Categories > Games > Mario > Complications
Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4
0 ReviewsAs if constant kidnappings and conflicting emotions were not enough, Peach's life is about to get even more complicated. BowserxPeach, LuigixDaisy, later MarioxPauline.
Complications: Chapters 1 to 4
With only a few (literally) smiling clouds in the sky and the sun shining brightly, it was beautiful day in the Mushroom Kingdom. The streets of Toad Town were busy with people going about their business some stopping to notice just who was walking down the streets of their little town. Today the one and only princess Peach Toadstool had finally managed to get away from her castle walls and calmly walked down the street as any regular, non-royal girl, would do.
Smiling at the passersby, Peach took time to bask in the peaceful and cheery mood that seemed to reign supreme today in Toad Town. Children ran around playing, people were shopping, selling and talking; the town was just so full of life. Past a row of brightly colored houses there was the train station. Not too far from there, adorable tiny piglets played in their little farm.
The station was looking rather busy as the train's arrival was drawing near. Toads, koopas, goombas and many others gathered around discussing all sorts of things as they waited for the train to arrive. Some of them were there to welcome friends and family and others were planning to board the train and travel to far away places.
A toad hastily arrived carrying so much luggage that it blocked his view. A small toad with a large amount of luggage was not a good combination. Clearly he was about to go on a trip and was running late checking in his luggage. He nearly bumped into Peach but narrowly avoided her at the last second slipping and landing next to her instead. "Ow!"
Peach rushed to his side to see if he was alright. A few other people turned their heads as well, some approaching with curiosity or worry. "Are you alright?" Peach gently asked as she extended her hand to help the toad stand up.
Currently the toad's mushroom had slipped down and partially covered his eyes. He heard the voice and half saw the kind globed hand willing to help him get up. Without a second thought he took it and was easily pulled to his feet. "Thanks lady!" He knew the voice was female but that's just about all he could tell until he adjusted his mushroom. He then stared at the one who had helped him. "Princess Peach!"
Peach couldn't help it but to smile about how adorably surprised the toad looked. "Yes, what's your name?"
"Vol, my name is Vol T." He bowed formally apparently forgetting about his luggage and lateness. It was surprising to see princess Peach out of the Mushroom Castle these days with all the risks of kidnappings, though staying at the castle didn't exactly stop that from happening.
"Pleased to meet you Vol, you're heading to check in your luggage right?" Peach asked.
"Yes princess! I'm going on a trip around the world and this train station is the beginning of that. It'll be fun seeing new places and meeting new people. I'll have a lot of stories to tell when I return. But I kind of overslept because I was so exited about it that I didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Vol placed a hand behind his mushroom and smiled sheepishly. Though he was saying he was late he didn't seem too worried about it anymore. His attention was focused on the fact that the princess was there.
"Need a hand carrying the luggage?" Peach asked.
Vol's eyes went wide. "Goodness no, I could never ask you to do such a thing, your highness." He bowed once again and tried to gather his many suitcases in a pile.
"It's no trouble at all" Peach insisted but before she could pick up more than one suitcase a group of toads gathered around to carry the rest. "Well it seems you have a lot of helpers. Shall we take the luggage to the check in so it's loaded on the train on time when it arrives?"
"Wow, thank you! You're so kind princess, you're all very kind" Vol’s trip around the world had not even started yet and something interesting had already happened.
After helping Vol with the luggage and wishing him a safe and fun trip, Peach returned to the area outside in front of the train station. She thought she heard her name being said among people's conversations, most likely about the recent events.
She took a deep breath and felt a strong sense of satisfaction with how the afternoon was going. She would definitely have to visit Toad Town more often to see her people and help in whatever little things she could.
That was a part of taking care of her kingdom, just letting them know that she was there for anything they might need help with. Peach was very loved by her people and also by people of other kingdoms and most of all by Bowser. He hasn't kidnapped her recently which meant another attempt was getting closer but she wouldn't worry about that today, she would simply enjoy her day in Toad Town.
The sound of the train was heard and the locomotive appeared in the distance. It moved at a steady pace gradually slowing down until it came to a full stop at the station. "We have arrived in Toad Town!" Even the announcement sounded more cheerful that day.
Peach expected the same cheery atmosphere to come bursting out of the train as travelers came to see Toad Town and residents returned from their journeys, but instead it was relatively quiet.
The passengers hastily got out of the train and started walking away from it. They decided to wait for their luggage to be unloaded in the cheerful area next to the oinkies as the passenger wagon seemed to carry a gloomy atmosphere.
Out of the wagon came a magikoopa. She was young, around Peach's age but didn't look nearly as happy as the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. By the look in her face she had not gotten a lot of sleep recently and looked a bit thin. She seemed to take the gloomy atmosphere with her wherever she went. People eyed her suspiciously though she had not done anything suspicious, at least not that Peach had seen.
Ignoring them, the magikoopa threw a long strand of light purple hair over her shoulder and walked past Peach. She stopped and looked towards the princess before continuing on practically dragging her feet. She folded the sleeves of her long purple rope and reached into the pen holding the cute cheerful piglets. The oinkies looked reluctant at first but soon approached and allowed her to pet them over the fence. It was amazing really as oinkies were usually very easily frightened and she was a stranger to them.
A few people stared in surprise and Peach curiously approached. There was something about that magikoopa that seemed to call her. She thought she should welcome the visitor. Decided upon that thought, Peach approached.
"Hello" the princess in the pink dress said with a happy smile as if to try to give the magikoopa a little of that happiness. She certainly looked like she needed to cheer up.
"My apologies your highness if I bothered you in any way. Touching a small animal that isn't mine must not be polite but I assure you I have no intentions of causing any harm to the oinkies." The magikoopa vowed and her hair fell on her face as she did. She didn't wear glasses and behind those strands of pale purple there were big expressive violet eyes. She had beautiful eyes but they seemed to carry a lot of sadness.
"Please don't apologize, you've done nothing wrong. I just wanted to welcome you to Toad Town" Peach explained.
The magikoopa smiled weakly. "I thank you, your highness. Princess Peach correct? I do apologize but I'm not too familiar with the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Yes my name is Peach and it's alright. What's your name?" Peach couldn't leave her like that, she simply couldn't. She was very kindhearted and couldn't stand to see anyone looking sad.
That's when she remembered why she wanted to go out so badly today. The image was clear in her mind from the last time she was rescued. She had seen Bowser look everything from hopeful to surprised, to angry and every other emotion but not sad, not like that, in a way that she could almost feel it as if the heartache was her own. She needed to get that image out of her head. She needed to be cheered up by the happiness of her people. To erase that image and try to think she only imagined it, because there was nothing she could do, right?
"My name is Lavanda, it is an honor to meet you princess Peach," the magikoopa replied.
The voice got Peach out of her thoughts and she prevented her smile from fading just in time. "Welcome to Toad Town Lavanda, I hope you have fun here."
"Princess, may I read your fortune?" The request was sudden but not too unexpected coming from a magikoopa; some were quite accurate in their fortunes though Peach only liked having her fortune read for fun.
"Sure, that sounds interesting" Peach noticed that that Lavanda seemed a little happier, just a little. Reading fortunes must be something she enjoyed doing.
"Wonderful" Lavanda clapped her hands together and in a drastic change she smiled brightly. "Not here though because oinkies are very sensitive creatures and they might be frightened by the faint traces of magic involved."
"Let's go into town then, it should be alright there" Peach suggested. Did Lavanda suddenly look healthier? She certainly didn't look like the exhausted young magikoopa from a few minutes ago.
Near the heart of Toad Town, the two young ladies settled into a table at a café. A waiter soon came to take their orders and realized that this was none other than princess Peach sitting at one of their outdoor tables with an unknown friend. "Welcome ladies, may I bring you anything? And may I say it is an honor to have you and your friend here, princess Peach!"
"Thank you, Lavanda you should order first if you want anything, my treat." Peach was feeling cheerful, it seemed the unusual fortune teller could somehow project her mood and make other feel what she felt if only for a split second, then their own memories related to such feelings would surface.
"I couldn't impose, you're being kind enough to let me read your fortune" Lavanda said.
"It's ok, think of it as a thank you for reading my fortune" Peach replied.
"I am most grateful." Lavanda looked through the menu previously left untouched on the table. Neither she nor Peach, were feeling an appetite to eat anything big in the middle of the afternoon but a cold drink would be nice. "Piragüa, a refreshing tropical drink. This sounds good and it even comes in grape flavor, my favorite. I would like one of these."
"It is an excellent choice for a hot sunny day, most refreshing. What would you like to order princess?" The waiter asked.
Peach looked at the picture of the drink in the menu. That one was red possibly cherry or strawberry. It was served in a glass cup with many tiny pieces of ice that glittered in the light. The flavored syrup was poured over the ice giving it its color and sweet taste. Though it looked like something solid to be eaten as ice-cream the ice was cut into such small pieces they melted quickly so it could be treated as a drink. "I think I will have a piragüa too. Strawberry-peach flavored, please."
"Excellent, I shall bring them right away!" The waiter left to fetch their drinks.
Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom was currently at café with a mysterious magikoopa. The magikoopa, who called herself Lavanda, had only recently arrived in Toad Town. Strangely enough, her appearance seemed to improve as she gained a little of Peach's friendship. They didn't know each other very well yet but that magikoopa had a mission and Peach's fortune was about to be revealed.
Peach sat with perfect posture waiting for the waiter to return with their drinks. Lavanda returned the princess's friendly smile. "Shall I begin?"
