Fighting in the Streets
Chapter 43 – DK Jungle
A/N: This chapter will definitely have a race (hence the name) and the chapter after it might also have one, since this one's near the beginning of the chapter. I was going to have it in the previous one, but there was so much to do about yesterday. There were more words than the average chapter in it as well.
February 10, 2015 – 7:30AM
Uldersal, North Delfino
The sunrise eventually hit Enrique's eyes with enough intensity to wake him up. He had tanned a little already, but not quite enough for sunburn. His eyes opened slowly and he took some time to remember where exactly he was. In front of him was the city of Uldersal, looking completely different to the last time he saw it... which was last night. He then also noticed he had another bubble shield wrapped around himself.
"Don't worry, you're not sunburnt." He heard Rosalina's voice coming from his left. She kept the shield going for most of the night, and didn't have to channel her wand to keep it up for him.
"What happened?" Enrique rubbed his eyes whilst staring at Rosalina. She stopped on the grass and looked over back on to the city with him.
"We won, somehow." She replied back to him.
"What do you mean somehow?" He looked confused, and still half-asleep.
"Well there wasn't any fighting until about three hours after you went to sleep. There was a bit of a siege in the middle of the night but there were barely any casualties. Turns out Toadskip is really good at teaching people where to shoot. He wounded most of the Asquia followers and no Toad Patrol guards lost their lives. He's probably going to take over as Captain if the other one was rescued."
"What happened to the Captain?" Enrique asked.
"He's not in the manor unfortunately, and neither is Joharnés." Rosalina replied. "Everyone involved with importance has been arrested under the orders of Daisy and have been taken to the Delfino Capital for further questioning. Sadly Joharnés disappeared. What matters is the city is now in control of its people again, but nobody wants to live here as... well look at it." They could both still see smoke coming from various parts of the city. Although the train station was now accessible again, the trains didn't stop there as the station became restricted and there was no other use for people to get off there.
"Well now what?" Enrique looked back to Rosalina. "Is Daisy down there with the rest of them?"
"She's gone back to the Mushroom Kingdom because, you know, we have a race in a few hours. So to save ourselves being late for it, I suggest we get ourselves moving."
"Awh." Enrique moaned.
"And, she went back with Luigi in his car. Lucky for you I decided to stay until you woke up."
"You stayed up all night? Are you not tired?"
"I am, but I'll sleep on the train."
"Where are we going to get the train from?"
"Probably Coconut Town... It is the closest large train station from here."
"Coconut Town? Ugh." Enrique moaned again. "Why can't that race be today instead of... whatever it is today?"
...
Coconut Mall race isn't for another few races at least. One day in the future they will return there. For now, the two spent the next few hours hiking their way through the savannah down south to the town where they would get on the next train that went all the way to Mushroom City. This train was at peak times, so their journey was extended due to visiting more stops. Their train departed at ten past eight in the morning and called at Annathen, Muilogen, Munhraw, Seven Farms (on the Delfino-Mushroom border), Sarasaland West, Sarasaland Central, Sarasaland East, Rolpan, Eve's End, Fathor, Takhor, Mushroom City West, and Mushroom City Central. The train would then go on further on to stop at Mushroom City East, Mushroom Yards, and Mushville, terminating there. Enrique and Rosalina got off at Mushroom City Central, and got on to another train that came from the north. This train would continue southwards, surveying at Toad's Turnpike, Toogle, and terminating at Sirenna Beach. The closest station to the DK Jungle racetrack was Toogle, a relatively large village in the Mushroom Kingdom on the borders of the jungle.
11:15AM
Even Toogle was packed with people for the day. It became a place for a lot of small businesses and merchants to sell Donkey Kong-themed merchandise to the locals as well as those who have tickets to watch the race at the venue. A massive gate was constructed for all those watching to make their way towards the track. It was one of the most spread out venues so far, with multiple entrances to the track and paths created by the Toad Management crew to get to all of the stands. The Kongs were not happy with the amount of work the Toads had put in to constructing the venue over the past few days, having some of their sleep disturbed and some of the jungle occupied by the paths and the stands. On top of one of the biggest trees in the jungle, Diddy Kong watched over parts of the track with Dixie Kong, waiting a few more minutes before heading back down to look for the participants' tent. Although they had already had a race near their jungle before – DK Mountain – this one was right in the middle of where most of their huts were.
"Look at all those Toads down there. There wasn't this many when they were assembling the mountain race here." Dixie Kong complained, pointing out at some of the oddly placed stands, such as two on either side of the wooden bridge and one on the path near the huts by the flower launch pad.
"There won't be any more of them in a few days. Once Parkway has finished they'll all be gone and we'll be back to normal." Diddy Kong smiled at Dixie, holding her hand on top of the branches.
