In this chapter, our heroes will enter Teehee Valley.
The others will explore the Seesaw Bridge.
Personally, I'm glad that Superstar Saga featured the Koopalings.
Though it did seem like a last minute decision. They appeared in the last dungeon.
They did have a greater role in Bowser's Minions. I like that. And they also got dialogue as well. I wonder why the Koopalings were so silent in the original.
I ended up with 404 words while writing this chapter.
I hope this fanfic doesn't end up dead. I'm trying to see if I can complete it.
Chapter 38: Valley of Laughter
The party for this level was Peach, Donkey Kong, Angelo, and Jessica.
Peach was glad that Donkey Kong was behaving himself personally.
Pauline could rest easy knowing that Donkey Kong was being a hero and not a villain.
Though she would let her know if he was headed to New Donk City, just in case.
Seesaw Bridge
As usual, there was poisonous water.
Peach was starting to wish she was still in World 3.
None of the water was poisonous in that level.
There were seesaws our heroes could use to get across the poisonous water…which made the level look a bit like a playground. Though it wouldn't be a good idea to build a playground where poisonous water was.
Since they were seesaws abound, the level name shouldn't come across as a surprise.
It was pretty convenient. Though they wondered who had put those seesaws there. Was it the Toads?
The heroes wondered why they decided not to build a bridge. That would probably be more convenient. It would decrease the chances of falling off.
Well, it was better than nothing.
Some Lesser Demons appeared. Was someone performing dark rituals? Summoning demons didn't seem like a good idea to Peach. She had been possessed by one and it had ended up one of the world's darkest hours.
They weren't as strong as Archdemons, but it was still best not to take them too lightly, as they were a step up from Imps.
These demons attacked using light.
So it was best to try to cover their eyes when they were using Dazzleflash. Otherwise they would most likely be blinded.
Was there a shop that sold sunglasses by any chance?
If so, that would be appreciated.
Luckily, it turned Peach was resistant to light attacks.
And so was Angelo. He had been raised by a holy man, after all.
However, this was not the only attack the lesser demons had in their arsenal.
In addition to Dazzleflash, the lesser demons could toss cursed orbs at them.
It seemed they could attack with both light and darkness.
Peach temporarily left the party. She had fallen in the water and needed to recover.
Jade took her place.
She kicked the Lesser Demons and knocked them down.
A team of monsters approached them.
They were Mum, Boe, Jum, and Boh.
"I remember these four." noted Jessica.
They were formidable when they were together.
Though when they were apart, you didn't have a lot to worry about.
They were similar to the party themselves…apart from the merging ability.
The four monsters combined to become Mumboe Jumboh.
"Wow!" exclaimed Peach. She wasn't expecting that.
"That reminds me of a King Slime." noted Jade. King slimes were the result of slimes merging together.
However, this monster was the result of four different monsters banding together.
Mario (who was in reserve) was reminded of the Koopa Bros.
They too were stronger when they worked together.
The Mumboe Jumboh lunged at our heroes.
It had sharp blades, so they needed to be careful.
Luckily, the four of them could be split apart with a strong enough attack.
When that happens, fighting them was that much easier.
However, they could cast Zing to potentially revive their fallen comrades.
So it was best to try to attack them all at once.
Jessica did just that with Boom.
The team of monsters were down for the count.
There were Draguars as well.
They weren't as threatening as a Mumboe Jumboh of course, but they were still something to watch for.
They were part dragon, after all.
Luckily, they did not have fire breath despite that. So they didn't have to worry about being burned.
But they did know wind magic.
Which meant that they could attack the entire party at once.
Some Treevils attacked them.
They resembled Treefaces, but they were looking a little blue despite the smile on their faces.
They had the power to revive their comrades. And yes, it was similar to Elite Troopeas, whose healing ability was superior to a regular Troopea in that aspect.
As such, it was a good idea to take them out first.
This time, the boss was Mossferatu.
"You've made it a bit too close to Rashaverak. Let me stop you here and now!" exclaimed the mossy monster.
They couldn't tell whether he was a plant or a frog.
It seemed he was a combination of both.
He used Chilly Breath against them.
Which was unusual since he was both an amphibian and a plant monster.
But nonetheless, it was something that they needed to watch out for.
Otherwise, chances are they would get frozen.
They'd be defenseless in that state, though refreshing herbs could thaw them out.
Luckily, Peach had an Insulatle spell.
This would reduce the damage of the ice breath.
Alistair countered the chilly breath with flame breath.
Mossferatu summoned some Quayhorses for assistance.
He figured that he didn't want to face the heroes four on one.
