PART 1: THE YOUNGEST
Chapter 1: A rude awakening
Larry abruptly woke up, frightened by what happened in his sleep. He was breathing fast but recovered his average breathing pace in seconds.
"Argh! I don't remember that happening at the orphanage. I must've had a nightmare at the same time." He whispered, grabbing his forehead.
He sat up on the bed and looked around. He was still in the prison cell but he noticed a bowl of salad and a glass of water were put by the bars inside his cell. He immediately left the bed and reached it then, without hesitation, shoved the bowl in his face. He downed the food with the glass of water and put the dishes aside.
(Well, that hit the spot. Now, why is it so quiet around here?) He thought.
The punk grabbed the bars and tried leaning forward between them but the space between the bars was too small for his head.
"Hello? Is there anyone still here?" He asked.
The only thing he head was a growl from a cell next to him. Larry grew suspicious of the quiet ambience and went to the door. He examined the lock that was fairly close to the ground but sighed.
"If only I had something with me for that. Though, I'm sure the captain would've taken it from me." He said.
The koopaling looked around a little more and noticed a window with bars above his bed. He jumped on his bed to use it as a trampoline and got launched to the window. He grabbed the ledge and pulled himself up where he could finally see outside. His window gave a view of the courtyard where all the vehicles were parked.
"Everyone seems to still be around, even Boom Boom." He supposed.
He then noticed a grey silhouette clumsily walking around. Since it was far away, Larry squinted his eyes to try to distinguish what it was but did not need to do it for long as the silhouette walked closer. When close enough, he saw it was a skull on feet with yellow eyes bathing into the darkness that inhabited its empty eye sockets.
"What in the world is that?" Larry quietly asked, disturbed.
The skull noticed Larry and began screeching. The ear-piercing sound forced the punk to cover his eyes but, by doing so, no longer had any grip on the ledge so he fell down onto the bed. The bed bounced him onto the floor where he landed on his belly. Both the bed and his shell having cushioned his fall, he barely felt hurt.
"I have to warn the other. But how am I gonna get out with my cell door locked?" He groaned as he stood back up.
He walked in circles in his cell, lost in his thoughts. His circles were not consistent and found himself walking around never managing to take the exact same pattern. At some point, his foot bumped on an object close to the door and he fell on the ground grabbing his foot and letting out a short scream in pain. When he looked around and was surprised to see an old fashioned key on the ground. The punk grabbed it and examined. He looked at the cell door then back at the key.
"This can't possibly open my door. Why was it at my reach?" Larry wondered.
Done with the thinking, he headed to the door. He had to pass the key between the bars to reach the keyhole on the other side of the door and carefully insert the key in. He was getting more nervous doing so as dropping the key would ruin his only possible chance of getting out. When he managed to get the key in, he began sweating as he twisted the key. He was not sure which way to turn first as he never unlocked one of these doors before. He first tried twisting it clockwise but nothing happened so he went the other way. He felt the resistance of the mechanism and pushed harder until he heard something clicking. He tried to move the door and it opened.
"Alright! Now, to get to the others." He cheered himself.
Larry made his way outside his cell but did not rush to the stairs at first. He was curious of the growl he heard before and investigated the cell next to his. Just one glance was enough to notice the horror inhabiting the second cell open. Another of these skeletal creatures was already there facing away, shaking uncontrollably next to a toolbox flipped over with a large pipe wrench on the ground. The koopaling quickly backed away grabbing his chest in fear.
(More of those inside!? Am I the only one who made it? What should I do?) He thought, horrified.
The punk got an idea. He first returned to his cell door to retrieve the key then went to the other cell. This time, the creature was facing him. It screeched at him and charged at the koopa but Larry closed the door and locked it before it could escape. The creature banged its head at the bars trying to break through but only cracked its skull little by little until it broke open and fell on the ground lifeless. As all this was happening, the punk backed away until his shell touched the wall and just watched in fear.
"I hope someone else made it out fine." He whispered as he headed toward the stairs.
