Chapter 10 A Bill Blaster

As Mario explained his predicament to Ruby, he made sure to pay extra careful attention to her face. On some level, he dreaded the expression she would wear, as more than likely she would either not believe him or give him the stare one usually gave to a lunatic. Interestingly though, Mario didn't see that in her face. Sure, she didn't look like she blindly believed him, but she also didn't write him off as sounding nuttier than a Waddlewing. Mario supposed that was a good sign, so he allowed himself to continue with his tale of woe.

"So, I ran away from Toad Town and just wandered around for a bit," Mario said, coming close to the conclusion. "I rested underneath that apple tree and… well, that's where you found me."

Silence. Honestly, Mario could practically feel the tension and suspense hanging down on him as he waited for Ruby's response. They were so thick and heavy, as if the oxygen in the atmosphere had been replaced with corn syrup. He sweat (again, he couldn't believe that he could do that in his reptilian form) as he waited for her to answer. His stomach churned, and it felt as though his heart was going to explode in a bloody mess.

"That's awful," Ruby finally said. Her tone was what really struck Mario as odd. She didn't sound dismissive about this whole scenario. If anything, she sounded like she believed him. Mario actually had to step back and do a double take at that fact.

"It is…" Mario said. He put his hand up to his scaly face, cringing as he ran his hand down his cheek. "It… it feels so unnatural. Unnatural and… scary."

Ruby paused for a moment before nodding. "I can only imagine."

Mario let out a sigh as he put his hand down. Once again, he thought about what was required of him to do if he wanted to break this spell. It felt like he had to climb to the peak of Mount Everest. Alone. Naked. And without any sort of mountaineering equipment.

"Are you sure it was Bowser?" Ruby asked after a little bit of time dedicated to thinking. "I mean, there are possibly thousands of magikoopas in the Koopa Kingdom. How do you know that it was Kamek, acting under Bowser's command?"

Mario's insides squirmed. "Well… to tell you the truth, I don't. I don't really know for absolute certain." He chuckled. "But… well, it is the most educated guess I can make." He looked down at the floor. "And plus, it's the only possibility in my mind that makes any lick of sense."

Ruby nodded. "I see…"

There was another round of silence before Mario decided he had more woes that he wished to talk about. "And let me tell you, Ruby. I for the life of me have no idea what to do from here." He bit his lip. "Having to pilot a scaly koopa body is bad enough, but it's made even worse when I consider that I have no way to fight off against Bowser to remove the curse! I can't use power ups, my physical stats are wildly different than what I'm used to. It… it seems impossible." He hung his head. "So very much impossible."

Surprisingly, Ruby walked up to him, put her hand on his chin, and titled his head up so he could look into her face. To his surprise, she wore a smile, a smile that actually looked… reassuring?

"It's not impossible."

Mario raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"I don't," she said. "But I do know a thing or two about impossible odds." Her face looked a little grim as she spoke this next sentence. "In my life, I've had a lot of encounters with the impossible. There were times where I thought that what I wanted would never happen. As a matter of fact, I'm going through a trail of that nature right at this very moment." She frowned, her eyes looking… misty. "But, even with that in mind, I choose to have hope. The impossible has unwound itself and turned itself into the possible before. So, I have a feeling it will do it again." She looked Mario right in his eyes, wearing her previous smile once again. "I have no doubt that that will be the case for you too. You just gotta believe."

Mario almost snorted; the only thing that prevented him was a bout of self control. "Believe, huh?" He ran his hand through his now fiery red hair. "That…" He didn't know what to say. On some level, what Ruby just told him sounded like the same crap that new parents tried to shove down their children's throats. Follow your dreams. Believe in yourself, listen to your heart. What Ruby was saying was on the exact same level as those words. And just like those words, they didn't provide the adult Mario any semblance of comfort. Maybe this was because he grew up in a family that taught him to rely on the practical, but those words just seemed too… silly.

"I don't know if I can do that," Mario said, using the utmost honesty in front of Ruby. And this wasn't just because the words sounded silly, it was also because he didn't really have any hope that things would turn out for the better in this scenario. He of course didn't say that to the hopeful Ruby's face, but the words were still hearable at max volume inside his head.

Ruby paused, looking thoughtful. "Well… then I'll help you do it." She smiled. "There is no such thing as a scenario completely devoid of hope. And I'm going to prove it to you by giving you something that might help you on your journey."

That made Mario do a double take. What? What could Ruby possibly have that could aid him on his journey? There were very few things that he believed could, especially seeing how he couldn't use any power ups in his current form.

"What would that be?" he asked, on some level feeling his curiosity override his hopelessness.

