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Chapter Text

“There’s a huge universe out there, Mario.”

I

Odyssey

Noise. 

Horns and flame. 

Mushroom caps screaming. 

Towers and turrets reduced to rubble.  

Oh.

No. 

It’s.

-A-.

Me.

Mario awoke in a cold sweat. The dream came like flashes of light. It had started once they had broken the atmosphere. This was the seventh night in a row that he saw the same images of fire and death. The Odyssey rotated lazily along its axis, floating through a tranquil starfield. Something about space didn’t agree with him. 

WOMP! WOMP!

The Odyssey lit up like a Christmas tree. Red lights swirling and horns blaring indicated that they were about to reach their destination. Finally, thought Mario. Time to get this thing over and done with. 

“Alright everyone, shake your butts,” cried Captain Toad. His mushroom cap wiggled as he descended the iron ladder from his bunk. “Luigi, what’s our ETA?”

“Fifteen minutes, Captain. Atmospherics are denser than usual. Aluminum deposits. We’ll be coming in hot,” said Luigi, typing furiously on the Odyssey’s nav computer. 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Toad, lighting a cigar and taking a few puffs. “Mario? Dammit. Where is that brother of yours?”

“Don’t know, Captain,” said Luigi. 

Mario shuffled into the command room. The rest of the crew was already at their stations. Toad in the captain’s chair. Luigi on navigation. Daisy on the thrusters. 

“Oh, Mario, so glad you could join us,” said Toad, nearly biting through his cigar. “When I told you to shake your butt when the alarms went off, obviously that was a suggestion. I wouldn’t want to impose on my lead engineer’s shuteye. So, please take your goddamn time while the rest of us try to prepare for landing!”

“Here we go,” said Mario through a yawn. 

He sat at his station and pulled up the engine readouts. Prime engine was heating up fast. It was about to hit critical - meaning Kaboom! -  probably due to the aluminum that Luigi had mentioned. Mario went to work, his white-gloved fingers typing furiously. Why did the system password have to be a randomly generated Sudoku puzzle? Mario hated math and numbers. He liked matching games, golf and tennis, running and jumping. But as far as he was concerned, math could go screw itself. The temperature was climbing. It had passed yellow and was now at orange. If it hit red, this mission would be over before it started. Finally, he solved the last line of the puzzle and was in the mainframe. He went to switch on the coolants but it was too late. 

Bang!

Outside, the Odyssey’s main engine blew, knocking the ship off course. It began to plummet and fast! Flames lapped at the red paint of the canopy. Inside, the astronauts were being cooked alive. Toad’s mushroom head shriveled. 

“Daisy, we need a crash landing,” yelled Toad over the scream of the engine. Another blast from the engine as part of the structure dislodged from the main ship sent a shrapnel fire scraping past the glass windows. The scrape was deep enough to penetrate the glass and a hissing sound indicated that the main compartment had been breached. 

“Captain, we’re losing pressure,” said Mario. 

“Goddammit Daisy, I said land this thing!”

“I’m trying, Captain, but we’re over the mountains,” said Daisy. 

“There’s a marshland just over the peak,” said Luigi. 

“Pressure’s reaching critical,” said Mario. 

“We don’t have the air or the altitude,” said Luigi, beginning to panic. “We either crash or we pass out and crash!”

“Shut yer damn cake-hole, Luigi,” barked Toad. “Daisy, I order you to land in that marsh.”

“Yessir, Captain!” said Daisy. She pulled back on the yoke with all her might but the engine shifted and the yoke snapped forward pulling her with it into the steering column. She licked the blood from her busted lip and spit it on the deck. 

“That’s it!” screamed Toad. “Again.”

The mountain peak was dangerously close now. It was close enough that they could make out goombas sleeping in the snow. Daisy pulled and roared with the last of her strength. Toad roared as well as the mountain loomed near. In fact, they all roared except for Luigi whose scream was so high-pitched it threatened to break the already compromised glass. The yoke tried its best to shake itself free from Daisy’s death grip but she held strong. 

“Here it comes!” screamed Toad. 

Finally, the Odyssey just managed to crest the mountain peak. Or so they thought! The rear antenna hit the tippiest top of the peak causing the ship to lurch forward. Blue skies were replaced with crags of death in the front-facing bay window. The ship ping ponged off the jutting structures, carving angry scars into the metal. Daisy tried to thread the needle through the perilous slope but the rudders had snagged! 

“Land this thing!” cried Toad. 

“It won’t budge,” screamed Daisy, as she threw her weight upon the wheel. 

The Odyssey was now in free fall, bouncing from rock to rock. 

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” said Luigi, putting a hand over his mouth. 

“You better swallow it, Luigi,” growled Toad. “Do not make a mess of my ship.”

Daisy continued to ram the steering column, hoping to get it free. With one last mighty thrust, she managed to dislodge the yoke - she howled - and her shoulder. 

“Daisy!” screamed Luigi. 

Daisy bit her lip causing it to bleed even more. The right arm hung limp and with the left arm welded to the yoke, she cleared the last of the rocks. Finally, with a bump and a thud the Odyssey tumbled down into the wet marshland. 

Toad spit out the stub of his cigar. He looked around at the ruins of his vessel. “Well,” he said. “This is a fine mess-a-shit.”

Chapter Text

II 

1-1

With a final shove, the hydraulic door to the Odyssey fell from its hinges. The four astronauts came pouring out and landed face first in the mud. The ship had already begun to sink and was tipped at an odd angle. Toad spat out a mouthful of mud. If he wasn’t already in a foul enough mood, chewing dirt had certainly done the trick. 

“Gah! Confounding machine,” he yelled at his ship. “How am I ever going to repair her? The only reason I took this blasted mission was for the coin.” 

Mario helped Toad to his feet and they walked together out of the marsh pit, their boots sloshing in the mud. Daisy rested on Luigi’s shoulder with their backs up against a rockface. Her eyes were closed but she grimaced periodically when the pain from her dislocated shoulder hit. It came in waves. Toad took a seat next to them while Mario surveyed the land. 

“Luigi, get a satlink up and send out a distress signal,” said Mario. 

Luigi arched an eyebrow at his brother. “So you’re in charge now?”

“Do it,” said Toad. 

Luigi pushed Daisy off his shoulder and set her gently against the rock wall. Then, he went to work. He climbed a nearby hill since the extra height would give the signal the best chance of transmission. But still it was a longshot. Behind them, a mountain range stretched back to the horizon. It was far more likely that the signal would bounce off one of the peaks and be deflected right back to where it came from. He pulled out his omnitool and satcom. It sat on a tripod with a wide disc that whirled on a pivot. The computer readout read, “NO SIGNAL” in bright red letters. 

“Daisy,” said Mario, nudging her awake. “We need to pop your shoulder back in.”

She groaned and Toad rose to join them. “Do any of us know how to do that?” he asked.

“We’re gonna find out,” said Mario. 

The computer readout on the satcom read “Establishing Signal” as a bar filled below to show its progress. 

Daisy screamed, which jolted Luigi from his computer screen. Mario pushed as hard as he could. He could feel the ball of the bone grind on the socket rim but he could not get it to slide into place. 

“You’re gonna pull my arm off,” Daisy wailed. 

“We’ve got to get it back in,” said Mario through gritted teeth. 

“Don’t hurt her,” Luigi shouted from the hill. 

“You stay on the satlink,” Toad commanded. 

“I said don’t hurt my Daisy,” Luigi thundered and he stood from his computer, his white-gloved fists shaking. 

“Okay, okay,” said Mario, giving up. “Maybe we should try a sling until we can get her to a medbay.” 

“Yeah, that would be good,” said Daisy, catching her breath. Sweat beaded on her brow from the pain. She wiped it off on the back of her glove with her good hand. 

The computer readout on the satcom turned a brilliant green and read, “Transmitting.”

“Hey, I got the signal,” said Luigi, a smile brightening his face. 

“Well, don’t just stand there,” barked Toad. “Use it.”

“Hello,” said Luigi into the communicator. “This is Chief Navigation Officer of the Odyssey, Luigi. If anyone is listening, we were on a routine recon mission from the Galactic Federation to the Outer Rim planetoid, 1-1. We ran into bad atmospherics and have crash-landed. If anyone is out there, our ship is destroyed. Please send help. I repeat: This is an SOS from the Odyssey. We have crash-landed on 1-1. Please send help.”

With that, he ended the transmission and packed up his satcom. Time would tell if the transmission had reached its intended destination. It did, however, reach an unintended destination. Luigi made his way down the hill but behind him a Piranha Maw rose out of a nearby drainpipe. It was a plant-like creature with mucus-colored vines snaking from its trunk that hung in grotesque sheets. Its head was blistered scarlet and polka dotted with white abscesses that oozed pus. Its teeth were the size of daggers and lined its gaping maw in three spiraling rows. 

“Run,” Mario called to his brother as the beast reared back and roared. Luigi booked it right as the Maw came down taking a bite out of the hill. The four explorers charged through the marsh pit as the Piranha Maw dove back into the drainpipe. Their boots were heavy with mud but they kept going. 

“Where did it go?” asked Toad. 

“I don’t know but we can’t stay out in the open like this,” said Mario. 

Just then, the mud in front of them bubbled and grew angry. 

“What’s that,” Daisy screamed. 

“It’s that damned plant beast,” yelled Toad. 

In a crashing wave of mud, the Piranha Maw breached the surface, its awful head pointing straight up. Then, it began to make horrible gurgling noises like water down a clogged drain and its trunk bubbled out as if it had something caught in its throat. It opened its mouth wide as if its jaw had no hinges and it belched fireballs into the sky. In waves of volcanic burst, fire rained down upon Mario and friends. 

“There’s a cave beyond that hill,” he cried. “Run for it.”

Their boots were heavy and the mud clung to them like a jealous lover. With the cave as their goal, they ran. 

“This really isn’t my day,” screamed Toad as a fireball shot over his shoulder just missing the mushroom cap that was the top of his head. It exploded as it landed, sending mud straight into Toad’s face. He retched on the stuff  and doubled over. 

“Why do I keep eating mud?” he roared.

“Keep going,” yelled Mario who led the pack. 

Toad wiped his tongue on his glove and made haste. Fire lit the aluminum in the atmosphere causing it to burst in a flurry of sparks like glitterbugs on a warm night on Virmire. 

“We’re almost there,” yelled Luigi. “We’re gonna make –”

“Yeah, we did it,” said Mario, calling back to his friends as he collapsed just inside the cave. Daisy and Toad joined after wearing expressions of fear and sorrow. Mario looked back and forth between them. Then, it struck him that Luigi was nowhere to be found. 

“What is it?” he asked. “Where’s Luigi?”

Chapter Text

III

Petey

Daisy extended a trembling finger and Mario followed it, turning on his heel to face the monster. The Piranha Maw reared up and swayed in the morning light. When its massive head blotted out the sun, the world went dark. 

“The monster got him,” said Toad. “I saw it with my own eyes, son. Swallowed him whole. Like a goddamn shrimp on a skewer.” He sat down on a rock and buried his face in his hands.  

“Oh, Luigi,” said Daisy and she began to weep.  

“Luigi. No,” said Mario. He balled his white gloved fist, which began to shake with rage.  

Suddenly, the Maw lunged forward like a snake after prey. His bulbous head caught on the rockwall of the cave entrance. His teeth, like daggers, gnashed covered in green mucus. Daisy backed away from the angry maw towards the far wall. Mario kept his feet planted, his steely gaze unwavering from the beast. 

“Woah, watch out!” cried Toad, jumping from his seat. “What the heck even is that thing?

“It’s a Piranha Maw,” said Daisy.  

“Can’t be,” said Toad, shaking his head. “The last Piranha Maw died 200 years ago in the Air Raids. A Bullet Bill hit him… or so the story goes.” 

“It was a lie,” said Daisy. “Petey was too strong to contain. Nothing satisfied him. The Federation had him transported here. Thought an Outer Rim world would be the best place for him.” 

Petey pulled his massive face from the cave entrance and roared. Planetoid 1-1 was a desolate and forgotten place. The goombas had gotten smart and moved from his nest to either the mountain peaks or underground so Petey hadn’t eaten in ages. His stomach rumbled with hunger and he belched fireballs into the sky that crashed down in volcanic explosions. 

“And how do you know all this?” asked Mario. His brow was furrowed and he spoke through gritted teeth. 

“My sister.” 

“The princess?” asked Toad. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Mario shot at her. “You could’ve prevented this.” 

“How dare you! I just lost the love of my life and you're going to say it’s my fault?”

Tears streamed down Daisy’s eyes. Her love for his brother was deep and genuine. A lump caught in Mario’s throat and he found that he couldn’t hold onto his anger. He turned away, too ashamed to look at her. 

“Daisy, I’m sorry. I was out of line.” 

“Way out of line, you insensitive prick.” 

A hiss of static came through their earpieces in unison. 

“Can any– bzzrrp – me? –Crsshhh– Help, plea – bzzrrp.”

“Luigi!” Daisy cried. 

“Fry me in butter, the boy’s alive!” said Toad, slapping his knee. 

At the entrance to the cave, a small bush of fire flowers grew, their orange and yellow petals smiling in the sun. Mario ran his fingertips along the petals that lit up to his touch like twinkling starlight. A warm glow centered itself in the palm of his hand. That was how he knew the energy was focused. He swiped his fingers across the petals as if striking a match and his hand caught fire.  

Daisy watched him, perplexed. “What are you doing?”

Mario focused the raw flame into a molten concentrated ball. “I’m going to get him back.” 

“Hah!” cried Toad. “And how do you plan on doing that smart guy?”

“I’m going to get eaten and then fight my way out.” The fire glinted in the blackness of his eyes. Daisy and Toad’s mouths dropped open in unison. They turned towards each other, waiting for the punchline to a bad joke. But Mario, holding fire in his hand, said nothing.  

“Are you crazy?” exclaimed Toad. “Luigi’s as good as dead in there. If that is a Maw, its stomach is like a blast furnace.” 

“I’m not going to abandon my brother.” 

“I’m sorry son but you need to face facts. Your brother is dead. And if you don’t give this up, you will be too.” 

“I’m going, Captain. With or without your consent.” 

Daisy gave a small nod at his courage. “Good luck, Mario.” 

Petey swayed in front of the cave, eyeing his prey. Mario pulled his arm back as if pitching a baseball and aimed for the snout of the wicked beast. 

“Hey, big guy,” he called out. “Over here.” He threw the fireball as hard as he could and it hit Petey square in the face. 

Enraged, Petey lunged for the cave opening. The rock cracked with the impact sending a plume of dust into the cave. Daisy shut her eyes and mouth tight but Toad wasn’t so lucky. Dust blasted into his eyes and mouth. He choked and retched, snot dribbling from his nose. 

“Goddammit,” screamed Toad. 

The rock held and Petey was once again stuck at the entrance to the cave, his teeth gnashing wildly. Mario stood in front of his lips and waited until Petey relaxed. Finally, the mighty jaw stopped its champing and came to rest, the gross pink tongue covered in green mucus lolling out lazily. Mario hopped up onto the monster’s tongue and walked right into his mouth! 

“Fool,” said Toad, still spitting out sand.  

