Chapter 33 Mario the Menace?

And so, the walk through the Koopa Kingdom was officially underway. The trio made their way across the dark, ashy ground, all while Peach was stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to breathing. The smog, while mostly present in the atmosphere above as opposed to the ground they were walking on, had a sickening smell. It was so bad that she couldn't breathe it in for long periods of time. But she also couldn't NOT breathe, so… yeah, this was quickly turning into a dangerous scenario.

Not for the Marios though, which really caught her off guard. They walked through the smoggy land like it was just a simple walk in the park. They didn't need to cover their faces, they didn't need to do anything. It looked like they did this all the time. And considering that Mario mentioned that he often went to the Koopa Kingdom in order to engage in fights with King Bowser, yeah, that all made perfect sense.

Still didn't help with Peach's own problems though.

"Oh… oh God." Peach coughed as she inhaled a really BAD batch of air. She hacked away like both her lungs and throat were on fire. The Marios turned to her, with Mario looking especially concerned as he approached her.

"Having trouble breathing?"

Peach nodded, feeling scared to speak. Mario's brow furrowed as he exchanged a look with Luigi.

"Well…" he sighed. "I believe there is a town about a mile from here. With any luck, we can find a store that has something to help you." He took a step closer to her. "Does that sound good?" Peach nodded again, which made Mario smile. "Okay. Remember; it's just another mile."

Peach frowned. Could she survive for that long? Sure, she didn't have much of a choice, but could she actually do it? She didn't know.

But she had to do it. She couldn't turn back, that would just be foolish. Mario and Luigi knew what they were doing. They were both strong, capable men, and they could help Peach out. They had taken her this far already, so how could she not trust them? How could she not feel like she was in good hands?

That's what Peach told herself as the three of them continued walking. The queen mostly kept her eyes on Mario and Luigi, as she didn't want to lose sight of them. Since the smog blocked out the sun, that meant that it was dark in the Koopa Kingdom on top of everything else. So she had to keep her eyes open at all times or risk getting lost in this kingdom, which at this point was a place comparable to hell.

Luckily, the Marios must've been just as aware as she was that getting lost here was a possibility. So, every five minutes or so, they turned around to look at her, to make sure that she was still following them. They didn't outright say that's what they were doing, but even still, Peach knew. On top of knowing that, Peach also knew that she was grateful for them doing this. They wanted her to be safe, which was just so sweet. These two… it was so strange how quickly they had all become friends. It was like they had known each other for years.

And to be perfectly honest, them constantly checking to make sure that she was okay was what allowed Peach to complete the mile-long journey to the nearest town. The Marios filled her with determination; they inspired her in ways so few other people did. She could see why Peasley had become fast friends with Mario. She could see it easily.

The two walked for about twenty minutes before they saw the town in the distance. Peach was so happy to see it that she wanted to run. She of course couldn't; if she was having this much trouble breathing already, running would have catastrophic consequences. But even still, she smiled when she saw the town. The Marios also looked pretty relieved, especially Mario as he turned to look at Peach.

"Come on, Your Highness. We're almost there."

Peach let out a breath. "Just a little bit more. I can do this," she whispered. She locked her gaze on the town, not letting anyone or anything get in her way. So what if she had trouble breathing? That would pass! This storm was guaranteed to pass! She would be right as rain once she and the Marios got some aid. There was no reason to worry at…

"PEACH, LOOK OUT!"

Before Peach even had a chance to process what was going on, Mario grabbed her by the collar of her dress and pulled her backward. She shrieked as she fell back first into the dirt.

"Mario, what was…?" She gasped when she pulled herself upward, her stomach doing flip-flops. Right in the path that she had been walking was a giant pool of lava. Glowing a shade of orange that the sun itself had no chance of ever replicating, it flowed through the land like the most dangerous, most perilous, most terrible river that any creature in the Mushroom World would ever lie eyes on.

"Oh… my… word…" Peach turned to Mario, gawking at him. "You saved me."

"Yes." Mario eyed the lava pool. "These things are more common in the Koopa Kingdom than they have any right to be." He took off his hat and wiped some sweat off his brow. "One of the kingdom's worst features, in my humble opinion."

Her heart pounding, Peach looked down at the pool before nodding. "I can see that." Her breathing sped up, which didn't help her feel better. Her stomach gurgled and churned, threatening to make her vomit.

"Mario, Queen Peach!" Luigi called out. "There's a bridge right over here!"

Mario let out a breath of relief. "Thanks Lou!" He called out. He turned back to the queen. "Come on." He took her by the hand. "We're almost there."

Peach looked down at her hand in Mario's. The strangest feelings in the world overtook her, and yet, she didn't want to get rid of them. She smiled as she looked into Mario's eyes, Mario's beautiful blue eyes.

"Lead the way."

Mario smiled back at her, the expression sending her over the moon. He guided her toward the bridge, all while her heart fluttered. For a second, just a split second, she forgot about the smog. She could breathe perfectly fine with Mario here. Her heart could relax and feel free from all its burdens. She wanted to say a million things to the Mushroom Kingdom's president, but where could one even start? The way he made her feel, the fact that he was so kind and amazing. He was risking so much when it came to helping her. She couldn't remember the last time she met someone like this.

