The Other Boos
Peach and Zelda were beamed down into southern edge of Land's End by the Sarasaland Saucer overhead. Both were in gray cloaks similar to those of the Shamans, but they still wore their camouflaged clothing underneath. The area was full of cliffs and there was little vegetation around. In fact the only plant life besides stray strands of grass were the massive artichokes to be found occasionally.
"Okay, Peach," Zelda said, looking around the rugged area. "We're going to have to take it slow so as not to…"
"Follow me," Peach said, taking off.
"Wait!"
Peach hopped up the small cliffs easily, while Zelda had to use her Sheikah skill to keep up. She saw Peach hop into a strange, brightly colored cannon that was shaped like a pot with eyes. "Get in!" Peach yelled. Zelda hurriedly clambered inside. Once it fired, they were launched up to the highest cliff before them. Zelda wobbled a bit as they both landed on their feet.
"What in Din's…" Before she could regain her bearings, Peach grabbed her by her arm and ran into the next area. There was a narrow cliff, crawlingwith orange, swirly-eyed Geckits. They were being fired out of small pot cannons at the base of the cliff, mindlessly taking turns with other Geckits. Peach did not slow down, instead speeding up to jump over the small gaps in the cliff, while dodging any incoming Geckits. She chucked a Psych Bomb down to the cannons, whiping them all out and stopping the shower of Geckits.
"Don't you think you're being a bit drastic?" Zelda cried. Once they were out of the rugged area, they were in a place with large rotating flowers and human-sized bees called Stingers collecting pollen. The stairway of cliffs would require a great deal of climbing. As Peach aimed to jump onto one of the flowers with a bee on it, Zelda yelled out, "Peach, hold on!"
Peach turned around in midair and bum-bounced off the Stinger, incinerating it in the resulting explosion. Without even touching the ground, she caught herself and floated to the flower.
"Are you okay?" Zelda asked, now very worried about her friend. Peach had a very determined look on her face as they slowly rotated toward the cliff. She held Zelda close, seeming to hug her. "Peach?" Suddenly, they sprung off the flower and to the next step of cliffs, where another Stinger was tending to a flower. Peach destroyed it in a similar fashion and repeated the process until she was at the top of the cliff. She pulled Zelda along and hopped down the other side.
"Whoa!" a startled Shaman exclaimed. He jumped off the cliff and floated to a twin cliff on the other side. Peach placed Zelda on her back and floated off after him. He shrieked at the sight and ran. Once Peach touched down, she chased him into the desert.
She saw him jump into a whirlpool of sand and finally slowed to a stop as he disappeared into it.
"Oh, good," Zelda sighed. "For a moment, I thought you were going to jump in after him." Peach slowly approached the whirlpool, but the helmeted head of a giant ant, a Shogun, peered out. Peach stepped on the edge of the whirlpool and the ant popped out completely to challenge her. Peach hopped back and the Shogun hopped back into the whirlpool.
"No, Peach! Don't do it!" Peach dived into the whirlpool, taking Zelda with her. They soon popped out of another whirlpool in some other part of the desert. Zelda was clinging to Peach frightfully. There were plenty of enemies around, many of which Zelda had never seen before. There were plant monsters that looked like giant white-petal tulips with red lips. There were a few more Stingers wandering about in the shade of scattered palm trees. There were also giant tarantulas, seemingly mechanical dog-like creatures with glowing eyes, and large purple creatures that looked similar to Octoroks, but were held up by strings connected to purple, bat-winged Koopa shells. Before she could take in the full view, Peach had taken them into another whirlpool.
This time, they dropped down into adark cavern of sorts. There were Geckits and other creatures all around. The Shaman was nowhere in sight.
"Peach, he's gone," Zelda said. Peach finally let her down. Then, she jumped and floated around a corner and behind a stack of crates.
"Hey! Let me go!" someone cried out.
"Where's Merlee!" Peach yelled.
"I don't know what you're talking about, lady!" Zelda climbed down the uneven terrain and went behind the crates. Peach held a Shaman by his jewel of a brooch.
"That might not be the one we're looking for," Zelda said. "Identify yourself."
