I feel that I was overly negative the last time I posted. I miss this community, even if I did get irrationally mad at it at some points (coughbowsettecough). The original story I've said that I'm writing is making decent progress. I've been able to push through chapters and leave post-its for future edits in their wake instead of indulging in my "need" to edit a passage I wrote then and there.
Admittedly, I've slowed down with writing it in recent weeks. I love my main characters and its plot so far, but ever since I dropped the original Seeing Red, ideas for a total reboot wouldn't stop coming to me. I finally decided to act upon the urge to write something back on Mar10 Day, and this story was born.
For anyone wondering about my mental health, I've been seeking help from local support systems towards becoming an independent adult. The people I've found have been extremely helpful, and I wish I could properly thank them without becoming a mess. Haha... I would be further along that path right now if COVID-19 didn't rear its ugly head where I live.
Screw you, you piece of garbage virus. I hope when the world gets it together that you get eradicated.
With that all being said, I'm changing Sammy Brown's backstory. She won't be coming from a background with an abusive relative. The reason behind this major alteration relates to the chapters where I dug into her past. They often came off the heels of real-life events. I don't want to drag myself, or my own OCs, into my own life. I want my writing to be an escape from reality, and I often failed to create that.
I've already fallen back into a bad habit of coming back to edit my stuff later, so I want to try slowing down the rate I write chapters. They will come in slowly so that I have time to seriously look them over and iron out their flaws (Maybe I should get a beta before I kick myself again...). If this chapter is any indication, this story has the potential to become much longer than the original SR and MitMK.
GitS
P.S. Drop by my profile. I have something to say there that, if said in this story, has a chance of drawing FFN's ire. I'd rather not risk it.
Mario day. Mar10 day. Back in her world, it was a day in which Mario fans celebrated Nintendo's red plumber. Well, "celebrated", really. Most people laughed over how it matched up with his name or did a piece of fanwork, and they moved on with their lives.
Sammy Brown wasn't one of those people.
"Luigi," she said, "where's the golden streamers?"
The man in green frowned at her from his perch on a stepladder. "Golden streamers?" he parroted. "You didn't say anything about golden streamers."
She turned away. "Thanks for helping out," she said. "Keep an eye out for your brother. Pauline and Daisy can't stall him forever."
"Okie-dokie!" he said. "Thanks for the free sandwich!"
"Thank Peach for that," Sam said, trudging towards the castle doors. "She's the one in charge of the party's food."
"No wonder why it tastes good!"
She chuckled and went inside the castle. The white walls of its main hall shimmered with bright red and sparkling blue streamers. Doodles of a man wearing the colors of the streamers adorned the walls around them, varying in dubious quality. Signs hung from the ceiling. They didn't depict the same man, but they addressed him all the same.
Toads dashed to and from the chamber, carrying unhung streamers and staples and hammers and whatnot. Old Toadsworth stood in the middle of it all, pointing and yelling at anything that caught his eye.
Sam jogged past him on her way to the kitchen. That was where she heard that idiot— No, that good friend of hers, Waluigi, was when she last saw him.
This party wouldn't be complete without golden streamers. The color suited Mario just as much red and blue did.
"Good job so far!" she yelled back at Toadsworth and the workers. "Could you make sure that the red and blue streamers intertwine?"
Toadsworth huffed. "Miss Sam," he said, "without the golden streamers…"
"I'm working on that," she said. "Tie the ones we have now, and weave in the golden ones later. It's not that hard."
His cane struck the ground.
"If I'm being demanding, say so," Sam told him. "I want this party to be—"
"Wah!"
The door to the kitchen slammed open. Princess Peach walked out, pushing a lanky man into the hall.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm banning you from the kitchen."
"Waluigi didn't do anything wrong," the man retorted. "Wario thrust the knife at me right as you turned around."
"The evidence was in the pudding!" she said. "You put the knife in there after you licked it!"
"Waluigi's germs are clean! Clean, I tell you! They would never dream of infecting your pudding, unlike a certain—"
The door closed behind Peach's retreating figure.
Toadsworth huffed.
"Please tie the streamers together," Sam reminded him. "If I get the golden ones, I'll do the rest of the work."
"We will need more stepladders," he said. He hit his cane against the floor and pointed at a random worker. "You, and the gentleman next to you, fetch them from the basement!"
