to unload this dang thing," Luigi flapped his hat and fanned his face.
Roy ignored Luigi and faced Mario. "Larry's not going anywhere, and Ludwig can't do much in his condition."
Ludwig's lips curled, "I can do plenty."
Roy scoffed.
"They'll have to stay back," Mario shrugged.
"Might as well paint a target on their backs," Roy snorted, "the first thing those bandits'll strike is our supplies and injured."
"Then we have to be quick," Mario said, "what other options do we have? We leave, and we won't have enough supplies to make it back to Dry Dry Outpost, we hit the Koopa Kingdom and every bounty hunter this side of the desert is going to try and bag you."
Roy dragged his claws over his cheeks, "alright, so some of us stay back, fine, do we at least have like a radio or something to communicate?"
"I might have a solution," Kaspar climbed into the driver's seat and removed a black box. Elaborate dials and dormant gauges speckled the face.
Daisy took one look and groaned. "You're kidding me. We have to lug around that hunk of junk?"
"I mean if you want to, I don't mind keeping the travel version with me," Kaspar carried a similar black box from the back of the truck. This one was substantially smaller and fit into a red shoulder pack. Kaspar cradled the bag. "They're old but reliable. Moustafa's been using radios like these before I even thought about joining his gang."
Ludwig took the old tech. He unzipped the bag and inspected the box. "I could sneeze on this thing, and it'd bust."
"It probably would so hold your breath," Kaspar improvised a small radio station using a few crates, and he sat in the shade of the trucks.
"I guess it's better than nothing." Mario rubbed the back of his neck. "Does anyone know how to work it?"
The wind outpaced their silence, and they all looked awkwardly at one another.
"How hard could it be?" Ludwig rolled his eyes. "I wish Iggy were here; we'd have this thing up and running in no time."
"Yeah, but he ain't here, and who said you were going?" Roy tapped the box.
Ludwig fiddled with the knobs and tapped the roof. "Who else is going to work this piece of junk?"
"Junior's into this sort of stuff," Roy nodded and rubbed his chin, "Junior!"
The prince of Koopas leaped from the back of the secondary supply truck, playing cards in hand, and he cocked his head. "What?"
"Don't you 'what' me," Roy shouted, "get over here."
Junior jogged, his tail twitched cautiously. He barged into the circle around the radio equipment. His nostrils flared.
Junior turned his nose at the old radio, "the heck is that?"
"A radio," Roy crossed his arms, "think you could figure out how to work it?"
Junior rubbed his chin and tapped his foot.
"Come on, you built one of those comm screen thingies into your Klown Kopter," Roy said.
"I mean, I assembled the components and attached the hookups," Junior's cheeks burned red, "but Iggy built the machine, not me. Besides, this looks a hundred years old; I don't think it runs like the one on my Klown Kar."
"Maybe the two of us can work it," Ludwig grunted, "Roy, I can handle myself."
"The second I take my eyes off of you, you're gonna do something stupid and get yourself killed, no way," Roy snapped.
"Roy," Ludwig's brow tightened, and he frowned, "for one, I'm your older brother, this is supposed to work the other way around. Two, I think I can handle this. I've got medicine to keep me on my toes."
Roy huffed.
"Three," Ludwig silenced Roy before he could speak, "you and I both know that Larry's safer in your hands."
"But-"
"This isn't up for debate, I'm the captain, that's my order," Ludwig stood straighter, his tail flicked, his back arched and he coughed into his elbow.
Roy bit his bottom lip, "then promise me something."
"What?"
"Come back alive."
Ludwig hoisted the bag over his shoulder, and it rested on the curve of his shell.
Kaspar crossed his arms. "I will remain here with the supplies. I apologize, but I promised Moustafa I would take you here, not venture into the city."
"Then that's two people here with Larry." Mario followed the group with his eyes. He watched them in a half circle motion. "Any other takers."
Cheatsy shrugged, "I have sand in places I forgot I had. I think I'll hang back."
"You can count on us your highness," Rocky wrapped his arm around Konrad's shoulder and held his thumbs up.
Konrad weaseled out of Rocky's grip and rolled his shoulders, "indeed. We'll make certain no bandits make off with our supplies."
"That might be enough," Mario recounted the group. Daisy, Luigi, Ludwig, Jr, Minerva, Vine and himself. "Half and half."
"Perfect," Ludwig popped his neck.
"Let's get packed and ready to move," Mario and Ludwig spoke at the same time. They paused and cast one another dirty looks.
The crowd dispersed, and Kaspar prepared the radio equipment.
Ludwig ventured back into Larry's tent and kneeled beside Larry, "how's your leg feeling?"
Larry shrugged. An apathetic shadow crossed his face. He was still drowsy from the medicine. At least that's what Ludwig hoped.
"He looks rough." Minerva stood beyond the tent flaps and sheathed her sword.
"What are you doing here?" Ludwig grunted.
Minerva pointed her chin at Ludwig, "you're our lifeline out there. Field medic and radio operator. You're certain you're in any condition to handle the stress?"
"No, I'm not certain," Ludwig dropped on his rump and crossed his legs, "are you certain you won't leave us all for dead?"
"I can't make any promises," Minerva said.
Ludwig rubbed his eye wells, "why so hostile?"
Minerva stood at the edge of basecamp, and she took in the full scope of the wrecked city. The fire in her eyes blazed.
X-X-X
The wind howled, and igneous black sand burgeoned from within the bowels of Lapiston.
A swirling storm encompassed them. Cyclonic winds stirred the sand and nearly swept Luigi's hat. Daisy snatched his hat from the voracious air current and placed it on Luigi's head.
"It's getting worse! Where are we supposed to go now?" Luigi out shouted the storm.
Ludwig smoothed his map and looked up. The silhouette of palatial spires and turrets lay dormant amid the sands. The Hari castle loomed on the obstructed city skyline. "If I had to guess, the artifacts were being held in the Hari castle."
"Your guess? Ludwig, we're going to need more than that," Mario yelled.
"It's an educated guess. If I wanted to hide priceless treasures from my enemies, I'd hide it in my castle."
Minerva drew her sword and walked past Ludwig, "you're on the right track, but there are more impenetrable fortresses in Lapiston."
Minerva blocked her face. She pushed further into the storm. She crouched behind a shattered brick wall, and Ludwig followed. The stonework muffled the roaring winds.
"What?" Ludwig wiped his mouth.
"There are some things they don't write in the MK's history books. There's more to the 'mines.'"
Ludwig looked Minerva up and down. "Hold on a second, and why exactly should I trust you?"
Minerva exhaled slow, and she wiped her lips clean of black sand, her voice was a growl. "Let me fill you in a little secret," Minerva glanced over her shoulder at Ludwig. "Your bastard brother has been lying to you; he knows full well where those treasures are hidden. I'm not sure why he continues to play stupid."
Ludwig glared. "And why should I trust you?"
"You didn't think it odd that your brother pushed so hard to avoid this place? He's trying to sweep his mess under the rug." Minerva turned her sword on Ludwig's stomach and lightly tapped his gut.
Ludwig's jaw clenched.
Minerva sheathed the sword. She glanced around the corner of the brick wall. Minerva raised her hand to silence Ludwig. A deep rumbling emanated from the center of the city. A chorus of moans weaved with the wailing wind. A cacophony of rage swelled.
"What was that?" Luigi whimpered.
Pregnant mounds of sand bubbled upward A bleached tibia crowned a peak. Slivers of tarsals and joints and teeth wormed their way above the earth.
Ludwig covered his ears. A soft hum tickled the inside of his head. A sharp pain stabbed his evil eye. Ludwig cried out.
