Update: 11/23/24: Well, looky here! Another update only a few weeks after my last one, and by far the longest chapter I have published! This is a chapter I have been waiting literally years to write, as this was always intended to be a big turning point in this story. I found that, despite its length, this chapter flowed out of me very quickly and I just had so much fun writing it! Several of the character arcs and major plot lines I have been building up to come to a head in this chapter, and I really intended this to be the big moment(s) where the story really starts to pick up the pace. One thing I'm very pleased about with the completion of this section of the story is that we will certainly be exploring new areas and characters, as the Mushroom Kingdom is a big place and there's still so much more at stake! I hope this marks a return of me updating this story on some kind of a more consistent basis, however if the next chapter is a longer ways away, I at least feel happy that there's been some significant developments in the narrative. Once again, thank you everyone who has shown interest in this story. I really appreciate the support and hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Chapter 19: Fires Burning in the Night
Twink was beginning to like his new body. Well, as much as one could when possessing the form of another. It felt kind of like wearing some thick body armor, except that he sort of merged with it. The longer limbs were starting to feel more natural, though when he held his four fingered clawed hands out in front of him, they still felt like they were far away. His true body, the sparkling star form, felt more properly compact, though he was learning to account for the longer limbs. The wings protruding from his thick, shimmery, rainbow colored shell were another oddity. As a star spirit, he was used to simply hovering through the sky as he pleased. Gravity didn't apply to him as a star but if he wanted to stay aloft in this body, he had to constantly exercise these peculiar wings. While it did not take a ton of effort to do so, it still felt at times unnatural to him. He thanked his lucky stars for those wings however, thinking about the doll that ?! had possessed. By the Star Spirits, he wouldn't know what to do with two legs if he was forced to use them! Sure, this Paratroopa that Luigi had said he now possessed did have legs, but Twink just sort of let them hang down in the air like dead weight while staying aloft constantly. He gave his two companions a sidelong glance then and wondered how these earthbound creatures didn't feel completely trapped on their meager two feet. They were attached to the ground at all times, never knowing the freedom of flight that had been Twink's entire life!
How I wish I could show them the stars! Twink thought. And not from such a long way down here, but up close and personal. High above the world...
While musing on this, his two silent companions continued to walk toward the Mushroom Kingdom, contemplative. After having rescued Mallow from the river yesterday, the trio had decided to camp for the night under a thicket of trees in order to allow Mallow time to recover. (Dr. Luigi's orders!) Unfortunately, the night had not been a restful one for any of them. Mallow continued to groan and thrash in the night. Not from any particular pain or injuries, but plagued with nightmares that the Cloud Prince claimed were "too vivid to be dreams".
"You have been through some trauma." Luigi stated matter-of-factly. "I'm sure the nightmares will pass and you'll be right as rain in no time."
Twink couldn't help but think that, despite claims to the contrary, Luigi made an excellent doctor. He kept his opinion to himself.
Mallow shook his head. "They are too real to be mere dreams. The people I have seen... the devastation..." he said with a gasp. He took a deep breath, cleared his throat and continued. "It's no coincidence, Luigi."
"I agree." Twink interjected. "Think about it. The Star Road was just destroyed, and now a prince who happened to be involved the last time this happened is experiencing incredibly real, prophetic dreams of destruction. This must be the work of Smithy! He must be stopped!"
Luigi had paused and looked around. It was mid-afternoon. The sun was shining and not a cloud dotted the gorgeous blue sky. The Midas River flowed gently as they followed it back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Birds chirped and a slight breeze softly kissed their noses, the sweet smell of fresh grass and fire flowers in the air.
"That very well may be." Luigi said. "However, we seem to be safe for the moment. And believe me, I don't necessarily do best with danger and doom."
Twink saw Luigi shudder then. Was Luigi trying to convince them or himself?
"Regardless. We should do what my brother does: Just put one foot forward and keep going." He said with a determined look that was slightly spoiled by his shaking hands.
"Did you hear those noises in the night?" Mallow asked with a frown. "What about them?"
"What noises?" Luigi replied, shaking his head.
Twink, not used to such long periods of sleep as these creatures, had been up most of the night, hovering around their camp like some iridescent, glowing sentry. He thought he could hear some faint sounds coming from the west, like a dull roar. It was hard, even with this creature's fairly keen ears to discern exactly what the sound was however.
"I heard it too, Luigi." Twink said. "Coming from that direction." He pointed a claw toward the direction they were walking.
"You mean... toward the Mushroom Kingdom?!" Luigi exclaimed, his eyes widening and his face growing slightly pale.
Twink nodded gravely. The trio paused and remained silent for a moment trying to listen, but could only hear the gentle rush of the river to their right and the soft breeze dancing with the leaves. It was a picture perfect day and on the surface at least, it seemed that all was normal. Twink flapped his wings a little harder, ascending into the air and shuddering as he remembered how ordinary his day had seemed when the Star Road was attacked.
"I'm going to fly on ahead a bit." He said, pointing a claw at a distant hill perhaps a quarter of a mile away. "Let me get up really high and try to get a good look from over that hill."
Luigi nodded. "It's only about a half day journey from here on foot. If you fly high enough, you might even be able to see the Mushroom Kingdom from here."
"Got it!" Twink said with a nod. He was about to fly off when Mallow shouted.
"Be very careful, Twink!" He said with a somber expression. "I have a bad feeling about this..."
Twink nodded again and, flapping his wings harder, dashed into the air towards the hill like some rainbow comet, trailing small bits of stars behind him. As he approached the hill, Twink flew higher and higher. As he ascended into the sky, the hill gradually revealed more of the landscape beyond, like pulling a curtain downward to show the greater view behind it. By the time Twink reached the hill, he had an almost panoramic view of the country side. He gasped as he gazed upon rolling green hills that ran as far the eye could see. Lush meadows like a giant green carpet rolled out before him. Trees, flowers, bricks and question mark blocks dotted the landscape everywhere and the sky was so clear it was like peering into a perfectly still lake. It was so alien to Twink's eyes, from his home world up amongst the stars. The Mushroom Kingdom might not have glowed in a myriad of colors with a black blanket of stars overhead like the Star Road, but it was beautiful in its own odd way.
Twink flew even higher until the hill that was now directly below him was no more than a small bump on the green carpet below. His gaze continued to wander until, far off in the distance, he spotted something... off. It looked like a small pin had been stabbed into the earth, though Twink knew it must have been massive based on the distance it was from him. He pondered for just a moment, stroking his orange beak of a face with a clawed hand, then dashed toward the point as fast as he could. He kept his eyes on the pin which, as he flew closer to it, grew into a nail, then a pen, and so on until finally he could see that the object was more like a giant knife with a massive hilt at its apex.
