Sit back and clear some time to read! An action packed and emotional adventure awaits! …That's probably overselling it, but cool stuff happens in this chapter. Join Peach and friends as they continue forward!
...
[Peach]
Traveling to the Forests, I had this weightless feeling. Perhaps it was the lack of magic usage, but I wouldn't admit that aloud.
Trees towered around us, with more adding to the scenery, but blotting out the sky and concealing the sunlight. The leaves were lush green colors, with each trunk a bright or dark brown color. I imagined most were deciduous, but I didn't dwell over identifying each singular type down to detail.
Some rocks and dirt mounds of light brown and beige colors were also nearby, as we walked the dirt trails that were surrounded by tall grass. Various bushes were sprinkled between the trees as well, with vines and thorns that slid against tree trunks. Something about viewing these, in spite of crunching leaves, was…relaxing.
"Hey, Peach." I blinked and turned back to Daisy. "You ok in there?"
"Fine, yes." I shook my head and brushed my hair from my face. "Did you need something?"
"No, you're just…really quiet, I guess." Daisy shrugged and placed her hands on her hips.
"Just thinking."
"Ooh, that's dangerous," teased Birdo. "I thought I saw steam coming out of those ears!" If there were, it would more likely be from me getting ready to deck the pink dinosaur.
"Birdo, that's rude."
"Sorry, Yoshi dear."
She scooted close to him and winked, wrapping an arm around him. I don't know how Yoshi could put up with her, but he was at ease as she touched him.
Daisy giggled over the two while I rolled my eyes. Staring back at Luigi, I watched as he shivered slightly and kept gazing behind every plant that caught his eye.
"H-Hopefully there are n-no Treevils," murmured Luigi. "Or g-g-ghosts."
"We'll be fine, Luigi. Just—EEP!" Quickly, I rushed away from whatever poked my back. Pivoting, I noticed it was just a tree branch and sighed into a giggle. "See? You're just getting all worked up over nothing. Like me."
Quietly, he nodded and studied me. "You seem a lot like your old self again."
Silently, I frowned. What was my old self to him? The frail princess who needed some bold, dashing hero? The defenseless girl who begged for rescue from the clutches of the great and terrible monster? The pitiful creature that too many subjects of my own kingdom mistook me for? I didn't need magic to prove otherwise.
"Peach? You're zoning out again."
"S-Sorry."
Shaking it off, I pressed onward, still leading the way. This time, however, I did stay closer to the others as I advanced.
Ahead, Piranha Plants grew from the ground and old pipes, snapping and chomping at nothing in particular. We slowed to a stop and looked around for a way around them.
"Well…we could burn them," suggested Daisy as Yoshi flipped the Item Bag around.
"That doesn't seem necessary," he countered. "They're not launching out and biting at us."
"We're not close enough."
"Let's keep it that way."
"Um." Everyone paused and turned to Luigi. "W-We could comb through the grass and climb that mound over there. It gets us around the Piranha Plants."
Following his lead, we pushed through the grass and climbed up the dirt mound to the right of the Piranhas, evading them.
"Nice call, Luigi!" Daisy patted him on the back while he blushed and scratched the back of his cap.
"Aw, that's nothing. But thanks."
Continuing ahead, we jumped over to some logs sticking out of the ground. A Piranha head abruptly fired up and chomped as we jumped from the first log to the second.
"What the—?!"
"It's a Stalking Piranha Plant," observed Luigi. "They can stretch up to take a bite out of us."
"Ok, this has already grown annoying." Birdo stepped forward, but paused. "Pun intended."
She winked at us while I rolled my eyes before turning back to the Stalking Piranha Plant below. Sucking in a bit of air, she spat an egg at the tall plant. It connected with a sharp blow, knocking the plant down to the ground.
Pushing past us, Birdo aimed and launched another egg forward. Two more Stalking Piranha Plants shot up and tried to bite the rocketing egg, to no avail.
