Chapter 33:
Seeing Stars.

~Ditto McCloaker~

The Orient Express rocketed at the speed of Shroom around snaky, curvy tracks descending from the snowy peaks of Frozen Frappeland and were fast approaching the base of the Chai mountains. Inside the rocking carriage, the group of Chai Academy students and faculty looked up in fear at the grinning twin faces of Wart and Mamu.

"Well, well, well. Caught in a train car headed straight for Chai City," croaked Wart, shaking his head smugly. "Some days things just go your way. No, please, don't get up. Just sit back and relax. Enjoy the ride. Mamu, get back there and make sure that door don't fly open."

Wart waddled up to the front of the car and slouched with his arms folded in front of the door. Mamu took the opposite position in the back. There they stood, intending to keep their passengers secure til they arrived.

"What are we going to do?!" asked Heidi urgently to her schoolmates.

"Don't worry about a thing," said Kolorado, glowingly. "I believe I have just the ticket." With that, he stood up in his seat and walked casually up to the glowering Wart.

"I say, old fellow, do you mind stepping aside? I've got to use the little Turtle's room something awful, wot?"

Wart didn't move so much as an eyelid. Back in their seats, the students exchanged worried glances. Ever chipper, Kolorado waited patiently, and then stepped forward to gently tap Wart's foot with his stick, to get him to move aside. A second later, Wart punted him back to the center of the car. Kolorado landed on his back and struggled to get up. Alexis got up from his seat and helped his teacher as the train passed briefly through a tunnel in a cave. He paused for a second, and looked up strangely. A few seconds later, things got dark again as they passed through another cave. He helped Kolorado to his feet and led him back to his seat as the train rattled through yet a third tunnel. A plan formed in the clever frog's mind as he made his way back to his seat.

As he sat down, he whispered under his breath to the students around him.

"Grip your seats tightly," he said in a hushed voice. "Next tunnel we go through..."

They passed through another tunnel. Then another. Each time, in the darkness, de Tadpoule's hand inched slowly up to the pull cord. They passed through another tunnel, and then...

"NOW!" he shouted, as the train went dark again.

"I say, what do we do aga-AAAAAAK!" asked a daft voice, as the cord was pulled and the train car violently llurched forward. Mamu was pitched forward and slid down the center of the aisle on his belly towards Wart. Light shone in the carriage again as the train skidded forward through the tunnel and barreled into another. Kolorado was plastered into the seat in front of him so hard his beak poked through the other side.

"Good heavens!" it flapped, before Kolorado managed to pull himself out. The train skidded several yards along the narrow track snaking along the sharp cliffs, luckily not going over, but staying on the winding tracks which wrapped around the mountain.

"NOW!" cried Alexis, as he hopped from his seat to the aisle, bounced over the struggling Mamu, and made for the back door, followed by the other students (each one bouncing on the back of Mamu's head on their way out -- Chibobuigi stopped and stamped three times before they pulled him after them).

"Quick! Hide behind some seats!" ordered Alexis as he scrambled to the door in the back. He flung open the door just as Wart and Mamu pushed through into the carriage. The rushed down the center aisle towards the smaller frog. AS they rushed by, the others all scrambled from their hiding places and headed back to the first carriage. Alexis stood there, facing the two oncoming pursuers, wondering how he'd get out of this mess. The train began had begun to move again, so Kooper reached up, and yanked the cord once more. Wart and Mamu again pitched forward, and slammed into the back wall as Alexis hopped deftly to the side, then back over them toward the front of the carriage.

Through the door, he pondered how to detach the cars. It appeared impossible, as the bullet train was sleek and the cars more or less connected completely.

"How do we stop them?" cried Goombario, desperately.

"To the dining car!" came Alexis's response. They dashed ahead to the dining car, and, once there, proceeded to push the giant eating tables against the door. By the time the two giant frogs were pounding against the door, the barrier was solid enough to keep them out. They all looked nervously at each other.

Suddenly, the two Pionpi conductors slammed angrily into the dining car, demanding to know what was going on, and why the train was constantly being stopped. Alexis didn't answer, but had one more good idea.

"Grab two dessert carts!" he yelled, and grabbed one and began to pull it to the door, with the two confused conductors looking in utter disbelief at the scene. Kooper helped him push it, and the kids grabbed a second. Together, they unloaded the two carts out the side of the car into the snow. Alexis directed them to drag them onto the train tracks. He then dashed back in and emerged carrying some golden tassels from the curtains...

