Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sound of the waves lapping at the dock was accentuated by the hustle and bustle of the workers. Bob-ombs and Toads ran about in what looked to be anarchy but was actually a controlled chaos, quickly loading and unloading ships and other vessels, while directing sailors to their stations and passengers to their rides.

Standing at the docks overlooking a the sea were two girls.

"So… I guess this is it." One of them said. She was a tall woman wore a sleek red pantsuit that accentuated her height and curves, along with a matching fedora from under which flowed long brown hair framing a face with blue eyes and full lips. Elegant heels completed the look of a classy and driven woman.

"Yeah."

"Y'know, it always felt like there was more time."

"Nothin' lasts forever, as they say, Pauline." The woman's counterpart was slightly shorter, with hair a slightly lighter shade of brown and kept shorter but in two tails, along with similar blue eyes. She was clad in blue overalls ending in a miniskirt, with a red shirt beneath, along with white thigh-high stockings and heavy brown boots.

"I'll miss you, Maria." Pauline said, taking Maria's hand.

"Hey, even if we can't be together, it's not like you'll never see me again. I'll stay in touch. Not like DS Comms won't work. Heck, I'll even write if I have to."

"Yes, that's true." Pauline said, her full lip curving into a smile. "Besides, I don't want this to be all 'tears n' sobs' as you put it."

Maria scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Did I really say that?"

"Yes." Pauline said with a chuckle.

"Well, no need to make me a liar!" Maria said, putting her arm around Pauline and drawing her closer. Pauline gave a shriek of surprise, before it turned into a laugh as the two of them tumbled to the ground.

"People are going to stare!" She said, though her tone made it clear she didn't really mind, as she sat up, scooting over the edge of the dock.

"Let 'em." Maria said as she followed over, taking her place by Pauline's side. She planted a quick kiss on her cheek as she did so.

The two sat in silence for a few moments.

"So… the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Yep."

"Far."

"Very much so." Maria replied.

"I hear it's a… strange place."

"Yeah, but… where isn't if you really think about it."

"True, I suppose." Pauline considered.

"So… what will you do when I'm gone. 'Cause you're gonna have to another dazzlingly beautiful heroine to save Metro Kingdom from Kongs." She said, playfully punching her fist into her palm.

At this, Pauline gave a bark of laughter. "Well, first off, it was one Kong."

"And a bevy of Podoboos."

"Well..."

"Not to mention there was that invasion of Spinies and Sidesteppers." Maria interrupted.

"Okay, so…

"Also the Fighter Flies… Those guys were the worst. Intelligent too!"

"Yeah… that too…

"Oh, and they also deployed Freezies."

"We had problems with frozen pipes for weeks if as I recall."

"Oh, and there were also those weird wrench thingies. I swear… the Foreman really had it out for me… Or maybe it's his daughters..."

"Yes, yes, you are truly New Donk City's patron saint." Pauline said, rolling her eyes while laughing at the same time.

"What would you do with out me?" She leaned back, puffing out her chest.

"Run for mayor." The statement came without warning. Pauline herself paused, as if surprised with herself.

Maria gasped. "Wow, really."

"It's… just an idea at the moment."

"Pfft… don't be discouraged, Mayor Pauline. You'll have this place cleaned up in no time. They'll be eating out of the palm of your hands. I'd vote for you… if I was still sticking around."

Pauline smiled. "Well, it's nice to know that I have your support."

There was the sound of a ship horn near by.

"Well, um… it looks like my ride is ready." Maria said as she stood up and turned to the ship.

"Wait!" Pauline said. She stood up, catching Maria's hand.

"Huh?"

Pauline then took Maria's other hand and pulled her into a deep kiss. The two held it for a good while before eventually parting.

"One last time."

"Yeah." Maria nodded.

"Whoever you end up with is going to be lucky to have you."

"Same with you, Mayor Pauline. This city'll need someone to look after it with is patron saint absent."

Pauline gave her a light tap on the head. "Stop that you, I'm not mayor yet."

"But you will be. Got no doubt about that."

There was another horn, and the two noticed the ship beginning to exit the harbor. Despite this, neither showed that much concern.

"Like I said, I'll keep in touch."

"Same!"

"Well, gotta go!" Maria said. 

"Take care!" Pauline said.

As her ship exited the harbor, she took off running down the dock, leaping first on top of a stack of crates before grabbing onto a hook and using her momentum to swing and leap to the top of a crane, where upon she ran down the beam, completing her landing on the deck to the shock of both the crew and the port staff.

She turned back and gave one last wave back to Pauline and one last look at the retreating New Donk City skyline before heading inside the ship.

"So, the Mushroom Kingdom eh." The captain said. In contrast to much of his crew, the captain himself was Human like Maria. "Deliver cargo quite a bit, but don't get much in the way of people charterin' a ship from Metro Kingdom all the way to the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Yeah. Probably looks pretty odd, come to think about it. Well, my dad's a doctor and he got a really nice offer to come immigrate there. They were impressed with his work and reputation, and he also has some colleagues already there."

"Your family?" He asked. "Did they make it aboard?"

"Nah. Mom, Dad, and Sis left ahead of me." Maria said. "I volunteered to stay behind for a while to set some final things in order finish things with Pauline."

"Well." The captain said, stroking his beard. "Our next stop will be the port of Toad Town, the Capital of the Mushroom Kingdom. It'll be a while, I suggest you get comfortable."

"Sounds good." Maria said as she headed off into the quarters the crew members had given her. There, she kicked off her boots and lay down on the bed. She had minimal luggage as most of her possessions had already been sent ahead with her family, leaving her with just a single change of clothes, and basic toiletries.

Maria yawned, and in short order, had drifted off to sleep.

Maria's dreams were abruptly and violently interrupted when the ship suddenly experienced a forceful rock. She was knocked out of her bed to slam hard on the floor, quickly chasing away the and vestiges of sleep that would have remained. Quickly, she flipped to her feet, scanning the area, only for the floor to rock again, sending her stumbling into a wall. She quickly balanced herself, at the same time hearing the sound of cracking thunder.

It was a storm. A big one.

The ship then experienced another, more violent shake; followed then by a deafening crack of thunder. The lights flickered, while Maria tried to balance herself once more. Once she got her footing stable, she heard the sound of scrambling outside her room. Water flowed in underneath the door. Quickly donning her boots she then attempted to push open the door only to meet resistance.

