Author's Note: Ah, how symbolic. Three milestones all in one day. Twentieth chapter, total word count exceeds 100,000, and this new chapter posted on the first day of my birthmonth. If only I were turning twenty this month, this would be more symbolic, but alas, I've gotten to this point one year too early. Ah well. Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 20: "Judgment"

Man, things sure felt weird that day. What was up with all those Nokobons walking around in groups like that, wearing their sunglasses and jumping in and out of their limos as if it were the most normal thing in the world? Mona could swear she saw at least two groups of them on her way home-

Hello... What was this? A cell phone. Just sitting there on the sidewalk. Did someone drop it? Well, duh, someone had to have dropped it. Who would go just leaving cell phones lying around like that?

Mona took a few seconds to look around.

Nobody coming from the direction of the cemetery.

Nobody walking up from the nearby toy store.

Even the road was totally empty.

Hm...

"Should I?" Mona muttered to herself uncertainly as she stared down at the phone. What if someone was looking for it? What if that person really, really needed that phone? What if someone's life depending on finding their phone and making an all-important call...?

Well, they shoulda been a bit more careful then huh?

Mona soon knelt down and scooped the discarded phone up into her hand. Her heart pounded furiously as she slipped it into her pocket inconspicuously and casually walked off. After a few steps, her entire body couldn't help but shake due to the intense tingling sensation that suddenly overcame her. A smile soon spread across her lips as her pace picked up a fair bit.

She just official "stole" her very first item.

–

"Sarasaland thanks you for your cooperation, Your Highness," the Sarasaland Magikoopa ambassador said with a cordial bow before King Toadstool. The two of them presided in the throne room, the black-garbed Magikoopa insisting that his presence would be neither lengthy nor important enough to deserve moving to the meeting room. "We have located Princess Daisy. Our time here has ended. I shall return to my kingdom, and, as always, it was a pleasure to be in your company once again.

"Take care Kamarillo," the king returned as the Magikoopa simply turned around and disappeared on the spot.

His visitor having taken his leave, the king decided it was high time he take his daily constitutional of the castle. Aside from Sarasa's request to search for Daisy, the day was remarkably uneventful. It was quite the rare occurrence that he actually had the whole day to do as he pleased. So rare in fact that he actually couldn't make up his mind about what to do with his time. Until Kamarillo's appearance, he simply stood atop his balcony and looked down at the town in silent contemplation about what activity he should occupy himself with.

"Perhaps I should go on a vacation sometime soon," he found himself muttering as he walked down one of the many castle hallways at quite the leisurely pace. It truly had been too long since he last treated himself to some time off. He needed to reintroduce himself to the part of his world that wasn't made up of nothing but appointment after appointment.

"Father, there you are. I've been looking for you."

Hm. Perhaps he could start by talking with his daughter, yet another activity he seemed to rarely partake in those days. Ever since she started going to that public school, he'd began to see less and less of her. It had been barely over a week, but he was beginning to feel as if the two of them were becoming strangers to one another.

"Ah, Peach, what's on your mind?" Toadstool asked with a smile, happy to see that his daughter was actually seeking his company. What a perfect beginning to his new free time. Little did he expect her to question him about the outcome of his own decisions made earlier that day.

"If I'm not mistaken, I witnessed King Sarasa's search party combing the town..." Peach began uncertainly, prompting a nod from her father, though his smile soon faded in reaction to the hint of desperate energy in his daughter's voice.

"Yes, Sarasa sent his envoy to ask permission to search for Princess Daisy," Toadstool answered to Peach's dread. "He didn't give me any details. I can only assume her father wanted her to return to the castle. Not that he had to gain my permission anyway, Daisy is not a registered citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom after all."

"We must contest the king immediately," Peach suddenly spoke up with a stern voice, causing her father to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Why do you say that? We can't possibly contest King Sarasa for taking away his own daughter," Toadstool responded as Peach firmly grabbed on to his hand and began to pull him toward the main hallway of the castle at a surprisingly quick pace, causing him to stumble and trip quite ungracefully. "Peach, what are you... Can you slow down just a little... Where do you find all this energy..."

"Daisy wasn't the only person they took with them Father," Peach finally explained as she came to a sudden stop in the main hall, causing Toadstool to jerk to a halt as well, his crown nearly sliding off his head. He quickly regained his composure in front of the guests his daughter led him to, straightening his attire as a mix of furious, sad, and hurt eyes all stared at him. And just as quickly as he regained his physical composure, his mental stability seemed to falter, for it was rare that he was presented with a line of such of unsavory expressions.

