Yeah, remember when I said "maybe" about using those 13 again? Yeah...that's more of a "yes" than I realized. But cheer up! We have another new character to introduce! Oh, and drama stuff. Enjoy!
...
A crowd was gathered just outside the castle. On the front balcony, Iggy and Lemmy stood on right side, while Larry and Ludwig waited on the left. Wendy stood in the center of their raised stage, with the Koopa Troop below wondering what they were doing.
"Does anyone understand why all of the Koopalings are standing around up there?" asked a confused Ice Bro. to no one in particular.
"No idea," came the hushed response of a Shy Guy that walked by. "But there's only five of them around. There are seven Koopalings, which means that something's going on."
"Ehehehe…we should watch and find out," cackled a Boo that joined their conversation.
A door slammed open, and the audience gathered below jumped. They watched as Roy appeared to the front of the balcony, pointing forward. Wendy cleared her throat and spoke aloud.
"Pyre," she announced, in a voice that had a mix of authority and sinister delight. A Fire Bro. in handcuffs stepped forward, taking the end spot at the very edge of the balcony. "Pyro." Another Fire Bro. in cuffs walked forward, keeping his head down, and moved to the edge of the balcony next to the first.
"What is the meaning of this?" a Magikoopa whispered the question out.
"Hush," hissed a Monty Mole. "We'll find out soon."
Wendy continued over the quiet talks of the assembly below, "Ren." A red-shelled Koopa Troopa with handcuffs came forward, notably annoyed. "Bill." As the first Koopa moved to the end of the line, a blue-shelled Koopa appeared, looking worried. "Garen." The third, calmer Koopa Troopa, green-shelled, joined the other two at the end with the Fire Bros. The throng grew a little louder, more curious over those called.
"Hey," spoke an orange-shelled Koopa Troopa from the ground below. "Don't I know those guys?"
"Quiet, quiet!" urged a Buzzy Beetle. "You want to end up there next?"
"Wheezy, Baldy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Jumpy, Happy, and…Doc," Wendy announced aloud, sounding almost disappointed by the last name. Seven Goombas in shackles bounced up to the front of the balcony, struggling as they gathered on the opposite side of the Koopas.
"Hey whoa," shouted a bouncing Goomba. "Those are the guys I know!"
"Shaddup!" came a Lakitu that flew low and bopped the Goomba. "You're gonna get the resta us in trouble, ya goon!"
"Quiet down," Wendy calmly called out to the Troop below, silencing them. "Sledge."
A cuffed Hammer Bro. that wore a scowl across his face made his way forward and took the center of the balcony, standing in front of Wendy. Morton strode forward, taking Roy's place on the left, as the purple-shelled Koopaling made his way to right side. As he passed, he bent down and shifted a podium forward, allowing Wendy to step up. Roy walked to the right side and stood alongside Iggy and Lemmy.
"Hello, and thank you, to those of you gathered and watching, listening," Wendy's cheerful voice rang out to the Koopa Troop. "Here, I have gathered thirteen treasonous fools that defied the King's orders and decided to make an attempt on our prime prisoner's life."
"Wait…what?" dared the Koopa to let out, being the only one to do so at first.
"Does…she mean Mario?" inquired the Ice Bro. His companions were prompted to reply, setting off a slight chain of answers.
"Why would they stop them?" asked the Magikoopa. More chattering sounded.
"I don't see the problem here," the Goomba observed, with the conversations growing louder.
"SILENCE!" screeched Wendy, her voice sounding over the rest of the talking, quieting them once again. Composing herself, she delightfully continued, "Now then, these thirteen are to be punished for this indiscretion. Does anyone know the usual punishment for treason?" Not a soul answered her, too afraid to speak again. Pleased with the response, Wendy, in a more solemn voice, announced the response, "Death."
Expressions of the thirteen paled and tensed, showing that they had not been informed, but had expectations of this news. Gasps and cries rang out from the crowd below.