Running forward and into a jump, Birdo flipped into the air and fired an egg down at the Piranha that shot up to meet her. Again, the egg connected and sent the vicious plant to the ground.
Rebounding off the third log, Birdo blasted one last egg at the remaining Stalking Piranha, which slammed against a nearby tree trunk and crashed to the ground.
Leaping forward again, Birdo made it to the next mound and beckoned us over. Exchanging awed expressions, we jumped across and over to her.
"Birdo, that was incredible!" Daisy cheered and gave her a tight hug.
"Of course!" Birdo patted Daisy's shoulder. "We all have to do our part and have our moments, right?"
Across the land, we strolled ahead, where the plateau ended into a darker abyss. Dangling from the higher trees were a few vines. Paragoombas fluttered around over the long chasm.
"Wow," hummed Yoshi. "I didn't think we were that high up."
"Could you Flutter Jump across the whole thing?"
"Doubtful."
My hand grasped the nearest vine. "Then we have one option left."
"Peach, wait." Luigi grabbed my free hand. "This is too dangerous."
"Good." I pulled my hand away from him. "Then we'll have to do our best the first time over, and nothing less."
"But—"
"No 'buts.' Birdo, can you snipe them from the sky?"
"Sure I can." She lowered her eyes and I pinched the space between my brows.
"…Will you shoot them down?"
"Yeah, sure."
Turning to them, Birdo spat eggs out to knock down each of the Paragoombas. We watched all four fall into the dark pit, screaming out as they fell.
"Um." I clasped my hands together around the vine. "Thank you. I didn't think, uh, well, I knew that would happen, but…Birdo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put that on you."
"What?"
"Well…killing them."
"Oh." Birdo scratched the side of her head, but then shrugged. "It's not exactly my first time, though I do try to avoid it nowadays. War is war though."
Though I nodded and turned back to the vine, her response was almost a punch to my gut. Birdo wasn't even my subject and she did that without any qualms. How many times had I…for the Toads…?
"Peach?" Daisy again. "Do you want one of us to go first?"
"Huh? Oh…no, I'm fine." If she could hear my racing heart, which sped up as I gazed across the pit, she'd know otherwise. I took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled it. Tightening my grip on the vine, I backed up and then ran forward.
The vine lurched as I swung from it, and for a few seconds, I thought it was going to snap from my weight. It didn't, and I flew back near my friends.
Kicking my legs forward, I swayed forward again, this time releasing myself and grabbing the next vine. Two more.
Again, I swung the vine, but when I reached my arm out for the next, I realized that I couldn't grab it. Clutching tightly to the vine, I swayed back and hesitated.
"Come on, Peach!" Yoshi's voice broke out. "Just keep swinging!"
He was right. I shifted myself a little lower on the vine, to get my weight around. Managing to shake it back and forth once more, I reached out and left the vine.
My hands locked around the third vine, and I slowed down a bit. Forcing myself to swing once more, I grabbed the last vine and swung to the cliff awaiting me.
"Phew! Made it." I knelt down and let out a heavy breath I didn't realize I was holding. Looking back, I waved to the others, who jumped excitedly for me.
Luigi and Birdo made their way across next, both surprisingly agile and without error, in spite of being the heavier amongst us. Daisy swung around after them, laughing and screaming during each swing.
"WOOHOO!"
"You're having way too much fun with that!" I had to tease.
"Nah, you just didn't have enough!" She laughed and spun around, jumping from the last vine. Daisy landed and swiftly came over to pat my back. "We'll work on that for you!"
"How—you just…you know what? Fine."
Sharing a chuckle, we pivoted back to watch Yoshi launch from the first vine to the second. He grabbed it and swung himself over again.
However, he launched himself too far, and he missed the third vine.
"Yoshi!" Everyone shouted and our mouths hung open.
The green dinosaur kicked his legs and Flutter Jumped the rest of the way, narrowly missing the edge with his feet.
