Hey, everyone! I just reread the last two acts of I Promised, and the reviews for those chapters. I'm still super proud of myself for those chapters, and it really motivated me to get this primarily exposition chapter written so I can get to the big dramatic scenes I have ideas for later because oh I cannot wait for those moments!

Roy: Oh great, just what we need from you.

Wait, what happened to Ludwig?

Roy: We're takin' shifts fer botherin' ya. *cracks knuckles and smirks* Have fun, wimp.

Why me?

Chapter 3: Coloring Our Future

Mario walked near Rosalina at the front as the large group ascended Star Way. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" he asked her.

Rosalina shook her head. "The Star Spirits wouldn't tell me anything without everyone else present."

Mario frowned. "I figured, being the mother of the Stars, you'd be given at least something." He stroked his mustache. "Why all the mystery?"

Rosalina shrugged. "We're sure to find out when we get there."

A short distance behind them, Wendy lagged behind to walk beside Pauline.

"Soooo…" the Koopa princess began, "we probably have enough time for it now." She smiled expectantly at the woman. "Who popped the question? Where was it? Did anyone cry?"

Pauline laughed. "Well, you might be a little disappointed. They kind of… both proposed to each other, but also didn't."

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Pauline continued, "They were discussing their relationship over a private dinner, and both agreed that not only was marriage on the table for both of them, but they also both wanted it and saw a marriage between them being really successful." She giggled. "So they kind of just skipped any kind of ring and went straight to being engaged."

Wendy pouted and sighed, "Ugh, boring! But it is kind of cute and sweet that they're both on the same wavelength." She rolled her eyes, "A boring and practical wavelength." She couldn't help but smile, though. "They really are great for each other since they're both like that, aren't they?"

Pauline looked off Star Way in the direction of Big Ape City and sighed, smiling, "They sure are…" She turned back to Wendy. "And don't sell practicality short."

Wendy scoffed in feigned offense. "I'm sorry, I am a spoiled princess, not a savvy businesswoman like you. We don't do 'practical.'"

Daisy coughed in front of them, interrupting her conversation with Luigi. "Guilty," she semi-joked, her admission earning a laugh from the girls behind her and from the plumber.

Goombella read aloud from her Tattle Log about Star Way to her friends as they all made their way up, with some others listening in as well. Eventually, however, they all arrived at Star Haven.

Rosalina picked up the pace. "They're waiting for us at the Star Sanctuary. Follow me."

Mario and his first party also shuffled to the front, already familiar with the way there. Everyone entered, finding the Sanctuary surprisingly spacious enough for them all.

Eldstar greeted them all, "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I'm sure you must all be very confused. Sadly, the truth is the seven of us are not entirely sure of the circumstances ourselves."

Klevar spoke next, "It started when we collectively received a vision. Something…" He paused. "Apologies, we have not been able to discern what, exactly… is coming. What we do know is that it will be awful."

Mario looked around at everyone gathered, who were all doing the same.

Mamar voiced their thoughts, "We've gathered you all here because each one of you is needed to combat this threat. We saw this in our vision with great clarity, along with the division of teams that you will be in."

"Teams?" Morton repeated, but he bit his lip to curb his instinct to inquire further.

Misstar continued where Mamar left off, "In our vision, all of you were divided into teams of four. No more, and no fewer."

Iggy scanned the room and quickly calculated, "That makes 13 teams."

Skolar nodded. "Right you are, young one. We've determined that there is some sort of pattern in how exactly you're to be teamed up." He cleared his throat. "Er well, sort of."

Muskular chuckled a little. "We were still debating it just before you arrived. We came to a consensus of the most likely pattern, but you could argue it's flimsy."

Kalmar chuckled as well, "Yes, well, whether it makes sense or not, it's what we saw."

Cranky Kong tapped his cane on the floor. "Are you going to tell us what it is? And what the teams will be?" he asked. He was clearly growing impatient, but did his best to ask his questions respectfully.

