Chapter 20 Aria's Jungle Adventure

She shivered so much that the worry of her limbs turning blue and falling off was borderline unmanageable. The starlit snow of Frosted Glacier seemed to stretch on forever. It was like she was in an infinite hallway; every time she believed she reached the end of the snowy path, at least fifty miles of more snow stretched out before her. Even for someone who had grown up in the equally snowy World 3, this was proving too much for Aria.

But she didn't stop moving. Not only would it be stupid, because stopping would make the probability of frostbite even more likely, but she was determined to reach her goal. She thought about Bowser, lying lifeless and gray on the floor of his own castle. He couldn't stay that way. Anyone else's opinions on his politics and unyielding desire to have Princess Peach were irrelevant, as nobody deserved what the Shadow Seeker had given him. The Koopalings didn't deserve what the Shadow Seeker gave to them either. Therefore, Aria needed to keep going.

With that said, this was one of the worst journeys she had ever trekked on. Every hour the temperature seemed to drop at least five degrees, making her feel even more like she was about to die from frostbite. She recalled the words of the Shadow Seeker, how giddily he relished in the possibility of her losing her life in the freezing cold. It was disheartening in the worst way ever. And yet, it also served as the motivation she needed to keep walking. She wanted to live to defeat it. She wanted to live to see her curse removed, the Koopaling's curses removed, and Bowser brought back to life. On top of which, she could also imagine the terror on the Shadow Seeker's sinfully smug face as its life was taken away from it. It was so satisfying, like seeing all sorts of different items being squished by a hydraulic press. Aria swore that that vision would become a reality.

But… oh, this was not going well. It felt as though she had made no progress despite walking for about eight hours total. She shivered again, sneezing into her arm as snow began to fall. When would this end? Where was the path that would lead to warmth, to relief?

Well, she got her answer. After an eternity, Aria finally got to the end. The snowy road dipped downward, into the lush green forest of Soda Jungle. Aria breathed a sigh of relief and rushed toward it. It was like she had found the gold at the end of a very long, nearly endless rainbow. As she bounded down, she thanked Grambi for sparing her at least a sliver of luck.

The temperature change between the two locations was felt almost instantly. Aria stood outside the forest, basking in he sunshine and allowing the warmth to spread into her body. She could feel her scales loosening up, and excitement and relief welled up within her. Sure, the warmth was nothing in comparison to the heat of the Koopa Kingdom, but it was still very much appreciated. And needed too; Aria had no idea how close she had been to death while in Frosted Glacier, but it was certainly close enough.

Aria stood in place for a good ten minutes. Once her skin had warmed up and she felt more like a person than an icicle, she looked into Soda Jungle. Her stomach did a flip-flop. She had heard about this place. It apparently was filled to the brim with dangerous creatures. Giant koopa troopas. Bramballs. Bonefish. Boos. Aria almost felt sick, as she knew she would have to get through all of those enemies if she wished to reach the Mushroom Kingdom.

But she wasn't going to let her fear stop her. She could do this. She was a demon hunter; she was used to going face-to-face with a scary being. It wouldn't be that big of a deal this time. She was going to conquer this forest. No enemy, great or small, would get in her way.

With one more deep breath in, Aria put on a determined face and entered the jungle. She looked at the trees, the flowers. The former were probably the most interesting type of tree she had ever seen. They had big, almost bulbous bases, fatter and bigger than any other tree. It was as if they weren't trees, but an underground plant like a beet or a potato. Their leaves were shaped like stars, which Aria found charming. The trees also allowed sunlight to pass through the canopy in the most visually appealing way possible. The sunbeams acted like little beacons, showing the parts of the forest that wouldn't be seen in the dark. It was almost magical, how much these sunrays affected the overall mood and vibe of Soda Jungle.

As for the flowers, they were just as interesting. For one thing, they were huge; some of them towered over Aria's head. And their colors had never been seen before by her; most of the flowers she knew about had more pastel, softer colors. These colors were bold, bright, eye-catching. They grabbed a person's interest and refused to let it go. They ignited the imagination, making one think of fairylands and ancient stories.

Aria smiled at them, all without stopping. The warmth and joy these sights provided almost made her forget about the danger she could potentially face within the confines of this jungle.

Boom.

Aria yelped as the ground shook and the trees. She looked around for a hiding place, but just as quickly froze in place when she saw the behemoth that had caused such a ruckus. It was a koopa troopa, just as big as the ones she had been imagining. It stomped through the forest, making birds leave their nests and causing other animals to shriek. Aria's heart pounded. She wanted to move, but her fight-or-flight instinct just wasn't kicking in. She trembled, fearing that the giant would see her and rush at her. Thankfully, they just walked right past her. They didn't react to her, nor did they look at her. It was as if she didn't exist at all.