"...or a sword?" He pondered.
As he approached he was also noticing that the knife or sword seemed to be protruding from something.
A tower? He thought. Maybe. Wait, not just a tower, a... His eyes went wide with shock as the realization crashed home. It was a giant sword. And it was protruding from a large castle. Princess Peach's Castle.
Twink immediately came to an abrupt stop as all he could do was gape at the sight before him. He could see it all clearly now. Princess Peach's Castle with a massive sword embedded into it as if stabbing it straight through its heart. It stood, perhaps three or four miles away and now Twink could see that the surrounding town was in shambles. The charred, misshapen black buildings fell about the castle like broken pieces of a shattered kingdom. He could even see tiny figures moving about amongst the wreckage. It seemed that whatever had happened, the place was still a bustling center of activity, despite the devastation.
"Smithy." Twink said aloud immediately. "He destroyed the Star Road, and now... oh, by the Star Spirits! He has destroyed the Mushroom Kingdom, too!"
Suddenly, some motion caught Twink's eye coming from the north. A massive airship made of bricks and steel, its bow a huge, axe-like head was approaching the castle. Twink thought of the many stories ?! had told him of his previous adventure in this land and a name came to his lips.
"Blade." He said.
Of course! Smithy's airship! He thought.
The thought of ?! leant more despair to the horrible reality that lay before him, and as he raced back to Luigi and Mallow to tell them the bad news, he wondered if his friend was okay and if they would ever see each other again.
Please. He thought. Let him be okay and let us find each other again!
Twink's heart sank as he remembered that with the Star Road now obliterated, his wish may never come true.
Yoshi ran. He normally loved running, and in fact was one of the fastest Yoshis on Yoshi's Island. He had bested Red and even old Boshi a time or two. Boshi was often quite arrogant (for a Yoshi anyway) and would often let his boasting run faster than his feet. It was amusing to Yoshi to think of Boshi now, in a sort of ironic way. What he'd give for the worst of his problems in the present to be old Boshi's boasting. A few little races with Boshi, his friends laughing at the spirited conversation, then a banquet of fruit as they celebrated the great race. Yoshi smiled thinking of it, then wilted as he recalled the Super Happy Tree's demise. No, this wasn't some good natured and spirited fun like back home, this was very serious, desperate running.
So Yoshi ran like his life depended on it.
"I can still see him," came a severe voice behind him. It was Geno, the blue doll that they had met at Tadpole Pond. He was riding atop Yoshi's back as he ran, keeping an eye on their quarry.
Mario, of course.
As news of the Mushroom Kingdom had reached Frogfucious and the tadpoles, Mario had reacted instantly, rushing away to get back to the Mushroom Kingdom as soon as possible. Yoshi and Geno had bid Frogfucious a quick farewell, but Mario was already well out of sight by the time they crossed the pond and started running after him. Yoshi was concerned and more than a little awed at how dogged and unrelenting Mario's pace was. He had out run them for what must have been miles, but Yoshi kept on his trail with his nose, sniffing at places where the red clad plumber's trail tapered off. Mario ran through forest, mud, up hills and even waded across a river. How Mario managed to scale the rock wall parallel to the Midas Falls so fast Yoshi had no idea, but it was tough going for both himself and Geno.
Yoshi figured that Mario must have been using up every power-up he carried with him, as well as stuff he found along the way. Some fruit and a few Goombas that he lashed with his tongue along the way helped Yoshi maintain his own pace tremendously. He even found a lucky power star, but no matter how fast he ran he seemed to be just a few steps behind Mario.
He's so brave and determined. Yoshi thought with wonder. He'll never give up.
"So much for the orb." Came Geno's voice again suddenly. "You'd think catching up to Mario would be a pretty simple wish, but I've yet to get any kind of reaction out of this thing."
Yoshi halted a moment at Geno's words.
"Can Star Spirits make wishes?" He asked suddenly, turning his large head back to peer at the doll. Yoshi still couldn't get over how odd the creature looked. Wooden skin, that strange, oddly shaped blue hat and cape and those deep, haunted, crimson eyes. They regarded him with a vastness that Yoshi couldn't even begin to fathom.
"Yes, we can in fact." Geno said in a lecturing tone. A teacher educating his young pupil. "However, it would be a bit like buying something from a store that you own."
Yoshi didn't know anything about stores or money or anything like that and just gave Geno a confused look.
"Heh?" He replied in confusion.
Geno sighed. "Okay, let's say you were to grow your own fruit trees..."
"Mmmm... fruit!" Yoshi exclaimed happily. "Do you see any?"
"No, no. Here, listen." Geno said with a shake of his head. "Let's pretend you grow your own fruit."
"So, no fruit then?" Yoshi asked sadly. "Why would I grow some anyway? I'd just get it from the Super Happy Tree or..."
"No! Please, just listen to what I'm saying." He put his hand over his face as he shook his head. "Okay. You are growing your own fruit..." Geno paused as if waiting for Yoshi to interject.
"No, I'm not." Yoshi said. "I don't even know how to grow fruit."
"UGH. Okay, it's just an example!" Geno exclaimed in frustration. Yoshi wondered why Geno was getting so upset about fruit, but decided it was best not to ask this at the moment. Geno sighed heavily and started from the beginning.
"Okay. So let's pretend that you know how to grow fruit..." He began, giving Yoshi a, "If you interrupt again I'll Thwomp you" look. "...so you have all of this fruit you have grown, and then you ask yourself if you can eat one of the fruit, or I suppose it would be more like asking yourself for permission to eat a piece of the fruit you grew."
Yoshi just stared blankly back at Geno and tilted his head.
"I still don't get what fruit has to do with granting wishes?" Yoshi asked, genuinely confused.
Geno just sat there for a long moment, staring blankly at Yoshi. Finally he heaved a very heavy sigh, dismounted from Yoshi's back and stood in front of him, patting Yoshi's nose.
"I think I know what you're getting at." Geno finally said. "Maybe the orb isn't working for me because I'm a Star Spirit. Yes, we can grant our own wishes or the wishes of other Star Spirits, but it's very uncommon. I'd even say it's incredibly rare to do so. We live...errr... lived a pretty idyllic life just granting wishes, so I suppose there was no real reason to, well, wish."
Yoshi nodded his head. Why didn't he just say all this before? He thought to himself.
