Fighting in the Streets

Prologue Extract 2: Where the Hidden Characters Lie

A/N: With this chapter being optional just like the first prologue extract, this chapter is considerably more lengthy than the main story chapters and is written in a different style, showing more in-depth lore about what is happening at the same time with those who are only mentioned. This chapter also follows the same non-linear format just like the first extract and the first few chapters. In a future sequel to the main story chapters will be written way more like this as there's no timeframe deadlines to meet to and the pace can be as nice and smoothly as possible.

Note upon finishing: This chapter is super long. Give me some credit for doing this in a few weeks LOL.

January 4, 2015 – Early Night

Here we join an old character making his way through the northern fields of the Mushroom Kingdom. He was not far from Moo Moo Meadows, and couldn't see any farmers still working on the fields. Boom Boom was last seen with someone else when he was on the train with Jack Akbal speeding down the rails heading towards Mushroom City, first stopping at the Moo Moo Meadows station, and then Mushroomheath. He jumped out of the single carriage that was left of the train just after they passed the closed station of Mozath. It was one of the quieter towns that had a train station connected to it, but only had trains stop there at peak times or really important days. Other stations that their train skipped were Esterlan, North Port main station, Tâskan and Nutusa, all after the mountain tunnel. Additionally it skipped Sikóf when it left Castelia. The train only serviced to the main stops on the route going from Castelia to Mushroom City (stops are listed in Chapter 3).

Boom was trying to get around the outskirts of Moo Moo Farm in an attempt to find somebody who had connections with Koopak Asquia II. This person was mentioned of before, mainly by the council of the Red Martyrs as she was seen as a deserter of the group and gave up her life serving there in order to help Koopak safely escape the three southern Kingdoms and their governments wanting him. Now both of them are wanted.

This was the point in time where the Mushroom Accords were in full effect. Just earlier the Toad Patrol closed most of the train stations temporarily in order to seize Jack and Boom for not yet submitting themselves to Princess Peach and the government. He knew he had to move very swiftly and unseen in order to find the Koopa he was looking for. Although the inhabitants of the Moo Moo Farm residential area were known to be very laid back with the laws, he still didn't want to be seen by any average citizen in the event that one would actually call the police or the Brigade on him to bring him in. The sky became really dark and only the street lights were on in town. The station turned out to be completely empty and the entrance to it was completely closed. Barely anybody was roaming the streets besides him. It made him feel comfortable to walk normally in town. If only he was able to locate the Koopa.

That was until he turned around a corner to see a Koopa underneath a street light talking to what appeared to be a robed man. The characteristics of the Koopa he was looking for matched the one across the street, so Boom started walking over to them, grabbing the attention of both of them.

"You must be Koopak's friend." Boom said to the two of them, interrupting their conversation.

"You're here for the same reason too?" The robed man questioned him back. "Luckily for us he is only inside this building." He pointed to behind himself showing a small block on the street that looked to be a closed shop with apartments on the floor above. The Koopa took out a pair of keys from her shell and opened up the door to the shop. She beckoned both Boom and the robed man to go inside with her.

"I believe that's all of us, quickly now." She let them both in, closing the door behind her and locking it again from the inside. "So you two are the ones who are going to help me on my mission? I think we all know who you are Boom, so tell me how are you going to help negotiate with the government on this matter whilst I help Koopak out of our current mess?" Jeanette Asquia, a former Red Martyr-turned-deserter and now Koopak II's escort, gave a lot for Boom to take in.

"I believe Boom over here has a lot of experience negotiating with Princesses, since he butchered over three quarters of them five years ago. You should focus on staying away from them, let me and Zane handle the close quarters." The robed man revealed himself to be Marrec Hudson, Zane's advisor, colleague and sidekick.

"Where even is Zane anyway?" Boom asked Marrec before Jeanette could say anything more.

"He's captured. But I will get him out soon enough. I know that Duncan paid him a visit the other day. When I do, he will leave with me." The three went upstairs to the apartments above the empty shop, finding themselves different rooms to stay the night in.

"There are a lot of things that Koopak has in mind before he sets off with me northwards. We also managed to devise multiple plans and ways to get up there so we will be able to guarantee his safety along the way." She went in to her own apartment room, presumably the same one that Koopak would be in at the moment.

"Let's see where Koopak is then." Marrec walked over to Jeanette and held the door open after she attempted to close it. She let go of the door and let him keep it open, allowing him to follow her into the room and eventually see Koopak. He was spotted by the sofa of their apartment room eating food and watching the news. It appeared to be showing a report on the government telling the citizens to look out for specific people, mostly former allies of Bowser and others who opposed the crown. Boom's face appeared in an icon on the news report, along with Jack's, and then Duncan's and Tobias's. Koopak turned around to see the two newcomers to the apartment. Marrec walked over to him and sat beside him.

"Feeling okay, old friend?" He said to Koopak, thinking he had more of a friendship with him than Koopak thought he had of Marrec.

"You don't have to sit so close to me." He responded back as politely as possible, clearly sharing no expressive similarities to his father despite his actions in the past.

"What can we do for you?" Marrec backed away on the sofa, still engaging on conversation with him.

"For starters, you can get off the sofa. You're not staying in this room tonight." Koopak turned his head back to face the television whilst he was finishing the last bits of his dinner. As the pictures of wanted people changed on the screen, he eventually saw himself and Jeanette, but he then became surprised to see two other Koopas appear wanted on the screen. The face of his son appeared next, followed by the face of his brother, Joharnés Asquia. Koopak's eyes widened, now knowing that even his son and brother are now wanted. The news reporter then cut back to showing Koopak III on screen, followed by a security camera's footage. It had captured an image of what appeared to be Koopak III wondering the streets of Mushroomheath as of about an hour ago.

"What on Earth is he doing there?" Koopak slammed his plate onto the table and shouted at the television. "He was supposed to be sent to Noki Bay, not here!" Jeanette gasped in reaction to what was seen on the TV and followed Koopak as he walked towards the balcony at the back of the apartment block. He looked southwards towards the woodlands that separated Moo Moo Farm and Mushroomheath. "My son is all the way over there, without anyone to help him... He's on his own!" He grew frustrated and threw his plate at the TV screen, shattering the screen and shutting it down. "Tomorrow night we're going to search for him, we can't leave him there for too long or he'll be caught." Koopak got up from the sofa and started making his way towards the bedroom of the apartment.

"What do you want us to do?" Boom asked Koopak, standing in the doorway of the entrance.

"Get out of my apartment, go and look for him if you want to. Just don't get caught by the police." Koopak walked into his apartment bedroom and left the door to it ajar. "Go now or I'll shoot you both."

"He really means it." Jeanette tried to support him, scaring Marrec and Boom out of their apartment. Marrec and Boom stood outside the apartment, in the corridor of the rooms. Since the front entrance to the shop was locked up by Jeanette, both of them knew that they couldn't go outside unless they went out via the windows of the other apartments. The doors to them were unlocked by Jeanette, somehow having access to all the keys of the shop and they were then used as rooms for the two to sleep in for the night. However for Marrec, there was another way of getting out of the building discretely, for he too was an apprentice of the arts of magic, and was able to magically unlock the main door to the building and relock it again. He wanted to wait until Boom was asleep however, since he didn't want him to know that he was leaving for the night.

Time passed and Marrec was out of Moo Moo Farm, making his way quietly through the fields and woods towards Mushroomheath. As he was going through the woods he began to hear the sound of a voice coming from further towards the town.

"Ah I need to get through the city in order to reach the Kongs, got a message to deliver to Cranky Kong about the Double Dash Tournament." He overheard the voice of a human nearby. Marrec hid behind a hill and managed to catch a glimpse of the human talking. It was Jack, and he was on his phone to someone. "What are you, mad? No chance me doing well in that I never used a kart before." He heard again. Marrec decided to stick around and listen in to Jack until his call would eventually come to an end. He kept prying from the hillside to see what he would do next.

The call ended, but before Marrec started to approach Jack, he stopped immediately and hid behind the hill once again. Jack started to call up other people. Hopefully this would lead to being more information for Marrec to absorb so he could know more about how other people were doing in recent days. He knew all about Jack and Tom's friends, so being told where they were would help with how and who the government focuses its attention to. Based on what Marrec was hearing, he could tell now that Jack was talking to Tom over the phone. The call was short-lived, and the only information he got from it was the fact that Tom was staying in a room in Takhor for the night. As Jack put the phone back into his pocket after using it he started making his way into Mushroom City. This was the point where Marrec emerged from the hillside and started quietly following Jack. He was debating whether to announce his presence and run up to him, instead of lurking behind him. It got to the point where they were both on the very edge of Mushroomheath, and with Jack knowing that gunfire occurred when his original train stopped at the station, they both began to move more slowly.

