Downfall of the Mushroom Kingdom

by geddiknight

As it feels like the worst is behind her, Now-Queen Peach resumes rule of the Mushroom Kingdom. Sadly, due to the costs of having upheld the Ultimate DoubleDash Tournament, everything seems to only be getting worse. With Rates of Violence reaching new highs and rates of approval dropping by the day, can Queen Peach handle her self-inflicted destruction? (Now rated M)

7. The Cheep Cheepers

Downfall of the Mushroom Kingdom

The Cheep Cheepers

Endure! Endure! A collective story recounting a day in the Wuhu Kingdom. See how everything's just so much better here in the south-western part of the lands, so far from the Mushroom Kingdom and where the people living stay neutral without having to care about what goes on with Peach and the Royalty Toads.

March 12, Sunrise

Cheep Cheep Beach

(In the Narrator's Perspective):

Nobody else was here... and it didn't seem like anybody else would be here even hours ahead of time. This was the first day of the year where the sunrise wasn't very clear. Here, Enrique sits on a long boardwalk spanning across the beach, just before the sand to keep his clothes safe from getting dirty or filled with tiny particles all over it. His previous evening wasn't very eventful. He was under the impression that he was still meant to be very discreet in his tracks and unable to do much because of it. He obtained his dinner, eating it alone before heading to an empty bit of field not far from a street of apartment building blocks. Sadly, there wasn't anywhere he could have spent the night for free, so a makeshift homeless shelter had to do. There wasn't anybody else booked in the place's vacancies, so all he encountered was the person behind the bookings who unfortunately turned him down. He had already lost sight of Rosalina since he arrived, already making him lose hope in whether she would stay with him during this time.

He was almost clueless, feeling like there was a purpose for him here but not knowing what that exact purpose was.

Like about half of the people in question so far, Enrique was feeling a heavy mood in his mind. Everyone was separated, access back to the real world in his eyes currently out of use, and the locations of everyone that mattered was currently unknown to him. What made matters worse, was that Cheep Cheep Beach was somewhere that Enrique hadn't really been to before. Though it had a heavy resemblance to what he thought it would look like (that being soft, white sandy beaches, dark but tiny woodlands and houses constructed along wooden walkways through small shallow parts of the shore line), anywhere beyond these bounds and he would have no idea where to go. The Wuhu forests were more condensed than those in the Mushroom Kingdom, and outside the bounds of the Cheep Cheep area, the size of these forests would span for miles upon miles until the next town, answering the question as to why there isn't much widespread activity heard about over here. The Cheep Cheep area was also bigger than he thought. Not only did it compose of a town and it's corresponding beach resort area, but there was also a cape belonging to it on the other side, and an empty island as far out at sea as the shallow waters go. At least here, he did finally feel at peace. Though this wasn't the typical peace where everything's fine, but the calamity of not having any responsibilities actually warmed his inner soul. He had no princess scurrying through his mind here and no pair of pesky plumbers hanging on his conscience. No Toads to squabble about and no hostile Koopas threatening his life. Maybe after some time he would be able to muster the confidence to freely live in this area, with the general public of the town seeing him as not only Enrique Calaghal who he is, but another inhabitant that just wants to mind his own business and has nothing in the present to do with the Mushroom Kingdom. That shouldn't be so hard for him, so he thought; nobody here would be bothering him except for anybody that would give off an impression that they are a spy. At least, if Rosalina was actually here may it actually be easier. This isn't your saviour of the cosmos Rosalina; unfortunately, this was a battle-depreciated girl no taller than Waluigi and without a wand, meaning her magical powers were reduced by a multiplier of at least ten. Luckily, she was still here, seen across the white sands and walking towards him. He had a doubt as to whether she would leave him or not, but she was here for him, and that calmed him even more. Rosalina was also looking unusually different. She had finally taken her biker outfit off and was in a t-shirt on top of a turquoise bikini. She was also without shoes, which surprised him. Maybe she was feeling properly down-to-earth now.

"Where did you bugger off to?" Enrique called out, heard only by her for as far as his eyes could see. He watched her walk through the sands without saying a word, looking bland and monotone as usual when encountering only one person. Enrique saw this as the only sad characteristic about Rosalina. Despite being so full of superiority through her complex nature with space and time, she lacked humanity and emotion. Only when it came to vital moments did she truly express herself.

"I knew that the morning would be cloudy, so I slept on the grasslands." She stopped in front of him and finally spoke. Enrique was once again surprised, for she seemed to be visibly lacking more emotion than usual. He wondered whether something wiped her in the night, for he didn't think she had much but this look still disappointed him.

"Well at least you learned a thing or two from me." He scratched his head. "Remember that time when I slept on the fields of Uldersal and got sunburnt?" He laughed the awkwardness off noticing Rosalina not even move an inch in response to his comment.

"How many coins have you got?" She asked him, kneeling down on the sand, adjusting herself to sit down comfortably. Enrique checked his pockets, undoing his jacket in the process since he started to feel warm again. The sunrise period of the day was very windy, yet despite it still being cloudy, the temperatures were still in the twenties.

He found a bunch of fluff in his pockets, flicking them into the air and watching them get blown away. Besides a folded packet of cookies, he had no coins and no other currency notes. "I'm broke." He said back. Rosalina frowned, looking up to the grey clouds.

"What's that word on Earth for when there's thunder but without rain?" She asked him, looking back down.

"I think it's just a dry thunderstorm." Rosalina nodded.

"We're probably going to start seeing that soon." She pointed up, letting out another sigh. "Hearing it, I mean."

"Well..." Enrique picked out one of the cookies from his packet and began munching on it. "I don't have to move even if you're right. I'm staying right here, because what else do I have to do? That Iker guy got us here but for what? We've left two of our friends back in Yagpar and I have no idea where they're going to be now. Still got no word from the others since I don't have a phone either."

Rosalina took a deep breath and got up from the sands, grabbing Enrique in the process and helped lift himself up as well. "Enrique..." She began. "It's that part in time where you're not supposed to care about anyone else. Right now, it's about you... and me, but mostly you." There was only one thing that came into his mind after Rosalina said that, and it freaked him out on the inside. He remained mentally strong on the outside, keeping a neutral expression gazing straight back into her eyes.

"If this is about that thing Zane tried to tell me but couldn't spit it out, then I sure hope you've got more balls than he has to let me know about it." He stared at her still, hoping she wouldn't disappoint him like the way Zane did with him. That was a night he wished he didn't remember. The person that he thought was the most spiritual and intimidating at the same time, crumbling down mentally on trying to tell him something, speaking in riddles to excuse his way out of telling him the exact thing he wanted to know, which he still is yet to know.

"It's a very tough thing to break down for you." Rosalina awkwardly replied back, only provoking Enrique with more anger and frustration. He didn't want to waste any more time with this, so while they were both grabbing hold of each other, Enrique reached in to the only pocket he didn't check and pulled out a gun, pointing it to Rosalina's head.

"Don't fuck with me, Rosa. Tell me."

"Your grandfather's alive." She gulped. "Thank you. That probably helped me spit it out." She watched Enrique drop the gun in shock, seeing it fall to the sand, already partially buried by it. The two let go of each other and Rosalina backed a few steps away from him, seeing him freeze on the outside now as well as on the inside.

"What?" He couldn't believe it. It was like his entire body was twitching with confusion and anxiety at the same time.

"We were both sceptical on the slim chance that you might have been related to him, but over the past few weeks, my brother and I sort of pieces several things together and it mapped out perfectly." She watched him say nothing back. All he did was stare blankly into the distance behind her, not making any sort of eye contact. She felt somewhat understanding that this would be a little bit much for him to take in, but she wasn't expecting him to react this badly.

"I was told when I was a kid that he died while at sea in Spain. I was five. Not only... am I told that he's alive... but through that, you know about him... which means... he's here?" He finally spoke and looked back at her. Rosalina hesitated to say anything back, leaving Enrique to his own initiative to find out what's really going on. "I've... just not seen or heard about anyone who is white and old, old even. Only Muji."

"He doesn't appear that old." Rosalina corrected him. "He shares a few things some of us have, which means it might be a possibility that you share the same genetics."

"I don't care about that right now. I want to know where he is." He looked back at Rosalina, walking over and getting right into her face. She refused to keep eye contact feeling intimidated by him and forced to stare at the ground.

"We... we don't know where he is. He's been missing for years, more than you've been here for. We just remember him and my brother told me one time when we were together. You know, what if he's actually related?" She finally looked at him as he took a step back. He began to sweat and stress out on the spot, awkwardly looking all over the place... before readying a swing right into Rosalina's face. While she wasn't as strong with most of her magical powers taken away from her due to not having possession of her wand, she felt the full force of the punch to the face, being pushed vigorously straight down to the sand.

"Fucking useless." He sighed, flicking his hand. "May as well never have told me." Enrique started walking off of the sand, picking up his gun and putting it back into one of his pockets. He lost all care he had for Rosalina, leaving her there. She didn't make any noise, but felt the pain on the inside. The punch made a pink mark on her left cheek. She remained on the floor, but was able to move about to watch him walk off the wooden flooring and back into the nearby woodlands.

...

