Chapter 4: The Aftermath
Now having a sidebag, Larry put away the orange wand in it were he no longer had to always wield it.
"About time! I was getting tired to light like a Christmas decoration." He sighed.
Peach did not pay attention to his remark. She was too busy looking forward as they walked the road. They reached a hill from where they could see a vast city but something did not feel right. They both immediately stopped to take a good look. The streets were flooded with grey masses mimicking water and surrounding the vehicles left on the streets as if they were small islands.
"Oh gosh! These can't all be skeletons." The punk whispered, his eyes wide open.
"They sure are. Let's stay on the roofs. They shouldn't be able to follow us up there." The princess whispered back, pulling out a camera from her sidebag and taking a photo of the scenery.
"But how are we gonna get to any roof with so many monsters surrounding the buildings?" The koopaling asked.
"From the same way you and the others used to reach the castle. Let's go to the aqueduct." The princess said, starting to walk again with Larry following.
The two remained at the outskirt of the city until they reached a river. They descended into and found a grate blocking the way.
"Let's see if Mr. Toadsworth thought of putting a tool for that." Peach said, searching in her bag.
"How about I cut the lock open with the orange wand?" Larry proposed, reaching in his bag.
"Let's not cause too much light or sound for now. Hmmm… I don't think my advisor expected us to break and enter anywhere. Guess we'll have to do it your way then." The princess concluded, taking her hand out of her bag.
"Lawrence!" A voice shouted as Larry grabbed the orange wand.
The punk cut open the door and put the wand away. The two entered the aqueduct and into the sewers. They found themselves inside the water treatment plant and climbed all the stairs and ladders they saw inside the building. They finally reached the rooftop after opening a door lined like the ceiling. Back outside, they looked around to notice they were not exactly in the middle of the city but, to them, it was a good start to their mission.
"So, princess, what's the goal to this little recon you're conducting?" Larry asked, leaning on the brick railing at the border of the building to look at the monsters from above.
"Excluding checking the situation in Mushroom City, which we already know, we first need to find the stores and places where we could find anything we can use as weapons against these monsters." Peach explained, joining Larry at the railing.
"Nothing about figuring out what kind of weapon hit us?" Larry brought up.
"Not yet. We first need to re-establish ourselves."
"Alright. Lead the way."
Peach went to one of the corners that had a rope attached to it. The rope extended across one of the streets with many banners hanging from the rope. The rope led to a building with many others that were much closer than the water treatment plant was to any building. The princess made her way on the rope, walking on it until she could not keep her balance so she dropped below to hang on the rope and resume her way to the other buildings. Once on the other side, it was now Larry's turn to do the same.
"It's been a while since I haven't done something this crazy. I hope I'm not too rusty." He muttered, climbing on the rope.
He slowly made his way on the rope, walking above the sea of monsters that screeched at him but could not reach him. All the screeching made it harder for the koopaling to concentrate. His teeth pressed harder against each other to the point it hurt his jaw, he began sweating bullets and shaking. Halfway there, he decided the bet course of action was making a beeline to the next building and picked up the pace. Near the end, he tripped on the rope and began falling. Being so close, Peach reached out to catch his hands.
"Got you! You gotta be more careful on those ropes." She said, bringing up the punk on the roof.
"Thanks, princess. I had enough being screeched at so I panicked. Anyway, where's the nearest store?" The punk sighed, landing on his feet on the roof.
"There should be a local one on the street east." The princess said, making her way to the edge of the roof.
The buildings being glued to each other, the two only had to climb up and down from roof to roof. After half a dozen roofs crossed, Peach decided to enter one with a door sticking out of the roof. Larry followed her inside and the two made their way down to the ground level. The floor had multiple aisles filled with sport equipment left untouched. The princess took a photo of the place and examined the tools.
"According to you, Larry, what would be the best for the toads?" She asked, pulling out a tennis racket to check the net on it.
"Let's see. Toads aren't that strong to begin with so I'm thinking of something lightweight like golf clubs." Larry suggested.