Maria paused for a moment, before planting her feet and putting more force into it. The door gave way at her strength, though her victory was short lived as in doing so, she let in a massive wave of water, flooding into her room.

She was slammed against a wall, and scrambled as the water washed out into partially flooded hallway. She managed to right herself in the flowing water, leaning against the wall for balance as the ship pitched back and forth.

She quickly put two and two together. Deafening thunder, what sounded like rain, a rocking ship, and water flowing in. Was the ship sinking?!

Panic surged into her as the ship rocked again, pushing away the last vestiges of drowsiness. She rushed down the hallway, feet splashing in the rising waters until she reached the staircase leading to the deck, where in she could hear shouting. The ship rocked again, and more water flowed down, sending Maria tumbling down the staircase and back into the watery base of the hallway. She winced as she felt water go down the wrong way, and scrambled once again, grabbing onto a nearby handrail and pulling herself up, coughing and sputtering at the saltwater in her lungs. Holding tight onto the handrail she forced herself up the stair case and onto the deck.

As she emerged however, she was slammed in the face by an even bigger wave.

Thankfully, she wasn't washed back down the stairs, though instead she was slammed into a wall. Then the ship rocked once more and the water receeded, taking Maria with it. She survived by grabbing onto a guardrail and barely managing to avoid being swept out into the turbulent sea. Then the ship rocked to the other side, allowing her a moment to right herself and get her bearings. The sky was pitch black lit only by the flashes of lightning while the sea raged and churned, tossing the ship to and fro.

It was a full blown sea storm!

Already thoroughly soaked to the bone, Maria paid little concern to the driving rain, instead scanning the area. 

"Help!" A cry rang out. She saw a Goomba crewman clinging onto the railing with one hand, while a Bob-omb was caught in some rigging, a loose crate sliding towards them.

Immediately, Maria sprang into action, maneuvering past a sliding crate and rescuing the Bob-omb from being crushed. Holding him around the waist with one arm, she leaned over the railing and grabbed onto the arm of the Goomba sailor, lifting him up onto the deck.

Maria continued at this for a while, leaping about the boat, rescuing crewmembers in danger. As she set down the final one she allowed herself to rest.

"T-thanks." he said, leaning over to catch his breath.

"Anyone else in danger?" She asked.

"Everyone else appears to be fine…ish." The Goomba said, taking note of the raging storm.

"Okay, maybe we should-" The sailor never got to finish his sentence, as all of a sudden, the ship began to list even harder. The crew staggered about, but managed to find their grip and get a good look at what was coming.

They wished they hadn't.

Looming before them was an absolutely enormous tidal wave, pulling the ship into it's flow.

"Brace for impact!" Someone shouted, and Maria gulped before grabbing onto to something. Then all went black.

Maria awoke to the sound of seagulls and gentle waves. At first she felt weak, her mind clouded with confusing half-remembered dreams. Slowly, she opened her eyes, her vision blurry and unfocused. She quickly closed them, wincing in pain at the sunlight. 

Slowly, she began to take stock of her surroundings, as recollection of what had happened returned to her. She could feel the gentle flow of water around her, realizing that she was lying on a beach. She was shocked to alertness when a small wave washed over her. She sat up, sputtering and coughing.

Maria fully opened her eyes, realizing that she was indeed lying on a beach. Opposite the sea was a jungle of sorts.

She looked around the beach, and was relieved to see the crew members of the ship had also survived, washed up on the beach like her. Turning back to the sea, she saw the hulk of their ship had washed up with them. Unfortunately, it didn't look to be anywhere near good condition.

Maria located the Captain, slowly attempting to stand up. Rushing over, she helped him to his feet.

"Can you walk?" She asked.

"Aye." He said, and then turned to take a look at his ship. "Though that I believe will be a much more bitter blow."

Several other crew members had begun to gain consciousness, and were now lamenting at the state of their ship. Maria didn't know much about shipwork, she was a Plumber not a sailor, but even she could guess that it's state wasn't exactly good, even beyond the obvious state of it having run aground.

Trying to keep her mind off of the looming panic, she forced herself to her feet, turning to face the island.

"Any idea where we are?"

The Captain gave it a moment of thought. "I could make a guess, if we weren't blown too far off course, that is."

"Where?" Maria asked.

The Captain stroked his beard. "Our route would have taken us past a large series of islands, collectively known as Dinosaur Land."

Chapter Text

"So… how bad is it?" Maria asked, trying not to let worry creep into her voice. It hadn't been that hard to board the wrecked ship, considering how it had run aground. And up close in the engine room she could see just how bad the damage was. Pipes were twisted and torn, boilers had ruptured, and wires lay exposed and dead.

"I think you can tell." The Captain said. He sighed.

"Can it be fixed?"

"The damaged parts… eventually." He said. "But..."

He gestured towards a crystalline tank, which was completely shattered.

"The Power Moons." Maria said.

"Yeah. Without a power source like that, we're not going anywhere."

Maria sank to her knees, the reality of the situation starting to come crashing down on her. She was shipwrecked. She had been shipwrecked, and stranded on some island she had never even heard of.

"C-can we call for help?"

"Well..." The Captain said.

"That's a no, I guess."

"Ordinarily we would… but all the lightning strikes took out our comms."

"And I can't find my DS Comm." She said. And even if she could, it most likely would be busted too. She knew she should have sprung for the DSiPhone.  

"On the bright side, we have plenty of food and supplies, and that's not counting what some of the cargo was. We won't go hungry for a long time."

"Yeah." Maria forced herself to her feet. Things were bad. Shipwrecked, and possibly stranded in a strange land. Even worse, there was no means of calling for help or worse, letting her family and Pauline know that she was alive. But she wasn't going to let herself be consumed by despair. And for that, she had to be doing something.

"What do you know about this island?" Maria asked.

"Well, archipelago." The Captain corrected. "Not much, truth be told. Never made port here."

"So, it's possible that there might be people here who can help us?"

"Entirely possible."

"Well then..."

And that was why Maria was currently trudging her way through the jungle, on the lookout for any signs of civilization. She had been walking for a little under an hour and so far, she hadn't encountered much of anything more than a couple Fuzzies that had dropped out of a nearby tree in an attempt to ambush her.  

Maria was more than capable of defending herself by her estimate, and she had sent the bloodsucking creeps flying with a few well placed punches and kicks. Only after the brief fight did it occur to her that she might have been able to question them, but try as she might she couldn't find the creatures again.