"I sure hope it goes back to normal." Dixie said with a worrisome tone. "I don't want any of you guys getting in to more of Bowser's mess when the real thing is over."
"Trust me, we won't get involved again." Diddy Kong tried to persuade her. "None of us will, it is up to him whether he wins or not."
"And what if he doesn't? Are you promising me, Tiny, Chunky and the others that you won't do anything to save him?"
"I promise." The two kissed, shortly before Diddy Kong leapt down from the branch and swung on a few ropes to head towards the participants' tent. There he met DK, Cranky, Funky, and many other racers that had already arrived. He sat with Funky Kong and Cranky Kong, waiting for the rest to arrive. DK on the other hand was halfway across the tent, seeming to be in a quiet discussion with Bowser and only Bowser.
"What's going on with uncle over there?" Diddy Kong asked the others.
"They're talking about something secret concerning Bowser's other children." Funky Kong replied to him. "He's concerned about them being unheard from for nearly a month now."
"Where are his other kids?" Diddy Kong asked.
"With his double. In his secret hideout."
"Where's that?" He asked again. Both Funky and Cranky shrugged their shoulders. "Well why does he need uncle?"
"He probably needs his help in regards to his concern." Cranky Kong replied this time.
...
After a few more minutes, the last of the racers had arrived. Peach had gathered the Toad Management crew to set out from the participants' tent and make sure everything was ready. Everyone else departed from the tent and started making their way through the thick trees towards the starting line. Their vehicles were already set up and cameras filled the area instead of stands. The trees were so dense that the management crew were unable to construct many seating areas by the starting line without damaging any of the woodland nearby. They were being watched by all the spectators, but none of them were seen around. Most of the stands were built up somewhere else along the track, and there were more screens than just the ones that showed the scoreboards. All of the screens that were set up currently showed the starting line, and all those who were looking for their vehicles positioned in order.
POSITIONS:
FIRST: Rosalina and Pauline
SECOND: Tom and Enrique
THIRD: Funky Kong and Cranky Kong
FOURTH: Wario and Waluigi
FIFTH: Dry Bones and Kamek
SIXTH: Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa
SEVENTH: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong
EIGHTH: Mario and Luigi
NINTH: Bowser and Bowser Jr
TENTH: Toad and Toadette
ELEVENTH: Yoshi and Birdo
TWELFTH: Peach and Daisy
THIRTEENTH: King Boo and Petey
FOURTEENTH: Hammer Bro and Fire Bro
FIFTEENTH: Toadbert and Toadsworth
SIXTEENTH: Shy Guy and Lakitu
SCOREBOARD:
FIRST: Bowser and Bowser Jr: 161
SECOND: Rosalina and Pauline: 157
THIRD: Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 144
FOURTH: Peach and Daisy: 133
FIFTH: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 130
SIXTH: Wario and Waluigi: 117
SEVENTH: Mario and Luigi: 115
EIGHTH: Yoshi and Birdo: 115
NINTH: King Boo and Petey: 113
TENTH: Dry Bones and Kamek: 110
ELEVENTH: Shy Guy and Lakitu: 100
TWELFTH: Toad and Toadette: 99
THIRTEENTH: Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 97
FOURTEENTH: Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 93
FIFTEENTH: Tom and Enrique: 92
SIXTEENTH: Toadbert and Toadsworth: 86
Enrique finally saw Tom after two days, meeting together at the front of the track before the race was about to begin.
"I heard about Uldersal. What was it like?" Tom asked him, getting in to the back of the standard kart.
"Dangerous." Enrique replied. "Very dangerous... Did you get up to much yesterday while I was tackling my way through a warzone?" Tom looked back at him awkwardly, not responding immediately.
"Not really." Tom grinned. "I kind of just did what a normal person would do with freedom; relax." The two were ready for the race to start, noticing Pauline and Rosalina get in to their vehicle as well. Pauline smiled back at Tom and Enrique, whereas Rosalina already had her eyes on the road ahead.
"I've noticed Pauline's been spending more time in the Mushroom Kingdom recently." Tom said again. "I believe she's now staying in Peach's guest chamber in her castle."
"Yeah, she's taken the room that Rosalina would have been in had she not vanished for a few days. I still need to ask her about that. Are the other guys watching this race today?"
"No." Tom replied back. "I know that they have some more tickets, but they definitely didn't tell me that they were going to see this one."
"So what did you actually do yesterday?" Enrique asked, not noticing that the soundproof barrier started to turn on, sequentially leading to the item boxes being lit up on the track.
"I met up with the others and we went to Toad Harbour for the afternoon. Luke really wanted to go for some reason; he's like a photographer now as well as a chef. Much respect for the guy; he's getting to know a lot of people around here."
