Authoress' Notes: Aww, I'm so happy! 20 Reviews for only the first 2 Chapters! I love you guys! Thank you so much for turning this story, which started out as an experiment, into a nice piece of work for everyone to enjoy! Also, to answer someone's question in the Reviews, I didn't include some parts (Mario turning back into normal, Mario and Vivian finding Doopliss, etc.) because I figured that 99.9 percent of the people reading this kinda let it playback through their minds on their own. Sorry if it seemed out of order, I just didn't think it was necessary.
Better Off Alone
Chapter 3: Trust
Vivian relaxed in the corner of her side of the inn, with Koops' blanket still wrapped tight around her shoulders. She quietly muttered incoherently under her breath in her sleep, changing positions every once in a while. After a few more moments of sleeping, she stirred in her slumber and soon awoke with a yawn, rubbing a hand over her face. Blinking sleepily, she looked around for the others, assuming an hour had passed and they were ready to leave. To her dismay, she suddenly realized she was alone in the small inn, aside from the local innkeeper sweeping the floor.
"Um, excuse me, but have you seen any of my friends lately?" Vivian asked in fear of the response.
"Yes, ma'am, I believe I heard one of them saying something about going somewhere a little bit earlier," the innkeeper said.
Hearing this, Vivian panicked and rushed out the door, suddenly bumping into a surprised Mario and Goombella, knocking the Goomba over.
"Ow! Hey, watch it, will ya?" Goombella growled irritably, as Mario helped her to her feet.
Vivian covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh, Goombella...! I'm... I'm so sorry! I-It was an accident, I swear! I'm really sorry..."
Goombella looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. "Oh, that was you, Vivian? It's okay, you don't have to apologize. That was probably my fault anyway."
"Okay, but I'm still really sorry. I got scared 'cause I didn't know where you went..." Vivian quietly mumbled.
Waffles huffed. "We were coming back to get you, sheesh! We only went to the shop on the other side of town to buy some items, that's all!"
"He's right, sweetheart. We wouldn't forget about you like that," Flurrie said.
Vivian sighed in relief, glad she was still on their side. "Thanks a lot. I really thought you guys had left me because I woke up late."
"Well, we kinda forgot to stop at the store and load up on items. I didn't think it'd be fair to make you come with us. We were coming right back, so I told everyone to let you sleep; you looked like you needed it. I guess it's my fault, since I didn't tell you that earlier. I'm sorry, Vivian," Goombella replied, smiling uneasily.
For a second, Vivian was taken aback by Goombella's apologetic response. After spending so much time with Beldam, it felt weird for someone to actually apologize to her for once. Looking amongst the group, Vivian noticed that each one of them carried an item from the store: Goombella had a Stopwatch, Flurrie possessed a Super Shroom, Waffles carried a Thunder Rage with him, and Mario was responsible for the Maple Syrup, while Koops held a Life Shroom and a Boo's Sheet. Going up to Vivian, he handed her the Boo's Sheet.
"When we stock up on items, we always let each person buy what they want with their share of the money. You weren't with us, so I thought about giving you this... It's actually something we found in the storage room before we fought Doopliss... I hope that's alright with you..." Koops timidly said.
"That's okay. I actually love Boo's Sheets. Thanks..."
Waffles stepped over to the Warp Pipe in the middle of the town. "Okay, then: we've got our rest, we've got our stuff, and we've got her! Can we go now?"
Goombella joined glared at the impatient Yoshi. "You know, I'm really starting to wish we hadn't saved you from that egg..."
After bidding a friendly farewell to the mayor and a few residents of the town, Mario soon joined the group near the Warp Pipe. Jumping into it, he traveled back towards the Rogueport Sewers, along with his dependable partners following him.
Vivian continued to follow Mario as well, waiting for the perfect time to take his Crystal Stars... yet, at the same time, assist him and try to fulfill his every need. Deep down, Vivian knew what she had to do, but she just couldn't do it. All she could do was wait and see how everything turned out...