He paused for a moment and looked outside. After seeing so many skeletal monsters aimlessly wandering around outside, he looked back at Peach.
"Princess, do we really have to destroy them all?" He asked, approaching Peach.
"I can't think of any other way, Larry. I'm sorry." The princess sighed, pulling an aluminium baseball bat from the shelves and examining it.
"I mean, can't we just lure them away from cities?" The koopaling proposed, unconfident.
The princess turned around and kneeled down, her eyes' height at Larry's.
"Larry… Mr. Toadsworth told me what you did back in the Grassland keep, how you fought those monsters and what you did to your friend Boom Boom. What were you thinking back there?" She asked.
"I needed to check on him when I saw all those monsters. When I found out, I got caught in hot water and…" The punk began, lowering his head and eyes.
He sat down on the floor by a shelf.
"I couldn't let him wander off like that. It looked disgusting and I couldn't stop thinking about him harming someone else." He finished.
"This is exactly what I'm thinking right now. Luring them away would not only just delay the problem but also become someone else's problem." Peach reassured, sitting next to the koopaling.
"But there must be at least a million of them outside. This is gonna take forever." Larry pointed out.
"Which is why we'll gather as much help as we can for the task." Peach said, confident.
"Yeah… Sorry if I cut things abruptly but we're here to check where to find the supplies we need. So, where next?" Larry said, standing back up.
"Next, we should check for stores to get tools and seeds for growing our own foods." Peach said on her turn, standing up as well.
"Alright. Lead the way."
The two made their way back on the rooftop and headed further east until they reached the last rooftop but not before Peach took a few photos of the sport accessories that could be used as weapons. Across the street, a large building the size of two grocery store stood separated by a parking lot as well. This part of the city did not have many monsters on the ground so the two made their way down to the street and headed to the building. The motion sensor still worked on the main door so the two made their way inside. They noticed skeletal monsters that were already broken down in pieces.
"Looks like we're not the only ones on here." Larry commented, couching down to examine the broken bones.
The two stayed alert and proceeded further inside the building to the gardening section. More broken bones were scattered around. The princess took the time to take photos of the aisles with their products still there.
"So we're inside a grocery store that pretty much has everything we need for anything. What was the point of visiting the other store if this one has more?" Larry asked as they passed by the sport section.
"The other store is closer to the Mushroom Castle and easier to reach without getting on the streets." Peach said, finally arriving at the garden section.
They neared a door that said employee only but did not pay attention to it as they passed by until the door opened. They looked back at it and saw a crowbar emerging from it.
"Who's there?" A trembling voice spoke from behind the door, a quite distinguished one from anything around.
The crowbar itself was shaking uncontrollably.
"We're not here to harm you. You can come out." The princess confessed, putting away her baseball bat.
"You promise?" The voice spoke again.
The door slowly opened and a humanoid around the size of Larry came out shaking. The humanoid had big golden eyes and a large grin, the two expressing fear and uncertainty. Since it was wearing long sleeves on both arms and legs as well as a purple band on its face and white gloves holding the crowbar, not much skin could be seen aside the green from the lips. Its shirt was stripped with two different taints of purple while the pants were black as well as the beret-like hat.
"You obviously don't look like a tourist. Who are you?" Larry remarked, skeptical.
"You, I've seen you." Peach said, surprised.
"Really? Where?" The punk asked, looking at the princess then back the humanoid.
"Well…" The humanoid began, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"But how did you survive?" The koopaling asked again, not letting the time to the humanoid to explain.
"Huh… It's a long but, to make it short, I got pranked into going in a storage room, locked up, and once I managed to get out, everyone was bones, see!?" The humanoid explained.
"A storage room…" Larry repeated, skeptical.
"Well, it had a lot of canned food in there, see? It looked like you could live in there." The burglar-looking humanoid explained further.
"You mean a bunker." Peach guessed.
"Yes! A bunker, see? So, Now that I'm out, what are you gonna do with me?" The humanoid asked, lowering his crowbar.
