Chapter 8 – Alternate Plans and Certain Scams

Returning to the Dark Lands, a few days after the masked attack, everyone was actually taking things pretty well. Yes, they were now in need of a master and someone to boss them around, but they looked on the bright side of things – now they don't have someone to boss them around. Kamek and Kamella, however, were taking things into their own reptilian hands. They were getting ready to resurrect Bowser, as they have done numerous times before, but they came to a problem.

"What are you saying?" Kamek hissed.

The minion doctor, who was nothing more than a Hammer Bro. in a white coat, stood tall and looked proud. "Well, Bowser here is in quite the predicament."

"How so?" Kamella drummed her fingers on the bright orb placed on top of her golden scepter.

"Well, you see, there is no easy way to say this, but…Bowser, he is dead."

Kamella slammed her palm on her forehead in a rude manner while Kamek nodded, pretending to ponder this sentence. "Hmm…that explains WHY HE HASN'T BEEN MOVING!" Kamek sighed, shaking his head. "We already knew that, Doc. Just tell us why we can't bring him back."

"Oh…" The Hammer Bro. laughed nervously and looked away. "Uhh, well," He faced them again, "You know that tall lady with the wand?"

"Yes…?"

"She's apparently associated with magic and voodoo and all that witchcraft stuff. She put some kind of curse or something on the castle and well, our magic has been slowed down. It'll take weeks to bring Bowser back from beyond the beyond."

"Weeks?" Kamek whined, "But I want to destroy The Mushroom Kingdom NOOOOOWWWW!"

Kamella scoffed, "Plan B it is."

"And what is Plan B, Kam?"

Kamella smiled, striding over to grand doors yards away from them. "Well, dear Kamek, unlike you and your last-minute plans to kidnap the princess; I planned ahead and came up with a grand new plan to destroy the kingdom and the masked man within its boundaries!"

She opened the doors, "Behold! PLAN B!"

As the grand doors opened to her command, Kamek stared in awe and amazement at what his partner had done. The room was filled with minions all organized and ready to strike. They all had weapons, armor, and defenses beyond compare. Kamella stressed the very elegant fact that all the minions were in fact robots. She admitted that she could have made clones, but clones were "overrated."

"Wow, Kam," Kamek brushed his fingers over the metal plate of one of the robot's skulls, "You really out did yourself here." He chuckled.

Kamella arched a brow in frustration, "Are you laughing at my work?"

He shook his head sheepishly. "No, no…It's just that this is so…strange. It's amazing and for a minute, I actually thought you were better than me."

"I am."

He glared at her, "Even if you were, I was Bowser's favorite. He let me have battles and everything."

Kamella stuck her tongue out at him, putting her hands on her hips like a toddler.

Looking out from the balcony of the castle, Kamek and Kamella brought all the minions' attention to them. Kamek slammed his scepter on the hard ground, bringing a literal wave of silence over them.

"Now," He boomed, "I know that we're all expecting Bowser to make a huge return and fight the kingdom again, but we have been put under a curse!" He made sure he sounded dramatic, "A spell!" He leaned in closer to the rim of the balcony, "A…"

"Sorcery," Kamella aided.

"A SORCERY!" Kamek shouted, not thanking Kamella for the help.

The minions all nodded in unison, although they had no idea what was going on and no idea what these big words meant.

"Are we going to take this lying down?! NO! Are we going to stand up and fight?! YES! ARE. YOU. WITH. ME?!"

Silence was heard first, and then accompanied by a single cough.

"I said: ARE. YOU. WITH. ME?!"

It was at this moment where Kamek realized that he wasn't the greatest motivational speaker. The minions remained silent, except for that one that had coughed, for he had coughed again. He claimed he had a cold, although some said that it was spring and the air in the Dark Lands was hot all year long. He shrugged, claiming that he had allergies. It was now obvious that all of Bowser's minions were awful liars.

Kamek sighed and turned back to Kamella. "They're hopeless – all of them."

Kamella stepped forward, "IF YOU DON'T FIGHT WITH US, ALL YOUR JOBS WILL BE SOLD TO ROBOTS…THAT WORK FOR FREE!"

The minions gasped at the very thought of not paying their bills, since the Dark Lands was also infamous for its high prices on real estate.

"YA!" The minions cheered, suddenly on-board with the attack plan.