Sometime later, Mario led his party to one place where Vivian had often been many times in recent past; the Thousand-Year Door. Upon seeing the massive gateway, chills began to travel up and down Vivian's back and soon throughout her entire body. She actually felt nervous to even be near the legendary entrance, her actions and thoughts altered by its presence. Refusing to follow the others anywhere near the door, Vivian remained behind a small, barred fence near the entrance.
Noticing the Shadow Siren was no longer with them, Goombella turned around. "Hey, Vivian... are you okay? You look... nervous..."
Mario soon took notice of Vivian's strange behavior and looked over his shoulder to see what was going on.
Vivian rubbed her right arm anxiously, a look of horror on her face. "No, I'm not scared... but... do you think it'd be okay if I stayed over here?"
Looking confused, Mario scratched his head.
"We're not going through the door, if that's what's troubling you," said Flurrie.
"That's not it... I just... well... Please don't make me go over there, Mario... I really don't want to..."
"I know why! She must be scared, the big baby!" Waffles jeered.
Vivian cringed. "No..."
"WAFFLES!" Goombella scolded.
"What're you yellin' at me for? She's the coward!" Waffles protested.
Coming between the two, Mario stopped the squabble. Looking at Vivian, he nodded, then pushed the rest of the group towards the Thousand-Year Door.
"Thank you, Mario..." Vivian sighed.
Crouching behind the bars, Vivian watched Mario and the others from a distance. Standing on the pedestal, the red-clad plumber took out the Ruby Crystal Star and held it up. Still feeling very uneasy, Vivian decided it'd be best if she left and join up with the group later.
Sinking into the shadows, Vivian soon reappeared in the Twilight Trail. Stepping out of her own darkness and into the shady forest, she took a deep breath, the strenuous stress of light lifted from her eyes. She watched as a few Crazee Dayzees scurried by, happily dancing about in the faint moonlight leaking through the trees. Concealed behind a barricade of dead and fallen trees, the Shadow Siren made her way towards a strange house in the distance. Dark and deserted, the shady domicile loomed ominously over all who approached it with an eerie kind of feeling in the air. Thick, hazy mist bordered the gloomy cottage, warning intruders away with its impending dangers and sinister intimidation. Despite all this, Vivian and her sisters called it home.
Since the fragile front door was old and broken off its rusty hinges, it laid rotting in the doorway. For seclusion and safety reasons, it was a mandatory rule not to use it. In order of fooling onlookers that it was deserted, Beldam had strictly stated that it was important that the house was left untouched or changed, if at all possible. Pulling herself into the shadows again and reemerging inside the house, Vivian looked around for either one or both of her sisters.
"Marilyn? Beldam? Anyone here?" Vivian looked around and listened for a response.
The interior of the house was even darker than it was outside. The only bit of light in the abode was a small stream of the moon shining through a broken window in the front room. The entire dwelling had been made to keep out any form of light, even that which was from the moon. Only a selected few could see in complete darkness and, being a Shadow Siren, Vivian was one of them.
Responding to her sister's call, Marilyn appeared out of the shadows with a relieved look on her face. She was obviously happy that Vivian had returned, as she welcomed her kindly with opened arms.
Vivian smiled and returned her sibling's hug. "Hi, Marilyn. I'm happy to see you, too. I told you I'd be all right. I came back, didn't I?"
"So, I see you've returned..." Beldam's voice seeped out of the darkness. Vivian could tell she was still slightly irate about what happened last time.
She looked down. "I'm sorry, Beldam... I... I found it, but it was broken..."
Beldam appeared out of the obscurity. "Are you as deaf as you are dense? Do you think I actually care about that piece of junk anymore, especially now that you broke it?"
"Please forgive me, Beldam," she whimpered. "I... I thought you wanted that Super bomb thingy..."
Beldam slapped her hand across Vivian's face. "Shut up, spineless worm! How's the plan with the Crystal Stars going?"
