JOLENE

The shell shaped alarm clock rang with a loud buzzzz noise, causing her to toss on her bed. She knew she had to get up but didn't wanted to. "Just five mores", she told herself as the clock rang again. She slammed it shut with her hand and rolled her eyes as she got up. The room was still dark but the sunlight shone bright from underneath the curtains. She rubbed her eyes and opened the curtains. The room she stayed at was located on the 16th floor of one of the towers. From her window she could see Glitzville getting ready to start another day; even though it was 7:00 am in the morning, she could see the streets were already packed with tourists. Jolene sighed and began her daily morning ritual.

She left her room at 7:45 and made her way to the staff kitchen.

"Morning, Jolene!", a singy voice greeted her on the elevator.

"Morning to you too, Elizagoom", Jolene responded, barely making eye contact, as she scribbled down on her planner. A very important match was set for that evening; that meant there were sponsors to call, media, organize the press conferences, red carpet and many more. All that was in charge of Jolene. The elevator stopped at the 7th floor to allow a horde of tourists to enter. She rolled her eyes as a baby boo began wailing. She considered getting off on the next floor and just take the stairs but decided against it; the stairs would cause her to sweat and ruin her outfit. Mr. Grubba liked her pretty.

She rushed out the elevator the minute it arrived to the lobby. It was packed; tourists, families, couples, kids from all species rushed back and forth, asking directions and information. Many of them had come for the match, no doubt. Jolene walked past the lobby and down the casino. It reeked of cigars. She made her way through rows of slot machines and roulette tables spotting an overweight female toad throwing the dice into one of the tables. Her greasy, unkept look suggested she had spent the entire night gambling her luck away, hoping for a jackpot. Jolene felt sorry for her. The hotel counted with an 'underground' bridge that connected it to a large and luxurious shopping mall. That was where one of the entrances to the arena was. There were other entrances, nearer to the hotel, but those were closer to the casino and the pool area and thus tended to be more packed. Also, the one on the mall was near a salad stand that made an apple walnut salad Jolene loved. It was located next to a giant fountain that featured three porcupinefish with a giant gold star located on the top of its mouth, so when it 'spit', the water splashed down from the sides of the star, creating a rather pretty effect. The ceiling depicted a beautiful starry dome, add that to the lighting and it gave the mall a soothing sensation that was somewhat of a 'night within a day', as Jolene had once heard someone described it. "Had it been Mr. Grubba?".

"Morning, Judy"

"Morning, Ms. Jolene. The usual?"

Jolene blushed a little; "yes please". The short, stocky female toad that attended the stand wore her purple hair in ponytails, giving her what Jolene thought was a rather childish and silly look for someone her age. Jolene sat down on her usual table, next to the fountain. She liked the spot cause the splashing water caused a cooling effect. She saw many people had begun lining up at one of the arena's box office, next to a luxury clothing store. She thought many were trying to score a last minute ticket; "hmm, if the only knew". Tonight's fight was promised to be one of the best in years, the legendary fighter Rawk Hawk "The Feral Nuclear Reactor" was coming out of a 5-year retirement and everyone wanted a ticket to the big comeback fight. Of course the tickets had flew the minute they were announced. Tourism for glitzville went up a 15%, hotels, malls and casinos were packed. Rumor had it, Princess Peach herself was to attend the fight.

Jolene sighed. She quickly finished her breakfast, paid Judy and went to work.

"G'day Ms. Jolene, ma'am"

"Good morning, Garth", she said as she flashed her employee card and the door opened to let her in. She walked through a dark corridor that ran just beneath the arena that led to the offices. It was a grey, boring area that lacked all of the glamour Glitzville and the Pit had. No wonder they were practically hidden from the world.

"Good morning to you, dear"

"Hello Maura", Jolene practically rushed past the secretary and made her way to Mr. Grubba's office. It was the largest of them all. And the only one with its private bathroom.

"Well hello there, darlin'!". Mr. Grubba always seemed to be in a cheery mood. "I suppose evry'thing's ready for tonight's big-a-big-a match?"

Jolene smiled; "it's all good to go Mr. Grubba. I just need to finish up some stuff. But don't worry. Everything's to go for tonight".

"Good, deary. I'll let you get to work then". Her boss flashed her a smile which caused his orange lips to bend outwards and show a row of yellowish teeth. Anyone would've described Mr. Grubba as "greasy" and they wouldn't have been wrong. He was a large, overweight orange Spike with a purple shell that always glistened with sweat. He wore his purple hair slicked back in a ponytail that always showed the world just how sweaty his large forehead also was. The first time meeting him, Jolene found herself rather intimated by him but had soon learned that he was a good, decent, hard-working man. He had to be, after all being the owner of the biggest, most famous arena in the Mushroom Kingdom was no day at the beach.