Junior shook Ludwig's arm, "Ludwig?"
The bones adhered together. A pair of skeletal arms levitated from the sand and fastened to a ribcage. The malformed creature yanked a skull from the ground. White flames illuminated the eye sockets.
Piece by piece, the long-deceased Koopa rose from its derelict grave.
"What the hell?" Vine's jaw dropped.
The dry boned creature hobbled toward the crowd on uneven legs. It wrenched a war-hammer from the sand and lugged the weapon. It danced like a drunken marionette, twitching and lurching and creaking.
Minerva half-sworded her blade and swung the hilt. She smashed the creature's cracked skull and the misshapen mass crumbled into a pile of picked carrion.
"That was easy, I'm not sure what else I expected to happen," Vine cocked his head and watched the pile.
The bones jittered, and after a few moments, the skeleton reassembled. Shards of skull floated together and sealed. White flames glowed in the eye sockets.
Another skeleton crawled over the wall and jumped on Ludwig's back. The bones were warm and pulsated a cardiac rhythm. Ludwig gasped and tore the creature from his body and slammed it on the ground.
The scattered bones rolled past more rising mounds.
"Dry Bones?" Ludwig whispered.
"Dry what?" Vine cocked his head. A Dry Bone Koopa grabbed Vine from behind and gashed his cheek.
Junior tore the battling bones off Vine and stomped the pieces into pieces.
"An old myth," Ludwig grimaced, and he stepped back, "I thought Kamek made them up so we wouldn't play in the caves."
A pack of Dry Bones bedecked in cracked and worn shelled armor emerged. Some Koopa bodies wore Toad heads; others shuffled on too-short legs and too-long torsos. The chimeric bone monsters surrounded the crew.
Minerva stumbled back. She kicked a Dry Bones square in the ribs and sent the entire upper body flying. It smashed a handful of other skeletons. A Dry Toad tumbled from an open window and landed on Minerva.
Minerva hit the ground, and her sword clattered out of reach.
Daisy grabbed the sword and smacked the assailants skull off with the flat of the blade. She dropped Minerva's sword and scooped up a rock and smashed the head to powder.
The powder wafted around before congealing back into solid bone. Flames flickered in the eye sockets once more.
Daisy dropped the rock and trembled. "How do you kill them?"
Ludwig bit his bottom lip. He reached back to long nights spent composing and longer days spent dozing through Kamek's classes.
Lightning sliced the sky and Ludwig's train of thought. The black sandstorm intensified, street signs and chunks of debris clanged past Ludwig and smashed a few Dry Bones.
"Dry Bones are created when a soul is torn from a body," Ludwig mumbled and rubbed his temples, "and an Ember stays behind. Which shouldn't be possible because-"
A Dry Koopa charged Mario. It raised a war hammer above its rotten leather helmet.
Mario sidestepped the strike. He snatched the hammer from the Dry Koopa. Its arms detached and dangled from the weapon.
Mario yelped and shook the bones off.
"Ludwig!" Mario snapped.
Ludwig's evil-eye felt trapped in an ever-tightening vice. The closer the bones moved toward him, the more the crank twisted. The pain dug through his skull and boiled beneath his sinuses.
"Since they have no soul, they can't be killed by mortal weapons," Ludwig grit his teeth, "you'd have to sever the Ember's tie to the bones somehow."
"Oh, just 'sever the Ember,' how didn't I see it before?" Vine groaned and kicked a Dry Toad's head off its shoulders.
Ludwig opened his fingers and stared at his palm. He shook his head. There was one option to try, but the pain his eye discouraged him.
"Ludwig, don't," Junior closed Ludwig's hand and pursed his lips, "Roy's not here to save you this time."
Ludwig grit his teeth. A flash of teal caught the corner of his eye. Ludwig's shoulders tightened, he looked up, and he saw the tail of a teal coat dashing down an alley.
"Hey!" Ludwig shouted.
Minerva sprinted toward the bandit leader. Her boots kicked up sand and bone. Ludwig tripped over his feet to follow.
"Run? Good idea," Luigi held his cap to his head and dragged Daisy behind him.
"Where are you guys going?" Junior stomped the ground. Mario ran past him to follow Luigi.
"Shut up and move," Vine grabbed Junior's tail and nearly threw him off his feet.
Junior stumbled, his knees fought for balance, and he trotted behind Vine.
Minerva vaulted a broken vendor's cart. Her boots kicked up sand where she ran.
Ludwig watched her disappear around a building corner. Ludwig huffed, his face burned, and he spat globs of sand on the ground. His chest pounded.
Ludwig followed after and skidded to a halt.
Minerva paused in front of a mostly intact two-story building. Chunks of the sign laid on the ground. Broken glass jutted from the sand beneath the empty windows.
Minerva pushed the door open.
"Hey! Wait," Ludwig gagged and followed after her.
Ludwig bumped his head on a doorframe and winced; he rubbed his forehead and a handful of wet sand congealed on his fingers. He sighed, and he rubbed the coarse paste on his stomach, only to mix it further.
Sand spilled through a shattered window and blotted the city beyond. He shook his hair free of sand and moved through the building. Minerva stood behind a counter. Shattered glass shimmered like stars within empty display cases. Ludwig noticed a moldy husk that, judging from the label, was once a cake.
"Do you think those things followed us?" Luigi whispered harshly. He pinched his frizzy mustache straight.
The others spilled in one by one. Muffled wails echoed from beyond the time-worn walls. Ludwig's beleaguered breathing echoed off the low ceiling.
Minerva held her index finger to her lips, and she beckoned they follow.
Ludwig passed around the counter and moved further inside the bakery. His broad shoulders brushed the walls, and he tried his best to step lightly on the cracked tile floor.
Minerva flicked a flashlight on and pointed at the darkness.
They stood in the remains of a kitchen. Rusty counters lined the room. In the center, a sink basin packed with sand. She checked the darkest corners and raised her weapon, her breathing slowed, and her eyes hardened.
Ludwig glanced over his shoulder and watched his one escape. He flipped his eyepatch up and rubbed the irritation. His baked tongue scraped his soft palate. He downed a gulp of water from his canteen.
"I think we're safe for now," Minerva said, her voice even and muffled by the tight acoustics of the room.
Ludwig sighed. He made a quick head count and laid his supplies on the kitchen island. "Don't think I dropped anything back there."
Vine hoisted his emergency bag onto the counter and sifted past a first-aid kit and lifted a flashlight. He smiled and flicked the light on. "Thank the Stars, I thought I dropped something too," Vine wiped his brow on his sleeve.
Ludwig laid the radio transceiver on the counter, and he motioned for Junior to come close.
Junior obeyed reluctantly. He shifted his weight to his right leg and crossed his arms.
Ludwig tossed his flashlight to Junior, "Hold the light while I work, will ya?"
Junior caught the light and thumbed the switch.
Ludwig brushed the sand from the gauges. He flicked the switch on, and an orange light shimmered. He twisted a few dials and static hissed.
"Let's see if we can get this dinosaur running," Ludwig whispered.
Junior stifled a yawn, and the light moved from the radio.
Ludwig growled. "Can't you do this one simple thing for me?"
Junior's eyes narrowed, "can you stop being an ass every chance you get?"
Ludwig grumbled curses and grabbed the microphone. He pressed a black button where the markings had faded, "Kaspar, are you out there?"
White noise. Ludwig shook his head and fiddled with the dials. "Kaspar?"
The mouse's voice sputtered. The static overpowered most syllables, "I...an bare..."
Ludwig drummed his finger on the transceiver. He flicked a dial. "How about now?"
"Better." Kaspar sounded like he spoke through layers of cloth and tin.
