A sequel to my first Mario fanfic "My Big Brother" set on the third week after the burial ceremony, and just cos I feel like typing this up – I got the idea for this whilst playing Double Dash – My characters where Waluigi and Daisy, and Wario and Luigi sped by us, cheated, and knocked us off the track. Of course – this fic has nothing to do with racing, so I'm not actually sure how this came up – but it did, so just read it – enjoy it – and REVIEW!!! See the last part in capitals? It means take the time to tell me what you thought – cos I get very few reviews from the wonderful people who take the time to read my fanfics...
Anyways – I'm blabbering now, so let's get on with it... Oh yeah – you will recognize some characters from some REALLY old games here...
(By the way – I'm not writing the Italian accents – and I won't start – so don't ask me to. Use a little imagination people! And the songs mentioned in this fic – download them. They are SO awesome!)
The daring duo raced through the explosions, their maniacal laughter ringing out loud and clear as the angered screams and cries of Wario's old nemesis, Captain Syrup echoed through the night.
The female pirate had once again dared to interfere with Wario's gold hoarding with her band of low – life mercenaries, leaving the pointy eared and overweight form of Wario to fight and battle his way into getting it back, and she had not counted on Wario's Bomb Expert of a little brother to tag along for the ride!
The Wario Brothers, Wario and Waluigi, sped through nocturnal clarity of the midnight air, not struggling in the least with their load of heavy sacks of gold as Wario's brute strength took the brunt of the weight, having won back their own riches and having the audacity to greedily swipe some of the Captains own treasures – the charismatic thieves looked back over their shoulders and paused, admiring their handiwork as the orange explosions lit up the sky of the Sugar Gangs Hideout.
Waluigi set down his share of the load, and pulled back one long arm, palming a perfectly round black Bob – Omb and forcing his full body forwards as he tossed the explosive into his previous battleground, grinned, his sharp eyes narrowing with conceited pleasure as it disappeared into the smoke for a few moments before a fresh new wave of flame erupted from within, the foundations of the hideout crumbling and collapsing into a pile of rubble.
"All Right!" Wario bellowed in utmost joy turning around and catching his lanky brothers hand in a high – five, turning back to the flames to triumphantly punch the air as the unbelievably thin Waluigi placed his hands on his narrow hips and burst out with joyous laughter at their victory.
Wario couldn't help the wild grin on his face – nothing made him happier than to beat down the thieving little wench that never seemed to learn her lesson in not to screw around with Wario – never mess with the best as Wario himself had put it.
Nostalgia and memories flooded back to him with his earliest memories of the Captain – his first encounter with her, Captain Syrup and her Genie. Wario did not like that Genie – after almost killing Wario, then accepting him as a new Master, the fat lump of ghostly lard refused to grant a wish unless Wario forked out all the money he had gained, selling all of the artifacts he had acquired to pay for it! What kind of Genie requires payment before granting a wish??
What a complete and total rip – off!!
Of course it'd been easier if he could have handed over that huge Golden Statue, the one that Mario had...
Wario frowned.
As much as he hated to admit it – he actually missed his small and friendly counterpart. The counterpart of which he had fought against, fought alongside with, and competed constantly with on many, many occasions over the years.
Mario – murdered by the Koopa Witch. Kammy Koopa, her strong magics proving too powerful for Mario to break out of, leaving him as nothing more than a target for a small army of Bob – Ombs, a cheap trick that even disgusted Wario, who was known for his dirty and low tricks and cheating skills. Bob – Ombs – Mario had been killed with Bob – Ombs, very similar to the ones that he and his own brother where so talented in using.
Waluigi didn't really seem to think that it was that big a deal. Mario died – so what? All the more limelight for the far superior Wario Brothers!
"Everybody dies Wario!" Waluigi had said upon the day that the two had been brought the news that Mario had been murdered. "You're born, then you die! The part in the middle's called "Life", and I'm not wasting mine crying over that loser's sorry carcass! You're going soft bro!"
He'd had a point. A cruelly made one, but Waluigi did indeed have a point. Death was a natural occurrence in a mortal life – and even if Mario's death had been long before his time – eventually he would have passed away, with little for his many fans and followers to do but to get on with their own lives.
He heaved a heavy sigh.