"Sorry to cut back in but who are you again?" The punk asked.
"The name's Popples, see? I was doing community service in the city before everyone became bones." The burglar presented himself, extending a hand.
"Larry, and that's the only thing you're getting from me for now." The koopaling skeptically said, returning the favor to firmly shake Popples' hand.
"Peach, Princess Peach." The woman greeted.
"I get it. Neither of you two trusts me but I need help." Popples brought up, slightly ashamed.
"Princess, what's your call?" Larry said, looking back at Peach.
"We'll bring you with us but you need to help us with anything we ask you to do. Does that work with you?" Peach accepted, her turn to extend a hand.
"Deal, boss! So, what do you want me to do now?" The burglar accepted without second thought, immediately shaking her hand.
"Since it's getting late, we only have an hour or two left to recon the city. I need to check on a toy store." The princess brought up.
Popples burst out of laughers, even falling on the floor. The two others waited for the clownish act to cease. Through all of this, Larry was visibly angered at the disrespect their new recruit showed.
"What are you gonna do with toys? Play with the skeletons?" The burglar joked, standing back up and, when seeing neither laughed, stopped laughing.
"The most important thing in a time of crisis is to reassure the children. It's easy for them to feel afraid in such time." Peach calmly explained.
"Oh… Well, I didn't think about it before, see? I'm sorry, boss." Popples awkwardly stuttered, backing into a wall with his hands raised to his shoulders.
"Let's keep going then." The princess sighed, already regretting her decision but still going with it.
The three grabbed some snacks to eat for diner and made their way back to the entrance. Outside, the streets were still crowded with skeletal monsters safe for the parking lot so they made their way to the first building they could reach quickly.
"That's not every day we get obeanian tourists here, particularly a convict." Larry commented as they climbed up the stairs on the side of a building.
"I smuggled myself on a cruiser to Amarioca, see? There's barely anything worth stealing in Obeania so I tried my luck in this city until I got caught breaking and entering into the castle." Popples said, even boasting as if he accomplished anything.
"Yes, I remember you. You tried stealing an invaluable pendant I was wearing that day." Peach commented as well, the group moving from one building to another.
"Speaking of which, Princess, where's that pendant now?" The punk asked, passing another building.
"I gave it to the Mario brothers to thank them for their heroism." The princess said, stopping at a door on a roof.
"I take it we're at the toy shop you wanted to be at, see?" The burglar guessed, preparing his crowbar to open the door.
"Indeed. But before we use your crowbar, let's make sure we can open as quietly as we can. We don't want to rile up these monsters." Peach advised, putting a hand on Popples' crowbar.
"Alright, boss." The burglar sighed, standing aside to let the others do their job.
Larry and Peach examined the door and the former twisted the doorknob. It did not budge, no matter how many times he tried. The princess pulled out a thin piece of metal she slid next to the doorknob, forcing the lock mechanism to unlock, and thus the punk could finally open the door. The three were to a stairway down into the toy shop, its aisles filled with all sorts of toys.
"Normally, I'm not interested with toys, see? But some of those do look fun to play with." Popples said, checking on a Bowser plush.
Neither Peach nor Larry paid attention to the burglar. They kept walking in the store which annoyed Popples.
"Excuse me, see? I just complimented that shop and you just… Sweet mother of beans, something awesome must be inside!" He let out, catching up to the others that just reached a giant toy box, one the size of a car.
"Would you like to see what's inside?" Peach proposed, looking behind her.
"Me first, boss!" The burglar exclaimed, running ahead to the box and trying to open it.
His strength alone was not enough to lift the lid but, with the help of Larry and Peach, they opened the toy box which let out a bright light from it. They climbed into the box and traversed through the light.
The light dimmed down and made place to an entirely new scenery. The three were now in a large room suited like a daycare with the short tables and chairs. Its resident were many children playing around, one resembling a very young Peach, King Ralion sat on the floor by the wall, and a green dinosaur with a big round nose and red shoes attending to the children. Upon their arrival, the inhabitants stopped what they were doing and greeted the guests.
