Chapter Orange 2: The Neo Sunset Express
Before going to the train station, Mario had to first return the go-kart to Miitropolis then take back the minivan. Afterwards, he returned to the resort to pick up his friends and they headed to the train station. Once there, there were many people of many kinds that came from and went into the station. Some people waited in line to get tickets. It took the group a few minutes before they could get to a ticket booth. A mii was standing at the booth and waved at them to signal them they could come over.
"Good afternoon! Where do you want to go?" The mii asked.
"We'd like to travel to Mount Peach please." Gami brought up.
"Unfortunately, this destination is currently closed to the public. Every time we try to get there, an orange train keeps rolling next to us and bombards us with all sorts of explosives. We can't risk the passengers' safety."
"We're Princess Ori and Prince Gami from and Silver Palace. We're here to investigate about the train you're mentioning." Ori said.
"You two are!? Thank goodness, you have returned. In that case, I'll prepare you the Neo Sunset Express to reach Mount Peach as soon as possible. You have no idea how reassuring it is to see you two back again." The mii said.
The mii printed a ticket for each member of the group. Everyone pulled out coins from their pockets and exchanged them for the tickets. Since Ori and Gami were royalty, they did not have to pay for theirs.
"Your train will be at Dock 9 and 3/4. It's a secret dock between Dock 9 and Dock 10. To get there, push the differently colored brick on the brick column then pull it back shortly after. The floor should open up to let you get to Dock 9 and 3/4. If you take too long to pull the brick back, try again. Good day to you." The mii explained.
The group passed the ticket booth and arrived at the docks. Trains were arriving or leaving. People were getting or out. The group carried on until they found themselves between Dock 9 and Dock 10. They saw the brick column the mii was telling them about. All the bricks were colored orange save for one that was darker than the other. They gathered around the façade with the dark brick.
"So, once we push it in, how do we pull it back out?" Tatanga asked.
Larry pulled out a magic wand. He first pressed the brick inside the column and casted a spell on it to pull it back. The floor opened up revealing a set of stairs going down.
"Cool! I didn't know you could use magic." Ori complimented.
"When you have a teacher like Kamek, you better be good or drop out the class entirely." Larry joked.
The group went down and stairs and found another dock underground. The train there looked much different from anything they saw above. While the other trains looked like standard electric trains, this one was one of those trains that could go above 500 kilometers per hour. The name Neo Sunset Express was written on the side of one of the front wagon. A mii conductor was awaiting their arrival near his wagon at the very end.
"Good afternoon, Princess Ori and Prince Gami. Are we ready to go?" The conductor asked.
Everyone nodded. They all then climbed aboard the Neo Sunset Express and took seat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sunset Express, the future of railroad transportation. We would like to please ask you to remain seated while we start up the train. Once the train will be at constant speed, you may leave your seat and explore what the Neo Sunset express has to offer to our passengers. The crew wishes you a good travelling." A voice through a speaker announced.
The train began moving. It went faster and faster. It left the train station and the group could see outside once again. They went through barren plains and canyons. Eventually, Ori becae tired of being seated and went exploring. Larry also left his seat to see what was in the Neo Sunset express. Only Mario, Tatanga and Gami remained at their seat.
"How is this that Francis could turn into an origami?" Tatanga brought up.
"He must have been chosen by Lord Igami or some origamis for an experiment. Usually, such power never falls in the hands of paper characters like you two and for good reasons. On a paper character, the power can be unstable at the point it can cause the paper character to be stuck as an origami permanently by example. Plus, it drains do much energy in little time which is why it's only experienced on the biggest paper characters they could find." Gami explained.
"Okay but how did he meet them? You don't see many origamis around."
"Origamis work in complete secrecy. There was once where they directly met people to give them origami powers but, with the many failures and complaints they received from the paper people, they chose to drop the project publicly and select a few people to carry on with the experiment without the guinea pig's awareness."
"So Francis could've been selected without him knowing? How did he use such power so easily?"
"I suppose it must've been years since he got this power and must've practiced a few times with it to make he could pop it out when he wanted to and not by accident or not popping out when he really needed it to."