"However," Wendy picked up her voice again, though its tone changed from delight to bored. "The gracious King Koopa has decided that to be too steep of a castigation for the first offenders. Therefore, death will be the sentence only to those who follow the actions of these foolish fiends." Though the whispers started again, they were less in number, and died out quickly. "Instead, the sentence for the group that stands before you…will be the Bowser Games." Awe sounded again from the troops below.
"Damn it," hissed Ren.
"No, no, no," trembled Bill.
"Wait, what does that mean?" whispered Garen. "What are those?"
"It's torture sentence," Sledge answered. "We'll be competing against these brats for our survival in sick and twisted little scenarios. Bowser brings them to Mario's parties on a whim, but they're more dangerous for the rest of us."
When the rest of the prisoners began to react, the six Koopalings on either side growled and threatened to lash out at them, quickly quieting them.
"These games are scheduled to begin next week," Wendy excitedly picked up again. "For now, they will remain in the dungeons. Anyone astonishingly stupid enough to go after them shall join these thirteen in a new execution sentence." Silence overtook the audience once again. "Thank you all for your time! Remember, continue your usual operations and schedules, or else you might just end up like these felons!"
With a wicked laugh, Wendy stepped away from the podium, as Roy and Morton led the thirteen back from the balcony, shoving them back inside the castle. Ludwig and Larry followed them in. Wendy stood and admired as the Koopa Troop that had gathered below quickly dispersed and went back to their usual business. Iggy and Lemmy met her in the middle.
"Wow, that was a great sentencing, sis!" cheered Lemmy as he bounced over to her.
"Sure was," Iggy agreed. "Next time, I'll make sure the Super Silencer is functioning, so you can really shut the crowd up."
"Thank you, boys," giggled Wendy. "Oh, and it's no trouble, Iggy. I prefer commanding their attention."
With that, the trio strolled inside, following their brothers.
[Luigi]
Breathing in the fresh air of the sunny afternoon, I exhaled heavily, following Peach and the Toads back to the castle courtyard. Though I'm still short of breath with chasing them about, we've slowed our pace and I've caught up with them again. The four Toads running quickly through the fields, I understood. Princess Peach? The woman who can dash with the wind in heels and a long dress? Not so much.
As we made our way through Toad Town, I noticed that the citizens were out and about again, ripping away the boards on their homes and shops, appearing much more cheerful and masking the frightened faces that I left behind with Bowser's assault. Some paraded around, zipping with extended arms, happy to just feel the wind whipping them again. Another group of Toads gathered flowers in the field, removing dead ones and weeds, chatting up a storm with one another, and planting new seeds. Almost everyone took a moment to stop and either wave, cheer, or bow as we passed.
Straightening up as we march through the town, I still had heavy arms and throbbing legs, but I kept the posture, allowing the town to feel more at ease with their heroes returning.
Approaching the bridge, I observed that the construction workers have returned to work on rebuilding it. They haven't made much progress since I watched them from the castle, which feels like ages ago, but it's understandable, given the circumstances that arose as Bowser's army approached. Shattered stones still needed to be swept away, but now that the Grasslands are back under our control, I relaxed my body and breathed, confident that things will begin to pick up around here again.
"And now we're just a few steps away from being murdered," muttered one of the Toads, though I missed which one. The four nodded their heads at one another, and I lose myself trying to understand.
"Hush," Peach shushed the quartet, and they let out a simultaneous sigh before doing so. "I'll handle him. Remember, we need supplies, so there's no avoiding this."
Pulling at my mustache, I'm on the verge of asking what they're talking about when I heard a sudden, "Whoa!" and other noisy cheers. Turning, I saw a green dinosaur charging at me. A rough tackle sent us both to the ground, and he wrapped his arms tightly around me.
"Yoshi! Yoshi!" chirped the eponymous dinosaur.
"Yoshi…heavy…" was my limited response. Doing my best to look up past Yoshi's big head, the Toads erupted in laughter.
