Here is chapter five! R&R please! I love getting reviews; it makes me feel like I'm not wasting my time. :3 Thanks for all who have reviewed so far, you make me smile. :D

"I mean, seriously! Peach gets kidnapped all the time, because her guards are toads! Never once has Mario had a companion Toad, that's cause they suck at fighting."

April had been chatting the whole way down the path but Cora was much too busy to hear her. She was currently taken in by her surroundings. The forest around them was very lovely and a pleasant breeze sent her hair flying softly around her ears.

They, with the help of the Mario brothers, had searched the whole town for information and came up with nothing. To their knowledge, the necklace was nowhere near Toad Town, so the girls took an eastern path out of town. Now they just had to reach a new destination and see what they could find.

"But, yeah. I so would hire new help if I was her. What's the point of having guards when they can't protect you? I was very surprised they helped at all during that piranha plant attack. Cora?"

"Yes?"

"You didn't hear a thing I said did you?"

"…. no."

April sighed and leaned against a nearby tree, "Oh well, I was just rambling anyways."

There was a rustle in the bushes and both girls jumped. April slowly moved away from the tree and stared at the shrubbery nearby. Cora picked up a stick off the ground and waited next to her friend.

There was silence and then the rustling began again. Both girls watched tense as something began to leave the bushes. They were both amused to see a cute pink caterpillar the size of a baseball bat crawl out. It crawled away minding its own business, wearing a tiny red hat with a flower. After it left the two girls exchanged a smile and continued their walk through the woods, Cora tossing her stick into the bushes. The critter was lucky Cora wasn't a spastic person; it could have easily been bludgeoned with a stick…

After walking for another mile, Cora tried her best not to totally ignore her friend, after some time they came across a crossroads in the path.

"Umm…which way?" April frowned," Cause I'm totally not sure."

"Ugh…" Cora groaned, "I can't find the map!" She had searched her bag and had found it absent.

"What! Oh great!" April moaned, "We're going to be stuck in these freaking woods forever!"

Cora looked around her but could see no visible signs, she was startled though by more rustling in the bushes nearby…or was it her imagination? April get ranting about them being doomed etc…while Cora mused which path would be best to take, though there was really no clear way to tell.

"Ok," Cora started, "Lets try-" The bushes nearby rustled and she turned to look at them in surprise. Was it another caterpillar perhaps? She felt it then, a familiar ache in her chest. She placed a hand there for a moment feeling stressed, it didn't take Cora long to realize something was out there-and it wasn't an innocent caterpillar creature.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEE-ORK!

April's eyes widened, "Holy Sh-".

Cora grabbed April's hand who had been standing there staring and they began to run. Pursuing them was one of nature's gifts, about twenty fuzzies AKA fuzzy small evil face hugging bloodsuckers.

"Don't stop running!" Cora gasped as they ran down the left path trying desperately to escape the fuzzies.

"That's not likely to happen any time soon!" April yelled back and glanced behind her to see their enemy's progress. The little bastards were gaining big time, each making squealing noises like deranged fan girls and hopping up and down as they ran. As far as April could tell in this situation thus far…it didn't look good, especially when Cora began to slow down.

"We have to go faster!" April screamed, "Don't stop or they'll get us!" There was no way she would have time to build up a powerful enough gust to deal with them all…that and they were really freaky in real life and she did not want one munching on her neck.

"I can't do this!" Cora moaned, "I have horrible stamina!"

They tried their best to keep a decent speed but it soon became clear that they were weakening, and Cora was trying her very best to push herself, her hand tight on April's, her heart pounding in her chest. The path kept going straight so they decided to cut into the woods, Cora though that maybe there they could find some way to lose the fuzzies. The two girls stumbled through some bushes; April's pants tearing on a thorn, causing her hand to jerk out of Cora's… Cora kept leading the way and they both rushed through a thicket…and there was a scream as Cora disappeared in front of April. It took April only a second to react, and that was not enough time even…because she soon followed her friend tumbling forward off a cliff that had been impossible to see from the trees. She desperately tried to gain footing on the edge but only succeeded in pushing herself faster off the cliff face.

April screamed and her eyes closed as she fell hundreds of feet towards another part of the forest. This is the end…I can't believe I came here only to die from being ran off a cliff, April thought sadly as she waited for the end of her game. She suddenly felt her back knock hard into something and was confused and scared when she felt like she was being pressed against something so hard it hurt to breathe. The girl finally opened her eyes to see why it was she didn't die and was amazed to see Cora in front of her, holding her up…a changed Cora.

