Welcome to chapter three ^^ I hope you like this chapter, feel free to review and tell me what you think. Oh, and guess what? They FINALLY get out of the underground at the end of this chapter! What a welcome spoiler lol I hated writing about doors and halls and stairs -.- there was nothing else XD Well enjoy! Thanks by the way, to all who have reviewed this fic so far much appreciated. ^.^
April reached the bottom of the stairs and found another door; she opened it and found more stairs leading down again. She was annoyed but continued down them as well. These guys sure enjoyed walking…
When she reached the bottom of those stairs nearly tripping over the bottom step she found herself in another hallway, this one brightly lit. There were four doors along the right side of the wall and April carefully walked over to the first door, she kept worrying that one would open and she would be discovered but luckily nothing of the sort happened.
And she picks door number one…April opened it and found a dark room awaiting her. She cautiously steps in and then out again. She thinks for a sec then grabs one of the torches off the wall, hopefully no one would notice it was gone.
The light from her torch helped a lot and soon she could see the whole room and the door at the end of it. This one was very dusty and that made it difficult for her because one hand was over her nose and one gripping the torch. April had issues when it came to dust, even a bit could put her into a sneezing fit.
She reached the door and fumbled with the torch, she pinched her nose for a sec and then quickly held her breath and opened the door. She was stunned by what she found inside…
"What the heck? Who is dumb enough to put a closet full of junk in an empty room?" April scowled, "At least I now know what I'm up against… a bunch of idiots; and seriously…does anyone know how to dust around here?"
April, annoyed, quickly left the room holding back another sneeze with her right hand the torch in her other. She didn't bother shutting the door; she was too bugged by the closet thing to care.
Man, April thought, I really hope Cora has found some clues. I really want to just get out of here and explore Toad Town this place is lame.
April returned the torch to its place on the wall and stepped past the first door she had just left and moved to open the second. April peered in to see what looked like a study of some sort. A bookcase sat to the right of the room and a small bed and chest drawers on the other side. An unlit fireplace also made up the room space.
April checked the area, even pulling out some books to see if any secret doors opened, after awhile she got bored and left that room too. So far mission shy guy was becoming a huge pain. "When I get my hands on him," April said under her breath, "he's dead meat."
She opened the next door quickly, in a flare of impatience. April was rewarded with a cry of surprise. Oops…
The girl was face to face with a confused looking koopa. He was a foot shorter than her and had a normal green koopa shell, no spiky bracelets or anything, but a red bandana on his head. He stared at her and opened his mouth. April didn't know what he was going to say, or even if he was going to yell "intruder" she just didn't give him time to react. April gave him a swift uppercut to the face with a well-placed fist and watched, satisfied, as he fell to the ground with a thud.
"That." April smirked, "Felt good."
The girl moved past the unconscious koopa and took a look at where she was now. This room was as bright as the hallway and only had one door. April placed her hand on the doorknob and slowly eased the door open, she peeked through the crack and saw a staircase leading down, finding that these steps were crudely shaped and crumbling in several spots. April could also hear a faint sound of voices below; she kept as still as possible and listened. Yep, there was definitely more than one person down there.
April proceeded with caution, taking each step carefully; keeping her back to the wall, sliding softly against it, peering over every slight turn. Finally she was on level ground and found a large room in front of her and a curve in the walls that moved to her left. She peeked over the left corner and saw the rest of the room, and the people in it.
A large rectangular table was in the middle of the room and seated at this table were five koopas and 3 goombas. One of the koopa's sitting at the end of the table was wearing some shades, spiky black bracelets, and a large grin. April guessed immediately that he was the leader; he held the attention of all the others at the table and had an arrogant light about him.
"Now I know you've heard about my new guy, heh?" The koopa said leaning back in his chair, his feet on the table, "He doesn't look like much but he has quite a hand. Already paid his entrance fee with it."
A goomba cleared his throat, "Yes boss, but I thought our group was, err, limited to only…us-goombas, and koopas."
"Don't forget Ronnie." A koopa said, "He's a mole."
"He doesn't count, "The goomba replied gruffly, "He's only a spy, not even fully initiated yet."
"Well the shy guy has made quite an impression nevertheless, "Boss koopa said, "I think he should stick around for a bit, lets see what else he can do."
"What makes this newbie so special?" A koopa asked sharply. This one had a blue shell and an eye patch on. April had a feeling that he was the youngest because of his shell size and the tone of his voice.
