Mike exhaled slowly and looked at the tangle of wires. His hand still clasped the ends of the yellow wire he just cut. He looked at the timer, which had stopped at 0:00.22. "Twenty-two, my lucky number," he commented, grinning. He slowly followed his train of thought that led him to cut the yellow wire. "Leo's got nothing on me." His one problem solved, he thought once again about the factory. He sighed and decided to clean himself up.
Mike found his thoughts returning to Rose as he walked around his house. How did they find her? he wondered. And how did they prove this to her, that she was the descendent of Luigi and Daisy. He stopped suddenly as something in a bookshelf caught his eye. He reached out and picked up the picture. In the picture were Mike and his grandfather, back about four years, when he was 12. This was the picture grandma took after grandpa gave me my pendent, he mused to himself. Mike's eyes then started tearing as he thought about the tragic events that took his grandfather's life.
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Four Years AgoMike was walking down the street with his grandfather. He was holding up the metallic star pendant that he had been given the past week. "Thank you again, Grandpa," Mike said.
Grandpa looked down at him and said, "Your welcome, Mike. But you don't have to keep saying thank you."
"Yeah, but it's so cool!" Grandpa laughed. Suddenly, a woman's shrill scream could be heard a little down the street. Mike and Grandpa rushed down the street and down an alley. There they saw a young lady being harassed by a trio of thugs.
"Leave her alone," Grandpa said. He walked over with a confident air. The three punks let the woman go. She muttered thanks and started walking away. "Now about you three," Grandpa said, turning back to the three. Suddenly, the woman drew a knife out and turned on Grandpa.
"Grandpa! Look out!" Mike yelled as he ran at the woman with the knife, trying to hold her from behind. She pushed him off easily, and he stumbled to the ground. Grandpa turned to look at Mike and was jumped by the other three thugs. He managed to shake one of them off but was driven to the ground. Mike ran over to help, but was caught in the neck by a clothesline thrown by the woman. "Let go of me!" he shouted as the woman put him in a headlock. He struggled, but her hold was too strong. Grandpa was still on the ground getting beaten up by the other three punks. Mike finally got it into to head to start yelling, "HELP! HELP!"
"Shut up, kid," the woman said back, moving him into a chokehold. Mike continued to yell. His vision became fuzzy. His voice started to gurgle. His lungs were burning and demanding air. Finally, someone showed up. Mike couldn't make out who it was, because he was wearing a cloak. The four thugs ran as soon as they saw him. Mike dropped to the ground and blacked out. Mike woke up in the hospital an hour later, where he was given the bad news.
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Mike found himself sitting on the floor, his back against a couch, tears running down his cheeks. If only I had done something different, something better, faster, he would still be alive, he thought. Buy why? Why didn't you tell me? Mike sat there with little more than his thoughts to comfort him.
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Yosh sat on the end of his bed, watching the TV. Shelly was sitting on the other bed, looking over the plan. "Have you figured out what we're going to do?" Yosh asked her.
"Not really," she replied. If we hadn't been so thickheaded, we wouldn't be in this mess. Poor Mike, she thought.
"Well, we've got to come up with something," Yosh said, turning back to the TV. Damn it, why couldn't he have just gone along with the plan? Now he has to go and blow himself up in order for Leo to hold up his end of the bargain, he thought.
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Mike sat in front of his computer above his bed. He was busy sorting through his in-box, deleting the spam and replying to his friends. "I might be too busy to write," the message said, "I've got something huge going on. Don't ask me now. Talk to you later!" He leaned back and sighed, covering his face with his hands. What am I gonna do now? I'm on the run and with no one to trust. Well… I should get rid of the bomb, he thought, but where do I leave it? He looked back at the computer screen, a smile slowly crawling across his face. Maybe I can still help out their little group. With Leo as the leader, they'll need as much help as they can get.
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Next morning, 0800 hoursMike sat a little off the edge of a quiet little road in the middle of nowhere. Fifty feet to his left was a tunnel coming out of a hill, but Mike knew it was more than just a tunnel. Chris, the son of the local guard, Karl, had shown him this tunnel and told him that about 100 feet in was the entrance to a pipe so big that you could fit a Mack truck into it. Mike glanced down at his watch nervously. They better show up soon, or else I'll never get to the others in time, he thought. Mike was waiting on an inspection group that was coming to make a routine surprise checkup on the factory. He had one of his hacker acquaintances break into the timetable for all of Bowser's little cronies. Mike had also put in a call to the hotel and found out that Yosh and the others were still there. If they were still going to plan, Mike had an hour and a half until they would be in the factory. He hadn't worried about them too much until he remembered something from his little disagreement with Yosh. While he had been yelling and fuming, Shelly had been going over another cylinder. They had a backup bomb. Mike had to stop them and save all the innocent people.