The Star Spirits all nodded.

"Yes, of course," Eldstar conceded. "The theme seems to be color."

"Color?" Many of those gathered repeated the word.

Mamar explained, "Your teams will each share the name of a color, or at least word that could arguably make one think of a color or colors."

Bowser Jr. raised his fist in the air. "I like this theme!"

"Then let's reveal your team first, birthday boy," Muskular offered. "Bowser Jr., Morton, Roy, and Ludwig. Your color word is lumber. And Team LMBR shall be led by Ludwig."

Immediately the four Koopas in question flashed brown for a split second.

Junior turned and hugged his oldest brother. "We're on the same team!"

Ludwig, however, questioned the decision. "Me, the leader? While I am sure I am quite capable, I would expect Bowser to be the better choice."

Muskular shrugged. "We saw what we saw. It's your team, Ludwig. Lead them well."

Roy put a strong grip on Ludwig's shoulder, his other arm wrapped around Morton's. "You got this, Luddy."

Larry sulked slightly. Junior took notice, and he went over for a hug, which Larry reciprocated. "Sorry you can't be on the team, Larry."

"Well the good news is, the other four Koopalings are also on the same team," Misstar compensated. "Wendy, Larry, Iggy, and Lemmy. You are to be Team WILL, and led by Wendy."

They flashed a vivid orange.

"Will?" Lemmy repeated. "How's that a color?"

Morton clarified before anyone else could, "Well there is a color called willpower orange so I bet it's that since you also glowed orange. It's a really, really bright orange just like that too and — mmph!" He was interrupted by Roy's hand in his mouth.

Larry smirked at Wendy. "You think you can keep us boys in line?"

Wendy gave an equal smirk back. "I just have to pretend I caught you with my diary." Her comeback earned a waiver of Larry's cockiness, earning a laugh from all the other Koopalings.

Except for Iggy. "Hang on, are the team names going to be abbreviations of these… color words? Using our initials, with the team leader's initial starting the word?"

Klevar smiled at him. "Astute as always, Ignatius. Be sure to use that to your team's advantage."

Iggy nodded resolutely.

Klevar then moved on to naming the next team. "We also noticed quite a few of the teams divided a group of eight individuals with a certain connection into two teams. The Koopalings being one example, and another example being the party that helped rescue us Star Spirits from…" he smirked at Bowser, who avoided eye contact. "Water under the bridge regardless. Now, the first team of that party is Goombario, Kooper, Lakilester, and Bow. You will be Team BLGK, led by Lady Bow."

A black flash.

"There's no g in black," Goombario argued.

Lakilester shrugged. "They did say the naming pattern was iffy. And I bet if you say it weird there's a bit of a g sound in there. Blagk." His blue cloud rolled its eyes.

Kalmar coughed. "Yes, and on that note, the team name for the rest of you was certainly the most controversial, for lack of a better word."

"Controversial how?" Sushie asked cautiously.

"Well, it is the primary reason for the 'makes you think of a color' rule," Kalmar explained. "Although color you think of may differ from person to person. Depends on what broth you're most familiar with, I'd wager."

"Broth?" Watt repeated. "Like in soup?"

Kalmar nodded. "Yes, actually. Sushie shall lead Watt, Bombette, and Parakarry. You will be known as Team…" he trailed off, looking to the other Star Spirits. They looked back at him expectantly. Kalmar sighed and finished, "Team SWBP."

Sure enough, some of them flashed brown, while others flashed a greenish yellow.

"Playing fast and loose with letter pronunciation here," Parakarry commented. He held his hands in front of himself. "Not judging, just an observation."

The Star Spirits chuckled.

"We did take notice of that right away," Klevar admitted. He cleared his throat. "But let us move on. I think it will be fitting to go with Mario's next adventuring party. Ms. Mowz, Madame Flurrie, Vivian, and Mini-Yoshi. You will be Team MMVF, led by Ms. Mowz."

