...

No Author's Note:

...

Disclaimer: This following FanFiction story is a fan-based parody. "Mario" and all of its respectable characters are all owned by Nintendo and created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Please enjoy; favorite and review whenever you want.

...

Chapter 93:
The Deed is Done; Back into the Desert

...

...

In less than ten minutes, they had managed to cover a fair distance away from the burning building. Rocco glanced in his side view mirror to get a good look at the fire that overtook what was once Scoprio's Hideout. The blaze had been massive and out of control; it had completely engulfed the entire building and had demolished it into half the size it was before.

"Well, that came out better than I expected," Rocco commented. "Really didn't expect the building to blow up and catch on fire,"

Luigi frowned as he watched another part of the building collapse into itself on the mirror on his side. He turned to the larger man beside him who was currently looking for his lighter in his back pocket. "That wasn't part of the plan,"

"Doesn't mean it didn't happen," The other man huffed. With one hand on the wheel, he pulled out the lighter from his pocket.

"I'm still trying to understand how," Luigi sighed tiredly, bumping his head back against his seat. "I didn't set off anything that would cause an explosion,"

"There wasn't just one, there were multiple explosions from top to bottom," Rocco answered nonchalantly as he tried to ignite his cigarette. "It must have been an assassination plot,"

"An assassination plot?"

The blond man nodded. "Before everything went down the crapper, I noticed someone leaving the building. I can't tell ya who it was, but if I were to guess, it must have been an assassin."

"Why would an assassin blow up a building?"

"So they could kill the ones they're after," Rocco shrugged. "I don't know how this works, I'm not an assassin. But I won't be surprised if Scorpio managed to piss someone off, especially someone higher up than him. He's the type to do so."

Images of the bloody, mangled bodies of Scorpio's men resurfaced into Luigi's mind. Even though he hadn't seen Scorpio's body, he was able to make out his silhouette in the fire; his body was just as still as the others he saw.

"He had it coming," The Doogan had told him. "In this line of business, it's best not to mess with people with power unless you have the power to back up. In Scorpio's case, he didn't."

"Damn it all," Rocco cursed loudly, breaking Luigi out of his reverie. "Bloody thing is out of juice,"

He tossed the empty lighter out the window, no longer of any use to him. He let out a frustrated sigh before an idea struck him. "Hey, think you can give me a hand with that spark thing you did before?"

"Spark thing?" The plumber frowned, confused about the question before realizing what he was requesting. "Oh, uh…sure,"

The other man leaned sideways towards him as the green man held up his hand. Snapping his fingers, Luigi created small quick sparks of lightning. He was careful not accidentally hit Rocco with it as the blond man leaned closer to light his cigarette still in his mouth. It took a few tries but once his tobacco stick was lit, Rocco leaned back towards his side, taking deep breaths.

"Thanks," He huffed, a puff of smoke escaping from his lips. "By the way, how are you able to do that?"

"What…this?" He snapped his fingers a few times to demonstrate. "It's an ability I picked up years ago. Recently, I've been using it again and been trying out ways to make it stronger,"

"Pretty handy if you ask me; it's like you're a walking battery or something," He puffed. He placed the cigarette in his mouth and reached for his back pocket. "Oh, by the way, I should probably give this back to ya,"

The blond man pulled out a similar metallic blue box item. He tosses it toward Luigi who caught in his hands, looking very much confused.

"The POW block? But I thought you used it?"

"Well, obviously I didn't,"

The green man frowned. "But…how were you able to cause the earthquake if you didn't use it?"

Rocco flashed him a toothy grin. "You're not the only one with a handy ability,"

…

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

…

The halls were dark and empty as Akaten made his way back to the section of the Palace where his bedchamber lay. Occasionally, he would pass one of the patrolling guards, but for the most part, he walked on undisturbed. Upon reaching the Chamber Halls, he spotted a Clubba waiting for him just outside his chamber's doorway. This Clubba was a personal assistant of his, one he had work with for a long time. He wore a similar but less detailed yellow jacket collar button shirt with black trousers shoes.

"My Lord," He bowed upon Akaten's arrival. "How was your meeting with the King?"

"The same as it was before," Akaten answered. "A complete and uttered waste of time,"

"Should I prepare your usual drink then?"