"And what's that grey substance you mentioned earlier?"
"No one knows where it came from. Many would accuse Lord Igami to have created it since they're both the same color but no one managed to prove it because he's unreachable without the nine Origami Stars."
"Okay, this guy's your father. At some point, you must've seen him doing shady things."
"I left the Silver Palace many years ago so I did not have time to notice it. Before that, he was the kind ruler of the Rainbow Continent but, as the years passed, he was becoming emptier by the day I and could not find out why. Worse, he didn't even mind. Perhaps in my absence he made the grey substance but I have to return here to confirm it."
A mii showed up at the doorframe of their cabin. He was dressed like a waiter and was holding a small book with a pencil. He was ready to write anything in the book.
"Good afternoon, passengers! Would you like something to eat on your way to Mount Peach?" The mii asked.
"No thanks. I'll be fine." Gami replied.
"Me neither. I bet it's just plane food anyway." Tatanga let out.
Mario just shook his head to decline.
"In that case, if you ever need anything, you can either ring the bell right here or go to the front where you'll find the restaurant wagon. Enjoy your stay." The waiter concluded before leaving.
"A restaurant wagon? In that case, I'll go check it out. What about, guys?" The alien proposed.
The others followed him. The train was practically empty. No one else took it save for the group. No one was foolish enough to risk their lives just to reach Mount Peach when another train would ambush them. The small group made their way to the front. They entered another wagon where they found back Ori and Larry. The swan was painting the punk while the latter was lying sideway facing her.
"You already had an autograph, Ori. Don't you think you're asking for too much?" Gami asked.
"He's the one who asked me to paint him like a Europi'illian so I obliged." Ori answered.
The small group carried on to the front. They finally reached the restaurant wagon. It was not a fast-food in a wagon like the small group would have expected. It was in fact a big restaurant with an actual kitchen and many round tables and four chairs at each table, the whole being nicely decorated. The small group took seat at one of the tables and a mii went to see them. They all ordered and ate after having to wait thirty minutes. After all, they were the only passengers on the train so they did not have to wait too long. Then, an alarm sounded.
"Dear passengers. An unusual event is happening outside the train and is nearing it. Please remain calm and return to your cabins. We may have to return to the train station if it becomes too dangerous to proceed. We are terribly sorry in advance for this inconvenience and will offer a refund to unsatisfied customers." The voice from the speaker announced.
"That must be the Orange Guardian. We must go back to the others." Gami declared.
Just as they said that, Ori and Larry just entered the restaurant wagon and joined them back.
"Did you heard that, Gami?" Ori asked.
"Yes! We need to see the conductor." The paper plane replied.
The group went further to the front and arrived in the last wagon. The conductor was currently worried of the situation.
"Conductor, we need to get on the rooftops! We can fight the train." Gami said.
"Well, if you insist, wear those boots. They will anchor you on the rooftops so you won't fly away due to the strong winds." The conductor advised as he opened a locker full of boots."
Those who could wear boots wore them. As for Ori and Gami, the conductor gave harnesses to Mario and Larry to strap the origamis on them. The group was now ready to fight the Orange Guardian. The conductor opened a hatch on the ceiling and the group climbed it up. They found themselves on the rooftop of the main wagon. They saw tree giant orange sheets of paper glider over another railroad right next the Neo Sunset Express. The sheets began folding and turned into a heavily armed military train with three wagons that rolled on the railroad. The first wagon on the back had a triple cannon at the very back, two single cannons on the top and another one on the side façade. All the cannons on that wagon aimed at the group.
"That's a lot of cannons!" Gami commented.
"Pfah! You think that's a lot?" Tatanga replied.
The alien began his turn with a Laser Gun card and used a Triple Shot Attack card. He fired three energy projectiles that hit the three cannons on the rooftop. Mario used an Ice Flower card and aimed the five ice missiles at the triple cannon. Larry equipped a tennis racket with a card. For his attack, he did not use another card but was able to spit a fire ball in the air and swung it with his racket into one of the two single cannons.
"You can do that, Larry?" Ori asked, impressed.
