Chapter Fourteen
Barrel Volcano Outskirts
Kamek’s rotting, damp boat groaned and creaked upon hitting one of many rocky outcrops that surrounded the towering image of Barrel Volcano, barely visible through the grey, intensely thick, midnight fog. A curse from Ludwig was interrupted when a jet of water shot up through the bottom of the boat, breaking past its former dam to touch the hand of Heaven, but instead meeting Ludwig’s mouth. “Aggh! Kamek, couldn’t you have cast some kind of light spell or something?”
Kamek raised an eyebrow, surprised at the Koopa heir’s behavior. “Ever since we started this trip, you’ve become more and more not like yourself. Even at the sight of that horror back there, you were hardly mortified.”
Ludwig’s eyes danced back and forth nervously. Did the old fool know? Would he have to kill him?
“Is something bothering you? Are you still dwelling on your thirst for the throne? I had hoped you would be convinced those petty ideas are useless by now.”
Ludwig sighed, relieved. “You know me like a book, Kamek. I suppose you’re right, however.”
“Of course I am,” Kamek smiled, twirling his wand and repairing the boat. “And don’t ever forget it.”
Kammy got out with quite a bit of grumbling, turning around to help her cousin out. Ludwig refused help, managing himself and their provisions. “Who are these people again, Master Kamek?”
Kamek noted the unusual way Ludwig referred to him as Master. “They are the Brotherhood Of United Magikoopa Clans, all of whom defected from Bowser’s army after his failure to retain control of Dino Land, known as Dinosaur Island during that particular epoch.”
Ludwig remembered well that bleak day after the Magikoopas had relayed their final decisions. Although no blood of either side was shed, tensions were higher than the boiling stars above. “I thought they disowned you.”
Kamek ignored him for a moment, but just a moment. He was running his scaled hands across a water-soaked, eroded face of rock and stone, the side of Barrel Volcano. He was still doing so when he answered. “They did.” Kamek stopped and nodded towards Kammy. She took over his strange activity for him. “They disowned all of us who stayed behind to serve King Bowser: me, their one-time Clan Master, Kammy, and the rest. You are correct in your silent assumptions as well. Convincing them to join us against this new evil will not be easily done.”
Ludwig continued to press him for answers to his doubts. “Then why even bother with this charade of pleading? Time wasted will result in eternal failure if what you see in this new enemy is correct. We should be pulling our own strengths together. We should be… forgetting about my foolish decision to revolt and convince my father of the situation’s direness. We should-”
“Did you say, ‘my father'? It’s just that… well, I thought you Koopalings called him King Dad.”
Ludwig’s eyes began to dart nervously again. “Yes, well, I… Since I’ve had time to think over the conse… I just feel closer to him now that I had almost decided to rebel against him.”
Kamek inquisitively raised an eyebrow. “Indeed.”
“I believe I’ve found it, Kamek,” Kammy proudly proclaimed. She wiped several beads of perspiration from her forehead with a purple sash that hung loosely around her neck and guided Kamek’s hand to an indention in the rock.
“Very good, cousin. Now stand back, and shield young Ludwig’s eyes.”
Kammy complied. Ludwig felt betrayed by the action, but he didn’t resist. He heard Kamek chanting several indescribable terms in an unrecognizable language before his limited vision caught a huge growth of light. It promptly retracted, as did Kammy’s hand from his face. “Excellent,” Kamek whispered, staring into a cave standing where solid rock and caked dirt had been before. “The legendary Temple of Power is before our very eyes.” Kamek’s head pivoted towards his companions, sporting a look of worry. “Let us hope it welcomes us with open arms-”
“And not open mouths,” finished Kammy.
Kamek nodded, agreeing. Ludwig followed suit.
Death Egg
Around the center edge of the gigantic, egg-shaped monster ship was a clear ring. More closely observed, this ring would be found to be a hallway that encompassed the entire ship’s middle, allowing for a healthy alternative to taking the ship’s many tube transports, which, may I mention, Gruntilda has never used once in her entire life.
