"Everything was going so wrong, so fast.
I should have just called home and accepted my parents' disappointment. I suppose it was my fault for being so ignorant of what was happening to me and allowed that illusion to surprise me. But, it all felt so real, although, the senses can be deceived. I didn't know what to believe, but right then, my mind was telling me that I was being dragged down through a mysterious green pipe which seemed endless…
…and I would have never imagined what waited for me at the end of the tunnel…"
Chapter 2: A Mysterious Man from another World
???
The diminutive girl struggled to regain consciousness, but her eyelids were tired and heavy. She could feel warmth beating on her back and something soft cushioning her body. After a few moments, Loretta fluttered her eyes, adjusting to the light. Through her eyelashes, she could see she was lying on bright, green grass. Opening her eyes further, she could tell it was morning as the sky was vividly blue, but her vision was blurry. Touching her face, she realized her glasses were gone. She moved her arms to push herself up, slowly but surely, and scanned her surroundings while still on her stomach. Looking and feeling around, she found them right next to her. As she put them on, to her surprise, she was in some kind of wooded area with tall trees in every direction and scrubs encircling her in the grassy patch. She could hear birds and squirrels chirping above her in the treetops, proving she was outside. Gathering more of her strength, Loretta stood up on her feet and took in the new environment.
"What's going on?" she asked herself apparently terrified as she shook. "How can I possibly be here? This can't still be that strange garden. What is this place?!"
A myriad of questions piled in the girl's mind as she timidly walked and pushed through the shrubs to find a way out.
"Hello? Is anyone there? Please, can someone help me?!" she called out in the air. Her hopes were getting shot as no one answered. Then, she decided to think back to what happened to her.
"Okay. So, I was bummed out when I couldn't convince the teacher to change my grade, Amber came to cheer me up, I was driving home when my car broke down, I tried to call home but I backed out, then…" It was coming back to her. She remembered the huge yellow star that appeared from the sky and led her toward the big, green tube where something grabbed her and pulled her down. After that, she winded up in this different place.
"That's it!" she said as she snapped her fingers. "I must have gotten here through that creepy pipe, even though that sounds totally ridiculous. If I can find it, then maybe it can take me home." Loretta accepted her plan and feeling more optimistic, she continued to weave through the foliage.
She came to a small slope with a cleared path. She gripped the tall grass to keep herself steady, and as she climbed up, she could hear the sound of running water in her ears. When she reached the top, Loretta was struck with awe as she saw a lovely waterhole in front of her. A small cascade from a cliff poured clear water gently into the pond, and the large groups of tree branches created somewhat a ceiling in the area but still provided a wonderful lighting effect.
Loretta walked over to the edge of the water and stared at her reflection. Her dark hair was messy, her clothes were dirty and wet, and she had a few scratches on her face. She also felt something pitching the lower part of her side, and it itched a little. She tried to find it when she noticed something in the water. Loretta narrowed her eyes and saw something shiny, green, and circular reflecting the light. A wide smile was put on her face when she already found the pipe she was searching for. It being in the water probably explained why there was so much water overflowing on the other side. Loretta didn't mind to get wet again and swim over to get a better look. Finally something good was happening to her for a change.
As she put a foot in the cold water, there was a low growl forcing her to stop. Suddenly, a large vine stretched from out of the pipe, then another, and then two more until the entire surface was covered. Loretta stood frozen as the plant-like tentacles twitched and wrapped around the pipe's body, and the growls continued to get louder. She carefully took her foot out slowly, and a loud roar stabbed at her heart, sending her backwards with a scream of her own as a creature emerged from the pipe. It had a large red head with white spots. It had characteristics like a Venus flytrap, but it had an actual mouth, tongue, and teeth, and it was so vicious, ready to rip apart anything that came close to it, including Loretta. Feeling defeated and obviously not insane, Loretta backed off and hid down behind the slope.
"Oh, what am I going to do?! Not even a weed whacker or weed killer could handle that…that thing!" she ranted. She curled her knees up to her chest and held her head during her panic. "Why me? Why is all of this happening?"
Loretta nearly cried until she lowered her hands from her head, listening carefully to a sound. It sounded like a person talking.