Suddenly, two glowing lights that had just appeared in the tunnel drew his attention. "Time to play my part," Mike said, standing up and sticking out his thumb. An inconspicuous van emerged from the tunnel, if you called all-black vans with double thick windows and support struts inconspicuous. The van slowed down and stopped in front of him. The passenger, a woman a few inches shorter than Mike, stepped out holding a pair of handcuffs. "Handcuffs, eh? Kinky," he commented, grinning.
"Don't you know that hitchhiking is a crime?" the woman said, ignoring Mike's comment.
"Wow, you guys are anal!" Mike retorted. Seeing that this might not be such an easy arrest, the other three occupants of the van climbed out. The driver, a semi-short man with wavy red hair and sunglasses, stepped out with a gun. The back doors swung open and out came two red-shelled koopas who looked equally surly. Mike slowly put his hands in the air and gulped. This is not what I had in mind, he thought. "Umm… Can we talk this through?"
"What's going on here?" a voice demanded from down the street. Mike turned to see an emerald-shelled koopa get off a motorbike.
"Karl!?" Mike shouted, almost falling off his feet.
"Karl?" the woman asked quizzically, looking at the new arrival. "Oh yes, now I remember. Karl Setzly, enforcer for region #85779, 5 inquiries and 3 demerits."
Mike let out a low whistle and said, "Wow. That many?"
"All thanks to you," Karl replied. He stepped forward, handcuffs in hand, intending on arresting Mike. "I'll take it from here," he said to the four henchmen. Mike submitted quickly as Karl snapped on the handcuffs. Leading Mike away, he commented, "Mike, Mike, Mike… You should be more like your cousin." Mike glanced at him questioningly and got a sly grin back.
"Well, in a situation like this, Rose would do…" Mike started. He shucked off his restraints, grabbed Karl's wrists, and started to turn around. "…THIS!" he shouted, flinging Karl at the man with the gun. Karl retracted into his shell and slammed into the man right on the chin, knocking him out cold. Karl wisely stayed in his shell as Mike dived over to his bag and grabbed the staff Rose had gotten him. He stood up, feeling supremely confident. The woman, not expecting a fight, told the two koopas to rush him. Mike quickly jumped to the side and hit the closest koopa in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground. The other guard skidded to a halt and started in on Mike again, this time a little slower. Mike tried a horizontal swipe at the incoming guard, but it was ineffective because of the turtle's hard shell. Mike then brought his staff back and tried to stab the koopa in the stomach. This also proved to be ineffective, as the guard just grinned evilly. In desperation, Mike continued to stab the koopa in the stomach, all the wile moving back to stay out or reach. The guard laughed and said, "Ha. Is that the best you can do?" Mike responded by stopping his stabs and jumped up into the air, both hands on one end of his weapon. As he came down, he smashed the staff on top of the guard's head.
"No," Mike said, smiling, "that's the best I have." He turned to the remaining guard, who had taken awhile to return to his feet. Mike took a step towards him, staff held in both hands, pointing at the guard. Mike planned to use the same trick on this new adversary. He waited until the guard came closer and then took a quick step forward and stabbed the staff into the stomach of the guard. Before he pulled it back, however, the guard grabbed on to it and used the leverage to fling Mike to the ground. Mike got back up slowly and muttered, "Stupid move, Mike. Stupid move." The guard approached Mike, his weapon in his hand. He brought it up over his shoulder, intent on smashing the still-dazed Mike in the head. Mike was feeling too woozy to do anything but wobble and stare. The guard stepped forward, a malicious grin on his face. He was about to strike the final blow when he suddenly fell over on his face. Mike shook his head and stared at Karl, who had sneaked up behind the guard and KO'ed him with his nightstick. "Thanks for the assist, Karl," Mike said.
"No problAHHHHHHHH!!!" Karl's reply was cut short as several thousand volts coursed through his body. Mike turned to see the woman holding an air-tazer, the two electrodes embedded in Karl's arm. The woman yanked on the tazer, ripping out the electrodes, and pushed a button that reeled them in. Mike rushed her and slapped the tazer out of her hand. Her face finally showed some emotion as her fear came through.
