Chapter 58: More Wicked Deeds
"So, let me ask, Mimi. Were you just by yourself before Cackletta and Fawful attacked this place?" Peach asked as we continued to follow Cackletta and Fawful's trail.
"Attacked? I don't remember it being attacked. What, did they cause more harm?" Mimi asked.
"Before we got here, there were buildings that got damaged and many goods were left behind." I said. "There might be a strong feeling that there were people around."
"Well, all I know is that my rubee got taken into their icky hands. So if you're trying to look for other pieces of information, I don't have any more."
"Ok, that's fine."
"Just how fast is this Cackletta and Fawful? Is Infinite sure he's not making this up?" Scarlett asked.
"Well, Mimi said she was attacked by them, so there's no doubt that they're here." Kris said.
"Infinite? What's Infinite?" Mimi asked, in confusion.
"Infinite is… somebody we met earlier." Kinsley said. "He gave us clues on where to find Cackletta and Fawful."
"Oh goody. That's good for him."
"Hey, Zack. Is your DSS reading anything?" Blue asked.
"Let's see… the sentiment… I'm getting some feeling." Zack said, looking at his DSS. "If my prediction may be correct, there's a possibility that they are in… that direction up ahead."
"Are you sure?" Scarlett asked.
"My DSS can't figure out the direction of where the strong enemies are until we move around a little more. So this is my best guess."
"We'll just have to trust it a little more." I said.
"I've been meaning to ask for a while. What is this "DSS"?" Peach asked.
"It's known as the "Dangerous Species Sensor"." Zack said. "It can detect ruthless enemies while we move around the area. If it's coming in close, that's when the DSS will respond."
"So you created that all by yourself?!" Daisy asked, looking surprised.
"That's right. I figured some equipment would be beneficial to our mission."
"I couldn't believe it either when he first explained it to me." Gemma said.
"Oh, that's awesome-sauce! I wish I knew how to build that!" Daisy said with a smile.
"Yeah, of course. Maybe some other time, I'll show you how." Zack said.
"Princess!"
There was another person that we heard screaming up ahead. It sounded like there was something dangerous happening moments ago. There was a Green Toad running up towards us.
Wait a minute. Wasn't that the same Toad that was in the Mushroom Kingdom? Or is it… different?
"Yes? What's the problem?" Princess Peach asked, calmly.
"There's chaos up ahead! We've been attacked by two green monsters! I-I believe they had capes on, but the point is… they're coming in and barging into our homes for unknown purposes! I don't know what's going on, but you should check it out!"
"Green monsters? So it has to be them. Cackletta and Fawful. Ok… hide in that bush over there so that you won't get hurt anymore. I'll have somebody escort you to a safer place. Let's go, everyone!"
We all hurried to the direction that the Green Toad told us to go. When we got there, the area was shocking and horrifying to see as we saw Toads laying on the ground with severe injuries of their own. I've seen one Blue Toad with multiple cuts that were dripping with blood. It was more proof that this was Cackletta and Fawful's doing.
What in the bloody hell is going on here?!
"E-Everyone?! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Princess Peach said to all the Toads.
"P-Princess… *cough* *cough* It's Cackletta. Sh-She's back." Yellow Toad said, while on the ground in need for breath.
"Cackletta? Where is she?"
"I-I don't know. She was probably in one of those buildings. I can't tell."
"That stupid thing is not in there either! This has got to be some sort of trick!"
This was said by a green person wearing a pink robe and a purple cape who came out of the building next to the one that the Yellow Toad mentioned. She also has purple horns and a blue gem on her forehead. Next to her was also a green person with a single strand of black hair while wearing a black suit along with black gloves, a red belt and gray sandals.
"I have uneasiness… This pursuit of a red stone is like working as peasants for an infinite amount of days. Fawful wishes for an extremely swift gadget."
"Cackletta!" Peach yelled as she saw where the voice was coming from.
"Well well well. Isn't this a thunderbolt reunion to behold. We cross paths again, Princess Peach. Eeyargh! And it's that annoying little offspring again! Since when did you bring this "parent" to confront me!"
"We are not related!" Peach and Mimi yelled at Cackletta.
"And secondly, you're going to give me back my rubee, you rabid devils!"
As soon as Mimi yelled that, in an unexpected turn of events, Cackletta threw the rubee on the ground near Mimi's legs.
Wow. She actually gave it back. But that's not important right now.
"Fine. Take your stinking rubee back. I already have something shiny for myself anyway. But I'm not gonna stop there. We have other plans that nab our undivided attention."
