Chapter 15 Beauty in the Fire

Two days after the incident, the doctors finally decided that Mario was fit and healthy enough to be discharged. And now, at this very moment, Mario was being wheeled out of his hospital room to the front entrance. A sweet situation… that held the slightest bitterness because of the fact that Mario still had to get his life back. Sure, he could and probably would continue on his path toward Bowser's Castle when he had recovered one hundred percent. But… how would he be able to fight against the Koopa King? The bill blaster Ruby had gifted him was who knows where, so the option of using that weapon wasn't available. So… what option was? He couldn't use power-ups. He didn't have any other weapons, and his ginormous koopa shell would get in the way of him being able to do the athletic stunts he was known for. Which meant that he was more or less stuck.

Oh well. He probably shouldn't dwell on that. It hurt to think about; hurt more than anything else in the world at the moment. Doing so would cause him unnecessary pain, and would cause him to think himself into a corner. He shouldn't focus on that. Instead, he should do something that his father taught him when he was really little: focus on the here and now.

"Okay, you should be all set," the doctor said when they got to the entryway. Mario immediately saw the Goldleafs, waiting for him in the chairs. They smiled at him, with the eyes of the twins growing wide as they gasped in delight. Mario chuckled as they rushed over to him and started bouncing around.

"You're okay!" Gabby exclaimed. "You're okay; you're actually okay!"

Mario chuckled once more, the energy this Koopa girl had reminding him of some of his younger nieces, nephews, and cousins. "Yeah. I'm alright." For the most part.

Adam stopped giggling and looked at the wheelchair Mario was currently sitting in. "Why are you in a wheelchair?" He looked up at Mario with genuine curiosity. "Do your legs not work? Are you a quad… quad… someone who can't walk?"

Mario chortled, as did Opal and Michael when they came over. "Don't you remember, Adam?" Michael said. "People riding in wheelchairs is hospital procedure when they are discharged. Our new friend's legs probably work just fine."

"Oh." Adam giggled. "Right."

Mario smiled, looking at this little boy and his sister, who waited in breathless anticipation for the doctor to tell them what to do. It was… it was cute. It kind of surprised Mario, but in what was probably the nicest way possible.

"He'll be able to recover in no time at all," said the doctor. She handed what looked like a bottle of pills to Opal. "Make sure he takes these once a day in the evening. By the time the bottle is empty, he should be fully recovered."

Opal looked at the pill bottle, shaking it and making its contents rattle. "We can do that." She handed the bottle to Mario, who took it gingerly.

"Awesome." The doctor smiled down at Mario, her teeth and eyes sparkling in the most unique way. "Well… this is where I leave you. Good luck with getting better, sir."

"Thank you," Mario whispered with a nod. Once the doctor left, he looked back at the Goldleafs. Michael was doing some paperwork while the twins crowded around him, jumping up and down in a way only little kids could. Opal looked into Mario's eyes with her shimmering blue ones, displaying a type of affection that Mario had only ever seen from his mother.

"Thank you for taking care of me," Mario said.

"You're welcome, Mr…." she blinked before chuckling. "Oh! We haven't gotten your name yet?"

Mario blinked, all at once feeling extremely apprehensive. "Uh…" his mind scurried to come up with what he should say. Should he lie? That would probably be best; these koopas knowing who he really was would probably be a bad thing. But… well, first off, Mario was a terrible liar, and pretty much always would be. And on top of that… he couldn't for the life of him say why this was, but he kind of trusted the Goldleafs. Sure, that might sound a little foolish, but seeing how he was alive thanks to them, he supposed these feelings were both natural and justified.

Maybe he should tell them who he really was. It was risky, sure, but it was also what felt right in this particular moment.

"My name is Mario," He eventually said.

Opal did a double-take. "Mario?" She smiled. "You have the same name as that hero who saves Princess Peach from Bowser!"

Mario chuckled, scratching the back of his head as he did. "Well… there's a reason for that…"

…

"So wait, let me get this straight," Michael said as the five of them walked toward the Goldleafs' hometown. "You're the Super Mario? And you've been cursed by King Bowser?"

Mario nodded, although the act of doing so was hard to accomplish. "Yes. I am, and I was."

"Woah," Gabby said. She squinted at Mario as if she were studying him. "I guess… well, I guess you kind of do look like him. You do have a mustache."

"That he does," Opal said. She laughed and put her hand on Mario's shoulder. "Which is pretty unusual, in and of itself. I don't know if you know this, but it is very rare for Koopas to grow facial hair."

"Really?" Mario asked. Opal nodded right as Michael started to speak.

"With that being said, it's not impossible," he said. He chuckled, rubbing his chin. "I've been growing a beard myself, and my goal one day is to have it reach the floor."

Opal snickered, rolling her eyes as she shook her head. "Honey, you've been trying for a year at this point and all you have is a tiny bit of stubble."

"Which is technically more than I had a year ago, so I can at the very least say I'm making progress!"

Mario chuckled. Gabby and Adam noticed him doing this, as they got closer to him.

"Our Daddy is pretty silly," Gabby said with a smile.

"So I've gathered," said Mario. He looked at Michael, laughing up a storm while his wife gave him a hard time. This… it was kind of sweet. Didn't Mario's own parents make fun of each other in this sort of manner? Didn't they have the same loving vibe that these two koopas were displaying to him?

Opal laughed before looking back at the Mushroom Kingdom's Hero. "Well… this might be seen as treasonous, but the four of us are going to support you in any way we can, Mr. Mario."