"Princess Toadstool, it's great to see you again!" The dinosaur greeted, shaking the princess' hand.
"You too, Gonzales. With what we're going through, I felt I need some time of comfort before facing my biggest challenge." Peach admitted, hugging the dinosaur.
"Whoa! There's like a whole building in that toy box?" Popples wondered, confused.
"Indeed, though it is in fact a recollection from the memories of our heroes of Amarioca of my existence and King Ralion's." Gonzales explained, letting go of the princess.
It was then ne noticed Larry's presence in here and quickly lost his welcoming mood.
"Oh… It's you again." He sighed.
"Him again? What's wrong with him?" The obeanian asked, more confused.
"You already know what I'm here for. You don't need to pay much attention to me." The punk replied, walking up to King Ralion.
"No matter how many times you get turned away, you never seem to give up." The king complimented, smiling.
"Your highness, if you may move aside…" The koopaling asked.
While the king did not stand up, he moved aside revealing an iron door on the wall with a sign that said "Keep out!" on it.
"Okay, why is that door even there? And what are you planning, boss?" Popples asked more, even more confused.
"This doesn't concern you. You have nothing to worry about." Larry replied, grabbing the door handle.
"That doesn't answer my…" The burglar asked again, raising a finger in question.
"Let him be. I'll be checking on him in a few minutes." The dinosaur reassured, still not having recovered his mood.
The punk opened the iron door and entered the next room, closing the door behind. The ambience quickly changed from children laughing to one child crying where the new room was a colorless prison-like cubic room with little of interest other than Kamek sat down on the floor staring at the koopaling as if he was expecting him, and a child that looked like the koopa prince crying.
"You again!? Can't you just leave us alone!?" The magikoopa rambled, reaching for a golden wand with a spherical ruby at its tip.
"I think I finally understand what's been going on with you, why you've been acting like that, or with this room as a whole." Larry calmly began, a hand in his sidebag ready to grab the orange wand.
"Lawrence…" The voice whispered.
"I have nothing to tell you, fool! The prince must become a strong and brave king, not a weak and soft one that's just a deformed doormat!" Kamek rambled some more, pointing his wand at Larry.
The punk immediately grabbed the orange wand and pulled it out the sidebag to point it at Kamek.
"Lawrence!" The voice shouted in the process, the wand making Larry shine a bright orange light.
"You… You have the orange wand!?" The magikoopa asked, frightened, losing his temper.
"What are you gonna do now? Shoot me with magic like you always did?" Larry asked.
"If you're gonna use this against me then I'll have no choice to!" Kamek yelled, shaking so much he was about to drop his wand.
He then lowered his wand, fell down on his knees and just gave up.
"Oh, what's the point in all of this? I'm just a heartless monster waiting for the end." He lamented.
"You're not a monster, Kamek. You're worth a lot more than you think." The punk comforted as he put away his wand, the orange light dimming down to nothingness, and approached the depressed magikoopa.
"Don't you get it, you fool!? That's how he remembers me! That's what I am to him: a heartless monster that only cares for power!" Kamek yelled, leaning back on the wall behind him and lowering his head like a mistreated pet.
"That may've been in his youth but people can change over the years. Look." Larry explained, sitting down next to Kamek and pulling out his wallet.
"Oh great! You're gonna show me again those pictures of an older Bowser smiling. A picture may be worth a thousand words but it's worth nothing without context!" Kamek ranted, waving his hands like he no longer cared for his own fate and looking away.
"Listen. I have a new photo for you, one that's gonna show you the truth." The punk brought up, pulling out a small photo from his wallet and waving it at the magikoopa.
Kamek still looked away but Larry kept waving the photo at him. The magikoopa eventually turned his head.
"Whatever. It's not like I have anything better to do than… Where did you get that!?" He said, becoming baffled by the photo that had Bowser, his son, the koopalings and Kamek.