The day went by as smooth as possible. Towards the end of the afternoon, everyone began hurrying, trying to finish work as fast as possible so they could get to the arena. Everyone but Jolene; she finished around 6:40, then made her way to the arena. People were already lining up at the entrance. After checking with the ticket office clerk that everything was in order, she made her way in one of the golf carts they hotel, mall and arena staff used to move around. It took her to the arena's main entrance, where the red carpet was. Jolene had organized several red carpets before, but she always felt starstruck - by the glamour, the screaming fans, the flashing cameras of the press. All the celebrities and personalities were starting to arrive; there was Zip Toad, the famous movie actor; singers Toady Gaga and Koopy Perry, among others. They had invited three of the Mushroom Kingdom's most important networks, who would broadcast the fight in over 3 different kingdoms. Everything was good as ready. Then the fighters began to arrive.

First came "Bandy Andy" joined by the "Armored Harriers"; they were met by screaming fans - Jolene was surprised that even the minor leaguers had quite a strong fanbase. They were joined by the KP Koopas, Count Swoopula and many others; all of them were talking to the press and even signing a few autographs. The A-Listers arrived last: "Craw Daddy", the Red Chomp duo known as "Chump Country" and finally, the two stars of the night.

The Dark Koopatrol known as "The Koopinator". Jolene had met him and talked to him several times - he was a shy person, very quiet who usually kept to himself. And then was..

"RAWWWWWK!"

All the fans squealed when "The Feral Nuclear Reactor" stepped out of the limousine. He was a large, bulky, muscular griffin-like man with long white hair, sharp talon-like hands and a drill-like beak. He sported a golden tan which Jolene always found ridiculous, and had his characteristic headband with white wings on each side of his head and a brick colored jacket and matching pants. She thought he looked quite ridiculous, but the public loved him. It was his first match in five years.

They had to wait for Rawk Hawk to finish fawning and bragging to the press before everyone was allowed to enter the arena. The Koopas working the candy store were driving insane with the amount of hungry tourists buying and demanding meals to eat during the match. At 8:30 straight, when everyone had entered the arena, the match of the year began.

"Gooooood night, Glitzville!", Mr. Grubba came out, the spotlight shining on him. "Areyeready for the biggest fight o'he CENTURY?!". The crowd roared. "Areyeready to see who emerges victorious? Areyeready to RAWKKKKK?!". Screams filled the arena, luckily for Jolene and the rest of the staff, ear plugs were provided.

"Rawk Hawk is the father of my baby! Marry me Rawk!", screamed a female Boo in one of the front rows; laughter erupted around her.

The match was divided into three parts: fifteen matches and the big finale. The minor leaguers were up first, then it was the major league's turn to show off, followed by the A-Listers and, finally, Rawk V. Koopinator.

"Get yerselves ready to... BAAAATTLE!"

The Goomba Bros and the Dead Bones inaugurated the fight. The Goomba's bonking and tackling wasn't enough to cause significant damage to the thick skull of the team of Dull Bones. The Pokey Triplets then finished the Spike Storm off; the Lakitu from the latter team tried his best with the help of his Spinies, but the Pokeys were able to defeat them by launching parts of their bodies, hitting the Lakitu straight in the head; without the Lakitu, the Spinies didn't know what to do. The Pokeys easily KO'd them.

"Aren't we just having the GRANDEEEEEST time?!", Mr. Grubba dressed the crowd. "And yeen't seen nothin' folks! Comin' right up! The major leaguers and the A-Listers! The next generation of superstars! And then, what y'all been waitin' for.. RAWK VERSUS KOOPINATOR!"; the crowd erupted once more.

Jolene however, wasn't all that interested in the match. Sure, she enjoyed watching the fighters battle, but her thoughts had wandered off somewhere else…

A brief interlude was done to allow two Beanish women to pick up the teeth and clean the blood up from the ring. The injured fighters were carried off in stretchers and driven off to the hospital. The candy store was again packed as the major leaguers were getting ready for their time in the spotlight.

"Did you see how the Goombas got their ass kicked?!".

"Oh man! I can't wait to see Pretty Stayzee! She's so powerful, I'm sure she could even take on the Rawk; get some female representation on this place".

The major leaguer locker room was packed with fighters as chattering filled the air. Jolene came in to tell them the order in which they'd be fighting.

"You're up first, Count Swoopula. You and the Mind Boggler… Mr. Bandy! Get down here this instant!", she screamed to the Green Bandit that had climbed on top of one of the lockers. "Flower Power next and, ugh! Where are the Magikoopa Masters?!".

