Chapter 10: Silhouette and Food
"Throw something at it," Larry cried as he turned around
to see what was behind him.
"Get down," a cold voice hissed out,
right before whoever, or whatever it was vaulted over Larry's head, using his
shoulders as a spring board and sending him sprawling towards the spongy earth.
"Who is this?" Kamron called out.
"I don't know," Larry stood back up
in time to see a figure dressed in black throw a vial of water at one of the
zombies. "They are going to need more than Pure water, if they want to
last out here." He adjusted his gun until he heard it cock. "Back in
action." He aimed the launcher at the stunned corpse and fired straight at
its head.
The fifth one had already turned into a pile
of dismembered parts, right next to the newcomer.
"Good shot," the girl, yes the girl
said. The human was holding onto a still smoking double barrel shot gun and
wiped her hand across her forehead. "I don't think I have ever seen you guys
around here, but then again I'm new to this town myself."
"Who is this?" Kamron had just
placed his wand back into the pocket lining his robe.
"Silhouette Mcgee," the girl
answered. Larry was not that surprised or impressed by her name. He figured if someone
were going to dress like she was, then she would have a name like shadow or
shady. Her outfit was completely black, shirt with sleeves that ended at the
elbows, jeans, plain boots with no flashy accessories. The only odd part of her
out fit was the cloak she wore.
"Psst, Larry," Kamron tapped on his
shoulder. "She has a tail." He pointed at Silhouette's backside and
sure enough there was a long black tail twitching back and forth.
"So who are you guys?" Silhoutte
asked. Her eyes were an odd shade of green and her canines were long and
pointed, and what Larry had mistaken for an odd hair accessories were her ears,
they were pointed and covered in fur.
"I'm Larry," he pointed at Kamron.
"This is Kamron."
"You are not the Larry Koopa are
you?" She raised her eyebrows.
"That would be me," Larry said.
"I've played the game, so it is true that
you fought against zombies while dating several gals?"
"Yeah," Larry nodded. "Except
for the dating part. I think they just threw that in just to get the chicks
interested, no offense." There was only one girl he remembered that was
worth dating.
"They didn't need to add the dating sim
to get those like me interested," Silhouette smirked. "So ya came
back to Tempo Town, must have heard about the new dead man party going
on."
"Exactly," Larry nodded. "Is
that why you are here?"
"Actually I was trailing someone
else," she looked up at the cloudy sky when a thunderclap was heard.
"We better get inside before it rains."
Dark Land
Luigi was somewhat nervous when it came to flying
in Iggy's helicopter, but he said nothing during the flight and held onto
Wendy's hand while Iggy jabbered on.
"And he said that I can come over and
help," Iggy said as he brought the copter to a wide area that was perfect
for landing. "In fact after I drop you two off I'm going to go back."
"Are you serious?" Wendy asked.
"He is technically the enemy."
"Enemy, friend, does it matter,"
Iggy paused to take in a deep breath. "Even if it is a person you do not
like, even if it is your bitter rival, your personal frenemy, or even your
deadliest enemy, if they have achieved an amazing skill you will want to admire
them for it, respect them, even learn from them."
"Where did you read that quote?"
Luigi was certain he read that quote, or something similar in a quote book.
"No where," Iggy pulled back one of
the levers and the two feet of the copter came to a land on the ground with a
small shake. "It just came to my head."
"Have I ever told you that you were
odd?" Wendy asked.
"All the time," Iggy opened the
doors. "If dad asks where I am, tell him I'm testing my ride."
"I'll be sure to let him know,"
Wendy said as she stepped out.
"Thanks for the ride," Luigi said
after he slid out and closed the door behind him. "I wonder if he will
change."
"You mean fight on Mario's side?"
Wendy raised her brows.
"My side," Luigi added.
"Let's go," she grabbed his wrist.
"Daddy is going to want to know where we are."
Luigi only took one step into the castle when
he felt a large hand grab him by the left horn. He growled and swiped his claws
at his assailant only to lash at empty air. "What did I just do?"
"Seems your reflexes are sharp,"
Bowser said. "Now maybe you can answer some questions."
"Let go of him, daddy." Wendy
shrieked.
"Half of my children are missing,"
Bowser continued to hold Luigi's horn. "Now I would like some answers.
Where were the two of you?"
"I was terrorizing the Mushroom
People," Luigi said. It wasn't an exact lie, the people were terrified of
him. "It didn't take much. I never realized what racists they were."
"You don't even know the half of
it," Bowser released him. "Wendy where you with him?"
"Iggy and I found him," Wendy
explained. "Iggy finished his new helicopter and took me for a ride, we
found Luigi and brought him home. Iggy wants to continue to test his
helicopter."
