Chapter 15-An Unlikely Foe
Dusk is upon our heroes, who have been walking on all afternoon, and they find a little abandoned shack at the side of the road. They decide to settle down here for the night. They make up their beds, get a fire going, and Rose goes out to forage. Wesley joins her. Keenan and Waria stay back in the shack. They have nothing to do except talk.
Keenan adds more logs to their fire. “So, Waria, you were saying something about something bugging you?”
As Keenan sits down next to the fire, Waria, on the opposite side of the fire of Keenan, resumes her little trouble. “Well, remember back when we were at the station?”
Keenan nods. “Yeah? What about it?”
“Well, remember how Wesley said they had a so-called secret weapon and how he couldn’t see what it was?”
“Yeah I do.”
“Well, if that thing or whatever hasn’t found us yet, then statistically speaking, it should find us very soon. I’m worried about what it could possibly be.”
Keenan nods. “I understand that. I’ve been worried about it ever since I first heard about it back then. I felt like I would-“
Keenan’s Esi goes off so loudly it makes them both jump in their skins. “Jeezoos Keenan! Turn down that volume! Ya nearly killed me from fear!”
Keenan chuckles nervously. “Yeah…sorry about that” he says while taking it out with a shaking hand. The e-mail is from Mario. Keenan opens it slowly. It reads:
“Dear “Killer” Keenan,
I did a little work on that secret weapon that you mentioned in your last message. I did a little sleuthing on my end, one eye on Peach of course, and I did find something out.
Remember the message from the man who “lost” his brother I forwarded to you? Turns out the man was Wario. Waluigi is the one who is missing. So, being the selfless guy I am, I decided to look for him. I took Luigi along and dang good thing too! He is one heck of a detective! In comparison, he was Sherlock Holmes and me his faithful Wattson! To make a long story short we found out where he went. Apparently he was, a few weeks ago that is, in the vicinity of the Riverside Station! It was the same time when you received my message of Wario’s help request! I started thinking about something. If possible, couldn’t Waluigi be hypnotized? I looked more into it and guess what? A recent devolopment at Goom U in the neurogical influencing division, mind control in other words, had released the news of a helmet that had capabilities of mind control!
But that’s not
the end of it! Not only was the helmet stolen, but that same night was the supposed night that Waluigi disappeared! There can’t possibly be a coincidence in the matter! I sincerely believe that he is being mind controlled, or hypnotized, and doing someone else’s bidding!
So that’s all I’ve found out so far. If this at all helps you out then by all means use this information! I hope I can help you out in some other way again soon!
Your friend,
Mario Mario
#1 Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom”
Waria almost screams. Keenan notices her raging emotions and tries to calm her down.
“CALM DOWN?! HOW THE FIRETRUCK CAN I CALM DOWN!?!” she screams as Keenan asks her for a second time. Even Rose has to jump in to help. Waria continues to rage and soon Wesley steps in through the door, aees what’s happening, and lifts a flower to her nose. Instinctively she sniffs, and as soon as she does, she begins to stumble, then fall, and finally snore. Rose and Keenan look at Wesley.
“What? She was getting a little loud. We don’t know what may be stalking us” he says.
Keenan looks away. Wesley notices this and thinks otherwise. “You know what is following us?”
Keenan looks back to him. “Yes. It’s her own father. Waluigi.”
Wesley gasps and backs up into the door. He seems terrified. Keenan looks at him funny. “I don’t get it, what’s so bad about Waluigi? He’s tall, skinny, and a brainiac.”
Wesley quickly puts a finger to Keenan’s mouth as he says brainiac so he may not finish the sentence. “Quiet you fool! If that is true then we may as well be dead right now! His strength, even to this day, is still unmatched! He almost never shows it because he is a little busy keeping Wario in line! But if he’s not preoccupied with Wario Watching then he is almost ten-fold that of Mario’s power with a power star while in his cape form along with a fire-flower! He is that strong; and that’s with no power-ups! He knows he is this strong, but doesn’t want to show it off. I suspect its because he doesn’t want to be as popular as Mario. But if he is under the enemy’s control, then he, is, UNSTOPPABLE!!!”