"Don't worry," Mike said, "my dad taught me never to hit a lady." The woman looked relieved. Mike smirked, "But then again, he's not here right now, is he?" He backhanded her across her face and she fell onto the blacktop, unconscious. He rushed back to Karl and patted him on the face. Karl moaned as he floated back towards conscience. "Are you OK?" Mike asked.
"Maybe," he replied.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Mike asked.
"None. That's your thumb," Karl replied, grinning. Mike grinned back as he helped the turtle up. He walked over to the male human and started to remove his uniform. "What are you up to?" Karl asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," Mike responded.
"I asked you first."
"But I have the longer explanation."
Karl sighed. "This whole business is just so … unfulfilling." Mike raised an eyebrow. "I've decided to just hang it up, to run away from it all."
"Does Chris know about this?" Mike asked.
"Not yet, but I don't think he'll mind."
"He might even applaud you."
"So what about you, Mike?"
"I'll only tell you if you let me get all the way through." Karl nodded. Mike took a deep breath and started talking, "A few days ago, Rose showed up at my front door, telling me to pack up a few things. She dragged me out the front door and down a pipe that had just sprung up in my backyard. We landed in some sewers someplace where she told me that we're descendants of Luigi and Daisy. Then she introduced me to some other members of an underground revolution made up of other descendents of heroes, like Mario, Princess Peach, and Kooper."
There was a brief pause before Karl said, "You know, it's a good thing I decided to quit, otherwise that would be quite the haul… if it were true. It was Rose that told you about this, right?"
"Yeah, but I believe her this time. It all seems to make sense, you know? I've seen my family's file enough times. On my dad's side, it goes way back to the 1800's, but on my mom's side, it only goes back as far as my grandparents. Doesn't that seem odd?"
"But that could be due to a lack of information. Take it from someone who knows, there are a million and a half reasons why that may have happened. Lack of pre-Bowser documentation, tampering with the files, change of name. There are some really simple things that would screw up the system," Karl pointed out.
"But that's what happened," Mike retorted. "Lack of pre-Bowser documentation? They had a lack of documentation period, coming from the Mushroom Kingdom. Change of name? If you were going to make a game using supposedly 'fictitious' characters, wouldn't change your name to keep the buzz and press off of you? Tampering with files? How would they have managed to stay hidden for so long?"
"But…"
"My parents are on the run now! Why are they on the lamb if they have nothing to hide?"
"Okay, okay, I believe you," Karl said. "Man, this is too weird."
"That's what I said."
"But what about the others? How are you sure that they are the real thing, and not just trying to use you?"
Mike sighed and walked back to his bag. "I don't. In fact, I've been wondering about their validity myself, especially since they tried to blow me up."
"BLOW YOU UP?!" Karl shouted.
"Yeah. They're on a mission to blow up that new factory over by my house. I didn't agree with their methodology and I stormed out, taking the bomb with me."
"So what are you doing here?"
"They have a backup. I have to stop them before they kill all those people."
"I'm going with you," Karl said, turning towards the van.
"Heck no. They may or may not trust me, but I know they won't trust you."
Karl sighed. "All right, but what do you want me to do?"
Mike stooped down and grabbed some rope out of his bag. "Here," he said, throwing the rope to Karl, "tie them up." Karl nodded and went to work while Mike walked over to the redheaded male and started to take off his uniform.
"And what are you doing?"
"Getting supplies."
"Don't you have enough clothes?"
"Yeah, but these are, like, such a bargain and in, like, oh-my-gawd, just the style I wanted!" Mike answered, trying to sound as Val as possible.
Karl shuddered. "Don't ever do that again." He finished the knot he was tying around the two guards and started restraining the woman. "So, what's your plan?"
"Plan? What plan? I'm making this up as I go along."
"You shouldn't take this so lightly, Mike. You're in a big pile of crap right now with a truckload more on the way."
"I know, I know. I actually do have a plan. First, I intercept my 'friends.' Second, we blow up the factory without killing anyone. Third, Rose and I find some way to get you and Chris to a safe hiding spot."
"How are you going to blow up the factory without killing anyone?" Mike laid the uniform over his own body and grinned. "Ah… Very clever," Karl said, smiling back.
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0900 hoursYosh, Shelly, and Goombard strode out of the hotel, the latter two feeling more than a little uncomfortable. Yosh's face was grim. He had stayed up half the night watching the news for any sign of an explosion, but none came. Since plans A and B had apparently failed, he had decided to pack it up and head back to base. No need to get Shelly and Goombard hurt, he thought. "I hope Mike will be okay," Shelly said.
