Chapter Sixty-Two
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Mario or its franchise; it belongs to
Nintendo and their affiliates. I just am really grateful to its creators for giving
me such a wonderful game and media series to write about!
I also don't own anything related to Harry Potter, all that belongs to J.K. Rowling,
but thanks go to her as well because, using her wonderful work, I can expand this
story to make it more interesting.
I also don't own anything related to Naruto if you see me throw a little of that in, too
For once Daisy knew where she was when traveling with the two most incorrigible individuals on the planet. At first she was clueless as she rode on one of the League's monster horses—she got her own ride in lieu of what happened last time, a small victory for her—but she soon recognized where they were right after they crossed time zones. It was night when they left Arid City and night here; that affirmed what she believed about the location.
I knew I remembered this place, she thought, slowing down on her horse. She used to visit this kingdom with her parents long ago and she'd always thought it was so ironic how close this was to Arid Kingdom: one country was bone-dry while the other was barely more than a collection of islands. She remembered how, every time her family went on vacation here, it was like the whole country was partying with them. Tourism was big here, accounting for most of the nation's revenue. Tonight was a fine example of that, for as she and her group stopped on a cliff overlooking the beach and ocean below, she could see tons of people having fun.
It's beautiful, Daisy thought, climbing down from her horse. She held the reins of the red-eyed beast beside her and gazed down at the enchanting scene below.
People were all dancing and mingling and laughing and having a good time. There were some men and women in uniforms, carrying around food and drinks for everyone, and even they had smiles on their faces as they swiped a few wares when no one was watching. The music was coming from somewhere and feature strings and drums and an upbeat rhythm that was easy to move to. The princess smiled wistfully to herself as she watched young women in sarongs and revealing clothes flirt and run around with handsome and interesting young men. There were older people there, too, content to stand around having drinks and long conversations. The area was lit by a series of hanging lanterns, joined by criss-crossing lines of wire that was wrapped around tall beams driven into the ground like trees.
I wish, Daisy thought, a fantasy of herself and Luigi blending into the mix popping into her head. She missed him. She missed having fun. The cool air blowing her hair around her face, the scent of good food and salty seawater, the sand under her bare feet and the entire night ahead of her; that's what she wanted right then. She just wanted to pull out of this grim reality and escape for a moment.
Daisy sighed. That wasn't happening anytime soon. It looked like she wasn't alone in that regard, though, because one glance at Munson had her sensing a kindred sort of spirit in the young man. Munson wasn't dressed like her. While she was ready for a fight, he looked more like the people down on the beach. He had on a long-sleeved white shirt that was silky but light and had buttons all the way up to the collar. His pants, black and plain, were just as nice. It was funny how he looked like he came from money and his father looked like he came from the black lagoon.
Poor kid, Daisy stared at the boy. She couldn't imagine having Callian as a relative. She looked to the older sorcerer now and frowned. The League leader was talking with Bowser off to the side. Daisy went over to them, passing up the twenty-odd League members on the way. She saw Roy sitting on a rock near his father and she had the same feelings towards him as she did towards Munson.
You can't choose family, but I hope they turn out better than their fathers, she thought.
"Hey." Daisy interrupted whatever Bowser and his ally were talking about.
Callian looked at the girl disparagingly.
Bowser looked at her, too, and tutted, "Don't be rude, precious."
"Let me guess," Callian jeered, "You want to know where we are."
"I know where we are," Daisy snapped, cutting her eyes at Callian. She told Bowser, "I hope you don't plan on trying to bully this king out of his country because he's not gonna' stand for it."
"We'll see." Bowser told her with a broad, confident smile.
Daisy scoffed and thought, idiot.
She knew the king of this country and he was not the type to take intrusion and coercion lying down. She remembered how, back when the International Alliance for the Resistance of the Dark King was formed, King Julius had been among the first to join. King Julius valued independence and freedom, his country was a reflection of that, and he abhorred any threat to those ideals. And even though the alliance dissolved years ago, Daisy had a feeling King Julius still felt the same way. The princess actually smirked because she wanted to see how the snake would react to not getting his way tonight.
She glanced sideways at the redhead and saw him again speaking with Callian. The sorcerer was using his hand to gesture towards a big boat at sea. That was such an understatement; it was an extravagant yacht and it sat like a pearl in a bed of black water. The moon was being shown up by the brighter lanterns illuminating the shimmering white boat and, like the beach, the deck floor was overflowing with people.