Especially since they could switch out if one of them was defeated.
They defended their master with their tridents.
Ans to make matters worse, Mossferatu could cast Kazing to bring them back when they fell.
So perhaps it was best not to spend too much time fighting the seahorses.
Mossferatu whacked DK on the head with his staff.
"Ow!" exclaimed Donkey Kong, who clutched his head in response to that attack.
He was reminded of the times that Cranky Kong had done that to him.
Why was he so cranky, anyway? His wife had died, but he was cranky before then.
Unsurprisingly, Mossferatu was weak to fire.
And Jessica had plenty of experience using fire magic.
She used Sizzle so she could attack both the guardian and his lackeys.
Mossferatu summoned a whirlpool.
It seemed that staff wasn't just for show. It was a magical staff.
It made Peach dizzy.
But she recovered from it.
Jessica cast Frizzle on Mossferatu.
It was a critical spell.
Mossferatu could not withstand such a fiery assault.
"Oh no! I've fallen and I cannot get up!" exclaimed the massive amphibian.
He sure hoped that the next guardian would do better. How many minions of the Dragonlord had been defeated at this point?
The Quayhorses decided to surrender.
One of them pulled out a white flag.
And another decided to join their cause.
He was impressed with their fighting abilities.
Jessica pulled on the flagpole.
Our heroes now had only one level left to go before they could reach Rashaverak.
Back in the Beanbean Kingdom…
As it turned out, Maya specialized in whips.
And they had some on sale at the shop.
She bought a Hypnowhip.
Meena specialized in staves.
She bought a lightning staff.
It would be useful for aquatic enemies.
Ruff got a tough guy tattoo.
And yes, he felt like he was a tough guy.
For some reason, a tattoo was a piece of equipment in Dragon Quest.
So you could freely take it on and off.
It was weird.
But then again, video games didn't always make sense.
When they were done shopping, our heroes went to Teehee Valley.
OST: Teehee Valley
It didn't take long for our heroes to notice how hot it was in the desert.
Already, they were starting to sweat.
Why exactly was the path to Little Fungitown through this treacherous valley anyway?
Chances are it would make it hard to receive visitors.
Was there a water source nearby? Because Little Fungitown would need it.
"That sure is a lot of sand." noted Ruff.
"I know." nodded Alena. Luckily, they had a map that would help them find Little Fungitown. Though it was anyone's guess as to where Roy was in the valley.
"You think we'll be able to find the Toads?" asked Peasley. Hopefully if they found the town it would not turn out to be a mirage. That would be a big disappointment.
It would be definitely be helpful to have shelter in case there was a sandstorm. So it would be very useful if they could find the town, rescue mission aside.
"We found someone, but it's not the Toads!" exclaimed Ashlynn, pointing to a Goomba.
Some Gritty Goombas appeared.
It seemed some Goombas had adapted to life in the desert.
They were decidedly tougher than their normal counterparts. The desert was a harsh environment, after all.
It was surprising how strong these Goombas were by comparison.
They could even summon sandstorms.
This made it harder to attack them.
For some reason, the Gritty Goombas could see clearly in that kind of environment.
"I missed!" exclaimed Kiryl, who had tried to hit a Goomba unsuccessfully. He sure hoped that the sandstorm would let up.
There was also the fact that they had spears on their heads.
So they couldn't jump on them as with normal Goombas.
Perhaps they had learned from regular Goombas how to defend themselves.
Luckily, Meena knew wind spells.
They could be used to blow the sand away.
"What happened to our sandstorm?" asked a Gritty Goomba. He thought they'd be able to ambush the heroes for sure.
"Thanks!" exclaimed Maya.
Now she didn't have to worry about sand getting in her eyes.
That would not be fun.
Some of the Goombas tried to kidnap Alena.
For some reason they had a fixation on kidnapping princesses. Though to be fair, so did the Koopa King. Peach just couldn't seem get a break from him for the most part.
But when they tried to grab her, she kicked them away.
"Oof!" exclaimed one of the Goombas. That was unexpected.
Kiryl was relieved that Alena didn't end up being kidnapped.
He would feel terrible if that happened. It was a good thing Alena could defend herself so well.
"Sorry, but I'm not a distressed damsel!" exclaimed Alena. She figured that just because she was a princess didn't mean she couldn't be a fighter as well.
"Aww…" said one of the Gritty Goombas. He felt so disappointed.
Some Spiky Snifits emerged from the sand.
They were stationary, but they shot out projectiles.
Though occasionally they would spit out a mushroom instead of a projectile.
"Yes!" exclaimed Ashlynn. She appreciated being healed. Fighting all these battles could be tiring.