"The storm has gotten worse," Ludwig said slow and deliberate.
"Can...ee tha..."
"I think it's interfering with the radio," Ludwig said, he lowered his voice, "that or it's just a piece of junk."
"What was that?"
"Storm is interfering," Ludwig said hastily, "is Larry alright?"
"He's awake now."
Minerva sat on a sturdy counter and leaned forward, "any sign of the Bluecoats?"
Ludwig nodded, "any sign of the Bluecoats out there?"
"No, but it's..." and the static grew louder.
Ludwig pounded the transceiver, "say that again? Losing your transmission."
"It's hard to see out here. I think...'ee...people...city."
Ludwig's eyes widened, "do not go anywhere near them, I repeat, do not go anywhere near them."
Harsh static replied. Ludwig set the microphone down. The wind wailed louder and rattled the rooftop.
"Great," Ludwig's eyelid twitched, he drew a long breath and exhaled a hiss. He hooked his thumb under his eye patch and looked out into the room. His red eye glowed in the darkness.
"What do we do now?" Vine walked toward the door with his sword drawn.
"Our best bet is to wait this storm out," Mario removed his hat and ruffled his hair free of sand.
"Even if that storm leaves, what about those bones out there?" Junior's voice echoed off a rusty oven.
Ludwig rolled his eye and walked toward a staircase. He glanced up the flight of stairs and spikes of light illuminated the walls. Artificial light. He drew a slow breath and took the first step.
Wood groaned. Ludwig's eye's widened. His foot punched through. The crack was deafening in the silence.
Minerva stomped to Ludwig and reared her hand to strike, "you're going to bring this whole damn building on us, idiot."
"Shush," Daisy held her index finger to her lips, and she joined Vine at the doorway.
Ludwig held his breath and listened for rattling bones and footsteps.
Ludwig yanked his foot free from the staircase and rubbed his tender calf. White scratches marred the yellowish layer of scales. He brushed off the splinters with little effort "There's something up there, I know it."
Minerva lowered her hand. She looked up the flight of stairs, and she shook her head. "It's too dangerous, who knows if the boards will hold any of us."
"Maybe if we send someone small up there." Daisy joined Ludwig and Minerva. She scratched her chin.
Vine trained his attention on the hall, "we're better off finding a better place to hide."
All eyes were on him now. His shoulders slumped and scoffed.
"Come on guys," Vine rolled his eyes, "I'm not that small."
"You're the smallest one here," Junior smirked.
Mario raised his hands and stepped away. "They're right. It's not me for once."
Vine made way for the staircase, "I hate all of you."
Vine stared at Ludwig's cavernous footprint. He eased his weight on the next step up. The wood creaked beneath his feet. He clenched his eyes shut and pushed forward.
"It looks like it might hold," Luigi whispered.
The others gathered at the base of the stairs and watched Vine make his ascent.
Vine gripped the tarnished guardrail, working his way step by step. The darkness was thick enough to taste.
"What did you do this summer, son?" Vine mumbled, "oh, nothing ma, nearly got myself killed exploring a structurally unstable house and eaten by zombies in some forsaken patch of desert."
"You say something?" Mario called up to him.
"I'm gathering my courage," Vine gulped as he cleared the staircase. The floor was sturdier on the second story. His boots clomped on the ground and sand spilled from his boot wells and scattered on the floor.
The wind whispered through small holes on the roof and sand threaded the holes like an hourglass. Vine squinted as his eyes adjusted to the low light. A flickering lamp dangled from a nail in the wall. A wretched stench blasted his face.
Vine gasped and covered his mouth.
"What is it?" Ludwig's thicker voice rattled the wood and nearly sent Vine through the roof.
Vine peeked down the staircase and hissed, "shut up."
The party at the stairs shuffled in silence.
Vine explored the upper level carefully. A small pile of sand had formed where the holes in the roof were largest. Boards and cloth sealed the windows. He tiptoed toward the lamp and squinted.
"Who left you here?" He whispered. Vine reached to take the lamp from its perch.
A soft 'thwip' caught his attention, a thick board struck the crown of his head. His spotted cap fluttered to the ground, and he dropped on his back. Vine blinked away the pain and rubbed his blond hair back into place.
Vine groaned and pulled himself to his feet.
A flat board smashed the wall behind him. A mangy mass of rusty nail heads protruded from the back. He checked himself for blood and sighed with relief when he found no sign of injury.
Vine looked at the ceiling and saw a thick latch that once held the board in place. A loose strand of nylon wire dangled from the lamp's handle. Vine lifted the electric lantern and shook it.
"Are you alright?" Mario shouted up at him.
"I'm fine," Vine called down, "there are booby traps up here." He peeled back the board and saw a bed of nails stick in all directions. "Floor is quite sturdy, though. Someone's been making repairs." Vine hopped a few times to emphasize.
Mario and Minerva threw caution to the wind and crawled up the stairs after him and saw the remains of the trap.
"Barely missed the nails," Vine rubbed the crown of his head.
Mario nodded, "an inch lower and you'd be a pin cushion."
Vine sighed, "yeah, thank the Stars I'm so short." His lips pursed and his face burned crimson the moment he reflected on what he said.
Mario picked up Vine's cap and dropped it on the Toad's head. Mario aimed his flashlight light at the floor and saw thick sheets of plywood. He rubbed his mustache and carefully inched around the room.
Minerva followed the upper landing to a bedroom. The door long since rotted off and she could see inside. A dirty bedroll bunched in a corner. A pile of open pie filling cans lay discarded on the floor.
Minerva searched the floor for more trip wires and, when she felt it was safe, she stepped inside. "Come get a look at this."
Mario stepped into the room with her. Vine waited in the doorway.
"No kidding, someone's living here." Mario rifled through the bedroll in the corner.
Adolescent buzzing-beetles scattered from the bedroll. Greasy hammer troop bones and armor clanked to the floor. The blackened fingers broke off as Mario moved the bedroll. The remaining musculature on the face stretched in a devastated rictus.
"Was living here," Vine mumbled.
Mario pinched his nose and stepped back. He dropped the bedroll. It rippled and more beetles spilled from it. A thick leather book lay in the hammer troop's rib cage. Mario steeled his nerves and pulled it free. It was sticky, and it reeked of spoiled meat.
"Ugh, put that back," Vine covered his face, "we don't need to give the dead a reason to attack."
"I'm not sure if this one is coming back." Mario whispered, he stared at the bedroll and then at the bones, "but you have a point."
Mario loaded the bones into the bedroll and dragged them back downstairs. Minerva and Vine followed close behind.
"Jeez Mario, what'd you find up there, a dead body?" Luigi covered his face.
Mario nodded and exited the kitchen with the sack of bones.
Luigi's face went pale, and he collapsed in Daisy's arms.
Mario found the front door, and he stared at the sandstorm. He waited for any signs of life or, rather, unlife. When there was no movement, he hurled the bedroll and bones as far as he could, and he stepped back into the kitchen.
Daisy cradled Luigi's head in her lap and stroked his cheek. She laughed at him, her countenance bright in the darkness. He smiled back at her.
"Looks like you found something else up there," Ludwig crossed his arms.
"Only a book," Mario held the thick leather tome above his head, and then he laid it on the island and shined his flashlight on the cover.
Junior and Ludwig gathered at Mario's sides eager to look inside. Mario peeled back the cover. The pages crackled and dust spilled out. Mario squinted at the lettering.
"Sheesh, I can't tell this stuff from Chinese," Mario shook his head.
"It's an old Darklander cuneiform script," Ludwig leaned closer, "here let me."