"Where is Larry?"
"That I do not know," Luigi said.
"He just mentioned there was someplace he had to go, and some things he
had to do. Kammy knows more about it than I do."
"I'll talk with her," Bowser nodded.
"Wendy, your husband needs to be alone right now."
"I understand," Wendy nodded.
"There are a few things I have to do." She kissed Luigi's cheek
before she ran towards the elevators.
"Already eager to strike fear in the
hearts of the enemy?" Bowser raised an eyebrow.
Luigi nodded and turned towards a passing
Goomba. After taking a deep breath, Luigi roared at the minion, causing the
Goomba to jump.
"Excellent," Bowser folded his arms
across his chest. "You still have far to go, but after plenty of training
you will make Mario wet his pants in fear."
"I am the green thunder," Luigi
grinned. "I strike fear in the hearts of toads, I am the green menace to
the mushroom kingdom. I am Luigi Koopa." He had to admit it was a little
fun pretending to be evil.
"That's it. Now your training will start
with them," Bowser pointed to the rows of Koopas, Goombas, Buzzy Beetles
and Shyguys. "Defeat them. Should be easy for ya, considering how you were
able to fight them in the past."
"I do have to adjust my jumping skills
with my new body," Luigi nodded. "I can also throw them."
"I'll leave you with them for an hour,
then we have to work on your fire, and then your hammer throws." Bowser
yawned and stretched. "I'm going to over see the Chucks. I'll be back in
an hour."
Luigi nodded and turned to the soldiers he had
to fight. Several of them were trembling. "Don't worry. I'll try and be
easy on you." He ran towards the first row of Goombas. He jumped, and came
down too soon. He didn't land on the head of the fungus, but on one of its feet
instead. The Goomba released a loud shriek. "Sorry about that." It
was going to be a long hour.
Tempo Town was nearly deserted. It wasn't much
of a town to begin with, which was why Larry wanted to conquer it a few years
ago, and would have succeeded, if it weren't for those damn zombies, now the
town seems smaller than before.
"Does anyone live here?" Kamron
asked.
"Lots of people do, Freckles."
Silhouette said as she lead them to her motel room. "They are just smart
enough to stay behind locked doors during the night." She stared at the
sky. "Or when it is this cloudy."
"My name isn't Freckles," Kamron
frowned. He did have an impressive amount of freckles on his cheeks.
"Don't have a heart attack over it,"
Silhouette yawned. "How you guys holding up?"
"I'm fine." Larry said.
"Kamron, you get any injuries?"
"Nope," the Magikoopa shook his
head.
"Good," Silhouette yawned again.
"I don't know about you guys, but I could use a nap. I've been up since
the asscrack of dawn."
"You are going to take a nap?"
Kamron stared at her. "When this town is still under crisis."
"Hard to fight when your body isn't up
for it," Silhouette raised a finger. "We take a twenty minute nap,
raid the vending machines for snacks and then go out and fight again for a few
hours, then have dinner, then fight some more, then go to bed and wake up early
the next day."
"Maybe we should fight solo," Kamron
suggested. "You go your way and Larry and I will go our way."
Larry grabbed the wizard in training by the
back of his collar. "We just met her, don't have to be so rude."
"Suit yourself," Silhouette
shrugged. "But It will be cheaper to split it three way than two way and
before you bring it up I was already prepared to pay for it by staying on my
own. I had no idea I'd run into you guys."
"I think we should join with her,"
Larry said. "She's a good fighter."
"So are ya in?" Silhouette smirked.
"We are in," Larry yawned. "I
can actually use a nap myself."
Luigi ran the towel through his hair one last
time before he threw it into the hamper shoot. Training had been long and hard,
and his muscles were sore. The warm shower helped a little, at least he felt
clean to meet with Wendy. She had a message taped to their door to meet her at
the dining hall at five thirty.
"What time is it?" He glanced at the
clock. He had about twelve more minutes before he could meet with her. He
dressed as fast as possible, putting on his shirt and overalls and he put on
his new collar and wristbands. His mother had told him it was not good manners
to eat dinner while wearing your hat and he left it on one of the bedposts.
He examined himself in front of the
full-length mirror while he combed his hair. "You are not bad looking for
a reptile." He chuckled. He never thought of himself as unattractive as a
human. He had felt a little self-conscious about his nose, and the little bit
of paunch on his stomach. Then again Mario had even more of a belly and he
oozed self confidence.
He wasn't even halfway to the dining hall when
he was greeted by the scent of cooked ground beef, tomato sauce, garlic, onion,
oregano, basil, Parmesan, and coriander. It almost smelled like his Aunt
Callie's kitchen in the evening. The aroma alone caused him to run.
