Chapter 4

We sat silently watching tv for most of the evening. Our happy chatters of the day were replaced by anger and fear. Wally was fuming at what his brother said; I couldn't get the greedy look that he gave me out of my mind. I shivered, and Wally looked at me. "Are you cold?" I shook my head, still tightly wound in my blanket. I was still balled up in the corner of the couch, even though it had been a while since Wario left. He seemed to understand and looked back at the tv. "My brother can be such a pig. He's not always like this, sometimes he is civilized. But when large amounts of gold are involved, he forgets everyone and everything. Jerk," he said that last word more to himself than to me. "And by the way, those things I said about not liking you…"

"I understand." I knew he liked me, but not the way Wario was implying. I loosened my grip on my blanket and patted his shoulder. "Thanks for the cola." We watched a few more shows and turned off the tv when the news came on. I was tempted to grab the book out of my bike, but I didn't want to go outside in the dark. Wally saw me gazing at the door and after asking why, went out and got it, along with everything else in my basket, for me. I changed into the purple t-shirt and got comfortable on the couch.

"I can sleep on the couch, if you would rather sleep in a bed." I looked at the couch, which was long, but didn't look nearly long enough for him to stretch out completely, or comfortably. I got up and hugged his waist.

"You're too long for the couch," I muttered in his shirt. I knew he was angry with his brother, and I was thankful I didn't end up at Wario's mansion by mistake. I pulled back, patting his arm. "Where exactly were you going to shove that rocket? Up the ass on his face or the one he sits on?"

Despite being scared, my sleep lacked any dreams. I must have been too exhausted to dream, still catching up from the journey. Wally was awake before I was and was pouring cereal shaped like mushrooms in a bowl of milk. "Don't you have a job?" I asked. "Whoops, I mean, good morning." He laughed, handing me the cereal box and a bowl of milk.

"I mainly do odd jobs." He told me people had hired him to blow up things or play pranks, and I mentioned that maybe he should open a joke shop. He looked thoughtfully at me, taking interest in the idea. We casually chatted, and my mind wandered to Wario's conversation about his place last night. I looked around and thought he could use a ton more space.

"Are you sad that you don't live in a mansion?" I imagined Wario's mansion being dark and gloomy, but Wally's would be more like a fun house.

"A little, but I enjoy my shit hole. It's less work." We finished eating, and I got dressed for the day. I put on my shoes, enjoying the comfort of my converse sneakers. I found Wally watching a game on tv when I entered the room. "What's with the shoes?"

"I want to go on a bike ride." He looked at me, hesitant.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, toots." Here we go with the toots again. "You don't know the town, and if Bowser is really looking for another woman, Wario might do something. I wouldn't put it past him…nothing stands in the way of Wario and gold."

I knew he was looking out for me, but the urge to get on my bike was maddening. "I'll only be gone for an hour or so, promise." I felt like I was asking my parent's permission to stay late somewhere, except I was asking a guy I just met two days ago to leave his house.

He sighed. "If you go out the back door, no one will notice you. The path is on the back end of town, and most people don't take that route." He looked at the clock. "This time of day people will be at work. You should be unseen, and hopefully fine." He got up and went out the front door. When he returned, he had my bike with him. "Just please try not to crash."

I put on my helmet and left the back door. He scribbled his address, 26 Grimmace Place, on a small piece of paper in case I got lost. I couldn't listen to my music, but I had enough thoughts to pass the time. I thought of the strange bond that Wally and I had so quickly developed. I got the feeling not many people were friends with him. I also had a feeling that not many people really KNEW him. Maybe it was my blind trust that allowed him to open up. Maybe it was that I did not know anyone, so I could not be prejudice against him. He has too much free time. With all that ammo, nothing to do, and probably not in the best of moods, what else is there to do besides blow everything up? Glad he didn't blow me up that first night. Whatever the case was, I was glad I met him and not his brother.

