In this chapter, Jade will be introduced.
And yes, I already introduced Kiryl and Nera recently.
But this character isn't going to be joining Alena's party.
She's going to be joining Jessica's party.
Of course, I already featured Angelo recently as well.
But I figured I would balance out the gender ratio.
Chapter 14: Aid from Jade
Jade found herself in a beach town.
"I heard rumors about strange portals appearing and sucking people in." acknowledged the martial artist.
It turned out the rumors were true. She had wound up in an entirely different world.
Well, she decided to investigate her surroundings.
Luckily, it seemed she ended up somewhere pleasant. It was fortunate that she didn't end up in a magic labyrinth of evil.
She had ended up in Sparkling Waters.
"Welcome to Pop Town!" exclaimed a Toad. He was wearing sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt.
Most of the locals were dressed in a similar fashion.
They were living in harmony with Yoshis.
"I'm pleased to meet you." spoke Jade.
"Pleased to meet you too!" said the Toad.
She decided to go to a swimsuit store.
She might as well enjoy herself and enjoy the sun.
Though she got the feeling she was about to go on another adventure pretty soon.
Would she find companions to travel with?
It was always safer to venture with a team. Especially if they knew healing magic.
Giant Skewer Tower
As the name implied, there were skewers in the tower that would hurt if the heroes were hit by them.
It would be best to traverse the tower with caution.
"Whoa! Look at the size of those things!" exclaimed Jessica.
"I've encountered those before." noted Mario. It certainly made his journey more challenging.
It seemed the Dragonlord was a bit extra determined to defend this particular tower.
Considering they had defeated two of the generals, that made sense to some extent.
They would have to spend valuable MP healing themselves if they got hit by those skewers.
Of course, there were other hazards in the tower as well.
Like the Yabbies lurking in the waters.
"I'm going to give you a pinch for luck!" exclaimed one of the Yabbies.
"Define luck." answered Jessica.
These sea monsters were rather fast.
Jessica had encountered them before.
Luckily, so was Mario.
He leapt on one.
"Ouch!" exclaimed the Yabby.
Alistair helped by breathing fire on them.
"You're really tough for a baby!" shouted the lobster.
"He sure is." nodded Jessica.
She was not regretting her decision to adopt him.
There were Drohl Drones as well.
They could attack with Spooky Mist.
"I hope you can face your fears..." said one of the drones.
'That mist is scary!" exclaimed Luigi.
"I know." nodded Jessica in agreement. How many kinds of sea monsters were there, anyway?
Luckily, Luigi could counter with Thunderhand, as usual.
"Were we droning on and on?" asked one of the drones.
There were also Imps. It seemed they had a habit of sticking their tongues out.
"Weren't you in the Tower of Alexandria?" questioned Jessica. That dungeon had been close to home. So she had gone there.
"It was roomy in there!" exclaimed the Imp. He particularly liked the statue of the titular woman.
He attempted to cast Kaboom, but he failed.
"I don't have enough MP!" shouted the imp. It seemed that he did not think things through. He was not an Archdemon, though he liked the idea of being one.
"Maybe if you have more MP, you can cast more powerful spells." suggested Angelo.
"Yeah. Can you help me level up?" asked the Imp. He would enjoy it if he could cast powerful magic.
"Sure." nodded the priest.
It seemed he had Peach's charisma. Though he was not royalty.
The imp joined Angelo's side.
There were also Frogfaces.
"Weren't you in the tower too?" asked Jessica. She was seeing familiar faces…froggy faces.
"Yeah. Would you be interested in having one of us join your side? I promise I won't turn your back on you!" exclaimed the Frogface.
"Trust me, you wouldn't want that." noted the mage. Frogfaces normally weren't dangerous (though if adventurers were looking for exp, they would fight them), but if they were provoked they could attack with fire breath.
Some of the Frogfaces asked them for a fight.
Mario nodded, but he was careful to leap on them twice in a row.
He thought their faces on their backs were scary.
Sure enough, the Queen Squid was waiting for them in a watery arena.
Along with Baramos.
'You again?" asked Jessica. She couldn't say that she was happy to see him again, considering the evil deeds he was doing for the Dragonlord.
"Hi! Good to see you again!" greeted Baramos. It was impressive they managed to defeat the Stone Golem. Novice adventurers couldn't do that.
But this monster was going to be even stronger.
He was going to make sure of that.
He cast another spell.
"What did you-a do this time?" asked Mario.