Peach, however, had her hands at her hips. "Yoshi, what do you think you're doing?" She scolded. "Get off of Luigi. He's quite exhausted from today's return trip."
The green dinosaur let out a sigh, pushing up from the ground and I, bouncing back to his feet. He jumped, and then kicked his legs into a flutter. "Wow! Yoshi!" he happily announced.
"PRINCESS!" thundered a voice from within the castle. Hitting the side of my head, it clicked; Toadsworth couldn't have been angrier.
"Gracious, I don't have the strength to deal with all of this," Peach groaned. Moving her scepter around, she whispered something and pointed it at Yoshi. A gold collar of dust wrapped around his throat and swirled around for a bit. It then pulled apart and vanished as Peach marched toward the castle. After exchanging nervous glances with one another, the Toads followed.
"Yikes, they're in trouble," Yoshi murmured.
Scratching my head, I mumbled, "Yeah, I…" Pause. My eyes widened. "Yoshi, did you just talk?!"
He bounced and answered, "Yep, I talk a lot! You don't usually answer me this directly though."
"N-No, but you…those are complete sentences!" I managed to gasp out.
He turned his head to give me a sideways look. "I always do that, Luigi! I'm smart too, you know. Peach was right, you must be super exhausted!"
"But you…I…did she just…?" Sighing, I shook my head. "Never mind."
Wagging his tail and humming, Yoshi and I followed the others back to the castle. He bumped into me a few times, and I wonder how Mario dealt with the large lack of personal space.
Trying to get him to back off a little, I whispered, "Yoshi, uh…could you—"
"Help out?" Yoshi interrupted as he grabbed my arm and stubbed my feet. "That's what I'm here for! Toads told me that Mario got kidnapped by Bowser."
"Yes, but that's not—"
"Necessary, right? Sure it is! Mario and you are my favorite pals!" He gave my arm a squeeze and bumped his head against me. Yoshi's cheerful disposition made it almost impossible to really get angry with him. Instead, I just bit my lip and bottled it in…which I do more frequently than I care to admit.
As we made our way to the throne room, we walked in to see Toadsworth had already started on Peach, and swiftly moved to scold the Toads. With a red face and a cane that flew wildly about the air around him, angry Toadsworth was doubled as scary Toadsworth. Releasing my arm, Yoshi sped behind me, now putting his hands on my shoulders and only peeking out.
"And you four!" Toadsworth boomed. "Letting your princess wander off like that! An absolute disgrace! How could you let her get so far? She could have been kidnapped or killed! Bowser would win! Doesn't that very thought disgust you?! This kingdom would be in peril and disarray! I hope you're all feeling ashamed of yourselves. This is outrageously despicable!"
The Blue Toad stepped forward from his shivering quartet, whimpering, "B-But two o-of us w-wuh-weren't—"
"No excuses!" snapped Toadsworth.
"Toadsworth, that's enough!" Peach intervened. "Two of these Toads were with Luigi, who was struggling at the fortress. And I coerced the other two into guarding me as we ventured over there to rescue them! They were following my orders and were quite brave."
Tugging on his mustache, Toadsworth's voice lowered a bit, but still contained all of the rage from before. "That doesn't change a thing! Princess, this was completely irresponsible on all of your parts! And mine, for not keeping a sharper eye on you!"
"Toadsworth, we were fine," Peach argued. "I had the scepter with me and—"
"You took the Royal Scepter?!" gasped Toadsworth. "Are you completely out of your mind?! Do you have any idea what would happen if that fell into Bowser's scaly claws?!"
"Toadsworth, I'm not a child!" huffed Peach.
"Then stop acting like one!" lectured Toadsworth. "Honestly, Princess, this was a completely naïve action that endangered multiple lives. What would your parents think or say if they—?"
"They aren't here, Toadsworth," snapped Peach. With a blink, I could have missed it, but Peach's demeanor went icy cold. Her face, which was a little annoyed before, was now starkly filled with anger.