"Sorry ma'am! Coming' thru!".

"…Get yerselves ready to... BAAAATTLE!", Mr. Grubba exclaimed from on the ring.

"Oh shit!", Jolene panicked as she rushed back to her seat in one of the front rows. By the look of things, the fighters knew pretty well the order in which they were supposed to fight on the second round, that kept her calm.

The second round begin with Count Swoopula versus the Mind-Bogglers - a trio consisting of a Pale Piranha, a Pider and a Dark Puff. Jolene felt it was a tad unfair for one fighter to go up against three, but Count Swoopula put up a good fight; he immediately dodge when the Pale Piranha tried to bite him and tackled the Pider into submission, finally knocking him out and sucking the remaining health the arachnid-like creature had. While the Piranha tried to bite Count Swoopula again, the Dark Puff began charging electricity, making him unable to physically touch.

Count Swoopula flew up, dodging the Piranha but was hit by the Dark Puff's Thunder attack, injuring him. The crowd let out a loud ooooh! In unison. Count Swoopula tried to fly again but it was useless, the thunder had damaged one of his wings; he then decided to focus his energy on the piranha, who launched at him with his mouth wide open, displaying its sharp fangs, ready to finish him up. The Swooper concentrated his strength on his legs and jumped, landing on top of the piranha. This was his chance. He stuck his fangs on the foul plant's head and began absorbing, until the Piranha was laying unconscious on the ring. Now all he had to do was deal with that pesky Puff. Jolene, without noticing it, was on the edge of her seat. The Dark Puff began charging up electricity and shooting lightnings, but Count Swoopula dodged them all. He dropped on his belly and rolled to his left, dodging a lightning. This got the Dark Puff angry; he flew towards the Swooper with the intention of tackling him. Count Swoopula rolled to his left once more until he was laying on his back right underneath the Dark Puff. Using his wings and legs, he pushed himself until he got his claws on the Puff's 'belly'. This did the trick; he used his draining bite which finished the brown cloud and crowned Count Swoopula the winner. The crowd was roaring.

"IIIIIINCREDIBLE, FOLKS! WE HAVE A WINNER! COOOOOUNT SWOOOOPULA!", cheered on Mr. Grubba. The crowed loving every second of it. The next fight was between the Flower Power trio - three Crazee Dayzees from Twilight Town - and the Bob-Omb Squad.

"Get Stayzee in there and she'll blow 'dem fuses in a jiff!", screamed a male voice from the audience. Getting Stayzee in the fight might have tipped the balance in favor of Flower Power, as the Bob-Omb Squad easily wiped the floor with them The three Crazee Dayzees were rushed out of the ring on stretchers, one had a bloody stump where his arm used to be and the other one was spitting out blood and teeth; the remaining one was missing one of his petals. The rest of the fights were pretty uneventful - even the crowd was getting bored, something Jolene noticed.

The final match of the A-listers was between Pretty Stayzee and Craw Daddy. They were both crowd favorites; Jolene personally liked Stayzee - she was a great fighter. Powerful even for an Amazy Dayzee; Jolene was sure she could be as big as Koopinator or Rawk Hawk; but there was also something about her: kind hearted, nice with a no-bullshit attitude. A great fighter with a great head on her shoulders with a great future ahead of her. "Just like Mush", a voice inside her head whispered. She Gasped and felt a wave of emotions overcome her.

She tried to leave the arena but only made it to the door; as she saw the fight the memories of Mush came back to haunt her. It had been 4 years now. And nothing. She had promised herself she would find him, but in all that time not a single clue had appeared, it was as if he had just vanished into thin air. She tried to control herself and go back to her seat, but she couldn't get the thought of Mush out of her head. She held back tears.

In the ring, Stayzee and Craw Daddy were neck to neck. The golden flower had used her piercing lullaby on the Craw, who used his spear to deflect the attack and threw it at Stayzee. And hitting her! A large bloody cut appeared on the side of her face, followed by oohs and ahhs from the crowd. The spear flew back to Craw Daddy as if it were a boomerang; that's when Stayzee launched at him. He threw the spear again but the Amazy Dayzee jumped. Actually bouncing on the spear, Stayzee jumped higher, landing right in front of Craw Daddy. She punched him once, twice, thrice! He fought back and pushed her off; he proceeded to hit her with the spear but it was useless. The flower knocked it off the Crow's hand and sealed the deal with a massive lullaby. That KO'd Craw Daddy on the spot.

