Chapter 2: A Meeting of Heroes
"What was that for?" Mike demanded.
"I had to make sure you would come," Rose said. Mike looked around at where the pipe had taken them. They had landed in what looked like an old sewer system, with large areas for people to walk on. A river of sludge and muck slowly worked its way down the center of the area, in a channel designed to hold much more. "Good," Rose said, "The tide is down."
"What?" Mike asked. He looked at the walls and noticed a line of grime standing about up to his waist. The floor also had a thin coating of slime. "We're not in Kansas anymore," Mike commented.
"No time to take in the sights," Rose said, grabbing Mike's wrist, "It's time to go." She pulled him down the corridor and led him through a convoluted route of rights and lefts. Mike vainly tried to remember which way they had gone, but gave up after a while. Their romp through the sewers ended at another pipe, this one a blue one, and Rose stopped and looked around. "I'll go first," she said, "Just to make sure it's safe."
"Wait a minute," Mike started, "you're actually being cautious?" His face lost its usual cheerfulness. "This must be serious."
"More than you know, Mike, more than you know." Rose jumped up onto the pipe. "Give me ten seconds, okay?"
"Right," Mike said, smiling. Rose turned around and, before she could jump, Mike stepped up and gave her a hard shove. She gave out a short shout before falling in the pipe. He waited for the ten seconds, and then jumped in himself.
Rose landed with a hard thud on the stone floor at the other end of the pipe. Why that little jerk. That was a dirty trick, she thought. She stepped out of the way to avoid getting crushed by her cousin. Mike came out of the pipe and landed with little more that a stumble. He looked around and noticed that the room was filled with pipes of all colors and sizes. "You know, I ought to give you a piece of my mind," Rose said angrily.
"Are you sure you have any to spare?" Mike said jokingly.
"Just shut up and follow me," Rose said. She opened the door in the room and led Mike out. They went down a hallway, and at the end of it Rose put her hand on the doorknob, but didn't turn it. "Well, there's no turning back now, so I guess I can tell you now."
"I knew I would finally get an answer out of you. So, what's the big secret?"
"Mike, I'm a member of a special group. I'm a member of the rebel movement against Bowser."
"Right, and I'm Luke Skywalker."
"Can't you ever be serious once?"
"Me? You're the one who's never serious. I've had to smooth talk us out of 16 restricted areas, 42 cases of slandering a guard, and now I have one pipe incident on my list, but I'm sure that will be added to in due time."
"But I really am part of a rebellion!"
"Yeah, one against common sense."
"Mike, listen to me, Bowser is looking for us."
"What does he want us for?"
"Because we are descendants of Luigi and Daisy!"
"Right…" Mike said skeptically.
"Look, Mike. What's your favorite color?"
"Green."
"What are your favorite sports?"
"Soccer, tennis, and golf."
"Are you more a leader or a follower?"
"Mostly a follower, but that doesn't prove anything."
"Why do you think your parents don't mind you having a Nintendo system?"
"Rose, everyone in the area has one! Even the local guard has one!"
Rose grabbed at a piece of something around Mike's neck, pulled out his star-shaped pendant and said, "What about this?! It's a star! The symbol of the Mario Brothers!"
Mike grabbed his pendant and stuck it back down his shirt where he usually kept it. "Wouldn't that be a mushroom? Anyway, it was a gift from our grandfather on my 12th birthday. It's special, but not in the way you're talking about."
Rose sighed. "Whatever. Believe what you want to, but don't say I didn't tell you." She opened the door and walked in. Mike walked in, and what he saw in there amazed him. There was a table situated in the center of the large room, and a TV stood in the corner. There were chairs strewn all over the room, but those weren't what shocked him. It was the occupants of the room that had any impression on him. Two of them were normal enough. One was a short man who was sitting at the table, clad in overalls and a red T-shirt and cap. He looked up with a cold glare in his blue eyes, but when his eyes fell on Rose, the look softened. The other human, a woman who as standing next to the man, had long, golden hair and a pink T-shirt and a similarly colored pair of baggy shorts. Her eyes were the same color as the man's, but held much more warmth. Michael could handle these two, but panicked at the sight of the others. Standing at the other side of the table was a dark blue dinosaur, which Mike recognized as a Yoshi. Next to the Yoshi was short brown thing wearing a black cap backwards. Mike recognized right away as a Goomba. Next to the Goomba stood a Koopa Trooper with a light blue shell and a red scarf tied around her neck. Mike had seen all of these creatures before in the games he played, he had even talked to a Koopa Trooper guard on occasion. However, having all of them there, added to the all the other things he had gone through, made him feel dizzy, and he felt his knees weakening beneath him. "Guys, meet Mike, my cousin," Rose said. Mike waved weakly.
"Humph," the man snorted.
"Welcome, Mike," the woman said.
"So he's our newest member?" the Koopa asked.
"Yep," the Yoshi said in its high pitched voice.
"Are you all right? You look pale," the Goomba said. Mike couldn't take it any more, and he passed out. Rose caught him with a grunt. "A little help here, guys?" she asked. The Yoshi and Koopa moved over to help her carry Mike to a bed.