"Hey," Luigi arrived in time to see
Wendy smack Roy's hand with a wooden spoon. "What's the deal sis?"
"The deal is I slaved over a hot stove to
make a delicious dinner for my husband," Wendy glared at her brother.
"Not for you, now keep your grubby paws off."
"I'm doing my new bro in law a
favor," Roy said. "He might appreciate the fact that I took the
poison first."
"Get out," Wendy roared.
"Okay, I'm going, sheesh." Roy ran
out of there.
"The nerve of him," Wendy shook her
head.
"You cooked?" Luigi asked once Roy
had left.
"Luigi," Wendy brightened at the
sound of Luigi's voice. "You are right on time." She removed the
silver cover of one plate at the end of the table, revealing a plate of
spaghetti. "Sit here."
"You made spaghetti," Luigi smiled
and sat down.
"I made a whole meal," Wendy removed
more lids. One dish contained the sauce, another contained meatballs, and a
third had a tossed salad. There was also a basket filled with garlic bread.
"I made everything from scratch, except for the bread I used for the
bruschetta."
"Well if it tastes like it smells then I
know it will be good," he used the tongs to add on the meatballs and
ladled on the sauce before he sprinkled on some cheese. "There is plenty
for you, and I'm sure we could have spared some for Roy."
"Don't forget your new appetite my famous
warrior," Wendy sat down next to him. "And make sure you get some
salad. You are going to need your veggies."
"I won't forget," He twirled some of
the pasta on his fork before he speared a meatball. "I thought we would be
more carnivorous because of our teeth." He placed the food in his mouth.
It was delicious and savory. He closed his eyes as he chewed.
"There is still more for you to
learn," Wendy said. "How is it?"
"Its wonderful," Luigi said.
"Almost as good as my Aunt Callie's."
"This was my first time," Wendy's
smile grew. "I just went by the books. I combined the chopped tomatoes,
tomato paste, and tomato juice in the food processor and then I added the
chopped onion and garlic and spices."
"First time?" Luigi made room on his
plate for the bruschetta. "Maybe you have a gift."
"I'm a cooking savant," she
chuckled. "Maybe it's a bit too early, lets see what else I can do
first."
"So far it is good," he took a bite
out of the bread. "This is good as well." He placed some salad on his
plate. "What did you call me earlier? Famous Warrior?"
"It's your name," Wendy said.
"Luigi means famous warrior, so does Ludwig." She took a bite from
her plate." This is good," she blinked.
"Surprised yourself," Luigi grinned.
"I guess I forgot the meaning of my name. It has been a while when I
looked it up, forgot what Mario's was."
"Warlike," Wendy answered.
"Kinda neat how your names fit together."
"Except my name doesn't fit me. I'm more
of a clumsy fighter, or timid hero."
"You are braver than you think."
"I can see why your parents gave Ludwig
his name, were the others named in a similar fashion?"
Wendy nodded. "Father wanted a name that
suited a fire breather. Iggy is really just short for Ignatius and that name
means fiery one. Dad told me that when Roy hatched his head and shell were red,
almost maroon. Mother called him "Little Red" until they decided on
Roy."
"And now it has faded to pink,"
Luigi took another bite of pasta.
"Morton was crying even inside the egg
and once he hatched he never shut up, Mama said he was just like her father,
Morton senior, and Larry was named after uncle Lawrence." She took a long
drink from her glass. "Lemmy was kind of special. Daddy and Mama told me he
hatched a little early, and his whole body was a yellowish color. He was pretty
small and Mama said he was like a lemon in size and color. She called him her
'Little lemon' and later it became Lemmy."
"He grew up to be big and strong,"
Luigi did not mention that Lemmy was still shorter than everyone else.
"He was a sickly child, one of the
doctors diagnosed him as failure to thrive because he wasn't growing fast
enough, but you are right. He is strong and an acrobat."
"How did you get your name?" Luigi
asked.
"Plumbers are not the only things that
end up here," Wendy took a bite from her salad. "My mother came
across a book that was based on a play. The story of Peter Pan and her favorite
character was Wendy."
"Your parents were good and coming up
with names."
"I'm sure you will also think of good
names when we have our own children."
Luigi nearly choked on his pasta.
"Sorry," he coughed. He never thought about that and pictured baby
Koopas breaking out of their shell and reaching for him. "Although there
is a chance I might be changed back into a human and I don't know if we can
have children together."
"We can adopt," Wendy said." Or
find some spell."
"You still want to be with me, even if I
am transformed back?"
"Always," she grabbed his hand.