Chapter 46

Mischief Makers

"Catch it, Geno!" Mallow shouted, his stubby legs barely keeping up with the wooden doll. Bullets sprayed from Geno's fingers as he attempted to strike the flying boo who held a green Star Piece. The ghost cackled, disappeared and reappeared behind them, taunting the pair with the fragment before zipping off again. Geno and Mallow chased the ghost, but they skidded to a halt when they realized it was gone.

"The boo vanished!" the Prince exclaimed. "Where'd it go?"

"It probably turned invisible," responded Geno. "Keep searching!"

A piercing shriek echoed through the forest.

"That was Princess Toadstool! She's probably in trouble!"

Geno nodded. "We better find her, Mallow. Maybe that's where the ghost went."

A circular white orb hovered in front of Peach, grinning childishly. The sphere giggled, its little flippers flapping wildly as she got on her feet. Toad clung to Peach again, like a scared child would with a mother.

"It's a boo!" Peach blurted out, then paused, puzzled. "But aren't they usually in groups?"

Toad glanced back and noticed the dishes and eating utensils were trembling. He tugged on Peach's hand lightly, but she was too interested in the boo to notice. The shaking objects rose, hovering a metre or two off the ground then froze, an inanimate ambush waiting to happen. Toad yanked on Peach's arm harder.

"Uh, Princess…" he babbled, frightened, quivering violently. "I… see… there… floating…"

Peach responded this time, and looked where Toad was pointing furiously. She gaped as the items rushed at them. She ducked in time as they flew harmlessly over her. Stainless steel forks and knives dug into a tree truck, struggling to get free, while half a dozen plates, bowls and spoons returned like boomerangs for another dive.

Peach dodged the flying saucers and crawled her way to the picnic basket, while Toad blocked the dishes with a snapped branch. Peach's hand quickly found a smooth handle inside the basket and pulled, revealing an old frying pan – the same one she used during the battle against Smithy. She brought it along for an emergency, and she needed it now. With a tight grip, she swung at an approaching plate, iron against pottery. The plate rebounded and slammed into the ground, heavily chipped.

She cringed – if she avoided getting killed in this adventure, Toadsworth would finish the job. She knew he'd flip over the expensive broken dishes – for they were all custom made with the Mushroom Kingdom emblem displayed on them.

The boo giggled, then froze and vanished without another word.

"Toadstool!" a voice yelled. "Duck!"

Peach and Toad dove to the ground as Geno performed his attack. The Geno Whirl, a red energy beam, sliced through multiple dishes, sending pieces of pottery flying. The commotion died down as Mallow finally caught up, panting and gasping for breath.

"Are you all right, Princess?" Geno asked. "We heard you scream and we rushed over."

"But I didn't scream," Peach replied, confused. "Neither did Toad."

She barely finished her sentence when they heard a bloodcurdling cry.