Chapter 21 Follow the Beanbean Road

The wind whipped at Pom Pom's hair as she stood in the back of the go-kart. She looked out at the Beanbean Kingdom, greener than green and lusher than lusher. She saw all sorts of creatures as she and Wendy made their journey through the land. There were more Beanies, but they thankfully kept to themselves and didn't bother the girls. There were these snail-like creatures that Pom Pom recognized as Winkles (or at least, that's what she thought; the only point of knowledge that she had was a folktale she heard in kindergarten). Although it was a little hard to notice thanks to how fast the go-kart was going, Pom Pom swore that she saw some of the Winkles smile at her. That… oh, they were smiling despite the terror brought upon by the Shadow Sirens? Well, how could Pom Pom not smile back?

The two girls rode for the better part of the next six hours. Eventually, they sun started to set, which not only stained the sky yellow and orange but also made the various objects cast large shadows over the land. Honestly, Pom Pom always got uneasy during dusk, more so than she did on pitch black nights. She had no idea why; it was just something that she's had to deal with ever since she was a kid. Kinda like Viv, but to a far lesser degree.

"Wendy, do you think we should find a place to rest?" Pom Pom asked as the sun dipped lower and lower below the horizon.

Wendy whimpered. "Do we have time to sleep?"

Pom Pom bit her lip. "Well… I dunno, but… does that really matter? Sleep is a biological need."

"It is." Wendy whimpered again, shrinking forward and tightening her grip around the steering wheel. This behavior didn't go unnoticed by the cadet.

"Wendy, it's going to be okay." Pom Pom patted the princess on the shoulder. "Maybe… maybe we can have a compromise? Like, we find a town with a hotel, sleep for a few hours, wake up early, drink boatloads of coffee, and leave before the sun even rises. If we do that, we can still get everything we need and still be ahead of the darkness."

"I… I suppose you're right." Wendy paused. "Yeah, I mean, you are right that we can't ignore our biological needs." She sighed. "No matter how much I want to right now."

Pom Pom nodded. Yeah, it would be really nice if the two of them could ignore basic needs. They needed to keep a steady and swift pace, fast enough to compare to literal machines. Or Mario; he always seemed to march forward without any need for rest. Man, how nice would it be if Mario was accompanying the two girls on this mission? He'd probably be a big help. And to think that they were getting ready to fight him before this whole debacle got started; it was so weird how things worked out sometimes.

Unfortunately, Pom Pom would come to find that she didn't have a lot of time to ponder the hypothetical. She heard Wendy sniffling in front of her, a sound that she neither expected or desired. Pom Pom looked down at the princess, hearing her crying more and more. It got to the point where the rest of her body moved.

"Wendy? Are you okay?"

"I…" Wendy shook her head. "I'm sorry, Pom Pom. I really am. I just… I can't help but think about Matt and Barry." She paused. "And my crew." She paused again. "And my brothers."

Pom Pom felt a pang. "I see." She reached out and put her hand on Wendy's shoulder again. "It's… we had no choice, Wendy. I wanted to take Matt and Barry as much as you did, but we really did have no choice."

"I know, I know, I just…" Wendy's crying got stronger, so much to the point that it could and probably would interfere with her ability to drive.

"Wendy, why don't you let me take over the kart, okay?"

Wendy hesitated before standing up and switching places with the rookie. They managed to do this so quickly that the go-kart didn't lose speed nor did it veer off the road. Pom Pom also got into the groove of driving pretty fast to, able to focus on the road with ease.

"Pom Pom, what if we fail?"

"We won't, Wendy. We'll find Viv"

"But what if we don't? Everyone is counting on us, and there's so much riding on this. What if we aren't able to deliver? What if Viv isn't in the Flower Kingdom?"

Pom Pom bit her lip and tightened her grip on the wheel. "If Viv isn't in the Flower Kingdom, then we'll find someone else who has knowledge on the Shadow Sirens." She paused. "We will win, Wendy."

"Will we? Will we really?" Wendy whimpered and hiccupped. "I want to see my brothers again. I want to make sure my crew is safe. I don't… I don't know if everything is going to work out."

Pom Pom snickered the tiniest bit. "Funny; you seemed pretty confident in the plan before we set out."

"That was before we found out that my ship's fuel tanks were running low and before I found out that I had to leave people I care about in the path of the darkness!" Pom Pom felt Wendy's weight shift a little bit. "On top of that, even though I texted my brothers hours ago, I haven't gotten a response back from ANY of them!" Wendy was practically bawling now. Pom Pom felt sad listening to her voice break, listening to her sniffle as she dried her face. Oh, how she wished she could turn around so she could give Wendy a hug.

"Wendy, it's going to be okay."

"How do you even know that?"

