Downfall of the Mushroom Kingdom
Arc Two
The Hunt for Six Princesses
The Mushroom Kingdom stands in a place of extreme uncertainty. While the temporary absence of Queen Peach and the perhaps permanent absence of Mario not yet heard by the public, things currently start to worsen as news of the fire in Webcapstow being recorded, people on their phones caught footage of Mario and Luigi heading there.
Mushroom City faces more threats to their safety every day after the events of Rainbow Road. The government have more names of enemies and the overall pride of the Toads and Koopas of the Kingdom starts to worsen.
While this has all happened, there have been surprisingly less reports of dangers coming directly from the north nowadays. Places such as Donk City acting as a front line of defence for the southern Kingdoms have not had to deal with any visitors from the north. Even those sent across have been finding life there surprisingly easy to settle in to…
March 14, Early Evening
Southwest Résethal
Earlier that same day, all the way up beyond the mountains, Tom and Toby were surveying the safest parts beyond Aypyidaw. With no new visitors since their arrival, they declared the place to be truly deserted after all of the chaos that happened there just days ago. Now they have used the town as their base camp for settling in, using its remaining active facilities while staying hidden and undercover at the same time. The next day, they surveyed Dekharr and it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. While some people lied about it being ransacked by hostile Koopa tribes, it was actually left rather untouched. Even though the town was composed of non-hostile Koopa citizens, they were still northerners and that was what the tribes acknowledged when mustering their forces there before the invasion. Just because a town is not considered hostile does not mean they are pro-southern governments. They were like a neutral town in their sense.
Today, Tom and Toby embarked on their next journey northwest towards the smaller town of Jort. Originally marked as a place that could house hostile Koopas according to the Red Martyrs, the two treaded carefully on their way, hoping to fit in well like how they did on their day in Dekharr. On their arrival earlier in the day, the place looked better than how the Red Martyrs perceived it as during their time acting guard for the north. The thought came especially into Tom's mind, thinking that every town that wasn't Castelia, Urscan, or Aypyidaw was a run-down heaping pile of rubbish full of poor living, dirtiness and perhaps famine and poverty, but it was not the case. Actually, things seemed to have boomed since the downfall of Aypyidaw just days ago. There was even construction going on in one of the outer roads of Jort; a new public building for the citizens to spend time at in leisure. While seeing some sort of prosperity may be a good sign for newfound peace across the northern lands, something still seemed off. If the place is truly living in an anarchistic environment, then who would be willing to fund all of this renovation to a town that doesn't appear to be part of a greater connection of cities?
Everyone here was so nice to Tom and Toby, offering them a place to eat when they were hungry at lunch time and a place to eat when they were hungry at dinner time. What was also so great about this place was that prices of everything were so cheap compared to down south since the start of the year. Markets, restaurants, public houses all served things at really good prices. While everything seemed so great, Tom and Toby both knew that it was too good to be true anarchy. Some sort of government must be present in these towns, and somebody must be responsible for all of this innovation.
When the evening came, the two arrived at their last big landmark of the city of Jort: The Black Raven Inn. Existing for years and surviving through the Great Mushroom Wars, the place stood out amongst the modern architecture of the surrounding buildings. While it maintained its look on the outside, the place grew in size due to its high popularity. To all Résethal citizens, this was the place that first came into everyone's minds when they would think about this town. When one thinks of Jort, they think of the Black Raven Inn. It was now a large, glorified sports bar and tavern. On the inside it looked very modern and very suspicious to them, yet it still seemed like a great place for hospitality and entertainment. Flat screen televisions on the walls showing Western Résethal domestic league football despite a Mushroom Accords ban on entry to future MDC1 and MDC2 tournaments, as well as tables always filled with happy and jolly Koopas.
Upon arrival, Tom and Toby did get a lot of stares, but none of the freakishly dangerous-looking ones. Everyone knew they were human and some people even knew who they were, but word spreads fast around these lands. They knew that if they're wanted by the Mushroom Kingdom government, then it would be best to let them be when they were here. United in their hatred for the south, the citizens of Jort and the Black Raven Inn saw no reason to have any quarrel with Tom and Toby. Maybe though, there was another reason why they treated all humans here well…
"Hey, do you have any tables left available?" Tom asked one of the bartenders inside the Blue Raven for space to sit down upon arrival. Everywhere on the ground floor seemed so loud and occupied with the football match going on, chanting and shouting words in Old Koopish that neither of them could understand. The bartender shrugged her shoulders, making facial expressions to another person behind the closest bar to Tom and Toby.
"I don't…" She beckoned another bartender over and said nothing else, only smiling back anxiously at them.
"Sorry, humans. What can I do for you?" Another bartender greeted them. "Somewhere secluded I take it? If you don't want noise, there's the floor above. It's less crowded and doesn't have as much noise."
"Sounds great." Tom felt relieved.
"Just head up those stairs." The Koopa pointed over to the other end of the room where there was a staircase going both up and down. Tom and Toby walked together across the room, overhearing a loud wave of screams for a goal scored in the football match. Toby turned over to his right whilst walking past to have a look at one of the television screens. It had a score line now saying "JOR 2-2 ZAR", so it was likely an equaliser for the JOR team, which he assumed is Jort.
Upstairs was a lot quieter. There were still tables occupied by many Koopas but there were definitely some left alone for the two to sit at. One thing Tom picked up on during his walk from the entrance to the inn to the table they sat down at was that almost every male and female Koopa in his sights were armed with their own weapons. Tom and Toby looked at each other upon sitting down, confirming their thoughts to each other about how they both thought the same thing. Clues to how so many guns were being produced and supplied to these people were yet unknown.
"I'm starting to get worried about our job up here." Toby whispered to Tom, already feeling a change of mind as for what they want to actually do up here. For him, everything felt better than spending time in the south presumably wanted by the government and on the run. Things didn't make sense to him at all; wanting to help Muji who is somewhat affiliated with Peach and the government in finding who supplies the hostile Koopas their weapons, whilst being wanted wasn't what Toby wanted at all. "Everything just seems so much… better here now. Look at everyone. They're all so happy." Tom also looked around the room, observing the joy in these Koopas. Maybe it was the Black Raven Inn bringing joy and life into these Koopas, or maybe it genuinely was the assurance that they're getting no threat from Aypyidaw anymore. Several hostile lives lost yet at least seventy Red Martyrs all wiped out in that night, and yet it seemed to be better for even those living here. Perhaps the hostile Koopas just wanted peace and quiet from the north anyway. Both Tom and Toby were still unsure what life is meant to be like for the future here now. The question Tom asked himself was whether to intervene with it or not. He now felt at the point that would he even be worse off if the Mushroom Kingdom were never to impede on the north ever again. He couldn't feel a hundred percent safe up here though. Somebody's bound to still show hostility towards his presence here.
"Maybe they're all happy they're not being watched over any more." Tom still looked around, happy to see all these Koopas, no matter where they may come from, enjoying each other's company. "Still, if they were truly happy for that reason, they wouldn't be carrying things around with them all the time." The two remained at their table for a little while longer before Toby decided to make the move to go back downstairs and order some food for them remembering their table number to have the food delivered. The Black Raven Inn seemed safe enough for Tom to be at the table on his own. While Toby was away, he got out his phone supplied to him by Muji to send him another text, updating him on his whereabouts this entire time. The night before, he had informed Muji about Neodjan still being alive, occupying a small house on the edges of Aypyidaw for cover. While Muji has repeatedly asked Tom to ask Neodjan to return to the south, when Tom has mentioned it to him the first time, Neodjan refused. Ever since, Tom has ignored Muji's requests for Neodjan and only decided to report on new activity.
'We're at the Black Raven Inn tonight. Have you heard of it before? Everyone here is armed, but they're all looking so kind and happy. Any advice?'
Muji was probably asleep at this time so it would be no use to bother texting him now anyway. The old man would only reply in the day and most of what he said would be useless to him. Most of the search through Dekharr was all done himself and with Toby, Muji didn't actually help them out with any of it. Finding out about the massive base camp the hostile Koopas had set up the day before and of the invasion was figured out by them as well. It was only word from the street that they found about it as all hostiles left the town without a trace afterwards.
