Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Mario characters, games etc. Those all belong to Nintendo.
A/N: I am certainly enjoying writing/typing this story so far. What goes down in the vault? How will this affect the inspection? What important information does Peach have for Specter? Read on and find out!
Royal Knights of the Mushroom Kingdom
Chapter 2: Malice in the Vault
This is where our endurance training comes into play as Brittany and I rush down to the vault. Heading through the supply room and taking the secret entrance located behind the chests pushed into the corner, we went down the stairs of the dimly lit corridor of the basement. And Toadbert thinks I train too much. I could not help but relieve a small chuckle. We finally got down to the armory and I could not believe my eyes. Not a single weapon in sight. Entire racks of swords and spears just…gone.
"Who would've stolen all the weapons? There are no signs of a break-in. Whoever did this is fast. Might be the work of a master thief." Brittany claims while nodding her head, assuring herself. "The only plausible theory I can think of is that this was an inside job." I said in a low, almost muttering tone. Brittany did not seem to notice. "We need to check up on the guards by the vault. Stay here Brittany and I'll see if Casey and Chase are alright."
"Yes sir."
I opened the door in the back of the armory and came across a fork path in the underground passageway. The path on the left leads to a prison that housed many criminals. The path on the right leads to the vault. At the speed I was running, it only took less than a minute to reach the vault. I am completely stunned at the sight. Two of my fellow royal guards out like torches. The strange thing is they do not seem to be injured. I got up close and place my index finger and middle finger on their necks to check for a pulse and it does seem that they have one. Is it possible that someone could have choked them out? I do not see any signs of a struggle. A bizarre attack this is. Time to check on the vault. The vault is where a part of the treasury is stored along with the princess's most sacred treasures. I walked around the vault for a few minutes but…I do not understand. Everything is here! Nothing has been stolen!
The moment I realize this, I notice what looks to be a shadow on the ground? I quickly looked up and behind me to see three attackers in the air dressed in all black with black hoods and wearing black bandanas to cover their faces. The one in the middle drew a spear out and pitched it straight at me. I reacted fast enough to dodge by performing a back flip, almost landing in the cart full of coins, which threw me a little off-balance. I regained my stance and was now ready to face the intruders. We were all on the ground now. The one in the middle took back the spear and help it pointing at me almost as if the person was going to charge. The one on my right drew a double-edge axe and the one on my left unsheathed a sword.
"So I take it that you're the thieves that took the weapons from the armory?" I accused hoping to find the answer. A few seconds passed by and I got no response. "The silent ninja types eh? Guess I'll have to defeat you to make you talk." I then pulled out both of my arming swords and took a defensive stance anticipating that they might attack first. The one with the sword started running at me first leaping into the air and pointing the sword down for a dive attack. I held my swords up in an 'X' fashion to deflect the attacker into the ground for a counter…wait now the one with the axe is charging at me! Executing a roll instead of a block, I dodged the air attacker who slammed into the ground getting their sword stuck. I then went into a counter stance for the ground attacker. About two feet away, the foe swings the axe in a vertical slice which I proceeded to block with one sword and then countered with a horizontal slice with the other sword striking the ribs and sending the thief flying across the room smashing into one of the chests full of coins.
Coins scattered everywhere throughout the vault decorating it in a shiny golden pattern. The third attacker seemed to be…nowhere to be found? I looked at the original spot where the three of them were standing but the third thief was not there. All of a sudden I hear footsteps behind me as I turned and at a split second, dropped to my knees and bent backwards like playing a game of limbo to dodge a flying spear that surely would have hit me square in the back had I not noticed the foot movement. I got back up on my feet as the three thieves regrouped. I suspect that they might attack together this time but…wait a second. Something about these three seems off. Now that I have a better look at them it would seem that my three challengers are a bit short in size. They seem to be the same height as…toads. It is also clear that they can handle weapons quite well like royal guards can.
Hmmmm alright if I am right then they won't see this attack coming. I took a wide stance, held one sword above my head and the other by my left side both pointed towards the enemies. I started a spin motion that gradually got faster and faster by each passing second. I could not see but it would seem that this motion took the foes by surprise as I have not been attacked yet. They will soon regret that. The speed of the spin got so rapid that any slight movement of my feet could send me soaring across any direction into a wall of the vault in less than a second so I have to time this right.
During my training sessions, I always ask that my guards do not attend as I like to train alone knowing that my methods can be a bit brutal. Also perhaps most of my colleagues would attempt to stop me if they were to see some of the approaches of training that I take on myself. Thinking on this, I know for a fact that if I am right about my attackers then they will most certainly not see this maneuver. Taking careful steps I jetted across the room while still spinning at incredible speeds. To those that watch it would look to them that I was warping all throughout the room. Ok I think they have seen enough of this show. Still spinning, I jump up above the three thieves and, like a bolt of lightning, struck the ground with my swords about five feet away from the foes sending a massive shockwave that sent all three of them flying off in different directions.
After the smoke cleared, I looked around the vault to see if I could find the victims of my last attack. Well, I guess that answers my question. The hoods of the thieves flew back during the shockwave and the bandanas also came off to show the identities of all three aggressors. "Laura T., Hank T., and Jim T. You all have some explaining to do."
"Heh heh…you sure got us good captain. Hope you aren't too mad." Hank nervously expresses while rubbing the back of his head. "Always at your best even when caught off guard. You rock sir!" Jim says with excitement as he tries to stand up but then falls back down due to his legs being weak from the attack. "That was some attack you did to us. I take it that is a result from part of your training?" Laura utters as she is able to stand up and dusts herself off. Now seeing the mystery solved I gave the guards a mushroom to heal any damage done in the battle. This prank however, seemed to be a bit much.
"So you three are telling me that this was a prank?"
"Yes sir. We just wanted to see how your training was coming along." Hank replied.
"You could have just challenged me to a duel if you were that curious. Enough about that though. Get your armor back on, return the weapons, fix the vault, and meet me in the front courtyard for an inspection. All of you."
"There's an inspection?" Laura asks with a dazed look on her face.
"Yes there is and we have wasted enough time with these shenanigans so let's move!"
"Yes sir!" All three shout while giving me a salute.
"Uh sir? Prank aside and all but did we fare well against you?" Jim inquires sounding a bit uncertain in his question.
"I admit you caught me off guard. You all live up to your titles as royal guards. I will see all of you in the courtyard." As I walk off from the vault, I could hear faint sounds of cheering and the slaps of high-fives coming from the trio toads. Those toads keep getting stronger and stronger. Soon enough with their combined strength it won't matter how much training I do, they will assuredly best me. I smiled as I head to the front courtyard to prepare for the inspection.