Chapter 17:

~Masamune~

They were nowhere in sight, not a single one of them. These woods were so confusing. The bearded man pulled off his viking-like helmet and rubbed his bald head. He gritted his teeth and looked around. No sign of them at all. This was rather depressing, far more than it was rightly meant.

Then an idea occured to him. A wonderfully brilliant, sensational idea that had not crossed his mind before. In fact, it was so interestingly imaginative that it was curiously unique. He had to pause a moment to savor the truly incredibly thought he had concieved.

The three of them.... or was it four? Yes, the four of them... all had names. Although he found it easier to call them by number, he vaguely remembered them having names. If he called them out, they would hear him... and come! It was a remakable plan he was ready to put in action. He cleared his throat. Stood straight, put his hat back on and looked up.

He prepared to yell them out, when suddenly something fairly important occured to him. It was not a minor detail, but in fact a very important tidbit that held his plan in place. This important piece of imformation was this. He had forgotten the names of the three.... no four of them. Which was inconvenient as it was vitally important to yell out the correct name when attempting to gain the attention of the name's owner.

He sat down again, trying to think of another plan. Rubbing his head had done no good. The next course of action was obvious. By rubbing his -beard- a better idea would come to him.

---------------------------

"Now where?" Chibobuigi asked impatiently, trying to peer over Goombario who was busy inspecting a map they had managed to find.

"I dunno.... it's hard to figure out." Goombario muttered, "To get around Easton, we have to head into another cavern before we end up on this group of mountain peaks."

"Ah... that's the mountain range all those flurries live on." Heidi interrupted, then looked at the suprised glances from the two 'shrooms, "I err... heard it from a friend."

Chibobuigi nodded, "So we have to go through caves anyways? Darn... I hate spiders... especially those suu and kumos...."

"Huh?" Goombario stated in a slightly less than intelligent manner.

"The kumo... they are powerful jumpers. And the suu hang from ceilings." The chibobo replied, "Not a pretty picture... I am terrified of them."

Heidi and Goombario glanced at eachother nervously. The goomba grinned and nudged the other 'shroom, "Don't worry about it! We'll be perfectly fine!"

The shygal nodded in agreement, "Hey guys... maybe we should get going?"

The two nodded and set off once more, as the mountains of western easton grew.

--------------------------

Dodo squawked miserably, in a most pitiful way. He hated the way he was treated. Abused. Neglected. And generally not thought of. All of his life he had put up with that witch, and now... NOW would be the day he would leave.

However, he knew little of the world. Raised by her since he was a hatchling, he only knew things such as greed, lies, trickery and the best brands of makeup. After tightening his helmet, grabbing his case full of his favorite issues of 'Birds Monthly' and leaving a note, he began his escape.

This was done rather crudely. Not using a secret escape, window or disguise. He merely walked out the front door in broad daylight. No one seemed to notice as he strolled out, whistling some tune ready for the big world. As he exited, a large building was suddenly demolished, but for no real purpose at all.

~Luigi of the Pipes~

Two Bunbuns and a Fly broke from position, the Bunbuns producing deadly arrows and the Fly landing with a thud. Luigi immediately went defensive, rolling under the Fly when it leaped. The Bunbuns, pitching their arrows at the plumber, undershot and hit the Fly's wings. The insect groaned and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Mario, meanwhile, had charged Watinga and his group. He leapt at the insectoids, only to have his overalls caught by a spear, sending him the opposite way. At least the overalls didn't rip, Mario noted as he landed. He snatched the spear, twirled it like a cheerleader would with a baton, and batted a falling arrow back at one of the assailing Bunbuns. The Bunbun dodged easily, proving itself more nimble than its Fly counterpart.

The other Bunbun dived at Luigi, but Mario took a flying leap, pounced off the first Bunbun, and broke his spear over the head of the other, rendering both unconscious. Luigi nodded his thanks to his brother, right before the next wave of attackers came.

The battle raged on until the other nine flunkies were bested as well. At this point the brothers realized how exhausted they really were. After trekking through the Salla Swamps, fighting twelve monsters in near-simultaneous combat, and missing their chance to rest at the Pionpi House, they had every right to be.

Watinga, however, was furious. He had been upstarted already by the poor performance of what few troops came. His blood boiled in his veins and steam seemed to pour from his concealed ears. Anger was good. It would sharpen his fighting edge.