Tom sighed and slouched in his seat, looking around at the merriment of all of the Koopas enjoying themselves whether they were drunk or sober. All this made him question whether the Koopas would proceed to do anything worse to the south or not. If Jort had any hostile activity in the past, it would probably be all gone now.
Toby eventually returned with the food and noticed the miserable look on Tom's face.
"What's wrong?" He asked, hoping to get a sense of understanding as to why he's feeling this way. The situation to him seemed a lot better than a couple of days ago when they were trapped in the northern forests of the Wuhu Kingdom and then previously being part of the Rainbow Road fiasco. He delivered the food on to the table for the two to begin eating. Tom exhaled and gave his trademark half-smile as he was looking at the food.
"I'm just questioning all of this in my head." Tom mumbled. "Doing this… who are we really serving? Muji? What's he going to do with this information anyway?" He slid his phone across the right side of the table towards Toby, showing him the text he sent to Muji. "We're going off of this in the evening when it matters the most because that's when everyone's out. The night life here is surprisingly high."
Toby looked at the text and agreed. "Now come to think of it, even if we find out where they get all their guns from or if we find a… King, should we say… Muji will tell the south, they'll start a war."
"I don't want a war, personally." Tom spoke over Toby. "I don't really want to fight. All our friends are missing and everywhere where we used to feel welcomed, we feel like we're wanted. We're actually better off up here than we are down there." He looked around again and saw the Koopas, none of them giving him or Toby any grief. "If there is a hostile Koopa in this building tonight, then good for us. Rest assured they'll see us as people who don't want anything to do with the north anymore." Toby now looked around the room and could see where Tom was coming from. They were in unchartered territory for them. A place that none of their group of friends had ever been to before except for maybe Enrique, and they were starting to feel like it wasn't dangerous. Maybe it would have felt more dangerous to have been here before the assault on Aypyidaw but maybe the deaths of about seventy to eighty Red Martyrs was genuinely enough for peace around these lands. One thing Toby noticed that Tom didn't however, mainly due to their seat positions, was behind most of the Koopas in the middle tables was a human in a table booth on the other side of the floor. He was completely unfamiliar to him, and he seemed to be talking to someone else not visible from where either of them was sitting. The human was male, tall, white and looking a bit older than them, but just the sight of another human up here did not make Toby feel comfortable at all.
"Hey… Tom." He whispered across the table whilst the two were devouring their meals. "Do you see the human? The man." He turned his eyes across the room, hoping Tom would look that way and be able to notice him across and behind the Koopas on the other tables.
"I don't think we're prepared for this yet." Tom shook his head. "I have no idea who that person might be but I assure you this is going to be a bit too much for us. Maybe he's not a bad human, but I just want to eat my dinner thank you." Toby however, did not seem impressed at all by Tom's reaction and showed more concern to him.
"No, he's bad all right." He said quickly. "A human we don't know is a bad human. He even looks like he radiates danger… We should leave and go back to camp. After the food of course." The two made sure to never look that way while eating. Even if this place was seemingly safe, a human-related breakout of violence would be more likely than any Koopa violence. When it was time to finish, Tom and Toby declared that for their own safety, it was best to avoid the Black Raven Inn tonight. Seeing the guns all the Koopas had on themselves scared them away enough. The two now started heading back down the stairs and towards the main entrance to the inn, still seeing the atmosphere buzzing on the ground floor. Toby went out first, and as Tom tried to squeeze past a few people on the way out, he accidentally bumped into another Koopa.
"Sorry." Tom moved out of the way and turned his head back to the Koopa. He was surprised at such an appearance this Koopa had. She was tall, shell-less, and wearing some unusual-looking face paint. She also looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. The two shared an awkward silence as they were looking directly into each other's eyes for a few seconds.
"Mr. Tûnis." She spoke with a rather deep voice and gave him a nod before quickly turning around and walking back into the inn. Completely puzzled, he was unable to respond back to her as she was already quickly inside and out of sight. The face paint was enough though. If he saw a Koopa with face paint again, he will know it is her.
Toby was further up ahead, but walked slower to allow Tom to catch up to him. The late evening for the two was composed only of their walk back to Aypyidaw with them both wishing they had a car. While they hadn't done a proper thorough search through the broken city, everywhere they had looked for cars would only show damaged and unusable ones. The hostile Koopas massacred everywhere in the town. Luckily, the public transport wasn't so bad up in the north. Despite all northern services no longer being connected with the south, there were still some trains active surveying towns across Résethal thanks to the Castelia government spending on the local system to keep it active within recent days. The two were able to get the train to Dekharr but the rest of the way back to Aypyidaw had to be by foot. The journey from here was dreadful but no different to yesterday's venture. The two truly felt a feeling of bleakness and emptiness departing Dekharr to go through the wilderness back to their base camp. What made things worse was that every day that would go by here will only get colder, and the journeys will only get darker and more barren. It was unknown between the two of them as to what Neodjan had done during the day when they were out in different towns, but he was fast asleep inside the old headquarters when they arrived. Choosing to stay in a room far from Neodjan's old chambers, the two readied themselves back in other rooms, waiting for the night to pass by and tire them out to the point of easily falling asleep. Being alone in this darkness always gave them a passive feeling of fright and fear, but hopefully they would see it go in the coming days. Tom however, would find it more difficult to sleep as the thought of that Koopa he saw when leaving the Black Raven Inn was distracting him. A female Koopa, perhaps a complete stranger to him, said his last name in front of him.
Tom spent what felt like hours just lying in his bed looking up to the ceiling, recalling that memory of just hours ago in his mind. The memory made him want to visit that place again in hopes to find more notable and reputable people in there. The amount of weapons they all possessed would be something he would just have to overcome in order to find out more.
March 15
The next day wasn't so different. Thankfully, Muji had replied to his text in the early morning, informing him that the Black Raven Inn could be a gold mine for links and big names into finding out the way the Koopas get all of their weapons. With most of Jort already surveyed, the next town to assess going westwards and northwards was Konhip, but this was a place that Muji specifically advised to take caution on. This was where the lands supposedly turned more dangerous, especially with everything he texted Tom regarding the Dekharr-Konhip highway. The two wanted to make it so they surveyed Konhip during the day and then return to Jort in the evening. Like each day so far, they trekked all the way to Dekharr and then took public transport northwards, this time going straight to Konhip. This was another green-coloured town on the Red Martyr's map, similar to Jort in supposed danger levels. It looked just like any other town in Résethal, not showing any immediate threats whatsoever and somewhat welcoming of them on their arrival out of the train station. Unfortunately, nothing obvious that could have anything to do with weapons distribution was seen in town. If there was, it would be something so secluded and secret that if the two found out and could infiltrate it, then there would be weapons pointed right at them.
"There's just nothing here…" Toby sat down with Tom after they spent the past few hours walking around town discreetly searching for any signs of secrecy within the city. Every minute that went by led to less and less motivation for them to do this together.
"It's just probably all in Dargo, isn't it?" Tom looked back at him, munching on lunch that they bought from a local market. "Well… I'd want to save energy from all of this walking we've been doing. If we're going to be going further west then we really do need a car." The two both looked all over the town square, hoping to find any car dealerships in town. For a place like Konhip, they might be hard to come by.
"Nothing." Tom sighed after a while, declaring nothing to be of any use. Nobody in town was approachable either, everyone seemingly dangerous even if they didn't have guns. Moods quickly changed here. One minute they felt like it would be better to live here than in the south as everyone's happy, another minute it looks like anyone could shoot you without you knowing. Thankfully, where there weren't cars, there were bikes. If the place was truly anarchistic, then nobody would stop them from stealing bikes.
"So…" Toby looked at Tom as they cycled to the southern edge of Konhip's rural areas, hoping to head back to Jort. "Do you know how to get there from here?"