Quickly, Yoshi's hands shot up and he grabbed the cliff. Birdo and Luigi dove over and pulled him up.
"T…Thanks!" Yoshi panted and slumped to the ground. "That was…was…scary."
"And here I thought Peach was going to have the worst run." Birdo giggled and patted Yoshi while I threw a glare at her. "You're ok. Come on, up."
She and Luigi helped him up from the ground and steadied him. Nodding, they let go and Yoshi stood up straight. I let out another breath and brushed my hair back.
"When you're ready."
"I…I'm good."
"Good. Then, let's go."
We stepped forward, where the trees and leaves grew to darker browns and greens respectively. Even less sunlight could break through the trees, which I hadn't realized was possible before.
Long tree branches made the platforms that we could use ahead, but atop them crawled three Wigglers. They jiggled around as they paced back and forth along their tree branches.
"All we have to do is get past them without angering them," I assessed. "Should be simple enough."
"Famous last words," muttered Birdo.
Carefully, we crept by and each of us climbed onto the first tree branch. The Wiggler had its body turned away from us and we took turns climbing up to the second branch.
Oddly, the next Wiggler simply wandered closer to us, making no hasty motions to attack us. Again, everyone climbed up to the next tree branch.
Waiting for us past the third tree branch was the next cliff to press onward. Though, to get to it, we would have to jump higher, and faster, as the Wiggler was approaching us. This one, though smiling, glanced past us and looked to push us off.
"H-Hey, quit that!" Luigi shouted and pushed back.
"Off, off!" The Wiggler pushed forward again.
"Why don't you back off?!" Daisy ran forward and slammed her fist into the Wiggler's face. "Uh-oh…"
Suddenly, the yellow caterpillar grew angry, and its body flashed to a darker red. Glaring at us, the Wiggler stomped down as we ran past it.
Jumping for the cliff, only Yoshi and Luigi could grab it right away. Daisy, Birdo, and I turned back to the charging Wiggler, now racing across the branch much faster than before.
"Jump!"
The three of us leapt into the air as the Wiggler crashed into the base of the cliff. We bounced off of its body, further angering it, while climbing up to Luigi and Yoshi.
"Is anyone else getting sick of close calls?" Birdo folded her arms together. "Because I am."
"This is kind of the norm for me," admitted Luigi, and he sighed.
Making our way down the cliff, we strolled along to a long, flat log that floated in the river like a raft, held back by a vine tied around the rear. Two Koopa Troopas patrolled across it.
"Hmm…I'll distract them."
"Wait, what?"
"Excuse me!" I stepped forward and waved at the Koopas, walking along the dirt road. They jumped in alarm and readied themselves.
"It's the princess!" One Koopa shouted.
"Grab her and let's get her back to the castle," his companion ordered.
Both came running over to me as I waited for them to get close. Yoshi leapt from the grass along the side, wrapping his tongue around the shell of one Koopa and launching it into the other. They collided and fell into the deep indigo river below.
"Nice shot, Yoshi!"
"Yeah, but you could have warned me sooner." He shook his head and tapped his foot.
"Sorry. Anyway, let's go!"
Together, we boarded the log and Daisy untied the vine. It drifted down the river's current and we sat quietly as we slowly passed through the forest. Waves splashed slightly against the log, and I glanced between it and the plants that we sailed away from. Skyward, only tree branches and leaves were visible, with maybe a ray of sunlight breaching through the top.
"Honestly, I thought we would have passed a flagpole by now." Daisy scooted next to me as I shrugged. "Come to think of it, we haven't found many coins, either."
"We don't have time to search for everything. The faster we save the fortresses, the sooner we can win back land that will help chase Bowser's forces out. Once they're on the ropes, we take the fight to him."
"That makes sense, but…can your Toads keep these forts secured? Can they free the rest of the territories by themselves?"