Kamella smirked, giving a boasting look at Kamek. He raised his nose in the air, as if he didn't care, but deep down, he knew that Kamella was better than him.

"Get all the minions in the training room," Kamella ordered the Kooplings.

They saluted, all in their own nasty ways, and left to round up all the minions.

"Magi-koopas!" Kamella shouted.

All the magi-koopas halted to her command.

"Set all the robots to stand-by and wait for my orders!"

They all nodded, leaving to their posts.

"KAMEK!"

Kamek walked in, glumly, and looked at his partner.

"Go…go resurrect Bowser. I don't care if it'll take 3 weeks or 3 years, just get things back in order."

He sighed and nodded, trudging away slowly.

"Oh and Kamek," Kamella called.

He turned around, expecting her to shower him with praise and thanks.

She smiled coldly, "Get me a latte while you're at it."

He opened his mouth to refuse, but he kept his thoughts to himself, turning back around and walking over to the kitchen.

Rosalina's eyes closed as she breathed in carefully. Polari, Rosalina's advisor in most cases, hovered beside her.

"Even with a warning, in the form of a spell, they prepare to attack with other defenses." Rosalina sat down quietly, thinking, and watched aimlessly as Polari tried his best to console her.

"Now, now, mistress." Polari's blue eyes sparkled as he tapped the orb that Rosalina had used to watch over The Mushroom Kingdom, "You can contact the princess and she will handle this. I'm sure of it."

"No," Rosalina declined kindly, "She has enough on her plate as it is."

"Then…who?"

Rosalina looked up at the orb that was now shifting colors. She slowly stood up, walking gracefully towards the orb. "Polari, is it possible for me to contact through something other than the jewel?"

Polari nodded, soon asking why she wanted to know this.

"I need to contact someone in Sarasaland quickly. He is the only one who could stop this before it begins."

Waving her wand over the orb quickly, Rosalina tried to focus her power into a mirror in a room at the Sarasaland palace. It was hard at first, since the jewel had direct contact, but she was able to bring her power to the mirror in due time.

Luigi sighed, walking down the hallway of the palace. It had been a long week of organizing, stress, and Daisy's constant shouting at people, claiming they were doing everything wrong and that they were going to "screw up" her special day. Although he did want the day to be perfect, Luigi could really care less.

Walking past the guest room, Luigi saw a white flash illuminate from the vanity's mirror. He stopped, only seeing the flash out of the corner of his eye. Once curiosity got the best of him, he walked deeper into the room. Reaching the mirror, he leaned in closer, until his nose was touching the glass. It flashed once again; startling the man and making him step back. "Whoa…"

"Luigi."

He turned around, thinking that Daisy was calling his name. Looking outside the hall and around the room, he saw no sign of anyone and turned back around towards the mirror. He was now greeted with Rosalina's translucent image. He jumped back, "You scared me!"

Aware that the conversation that she was about to have was private, Rosalina closed the guest room's door swiftly, "My apologies, Luigi, but the kingdom is in grave danger."

"Last time I checked, Sarasaland was doing just fine."

"No, your kingdom."

He shook his head, "Oh no. I'm not going to do this anymore. Listen, it was fun the first few times, but I'm done with it. I can't handle jumping around and saving the princess countless times."

"It isn't about the princess; it is about doing what's right."

"I can't." He crossed his arms over his chest with a sigh.

"Why not?"

"Rosalina, I'm getting married in two days. I'm going to be dubbed royalty the next hour after that. I have my own life to lead, and I can't live two lives at once."

"Luigi…"

"You'll just have to find someone else."

Rosalina glanced down, sighing. "I believe that isn't possible."

"And why not?"

She looked up at him again, "Because you are the only person who can fight for the kingdom as of right now. You have protected the kingdom before, for three days, but this is your chance to protect the kingdom from all the evil in the Dark Lands."

"The whole kingdom will be in the chapel at exactly 5 o'clock in two days from now. If I'm a no-show, then I'm out of here – for good."

Silence began to spread through the room as Rosalina considered her words. Finally, and quickly, the silence was broken by her voice. "Two days, huh?"

"Yeah."

She nodded surely, "Then you will have two days to think about it."

Luigi stepped closer, "What?"

"Luigi, I know how much it means for you to finally live a life of your own and such, but the kingdom is in danger."