In any case, Ganon and his faithful but questioning and worried second-in-command, Snifit 2, walked along this path, admiring the ample view of stars and nebulae while discussing more serious matters. “I’m not doubting your motives, Master Ganon. I only fear for the, how shall I put this, after-effects of your plan. Ignoring completely that you seemed to anxiously come up with it out of nowhere-”
Ganon growled. “How can I ignore something that you bring up so vividly, and may I add, with a biased and irritated tone?”
Snifit 2 was silent.
“In any case, it was part of my plan all along. What did you think I came to Plit for? Did you think I ordered us to come all this way just to teach some chef who’s going through a villain phase a lesson?”
Snifit 2 sighed, staring off into space. “No, of course not, sir. I knew there was some other goal you had in sight, and I’m not fearing that. I’m fearing the way you seemed so frantic about your decision, like-”
“Choose your words carefully, Snifit 2.”
The Snifit gulped and did his best to do so. “Like perhaps your window of oppurtunity was limited, but I know that is not. Forgive me, sir, but you acted as a child that has only minutes to clean his room before his parents would him. It’s like you were receiving orders from someone else.”
Snifit 2 didn’t see Ganon’s hands move; he only felt the sharp jarring of his diminutive body being slammed and pinned against the clear, glass wall protecting the hallway from space. “You’ve been listening in on my transmissions! Traitor! You will be separated!’
Snifit 2 yelped and whimpered, trying desperately to articulate himself before Ganon could cast a fatal spell. “Please, Master, no! I live only to serve you, but I had to know why! I had to know why! Please, I live only to serve,” Snifit 2 hung his head and wept miserably. “I beg of you to believe me.”
Ganon’s contorted face of fury looked upon his broken friend. It slowly started to return to normal. With a troubled sigh, he let the Snifit go. “I’m sorry, old friend. It’s just that… this new force scares even me. I was afraid you’d not respect me and then lead a mutiny against me. I just don’t know what to do.”
“Gruntilda knows. It’s really quite clear. We’ll kick that shadowy figure in the rear!”
Ganon turned around, surprised to see his team. Eggman touched a gloved finger to his face. “Yes, my grandfather. That mad scientist! I will support you.”
Andross’ floating hands clenched in fury. “If you go down, I’m taking you… I mean, I’m going down with you!”
“Quack, quack, quack!” wailed King Dedede, who immediately began sobbing.
“Something has survived, but you’re my favorite thing next to coffee, so I’m in this too!” Wart came out, running into a wall first, for his eyes were closed shut.
“This guy’s gaul has me BURNING and… uh… something.”
“Seething?” Ganon asked.
“Yeah, that’s it. Let’s steal his six Stars and keep them!”
Ganon shook his head vigerously. “Even better yet, let’s just ignore his orders. It’s not like he has a fleet or anything.”
Everyone was in rapture, but Ganon stopped the noise when he noticed Wart was whistling nervously.”
“Uh, what’s wrong, Wart?”
Wart gulped and then downed ten gallons of pure coffee beans before continuing. “I just got a data message from Admiral Aldran. He and the rest of the fleet, including the ones not here yet, have defected to that new figure’s team. He stole their loyalty from us.” Wart, overloaded with caffeine, passed out and choked on his own spittle.
Ganon’s fists clenched, and he banged them, audibly, against a wall. “So, that’s the game he wants to play, then? He didn’t want my services all along. He only wanted our grand forces.”
“A he, he is, this must be true. Because just now, the one who named him so was you!” Gruntilda had her arms crossed, smiling.
Ganon bit his lower lip, which had so many rings on it he would later die of rust poisoning. “Oh, yeah, about that, I don’t really know. I only know he likes me to bow in his presence and call him weird zealot names like Faith and Overlord. Other than that, he could be a girl.”
Everyone did an anime drop. Snifit 2 was determined though, as always. “It doesn’t matter. Whoever, or whatever, this thing is, we’ll stop it. We’ll do it even if we have to join forces with Plit.”
Ganon nodded somberly. “Even if it means joining,” he tasted bile in his throat, but he closed his eyes and continued, “Chef Torte.”
Barrel Volcano Outskirts
“Wait up for me, ok? I’ve just got to get something from the boat,” Ludwig called back, pretending to be excited. As he reached the boat, he stretched his sensory powers forth, making sure the old fools were out of range to intercept his thoughts or voice. After making sure of this, “Ludwig” waved his hands, and after a thick cloud of colored smoke enveloped him, he was back to his original, Magikoopa self.