"He's starting to like it here I believe. Sooner or later the others will feel the same. Those three have it way easier because they don't have to deal with all of the bad stuff here. That's our responsibility." The light of the Lakitu in front of them started flashing red and amber, making the two realise that the race was about to start.
"Oh shit!" Enrique noticed the lights and started to rev up his kart. The lights went green immediately after and everyone around him and Tom boosted in front of him. Their vehicle began to go slowly, accelerating up to normal speed once everybody else had taken the first turn and picked up item boxes. As Tom and Enrique went around the bend they saw several racers staying at the back for a first item box. There was one open for the two to pass, appearing in fifteenth as they drove over it. They luckily got the bullet bill already. In the sixth series of events, the item roulette only allowed one bullet bill to be either active or in possession. They then appeared in eleventh after overtaking everyone else at the boxes, keeping their item secret as they got to the small tree junction. The rest of the track looked just as how they remembered, giving them memories going all the way back to the beginning of January. Holding the bill in place, Tom could recall the time he gave the Kongs their letters regarding the races as well as the incident where they found Koopak III here. While Enrique was drifting round the turn towards the wooden bridge he stared at the exact same spot he found the young Koopa lying down on the grass. They had already passed DK's barrel as well, which was left untouched by the management crew.
They had lost two positions. The Hammer Bros and Shy Guy and Lakitu had overtaken them with mushrooms and stars as they were going through the muddy section of the track. Fire Bro drifted on to the stone ramp and sent their vehicle in to glider mode, going over some of the golden structures before the sacred banana chamber. Besides losing the spots, Tom and Enrique had a rather calm and smooth first lap, though they weren't doing very good on keeping up with the rest of the racers. Whatever team that is in first are probably better and faster at driving around the track, so Tom thought to use the bill rather soon.
They waited all the way until they got to the tree junction on the second lap. This would save them a small bit of time as the bill went straight across the flower launch pad instead of bouncing across it slowly. It took them from thirteenth to ninth, putting them straight back in to the pack just before the ramps leading up to the banana chamber. As they got to it, they saw several racers in the middle hit eachother with items or pushing one another aside. Their position went from ninth to sixth as they saw some of the pack fall down between the gaps of the ramps and later get rescued by the holographic Lakitus.
At the end of lap 2, the spectators saw a completely different racing environment up front. Mario and Luigi had a strong and promising lead of a few seconds behind King Boo and Petey, behind them were the top three contenders in third to fifth, with Peach and Daisy, Bowser and Bowser Jr, and Rosalina and Pauline in those positions respectively. Mario and Luigi had triple bananas at the back of their kart and a green shell in Luigi's hand. All they spent the previous lap doing was littering the track down to keep their break away from the rest. Eventually, a blue shell arrived from further back and struck them down on the left side of the tree junction. Luigi dropped all of his bananas and backed the green shell before they were sent up in their air, hoping to hit anybody behind them. King Boo and Petey took the right side of the tree junction, avoiding the minefield of items that was just placed down, taking the lead afterwards. Mario got knocked aside by Bowser as he was accelerating, falling back down to fourth. They were itemless before the flower launch pad, and needed an item desperately to keep themselves up with the rest of the top racers. They all had items, and the amount they dropped was as many as could be. Every time the racers passed a new item box set, they would dump the item they had deployed either forward or backward depending on who they were more likely to hit with it, and the deploy their current item in their hands so they could always have two in use at all times. By the time Mario and Luigi got to the boxes by the small bridge, Rosalina and Pauline were hot on their tail. From what Luigi could see, Pauline had a bomb in defence at the back of the Twinkle Star, and a cube-looking item in her hands. Luigi knew that this was a POW block. Mario drove over an item box and watched Pauline deploy the bomb just after the bridge, blowing up once two middle-pack racers got to the boxes, causing an increase in the gap between the top five and the rest. Tom and Enrique's attempts to catch up still remained however, as through the smoke of the bomb's explosion came the two racers affected by a Mega Mushroom. Luigi kept squeezing the item box to accelerate its roulette, sadly giving them a Thundercloud. Mario noticed it appearing above his head and the miniature speed boost it gave them. Noticing Pauline and Rosalina to his right, Mario swerved in to them, passing the Thundercloud over to them. Pauline immediately activated the POW block upon being passed it and Rosalina, frustrated, tried to drift back around to pass it to Mario again. The POW shocked Mario and Luigi as they were turning through the muddy section and pushed them off course. Rosalina's outward drift on her bike allowed her to steer around and clip Mario's B Dasher, passing the Thundercloud back to him. The cloud kept flickering and was seconds before zapping down. Mario saw Tom and Enrique take the stone path to the glider ramp, meaning they weren't able to be hit by them.
