Review Responses:
Elemental Queen - Thank you for the compliment. Part of the reason I keep asking for critique is because even if one is good, there's always room for improvement. I want people to know that I'm always open to improvement and hearing different takes on things I wouldn't have otherwise considered. "Oh I don't think Character X should have been voted off for Reason Y". "Oh really? Interesting, I'll keep that in mind." Someone once said they were worried about Daisy acting too mean. I didn't plan on her being so mean, so I tried toning her down after they said that.
Another reason I ask for critique is to remind the people not to fear constructive criticism. I feel that more and more, people are stuck giving out only flowery praise, never giving genuine feedback that reflects what they think. The "don't like, don't read" mentality is obstructive, and is more or less an author going 'lalala I can't hear you unless you loved everything!' I'll tone down the paragraph at the end that asks for critiques, but otherwise that's why I always ask.
(Mario Party, Nintendo, and any mentioned works of fiction or products to not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. This is just a story written for fun.)
Episode 7: A Bone-Chilling Party
Location: Snowflake Lake
Game: Mario Party 6
Team Royal Green: Daisy, Koopa, Rosalina, Petey Piranha
Team W-Shell: Koopa Kid, Yoshi, Hammer Bro., Boom-Boom, Toadette
Team Zero: Blooper, Dry Bones, Waluigi, Dry Bowser
Bowser watched a Lakitu throw a dart at a dartboard. The dart landed on a blue space.
"King Bowser, it landed on blue!"
"Then that's where we're going! … I forget, what happened last time?"
"Er… Uh… something about two Yoshis on a date?"
"Oh yeah! On Yoshi's Tropical Island, all the chumps had to make the two Yoshis have a good date, but then Shy Guy botched it for his team and got the boot! Bwahaha, I'm still laughing at that part. Then Team W-Shell won. All right then."
…
Team W-Shell:
"This is great! We haven't lost even once ever since we lost Wario on the first day! Heh-heh-heh!" Koopa Kid was sure of himself. "Soon, I'll be able to make the wish on the C-Star on Bowser's behalf, then all of his enemies will get it! … Except you guys, on account of that stupid promise I made you. Lousy, no-good-"
"You could say we have this contest nailed! Ha! I made a funny!" joked Hammer Bro., and he was the only one who liked said joke.
Toadette was not so sure. "I don't know. We didn't win back during the jungle board. I mean we didn't lose either, but we didn't win. Other than that though, I guess you have a point."
"Yoshi!"
"Also we are bigger than other teams now." Boom-Boom stated.
…
Everyone was at Snowflake Lake.
"Bwahaha! Hope you brought your shovels, 'cause it's snowing outside!"
"And here I was, hoping for warmness and sunshine when we'd get to Snowflake Lake."
"Can it, Blooper! You all have to dig for Stars! I put seven stars in there, and you have to get more than the other teams to win!"
Toad explained further. "Each team will dig in the snow field for more stars. It is possible for two teams to tie for first. If that happens, there will be a tiebreaker game. Now let's play a mini game!"
"And it's a six-player game, so that ought to be more fun to watch, hahaha!"
…
Team Royal Green:
"I'll go!" Daisy volunteered.
"You always go." Petey complained. "Eh, what do I care? Not it." The plant then began to fall asleep. Rosalina turned to Koopa.
"Koopa, would it be any trouble if I played?"
"Hey, knock yourself out!"
…
Team W-Shell:
"Yoshi!"
"Me too! I'm going, and you gotta deal with it!" said Koopa Kid.
…
Team Zero:
Dry Bowser pushed Dry Bones and Blooper forward. "Since you two knuckleheads came up with that 'brilliant' comedy night thing, you get to play today!"
"I imagine I have no choice…" Blooper rolled his eyes.
…
Game: Grin and Bar It
Players: Daisy, Rosalina, Koopa Kid, Yoshi, Dry Bones, Blooper
Instructions: Jump over the bar and try to last longer than the other teams!