"You take it, my friend." Geno said with a small smile. "Go ahead, make a wish."
Yoshi smiled and grabbed the small red orb in his hands. It was roughly the size of a large cherry, though as hard as stone and as smooth as the surface of an apple. A red glow emanated from it and at its center wisps of deep red like nebulous clouds danced. Yoshi closed his hands over the orb, closed his eyes and as he did at Tadpole Pond, made a wish. He could almost feel the orb moving in his hand and as he made his wish, become warm to the touch.
"Ouch!" Geno shouted suddenly.
Yoshi opened his eyes as Geno straightened from picking up an object from the ground.
"This just fell on my head!" Geno complained.
Yoshi grinned. "An apple!" He exclaimed and quickly lashed out his tongue, eating the fruit right out of the possessed doll's hand. "My wish came true again!"
Geno stared daggers back at Yoshi, but then, perhaps seeing the pure joy in Yoshi's eyes, relented and just laughed.
"You are something else, Yoshi." Geno said with a smile.
"Well, not really." Yoshi said. "I'm just a Yoshi."
Geno laughed again. "Okay, that was a good test. Now..."
Geno took a step forward and closed Yoshi's hand over the orb again.
"...Make another wish..." He said.
There were many things that frightened Luigi. There was the time when he was a kid in Brooklyn that he had accidentally locked himself in the basement while his parents were gone for the night. Mario had been fast asleep two floors above him, and the bulb of the single light in the basement had blown, plunging him into a terrifying night where his imagination ran wild with ghosts, vampires, demons and all other manner of the strange and macabre. When finally he had been discovered the next morning, he had been cowering in a corner sobbing to himself. There was also the time in school when Wario and Waluigi bullied him into asking Susie Applegate out at lunch break, only to have rigged a whoopee cushion in the seat next to her. He nearly died of embarrassment at that. Then of course there was falling into the pipe under Brooklyn that brought himself and Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom. Nothing like trying to fix a simple leak and ending up in a completely different world! There were so many other things too: their various encounters with Bowser and his minions, or the time they raced karts and he nearly crashed into a brick wall. Or how about when he won that mansion in the contest he never entered? He shivered at that.
But none of those things evoked the fear that he felt now, standing on a small hill overlooking the Mushroom Kingdom. His entire body shook from head to toe, tears ran down his cheeks and dripped off of his long mustaches and as he stood there, frozen in terror, he could not help but feel as if the entire world had ended. His two companions flanked him: Mallow on the left and Twink on the right and the three just stood there in stunned silence for a few moments as they looked on at the devastation. Toad Town had been completely destroyed. Buildings blackened, small puffs of smoke still smoldering where fires had burned there in the night. he could see the same of the surrounding trees and gardens; any chopped down, burned or just broken in half like sticks. From this vantage point, Luigi could see strange creatures which at first appeared like apparitions marching through the dead town. Like ghosts wandering through a dead forest. However, they appeared to be living, translucent weapons. They marched and formed ranks amongst various other monsters, herding what appeared to be injured people about and making waste of any unmarred building or living thing they could find.
"It's just like the dream." Mallow muttered softly. Luigi and Twink turned to regard him. "The blackened buildings, the broken land. The dead... the dead everywhere. Corpses left to rot, buildings left to burn... it's all..." Mallow sobbed then, burying his face in his large hands. The waves of grief rippled through the cloud prince and Luigi, moving for the first time in minutes put a hand on his shoulder and their tears became one. Less than a minute later, dark, gray clouds billowed in seemingly out of nowhere and a dreary rain started to fall. Lightly at first then growing heavier and more intense as the minutes passed. Luigi had a second to acknowledge how fitting the heavy rain became as their grief reached a crescendo.
The party were all still in tears a few moments later when Twink, perhaps the most emotionally stable at the moment, put a clawed hand on each of their shoulders. He now floated in front of them like some angelic turtle and gave them both a determined look.
"We need to sort all of this out." He said. "We should try to find a place out of the rain and figure out what our next move is."
Twink's words helped to break Luigi's grief stricken spell momentarily, and he pointed to a warp pipe off to their right.
"If we take that pipe, it should take us to a small wood not too far from where my house is." He said. "I took it here when I initially set out for Sarasaland. It might be a bit risky, but hopefully the house is far enough away from the castle and Toad Town that these monsters haven't discovered it." At the mention of Sarasaland, Luigi couldn't help but think of Daisy. He hoped she was okay and that these tragedies had not reached her. Or anyone else for that matter.
Twink nodded at Luigi's words and motioned the party forward. "Let's go then!"
Luigi turned to Mallow. Tears still streamed down the young cloud's puffy white features, but he stood eerily still now. He just stared blankly off into the distance toward the castle with that horrific, massive sword protruding from its spires. Luigi put an arm on Mallow's shoulder who didn't seem to notice at all.
"It's not over yet." Luigi forced himself to say. What would Mario do now? Be brave, be optimistic. "It's bad, yes, but we can still fight."
Mallow turned to him then, his eyes blank, his expression haunted.
"How do you fight your destiny?" He whispered somberly.
Of all of the things that had ever haunted Luigi in the past: old memories, fears, ghosts and monsters and even the sight before him, those words would prove to be the most chilling of all.
He drifted in the darkness; a mote in the eye of eternity. All was darkness and pain. He existed in a state not of reality or dream, but somewhere in between. After what felt like an eternity, the darkness slowly started to dissipate and he seemed to drift closer toward a distant light. No, he was not drifting toward it, the light was slowly moving at him. Reaching out to warm him in its comforting embrace. He heard voices then. Muffled, incoherent sounds at first, then slowly single words and finally coherent sentences as the light consumed his vision...
"...he's been here for." said a voice.
"Looks bad maybe it..." said another.
"...to the house... watching..." said a third.
He opened his eyes. Blinding light flooded into them and he immediately felt the pounding in his head and closed them once again as he held his large head in both hands. He moaned in pain, just lying there for a time on his side wallowing in his silent, isolated agony. As he lay there, he could hear voices softly whispering around him. Though he felt much fatigue and his head felt like Donkey Kong had hit him over the head with a hammer, he slowly rolled onto his back and gingerly opened his eyelids. Light again flooded his vision, and it took a couple of moments before his sight cleared enough to see three faces gazing down upon him. Two looked unfamiliar to him, but the one closest he recognized. It took him a moment to process what he was seeing, but finally a small smile reached his lips as he spoke.
"Luigi?" He asked as if not quite believing what he was seeing. "Finally. I have found you."
