A/N: This is the other, full placeholder chapter I mentioned back in Ch. 4. Just a good time for the guys to celebrate Luigi's birthday, nothing much other than that. Sorry if it's short. Anyways, enjoy reading!
*NOTE: I changed the chapter title, and I got rid of the song I put in here because I've been told that I can't copy musical lyrics into my story. A new Post-Chapter Note has been replaced.
Disclaimer: I don't own rights or the characters to Mario and Sonic as they belong to Nintendo and Sega, respectively.
Chapter 6: Birthday Bash
Location: Toad Town
It was 7:45 p.m. by the time the gang made it back to Toad Town as they were close to returning to Peach's Castle. They finished their day at Mushroom Park and Fireball Stadium. On the way home, Luigi went back to E. Gadd's lab to see Colombo again. The Polterpup barked happily now that he was walking beside his owner and his friends. The only ones who weren't with the group were DK and Diddy Kong. Unfortunately, they needed to head back to Kongo Jungle when their friend Dixie called them for an emergency. Apparently, King K. Rool had been stealing their prized possessions: bananas. They gave their goodbyes to their friends before leaving for their home.
No one ate dinner since they knew there was going to be a lot of party food and snacks as well as the final event of the night: the big dance party. The only exception was that Charmy was too obsessed with the cotton candy he bought at the theme park.
"Calm down, Charmy!" warned Vector. "You don't want to chow down very fast. You're gonna get a stomach ache."
"I just don't know why you can't wait for the food back at the castle. The party's gonna start in 15 minutes. That's not much time. You could have been patient," muttered Espio.
"But I can't wait that long. Besides, this cotton candy is delicious!" The young bee continued to scarf down the sugary treat as the purple chameleon shook his head.
"It's not that big of a deal, guys," Silver tagged along. "He's probably gonna get tired soon. Besides, he doesn't have to eat anything more for dinner."
"Well, do you remember that last time that little insect got hyped up on too much sugar?" Knuckles growled. "He started spazzing out at the New Year's Eve party when he chugged four bottles of cherry soda."
"I remember that," Amy reminisced. "Charmy drank too much of those sodas and almost broke my portrait of Sonic. That picture was taken on our romantic vacation!"
"Yeah, SO romantic when you get dragged by force to the beach," Sonic mumbled in his thoughts. "Ugh, I hate water and I hate when she makes me take selfies with her!"
"He's just lucky he didn't feel the wrath of my Piko Piko Hammer!" She exclaimed as she summoned her large weapon.
"I'm sure none of us wants to get brutalized by your hammer, Amy," Tails responded. "You do have a temper with that thing, you know."
Amy glared at the fox who put his hands up in defense, even though he had a point. The pink hedgehog expresses kindness and sisterly qualities on the outside (other than her obsessiveness with Sonic). But if someone were to do something bad to her "lover" or say something offensive to her face, she would get riled up faster than a raging pedestrian ripping his shirt off in the middle of a street fight.
Mario broke up the friends' conversation. "Amy, put the hammer away. Someone could get seriously injured. Last time, you whacked Luigi in the nose when you thought he ate your last chocolate chip cookie."
"And that extremely hurt! It's not my fault Yoshi was hungry. He loves all kinds of food!" the green plumber added.
"And I apologized to you. I just couldn't control my appetite," the dinosaur said sadly.
"You're right, guys. Sorry." Amy stuffed the hammer from behind.
"Where the hell does she put that thing in anyway?" Luigi whispered to Mario. His brother gave a clueless shrug to him.
"Do you know, Sonic?" he asked the blue hedgehog.
"It's… complicated, guys," he murmured awkwardly.
Afterwards, everyone made it back to the castle bridge in time for the party. Toadsworth was standing outside between the Toad guards.
"Aah, Princess! You're back safely with the others. How was your day?"
"It was an exciting experience!" Peach responded with delight.
She told her grandfather of all the fun rides and games they went through as well as the aftermath of the Shrooms' baseball game. As they talked, the group entered the castle doors to see the interior was completely decorated. Balloons, streamers, and disco lights filled the lobby with a large banner hung above the staircase that read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUIGI!" The green plumber was speechless at the sight of the castle. All of the Toads inside all shouted in merriment to him.
"Well Luigi, what do you think?" Daisy asked him. Luigi's mouth was still agape. The flower princess snapped him out of his trance by giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Luigi shook his head and blushed before giving out a response. "Daisy, Peach, it's wonderful!" And thank you guys for helping the princesses," Luigi referred to the female animal friends, Cheese, Toad, and Toadette.