"I…think…heard…ov…there…"
Loretta jumped up, excited to hear an actual person's voice in the forest, at last. She ran in the direction of the voice, and as she got closer, she could have sworn there was another with it.
"Hello? Is someone there?" she called again. The voices were getting further away, and she ran faster, scratching her skin from the branches to not lose them. "Please wait! I'm lost and I don't know how to get home. Please! Pl…"
Without watching where she was stepping, Loretta tripped on a low tree limb, stumbled through the shrubs and onto the ground. She landed on a dirt path in front of two dark figures. They were unusually shaped. One was extremely short and round with no limbs while the other was a little taller but had a hump on its back.
"Hey, who's that?" asked the taller figure with the hump.
"I haven't seen anyone like that before," the limbless figure responded.
Though very dizzy and sick, Loretta lifted her head and looked at the two strangers, relieved, but there wasn't enough sunlight to show their faces.
"Thank goodness I found you. Please, I'm lost and I don't know where I am," she explained to the strangers as she reached for them, but the taller humped one slapped her hand away and pulled a spear from its back.
"Don't touch us, human, and don't move!" it warned her.
"Huh?" Loretta wondered, "What are you talking about? I just need some help."
"Why would we help you?" the shadow laughed. "You're probably an ally to the Mushroom folk; you sure look like someone part of the Toadstool family."
"Mushroom? Toadstool? What's with all the fungal names?"
The clouds in the sky shifted with the breeze, and the sunlight returned through the trees. When the light lit up the area, Loretta's face gasped in awe and fear. The two strangers confronting her weren't even human. One was a small, brown, mushroom-like monster with large pointed fangs and thick eyebrows. It only went up to about the height of her knee. The other was a large turtle with yellow scales, standing on its hind legs, and wearing a green shell and boots. It was a little shorter than her, but still abnormally big.
The turtle monster pointed its spear right at her throat, forcing Loretta to back away with her legs as she trembled.
"W, w, what…are…?" She could barely speak.
"You don't you know a Koopa when you see one?" the turtle monster questioned. "What's next? You don't recognize him as a Goomba?! You must be one retarded girl!" it insulted.
"Even if you weren't an enemy," the brown mushroom grinned, "we would still take you anyway." It leaned over to the frighten girl and smirked harder, showing its enormous teeth. "You may not be a Goomba, but you're still a fine lookin' whatever you are."
"Y, y, you're…a…what?"
"Stop it already, you idiot! Let's take her to the boss. She might know where the others are," the so called Koopa figured.
The two creatures inched toward Loretta who still hadn't gotten up from her spot and ran. Her poor, horrified heart couldn't take it anymore.
"N, n…no. Stay away…" she spoke. "Stay away!"
The turtle creature reached its clawed hand to snatch her.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!"
Just then, something flew from the bushes and hit the monsters dead between the eyes, knocking them out. Loretta used the chance to hide away behind a tree. A little dazed, they shortly got back up.
"Dude, what hit us?!" the confused Goomba asked.
The Koopa looked around and found two rocks on the ground. It stood up and searched the area.
"Whoever is out there, show yourself!" it demanded.
The path was quiet and the sound of the wind could be heard as the trees rustled. Neither Loretta nor the mysterious offender made a move. The Koopa signaled to the Goomba to sneak around into the shrubs. They were unknowingly closing in on Loretta who clamped her hands to her mouth and sweated uncontrollably. They were nearly around the tree she was hiding behind as the Koopa scratched its fingers on the bark.
"HERE I AM!"
Another shadow leaped from the trees and kicked the Koopa away from Loretta who was completely baffled by how quick the attack came. The Goomba turned around and tended his partner.
"Uh…" it groaned. "What the hell?!"
The shadow skid to a poised stop and glared at the two creatures. It was a young man who seemed to look human, tall, with narrow green eyes, a light mustache coming in, and styled chestnut hair that went down to his neck. He wore a sleeveless red jacket with brownish fur around the collar, a black shirt, and dark blue jeans which were torn at the bottom and knees. The only thing weird about him was that his nose was huge and round.