The four glowed a dull pink.

Mini-Yoshi let out a sigh of relief. "I was worried I was gonna be leader. I can lead in the rankings at the Glitz Pit but I don't think I can lead a team."

The Little Mouser's eye glinted. "I wouldn't exactly call a shop manager leader material either, but I'll do my best."

Goombella looked at her remaining friends and Doopliss. "That must mean we're the other team."

Muskular nodded. "That's right! Led by Admiral Bobbery, you are Team BKGD."

Each team member glowed a different color. Sky blue, white, black, and beige.

Doopliss laughed, "Oh, I get it! Backgrounds can be any color, so this must be another one of those words that just have to make you think of a color."

Some hums of realization echoed in the chamber as others understood too, thanks to Doopliss.

"Next, let's list the Kongs," Mamar began. "Tiny Kong, Candy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Funky Kong. Your team, fittingly led by Candy, is Team CDTF."

The four Kongs flashed pink.

"Candytuft?" Funky repeated. "Is that like some kinda cotton candy or something?"

"It's a—" "Actually, it's—" both Larry Koopa and Princess Daisy started before cutting themselves off when they realized the other was speaking too.

Mamar giggled, "It's a flower, yes. Blooms typically come in pink, white, or red."

Daisy fake pouted. "You guys get a flower name. Lucky!" She looked at the other Kongs. "So who's next?"

Skolar nodded. "Swanky, Lanky, Chunky, and Kiddy. You will be Team SLCK."

These four flashed a very pale grey, almost white.

"Wait," Swanky argued, "that makes me the leader?" He shakily leaned on his cane. "But I'm just a showman, I know nothing about leading a team, let alone a team set to fight the forces of evil and darkness!"

Cranky Kong slammed his cane down in front of him. "Bah! Knock it off, will you?" He gestured to the first team. "Candy Kong is just a shopkeeper, and I don't see her panicking. You know why?" he gestured to Swanky's new teammates. "Because she has a team to back her up and support her. And the rest of us Kongs!" He used his cane to flick Swanky's bowler hat off his head, revealing the sharp Kong's slicked back hair. "So stop with this ridiculous wet blanket nonsense!"

Swanky turned and knelt down to retrieve his hat, only to be handed it by Kiddy Kong. "Thank you, little man." He turned to face Cranky, though his eyes were on the ground. "Yes, sir," he replied.

Cranky nodded curtly. "Good! Now," he turned to the Star Spirits. "There are only four Kongs left. Should I assume we're a team?"

Eldstar shook his head. "You would think that, but from here on, you will all be split up. With the exception of you and your wife, Cranky. Along with Kammy Koopa and Toadsworth, you will be Team WCKT."

The team of elders flashed beige.

"Blimey!" Toadsworth reacted. "What can old blokes such as us do?"

Eldstar smiled gently. "You'll use your wisdom, of course. We have great faith in you."

"Faith in a crotchety old ape?" Cranky started. "I can come up with several reasons why that's a stupid idea." The way he said it, no one could tell if he was joking or serious.

Skolar cleared his throat. "Moving on. The next team is by far the most unorthodox combination. Birdo, Waluigi, Diddy Kong, and Kamek. You will be Team BKWD."

Half the team flashed a wooden brown, the other half a forest green.

Yoshi turned to his girlfriend. "That makes you the leader!"

Birdo clenched her fist. "I'll do my best to lead an upstanding and effective team!"

"Weh," Waluigi huffed. "We'll see about that. Wah?!"

Diddy jumped on his head. "Don't listen to him, I bet you'll do great."

Kamek nodded, looking at Skolar. "Unorthodox, indeed."

"Next team," Mamar began, "will be Rosalina, Princess Daisy, Lady Pauline, and Toadette. Led by Pauline, you are Team PRDT."

The four ladies glowed a bright greenish yellow.

"Neat-o, a gem name!" Daisy commented. "Those are cool too."