"No." He replied quickly. "But I want to have a look this way first." He searched the nearby street signs. "I think this way gets us back to Dekharr. The highways will be faster even if they're a little out of the way."
"Didn't Muji warn us about these roads being dangerous?"
"That's exactly why I want to go this way." Tom started slowly on his bike, getting Toby to remain behind him. "He says everywhere here is dangerous…"
The highway that separated Konhip and Dekharr was freakishly empty, with only one car coming from Dekharr to Konhip within the first thirty minutes of cycling. The car that had a few Koopas inside went straight past the two as well. It was after this time though did Tom start to slow down. They weren't near any junction yet, but something distant on the other side of the road caught his attention. After looking both ways, Tom and Toby swapped to the other side, going slightly off-road before coming up to the mess ahead.
"This is probably what he meant…" The two got off their bikes as Tom led first to a dirty mess that lay just a few metres ahead and just off the side of the highway road. Parts of a destroyed vehicle were part of the mess, as well as bits surrounding a rotting, bloodied corpse of a human on the edge of a dirty puddle.
"A human?" Toby looked away, trying not to regurgitate from seeing the bloody mess. "This is a bad sign."
"No it's not. I recognise this person." Tom, not fazed by the gore on the floor, examined the rotting body more closely. "This must be Tori. She was a Red Martyr… and… ok now that is gross." He noticed what had been made of the body as a result of impalement. "I'm not overly knowledgeable of the phases of human death and decay, but this could have been… days, maybe a week at least. Maybe she was a deserter from whatever happened in Aypyidaw which is why what happened to her happened. Whoever did this to her is sick in the head, but I doubt this wasn't your average Koopa." He tried not to get tearful, as it was a tragic loss and a human loss nonetheless, but to save his sanity he wanted to believe that these lands are now rightfully the Koopas that live here. It's in the past, and there was nothing he believed he could have done to prevent this.
"Can we get going?" Toby was very squeamish and didn't want to be anywhere near the body as while he wasn't seeing it, he could still smell it. "I didn't know we'd have to put up with shit like this in our time here. Like… death is bad and all but this is just… this is just vile."
"Muji will probably want to know about this." He got onto his bike again, readying Toby to start leading the way. He got out his phone at the same time, hoping to reach out to Muji by calling him.
"Tom, how's it going? Are you two safe?" Muji spoke immediately upon picking up the phone, wherever he was.
"Yeah, we're good. It's getting really difficult to find any leads of a weapons distributor around here." Tom replied, getting up to Toby's speed on his bike.
"No signs in any of the nearby towns?"
"Nothing."
"Well… that's not necessarily a good thing…" Muji paused for a few seconds. "Pauline's not very happy with the fortifications built around the edge of the city. She thinks it's ruining the town's reputation."
"Yeah I'm going to agree with her on this one. There's no sign of anybody getting anywhere near the tunnels yet. You don't have to set up anything else." The two finally got to the turnoff in the highway to head westwards towards Jort. The view ahead remained a distant blur, surrounded by thick forests on both sides.
"I'll send word to her when I can. I may have to take a trip down to Mushroom City to see what Peach's plans for the northern defences are, but at the moment, everything seems to have dropped off over the past few days."
"Yeah, I think the attack on Aypyidaw may have been all they wanted to do. Nobody around the towns we've visited show any signs of aggression or violence, even towards us. We haven't been to anywhere that's orange or red on your map yet, but still." Muji wasn't speaking for some time while Tom was on the bike, but with the phone close to his ear he could hear some background noise and chatter going on between two people. After some more time the noise got louder and it sounded like Pauline was talking to Muji, but the speech was inaudible. Seeing Muji's attention stray away from him even while he was on the phone to him, Tom hanged up the phone and put it back in his pocket, accelerating on the road with his bike to try and overtake Toby. Jort inbound.
9:00PM
Muji was on mute for the rest of the day. Tom and Toby later arrived to the Jort town centre by bikes, putting them around the back alley that looked rather empty and secret. The problem for them now was inside the Black Raven Inn, it was a lot busier than yesterday even without a Jort football game on television. When the two entered, they could see the screens showing more football, and a more important match. It was another league match between two stronger teams, Castelia (CAS) against the Westfells (WEF), and yet, more people were watching this match in the Inn than those yesterday watching Jort.
"Now, we need food." Toby tried looking for a table, hopefully finding one upstairs. "Do you see that Koopa you were talking about last night?" Tom looked around the room, getting the attention of a few Koopas, including some pale ones, but again showing no danger or threat.
"Not at the moment, but I'm not going to squeeze through all these fans in order to find someone wearing face paint just yet." Tom followed Toby upstairs. "Let's eat first."
Unsurprisingly, the upstairs space was more filled than yesterday as well. Another cubicle along the aside was available for them to make an order and get dinner. Toby rushed over to briefly sit down and put his backpack on the side. Tom slid in on the other side afterwards and slouched himself in. He knew that he was going to spend a while here, so eating would be something he wanted to get out of the way first.
"We'll get the same as last night?" Toby quickly asked before getting out of his side of the table.
"Sure." Tom replied, looking around the room.
While Toby was downstairs, Tom observed the other tables, trying to find that human from yesterday if he was here again. An improbable event, but maybe by coincidence they would be here again. No human could be seen on the other side of the room, but one thing that did catch Tom's attention was long human hair sticking out from behind another cubicle further down the room. The face of this human head moved like it was in conversation with someone else, and eventually, the human leaned back on the edge of the table. "Oh God." He could see the human's head and upper body as it got out of the seat in the cubicle and immediately it noticed Tom. It was Tobias, and he was holding a phone to his left ear.
"… Is that… Tom here?" Tom quickly slid back in to the cubicle pretending that he didn't already notice the teenager who also happened to be in the Black Raven Inn tonight. Tobias didn't appear to approach immediately, as he went to put his phone back on his own table, but then he started to walk over to Tom. "This is a big surprise!"
Tom looked completely disinterested on the outside but couldn't fathom how on Earth Tobias ended up here as well on the inside. "Are you hiding up here as well?" He grinned.
"I'm just… lost for words!" Tobias seemed very excited to see Tom here and slid in to the seat on the opposite side. "Oh, are you here with someone else? I am. I shouldn't really keep him waiting."
"Duncan?"
"No, this other friend I made the other day. He's great. He's called Gunther. Another human like us!" Tobias got out of the seat and beckoned Tom to get up as well. "Come, I'll introduce you to him." Tom walked only three table cubicles down the room to see Tobias' friend that was seated on the opposite side. Their plates had already been taken away and everything else on the table looked very clean. "Tom, this is Gunther. Gunther, this is Tom." He saw sitting down a broader fellow with a large grey beard and dark grey hair, giving him a wide smile back.
"You're perhaps the most famous human out there at the moment." The two shook hands. "Gunther Tobin, a pleasure to meet you."
"Nice to meet you two." Tom was surprised at the enthusiasm this human showed. "How did you two meet each other then?" Met with an awkward laugh from both of them, Tobias spoke first.
"Just two humans alike in hiding after Rainbow Road I suppose! We're just waiting on Duncan to get back here. I was just on the phone with him and he's on his way back from the south. Apparently, Peach set fire to the Isle Port house, so that shows her lack of mercy." Tom nodded back and quickly looked behind his shoulder to see Toby coming up the stairs from the floor below with their dinner. He watched him place them down on their table cubicle and then wonder where Tom was, noticing him shortly after.
"Yeah, she wants all of us gone." He said back to Tobias.
"She'll want every human with critical thinking out of the south." Gunther added, making Tobias laugh.
"Guys, this is Toby." He introduced him as he approached the table. Toby immediately smiled upon seeing Tobias, offering to shake his hand.
"Great to see you again, kid." His expression quickly changed upon seeing the other human at the table.
"Gunther Tobin, a pleasure to meet you. Another great human you must be!" Toby refused to shake his hand.