"You're welcome, Mr. Luigi! We're all glad you love it!" Cream responded kindly.
"Now are we gonna get this started or what?" Rouge asked.
"Right on with that! Let's party!" yelled Sonic.
With a Toad hosting as DJ, all the guests began dancing to the songs he played. Some were classic hits that put everyone in a positive mood while others were popular hits that people enjoyed listening to. Everyone was having a great time dancing and singing, or enjoying the food. There were trays and plates filled with hot wings, spaghetti and meatballs, chips and dip, pizza, ice cream, and more. There was an assortment of beverages between soda, fruit punch, lemonade, and milkshakes. All in all, the party started off well for everyone.
At one point, Mario decided to hold a Mario Kart race at the castle. With some help from the Toads, they brought over some standard karts for the participants to use. Once they were set up, Mario grabbed the microphone from the DJ's speaker.
"Attention, everyone!" Everyone turned to him. "How about we have some more fun with some Mario Kart?" (1)
"Hey, I'm down for a race! How about you, Luigi?" Daisy asked.
"I guess that sounds fun."
"Hey, I want to join! I haven't raced in a vehicle for a while since I prefer running!" Sonic shouted.
"I want to join, too!" Tails added.
"So do I!" squealed Amy.
"Alright! Everyone who wants to race will head outside the castle. The others can sit back and watch the event! Or they can hop on for the next race!"
Just like a regular competition, there were eight racers to go head-to-head. The first set of drivers were an equal array of Mario and Sonic characters. This included Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. As for the remainder of the party, they went off to the sidelines to cheer their friends on.
"Okay, everyone! Here are the rules!" Toad addressed with a map layout of the course. "It's a one-loop track, meaning there aren't multiple laps. You will start off at the entrance of Peach's castle. We drive through Toad Town in a large circle track surrounding the vicinity. Once you make the full loop, you will drive back through Toad Town to finish where you started. The first person to make it back will win the race! Any questions?"
Knuckles raised his hand. "Will there be items in this contest?"
"Would it be Mario Kart without items?" Toad countered.
"Okay, you got a point."
"The items you can use are as followed. There will be Bananas, Green Shells, Red Shells, Mushrooms, and even the triple sets of all of them. There's also the Golden Mushroom, the Super Horn, Boomerang Flowers, Fire Flowers, Piranha Plants, Stars, Bullet Bills, Bloopers, Bob-Ombs, Lightning, and everyone's most hated weapon: the dreaded Spiny Shell!"
"The true friendship breaker," Luigi murmured.
"You will receive a certain item based on the position you're in during the race. Try to play strategically when you use your items! And try not to go off track!"
"Come on, Sonic! You can do it!" Vector shouted.
"You got this, Tails!" waved Charmy.
"I got money on you, Knuckles!" Espio told him.
"I'm rooting for you, Amy!" Cream yelled.
"Gonna guess Peach is going to win this one," Blaze thought.
"I'm betting on the flower princess," Rouge smirked.
"Go, Mario!" Yoshi flutter-jumped.
"Bark! Bark!" Colombo gave Luigi his own support.
"Racers! Start your engines!" Everyone revved up as the countdown commenced. "3... 2... 1... GO!" Toad waved his flags.
All eight drivers got a boost, and they took for the town. Mario, being the experienced driver, took the lead. Sonic was following behind in his blue standard vehicle. The standings continued down the line with Peach, Tails, Amy, Daisy, Knuckles, and Luigi.
On the first set of item boxes, Mario picked up a Banana and held it behind his kart. Sonic grabbed a Red Shell and fired at Mario to get rid of his defense. Peach and Amy each had Mushrooms for an extra boost. Tails grabbed a Fire Flower, pelting the flames at his opponents in front and from behind. Daisy tossed a Boomerang ahead, dazing Amy in the process. When it came back, she threw it behind her. It passed Knuckles who missed the first box. But the boomerang did hit Luigi.
"Whoops! Sorry, birthday boy!" she teased.
"Oh, you're going to regret that!" he laughed.
Luigi received a Golden Mushroom to dash his way. He found himself neck and neck with Daisy for sixth place.
"Come on, Luigi. You know I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Oh, I know. You're just going to experience something I like to call, 'payback'!" Luigi spawned a Piranha Plant in front of his kart. The plant chomped Daisy's vehicle, causing her to topple.
"Oof! Okay then! I see how it is! You're going down, Luigi!" she smiled with narrowed eyes.