"Of course" Peach replied, wondering what Lavanda would see in her future. Though this was just for fun, Peach was curious.
"Very well then, I'll begin." Lavanda held her wand over the table, pointing it at Peach. The princess had thought she would use magic cards or a crystal ball or something like that, but it looked as if she would use a spell. The relatively large amethyst at the end of the wand emitted a soft pale purple glow.
Peach couldn't help it but to be amazed by the jewel's beauty. Sure, she had plenty of jewels (being a princess and all) but none had that special glow around them, of course this one was magical. She felt a warm happy feeling; the energy from the amethyst was very calming. The Mushroom Kingdom princess closed her eyes and relaxed, enjoying the warmth of the jewel, and then suddenly it stopped. Peach opened her eyes wondering what had happened. Was Lavanda done reading the fortune or did she stop for some other reason?
"I'm sorry, there are too many people here and their energies interfere with the reading. But you did feel something, right?" Lavanda asked. The light left her wand completely and the lavender-toned amethyst turned a dark violet.
"Yes, that warmth and protection… it felt..." Peach paused, /'familiar?'/. "I'm not sure I can describe it but it was good." What was that? That feeling, it was wonderful, was that what her future held? Then it was certainly something to look forward to.
The waiter stood there with the drinks, staring. He was curious about what the magikoopa was trying to do and about that irresistible glow from jewel on her wand. Both ladies soon noticed his presence. When he realized they were looking at him he snapped out of his day dream and gently set the drinks down on the table, grape for Lavanda and strawberry-peach for Peach. "My apologies, I was distracted for a second there. Here are your drinks, if you would like anything else please let me know."
"Thank you" Both ladies responded in unison which caused Peach to giggle a little along with Lavanda.
"This happens sometimes" Lavanda commented referring to the curious waiter. She looked towards him and gave him a positively gorgeous smile. It looked like his breath caught in his throat at the moment. "That will be all for now from me. What about you, princess Peach?"
"That's all from me too," Peach felt a little odd. It was as if she had known Lavanda for years and she somehow wasn't surprised by her sudden radiant appearance and mood. Well, she was a magikoopa so magic might have been the cause… that didn't need to make sense… except why didn't she use it sooner?
"Very well then, I will leave you to your drinks now, enjoy," the waiter cheerfully said. As he left to tend to the other customers, Lavanda smiled, satisfied. Everything was going according to her plan and it was a lot easier than she imagined.
Peach tasted the sweet strawberry-peach flavored ice, for it just being ice with syrup it had certain elegance to it when served in a crystal cup reflecting the light of the sun.
Lavanda seemed to have a lot of purple around her, not just her hair, eyes and clothes, but grape was her favorite flavor as well.
Curious to hear more about the spell Lavanda used, Peach asked, "did you find out what my future is?"
"Only in part," Lavanda replied.
"There are too many people here and I was getting readings them mixed with yours, but I did get to see a little of your future. It's quite interesting, that feeling; it means love will enter your life" Lavanda told her.
"Love…" Peach thought about it. As far as she knew, love was already in her life in the form of a certain plumber who likes to wear a red hat.
"Unexpected love." Lavanda specified. "This is a stronger love, a love that is meant to be, your true love. It has not started yet, well it has, but only half, the other half will come soon."
Lavanda was a traveler- she had just arrived at Toad Town. 'She doesn't know about Mario' Peach thought. Otherwise she might have adjusted her fortune's interpretation to suit him. But then again, there was always a little bit of the truth in practically every fortune, depending on how you looked at it. If Mario's love grew, if they became closer, it would be like a new love, the same man but a new love twice as strong.
"This may be something very unexpected. I want to try again later in a less crowded place because I have a feeling that we will meet again. And I'm a fortune teller, so it must come true." Lavanda laughed. "This is fun; I haven't made friends this quickly in a long time. Sorry, it's just that it feels like we're friends."
"We are; I think you're right ‘bout meeting again. Tomorrow," Peach paused and looked around before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Daisy and I are planning to go hiking to the Forest Maze near Rose Town." As soon as the words escaped Peach wasn't sure why she mentioned it, but she didn't worry too much about it, Lavanda wouldn't tell anyone about their plans- or so she thought.
"You mean princess Daisy of Sarasaland? Wow, I get to meet so many cool famous people. I would love to go if it's alright" Lavanda accepted the invitation.
"Great, maybe you can help us with the plans to leave the castle and Toad Town." Peach spoke in a barely audible whisper.
"Of course, I understand that since you're the princess they can be protective. Don't worry; I won't tell anyone and I'll do whatever I can to help." Lavanda assured her. This was too easy.
Looking forward to the next day, Peach continued their conversation with curiosity. "For how long have you been reading fortunes?"
"I've been reading them ever since I was a little girl. Not to brag, but I'm confident with my skill when I can get a clear reading. Maybe we can try again at" she paused and smiled "our destination."
"Sure, that sounds good. And you could read Daisy's fortune too; if you don't mind." Peach suggested, also smiling. Tomorrow would be fun.
"Not at all, I love reading fortunes. I do it every time I reach a new town." Lavanda explained.
"You must have visited many interesting places."
"Oh yes, I've been almost everywhere. I was at Sarasaland once, but didn't get to stay for too long. I plan to visit the kingdom again someday in the near future. I also went to Nimbus Land once" Lavanda remembered.
"I love it at Nimbus Land, those soft fluffy clouds, the clear blue skies, relaxing at the hot springs. I haven't seen Mallow in a while, he must be growing into a fine prince for Nimbus Land." Peach thought of their adventure and how fast time seemed to pass.
"All of you saved the world together from Smithy, didn't you?" Lavanda asked.
"Oh, you heard about that?" That was a great adventure for Peach. She had to sneak out of the castle to go, but it was certainly worth it. She felt like she had to help, she couldn't think of a world without wishes, but in the end, the Star Road was saved. She wondered how Geno was doing up there.
"When I was at Nimbus Land, I visited the museum at the castle. The statues were great, very life-like. There I learned the full story about the adventure. I've heard about it before, but not in such detail. If I may ask I've been curious about something for a while now," Lavanda paused, this was an important point in her plan.
Peach assumed that her question was something related to the Star Road, wishes or maybe the volcano adventure. People sometimes asked if they had really gone inside Barrel Volcano and faced a dragon. "Sure, what is it?"
"It's about King Bowser, he was in the team, right? He rescued you from Booster at Marrymore, right?" Lavanda asked.
Peach was a little surprised by the question, but then she thought she shouldn't be. "Yes, he helped save me along with Mario, Mallow and Geno" Peach replied.
"Then he protected you during the journey?" Lavanda half-said, and half-asked.
"Well, yes he did." Peach truthfully replied. She wondered where Lavanda was trying to take the conversation but at the same time she had a pretty clear idea about it.
"He really loves you, you should give him a chance." Peach didn't need to predict the future to know that those were Lavanda's next words.
The princess suddenly wondered if Lavanda was in a way working for Bowser, maybe a different strategy, a matchmaker, but then she disregarded the thought. It wasn't rare for koopas, or magikoopas, to mention things like that to Peach. Even the ones who had moved to the Mushroom Kingdom and other towns wanted to see their king and his love together. "I... we..." This was also something that happened more often than Peach was ready to handle, yet she was at a loss for words. She paused and tried to collect her thoughts into coherent sentences. She didn't want to sound mean or like she hated Bowser, she wanted to politely explain that she loved Mario without making it sound like too much of a disappointment.
"It's alright, you don't need to explain it, I understand. It's just that I really felt something when reading your fortune, as if that was the future that awaited you. I should wait until I get a clearer reading to say for sure. I'm sorry if what I said made you feel uncomfortable." Lavanda apologized.
"It's alright, this happens a lot. You can do the full reading tomorrow." Even if the reading said she would end up with Bowser, Peach wouldn't believe it...
"Right then, we shall see tomorrow. When and where should I meet you and Daisy? I'm guessing at the Mushroom Castle to help out with, you know."
"Yes, I'll let the guards know that I'm expecting you. We're planning to go at ten in the morning, can you come?" Peach asked.
"Sounds great to me, I'll definitely be there." Lavanda replied.
They talked for a little while longer, mostly about the places they had visited, the weather that day, and they quietly discussed the plans for the next day. After a while they were done with their sweet, cold piragüas and the plans for the next day were set. The waiter had returned to collect the empty cups. "I hope you enjoyed your drinks."
"They were great, very refreshing" Peach replied.
"Oh, yes I agree," added Lavanda. "Allow me to take care of the bill, princess."
"It's okay, you're my guest" Peach insisted.
"I must insist, after all, you were nice enough to invite me to visit the castle." Of course she didn't mention the part about leaving the castle to go to the forest. With a wave of her wand golden coins appeared enough to cover the cost of the drinks and a generous tip. "I must be on my way now, princess, I'll see you tomorrow."
Peach couldn't help it but to be amused by how the floating coins appeared, she had always liked magikoopa magic tricks. She had a feeling that tomorrow's hiking and picnic would be very interesting… and she had no idea how right she was.
Bowser continued to pace back and forth as he had been doing for the past hour or so. Kamek had followed him in his endless circles at the beginning, but soon the magikoopa had grown tired and sat down at a nearby chair. He watched the king continue his walk, but just watching Bowser walk around in circles made Kamek feel both tired and dizzy. The red carpet that extended all over the large room had been worn away in a circle, marking Bowser's exhaustive path.
