Fighting in the Streets
Chapter 41 – Mario and Luigi
February 8, 2015 – 6:00PM
Uldersal, North Delfino
For the first time in a while the city seemed less run down to Rosalina. There were still fortifications built along the bridges to the Asquia Manor courtyard but the rest of the city appeared to be repaired over the past few days. Quietly sneaking through, she noticed Captain Toad with a group of Toad Patrol guards near the market square of the town, not too far from one of the bridges to the manor. The bridges seemed slightly less guarded as well. There were not so many guards on each side and there weren't as many followers of the Asquia family on the other side either. Now that she was seen to the world as alive and well, she went down on to the roads and rushed over to talk to the captain.
"Rosalina? It's good to see you again. You had us all worried for the past few days. Are you here for a reason?" The Captain was startled, and got his entire group to divert their attention to her as she approached.
"Joharnés. It was him." She said whilst taking deep breaths after hurrying down the road to see the captain. "He has my wand."
"Is he the reason why you were unable to show up to those races before?" An odd question to ask Rosalina, making her know that he had no idea about the way she was occupied over the past few days.
Being able to go with it without telling the captain of her true fate, she just went with him on his question. "Yes." She uttered quickly.
"It's a siege then." The captain grinned, rallying the other guards in the area to him. "Joharnés has been accused of the crimes of stalling the most anticipated tournament of all time, plotting against the government and endangering the people, including Lakitu and Rosalina. In the name of Queen Peach Toadstool, I, Captain Toad of the Toad Patrol hereby sentence him to die!" He drew his gun from his pocket and raised it up in the air. The Toad Patrol guards around him cheered at him and raised their weapons in the air. "We march on the manor for him and him only, but kill anybody who does not comply to our orders of surrender." The Toads cheered again. Rosalina watched the Toads head towards the bridges to rally up any guard they could find in the town, but they way they looked when doing so really frightened her. She considered flying over there and seeing Joharnés himself but the fact that he was more prepared than she was had put her off too much. She didn't want to risk her life like that a second time. Also she was wandless, which she just realised. She wouldn't be able to fly across without her wand.
At the same time however, from an entirely different perspective, one of the Asquias' biggest allies had his eyes on the bridges, seeing all of the Toads ready themselves up to march across them.
"Cyra! Tell your sister and cousin... The Toad Patrol is on the bridge again, this time there's many more than usual, and that they are also more armed than usual." The Koopa at the window watched the Toads on the bridges move forward slowly and in formation towards them.
Cyra Asquia, in the same room as her family friend, got up and peered out of the window next to him.
"Oh my god, there are so many of them!" She began to panic and ran out of the room, looking for her cousin. "Joharnés? Joharnés?" She headed over in to the lounge and found him sitting down watching the security cameras that had eyes on the Toads marching to the manor. "Joharnés they are going to war with us, you need to ready yourself. Where is Jenna?"
"Look at that monitor." He pointed towards one of the screens, ignoring her cousin's last question. "Rosalina's there... and she's alive." Joharnés said slowly.
"So you lied to us! You never killed her if she's there and looking alive... what is she doing there anyway?"
"Would I lie to you even if I had her wand?" Joharnés replied back to his cousin aggressively, getting out of his chair. "Something must have taken her and brought her back to life somehow. It's that shitty space magic that she always uses... Now we have her wand maybe we can dish some of it out and return it back to the Toads." He started walking through the corridors of the ground floor, going past the women and children of the manor who were sitting around worried for him. "I am not leaving this place. We are going to be able to hold them off." He turned around to respond back to Cyra, who was just awkwardly trying to stand beside him. "I don't know where Jenna is. Let's find her, and Mikey, and the other men of the houses. It's time we had a true fight." Joharnés referred to Mikey Clagbo, Joharnés' best friend and sworn ally to the Asquias, another menace to the government but on a lesser level compared to the main family.
Joharnés and Cyra found Jenna in one of the guest chambers in the manor. There they could see her performing tricks with Rosalina's wand in front of Mikey and some of the other allies to the Asquias. As soon as Jenna realised that her cousin and sister entered the room, she stopped what she was doing with the wand and stood still, facing him. The allies to the Asquias stood up straight and bowed down to Joharnés.
"The Toads are coming across the bridge. Rosalina is also in town. Command your people in the houses to be ready when they reach the courtyard. They want us to surrender and we must prove that we do not bow to the government scum."