Controls: A (jump)
Tips: "The bar's shaped oddly. So you'll jump before or after someone else, based on where you stand. Keep that in mind."
The players were lined up in a predictable order: First the princesses, then the two greenish players, then the white-colored players. The three teams in their standard order. The bar was at an angle, so Daisy and Rosalina would have to jump first, but everyone would have to jump sooner or later.
START!
"Oh hey I can just float up higher-" Blooper got whacked in the back of the head with the bar as it was in the upper position, eliminating him after one jump and before he could cheat.
"I wish I had known what the mini game would entail before agreeing to play. My shoes are not adequate for repeated jumps." Rosalina lamented. It was not long before she was eliminated.
"Ha! What a bunch of losers, am I right Yosh-EEEEEEEE!" Koopa Kid and Yoshi were knocked away by the bar at the same time, putting Team W-Shell in last place for the mini game. Only Daisy and Dry Bones remained.
"Uh boy." Dry Bones was nervous, going against Daisy. She had more experience with this kind of physical activity, whereas he did not. His feelings were soon justified, as Daisy won.
FINISH!
"Daisy's the winner!"
…
All Teams:
"Bwahaha! For that, Team Royal Green gets the big snow shovels! Team Zero gets regular shovels. Have fun with little trowels, Team W-Shell! See you all at the end of the day, bwahaha!"
…
Team W-Shell:
"Oh good going, Koopa Kid!" Toadette was upset, obviously. "You just had to gloat!"
"Hey! Yoshi did bad too, you know!"
"I can sort of dig with this hammer, as mentioned back in Pyramid Park. Remember, this hammer was made by the revered Hammer McBroski, and he was-"
"Hah! Owowowowow!"
"Yoshi's right, Hammer Bro. Gushing over your hammer is not helpful." Toadette scolded. Hammer Bro. lowered his head in shame.
Boom-Boom had already started working.
"I still ache from that game!" Koopa Kid complained. Yoshi agreed with him.
"Come on, guys! He gave us until the end of the day, and it's already pretty late!" Toadette joined Boom-Boom.
…
Team Royal Green:
Koopa was struggling to use his shovel, as it was far bigger than him.
"Uh, this is bad. Guys? Help? Anyone?"
Petey was still asleep, but Daisy was shoveling and already found her first star. "Jackpot!"
Rosalina was also shoveling. "Oof. Living in space, I'm not used to this sort of thing. I do enjoy the snow, though."
"Guys?"
"Eh, I guess it's okay."
"Zzzz…"
"Guys!" Koopa spoke up, but went unheard. "Rrrgh…" Koopa kept trying over and over again to fix with his shovel, so he eventually just gave up. Luckily, Daisy found another star.
…
Team Zero:
"I guess Bowser thinks he's funny, giving us four shovels when only three of us are able to use them!" Dry Bowser said. "Stupid Shy Guy! Why couldn't he have just punched Waluigi in the face or something instead?"
"I'm just glad I'm able to use one of these." Blooper countered. "I don't know how you or Dry Bones are doing it, what with having exactly zero muscle mass."
"Waluigi hates the cold!" Waluigi complained.
"Blaah!"
"Waa!"
He barely dodged an incoming blue fireball courtesy of Dry Bowser. "Quit complaining!"
"But you were doing it too, waaa!"
Suddenly, the Mystery Racer jumped out of the snow between Waluigi and Dry Bowser. He shoved a mushroom into Waluigi's mouth and forced him to chew and swallow. When he was done, the figure jumped away.
"… Waluigi feels great!" The purple man took his arm out of the sling, and started shoveling with the speed of ten diggers. He grabbed two stars easily.
…
Team W-Shell:
"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go-" The whole team was trying their hardest. Sacrificing a spread search, they all decided to work together in one area and combine their digging. This paid off and won Team W-Shell their first star.
"Guddy-pa-boooooo!" Yoshi made a happy sound.
