Author's Note: I've been playing Mario games since he was "Jumpman" in Donkey Kong, so there's a lot of info from the games, books, toys, and anything else Nintendo makes with him. I understand the Super Mario Movie and cartoons are not canon, but I do use some of the cartoon lore in here for filler info. Also, according to Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario's creator, Mario is 5'1'' and 25 years old, such info I have used to make more sense of less profiled characters. So knowing this, please don't freak out about certain characters being so-so feet tall and so-so years old. I mean, if that stuff freaks you out then, spoiler alert, Mario is not a plumber anymore and I will make note of it in the story. Timeline wise, I'm placing this before the Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Super Mario Odyssey, and Mario Party: The Top 100 games, those I have yet to properly think of ways to intergrade into this story, plus most of those games haven't even been released yet. But enough of me rambling, you want to lose yourself in a story, so here it is. Enjoy. ^_^
Needless to say, the kids found our new temporary looks way more interesting than I thought they would. There was so much petting! I didn't last long though, my tiredness beat out any attention they were giving me. Though I did manage to stay conscious long enough to hear Bowser explain that removing the bells from our necks is how to undo the transformation. But for now, I nod off all curled up on a beanbag chair. I need to thank Bowser when I wake up. If it weren't for him telling the kids to let me rest, I get the feeling I'd not be in this chair when my eyes once more opened to the waking world.
"Now remember, let her sleep. The chase really wore her out."
"Daww...She's so cute."
"Look at that. Her paw pads are black instead of pink."
"Her tail is twitching. Is that a good thing?"
"If it's fast, then it's bad. Slow twitching is fine."
"Morton want to cuddle the kitty."
"What did I just say?"
Normal Bowser is intimidating. Meowser, on the other hand, is hard to take seriously due to cuteness.
"Hey! If anyone is cuddlin' her, it's me!"
"No one is cuddling her! Just let her sleep!"
"*groans*"
She rolls over, curling into a fuzzy ball and hiding her face under her paws.
"*whisper* See? Let her sleep. Otherwise, there's going to be a very cranky kitty clawing all over the place."
They move her in her beanbag chair further back in the room and move back to where they before.
"There. We should be okay now."
"So Papa...Not that it's not cool or anything, but why are you and Mama cats?"
"I...I just wanted to show her something cool. Am I not allowed to be cool?"
"You can. But you've never tried to be cool before. You just are."
"Somethin' doesn't add up here."
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
"What's a denmark?"
"It's a term used to describe corruption or a situation in which something is wrong."
"Oh...Yeah, this is so a denmark."
"This is not a denmark!"
"Old man, don't even try to mack on my girl. She's mine."
Bowser's eye twitches and he opens his mouth to say something, but Jr. does it first.
"I told you so! Mama and Papa are going to married."
"Jr. that's not..."
"Don't start that again, brat! She's mine!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yeah-huh!"
"Kids..."
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yeah-huh!"
"Kids..."
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yeah-huh!"
"Kids."
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yeah-huh!"
"Morton will make the kitty mine."
"Kids!"
While not serious to look at, Meowser is still their father. His roar meant you shut up and listen now!
"Let me make this perfectly clear..."
"Don't you mean purr-fectly?"
"...I'm this close to grounding the lot of you. Don't push your luck."
That made the young boys silent.
"Look...just...lay off all this 'she is mine' stuff. It's taking its toll on everyone, especially her."
"But pops..."
"No, Roy, father is right. We should cease trying to force claim to someone."
"Thank you, Ludwig. That's very mature of you."
"*cough* Suck up! *cough*"
Ludwig sneers at Roy's remark.
"Of course, father. It's not our place to simply 'call dibs' on her. We should respect the fair maiden's right to choose whomever she wishes as a preferable partner. After all, the heart wants what the heart wants or else it does not care, as the saying goes."
"Can everyone speak plain English and not metaphors? Having to guess what people are saying is really annoying."
"I think I can explain."
"Please do, Iggy."
"The heart is often used as a figure of speech, a metonymy as it were, for emotions, as in Pascal's remark that the heart has its reasons that reason does not know. So I think that the meaning of the saying, 'the heart wants what it wants' is that emotions such as love are not under conscious cognitive control. For example, you cannot simply decide to fall in love with somebody, no matter how suitable it might be. Similarly, you cannot just decide to stop loving somebody no matter how hopeless it is."
"While true, dear brother, on the other hand, you can decide to do things that increase the likelihood that you will fall in love with someone, such as having deep intimate conversations and gazing into each other's eyes. And you might decide to try to fall out of love with someone by avoiding the person, focusing on negative features, and becoming attracted to someone else. These occurrences are hard to explain using the two most common theories of emotions."
Iggy giggles and claps his hands in delight.
"This is why I enjoy talking with you, Ludwig. You get on my level so well. The cognitive appraisal theory of emotions says that emotions are judgments about how well a situation fits with your goals so that happiness is an estimate of goal satisfaction and sadness is an estimate of goal dissatisfaction. On this theory, it should be fairly easy to control your emotions, because you can reappraise the situation and figure out whether falling in love accomplishes your relationship goals. But emotions are never that simple. The alternative theory of emotions is that they are just reactions to physiological changes, such as heart rate, breathing, and hormone levels. The physiological perception view of emotions fits well with the idea that the heart wants just what the heart wants, putting feelings outside of cognitive control. But mere physiology doesn't explain how the brain differentiates among emotions that are physiologically similar, such as fear/anger and shame/guilt, nor how the brain produces socially complex emotions such as pride, gratitude, envy, and embarrassment."
Ludwig smirks.