The logic of the matter didn't fill in the gaping hole of which Mario had once filled. Perhaps in some way – he'd actually admired him, Mario. In some points of life looked up to him and –
Waluigi was right. Wario was going soft – too soft if he was getting sentimental over the likes of Mario!
Whatever happened to the fearless gruff form of Wario – who'd effortlessly plough through and destroy his foes? Whatever happened to his joyously pessimistic cries of "Have a Rotten Day!" as he'd swing and beat up any enemy that came across his path.
This was Mario's fault! He'd done his creepy little "I'm a friendly and sweet little hero man who can't do wrong!" mumbo – jumbo jinx stuff or something!
Wario never used to be like this – reduced to actually going to funerals and getting all mushy over the "hero" type. Hero – Pah! Wario hated the word. Hero's where a bunch of losers who thought the only way to go, was to be a lousy Do – Gooder and get people to like you and...
It couldn't be helped – Wario was gradually becoming one of the good guys, and was beginning to form friendships with his former rivals.
Remembering Waluigi's behavior at the Funeral and how Wario had actually stepped in to put a stop to it was a thought that had stuck in his head. He'd made Waluigi come to the Funeral whether he'd liked it or not – and it was the 'or not' where Waluigi's opinion on the matter lay! It'd just be plain wrong not to at least say good – bye to Mario – even by Wario's standards, after all – it'd been fun while it lasted... kinda. Fun when Wario didn't actually lose to him – but as Rivals, Wario had seen him a worthy opponent and respected him for that.
When Waluigi had made it seem that Mario's Funeral was just a boring smudge on his everyday life – he didn't blame Luigi for flying off the handle and attacking him. In a reverse situation – he'd probably have done the same (and won by the way). It embarrassed him and actually made him feel ashamed of his little brother.
Wario shook it off, with Waluigi's hand on his shoulder to help him through it.
"Wario – Snap out of it!" his oddly tuned voice was loud and had a worried hint of urgency to it as he shook his brother back to reality.
"Wha..?" Wario shook his head vigorously, looking up to see the skinny and taller form of his brother before him looking down at him, the golden heat of the flame and the burning behind him brought light upon his features and delivering a sharp line of definition to his form. "What is it?"
"You look about ready to start crying – what the hell's the matter?? We won! The Super Wario Brothers kicked her ass! Why the long face?" He turned and stooped to pick of his share of the treasure and heaving it up to swing over his narrow shoulder and wait for his brothers answer.
"Hey – it's nothing!" Wario lied, bursting out into a fit of fake laughter and continued to punch the air. "The Incredible Wario Brothers Rule!"
Waluigi – unconvinced - raised an eyebrow at Wario.
"You're not still down over that idiot Mario are you?" His look upon his older brother was almost a judging glare, as though he where the leader of the duo, and ready to stir up trouble between themselves. "Get over it Wario – For God's sake – he's dead, boo – hoo, the other idiot'll take over if your that choked up about it! But seriously – what's the big deal?"
Wario felt a spark of anger stir within his heart.
"The big deal Waluigi – is that Mario – someone of whom I considered a friend is dead! And although that may seem to you as some stupid and insignificant little occurrence in your life – I can't help it! I respected him – even if you can't! That bitch Kammy murdered him – and got away with it, and that's something I can't handle!"
Waluigi blinked. He had far from anticipated Wario's outburst upon him, only minutes after laughing and sharing with him a first victory against an old enemy of whom Wario had often boasted of defeating, he'd actually expected him to come out with a comment along the lines of "why the hell would I still be mourning over that loser!" It had actually taken a moment for it to sink in, and even then Waluigi didn't believe it. Until finally, the truth hit him.
"Oh my God – you're serious!"
"Of course I'm serious!! What, are you retarded or something?! Y'know, it's kinda sickening considering the heartless bastard you've grown into Waluigi! There's nothing wrong with being a criminal who has friends, and can mourn for his or her death without shame! It's like you..."
"What is you're problem!?" Waluigi yelled back, throwing down his sack of Gold to stare his brother in the eye, face to face as Wario did likewise, both feeling their fists curl tightly at their sides. "It's only Mario! You can do better than him or his sappy brother Luigi! Hell – I'd sooner make friends with Toad than those geeks!"
"And what's wrong with Toad?" Wario demanded.
