AN: I am so sorry for not updating! School has been a bit bumpy. Seriously, there are way too many projects that need to be done. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!

Chapter 11: Mission Complete and Tea Time

Samus, ROB, Donkey Kong and Mario set out to find Luigi.

Honestly, Mario did not know what Master Hand was thinking when he sent Luigi to buy the groceries. Seriously, did he see the storm? Mario shook his head with a sigh and tightened his grip on his umbrella. Bad luck just seems to follow his brother everywhere. Samus was in her Power Suit, which protected her from the rain. ROB had an enchantment cast over him in order for the rain to not affect him. Or is he an it? Oh well. Donkey Kong had nothing much on his mind; he only thought about what trouble Luigi got into again.

Master Hand told them that Luigi had been blown to the west part of Smashville where a forest was located. They entered the forest and the trees blocked out what little light there was and left them in darkness. Donkey Kong stopped when he noticed something strange. He called the attention of the other Smashers, to which they inspected what the gorilla had seen. The plants… no, the water was glowing.

Samus raised an eyebrow at this. Its glow was faint, but noticeable. She looked ahead and noticed that the plants were covered in the same glowing water. Could it be..?

The bounty hunter shook her head. "ROB," she called. Said robot turned to look at her. "Get some samples of the water," she commanded. She continued to trudge through the partially lit forest. Mario looked curiously at the glowing substance. What he was going to do was probably going to be stupid, but it's going to be worth it. He readied a maxim tomato, just in case. He took a small amount of the water on his finger, and cautiously licked it. Nothing.

Just when he thought that, a small wave of dizziness hit him. Mario blinked rapidly to get his eyes to focus again. He shook himself and followed Samus' lead. Meanwhile, Donkey Kong was extremely confused as to why the liquid was glowing, while ROB collected a sample of it.

"How does your brother keep on getting into these kinds of situations?" she asked Mario. Said Smasher shrugged, a worried look etched on to his face.

"I have no idea."

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Luigi was cold.

He took shelter under a small, damp, and positively freezing cave. His teeth chattered and he shivered violently. He felt so weak and pathetic. He sneezed for what might have been the twentieth time-he didn't really know-and whimpered. The rain pattered against the ground outside of the cave. The fire he built was sputtering dangerously, probably on the verge of going out.

Luigi shifted closer, and as fate would have it, which was the exact time the fire was extinguished. Luigi stared at the remaining pile of sticks and let out an oh-so-miserable wail. Why him? Did the world hate him so much as to take away what was probably his only source of warmth?

He sobbed and thunder boomed at that exact same time, causing the poor boy to jump, startled out of his mind.

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Samus grunted as she pushed away another set of leaves that just happened to be in her way.

Behind her, the other Smashers struggled to catch up with the bounty hunter. The forest was growing thicker and darker, making the little glowing droplets of water all the more obvious. Samus looked up exasperatedly at the darkening sky, splotches of orange and dark blue scattered about. The sun was setting, for Pete's sake!

While the bounty hunter was annoyed, Mario was getting increasingly worried. Donkey Kong didn't seem to make much of it, and ROB just followed them.

Samus paused as she caught sight of a faint glow coming from a cave a few feet away. Mario stopped behind her and gave a surprised yelp as the gorilla Smasher slammed into him. "Be more aware next time DK," he said. Donkey Kong shrugged and walked cautiously to the cave. The group jumped as they heard a miserable wail come out of the cave, one that sounded suspiciously like Luigi, just as the light went out. He peeked inside and just when Samus was going to stop him, he caught sight of a figure covered in a yellow cloth. He grunted to gain the figure's attention, and gods bless his soul, finally found Luigi.

Samus peeked in not long after, releasing a relieved sigh as she saw the man. "Luigi," she called. She wasn't really surprised to find the green plumber's eyes puffy and red, probably from crying.

Luigi, meanwhile, never thought he would be this happy to see some of his fellow Smashers. His eyes widened as Mario stepped beside the bounty hunter. "Lu-"

Before he could even finish, Luigi already tackled him in a big hug, almost squeezing the life out of him. Mario pushed his brother off gently and offered him a smile. "Hey bro," he greeted. Luigi burst into tears of joy and enveloped his brother in a hug once more. Donkey Kong watched them with a small smile on his face, while Samus looked indifferent.

"Touching, but maybe you guys could continue when we get back to the mansion," she grumbled. Mario nodded and led Luigi out of the cave, sharing his umbrella with his younger sibling.

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Andie just finished her snack when she spotted the other girls. She smiled and waved at them, the girls happily returning the gesture. She moved to make space on the bench, Peach plopping down right next to her. "How are you doing?" she asked. Andie nodded and muttered a small 'fine'. Zelda sat down next to her, checking one of the windows nearby. The warlord noticed that the sky was getting dark.

"When do you think they'll come back?" she asked. Peach shrugged while Zelda's eyebrows furrowed.

"They should be back sometime around now. Missions like these usually last for only a few hours," she answered. Andie nodded thankfully to the princess. They engaged in small talk and talked about their home worlds. Nothing much really happened during their chat. Andie jumped when a voice suddenly boomed.