It was hard to imagine Wario actually being his brother. I'm sure Wario wasn't all bad, but I had no intention to find his "good side" right now. I was disgusted by how he would have quickly turned me in to this Bowser for a wad of cash, or coins, or whatever currency they had here. I cringed and looked around at the scenery. The kingdom was quite beautiful in its own quaint way. The air smelled fresh; I never breathed this fresh of air in Phoenix. I didn't see anyone on my route and wondered what everyone was doing for work. I also wondered what was happening at MY home. I had been gone three days now, would people begin to worry? No, they wouldn't. I don't go into work for another two days. I stopped and wiped a tear that had formed from my eye. It was a depressing thought that no one would notice I was gone. I made a mental note that I had to change that when I got back. I never intended to be a recluse, but that was how it turned out.

I continued my ride, thinking of what I would possibly go to school for. Wally and I were talking about my interests, and I admitted that I enjoyed helping people. I mentioned social work or counseling, but whatever I do, I want to assist people in making their lives better. I enjoyed my prospective plans and was almost back at Wally's house when I saw a large green turtle. Unlike the other turtles, he had spikes on his shell and was enormous. If I had to guess, I'd say he was at least eight feet high. A black spiked choker hugged his neck, and as the breeze blew his fiery red hair around, I wondered if his personality matched his intimidating look.

I stopped, wishing that he would have been a street down; he was in my direct path. The turtle looked at me, and like Wario's first glance, I instantly shuddered. His eyes were hungry, but not for greed. Me. He wants me. I could see the longing, the lust, the desire to have me burning in his eyes. I looked around, trying to figure out where exactly I could go. He started to approach me when I turned around. Scared and pedaling fast, I cut in an alley way. I had intended to enter Wally's house through the back door, but that was no longer a choice; I'd have to bolt to the front door. I was almost at his house when the turtle caught up with me. I made it to Wally's and ran in with my bike, but he saw me. Wally was still watching the game when I frantically scrambled in.

"Giant…turtle…chasing…me…" I huffed. His eyes widened, and he began cursing under his breath.

"Go in my closet, put the bike in the bathroom. DO NOT come out until I get you." I didn't ask questions and bolted to his room. I made sure to be quiet in case the giant beast was looming at the door. I had just gotten in the closet when I heard, no, felt, the front door rattle.

"WALUIGI! OPEN UP!" If I thought Wario's voice boomed the other night, it was nothing compared to the giant turtle. Wally snickered; it was hard to hear through all the clothes. I cracked the door slightly to make out a muffled conversation.

"Why, hello Bowser. You know, you don't have to break down my door. I can hear you just fine."

"Where is she? The girl with the bike? The human?"

Wally mocked the beast at the door. "Did Wario answer your ad for a new companion? You know, he would do ANYTHING for a bag of gold, but were you so stupid to actually believe I REALLY have a girl stashed away in my closet?" Well, technically he did.

"I SAW HER! SHE RAN IN HERE WITH HER BIKE." His voice roared, but it did not have as much confidence as it did before. "I want her." The lust I saw in his eyes echoed in his voice. Why would a turtle want a human…how would that even work? I grabbed my legs tighter at the thought of this turtle touching any part of my body.

I heard Wally give a cackling laugh. "You had to PAY for a woman? Can't get one on your own?" I didn't hear the response; it must have been low, only for Wally to hear. Wally laughed again, but it wasn't like the laughs I was used to. It sounded angry, almost vicious. "I've been meaning to play a prank on you, but this tops anything I had in mind! You're out gold, and you look like an idiot. Well, not that you usually don't look like an idiot, but…" I heard a growl and knew the beast did not like being insulted. Wally continued, "Unless you want me to dress in drag for you, which I think would be an eyesore, you can get out of my doorway. I want to finish watching the game." The door slammed.

It was a few minutes until Wally came to the closet. He opened the door to see me huddled in the corner, hiding in all the clothes. He held out his hand, helping me out. "No more bike rides." I frowned, but he was right. We went back to the living room, and he handed me the remote. "I'll be in the kitchen, having a word with my brother. If you hear a lot of breaking, just turn up the volume."

