Chapter 26 Freedom

I didn't stop running, even though my lungs stung. I didn't even bother looking back to see my Mother following me. I just barreled on forward, at a speed faster than what I was normally accustomed to. I didn't care if my entire body felt like it was going through hell. I had a mission, and I would complete it.

"GET BACK HERE!"

Those words from my mother just inspired me to keep pushing on forward. Can't stop, won't stop. Can't stop, won't stop. Roy needed me. After all that he had gone through to cheer me up, and after everything I put him through by being so… nasty, he deserved to be free. I didn't care if the Toads of this town or even my own mother thought otherwise. He did nothing wrong. All he ever did was try to do things as right as possible.

So, I will keep running. I will keep running until I got down to that jail. I wouldn't stop until Roy Koopa was free.

Before long, the jail appeared in my line of sight. I smiled and put on a burst of speed. Sure, that turned out to be a very unwise decision, as my lungs screamed and my bones moaned from all the strain I was putting them under. Even though I didn't want to, I recognized intellectually that I needed to stop. If I didn't, I would probably pass out from exhaustion. If I did that, then Roy would have no one to pay his bail. I was just a second away from stopping to catch some much needed breath…

"ALBERT!"

I looked behind me, letting out a shriek when I saw my mother less than three yards away. I resumed running, realizing that I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I stopped running, Mother would catch up with me. If I continued running, I was going to collapse to the ground. As horrible as those two options were, I decided to continue running because… well, what else could I do? That was really the only option, as that provided me with hope that Roy would be saved. Sure, it could be considered an illogical hope given how my body exerted more effort than I ever thought possible for it to endure, but I didn't care. I was almost at the jail. I was almost at the goal I wanted so badly to reach. I was almost at the building Mother wanted desperately to keep me away from.

I barreled forward. I was almost at the door. Almost there…. almost…. there… YES! I did it! I actually made it to the jail, and I managed to do it without passing out! A smile grew on my face, one filled with so many layers of relief and joy that any and all negative emotions were completely buried underneath. Without much thought, I opened the door and stepped inside. Mother was still hot on my trail, but I didn't care. I was within a hair's breath of officially freeing Roy. Nothing that she could do or say while I was within these four walls could deter me from doing so.

With quick but careful steps, I made my way up to the desk. My smile grew bigger as I put my wallet (which I only just now realized thankfully hadn't fallen out of my hands while I was bolting). "Excuse me?" The Toad at the computer looked at me, causing my smile to grow more excited (seriously, this felt so… unusually good! I loved it!). "I would like to pay Roy Koopa's bail."

Right at that moment, Mother came bursting through the door. Sweat poured down the back of my neck while in her presence, but only a little bit. I didn't even stop smiling as she made her way over to me with the biggest glare I had ever seen from her.

"Albert!" she started. "You are…"

"Shh!" I held up my hand, silencing her so the Toad at the desk could speak.

"Very well." She eyed my wallet. "It's about six hundred coins. Do you have that amount?"

For a split second, fear filled me. Oh, what if I really didn't have enough? That would mean I made my way all the way down here in vain! That would mean I would have to return home with mother while Roy sat and rotted away, all because of a crime he didn't commit. While biting my wallet, I opened my wallet. I poured the entire contents down on the desk, the golden coins making twinkling noises as metal met tabletop. The Toad's eyes grew wide as she watched this, not tearing them away from me literally pouring all my money and resources into freeing my cousin's boyfriend. I was honestly a little saddened when the last coin came out. Not because of my previous worries of it not being enough (although yes, that was still a major worry for me), but because the sound of the coins landing had been so satisfying in a very personal way. Therefore, I was saddened to see it stop.

Thankfully, my emotions rose back up again as the Toad counted out all of the coins. It took a while because there was such a great amount, but when she finished, she gave me an astonished look. "That… it looks like you have enough."

I did a fist pump. Yes! Oh, thank you Star Spirits in Star Haven above! Oh, I can't remember the last time I felt this overjoyed! Sure, the presence of my mother boring holes in my back with her eyes kind of brought the mood down, but not so much that it caused me to stop smiling.

"Do you have a photo ID?"

I happily showed that to the Toad. Once she saw it, she printed out and handed me my recent. She then told me to wait for a little bit while she told the officer's the prisoner's bail had been paid. I let out a breath of relief, feeling a sort of relaxing warmth spread through my body. Yes, this was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Unfortunately, mother did not agree. "Unbelievable." She shook her head, put her hands on her hips, and refused to make eye contact with me. "Just… unbelievable."

I felt a pang. My heartbeat actually hurt as I looked at her, keeping her eyes away from me like I was a trash bag full of nasty garbage. I had expected it, had fully anticipated it… and it still hurt. It hurt more than anything else that I've experienced in my life. I didn't want it to bother me, but looking at my aggravated mother's face… I felt like I was shrinking. I felt like I was shrinking to the size of a bug, which Mother would gleefully and happily take the time to squash underfoot. I didn't… I didn't know what to think.