"Still walking." Kamek looked up at the sound of the voice. He had been leaning back in his chair and nearly fallen asleep. He noticed that it was Kammy standing there, wand in hand, watching Bowser walk. "Why is he making such a big deal out of this?"
Kamek paused as the memories came back to him. A mysterious fortune teller had come to the castle not too long ago. He couldn't quite place it, but something didn't feel right about the magikoopa girl… yet at the same time her presence was familiar. He couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. In the end he had decided that it was best to let Bowser judge if she should be trusted. "Because it's not the usual plan," Kamek replied, but clearly he wasn't specific enough as Kammy only gave him a puzzled look. "It's something different, it brings new hope." The fortune teller had in fact brought new hope with her unexpected arrival, but Kamek wondered why she wanted Bowser and Peach to be together so badly. It was true that most people in the Koopa Kingdom and even some in the Mushroom Kingdom, though they didn't say it as openly as the koopas, wanted to see Bowser and Peach together. But this magikoopa, Lavanda, seemed to have a special purpose.
Before Kamek and Kammy could give the situation any extra thought Larry arrived. "Kammy, come use the computers! You promised to try to learn and Wendy's impatient."
"Alright, I'll see what's so special about those computer things." Kammy sounded curious, but not as if she was truly looking forward to it. After taking one last glance at Bower, Kamek decided to go to the computer lab as well.
"I really don't know what is so special about that machine…" Kamek eyed the computer suspiciously as if it was a strange bug. He felt uncomfortable around it as if it was some kind of volatile substance that would blow up in his face if he pressed the wrong button. "I have my magic and that's all I need."
Ludwig shook his head. "Kamek, I believe that it is time for you to adapt to computers and other technological devices. I am sure you do not wish to become out of date on the latest knowledge and use of modern equipment."
"My magic is all I need." Kamek stubbornly repeated, crossing his arms and gripping his wand.
"But Kammy is using the computer too!" Lemmy pointed at the other magikoopa who seemed to be busy pressing keys one by one using only her index fingers.
Kammy paused, adjusted her glasses and read over what she had written on the screen. "Wendy, what do I do next?"
"Oh, you're done typing the email? Good, you’re improving, that only took about fifteen minutes this time." Wendy read over the text written on the email, it was just five words. She blinked, blue eyes revealing surprised. Five words had taken her that long? She sighed, teaching an old magikoopa a new magic trick was hard, or so she heard, but teaching an old magikoopa how to use a computer was even harder… not to mention time consuming. "Now for the address, move the cursor right there." The koopa princess pointed at the proper space on the screen.
Needless to say, Kammy wasn't very skilled with the mouse. "I lost it, where did it go?"
From the beginning, Wendy knew this would take a lot of time but she didn’t think Kammy would be that slow. "Press this key, Kammy!" Iggy pressed the control key and little circles appeared on the screen like reverse ripples in water, tracking down the cursor like a radar. "There it is!"
"I see it," Kammy adjusted her glasses for the millionth time and slowly moved the mouse. She clicked and looked very satisfied with her accomplishment of moving the little blinking line to where it needed to be. She began typing an address like the ones people write on paper letters.
Larry had joined his siblings in the lesson, leaving Kamek even more alone. "What kind of an email address is that?"
"It isn't" Iggy replied.
"What do you mean it isn't? What am I suppose to write then?" Kammy asked. This was becoming rather frustrating. The use of magic and paper mail was looking better and better by the second from Kammy's point of view. Even if Parakarry occasionally (ok maybe not occasionally but rather often) misplaced letters, at least the message had a better chance of eventually reaching its destination.
"I'll type it for you" Wendy was at the end of her patience. In seconds the email address of the account the koopalings had created for Kamek was entered. Now for the subject, Wendy hit tab and jumped to the subject line without having to use the mouse, something that amazed Kammy. "What is the title of this email?"
"Old geezer." Kammy replied.
Thought he couldn't see the screen from his position, Kamek had a feeling that they were talking about him. He decided to ignore it and continued looking at the screen of Roy's computer while the koopaling played an online game. Morton was using another computer at the end of the room typing to his heart's content, most likely chatting with everyone that dared to step into whatever unfortunate chat room he was currently overloading. When he was chatting was the only time that Morton was actually quiet, since he was expressing himself on the screen. He talked even in his sleep and while he ate, though he had been told countless times not to talk with his mouth full.
Kamek didn't understand the game or why Junior kept chanting "catch it, catch it, run, faster, there it is, look, there, catch it!" Repeating the exact same words after a moment of silence, in the exact same tone and order, like a recorder.
"Kamek go check your email!" Iggy was jumping with excitement.
"Check the mail? But that is not my duty and besides Parakarry was already here earlier today. I don't think we will be getting anything else in the mail so soon." Clearly Kamek didn’t know what an email was.
"Email isn't mail it's /email/!" Lemmy’s explanation only served to confuse Kamek further. Despite his protests, the old magikoopa was dragged towards a computer and forced to sit in front of it while the koopalings explained that they had opened an email account for him and explained how to use it. "Look, you already have two emails!" Lemmy loved getting emails and contrary to most people, he wasn't annoyed by forwards and spam.
One of the emails was the standard welcoming message that everyone received when they created a new email account, the other email was labeled as being from Kammy. Kamek gave her a suspicious look and Kammy only smiled. Maybe all her hard work sending that email would be worth it, to see the look on Kamek's face when he read it.
Kamek knew that Kammy was up to something by the look in her eyes. "This email you speak of, how do I read it?" He needed to know what she was planning even if it felt like he was walking right into a trap.
"Click! Click!" Junior cheered which only served to confuse Kamek further.
"What is this gibberish? I do not understand," honestly not knowing what click meant.
"Move the mouse and double click." For Ludwig and the other koopalings it was a very simple task, but not an outdated magikoopa.
"Ludwig, are you using those strange words that mean something different from what they sound like they mean?" The funny thing was that when Ludwig used his big words, Kamek usually understood what he was trying to say, most of the time without having to look it up in a dictionary. This time he was at a total blank.
"No, he's actually making sense this time." From Wendy’s point of view it was one of those rare occasions when Ludwig’s words were easy to understand.
"I'll help you," Lemmy offered. He then pointed at the computer mouse. "This is a mouse."
Kamek somehow saw the resemblance between the item and a mouse. It was small and the cord looked like a tail. "Did you just nickname this item mouse or is it actually named that?"
"It's a mouse, what else would it be called if not mouse? A mouse is a mouse and because of that we call it mouse, because it's a mouse!" Morton rambled on and on about the mouse until a familiar sound was heard, an indication his message had been answered. He turned his attention back to the screen then he proceeded to ramble in written form. He had learned to type very fast. Surprising his siblings, he could easily keep up with Ludwig when it came to typing if not type even faster. Of course Ludwig still had much better spelling and grammar than Morton or any other of his siblings. He would never be caught using those internet abbreviations.
"You have to move the mouse and then that little arrow on the screen moves" Iggy explained.
Kamek decided that if Kammy and the koopalings did not fear having the machine called computer blow up in their faces for no apparent reason, neither would he. He gently placed an uncertain hand on the mouse and moved it slowly. He was amazed that the arrow on the screen followed its movements. Amused by this, he began to move the arrow around forming different patters faster and faster until the little arrow disappeared off the screen. "Where is it go? Is it broken?"
Roy rolled his eyes. "Old people." He moved the mouse and clicked on the email titled /old geezer/. If they waited for Kamek to get the hang of it, he would be an old geezer by then too.
"It's from Kammy" Larry pointed at the email address.
By the time Kamek was done reading, the koopalings and Kammy were laughing.
Get with the times.
-Kammy
"That was very immature" Kamek wasn’t sure how to respond to the message.
"You seemed to be enjoying moving the mouse around. Perhaps you should try playing a game that requires such a skill, it would also serve as practice" Ludwig said.
"Kamek should draw something on Paint!" Junior suggested.
Kamek did not know how the paint Junior spoke of was related to the computer but he would agree to it for the sake of doing something he understood. "Alright, let's go to the art room then." He remembered when Bowser was little and he would draw on the walls. Most of the time, Kamek used magic to clean more than anything else.
"He means the Paint program on the computer" Wendy moved the mouse too fast for Kamek to keep up and opened the program.
Now Kamek faced a white screen and the arrow had turned into a pencil. "Press this button down and move the mouse."
Kamek did as Iggy had instructed and began to draw patterns in the electronic canvas. He felt like a child learning how to play with a new toy. "So this computer is used to send messages and draw pictures."
"And lots of other stuff too!" Lemmy knew it would take a long time to list all the things that could be done with a computer, let alone explain them to Kamek.
"The games are the best part!" Most of the koopalings agreed with Larry.
"King Bowser, Lady Lavanda has returned!" Skyri, a paratroopa, hurriedly flew into the room, leaving a trail of feathers in her path.
Bowser watched impatiently as Lavanda entered the room. "What do you have to report?"
"Everything is going well, your highness. Tomorrow Princess Peach and her friend Princess Daisy will be at the Forest Maze near Rose Town. I'm sure it will not take too long for her to realize her true feelings for you," Lavanda explained with a confident smile.
"Then you're actually making progress? When will Peach and I be together?" It had been far too long since Bowser heard such good news and he couldn’t wait any longer for more.
"Tomorrow, but you must remember to take things slowly. I must ask you to go deep into the Forest Maze and wait for Peach there. I will lead her to you and you will have a chance to become her hero."