The monarch began by lunging at Mario, intent on slamming him to the ground. Mario jumped in the nick of time and accidentally landed on Luigi's head, much to his brother's dissent. The shorter plumber quickly leapt again, this time landing on a nearby awning. The wooden supports snapped under his weight, but the cloth remained intact. Mario grabbed two of the corners and Luigi grabbed the other two. They stretched the cloth in a perfectly timed motion, catching Watinga inside on his next swoop and releasing the "net" to avoid being dragged by the enormous insect.

Watinga only struggled momentarily, his fierce claws shredding the make-shift net, but it was still enough time for the bros. They lifted their hands skyward, fire encircling them and forming into a spade. The brothers swung their fists in tandem, launching two fireballs, red and green respectively, from their clenched hands. The fireballs were traveling slowly, however, to reflect the plumbers' weariness. Watinga dodged them easily.

In a last-ditch attempt to do something, Mario traditionally jumped at Watinga. The fly boss caught him by the leg and pitched him into Luigi, toppling them both, with ease.

"Now to exact my revenge upon you," Watinga whispered malevolently, "vile plumber..."

"FORE!" was his response. Watinga whipped around just in time to see a metal golf club pound into his own gut. Mario and Luigi turned to see the golfer, dressed in a red shirt and brown pants, tip his long-brimmed hat at them.

Watinga began to recover from the blow, rising marginally, when a flicker of lightning flash-fried him into a black crisp. A Mekabon in turn dived on Watinga, wrenching all four arms behind his back.

"Aren't you glad I came along?" Mallow's voice asked as a puffy white hand extended itself to Luigi. He gratefully took it, allowing the cloud-boy to help him up while expressing his thanks. Likewise, the golfer helped Mario up.

Luigi grinned and waved when he saw that the Mekabon was Hydraulico, then turned. "Umm, Chi Chi Rodriguez?" he joked.

Mario elbowed Luigi's ribs. "Long time no see Sonny," he said.

"It sure has been!" Sonny grinned.

"Are you three the only ones here?" Luigi inquired.

"Grandpa's back in the bus, along with..." Mallow seemed to catch himself telling a secret. "Err... and the bus driver!"

"Excuse me," Hydraulico stuttered, cutting off further questioning. "But you do not expect me to hold this creature for the rest of my operational life, do you Master Luigi?"

"Where's Stanley when you need him?" Mario chuckled.

"Tie him up," Luigi replied. "We can deal with him later." Hydraulico nodded and snapped his hand down at the wrist. Inside his arm was a coil of rope, which he used to wrap Watinga up securely.

"Who is he, anyway?" Mallow asked.

"I'll explain later," Mario said. "Or you could have Frogfucius tell you. Speaking of which... could you keep the bug with you tonight? Luigi and I need to rest at the Pionpi House, and I'm not sure we'll all fit. He smells like rancid milk, but..."

"It's no problem," Sonny said. Mallow groaned woefully, then stuck his tongue out in disgust at the back of Sonny's head. "We've got a lot of talking for tomorrow though..." Sonny nodded at Hydraulico, then the trio walked off.

Mario and Luigi in turn nodded to each other, then staggered the short distance to the Pionpi House. The owner, named Pinopio, greeted them excitedly and escorted them to a room, where the brothers fell fast asleep moments later.

***

Squid Guy cautiously peeked over the edge of the bus, then sighed with relief when he saw that the Mario brothers hadn't followed Sonny and his group back. They did, however, have a gruesome fly with them, but he seemed unconscious.

"You will have to face them eventually," Frogfucius whispered, so as to keep from startling the mutation.

"I know," Squid Guy moaned. "But that doesn't mean I have to actually look forward to it..."

***

Pinopio checked to make sure that his guests had fallen fast asleep, then pulled a high-tech communications device from his coat and flicked it on.

"Watinga has failed," he said into the device.

"I SUSPECTED SO MUCH," the other voice sighed. "SO MUCH IMPUDENCE."

"The Mario brothers are now resting in my inn. I admitted them only to retain the secrecy of my identity."

"VERY WELL. BUT DO NOT FORGET THAT."

"I will not, Master Smith." Pinopio thumbed the walkie talkie off.