"It's not exactly a matter of freeing the territory. They just need to keep it occupied until we're finished beating Bowser's bigger threats. Once that's taken care of, we'll work together to restore peace."
"Sounds nice in theory." Daisy folded her arms behind her head. "Guess I just haven't seen it in practice."
"You will."
Sighing, I turned back and watched as Luigi, Yoshi, and Birdo chattered quietly amongst one another. They whispered and giggled to one another, sometimes casting a glance at Daisy and I, to which I turned away, pretending to have my interests elsewhere.
"Really?" Daisy murmured. "You're not that insecure, are you?"
"What? No." My shoulders dropped and I hugged my arms together. "It's just that they seem…so happy, I guess."
Daisy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. We're usually all pretty happy."
"When we're at parties or sporting events, yes. But during these bouts with Bowser, and when I'm trying to restructure my kingdom, it's just not easy to let go."
"Pressures of ruling, huh?"
"Yes." I ran my fingers through my hair, digging in a little too much and yanking a knot. Wincing, I brushed through it and straightened it out. "Actually, it's not just the usual drama that's getting me down."
"So, what would you like to talk about first?"
"If you're implying that we could talk about melting Mr. Blizzard, no, we can't." Dropping my head, I let my hair cover my face. "I've become some kind of a monster from this."
"Peach, we can't go through life thinking that we can avoid every atrocity that we're forced to face." Even through my hair, I could see her shake her head. "While I get that not everyone has to face a life or death situation, we all end up coming up against some type of confrontation that we really don't want to deal with. But when it happens, it just does. There's no changing it." She let out a heavy breath. "It was a kill or be killed situation."
"We don't really know that," my voice broke as I whispered. "He might not have—"
"It's a risk you couldn't afford to take, plain and simple." My hands shook as I brushed my hair back to see Daisy's calm and reassuring smile. "You're not a monster, Peach. You fight them."
"Is that all I do though?" I glanced back to the river, watching the water flow. "Or do I make them, too?"
"They choose to fight."
"But is it really their choice?"
"Probably not, it's Bowser's."
"And what makes him hate me so much?" Turning to her, I gazed into her deep blue eyes. "Our families have been feuding, but why is he so relentless against me?"
"Because he wants to win." Daisy shrugged. "Seems pretty simple to me."
"What if it's not?" I glanced down at my hands, which I had wrapped together.
"If there were more to it, he would be more civilized about it. Maybe." Daisy giggled. "Honestly, it is Bowser, so maybe he'll just always have that rough and tough exterior."
"Maybe."
My eyes drifted back over to Luigi, and he happened to glance at me. For a moment, we stared at one another, and even from the distance, I could see a tinge of something in them. Was it…fear?
Quickly, he turned away, laughing at a comment Birdo whispered about.
"And now you're wondering about the whole 'relationship reveal' that Birdo dropped on us."
"Well, yes." I returned my attention to Daisy. "It's easy enough to dismiss Birdo, but that wasn't exactly…really, where would something so vile come from? Mario? And Bowser? Especially now?"
"Yeah, it's ridiculous." Daisy sighed. "Look, Birdo's really nice, more than you give her credit for—"
"She's sometimes nice. And other times, not so much."
"To you."
"To Mario too."
"Ok, I'm not going to argue that. She's totally different when I'm alone with her, compared to when you're around." Daisy shook her head. "Off topic. Point is, even though I'm good friends with her, coming up with that silly idea for them to be in a relationship is a little off-kilter, even for her."
"…Wait, wouldn't that make it true?"
"No, I…" Daisy laughed. "What I meant was that it's a little too out there to be believable."
"Is it though? What if Mario and Bowser used me as an excuse to see one another?"
"…Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds out loud?" Daisy lowered her eyes while my cheeks burned a bit.
"Very."
"So…?"
"It's unlikely."
"There you go."