Pom Pom adjusted her position in her seat. "You want to know how I know that?" She smiled. "It's because of you." Wendy didn't say anything in response to this, which Pom Pom took as her invitation to continue speaking. "Wendy, you don't know it yet, but you've done me a world of good. You encouraged me when I joined the Koopa Troop. You came up with all our plans and set us on the right path towards fixing things. And… you supported me when it came to Viv. When I found out she was real… I probably wouldn't be thinking coherently still if you weren't there." Her smile grew bigger. "You've been a real anchor for me, one of the biggest sources of emotional support that I could feasibly have. You're… you're my friend."

Wendy stood stalk still. "Pom Pom…"

"And on top of which, you inspire me. You're kind and sure of everything. You are surer in me than I've EVER been in myself. You don't turn me away because of my struggles. You make for the perfect partner on the battlefield. And you do it all despite your doubts. Even though you doubted the plan, you still decided to hop in this go-kart. Despite the uncertainty, despite MY uncertainty, you still knew that we could and would find Viv." She paused, frowning a little bit. "That shouldn't have to change just because there have been a few bumps in the road. I mean, I'm still sure about the mission. I think you should be too."

Wendy stayed silent for a few minutes. Since Pom Pom couldn't see her face, she couldn't see how she was feeling or even if she accepted her words. As a result, uncertainty grew in Pom Pom's mind. She hoped that this would be enough. Wendy had been more than enough for her. All she wanted was to return the favor.

"You really feel that way, Pom Pom?" Wendy asked.

Pom Pom sucked in a breath. "I'm someone who hasn't been certain about things in my life for over a decade. And recently I've been questioning so much that I feel like my brain is gonna explode. But if there's one thing I AM certain about, it's this. No question or shadow of a doubt." She smiled again. "We will get through this, Wendy. I have faith." She paused. "I have faith because of you."

When that last word escaped from her mouth, Wendy started bawling. Pom Pom blinked; were those happy tears or sad tears? She honestly couldn't say. Whatever it was, it was certainly emotionally heavy though.

"Pom Pom… thank you!" Pom Pom let out a breath when she heard Wendy say those words. "I've… I've been trying to stay strong for multiple reasons, one of which is you specifically. And… I do feel like I haven't been doing the greatest at being strong. But if I was able to inspire you like this… thank you."

"No, thank you, Wendy." Pom Pom chuckled. "I've said I haven't had this good a friend since Viv, and I truly mean it. And you were right when you said that our social statuses don't matter. You are a princess and I am a soldier, but that doesn't change anything. You've been… awesome to me."

Wendy chortled and patted Pom Pom on the shoulder. "You've been awesome to me, too." Wendy pulled back. "And I don't think you should sell yourself short. You said I'm an anchor for you, but in all honesty… you've been the exact same thing for me. I probably would've given up when I found out about the fuel tanks, but you were right there to make me realize… no. We can get through this. Together."

"That's right. And… thank you."

"No. Thank YOU. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. When we restore the world, when we get rid of the darkness and return back to the Koopa Kingdom… I am going to put in all my effort into making sure that YOU are remembered. I'll give you a high rank in the Koopa Troop. I'll give you a medal of honor."

"A medal or honor?" Pom Pom's heart pumped. "Wendy, that really isn't necessary…"

"Yes it is. It really is. We are going on this mission because of you. We have a plan to save the world because of your experiences, because of your struggles. I mean… I have heard the phrase 'for everything there is a time and a purpose,' and… maybe the reason you had the experience with Viv is because of this. Maybe fate was setting things up in a certain way to make sure that this whole thing could be overcome, that the world could be saved."

Pom Pom considered these words before chuckling. "Would make fate kind of a jerk, if saving the world involves me going through a lifetime of Hell." She smiled. "But still… that is a nice thought. Maybe you're right. I mean… yeah, we wouldn't be going on this mission if I had never gone through what I had gone through." She paused. "Maybe… maybe you're right." Pom Pom's heart did things that it didn't normally do, that before today she didn't know if they could do. She placed her hand on her chest, thinking about everything. "Thank you."

"Thank you." Wendy let out a breath. "See, this is good. This is why we can be friends; friends support or each other. Or, so I've heard."

"Yeah." Pom Pom chuckled. "I've heard the same thing." She looked back up into the sky. The oranges and yellows had faded away into dark blue; not dark enough to be considered nighttime yet, but dark enough so that it impacted her ability to look at the road. She frowned. "Yeah, I think we should find a hotel. I mean, think about it. Driving while you're tired isn't really a good idea, you know?"

"Hmm… yeah, I think you're right." Pom Pom felt Wendy's weight shift again, probably because she was reaching into her hammerspace to get her phone. "Hmm. Hmm hmm hmm." She stayed silent for a few seconds. "Okay, it looks like the town of Hooville is about twenty minutes away, more or less in the direction we're currently going. We can stop there and find a hotel to stay at."

"Sounds like a plan."