Zap!
Mario and Luigi appeared tiny as they got to the ramps leading to the sacred banana chamber, eventually being caught up by the middle-pack racers as well. Their spots began to fall down and the look on all of the spectators in the stands was unpleasant for them to see. Mario became embarrassed and slightly distracted by the viewers, causing him to be rammed off by Wario and Waluigi. The two laughed at eachother as they watched Mario and Luigi fall down, being rescued and put all the way at the back of the ranks. They managed to go from first to last in nearly the entirety of lap three. Thankfully there were five laps in these races.
"Mario, get yourself together, buster!" Luigi nudged him as they resized, going for the item boxes by the sacred banana. "We've gotta catch up fast or we are goners!"
"I'm trying Luigi." Mario said with frustration. "I hate Thunderclouds!" He drove over the item box, giving them the lightning shock item.
"We're too far behind, what do you want to do with this?" Luigi asked his brother, holding the item in his hands and holding himself off from squeezing it to activate it.
"Hold it for a moment brother." Mario slowly began to regain his confidence. "For another lap at least, I have an idea." The two glided across the stream and landed near the final turn where the track split in to two small sections. They took the tighter section and accelerated their kart. Mario began to get his focus back, and drove around the bends at tight angles and turns, keeping his speed up. They came across the next racers from last. Yoshi and Birdo re-gathered their speed after being hit by somebody's bullet bill. They too were itemless when they reached the flower launch pad. As they landed and got to the turn before the small bridge, Mario drifted inwardly, taking a tighter line than Yoshi, causing them to be overtaken. Luigi turned around to see which item they picked up at the boxes, still with the shock kept unseen. They got triple mushrooms, so they weren't going to be a danger to their possession of the shock. As Mario went around the muddy section, they became overtaken by Yoshi and Birdo as they used their mushrooms to go along the stone path to the glider ramp.
"Activate it Luigi!" Mario called out the shock usage, and Luigi immediately used it. He watched the surroundings darken and their nearby rival racers spin out of control, breaking their glider and sending them to the ground. Their speed slowed down but their lack of control with the vehicle still moving made them slide off the edge of the ramp before the series of ramps before the banana chamber. Yoshi and Birdo fell down whilst tiny, going even further behind after being target shocked. Further up in the ranks, many other racers were send off course in the banana chamber and some even further up lost their glider speed at the final ramp mid-air, sending them down in to the stream. Mario and Luigi tricked together at the series of ramps and started overtaking more racers again, getting a golden mushroom at the last item set.
"Want me to hold this too?" Luigi asked as they drove on to the ramp.
"Spam it!" Mario called out, being heard by the tiny racers below who were nearly coming to up to resizing. The two sped through the air with their glider across the stream and landed at the final turn at the grove now in tenth. The final lap had begun, and the two still needed more items to catch up. The pack became very spread out over the third and fourth lap to their surprise. At the first set, Mario drove through the box on the far left, drifting tightly to go to the left side of the tree junction. They got another golden mushroom, and Luigi could tell what Mario wanted, so he spammed that too, getting them to overtake another two racers and being sent flying from the flower launch pad. There were items everywhere at the next bend, but none near the tight side. Mario viciously drove along it, colliding with Toadbert and Toadsworth, pushing them to the right.
The golden mushroom expired, conveniently before the next item set after the bridge. They were now in seventh place, and they received a single red shell. It wasn't the best item they could ask for at this point in the race, but at least it wasn't another Thundercloud. Mario and Luigi also heard a blue shell swoop through above them, heading for first place. As they drove around the sharp bend in the muddy section, a POW block appeared in front of them. Mario tried to mitigate it as his brother threw the red shell forward, hoping it would hit anyone ahead of them. Conveniently, the POW spun them about just before the ramps section, and the red shell Luigi threw went across the ramps and locked on to the target in front: Bowser and Bowser Jr. The two were angered as they were overtaken by the Mario brothers and then soon a few other racers behind them.
Mario drove through the final item box of the race, Luigi was waiting for the roulette to finish and deliver him his item, but unfortunately a second dark gloom filled their surroundings, and a shock came down from above to zap them down to small size. The two lost their item, and saw some racers in front fall down in to the stream again. Mario drove on to the ramp and flew across the stream at normal speed, despite being small. Their positions went up amazingly for them, landing on the ground with only one vehicle ahead of them. Both they and the racers in front were itemless, but once they resized there was no way they were able to get enough speed to overtake. Mario and Luigi crossed the line, grateful for their score that race despite being sent all the way back to last during it. They slowed down after the line and waited for all of the other racers to cross. Mario sunk in his seat, relieved that the race was over. He couldn't believe how much effort he put in to driving and how well he took the turns on the track. Co-ordinating items with Luigi also helped get them the spot they got.