Ludwig followed the notched script with his claws as Junior held a flashlight on the pages. Ludwig mouthed the words. His eyes were heavy with focus.
"It's a diary," Ludwig said. "Claw-Toe of the hammer tribe. He's a long way from home."
Ludwig flipped through the pages for the latest date and saw smeared and stained rusty brown blood stains. He peeled the sheets apart and tried to decipher it.
"The light, it's following me, the light," he skipped a few illegible sentences, "I can hear her in the walls and my dreams."
"Stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake," Ludwig followed the text and saw an assortment of tally marks. The words 'hours of light' were scrawled in the margin. Ludwig delicately turned the page, but the binding gave, and the entire page pulled free of the book.
Ludwig stifled a curse and tucked the page back in place.
"It's mostly nonsense," Ludwig shook his head, "there's one bit about rotten peaches and dwindling water," Ludwig pointed to a passage, "which means he may have been hallucinating due to spoiled food."
Ludwig turned the pages back in search of further answers.
"Ah, here's something," Ludwig cleared his throat, "finally, our journey has come to an end. The four of us were able to approach the city limits without drawing the ire of the Bluecoats. I'm certain they don't know we're even here."
"Storms and more storms. The town is in constant turmoil. Fortunately, we found this abandoned building to suit our needs until the storm has passed."
Ludwig thumbed the page aside.
"It's a bakery! The pantry is stocked with jarred preserves that are still safe to eat. Our supplies are ample enough to wait out this storm."
Ludwig cleared his throat, "oh, that's not good," he thumbed through the pages, "according to this they waited nearly half a week and there was no sign of the storm stopping."
Mario squeezed the counter, "keep reading."
"The Fire-Brand decided he would scout through the storms. Good riddance -" Ludwig skipped ahead, "he has not returned. He won't return. There is something out there."
Ludwig sighed, and he skimmed the text.
"We found what remains of our brothers. Horrible reanimated parodies of our people. I can't wait to find the treasure and get out of here."
Ludwig smirked, "bingo. They were looking for treasure too."
"The inner city is swarming with Bluecoats. They move in and out unharmed. I think they are responsible for these creatures, somehow. Bander managed to steal a few of their cloaks. We will try and sneak in tonight."
"They do not take off their masks. Such strange people. They hardly eat, hardly speak. It makes it easy to blend in. However, there is no way to pry information. Bander has tracked down a patrol. I hope he knows what he is doing."
The others were seated in a loose circle around Ludwig now. Vine rested his head on his fists, and he cocked his head.
Ludwig cleared his throat and began reading again, "idiot, idiot, idiot. Bander blew his cover. The Bluecoats have captured him, and I ran like a dreadful coward. I saw them taking him to the mines. I will not allow another to be sacrificed to this wretched city. Hammer brother or not."
Ludwig turned the page, and he frowned. There was globs of dried blood and messy phrases. Ludwig tried to decipher some semblance of sense. "Bander is gone. They're all gone. Can't sleep. I can hear them. They crawl into my mouth while I sleep. Can't sleep."
"The rest of the book is more of the same." Ludwig folded the book shut and set it down.
"Whatever he found down there..." Junior grimaced, "Ludwig, I want to go home."
"It's too late for that now, kid." Vine sighed, and he patted Junior's arm.
"And need I remind you that we might not have a home to return to?" Ludwig whispered.
For once in years he saw only a child. Junior his eyes moistened, and he hugged his knees tight to his chest.
Ludwig scratched his chin. "Junior, Amanita has that sword. All she needs is to nick Bowser, or Lemmy, or Iggy, or anyone else we care about, and they'll be gone."
Junior stood and walked away.
"I won't let anything happen to you, alright?" Ludwig sighed, and he reached out to grab his brother.
Junior shoved him off.
"I mean it." Ludwig clenched his fist. "Listen, maybe you were right. Maybe I should have just listened to," Ludwig groaned, "listened to dad."
Junior stopped, and he glanced over his shoulder.
"It would have failed, don't get me wrong," Ludwig dragged a claw through his hair, "but I can deal with plain old Mario and Luigi. I can lick my wounds and recover from that. All of this," he gestured to the room, "Stars in heaven, I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted to win for once."
Junior turned and faced Ludwig.
"I was tired of being a loser," Ludwig said. He lifted his eye-patch, and both eyes were shimmering in the dark and the pupils trembled.
"Me too," Junior whispered.
Mario cleared his throat.
Ludwig stomped the ground, "what? I'm having a moment here."
Mario put his index finger to his lips and then pointed at his ear.
Ludwig cocked his head and listened. There was a dull hum beneath the raging storm and the rattling winds. "Is that an Auto?"
Vine exited the kitchen, and Junior tailed him. They jogged to the front door, and Vine lay prone on the ground. Vine squinted, his hands cupped above his eyes to block the sand and the wind. A shadow zoomed through the thoroughfare. Pounds of sand exploded in all directions and covered Vine.
Junior uprooted the toad and dusted him off.
"What was that?" Vine sneezed.
Ludwig stood in the doorway while Mario peeked outside. Treadmarks cleaved a path in the sand. Mario squinted.
Bones clicked and rattled. The resonant thuds of heavy footfalls shook the buildings around them.
Ludwig turned, and he saw a massive beast composed of bones. It lugged its titanic body and squeezed into the narrow roads.
Smaller bone creatures hobbled at its ankles and sprinted to keep up.
Several of the stragglers paused. Their skulls swiveled on nonexistent joints, and white flames gazed upon the crew.
"Run." Luigi yelped.
X-X-X
Cheatsy held a pair of binoculars to his eyes. He followed the treasure hunters before they vanished from view. Cheatsy lowered the binoculars. His upper lip scrunched, "there they go."
"Stars help 'em," Roy said. He sat on a crate and sipped his canteen. Winds raged and the storm whipped his face. He covered his mouth and stepped back.
Kaspar manned the transceiver; his mouse ears flinched with the static. He twisted dials and held a pair of headphones to his ear. His tail twitched, and he squinted. "That should do it." He set the headphones down, and he joined Roy and Cheatsy.
"Now all we need to do is wait," Kaspar clapped his hands of dust, "I'm sure they'll be fine."
"You know, for a smuggler, you're a bad liar," Roy picked his teeth.
"Please, it's not lying, it's optimism."
"Same difference," Roy shook his head and lifted his welding goggles. He picked sand from the wells of his eyes. His nostrils tingled, and he sneezed.
"Is there going to be anything worthwhile in that dump?" Cheatsy gestured at the settlement with his chin and laid back. He tucked his hands behind his head and his elbows crooked upward.
"If they find it? Maybe," Roy inspected his bandaged hands. The cuts beneath stung. He winced.
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened out there?" Kaspar said.
"I do mind you asking," Roy mumbled.
Larry shuffled inside his tent and called out, "how long was I out?"
"Only a few minutes, squirt," Roy mumbled.
Larry eased himself up, and he scratched his stomach. He brushed his lap clean of sand.
"I remember hearing stories about Lapiston before the war," Kaspar watched the horizon, "my grandfather called it 'the desert sapphire.'"
Roy nodded, "there was this big network of mines underneath the city, and they were full of lapis lazuli. They called it 'blue gold' and decorated the town every frigging shade of blue you can imagine. Hard to see it now, on account of that storm."
Cheatsy focused his binoculars on the sandstorm and tried his best to make out colors that had not been weathered by sand and time. He licked his lips and tightened the magnification.
"Well whatever you did to it, it isn't a sapphire anymore," Cheatsy mumbled.
Roy scowled at him, but the corners of his lips faltered, and he sighed.
