Chapter 9: Koopas out Cold
Toad dropped the note in shock, and took a running dive for the bushes where Birdo was crouching. He peeked out through the leaves at the darkened sky, and began to shiver. He turned to Birdo, who sat still, unmoving, eyes fixed on the thick cloud of smoke that billowed towards them. It was like death. Death coming towards them, inescapable, and it swallows anything in its wake, never to return.
Toad's anxiety was increased threefold when he heard the shouting and laughing of the koopas, and the distressed screams of a female voice nearby. His heart thumped so hard he could hear it in his ears. Was it the Princess? What were they doing to her?
In a rush of adrenaline and his concern for the Princess, he dashed out of the underbrush, despite Birdo's whimpering. He rushed through the woods, tripping a few times, but picking himself back up as quickly as he had fallen. The voices grew louder, nearer, and soon they were right in front of him. he dashed behind a nearby tree, and peered out from the side to view the attackers.
There were two koopas, clad in metal armor, but they didn't seem to have any weaponry. The girl with them was not the Princess, however, but a young mushroom girl, with a pink and white hat, and pigtails that swung from side to side as she struggled to break free from her captors.
"Let me go, you big oaf!" she screeched, raising a hand to strike at one of the koopas.
The koopa narrowly dodged her hand, and grabbed her arm, "Hey, no violence! It'll only make things worse for you..." he laughed bitterly, and gripped her wrist tighter in his claws, so that she gasped in surprise and pain.
"Get off of me!" she yelled audibly, and wrenched her wrist from his grip, poking him square in the eye.
The koopa shrieked in surprise, and let go of her briefly, making sure his eye wasn't too badly damaged, "Damn, you're more trouble than you're worth!" he snarled, twisting both of her arms behind her back to keep her from lashing out again.
"You won't be so feisty when you spend a few years in the dungeon, I'm sure..." the second koopa sneered, standing as far as possible from the raging mushroom girl. His eye strayed from the struggle before him, and rested on a tree, "That's odd..." he muttered, upon noticing a strange red and white object behind it.
"What?" the first koopa inquired from behind the girl, who had stopped struggling against him, "What's there?"
"I dunno, just some...thing..."
"Go check it out."
"What? Why do I have to?"
The first koopa motioned to the girl with his eyes, and made a noise very similar to an 'ahem'.
"Ah, I get it," the second replied, and slowly, cautiously, moved towards Toad's hiding place, muttering obscenities under his breath.
Toad's forehead began to drip with sweat, as the troopa inched closer and closer to his hiding place. He had to think fast, or risk being thrown into the dungeon again, along with the girl. He frantically searched for something to ward the koopa off with if he were found, and suddenly remembered the star from Birdo's egg. He hadn't yet used the star, and it still sat snug in his pocket, waiting for the right time.
Toad smirked and launched himself away from the tree trunk, "Hey losers! Looking for me?" he said, standing in front of them with his arms crossed, in an attempt to look tough.
"What the- yeah, I was lookin' for you, as a matter of fact," the second koopa said, chuckling lightly, "You gonna try and hurt us or somethin'?"
"What if I am?"
The troopas stared at Toad, and glanced at one another, then back at Toad once more, blinking. They then threw their heads back and laughed coldly, "That's a joke! You can't beat us! You're a freaking mushroom!" the first gasped out between laughing fits, temporarily forgetting about the girl, and loosening his grip slightly.
The mushroom girl took this to her advantage, and quickly slid out of the koopa's grip, and tripping him onto the forest floor. She stood above him, sending a blow to his side and knocking the wind out of him. The koopa writhed on the ground, clutching at his stomach, and gasping out to the second troopa, rushed to his aid.
While the second koopa was distracted by the girl, Toad whipped out the star, and touched it to his heart. A warm glow washed over him, engulfing him in the blinding light of the star, and he rushed into the fray, kicking and punching all the way. The koopas attempted to send a few blows to his head, a futile action, as the star made one incapable of feeling pain and invulnerable to having injury inflicted on them. Soon enough, the troopas were on their backs, knocked out cold by Toad's furious attack.
Once the star has faded, Toad sighed in relief, and then smiled he had beaten two koopa troopas! And to believe Peach had said that he couldn't do it...
"Wow, you sure taught them," the girl said, bending over one of the koopas to make sure they weren't faking it, "Hah, they're not so tough."
"Heh, I could've done it with my eyes closed!" Toad boasted.
"Pfft," the girl said, waving a hand, "that's not true; it was the star that made you able to do it."
Toad's ego shrunk back to its normal size, and he shook his head, "Yeah, you're right."
"Thanks, anyway. That really was awesome!" she squeaked, "I've never seen someone take on even one koopa and come out unscathed! You're still really awesome!"
Toad blushed, "Ah, it's no problem. So...uhh.. Hi, I'm Toad."
"Hah, that's weird..." the girl said, laughing slightly.
Toad raised an eyebrow, what was so weird about him name? "What's weird?"