"Gunther you say?" He repeatedly shook his head softly, backing away from him. The human looked back at him confused and was unsure why Toby was behaving this way. Tobias and Tom also looked a little confused at him, but with Toby grabbing on to Tom and trying to pull him back, Tom could sense something wrong. "Nope. No."
"What's wrong?" Gunther tried to reason with Toby's unusual behaviour.
"Stay put." He kept backing away, grabbing Tom close and whispering into his ear. "This was the type of person I was talking about. The name… I recognise it."
"Sorry, I don't know what's going on." Tobias started to feel uneasy with Gunther so close to him, unsure what to do next. While Tom and Toby were backing away from the unfamiliar human, a lot of the Koopas on the floor became distracted at the raised human voices, focusing their attention on what was going on.
"Fine. I'm just going to get up and leave. I won't cause you any harm." Gunther slid out of his seat.
"Uh, no!" Toby raised his voice as Gunther started to dash away to the stairs. "Somebody stop that man!" He shouted in the room, seeing some of the Koopas get up to grab him, but the human forcefully sent them all back after summoning and releasing a dark tentacle around his body, repelling the grips. Tom and Tobias gasped, but Toby showed fight, rushing to chase the human down the stairs. "Stop him! Stop him! STOP HIM!" He shouted to the floor below. Coming down the stairs, Gunther was only a few metres ahead of Toby, rushing towards the exit out of the Inn that was open and clear to run through. The human appeared to be channelling some magic with his arms, with his body glowing darker and darker until it almost blended with the night sky outside.
"Come here!" Toby shouted one more time, dashing across the floor and past the other Koopas who wanted to catch the human. Gunther was almost out of the building, but he immediately stopped in reaction to seeing something fly across his vision and make a loud stabbing sound against the wooden frame of the doorway. A large serrated blade pierced the side of the door frame and was only centimetres away from the human's eyes as he stopped. All of the magic coming out of his body disappeared and he remained frozen on the ground. His arms went up and his hands went behind his head. Toby stopped, surprised at Gunther stopping, and then noticed why he stopped. To the far left of the room was a female Koopa which stood out from the rest. As Tom and Tobias came down with a few other Koopas from upstairs, he too noticed the Koopa. It was the same one as yesterday, with a face partially covered in face paint. The room fell completely silent when the blade stabbed the door frame. He made a brief second of eye contact with the Koopa while she was walking towards Gunther, frozen on the spot in the room but lightly held by other Koopas by the arms.
"I said if you do that again, I'll take you back to Dargo." She said as she approached Gunther. "Perhaps father was right never to trust any of you shapeshifters." The Koopa looked around the room, feeling bad for interrupting all of the noise going on in the room. "My apologies. A round for everyone on my tab, Sir." The room regained its positive upbeat atmosphere after a wave of cheer came from all the Koopas toasting to her. "Let's take him outside." She whispered to the Koopas that were pinning Gunther on the spot. She looked back at Tom and Toby while escorting the human out and leaned her head up a little to beckon them over. Tobias finally came down the stairs as well, following the boys out. They all went around the back alley of the Black Raven Inn, near to where the bikes were left.
"I'm telling you. It wasn't my fault. It was those southern humans that made me leave. One of them threatened to kill-." The three entered the alley to see more Koopas accompanied by this female Koopa who seemed to be in charge. Many pinned the human to the alley and threw him into a body bag made of seemingly enchanted material.
"I've only known the guy for a minute." Tom stated from behind the Koopa who had her arms crossed, standing and watching the human get taken into a car boot parked in the alley.
"He's not really called Gunther Tobin is he?" Toby tried to get the Koopa's attention while the others were dealing with the human's body in the car. Most of them got into the car with him and began to drive out of the alley, making everyone else move out of the way.
"That man… if I can even call it a man, is indeed not really called Gunther. Yes, he's not actually a man, he is a… shapeshifter, and his name… is Túgulan." The Koopa turned around, engaging with the three others in the alley with her. She looked once more at Tom and gave him a nod of acknowledgement, just like yesterday.
"I remember reading up on those things somewhere. Very difficult history to find nowadays." Toby added, stepping forward and offering a handshake to the girl. "I'm Toby Jones. Thank you for dealing with him I suppose." The Koopa looked surprised to see him offering a friendly shake. She accepted it, but felt a little bit confused.
"I know the rest of you." She looked back at Tom mainly.
"And you are?" Tom responded quickly.
"Karisa…" She replied rather awkwardly; a strange change to her tone. "I bet all three of you are here because changes of circumstances made it so that you're unwelcome down south."
"Worse than that." Toby joked. "Princess Peach probably wants our heads."
"And you look like you're part of something bigger up here, Karisa." Tom spoke over Toby, grabbing her attention immediately. It was clear to him that she was more interested in him than Toby or Tobias. "She probably wants your head too."
"I don't think she knows who I am." She said with a sigh of relief. "Not that… I'm worried for myself about her. I think anybody who comes here now will learn that it's nothing like how she sees it. What happened in Aypyidaw was none of our doing. Everyone here's better off with that now anyway."
"Our doing?" Tom felt concerned. The stand-out appearance, the vibe of being part of something bigger, the female in charge of a Koopa gang, to Tom, this screamed a hostile Koopa leader of some sort.
"I'm a Dargovi, big deal." Karisa chuckled. "We may run this land but we weren't involved or had any idea it happened until after the fact."
"You're a Dargovi, I see. Well, we were always told it was the most dangerous place. How comes you're here then?" Before Karisa wanted to reply, she checked on the remaining Koopas that were with her, signalling them to go back inside the Black Raven Inn and that she would be with them later, assuring them that the three other humans were no threat to her and posed no danger.
"Because, Mister Tûnis, I don't want to be home at the moment. I don't really want to be near my father… or anyone else in my family for that matter. Besides, some people can do what they want, why can't I... Anyways… if you had food inside it's probably cold now. I'll get you all a round of something. Make yourselves home here."
"Wait a minute first." Tom stopped Karisa before she could get past them to head back to the Black Raven Inn. "How do you know my name that well?"
"Everyone knows your name." She replied bluntly, walking first back inside.
"I suppose…" Tom spoke plainly, only being heard by Toby and Tobias. "I guess dinner's back on." The three walked back around the front road before the Black Raven Inn and stepped back inside, only to be met with the same environment for only a few seconds. By the time they got to the middle of the front area, everyone went silent and looked straight back at them. Suddenly, Koopas from all sides rushed towards the humans grabbing hold of them. Tobias was knocked out instantly by what sounded like a bottle smashing into his head. He collapsed to the floor and was taken away by the Koopas while Toby and Tom were fighting against their restraints. Tom knew that there were too many of them grabbing hold of them and could only look straight ahead to see Karisa standing firmly across the room, watching over the rough action.
"Bag them." He saw her mouth move and assumed the worst. Tonight was nothing more than a setup in his eyes. What a waste and a mistake to turn back to here, at least, with a possible lead…
March 16 – 2:00AM
Some other town in the northwest…
Tom woke up to darkness. He was either in a dark room or the cloth bag around his head was thick and black, or both. He moved his legs around to gage where he was in terms of the environment. Everything feeling flat and angled made him believe he was indoors somewhere. There was faint chatter going on somewhere to his right, with the sound of voices getting louder and louder. Everything was inaudible until his bag was eventually taken off of his head. His arms and legs were tied together with rope so he wasn't able to move much, but now he was able to see. Karisa was the Koopa to take off his bag, and he appeared to be alone with her in some empty house room. She had a plate of food in her hand and lowered it all the way down to the floor. She also leaned in closer to Tom to release his binds on his arms, allowing him the freedom to move them anywhere.
"Eat up." She stood back up again.
"Hey wait." Tom tried to grab her attention while she was with him.
"What?" She said.
"What's going on? Why are you doing this?" Karisa looked down at him for a few seconds, hesitating to say anything before leaving abruptly. She walked out of the room and picked up her phone again, previously on a phone call to someone.
"I'm back." She whispered quietly to whoever was on the other end. "He's not showing much of a fight. It's like he's just happy to stay detained on the floor. The other one's been useless so far as well. He's not said a word since I took his bag off."
