In this chapter, Jessica will continue fighting monsters as she makes her way to the fortress.
And yes, I made a pun.
Of course, I think I'll also feature the fortress itself. Or should we call it a tower?
Usually such levels are referred to as fortresses. But I suppose I could refer to it as a tower.
Chapter 3: Going Nuts
TILTED TUNNEL
"Oh look. I went from the plains to being inside a cave. That's a change of pace." noted Jessica. Though she did admit that she happened to like the sunlight.
She had previously noted that the Mushroom Kingdom had a variety of environments.
It sure made adventuring more exciting.
"I've-a been in lots-a of caves!" exclaimed Mario.
The monsters were a bit stronger than the ones outside…but they were still weak.
Unsurprisingly, there were Drackies inside the cavern. They sure liked to call them home.
Since they flew around, Mario couldn't hit them with his hammer.
But other than that, he had little to worry about. He could still jump on them, after all.
"I'm thirsty. Can I have a bite?" asked the Dracky.
"I have a mushroom." answered Jessica.
The Dracky drank the mushroom juice.
"Thanks!" exclaimed the bat. That really hit the spot.
Sometimes it was better to reason with monsters instead of fighting them.
Speaking of mushrooms, Mario decided to tell Jessica something about them.
"Try this!" exclaimed the plumber.
"Huh?" questioned the sorceress.
Mario gave her a mushroom.
Jessica ate it.
She grew in size.
"I didn't know mushrooms could do that." noted Jessica.
"There-a are others that can-a heal you!" exclaimed Mario. These typically appeared in RPGs.
"Good to know." spoke the mage.
She felt like she was getting used to the new rules of this world.
There were also Bodkin Archers.
They fired from a distance…but weren't great shots.
"Darn it! I missed!" exclaimed an archer. And he had a limited amount of arrows too.
"I guess you need to work on your aim." noted Jessica. Personally she preferred magic over the bow. Though a bow could be useful against flying enemies.
"It's true, I do." nodded the bodkin.
To make matters worse, once a Bodkin Archer ended up in close range, they had little means of defending themselves.
They could buff themselves, but that was about it.
A Woebergine showed up.
He attempted to impress them with his dance moves.
"Not bad." spoke Jessica.
If she had time to do some dancing, maybe she would.
"Thanks!" exclaimed the woebergine.
This time, there was a Leery Lout guarding the flag.
"No touchie the flagpole!" shouted the green baddie.
"That's a big shield!" exclaimed Mario.
"True. But I still don't think he's tough." noted Jessica.
This was still the beginning, after all.
He used his shield to parry the hammer that Mario used against him.
"Whew!" exclaimed the goblin.
But Mario leapt on top of him.
"Ow!" exclaimed the leery lout.
Jessica fired a fireball.
The leery lout couldn't raise his shield in time.
"That was smoky!" exclaimed the leery lout.
"If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen." warned Jessica.
The Leery Lout hit Mario with his shield.
"Oof!" exclaimed the plumber.
He leapt on the lout in retaliation.
The lout collapsed, leaving behind a few coins.
"I wonder if we'll be able to use the coins to buy equipment." noted Jessica as she pulled the flag. That was how things worked in her last adventure.
She might as well spend those coins, seeing as she lost half of them every time she lost a battle.
Luckily, there was a Toad House nearby.
It seemed they could indeed spend their coins on weapons and armor.
Jessica swapped her leather whip to a thorn whip.
And Mario swapped his Work Pants for Shroom Pants.
"It was a good idea for you to open business near a tower." noted Jessica. That made preparing for the fight at the top so much easier.
"It's the least I can do!" exclaimed Toad.
The troll spotted them.
"Me looking forward to this!" exclaimed the troll.
"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you shall get." noted Jessica.
CRUSHING COGS TOWER
Inside the tower were skeletons.
Apparently, they were the equivalent of a Dry Bones. Though unlike Dry Bones, they didn't usually get back up after you took them down.