"I enjoy these chats as well, brother. But the problem is resolved by viewing emotions as a parallel brain process that simultaneously performs and integrates cognitive appraisal and physiological perception. This integration can be performed by neural representations called semantic pointers that are capable of binding representations of the situation, bodily signals, and the results of evaluation of the situation with respect to goals."
"Of course! This integration explains why emotions are partly, but only partly, controllable by cognition. Reappraisal performed by yourself or with the help of a friend or therapist may be limited in the extent it can modify physiological states. Physiological modification might be helped by other, more physical interventions, such as exercise, meditation, and medication."
"Exactly. On this interpretation, it is only partly true that the heart wants what the heart wants because there is some limited capacity for cognitive reappraisal that contributes to emotional change. But this capacity can sometimes bring it about that the heart wants what the brain wants."
"*hysterical laughter* Fascinating! Truly and utterly fascinating!"
Lemmy and Larry just look at their other older brothers for clarification.
"Any idea what they said?"
"Yeah, a simple translation would be nice."
Roy shrugs.
"All I heard was 'blah blah blah nerd junk, blah blah blah mumbo jumbo'."
"Morton think it all depends on luck. You can try, but you just never know. Only try to do your best and hope things all work out in the end."
All eyes go to Morton who blushes from the attention and rubs his head nervously.
"But that just what Morton think. Morton don't really know. Hehe."
"Either way..."
Bowser tries getting things back on track.
"All I'm asking is for you guys to ease off Lynsie for awhile. She's not a toy. You can't just play however you like with her. If she keeps getting pushed, she's liable to break. And she's not something I can just return to a store to get another copy of."
"But she's never said no when we ask things of her."
"Yeah. It's not like we force anythin'."
"Mama loves to play with us. She says our smiles make her happy."
"That's may be true, but you're forgetting she's only human. She's not as durable as us Koopas. So please, try to tone down all the roughhousing with her. Can you do that? For me?"
There is a mixture of looks that both want to agree with him and yet want to keep doing what they do.
"As for what you said, Jr...No. I am not marrying Lynsie."
Jr. groans out a pout at such news, clearly disappointed by his father's statement. Roy fist pumps his delight and high fives a giddy Morton, both of them forgetting their own stake in claiming the girl. Ludwig merely half smirks to himself, biding his time for his own plans. Iggy rubs his hands together menacingly, experimental ideas he has for her that are now doable knowing Bowser was not going to be involved with her more than working friends. Lemmy and Larry are more neutral about it, either way they see it they win as nothing changes.
"But Papa, why? Papas and Mamas should be together."
"*sigh* We've been over this so many times I've lost count, son. I'm marrying Princess Peach."
"But Mama Peach is a big meanie. Mama Lynn is better."
"While I can't deny that, Lynsie can't give me what Peach can."
"What's that?"
"Isn't it obvious, young Jr.?"
"Oh like you know, Ludwig."
"I do. While a by far better maiden..."
"She can't hear ya, so cut it with the fancy words, bro."
Ludwig gives an unamused chuckle to Roy and decides to keep pressing the 'annoy his brother' button.
"As I was saying...While our dearest flower is by far a more suitable partner for Lord Bowser or frankly, any Koopa for that matter..."
"You're doin' this on purpose, ya smug jerk."
"But...Our dear lady is not of royal blood or from any line of importance. Therefore, father has nothing to gain, possession-wise, from seeking engagement with the currently furry cutie sleeping over there."
"That's it!"
His buttons pushed to its limit, Roy tackles Ludwig and the two scuffle about the room.
"Is that true, Papa?"
Bowser nods and pulls the bell from his collar. A large poof of smoke surrounds him before revealing the King in his original form once more.
"By marrying Peach, I gain control over everything she has. Not just her, but also her power, her wealth, her people, her land...The entire Mushroom Kingdom would be in the palm of my hand all by the power of just two words. 'I do'."
"To be fair, King dad, your track record on getting Peach to the alter isn't the best."
"Yeah. And each time you did get her, she was hypnotized into doing it."
"You're not going to try hypnotism again...Are you?"
Bowser looks at the Super Bell in his hand. His reflection gazing back at him.
"It almost worked the first time, did work the second time, it's bound to be permanently the third time. "
"Papa, even I think that plan is bogus."
Feeling challenged, Bowser glares.
"Things are different this time. Those dumb mustached idiots have no chance of getting here or at the very least, getting here in time. Peach is mine. And soon...This world will follow."
"Oh! Morton have a question!"
"Yes?"
"When is the wedding?"
Bowser opens his mouth but then it hits him...He hadn't picked a date.
"Soon."
"When is soon?"
"Soon."
"That's not really specific."
"I don't know, okay! Just let me figure that out. I'll give her the choice first. But if she refuses to give in willingly...Then it's straight to the altar with some well-done mind-controlling magic. Everybody wins. Well...Except for the Mario Brothers that is. Hehehe."
"*hiss*"
Everyone's attention shoots to the now very irritated cat-girl that is snarling at a nervous Roy and Ludwig. Seems the two boys scuffled their way all over the room and had spooked the slumbering girl.
"M-Milady, please accept my sincerest of apologies for disturbing your rest...It's all Roy's fault."
Ludwig points squarely at Roy and he responds by shoving Ludwig.
"Like heck it is! Don't listen to this dweeb, sugar. I wouldn't have bugged ya if he hadn't started it."
She is not a happy kitty and when she moves off the beanbag chair the boys flinch, thinking she aims to reprimand them or give them a good scratch with her claws. However, she grouchily walks past them and the others, making her way towards the room's exit.
"Lynsie?"
She pauses and looks at her King tiredly, it gets to him.
