Me-Welcome back ladies and germs!
Nastasia-...You-
Me-Don't test me, Nassy. It's called testing season. Review time!
Space Dimentio (ch. 1-1): I felt that Luigi would be too OP if he alone could Super Jump AND Flip into 3D, so I gave the latter for Laddie so I'd have an excuse for Mario to get the Flip. Plus, the little beta pixl needs LOVE!
Opal: I think we ALL want to hug Bowser, let's be honest he deserves them.
FierySprites: Thank you for the feedback. My attention to insignificant details makes writing dialogue kinda hard. Action is kinda hard too when you try to novelize a platformer, but even so I'll try my best to improve on both things.
DISCLAIMER- I still don't own Super Paper Mario. If I did there would have been a sequel by now.
With his friend Bowser at his side, Luigi bounded onward to the next part of his journey. According to Blecky, the next Pure Heart lied in possession of the wise hermit known as Merlon, who lived in an extravagant, trap-filled mansion.
Despite the potential danger implicated with Merlon's mansion, the heroes continued onward anyway, subconsciously weary of Mistress Tempo's dastardly plans for them in this new location.
Chapter 2-1
Bogging to Merlon's
The other side of the orange door welcomed the heroes with a gentle, sunset-colored sky. The marsh surrounding them was surprisingly empty of trees, instead there were tall vines scattered about that stood on their own and curved from the top. The water reflected a orange soda color against the sky, constantly splashing onto the damp ground from the green Cheep Cheep fish that occasionally surfaced.
Blecky flew forward instinctually, attempting to locate the Pure Heart.
"It's up ahead...somewhere. I can't place a specific location, just somewhere."
"Well," Luigi added, "let's continue on ahead then. A mansion shouldn't be that hard to find."
Of course, an adventure would be imperfect without conflict, so it came as no surprise to the team when they were approached by a flock of Paratroopas while trying to cross the water. Boomer was avid to blow them up, and gleefully did just that, de-winging the Koopas, and causing them to fall into the water.
"BABOOSH!" Boomer called out. "Now that's a cannonball!" He directed to the waterlogged koopas, who were being fished out by Bowser; Blecky, in turn, took it upon himself to gouge the green sprouts from the craniums of the koopas, a feat that led to failure as the stubborn plants kept themselves deeply rooted in their hosts heads.
Deciding that nothing could be done with the plants at this time, Luigi and company flipped the koopas upside-down to be dealt with later and continued on their merry ways.
After the initial flock of paratroopas, the most the heroes had to deal with were the squigs and and cheep cheeps, both of which were easily avoidable since they never traveled in groups larger than two or three at a time, until a secondary flock appeared; these paratroopas were much faster, and more aggressive, than the ones before, easily avoiding Boomer's usual attacks and remaining out of reach of both Luigi's Super Jump and Bowser's signature fire breath. The most they could do to avoid the flying foes was to take refuge underwater.
The cold water of the marsh danced around them, the pixls clung onto any nearby hero as they descended; a cavelike area looked to serve as a possible shortcut, which the group instinctively headed towards. They swam upwards into the "cave" until they breached the surface, their eyes meeting an empty room of blue brick.
"This room...there's something in here." Blecky murmured. He flew into the room's center in search for something, before landing on a singular space in mid-air.
"This block is invisible," He declared, "but you should be able to hit it without my powers."
Luigi climbed out of the water and struck the block with little trouble. Upon being struck, the block vanished and a large chest dropped at the end of the room.
Beckoning for the others to approach, Luigi took it upon himself to open the chest. He unhitched the lock and slowly opened the box; he was greeted to a swift punch upside his jaw, courtesy of a square, orange pixl with floating blue circles that made the fairy akin to a hand. His beady eyes glared from the palm, and gave an impression of being naturally aggressive.
"Sweet freedom!" The pixl called out. "I thought I'd never get out of that blasted box."
Luigi rubbed his aching jaw while Bowser helped him stand up, the impact having knocked him to the ground.
"Thoreau? BABOOM! Is that really you my man?"
"Boom? Lad? Where've you guys been? It's been what, 1500 years? You're looking great!"
While Boomer and the recently introduced Thoreau caught up, Laddie deliberately excluded theirself from the conversation to watch Blecky insert himself into the clique.
"What is it that you do Thoreau?" Luigi asked.
"I pick things up and toss 'em at wicked speed, but I can throw a sick punch like the one you received as well. That includes spiked enemies as well. I can pick up just about anything, so long as it ain't too big. Anything about your friend's size and larger is my absolute limit, so I suggest some restraint for my powers." He held himself out like he was set for a handshake. "Put 'er there partner."
Luigi obliged, and Thoreau fluttered behind him afterwards with the rhythm of of a heartbeat, as if blood actually flowed through the hand through nonexistent veins connected to an invisible heart. The plumber cued for his team to return outside, having already planed out a proper use for their handy new companion.
They returned outside with the paratroopas waiting patiently; utilizing Thoreau's expert projectile launching techniques, Luigi was able to throw Boomer at a speed to fast for the turtles to dodge, and knocked them out of the sky.
After fishing out the foes like last time, they proceeded onwards without further arial annoyances.
"Glad you could give us a hand Thoreau!" Luigi and Blecky both called to hand-shaped pixl. A chorus of groans erupted from their fellow party members in response.
"That was soooo bad you guys." Bowser complained, trying to hide the slight amusement on his face.
"And yet you smile, my scaly friend." Was Blecky's reply as he crawled into Luigi's hat to take a nap. Luigi did not bother to argue with the sassy bat, instead he led the team as usual without any particularly deadly enemies to halt their progress.
Eventually it became apparent that the group was lost. The marsh lacked any distinct features that they could find, making it feel like they were walking in circles.