"The fire ball is my standard attack. I just made a Tag Attack with it and my racket but it's not as strong as a traditional Tag Attack." The punk replied.
The triple cannon aimed at Mario who used a Raccoon Tail card to prepare himself. The cannon fire three cannonballs in a row and Mario had to deflect the two first ones elsewhere to deflect the last one back at the cannon. The last cannonball was enough to wreck the triple cannon to beyond operational. The two single cannons aimed at Larry who swung their projectiles back at the senders. One of the two single cannons got destroyed for taking too much damage. The wall cannon did not aim at anyone but fired a laser it swung like a blade into the group. Having caught everyone off-guard, the wall cannon did full damage to the group. Since it did full damage, Mario lost his Ice Flower power. Tatanga reacted afterward with a Power Shot Attack card he aimed at the wall cannon to destroy it. Mario had no useful card this turn and decided to pull out an Item card that healed the party. Larry finished the last single cannon with another unique Tag Attack. The first wagon was stripped of all his weapons. The group then heard a loud clang and noticed the first wagon was slowing down. IT in fact got detached from the rest of the Orange Guardian and was now leaving away. The rest of the guardian was now rolling faster.
"I'll increase the speed of the train to catch it up! Keep it up!" The conductor's voice spoke through a speaker.
The Neo Sunset Express managed to catch up with the Orange Guardian. The second wagon of the guardian was differently armed. A missile launcher was on the rear, A bridge was built in the middle with two orange origamis ready to throw bob-bombs at the group and a big cannon was in the front. Since the first wagon counted as an individual battle, it was the group's turn again. The alien pulled out a Photon Mortar card and aimed at the bridge. The photon projectile the mortar fired blew up the two origamis on the bridge leaving it weak to subsequent attacks. Mario pulled out a Fire Flower card and aimed the five fire balls at the missile launcher. Larry got rid of his racket this turn and pulled out a Magic Wand card. He then used a Dual Flame card and fired two light blue fire bolts at the missile launcher. It was now the wagon's turn. The missile launcher fire a missile at the group but Larry used a Smokescreen card thanks to him having equipped a magic wand the previous turn to disorient the missile causing it to miss its targets. Two more origamis came on the bridge and made preparations to attack on the next turn. The giant cannon did nothing but an orb of light began forming at the tip of it.
"Look out! The big cannon's gonna fire a deadly something at us!" Ori warned.
"We have to find a way to interrupt it!" Gami advised.
Tatanga fired the photon mortar at the giant cannon but it was not enough to interrupt it. Mario used a hammer card and a Hammer Throw card to throw it at the giant cannon. The orb of light on the cannon blew up and damaged the cannon even further to the point of destroying it. Larry focused on the missile launcher and finished it with his magic wand. Since the bridge was left alone this turn, the origamis on it threw bob-ombs at the group. Everyone took full damage but, on the next turn, the group destroyed the bridge. The second wagon detached itself from the tank engine and slowly left away. Only the tank engine was remained and was not armed like the other wagons.
"We did it! He can't do anything to us anymore!" Ori celebrated.
"Wait! Something's not right!" Gami pointed out.
The Orange Guardian unfolded and folded back into a robot on a wheeled platform. With its arm, it grabbed after the front wheels and put all its strength to move faster.
"I can't catch it up! You'll have to think of something else! We're nearly here!" The conductor's voice shouted.
Without thinking, Ori and Gami pulled Mario and Larry and put them on the small platform the robot was standing on. The robot then reached for a lever between the railroads and switched it. The Neo Sunset Express was forced to drive away from them. Mario could finally use his stomp cards again and used this opportunity to use a Spring Bounce card to stomp on the Orange Guardian ten times. Larry could also use some of his card he could not earlier and used a flying kick card to attack the guardian. The Orange Guardian extended an arm and was about to attack until it hit something outside the railroad. Ori took a quick look and noticed it was another lever. The robot also seemed surprised to have hit it. The wagon went toward another direction. Gami looked at the front and saw a cliff.
"We're about to fall off a cliff!" Gami yelled.