"I'm just a merchant!" he insisted, still struggling with Peach.
"Interesting place to sell things," Zelda said, looking around the corner at all the monsters about.
"I made a lot of money a while ago when Smithy invaded," he said, pulling away from Peach. "The Super Mario and his friends came through here and bought some pretty pricey… Hey, wait a minute… Aren't you Toadstool?"
"Yes," Peach said, still aggravated.
"I resupplied," he said somewhat giddily. "I've got a Starman with your name on it and it's yours for the low price of just 500 coins."
"No thank you," Zelda said quickly. "Now, have you seen another Shaman come through here?"
"Who wants to know?" he asked suspiciously.
"My friend's been captured by Bowser's army," Peach answered. "I heard she was taken to Land's End for reeducating. We need to hurry, so please don't waste our time."
"Oh, that… They've been doing that sort of thing a lot around here lately…"
"Then, you knowwhere she is?"
"Sort of. They've probably taken her to Nimbus Land by now," he said.
"Wasn't that another place that Bowser conquered?" Zelda asked.
The Shaman threw down a potion, creating a red door. "Come on. I'll take you to some people who can help you."
After walking through the door, they found themselves in a casino. The walls were crafted out of mahogany and the floor had gold and green tiling. There were rows of slot machines, various card tables, and many people about. It was conspicuous to say the least, but Peach found the setting familiar.
"Is this Grate Guy's Casino?" Peach asked.
"Yep," the Shaman replied. "Thanks to you, Mario, and the others, he got enough money to expand the place. And he pays us tobring people here. Needless to say, business has been great."
"About thepeople who can help us…" Zelda reminded him.
"Oh yeah. Sorry. Just ask one of the staff for a marshmallow sundae. I'll be heading back, now."
"What's your name?" Peach asked. "Just so I don't attack you again…"
"The name's Merlowe," he said. Peach was surprised to hear the name.
"That's the same name as Merlon's grandson," she said.
"Which one?" he asked. "The thing about Shamans is that we're traditionally named by our profession. Merlowe's are usually star collectors, so I guess I have some competition in the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Wait a minute," Zelda said. "If that's true, couldn't it be possible that the Merlee we're going after could be a complete stranger?"
"Probably," he shrugged. "See ya." He walked back through the door, which disappeared soon after.
"It doesn't matter now, Zelda," Peach reasoned. "We've come this far. We might as well go all the way. This Merlee can't be the only victim." They waded through the sea of diverse customers and attendants. Eventually, they came across a particularly peeved-looking turquoise Boo attendant, presumably female judging from the long eyelashes and eye shadow. She wore white bunny ears and gloves, despite not having any fingers, and held a tray with drinks on it. Peach and Zelda decided to pass her by since she did not seem to be in a proper mood.
"Hey!" shecalled out, reappearing in front of them. "You look like you need something, Princess." She had a constant scowl on her face.
Peach looked around nervously. "Um…okay. Do you have a marshmallow sundae?"
The Boo raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? Okay, follow me." They followed her through the room until they reached a wall, except that she floated right through without stopping. The princesses touched the wall, making sure that it was real. Suddenly, they fell through the floor.
They plopped down into a dank dungeon-esque setting, with a row of pipes on one wall up a few steps. There were also pipes in each corner. The Boo faded into existence in front of them. "Well, this is it, Peach. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. Just wait until the others get here."
"You too?" Peach asked in an upset tone.
"Huh?"
"You want to hurt her too?" Zelda asked guardedly.
"Maybe this will help," the Boo said, disappearing once again. When she reappeared, she had gotten rid of her bunny ears and gloves. Instead, she wore two red ribbons at the sides of her head.
"Bow?"
"Yep," she said. "The rest of you! Come on out and give her a warm welcome!" The room quickly filled with Boos, some of which were yellowish-brown.
"Oh, no…" Peach frowned.
"Stay back!" Zelda yelled, taking out her Gilded Sword. "I don't care what her mother may or may not have done! You're not taking it out on Peach!"
Bow sneered with annoyance and disappeared. She reappeared in front of Zelda and proceeded to smack and backhand her repeatedly. By the time she stopped, Zelda was too dazed to do anything useful. Then, Bow turned to Peach, still with that perpetual look of annoyance.
