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Author's Note:
I'm sorry guys to make you wait so long and I'm even more sorry that I'm probably going to make you guys wait even longer.
Not too long after I posted the last chapter, I've been accepted to a program I signed up for. Since then, I've been spending almost all my time and energy on that. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to maintain my grade in this one class and I was forced to drop out entirely.
I was a bit depress after that but fortunately another school with the same program has accepted me and I'll get to start next month. This school is a private school; not my first choice financial wise but I hate to waste time sitting around, doing nothing as I wait for next year to come by for me to apply again. Plus with this school, I'll still be able to graduate the same year as the other school so in the end that's all that matters. Hopefully, I'll do better in this school than the other one.
Anyways, I can't promise a regular update schedule. I most likely will update something on the holidays/break times but even then it's still kind of 50-50. I do, however, plan on finishing this story someday, even if it take me longer than I had originally planned.
If any of you probably noticed, I have removed/combined two chapters from the story and made somewhat minor changes. As promised, this chapter is over 2000 words (not including the author's note) and the next one will be the same.
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Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea and any OCs.
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Chapter 71:
Still a Plumber at Heart
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Fall was slowly approaching the Koopa Kingdom. An unusual early cold front had sweep over the land, making the normally hot Darkland almost comfortably warm. Enjoying the humid weather in the courtyard was the green plumber himself. He was in the court yard, caring for the Piranha Plants. Helping him today was the Shy Guy, Shyloh.
"So, how's the process with the Lava Plant?" He asked.
"You mean, Blaze," Luigi replies as he feeds Sasha, the Putrid Piranha Plant.
"Yeah, him,"
Shyloh was a pretty laid-back character. He was one of the several castle staff that he managed to befriend. While the majority of the staff treated him as one of the lords of the castle, there are a number of them that treats him as a normal guy...most of the time.
The green plumber sighed, "I think he's still mad at me for the other day,"
"Well, it's not every day you see someone trying to sneak up on a Piranha Plant," Shyloh said. He was watering them while Luigi feeds them. "Especially one that could spit out lava,"
"He can't stay mad at me forever, right?"
"Oh, you'll be surprise," Shyloh laughs.
He has been caring for these Piranha Plants since the day they've been planted here, including the Lava Plant. Out of everyone in the castle, he knew the plants' behaviors the best. The Lava Plant – or Blaze as Luigi had named him now – was very temperamental and extremely hard to befriend. Even with his own experience with it, Blaze won't let him near other than to feed.
"I'll get him to like me some day," The green man said, glancing over at the Lava Plant who was starting to doze off. "I haven't given up on him yet,"
Shyloh hummed, but didn't say anything. Something in the plumber's tone actually made him want to believe him.
"Hello, fancy a drink, gentleman?"
An orange koopa dressed in chef hat and apron came walking towards them. He was carrying a tray in his hands with two glasses of drink.
"Thank you, Chef Kylon," Luigi thanked him.
The Chef nodded. "It is my pleasure, Lord Luigi,"
The plumber smiled. "You don't have to be so formal around me, Kylon."
"Sorry; force of habit, I guess,"
"What brings you here, other than to bring us drinks?" Shyloh asked.
"Well actually, I am in need of some Piranha extract to make the cake for Lords Iggy and Lemmy."
"Okay, what kind of extract do you need?" Luigi asked.
"Hmm, let see," Chef Kylon thought. "Lord Iggy wanted it to be hot however Lord Lemmy wanted it to be cold so...I'm going to need sap from both the Fire and Ice Piranha Plants,"
"Anna and Elsa," Luigi said. "We'll get them for you,"
"Thank you both," He nodded. "I'll be in the kitchen when you're done,"
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Piranha Extract is fairly easy to make; all that's needed are some small jars, alcohol, and the Piranha Plant of your choosing. Unlike other flavored extract that take a few weeks to a few months to make, Piranha extract is made easily between a few hours to a few days, depending on the plant.
Obtaining the sap needed to make the extract is fairly easy as well. Using a syringe fitted with a needle, you puncture through the Piranha Plant's stem at an angle. Once it was in, the plunger is pulled back and the sap is removed.