Ruby smiled. "Follow me."

With a skeptical yet curious mood, Mario followed her. It didn't take them long to get to where Ruby wanted to go; a storage closet. She opened it carefully, ducking inside like the closet contained the most dangerous (or most illegal) kind of items. This behavior only made Mario's curiosity grow even stronger. He waited for Ruby to come out, all while his mind tried to picture what it was that Ruby was so certain could help him.

After about two minutes, the sound of Ruby grunting sounded from the other side of the door. This made Mario blink; seriously, what was in there? He waited, his heartbeat speeding up, for Ruby. When the door finally opened, he noticed a look of pained effort on her face. And one look at what she had in her hands informed Mario of the reason why.

"Is… is that a bill blaster?"

Ruby nodded. With a groan, she laid the weapon down on the ground, clearly taking the effort to not drop it on Mario's feet. Mario stared at the blaster with a dropped jaw, looking at its shiny surface with a tiny bit of fear (as well as a tiny bit of reverence).

"I've… I've only ever seen these kinds of things once before," he murmured. He looked into Ruby's green eyes. "Where did you get it?"

Ruby let out a laugh, although part of it sounded a little hollow. "It's a treasure from my past." She curled a strand of hair over her ear. "I was… well, I was 'acquainted' with someone who used this sort of thing. We haven't… well, we haven't seen each other in a while, but I still keep hold of his bill blaster. You… you know, for safe keeping."

Mario frowned. He couldn't take his eyes off the bill blaster, and he wasn't exactly trying to either. "That's amazing," he said. He leaned down and touched the surface of the weapon. It felt so smooth, so… perfect. There didn't seem to be one unwelcomed dent on the blaster's surface. He supposed that made sense, as there was also a lot of dust on it. Couldn't exactly ruin it if you weren't taking the time to use it.

"And you're giving it to me?" Mario asked after a little bit more fondling.

Ruby nodded. "I don't have any use for it. But you… well, I think it could help you."

Mario thought about this. Sure, the thing wasn't anywhere close to the comfort or familiarity of a power up. But, if Mario figured out how to use it properly… well, it would certainly be a big help. It would allow him to go up to Bowser with a chance of emerging victorious. It was like an answer to an unspoken but still very desperate prayer.

"Ruby… thank you!" Mario actually managed to smile. "Thank you so much!" He bent down to pick up the blaster. He had expected it to be heavy, so he was mightily surprised by his ability to hold it without feeling like he was going to topple over. "This is absolutely amazing!" He looked down at the item, all at once feeling mightily concerned about something. "But… but how will I be able to carry it? A lot of jumping is required to get to the Koopa Kingdom from here, and with this monstrosity in my hands…"

Ruby laughed. "You can just put it in your hammerspace."

Mario blinked. "My what?"

"Your hammerspace. It's the area inside the koopa shell." She smiled. "I don't know whether this is because of some magical blessing or some science that I'm not too familiar with, but that area is big enough to store any item a koopa could possibly want in there." She looked at Mario, an eagerness that he didn't usually see from people in her eyes. "Try it out!"

Mario stood still for a minute, trying to wrap his mind around what Ruby just told him. After a bit, he picked up the bill blaster, figuring it wouldn't hurt to try this out. He leaned his head forward and stuffed the bill blaster into his new shell. He honestly hadn't known what to expect (if anything). So, doing this was a pleasant surprise.

"Oh my word, it worked!" He smiled, feeling a sort of "discovery joy." "This is amazing; I don't even feel any extra weight!" He walked around, smiling wider than he had since before he got cursed. "This is amazing!" He turned toward Ruby. "It really is incredible, Ruby! How did you know about this?"

Ruby hesitated. "Um… well, I have my reasons."

"Fair enough." Mario walked around a little bit more, excitement and joy showing through on his face. "Oh Mama Mia, this is perfect! Now I actually have a chance of defeating Bowser! I'll be human again in no time!" He looked back over at Ruby. "Thank you." He went over to her, taking her hand and shaking it. "I owe you a lot, ma'am. Is there anything I can do for you in return for this?"

"Oh no," Ruby said with a shake of the head and a smile. "It's perfectly fine Mario; you don't need to do anything for me. Just… just do your best and live your best life once you return to normal."

Mario laughed. "That is more than doable." He turned toward the door. "Well… if you don't mind, I feel as though I should start my trek toward the Koopa Kingdom." He looked back at Ruby one last time. "Seriously, thank you so much."

"You're welcome." She waved at him. "Good luck, Mario!"

Mario waved back at her before exiting the house.