Realizing too late that he had stepped over the line, Toadsworth lowered his cane and tugged harder on his mustache. He attempted to reach up to her, trying to apologize, "Princess, forgive me, that was uncalled for—"
"Enough," Peach held her hand up and Toadsworth stopped. Her voice was firm, but almost void of any emotion. "We returned for supplies, not for lectures. You will give each of the Toads and Luigi a Power-Up, from whatever reserves we have. I'll recharge the scepter and then we will be on our way out again. Is that clear?"
He nodded. The earlier angry Toadsworth was somehow nothing compared to this sudden change in Peach. My eyes wandered to the Toads, but they were huddled together, shaking harder from Peach's voice than from Toadsworth. Yoshi wrapped his arms around me from behind, shivering a bit and spreading it to me. Looking around at the guards near the door, they simply pretended not to hear anything and made sure not to make eye contact with anyone.
"Good." Sucking in a breath of air and letting it out again, Peach turned to her throne. "Go now, Toadsworth. They're waiting. The more time we waste here, the worse the rest of the kingdom becomes."
Bowing, I heard a faint, "Yes, your Highness." Gathering the Toads like he was suddenly their protective grandfather, Toadsworth ushered the six of us from the throne room.
"Toadsworth, what was…?" I started to ask, but when he shook his head, I left it at that.
Silently, the six of us followed the old steward to a supply room. Hardly anyone took notice of us as we passed through the halls, going about their busybody business and cheerfully moving along. For the first time, I wondered what secrets were buried within Peach's Castle. Did Mario know anything about them?
Between Yoshi's constant dangling on me, as well as getting continuously sidetracked by the passing Toads, I soon gave up on my thoughts as we arrived at the room. The shelves were almost barren, offering a very limited selection.
"I have four power-ups remaining here," Toadsworth murmured. "You'll have to decide which among you will go without one."
"I will," I answered quickly. While these are brave Toads to come this far with me, they'll need whatever abilities we can grab much more than I will.
"Wait," interrupted the Yellow Toad. "We should, um, pool the items together, instead of using them now. That way, all of us can use them later when we need them most."
"Excellent idea, lad," Toadsworth answered, grabbing an Item Bag to put them in. The four items were a Fire Flower, a Super Bell, a Propeller Mushroom, and a Penguin Suit. For a moment, I thought I had noticed a Cape Feather, but it turned out to be an ordinary one from a feather duster. Tightly tying the bag, Toadsworth handed it to the Purple Toad to carry. "Take good care of it, boys. You'll need it."
We nodded, but Yoshi laughed. "Don't worry! I can just chomp down on whatever enemies we happen to run across! And we can fire my eggs right back at the baddies too!"
Blinking, the five Toads exchanged perplexed glances with one another. Finally, Toadsworth asked the Green Toad, "Does she use that scepter for everything now?" The Green Toad nervously chuckled and shrugged. Sighing, Toadsworth shook his head and shooed us from the room.
"I guess we'll wait for Peach outside," I suggested and the others agreed, making their way outside. Trying to follow them, I'm held back by a tug at my overalls. As I turned back, it was Toadsworth who met my gaze.
"Please, Master Luigi," he begged, "I know this isn't normally your cup of tea, but please protect the Princess and the Toads at all costs." There's more that I wanted to ask him about before answering, but I studied his face to find tears welling up behind his spectacles. Breathing out through my nose, I silently nodded to reassure him. He bowed before walking away.
Going the opposite direction, I chased after the Toads, catching up with Yoshi, who stopped to wait for me. "What happened? Did you guys find another Power-Up?" I shook my head, unable to share the rest of what happened. Whether he was too happy to care or polite enough to let it go, I was relieved that Yoshi didn't press the issue further.
Instead, I decided to catch up with him. "So, Yoshi, how's the Island?"
"It's all right, for now," he cheerfully hummed.
"For now?" I questioned. "Is everything ok?"