Anyway, the trio entered the town. As they walked through it, Peach found it interesting to note that this place didn't seem too terribly different than Toad Town. Sure, the architecture was different, and it was full of various types of koopas as opposed to Toads. But… she didn't know. She suspected that the place had a similar vibe.

At least, that's what she felt when they initially entered the town. After a little bit, Peach began to notice that some things were off. The Koopas, for example, looked at the three of them with worried looks. Sometimes they whispered back and forth between each other, and sometimes they would refuse to make eye contact and try to get away as soon as possible.

"Mario, why are…?"

"These Koopas probably remember my history with Bowser," he said. He chuckled apprehensively. "One can't exactly fight one-on-one with a king without picking up some sort of reputation."

"I see." Peach looked at the Koopas again. Their worried expressions went beyond just worried; they looked petrified. They looked like they wanted to run for their lives. They weren't affected at all by the smog, but they looked ready to faint because of the presence of two men. Two powerful men, sure, but still. It was so odd to Peach, especially given what she already knew of the man who inspired such fear.

After a little bit, the three of them arrived at a store. It was a general store, one tucked in on a street corner that had a golden sign over the entrance. It was quaint, but Peach wasn't going to let its humble nature fool her. This was her way toward continuing the journey. This was the break that she needed. Go into this store and she would the item she needed to keep going.

So, Mario, Luigi, and Peach entered the store. It was a little stuffy, smelling of the dust that was visible in the cracks of some of the shelves. Said shelves carried items that didn't look to be in the best shape; there were glasses with cracks in them, food items in boxes that looked pretty badly beaten up, and blankets that looked faded. Peach frowned when she saw this. It wasn't as disgusting a sight as Tolstar's house had been; in fact, she probably wouldn't even call it disgusting. But even still, it had the same atmosphere as Tolstar's house. Neglected, unkempt. It was the victim of negligence. Severe negligence.

"Mario, Luigi, do you think this is the right place?"

Luigi shook. "Yeah, Mario, I don't know how easy it'll be to find something helpful here."

Mario nodded. "I get what you're saying." His eyes scanned over the many dirty shelves. "But I also think that… AH HA!" He went to one of the stores and picked up an item. "An oxygen mask!" He chuckled as he looked back at Peach and his brother. "Exactly what we needed at the exact time that we needed it."

Peach let out a breath of relief. "Good." She walked forward and studied the oxygen mask. She had heard that sometimes people in hospitals were hooked up to oxygen when they needed it, and she had also heard of people who wore gas masks when they were entering areas that were full of poisonous gas. She expected the oxygen mask to resemble something like either of those, but it surprisingly didn't. It just looked like a regular face mask, albeit one that was made out of slightly stronger fabric than most face masks.

"Uh… Mario, are you sure this is…"

"Yes, Peach. Trust me; this might not look like anything too special but believe me. It'll help." He gestured toward the checkout counter. "Come on."

Exchanging a hesitant look with Luigi, Peach followed the president. At the checkout counter they saw a rather young-looking koopa troopa. Standing over both the candy and the cash register, he looked like he was doing pretty well at his job, especially for someone who looked so fresh out of school. However, that all changed when he spotted Mario.

"P… President Mario?"

"Yep. it's-a-me!"

The koopa troopa shook like Jello. "You… you are… you…"

Mario sighed as the troopa began sweating. "Look, buddy, I'm not here to hurt you." He put the mask on the counter. "I just want to buy this. Can you ring me up please?"

The troopa hesitated for thirty seconds before reaching a shaking hand towards the face mask. As he rang it up, Peach couldn't help but marvel at everything. Seriously, it was so strange how people could fear someone like Mario. It was just such an absurd notion! It didn't make sense! The numbers one and one were present, but for some reason they were adding up to three instead of two. It was so bizarre.

Well, the koopa troopa managed to ring Mario up and put his item in a bag anyway. Mario thanked him and handed the bag to the queen. "Put it on, Your Majesty. It'll help; I promise!"

Nodding slowly, Peach took the bag, unboxed the mask, and placed it on her face. The SECOND she did, it was like she was back in the Mushroom Kingdom. She got a wiff of what was possibly the best quality air that she ever had in her life! The scent of the smog was a distant memory, as was the possibility of her dying.

"Oh… my word." She smiled. "This really does help!"

"Yeah," Mario said. "Most of the time Koopas using magic to make oxygen masks like these. They're really handy."

"I'll say." Peach stepped closer to Mario. "Thank you so much." She looked toward the koopa troopa, who still shook. "And thank you."

The troopa nodded. "You're… you're welcome."

"Anything for a queen," Mario said with a wink. "Now, let's make our way to…"

"Uh, Mario?" Luigi called out from the front of the store. "I think you need to see this?"

Both Mario and Peach blinked. Not wasting any time, Mario rushed over to his brother. Peach wasn't that far behind him. "Luigi, is everything…"

He gasped. When Peach looked out the window, she gasped at the sight. The town appeared to be under attack. By dry bones.