Luigi grinned under his thick mustache as he looked down at him.
"Toad!" The green plumber exclaimed. "You're back with us!"
"Wow! You did nurse him back to consciousness!" said one of the figures enthusiastically. Was that a... Koopa? "Are you sure you aren't a doctor?"
Luigi grimaced at that, giving the Koopa a reproachful look.
"For the last time, Twink." Luigi replied in an annoyed tone. "I am not a doctor."
"You fixed me up pretty well too." said the third figure. Was he some kind of talking marshmallow? "Toad here looked pretty bad when we found him."
Toad tried to comprehend the strange trio's words, but the pounding in his head grew worse again and he moaned, sinking back deeper into... how did he get into a bed?
"Look, can we drop all of this stupid doctor talk?" Luigi sighed. "Toad here is clearly not well. Perhaps we should give him space."
"Ugh... head" was all that Toad could manage to say. Then, he passed out again.
When he next came to, the light was more subdued; a dim yellow glow as opposed to the white blinding light of the day. The sun had clearly gone down, and the room he was in was now only dimly lit by a lamp on a desk at the other end of the room. He stared at the low wooden ceiling above him as he slowly tried to get his bearings. Aside from the dull ache in his head, his right arm hurt a bit, but not severely. He pulled it out from underneath the covers and noticed a large, purple bruise about midway down just below the elbow. A few bandages littered his chest as well, but otherwise he seemed to be okay. He was about to push himself up into a sitting position when a large, white hand fell gently on his torso.
"Save your strength." The voice said, startling Toad. He had been so focused on his wounds that he didn't even notice the person sitting in the chair at his bed side. "You've had quite a rough go of it. Rest now while you still can."
Toad turned to his side to face his companion, really seeing him for the first time. The creature was quite literally a talking cloud with magenta hair and white and teal striped pants held up by a leather belt. Toad's eyes were instantly drawn to the golden belt buckle which seemed to shimmer in the dim light. The name "Mallow" was engraved there and Toad felt a pang of recognition at the name, finally putting it together with the face now staring back at him.
"I know you." Toad acknowledged. "You've gotten taller, but you're Prince Mallow!"
Mallow nodded, giving him a small, friendly smile. "It's been a long time, Toad." He said.
"Not since you and Mario defeated Smithy..." Toad began.
"A lot has happened since then." Mallow said gravely. "I'm afraid not much of it good most recently."
Of course! The Star Road! Toad thought. The last time it was in trouble, Mallow had been there! It made logical sense that he would resurface after so long given the circumstances.
"Are you here because of the Star Road?" Toad voiced his thoughts aloud.
Mallow frowned deeply at the question, mulling it over for a moment. Finally he sighed.
"No. I'm afraid I'm here because of a foolish accident." He said. "Or maybe it wasn't so accidental. Either way, I'm sure whatever is currently going on in Nimbus Land has something to do with both my presence here, the Star Road and my vis..." He paused there as if he had said more than he wanted. "We should probably go get Luigi and Twink."
Toad felt a surge of both relief and panic go through him. A relief that yes, he really had seen Luigi and his last awakening had not been a dream. Panic flooded through him then as the circumstances of his present situation came back to him in a flood. The Star Road vanishing, the meeting with Mario and the Princess, later setting out to find Luigi to no avail, and finally: The attack on the Mushroom Kingdom. Toad bolted upright at the latter, practically jumping out of bed, which caused Mallow to start. The Cloud Prince was quickly on his feet then, calling for Luigi and Twink while trying to calm Toad down.
"The Mushroom Kingdom!" He shouted in desperation. "It was under attack!"
. . .
Later, after having calmed down and receiving some more treatment for his injuries from Luigi, Toad sat at a table in the kitchen of the house he had been taken to for his recovery. In his painful fugue and subsequent panic, he had not put together that he was actually in Mario and Luigi's house, and had been resting in Luigi's bed. The Mario Brothers' house was a humble, one story wooden house tucked away in a forest a few miles from Princess Peach's castle. Mario and Luigi had preferred a quiet abode away from the hustle and bustle of Toad Town where they could get away from the limelight and retreat after a long adventure. The house was furnished with simple, comfortable furniture, pictures of the brothers, their parents and friends adorned the walls. There were two bedrooms each with a small personal bathroom connected to them, a medium-sized living room where a small fire now burned in a stone hearth, filling the small house with a cozy warmth and a small kitchen. He now sat at a circular wooden table in the kitchen with Luigi and Mallow; the strange Paratroopa, Twink, perpetually hovering in the air just a few feet away. Luigi had made some tea, and after a brief respite that Luigi had insisted upon, the green clad plumber finally spoke.
"I have a lot of questions for you, Toad." Luigi said. "And I'm sure you do for us as well. I think it might be best if all of us went around the table and told our stories from the beginning so we are all on the same page. I can start if you wish..."
And so Luigi began. He talked about his journey the previous morning to go see Daisy in Sarasaland. Meeting Twink along the way and the dire situation with the Star Road. Twink took up the tale from here: Smithy attacking the Star Road, his flight with ?! down to earth and subsequent separation from him. His possessing the form of the Paratroopa and Luigi and Twink finding Mallow. Mallow chimed in here about falling from the clouds, being rescued from the river by Twink and being treated by Luigi. He ended the story talking about the dark visions that haunted him and their arrival at the devastated Mushroom Kingdom. Toad found his eyes widening and his jaw dropping further as their individual tales unfolded. He felt stunned and completely overwhelmed by these events and felt at a loss for words. Before he had time to recover or indeed, even tell his story, Luigi prompted him with a question.
"Where's my brother?" He asked, as if it took all of his effort to drag the question out of himself, fearing the worst. "Please Toad, tell me you have seen him."
Toad heaved a sigh of relief at this as, he was pretty sure that the one thing he was certain of was that Mario had not been in the Mushroom Kingdom when it had fallen.
"He's safe." Toad said confidently. "He left early yesterday seeking answers and help. Once we found out about the Star Road, he set out immediately to see someone named Frogfucious. I'd never heard the name before, but..."
"Grandpa!" Mallow suddenly exclaimed. "Of course!"
"Grandpa?" Twink repeated tilting his head. "This... Frog... focus? You don't look like a frog to me..."
Mallow shook his head. "Nor a tadpole." He shrugged. "I thought I was one for a while at least. Frogfucious found me and raised me as his own grandson. Before I met my real parents anyway."
"Wait, I remember that now." Toad said, the memory shifting back into place in his brain. Boy are my thoughts foggy. He thought. "Mario helped you find them, right?"