"You can use my bed."
The negativity in her features fade.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Just don't tear it up, okay?"
She snicked a little and leaves the room.
"She didn't say she wouldn't."
"She's so gonna wreck your bed, pops."
"She wouldn't dare. I'm not the one that woke her. If anything, it's you two that are on her revenge list."
"*snickers* I bet she'll leave hairballs in their rooms."
"*giggles* Or shred their pillows."
"Mama's gonna get you! Mama's gonna get you! Mama's gonna get you! Mama's gonna get you!"
"Shut your mouth, squirt, before I shut it for ya!"
"Want to repeat that, Roy?"
Bowser shoots him a discouraging look that has Roy glaring at the floor, backing down from this fight.
"Ha ha!"
Jr. gloats till Bowser flicks the back of his son's head.
"Ow! Why Papa?"
"Don't start something, have me settle it, then start it up again. I'm not always going to defend you. If you do something and there's a problem, you have to deal with it. Understand?"
Jr. lowers his head in shame.
"Yes, Papa. I'm sorry."
"Good. Now there's not a lot of time left in the day, so before it gets to be bedtime, let's just get back to watching some TV and enjoying..."
"Um...Where's Ludwig?"
Looking around, it was true, the eldest of the Koopalings was suddenly missing from the room.
"That sneaky rotten snob! I'm gonna kill'em!"
Roy rushes out of the room and Bowser sighs while dragging his hand over his face.
"I swear, you kids are going to break me one day."
Time to go on a kitty hunt.
[Meanwhile: Far down the hall]
I didn't make it very far in my stroll to Bowser's room. I was about to just crash in the hall when Ludwig suddenly came from nowhere and scooped me up to now take me I don't know where.
"Ludwig...Where are you taking me?"
"Shhhhh...Just relax, my dear. I will ensure you get a proper slumber."
"*groan* Please stop right now if this is some plot to get me alone with you or a ploy to enrage Roy. I'm so not in the mood to deal with drama right now."
He feigns being struck.
"*gasp* Milady! Oh, how cruel of you to even suggest that I would come to you with such ill intent."
I pout.
"Sorry. I'm just tired."
"'Tis fine, dear flower. No harm was done. Now sleep."
"Thanks."
"Ludwig!"
Roy's roar startles me, if it weren't for his shell my claws would've dug into his hid instead of just scraping the hard protective covering.
"Seems I've been found out. *sigh* I was hoping to have more distance than this."
"You lied to me, naughty boy."
His pace speeds up.
"I did not. I am merely painted in such light."
"Then why are you moving faster?"
"I do not wish to deal with him when he's like this. He's so bullheaded that no amount of reason will get into that thick skull of his."
"Then you better move faster."
Ludwig takes my advice seriously. He hauls tail as fast as he can, all while being rather light on his feet. It's actually rather soothing, the way he moves up and down in his stride. I nod off very quickly.
Ludwig kept on running for a good while. It seemed that Roy was not the only one giving him chase. His other siblings, even Bowser, all appeared to be after him and his furry companion. At the very least he was relieved she had fallen back into slumber, it made his ability to focus on evasion much easier without worrying about what he had to say in order to keep her relaxed. Yet as the eldest Koopaling, Ludwig is more than capable with his abilities to avoid his relatives.
Ludwig is usually the most talented and powerful of the Koopalings. He can fire projectiles from his magic wand, pound the ground to stun others, and retreat in his shell for both defensive and offensive purposes. He can spit three fireballs in a row and spin around the room in his shell, after which he can perform a long jump to the other side of the room. Ludwig can fire electricity from his hands and teleport in a flash of lightning, though he refrains from using these powers as they are draining on him. He also learned the new ability of spinning like a tornado to attack, which was also done by Iggy. Later on, Ludwig learned even more new abilities. He can either blast four fireballs from his wand at time or fire a single fireball, each homing in on the target, and has even mastered the ability of Flutter Jumping, being able to stay in the air for several seconds.
Similar to Lemmy and Wendy, he was also able to create fake duplicates to fake out foes. He is also shown with the ability to levitate without needing to Flutter Jump. He's also proven to be more acrobatic than most of the other Koopalings, being able to jump large horizontal distance with several flips, even going so far as doing a double-flip in the air while performing a stunt when karting. Most of his tricks involve him jumping out of his kart, something he does more than any other racer. His agility is further confirmed as in his victory poses are often of him able to stand on his right hand and spin, spanning two complete circles with his spinning. Like Bowser, Jr., and all the other Koopalings, Ludwig in his own version of the Koopa Clown Car, with which he can shoot cannonballs, use drills, boxing gloves, wrecking balls, and can even jump out of his Clown Car to attack directly. He has some decks of Battle Cards that are used in the fight and Dark Star Points that he and Larry collect by dealing damage to their opponents, showing how ingenious Ludwig is. Ludwig is very skilled in Table Tennis, which has been known to be a patient and strategic game, perfectly suited to him.
A few dodges here, a couple ducking into rooms there, a sprinkle of levitation every so often and Ludwig had managed to sneak his way to his room with the sleeping cat girl none the wiser to what had been going on.
"*sigh* I expect such relentless hounding from Roy. But the others? That was unexpected."
"Well, what did you expect?"
The sudden female voice in the room spooked him, even more so when he sees it's maker, Wendy, filing her claws while sitting on his bed.
"W-Wendy? What are you..."
"Doing here? You're predictable, Ludwig. The moment I heard Roy yelling, I knew you had made a move."
"Why suspect that I would do something?"
"Because after their fight, Jr. isn't brave enough to mess with Roy again. So that leaves you."