By the time everyone had crossed the line, Mario had gotten out of his seat, heading over to the woods beside him to find out how all of the racers did. There were no screens nearby as there wasn't anywhere to put them with all of the trees in the way, so he had to find another spot on the track to see one. On his way to the participants' tent he saw two screens that showed results for him.
RESULTS:
FIRST: King Boo and Petey: +20
SECOND: Mario and Luigi: +17
THIRD: Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: +15
FOURTH: Toad and Toadette: +13
FIFTH: Peach and Daisy: +12
SIXTH: Wario and Waluigi: +11
SEVENTH: Rosalina and Pauline: +10
EIGHTH: Shy Guy and Lakitu: +9
NINTH: Dry Bones and Kamek: +8
TENTH: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: +7
ELEVENTH: Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: +6
TWELFTH: Bowser and Bowser Jr: +5
THIRTEENTH: Tom and Enrique: +4
FOURTEENTH: Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: +3
FIFTEENTH: Toadbert and Toadsworth: +2
SIXTEENTH: Yoshi and Birdo: +1
UPDATED SCOREBOARD:
FIRST: Rosalina and Pauline: 167
SECOND: Bowser and Bowser Jr: 166
THIRD: Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 150
FOURTH: Peach and Daisy: 145
FIFTH: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 137
SIXTH: King Boo and Petey: 133
SEVENTH: Mario and Luigi: 132
EIGHTH: Wario and Waluigi: 128
NINTH: Dry Bones and Kamek: 118
TENTH: Yoshi and Birdo: 116
ELEVENTH: Toad and Toadette: 112
TWELFTH: Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 112
THIRTEENTH: Shy Guy and Lakitu: 109
FOURTEENTH: Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 96
FIFTEENTH: Tom and Enrique: 96
SIXTEENTH: Toadbert and Toadsworth: 88
Mario and Luigi were still in seventh place, it took a while for him to realise as he didn't notice King Boo and Petey had jumped three spots for winning. They were now less than forty points from first, and Bowser wasn't currently in first. Mario hoped that he would be able to keep his confidence up for the next races so he could potentially be at the top of the ranks in a few more races and then create a lead from that as well in a few more.
As Luigi arrived, Mario ran over to him and gave him a big hug.
"Hey Mario, I'm so glad you brought us up there that race. I had a little bit of doubts halfway through." Luigi cheered for his brother, jumping for joy as he couldn't contain the excitement.
"That's how I want to be all the time Luigi. You told me we had to catch up fast or we were goners, and we did exactly that! We caught up fast!" Mario felt truly relieved. Even though they didn't win, being able to get second out of that mess he thought he was in was a big accomplishment for him.
They were the first two to reach the participants' tent after the race. The Toad Management crew had set up the time for Moonview Highway, which was at a later time of eight o'clock in the evening on the twelfth. Mario found the first sofa he could find in the giant tent and plunged himself in to it, resting after a vigorous race. He turned around whilst lying down to see Luigi take a few stretches.
"I'm going to see how Daisy's doing." Luigi stated. "I'll see you in a bit or back at home brother."
"Don't worry about me, Luigi." Mario smiled. "I'll be right here." He watched his brother turn around and walk past some of the Koopas that entered the tent next.
"Nice comeback Mario." Fire Bro cheered as he entered the tent. "I watched it all whilst I was tiny!" He joked around, walking over with his friends to another part of the tent. As Luigi went out of the exit, another human entered from the same place. Pauline searched for Mario and eventually noticed him lying on the sofa after looking around for a few seconds.
"Mario..." Pauline smiled and waved at him, walking over towards him and pulling up a chair to sit beside him on. "I hope our dinner yesterday contributed to you doing well that race. How did you do it? I thought you were a goner after that Thundercloud." Mario yawned and grinned back at her.
"We got the shock, and I called when to use it. The first shock that is. We got two golden mushrooms to get up to the top spots and luckily for us we were shocked just before the ramp at the end, allowing us to glide across the water smoothly. I take it you were sent down in to the stream?" Mario asked her back, showing off his driving skills with gestures he made as he explained his case to her.
"Worse." Pauline laughed a bit. "We were hit by a blue shell just after the ramp, and by the time we landed, we were struck by the shock. We had to drive the entire stream part whilst tiny."
"That sounds rough. At least you beat Bowser." Mario tried to picture what happened to her and Rosalina in his mind. The two noticed Rosalina enter the tent and look immediately at the board in the middle, showing the time for the next race. Instead of looking for Mario and Pauline and interacting with them, she turned straight back around and walked outside of the tent.