"Oh for the love of – What's happened to you?? What's happening to the Super Wario Brothers?? What do we care about anyone else? Why are you getting so worked up about this?"
"Toad gave me chances to prove myself to be a Super Star, Toad's been there for all of us – including you and given us the chance to prove ourselves for our greatness on several occasions – and I'm getting worked up about it because I've just realized that my baby brother doesn't know what it is to love!"
"Love..??" Waluigi's yelling cut short suddenly, his shoulders sinking and his face coming over with a look of scared concern. "Wario... you weren't... you weren't gay with Mario... where you?"
"See?? That's exactly what I mean!" Wario bawled, his face reddening with anger. "What do you think it is friends share between them?? What do you think we have?? You're my little brother Waluigi – and I do love you very much – does that make me gay with you?? No – it doesn't!"
"Wario – don't say it out loud..." Waluigi hushed motioning with his hands for him to lower his voice, and looking around frantically as though someone would judge brotherly love – his face visibly going red, and not from the heat of the flames behind him.
With a cry of rage Wario spun around and lifted the bags of Gold and stormed off through the night. Waluigi looked around, as though completing a last minute check of whether or not anyone had heard the proof of the fact that indeed the Wario Brothers shared a bond of brotherly affection, lifted the bag over his shoulder and ran off after Wario.
Wario's car was not too far from the scene; the sleek purple sheen caught their eyes from behind the set of rocks of which it where parked and hidden.
Upon seeing it, Wario released a weary smile. Unbeknownst to anyone other than the brothers – Wario called this his "Purple Pride and Joy", a heavy weight car, able to hold even the likes of Bowser and still be able to reach speeds of two hundred and eighty mph!
Walking around to the side of the car, lifting and unloading the bags from his back and into the spare seats, and entering the vehicle from the side drivers door, sitting back and relaxing at the wheel whilst waiting for Waluigi to catch up on him.
It didn't take long of course for the younger sibling to enter Wario's sights as he too shifted his share of the winnings into the car, and leap into the passenger seat, pulling his cap down over his eyes and setting both arms behind his head, kicking back and relaxing with a sigh.
"Wake me up when we get home..." was one of the few sentences of conversation exchanged between the two in all the time they shared a ride on this night. An aspect of the night that they would come to regret – an aspect that at least Waluigi would...
Wario shot a glare towards him and then sighed, starting up the engines and driving out of the hiding place and reversing, throwing one last glance and a smirk back at the inferno that was once the hideaway of Captain Syrup.
And with a casual flick of the Radio switch, Wario drove out of the scene and into the open road. An empty and endless stretch of pressed tar and concrete to make a roadway safe for the likes of travel.
The Radio DJ had an annoyingly cheesy and cheerful tone to his voice that Wario despised, throwing a quick glare to the dial on the car radio, but he didn't touch it.
"... And that song we just heard was "Don't Fear The Reaper" by the Blue Oyster Cult – a Timeless classic, I'm sure all you listeners of the Mushroom Kingdom out there will agree!"
Wario had turned on the radio too late and had missed this song, and these where the words greeted as he switched the radio on – He'd never heard the song before. But the title "Don't Fear The Reaper" seemed a little too morbid for his liking, throwing another sharp glance towards the dial.
"We're still taking requests for music tonight, and on request of Her Royal Highness Princess Daisy – That's right – We've just received a call from the fabled Princess Daisy people! We'll be playing "The Promise" by Within Temptation!"
Daisy?? Princess Daisy was listening to the Radio at (Wario checked the car clock) two in the Morning?? This was certainly unexpected...
The music began, slow and mystical.
"Where are we now... you almost look happy..."
The opening lines, spoken, not sung. Wario shrugged.
"Where are we now... you almost look happy..."
The same line again. Strange... The music got louder, trumpets sounded.
"Where are we now... look happy...
You almost look happy...
You almost look happy..."
Ok – this song was getting annoying – if it could be called a song at all! All it seemed to consist of was dreary music and some dull guy saying the same line over and over again!
"Look happy..."
Guitars ripped through the speakers suddenly, in an awesome audio display of rock music.
This was more like it!
Loud and rampant, as accompanied violins and drums sounded across, and Wario found himself smiling. Daisy actually listened to this stuff??
Pretty hard to believe – but nonetheless awesome! Her Royal Highness Princess Daisy was into rock! Then again, she was hardly your snobby Princess – ish type....