Within minutes, two dessert carts were flying down the train tracks along the high cliffs, being pulled behind two rocket-powered turtles, with several students as passengers. Once again, everything was perfectly normal.

~Luigi of the Pipes~

"Careful!" Plum yelped, pulling her injured shoulder away from Daisy.

Daisy bit her tongue. Any other time, she might have scowled and scolded Plum for her lack of gratitude. Lately, she was doing things differently. Bo Bandit's sacrifice had brought back a certain part of her personality that she had lost to bitterness years ago, ever since Wario and Waluigi came into possession of a rather large sum of her money at the last of Mario's parties...

But now, instead of getting angry, Daisy nodded her apologies and handed the bandage over to the more precise Hydraulico. The Mekabon went about peeling back the torn edges of Plum's dress a bit further, then slid the bandage into place with all the grace of a professional. When finished, he retrieved a needle and thread from his side compartment, then carefully began to stitch together the torn cloth.

"That's one problem settled," Daisy mumbled, leaning back and closing her eyes. "What next?"

"I think we're ready to take on Smithy, personally," Plum joked, obviously grateful to Daisy that she hadn't exploded on her before.

"Ha... ha..." Daisy shook her head. "Scan for Boomer's location, would you Hydraulico?"

"Scanning for Master Boomer II," the Mekabon chimed, not breaking away from his sewing job. "Master Boomer II located two hundred meters from present position. Retrieving blueprints of Chai Castle for room-to-level analysis..." He paused a second. "Master Boomer II has initiated movement, one hundred ninety-nine meters away. One hundred ninety–" His statement cut off abruptly with a buzz of static.

"Hydraulico?"

"Scanning system being jammed by secondary Mekabon. Comparing jamming signature with specific Mekabon signature...

"Designation not in data banks. Logic circuits indicate that it is a twenty-five percent probability of being an unlogged designation, seventy-five percent probability of being a foreign make."

"Smithy's Mekabons," Plum grimaced, remembering their earlier encounter in the valley with the buzzing decoys.

"Yes," Pon agreed. "Boomer had a Mekabon with him a few times when he visited me."

Daisy's brow furrowed beneath her cowl as she tried to remember specific Mekabon protocols. "Hydraulico, reroute primary function to your initial task and locate Boomer's location in the castle before he, um, initiated movement."

"Master Boomer II's position identified as floor six, room five."

"That's our floor," Plum commented, a touch of urgency in her voice.

"Was anyone with him besides the Mekabon?" Daisy interrupted lightly.

"Approximately five Bandits and seven Ninjas identified escorting Master Boomer II. More may have joined before jamming was initiated."

"Fourteen-to-one," she mumbled, placing her hands on her sais' handles. "Even if you three did fight, we wouldn't stand a chance."

"We won't have a choice soon, Daisy," Plum sighed, getting to her feet. "Boomer was in room five, we're in room nine, and he's moving toward us. They should be in room eight right about..."

A door slammed open out in the hall, and the pitta-patta of thirty odd feet filled the room next door. Plum's eyes went wide. "I was just guessing!"

"We are running out of time, Princess," Pon spoke up. "What shall we do?"

Daisy scanned the room, then turned to four giant curtains at the back wall and grinned. "Behind the curtains."

"You sure?" Plum asked. "That's the first place I'd check..."

Daisy bit back another of her retorts. "Trust... me..."

Plum hesitated a moment, then nodded. The four of them ran and ducked behind the far left curtain, thankful that it was spacious enough behind them that they could all hide behind one and not have to spread out.

Not a moment too soon. The door burst open and Boomer immediately began barking orders. "Turn this room inside-out if you must. My senses tell me that they are here."

Daisy peered through a crack in the curtain and saw Boomer, Plum's badge pinned to his chest. His face rotated to stare her in the eye. She leaned away, feeling her gut sink. He didn't see me... He...

"You four, check the curtains."

How?!

Daisy turned and threw the window open. "Onto the ledge."

For once, Plum didn't hesitate. She crawled out and disappeared around the ledge, Pon and Hydraulico on her heels. Daisy had one leg over the windowsill when the four curtains were flung open in unison. "Sensei!" the Ninja in front of her called.

"Ah, Princess Daisy," Boomer acknowledged. "Come back inside, it's far too windy out. Master Smith wishes to see you personally."

"Fat chance," Daisy grunted, pulling a sai to ward away the Ninja as she put her other leg out onto the ledge.