Some time had passed, and Enrique began to ignore Rosalina's presence in the local area. He may be clinging on to the thought of peace, calamity and freedom of disturbance but it left him with almost nothing else. No money, no water, no food for long, and no contacts. The only perk he had for being in this area was that it was strangely rich. Every building in this tropical-esque resort of a town was very well-decorated and lavishly designed by the private firms of the Western Kingdom. He definitely wanted somewhere to stay for the time being; he would also settle for something a lot less than these deluxe places, but if only he could afford anything. There was one road he went to that was quite a relative distance to the shore full of shops and apartment buildings, giving him an eye on one that just looked so great if he had the money to afford it. The streets were also surprisingly empty. Maybe it's the time of day, or maybe most are already at work. Enrique wasn't too sure. There could be a whole load of reasons for this but he was very uneducated in the culture of the west; being so out-of-touch with the Mushroom Kingdom made this place well-off the radar. He was quite the explorer but most of his time spent in other towns would purely be for the purpose of passing by and not really soaking up anything from anywhere. There was one person walking down the street, right on the other side. Enrique observed from a distance, not caring on being discreet about it or not, and watched them turn into the apartment building. He rushed over and followed, entering soon after.

It was a yellow-shelled Koopa, normal looking, just like your typical Koopa, only his voice sounded rather strange as he approached the foyer desk.

"Hi-ya, just stopping by to see how my special one's doing before I head off to lifeguard duties." Enrique stopped at the front doors and heard the Koopa speak to the secretary behind the desk from a distance.

"What a shame." He saw the female Koopa behind the desk smile. "Too bad a handsome lifeguard-footballer like you can't do anything when it comes to paperwork."

"Well if I can't make your job any easier, why not try and make the wait for it to be over a little more worthwhile? How does a reservation at Himari's at eight sound?" He watched the Koopa in front of the desk lean over a little.

"Well I finish my shift rather early like usual, I thought you dwelling on my life would know more about that... Could you change it to six? Maybe we can head out onto the beach afterwards so you could you know... lifeguard me before sunset?" She grabbed him closer, giving him a kiss.

"I've got training and then the league football match at four. You'll be cutting it too sharp there. I can bring it forward, for you, hopefully for seven?" The Koopa smiled. "I must away." The secretary Koopa smiled and they kissed again. It was at that point where the Koopa in front of the counter began to turn around and leave did Enrique begin to approach. He watched the Koopa dash off in a jolly mood, moving around him. As Enrique approached the desk, the female Koopa behind it looked away at her screen, briefly distracting herself.

"One second... Hi, what can I do for you?" The secretary finally looked up at Enrique. Her expression to an upbeat smile that she would normally do to anyone she saw turned quickly into a neutral look of disappointment. "Have I done anything wrong?"

"No..." Enrique replied rather slowly. "I'm actually here as a normal person with a normal purpose... What does it take to get a place around here?" The secretary gave him back a stern look, tilting her head a little to the side.

"A... human wants to find a place to stay, and not just any human. You've got blood on your hands."

"Where?" Enrique quickly leaned off of the desk and assessed his arms.

"I meant figuratively. You're... someone's looking for you, you're on the run?"

"But nobody knows I'm here. Well, nobody but you and maybe your boyfriend."

"He-... Must be rough being a human in twenty-fifteen, huh? If you're not a princess or a plumber, that is." Enrique watched the secretary look back at her computer screen. He couldn't peer all the way round but all he could see was her doing a lot of scrolling and clicking.

"I guess every human girl around here is royalty. You don't see a lot of kids around here these days, do you?" He stood and waited, awkwardly looking around the large foyer, marking in his mind that the stairs upwards are to his left, with the lifts on the far left, and presumably a locker room and a mail room on the right. A few more doors on the right could be for indoor swimming pools or a spa, but who knows, he hasn't seen anyone else that works here yet. "Oh, I'm also broke."

"Must be deprived from that princess privilege." The secretary smiled. "I'm not really up to date with what's going on over there, mainly because you know... I'm Wuhu, I don't care, but I'm sure I can give you a room provided that you earn it somehow, someway..." He observed the secretary's eyes. They were squinting to the distance looking beyond the front entrance to the building. There wasn't much he could tell from what she was trying to look at but his possible impressions were full of options.

"You've got some work for me to do... Yokosora?" Enrique leaned back down onto the desk, getting close to the secretary's face and noticing her name tag clipped on to the front of her shell. He spoke quietly despite there being nobody else nearby.

"You can help me on my day-to-day business if it's enough to get you a place here." The secretary smiled, looking back at some of her papers. "I have a friend... well... more than a friend. Arshaka."

"The guy that just stopped by as I came in?" Enrique peered around his shoulder for a brief moment and then turned back around to the secretary, grinning in awe. She clicked her nails on the table, repeatedly tapping while pretending to distract herself with her computer and her documents.

"He's so great but... I... something's up. How can someone like him be all after me, or could there be something else about him? Every time we're together it's all sunshine and flowers but with everyone else he's nothing but trouble and I don't know why. We've got all day before us and I just... don't know if it's going to turn out like last time." Enrique was a little confused but he kept listening. "You see, we've been on dates before but nothing's really progressed with us despite me trying to give him hints, and whenever he has a match he's always thinking about football and if he loses he just gets way worse. Everywhere we go there is always something coming for him and it annoys me just as much as it annoys him. I don't think it's the football but something's distracting him. One minute he'll be all over me and then the next minute it feels like neglect, I mean why is he doing this?"

"So what you really want me to do while you're at work is keep you updated on how his day goes? You know... monitor his behaviour... see what influences his mood... see if he's seeing anyone else." The secretary nodded, giving Enrique another awkward smile.

"It's the least you can do for me; at least you're not scrubbing floors or pulling some trays in the kitchens or something. Ha." The secretary blushed. "If you can get a full answer for me then that will be your first night in apartment... how does 803 sound? You'll have a nice view of the south-western shores." Enrique raised an eyebrow. "And... oh, here's ten Wuhu dollars. That should be more than enough for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

"Ten dollars? Wha-." The secretary reached over to a drawer near her desk, getting out a small folder for him. "Miss Yokosora, I don't mean to-."

"Here's our restaurant menu if you think I'm joking. Just take a look at the prices." She handed him over a covered menu leaflet of the apartment building's diner space, to which Enrique opened it up and had a look at the pricing of each meal. Even the most expensive things were only a few dollars.

"But then... how much is this to the gold coin then?" He waved the ten dollar bill at her, admiring its surprising shock value.

"Oh, it's very strong now. You thought Rése-coins were what went up? No. The gold coin lost a lot of value so far this year, and with that, the Mushroom pounds and the Delfino dollars dropped as well. We didn't." The secretary smiled, leaving him with the menu. "If you want yourself a table tonight I can always get you a quiet one on the balcony, but you've gotta put the work in."

Enrique looked around for a bit. "Alright, fine." He eventually said. "But don't pull back last minute if I tell you that there's nothing eerie about this guy."

"I won't hold back. I'm not broke enough to manipulate people. Relax Enrique. You're in the better lands now." Yokosora smiled. "Here." She pointed to the far right. "Fill yourself up with a breakfast buffet for 3 dollars. After that, look no further than the beach. That's where he should be this morning."

"Thanks." Enrique walked off, taking the money and the menu and indulging himself in a nice full breakfast. The first proper breakfast meal he would go to have in a very long time. All the things he had beat the cereals or the breads he would have at the kitchen worktop of Luke's old penthouse every day he spent in Mushroom City, and over the past few days he had had nothing but mush to him served by the prison-guards in the castle or a lot of random stuff that Zane had shopped for him at a ran-down store on Isle Port. It was surprising to him to see how subtle everyone was when interacting with him as he went to get his food. He was known by almost everyone here, but they never bothered him or ask for much of his time. Most people had a pretty good impression of him and a lot of respect, almost like they saw him as the painted good character in the east. Either the people in the west hated the Mushroom Kingdom or their blissful feeling of neutrality made this place seem like Utopia to them so they had no reason to be sad. Even where he was sitting on the balcony, he got a nice view of the public beach, slowly filling up as the day went on. From his seat he was even able to get a glimpse of the person he was told to observe. Arshaka was the name she told him, and there he could see him acting lifeguard by sitting on top of a small white wooden tower in the middle of the beach. It was funny for Enrique seeing so many Toads without caps on and Koopas without their shells, bouncing about in the shallow crystal-blue waters and others playing in the white sands. Still, no humans. Only Toads, Koopas, Goombas and Piantas.

More time passed and he was finished with his meal. It was now time for him to head out of the apartment building and walk down to the beach to get a closer look at this Koopa. As he walked he began to wonder whether this whole day would simply be just to stare discreetly at this Koopa for the next seven hours with only a lunch break in between. He had no idea if anything special would happen to him but he would just have to wait and see. As it turned out, the Koopa did more than just sit in his high chair all morning. He would actually go on to organise a few events on the beach, such as a few games of beach volleyball and beach football. Other than that, nothing suspicious came from the Koopa for the first hour. As it got closer towards noon however, the sun became more intense. The dark clouds of the early morning hours had vanished off further south and west and the sunshine came back, and with it came a significant increase in the temperature. A dark jacket and long clothes was simply too much for him. He knew what he had to do. He needed a towel, and some trunks. Sadly, it would mean having his eyes off of Arshaka for a little while longer. There was no way he was able to go on all day in this intense sunlight without being able to spend some time in the water. Luckily, on that very same street as the apartment building, there was a shop. A tourist shop, selling super cheap things for the beach. Low-budget sunglasses, sunscreen, beach balls, even swimming trunks, but these were no ordinary swimming trunks. They were tiny, and the holes to put one's legs in were very disproportionate to the rest of the material.

