Author's Note:

It's been a while so here we go.

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Disclaimer: This following FanFiction story is a fan-based parody. "Mario" and all of its respectable characters are all owned by Nintendo and created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Please enjoy; favorite and review whenever you want.

Chapter 97:
Desert Travels

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Dawn rolled in when the sandstorm finally settled down. Luigi and his group were already on the move at first light. Now equipped with some weapons and other essentials, the group made their way eastward towards the nearest settlement.

Pausing from his tread, Luigi glanced upward towards the sky. Following after the sandstorm, large grey thunder clouds slowly began to cover over the desert sands. It has yet to start raining. The grey clouds prevent the sun's harsh rays from beating down, keeping the hot desert slightly cooler.

The plumber turned his gaze around to his traveling group. Ranbir and Jace walked ahead of him, taking up the lead. Brianna, Liv, and Nia were walking behind him with Paraplonk, Guy, and Chloe in the center. Guy, who still has trouble walking, had to be carried between Paraplonk and Chloe. Tapi and Tegan followed after them with Rocco taking up the rear.

The blonde man cursed under his breath as he used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow. He was poorly dressed to travel through a desert. Despite the cloudy sky, the temperature was still high enough to leave him sweating profusely. Absentmindedly, he began chewing on his cigarette, mentally wishing he was someplace cooler with a lit cigarette in one hand and a nice cold beer in the other.

"Are you alright?"

He glanced towards one of the male masrestler, who slowed down to walk beside him. He recognized this one to be called Tegan.

"I'm fine, just a bit... sweaty," He replied, wiping his brow.

"Are you sure?" Tegan asked with some concern. "Although our thick skins help protect us from the harsh sun, you aren't properly dressed for such travels. You can dehydrate pretty quickly in extreme heat such as this,"

"There's nothing we can do about now," Rocco pointed out, wiping his brow again. "The best thing to do is to get to town as soon as possible before this heat bloody kills me,"

"I guess you are right," He agreed with a slight frown. "I must apologize,"

"Oh yeah?" The blond man turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "What for exactly?"

"For Ranbir's rudeness earlier...He tends to be very distrustful towards strangers."

"Can't say I blame him,"

"Still, it was pretty rude of him. It was not this place to judge you, especially since you help us escape,"

Rocco cast a thoughtful glance over his shoulder. "You guys don't really get out much do you?"

Tegan tilted his head slightly out of confusion. "Uhm, we don't tend to travel beyond our borders if that's what you mean. Outsiders are wary of us because of our strength and culture so we mainly just keep to ourselves. Only our Chief and Brianna to an extension has ever traveled beyond the desert."

"That kind of sucks. But then again, I can't say I blame ya'll for keeping to yourselves. It's like that saying goes...If it isn't broken, don't fix it."

"Still, there are some in the village thinks we should go beyond our borders. Our Chief agrees with that. He thinks forming a bond with the royal Sarasaland monarch will bring peace for all of us."

"Not a surprise there," The man mumbled under his breath. The quest for peace was a common talking point. It was especially popular with world leaders - always stating they want nothing more but peace through the land. Rocco snorted; while it was a nice thought, he just thinks it's unrealistic. One of the many reasons why he wasn't into politics.

"You said some want to branch out, right? Not everyone likes this idea?"

"No," Tegan started, his gaze falling to the sand. "There are others who share Ranbir's dislike towards outsiders. Except for the Koopas and the Kappas, they do not think it is necessary to establish a connection with anyone else, the Sarasaland monarch especially."

Tegan gaze fell towards the sand. "And after what happened to us, what happened to Alden... things might be different when we return home,"

Rocco remained silent. He didn't know who this Alden was but from the tone alone, he already had an idea what happened.

"Sorry about your friend," He started. "Scorpio and his thugs...They were arseholes, that's just plain and simple. But believe me when I say this, not everyone in the world is like that."

"I know..." Tegan smiled tenderly. "You and Luigi, you two are the first humans I have ever met, but I can tell you two have good hearts."