As a mixed blessing, beyond that there was merely the omnipresent sounds of wildlife. Birds, monkeys, and bugs. There were abundant fruit trees, and with her leaping skills, it was a trivial matter to retrieve them, adding the (very delicious, Maria had noted) produce to the food supplies she had taken with her from the ship.

And so it was that eventually, after further walking, she emerged from the treeline, to notice what appeared to be an actual dirt road. At this, her mood soared. Something like that definitely meant people of some sort. Meaning she only had to follow it.

Picking a direction at random, she headed east, following the dirt road, as the sun began to reach midday. Thankfully, the jungle wasn't too hot, and even out of the treeline, there was still plenty of shade, meaning her journey was a pleasant one. She was grateful for the thick boots she favored wearing, drying out quickly and comfortable to boot.

After a little longer walking, she noticed something.

Buildings.

"Bingo!" Maria stated. She quickened her pace to a run, only to slow down once the structures came into view.

The town looked to be abandoned, or more accurately, ransacked.

"What the hell?" Maria looked about. The place was a ghost town, with broken windows and damaged buildings. No smoke drifted from any of the chimneys. Fences had been knocked down as well.

"Hello?" Maria called out, to no answer. She approached a house, seeing the mailbox knocked over and smashed. On the bent metal she could make out an the word 'Yoshi'.

"A Yoshi village huh. Guess that's why it's called Dinosaur Land." Really, that should have been obvious.

Maria had had some history with the Yoshi's. At least according to her parents as she had apparently been a baby at the time and thus remembered nothing.

Regardless, something had happened to the Yoshi's here. Shouldering her pack, she again quickened her pace. There were footprints, a lot of them, that looked kinda recent, heading off back into the jungle. What exactly had happened here. She continued her eastward journey, following the road. As she traveled, she began to hear the sound of voices.  

She sped up again as she approached a clearing, only to immediately come to a halt at what she saw. A large squad of humanoid figures. The primary thing that set them apart form humans were their pointed ears, sharp claws, and reptilian tails. Many of them wore red shelled cuirasses, marking them as Koopas.

The Koopa's formed a ring around three figures. Two were Yoshis, one green, the other red, while the third was another Koopa, this one with green hair. Unlike the others, this one wore a fine green dress cut low to show off her (very ample, Maria noted) cleavage. Also, unlike her fellow Koopas, she wore a spiked shell affixed to her back and carried a scepter with a gemstone affixed to the top. Clearly she was proficient in magic.

She adjusted her glasses as she leaned in closer to the captive Yoshi's.

"I'll ask you again, one last time. Where is the Yellow Palace?" She asked.

The two little dinosaurs shook their heads, looking more confused than anything.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Mother will be disappointed, even though I've basically exhausted all leads." The green-haired Koopa then looked over the two Yoshis before focusing on the red one. A creepy grin settle along her face, while the light struck her glasses in a way to give them an unsettling glint. "Nonetheless, I may yet gain some worth. There are things I still want to know about you Yoshis."

The Koopaling raised her scepter and there was a flash of light and suddenly, the red Yoshi was encased in an egg. The Koopaling gestured, and the egg was levitated into the air.

"What of the other one, Lady Iggy?" One of the Koopa Troopa's asked.  

"I'm more interested in the red Yoshis at the moment. Put the green one to work or whatever. I'm headed back to the fortress." There was another flash, and 'Iggy' was gone, along with the red egg. There was the sudden sound of rotor blades and Maria looked up to see that Iggy was now perched inside something that looked like a flying cup with a clown face. The flying clown car quickly took off heading north, it's pilot cackling as she flew.

Stunned by what the entire scene had just witnessed, Maria cursed herself for not acting sooner. Regardless, no sense in not making up for lost time.

As the Koopas closed in on the cowering Yoshi, Maria leaped into action. Bursting out from her hiding place, she slammed both her feet into one of the Koopas, sending him sprawling to the ground and ejecting him from his shell armor.  

With a spin she kicked the now vacant shell square into the face of another Koopa before turning and punching a third Koopa, sending him flying before continuing towards the next Koopa, bringing both fists down on his head, squarely knocking him out.

By then, the remaining four Koopa's had registered that they were now under attack and were moving to engage, though it wouldn't help them.  

When one charged, Maria leaped into the air over him, bringing both feet down, once again ejecting him from his shell. As she landed, she picked up the shell and hurled it, slamming into one Koopa and bowling him over. The shell then continued to smash into the Koopa behind him.

The last Koopa paused for a moment in confusion, which was all the time Maria needed to dash forwards and slam her fist directly into his face, sending him flying to slam into the trunk of a tree.

With all the enemies either unconscious or groaning on the ground, Maria leaned over to catch her breath, before moving to the soldier's former victim.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

The Yoshi said nothing, staring in shock.

"Don't worry, it's going to be-"

"Here! It came from over here!"

"Oh crap!" Maria heard the sound of multiple footsteps. More Troopas were converging on their location. Maria thought she had taken them all out but it looked like there were more waiting in the wings.

She dropped into a fighting stance once more, though her odds were starting to look daunting as she counted the number of Koopa Troopa silhouettes stumbling through the trees. She considered herself fairly decent fighter, having faced off a variety of monsters and threats, but even she didn't like her odds against what appeared to be an army.

As the enemies emerged from the surrounding forest, Maria prepared to fight, only to be caught off guard when a long tongue entended into her vision, attatching to a red Koopa shell.

Maria turned to see Yoshi swallow the shell, only to the puff out his cheeks before exhaling a barrage of fireballs.

The fireballs streaked towards the treeline, exploding into a blazing conflagration that formed a wall of fire between the advancing Koopas and their quarry. Maria recoiled from the wave of heat that washed over her.

"Whoa!" However, this time, her shock didn't last long. She turned to Yoshi. "We really should go. That probably won't hold them for long."

Yoshi nodded, and the two of them took off to the north, the Koopa's in hot pursuit.

Chapter Text

As it turned out, a people who favored turtle imagery weren't very fast.

Maria thanked the Stars for this. Despite their pursuit, Maria and Yoshi were making good time, maneuvering their way through the hilly forest, managing to stay out of reach of their enemies.

A part of her wanted to double back towards the shipwreck, but she couldn't risk leading the Troopas to the stranded sailors, considering how hostile they were.