"Bow, I'm sorry!" Peach said, backing away fearfully as the ghost approached, though she was soon against the wall. "You didn't deserve this. None of you did. I don't know why my mother would want to kill so many people…so many innocent people. Even still, revenge isn't going to help anything, especially if you take it out on me. King Boo tried it yesterday and everyone knows he's no good. I know you're better than him. All of you are. You may play pranks from time to time, but you aren't cold-blooded killers."
"Everyone, give us a moment," Bow said, ordering them all to leave. She turned her back on Peach, seeming troubled. "You know, Peach, you have a point. I am better than that old fool. But dying is something that everyone of us went through…" She seemed to be quietly sobbing.
"Bow…" Peach said sympathetically reaching out to her.
Bow turned around, covering her face. "But Peach…there's something that you need to remember too…"
"What's that?"
Bow revealed her now monstrously large face, with a humongous tongue sticking out, and demonically long fangs and bellowed, "EVEN YOU HAVE TO DIE SOME DAY!"
Peach shrieked and turned around, running straight into the wall. She was dazed for only a second, quickly hunkering down and cowering with her face buried in her arms. "Please no! Don't hurt me! I'm sorry!"
"Ho, ho, ho, ho ho!" Bow laughed, now back to normal and fanning herself with a pink, feathery fan.
"Good one, Lady Bow!" one of the invisible Boos cackled.
"Huh?" Peach had a look of confusion.
"Just a prank," Bow smiled with a wink. "When you started going on about that whole revenge thing, I couldn't pass up the chance to give you the perfect scare! It was marvelous! I had you cowering like a scared little girl."
"So…you're not going to kill me?" Peach asked.
"Or…steal her soul?" Zelda asked in a dazed voice.
"Of course not," Bow chuckled. "What would I do with something like that?"
"So…you're not mad that my mother killed all of you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bow said, putting away her fan.
"King Boo said that the Wanderer was responsible for the number of so many ghosts," Zelda explained.
"I certainly didn't know anything about that," Bow said. "But then, the idiot might just be making it up."
"So, she didn't kill you?" Peach asked.
"No," Bow said. Then, she reconsidered her answer. "Actually, I'm not really sure how I died…if I was ever alive anyway. I've been a Boo as long as I can remember."
"Was the slapping really necessary?" Zelda asked, rubbing her cheek.
"You asked for it," Bow said, regaining her annoyed appearance. "Anyway, on to business. We hold our meeting here, under Bean Valley. The Shamans in Land's End are trustworthy enough, but the ones in Nimbus Land have been scouring the area a lot lately. Grate Guy let us use his place as a cover…after we paid him of course, the cheap prick."
"I don't get it," Peach said, frowning. "What are you doing way out here? The Mushroom Kingdom is on the other side of the continent."
"There's actually a convenient string of warp pipes that link this area to the Mushroom Kingdom. We had to leave when King Boo took over my mansion. I may be a Boo princess, but he has more people to back him."
"You're a princess too?" Zelda asked.
"Yep," Bow said with a small smile. "My territory is from Forever Forest to Gusty Gulch, both of which are just east of Toad Town. For some reason, Bowser's troops haven't been in Toad Town since their attack."
"We noticed," Peach said. "You'd think they would occupy my capital."
"Yeah, but they sure do have all the other places covered pretty well," Bow said. "For instance, this is the only secure underground area inBean Valley. Toad Town Tunnels is swarming with Bowser's thugs, so we have to be careful every time we travel, even if it's underground. The Pipe Vault is a no go. Even Kero Sewers and Belome's Temple aren't free of his troops. It's as if he somehow knew of all those hidden places. I sure didn't."
"That's because he was with Mario during Smithy's attack," Peach frowned. "I was with him too. He knows about all of those places…"
"Does he know about this place?" both Zelda and Bow asked. Peach's silence confirmed it.
"The only reason he'd let us get this far with it is if…there was a spy," Bow said, turning away from them. "All right, Boos!"
"Yes?" the Boos said, reappearing.
