Chapter 14 On the Run Part 2

Larry peeked out of the closet door. Based on the light that was filtering in through the windows in the hallway, it was nearing the break of dawn. This was concerning, for several reasons. First off, if it was morning, that meant that Larry and Wendy have been waiting for Roy and Ludwig's return for six hours. Secondly, if something happened to the two of them and the interdimensional doubles were still here, that meant that Larry and Wendy could not sneak around as discreetly, as the light would blow their cover.

"What does it look like out there?" Wendy asked in a whisper.

"It looks like it's morning," Larry responded.

Wendy huffed out a grunt of frustration.

"Well then, I think it's time that we leave," she said.

Larry turned to her, keeping the closet door open so he could see the frustration on her face.

"Leave?" he asked. "But...but they haven't come back yet!"

"And I don't think they are going to. Larry, the mission was a simple fetch quest. If it takes them this long to return from a fetch quest, then clearly something went wrong. We need to go find help."

Larry peeked out the door again. It seemed that the light had gotten brighter, making it even more risky to go out and run for it. But then again, what choice did they have?

"You're right," Larry said. "Let's get going."

Larry opened the door a tiny sliver, just large enough for the two of them to slip through without too much disturbance. Once Wendy was out, she took off her high heels and placed them back in the closet before closing the door. Larry smiled. Wendy had the right idea; high heels would be too loud and clunky.

So, the two Koopalings snuck down the hallway. They took advantage of the corners when they could, making sure that they stayed as far away from someone's line of sight as possible. The whole scenario reminded Larry of a war. Wendy and Larry were soldiers on the battlefield, sneaking through the trenches to avoid getting shot by the enemy. The only thing that was missing, Larry thought, was one of those mirrors so that Larry could see where their enemies were shooting.

"Alright," Larry said as he glanced around the corner, "it looks like the coast is clear."

Wendy nodded. The two of them scurried like squirrels, keeping their bodies in a bending position. They had to get to the front door, that much was obvious. Larry only hoped from the bottom of his heart that they would not get spotted by anyone.

Oh, speak of the devil. Larry heard footsteps walking around the corner. They sounded heavy and foreboding, and the ground underneath practically crunched where the person stepped. Larry gulped; what if it was Bully? Larry pressed his back against the wall, and Wendy, who had also heard the footsteps, did the same thing. They held their breath, expecting the worst.

"Larry? Wendy?"

The two Koopalings opened their eyes and practically jumped for joy. It was Bowser!

"Bowser!" Wendy exclaimed. "It's you!"

"Of course; who else would it be?" Bowser chuckled. "Are you guys playing some sort of game with your siblings? Man, that takes me back to when you guys were little."

Larry looked over Bowser shoulder and gasped. Kooky and Cheatsy were approaching them. What's more, Kooky had Kamek's wand and spellbooks in his hand!

"Uhh, Bowser?" Larry said. Bowser, completely oblivious to the danger, just kept on talking.

"I think I have a picture in the family photo album somewhere of you guys playing hide and seek. I really wish I could find the album so that I could…"

"Minimus talla!" Kooky said. He pointed the wand at Bowser, who suddenly began to shrink. Wendy and Larry gawked once Bowser had reached a height of three inches tall.

"Hey!" Bowser said with a high pitched voice. "What's going on here? Wendy, Larry, how did you guys get so big?"

Cheatsy and Kooky laughed maniacally. Then Cheatsy took the wand from his brother.

"Blastem markey!"

An arcane blast shot out of the tip of the wand. Thankfully, Wendy and Larry managed to get out of the way just in the nick of time. Larry grabbed his now miniscule adopted father and began to bolt down the hallway. It wasn't until he and Wendy got outside that they both stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness; we're alive!" said Wendy.

"Okay, what the World Eight is going on? Who were those guys?" Bowser asked in a shocked confusion.

"They are alternate versions of us," Larry explained. "They want to take over our world."

"Take over the world?" Bowser screeched. "Well then why didn't you guys could to me about it? I could have fried those creeps before they could've said 'world domination!'"

Wendy and Larry exchanged a look.

"We didn't think of that," Wendy admitted. Bowser sighed.

"Great!" he said. "Now we have no way of stopping them!"

Larry and Wendy exchanged a look. Larry knew exactly what his sister was thinking, because he was thinking the same thing.

"Well, I wouldn't say that there is no way of stopping them," said Larry.

Bowser's tiny eyebrow rose.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Larry looked down at him.

"I think that there is something that can help us. Or rather, someone."

Bowser gawked.

"You don't mean…?"

"Yes," said Wendy with a nod. "We need to ask the Mario Brothers for help."