Stars:
Team Royal Green - 2
Team W-Shell - 1
Team Zero - 2
…
Team Royal Green:
"Come on, come on!" Koopa was trying his hardest to shovel, but he hit something hard. "What is that? Is it a star?"
Koopa tried jabbing his shovel in the hard spot over and over.
"Ow!" Petey's head popped up from under the snow. "Dude! Not cool!"
"What were you even doing there?"
Petey's response was to spit out a star. Then it suddenly became nighttime.
…
All Teams:
Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Toad all showed up and had everyone gather around.
"Bwahaha! All right, Junior! Tell me how the star totals are!"
Bowser Jr. pulled out a chart. "Well Dad, it appears Team Royal Green has three stars! Team Zero has two, and Team W-Shell only has one! Looks like not all of the stars were found!"
"Grrrr! The team that has neither of my two inserts is winning! Well at least we have a clear loser! Team W-Shell, you don't get to play in this next half!"
"What?" Toadette was disappointed.
"Half?" Hammer Bro. was confused.
"Yep! Now that it's night, the real fun begins! Anyway, your team doesn't automatically lose, but you're definitely not winning today! Bwahaha!"
…
All Teams:
Everyone was outside a maze with Freezies for walls. Two Chain Chomps were present. Team Royal Green was on one side of the maze with one chomp, and Team Zero was on the other side, with their own. Bowser's crowd and Team W-Shell were watching from a cliff nearby.
"Ride the chomp and beat the other team to the center of the maze where the prize waits! Since Team Royal Green found more stars, they get a ten-second head start! Now get to it!"
…
Team Zero:
Dry Bowser hopped onto the chomp first while waiting for ten seconds to pass. "Come on, we don't have all night!"
"Yeah, but…" started Dry Bones, "you take up the whole top of the chomp… and your shell is spiky, so we can't even sit on top of that."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
…
"Go!" Waluigi and Dry Bones called at once. The two of them and Blooper rode atop the Chain Chomp, dragging Dry Bowser behind, with the chain wrapped around his right ankle.
"I HATE THIS!"
Waluigi turned to face Dry Bowser. "Quit complaining!"
"I will get you for that, Waluigi!"
…
Team Royal Green:
It seemed like a miracle, but all of Team Royal Green managed to fit on the chomp. Admittedly, the princesses and Koopa were riding on Petey's back as the chomp carried him, but still.
"Man, if I could just fly, I'd be able to find the middle in a minute flat!"
"Petey, I really think Bowser doesn't want you doing that."
"Bowser takes the fun out of everything!" the plant complained. Koopa voiced his thoughts.
"Say, why do you think we have to go through this maze on chomps anyway?"
Daisy shrugged. "Maybe there's something in the middle that's specifically for our chomps."
Rosalina sighed. "Everyone, we've taken our mount down to a dead end."
"Awwww!" Daisy, Koopa, and Petey moaned at once. They turned around. As they were going through the maze, they heard a sinister roar.
"That sounded like Dry Bowser!" Koopa said. "He sounds mad. I sure wouldn't want to be near him, right now."
…
Team Zero:
"Wahaha! Forward! Forward!"
Dry Bones was waving his arms. "Whee! How are things back there, Blooper?"
"We lost Dry Bowser."
"What?"
"Yep." said Blooper. Waluigi and Dry Bones turned around and noticed that only Dry Bowser's foot and shin were still attached to the chomp. "Must've been when we went over that rock."
"Dry Bowser! Y-U no stay tied to chomp!" Dry Bones put his arms in front of him and made a strained face. "Do we go back?"
"No way! He never said we had to all make it to the middle, just to make it to the middle on the chomp!" Waluigi figured.
…
Team Royal Green/Team Zero:
"Wait, you saw the person who was helping us?"
Petey shrugged. "I guess. I mean, based on what everyone else was saying about last time, it was probably him."
"Who was he?" Rosalina inquired. Petey simply shrugged again.
"I don't know. Not only was he in statue form, but his statue made it look like he was dressed in a way to hide his identity. I mean, with Bowser looking for you, wouldn't you try that?"