"Oh, yeah, but I doubt it will stay that way," he explained. "If Bowser's going after the whole kingdom, I'm sure someone will be sent to Yoshi's Island to take over."
"That's terrible," I murmured. "Yoshi, why don't you stay there?"
"Oh, the others can handle it," he laughed. "We don't need every single Yoshi to defend our Island. Besides, you guys need all the help you can get to find Mario!" He sighed. "I miss him already. I hope he's ok."
While I hoped for the same, I tried to convince both of us with, "He's fine. Mario can handle himself in tough situations. He probably just needs to wait for the right moment to escape on his own."
Yoshi bounced with his steps at my response. "Yep, you're probably right!" His stomach suddenly growled. "Whoa! I'm getting hungry again. Do they have any fruit around here?" I chuckled as he sniffed the air, and then huffed at the lack of food scents.
We walked outside, met the Toads near a tree, and sat down. The four chattered to one another and asked Yoshi a few questions, but I paid little attention to them. I got lost in glancing around at the castle courtyard, watching Toads traveling to and from Peach's Castle, running various errands or doing some sight seeing of their own. Sighing, I gazed out to the sky, watching various clouds pass by in the sunset bathed sky and an occasional leaf fall from the tree. Patting my overalls, I felt Mario's letter was still safely tucked away, and was tempted to read more. However, from what I read, this seemed like something I shouldn't share with the others.
"The problem is that I don't really tell anyone about it," he wrote. "People think that everything is under control. Not even my brother has any clue at just how entranced I am." And reading that alone was enough to frighten me. He goes on past that and talks about his struggle "playing the hero," but I need to read more to understand. Once I read it through, alone, I'll see if it's something that I can share.
Something suddenly plopped on my legs and I jerked at the weight of it. Or him. Looking back down, Yoshi had fallen asleep and landed on my lap. I'd grown so used to him being on top of me that I hadn't realized how close he had gotten. Resting his head and chest against me, I felt his breath against me as his body expanded and receded. Petting his nose gently, I leaned back against the tree trunk.
I'm very afraid for everyone and everything. My brother's in danger, the kingdoms need help, Peach has secret problems, and I somehow have to maintain a strong composure to keep everyone encouraged.
Out of the people we passed today, no one made any fuss about me taking over for my brother, but the way that some people would stare as Peach walked by…it made me feel inept at doing this. In fact, now that I think about it, if Peach hadn't come along to save us, I don't know if the Toads and I could have stopped Petey Piranha. I shivered and trembled. What if I mess up again? Everyone is counting on me and I—
"Luigi?" mumbled Yoshi, stirring from his nap. "Is it raining? I felt a water drop."
Hastily, I brushed my eyes, and whispered, "No, it's fine. Just a dew drop."
"Oh, ok," Yoshi yawned.
He buried himself closer into me, back to his steady rhythm of sleep. Rubbing his nose, I realized that I had to keep myself together. It was nice, however, having Yoshi around; he can cheer up almost anyone.
Hearing the grass crinkle from approaching footsteps, I looked up to see Peach arrive. The Toads all picked themselves up and moved to her. Shaking Yoshi, he woke with a start, bouncing up, before reaching down and pulling me up as well.
"All right, everyone ready?" Peach asked, back to her usual happy and gentle, but still firm, tone. Each of us nodded. "Good. We're going to the Deserts next."
She led the way, as we walked back toward Toad Town, off to take the trails to the next fortress. And I was reminded that if I felt this much pressure from our situation, Peach must have felt a similar amount of her own. It's hard to manage without Mario, no matter who we are.
[Mario]
Waking up from earlier, I shook my head a bit to stay awake. A soft yawn slipped from my lips, barely making a sound, unlike those that echo from outside my door. Slowly shutting my mouth, I listened.
"…They're going to be going through the Bowser Games next week? Harsh," sounded one soldier. Guards must be resuming their posts.