The Piranha Plant isn't harmed when doing this. However, removing too much can fatally weaken it. Fortunately, Shyloh knows just how much to extract from the plants to leave them feeling healthy.
"And... there, that should do it."
Shyloh removed the syringe from Elsa's stem as Luigi petted her gently. He poured the sap into a small jar that was almost filled up. Luigi awarded both Elsa and Anna with some meat before turning to Shyloh.
"Is that it?" He asked.
"Yup, hopefully this will be enough for Kylon."
Luigi nodded. He returned to his room after that to change his clothes. He figured he get at least an hour in the gym before dinner could start. As he was changing, he heard the door opening. Looking over, he saw Wendy coming inside. He greeted her,
"Hey Orabelle,"
It was just the other day that she and Morton had finally completed their web show. After a bit of a debate on the name, they both agreed to title it 'Dark Times'. After a bit of editing, Morton officially uploaded it online on Magic Tube.
Since then, they had nearly a thousand viewers on Magic Tube tuning in and subscribing to their show. Needless to say, they weren't all that popular. But they did manage to get about a hundred or so followers so that much was a success for their first time. Now, they were trying to come up with ideas that will help improve their show and their ratings.
The pink koopa turned to him and quickly noticed his lack of clothing. She smirked, "Well, hello,"
She closed the door behind and walked towards him. "By any chance are you trying to seduce me?" she said, her hands slowly roaming around his body. Starting with his stomach which was slowly growing tighter with every workout, trailing up to some hard planes forming, and ending at his warm, bare chest. "Because if you are, then it's working,"
Luigi's cheeks turned red. "No, I was actually getting ready to go to the gym,"
"Oh, that's too bad," She frowned, trailing her finger around his faded scar. "And here I thought we were going to have some fun,"
"We can always do that later," Luigi said as he puts his shirt on.
"Yeah, yeah," Wendy sighed. She walked over to the bed and lay down. "In the meantime, I'll be here…alone,"
Luigi sat beside her and begin tying his shoes. "If you're feeling that lonely, why don't you come along with me?"
"And do what?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know…You could always work out with me,"
"Excuse me?"
Luigi paused, realizing the tone in her voice.
'You probably shouldn't have said that,'
'You know, I realized that after I already said it,'
Turning around, he saw his Koopa wife staring at him with narrowed eyes. "What are you trying to say, Luigi?" She said.
The green plumber held his hands up in defense. "I'm not trying to say anything,"
"I think that you are," Wendy crossed her arms. "Are you trying to say that I'm fat?"
"No, of course not,"
"Then what are you trying to say?"
"What I was saying was... I am leaving now,"
The green man basically sprinted towards the exit. Wendy watched him leave and puffed. She called out to him,
"Well just to let you know, the mood is gone now!"
He closed the door once he was outside and leaned against it heavily. He let out a small sigh, mumbling to himself as he did so.
"Damn, that could have went better,"
'No duh, you think?'
"Don't you sass me"
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The day had been long and tiresome for Bowser Junior. He had taken tests all day, including his math and magic ones. You call only imagine how relief he was when Kammy finally released him. Now he was in the recreation room, hoping to relax with some TV.
No one was in the room when he arrived, so he had the place to himself, including the remote. He scanned through the channels, looking for something that will catch his interest. Unfortunately, there wasn't really anything good on.
The Darklands didn't have much when it comes to TV, which was why most of their programming came from the Mushroom Kingdom. But these days, most of their shows were either lame, boring, or just plain garage.
He sighed heavily and leaned back on the couch. He scanned through for several more minutes before stopping on a teen network. At the time, there was a marathon going on, celebrating the season finale of a show that came out last year. It didn't seem all that interesting to Junior but he supposed it was better than nothing.
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The door slide opened easily as Luigi stepped inside the kitchen. No longer in the mood to go to the gym, he thought he grabbed a quick snack. Upon entering, he saw the Chef as well as a few of his kitchen staff gather around the dishwashing station.