"WE GOT OURSELVEEEES A WINNER FOOOLKS! PREEEEEEEEETTY STAYZEEEEEEEE! Man, Craw Daddy. You dun' let yerself get beat up by a girl", Mr. Grubba chuckled and cheered on. "And next up folks! The moment y'all been waiting for. For the first time in five long years.. The Feral Nuclear Reactor. The man, the legend himself… RAAAAAAAAWK HAAAAAAAAWK. Could The Koopinator knock the legend off the ring? Or will he see his world Rawked? In just a few moments we will all witness this. History on the making folks, only at the GLITZ PIT! The Mushroom Kingdom's most famous arena!".

The audience was roaring; Jolene could actually feel the ground shaking because of all the jumping and stomping. Then, the lights died. The roaring screams from the audience deafened her ears; she left her seat and stood against one of the exit doors. Mr. Grubba appeared on the ring. "And now… the moment y'all been waiting for… the fight of the match… get… ready… to… RAWK! On that moment, half of a cage was lowered from the ceiling and into the ring, turning it into a complete cage. The crowd roared as the legend himself, The Feral Nuclear Reactor Rawk Hawk was lifted from underneath and into the ring; Jolene had to take out and put on her ear plugs. He was wearing a gold colored collar with matching shorts. That, plus his tan, gave the creature an almost sparkling effect. His long white hair was neatly tied into a long ponytail that hung smooth on his muscular back. Rawk Hawk was followed by The Koopinator; this time, the screaming was less.

The Koopa Troopa was wearing what looked to Jolene like a medieval armor, with sharp spikes all over his shell; one that was shaped like a blade stood proud on top of his helmet. She could only make out the fighter's red eyes, but something about him looked off. He looked a tad.. sluggish and… confused.

Each of the fighters walked to one end of the ring as Mr. Grubba prepared to start the match: "Now I want this to be a clean match. Will the Rawk reclaim his place or will a new legend rise? Let us beg… whoa!".

Mr. Grubba was pushed to the floor as Rawk Hawk launched towards The Koopinator. Mr. Grubba had to crawl to the platform to get out of the way. The Koopinator swiftly jumped and, on mid-air, hid inside his shell and began spinning, and launched himself towards Rawk Hawk. The audience gasped in unison, Jolene included, when Rawk Hawk grabbed the spinning shell with his long talons and threw it to the side of the ring. The spike covered shell had not caused as much as a cut on the Rawk. He walked over to where The Koopinator had landed. For a minute Jolene had thought he was helping him get up; instead, he took The Koopinator's helmet off and punched him so hard the entire audience groaned. Blood and some teeth had fallen on top of the ring. Not even five minutes had passed. The Koopinator tried to fight back and kicked Rawk Hawk, landing one on his stomach, which caused him to gasp. He then smirked and threw the poor Koopa to the other side of the ring. He then spread his arms out and.. began hovering, no, he was flying! Just a few feet above the ring but he was flying. Jolene couldn't hide her amazement and found her self with her jaw on the floor. The crowd couldn't love more what they were witnessing. The large griffin flexed and smirked at his legion on fans before focusing back to the poor Koopinator, who struggled to get up. He threw a flying kick so fast and so hard, the poor Koopa Troopa's armor got loose and fell off. Worse, the poor Koopinator was laying on his back, covered with blood and bruises. It was over. Jolene, the crowd, and everyone in the venue knew it. Whenever a Koopa was flipped on his back, his chances of protection.. and in some cases survival, were close to zero. It was over.

The match had not even lasted 10 minutes; 7:36 to be exact. It took Rawk Hawk 7:36 seconds to reclaim his throne as Glitzville and the Glitz Pit's greatest fighter and superstar. The crowd was on their feet, roaring, screaming, stomping their feet. Some of the smitten female fans were even crying. Mr. Grubba was standing next to the Rawk. He too was in ecstasy.

"THEEEEEEEEEERE WE HAVE IT FOLKS! THE ONE AND ONLY! THE FERAL NUCLEAR REACTOR! THE LEGEND! THE MAN HIMSELF! MISTER! RAWK! HAWK! GLITZVILLE WELCOMES BACK ITS HERO! LET'S MAKE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOME NOISE!"

The crowd erupted and some security members had to physically restrain some fans from sneaking into the ring.

"And now, a token for the champion. Boys, bring that thang over here!", he motioned two security guards who brought with them a large box. This took out a This took Jolene by surprise. Mr. Grubba had never mentioned it to her. The belt was big and very pretty. It was black, adorned with tiny diamonds on the edge. The word CHAMPION was written with red colored letters and gold-plated string. In the center of it all, was a large star that shined with orange, brown and golden sparkles. It looked extremely expensive, Jolene frowned; "where and when had Mr. Grubba purchased this?". Her thoughts were quickly brushed off when she was told by another of the employees, a Goomba, to get everything ready for the press conference.