"Allies!" Mikey shouted to address the others in the room.
"Blessed are the Asquias!" The other leaders of the allied families to the Asquias chanted back to Joharnés.
...
Rosalina, still watching the Toads march on the bridge from the town square, began to worry about the upcoming proper siege on the Asquia Manor. Captain Toad had managed to rally 150 Toad Patrol guards from Uldersal on to the bridges. Needing more assistance from the friends of Peach, she decided to call Luigi to bring him over, and if possible bring Mario with him too.
"Luigi, I need you and Mario to come to Uldersal this instant. Take the trains." She rushed with a worrisome tone. Even though she wanted them to be hasty, it would still take them at least an hour to get to Uldersal on the fastest trains.
"I will get us out of the house in one minute. We'll be there for eight." It was nearly 6:30, so they were going to be quite some time. As Rosalina hung up her phone, she rushed over to Captain Toad who was still on the main side of the bridge, standing behind most of the guards who were marching across.
"Call off the assault." Rosalina insisted to the captain.
"Why? You know what Joharnés did to you. He has ravaged this kingdom for far too long now. He has become worse than his brother too." The captain didn't make any actions to his marching guards, frustrating Rosalina.
"I want him back alive." She squatted down to speak to him up close. "He is mine. Let your people know that the criminal is mine."
"He is more than just a criminal, he is a war criminal." The captain didn't seem to want to change the orders for his people still, and Rosalina began to get agitated at him for it. Not being able to invade the house from above annoyed her the most, but sadly since the captain didn't obey her, she just had to watch from afar the battle about to take place.
She watched from a building rooftop near the bridge road the courtyard of Asquia Manor. It was mostly empty, with some Asquia personnel arming themselves at their campsites at the corners of the courtyard, aiming at the guards once they reached the entrance. The buildings on all sides looked empty from the outside, and the Toad guards began to secure the courtyard, pushing back the few Koopas in the campsite. Then, an Asquia ally appeared on the rooftop of the Manor house. It was Mikey Clagbo, unarmed. He looked down on the guards and they lowered their weapons upon seeing him, knowing that it wasn't Joharnés. Captain Toad began walking across the bridge to meet with the guards who had rallied in to the courtyard coming from both bridges.
"Take hold of your weapons, guards!" The Captain called out upon his arrival, making all of the guards point their rifles at Mikey on the rooftop. "By orders of the Toad Patrol you must release Joharnés from the manor or we will engage and open fire." The tall, red shelled Koopa stood firmly on the rooftop, despite having guns pointed at him from all sides below.
"Joharnés Asquia does not wish to bring himself forward. We will never surrender what is rightfully ours. It was you who trashed this city, not us." Mikey responded back. "And as far as we are aware, we still do not have Koopak III."
"Who might this brave, stupid Koopa speaking for the Asquias be?" Captain Toad walked past his guards and stood in front of them all.
"Mikey Clagbo." He said as loudly as he could without shouting, trying to glorify his name in the presence of the Captain and his 150 guards.
"Well then Mikey Clagbo..." The captain tried to negotiate before resorting to violence. "We will give you two minutes to bring out Joharnés for us, or we will use violence. We are perfectly compliant with killing you all for the greater good." He began to arm his own weapon to aim directly towards the front door. "Surrender... or violence, the choice is yours." He reiterated.
Mikey grinned from the rooftop, sitting down on the front windowsill of the highest floor of the manor. "I choose violence." Captain Toad's eyes widened. "LOYALISTS, NOW!"
The loud sound of wooden barricades shaking and being busted open roared across the courtyard. All of the windows and doors that were once barricaded up along all edges of the courtyard were knocked down, revealing at least one armed Asquia rifleman at each entrance. The riflemen were armed and began shooting all of the Toad Patrol guards in sight in the courtyard. The guards did not react fast enough and got repeatedly hit by bullets coming from the all over the front buildings of the courtyard. They screamed and wailed before falling to the floor. Captain Toad turned around to witness the fall of his guards in front of him, frightening him. At the same time, Mikey pulled out his pistol from his shell and shot directly at the captain's right ankle, incapacitating him where he stood. He wailed and turned around to lie on the floor, not quite fatally wounded, but unable to walk. As the Captain looked up to see Mikey with his pistol, the front doors of the manor opened. Jenna Asquia along with a few other Asquia allies rushed out of the manor, with Jenna pointing at the Captain with Rosalina's wand.
