If there was one word, to sum up how Quirrel felt, it was shit.
His whole body ached from top to bottom, not one spot felt normal or relaxed. His vision was still blurry and trying to process what he was seeing. When his vision became clear what he saw was…. Odd. The room he was in was bright pink, two question blocks were floating near the door, and from what he could see out the window, an endless field of green hills with more floating blocks.
He tried sitting himself up but his back ached and he went back to lying down. Surprisingly though, the bed was comfortable. It soothed his back and the rest of his sore muscles very well. Maybe this wasn't so bad. Twenty minutes passed and Quirrel was beginning to like this new environment. It was quiet and seemed peaceful enough, then again, he had been to many places in Hallownest that seemed peaceful only to harbour creatures that wanted nothing but blood.
The door came open and a weird looking…. Person walked in. She had a pink circle hat and a pink outfit.
"Hello, I'm Toadette. It's good to see you awake." She walked to the bedside table and place a warm cup of tea on it. "How are you feeling?" she asked with a warm smile.
"I'm… alright. This bed is very nice, it's helping a lot with my muscles." Said Quirrel.
"Good to hear. Oh, might I ask, what's your name?"
"Quirrel. It's very nice to meet you. May I ask you a question?"
"You just did." Toadette grinned. Quirrel chuckled a little at the response as he finally got the strength to sit up. He grabbed the tea and held it with both hands.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You're in the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Mushroom?"
"Yup, mushroom homes, mushroom power-ups," Toadette then pointed to her hat. "mushroom hats." She said with another grin.
"Interesting. Very different from my home." Quirrel then thought back to where he came from, the place he grew up, the lab he worked in, the partner he worked with. Not my home anymore. There's nothing left. He thought.
"I'll let you rest some more; you'll meet Princess Peach later today."
"I'm assuming she's in charge?"
"You assume correctly." Toadette said cheerfully as she threw Quirrel another grin before walking out. Quirrel chuckled again.
"Funny little one."
Peach was sitting at her desk filing the last few reports that came in. They were easy to take care of and would be done in just a few minutes, but one caught her eye. It was covered by a few other files that came in. Peach pulled out the file only to realize it wasn't a file or report, it was a letter.
It read: From King Boo, asking of a truce.
To Princess Peach.
"Your joking?" Peach said to herself. King Boo, of all people, was asking for a truce? And to what purpose? Peach was starting to get frustrated, the Red Flames, Bowser's minions wondering about, and worst of all Samus wasn't around. Soon a knock came to her door.
"Come in." said Peach in a groan.
"Princess Peach, our guest is awake." Said Toadette.
"Oh, good to hear. Now should be a good time to speak with him." Peach got up from her desk and began walking down the hall with Toadette.
"So, what is our guest's name?"
"His names Quirrel. He was very polite when he came to."
"Then this should be a nice talk. Did he say where he came from?"
"No. I figured I shouldn't pry when he's seeing our kingdom for the first time."
"Smart move."
Soon they arrived at the room Quirrel was resting in and entered. Quirrel looked up from his drink to see who entered. Quirrel had never seen anything like Peach before, the same went for Toadette. To him, they were creatures he had never seen before. No bug-like features, no actual mushrooms growing on them, no crystals, moss, or that orange stuff that infested the Forgotten Crossroads.
To him, they were other-worldly.
"Hello, Quirrel. My name is Princess Peach. It's nice to meet you."
"Hello, Toadette told me I'd meet you. You're not what I expected." Quirrel tilted his head as he spoke, looking at Peach.
"How so?"
"Pattern if this comes out as rude but, I expected you to have a mushroom as well." Peach chuckled at his answer.
"I would guess the same."
"I must thank you very much for tending to me. I probably would've died if I'd stay in that lake." Quirrel lifted his mask a bit and took a small sip of the tea Toadette brought.
"If you don't mind Quirrel, I'd like to ask some questions if that's alright."
"Of course, ask away."
"Thank you. Firstly, how did you end up in the lake?"
"Oh, right. I was…" Quirrel had an answer, but he didn't know if telling Peach everything at this moment was a good idea. "I was traveling through a waterfall area and I slipped. The water swallowed me whole and next thing I know I'm here." He lied.
"Where are you from exactly?"
"An old kingdom called Hallownest. It's not what it once was, broken down and mostly in ruins. But people like me still live our lives there. It's not all bad."
"Interesting." Peach thought to herself for a brief moment, this bug had a familiar look. Those eyes he had reminded her of Knight, her small friend she met at the Super Smash Brothers Tournament.
"One more question, Does the name Knight ring a bell?"
"Knight? No one comes to mind. What does he look like?"
"Very short, grey cloak, two horns one on each side of his head, and had a black body and black eyes."
Quirrel thought for a moment, and then it hit him.
"Oh, I know who you speak of. Although, he never told me his name. Knight… odd but I like it."
"I knew you must've been from the same place." Peach sad cheerfully to herself.
"So, you met my small friend. How has he been?"
"He's a one of a kind fighter. He won the Smash Brothers Tournament, a great fighting contest I and many others take part in. I think I have recordings of it."
"Recordings? Like… archives?"
Peach realized that Knight and Quirrel came from medieval-type places, they didn't have the advanced technology she and others had. Marth, Ike, and Lucina all had to adjust to what Television was when they first came to the Smash Bros tournament. This was no different and she realized that she needed to take it slow with him.
"I'll explain later. You should probably rest more. Will do what we can till your better. Then we can see how we can get you home. Sound good?"
"Yes, that's great. Thank very much again."
"Good to hear. I'll leave you be to rest some more."
"Thank you, Princess Peach."
"Please, call me Peach."
When Peach left the room Quirrel's happy attitude disappeared. He hated that he lied, but why would he tell them the true reason of how he ended up in the lake? He didn't even want to go back to Hallownest, why bother? He had nothing left there, no home, family, no…
Monomon.
Quirrel shook his head, he needed rest. He took another sip and put the tea back on the bedside table. Quirrel closed his eyes and let his mind dream and wonder.
…
…
…
Again, we meet my short friend. Here at last, I feel at peace.
…
…
…
Twice I've seen this world and though my service may have stripped the first experience from me, I'm thankful I could witness its beauty again.
…
…
…
Hallownest is a vast and wondrous thing, but in as many wonders as it holds, I've seen none quite so intriguing as you.
…
…
…
Ha. My flattery returns only silent stoicism. I like that.
…
…
I like that very much.
…
…
…
Incredible.
…
…
…
To live an age, yet remember so little… Perhaps I should be thankful? All tragedy erased. I see only wonders.
Quirrel opened his eyes and he saw nothing but blue around him. The air was cold, he could barely move and when he tried to breathe he felt nothing but water. The bright welcoming blue was disappearing, being swallowed away by a dark blue from below. It was getting darker and darker.
His vision was going darker.
His body losing any feeling it might have possessed.
And soon everything was black.
Quirrel suddenly woke up.
His body jolted upward out of bed, he was panting frantically, and he looked around the room, unsure of where he was. He was still in the same room he fell asleep in, the clear night sky allowing the bright moon to shine in the room.
Quirrel took in deep breaths and was soon calm, but now found that he couldn't sleep.
"Going to be a long night." He said to himself.