The Orange Guardian grabbed after his front wheels once again but firmly. Sparks came out of the friction between the arms and the wheels. A loud high-pitched whistling could be heard. Though it managed to slow down, it was not enough to stop before the cliff. Ori and Gami pulled back their friends and put them on the railroad right before the guardian fell down the cliff. They all watched as the guardian fell until it collided with the ground thus exploding.
"Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark." Larry commented.
"We need to get down here." Ori said as she changed shape.
She used her origami powers to turn into a giant butterfly and carried everyone on her. She slowly flew down to the bottom of the cliff until they reached the spot where the orange guardian exploded. They saw in place a small unconscious train origami. Everyone got off Ori's back and she shifted back into a swan. They all gathered around the train origami who was slowly waking up.
"Where am I…" The train whispered.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine." Gami replied.
"Prince Gami! Princess Ori!"
"Yes, we returned." Ori said.
"It's been a long time. I thought you were gone. You have no idea how overjoyed the others will be when I'll tell them about your return." The guardian commented.
"What happened to you? Why did you attack us?"
"Did I? I'm terribly sorry. The only thing I remember was that I was once wandering in the canyons near the Tangerine then I saw the river full of grey substance. Some origamis were pouring that stuff in the river. I tried to stop them but they grabbed me and put me inside the river. That's all I remember."
"I see. May we have your Origami Star?"
"But why? You two can return to the Silver Palace as many times as you want."
"We need them to get rid of the grey substance."
"You think that'll work? In that case, can any of you bring us back up?"
Ori used her powers to bring everyone back on the cliff. They went back on the railroad in the opposite direction where they caught up with the Neo Sunset Express that was awaiting their return. Afterwards, they left to Mount Peach where they retrieved the Orange Origami Star.
"By the way, I'm Granite, the Orange Guardian. Thanks for helping me and, once you get the others, give me a call and I'll be at the Silver Palace." The train origami said.
The group returned to the Tangerine Resort and decided to switch their rent from their rooms in that Miitropolis hotel for a lounge in the resort. There was much more luxury here and bigger bedrooms for everyone. They sent the message to their friends. Nighttime arrive. Ori went to check on Larry. She slowly opened the door and the first thing she saw was the empty shell. She immediately covered her eyes and closed the door.
"Eeek! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to see you naked!" She apologised.
"You can come in. I'm wearing clothes." Larry's voice said.
Ori slowly opened the door again and saw Larry sat at a mirror. He was combing his long hairs. The swan came to see him.
"You wanted to see me?" The punk asked.
"I just wanted to ask you something." Ori brought up.
"Shoot."
"What's it like to work for Bowser?"
"It can vary a lot but the bottom line was we get Princess Peach for him. Though, since the koopas made peace with the toads, I've been assigned to make sure Bowser's other enemies don't invade him."
"Why is he interested so much in Peach? Why not someone like me?"
"He's not looking for raw power if that's what you mean. He's instead looking for someone who will be a perfect mother for the prince."
"That little brat?"
"Yeah, Bowser used to be like him at his age. They both have been raised by Kamek in a way they believe they can take everything."
"Why can't Bowser raise his own son?"
"He does raise him but Kamek's influence means he'll just raise his son exactly like himself."
"I see. Thanks for answering."
"If you don't mind, I'd ask you to leave. I need to comb those hairs down so I can comb them back up easier tomorrow morning."
"I can help."
Larry lent the comb to Ori who proceeded to finish the job. She was a bit overjoyed to touch his hairs and sometimes went too close of rubbing her face in them. She managed to resist the temptation and successfully combed down all his hairs. She then left Larry's room and went to see her brother who was lying on a sofa.
"How long did you stay after I left?" Gami asked.
"It must've been a year." Ori replied.
"What happened at the Silver Palace this year?"
"The usual: father ignoring me, him growing bigger until he overgrown the throne room."
"So it has come to this. I wonder how big he is as of now."
"I don't know but I don't want to talk about it any further."
"I see. In that case, good night."
"Yeah, good night."
The two origamis shared the sofa and slept in their corner.