"You're not getting to the top!" exclaimed a skeleton.
Luckily, they weren't strong enemies. This was still the beginning. Though each of them did wear a suit of armor and had a sword in their hand.
However, they could toss their heads from a distance.
There were also Ghosts.
"Nah nah!" exclaimed the ghost.
He blew a raspberry at them.
"You're being immature." noted Jessica.
The ghost could give them goosebumps with his long tongue.
But that wore off quickly.
Jessica noticed there were cogs in the tower, hence the name.
This made her wonder if the tower was a factory of some kind.
Some Mecha-Mynahs showed up.
Apparently, they were indeed producing monsters here. Though it wouldn't be too surprising if these birds were hatched from eggs.
"These monsters seem to have high-a defense!" exclaimed Mario.
"That they do. I still don't think we should be too concerned though." noted Jessica. They didn't have a lot of health to compensate for that.
This was still the first world.
There was also the fact that they could fly, but jumping took care of that.
The Mecha-Mynahs opened fire, but they ducked.
Some Eggsoskeletons showed up.
They had a habit of hopping to place to place.
They reminded Mario of himself.
Though they also reminded him of Yoshi eggs.
Sometimes they bounced as well. Usually when they were close to hatching.
At the top of the tower was a troll.
He had his own battle arena.
"Hahahaha!" laughed the troll.
OST: Defeat the Enemy (Dragon Quest 8)
"I guess if we wish to progress through the world, we have to get past him." noted Jessica.
Mario nodded.
He was certainly a tad tougher than the monsters they had faced so far. They could tell by his size.
But Jessica imagined that if they worked together they could take him down. They had worked well together so far.
Jessica launched a fireball at the troll.
"Ooh! Spicy!" exclaimed the troll. He was up against a spellcaster, it seemed. How much MP did she have?
He swung his club in retaliation.
"Take this!" shouted the beast.
Luckily, he was slow. So the attack wasn't hard to avoid.
Still, it seemed he could take more hits than the monsters they had encountered so far. He wasn't the boss of the tower for nothing. After all, he was a big monster.
Mario leapt on him and did some damage.
He attempted to whack him in retaliation.
"You no match for me!" exclaimed the troll. He wondered why they were fighting him.
Jessica launched another fireball, but was hit with the club.
"Ow!" exclaimed the mage.
That attack knocked her backwards a few feet.
"Okey dokey?" asked Mario.
"Yeah. Thanks for asking." noted Jessica. Perhaps they should consider buying some medicinal herbs. Mushrooms could also work as well though.
The troll let out a laugh.
To punish him for laughing at her pain, she whipped him.
"Ow!" exclaimed the troll.
He attempted to hit Jessica, but he fell.
"How could me be so clumsy?" asked the troll.
Unfortunately, this left him vulnerable to attack.
Mario then leapt on him.
"Ouch!" exclaimed the troll.
Jessica then finished him off with a fireball.
"How'd you beat me?" asked the monster. It seemed his arrogance had led to his defeat.
"We-a did it!" exclaimed Mario.
"Yeah…but I get the feeling we're going to be facing stronger monsters than him in the future." noted Jessica. This was still the first world, after all. Chances are they would later encounter a boss troll.
Still, this was indeed a victory.
Jessica noticed there was a castle up ahead.
There was an Antiquitree waiting for them there.
"Enter my castle if you dare!" exclaimed the tree.
"It looks like this is the general." noted Jessica.
Mario nodded.
If they defeated him, they had a ticket to the next world.
He was most likely the strongest foe in the world, however.
They should be expecting a fight.
And yes, it seemed that Kirby wasn't the only one that used a tree as a world boss.
But before they went to the castle, they would need to complete some more levels.
Seeing as they had defeated a big monster, chances are the monsters on the way to the castle would be a bit stronger than before.
But they had leveled up a few times, so that shouldn't be a big deal.