Mallow nodded at that.
"Of course he did." Luigi interjected. "That's my bro."
Mallow turned to Luigi. "We must go see my grandpa! I bet we'll find Mario there and if not, Grandpa should be able to give us some information about where he went and maybe even what to do."
"Maybe we should try and find ?! first." Twink interjected. "He's the one who would really know what we should do."
"You know Twink, if your friend is who I think he is..." Mallow mused. "I'd imagine that Geno would also seek out Frogfucious for help. We always did when we adventured together."
"One step at a time." Luigi said firmly. "Toad, let's hear the rest of your tale."
"Well, I looked all over for you, Luigi..." He began.
So Toad told it. He spoke of the Star Road, Yoshi arriving with grave news about the Super Happy Tree, Kamek's visit to the palace offering a truce in the name of Bowser. His long, fruitless search to find Luigi. Finally, Toad recounted the battle at Toad Town, falling from the sky and hitting his head...
"...and that's the last thing I remember." He concluded. "I must have been incredibly lucky and fallen down into the warp pipe that leads out into your front yard."
"That's about where we found you." Luigi said. "You were just lying there in front of the pipe, a bruised and bloodied mess. The pipe itself was filled with rocks and other debris, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was buried or destroyed in the attack by rubble."
"Good thing we got here when we did!" Twink exclaimed. "Dr. Luigi to the rescue!"
Luigi shook his head as Toad nodded, thanking the trio again for helping him and smiling. He wilted however, thinking back to the battle at Toad Town. How many were now dead? How many homes destroyed or families broken? Tears welled up then, and he could not help but to openly sob.
"They destroyed everything..." He muttered in agony, the tears falling in rivulets down his face, dripping onto the table, into the tea. Luigi stood up and walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright," Luigi said consolingly. "There's nothing you could have done..."
The party just remained still there and for the second time that day observed a somber silence as the death and devastation sank in, the only sound Toad's soft sobbing.
It's all gone! Toad thought. Toad Town, the castle, the Princess...
"The Princess!" Toad exclaimed, bolting up again.
"Princess Peach?!" Luigi cried. "Of course! What became of her, Toad?!"
Toad felt a pang of guilt and a bit of shame at not mentioning her before. Luigi was so often underrated by well, everyone. Seen as the more timid brother and less outgoing, Luigi was often overlooked and left in his older brother's shadow. Toad knew better than that. Indeed, Luigi in countless adventures showed so much bravery, wit and he never gave up, even when he really wanted to or was scared out of his wits. It was not lost on Toad that, right at this moment, Luigi was very naturally taking charge of the situation and becoming their de facto leader. He already had seen how both Twink and Mallow were deferring to him and in Twink's case, seemingly awed by him. Luigi had rescued and helped heal both himself and Mallow, and was showing extraordinary resilience to all of this dreadful news, despite the way his hands shook and his teeth ground together.
For this very reason, Toad felt the need not to broach the subject of Daisy or Sarasaland while recounting his story. To Luigi's mind, Daisy was still safe in her kingdom untouched and unmarred by these events. Toad had seen her, at that last meeting with Princess Peach nearly broken and reduced to tears over the loss of her kingdom. She had shown incredible bravery however, vowing to retake her kingdom and fight. Toad had been both awestruck and humbled by her determination. He remembered now that very last image of her and Princess Peach, fleeing from the palace tennis courts as the fires burned in the night...
"Luigi, sit down." Toad said, making a snap decision to just tell the whole story. "There's something else you need to hear…"
So Toad recounted finding Daisy and her retainer, Mash, right at this very doorstep, the attack on Sarasaland and their meeting with Princess Peach. As he told his story he could see Luigi's complexion getting paler, the sweat starting to pour down his face in beads. He had the look of a man getting news of a terminal illness or seeing a ghost. He started to shiver visibly then, and Toad paused.
"Are you okay, Luigi?" He asked with concern.
"Just finish your story Toad." He whispered, quivering. "I must hear it all."
"Well, before I fell." Toad soldiered on. "I saw the two princesses running from the castle into the darkness. I can't say for sure if they got away or not, because the next thing I knew, I was falling..."
Luigi sighed heavily in relief at that last, but as Toad concluded his tale, the sound of shattered glass brought everyone to their feet at once. Chairs tumbled out from under them and tea was spilt as they heard a pounding at the door and shouting from outside. Toad heard Luigi shriek in terror then, as the party braced themselves to meet the enemy that was literally at their doorstep. Chaos soon erupted.
Geno watched the crimson orb glow in the early evening dusk, mirroring the molten ball of fire in the sky that was setting behind the hills to the west. It bathed the land in a reddish glow, much the same as the small orb in Yoshi's hand did. Geno thought he could recognize the power emanating from the small sphere. When at first he had defeated Bowyer, the orb was a puzzle to be solved at a later time. However, after having granted two out of three wishes that Yoshi had made, it seemed only logical that the orb, in some way, harnessed the power of the Star Road. When last his homeland was destroyed and he pursued the seven broken pieces of the Star Road to this planet, he had found that their power had been fractured in the same way as the Star Road itself had been. Indeed, only when the seven pieces had been united did the power flood back into them, and the Star Road was made whole again. This orb however clearly harnessed a power of its own, if only a finite amount. Was this Smithy's doing? The monster had himself been unaware of the star pieces last time until Mario had already collected two of them. What would he have done had he known about them from the beginning?
He would have done what he does best. Geno thought darkly, knowing the answer. Forged them into weapons.
Was that what this orb was? A weapon forged out of the ashes of his home? It was not fashioned as a sword, axe or anything remotely resembling any weapon that Geno had known of. If anything, its small size and odd glow seemed... otherworldly. Like himself. If the alternative, and the orb was some manifestation of the power of the Star Road created by some of his brethren, or even the Star Spirits themselves, why was it in in the hands of one of Smithy's most dangerous minions? Furthermore, why had it not reacted in any way to him when he touched it?
Questions upon questions. He mused. And each answer only raises more.
Geno continued to ponder this as he rode upon Yoshi's back, eyes straight ahead, the red glow of the orb radiating from the green dinosaur's hand. They still pursued Mario and although Yoshi's first wish had been quite literally fruitful, his second: that they catch up to Mario had yet to come true and their quarry still remained elusive.
"Geno!" Yoshi exclaimed suddenly as they crested a hill. He pointed his free hand to the next distant hill. "Look!"
