Chapter 10 If Humanly Possible

Aria stepped out of the subway door, biting her lip as she did. Coming to a complete halt, she tried to assess what she needed to do next. There was still a ways to go before she arrived at Bowser's Castle, a fact that made her hopeful… while simultaneously making her fall into the deepest pit of despair. She lifted her hand, letting out inaudible whimpers at the empty sight. She wanted to cry. She wanted to pout. She wanted to get help from somebody, whoever that might be.

But a vapor didn't stand a chance of being noticed by anyone.

Aria sighed. What exactly could she do here? How would she be able to alert Ludwig and his family to the fact that she was here? She didn't have a voice. She didn't have an appearance. On some level, the mere fact that she was heading up to the castle in this state was horribly foolish. Without any means of communicating with anybody the dangers of the rogue Shadow Seeker, her plan of helping out the royal family was wishful thinking. Extremely wishful thinking. Aria couldn't even wrap her head around…

Before she even knew what was going on, someone bumped into her. She gasped upon feeling the person's front come into contact with her shell. She toppled like a domino, and the person who bumped into her stumbled backward at this seemingly invisible wall. They blinked, studying the place in front of them. They reached out their hand, blinking their eyes out when they touched nothing. Aria rose to her feet, scrambling away from them with rabbit-swift speed so as to not cause any sort of chaos. She made her way over to the edge of the station, where people were less likely to ram into her. She sat down on an empty bench, breathing heavily as she rubbed her injured shell. People attended to the spooked individual, who by this point looked ready to faint on the spot. Nobody was aware of the fact that the thing that caused them so much grief was a cursed, invisible person.

Aria closed her eyes and shook her head. This... this was so beyond foolish. She might as well turn back. She might as well do her best to try and remove her own curse. There wasn't even a guarantee that the Shadow Seeker was going after Ludwig and his family. If Aria knew what was good for her, she wouldn't be following this incredibly stupid, faulty plan.

And yet, she still rose to her feet. She exited the subway station, telling herself that the circumstances didn't matter. She would get to Ludwig, or die trying.

…

Wendy kept her eyes peeled as best she could as she walked around the aquarium. She noticed quite a number of people laughing with one another as they observed the kooky sea creatures, a fact that made her heart soar. She quickened her pace, hoping that she could find the exact type of person her heart desired within this aquarium's four walls. There just had to be someone, right? Surely, fate was kind enough to have one person be present for her, wasn't it?

Well, she would come to discover that fate could be a lot fickler than she wanted/hoped. Nobody really stuck out in her mind as someone looking for a friend, nor as somebody who seemed like "best friend material." It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, except that there was no guarantee that a needle would even be present to begin with.

After a little bit of searching, Wendy decided to stop for a second. She took a deep breath, adjusting the little pink bow barrette that she had put into her shiny new hair. Her eyes traveled over to the tanks around the walls, mesmerized by the mystical blue. It was while taking in this glorious blue sight that someone caught her eye. At first glance, they looked like just a regular Toad girl, studying the creatures swimming in the cage. And that's precisely who Wendy thought they were at first; a Toad girl she had never met before whose name was unbeknownst to the Koopaling. However, upon a second glance, Wendy came to realize that no, that assessment was rather inaccurate. She did recognize this Toad girl. She couldn't believe it, but she had run across this person in the past. Her recent past too.

It was Toadette. Wendy had become acquainted with her because they both participated in the most recent Mario Kart tournament. Wendy hadn't really thought much about her when they first met, as she had just seemed like a regular, happy-go-lucky Mushroomer. In truth, she was rather plain, which confused Wendy more than anyone else. Why would someone so ordinary be invited to an event like Mario Kart? It made even less sense to Wendy than she and her brothers being invited to the event! The only explanation she could think of was that she and Mario had a history together. And yet, she had just seemed so… unextraordinary.

And somehow, that lack of visibly notable qualities actually drew Wendy's interest. She looked at Toadette, whose eyes hadn't moved away from the jumbo rays within the tanks. Maybe… maybe this was exactly who Wendy had been looking for. Maybe someone who appeared so down to earth on a first glance would make the perfect new addition to Wendy's harem… or, uh, circle of friends.

So, she walked over, putting on a smile as she did. She didn't say anything; just looked at the jumbo rays that had so effortlessly captured the Toad girl's attention. Eventually, Toadette noticed the presence of another. She turned, getting a look at the humanized Wendy. Wendy made direct eye contact with her, even going so far as to wear a smile. Thankfully, this was all Toadette seemed to need in order to feel comfortable. She smiled back.

"Pretty, aren't they?"

Wendy felt confused until she realized that she was talking about the jumbo rays. "Oh. Yes, very much so." She looked back into the tank, at the green-skinned creatures floating about in the most carefree way imaginable. "They seem so serene."

"Oh, they are." Toadette's eyes sparkled. "Believe it or not, Mario had encountered these guys on one of his Princess Peach Rescue Missions before. He told me all about it."

"Really?" Wendy asked, taking a step closer as she did.

"Yep! And… oh, you're never going to believe this, but he didn't find them in the sea." The sparkling in Toadette's eyes grew even more apparent. "He found them in the sky! Flying!"

Wendy did a double take. Flying?" She blinked multiple times over the course of five seconds. "You're joking!"

Toadette laughed. "Yeah, that's pretty much how everyone reacts when I tell them about this. Heck, I pretty much did the exact same thing when Mario first told me about that event. I thought he was crazy; I thought he was mistaking a dream for reality. This wouldn't have been the first time he's done this; he still has trouble trying to decipher if a certain trip to Subcon from way back when actually happened."