"Neither of them are the one dad's looking for. It's Enrique he wants, and there's no sign of him since the other day. Zane's given me no lead to him whatsoever." The person on the other end also whispered back to Karisa on her phone.
"What about Tarren's special girl, is she any use to him?"
"She wouldn't do. She's improper." Karisa stopped in the other room and looked back to the door leading to the small room that she left Tom in.
"I suppose I could ask him for clues about Enrique." She spoke quietly to the phone again. "If we get a lead, I suppose you'd be able to go find him, right?"
"If I can keep him out of Zane's sight… perhaps."
"I'll call you back." Karisa ended the call and walked back to Tom's room, opening the door up again and getting his attention while he was finishing off the plate of food she gave him.
"Where's Toby?" He asked her while eating, quick to instigate first.
"A different room. Trust me, he's doing just fine." She walked closer towards Tom and sat down just a few metres away in the room. "I didn't mean to… threaten you with what I did earlier. The problem is there are in fact people out there that want you dead regardless of how things have changed. Taking you into my responsibility and possession made it so nobody would be able to do this. There are extremists, you see." He read Karisa's expressions. It was evident that she was somewhat sincere about this. Tom could sense some guilt in her eyes, hoping it wasn't just a way to play along with his assumptions.
"Where are we now?" Tom asked softly with no raise of tone.
"Iltan. It's south of Dargo. Just out of my dad's sight." She replied, looking at the plate and noticing that he was finished with it. She took it from him and placed it on the other side of her body away from him and ready to take away when she leaves. "We've been following a lot on what's been happening ever since Tuesday. We also heard about what happened to your good friend Enrique, it's horrible."
"Enrique?" Tom gasped, but felt a bit suspicious of Karisa knowing his name as well. Realising that there was a slight chance that she could be lying, he wanted to hear more. "What's happened to him?"
"He's been taken back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Rumour has it that… they're planning… to do experiments on him. Perhaps a torture worse than death. You can thank the warlock for making it known to me, so I could tell you about it. You're not safe in the light. Even up here there might be spies."
"There are no spies." Tom quickly talked over Karisa. "If there were, we'd know, and then there wouldn't be any. The Mushroom Kingdom wouldn't send anyone beyond the mountains after what happened to the Red Martyrs. That place is a wasteland now, uninhabited."
"I don't necessarily refer to Mushroom Kingdom spies." Karisa grinned. "You have people up here that will spy on us for their own people. Take Miss Shellex for example. The Zarkans wouldn't want to do anything with us so they'll have people walking into these nearby towns wondering what my dad's planning on next. Moroq almost gave us an eternity of peace but as soon as there was peace, he vanished." Tom had no idea who these people Karisa mentioned were, but perhaps it would help build his understanding of how the north really worked. What mattered more to him at the moment was how he could get back to Enrique, assuming what Karisa said was true.
"Everything is just getting worse here for us." Tom sighed. "Are you able to bring Toby back in here?" Karisa got up and walked out of the door. Without saying a thing, she spent half a minute out of the room to return with Toby, looking untouched and clean. He too was given food but spoken to much less.
"Is this place safe for us then?" Toby asked both of them as he was escorted into the room.
"For now I suppose." Toby wasn't happy with Tom or Karisa. While he appeared fine on the outside, his mental state worsened through the night.
"I want to go home." He said. "I miss my friends." He turned round to Karisa, unsure what to do with them both. "You said Tom and I are safer here now in your boundaries. Will you be able to bring my friends here at least?" Karisa again didn't say a thing unsure what to do with the two inside the room.
"Enrique's in Mushroom City apparently. The Toads are going to be testing experiments on him." Tom and Toby watched Karisa walk out of the room slowly. While they weren't moving, she closed the door on them without saying a word. This time, she locked the door from the outside, trapping the two in there.
"Hey, wait!" Toby rushed over to the door as it closed on him, trying to open it from the inside but after it was locked he was out of use to open it. He repeatedly banged on the door, shouting for help and demanding her to come back but this time she walked on, away and out of their shouting range. "I hate it here." Toby groaned. We should have made it to the portal after Rainbow Road. Everything's become a right mess here. All our friends are spread out in the lands and there's hardly anything we can do about it. Hell, I don't even know where George and Luke are… No Will or Jack… no clue."
"Don't dwell on it now." Tom tried to be reasonable. "It's so late. We'll figure out something in the morning. Maybe Muji might be worth contacting."
"Does your phone have any charge left?" Toby walked over to the other side of the room and sat down opposite Tom. "I guess we're sleeping in here tonight."
"It's low but I'll turn it on in the morning. I have to make sure I conserve it for any possible reply."
"Send him a text now. Hopefully he could reply back to you in the morning." Toby tried to make himself comfortable in the room, figuring out a way to lie down on his side to fall asleep in the room. The light switch was in arm's reach away. He flicked the light off and the only light in the room now was coming from Tom's temporary phone.
"Thanks." He said to Toby, being able to turn the brightness all the way down to minimum. He compiled a large message for Muji, accounting for the name Karisa, Dargovi, being held captive, spies, and also possible experiments on Enrique. He could only hope for a reply in the morning. The phone battery was on 33%, so it was definitely enough for some time tomorrow. "Alright done. Here's to hoping for something new tomorrow. If we hear nothing from beyond the door then we're going to have to find a way to break out."
"Gotcha." Toby acknowledged. "Goodnight, Tom."
"Night."
…
Meanwhile, Karisa was still in the building. The other two weren't able to see that much of the building beyond the room, but this place was in fact a house of some sort. Karisa walked up the stairs to one of the bedrooms with her phone, feeling extremely tired. Before wanting to go to bed, she decided to make one last call on her phone. Hoping the other end would pick up. She got into the bed and under the duvet, lying on her side and looking at the phone screen as it was 'ringing'.
"You've reached the line of 'Sheridan'. Unfortunately I cannot take your call right-." After a minute of ringing there was no answer. Karisa groaned and closed her eyes, moving her phone across to the bed side table.
March 15, earlier in the afternoon
Blue Lake, Southwest Wuhu
Zane had returned to Blue Lake after spending the morning in Asterno. The dread of having to experience another time with Tarren lingered through his mind…
…
The three Koopas he had recognised going to the old man's ran-down shack on the edge of the spiral came back into memory. He had seen them before; a couple of times as a matter of fact. The two Koopas that acted as bodyguards were called Solleus and Tavernis, brothers. Both in service to the main Koopa called Sheridan of Dargo. He didn't ever find out about their names directly. It was only through Marrec did he find out about this and it was for even worse reasons. There was something that linked all of them in common, Tarren, Blumiere, Marrec, Sheridan and his two bodyguards, as well as a few others that have always been in hiding recently… Cackletta, Fawful, and some others Marrec did not want to ever share details about. As it turned out, the Count was there too while he was 'invisible' but only heard of, not to be seen from where he was camouflaged.
"That other Galaxyë man was just seen walking the streets earlier by us before we arrived here. He better not be spreading anything to people we don't want to have involved with this!" That voice was Sheridan's. He knew this because it was usually very quiet but also high-pitched. Almost mischievous and sound similar to Larry Koopa.
"What, Zane? No. I saw him earlier. He's no big deal." And that was Tarren from around the door, sitting on his chair still. "We've been informed of a problem however and that's what he came to tell me. The maid has not returned with the princess, and in order for me to come back to the north to resume our plans there, we need that girl. I'm going to have to ask you all to help me with this. Any princess will do at this rate." He was never able to find out why Tarren wanted to go back to the north, but he knew that Ioreth had permanently weakened him somehow unless she was able to somehow fix him.
"But wise ancient…" This was Blumiere's voice. "Have you not considered a possibility to reverse the effect that this maid has done to you, after everything you taught her?" He couldn't piece exactly what all of these people had in common, but the next time he would see Marrec, he had to ask.