Vermik was a red-cloaked Magikoopa and the most talented morphing one ever to exist in Plit’s history. His skill was flawless and his method perfect up to his current state. He’d successfully fooled Kamek and Kammy into thinking he was Ludwig, along with Bowser’s other kids and Bowser himself. He’d even used his powers to control his thoughts in a way where he considered himself to actually be Ludwig so he wouldn’t give himself away by mistake. True, he’d had some setbacks. For now, his plan of usurping the throne was null considering the new enemy. But still, he had the location of the Magikoopas Bowser despised so much. He still had a playing card. He only hoped his background wouldn’t come back to haunt him. “Ludwig, hurry. The cave will close again soon!”
Vermik collected his wand and morphed, hiding his weapon in his shell. “Coming.”
Chapter 15
Maria
The entirety of Chef Torte’s Team of Terror, along with twelve assorted baddies enslaved by Genius Guy from the renamed Jugger Torte, stood in a position somewhat resembling attention, half-heartedly listening to Chef Torte ramble on about something for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the annoyance level in one troop skyrocketed, and he exploded. “SWEET MOZEIR OF SOME VERY IMPORTANT FIGURE, VHAT VAS ZHAT?!”
Changling saluted and spoke up, the remains of the unfortunate soldier strewn over his figure. “Master Torte, you may not have noticed it, but for the past two hours, you’ve talked and talked about nothing in particular.”
“Vell, all I can zay ist good riddance! He should haf bought zhose Chef Torte patented earmuffs before he leistend to moi ramble. Chef Torte’s Earmuffs: just buy zhem!”
Chef Torte’s wandering eye barely caught an anxious Apprentice making for the door, a strange pair of pink and purple earmuffs on his head… with the insignia of Tayce T! “Apprentice!”
The chef’s right hand Koopa’s tracks were stopped just short of the exit. He turned around, trying to cover his earmuffs. “Yes, Master Torte?”
“Are zhose,” Chef Torte began, putting fear into every word, “Tayce T. brand earmuffs, Apprentice?”
“Um,” the Apprentice lingered, looking around for help from the Team of Terror, and getting none, “could be.”
Chef Torte blew his top right then and there, sending steam everywhere. “Zhat’s it! Moi’s had it! Eveir since zhat night vhen zhat strange und mysterious caller dialed my number and convinced me zhat I should get back to villainizing zhe Mushroom Kingdom, I’ve tried to be a top-notch bad guy, a real go-getteir. But, time and time again, you fools keep messing zhings up. Genius Guy is procrastinating or not doing work right. Changling alvays seems to forget his poweirs at zhe most inopportune times. Vhomp ist… vell, he’s Vhomp. And zhen zhere’s Embeirt, who vas traitorous but now he ist good, but still a menace. Zhen ve haf my Apprentice, who is supporting my all-time archrival by buying her merchandise!”
Genius Guy interrupted the long speech by squeezing his Super Cool Mario Brand Stario Doll, evoking a “Is-a Stario; learn your ABCs.”
Chef Torte grabbed the talking character doll out of Genius Guy’s hand in one swipe, immediately directing his entire upper body strength into tearing off the thing’s head. Stifled laughter rose up through the room as the struggling chef pulled to no avail. “Gosh, Chef Torte,” began Genius Guy, his arms crossed indignantly, “you sure are sweaty.”
Chef Torte resolutely hurled the doll across the room, accidentally felling one of the eleven remaining soldiers. “You vant to see sweaty, do you Genius Guy?”
Genius Guy was staring off in another direction. Chef Torte’s voice beckoned his head around. “Huh? I really wasn’t listening to you.”
Beet-red anger swelled up from Chef Torte’s neck to the top of his head, but before it could suit itself into action, it calmed. “I don’t haf time for your idiocy right now. Ve haf to draw out a plan und attack zhat base!”
Chef Torte whirled around, overestimating the twirl and spinning around once too many, which didn’t do very well for a professional appearance. Immediately, he listened for mocking laughter, hearing it from Changling and his Apprentice, who were both in tears of amusement. “And just vhat ist so funny?!”