"This." Boss Koopa tossed a large brown bag onto the table; it hit the wood with a thud and a clinking noise that was obviously the sound of coins. The creatures at the table all eyed the bag with greedy eyes; April also had her eyes on it, and was brainstorming how to retrieve it without confronting them all. She didn't like the thought of being out numbered in a room with only one exit and no idea how to use her powers yet.
"How much?" Eye Patch Koopa asked.
"5k." Boss grinned.
A goomba whistled, "Nice."
Boss Koopa retrieved the satchel from the middle of the table and tucked it into…his shell? From where April was it was hard to tell.
He suddenly stood up from the table, "I shall see you gentlemen tonight, I have a matter to deal with right now. Be there at seven sharp, don't be late."
April went into a panic as she watched the others stand. She was standing in front of the only exit! They would see her…
The girl immediately began backing up a step but then paused. Boss Koopa grabbed an unlit torch on the wall and to April's surprise, pulled it up from its bottom and onto its side. He then used it like a door knob and pulled the it revealing a narrow tunnel, "Come, you may use my tunnel system, those stairs can be a bother to climb up."
The others looked very relieved by his offer and stunned for a moment as well, April guessed he usually wasn't that generous, probably just in a better mood because of the cash.
He let them enter first then followed after. The door slowly and firmly clicked shut. April waited for a few minutes before opening the tunnel again and following them, she hoped she would soon get out of this place; she was getting tired from all the walking. A little fresh air also wouldn't hurt too; it was dank and cold under the ground.
The tunnel was very very long, it took her about fifteen minutes to finally reach a door. The tunnel continued stretching to her left, but April thought she might as well stop and try the door first. She opened it and was startled to find that she was in the hall where Cora and her had first entered the place.
"Wow," April mumbled, "What's with all the secret tunnels? Cool, but totally didn't see it coming."
She stepped out into the hall and after glancing at the other doors she headed into the one Cora had taken. She might as well regroup so they could get out of here faster; maybe splitting up had been a pointless idea anyways. This place was like a maze and maybe every door led back to the beginning at some point…
April went up some stairs, through a room and entered a bigger room with tables and chairs. She walked past them and was about to check the door at the end of the room when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
April bent down and reached under one of the chairs, the light from the torch had reflected onto a small marble on the ground. She recognized it as the one Cora had been carrying with her, the one she used to contact Filly, or whatever her name was. "So, she did come through here…" April whispered.
April tucked the white marble into her jean pocket and opened the door. She sighed when she found more stairs. On the bright side, at least they lead up instead of down. She laughed aloud. Oh well, she thought, maybe they have more than one entrance; this place could be stretched under every part of Toad Town. A guild of thieves right under their feet, and they don't even know it…fabulous.
The girl started up, a skip in her step. Starting up stairs again made her feel hopeful. Please let me be outside soon, she thought, please! This place is unbearable after awhile.
April reached the top of the steps and found herself in another room, this one far larger than the other with two doors at the end of it, each facing the other on opposite walls. There was also some tables and chairs at a corner of the room and a huge painting of a goomba wearing a metal helmet and a chest plate like a knight.
"Which door…" April opened the one to her right and found a long narrow hall that went straight then curved right sharply. She shut that door and went ahead and went to open the other too so she could decide between them. April turned the knob but found that it was locked.
I guess I'm going this way then, April thought. She went down the hall, looked around the corner and found four doors. She sighed and moved to open the closest one. This one was locked as well. Frustrated, she impatiently opened the next. She was not amused to find an empty room. April took a deep breath trying to calm her self down and went to open the next door, she was very surprised at what she found.
"Cora?" April said in disbelief. This room was dimly lit and small. In the corner of the room was a table and one chair that Cora was tied to.
"April!" Cora cried out in relief.
April moved to untie her friend, "What happened to you?"
When she was free, the girl stood up and rubbed her arms where the ropes had touched her, "I sort of ran into one of the thieves, maybe even the boss."
April frowned, "Boss? I think I just saw him earlier at a meeting with some others."
"Well, before he left he said he was going to go 'meet with some folks'" Cora sighed, "Must have been him then."
"Well, lets get moving. This sneaking around thing is getting old. I'm willing to knock down a few doors if it means getting out of here." April led the way out the door.
The two went through the last door and down some stairs. They then found themselves in a room; this one was the largest yet. The ceiling was also the highest they had yet to see. Scarlet banners hung from many of the walls and a massive fireplace took up a whole wall too the flames casting shadows across the dim room.
April and Cora stepped around some more tables heading towards the solitary door at the end of the room but were taken by surprise when it opened suddenly and a whole group entered.
Several koopas and goombas stared at them, the two girls tensed up when they realized the leader was among them. He stepped to the front of the group and gazed at them looked amused.
