Depending on how much progress I make, this might be up tonight or Friday morning. If it's up tomorrow, don't worry. I'll be writing again at 9:00 in the evening. At some point, I'll write 2 chapters in a day again so I can be ahead of the game if something like this ever happens again. See, I'm following your advice, Dark!
Of course, if you're reading this after it's complete, disregard this message, I guess. Man, you people are so spoiled. You don't know how people like Omega Zekrom, Child At Heart Forever, Ed-boi, and jakeroo123 have it, waiting about 24 hours OR MORE for their Canon Fodder fix. *tut tut*
Oh, by the way, all those people I mentioned up there (and everyone else), thank you for supporting and reviewing! Okay, I'm done dissing and kissing up. Let's go!
Canon Fodder
Chapter 29: A Pathetic Display
"Okay, Mario. Let's find Luigi."
Mario nodded his head in agreement, but didn't move. Kylie, finding it strange that she was the one in charge when she was accompanying the mascot of Nintendo himself, decided the first place to look was the Bros.' house.
"It'd probably be the first place he went after I disappeared...That is, if he didn't jump down after me," Kylie explained, more to herself than to Mario. Walking down the path from Toad Town to their house, Kylie remembered the first time she had traveled down this road. She recalled everything that happened on their short journey before she fell down that pit. And then she began to wonder.
Diary, I've been thinking. What exactly was I looking for when I was with Luigi? I called it a Deus, but...what was it? Did it actually exist? And...what was I expecting? Some sort of portal? A giant spring? A spaceship?
What if there is no Deus? I mean, there was no solid proof it even exists. As Krus T. said, her story was just a theory...a Game Theory!
...Sorry. Not the time. What if...there is no way back home? What if I'm stuck here like Mario and Luigi? Will the Mushroom Kingdom get even more messed up? And what am I doing to it? What do all these places that are just popping up have in common? Blackfire Crater? Radish Ruins? Saffron City? I just don't see a connection!
...I've been here for...what, over a week, now? Man, when I get home, my parents are going to punish me so much...
Mario tapped her shoulder, and she looked up from her diary. After seeing his questioning look, Kylie explained that playing handheld games while walking has blessed her with exceptional peripheral vision. Mario pointed at the house in front of them.
"We're here," Kylie said, putting her diary back in her bag. Walking up the few steps to the front door, she noticed that laundry was drying on the clothesline. Maybe Luigi was here!
She turned the doorknob. It wouldn't budge. She turned around, back to Mario, and pointed at the door. "It's locked."
Mario simply stared at her blankly, as if he expected her to do something.
"...The key, Mario. Do you have a key?" she said, unimpressed.
Mario patted his pockets, checking for something, then shook his head.
"What kind of person doesn't have keys to their own home...?" Kylie whispered to herself. She spun around, looking curiously at the lock.
Okay. I don't know how to pick locks. But...I've seen it done when Skyrim was still a thing...it shouldn't be too hard.
"Hey, Mario, do you have two small, rigid metal stick-things that I could use to-"
Mario wasn't listening to her. He was too busy heaving a rock through the front window. Kylie cringed and ducked down as she heard the smash of glass, followed by the tinkling of shards on a hard floor. After the noise settled down, she gave a disbeliving look at the older brother, who shrugged and jumped inside. She heard a click on the other side of the front door, and it opened. Shaking her head slowly, Kylie walked in, debating whether it'd be respectful or a health risk to take her shoes off. She looked at Mario, who was wearing his, and decided against removing them.
Kylie gave a quick look to her right, at the living room, where the rock had touched down. Glass was spread everywhere on the ground, shimmering in the afternoon light. It looked like the scene of a B&E, sans yellow police tape.
"You've gotta clean that up," Kylie said, pointing at the mess. "It's a hazard."
Mario flipped his hand at her, showing her he wasn't interested in what she had to say. He began to look through the house for some sort of clue to Luigi's whereabouts.
Kylie, making a face at Mario, whom she was beginning to really dislike, decided to search as well. "Luigi!" she called, in case he was home. "Are you here?"
After getting no answer, she walked into the kitchen. Some packages of food were left out. Luigi had definitely been here. Maybe he was in his library. She began to climb down the wooden stairs from the kitchen.
"Luigi! Are you down here?" she called as she held onto the railing. Reaching the nonfiction section, she first took a look around the room. There was no sign of the green plumber. Then she caught a glance of the coffee table where they had done research for Blackfire Crater. There was an atlas there, and from the look of it, it was pretty new. She walked over to it and sat down on the couch. It was open to the region of the Mushroom Kingdom with Saffron City.
Kylie wondered whether she should close and put away the book. She was pretty sure Luigi would want it that way, but she wasn't sure where it would go. She picked up the atlas, and walked over to the shelves, perusing for some sort of space where she could put the book.
Then it hit her. Saffron City.
Luigi must've went there.
"Mario! I think I know where Luigi went!" she yelled, dropping the book onto the floor and flying up the stairs. She dashed into the relatively small dining room, where Mario was throwing a slip of paper into the trash. He turned to look at Kylie, his eyes telling her to explain. Somehow.
"Luigi left an atlas open to Saffron City, where we just were. I think we should go there. He's probably there, too," Kylie said.
Mario nodded, then dashed out the window. Kylie was going to follow, but something told her to check what he had thrown away. She looked at the trash can, and saw a ball of paper atop other things. She picked it out carefully, not touching the rim of the can or any other trash, and opened it.
Dear Mario,
I'm going to be away for a while. I don't know how long. I'm on an adventure! So if you're
hungry, there's some leftovers in the fridge. You can heat them up in the microwave. If
you run out, just go out to eat. There should be enough to last you a week in there, but I
might be gone for longer. You might have to go out shopping. Of course, I'm assuming you
won't be out on an adventure on your own. I just want you to know I'm fine. I'll be back soon.
Your brother, Luigi
Kylie gripped the note in her hands. He had probably written this when she was still with him. But...why did Mario throw it in the trash? And speaking about that, why did Mario throw a rock through a window to his own house? Kylie was sure something was wrong with him.
What happened at that Mario Party anyways?
The chapter title has only one meaning. But it's not the first meaning you think of. The pun is its meaning. It's a pun.