Sam left the old man to his work. She walked on over to Waluigi. "Causing mischief again?" she asked.
He got off the floor. "Wario's barely gotten over his fungus flu," he said. "Now he's getting his filthy self all over the food!"
"Peach will take care of it," she said.
The princess should have kicked out Wario, but what could she do? It was Peach's territory. Nobody messes with the cook, least they anger them and get a frying pan to the face.
"Waluigi," Sam said, "I've got a question for you. What happened to the golden streamers?"
"I left them with the guards last night," he said.
She directed his attention to the toads. "They don't have it."
He threw his hands in the air. "Waluigi will not be falsely accused again!" he wailed. "Tough luck if they're missing. Mario won't care if you don't have golden streamers."
Sam stepped towards him. "Well, I do," she said, "and I'm not accusing you of anything." Still, tension built in her fists and she snapped her fingers A tiny orange flame burst from her left hand.
He flinched.
Sam frowned at her hand. "Who were the toads you left them with?" she said.
"How would I know?" Waluigi yelped. "They're all the same to me."
She facepalmed with her non-flaming hand. "I gave you precise instructions, and this happens," she said. "Do you have no idea how much he means to the Mushroom Kingdom? We went on a whole adventure together for his sake—"
"Sammy?"
Sam glimpsed over her shoulder. She cleared her brown locks from blocking her similarly-colored eyes.
A tall boy with messy hair the color of a fire truck stood at the entrance to the castle. He blankly stared at the scene all around him.
"Dennis?" she said. She lifted her palms. Bright orange fireballs crackled in them with great intensity.
"Sweet stars, Waluigi's saved!" Waluigi cried. He fled from Sam's side and ducked behind Dennis. "She wants to murder me over not having golden streamers. Can you imagine how stupid that is?"
Dennis blinked. He glanced between Waluigi and Sam. "Should I ask?" he said.
Sam's flames died down. "We're decorating the castle ahead of a party," she said. "Didn't the invitation talk about it?"
He blinked once again. "No," he said. "All it said was to come to the castle." He held up a blue card. The print on it read:
-0-0-0-0-
Dear Dennis Bard,
You have been invited to Princess Peach Toadstool's castle. Don't late,
Toadsworth
-0-0-0-0-
"After I asked Luigi to double-check them?" Sam muttered. "Great…"
Waluigi snickered.
"Well, I'm here!" Dennis said, putting his invitation away. "Do you need any help?"
"Considering that all we have are the toads, Toadsworth, Peach, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi, and myself, yes." She pointed to a door behind us. "I need you to go into the courtyard behind the castle and test Pauline's equipment."
He chewed on his bottom lip. "Shouldn't she be doing that?" he asked.
"She's busy," she said, shaking her head. "I'd have Daisy do it if I hadn't asked both of them to distract Mar while the rest of us work."
"Why are you doing this, anyway?"
"Check a calendar. Maybe that'll give you a hint."
He pulled out his phone. A second later, he said, "Is today March tenth?"
She nodded. "Now take the first three letters of the month, squish them together with the ten, and you get…"
"Mario," he finished. "Or "Mar" and a ten."
"Exactly!"
He slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Why is this a day to celebrate?" he asked.
"I believed it would be a cool idea, and Peach agreed with me," Sam said.
"It feels redundant," he said. "Mario's new birthday is next month."
"Yeah, and?"
"You should've saved all of this for that."
"We've come too far to stop now. Could you please get to the back?"
Dennis shrugged. "Sure," he said. "Just thought that I should point it out."
After he left the room, the castle's front doors reopened. Sam watched as a trio of toads hauled in a Nintendo Switch system in its original box and a couple of game cases.
"Ah, good," she said. "Did you guys find Super Mario Party?"
The toads looked at each other, then back at her.
"About that…" one of them said.
-:-:-:-
"So," Pauline said, "how has your day been?"
Daisy cringed. She pressed her back against a streetlight.
"Didn't you ask me that an hour ago?" Mario said. "I'm fine." He bit into a slice of pizza.
"I… Did?" Pauline said. She twiddled her fingers in her lap. "My apologies. Should I tell you about how I'm doing?"
He swallowed and replied, "You went over that too. You're fine."
Pauline and Mario sat together in Toad Town's main square. The sun, high in the sky, shone upon those who went about their day. Its light was blinding, forcing Mario to squint at the woman across from him.