Geno squinted at the hill, not seeing anything at first. However as Yoshi picked up the pace, he thought he could see a shiny, metallic object jutting from the very top of the hill. What was it? A sword?
"Approach with caution, Yoshi." Geno said quietly, pointing to a tree. "Let's get behind that tree up there and see if we can sneak a peek."
Yoshi nodded in reply and slowed his pace. Following a patch of bushes and low foliage, he slowly approached the tree. As the pair quietly ascended the low hill, it became clear to Geno that whatever the object was that they had spotted, it was not embedded into the hill but behind it, and it was moving. As they reached the tree Geno dismounted again, gave Yoshi a shushing gesture, and as they peeked out from behind it, Geno's eyes went wide as he took in the scene before him.
He was standing right there, at the bottom of the hill. Mario stood facing a gang of creatures that Geno had known all too well as of late. They were all shaped like translucent weapons and at their head a very tall, spear-like weapon wearing a long, flowing red cape, red gloves and carrying an enormous spear in its hand (the very tip of which had been what Geno had spotted over the hill.) stood menacingly above Mario, chuckling. Its laugh was a maniacal, mechanical sound as its horrible yellow eyes seemed to pierce right through Mario. Geno knew this creature all too well, as he had helped Mario and their party defeat him all of those years ago: Yaridovich.
"Ah, yes, Mario!" The creature bellowed ominously. "So, you finally decided to show up!"
Yaridovich's minions echoed his words in a horrible, shrill chorus of metallic laughter. Geno and Yoshi had to put their hands over their ears to protect their hearing from the terrible sound.
"I'm afraid you arrived too late to the party this time!" Yaridovich grinned wickedly. "The festivities have already started! Mwa ha ha!"
The awful metallic laughter continued, but Mario did not respond. From Geno's vantage point, he could only see Mario from the back, but the red clad plumber just stood there, hands clenched at his sides, facing down his enemy. At the sight of Yaridovich and the terrible weapons, Geno quickly felt his temper starting to rise again. His tiny star form blazing from beneath its wooden body like a raging fire in a hearth. His blood boiled as he thought of what these creatures had done to his home and what they were now doing to this land. However, almost worse than all of that, was the way they now gloated at and ridiculed perhaps the most noble person Geno had ever met in his life; as if Mario were just some ant they could crush under their boots. His anger boiled over then and he stepped out of his concealment, barely noticing Yoshi's attempt to pull him back behind the tree. He slung his blue cape back over his right shoulder, cocking his arm gun as he nonchalantly made his way down the hill. Soon, Yoshi ran up beside him.
"I guess we're going in, then?" Yoshi inquired with a worried expression. The red orb in his hand seemed to pulsate now as they approached the group, the nebulous crimson tide like waves crashing on a beach inside the orb; the red light glowing brighter and brighter.
Geno passively noted the orb's radiance expanding, and the irony was not lost on him that as the red light continued to grow brighter and the tempest inside the orb grew more violent, so too did his red hot anger. He could feel the magic inside of him swelling up, and mentally readied himself to unleash one of his spells on the enemy when all at once, the creatures finally acknowledged their presence. Before they could react however, Geno screamed his rage at them, again drawing his cape back, pointing an accusing finger straight at Yaridovich.
"You will PAY for what YOU have DONE!" He screamed, the red hot rage now fully overtaking him, and he fired a massive blast of pure, blue white light from his hand that not only caught Yaridovich off guard, the massive spear throwing himself to the ground at the very last second, but missed Mario by a hair and boring a massive hole into a tree behind them.
Everything erupted into utter chaos then.
Mario picked himself up off the ground, dodging blows from the translucent weapons, drawing out his hammer as he defended himself. Yaridovich, after shaking off his initial shock, dodged more blasts of magic from Geno who had now utterly lost control of himself. He unleashed a Geno Blast, raining down destruction from the heavens, obliterating a few of the weapons where they stood and searing both the end of Yaridovich's cape and lightly grazing Mario's pant leg. Yoshi tugged at Geno's cape, trying to restrain him from the chaos he was inflicting, but Geno's rage was too out of control. In the end, Yoshi had to retreat behind a bush to not himself get caught in the crossfire. In the back of his mind Geno knew he needed to stop, to restrain himself but he was lost in a tempest of rage and destruction.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Yaridovich bellowed. "You think you know what real power is? I'LL SHOW YOU TRUE POWER!"
He thrusted his hand in the air, a small object radiating an orange glow in his hand. Suddenly, Yaridovich himself was glowing a deep saffron, and he summoned a blast of energy straight for Geno, who countered with a Geno Beam. The two beams of pure light met and exploded, causing Mario, Yoshi, and the remaining weapons to be sent flying in all directions. Geno hardly noticed as he summoned another blast of energy, aiming directly for Yaridovich's middle. Yaridovich dodged, summoning a flame stone down at Geno while thrusting the massive steel spear down at him. Geno weaved between both stone and spear and shot a barrage of shooting stars at Yaridovich, a couple penetrating the weapon's steel skin. Yaridovich shrieked in anger at this and managed to knock Geno down with a low, sweeping blow with the spear shaft. Geno rolled but recovered quickly to his feet, snapped his fingers, and in an instant his form changed into a canon, which shot a massive blast of energy at Yaridovich. It grew into the shape of a sun that engulfed Yaridovich completely and then exploded, showering down bursts of light like an afterimage. While not devastating, Yaridovich was knocked down to his knees, breathing hard as he tried to recover and Geno reshaped to the doll's form.
"You fight with real anger in your heart!" Yaridovich wheezed, clearly trying to catch a breath. "Perhaps we were wrong about you. Master Smithy could use a minion with your... talents."
Geno did not respond but screamed pure rage at the spear and sent another blast of energy at him. This one struck Yaridovich straight in the chest, but he somehow summoned more energy from the orange orb and managed to deflect a good portion of the attack. Geno dodged a counter attack and sent another barrage of shooting stars at the massive spear.
Geno's rage was still a tempest, the core of his star being an unrelenting fire that refused to go out. However, deep inside he knew that something was deadly wrong, and that he may not live to see the end of this fight. His anger was absolute, but his magic was not limitless, and he was already feeling it draining from him...
"YOSHI!" He managed to shout through gritted teeth.
"Geno! You have to stop!" Yoshi shouted from behind him, his words punctuated by an explosion.
"I can't!" He shouted desperately. "Tell Mario to get out of here and find the princess! Then bring me that orb!"