Turning away, Vivian touched her raw cheek. "...I haven't had the chance to do anything yet, so I'm not really sure..."
"Well, you'd better hope for more chances in the future... I'm sick of hearing your excuses," the elder growled, holding her hand up and balling it into a fist. Vivian instantly felt her hair being pulled on, as a result of one of her magic spells.
"I'm not... making excuses... I just have to... earn their trust first..." Vivian winced in pain as the grip tightened on her locks and yanked her down towards the dingy floor.
"Trust is cheap! If anything, that's something you've yet to realize!" Beldam threw her hand down, violently slamming her sister onto the floor.
Jumping up, Vivian held the tender side of her waist in pain, which hadn't been able to completely heal after Beldam beat her with a pole two days ago.
"You're really trying my patience! Don't let me see you around here again without anything worth my time! Understand?" the leader demanded.
"Yes, I... understand..." Vivian found it hard to look at Beldam in the face.
Beldam slowly began to recede into the shadows. "You say that, Vivian... But Marilyn and I both know it's not true..."
A second later, Beldam had disappeared almost as fast as she had appeared. After making sure she was gone, Marilyn placed a hand on Vivian's flexible curves, softly treating the injured spot on her waist's right side.
Vivian held her sister's hand and leaned into her smooth palm. "Thanks..."
"Guh..." Marilyn spoke, rubbing Vivian's face.
Vivian returned the gesture. "I promise I'll be safe out there, okay?"
As always, Marilyn didn't say anything; she only nodded and let Vivian move out of her comforting grasp. Vivian held out her hand and grabbed her sister's, fingering it one last time before she left.
"I promise I'll come back one day... and I never break promises..." Vivian whispered in the shadows.
Sometime later, Vivian found herself back in Rogueport. Clueless as to the whereabouts of Mario's party, she reemerged near the port leading of the shabby town. No sooner had she arrived, a voice her from the distance.
"Hey, Vivian!"
The siren turned around just in time to see Mario and the others running up to her, Goombella being the one who called her name.
"Where have you been? We've been all over Rogueport looking for you!" she panted.
"Well, I've been looking for you guys, too... I guess I got lost," lied Vivian.
"Yeah, well don't go wandering off like that anymore!" Waffles scolded.
"Sorry..."
"You don't have to apologize every time you make a mistake. It's okay to make a few errors because learning from them makes you a better person, okay?" Goombella unintentionally lectured.
"Sorry... I mean, okay," she corrected herself.
"Well, anyway... We've already packed up and we're going to Keelhaul Kay to get the next Crystal Star, sweetheart," Flurrie said, pointing to a large ship in the harbor.
"We'll be gone for a while, missy, so if you need to do anything important, I suggest you go and do it now!" a Bob-omb with a sailor's hat called from the deck.
Vivian shook her head. "No, I'm alright."
"Perfect, then we can go now!" another sailor shouted.
As the group began boarding the ship, Goombella noticed something. "Hey, Vivian?"
"Huh?"
"What's wrong with your face? Did you get into a fight? Your cheek looks swollen..."
She turned away. "It's just a small bruise..."
Flurrie took Vivian's face in her heads, rubbing her cheeks. "Why, you poor thing! Your jaw's all puffy and... has someone been pulling on your beautiful hair? And your waist looks mangled..."
Vivian shook her head repeatedly, disregarding the Cloud Spirit's assumptions. It didn't take long until the Shadow Siren realized she was actually trying to fool herself into thinking her own injuries were fake.
"No, it's nothing... I'm just a little tired. That's all..." she assured the others. "Once we start sailing, I'll be better."
Seeing as Waffles wasn't willing to cooperate, Koops decided to take the matter into his own hands. It just didn't seem fair to leave her alone like that the time. Walking up behind Vivian, he placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to yelp in surprise.
He smiled, joining her on the side of the ship. "You sure are jumpy, aren't you?"
"I'm just not feeling very... good right now..." Her was voice frail and distant as she spoke.
