In this chapter, Angelo will make his debut in this fanfic!
I figured I would feature more than one character from Dragon Quest VIII. Dragon Quest Heroes did after all.
Who knows? I might even feature Psaro the Manslayer. His human form, I mean. His monster form I think would be a superboss.
I decided to feature a Super Mario Bros 3. reference in this chapter.
Chapter 9: Better Angelo
Our heroes encountered another Metal Slime.
They seemed to have made themselves known ever since they conquered the second tower.
Unsurprisingly, he decided he was going to flee from them.
"I'll see goo later!" exclaimed the Metal Slime.
But he ended up in the quicksand instead.
"Help me!" bellowed the metal slime.
"This seems familiar." noted Jessica. The same thing had happened with a Hammerhood not too long ago.
Mario grabbed the metal slime with his hand.
"Thank goo!" exclaimed the Metal Slime. Mario really was a hero. No wonder everyone in Toad Town loved him. He was also well-liked in Brooklyn as well.
Perhaps he should consider running a little slower so he didn't end up in this situation again.
Then again, she heard there were monsters that hunted Metal Slimes themselves. So they wouldn't want to stay in one place for too long.
As a reward, the Metal Slime decided to join them.
"You have a lot of monster tokens." noted the slime.
"Yeah. Peach has some natural charisma." spoke Jessica.
This was a likely reason why she was chosen to be leader.
Peach had an idea as to what to do with him.
Since he was so fast, it would be a good idea to have him scout the area.
Sure enough, he discovered who the boss was.
"The guardian is an Iron Scorpion! Slurp!" exclaimed the Metal Slime.
"That doesn't surprise me." noted Jessica. She could see several Scorpions up ahead. So, it seemed that was their leader.
'Thy managed to recruit a Metal Slime? That's really impressive!" exclaimed a Slime Knight.
Personally, he was hoping to catch a Metal Slime himself so that he could become a Metal Slime Knight. It would be definitely helpful to have a speed boost like that.
Our heroes encountered Spitniks.
"Oh a-no!" exclaimed Mario. It looked like he was being attacked by the sun. Again!
History had a habit of repeating itself.
What was going to attack him next? The moon?
On second thought, that was tempting fate.
The Spitniks could breathe fire.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Peach. That was hot.
Luckily, Mario had plenty of experience with fire-breathing enemies.
And Jessica knew ice spells.
"It looks like we've been eclipsed!" exclaimed one of the Spitniks.
Meanwhile, Angelo had decided to pay Jessica's mother a visit.
"Can you help me find her? She's gone missing." noted Jessica's mother.
She assumed that Jessica had simply gone on an adventure at first, but the more she failed to write to her, the more she started to get worried.
"Of course. I'm always happy to help a maiden." spoke Angelo.
"My daughter told me that you were rather flirtatious." noted Rosalind.
"In my defense, she's rather flirtatious herself." explained the white-haired man.
"Be careful." warned Jessica's mother. She didn't know where Jessica had gone, but it could be somewhere dangerous.
Angelo discovered there was a portal in her room.
"Is that where she went?" asked the white-haired man.
He decided to write a letter to his comrades, just in case.
"I've discovered a portal in Jessica's room. I do not know whether other portals have appeared, but I suggest you be cautious just in case. I'm going inside to see if I can rescue her." read the letter.
Angelo went inside, and found himself in the Layer-Cake Desert.
It seemed that the portal's destination changed varying by the person.
He had arrived in a Toad village.
"Hey there! Welcome to Baker Town!" shouted the Toad.
Unsurprisingly, he was dressed like a baker.
Others were wearing turbans and were dressed for the desert.
"Have you seen this young woman?" asked Angelo.
He was smart enough to bring a picture of Jessica.
"Yeah!" nodded a Toad.
"Tell me more." requested Angelo.
Some Scorpions appeared. Jessica had spotted them earlier.
Unsurprisingly, their stings were poisonous.
But Peach had learned Squelch, so they didn't have much to worry about.
There was a Toad in a church if they wanted to consult him though.
They had visited the church to say their prayers once.
"If you're poisoned, I can help!" exclaimed the Toad.