Yoshi was scared out of his wits. He had been on many adventures and encountered many foes in his life, but none so evil and menacing as these weapon creatures. They fought with brutal force and a reckless abandon like nothing he had ever seen. As horrible as they were however, his companion in blue scared him far more than any of the weapons currently were. Geno's crimson eyes were ablaze with fury; an unrelenting torrent of agony and destruction as he rained devastation down onto his enemies. The blazing hot blasts of pure magical energy tore through the weapons like paper, although that really big, pointy one in the front fought with just as much fury as the blue doll.
Yoshi had heard the desperation in Geno's voice as he called to him. Whether out of fear or duty, Yoshi had followed his orders to the letter, fighting off a few weapons to get to Mario who had been surrounded. They fought together for a very short time, like two old comrades back in the trenches together again. Their foes fought unrelentingly, but with Mario's hammer and power-ups and Yoshi's agility, the pair managed to push the awful weapons back; winning a short respite where Yoshi implored Mario to leave the fighting for Princess Peach's Castle. Mario had argued with him for a short time, but after watching the power struggle between Geno and the massive spear creature, Yoshi's friend gave him a reluctant nod, a quick hug, and raced back toward the Mushroom Kingdom.
"Good luck, Mario." Yoshi said aloud as he watched Mario run off. A pair of weapons started to chase after his friend, so Yoshi lashed out his tongue in two short bursts, like the crack of a whip, grabbing each weapon by the leg and knocking them down. They turned on him in a fury, chasing him back towards where Geno stood at the base of the hill, still a radiant blaze of power. As Yoshi ran, he gripped the small red orb in his hand tighter. The little crimson sphere had become almost a comfort object to him now, although he had to admit that his last wish, that they would catch up to Mario, did not necessarily pan out the way he had hoped it would.
Suddenly another blast of energy shot past Yoshi, completely torching the two weapons in pursuit of him. Yoshi threw himself to the ground, whimpering at the close call, the shouts and the chaos. He crawled on hands and knees behind a bush then, terrified and shaking. He gripped the little stone tighter, and when he looked down, noticed rays of crimson light emanating from his fingers like slices of stained glass shards poking through, glittering in the light. The sun was almost completely set below the horizon now, bathing the land in an ominous dusk, the sky a brilliant palette of reds and oranges like the very sky itself was on fire. Yoshi's eyes widened as he really felt for the first time the heat radiating from the orb in his hand as another blast of magic shot directly over him.
I need to help! He thought desperately. But these monsters are just too strong! If only I could... If I...
"I wish..." He whispered aloud, closing his eyes.
Geno sent another blast of blue white energy at Yaridovich. The monster's minions had mostly been obliterated, although a handful huddled near the creature now, the only other ones that remained were either corpses on the ground or badly injured. Geno still felt the red hot anger at his core, but the tide was slowly starting to drift away now, and his magic was beginning to dry up.
Can't go on like this much longer... He thought desperately, and looked to Yaridovich, still holding up that orange sphere and laughing insanely.
"You and that little man humiliated the Master Smithy and myself all those years ago." Yaridovich suddenly bellowed. "Now it's time for that debt to finally be repaid!"
Yaridovich and his cronies started to rush forward, and Geno's magic now, for the first time since the fighting had started, really was starting to dissipate; the red hot anger now being replaced by a cold, blue certainty:
He was going to die.
Oddly, he found the prospect of his own demise less terrifying than the anger that was slowly subsiding in him now. What was happening to him?
Then he saw it out of the corner of his eye. An effulgent blaze of pure red energy, dimming the setting sun, Yaridovich's orb and even his own red hot anger with its brilliance. A blazing red fire burning in the night:
Yoshi.
Mallow had seen these creatures in his dreams, haunting him like specters in the night. Living weapons with translucent skin, their red eyes ablaze with a hunger for death and destruction. Several crashed through the windows of the Mario brothers' home at the same time that the front door burst open with even more of the terrible creatures. Without a moment's hesitation they rushed the group; toppling furniture, breaking everything they could see, some even wielding weapons. Mallow noticed some other minions as well: big, blue monster looking creatures with reptilian features, some Shy Ways flew through the door and even some Spinies. Mallow stood back to back around the kitchen table with Luigi, Toad and Twink; the party shocked into stillness, enemies approaching from all sides.
"Quickly!" Twink shouted. "While we have a chance! Luigi!"
Mallow looked toward Luigi who was standing just to the right of him. Mario's brother seemed to be shaking violently with fear, the sound of his teeth chattering clearly audible, frozen where he stood. Toad, though injured and much shorter than Luigi, reached up and smacked the green plumber across the face.
"Snap out of it!" He cried. "There's no time!"
And there was not. Mallow acted as quickly as he could, summoning some magic. The weapons now approached slowly on all sides, mere yards away from the group. Mallow breathed in deeply and cast a spell.
"SNOWY!" He screamed.
Suddenly a torrent of snow and ice filled the small house with a blast, as if a blizzard had just manifested right there in the kitchen, throwing snow everywhere and blinding everything in the house with a brilliant, white intensity. Mallow focused all of his concentration on the powerful attack, and the tumult of freezing snow and ice shot everywhere. Even he, now used to a life living high up in the clouds, felt the cold start to chill his bones. Out of nowhere a blast of energy shot past him toward the general direction of the doorway, cutting through the thick white haze like an iridescent knife. It shone in an array of colors, as if a rainbow had been shot out of a cannon. The creatures that Mallow could not see but knew were there screeched a horrible mechanical sound as the magical blast exploded at the far end of the house near the front door. More shouts and banging exploded around him, and although Mallow knew they were surrounded, he could not see an inch in front of him. Everything was pure white.
"Come this way!" A voice cried and Mallow felt a gloved hand grab his right hand. He reached to his left and a smaller hand which must have been Toad gripped his firmly.
Luigi took the lead, and although Mallow heard the sounds of crashing and shouting, all he could see was pure white ahead of him, the only thing solid to him the snow covered floorboards and the two hands he gripped. Luigi seemed to know every nook and cranny of the house, because Mallow did not bump into a single piece of furniture or stumble over a stray wire or anything. Crashes and bangs followed them, but the blizzard's fury was unrelenting, and Mallow kept up the spell as they wandered further back into the house. He heard a creaking sound, and then felt Luigi's voice close to his ear, whispering.
"There are exactly twelve steps down. The eighth is a bit loose, so go easy on it."
He followed Luigi down, still holding both his and Toad's hands. The cellar was pitch black, a stark contrast to the pure white above. Luigi led him and Toad down to the bottom and into another room, shutting the door behind them.
