Author's note: Merry Christmas!
"Your highnesses! The purple shy-guy is coming!" Toadsmill squeaked in a high-pitched whisper.
"Wonderful! Is everything ready, Daisy?" Peach asked, fastening the gold buckle of her deluxe go-kart helmet.
"Um, let's see… super-grip racing tires… tank full of hyper jet-fuel… steering wheel firmly attached to the car…" Daisy checked off the items on a small, yellow pad of paper, "I think we have everything!"
"Perfect. We'll wait until the purple shy-guy-"
"And his incredibly-fashionable yellow, polka-dot party hat with the plate of spaghetti on top!" Daisy tapped her own flowery blue go-kart helmet with her pencil.
"-gets to the other side of that oddly-placed hedge before we start." Peach nodded, "Toadsmill, stand by for ignition."
"Yes, Your highness!" he piped up energetically.
The two princesses sat in the go-kart; Peach in the pink, cushiony driver's seat, Daisy standing on the back.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting.
"He's almost…" Daisy squinted to see in the early twilight. Suddenly, her eyes widened, "There he is! Go!"
"Yes, Your highness!" Toadsmill shouted, and yanked the starting cord as hard as his tiny muscles allowed.
The go-kart's engine revved.
"Hold onto your high-heels, Daisy!" Peach yelled over the engine and put the pedal to the metal.
The go-kart took off at an amazing speed, racing down the road after the purple shy-guy.
"We'll catch up with him in no time at this rate!" Peach called back to Daisy.
"What's that?"
"I said," she repeated louder, "WE'LL CATCH UP WITH HIM IN NO TIME AT-"
"No," Daisy shouted, her brown hair whipping about her face, "What's THAT?"
Princess Peach looked ahead and saw two orange-colored shapes standing in the middle of the road near the oddly-placed hedge, "They look kind of like… Mario and Luigi?" She wasn't sure; the wind in her face making her eyes water.
"Don't worry, Peach," Daisy shouted, "I'm sure they'll move!"
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Mario and Luigi stood in the middle of the road, panting.
"That little guy sure is fast…" Luigi gasped, fanning himself with the shiny hubcap the shy-guy had been looking at earlier, "and now that we're out of town, our extremely-bright orange coloring doesn't blend in with anything!"
Mario wiped the sweat off his forehead and grumbled, "Why did I ever let him talk me into coming along on such a crazy trip?" he looked at Luigi, who was still using the hubcap to fan himself, "And why did you bring that thing along?"
"It's shiny and pretty." Luigi stroked it lovingly.
Mario slapped his hand across his eyes, "Why me?"
"Say, bro." Luigi said, tucking the hubcap back into his overalls. He cocked his head, "Do you hear that weird motor-ish sound?"
Mario waved his orange cap at him, "It's probably just Paratroopa-Airline's evening plane. It passes near here, doesn't it?"
"Oh, yeah… maybe…" Luigi pulled out his binoculars to scan the skies while his brother caught his breath.
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"I don't think they're going to move!" Daisy shouted.
"Oh, don't worry. Mario has an unbelievably accurate sense of danger!" Peach reassured her friend, "He'll get out of the way in time."
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"Hey, is it just me, or is that motor-ish sound getting louder?" Luigi had a puzzled look on his face as he lowered his binoculars.
"You must be hearing things." Mario wiggled a finger in his ear.
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"Peach, I really think they're not going to move!" Daisy cried.
"No, no, no. They'll move." Peach said, biting her lip worriedly, "Any second now. They'll jump out of the way." Her delicate fingers clutched the go-kart's steering wheel, "Any second. Any- GREAT KOOPAS! THEY'RE NOT MOVING!"
"STEER, PEACH, STEEEEEEEER!" Daisy shrieked as Princess Peach swerved off the road to avoid the two, orange-colored heroes.
WHOOOSH!
They crashed through the oddly-placed hedge, and ran into a large tree just on the other side.
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"What in Mushroom Kingdom was THAT?" Mario whirled about just in time to see one of the go-kart's tires roll out of the hedge and onto the road.
They rushed through the hedge to see what had happened.
The go-kart had been mangled beyond recognition by the stout trunk of the tree it had collided with. Two wheels were sticking up in the air, the exhaust pipe poked out of the backseat, and the engine appeared to be, well, in several places.
"It's dead..." Mario and Luigi sadly removed their caps in honor of the totalled vehicle.
"Don't just stand there!" Princess Peach shouted from inside the mangled frame of the go-kart, "Get me out of here!"
"Don't forget about me!"
Mario and Luigi looked up, open-mouthed from Peach's predicament, at Daisy, who was hanging upside-down by her long, yellow dress.
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Several minutes later…
"Just jump, Daisy! I'll catch you!" Luigi called confidently.
"Well… okay…" she said doubtfully, "GERONIMO!"
"Waaah!- OOF!"
"Say, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!" Daisy stood and dusted off her dress, "Thanks Luigi!"
"You're… welcome…" said crushed Luigi.
"What were you two doing in the middle of the road?" Daisy asked.
"We were trying to catch up with the purple shy-guy." Mario grumbled, trying to free Princess Peach from the remains of the go-kart, "Luigi's obsessed with finding out what he's up to."
"Am not!" Luigi cried, hopping up from the ground, "I just have to know!"
"Wow, what a coincidence!" Daisy clapped her hands together, "We're trying to find out where he got his incredibly-fashionable yellow, polka-dot party hat with the plate of spaghetti on top!"
"Really?" Luigi straightened his cap, "Maybe we can work together!"
"What a great idea!" Daisy clapped her hands again, "but it looks like we won't be able to use the go-kart anymore…"
"You guys should be more careful!" Mario advised as he finally disentangled Peach from the go-kart's wreckage.
"More- you- gah!- CAREFUL!" With a final, angry 'hmph!', Peach turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving a very confused Mario behind her.
"Well, in any case, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to get started." Luigi pointed out mournfully, "The purple shy-guy is long gone by now."
"Don't worry, Luigi," Daisy laid a hand on his shoulder, "We'll get rested tonight, and tomorrow, we'll solve this mystery once and for all!"
Yep, this fanfic is getting close to an end. The next chapter should be a good, long, reveal-the-answers-to-all-your-questions chapter! Stay tuned!
Don't forget to hit the review button!
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