Bowser had suggested that a pixl fly upwards to find the mansion, but this only cause a dispute among the fairies, well, most of them; Laddie had been exploring the Next to find a possible trail when the others had started bickering.
"I suppose I can do." Laddie sighed. They weren't particularly fond of heights, which was strange for a ladder-making pixl, or any flying creature in general, but they decided that it would be better to comply with their job than complain about it, and managed to pull through.
Laddie returned to the ground with a clear cut path to the mansion in mind, which they would gladly share...once the other pixls stopped fighting.
After breaking up the fairy-sized conflict and separating each of its fighters, Luigi and co. followed Laddie's guidance to the edge of the marsh, where the land was stable and much dryer. From that point forward, they only had to walk forward until the mansion was within sight.
Admittedly, there were now flocks of paragoombas to worry about, but the flying fungi were much slower flyers than their turtle counterparts and were that much easier to defeat because of it. The only problem with fighting these goombas was their tenancy to bite in their more aggressive states, but even that was avoidable with quick reflexes. Besides, if there was one thing that Luigi had learned from adventuring, it was that finding enemies was a sign you were going the right way.
With this, and Laddie's guidance, in mind, the green plumber continued onward until the silhouette of a building became visible from a large clearing. A shady figure in dark blue crouched behind a rock, staring in the direction of the silhouette, and unaware of the heroes' presence behind him.
Luigi approached the figure with a gentle tap on the shoulder, which caused an aggravated shout to call from them.
"Watch it bub!" The figure turned his sickly mug to Luigi with a sneering tone. "I've been waiting for my crew to come back all day from Merlon's Mansion, so stay out of there."
"...Are you a thief?" Blecky asked abruptly.
"No, but I am a master of secretly and procedurally obtaining the property of others for zero charge."
"So you're a thief?"
"Yes, and my crew are planning on taking whatever treasure that old hermit Merlon is hiding inside that empty old mansion of his. A man that fills his entire house with traps has to be keeping SOMETHING of great worth."
The heroes looked at Blecky in confusion.
"You didn't tell us Merlon filled his house with traps, Blecky." Said Bowser.
"Oh yeah, I suppose I didn't." The bat shrugged, "That's okay though, the traps are only there to protect the Pure Heart so we can retrieve it. It'd be kinda bad if it was stolen."
"Ah." Bowser and Luigi muttered simultaneously.
"Well, at least I THINK that's why. I've never been inside."
This response caused the duo to fall down in utter shock and annoyance.
"Wait, you're telling me there is ZERO treasure in there, as far as you know?" Cried out the thief. "If I wasn't so intimidated by your big scaly friend, I'd beat the tar outta all of you! I've been leading my team into a death trap this entire time!"
"Well that's your fault then isn't it?" Asked Thoreau, who was about ready to pummel the thief in his smug, beady-eyed, swap-green, bean-shaped face.
"Thoreau, be nice." Was Luigi's only response as he grabbed the pixl by a small red tail, to hold him back from hurting the man. "We'll inform your team for you sir, just promise us you'll turn yourselves in so we won't have to enact our justice unto you."
"Yeah, ok, whatever, just get my boys outta there." The thief pleaded as he slowly backed away from Luigi and Co., who marched onward to Merlon's Mansion as intended.
Walking directly to the front door was, apparently, out of the question there was a wall blocking the way. Not just any wall either, this wall was built high enough that Luigi couldn't reach the top, strong enough to be immune to Boomer's explosions, and expertly constructed to be just as impassible in the Next. Knowing there had to be an alternate route, the heroes searched for one.
"Gee, it sure would be nice if we had a ladder." Said Thoreau, who was a little more than annoyed that Laddie did not have their usual powers on hand. The ladder pixl intended to put their foot down at this taunt, but decided against it when Luigi managed to locate an entrance to a sewer system, with a completely intact ladder to climb down. Laddie did not have to point this out for it to be any more ironic for Thoreau and continued to remain silent until their advice was needed.
Heading in the direction of the mansion, the heroes trekked trough the dank tubes, anticipating to find an exit. A five minute walk in the same direction eventually brought the Heroes to a surprising sight, a wall shlurps blocking the way to an upwards ladder. Peculiarly, the shlurps were not near as aggressive as the one fought underneath Yold Town; these creatures were actually more passive than squigletts, not even bothering to acknowledge the Heroes.
Taking a deep sigh of relief, Luigi made way to the ladder, and clambered up its sturdy rungs. He tried to open the hatch, but found it to be sealed shut; the layout of the room blatantly signified that the clumsy slug monsters were part of a puzzle that would unlock the hatch.
A colored square was present on each corner of the room as a raised surface. Recognizing the layout presented, Luigi assumed the shlurps needed to be pushed onto the colored pressure plates to activate the locking mechanisms of the exit. Naturally, he tried to push one of the shlurps; the creature refused to budge. It was too heavy to carry on his own either, so he called onto Thoreau to help carry the slimy beast.
Bowser carried one of the creatures over to a corner with some difficulty, but was successful nonetheless as the the square descended slightly with a satisfying 'clunk'. This process was continued with the last two corners, and like that the hatch unlocked with an ear-grating, but somehow more satisfying screech of metal sliding against metal from the inner mechanisms of the exit.
The hatch now opened with ease, and the Heroes were able to leave the cramped sewers. Though the above was pitch black, the moon above lite the way to Merlon's Mansion a few miles away. With hope in their hearts, Luigi and co. leisurely approached the the next Pure Heart's fortress of solitude.
Me-And that's it! Next week, we go into Merlon's Mansion.
Nastasia-Assuming you finish the chapter that is.
Me-Quiet, you! SEE YOU GUYS NEXT WEEK!
Nastasia-Hopefully.
Me-SHHHHHH!