"We should put up the umbrella," he said.
Pauline glanced up at the folded blue umbrella at the center of their table. "Um, yes," she said. "We should."
"I knew I should've put her on lookout," Daisy mumbled. She slipped away from the streetlight and straightened her back. "Guess I'll have to intervene."
Mario got ahold of the lever at the table umbrella's side. He pushed it up. When nothing happened, he got up from his seat and inspected the switch. He frowned.
"How about I tell you about how New Donk is doing?" Pauline said.
He frowned at her now. "Are you feeling alright?" Mario asked. "You talked about that."
"Um—"
"Hey!" Daisy yelled, walking up to them.
The duo perked up.
Mario turned toward her and smiled. "Daisy!" he said. "How are you?"
"Fine," she said, laughing. She rolled her eyes to Pauline and mouthed the words, "Order another pizza." Besides, she had never gotten the chance to eat Trailblazer Café's food. It would make a great conversation topic.
Pauline got up from the table right as Daisy sat down. "You two sit tight," she said. "I'm getting another pie."
"Will do!" Daisy yelled after her. "Make sure at least a third of it is plain cheese."
Pauline disappeared into a nearby diner. The building was made of bricks in shades of brown and tan. It was marked by a sign above its door labeled "Trailblazers" in fancy script. Another sign with a faded portrait of a koopa in a chef's hat hung at its side. It creaked whenever a breeze came down the street.
"I saw you two hanging out," Daisy said to Mario. "You seemed bored."
"Thanks," he said. "She was asking me all sorts of weird questions. …Then she started repeating herself."
"Yeah, I heard," she said. "Seriously, she had to ask what color your socks are?"
"'Green and white.'"
"'And how much do you like Isle Delfino?'"
"Never wanna go back there again."
"'Tell me the story of how you met Sammy again!'"
"She should ask Sam if she wants a new side to the story, or watch the dramatization of what happened." He shifted in his chair. "Ya know, we should get our version out there to the public. I didn't die to a snow witch."
"I hate the dramatization," Daisy said. "They ruined my character, and Prince Peasley would have had to watch that werewolf torture me. I'm terrified to know how much worse that could have gotten."
"Sammy wasn't happy with how it got canceled right after she got kicked down and the witch killed her."
"What was the director thinking?"
"They didn't want me reading the scripts," he said. "It's like they had a fear of double-checking their work."
Daisy took a nearby pitcher of water and filled a cup with it. She offered it to Mario.
He shook his head. "No," he said. "I'm good."
Pauline exited the café with a platter of steaming hot pizza. She set it between Daisy and Mario.
"Blaise is a quick chef," she told her friends. "There's no wonder why he gets business."
"I'm glad ya brought us here," Mario said. "It's one of the best restaurants in town."
"It was Peach's suggestion," Pauline muttered to Daisy.
"I wonder if he'll have enough room for the food at the party," she mumbled back.
"If he can eat twenty-four sandwiches in a row, he'll have enough room to digest cake."
"Or the whole cake."
The two women giggled.
"I heard the word "cake" again," Mario said. "Are we ordering dessert?"
They glanced back at Mario.
"Maybe?" Pauline said. "I guess it depends on how full we are after eating this pie." In Daisy's ear, she whispered, "I'm hitting the gym after today."
-:-:-:-
This wasn't working out. First, they lost the golden streamers, and now they didn't have any Mario-related Switch games… Well, one could count The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, given that one of its characters and Mario's character back in Sam's world shared a voice actor.
"Skyrim isn't a party game," Sam grumbled, setting the game's case aside. "Maybe I should run home and dig around for my Wii U. I could have sworn that I saw it and all of its games somewhere."
"What if you're still gone when Mario shows up?" Waluigi said.
Well, he had a point. She didn't want to miss surprising her friend.
"How would you feel about making a trip to my house for me?" she said. "I would appreciate it if you found Super Mario Party. If you can't, grab the next best thing and come straight to me, not a guard." She stood by the tips of her toes so that she could be level with his chest. She jabbed a finger into it while maintaining eye contact with him. "But mess this up and I won't let you back into the party. Got it?"
Waluigi slinked away. "Yeah…" he murmured. And with that, he left the castle.
Darn it, Sam thought. What will happen next? Pauline's equipment breaks down? We won't have enough food for the guests? She swallowed. …A medical emergency?