"Well… I'm surprised my bravery got this back." Mimi said as she grabbed her rubee.
"Don't think you'll get to keep it for much longer."
"We heard about the rumors of you destroying this place. We will make you surrender." I said to them in a brave-like manner.
"Hmph. And just who is this chump and her out of the ordinary voice? Pah! Forget it! Having to talk to lamebrains like you is a waste of time!"
My voice is not out of the ordinary!
"Cackletta, we have searched for majority of the area. Isn't this the time we skedaddle out of this misery?" The other green thing named Fawful asked.
"Ahh, yes, Fawful. Talking isn't gonna get us anywhere. Not until we find that stone."
"You won't have it your way, Cackletta!" Peach retorted. "You've already damaged my people and now we're gonna damage you!"
"Oh please, I can do whatever I please. Your little mustachioed men have killed me not once but twice when I tried to take over the world. So now, the third time's a charm. You should know that you, yourself, are powerless against me, even if you bring backup. Once my cooked-up plan is complete, I will make you say goodbye to your friends. With that being said, the time for talking is over. I'll take my leave with one little present."
"I HAVE CHORTLES! Your present will be like a tasty snack for all of you fink-rats at a special buffet! Get ready to chow down!"
As soon as Fawful said that, the two of them left the area to move to not only find that stone, but to cause more chaos in this world. That's when we heard some loud ruffling somewhere in the area. And it was really loud.
"What's that noise?" Gemma asked as she was hearing that ruffling.
"Damn, it's really loud!" Darius shouted.
As soon as this was said, I saw a red angry caterpillar-like species charging right toward us. We all had to get out of the way so that we don't get pulverized by it.
"Oh no! It's a berserk Wiggler!" Daisy yelled, looking at the red caterpillar.
"I guess this is what Cackletta was talking about! Why is it angry?!" Blue shouted.
"I don't knOOOOOW!" Alexis was being charged by the same wiggler, making her scream at that point. Luckily, she had to be tackled down by Zack.
"Are you ok?!" Zack asked Alexis.
"Y-Yes! Th-Thanks for your help, brother!" Alexis said as she was then helped up by Zack.
"Guys, how the hell can we calm down this caterpillar thing or whatever?!" Candace shouted.
"I have an idea. You guys are going to have to find a way to pin him down so I can calm its tantrum down." Peach said.
"Pin it down?! That thing is as large as a limo! How are we supposed to do that?!" Darius shouted.
"Just get to the flower on top of his head. It'll make it move wherever you go."
"Are you sure this is going to work, Peach?! Because now it's on me!" Kris shouted as he was now being chased by that thing.
"I'll do it!"
This was said by me as I was attempting to get on top of the wiggler, but then the wiggler shook me off as the wiggler was now turning my attention to me.
"Oh no."
"Kaze! I'm coming!" Blue shouted as she was about to come to me.
"No, Blue! Just get to the wiggler!" I shouted back.
"Blue! Let me do it! You get to the wiggler!" Kinsley said.
"R-Right!"
Kinsley then lifted me up and moved me to the other side of the area. This was done before the wiggler started to charge towards us.
"Wiggler! Please calm down! You're about to hurt people!" Peach yelled at the wiggler.
The wiggler then turned its attention to Peach, where it was about to charge at Peach.
"Hold on, you two. Let me try again." I said as I halted Blue and Kinsley from trying to get on top of the wiggler.
"But, Kaze, it's going to do the same thing again." Kinsley said.
I paid her no mind as I attempted to get on the wiggler. And it successfully worked the second time as the Wiggler got too distracted on Peach and not me. In fact, it didn't even feel that I was on top of it.
"Kaze! Grab the flower on its head and yank on it!" Peach yelled.
"Why?! It'll make it even worse!" I yelled back.
"Just trust me please!"
I did my best to pull on the flower hard enough, and suddenly, it was trying to wiggle me off, making me lose my balance, but I eventually was able to keep hold of the flower.
"Peach! What are you doing?! You're going to get hurt really bad!" Daisy shouted.
Come on! Just calm down already!
"Woah Woah Woah!"
The wiggler then was then rearing up and down with lots of aggression, trying to get me off of it. I was starting to lose my balance once more, trying to strongly keep hold of the flower once more.
"Peach! You're putting me in a bad situation here!" I yelled.
"This is a waste of time. Let me calm it down!" Kinsley said as she pulled out her gun, starting to grow impatient by this whole incident.
"No! Don't do it! You might…"
*SLAP*
Then suddenly, cutting me off in the process, Peach grabbed the wiggler's face and started using her powers to try to steady the wiggler's nerves.