"The mission has been completed."

Andie stared around, baffled, while trying to search for the source of the voice. Peach giggled while Zelda stifled her laugh behind her hand. Andie grumbled and straightened herself. "Someone's grumpy," Red teased. The warlord mentally scoffed at the dragon, standing up along with the other girls.

"Let's go," Peach said. Andie nodded and followed after the two girls. Soon, they arrived in the living room. It was ridiculously spacious, almost as if it could fit more than sixty people in it. There were round, glass tables, chairs, and couches scattered around, a large, thin, black rectangular object hanging in the middle of the room. Andie smiled to herself. It almost reminded her of the castle.

"There they are!" Zelda exclaimed. Princess Peach immediately ran to the group of Smashers, kissing Mario on the nose and hugging Luigi and Samus. Zelda followed after the pink princess and waved at the group. Andie nodded at Samus and she nodded back.

"I baked some cookies. Do you guys want to eat?" she asked as she approached Andie, the group following behind her. Donkey Kong clapped loudly, Mario and Samus smiled, while ROB didn't do anything. Zelda nodded with a smile.

"You bake cookies?" the warlord asked. Peach nodded happily and Zelda laughed. "When did you bake cookies?"

"She probably baked them a few minutes ago. Why didn't you tell us?" Zelda asked. A playful smile was plastered on her face.

"I wanted to surprise you guys!" Peach replied. Andie laughed and nodded. Princess Peach squealed and grabbed the others, including the warlord, and dragged them along with her. A small smile formed on Andie's lips. Is this what it is like to have friends? She never interacted with the warriors in her army much. Whenever she did, it was only on emergencies. They respected her, yet feared her enough to leave her to her own business.

The only people to even acknowledge her as a friend were Lily and Hailey. Her eyes glazed over at the thought of the two girls. They were loyal to her, and she was loyal to them. The princess was mostly busy, so they engaged in chats whenever they could. Hailey barely left her alone when she just entered the army. Andie found that amusing.

"Day dreaming?"

The warlord sighed. I was thinking, she replied. The dragon chuckled.

"Are you sure that Lily and Hailey are the only people to acknowledge you as a friend?" she inquired. Andie laughed softly to herself. You're not exactly a person, Red, she thought. Before Red could reply, she was snapped out of her thoughts when Peach took a sharp turn to the right. She twisted in a few more directions, and finally stopped in front of a glass door.

It had floral décor on it, a few vine patterns around the edges. Andie looked at the sign beside the door.

"The garden?" she asked. She looked at Samus and the bounty hunter nodded.

"It's usually the place where she hosts tea parties," she explained. Andie nodded and walked in after Peach opened the door. The others followed behind her. The warlord looked around in curiosity and awe. It was… beautiful. A few trees were scattered around, vines crawling down their trunks. What was interesting about them though, was that the leaves came in a rainbow of colors.

The grass was green and fresh, swaying slightly as a soft breeze blew. Flower beds decorated the garden as if they were splotches of paint on a canvas. The sky was blue, a few clouds floating around. The sun shone brightly and warmly, casting a feeling of peace around the place. A table and a few chairs sat on the middle, teapots, teacups, and plates neatly arranged on the wooden surface.

"Hey, Andie?"

Andie focused her attention on the dragon's voice. What?

"I have a feeling that we're floating."

Andie would have looked at Red incredulously. Floating? She looked around the large area, looking for some kind of end. She noticed a glass dome surrounding the garden.

"Floating?" she asked herself. Peach glanced at her, surprised.

"You already figured it out?" she asked. Andie looked at the princess with a confused expression.

"Figured what out?"

"That the garden is floating."

Well, that certainly explains it. She gaped at the princess. That was impossible! They could not be floating without any kind of support. Zelda noticed her expression and chuckled. "It's called magic, Andie. You better get used to it, because you'll be seeing that a lot around here. Now come on, we have a tea party to be in," she said. Andie nodded dumbly and followed her.

The group settled in and Peach went to get the cookies. Andie poured herself a cup of tea. She hummed pleasantly as the warm and sweet taste of the drink filled her mouth. The others followed soon after, relishing in the honey-sweet taste. The warlord soon felt Red growl in jealousy.

I'll save you some, she thought with an amused smile.

"I'm back!" Peach chirped, holding a tray of chocolate chip cookies. Andie sniffed the delicious scent and licked her lips. They eagerly claimed the cookies, devouring it in seconds. Peach sighed and shook her head.

"I'll go get more."

With that said, she went back into the mansion. Andie looked up at the clear, blue sky, still munching on the sweet cookie. She took a sip of tea and smiled to herself as a thought crossed her mind.

She could get used to this, having more friends and all that.

AN: I finally finished it! Once again, I'm so so so sorry for not updating. I hope that you like this chapter. Please leave a review and fav! Bye! Did i mention that the garden is like a whole other world? Heh, Andie didn't seem to realize that while it was nighttime when she looked out the window in the mansion, it was daytime when she looked at the sky in the garden.