"Yeah," Goombard agreed.
"He left on his own accord," Yosh said. "Personally, I hope I never see him again, the stuck-up little brat."
"He only left because we were being so hard on him," Shelly retorted.
"Well, this isn't a game," Yosh said.
"You keep saying that, and yet you do nothing to help…" Their argument was interrupted by a black van skidding to a halt in front of their path. The dark tinted driver's side window slid down.
"I'm not too late to join the party, am I?" Mike said, poking his grinning head out the opened window.
"Mike!" Shelly and Goombard both yelled, running up to the door.
"What are you doing here?" Yosh asked, approaching slowly.
"First," Mike started, getting out of the van, "I came to do this!" He punctuated his sentence by hitting Yosh in his large nose with a fast right hook. Yosh was knocked back onto the ground. "That's for trying to blow me to kingdom come! What in the hell did you think you were doing?"
"I just did what Leo asked me to do…" Yosh said, holding his very sore nose.
"Again with Leo!"
"What's going on?" Goombard asked.
"This moron here sabotaged the bomb I took with me to countdown when I tried to change the timer," Mike said slowly, his anger barely in check.
"But… why were you trying to change the timer?" Shelly asked.
"I didn't realize that you had a secondary bomb, and the timer was set on 30 seconds. I thought I'd finish the mission, but in my own way, without killing anyone."
Yosh scoffed, "And how would you do that?"
"Get in the van and I'll tell you," Mike said. Shelly and Goombard looked at each other for a brief second and nodded. Shelly opened the wide door in the side of the van and got in. Goombard followed. Yosh stood up and rubbed his nose, looking defiantly at Mike. "Come on, you big baby," Mike said, walking over and grabbing Yosh, "I don't punch that hard." With that, he unceremoniously threw Yosh into the van and climbed into the driver's seat. He drove off and joined the normal flow of traffic. Shelly sat in the passenger seat and Goombard stood in the space between the seats. Yosh sat in the back of the van, sulking.
"So, what's the plan?" Shelly asked.
"We're gonna walk in the front door," Mike said, smiling.
"How?" Goombard asked.
"I can't believe I let Leo down…" Yosh moaned from the back.
"By impersonating an inspection group," Mike said, ignoring Yosh.
"So that's where you got the van," Shelly said.
"And this uniform, too," Goombard said, noticing the pile of clothes in the front of the van.
"And then what?" Shelly asked.
"I can't believe I let Leo and Peach down…" Yosh moaned again from the back of the van, louder this time.
"Since we're on the subject, what in the world is Yosh talking about?" Mike asked. Shelly shrugged and Mike turned down a side street and stopped. He unbuckled himself and got out of his seat. He kneeled in front of Yosh and asked, "What was Leo's plan?" Yosh stayed silent.
"Yosh, please tell us," Shelly pleaded. "This involves all of us." Yosh still didn't answer.
"The inspection team…" Mike said slowly, standing up. Yosh looked up at him. "I was gonna walk right in the front door, right into the waiting arms of the inspection team, who would tie me up into a little package and set me right on Bowser's doorstop." Yosh stared at Mike for a long couple of seconds.
Shelly finally broke the silence by asking, "Is this true, Yosh?" Yosh still refused to talk.
"But why?" Goombard asked.
"Simple. Leo hates me because he hates Luigi," Mike said.
"But Leo's a nice guy, despite his recent attitude. Besides, if what you say is true, why hasn't he done anything to Rose?"
"Because Rose would give him the beating of his life."
"True, but what if Leo really is planning something for Rose?" Shelly asked.
"He's not…" Yosh said, finally. "Mike was the only target he wanted."
There was a pause. "Fine then," Mike said, "Since Rose isn't in danger, we'll go blow up the factory and then confront Leo."
"Why bother?" Goombard asked.
"Because nobody around here likes it. All the workers there commute from other cities. The only thing we get out of it is pollution. Lovely, thick smog. I figure I might as well try to give something back to the community. You with me?" Shelly and Goombard looked at each other then looked at Mike and nodded.
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0930 hoursMike shoved open the double glass doors that served as the entrance to the administrative area of the factory. He strode in, practically exuding confidence and smug pride. Shelly and Goombard followed, the former doing a fairly good job of copying Mike's mood, the latter having a much harder time of it, considering he was about a foot and a half tall. Shelly was wearing one of Karl's old dress uniforms that Mike had managed to borrow off of Karl. Mike was in the uniform he stole off the man from the real inspection team.