Bowser liked the sound of that. He would be Peach's hero instead of Mario. "Hear that Kamek? Everything is going according to- Kamek?" The Koopa King had been so busy pacing around the room that he didn't even notice when the magikoopa left.
xoxox xox xoxox
The next day, the first thing Lavanda had to accomplish was to help Peach and Daisy leave the Mushroom Kingdom unnoticed. She arrived at the castle and a toad let her in. "Welcome Miss Lavanda, the princesses are waiting for you."
"I hope I didn't arrive too late." She smiled appearing very friendly and trustworthy; it was all part of her plan.
"Not at all, you arrived just in time." The toad showed her the way to Peach's private living room. "Princess, your guest is here."
Peach thanked him and the toad bowed and left. "I'm glad you came. Lavanda, this is Daisy." After the introduction, she pulled a picnic basket from under a pile of plushies where she had hastily hidden it when the toad arrived.
"Hi, nice to meet you! Peach was telling me that you're a fortune teller. That sounds fun, could you read my fortune later? But first we need to make our great escape." Daisy was certainly talkative and social. She got used being around new people very quickly.
"Of course, Princess, I would be honored to read your fortune." Lavanda took a small bow, but Daisy shook her head.
"You don't need to do that. Just call me Daisy." She never liked formalities.
"Very well, if it is alright. About our escape plan, I thought of a possible way to leave the castle unnoticed." Peach and Daisy watch as Lavanda materialized three little dolls that looked like the three of them and used her magic to make them life size.
The Lavanda doll was surrounded by a pale purple light and came to life. "Have a good time in the Forest Maze today! The other dolls and I will take care of everything here as soon as they wake up..."
"That was amazing!"
"I'm happy you think so." Lavanda smiled, this was too easy. "To animate the other two dolls I'll need your help. Just try to clear your mind and relax so I can copy your personality into them."
The princesses did as Lavanda had asked. In the beginning, she didn't think it would be that easy to make them lower their guard…but her plans were progressing at an excellent pace. The same pale purple glow surrounded the princesses and their identical dolls.
"Looks like everything is ready," the Daisy doll spoke.
"Just don't forget to come back before midnight," the Peach doll reminded them.
"Why midnight? Will they turn back into dolls then?" Daisy asked.
"Yes, this is only temporary." Lavanda checked her wand's amethyst and grinned when she saw two small glowing lights within the jewel.
"That's too bad. I was going to ask if I could keep mine." Many times, Daisy wished she had a double that could take her place during boring royal duties.
"I'm sorry, but my magic isn't powerful enough to maintain the living dolls for too long." That was a lie…she simply had no reason to keep up the charade for too long. For her plans to have their full effect, the Mushroom Kingdom had to realize that their princess was missing. If Sarasaland could be added to the mix, it was even better. "I can still cast a basic invisibility spell on the three of us to make it easier to leave the castle unseen."
"I've always wanted to be invisible" It would certainly make things easier for Daisy when it came to sneaking out of meetings if she had that power.
They headed towards the front door, not even making an effort to try to use a back door or windows since they were invisible. On their way they saw Toadsworth talking to Toad. "Monday, it should take place on Monday."
"But Sir Toadsworth, most people are too busy to attend the parade on a Monday. Perhaps a Saturday or Friday would be best."
Toadsworth examined his clipboard and tapped the pen against it muttering something about risks and /probability/. "We cannot do that. Statistically King Bowser seems to prefer those days for his kidnapping attempts. Sadly, the majority of those attempts are successful, at least until Mario saves her. We simply can't take this risk and ruin the parade for both the princess and the people. Last year the Mushroom Day parade took place on a Saturday only because the princess had been rescued the previous Friday and Bowser doesn't usually attempt another kidnapping so soon."
"I can't believe you're discussing this." For a moment Peach forgot she was invisible and spoke as if Toadsworth could see her but had not noticed her yet. They were scheduling the parade so that it wouldn't take place on one of "kidnap days" and that didn't make her feel very good.
Toadsworth nearly had a heart attack as he searched for the source of the voice and didn't find it. "Did you hear that?"
"Y-ye-s," Toad's face was pale and his heart was pounding.
Peach froze and Daisy could hardly contain her laughter. "Do you hear that? It sounds like muffled laughter. Could it be that Boos have intruded in the castle?"
"I don't know, but it's scary!" Boos were often shy and didn't attack those who were brave enough to look straight at them. Toad kept turning to look in every direction to make sure a Boo wouldn't sneak up on him.
"Why didn't they recognize my voice?" Peach kept her voice to a barely audible whisper.
"It's a side effect of being invisible. To those who are not under the same spell, your voice sounds ghostly." Lavanda's words gave Daisy an idea.
With a mischievous look, the Sarasaland princess started making ghostly sounds. With a shriek, Toad jumped into Toadsworth's arms shivering all over. "G-gg-ho-st!"
Toadsworth gulped. "Remain calm, we will not let the ghosts bring us down!" He tried to make his voice sound as confident and calm as possible but he really didn't like the possibility of the castle being invaded by Boos.
Listening to the sounds of more stifled laughter, as if the ghosts were mocking them, only served to increase Toad's fear. "Ma-ma-mm-ma..."
"That's enough, Toad." Toadsworth set Toad on the floor and took a determined pose, reminiscent of a knight who was ready to draw his sword and go to battle. "This is no time to be crying for our mums. This is a time to take action and defend the Mushroom Kingdom!" He raised his arm in fighting spirit, holding his pen as sword and clipboard as a shield. There was no way he would let a bunch of Boos chase him out of his home.
Toad shook his head and took a deep breath. "Mario," he finally managed to utter the words he had been trying to communicate.
"The Mario brothers you mean? I'm certain that they would be able to handle this situation, but we must also take action. Close the doors and windows! We will not let the Boos take over the castle!" If it came down to it, Toadsworth would send for the Mario brothers. Nevertheless for the moment being he would try to handle the situation himself.
"But Boos can go through walls" Toad reminded him in a frightened voice.
"Well now, that is a problem." Tapping the pen on the clipboard once more, Toadsworth looked thoughtful. "Call the Mario brothers!" He finally decided.
"Yes sir!" Toad saluted, he felt much more secure knowing that the Mario brothers were on their way.
Peach's "oh, oh" was followed by Daisy's "oops" and the princesses looked at each other then at Lavanda, in search of idea to stop them from getting the Mario brothers involved.
"Should we just leave?" This was not what Lavanda had planned; it was amusing, but not what she had planned.
"We can't leave everyone like this," With Toad spreading the word that there were Boos in the castle, almost everyone had began to panic and either hid or searched for the Boos. "I shouldn't have gotten Toadsworth's attention."
"And I shouldn't have scared him. Although I must admit this is very funny." It was times like those that made life an interesting experience for the princess of Sarasaland. She wondered if she would be able to stop herself from telling Luigi the entire story later.
"It'll be alright if we leave now. The dolls will take our place and when the Mario brothers realize that there are no Boos, everyone will calm down." Lavanda made sure to keep her voice to a whisper. The princesses nodded and followed the magikoopa.
Peach looked back at Toadsworth for a moment. "Sorry..." It was not loud enough for him to hear, but it was something she had to say.
Daisy noticed that Peach was a little behind and signaled for her to hurry to the door. She wasn't sure how Lavanda was going to open it, yet assumed she had a plan. Toad continued to run all over the castle announcing the presence of Boos. While she was distracted a scared toad ran into her.
"The Boo! It's there!" The toad was pointing straight at Daisy. "I ran into something but there's nothing there so it has to be a ghost!" He was too frightened to consider the possibility of running through a ghost.
"Run!" Peach called out to Daisy. There was no time to stand still and think about the situation. The dolls would take their place and the Mario brothers would calm the chaos. If they remained there any longer, things could only get worse. They made a dash for the door and Lavanda created a powerful wind. The gust blew toads, tables, vases and decorations alike out of the way and threw the doors open. "That was your plan?" Peach looked at the toads with worry. Luckily, it seemed that other than being terrified they were just fine.
"My plan was to leave quietly. I'm making this up as I go!" It had not gone exactly as the fortune teller was expecting, but none the less the princesses were on their way to the Forest Maze. Hopefully the next part of the plan would proceed smoothly.
xoxox xox xoxox
For Mario, it was one of those days when he could sleep in all morning, get up at noon and spend the rest of the day watching TV and eating. This was his day off... and it was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. Mario buried his head under the pillow but it still wasn't enough to block out the unwelcome noise. "Luigi, could you get the phone?" His brother usually got up first so Mario assumed he be awake.
"Not right now. If I leave the spaghetti alone it will burn." It was the story of his life when it came to cooking. Everything appeared to be fine with his meal but if he took his eyes off it for a second, when he came back it would be burnt to a crisp.
Mario dragged himself out of bed. At least breakfast should be ready soon so his effort would not be a complete waste. He glanced at his Yoshi clock on the night stand, next to a picture of him and Peach. It was 10:30 in the morning. If this was about a leak it would have to wait until the next day. Why can't people understand that plumbers need a day off every now and then? He stopped in front of the phone and gave it a few more seconds to stop its insistent ringing.
"Are you gonna pick it up?" Luigi's voice came from the kitchen.
"I guess I have no choice" After yawning one last time, Mario cleared his throat and picked up the phone. "Mario Brothers Plumbing Se-"
"Mario, come quick! We're under attack!" Mario recognized Toad's voice right away. He could only assume this was about Bowser.