"Let's go." Bowser ordered, breaking away from Callian.
He and the sorcerer started walking downhill. Callian jerked his head at his son, willing him to come near, and Roy fell into step at Bowser's left. Daisy trailed behind the four of them with the League members at her back. She rubbed her arms, from the cold and from anxiety of whatever was coming. The grass underfoot turned to sand and soon the group neared the throng of people. Before they did, Bowser glanced at Callian and Callian hooked his index finger and pointed around the crowd, towards the sea. The League members all headed there, somehow going unseen by everyone on the beach.
Magic, Daisy assumed, watching the sorcerers trod past the shore and into the water.
"Come on," Bowser told her, putting a hand at the small of her back.
Daisy reacted violently by flinching to the side and shoving his hand away. Bowser smiled and retracted his hand and started walking forward again. That was when she noticed she'd fallen behind while watching the League; Callian was leading Roy and Munson past the people. Unlike the League, everyone could see those three and gave them odd but very brief looks. Munson blended in well, he probably got stares because he was a handsome boy. The same could be said for Roy. His hair wasn't the issue, it was covered under a black cap, but the way his sleeveless black shirt showed off his toned arms had to be the cause of a several appraising stares. Callian just looked brutish and mean and people got out of his way.
"If you don't want me to touch you, keep up." Bowser told Daisy and headed to the front of their group.
Daisy glared at him but she did come up to walk beside Roy. They followed the redhead all the way off the shore towards a boardwalk that led to the big, gold-trim white yacht.
Bowser led the way past the dancing people and the group got to the deck floor. There Daisy saw King Julius sitting to the left, near the ship's ledge, on a decorated throne. He had his family and friends seated at small tables near him. There were more streamers and lanterns making it real easy to see how happy and cheerful everyone was. Daisy frowned because she knew that wouldn't last.
She stopped when Bowser did a few feet across from the king and the people grew quiet. They'd parted for him and Callian and now stood divided to the left and right sides of the king's party. King Julius looked up at the redhead and didn't lose any good humor, just gained a bit of confusion in his lively features. He glanced at his also confused family and friends, then looked back at the group in front of him.
"I'm sorry," King Julius spoke with a polite chuckle, "Who are you?"
Bowser grinned and said, "You probably don't remember me, but I am…was the Dark King."
King Julius frowned, perplexed.
"It's true." Bowser grinned harder. "And since I heard it was your birthday, I brought you a little gift."
Here he glanced at Callian and the sorcerer brought a piece of paper into existence with a sleight of the wrist. He handed it to Bowser, who handed it to his son.
"Give it to him," the redhead told Roy.
Daisy grabbed Roy's elbow, trying to get a good look at the paper. Roy let her, but his father gave him a light push and the teenager handed the paper to King Julius. The royal took the paper, thanked the boy softly, and rummaged around the table for something. It wasn't the plate of seafood or the glass of champagne, it was a pair of little spectacles. King Julius glanced at Bowser warily before reading over the paper.
"…this document ensures.." the king hummed along, "…hereby relinquish control of the kingdom of Ceaside to the authority of the Dark King Bowser Koopa, Emperor of the New—What is this?"
Bowser still smiled but King Julius was not amused. He frowned, his mustache turning down with the rest of his mouth and brow and features.
"Is this a joke?" King Julius asked.
"Was it a joke when bombed this island eight years ago?" Bowser replied.
King Julius paled and said, "If this is a joke, it's in poor taste. Guards! Arrest this impersonator."
The guards did come, but Bowser looked at Callian and the sorcerer flung them overboard without flexing a muscle. The people on the ship gasped and moved away from the intruders, pressing themselves closer towards their king and the opposite side of the boat. King Julius frowned and stood.
"What is the meaning of this?!" He demanded.
Bowser told him, "It's real simple. You can either join my empire and have a new reason to celebrate, or you can refuse and condemn yourself and everyone on this boat to a watery grave."
Daisy rolled her eyes and muttered, "Pathetic."
Bowser glanced back at her.
"What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?" King Julius balked. "Do you honestly believe I'm going to give in to the demands of some madman just because he calls himself, 'the Dark King'?"
Bowser started to say something but turned towards a few of the partygoers instead. Some of them were trying to jump overboard.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He advised.