“Oh, Chef Torte! While Peach was asleep, we stole her diary from her personage. There’s some hilarious stuff in here. Get this, her middle name is Betty! Oh, and it turns out that she loves Mario and wishes he’d ask her out! And the funniest thing of all is that that secret base at Kero Sewers is a decoy. The real base is in a cove a few miles off from Seaside Town.” After that, they both went to their laughing again.
Chef Torte bashed them both over the head. “Fools! How long have you had this?”
The Apprentice had tears streaming down his face. “Oh, just after we kidnapped her.”
“Do you mean to say,” Chef Torte began quietly, “zhat you have known zhat zhe secret base wasn’t near Kero Sewers all zhis time?”
They both nodded, confused as to what he was getting at. “MON DIEU!”
~*~*~*~
After everyone was issued a well-deserved thrashing from Chef Torte, the entire party resolved to forget their failed plans to attack the Kero Sewer decoy base and make fun of Peach’s innermost thoughts while getting tipsy off of Hawaiian Punch. Fortunately for us, it wasn’t too much longer until the fruity goodness that was juice ran out and everyone was forced to sober up. With minds fresh from the cleansing powers of red tropical punch, the entire team went to work on what they would do next.
The Apprentice began the meeting, submitting a new plan. “Why don’t we just correct our mistake and attack the real base near Seaside Town?”
Changling shook his head, sighing. “No, it will be too heavily guarded. After all, it is not a decoy. They’ll be putting everything they’ve got into protecting their fleet. My intuition tells me that they’ve also discovered the E-PEANUT threat. Ryan-oshi is still on the loose, and he was there at the battle over Yoshi’s Island. That knowledge will only lead them to direct even more forces to protect the base. Attacking it, while staying alive, is out of the question.”
Chef Torte agreed, nodding somberly. “Yes, it does all zeem very dire. Vhat to do in zhese times of great question and uncertainty?”
Genius Guy thoughtfully placed a hand to his face and then raised it aloft, begging attention. “I know, I know! Let’s go ask Frogfucious!”
“Zhat vould be an intelligent solution, except for two zhings. One, ve almost blasted Frogfucious into frog legs. He von’t be very happy to see us.”
“But what if,” Genius Guy answered, pausing to think through the rest of his sentence, “we bring him a nice fruit basket!”
“Vhich,” Chef Torte interjected angrily, “brings me to my next point. You are not by any means intelligent; you are IDIOT!”
The Apprentice interrupted. “Master Torte, stop being so mean. No one wants to give their opinion because you’ll just belittle us. Does tearing down others really make you feel better about yourself?”
“YES!” Chef Torte exclaimed, smashing the Apprentice’s face in with his PAN OF PAIN and giving him two more strong-handed bashes for good measure. “It does!”
Suddenly, Chef Torte’s eyes twinkled the twinkle of a happy Swedish child that discovered he was really from some other country. “Oh, I almost forgot! Genius Guy has done somezhing useful; yes, I know it ist hard to believe, but he has. Genius Guy, bring out zhe… SLT!”
“The what?” Changling queried, watching Genius Guy as he rolled out a large gun on a cart. “What does SLT stand for?”
“It ist zhe Super Lazeir Zhingie, or zhe SLT for short. Hey, ve vere running out of available acronyms, and SLT reminded me of BLTs, vhich moi loves!”
“Riiight. So, what does it do?” Changingly pressed incredulously.
“It doest everyzhing! It can blast, bash, crash, and destroy anyzhing zhat fits in its beam’s domain. It vill cut zhrough gross shower scum like knife zhrough a butter stick. It also does your laundry, but ve’ve had some problems viz mixing zhe colors and zhe vhites.” Chef Torte turned around, signaling to Genius Guy. “Genius Guy, a demonstration please!”
After two hours of back-breaking teamwork, not with any help from Chef Torte, who remained on the bridge and drank tea, the Team of Terror installed the SLT as Maria’s main weapon. When everyone convened on the bridge again, Chef Torte brought up the Weapons Command Data Screen. “Now, vatch zhis!”
At a touch of his left hand, the screen flashed and bleeped, bringing up an image of a mountain nearby. “Zhe zhat mountain? Good. Now watch it go byebye!”