Cheatsy climbed from his post and put his fist on his hip, "why won't you tell us?
Roy shook his head.
"Secrets and more secrets. Is it any wonder why you and your family are in such disarray?" Kaspar twirled his fingers.
"Shut up," Roy spit in Kaspar's direction, and his throat grumbled.
"Why is it a secret?" Larry yawned, his head peered from the tent flaps. His drowsy eyes transitioned into wakeful curiosity.
"Larry I," Roy bit the inside of his cheek, "wait, did you crawl? You're not supposed to move on that leg!"
"I already heard you tell Luddy it's because you don't remember, or was that a lie?" Larry cocked his head.
"Well, I mean, I remember coming to Lapiston, but the rest...it's a blur."
Larry waited for Roy to continue. Cheatsy and Kaspar gathered in a loose circle around him.
"Sheesh, do you have to look at me like that?" Roy rubbed the back of his neck.
"You forgot?" Rocky said.
Rocky peered from the driver seat of the truck. His white muzzle peeked over the window. He crossed his arms and rested his chin on his forearms.
"With all due respect, sir, that's a bit of a stretch," Rocky's lips tightened.
Konrad snored in the passenger seat beside Rocky. A book covered his eyes, and his hands rested on his stomach.
Roy bit his tongue. The radio exploded with static.
"...aspar?"
Konrad stirred awake and dropped the book. Rocky fumbled with the door and leaped to the ground, and he ran towards the radio.
Kaspar pressed talk and cleared his throat, "Repeat that, I can barely hear you."
The static sputtered and clicked, and Ludwig spoke. "Can you hear me now?"
"Better."
"Storm...worse..."
Kaspar turned from the radio, and he saw the storm that had encased Lapiston spread inch by inch. The wild winds throbbed like boiling pitch. "I can see that."
"...interfering...piece of..."
"What was that?"
"Storm is interfering," Ludwig's voice faded, "is Larry alright?"
Kaspar looked at the brothers. "He's awake now."
There was mumbling from the other end.
"Any sign of the Bluecoats?"
Kaspar turned to Cheatsy. The mock-koopaling shook his head, and he scanned the horizon with binoculars. Cheatsy lowered the binoculars and rubbed his eyes before checking again.
"No Bluecoats, but I think I see something moving in the city," Cheatsy shouted.
Kaspar relayed the message.
"Do..." Ludwig's voice disappeared in a blizzard of static.
"Ludwig?" Kaspar rapped the transceiver box and twisted a dial, "Ludwig? Can you hear me?"
Roy sighed.
"Well, what can we do?" Konrad shrugged. "We said we would guard the supplies."
"But what if they're in trouble." Larry sat up straight and stifled his pained breathing.
"Don't move so much," Roy mumbled and moved Larry back into the tent.
"Uh, guys," Cheatsy lowered his binoculars, "the storm!"
Wind blasted him from his perch on the truck. The wind roared and their camp rumbled. The trucks buckled.
White flames flickered amid the dark sand. Roy covered his mouth and nostrils. The tent's stakes yanked up and buried Roy and Larry in the fabric. Roy tore his way free and carried Larry from the mess. The tattered remnants of tent escaped into the wind.
"Not good, not good," Kaspar dragged the transceiver back, and he twisted the dials.
Rocky fastened his goggles to his face and Konrad wrapped a cloth around his head. Cheatsy was last to join them, he held an armful of javelins and tripped in the sand. He scooped them up and ran close to Roy.
A motorbike roared and screeched above the storm.
Roy looked around. He felt a hand brush his ankle. "What is it, Larry?"
"I didn't say anything," Larry mumbled.
A spider-like creature made entirely of skeletal arms emerged from the sand and crawled up Roy. The pointed fingers dug into his throat and squeezed. He wrenched the bones from his face, and he stomped on them.
The cracked bones shivered and reassembled.
"Oh." Larry and Roy whispered.
Cheatsy jumped into the Dunecrawler and threw it into gear. The engine sputtered, the tires spun, sand scattered. "Get in!"
"He can drive?" Roy said and he looked at Larry. "You can drive?"
"Well sorta, one time I took dad's Kart for a spin, but we didn't make it far-" Larry shrugged, and Roy scooped up Larry and carried him to the Dunecrawler. He laid Larry in the backseat. Kaspar climbed in with the receiver.
Konrad ran, screaming, he beat a skeletal toad off his back, and he climbed into the backseat. "Get it off, get it off, oh Stars..."
Roy slapped Konrad. "Get ahold of yourself."
The Koopa curled in the back seat and rocked.
"You won't be able to fit," Larry shouted over the storm.
"I know, I know," Roy lifted the welding goggles and rubbed his eyes. "Keep moving, get somewhere safe."
Rocky skirted through the sand and climbed into one of the trucks, "and what do you think you're doing? No senseless sacrifices on my watch."
"I'm not sacrificing myself," Roy grimaced.
"You're negotiating my raise, don't forget," Rocky threw the truck into gear.
Roy scrambled to get on board. Skeletal monstrosities scratched Roy's ankles, and he yelped. Roy kicked his leg free. He struggled back.
The truck revved and Bluecoats emerged from the sand. They held their clubs and marched paces behind the dry and destitute creatures. "Rocky..."
The truck lurched into motion and picked up momentum. Rocky hit a decline. He slammed the brakes. The entire vehicle angled forward. Roy slammed against the wall and rubbed his head. Rocky screamed.
The truck jerked and buckled.
Boxes of supplies flew in all directions. Bricks rattled on the outside of the truck. A crumbling and metallic screeching set Roy's spine rigid. He dragged himself from the back of the truck and saw they had punched through several buildings.
Bricks scraped and jerked. Wood splintered. Roy fell from the back of the truck and dragged himself to his feet.
Rocky leaned over the steering wheel, motionless.
Roy yanked the door, but it wouldn't budge. He gritted his teeth and pulled harder. The hinges crunched, and the door wrenched free. Roy fell on his back; the wind knocked from him. He panted and tossed the door aside.
"Rocky?"
Rocky mumbled softly.
Roy checked the mole for injury.
No broken bones. Maybe bruised and a little dazed. Roy scooped the mole and ran. Dust and broken glass and sand rained from the ceiling.
Roy barreled his way outside, and he dove forward and shielded Rocky with his shell and body.
The building collapsed. A plume of debris belched from the windows and the doorways as it brayed a final death rattle. Roy pushed to his feet, and he carried Rocky in one arm.
Rocky gasped and clenched his fist to his heart.
"You alright?" Roy set Rocky down.
"The supplies!" Rocky pushed past Roy and stood at the edge of the ruins. "Stars, what have I done?"
"If the building collapse didn't get supplies, the Bluecoats would've stolen it," Roy said.
Rocky drew a slow breath.
A motor puttered, and a shadow emerged from the sand. Roy raised his fist, ready to strike. Cheatsy honked the horn.
"Rocky, you're alright," Konrad shouted.
"Five minutes and you wreck the truck, that's like a new record or something," Cheatsy smirked.
Undead creatures crawled from the crashed building and dragged their broken bodies through the sand. Roy inched back, and he dropped Rocky in the back of the Dunecrawler.
"We need to find somewhere to hide," Roy said.
"Hey, stupid, this thing," Cheatsy tapped on the wheel, "is tough to hide."
"But it can lure them away," Roy mumbled, "listen, you take Larry, and I'll drive-"
"Hold on a sec," Cheatsy held his index finger up, "no way am I carrying Larry. He's gotta be twice as heavy as me."
Roy sputtered and his face twisted into a helpless frown.
"You get the others to safety, and I'll distract them. Trust me, I will find you. One of you at least. You're all so big and stupid. It's pretty easy."