Keenan gulps. “But I-I’m strong too…”
“True you are, but have you seen what Waluigi can do?!”
Keenan shakes his head.
“Didn’t think so!” Wesley walks over to the door, peeks through the peep hole, sighs in relief, and barricades it shut with, literally, everything he can lift. “I know it won’t work at all but it does raise my security sense” is what he tells Keenan when he asks.
Keenan goes back to Waria and feels her forehead. “Hey Rose, she feels a little warm.” Rose walks over and kneels down. She too feels her forehead. “This isn’t good. She has a fever. It’s a low one, so I can cure it, but I need to go out to get a few herbs to do so. I’ll return shortly.”
She gets up and opens the door outwards, causing the barricade to fall down outside along with it. Wesley starts groaning in fear and tries to rebuild the barricade. He turns to Rose and yells “If you want back in then prove you are you!” Rose waves to acknowledge that she heard and continues down the road. Wesley feels something tap his nose. He looks up and sees a sky full of grey and black very nearby. He runs back inside just as it begins to pour down cats and dogs. Keenan notices the weather change and becomes worriesome.
Wesley sees this and pats him on the shoulder as he is building a fire. As Keenan tosses in another log he tells him that Rose will be perfectly fine. Keenan tosses in another log and at that moment a knock is at he door. The two look towards the door, which is now silent. They look at each other and back to the door. It knocks again. Wesley yelps and Keenan gets up and starts the fire. He walks over to the door and peeks through the peep hole. He sees nothing. “I don’t see anything. It’s too dark to tell.” He walks away from the door and starts to fuel the fire again when it knocks yet again. He gets up and runs to the door and looks through the hole. Again nothing. He walks half-way back to the fire, turns around fast and silently stops at the door, and slams it open! When he does he gets knocked upside the head knocking him backwards a few feet.
“Ow! What the-“ He sees who did it.
“Whatever happened to the question Wesley?”
They see the figure approach the fire, and the ember-lit mantle illuminates the silhouette. It is Rose. “You said you would ask a question to make sure it was me!”
Wesley gulps, clears his throat, and starts to explain. “Well, you see, I-“
“He was too scared to remember you were coming back soon” Keenan finishes for him. Wesley glares at him.
“I figured. Now I have to quickly heal Waria and get us out of here.”
Keenan walks over to Waria with Rose and asks why they should leave. “Because, on the way back, I both felt and saw I was being followed. It was somebody quite tall, skinny, long arms and legs, sharp-shaped head, and managed to sneak around so I couldn’t hear him even though he wasn’t even 10 yards away from me. That’s why.”
Wesley yelps when he realizes who it is, which is quite quickly. “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!” He screams at the top of his lungs. He absolutely wigs out when he hears another knock at the door. “WE’RE GONNA DIE WE’RE GOING TO DIE I DON’T WANNA DIE!!!” He continues this as Keenan goes to answer the door. He looks through the peep hole and sees a similar figure to what Rose had described! He motions for them all to be silent and wait. Wesley has to be held down and muzzled by Rose for this to happen. Waria is still asleep and sick. Keenan watches the figure through the peep hole, waiting for it to bust through, but for some reasong, it continues to knock. After the third knock it looks into the peep hole. Luckily he can’t tell if anyone is at the door or not. He knocks one more time. When nobody answers, he sits down on the porch! Keenan whispers this to the others. Rose braces for Wesley to start thrashing again, but he fainted during the suspense. Rose slowly releases him and sneaks over to Keenan’s side.
“Well? What do you think?”
Keenan scratches his chin. “I don’t know. It fits both your and Wesley’s descriptions, but he isn’t breaking in or anything.”
Rose asks to look for herself. Keenan quietly moves out of the way and watches as Rose peeks through the peep hole.
“Yeah that’s him. That’s the guy I saw following me.”