The mouth closed behind Mario. Flames from the Piranha Maw’s gut illuminated his way. Easier than I thought, said Mario to himself. But then, Petey reared up and the entire world went vertical. Mario slipped on the slick mucus, his low friction suit not providing any grip. If he didn’t find something to grab onto, he would plummet straight down into that blast furnace of a belly. He turned over onto his belly and grabbed at the taste buds on the back of Petey’s tongue. It was enough to stop his descent. While fighting to keep his grip, he turned as much as he could to get his bearings. In the center of the Maw’s throat was Luigi! He was holding onto Petey’s uvula like a giant pink rope. 

“Luigi!”

“Mario! You came for me.” 

“Of course I did. Hold on, Luigi. I’m going to try to make my way over to you.” 

Mario slid down the tongue until finding a foothold on the cartilaginous ridge at the entrance of the throat. He planted his feet and took a deep breath and made a jump for the swinging uvula. Time turned to syrup as Mario reached out a hand. He closed his grip on the pink rope but found nothing but air!

“Mario!” Luigi threw out a hand and caught his brother before he tumbled into the furnace. He pulled him up onto the bulbous part of the uvula where the footing was safe. 

Back in the cave, Toad and Daisy watched as the mighty Maw hovered in the air. Its lips seemed to be chewing. Its food hadn’t gone down quite right. 

“This is worse than a night on the toilet after eating bad Cheep-Cheeps,” said Toad.  

“You’re a real piece of work, Captain. I hope for your sake, we get out of this mess.”

“We damn well better. But even when we do, where am I going to find an engineer and a navigator who are willing to get paid in mushrooms. Those two damn addicts are the best thing that ever happened to my bank account.” 

“That’s what you’re worried about? Luigi and I put off our wedding to come on this fool’s errand with you. An errand, I might add, that you still haven’t told us a thing about.” 

Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi were holding on for dear life in the throat of the beast.

“Now what?” asked Luigi.

“I’ve got an idea,” said Mario, holding up his open palm. He had just enough energy for one last angry shot. He centered the glow and then ignited it in the palm of his hand. He threw the fireball into the back of Petey’s throat. Petey felt it as a scratch and he collapsed back to the entrance of the cave. He coughed violently, expelling the two brothers. Toad cheered at the sight of them. Daisy collapsed from shock. Mario marched out with pride as Luigi followed. Luigi thought he had the mouth cleared but then it chomped down on him!

“Luigi!” Daisy screamed. 

The dagger-like teeth took the right arm right off right at the socket! The teeth crunched causing blood and muscle to explode from the severed limb. Petey licked the bloody chunks that stuck to his lips and retreated. Blood sprayed from the torn socket like a fountain. Luigi howled, his deafening screams echoing off the cave walls. 

“Can I get some medi-gel?” Mario commanded. 

Toad shrugged. “Sure, why the hell not.” 

Chapter Text

IV

The Mission

Mario held the little metal canister of medi-gel with the nozzle pointing at Luigi’s open socket. Blood continued to pour in rhythm with his pulse. Mario squeezed the trigger and green gel sprayed on the wound like soft soap. A moment later, the gel activated and tightened across the wound, forming a shrinkwrap and staunching the bleeding. Luigi took a seat next to Daisy, her arm nestled in the sling.  

“We have to get out of here,” said Mario, tossing the canister of medi-gel back to Toad. 

“No,” said Toad. “We’ve got a job to do.” 

Daisy’s cheeks flushed an angry scarlet. “How can you think of the job at a time like this?”

“Because my ship is halfway to fucked and I don’t see any other way off planet in the meantime.”

“I just lost a damn arm for you, Toad,” said Luigi through gritted teeth. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the pain.  

“And I’m very sorry for that, Luigi. I’ll buy you a new one. Once we complete the mission. Once we get the coin.” He jabbed with his index finger to make the point. 

Mario’s eyes narrowed at his captain. “So the coin is all that matters?”

“When you’re in debt to the people I am,” said Toad, “the coin is all that matters. So until someone responds to Luigi’s transmission, we forge ahead. Understood?”

Daisy stuck out her tongue with her cheeks puffed out. Luigi dabbed his soaked forehead and his eyes fell to the ground. Mario went quiet but then he came to an awful realization. 

“You never told us what we were doing here in the first place. It’s the Outer Rim. Nobody comes out this far.” 

Toad smiled. “ And that’s why we’re here. Because somebody did.” 

“What are you talking about?” sighed Daisy. 

“What I’m about to tell you is strictly off books.” Reaching into his knapsack, he removed a cigar and lighter. He bit off the end, spat it out, lit the tip and took a long, deep puff.  

“So,” he started slowly. “A C-Sec officer in Observation Division was at his terminal. Late night, eyes getting heavy, end of his shift kind of thing. And he sees something where he’s never seen anything before. A ping. It’s all black space in the Outer Rim. Observation is grunt work for newbies and imbeciles. But there it was, clear as daylight. And he couldn’t believe it. Had to pull out the training manual because he forgot the protocol. So he calls his superior officer, who joins him in the middle of the night and there they are, the two of them, huddled around this little terminal. And the ping stays, strong as ever. Right here on 1-1. So they contact the Galactic Council and they see it and decide to send out a Spectre.”

“One of their elite agents?” asked Daisy, leaning forward, clearly interested. 

“That’s right,” said Toad. “And not just any Spectre either. They dispatched Lady Bow. She went alone on a private shuttle. The Council wanted to keep it hush-hush because of those Stargazer nuts that have been cropping up. The flight went smoothly and she radioed that she made planetfall without incident. Then, she just disappeared.” Toad took a long draw from his cigar and held it in. “That was six weeks ago,” he said as he exhaled blue smoke that hung between them like a cloud.  

“Why would the Council send their best agent on a mission for some ping?” asked Luigi, wiping his forehead again. 

“That’s what we’re here to find out,” said Toad. “I’m a scoundrel. You know this to be true. Things don’t make it my way if they’re squeaky clean. And the coin on the table if we get “Mission Complete?” Well, let’s just say it was too good to pass up.” 

“So this isn’t a recon, it’s a rescue,” said Mario. The pieces were finally falling into place. 

Toad shrugged. “Officially, we aren’t here at all. But there’s a bonus if Lady Bow makes it back with us alive.”

“Betting on people’s lives,” said Daisy, her nostrils flared with disgust. “You really are a scoundrel.” 

“We better get some shuteye,” said Toad, ignoring her. “In the morning, we head for the transmission site.” 

“What transmission site?” asked Luigi. 

“Where Lady Bow’s ship made planetfall,” said Toad, rubbing his temples. Luigi, slow on the uptake as always, was giving him a fast migraine. “Its signal beacon should still be active. We find the ship, we find her.”

“And if we don’t find her?” asked Mario. 

“Then, we find what she was looking for,” said Toad and he took one final puff from his cigar and stamped it out. “Sleep tight.” He lied on the rocky ground, shut his eyes and immediately began to snore. 

With the blast shields down, Mario was able to put on his signature red cap. He pulled the visor down above his eyes and he too fell quickly asleep.  Daisy and Luigi sat with their backs against the wall, both of them too sore to move. 

“I guess we match,” said Daisy, gesturing to their arms. 

“Yea, sweetheart,” said Luigi tenderly. “I guess we do.” 

“Let’s try to get some sleep,” said Daisy as she laid her head on his good shoulder.  

“I don’t think I can. Daisy, being inside that thing. I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m too scared to close my eyes.” 

She took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. “Oh Luigi, you're shaking.” 

Chapter Text

V

Two Signals

It was early the next morning and Toad was the first to rise. He was oddly chipper given the events of the previous day. The coin was so close he could practically feel it between his fingertips. He roused Mario easily enough. He went to Daisy who had fallen asleep on Luigi’s shoulder and gave her a soft nudge. Luigi’s eyes were open and unblinking, staring at the ground. He hadn’t slept at all. 

Toad snapped his fingers in front of Luigi’s face. “Luigi, I need you to triangulate that signal beacon. Last I heard, it was still active.” 

Luigi rose to his feet slowly and blinked for the first time in hours. It felt like tiny rocks rolling across his eyes. “I can’t work the equipment with one hand, Captain.” 

“Gah!” cried Toad in annoyance. “Daisy help him out, will ya? With one arm apiece, the two of you together make one person. Well, almost.” He laughed and walked out of the cave.  

 “Don’t worry about him, Luigi,” said Daisy, though her face was red. “He’s a tired fool short on his luck.” 

Luigi and Daisy reached into his knapsack and pulled out the satcom and followed Toad out of the cave. They reached the top of a nearby hill and set up the tripod and waited for a signal. The progress bar on the computer display was slow to fill. It was an old model but Luigi hadn’t the coin to upgrade. He had hoped the coin from this mission would have bought him a new one. Instead, it earned him a trip to the medbay if, that is, he lived long enough to see it. So much for trusting a scoundrel like Toad. 

“Hurry before that thing wakes back up and you lose another arm,” shouted Toad from the bottom of the hill.  

The progress bar was nearing completion. “Almost got it,” said Luigi. Then, the screen glowed green, reading “Signal Established” in bright digital letters. “There! You were right, Captain. Just over those hills, there’s a signal. Strong too! Wait there’s another one, practically on top of the first.” 

“Good work,” said Toad, rubbing his hands together. “Now, shut that system off so we don’t attract any more attention.” 

Daisy and Luigi loaded the tripod back into his knapsack. Mario and Toad joined them at the top. The hills were steep and they moved slowly through peaks and valleys. Toad, ever eager, led the charge. Mario’s footing was unsure, his boots slipping slightly on the grass, wet from the morning dew. 

“Mario,” said Daisy. “Thank you for bringing him back to me.” 

Mario nodded and gave her a squeeze on the good shoulder. 

“You did a brave thing for me,” said Luigi, his eyes becoming moist. “I don’t know how you do it.” 

Mario smiled at his brother. “I did it because I had to. I couldn’t let my brother get eaten on 1-1. It’s too big and too lonely out here. And besides, you two still need to make it to your wedding day.” 

Luigi’s tears flowed in big heaving sobs. Daisy’s heart broke for him. “What is it, Luigi?” she asked.

“It’s just, I couldn’t have done what you did,” he said through sucking breaths. “I’m such a coward.” 

“That’s okay, you’re the smart one,” said Mario with a wink and patted Luigi gingerly on the back.  

Luigi wiped his eyes and smiled. “On that, we agree.” 

Toad heard them behind him and it felt like a stone dropped in his gut. Sure he was a scoundrel but these were his only friends. He stopped at the bottom of a small valley and let out a deep, cleansing breath. 

“Guys,” he said, keeping his eyes on the ground. “Let me just say, I was way out of line with how I’ve treated you.” The three of them stopped in their tracks in shock. Not a one of them could believe that Captain Toad, renowned scoundrel of the galaxy, would ever admit he was wrong. “I’m your captain,” he continued. “And I should act like it. You’re a damn fine crew and I’m lucky to have you. And Luigi, I meant what I said. As soon as we get to the Citadel and collect the coin, I will buy you a cyberarm. It’s the least I could do.” 

“Thanks, Captain,” Luigi said through sniffles and he could feel his eyes getting teary again.

They crested the next hill and sitting at the very bottom of the valley below was a perfect cube of shining black metal. It was smooth on all sides and as big as a small gift box and except for the reflected sunlight, was completely dark. They approached with caution. 

Daisy stood far back from the rest. “What the heck is that doing out here?”

Luigi picked up the cube and rolled it over in his hand. “It’s the signal beacon.”

“Well, where the hell’s the ship?” asked Toad, his hands planted on his sides. “Alright Luigi, start making sense of this for me.” 

“This is the flight recorder that’s embedded in all Class A Federation shuttles. Shouldn’t be out here though.” 

“Where should it be?” asked Toad. 

“In a compartment next to the landing gear at the nose of the fuselage. It’s made of a reinforced titanium alloy and has a momentum circuit for its power source, a self-regenerating system based on an accelerating precipitate from the cold fusion of neblunium molecules.” 

“Meaning what exactly?” said Toad, his head spinning.

“If a ship crashes, the recorder maintains power, which means the signal beacon stays live so the Federation can locate and recover assets.” 

“Does that mean the Odyssey has one too?” said Daisy, suddenly feeling hopeful. 

“No such luck, I’m afraid,” said Luigi. “The Odyssey is a Class D freighter. They don’t come equipped with this kind of gear.” 

“Transport freighters get taken out all the time by marauders and pirates,” added Mario. “Just the price of doing business in the galaxy.” 

Daisy’s hope left as fast as it had arrived. Toad scratched his chin. “How and why would someone remove this thing?”

“How?,” said Luigi. “A standard omnitool will suffice. Why? Well, your answer is as good as mine, Captain.” 

They fell into silence. Each of them was baffled. Then, it struck him like a lightning bolt and Mario said, “Someone doesn’t want to be found.” 

“So then what happened to Lady Bow?” asked Toad. “I don’t see a body. There are no tracks leading out of the valley.” He began to pace, cradling his chin in his hand. Then, he came to a sliding stop on the grass. “Wait a minute. Luigi, you said earlier that there was another ping, right?”

“That’s right, Captain. Two pings stacked on top of one another. In fact, it should be right under our feet.” 

“That’s the one Lady Bow was looking for,” said Toad, now giddy with excitement. “Take a look around. There’s got to be a clue around here somewhere.”

They began to search but the valley was small and barren. Daisy walked over to an overhang from the flanking hill and saw something glimmering in the daylight. “Uh, guys,” she called. “I think I found something.” 

The overhang obscured a tiny nook carved into the hill. In that nook, poking out of the dirt was a green drain pipe leading straight down. 

Chapter Text

VI

1-2

The drain pipe had a suction like a hydraulic hose. The inside was black as night. As Mario approached, he could feel it drawing him in like a rushing wind at his back. He turned to his friends who stood back with hesitation and gave a small salute. Then, he jumped in the pipe and shot straight down like a falling stone. The pipe’s suction came from an air buffer that kept Mario from bouncing into the walls. Despite his speed, he felt weightless from the buffer as if he wasn’t moving at all. In the pitch black of the tube, it was impossible to tell either way. At the end of the long drop, the tube banked until Mario was lying flat on his back, traveling feet first. Finally, the tube gently dropped him out onto his feet. 

He found himself in a wide cavern with a low ceiling. A hollow dripping of water echoed from deeper inside. In the little light there was, he could see that the walls were made of blue stones. What an odd planet , he thought. I’ve never seen blue stones before. 

He heard the soft patter of footsteps behind him as his friends joined one by one. His mustache bristled with the twitch of his nose as he was suddenly hit by the pungent smell of mold. “Visors up,” he said. “We don’t know what kind of air’s down here.” At his command, they each in turn activated their helmets.  

“Spooky,” said Daisy, her eyes wide trying to acclimate to the low light.  

Luigi reached for her hand and whispered in her ear, “I don’t like it down here.” He didn’t want the others to hear because even though they knew he had jelly in his knees, he still felt embarrassed by his cowardice.  

“Anyone got a light?” asked Toad marching ahead. 

“How can you think of smoking at a time like this?” Daisy shot back, her cheeks puffed. 

“I was talking about a flashlight,” said Toad matter-of-factly.  

“Oh, right.” Daisy was glad of the darkness so he couldn’t see how red her cheeks were getting.