Roy shook his head. "Don't get yourself killed, alright."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Cheatsy revved the engine.
Roy scooped up Larry and swung him around to his shoulders. Larry grunted and fit himself between the spikes on Roy's shell and held on tight.
"He's right," Roy chuckled and grunted, "you've been eating well."
"Shut up, and move please," Larry's face burned crimson.
Roy saluted Cheatsy, and the mock-koopaling smirked. He sped off into the storm and the others huddled inside the nearest building. The Dunecrawler's engine faded and the wind overpowered the roar.
Roy internalized the soft and panicked breathing of his company. They struggled to remain silent. Larry's weight shifted on his back, and the smaller koopaling's splint scratched Roy's shell.
"Stop," Roy whispered.
"Slipping," Larry whined.
Roy pulled Larry from his back and set him against a wall.
Roy inspected his surroundings. Collapsed bookshelves spread around the room and several volumes lay on the ground like dead birds.
Roy crouched low, and he sidled along the wall with his stomach brushing the crumbling plaster. His tough feet crushed broken glass, and the shards stumbled from his thick soles. He stifled a gasp and held his breath.
Roy heard whispery footfalls, a thick 'clomp,' and the rattling of bones. He peeked around the window. A hobbling mass of skeletal undead limped aimlessly.
A Dry Bone composed of two conjoined hammer troops waddled in the sand. All four arms carried their namesake. It swung blindly in the storm and struck a spindly mass of toad bones.
Even in death they still quarreled. Roy shook his head.
Other lost souls meandered, groping and searching for those that disturbed their slumber. Roy's palms soaked in sweat. A distant engine roared. The lost souls snapped to attention. Their purpose redefined.
Roy grabbed Larry and hooked him on his back.
"You have any idea where we're going?" Larry said.
"Anywhere but here," Roy peered around a wall and scooped the air behind him.
Rocky drew his wrench from his belt and huddled close behind Roy. Konrad stood close to Rocky and tried his best to hide behind the squat mole. Kaspar kept close to Roy.
"Where's the radio?" Roy mumbled.
Kaspar's shoulders slumped. "Er, in the panic I may or may not have left it behind."
Roy clenched his fist and punched the wall. Dust rained from the ceiling. A brick lodged loose.
"Apologies, young master," Kaspar cowered.
Roy exhaled slow. He noticed Kaspar's trembling shoulders and his eyes softened.
"Thing was probably too damn heavy anyhow," Roy's nostrils flared, "I hope the others are alright."
Roy exited the bookshop and stepped onto the lifeless streets. Vendor carts protruded from sandy burials, and a long spent propane tank clanged and clinked down the road.
"Bookstore, bookstore," Roy tried his best to read the fallen sign.
Roy followed the stretch of buildings, climbing over debris and shoving aside broken wagons. He stopped at an outdoor cafe.
Rounded tables littered the street and sand spewed forth from the open air counter like bile from a sickly maw.
Roy froze. His jaw dropped. "I recognize this," Roy whispered. The memories hit him like a truck.
X-X-X
Roy gathered his courage, and he marched with pride. A small army ready to jump at his fingertips, and he fought right in the thick of things. The citizens of Lapiston offered no resistance.
The Koopa soldiers kicked down doors and cleared out homes. The search was on. Royal Hari crests, heirlooms, gear, anything to point towards the ex-royal guard.
Roy inspected the notes Ludwig drafted for Bowser. "Special sword?" Beside the message was a crude drawing of a scimitar. A wax rubbing of a vicious sun labeled 'Royal Family Crest' marked the bottom of the page.
"Find that symbol, find the treasures." Ludwig's notes declared.
"Captain," a Hammer-tribe troop ran to him. He wore a thick leather helmet and wielded a pendulous war hammer. He rested the bulk of the weapon on his shoulder, and he panted.
"What's going on?" Roy tried his best to sound regal and intimidating, but his cracking voice betrayed him.
"I think we've found something," the hammer troop said, he pointed his weapon toward a thoroughfare.
Roy broke from the group. A grin spread his lips, and Roy jogged after the hammer troop. Large-scale invasion and treasure hunting were way easier than he thought. He'd return to his father a hero and once the treasures were extracted the Mushroom Kingdom would wave a Koopa Clan banner for all to see.
Roy skidded on his heels, and he stood in front of a bakery.
"Really? We can pick up pastries after this is all said and done." Roy said.
The hammer troop groaned and stepped inside, beckoning Roy follow.
More soldiers waited inside. Several gathered at a table. Crumbs and smudged icing speckled crystal plates and the soldiers chattered in hushed voices. A pair of Koopa troops stood beside the table. They wore plated armor and spiked helmets. A mess of hammers scattered the countertops.
Stormguard? Roy cocked his head. That's a bit excessive for a bakery heist.
"It's this way sir," the hammer troop hopped the counter and ventured further inward.
Roy found the owner of the establishment in the kitchen.
The baker knelt on the ground, hands on the back of his head, his flour-dusted graying hair disheveled. His tanned skin was coarse with wrinkles. He had a hard face for baker.
The hammer troop saluted beside the door, hand over his chest.
A hammer troop bedecked in silver armor paced the baker. His bulky Stormguard helm betrayed the slightest hint of eyes. A lightning bolt symbol marked his pauldrons. He threw a broken picture frame at the baker's feet.
It was a faded photograph of a few soldiers at a table. Hari soldiers? Roy inspected it for himself, and though it was difficult to make out, he saw the vaguest outline of the sun on their breastplates.
"What's going on Tack?" Roy stood beside the captain.
"He knows something about the royal guard," the Stormguard captain lifted a hammer from the counter and held it to the baker's head.
Roy snorted, and he stood to his full height.
"Alright, spit it out," Roy tried to imagine his father when he worked. How prisoners quaked in their boots and abandoned their principles rather than face his wrath.
The baker yawned. His eyes were soft, despite the hard face they inhabited His lips pursed tight.
"Answer him!" Tack kicked the baker's stomach.
The baker doubled over. His eyes widened, and he coughed.
Roy's fingers twitched. No, that's too much force. He wanted to step forward, to reprimand his troop. He felt his father's eyes on his back.
No weakness. No mercy. If Roy couldn't convince a harmless old man to take him seriously, how did he expect to lead troops?
Roy leaned closer and flashed his pointed teeth, "we can do this the easy way-"
"Or the hard way?" The baker flashed his teeth. "Kid, you need to try harder than that."
Roy's smiled disappeared. All reservations ceased. He struck the baker with the back of his hand and pressed his head into the solid tile floor. "I can break your head like an egg, you understand?"
"You remind me of your grandfather, he was full of hot air too," the baker wheezed. He gasped, and Roy pressed more weight onto the baker's head, "easy," the baker choked,
"kill me...no secret."
Roy's shoulders slumped, and he took his hand off the baker's head, "secret? So you were part of the old Hari guard then."
"Old Hari guard? Now, where'd you get an idea like that?" The baker wiped the blood from his lip.
"Don't play stupid," Roy pointed at the photograph on the floor, "I've seen that symbol before."
The baker shrugged, "and I have no idea what you're talking about."
Roy picked his teeth, "I only need your mouth working, so again, I can do this the easy way or the hard way."
Roy grabbed the baker's hand and dragged him toward a stove. His insides ached, and his heart raced. He hated himself and what he was doing, but to stop now would betray his progress.
Roy switched the stove on and the gas burner clicked. Blue flames erupted in the base. They licked the stove grates. Roy held the baker's hand above the fire.
The old man glared and he fought Roy's grip.
