Chapter 10 Highest Crime Rate

The sun… oh dear God, the sun! It hung over Junior, its rays scorching his skin and threatening to turn his scales pink. Panting, Junior wiped his brow, and the back of his hand came up so wet that one would think he had been in a swimming pool. The prince cringed, wondering how much longer he could go on like this. He did find some comfort in knowing that it wasn't going to be midday forever, as sooner or later the sun was going to vanish underneath the horizon line.

Of course, that would present Junior with another problem: the night. Sure, he had technically left home while it was dark, but that hadn't been that big a deal considering that he was closer to the castle back then. As such, he knew his way around. But right now, according to a map of the Koopa Kingdom he had picked up back in Generica, he was a few hours away from the town of Amber, a town that he had very little knowledge of. That meant he would be more at risk. Especially so because, despite not knowing much about the town of Amber, he did know one thing about it. One thing that actually scared the bejeebus out of him as he thought about it.

Amber had the highest crime rate in the Koopa Kingdom. So many crimes were committed there, at different times and at different levels of severity, that almost no one who lived there had children. In fact, the amount of the people living in Amber who were basic normal people was pretty lacking too. For the most part, it was crime lords and thugs. Thinking about this now, Junior knew he couldn't spend a lot of time there, especially after dark. Fortunately for him, he didn't think he would spend much time there after dark. It was, after all, midday. Night time wouldn't be for another six hours.

But even still, Junior wasn't going to spend much time there. He picked up the pace even though he was still a little ways away from Amber, and when he saw Amber in the distance, he broke out into a sprint. Don't worry, he told himself. If you keep your head down and don't call attention to yourself, no one in Amber will pay any attention to you. You'll just be in and out.

Even though Junior told himself that, he still worried. His insides still churned and his sweating rate grew more severe (although, to be fair that could also be because he was sprinting). He told himself multiple times that everything would be okay, there was nothing to worry about. According to the map, Amber wasn't that big, so he could get out of it within an hour if he kept up with this sprinting pace.

So, when he entered Amber, he sprinted down the streets. It was only once he stopped to catch his breath after five minutes that he got a good look of this notorious hell hole. He had to admit, to his complete and utter shock, that Amber didn't look so bad at a first glance. Unlike Stonebrim, the buildings had color, and unlike Generica, they actually stood out. Junior saw plenty of stores that looked warm and inviting, which again brought him a great deal of shock. Seriously, you would think a town that had a crime rate that shot through the stratosphere would actually look the part, but no. Amber looked pretty pleasant. At least the parts of it that weren't factory buildings, as Junior saw several of those. He tried to remember his lessons where Kamek talked about Amber; didn't it contribute a bunch to the Koopa Kingdom economy back in the day?

Well, whatever, that didn't really matter. Junior still breezed through the town. When it came to the few people who were walking on the street, he kept his head down and didn't look at them. He also pulled his hood tighter around his head, remembering the things that the people in Generica said when he was buying the PB & J supplies. The less attention called to him, the better. He was going to lay as low as possible, lower than the beetles and lower than the worms.

About ten minutes into his jog, Junior arrived at Amber's town square (see, the map had been right when it said Amber wasn't that big). A fountain stood tall and proud in the center. Or, at least, it would've if it hadn't been defaced by so much graffiti. This seemed to be the only part of town that showed the fingerprints and scars of crime, which… eh, it was unfortunate, but hey, it was impressive that it was just this one area, all things considered.

And even though the fountain was ugly and torn up, Junior figured that this would be the best place to stop. He took a seat on the edge of the fountain, happily noting that there was no water for him to accidentally fall in. He let out a breath and reached into his hammerspace. He had already eaten two deliciously amazing peanut butter jelly sandwiches, and he figured that now would be the perfect time to start working on a third. He had just gotten the bread out when something occurred to him.

He. Was. THIRSTY! Oh goodness, he couldn't remember the last time he wanted water this badly! And as he thought about it, he realized there was a good reason for that. He had drunk very little even before he left the castle. He had taken a few sips of the glass that he had thrown at Ludwig, but that was just about it. And of course, he hadn't drunk ANYTHING since leaving the castle. Looking back, he really should've bought some water at that grocery store earlier.

But he didn't which left him in quite the predicament. His mouth feeling drier than a desert, Junior realized he needed to get some water fast. Looking back at the fountain, his relief that it didn't have any water turned into frustration. Seriously, this would've been the perfect place to get it! Why did fate have to be so cruel to him?

The only real option at this point was going into another store to get some water bottles. At first, when that thought popped into Junior's head, he physically cringed at it. Yes, enter a public building in the most crime-ridden town in the Koopa Kingdom; what could possibly go wrong? Unfortunately, he immediately realized that it was necessary. If he didn't get water, he would experience dehydration (if he wasn't already).

The only question was where could Junior find a store? He looked around the town square, fully expecting to not see anything that would satisfy him when he saw a building that.. Actually REALLY excited him. It was a donut shop, with violet and sky blue coloring. Junior couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight of it. Not only would he find a water bottle or two in there, but he would also be able to pick up some donuts too! And donuts were even better than PB & J!