"That's weird. I would have thought she'd at least speak to you after that." Pauline was puzzled.
"Oh well." Mario awkwardly added, taking his time to say something else to her. "So... I was thinking something."
"What's up Mario?" Pauline turned her head from the entrance back towards him. "Do you want to go out and eat again?"
"Wha-, y-yes. Yes... sure. Tomorrow though, not today." Mario replied, half-surprised.
"Great!" Pauline cheered with joy. "I did say we should do it often. Where should we go? Do you want to go to somewhere else in Super Bell City?"
"I'm not sure, what about Sirenna Beach?" Mario suggested.
"I'm not a fan of Sirenna Beach. I can find a nice posh place in Mushville that I could get a reservation for." Pauline said back to him. "I will get back to you by tomorrow, but let's say, eight o'clock, wherever it is we go."
"I'll be there." Mario stretched on the sofa and smiled back at Pauline with appreciation.
...
Meanwhile outside, most other racers were standing outside waiting to see Peach after returning from the starting area. Luigi watched with Daisy and saw her coming through the trees with Enrique and Rosalina. Most other racers already started leaving the area. Donkey Kong on the other hand was standing beside a nearby tree and looking condescendingly over towards Peach. At the same time, since the race had ended and there weren't any open places for reporters to ask for interviews, most people watching started to leave the venue, heading back to their lives and clearing the capacity of the jungle. The management crew were packing everything up and were going to start disassembling the tent in a few minutes, but it didn't seem enough for DK.
"May I have a word, Peach?" Donkey Kong adjusted his tie and beckoned for her attention.
"Something troubling you, DK?" She responded back immediately, to his surprise. "Are we not going fast enough to get out of here?" The two haven't been on good terms for a very long time. Security in Mushroom City has always been nasty to him and since the Mushroom Accords and the exposure to the races' regime he could never respect her again.
"You've damaged a lot of property building this up for a venue. I was generous with you the times before but I suggest you pay us back for the damage you've done." He threatened her, but she appeared more confused than offended by his statement.
"I'm a bit lost, why are you only bringing this up now?" She asked him back.
"Because I have begun to realise what this is all about." DK beckoned over his family, including some others that weren't participating in the race. Peach was now being confronted by not just DK, but Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, Cranky Kong, Dixie Kong, and Chunky Kong. All hanging on to the nearby tree branches or standing beside DK. The next thing he did was pull out one of the letters that stated the series of events that were going to happen, also known as 'Bowser's last wishes'. It was the edited one that was supposedly annotated by Marrec Hudson himself. "This was your idea, not his."
"I knew it!" Tom joked about from afar.
Peach froze on her spot, awkwardly being watched over by everyone round her. Daisy immediately stepped in for her and confronted the Kongs' suggestion.
"That's a dirty lie!" She shouted back at them. "Bowser had signed it himself after he had spoken it out for us and wrote it himself. If we were really heartless then we wouldn't have given him a fair trial." DK clenched his teeth together, growling back at Daisy.
"Then why have you made everyone else poor by charging them to watch his trial?" He said softly but fiercely, creeping ever so closer to Daisy and Peach behind her.
"It is for their enjoyment. Everyone loves it." Daisy kept speaking on behalf of Peach, assuming she wasn't ready to respond back to DK herself.
"Then why have you made everything else so expensive?" Chunky Kong asked from the side.
"Because everyone needs money." Peach got out of Daisy's way and stood beside her now. "Any business owner needs money to keep their business going. We respect people's aspirations to become successful."
"And the money that everyone's paid to you for the races? Where does that go to?" Dixie Kong questioned.
"Straight back to the people through investing in making these lands a better place." Peach responded again. "You lot are not in the position to be asking things like that. You chose these tracks so we set up our venue exactly where it is. I think we are done here." She didn't want to keep the conversation going so she instead turned around and hurried back in to the tent, with all her human friends and the Toads following behind her.
"I think I need to get to the bottom of this..." Donkey Kong groaned to his family.
...
February 11, 2015 – 8:30AM
Peach's Castle, Mushroom City
The race would lead to a rather quiet evening for Peach and Daisy, having only Muji to attend to, still being behind bars underneath the castle. The bright flares of light coming from the window reflection got in to Peach's eyes and caused her to wake up slowly and gracefully. Nobody was in her chambers and not even the guards were outside. The top floor of the castle felt surprisingly empty of workers on a normal day like this. Peach always loved the light shining in to her bedroom and the pattern the shadows made from the design of the castle's windows. The top floor had windows from all over, including some near the ceiling which made it possible for light to shine in from any side without creating a wide opening in to each room. In the times before recent days she would often sit on the hot parts of the floor and look down on her city in the mornings to take in the view of her own prosperous capital city. Since it was still rather early, she got out of bed, put her gown on and wrapped herself warm. First she pressed a button beside her bed to send an order down to the kitchens to prepare her breakfast. Then she slowly walked over to the windows and sat down cross-legged on the warm wooden flooring of her room, gazing down onto the now-industrialised financial city.