Toadsworth, who had been in the middle of climbing a stepladder, gasped. He clutched at his chest and fell lifelessly to the ground.
She gasped. "Holy—"
-:-:-:-
"Ugh!" a toad whimpered. "Who let him sing?"
Another toad lifted his palms to the sides of his head. "My ears will bleed if he keeps this up!"
A koopa troopa standing by him tilted his head. "Toads have ears?" he said. "That's news to me."
Dennis smiled and walked across the wooden stage set up on the fresh glossy grass behind the castle. He clung to a microphone and belted out the words to a popular adult show tune from his homeworld.
"Boo!" the first toad yelled. "You stink!"
"Please stop!" his friend said. "End my suffering!"
The koopa troopa laughed.
"This isn't so bad that it's good!" the second toad said.
He continued to laugh. "You should be glad that I showed up," he said, smirking.
"Why? You're a better singer?"
He ignored the toad and pulled out a wand. It was a simple-looking thing, but easily identifiable by the sapphire at its tip. ...Or so one would think, at first glance. He lifted the wand into the air.
"Guess you're the one coming with me, boy!" he yelled.
A flash of light swallowed the koopa. It faded as quickly as it came, leaving a tall scaly figure with a shock of blue hair in his place. He laughed and pounced upon Dennis Bard before anyone could process his new form.
-:-:-:-
Toadsworth!" Peach said, scrambling into the ambulance parked outside her castle. "Are you alright?!"
The old man groaned. It was a miracle that he swiftly recovered once the EMTs got to him. He was even staring straight up at the princess.
"Sam," Peach called to the girl racing up to her, "I've cooked everything except for the cake. I need you to take care of it."
Sam's mouth opened. "Wait, what?"
"As much as I wish to bake Mario one of my special desserts, I can't!" Peach said. "Make sure Wario doesn't mess it up."
Sam's eyes narrowed at the thought of Wario. Sure, he wasn't all that bad of a guy, but putting him in charge of a cake meant for his so-called nemesis? "Or maybe I should make sure that he doesn't cook it at all!" she yelled back at Peach. "How did he end up on food duty?"
"He volunteered," she said.
She rushed back into the castle without another word. At this rate, she would be finishing the rest of the party's preparations on her own.
Why did I believe that throwing a party was a good idea?
Her feet pounded against the lanky red carpet that trailed down from the princess' throne room. She made a hard right and tore open the door leading to the castle's kitchen.
Don't think like that, she thought. You've got this. She would be damned if she didn't, especially after all the effort she put into making this party a thing.
"Wario!" she said. "I need you to leave."
-:-:-:-
Mario put down his pizza slice. "So…"
"Yes, Mario?" Pauline said.
"Did ya hear that there'll be a party at the castle later?" he asked. "Peach wouldn't tell me what it was about, and I haven't seen Luigi or Sam all day."
"Oh, is there a party?" Pauline said. She directed her gaze to Daisy. Her pupils lit up with panic.
Daisy picked up on where she left off. "Last I heard, Luigi was getting ready for his big date with me tonight," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. "I'm not sure about Sam."
"Neither am I," Pauline said.
Mario stared at her.
Daisy shot Pauline a look. She said, "I do know that Peach is planning something special for you."
Mario perked up. "Really?" he said, his face glowing with delight. "Hey, did'cha get an invitation like this?" He pulled a slip of blue paper from seemingly nowhere. In black ink, it read:
-0-0-0-0-
Dear Mario Mario,
You have been invited to Princess Peach Toadstool's castle. Don't be late,
Toadsworth
-0-0-0-0-
"I'll double-check if I got one," Pauline said. She lifted her purse into her lap. "I don't want to miss out on a party."
Daisy laughed in her head. It didn't matter if Pauline didn't carry a ticket. She was, after all, going to be part of the party's entertainment.
Daisy held up her own ticket. Her name, unlike Mario's, proudly shone in the sunlight in golden ink. "See?" she said. "I have mine. Don't tell me that you lost your ticket, Pauline."
Pauline snapped her purse closed. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm sure I'll find it later."
-:-:-:-
"Out!" Sam yelled, shoving Wario out of the kitchen. She slammed the door behind her.
Everything had been derailed. The streamers, the games, the princess' baking… Perhaps with luck, she could fix at least one of those things.