"Now his royal highness can use breath attacks!" exclaimed the mage.
"He sure-a knows a lot of magic." noted the plumber in red.
"He sure does!" agreed Jessica.
"I was the one that brought the Antiquitree to life. Too bad he wasn't up to the task of defeating you!" exclaimed Baramos.
Perhaps Gracos would. Or maybe the giant squid.
"By the way, I'm a queen." explained the Queen Squid.
"You are?" asked Baramos. This was news to him.
"Yes...not all King Squids are male. I'm not sure why people refer to them as such." noted the Queen Squid. Was she really that androgynous?
Jessica shrugged.
"Maybe they should-a come up with a new name for your species!" exclaimed Luigi.
"Maybe they should." nodded the Queen Squid.
Baramos teleported away, leaving the heroes to fight the squid.
The Queen Squid opened up with chilly breath.
"Brr!" exclaimed Mario. He began to shiver. Luckily, he wasn't frozen.
"That's-a cold!" noted Luigi.
He was reminded of the time he fought Sir Weston.
Suddenly, he had an idea as to fight the squid.
Maybe fire would work against the sea monster. It did use ice, after all.
"Try hitting her with fire, Mario!" suggested Luigi. Fire seemed like the best counter for ice. Though there were indeed other counters.
Mario nodded. That seemed like a good idea.
"Ouch!" exclaimed the Queen Squid.
That indeed seemed to be effective.
However, she swatted Mario in retaliation.
"Ouch!" shouted Mario.
Luigi zapped the Queen Squid with lightning.
But it seemed she was more resistant than the sea monsters that he had faced before.
It still stung her though.
In retaliation, she knocked him away with her tentacle.
She then summoned Scarfishes.
"Once upon a time there was an ugly barnacle. It was so ugly, the world exploded! The End!" exclaimed a Scarfish.
Luigi fell asleep from the bad story.
"Wake up!" instructed Jessica.
"What?" asked Luigi. He was dreaming about getting his own game called New Super Luigi U.
Angelo blew the Scarfish away.
However, the Queen Squid used her ice breath to freeze him solid.
"Oh a-no!" exclaimed Mario.
Jessica tried to give him a Refreshing Herb, but she dropped it when the Queen Squid swatted her with her tentacle.
Luckily, Mario came up with a different solution.
He used his Firehand to thaw out Angelo.
"Thanks." thanked the priest. He was glad to meet this Italian gentleman.
Mario finished her off with more fire.
"How did I lose? I'm a queen among monsters!" exclaimed the queen. Sea monsters, anyway.
"Well, we have taken down big monsters before." noted Jessica.
She recalled the time Tavian and Yangus fought against Khalamari. It was unusual that a sea monster could breathe fire. Wouldn't the water extinguish the flames?
To be fair, fire worked just fine underwater.
She considered entering the fray herself, but Tavian and Yangus pulled through as a duo in the end.
Angelo learned Zing after the fight.
It would definitely be useful if a party member went down.
Zing was a bit unreliable though. It was like tossing a coin. Half of the time, the spell did not work.
"Way to go, Mario!" exclaimed Luigi.
"Yoo-hoo!" cheered Mario.
"You rock, bro!" applauded the plumber in green.
"I wish I had that kind of relationship with my brother." spoke Angelo.
"Huh?" asked Mario.
"As a kid, my father favored me over my brother Marcello. This caused him to harbor resentment towards me." explained the white-haired man.
"Oh a-no!" exclaimed Luigi.
"I wish he hadn't." spoke Angelo.
"I'm so sorry." sympathized Mario.
Jessica wondered why their relationship couldn't be like the one she and her brother had. Everyone in Alexandria knew how close they were. Luckily, she was able to recover from her loss.
After leaving the tower, the party encountered another hero.
Our heroes noticed Jade nearby, who was wearing a strapless bikini. Unsurprisingly, it was jade in color. She was lying down on a chair.
"I guess I'm not the only girl who turns people's heads." noted Jessica.
"Hi!" exclaimed Jade, raising her hand.
"Hello!" greeted Mario.
"Are you adventurers as well?" asked the martial artist. It looked like they were busy fighting monsters.
"We are. We're trying to defeat the Dragonlord." confirmed Jessica. The sooner they defeated him, the sooner they could defeat the Dragonlord.
"The Dragonlord, you say?" questioned Jade.
Mario nodded.
"He's a classical Dragon Quest villain, isn't he?" noted the martial artist.