About this moment is when Waria begins to wake up. Rose continues on. “Yet, if Waluigi is under their control, then wouldn’t they have him bust down the door?” Waria hears this and rushes to the door. She pushes Rose out of the way and grabs a nearby chair, places it in front of the door, and climbs it too look through the peep hole. As soon as she sees who it is she begins to tear up. “That’s my father…that’s my dad! Let him in!” She goes to open the door but Keenan and Rose manage to stop her.
“But Waria, if he is under the mind control of Cackletta, then he isn’t your father anymore!” Keenan tells her.
“I don’t care! Let him in! If he fights us then I’ll fight him! I can promise you that!” She yells desperate to let Waluigi inside. Keenan shakes his head. “Fine. If he is against us then you will fight him. But so help me, if you get hurt too badly, I will fight him. Understand that?”
Waria nods. “I understand now let him in!” Keena turns the doorknob slowly, cracks it open slightly, and the door bursts open from the figure’s strength! It walks forward and stops just outside the light of the fire. Waria charges forward to fight and jumps for the head. The figure easily dodges the attack and grabs Waria and pins her down on the floor. “I have come for the one named Keenan. Where is he?” It says in a monotone. Waria starts to gasp for air. The figure picks her up into the air and asks again where Keenan is. He shakes her slightly, she gasps more, and then a necklace starts to dangle from her neck. The necklace starts to glow brightly with orange light and it smothers Waria and the figure completely and it makes Rose and Keenan raise their arms to their faces to shield the light. Once it fades away, they see the figure still holding Waria in the air, but she can breathe easily now. She struggles to get away from the figures grasp, but it lets go! It let go of Waria by it’s own will! It walks over to the fire, turns around to face the three, and they see its face and colors now. It is Waluigi, surely enough, and he seems confused. “Will somebody please tell me how I got here?”
Keenan and Rose seem equally confused. Keenan walks up to him. “Uh, don’t you remember? You bust open the door and almost choked Waria!”
Waluigi gasps when he says Waria and quickly looks around. He sees her on the ground adjusting her necklace. Waluigi runs over and picks her up high and hugs her tightly. “I’m so sorry Waria!”
Waria is at a loss for words. She just hugs him back. Rose approaches the two and asks a question that needs an answer. “Excuse me, Mister Wario-“
He holds up a hand. “Please, call me Waluigi.”
Rose clears her throat. “Alright. Waluigi, exactly how, do you think, you broke the mind control?”
Waluigi puts his daughter down and sits on a nearby couch. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. I’ve been fighting it for a few weeks now, but I never knew what my body was doing or going the entire time. The first thing I remember doing after fighting off those Shadow Sirens is me holding up Waria. That and a bright orange light. It seemed to give me power to overcome the mind control.”
Keenan walks up as well. “Speaking of which, may I see the helmet?”
Waluigi looks at him funny. He gestures at his head and Waluigi feels above him and takes off the helmet. He hands it to Keenan. “I’m guessing that this is how I was under their control?”
Keenan nods. “Yes it is. Now, if I am analyzing this correctly, then it has more power over the victim the more intelligent they are. That must be how it was so effective on you.”
Waluigi asks him how he can tell. He lifts the helmet up and shows him a small list of words on one side. “Because the instructions are printed on the helmet itself. They must have done that so they couldn’t lose the instructions as easily.”
Rose takes the helmet and inspects it herself. “He’s right about how it’s powered. What I don’t get is how her necklace could break you free of the helmet’s control.”
Waria walks over and takes her necklace out. “Well, I got this from my father when he found a cave full of crystals near the donut plains, and he saw only one crystal of this orange color, so he made a necklace out of a shard for me.”
Keenan looks closely at the necklace. “That’s a Topaz!” He quickly runs outside. The rain has stopped briefly and he sees a full moon. “That’s it!”
He runs back indoors and shuts the door. It slamming wakens Wesley who sees Waluigi almost immediately. He starts freaking out. GAH! WALUIGI IS HERE!!!” Rose walks over and explains what has happened since he fainted. “Ooohhh…I see now!”