"There's a spy somewhere, either here or in the casino," Bow said loudly. "Look out for anything suspicious. Stay outta' sight to make it easier."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"And if I find out any one of you are spies…" she said in a low voice, before becoming monstrous once again, "I'LL FEED YOU TO TUBBA BLUBBA!" The other Boos were instantly scared off.
Then, an older Boo gentleman with a white mustache and a cloth over his arm appeared. "Lady Bow, Master Mallow has arrived. He has brought a Master Jinx along with him. Shall I let them in?"
"Go ahead, Bootler," Bow nodded.
"Very good, milady," he bowed, disappearing.
A moment later, Jinx dropped down into the room. After a few seconds, he looked up to the pipe he had just come through and stepped to the side. Mallow soon fell through, flat on his face.
"Owwww!" Mallow whined, sitting up and rubbing his face. He caught sight of Peach and quickly smiled. "Oh, hey there! It's been a while since I last saw you."
"It's nice to see you again too, Mallow," Peach smiled. "This is a friend of mine, Princess Zelda."
"It's a pleasure, I'm sure," Zelda nodded.
"Wow, I've never met a real elf before," Mallow grinned.
"Uh…"
"I'm Prince Mallow of Nimbus Land," he continued. "It's a real shame what's happened. I actually had a lot more of my people with me, but they all got captured…But I know we can take back Nimbus Land."
"Wait a minute," Zelda said. "We're just here for a rescue…"
"Of course we can take back Nimbus Land," Peach interrupted her.
"Peach, what are you doing?" Zelda asked telepathically, while keeping a straight face as Mallow continued talking.
"He's my friend," Peach replied. "Besides, we're here so we might as well see it through."
"Are you sure you aren't just trying to avoid your mother?"
"Are you sure you shouldn't shut up and mind your own business?" Peach replied without realizing that Zelda heard what was supposed to be a private thought.
Zelda turned directly toward her in shock.
"Yeah, I know," Mallow laughed. "No one would ever suspect the Princess could be so useful in battle. Before she came along, my HP Rain was the only healing magic we had."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Bow said with annoyance. "Now, how about the plan for this thing? Those rogue Shamans are no joke."
"Mallow and I discussed it earlier," Jinx said. "I'll divert as much attention as I can, so that the others can get into the kingdom unnoticed. If you can, try to sneak into the castle. Mallow and Peach have experience with ousting invaders so they'll lead the way. I'll try to catch up as soon as I can. If you can free some of the prisoners, things should get easier."
"I've been meaning to ask you, Jinx," Zelda said. "The Merlee that was kidnapped. Was it the one that we knew or another one?"
"I'm afraid we never met, so I couldn't tell you," Jinx replied. "What concerns me is that they kidnapped someone so far away from their base of operations. And since they've taken over Nimbus Land, which is so close to what used to be Monstro Town, I feel obligated to defeat the evil that has conquered Nimbus Land. But I can't do it alone."
"We're in this together," Mallow said. "We can do this. We'll start in one hour, so get ready."
"Gotcha!" a cry came out from above. Soon a Shy Away, basically a timid Shy Guy with a lance and housefly-like wings, fell through one of the pipes in the ceiling and hit the ground with a thud. A Boo soon floated down. "Lady Bow, I found him. He was listening in through the pipes."
"Very good," Bow said approvingly. "Have Bootler interrogate him in one of the backrooms of the casino.
As the time for the mission to commence neared and everyone had gathered back into the meeting area, Bootler appeared before Bow.
"Madam, it seems that the enemy Shamans see little threat in us since Mallow's compatriots have been captured," he reported. "Furthermore, they find the connection between other Shamans and the casino somewhat admirable, since the Shamans are making quite a profit from such a large number of customers. However, I must add that they do not yet know that Master Jinx as well as Princess Toadstool and Princess Hyrule are here. They would all be deemed as major threats. Keeping in mind that more spies will be sent, I suggest that they leave the immediate area for the sake of everyone within the establishment."
"That's okay," Bow said. "We're about to move out anyway."
"Excuse me! Are you implying that you are joining them in this coup?"
"I'm not implying anything. I'm saying it," Bow replied.