He climbed the stairs and went to the closed door at the end. He opened the door slightly and peeked out. After seeing the first skeletal creature in the main hall, he immediately closed the door.
"Even more of those there!? I need to find a way to get past all of those. Let's see… I shouldn't try to fight them all or I'll just get overwhelmed." The punk muttered.
The situation seemed like a dead end to him until he looked up at his hairs towering over his head. He sighed.
"I wish I brought a brush with me. Oh well, here goes nothing." Larry muttered.
He raised his hand and plunged his fingers into his hairs to bring them down. He tucked the longer hairs in his shell. He reopened the door and snuck into the main hall. Only a dozen monsters roamed aimlessly in the main hall. The punk quietly went to the stairs and then upstairs, back to where he left Boom Boom. At this point, he feared the worst happened. The door to where his friend left was left barely open. He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door further. True to his thoughts, the worse happened; all there was in the big room, beside the furniture fit for a meeting room, were two skeletal monsters, one he recognized to be his friend judging by the size. The other was a complete mystery to him as this insectoid skeleton was like nothing he ever saw on the Mario World.
"No… No! This can't be!" Larry screamed, horrified.
His scream caught the attention of the creatures in the room that screeched at their turn, louder than him. Multiple screeches through the castle followed. The koopaling looked around and saw the monsters from the main hall having made their way upstairs.
"Great! I guess I have no choice." He declared, readying himself for battle.
His first move was to withdraw in his shell and spin in place. As the small monsters approached him, he charged into the horde and broke them like a bowling ball hitting a strike. He got launched downstairs back in the main hall where he hit a wall and got dizzied. He had to come out his shell and rest a few seconds before he could get back in the fight. The bigger monsters just got into the main hall as he recovered. By their size, Larry was unsure how he would be able to get rid of them. His plan for now was just to avoid them and find something big and heavy enough to break the skeletons but small and light enough for him to carry around and swing decently. The punk ran around in the castle with the monsters chasing after him. With the little time he could invest searching each room, which only consisted of him looking into them for a fraction of a second, and the lack of something that could be used as a weapon for him, he grew frustrated.
"Come on! Don't they have some spears lying around!? Of all the day someone needed one, it had to be today!" He complained.
Only the meeting room was left to check. He entered in the room and finally spotted something he could use as a weapon. Far away in the room, lying on the ground, was a silver wand ornate with an orange spherical gem at the tip. Looking at it, his way of fighting the monsters changed. He however did not notice they caught up to him. When heard one of those monsters screeching in his back, he turned around and got startled when he was facing the monster that used to be Boom Boom raising its claws. The monster swung at Larry and pierced through the hoodie and shell plating. The attack had the punk scream in pain and sent him spinning half a circle before he fell on the ground. This caused the adrenaline in him to kick him. Even though he was in pain, he quickly stood back up and rushed toward the wand.
"Lawrence…" A voice whispered.
He did not care for the voice. He could hear the footsteps and screeches behind him fueling his willpower. He went all in and leaped at the wand to grab it which caused a bright light.
"Lawrence!" The voice echoed.
It was a stormy midnight as rain heavily poured the Grassland town housing the castle. Larry was walking down the streets firmly holding his black raincoat by the hood and the torso, wearing a backpack. He was not wearing his shell this time. He found a phone booth and entered it where the sound of rain and storm became muffled by the metal and glass cage. The phone inside was at his height, even a little lower to accommodate the inhabitants of Grassland. He searched in his pocket and pulled a coin to put it in the phone socket and pick up the phone, which play an endless buzz. He then dialed a number and the incessant buzz became shorter and higher pitched buzzes followed up by short moments of silence. Eventually, he heard someone picking up.
"This better be important! Do you have an idea what time it is!?" Kamek's voice angrily shouted.
"It's Cheatsy. I made it to Grassland City." The koopaling replied.
"Oh! I'm terribly sorry. I almost forgot you were on a mission. Okay, please stand by. I'll be right back." Kamek's voice apologised.