Peach soon left her father's side and stepped over to the farthest left side of the line, next to a teenage boy dressed mostly in red, who seemed to look a mixture of upset and shocked.

"I wish I could have told you under better circumstances, but...this is my father," Peach half whispered to Mario, though she spoke loud enough for the rest to hear as well. Everyone, including the king, looked over at Peach with mixed reactions. She said she was going to fetch her father, who might be able to help, but never did they expect her to return with the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom himself...

Mario was admittedly surprised, but seemed able to get over it much more quickly than his mother or father next to him, who held each other in comforting arms, or Toad, who stood on the far right, holding his elbow as he shifted his gaze back and forth constantly. Of them all, he seemed the most shocked, and the pain in his limb seemed to completely disappear as he turned his attention to the newly uncovered information. Peach quickly made it a point not to dwell on the new fact though and soon began to explain the situation to her father.

"When the search party found Daisy, they took someone else with them at the same time," Peach spoke up, breaking through the slight awkwardness she herself created. "They took someone very close to her too, and someone who is very close to all of us here. His name is Luigi. He is a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario's brother," she continued, indicating Mario with a slight shift of hands, "Mr. and Mrs. Segale's son, Toad's best friend, and my friend as well."

King Toadstool looked at the lot with wide eyes. The mother was nearly in tears, the father only holding his back in an attempt to remain strong for his wife. The brother held a certain intensity in his eyes, appearing determined to do whatever it possibly took to remedy the situation that Toadstool accidently and unknowingly brought upon his family. The friend continued to look shocked as ever, still appearing unable to believe that Peach was truly royalty.

King Toadstool then took note that the young Toad was still holding his elbow.

"Did something happen to your arm?" he asked quite randomly as Toad's gaze suddenly shot over to the king and everyone else's turned to him. The teenager seemed unable to handle the situation with grace, for never in his wildest dreams did he ever expect to actually get to meet royalty, let alone be friends with a member of the family or have a king ask him about his wound. The moment almost felt overwhelming for him, but he quickly collected himself and succeeded in remaining as calm as possible.

"It's just a scrape," Toad informed, uncovering a rather nasty, bloody wound that was littered with pieces of rock and gravel. He quickly covered it back up, figuring it probably wasn't such a great idea to speak so casually or to show his gross injury to someone of such high status. "Um, Your Highness...King Toadstool," he added nervously, shrinking back slightly in embarrassment.

However, to his surprise, the king actually took a few steps closer and reached out for Toad's injured arm. He lifted it up gently, silently asking Toad to uncover the wound as he inspected it for a second time.

"How did this occur?" he asked with a soft voice, causing Toad to break out in a light sweat as everyone continued to watch him. They wanted to know the answer too, for he never bothered to tell them what happened.

"Well, um...Your Highness..." he stuttered nervously. It was completely unlike him to act so nervous like that. Perhaps being in the face of royalty truly did have that effect on some people. "I was the one who found out that the search party from Sarasaland took Luigi..." he continued as best he could. "I was just, um...walking down the street, and I saw this big group of Nokobon guys surrounding Daisy and Luigi. It looked like they were about to fight or something, so I went over and um, tried to break it up, but one of the Nokobons rammed into me and I landed on my elbow."

"I see," King Toadstool muttered, furrowing his eyebrows as a frown slowly came to his lips. Sarasa may have had permission to search his town, but kidnapping one of Toadstool's own citizens and causing injury to another... That was not a part of the deal.

"Peach, would you kindly take your friend to the infirmary for me? We need to stanch his wound before it runs the risk of becoming infected."

"Yes Father," Peach obeyed, walking over to the other side of the group and signaling for Toad to follow her. It took him a moment, for he suddenly gained a massive amount of interest in his injury. He never did notice just how much gravel was stuck in there. In all the excitement of the situation, he didn't even take time to observe the severity of his own wound. He soon snapped out of it however and turned to follow Peach. Before the two could go very far though, Peach came to a sudden halt and turned to her father.

"What are we going to do?" she asked simply, causing Toadstool to slowly look around at the group once more.

Before him stood the weeping mother, the worried father, the determined brother, and the concerned, injured friend...all looking back at him, waiting for his answer.