To be Continued
Many thanks to Razzi (ebtwisty9) for beta reading and giving me advice.
With only a few (literally) smiling clouds in the sky and the sun shining brightly, it was beautiful day in the Mushroom Kingdom. The streets of Toad Town were busy with people going about their business some stopping to notice just who was walking down the streets of their little town. Today the one and only princess Peach Toadstool had finally managed to get away from her castle walls and calmly walked down the street as any regular, non-royal girl, would do.
Smiling at the passersby, Peach took time to bask in the peaceful and cheery mood that seemed to reign supreme today in Toad Town. Children ran around playing, people were shopping, selling and talking; the town was just so full of life. Past a row of brightly colored houses there was the train station. Not too far from there, adorable tiny piglets played in their little farm.
The station was looking rather busy as the train's arrival was drawing near. Toads, koopas, goombas and many others gathered around discussing all sorts of things as they waited for the train to arrive. Some of them were there to welcome friends and family and others were planning to board the train and travel to far away places.
A toad hastily arrived carrying so much luggage that it blocked his view. A small toad with a large amount of luggage was not a good combination. Clearly he was about to go on a trip and was running late checking in his luggage. He nearly bumped into Peach but narrowly avoided her at the last second slipping and landing next to her instead. "Ow!"
Peach rushed to his side to see if he was alright. A few other people turned their heads as well, some approaching with curiosity or worry. "Are you alright?" Peach gently asked as she extended her hand to help the toad stand up.
Currently the toad's mushroom had slipped down and partially covered his eyes. He heard the voice and half saw the kind globed hand willing to help him get up. Without a second thought he took it and was easily pulled to his feet. "Thanks lady!" He knew the voice was female but that's just about all he could tell until he adjusted his mushroom. He then stared at the one who had helped him. "Princess Peach!"
Peach couldn't help it but to smile about how adorably surprised the toad looked. "Yes, what's your name?"
"Vol, my name is Vol T." He bowed formally apparently forgetting about his luggage and lateness. It was surprising to see princess Peach out of the Mushroom Castle these days with all the risks of kidnappings, though staying at the castle didn't exactly stop that from happening.
"Pleased to meet you Vol, you're heading to check in your luggage right?" Peach asked.
"Yes princess! I'm going on a trip around the world and this train station is the beginning of that. It'll be fun seeing new places and meeting new people. I'll have a lot of stories to tell when I return. But I kind of overslept because I was so exited about it that I didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Vol placed a hand behind his mushroom and smiled sheepishly. Though he was saying he was late he didn't seem too worried about it anymore. His attention was focused on the fact that the princess was there.
"Need a hand carrying the luggage?" Peach asked.
Vol's eyes went wide. "Goodness no, I could never ask you to do such a thing, your highness." He bowed once again and tried to gather his many suitcases in a pile.
"It's no trouble at all" Peach insisted but before she could pick up more than one suitcase a group of toads gathered around to carry the rest. "Well it seems you have a lot of helpers. Shall we take the luggage to the check in so it's loaded on the train on time when it arrives?"
"Wow, thank you! You're so kind princess, you're all very kind" Vol’s trip around the world had not even started yet and something interesting had already happened.
After helping Vol with the luggage and wishing him a safe and fun trip, Peach returned to the area outside in front of the train station. She thought she heard her name being said among people's conversations, most likely about the recent events.
She took a deep breath and felt a strong sense of satisfaction with how the afternoon was going. She would definitely have to visit Toad Town more often to see her people and help in whatever little things she could.
That was a part of taking care of her kingdom, just letting them know that she was there for anything they might need help with. Peach was very loved by her people and also by people of other kingdoms and most of all by Bowser. He hasn't kidnapped her recently which meant another attempt was getting closer but she wouldn't worry about that today, she would simply enjoy her day in Toad Town.
The sound of the train was heard and the locomotive appeared in the distance. It moved at a steady pace gradually slowing down until it came to a full stop at the station. "We have arrived in Toad Town!" Even the announcement sounded more cheerful that day.
Peach expected the same cheery atmosphere to come bursting out of the train as travelers came to see Toad Town and residents returned from their journeys, but instead it was relatively quiet.
The passengers hastily got out of the train and started walking away from it. They decided to wait for their luggage to be unloaded in the cheerful area next to the oinkies as the passenger wagon seemed to carry a gloomy atmosphere.
Out of the wagon came a magikoopa. She was young, around Peach's age but didn't look nearly as happy as the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. By the look in her face she had not gotten a lot of sleep recently and looked a bit thin. She seemed to take the gloomy atmosphere with her wherever she went. People eyed her suspiciously though she had not done anything suspicious, at least not that Peach had seen.
Ignoring them, the magikoopa threw a long strand of light purple hair over her shoulder and walked past Peach. She stopped and looked towards the princess before continuing on practically dragging her feet. She folded the sleeves of her long purple rope and reached into the pen holding the cute cheerful piglets. The oinkies looked reluctant at first but soon approached and allowed her to pet them over the fence. It was amazing really as oinkies were usually very easily frightened and she was a stranger to them.
A few people stared in surprise and Peach curiously approached. There was something about that magikoopa that seemed to call her. She thought she should welcome the visitor. Decided upon that thought, Peach approached.
"Hello" the princess in the pink dress said with a happy smile as if to try to give the magikoopa a little of that happiness. She certainly looked like she needed to cheer up.
"My apologies your highness if I bothered you in any way. Touching a small animal that isn't mine must not be polite but I assure you I have no intentions of causing any harm to the oinkies." The magikoopa vowed and her hair fell on her face as she did. She didn't wear glasses and behind those strands of pale purple there were big expressive violet eyes. She had beautiful eyes but they seemed to carry a lot of sadness.
"Please don't apologize, you've done nothing wrong. I just wanted to welcome you to Toad Town" Peach explained.
The magikoopa smiled weakly. "I thank you, your highness. Princess Peach correct? I do apologize but I'm not too familiar with the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Yes my name is Peach and it's alright. What's your name?" Peach couldn't leave her like that, she simply couldn't. She was very kindhearted and couldn't stand to see anyone looking sad.
That's when she remembered why she wanted to go out so badly today. The image was clear in her mind from the last time she was rescued. She had seen Bowser look everything from hopeful to surprised, to angry and every other emotion but not sad, not like that, in a way that she could almost feel it as if the heartache was her own. She needed to get that image out of her head. She needed to be cheered up by the happiness of her people. To erase that image and try to think she only imagined it, because there was nothing she could do, right?
"My name is Lavanda, it is an honor to meet you princess Peach," the magikoopa replied.
The voice got Peach out of her thoughts and she prevented her smile from fading just in time. "Welcome to Toad Town Lavanda, I hope you have fun here."
"Princess, may I read your fortune?" The request was sudden but not too unexpected coming from a magikoopa; some were quite accurate in their fortunes though Peach only liked having her fortune read for fun.
"Sure, that sounds interesting" Peach noticed that that Lavanda seemed a little happier, just a little. Reading fortunes must be something she enjoyed doing.
"Wonderful" Lavanda clapped her hands together and in a drastic change she smiled brightly. "Not here though because oinkies are very sensitive creatures and they might be frightened by the faint traces of magic involved."
"Let's go into town then, it should be alright there" Peach suggested. Did Lavanda suddenly look healthier? She certainly didn't look like the exhausted young magikoopa from a few minutes ago.
Near the heart of Toad Town, the two young ladies settled into a table at a café. A waiter soon came to take their orders and realized that this was none other than princess Peach sitting at one of their outdoor tables with an unknown friend. "Welcome ladies, may I bring you anything? And may I say it is an honor to have you and your friend here, princess Peach!"
"Thank you, Lavanda you should order first if you want anything, my treat." Peach was feeling cheerful, it seemed the unusual fortune teller could somehow project her mood and make other feel what she felt if only for a split second, then their own memories related to such feelings would surface.
"I couldn't impose, you're being kind enough to let me read your fortune" Lavanda said.
"It's ok, think of it as a thank you for reading my fortune" Peach replied.
"I am most grateful." Lavanda looked through the menu previously left untouched on the table. Neither she nor Peach, were feeling an appetite to eat anything big in the middle of the afternoon but a cold drink would be nice. "Piragüa, a refreshing tropical drink. This sounds good and it even comes in grape flavor, my favorite. I would like one of these."
"It is an excellent choice for a hot sunny day, most refreshing. What would you like to order princess?" The waiter asked.
Peach looked at the picture of the drink in the menu. That one was red possibly cherry or strawberry. It was served in a glass cup with many tiny pieces of ice that glittered in the light. The flavored syrup was poured over the ice giving it its color and sweet taste. Though it looked like something solid to be eaten as ice-cream the ice was cut into such small pieces they melted quickly so it could be treated as a drink. "I think I will have a piragüa too. Strawberry-peach flavored, please."
"Excellent, I shall bring them right away!" The waiter left to fetch their drinks.
Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom was currently at café with a mysterious magikoopa. The magikoopa, who called herself Lavanda, had only recently arrived in Toad Town. Strangely enough, her appearance seemed to improve as she gained a little of Peach's friendship. They didn't know each other very well yet but that magikoopa had a mission and Peach's fortune was about to be revealed.
Peach sat with perfect posture waiting for the waiter to return with their drinks. Lavanda returned the princess's friendly smile. "Shall I begin?"
"Of course" Peach replied, wondering what Lavanda would see in her future. Though this was just for fun, Peach was curious.