Waluigi broke a total of eight glasses, four plates, and one bowl. I buried my head in my pillow, not to drown out his yelling at Wario or the breaking of his dishes, but to wash away the thoughts of what had happened. Wario sold me out to this Bowser. I wondered how many coins he got, and if it was really worth my life. Bowser wanted to have me intimately. I had no desire to do anything with him. Hell, I didn't even want to look at him. I became nauseated at the thought. And I put Waluigi in a bad spot. I was stuck in his house, and he had Bowser probably stalking it, waiting for me to emerge. I didn't want to hurt my new friend, or make him feel like he had to babysit me for, well, who knows how long. And on top of that, I still had no clue if I could ever go home.

Curled up in the blanket balling in my pillow, the frustrations overtook me and I let all my feelings out. I didn't hear the yelling or crashing stop and didn't know he was sitting next to me until he put his hand on my shoulder. I jumped, and he breathed "It's only me." I wiped the tears from my eyes, knowing that made him uncomfortable. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and shook me in a sympathetic sort of way. "My brother is an ass hole. I think I might pay him a visit and go ahead and shoot that rocket up his ass." I laughed, but still felt like crap. "And by ass, I don't mean the one on his face."

"I'm sorry I put you through so much."

"We'll worry more about it in the morning." He removed his arm and went back to the kitchen.

"Do you need help cleaning up?" I started to get up from the couch, but he shook his head.

"Nah, I'll be fine." He started picking up the pieces of broken glass and mumbled to himself. I got up and headed to the bathroom.

"Where should I put my bike?" Waluigi looked around and we decided to hide it in his closet. The bike had to be put in a weird angle, but we managed to get it to fit. I headed to the bathroom, needing the hot bath to wash away the disgust I felt.

When I got out, I saw a note on the table. Paying my brother back, DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE. I noticed one of the large bazooka looking guns was missing. I started reading my book to pass the time and waited for him to return. About an hour later, he jumped in the front door. I didn't notice he had changed; he was wearing a pair of dark overalls and a long sleeved purple shirt. Everything was speckled in black soot, and his mustache looked singed. His hair stuck up at weird angles underneath his hat, but he looked pleased. He walked past me, throwing the gun on his shelf. "This is for you." He handed me a picture of Wario with fire emerging from his rear end. He took a camera out of one of the pockets and placed it next to the gun as he skipped back to the bathroom to clean up. It was mean of me to laugh at Wario's misery, but I didn't feel sorry for him.

I lucked out the last two nights with dreamless sleep, but this night I wasn't so lucky. I dreamed a turtle with blazing red eyes chasing me and capturing me with a large butterfly net. I was hanging and chained up in a dungeon, and with one swipe of his claws, my clothes were gone, exposing me, making me completely vulnerable. The turtle licked his lips at the sight of my bare skin and greedily rubbed his hands together. He lunged at me and I screamed. I sat up on the couch, panting and sweating. I looked around, half expecting to see grey, cold walls. My blanket had ended up on the floor, and I reached to pick it up. I heard Waluigi snoring in the other room, and I was glad my scream didn't bring him running to the living room. It was starting to get light out, and I knew I was never going to get back to sleep. I wasn't even sure I wanted to after the nightmare I had.

I turned on the tv, flipping the channels for something to watch. Most of the channels had news on, and while I was interested to know about this world, I was too tired to listen and understand the newscaster. Even though he spoke English, it sounded foreign to me. I grabbed my book and started to read. I took my time, not wanting to finish; I wasn't sure what I was going to do in my free time when it was done. Wally eventually got up and was surprised to see that I was already awake.

"I'm glad the construction in your room is finished. That chainsaw was relentless." He rolled his eyes.

"Coffee?" he asked, and I joined him in the kitchen for a cup. He looked like he was debating something that wasn't too pleasant. He scowled, finally looking at me. "You need to meet my cousins. I remembered something last night. For a while they lived in another world. I can't remember where, nor do I really care," he sneered, "but they might know of the world you are talking about. They might even be related." He got up and grabbed the bag that Wario dropped off the other day. "I'd say it's not really safe for you to be prancing around…"

"Prancing?" I injected. "I never thought I pranced."