Changling was still skeptical. He doubted a gun that small could take out a whole mountain… until he saw its beam’s range. A blast of red plasma shot out, stretching up and down and all around. Guided by Maria’s high-tech guidance systems, the beam hit its target head-on, turning the once majestic mountain into a dense cloud of thick vapor and smoke. “Haha! Zhe Supeir Lazeir Zhingie ist awesome!”
“Now that we have that,” Changling pondered, “perhaps we won’t have to worry about gathering a fleet. That gun could take out most of the Death Egg in one shot!”
“Exactly!” Chef Torte grinned evilly. “Zhe need for skulking hast come to an end. Zhe Torte Empire vill begin shortly, and I vill be its king, King Chef Torte!”
“Uh, I hate to say this, sir, but empires don’t have kings. They have emperors, traditionally speaking of course,” Changling said.
“Do you vant a piece of zhe KING of zhe TORTE EMPIRE!?”
Everyone shook their head fervently. “Good, now. Our first ordeir of business vill be to eradicate zhose E-PEANUT freaks. Now, I propose ve-”
“Incoming video transmission from the Death Egg, Master Torte,” Embert reported, looking over from his console across the bridge. “The pre-message text says it’s Ganon. He wants to talk personally with you.”
Chef Torte gulped unwittingly. “G… Ganon, eh? Vell, tell him ve’re not home.”
“Too late,” Embert replied ruefully. “I’ve already sent a confirmation. The video/audio link will be established in thirty seconds.”
“Oh, crud,” Chef Torte began, but was interrupted by the loud buzzing of the static blaring over the screen. Ganon’s ugly, tattooed face appeared on the screen, glaring. Chef Torte gave a nervous giggle. Earnestly, he searched his mind for just the right thing to say. He had to sound professional while staying groovy. “Vhazzup, Ganon? Vant to rap?”
“I prefer country and bluegrass,” Ganon stated coldly, puffing himself up.
“Vow,” Chef Torte thought, “he really ist veird.”
“Anyway, music preferences are not the priority in this indirect meeting, and neither is pointless rambling. Instead, it is my disprivilege to inform you that my entire fleet, besides the Death Egg of course, has defected to our ex-employer. They plan to destroy Plit, and because I was wavering and failing, they took control into their own hands. To stop them, it seems we will have to join forces.”
“Join forces?” Chef Torte repeated in disbelief. The tables kept turning in his current struggle, so much so that he was tired of trying to cope. Still, the offer was one he couldn’t and wouldn’t pass up. “Vhat are zhe ramifications, Ganon?”
“Well, the two of us will keep control of our own ships, but we will work together in the inevitable struggle ahead of us. Until then, we will both keep our eyes out for the invasion force and warn each other when the time comes.”
Chef Torte nodded his head, approving, suddenly getting a deliciously evil idea into that small head of his. “Vell, I haf got betteir idea. Vhy not ve boz attack zhe secret Mushroom Kingdom fleet harbor at Seaside Town and steal zheir ships? You haf plenty of crew on zhat egg zhingie, right?”
“Yes,” Ganon nodded, thinking, “that would be a plausible move. Beyond that, you are correct in your assumption at our manpower. Only my most loyal crewmembers work on the Death Egg, and there are plenty to spare. We could fill out a girth of ships and better our chances against the extermination fleet. We must attack at once, though. You know the way?”
That maniacal chef’s eyes gleamed with craftiness and guile. Finally, things were starting to fall into place. He’d form an ephemeral alliance with E-PEANUT until the invasion force was beaten back, and then he’d blast his “allies” with the SLT. “Don’t vorry, Ganon. Ve vill lead zhe vay!”
Chapter 16
The Mushroom Kingdom Royal Castle
Stained glass windows distorted the little starlight a Plit night sky produced on such a cloudy day, sending in barely noticeable shafts of dim luminance. Luigi focused on those spears of light piercing the shadows as he stood watch near what had been the vault, now full of sleeping, drunken Koopas who’d enjoyed the castle’s priceless wine room to its fullness. Luigi hated to think what kind of fury their behavior would evoke from the princess if she had known about it.