"It won't do!" He overheard Tarren raise his croaky voice. "It has to be any one of the remaining princesses. Peach, Daisy, Rose… any of whoever's left. No exceptions to this! Sheridan, my friend. Your father needs me, and in order for me to help… you must do this for me. Do you understand?"
"I will let the family know." He saw shadows in the room showing Sheridan kneeling down before Tarren in his chair. "We will not fail you."
"Blumiere, inform the others wherever they may be, but do not inform any royal Koopa! They are of no use to us now!" What happened next was a sudden loud noise of vanishing. The count had disappeared from the house, and the Dargovi Koopa and his bodyguards disappeared from another way out. The old man was now left alone, and this was where Zane revealed himself. He walked through the hallway after no longer being invisible, reappearing in front of Tarren.
"I knew you were here." Tarren whispered again with a croak to Zane. "Bring me a girl, any girl, to keep your old friend living." He didn't want to speak to him anymore, but the threat was there for Rose, or Éclair, or anyone else mentioned.
"What business do you have with the north?" That was the only thing he could say back to Tarren. The old man could only heckle and laugh back.
"Why do you act so surprised?" He coughed a few times. "You seemed to have been on board with this plan for decades. Why ask about it now? Look at me. I've been hiding for twenty years. I'm not going to just stop right as it's about to start." Zane grew sick of Tarren's laughter, leaving the room. "Go on, run! You can't stop the inevitable!"
…
And that was why Zane wanted to return back to Blue Lake. Not only for Ioreth, but for Rose as well. Every bit of royalty had to be informed. Not just Rose, but Éclair, Mona, Pauline, Peach and Daisy. No matter how much these girls affiliated themselves with the style, they were all equally vulnerable.
From what he remembered, the two were kept in different security centres in different cities. Ioreth was definitely in Blue Lake, but from Nuto's last conversation with him, Rose was going to be kept somewhere in the Wuhu Capital, likely under surveillance of Princess Éclair. Where he could find one, he could find the other. Ioreth seemed like a lost cause however. Being a first-hand witness to all the damage done over the last twenty-four hours by her, there was nothing he could think of to do to rescue her. The matter of importance in rescuing her was low as well. She's Tarren's problem, not his.
Upon returning to the security centre, he found out that the area had been closed down. All front doors to the main buildings were locked, and there were no sign of anybody working there anywhere. A notice however, appeared pasted onto the main building's door. Zane walked up to the note and began reading.
Closed until further notice.
All convicts and cases have been relocated to the East Shore branch at 14 Wool Park Road, W16 BS5.
Unsure whether this was related to the recent incident at all, Zane had no choice but to travel across the lake the long way around. The southern bridge was completely shut off as a result of Ioreth's schemes and the northern side was heavily packed with the city centre afternoon atmosphere.
…
This area was a whole lot busier, with more cars parked outside the main offices. Unfortunately, the outside area looked very occupied as well, as Zane's movement was immediately noticed and several Koopas in police uniform went over to stop him.
"Excuse me sir, you're not allowed to walk through this area." One of the lead officers spoke to him, holding his walking. "We're off limits." He was unsure what to do, and unsure whether he would be allowed to see Ioreth anyway.
"I'm here to see Mr. Forznik, and his colleague Kranju. Have they moved to here from the western side?" He asked the police officers, but most of them just wanted Zane out of here, irrespective of whether they knew him or not.
"We can't help you at the moment. Please leave the area." Some of the vehicles in the front were also departing, with the sirens active. Taken out of the way, Zane could only watch as the entire front area was completely barred off for non-workers. Confused by this, Zane hoped Ioreth would be in there somewhere. Hopefully by other means he would be able to get there and extract any information from her. This called for magical measures. Walking further out of the way and out of everyone's sight, Zane channelled magical energy into his body, lifting himself up and cloaking himself silently, able to float over the fences and through an open window on one of the other floors of the main building. The inside appeared far quieter than the outside. All that was left was to hopefully find Ioreth here somewhere. He put his ear close to the wall as well as his arm, feeling the vibrations in the walls. One more bit of magical prowess later… and… one floor up and three rooms ahead.
He hadn't used this much magic in a very long time. Phasing through the prison walls, he came across Ioreth trapped in a dark room with very little to do in there. He sensed a magical barrier inside the room, but it could easily be tampered with. Whatever strength it has to deal with Ioreth, it was no match for Zane. Two wand-less magicians in a room full of silence. Any security cameras in the room would see him as invisible.
"Are you here to rescue me?" She didn't even twitch at seeing him phase through the wall to appear before her in her cell. Her enthusiasm seemed completely ruined. Whatever happened to her here in the last twelve hours sapped a lot of life out of her.
"Why did you attempt this for him?" Zane asked back. "Why didn't you just let him rot away where he remains and leave him, never for him to be able to do anything to you ever again?" Walking towards her, trying to confront her, she turned scared and afraid of him, unsure why.
"I have nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide!" She shouted and whispered at the same time. "What I did to him left a mark in my mind that meant I could never leave him, for if I did then something is going to stop at nothing to return me to his command. He told me… that for undoing what I did to him by giving him the royalty that was promised… that he would set me free. It doesn't matter now. Only you can truly set me free from here." He raised his eyebrow just as Ioreth leapt from her bed in the cell and tried to grab hold of him. "You've got to get me out of here!" Zane pushed her away, using his magical powers to move Ioreth back on to her bed.
"Wait." He demanded. "Wait a minute. I was there at his last night. He said that not only does he want Rose, but he wants any of the royal princesses. The problem is, he said that to all of his… servants… but to me… he said he didn't care if it's royal or not. What's going on?"
Ioreth shook her head, repeatedly hesitating. "I don't know what you're talking about." She paused for another two seconds. "I… I don't know who he's on about… unless… it's those people. The torturous people. He's uniting the secret society."
"Secret society?"
"There were many." She started speaking very quickly, looking demented. "The King Koopa's brother, the Count, the Bean Witch and Lord, the Asquias, the three Dargovi… and… and your friend Marrec, and worst of all… the… the… the Weapons Distributor!" She fell silent, plainly looking straight ahead. The noise of movement coming from outside started to enclose on the cell from a few metres away. The cameras above were being watched. "Save the Princesses." She whispered one last time before closing her eyes and losing balance. Zane backed away and remained almost invisible in the corner of the room. There were a few Koopas who came to her supposed rescue, unsure of her behaviour that led up to this.
"Is she awake?" One of the Koopas asked the others, reaching for the body. "She was just shouting to herself!"
"Pulse detected." Another said.
Ioreth is unlikely dead, but whatever she said to Zane had a chance of not genuinely being from her. Nothing more could be gained from being here as the others saw to her, and unfortunately there seemed to be no sign of Nuto or Kranju here either. Hopefully the Koopas here would be able to document any of this strange incident.
…
Later on, after declaring the police station to be ruled out for any help, Zane's next intention was to go straight to the Wuhu capital to inform both Princess Éclair and Princess Rose. However, before heading to the station, he received a call from the unlikeliest of people at this time. In immediate desperation, he did not hesitate to pick it up.
"Hey."
"Hey." After an awkward exchange and wholesome sigh of relief, he smiled. "You don't happen to be in Blue Lake do you?"
"I am, why?"
"I'm here. Just on the other side of a fence because I can see your kart parked across it. I can't believe that I might have been able to see you again. Please, come back to the kart." He knew where it was and immediately hanged up. Zane rushed forth, longing to meet with his sister after all these days.
In a different car park, further south of the police station, he arrived and saw her waiting anxiously alone next to the black Aero Glider. The two noticed each other at first without any noise heard by them. The two just knew. They turned and looked at each other in the eyes. Zane stopped as Rosalina rushed forward through the light rain and reaching out to give him the biggest hug in years.
"Please." She was almost sobbing. "Don't hide from me ever again now. You and I… we need to stick with each other." Her face and eyes were buried in his left shoulder, tucking in to his arms. "I… lost Enrique. His arrogance was too much for me to handle. I'm sorry."