Ingredients for a cake were deposited all over the counter. They ranged from a carton of overly-sized eggs with green spots on them to the tiniest jar of… Sprinkles, she presumed? A wooden bowl filled to the brim with cake batter sat next to the supplies.
She glared at the batter. I should dispose of that. Peach's "assistants" might have contaminated it.
So she dumped it all in the garbage. She then washed the bowl, dried it out with a washcloth, and settled it back on the counter.
"Now…" she said, picking up an oversized box labeled Rainbow Cake Batter, "how about we get cracking?"
-:-:-:-
Dennis let out a muffled cry. He struggled against the rope tied around his forearms.
Ludwig chortled at the toads screaming their heads off all around them. They seemed to have lost their sense of direction. One dashed straight into the brick wall of the castle. Another bumbled into a wall of bushes and got his blue coat stuck in it. This only worsened their cries.
"Well," Ludwig said, lifting Dennis off the ground, "off we go!"
He made a run for it.
-:-:-:-
"Princess," Toadsworth gasped.
"Toadsworth!" Peach said.
The doctors surrounding the old man glared at her.
"Right…" she said, lowering her voice. "I must use my quiet voice." She went up to the bed. "Are you okay, Toadsworth?"
He nodded. "I'm fine," he said, "but why are you here, Princess? Go help with the party!"
The doctors winced.
She shook her head. "Your health is much more important to me than that," she said.
Toadsworth stared up at the ceiling. He chuckled. "I've raised you well, haven't I?"
She grabbed a nearby chair. "Have you thought of retiring? I'm afraid that the work may be getting too much for you."
The old man huffed. "Not a chance," he said. "Bowser has been stopped for good. I'm glad to have lived long enough to see it happen."
"You had a heart attack—"
"I plan to be here when you finally get the guts to propose to Mario!"
Peach's mouth opened. Her cheeks glowed scarlet and she hurried to bury them in a glove. "Oh…" she said.
-:-:-:-
Upon tossing the cake into a pristine white oven, Sam picked up the tiny jar sitting on a nearby counter. Did Peach intend to use this on the cake?
She tipped it over. A few orange flakes slid into her outstretched hand. She dumped them into her mouth.
A spiciness assaulted her tongue. She swished it all over her taste buds.
"Not bad," she said, "though who in their right mind would eat a spicy cake?" She threw the spice into the nearest cabinet.
Sam felt a burning sensation in her chest. She brushed it off with a swallow and stuck her hand into the cabinet. She swiped a dozen jars of spices aside.
"I wonder if…" She stopped. The burning sensation returned the moment she breathed those words out. Her lips pulled back in a grimace. Without warning, the burning sensation grew. She felt it climb up her throat. Her face burned as she lunged toward the sink.
"Aw, sh—"
A stream of fire shot from her mouth and into the sink. Much of it didn't hit the bowl and entered the drain instead.
Sam lifted her head. Her hand went to her mouth. The warmth in her throat subsided.
"Huh," she said, "that's... New."
A sizzling sound came from the drain. Her interest piqued, and she leaned over the sink. She couldn't have prepared for the heavy fountain of water that exploded all over her face.
Sam's resulting screech came out like a cross between a yowling cat and a shy guy, as strange as that may sound. Long-buried instincts kicked in and she jumped back from the water. She skidded to a stop on the opposite side of the kitchen.
"What the hell?!" she yelled, turning back around to face it. "How..."
Her entire being froze. Water spewed all over the sink and nearby counters. It fell like a rain shower everywhere else.
"...Crap."
-:-:-:-
A scream reverberated down the street.
Daisy and Pauline nearly leaped from their chairs. They stared over at the town's main square.
"What… Was that?" Pauline said.
Mario didn't say a word. He leaped from his chair and hit the ground running.
Daisy gasped. "Wait!" she said.
And he was gone.
The women glanced at each other.
"Should we follow him?" Pauline asked.
Daisy only nodded.
-:-:-:-
"Wait until the others find out how easy this mission was!" Ludwig said, cackling his butt off. "We'll next catch one of your star child friends trying to rescue you!"
Dennis kicked at him with no success.
"I'm hoping your rescuer is either Mario or Sammy," Ludwig said. "Either he'll be killed again for being stupid enough to face the Koopalings or she'll face justice for what she wrought upon the Koopa kingdom."
He could see the gates of Toad Town now. He doubled his speed.