In any case, there he stood, alone. Fortunately, because of the former guard’s distorted consciousness, he was able to convince the Koopa to relieve himself quite easily, despite its being in direct conflict with the captain’s orders. He only needed to wait now until after midnight. He was sure everyone would be asleep by then.
As often happens with such dependent plans, though, all was not to go well. A few minutes before Luigi was planning to take action and head for the dungeon, he heard someone making their way down the Grand Chamber, a hallway that branched off into the room he was currently guarding. As misfortune would have it, a shadow appeared near the entranceway, corroborating with the closing of the large, crafted door. Luigi immediately noticed the silhouette’s shape: the domed back, the narrow, tall head, the medium height.
General Jagger of the Koopa Army stepped in briskly, looking around and instantly spotting Luigi. The green-clothed plumber let out a sigh of relief as Jagger simply nodded and made his way into the guest room, moving right past Luigi. Could it be that dark? Luigi reasoned that his eyes had had time to adjust to the darkness, whereas Jagger might have just come from a lit room. If so, though, why would he have still been up, and, more importantly, what was he doing in the guest room? The door had been locked, and even Luigi, as the guard, wasn’t allowed in the room. What were they keeping in there? He knew it would be risky, but he had to find out.
Jagger stepped out around ten minutes later, not even bothering to acknowledge Luigi this time. He exited the hall, closing the door quietly behind him. Luigi kept his hand on the guest room, preventing it from closing and locking. Waiting another five minutes, cautiously, he entered and breathed in deeply. Once he saw what was in there, he had a hard time forcing the air back out.
Seaside Town
One of the advantages of living and working in Seaside Town was that there were innumerable places to meet, if one did not want to be located. So it was that Ryan-oshi and the Chancellor found themselves in a diminutive drinking establishment of no special reputation in an unfashionable part of town. In such places, there was less of an immediate need to preserve one’s anonymity. In any event, none of them were recognized by the other patrons as they wandered in.
Two vacant seats worn by years of bashings over people’s heads and the constant pressure of overweight customer’s back ends beckoned forth the two, serving a much-needed rest after a grueling run to the Rose Town airport, a heated argument with a lazy free-lance pilot, and an extremely uncomfortable flight. At any rate, they had made it to Seaside Town. Now, on a lead from someone who knew the fleet’s admiral well, they had tracked Admiral Monsul to the Red Ruby, a bar known for fights that the city police simply didn’t come near. Therefore, Ryan-oshi kept his small Mushroomer friend close and his eyes constantly scanning the area for any sign of trouble.
“What’ll it be, islander?” The gruff voice of the burly bartender turned Ryan-oshi’s head around. It was a large Mushroomer with prodigious, muscular arms. Presently, one of the latter was occupied with cleaning the inside of a glass.
“A strawberry daiquiri, please. Non-alcoholic.”
The Chancellor took the opportunity to order himself something. “I’ll take the house’s best whisk-”
“And,” Ryan-oshi interjected, restraining the eager Mushroomer, “the same for my friend.”
At a gesture from Ryan-oshi, the bartender rolled his eyes and walked off, still working the small glass over. The Chancellor grunted audibly. “You’re no fun, Ryan-oshi. It’s not often I get to do something a little crazy.”
Ryan-oshi sighed and looked around, cringing at the rank mixture of body odor and alcohol. “I know how you humanoids love to poison yourself with bad-tasting brews, but we must keep our heads on straight if we wish to save Plit. Please just try and be inconspicuous.”
“Winston, you old card, what’re you doing here?” Ryan-oshi, previously preoccupied with advising the Chancellor, jumped two feet out of his chair, fluttering back down to the ground, his heart pounding. It seemed before they could find the admiral, he had found them. “And who’s this jumpy Yoshi fellow with ya now?”
“Monsul! We’ve been looking for you. Oh, this crazy dino? His name’s Ryan-oshi. He’s a strict bother, but he’s smart enough.” Ryan-oshi had never seen this side of the Chancellor before.
“Ryan-oshi, eh? You’re that writer, aren’t you?”
The Yoshi beamed at that. It wasn’t very often that someone as far as Seaside Town recognized his name. “That’d be me.”
“Yeah, don’t really care for your books that much. They’re too boring. Not enough of that old action spark, if ya know what I mean. You seem like a nice character, though. So, what’re you two doing in these parts looking for me?”