"Yes, but make it a double,"

"Of course,"

The Clubba opened the bedroom doors and allowed Akaten to enter first. Once inside the privacy of his own room, Akaten released a deep sigh, undoing the buttons on his shirt as he made his way towards the seating area. The Clubba closed and locked the door behind him before following Akaten to the area. He retrieved a bottle of alcohol from the mini fridge and an empty glass from the cabinet. He filled the glass and handed it to Akaten who happily took it.

"Ahh, much better," He sighed after drinking almost the entire glass. The Clubba refilled it for him.

"I'm guessing today had been particularly dreadful for you,"

"More or less…but I did learn something out of it," He paused for a second to drink. "Apparently, Thorne's precious little Flower has been 'blossoming' herself off lately while in the Mushroom Kingdom and Thorne can't seem to get a handle on her,"

"So the King's spoiled brat is now a spoiled harlot," The Clubba commented as he placed the bottle on the table. "Nothing surprising there; you suspected it will happen when you popped the idea into her head,"

"I did, didn't I?" Akaten hummed "Well then, it all part of the plan,"

"Still it's been some time, years actually. How much longer must we wait before we proceed forward with the plan?"

"You must have patience, Clubbo. I've been working on this plan for nearly 5 years now and yet I am in no rush to complete it. After all, you don't become one of the High King's Royal council member as well as one of the Underground's Kingpin without a little bit of patient, can you?"

The Clubba mumbled, "You mean false king,"

"Yes, well, I am willing to let him keep that title for just a bit longer. Like I said, I'm in no rush. I'll reclaim my family's born-right in due time,"

"Of course," Clubbo bowed. "My apologies for my impulsiveness,"

"Your devotion will be rewarded greatly, Clubbo. But do keep that in mind; we cannot afford to make any careless mistakes, especially when we come this far,"

"Yes, my lord,"

The sound of soft ringing from another room attracted their attention. Clubbo excused himself as he left to answer it. Akaten remained where he was seated, enjoying the drink in his hand.

"Hello…" He heard Clubbo's voice from the other room. "Are you certain you got the job done?"

Akaten had an idea on who was on the line. All of the council members were provided a landline phone for political work and sometimes personal use. But this call didn't come from that phone. No, it came from his other phone; a covert one he kept strictly preserved for his other job. He took a sip of his glass as he listened in on the one-sided conversation.

"Are you certain you got the job done?... And the trail won't lead back to us, will it?... Good, you'll have your money within the next few days."

Clubbo hung up the phone and placed it back in its hidden location. He turned the room Akaten was in. The man was still enjoying the drink in his hand as he glanced up at Clubbo to hear what he had to say.

"That was a call from our hired employee…Scorpio is no longer an issue,"

A pleasant smirk appeared on Akaten's lips. "See…good things come to those who wait." He downed the rest of his glass in one up before holding it up in salutation. "Grab a glass for yourself, Clubbo; I'm in the mood to celebrate,"

"Yes, Lord Akhenaten,"

The man's cheerful smirk quickly turned into an annoyed scoff. "Clubbo, we discuss this… In the eyes of the public, I am to be addressed as Akaten. But in private you are to address me by my proper name and title,"

Clubbo bowed apologetically but made no move to stop his own smirk from forming. "My apologies…Pharaoh Akhenaten,"

…

…

A sudden jolt had woken Luigi from his slumber. He was disoriented, his vision was blurry, and his memory was somewhat foggy.

"Sorry,"

He turned his head towards the direction of that voice. It was familiar and, as his conscious slowly come back to him, he became more aware of his surroundings and the throbbing pain he was feeling throughout his body.

"How long… was I out?" he asked. His neck felt stiff; he was probably slouching in an odd angle.

"Don't know, a few hours maybe? Don't have a watch on me," Rocco shrugged. "Figured you were worn-out so I let you sleep,"

Luigi nodded in appreciation. He was exhausted. After all, he was held against his will and tortured for a couple of hours. But alas, the idea of going back to sleep didn't seem all that appealing to him at the moment.

He turned around in his seat and glanced through the small square window that allowed him to see into the back of the truck. From the looks of things, all the Masrestler children were fast asleep, including Paraplonk and Guy. A few of the Children were snuggled around them, making a rather cute picture.

"Best to let them sleep," Rocco suggested. "They were most likely drugged so they would be easier to control; sleeping will help flush it out of their system."

Luigi nodded and spun his body to face forward once more. It was still dark outside and it doesn't look like the sun will be up anytime soon. Based on the position of the moon, they still had a couple of hours left before sunrise.