He was beginning to like this song. As the music stayed strong the violins came in louder, until finally, the high pitched sound of female singing came in as the guitars stopped suddenly.
"On Behalf Of Her Love
She No Longer Sleeps
Life Had No Longer Meaning
Nothing to Make Her Stay
She Sold Her Soul Away
I Held You Tight To Me
You Slipped Away
You Promised
To Return
To Me
And I Believed...
I Believed..."
The guitars where back and Wario found himself nodding his head in time to the music. The singer was too high pitched for his liking, but the music along with the singing was brilliant!
"That song's crap Wario – turn it off. Daisy obviously doesn't know good music..." Waluigi ordered, not moving a muscle from his laidback state. Wario ignored him.
"On The Night He Died
I Wept My Tears Until They Dried"
Wario frowned – now realizing fully what the song was about. Death.
"But the Pain Stayed The Same
I Didn't Want Him To Die
All In Vain
I Made A Promise
To Revenge His Soul In Time
I'll Make Them Bleed!!
Down At My Feet!"
Waluigi sniggered – so much for going to sleep... Wario rolled his eyes with a sigh, and continued with his driving to their home castle – the only thing Wario loved more than his car and his Gold. A Castle to pronounce how truly grand and great he really was!
The Radio sang on.
If they had known any better, they might have taken the words as an omen, as many regrets would be shown vividly, and it would be known just how the character of the song felt...
"I held you Tight To Me
You Slipped Away
You Promised To Return To Me
And I Believed...
I Believed...
Sometimes I Wonder
Could I Have Known About
The True Intentions?
But The Pain Stayed The Same
I'm Going To Hunt Them Down
All The Way!
I Made A Promise
To Revenge His Soul In Time
One By One
They Where Surprised!
I held you Tight To Me
You Slipped Away
You Promised To Return To Me
And I Believed...
I Believed...
Where are we now... you almost look happy..."
"Wario – Turn that Crap off Now!" Waluigi snapped irritably at the sound of the dull young man speak again, and delivered a firm kick, his foot hitting the switch to turn the radio off. Wario sighed once more and gave an annoyed grunt towards Waluigi. Waluigi tilted his cap up. "You're gonna make up some cliché' crap about it reminding you of Mario – so turn it off and save us both a lotta grief..."
Wario muttered an obscene curse under his breath, not even bothering to glance back at him or protest, keeping his eyes on the stretch of road before him.
There was no traffic.
That was cool with him – fewer idiots's to risk scratching the paintwork of his car as he shoved and drove them off of the road! Quieter with less hassle, and leaving Wario to begin thinking on how he would spend his wealth.
A bigger castle?
A better car?
All the food he could eat?
Oh – the possibilities! What he could do with all that money! The way he was going – he'd have enough money to keep him rich and comfortably well off until his last breath!
A smile painted itself across his broad face, as he glanced up at the stars.
Maybe he'd have a star named after him – the Wario Star! That way – he's always be known as "The Super Star!" for everyone to remember until the end of time!
A little high with the hopes – but a cool thought, one had to admit.
Into the distance – Wario could see the silhouette of his Castle. It was tiny and black, but it wouldn't be long until he'd be able to see the "W" emblem that portrayed his castle as his.
Dark, creepy and so wicked looking!
Now that was living! Scaring the crap out of anyone who walked passed, the gruff guffaws of Wario, and the maniacal laughter of Waluigi always audible from outside whenever a newly devised plot had hatched, or a bout of good news had arrived.
It began to rain suddenly, a crack of thunder and an instant downpour upon the open car exposed to all manner of things the sky could drop.
Waluigi released a squawk of dismay, sitting bolt upright, pulling his cap further into his skull as though it would defend his entire body from the onslaught of rain from the clouds above, heavily pregnant with water, as Wario glared and swore under his breath, the interior of his precious car susceptible to the rain.
"Hurry it up!! Park the damn car!!" Waluigi cried out, waving his arms wildly as though trying to swat the rain away from himself as the car moved towards the castle garage extension, lightning flashing through the night above, forking violently through the night in brilliant white on the deep blue / black canvas of the sky.
Only minutes later, the car was parked safely within the castle indoor parking lot – available only to the Wario Brothers of course – and maybe some of the others if they stopped by...