"Lady Bow! Please reconsider! What would your father say if I should allow something to happen to you?"
"Can it Bootler!" Bow yelled. "I know you're worried about me, but I'm the best Boo for it. Some of the others will be coming along anyway."
"Then, I shall be one of them!"
"Not going to happen. You're staying right here where it's safe."
"But milady…"
"I SAID NO!" Bow screamed.
"Careful," Jinx cautioned. "We don't want to give ourselves away before we even start.
"Very well," Bootler sighed. "Please be careful." He disappeared.
"Is everyone ready?" Zelda asked.
"Ready," said all the Boos around her, suddenly appearing.
Jinx was the first to hop out of one of several pipes in the center of the valley. The plants around them were all orange for some reason. It was full of thick foliage and small hills. The area was well known for its high presence of Smilax and Chewy plants, both dangerous varieties of Piranha Plants. The area was just as dangerous as Land's End, if not more so because of the proximity to Nimbus Land. Seeing that the area was clear of enemies, Jinx signaled the others to get ready.
He dashed into one of the winding paths that led toward the beanstalk to Nimbus Land. Bow rose out of the pipe invisibly, listening. Soon, she heard yelling far into the distance, somewhat in the air. It was not long before she saw stray magic projectiles whizzing through the air. A Diamond Saw even sliced through the bushes and went right through her transparent form. Soon, Jinx ran by, going much slower than usual so his pursuers would not lose sight of him. There were Lakitus, Shy Aways, Giga Parakoopas, Shy Guys, Snifits, and of course Shamans, all giving chase. Bow found it strange that there were Shy Guys and Snifits as well, but there was no time for that right now. Jinx had apparently gotten the attention of all of the guards at the entrance, judging from the number of them.
She became visible and motioned for the others to hurry out. Everyone came out, with the Boos staying semi-transparent, and rushed toward the large beanstalk at the edge of the valley. As Zelda, Peach, and Mallow began climbing, the Boos flew up ahead to make sure there was no one waiting for them. Mallow had warned them that there would be quite a bit of climbing involved, since Nimbus Land was literally in the clouds. Zelda shook her head as they began to actually stand on clouds to reach miniature, floating beanstalks of various colors.
The Boos were waiting for them when they finally used a spring to hop into the Nimbus Land. All the buildings were made of thorny wood and plants, presumably from beanstalks. The large, pink castle was in plain sight, with two mutant Parakoopas standing guard at the entrance. All the common citizens were Mallow's people. They were all somewhat chunky and fluffy. Mallow directed the others to his safe house, the home of a sculptor named Garro.
Garro wore a red vest, purple pants, and a red fez. He silently acknowledged them and hung a "Closed" sign on the outside of his door.
"Diddly," Bow said to one of the Boos. "Take a peek inside the castle to see how much security there is in the first few rooms. We don't want to get caught as soon as we enter."
"Yes, ma'am," the Boo said, disappearing.
"Assuming that they'll have decent security," Zelda said, "how are we to enter? I didn't see any windows or other possible entrances."
"We'll use a modification of the way Mario and us got in," Mallow winked.
"You see," Garro spoke, "I make statues for the castle. And villains always want statues of themselves. I make daily deliveries. For Mario, I just painted him gold so that he seemed to be a statue and shipped him inside. That man can hold a pose!"
"But since shipping in statues of recognizable enemies would be really suspicious," Bow began, "we're just going to become invisible and pass through on his cart. Everybody gets a Boo. Then when we get inside, we'll split up into two teams just for efficiency. Peach, you're with the Prince. Zelda, you're with me. If we can find the boss and take him down, we'll get this place back in control."
The reconnaissance Boo returned. "The security is pretty tight. For some reason, there's a lot of 8-Bits guys around. They don't look like they're too friendly with the mystics. Lots of monsters I've never seen before, either. Some of them look like orcs or something."
"Must be Moblins," Zelda muttered.
"Anything else?" Bow asked.
"I heard some of them talking about some of their newest prisoners," he replied. "Something about, and I quote, 'a tall, scary-looking elf lady and a cute redheaded elf."
"Oh, no…" Peach gasped.
"We have to hurry!" Zelda exclaimed.