"Yeah!" Michael exclaimed. "And if the Koopa King shows up on our doorstep, we will personally fight him for you! We'll jump on his head three times like you do to all his Koopalings."

Surprise struck Mario's heart. "Uh… thanks."

"Ooh, can I be the one to jump on Bowser?" Adam asked. "I've always wondered what it was like to do that!" His eyes glittered. "I mean, I've jumped on Gabby's head before, but doing it to someone like Bowser would be epic!"

Michael left. "You should probably leave the bouncing to the professionals, s…" he stopped, blinking as he looked at Adam. "Wait, you've jumped on your sister's head?"

Adam seized up. "Uh… no!" He chuckled, sweat forming all over him. "Of course not! I totally didn't jump on Gabby's head!"

Gabby gave him a dry look before turning toward her father. "He totally did it, Daddy."

Michael glared at his son. As he issued out some discipline, Mario thought about all that was happening. These people were willing to risk everything just to help him? They were willing to potentially commit treason against their king just to make sure that he turned out okay, and that nothing would happen to him while he was trapped under this curse? That… that was shocking. Amazing, but definitely one of the most shocking things Mario had ever heard in his life. It was hard to wrap his head around. Even he, who was willing to rescue Princess Peach no matter what rested in his way… he would never commit treason. That was just insane! And yet, these four Koopa were willing to do it.

Wow. Just… wow.

"Oh look!" Opal exclaimed, looking ahead. "We're back in Lava Falls."

Mario looked forward, blinking when he saw Lava Falls. To the North of the town, one of the largest plateaus he had ever seen concealed much of this little town in a cool, comforting shadow. The sight of that alone was pretty interesting, but the fact that a lot of Koopas populated this place just made the sight pretty impressive. Everyone looked so laid back here like they weren't living at the base of an absolutely gorgeous mountain. They just continued on with their day-to-day lives, waving at each other and sporting some huge smiles.

"Woah." Mario blinked and looked back at the Goldleafs. "You guys live in this town?"

"Indeed we do," said Opal with a nod. "Pretty nice, huh?"

"Y… Yes!" Mario looked back at the town. "It's gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!"

Michael laughed. "Well, Mr. Mario, if you think that's impressive…" he wiggled his eyebrows while grinning. "Wait till you see what this town is really famous for!"

Adam and Gabby let out a gasp at the exact same time. "Wait!" Adam exclaimed. "Dad. Are we gonna show him the falls?"

"Yep!" Michael took the hands of the two kids and walked to the front of the pack. "Come on everyone!"

The twins bounced along as Michael guided them. Mario, confused but definitely interested, followed after them. Opal walked by his side, and her eyes twinkled in the most excited way possible. Whatever it was that the Goldleafs wanted to show him, it would probably be something really big. Something really great.

So, Michael led them through the town. They passed by several civilians along the way, and Michael was first in line to give them greetings. It warmed Mario's heart, to see him be this friendly and nice. These acts even inspired him to greet some of the people, to say hello to them even though he probably wouldn't even bother under normal circumstances. Overall, Mario felt really good about this, despite his circumstances.

And then he and the Goldleafs climbed a hill. Michael kept calling out to Mario when he was at the top, saying to him that he shouldn't even bother to blink because of how awesome this sight was. Mario looked at Opal when her husband said this, but when he questioned her about it, she just laughed and hurried up the hill after her family. Mario's confusion grew, as did his anticipation. He scurried upwards…

And gasped when he reached the top. He stared, dumbstruck, at the sight before him. Flowing down into an underground chamber from the top of the plateau were three different lava waterfalls. One was orange, one was blue, and one was purple. To Mario's absolute amazement, he saw the falls changing colors. Soon, the color combo was pink, green, and yellow. Then, it was aqua, red, and chartreuse. Mario's jaw dropped.

"This… this isn't real!" He slapped himself across the face, but the amazing sight of the shifting lava falls was still right there. "It's… it's…"

"Beautiful?" Opal asked. Mario nodded his head at a rapid rate, causing Opal to giggle. "Well, now you see why this town is called Lava Falls."

Mario nodded. He stepped closer to the lava falls. He reached out his hand as if he was about to touch them. The colorful sight… oh man, how did he never know about this? How did he never know a Koopa Kingdom town had such a breathtaking attraction? He went through the Koopa Kingdom multiple times! He had only ever seen black, gray, and the occasional orange lava. This? This was on a whole new level, a level that Mario never in a million years would've thought possible.

"How…"

"Magikoopas were the ones to establish this town," Opal explained. "They built some chambers for the lava to fall into." She stamped her foot. "Below us are caverns filled to the brim with the lava. Lava that the magikoopas decided to enchant to make the town much more interesting to outsiders."

Mario smiled. "Well, they made a good choice." Words he never thought he'd say about magikoopas. Considering that Kamek was the only magikoopa he had ever met, and he was a big thorn in his side pretty much since the day he was born…

"Wow."

"Yeah, it really is something else." Michael smiled at the falls, letting out a content sigh as he did. "We like to come here every Saturday, just to see these falls."

Mario's heart welled with warmth. "Well… I can see why."

The five of them continued looking at the falls. Mario's emotions in particular were all over the place in only the most positive ways possible. He felt awed, happy, amazed, content; he felt all sorts of things. And to think that he never would've seen this sight if he had never run into the Goldleafs. Talk about an interesting twist of fate.

"Well!" Michael turned back to Mario, still gripping hold of his kids' hands as he did. "We should get back to our house! We have the perfect place for you to stay, Mr. Mario!"

Mario beamed. "Thanks." He let out a breath. "Lead the way."