Mario turned on the flashlights on either side of his helmet, their thin beams pathetic in the overwhelming darkness. Still, it was better than nothing. Suddenly, two goombas charged from the shadows. Their angry teeth champed and their tiny feet made a soft pitter-patter on the stone. 

“Watch out,” Toad hollered. 

Luigi’s scream was high and full of fear. Daisy squeezed his hand for support and they backed away from the rampaging goombas. Quick as a flash, Mario pulled his pistol from the waist holster and fired off three shots. The first two found their mark, a straight shot through the chest of the first goomba and a shot that blew a chunk off the mushroom cap of the second. The third shot ricocheted off the cave wall before finding a permanent home in one of the ceiling stones. The second goomba who was now missing a good piece of skull writhed on the ground as blood poured from the wound. His eyes went cross and stupid from the blown-out brain matter. Mario stood over him and took a careful aim and planted a shot right between the eyes.    

Daisy put a hand over her mouth. “Gross.” 

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” said Luigi, his face turning a shade of green.  

“Ugh,” said Toad. “Not again.” He had the strongest urge to punch Luigi in the gut just to get it over with. 

“Keep it together, Luigi,” said Mario. 

Further into the cavern, they came across two large boulders the same shade of alien blue. Climbing over the stones, they saw a shape caught in the flash beam. As Mario reached the ground, he realized it wasn’t one shape but two. “Hold it,” he said, throwing his hand out to the side to block them.  

Luigi peered over his brother’s shoulder. “What the heck is that?” he asked a little too loudly. The shapes rustled at his voice and then settled. 

“Shh,” said Mario through gritted teeth. “Keep it down.” 

Slowly, they approached and saw that the shapes in the dark were two turtle shells of a vibrant green. Whatever was inside was sleeping. 

“Shells?” asked Daisy, not understanding. “They’re shells. Just like on Gelato Beach.” 

“No, Daisy,” said Toad, shaking his head warily. “Not like Gelato Beach. Those are koopa shells.” 

“Koopas?” said Luigi, his voice cracking like a teenager. “Like Bowser?”

“I thought they were banished to the Deep Dark after the Air Raids,” said Mario, keeping his trigger finger ready.  

“I really don’t like it down here,” said Luigi. 

“They were,” said Toad.  

Luigi’s resolve began to crack like his voice. “It’s dark, it’s cold, it’s wet, and it’s, it’s, it’s dark,” he stammered.  

“Then what the hell are they doing here?” asked Mario, agitated but trying to ignore his brother’s meltdown. 

“And now there are creepy koopas,” Luigi groaned. 

“Could be fossils,” said Daisy hopefully.  

“I hope not,” said Toad. “That would be worse. So much worse.” 

The koopas had been sleeping for a long time. One of them poked its head out to stretch and felt the warm glow of Mario’s helmet light on his wrinkled yellow face. The koopa’s pupils contracted into tiny angry dots in the light. It squawked and stood up on its hind legs. Its high-pitched bellow echoed off the walls waking the other turtle. 

“Okay, definitely not fossils,” said Daisy. 

“Run,” said Mario. 

They bolted past the koopas who hadn’t seen anyone other than the goombas down in their cavern for what seemed like an eternity. They were sluggish from their slumber, a far cry from their days as soldiers in the Air Raids. And they were old even as koopas measured time who were known to be a long-lived people. 

At the end of the cavern was a small tunnel bordered by the same blue stones. “Gonna be a tight fit,” said Daisy, whose hips were wide.  

“Suck in your gut, Mario,” said Toad.  

  “Nevermind my gut,” Mario shot back. “You just watch your mushroom head, Captain.” 

One by one, they wriggled through the small opening. Luigi, the slimmest among them, made quick work to the other side, a break he was thankful for. The koopas continued their relentless pursuit. 

“Wait,” said Mario, turning back to the opening. “I’ve got an idea.” Mario drew his pistol and waited for the koopas to follow. 

“Yeah, Mario!” Toad exclaimed. “Bury those turtles where they belong.” 

Mario waited for his moment making sure his aim was true. As soon as he saw the first head poke through the opening, he fired. For a moment, he expected for the rocks to come tumbling down but something else happened instead. From out of the blue stone burst forth a bright shining star. Mario could feel its warmth shooting through him like rays. It seemed to see him, see into him, see through him. Images of fire and death burned behind his eyes. It was as if the star itself had reached out and touched his mind. The light of it scared the koopas who turned and scurried back into the shadows from where they came. 

Daisy stood stunned as the star disappeared and the cavern fell back to darkness. “What the heck was that doing down here?”

Luigi reached for her hand. “This just keeps getting stranger and stranger,” he said.

“Let’s a go,” said Mario, “before they come back.” 

At the next pass, they came to a bottomless chasm, black all the way down. Girders of a porous orange metal hung suspended in the air, the floating temptation of a bridge. They each exchanged looks with one another. None of them had seen anything like it. 

“Turn on your grav-stabilizers,” said Mario, reaching for the button on his boots. The soles of the shoes glowed blue to indicate the stabilizers were active.  

Daisy’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t feel the gravity change.” 

“Me neither,” said Luigi, barely above a whisper. He was lost in his thoughts at the strangeness of this mighty long-forgotten cavern.  

“Mario’s right,” said Toad, activating his stabilizers. “Better safe than dead.” 

Mario placed a timid boot on the lowest hanging girder and pressed. Despite some give, the girder held its place. The beams were narrow and he had to cross his feet one in front of the other to make his way up. After three girders, he reached the top of the rock ledge, which leveled out ahead of him. Seeing his success, the others followed with Luigi bringing up the rear. “Wuh-wuh-woah,” he stammered. “I don’t like this.” 

“Just don’t look down,” Daisy called back. 

At the end of the rock ledge, there was a break in the stones, which led to a hole. At the bottom of the hole was another green drain pipe. But there was something odd about this one. Despite the darkness, it shimmered a rainbow of colors like soap smeared on a window pane. 

“Weird,” said Daisy. 

“This must be where the other signal was coming from,” said Luigi, verifying that was indeed the case on his nav-cuff. “Just as I thought. We are directly under where the black box was.”

“I’ve never seen a drain pipe glow in the dark,” said Mario. “Have you?”
“No,” said Luigi, “but I’ve read about them. If I’m not mistaken, it’s a warp pipe.”

Chapter Text

VII

Visions in the Dark

The warp pipe seemed to have a consciousness. As Mario and the others entered the hole, a symphony of voices swirled about them. Luigi jumped at the sudden sound of whispers in the dark. 

“Wha-wha-what’s that?” he said and then farted. 

“Really?” said Daisy, who followed right after. It was a good thing she had her visor up. 

“Uh, my back cracked.” 

“No it didn’t,” she shot back.  

“Uh, that was my neck,” he tried again. 

“No it wasn’t.”

The whispers grew as they approached and a light shimmered far down inside the warp pipe. Mario strained to hear what they were saying but the words were just out of reach. Luigi’s nervousness grew to a fever pitch and he let loose a loud fart cutting through his brother’s concentration. 

“Well, at least my visor’s up so I don’t have to smell all that,” said Toad with a chuckle.  

“Ack! It’s horrible,” said Luigi. The fart caught in his throat from circulating through the suit and he coughed violently. 

“Atta boy,” said Toad, clutching his belly from laughing. “Breathe it in. Nice and deep.” 

“My eyes are burning,” Luigi groaned. He tried to wipe them and hit glass, forgetting the visor was up.  

“Ha! You’re gonna give yourself pink eye,” said Toad. 

Daisy covered her face with a hand and giggled, hoping her fiance wouldn’t notice. In the dark, however, you pay more attention to your sense of hearing and her giggle seemed to echo off the walls.  

“You too, Daisy?”

“Sorry, honey.” She could hear the hurt in his voice and she meant it. 

Suddenly, a gurgling noise came from the warp pipe like water rising up. The whispers grew louder and a multicolored display of light beams shot out of the pipe. He didn’t know why but Mario knew that the whispers were for him. It drew him in like the opposite end of a magnet or a moth to flame. 

“Hey, uh, Mario,” said Toad, backing away. “I wouldn’t get too close to that thing.”

“It’s calling out to me,” Mario whispered to himself.  

“What was that?” asked Toad but there came no reply. Mario inched towards the pipe as if in a trance. He grabbed the rim and as soon as he touched the cold metal, light and noise shot up from the black pit like fireworks. The rushing wind was back just like before but this time it was stronger and more sudden. Before he knew what was happening, Mario was sucked into the warp pipe. 

He was traveling through space. Stars whizzed by him in streaks and flashes. He cut through multicolored nebulae that dissipated as if they were never there at all. The flashes of stars grew distant until they disappeared entirely and all went dark. He came to a floating halt in the blackest part of space: the Deep Dark. 

All light dies in the Deep Dark. Mario knew this. Everyone did. You learned it in grade school. It was so black it was as if his eyes were squeezed shut in a darkened room but indeed, they were wide open. The nothing before him shook his concept of being. In the pitch black, he felt like his body had melted away and all that was left was a disembodied consciousness. 

But then there came fire. 

It was the engine of a mighty koopa airship. A great plume of orange flame belched from the exhaust and with its light, Mario could see that there were more ships behind it. They were all of a kind and they were legion. On the nearest ship, koopa soldiers and paratroopas, their winged counterparts, loaded giant Bullet Bills into the side cannons. The Bullet Bills' eyes were closed, not yet activated, but their mouths wore an angry grimace. 

“Pestering me again, are you, Mario?” came a deep rumbling voice that echoed across space.

Mario tried to answer but couldn’t speak in deep space. He touched his face and realized that his entire helmet was off. He should have been choking or freezing to death but he wasn’t. Instead, he felt like nothing at all and that terrified him.  

“Can't you see that I'm having a merry little time, making mischief with my minions?”

Mario didn’t understand. Who was this voice and how did he know his name? Why had the voice thought they’d met before? Before he could think much into it, rising up into his field of view was a massive asteroid rolling lazily in space. Atop the asteroid was a combat bunker with a training field. Even though the asteroid was far off in the distance, Mario could see every koopa training. He could see the cracks on every rock, the angry vision magnified in his mind. This was the Battlerock. 

“Now, return those Stars!” said the voice. Mario was baffled by the command. He wished he could scream. He wished he could call out, “You’ve got the wrong guy.” But the breath was caught in his lungs with no chance of escape. Flames erupted from the rest of the fleet casting enough light to illuminate a shape in the darkness. It was jet black so he couldn’t see it before but now it reflected with the light from its younger siblings. It was unlike the other airships, which looked akin to wooden pirate ships. This ship was black metal. Wrought iron and massive. Giant ion cannons were mounted to the top and bottom of each wing, four in total. Each of the rear engines was the size of six airships put together. It was the flagship of the koopa armada, the Dreadnought. On the front side looking into the flight deck was a large bay window that arced across the face of it. Silhouetted in the window was the king of the koopas himself!

“I stole them first and my troops in the walls need them!” said Bowser. “Bwa ha ha!” 

His laugh was low and terrible and Mario put his hands to his ears to muffle the sound. If I don’t get out of here, I’ll be driven mad or worse, he thought and then felt a tightness around his ankles. 

Back in the cave, Toad and Daisy fell to the floor as they yanked Mario from the grip of the warp pipe. The vision before his eyes disappeared like paint dissolving into water. 

“Brother! Are you okay?” Luigi rushed to his side and threw his arm around Mario’s shoulders.  

“What the heck were you thinking, kid?, said Toad, pushing himself to his feet. He rubbed at his sore tailbone. 

“Mario?” asked Daisy, alarmed at the sight of him. “Are you alright? You’re pale as a ghost.” 

He looked cold as the blood had drained from his cheeks and lips leaving them a sickly white. His lips quivered as he spoke. “Troops in the walls. Where the stars went out. I saw it.” 

“Saw what?” said Daisy. “Mario! What did you see?” She grabbed his shoulders and shook him but he fell back into himself and went silent. 

Suddenly, Luigi’s nav cuff came alive with a static hiss. 

“Is anyone out there?” came a distorted voice through the static. “This is Commander -crshh- of the Great -hss-. We -shhh- distress signal -fzzz- Odyssey. We’re here to help.” 

Someone had heard. Someone had come! Toad pumped his fist. Daisy smiled at Luigi and a wave of relief passed over them. The signal was bad underground. Luigi adjusted the frequency on his cuff to clear it and then the voice returned for a second call and this time it was clear as crystal.  

“I repeat, this is Fox McCloud. Is anyone out there?”

Chapter Text

VIII

A Great Fox in the Sky

“Well, grill me on a skewer,” said Toad with a chuckle. “I don’t believe it.” 

  Luigi collapsed to the ground and the tension seemed to melt away. “We’re saved,” he sighed.

  “Simmer down, skippy,” Toad shot back. “We still gotta get outta this cave.” 

Daisy wore a great smile from one curly lock of hair over her ear to the other. “I saw another green pipe on the other side of this hole. It looked like it headed to the surface,” she said with a giggle in her throat, her excitement bubbling over.  

“Good lookin’ out, Daisy,” said Toad. “Well, what’re y’all staring at me for? Let’s move.”

Luigi rose to his feet. Toad climbed onto his shoulders to catch the ledge of the pit and pulled himself out. He offered a hand to Luigi, who shook his head “No” and then leapt from the pit in one great bound. Toad smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. Mario wobbled on his feet and went to follow his brother before stumbling, his feet smacking on the stone. Daisy turned at the noise and rushed to his side. 

“Mario? Are you okay?” She hooked an arm under his to hold him up. 

 “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Daisy, there’s something big out there. And it’s coming straight for us.” His voice was small and shaking. Suddenly, his strength left him and he collapsed completely, his weight pulling Daisy off her feet. His body seized as he gasped for air. He wondered if it was the cold of deep space that was getting to him or the fear of what was in it. Daisy knelt beside him and placed the palm of her hand flat against his chest. She was steady as a rock and her stillness brought him comfort even as his head was spinning. 

“One thing at a time,” she said gently. “First, we get out of here. Then, we worry about whatever you saw. Okay?”

He gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. 

“Now,” she said, hooking her good arm under one of his and pushing with her thighs. The dislocated arm was still snug in its sling. “I need you to get… up.” Her voice came as a grunt and she lifted him to his feet. “There, nice and steady. One foot in front of the other.” She led him to the ledge of the pit in a slow, shuffling gait where Luigi was waiting with an extended hand. He grabbed his hand and with the effort of three, climbed out of the warp pipe hole. Daisy followed after. 

Toad stood looking at a massive green pipe that was embedded into the side of the cavern and shot straight up carving a line through the jagged blue stone. “What took ya?” he said, not taking his eyes off of the colossal pipe. 

“Sorry, just a little winded,” said Mario through gasps. 

Luigi bent down to inspect the pipe. He placed a hand at the opening and it felt like a rushing wind pulling at his glove. “There’s an updraft. I think we can get out this way. It’ll be a bumpy ride, though.” 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Toad with a smirk and without a second thought, dove into the pipe, which sucked him up and away. Luigi turned back to Daisy, who blew him a kiss. He raised his hand to catch it and then turned back to the pipe and followed his captain.   