"Hey..." Enrique went up to the Toad in charge of the small shop. "...Do you happen to have any human trunks for sale?"

"Uh, yeah we do! Funnily enough." The Toad brought him a sigh of relief. "There's just over here." He was in luck as the Toad showed him a few pairs of trunks for sale. "We've got white, blue, and green." He saw a small aisle in the open shop where there were hangers for trunks as well as small swimsuits for any female buyers. Enrique looked at the large size for one of the blue pairs of trunks and examined the price tag. One dollar twenty.

"It will be good enough." He smiled back to the shop owner and handed him over the trunks as well as some sunscreen and a beach towel. "All these please."

"Your total is one dollar ninety or one gold coin as I'm feeling generous." Enrique handed the shop owner over some of his notes of smaller value since he had already paid three for his breakfast. He was now being given back tiny copper coins along with one-dollar notes as change. His remaining amount in pocket was now five Wuhu dollars and what must be ten cents... or pence. He wasn't too sure.
Now that he had everything he needed, Enrique strolled back to the shoreline. Instead of settling his things down on the white sands close to the lifeguard position, he decided to set up his towel on the rocks; a part that separated two beach fronts. The one on his right was public; full of people living in the town enjoying a morning off and spending time with their families, also where the lifeguard Arshaka is still working at from where Enrique sat. The one the left was completely empty however. Now that he could see beyond the little bit of forest to his left, he noticed that the place he went to sit by this sunrise was actually a private closed-off part of the old race track that was here. He had a surprisingly good memory of what to expect at this part of the beach too. There would be a few small palm trees in the sand with a couple of bouncing fish, obviously from what he remembered before he arrived here. It was oddly similar. There was even a small lighthouse which presumably was never in proper functional use and only for the race track purpose. Too bad this was never selected by anyone in the races; it would have been a nice drive through the sands and the coral shallow bits. What were different were the wooden huts. There weren't any.

Looking back on the other beach, Enrique saw Arshaka occupied with the kids in the sands, still playing games together. Now that he was quite distant from everyone else on the beach, he felt like it was an appropriate time to go into the trees out of sight and change into his trunks. Perhaps it was time for him to finally get some time in the sea without anyone bugging him. A few more minutes had passed and he was now ready to climb down the rocks and head into the water.

"Jesus!" He jumped as he reached the sea, slipping into the sea and landing on a smooth rock just slightly under water. "Why the fuck are you still following me? Did my punch not mean anything to you?" He was shocked to see Rosalina resting on the rocks just below where he put his towel and clothes down. He couldn't see her from the top but now that he was in the water he noticed her pretending to hide. Her arms were crossed, and finally she was out of her biker outfit. He dug her new look though, a new blue swimsuit, hair let loose without a crown, and a pair of sunglasses to keep her eyes unnoticed to the public.

"I'm about as powerless as you are right now. There's nothing better for me to do than to make sure you're safe. You've mattered to me since day one and I will not have myself pushed away from you so easily. For the sake of the stars and everyone good in this world, let me help you!" Enrique watched her awkwardly from the rock a few feet from the shore. He was unsure if she was going to step foot into the sea but from the way she was standing, she was only looking like so for display and had no intention of going in. The tide was low, so it wasn't like she was going to get any water splashed on to her.

"Well I'm not going to have you break down about my grandfather all day, so I'm not going to have you bicker about that. I'm here just like any other person in Cheep Cheep Beach now. I'm a new person." Rosalina frowned and then sighed, but realising that she would have to accept this current phase of Enrique and deal with his unpredictable behaviour against her. She knew that she was probably wanted by the Mushroom Kingdom just as much as the next human from Earth and without her wand she wouldn't be able to do anything. Still, she has no regrets on ever wanting to go wand-less with her magic.

"Well this is a new you who's already got no money. How do you expect to make a living here?" She questioned him. "Did you steal your new attire?"

"No actually, I paid for it all. I've already got new contacts... actually. It was more of a job that paid me to afford this stuff."

"A job?" Rosalina grinned. "What kind of job?"

"More of an independent contract with this girl back at the apartment building; forgot the name of it."

"And what did she want you to do? She gave you free money to spend to do what, enjoy some time at the sea?" He knew that she wasn't impressed at all. She wasn't really passive anymore with him either. She looked a little more aggressive, perhaps due to being punched in the face. Hopefully that would make her attitude turn for the better with him in the long run.

"Ha... You see that guy round there?" He pointed at the lifeguard tower, getting Rosalina to look at Arshaka sitting up there watching down on the rest of the people on the white sands. "My supposed contractor is dating that lifeguard. She wants me to monitor his actions all day. So far, I haven't recorded anything suspicious, but I do know that he's great with people. He's done a few activities with them already."

"Sounds... very boring. I guess it's the best thing for you to do, actually." Rosalina had a quick second thought, scratching her shoulders. "Normal is boring, normal is... quiet. What else have you done here?" She watched him shrug his shoulders.

"Not much from last night. Couldn't really find a proper place to sleep last night so hopefully this score gets me a bed to sleep on and enough food to keep me going."

Their shadows began to fade away as the surroundings changed. The sun became blocked by clouds again. Enrique and Rosalina both looked up to the sky and noticed a conjuring of white stratocumuli causing a haze in the morning sky, dimming the ground. The two both looked back at each other and questioned whether or not the two should stay by the sea. Enrique then checked back on Arshaka's whereabouts. Luckily, the Koopa was still at the lifeguard post.

"Could you check on the Koopa for a minute?" He asked Rosalina, quickly dropping down below to get fully soaked in sea water, letting his longer-getting hair move freely. She peered over and saw him chatting to a few Toads along the sands, still nothing unusual for the time being. She then watched Enrique re-emerge from the waters, swimming back to the rocks.

"Nothing special so far." She said back to him while he crawled his way up the smooth surfaces.

"Did you know there are a couple Cheep-cheep puffer fishes down there? Do you think-."

"They're harmless." Rosalina smiled. "They barely interact with anybody anyway. You've got to get those false assumptions Miyamoto plagued your mind with out of there." Enrique paused for a few seconds. That name was horribly familiar to him, so freakishly familiar that it frightened him on the inside.

"How do you know about Miyamoto?" The clouds moved away and the sun was out again. Enrique was blinded a little bit but turned to his towel quickly to cover himself and dry off. Rosalina stood awkwardly beside him, trying to get her soles comfortable on the ground before the rocks.

"Nothing." Rosalina shrugged. "Only that he is how you knew anything about this land."

"You're giving me subtle hints about new things every day Rosa, what's it going to be?" He gave her a sincere look, wanting more information. "I'm going to need some shade if I'm going to be sitting here for some time." He looked over to the nearby trees, wondering if it was worth staying near those and sitting on a dirty grass patch than on the smooth ground before the shore to observe the Koopa from a distance. Still, he was idly acting lifeguard.

"I don't know too much on the matter. I guess you might have some luck checking on Muji, wherever he might be right now. You know... someone who's got a lot of experience in both worlds."

"Yeah that's good and all..." Enrique started moving his damp towel and his clothes to a small rock wall on the boundary of the beach front, sheltered by a bit of shade from the nearby trees. Straying any further down the rocks and to the beach would put him right in the sunlight. Thankfully this spot was good enough to observe the Koopa. "...I just wish it was easy for me to see him. I can't here, you know." Enrique said back after turning around to look at Rosalina.

"What I can tell you is that I have seen a game on Earth where those fishes are dangerous, if that helps explain a thing or two to you." She said back to him, walking towards the shade. "About the fish-."

"He's moving." Enrique interrupted, patting Rosalina and getting her to look in his direction, across the beach and at the lifeguard post. They both saw him move on his own and without anybody following him. All the Koopa did was have his eyes on his phone, and from the distance, he wasn't looking too happy.

"He's leaving his post... to get, replaced." Rosalina watched as Enrique started walking off of the rocks and on to the white sands. His feet began to feel the heat of the floor as he wasn't wearing his shoes. Rosalina hesitated to go with him at first as she saw him risk his belongings on the floor by the towel.

...

He rushed off of the sands and the burning wooden walkways off of the beach and onto the nearby grass. From a distance, he slowly followed the Koopa, seeing him jog further west and towards something that really surprised Enrique. There was a public football pitch, full of several spectators standing all around it, and a small building on the side presumably where lockers and changing rooms would be. He never knew that the Cheep Cheep Beach football training ground was so close to the shore. Enrique thought that it would have been a least helpful if that Koopa girl told him that the Koopa boy had a connection with a football club. Any information on that was surely useful to him if she thought to tell him. Before he would get too close, Enrique stopped and observed the pitch. There were lots of people out on the main pitch, including two different groups of players wearing different football shirts. One group were wearing white and red while the other group were wearing black and red. It looked like there was going to be a football match today.

"Where is he?" He heard Rosalina's voice quite close to him. She caught up just behind him and looked at all of the spectators surrounding the pitch with him.