The other Spiky Snifits looked at him curiously. Why had he done that? Wasn't Ashlynn their enemy?
The Spiky Snifit who had fired the mushroom sweatdropped. It seemed he had been careless. Perhaps he should try firing poisoned mushrooms instead.
Since the Spiky Snifits were covered with spikes, it was best not to touch them.
Luckily, they were weak to fire. Which was appropriate considering that they looked like cacti.
And Alena just so happened to have access to Firebrand.
'Ouch! Hot hot hot!" exclaimed a Spiky Snifit. As if the desert wasn't hot enough on its own.
And since they were stationary, they couldn't dodge their attacks. That was the downside of being a stationary enemy.
"I wish we had legs." noted one of the Spiky Snifits. Life would be easier for them that way. And there were places in the Beanbean Kingdom that sounded interesting.
There were also Anuboos. Which despite their name, did not seem to have a relation to Boos. You didn't typically find Boos out in the sun.
For some reason, they could fire lasers.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Ruff. Those lasers were hot. Though considering that he was traversing in a desert, he was used to the heat.
He ate a mushroom to heal himself.
Luckily, they shapeshifted into whoever they were going to hit before firing.
They did not know why that was the case.
But it certainly made it easier to defend from them.
Nera had an idea.
She summoned a mirror made of ice.
This deflected the lasers.
"This is so ironic!" exclaimed an Anuboo who was hit by one of his own lasers. Who would have thought their own weapon would be used against them?
Next they would be attacked by shadow puppets.
The icy mirror would likely melt quickly out in the desert, but it was still proving useful for defense.
In addition to mirrors, Anuboos were weak against light as well, due to being creatures of darkness.
They didn't mind the sunlight though. It was weird.
There were also Pokeys in the desert.
Which wasn't a surprise.
They were similar to the Spiky Snifits in that they were based on cacti…which meant that they shouldn't touch them.
The difference was that they were entirely mobile.
Though considering they could use their body segments as projectiles, they did not need to move around much.
They too were vulnerable to fire.
A Sandmaargh emerged from the sand.
They had to be careful, because they could pop out from the sand at any moment.
Otherwise they would likely get bitten.
So when they heard rumbling, our heroes quickly moved out of the way.
"These monsters are big." noted Ashlynn.
They would want to work together to take them down.
One of them bit Meena.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Meena. One would think a monster made out of sand would have softer teeth. But the Mario world worked in mysterious ways.
Luckily, they had a water weakness, befitting a monster that was made of sand.
Ice worked against them too. Being a sand monster had its downsides.
Meena managed to freeze one solid.
Though considering how hot the desert was, that would not hold him for too long.
Our heroes were attacked by the Angry Sun.
This was a surprising occurrence. It wasn't every day you were attacked by a celestial body.
"We're being attacked by the sun?!" exclaimed Ashlynn. That was probably the craziest thing that had happened to them on this adventure.
To be fair, there were sun monsters in her game series. Though she hadn't encountered them personally since the monsters in Dragon Quest series varied from game to game.
"I'm not sure if sunscreen will protect us from that." noted Kiryl.
What had gotten the sun angry, they wondered?
Was it because of all the invading Koopas?
Had someone insulted Firebrand?
Well, they could ponder that when the sun wasn't attacking them.
Luckily, some water spells drove it off.
"I'm feeling calmer now. I think I'm going back to visit the moon." spoke the Angry Sun.
She enjoyed it when he paid her a visit.
He flew away.
"For a moment I thought I was going to get sunburned." noted Ashlynn.
That wouldn't have been pleasant. They might have healers on their team, but it was still something that she did not want to experience.
Our heroes could see there was a fortress nearby.
There were Gritty Goombas standing guard outside of it.
It seemed that was where they could find Roy.
No doubt the residents of Little Fungitown would be happy if they took him down.
And if they defeated him, there would only be two Koopalings left.
Roy noticed the heroes outside the fortress.
He recognized them immediately.
"So, these are the ones who are causing King Koopa so much trouble." noted Roy. They had defeated some of his best minions...which included four of the Koopalings.
Now it seemed they were planning to challenge him just when he was about to pillage Little Fungitown. It looked like that was going to have to wait.
Personally, he was looking forward to fighting them.
He imagined that they would be a challenge.
Hopefully he would not be disappointed.
The battle with the fifth Koopaling is coming soon!
If our heroes defeat him, they'll be going to Little Fungitown next.
There's an arcade, but maybe our heroes shouldn't be playing games when Bowser is still at large.
Though for some reason you can play arcade games even when Beanbean Castle Town is under attack by Cackletta.