"Hey we made it!" Koopa cheered. Everyone noticed that they were in the center. Bowser was in his copter, hovering over a shaking box.
"Bwahaha! Congratulations on winning, Team Royal Green! Or should I say, almost winning! To finish this challenge, you have to run the chomp over this box!"
Bowser pressed a button, causing the sides of the box to fall over. It was the Mystery Racer, tied down.
"What?" Daisy was outraged.
"You heard me! And if you don't feel like it, you all go to the dungeon immediately!"
Three of the four remaining members of Team Zero rushed in on their chomp. Bowser turned to face them. "Good timing! Crush this guy before Team Royal Green, and you win! If you don't do it, you all go to the dungeon!"
The Mystery Racer stopped struggling. "… All righty. I've-a pretended long enough."
That got everyone's attention. They were all confused. Then the Mystery Racer freed himself from the ropes and took his helmet off.
"You! After all this time, you've come back to haunt me!"
"Yes, it is I…" the Mystery Racer started. He spun around and struck a pose. "I am the one who helped someone out of the dungeon and began interfering with your unfair game!"
Daisy's eyes widened. "You're…" But the man cut her off.
"The Green Thunder! Mr. L!" Green lights emerged from the man's body.
"Curse you, Mr. L! Which one was it? Did you help Luigi or Wario escape?"
"Mr. Who?" Petey was confused.
Koopa squinted. "Is that Luigi?"
"You're joking, right Koopa?" Daisy put a palm to her face. "Who else could it be?"
Dry Bones and Blooper looked at each other and shrugged, but Waluigi had more to say.
"Waaa! Who does he think he is? This Green Thunder guy is copying off of me! I'm the only daredevil with a mustache around here!"
"… Yeah right." barbed Blooper.
"Now that you know exactly who it is that is interfering with your game, I'd suggest you play a bit more by the rules, Bowser!" Mr. L warned before jumping away.
"Rooooar! I'll get you for this, Mr. L!" Bowser chased after him, leaving the players behind.
"… So do we win?" asked Petey.
"No!" Bowser Jr. lowered down in his own copter. "Neither of your teams beat Mr. L! But we can't have a three way tie for losing, because my dad isn't here to pick a loser at random… So I'll just let Rollodillo pound you guys until one of you is left standing! Pick two players from each team!"
…
Team Royal Green:
"I'm mad about Bowser trying to take down Luigi, let me take my rage out on this rolly-whatever!"
"Rage makes for bad focus and teamwork, Daisy." Rosalina reminded.
Koopa shrugged. "Hey I can help her. How bad could it possibly be?"
…
Team Zero:
"Waa! Waluigi will go!"
Dry Bones nodded. "Me too, I've got a bone to pick with Rollodillo. No pun intended."
…
Daisy, Koopa
Vs.
Dry Bones, Waluigi
Vs.
Rollodillo
Game: Rollodillo Rampage
Players: Daisy, Koopa, Dry Bones, Waluigi
Instructions: Pick the spot where you want to stand. Rollodillo will roll down the hill and crash into the wall behind one of the four available spots. Everyone he missed gets a chance to attack, so hope that you don't pick the wrong spot!
Controls: *Sideways Wii Remote*: Cross Pad (pick Space 1), A (pick Space 2), 1 (pick Space 3), 2 (pick Space 4)
Tips: "More than one player can stand in the same space. It's possible that everyone or no one can get points!"
Rollodillo, a giant, fuzzy, blue armadillo monster with rock armor and red and yellow eyes stood at the top of a snowy hill and roared. The nighttime made his eyes appear as if they were glowing.
"Creepy…" everyone commented at once.
START!
Daisy and Waluigi both picked Space 1, Koopa went for Space 2, and Dry Bones headed to Space 4.
1 - Daisy, Waluigi
2 - Koopa
3 - n/a
4 - Dry Bones
Rollodillo rolled down the hill and landed on Space 2, hitting Koopa.
"Aaaah!"
