No Such Thing

Chapter 12- The Chase

So I guess at this point, the real action is commencing, which is a great plus for this! It's one of the story's main genres, after all!

Now, I'm not sure if I can finish this chapter by next week, since it's a Monday afternoon that I'm typing this part. It is why I'm gonna give this a head start.

Back to the contents of this, the really big problem from before just got even bigger, obviously. Now, everyone has to rescue not one, but two people. And out of all the allies, it's for once not the princess, since we all know that we are tired of her getting kidnapped every five seconds, right? So, with that being said, Peach is not going to get kidnapped at all during this.

~KF

About an instant later, Mario turned to his left to remember that they weren't the only ones by the castle.

"...Uh, Mario..." Blue Toad nervously took a few steps back viewing some of Dry Bowser's minions. "We still got company, here..."

A heavy grown was heard from the rescuer of Princess Peach. Looking at the minions who were slowly walking closer to the allies and back at the flying airship repeatedly. There was only one option Mario considered in his head. "Alright, that's it! We're splitting up, me and the Koopalings are going after King Koopa! The rest of you handle those minions! Now, let's go! To Ludwig's airship!"

Not having another moment to spare, the Koopalings almost immediately obeyed Mario's instructions and proceeded to run to the back of Castle Toadstool, leaving the rest of the Mario crew behind.

"Good luck..."

Peach was forced to remain inside the castle after being told a million times to by her servants, despite her responding that she was not going to be a coward and let everyone else do the fighting for her. But, what was she to do? The only time she really fights people is whenever she in the Smash World with her fellow Smashers.

Fortunately for her, she suddenly came up with an idea and ran further back in her castle home.

Back outside, Toadette of course could not believe what she was seeing at the time. Dry Bowser came way earlier as planned and just attacked the castle, stealing Mario's brother as a result. What made matters worse was that she knew that the Koopalings were for once on the opposing side of Bowser's minions, let alone the King of Koopas himself.

That wasn't all. This was also the first time Castle Toad stool was actually attacked. After it was invaded before, it was what made Peach command her Toad servants to use cannon to defend themselves for now on. She was growing tired of Bowser's many attempts to kidnap her and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. It was when the dragon-like creature 'crossed the line' for the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. It may have been Bowser's normal routine for the most part, but if Mario proved to be unsuccessful for the first time, it would basically be the end for said kingdom.

Though to take things to the extreme, it took Bowser's dry form to cause such a calamity, yet his normal form couldn't even do it himself. That led Toadette to one question she desired to ask her people.

"Would you rather deal with a bad person or an evil person?"

Toad was a few seconds from being surrounded by a quartet of Red Koopas who were rapidly approaching the red, polka-dotted capped creature. As frantic as he was, his mind was running with all sorts of questions, not knowing exactly what to do, until a final decision was made during the last moments he had to think of something. When the four turtle enemies of Mario were nearing the then desperate being, he jumped, landing only to see that the four that were charging at him ended up crashing right into each other.

He smiled at his 'work' glancing at them in pain as they laid on the bare ground.

"Mario wasn't thinking twice when he thought of this plan... It kinda stinks..." Yellow Toad was defending himself by taking one Dry Bones to throw it at others. "At least have a couple of the Koopalings stay here so that they can help... Well, we should be thankful that we still have Yoshi..."

The dinosaur was doing the same technique he was when the airship was still present at the castle, so he didn't have to worry too much, especially since the homing bullet bills were destroyed after they crashed into various things, the castle occasionally having to be sacrifice. Yet, what choice did they have? It was either the castle, or themselves. Although, they did have the option of letting two bullet bills homing into each other, but only Larry was able to pull it off.

The number of foes that were standing began to decrease in the next minute. Only the Dry Bones were still going strong. Every time they were knocked down, they simply had the choice to just get up again.

"..." Blue Toad had to deal with those types of minions the most, so he was the first to recall that fact. "Guys, if they are only these guys leftover, leave them. We don't have the time to deal with these all night! We've gotta help the others, now!"

As instructed, the rest of the group followed, doing their best to defeat Koopas, Gommbas, Paratroopas, and Paragoombas. Regardless of the fact that they were all getting the job done, it came to their realization that not a single Hammer Bro was finished.