She points her file at him but is confused.
"Uh...What's with the cat?"
Ludwig adjusts the cat over his shoulder to be in his arms. The resulting look that comes to Wendy for seeing a cat not only sporting a very familiar shell but also has a human face makes her drop the file in shock.
"Is that...?"
"Our dear maiden? Yes. She and father were fooling around with those bell power-ups he brought back from the Sprixie Kingdom. Thus, she is the way you see her now."
"...And you took her?"
"She wanted a catnap and being around the others is not the best place to snooze, don't you think?"
"You have a point there. So...Can I pet her?"
Ludwig sighs and puts Lynsie down on his bed.
"You have five minutes. But afterward, please leave."
Wendy pets the girl's head, making her purr.
"Why in such a rush to have me leave? Want some 'alone time' with her?"
Ludwig rolls his eyes at her teasing suggestion and goes to his writing desk, grabbing music sheets.
"Indeed, I do. Lord Bowser is bound to request my work soon and I've only managed to finish two pieces. I need some time alone with my muse or else my work will be, dear I say...Less than satisfactory."
He shivers with disgust and Wendy mentally gags. Her eldest brother is a known perfectionist, this type of behavior is normal, even if it does come off as less than gentlemanly.
"You're going to take her down to your private room, right?"
He is stunned.
"How do you know about that?"
"Please, I'm your sister, give me some credit. It's in my gender to be nosy and find out all the little hidden things about my brothers."
"Touché, Wendy. Touché. I suppose this means you'll also be telling the others my location as well."
She scoffs.
"I may be spiteful sometimes, but I'm not going to rat out my big brother. Not over something as harmless as work inspiration."
He sighs with relief.
"Although..."
Now that sigh turned to distraught.
"What do you want or how much?"
"Nothing much. I might be persuaded to keep the others away for the small price of a song made in my honor."
"Deal."
She giggles in joy as he pulls on one of the many inconspicuous books from each of his many shelves in a pattern, which triggers a rug on the floor to fold back and reveal a hidden room.
"Now if you'll excuse me..."
"Oh! By all means."
"Thank you."
He claims the sleeping girl once more into his arms and begins to descend the stairs to the room below.
"Have fun, Ludwig."
Wendy waves innocently as her brother nods in acknowledgment before the hidden entrance closes.
"Sucker."
Wendy snickers as she leaves his room. Maybe she'll give him his peace for an hour. But the moment someone comes to her with an offer, his little fun time is being sold-out so fast heads will spin off.
Ludwig reaches the end of the stairs and with some small finger bolts of lightning, illuminates the room's many candelabras to set the mood for deep creativity. The room itself has been made soundproof, a reason for this is so that Ludwig doesn't bother others. But another reason is that when he loses himself in his music, some of his magic flows into the tunes and becomes physical, causing damage, so the padding is very handy. In the center of said room sits the grandest of Grand Pianos, the musical instrument of his heart of which he gently laid the girl upon.
"My muse, allow me to be graced in thou's purest form."
Carefully, he removes the Lucky Bell from her collar and her body was engulfed in a poof of smoke before her original self came back to his sight. He then placed the bell on the floor.
"Perfect."
He takes his seat, places the sheet music on the holder in front of him and opens the cover to the keys.
"Now, my dear flower...Inspire me."
His fingers tickle the keys and in moments he's in the zone.
In grand pianos, the frame and strings are horizontal, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. The action lies beneath the strings, and uses gravity as its means of return to a state of rest. There are many sizes of grand piano. A rough generalization distinguishes the concert grand (between 2.2 and 3 meters [7 ft 3 in–9 ft 10 in]) from the parlor grand, or boudoir grand, (1.7 to 2.2 meters [5 ft 7 in–7 ft 3 in]) and the smaller baby grand (around 1.5 meters [4 ft 11 in]). All else being equal, longer pianos with longer strings have larger, richer sound and lower inharmonicity of the strings.
Inharmonicity is the degree to which the frequencies of overtones, known as partials or harmonics, sound sharp relative to whole multiples of the fundamental frequency. This results from the piano's considerable string stiffness; as a struck string decays its harmonics vibrate, not from their termination, but from a point very slightly toward the center or more flexible part of the string. The higher the partial, the further sharp it runs. Pianos with shorter and thicker string (i.e., small pianos with short string scales) have more inharmonicity. The greater the inharmonicity, the more the ear perceives it as harshness of tone. The inharmonicity of piano strings requires that octaves be stretched, or tuned to a lower octave's corresponding sharp overtone rather than to a theoretically correct octave. If octaves are not stretched, single octaves sound in tune, but double and notably triple, octaves are unacceptably narrow. Stretching a small piano's octaves to match its inherent inharmonicity level creates an imbalance among all the instrument's intervallic relationships. In a concert grand, however, the octave "stretch" retains harmonic balance, even when aligning treble notes to a harmonic produced from three octaves below. This lets close and widespread octaves sound pure, and produces virtually beatless perfect fifths. This gives the concert grand a brilliant, singing and sustaining tone quality.
"Mmmm...Yes! Speak to me, oh gods of music! Lend me your wisdom and guide me to perfection!"
"*weary yawn* Listen to your heart..."
She rolls over, still out like a light but her words gave him an idea.
"Thank you, my muse. I know now what I must do now."
[Meanwhile: With the Bowser group]
"Any sign of them?"
"Nope."
"I found nothing."
"Me either."
"Same on my end."
"I found zilch."
"Morton got nothing."
"Where's Mama?! I want my Mama!"
"I know, son. But they couldn't have gone very far. We just need to keep looking."
"I think I can help you, daddy."
