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Chapter 18:
Remember Jinx?
Meanwhile...
Embedded in the dark blue sky high above, the stars
twinkled and danced in the tranquil night air. Down
below, however, in a miserable swamp, a tiny figure
fought and struggled it's way through the patches of high
weeds. Finally, the struggling stopped. After nearly
three days of ceaseless journeying, Jinx needed a good
break. Taking off his pointed cap, he wiped his brow and
lay against a lilly pad.
He was exhausted.
His aged yet lithe little form slumped down onto the
mushy ground like a rag doll. His eyes drooped as though
he would fall asleep. He curled himself into a ball and
gently laid his head on his make-shift pillow of mud. His
breathing became even, and his awareness around himself
dimmed.
Right up until the moment he was smacked int the face
by a drop of water.
Leaping up in surprise, he looked all around him,
fully alert. No sign of living creatures. Suddenly, he
noticed the water around him rippling. Then again, in a
different spot. He looked up, and found he could not see
the sky for the dense clouds that had gathered. As his
sleep-deprived eyes took in the scene around him, he
noticed a large gray mushroom a short distance away, at
the trunk of a large, twisted tree. Since rain was just
about the last thing he wanted to deal with at this
point, he hopped, skipped, and jumped across some stones
and lilly pads until he reached the fungus, where he then
took shelter from the shower. Realizing also that he felt
as if he hadn't eaten in weeks, Jinx absent-mindedly
began to nibble on the stalk. He had been able to tell
from the coloring that it was not poisonous. Also, it was
unfortunately not the magical kind that enabled one to
make great gains in status. But, it was the first real
repast he had seen in quite some time, and he nibbled on
it.
Looking out, he realized that the unusual weather was
not going to be stopping any time soon. He then did what
came naturally to him: He cursed his fate.
To begin with, he had been lost for some time. Of
course, the Mushroom Kingdom was a large and varied
place, so it was never unusual to be in unusual
surroundings, but nevertheless, under the circumstances,
he felt that having some sense of direction might help
him in his task.
Of course, the task itself was curse number two.
Traveling far, he had found not one creature brave or
smart enough to lend a hand in the situation. He had met
moles, raccoons, flies, and all manner of strange beings,
and none seemed inclined to show any backbone, or
forethought. Any efforts on Jinx's part to explain the
danger of the situation fell on either apathetic,
cowardly, or vacant ears.
And now, he was in some filthy, muddly swamp, in the
middle of a rainstorm.
He sat there for a while, until a strange noise
reached his pointy ears. It was a dull, persistant
whhhiiiiirrrrr like someone blowing their nose for an
extended period. He couldn't quite make it out. However,
it seemed to be getting louder and louder, and closer.
Peeking out from under his frog's umbrella, he looked up
into the dark sky, and say a large, bulky form whizzing
across the sky. Jinx suddenly realized the sound was that
of a plane engine.
As he watched, he saw that the plane was flying quite
low, and was losing altitude all time. It headed in the
opposite direction. Jinx quickly leaped from his
toadstool up to a root of the tree, and within a minute
had scurried his way to the top. From the branches, he
attempted to get a good look at the landscape, if not the
plane. He was overjoyed to see, first, that he was
practically at the edge of the swamp. Further, as he
looked off in the direction the plane had been going, he
spotted something against the horizon. On top of a
distant hill, not far from the swamp. Without a doubt. It
was a house. And further, the plane landed right there in
front of it. It rolled to a stop, and a figure climbed
out of the single-seat vehicle.
Jinx immediately hopped down from the tree branch to
the ground. He bounced like a frantic grasshopper to the
edge of the swamp, and headed quickly for the house. He
was overjoyed at this sudden good fortune. He had found
food, shelter, an end to the swamp, and lastly, and most
miraculously, a house with a person. With an airplane, no
less! A tool that would not only render walking no longer
necessary, but would be extremely useful for getting into
the clouds.
As the structure came nearer and nearer, Jinx began
to make out details. First was about the hill itself.
Even though it was in the light of the moon, the hill
looked almost a purplish green. The house turned out to
be a smallish cottage. Further, a cottage that showed no
outward signs of concern for upkeep on the part of it's
inhabitants. The walls seemed ramshackle and old. The
windows were gray with grime. Paint peeled off the posts
on the water-damaged front porch. The whole spot seemed
was like a festering wart growing on the face of the land.
