Chapter 17 A Little Church

The church didn't look too impressive on first glance, which… Larry didn't know if it should. He knew that it was a place where people went to worship, as evidenced by the fact that he and the Marios were wearing fancy clothes. Clearly, a church was a sacred place, so… why did it just look like a regular white building? Why was it so small? Why did it look like it could be crushed by Mario if he were to just pull out a mega mushroom?

"That's it?" Larry asked.

"Sure is," said Mia. She looked toward Luciana and Mateo. "You two, hold my hands while we cross the street, okay?"

The twins did just that, leaving just Larry, Luigi, and Mario. Larry kept his eyes on the church, his curiosity, fascination, and disappointment growing more and more noticeable. "It… it's so… little."

"Yeah, it is," Mario said. "But trust me, it's a nice place." He looked from side to side. "Okay, let's cross."

Nodding, Larry accompanied Mario and Luigi as they crossed the street. As they did that, Larry decided that he wasn't going to focus on the church so much. Rather, he was going to focus on the PEOPLE who were entering the church. Those people were bound to look a lot more interesting, right? They would probably give Larry some idea of why this church was so great, how such a humble little building could be seen as "the Lord's house." And he had to say, the people who he did see going into the church… well, they were all dressed up too. The men wore nice suits, the women wore dresses that came in a variety of different colors. The ladies also had their up and were wearing jewelry, which was a pretty nice sight to see admittedly. Overall, everyone looked like they were putting their best foot forward.

That still didn't change the fact that they were going into such an unimpressive building though.

Speaking of which, Larry was just about to go into the church himself. As soon as he entered the door, he looked from side to side. Nope, there wasn't anything impressive going on in here either. They looked to be in a small room, with open doors leading into a much bigger room. The small room had a simple brown carpet and a few tables with flower vases resting in between the doors. It really didn't strike Larry as something worth admiring… wait. That bigger room. It… did it…

Larry entered through the door to the bigger room, and when he did, his jaw dropped. This place was so pretty! The first things that captured his attention were the windows. They were stained glass, and the way the sun outside shined through them bathed the room in the most dazzling colors. A few golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling; they weren't too big, and they didn't hold a candle to any of the chandeliers Bowser's Castle had. Even still, they were a welcome sight, and they made Larry feel all the happier. Pews rested all around the room, a raised platform with a podium stood tall and proud at the front, and… oh wow. There was a large circular stained glass window behind the podium, and it was arguably the most gorgeous one yet. That was because it mostly used cool colors, most notably purple and blue. Larry would readily admit he was biased in this regard, but blue and purple were his favorite colors. They always have been.

"Oh wow," he said. He turned to the Marios, coming into the room right beside him. "This place's got style."

Luigi laughed. "Yeah. I don't think I've ever been in a sanctuary that didn't look pleasing." His eyes scanned the room. "Where would you guys like to sit?"

Mia laughed. "We sit in our usual spot, of course." She made her way to a pew in the second to last row and took a seat. The Mario brothers exchanged a look as they went to join her.

"Wow, Mama," Mario said while lowering himself onto the pew. "You sit in the same spot we sat in as kids, you keep all the important suits we wore as kids… is it safe to say that you're stuck in the past?"

Mia chuckled. "Sure. You can say that… as long as you're ready to get grounded when you get home."

Mario snickered and shook his head. "Wow Mama, you really are stuck in the past! I'm WAY too old to be grounded."

"Not to mention he's way too morally pure," Larry chimed in.

THAT got all the Marios to laugh. "Morally pure, eh Larry?" Mario asked as he gave him a sparkly-eyed look. "I don't know whether to be pleased with how right you are or disappointed with how wrong you are."

Larry stuck out his tongue before looking around the sanctuary again. More people were coming into the room, taking seats in the various pews. Larry noticed a few of them looking over at him and whispering amongst themselves, a sight that made him feel giddy. Sure, one could very easily argue that this was a bad sign, but… he didn't know. He liked the attention. At least it was different from the attention he got in the Mushroom Kingdom. Those people usually looked at him with fear and hate while here… well, they still looked at him in fear. But for the most part, there was a fascination present in their features, a curiosity that couldn't be quelled. Honestly, Larry loved that. It also made him start to wonder how long it would take before someone decided to come up to him and the Marios and ask what in the ever-living heck Larry was supposed to be.

Sure enough, someone came up within no time at all. It was a middle-black woman wearing a purple dress with blue flowers on it. She kept her eyes on Larry, looking a little uncertain. "Uh… um…"

Larry smirked. "It's okay. You can talk to me; I don't bite."