So, for the moment, both she and Yoshi ran, pushing their way through the forest to the best of their ability. They didn't have any particular destination in mind, merely wanting to put some distance between the two groups.

Thankfully, they didn't seem to encounter any more creatures. Their pursuers were falling far behind as well. Yoshi's fireballs had delayed their pursuit, and now the duo had slipped into the jungle. The sound of their chase had died down, most likely they had gotten lost in the foliage.

To be honest, Maria felt like she would have gotten lost as well, were it not for her companion. Despite all the trouble approaching her, she didn't regret rescuing him in the slightest. After seeing what Iggy had done to his fellow dino and the damage done to the Yoshi village, she wasn't about to leave him to whatever fate the Koopa's had in store for him.

The sound of the pursuing Koopa's died down to nothing. For good measure, the two of them kept running for a good while.

It looked like it was going to be coast-

At that moment, Maria pushed past a tree, only to slam into something firm yet soft. She bounced off, landing hard on her ass.

"Ow..." Maria winced in pain, before looking up at what, or rather who, she had run into.

It was another Koopa, this one a tall, buxom, muscular, woman still wearing the traditional shell armor on her back, though with plenty of room in the front to reveal her ample cleavage. Strangest of all however, was the football helmet she was wearing.

The woman chuckled. "Funny, I had just gotten a report of some wannabe hero ambushing a squad. And lookie what I found."

Before Maria could react the towering woman grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up.

"Can't say you look the part all that well. Tits are great, figures great, but outfit is so-so." The Koopa said, poking at her.

"I'm flattered, but you don't seem like my type." Maria quipped back before twisting to kick the Koopa in the face. Or rather, the guard of her helmet. Regardless, the effect was the same.

Nothing.

Oh crap! Maria said.

"Oh, that's cute!" She said. "Let me show you the real deal."

The woman then slammed her fist into Marias' face. She reeled from the pain only to experience the vertigo of her entire world being upended as Maria was hurled flying to slam into the trunk of a tree. Her vision blurred and her mind swam as she struggled to retain focus though the pain. Unfortunately, just as she was struggling to her feet, she felt hands wrap around her throat, lifting her into the air. She gasped, attempting to draw a breath that wouldn't come.

"Really, I'm rather disappointed. I know base Troopas are wimps, but I didn't think they were this wimpy." She chuckled.

Meanwhile, Maria struggled against her grip, her vision once again going blurry as she was unable to breath. Just as her vision was about to go dark. There was a growling noise, and then suddenly, a pair of feet slammed into the helmet of the Koopa woman, knocking it askew.

The Koopa stumbled back as she dropped Maria, who fell to her knees taking in grateful gulps of air. Once the forest stopped spinning and she could focus again, she saw Yoshi currently attempting to fight the Koopa, albeit with little success.

The Yoshi's attempts at fluttering kicks did little more to the Koopa, instead annoying her. When he went for another kick. She grabbed him by the leg, and then hurled him. Maria gasped, only for Yoshi to stretch out his tongue. It latched onto a nearby tree, allowing him to swing around it and come back for another blow against the Koopa. This one enough to stagger her.

"Alright!" She was starting to like this guy even more.

Maria leaped into battle, striking the Koopa with both feet. Instead of before, where the blow had ejected it's target from their shell, this one merely staggered the Koopa further. However, she quickly planted her feet and regained her balance as Maria righted herself.

She then swung at Maria, forcing her to duck beneath the blow. Maria countered with a series of blows ending in a uppercut. The punches connected, but even still Maria gasped as her knuckles stung at the impact. The Koopa, unfortunately, was barely inconvenienced, and instead attempted to go for a grab.

Instead, Maria backed away, putting some distance between her and her foe. At the same time, Yoshi went in for another series of kicks.

This time, however, the Koopa was ready for him. With a backhanded swipe, she swatted the dinosaur away, sending him flying off into the forest with a yelp.

"Yoshi!"

"I'd worry about yourself girlie." The Koopa said with a grin behind her helmet. She then hunched forwards and charged.

Maria was quick however, leaping into the air over the Koopa's charge, and watching with shock she she kept going, shoulder-slamming into a tree hard enough to uproot it.

Holy shit! Maria thought.

"You're a squirrily punk, ain't'cha?" The Koopa said.

Maria said nothing, eyeing where Yoshi had been knocked away to.

"Well, that ain't gonna save ya'."

Maria's focus was brought back to the fight when she noticed something streaking towards her. She hastily leaped to the side, avoiding the projectile and returning her focus to her enemy.

She watched as her foe reached into the back of her shell and drew forth a baseball? Not what Maria would have expected from someone in football gear, but pointing out the mix up of sports could wait, as the Koopa hurled the baseball directly at her.

Maria dodged to the side, and flinched as she saw the ball plow straight through another tree. Well that wasn't fair!

This shock and distracton proved to be the opening the Koopa needed for another charge. Like before, Maria leaped up, though her foe was ready this time, hurling yet another baseball as she dashed. The ball clipped Maria on the shoulder, sending her careening to the ground.

As she spat out a clod of dirt, she was reminded of back when she had played soccer as a child. Though those game resulted more in scorch marks...

She quickly righted herself, though it was too late. Narrowly avoiding a wild series of punches from her foe, when she overextended herself, she ducked and swung her leg, knocking her foe off balance.

She then leaped up, prepared to stomp hard, only for her oppoent in a surprising display of agility, catch her by the feet.

Crap crap crap, bad idea!

Before Maria could even begin to panic, she was slammed down hard onto the ground, face first.

Adrenaline still surging through her, she ignored the pain as she kicked free of the Koopa's grip and attempted to rise to her feet, only for a sudden wave of dizziness to wash over her. She staggered, giving her assailant time to rise as well.

The Koopa swung left. Maria had enough awareness to block the blow, though she immediately wished she had dodged instead, as she felt pain explode along her arm. Maria gasped in pain and staggered back, clutching her arm. It didn't feel broken, but-

Before Maria could complete that thought, her opponent slugged her in the gut. Hard. She was lifted off her feet by the force of the blow.

As she fell back down she collapsed to her knees in agony. She attempted to look up, only to see the Koopa's cleat connect with her face. She was sent flying head over heels to once more slam into the trunk of a tree and land sprawling on the ground.

"Nice try girlie, but try but you've struck out." She punched her fist into her palm as she approached. "Game, set, match!"

Maria tried to stand, but found that her legs wouldn't respond, feeling like jelly. She also tried to comment on her once again mixing sports, but found it difficult to form words.