"Fair point, but…well, it's already not common, for two guys to be in love around the Mushroom Kingdom." Twiddling my thumbs, I watched Daisy progressively judge me as I continued to entertain the idea. "And, if Bowser's trying to take over—"
"Peach, please!" Daisy rolled her eyes and laughed. "Bowser is power hungry. That's it. He doesn't love Mario, and he's not trying to take over the Mushroom Kingdom to, I don't know, marry his gay lover. If anything, there's a better chance of him lusting over you."
Shuddering, I swallowed back some vomit that tried to burst from my throat.
"Sorry, that was not a pretty picture for me either. Hopefully I'm wrong and he's completely not interested." She shivered and shook her hands. "Anyway, back on track, Bowser just wants to rule and make everyone do his bidding. Why he's going through the trouble of kidnapping Mario this time is beyond me. It's probably just a new tactic to drive you out of your mind and make you panic."
"Which…is working."
"Nah, if it were, you'd be totally bonkers." She grinned at the small smile that popped on my lips. "You're just fine, Peach. Honest."
"To you, which is great to know, so thank you." I rubbed my shoulders. "Still, I just can't…get over myself, I guess."
Almost immediately, Daisy crawled over and tilted my chin back up to look at her soothing eyes. "Peach, you are fine. We all love you. You are not a killer, and you are not a tool. What you are is an overly stressed princess who's sick of dealing with a tyrant and worried sick over her favorite knight." She winked at the last part, and I didn't have the heart to correct her. "So come on. Keep that smile up and let's keep plugging away until we beat Bowser's butt out of this kingdom."
Nodding to her, Daisy kissed my cheek and ruffled my hair, knocking my crown a little out of place. We laughed and she straightened it back on my head, tilting her fingers around as if she were setting it for a picture.
"Daisy?"
"Yeah?"
"…Thank you."
"Anytime, Peach."
A few more minutes passed by until I noticed something moving around on the land. Narrowing my eyes, I tried to watch the movement of the figure, which was quick. Daisy glanced at me before following my gaze as we both stood up. Something in either purple or black was rushing through the trees. Losing track of it, I suddenly realized that it was actually several things. Just as soon as I did, they all seemed to disappear.
Luigi, Birdo, and Yoshi stood up as we met them in the middle of the log raft. Silently, we observed the trees, waiting to see exactly what was out there.
Abruptly, Daisy shouted, "There! Ninji!"
She pointed to the top of a tree, where a black clad ninja-like demon had thrown a small black orb into the sky. Several more Ninji appeared and followed their companion's lead, throwing similar objects into the sky. After the last one threw its sphere, they all appeared to vanish once more.
Worriedly gazing up, we suddenly found a swarm of Ninji had thrown a cascade of Parabombs into the air, which was now slowly descending down toward us.
"There has to be at least fifty or sixty of them!" Luigi cried out.
"If they land on this raft, we're toast!" Daisy pounded her fist into her palm.
"Or sunk," added Birdo. "Good thing I'm here."
Sucking in a large amount of air, Birdo held her breath for a moment before launching a massive egg into the sky. It connected with a good number of the Parabombs, which exploded above us. However, several more still managed to break through and rain down.
"Still about twenty or so left," assessed Daisy. "But nice shooting, Birdo!"
"Thanks…" Birdo sank to the ground, panting. "Yoshi, could you be a darling and take care of the others?"
"Not all, but I can shave off a few more."
Yoshi jumped up and launched his tongue out, wrapping it around the lowest Parabomb. He then swung it and fired it at the biggest crowd he could, taking down another four bombs.
"Nice work!"
"You're welcome, but that's not going to be enough."
"Daisy!" I turned to her and gazed at her hands, but hesitated.
However, she must have read my mind and nodded. "This would probably be a good time for it."
Pressing her knuckles together, a turquoise glow shined around them, as her Regal Rings lit up.
She then began to move her hands in a circular motion, creating a bubble around them. Water rose up around us and mirrored the motion, creating a barrier around the raft.