"Jack Akbal you stop where you are and not tread any further or the Brigade will find you and shoot you down!" Marrec eventually called out, frightening Jack just before he was about to climb some rocks leading up to the end of an alley way on the edge of Mushroomheath. He panicked and turned around, staring back at him.

"Oh my God, how long have you been following me for?" Jack cried, standing by the rocks.

"What is that text you have in your hand? That better not be the deciphered text about Koopak's plans." He avoided his question and asked one in return. After that, Marrec began to sound and look less aggressive, trying to find out as much as possible from Jack.

"No, it's something else. It's like a fake letter pre-announcing the double dash tournament that's going to start soon. Here, take a look." Jack offered the letter to Marrec. He recognised it, and knew that it was not the original copy of the letter. He remembered that six other copies were printed, this one being one of them.

"How did you manage to get hold of this one?"

"Boom gave it to me. He told me on the train that I've got to somehow get it to the Kong family as this is the one that was meant to be given to them. I have no idea how it got intercepted."

"That would probably be Zane's doing. That guy rarely makes mistakes. Unfortunately Wuhu Island got the better of him, and whilst he was at prison he managed to get someone on the inside to take one away as soon as he heard about them. It was like Zane told someone and then that someone took it and gave it to Boom and Pom." Marrec finished reading the letter. "I want one of these for my own, where can I get one of these?"

"I don't think they're for sale anywhere."

"I said where can I get one of these?"

"You'll have to see if anyone else still has theirs, since your best bet is stealing one." Jack took the letter back from Marrec. "Your options are taking one from Wario and Waluigi, Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa, Yoshi and Birdo, Toad and Toadette, or Mario and Luigi."

"Six copies." Marrec stated. "I suppose my best bet is getting one from someone else then."

"You're right there." Jack laughed for a short moment. "I better get going... it's getting quite late."

"Well remember what I said. Go very quietly or else you will be spotted and gunned down by the Brigade." Jack began to distance himself away from Marrec, curious as to see where he would head off to afterwards. Marrec watched him crawl through the grass towards the edges of Mushroomheath's outermost buildings. When he got up from the ground and had his back against the wall, he could still just about see Marrec hiding in the hills.

"What are you going to do then?"

"Find someone else's envelope." Jack watched Marrec magically move his arms around, lighting up his hands and creating flames, surrounding himself. Within seconds he raised his body upwards and lit up into flames, flying upwards and vanishing. The flames began to fade away and disappear along with him. Jack looked amazed by the act of teleportation from the acolyte of magical arts.

Toad Town – Midnight

Here we see Marrec delve past the gates of Toad Town and into the quiet calamity of the richest parts of the city. No imminent threats were present at this point, and hostile activity in the south was at a low, so the gates to Toad Town were almost always open. Most citizens wouldn't enter anyway, since they felt it was not in their place to go into the town, especially with all the other rich toads like Toad, Toadette, Toadant and Captain Toad living there.

Whilst he was quietly creeping through the woods to get to the main area in Toad Town, Marrec began hearing voices from all sides of the forest. Eventually he would see the main path where he found Toad and Toadette walking out of the town, talking to eachother and a few other rich Toads.

Bingo, just what he needed. Now if only he could remember which house in Toad Town belonged to them... maybe he would be able to snatch the envelope from Toad and Toadette to see if he could have a look at it himself.

The road looked empty, as if everyone was out in town for the night. Only a few Toads roamed the street, and the castle doors were wide open. Marrec suspected that Peach and Daisy were extremely happy on a night like this for the doors to be open. His assumption for Toad and Toadette's house was the one closest to the castle. The guards were not looking by the time Marrec crept around the back of the house. Now would be the perfect time for him to break in and hope to find the envelope.

Something wasn't right.

As Marrec got to the walls of the house he noticed the back windows completely open. The Toads wouldn't just leave them wide open for someone to break in... Surely?

"It's got to be here somewhere, check the drawers underneath the shelves!" Marrec overheard a voice and the sound of moving compartments coming from inside the house. He launched himself up slightly to get reach of the window and look inside. There he could see two teenage kids raiding the study of Toad's house. It appears that Marrec wasn't the only person looking for an envelope here.

"What on earth are you two idiots doing here?" Marrec whispered to them from the other side of the open window-hole. "Tom said you two vanished!"

Tobias, the taller, longer-haired teenager, looked up at Marrec with surprise whilst searching through the drawers in the study. "Marrec, good to see you!" He cheered back at him.

"I found it!" Duncan, the other teenager, jumped with joy in the room after finding the envelope on the top shelves. "Pesky Plumbers, Rightful King, this is the one." He noticed Marrec later, assuming he was also looking for an envelope.

"Why are you here then?" Tobias asked Marrec, who was trying to squeeze through the window-hole. "You can probably guess why we're here."

"The same exact reason." Marrec said just before he fell through the window and landed on Toad's study desk, sending pieces of paper flying all over the room and making a mess in there.

"You were here!" Duncan joked, leaping off his grip on the shelves.

"You two disappeared just days ago and this is what you're up to now?"

"We're invisible... We were never here." Tobias pretended to act all spooky in front of Marrec, who wasn't pleased. He crossed his arms and asked for the envelope from Duncan.

"This one's ours. Sorry mate, but you're too late! Hey that rhymed."

"What are you going to do with your envelope? I'm sure you already know what it's about, right?" Marrec asked them, clearing up the mess he made in the room so that Toad and Toadette wouldn't assume burglary when they arrive back.

"This, my friend, is a gem in 2015. If we aren't going to spend much time here because of you-know-who and everyone else, we gotta take what we can to stay updated. We need to see what we can learn from it."

"I mean, Peach making her own event for the fate of Bowser? That sounds absolutely amazing. I can't wait to watch the races!" The two spoke consecutively, like they knew when one would finish so the other could speak afterwards.

"I am going to make much better use of mine than you two ever would. This seems like the perfect way to convert the people against her. It will be deadly." Marrec laughed evilly in the room after having cleaned it all up. "I'll just have to take it off you first." The two stood in stance in reaction to Marrec's words, thinking he would use force and magic to take it off of them.

"You dare use magic against us, we practice all the time." Tobias warned him.

"You cannot abuse time travel like that." Marrec grew annoyed, demanding the envelope from them. "The stars in this world gave you the grace of those devices. Abusing it should not be in your power. Hand me the envelope."

"If you want to fight with magic, you'd better take it outside." Duncan stood in front of Marrec, currently unarmed. "The woods in the centre of Toad Town, they're always empty. Would you like to take it off me there?" He threatened him back, putting up a bigger challenge to Marrec. He hadn't known what kind of things those two boys were up to in their spare time. For all he knew, they could have spent thousands of hours practicing and learning new things in the arts within the space of the two days they weren't seen by anybody.

That library, the shelves in that cave with all of those tomes, must be taken away from them to prevent them from learning more.

"Outside." Marrec accepted, willing wishing to face either of them in the woods, in exchange for the envelope.

"Very well." Duncan grinned. "Back out of the window then." He nodded to it.

Marrec leaped up and squeezed himself out of the house, hoping to see the two climb out after him as well. They had the envelope, and they could disappear from him as well, but they stuck to their word and joined him afterwards. The three would have to cross the street unseen or go around the castle in order to get to the quiet forest, since there were still Toads wondering the Town street at night. Marrec hid himself behind a bush by the house, with Duncan and Tobias sitting behind him. Before they were about to make their move and cross the road, they started hearing more familiar voices.

"But Princess, we need to find all of those who are still free-roaming these lands and bring them to justice!" The sound of an Italian-American accent came from the top of the road, and moving down it towards the castle.

"I shall determine what happens with these people if they think they can still walk about causing a mess. You can thank Daisy for luring this one in to that hotel." The voice of Princess Peach was also heard, and then a cheer from Daisy. The three began to notice Peach and Daisy, as well as the Mario Brothers, all walking down Toad Town together whilst holding a board carrying what appeared to be Tom, asleep.

"Is that... Tom?" Tobias whispered in the bush with the others.

"Wasn't he banished or something?" Duncan also added as they watched him get taken towards the castle by the two princesses and the Mario Brothers.

"How do you guys know everything?" Marrec questioned them, awfully jealous of the information they have. "Anyways, we have to do something about that. We can't just let him get taken in to their castle."