The other laughed, "Yeah, that's putting it lightly. If anyone does anything to help them, they get an automatic death sentence along with the whole group."
"Yikes. That's hardcore."
"Tell me about it."
The first soldier sighed. "What if we were to just…go in there now and…?" In? Here? Oh no. I jumped to my feet and raised my fists, ready for a fight to break out as soon as they walked in.
"Nah, don't do that," the second one answered. "They declared that whoever tries that stunt again gets executed."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, keeping him alive is important." Exhaling a breath I apparently held in, I relaxed the rest of my body, dropping my arms. Bowser wouldn't let them dare. Though, death for an attempt on my life feels extreme. Then again, I'd rather no one try what the other group did.
"Hey!" snapped a third voice. Larry. "You two aren't assigned here anymore! Didn't you get the memo?"
"What?" asked the first soldier.
"N-No, sir," blurted the second.
"My brother is developing a new device to keep Mario contained," Larry explained, with a slight hiss in his voice. "Iggy needs this space cleared for the next two days. That means no one stands guard here anymore, got it?"
"B-But sir, what if he escapes?" questioned the first guard.
"Yeah," agreed the second. "And the royal family isn't here right now, so—"
"Idiots!" I heard a few smacks and thuds. "Keep your voices down! He doesn't know that. And he won't get very far if he even tries to escape anyway. Now go!"
"Y-Yes sir!"
"R-Right away!"
A pair of footsteps shuffling away told me the soldiers were gone. I waited for Larry to leave as well, but he didn't right away. Quietly, I moved back toward my bed. A hard banging sounded for a minute at the door, but then stopped.
"Geez, he's a heavy sleeper," muttered Larry, and I heard him leave.
Waiting a bit longer, half in the bed, I pulled myself out again, sneaking quietly to the door. Turning the knob, I realized it was unlocked. Opening the door, slowly, I peered outside, cautiously. No one was around.
Unsure whether I was bound by a desire for escape or exploration, I stepped outside of the room. Now it was time for my own little adventure.
...
Mario, what are you doing? Mario, no.
Besides that little escape artist maneuver, things were going so well at the castle. The thirteen prisoners were named, sentenced to doom, and...huh, not so well. Unless you're with the Koopalings, I guess, in which case everything is going swimmingly. The third person perspective was also great to write in, to change it up a bit again.
Honestly, the Bowser Games are just the Hunger Games before they existed. Think Mario Party for it. Ok, you've got a large oppressive force that targets each of the smaller weaker forces, no matter how well off or poor they are, right? Yes. Not everyone will be a winner in this game, to the point where people suffer more for losing than the people who come out for winning gain? Yep. Although the smaller forces are competing against one another, they have a common enemy in the larger, evil force, correct? You bet. And boom, I just compared the Hunger Games to those awful Bowser mini-games from Mario Party.
What's that? Yoshi? Oh right, him. How could I go 10 chapters without including him?! He's too cute to leave out, isn't he? The little pet...steed...dino friend. Guy. Uh...yeah. So, in the games, Yoshi doesn't normally talk with normal speech, with it instead being in parenthesis (like these) or otherwise making cute babble noises, slightly above the level of Pokemon speak. Could I have done that for the whole story? Sure, especially since every other character talking normally around Yoshi is canon. However, that totally bothers me, and it bothered Peach too. So, a little magic, and Yoshi can talk! He probably won't be as adorable anymore, but I'll do my best to keep that end of it up.
Other fun stuff: Peach has parent issues (gone? as in what...?). Luigi has a complex, apparently. Toadsworth is scary; Peach is scarier. Yoshi hungry, Yoshi want eat! (Terrible Rugrats reference, sorry.)
Anyway, I realized that I talk too much after chapters, so I'm trying to limit that. If you've got feedback, I'd really love to hear it! That helps me know I'm not just talking aimlessly, in which case I will develop a complex like Luigi. Just kidding, I probably already have that. As always, thanks for reading!