"Whatever, prancing, skipping, jumping, galloping…"

"Ok, I get your point."

"…walking, running, BIKING, or anything outside. However, if Bowser decides to come back, which he probably will, my house is not really set up to resist him. So, I think we should get you to the castle. I'm going to run and get you a disguise, as well as another shirt. That one is starting to wear out its welcome, and Bowser and possibly his idiot groupies will be on the lookout for a girl in white." We ate a quick breakfast and he grabbed a few coins out of the bag. "Please don't ride your bike while I'm gone, I know how much you love that thing."

I hung out at the house, trying to feel peaceful. We had a plan, which eased my worried mind a little. I wondered what his cousins would know…maybe they were from Phoenix? Maybe they can take me home, where I won't fear getting attacked by a large walking, talking turtle. I was starting to doze back to sleep when I heard a scream emerge from outside. It was a high-pitched scream and ran right past the door.

"HEEEELLLLP! AHHHHAAAHHHH! PLEASE, SOMEBODY! ANYBODY!"

I waited for the screams to go away, but they only intensified. I thought of calling 9-1-1 but quickly remembered this was not my world. Shit! What do I do?! I waited, but the screams continued on. I cautiously opened up the door and looked around. There was nobody there. I swore I heard someone…I went to close the door when something grabbed my arm.

"I knew that loser had you." It was Bowser. I struggled in his tight grip, trying to break free. "You're not going anywhere. I paid for you, I'm keeping you." His breath smelled like charred wood, and I looked the other way. I tried to scream, but he put his other hand over my mouth. His green skin was scaly and dry. "I'm not that bad, once you get to know me, and I have an awesome castle and an awesome lair…" he started murmuring. I didn't want to get to know him! He started to walk, dragging me along with him. He kept talking, as if my attempt to resist him was a normal behavior. "…and I even have my own army! I have forts scattered in dozens of kingdoms so we could travel…"

I didn't know what to do, but I knew if I left with this monster I would never come back. I didn't want to kick him because he could easily grab my feet. I decided to bite. I bit down as hard as I could on the hand that was crushing my face. His hands flew back, and I felt a claw grace my cheek.

"Hey! Watch it, that hurts! You're a feisty one!" He grabbed for my arm, accidently clawing the top of it but not managing to grab it. I ran, not thinking of the pain in my bare feet, the burning in my legs, or the tightness in my breath. Even the gashes he created didn't faze me. He pounded through the streets, and I dodged between alleyways. I was at an advantage; I was small, and he had a difficult time maneuvering through tight spots. I ducked and thought I had finally lost him, but he emerged at the other end. I saw a pile of rocks and pitched a handful at his face. His small arms flailed, giving me enough time to gain a small lead.

"Ouch! Come back here! You're just as slippery as Peach!" he yelled. Apparently, this was not the first time he just took somebody, which made me feel anxious.

I couldn't run back to Wally's; Bowser would rip the house to shreds. I tried knocking on a few doors, but no one answered. I kept running, not looking back. I was leaving the town, approaching the outskirts of the city. I didn't want to completely be left out in the open. I looked towards the castle, but there was no entry point from this spot. I was running out of options and had to decide fast. Beside me was a brick wall, about waist high. There, just on the other side was a small cottage. A sign read MARIO in big red letters, and a stream trickled around the house. Puffs of black smoke came out of the chimney, and I saw a shadowy figure move in the window. It was my only choice.

I heard Bowser behind me and I scrambled over the wall. I felt his claw scratch at my back and legs as I kicked myself over. He grunted in frustration, and I heard him muttering something about how if he could just get his hands on me. Finally falling on the other side, I bolted, splashing through the water. I leaped to the front door and barged in, glad it was unlocked. I turned around and slammed the door; two wide eyed men were sitting at a small table. Bowser yelled furiously but did not approach the house. I looked out a window beside the door and saw him leave on a white topless helicopter with a face on the front. Turning back around, I sighed, sliding down the door in exhaustion. The chase was over.