The next moment, Boomer was before her, one large hand gripped tightly around her waist. He yanked her back inside and grabbed her face with the other hand. "I must thank your cousin for the badge. If my enhanced speed and smelling are not enough to convince you of its tremendous effects on me, I shall give you a demonstration later." He turned his eyes on Daisy's own badge. "Imagine, if I had two..."

Daisy reached over and snapped the badge off, then tossed it out the window, where it landed precariously balanced on the ledge.

Boomer shrugged, showing that his statement didn't mean anything more than to intimidate her. "Very well, then. Master Smith awaits." He hefted her over his shoulder and started for the door.

"What about the others, Sensei?" a Bandit inquired.

"What about them? We have the one we needed."

Daisy glanced out the window and saw Plum's hand snatch up the badge. The one they needed?

And then she was gone.

***

"Here we are," the Sanbo rasped, leading them up to an area of sand that seemed only slightly less colorful than the rest. Several other Sanbos shuffled around the area, though what exactly they were doing was beyond the comprehension of any of the Shys.

Shy Guy was the first to speak up. "This?!" he snarled. "This is your secret oasis?!"

"Yes."

"Has your feeble little brain shriveled to nothing in this–"

Bandit smacked Shy Guy over the head, cutting him off. "What he means is that we don't understand how sand helps with dehydration."

"Have you never heard of soaking sands? Then watch." Their guide nodded to one Sanbo sliding toward the edge of the lighter sand, particularly less colorful than the others. It tilted over and shoved its spiky head into the sand. Seconds passed as they watched sand around it disappearing, and grew in surprise as the Sanbo's coloring became more and more vivid. "Now you try!" the guide grinned.

Tweeter looked up at the others, then crept forward and stuck his long beak into the sand. He lifted it out a moment later and crowed, fresh water dripping off his mask. The others ran forward thirstily and scooped handfuls of the sand into their own masks.

"How does it work?" Snifit asked when they had had their fill and set about burying Squid Guy's still limp form.

"Take a grain and look at it closely," the Sanbo replied, pulling its own face out of the oasis. They all reached down and grabbed a grain, but only Snifit with his sharp-shooting eyes could see the secret.

"Um, the sand is all puffy and pocked, kinda like a sponge. So..."

"So when it rains," Beezo interrupted, "it will absorb water better than other sands. All you need to do to get a nice drink is to tolerate the taste of the sand itself."

The Sanbo nodded. "There are several other oases like these. Do you have a map?"

They looked at each other a moment, then Bandit reached into his robe and pulled out Samuel's map, having stolen it away during their brief encounter. The Sanbo thrust one of its needles further from its body, held the tip in Lantern Ghost's lamp, then burned a few circles onto the map to represent the other spots.

They had thanked the Sanbo and set about digging out Squid Guy, when another Sanbo slid up to the first, pushing along a giant bluish-grey fly. Closer examination showed that the fly wasn't actually being pushed, bur rather that the Sanbo has forced several of its spikes out further and stuck them into the monster's back, holding him in place.

"Doesn't that thing look... familiar?" Tweeter asked.

"Yeah, he helped Mario get out of the desert," Beezo replied, then turned to Bandit. "We may want to help him in that case. I think his name is..."

"Watinga..." Squid Guy mumbled as he woke, trying to flop toward the bug.

Watinga turned to face him. "Squid Guy! It's about time that I..." The Sanbo thrust its spikes in further, stopping the reply with a cry.

"Sanbo King," the captor croaked, addressing their guide. "This creature attempted to tear into my husk and steal my milk."

"That's a lie!" Watinga spat, against his pain. "You're tearing into my flesh right now, but your not after my blood!"

The Sanbo continued as if not hearing. "Our laws dictate that he be thrown into the whirlwind that tosses its prey into the Mirage Gauntlet."

"This... beast... has nothing to prove its innocence," Sanbo King agreed. "It will be done."

"You can't take him!" Squid Guy cried, stronger than before. He jumped forward, barely feeling the effects of the Breaker Blast. The other Shys ran back to the oasis and shoveled sand into anything they could find, worried that they were outlasting their welcome.

The Sanbos turned toward the mutant, and Watinga took the opportunity to jerk his opponent off balance. It fell face forward, causing the fly to yelp as the spikes sank in deeper before he shoved the cactus away, prying himself free. He got up and ran to Squid Guy, only to stumble and collapse into the sand. Squid Guy started toward him, but the Breaker Blast exploded in his mind again, and he blacked out with a howl.