"No it's fine." Zane replied with both arms gripped into the hug. "It's better he doesn't see his grandfather. Bad things are coming." Rosalina leaned back and looked back at him in the eyes. "Worse things are coming. Every princess is in danger."
Something flashed before her eyes. "Wait a minute Zane." She humbly pulled him closer, keeping her arms around him. "I need this. I really needed this." The rain, the lightning strikes in the dark upper-skies gave a freakish sense of danger and suspense, but it meant nothing to her while she was in his arms again after all that's gone wrong.
"Ok…" Zane looked around awkwardly but was happy with it in the end. "Sure." It continued this way as the rain started to gradually get worse. Neither of them seemed to care about it though, Rosalina's conscience was too invested in the delightful euphoria of meeting such an important figure to her in the middle of this strange town.
"I'm without my wand, Zane." She finally spoke after letting go of him in the rain. "I've been without it for days and I can't see myself ever getting it back any time soon."
"We have to get out of here anyway." Zane replied, with his speech being partially interrupted by the thunder coming from the western storm. "As I said before, each and every princess is in danger. Tarren has a council, and has sent them all in search to bring any girl back to him for something grave and horrible… Whether it was your intention or not, you were right to give up pursuing bringing Enrique to him; it would have only made things worse." The rain was getting worse and the two were starting to be unable to hear each other.
"We've got to get out of here and then you can talk more about what you're worrying about; princesses in danger and whatnot." Rosalina started hurrying to the nearest area of shelter as the rain became significantly heavier. Zane, however, stood in the rain, getting drenched and looking straight ahead. "Zane? What are you doing?" He slowly turned around to his sister's cry.
"I don't know." He shouted back. "I never thought I would be doing this."
"What's wrong?" She ran back into the rain and tried to grab Zane, pulling him through the area to go to an area underneath shelter outside a few buildings on the nearby street.
"Tarren wants any princess. He's sent all of his members out to hunt for them, wherever they might be."
"Any princess?" The two could hear each other clearly now. "So, Peach, Daisy, Éclair?"
"Any that is or was." Zane explained to her. "Even if they're not really a princess. You know that category. Those left of the sixteen from back in the day."
"Pauline…" Rosalina gasped. "They'll go to New Donk City then!"
"Pauline's there. Éclair and Rose are in the Wuhu Capital. We've got to go there first, but… who do we warn, them? If we warn the Mushroom Kingdom they'll go after us. They won't believe us." Even Zane started to appear worried, but Rosalina tried to snap the feeling out of him.
"Don't do it for Peach and Daisy. Do it for Pauline, do it for Mona, do it for Éclair and Rose. They're the one who have the slightest care for you and me nowadays, especially Pauline. We'll have to get to the capital before it's too late. Who exactly is going to be after them? These so-called members of Tarren's council?" Zane's lack of cooperation annoyed her. She grew more frustrated and aggressive at him to the point she was grabbing him by his clothes and shaking his body about to get him to focus.
"Rosalina." He used his hands and channelled a light knockback force to push her away, snapping out of what might have been a mental distraction to her. "I think Tarren's council is… is… it's the secret society. The Count could be after them, Fawful and Cackletta, maybe not Boom and Pom or Bowser's brother, but there were a few others I heard about it too, a few Koopas, and these aren't any ordinary Koopas."
"He's summoning all the evils from underground… wait, does that mean… Marrec could be after the princesses? Wasn't he part of it too?"
"I don't think everyone in this council is part of the secret society, and I don't think everyone who is part of the secret society is in this council… but… most of them." Zane was still really worried. "We have to go, now. For the others' sake and we have to go fast." He looked at his kart in the rain and sighed. "We're going to have to fly." He knew that somebody out there might take care of his car considering it was moved to that space in that car park to begin with. Originally being just before the eastern side of the southern bridge in the city, the police force of Blue Lake were the ones who moved it. Nobody could drive it without Zane's keys.
"I can't…" Rosalina sobbed. "My wand, it's at the castle. They stole it from me Zane, they took it from me! I can barely do anything without it!" Angered by something from the past, he looked back at his car.
"This is why I told you, you should have joined me when I got rid of mine. Some things you just have to get over…"
The memory flashed before her eyes in the rain as she was looking at the Aero Glider. It was there the day the two went out into the woods all those years ago. Once again, in the nineties, shortly after the Great Mushroom Wars had ended. A deserter of the Galaxyë rebels, taken into Zane's hands and placed on top of a hill in the vast wilderness, all tied up.
"Come on. This is the time for us to go further than we could ever before!" He was up ahead, with her own body tied up and held just behind her. Both bodies were badly wounded, and likely to die anyway that night. Rosalina looked at hers, dragging it through the muddy woodlands. It was barely alive, but making disturbing noises of pain and agony, almost convenient for it to die this way eventually. Looking at the body disturbed her more though, having to drag a human body that looked like it just wanted to depart now seemed like more pain for it than death itself. "Rosalina? Are you coming?" She heard Zane call out again as she reached the foot of the hill.
"I'm coming…" Rosalina said back to him loudly, looking back at the body and contemplating it all. Zane started rushing down the hill, his body presumably all the way up it by now. With his wand in hand, he tried to lift Rosalina's sacrifice and bring it up with him instead of letting her do it.
"Don't know why you're feeling mercy for these guys. They're going to get it anyway. We just need them for a little while longer." She stood further down and watched Zane rush up with the other body, preparing himself to make use of his own collected one first. Reflecting back on this memory, Rosalina wished she had just listened to him. To run up the hill and do exactly what he did that day, but the kindness and gentleness of her heart persuaded her otherwise.
"I'm sorry, brother." She whispered to herself as tears started to flow down her cheeks. She couldn't take the risk and cruelty anymore and ran for it, deserting him on that dark hill in the woods. Minutes later whilst running, something happened and to this day she didn't know exactly how it happened, but a large beam of thin light, almost like a laser, shot upwards straight through the clouds of the night sky, penetrating all in its path to the upper atmosphere. She had no idea when the light ended or how long it would go on for, but one thing she did know, one of those bodies was gone.
…
What annoyed Rosalina the most now, was that the other body would perish that night too, regardless of if it would have been due to a sacrifice or presumably blood loss or Zane straight up murdering him, the regret of not partaking in what he did that night became fully clear to her now. She never saw him with a wand since, and now without hers, she wished she didn't need one anyway.
"I know. You think I don't regret that?" What annoyed her most now was that she wouldn't be able to come close to anyone else to use as a sacrifice for this power her brother had. A Galaxyë rebel deserter after the Great Mushroom Wars wounded enough to the point beyond saving and soon to perish shortly after anyway. Perhaps the swift death in the sacrifice would have been less painful in the end. The problem she had was she would feel more guilt in trying to get someone to use than to actually perform the action. She would need her wand to perform it today anyway, so now she was truly out of most of her magic.
Zane sighed under the shelter and pulled out something from his pockets. It was a key, and he handed it over to her. "Take my kart then. It's the fastest way to the capital without having to take the trains. I'd prefer you to take the kart though, because I don't really want to leave it here. I probably have intentions of using it afterwards." She looked at the kart in the distance, seeing the rain pouring down on it and making everywhere including the driving seat wet.
"It's going to take me hours to get there, Zane." Rosalina shook her head. "Look at this weather. I don't think the kart's going to be practical at all."
"Fine." He growled, walking into the rain towards the kart. Before considering getting into it, he turned around to Rosalina and let her watch him get rained on. His thick navy blue hair dropped down and covered most of his face. His dark outfit soaked a lot of the water and started to get heavy. "Go and take the train then. I'll see you in the capital when you get there." He jumped into the kart. Rosalina started hearing noises of frustration coming from her brother as he tried to start up the engine. It worked, and Rosalina was still watching him. He turned around and realised something.
"I don't want to leave you though." She called out. "I can't yet trust you not to leave me again." Zane used his magic to light up the car, centring the focus in front. At the same time, he wrapped his hands and created a small makeshift barrier of magic above the car, lighting up briefly and preventing any of the heavy downpour from landing on him or the car. Unfortunately, this was something he had to channel repeatedly and couldn't drive at the same time.