Keenan continues. “That pendant on your necklace Waria is known as a Topaz. They’re rumored to have spiritual powers. They have the power to clear the mind and allow people to talk to spirits on the solstices. That must be how Waluigi was able to break free of the mind control! One-the Topaz and Two-it’s a full moon tonight! That’s one heck of a useful gem let me tell you!”
Waria looks closely at her necklace and smiles. “Sweeeet…”
Wesley decides to join the group. “Well, Waluigi, would you mind telling us what happened to you when you got captured or whatever?”
Waluigi feeds the fire and sits down in a nearby rocking chair. “Sure. It all started when those bean-like people broke through the windows…”
Meanwhile…
A bean-like person is running through a long hallway lit with blue flames on both sides in their lamps. The hallway is filled with purple and a dark purple-ish red curtains and carpets. The hallway leads from the main chamber room to the boss’ quarters. The bean thing runs panting through the hall. It finally reaches two large double doors touched with dark red and golden trim. It goes through and another chamber is here. Ahead are some steps and a throne. Behind the throne is another pair of double doors with the same trim as the previous door. The bean thing goes through these doors to a long staircase going downwards. Once at
the end there is an open doorway with no door and inside is the final room. The bean thing enters this room and kneels down halfway into the room.
“My Mistresses…I have just gotten…reports that…our test subject…has breaken…free of our control…” he says panting. A large shadow covers the entire room as the bean thing begins to shake in fear. “Please have mercy for I am just the messenger!” The shadow stops rising and begins talking in a deep, yet female, voice. “GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON MY BEANDIER WHY I SHOULD SPARE YOU FOR BRINGING ME THIS BAD NEWS!”
The Beandier shakes harder and gulps. “Well, uh, because…um…I have never failed you before? It wasn’t me who busted the helmet’s control! There are two reasons!”
“IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO DID IT AND WHO IS GOOD TO ME OR NOT! I MUST PUNISH SOMEBODY FOR THIS!”
“Well…what about your…uh…Siren people?” he asks nervously.
The entity, still completely shrouded in darkness unallowing us to see what it is, starts to lower back down. It apparently is thinking it over. “…VERY WELL. I WILL TELL THEM IT WAS YOUR IDEAR HOWEVER. SO BE PREPARED FOR THEM TO PUNISH YOU. IS THIS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU MY LOYAL BEANDIER?”
The Beandier bows over and over saying yes it is acceptable. The shadow entity lowers back down to its throne and shoos away the Beandier. “THEN YOU ARE FREE TO GO.”
“Oh! Thank you Mistresses! Thank you!” The little thing turns and quickly dashes back up the stairs. At the back of the room, the Beandier’s Mistresses retreat back towards the back room. The whole time we don’t get to see what this thing is, but we do see it turn on the lights to the room, thus showing the interior. White walls, white ceiling, typical laboratory or hospital room. In the center, a cylindrical chamber with something purple inside it. It is wearing a hat like those of the Shadow Sirens, but it’s blue and white. Not only that, but it’s not shaped like them either. It’s larger, buffer, ripping muscles-it’s muscles are literally rippling like water-and has fifty sharp teeth on each side of it’s mouth. All four sides of the mouth.
“WAKE UP MY PET, IT IS TIME TO SERVE YOUR MISTRESSES!” A switch is thrown and the tubular chamber bursts open with air, dumping the creature onto the ground, which seems to melt on the floor. It reanimates and instantly becomes solid again. When it breathes it sends out puffs of purple smog. It bows before it’s mistresses. “What may I do for you my Misssstresssessss?” It says with a hiss.
“I WANT YOU TO TRACK DOWN, RECAPTURE, AND BRING ME THAT HELMET AND THE ONE WHO CARRIES IT! NOW GO!” It’s Mistresses say. The creature slowly turns towards the door behind them and howls loudly. It sounds like a wild mountain dog, but it is ten-fold the size of one! It dashes through the door at about Mach 2 and leaves gusts of wind in it’s path. It dashes up the stairs, through the throne room, through the hallway and right past the Beandier whom spins at about the same speed the thing is going, and it goes right through the main chamber. It’s hunt has begun.
END OF CHAPTER