As he gazed around, he couldn't help but feel oddly attached to these people. Never before had he been all that concerned about the welfare of his citizens, but, somehow, this time, it just seemed different. He didn't know if it was because he actually saw the pains of these innocent victims in person, or because his daughter appeared to care so much about them, or because he simply felt obligated to live up to the title of a fair and just king, but he felt truly concerned about them all, as well as about this Luigi fellow. He felt that he had to do something to set things straight.

"Under King Sarasa's orders, a citizen of my kingdom has been taken without my consent: kidnapping," the king began, looking slightly downward and away as if setting himself into deep contemplation. "King Sarasa's men aggressively attacked an innocent citizen of my kingdom without provocation: assault. Two charges we can press them on right there."

The entire group seemed to get the king's message almost immediately and smiles soon spread all around. Mario, who appeared ready to put up a fight to convince the king to help his brother, let his defenses down with ease as his mother grinned brightly at the suddenly compassionate king, her large cheeks slightly stained with running tears.

"You can put your faith in me," King Toadstool continued, unconsciously smiling as well, seeming absorb the positive energy of everyone around him. "I promise you, I will have Luigi back as soon as possible. And I will surely be able to fetch you a hefty consolation for your injury at the hands of his men," he added with a smile towards Toad, who couldn't help but beam from ear to ear.

"Thank you," was all Mario could get himself to say. It was all anyone could say at that moment. But the king quickly disregarded the comment, remembering that it was his own shortsightedness that got everyone into that situation in the first place.

Still though, it felt oddly satisfying. As he insisted that Luigi's family explore the castle with a Toad guard guiding them, King Toadstool felt as if he were on top of the world.

Over the years, it seemed like he'd forgotten what it meant to be King. It wasn't only to sit on his throne and make sure everything remained in working order like some machine. He was the leader of an entire kingdom of peoples. And it was him that those people looked to for answers in their times of need and worry. It had been so long since a time like that had occurred though; it was almost as if doing his job so well that nothing ever went wrong was actually producing negative effects on him as a person. And it took him that event, that lack of his own judgment that caused a person's family and friends to suffer, to realize that he was there for his people. He was there to guide his people, to comfort his people, and to protect his people. And, though the situation itself certainly wasn't positive, it certainly felt pleasant to be reminded of just who he was as a king.

Well, it looked like that free time that was bugging him earlier was about to be put to some very good use.

–

Luigi was scared stiff. He and Daisy had been captured hours ago, yet he was still unable to believe that he was actually being taken to Sarasaland without any kind of reasoning as to why. He was even more distressed by Daisy's condition however, for she lied nearly motionless on a seat across from him, her hands and feet shackled, guarded on both ends by two Nokobons keeping a very close watch over her as four other Nokobons seemed to shift between staring at Luigi and gazing out the window uninterestedly.

Daisy put up a rather ferocious fight once the two of them were finally cornered by quite the mass of Nokobons back in Toad Town. She was terribly outnumbered, and Luigi's compromised predicament (not to mention his sheer fear of the situation) rendered him unable to help much, if at all. Still, she fought the Nokobons tooth and nail single-handedly, and actually managed to take a fair number of them down in the process. In the end though, one of them blindsided her with a harshly power shell shot to the back of her head, sending her to ground and knocking her out instantly.

Luigi was afraid she might be dead, and even a few of the Nokobons feared that their force was too strong with her, but, upon closer inspection, it was discovered that she was still breathing, thankfully. None of them wanted to have to resort to brute violence to subdue the princess, but it appeared that she left them with no other option. And, by the looks of it, Luigi wasn't about to put up a fight. Whether it was because he was in handcuffs, he was too worried about Daisy, or simply because he was too cowardly, he was easily maneuvered into an escort limo, along with the unconscious princess.

They'd been en route to the castle for about six hours. The early Sarasan evening wore the moon as its pendant only moments after the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. The limousine caravan had just barely entered the capitol of the Chai region. Even though the town looked as if it were a century or two behind the times, it still held a sort of feudal-era dignity about. The architecture of the buildings was quite low tech, most of them being made of simple wood and, occasionally, bricks. The streets were very alive, but very few cars zipped here and there, for most of the town's inhabitants chose to simply walk. The area was certainly contained enough to do so without very much hassle; much like Toad Town, it seemed like just about everything was right around the corner near the center of town, whereas the outliers of its boundaries contained residencies.