The man tending the front desk, a short, shaking man who looked like he was having a seizure right then and there came up to the trio and asked, "Umm… Who are you?"
"We're with the Bowser Inspection Agency," Mike said in an condescending tone, briefly flashing his stolen ID card.
"Bu… bu… but… you're scheduled here at ten o'clock," the man stammered back.
"I have a saying. 'To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is not to be.' You got that?" Mike snarled, pushing his face close to the nervous assistant.
"Is there a problem?" said a smooth voice from off to the side. Mike turned to see a man in a black suit addressing him.
"That depends," Mike replied. "Are you the operator of this factory?"
"Yes, I am Mr. Milsylski," the suited man replied. "And you are?"
"BIA team #717," Mike said calmly.
"Ahh yes, the inspection team," the man checked his watch, "a bit ahead of schedule, but that's not a problem," Milsylski replied, keeping the smoothness in his voice. "You! Johnson! Show those two around," he pointed to Shelly and Goombard, "I believe their supervisor has some questions for me." Mike simply nodded and followed Milsylski into his office. Johnson, the jittery man, led Shelly and Goombard through another door and onto the factory floor.
Mike remembered Mr. Milsylski from a fieldtrip his class had taken awhile ago. He was thankful that he hadn't stuck out on that day, or else the whole plan was shot. Milsyski's office had a glass wall, giving him a birds-eye view of the factory floor. Mike saw Shelly and Goombard being led through the innards of the plant. "So, how long has this plant been operational?" he asked the foreman.
"Eight months," Milsylski responded.
"How many employees?"
"Nine hundred and seventy-two."
"Distribution of races?"
"Eighty-seven percent human, twelve percent Koopa, and one percent Goomba," Milsylski said, almost mechanically. Mike saw that this conversation was almost rehearsed, so he decided to try a curve ball.
"What do you think of the non-human races?"
"Come again?"
"I've heard rumors that you despise any non-human race," Mike said, mentally crossing his fingers.
"No, no. Not in the least," the foreman stammered back, his face clearly showing he wasn't ready for this.
"Don't worry, I hate 'em too," Mike said reassuringly. "Total incompetence. You need to hold their hand through even the most simple task."
"True, but what about the other members of your team?"
"Usually my assistant would take care of them, but she called in sick. Something really nasty. It put her in the hospital, and it's not like I can take a personal day just because one of my team is sick."
"I hope she gets better," Milsylski said, almost sounding truly sympathetic. "But what about your report. You don't expect them to be able to check things thoroughly, do you?"
"Not a problem. I can get all the information I need from you," Mike said, putting his end of the plan into effect. He started asking some technical questions about the plant, nodding approvingly at the answers. After about three minutes he asked, "Best fire drill time?"
"Six minutes, fifteen seconds."
Mike whistled. "That's awfully impressive… May I have a demonstration?"
"Certainly." The foreman smiled and went over to a console of buttons on the wall and pressed a red one with a fire symbol on it. A siren started to wail. "Excuse me, but I must see to the troops. You may view their progress from here before joining me outside."
"Thank you," Mike said, and turned to look out the window. Please say you're ready, guys…
Shelly and Goombard both looked around nervously when the sirens went off. "Oh, there's the fire alarm for the drill," Johnson said. "I've ah… got to go and uh… help."
"We'll take it from here," Shelly said, nodding. She and Goombard headed over to where they felt the bombs would do the most damage, a mammoth pillar that stretched all the way to the ceiling. Shelly pulled out her walkie-talkie and clicked the call button twice.
"All set?" Mike's voice crackled over the radio.
"Affirmative. What's the countdown?" Shelly asked.
There was a long silence before Mike said, "Six minutes. That should give us about 30 seconds leeway."
"Will do. Just get out of here."
"Affirmative."
The employees were all standing in a square formation a safe distance from the factory. Milsylski was standing at the front of the display, holding a stopwatch. Mike, Shelly, and Goombard were striding up behind him. The foreman turned to them, a hint of a smile playing on his face. Mike knew that the workers had just set "a fantastic new record" that would be sure to please any actual inspection teams. While still out of earshot, Shelly whispered, "Mike, we still have 45 seconds!"
"I know, I know. I have an idea," Mike whispered back. Mike kept walking towards Milsylski who promptly showed him the stopwatch, which read "5:37".