"…If you care about the kingdom so much, then, then why don't you go, go save it yourself!"

"I have duty here in the cosmos. I cannot stay there for long, and that's what the kingdom needs – a long-time hero."

"But I can't be that! Mario knew I couldn't be that, Peach knew I couldn't be that, everyone in the kingdom knew I couldn't be that," He lowered his voice, "And you and I both know that Daisy doesn't have that much faith in me either."

"Then prove them wrong. Make them eat their words."

Luigi sighed, looking down. "It isn't that simple."

"Then why is it whenever you wear that mask, you suddenly have all the power in the world?"

He raised his voice, "Because I know that I'm not myself! I know that the person wearing that mask is probably more capable of being the next hero than I ever will be."

Rosalina laughed dryly, "You do realize that the person wearing that mask is you, right?"

"Of course I do," His voice lowered, almost to a whisper.

"…You just don't accept it, do you?"

Luigi showed no sign of a response and Rosalina kept the steady silence for a few prolonged minutes. It was at this time that Daisy walked by, for she had been searching desperately for the wedding curtain measurements for hours. Convinced that the measurements were in one of the guest rooms, she climbed up the staircase in a rush to the second floor of the palace. After going through room after room; drawer after drawer; tossing back pillow after pillow, she finally reached the last guest room. Hearing Luigi's voice and another female's voice respond to him, Daisy hid herself close by, but made sure she was out of sight. Since the door was closed and the female's voice sounded as if it were distant, Daisy could not tell who the woman was, but she was ready to pound her deep into the ground. Daisy kept close to the door, leaning up against its wooden frame.

"Luigi, you have two days to think about this." The female's voice cooed, ever so softly.

"But…" Luigi began, "I don't know. It's just so…difficult. I don't want to do this."

"You must. It's better for everyone if you do."

"I can't just leave Daisy like that, and not on our wedding day."

"Although I know that it may be hard on her at first, she'll understand."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Fine…I'll…I'll see what I can do."

And with that, the conversation ended. Daisy stood back, wide-eyed and shocked. She couldn't hold it back any longer and she barged into the room.

Luigi jumped back, startled. "Daisy! I…I didn't know you were, were here."

"Uh-huh." Daisy didn't bother to speak to him and instead searched around the entire room for a trace of the woman she had just heard.

"What are you looking for, honey?"

"…Measurements," She hesitated, "Yeah…measurements."

"For what?"

She mumbled, "For lying-no-good…CURTIANS!" She smiled, "For curtains, darling!"

"Oh," Luigi reached into his pocket and took out a square-shaped paper, "Why didn't you say so? Here," He handed her the paper and she took it greedily.

"AHA!" She started pulling at the edges as if it were going to open like a package. "Come on….open!"

Luigi arched an eyebrow, "Are you…trying to open paper?"

"This isn't paper!" She tugged at it once more, "This is a…" It ripped in half. "…Oh." She laughed nervously, "It's…it's paper."

"Yeah…it is."

She laughed, placing the two halves on top of each other. "Well then, I'll see you in a bit. I have to pick out some stuff for the wedding."

As she walked out of the room, Luigi couldn't help but notice that Daisy had been acting strangely. Even with the organizers, the wedding plans, setting up the dusty chapel that hadn't been used in quite some time, Daisy had acted perfectly fine until now. Putting two and two together, Luigi noted that Daisy had stepped in seconds after Rosalina had ended the conversation.

Coincidence?

He thought not.

"Luigi," Daisy leaned on his room's door frame, "I need to talk to you."

Looking at the clock ticking away, Luigi realized that it was reaching the midnight hour. He looked out the window, observing the dark night skies. He turned back to the stationary he was sitting at, "Uhh…" He turned back around to face his fiancé, "Yeah?"

She walked into the room, closing the door just a bit. Plotting herself tiredly on the bed, she slouched, resting her chin on her palm. "Is there something that you want to tell me?"

His heart skipped a beat and then paced itself lightly, "N-no. Why would you think that?" His voice faded as he spoke.

"I…Well," She scoffed, "You've been pretty vague lately and you don't act as if you want to get involved in our wedding at all. Emphasis on our wedding."

"Oh," He sighed almost in relief, "If you wanted me to get involved more, then you could have just told me. It's just that…"

"What?" She cocked her head.

"Well, you're all royals and I just feel like I don't fit in."