What at first appeared to be a chimney was, in fact, a
large drain pipe. It seemed to be covered by sludge,
filth, and dredge. Dispite it's disrepair, Jinx could not
shake the notion that whole scene was familiar somehow.
Finally, he stopped before the house and looked up. Above
the door hung a sign, in sloppy, poorly painted words:
'THE POOP HOUSE'
Immediately, upon seeing this, Jinx realized what was
so familiar about the place. It was just like another
place he was familiar with, only with less care.
The rain began to roar behind him, so Jinx scurried
up to the relative safety and dryness of the tattered
front porch. Jinx, taking a breath, marched up to the
door, which, to him, was humongous. He hammered on the
rickety door with his tiny fist, making a more powerful
noise than anyone would have expected. And waited.
From within was a faint sound, like a grunt. But
nothing came. Jinx pounded again, even louder. More
noises came from within, and longer. Still, no reply,
however. Impatiently, he hammered with all his might,
causing the whole place to shake dangerously. Finally, he
could hear footsteps from within. Under the door, he
could see what appeared to be large, plodding feet.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and a rotund, heavy-set
figure stood framed in the doorway. it was unrecognizable
at first, until it marched out onto the porch, nearly
stepping on Jinx. It plodded over to the steps and looked
out into the rain. Jinx gasped at the figure.
It was a man, but not a normal one. Though not high
of stature, he was extemely heavily built. He had long,
lopey, burly arms, in yellow sleeves. It's massive girth
stretched out the purplish overalls out front, as well as
in the caboose. This ungainly, exaggerated frame was
perched, against the laws of nature, on a pair of short,
stumpy legs, with remarkably tiny feet, tucked inside a
pair of pointy green shoes. The face, however, was what
caught Jinx's attention. It was probably the largest head
he'd seen on anyone. He had a large, beefy, fat face,
with a huge cleft chin. He had a large, aggressive,
reddish nose, underneath of which was a scraggly, poorly-sculpted
jagged mustache. The eyes were large, bulbous, and beady,
and darted around the quiet porch, with the heavy black
brows knitted downward in suspicion. His large, gleaming
white teeth were clenched in irritation and disgust. On
this ghastly head sat a yellow cap, on the front of which
was a large white patch, displaying a large, yellow 'W'.
"Over here!" cried the diminutive martial-arts
expert. The portly man darted around at the noise, with a
speed and agility that one would not think it would
possess. The man looked around for the source of the
voice.
"Over here, on the back of the chair!"
cried Jinx, attempting to get the stunted giant's
attention. The man looked around and his beady eyes fell
on the chair.
"Who's-a there-a?!" thundered the man, with
a deep, aggressive voice with a thick Italian accent.
"Me," explained Jinx. "I am on the
back of the chair. Look closely."
The man did so. He waddled over to the rickety old
chair and examined the back of it. As his eyes beheld to
the night darkness, they fell on the tiny man. The large
figure seemed surprised, but more irritated than curious.
He raised an eyebrow.
"And just-a who are-a you?!" cried the man.
Jinx stuck out his chest importantly. "I am
Jinx, of Monstro Town. And who might you be?" he
boldly inquired.
The large man laughed at the little form's
impertenence. He let out a deep, gutteral laugh, then
looked back down. With a snide sneer, the fellow gave a
shambling and sarcastic bow as he addressed him.
"I'm-a Wario. Now, care-a to tell-a me what-a
you doin' here-a?"
Jinx seemed not the least ill at ease. Dispite the
ridiculous situation, his explanation was delivered with
utmost pride and self-assurance, causing Wario to smile
in spite of himself.
"I am Jinx. I have come this way looking for
assistance."
"Assistance?!" barked Wario. "You have-a
come-a to a bad-a place-a for that-a! What-a for-a?!"
"Why, to handle this bizarre weather."
explainded Jinx. "It's all the Koopa's own doing,
and the Mario Brothers would gladly welcome any
assistance-"
It was about there that Wario cut him off.
"Mario?! Not that-a little-a moron, no? What has-a
he gotten his-a big-a mustache into now?"