The man smirked at the creatures. "I never realized King Koopa's soldiers were disgusting perverts to random little girls. Is your despicable clan and its king so desperate to get satisfaction?"
"Shut your mouth, boy! How dare you disrespect the Koopa Klan?!" the Goomba yelled. It charged straight for the man, baring its jaws at its victim. The man smiled again, bent his legs, and jumped a magnificent somersault over the Goomba's head and landed right on top of it, nearly crushing it flat. He kicked the pancake aside and it hit a tree, leaving cracks in the bark.
"You're dead, human!!" the Koopa threatened. It took its spear and rushed for the mysterious man hoping to impale him through the stomach. The man stood his ground, and when the turtle monster came close, he dodged to the side, then the other, and ducked, missing all of the attacks. The man used the opportunity to punch the creature in the gut. The Koopa jerked back but regain his vigor. It swung again, missing the agile man as he back flipped. He used the momentum of his rebound and pounded the Koopas head, making it retreat in its shell like a real turtle. The man took the big shell and tossed it at the Goomba who popped back to normal in time for the collision.
"And now for the finishing touch…" said the man. He looked down to the ground and glanced at a peculiar flower on the side of the road. It had bright orange and white oval shaped petals, but it had eye slits that seemed to stare.
For the longest time, the scared woman was sitting behind the tree and never caught a glimpse of the conflict. It had quieted, so thinking the trouble was over, she turned around and peeked from her hiding spot. She saw the big nosed man picking a weird orange shaped flower. When he did, something about the wind had shifted and the man's presence had changed. The flower in his hand was combusting into fire and started to surround him. Loretta watched in amazement as the air was getting warmer and the man was engulfed in flames and light. The man menacingly created two balls of fire in his hands and intimidated the two shaken creatures like a pyromaniac.
"Say hello to Savage for me!" he shouted.
The Koopa and Goomba shrieked in utter fear and tried to escape, but the blazing man threw the fireballs like pitching a baseball and knocked the two preys up past the canopy of the trees in a fiery explosion, their screams following as they soared.
Loretta kept her eyes on the rocketing creatures until they couldn't be seen anymore. She couldn't believe the powers the young man possessed. Was it magic? She immediately dismissed it for magic doesn't exist. But with everything she had seen so far, how could she still be denying it? She had enough of the nonsense.
The boy relaxed and the fire powers dissipated from his hands. He moved his head and caught a glimpse of Loretta who gasped and ran away. She didn't know what to accept anymore. The man may have saved her, but he was also strange, and he may very well try to hurt her too with those fire powers or something. She climbed back up where she fell and tried to find the pipe again. She didn't care if a plant-like monster was in it, she wanted to go home.
She came to a clearing, but it wasn't with the green pipe but where she ended up when she was first unconscious. Loretta tried to figure out which way to go from there but something fell from above and landed behind her.
"For a damsel in distress, you sure are ungrateful," it said. Loretta looked back slowly and then had to look up past his chest. She didn't think the man was so much taller than her. Looking past his huge nose and thin mustache, his narrowing green eyes were intense and darting, but at the same time, they looked somewhat sad. He couldn't be all bad if he had such eyes.
"I, I'm sor…"
"Wow," the man interrupted her, "You're a tiny little lass."
"What?!" Loretta shouted. She could feel a vein popping from her forehead. She never had a problem with people pointing out her pitiful height before, but the way the man said it so bluntly, it was unnecessary and rude.
"At least I'm not a towering giant, you big-nosed freak!" she retaliated.
"My, now you have a sharp tongue. And you were so pathetic with those two grunts earlier," he accused.
"Wait a minute. You mean to say you saw me in danger and you didn't do anything about it sooner?!" she guessed with her fury rising.
"It wasn't you I was trying to protect. I was only stopping them from getting any closer to the village that you almost led them to."
"I can't believe you!" she pointed her finger up at him though her small size wasn't very threatening.
"You're the one who won't say thank you."
"I was getting to that, but you know what, I'm not going to give it to you!" Loretta shouted.
"Whatever," the man replied as he rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't have time for you. Just go home where you belong."