"We took this one last weekend. Tell me what you see." Larry answered, handing the photo to Kamek.
"Well, I clearly see myself in this photo holding Bowser… Hold on. None of the other families had children at the time. So, this means Bowser's the big one with his hand on my shoulder and I'm holding…" The magikoopa begun.
The despair in his voice slowly turned to hope, his mouth began smiling, and tears dripped out from under his glasses and along his face. The room around them slowly gained colors and the cries of a child calmed down. The child in the room went to the older koopas wondering what was going on.
"I wanna see." The child slowly asked, his hands on Kamek's arm.
"See this big koopa behind me? That's gonna be you when you grow big and strong." The magikoopa said, wrapping the child in his arm and showing the photo.
The child was visually stunned by the photo and kept staring at it. Larry leaned away and smiled.
"It reminds me when…" He began, closing his eyes.
He woke up one night in his room back at the Koopa Castle. Looking at his clock on the table next to his bed, it was midnight and a few minutes. He got off his bed and went to the closed door. Opening it, he did not expect to see Roy leaning on the doorframe from outside. Even at night, he was still wearing his shades.
"Where ya think yer goin', punk?" The imposing koopa asked.
"Relax, though guy. I'm just going to the bathroom." Larry reassured, raising his hands at his shoulder's height.
Roy did move out of the way but was now barring the path to the right in the corridor even though there was still room for Larry to weasel his way.
"Well, what are ya waitin' for? Ya don't want a little accident on the carpet, eh?" He teased, extending his arms to cover the corridor's width as much as he could.
"What are you doing, Roy?" The punk asked, leaving his room.
"Just makin' sure ya don't get lost in the castle. It's a pretty big place and quite maze-like." The pink-shelled koopa pointed out.
"The bathroom's on the other side of the hall. It takes a mole to miss that." Larry sighed but did not make his way to the bathroom.
"Then get goin', punk!" Roy ordered, losing patience.
"And if I want to go on a stroll while I'm at is?" The punk asked.
"Ha! I knew it! Ya didn't need to go to the bathroom all along!" Roy exclaimed, overconfident as if he uncovered the world's biggest secret.
"Then what am I doing up late at night?" Larry asked.
"It's the new kid, isn't it?" Roy theorised.
"And if it was?" Larry asked again.
"Bro, just go back to sleep. Dad's got it covered." Roy suggested, moving toward the punk.
"I just want to make sure he's got things under control." Larry said, approaching his brother.
"What's with ya all of a sudden? I've never seen ya care for family so much before. It must've something to do with why ya were absent so often." Roy asked, raising an eyebrow and doing everything to bar Larry from the rest of the castle.
"Roy, I swear if you don't leave me alone and move out of the way, I'll move you aside myself." The punk threatened, moving left and right trying to get past his older brother but in vein.
"Look, bro. Ya may be a little prick but I ain't punchin' ya cause yer my lil' bro though I'd love to see ya try." Roy chuckled, reaching out to grab the punk.
Anticipating this, Larry grabbed Roy's arm and twisted it to force his brother to turn around and then put the arm on the back.
"What the… What are ya doing to me, ya lil' twerp!?" Roy screamed in pain, forced to kneel down.
Larry did not say anything. He just wrangled his big brother out of the way and walked away. The doors around them opened up and the rest of the koopalings, save for Ludwig, went to check out what was happening.
"Yer dead meat, punk! Ya hear me!? Dead meat!" His big brother angrily warned as the others helped him back up and checked on him for injuries.
The punk walked through the hall, into the throne room, behind the throne and made his way to a somewhat open door. From the throne room, he could hear an infant crying and its cries becoming louder the closer he got to the doors. He was about to peek inside but, hearing footsteps from the other side of the hallway, chose to hide behind one of the armor displays. From the darkness on the other side of the hallway emerged a worried Kamek who pushed on the door and got in the next room.
"It's alright, Kamek. I've got things under control." Bowser's voice spoke calmly.