"My name's Toadette. What a coincidence, eh?"
"Yeah, I guess. You know that -is- weird..." Toad said, "Hah."
"Umm, you know, we might want to get out of here. I mean, this place is crawling with those dirty koopas," Toadette said, narrowing her eyes with the words "dirty koopas"
"Oh, yeah. Um, I can only think of one place far enough from the castle, though. It might be safer."
"Where?" Toadette asked, apparently still afraid of koopas, because her eyes darted around the shadows, trying to pick up any movement.
"At the Marios' house. It's a bit of a walk, but it's a lot better than being here, that's for sure," Toad said, turning around the way he came, "Come on, I'll take you there."
Toadette nodded and followed closely behind.
As the two began to disappear into the forest, a dark figure slowly picked itself up from the ground and dragged itself along behind the footprints left in the muddy ground. He growled under his breath and got up, dragging his left foot along the dirt. Still following the unintentional trail left behind by the pair, he retrieved a bomb from a pocket in his armor and chuckled coldly, disappearing into the darkness as well.
"Wario and Waluigi? What do they want?"
"They say they have services to offer to the future king," Kamek said, "I don't trust them though. They're thieving, rotten little b-"
"Oh really? Send them in," Bowser said, "I'm always happy to have new recruits!"
Kamek raised an eyebrow, "Err, okay then, sire. I'll send for them immediately..." he said, and soon after, he disappeared into a puff of yellow smoke.
The King waved a paw through the air to waft the smoke away, "Damn, that stuff stinks..."
Considering his castle wasn't built yet, Bowser had taken residence in his Airship, and had set his throne in the captain's cabin. A lush, blood red carpet lined the wooden floor, adding slightly to its less than impressive appearance. Sure, it wasn't as great as his new throne room was to be, but it would suffice for the time being.
Moments later, a loud commotion sounded outside the large doors of the cabin, "What do ya mean? I should go in first! I'm older!"
"I don't care. I'm a hell of a lot smarter than you. Speaking of which, I'M doing the talking!"
Bowser sighed and massaged his temple. This was going to be a headache.
The doors opened, and Kamek poked his head in. He has soon knocked flat by the two brothers, who came rushing in through the doors, and trampling him in the process.
"Koopa, we've got a little deal to make with you!" Waluigi said, smirking.
"Really? What kind of deal?"
"It seems you're the big cheese 'round here. We think it would be best to throw our chips in with ya," Wario said, "For a price..."
Bowser leaned back in his throne, in thought. Now, the Wario Brothers were a force to be reckoned with. They had Bob-Ombs a plenty, and Waluigi seemed to have his own miniature army of piranha plants. Bowser knew they would be very useful to him, but what of their price?
Nah. No price is too much for a King, the King thought, and his lips pulled back into a sharp-toothed grin.
"Alright, you have a deal. Name your price."
Wario grinned widely at the mention of "price" and wrung his hands in excitement, "What do you say to... 1000 coins?"
Bowser's eyebrows shot up. That was a hefty price. But... considering the amount he had collected in raiding the Castle, he was wealthier than he was before. He rapped his fingers on the armrest of the throne, and bit down on his lip, making his final decision.
"Fine, 1000 coins," Bowser said, "Welcome aboard..."
Wario and Waluigi grinned, and each shared a handshake with the koopa king in turn.
"I just can't believe it..." Princess Peach sighed, swirling her tea a bit. She didn't drink it, however, just sat and stared into it through half-lidded eyes. What was she to do? Her kingdom was under Bowser's control, her castle burned to the ground, and her people locked within the Koopa King's dungeon. Her people probably thought she was dead. 'Good riddance' they'd say, 'koopa knows how to rule a land, anyway.'
She sighed and placed the tea back down again, avoiding the gazes of the others in the room. They were eerily silent, each taking care not to mention anything about the castle.
Mario sat across from her at the table, frowning. He hated to see her this way. He got up from the table slowly, and left. He walked through his house to the front door, and stepped out into the night. He needed to get away from it. Away from all their sad faces, from their forced silence. They thought it was hopeless, didn't they?
It wasn't hopeless, Mario would be sure of that. He'd wring Koopa's neck with his own bare hands, if he could. It was the last straw. He'd gone too far. That damn turtle had made everyone he loved suffer in one way or another too many times.
It was his turn to suffer.
Lost in his anger, Mario hardly noticed the two figures walking up the path, until one called out his name in a high-pitched voice.
"Toad?"
Sure enough, the cheery mushroom boy bounced up the path, followed by a girl Mario had never met before.
"Hey Mario! Did you see what-"
"Yes. Yes I did..." Mario said, cutting off Toad in mid-sentence. Toad noticed sadness in the hero's eyes he'd never seen before. Mario had always seemed so sure, so sure of everything. Happy. But, things were different this time...
"Oh..." Toad said, lowering his gaze to the ground, "Mario, what- What'll we do?"