Light suddenly bathed the room in a warm yellow glow. Mallow could see some old furniture, jars of some red liquid and other items in the small, unfurnished room. Luigi nodded to him and Toad and, looking around, shook his head.
"Where's Twink?" He asked with a frown.
"I couldn't see anything." Mallow said. "I just felt both of your hands."
"He was floating right next to me!" Toad exclaimed. "But I don't know what happened to him, I couldn't see anything!"
"That snow was you?" Luigi asked, giving Mallow a quizzical look.
"Yes." Mallow said. "It was the first thing I could think of to do."
"Well, you might have saved our skins." Luigi said. "Well, most of us."
"We have to go get Twink!" Toad exclaimed and turned to the door.
"No." Luigi said, grabbing Toad's arm. He pointed deeper into the room. "There's no time, and you're injured. That blizzard can't last forever, can it?" He gave Mallow a questioning glance.
"I'm nearly out of magic." Mallow replied gravely. "It won't be long before they find us."
Luigi nodded as if that was exactly what he had expected. "Go through that door there." He said pointing toward the other end of the room. "It leads to a long hallway at the end which will bring you to a warp pipe. Mario and I installed it when we built the house in case Bowser ever tried to attack us here and we needed a quick escape."
"Clever." Mallow mused.
"What about you?" Toad asked with a frown.
Luigi shivered, took a few deep, calming breaths and stepped toward them. "Mallow, Toad." Luigi said, grabbing each by the shoulder. "This warp pipe will take you far from here, way out past the Donut Plains, nearly to the Kongo Jungle. If I make it, we will meet you at a place called, "Cranky's Pavilion". You'll see a sign for it if you walk just a bit north of where the warp pipe emerges. If we don't meet you there within an hour or two, assume the worst."
"Luigi, I..." Toad began.
"No Toad, I'm the only logical choice." Luigi said firmly. "Twink is too important to leave behind. He knows things about the Star Road we can't even begin to comprehend on our own. Mallow, those visions of yours must mean something too. I'm sorry I dismissed them before but they can't be a coincidence. Toad, be brave like I know you are. We will see each other again. And... thank you for before. I'm sorry I froze up."
Luigi's voice shook at the end. He abruptly turned to go when Toad grabbed his arm.
"Luigi." He said. "I almost forgot."
Toad reached into the small pack he carried on him, fishing out a piece of paper. It looked like a small, yellow envelope. He proffered it to Luigi who raised an eyebrow.
"From Daisy." Toad said. "She asked me to give it to you when I finally found you."
Luigi eyed the paper, grinned and shook Toad's hand and gave him and Mallow a nod.
"I'll see you guys soon!" He exclaimed, not a hint of worry in his tone now as he tucked the letter into his overalls then ran out the door and back up into the blizzard. Just then, Mallow felt his magic finally run out.
"Let's go." He said simply. And the pair ran off down the darkened tunnel.
Mario stood there, sobbing. It was all broken.
He stood upon a small hill, overlooking the now desolate wasteland that had been the Mushroom Kingdom. The kingdom he had so fiercely defended for all of these years from countless foes. It was all gone. The quaint little houses and shops of Toad Town had been demolished, set aflame and burnt to ashes. He could see various landmarks: a statue here smashed to bits, the train in the northern district there, derailed and toppled onto its side like a toy train tossed aside by an angry child, and lastly, the worst site of all: Princess Peach's Castle, now an ominous, dark fortress pierced through by a giant sword that Mario knew all too well. For decades the castle had been a symbol of peace and prosperity throughout the land, a beacon of strength to the rest of the world. It had survived plot after treacherous plot of Bowser's invasions, but it had not survived this. Bowser had been a callous brute who wanted to take over and rule the Mushroom Kingdom. This however, this was beyond anything even the Koopa King was capable of. Smithy had brutalized this land, as if smashing it with one single, devastating blow with his huge hammer. It filled Mario with despair and loss.
That blow had broken him too.
All of his life, and especially after first coming to this land, Mario had always done his best to fight for what was right. He took on every challenge head on and had persevered. He had saved Princess Peach now dozens of times, foiling Bowser's numerous plots as well as besting other baddies. He saw some hardships and yes, what he perceived as genuine evil in these various attempts at conquering the Mushroom Kingdom.
I'm a fool. He thought. That was just child's play. This is real evil. Pure, unadulterated evil.
Mario felt an utter fool for leaving the Mushroom Kingdom to seek help. When the seven stars of the Star Road had winked out just a few nights ago, an ominous feeling had struck him deep to his core. He recognized it fully now. He knew the danger that Smithy had presented all of those years ago when the Star Road had been shattered, and now with everything else: The Super Happy Tree, Bowser's truce, Sarasaland and especially Geno's reappearance after over a decade, he knew, deep in his soul that this must have been coming. Smithy's revenge had been swift, brutal and final.
But you didn't stay and defend the Kingdom. He chastised himself. You thought you had time, you stupid fool. And now... and now she's...
Mario's sobs overtook him then at the thought of Peach. He fell to his knees then, burying his face in his hands as he cried, thinking about what her fate must have been. And not just her but Daisy, Toad, and all the rest. Would he never stop in at Tayce T.'s shop for a croissant or go for a friendly walk with Toad down Main street or wax philosophical with Toadsworth out in the Royal Gardens or...
All he could see was her then. Standing out on the balcony of her chambers; her beautiful, golden hair blowing in the breeze. The sunlight kissed her delicate features as she smiled at him. She wore a beautiful, flowing pink dress, the fabric embroidered with intricate designs. The golden crown atop her head sparkled in the sunlight and those magnificent blue eyes warmly ushered him to her in an intimate glance. Mario's grief overtook him then as he realized that she was most likely dead, and that he may never look into the warm depths of those pools again.
Mario knelt there crying for what felt like an eternity; smelling the remnants of the fires that had burnt Toad Town to the ground, the acrid smoke threatening to choke him. Slowly, he opened his eyes as another wave of grief passed through him, not wanting to face what lay before him but knowing he had to begin to take the next step. However, when he opened his eyes, he saw perhaps the very last thing (or rather person) he had expected to at that moment.
"Enough of that cry baby crap!" Growled the deep, gravelly voice. "You're coming with me, plumber!"
Mario's eyes went wide as a large, clawed hand grabbed him by the front of his overalls, hauling him up and meeting his gaze, scowling. Before he could even react, he was already hundreds of feet in the air, and flying off northward.
To Bowser's Castle.
-The End of Part I-