The town was already so busy. The roads filled with cars and the pavements filled with citizens going to work. Peach couldn't imagine herself as one of the people down there committed to a job like the one they do every day, having to be up even earlier than now just to commute there. From her room she got a pretty impressive view, she was even able to see some faces in the closer streets. She saw Koopa heads, Toad heads, Pianta heads, even the odd human was roaming about the streets. These humans would either be a friend of Tom's or a Wuhu human native.
There was a knock on her door, and a small carved wooden hatch that the Toad castle worker on the other side could slide her breakfast through on a polished board. Her breakfast today was a mix of fruits and soft breads. Everything was laid out of her like royalty, as she was... technically.
Putting the board beside where she was sitting earlier, Peach began to munch on her pickings for breakfast whilst still looking down on the capital. In a nearby vegetable stand on one of the closer roads she could see one of Tom's friends queuing up. The blonde hair meant that it must be Luke Loggins waiting in line, as Enrique definitely wouldn't be queuing up for vegetables. This made Peach wonder what Tom's friends would be up to during these times since they're not often with him or Enrique. There was so much she still didn't know about, and the penthouse building they live in is only a matter of metres away from her directly. Beyond the hedges of Toad Town and only one road was their building, lying on the corner before the Toad Town main entrance.
Peach now heard a second knock on her door. The only person she could assume for it to be was Daisy, as for the past month and a half she was staying in her own given chambers of the castle instead of in Sarasaland. It was not, because she would already have invited herself in to Peach's chambers by now. Peach got up from her spot and headed over to the door of her chambers, opening it up slowly to see who was on the other side. It was somebody she did not expect at all, and not quite the person who she would want to be speaking with at the moment. Sadly for her, she didn't have as much authority over this person as the average one, and it froze her in place for a few seconds.
"Archbarn?" She said with extreme surprise, waking herself up completely. "...This is a surprise. Could you give me two minutes? Also, how did you get in?" He said nothing. He only kept looking up to her as she closed the door on him briefly. Peach immediately rushed over to her wardrobe and quickly got on one of her pink dresses for the day. One that wasn't as big as her usual apparel, but still showing the colour. She had been up for five minutes and had no makeup on. She definitely didn't appreciate having to be seen by an outsider to the capital with the look she had on at the moment.
After a minute, she returned to the door, looking somewhat better than when she had just woken up. Hopefully she wouldn't be judged on how she looked at this time in the morning.
"Hello there." She opened the door to him again. "What might you be doing here? You know it is rude to invite yourself in to my castle without a formal invitation."
"My people know of no authority to do with castles. You could consider the city that was renamed after me to have a castle and yet still anyone can tread foot inside, even you can."
"Don't speak in riddles with me, Koopa." Peach felt frustrated. "State your business."
"I'm here looking for my partner, Muji." Archbarn replied. "I've been down south with a few others, including Lumpy. We're trying to get our numbers up for our plans ahead. I stopped here to inquire on the whereabouts of him, since he has been gone for a few days now and I haven't got anything back from him."
"Muji is doing just fine." Peach replied rather slowly, trying to think about what else she could say back to him so that he would believe her. "Obviously he could be asleep right now. He will return when he is finished aiding me... say on the fifteenth I believe he told me."
"Right, thanks for letting me know." Archbarn smiled. "I am truly sorry I disturbed you. I take it that it also best not to disturb him at the moment as well then?"
"Yes, definitely. We were up for quite some time trying to deal with a lot of stuff down here as well."
"What kind of stuff?" Peach thought Archbarn wouldn't be as inquisitive as his partner given that he didn't ask to see him. Being asked this was easier, but still annoying to deal with.
"It's mainly all about these events. We have raised so much money that it might be starting to lose its value. We are thinking of ways to give it back to the people but indirectly." Hopefully what she said would be enough for him to believe.
"Yes." Archbarn agreed. "Muji would definitely be more of the type of guy to help you with that, especially based on his earth knowledge."
"Exactly." Peach smiled awkwardly.
"I shall be off then. There are probably guards waiting for me on the bottom floor by the elevator."
"Indeed, and do let me get myself made up." Peach joked. "I am looking ugly at the moment!"
"Haha!" Archbarn went with the joke, awkwardly saying nothing afterwards. He waved his goodbye to her and headed down the tight corridor all the way back round to the lift he came from.