Larry waited for a moment and looked around through the glass panels to make sure no one was waiting their turn to make a call. Even if it was midnight, he wanted to make sure. Seconds later, he heard someone picking the phone again.
"Alright. Your mission, since you accepted it, is to infiltrate the Grassland Keep and retrieve the orange wand. Do not, in any circumstances, touch the wand with your bare hands! You brought something to avoid that, I hope." Kamek's voice briefed.
"Yes, I brought some gloves. Will that do?" Larry answered, taking out a pair of black gloves out of his pockets and putting them on his hands.
"Good. Don't call me back once you got the orange wand and made it somewhere safe. Dismissed." Kamek's voice bid before hanging up.
The koopaling left the phone and made his way to the drawbridge of the keep. It was currently raised and, near where the drawbridge would extend to, a booth housing a brown mushroom on feet wearing a blue bonnet and pajama stood inside. Unlike the others, this one had a nervous attitude. As the koopa approached the booth, the mushroom pulled out an umbrella and left the booth opening the umbrella to cover itself from the rain.
"Sorry, kid. The keep's off limit for the night. You can always come back tomorrow morning." The mushroom anxiously asked, trying his best to reassure Larry.
A strong wind blew through the two. The punk grabbed his hood to keep it on his head but the mushroom was not so lucky. His umbrella got caught in the wind and flew away.
"No! My umbrella!" The mushroom screamed as he ran after the flying umbrella panicked.
With no one in the way, the koopaling searched in his backpack to pull out a grappling hook attached to a long rope that he swung around and threw at the drawbridge. The hook latched on the wood and Larry made his way up through climbing the rope. Once on top, he recovered the hook and rope then slid down the drawbridge to enter the courtyard. With the heavy rain, no one dared to patrol so all the guards stayed sheltered in booths operation spotlights. Carefully studying the patterns, Larry made it inside the keep without being detected. Once inside, the guards were holding lanterns from an extension to their mouth and walked around the dimly lit hall. Same as before, the punk had to wait to perform his moves and walk around as he would need to hide multiple times before he could reach his target. He arrived at the door leading to the ruler's bedroom and slowly opened it. Inside, a much bigger mushroom with a white mustache cutting at the middle of its face lied sideway on a king-sized bed sleeping. The giant mushroom's body was stripped in red and yellow instead of a plain light brown.
"Captain… Is that you?" The giant mushroom moaned, disturbed by the door creaking but keeping its eyes shut.
Larry quickly made his way inside and closed the door. He looked around the room with only the bed and a table on short legs. It was then he saw the orange wand by the giant mushroom's side, lying parallel with the ruler. The koopaling searched in his bag again and this time pulled out an adjustable plastic rod with a lightbulb he screwed at the tip. He approached the ruler to gage the length he needed to adjust the rod and swap it with the orange wand but, as he got close enough…
"Lawrence…" A voice whispered.
He backed away and looked around to see who could have possibly said such thing but only he and the ruler were in the room so he dismissed the voice as coming from the giant mushroom. Larry carefully made the swap and retrieved the orange wand. His mission complete, he headed back to the door but heard footsteps from the other side. He went hiding under the table and watched as the door slowly opened once again and the mushroom with the flagpole on its head entered. This time, the giant mushroom slowly woke up as its eyes revealed its brown lazy pupils.
"Captain, do you really have to bother me twice tonight?" The ruler yawned.
"What do you mean twice? I just got there unless… Your wand!" The smaller mushroom gasped.
"My… Wand!?" The ruler screamed, completely awake.
The smaller mushroom whistled and Larry could hear multiple sirens and metallic clangs all around him.
"You stay here, captain! I'll go get the men!" The giant mushroom ordered before leaving the room in a rush.
"Your highness, wait! That's my…" The captain began.
The door closed behind the giant ruler.
"… Job." The captain finished.