"Why should we help him?" Duncan asked.

"Why should we help him?... That man has more use to us than anyone in the world. He can't be punished when he's done more good than bad. Let the bad go to those who are actually still out there." Marrec moved through the bush to get a closer look at them taking him to the castle. The doors still stood open as they all walked inside taking his body.

"Listen, Marrec. You're wasting our time here. If you want a letter about the event, then go and take it off of someone else. There are plenty more out there. Go and take DKs, that's like fifteen minutes away!" Duncan and Tobias began to run across the road, still unseen by the Toads or the Humans entering the castle.

"Stupid children! I'll be back for you two." Marrec growled, letting them run across. He could tell by the way they were moving that they were going to disappear, so he gave up in his attempt to catch them and take their envelope.

From what he remembered earlier, Jack had the Kong's letter in his possession. This meant he would have to find somebody else's. Mario and Luigi's were probably in their possession at the moment, so the next closest people to take one from would be Yoshi and Birdo's...

Moo Moo Meadows – Early AM Hours

Thankfully for Marrec, taking the envelope from Yoshi was the easiest thing imaginable, for Yoshi sleeps heavily and does not really take care in putting his belongings in safe and secure places. Yoshi was a character of life and his presence is what he brings to the table. He does not own and possess much, so whatever he has he does not really value where it is kept.

Marrec returned to the ran-down shop with an envelope for himself and started making his way upstairs to the room he was to stay in at that night. Before he got to his bedroom, the sight he saw in front of him frightened him. Boom Boom's door was still locked but the door to Koopak and Jeanette's room was ajar. He swore he remembered it being locked before he left to go out during the night. Marrec crept forward assuming somebody might be awake, and peered through the tiny line that was the view of their room, to see if any were still awake. He could see a small portion of the sofa, completely empty. That was all. Upon seeing that, he resumed his way down the corridor on the floor to his room. There he opened the door, causing a tiny creaking sound, and made his way back into his room. Marrec placed the envelope on his bed before undressing from his hoods and robes.

Knock!

He heard it faintly on his door. Marrec got up and approached the door. He began to see orange light from a source behind the door. He opened it and on the other side was Jeanette.

"What were you up to?" The exiled Koopa asked him politely.

"Nothing." Marrec replied with a slip of the tongue. It was usually something he would respond with when asked that question.

"It's okay; you can tell me what's up. You and I serve the same purpose now." Marrec felt hesitant after hearing that. There would have to be a lot of bribery involved for Jeanette to talk that way.

"I went out, going to look for Koopak, but I was completely diverted off on something else." He replied to Jeanette. "There are these letters, given out to famous people in the lands. Peach is going to announce her trial against Bowser in a matter of days. This is what she will do." Marrec went over to his bed, let Jeanette through and then showed her the letter he stole from Yoshi. "This is the one that belonged to Yoshi. As far as I am aware, there are about six others, each sent to different partnerships." Jeanette held on to the letter and gave it a read. Whilst taking it all in, she moved over to Marrec's bed and sat on it before finishing the letter.

"So you're telling me this wasn't actually signed by Bowser? It looks nothing like something he would write. It's like someone pretended to be him to write it."

"Peach pretended to be him when she wrote it." Jeanette kept looking back and forth from the paper to Marrec.

"Why would she do such a thing? Out of context it sounds amazing but for this? There's got to be something wrong with it."

"That's what I want to find out about. Maybe I can use it against her as well. She doesn't even know it. I bet she wanted these to all be kept safe and as a secret. Seven of them out there and already three are in the hands of the wrong people."

"What are you going to do with it?" Jeanette asked Marrec quietly, still trying not to wake up Boom or Koopak.

"I will keep it for now. Once we see it in effect I will make amends to this note and put it in a place where it will eventually be found by somebody, somebody who would be able to understand where I'm coming from and point out all the lies of the vile Princess Peach." Jeanette gasped but as the same time agreed with him.

"That sounds interesting." She replied, then going in to a short period of silence. "You know, since we're going to look for Koopak's son tomorrow. We should start by ticking off the places you had been to tonight, since you surely didn't see him anywhere tonight."

Marrec agreed with her. "I'm pretty sure he's not in Toad Town, and Mushroomheath. Those were the two places I spent more than a minute at." His eyes widened, remembering something else. "I did see somebody else in Toad Town though."

"Who?"

"Tom, he was unconscious and taken in to Peach's Castle by her and the Mario Brothers, I haven't got a clue how and why, but I'm guessing it might be to do with the Accords. If we get caught like he did our fate may as well be the same as his." Jeanette reacted far worse than anything Marrec expected from her in response to that.

"No, that's impossible! This is not good..." He got confused at why she was worrying so much.

"What's wrong?"

"I need him. He's my defence mechanism for getting out of here. I need him for a moment before I am able to leave here with Koopak. It's the way I have planned for getting across the mountains."

"Why do you need him specifically?"

"...Because he's able to convince Peach and Daisy to direct their attention to somebody else. I thought he was in Takhor not Mushroom City." Marrec seemed a little lost about Jeanette's plan. Everything seemed all over the place to him and that it must only make sense to her. Now he has to spend tomorrow searching for Koopak's son as well as trying to get Tom rescued from Peach's Castle. This was entirely not what he had signed up for.

"Let's talk about this in the morning. It's very late and I need some sleep." Marrec took the letter from Jeanette's hands and dismissed her from the room. He already became slightly pissed off at the amount of work he'd have to do in Mushroom City tomorrow, especially being an outcast and an enemy of all those that live there.

January 5 – Midmorning

The light and the warmth of the sun woke up Marrec. It still took him effort to open his eyes but he began to feel the lack of comfort in how he slept last night. He didn't even remember how he drifted off to sleep. All he could remember was dismissing Jeanette from the room and putting the letter on the bedside table furthest from the door. It was still there right? Yes it was, somehow. His door was ajar and the curtains blew about by the wind. Marrec rubbed his eyes and got himself out of bed. He was starving.

He also heard nothing. Was he the first one to wake up? He didn't believe that thought assuming Boom and Koopak had a good night's sleep. He went out of his room and investigated the other two's rooms. Koopak's door was wide open and he still heard nothing from the inside. Hopefully nobody was still inside. Marrec wouldn't want to trespass whilst they were still inside.

The room seemed normal except for one thing: the television screen was smashed. Marrec looked around and checked their bedroom, they were not at home. He then went back to investigate Boom's room. The door was closed, but not locked. Marrec opened up the door to see a completely destroyed room. The bed was out of place, the wallpaper was torn, the furniture was broken and shattered on the floor and the worst thing he saw in the middle of the room immediately made him slam the door shut upon noticing it. He waited a few seconds before opening it to take a second look to confirm that he saw what he saw.

Yes, it's there on the floor. Boom Boom's severed left arm.

How did this happen? Marrec was left both confused and disgusted at the sight of what he saw on the floor. The blood was still dripping from the inside and staining the floor. Boom didn't appear anywhere in the room or in the bedroom, so he assumed that Boom left with the others or ran away. Either way, he's either not doing too good or on his deathbed.

Marrec didn't want any part of this and vanished from the shop as quickly as he could. He had no idea how Boom's arm got removed but given that the only two people besides him in the vicinity at the time were Jeanette and Koopak, Marrec didn't want anything with them either.

They would be in Mushroom City by now, as they said last night, but they didn't even bother waking him up. Marrec knew that he was used for something, and now, with the letter in his pockets, he headed back to the city stealthily, in search for the two who left without him.

Marrec wasn't too sure how and why Koopak's son was in town. He also wasn't too sure why Koopak and Jeanette were heading into the city that hates them the most. The only thing he could think of was something that Jeanette wanted from Tom or the princesses in her castle. By the time he got to the inner city, he would have to blend in with the public, magically changing his clothes to look a lot more casual and passable as a regular human of the lands. Marrec was now in short jeans and a short-sleeved t-shirt, nothing compared to his dark robes that always covered his chest and his figure. The weather was very sunny and very hot. He needed to get something to eat and drink very quickly before the early lunchtime rush.

He stopped in at a sandwich joint, queuing up behind a small group of people waiting to be served. Once he got what he needed, he would be able to search the rest of the town in hopes to find anybody he was with yesterday.

"Can I help you?" The Koopa worker at the till said to Marrec once he got to the front.