"ALBERT!"

My heart skipped a beat. I turned and saw Roy, sunglasses and all. All my previous fear and hurt vanished as I looked into his joyous face. That joy was made even sweeter when I considered that I was the one who caused it. I put that big, bright smile on his face, and I helped to make his life a little bit better. I didn't normally do that for people. It felt good.

I grinned at him as he came over to me. "Hey Shady." I looked back at the Toad receptionist. "He's free to go now, right?"

"For now," the receptionist said. "He'll have to return for his trial, of course."

My heart skipped a beat again, but for a completely different reason. That trial. Oh goodness gracious, that trial. No doubt that trial would be held here in the Mushroom Kingdom, and no doubt Roy would be convicted due to the bias people here had against his species.

Unless… maybe I could help him. Maybe I could testify as a witness in the trial. Heck, maybe I could even get the Toad lady who ran the flower store to drop the charges all together. Yeah, yeah! This situation wasn't entirely hopeless! There were somethings I could do to make it better!

So, with that, I nodded at the receptionist and looked back at Roy. "Happy to be free, big guy?"

"You know it!" Roy stretched his arms up to the sky and yawned. "Man, who knew being kept in a jail cell would be this tiring." His stomach growled. "And this hunger inducing; seriously, I could use a cheeseburger right now."

I grinned. Oh, everything was turning out fine. Everything was falling into place, and I couldn't be happier. I felt like the happiest person in the world, knowing that I did good for someone. Nay, did good for family. Sure, the only connection we had was through my cousin, my cousin who he wasn't even married to. And sure, he was a completely different species than I am. But…I don't know. I felt comfortable calling him family. Call me crazy, call me brainwashed, but… it just felt right.

Unfortunately, my happiness melted as I heard my mother walking away. I gawked as I watched her retreating form, making her way out of the building without spare so much as a passing glance. I exchanged a look with Roy, and together we followed her. Once the door to the jail was closed, I broke out into a run to catch up with her.

"Mother, wait!" I got close enough to actually take her hand. "Mommy, I…" She pulled her hand out of mine, causing every single part of me to seize up. "Mommy?"

She actually turned toward me, a fact that surprised me. However, that surprise was nothing in comparison to the fear I felt looking into her face. So much anger, so much hate, so much indignation. Her once clear green eyes now almost looked red with all the heat in them, and not the good kind of red that my cousin and my uncle's eyes were. Now, they looked like they could burn my very insides, like they could turn me inside out and leave my mutilated corpse left to rot in this path. I gulped, fearing what words could come from such a horribly angry person.

"You know Albert, I expected better from you." She shook her head. "There is so much wrong with what's happened in the last six minutes." She took in a large, seething breath, one that made me feel even more scared. "I… I don't even know what to say to you. You went against everything I taught you. I can't believe how foolish you are, deciding to free a Koopa who deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life."

THAT ignited a fire inside me. I looked back at Roy, who observed this conversation from afar. To hear her say this, hear her say this about a person who I knew for a fact didn't deserve it… it was wrong on so many levels. I couldn't just not say something.

"You're wrong," I said with a shake of the head. "You don't know the first thing about koopas." I gestured toward Roy. "I said it before, and I'll say it again; koopas are just ordinary people like you and me." I looked her right in the eye, summoning all the bravery I had at my disposal. "I don't know what caused you to hate them so much, but you need to know that they can be kind, understanding, and sweet." I narrowed my gaze at her. "Three things you aren't being right at this moment."

It almost looked like steam shot out of Mother's nose. "With an attitude like that… I don't think I should welcome you into my house anymore!"

"You know what? That's fine." I crossed my arms. "I want to forge my own path. I want to be a better person, one who is even a fraction as nice as the koopas in our family is. I don't care what you think of koopas, or even what you think of me. I'm going to live on my own, mother. There's nothing you can do to stop me."

For a split second, shock flashed across Mother's face. I could also see tears welling in her eyes, ones that threatened to drop onto the ground and expose how she really felt about these words. She wiped them away before glaring at me once again.

"Well, if that's what you want… so be it." She turned on her heel. Without anymore words, she walked off into the night. As she did, a million thoughts and emotions filled me, none of which I could get a firm grasp on. They just all raced around in my head, bucking around like they were out of control broncos.

It was only Roy walking up to me that helped me form a more concrete position. "Hey… thanks for all you did."

I turned to look at him. As I stared into his face, the face of a koopa (a koopa who was younger than me, no less), I felt more safe than I ever did around my mother. I… I felt like…

"You're welcome." WIthout thinking, I put on another smile and pulled him into a hug. "You're a good friend."

Roy stood in shock for a little bit before hugging me back. "You two."

I sighed. And yes, I was scared out of my mind. I couldn't go back to my mother's house anymore. I didn't have as much financial security as I had under her roof.

But you know what? I didn't care. I would find a way to make it through. Somehow...

AN: Don't go away! There's one chapter after this, so stay tuned! :)