Mario whacked the scorpions away before they could poison him.
"Ouch! This plumber is no slouch!" shouted one of the scorpions.
"That's what those big turtles said about my brother and me!" exclaimed Mario.
The boss was an Iron Scorpion, as the Metal Slime had said.
"I'd like to see you get past my scales!" exclaimed the Iron Scorpion.
"It looks like she has good defense." noted Jessica.
However, there were ways to get past defense like that.
Peach cast Sap.
"Hey! Don't mess with my defense!" demanded the scorpion of steel. She was proud of it.
Mario then hammered her.
"You're attacking me? Alright then, I'll going to give you the stinger!" shouted the Iron Scorpion.
She stung Mario in retaliation.
Luckily, he didn't get poisoned.
It seemed the stinger didn't always inject the venom.
Jessica hit the Iron Scorpion with Crack.
However, she began to burrow underground.
"Where's she going?" asked the sorceress.
Suddenly, her tail emerged from the sand.
It then stung her.
"Oh no..." spoke Jessica.
She had been poisoned. It looked like she was going to lose HP.
Luckily, Peach cured the poison.
"Thanks..." said the sorceress. She wasn't looking forward to losing HP. So it was good that Peach had the antidote.
"She can cure poison? Oh no...I'm starting to think that this is going to be an uphill battle." remarked the Iron Scorpion. Poison was her primary means of offense. And they had a found way to get past her defense as well.
"Could you at least entertain us? I feel like we could use the combat experience." noted Jessica.
And battling was what made Dragon Quest fun.
The scorpion did admit that they had a point.
"OK then. Let's see how you fare against my pincers!" exclaimed the Iron Scorpion.
She attempted to pinch them.
She pinched Mario on the nose.
"Ow!" shouted Mario. Now she was starting to remind them of a crab.
Jessica hit the Iron Scorpion with Crack.
She fell to the sandy floor.
"That was a good fight." remarked the Iron Scorpion. She would be sure to remember it.
Jessica pulled the flag.
Just as they were about to head to the next level, Angelo approached them.
"Angelo? Is that you?" asked the sorceress. It was good to see him again. Or was it a desert mirage? That could happen in the desert heat.
"Your mother was worried about you." explained Angelo. So he decided to search for her.
'Did the portal reopen? It closed the moment that I stepped foot in Toad Town." noted the sorceress.
"Apparently, it did. Are you ready to come home?" asked the white-haired man.
"I would, but I need to protect this land from the Dragonlord." explained Jessica.
'The Dragonlord?" asked the holy warrior.
"Yeah. He's an overlord that commands an army." noted the sorceress. He was a serious threat to the Mushroom Kingdom.
"He sounds menacing." spoke Angelo.
"He is." confirmed Jessica.
"Are you on the way to his castle? I assume as a dragon lord he would have one." asked the young man.
"Yes. But in order to face him we have to defeat his seven generals first. We've managed to defeat one, and now we're going after the second one." explained Jessica. He was in his castle, which wasn't far from their location.
"I see." comprehended Angelo.
"He's set up a road block at every-a level, so it's going to take-a quite some time to reach the Dragonlord!" exclaimed Mario. He liked to think that they could get past all the guardians, but it was definitely time-consuming.
"Road blocks, you say?" asked Angelo.
"Yes. He's set up guardians to guard every level exit. He's bound by the laws of the land but he's allowed to do that." noted Jessica.
"Would you like some help?" questioned the priest.
"We would appreciate that." nodded Jessica.
Angelo has joined the party!
At Hoohoo Mountain…
Alena noticed that for some strange reason, the residents of Hoohoo Village looked just like cacti.
They lacked the spikes though.
According to Peasley, they were known as Hoohooligans.
Alena decided that it would be a good idea to ask them some questions.
They just might have information about the Koopa Troop.
"Excuse me, have you seen Bowser Baddies around here?" asked Alena.
They figured they should continue what they had started and make sure the Beanbean Kingdom didn't meet the same fate as the Penguin Kingdom. Those poor penguins.
Though on the lighter side, the arctic birds managed to reclaim their land after Bowser's defeat.