"Well that was easier than expected." She said softly with a sigh of relief, heading back in to her chambers to finish off her breakfast. As she got to the floor where she sat before, she opened some of the windows slightly to get some of the breeze in from outside. Being several floors up in the castle, the air was noticeably cooler, still warm though. What Peach wanted from opening the windows however was more sound coming from outside. She didn't hear much being still far from the main city and being so far up, but for some reason the sound of cars moving through traffic and the background noise of people walking through the streets seemed to sooth her ears on this bright morning.
Things started to feel a little bit better for Peach, at least she thought. The current case in Uldersal seemed to be dealt with and the attempts to retrieve Captain Toad were still underway as she was told so by Toadskip last night. Having Archbarn recruit more people from the south to help with the north meant that the threat of the Hostiles would be less of an influence to her leadership. It was as if naturally the responsibilities she had to deal with the threats around her were being taken in to other people's hands willingly, and that she would have more time to deal with her own personal matters, such as making sure these races go on. Very few concerning matters from the people were left in the hands of her workers, and their cases were not serious enough to have her know about it. Everything started to look better-shaped now.
Peach heard a third knock on her door whilst she was about to finish her breakfast. In comes her best friend, skipping around with joy and letting the door close itself behind her.
"Yoo-hoo!" Daisy sat herself down next to Peach and gave her a big hug, staring right in to her eyes as Peach was still looking down on the city. "Still waking up are we?" She smiled. "I've been up since five!"
"Six, why did you get up so early?" Peach asked.
Daisy moved herself in front of Peach and rested her back against the glass, slightly scaring Peach because it looked like Daisy could possibly fall if the glass broke somehow. "Tom wanted to go with me and Luigi to the beach before sunrise. He also brought one of his other friends with him. I can't remember his name, but it's the shorter one of the three." Peach looked back at Daisy with a little bit of concern. She wasn't entirely happy with knowing that she wasn't told of this and didn't go with them.
"And I wasn't told anything about it?" Questioned Peach.
"It was Tom's idea to be honest. You were tired that night after being busy, so we thought maybe we should let you sleep in."
"What kind of stuff did you get up to... at the beach, and which one did you go to?"
"We went to Luthar Beach, just south of Sirenna Beach. This one was so much quieter and the sand was flat and smooth. The waves were so relaxing and the sunset was beautiful! Tom and his friend also went swimming. I regret not going in my swimsuit actually." The thought of going to the beach before sunrise massively interested her, making her deeply wish she was there.
"That sounds like lots of fun. You should have told me, I would have loved it." She smiled back at Daisy.
"We can always go another day. Sunrises happen every day!" Daisy joked.
"Why don't we go tomorrow morning?" Peach suggested. "It might just be something calm and relaxing enough to freshen me up for the day.
"Sounds like a good idea!" Daisy cheered. "The next race isn't until the evening so we should be perfectly fine with that."
"Which beach should we go to this time? Why did you choose Luthar?"
"Because it was so calm and quiet and open. I think it is one of the most beautiful beaches in all the land." Daisy smiled, reminiscing her time there even though it was just only earlier. "Ah..." She daydreamed briefly.
"Well, what beach this time?" Peach interrupted her train of thought.
"Oh sorry, let's go to Meterene this time. That's another quiet town with a nice empty beach."
"Great!" Peach felt extremely happy that she could potentially enjoy optional leisure again.
"Yay! I'll let Luigi know, and we can go with him in the morning." Daisy mentioned, getting up from her spot by the glass and standing up straight.
"Cool! And I'll bring... hmm." Peach realised something. Maybe Daisy enjoyed it more because she went with Luigi. Maybe Daisy's more of a people person than she is and that made her like it a lot more. Peach wasn't currently in a relationship or having feelings for a specific person. There is one other person she could ask to bring, but it wasn't yet a thought to tell Daisy first. "Maybe ask Tom again to see if he wants to go."
"Can do!" Daisy agreed, beginning to head over to the door. "I'm going to check up on Luigi now, but I will get back to you later in the morning!" She waved her goodbyes as Peach still sat down by the window, considering calling the Toads up to take her breakfast board out of her room as well.
"See you soon!" Peach watched her friend head out of the room and close the door behind her.
EOC: This chapter was heavily slowed down due to the slow updates to the website and crushing the interest slightly. Now that the site is up and working properly again I will continue to write and upload.
A/N: I've considered moving to AO3 (Archive of Our Own) as a result of this, but since the site is still running I will release chapters on both sites, will get chapters on release, but AO3 will be having chapters released every five days as of Jan 10. Only 2 chapters are out on there thus far, and it's the first two.