"I could tell," he said, pulling out a strange-looking drink.
Vivian perked up. "What's that?"
"It's called a Tasty Tonic. Since they're really cheap, Mario bought some in case someone got seasick." He handed her the drink. "Here, it'll make you feel better."
"No, thanks... I don't need it..."
"Don't worry, it's safe to drink. It'll help you, really."
Not only did she not believe Koops, but Vivian couldn't stand the way the Tasty Tonic looked. Was it possible that he was trying to poison her? Maybe the others had caught onto her plan and were trying to get rid of her... That had to be it...
"That's okay... I think... I can handle it..." she faintly moaned. Feeling a sharp effect of her nausea again, Vivian squeezed her stomach in pain.
"Okay, I'll prove it's all right and drink some first, okay?" Koops compromised, taking a sip.
Vivian watched closely to see if Koops started foaming at the mouth or anything. When he didn't, she still found herself a little doubtful about taking a taste.
"See? Nothing happened, right?" He handed her the Tonic again.
Vivian looked at it, satisfied, yet still unconvinced by Koops' demonstration. "I don't know..."
"C'mon, I drank it. Please..."
Reluctantly, she took a small sip, expecting for acid to burn through her tongue. Instead, her nausea began to lighten up slightly, not to mention the Tasty Tonic lived up to its name of 'tasty'.
"Well?"
Vivian looked at Koops and smiled. "It tastes like cherry soda..."
He returned the smile. "I think it tastes a little like grape."
Vivian giggled and Koops laughed with her over his comment. On another side of the ship, Waffles watched in disgust.
From the other side of the ship, Waffles snorted. "Bleh. How totally lame. That guy is so full of himself!"
"What are you talking about? I think it's nice he's willing to show her some compassion. He's never really been this close to anyone before. I'm glad he's finally showing his true colors," beamed Goombella.
Waffles continued eating his Shroom. "Bleh..."
Vivian smiled at Koops' kind gesture. "Thanks for the Tasty Tonic... I feel a lot better now..."
"Oh, yeah... Sure, anytime..."
They sat in an awkward hush before Koops finally decided to break the silence.
"Um, I... well... I'll talk to you later, then..." he timidly whimpered, leaving in a rush.
Vivian watched him retreat to the other side of the ship with Goombella and a few other sailors.
The second Koops got back from the edge of the boat, Goombella started smiling. "You like her, don't you?"
He did a double take. "What? No! ...I mean, she's just our friend... and we need to look out for her, that's all..."
"That may be true, but ever since she got here, you've always been watching her... Almost like you've got a thing for her... Do you?" the smirk widened on her face.
"No, I'm just looking out for her, like everyone else should. There's nothing wrong with that," he defended.
"You don't have to get all bent out of shape about it. What's the big deal?"
Koops looked at Vivian, her back now turned to him. "I just look at her and I feel like... she's unhappy..."
Goombella looked confused. "What do you mean? She looks alright to me."
"It's just the way she acts... We trust her, but I don't think she trusts us..."
Goombella frowned. "Well, give her time, Koops. You know she suffers from a small inferiority complex. Remember how mean her sister was to her in Boggly Woods?"
Koops looked down, the image of Beldam yelling at Vivian fresh in his mind. "But I never thought she'd actually join our side... Now, I just feel like she doesn't really want to be with us."
"You're thinking way too hard about this. Why don't you go and take a nap? Take a load off your mind," Goombella suggested, not getting the gist of his musings.
"Goombella, I think Vivian's hiding something from us... Something that might end up hurting her."
Goombella made a face. "Well... we'll keep an eye on her. She'll be fine."
Koops cast his gaze back to a dozing Vivian on the other side of the ship. "Maybe you're right..."
As the days and nights passed, Vivian became more accustomed to the crew, talking to them more often and forming closer relationships. After taking Koops' Tasty Tonic, she found the sea to be exceedingly relaxing instead of repulsive. Things continued on without a hitch... until the last day of the voyage...