Roy struck the man's face, and he fell limp. The baker's breathing slowed, and he tasted the sour bite of fear. Roy's gut begged him to stop.
"Please don't make me do this," Roy whispered.
A frying pan twisted through the air and struck Roy's head. His glasses bounced askew. The light blinded him. He roared and, in the struggle, he dropped the baker.
Soldiers shouted. Metal clashed on metal, a hammer troop gargled and moaned. Roy blinked the spots from his vision, and one of his soldiers lay on the ground. Blood sputtered from his neck. Roy covered his mouth.
A boy not much older than Ludwig held a curved sword in front of him. He tossed another scimitar to the baker. They stood back to back with their weapons raised.
"I told you to run," the baker hissed.
"It's just a couple of koopas, we can handle 'em," Fulcan clutched his curved sword with both hands. A sun-shaped insignia marked the hilt.
Roy's heart raced.
Tack stepped forward. More soldiers flooded the kitchen, "we only need one of them alive."
The Koopa troops swarmed, and Roy's forearms tightened.
Fulcan danced between two soldiers. Fulcan deflected spear strikes, and he laid them out with the curved blade. The curve gouged a soldier's arm to the bone. Fulcan spun on his heel and landed a killing blow to the neck.
Roy watched the hammer soldier fall to the ground. Roy gagged. He stumbled backward and crashed into an oven.
The baker raised his sword to high guard and advanced on Tack.
Tack blocked the sword mid-strike and riposted with his elbow.
The baker staggered back; blood streamed down his nose and chin.
Tack swung overhead, shifting his weight with the hammer's momentum.
The Baker grit his teeth. He had no time for a proper parry. Instead he raised his sword to block. The blade shattered under pressure. His wrist folded back, and he cried out.
Fulcan screamed and he shifted to face his fallen father. Fulcan charged Tack, his teeth grit.
Tack stepped back and swung his hammer.
Fulcan blasted back and knocked down hard. His cuirass dented inward and cracked. Fulcan wheezed his eyes fluttered.
Tack stood over Fulcan, he cracked his neck and raised the hammer. The hammerhead's shadow crossed over Fulcan's nose. Fulcan closed his eyes.
"Stop!" A girl had been watching from the staircase. Her blond bangs stretched over her dark skin. "Stop fighting."
"How many of you roaches are there," Tack panted.
"Please, stop," the girl was hysterical now.
"Why should we?" Roy lowered his voice in an attempt to sound harsh.
The blond girl knelt beside her father, she looked at his hands and hesitated to touch them. Her eyes watered.
The baker trembled, "dammit, why?"
"Fulcan," she blubbered, "he..."
"Enough of this," Tack kicked Fulcan and shoved Minerva, "you know what we're here for."
"Speak up," Roy approached.
"Don't-" the baker stood, and Tack kicked him back to the ground.
"He wasn't talking to you," Tack snapped.
The baker's daughter bit her knuckle and backed toward a cabinet. She laid her hand on the counter, and she stared at Roy. Her legs buckled.
"It's the treasure or your family," Roy pointed at the baker, "what's it going to be?"
"I'll take you, alright? I'll do what you want, stop hurting him."
Roy nodded.
Tack grabbed the baker's bicep and dragged him to his nudged the son with the hammer, "up with you."
The girl led them to the front door, the Koopa troop stationed beside the door threatened her with a spear. The pointed blade stroked the back of her shirt.
Roy shoved the soldier with his elbow, "enough of that," he whispered.
Roy walked into the main street and found his forces were absent. Roy's neck twitched. He bared his teeth and stepped to the front of the line.
"Sir?" Tack cocked his head.
"We've got company." Roy glanced toward the rooftops.
A black mallet twisted through the air and Roy snatched it.
"Nice catch!" Mario whooped from his rooftop post and hurled a fireball. The flames licked Roy's face and singed his hairs. He snarled, and he staggered back.
"How'd he get here so quick?" A soldier shrieked and dove for cover as a winged Yoshi swooped and carried him away.
The winged monster landed beside Mario.
"Yoshis with wings," Roy grumbled, and he turned to Tack, "I'll hold him off, do what you have to get the treasure."
Tack nodded, and he dragged the baker's family away.
Mario leaped from his building perch and slipped down a lamp post. His flying companion circled overhead and barraged Roy's soldiers with dragon's breath. The yoshi smirked and spat a glob of molten gunk.
A Koopa troop erupted in flame, he threw off his shell and ran for cover, but Mario was on the move.
The red-clad terror kicked the shell and it careened toward Roy.
Roy knocked the shell aside and slammed Mario with his shoulder.
The plumber skid down the road on his back. Mario rolled into the momentum kicked back to his feet. He scooped his hat from the ground.
Roy paced Mario. His claws raised. His teeth bared. His eyes honed kill.
Mario's stride was casual. Almost cheerful.
Roy growled. Mario was taking it easy on him, treating him like a kid. Big mistake. Roy smirked and charged Mario.
Mario shifted his weight on his heels. He sprinted the opposite direction toward a cafe. His thick-soled boots scuffed the pavement, and he slid beneath a table.
Roy tried to halt his momentum, but inertia won out. He crashed into the circular table and landed on his stomach. Mario stood in the center of the cafe while soldiers and POWs alike watched.
Mario skittered through the cafe.
"Get back here!" Roy hurled the tables in all directions, swinging with abandon, smashing all but the plumber.
Mario pulled an orange flower badge from his pocket and slapped it on the back of his glove.
Mario opened his palm, and a flame brewed between his open fingers. He tossed the fireball. It arched overhead and smacked Roy's face.
The koopaling gasped, he stumbled back, and Mario drop-kicked his gut.
Roy clutched his stomach and dropped to his knees.
"Give it up. The Stonekeeper Militia is on the way." Mario wiped his forehead clean.
Roy snarled and fought to stand his knees buckled. He launched into a dead-set sprint. Koopa soldiers spilled into the streets, weapons raised, hands trembling, the whites of their eyes glowed.
What sort of horrible realm spawned Mario? Roy heard it was called "Brooklyn" and the syllables sent a chill down his spine. He imagined a city of Marios.
Mario leaped in a high arc and crashed down like a meteor. Mario laid out a Koopa soldier and knocked the weapon out of his hand. Mario kicked the immobilized troop, the koopa spun out sidelong, and bowled a small platoon.
A squad of masked nomadimice bombarded the invaders from above. Purple explosives hit the ground, and black powder stink hit Roy's nose. A lithium lavender flame erupted from the bombs.
A Koopa troop soared over Roy's head and smashed through a window. The others turned to him, a mere child, and they expected a rousing tactical turnabout.
"We need to retreat," Roy whispered, "retreat!"
Roy gathered his wits and ran. Despite the superior number of the Koopa force, Mario tipped the scales. The MK's darling hero punched through squad after squad. The purple bombs ceased, and the mice ambushed from the ground.
Hammer and spear met shamshir and scimitar.
A barrage of twirling black hammers blotted the light and Roy could see once more.
Mario halted in his tracks and dove for cover.
The throwing-hammers shattered white adobe walls, they tore open cloth awnings, and they crushed a fruit vendor's stall. Squashed bits of watermelon and bananas streaked the ground.
Tack's Stormguard troops ran past Roy, and they met the battle in the streets. They beat back Mario with a barrage of hammers. A heavyset Sledge troop pushed forward, sledgehammers in both hands. He smashed a hole in the Nomadimice forces.
Roy climbed to his feet, and his fingers flexed. He stared at his troops and he felt the weight of their expectations on his shoulders. Roy's feet sunk into the soil like lead bricks.
The Sledge troop tossed Roy a red-crystal scepter.