"He sure is." acknowledged Angelo. He was not someone they could defeat alone, that was for sure. In fact, they would heed all the help that they could.
"I can help. I have experience fighting evil." spoke Jade. She had fought against Mordegon and his minions.
"We would appreciate that." said Jessica.
"I'll probably want to wear something different other than my bikini though." noted the martial artist.
It wasn't practical for combat. Even if she looked so good in it.
Though there were some suits of armor that were essentially bikinis.
Jade joined the party!
Luigi received a package from E. Gadd.
He had a feeling what it was.
Sure enough, it was his Poltergust.
"I'm-a so glad he gave me this!" exclaimed Luigi. And it wasn't just because it reminded him of the time he saved his brother.
He was just about to enter a ghost house.
Now he would be prepared.
The Poltergust also came with a flashlight.
"How goes creating monsters, princess?" asked Mario. It seemed worth their time to make stronger monsters. That way they would be better prepared for the trials ahead.
"Pretty good! I made a Cyclown!" exclaimed Peach. She imagined that he could help them.
"Do you think I'm funny?" asked the Cyclown. "When fighting monsters, don't throw caution to the wind!"
Luigi was glad she did that. Something told him the ghosts were vulnerable to wind. Hence the Poltergust being effective.
"Do you also have a monster that can use light?" questioned Luigi.
"I have a Mad Moai." nodded Peach.
"Somehow, the princess makes me feel calmer." remarked the not-so-mad moai.
He was glad that he met her.
"You're going into that ghost house? I'll help you however I can." spoke Jade. Though considering there were ghosts that could fly, she might have a rough time.
She felt weakened after entering the world, but she still felt like she could fight.
"Would you-a mind sitting this one out? I don't want you to get captured-a again." suggested Luigi. He had a history of being captured by ghosts, unfortunately. Though it might be a good idea for Mario to learn how to defend himself from them.
Mario nodded. He remembered the time that Boos had trapped him inside the painting.
Perhaps he should have gone with his brother to the mansion.
That would decrease his chances of being captured.
"Who-a else wants to stay with him?" asked Luigi.
Angelo raised his hand.
He wanted to visit the nearby town.
It seemed nice.
And there were likely shops they could buy weapons and armor from.
He would scout them out.
"I think we're ready then." noted Jessica.
Meanwhile…
"These Shy Guys keep coming!" exclaimed Peasley.
He heard that Shy Guys came in many flavors…it was what a Yoshi had told him.
Well, that Yoshi wasn't kidding.
Some of the Shy Guys were carrying spears.
It seemed they were related to the Chuck Guys that called the Chucklehuck Woods their home.
One of them poked Kiryl.
"Ow!" exclaimed the priest.
There were also Medi Guys.
If a Shy Guy was in a pinch, these Shy Guys could help them out.
Still, despite all the Shy Guys, they were getting closer to Beanbean Castle Town.
Hopefully they could defend the town from the Shy Guys if the need arose.
They noticed Nera up ahead.
"Are you fighting the Shy Guys too?" asked Alena.
"Mm-hmm. Funny, aren't princesses usually a bit more magical?" questioned Nera.
"I've tried it, but being a physical fighter has its perks." acknowledged the princess. People admired her for her strength.
She personally didn't have to worry about an enemy casting Bounce.
"I suppose it does." nodded the blue-haired girl.
"Would you like some help? These Shy Guys are coming in waves!" exclaimed Alena.
"They certainly are." nodded Peasley.
A Shy Guy Airtub showed up.
"You're going down!" exclaimed one of the Shy Guys.
"Oh no! We've made them angry!" shouted Kiryl. It looks like they were getting a tad desperate to stop them.
It looked as if they were going to have to take the airship down.
Alena leapt into the air and punched the airtub.
But it fired cannonballs in retaliation.
"Take cover!" warned Nera.
Peasley was hit.
"Ouch!" exclaimed the warrior prince.
"You OK?" asked Alena.
Peasley nodded.
Nera fired a fireball at the ship.
The ship began to burn.
"Get the buckets!" exclaimed one of the Shy Guys.
A Fly Guy left the ship.
He was carrying a watering can.
"What's that watering can for?" questioned Kiryl.
He was about to find out.
The Fly Guy planted some seeds, then sprinkled them.
Suddenly, Piranha Plants sprouted.
"We got trouble!" exclaimed Alena.
It looked as if things were heating up.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Wait, I've said that before, haven't I?
Well, if it gets too repetitive I can say something different. But I don't want to be rude.