"Your highness, I was just checking if you heard him." Kamek's voice nervously admitted.
"Then you can go back to sleep."
"Don't you need help raising him?"
"I won't let you raise him. I have to do this myself only."
"But I was just proposing some help."
"I appreciate the thought but I mustn't commit the same mistakes as you did."
"Is that how you see me raising you and the others, you inconsiderate brat!?" Kamek's voice ranted, outraged.
"That's not what I mean, Kamek. I just…"
A dispute erupted in the room so the punk left his hiding spot to check inside. The room was a bedroom for a newborn child with a high bed, some wooden blocks lying on the floor and a cradle with winged koopas and goombas hanging over the bed. With the two adults arguing with and focused at each other, Larry snuck inside and hid under the bed. There, he found a pacifier lying on the ground and presumed the child was crying because he lost it. He grabbed it, climbed on the side of the bed and gently put it into the child's mouth before bolting back under the bed. The cries gradually stopped and the newborn sucked on his pacifier making distinct popping noises. The two adults stopped arguing when the crying stopped.
"Did the child just stop crying like that?" Kamek asked, confused.
"Get out." Bowser ordered, ignoring the magikoopa's question.
But, your highness, I was just…"
From under the bed, Larry saw the koopa king moving toward the magikoopa and pushing him with his imposing body. In fact, he could only see his father's legs and a bit of his spiked shell. As for Kamek, the punk could see up to the upper body. The magikoopa immediately left the room and Bowser turned to the bed.
"Come out, Larry. I know you under there." Bowser sighed.
Out of choice, the koopaling left his hiding spot to face his father. The latter was not angry or disappointed, just tired.
"I hope you have a good reason to be in here. It takes a mole to miss the bathroom near your bedroom." The giant koopa yawned, placing his hand on Larry's back to calmly bring him outside the room.
Larry was about to answer his father but the other koopalings just arrived. Among them, Roy was grinding his teeth in rage, ready to punch the punk.
"I'm sorry, dad. I tried to stop him but the lil' twerp just…" He began, clenching his fists.
"Language, son, and I'll take care of him. You can all go back to your rooms, children." Bowser scolded then looked at the whole picture.
The other koopalings nodded and returned from where they came. Roy gave a nasty grin at Larry before going into the darkness.
"Now, about you…" The koopa king resumed, looking back at Larry.
"I couldn't sleep do I went on a stroll. That's when I heard Junior crying so I went to check on him." The punk said, omitting to mention the quarrel he had with Roy.
"You seem to care a lot for the new child, son. Is there something you want to tell me that you haven't yet?" Bowser asked, picking up his child.
"Let's just say I'm trying my best to be a good big brother." Larry said as the two moved away from the door.
"I see. Nonetheless, I'll have to ground you for harming one of your siblings. I taught you those to use them in your missions, not on your loved ones." The king scolded as they reached Larry's bedroom.
"Yes, dad." The punk only said as he was put on his bed.
Bowser did not immediately leave his bedroom. He kneeled down and looked at Larry in the eyes.
"You're changing, son, and I hope it's for the better. Good night." He whispered before kissing Larry on the forehead and leaving the room.
The punk slid his legs under the bed sheets but did not sleep yet. He thought about that exchange between Bowser and Kamek, the idea that the royal advisor could be part of the family. Eventually, he brushed away the thought for now and went to sleep.
The iron door opened which woke up Larry and caught everyone's attention. As said earlier, Gonzales entered the room to check on Larry but was shocked to see the room colored, the child's cries replaced with his laughers and Kamek smiling.
"What's going on in here? What happened to the room?" The dinosaur asked, looking around him to examine the room.
"Oh? You must be the babysitter, are you?" Kamek asked back, picking up the child and approaching Gonzales.
"Yes. Would you like to visit the daycare?" The dinosaur asked again, this time looking at the magikoopa, still confused.
"Yes please. Can we?" Kamek asked.
"Of course! Right this way." The dinosaur said, presenting the door which Kamek and his child opened to leave the room.