One their last night at sea, the head of the vessel, Flavio, had announced earlier that the ship would be docking on Keelhaul by the next morning. Never being one to mingle, Vivian stood off to the sidelines and watched everyone else celebrated. Amongst the other crew members, Koops found his way over and addressed her.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hi."
"Tomorrow we'll finally be on Keelhaul, then it's off to get the Crystal Star, right?"
"Yeah... Think it'll be scary there?"
"I've never been to Keelhaul, so it's possible. But as long as we've got Mario, I think there's anything to worry about."
"Maybe there'll be..." she stopped mid-sentence as she felt a strange chill creep through her body.
Koops looked confused. "What?"
Vivian rubbed her neck. "Something's not right..."
"What do you mean?" he looked around in a panic. "What's not right?"
At that moment, Goombella walked up. "Hey, guys... Did you notice? I think the ship stopped moving..."
Koops leaned over the side to check. "You're right... It's not. What's going on here?"
It didn't take the rest of the crew long to realize the same thing; the ship had indeed stopped sailing and sat motionless in the water. Bobbery, the navigator, found it to move, as if some unknown force was holding it down. This brought about complaints and protests for Flavio to take charge and do something. Eventually, Flavio sent one of the sailors, Pa-Patch, up to the mast to see the problem was.
"Maybe Bobbery accidentally hit a reef and we're stuck in it!" a Toad sailor shouted.
"What if we're being pulled into a current, just like the legend of the pirate king?" another asked, in shock.
"THEY'RE 'ERE! THEY'RE 'ERE!" Pa-Patch screeched, leaping off the mast and onto the main deck.
"What do you mean? Who's here? Will someone please tell me what in the world is going on here?" Flavio frowned.
Flavio's question was soon answered as the ship was rapidly swarmed by strange wispy, blue flames.
"OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo..." the wispy spirits moaned, surrounding the vessel.
"IT'S THE PIRATE KING, CORTEZ!" a Toad bellowed. "EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!"
"Wait... W-what's gong on?!" asked a startled Koops.
"What do you think? We're being attacked by ghosts!" Waffles shouted, dodging a wisp trying to charge into him.
Backing into a corner, Vivian watched as the mysterious spirits began to chase everyone on the deck, either running them into the sea or forcefully knocking them off the side. Getting a closer look at the ghosts, Vivian recognized them as Embers, vengeful spirits from the recent dead. She quickly glanced around for Koops in the confusion of the fleeing crew, but before she could act, an Ember slammed hard into her back and another into her chest, knocking her off the balance of her tail. Losing her balance, she tripped and fell overboard, her scream abruptly ending with a splash.
"Vivian?" Koops realized she was gone, but didn't have enough time to react, as an Ember shoved him off the ship and into the water. He coughed and sputtered, getting salt in his mouth and up his nose.
The rest of the night of utter chaos, as bad things went to worse. The strange, blue spirits took over the ship and ended up sinking it, throwing the crew into the dark ocean. Koops splashed about in the waves, trying to keep his head above water. He watched in horror and panic as the rest of the party fought the churning waves to escape a huge whirlpool the ship had caused when it sank.
"Everyone! Don't panic! Just keep swimming and try to grab onto anything you can, preferably another person! If we stay in a cluster, we might be able to make it to land!" Goombella shouted, grabbing onto Mario. Even when there was impending doom and madness, she was always one to try and keeps things together.
Waffles paddled along quickly in an empty crate with a broken oar. Pushing the box over to Koops, he called out to him. "Hurry up! Get in, man!"
"Thanks, Waffles," the Koopa swam over to the crate and hoisted himself in.
"Sure, whatever, but help me steer this thing so we can get to land!" He pointed to an island in the distance.
Koops looked back to see countless sailors flailing about in the water. "But what about the others?"
"Forget 'em! I could barely fit you in here! If we go back, they'll swarm us and we could all drown!"
No sooner had Waffles began to row off, a Toad clutched onto the side. "Please! You've got to let me in! I'm begging you!"