***

"It is a well-conceived plan," Frogfucius told his group over breakfast the next morning. "And you needn't have worried about angering me by pre-planning, Mallow. I can allow for your free will."

"Okay Grandpa," Mallow nodded.

"My only concern," the frog-guru continued, "is that the three of you alone may not be able to effectively storm the castle."

"We can do it, Frogfucius," Sonny said, jerking his thumb to point at Watinga. "Didn't we tell you about how easily we took out that guy?"

"Still... are you certain that the Mario brothers will attempt to rescue the princesses?"

"I am quite positive that Master Luigi will not back down at the chance to rescue his secret cr–, I mean the princesses," Hydraulico answered.

"Very well then..."

"Yeah," Squid Guy moaned, "but it's bad enough that I'll have to confront Mario. Now you want me to travel with him while I'm at it?"

"Grasshopper," Frogfucius sighed, "the Mario brothers will surely understand your situation. And if they don't, I will help you. I promise you that."

Squid Guy smiled weakly. "Thank you, Sensei."

"Heh, Sensei. I can't recall the last time I was referred to as that. I believe it was Alexis who coined the name.

"Speaking of which, I still need to visit him at the academy after this."

Squid Guy suddenly began coughing, spraying his tuna fish sandwich. Frogfucius quickly covered his toast smeared with Cricket Jam. "Tadpoule was at the academy?" Squid Guy choked.

"Yes."

"Green frog, purple hat with a white cotton ball, eyes perpetually shut?"

"Yes... yes... yes..."

"Oops."

"Oops?" Sonny interrupted. "What oops?"

"I... think I teleported him too..."

"Designation: Tadpoule had been transported to the Kingdom of Muda," Hydraulico nodded. A small antennae popped from Hydraulico's cylindrical head and began to beep. "Designation is currently on the small chain of islands known as ‘Yoshiopia'. Designation is under the care of one ‘Andrew Yoshi'."

Sonny whistled in admiration. "Luigi really tricked that Mekabon out." Mallow nodded silently.

"Hmm..." Frogfucius murmured, "as much as I would like to see my pupil, I have made a promise. And besides, I have a feeling all our paths will cross soon enough.

"But enough of this chatter. We must meet our appointment with the Marios. Come along."

The group abandoned what was left of their breakfast and walked or hopped off. Watinga opened one eye experimentally, then the other. Gone...

Quickly, the king snapped the ropes that bound him and buzzed into the air. He had lost the battle, but he would not lose the war. He needed to pull his Flies and Bunbuns from their duties first. Then he would fly to Easton Kingdom and retrieve some more insectoid warriors. The Suu and Kumo spiders, to be exact. And finally, he would have revenge. He had been caught off guard. He had been humiliated. He would not let that happen twice.

***

Mario and Luigi left the "Italian Brunch House" grinning ear to ear.

"Breakfast Pizza," Mario sighed. "It's not the most original concept, but it's one of the tastiest."

"Oh boy," Luigi moaned, rubbing his stomach. "I won't have to eat for weeks."

"Eh, you'll have plenty of time to work those calories off."

"Yeah, I guess. Hey," the green-capped brother said, pointing down the street. "There's the rest of our dinner party now." Luigi commenced with waving at the quartet that were coming toward them. Frogfucius, Mario noticed, had sighed sadly and took a quick glance back from where they had come.

"Hi guys!" Mallow beamed, always glad to be around the bros.

"We've got work to do if you intend to defeat Smithy," Sonny interrupted. "So the five of us devised a plan."

Five? Mario pondered. He was about to speak up, but Luigi cut him off.

"The first thing I wanna know," he said. "Is where Hydraulico ended up after the transportation mess."

"The head-Pionpi and I were the only two not teleported, Master Luigi. I did, however, sneak out of the palace in search of you."

"You were?" Mario asked. "Then that means..."

"...the princesses aren't at the palace," Luigi finished. "You wouldn't happen to know where they are, would you Hydraulico?"

"Affirmative," the Mekabon groaned, relaying him memory. "Designation: Master Luigi, Master Mario. Arrival: Salla Swamps...
"Designation: Princess Daisy, Princess Peach, Princess Plum, Princess Maple. Arrival: Endless Forest."

"That's enough, Hy..."

"No wait," Mario said, curiosity getting the best of him. "Where is everyone else?"