The Parabombs connected with the surface of the water shield, splashing into it. Daisy waited as each parachute-cloaked Bob-omb was netted along the outside of her barrier.
Slowly, she moved her hands apart, opening the water bubble. At first glance, we smiled and relaxed, watching each of the bombs dragged safely away from us.
Immediately after, however, we gasped and watched as another flood of Parabombs rained down from higher up.
"Ninji must still be in the trees," realized Luigi.
"Not…for long!"
Daisy whipped the stands of water around, smashing them against the trees. Several Ninji were knocked from them and fell to the river below. We watched closely as the remainder leapt out and scurried away.
With the glow of the rings fading, Daisy let her arms dropped and sighed. "Peach, I can't do that again. It's too much."
"If you don't," I jumped at Luigi's voice, "we're definitely going to be burned. Daisy, we need you to do this."
Looking carefully at him as he rested his hand on her shoulder, Daisy nodded and repeated the motion.
Birdo forced herself up and spat out two more eggs, clutching her stomach after doing so. They both managed to hit marks, taking out at least eight Parabombs total.
Casting the water around us once more, Daisy formed the bubble barrier again, netting most of the Parabombs into it. Three, however, slipped through and continued to float toward us.
Deftly, Yoshi shot his tongue out, twisted it around one Bob-omb, and released it into another one. We ducked down as they burst, the explosion taking out the third.
Moving her hands apart carefully, Daisy dragged the rest of the bombs back into the water, effectively drowning them. She gasped and sank to the floor, panting.
Luigi hurried to her and gently helped her straighten out. "Are you ok?"
"Now? …No." She paused and exhaled. "But…I will be."
She smiled and patted his cheek. I sighed in relief and watched as Yoshi helped Birdo up, who pulled him into a hug.
"Daring rescue, cutie," congratulated Birdo as she pulled back. "Way to go!"
"Ha, thank you!" He scratched the side of his head as he blushed. "You did a better job than me, though."
"Not when those bombs were closest!" She swung his hands around and laughed. "Besides, it's not a contest, dear." More suggestively and with a wink, Birdo added, "Unless you want to make it one."
"Ah…I'd rather not deal with anymore bombs, if possible."
Smiling at my friends, a crash erupted and we flew forward. Picking myself up, I glanced ahead to find that we struck land. I hobbled over and helped Daisy up, while Luigi grabbed Yoshi. Birdo rolled about and forced herself up, shaking her head.
"You darlings just have all the fun in the world, don't you?"
We met her with an agitated group groan, to which she forced out a chuckle. Together, we disembarked our raft and marched onto solid land again. It took my feet a minute to readjust, still feeling the river's flowing current beneath me.
Wandering further inland, the trees appeared much darker now, with the trunks ebony and the leaves truly a dark green. Passing into a clearing, we studied the area around us, which had several sharp planks of wood around, almost forming a fence.
Brusquely, a similarly fashioned wooden gate rocketed from the earth behind us and further ahead of us. We closed together, recognizing too late that we had just walked into a trap.
Luigi sighed. "Well, this can't be good."
Two new voices cackled. "Oh, it definitely isn't!"
Thunderous thuds rumbled and we spun about to fine ourselves across from Boom Boom and Pom Pom.
"Well, well." Boom Boom snickered as he lifted his massive arms from the ground. "Princess Peach and her little friends have arrived."
"They actually made it past my Ninji unit? Bravo!" Pom Pom mockingly applauded us. "You twerps really are a terror, even without Mario!"
"And you two learned how to form whole sentences," I ridiculed. "Fancy that!"
"Her tongue did get sharper, huh Pom Pom?"
"Guess we'll have to teach her some manners all over again." She whipped out a white boomerang with a pink bow tied around it. "The rest of you will have to pay the price for your princess's insolence!"
"Wow, Peach," gibed Birdo. "Way to call it. They did expand their vocabularies."