Cora held April against the side of the cliff her blue eyes wide, her heart thumping in her chest. Her hair moved softly in a breeze created by the two moving things behind her…wings. They were lovely white wings with dark brown tips-the color of Cora's hair. Each feather seemed to reflect the shine of the sun and April longed to stroke one, just to see if they were as soft as they appeared.

"W-wow," April murmured breathless still from the shock of the fall, "…So this is your power."

Cora gave her a strained smile and grunted, trying to lift April up, soon though it was found that this was not going to work, so instead she carefully pushed away from the cliff side and lowered herself and April until they were safely onto the ground.

April stared at her friend for a long time after touching the tip and shoulder of one of Cora's wings. Cora stared back, smiling, feeling proud.

After another minute, April spoke, "So…why didn't I get to pick this power?" She said playfully.

Cora shrugged, "There were four gifts at first, and I picked this one and after I did, it was no longer available for anyone else." She flexed her wings and grinned at her friend, "Isn't it cool?"

April scoffed, "About time I know what your power is, the suspense was killing me."

Cora just brushed some hair out of her face and grinned, "I have to admit, this was the perfect time for a revealing."

April moaned and rubbed her back where she had hit the edge on the way down, "You're telling me."

Meanwhile two minions of the Koopa King, Bowser, were tailing our two heroines. He had sent them, a magikoopa and a hammer bro, to keep an eye out for the necklace and to report of any interesting activity. So far both of them were not enjoying the mission.

They had both been chased around by crazed fuzzies and lost the girls for a time. Henry the hammer bro also had a run in with some hornets and was definitely hurting a bit as well.

"Why us?" Henry moaned, rubbing at the sores on his arm, "I was enjoying a good movie when he called me, this must be a cruel twist of fate."

The magikoopa, a short koopa named Marvin, just sighed, "I should be studying instead of trekking around in this accursed forest with you."

"That sounds lame," Henry, remarked, "My movie was awesome, and my girl and I were planning on going out too."

"Lets just find those two already," Marvin said, "I want this to be over as soon as possible, I have much reading to catch up on."

Henry rolled his eyes and followed the magikoopa through the woods, "Sounds fun."

Marvin spaced out for a second like he was dreaming about a library full of all his favorite novels and Henry just walked on by him, elbowing the koopa to wake him up. Now where did those girls get to? The fuzzie attack had separated them and they had yet to locate either one.

"Let me fly up on my broom," Marvin suggested, said broom appearing in his hand, "I can view the whole forest from above."

Henry nodded and watched the magikoopa fly up until he was no longer visible. He waited for a while, glancing at every leaf in the canopies above for a glimpse of the koopa's robe, and finally found Marvin returning with a satisfied grin on his face.

"They are north west of here," Marvin said, "They got pretty far actually, even down some cliffs-we'll have to fly to catch up."

Henry was nervous at the mention of flying but the thought of an annoyed Bowser bugged him more so he carefully sat himself behind Marvin on the broom and hung on for dear life as they pushed off into the sky.

Cora had long since put away her wings, because she was still unused to walking with them, it took some getting used to. April still remembered vividly what it looked like when they disappeared. Cora had looked relaxed; her wing tips bowing to the ground like they were stretched out to catch the warmth of the sun. In only a blink of an eye, a mist had settled over the wings and they had vanished like they had been nothing but a mirage.

"How did you do that?" April had asked when the wings were gone.

Cora just smiled at her and shrugged, "I just wanted them to leave for awhile and they did, it's hard to explain. What about you windy girl?"

"Well, " April said, "I just feel like whipping up a storm and it happens." She grinned, "I also use my anger to help that along, and kinda my will I suppose."

They walked through the woods feeling far better than before. These woods seemed clean of any enemies and were sunny and warm. A cool breeze whispered through the trees and Cora lifted up her head to catch the wind on her face. It was truly a beautiful day, and the sun shone through the leaves above them casting dappled rays of sunshine across the forest floor. They were both very happy to be alive to enjoy it.

"Lets rest soon," April said after they walked in silence for a while, "My legs are aching."

"Hm…yes." Cora sighed, "I think the forest is making me sleepy."

"It is pretty nice here, I usually hate trees," April admitted, "I usually end up tripping over roots and getting attacked by bugs in the woods, so I usually stay inside most of the time."