The woman blushed. "Okay. I was just…" she curled a strand of her graying black hair over her ear. "I was just caught off guard, that's all. I mean… I don't want to sound rude, but…"

"But you're wondering what in the ever-living heck I'm supposed to be." Larry had to work extra hard to contain his giggles. "That's understandable. You don't see a lot of my kind in these parts."

"No. No we do not." She looked at the Mario brothers, the corners of her mouth turning up in a smile. "I mean, I know Mario and Luigi live in what is essentially a fantasy land, but they never do bring anything back from that fantasy land when they visit." She stepped towards them. "It's nice to see you boys here, by the way."

"You too, Priscilla," Mario said. He gestured to Larry. "And this is Larry. Larry is a koopa, and he's visiting our world for a little bit. Kinda like a vacation of sorts."

Larry snorted. "More like the most complicated and expensive therapy session that I've ever experienced, but that's neither here nor there." He looked back at Priscilla. "But either way, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." Priscilla took a seat in the pew right behind Mia. "So, Mia, are you happy to have your boys back?"

"Back? What do you mean back; I never lost them!" She laughed. "I always knew exactly where they were at all times."

Luigi snickered. "Oh, so the eyes on all the hills and trees in the Mushroom Kingdom belonged to Mama this whole time? Good to know."

The Marios and Priscilla laughed and delved into a conversation that could only be had by close friends. This was good, but it unfortunately made Larry feel a bit like an outsider. Not so much in the sense that he felt lonely, but more so in the sense that he didn't really have a place in the chat. So, he looked around the sanctuary again. The people who happened to have fear on their faces when they saw him now didn't appear that way, which was probably thanks to Priscilla. They still appeared confused and fascinated though, which gave Larry an idea. As the Marios and Priscilla all talked, Larry snuck his way out of the pew. Being the sneaky little bugger that he had always been, he made his way up to the podium at the front of the room. He stood in front of it and cleared his throat, all while everyone except Priscilla and the Marios held their gazes on them.

"*Ahem.*" Larry took in a big, deep breath. "HELLO, PEOPLE OF MARIO AND LUIGI'S WORLD!" Okay, maybe the shouting was a little unnecessary, but… eh, it was fun, so Larry didn't mind. "I GET THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY WONDERING WHAT I AM!" Larry chuckled. "I AM A KOOPA, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST AWESOME CREATURES IN THE ENTIRE MUSHROOM WORLD, BY THE WAY." He gestured toward the Marios. "I AM ACCOMPANYING THE MARIO FAMILY TODAY, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, MAKE SURE TO COME UP TO US! THANK YOU AND HAVE A GOOD DAY!"

With a grin that was both goofy and sly, Larry dismounted the podium and went back to his seat. As he got closer to the Mario family, he noticed that they looked a little uncomfortable. Their faces were also flamingo pink. Laughing, Larry took his seat back right beside them and leaned back in the pew. As he did this, Mateo tapped him on the shoulder.

"Uh, Larry, that podium is supposed to be for the preacher."

"Oops. My bad." Larry's grin wasn't even close to falling from his face when he said that. "I would say sorry, but it's kinda in Koopa nature to break the rules."

"Yeah, but breaking the rules in the Lord's house?" Mia asked. She shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Aye aye aye, you are just full of surprises, Larry."

Larry smirked. Putting his hands behind his head and his feet up on the back of the pew in front of him, he decided to just appreciate the fruits of his labor. More and more people came up to him and the Marios than ever before, asking the Marios a ton of questions. They didn't really address Larry very often though, which… eh, that wasn't a big deal. He had already made a splash, he had already left an impression. He didn't need to call attention to himself anymore.

Not that calling attention to himself in the way he did hadn't been fun. In fact… this whole trip had been fun. The second he had emerged from that sewer and saw New York City for the first time, he had been starstruck. And, honestly, that starstruck feeling was a big help. He felt like himself again, he felt like he was starting to reach a point where he could recover from the event of Tec's death.

But… how true would that be when Larry actually got home? He probably only felt this way because Brooklyn was new and exciting. When he was away from the new and exciting, how would he feel? Would he still feel good? Or would he go right back to square one?

This question made him frown. He didn't want to go back to square one, but… did he have much of a choice? Would he be able to live his regular life, a regular life that was now messed up in so many different ways? Would he be able to escape from the feelings; TRULY escape from the feelings? He didn't know, and the fact that he didn't made him worry. He actually whimpered thinking about this, for he knew he didn't want to go back to being sad and miserable.

"Larry, put your feet down?" Mia whispered. "The preacher's here!"

Blinking, Larry looked toward the front. A man in a black suit and a big black book in his hands walked up to the front. In fact, thanks to his presence, everyone else in the sanctuary took their seats too. The whole place was quiet now, with everyone waiting for whatever was going to happen.

This had better be good.