"I'm warping us from town once we get out of here. If you escape me after that…" He grinned. "Have fun trying to get back home when your hands are bound and the forest's piranha plants want you to be their lunch!"
"Not a chance!" a voice said.
A red blur dropped to the ground in front of Ludwig. He took on an aggressive fighting stance.
Ludwig slowed to a stop. He scowled.
"What do ya think you're doing?" Mario said, scowling back.
"Oh, I don't know…" Ludwig said. "Maybe taking your friend here to a nice, toasty place?"
Dennis shook his head.
"You showed up a lot earlier than I expected, Mario," Ludwig said. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have kidnapped this kid, of all people!" He shifted his prisoner into one arm and pulled up a small golden wand with the other. "He was being a nuisance, you know. This kid can't sing for— Gah! "
Mario caught Dennis before he hit the ground.
"Well, what do ya know?" Mario said. "Face-kicking is effective." He bent down beside Ludwig's prisoner. He put his hand, glowing with orange flames, against the bonds.
"Thanks…" Dennis said, watching the rope burn away. When its remains fell to his feet, he leaned against the nearby wall of a house and took in a few deep breaths. "I got scared… I…" He pressed harder against the wall. "I thought I would die."
His last words stung the air. He gave the wildest glance to Mario.
"Are ya hurt?" Mario asked, standing back up.
"No," Dennis said. He glanced at his hands, then at Ludwig. "Why did he want me instead of the princess?"
"Are ya sure you're okay? You were at the castle, right? I could escort ya back if you'd like."
He opened his mouth. He began to speak—
A new voice cut him off.
"I'm sure he could get there on his own," Daisy said, walking up to them
Despite his new predicament, Dennis furiously nodded along. They couldn't risk Mario finding out the party's true nature yet.
"You poor thing," Pauline said to Dennis. "I hope—"
"Nonsense!" Mario shouted at Daisy. "If Ludwig showed up outta nowhere, his siblings might be out there planning, well, things too!" His pupils grew. He twirled around and started down the road. "Or worse!"
Dennis and Pauline cringed at each other.
"What do we do?" Dennis mouthed.
Daisy mouthed back, "What Pauline and I have been doing. Stalling him."
"We gotta get to the castle!" Mario yelled at the top of his lungs. "They might make a move towards Luigi or Sam or… Or Peach!" He gasped and spun around. "Peach!"
"I don't think that will work," Pauline said.
"Come on!" Mario said. By now, he was down the street.
"He's been like that since we got him back," Daisy said. "He's afraid of putting the Mushroom Kingdom through the pain of losing their family and friends again." She sighed. "Once was enough."
"What are you all doing?!" Mario yelled. "Hurry!"
Daisy laid eyes on the fallen koopaling beside Dennis. She grabbed him by his hair.
"Ow!" Ludwig cried.
"Mario, wait a second!" Daisy yelled at him.
Mario glared back at her. It wasn't a friendly glare, like what he would give her whenever they played sports together. He would still be smiling under those eyes and laughing his butt off. This particular glare, with arched eyebrows and gritted teeth, actually gave her pause. She never once saw anything like the fire that burned behind that face.
Could he be that scared?
Daisy glared back at him. She held a struggling Ludwig up for him to see. "Come back here and get this scumbag!" she said.
-:-:-:-
Luigi finished his sandwich. He balled up the bag it came in and stuck it in his back pocket.
"Guess I'm going back to work!" he said, standing up on his stepladder. "I hope I don't hav'ta finish this too quickly now."
"Why are you talking to yourself?"
Luigi flinched. He twisted his head as far as it would go over his shoulder.
Waluigi stood below him holding a small rectangular box. Not just any box, but one specially labeled with "Mario" on the front.
"You found a game?" Luigi said. "I heard Sam had trouble with that."
"It was under her dad's couch," Waluigi said. "Just like everything that goes missing in her house."
"...Oh," Luigi turned and grabbed the end of a piece of the blue streamers hanging above the castle's entranceway. "Are ya gonna go set it up?"
"Of course, you idiot!" Waluigi yelled. "Leave it to the great and powerful Waluigi!"
"The last person with the label "great and powerful" died," he said. "I should know. He's my own brother." Not to mention that the label had been used mockingly.
"You guys would revive me if I kicked the bucket, right?"
Luigi held in a sigh. He mumbled, "Mario would. Not me."