Angered, Pom Pom tossed her boomerang out at us. Everyone sidestepped it, fairly unfazed as it whirled by.
Boom Boom followed up by extending his arms and whirling around while Pom Pom leapt into the air, seeking a new attack position.
Yoshi Flutter Jumped and hovered over Boom Boom as the rest of us evaded him. Once the lackey slowed to a halt, head spinning, Yoshi promptly smashed down on him.
Crying out, Boom Boom retreated into his shell. I heard a whizzing noise from behind and jumped up as a pink shuriken flew past me.
Pivoting around, I turned just in time to see Birdo stomp on Pom Pom's head. She slipped into her shell and whirled it into the air.
Running as I checked on my friends, I saw Luigi and Daisy jump over Boom Boom's plated shell. Meanwhile, Birdo rolled away as Pom Pom's spotted shell slammed down overhead.
Consecutively, the two popped from their shells to attack again. Boom Boom swung his arms around, forcing Yoshi to double back from his charge.
At the same time, Pom Pom disappeared into a cloud of pink smoke, while Birdo and Daisy ran up beside me. We watched as two duplicates rose from the smoke with her.
Together, we rushed at the three Pom Pom figures, each holding a shuriken. Only one was pink while the other two were silver.
Daisy forced herself down on top of the real Pom Pom's head, forcing her to withdraw within her shell again. Taking a second, I glanced over to see Luigi rocket off of Boom Boom's head as well.
Repeating their early pattern, Boom Boom also returned into his shell and spun around on the ground, while Pom Pom crashed her shell down from above. Easily enough, my friends and I managed to keep away from the slamming shells.
Once the two popped out again, Boom Boom whirled his arms around in a circle again, with fire streaming across the ground as he spun around. Birdo and I had to double back once the flames burst up.
From the fire, a second plated shell raced past us, knocking Birdo from her feet. It bounced against the wooden fence and came back at us, to which I quickly grabbed Birdo and jumped over it.
Watching it speed away, my attention then diverted to Pom Pom creating more smoke duplicates of herself, throwing both shuriken and boomerangs at Daisy, Yoshi, and Luigi.
They managed to flip over her weapons at first, until Luigi tripped. He glanced up and quickly ducked down as a pink shuriken nearly sliced off his head.
Annoyed, I rushed over and jumped onto Pom Pom's head before she could unleash another attack. She cried and fell to the ground, her head spinning.
Letting out a growl, Boom Boom threw up his arms and began to spin around at me again. He had stopped paying attention to Birdo, who jumped up and slammed her feet down on his head.
Groaning, Boom Boom fell to the ground, just as dazed as his companion. Birdo and I locked eyes and nodded to one another. Luigi walked over to me, and he opened his mouth to congratulate me, but instead, it hung open as his eyes widened.
Nervously, I followed his eyes to Boom Boom, who was suddenly swallowed into the ground. Spinning around, I watched the same happen to Pom Pom. Within in seconds, both went under and were soon gone without a trace.
No sooner had the two been taken did the gate ahead fall down. My friends and I met in the center of the clearing, exchanging anxious expressions.
"A-Are we r-really about to g-go f-f-forward?" Luigi shivered as his teeth chattered.
"Unfortunately." I sighed. "We don't have much of a choice. There's no leaving this place until we free the fortress."
Leading the way forward, I made my way out from the clearing, followed by Daisy, then Birdo and Yoshi, with Luigi shakily bringing up the rear.
Our surroundings had changed, but for the worse: the ebony trees had less leaves on them, only to reveal twisted branches. The light from the sky shone through, and it turned out that the sun had set while the moon was barely out now. Even the brown dirt road that we traveled on appeared to be a darker color. A gust of wind breezed past us, and everyone shivered.
"Oh…p-p-please tell me that's n-not the f-fort."