Cora sat on a log nearby, "When I was younger, my dad would take me hiking a lot. We would go high up these hills, sometimes I felt like I would slip backwards if I didn't keep hold of his hand. Dad tried to make me feel safe on hiking trips, he always told me stories when we were in a dark part of the woods or near really high places."

"Scared of heights?" April laughed, "And you have wings."

Cora shrugged with a smile, "Well…I think I'm ok now."

April sat down by her friend and stretched out her long legs, "I think I'll just sit here for a bit."

"Me too." Cora yawned and leaned back onto the log. It wasn't the most comfortable chair but it would do for now. The girl sat with her friend for only a few minutes before they both decided to continue traveling, mostly the thought of staying the night in the woods where fuzzies roamed was motivation enough for both.

They walked, chatting as they continued forward and finally found a welcoming sight.

"Cora!" April said excitedly, "Look!"

Cora turned to see where April was pointing at and smiled, "Yes! A sign!"

"About time!" April jogged over to read what it said.

"Yay!" Cora cheered, "Only two more miles until we reach a town."

"What a relief, "April sighed, "Walking sucks, I just want to sleep or something."

"I'm hungry," Cora, said with a frown, "I hope they have some nice places to eat, maybe one that has seafood?"

"Eww," April made a face, "I hate fish."

Cora just smiled and they continued down the path towards the place appropriately named Forest Town.

"C-can't we g-get down now?" Henry stammered as they soared high over the forest that seemed to stretch miles out from under them.

"Ahh," Marvin murmured lifting his wand up slightly to place a spell on his glasses that would allow him to see from far away, "I believe I spot them now."

"Great! That's nice to hear…can we get down now?" Henry whined.

Marvin just shook his head at the hammer bro's cowardice and pushed the top of his broom down carefully, and then glancing behind at his companion he decided, with a mischievous grin, to make the decline much swifter. He was rewarded with a scream of terror and laughed wickedly as they dived towards the trees below.

Cora ran under the wooden arch at the path into the village and smiled. They had finally made it after all that walking…April caught up to Cora and glanced around at the village.

The homes around them were mostly small beautifully made cottages and a few tree houses up above. One thing that the two found immediately was that the main species in Forest Town was made up of koopas. April wondered how they could climb the houses up in the trees with their shells and her question was answered when a large fat raven came down from the branches above and landed in front of them.

"Well howdy there," The raven said, "Welcome to our humble little town, it is always nice to have visitors."

"I can see why, those fuzzies were a pain," April muttered receiving Cora's elbow in her side, "What? Its true."

The raven looked sad, "Yes, the creatures around here have been acting mighty funny of late, usually they mind their own business…but something is different."

Kind of like the piranha plants, Cora thought, how odd…

"Yeah," April said, "Kind of like those plants at Peach's castle."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Cora said with a slight frown, "I don't think this is a mere coincidence either…something is definitely off."

"Well, nevertheless," The raven said, "We all wish you a good stay at Forest Town. The name is Gerald by the way, I'm the mayor."

Cora nodded, "Nice to meet you, do you know of a good place to stay here? Maybe an inn of some sort?"

"Course, Maxine owns the bed and breakfast here. The price is reasonable too, just head straight down this path here into town and make a left turn at the cottage with the bright red roof. It's not too hard to find."

The girls thanked him and started down the path. Gerald had been correct, it had been very easy to find. Just past the red roofed home was a large cabin with an add on to the side that had bridges to several tree houses behind it. The windows had robin egg colored shutters and lovely red flowers lined the path to the building. They both stepped inside and found themselves in a spacious room with several tables on the right and doors leading back to other rooms. In the back between some doorways was a desk where a raven sat. The raven was cute, with a small curly blond wig on her head and a white bow on top.

"Welcome to my inn," The raven said, "My name is Maxine, what can I do for you two ladies?"

"We would like a room please" Cora said politely.

"Ground room or tree?"

"Umm…" Cora glanced at April who shrugged.

"Which ever," Cora replied.

Maxine glanced at the papers in front of her and hopped off her stool and bounced to a board hanging behind her that held several keys, "Ok it looks like room eight is open, it's a tree house-is that ok?"

"That's fine." Cora said, accepting the key from Maxine's beak, "Thank you."