"Designation: Professor Kolorado, Master Kooper. Arrival: Frosted Frappeland.
"Designation: Master Tadpoule. Arrival: Yoshiopia.
"Designation: Master Goombario, Master Chibobuigi, Mistress Heidi. Arrival: Easton Mountains.
"Designation: Master Squid Guy. Arrival: Birabuto Desert."

At the mention of Squid Guy, Mario caught a glimpse of something around the other corner. "Hang on," he muttered, walking in that direction. Sonny, Mallow, and Hydraulico turned to watch, along with Luigi, leaving Frogfucius to look mournfully the other way.

***

"I am Loot," Toad repeated for the hundredth time, "a Sackit and master in the trade of thievery. I'm all bandit; I pillage, therefore I am."

"Excellent!" Glepe chuckled.

"Loot help count treasure now?" Pilf asked.

"Very well," Toad said. Glepe and Pilf turned and walked for the treasure room, ‘Loot' following behind. Along the way, he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror. He dashed past, for looking at his reflection brought up painful memories. He pillaged, therefore he was. And that was that.

***

Squid Guy moaned. Mario had caught glimpse of his mask, and now was coming to investigate. He turned to run, but Frogfucius's voice rang into his ears. I will help you. I promise you that. The squid sighed and turned, only to bump right into the plumber.

"What are you doing here?!" Mario growled. "If my memory serves me, you're one of Smithy's servants."

"Well... I... uh... err... and then..."

"He was not at fault, Grasshopper," Frogfucius said, rounding the corner.

"I don't see how..."

"He only knew how to obey. But, as Hydraulico stated, he teleported himself to Birabuto. He wanted to escape." Squid Guy nodded, but Mario cut him off with a glare and turned to Frogfucius.

"Can you be sure of that?"

"To tell you the truth, no. But he still deserves the chance to redeem himself. Just like you, that one time."

"Excuse me?"

"When you were still in Brooklyn, you trapped the giant monkey, Donkey Kong, because he attacked Pauline. You were, in a sense, only obeying your anger. And after Donkey Kong Jr. saved his father, they redeemed you. Correct?"

Mario nodded, his cheeks turning red. "Well," he sighed. "I guess I can give you a chance then. After all, when has Frogfucius ever steered me wrong?" Mario extended a gloved hand to Squid Guy, who plopped his tentacle inside and shook. "Well, I'd better explain this to Luigi..." Mario turned to leave. "You explained Watinga to them, didn't you?"

Frogfucius nodded and watched Mario plod off. The old frog then laid a hand on Squid Guy's domed head. "Well done, Grasshopper. Well done..." Squid Guy looked up at the guru in a state of confusion.

***

"Production has continued smoothly," the Bandit mumbled, constantly glancing down at the report in his hand and back up at the backside of Smithy's chair. "We shall soon be field-testing a second Teleport Shield made in the recently constructed factory." Judging by the Bandit's tone, he didn't want to be within one-hundred meters of his own master. Must've gotten the short straw... To humor himself, Smithy rotated his chair just enough to keep himself concealed, while still scaring the Bandit enough to make his voice crack.

"EXCELLENT," Smithy murmured after some time.

"Yes," the Bandit continued, as if Smithy hadn't said anything at all. "If the field-test is satisfactory, we shall begin re-creation of Lieutenants Mack, Bowyer, Yaridovich, and the Axem Rangers."

Smithy granted himself a rare smile.

"We shall also construct the Blade II, an indestructible version of your original ship that was destroyed by Mario..."

Smithy's smile flipped at the mention of that one thorn in his side, but he remained surprisingly silent.

"This world will be filled with weapons, as you once prophesied, Master Smith."

"YESSS..." Smithy hissed. "SEE THAT IT DOES. MARIO IS STILL ON THE LOOSE. WE CANNOT REST UNTIL HE, AND ANYONE ELSE WHO OPPOSES OUR GOAL, HAVE BEEN DESTROYED!"

"YOU ARE DISMISSED, SERVANT..." Smithy slammed his mallet into the ground, sprawling the Bandit. It scampered away on all fours, as would a timid mouse.

Smithy allowed himself another smile. Mario would fail this time. His team scattering and the princesses nearly in evil's grasp, the mortal had no chance. Smithy had never had hopes. Hopes were always crushed. And he had vowed not to hope on victory, but to achieve it.

And yet, he hoped...

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