Daisy and Mario shuffled to the opening, his labored breath echoing through the chamber. “You first,” she said. “I’ll be okay.” He nodded again and entered the pipe and was gone. Daisy rubbed at her dislocated shoulder and grimaced. She placed a foot on the lip of the pipe, allowing herself to get used to its pull. Then, she entered. 

The ride was bumpy indeed. She collided off of the pipe wall, banging her shoulder with great force. She yelped but her voice was lost to the suction. She exited the pipe in a tumble, falling head over heels before coming to halt in a seated position and noticed her three squadmates standing in a line with their backs to her staring up at something overhead. Whatever it was was blotted out by Luigi’s cap, the tallest of the bunch. She stood and rounded beside them to see a massive aircraft carrier hovering low in the atmosphere. The jet engines glowed with blue flame and were deafening. Daisy threw her visor off and plugged her ears but it did little to help. 

A porthole opened at the bottom of the ship and a round platform descended, white light from inside encircling it. Two figures stood upon the platform, a fox and a falcon, bickering among themselves. 

“We shouldn’t be out here,” said the falcon for the fiftieth time. “This is a mistake.”

“Falco, it’s a distress signal,” said the fox named Fox. “It’s our duty to investigate.” 

“Nobody answered the comms,” first-mate Falco Lombardi protested. “If anyone was out here, they aren’t any longer.” 

“We don’t know that for certain, that’s why we’re going on foot.”

“For the Odyssey of all ships? It’s a bucket of bolts. And its captain is a total scoundrel.” 

“I know Toad’s reputation but he doesn’t deserve to be stranded on an outer rim planetoid like this dump.” Fox had a knack for remaining calm. He was older with years of service to his record that he wore in the gray strands of fur that formed his sideburns. 

“And we do?” Falco persisted. “What if O’Donnell and his team find us?”

“Falco, I’m not going to live in fear of Star Wolf.” 

“I’m just saying to consider the possibility. If he finds the Great Fox and we’re out here, he could raid and destroy us. Then, we’ll be no better off than that scoundrel!”

“Enough, Lieutenant Lombardi,” he barked. He had reached the limits of his patience. “I am your Commanding Officer and this is the mission.” 

Cresting the hill came Toad’s bobbing mushroom head. He waved both arms like a child running home for dinner. He was screaming but he was still a ways off that his voice was garbled on the wind. Still, Fox strained to hear what he was saying. Falco unclipped his blaster, mostly for show. He could tell it was Toad by the ridiculous silhouette and not something dangerous but still he wanted to make the point. “Hey,” said Toad, finally close enough to be heard. “Over here!”

“Scoundrel,” said Lombardi pointing the blaster at him. Toad raised his hands on instinct and froze. 

“Come on,” said Fox, drawing out the words lazily and he pushed Falco’s gun arm down. 

“Boy, are we glad to see you,” said Luigi, huffing and puffing as he caught up. Daisy and Mario followed shortly after. Luigi and Daisy formed something of a pair, one with his arm ripped off and the other with her arm in a sling.   

“You’ve seen some trouble,” said Fox, regarding the arms.  

“More than our fair share,” said Daisy, wiping a sweaty lock of hair away from her forehead. 

“You can tell us more about it on the ship.” 

“McCloud,” said Toad, “that is music to my ears.”

Chapter Text

IX

Aboard the Great Fox

The Great Fox was a mid-grade aircraft carrier that transported the fighter ships of Team Star Fox. On the command deck, Fox McCloud gestured for Mario and Toad to take a seat along the edge of the large bay window that looked out on the starlit sky. Slippy, Star Fox’s medic, escorted Luigi and Daisy to the med bay. 

“Long way from the Citadel, Toad,” said Fox. He stretched out his back before taking the captain’s chair.  

“Yep,” said Toad, curtly. He took his backpack off and placed it at his feet. He kept his eyes on the bag, refusing to look at his rescuers.  

“Care to tell us what you were doing out here?” asked Fox. 

“Nope,” was Toad’s reply.  

Toad’s flippancy infuriated Falco, particularly since the two shared bad blood from years earlier. “We risked our necks coming out here for you and that’s all you’ve got to say?” 

“Thank you, Falco,” said Fox with a wave of his paw in an effort to diffuse the situation. He worried about Falco’s temper, which had the tendency to spiral without warning. Coupled with Toad’s stubbornness, the conversation could quickly go nuclear. “My plucky lieutenant is right, Toad. We did you a solid. Now, I’d like to know why.” He kept his tone even and considered in an attempt to coax a genuine response from the scoundrel.  

“Can’t.” 

McCloud drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh.  “And why can’t you?” he said, feeling his jaw clench reflexively. 

“Confidential business,” replied Toad and it was then that he lifted his eyes to meet Fox’s.  “You know who I work for.” 

The med bay was small but fully featured with medical equipment, monitors, and three cots, one of which was now occupied by Daisy and Luigi. Slippy wore a lab coat that was once white but now a sweat-stained yellow. He cradled Daisy’s dislocated arm in one hand and the other hand braced her shoulder. 

“Just so ya know,” he said, “this is gonna hurt mighty bad.”

Daisy met Luigi’s eyes and they held each other’s gaze for a moment. She dropped her head to his shoulder and he squeezed her other hand. Without a second’s hesitation, Slippy jerked the arm forward and up and it snapped back into the socket with a loud pop! She screamed and tears spurted from her eyes as if forced from their glands by the pain.

“Yup,” said Slippy, cracking his knuckles. “It’s gonna be awful sore for a few days. Let it rest, that’s what you’ll wanna do.” 

“Thanks, Slippy,” said Daisy, rubbing her shoulder that was now flushed and hot.  She saw the worry on Luigi’s face and gave him a small smile to reassure him that she was okay. He let the tension out in a deep sigh. Daisy was his life, the only woman he had ever been with and he counted himself lucky to have her. The thought of something happening to her made his blood run cold.  

“As for you,” said the doctor to Luigi, “we don’t have the equipment on the ship for a prosthetic. You’ll have to make do for now until we get back to the citadel.” 

Back on the command deck, the conversation had died and the four sat in an uncomfortable silence when Peppy charged in. Peppy was the old hare who served as Fox’s mentor and who absolutely refused to retire even though his better years were far behind him. 

“We got a bogey on our tail,” said the hare, pulling at his floppy ears.  

Fox caught the vision of a Wolfen speeding past the bay window, its unmistakable fuchsia colored canopy glinting in the starlight. “Star Wolf,” he said gravely.  

“I knew it,” said Falco, jumping to his feet.  “We never should’ve come for your polka-dot ass.” He jabbed a finger into Toad’s mushroom head, which sprang back like Jello. Toad, for his part, only narrowed his eyes at the slight.  

Fox grabbed Falco’s hand and pulled it back. “Save it, Falco. Battle stations, now!”

They moved like a reflex. Like a well-trained muscle. Fox manned the command station. Falco pulled himself into the gunnery seat and Peppy operated the scanning station, which was as much as he was able to keep track of at his age. Moments later, Slippy, Daisy and Luigi entered the command deck through the large hydraulic door at the top of the higher platform that constituted the command station, which looked out onto the lower bridge. 

“Sorry I’m late,” said Slippy.  

“Welcome aboard, Major Slippy,” said Fox, not taking his eyes off the foredeck. Without another word, Slippy assumed his station at the thrusters and kicked the Great Fox into high speed. Two of the Wolfen starfighters flanked the aircraft carrier, with a third at the rear. The ships were operated by the renegade pirates of Team Star Wolf: Leon Powalski, Pigma, and Wolf O’Donnell. 

“The hunt is on, boys!” said Wolf, and howled excitedly. 

“Let’s see how they handle our new ships,” said Leon, the assassin, licking his scaly lips with his lizard tongue.  

“Too bad Fox’s dad isn’t here to see him die,” said Pigma, chuckling through the phlegm of his sinus infection. His hygiene was poor and he took even worse care of himself, which made him prone to sickness.  

“Let’s make this quick and clean. Trap em and scrap em,” said Wolf and he spun his starfighter into a barrel roll releasing a volley of blaster fire. The shots collided with the rear shields. 

On the Great Fox, the command deck shook violently from the impact. Warning alarms sounded and emergency lights turned the interior a deep and bloody red. Luigi and Daisy held each other for support and dropped to the floor to avoid being thrown from their feet. 

“They’re locked on to us!” shouted Peppy over the blaring alarms.  

“Oh, come on,” Fox growled. He tapped furiously on his command console to redirect the shields to the ship’s rear. 

“This really isn’t my day,” moaned Toad and he put his head between his knees.  

“They’ve fired another volley,” roared Peppy.  

“What do I do?” hollered Slippy from the thruster station. 

“Do a barrel roll!” said Peppy enthusiastically.  

“No!” said Fox and Falco in unison. 

“This is a class B aircraft carrier, you addled old fool,” chirped Falco. “It would shear in half.” 

“Cluster Bombs, Mr. Lombardi,” barked Fox.  

“Yessir.” With fast feathers, he released a barrage of cluster bombs, each one no bigger than a ping pong ball that exploded, the shrapnel catching the homing missiles and stopping them before reaching their mark.

Fox smiled at Falco, who threw him a salute in return. “You may return fire,” said Fox. Falco redirected the T&B-H9 hyper laser cannons to one of the flanking ships. He pressed the big red button on the console and landed a direct hit on Leon’s ship. The Wolfen starfighter spun out and rolled from the impact like a spinning top. It rolled towards and under the Great Fox and smashed directly into Pigma’s starfighter. The two ships exploded in a ball of fire that lit up the sky before being swallowed back into the blackness of space.  

The comms link flashed and Fox patched Wolf through, whose ears were blistered red with fury. “My team!” he howled. “You’ll pay for this, Star Fox.” 

Fox smirked and gave his enemy a small mocking salute and shut down the console. “Nice shooting, Falco. Mr. Slippy, take us home.” 

Chapter Text

X

The Citadel

The superstructure of the Galactic Citadel was suspended in black space. It formed the largest of the mass relays in the dead center of the galaxy. The glow of its many decks blotted out the stars like city lights indicating that here was the epicenter of life in the galaxy. There were four macrodecks arranged like a cylinder with a connecting ring at the stern. Off of the lower deck was the main dockyard where freighters, starfighters, and cruisers docked to refill their energy cells before their next jaunt across the stars. The Great Fox docked at a vacant pier on the far end of the yard, connecting its jack-anchor to the giant steel mooring that doubled as a charging port. The hydraulic door hissed open from the undercarriage and out poured Team Star Fox with the Odyssey crew in tow.   

“Welcome to the Citadel,” said a young dock worker with a smile, his patchy blonde beard bristling at the corners of his mouth. “We don’t have tracking data on this vessel. Where are you coming from?”

“Uhh…,” Fox trailed off. The dock worker cocked an eyebrow, his smile fading a bit. 

“Outpost mission,” said Toad curtly. “Shiveria.” 

“Ah. That explains it. Been out there long?”

“Three tours,” replied Toad without any effort to elaborate.  

“Sounds rough. Me? I hate the cold. Go on through to Processing.” He hit a few keys on his omnitool and the entry gate opened to allow them passage.   

As they stepped across the threshold and out of earshot, Falco grabbed Toad by the arm. “That was close, scoundrel,” he hissed in his ear.  

“Not really,” said Toad with a shrug. “These dock workers are buncha assholes. Doesn’t take much to fool them. Listen, I need to speak with my employer. Can you escort these two to the medbay?” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate Daisy and Luigi. 

“We’re done running errands for you, Toad,” Falco shot back with a raised voice now that the doors had closed and was certain they wouldn’t be overheard.  

“Falco’s right,” said Fox. “We’ve got our own business to attend to.” 

“Just one last favor, then I’m outta your whiskers.” 

Fox gave an almost imperceptible nod. Falco folded his arms and grunted his disapproval though said nothing more since he knew he was outranked. They reached the Processing center where they registered their omnitools to indicate their stay at the Citadel as was the standard procedure. Before splitting up, Toad stopped short and looked around. It was only then that he realized someone was missing. 

“Where’s Mario?”

“He went to visit the Council,” said Daisy. He had revealed his intentions to her shortly before docking at the Citadel. 

“What?” Toad exclaimed. The last thing he wanted was the Council sticking their noses in his business. “Why the hell would he want to do that?”

“He didn’t say,” said Daisy with a shrug, which she regretted immediately and winced from the soreness in her shoulder.  

“Oh shit," said Toad, pacing back and forth. “He better not tell them that this thing went sideways. As far as I’m concerned, we did the job. We found the ping and we made it back. The Broker owes me.” 

Fox slapped his forehead as he realized the reason for Toad’s secrecy. “I told you not to deal with him, Toad. That is a one way street to empty pockets or an early grave.”

Toad stopped in his tracks and wheeled around to face Fox. His countenance was twisted up and angry, the stress breaking his feigned demeanor of calm and collected. “I didn’t have any other choice,” he spat.  

Toad split from his companions and made his way down into the lower decks, where the destitute were left forgotten. The upper decks were full of nice people in nice clothes and crabbers that repaired damages and kept the decks clean. But down here, things were left to mold and decay. Toad could smell it in the air: the sweat and bad choices. The denizens of the lower decks played the part that was expected of them. Then again, they were never given a chance to be anything else. When the only company you expected from the outside was the occasional C-Sec raid, why make a go of it at all? 

Toad approached the aging AI assistant, Avina, that flickered and glitched due to the many years of lapsed maintenance. “How may I assist you today?” she asked through garbled speech. 

Toad was about to answer when he was cut off by the shouting of a stargazer, a member of a strange cult. “And He who dwells in darkness shall come forth,” said the stargazer with authority and glazed eyes. “Named shall He be the Great Devourer. He shall rip the cleansing light from the heavens and cast the Galaxy into flame.” He turned and saw Toad leering at him. His eyes grew wide and oddly focused. “You!,” he said as he approached. “You have seen it. I can smell the darkness on you.” 

Toad shoved him off. “Get away from me, freak. I ain’t seen nothing.” 

In the medbay, Fox and Falco waited patiently for Dr. Stewart to finish his examination of Daisy. It was a much larger and far more advanced facility than the one on the Great Fox, with three rows of fifty beds lining the room, each filled with patients in various states of unwell.   

“Well, your shoulder was set correctly,” said Dr. Stewart, testing the joint with a gentle touch. “It’ll be sore for a few days but it will heal.” 

“Thank you, doctor,” said Daisy politely.  

“You on the other hand,” he said, focusing on the bandage seal on Luigi’s shoulder socket. “How in the stars did this happen?”

Luigi didn’t know how to react. Their mission was secret and he was terrible at lying. “Uhh, well… Y’see, we ran into some, umm…”

“Racquids,” said Daisy, thinking on her feet. “On Shiveria. We were stationed there for 3 tours.” She added the last bit of flair after remembering Toad’s lie from earlier.  

“That doesn’t make much sense to me. Racquids’ teeth are sharp to be sure but they don’t have the jaw size to rip an arm off.” 

“It was racquids,” said Daisy definitively.  

“I see,” he sighed. “Best not to ask too many questions then. Ah me. I can replace the arm but I’m waiting for the coin transfer from your captain.” 

“I hope he comes through,” said Luigi, wearing a worried look.  

“For his sake, he better,” said Daisy.  