As the Koopa stalked towards her, suddenly, some projectile struck her square in her helmet, lodging it's place in the eyeholes of her football headgear. One of her baseballs.

"W-what the-?" The Koopa struggled, trying to dislodge the ball. Meanwhile, Maria saw Yoshi reemerge from the jungle. He spat another baseball out of his mouth, this one slower, aimed not at the Koopa but at the ground behind her. When she staggered back, she stepped on the ball, slipping and landing on her back.

Wasting no time, Yoshi dashed over to the injured Maria and grabbed her, gently tossing her into the air to land on his back. He then took off into the forest, seemingly not slowed down by the extra weight.

As she collected her wits, a part of her wanted to go back and attempt to continue the fight, though thankfully, wiser experiences prevailed and she thanked her new companion for his rescue, before slumping forwards, exhausted, bruised, and bleeding as she was carried away.

Chapter Text

This feels familiar. Like… dijon vu or whatever the Seaside Kingdomers call it. Maria thought, as she was helpless and being carried by a Yoshi. It was strangely nostalgic, though she couldn't reason why. It might be the concussion. Yeah, that was probably it.

"Get back here you brats!" The charging Koopa wasn't too far behind, and unfortunately, she seemed to be faster than their previous pursuers, and there was a growing trail of bent and tilted trees as she powered her way through towards them.

Yoshi, for his part however, was no slouch in the speed or maneuverability department, adeptly weaving his way through the trees of the jungle, with a mixture of leaps, flutters, and even swinging on his tongue, all while carrying the injured Maria. However, this skill was only barely keeping them ahead of the charging Koopa.

As the duo passed a large rocky outcropping, they noticed a figure standing near it. She looked mostly like a young human girl, though her hands and feet were furry, ending in claws. A set of pointy black sunglasses covered her eyes. A Mole.

"Quick! This way!" She hissed. The Mole beckoned toward a previously unnoticed gap between the rocks.

Yoshi quickly weighed the options, before nodding and slipped into the gap. After he and Maria entered, the Mole girl pushed a rock over the entrance, concealing it.

Outside, the three of them could still hear the Koopa shouting. "You won't get away!"

Though thankfully, the sound of her passage through the woods was growing fainter. She clearly had missed whatever secret entrance the Mole had lead the duo into.

Looking up from where she clung to Yoshi's back, Maria noticed that the cavern they were in was empty save for a lone warp pipe.

Though it was obvious from the context, even without, Maria was a Plumber. A specialist in warp pipes. She could tell that it was an active pipe, and with a leap would ferry away it's occupant somewhere not too far away and…

Maria suddenly flinched, reminding her that she was still injured.

"Down here." The Mole said, beckoning towards the warp pipe before leaping down it.

Yoshi nodded and followed after her, carrying Maria along with him. As they entered the pipe, Maria felt the familiar pulling sensation as the pipe did as the name suggested and warped her to it's other end.

Despite popular misconceptions, warp pipes didn't necessarily have to have physical connectivity in order to link their two targets, though they did prefer it. They could connect in all sorts of improbable locations, leaping across cities, countries, and continents. Heck, the only reason she had taken the ship in the first place was because there wasn't an available pipe to conveniently take her straight to where she want to go in the Mushroom Kingdom.

The warp pipe she had taken ejected it's users within another cave, though this time, the cavern was far larger and more occupied. Huts and houses carved out of stone and earth dotted the chamber, some homes even carved directly out of the cave walls themselves.

A Mole village. She wanted to take in the scenery, never having seen one before, but the fact that the place was mostly dark and the more important fact that everything hurt put a dampener on that prospect.

"Over here." The Mole girl said, gesturing towards a home carved into the wall of the cavern. Yoshi followed, carrying Maria on his back.

Upon pushing back the curtain, there was a cry of exclamation.

"Mandy? What's going on? Who are..." Out of another room emerged an elderly Mole, complete with white hair and beard.

"They're hurt, Grandpa!" The younger Mole, who's name was apparently Mandy said.

"Where did you find these people?"

"While I was out gathering some fruit I saw that they were fighting one of the Chargers. I rescued them."

"You what?!" The grandfather Mole exclaimed. "Mandy, do you realize how dangerous that was?! Getting involved with the Koopa Clan and-"

"I wasn't followed! She didn't see me! I used the secret entrance."

"W-what's going on?" Maria asked as Yoshi lowered her onto a couch. "Koopa Clan?"

"Those people you were fighting. You didn't know? Then why-"

"They were hurting this guy and his friend. No way in hell I was gonna let that slide." Maria said, before wincing.

The old Mole sighed. "Admirable and courageous I must admit."

"Can you help them, Grandpa?" Mandy asked.

"Yes, yes. We should take care of that first." He said, before heading off into another room. There was the sound of cabinets being opened and closed, and the clatter of something.

"Darn… where was it… Aha!" The mole emerged from the room, holding a strange fungus. A mushroom with a red and white spotted cap along with a pale stem with two black eyes.

"Eat this. It should help."

Mushroom Kingdom mushrooms were strange as hell. The eyes were always kind of unnerving (even if she had repeated assurances that they weren't actually sentient) and had put Maria off from attempting to eat them.

Though still uncomfortable Maria reluctantly followed his instructions. Despite her initial misgivings, the fungus was surprisingly delicious. Even better, she could feel her body healing. Bruises and swellings faded, and cracked bones began to mend.

"Whoa." Maria immediately stood up, inspecting herself. She knew Mushrooms were a staple food in the obviously named kingdom, but damn, there was more to them than she had expected.

"Thank goodness we had one left." Mandy said. "It's been getting harder and harder to find things like this since the Koopa Clan showed up."

"Oh." Maria said. "I'm sorry I..."

"Don't bother. I may grumble, but I'm not about to turn away a good person who's injured. Down here it'd likely as not dry out before getting any use out of it otherwise. And let me tell you, they taste awful when dried."

"Oh, uh… thanks." Maria said.

"Now why don't you tell me why your here in the first place. And how you don't even know about the Koopa Clan."

Maria sat back down on the couch while Mandy plopped down next to her. Grandpa Mole sat down on another chair across from them.