The group of males now turn to see Wendy leaning on a stone pillar.
"Wendy...What do you know?"
"Oh, not much..."
"Heh, tell us somethin' we don't know!"
Bowser whacks Roy.
"Don't be such a smart mouth. You were saying, dear?"
Wendy sneers.
"Know what...Never mind. I'm not saying jack now."
"We're not looking for Jack."
"It's a figure of speech, Lemmy."
"I hate figure of speeches."
"Quiet!"
Bowser goes over to his daughter.
"Wendy...Where are they?"
She folds her arms and huffs.
"What can daddy do to get you to tell me?"
"I want an apology."
"Roy!"
"What?"
"Apologize to your sister!"
"What?! Why?!"
"Do you want to find Lynsie or not?"
Roy flinches and grumbles with annoyance.
"I'm sorry."
"I can't hear you."
"I said, I'm sorry! So please, just tell us already!"
"Well, seeing as you've begged me..."
Roy is mentally fuming at her arrogant tone.
"I guess I can tell you where to find them. On one condition."
They all groan.
"What is it, Wendy?"
"Can I get a tiara?"
Bowser looks at her funny.
"Why do you want a tiara?"
"I just...Want to feel pretty."
That touche the dad's nerves.
"Awww, Wendy...You don't need a tiara to be pretty. You're already the most lovely Koopa girl in the kingdom. And anyone ever tells you differently, then they're insane and need some sense knocked into them. But if it'll help to make you smile, I'll get a tiara worthy of showing how beautiful you are."
That touched her heart and she couldn't help the water welling in the corners of her eyes.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Oh, daddy!"
She hugs her father tight and he smiles warmly.
"They're in Ludwig's private room."
That didn't sound good to them.
"And where's his private room?"
"In his room. On the bookshelves, pull on the books in this order. Shelf three, red. Shelf one, blue. Shelf four, green. Shelf two, yellow. If done right, a rug on the floor will move away to open the room."
"Thank you, Wendy."
"You're welcome, King daddy."
"Alright, you heard her. Onward to Ludwig's room!"
"Charge!"
The boys run off as Bowser follows behind. Leaving Wendy to flutter to her room on air of positivity.
[Meanwhile: With Ludwig]
"Yes...Yes...This is perfect!"
Ludwig nudges the sleeping girl and she whines.
"*groans* Let me sleep, please...All these interruptions are making me irritable."
"My muse, please, I need your help."
She cracks one eye partly open.
"With what?"
"I need your voice."
He holds up a finished piece of sheet music and now he has her attention. She moves to lay on her stomach across the lid of the piano and examines the song. If he weren't such a gentleman, Ludwig would be enjoying the sight of her on his piano far more.
"You want me to sing this?"
"I need to hear how it sounds with the accompanying music."
"Why not sing it yourself?"
He blushes faintly.
"As shocking as it may be, while I can write and perform music, my talents are not as...good...when it comes to vocalizing."
"Very well. I guess I can help out. But then can I sleep?"
"You do know you'll miss the evening meal if you continue to sleep."
"And the point is?"
"...Fair enough. Please, sit with me."
She hands him back the sheet of music and slides off the piano to join him on the bench.
"So how does this work?"
"I'll play the song and you just sing till it feels right. Okay?"
"Alright. Let's do this."
Thus they began to practice.
[Meanwhile: With the Bowser group]
The children storm into Ludwig's room and begin pulling randomly at books. Only when Bowser gets there do they stop because of the low ominous rumble he's making.
"Clean up this mess. I'll open the door."
Bowser waits for them to put everything back, though not in the right order, no one remembered how that was like. But dealing with what he had to work with, Bowser began to do as Wendy had told him.
"Shelf three, red."
He pulls the book.
"Shelf one, blue."
Then another one.
"Shelf four, green."
And again.
"Shelf two, yellow."
With the last one pulled, the rug gives way and out of the opening comes the sound of piano music.
"Oooh...Sounds pretty."
"Well, the pretty piano boy is gonna get his teeth knocked out for takin' my girl."
"*distant* Do. Re. Mi. Fa. Sol. La. Ti. Do. Ti. La. Sol. Fa. Mi. Ra. Do. "
That made those in the room above go slight and listen in.
"*distant* Thanks for water, Ludwig. My throat was getting dry."
"*distant* No trouble, fair maiden. Now can we try that once more, in that same key as before?"
"*distant* Okay. But just one more."
"*distant* Good. I think you really found the perfect pitch."
The music starts up again from the beginning and slowly they creep down the steps, being sure not to make a sound. Slowly the pair comes into view, sitting side by side and her no longer in a catsuit. It would seem normal, even rather sweet, if it weren't for current feelings of those watching and the odd waves of magic pooling around the piano as things build up.
" I know there's something in the wake of your smile. I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah. You've built a love, but that love falls apart. Your little piece of heaven; turns too dark. Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you. Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going and I don't know why. But listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye... "
Her words echo and reverberate in the magic, causing it to pulse with the along with the flux in the tones.
" Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile. The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yeah. They're swept away, and nothing is what it seems. The feeling of belonging; to your dreams...Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you. Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going and I don't know why. But listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye... "
It was enchanting. The song, her voice, his music, the magic. It all made this feel so much more intense for something so simple. Things only got more interesting when the magic sometimes touched the candelabras and made the fire dance in ways that were far from normal, but still so wondrous.
" And there are voices that want to be heard. So much to mention, but you can't find the words. The sense of magic, the beauty that's been. When love was wilder than the wind! Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you. Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going and I don't know why. But listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye. Listen to your heat...Mm-mmmmmm...I don't know where you're going and I don't know why. But listen to your heart, before...you tell him goodbye! "
Ludwig plays a little more before it ends and magic fades.