Mario lay on the elevator floor with his hands behind his head and one leg crossed over the other. A snot bubble clung to his nose and grew and shrank with every breath. He might’ve been snoring but the rumble of the elevator drowned it out. It came to a sudden halt after what seemed an age and chimed as its heavy steel doors opened onto the Presidium. He popped up from his stupor and made his way up the clean marble steps to the Great Hall of the Galactic Council. I guess the crabbers make good custodians, after all, he thought as he caught his reflection in the spotless stone. He waved his omnitool at the toad guarding the arched golden doors that led inside. The toad gave a nod and stepped aside as the doors slid open. 

The councilors were all seated in a semicircle at a rounded oak-top table at the far end of the room. Large slatted windows allowed the white light of the engines to pour in, the harsh beams turning the five figures into silhouettes. As he entered, one of the figures stood and said, “Welcome, Mario of the Odyssey.”

Chapter Text

XI

A Payment, a Procedure, and a Proposition

The office was small and cramped and smelled of an odd musk. To make matters worse, it was divided in half by a large plate glass. On the other side of which was a monstrous form, the identity concealed by a holo across the glass that made him appear as a featureless silhouette, which, of course, was the point. The massive bodyguard shoved Toad into the small wooden chair, the legs creaking with the force. His head bumped the low-hanging ceiling light causing it to bounce and bob on its cord, which sent their shadows dancing in a chaotic frenzy.  

“So you didn’t find the Spectre agent,” said the form beyond the glass, his voice like a booming avalanche. “No agent, no coin.” 

“Now wait just a minute,” Toad protested. He began to rise from the rather uncomfortable chair, his hand moving on its own towards his holster. The bodyguard, a massive rhino from a jungle planet, placed a paw on Toad’s shoulder and huffed a stinking breath in his face. Toad sat quickly and quietly, leaving his gun to rest. The bodyguard was so assured of his presence, he made no attempt to reach for his own gun. 

“O-okay. Just be cool, okay?” stammered Toad, throwing his hands up. “Nobody needs to do anything rash.” He threw a look to the bodyguard, who stepped back and folded his bulging arms across his chest.. “No, we didn’t find Lady Bow,” he continued. “Her ship was gone. Somebody removed the black box.” 

“Then, you’ve failed,” said the form beyond the glass. He swiped a claw in a dismissive gesture. Immediately, the guard grabbed Toad by both shoulders and hoisted him up in one swift motion. 

“Hold on, Broker,” screamed Toad. “Hear me out. We found something else. Underground.” 

“What did you find?” growled the Shadow Broker. Toad explained the pipe in the cave. To which, the monster said, “A warp pipe is indeed a valuable find. Very well, Toad. I will give you half of our agreed upon price.” 

“Half? We’re talkin’ about a real-life bona fide warp pipe. You could go anywhere with that thing. Think how valuable a sell that is to your clients. We’re talkin’ some real coin headed your way if you find the right buyer. And we both know that you’ve got several lined up. I think that’s worth at least, let’s see, uhh… 80 percent. 

“I will give you 65.” 

“70.” 

“65 and your life.” 

“I’ll take it.” The credit transfer was immediate and was signaled by a chime like the clinking of coins. Toad sent a portion to the medbay for Luigi’s procedure, making good on his word. 

In the medbay, Dr. Stewart’s omnitool lit up with the same indicator. “Looks like your captain finally transferred the coin,” he said.

“About time,” said Daisy with a long sigh. She had half-expected for the scoundrel to cheat them, as was his way.   

“Let’s get you prepped for surgery, Mr. Luigi.” The anesthetic was quick and exquisite. When he awoke, it seemed like only moments had passed but the sleep had been welcome and restful. 

“Simple and routine,” said Dr. Stewart, washing his hands at the sink. “Just how I like it. You're lucky that the severance was so clean.” 

“It’s itchy. Like in the fingers,” said Luigi as he flexed his new robotic arm. It was made of a shiny black metal with notched plates at the joints.  

“That’s the neurowire. It’ll take some time for the connections to heal but once they do, that should go away.” Luigi looked at his arm with uncertainty.  

In the Great Hall of the Galactic Council, Mario had finished his report. “A warp pipe?” questioned Councilor Toadette, running her fingers through her pink pigtails. “In the caves of Planetoid 1-1?”

“Impossible,” Councilor Malkovich replied, smacking his palm on the table. “The warp pipes were all destroyed decades ago since no one knew where they led.” He pulled out his cuff links to straighten the wrinkles he had caused to his sleeve. His overall presentation, from his suit and tie to the shine of his shoes, was immaculate. Clean and pristine was the name of the game. 

Councilor Pico pondered in silence. A distressing thought occurred to him and with fast fingers, pulled up the Archives on warp pipes. He sent the entries to Councilor Booregard’s omnitool, who then said, “Records show that the warp pipes were not all accounted for. Indeed, Mario of the Odyssey’s tale, tall though it may be, could, in fact, bear truth.”

“What did you see when you went through?” inquired Toadette. 

“Koopas. An army of them.” 

“Then, this is a grave development given what has happened in the Mushroom Kingdom,” she said. 

“What has happened in the Mushroom Kingdom?”

“Their princess has gone missing,” said Councilor Funky Kong, without a trace of his usual good humor.  

“Peach?”

Malkovich had been listening with increasing agitation. He tapped the butt of his pen on the oak tabletop. Finally, he said “Koopas? In the Deep Dark. Blast it all. I knew they couldn’t all be gone.” 

“Perhaps we could turn this setback into our advantage,” Toadette intoned with encouragement. “Mario has shown particular aptitude in the field. In Lady Bow’s absence, Mario could take her place as our trusted field agent.” The five councilors mumbled and nodded their heads in agreement. 

“Mario,” said Funky. “Do you want that?”

Mario thought for a long moment. The fires in the dark scared him but he knew just as well that he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. The right thing was being offered to him on a starlit platter by the leaders of the galaxy. In the absence of being chosen by some greater force, he instead chose for himself and said simply, “I do.” 

“Then, stand before us,” said Booregard through the mouthpiece of his suit. The boos wore an encasement suit to keep their volatile vapors from dissipating. Mario stood before them, his legs uneasy. The rush of becoming a Spectre had jolted his nerves. “Mario of the Odyssey,” the boo continued. “Do you swear to uphold the laws of the Galactic Federation, to conduct yourself with honor even in the harshest combat, and to follow the orders of this Council though it may mean your death?

“I do.” 

“By the power of the Chief Council of the Galactic Federation, we appoint you Spectre Agent First Class,” said Toadette.  

“For your first mission,” started Funky Kong, “you will find and rescue Peach, the princess of Mushroom Kingdom, last seen on Shiveria. Do you accept?”

“I do.” 

“Congratulations, Mario,” said Malkovich. “Your troubles have just begun.” 

Chapter Text

XII

The New Man in Charge

Luigi slouched in the wheelchair, his head still swimming from the anesthetic. An equally tired nurse pushed him through the recovery hall and back out into the waiting room. She scanned the discharge holos to his omnitool and headed back. On one of the sofas, Fox and Falco sat next to each other. Falco was reading an old In Power magazine from back when they still used paper, the pages torn and yellowed from years of use. It was a small miracle they hadn’t disintegrated yet. Fox was passed out with his head back, his tongue lolled over his sharp teeth. He snored loudly, drawing dirty looks from the other patients. Falco kicked him awake, his snore catching in his throat. 

“Well, well,” said Falco, jumping to his feet. “Looks like you can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” 

Fox wiped the drool from his whiskers. “How ya feelin’, slugger?”

“The fingers itch but other than that, it feels okay.” He flexed and extended his fingers. They made an odd mechanical whirring noise that he didn’t like. Just another thing to get used to , he thought with a pang of regret. Out loud, he said, “Kinda feels like it’s floating. Like it’s not really there, y’know?”

“No, I’ve never lost an arm before,” said Falco, snorting out a chuckle.  

“Ignore him,” said Fox, who then elbowed Falco in the ribs. He scowled but was quiet.  

“Thanks for coming with us,” said Daisy, refusing to make eye contact with the rude bird. “I know we put you out.” 

“Yea, you did,” Falco replied as he rubbed his side.  

“We’re just happy you guys are okay. Right, Falco?”

“Yep,” he said through a pursed beak. 

The four of them exited the medbay back into the main chamber of the lower decks. Toad was waiting with his back against the wall, chomping on a lit cigar. They walked right past him. “Where’s Mario?” he said, blowing a plume of acrid smoke in the air. They wheeled around at the sound of his voice to see him in a pair of aviators, the glass reflecting like black mirrors. 

“We haven’t seen him,” said Daisy. She rolled her eyes at Toad’s tough guy act. Still, she couldn’t be too hard on him because at least he paid the bill. For that, she was eternally grateful.  

“Maybe he’s still with the council,” Luigi offered.  

“Then, let’s head to the Presidium,” Toad suggested. “We can wait for him there.” 

“We’ll join you. We’d like to say farewell to Mario.” 

Falco scoffed at the suggestion but was careful not to draw Fox’s ire, lest he get another jab in the ribs. They headed for the elevator to take the long trip up to the Presidium. 

Two hours had passed since they left the medbay. They waited outside the Presidium but had seen neither hide nor hair of Mario. Fox got the sinking feeling that they had missed him and that perhaps he had returned to the Great Fox and was waiting for them. He was about to suggest that they return to the dockyard when the arched doors to the Great Hall opened and out stepped Mario. 

“Brother! Over here.” 

“Hey, guys. Luigi, good to see you in one piece again. How are you feeling?”

“A bit itchy,” said Falco, answering for him. 

“Fox. Falco. Thank you for staying.” 

“We just wanted to offer a quick goodbye,” said Fox, extending his paw. 

“So, about that…” said Mario, trailing off. He shuffled from side-to-side.

“Oh no,” said Toad, the panic rising up. “What did you tell those backwards bureaucrats?” 

“I told them the truth.” 

“The troops in the walls?” asked Daisy. 

Mario nodded. His face was grim-serious. 

“You idiot,” Toad spat. “You can’t trust visions from a warp pipe.” He didn’t want the government in his business. As far he was concerned, the less they knew the better.

“I know what I saw, Captain. And they believed me.” 

“What does that mean?” she asked. 

“They made me Spectre.” 

“What?” asked Luigi. His mouth fell open, uncertain of what his brother had said. He managed the walk from the lower decks to the Presidium with help from Fox and Daisy but he was still a little woozy from the anesthetic. Perhaps, it had affected him more than he realized because he couldn’t believe what he heard.  

“First Class,” said Mario without any trace of humor. 

“So, now you’re a superhero,” asked Luigi, green with envy.  

“They must’ve been desperate,” Toad chuckled.  

“Congratulations, agent,” said Fox, extending his paw again but again, Mario refused to take it.  

“And I’m a synth with this stupid arm,” Luigi complained, looking at his hand with disgust.  

“Give it time, honey,” she said, squeezing the hand that still had blood.  

“Commander, I think this has been a more than adequate goodbye,” said Falco, the remainder of his patience finally exhausted. “Mario, it’s been a pleasure. As for you, Toad, rot in hell.” 

Toad’s eyes fell to the floor. His voice was low and monotone. He knew it was a mistake before he said it. “Conkdor Canyon was a long time ago, Falco.” 

“You think time is gonna fix what you did?”

“Alright, I think that’s quite enough. We’re gonna get lost.” Fox made to move past them but as he did so, a hand caught him on the arm. He stopped short, looked at the hand gripping his arm, and then looked at the owner in the eye. Mario’s face was stern but unreadable.   

“As I was trying to say, I’m First Class to replace Lady Bow. And they’ve given me a mission. Peach has gone missing.” 

“What’s happened to my sister?” Daisy felt a pit in her stomach. Her sister had a knack of getting herself into trouble. Getting herself out of trouble? Not so much. 

“That’s what we’re going to find out. And since the Odyssey was lost, the council has given me the Great Fox. And they’ve put me in command of it.” 

“It's not their ship to give,” Falco protested in vain. “Star Fox is a private company. We don’t even have federal trackers. Fox, tell him.” His head bounced between the two who eyed each other carefully. There was a long silence held between them.  

“But you use the Mass Relays,” Mario said at last. “There’s a price for that.” 

Fox narrowed his eyes and then acquiesced. “He’s right, Falco. The council can claim any vessel that uses their Relays if they have sufficient cause for it. 

“And a missing princess is plenty of cause,” said Mario. 

“So we’re looking at a more permanent partnership?” 

Mario nodded. His face was grim-serious. 

“Okay, commander,” said Fox, putting a taste of sarcasm on the second word. “Where are we going?”

“Shiveria.”

It was then that the anesthetic had worn off and Luigi’s nerves had caught up to him. At the name of their next destination, he ripped ass.  

Chapter Text

XIII

Shiveria

A thick blanket of sleet smacked against the windshield of the Great Fox as it entered the atmosphere of Shiveria. Fox, now relegated to piloting duties, activated the heaters to melt the ice. For a brief moment, the image beyond the windshield was a total whiteout. As the ice melted, they could see rolling hills of white chasing snow peaks into the horizon. A lake checkered with ice floes was directly under the ship. Fox pivoted their descent and landed on one of the hills. The snow went deep. Even as the landing thrusters melted it away, underneath there was only more snow. It was a wonder how far down one would have to go before reaching soil. The crew exited the ship.

“Toss me with some salad greens, it’s cold!” exclaimed Toad, rubbing his hands up and down his arms for warmth. 

“I’m gonna freeze my feathers off out here,” Falco complained.  

Daisy looked around and her heart sunk at the white-on-white horizon. “Do we even know where to start?”

“That’s your cue, Commander,” said Fox with naked contempt. The Great Fox was his ship and his father’s ship before that. How dare the Federation commandeer it. It was as Falco said, they had no right. Still, the laws were the laws and there was nothing he could do about it but play along like a good pup.   

Inside, it killed him to lose Fox’s respect but outside, Mario stiffened his upper lip. If he wanted to rebuild the respect he lost, he would have to earn it. Giving nothing away, he said, “According to the council, there’s an observation laboratory on the outskirts of the Deep Freeze. She was last seen there, offering aid to the researchers that were studying the rachquids.”

They sloshed their way up the largest hill, snow sliding into their boots and promptly melting. Luigi wiggled his toes in a vain attempt to prevent the numbness from settling in. Beyond the hill was another lake that dwarfed the other but this one was frozen solid. The ice was a dark blue from the water below. It was their only passage. As they stepped on the ice one by one, the ground shook and bent.  

Falco waved his feathers to keep his balance. “Woah, what are we standing on?” 

“If memory serves,” said Luigi, racking his brain, “this location used to be the sight of the Beach Bowl before the freeze happened.” 

Fox stood motionless in the white nothing, his long pink tongue hanging below his jaw. “What? This was all water?”

“Yes. So let’s keep moving.”

They walked in a straight line and at a deliberate pace, making sure to keep an even distance between them. Bunching up would’ve put too much weight on the ice and would have meant their assured death in the frigid waters below. The tension burned in their legs from the awkward walk. Each in their turn reached the edge of the ice and collapsed onto the snowy hill on the far side of the lake. 