"Shit, he's going to blend in. We've gotta move." He started walking again, following the Koopa's tracks. "Up and around." Next to the path, there was a small grassy slope that led to a hill that spanned high above the buildings next to the pitch. The clouds went in again, so Enrique had no worry of standing atop a hill to watch the Koopa. As the two walked up the hill, they began to get near to some viewers who shared the same idea, but up here, the two kept their focus on the Koopa's movements. He began to blend in with the crowd, but luckily he was still noticeable with his lifeguard outfit on. "Stay up here." Enrique insisted to Rosalina. "I'll check on him inside. It don't look like he's going in for long." He slid down the hill and got close to the pitch, moving past many spectators. He observed the Koopa's emotions while he was atop the hill. The Koopa looked nervous but also agitated, pissed off, frustrated. Enrique followed the Koopa from a few footsteps away and watched him head into one of the buildings. The two went past the locker rooms and the changing rooms to a small office and that was where Enrique stopped. He watched the Koopa slam the door to the next room in anger. He remained quiet and kept his ears near to the wall, hoping to hear voices from the other side. There was nothing distinguishable at the beginning because all he could here was quiet murmuring until one of them raised their voices.

"How could you possibly have me starting on the bench for both games?"

There were more inaudible voices for a few more seconds until-

"You told me I was going to be on the attack for our second game today against Gonak."

"I need you in full focus and shape for our matches tomorrow. We have Home against Beanbean United, we've got to avoid relegation by beating them." He heard the other person clearly in the room for the first time.

"Are you doubting my ability on the pitch? Do you not think I have a chance against Gonak?"

"None of us have a chance against Gonak. These two teams... Rantham, Gonak. We're going to be slaughtered by those giants." What followed were more inaudible voices, useless for Enrique. Closing footsteps gave him an indication for something else. He began to rush down the hallway as the door started to move. It opened up with both Arshaka the Koopa and a Toad carrying a wooden board and a notepad. Enrique stopped peeking his head around the corner and started to move down the hallway outside after seeing the two Wuhu citizens exit the room.

"The battle isn't about avoiding relegation. It's about getting as many points as possible. Play the right people and we can get maybe... top six. Wouldn't that be so great? We'll make it into the Captains' League!" He could still hear the two's voices coming from around the corner, they were both going in the same direction he was going: out the door and to the football pitch. As Enrique walked past the crowds of people standing outside before the pitch, he noticed that the pitch was empty. Both teams were not yet present on the field. He stood beside a few others and waited for Arshaka and presumably his manager to get out of the building.

"Hey. I'm optimistic just as much as the next person but if you think we're going to have a run like 2011 then you're better off dreaming. Now go down to your team and sit on that bench or you can go back to your beach job. I don't mind." There, he saw the manager point in the opposite direction and send Arshaka that way. The manager then walked past a few people go get on to the edge of the pitch, walking around to get to the middle of one side where he saw the manager of the opposing team. Just the few sentences the two exchanged with eachother made the manager just as interesting to know about than Arshaka. From what Enrique gathered, Arshaka is part of the Cheep Cheep Beach football team, known as the Cheep Cheepers based on a board he just noticed on one side of the football pitch. The problem for him is that he's not one of the selected starting players, so he is benched. Enrique could see the substitute bench behind one side of the pitch. It looked easy to see from the hill above based on where it was so it felt appropriate to him to check up on Rosalina. It was a massive surprise to him that he got zero interactions from anyone in the audience; he just brushed past everyone like he was just another human.

"Did you learn anything more about the lifeguard?" Rosalina spoke to Enrique as he arrived, noticing the Koopa change from his lifeguard clothing to his football shirt. A number nine with 'Arshaka' engraved on top, just like the shirts at home.

"He's dedicated to his football, but is feeling neglected by his manager." Enrique squinted, looking at the players at the benches. "This whole setting... looks freakishly like how the leagues are back in countries on Earth. European countries. It's amazing, but frightening at the same time." He kept his eyes on Arshaka, but waited for the teams to roll out onto the field. The pitch was very large, almost the same size as a regular football pitch. Enrique couldn't really tell, and there was nothing too special about it either. There was no electric fence, nor were there any sort of machines operating nearby. This looked like regular football and not a 'strikers' variant.

"Cheep Cheep Beach has quite a lively crowd. Despite not being a stadium, this public ground seems very respectful. Everyone looks like they're obeying the rules of the game." Rosalina sat down and held her knees with her arms, bending her legs. "I have a feeling we're just here to watch a football match."

"I overheard the guy's manager... He said they'll get destroyed by these two teams today, meaning they've got two home matches. Must be why he's not playing our boy Arshaka on. I think he might be the best player and they want to save him for the matches that matter."

"Sounds like they've got a team crisis." Rosalina looked back at Enrique.

"While we're here... It's probably a good idea to educate ourselves." He turned over to see a few other people watching the match from atop the hill. "Excuse me?" He grabbed the attention of a few spectators further behind him and Rosalina and walked over to them. "This is a league match right?" A lot of them nodded. "Right, do you have like... a table of the league so far?"

"Yeah I can-." He overheard one of the Koopas and Toads sitting on the hill check into his pockets. They all waited a few seconds for the Toad to load up a screen showing the league table on her tablet. "It's this one right here." She showed it to Enrique.

"Thanks. Do you mind if I borrow it for a minute or two? To show my friend over there?" He politely asked the group.

"Sure... You're... Enrique, right?" The female Toad asked, clearing a though off her mind. He nodded back. "You'll return it?"

"Of course." He smiled. "I'm not like how whatever the Mushroom Kingdom portrays me." The Toads and Koopas laughed, allowing him to go back to Rosalina and show her the tablet screen.

"You got a picture?" Rosalina looked at him as he began to sit down again.

"More than just a picture." He held it close to both of them. "The whole thing. This here's the... Wuhu Football Confederation Blue League, WFC Blue League for short." He tapped a drop-down menu on the tablet, showing him the possibility to view three other league tables: the Green League, the Yellow League, and the Yellow League 2. This one here was the Blue League and it was where the Cheep Cheepers currently played.

"Oh look, Zeltarc West is in this league as well." Rosalina had a look on the screen. "They're doing a lot better than the Cheep Cheepers."

"Ooh I wonder what these colours mean on the side of the table." Enrique tapped a few parts of the screen.

There were twelve football clubs in the WFC Blue League and on the side of the table had a few colours. The top team had a dark green colour beside it, to which Enrique and Rosalina learned that it was the League Champion and qualification to the Muhu Delfethal Championship, abbreviated to MDC1. Rantham, a large town further north, was currently occupying the top spot, and it is the same team currently readying up below to play against the Cheep Cheepers. The second and third spots, including Gonak, the other team the Cheep Cheepers were to play today, had a light green colour by the side of their names, indicating only the MDC1 qualification. Positions four to six had a yellow colour beside their names. This was one of the spots that Zeltarc West was in. The colour indicated qualification to the MDC2, known as the Muhu Delfethal Captains' League. The next three spots had no colour, but tenth had an orange colour and the bottom two had a red colour. The red indicated relegation to the Green League and the orange indicated a relegation-playoff.

"Did any of your friends in Zeltarc West know a lot about this football?" Rosalina asked Enrique as he had his eyes glued to the screen. He had a closer look at the Cheep Cheepers, seeing that they were currently ninth and only three points above possible relegation-playoff team Siomyr with six games to go in the league. All had played sixteen of twenty-two.

"Not really, I mean... I think George played football, but he was more into 'strikers' football. Nobody else really cared." He still had his eyes on the tablet as there was one more thing he wanted to check out on the tablet. The league was put in seasons, and the current season was the 2014/15 season. He tapped on a drop-down menu that showed league tables from previous years. He flicked through the previous years to see the Cheep Cheepers fluctuate between middle spots, until he came across the 2010/11 table and saw a little bit of reasoning for the conversation he overheard earlier. Cheep Cheepers, league winners, 22 games, 64 points. 21 wins, 1 draw, all matches unbeaten, and qualification to the Champions' League as he now learned the MDC1 to be also called. He exhaled softly and grinned. With a bit of initiative and common sense when it comes to using a tablet, he found the Cheep Cheepers' journey through the MDC1... runners up, going completely unbeaten in the group stage and the knockout stage, only to have their asses handed to them by Konir, a small town in the disputed lands... 4-0.

"What's that about?" Rosalina eyed on the tablet as the match was due to start. She still could see Arshaka awkwardly sitting on the back bench with the rest of the few substitutes for the team.

"Rough..." He got up and got ready to hand the tablet back over. "I'll tell you in a second." She turned around and watched him give the female Toad back her tablet, thanking her. Rosalina got startled by the sound of a whistle being blown down below, the match had begun. Cheep Cheepers, ranked ninth, home versus Rantham away, ranked first.

"He was err... talking with his manager about optimism and the manager mentioned something about a glorious twenty-ten-eleven season. I just looked to see why. They came second in the biggest tournament which was composed of all the best teams in all the lands." Enrique sat back down with Rosalina and quietly explained the situation to her. He refrained from speaking too loudly in case he grabbed the attention of any other nearby fan. A second place humiliating defeat after such a good campaign would leave some long-term fans with shivers down their spine whenever it was mentioned.

"Twenty-ten-eleven?" Rosalina wondered. "Was that not the year where we had the Résethal troubles?"

"No idea how the northern teams must have done. I didn't think to check."

"Do you think they've got their own football leagues up there?" Rosalina asked.

"Probably." Enrique shrugged. "I've seen football be played up there."

TWO HOURS LATER...