"Ain't much to tell. Name's Maria Mario. Was sailing from the Metro Kingdom to the Mushroom Kingdom. Really bad storm happened, and we got shipwrecked. Washed ashore south of here. I went off looking for civilization, ran into those Koopas harassing two Yoshi's. Couldn't save one of them but I wasn't about to let them hurt the other one. Rescued him, ran off, ran into a Charger. And that brings me to here. Which brings another question. Why is this 'Koopa Clan' here anyways."

The elderly Mole sighed. "Then it seems like you've stumbled into a terrible situation. To be quite honest, we don't know. This Iggy just showed up one day along with her forces, overturning villages and imprisoning the inhabitants. They've been running amok on this island ever since. We Moles have been lucky to avoid notice by virtue of living underground.

"What about the other islands? This is an ark... archi... pellican... A chain of islands, right?" Maria asked.

"Archipeligo." The old Mole sighed. "And we don't know, to be honest. Iggy took over the old fortress guarding the bridge leading to the Donut Plains. We're cut off from news elsewhere because of that."

Maria pondered for a moment. "Well, Iggy did ask something about a 'Yellow Palace'. Not sure what that is."

At this the Mole's eyes widened, slightly. "Hmm… interesting."

"What? What even is the Yellow Palace."

The Mole stroked his beard. "Keep in mind, what I'm about to say is mostly myth and folklore."

He then cleared his throat before launching into a lecture. "The Switch Palaces as they are collectively known are said to be wellsprings of elemental power that govern the flow of magical energy across the entirety of Dinosaur Land. Gaining control over them would mean controlling that magical flow. What that means isn't exactly clear. Of course, this is all conjecture. The Palaces are said to be hidden and nobodies ever been able to verify if they're even real to begin with."

"Well the Koopa Clan seems to think it's real enough." Maria said.

"Indeed they do. A shame. Because of them, we can barely go to the surface. No trade either..."

"So… are you guys in-"

"We won't go hungry, if that's what your asking." Mandy said.

"There's plenty here, both stored up and available. But..." Grandpa Mole said.

"You miss those Pikpik carrots from the Donut Plains."

"Yes… So crunchy and yet rich at the same time! Shame we can't get them now." The old man sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"So… what will you do now?" Mandy asked.

"Well, I started this journey looking to see if I could find a ship."

"Not here on this Yoshi's Island unfortunately." Grandpa Mole said. "Maybe one of the cities up north on the Donut Plains."

"Yeah, it was either that or find some Power Moons to help power our own ship. Our own Moons leaked out."

"That, I can help you even less with. Power Moons aren't that common of a thing around Dinosaur Land. I think i can remember seeing one in person all of once and that was twenty years ago."

"I figured. Well, it looks like my search will be taking me north." Maria said. "Which is fine, I was gonna go there anyways."

"Why?"

"To free this one's friend, of course." Maria said, to Yoshi's smile. "Iggy took him. Along with probably a bunch of other Yoshi's as well. Can't let that stand."

The old Mole sighed again. "It's clear I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this. Hell, If I were several decades younger, I'd be joining you on your quest."

"I can join!" Mandy said.

"No." Grandpa Mole said sternly.

"But..."

"Don't worry. Besides, you're doing a fine job keeping the Mole Village safe." Maria said.

Mandy sighed but nodded.

"One more thing. If you're going up against the Koopa Clan, you're going to more firepower."

"Firepower? What do you mean?" Maria asked.

"Wait here." Grandpa Mole stood up from his chair and headed back into the room he had gotten the mushroom from.

There was again the sound of clanking and clattering.

"Curses, where is it?"

More clanking and clattering.

"Aha! Wait no… nevermind..."

Even more clanking and clattering.

"There we go!"

The Mole emerged from the room, now carrying a strange flower. It's top ringed, with a red ring on the outside, and a yellow ring around the white core, atop which was a pair of eyes, much like the mushroom.

"I was planning on using this to make soup with, but I think you'll be able to put it to much better use."

"What is that?"

"Oh cool! Or rather hot! A Fire Flower!" Mandy said. "I've always wanted to use one!"

"And you'd likely burn down the house in the process, young lady."

"Our house is made of stone, Grandpa." Mandy shot back.

"Still."

"Okay, is there something I'm not getting? What am I going to do with a soup ingredient?"

"Oho, the Fire Flower is more that just that. While indeed it makes for an excellent soup, there's far more it can do, for within this plant is contained the elemental power of fire." In demonstration, Grandpa Mole gave the stem of the plant a squeeze, and a jet of flame shot out. "But more than just as a weapon, the Fire Flower can grant one control over elemental fire."

He held out the flower to Maria, who tentatively took it. "So… how do I do that."

"Focus on the Flower. Center it in your mind, and it's power should flow into you."

"Okay…" Maria held up the flower, looking into it's eyes. Strangely, despite how blank they were, she felt like she was being drawn into them.

Now she was starting to feel warm, even though it was cool underground. Scratch that, Maria felt like her body was burning! Like a flame was washing over her, engulfing her entire body. The pain, however, barely lasted for more than a second and instead, she now felt energized, like she wanted to just get up and run like a hundred miles.

When she could concentrate again on things around her, she noticed the flower was gone.

"It worked!" Mandy cheered.

"It… did?" She struggled to remain focused with that rush of energy within her body.

"Check yourself out!"

Maria oblidged, and gasped in shock at the sight of her changed outfit. Her shirt had become white, along with her hat having it's color pallet inverted, with the 'M' now red. Her overall-skirt had become red, much like her shirt had been before.

"Whoa."

More than just the cosmetic change was what was inside. She felt both stronger and tougher. Somehow she knew this despite having not put it to the test.

"Well I'll be."

"You seem surprised." Maria said.

"Just that you took to that Flower so rapidly. Usually it takes a lot longer to attune to a power-up like that."

"Power-up?"

"You don't know?" Mandy asked.

"Not really. I honestly don't know all that much about magic." There really wasn't that much magic back in Metro Kingdom.

"Power-ups are items that contain magic within in them, capable of enhancing the abilities of their user. Hence the name. That Fire Flower is one such power-up. And I have to say, you seem to have a strong affinity for that Flower."

"Oh, um… thanks, I guess?" Maria said, not entirely sure what to say.

"Regardless, if you insist on traveling across the island, you'll no doubt encounter plenty more types of power-ups. Keep a look out for them, they'll certainly be of use to you."

"Will do!" Maria said. "Thank you for everything you've done to help us, you two."

"It's no problem." Grandpa Mole said. "So are you ready?"