"Th-the wand..." He stuttered, trying to resist the immense pain from the gunshot.
"You're our prisoner now." She grinned, ordering the other allies to tie the Captain up and take him inside.
8:00PM
After witnessing the bloodshed from the rooftop of a building near the upper bridge, Rosalina spent the past hour and a half worried about the fate of Captain Toad. She saw him being taken in to the manor as well as the Koopa in possession of her wand. She sent texts to Luigi during the time spent waiting, informing him of the whereabouts of her wand and who it belongs to. She also told him not to tell Peach just yet, in the chance that she may start a war against the town. The Toad Patrol and Brigade did not have much of an air force, for all of the aircrafts made in the world were either destroyed Bowser ships or recreational planes and helicopters used for transport. There was not an aircraft capable of holding heavy weaponry for war so far.
Luigi had finally arrived, bringing Mario with him. She watched them walk to the town square from the train station in the south of the town, quite out of the way of the Asquia Manor. Rosalina waved at them, trying to get their attention. The town square looked completely abandoned from the rooftop she was on. Most of the city was evacuated in recent days over the growing concerns coming from the Asquias, and only the southwest was filled with average citizens. The few people that lived in the centre of the town were almost always locked up in their own homes, well out of the way of any possible violence. Mario and Luigi noticed her on the rooftop and rushed towards her. Rosalina slid down the bricks and leapt off the edge of the roof, falling down and landing on the floor in front of them, injuring herself slightly. She would often forget that most of her powers were lost on her due to not having possession of her wand, which included the ability to float and fly.
"Ouch." She cringed, feeling a new bit of stiffness within the bones of her legs. It had been a very long time since she landed on the ground at a speed greater than the drops of an average jump or a descending float.
"Rosalina, what happened around here?" Mario asked with a concerning look on his face. He couldn't stop himself from turning around to look at his surroundings and panicking slightly at the fact there weren't any Toad Patrol soldiers or guards in the square. "Where have the Patrol gone?" It became clear to Rosalina that Luigi and Mario didn't read the texts she sent them, and that they must have missed them since they were travelling via the trains.
"My wand... Joharnés has it, or at least a relative or ally of his." She replied back sounding very worried. "The... the Brigade..." She kept taking heavy breaths. "The Asquias shot them all in the courtyard by surprise. I screamed from the rooftop as they left Captain Toad as their only prisoner." Both Mario and Luigi's mouths widened in shock. They turned around to see the bridge, fearing for what is on the other side.
"How many Toads crossed the bridges?" Luigi asked.
"At least a hundred." Rosalina replied, still shivering slightly from the devastating sight of the courtyard. "Come inside this house, we'll be able to get a view of the rooftop from the windows." Rosalina led the two inside, closing the doors of the building tightly behind them. The three travelled up the deserted house's floors to the top one where they could see through a window facing the Asquia's private estate. The manor was connected to the main part of the city with two bridges, and a river flowing underneath them. Here they could all get a better look of the area. The estate was surrounded by cliffs and hills from the back and the sides were filled with buildings connected all the way round from one bridge to the other. They were able to get a partial view of the courtyard and a full view of the manor from the window. Mario looked away immediately as he peeked out the window, disgusted at the sight of the bloody grounds. There appeared to be some Asquia goons looting the weapons and belongings of the fallen Patrol soldiers and returning them back to the campsites set up in the corners of the courtyard. Mario couldn't bear to look, but Luigi, anxiously, stared down to see the area and the front entrance to the manor. Not knowing who she was, he and Rosalina were able to see Cyra Asquia standing by the front doors of the manor, watching the goons collect the weapons that belonged to the Patrol guards. Rosalina and Luigi could both hear her talking to them, but what they were saying was inaudible at the distance they were away from her.
"One of them has my wand." Rosalina said to the Mario brothers.
"Is that why you didn't float down from the rooftop when you first saw us?" Luigi assumed.
"Yes." She said again, trying to search for any windows facing her that might have any goons hiding inside.
"So you made all of those Toad Patrol guards die trying to retrieve your wand?" Mario assumed with an aggressive tone. His eyebrows dipping as he spoke.