The mushroom began his search in the room. Unlucky for Larry, the captain approached the table under which the punk was hiding. The koopaling held the orange wand thigh and, when the captain leaned down his head, swung the wand at him. The captain gasped when he saw the tip of the wand coming from under the table and jumped back. He then whistled again. Larry emerged from his hiding spot, with no other choice left.
"You're not getting out of here, thief, not with the orange wand!" The captain warned.
For now, Larry's goal was to take the mushroom hostage for an easier way out. He tried swinging the wand again but the mushroom not only avoided the attack but also got hold of one of the punk's glove with his mouth and pulled out the glove. Larry shoved the mushroom away and held the wand again with his bare hand.
"No, don't! You down know what's gonna…" The mushroom tried to warn but it was too late.
"Lawrence!" That unknown voice echoed.
The koopaling was not sure wait tried to warn him about until he saw the orange light emerging from the want and quickly engulfing him.
"What's happening!? Why am I glowing!?" He screamed in panic, backing away in an attempt to outrun the glowing.
"You… what are you?" The captain asked, not expecting this occurrence.
The door opened again with a large amount of mushrooms barging in and the ruler. All of them saw the light and stuck to the wall.
"Hold up! Don't make any abrupt move!" The captain ordered when he saw all his comrades rushing in.
"You're an athlean!? I thought you were all gone!" The ruler exclaimed, afraid.
Larry pointed the wand in fear at the mushroom which scared them to move out of the way. He walked back until his back touched the wall. Among all the mushrooms in the room, only the captain mustered some courage to approach the punk.
"Stand back!" Larry warned, trembling in fear as he pointed the wand toward the captain.
"Please, I'm here to make a deal. We'll let you go safely." The captain proposed.
He then whistled which startled Larry at first, causing the gem on the wall to brighten up. Then, the sirens stopped, more metallic clangs could be heard, and all returned to silence.
"The only thing I ask you is to return us the wand in good faith. We'll even…" The captain began.
Larry heard a noise on his left and saw the giant mushroom pouncing at him.
"Your highness, don't!" The captain tried to warn.
The koopaling got scared and swung his wand at the ruler. The wand released a blast of energy at the ruler who got turned into a small snake. All that happening so fast, Larry fell on his tail and with the snake falling on him which he kicked away. He tossed the wand and hid back under the table, covering his face in fear with his hood.
Back to reality, Larry turned around and saw the skeletal insectoid jumping at him. He swung the orange wand, releasing a blast of energy that cut the monster in half. The other monster that used to be Boom Boom charged at him so the punk got back up and jumped out of the way. The last monster ran into the wall as Larry channeled his energy once again for a final attack.
"I'm sorry, Boom Boom, but I have to." He cried.
As the monster got back on its feet ready to charge at Larry again, the latter closed his eyes and unleashed the energy he channeled into the wand. He heard an explosion and multiple objects flying around, breaking in pieces on impact with the walls and falling on the ground. When Larry opened his eyes, he saw all the bone pieces scattered around the room. He rubbed his fingers on his chest and looked at them now sullied with his own blood. He slowly stood back up, helping himself with the orange wand. The pain becoming too unbearable, he was forced to use the wand again, this time as a walking stick. On the way out, his heart filled with so much sadness it overflowed through his eyes, converting the excess into tears that dropped on the floor as le limped.
"What is happening? Why is it happening?" He wondered, desperate to get an answer but from whom?
The koopaling reached the stairs and tried to go down nice and easy but fell down the stairs on his tail on each step. Down the stairs, he pursued his way toward the exit. He looked around, at all the skeletons lying on the floor lifeless.
"Is this the end for me? Am I becoming one?" He wondered again, the pain starting to make him dizzy.
He reached the door to the courtyard that was partially opened. He pushed on the door with the weight of his body and fell on his belly. The light outside blinded him and he heard voices.
"Stop right there!"
"Wait! The guy's injured!"
"Someone get me first aid! He's about to collapse!"
Larry's sight did not have time to adjust as the punk blacked out, unsure of his fate.