“See that huge mountain on the western horizon?” said Luigi through panting breaths that came like smoke. “That’s a dormant volcano. The Fire Brothers set their fort at the base. There was a huge lava lake that surrounded it.” He grunted out the last few words as he pushed himself to his feet. “It kept the temperature of this place somewhat hospitable. Back then, it wasn’t called Shiveria. It was called Freezeflame. But that was a long time ago.” He extended his flesh hand to help Daisy up. 

“Before the Air Raids,” said Mario, finishing the thought. He stood up to meet his brother. Having caught their breath, the rest of the crew followed suit. 

“Yea. The Federal Fleet wiped out the Fire Brothers. Then, the snow came.” 

“Then, the rachquids,” said Mario. At the sound of the name, a dark shadow passed over the group and all of them were silent. They could feel it gripping their hearts. An evil, ancient and wild, dwelled in this frozen tundra or at least that’s how the tales were told.  

Toad made the first step up the hill. “Keep moving,” he barked, breaking them out of their reverie. “I want to get out of this cold.” 

The hill led up and down into a large crater that was covered in snow. Not a single stone could be seen. Daisy wondered if the whole planet was nothing but white powder. If she dug too deep, would she fall right through? She shuddered at the thought. At the center of the crater was a small outpost laboratory that was established initially for weather observation but had since been utilized for all manner of eco-experiments. A large satellite dish sat on top of the flat roof. Beyond the crater, a blizzard raged so that nothing past the white curtain could be seen. This was the Deep Freeze, the event that froze all of Shiveria after the death of the Fire Bros. It never moved and it never abated. 

“Let’s hurry. I feel my mushroom cap starting to freeze.”  

Going downhill was easier by far than going up and they made quick work of descending the crater. The building was oddly and disturbingly dark for a federally funded lab that was still designated as operational. There were no lights on in the windows. The door that read “Snow Park” had no power and rust had started to creep in from the edges. With great effort, Mario and Fox wedged it open. The inside of the lab was just as dark as the windows had forewarned but a livewire from somewhere farther in sparked in rhythm and illuminated the front lobby like a strobe light. The place was deserted. Computer terminals were upended with shattered glass strewn across the once-white tile. 

“No, not the dark,” said Luigi, biting at his nails. Forgetting his new arm, he bit down on one of his mechanical fingers and winced. “I can’t do this again.” 

“You’re going, Luigi,” said Toad without a hint of compassion.  

“Mario. Brother. Please, don’t make me go. I can wait out here.” He was sucking wind as if he had just been punched in the gut.  

“Luigi, breathe,” said his brother with care. “It will be safer for us to stay together. I’m sorry but we have to do this.” 

Luigi farted. 

“Okay, don’t breathe,” Toad chuckled. 

Daisy extended her hand to him. “Hold my hand. It will be okay.” He interlaced his fingers with hers, his nerves making both of their hands tremble.

Chapter Text

XIV

The Scent of Trouble

Fox was the first across the threshold. He sniffed. His hound-nose picked up something faint from deeper in but he couldn’t quite place it. It smelled like metal and something else. With Luigi already losing his cool, he thought better than to mention it. The rest followed close behind but lacking his superior olfactory awareness, made no mention of the smell. They activated the flashlights mounted on their shoulders. Six beams carved through the blackness. A dark mold had settled in around the heating vents and crystallized after the power shut off. Fox sniffed and could smell it but that wasn’t the smell that bothered him. Wooden support beams shone through punched-out drywall, the floral patterned wallpaper peeling away in tatters. It was too cold for termites so based on the rot that had settled in the wood, Fox guessed the lab had been abandoned for decades. Or perhaps that’s just how it looked. If Peach had been here recently, certainly it wouldn’t have been like this. The Federation wouldn’t send out a princess to a building that looked like it should be condemned. A thought occurred to him that something else had caused the rot. He shuddered. 

They rounded a corner and the smell hit him like a truck. The metal was iron. A thick splatter of blood coated the wall. Daisy yelped. Luigi moaned. Falco and Toad sighed the sigh of battle-hardened soldiers who had seen the sight one too many times. Most likely arterial spray, thought Fox. He saw that the spray was blackened at the edges and realized that the oxidation had started and then stopped. The cold must’ve snap-froze the hemoglobin, meaning that the power had gone out suddenly. But this was no power failure. This was a deliberate attack. 

They padded down the dark hallway, careful not to make any noise. They were bunched close from the fright and the cold much to Fox’s displeasure. He had a mind for battle tactics from his years in the field. If this was an attack and they were all huddled together like school children telling ghost stories, they could be wiped out in an instant by one clever ambush. He gritted his teeth at Luigi’s heavy breaths on his neck. The beams were lost to the dark as it seemed like the hallway went on forever, that same tacky wallpaper making no statement on their progress. It was as if it went all the way to Hell. Perhaps, it did. Finally, that second smell that had put a pit in Fox’s stomach made its presence known and he kicked himself that he hadn’t guessed it sooner. It was the unmistakable scent of rotting flesh. As soon as he smelled it, he angled his beam toward the floor and, sure enough, there was a trail of blood leading down the hallway. 

At the end of the hall was a doorway, the hydraulic door wedged open a little over halfway. Beyond which was the observation deck. Keeping the door open was the body of one of the researchers. It lay crumpled at the bottom of the threshold. He was human, or had been, before being ripped in half. His legs had been chewed and discarded to the side of the door. His torso was angled towards them. They could see up into his ribcage but most of the viscera had been torn away. No, that wasn’t quite right. Fox approached the body. Daisy reached out a hand to stop him but then retracted. He knelt down to inspect the torn torso and realized that the viscera had not been eaten by some snow bear but rather had been almost entirely melted away. He could see little remnants of the pancreas and liver, the wormy remains of the large intestine, and the scorched lungs that were so black, he would’ve guessed the man had been a lifelong smoker had he not known better. The face had been torn off in its entirety. If not for the badge hanging from the body’s lapel, he never would’ve known what the man looked like. The name, however, was smudged and lost. Fox felt a pang of guilt and wished he believed in something greater than himself, something or someone to pray to, but he was not given to superstition. He rose and returned to his teammates without uttering a word. 

“Oh no, no, no. I don’t wanna do this,” said Luigi, panicking again.  

“Luigi, hush,” Mario replied, growing exasperated. “Toad, help me move him.” 

“Why me? Get the hound to do it.” 

“Careful, Toad,” growled Fox.  

“Because you’re a gross scoundrel and this is a gross job. Now, grab a limb.” 

Toad huffed and puffed but grabbed an arm. Mario grabbed the other and they tugged at the torso. The door had nestled itself into the groove between the ribs. They tugged but it was stuck. They threw themselves back in rhythm, pushing with their legs, until finally they heard a loud crack! The rib had snapped off completely and the torso came unstuck and slid out from the doorframe. Mario wedged himself between the door and the frame, his round belly smushing uncomfortably. He pushed through gritted teeth until he heard the door give and open.  

A terminal glowed a soft blue inside the observation deck. It played a holo recording on loop. Somebody’s rigged it to battery power, thought Fox. The holo was Princess Peach. Clever girl. She was wearing a white lab coat over a pink sweater dress and thick black glasses and she looked scared. Her voice was faint and digitized and skipped at random intervals. The skipping was never in the same place twice and after a few loops, the crew could make out the full message.

“Solar Cycle 400.82. Log 13. This is Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom. Initial testing looked promising. I told Dr. Brittany not to push it but she assured me that the time was now. Phase 2 was a disaster. The rachquids went berzerk and broke from their containment fields. I don’t know what has happened to Brittany but the rest of the facility has been destroyed. I have barricaded myself in Laboratory Delta in the tunnels. I don’t know how long I can hold out. If anyone sees this, please, you’re my only hope.” 

Chapter Text

XV

Terror in the Tunnels

The light of the holo flashed and went out, sending the observation deck back to black. At least the battery lasted long enough for us to get the message, thought Fox. 

“Delta lab,” said Fox aloud, recalling Peach's plea. 

“Where the heck is that?” asked Falco. 

“We need a map,” suggested Mario. “Luigi.” 

He looked over at his brother and saw that he was not doing well. His farting and hyperventilating were getting worse. In one end, out the other. Every bit of the experience from the dark to the dead body turned his stomach. “I can’t do this. I don’t wanna do this. Too dark.” 

“Daisy, can you get a hold of him? I’m freezing my keister off,” Toad complained. 

“Shut up, Toad.” She puffed out her cheeks, which grew hot and flushed. Her hatred of the scoundrel moved the air between them into a compression chamber that sat ready to explode.

“I like her,” said Falco, a grin spreading across his yellow beak. 

“Luigi, it’s okay,” she said, turning away from her former captain. “You can do this. Please, we need you to map the area.” She directed him to follow her breathing. They breathed in and out, each of them in an attempt to bring their pulses down. It was working until… 

“I should hope he can do this,” Toad popped off sarcastically. “He’s the navigator. Maps are literally his thing.” 

Finally, the air between them exploded in a white hot blaze. Daisy wheeled to face him and pushed him up against the wall, his mushroom head smacking off of it. She growled through gritted teeth. “Toad, if you don’t shut your fucking mouth, I’m gonna blast a cryo round right up your asshole. That’ll freeze your keister off.” 

“Permission granted, soldier,” snorted Falco.  

“Don’t make it worse, Falco.” Fox sighed and shook his head. This was not a professional company of soldiers. It was just a ragtag group of buffoons who were out of their depth and the supposed leader who had taken command of his ship had no command at all. 

Daisy released Toad and turned back to her fiance. “Go on, Luigi,” she said encouragingly. He moaned and then tapped his omnitool. The nav-cuff application activated and two probes shot out of the gauntlet. They were little silver balls with a rotating scanning beam that sent a two-dimensional grid of the area directly to his omnitool. Toad was right. A map was an easy matter but when he got into such a panic, his brain shut down. The sense of dread was so overwhelming that even the simplest tasks became insurmountable. But Daisy helped him return to center or, at least, somewhere close to it. She was and had been his grounding and his love deepened for her. He gave her a weak smile in the dark but she missed it. But it didn’t matter. He knew that if she had seen it, the gesture would have been returned. 

“It looks like there’s a hatch down the service hall. From there, we’ll be in the tunnels with a straight shot to Delta Lab,” he said, inspecting his nav-cuff.  

“Where’s the service hall?” asked his brother. 

“Out the door, to the left.” 

“Move out,” said Mario. His tone was an attempt at firm and commanding but it was enough to spur them into action. They moved quickly and as a unit down the service hall, which was just as dark and dingy as the rest of the building. And no less scary. The hatch was in the center of the floor and was a rusted orange metal. On top, there was a crank wheel to open the three locks that looked like a tetanus-inducing nightmare. “Fox, help me with the hatch.”

They each grabbed an end of the wheel and pushed until it gave. Finally, the locks released one after the other. Fox entered the hatch first, followed by Mario. Toad gave Daisy a salute, to which she rolled her eyes, before he entered. She looked over at Luigi, who was shaking again. Before he could put a foot on the descending ladder, she caught him on the arm by surprise. 

“Daisy, what are you…”

She cut him off with a kiss. Her lips were a warm comfort from the icy chill, her breath sweet against the musk and mold. She pushed past him and gave him a wink before entering the hatch. He lowered his eyes and smiled and followed after. 

He landed in a frigid splash, the black and brackish water coming up into his boots. The tunnels were black as pitch and smelled even worse than the death above. He took a small step forward and walked face-first into a sticky black webbing. It had the shape of a spider’s web but was made of a viscous ink-like substance that was noxious to the nose and caused him to rear back and retch. Through his choking throat and bleary eyes, he didn’t notice that the impact sent a vibrating wave along the tendrils of webbing into the recesses of the tunnel. Suddenly, a loud screech sounded from deeper inside followed by a clicking noise that tapered off. 

“What the hell is that?” asked Toad through gritted teeth. The noise occurred again and it seemed to him to be from some bizarre vocal apparatus that was not human-like and certainly nothing he would want to meet intimately. 

“Lights up. Weapons up.”

“You sure you don’t wanna go dark?” asked Falco even though he knew better than to question his commanding officer. He was a seasoned soldier, after all. But this CO was new and uncertain and had yet to earn his respect. 

“If there’s something in here, I want visibility,” responded Mario. Falco acquiesced to the point and appreciated the logic.  

“These tunnels are narrow. Not much room to create a formation,” offered Fox.  

“No, there isn’t but we’ll make do,” said Mario. “Toad, take the rear flank. Falco, you’re forward flank. Daisy, you’re on glass. Fox, is it true you have a reflector shield?”

“Got it from a bounty hunter friend of the Shadow Broker. Falco had one but it broke on him.” 

“That’s why you don't trust the shadow broker,” said Falco with contempt.  

Fox chuckled. “You shouldn’t have been kicking it.” 

“Okay,” said Mario, returning to the point. “Fox and I are on advance guard. Luigi, keep your pistol up and shoot anything that isn’t us.” 

Daisy pulled out her sniper rifle with the barrel pointed forward over Mario’s shoulder. They fell into formation. It was tight without room to breathe, but they made do. They moved as a unit with a deliberate pace. The screeching stopped and the tunnel grew quiet. Fox’s grip tightened on his pistol. Suddenly, a black tar-like substance shot from the water in a stream of precise intent. 

“Watch out,” called Fox and he activated his reflector shield just as the thick ink was about to make contact. The shield reflected the spray, which hit the wall and exploded in an acid mist that sizzled and filled the air with a putrid smell that was akin to rotten eggs.  

“Rachquids!” exclaimed Mario. “Don’t let their ink touch you.”

Just then, two rachquids burst from the water. They were a sickly white with black eyes and eight tentacles, their pink viscera somewhat visible beneath their translucent skin. They were an amphibious species and could use their tentacles to swim or crawl. Some approached upside down from the top of the tunnel wall like spiders. 

Falco cocked his pistol and spat. “Here they come.”

Chapter Text

XVI

Rachquids Attack!

“Go loud!” Mario shouted. The muzzle flash from the guns strobe lit the horrific creatures, casting angry shadows along the tunnel walls. Thermal clips ejected from chambers and fell like embers into the cold water below, which sent tiny plumes of smoke sizzling at their feet. Daisy readied the sniper rifle but it was heavy and cumbersome. She loaded incendiary rounds and took potshots from the rear. Her shots went wide, bounced off the walls, and spun like little firecrackers before falling uselessly in the water. 

“Dammit,” she cried, firing off another frustrated frenzy. “I can’t hit shit with this thing.”

A rachquid sprang up from the water behind them, readied its pursed beak to fire a stream of toxic ink but Toad already had a bead on it. He readied his aim and it seemed as if time had turned to syrup, the rachquid hovering in air waiting for the angry shot. Toad’s lips pulled back into something between a grimace and a smirk. He fired a direct hit and the rachquid exploded like cold jelly, its viscera splattered along the blue stone walls. “Sneaky bastards,” he growled.  

“Don’t lose your mushroom cap,” said Mario, downing a couple out in front. He looked over at Fox, who was completely immobilized as he held his shield up for protection. In the tight space, the flickering blue shield was just big enough to protect them against the inky webbing but it came at the dreadful cost of one of their trigger-men. They inched along the darkening tunnel in pursuit of the door to Laboratory Delta but as one rachquid fell, another jumped from the water to take its place. The flickering of the shield became sporadic, losing its rhythmic frequency, and the light of it began to dull. 