"They didn't go to the manor to look for my wand. Captain Toad rallied all of the guards in the town to go there to capture Joharnés and arrest him for his crimes. I tried to advise against what he did but he ignored me." Rosalina tried to convince them the truth, but Mario didn't seem to buy it at first. Luigi believed her, but was still too worried about the damage the Asquias can still cause. "He screwed up thinking it would be easy to assault the manor, and he lost all of his men and women in doing so." Mario seemed less aggressive, understanding what Rosalina was saying. He too knew about the recklessness and the optimism of the captain and how he changed after the implementation of the Mushroom Accords. Ever since then he always felt like he could roll over anybody that opposed him now that he felt legally obligated to, but this scenario was not ordered by Peach whatsoever and was executed on his own behalf. Rosalina knew that he didn't think it through when he assaulted the manor for the last time.
"How are we going to get your wand then?" Luigi asked, having no clue on the ways they could assault the manor now. "We need to let Peach know about this." Before Rosalina was going to reply, her speech was interrupted by the sound of voices coming from outside. The three inside the abandoned house crept over to the window on the other side of the room they were in and tried to look down on the town square. In the distance they saw a small army of Koopas, all armed and rushing towards the bridges in unison.
"Mamma-mia, this doesn't look good." Mario gasped quietly.
"Who are these guys?" Rosalina asked him, assuming he knew who they were.
"Rovins, the menaces of Blockfort. They are one of the richest families from up there near the border, and it looks like they are here to assist the Asquias. We really need to tell Peach about this." Mario headed over to the front window, getting a better view on the Rovin Koopas crossing the bridges to the Asquia estate courtyard. "There's their leader down there: Taur Rovin. They say he's a millionaire because he stole several power-ups from Bowser's fortress and sold them to other families. We are going to need more help if we are to stop them and the others and whatever it is they are going to do next." They watched the Koopa and his followers meet outside the manor with Mikey Clagbo and Cyra Asquia. Joharnés and Jenna were still nowhere to be found from the window and most likely still in the house. Something must have happened in Blockfort for them to be able to travel down to this town without being inspected or stopped by any Toad Brigade or Patrol. By the time Taur and his soldiers arrived outside the manor, the bodies of the Toad Patrol guards were stacked up into a big pile on the right side of the courtyard and lit up in flames, with all of their belongings looted from them and taken in to the manor. Mario watched Taur shake hands with Mikey and offered him his rifle, looking like they were joining forces.
"I think we have to get out of here." He suggested to the others nervously. Rosalina peered out of the window beside him discretely, watching the Koopas down by the courtyard. They were met with many other Koopas coming out of the surrounding buildings, this time they weren't getting shot at like the Toad Patrol, instead they all greeted eachother and raised their rifles in the air. Mario and Rosalina couldn't believe how they got all of those weapons. What concerned them more is who the responsible person for selling or distributing them might be. The sound of orders coming from the Koopas in the courtyard was still inaudible, but after some time the Koopas started to line up together and slowly march back towards the bridges.
"Yes!" Rosalina panicked. "We need to go. They're going to take control of the entire town!" She rushed towards the stairs going down, beckoning Mario and Luigi to follow her. The three needed to get out of the town before they were seen by any of the Asquia followers or the Rovin followers, as they could tell they'd be shot at if they were seen by any of them. Rosalina got out of the front door first, hearing the footsteps of the marching goons heading from the bridges to the town square. The first place she could see as a way to escape as a downward sloping road on her right, heading northeast. It was one of the roads that the Rovin soldiers came from, but it looked completely empty besides the barricades that were once built by the Toad Patrol on the sides. Mario and Luigi followed her, and the three managed to escape the town as it slowly became controlled by the joint forces on all sides of it.
For the rest of the evening that town became fully defended by the Asquias and the Rovins and the few citizens that still lived in the south and the west and the other buildings still containing them were rounded up and banished from the town, being sent south-westwards to the nearest big town of Coconut Town. The train station became barricaded off and the paths going up to the overground from both sides were blocked with rocks and fortification structures. Rosalina, Mario and Luigi crept around the outskirts of the town to try and get access to the station, but they weren't able to find any ways in. As they tread foot above the station, out of sight of any of the goons, they heard the trains go with high speed as if they weren't to stop at the lines beneath them. There was no way out of the town for them by train tonight.