That was when Peach came into the picture. She dashed right out of the now destroyed castle doors holding her most infamous weapon when it came to Smash Bros.

Her frying pan.

It was kept in a firm grip in both hands, with an angry, yet determined facial expression. The Hammer Bro, Fire Bro, and Ice Bro were astonished with their jaw-dropping looks.

Along with the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, several of her Toad servants emerged speedily out of the large home, some holding cannons, as well as the ones that were on the roof of the castle.

"Surrender, now." Peach warned with her stern look.

Many stares were exchanged, some with confusion and nervousness. Even Peach's friends were flabbergasted. Bowser's army was never warned to surrender in the history of their king's attempts to rule their land. However, due to the possibility of things becoming worse for them, and the limited time they have, one could not blame the one dressed in pink.

Simultaneously, the opposing side gave up. "We surrender..."

With a sigh a relief, Peach was pleased.

"Thanks, Peach." Yellow Toad stated with a smirk. "Now we must go after the others."

"But, we have no idea where they went." His brother responded. "To add onto it, we have no transportation! How will we ever find Bowser's airship? Searching for them on foot would take forever!"

"Don't worry," Toadsworth shook his head. "They should be arriving at any moment, now. We will go search for them that way."

"With all respect, Toadsworth." Peach glazed her eyes down at him. "Do you mind staying here and escort Bowser's minions to the throne room? You know how much I want to help."

"Princess, I think it may be best if you remain at the castle. After all, who's going to do the talking here? Plus, it would be strange if they were to go to your throne room and you are not present."

"As crazy as it may seem, Toadsworth, we are already in a tight situation. I'm allowing you to do it. Mario and the gang need all the help they can get." Peach answered. "I may be just a princess, but I don't want to exercise the thought that I am no help at all."

"..." With some thinking, he had to agree with a nod in understanding. "I see how it is, princess."

Loud sirens could be heard approaching the large group with many eyes staring at the source. Several police vehicles were coming their way. When one observe that many heading somewhere at a rapid speed, he or she could tell that something major was going on.

"...Go on, now."

"...Thank you, Toadsworth." Peach smiled beginning to take off. "I'll see you when we get back."

With the other allies opening doors and slamming them shut, right after they all took off. Toadsworth took a couple more moments to absorb everything in.

"...Be safe..."

It was until that moment he found out that literally every minion of the ruler of the Dark Lands was eyeing him. "...Now, what are you all looking at? Inside, now!" He commanded. "Ain't you ever seen a Toad before!"

While looking back at her castle, Toadette happened the be the one to grab her attention. "Good job back there, by the way. But, did you have to bring out a frying pan? I find it unprofessional..."

Her longtime friend sighed in her actions. "I was desperate, Toadette. Never before did I have to go through any of this. I could have just stood at the doorway and went from there, but I was acting without thinking, but I was acting without thinking. Besides, what if I was literally the last one remaining? I had to do something..."

She shrugged it off and looked at the couple members of the Toad Police. "Did you guys see the direction the airship was heading?"

"Do not worry, miss. We got it covered." The one in the passenger seat assured.

"Let's hope for the best, then." She concluded, yet she wasn't so sure how would things end up.

"Ludwig," a annoyed Wendy shouted. "could your driving be any slower?"

"You should know that this thing is at full speed, Wendy!" He yelled back without taking a glance at her. "Now, be quiet! Father's ship is becoming more visible."

Some of the Koopalings wanted to disagree with Wendy. Not one of them could recall if Ludwig ever drove that fast ever since he taught himself how to drive. And if one was staring at his hands, he or she would point out that Ludwig's hands never gripped that hard on the wheel.

Morton was shaking his needs from fear and nervousness. "...T-This is bad... V-Very, very bad... What if we don't make it? If we don't make it, we'll never catch up to dad's airship! And if we can't catch up to dad's airship, we'll never rescue Luigi and save dad! And if we can't rescue Luigi and save dad, then all hope is lost! Ludwig, you'd better step on it, or-"

"LUDWIG KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING, NOW PUT A LID ON IT!" Roy hollered at the top of his lungs. Unfortunately for him, Morton was the one who disagreed with Ludwig's driving skills along with Wendy.