"I'll take a Long Ham and a bottle of water." He replied, putting forward a few Mushroom Pounds, a currency such that one of them would equate to a varying small fraction of a gold coin. It was the common currency besides coins only used in the Mushroom Kingdom. Every other district in the south also had their own currency, and they varied in strength relative to eachother as well as the value of one gold coin. In recent times, the capture of Bowser caused the Résethal units to skyrocket in value. In other words, everything else has worsened in value and as a result, the prices of everything in the south have gone up. Most people are unaware of what the direct cause of it is, but as people have seen, it has ties with Peach and the government.

"Here you go, have a good day." Marrec offered to have the worker keep the change. The worker thanked him in return and soon Marrec strolled back out of the shop, immediately being hit by the rays of the sun. He had a sip from his cold water bottle and started heading down the street in search for the other Koopas.

This search became very difficult for him. The city was huge, and nothing suspicious happened throughout the day. The search in all of the suburbs and all of the main streets continued all the way until lunchtime, where he would get himself an afternoon snack, and then until the evening, where he got himself a fast-food dinner.

Finally, at around six in the evening, he found something eventful. Marrec saw Jeanette again, waiting at the corner of the pavement on a road, alone. She was looking nervous, and hadn't noticed him just yet.

"What are you doing all alone here?" Marrec got her attention, panicking her out of his surprise. Jeanette crept over to him and signalled to move out of the pavement and into the building on the corner. "What's happening?" He asked again as Jeanette shoved him through the doors. They ended up in a small quiet foyer to a hotel, walking over to a small lounge area where they could talk privately.

"We got ourselves into a little bit of a pickle and now we've lost contact with eachother!" Jeanette stressed, still giving no context to Marrec.

"You abandoned me in that ran-down building and gave me nothing left but a severed arm. Have you got some explaining to do?" He shook his head. "Actually, just tell me everything."

Jeanette took a deep breath and spoke quickly. "Boom got into an argument with us about how the pay for the service we're doing would be split. Koopak disagreed and they got into a fight, Koopak won obviously by taking off Boom's arm but people started to find out and then Boom got taken away by Toad officials in the meadows and the two of us are now on the run and still looking for Koopak's son. He and I also had to sneak into Peach's Castle to find where they were taking Tom and set him free secretly, then we got chased out of the castle and our alert level for being wanted has gone up massively. They know we're in town and I still need something from them." Marrec grabbed Jeanette's eyes and questioned her right in her face.

"What is this something that you need? Why did you go all the way from Sunshine Airport to here when you can just start travelling north and get off the grid quicker instead?"

Jeanette gulped, and took a few breathers before responding. "Because... I'm improvising. There are cameras in all parts of the world and I'm unsure on which way is the best way to get up north without being caught." They both stopped talking for a few seconds. "Koopak's first requirement that he said to me was that he had some unfinished business to deal with regarding both Peach and Bowser. I'm not exactly sure what it is but I have to let him handle it to receive my reward. Additionally, the fact that his son was is here was not at all what we thought would happen. Koopak had thought that his son should have been taken back to Uldersal or Noki Bay by a taxi, and that he told me that the north may not be the best place for him but when you look at the situation his father's in it would be way better for him."

"You know Koopak I died long ago right?" Jeanette froze. "Did you not know?"

"I thought he was alive this whole time..." She sunk in her chair in the lounge, struggling on what to do now.

"This doesn't seem to have any stability whatsoever and your plan is going all over the place. If you want to get Koopak out of the north you have to tell me your true intentions, otherwise, something is going to mess up in your plans and they will capture him before you're able to get him to safety. Why are you the one to do this? Why did you pursue this instead of just living your normal life instead?" Jeanette goes through her pockets and hands Marrec over a piece of jewellery. His eyes widened with surprise, seeing something he definitely didn't expect her to have.

"I'm a deserter, and you know what happens when deserters get caught, right? We get executed. I hated being there. I hated being there for the rest of my days. This was the only way I saw of getting out of that nightmare. I don't want to live in a poor, inhospitable environment where my only purpose is to make sure people like Princess Peach are kept safe. I'd rather see the entirety of this place burnt to the ground." She moaned in her seat, looking out the window and seeing all the busy citizens walk by.

"Me too, but I don't think we're quite ready for that to happen. Have you seen what it's truly like up there? They'd rather kill each other than kill the southerners at the moment. Believe me when I say that, because I know what it's like up there."

"Koopak knows about this hotel. He will come back here soon once he finds his son and then we can start to plan ahead. I want us gone from here by tomorrow morning, but I'm not sure if that will be easy. Do you think you are able to get us out of the city without being seen?"

"Well you managed to get in to the city from Moo Moo Meadows just fine, I'm sure you can leave it as well." The two turned their attention towards one of the TVs on the wall in the foyer. It was on a news channel, and it was broadcasting something they hoped not to have seen.

"This is Breaking News. Sources inform us that the evil crook of Delfino Koopak Asquia II has been reported to be within the bounds of Mushroom City. The Toad Brigade has been assigned a mission to scan the streets and hunt him down. If anybody else manages to find him before the Brigade they are to report him to them immediately!"

Marrec frowned, and then looked over to see an even more worried Jeanette, sulking in her chair. "Well, now what are you going to do?" He asked her, expecting her to come up with something clever.

"I'm not going outside. If I get caught, I'll be as dead as he will be." She had no idea what to do, and Marrec could tell. He could already see police cars sighted in the streets outside, so even if he went outside he could be caught and checked by the Toad Brigade.

"You're going to have to get out of town somehow. Perhaps you should quietly make your way in to the suburbs and find a nice place to stay for the night. Go and book a hotel before thinking about what you want to do next with him."

"And what are you going to do?" Jeanette shouted at him, losing her strength to keep up with the fanatic's plans she aided to.

"I quit." Marrec got up from his seat. "This is nothing like how I thought it would be. You casted away one of your companions and he's probably the reason Koopak's been seen in town! I thought this would be a simple drive up north since it's where you wanted to go with him." He started waving his arms around in the area, creating small flames around his body.

"You're going to leave, really?" Jeanette cried seeing Marrec magically vanish in front of her. "How am I supposed to look after him now? I wanted to create a family!" She teared up in the foyer, thankfully far enough away from anyone else in the lounge to notice. The room was completely empty and nobody who walked through was able to see where she was sitting unless they walked around the corner. The Brigade had infiltrated the streets, sending several police cars down every road, searching the streets for Koopak. Jeanette could only pray now that they wouldn't be able to find him.

As for Koopak III, we know from before that he escaped the city from the southeast and started heading towards DK Jungle. His dad on the other hand, kept searching through the city until he was met with the police cars appearing on every road. This caused him to retreat from Mushroom City to the suburbs in the southwest, Kalinka in particular.

It was nearing midnight, turning to January 6th. Jeanette had spent the past few hours, starving herself in the foyer of the hotel. Nobody approached her and all she did was stare out of the window, constantly thinking about Koopak. Eventually, she received a text from an unknown number.

"COME TO KALINKA, PORTER'S ROAD, SOUTH OF THE MARKET SQUARE."

She was delighted to have received word from somebody. She got up from her seat, hoping that the other end of the message was from Koopak. It meant that her chance of helping him still stayed alive, and that they could be together for another night. The streetlights were still lit up, and the roads were still rather busy. There were some police cars roaming the streets but not nearly as many as there were a few hours ago. Thankfully, Jeanette was not obvious to stand out, her appearance didn't make it seem like she could easily be wanted. Having a yellow shell made her less likely to be seen as a criminal, according to studies made by the Brigade. The only thing that would make her suspicious is having her necklace that she kept in her shell be seen by the police, making them assume she was a Red Martyr at least.

Whilst she was making her way through the busy streets, she noticed that most citizens of the city didn't pay much attention to the Brigade patrolling the city. It was as if it was something that was part of everyday life and they knew they had nothing to be afraid of. The further out of the city she got, the less crowded the streets turned out to be. Additionally, as soon as she left the bounds of the inner streets of Mushroom City, the street lights were not on as often, and the roads started to appear darker and darker. Jeanette finally reached the market square of the suburb town of Kalinka, one with a running train station. From there she searched for Porter's Road, presumably the one going south towards the edge of town. The street lights were lit up on the road and beneath one of them was a cloaked Koopa figure. It was Koopak. Upon noticing, she reacted to seeing him and started running down the road towards him. Before he took off his hood, he was met with a big hug from Jeanette, knowing that he was missed by her. After the hug she looked at him rather awkwardly. He wasn't looking very happy either.

"Any news about your son?" She asked him.

"I think I can declare that I have lost him. We searched everywhere, and unless we hear news about his whereabouts I am going to assume that he has left the city, hiding somewhere else." He looked defeated, too much to be able to burst in to rage.