"Your presence must have inspired them to reach for perfection," the foreman said.
"Shouldn't they always be doing so?" Mike asked, trying to stay in character.
"Yes, but…"
"Never mind. May I speak to the workers?"
"Certainly."
Mike strode up to the head of the worker's formation and began to speak, "Proud workers, proud people who serve the all-mighty Bowser, I am impressed with what I have seen here today," the workers seemed to look happier, which quickly faded as Mike continued, "But know this, when you are working at this manufacturing plant, you are not just working for Bowser, you are working for the future of all peoples!" The crowd, realizing that this was a compliment, let out a bellowing cheer. The cheer, however, was drowned out by the two bombs going off in the factory. Everybody let out a gasp as the building went up in a great ball of fire.
"Pretty…" Goombard said quietly.
"Now that is a thing of beauty," Shelly commented just as softly. Even Mike had a silly grin on his face. Mission Accomplished, he thought to himself. Recomposing himself, he turned to Milsylski and said, "Well, this should make for an interesting report." With that he turned and headed off towards the van and left the speechless Milsylski gaping.
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1030 hours
Mike stood over the grave, holding a bouquet of white daisies, as was his custom. He kneeled, setting the flowers down at the base of the headstone that marked where his grandparents were buried. "Grandma, Grandpa, don't be afraid, but I'm going to be going away for right now. Don't worry about me, if I get in over my head, Rose will be there to help me. I'll be back soon," Mike said quietly.
"So this is their grave, Luigi and Daisy…" Shelly said, equally solemn, as she kneeled a bit behind Mike. Goombard and Yosh were standing a distance back.
"Yeah," Mike said, nodding.
"It's very peaceful."
Mike answered by nodding again.
"I figured I'd find you here," said someone from behind the four.
"Uh-oh," Yosh said, turning around.
"Aw crap," Goombard said, sharing his sentiment and looked in the same direction.
"Hey, Karl," Mike said without getting up.
"Karl?" Yosh inquired, looking back at Mike. "Isn't that the name of the local guard?"
"What's he doing here, Mike?" Goombard said, taking a few steps back from Karl.
Mike slowly stood up and turned around, "I invited him."
"A double-cross?!" Yosh said, surprised.
"Why, Mike?" Shelly said, backing away from the teen.
"Geez, enough with the melodramatics," Mike said, "He wants to defect."
"How can you be so sure we can trust him?" Yosh asked.
"Heck, right now I'm not sure I can trust you guys."
"Leo had his reasons," Yosh said, sounding for all the world like a little kid on the verge of a temper tantrum.
"Which you still haven't decided to enlighten us with," Mike shot back.
"I you had just followed the plan, I wouldn't have to!"
"If I had followed your idiotic plan, I'd be DEAD!"
"I'm still here…" Karl said lightly.
"STAY OUT OF THIS!!" Mike and Yosh both yelled.
"You're starting to sound like Rose, Mike," said another Koopa flatly, coming up behind Karl.
Mike sighed, trying to cover a laugh. "That's a low blow, Chris," he said, the anger flowing out of him.
"Chris?" Shelly asked.
"My son," Karl said.
"Your wife coming too?" Yosh asked mockingly.
"We parted ways a long time ago…"
"I'm sorry," Shelly said softly.
"Don't worry about it."
"So, these are your new 'friends'?" Chris asked.
"That depends on how loosely you use that term," Mike replied.
"Strange, Mike, I remember you telling me that they could help us out," Karl said.
"Well, I figured they would have a safe house somewhere, right?"
"No," Yosh said.
"Yes we do," Shelly said at the same time.
"Shelly!" Yosh said, aghast.
"Either way…" Mike cut in, "I wasn't really planning on bringing them there anyway, at least not yet."
"Why not, Mike?" Karl asked.
"He needs to resolve the conflicts within," Chris said mysteriously.
"Come again?" Goombard asked, trying to get back into the conversation.
"I need to figure what's up with Leo," Mike clarified.
Chris smiled lightly and nodded. "Pretty much."
"In that case," Shelly said, fumbling around in her bag, "take this." She walked over and handed Karl one of the communicators they had been using. "We'll call you when we're ready."
"Thank you," he said in return.
"If we're all done here, it's time to get back," Mike said.
"Get back, do-do-do, get back to where we once belonged," Goombard sang.
"That's horrible."
"What? My singing's not that bad…"
"No, you stole my joke!"