"Very well then, I'll begin." Lavanda held her wand over the table, pointing it at Peach. The princess had thought she would use magic cards or a crystal ball or something like that, but it looked as if she would use a spell. The relatively large amethyst at the end of the wand emitted a soft pale purple glow.
Peach couldn't help it but to be amazed by the jewel's beauty. Sure, she had plenty of jewels (being a princess and all) but none had that special glow around them, of course this one was magical. She felt a warm happy feeling; the energy from the amethyst was very calming. The Mushroom Kingdom princess closed her eyes and relaxed, enjoying the warmth of the jewel, and then suddenly it stopped. Peach opened her eyes wondering what had happened. Was Lavanda done reading the fortune or did she stop for some other reason?
"I'm sorry, there are too many people here and their energies interfere with the reading. But you did feel something, right?" Lavanda asked. The light left her wand completely and the lavender-toned amethyst turned a dark violet.
"Yes, that warmth and protection… it felt..." Peach paused, /'familiar?'/. "I'm not sure I can describe it but it was good." What was that? That feeling, it was wonderful, was that what her future held? Then it was certainly something to look forward to.
The waiter stood there with the drinks, staring. He was curious about what the magikoopa was trying to do and about that irresistible glow from jewel on her wand. Both ladies soon noticed his presence. When he realized they were looking at him he snapped out of his day dream and gently set the drinks down on the table, grape for Lavanda and strawberry-peach for Peach. "My apologies, I was distracted for a second there. Here are your drinks, if you would like anything else please let me know."
"Thank you" Both ladies responded in unison which caused Peach to giggle a little along with Lavanda.
"This happens sometimes" Lavanda commented referring to the curious waiter. She looked towards him and gave him a positively gorgeous smile. It looked like his breath caught in his throat at the moment. "That will be all for now from me. What about you, princess Peach?"
"That's all from me too," Peach felt a little odd. It was as if she had known Lavanda for years and she somehow wasn't surprised by her sudden radiant appearance and mood. Well, she was a magikoopa so magic might have been the cause… that didn't need to make sense… except why didn't she use it sooner?
"Very well then, I will leave you to your drinks now, enjoy," the waiter cheerfully said. As he left to tend to the other customers, Lavanda smiled, satisfied. Everything was going according to her plan and it was a lot easier than she imagined.
Peach tasted the sweet strawberry-peach flavored ice, for it just being ice with syrup it had certain elegance to it when served in a crystal cup reflecting the light of the sun.
Lavanda seemed to have a lot of purple around her, not just her hair, eyes and clothes, but grape was her favorite flavor as well.
Curious to hear more about the spell Lavanda used, Peach asked, "did you find out what my future is?"
"Only in part," Lavanda replied.
"There are too many people here and I was getting readings them mixed with yours, but I did get to see a little of your future. It's quite interesting, that feeling; it means love will enter your life" Lavanda told her.
"Love…" Peach thought about it. As far as she knew, love was already in her life in the form of a certain plumber who likes to wear a red hat.
"Unexpected love." Lavanda specified. "This is a stronger love, a love that is meant to be, your true love. It has not started yet, well it has, but only half, the other half will come soon."
Lavanda was a traveler- she had just arrived at Toad Town. 'She doesn't know about Mario' Peach thought. Otherwise she might have adjusted her fortune's interpretation to suit him. But then again, there was always a little bit of the truth in practically every fortune, depending on how you looked at it. If Mario's love grew, if they became closer, it would be like a new love, the same man but a new love twice as strong.
"This may be something very unexpected. I want to try again later in a less crowded place because I have a feeling that we will meet again. And I'm a fortune teller, so it must come true." Lavanda laughed. "This is fun; I haven't made friends this quickly in a long time. Sorry, it's just that it feels like we're friends."
"We are; I think you're right ‘bout meeting again. Tomorrow," Peach paused and looked around before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Daisy and I are planning to go hiking to the Forest Maze near Rose Town." As soon as the words escaped Peach wasn't sure why she mentioned it, but she didn't worry too much about it, Lavanda wouldn't tell anyone about their plans- or so she thought.
"You mean princess Daisy of Sarasaland? Wow, I get to meet so many cool famous people. I would love to go if it's alright" Lavanda accepted the invitation.
"Great, maybe you can help us with the plans to leave the castle and Toad Town." Peach spoke in a barely audible whisper.
"Of course, I understand that since you're the princess they can be protective. Don't worry; I won't tell anyone and I'll do whatever I can to help." Lavanda assured her. This was too easy.
Looking forward to the next day, Peach continued their conversation with curiosity. "For how long have you been reading fortunes?"
"I've been reading them ever since I was a little girl. Not to brag, but I'm confident with my skill when I can get a clear reading. Maybe we can try again at" she paused and smiled "our destination."
"Sure, that sounds good. And you could read Daisy's fortune too; if you don't mind." Peach suggested, also smiling. Tomorrow would be fun.
"Not at all, I love reading fortunes. I do it every time I reach a new town." Lavanda explained.
"You must have visited many interesting places."
"Oh yes, I've been almost everywhere. I was at Sarasaland once, but didn't get to stay for too long. I plan to visit the kingdom again someday in the near future. I also went to Nimbus Land once" Lavanda remembered.
"I love it at Nimbus Land, those soft fluffy clouds, the clear blue skies, relaxing at the hot springs. I haven't seen Mallow in a while, he must be growing into a fine prince for Nimbus Land." Peach thought of their adventure and how fast time seemed to pass.
"All of you saved the world together from Smithy, didn't you?" Lavanda asked.
"Oh, you heard about that?" That was a great adventure for Peach. She had to sneak out of the castle to go, but it was certainly worth it. She felt like she had to help, she couldn't think of a world without wishes, but in the end, the Star Road was saved. She wondered how Geno was doing up there.
"When I was at Nimbus Land, I visited the museum at the castle. The statues were great, very life-like. There I learned the full story about the adventure. I've heard about it before, but not in such detail. If I may ask I've been curious about something for a while now," Lavanda paused, this was an important point in her plan.
Peach assumed that her question was something related to the Star Road, wishes or maybe the volcano adventure. People sometimes asked if they had really gone inside Barrel Volcano and faced a dragon. "Sure, what is it?"
"It's about King Bowser, he was in the team, right? He rescued you from Booster at Marrymore, right?" Lavanda asked.
Peach was a little surprised by the question, but then she thought she shouldn't be. "Yes, he helped save me along with Mario, Mallow and Geno" Peach replied.
"Then he protected you during the journey?" Lavanda half-said, and half-asked.
"Well, yes he did." Peach truthfully replied. She wondered where Lavanda was trying to take the conversation but at the same time she had a pretty clear idea about it.
"He really loves you, you should give him a chance." Peach didn't need to predict the future to know that those were Lavanda's next words.
The princess suddenly wondered if Lavanda was in a way working for Bowser, maybe a different strategy, a matchmaker, but then she disregarded the thought. It wasn't rare for koopas, or magikoopas, to mention things like that to Peach. Even the ones who had moved to the Mushroom Kingdom and other towns wanted to see their king and his love together. "I... we..." This was also something that happened more often than Peach was ready to handle, yet she was at a loss for words. She paused and tried to collect her thoughts into coherent sentences. She didn't want to sound mean or like she hated Bowser, she wanted to politely explain that she loved Mario without making it sound like too much of a disappointment.
"It's alright, you don't need to explain it, I understand. It's just that I really felt something when reading your fortune, as if that was the future that awaited you. I should wait until I get a clearer reading to say for sure. I'm sorry if what I said made you feel uncomfortable." Lavanda apologized.
"It's alright, this happens a lot. You can do the full reading tomorrow." Even if the reading said she would end up with Bowser, Peach wouldn't believe it...
"Right then, we shall see tomorrow. When and where should I meet you and Daisy? I'm guessing at the Mushroom Castle to help out with, you know."
"Yes, I'll let the guards know that I'm expecting you. We're planning to go at ten in the morning, can you come?" Peach asked.
"Sounds great to me, I'll definitely be there." Lavanda replied.
They talked for a little while longer, mostly about the places they had visited, the weather that day, and they quietly discussed the plans for the next day. After a while they were done with their sweet, cold piragüas and the plans for the next day were set. The waiter had returned to collect the empty cups. "I hope you enjoyed your drinks."
"They were great, very refreshing" Peach replied.
"Oh, yes I agree," added Lavanda. "Allow me to take care of the bill, princess."
"It's okay, you're my guest" Peach insisted.
"I must insist, after all, you were nice enough to invite me to visit the castle." Of course she didn't mention the part about leaving the castle to go to the forest. With a wave of her wand golden coins appeared enough to cover the cost of the drinks and a generous tip. "I must be on my way now, princess, I'll see you tomorrow."
Peach couldn't help it but to be amused by how the floating coins appeared, she had always liked magikoopa magic tricks. She had a feeling that tomorrow's hiking and picnic would be very interesting… and she had no idea how right she was.
Bowser continued to pace back and forth as he had been doing for the past hour or so. Kamek had followed him in his endless circles at the beginning, but soon the magikoopa had grown tired and sat down at a nearby chair. He watched the king continue his walk, but just watching Bowser walk around in circles made Kamek feel both tired and dizzy. The red carpet that extended all over the large room had been worn away in a circle, marking Bowser's exhaustive path.