Arshaka was never played on for the match and he spent the full ninety minutes on the bench. Enrique and Rosalina went on to endure a rather disappointing waste of two hours, with a four-nil defeat. Still, nobody in the audiences were annoyed enough to start a riot or invade the pitch. They were simply grateful that the loss wasn't severe enough. There was one person who wasn't happy and they didn't keep their thoughts to themselves either: Arshaka. Enrique and Rosalina observed him get up quickly and follow the manager straight back to the building entrance doors.

"Time to move again." Enrique said to Rosalina, patting her and getting them both up and ready to go. The two trekked down the hill and brushed past many more spectators. This time, they followed Arshaka and his football team into a different room. This one had more people besides themselves following them, and as they arrived, they were met with many people sitting on chairs before a front desk. This was an interview room where the manager moved to the front desk in front of many cameras, and Arshaka remained in the corner with a few other players on his team. Everyone on the seats looked different in appearance, but they all had the same purpose in this room: to ask questions and make themselves heard. The room filled up very quickly, so the two were limited to standing space at the back of the room.

"Mr. Punvo, sir, how do you feel about the match today?" One of the journalists sitting in the front row of seats asked, prompting the manager to speak into the microphone. The Toad waited for the other questioners to be quiet in order for him to speak. Enrique was more curious to hear what the manager had to say, but Rosalina still had her eyes on Arshaka.

"It is unfortunate to suffer such a nasty home defeat, but it is what one could expect from such a team full of... money." The manager leaned in to the microphone and spoke to the crowds. "One question at a time, please." He warned the journalists as they all spoke on top of each other.

"How do you feel about the Gonak match today?" Another journalist managed to speak out while nobody else was talking.

"We're going to do what we can, but like I have said before this season has been the toughest one yet with the middle ranked teams. The Green League has a lot of good teams and I don't want to risk us facing a relegation-playoff. The big match isn't the one today, but the home against Beanbean. We need wins against them and Siomyr to ensure our safety."

"Is it not in your team's best interests to at least try for a spot in the Captains' League this winter? Data shows that there is still a chance for a top six finish from the Cheep Cheepers." Another reporter asked the manager.

"Well if there's a chance, there's a chance." The manager smiled, saying very little on that question. "Next question."

"What are your thoughts on the MDC imposing bans on the ERCF and the FUWR for this year's winter leagues?" This question made no sense at all to Enrique, but was curious to hear what the manager had to say about it.

"I'm sure the board of directors are disheartened by the rising influence of Hostile people in the north. We will have to deal with a smaller league this year. Hopefully they will come to a resolution and things should get back to normal swiftly. There are a lot of good teams up in the north, you know, Zeruth and... Castelia. The Hostiles and the football fans, they're not the same. We've just got see how things play out." After hearing the answer, he then realised what the question was about. It was a big thought to come across his mind; how did the northern clubs interact with the southern clubs?

"Do you think you'll ever have a run like in 2011?" Enrique spoke out loudly from the back, grabbing the manager's attention. He heard this question loud and clear, but Enrique noticed a change in his expression.

"Next question." He ignored it completely, noticing that Enrique didn't appear like a reporter or a journalist given the fact that he was only wearing a pair of swimming trunks, the manager said nothing in response to him.

"The big run?" Rosalina whispered to him.

"The manager isn't happy about it."

...

About half an hour later, the post-match interviews were over, and unfortunately for him, Arshaka was not called up to answer any questions. Enrique and Rosalina walked out of the building together and headed back to the hill. From this high point he could get a sight of his clothes still left unoccupied on the far side of the beach, giving him some relief.

"Hey, I just realised something." Rosalina looked back at Enrique. "We just walked into a room full of other people, and you're supposed to be hiding."

"Well... I was at the back of the room. There were no cameras pointing at me. Nobody said my name out loud either, I should be fine."

"You've got a lot of nerve to go in a room full of so many people. Any one of them could have been a spy! Any one of them could be a spy!"

"Relax, Rosa." He smiled back at her. "Nobody's called me out publicly yet. Everything's going to be fine. I just wish the best for all of my friends as well. It is a shame we can't find out where any of them are."

"We're bound to find an update eventually. Do you think there're any news sources around here?" Rosalina wondered. "Tom's probably hundreds of miles away."

"I know my friends. They'll be fine."

"Alright..." She lay back on the grass on the hill, watching the movement of the people at the football grounds. "Where's the Koopa?" Enrique's eyes widened.

"Shit." He said. "Do you think he's going to be here for the second match today? He's got to be."

"When's the next match?"

"I think it's at four."

"Well that's our best hope. He's not in the crowds, is he?" Enrique looked down and saw about a hundred Toads, Koopas and Piantas still chilling around the football grounds. Outside the area on the grasslands were also many creatures, none resembling that Koopa. He then turned back to the beach, and sighed in relief after spotting Arshaka back on his lifeguard post.

"Thank goodness." He nudged Rosalina and pointed her to the beach. "He's back on his post. What do you say to me getting my clothes back on and grabbing some lunch?"

"Sure." Rosalina smiled.

Around the same time

Cheep Cheep Island

"Are you telling me that we're best off eating the same old fish for as long as it takes for us to get back off this Island?"

Several miles out at sea lay the flat, unpopulated Cheep Cheep Island, only used as a race track in the past. The block walls that were put on the track before had become overgrown with the green plants and thick grass that nature created over the years. It was actually several tiny islands connecting to one slightly larger than the rest through the use of small wooden bridges, but all there really was to it were sand and a lot of grass... and now, a boat as of yesterday, beached up on shore that housed two people.

"We've been eating off these small fishes for the past four meals in a row now. It's not like we're stranded here. I can literally see the mainland from here." Jaapayo and Will had been on the island for the past twenty-four hours, living off of fish and a rather convenient source of water found in a small hatch in the centre of the large island. When there was a race here, there had to be a control room to sort out item boxes underground. Luckily, when the two arrived, the control room had a large freshwater stash kept there for years, untouched, should there ever be a return for this track.

"Yeah, well, it would be so nice if they stashed honey downstairs as well. We're lucky to even have water here." Will said back to Jaapayo.

Ever since the two arrived here, Will had a compounding sense of danger imposed on them if they returned back to the mainland. With Jaapayo's arms not fully healed from the wounds he suffered from two nights ago, only Will was able to operate the boat the two escaped on. Unfortunately, the two only managed to get a standard rowing boat to get them out of the port of Yagpar; there were no big ships or speedboats without keys to operate.

"We can't just camp out in the hatch every day. We're going to run out of water eventually. What if there's no fish on a day? We'll starve!" Jaapayo tried to convince Will to head back to the mainland but he reluctantly refused.

"They've got spies all over the lands. We'll be safe here. Nobody's going to search this island for us." Will got back to slicing through one of the fish he caught purely through makeshift traps and other equipment he kept in his many pockets.

"Don't you get it?" Jaapayo tried to nudge him. "If you think it's best for us to stay here because the Mushroom Kingdom won't find us here then we're going to be stuck here 'till the day we die! Whether it will be through starvation, hunger, heat-stroke..." Will paused and looked away from the other person he was left with on this island.

"I'm not going back to where we just were. I don't like the look of that place in the distance either. What is it, Cheep Cheep Beach did they say? Dead giveaway." Will sighed, facing the mainland.

"Then let's keep going west. We'll get further away from the Mushroom Kingdom, so far that they'll dare not tread foot into the western parts of Wuhu." He looked back at Jaapayo, interested, hooked on to the last part of what he said. Perhaps this was Jaapayo telling Will something he never knew about, maybe something different to how he learned it when looking at maps of the land from Mushroom Kingdom sources.

"Where?" He said, letting him speak more.

"You think this is all one big island and that it all wraps around to the top where Norgalith is?" Jaapayo leaned in closer. "That's where you're wrong. You see, when you get to Blue Lake, you know why it's called a Blue Lake? It's more like a channel. It separates two parts of Wuhu. The traders from the west coast, they go through Blue Lake to get round to the south, or they go through the West End river to get to the Beanbean Kingdom, but on the other side of those channel waters... is something else. We should head for Blue Lake, but from here... it could be hundreds of miles."

"So what do you say we do?" He asked Jaapayo again.

"We head for Hillin Village." The two nodded at each other. "We'll be able to go on foot from there. It's around here where contact with the east pretty much disappears."

"Why didn't you say that to us when we were together? You know, Enrique, Rosalina, even Ronald and Duncan back in Zeltarc?"

"Because... Rosalina, that girl... never trust her. One time she sides with us, the next minute she will be working with the Mushroom Kingdom to track us down. You saw her without her wand, no? She'll do anything to get it back." Will didn't say anything back for about a minute. He finished cutting up his fish and started getting the good parts out to munch on.

"We'll go in five minutes." He said back to Jaapayo. "I hope the sun stays in the clouds. I'd hate to keep rowing with the sun beaming down on us like yesterday." The two nodded with each other again and waited on the grass together.

3:50PM

Cheep Cheep Beach

"He's running back." Rosalina sat on the hill and nudged Enrique to look at the Koopa they were told to watch. He jogged across the white sands to the grass and began making his way towards the football pitch. The two saw him go around it, taking off his lifeguard uniform at the same time.

Rosalina and Enrique were back on the hill, both now more appropriately dressed. Enrique had some of his clothes back on and Rosalina got herself a pair of short summer trousers and a top to match, both now looking like any other human in these lands.