Mario happened to be ignoring almost the entire conversation. It was as if his eyes were glued right on to Dry King Koopa's airship. As Ludwig claimed, they were nearing it. Soon, they would be able to snap back into action. All they needed was a perfect plan.

"...Thank you..." Ludwig thanked Roy in his mind as he kept on going. As he was driving, his mind chose to remember what happened back at Peach's castle. He didn't know why he was thinking of it just now, but he was remembering him jumping right onto the airship with Mario. Along with that, if Dry Bowser's minions never thrown off the airship, and if things escalated high enough, Ludwig could have fought Bowser, his only parent that remained. A feeling of guilt found its way into his system. The only children that would fight their own parents were the ones who were so disobedient that they would resort everything into violence if things didn't go their way. But, Ludwig was never a brat growing up. If any of his siblings, it would have been Wendy, Jr., and maybe Lemmy.

That was beside the point. Like going to the Mushroom Kingdom, fighting Bowser was the last thing he could ever wish to do. At every attempt he would try to attack him, he couldn't see how he could ever bring himself to finish the job. If there was any other option, he and his siblings would be all for it.

"Father..."

"Alright, everyone, here's the plan..." Mario interrupted the eldest Koopaling's thoughts. "When we get close enough to Bowser, a few of us have to stay here, of course. Someone has to control this ship and at least two of you have to guide him if necessary. He can't see in all directions at once. Also, we have to make sure this ship stays hidden, or else it would get shot down, this aircraft being armed or not. Bowser has more cannons than this."

"That means we have to stay close to him without being seen..." Roy answered. "But, how could we possibly jump to the ship if we're still far from reaching it?"

Larry looked dumbfounded. "...Wait a minute... You mean to tell me... that we have to jump?"

"It's the only way to get to dad, Larry." Lemmy responded.

"...W-Well, I'm not the best jumper, here..." Larry shifted his eyes away. "...I-I think it's best for me stay here..."

"A-Actually, the only people that can't jump that high are Lemmy and Jr, unless Lemmy uses his ball to bounce on..." Iggy recollected. "But, don't worry. We'll make it... Just as we approach the ship, each of us will have to jump across. Afterwards, Ludwig's ship will have to pull away, yet not too far so that he will lose track of dad's."

"... ..." Poor Lawrence gulped.

"Sounds good to me." Ludwig admitted, still not taking his eyes off his target. "Me, Lemmy, and Junior will stay here."

"Alright," Wendy nodded comprehending, subsequently facing the rest of her brothers and Mario. "So, which of one us is going first?"

Said brothers eyed each other for a few seconds, only to rotate their heads back to the only girl in the bunch again.

"...Me?" Her eyes began to become wider as she placed her right hand on her chest. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"Uh,..." Morton was trying his best to come up with an excuse. "...Ladies first...? ...You always say that before we go through those doors to eat back at dad's castle..."

"I'll go." Iggy raised his hand to his neck. "I'll go first so it'll cause less stress for you. I can catch you on the other side if you want."

"I will jump last to make sure everyone makes it alright." Mario with folded arms confirmed. "The thing is, we have to do this quickly and quietly. Ludwig, are we close enough to the ship yet?"

"Just about..."

"...Okay, then... Let's hop to it... No pun intended..." Morton Jr. spoke, he and the other jumpers walking to the end of the airship. The front of the ship was built to represent Ludwig Von Koopa's face so that he can be easily identified, the same applying for the rest for the rest of the Koopalings, minus Bowser Jr. The youngest son of the king was too young to own one at the time. To make it up for him, he owned a Koopa Clown Car like his father did, and he was satisfied in the end, not that he wasn't happy to begin with.

The end point of the airship was Ludwig's nose, meaning that the group of six had to be very cautious, unless they wanted to give up everything and jump to their head.

As he stated, Ignatius requested to go first. The tall one had all eyes on him as he took a few steps forward, as his older brother's ship was close enough to their father's. If he was asked, he would have confessed saying that he was terrified as well. Misjudging it could lead to a big consequence. He had to make this count.

Taking a deep breath and counting to three in his mind, he prepared himself by squatting down.