"Yeah." Maria said, with a grin. She punched her fist into her palm, releasing a cloud of fiery sparks as she did so. "Time to sack the quarterback."

Chapter Text

Despite her aspirations of a fiery vengeance, the exit pipe the moles led her to in fact let out a significant distance from where she had been before, now placing her in the middle of the mountain range that divided the southern and northern parts of Yoshi's Island. No Charger in sight.

Which, she supposed was just as well, as once the initial hype of the power-up died down and she began to think about things, it occurred to Maria that she had little idea of how to make use of the new abilities the Fire Flower had given her. Maria had very little experience with power-ups or magic and certainly not on the using end.

In fact, as she found out, it had been a significant enough struggle to figure out how to use her abilities in the first place. Lighting a campfire had therefore been both an interesting challenge and good practice.

First of all, there had been the challenge of creating flame in her hands on command. Many attempts just got sparks or flashes, or a disappointing flame as dinky as a that of a candle. Even once she managed to form a good sized flame (unreliably), there had been the following challenge of maintaining the flames, preventing them from going out.

At first, she could only get the guttering fire to last no more than a few seconds before vanishing, despite her intense concentration. Eventually, she managed to maintain that for a few dozen seconds before it started to go out. Eventually, with work, she started managing to maintain the flame for minutes at a time.

Of course, after she had managed to create a stable(ish) flame in her hand, then came the challenge of moving at all without it going out. The first time she had attempted to take a step, the flame near instantly extinguished, much to her disappointment.

Resuming her concentration, she went through the steady process of forming and maintaining the flame, and then took a step.

The flame didn't go out.

Success! Maria cheered.

Then the flame went out.

Yoshi had offered to help at that point, suggesting simply holding up a gathered branch to a flame she created, but Maria politely declined. She wanted the practice. Besides, this was actual magic she was working with. Actual magic.

With a bit more practice, she had managed to get down the act of creating and maintaining a flame in her hands, and from there, managing to actually move her body (slowly) without accidentally extinguishing it. At that point, she held out her hand, keeping the flame in it, prepared to approach gathered timber to light the campfire. Instead, the flame she had conjured burst from her hands, streaking out in a fireball.

Though unexpected, it would have been a cool moment had she actually hit the wood.

Actually scratch that, it was cool regardless!

Fireballs! I can throw fireballs!

Thankfully, she was in a rocky cave, and therefore had no reason to worry about lighting anything untended on fire. This time, however, when she produced fire, she merely touched it to the wood, quickly igniting the campfire.

She had looked up, realizing the sun had completely set. She had been practicing at this for far longer than she had realized. Not that it was much of a problem. The magic was fascinating, and Maria only wanted to get better and better at it. She was about to start practicing again, when her stomach informed her that that wasn't on the schedule.

Oh fine!

It wasn't long after that that the two of them ate dinner and shortly after that, Yoshi drifted of to sleep.

Maria however, remained awake. They had formed their camp in the mouth of a mountain cave, next to a stream from which they had worked together caught the fish they cooked for dinner. Supposedly, this stream flowed downwards through the range gathering into a large lake near it's base. They'd have to figure out how to cross that lake tomorrow.

She stepped out of the mountain cave to sit down on a rock and think. It had been a crazy day. Washing up from a shipwreck on a strange island, finding out that said island was also under attack by Koopas, fighting a squad of said Koopas, nearly getting her face caved in in by a Charger, getting rescued by Moles, and now actual magic.

Maria looked up at the sky. Maybe it was a cliché, but she really was amazed at how many stars she could see in the night sky, now that she was away from all the lights of the big city. Her parents had taken her and her sister camping a few times way back when they were kids, but it had been a long time since then.

Stars, they must be devastated, wondering if their daughter was dead.

Both, them and Pauline.

She tried to put the thoughts out of her mind. It wouldn't do her any good in her current predicament. And yet, it was far harder than she expected. All of them had been looking forwards to making new plans for the future in the Mushroom Kingdom, and well… now she was stranded with no means of communicating.

She snapped her fingers, and a tiny candle flame appeared on her fingertips. Despite the obvious heat, it did nothing to affect either herself or her clothes. With a bit of thought, and some heavy concentration, the flame started to move from fingertip to fingertip. Actual magic.

If the universe was going to strand her on an obscure island, well, then, giving her an opportunity to learn actual magic seemed like a decent consolation prize.

Well, some pizza would be nice as well...

But that was enough playing around. She still had a significant journey ahead of her, both to help rescue Yoshi's friends, and to find out if there was anything up north that could help her and the sailors get off the island.

Maria returned to the cave, lying near the fire, using her bag as a pillow. It was likely going to be a long day tomorrow, best to at least try to get some sleep.

Chapter Text

Their trek through the mountains was mostly uneventful, and not much of a challenge besides. Both she and Yoshi were expert jumpers, meaning that navigating the cliffs and platforms wasn't much work. It also helped that there were various blocks floating around. They most likely had once been part of a more complete system of bridges, but lack of upkeep had let many of the blocks to fall apart, necessitating said jumping. Some had also clearly been used for storage, those blocks floating apart from the others, higher up, as she found another Mushroom after hitting one of them as well as a small amount of coins from others.

And thus, while their travels took up most of the day, there were few true obstacles to their progress. A couple times, they had to dodge a patrol of Koopa's, but for the most part, it was simple platforming, something Maria was very good at, leaping from cliff to cliff was fairly simple. Just like leaping from building to building back home. She did always like to come in through the window rather than the door (much to her parent's frustration).

And so it was, part of the way through the afternoon, the duo had successfully navigated the mountain range, and upon coming down from it, happened upon a lake.

The first thing that stood out on the lake were what Maria had initially assumed to be rock formations emerging from the water. However, upon drawing close, she saw that they were actually gigantic mushrooms so large and solid as to function like platforms. The duo stopped for a moment, Maria taken aback at the sheer amazement at the sight.

The second thing was that it was clear that the road led straight through this lake. Much like the mountain, there seemed to have at one point been blocks that may have formed a bridge, though now many of them had been lost, whatever magic keeping them intact having faded.

Not that it mattered much.

As she dismounted from Yoshi, she asked him. "Hey, can you swim?"

Yoshi nodded, clearly eager to continue on. She couldn't blame him, considering his friends were held captive by the Koopas just past this lake.