"What was that?!"
He put on his best smile. "Nothing!" he replied.
"Oh, I get it," Waluigi said, his shoulders slumping. "You hate Waluigi, even after I helped to bring back your bro."
"If you're trying to emotionally manipulate me, it's not gonna work, Wallace."
He flinched. "Wallace?!" he cried.
"Isn't that your original name?" Luigi said. "Sam told me it was."
If such a thing were possible, steam would be pouring from Waluigi's ears. He shoved the game case he held under his armpit and went for the door. "That's it!" he said. "You're both infuriating Waluigi, but I'm choosing to have a nice, long chat with the runt instead of pummeling you." He stormed away. "Friends don't give other friend's secrets away."
Luigi released a breath when he left. He tied a knot between his blue streamer and a red one.
"She'll understand," he said. "...I hope."
-:-:-:-
Waluigi slammed the kitchen door open. "Sammy Agatha Brown," he shouted behind grounded teeth, "I'm here to destroy— I mean, speak with you!"
"This isn't a good time," Sam replied.
"You told Luigi my real name! I thought I could trust you!"
She folded her arms. "Wallace," she said, "look behind me."
"You're being a terrible friend—"
Sam stepped to the side. "Look behind me!" she yelled.
"What's so important about a si—" Waluigi let a cry loose when a waterfall fell over him.
"See it now?" she said.
Freezing cold water dripped from both of their clothes. Waluigi hugged himself, while weak flames burned all over Sam's red sweater.
"How?!" Waluigi said.
"I broke it," Sam replied. "We need Luigi now."
"What happened to Peach?"
"Toadsworth had a heart attack—"
"Who put you in charge of baking the cake?"
"Peach did, and I kicked out Wario—"
"Hi," Wario said, popping out from behind Waluigi. "I heard my name?"
The others remained silent.
"What?" Wario said. "The door was open. I figured I'd check on the kid."
"I'm an adult," Sam murmured.
He snickered. "Not if you broke the sink," he said. "It takes an idiot to accomplish that."
Sam huffed. "Well," she said, "it takes an extraordinary idiot to get on my bad side. Dennis was lucky that I didn't discover my star child powers until last year. I would've burnt his face off instead of befriending him." Wario started to speak, but she interrupted him. "You know, I was willing to view you in a different light, and then this happens. I'd like to be treated like a human being, please."
"Uh, Sam?" Waluigi said.
"Is that hard for you?" Sam hissed.
Wario scratched the back of his head.
"Sam?" Waluigi said again.
"Not now," she said to him. She went right back to yelling at Wario. "You remind me of this character I know named Mr. Krabs. As it so happens, I hate Mr. Krabs, especially in the later seasons of—"
"Who in the world is Mr. Krabs?" Wario asked. "And why should I care?"
"Wah!" Waluigi grabbed Sam by her red sweater. He shoved her towards the oven.
"Hey!" she yelled. "What do you think you're doing?"
"The sink's the least of your problems," Waluigi said, pointing ahead of her.
She turned around.
Gray smoke billowed out from the oven's insides. A burning smell overtook her nose. She winced at its strong scent.
The cake… It couldn't be…
She caught another whiff. Her nostrils flared at the putrid scent.
No!
She yanked the oven door open. "Oh no, no, no, no, no…" she whimpered, sticking her head inside the oven. "Please don't tell me I screwed up. Please, please, please…"
"Isn't she gonna burn herself?" Wario asked. He backed away from the intense heat that wafted over him and Waluigi.
"She's gone swimming in lava," Waluigi said, "so no."
Sam snatched up the hot pan with her bare hands. She lifted it to her face. "No…" she mumbled.
"It's a lost cause?" Waluigi said, coming up beside her.
The rainbow layers of the cake were charred black and gray. Pillars of smoke rose in curls from its repulsive being.
"Looks like it," Wario replied.
Sam put the cake down on the counter. "I… Screwed this up, huh?"
"Not even I would eat that thing," he said, scrunching up his nose. "Are you normally that bad of a baker?"
She lowered her head. "I guess so," she said. "This party's becoming more trouble than it's worth."
Wario snorted. "I agree. This whole thing is stupid."
"Wario," Waluigi said, "stop."
"First there were the streamers," Sam said, "then poor old Toadsworth…"
"I got the Switch and a couple of games," Waluigi said.