Looking at Peach, her powers had hearts racing towards the wiggler's mind. The wiggler was trying to fight it off, but suddenly, it was starting to calm down, making its whole color turn yellow again.
"*pant* *pant* *pant* W-What happened? Why am I here?" I heard the wiggler say.
I-It talks?
"Wiggler! Are you ok? Are you in danger?" Peach asked.
"Princess Peach? You came to save me? Wait a minute. All of you came to save me?"
"Yes. You went feral again. What happened this time?"
"I-I was going feral, Princess. I remembered some jerk that turned me feral."
"Some jerk that turned you feral? Who was it?"
"I don't know. I wasn't acting like this at a random state. It was these… green people. I can't describe it. One had a purple outfit while the other had a red outfit."
"Ok. You're in luck. Because I know those two based on what you said."
"Oh?! You do?! Please tell me!" The wiggler said looking excited to hear this.
"Ok ok, remain calm. Their names are Cackletta and Fawful. They love to do bad things and they are going to cause even more trouble for our world."
"Wow. I can see why now since they attacked me. I don't know what's going on around here, but I really owe you a big thanks for helping me back there."
"You don't have me to thank. There are others who helped me. You also have them to thank as well."
"Well, I… wasn't much of a help because I didn't have an assignment." Darius said.
"Are you sure you won't bite? Are you sure you don't despise us as a threat?" Kris asked.
"They won't hurt you. If you make them angry, that's when they become dangerous." Peach said.
"Please don't be afraid of me. I'm no jerk like the rest of the green thingies. All we wigglers ask for is to respect our boundaries and property here." The wiggler said.
"That's fine." Darius and Kris said.
"So, Wiggler, was anybody else injured or noticed about the incident?" Peach asked.
…
"N-No. It was just me that got attacked." The wiggler said in a sad tone.
"Just you? I thought there were other wigglers that would be in this area attacked?" Gemma asked.
"There are other wigglers. It was only me that was attacked. Luckily, this place would've been a disaster if the others were possessed."
"Wow. Talk about a sigh of relief."
"By the way, Princess, are these new faces really friends of yours? I don't find them to be suspicious at all."
"Yes, but I'll introduce you to them another time." Peach said. "We must chase Cackletta once more before more havoc wreaks."
"Right! If anything, she needs to be tied up and thrown to a corner!" Daisy yelled with aggression.
"D-Daisy…" Peach said with a sweatdrop.
Th-That's a little excessive.
"We may not come back much longer, but we promise we're gonna keep your home safe and sound. Just bear with us much longer." Scarlett said.
"Ok, then. Thank you so much! Do be careful out there!" The wiggler said.
"Alright, if we're done talking, we got an old woman to punish." Kris said.
"Right. We can't stand around much longer. We need to hurry." I said.
"I'll see you later, wiggler. Take care of yourself." Peach said.
"I wish you luck, Princess." The wiggler said.
Further into Gloomy Woods, there was more destruction in our path as more Toads were injured in the process and trees were knocked down as well. It was a horrible sight to see from our own eyes. Cackletta to me is a monster for hurting innocent people. If there were other United Kingdom people here to see this happening, they would be not only horrified but incensed. I would be furious too, looking at this! Because I wouldn't want to imagine Yellow Toad and Blue Toad like this. Even Starlow, Toadsworth, Toadette… I would definitely be incensed.
We're going to make sure we find Cackletta and make her put an end to all of this.
"This place is really a disaster. Has it always been like this, Peach?" Candace asked.
"Not at all." Peach said. "It's gloomy, yes, but it wasn't really like this. It's Cackletta's doing. And now I'm really starting to believe in what Infinite's saying now."
"I still don't know why he won't come with us. I hope he's not here to give us falsehood." Kinsley said, looking dismayed.
"Just let it go, Kinsley." I said. "Sure, he's suspicious, but at the same time, he's making our lives easier searching for the stone."
"And besides, this place is… never mind. Forget I said anything." Blue said with a sweatdrop.
"Ok then. *sigh* No sign of the stone yet. Why is Gloomy Woods a big place?" Kinsley asked.
"Pfft! Beats me. It's our first time here." Darius said. "And this place, although it's gloomy, doesn't seem to be that pretty."
"I agree. Why aren't there more rubees in this icky place?" Mimi asked, looking baffled.
"You're still worried about the rubees here?" Alexis asked Mimi.
"I need more! I won't be able to live pretty as I used to be without the financial resources!"
