This was it. This was the place they would live. Before going off to save her family, Bali talked to Mrs. Castor about her problem. She knew that she saw goodness in everyone, but she had realized that Smithy wasn't one of them. She was afraid. Of her own dimension. Of who she was told was her father. She felt safe with her siblings. She felt safe here.
It was actually from Mrs. Castor that she got the tea and medicine that ended up saving her family. While flying towards the spot that Blade crashed down, she noticed a large, but slightly old wooden cottage that was for sale. She knew that coins were used as the currency in both Factory and the Mushroom Kingdom. She knew that Smithy, due to being the leader, had a lot of coins.
When Bali was flying away to make the potion, she saw the fallen body of Smithy. But not as she knew him. Instead of the grandfatherly face she knew of, she saw his true face: sunken-in eyes and uneven teeth. He was an ugly lie. Just like the one he told them.
Despite having plenty of coins to go by, it still felt risky to live without a backup plan. This forced Yaridovich, Exor, Boomer, and Bali to do something that they thought they would never have to in their life: get a job.
Boomer had it easier than his older brother and younger sister. While taking a walk to get the idea of the town's layout in his head, he found a small dojo. In their, he met the master of the dojo, Jinx, with his highest ranked student and prodigy, Jagger. They trained in martial arts, but the dojo was lacking in weapon-based combat. Boomer suggested the idea that he could teach it. He was soon hired, and given a bamboo blade, to be the dojo's kendo trainer, and soon gained a few students to teach.
Yaridovich, Exor, and Bali had it tougher. They tried multiple interviews for jobs separately, but none seemed to work out in one way or the other. At their last hope, they managed to find a small, old, and burnt restaurant. The owner was an old Ninji, who explained that his last workers were Fryguys, who had burned the place in a rage due to a customer's unsatisfied review. Thankfully, the timely arrival of the three machines helped bring new life to the restaurant. After they helped the owner repair any damages, they got to work there, with Exor and Yaridovich as the chefs and Bali as the waitress. Even though the restaurant was small, simply having a good job was good enough for them.
While the eldest four machines had to work, the youngest seven were enrolled into school. So far, they had been privately taught by any tutor that Smithy could convince to teach them, so a public school was a completely different environment to be in, especially due to the fact that they were separated due to ages.
Mack was placed in an elementary school. Different species, both from the sides of the Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser's Domain, plus a few Beanish children, were in his new class. He didn't want to admit it, but he was actually a little nervous to be here, but also excited at the same time. He found some relief when he found out that his first friend ever, Shyster, was in his same class. Another thing that helped was that Pennie was another member of his class, and she was happy to meet a family member of someone that helped her. His teacher was a very nice Snifit, and managed to help Mack gain a great start in his school year.
Bowyer ended up in a middle school. He felt a little insecure about his feelings of being here, and felt like the others were judging him a little. However, he managed to make a name out of himself by simply joining a club. The school's Archery club was considered one of the lowest ranked in the kingdom, and was close to being shut down for good. However, one curious new student, one chance shot with a suction cup dart, and tons of support led their scores soaring and Bowyer's confidence as well.
Finally, the Axem Rangers were all in the kingdom's high school. Though they managed to get some classes together, they were purposely placed in some classes separately to try and get them to branch out from each other. This helped a lot, and let their creativity in different fields explode. Axem Pink ended up learning even more about medicine in Health class and was even able to teach a few new things to the class. Axem Green still found interest in organic animals, so he took a Biology class, which helped him get in contact with not only the species he saw in the sea, but other ones as well. Axem Black and Axem Red, stuck on a class, both tried out different sports. Though some of the students mocked Axem Red's height when he tried out basketball, they quickly shut up when he quickly stole the ball due to his size and simply had to throw the ball up to make it land in the basket. Axem Black had the same luck on the football field, where he dodged the other players and got a touchdown with his sunglasses not even slipping a single bit. Axem Yellow simply tried as many classes as he could until he could find a fun one, until it turned out that his Culinary Arts skills were nearly unmatched.
A few nights after the former Smithy Gang moved into the Mushroom Kingdom, there was a huge thunderstorm. While they were still scared, they felt safer in their wooden house than they ever could in their metallic world.
In this world, the rain just seemed a little less scary. And a little bit more amazing. It wasn't because the lightning wasn't attracted to wood. It wasn't because every single bit of the surface would risk rusting. It wasn't because the sky was even darker than the night normally was.
It was because they were together. As a family. And no lies, no fake promotions, and no wars could tear them apart.
THE END