"I don't know..." Mario said quietly. He shook his head a bit and looked up again, smiling weakly, "Come on in, you're really late for tea, aren't you? Oh, and who's this?' he asked, motioning towards Toadette, who stood behind Toad.
"Oh, this is Toadette. I saved her from some koopas. Hear that, I beat some koopas!"
Mario chuckled lightly, "Good job, Toad. And pleased to meet you, Toadette. Come on inside now, both of you, it's not a good time to be outside, anyway."
The three entered the house again, and made their way back into the sitting room, where the others sat in silence. Peach looked up briefly to acknowledge their presence, and did a double take, finally noticing Toad. She dashed out of her seat and enveloped the boy in her arms.
"Oh, thank the stars you're safe," she sighed, "I was afraid you were in the castle..."
Once the Princess let him out of her hold, the boy smiled, "It's okay Princess, I'm fine!"
"Who's this?" Peach asked, eyeing Toadette, "A friend of yours?"
"I saved her! From two koopas! Two! I told you I could take on a koopa, princess," Toad laughed.
"Well, I was wrong about you then Toad," the princess said, "Hello Toadette."
Toadette stared wide eyed at her. She never thought she'd ever meet the princess, of all people. Or Mario. She bowed, "Good evening, your highness."
"Such formalities aren't necessary; just call me Peach, okay?"
Toadette nodded, "Yes prin- Peach."
She looked around the room. Wow, I never thought I'd be here of all places. In the Marios' house! she thought, giggling.
Luigi entered the room, having been in the kitchen earlier making dinner. Unlike his brother, who could burn even water, Luigi was a very good cook, and since nobody possessed the skills to cook, save for Peach - who could only bake cakes, he had volunteered to make dinner for the lot of them. He carried a stack of plates in his arms, and set them at the small table.
"Sorry there isn't a bigger table, we don't entertain much," he chuckled, setting out the plates on the small wooden table, along with the silverware.
Luigi left the room again, and soon returned with a large platter of fried shrooms and spaghetti. They all nearly dove into it, seeing as they had been in the forest - or in Bowser's Dungeon - for more than a couple of days, and hadn't had a full meal in ages. They had to keep Yoshi from eating the entire platter before anyone else got a chance, and he sat in the corner, pouting and hoping for leftovers.
After a while, the plates had been cleaned, and Mario took them back into the kitchen to wash them with Toad, who had volunteered to help.
"Well, what are we going to do now?" Daisy asked suddenly, "About all this?"
Peach sighed, "I don't know, I really don't. There's the possibility of trying to find some recruits to go against him, I suppose. But the Mushroom Kingdom never had an army..."
"Well, that explains a lot," Daisy snapped, taking a sip of her tea, she continued, "Sarasaland has a pretty good defense system, If I do say so myself."
"Do you think that they could help out?"
"Peach, I wouldn't have mentioned it if I were going to say no!" Daisy laughed, "Of course! Remember what I said earlier?"
Peach nodded, "Alright, but... are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want them to be...well... wasted on my behalf…"
"Seriously, what did I just say? It's no problem at all. And besides, the Mushroom Kingdom is much more valuable than you think, Princess."
"Leave Bowser to me..."
It was Mario who had spoken, and was leaning in the doorway. A serious look was frozen on his face, and he truly meant what he had said. He wanted to execute his revenge on the koopa himself.
"Mario, you can't possibly-" Peach began, but was cut off by Mario's voice.
"Bowser's gone too far this time. I won't let him go unpunished. I swear I'll kill him."
A silence took hold of each of them, as they all stared at Mario's form in the doorway. He stood still, staring each of them down, daring them to try to convince him otherwise. Mario was a very hard person to persuade, and something about the tone of his voice and look in his eyes told them all that trying to change his mind was a futile act. His heart was set on his revenge.
Each of them lowered their gaze as Mario passed, and sat on the loveseat beside Princess Peach, who looked up at him pleadingly before turning back the others, "I'll see if I can find anyone in the town, maybe they'll be willing to help..."
Luigi shook his head, "No, Princess, I'm afraid it's too dangerous. Now, the Mushroom Kingdom isn't safe, and I think it's best that we all get as far away from it as possible for the time being. I know it hurts to leave it behind, but we'll have to..." he sighed, "for the good of the people. If they want you to survive, we have to get you out of here, before Bowser finds you. We're much too close to the danger right now..."
Yoshi nodded, "Luigi's right. We need to get the Princess away, and the rest of us too. Yoshi's afraid of what might happen if we don't."
"You're all welcome in Sarasaland with me. It's safe for now, and will be a good place to rest and recover," Daisy suggested, "That is, if you don't mind coming."
"I think that would be best," Peach said.
Mario stood up, "Then it's settled, we leave for Sarasaland in the morning. For now, you'd better get some rest. I'll-" he stopped in mid- sentence and rushed to the window. He knew he'd seen a flash in the darkness nearby, but what was it?
Suddenly, the house was aglow with a brilliant light, followed with red flames.
Mario saw nothing more.