"Good." Maria was a good swimmer, having spent a good amount of time in New Donk City's waterways, (not sewers, waterways, there was a difference) watching over the warp pipes, making sure they were functioning properly, as well as watching out for various threats that could emerge from them. She could hold her breath for a good while as a result.. As the duo approached the shore, Maria pointed towards a nearby mushroom-island, one fairly low to the lakes surface.

"We'll head for that mushroom over there, okay?" She said as she dismounted Yoshi.

Yoshi nodded, and the two dove into the water with a splash.

It was fairly relaxing in a way, swimming across the lakes surface. The water was fairly warm and refreshing, and the current even carried them along somewhat. As she swam, Maria noticed silhouettes deeper in the water. At first she thought they were ordinary fish, but she noticed a humanoid shape to their upper half. Cheep-Cheeps.

The merfolk seemed to be watching them, though at the same time, keeping their distance. Some of them appeared to be conversing among themselves, in regards to Maria and Yoshi, making her feel a bit self-conscious, though again, none of them approached her. Considering that Dinosaur Land was currently under invasion by the Koopa Clan, she didn't blame them for being cautious. She hoped that they had managed to stay safe, which seemed likely considering they lived under water.

Eventually, the duo reached the first mushroom-island without incident. Up close, it was more spacious that she had initially expected, and upon placing her hand upon it, realized that the mushroom in fact fairly solid. Somewhat spongy and slightly springy but still solid enough to grab onto without issue.

Maria pulled herself out of the water and onto the surface of the mushroom, while Yoshi did the same. The little dinosaur shook himself dry, while Maria pondered. She had an idea. Maybe…

She clasped her hands together, and focused in the same way that she did to conjure fire. Instead of an actual flame, this time she focused more… softly? Softly was how she wanted to envision it in her head.

She didn't want fire, just heat. So she attempted to focus on that. Soon enough, the air around her body began to shimmer, reminding her of heat radiating off of tarmac. Almost immediately, she began to feel warmer, and she saw literal steam coming off from her body. In short order, her clothes were dry, as if she hadn't dove into a lake at all.

She really was starting to get the hang of this, the thought filling her with glee.

With that out of the way, Maria turned back towards her destination. The other side of the lake was still so far away…

She considered jumping back into the water, but it was then that she noticed several strange spiky spheres floating about in the water.

Well, no reason to risk that, whatever those things were.

Thankfully, there were now more large mushrooms around, this far out, meaning she could avoid risking running into... whatever those things were.

And, thus, the duo continued across the lake, hopping from mushroom-island to mushroom-island until the pair of them came across a strange sight.
A Koopa girl sitting on what appeared to be a cloud. A cloud with a smiley face on it, but a cloud none the less. The lower parts of her body were enveloped in the cloud, leaving her upper parts free. She had short blonde hair and wore a pair of goggles along with a sort of aviators vest, along with a shell attached to her back, but what was most interesting was the fishing rod in her hands.

She was using the tool to carefully fish the spiky spheres out of the water, placing them down on a nearby mushroom platform.

Caution was the word of the day, and Maria observed though eventually, curiosity won out. She approached, leaping onto nearby mushroom.

"Hello!" She called out once the Koopa girl had set down another sphere.

The reaction was immediate. The girl turned to look at Maria, and her eyes widened. She seemed to stiffle a shriek, before starting to speak rapidly and almost incoherently.

"I-I swear this isn't what it looks like!" She began babbling.

"Huh?"

I-I-I… uh.. I'm… uh… Repositioning these. Yeah, that! Uh… Repositioning these mines. Y'know, orders from on high. Correcting the flow. Crossing the streams. Wait no- Never mind that."

"What are you talking about?" Maria asked, confused. She took a few steps forwards, which caused the Koopa girl to panic. Maria stopped, and the girl continued babbling.

"So there's nothing to worry about. Yeah, nothing. You can rest easy, ma'am. These explosives are in good hands... Please don't hurt me?" The girl gave a frantic and awkward salute, though Maria was more focused on what she had said, going slightly pale at the revalation.

"Those things are explosives?!"

"Um… yeah." The Koopa girl said, raising an eye quizzically. "You… didn't know that?"

"No, I'm new around here..." Maria said.

"So you're not with the Koopa Clan?"

"Well, I'm a Human, not a Koopa… so..."

The Koopa girl leaned forwards on her cloud, only now seeming to notice Maria's Human features, particularly the rounded ears and lack of a tail. She then slumped back, seemingly in relief. "Oh thank the stars! I thought I was a goner for a moment."

Maria wasn't exactly sure what was happening, but the tension seemed to be defused, so she slowly approached the Koopa girl, still cautious. "We're just passing through. Are you with the Koopa Clan?"

"Oh no." She said. "I'm a native here."

"So what exactly is it you're doing then with these explosives." Maria asked, relaxing, though still giving the pile of what was apparently bombs a wide berth.

At this, the Koopa girl sighed.

"I'm fishing them out of the water. When the Koopa Clan took over that old fortress to the north, they started dropping these mines into the lake. Apparently there was some sort of clash with the local Cheep-Cheeps or something. I hear their leader, Iggy, wanted to use them as 'test subjects' though for what I don't know. I figured I'd do what I could to help. What about you?"

"Yoshi and I are in fact headed towards the northern fortress."

The Koopa girls eyes widened. "But why? You said you weren't with the Koopa clan!"

"I'm not… It's kinda… complicated, and a mess."

"How so." She was back to being nervous.

"Well..." Maria then started at the beginning, describing the shipwreck, and washing up on the south shore of the island, her exploration of the area and subsequent encounter with the Koopa Clan and rescue of Yoshi, her encounter with the Charger, flight underground, and receiving a explanation of what had happened in Dinosaur Land.

"...and so now I need to find a means of getting off the island. My best bet seems to be one of the cities on the Donut Plains, though it seems that it's going to require going through the Koopa Clan to do so. Which is fine. I want to help free all the Yoshi's this Iggy has taken captive." She paused for a moment. "I'm Maria Mario by the way."

The Koopa girl nodded. "I'm Lakilana, though you can just call me Lana."

Before anything further could be said, there came a loud shriek from Yoshi. Maria turned just in time to see something streaking towards her. With her reflexes, she quickly sidestepped, dodging the javelin that had been thrown towards her.

"W-what?"

As if in answer to her question, there was a familiar voice. "Found ya bitch!"

The mushroom shook as a familiar figure came leaping down from a higher point. A figure clad in football gear. The Charger from earlier.

"And this time, you won't be getting away from me!"