Waluigi had leapt out of the car in a sudden foul mood, wringing the water from his cap before slapping it back onto the top of his head.
"What a perfect ending to the perfect night!" he spat viciously, wheeling around on his older brother as though the rain had somehow been his fault. "I'm going to change – you put the Gold away in the vault!" he finished with a nasty screech to his voice as he turned and stormed away.
Wario sighed returning with a single flip of the bird towards his moody younger sibling as he heaved himself out of the car, deciding to himself that he would shove the winnings in the vault in the morning. He was tired after his heavy struggle and felt entitled at least to a night of relaxation.
With a heavy yawn, he trudged out into the hallways, looking up the stairs to see Waluigi's shadow disappear behind a set of walls. Shrugging to himself, Wario wandered upstairs after him, sleep beckoned him, and he was going.
The thought of his luxurious bedroom with the huge bed and the statues of himself bearing his wildly muscular figure made him smile – even if Waluigi pointed out that what Wario had was fat rather than muscle...
Reaching the top of the stairs, Wario came to reach his bedroom door; a heavy thing made of the finest oak and decorated with elegant carvings of Wario's image.
Reaching out for the handle and shoving the door wide open, he stepped into the huge space, of which he called his bedroom, to freeze suddenly.
The fires where lit, and had been for a bit of time now judging by the overall temperature of the room.
He spied the broomstick by a large velvet cushioned chair. A tiny thing – perhaps only around three feet high, but the broomstick wasn't the main thing on Wario's mind.
What was, was the shriveled old Koopa lady snuggled inside the chair staring hardly at him through cheap granny – glasses.
"Ah, Wario! I don't believe we've had the pleasure!" she cackled, jumping from the chair and onto the ground, her purple robes flowing, her pointed hat twitching as she hit the ground.
Wario blinked. He was very surprised that anyone would have the audacity to break into his home, enter his room and make themselves at home – let alone a senile old Koopa Crone!
"...And who the hell are you supposed to be??" he demanded, deciding he'd get violent after he'd worked out who she was, and he didn't know how to describe the feeling exactly, but he could sense a strong foreboding of very bad tidings from this little old Koopa.
"Tsch! The manners you people lack these days!" she muttered with a shake of the head. "I Wario – am the beautifully talented and skilled Witch and Servant of Bowser – or was rather, seeing as that bumbling oaf of a beast had me fired, but on the subject at hand – my name is..."
"Kammy Koopa?" Wario finished for her, feeling a tightening of muscles on his part and a strong fear coming from deep within. He had not expected at all to come home and face to face with Mario's murderer, but seeing as she was here...
"Don't bother trying to attack me Wario – lest I be forced to do take instant action upon you." She warned with a simpering smile as she folded her tiny arms across her chest.
"What do you want?" Wario snarled towards her, his mind spinning with ideas of how he would take her down.
"Oh, nothing in particular Mr. Wario sir," she smirked, looking down at her feet. "Just the factor that a little bird tells me that you bear particular problems upon it, and have recently been gallivanting around with a new partner in crime! May I ask who?" she tried to make her voice sound so sweet and innocent, and it was with these words that it struck Wario.
Kammy meant to do to him and Waluigi, what she'd done to Mario – and Wario felt raw anger plucking at his heart and knew now that he had to take her down.
But there was little point in dragging Waluigi into this, in the very unlikely event that she where to reign victory over them, she'd only hurt him too.
"I strictly work alone, and by the way – if you came here thinking that you where going to kill me like you killed Mario – you're way in over your head. I'm stronger, faster and just overall better than he was, so if you think..."
"Oh, we'll see." Kammy nodded, pulling from nowhere her jeweled wand, spinning it within her fists and pointing it at Wario, who with sudden shock felt his body go rigid so quickly and catching him off guard as he felt his muscles lock tightly in their place.
"Wh – what have you done??"
"If you came here thinking that you where going to kill me like you killed Mario – you're way in over your head. I'm stronger, faster and just overall better than he was!" Kammy mimicked cruelly with a wide toothy grin. "Well it would appear that I'm just overall better than both of you aren't I Mr. Wario sir?"
"Coward!!" Wario screamed furiously fighting to try and pry some sort of movement from his body that stood as still as the stone figures of himself within the room. "Let me go and see how strong you are in a fair fight!"