Daisy, Waluigi, and Dry Bones all ran over and jump-kicked Rollodillo in the bum. The monster curled up and rolled back uphill. Koopa got over his dizziness and everyone reconsidered their placement.
1 - Koopa, Dry Bones
2 - Daisy, Waluigi
3 - n/a
4 - n/a
Rollodillo rolled down and hit Daisy and Waluigi on Space 2.
"Ouch!"
"Waa!"
Koopa and Dry Bones each got a few good hits in before Rollodillo went back uphill. Then the players decided where to stand.
1 - Waluigi
2 - n/a
3 - Koopa
4 - Daisy, Dry Bones
Rollodillo hit Space 1.
"Waa!"
Daisy, Koopa, and Dry Bones each got a few shots in, making the boss mad. Rollodillo jumped up and down, with smoke coming from his head.
Team Royal Green - 4 points
Team Zero - 4 points
Rollodillo rammed into a wall near the top of the hill, causing snow to cover up Space 4, removing it as an option to pick from, leaving only three spaces. In addition, the players had less time to choose a space. They made their choices.
1 - Dry Bones, Waluigi
2 - Daisy, Koopa
3 - n/a
Rollodillo landed on Space 3, hitting no one. Every player got a few shots in before the boss regained consciousness and returned to the top. Then it was time to pick spaces again.
1 - Daisy
2 - Koopa, Dry Bones, Waluigi
3 - n/a
Rollodillo rolled down and crashed into Daisy on Space 1.
"Ouch!"
The giant armadillo himself vulnerable to Koopa, Waluigi, and Dry Bones. Then everyone got into position for the final round.
1 - Daisy
2 - Koopa
3 - Dry Bones, Waluigi
Rollodillo crashed into Waluigi and Dry Bones.
"Waa!"
"Gi!"
Daisy and Koopa went to town and laid waste to the boss, finishing him.
FINISH!
Team Royal Green - 9 points
Team Zero - 8 points
…
Team Royal Green/Team Zero:
"Hee-hee-heh-heh! Looks like Team Royal Green wins the day! I'll go tell Dad. Meanwhile, all of you chumps better get down to the starting point!"
Suddenly it turned daytime, causing the Freezies that made up the maze to melt. Dry Bowser saw everyone else and crawled over to them.
"Finally! You idiots, did we win?"
"It's a good thing you can't stand right now, 'cause you'll want to sit down to hear what's been going on." Blooper told him.
…
All Teams:
Bowser was not happy, to say the least.
"Stupid Mr. L! Well since Junior took charge in my absence and gave you all a boss mini game, he told me that Team Royal Green won today. Whatever, just get to your ship!"
Daisy, Koopa, Rosalina, and Petey all ran off. Toad stepped forward.
"And now the Bonus Stars! The Minus Star goes to… Team Zero! The Plus Star goes to… Team W-Shell! And that leaves the Red Star. It goes to…"
Both teams were anxious.
"Team W-Shell! Congratulations!"
Team W-Shell all jumped for joy and headed back to their ship.
"Invincible! Just like my hammer!"
Bowser turned to Team Zero. "All right already, I'm in a bad mood! Blooper, who would you get rid of?"
"I don't know."
"Blooper, pick one!" Bowser ordered. Dry Bowser spoke up.
"I want Waluigi gone, he's getting on my nerves!"
"What? At least Waluigi helps out!" Waluigi defended himself. "How about Dry Bones? He's the one who suggested we tie you up!"
"Hey, you're the one that did the deed! Let's get rid of Mr. Slippery Ankle Joint, he can't keep up with us!"
Bowser was stomping his foot. "Blooper! They're all voting for each other! Pick one so we can move on already!"
"Hmm…" Blooper started thinking to himself. "Well… it seems that Dry Bones has been having quite a few bad ideas… so… Sorry, bud."
"What?"
Dry Bowser nodded. "You know what, I change my vote to Dry Bones too."
"Bwahaha! So long, Dry Bones!"