Toadette tugged at Pauline's arm. "Do you think you'll be okay as leader? You're not really a fighter." She thought back to when Orphan had singled Pauline out two and a half years ago, as did the others who had been there that day.

Pauline smiled, "Thanks for your concern, Toadette, but after all that, Blue kind of put it on herself to make sure I took up self-defense." She cleared her throat. "I'm definitely nowhere near the level any of you are at, but I won't be a helpless damsel anymore."

Daisy put her hands on Pauline's shoulders, startling her. "Attagirl!" she congratulated.

Rosalina looked at the remaining eight yet to be assigned teams. "This just leaves Toad and the seven Star Children."

Kalmar nodded. "Correct. Second-to-last is Wario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Toad, being Team WYDT."

The four flashed white.

"Wait, that means…" Mario began, groaning as Waluigi cheered.

"Are you kidding me?!" Birdo scoffed.

"Wah-ha! Wario's the leader!" Wario laughed. "Can't wait to tell you losers what to do!" He pointed at the other three, taking time to flick Toad in the mushroom.

All three scowled back, and Toad opened his mouth to protest, only for someone else to do it for him.

Misstar hovered in front of him. "We advise that you do not take your position as leader of this team lightly. This isn't like what you pull with your friends back in Diamond City." She narrowed her eyes. "When the threat comes, you will need to pull your own weight and rely on your team's guidance, or else none of you will survive." She loomed in his face. "Is that understood?"

Wario's eyes widened as the Star Spirit's words washed over him and everyone else, and silence hung heavily in the sanctuary.

Wario gulped. "Understood, ma'am." He stared into space as he continued to digest what he had just been told.

Eldstar cleared his throat. "I suppose it's only fitting that I end it, and on you four," he said to the last team. "Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and King Bowser." As he said their names, they each flashed a color. Red, green, pink, and black. "The other teams shall yield to yours. Heroes of the Light Prognosticus. Father and godparents to the Koopalings. You are no stranger to working together as a team of four. But now you will collectively be known under another name. Team PLMB."

They all flashed purple.

On hearing the name, a few chuckles went around. Many groans could be heard as well, particularly from Cranky Kong.

"Plum, like purple," Vivian observed.

"And a stone fruit," Yoshi pointed out. "Just like a peach."

Bowser Jr. couldn't stop giggling. "And with Papa as a silent B so it's also like plumbing."

Larry, Morton, Lemmy, Iggy, and even Wendy and Roy all laughed with their youngest brother. Ludwig, while not laughing, sported perhaps the biggest smirk of his life.

Others chuckled or groaned as the pun was fully spelled out.

Peach raised her hand. "But Eldstar?"

Everyone turned their attention to her.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

The Star Spirits all nodded.

"From this point on, you shall all travel with your teams," Eldstar explained. "Multiple teams can travel at once, of course, but the four assigned teammates must never separate."

"And prepare," Muskular added, "for what's to come. You may use your best judgment for what that preparation looks like."

"But for now," Kalmar offered, "we most recommend going home and telling your loved ones everything that's happened here. Traveling with your teammates, of course."

"I guess that makes Castle Toadstool the first stop for a lot of us," Rosalina concluded.

"And after that?" Toad asked.

"We'll see."

Oh my good gracious, you have no idea how long this took.

Roy: Too long, if ya ask me.

I didn't. But I agree. Exposition suuuucks, man.

Roy: Then why'd ya do this?

Because I need to show the teams forming and explain why this is happening so no one is left wondering why. Also giving voice to my own thoughts when making TEAM SOUP.

Roy: The plumb joke was funny too. Just a little. But what we're all those other stupid color words again?

Okay, we have plum, white, peridot, backwood, wicket (there's a color called Colins Wicket), silk (or slick), candytuft, background, mauve, soup, black, will (for willpower orange), and lumber.

Roy: Why colors anyway?

Because of RWBY.

Roy: Ruby?

Yes. Read and review!