"I'm very sorry. I hope he is able to look after himself." Jeanette held on to his arms and gave him a big kiss, taking up some time. "How old is he?" She asked after finishing the kiss.

"He's four." He said with a pause. "He may be young but he was taught well by everyone I knew, and raised better than anyone else I knew at that age."

"He's still out there. We will find out about him eventually." Jeanette kept hold of his arms. "So why are we here, anyway?"

"I have connections, and my brother was able to book us in at this hotel." Koopak pointed over to their left, a ran-down-looking apartment block on the end of the street. "We're able to rent out as many rooms as we want. The manager is a friend of the family."

"This town is just building blocks; there are only four of them and a market square. Is it meant to be intentionally left alone by Peach and the government? It kind of looks suspicious."

"Trust me." Koopak started grabbing Jeanette's arms as well. "We're far enough out of town to be seen." He took her in to the hotel and rushed her through the corridors to one of the apartment rooms overlooking the grasslands and the hills of Piranha Plant Pipeway. The town was in fact small for being situated just north of the race track, currently left alone. As Koopak unlocked the door to their apartment he took off his shell and left it on the bed, stretching his arms before unravelling the curtains and opening the door to the balcony. Their balcony faced south, against the direction of the wind coming from the distant coastline. Koopak stood up straight and felt the cool breeze brush in to his face. Jeanette took off her shell after closing the apartment door and placed her necklace on the bed side table before putting her shell on the bed next to his. She too then stood out on the balcony and wrapped herself around Koopak's arms.

"I have one more thing to do in town tomorrow, and then we will be able to set foot out of this forsaken kingdom." He held Jeanette within his arms and rested his chin on her shoulders.

"What's that?" She asked him quietly, feeling loved and warm.

"I'll tell you in the morning. It is just the last few bits of my unfinished business with Peach and Bowser." Jeanette immediately lost the feeling of love, but didn't feel brave enough to complain to Koopak about the secrets he kept away from her during her journey in escorting him through the lands. She grabbed Koopak's arms and unwrapped herself from them, discomforting Koopak as well. "What's wrong?" He asked anxiously.

"Nothing it's just that-." Jeanette became interrupted by overhearing the sound of a few voices coming from the grasslands beyond the hotel, including one voice she remembers well.

"Sorry." She quickly left the balcony and got her shell back on. Jeanette left the apartment in a matter of seconds, taking the necklace with her. Koopak stood silently on the balcony, rather confused and irritated, but a minute later she saw Jeanette running out on to the fields with a torch. He kept watching her run through the grass and overhearing the sound of the voices coming from the distance. They echoed loud through the fields and finally appeared in his sight. He saw Tom, Kamek, and Donkey Kong walking through the fields as if they came from Piranha Plant Pipeway.

"It sure is great to see you three." He heard Jeanette say in the distance to them. He started to believe less about the chance his son had left the city, considering that people roamed the outskirts of it as well.

"Who are you?"

"I am your guide to freedom."

AROUND THE SAME TIME... IN DK JUNGLE...

Having patrolled the streets through the sky and being able to trace the whereabouts of an important Koopa, Marrec was able to find a place where he could start to annotate the letter he still had. This would be a way of conveying a message over to one of the people on the list to realise what it really is all about. Marrec planned to have Donkey Kong or someone else in his family to later stumble across the letter in the future and use it to realise what was going on. He entered Donkey Kong's barrel shack, DK wasn't sleeping in it thankfully, so now he was able to annotate the letter by writing on it on the desk to his left. But what a minute, what's that small creature doing beneath DK's hammock. Marrec thought to himself "Is that... Koopak's son?" He found him sleeping inside DK's barrel shack in his jungle, alone and unoccupied. Marrec checked the news, the streets, the places the Brigade had already visited, and the suburbs within the first few hours in to night time and all of those weren't able to help him, but there he was just lying down there. The young Koopa was fast asleep, as if he was kept there safely by the Kongs. If Marrec took him from where he was sleeping and returned him to his father then it would save them both a lot of stress to undergo whilst spending time within the bounds of the Mushroom Kingdom. Koopak II would finally get to meet his son and be able to send him back to Noki Bay or Uldersal where he could be kept safe by his family. The only problem for Marrec now was where is his father? He knew that he was spotted in the city and that the government are after him but the Brigade have been unsuccessful in finding him this far. However, there was something else that Marrec was meant to do at this time. He noticed a pen on the desk inside the barrel shack, and lots of pieces of paper. Marrec still had the stolen photocopy of the letter regarding Bowser's trial, originally meant to be for Yoshi and Birdo. Quietly, he sat down on the stool in the barrel and got out the piece of paper from his pocket and put it down on top of all of the sheets in front of him. Marrec gave it another in-depth read.

Dearest Toadstool,

I am submitting my final choice of events that will take place from January 15, 2015(1) to March 10, 2015(1). It is a Double Dash themed Kart 32-race Grand Prix that will consist of 16 Teams of two. The first eight teams were automatically selected for the events:

Mario and Luigi

Bowser and Bowser Jr.

Wario and Waluigi

Peach and Daisy

Yoshi and Birdo

Toad and Toadette

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong

Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa.

The other eight teams will go towards the public and will be selected; these teams are to be decided by January 10, 2015(1) in which the 32 races will be announced as well, that is my trial.

Most Horrible Regards.

[Bowser's Signature]

The Rightful King of the Mushroom Kingdom.

There were plenty of ways that Marrec could annotate this so that he could expose all of the hidden information that Peach could possibly be up to with this trial. A thirty-two track tournament, this could last at least a month then. Bowser would then be put up on trial for over a month, and if there were to be at least a day's break between each race then he would be up on trial for two. The first thing Marrec decided to do was clear out the lies made by the princesses on the way time worked, scribbling out all of the '(1)'s at the end of every date. The lies he heard about time being significantly slower here was all a lie. Marrec heard about this from Zane just weeks ago, and knew that it was definitely not the truth on how time worked around here. He was not exactly sure what the truth was still.

He could still smell the bullshit coming from the letter, the way it was written, the order of the participants for the tournament. It could only have been written by Peach. Marrec scribbled out the word 'Toadstool' and wrote in block capitals 'ME' referring to Peach addressing herself. He then scribbled out the last two lines and wrote 'PEACH TOADSTOOL'.

"Haha! I'm doing the work of the Gods here!" Marrec chanted happily whilst annotating the paper, forgetting that there was still a sleeping Koopa in the room next to him. Koopak III started making sounds, as if he was about to wake up. Marrec eventually realised and turned to his right to see the Koopa woken up. His eyes widened and looked like he was about to scream.

"Do shut up, child!" Marrec reached out his right arm and faced it towards Koopak III, sending a yellow flash of light towards him. Marrec casted a binding spell of silence with his hand towards Koopak III, sealing his mouth and tying his arms down to the floorboards of the barrel shack, trapping him beside Donkey Kong's hammock.

"Mmmmm, MMM!" The Koopa kept moving about on the floor, trying to break the spell.

"Stop it! You're not going to break free unless you calm down. I will set you free soon." Upon hearing that, Koopak III stopped moving about and instead just sat up straight on the floorboards. He decided to just condescendingly look at Marrec whilst he sat awkwardly on the stool annotating the letter. He resumed his work now that the Koopa was kept bound to the spell. Now back to it, the next thing Marrec began to annotate was the first few lines of the letter. Judging from the way it was written, it implied that Bowser was given a choice. Marrec scribbled the words and left nothing to replace it. He then kept scanning down the paper until he got to the list. He circled several entries to the participants based on the order they were written. Mario and Luigi were put first on the list, something Bowser definitely wouldn't do. Marrec made sure to make that openly seen and wrote on the side 'NOT SOMETHING BOWSER WOULD PUT FIRST'. The next thing he did was assess all the other entries, from what Marrec could see, it was all participants of the fourth major Grand Prix, the only one that involved the use of partnering up. Another thing about all the participants was that they were seen as the greatest and the most famous people in all the recent years. Could there be a reason behind those selected to join Bowser in his trial being the most famous people? Marrec wrote 'THIS IS MEANT TO ATTRACT AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE' beside all the circles he drew around the participants' names.