They took the door on the right of the desk that said 'Rooms 4-8'. The two started up some stairs and reached a hallway, they walked past rooms four through six and found a door at the end of the hall. They opened the door and sunlight lit up the hallway. Cora stepped outside and across the bridge, April not far behind. The bridge went left and right, which led to rooms seven and eight. The big number eight was clearly seen and the two carefully walked across the right bridge and unlocked the door.

"Nice." April commented when they were inside. It had two beds and a large window at the far end of the room where a small flower box was seen outside. The walls and ceiling were clearly wood and the beds headboard was a cherry colored wood with carvings of flying ravens carrying roses on them. The room also had a pleasant pine smell and both girls were pleased to find that it came with a small kitchen area with a sink and table.

Cora sat down wearily on the closest bed and laid back on it. April went to look out the window at the homes and people below.

"This place is a lot cooler than the last one," April said, sitting at the table, "Comes with an awesome view."

"Yeah." Cora said quietly curling up on the bed.

"Something wrong?" April asked her friend who seemed a bit too quiet.

"Mm…no, I'm just tired. Kind of thinking about home a lot too." Cora sighed, her chin on a pillow.

April looked out the window, "I like this place much better."

Cora was silent and April looked to see that she had fallen asleep. April shrugged and decided to just leave the room to explore a bit; maybe the people of Forest Town knew something about the object they were searching for.

April left the inn and started down the path, she would start by asking some citizens walking on the street some questions. See if she could gain any clues to the whereabouts of the necklace.

"Excuse me," April stopped a koopa lady on the road who had been walking with her kid, "May I ask you a few things, we sort of…lost something, and we're looking for it."

"Oh? Well go right on ahead," The koopa said, "I'd be happy to help you find whatever it is you misplaced."

April explained the appearance of the necklace, trying to give as much detail as possible but the female koopa shook her head, "I'm so sorry dear, I have not seen any jewelry laying about, but I'll ask around if you wish."

April smiled at her, "Thanks, we're staying at the inn if you find anything-in room eight."

"Ok, I'll inform you of any news I hear about a necklace." The koopa told her good bye and continued down the path. April moved on to the next person walking the streets. Hopefully they would find out something soon, they were traveling here and there without knowing where the necklace could be. It was very nerve wracking. April put a smile on her face and began asking the raven on the side of the path chatting with a smaller raven, if he had seen anything resembling the necklace. She was disappointed again but continued on her way; sooner or later they would have to find something. Or was this quest doomed from the start?

The two minions had long since landed and soon came to an arch over the path that had the woods 'Forest Town' etched across it. Inside they found many homes lining the path, some up in the trees that they thought was a dumb idea until a raven landed in front of him.

Marvin immediately raised his wand and narrowed his eyes. The raven gave him a confused look but smiled anyways, "Welcome to Forest Town." He told them cheerfully.

The magikoopa dropped his arm at his side. Henry stepped up to the raven, "Thanks," He told him, "Were just visiting for a bit, have you seen two human girls come through here? They are friends of ours."

Gerald smiled, "You must mean the two ladies who arrived about ten minutes back, they are at the town inn. If you would like, I can take you to them."
"Uh, no thanks, " Henry said quickly, "We would like to surprise them."

The raven's eyes got big with excitement, "Oh! Is somebody celebrating a birthday?"

"W-well yes, they both are." Henry said shakily. The magikoopa did a small palm slap.

"Wow, that doesn't happen everyday," the raven said.

"They're twins!" Henry blurted receiving a sharp glare from Marvin.

Gerald raised his eyebrows, "They are sisters? Amazing what you can learn in one day. They look nothing alike."

"We say that all the time," Marvin laughed uneasily, "Now we should be on our way, thank you for your welcome."

"No problem folks!" Gerald said happily, "I welcome every one to our lovely little town. I hope you all enjoy your stay." The two quickly left the naïve raven and started down the path through town, hopefully they would locate the girls soon so they could continue spying where they left off. Lord Bowser had told them not to let the two out of their sight and so far they were both happy that he didn't know how easy it was to do just that.

End of chapter five! I hope you enjoyed reading this! If you did, leave a review. Doesn't have to be long lol. Just let me know if you're following this story and that you like it. I try to write good chapters, let me know how I did. Reviews are hearted. Oh and if you find any mistakes, its cause I wrote a lot of this when I was sick. See how dedicated I am? ^_^ How do you like my two minion OC's? Tell me what you think, and thanks for reading!