Ryan-oshi took a sterner tone. “We’re here on some very important business that involves you. E-PEANUT is now on Plit. They’ve brought with them a small complement of ships. Even worse, Chef Torte, an insane individual if I’ve ever seen one, has also accumulated a very small fleet. The Mushroom Kingdom capital has been conquered by Bowser, but that’s being taken care of by the Nimbians. As you can see, it’s time to reveal the Mushroom Kingdom fleet.”
The amiable, care-free mood of before suddenly dropped to something much more grim. The admiral’s face turned into one of a serious military man, his years of experience and scars seeming to only now show up. “Finally,” Ryan-oshi thought, relieved, “we’re getting somewhere.”
Maria
The binding ropes constantly tearing into the prisoners’ wrists made it very hard for them to sleep, or even relax with any sort of comfort. The darkness didn’t make it any more tolerable. One of the most dangerous effects of a complete lack of light is that it is soon followed by the feeling of an enclosed environment. Peach, a minor claustrophobic, was starting to feel that. The air was beginning to get thin, her head and chest pounding relentlessly. She wasn’t sure, but she was afraid that continued exposure would find her dead.
After trying to focus on the rhythmic breathing of Toad and Crazykoopa, she could stand it no longer. Carefully, she inched her way around the floor, searching for something that could cut her ropes. Movement without arms was slow and she was too weak to lift herself onto her legs, so she moved around at slug-like speeds, if not planning on finding something, merely trying to stay sane. It wasn’t long until something happened. Whether it was good or not, one would’ve been hard-pressed to tell.
Something sharp and small bit into her leg just below her knee, digging and then sliding across the top and around the edge before ripping out. Peach let out a scream of pain. A warm liquid, surely blood, was washing over her leg now, dripping onto the ground. She was fairly certain it hadn’t reached the bone, but her pain wouldn’t have been good evidence of that.
“Princess, are you ok?” came back Crazykoopa. She could here him moving in the distance. Had she really moved that far away? “Where are you?”
Her voice was hoarse and weak, but it probably didn’t matter, as she could only bring herself to say, “Over here.” I’m such an idiot! How will he know where that is?
“I can hear your voice. Just stay there. Are you hurt?” This time it was Toad.
“Yes. My leg has been cut. I don’t think it went to the bone.” Then Peach actually thought about the cut. “Wait a minute. Whatever cut me can be used to cut our ropes!”
Pain blossoming in her lower leg, she estimated where the razor edge was and maneuvered her ropes onto it. On the second try, she was free. “It worked. We’re free! Quickly, get over here!”
In the time of fifteen minutes, the three of them had risen on the playing level. “Now I can reach that mini flashlight in my shell,” said Crazykoopa, digging through his portable back. “Here it is.”
A small light shone forth, filling the princess’ vision. “That’s a nasty cut, Princess. We’d better get it bandaged.”
“Well, this is a cargo hold. I’m sure there’s some medical taping and some gauze in here somewhere. Let’s look around.”
“No, we’ll look around,” said Toad, worried as always for Peach’s health. “Just keep your hand over the wound and try to keep as much blood in as possible. You’ll have to be fixed up before we can attempt an escape, which I’m not sure even Mario could pull off at this point… er… Stario, I mean.”
Peach still called the new star hybrid Mario. She could tell it didn’t bother Stario, but it did confuse him. After all, even though he retained Mario’s memories, he was still like an infant, new to the strange world that was Plit. Peach wondered if he still felt the same way about her-
“Ah, here we go,” Crazykoopa exclaimed victoriously. “I found some bandaging. I knew Torte’s Team of Terror would need plenty of that. He sure mistreats them.”
“I still can’t believe that deranged maniac actually accomplished something. He’s a fool and an ignoramus. We have to take these ships away from him before he hurts himself and others.” Peach was a little bit more maddened than usual, especially because of her cut. Soon, though, Crazykoopa had cleaned it and wrapped it. “There we go. Now, Toad, what’re we going to do? Toad?”
“Toad!” Crazykoopa called louder.
No answer.
“Don’t ask him to come oveir zhere! He’s right vhere I vant him, you loseirs!”