Woohoo! I'm back. And with another chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Becuase I'm lazy.

Chapter 14: Fast and Slow

A ding heralded the arrival of an elevator. The doors hadn't even opened all the way before the elevator found itself boarded. The button for the ground floor was pushed, and the elevator doors closed.

A black heel tapped the floor anxiously as the elevator descended.

"Come on, come on," Pauline murmured, wishing that the elevator would go faster. She hoped it didn't stop before reaching the first floor.

The numbers on screen went down slowly. 6…5…4…3…2…

Pauline sighed in relief when her descent didn't stop at floor 2.

1…

Ding!

Pauline slipped out of the elevator and just as quickly exited her apartment building.

"I can't believe I forgot to set my alarm!" she growled for the fifth time that morning as she strode down the busy streets of Big Ape City. "If I don't hurry, I'm going to be late! What kind of boss is late for her own job?"

Pauline was the head of the Mario Toy Company, makers of the ever-so-popular Mini-Mario toys. While Mini-Model factories were located in various regions, Mario Toy Headquarters was located in Big Ape City. Mario and Peach, the company founders, needed someone they could trust to be in charge, and Pauline was the perfect candidate.

But before Pauline could function as a proper manager, she needed coffee. So she made a quick stop at her favorite coffee shop.

At least, that was her plan, but the long line in front of her sent that plan out the window.

Pauline swore quietly to herself as she took her place at the back. Tuning out everyone else's conversations, she mentally reprimanded herself for not checking her alarm clock the previous night.

Unfortunately, that meant she missed an important conversation between a Yoshi and a Doogan.

"So according to the news, Dark Land was attacked."

"I know! That's where Bowser lives, right?"

"Yep. That's the place."

"Personally, I'm fine with it. That guy terrorized Yoshis like me for a looong time. It's about time he gets a little punishment. I mean it only happens every time he kidnaps Princess Toadstool."

"This time is different, man. Turns out Mario didn't do it this time."

"Okay, so Luigi did it. Big deal."

"Dude, you're not listening! Dark Land was attacked by someone evil! And the kids are gone, man."

"Kids?"

"Bowser has kids. I know, it's news to me, too."

The two exited the coffee shop, taking their conversation with them. All this had gone unnoticed by Pauline; she was just happy to get to the counter.

The Boo at the register greeted her with a warm smile, "Pauline! Good to see you, dear. The usual?"

"Yes, please," Pauline said a little too quickly. Luckily the ghost didn't notice this and started preparing her coffee.

"So," he began, "quite the news story tod—"

"Mr. Broo," Pauline interrupted, "can we please skip the small talk today? I'm running late."

"Oh!" Mr. Broo apologized, "Of course. Sorry." He finished brewing Pauline's coffee and put it in a to-go cup. "Although this is pretty—" he began as he handed it to her.

Pauline snatched up the beverage and hurried out the door. "Thanks! See you tomorrow!" She called out behind her.

"…important," Mr. Broo finished. He chuckled to himself. "She must really be late this time." He turned to his next customer, "Hey, Mona! What a pleasant surprise!"

*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*

Pauline walked as fast as she could in her high heels. She was almost there. Just a few more blocks.

She turned a corner to find herself blocked by a small crowd. She let out a small huff and began slipping in between people. When she finally escaped the crowd, she surged forward.

Only to have a strong arm push her back, causing her to drop her coffee.

"Hey!" she yelled. "Watch it!"

The Pianta who pushed her gave her a look and pointed in front of her. He said with a distinct Brooklyn accent, "Lady, you need to watch where you're going!"

Directly in front of Pauline was a row of barricades. Beyond that, she could clearly see a chasm where the road had crumbled. Pauline paled upon realizing she almost walked through the barricades and off the edge.

"What happened?" she asked.

The Pianta, who Pauline could now see was a construction worker, shrugged. "The sewer tunnel collapsed. Not sure how it happened, though. Everything's structurally sound." To emphasize his point, he did a ground pound on the spot he was standing on.

Pauline squinted at the chasm. "So it didn't need maintenance?"

"Nope."

"Maybe someone did this, then?" she suggested.

The Pianta shook his head. "I don't think so. That'd take either a lot of willing Bob-ombs or a lot of magic. And we don't got neither here in the Big Ape. Dark Land's probably got 'em, but getting anything out of there will be hard because of the attack last night."

"Attack?"

The Pianta threw his arms in the air. "Lady! Read the newspapers, will you? Dark Land was attacked last night! And not by Mario this time. No. There's no reason for this. I'm telling you, lady, it's driving folks bonkers."

Pauline blinked. "What about Bowser?"

"He and the family have all gone AWOL."

A nearby bell tower rang, signaling the hour. Pauline realized that she was even later than before. She quickly thanked the Pianta for saving her and giving her the news and walked along the barricades, trying to find a detour.

Suddenly, the road beneath her cracked and broke away into the chasm, with her on it. She screamed as she fell into the tunnel. Her scream cut off as the concrete slab she was on hit bottom and inertia forced her to the ground.

Pauline shakily got to her feet. She groaned when she saw that her dress tore when she fell on the ground. "There goes another dress…" she muttered.

"Lady!" the Pianta from before called from above, "You okay?"

Pauline gave herself a quick once-over before looking up. "Yeah! Can you get me up?"

"Not from here. There should be a manhole a block from here, though. Do you think you can climb the ladder?"

Pauline looked down at her heels. I'll have to take those off first, but… "Yeah. Thanks!"

She carefully crawled over the rubble. As she made her way over one pile, it gave way. Pauline yelped as she fell yet again.

As she regained her bearings, Pauline looked up. She paled upon coming face to face with a very well-done muzzle.

"What happened, lady?" the Pianta called.

Pauline shuddered. "I think we found some of that family."

Eeyup. Our new supporting character is Pauline. This chapter and A/N was waaay before Mario Odyssey and New Donk City. I really couldn't find any information on Pauline's personality, so I made her one! MarioWiki, y u no have the info? (it does now lol) Anyhoo, I figured that somebody has to run the Mario Toy Company, and Mario can't because he's always busy saving the world and such, so I thought: Pauline! She's not busy! So I made her busy. And late for work.

On the subject of Mr. Broo, he's just something I made up on the spot. Don't expect him to show up anytime later. He was only for the coffee shop scene. And the name? He's a Boo, and he brews coffee. It's a bad pun, I know, but it was either this or a Lakitu named Lakilatte.

Off-topic, I'm actually pretty surprised that I haven't gotten any flames yet. Not that I'm complaining, it's just that there's always going to be someone in life who's very... "vocal" about their dislikes. Is my fic really that good?