That gave them pause, and unfortunately that was what the redhead wanted. Their hesitation gave him time to send a signal to Callian, who nodded to the right, to someone at sea. Daisy looked over and saw that the ship was surrounded by lifeboats, only every single one of them had been hijacked by League members.
So that's what they were doing, Daisy frowned.
Now they were standing in the middle of the small boats with their hands extended towards the water. Electric blue light traveled from their hands to the sea and expanded so that the entire perimeter of the ocean surrounding the yacht was charged with buzzing, magical vines.
"You jump in that," Bowser explained, "And you'll get electrocuted. Right, Cal?"
Callian nodded once.
Panic swelled. No one moved, no one spoke. People were starting to understand this wasn't a publicity stunt and this wasn't some run of the mill criminal. This was a real threat.
"So what's it gonna' be?" Bowser asked, gesturing towards the document.
King Julius narrowed his eyes and picked up the paper. Bowser grinned. King Julius laid it down on the table, then reached for something else. Bowser thought he was looking for a pen but Julius grabbed a glass and poured champagne all over the paper, tore it in two, and walked towards the ledge of the boat and dropped the ruined paper into the sea.
Daisy snorted.
Bowser smirked and nodded to himself. "I see," He said. "You've obviously made your point."
"I won't bow to the likes of you." King Julius emphasized, going back to his seat and crossing his arms.
The people applauded this but they got nervous when Bowser started clapping along.
The redhead said, "Good show. But I think you'll have a change of heart before this night is over."
"Try me." King Julius challenged.
Bowser smirked. He clasped his hands behind his back and started to pace the area in front of the king and his people. Everybody moved back and grew more and more tense the longer the redhead kept this up. The only sound Daisy could hear was the Dark King's boots against the ship's nice floorboards and the electric hum of the charged water lapping against the sides of the yacht.
"This is a nice boat." Bowser observed, stopping in front of the king. He asked casually, "Was it a gift?"
King Julius remained silent.
Bowser said, "If it was, I guess I should apologize in advance."
King Julius frowned and Daisy's stomach clenched when Bowser turned and looked at Callian. The sorcerer gave his members in the water another signal and, cohesively, they started launching projectiles at the perimeter of the boat.
The people on board started to cry out and shout and their cries reached the people on shore. Those people could do nothing but watch in horror as the king's yacht was attacked with miniature explosions that compromised the structural integrity of the once formidable creation. There were snaps and cracks as the boat's interior was demolished and the deck floor began to flood. The people on board panicked, drawing nearer to their king.
Daisy looked over at Roy, wondering if he'd say something again. He was stepping back, away from the slow-blooming puddle of water and looking uncomfortable. She looked at Munson and noticed the youth far back from his father with his hands in his pockets and an anxious frown on his face. Callian didn't see him shying away because the sorcerer was talking to Bowser again. The redhead spared her a glance and told Callian something and they both approached the sitting king.
"You remember Cal, don't you?" Bowser asked, then took Julius' blank expression as a, "No? Well he's a sorcerer. He can fix all this." The redhead spread his arms to signify the damage. "All you have to do is—"
"I don't bargain with criminals." King Julius cut in.
Daisy had mixed feelings about his resolve. On the one hand she was proud of him, but she was also scared for what it would cost him and his people. She bit her lip and glanced at Roy.
If he doesn't say something, I will, the girl decided.
"Rex." Bowser called, turning towards his son. "Come here."
The ship lurched when Roy started walking towards his father and the teenager had to catch himself to keep from falling. He neared his father as a table slid towards the two. Bowser stopped it with his foot and some of the champagne glasses fell off and shattered. The bottle remained intact, and the redhead picked it up and uncorked it. Bowser sniffed the contents, then took a drink and smiled.
"That's nice," he smirked, handing the bottle to his son.
Roy just looked at it. He frowned and told his father, "I don't want any."
"Don't you drink?" Bowser asked the youth.
Roy shrugged. He'd had alcohol before, of course. But he was more concerned with how this night was turning out than indulging in a drink.
"Just taste it," Bowser pressured his son. "It's good, Rex."
"Roy, don't." Daisy called, and the boy looked over at her.
"Here," Bowser took his son's attention back and handed him the bottle.
Peer pressure was something, and at eighteen, Roy wasn't exactly immune to it. He took the bottle from his father and drank a mouthful, then turned his head to the side and spit it out. It joined the ever-growing pool of liquid on the boat's floor.
While he made a face and wiped his mouth, Bowser laughed.
"That ain't champagne," Roy frowned.