February 9, 2015 – 10:30AM
Peach's Castle, Mushroom City
Within the bounds of Toad Town to the east, Daisy, Pauline and Enrique sat outside by Peach's picnic bench and took in the beautiful view of the morning sky, the warm breeze and the shining sun. They hadn't heard from Rosalina since the last race, and almost completely forgotten about where she went off to yesterday. Peach was inside the castle, dealing with business that none of the three knew about. At the same time, they began to see Toads escorting three familiar faces through the main road of Toad Town, passing by Toad and Toadette's house, Toadbert's house, Toadant's house and Toadsworth's house along the way. They were all sitting on the benches outside their own houses together, watching the three get taken all the way up to the entrance to Peach's Castle.
"Is that Mario with them?" Daisy stood up from her seat on the bench, noticing him in different clothes for the first time. In recent days he stopped wearing his overalls whenever he wasn't attending a race. "What is he doing here?" She walked over to the guards who escorted him, Luigi and Rosalina to the front entrance of the castle. "You may be dismissed." She said to the guards. "You other two should be able to walk through here unescorted." Daisy rushed over to Luigi and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek.
"We have some horrible news." Luigi said with a worrisome tone.
"Is he going to be more respectful around here?" Daisy pointed to her brother. "...Because as far as I am aware, your brother has been banned from Toad Town."
"Banned?" Enrique and Pauline gasped.
"Banned?" Both Mario and Luigi looked back at Daisy confused. Before she could explain herself, she was quickly interrupted by Rosalina.
"Now isn't the time to talk about a ban. Captain Toad has been taken captive inside of the Asquia Manor, and the Asquias have united with the Rovins to lay claim to Uldersal, all of the personnel that was guarding the town have been killed." Pauline and Enrique had shocked looks on their face, but Daisy became lost for words whilst looking at Rosalina. It was not often she would hear about anybody being killed in these lands as she had barely visited the north or anywhere dangerous in recent times. Enrique and Pauline had seen it all up north, and weren't as upset as Daisy appeared to be right now.
"All those Toads... what news have we to tell their families?" She stuttered her words, going down on her knees in front of the others and staring directly downwards. She put her hands on the grass around her and began to tear a little bit. "There were over a hundred and fifty of them there... and you're telling me that they killed them all?"
"I saw it happen from the rooftop of a nearby building." Rosalina said again to Daisy.
"You saw it... and did nothing about it!" Daisy began to feel angered at her, clenching her fists on the grass but still looking down.
"Captain Toad led them to their demise. He wanted to start a war and capture Joharnés Asquia but they were one step ahead and laid a trap for them all to fall in." Rosalina explained. Everyone around her watched Daisy start shaking her arms slightly as she was on the floor. "They stole my wand, and I wanted it back... but I never asked him to send his soldiers to their deaths.
"I say we show them no mercy." Daisy whispered. "They have your wand, and our beloved captain."
"And according to them, we have his nephew." Rosalina tried to argue.
"BUT WE DON'T, WE NEVER HAVE HAD HIM!" She shouted, wailing around on the floor in front of everyone around her. "Peach and I have tried to find him with the help of the Brigade, but we haven't found him anywhere. The last time he was seen was well over a month ago. He is most likely dead, or in the north now. There's nothing we can do about it. What we can do is end that family after all of the countless crimes they did." Everyone around Daisy fell silent, looking at eachother with uncertainty, questioning her morals on the subject.
"She's kind of got a point." Enrique stepped in to add. "But personally I'm against killing famous people. They are more useful to us alive than dead."
"So, would you be so kind as to bring him to me for information, without getting anyone else hurt?" Daisy looked at Enrique and spoke to him rather loudly.
"Nah." He grinned. "You know that I can get through danger ninety-nine percent of the time, but if I make any sort of error, they will kill me. I don't personally want to do that." Daisy groaned, worrying ever so more about Captain Toad and the lost lives of his guards.
"To be honest, if you kill Joharnés or everyone else that lives in that city now, you'll probably anger a lot of those other rich families in the Delfino Kingdom. It is yours to manage, but you have to come to terms with what most people think, and a civil war isn't what they think."
"So how do you suggest we put an end to the unrest in Uldersal? We can't just give it to them. Think of all of the regular citizens who lived there and have now been forced out of the town or brainwashed by the Asquia family."
"Hey." Enrique interrupted. "These people are not hostiles."
"They're no different to them if you ask me." Daisy said out of spite.
"All the Asquias really wanted to do is live normally with their wealth and not the shame Koopak I brought upon their family... but then again. Mass murder is never justified."