"Watch as he's going to get benched for another two hours. This has got to be the most boring day for us and the saddest day for him." Enrique grinned, not even taking any note of Arshaka now that Rosalina was basically here to do the job for him. In the meantime, he indulged on using another tablet that he borrowed to look at more things about the football. In the past thirty minutes, he learned so much about the Cheep Cheepers and how football operated in the Wuhu area, including how the WFC was the football association equivalent for all major towns and cities in the Wuhu Kingdom, including Zeltarc East which was practically in the Delfino Kingdom, but with the exception of a few that were instead part of the UFFC, the Union of Free Football Clubs, which composed of those mostly in the disputed area. Most of the big towns across all the lands belonged to an association, to which there were eight in total across the various lands. What Enrique was currently focusing on however, was the interest of the Cheep Cheepers' 2010/11 season. He couldn't fathom why the manager going by the name Punvo was not happy to talk about their campaign ending as runners up in the Muhu Delfethal equivalent of the Champions' League. Maybe it was just an upsetting humiliation in the end.

"So I have done a bit of research." Enrique said back to Rosalina. "Our boy Arshaka that our girl Yokosora wants us to watch out for... is the Cheep Cheepers' top player. The problem is, he's in a lot of controversy recently, especially with other girls."

"So..." Rosalina insinuated. "You've gotten paid by a girl to spy on a guy that she wants to date?"

"There's got to be more to it though. Why has she gotten me of all people to do this for her?" Enrique lowered the tablet onto the floor. "I had a look at the northern teams. They've got their own leagues, two to be precise, but in twenty-ten-eleven, like ten of the teams were disqualified from the leagues and one team wasn't allowed into the MDCs. What makes things worse is that this year, the leagues are still running but ALL of them have been banned from the MDCs. The format's being worked on and instead of twenty-four teams they're going to have twenty. If things play out the way they're meant to, then Rantham, the team we just watched destroy the Cheep Cheepers, Gonak, the team we will watch destroy the Cheep Cheepers, and... Zeltarc West will be going to the MDC1, A.K.A the top league of leagues... Oh and by the way, Siomyr won a match today, so now they're ahead of the Cheep Cheepers. We could be seeing a future team destined for relegation here." Enrique got up and took the tablet back to the group of people he borrowed it from this time. Rosalina watched him walk back, wishing that he had his own to stay updated with the scores. From how much he talked about it, she knew that he was very enthusiastic and interested to know more about the Wuhu Football Leagues. Hopefully the match today might bring some good joy to him as well as the fans. She remembered him saying to her that Gonak, the team dressed up in green and purple colours were going to destroy the Cheep Cheepers just like Rantham did. Now that she sees the teams' players enter the pitch and get themselves ready for kick off, hopefully the outcome wouldn't be as bad as they say it would.

*Starting whistle blows*

Enrique and Rosalina looked down on the football pitch to spectate the second match of the day in the Cheep Cheepers football grounds. Both sides had a team selection consisting of Koopas, Toads and Piantas, limited to using only their feet except for the goalkeepers. Both the Cheep Cheepers and Gonak had a Koopa as their goalkeeper. While Rosalina decided to pay more attention to Arshaka in the substitute bench, Enrique had his eyes on the ball for most of the time, engrossed in how this match was going to play out. He noticed something particularly interesting in the buildings to his left. There was a window on an upper floor where he saw two Koopas watching with microphones attached to them. He assumed those two were commentators and felt like this was also being broadcasted. A Blue League match would certainly get the publicity.

Time passed, and he was looking back at the pitch. The Gonak side were holding possession for a huge amount of the game so far, and few shots direct shots were made. The crowds were gasping as tensions rose. A pass came to one Koopa close to the penalty box, and shortly after making contact he sent the ball straight to the top left corner of the back net. A very low level of cheering noise was heard from various parts of the football grounds. Gonak led the match 1-0.

A few attempts at the same goal and a couple of fouls later and the half-time whistle blew. Cheering began to roar across the grounds as the Cheep Cheepers and the fans were happy that they weren't down as much as they could be. In this entire period of time, Arshaka still remained on the bench despite there being a substitution made by his manager.

More time passed and the match resumed again. The Koopa remained on the bench as Enrique and Rosalina witnessed another upsetting goal scored by the Gonak side, taking their lead up by two just three minutes into the second half. While the cloudy afternoon went on, the local fans kept up their spirits and kept cheering on the players. Seventy-three minutes in and the Cheep Cheepers managed to maintain possession for more than a minute for the first time ever in this match. While the Koopas and Piantas worked together to get the ball closer to the goal, a foul was made in the Gonak penalty area. The neutral Toad referee blew the whistle and pointed to the spot, hyping up the fans.

"Oh shit, big!" Enrique nudged Rosalina while she was looking at Arshaka and made her stare down to the closer side of the pitch. One of the Koopas representing the Cheep Cheepers readied himself up to take the penalty kick. The crowds grew quiet as they waited for the whistle to blow, allowing him to take the shot. The Koopa slowly moved forward and struck it well, going straight along the ground to the bottom right corner, winning the luck against the Gonak keeper after he dove leftwards. The crowds cheered, glorified by the goal, and maybe now it wasn't over yet for the Cheep Cheep Beach players.

"They... did it. Are they winning?" Rosalina looked back at Enrique, who laughed immediately.

"No." He kept grinning. "They're still losing."

"Sorry, this Koopa's just acting funny." She made him look at Arshaka on the bench, noticing him closely. While Enrique was staring at the Koopa, he noticed frequent turns of his head, looking all over the place. He didn't initially notice this being so far away from him on the beach, but here, he could finally see something up with him at a closer distance. It looked like he was begging to be played on, but now that the Cheep Cheepers weren't trailing behind as much, the manager would feel less inclined to put him on.

"Maybe he's just restless." He said back to Rosalina as the match resumed play after the Cheep Cheepers goal. She looked at the Koopa for a few more minutes, observing his behaviour. Eventually the Koopa would stop facing different directions every few seconds and remain still. That was, when he looked up and stared directly back at Rosalina. She quickly looked away awkwardly, trying to see what Enrique was currently paying attention to.

Minute eighty-five... The score was still 2-1 to the away team. Only a few more attempts and a corner kick were made by Gonak but the Cheep Cheepers goalkeeper surely impressed the crowd now. Arshaka became completely restless on the substitute bench, attracting the attention of Punvo, the Cheep Cheepers manager and the Gonak manager much further away too. Punvo turned and noticed the Gonak manager give Arshaka a questioned look, prompting him to with the thought to finally make action.

"Please." Rosalina watched Arshaka, begging at the manager to play him on. "I can make a difference."

"Will you just-." Punvo interrupted himself and let out a sigh. "Come on." Enrique and Rosalina watched the manager wave about near the assistant referees on the sideline. As the full ninety minutes were soon coming to an end, both teams wanted to make one final substitution. One of the Piantas up front representing the Cheep Cheepers saw Punvo making eye contact with him, indicating that he was going to be benched for the final few minutes. The Gonak manager did the same, replacing a Toad player with another Toad player. Just before Arshaka was about to jog on to the pitch, Punvo held him back and whispered something into his ear, to which Arshaka nodded several times.

"Did you see that?" Rosalina whispered to Enrique.

"I saw it... but I didn't catch any of it."

Another foul in favour of the Cheep Cheepers was made as the ninetieth minute elapsed on the playing field. Two minutes of stoppage time was announced and the Gonak Koopas and Toads grouped together to start defending. The Cheep Cheepers were awarded a free kick to which a Toad on their team was going to take. Enrique and Rosalina now had their eyes on Arshaka, trying to avoid being marked by a Gonak defender. The Toad hoisted the ball into the air towards goal and it quickly got caught in the midst of many players. Many passes were made and many tackles were attempted, but the crowds began to cheer once again as the ball was found rolling into the goal off of the leg of a Koopa from the Cheep Cheepers. Rosalina looked around for a brief moment seeing all the local fans praise the players, but Enrique still had his eyes in Arshaka, celebrating on the opposite side of the goal. Did he even make contact with the ball?

Regardless, the Cheep Cheepers had equalised and the score sat at 2-2 until the match was over two minutes later. Enrique was baffled to see so much excitement from the crowds just for a draw. Thinking back on what he saw at on the tablet, it was better than no points at all, but was it enough?

"They're heading off the pitch." Rosalina nudged Enrique, getting up from their grassy spot on the hill. "Do you think he's going to go back on lifeguard duty?" The two watched Arshaka walk separately from the rest of his team back into the main building.

"He can't be gone for long, but I doubt he'll go back to lifeguard. He's promised his girlfriend a date and what's the time... six? That's when he and the girl are meant to be meeting with each other again. My day is done!" They both watched more people start entering the building, including many with books and cameras.

"Reporters... Post-match interview!" Rosalina looked back to Enrique. "He can't be that long in there!"

"Anything can happen in a tiny bit of time. We've got to see what's up with him inside. Maybe he'll get called for to answer some questions." She nodded back to him and they headed down the hill together, squeezing past all the fans to just about make up the last bit of empty standing space in the interviewing room. As the two arrived, they had a look at the front table, seeing Punvo sit down first just like before. This time, he made quick eye contact with the two of them before getting himself comfortable in the seat. Joining him was the manager of the Gonak football team windowed off in a separate corner, also willing to answer any interview questions.

"The post-match interview session will now commence, again, we request that one question is asked at a time." One of the security members in the room announced to the rest. Where the two were standing, they could only hear questions being asked at Punvo.