Everything about the place seemed oddly fascinating, from the street lights wrapped in paper-mache to the towering castle at the head of the town that not only commanded dominance by its size, but also by the fact that it appeared to be intricately designed out of mostly brick as opposed to the common wood. Luigi almost forgot that he didn't want to be there as he looked around. For a brief moment, he felt as if he were on a vacation to an exotic foreign land, but he quickly remembered that he was no tourist. He was a captive, forced to be there against his will. And he had no clue exactly what fate awaited him.

Daisy let out a low groan, finally rendering herself back into conscious as she stirred slightly in her seat. Everyone immediately turned their attention to her, Luigi with hopeful, sad eyes, the remainder with fearful, unsure eyes. Nobody knew how she was going to react upon reawakening. Would she go off on a rampage, despite being shackled at her hands and feet? Would she scream and yell until everyone's ears bled? All anyone could do was sit and wait for the outcome.

"Mmm," she muttered weakly, lifting her head up slightly, only to have it fall right back into its previous position. She gave a noticeable wince of pain as a tear strained itself out of her eye. For the first time since they lied her down, the large group of rider could see the back of her head for a brief moment. And what they observe sent a jolt through each of their hearts, Luigi's the mostly.

Her hair was matted with dry blood, and the cushion underneath was stained with a fair amount of it as well. It was a wonder nobody ever noticed the remarkably large stain, despite the fact it was rather well hidden. But, now that they'd seen it, they all couldn't help but worry. The princess would have to be rushed to a medical center immediately. And who knew just how the king was going to react to that...

Daisy head then turned slightly, resting on her cheek and exposing its backside once more to several Nokobons who looked on at it with great displeasure. Luigi couldn't help but let several tears escape as Daisy's eyes forced themselves open and looked directly into his. Or, as it felt, right past his. She smiled though. A weak, fragile smile, but a smile nonetheless. One that Luigi hated to see, yet wished would last forever.

"...Luigi," she managed to mutter after several seconds, appearing to shift in and out of consciousness at a distressing pace, her eyes fluttering open and closed as she struggled to control herself. All Luigi could do was watch as she dealt with her internal struggle, and the guards all around appeared unable to figure out just what to do as Daisy continued to speak. "I'm glad... I- ...I..."

Her mind felt so scattered. She couldn't even form the sentence she wanted to speak in her own mind. Her thoughts seemed to escape her, while at the same time return for but a brief moment, only to disappear yet again. She couldn't figure out what was going on. Her own brain was in an utterly frenzied state of confusion.

Fourth grade- All I could- Mom- My first kiss- I'm-

Peasley- Fairy tales- glad-

Not real- He passed every class- Happily ever- I don't want- I...met...

They're not- What happens after- Love- Real- You-

...Not real- ...Not real- You- You're not-

Fairy tales- No such thing- Not- Not- Not- Real.

You're...not...real... Fairy tales...are not...real... Love...is not...real...

"Not real," Daisy muttered allowing her eyes to close as her head returned to its previous position, covering the bloodied cushion once again. "It's not real..."

Though they were utterly perplexed by her words, everyone could silently and unanimously agree upon one thing: Daisy needed medical attention, fast.

Before that though, the guards decided it might be best to come up with a cover story. No doubt the king would be furious if the Nokobons informed him that it was one of them that inflicted such an injury to the princess. He may not have liked her much, but she was still his daughter, and something like that was definitely not gonna fly.

"Just tell him this kid did it," one of the Nokobons suggested as he assisted one of his partners in the act of unshackling Daisy. "He's already going to the dungeon anyway, may as well make his sentence even longer."

"What!? But you guys-"

"Shut up," another one of the Nokobons commanded, standing on his hind legs and smacking Luigi hard across the face. "Like anything you say's gonna change our minds."

"Yeah kid, just keep yourself quiet over there," a third Nokobon joined in. "I think we're gonna need a bit more of a story though. I mean, the kid needs a reason to hurt Daisy like that."

"We can tell Sarasa that, when we found them, we tried to take them in all calm-like, but the kid overreacted when we told him that Daisy was a princess and blamed her for dragging him into this mess," a fourth Nokobon constructed, prompting nods of agreements from his colleagues.

"Yeah, that sounds believable enough," the third Nokobon said affirmatively. "So we just hand over Daisy, nice and unshackled, tell him the story, and we're home free."

The rest of the Nokobons nodded in hearty agreement as Luigi simply stared at Daisy unconscious body, tears escaping his eyes as thoughts of the once rough and tumble princess reduced to a helpless, fragile being raced through his mind.