"Then this!" Sam said, shoving the cake away from her. "I wanted this party to be perfect. Mar deserves that much."
A warmth settled on her shoulder. She looked up, finding a hand. She looked up further, and she saw that it belonged to Waluigi.
She looked away. "Why don't you two go ahead and laugh at me?" she murmured.
Silence overtook the kitchen. Waluigi looked over at Wario, who rolled his eyes.
"...Nah."
Sam looked back up at Waluigi.
"Sam," he said, "it's okay. Waluigi was mad at first. I thought you were mad at first. Now I see you're just stressed."
"Stressed?" she replied, dumbfounded. "I'm not—"
"Don't bother hiding it," he said. "You're doing your best to make this party good, but have you thought about what Mario might want? He's a simple man, for better or worse. He's not gonna care if you don't have golden streamers, a rainbow cake, or Switch games."
Sam's mouth fell open. "Wally—"
He spoke over her. "You care too much about this stupid party. Mario may enjoy what you've put together. I don't think it will be fun for you if you continue being like this."
"What—"
He cut her off yet again. "How about I hop aboard this train as your partner?" he said. "Wah or wah?"
She gawked at him. "Um…"
"Wah, it is!" Waluigi cried, squeezing her in a hug. He gave her a massive grin. "I'll bake the cake. Don't worry. Whatever the pink princess said about me licking utensils was a lie! I'm not dirty or getting over the fungus flu like a certain friend of mine." He glared at Wario. "Why are you even here? I'll need to wipe down everything, and I mean everything, if you so much as breathe on a counter!"
Wario growled.
Waluigi pointed at the kitchen door. "Go home," he yelled, "and stay home!"
The kitchen door opened. The trio watched as a toad that ran into the room. His beady black pupils were wide and his mouth hung open. He uttered an ear-shattering scream before anyone could react.
Sam and Waluigi startled. Wario simply covered his ears.
"Guys!" the toad yelled. "That horrible singer you sent to the backyard was kidnapped!"
"Who now?" Waluigi said.
"The redhead!" the toad replied.
Waluigi also covered his ears. "On second thought, I don't wanna know. Stop screaming!"
"Dennis?!" Sam yelped.
He leered at her. "What did I say about not screaming?!" he shouted.
"It was a koopaling!" the toad shrieked. "They've returned!"
Sam and Waluigi gasped. They looked at one another.
Wario merely rolled his eyes.
"Hey, Sammy," Waluigi said, "you don't think…" His voice trailed off.
"It must be Junior," Sam said. "The Darklands must have finally crowned him as king."
She bent down to meet the toad's eye level. She grabbed his shoulders.
The toad flinched. "Tha-that's not even the bad part!" he said. "Dennis was saved!"
Befuddlement crossed her eyes. She opened, and she shut, her mouth. Her hold on him loosened. "How come you came in here screaming at me if it's not the end of the world?" she asked.
"Mario rescued him," the toad said, "Now they're on their way to the castle."
She jumped to her feet. "Crap!" she yelped. "We're screwed."
"Shouldn't you be more worried about the koopaling who crashed your party?" Wario grouched.
Waluigi nodded along with his friend's statement. "...He has a point," he said.
Wario grinned at him.
"Mario's bringing the koopaling he captured to the castle," the toad said. "I heard that it's Ludwig."
Sam gritted her teeth. "This is getting nuttier by the second," she griped. "If Ludwig was behind that…" She cracked her knuckles.
Waluigi laughed "I'll get to work on that cake, Sammy," he said. "Get Luigi in here to deal with that sink. I won't fight with him."
"You swear on it?" she said.
He gave her a thumbs up. "Take Wario with you," he added. "I'm using my authority as second-in-command to kick him out again!"
"I don't need you two to throw me out," Wario grumbled. "I can remove myself!" And then he walked away.
"Remind me to set aside a piece of cake for him," Waluigi whispered to Sam. "He's not the greatest guy, I'll admit—"
"You're friends," she said, rolling her eyes. "Of course."
"Exactly," he said. "Now get outta here. Chef Waluigi must concentrate on baking a nice, tasty…" He picked up the box of cake mix. "Rainbow cake?"
Sam waved at him on her way out. "Good luck!" she yelled.
The door closed. Waluigi had been left alone in the room with the toad.
"Uh…" Waluigi said, eyeing him. "Can I have, um… Help?"