After the list of racers, Marrec began to re-read the last parts of the letter before the annotations made by the writer. The other eight teams were to go to the public, but Marrec assumed that the other eight teams wouldn't be randomly selected. What would the point of a tournament be if the likes of strangers to everyone in the world were to race against the more experienced, famous racers? The other eight teams would be selected by Peach anyway. They just haven't been announced to the receivers of the letter yet. They would probably not be as skilled as the rest, but they would definitely be as famous. With that in mind, sixteen teams leading to thirty-two racers... thirty-two races. Perhaps one person would be assigned to choose their own race as well? These numbers made Marrec make another annotation: 'ONE RACE PER PERSON'. It probably didn't provide much information to the reader but it at least made it seem like this would be meant to be publicised.

Marrec was sparked with another thought. "What if it actually was meant to be publicised? Or better yet, monetized? That's definitely something Peach would do!" Marrec so thought. Given that the Mushroom Accords were implemented, making the kingdoms as he knew it less open and free, prices for everything had risen, and the announcement of an event that would surely catch the eyes and ears of everyone in the south, Marrec knew that Peach would be up to something involving the means of controlling all the people. He began to write one final thing on the other side of the piece of paper, completely separate from any of the annotations he made.

'MUSHROOM ACCORDS, EXPENSIVE TICKET COSTS, FORCED EVENTS. THIS IS THE WORK OF A CRUEL LEADER WHO WANTS TO CONTROL THE PEOPLE, TAKING THEIR RICHES AWAY. THIS EVENT WAS NOT GRANTED AND WISHED FOR BY BOWSER, IT WAS SET UP BY PEACH HERSELF.' Marrec was amazed at himself on the inside for writing all of this, but he didn't feel like he was finished with it. 'I AM DOING THE WORK OF THE GODS.' He added to the end, signing off his initial at the end with a –M. He was about to put the date but forgot what the date was, he believed it was currently the third of January (it wasn't) and signed off the letter by putting the date 3/1/15 at the end of it. Marrec turned his head back to Koopak III, who was still looking at him with a sealed frown. He began to feel guilty for restraining Koopak's son there for so long, and lying to him about the fact that he would be set free now that he remained calm. Marrec finished with the letter and tucked it under all of the sheets that was on the desk, leaving the pen and sheets exactly how they were before. He turned off the lampshade he used to write with and got up to walk over to Koopak.

"When I un-silence you, promise me not to scream." Marrec asked Koopak, who nodded back. He flicked his right hand towards Koopak and removed the spell on him, giving the use of his arms back and allowing him to speak again.

"Who are you?" Koopak asked quietly. "...and what were you doing that whole time? How were you able to shut me up anyway, are you some kind of sorcerer?"

"Stop asking so many questions!" Marrec snapped back at Koopak quietly, standing in the way of the entrance so that Koopak couldn't just run out and escape. "How do you know about sorcery anyway? You look like you're five years old!"

"I'm only four actually, nearly five." Koopak's squeaky voice began to irritate Marrec.

"Even younger than I thought. You must have been raised very well."

"I was, and still should be."

"Why are you here, anyway?" He asked Koopak, sitting down in the barrel with him.

"Why are you here?"

"...Touché." Marrec felt embarrassed at himself being argued by a child. "Let's just say I'm plotting to destroy the government."

"I was always taught that they were evildoers." He made Marrec smile. "I was also taught not to talk to strangers, so who are you?" He got confronted again by Koopak, giving him no choice but to introduce himself.

"My name is Marrec, and yes, I am a sorcerer." He clicked his fingers and lit up his right hand, creating a small ball of flames flying above his palm, exciting Koopak. So that he didn't end up burning the shack down, Marrec immediately doused the flame. "I've actually been told by a certain someone that you were already recently in Mushroom City, but I wanted to really know how and why you're here." He started being the one to ask questions, trying to get as much as he could out of the intelligent, but annoying young Koopa.

"It's an annoying story. I basically hit in one of my dad's suitcases he had for his flight to Moo Moo Meadows, except I kind of got lost whilst escaping it one time and got myself diverted to the city since I was being chased out of the area. Sadly I can't seem to find where my dad is anymore."

"You know I actually met with your dad the night before, in Moo Moo Meadows. He had no idea you were in town until you appeared on the news. He said you were never meant to be here with him. Instead you were meant to be taken from Noki Bay back to Uldersal, instead of Sunshine Airport." Koopak began to deeply regret his actions, knowing that he would have been better off within the hospitality of his uncle Joharnés.

"I know. I didn't know what my dad was doing. I should have asked Tom and the others to take me back there when they were here in the jungle with me." Marrec reacted.

"You were with Tom?" He asked.

"Yeah, the famous Earth-man."

"Well, where is he now?"

Koopak shrugged his shoulders. "He went back into the city with a few others. But that was hours ago. I don't know how long I've been asleep for." Marrec nodded slowly whilst listening to the Koopa. "...Did my dad tell you to take me back home?" He began to feel guilty for having Koopak kept here with him whilst he lost contact with his dad and Jeanette. Marrec had no idea where anybody was at the moment, and that he was the only person who knew where Koopak was out of him, his dad and Jeanette. He knew that it would be in both his and his dad's best interest to bring him home to his uncle safely in Uldersal.

"I didn't actually know that you were here. I came here with something else in mind. Hence all of that writing I was doing." Koopak listened in to what Marrec had to say about the issue. "I don't really know where Uldersal is, but I would be able to get you home to your uncle if I knew where it is."

"Do you think you could bring me back to my dad?" Koopak asked. Marrec sighed, knowing that with the current state of his dad, it probably wouldn't be the best course of action.

"You know when you said you were told that the government were just a bunch of evildoers?"

"Are you going to tell me they aren't? Because you're not going to be able to convince me that."

"Oh no they are. They are indeed evildoers. The problem is, is that they know about me and other people like your dad, and we are against the government. This has made them hate us and want to track us down. Your dad, although not being too far from you at the moment, is currently wanted by the government and the Toad Brigade. He is currently in a dangerous spot and if I bring you to wherever he is, you too would be at great risk, since you're also wanted by them right?" Marrec was still amazed by the obedience Koopak had for his age.

"You're right, so the best thing to do would be to take me back to my uncle then, right?" He assumed that Koopak's uncle Joharnés was currently a safer environment for him to be in.

"Yes. If I am to take you there, then I will have to find out where it is. I am not very familiar with the town of Uldersal. Do you know where it is roughly?" Koopak shook his head. He can't know everything at his age. "Very well. I think the first thing we need to do is leave here. We will find it eventually."

"I don't think it is right to follow strangers." He still said, not helping either of them.

"Well you're surrounded by strangers. Most of them want to take you as a prisoner." Marrec persuaded him. "Thankfully I'm here to rescue you. When you get back home I will keep in contact with your uncle, so I can form him and you about how your dad is. He should be doing fine if we haven't heard anything about him tonight." He offered out his hand, taking Koopak from the floor of the barrel and outside.

"We need to get out of the Mushroom Kingdom first." Koopak stated.

"Yes, let's go... together..." The two quietly departed from the jungle together, out of sight from anybody. They ventured across the southern fields of the capital's boundaries until they rested the rest of the night on the outskirts of the other nearby forest: The South Woods. It was safe and completely empty of civilisation, only harmless animals, creatures and insects lived in the peaceful forest.

Sadly, that was the last anyone had seen of Marrec around that time. The same goes for Koopak Asquia III. The entire period where Peach assembles the contestants for the race had no sight of either of them, so it was completely unknown of the path they took and whether or not they went together. As of current time, they are both still missing, not even in the boundaries of Seven Farms according to those who investigated there. It was only a few days before the first race was there one sign of Marrec, and that was when he rescued Zane from Peach's Castle's prisons.

...

Within the period of inactivity of the government and preparation for the races, others were still moving about the lands undercover. At this time most participants of the tournament were meeting together and practicing for it. The Koopas would meet with Bowser and race with him within the bounds of his castle-lands. The Kongs would race with Wario and Waluigi on the tracks spanning the eastern coastal strip of the Mushroom Kingdom. Tom and Enrique practiced wherever they could with Mario, Luigi and the Princesses, and the Toads practiced within the bounds of Mushroom City's available tracks: Mario Circuit, Luigi Circuit, Daisy Circuit, and Toad Harbour. On this day however, the Toads spent the day on Mushroom Bridge Island, knowing that Toadette had selected it.