Loretta was surprised at the last comment and lowered her head. He told her to go home, but she didn't know how she could do that. She wanted to go home so desperately, and it didn't look like he was going to help her. Plus, she was starting to feel dizzy.
"Nicolas!!" a squeaky voice called.
The sound of a mob was closing in on the two. The bushes moved furiously until the group sprang forth from the trees and shrubs. If things weren't weird enough for Loretta, they got worse. Little people with mushroom spotted caps of different colors and thin black eyes emerged from the foliage. Most of them wore ragged vests and dresses. They had to be three feet at most while some of the others looked like children standing no more than two feet. Loretta panicked and jumped behind the tall man like a shield.
"Why are you doing hiding behind me for?" the man wondered.
"Nicolas!" said a green spotted mushroom.
"Yo," the man named Nicolas simply answered.
"We've been looking all over for you. Where've you been?" a shorter blue spotted mushroom asked.
"I heard some trouble out here while getting wood. Turns out it was a couple of Koopa's soldiers. Don't worry, I took care of them," Nicolas explained casually, unaffected by the mushroom men unlike the distraught Loretta.
"That's good, but if they're this close, then it's only a matter of time until they find us!" a purple spotted mushroom girl figured. The group of little mushroom heads shivered at the thought.
"Don't worry. We'll think of a way to lure them off," Nicolas reassured them. They all stopped shaking and softly smiled up at the giant boy.
Then, a tiny orange spotted mushroom child stepped up next to the boy's long legs. "So, um, who's that behind you, Nicolas? Is she your friend?"
Loretta's eyes bugged out and the hairs on her skin stood up as the mushroom people approached her.
"No! Stay away!" she screamed. Loretta let go of Nicolas and stepped back until she hit a tree.
"What's your problem, girl?" a yellow spotted mushroom asked.
After a moment of gawking at the creatures…
"YOU HAVE MUSHROOM HEADS!!!" she blurted out. The mushroom people blankly stared at the crazy girl.
"O…kay…Thanks for stating the obvious," the green spotted mushroom responded sarcastically.
Loretta was about to run away again when she felt a sharp pain in her side. Her heart was pounding and head was sweating. She panted heavily, held her chest with her hand, and fell to her knees.
"Are you okay?" the orange mushroom child asked worriedly.
"N, no…" she answered weakly, her voice trailing off. "Uh…uh, I…" Loretta was losing consciousness and she finally collapsed on the ground. The six mushroom people immediately surrounded her motionless body.
"Geez Nicolas, whacha do to her?!" the blue spotted mushroom freaked.
"I didn't do anything," he muttered.
"Hmm…I've never thought I'd see another human other than you. She looks like the pure royal kinds from the different countries," the purple spotted mushroom girl examined. She put her tiny hand on her forehead but quickly pulled it back. "She's burning up! We have to do something!"
"Well, I hardly think she's royalty, but she's not our problem anymore. Let's go." The inconsiderate man began to walk off with the mushroom people hesitating to follow him.
"But Mr. Nicolas, we can't leave her here! The Koopas may come back or she could die!" the little orange spotted mushroom pled.
"She has nothing to do with us. Besides, she could be trouble for all we know," he argued.
"Nicolas, this isn't like you. Why are you being so cold?" the purple female mushroom fought back. "Simply turning your back on someone who needs you is being no better than a heartless monster!"
Nicolas suddenly stopped. His eyes changed slightly as he listened to the latter comment. After a few moments, the young man sighed, walked over to the fallen girl and scooped her up in his strong arms.
"Fine. We'll take her back," he decided. "But we're sure going to get an earful from the elder, so you better not run off."
The two mushroom girls smiled. "Thank you."
The man named Nicolas, with the exhausted Loretta in his arms, and the six mushroom people walked back to the dirt trail and followed it into a secret route which would lead them to their home in hopes to help the strange human girl.
*~____~*
(A/N): Hopefully at this point you see where I am going with this story. I have interpreted Loretta as being rational, timid, and clumsy. She is rarely passionate unless provoked. Our new character, Nicolas, has proven to be strong, rude, and inconsiderate, but he seems to care, somewhat, and has a sort of sadness in himself. We'll get to learn more about him in the next chapter.