“Shield’s not gonna hold much longer,” said Fox as a stray shot of ink bounced off and hit the side wall. 

“We gotta get outta here,” said Falco, stating the obvious but the panic in his voice sent a shiver down Mario’s spine.  

“Luigi, how much farther to the lab?”

“Almost there. The door should be on the right. At the end of the tunnel.”

Mario took a final shot against the rachquid in front of him and then there were no more. He sighed in relief and hoped that was the end of their assault. He made for a forward charge but stopped short when he felt something slimy and rubbery brush against his ankle.  

Daisy took her eye from the scope and her face brightened. “I don’t see any rachquids ahead of us.”  

“That’s because they’re coming from behind,” shouted Toad. The clever beasts had moved to a flanking position. The water behind them churned like river rapids. Their exit was now pinched off.  

With fast thinking, Mario said, “Fox, Falco, move to the rear.” They obliged the command and Falco dropped to one knee, hoisted his assault rifle to his shoulder, and sprayed a blistering barrage into the water. Dead rachquids floated to the surface, perforated and puffed. The tunnel runoff absorbed through their wounds like water balloons. Falco didn’t see the rachquid to his left flank that had been crawling along the wall. It sprayed a lethal shot right at his temple. But Fox activated his shield just in time. It reflected the webbing right back to the assailant and it burst, its tiny beak clipping Fox on the ear like shrapnel. 

“Shield’s at 18% and dropping,” he said, rubbing his ear. They continued firing at the mass of white, the tunnel filling with the sour and rotten scent of their blood. 

“Gah! There’s no end to these things,” said Toad and he wiped his watering eyes from the stench.  

“Almost there,” said Luigi, checking his nav-cuff. 

“Shield at 12%.” 

“There’s the door.” It was clean chrome and nestled in a small alcove in the stone. By its pristine nature, he could tell that it was the lab that received the most use within the otherwise derelict facility. 

“Good job, Luigi,” said Mario. “Now, get it open.” 

“There’s a key lock!”

“Goddammit!” shouted Toad. 

“Toad, can you hack it?”

“Of course, I can hack it. I can hack anything.” Toad approached the key lock and Luigi stepped aside. The lock was a Watt-4 model, a cutting edge security system. Toad tapped on his omni-tool, which jacked into the locking mechanism via a wireless connection. The holo appeared above his wrist in an orange glow. The lock required a matching series of four numbers on rotating wheels like a slot machine but the trick was that there were duplicates on each wheel. The wheels had a pattern of engravings laced through the face of them. He didn’t just have to match the numbers but he had to fit the pattern together, as well. It was like hitting the slots and solving a jigsaw puzzle at the same time. 

“Shield’s at 7%,” growled Fox as another jet of ink splashed and ricocheted back. “If it falls below five, we’re all gonna get a free skin peel.”

“Hurry, Toad,” said Mario as he felled a stray rachquid just above Daisy’s shoulder.

 She squealed as it fell into the water beside her, sending her aim into further disarray. She marveled and despaired as the others killed ‘quid after ‘quid, while her shots went wide. But, dammit if the gun just wasn’t so heavy. If only it wasn’t so awkward. Why did Mario put her on the glass? The longshot was not her type of weapon. His decision-making skills need some work, she thought.  

“4%. Mario, this just got critical.” As soon as the words left his lips, a splash of ink penetrated through the shield and hit him right in the face! He screamed as his skin sizzled. Fur fell in clumps. The reddening skin bubbled and bled. He dove for the brackish water and held his nose. He splashed it upon his face to cool the burn. It helped but left him stinking and itching. “Ah! Bastards,” he growled.  

“Come on, Toad!” screamed Mario. 

“I got it!” he exclaimed as the final cylinder aligned with the numbers matching and the pattern fully formed. The holo flashed and faded and the hydraulic hiss indicated that the lock was disengaged and the door to Laboratory Delta was open. Toad pushed his way in and they all tumbled in after him and fell over each other in a big pile.

Chapter Text

XVII

Everything’s Peachy Until it Isn’t

“Medic!” Fox howled as blood dripped into his eye. He wore a set of tactical goggles around the top of his brow but it was more of a fashion accessory than anything of use. In truth, he just liked the way they looked. The goggles had gotten hit by that shot of acidic ink and it was slowly melting the plastic into a gooey mess. He ripped the strap and chucked them, leaving them to dissolve into a puddle on the floor. The blood stung his eye and blinded him. His ears twitched as Mario slammed the door behind him. “Where’s that medi-gel?” he asked in a low voice as he pawed at his eye. Laboratory Delta was dark and deserted, at least, on the face of it. A hand sheathed in a pink glove emerged from the shadowy recesses holding a small canister of medi-gel and sprayed it on Fox’s cheek and the ridge of his brow. The wound began to heal in an instant, the soft tissue and skin knitting itself back together, leaving a patch of new pink flesh behind. It would be another few weeks before the fur grew back. “That’s better,” he said, relieved.

“Is everybody oh…” Mario began as he turned from the door but the sight of her stopped him dead. She emerged from the darkness but wasn’t wearing her lab coat from the holo message. Instead, she wore a form fitting pink sweater dress that stopped just above the knees. Her pink gloves were not her usual princess gloves that went up the arm. They were simple and wool to keep her hands warm and stopped at the wrist. Her stockings were dark and her heels were the same vibrant pink as her dress. Her honey blonde hair hung to her shoulders in messy tresses. To Mario, she looked very unprincesslike but was more of a wild thing of nature that shined like a star in the darkness. His mouth fell open as she pushed her hair from her forehead. “Mama mia.” The words escaped him as a whisper and he regretted them immediately. 

 She noticed him then and her brilliant blue eyes were wide and quizzical. He was short and round and his nose was bulbous but he wasn’t altogether unpleasant. And he had a fantastic mustache. It was only a moment but the silence seemed to grow as old as the hills. Then, her face grew hot and red. And she laughed, not a playful giggle or a nervous chuckle, but a hearty laugh. She didn’t think of herself as beautiful even though she was and the concept of someone being struck by her struck her as altogether ridiculous. Still, it was nice to be noticed. He scratched his head, studied his feet, and waited for the moment to pass. 

“Awkward, bro,” Luigi whispered in his ear, which did nothing to ease his embarrassment. 

“Sister!” 

“Daisy?” She was shocked to see her baby sister standing there with a humongous rifle slung over her shoulder. She was jealous that Daisy looked like a badass in her soldier garb while here she was standing in science chic. Daisy dropped the rifle and threw her arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug around the ribs, which made Peach stick out her tongue and make a “bleah” noise. Daisy gave her several kisses on the cheek and eyes. With one eye closed and giggling, Peach pushed her baby sister away. “What’re you doing here?” she asked, wiping the saliva from her eyelids. 

“Saving you,” said Daisy, who proceeded to surprise Peach by licking her on the tip of her nose.  

“Gross!” she squealed. “Gah, you’re such a weirdo.” She wiped her nose on the palm of her glove and noticed Luigi. “Is this the boy I keep hearing about?”

“I hope so.” He had been watching the display in bafflement. This was the first time he was meeting a member of Daisy’s family. He had heard somewhere that family is one’s natural habitat so it seemed to him that he was meeting the real Daisy for the first time, as well. “Luigi,” he added and extended his hand. Peach rejected it and threw her arms around his neck instead and planted a small kiss on his cheek. 

“I’ve heard so much about you,” she said as she withdrew. “It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” 

“I wish it could have been under better circumstances.” 

“Ah, that reminds me,” said Peach, rushing to a small computer console. “We don’t have much time. Those doors won’t hold for long.” 

“We led them right to you,” said Falco. He rolled his eyes as he kept tally in his mind. This was another ding against their new commander.  

“Unfortunately, yes,” she said as she typed furiously. 

“But it had to be done!” Daisy protested, picking up on Falco’s tone and throwing him a dark look. “What next, my sister?”

“This is the observation deck for Laboratory Delta,” she said, still typing. The fluorescent lights blinked and whined and came on. In the bright lighting, they could see they weren’t in a lab at all but rather some kind of small office. In front of the computer terminal was a large metal door that was toothed where it went into notches on the floor. Across it, lettering spray painted caution yellow spelled out “Danger.” “Beyond this blast door, is a container.” 

“A container containing what?” inquired Fox, not missing a beat. Without an answer, the blast door began to open. It shuddered to a halt, leaving only the metal teeth exposed. Beyond the door was the laboratory proper, which was the size of a small hangar. Centrifuges, fume hoods, and various chemical equipment lined the walls on chrome tables. In the center of the room was a massive containment field with a pylon in all four corners. Within that field was…

“The Rachquid Queen,” said Peach to answer Fox’s question. 

She was the size of a small freighter and translucent white like the rest of the rachquids. Her tentacles were like tree trunks and were coiled in tight knots from the confines of the forcefield. With so much mass, it was much clearer to see through her pallid skin and they could see every organ as it worked: the churning of her bowels, the soft rhythm of her lungs as they inflated and deflated. They could even see the beating of her heart. As her heart beat, theirs stopped. It felt like a gut punch. She had led them to the belly of the beast.     

“Stuff me with cheese!” said Toad. “What the hell were you doing out here?”

“The Onion-folk had a plan to use the rachquids as beasts of war. They said the rachquids had no mind of their own. I thought it could minimize casualties in conflict.” 

“Oh, Peach,” said Daisy, her voice cracking.  

“They’re living things,” said Luigi, trying to hide his disgust.  

“Well, those living things want us dead,” said Falco.  

“Right,” said Peach. “We made a mistake. The rachquids communicate via a hivemind originating with her. We can flood the chamber with acid. That will stop the attack.”

Mario had stopped listening and approached the containment field. Her anatomy fascinated him and he wanted a better look. The Rachquid Queen noticed his approach and reached out with her thoughts. He could feel her consciousness around him, in him, through him as if one her massive tendrils held him and dove down his throat. He doubled over from the shock, the wind knocked out of him.  

Her voice echoed off the wall of his skull. It was high and melodic. “Brittle biped, I can see into your mind. Mario of the Odyssey.” She trailed the last words in a malevolent hiss. Writhing on the ground, he pulled at his hair and screamed.  

Chapter Text

XVIII

Melody in the Mind

Her voice seared like white-hot blades through the matter of his mind. It was an all-corrupting presence, all other thoughts forced out through the completeness of her takeover. “You have seen what I know,” she hissed. “Out there in the Deep Dark.” 

“You know about the koopas?” he asked inside his mind. On the outside, he was still screaming. His friends were powerless to help him and too scared to move. 

“Before my babies and I were brought to this horrid place, we dwelt with the koopa who calls himself king. Have you seen his castle of fire and stone?”

“No. But I’ve seen his Sky Fleet.” Tears streaked his cheeks. He carved his fingernails into the flesh of his cheeks. Blood ran in the river of his tears.  

“Then, the Bullet Bills will fly again,” she said. Her voice had a melody that was high and terrible. “We were there so long ago. During the Air Raids.” 

“So you’re an ally of his?”

“Do not be too quick to judge,” she snapped. “The turtle king neither has nor wants allies. He has slaves. Slaves in the walls.” 

“Then, why live with him?”

“Because it was the only warm place in the dark. This planet does not agree with my kind. The cold is torture to us. Our limbs become stiff and brittle and our songs fade.” 

“What songs?” He heard no songs, only a deafening cacophony that seemed on the verge of splitting the seams of his skull wide open.

“You talk with crisp and guttural mouth movements. It offers no music. It has no color. For my kind, speech is a symphony of sounds played upon our tentacles. You could hear it if you’d listen.”

“I thought you communicated by some kind of hivemind.” 

“A primitive understanding. I conduct the symphony but the melodies are played by my babies.” 

He noticed then through his teary eyes that her tentacles were indeed vibrating like harp strings.  “So, if I kill you, that’s it. No more songs.” But the threat was empty for while she corrupted his thoughts, he could do nothing but writhe like a wretch. 

“Yes,” she said and her tone softened. Her voice seemed to order itself, approach a structure he could recognize. “But what cause do you have to kill me?”

“What cause?” asked Mario incredulously. He was sucking wind from his screaming and the side of his ribs knotted in stitches. “Your babies are trying to kill me and mine.” 

“Because they have lost touch with me. They are confused and they are scared. Release me and I will call off the attack. I will take my kind far away and we will build a new home for the rachquids.” 

“Where will you go?” Despite his agony, he was testing her. If she really intended to leave in peace, she must’ve had an idea of where she would make a new home. 

“Somewhere warm. Somewhere private. We will search the galaxy until we find it.” 

The answer was far from reassuring but Mario was desperate to end the conversation. His mind could take no more and he felt like he was going to black out. “How do I know if I can trust you?”

“I can give you the next piece that you’re looking for. As a token of good faith.” She waited for his consent but the ability escaped him so in an act of trust, she continued. “There is a steam garden on Pinna. Underneath that garden is a Deep Wood. On a hill, there stands a lone tree.” 

The act did not escape Mario’s notice but he was baffled by the piece of information. “How does that help me?”

“Find the tree and you’ll find your missing ghost.” 

“Lady Bow?” He racked his brain through the intensity of the shooting daggers. How could this creature, so primitive and ugly, come about that kind of knowledge? She was in a cage underground, a simple beast trapped by greater predators. Surely, she was playing him for a fool. “You can’t know that,” he said at last.  

“I hear the songs of the galaxy. You could too if you’d listen,” she said. Again, he was baffled. She spoke in odd angles, her perspective on reality warped through a fish lens.   

“Pinna is two relay jumps away,” he countered. 

“The cold has taken my voice, not my hearing.” Suddenly, her tone dropped low and ominous. “And the songs from Pinna are played on the drums of war. Now, make your decision, biped!” The last words were spoken like thunder that echoed for miles and then, as suddenly as it came upon him, all was silent. His mind was empty of all thought, hers and his own. He fell silent and his fingers relaxed from their clawing. Over cardboard hills in a popup book, he could hear his friends calling out. They were standing on those hills and their faint voices traveled on the wind. Then, the book snapped shut and they were suddenly standing next to him, their panicked shouts ringing out clear as crystal. He opened his eyes and they were hovering over him. His brother shook him by the shoulder. 

“Mario!” he exclaimed. “Finally, he’s opening his eyes.” 

“Shit, man, you just collapsed,” said Toad, wearing a wary look.  

“Are you okay?” asked Peach, keeping her distance. 

“Yea, I’m fine,” said Mario, though that was far from the truth. He sat up and caught his breath, leaning back on his palms. After taking a few breaths, he stood and approached the containment field. He turned back to Peach and wiped the bloody tears from his cheeks. “Release the queen.”

“You’re obviously not fine because that’s fucking nuts,” said Toad. He pulled out a cigar, lit it, and shook his head as he took a puff.  

“I don’t have time to explain. Princess, you’re just going to have to trust me.” He found her eyes and she held his gaze. His eyes were kind and genuine and they didn’t waver. Her brow knitted and her lips began to part as she prepared to protest. But there was no give in him, no trace of doubt. She could see that well enough and though she didn’t understand, she pursed her lips and gave him a small nod. She went to the terminal and tapped a few keys. The screen flashed green and warning sirens sounded with red beacon lights flashing. 

The Rachquid Queen’s tentacles shivered as the shields lowered. 