Larry stood up his turn and the dinosaur got closer to him.
"You did it! You've helped him but how?" Gonzales asked, scratching his head.
"We have histories so I had an understanding of where he was coming from with his despair." Larry confessed, heading to the door.
"I see. Nonetheless, I thank you for helping him." Gonzales said, following suit and back to the daycare.
Back there, Peach gave one last hug to her father. On the other hand, Popples was gathered with the children playing with blocks, teaching how to spell words with those.
"I'm counting on you, my daughter. May you bring the kingdom back to its glory." The king wished, letting the princess go.
"Thank you, father, and goodbye." The princess said back, giving a kiss on the cheek and heading to the main entrance.
"Are we already leaving, boss?" The obeanian asked, standing up to join Peach.
Larry went to the entrance as well but not before a hand was put on his shoulder. When he looked to see who it was, Kamek was the one having done so.
"Tell me, young man. What is your name?" He asked, smiling.
"Larry." The punk answered, smiling back.
"Thank you, Larry, for showing me the future. I'll cherish your name until your next visit." The magikoopa said.
The residents of the daycare all waved goodbye at them. Larry nodded and left with his friends, back to the toy shop.
From there, the sun was beginning to set so the small group made their way to the roof, planning to return to the mushroom kingdom. Popples, not having much experience to the parkour the two others would partake in, might have slowed down the return to the castle but did his best to keep up. More often than not, he had to be helped back up when jumping from one building to another or walking the tight rope to the water treatment plant. From there, a small walk through the sewers and they were all back at the castle, with the sun just about to vanish behind the horizon. Mr. Toadsworth was awaiting their return, sitting on the stairs in the main hall.
"Your highness, you have returned! How was your mission?" The old man cheered, standing up to shake the princess' hand.
"I have all the photos I need to start retaking the city from the monsters tomorrow. You are dismissed for the night, Mr. Toadsworth. Peach explained, and with that, the old toad went upstairs behind the double door.
"Well, guess I'll go back to my room downstairs, see?" Popples whistled.
"Would you like a more comfortable room?" The princess proposed.
"For me!? I mean, for me?" The burglar repeated, having gotten a little too excited the first time.
"Yes, we have too large bedrooms available on ground level. You can make yourself at home in the one to the left. It's the door with a star but no number on it." Peach explained, pointed to the door in question.
The obeanian got excited and headed to the door to check inside. One peek was enough to bring joy to the lad who, judging by the reaction, never got to experience such luxury.
"Oh golly! I can't sleep in there with this stench, see!? I'll be back in no time!" He declared, running to the left door leading underneath the stairs and entering it.
"You always have a soft spot for visitors and tourists alike." Larry jokingly commented, heading to the left bedroom.
"I must keep everyone's morale up for what's coming in the next days." Peach brought up, following him to the bedroom.
The bedroom had a least a dozen beds with a small table for each bed. On the wall at the opposite of the door, a huge portrait depicting bombs marching was hanging.
"Well, that was quite the day today but I'm afraid that'll be the last time I help you and anyone else here." The punk said, removing his shells and bracers and putting them near one of the beds.
"Still, I'd like to thank you for helping us in our efforts to get the situation under control. I just wished you could stay longer with us." The princess admitted, sitting next to the punk.
"You know me, Princess. I have family to check on and make sure they're fine. It's been two or three days since all of that started and I haven't made any progress in that." The koopaling brought up, looking down, concerned.
He was not paying attention to the princess who leaned in for a kiss on the forehead. When he felt something moist and warm, he was shocked and looked back at the princess to leaned back and smiled at him.
"Good night, Larry. I'll see you tomorrow." She concluded before standing up and leaving the room, closing the door behind.
Larry wanted to smile but the kiss saddened him. He looked back down for a moment and slid in the bed sheets, his head facing the door.
"Oh, Princess. I'm sure you remember the dream he had… The one he gave up on… Six years ago…" He whispered before falling asleep.