"Mimi, Why don't we use actual coins to get you out of your situation instead of pursuing rubees?" Peach said.
"But I spit on coi…"
"Mimi…Don't you "but" me." She then said with a strict tone after seeing Mimi complain.
…
…
…
"*sigh* Are you sure this is actually going to work if we use coins?"
"You're in my world after all so you're gonna have to use some other way to purchase things."
"Golly…Ok fine!" Mimi said as she finally gave in. "I'll try something different than rubees. Since this is your territory and I have to play as the peasant once again. But I'm still keeping these for myself and myself only."
"Certainly. Do as you wish."
"You two sure have a history there, Peach. I'm surprised." Daisy said.
"Our history was not so bright. It was very complicated. Mario and Luigi were also on the equation… well except for Luigi because he had little to do with our encounters."
"Encounters? Now I'm curious. What did you two do?" Blue asked.
"I'll tell you about it another time. For now, we can't lose track of our mission." Peach said.
"All we know for sure is that Cackletta went up this path, but there's just no sign of her."
"But we can't worry about just her. It's the stone we're after. It's like a race against time." Zack said.
"We get that part, but there's no telling what could happen if we allow her to beat us to it. Like Infinite said, it's our responsibility to take care of our mission."
"Hey, Scarlett? What's the matter?" Gemma asked as we turned around to see Scarlett was far from us, reading a paper.
"So you just gonna let us leave you behind, Scar? What's up?" Darius asked.
"I'm reading this paper someone dropped." Scarlett said. "I'm looking at it and it says, this is some sloppy as hell writing, "Princess, I wanted to report to you that a suspicious piece of jewel has appeared at a ruin somewhere. I went to explore further to see if any more suspicious things have appeared in our world when I found these ruins most recently. I went there to check it out and after doing a little searching, a bright light appeared right before my own eyes. Moments after my eyes were burnt from the lights, I regained my senses and saw that shiny jewel sitting on the ground. It just appeared like it was magic. It wasn't there when I first entered. At first, I wanted to pick it up, but my next thought was to ask you Princess about this situation. So, I would like to request permission to speak with you about the incident. It would be great to hear your opinion on this. Sincerely, Purple… Tood." He needs to definitely work on that handwriting." She then said with a sweatdrop.
"He must be referring to the stone. But… he mentioned these ruins that he found. Do you know anything, Princess?" Blue asked.
"I haven't heard anything about these ruins." Peach said. "He didn't give us a precise location of where it is, but we can ask the locals while we're here. Maybe they can give us some information about the place."
"But how are we supposed to do that if they likely have retreated from the old witch's crazy catastrophe?" Candace asked.
"Who knows?" Daisy asked. "This place is big so it's not like we can expect chirping crickets. We'll just have to keep marching through these dreary unpleasant woods."
"You're right, Daisy." Peach said. "Nothing can be done by standing here and figuring things out on our own. Let's keep traveling forward."
"Goodie! We've finally got residency!" Gemma said as we reached a place where there's extra buildings here, hoping for some people to show up.
"Definitely. But… still no signs of people. Looks like they all escaped from Cack–"
"Oh! Travelers!"
We've heard another voice that sounds like a toad calling us, cutting off Blue's speech. When we looked on our right, it was a Blue Toad coming towards us. I couldn't tell if it was new or if it was the one from where we first met him entering Peach's Castle.
There's a lot of toads here. Are there any "new" beings here?
"Oh! Hey there!" Peach said. "Do you mind asking if there's any people working or living in these buildings?"
"Oh, Princess! I have!" The Blue Toad said. "They were a couple I have seen living in these buildings, but… a scary incident took place just minutes ago when this evil lady ran amok and destroyed buildings and even… attacked toads in the process. I heard her mention something about a stone that she is going to take, but I don't know what type of stone she is referring to."
"We all are gonna go after her, so don't worry. But first, we want to ask something."
"Someone was about to report this letter here to Princess Peach and we're trying to find the person who knows about the ruins here in the Mushroom Kingdom." Scarlett said as she gave the Blue Toad the letter. "That person said that the stone was the reason for the lights flashing in the first place. Do you happen to know that person or the ruins?"
"Let's see…
…
Ahh… Yes! Purple Toad! Perhaps he told me about it not too long ago. I remember these exact words." Blue Toad said after reading the letter. "Is there a reason for wanting to know about the ruins?"
"Cackletta's still searching for that stone, but what she doesn't know is that it's in the ruins, which is why we need your help in finding it." Peach said.