"I know, but it's good, right?" Bowser grinned. He took the bottle and drank some more, then handed it back to his son.
Roy looked at it, grimacing.
"You just have to get used to it." Bowser told him.
Daisy was disappointed to see the boy take another drink. This time Roy kept it down and seemed to roll the taste around in his mouth. Bowser took the bottle from him again, taking a drink, and encouraged his son to drink some more.
"What is this, fish?" Bowser said, looking at another table with little plates on it. He took some for himself and gave some to his son.
Roy ate it, it must have been tastier than the alcohol because he didn't complain. Callian watched, rolling his eyes, and Munson was looking at Roy with a perturbed frown.
Roy got thirsty and drank what was in hand, the bottle, and struggled to keep standing as the ship continued to rock and sway back and forth. He drank and drank and Bowser smirked while he drank and drank. And drank. And drank.
"Roy!" Daisy called, worried for the boy.
He only stopped because the bottle was empty. Roy dropped it absently and blinked and Bowser clapped his son on the back. Roy stumbled a little—the ship was still rocking—and Bowser left him alone. The redhead went back over to the king.
"So?" He prompted. "Will you see things my way? Or is this birthday gonna' be your last?"
Roy went over to the ledge near Daisy and gripped both sides of it to steady himself. All this rocking and swaying…Daisy frowned at the boy.
He doesn't look so good, she thought.
"Make up your mind." Bowser told King Julius.
King Julius locked eyes with the tyrant and stood. A woman, his wife, tried to deter him but he patted her hand on his arm and stood tall.
"No."
"No?" Bowser echoed.
"No."
"…Alright." Bowser shrugged. He stepped back, then told Callian, "hit the lights."
Callian looked up at the lanterns strewn around the ship and they all shattered and burst simultaneously, bringing on the darkness and raining down broken glass and fire on the terrified people below. This caused several small fires that brewed together into a large one quickly and things got crazy. Apparently people forgot about the water being charged. They started trampling one another in their haste to get off the boat.
"No!" Daisy cried, watching some people start to jump.
She ran to the ledge and covered her mouth when she saw men and women hitting the water and shuddering, convulsing, dying.
"Don't go in the water!" She screamed, but they didn't hear her.
Everyone was shrieking and shoving and trying to get away. Some people had burns on their bodies and others were badly cut by the exploded glass and some people slipped and got stomped on the deck floor. It was madness.
She turned around and couldn't see Roy or Munson but she did single out the only redhead on the boat. She went over to him and Callian mistook her strides for malicious intent.
"Trying to use the chaos to your advantage?" He snarled, yanking her away from Bowser.
Daisy shook him off and said, "Stop it!" She looked at Bowser and told him, "You can't just kill all these people!"
Bowser stared from her, too calm for this situation, and told Callian, "Free the water."
"What?!" Callian released Daisy, that was the extent of his surprise and disgust.
Bowser shrugged and said, "If there's no survivor's, how will they know this wasn't just an accident? Can't have them blaming the ship or some shit like that. I want them to know who did this."
Callian nodded and gave his members the signal to release their magical hold over the water. This meant the survival of more than a hundred people at least, many more than Bowser intended but he didn't care.
Daisy stared at the redhead, stupefied.
…did he just…he really just…
"Where's my son?" Bowser asked, glancing around.
Daisy took that time to get as many people off the ship as she could. There were still some people trapped under burning beams and one man got his foot caught painfully in a gaping hole in the floorboards. She got her arm burned pulling the woman from under the burning beam but didn't let it slow her down as she went to the man.
"Help!" He shouted.
Daisy told him, "I will, just calm down!"
She crouched down and fumbled at her waist for her knife. The man was up to his elbows in water as he was forced to remain on all fours. It was his right leg that was stuck. Daisy grabbed the knife from her hip and started to cut away the fabric of his pants; that was what caught on the jagged, splintering wood, not his actual leg. Once she had that free, she pulled on his leg and the man thanked her and sloshed through the water, heading for the edge.
Daisy made the mistake of following is path and she saw again the water. Under just the moonlight it was harder to see but there were bodies floating, those who hadn't made it. She saw people choking and trying to navigate around them and she saw the League members throwing people off of the lifeboats they'd stolen. She frowned and lifted one leg over the ledge.