Over the course of the next few mintues, Jinx managed
to explain the situation. After he finished, Wario stood
in silence rubbing his broad chin. Finally, he turned
back to Jinx.
"Koopas, eh?" he said, amused. "Looks-a
like-a he's-a gotten more than-a he can-a handle. You
mentioned-a Koopa Castle... Will there be strong-a
chances-a for-a the plunder, eh?"
Jinx thought, and then nodded, wondering how someone
could possibly be thinking of profit at a time like this.
As Wario was thinking, another sound came from within the
little hovel. It was another voice, this time much
higher, and even more nasal. It came from an unknown
source from the darkness of the cottage.
"Confound it-a, Wario! What-s-a takin-a so long-a
eh?
Wario turned to the inside of the house. He shouted,
"We've got-a the company, brother dear-a. He says
there's a huge-a problem that the Mario Brothers are-a
having-a the trouble with, and he's looking to form a
volunteer corps!"
From within, the mumbling continued. Wario winked to
Jinx and called in, "He mentioned-a we might-a be
headed-a for-a the Koopa's-a castle. Lotsa stuff inna
there for-a the taking!"
The mumbling stopped for a moment. Then, the voice
wafted out again, still sounding disgusted, while showing
a hint of curiousity.
"Who else-a is-a supposed-a to be there-a, eh
bro?"
Wario chuckled. "Looks like a doll, a cloud, a
princess, a dino..."
"I mean-" snapped the voice impatiently.
"And-a Luigi, too." finished Wario proudly.
The silence from within became eeure. Finally, they got a
reply.
"You say-a the brothers-a having-a the trouble,
eh?" said the voice.
Wario chuckled. "Yes. The Mario Bros. Both of
them. Need-a the help-a. They can't-a do it-a by
themselves, it seems..."
At that, a pair of glowing orbs of purple light
flashed from within the interior. They grew larger and
larger as they floated jerkily to the door. A tall, spare
figure appeared from the shadows, and a chill ran down
Jinx's spine as he realized the purple glow came from his
narrow, beady eyes. There was no doubt that this tall,
spidery form was Wario's mysterious brother. His face was
longer, and his scowl much more fierce and permanent-looking.
Wario chuckled. "Looks-a like-a he wants-a to
use-a my beloved-a Bulldog. We may have-a to let-a him..."
he said. With that, the silent, lanky figure began to
slink quietly to the door. He seemed a bit surprised upon
seeing their guest, but his usual, hostile, silent manner
continued to do his work.
Finally, the stocky form of Wario headed down the
stairs. Muttering about the rain under his breath, he
went toward the shed off to the side, where he kept his
plane. He eagerly hopped above it, enthralled by the
chance to collect money AND succeed over Mario. He called
over his brother to join him.
"C'mon, Waluigi." said Wario impatiently.
"We'd better get our hands on those fools soon, or
there may be little left!"
Silent, morose Waluigi strutted through the rain to
the plane and climbed into the back seat, saying nothing.
However, there seemed to be a trace of a smirk on his
long, drawn mouth. Clearly, despite his morose manner, he
was eagerly anticipating what was to come.
Neither brother was very inviting, but there was
something seriously eerie and off-putting about Waluigi.
Jinx scrambled up front, and sat with Wario.
-lzn64-
"You say we're supposed to fly to a kingdom
above the clouds?" Wario looked at Jinx with plain
disbelief. "I've been flying all my life and I ain't
never seen a cloud kingdom before!"
Jinx took a deep breath to calm himself. He had been
flying with the dysfunctional brothers for all of ten
minutes, and had already survived three near-squash
experiences via Wario's rather large frame and two bouts
with air sickness that might of had something to do with
his uncomfortable position so close to the pilot and so
near the seat....
Needless to say, he was a bit irritated.
"Listen. Just head toward Bean Valley, and then
go up," He managed to say with a degree of civility.
"I'm telling you, there's no kingdom above those
clouds!"
"Prove me wrong, then."
"You got it," Wario snarled, veering wildly
through the rain toward what Jinx could only hope was
Bean Valley. There was no way he could tell how far
Nimbus Land stretched across the clouds, so he figured
heading up from Bean Valley was really the only surefire
way of reaching their destination. He gripped his hard,
cracked leather seat tightly as the plane hit a tough bit
of turbulence, and squeezed his eyes shut as the plane
dipped sharply.
