AN: Well, I did it. I actually wrote a story with more than 30 chapters. This….I am so happy right now! And the best part is that I still have a big chunk of this story to go! I'm very excited to see what my ultimate record is :)

Thank you all for the support; I wouldn't have reached this milestone if it wasn't for you guys.

Chapter 31 Koopas vs Toads

Roy and Celia stayed at Ruby's house for the rest of the day. Celia mostly spent it in the far off corners of the house, doing her best to keep herself away from the windows. Roy, however, actually enjoyed himself. He had to admit that Ruby's house was pretty sweet. The walls were painted Robin's egg blue, which was, like, his favorite type of blue. The furniture was pretty nice as well; the couch was one of the fluffiest and comfiest that he had ever seen. Despite the fact that Ruby had burned the waffles earlier that day, she actually had some decent food in her house too. Mostly fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Roy loved fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

He also found Ruby herself to be very sweet. Seriously. She was as happy as a horse in a hayfield whenever Roy talked to her. Her smile matched the brightness of a gigantic star, the brilliance of an aurora. It made Roy's spirit soar higher than it normally did.

"You know, Roy," she said as she and him sat at the dining room table. "One thing that I really want to do is learn how to cook."

Roy chuckled. "Well, there are ways to do that. Do you have any friends who cook?"

Ruby sighed and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I don't really get out much."

"Really?" Roy leaned against his right fist.

"Yeah. The only time I ever get out of my house is to go to my job and to shop."

"Your job?" Roy was now intrigued; he never considered the possibility that Ruby might have a job. "What do you do?"

"I'm a power up sorter," said Ruby. "I put different power ups into item boxes and question mark blocks."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "There's a difference between the two?"

"A big difference. Question mark blocks are shipped to different parts of the world. Item boxes are used exclusively in Mario Kart races."

"Ohhhh." Roy smiled. "That sounds like a cool job!"

Ruby shrugged. "Eh."

"Eh?"

"It doesn't really pay that well." She laughed. "I'm practically paid peanuts."

"Oh! That's why you have so many nuts in your house!"

Ruby burst into laughter. "Yeah! Exactly!" She hugged her sides, trying to contain her laughter. When she finally calmed down, she put her hand on the table. "No. What I really want to do is become a doctor. Unfortunately…" she sighed. "Medical school is expensive."

"Ooh. Yeah," Roy said with a nod. "And you can't exactly pay for that with peanuts."

Ruby shook her head. "No sir. Not at all."

Roy paid attention to Ruby's facial expression. There was something about it, something that filled him with sadness. It looked like the woman was broken, physically and mentally. She looked like she used her crushed dreams as seasoning for her awful dishes. She sighed, which caused Roy to become concerned for her.

"You okay?"

Ruby was just about to answer, but Celia came into the room. Roy turned toward her when she cleared her throat.

"It's late. I think we need to leave now."

Roy hesitated before nodding. "Okay." He got up out of his chair.

Ruby looked at Celia with hurt in her eyes. She slowly rose from her chair. "I can't believe you're leaving already."

Celia swallowed a tiny lump in her throat and nodded. The anger in her eyes, Roy noticed, wasn't nearly as bad as when they had initially arrived. In fact, it had pretty much been replaced entirely with tears.

"Yes." A simple word, the only word she uttered. But her inflection….Roy stepped toward the door and watched the scene from there.

Ruby came up and brushed her finger against Celia's cheek. "I hope you're successful."

Celia nodded and gently put her hands on Ruby's arm. "I do too."

With that, they hugged. Roy had to turn away, for his heart was bleeding. His lip quivered, but he didn't cry. He couldn't cry.

Finally, Celia let Ruby go. Despite her tears, Ruby managed to smile at her daughter. She looked at her for a long time, seemingly trying to engrain her appearance in her memory.

"I love you. I never stopped loving you."

Celia brushed her hair behind her ear. Although Roy couldn't see her face, he had a hunch that she was smiling. "T...thank you. I...love you too."

With that, she turned toward Roy. Together, they made their way outside toward the motorcycle. Roy smiled as he felt Celia's hands gripping the sides of his shell. Her touch felt warm. Smooth.