"Ok. Let me think. According to Purple Toad, he did mention something about going to Twinsy Tropics to check out the rest of the world. At first, I grew worried about his willingness to do so, but decided to let him do it anyway. All because he was very confident enough to do it on his own. He did mention something about taking a boat that leads to these mysterious ruins…"
"Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. A boat?" Darius asked.
"Y-Yes. That's his words. Not mine." Blue Toad said.
"Why? Something the matter?" Gemma asked.
"We gotta get through a body of water to reach it?! How far is it?!" Darius complained.
"I… haven't been there, but if I have to take an estimate it would be… 6 to 8 miles."
"Oh… then it's not too bad if we're taking a boat. Sorry, it's not you, Blue Toad. It's just… if we can't find a boat, it's gonna be a crime having to take off my fit and swim all the way over there."
I wonder if there's an alternative for that.
"You… do have a point, Darius." Scarlett said. "We shouldn't wait that long to get to the ruins so transportation will have to do for now."
"But wait a minute. There's only a bunch of us that's not gonna fit in one boat. Is there at least two that can get us there?" Daisy asked.
"N-No… There's only one when I went to Twinsy Tropics. I thought it was gonna be more than two, but it's just one." Blue Toad said.
"Bro what?" Darius asked while facepalming.
"It's honestly my fault." Peach said. "I should've said something about making more boats for additional people here. Instead, I was too busy creating maximum defenses for my kingdom."
"No, Peach. It's ok." I said. "If that's the case we'll all just have to swim over there. It's our only option. Although, I'm not the best swimmer."
"But, Kaze, that'll take way too long." Scarlett said. "If anything, we should just transform and fly our way over to the ruins."
"Oh, right. I forgot about our forms."
"Transform… and fly our way over?" Peach asked.
"Well… you see, Peach, We have another form that can help get us to these ruins without having to swim all the way over to the other side. We'll introduce them to you once we get to the other side."
"O…Ok, then." Peach said with a sweatdrop. "Anything else, we need to know, Blue Toad?"
"Oh right. So… he mentioned the boat, and along the way, he said that the waves are brutal along the way. He didn't know what was the cause of it, but he just proceeded by any means necessary."
"But the waves are dangerous, so how could he do such a thing?!"
"I don't know! It was according to him!"
"We have to make sure we prioritize our safety, so I'm gonna have to have the Toads that work at the boats postpone any boat rides until we let the waves calm down."
"But, Princess, are you sure you want to go through the waves? Those waves are dangerous, and I'm worried about your safety. Even Toadsworth."
"I will be fine. This is a dire situation for us, so we have to handle it away. Other than that, I want to thank you for your help. It was great that you were a resource for us."
"I-It's no problem, Princess. It's what I'm here for. Hopefully you stay safe."
"We will. Alright, everyone. We now have our next destination. I'm not sure if there's much going on at Twinsy Tropics, but hopefully there's no more scary incidents."
"But what are we going to do about the other toads? They all got pummeled by Cackletta, so we can't find a way to cure them?" Blue asked.
"The medical staff will arrive to help cure them. I would do it all by myself, but this current situation is what must be done first so we won't have time."
W-Well… If you say so.
"I know where the Twinsy Tropics are. Follow me."
As soon as Peach said that, we all followed her to wherever she's going in a hurry. The reason why I didn't bother mentioning the toads was because it was hard to tell if I wanted to side with Blue or Peach. They both made valid points. But as for me, I wanted to worry more about finding the stone and getting out of here before more havoc wreaks, even though we would like to help the Toads who were caught in the incident.
…
T-Trust me, I have a brain, but they both were right! I just wanted to go with saving the world! That's all!
Hopefully we know what we're doing here. We have no experience here and Lunia's waiting for the stone.
Author's Note: Sorry for this long-ass wait! I'm not gonna say much. The reason why I took so long uploading was because of college and others. I needed to finish and pass my courses so that I could complete my first semester. As for the other things as well as this chapter. I needed to rest my brain and think about what I wanted to say. And as for the chapter, it was tricky. It was, but I got it out of the way.
Also, since Fanfiction is still causing problems to a lot of people, including emails and things of that nature, I will be uploading chapters on Archive of Our Own. I've already uploaded 12 chapters so far, so if you're free, feel free to check them out. I'm going to upload one chapter at a time so that I can keep updated on people who go on Archive Of Our Own.
That's all I got for now. Sorry if I had to keep it short and rushed, but I really wanted to upload more chapters and keep you guys updated. So if you guys are enjoying this story, follow, favorite and/or review this story, and I'll see you in the next chapter.