"The wealth is why they have shame to their family. Ask any man or woman in Wuhu or any Pianta in Delfino and they will tell you that the Asquias are evil."
"The easiest thing we can do now is block access to the city." Pauline suggested. "I've never been there myself but surely Peach and the Toad Brigade and Patrol have the numbers. Plus, they have Rosalina's wand. We need it back for her sometime soon." The others listened to her and nodded in agreement. Rosalina smiled and appreciated Pauline's approach to helping her.
"My wand is in the hands of one of the Asquias. I don't know her name but she is of the family tree I believe."
"If it's an Asquia girl then it's one of Koopak's cousins, Jenna or Cyra." Mario confirmed. Nobody said anything after him for a few seconds until Daisy turned her head back towards Enrique.
"What's the latest with you and the Red Martyrs?" She asked him.
"Eoréc... has met up with Neodjan..." Enrique replied slowly, getting out his phone to reread the last text that was sent to him by one of them. "...and they are currently in Concord Town. That is going to be unreachable for today at least. They said soon by the time they reached Wuhu they would no longer have the need for us since it's just too far now. Everywhere along the coast seems safe though, the south coast that is."
After another short period of silence, the doors to the castle reopened slowly, and coming out from the other side was Peach. She was alone, but delighted to see everyone at the bench. That was until she noticed Mario in different clothing in between Pauline and Luigi.
"Peach!" Daisy cheered, going over to her to give her a big hug. "You need to help us! Something bad has happened."
"What's going on?" She said rather softly, walking over to see everyone else at the bench and noticing Mario properly. He already became anxious before she said anything to him. "What's he doing here?"
"I said that already but the matter is far more important it seems." Daisy joked around but tried to keep a serious face at the same time.
"The reason I am here, Peach..." Mario tried to regain his confidence and speak back to her. "Is that Captain Toad is now a prisoner in Uldersal, and all of his guards in that town are apparently dead, killed in action in the Asquia estate courtyard." She froze for a few seconds and said nothing. Everyone around her looked a little confused.
"Wh-what?" She stuttered.
"You let Captain Toad send all of his guards to be killed."
"She didn't give any order for him to do that!" Rosalina stopped Mario from talking and grew frustrated at him. "Stop trying to twist what happened. I was there!" She then looked back to Peach. "Captain Toad forcefully tried to start a coup to capture Joharnés but he fell in to a trap they had. They shot all of the guards in the courtyard and wounded him, taking him as a prisoner. I also found out that my wand is currently in the hands of one of the Asquia cousins."
"So... uh." Peach tried to think of something to say on the spot. "What's the state of the city like?"
"It's basically in their control now." Luigi spoke on behalf of Rosalina. "Even the train station seems to be blocked off. The trains need to skip that station for the time being, or block any trains that go along the tracks there." She began to feel very awkward to talk about the state of Uldersal in front of all of her friends.
"Is something wrong Peach?" Enrique asked, trying to check up on her.
"I will be back shortly." She turned around and immediately ran back in to her castle, ordering the entrance guards on the other side to close the door behind her, leaving everybody else outside confused.
Peach ran through her castle and descended one of the floors, heading in to one of the halls where at the end lied one cell for one specific person.
"I need your help. Time for you to advise me." Peach said, stopping in front of the caged wall and waiting for the prisoner to show up to in front of her. She watched Muji get up and walk over to her from inside the cell. He had a disappointing look on his face and assumed she would be gentler with him now that she was coming to him yet again for aid.
"You want me to advise you from behind the bars of a prison cell?" Muji laughed, not seeming impatient to get out of his cell. "This year grows ever so interesting." He noticed that Peach had a serious expression with a slight pinch of sadness, like she might burst in to tears if she wasn't controlled. "Go on then, tell me what's going on." He waited for her to speak but it seemed like the problem she had grew over her mind and stopped her from being confident with sharing the matter to him.
"We lost Uldersal." She found words and pieced them together in a sentence after some thought, trying to get straight to the point with him. "Apparently Captain Toad is taken as a prisoner and all of the other Patrol guards were killed in action." Even Muji began to feel remorse for the tragedy that he could only picture in his mind. He had seen worse and similar things all over the north, but rare would it happen in recent days with the south and enemies that are not classed as hostile. This was more of a case of rich families using their allies and wealth to break away from the government's possible intervention.