Aria had never been so happy to be reminded of her curse.

Once the giant walked away, crushing both grass and the flowers underneath its monstrous feet, Aria put her hand to her chest and let out a breath. Said breath had been held in for so long that it hurt, so letting it out was relieving in all the right ways.

"Okay," she muttered to herself. "Okay okay okay." She stood up straight and slapped herself across the face multiple times. "None of that anymore, okay Aria? No stopping for anything."

She couldn't let her fear get the better of her, she told herself as she resumed with walking. Like the giant before her, she stomped through the woods. She encountered some more giants along the way, goombas and koopas who all looked like they had been given a magical growth serum. They stomped along, probably not even noticing how big they were in comparison to everything else. Aria walked right past them, paying them as much mind as they were paying her.

When she got deeper into the woods, she noticed some other things of note. For one, the swampy portions. Purple, sludge like goop rested in pits, looking and smelling like some sort of thick grape soda. However, Aria knew better than to taste it, as she had heard through the grapevine that such sludge was toxic. So, she ignored it. She walked past that as well as the bramballs, who just walked along with those suction cup feet of theirs. Admittedly, Aria found them to be cute. Strange, but cute. They kept their faces in eternal frowns, probably aware of the fact that the way they moved was impractical on an evolutionary basis. If that was the case, Aria didn't blame them. If she was required to flip herself upside down every time she walked, she wouldn't be the happiest either.

Not letting those thoughts take up too much space within her mind, she continued deeper into the woods. The sounds of the bugs grew much more screechy, more ear-splitting. Everything about this part of Soda Jungle seemed off. The trees looked less lively like they were just inches away from casting all their leaves to the side and falling over. The grass grew drier, and crunchier. It was as if it wasn't part of a rainforest, but rather, a dry, barren land that hadn't seen or heard of water in decades. The creatures were also less common, and a darkness set over the land. Aria noticed this was because of a dense, purple fog, blanketing the forest and making the air around her as cold as a corpse.

She had to admit, these changes made her stomach churn. Goosebumps rose all over her arms, and her heart was pumping in overtime. She wiped some sweat off of her brow, telling herself to not let this get to her. She wasn't going to turn back because the forest got a little too spooky; she was stronger than that. She would keep going no matter what. She would get to the Koopalings no matter what.

Unfortunately, the forest must've noticed her resolve, because it was doing everything in its power to get her to turn back. The trees were completely barren and dead now, and they creaked if the slightest breeze pushed them. The grass was even crunchier now, and the fog was so thick that Aria had no hope of actually seeing the sun anymore. The forest was dark as sin, so much so that Aria had to strain her eyes to see a few feet in front of her. The sounds of the bugs and the other critters had gone silent. Aria couldn't decide whether that was a blessing or a curse.

"MWA HA HA!"

That laugh shook Aria to her core. It froze her blood in place, and made her heart seize up as she came to a complete halt. She remembered that boos were in these woods, boos who were willing and able enough to completely rip a mortal being to shreds. She started to get heart palpitations just thinking about all the gruesome possibilities.

I need to keep going, she told herself. Too much was at stake for her to stop.

She continued on the way. Every once in a while, she heard more laughter, laughter that somehow sounded even more terrifying than the first one. Aria took deep breaths the further along she went, telling herself to be brave. If she was brave enough to get out of the jungle, she would find that everything would be worth it. She would find that everything would fall into place, lining up in a way that she never would've thought before. She could do this. She could definitely do this…

"BOO!"

Aria screamed, jumping at least three feet into the air. She turned to see a boo, laughing at her and sticking its tongue out. Aria's eyes grew wide, and they only grew wider as the foul creature began to speak.

"You smell of fear, young one." They laughed. "So much fear."

"Indeed," said another voice. Aria turned, her heart screaming inside her chest when she saw another boo. This one was pink instead of white, but that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. "We love it when little baby girls walk into our woods feeling this scared."

Aria could barely speak. "You… you guys can see me?"

"Of course we can see you," said the original white boo. "And now, we are going to treat you the way we treat any living being who comes into our woods."

Without any more warning, they lunged at her, their tongues sticking out and the most wicked types of giggles coming out of their mouths. Aria screamed, only getting out of the way thanks to sheer dumb luck. The boos licked each other before turning back toward her in annoyance.

"Nice moves sweetie, but they won't save you."

With that, they lunged at her again. Aria, acting on nothing but adrenaline, bolted away. She ran through the forest, the grass cracking like bones underneath her feet. Every time she looked over her shoulder, the boos were still right on her tail. After looking back the third time, tears sprang up in her eyes. As she cried them, her fear levels rose higher than the highest mountain.

Could she even escape from this?