"Let me in, too! I can't keep afloat much longer! I'm gonna drown!" a Bob-omb pleaded.
"Get off! You're gonna make us capsize!" Waffles barked, hitting the Bob-omb with his oar.
"But I can't swim!" the Toad shouted.
He swung the paddle through the water. "Not my problem!"
Just as Waffles had predicted, the rest of the crew began swarming the small wooden box. The crowd started violently rocking it back and forth, trying to get in with their cries and pleas for help.
"Scram! Move it! You know you all can't fit in here! Get out of my way!" the Yoshi shouted, swinging the oar in a hasty attempt to force sailors away.
"Waffles, you've got to..." Koops looked up just in time for the oar to smack him hard in the face, just missing another sailor. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as he could feel himself losing consciousness and falling back into the water. The sound of Waffles and the crew's yelling began to drown out as he sank deeper and deeper underneath the waves...
Then, everything went black...
"...Koops? Koops! KOOPS! Get up, already! I know you're not dead, so wake up!" a distorted voice called.
Squinting slightly from bright light that was the sun, the Koopa groaned and opened his eyes. "Uh... Goombella?"
"It's about time you came to! I was worried sick!" she pouted.
Koops groggily sat up and rubbed his throbbing skull. "Oh... my aching head..."
"Try not to move too much. Waffles whacked you pretty hard with a stick, so you'd better take it easy."
"Okay... ouch..." Koops lay back down, frowning from his splitting headache. "Where are we...?"
"On Keelhaul Key, thank goodness. We've already made a camp in the jungle... Unfortunately, the ship's totally in ruins and we're all stranded here."
"Just great..." he moaned sarcastically.
"At least we made it to land... I don't think everyone else was as lucky..." a small Toad sailor stated, walking up to the female Goomba.
"What are you talking about?"
"Bobbery, Four Eyes, and Skipper have gone missing. I didn't see them anywhere on the beach or at the camp. I fear the worst has happened to them..."
Goombella looked out over the water. "Don't worry; they'll turn up sooner or later."
Still holding his head, Koops sat up again. "Hey, Goombella... Have you seen Vivian anywhere?"
Before she could respond, a small shade appeared on the ground and Vivian rose out of the shadows, groggy and tired. Shielding her eyes from the sun's ray, she stretched.
"Hey, Vivian. Glad you're okay." Goombella smiled. "We were just about to start looking for you,"
She nodded. "Oh... yeah. You don't have to worry about me that much."
"Okay... so now what? Where are the others?" asked the Koopa.
"You've been out for awhile now, but we've already found everybody and relocated in a more sheltered part of the island. Actually, I told them to meet up with me here, so they should be coming back anytime now," Goombella replied.
Right on cue, Mario, Flurrie, and Waffles soon joined the three and spoke to Goombella about the problem of getting everyone settled in. After devising a well-thought up plan, Mario, Goombella, and few other members of the crew worked together and assigned certain tasks to certain people, in hopes they could build a decent shelter by nightfall. Fortunately, the plan worked perfectly and everyone either ended up having their own tent or sharing one.
Hours later, Koops sat in Mario's tent with an ice pack on his face. Just like the others, he was beginning to recuperate from the awful attack last night. The camp was quaint, but comfortable enough for all members of the crew. The only one Koops found not content was Vivian. utisde the tent flap, he saw he dark form wandering about, looking worried and stressed.
The shadowy female wavered around the outskirts of the small campsite, near the front of the island. Quickly and quietly, she left through some bushes and was soon out of sight. Worried about her wellbeing, he decided to follow her.
Vivian sat on the small beach on the front of the island and looked up at the moon in the midnight sky, shining along with numerous sparking stars. Coiling her tail, she lowered her body to the ground, this being her way of sitting. Along with the assault from the Embers on the previous night and her tracking through the jungle, the siren found herself weary and exhausted. She had almost dozed off when the sound of rustling in the bushes woke her. She stood, poised to fight, but relaxed when she saw it was only Koops. She quickly turned to face the ocean, not wanting him to see her face in her time of dreariness.