"Oh please," She giggled, "It's fine. Now," She flipped a little book of color samples open, "Egg-shell or chalk?"

He tilted his head, "Aren't they both white?"

"Well, basically, but chalk has a more dusty look to it, while egg-shell is more solid."

"Chalk."

"Egg-shell it is."

Luigi shook his head and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Daisy snapped.

"You don't want my opinion on things."

"I do! I do want your opinion on things!" He continued laughing, "Fine!" She walked over to him and set the book down on the desk, "For the flowers, which are going to be on every table and be put perfectly in nice little vases, which kind should I use?"

"Ever thought of daisies?"

She rolled her eyes, "Ha-ha, very funny. It's too cliché."

"Cliché?"

"Yeah, I want something bright, but also peaceful. Maybe roses…no, too radiant. Tulips? No, too weird. Uh…what do you think about lavender?"

He shrugged. "You're not going to go with the daisies?"

"Too cliché, sweetie, too cliché." She drummed her fingers on the desk, "Can you go fetch me the family album? I'll steal my mom's flower ideas."

Luigi stood up, nodding, and walked out the room. Daisy watched him walk down the hallway until he reached the stairs. She quickly closed the door and flashed her eyes around the room. She began her frantic search for any trace of the mystery girl. Although she believed that men should admit their wrong doings, her patience was driving low and if Luigi wasn't going to pipe-up then, she was going to butt-in now.

Pulling item after item; shirt after shirt; opening drawer after drawer, Daisy realized it was all for nothing. There was nothing of interest in the room, or, at least, nothing that had to do with the mystery girl. After sighing loudly once more, Daisy opened the last drawer next to the stationary Luigi sat quietly at. She opened it carefully, but knew that there was probably nothing but old papers, writing tools, and…a mask?

"What the…?"

Daisy carefully picked up the black mask by one of its edges. Bringing it towards the light, she saw two eye holes. She examined it carefully, looking for any sign of ownership, but there was nothing. She wondered why Luigi would have it and what would he use it for exactly.

She looked into the mirror – obvious curiosity filling her face. Placing it in her two hands, Daisy looked up at the mirror once more. Her hands were slowly lifting the mask to her face. As the light fabric of the mask touched her cheeks, Luigi opened the door. She could see him out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't stop. Daisy thought of this as a way to say I know what you did.

Reaching her hands behind her head, she slowly tied the mask securely. Then, the strangest thing happened. Her eyes turned a dark white color and her pigment was suddenly turning pale.

Happy day after Valentine's Day! (AMORE! MWHA!)

Did I purposely try to get romantic in this chapter? Nope!

WHY NOT, PICK-IT?!

Because, if you must know, I've come down with a bad cold. I'm sneezing left and right and my computer crashed. That's my excuse, so be happy I have a credible one.

WHY WOULD YOU GET SICK? IT'S TOTALLY, LIKE, HOT OVA HURR!

Well, I live by the east coast of 'Murica and it's COLD OVA HURR! But, I tried my best with this chapter. Did it pay off?

*Grumpy Cat* NO

...Okay *cough* killjoy *cough*

YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM SUCKZ!

Eh, at least it works.

PICK-IT'S Did you know? MOMENT: Did you know that a bride wears white at her wedding as a sign of purity? Yes, the color white is a sign of purity and even virginity (OOOOOOO, PICK-IT JUST USED VIRGINITY IN A T-RATED FIC! Grow up, people). As Zimbo puts it in their wedding article: "The color white has long been a symbol of happiness, purity, and yes, even virginity."

Now, I know that brides now wear different colors and the color is now losing its meaning, but I just get a little skeptical when the bride wears anything but white. It's what I grew up with and I'm not saying not to try new things, but I still think that it's a little odd when the bride strides in with a blue dress for her wedding. *shrugs* Say what you want, but that's just me...and the facts.

DEBATE TIME:

What do you think is harder? Coming up with a perfect and orginal idea or having the perfect way to distribute it to the world?

A friend and I had a little talk about this earlier in the week and we couldn't come up with something. I personally think it's hard to find the perfect way to distribute it, but you may think otherwise. We'll see.

Click my profile for more stories by me! Leave a comment, review, favorite, follow, PM me if you want to know anything, and, as always, I will see YOU...in the next update! BYE-BYE!