"Get over here then." He grinned. "You're driving."
Rosalina smiled, rushing through the rain to hop into the seat next to his, getting behind the wheel. "You'll be paying the insurance."
"Don't you dare." Zane laughed…
9:00PM
Wuhu Capital
The sky was dark but the clouds were not. The storms of the southwest had not yet reached here. Lying in the centre of the Capital City is the old Wuhu King's palace, now housing Princess Éclair in recent days she along with her forces had taken Princess Rose back for safety from Ioreth, but also for questioning. Éclair had cleared the throne room, a place she does not often occupy, for privacy with Rose. Every time she looked at the throne, she felt that it was rather undeserved to sit on and would never choose to. She was never really interested in sovereignty over the people of Wuhu, especially nowadays, but due to recent terrors, she felt compelled to do so.
Meanwhile, the two others had arrived to their surprise. Zane had passed the castle guards without the two in the throne room knowing, and freaked out in reaction to seeing him bust the doors open.
"Sorry to show up unannounced." Zane walked forwards, startling the two and walking forwards. Rosalina snuck through the doorway shortly after, closing both doors behind her.
"You…" Princess Éclair backed away all the way to the throne. "Are you here to kill me?" She looked visibly afraid and this upset both him and Rosalina. Zane stopped, shocked.
"What? No." He said back anxiously. "I'm here to protect you."
"Then you can leave." Éclair spoke over him and quickly regained her confidence. "You're a threat to the peace here. You're better off leaving. I have enough protection from my guards and allies as it is… and if you're here for Rose, she's not for sale. I'll bring all the guards up here if it means preventing you from taking her."
"Please, not again." Rose was also worried, backing away to the wall at the side of the throne room. She also looked at Rosalina, afraid of her too.
"This isn't any basic threat. You're all in danger. You two, Peach and Daisy, Pauline and Mona, all of you. A band of dangerous mercenaries are out for all princesses. I only learned of this earlier today. You two equally warned first. We need to warn the others, but I feel like that's going to be very difficult with the way things have been going recently." Zane didn't want to come off as intimidating or threatening to Éclair, but she didn't' seem persuaded by him at all.
"How am I supposed to know if this isn't a con set up by you or not? You haven't told me what exactly we're expecting." She stepped forward, confronting Zane to his face and looking up to him. "You're full of lies. Full of chaos. I've seen from afar what you've done to these lands. The Wuhu massacre, the toils in the east. Get out of my sight, or I will have no choice but to get my own spell-casters to deal with you." She pointed to the door, trying to protect Rose whilst forcing authority over Zane to leave, but he refused.
"Wait." Rosalina halted Zane before he could say anything back.
"You? Cosmos-girl." Éclair chuckled. "I don't think we've met before. I don't know much about you either, but if you're with him you're likely no good."
"Call Zane crooked, demented, chaotic, whatever. I know him enough to know when he's lying and when he's playing both sides of this… but I assure you, my brother… isn't lying. You all need to get out of the city. You're all vulnerable targets for a cult of dangerous creatures. Koopas and Humans alike, sorcerers and dark magicians, I've been told the fears. Things are only going to get worse for you if you do not leave, for they will come for you." Éclair turned her attention to Rosalina, walking over to her. She had a concerned look on her face, hesitating to choose to believe her. Rose on the other hand, seemed visibly convinced.
"Rosalina would never lie to you." She tried to persuade Éclair. "Is… the green-clothed witch part of this group of people? What news from Blue Lake, Zane?"
He became reminded of his last encounter with the witch in the eastern-side prison, recalling the possibly tragic event. "The last I saw of her, she cried words as if she was possessed. Ioreth could be one of many involved in this group of evil people. A dangerous man has summoned them all and brought them to this task of capturing you. I've witnessed it all unfold." He looked back to the brown-dressed princess. "Princess Éclair, does the name Cackletta ring a bell to you?" Shock to her eyes, but no change in the level of fright in her mind.
"Banished last year, thought never to be heard of again. How dare you speak that name to me in these walls?" Her supposed fear turned to anger, her face starting to turn red. "You cannot tell me that she is back. I refuse to believe it!"
"They're not lying to you!" Rose tried to snap any delusion out of Éclair's thought process. "Why would they lie to you about something such as this?" She tried to be the voice of reason, standing between her and Zane, with Rosalina still a few metres away from the rest. "You need to warn the others, one way or another. Éclair, you have contact with Peach or Luigi, right? You have to get a hold of them. They need to be told about this because you never know, they could be first." She started to move towards Zane's side, showing allegiance to him over Éclair, despite originally being taken here under Éclair's supervision. It was clear to her that she wanted to side with Zane and Rosalina, wanting to listen to them and depart from the capital and go back into hiding. Éclair on the other hand did not buy this at all, still too sceptical of Zane and Rosalina with the lack of understanding of the two and going off of only what Peach and Daisy had told her in recent days. To both of them, they are not to be trusted, and also wanted by The Mushroom Kingdom. This realisation had only came in to her mind now, giving her incentive to instead capture the two with her forces in the capital and return them to Peach's Castle.
"Don't forget what you were doing before that witch showed up!" She shouted straight at Éclair, angered at her for leaving her side. "You were meant to be held captive for your silly little antics on the south coast. Of course you're going to side with a bunch of space smackheads!" She started to walk backwards, almost in front of the throne and going up the steps. "Peach and Daisy were right. I should be sending them back to you. Tell me why I shouldn't?" For the first time this year, Éclair sat atop the waffle throne inside the Wuhu Capital castle, subtly nudging her knees against the left arm of the chair.
"We can't let one go." Zane tried to persuade her again. "They don't need all of you. They need just one, which means we cannot make sacrifices." He walked over to her, going as dangerously close as to stepping foot on the steps to the throne. Éclair didn't hesitate, for what she had done with her knees was just noticed by Zane. There was a button to the side, and it quietly alerted guards, for the loud noise of people showing up from all entrances to the throne room. Most of them were Koopas and Toads armed with weapons: lances, pikes and spears, and then there were some pointing wands straight at Zane. Rosalina and Rose became surrounded, and Éclair still said nothing by the time they all stopped. Everything was now hers to decide. Zane had frozen on the spot halfway up the steps, seemingly trapped unless he had to use magic.
"Even if you weren't lying, why would I choose you… a fugitive, over what I have surrounding me? I may not be the most dedicated to leadership, but I sure know how to manage it." She raised her hand forward and flicked it, shooing Zane back down the steps, still surrounded by guards but none pressing forward to him yet. "You say the witch is detained, dealt with? Good. One less problem for the east. You two should be next. I could have all three of you imprisoned for this trespassing! Let alone trying to snatch this girl from here. She may be on the same level as the rest of us in your imagination, but that girl is no good." She got up from the throne again and started to walk down it, looking Zane almost directly into his eyes being a step higher to be level in height. "She's also of no use to me. You may take her and leave promptly, never to return to the Capital ever again. Consider this mercy." Seeing everyone surrounding him, as well as Rosalina and Rose both being cornered too, Zane had no choice but to give in. He looked down and gave Éclair the nod of confirmation.
"Thank you." He sighed. "Don't come back to us if your people suffer from your perhaps inevitable demise." He whispered, with Éclair being the only one to pick up on his bitterness.
"There's nothing anyone can do to take me. I have the power of the Wuhu government and the Beanbean Kingdom beside me. To assault me is a mission set up to failure… to do it in my own home…" She laughed briefly. "Now go. Get out of here before I change my mind on my mercy."
And so, the evening passed with Éclair remaining inside the Waffle Castle, known in modern times as the Wuhu Capital Castle. A failed attempt for Zane and Rosalina to take the Princess into safety and into hiding led to a night of fleeing through the rain. At least one listened to them tonight.
EOC: A slow start to the next quarter but a start nonetheless. A relatively short chapter too but one that gets the ball rolling.
See you next chapter!