"Darn rainstorm..." Wario muttered, his
face twisted in concentration. His appearance did not
generally convey his skill in the sky, but there was no
doubt that when it came to flying the yellow-clad man
knew his stuff. After the plane had levelled out, and was
flying in a somewhat stable manner, Waluigi took the
oppurtunity to make small talk with Jinx.
"Why don't you put your money where your mouth
is, shorty?" He sneered, setting his unnerving eyes
upon the martial arts master.
"What are you talking about?" Jinx snapped.
"I'm sayin' that I'll betcha fifty gold coins
that there's no cloud kingdom above Bean Valley."
"All right, okay, whatever. But you'll be sorry,"
Jinx warned. Before Waluigi could reply, they were both
thrown against the backs of their seats and plastered
there as the plane gained altitude.
"Geez, you could've warned us!" Waluigi
exclaimed. He shot a crippling look at his brother, who
didn't see it on account of the fact that he was using
all of his limited concentration on manuvering the plane
in such a way that wouldn't send them crashing down to
earth....
After a few frightening seconds in which Jinx managed
to see a good portion of his life flash before his eyes,
they pulled above the clouds, and, consecuently, above
the rainstorm.
"Ha!" Waluigi yelled in triumph. "You
owe me....fifty....coins?" The certainty in his
unpleasant voice tapered off as the awe-inspiring sight
of the Nimbus Palace came into view. He stared out of the
rain-streaked window slack-jawed as the cloud town, and
also the cloud people appeared before his astonished eyes.
"I believe that it is you who owes me that
money," Jinx reasoned, smiling innocently.
"W-we didn't shake on it!" Waluigi yelled
in desperation, staring defiantly at the chuckling Jinx.
"Will you two kindly shut up while I find a
place to land this thing? You'd think that those idiots
below would know that gatherering directly under an
airplane to stare at it is a bad idea..." Wario
continued his irritated mutterings as he expertly guided
the plane onto the ground, where it promptly sank into
the squishy surface.
"Oh, that's just perfect!" Wario bellowed,
throwing his hands up. "How am I supposed to take
off again now?"
"Don't worry about that," Jinx admonished
him, "just open the door!"
Wario stepped cautiously out into the sunlight,
followed by a very relieved Jinx. Waluigi exited from the
other side, and succeeded in frightening off a good
portion of the incredulous Nimbians with a well-placed
glare. He stretched and turned to Jinx with a strange
look in his eyes.
"So, where's Luig- I mean, where is everyone?"
He asked casually, peering curiously at the tiny figure.
"Well, see, the problem is that I don't exactly
know where they are," Jinx admitted nervously.
"I only know that they're up here somewhere."
"You mean to say that you dragged us all the way
up here and you don't even know where they are?"
Waluigi clarified slowly. "You're kidding, right?"
"Well, no-"
Waluigi snorted in disgust, then turned toward an
unfortunate Nimbian who was marveling at the ball of
metal that comprised Wario's plane.
"You!" He yelled, startling him. "Have
you seen a dippy plumber dressed in green overalls around
here?"
"N-no, sir!" The Nimbian stammered,
obviously quite nervous.
"Bah, how worthless. How are we supposed to find
them?"
"I would imagine that they would have entered
the palace first," Jinx reasoned, shifting his gaze
toward it. "Was that tower there before...?"
"It's as good a place to start as any, I
suppose," Wario muttered, shaking his head. He had
gone about two feet before he fell flat on his face, much
to the amusement of Waluigi.
"How am I supposed to walk on this mush?"
Wario fumed, picking himself off the ground.
"It might help if you could lift your legs more
than a few inches," Waluigi suggested, walking with
feigned grace to mock his brother.
Wario made a face at him, then meticulously developed
a step that would see him safely over the clouds. He
actually looked quite ridiculous walking with such care,
but Jinx decided that it might be to his benefit to
suppress a chuckle. He led the unlikely pair toward the
palace, and as they neared their destination, worry once
again set in; what if he was too late? What if they had
never made it to Nimbus Land in the first place? What if
he couldn't find them? His mind was plagued with these
and similar thoughts as he entered the palace, though
years of training allowed him to keep the expression on
his face entirely confident.
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