With that, they were off. Roy leaned forward on the motorcycle, keeping his hands gripped to the handles. He loved everything about riding. The wind rushing around his face, the pumping of his heart; it was all incredible. He thought back to when he had used this bike in a Mario Kart tournament. He had gotten the same rush, the same feeling that he was getting right now. In a sense, this rush was very nostalgic, very special to him. He could let himself get caught up in his feelings.

Of course, he wouldn't let that happen. He had a road he needed to focus on.

Roy looked around at the scenery. They had already left the village where Ruby lived and were driving through the night. The grass looked like a sea of black shards because of the lack of light, and Roy could tell that the road was dusty even now. Bugs rammed themselves against Roy's teeth. He spat them out. One of the worst parts of being on a motorcycle. Didn't detract from the experience, not really, but it was annoying.

Roy noticed a white building coming up. It looked...it looked like a gas station. Hmm. He didn't really need to stop, as he had a full tank. He might as well keep driving. After all, he wanted to get home at a decent time. He really wanted to see his siblings; Ludwig, Wendy, Larry…

Wait a minute! Holy crap; how could he have forgotten?

"Celia, we're gonna stop at that convenience store."

"Why?"

"Larry asked me to buy him some pretzels."

With that, he pulled into the parking lot. He let out a breath and stepped off the bike. He looked at Celia. "You coming in?"

Celia shook her head. "No. I'm good."

Roy nodded. "Okay." He looked up at the sign, which read "Mother Mace Gas Station and Convenience Store" in flickering red neon. He put one foot after the other.

"Roy, be careful," said Celia. "We're in Mushroom Kingdom territory."

Roy just smirked. "I'll be fine. No worries."

With that, he opened up the door and made his way in. Just like most convenience stores Roy had been in, there were aisles upon aisles of junk food. At the back of the store, right next to the coffee station and slushie station, was the checkout counter. A Toad stood at the counter. one that was short and stout. He glared at Roy when he entered, but Roy decided to ignore him.

"Okay. Pretzels, pretzels…"

He browsed the aisles. Colorful candy bags hung from hangers. Chip bags rested on the shelves, ready to be picked up and opened. Resting among the chip bags was, thankfully, a bag of pretzels. Roy smiled and took it to the checkout counter.

"Hey," he said. The toad's glare just got more concentrated. Once again, Roy just ignored it and put the bag of pretzels on the counter. He also put his coins on the counter. "I'll pay for this and be on my way."

The toad snickered. "Funny. You guys care enough to pay, but not enough to not kidnap Princess Peach?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Dude, what's your deal? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

The Toad rolled his eyes. "Annnd, you don't know what I'm talking about. Typical Koopa."

Now it was Roy's turn to glare. "Dude."

The toad shook his head. "Don't pretend it isn't true. Your king has a whole laundry list of crimes under his belt."

Roy slammed his hands down on the counter. "Don't insult King Bowser in front of me! Not unless…"

"What? Are you gonna knock me out? Punch out my teeth?" The Toad laughed in the most humorless way possible. "Go ahead. I would love to see another one of your filthy kind end up in jail."

Roy seized up. He didn't want to go to jail. Not over a jerk like this. He pulled his hands away from the counter. "Can you just...ring me up please?"

The Toad just glared at Roy, but thankfully did as he was asked to do. Roy sucked in a breath and took the pretzel bag.

"Thanks."

"Mmhm." The toad's eyes were shooting daggers. "Any….fucking...time."

Roy was about to say something, taken aback by this guy swearing. However, he thought about it, and decided against it. He just exited the store and went back to the bike, where Celia was waiting.

"You okay?" she asked.

Roy huffed. "I'm fine. Just had to deal with a jerk, that's all."

Celia nodded. "Oh. Yeah, that sucks."

"I know. Believe me, I know." He hopped into place. "Watch me come to this place again," he grumbled bitterly.

With that, they drove. They were mostly silent, but eventually, Roy turned back to the girl gripping his shell.

"You know, Toads are big jerks."

Celia nodded. "I know," she said quietly. "Believe me, I know." She sighed and leaned even closer against Roy's back. "But that's true of every kind of person."

Roy nodded. "I know." He focused on the road. "I just hope that your dad isn't one of those types of people. We already have enough jerks in the world."

Celia seized up. "Yeah. Me too."

The inflection in her face reflected an angry, bitter mood. Roy was about to ask her about it, but decided it wasn't a good idea. So, he just drove. When she was ready to tell him what she wanted to say, she would.