"I saw some of them climbing up the mountain." noted the Hoohooligan. It looked as if they were gathering together.
Alena was worried about that. What exactly were they up to up there?
"Did you see some of them climbing down the mountain?" asked Peasley. If Beanbean Castle Town was in danger, it would be best if they defended it immediately.
"No. But I think one of them was talking about it." answered the cactus man. The quickest way to town was down that path.
"Then we need to take preemptive action." realized Alena.
"I would normally advise you to talk to Blabanadon to go up the mountain, but the minions have set up a cannon that will shoot him down if you try that." warned the Hoohooligan.
"I guess we're going up there on foot then." noted Peasley.
Alena nodded.
"Be careful, there are Koopa Troopas up there." informed the cactus. Not the most threatening Bowser Baddies around, but they did have those shells to protect themselves.
"We will." spoke the princess. Though she didn't mind something a bit more challenging than a Goomba. Especially after they managed to take down their king.
That was certainly a proud achievement for her.
The two of them met Sledge and Mallet.
AKA the Hammerhead Bros.
"If you're going to the mountain, could you get us some Hoohoo Blocks?" asked Sledge.
"We need them to make some hammers!" exclaimed Mallet. That was their pride and joy.
"If we see one, we'll give it to you." nodded Alena.
The two set forth to Hoohoo Mountain.
Could they make it to the summit?
Meanwhile…
Peach got a new frying pan from Toad.
This one was pink in color.
It packed more attack than her original one.
She got a discount because she was princess. Like Mario himself, she had a way of making shopkeepers more generous.
They then started the next level.
Blooming Lakitus
"The Lakitus currently have their heads in the clouds." noted Peach.
"This feels nice." remarked one of the Lakitus who had their heads in the clouds.
They were currently relaxing.
If their heads weren't in the clouds, they would have noticed that their master had gone to another kingdom.
Well, this level would be a bit too easy without them. How about this?
Blooming Chimearas
"Who wants a taste of my fire breath?" asked one of the Chimearas.
"Oh look! Chimearas!" exclaimed Jessica.
I too decided to go with a common flying enemy. Just in Dragon Quest instead of Super Mario Bros.
"That makes sense." nodded Peach.
Mario jumped on top of one of the Chimearas.
But he healed himself.
"I'm so happy that I know healing magic!" exclaimed the Chimeara.
"As am I." noted Peach.
However, Jessica knocked him out before he could recast the spell.
"Oof!" shouted the bird serpent.
Jessica learned Bang.
"That's great. Now I can target multiple enemies." noted the girl.
"I'm proud of you, Jessica." cheered Angelo.
Mario realized he could toss fireballs at a distance.
He didn't have to use Firehand at close range.
This was very useful considering he was up against flying enemies.
In addition to the Chimearas, there were also Lips.
"Give me a kiss!" demanded a Lips.
One of them kissed Mario.
"Mamamia!" exclaimed the plumber. He now had goosebumps.
This offended Peach, who whacked the Lips away with her frying pan.
"You got me!" shouted the Lips.
Another tried to kiss Angelo.
But he seemed he was used to that sort of thing.
"I already have my heart set on another, thank you." explained the priest.
"Aww…" said the Lips.
"Is it me?" asked Jessica. She was willing to give Angelo a chance, but he should always remember to treat women with respect.
Angelo nodded.
Some Fandangows appeared.
"Let's see how you dance!" exclaimed a Fandangow.
"Some of the guardians are starting to appear as common enemies." noted Jessica.
"I guess that means the monsters are-a getting stronger!" worried Mario.
"But then again, so are we." noted Angelo.
The guardian this time was a Hocus Chimeara. A See Urchin told them that.
"We're-a getting a lot of more powerful versions of other monsters, aren't we?" asked Mario.
"That we are." nodded Jessica.
Still, this made them easier to deal with, since they already knew at some level what they were capable of.
So she decided not to complain.
The four of them continued deeper into the desert.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
I ended up with 666 words while writing this chapter. Ironic considering the title, huh?
Let the journey continue!
Or should I say journeys?