"Congratulations on defeating the troll!" exclaimed the Toad.
It was good he wouldn't be causing trouble anymore. Monsters like trolls were scary.
"You're welcome." spoke Jessica.
"By the way, you can find my friends in other worlds as well." noted the fun guy.
"That's pretty convenient." spoke the mage.
Now they wouldn't have to keep heading back to him.
Mario bought a new pair of boots.
They were Shroom Boots.
Jessica then decided to go to the next level.
Meanwhile…
Alena introduced herself to the locals.
"Hi everyone!" exclaimed the princess.
"Hi! What brings you here?" asked the Bean. It was not every day a human decided to visit the kingdom. Though he heard there were Toads living elsewhere in the kingdom. It seemed they liked to search for exotic mushrooms. And exotic mushrooms could indeed be found there.
"I was in my castle when a portal swallowed me." explained Alena.
"You're a princess? You should introduce yourself to the prince!" exclaimed the Beanish resident.
And perhaps the queen as well.
"You have royalty here? Good to know." spoke Alena.
Sure enough, Prince Peasley was in town.
He was planning to leave, however.
He heard rumors that Bowser and his minions were planning to conquer the Beanbean Kingdom.
It seemed they were taking a break from the Mushroom Kingdom.
Alena decided to introduce herself.
"Hi!" exclaimed the princess.
"Pleased to meet you. But I'm in a hurry." spoke Prince Peasley. There was no rest for the wicked, so he would not rest until he had defeated the wicked.
"How come?" asked Alena.
"I'm here to investigate a potential invasion. It's best to prevent one before it happens." explained the prince.
"I understand. Do you need help?" questioned the princess. She figured the prince would stand a better chance if he worked with a partner.
"My mother would feel better if I didn't go alone." noted Peasley.
His mother had had a nightmare that he was transformed into a dragon by an evil witch.
The royal guard had been sent to search for him, which left the castle vulnerable.
"Mind if I tag along, then?" asked Alena.
"Let's get going!" exclaimed Prince Peasley.
Together, the two went to Stardust Fields.
That was where the Koopa Troopas had supposedly been spotted.
And it was where the Koopas would likely pass on the way to Beanbean Castle.
"I'm looking forward to another adventure." thought Alena.
Elsewhere…
YOSHI HILL
"Yoshi? Never heard of him." spoke Jessica.
"They're residents of the Mushroom Kingdom that resemble-a dinosaurs!" exclaimed Mario.
"Dinosaurs? This land is full of surprises." noted the mage.
Sure enough, she found what appeared to be an egg.
It was orange in color.
Suddenly, it began to hatch.
Out popped a Yoshi.
"Is this what you were referring to?" asked Jessica.
It certainly had a prehistoric look.
Mario nodded. This was a Yoshi, alright.
"Mama!" exclaimed Yoshi.
"And he thinks I'm his mother. Go figure." spoke Jessica.
"That-a happens sometimes." noted Mario.
Ironically, he vaguely remembered the days that he had been raised by Yoshis.
After that, he and his brother had been raised in the Mushroom Kingdom. Or was it Brooklyn?
Some Cruelcumbers showed up. Jessica remembering seeing one guarding a flagpole. But now they had multiple ones to deal with.
"Oh no! It's the heroes who defeated the troll! We're in a pickle!" shouted one of the Cruelcumbers. They had to be strong if they defeated him. Though they did seem to be low level.
"Well, we're not going down without a fight! Otherwise we wouldn't be cool cruelcumbers!" exclaimed another Cruelcumber.
Mario noted that the enemies liked to make puns.
The Cruelcumbers approached them.
Jessica readied her whip.
If you have ideas as to what other monsters should appear in this fanfic, let me know.
There certainly are a lot to choose from.
I went with ones I figured would suit the environment.
And yes, I decided to make a B-Plot. Even if I did base this on New Super Mario Bros U.