"The problem here is..." He began. "...is that... I know nothing about Captain Toad, and very little about Uldersal. The first thing you should do before making any immediate action against the city is inform the families of the fallen and let them know about what happened to every casualty." He had reminded Peach of one of the most upsetting actions to deal with in a case like this: letting the loved ones know.
"This I am going to hate, as it means that I or the Patrol have failed them." She sighed, standing by him to see if he had anything else to say. "The families will want to see justice done to them." She added seeing that he didn't reply to her afterwards for a few seconds.
"You could actually have me hear the full story about what happened. Who killed them? How did they all die? Are they actually dead?" I can try to help you as much as I can out of the context of the event specifically, but more to do in a time of need and grieving." Muji stood up straight and kept looking at Peach, waiting for her next response.
"From the words of Rosalina, the person who was there at the time, 'Captain Toad forcefully set up a coup for Joharnés' yada-yada... they were all shot by some people with rifles I'm guessing. Joharnés and his cousins have Rosalina's wand, and... The train station has been blocked off."
"Divert all trains in to the town." Muji immediately suggested.
"They already have been." Peach replied. "Ever since the threats with Lakitu and Koopak III actually, and the people living there fled somewhere else. While I was on my way to you I sent the Brigade out to provide aid for the migrants from Uldersal to the surrounding cities they fled to."
"Good." Muji smiled. "Now if you want to talk proper plans with me, I suggest you free me from this cage so I can speak to you and Rosalina about the matters, telling me everything I need to know about the town and any maps I can draw on to help me." Peach immediately shook her head, frustrating him. He began to feel like he would be trapped in this cell and given food by the castle guards for another few days just for being realistic to her. He thought that hopefully one day she would be sorry for him, but is this all worth it? He wondered in those few seconds of silence after the shaking of her head that maybe one day enough is enough and that she should be treating him with more respect after all he did for her. Maybe the power has gotten to her after all.
"How will I be able to speak with Rosalina?" He asked just to get something out of her. "Is she back to her normal self again?"
"She is..." Peach replied slowly. "...And you will not."
"But why?"
"What do you mean, but why?"
"Why are you making this problem more difficult for all of us?" Peach said nothing back to him for once. Instead, she started to leave the area where he was imprisoned and around a corner where he could no longer see her. The old man was pissed off with her. All he would do now is go back to his bed and lie there until his next meal.
Peach then returned outside her castle with all the others still there, sitting on the bench together. They all noticed her and looked her way, waiting for her to speak first.
"Friends, I have a plan." She smiled, walking over to them all. They all stayed on the bench and gave her room to stand next to the closer end to the castle.
"Let's hear it then, Queen!" Daisy got excited, rubbing her hands together.
"We have to begin with letting the families of the fallen know about their passing. This will be a devious task but it must be done for them to know what happened. Now we will do our best to make sure that justice will be served to those involved in the Asquia estate." Everyone around her seemed interested in her plan. "I am going to form a new section in the Toad Patrol, calling up to a thousand personnel to base themselves around the city so we can lock all of the criminals and followers of the Asquia family in there. Then we will clear out all of whatever they control in there, free the station, and keep them trapped in their estate again. This time however, once that is done, we will capture all of those involved from above. I will be passing some orders over to the high officials of the Toad Brigade and Patrol later today..." She received applause from Daisy, Pauline, Luigi and Enrique. Mario and Rosalina just smiled back instead.
"What orders are you going to issue?" Enrique asked with a curious tone to his voice.
"It's time to end the threat their family poses on the Delfino Kingdom. Joharnés Asquia will be sentenced to death. Wanted: dead or alive. Any others involve will be captured unless they impose danger, in which they can be shot at by our own." Some eyes in front of her widened, for it was very rare for Peach to ever mention the idea of sentencing anybody to death, even for the evil they have caused. The last person she ever had a kill order on was Boom Boom, after all that he had done to the other princesses in the past.
"I'm right with you there, Peach. He's even worse than Koopak, and he was always a menace to us all!" Daisy said with confidence.
"They may not have committed the crimes their father did, but they can't use that as an excuse for their other crimes committed. You've seen how much money they stole from the other families and all of the illegal weapons they possess." Pauline added.
"Worst of all." Said Luigi. "One hundred and fifty dead Patrol. There is no excuse for that. I say they should all burn."