At this point in time, the whereabouts of either Koopak was unknown, as well as the whereabouts of Marrec, Jeanette, Boom Boom and Pom Pom. Spending time together, Koopak and Marrec built up a friendship and trusted each other, moving from town to town until they would eventually cross the border in one of the less surveyed areas along it. Tracking on Marrec's Journey with Koopak, January 6 they travelled through the woods and through the further-out eaves of Medulis Dacarron, a believed-to-be sacred woods that are now entirely uninhabited by Toads or humans. January 7, they were sheltered in the town of Rolpan, about a hundred miles west of Mushroom City, and a hundred miles southeast of Sarasaland. January 8th to the 10th was venturing through the tiny settlements in the middle of the Mushroom Kingdom, aiming not to go too high up in to the mountains and still make their way towards the border. By January 11 they traversed around the edge of the famous Cottonplant Forest and rested in the town of Rockhouse, situated in the area known as the Savannah Circle. This was a sub-district of the Mushroom Kingdom with a climate consisting of a particular mix of the Savannah grasslands from Delfino in the west and green grass plains from the Mushroom Kingdom. The Savannah Circle was close to the border with Delfino in the centre of the lands and also had a train line service connecting all of the towns in the area in a circle, conveniently. To the south of the Savannah Circle lies Sarasaland, a well-known area to all in the lands. To the east were the forests and mountains that occupy the middle of the Mushroom Kingdom, including areas such as Forest Creek, Kartwood Creek, Alpine Pass, Mushroom Gorge and Shroom Ridge. To the north were trains going to the far north Mushroom Kingdom with towns on the edges of the great mountain range, as well as Northwest Mushroom Kingdom, including areas such as Donut Plains and Yoshi Valley. The west was the Delfino border. However, the Savannah Circle was formed on a giant plateau and was steepest at the western side. There were no trains that went directly from the Savannah Circle to the Delfino Kingdom-lands and trying to get to the border from there was difficult due to the steepness.

January 12, 2015 – Early Afternoon

Somewhere in the Savannah Circle

The heat of the sun was more intense than further south. Being far from the coast also meant there was less of a breeze around here. Having spent the morning in Rockhouse, Marrec and Koopak had learned of the location of Uldersal, and the home of his father and uncle. They aimed to reach the town of Nuhramm, a savannah-intense city on the edge of the hottest parts of the land and just on the other side of the border. The only thing stopping the two was the big steep drop down the circle to the border. Getting down the rocks and cliffs would take them the rest of the afternoon, but should they choose to go around it via the northern side, then that would take them a few more days.

Koopak III was not even five yet, so going down the cliffs with an infant like him would be extremely dangerous and not on Marrec's mind. After having lunch together, he decided that it would be best to venture along the roads towards the upper cities and out of the circle to get towards Delfino, if they were to cross the border further north of Nuhramm, they would instead be met with the red forests, a massive open woodland with yellow, autumn-looking grass and red leaf trees. The notable areas here included Maple Treeway and Autumn Leavesway. Beyond that to the north was the Delfino Oasis, but to the west was Uldersal, the town they were looking for.

Thankfully for them, the further north in the Mushroom Kingdom one goes, the less likely one is to be met with the Toad Brigade. Their security levels were far greater in the south as it was far more populated. For reference, Mushroom City, the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom lied approximately as far south in the kingdom as London is with respect to the size of England. Most of the land in the Mushroom Kingdom was north of the capital.

As Marrec was walking with Koopak instead of driving, the two were able to go off-road and travel in much quieter areas. Instead of going around the circle and sticking on to the roads, the two ventured into the centre of the circle – a far less urban area – and attempted to exit it nearer to Leaf Town on the northern part of it. This town looked far more guarded by police than other towns they skimmed by. There appeared to be a blockade at one of the entrances to the town coming from their direction. Marrec stopped Koopak in his tracks and hid him and himself behind several orange leaf bushes. It had been the first time in over a week that the two weren't able to walk mindlessly across the kingdom.

"How many do you see?" Koopak whispered to Marrec, watching him peer through the leaves to count the Toads at the blockade. Though it wasn't just Toads, Piantas were native in these parts of the kingdom as well as in Delfino, also part of the Brigade. It must have been some sort of subdivision of it; the Pianta Police.

"Six." He counted, examining their uniforms as well. It appeared to be a joint operation, since the Piantas were wearing different colour uniform compared to the Toad Brigade members. None of them appeared to be armed however, but they had a radio on top of one of their police cars, so bumping in to them and having their identity exposed would mean the government would know of their location quickly. Sadly, the woods in the middle of the circle were behind them by the time they reached the bush. There weren't many places to hide in order to get around the police at the blockade. Leaf Town was in sight, but going through it or around it was difficult based on the surroundings. There were hills on both sides of the road, and the police stood right in between them.

"Which way do we need to go, Marrec?" Koopak whispered, trying to see through the leaves himself. He rustled them slightly when doing so, causing some of the police to have their attention diverted.

"Straight ahead, that is west. But thanks to you we might have a problem." Marrec replied softly, hiding behind the bush.

"What was that rustling sound coming from?" One of the Pianta policemen questioned and pointed towards the bush. "Ain't nobody gonna be sneaking in to Leaf Town during the Grand Acacia Festival!"

"Bah nobody's sneaking about. It was probably just the wind." One of the Toad Brigade members laughed on his spot by the blockade.

"But there's barely been any wind up here today. We may be up high but it sure is scorching today."

"Just focus on the road already. You're such an impatient Pianta."

"Of course you'd say that, Toadlynn. Your everyday job is just standing around all day being a prison guard underneath the Queen's castle."

"Yeah and the Queen needed us up here today. If you're gonna be security at Maple Treeway on the twenty-first you're going to let everyone sneak by." The Pianta and the Toad, who appeared to be Toadlynn, had gotten themselves in to an argument all over the sound of a rustling bush.

"That's wrong." The Pianta argued. "I'd be more attentive instead of patiently watching. Better yet, I'll prove to you that something caused that bush to rustle, since it never did until now."

Marrec and Koopak watched as he started to make his way over to the bush. Instinctively, Koopak hid as low as he could on the other side of it, whilst Marrec gazed through it still and watched the Pianta walk over. With his right hand he pointed at the Pianta through the bushes, mouthing some words quietly. Within a second, the Pianta felt a little bit distracted and drowsy, looking around the area before inspecting the bush. The Pianta leaned over to the other side of it and also searched the middle of it.

"I could have sworn there was something here." He called back to the other guards.

"Maybe you need some sleep, mister Plune." Toadlynn laughed at the Pianta, presumably called Plune.

"I'll keep a watch on it if it ever brushes again though. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough." Plune said as he walked back to the blockade, completely ignoring the appearance of Marrec or Koopak. The infant Koopa looked up at Marrec, amazed at whatever it was he did to make the Pianta completely unaware of their presence behind the bush.

"Heads up, we've got a van ahead." Toadlynn alerted Plune and the other guards at the blockade of a vehicle in the distance coming towards them. This looked like a chance for Marrec and Koopak to run across the road to keep heading west towards the border. A large van driven by two Toads stopped at the blockade, waiting to be checked by the guards. The Toads were asked to get out of the van and allow the guards to search the back of it. Marrec was about to make a move to run across the road but quickly changed his mind after seeing the guards walk towards the back of the van. He and Koopak both wanted to get a look of what was inside the van before attempting to run across the road. They needed to make sure that none of the guards were looking their way as well. Toadlynn opened the back of the van and checked what was inside. There were several crates inside, all in different sizes. Marrec watched Toadlynn, Plune and another guard go inside to see what the crates had. From what the inspection looked like, the blockade acted like a border of its own. As they were inside, the other guards were talking to the Toads at the front; nobody was looking their way. Marrec nudged Koopak and got them both to run across the road quietly whilst everyone was distracted. They headed over to another large pair of bushes on the western side of the road, just before the inspection of the crates in the van was finished. Unfortunately for the two of them, there were no trees nearby on the other side of the road going to Leaf Town, the closest thing to cover that wasn't the bush was a small drop in the elevation further to the west. Koopak kept watching the van, but whilst the guards were still distracted with it, Marrec pulled him back and made him run with him down the hill to the west, away from the van and out of sight of the guards...

January 13, 2015 – Midnight

Trent, Mushroom Kingdom-Delfino Border

The rest of the journey the two ventured through the day before was spent travelling up the west side of Leaf Town, past the station-less town of Mirrent and its nearby hamlets where they stopped for dinner, and down the slopes towards the Delfino Border.