He then leaped. The ones who were accompanying him watched every second of it as the green-shelled Koopa launched himself through the air. Fortunately, he was able to make it onto Bowser's.

"I made it..."

None didn't have the chance to sigh in relief at that point. Now, it was Wendy's turn to get it over with. It was normal for someone to be filled with fear when it comes to taking risks.

"... ...Just act like you're jumping to attack Mario, and I'll be fine..."

With a scream, she found herself flying through the rushing air, ending up landing right in Iggy's arms.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just can't believe that I actually did it. You could have lost your only sister, you know-"

"Let's not think about worst case scenarios, right now..." He thrusted his hand out, refusing to soak that fact in. "It's Morton's turn..."

He was already walking to the starting point when suddenly, he stopped to ponder for a moment. "This might be easier than it looks... Maybe, I can make it from here... Here goes... 1... 2... 3!"

Sure, he was able to spring high enough so one could assume that it would count, but it couldn't. As he lowering, it was appearing as if he wasn't going to make the cut. And Morton was quick to realize that. His eyes widened.

Loud gasps were heard all around him as time seemed to be slowing down. Iggy didn't even give it a second thought as he rushed as fast as his legs could carry him to the edge of Bowser's ship. He extended his right arm to grab the dark-skinned one. Wendy knew she had to hold onto Iggy since Morton was heavier than him, in spite of the fact that the both of them were born before him.

Morton had to literally hold on to dear life as fear was swirling around fast. Him having the nerve to look down only made matters worse. His older brother and sister used all of their strength to pull him back to safety. All three of them falling down, they were facing the youngest of the trio with dissatisfied expressions.

"Morton Koopa Junior..." Ignatius's arms were crossed. "What made you believe that you were going to make that? Thanks to you, you're now making this look harder than it is! If we weren't standing here, no one could have saved you! Now you're making Larry even more frightened then he was before, and he's supposed to go next! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?"

Looking back, Larry was shakier than ever at what he just saw, even though he knew that it was out of his stupidity. "H-He barely made it... Imagine what I would do..."

Roy and Mario felt sorry for the blue-haired kind. The former decided to react first. "Want me to go first?"

"Huh?" He turned around before faking a smile. "...T-Thanks..."

The teenager knew he had to make this look as if it was not that difficult. Running to the edge of Ludwig's ship, he was in the air. Morton, Iggy, and Wendy took a few steps back to allow Roy some room. When he landed, Morton was the only one who rolled his eyes.

"Showoff..." He muttered.

"Says the one who almost fell to his doom..."

Now, Larry had no choice but to go next. It was now or never. With a second gulp, he took his first step to start making his way to the tip of Ludwig's nose on his airship. Regardless, before he could continue his walking, Mario placed both hands on his shoulders.

"Relax, you can do this. Just stay calm, and everything is going to be just fine. Focus."

Out of all people that would have encouraged him, it just had to be Mario. He was astounded at his words. Larry did hear that he was going to make sure everyone made the jump, but he didn't say that he was going to help anyone build up some courage. Nevertheless, it was just enough to make him believe that he could make it, without his feelings telling him otherwise. Like Iggy, he inhaled a rather deep breath. Consequently, he was soaring through the air, finally landing on his feet just seconds after.

When his eyes were perceiving his siblings, all of them had smiles, only making him do the same.

Mario had one on his face as well. But he was the only one besides Ludwig, Lemmy, and Jr. that was still on Ludwig's flying vehicle. Luckily for him, he was used to leaping all the time, hence to why he was nicknamed 'Jumpman' at one point. When he was on board, phase one of the plan was completed at long last.

I swear this has to be the longest chapter in a while. I knew this was going to beat 3,000 words, but now I am halfway to 4,000. And guess what? It's Tuesday evening, now. I typed the entire chapter in two days. Imagine what I could do for a week! With that being said, I am going to start typing chapter 13 on Wednesday! I'm expecting the chapter to be shorter than this one, so I know for sure that I can finish it by Thursday, and I'll be back on track!

Questions:

1. What is different between Bowser and Dry Bowser? Personality? Intelligence?

2. Toadette thought of a question to ask the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom. What do you guys think?

I'm having a special announcement to make in chapter 15! Stay tuned for that!

What do you like/dislike? I encourage everyone to review!