Wendy giggled, as did Toadette. "So, what convinced you?"

"Honestly? I'm still not entirely convinced." Toadette giggled, the sound cheeky and brimming with personality that surprised Wendy in the best way possible. "I mean, he's not the only one telling this story; Luigi, Buckenberry, and Ala Gold all swear by it. But that could just be part of their plan." She shrugged. "So, I'm not going to believe in flying jumbo rays until I see them firsthand."

"Sounds sensible enough." Wendy looked back at the jumbo rays. She kind of wanted to see them fly, shattering expectations and preconceived notions by doing so. That would just be incredible in every way possible.

"I'm Toadette, by the way."

It was at this point that Wendy seized up. "Uh…" she hesitated. All at once, she questioned if she should reveal her true name. She didn't remember if Toadette ever displayed a hostile attitude towards her when they participated in the tournament, but even still, she knew that Toadette would be a little disappointed to find out that Wendy was actually one of the Koopalings.

"I'm Anna."

Toadette beamed. "It's nice to meet you, Anna." She extended her hand, which Wendy shook after a second of hesitance. "Do you live nearby?"

"Uh…" she curled a strand of her hair over her ear, a practice she had seen countless people before do but couldn't do herself for obvious reasons. "I'm from out of town. I'm more or less vacationing here for a little bit." Hey, at the very least, there was more truth to those words than the fake name she had given.

"Oh cool!" Toadette's face rose to the highest degree possible. "You couldn't have picked a better place to vacation to, let me tell you! There are so many wonderful sights to find here in Toad Town."

"Oh, I don't doubt that for a second. I would love to see them all while I'm here." She shrunk back a little bit. "I don't know if I would know where to look in order to find them though…"

"Well then, why don't I give you a tour? I've lived here pretty much my whole life; I know the layout of this town like the back of my hand. If there's anybody who can show you all the wonders of Toad Town, it would be me."

Wendy did a double take, her heartbeat speeding up considerably. "You'd… you'd be willing to do that for me?" When Toadette nodded, Wendy put on a warm smile. "Th…thank you, Toadette. That's very kind of you."

"Of course!" Toadette looked back at the jumbo rays for a second. "I think it would be best if we meet each other outside Peach's Castle tomorrow morning." She chuckled. "You won't have too much trouble finding that here, would you?"

Wendy snorted. "It's a bright white castle with Peach's face in stained glass. I think the only people who could miss it are the legally blind."

"It's settled then!" Toadette looked into her eye with her shimmering black ones. "Meet me there at nine o'clock tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure thing." With one least smile, Toadette left Wendy to go look at some other type of sea creature. Wendy smiled to herself, grateful that her mission to make friends was proving to be successful…

Only for her spirits to immediately sink. There was one major hole in the plan she and Toadette had set up; Wendy was staying at the castle. If Toadette found out about her and her brothers staying there, then it wouldn't take much for her to find out their true identities. This would render the "social experiment" a complete failure.

"Damn it," Wendy muttered under her breath.

…

"Come on, Celia!" Roy pounded on her door. "Please, come out! You can't stay cooped up in there all day!"

Celia didn't answer. While Roy was tempted to keep trying harder, part of him told him that would be pointless. So, sighing, he turned away from the door. He decided he wanted to start up a conversation with Singe, possibly dispelling any worries in the process. Unfortunately, Singe wasn't in the room anymore. Roy bet that he had gone into his own bedroom to think this through, just like his daughter.

"Well, poo." Roy shook his head and sat down on the couch in the middle of the living room. Biting his lip, he did some thinking about this whole thing. He… he supposed there was no real reason to be surprised by this. Sure, he himself wasn't scared, but could he really blame Celia and Singe for being that way? He did tell them about a demon. And despite the fact that Ludwig's girlfriend fought and studied demons for a living, not very many people really knew about them in the first place. If anything, most people probably considered them creatures of folktales; monsters living in the shadows in order to trap the heroes and act as ways to scare young children into behaving.

Man, he should probably have thought this through some more. He bet, if he were in Celia's shoes, he'd be freaking out too. He was just about to get up off the couch and apologize to her for being so insensitive when her door opened. Roy perked up, rising to get a good look at her giving him a weary look.

"You stopped knocking."

"Well… yeah, I did." Roy held his hands behind his back, a practice he discovered was much easier without a shell getting in the way. "I just… I…" he sighed and hung his head. "I'm sorry. I've been a complete and total doofus throughout this whole visit."

"It's okay." Celia stepped towards him, her eyes filled with wonder and caution at the exact same time. "I… I imagine this whole event is really difficult for you."

"Difficult? I don't know if I would say that." He chuckled. "I kind of like my human form; it makes me quite the looker doesn't it?"

Celia chuckled, the sound suffering from hollowness. "Sure."

"Sure? That's not that enthusiastic."

"No, it isn't. I…" she paused before shaking her head. "Maybe I just need time to get used to it." She stepped forward and took his hand. "And I don't think going on a date would be the worst way to help me do that."

It took a second for that statement to sink into Roy. When he did, he grinned the most colossal grin, feeling like an excited puppy dog. "Thanks, Cee." He wrapped her in a hug. "You're the best."

"No, you're the best." She hugged him back. "Koopa, or… or human."

Despite her stumbling over those words, Roy couldn't help but feel pleased. He squeezed extra hard before letting her go. "Well, come on then!" He took her hand, leading her toward the door. "Now that I'm human, there are so many places I want to go!"