"What are your thoughts about the match today?" The first reporter asked, with all seeing Punvo lean in to the microphones.

"A draw is an amazing result against one of the best teams in all of the Wuhu lands. I must admit... it's not what I expected. I mean, I am optimistic, but also realistic. I have to give credit to the players... Toadur, Koopago with the penalty, even Lassana. So many brilliant saves she made today." Punvo answered the interviewers with a bright mood, surprising Enrique. He thought the manager type would sound often gloomy.

"With the way the table's looking right now, you're three points behind ninth and currently looking at Twin Peaks to verse against in the relegation-playoff, are you worried about this, with four matches to go?" Another reporter questioned Punvo, shying him a little bit.

"Well I mean... It's very close with all the teams in the lower middle spots fighting away from that spot. By the time the matches are over it will be clear who finishes tenth. I am working hard and well with my boys and girls on the team to ensure that is not us. We've got an important match next week against Beanbean United and a win there will help us massively. They're fighting against that position too." Punvo was open to answering more questions, but there followed a small period of silence.

"What do you have against playing Arshaka?" Enrique called out from the back of the room as nobody else was asking Punvo a question. "I think he's... hands down your best player and if he was on for the full ninety... maybe you could have beaten Gonak today."

"For what is this man doing in this room?" Punvo looked intimidating, glaring into Enrique's eyes. The other interviewers in the room and the security all looked back at him. "I'll answer your question all the same though. This boy... is a lot of talent, I will give him credit for that... but I am too paranoid about the past. He has served his season ban, but... it's hard to get his respect back. He should be happy that he is with us in the first place." The interviewers gasped, they were frightened by both Enrique's presence in the room and Punvo responding to his question. "I do not care for whichever news company you work for, if any... but I think I should address the elephant in the room. For what reason is Rosalina of the Cosmos standing and watching in the back of the room?" Everyone's eyes turned just a little to the left, moving from Enrique to Rosalina. She gulped awkwardly, not sure what to say to everyone else.

"Let's go." Enrique whispered, shoving her out through the door. While the journalists and interviewers in the room didn't move much or bother to try and chase the two, Enrique and Rosalina rushed out of the building completely ignoring the possible whereabouts of Arshaka.

"Where are we heading to now?" Rosalina whispered to Enrique as the two began collecting the things they left on the grassy hill, from Enrique's trunks, towel and jacket to Rosalina's towel and bikini.

"Back to the apartment building." He decided, doing his best to get out of the sights of the public hanging around by the beach and the football grounds. On their way across the wooden boardwalks, Enrique turned to his right to check on the lifeguard post. There was no sign of Arshaka.

"He's not there. Do you think he's finished work today?" Rosalina called out to him while they were both running off of the boardwalks.

"He's going on a date with the girl very soon. We just have to check on her." Enrique kept running. "Hopefully she's there." The two went down a path towards the road where the apartment block resided. As Enrique walked over to the entrance to turn in, he noticed that the Koopa girl behind the desk was replaced with someone else.

"Shit..." He said. "What was the name of that place...? Yes." She watched Enrique leave his belongings outside and head into the apartment building. "Excuse me. Do you know the directions to Himari's?"... "Thank you." Now, she watched him come back out of the apartment building. "Two roads away." He then pointed in the direction the two wanted to go, making them both rush along again. Around a couple of bends and there they saw her, Yokosora, awkwardly standing before the flat marble steps up to Himari's restaurant. The footsteps the two made from walking made her notice them arriving. She looked at Enrique and rushed over, looking very annoyed and frustrated.

"Why are you here and not him?" Yokosora breathed heavily through her nostrils and had her fists clenched. "Was I wrong to trust someone like you for such a simple job as this? Is that...?" She spoke very quickly and stressfully, moving about on the spot rather quickly and restlessly.

"We were watching him all day, missy. It was only now because we would have expected him to show up here by now-."

"Hey, Yoko." Enrique froze, noticing Arshaka appear behind Yokosora. She heard his voice and was filled with delight, turning around to see him and giving him a big hug, but the Koopa didn't seem happy at all. "We've met before?" He brushed past the Koopa girl and had a closer look at both Enrique and Rosalina.

"Arshaka, it's not what it looks like."

"You two have been on my tail, all fucking day, and for what? What have I done now?" He looked back at Yokosora, expecting some explanation. "Are they after me again?"

"Hey, snap out of it!" She slapped him in the face in front of the others. "It was my fault. I made them watch you today. I just... you know how things happened over the past few days and err... I don't want to see you go back up there. I wanted to know for sure that you're alright."

"But why them?" He made her look at Enrique and Rosalina. "Don't you know who those two humans are? Where they go, the Mushroom Kingdom will follow. They're... spies!"

"Hey! Easy..." Enrique called out to Arshaka, slowly moving closer to him.

"Get away from me and my girl!" The Koopa snapped back at him, pressuring Enrique to back away again.

"I don't want anything with you and your friend." He yelled back to Arshaka. "It was her who made me watch you all day. She did it because I'm out of money and a place to go... She was offering me hospitality in exchange for work." The Koopa's heavy panting began to stop and he wasn't breathing as loudly. From having a heavy grip on Yokosora he slowly eased his hands on her in defence. She was scared, and that frightened him.

"Please..." She stuttered.

"My love, what's wrong?" Arshaka looked straight into her eyes, turning her around a little. "What you see in front of you is me, the real me."

"Forgive me I..." She moved away from the Koopa and rested herself against the steps, falling to her knees and shedding some tears. "I wanted to know why you've been acting strange all this time; why everyone's getting in your way ever since we started hanging out together again."

"Yoko what do you mean?" Rosalina noticed Arshaka looking more worried than usual, and he worries a lot. "I've been genuine to you this whole time! What I don't get is why you haven't been genuine with me, I mean why Enrique and Rosalina? Don't you know how dangerous those two are?"

"I'm sorry." She looked back at both of them. "I never should have asked you for a favour." Arshaka tried to help his friend up from the floor, angered by the two humans at the same time.

"I'm calling the police. I'm not having them follow us any longer." He said, helping Yokosora up.

"No!" Rosalina reacted, distracting the Koopa for a brief moment. "You can't... Or the next few weeks will be nothing but stress and sadness."

"You mention our names and ALL OF THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM will be coming for us, and they'll walk right over you." Enrique added, making Arshaka freeze on the spot for a few seconds, still with his phone in his hand. They both watched him shiver and quake about on the steps before his friend. He tilted his eyes just a little bit to see everything behind him before looking back at the two humans just metres away from him.

"Then I'll look forward to being done with it." Arshaka quickly returned to his phone after remaining still, quickly pressing numbers on his keypad.

"Stop!" Rosalina shouted and rushed forward, lunging forth and pushing the Koopa aside. The phone flew up into the air and landed onto the hard steps just two seconds later, cracked into a main frame and a few smaller fragments, but the screen was off.

"AAAAAH!" She felt a little sigh of relief, seeing the phone destroyed. "My head..."

"Rosa... what..." She then heard Enrique, embarrassed and nervous. Rosalina turned her head to see him staring back at Arshaka, to which she turned around again to have a look. As she looked down to see the injured Koopa on the floor, she noticed blood coming from the back of his head. When he was shoved by her the back of his head was struck against the edge of one of the sharp steps. Yokosora at the same time got up from the ground and crawled over to the bleeding Koopa. Both humans froze solid on the ground. What frightened Rosalina the most was the growing crowds of citizens that surrounded her in a distant circle, with many of them recording her and the footage on the steps with their phones. All feared her and hesitated to intervene, but it was almost certain that at least one of the bystanders had called the police.

"Arshie?" She heard a crying Yokosora whisper as the Koopa squealed and moaned against the steps. "SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE!" She screamed to the crowds. "Arshie, stay with me. We'll get through this together!"

Rosalina looked down at her hands in front of her, shaking about uncontrollably. Everyone was still recording, and there seemed to be nothing she could do about the Koopa's head injury without most of her magical powers, the last thing she could do was look back at Enrique, for he was still standing just behind her.

"Excuse me for a couple seconds." Enrique spoke with a soft and quiet tone to her. He walked forward towards Yokosora as she was sitting by Arshaka, making her look up at him.

"D-d-did you c-call... Hey! Get off of-." He went down to her and turned her body over, searching through her pockets and taking out all of the remaining money in notes that she had on her. About thirty more dollars were pocketed out. "You fucking bitch!"

"Err... Enrique?" Rosalina grew more frightened and nervous seeing people finally intervene.

"Let's go." As the Koopas and Toads of the crowds started to approach them, Enrique left his bag on the floor and led Rosalina northwards up some of the steps to the restaurant but further along the road. She quickly followed and the two were sprinting, brushing past the crowds and pushing them aside as the people made attempts to hold them back. Enrique made sure to leave only his empty clothes behind, keeping his useful belongings in his trouser pockets, but his jacket was left behind. While he saw many Koopas trying to chase him, he reached out for the gun he put into his right trouser pocket and sent a bullet into the air, scaring everyone nearby in the process. Rosalina was still dashing right behind them and the two managed to quickly leave the scene. They were both still worried for themselves, as it wouldn't be long before the police arrived to the scene and for vehicles to start chasing after them.