Yes they were sorcerers and she was just a woman, but she did have two knives. If she could just get to them she could take at least one member out, steer the boat and pick up as many people as she—
Cold fingers closed around her arm and jerked her back on board, making her bang her leg and shin in the process. She hissed and vanished, then reappeared in a clumsy heap on the grassy cliff. Daisy blinked and looked around, seeing things were just as crazy down on the beach. The lanterns were shattered there, too, and there were fires everywhere. People were taking to the sea, abandoning the cursed blazes they couldn't extinguish with water. Daisy coughed and stood, wincing because her leg was hurting badly.
It's not broken or cut, so that's good, she noted, looking around.
The first person she saw was Callian because he was right in front of her. Something told her it was him who'd grabbed her and she scowled at him. He wasn't looking at her, he was arguing with Bowser. The Dark King smirked and told Callian something and she strode towards him angrily.
She couldn't get those dead bodies out of her mind. She kept thinking of the people who'd jumped too early. She saw their bodies seizing up in her mind, saw the garish images of people with chunks of glass jutting out of their throats and faces and eyes and heard the screams and crying ringing in her ears.
"You DEMON!" She screamed at Bowser, her heart pounding and her blood racing.
Callian subdued her and she wrestled with him.
"Let GO of me!" She shouted, flailing with all her strength.
She elbowed him in the stomach and he did let her go and slapped her and she slapped him right back and lunged for him.
"Callian, stop it!" Bowser commanded.
Callian ignored him. He had an open cut on his cheek because when Daisy slapped him, she scratched him, too. He stretched out his hand and closed his fingers into a fist. Daisy grabbed at her throat and tears came to her eyes because he was cutting off her air supply.
"CALLIAN!"
Daisy collapsed to her knees and coughed uncontrollably. She was too busy wearing out her lungs to pay attention to the argument unfolding behind her. She could hear Bowser and Callian shouting at each other but she couldn't see for the tears and could barely breathe for the smoke filling the air.
Someone crouched in front of her and held both sides of her face. Munson. His hands were cool and he moved them from her cheeks, wet with tears and sweat, to her neck. He didn't say a word but she felt his magic soothe her throat gently.
"That's better?" he whispered.
Daisy nodded and let the boy help her stand.
"Munson!" Callian barked, coming over.
He started to yell at his son and Daisy's anger was renewed. Rather than go for the one who could bend her bones inside out with a thought, she went for Bowser.
"You fucking monster, how could you?!" She shouted at him, undoing the good Munson did on her throat by abusing it with her raised voice.
Bowser stared at her, his expression no longer smug but blank and even. He looked down at her as she shoved him repeatedly.
"Look at what you did!" She accused, "What did that have to do with ANYTHING? Why do you bring death and destruction every fucking where you go?!"
Bowser stared at her silently and that made her angrier. She started punching him in the chest and he took her wrists.
"GET YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF ME!" Daisy screamed and she knew she was getting hysterical but she couldn't stop.
Bowser turned her around and held her hands behind her back and she twisted and writhed and he let her exhaust herself. She could feel his heart racing like hers at her back and she'd never been this mad before. Not in a long time. Tears streamed out of her eyes, hot and constant like a flow from a faucet, and her jaw hurt from how hard she was clenching her teeth. She was getting dizzy from breathing so shallowly and her body felt spent and weak. When Bowser knew the fight had gone from her, he let her hands go and moved his to her waist.
Daisy elbowed him once and moved away, and that's when she saw Roy. He was on his knees, retching over the edge of the cliff. Daisy exploded again, her face and skin flushed red and her fierce eyes narrowed.
"Is THIS what you wanted?!" She asked Bowser, pointing at Roy. "Is THIS why you brought him along? What are you trying to traumatize him so that he turns out just as FUCKED UP AS YOU?!"
Bowser told her quietly, "I'm not traumatizing him."
"You just killed a SHIT LOAD of people!" Daisy shouted. "And you probably gave him alcohol poisoning! That's TRAUMA! That's ABUSE!"
"He'll be alright." Bowser remarked coolly. "He won't even remember any of this come tomorrow morning."
"That's not the…" Daisy shut her eyes, shut out the Dark King, shut out those violent images and made a choice right then.
Screw this mission. I'm not sitting by while he does this to anyone else. I'm not letting him take any more innocent lives.
A/N: This chapter was shorter than usual but I hope you enjoyed anyway!
We'll see how things play out soon. Leave your thoughts and comments in a review if you feel so inclined, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks in advance and have a great Friday!
~DG~