So, he went over to the donut shop. Entering the establishment, he saw that it was pretty empty. Aside from a worker and a magikoopa woman sitting at one of the tables sipping coffee, there wasn't anyone there. Well, that was probably for the best. No one in here meant no criminals to run into, which meant that Junior was perfectly safe.

As such, he smiled as he went up to the counter. He got two water bottles out of the see-through refrigerator next to it and immediately started ordering. "I'll have a dozen donuts, please!" Sure, was that a smart move? Probably not. Would it be a good idea for him to eat all those donuts by himself? DEFINITELY not. Was he still going to buy them? Yes. Yes, yes, a million times yes!

So, after he paid, he waited for the employee to get his donuts. He giggled as he did, feeling a whole new layer of excitement set over his mood. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all. As soon as he ate the donuts and drank the water, he would high tail it out of Amber and find a town that was actually safe and pleasant. Sparksville, which was arguably the most visually appealing and friendliest town in the Koopa Kingdom, was just a few miles down the road. Maybe that could be where he stops. Maybe he could search for a new mother there, as he was bound to find someone pleasant in that town.

Ding-a-ling!

Junior turned at the sound of the bell above the door, and when he saw who came in, his heart stopped. No… his whole body started to shake. No, no, please don't let this be happening!

There were three dragon koopas, all of them wearing ski masks. One of them had a gun in their hand and another had a big sack. Junior could barely move as he watched them come up to the counter. The koopa troopa employee behind the counter looked just as scared and just as frozen.

One of the thugs pushed Junior into the wall. As he groaned and rubbed his head, the person holding the gun pointed it at the employee. "Give us all your money! NOW!"

"Of… of course! Whatever you say!" The worker immediately started digging through the cash register. Based on the way they were sweating and breathing, they probably figured that they weren't getting out of this situation alive.

Junior didn't blame them; that was a concern on his mind too. And it was a pretty big concern; these thugs were some of the biggest dragon koopas he had ever seen! Even Roy and Morton would look tiny next to them; the only person who Junior knew could outclass these guys in size would be his dad.

Oh man, I wish my dad was here! If his dad was here, he could burn these criminals to a crisp. He would then pick Junior up and bring him home, where he wouldn't be in any danger of being shot in the face. Maybe Junior's dad would even enact a law or put something in place that would help combat the crime rate in Amber.

Of course, Junior's dad wasn't here, which meant he had to take care of this himself. He had no chance of fighting off against these thugs, so his best bet would be trying to get away. He looked toward the door. If he crawled and tried to be as quiet as possible, maybe he'd be able to escape. Maybe he could even go to the police! Yeah, yeah, he could definitely do that! He just needed to be discreet and sneaky.

So, he started crawling toward the exit. The employee struggled and hyperventilated as they tried to load all the cash in the register into the thug's sack. Junior felt bad for him, but right now, it was every man for himself. Junior continued crawling towards the door, praying that the thugs wouldn't see him…

"HEY!"

SHIT! Before Junior could even react, the thugs descended on him. Junior felt like pissing himself as one of them picked him up, held his arm around his neck, and put the gun right up against his head.

"You going somewhere, big guy?"

"N…no! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Well then, you'd be fine with staying here!" He pressed the gun even harder against Junior's head. "Cause you are never walking out of this building."

Tears streamed from Junior's eyes. This was it. This was how he was going to die. His mind flashed with all the important events in his life, as well as all the important people. Wendy. Larry. Ludwig. Lemmy. Morton, Iggy, Roy, Kamek, and his dad… oh, he wished he had the opportunity to say goodbye to them! Closing his eyes, Junior waited for the thug to pull the trigger…

"AHH!"

The thug dropped Junior, much to the prince's shock and confusion. Opening his eyes, he gasped when he saw the criminals floating in midair. "How… what… why…" He looked forward and gasped. The magikoopa woman who had been sitting at one of the tables stared intently at the thugs, all while she held her wand out.

"You guys leave him alone!" She said. "You think it's acceptable to kill children!"

The thugs shuddered. "L… let us go! Put us down right now!" screamed the leader.

The magikoopa smirked. "I don't think so, big guy. In fact, I was thinking it'd be much better if I teleport you somewhere where you'll never hurt anyone again." Her smirk grew nastier. "How does the depths of space sound?"

"What? You're crazy! You can't send us there! You can't…!"

It was too late. The magikoopa chanted a spell, and the thugs disappeared into thin air. A silence hung in the room, one thick and suspenseful. Junior stood in one place for a little bit, trying to get his breathing under control as he looked at the magikoopa.

"You… you saved me!" He rose to his feet. "Thank you!"

"No problem." The magikoopa smiled and stepped forward. "Now, it's not safe here. Why don't you come to my house? I can feed you something while you recover from the shock."

Junior smiled. Ignoring the fact that this was a pretty risky idea, he nodded.