Halfway through, the Mario Kart race continued in a frenzy for the people in the back. Multiple items were being thrown and used to the point where things got chaotic. Knuckles struck lightning on his opponents to help him catch up. Amy dropped to seventh place as she failed to get an item. Tails and Peach were surprised at the Bob-omb that Sonic dropped behind. After the explosion, they were passed by Luigi and Daisy when they both received Triple Mushrooms. In the top two spots, Sonic was next to Mario in a close competition for first place.
"Sorry, Mario. But you know how speed is my game, and I can't afford to lose!"
"Whatever you say, Sonic. But can you see this coming?"
The red plumber swerved in front after running over a dash panel. He positioned himself in front of the blue hedgehog with a Green Shell dragging behind his kart. Sonic spun forward from the collision.
"OW! Alright! Two can play at that game!" he sneered.
The racers were on the final section as they made their way back to the entrance of Toad Town. Mario was still in first place with the others trailing behind. Sonic was still in second, then it was Daisy remained in third, followed by Knuckles, Amy, Peach, Tails, and Luigi who made an accidental drift into a wall. But as they grabbed the final set of items, the birthday plumber had a special present for his brother.
"Mario's going to hate me for this," he playfully sung.
The blue Spiny Shell raced forward, knocking out a few racers in the process.
"Hey, do you hear something?" Sonic asked as he was barely next to Mario.
"I bet you're trying to distract me."
"No, seriously. I hear something... whirring."
"Whirring?"
Mario and Sonic looked behind to see Daisy get knocked out by the blue weapon.
"Oh, crap," they simultaneously mumbled.
The shell spun over Mario's head since he was in first. Sonic didn't have time to brake, so the two of them spun out in the explosion.
"OW! So that what it feels like to get hit by one of those!"
"You can never avoid them unless you have the Super Horn. But I only got a Banana!"
As they tried to accelerate, it was the red echidna who took the lead.
"Yeah, baby! I'm gonna win!"
Knuckles crossed the checkered finish line at the castle entrance first. The standings ended with him taking first place, Tails earning second thanks to a last-second Bullet Bill, and Daisy earning the bronze. Mario and Sonic both got tough luck earning fourth and fifth respectively, with Peach, Amy, and Luigi taking the bottom three spots.
"Oh yeah! I'm the winner!" Knuckles raised a fist triumphantly.
"Whatever," Amy rolled her eyes. "You only won because Mario and Sonic got destroyed by a Blue Shell."
"Actually, the term is Spiny Shell," Tails corrected.
"But everyone always calls it a Blue Shell. It's just easier to say that."
"Well either way, congratulations, Knuckles," Luigi told him.
"Thanks, man. Sorry you got last place."
"That's okay. I think I had the highlight of the race when I threw that Blue Shell."
"Wait, you threw that?!" Mario widened his eyes.
"Sorry, Mario," he shrugged with a guilty smile.
"Oh, Luigi! I will admit, that's one way to end a race!"
After everyone congratulated Knuckles on his win and the others for their driving skills, they all went back inside the castle.
Sonic grabbed a cold Shroom Shake to cool down. "So guys, when are we gonna get to cutting the cake?"
"Oh, that's right! This is probably a good time to bring it out. Thanks for reminding me, Sonic." Peach answered.
"Eh, it's no problem! This entire party has sure made me hungry, even after eating that plate of chili dogs! My compliments to the chef, by the way," Sonic responded before taking a sip of his beverage.
Peach asked Daisy, Amy, and Cream for their help to bring out the cake. Toad, Toadsworth, and Toadette also followed. Meanwhile, the four friends were sitting down, still tired from their dancing. Later, they were joined by Yoshi, Silver and Blaze while the Chaotix grabbed some drinks. Colombo jumped into Luigi's lap and playfully licked his face, causing the mustachioed man and his friends to chuckle. He rubbed his head which made the Polterpup pant with enjoyment. So far, Luigi's birthday party was a blast to start the night after a day of fun.
Someone else was in the mood for some fun… But it's something that the guys won't enjoy. Nor would they expect it.
END OF CHAPTER
The party was a big hit and a fun night for Luigi and the gang. I know this chapter is another placeholder, but don't worry! A critical plot point will take place in the next chapter! I mean, that's what the cliffhanger is indicating.
Thanks for reading! Review, follow, favorite and all that good stuff!
Post-Chapter Notes:
(1): I originally had a dancing scene here, but I got rid of it since I used an actual song when I'm not allowed to. I replaced it with a Mario Kart race instead.