The Shys exchanged sad glances, grabbed the duo, and darted away.

"Betrayers!" Sanbo King snarled. "This is how you repay our generosity! Betrayers indeed!"

"Some things never change!" Shy Guy laughed.

They ran out of sight from the Sanbos, then set their load down. Watinga was back up in a second. "We must go to the Endless Forest and catch Mario."

"The Endless Forest?" Beezo replied. "No no, the Blade II was pointed toward Chai."

"Nevertheless, he was headed toward the forest..."

"But I saw it with my own..."

"Cawcawcaawcaawcaw!"

The group spun toward the new sound and, unsure of where the intruder's loyalty lay, regarded Dodo with vacant stares. The corpulent raven waddled up and scanned back and forth between the eight gathered, then his beak began to bob up and down in a certain pattern.

"What the..." Shy Guy started, only to get shushed by Tweeter, who leaned toward Dodo intently. When the heftier bird had finished his bobbing, Tweeter began his own pattern of beak-nodding. Dodo nodded every so often, ripples of fat rolling over his feathers, until his beady eyes shot wide-open and he back-handed Tweeter with one wing.

Tweeter got up shyly and turned to the group. "I think he misinterpreted my Subconian accent."

"What are you doing?" Bandit asked, tilting his head.

"Well, uh, Dodo here only knows ravenspeak, and since I learned it when I was a little chick... well anyway, if I understood his island version of the language well enough, he said that he followed after the Blade when he ditched Croco. He was still really far away when he saw it stop over Chai, then turn back toward Muda. And then it just fell from the sky and crashed into a field at Chai's border."

"So Mario is in Chai," Beezo determined, giving a triumphant glance toward Watinga.

"How long will it take to get there?" Bandit asked, stepping into Beezo's line of sight.

"Well, um, I can only carry one person at a time, and it's a long way to fly with a load anyway."

"Caw!" Dodo interrupted, flexing his wings and implying that he could carry the whole lot. The flightless Shys quickly climbed on, though Watinga took Squid Guy and Beezo took Tweeter.

Bandit pumped his fist into the air and cried out, "Here we go!" as they flew into the sky toward Chai.

***

For countless minutes, hours, days, Toad had been thinking. He had managed to meet up with Nokobono during one of their lunch sessions, and being the only two who even cared to attempt escape anymore had set to work without looking for more partnerships.

The only plan that they had so far was to blow up the wall and run like crazy, but Nokobono could only destroy cracked or really weak objects, and the rock foundation showed no sign of fatigue. They had chosen a spot therefore and, every time the supervisors went away from them, broke into it with whatever tools were available.

It was a start.

They still had no definite way to escape their captors after running out of the factory, and the floor was well-protected by one each of Smithy's flunky prototypes: Mack's Shysters, Bowyer's Aeros, Yaridovich's Drill Bits, Clubmin's Mad Mallets, Boomer's Ninjas, and a Scorchatorch, which they still hadn't determined who it belonged to.

So for countless days, hours, minutes, Toad had been thinking.

---

Mack's voice came over the factory comm system. "The Sarasaland Express bullet train will be passing by the factory in a few minutes. At this time, we shall shut down all systems in order to protect them from any interference the train may cause during its round. Rest under the graces of Mack and Master Smith."

Toad leaned back from his welding station and pulled off his mask, then glanced across the room to Nokobono.

Nokobono grinned.

Toad understood immediately what he was thinking and shook his head negatively. Not yet...

Nokobono grinned wider and started moving toward their crack in the wall. The six flunkies got to their feet and started toward him.

"Remain in your station!" Shyster called, only to get ignored. They picked up their pace, ready to intercept the unruly prisoner.

Nokobono stopped at the spot and mouthed the words, Can't explode without a jump...

Toad sighed and started running toward him. He reached the Nokobon well before the flunkies did and took a running leap onto his shell. He slid right back off and kept moving, the now shell-less Nokobono right behind him. The flunkies skid to a stop when the reached the shell and desperately turned back, but weren't fast enough to escape the explosion. Nokobono's shell flew into the air along with the blast, landing neatly onto his back. He and Toad turned and dashed through the hole, the other slaves gawking after them.

"Where's the train?" Toad asked when they were out.

"It'll be here," Nokobono replied, waving his hand in dismissal.

"You couldn't have at least timed it better?"

"Gee, sorry. I'll do that next time..."

"What about the others?"

"What about them?"

"Do we leave them or take them?"