"Still walking." Kamek looked up at the sound of the voice. He had been leaning back in his chair and nearly fallen asleep. He noticed that it was Kammy standing there, wand in hand, watching Bowser walk. "Why is he making such a big deal out of this?"
Kamek paused as the memories came back to him. A mysterious fortune teller had come to the castle not too long ago. He couldn't quite place it, but something didn't feel right about the magikoopa girl… yet at the same time her presence was familiar. He couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. In the end he had decided that it was best to let Bowser judge if she should be trusted. "Because it's not the usual plan," Kamek replied, but clearly he wasn't specific enough as Kammy only gave him a puzzled look. "It's something different, it brings new hope." The fortune teller had in fact brought new hope with her unexpected arrival, but Kamek wondered why she wanted Bowser and Peach to be together so badly. It was true that most people in the Koopa Kingdom and even some in the Mushroom Kingdom, though they didn't say it as openly as the koopas, wanted to see Bowser and Peach together. But this magikoopa, Lavanda, seemed to have a special purpose.
Before Kamek and Kammy could give the situation any extra thought Larry arrived. "Kammy, come use the computers! You promised to try to learn and Wendy's impatient."
"Alright, I'll see what's so special about those computer things." Kammy sounded curious, but not as if she was truly looking forward to it. After taking one last glance at Bower, Kamek decided to go to the computer lab as well.
"I really don't know what is so special about that machine…" Kamek eyed the computer suspiciously as if it was a strange bug. He felt uncomfortable around it as if it was some kind of volatile substance that would blow up in his face if he pressed the wrong button. "I have my magic and that's all I need."
Ludwig shook his head. "Kamek, I believe that it is time for you to adapt to computers and other technological devices. I am sure you do not wish to become out of date on the latest knowledge and use of modern equipment."
"My magic is all I need." Kamek stubbornly repeated, crossing his arms and gripping his wand.
"But Kammy is using the computer too!" Lemmy pointed at the other magikoopa who seemed to be busy pressing keys one by one using only her index fingers.
Kammy paused, adjusted her glasses and read over what she had written on the screen. "Wendy, what do I do next?"
"Oh, you're done typing the email? Good, you’re improving, that only took about fifteen minutes this time." Wendy read over the text written on the email, it was just five words. She blinked, blue eyes revealing surprised. Five words had taken her that long? She sighed, teaching an old magikoopa a new magic trick was hard, or so she heard, but teaching an old magikoopa how to use a computer was even harder… not to mention time consuming. "Now for the address, move the cursor right there." The koopa princess pointed at the proper space on the screen.
Needless to say, Kammy wasn't very skilled with the mouse. "I lost it, where did it go?"
From the beginning, Wendy knew this would take a lot of time but she didn’t think Kammy would be that slow. "Press this key, Kammy!" Iggy pressed the control key and little circles appeared on the screen like reverse ripples in water, tracking down the cursor like a radar. "There it is!"
"I see it," Kammy adjusted her glasses for the millionth time and slowly moved the mouse. She clicked and looked very satisfied with her accomplishment of moving the little blinking line to where it needed to be. She began typing an address like the ones people write on paper letters.
Larry had joined his siblings in the lesson, leaving Kamek even more alone. "What kind of an email address is that?"
"It isn't" Iggy replied.
"What do you mean it isn't? What am I suppose to write then?" Kammy asked. This was becoming rather frustrating. The use of magic and paper mail was looking better and better by the second from Kammy's point of view. Even if Parakarry occasionally (ok maybe not occasionally but rather often) misplaced letters, at least the message had a better chance of eventually reaching its destination.
"I'll type it for you" Wendy was at the end of her patience. In seconds the email address of the account the koopalings had created for Kamek was entered. Now for the subject, Wendy hit tab and jumped to the subject line without having to use the mouse, something that amazed Kammy. "What is the title of this email?"
"Old geezer." Kammy replied.
Thought he couldn't see the screen from his position, Kamek had a feeling that they were talking about him. He decided to ignore it and continued looking at the screen of Roy's computer while the koopaling played an online game. Morton was using another computer at the end of the room typing to his heart's content, most likely chatting with everyone that dared to step into whatever unfortunate chat room he was currently overloading. When he was chatting was the only time that Morton was actually quiet, since he was expressing himself on the screen. He talked even in his sleep and while he ate, though he had been told countless times not to talk with his mouth full.
Kamek didn't understand the game or why Junior kept chanting "catch it, catch it, run, faster, there it is, look, there, catch it!" Repeating the exact same words after a moment of silence, in the exact same tone and order, like a recorder.
"Kamek go check your email!" Iggy was jumping with excitement.
"Check the mail? But that is not my duty and besides Parakarry was already here earlier today. I don't think we will be getting anything else in the mail so soon." Clearly Kamek didn’t know what an email was.
"Email isn't mail it's /email/!" Lemmy’s explanation only served to confuse Kamek further. Despite his protests, the old magikoopa was dragged towards a computer and forced to sit in front of it while the koopalings explained that they had opened an email account for him and explained how to use it. "Look, you already have two emails!" Lemmy loved getting emails and contrary to most people, he wasn't annoyed by forwards and spam.
One of the emails was the standard welcoming message that everyone received when they created a new email account, the other email was labeled as being from Kammy. Kamek gave her a suspicious look and Kammy only smiled. Maybe all her hard work sending that email would be worth it, to see the look on Kamek's face when he read it.
Kamek knew that Kammy was up to something by the look in her eyes. "This email you speak of, how do I read it?" He needed to know what she was planning even if it felt like he was walking right into a trap.
"Click! Click!" Junior cheered which only served to confuse Kamek further.
"What is this gibberish? I do not understand," honestly not knowing what click meant.
"Move the mouse and double click." For Ludwig and the other koopalings it was a very simple task, but not an outdated magikoopa.
"Ludwig, are you using those strange words that mean something different from what they sound like they mean?" The funny thing was that when Ludwig used his big words, Kamek usually understood what he was trying to say, most of the time without having to look it up in a dictionary. This time he was at a total blank.
"No, he's actually making sense this time." From Wendy’s point of view it was one of those rare occasions when Ludwig’s words were easy to understand.
"I'll help you," Lemmy offered. He then pointed at the computer mouse. "This is a mouse."
Kamek somehow saw the resemblance between the item and a mouse. It was small and the cord looked like a tail. "Did you just nickname this item mouse or is it actually named that?"
"It's a mouse, what else would it be called if not mouse? A mouse is a mouse and because of that we call it mouse, because it's a mouse!" Morton rambled on and on about the mouse until a familiar sound was heard, an indication his message had been answered. He turned his attention back to the screen then he proceeded to ramble in written form. He had learned to type very fast. Surprising his siblings, he could easily keep up with Ludwig when it came to typing if not type even faster. Of course Ludwig still had much better spelling and grammar than Morton or any other of his siblings. He would never be caught using those internet abbreviations.
"You have to move the mouse and then that little arrow on the screen moves" Iggy explained.
Kamek decided that if Kammy and the koopalings did not fear having the machine called computer blow up in their faces for no apparent reason, neither would he. He gently placed an uncertain hand on the mouse and moved it slowly. He was amazed that the arrow on the screen followed its movements. Amused by this, he began to move the arrow around forming different patters faster and faster until the little arrow disappeared off the screen. "Where is it go? Is it broken?"
Roy rolled his eyes. "Old people." He moved the mouse and clicked on the email titled /old geezer/. If they waited for Kamek to get the hang of it, he would be an old geezer by then too.
"It's from Kammy" Larry pointed at the email address.
By the time Kamek was done reading, the koopalings and Kammy were laughing.
Get with the times.
-Kammy
"That was very immature" Kamek wasn’t sure how to respond to the message.
"You seemed to be enjoying moving the mouse around. Perhaps you should try playing a game that requires such a skill, it would also serve as practice" Ludwig said.
"Kamek should draw something on Paint!" Junior suggested.
Kamek did not know how the paint Junior spoke of was related to the computer but he would agree to it for the sake of doing something he understood. "Alright, let's go to the art room then." He remembered when Bowser was little and he would draw on the walls. Most of the time, Kamek used magic to clean more than anything else.
"He means the Paint program on the computer" Wendy moved the mouse too fast for Kamek to keep up and opened the program.
Now Kamek faced a white screen and the arrow had turned into a pencil. "Press this button down and move the mouse."
Kamek did as Iggy had instructed and began to draw patterns in the electronic canvas. He felt like a child learning how to play with a new toy. "So this computer is used to send messages and draw pictures."
"And lots of other stuff too!" Lemmy knew it would take a long time to list all the things that could be done with a computer, let alone explain them to Kamek.
"The games are the best part!" Most of the koopalings agreed with Larry.
"King Bowser, Lady Lavanda has returned!" Skyri, a paratroopa, hurriedly flew into the room, leaving a trail of feathers in her path.
Bowser watched impatiently as Lavanda entered the room. "What do you have to report?"
"Everything is going well, your highness. Tomorrow Princess Peach and her friend Princess Daisy will be at the Forest Maze near Rose Town. I'm sure it will not take too long for her to realize her true feelings for you," Lavanda explained with a confident smile.
"Then you're actually making progress? When will Peach and I be together?" It had been far too long since Bowser heard such good news and he couldn’t wait any longer for more.
"Tomorrow, but you must remember to take things slowly. I must ask you to go deep into the Forest Maze and wait for Peach there. I will lead her to you and you will have a chance to become her hero."