"If it gets to that severity, then that type of action may be implemented." Peach smiled to Luigi. "We cannot have any more threats to our people other than the one imposed up north. We've dealt with Bowser and now we will deal with the Asquias. It is my job as the Queen to make sure everyone in the south is safe." Whilst most of the others cheered and agreed with Peach, Mario and Rosalina, who were sitting at the opposite end of the bench, facing eachother, didn't seem too happy with what she was suggesting to the others.
"I'm all for saving the city, but the fact that another army marched in to the city yesterday. I feel like there's more to them than what appears." She whispered across to him. Mario didn't say anything for a few seconds. He was just so angered on the inside about how Peach was leading everything herself, and seeing her again hasn't made him any different in terms of his behaviour around her.
"She shouldn't be doing this." Mario growled. "I used to help her with everything when it came to managing the Kingdom." He was slightly open with his frustration, but didn't want to make a scene in front of everyone else talking. Luigi was to his right, and he had his face constantly turned towards Peach and Daisy further down the bench. They were still talking about the situation in Uldersal and when it would be best to start their new operation. Mario also overheard the mention of the races and whether or not they would impact on her plans. Rosalina was next to Pauline on the other side of the bench, and she was looking at Peach and Enrique who sat on the opposite side. They too weren't hearing what Mario and Rosalina were whispering to eachother.
"Every day I start to hate this place more often. I need a break from all of this local shit." Mario sobbed, not being noticed by anyone except Rosalina.
"I have an idea." She thought. "You can stay the night in the observatory." Mario looked up and smiled. "The Lumas will give you peace if you need it. Most of them went on the hundred-year cycle without me anyway."
"That would be very nice." The two nodded to eachother in agreement to meet up afterwards then turned their heads back towards the rest to listen in to their conversation. They were now just talking about the races. The plans on Uldersal must have concluded as they weren't mentioning anything from before now. Upon realising this, Rosalina stood up and stretched, signalling a future departure.
"Well." She got everyone's attention, yawning. "Now that this is now in your hands, I'm going to head out of here. Enjoy the rest of your day." The others looked back at her, surprised.
"Going somewhere, Rosa?" Enrique asked her, more surprised than anyone else.
"Back to the observatory. I won't vanish for days like last time."
"But how are you going to get back there?" He added, referring to the fact that she didn't have her wand to perform any magic. She snapped whilst looking away from everyone else and realised herself.
"Ah." She remembered, awkwardly standing still. "I really need my wand back." She turned around to look at everyone else again. "Can we hurry this up?"
"What do you mean?" Peach looked at her confused.
"I mean, can we take back Uldersal and get my wand back... today?" They all looked awkwardly at each other, but Peach realised that she had nothing outstanding to do for today. The next race was tomorrow and Muji was kept under surveillance.
"I will let them know. You should start making your way there now and the soldiers will come from all places around Delfino."
"Good!" Rosalina cheered. "Does anyone want to come with me?" She felt enthusiastic and desperate to get her wand back, but she definitely wouldn't want to go alone after the other events that happened there. She was mainly eyeing over Enrique, hoping he would join her as he was the one who seemed to be the most used to warfare and weaponry.
"I will go with you." Daisy stood up from her seat on the bench. "The Toads will need someone to lead them there. I will happily be that person to take charge." Rosalina felt defeated on the inside. Although Daisy was a very friendly person to be around and the two got on well, she knew that Daisy wouldn't be able to help her at all in retrieving her wand.
"Sure..." She said without confidence. "Are we going to drive?"
"Yep, I'll get one of the spare cars for the journey."
"I'll come too." Luigi stood up next to Daisy. "We'll take my car." Rosalina smiled a little more, but it wasn't the person she was looking for. She had her eyes on Enrique and he began to notice that she wanted him to come too.
"Alright, I'll come. Four is enough." Rosalina felt relieved, happy to see the person she wanted engage in her time of need.
"Let's head there now. We'll meet up with the Toads there then?" She looked at Peach one last time.
"Yes. I will see to that." She nodded with agreement. "I will go inside and send out the messages now. Best of luck my friends!" Peach waved them off and started heading back in to her castle. The other four then started leaving Toad Town to set off for Uldersal in Luigi's car. Mario and Pauline were now left alone on the bench and sitting on opposite sides, sitting silently for a bit before they saw both Peach closing the castle doors behind her and the other four depart from the horizon at the end of the road...
EOC: I've been looking more in to some old SMG1/2 Lore and the Iceberg concept. Expect some more knowledge from that to be implemented more here.
See you next chapter!