What in the world was going on? Everything just seemed to move way too fast. Just earlier that day, he and Daisy were laughing together over lunch, and, now, he was handcuffed and she was bloody and unconscious... How did things change so drastically so fast...?

All he wanted to do was be back at home. With his family, laughing and chatting over a warm dinner that he probably cooked. His brother at his side, his mother and father there with him. He wanted Daisy to be back with her aunt, uncle, and cousin, playing sports and cheering for each other in their backyard, perhaps with Mister Monty relaxing and enjoying a cool Chuckola Cola. He wanted Toad, Tess, and Daisy defending Peach from the likes of Doog and his merciless advances. He wanted everything to be the way it was before.

But what he had was this...

–

"And that's the whole story Your Highness," the Nokobon elected out of the group to deliver the fib concluded with a bow to a rather unimpressed king.

"I see," Sarasa said quite simply, looking down from his throne at the confident Nokobon, over to a quivering, sniffling, frightened Luigi, and finally to a highly distressed Lakilulu who floated just next to his throne. According to the information Sarasa received from his own right-hand the previous night, most every aspect of the Nokobon's story was completely untrue. Plus, simply observing the wreck of a boy seemed to hint that he would never have the constitution to inflict such a serious injury on someone he had feelings for. Or, really, anyone for that matter.

Disappointed in his servant's blatantly fabricated lie, Sarasa decided to give the peon a second chance at redemption. "Is that truly everything, or do you wish to tell me more?"

"No Your Highness, that is everything," the Nokobon ensured, much to Sarasa's displeasure. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Very well. If you cannot come up with a better lie, than I suppose I have no other choice," he spoke up, surprising the Nokobon and Luigi a fair bit, though Lakilulu appeared unchanged. She was obviously much more worried about the condition of the princess than the fate of the two that stood before her.

"My Lord-"

"You have no right to call me your Lord you insignificant worm," Sarasa shot acidly, causing the Nokobon to wince slightly. "How dare you come before me and tell me such a lie!"

"But, King Sarasa-"

"The health of my daughter, the future queen of this land, is in peril, and all you can think about is saving your own shell!" Sarasa continued, ignoring the unfaithful servant. "This boy obviously does not have the will or character to commit such an act! Look at him, he can barely stand before us as it is! What could he possibly hope to gain by injuring my daughter in such a fashion!? I doubt he could even do it if he tried!"

"But-"

"I do not know why I continue to waste my breath on the likes of you," Sarasa cut him off once more. "You have single-handedly shamed all of Sarasaland this day. You, and whoever servants helped you come up with such a ridiculous accusation, are hereby permanently banned from this land. You," he pointed at a Chibibo guard near the door, who promptly saluted, despite his Goomba-like body, "see this cretin and his lackeys out of this castle immediately. Should you see them ever again, do not refrain from showing hostile force."

"Sir!" the Chibibo guard shouted out before quickly rushing forward and roughly pushing the Nokobon in the direction of the door.

"But-But-But!" the Nokobon repeated until the doors closed behind him and the guard, sealing off his voice from the king's ears once and for all. Sarasa shortly closed his eyes and gently pressed two fingers against the sides of them as he let out a sigh.

"People. They always want for nobody but themselves. Selfish. The lot of them," he muttered under his breath, causing Lakilulu to gaze over at him with a perplexed look on her face. She'd heard many of the king's personal sayings in the past, but that one was completely new to her.

She hadn't much time to reflect on it however, for Sarasa soon returned his gaze back down to Luigi, who continued to quiver, though less violently, and look up at him, though Sarasa could tell the boy wanted to look away quite badly.

He was a fragile child. Skinny, weak in both body and spirit, completely without composure. What in the world did Daisy ever see in that boy? He was a shivering mess of shattered nerves just standing there. And that girl honestly preferred him over Peasley? That was hardly believable.

Believable or not though, that was, indeed, the boy Lakilulu claimed she saw with Daisy just the previous night. And he was finally within his custody. It was only a simple matter of settling his sentence and-

"E-Excuse me, Sir, um, I mean, Your Highness," Luigi spoke up, surprising both the king and his aide. Neither of them expected him to actually say anything. "If I, um- If I may ask. Why exactly are you, um, are you doing this?"

"Doing what boy?" Sarasa asked, having already grown weary of hearing Luigi speak. "Why did I take you from your home? Why am I about to imprison you?"