"Well done, milady. I do believe that was the one."
"Daww...*giggle* Thanks. I just hope it sounded okay."
"Whoooo! Way to go, sugar!"
Ludwig and I jump in our seat, Roy's voice was definitely not something we were expecting to hear.
"Mama!"
Jr., as he always does, runs up and tackles me to the floor.
"Mama! Mama! Mama! Mama!"
"Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr."
The little boy holds me tight and I sigh to myself. Seems like I'm not sleeping anytime soon. Sensing things are no longer under his terms, Ludwig attempts to make himself scarce, but he can't make it very far. Not when his other siblings and father are blocking the only means of leaving the room.
"Uh...H-Hello everyone."
"Bro...You're in for a world of hurt."
"Morton don't like it when big brother hogs the Lynn lady."
"Just because you're older, doesn't mean you have free bids on her."
"Yeah!"
Larry and Lemmy say together and Ludwig backs up a bit before Bowser steps beside him.
"Now boys, we can't judge Ludwig. He didn't do anything wrong."
Hope swells in Ludwig's eyes.
"T-Thank you, father! I swear I was going to return her to your chamber once I was finished with my work. I just needed the aid of my muse for inspiration. And as you heard, she is of the utmost help."
"I see. And this work of yours, it must be important."
"It is, father. I needed her aid in completing the pieces you requested from me for when you propose to Princess Peach. Only the best made by the best for the very best of the best."
Ludwig played to Bowser's ego for some leverage and by the looks of it, it was working.
"Very good, my boy. I expect nothing less from you."
Ludwig's heart soared.
"However..."
He gulped in dread.
"You still could've asked permission before you ran off with her. And for that...I'll let your brothers decide on how you can make amends."
He pales.
"W-What?"
Roy grabs Ludwig and grins.
"Hey there Luddy, wanna hear a joke?"
That was a bad sign, Roy only used nicknames like that when he was really seething.
"Uh..."
"What do all great pianists have in common?"
"*gulp* What?"
"They're all dead."
Ludwig pale and Roy's grin widens.
"Luck for you, bro, you're family. So we're just gonna pound the heck out of ya. till we feel ya learned your lesson."
Morton grabs Ludwig on the other side, followed by Iggy and Larry doing the same, Lemmy is too small so he leads the way out while his brothers follow all while Ludwig tries to talk his way out of it as well as cursing Wendy for betraying him, even going so far as to offer bribes for leniency.
With that over, Bowser comes over to me and picks up the Lucky Bell Ludwig removed.
"So...Did you sleep at all?"
I chuckle a little and stand up, holding Jr. to my chest as he refuses to let go.
"Not really."
"Want to call it a night early?"
"Is that allowed? We'd be missing dinner."
"Hey, I'm the King, aren't I? I think I'm allowed to bend the rules from time to time."
"Heh, I suppose that's true."
"Plus, I doubt Jr. is willing to let you go, even to eat. Right, son?"
Jr. responds by nuzzling his face into my neck and just barely is able to mumble "My Mama" to me.
"Sweetie? Do you want to snuggle with Mama?"
"Yes, please."
"Awww..."
Bowser pets his son's head, skimming a passing touch of the side of my neck. The gentle trace of his claws sends a pleasant tingle through my body, my eyes flutter yet once it's gone I wish for more of it.
"Mama? Are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, why?"
"You just got really warm all of a sudden. *gasp* Are you getting sick?"
I blush and rub the back of his head.
"I hope not, sweetie. But just in case, let's go to bed and rest. Rest does a body good."
Jr. turns in my hold and faces his father.
"Papa...Can we sleep together? You know, like when I was small."
Bowser and I share awkward looks. We've shared a bed twice now, both times I've not had full awareness of doing so and there have been so many questions when I wake up that only make things so much more awkward. But nothing ever seemed to have really happened those times, at least, nothing that I know of anyway. And Jr. is going to be with us. No way Papa Bowser would do something funny with his young son in the room with us. Yeah...I guess this is okay in my book.
"My King...Is this acceptable?"
Bowser blushes and rubs his head with his free hand.
"Are you really okay with it?"
"Yeah. Heh...I think it would put some more ease on everyone's mind if I were with my two top boys. Isn't that right, my Prince of cuddles?"
I nuzzle into Jr.'s hair and he snickers while trying to grab my face to make me stop.
"Please, Papa? I sleep better with Mama's snuggles."
"You heard the boy. Can you really say no to this face?"
Jr. pouts and gives his father the pleading puppy eyes. It takes every bit of restraint Bowser has not to burst out laughing at the level of adorableness his son was putting out.
"Okay, okay...No more. Let's go, you silly gooses."
"*goose honk*"
Bowser ruffles my hair and gets me walking with a pat on the back. Though he lingers behind for a moment or two, just staring at the Lucky Bell before joining the two of us on our way to his room. Passing by, we can hear the Koopalings doing whatever they planned to Ludwig. The moment I think about intervening, Bowser convinces me to let the boys be boys. They know better than to do anything too crazy, they don't want their King dad mad or me to be upset. I take Bowser's word for that and hope for the best by the time morning comes. Once in Bowser's room, Jr. bounds out of my arms and lays claim to the biggest pillow the bed has.
"Silly boy, you do know we're supposed to share that, right?"
"Nah. I use the pillow. You use Papa."
He smirks snidely and I'm getting impressed by his growing boldness when it comes to pushing me on his father. Even Bowser is taken back by this side of Jr..
"When you do things like this, it makes me think you know way more than you let on, sweetie."