"Follow me!" Enrique called out as he ran straight across a road while there were cars driving along it. The drivers stopped and sounded their horns, thankfully allowing Rosalina to sprint across without and risk of danger. She then followed him as he took a left turn down one of the outer roads of the town. He rushed across the road again but this time he slowed down as a car hit the brakes in front of him.

"What in the stars is wrong with you?" The Toad driver got out of his car and complained at Enrique, only to be shoved aside and pushed to the floor.

"Get in the car!" Enrique called out to Rosalina as she approached.

"I'm so sorry!" She apologised to the Toad on the floor in the road. The two quickly got in, buckled up, and commandeered the car to head out of the Cheep Cheep Beach town. He made a quick U-turn in the middle of the road and revved it up quickly, accelerating straight down the road heading westward, moving through traffic at the next junction to head onto a quiet road going out of town.

"Quick, count the money." Enrique took out all of the coins and notes from his back pocket whilst driving and handed them over to Rosalina.

"Fuck... fuck fuck fuck." She was still sweating and worrying about what she just did, panicking in the car as she sifted through the notes. "Just over forty dollars."

"Exact amount, please!" He stressed.

"Forty-three-sixty-eight." They both took huge deep breaths, followed by a period of silence. They both plainly stared forward into the distance, looking at nothing as the road remained flat and empty while it went through thick forest woodlands. Now that they were away from the coastline, they met themselves with the dense trees that composed of most of the southern belt of the Wuhu Kingdom. Enrique sifted through the radio channels on the car's station to check if he was mentioned at all but could find nothing regarding his or Rosalina's presence in the town yet.

"...And our most recent headline yet, finally a shock return of otherworldly influence as reported video footage shows not only the blonde recruit from Earth Enrique Calaghal, but with him the so-called Queen of the Cosmos Rosalina have been found brutally injuring former football icon Arshaka Ruida just outside Himari's restaurant in Cheep Cheep Beach. Reports showed that it was Rosalina that was the one who pushed the Koopa down against the steps before the restaurant, inflicting on him severe head injuries. Ambulances have arrived to the scene to take him and his friend present in the area back to the hospital but whether his injuries are fatal or not remain unknown. More to follow later-." Enrique turned the radio off, noticing that it was too frightening for Rosalina to still listen to.

"Are you... hungry?" She asked him while he was still driving. He said nothing back to her, keeping his eyes focused on the road. They came across a sign for the next junctions and the distances to the next towns. There were turnings off for Hillin Village, Hyglon, and Twin Peaks, as well the road taking a slow rightward curve more northwards. He didn't want to go to any of them. Now, with the thought of what someone else had said to him just yesterday, he had another place even more westward to go to in mind.

"No." Enrique replied eventually. "I can eat when we get there."

"When we get where?" Rosalina asked again, unsure where he specified.

"West." She wasn't fully understanding of what he meant, but she decided to sit straight and let him take the way. It was better for her to not say anything while on this trip through the woods, for she began to recall what happened in the morning. She felt so many thoughts, including the possibility that Enrique was still mad at her. He literally punched her in the face just this morning, and what he had to witness earlier could have reminded him of the wish to not be with her right now.

"I'm... sorry, sorry for everything." She couldn't help herself and spoke out again. "I don't want to give up in protecting you because... I'm trying to make up for the burden I created putting you into this world." She kept looking at him, observing his face movements, but he didn't yet turn his head to look at her while driving. He had to remain focused on the highway, despite it being almost always a straight line for the next unknown amount of miles. "What I'm trying to say is... When I worked with the princesses for this plan, we never really accounted for one really important thing... and that was about your health and Tom's... I don't really know where Tom is right now, but neither of you two can get back home."

"I don't need to get back home." Enrique replied quietly and monotonously. Rosalina looked back down on the floor in front of her seat, unsure how to react to that.

"About your grandfather-."

"I don't give a fuck about my grandfather." He interrupted her. "Even if you took me to him I would probably just try and kill him right there on the spot. I have no care for someone I don't know only to be found out that he's been here this whole time."

"That's not the point." Rosalina grabbed his attention. He briefly lowered his speed while on the highway. "He's... one of us." He looked back ahead.

"S-... so? I mean... w-w-why should I care? If it makes me like you? Great! That... doesn't matter right now." She watched him again. This time he was trying his best not to tear up. He began squinting while driving, but remained in form to keep driving. "I don't even remember the reason why you chose me and Tom in the first place but if that's the reason then I don't really care right now. All of my friends are here now... and all of them are in danger... and you know what the worst part about it is? For the first time ever, I cannot be bothered to try and save them!"

"Then what do you want to do?" He didn't speak again, unsure what to say. All he did was focus on the road as they sped down the highway. The sun had set, the sky had grown darker, night fell on the Wuhu lands and the two were currently in the middle of nowhere.

"I... will find something to do." He gestured, panting. "You know... before I came here, when I was... sixteen, seventeen, Miyamoto and his colleagues, they introduced you to the games they make back on Earth. He portrayed you as this all-powerful, almost omnipotent Queen of the stars who travels in the Comet Observatory with her Lumas patrolling the galaxy and visiting Earth for star festivals every 100 years, and you took the fans by storm. Yet... here you are, alive in the flesh, sitting right in front of me... and you have just told me that we're somehow related?"

"Not related..." Rosalina quickly reassured him. "Just, of the same group."

"Right..." He turned back to the road. "And what about Miyamoto, is he still here... or does he often visit?"

Rosalina shook her head. "Again... you'll have to ask Muji for advice. He knows everything about him and their group from back in the day. Yes, I was here in 2007 when the star festival happened, but I wasn't here before that, truly. I just... never interacted with the Mushroom Kingdom until then."

"So what were you doing?" He kept asking as much as he could now, leeching onto the information Rosalina had in her memory. "What made you come to stay?" She looked straight ahead, a memory flashes through her mind...

(In Rosalina's Perspective):

1996, The Great Mushroom War was almost at its end. Asquia had already been renamed to Aypyidaw and the town became a beacon of next-generation defence against the north, a fortress watching the south and protecting it from its vulnerability. Koopak Asquia senior had just been put on trial for his crimes against both sides of the war, yet he had met his end quickly to the shadows lingering in the room at the time. Everyone everywhere working on the side of the good was rushed to the room and back then, good was good. I was only undercover as an assistant, before taking any sort of Martyrdom contract or oath as they like to call it. Let's just say that I secretly used my magical powers only for good; to tend to the wounded in the battles. You could call me a nurse.

I hadn't revealed my true identity at the time, but that night that Koopak's father was killed, I heard a lot of voices around a corridor that I shouldn't be going to. Many different voices in multiple languages. As it turns out, Muji is a polyglot, able to understand everyone.

"This isn't something we're happy with letting the public know. If the young boys and girls found out what really happened to their parents then everyone everywhere will be living out of fear for their entire lives. The south and the north will go extinct!" I overheard Muji's voice and I'll be honest with you, I've never seen this feared in recent days. These years I could say were his worst.

"We'll have to make the public know of something else. Have both sides take the lives of each other, and then bring out a new rising hero to save them all. We can't have women take power. It needs to be a boy. What about the plumber's boy in the Mushroom Kingdom? I've heard he's got brilliant potential, and he's only a teenager!" There was another Red Martyr on Muji's level at the time, as there were many. This one went by the name Phoelix, but I didn't know much about him. I then started hearing a different language, but whatever was said wasn't very helpful to their discussion.

"I don't care about your stupid game ideas, Shigeru. This is a crisis!" Muji said back to him, to which Miyamoto spoke more but in an angered tone. He was frustrated, and left Muji and the others at that spot in the corridor. He walked past me, taking multiple looks at me before turning around the next bend behind me.

"Whatever we do, we do not tell the girls about this. Understand?" I briefly peered around the corner and saw Muji talking to three other Red Martyrs. Those of which were Phoelix as I previously mentioned, Ledro whom you've seen before, and one other named John, though he disappeared about ten years later for a reason I don't know about and cannot tell of his fate.

"So... The eyes in the south will know that the Kings and Queens and Princes... all met their fate in battle in the north, they were unable to be saved, and we call Koopak as guilty for our improvised war-crimes we say that he did. Noted. "John agreed with Muji. "We will see to it in our next vote what we will do with Shigeru. I'm afraid with how things are playing out with his ever-spiralling interest to monetise this world even further with the games he is already making at Nintendo, that this might have to be his last days in service to us."

"You know he's been doing this for years. Remember what happened to when he found out about Donkey Kong?" Muji warned the others and it was at that point where they all disbanded at that small hiding spot in the corridors in Aypyidaw. I had to quickly divert myself away from them to make it look like I wasn't listening. (*)

"So... he probably gets Muji to update him every so often on what to put out to the people on Earth. You know... refresh his memory with some brand new ideas." Enrique wondered. "He must have known you were a formidably good racer to put you in a racing game."

"I don't know." Rosalina replied. "That was the first and last time I saw him, just that small interaction. I was at Aypyidaw because I knew that my people living in the north wouldn't be safe with the war going on. I find out another day that they were all gone." She began tearing up as well in the car. Enrique kept driving, patrolling through the highway and going past the signs for most of the nearby towns. They went on in silence together for another hour until Rosalina spoke one more time. "I didn't know who to believe as to what happened to them, but where they used to live... is now modern day Dargo."

EOC: Hold the waiting, I'll try and maintain a 20-day interval between uploads, approximately...

See you next chapter!