Trent was further west of the Savannah Circle and at the bottom of the steep ridges west of it. The two were able to get around it within the daytime, but having spent an entire day walking through the Kingdom, the two got really tired travelling around Trent. Nuhramm was on the other side of the border, and the road linking the two towns together was heavily guarded by the Toad Patrol. The Toads were armed unlike the Brigade members back on the edge of Leaf Town, and looked fiercer than Toadlynn and the others. Thankfully there were loads of trees around the border and plenty of cover for the two to hide in as they looked around the border area. There were guards all along it, with flashlights as well as weapons. By the road was most of them, and they appeared to be checking a truck crossing the border. These drivers were Koopas; three in the front was highly suspicious to the Toad Patrol guards. Marrec and Koopak watched the Toad Patrol inspect the truck's interior.

"This looks way worse than the Leaf Town van." Koopak whispered to Marrec, both of them standing behind the trees and bushes before the border.

"This is an actual border. The Mushroom Kingdom is the most secure. You saw the Brigade in the towns, it's like Peach upped her level of surveillance." Marrec informed him. "Thankfully we're going to a less strict Kingdom." The two kept watch of the truck, seeing if there would be an easier way to cross the border without getting seen by any of the guards. This wasn't a problem for Marrec, but with the lights all along the line, it would be a huge problem for Koopak to deal with.

However, movements started to erupt from the truck, along with the sound of loud, angered voices.

"We've got smugglers boys!" One of the Toad Patrol guards inspected the back of the truck, being trampled over by an alarming amount of Koopas being spat out of the truck's rear. Marrec and Koopak watched tens of Koopas leap out and run away from the border check point. The lights on the Patrol guards shined over all of the Koopas escaping the border, rushing towards Marrec and Koopak in the woods. Marrec was amazed by the amount of Koopas able to fit inside the truck, at least fifty of them emerged out of it and started fleeing for their lives. The Patrol guards armed themselves and started rushing in to the woods, still armed with their weapons but not using them. They instead got their canes out and chased down the Koopas. Some of them brushed past Koopak and Marrec whilst they were hiding behind one of the trees in the border forest. The Toad Patrol soon followed, flashing their lights in areas nearby that soon reached the two in the woods. Marrec ran away from the lights and Koopak hid behind some of the bushes, but the Koopas in their tens stormed the area, making it hard for the two to find each other without being seen by the Toad Patrol.

"Koopak!" Marrec called for him, hoping to find him.

"Koopak?" One of the Patrol guards overheard and questioned. "We've found Koopak in the woods, search for him!" Marrec worried around in the darkness, hoping to find him again. He tried his best to avoid the lights of the Toad Patrol and the Koopas from the other side of the border running through the woods.

"KOOPAK!" Marrec called again, but he never heard the child's voice. He had lost him, and could only hope that he ran towards the border since none of the guards were there anymore. All of the Koopas that came out of the truck, including the driver and passengers in the front, were running away from the border and in to the woods on the side of the Mushroom Kingdom. Marrec then decided to run towards the border in hopes to find Koopak in the woods on the other side. At the same time, he began to hear the sound of vehicles belonging to the patrol drive past the check point and the sound of helicopters flashing beams above, both in search for the Koopas from the other side. Everywhere on the other side of the border was in near-darkness and the only lights were coming from the road to Nuhramm, currently occupied with vehicles, guards and security cameras. Marrec went off the road beyond the border and called out Koopak's name a few more times, each time thinking he would be nearby but nothing came back to him. Now that Koopak was lost once again, Marrec had nothing else to do but leave the area. He wouldn't want to be caught, regardless of Koopak was or wasn't...

January 14, 2015 – Midmorning

Peach's Castle, Mushroom City

One more thing that Marrec had to do was find his best friend. During his journey with Koopak, he always remembered that his best friend Zane was captured in Peach's Castle ever since the New Year. The two were very close, both proficient in the magical arts and both descendants of the Galaxyë people. It was unknown to others how long the two had known eachother, and it was also unknown how old the two are. In however long that time may be, they definitely shared a lot of memories together. Now that Koopak was missing to him and he was unable to bring him back to his uncle in Uldersal, now would be the perfect time to set him free, conveniently during the day before the tournament's first race. Currently, Peach would be very busy occupying all of the racers and preparing for the opening ceremony for the great grand tournament.

He was outside the castle, beside one of the walls of the castle, specifically the left side, closest to the rest of the city. He knew that to get in to the basements he would have to go either by the elevator inside the castle or by digging underground outside. The security in Toad Town was minimal at the time; however the doors to the castle were closed. This led to him magically spinning on his feet and causing the dirt and grass around him to spiral upwards around him, allowing him to shoot underground with a protective shield around him, sealing the dirt back in place above him as he ventured down.

He landed within a tight passage, the walls dirt all around him except for one made of concrete. Marrec touched it and it briefly shuffled aside like a slider door. Amazed at the secret door, he sidestepped past it and landed in a chamber-like hallway.

Marrec was currently on one of the basement levels of the castle, where several of the well-known prisoners were kept and the security guards to keep watch over them. One thing Zane mentioned to Marrec before he was jailed was the location of a secret passage on the floor that would lead him straight to his cell in the Mushroom Underground prison. The passage behind him must have been it, but Zane must be on the other end of it.

"What's that sound?" Marrec heard a familiar voice. It was Boomerang Bro calling out from his cell. His cover was blown, and the next thing he heard was the sound of Toad Brigade guards rushing down the hallway, going to shut the annoying Koopa up. Marrec hid himself back in the secret passage and rushed down it all the way to the other end. From there he could already see Zane, through a hatch guarded by two Toad Brigade members. Since the sliding door was already opened on the Underground prison side, Marrec had already revealed himself to the Toads.

"Who's that?"

"It's Marrec, get him!" One of the guards armed themselves and charged towards Marrec whilst the other sounded an alarm to alert a few more guards to show up and aid them.

"Zane!" Marrec shouted, getting his attention. "I'm gonna get you out!" He started to fight with all of the Toad guards at once, using his magic to push them back and knock out a few of them. He spotted one of the Toads carrying the key to the cell, about to get out his gun to shoot at Marrec. He pointed the gun at him only to be smote in response by him, sending him back to the wall, sending the gun up in the air. The rest of the Toads armed up and pointed their weapons at Marrec. He put his hands up and kept looking at the wounded Toad who had possession of the cell's keys.

"Hands behind your head!" One of the Toads ordered him. Marrec kneeled down and put his hands behind him, still focused on the body. To all of their surprise, the body of the wounded Toad lifted up in the air and flew straight in to the cell door. The Toad stuck to the wall, and the key flew out of his pocket went straight in to the lock, unlocking the door magically. Zane burst out of the cell, already freed from the chains. He was seemingly able to release himself from the chains now that the cell's entrance was open.

"Fire at them!" The same Toad commanded, but as they were all about to do so, their weapons were raised above them and taken away from them. Zane pushed the wounded Toad aside and forced all of the guns of the Toads against them, shooting them all where they were. Only the wounded Toad was still moving, but his actions were just out of pain. Marrec beckoned Zane over to the secret passage, making them both run through it. The wounded Koopa managed to get up and started to chase them down the passage.

"You two are trapped in this passage!" He shouted at them.

"Nobody must know that I was here." Marrec whispered to Zane as they reached the part where Marrec came from. The two stopped and looked around to see the Toad get out his pistol to shoot at them. Zane turned around and moved his hands to force the gun back on to the Toad, shooting him down and dead.

"Thank you." Zane said to Marrec. "Now let's get out of here." The two stormed up through the dirt and arrived back outside the castle. Now that they were both above ground, they were able to magically teleport out of Toad Town. They were finally together again at last, and now they could escape together, to somewhere well out of sight.

It was unknown where they went to next.

...

Following these events was the ceremony, and the races started the day after. At the same time this happened, Koopak II was still within the bounds of Mushroom City, being too distracted by the excitement of the races. He had temporarily his plans to journey up north at a halt, finishing the last of his business with Peach and Bowser after the first race.

What we only know is that Marrec, Zane, Koopak II and Koopak III are well out of sight of the eyes of the government.

EOC / Update from the previous Interlude: It's been about 2 years since then and I'm only halfway. The times I write these have mostly been random but since we're in a virus world at the moment my writing has been way more consistent. Hopefully I will be able to keep this pace going. I know I say that a lot, hopefully I mean it this time.

This chapter should have cleared where most of the important hidden characters are. For less important characters such as the Koopalings, they were sent off to stay with Bowser's double, the green, comedic, 'King' Koopa in his hideout. They have not been forgotten about, so for those who were interested in them you don't need to worry. I do try my best to keep track of every character. I have a lot of spreadsheets and databases on this, keeping every character up to date. It would be cool to show it to the readers, but it would be super hard for anyone to comprehend it.