Roy caught the weapon and brandished it. Sparks sputtered from the tip. Roy clutched the wand with both hands and swung it like a sword.
Flames jettisoned from the tip and hooked like a falchion blade.
Roy immolated one of the desert mice.
The masked soldier shrieked and hit the ground. He rolled, the sand doused some of the flames, but the Embercraft raged. The air reeked of cooked meat and burned cloth.
Roy covered his mouth and dropped the scepter.
To see it up close and to see it for real.
Roy's stomach bubbled. He picked up the scepter and prayed for a way to snuff the flames. A nomadimouse smelled his weakness and twisted around his brother.
Roy barely saw the glistening blade before he moved to block.
The Sledge soldier slammed the mouse into the ground. The mouse twitched, and the Sledge soldier smashed him again. The soldier cleaned his hammer in the sand.
The Stormguard crushed the resistance. For every one Stormguard that fell, three mice died. The reality of the carnage hit Roy.
Roy's jaw slacked, "you," Roy gulped, "he's…"
"Snap out of it kid," the Sledge soldier picked up the scepter.
"We weren't supposed to kill anyone," Roy said.
"Yeah, well plans have changed," the sledge soldier presented Roy the scepter.
Roy shook his head.
"You mean to tell me the head of this op doesn't have the stomach for warfare," the Sledge troop rubbed his temple, "Bowser's lost it."
Roy's nostrils twitched. He snatched the scepter from the Sledge soldier's hand. Roy squeezed the brass handle and the crystal flashed.
Mario scooped up a discarded throwing-hammer, and he slid between the Sledge troop's legs. Mario's brow tensed. He kicked to his feet and smashed the Sledge troop's back. The Sledge troop dropped to his knees.
Roy aimed the scepter at Mario's chest.
Mario tossed the mallet and knocked Roy's forehead.
Roy's maw clamped on his tongue and Roy yowled. His ears rang. He stumbled, and his scepter slipped from his fingers.
Mario snatched the sceptre and exhaled slowly.
"Alright, Roy," Mario's mustache twitched, "no more running. Call off the soldiers."
Roy smirked, "and since when can you use one of Kamek's scepters?"
"Can't be that hard," Mario flexed his fingers. Mario's fire-flower badge glowed. The tip of the scepter sparked.
Roy gulped. The heat of the scepter beat the desert sun. Sweat trickled down his forehead. "How are you doing that?"
The scepter hummed. A piercing whine tingled Roy's teeth. Roy gasped and dove to the right. He covered his head.
"It's easy," Mario's brow waxed uncertain, "like using one of those badges. Focus on the pin and then you-"
A pillar of oscillating flame spewed from the scepter and obliterated a chunk of wall. Soldiers scattered, and Roy crawled to safety. Roy staggered to his feet and ran from the fire and the carnage.
The Hammer soldiers watched their leader abandon them, but the fight would not end.
Roy ran until his lungs threatened to quit. He ran until his calves pulsed, ready to burst. He ran until his shame caught up with him.
The air was deathly still and oppressed Roy.
Bowser's third eldest son stood before the Lapis Lazuli mines. Hammer troops guarded the entrance. Mushroomer mine workers knelt on the ground with hands behind their heads. Their faces were scummy, and their hands stained sky blue
"Boss? What happened?" A hammer troop rested his battle hammer on his shoulder and cocked his head.
"Mario and a firestorm...and..." Roy shook his head, incredulous, "mice?"
"Guess it was only a matter of time." The hammer troop laughed, and he looked at his fellows. "We can handle this, right?"
Roy wanted to fall to his knees and sob. He missed his mother. He missed his home.
Roy mumbled, "did Captain Tack make his way here?"
"Yes sir, he descended into the mines not too long before you arrived."
"I have to talk to him," Roy puffed up his chest, and he tried to imagine what his dad would say, "no plumbers or mice get into this mine alive, got it?"
"Roger!"
Roy ducked into the claustrophobic black that was the Lapiston mine.
X-X-X
"Roy?" Larry knocked on the back of Roy's head. "You still there?"
Roy blinked twice. He passed through the broken cafe and followed a trail from years ago. A metal scepter poked from a pile of sand. The Magicrystal pried from the head years ago. Roy's nostrils seared and the sand dried his lips. He uncapped his canteen and fought for a gulp of water and gagged down the muddy sand.
A long trail of shattered bones and tread tracks lead down an alleyway. "Cheatsy," he whispered, and he followed the mess. His heart sunk as the trail led down a familiar thoroughfare.
The baker and his family walked this street. They might have spent wistful afternoons escaping the summer heat in the cafe's shade. They might have lived. Everyone might have lived.
Roy trembled before the broken corpse of a once bustling bakery. The windows were shattered, and a bedroll covered in greasy bones lay in the sand. Roy gagged. He stepped around the sack of bones.
"All the sands kicked up," Rocky mumbled, "there was a tussle not too long ago."
Kaspar inched into the establishment, and he sniffed the air. "Yes, yes, I think our fellow explorers took shelter here."
"You sure it wasn't the Bluecoats?" Roy inspected the building.
"Extra certain," Kaspar lifted a torn eye patch and showed Roy.
Roy's eyes narrowed, "stick close and keep an eye out. We might not be alone."
A broken lantern lay on the kitchen floor and speckles of broken glass mingled with the sand.
Sparks flashed in the dark, and the remains of a black box transceiver pulsated. Its dials fluttered like eyes giving the ghost, and its wires were a complex array of spilled organs.
Roy frowned. He imagined Ludwig frantically phoning for help. The others fought hordes of bones and bandits.
"Get a load of this." Rocky pointed at a staircase.
The stairs, or what remained, were a craggy wreck.
Larry peeked around his head, "Stars, what could've done that?"
Roy squinted and grabbed a tuft of blue hair dangling from a broken bit of stair. "I have a few ideas."
"He must've been moving fast to make up there without falling, wonder what was chasing him," Larry mumbled and squinted at the second-floor landing.
"Hey! You guys up there?" Rocky shouted.
The others shushed him and glared.
"What? Maybe they are."
Roy waited for a response, and when none came, he growled. "Either their corpses are up there, or they had to get down somehow."
"A window," Larry shifted his weight, "maybe they jumped."
"Worth a check," Roy said.
Roy dashed out of the bakery and searched around the side alley. Sure enough, glass and wood scattered the ground. A pile of blankets and a rotten mattress lined the bottom.
"No bodies, that's a good sign, right?" Larry whispered. "Right?"
Roy shook his head, "I hope so. I can't tell Bowser his heir's a zombie." Roy mumbled.
"Are they zombies?" Larry cocked his head.
"Yeah, I'd say so," Rocky shrugged.
"No, zombies have flesh and eat flesh," Konrad whispered, "these are like revenants or something. You see those eyes? Definitely vengeful spirits."
"Zombies are just the walking dead aren't they?" Rocky snipped.
"Konrad has a point," Larry said, "and shooting zombies in the head kills them."
"Shooting anything in the head kills it," Roy rolled his eyes.
"Not these bone-freaks," Larry hissed.
Roy shook his head and opened his mouth to argue when a shadow emerged at the end of the alley. Roy tensed, his arms raised in a fighting stance.
"Uh, Roy," Larry tapped his shoulder and hooked his thumb backward.
Bluecoats surrounded them. Their cloaks fluttered in the storm.
The crew lined up back to back. Rocky raised his wrench. Roy raised his fists. Larry ducked behind Roy's shell.
"Come and get some you azure troglodytes," Konrad shouted and hid behind Rocky.
Roy swallowed. Space closed tighter and tighter. Soon the Bluecoats were upon them.