Jr. merely giggles.
"You sure all you gave the kids was 'The Talk' and not lessons in how to be a Casanova?"
"Believe me, I'm as amazed as you are. Though, I will admit to being proud."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"Heh...They take after their old man in being smooth with the ladies."
"*snicker* Oh yeah, you're a real Don Juan alright."
I take off my shell as he shoots me a look.
"And what's that suppose to mean? I'll have you know once I set my sights on a girl, there's no escaping my powerful charm."
I roll my eyes and usher Jr. to stand up so I can help remove his shell.
"I wouldn't call abduction 'charm'. Oh, went with the Power Star undies today. Looks good, sweetie."
"Hehehe...Thanks, Mama."
Bowser puts the bell on his desk and removes his shell, showcasing black boxers with flame decals.
"Abduction is just to let the girl know I'm interested. When I'm allowed to really work the Koopa wilds, trust me, not even you would resist me."
"So you haven't been trying with Peach this whole time? Huh...Makes sense now."
He puts his hands on his hips.
"Woman, I think you're just scared you might fall for me."
I cock my brow.
"Is that a challenge I hear?"
"I think it is, Mama."
"Hmmm...What should I do, sweetie?"
"You should try to prove him wrong."
"So play along and beat him at his own game?"
"Yeah!"
"Very well then. *ahem* Sir, I accept your challenge!"
Bowser smirks.
"You sure you want to start this ball rolling, little spitfire? Because I don't want you getting mad at me because you lost."
"You must think I'm really weak. I may hate to lose, but this is a game not worth getting upset over, even if by some microscopic chance you get me to feel something more than friendship for you. You can't make me back down, big guy. You have issued the challenge and here I stand to take you on."
He walks up to me. Jr. moves into the mound of pillows to get a better view of the scene. Now face to face, or as close to doing so with our different heights, he smiles and cups my chin in one hand.
"I've said this before, but it still rings true. You're cute when you're bad."
Caught off guard once again by this comment yet not wanting to show weakness, I put on a confident grin, but the bit of color that is dusting my cheeks reveals otherwise, much to his delight.
"Oh yeah. This is going to be fun."
"Dream on, my King."
"If I do dream, it'll be of you."
"Then you better fall asleep soon. Because that's the only time you'll win me."
"Just kiss already!"
We both look at Jr. and I giggle.
"Okay, it's bedtime, little man."
"But it's just getting good."
"Uh oh...Do you hear that? It sounds like there's a wild smoocher nearby."
Bowser is confused and watches as Jr. hides in the pillows.
"Oh no! It's coming for you, Jr.!"
I dive in after the boy and he screams when I get my hands on him. Pulling him into my arms, I smooch all over his face and he tries to get free, all be it not as much as someone who really wanted it to stop would try. Taking this opportunity, Bowser crawls onto the bed and scoops us both into his embrace.
"What have we here? Seems I've caught a wild smoocher and little cuddler."
"Oh no!"
"The jig is up, Mama! We're busted!"
"You'll never take me alive!"
I grab a pillow and swat Bowser, something I instantly regret. As this only starts what turns out to be a very long pillow war that ends with us all passing out.
[Meanwhile: In Castle Three]
Thanks to Nabbit's information, the Super Mario Brothers had somewhat safer trip to the castle than they would've had. The cold zone was a vast difference from the desert land they were in before. The dip in temperature made the trek to the castle a slow one. So slow in fact, that they just barely made it by nightfall. Had they not, then the sheer freezing winds and subzero cold would've been their doom.
While not dying in the snow is always a positive thing, the castle is no picnic. The halls are filled with enemies that send chills down your spine in more than one way. Mr. Blizzards, Snow Pokeys, Snow Guys, and Ice Snifits guard the lower levels. But further in, there are Frost Piranhas, Venus Ice Traps, Ice Bros, and Snow Spikes. Lastly, in the deepest levels near the Boos Room, the enemies increase to Li'l Brrs, Crystal Bits, Ice Cherbils, Ice Puffs, Chill Bullies, and Chief Chillies. Yet past all that, all the ding dang ice and cold, was the door to the room that would allow them to leave this frozen hell!
"Ah! I hate the cold!"
"Save your energy, Mario. And be grateful that these fire powers keep us warm."
"You call this-a warm?! I'm-a so cold my mustache is going to fall off!"
"Now you're just exaggerating."
"Don't act like you're not freezing."
"I never said I wasn't. I just know that thinking about it only makes you colder."
Mario looks at Luigi funny.
"That makes no sense."
"It's true. I've been thinking about only hot things and it's kept me all toasty inside. Try it."
"That sounds dumb...But what do I really have to lose."
Mario shuts his eyes and Luigi helps to guide him as they near the Boss Room door.
"Mmmmmm..."
"So? How are you-a feeling?"
"Hot food...Hot sauce...Hot broth...Hot cocoa...Hot presses...Hot women..."
Luigi rolls his eyes.
"Sounds like you're doing just-a fine."
The door comes into view and Luigi lets Mario go before things get too weird. Slowly he pushes the large metal doors open, the low creaking stirs Mario to the matter at hand and he rejoins his brother. Cautiously, they tread inside. The room feeling oddly normal as opposed to the rest of the frosty castle. As with the others, once inside, the door closes behind them and the lights come to life. Revealing the mischievous and devious Wart, sitting impatiently on a throne with his fingers taping in a thinking way.
"Well, well, well...If it isn't the Mario Brothers. Long time no dream."
"You must owe Bowser one heck of a favor if you're willing to face us again, you slimy amphibian."
Wart glares.