Looking ahead, I stared as an old mansion came into view. It was large, but broken down, with the outside beige paintjob being worn and several windows shattered, with dark red curtains to cover the interior. Even the purple roof appeared to have had patchwork done on it. Sharp, black metal gates were in front of the manor, giving it the perfect horror vibe as the moon glistened upon the terrible structure.
"Well…we haven't seen anything else, and I'm pretty sure this is it," I confessed. Luigi quickly went pale as his knees buckled, while Yoshi grabbed him to keep him standing up.
Clouds rolled in front of the moon, and its soft light was stolen from us as we approached the mansion's dark green door. Ominously, it creaked open before I could lift my hand to push it open. Glancing back at the others, their eyes widened as they fearfully met my own anxious eyes.
Sighing, I turned back and led the way inside. Once all five of us were in, the door harshly slammed shut.
...
Cliffhanger again?! Noooo, that has to be the most inconvenient…ok, I've probably had worse. But still!
It was fun to have Peach and others comb through the Forests and face some natural enemies. I've been trying to use the Piranha Plants and Wigglers for a while, as they're super common enemies, but I also wanted to wait until they fit in with an environment suited to them. Hopefully that paid off, but if not, it was worth a shot. More interesting, however, was the sudden use of Ninji! They're actually meant to be little demons that are either dressed in ninja outfits, or appear to be when that's actually their bodies, depending upon interpretation but usually going with the former. Originally, they debuted in Super Mario Bros. 2, along with Birdo, so they were the fitting selection to attack the heroes, on Birdo's debut run. Also interestingly, though the Parabombs appeared in Super Mario World, Bob-ombs were originally introduced alongside Birdo and the Ninji. Pretty cool, considering that Bob-ombs became a strong candidate for recurring enemies.
Oh, onto the plot stuff! Peach managed to hold her own even without the Royal Scepter on her! Granted, Daisy was able to help with a big save thanks to her rings, but Peach didn't given any quarter in spite of having much less power at her disposal. And as Luigi rather crudely noted, she is nicer without it, though retains her impulsive spunk that throws her into situations others would prefer avoiding. She's also having a hard time accepting the recent developments around her: Birdo as a teammate, killing Mr. Blizzard, and the possibility of Bowser and Mario dating. Daisy helped talk her out of believing it, but will that last?
As for the rest of the gang, Daisy fell nicely into her supportive role for Peach, and they had a close moment on the raft. Though she's not as close to Peach as Mario is and doesn't have the cheer that Toadette brings, Daisy does do a nice job calming Peach down. Birdo, meanwhile, gets her fired up, with her playful and sarcastic attitude, but in spite of that, they worked pretty well together! Poor Yoshi had a close call, but managed to have some impressive moments too. Luigi, though making some collected strides, is probably losing his mind in dark and scary places like the Forests. And now he's going into a gloomy old mansion? Bad memories inbound for him!
Ah, almost forgot about Boom Boom and Pom Pom. They're pretty pesky bosses that the players encounter in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World. However, they're also not that difficult to beat, so it wasn't much of a fight on their part. It was cool to have them use their stronger abilities before the fight ended. Though I did want to include more attack patterns from Super Mario Bros. 3 for Boom Boom, his recent style was more dynamic and worked better. As for their personalities, well, not much to work with, so they're kind of bullies. And that proves to be ineffectual for them, since Peach and Birdo were taking no nonsense and pitching insults of their own. Ouch. But what's with them getting eaten by the ground? That'll be touched on in the next chapter.
So, that's it for this time, but we will still be following Peach, Luigi, and the rest in the next chapter. And they don't have Mario or Bowser dropping in? Yuck, I'll need to do something about that. What horrors await the heroes in the manor fort ahead? In spite of having a good handle on the setting, they have no idea what they just walked into. Anyway, wow, that's more than enough from me! Comments and criticisms are welcome, as are questions, so please send them in if you'd like! And again, thank you for reading!