"No, um... I mean, Daisy," Luigi continued, nervous as ever as both the king and Lakilulu watched him, both of whom, for some reason, showed a slight hint of surprise that he was not asking about himself. "Daisy told me that, um-that you have her set up for a uh, a planned marriage. B-But, that's not what she wants."

"Daisy is too young and naïve to understand what I am doing for her," Sarasa answered, still slightly surprised at Luigi's selfless question. "But I do not think it is her you should be worrying about so much as yourself."

"But...what are you doing for her?" Luigi persisted, boldly ignoring the king's hint to discontinue the subject as a little strength returned to his voice. "Is it really worth it to...to um, to make Daisy unhappy just so your plans..."

"Enough boy, you have already far exceeded your boundaries for questioning," Sarasa cut Luigi short, though, where agitation should have been, a small inkling of wonder shone through. This commoner appeared so fragile, yet he was so bold as to press the king himself for answers about his devices. Not once had Sarasa ever met anyone with the sheer courage to stand up to him and question his ways. But, as respectable as that was, it was also incredibly irritated. That boy deserved to ask one question and receive only one answer.

How long is my sentence?

"You will be held in our dungeons for up to one week," Sarasa informed, causing Luigi to look down toward the ground as he appeared to think. "I'm sure someone from your home will notice we have you in captivity and travel here to retrieve you by then. And if not, you may return to your kingdom with the aid of a personal assistant once your time has been done. However, if you should ever even gaze upon my daughter ever again before she is to be wed, I will have you returned to the dungeon for an undetermined amount of time. That is my ruling.

"Lakilulu, escort him to the dungeon," Sarasa commanded, prompting a nod from Lakilulu.

The Lakitu lady floated forth, silently urging Luigi to follow her, which he did without hesitation. For whatever reason, he wasn't scared. Not for himself at least. The fact that he was going to be in a dungeon for as long as a full week wasn't scary. Knowing that he'd be kept in some cell until someone got him or until he was granted his freedom wasn't scary. What was scary was thinking about Daisy.

Was she going to be okay? Would she be able to bounce back from her head wound? How would it change her, going back to being a "full-time" princess? How would it change her, going back to her father? Would she still be the same Daisy everyone remembered and loved? So many questions, and no clear answer for a single one of them...

Mere moments after Lakilulu's and Luigi's departure, the door to Sarasa's throne room door flew open, alarming the mass of Sarasa's guards within the room, as well as Sarasa himself, once he discerned the figure that so rudely burst in.

The figure quickly slammed the door shut behind him and press his body up against it with his full might, obviously fighting off quite the formidable force that wanted to see him on the other side.

"Hey, can you call these guys off or something!?" the man managed to get out between strained grunts as the door threatened to explode open underneath the pressure. Sarasa quickly stood and took in a sharp breath.

"CEASE!!" he bellowed as loudly as he could, causing the force on the opposite side of the door to die down almost immediately, allowing the figure time to breathe as he turned around, rested his back against the door, and took in a deep, laughing breath.

"Haha, that's kinda cool. Wish I could do that with the interns at work," he spoke up as he continued to breathe heavily. The man appeared to be quite bruised, obviously having weathered a number of blunt strikes along his way up to the room. Among his battered features included a bloody nose and a limp leg, which he noticeably leaned off of as he began to head forward toward the king. The guards at the king's side immediately stepped forward in an attempt to strike, but Sarasa immediately settled them down.

"I knew I was an undesirable and all that...but damn bro...kill-on-sight?" the man chuckled as he continued to hobble forward. "What, do I got a bounty on my head out here? You hate me that much now?"

"What do you want Juno?" Sarasa spat, refusing to even look at the battered prince any longer as he finally came to a stop, a dozen feet away from the throne and six feet from the guards, all ready to attack.

"What else would I come all the way out to Sarasaland for?" Jeff answered nonchalantly, giving a shrug as he did so. "To see my bro."

Footnote: If you're wondering how I came up with that last name for Mario's and Luigi's family, I actually did a little research. See, Shigeru Miyamoto himself said that Mario's and Luigi's last name is actually Mario ('Tis why they're called the "Mario" Brothers after all, though Mario Mario just sounds awkward.) However, I looked all the way back to when Mario was just known as Jumpman, and I learned that Mario was named after the landlord of the building in which Nintendo of America used to operate back then. The guy's name? Mario Segale. So I just stole that name and used it here. Hope nobody minds.