She quickly hurried to one of the press rooms where the most prestigious sports and entertainment magazines and media outlets waited. She quietly stood on the back as she watched her boss and Rawk Hawk answer endless questions and be photographed nonstop. Her thoughts turned back to Mush… and that belt. "There was something… off… about it. About that star". Had she seen one like it before somewhere? Why was she getting such a strange feeling from that damn star?.

After the fight and the press conferences and photoshoots were finished, and the crowed had gone back to their party casino nights, or simply to get a good night's sleep at their hotels, Jolene made sure all the injured fighters were sent to the hospital and being cared for. She was worried some of them would not make it; it would not be the first time some poor shmuck lost his life trying to gain some glory in the boxing ring of the Glitz Pit.

She was later told that Mr. Grubba had organized a huge private party for the staff on the famed restaurant/bar, The Watering Hole. Several of the fighters who had managed to keep themselves from too much harm were invited as well. Jolene, though, wasn't in the mood for a party. She had a lot of work ahead of her - despite Mr. Grubba giving her the next three days off - and decided she would rather finish it than watch her colleagues get wasted and trash some expensive restaurant.

Stayzee was going to the party and had tried to persuade Jolene to stay but to no avail. She went back to the offices in the arena and go to work. It was nearly 4 am in the morning when she finished and was just getting sleepy. "Now, huh?", she told herself. "You silly toad. Let's get you to bed". As she closed the offices down, she noticed just how dark and creepy the placed looked at night with no one around. She shiver and that's when she heard it. It was a low buzzing sound, but where was it coming from? She walked around the offices in vain. She still heard the sound but couldn't see where it was coming from. Deciding to ignore it, Jolene called it a night. She packed up and decided to go to bed.

Since all the main exits were closed, Jolene had to cross the arena in order to get to the only employee door that was still open. It was on the arena when the sound got louder. It was coming from somewhere in the arena. The boxing ring was still in place, the blood, teeth and endless garbage thrown by the audience had yet to be cleaned. As Jolene walked around the ringer, the noise got louder. But this time there was another sound: a rumbling, almost growling sound. She almost tripped on an empty soda can. Using her hands to protect herself from the fall. While on the ground she noticed something: there was a hidden door on one of the sides of the boxing ring.

Jolene figured it lead to the underground tunnel, that the fighter used to get to the ring. The sound kept getting louder and louder and louder…

A part of Jolene told her to leave, to report this to maintenance and let them take care of the sound. But she felt something inside her that led her to investigate. She crouched and pulled on the door… it was open!. She swallowed and entered. It was indeed the fighters' tunnel, but there was something that lured her in. On the roof she could see the platform that lead to the ring and then… There was a trap door! She had never seen that before. The sound got louder and louder and louder. She struggled to pull on the trapdoor until opening it. A staircase led deeper into the darkness. Jolene gathered courage before taking the first steps. It was dark and damp.

She walked down the stairs in pitch darkness, using whatever little light her cellphone provided. The walls were cold to the touch. A crunching sound caught her attention. It was a crumbled piece of paper. She picked it up and her breath went cold.

It was a picture of Mush. Of Mush and her! She remembered the day that picture had been taken. Her mom had taken it, and she then gave it to her big brother so he wouldn't forget her when he became a star in Glitzville. "I'd never forget you, kiddo". She still remembered the way her brother brushed her hair and kissed her goodbye. It was the last time she saw him. Five years ago. She felt the tears form in her eyes. Why was that picture there?! What was that place. The buzzing and growling sounds were getting louder and louder. After what seemed like an eternity, she arrived in front of a door. She could hear the sound loud and clear. There were gurgling noises mixed with growling, groaning and an en electrical buzz. A bright orange light shone from underneath the door's frame.

The light grew bigger until it practically bathed the door from the other side. Making sure no one was following her, Jolene quietly opened the door. Nothing could prepare her for what was hiding in the door. A crystal star, bathed in sparkles and white light, hovered on top of a big, complicated machine. Jolene knew that star! She had seen it before; "the champion's belt!". A roaring broke her attention. That… creature. It was huge, slimy… and terrifying. It let out a deafening roar as the light from the star got brighter. It seemed to Jolene as if the monster was absorbing the light. She felt the tears roll from her eyes at the gruesome sight.

The next thing she knew, she was walking back to her hotel room. Almost in a catatonic state. She was still clutching the picture. Tears filled her eyes as a sole thought echoed in her mind: "Mush. Mush. Mush"….