"Oh, Wario! I'm impressed that a man of such reputation as yourself even knows what the word 'fair' means!" Kammy giggled like a love - struck schoolgirl, which in Wario's opinion sounded quite retarded coming from her. "I'm afraid I can't do that, y'see – I'm in a new partnership these days, and my allies have got quite a few problems with you at the given moment, and have asked that since my killing of the fabled Mario was so successful, to dispose of you, and so..."
"Wario, where are the towels?" Waluigi's voice called out loudly from beyond the hallway, and Wario's heart numbed instantly in his chest for fear of his little brother.
Kammy blinked, giving Wario a tapered look recalling his statement of working alone.
"And who might that be?" she inquired delicately, cracking her knuckles.
"Servant," Wario answered instantly, glaring piercingly towards the Koopa Crone. Kammy cocked her head to the side, giving a rather quizzical look upon him.
"Your servants call you by your name? Rather than 'Sir' or 'Master'?"
Wario looked back towards the door frantically, hoping and praying that Waluigi would not decide to enter, his heartbeat beginning to speed up alarmingly high and he could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he looked back at the door.
"Wario??" Waluigi called once more from beyond the door, his voice getting ever closer. "Hey – I'm talking to you jackass!"
Kammy giggled, holding a decrepit hand to her mouth, rocking slightly with her laughter.
"A servant, hmmm??" she teased with a cruel sneer towards Wario, his fear for his brother becoming increasingly strong as cold sweat ran down his face and he trembled slightly – if Waluigi where to enter the room, she'd only try to kill him too.
If he had kept up the servant act, not only would Kammy know that he was lying – after all, a man being murdered does not waste his time talking to servants – but Waluigi would be confused and walk in demanding to know what the hell he was talking about.
Kammy produced with a wave of her wand, a Bob – Omb, gleaming in shiny black, it's fuse lit and hissing its deadly hiss, it's tiny feet marching in her hand as she set it upon the ground and stepped back a little as it began to walk towards the door.
Wario's blood turned to ice, his pupils shrank to two tiny dots as he predicted what was to happen.
He called out a strangled cry as it drew near the door.
"WALUIGI – DON'T COME IN – GET AWAY!!"
He had not even finished with his warning as the door swung open and the tall and lanky figure of his little brother appeared, his eyes widening upon seeing the Koopa lady and looking down at his feet just in time to see the Bob – Omb erupt in a flash or fiery red, and Waluigi cried out in shock as he was thrown backwards from the raw force of the explosion and sent hurtling before hitting the banister that lined the floor of the hallway and tumbled down out of sight as the door was ripped from it's hinges and blown to the side..
There was a thud and a squawk from Waluigi.
Then there was silence.
"Oh my G - !" Wario trembled, tears forming in his eyes as he looked back over his shoulder for as far as he could manage. All that he could see was the blackened doorway and the black burn marks that scarred the floor and the thin tendrils of smoke that rose from the Bob – Omb's wake. "WALUIGI!!!!!" Wario screamed desperately, hoping and praying that he was ok, wishing and begging to Fate that his brother was alive. "WALUIGI, WALUIGI ARE YOU..."
"Dead?" Kammy cut in with a smile. "Probably – a skinny thing like him would have probably snapped like the twig that he is – no point in fretting over him anymore Wario..." she paused, lifting from the folds of her purple robes, another Bob – Omb. Setting it down on the ground and with a wave of her wand, the tiny instrument of death and destruction multiplied, shadows forming from it in all directions and fanning out to become physical, and Wario could not speak. Could not feel. He was now numb with disbelief. He did not even hear Kammy complete her sentence. "...seeing as you'll meet up in Hell!"
And as they began to march towards him, the tiny black spheres on feet walking towards him, and Kammy's high pitched cackle rang aloud through the castle, Wario knew as he looked death straight in the eye...
...he knew...
...that the Wario Brothers where no more...
This has been in the works for some time, I'm trying to focus solely on my novilization of Final Fantasy VII – but it gets boring focusing on one particular fanfic at a time. And seeing as "My Big Brother" seems to be the second most popular of my stories – I figured I'd do a rather lengthy sequel, yes there is more to come so stay tuned, but at this precise moment in time – I've got Homework to attend to, so when it's done, I might get round to starting Chapter two.
Until Next Time!