Bowser liked the sound of that. He would be Peach's hero instead of Mario. "Hear that Kamek? Everything is going according to- Kamek?" The Koopa King had been so busy pacing around the room that he didn't even notice when the magikoopa left.
xoxox xox xoxox
The next day, the first thing Lavanda had to accomplish was to help Peach and Daisy leave the Mushroom Kingdom unnoticed. She arrived at the castle and a toad let her in. "Welcome Miss Lavanda, the princesses are waiting for you."
"I hope I didn't arrive too late." She smiled appearing very friendly and trustworthy; it was all part of her plan.
"Not at all, you arrived just in time." The toad showed her the way to Peach's private living room. "Princess, your guest is here."
Peach thanked him and the toad bowed and left. "I'm glad you came. Lavanda, this is Daisy." After the introduction, she pulled a picnic basket from under a pile of plushies where she had hastily hidden it when the toad arrived.
"Hi, nice to meet you! Peach was telling me that you're a fortune teller. That sounds fun, could you read my fortune later? But first we need to make our great escape." Daisy was certainly talkative and social. She got used being around new people very quickly.
"Of course, Princess, I would be honored to read your fortune." Lavanda took a small bow, but Daisy shook her head.
"You don't need to do that. Just call me Daisy." She never liked formalities.
"Very well, if it is alright. About our escape plan, I thought of a possible way to leave the castle unnoticed." Peach and Daisy watch as Lavanda materialized three little dolls that looked like the three of them and used her magic to make them life size.
The Lavanda doll was surrounded by a pale purple light and came to life. "Have a good time in the Forest Maze today! The other dolls and I will take care of everything here as soon as they wake up..."
"That was amazing!"
"I'm happy you think so." Lavanda smiled, this was too easy. "To animate the other two dolls I'll need your help. Just try to clear your mind and relax so I can copy your personality into them."
The princesses did as Lavanda had asked. In the beginning, she didn't think it would be that easy to make them lower their guard…but her plans were progressing at an excellent pace. The same pale purple glow surrounded the princesses and their identical dolls.
"Looks like everything is ready," the Daisy doll spoke.
"Just don't forget to come back before midnight," the Peach doll reminded them.
"Why midnight? Will they turn back into dolls then?" Daisy asked.
"Yes, this is only temporary." Lavanda checked her wand's amethyst and grinned when she saw two small glowing lights within the jewel.
"That's too bad. I was going to ask if I could keep mine." Many times, Daisy wished she had a double that could take her place during boring royal duties.
"I'm sorry, but my magic isn't powerful enough to maintain the living dolls for too long." That was a lie…she simply had no reason to keep up the charade for too long. For her plans to have their full effect, the Mushroom Kingdom had to realize that their princess was missing. If Sarasaland could be added to the mix, it was even better. "I can still cast a basic invisibility spell on the three of us to make it easier to leave the castle unseen."
"I've always wanted to be invisible" It would certainly make things easier for Daisy when it came to sneaking out of meetings if she had that power.
They headed towards the front door, not even making an effort to try to use a back door or windows since they were invisible. On their way they saw Toadsworth talking to Toad. "Monday, it should take place on Monday."
"But Sir Toadsworth, most people are too busy to attend the parade on a Monday. Perhaps a Saturday or Friday would be best."
Toadsworth examined his clipboard and tapped the pen against it muttering something about risks and /probability/. "We cannot do that. Statistically King Bowser seems to prefer those days for his kidnapping attempts. Sadly, the majority of those attempts are successful, at least until Mario saves her. We simply can't take this risk and ruin the parade for both the princess and the people. Last year the Mushroom Day parade took place on a Saturday only because the princess had been rescued the previous Friday and Bowser doesn't usually attempt another kidnapping so soon."
"I can't believe you're discussing this." For a moment Peach forgot she was invisible and spoke as if Toadsworth could see her but had not noticed her yet. They were scheduling the parade so that it wouldn't take place on one of "kidnap days" and that didn't make her feel very good.
Toadsworth nearly had a heart attack as he searched for the source of the voice and didn't find it. "Did you hear that?"
"Y-ye-s," Toad's face was pale and his heart was pounding.
Peach froze and Daisy could hardly contain her laughter. "Do you hear that? It sounds like muffled laughter. Could it be that Boos have intruded in the castle?"
"I don't know, but it's scary!" Boos were often shy and didn't attack those who were brave enough to look straight at them. Toad kept turning to look in every direction to make sure a Boo wouldn't sneak up on him.
"Why didn't they recognize my voice?" Peach kept her voice to a barely audible whisper.
"It's a side effect of being invisible. To those who are not under the same spell, your voice sounds ghostly." Lavanda's words gave Daisy an idea.
With a mischievous look, the Sarasaland princess started making ghostly sounds. With a shriek, Toad jumped into Toadsworth's arms shivering all over. "G-gg-ho-st!"
Toadsworth gulped. "Remain calm, we will not let the ghosts bring us down!" He tried to make his voice sound as confident and calm as possible but he really didn't like the possibility of the castle being invaded by Boos.
Listening to the sounds of more stifled laughter, as if the ghosts were mocking them, only served to increase Toad's fear. "Ma-ma-mm-ma..."
"That's enough, Toad." Toadsworth set Toad on the floor and took a determined pose, reminiscent of a knight who was ready to draw his sword and go to battle. "This is no time to be crying for our mums. This is a time to take action and defend the Mushroom Kingdom!" He raised his arm in fighting spirit, holding his pen as sword and clipboard as a shield. There was no way he would let a bunch of Boos chase him out of his home.
Toad shook his head and took a deep breath. "Mario," he finally managed to utter the words he had been trying to communicate.
"The Mario brothers you mean? I'm certain that they would be able to handle this situation, but we must also take action. Close the doors and windows! We will not let the Boos take over the castle!" If it came down to it, Toadsworth would send for the Mario brothers. Nevertheless for the moment being he would try to handle the situation himself.
"But Boos can go through walls" Toad reminded him in a frightened voice.
"Well now, that is a problem." Tapping the pen on the clipboard once more, Toadsworth looked thoughtful. "Call the Mario brothers!" He finally decided.
"Yes sir!" Toad saluted, he felt much more secure knowing that the Mario brothers were on their way.
Peach's "oh, oh" was followed by Daisy's "oops" and the princesses looked at each other then at Lavanda, in search of idea to stop them from getting the Mario brothers involved.
"Should we just leave?" This was not what Lavanda had planned; it was amusing, but not what she had planned.
"We can't leave everyone like this," With Toad spreading the word that there were Boos in the castle, almost everyone had began to panic and either hid or searched for the Boos. "I shouldn't have gotten Toadsworth's attention."
"And I shouldn't have scared him. Although I must admit this is very funny." It was times like those that made life an interesting experience for the princess of Sarasaland. She wondered if she would be able to stop herself from telling Luigi the entire story later.
"It'll be alright if we leave now. The dolls will take our place and when the Mario brothers realize that there are no Boos, everyone will calm down." Lavanda made sure to keep her voice to a whisper. The princesses nodded and followed the magikoopa.
Peach looked back at Toadsworth for a moment. "Sorry..." It was not loud enough for him to hear, but it was something she had to say.
Daisy noticed that Peach was a little behind and signaled for her to hurry to the door. She wasn't sure how Lavanda was going to open it, yet assumed she had a plan. Toad continued to run all over the castle announcing the presence of Boos. While she was distracted a scared toad ran into her.
"The Boo! It's there!" The toad was pointing straight at Daisy. "I ran into something but there's nothing there so it has to be a ghost!" He was too frightened to consider the possibility of running through a ghost.
"Run!" Peach called out to Daisy. There was no time to stand still and think about the situation. The dolls would take their place and the Mario brothers would calm the chaos. If they remained there any longer, things could only get worse. They made a dash for the door and Lavanda created a powerful wind. The gust blew toads, tables, vases and decorations alike out of the way and threw the doors open. "That was your plan?" Peach looked at the toads with worry. Luckily, it seemed that other than being terrified they were just fine.
"My plan was to leave quietly. I'm making this up as I go!" It had not gone exactly as the fortune teller was expecting, but none the less the princesses were on their way to the Forest Maze. Hopefully the next part of the plan would proceed smoothly.
xoxox xox xoxox
For Mario, it was one of those days when he could sleep in all morning, get up at noon and spend the rest of the day watching TV and eating. This was his day off... and it was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. Mario buried his head under the pillow but it still wasn't enough to block out the unwelcome noise. "Luigi, could you get the phone?" His brother usually got up first so Mario assumed he be awake.
"Not right now. If I leave the spaghetti alone it will burn." It was the story of his life when it came to cooking. Everything appeared to be fine with his meal but if he took his eyes off it for a second, when he came back it would be burnt to a crisp.
Mario dragged himself out of bed. At least breakfast should be ready soon so his effort would not be a complete waste. He glanced at his Yoshi clock on the night stand, next to a picture of him and Peach. It was 10:30 in the morning. If this was about a leak it would have to wait until the next day. Why can't people understand that plumbers need a day off every now and then? He stopped in front of the phone and gave it a few more seconds to stop its insistent ringing.
"Are you gonna pick it up?" Luigi's voice came from the kitchen.
"I guess I have no choice" After yawning one last time, Mario cleared his throat and picked up the phone. "Mario Brothers Plumbing Se-"
"Mario, come quick! We're under attack!" Mario recognized Toad's voice right away. He could only assume this was about Bowser.
To be Continued
Many thanks to Razzi (ebtwisty9) for beta reading and giving me advice.
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