"Well, hello." He said, "I see you have a friend." He directed the last words at April who glared.
Cora stepped in front of April her head held high, she would not be taken by surprise this time, "You have something that belongs to us."
He smirked, "Do I? And what is this something you misplaced?"
"Money," April said sharply, "And don't deny that you have it. Hand it over now and I wont have to bust your face in."
The people behind Boss Koopa looked shocked at April's bold words but the boss shook it off, "Well, lets see what you got, girly."
The group of thieves all chuckled and April felt her cheeks flush. Ill show you girly, she thought angrily. They failed to notice the air pick up into a breeze until it was too late. The torches around them waved and flickered as a strong wind was launched towards the boss and his gang.
They were knocked backwards into the wall, some falling through the door. April stood with her hands raised at her sides her face cracked open in a satisfied grin. That was fun…
The koopas of the group were all stuck on the ground flailing about, some spinning in little circles on their shells, out of control. The goombas were unconscious against the wall in a pile. Boss Koopa however, retreated into his shell, did a quick spin, and launched himself into the air landing smoothly onto his feet.
April got into a battle stance along with Cora. The two waited to see what the koopa's next move would be.
Boss Koopa noticed their readiness to fight and straightened his shades, "Well, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get. Don't cry too hard girlies." In a flash he had went shell mode and began rocketing towards them.
April cried out as his shell hit her side and twisted quickly towards him to launch a gale of wind his way. April missed and hit Cora instead who yelled out as she hit the table nearby and fell to the floor knocking over a few chairs.
"Oww!"
"Sorry," April called out as she focused her eyes on Boss Koopa again. He was preparing to retreat to shell form and hit them again so April kept ready as he propelled towards her. Acting fast she quickly spun to the left and created a gust of wind that sent Boss Koopa flying off course, making him hit a wall hard. He slid out of shell form his shades crooked his eyes rolling in a dizzy stupor.
Cora grabbed a chair that she had knocked over earlier and threw it at the koopa. She missed and hit a nearby koopa causing it to bump from wall to wall. They knew immediately where this was going…
"Get on a table!" April yelled. Shells were ricocheting off walls, hitting other shells and causing utter chaos. The two girls quickly jumped up onto a table and watched as the shells crashed against walls and other beings sending unconscious goombas and chairs into the air. April would laugh insanely if she wasn't afraid of accidently losing her balance and falling off the table.
Cora did start laughing and April had to hold onto her elbow to keep her from losing her balance.
"Mario kart," Cora giggled, "Remember? You could launch like twenty shells into one room. I did that just for fun."
April laughed and the two watched the shells hit wall to wall and after awhile began to wonder if it would ever stop. Eventually though, it did, and there was a pile of unconscious goombas and koopas, placing the boss conveniently at the top. Cora hopped gracefully off the table and walked over to the pile. She reached into the neck part of Boss Koopa's shell and pulled out their moneybag, "Thank you." She said aloud and turned to April, "Now lets get out of here."
"Oh yes!" April cried, "About time."
It took several minutes but soon the girls had reached the top of the staircase leading to the surface, and felt around for a switch. When April found it they were both rewarded with a blinding light.
"Freedom!" April screamed and crawled out of there fast. Cora walked out behind her, shielding her eyes with a hand.
"Lets go report this place to the police and start this quest already." April said.
"April we may have to stay at an inn for tonight, the sun is setting." Cora pointed out.
"What?" April looked and she saw the orange hue of the sky, "Yay, we were under there for hours weren't we? Ugh what a waste of time."
Cora sighed, "Lets just report this little incident and go get some shut eye, I've had enough of this day already."
The two started walking down the street towards what looked like a police department. They were both silent until Cora spoke up, " Hey April."
"Yeah?"
"Do you think our parents are wondering where we're at?" Cora asked, looking up at the sky as they walked.
"Nah," April put her hands in her pockets and frowned. Cora noticed her uneasiness about the topic, "Something wrong April?"
The girl was silent and Cora thought it best not to press the issue. If April didn't want to talk she didn't have to, though she was very curious to why she seemed like she could care less about home.
I hope you guys liked this chappie, I tried to describe the underground base as best as I could but I'm never good at long-term descriptions it seems lol there are only so many words you can use and I try not to overuse them though sometimes I end up doing that anyways. Please Please Review! Reviews make me happy and I have such lapses in confidence that its ridiculous please let me know that I'm not wasting my time posting stuff. I need to know if you like this fic or not, thanks. And remember, any suggestions are welcome that or cool ideas. Tell me what you, the reader, hope to see in this fic.