"What's going on there?" Luigi asked, as he walked over at the commotion.
Chef Kylon turned and greeted him. "Oh Luigi, I didn't hear you come in. We're just having some problems with the garage disposal; it doesn't seem to be working right,"
"Hm... may I have a look at it?"
The Chef Koopa blinked before nodding. "Of course,"
Luigi walked over to the sink where the disposal was. The staff members step aside to give the plumber access. He examined it thoroughly, taking note of the water still in the sink.
"The water isn't draining,"
"We think it's clogged," A Goomba said beside him.
"It seems that way," He said. He bent down to where the disposal was and pressed the reset button. He turned it on again only to hear a clanking noise.
"You're going to need to take a look inside the disposal to figure out the problem," He turned to Chef Kylon. "I can get it fix if you like,"
"Would you?"
He nodded. "Of course, I'm a plumber after all. All I need is a toolbox,"
"Then by all means, do what you can. Someone, please fetch a toolbox for Lord Luigi,"
"I'll get it," said the Goomba from before.
As he waits for the toolbox, Luigi made sure the disposal was completely off. Within a few minutes, the Goomba – Glen, he remembered – returned with the toolbox on top of her head.
Being a plumber at heart, it felt really good to have familiar tools in his hands again. Grabbing a hex wrench, he quickly went to work.
It only took him thirty-five minutes to find and fix the problem. After waiting another ten minutes for the motor cool, he turned it on again. His efforts were rewarded when the disposal started up smoothly.
"There, all fix up,"
"Ah prefect," said Chef Kylon as he reenters the kitchen.
Luigi glanced down at himself, taking note of how messy he was. "I better get myself cleaned up,"
"Thank you very much for your help, Lo – I mean Luigi. As a my show of thanks, I prepared you some tasty snacks,"
"Oh, thank you," The plumber gladly accepting the chef's offer. "Looks good; what is it?"
"Hot and Cold Biscuits with Preserves; digestive biscuits with a bit of frosting, topped with a piece of fruit and dill sprig,"
Luigi nodded and tried one out. Upon reaching his taste buds, he felt a small hot sensation in his mouth.
"Woah, that was hot,"
Chef Kylon nodded. "I made the frosting out of some leftover Ice and Fire extract I had in the pantry. What you tasted was made with the Fire P. Plant's sap. Here, try this one next,"
Kylon held up another biscuit topped with a light blue frosting and cherry. Luigi took it and tried it. Soon after, he felt a cool sensation in his mouth.
"That one was made with the Ice P. Plant's sap,"
He nodded. "Hmm, tasty,"
"Thank you," He smiled. "Well then, I better get back to cooking,"
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Luigi munched on his snacks slowly as he made his way to his room. He still had a few appetizers left on his plate. He intend on giving it to Wendy as part of his apology for earlier.
Glancing up, he saw a Goomba just stepping out of Ludwig and Kanary's room. He knew that Goomba; her name was Goombriella. She was one of the cleaning maids around the castle and another friend he made.
"Hello, Goombriella," He greeted her.
"Hey Luigi" She bowed slightly.
"Have you seen Wendy by any chance?"
She shook her head/body. "Yes, but she left a while ago; she seem pretty upset,"
"That's my fault. We sort of got into an argument today."
"I'm sure she's fine," She assures him. "She probably needed some time to cool down,"
"I guess you're right," He said. "Fancy a treat? I have plenty,"
"Sure; I skipped lunch today so I'm starving,"
He bent down so she could see what he had left on the plate. She hummed to herself as she tries to decide which one she should get.
"Red frosting is hot while blue frosting is cold,"
"In that case, I'll get the blue frosting one with the cherry," She asked. "Hot is more of a Koopa thing,"
"Alright,"
He gave her the snack and let her be on her way. Upon entering his room, he placed the plate of appetizers on a table close to the door for Wendy to see when she comes in.
He walked over to the bathroom and got ready for a shower. After twenty minutes, he came out and put on some loose clothing. After a quick dry and brush of his hair, he stepped out of the room and started wondering around the castle.
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Ending Note:
None
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