A warp pipe opened under Dry Bones.
"Forever aloooooooone!" the skeleton shouted on his way down. The pipe closed.
"There! Now the three of you go back to your ship and reflect on how you're now the worst team in this game!"
Blooper, Waluigi, and Dry Bowser all ran off.
…
Bowser sat in his throne and sighed. "Stupid Mr. L! How dare he interfere with my game! I remember meeting him before and figuring out who he was, but now I can't remember! That whole void adventure is just a blur to me, like most times I've teamed up with Mario."
Bowser Jr. spoke up. "Well Dad, at least Team Zero's almost done for!"
"Except there's a problem with that, Junior! Dry Bowser is on that team, and he's one of my inserts! Boom-Boom betrayed me, so getting rid of Dry Bowser would only leave Koopa Kid left to play for me!"
"Well Koopa Kid is on Team W-Shell, right? They haven't properly lost since the first day! He's great at almost every game he plays, too!"
"Maybe you're right. But now that I know that the interloper is Mr. L, I'll have to try extra hard! I can't let some chump that I've beaten twice mess up my party!"
…
Later that night, Mr. L was sitting on the roof of Bowser's Castle, talking to himself.
"So, I've a-made myself known to Bowser and the players. I may have to be more careful."
Mr. L turned around and looked at a part of the roof completely covered in shadow from a tower.
"Once more, I a-thank you for telling me where Bowser is a-heading every time and giving me security details. I may have-a high jumped out of the dungeon and disguised myself, but you're the one who's made it possible for me to help out."
"Well that moron trusts me, so it was easy!" said the mysterious informant. Mr. L's accomplice was hidden in shadow.
"I agreed to this so I could help my friends, but why do you want me to a-help you stop Bowser? I thought you liked him. Really, you're the last of Bowser's minions I'd expect to ever go against him."
"It's time for some new management around here."
"All-a right."
"Hey who's there?" asked a Koopatrol with a flashlight. Mr. L quickly high jumped away from the area, and the mysterious informant made themselves scarce shortly after that. The Koopatrol walked up. "Guess it was just my imagination."
…
Winners' Thoughts:
"It was Luigi! Luigi was the escaped prisoner all along, I'm so happy! I beat that armadillo monster for you, honey!" - Daisy
"ACHOO! I think I got a cold… I hope Rosalina can fix me…" - Koopa
"It is good to know that Luigi is doing well." - Rosalina
"So that Mr. L guy… is Luigi? What's going on here?" - Petey
Losers' Thoughts:
"Dry Bones was my pal, but… he wasn't the best idea man." - Blooper
"Waluigi hates this Mr. L! Just like Luigi!" - Waluigi
"If we lose just one more time, I'm gonna go berserk! Anyway, Koopa Kid seems up to something. I wonder what…" - Dry Bowser
…
To be continued.
…
Remaining Players: Daisy, Koopa, Rosalina, Petey, Koopa Kid, Yoshi, Hammer Bro., Boom-Boom, Toadette, Blooper, Waluigi, Dry Bowser
Losers: Wario, Luigi, Birdo, King Boo, Shy Guy, Dry Bones
A/N - So the interloper/escaped prisoner is Mr. L! Remember, he doesn't look a lot like Wario or Luigi, only a little bit. Mr. L's different costume ring any bells? He has access to technology, like those missiles from a few chapters ago. The squeaky hammer is the type Luigi's used in Mario Power Tennis, and he'd definitely spare coins to help his old team more than Wario would. But now a new mystery fills the void- Who is the traitor that's been helping Mr. L?
A/N - Dry Bones is my Mario Party favorite, and I wish I didn't have to get rid of him. But I needed someone on Team Zero to go, and when it came down to Blooper to make the smart choice, I had to realize that Dry Bones was weighing the team down.
(Want to leave a review? Great. Don't want to? Great. I'll field any comments, questions, concerns, and criticisms and take them into account. I'm open to improving on any faults in this story, if you spot any, for your reading pleasure. Just be polite.)