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he quietly whispered, coming out of the bushes.
Not turning to face him, Vivian sat down and rubbed her right arm with a hint of nervous tension. "...Yeah, I'm okay... I just... needed to get away for a little bit... It's no big deal..."
Koops walked closer to the sketchy Shadow Siren. "You sure? Nothing's bothering you, is it?"
"I'm sure. Nothing's wrong... I just needed to be alone for a minute," she replied, not turning around.
"Okay... Sorry for bugging you. I leave you alone, if that's what you really want," Koops said, a trace of disappointment in his voice.
Hearing the bushes rustling again, Vivian turned just as Koops backtracked through the foliage back to the campsite. She didn't know what it was, but for some reason, she felt a little sorry for him. All he wanted to do was make sure she was safe and she just shoved him off as a common bother. Rising from her sitting position again, she took a deep breath. Almost certain she would come to regret her choice later, she decided to give Koops her compassion.
"Koops, wait..."
The retreating Koopa turned to face her. "Yeah?"
"...You know... you can, well... you can stay here with me, if you want... I didn't mean to run you off like that."
Vivian could see Koops' eyes light up as he walked back over and sat down next to her, a shy, yet happy smirk on his face. The gentle shadow assembled herself beside Koops, immediately adjusting to his company with content.
"So... what brings you out here at this time of the night?" Koops asked, trying to start a conversation.
Vivian watched a few Nibbles swim by in the water. "Nothing, really. I was just enjoying some 'me' time."
"Yeah, I can understand that. Everybody needs sometime alone so they can get together with themselves; I should know."
"I'm glad you know what I was talking about."
Picking up a small rock, Koops stood and tossed it into the ocean. "Before I joined Mario, I did it all the time. I still do when we're not doing anything important."
"How'd you meet up with him?"
"It was kinda by accident. We just ran into each while he was looking for a Crystal Star," Koops answered, throwing another rock.
"Oh... Which one was it?"
He fingered a third rock. "Um, I think it was Diamond. Yeah, it was."
Vivian nodded. "Okay..."
Koops looked down at her, taking notice she was rubbing her arm again. "You're afraid of us, aren't you?"
"Huh? No... I'm not... I just need to get used to being around you guys..." Vivian trailed off, looking at the ground.
Koops smiled. "You're lying."
Vivian said nothing. He was right; she was lying, and poorly, too. An awful thought resided in Vivian's mind about how Koops acted around her. Maybe only he knew about what she was planning to do and would blackmail her about it... No, Koops wouldn't do something like that... It wasn't in his nature... was it?
Sitting down, Koops placed a hand on Vivian's. At the first touch, she flinched as a reflex, but she soon relaxed as Koops carefully started to massage her gloved hand.
"You know... Vivian?"
She didn't look up. "Huh?"
"I really don't like seeing you by yourself... It makes me feel... sad..."
"Why?"
"...I kinda like spending time with you... It relaxes me..." Koops coyly said.
Rising to stand, Vivian gingerly placed a hand on his shoulders. "...I like spending time with you, too... You're really nice to me when no one else is..."
Koops got up from his seat on the ground. "Are you going back to camp now?"
She looked away. "I guess..."
"Wanna come back with me? ...So you won't be alone?"
"Okay..." Vivian anxiously gnawed on her glove. Under her hat, she blushed like crazy, but she continuously fingered the rim to make sure Koops couldn't see.
With a nod of reassurance, Koops lead the way back to camp, Vivian following close behind.
On the way back, Vivian unintentionally reached out and grabbed Koops' hand, giving it a gentle squeeze...
Authoress' Notes: Hah! I made up a name for that random Toad who got lost with Bobbery and Crump! I'm productive to the extreme :P I thought it'd be nice if I threw a little excitement in there and having it circle around how you escape a sinking ship haunted by ghosts seemed like the perfect way to do it!