"Good?" Rocco scoffed. "No, you got the wrong idea, Kid. There's nothing good about me. Sparky sure, but not me,"

The young one blinked. "What do you mean? You risk your well-being to help us. Doesn't that make you a good person?"

The man sighed deeply. "Look, I have morals. That's the only thing that separates me and the other arseholes. Other than that, I'm not much different than the rest of them."

Tegan frowned, "I don't believe you,"

"Well, believe it," It was clear from the tone of his voice that it was the end of discussion. He increased his stride creating distance between the two. "Keep this in mind, I'm not a good guy. As soon as we get into town, you guys are on your own."

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~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

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After a few hours of traveling, the group stops to take a break. Finding some shade around some dead trees, water was passed around as everyone took their fair share to replenish themselves.

Rocco distanced himself from the rest of the group. He found a lone tree not too far away from the rest. He sat against it, placing a cigarette between his lips as he tries to relax. A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps woke him up from his light daze. He opened his eyes lazily, glancing up at the figure standing over him.

"Are you okay?" Luigi asked with concern, a small jug of water in his hand.

The blonde man shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "I am fine. Just a little sweaty, is all."

The green man frowned. He can clearly see just how sweaty the man really was. Rocco took the cigarette from his mouth and held it up to the other. "Hey, think you could light this for me?"

Luigi gave him an unimpressed look. "You do know smoking dehydrates you faster, right?"

Rocco blinked slowly, rubbing his arm absently. "Yeah, and?"

"And..." Luigi continued. "Don't you think you could... oh, I don't know...put that on hold until we're not in the middle of a desert wasteland?"

The blonde man hummed thoughtfully, thinking over the other's suggestion. "Yeah, I could do that," he admitted. "But I wouldn't."

The green man scoffed but let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, but drink some water first,"

He offered him a small jug of water which was traded for the cigarette. Rocco downed a decent amount in one go as Luigi used his Thunderhand to light the cancer stick. Once done, he returns it back to its owner.

"Thanks," He inhaled deeply, letting the drug settle for a bit for exhaling the smoke. "Perfect," He glanced up at the other and offered. "You want one?"

Luigi declined. "Thanks, but I'm not really interested in developing lung cancer right now,"

Rocco shrugged, shifting in his spot. He was fully aware of the health risks when it comes to smoking and at this point, he was willing to take those risk. He started this bad habit shortly after he left home; has been his addiction ever since.

"So... what happened?" The other man started, grabbing his attention again.

"Uh?"

"Earlier; you were with Tegan then you sort of storm off without him. Like you were upset,"

"Oh that," He blew out the smoke from his mouth. "Nothing happened; just got a bit annoyed with the heat is all,"

"Really?"

"Yes, really,"

The green man frowned. There was more to the story than applied but decided not to didn't push any further. He watched the other man as he alternates between his cancer stick and the water. Sighing in disbelief, he rolled up his sleeve and started to remove the wristband from his arm.

"Here, you should probably wear this,"

Rocco turned his gaze up to see Luigi handing him one of his wristbands. He blinked, raising his eyebrow out of confusion. "Uh, thanks but...I'm not really into that much jewelry,"

The plumber rolled his eyes. "No, Rockhead. These wristbands are enchanted. Since you won't stop smoking anytime soon, despite your complaints, they'll help protect you from the heat and keep you cool."

"I wasn't complaining, I was just annoyed." He argued. Taking one last sip from the water jug, he traded it for the spiky wristband offered to him. Intrigued, he equipped the band around his left wrist and tightened the strap to make it secured. Once done, he examined the wristlet once more, nodding in satisfaction. "Okay, it's on. I don't feel any cooler,"

"Just give it some time," Luigi turned and started making his way back to the others. He paused midway and glanced back to him. "By the way...that tree is full of termites,"

Rocco blinked confusingly at first, not understanding what he had meant. His body went stock still when he finally notices the dozens of tiny movement crawling around his body. The next thing he knew, he was rolling around in the sand, shredding some clothing while the others laugh at his dismay.

"Bloody Hell!"

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Ending Note:

Happy (Late) Mother's Day and Happy Memorial Day!

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