Chapter 8 Bright and Early

Roy sat up in bed, rubbed his eyes, and yawned. It was sunny out; that was the first thing that was brought to his attention. The sun rays streamed down onto his covers and his skin, making it appear that the patches were glowing. Sure, the extra light also made it clear that there was extra junk strewn about his floor. And sure, said trash might have let off a smell that made this morning significantly less beautiful. But still. At first glance, without any further thought, this was a nice day.

So. Roy got up. He cringed when his foot landed on a rotten apple core, but only a little. This happened more often than not; Roy imagined that the apple core was used to it by now. He grabbed his shades and made his way toward the door, rubbing the sandy residue of sleep out of his eyes. He yawned as he made his way out into the hallway; even though it felt like he had slept for the better part of the past eternity, he was still tired. Why was this? Was yesterday emotionally draining.

Actually, that made a lot of sense. Meeting people like Alicia and Albert would be taxing for anybody.

Oh man. He had to go back there, didn't he? That was the last thing he wanted to do. His blood was still boiling from the anger he'd experienced, his heart still pumped a little too vigorously. The less time he spent hanging out with those racist little snobs, the happier he would be.

But then again, part of him knew that he needed to, was almost required to. Number one it was his idea. Number two, he didn't want to leave Celia to deal with them alone. Ane number three, there was also that thing that Bowser had told him last night.

Roy put his hand to his chin. "Maybe I should give them another chance," he muttered aloud. "After all, there is more to every person than meets the eye." He snickered. "Heck, us Koopas are more than just bloodthirsty Princess-nappers." His face fell. "At least, I think we are; it's hard to tell sometimes."

"ROY, HEADS UP!"

Roy barely turned his head when a round, heavy object hit him square in the face. The sensation was like a thousand exploding suns, the pain worse than getting in an airship crash. He was knocked right into the door, which made the pain appear in his back as well as his face.

"YEEOWW!" He rubbed his throbbing red cheek and flashed his younger brother a glare. "Nice going Larry, you could have knocked me out!"

The young, mohawked Koopaling giggled. "Is that so? Well, now I have a new goal to strive for; thanks Roy!"

Roy flashed Larry a glare. "You're a jerk, you know that?" He tossed Larry the soccer ball. He tried to aim for his brother's head, but Larry's reflexes were fast enough so that he could catch it before he got injured. The youngest smirked the smuggest of smirks while Roy flashed him a glare.

"Hey, we've all gotta be good at something, right?" Larry chuckled. "I just so happen to be good at pissing people off."

Roy sniffed. "And I just so happen to be good at knocking others out, so I suggest you scram."

Unfortunately, Larry didn't scram. Maybe it was because he recognized that his older brother was bluffing. Perhaps it was some other reason. Either way, he just bounced the soccer ball on his knee with a goofy grin. "I think I'll take my chances."

Roy sighed and shook his head. Still pressing his palm against his cheek as he rose, he made his way toward the stairwell. He had to leave early if he wanted to arrive at the Marksmites' house in a timely fashion.

"Hey, where you going?" Larry asked. He trailed behind Roy like a shadow. Roy considered being a jerk and telling him to soak his head, but he decided against it.

"Back to the Mushroom Kingdom," he said.

Larry smirked. "You want to see your girlfriend again, eh?" He made smoochy wet kissing noises. "If this goes on any further, you two will become one giant monogamous blob!"

"And what's wrong with that?" Roy asked. He didn't even bother to stop with his walking. If he focused all of his attention on the youngest, he knew for sure that he would probably lose his temper.

"What's wrong with that is that you spend too much time with her!" Larry gently punched Roy in the elbow. "You used to be so much fun to hang out with. Now you're barely present."

Roy sniffed. "Well, considering your new goal is to knock me out…"

Larry giggled. "Well, okay, I guess you got me there." He came to a stop when they got to the staircase. "But is it really a good idea to go as often as you do, especially in a place like the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Roy stopped halfway down the stairs. He turned and looked at Larry, confusion grasping hold of him. "Wait. Are you…concerned about me?"

Larry's face turned red as he sputtered. "What? Me, concerned about someone? Please!"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Larry…"

There was a pause before Larry sighed. "Okay, fine, I am." He descended the stairs until he was on the same level as Roy. "You know we aren't exactly welcome in the Mushroom Kingdom."

Roy smiled; he had no idea that Larry could be this sweet. "Oh, buddy." He patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. My musckles are big enough so that I can beat up any tiny Toad that comes my way."

"I know, but…"

"And besides," Roy continued, "Celia and her family need someone to protect them. I mean, one and a half of them are koopas who LIVE in the Mushroom Kingdom."

Larry still didn't look convinced. "Blguh. Since when have you gotten so selfless?"

Roy removed his hand from Larry's shoulder and shrugged. "I guess since I got myself a nice girlfriend." He resumed with his descent.

"Well, I don't like it," Larry said. He held the soccer ball underneath his left arm. "If you aren't careful Roy, you're gonna get hurt. Or worse, arrested."

Roy chuckled. "I'm not gonna get arrested. I promise."

…

Finally, Roy had arrived at Celia's house. He let out a breath as he hopped out of his Koopa Clown Car. He recalled the conversation he had with Bowser the previous night, about giving Alicia and Albert one more chance. He had rehearsed it in his head at least a thousand times, making sure that not a single significant detail was overlooked. He had a feeling that it was the right thing to do in the end. That was why he was going to say it to Celia and her family.

So, he knocked on the door. Surprisingly, no one answered. This got Roy feeling a little queasy. Did something happen to the Marksmites? Even though he knew it wasn't polite, he opened the door without receiving an invitation. The living room was empty.

"Celia?" he called out. "Ruby? Singe?"

At that moment, he heard sniffling coming from Ruby's bedroom. Not knowing what else to do, he ignored any fear he felt and followed that sound. He was relieved to see Ruby, Singe, and Celia all in the room. Albert was there too. His back was to the door, so Roy couldn't see his face. However, he had a feeling that his presence introduced a nice reason to bring up what Bowser said to him last night.

"Hey guys, I just wanted to…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Albert turned around. To Roy's surprise, the young man's face displayed all of the typical marks of having just cried. His cheeks were red and puffy. His nose was running. His eyes were still a little wet.

Roy blinked. "Uh…what's going on?"

Celia came over to the Koopaling. She let out a sigh. "Roy, we have a problem."

"Oh," Roy said. He looked back over at Albert. "And..what exactly would that be?"

Albert wiped his eyes and sniffled before letting out a blubbery, saddened sentence. "My mom…is gone!"