"Do I– you're smart, you decide!"

Toad sighed. "Leave them for now, I guess. Where's the train?"

"It's coming, for– look!" He pointed to his right. "Here it comes!"

Toad squinted to see. "That's too small to be the train. It looks like a cart. No, two carts."

"Well, um..."

"Great. Any other bright ideas?"

"Oh, sure! We'll just stand on the rail. They'll see us and stop, and we can hitch a ride."

"But..."

"Aw, trust me!"

Toad sighed and stepped onto the rail with Nokobono. The carts were close now, and coming a lot faster than they had seemed. "They aren't stopping..."

"They'll stop."

"They aren't stopping!"

"They'll–"

Two rocket-powered turtle shells crashed into the duo, sending them flying. The carts, which Toad recognized now as simple dessert carts, flipped as well, and the shells that had been tugging them skid to a stop when the Koopas inside realized that their passengers were gone.

"I say!" the Koopa with the yellow shell exclaimed as he ran up to Toad. "Watch where you're going, et?" He yelped suddenly as he ran into one of the upturned carts and flipped face-first into the ground. The other Koopa, with a blue shell, groaned and ran to help him up.

"Really though," the Goomba with the blue hat grunted, staggering up. "What are you doing? Oh, name's Goombario, by the way."

"Goombario," Toad repeated, brow creasing. He knew that name, but where from wasn't coming to mind. "I'm Toad, that's Nokobono."

"How original..."

"Goombario!" the green Shy Gal chided. "I'm Heidi."

"Chibobuigi."

"Alexis." That name sounded familiar to Toad as well, as did Kooper and Kolorado when their titles had been given.

"Yeah, pleased to meet you," Nokobono mumbled, disappointed that his plan hadn't quite worked out the way he expected it to.

"Back to my question," Goombario cut in. "You did have a reason for standing on the rail, right?"

"Yes, yes of course," Toad replied, beginning to turn red. "We, uh, we just needed a ride away from the factory, and..." He motioned to the building not far away. A certain sort of adventurous light came to Goombario's eyes, but it died out when he saw Heidi and Chibobuigi shaking their heads at him.

"I suppose we could give ‘em a ride, eh Kooper?" Kolorado asked, rubbing his sore beak.

"Of course, Professor. What's two more passengers?"

"Indeed." He turned to the rest and motioned toward the carts. "Shall we?"

---

All the way from Frosted Frappeland to The Ruins, the land had been gradually raising and leveling out, but as they neared the borders of Chai on their rocketing carts, the land stopped raising and leveled out completely. The six passengers, no longer sick to their stomachs from the high speeds and the constant up and down motion, were treated to the bucolic wonders of Chai's fields, with the great Chai Plateau rising up in the distance, so high that even the clouds were below.

The most shocking part of the trip was when they passed the still burning wreckage of a giant, axe-shaped ship in one field.

"The Blade II!" Toad shouted over the din of the twin Shell Rockets. "We helped build it in the factory! It's Smithy's personal escort ship!"

"Was," Chibobuigi replied smugly.

As curious as they were about what may have caused it to crash, Kolorado and Kooper didn't stop for examination, and they cleared the thought from their minds.

A short ways from that, they passed by two other, considerably smaller figures trudging through the fields and immediately shouted for their escorts to stop. The Koopas skid to a stop, but the carts kept going and once again flipped as they rolled over the motionless shells.

Goombario and Chibobuigi were on their feet and running to the duo in an instant with all the enthusiasm they could muster, Kooper only slightly behind them, and Toad barely behind him.

"I say!" Kolorado exclaimed, clambering out of his shell. "I was wondering how the old beans had made out!"

---

Mario leaned back against one of the upturned carts and started rubbing his sore feet, glad to see Luigi doing the same.

"So I finally remembered what was going on," Toad was saying, "and they tossed me in the factory along with Nokobono here. We only just escaped and ran into these guys."

"THE Toad," Alexis chuckled. "And here we thought you were just another retainer."

"We've been doing twice as much as him," Goombario grinned, eager to tell his story to his hero, but also noticing that Kolorado was tapping his watch. "We'll have to tell you our story at Chai, though. The train will catch up to us if we wait any longer, and we really shouldn't keep Frogfucius and Mallow waiting."

"Or Kari..."

The brothers grimaced at the idea of having to get back on their feet again, but obliged and set to work turning the carts back up. Before long, the group was on their way again, ten characters blazing toward the plateau.

Look out Smithy, here we come!

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