"My dealings with the Koopa are none of your concerns. But you shall address me more formally, I am the King of the Land of Nightmares and you will respect me! Ribbit!"
"I respect you as far as I can throw you."
"You're title is about as real as any dream you show up in."
This angers Wart, making him puff out its throat and flare air out through the nostrils.
"Arrogant whelps! Ribbit! Some things never change. But in this case, some things did. For one, you now confront me without your Princess and little Toad friend. And two, there is not a single vegetable in this entire region nor is there a means of spawning any like how you did with the dream machine. So unless I'm mistaken, which I know I am not, you two have no chance of defeating me and leaving this place."
"See...That's where you're wrong."
Wart eyes them funny.
"We knew you-a was the boss of this castle before we entered the area."
"So we took a little side adventure to the Desert Oasis marketplace."
That made Wart's eyes widen a little bit.
"You'd be amazed what you-a can find in that place. All sorts of goodies from simple house supplies to something as unique as treasure. But more importantly, we found these!"
The brothers reach into their pockets and pull out things such as turnips, onions, beets, radishes, and other very throwable root vegetables, making Wart flinch.
"Six. All we need to do is to force-feed you-a six vegetables and you're beaten."
"So why not save yourself some trouble and an upset tummy by surrendering now."
Wart grips his armrest, digging his claws into it and ponders over his next move. It doesn't take long before the old toad stands from his throne and starts to walk down to the center of the room.
"I-Is he really going to leave? Did we win?"
"I don't-a know. But if he is, I know a good pound he can get froggy in."
The resulting growl lets them know that Mario's comment was bad and surrender was not happening.
"Vegetables or no vegetables, ribbit, I'm going to teach you spoiled heroes a lesson. Sometimes by losing a battle, you find a new way to win the war. Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. Ribbit. So think long and hard about that, because this is the day you taste the bitter flavor of loss!"
Wart shoots jets of water at the former plumbers. Of course, they manage to dodge the blasts of water, but that was what Wart wanted. It was just a distraction that allowed him to spit streams of five homing bubbles that the brothers have to blast with fire to make burst, soaking them in slimy liquid.
"Ew...! This is so gross!"
"I really hope this isn't spit."
"Bro, use the turnip!"
"Right!"
Mario throws the vegetable hard at Wart, too fast for the amphibian to move out of the way. Yet with one simple bubble, the turnip enters the bubble and is destroyed before it pops. This was not good.
"Did you forget my bubbles are more dangerous than they appear? Hehehe...Never trust appearances! Nothing is ever what it seems! Ribbit!"
Mario and Luigi pale.
"Uh..."
"Oh..."
Wart unleashes more blasts of water and bubbles. Luigi panics, fear paralyzes him where he stands. Mario's adrenaline skyrockets, his protective instincts kick in and his power over flame burns bright. Mario draws back both his hands before pushing his hands outwards, launching two blasts of fire that travel in a vortex, spiraling away from Mario and expanding vertically. Once fire hits water it explodes into a wall of searing steam, this buys each side some time to prepare for the next move.
Seeing his brother's power, Luigi snaps from his trance. He had dropped the ball when times were getting tough. Well no more. If he was going to step out of Mario's shadow he needed to not hide in it. Time for the Green Machine to bring the hurt. The Green Thunder was going to strike like lightning! All he needed to do is stop being chicken-hearted reluctantly brave Luigi and be the very bold Mr. L.
Just in case there is still some questions to my logic, I'll help clear up a few things. Using the Official Nintendo chart (google super mario bros size chart and it's the first image you see) we can see how tall a lot of them are, though I had to guess height for the Koopalings based on screen images of them next to each other, plus Mario and Luigi. Now the Nintendo-approved statue poster claims it to be "life-sized", thus putting Mario's height at 155 cm (5'1"). Using that information along with this universal size chart, it's possible to estimate the height of all of the mainstays of the franchise. From shortest to tallest: a Goomba is 72 cm (2'4"); a Boo is 79 cm (2'7"); Baby Mario is 89 cm (2'11"); Baby Luigi is 90 cm (2'11"); a Shy Guy is 100 cm (3'3"); Toad, Toadette, and Toadsworth are 103 cm (3'5"); Diddy and Dixie Kong (on their knuckles) are 113 cm (3'8"); a Koopa Troopa is 120 cm (3'11"); a Dry Bones is 124 cm (4'1"); Bowser Jr. is 131 cm (4'4"); a Hammer Bro. is 142 cm (4'8"); a Bullet Bill is 148 cm (4'10") long and 96 cm (3'2") in diameter; a Wiggler is 159 cm (5'3") tall (not including the flower) and who knows how long; Wario and Birdo are 170 cm (5'7") (Birdo is 196 cm [6'5"] if you include her bow); Luigi and Yoshi are 175 cm (5'9"); Lakitu (including cloud) is 179 cm (5'10"); Daisy is 180 cm (5'11"); Donkey Kong (on his knuckles) and Peach (!) are 186 cm (6'1"); Waluigi (with his knees bent a bit) is 216 cm (7'1"); Bowser is 262 cm (8'7"); and Petey Piranha is a whopping 389 cm (12'9"). Normal Piranha Plants seem to vary in height depending on how long their bodies are, but the diameter of their heads is about 111 cm (3'8"). Now for the even harder part, character ages. When it comes to Jr.'s age and that of the Koopalings, I used their first game appearance as their birth year and added till now, this is why Jr. is 15 as Super Mario Sunshine came out 15 years ago and it's his first game. I'll explain why his age and his appearance don't seem to match later on, but after words I hope it'll make sense to you like it does to me.
If there are any questions, feel free to ask.