"So," The blond man continues. "Any idea how much longer we'll have to travel before we reach a town?"

The green man blinked in surprise. "What…you don't know?"

"Of course not," Rocco scoffed. "I'm a drifter, remember? I'm not from here. In fact, I have no idea where we're going,"

"Hold on a second…Are you telling me we just ran into a desolate desert without any proper supplies or a clear sense of direction?"

"No…" The other man replied. "I'm telling you we just drove into a desolate desert without any proper supplies or a clear sense of direction,"

He was being sarcastic, but Luigi didn't find their situation funny. They were literally in the middle of a desert.

"Mamma mia," The green man groaned, rubbing his temple. Rocco shot a nonchalant glance his way.

"So…I'm guessing you don't know where we're going either?"

"Of course not," He remarked with noticeable annoyance in his voice. "I mean I have visited the Birabuto Kingdom a few times in the past, but I never needed to travel through the desert before now."

"Then how did you and the others get out here?"

"A plane dropped us off before we used a map and a compass to make our way through. Unfortunately, Scorpio's underlings took them from me shortly after our capture and they weren't with the rest of my things I got back." He sighed. "I have experience traveling through deserts but it almost pointless if I don't know where I'm going."

"Okay, let's think about this step by step…" Rocco said. "Where exactly are we taking these kids?"

"Back to their home in Muscle Canyon…It lies on the northeastern part of the Pyrapt Desert."

"Okay, so we just have to figure out which way is east and eventually we'll get there, right?"

"It's not as easy as you make it sound," The green man told him. "The further east we travel, the more isolated the desert becomes and Muscle Canyon is completely isolated. There is not a populated town there for miles and traveling there will be dangerous especially with 12 people,"

"Then it's a good thing we stole this trunk then," Rocco commented. "I sure as hell don't want to be stuck in a desert for days on end,"

Luigi nodded in agreement. This truck was extremely useful. In just a few hours, they have been able to cover more ground than they would have done on foot.

"Okay so here's what we'll do. We'll make our way east until we can find a place for you and the others to settle until y'all are ready for your journey."

"Either that or until we're able to get in contact with others,"

"There are others?"

"Yes, but I don't think waiting will be much of an option. The children had been through much and I don't think they'll want to be away from home for much longer,"

"In that case, I'll let you have the trunk when we part ways," Rocco announced.

"What…really?" Luigi asked in astonishment.

A simple nod was his response. "Originally, I had just planned on freeing you and friends, and let y'all handle the rest from there. Didn't think I'll be sticking around for this long, but I ain't complaining." He shot a grin in the plumber's direction. "Never thought I'll meet someone as off their nuts as you lots, that's for sure,"

Luigi mumbled, crossing his arms. "Thanks a lot,"

"What? It was a compliment,"

"Could have fooled me,"

Rocco rolled his eyes and turned his attention back on the sand. "Tell you what, before we part ways, we'll grab a couple of drinks and get plastered, on me of course."

Luigi had no intention of getting drunk anytime soon, but it was a nice gesture and a decent way for a departure.

"First things first," He declared "we have to make our way east," Looking out the truck's window, he tried making out the position of the moon. "Okay so, we all known the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, right?"

"Yeah, everyone knows that,"

"Right, but not everyone knows that the moon generally rises from either the south or north of the east and sets either north or south of the west due to the rotation of the planet and its spherical shape."

"What? So the Moon doesn't rise in the east and sets in the west?"

"Not always… depending on the phase of the Moon and the time of the year, the rising might actually occur in the east-northeast or east-southeast, and the setting might take place in the west-northwest or west-southwest."

"O…kay," Rocco wasn't completely sure if he understood the plumber next to him, but he didn't question him. He sounded like he knew more than he did right now. "So can you tell which way the moon rose from?"

"It's kind of complicated but…if I were to guess from its waxing phase, I'll say it rises from the northeast direction,"

"If it rises in the northeast direction, then east would be…"

"More to our right,"

"Alright then," Rocco confirmed, turning the truck to its new direction. "Already making process,"

Luigi rolled his eyes but in a well-mannered way. He was going to give him a witty response when a yawn escape passed his lips. The blond man snickered.

"Get some sleep, Sparky; I'll wake you up when I find something,"

The green hated man wanted to decline to the order, wanting to stay up with the man beside him. But his body seemed to disagree with him as another yawn escapes him.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you, Rocco,"

...

...

...

Ending Note:

Already starting on the next chapter.

...

...