Chapter Text

XIX

A Promise Fulfilled

As the shields fell and disappeared, the tendrils of the Rachquid Queen untwined and stretched. They shivered like trees in the wind, which created a mighty howl that echoed through the halls of the lab. All of a sudden, the thumping at the door from the raging rachquids ceased and all was quiet. Then, without laying a finger on it, the computer terminal changed in front of Peach’s eyes. The screen read “Teleport Activated”. 

“What’s happening?” she said, stepping away from the terminal. The shields were no longer able to contain the Queen and she could reach out with her mind to the terminal. And to her offspring. Peach wondered why she was able to reach beyond the shields to Mario. There was something different about him. He had a connection to the scaffolding upon which things were placed though this fact was hidden from him. There was a flash of light and the zap of the teleporter sounded like a lightning bolt and the enormity of the Rachquid Queen was gone. The terminal blinked “Teleport Successful” before fading to black. 

Fox clapped Mario on the shoulder, wearing a grin that surprised him. “Looks like you made the wise choice, Mario.” Was that pride in his voice? His demeanor approached something resembling fatherly. 

“Wise?” Toad spat, his cigar nearly falling from his lips. “There was nothing wise about it. He got lucky. That’s it.” 

“She said she wouldn’t attack if I let her go.” His head was still swimming from the encounter. He tried to stand but wobbled and would have toppled over if not for Fox, who hooked an arm under his armpit and held him up.  

“And you were right to trust her,” he said. Perhaps, he had judged Mario too harshly. He was bitter about losing command over his ship and this business of koopas and impending war had nothing to do with him and his crew. But it took great courage to do what the boy had done. There was something very special about him. No doubt about it. The council had seen it and now Fox had too. 

Toad took a drag from his cigar and blew the smoke out in a deep sigh. It hung in the air between them like a black cloud. “He should’ve had the guts to drop the acid on her. Just to be safe. Who’s to say they don’t return in greater numbers.” 

“No good comes from trying to extinguish an entire race just because you’re afraid of what they might do,” Fox countered. “To value life - all life - in conflict is the mark of true courage. Had you learned that, Toad, things might have played out differently in Conkdor Canyon.”

Toad grumbled to himself and fell silent. Falco smirked, for it was the first time he had seen the fast-talking scoundrel at a loss for words. It counted as a tally in the “In Favor” column for his new commander and a big tally it was. In truth, it was the only tally that mattered.  

“You did the right thing,” said Fox and added in a respectful tone, “Commander.” He gave Mario a small nod, who returned it and smiled. 

The journey back to the Great Fox was slow and plodding. The unforgiving winds pushed against them. Peach had thrown her lab coat on for warmth and clutched it close. It did little against the unrelenting flurry. Snow was piled upon the Great Fox in clusters, making it a fixture of the environment like any other hill or tree. Fox activated his omnitool and the door opened, the motion shaking off some of the snow. They bolted for the door and the promise of a functioning heater behind it. Once inside, Peach threw off her wet gloves and lab coat. She shook the chill from her bones. “It’s nice to be where it’s warm.” 

Peppy had seen their approach on the nav-computer since their omnitools acted as GPS, heart monitors, blood glucose monitors, the works. Even at his old age, he was still spry enough to make his way down the tight ladder into the belly of the ship. He had been eagerly anticipating them. They had been gone far too long for his liking and it had given him the willies. Fox was like a son and he worried himself silly over him. “Princess!” he exclaimed, as she was the first on the ship and the first into his line of sight. “Glad to see you safe and sound. I’m Peppy Hare but the members of Team Star Fox call me Old TImer.” He looked around her to find sight of Fox but didn’t see him.  

He was a goofy old rabbit and she laughed at his pluck. “It’s very nice to meet you, Old Timer,” she said, petting his head between the ears. “Have you ever been to the Mushroom Kingdom?”

Fox stepped onto the deck and gave Peppy a small nod. Peppy smiled back, which faded when he noticed the missing patches of fur. Peach smiled politely and waited for an answer. He looked back to her and realized he was being rude. “Aww heck,” he stammered. “I ain’t had the chance what with Star Fox missions keepin’ me busy. Next time I get shore leave, I’ll plan on makin’ a visit.” 

She held both of his hands in hers and gave them a squeeze. “Make sure to stop by the castle when you do,” she said, smiling warmly. She was a radiant beauty when she smiled and Peppy was caught in the headlights. Afraid of being rude again, he looked away and blushed.  

“How’s everything looking, Old Timer,” asked Falco, shaking the snow from his feathers.  

“Flurries have subsided somewhat but we should be good for take-off.” 

“Good to hear. We can drop you guys back at the Citadel and be on our way.” 

“About that,” said Mario, trailing off. Falco arched an eyebrow at him and folded his arms.

Toad whirled on his heel to face him. “After everything we went through, you can’t possibly want to make a pitstop somewhere.” 

“No, not a pitstop.” 

“Whew!” said Toad but there was no relief in it. It was all sarcasm. “I thought you were gonna ask us to do something stupid.” 

“We need to go see a tree on Pinna,” said Mario matter-of-factly.  

Toad nodded. “Yep, that’s something stupid.” 

Chapter Text

XX

Responsibility

They stood around the table in the central command office, which was in an offshoot hallway down from the main deck. There were chairs that were quite comfortable but not a one of them felt like sitting. A long silence passed between them. Luigi and Daisy traded glances. Falco studied the pattern of the walnut wood table top while Fox looked up and stroked the fur of his chin. Toad faced away from them and rested his mushroom cap on the chrome wall. Peach had taken Fox’s suggestion and went to get some rest in the crew’s quarters. Mario stood at the head and observed. 

“Pinna?” said Falco, finally breaking the silence. He was beside himself at the suggestion. “That’s on the other side of the galaxy.” They had retrieved the princess. It was time to bring her back to the citadel. As far as he was concerned, that was the extent of their obligation. That was “Mission Accomplished.”

“And it’s in the Unwatched Territories,” Fox added. “I don’t like going there if I can avoid it.” Perhaps, it was nerves but he plucked a hair from his chin and winced. It was starting to dawn on him that this journey was far from over. He glanced at Lombardi and could see the agitation written in the wrinkle of his brow. Poor Falco, he didn’t get it. He had no idea what they were in for. 

“We just braved the Outer Rim,” said Daisy optimistically. She looked around, searching for a friendly face, someone who shared her hope but none of them so much as threw her a glance. She suddenly felt stupid and naive. Luigi grabbed her hand and squeezed. It was encouraging and in a smaller voice, she added, “How much worse can it be?”

“Much,” said Fox with more edge in his voice than he intended. “The Outer Rim is wild, true. But the Unwatched Territories are a safe haven for pirates and bandits.”  

“You’ll be right at home, Toad,” said Falco dryly.  

“Funny,” said Toad. “And why are we going to see a tree on Pinna?”

“The Rachquid Queen told me that’s where we’d find Lady Bow,” said Mario. Even as he said the words, he didn’t believe them. The safe bet was that the Queen was lying to bargain her way to freedom. He knew that but he also knew what he felt when she spoke to him, when her tone softened and he almost heard her melody. There was a warmth to it, a sensation that was reassuring. He looked to his brother for support. Luigi and Daisy grimaced but held on to each other. Mario’s gaze fell. He felt a pang of guilt for asking his friends into danger. For some reason that he couldn’t quite place, he didn’t feel the same level of alarm on his own behalf. It wasn’t bravery, he was quite sure of that, but, curiosity, maybe? 

Toad sighed and said, “So we’re going to rush off to pirate space just to see if the giant squid was telling the truth?”

“Think of the payout, Toad. You said so yourself. It’s too good to pass up.” He could see that none of them supported the idea. An appeal to the scoundrel’s greed was as good a bet as any to get him on his side. 

The idea intrigued him. The Shadow Broker had cheated him of thirty-five percent. Thirty-five goddamn percent. Being cheated out of what he was owed was like an itch in his mind. He did the job. He lost his ship. He risked his life. So, the job didn’t turn out as expected. There’s still a cost for labor. Who else is dumb enough to risk life and limb? The Shadow Broker should be so lucky to have a guy like him. A real low down stand-up guy. He nodded and turned to the table to finally address the group properly. “What we got for the warp pipe was just enough to cover Luigi’s arm,” he started slowly, thinking it out in realtime. “But now I’m just about broke again. And I do want my ship back.” 

“And I want you off mine,” Fox shot back.  

“Then, we are in agreement,” said Mario. He pressed the button on the intercom. “Slippy, set a course for the Attican Relay. We’re making the jump for Pinna.” 

“Aye, aye, Commander,” said Slippy through the scratchy intercom speaker.  

They broke from the table. Fox went to his old command chair, sat in it, and balanced his chin on his fist. He wanted it to be a reclamation but it was a hollow gesture. He knew as everyone did who actually was in charge. Even Slippy was taking commands from the portly intruder, now. He felt so displaced, an old dog that no one had time for anymore. Toad went to the mess hall to get a drink, something to take the edge off. Luigi gestured for Daisy to go on ahead to the crew’s quarters. He informed her that he wanted to talk to his brother alone and would catch up with her later. 

Mario was down in the engine room, watching the turbines spin. His brother joined him and leaned on the railing. The Great Fox was equipped with three NTD-FX9 plasma engines that rolled over each other. The rotating engines allowed the super-dense hydrogen plasma maximum contact with the three massive plates of palladium hydride that absorbed hydrogen ions to generate the cold fusion reaction that powered the ship. The slow winding of the massive structures was hypnotic. 

After a long while, Luigi said, “You can fool them with all that bounty talk but I know you don’t give a damn about that. So, tell me truthfully, why are me and my fiance following you into more trouble?” There was a twinge of bitterness in his voice. Daisy and he had plans. They were getting married. They were going to start a family. Saving the galaxy from a very old turtle was not on the list. 

“I saw something out there, Luigi, when I went through the warp pipe. And I can’t shake it. I have to know. And the Rachquid Queen told me this was the next piece.” As he watched the engines roll, he realized why he didn’t fear for himself. A dreaded thing had become known to him and him alone and it fell to him to do something about it. It was his responsibility.  

Chapter Text

XXI

The Flower Road

The Attican Traverse was once regarded as the true frontier of Citadel-controlled space, a wildland for adventurers looking to make a name for themselves in the unclaimed territories. Now, most of the planets were destroyed from the Air Raids. What was left was sparse and desolate. Space debris from those old dead planets bounced off the hull of the Great Fox. The ship cruised to the Mass Relay, which was old and decaying from decades of neglect. Its eezo core flickered like a light bulb ready to go out. Unfortunately for Mario and team, it was the closest Relay to Shiveria. 

The Great Fox entered the gyroscopic core. The three massive metal rings rotated around each other slowly at first and then quickened until they were little more than a phantom blur. The eezo brightened and before the Great Fox, a corridor of light stretched out and beyond the 9-mile long metal arms that formed the runway. The corridor was a mass-free volume of space-time that allowed for objects to move at speeds faster than lightspeed. It was the foundational technology of the galaxy that allowed for intergalactic travel. 

The Great Fox shot like a bullet as it traveled within the mass effect field. Outside the windows, all was blue and white light, the blackness of space lost completely. They exited the jump in a matter of seconds. A Relay was programmed to send ships to the next Relay but it wasn’t an exact science. Due to the positional drift phenomenon, ships could exit the corridor hundreds of kilometers away from the next Relay. Pinna was the gravitational anchor for the Relay in the Unwatched Territories. Slippy crossed his fingers as the light faded and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the giant Relay in front of the ship. They would reach Pinna in no time!

“And thar’ she blows,” said Peppy as the planet came into view. Pinna was a vibrant green little jewel with swirling white clouds that came from the steam gardens on the surface. It had no moons or rings and was altogether quite ordinary, which was, of course, extraordinary in the Unwatched Territories. Most of the planets in the area were either on fire and blackened out by smog or flanked with satellites of pirate bases. Pinna, on the other hand, was calm and quiet. 

The Great Fox landed in the forest of Pinna. Fox and Falco were the first off the ship, followed by Mario and Luigi. Daisy and Peach hurried after. And Toad dragged his feet. They made their way up the hill. A gate of wrought iron, the red paint peeling at the edges, stood at the top. Above it, a sign read “Pinna Park.” It used to light up a long time ago. Beyond was the amusement, dilapidated by decades. The attractions were still there in various states of disrepair. Air ships once repurposed as water slides were now home to thick sheets of moss. Vines and brambles wound through porous metal that had rusted away. Nature had made her claim and took back what once belonged to her. 

Daisy looked around in despair. She took a step and her foot landed in a pool of thick black oil, around which nothing grew. There were more scattered around, a reminder of the industry that once stood. “What happened here?” she asked, wiping her boot on the cobblestones. 

Luigi pulled up the Archives on his omnitool. “It says here that Pinna used to be a vacation spot before the pirates. Beyond the park, there’s supposed to be a steam garden where guests could relax.”

“And that’s where we’re headed,” said Mario, leading the way. They made their way through the park. A broken carousel to their right offered strange sights. A blue racing machine from the old Grand Prix in the shape of a bird of prey, Yoshis of a variety of colors, and an Arwing formed the seats of the ride. 

In the back of the park, there stood a giant red cylinder with an opening across a metal walkway. The opening was dark and the structure, strange, but there was no turning back. They entered and as their eyes acclimated to the little light, they could see the steam gardens below. They made their way to the bottom along the staircase that spiralled around the perimeter of the cylinder until they reached the bottom. The gardens had flowers that emitted an aromatic steam that was released through the top vents of the cylinder like a smokestack. A crack in the metal allowed a small shaft of light through. Tending the fields were robotic gardeners, although, tending might be too generous a word. They spun in place on a pivot, their glowing eyes wild. They chattered in a soft digitized voice, all at the same time in a strange echo. They were all saying the same thing. 

“Recent events have initiated panic and spin routines! Panic and spin!” they said over and over. 

“Creepy,” said Peach. They hustled along and left the rear exit, which led to an outcropping of metal off the main structure that dead ended over a drop, nothing but darkness below.  

“Great, now what?” asked Toad, kicking a stone from the bridge. He listened but it never hit the ground. Suddenly, there came a rush of wind. Petals from the garden were strewn along the bridge and were picked up by the wind. They swirled and coalesced into a walkway of flowers in midair. 

“Follow the flowers,” said Mario with a shrug. He put a tentative foot on the flowers and pressed. It seemed sturdy so he followed with his second foot. A panic struck him and he squeezed his eyes shut and braced for a fall. A moment passed and he opened his eyes. He wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled that the flowers held him. He marched ahead as his friends watched dumbfounded.  

“You heard the man,” said Fox. He and Falco followed.  

“This is officially the dumbest thing I’ve ever done,” said Toad, shaking his head. He and Peach went next.  Luigi went to take a step but stopped short and farted. Toad heard it and laughed. “I’m glad I went first.”

Daisy puffed out her cheeks at Toad’s comment. It was like he couldn’t help but be rude. “Hold my hand, honey. We’ll go together.” Daisy extended her hand and Luigi took it. They crossed the Flower Road together. The path circled around a large platform and then went down. The farther down it went, the harsher the angle became.  

“Path’s getting kinda steep, Mario,’ Fox called out but their commander just kept trudging ahead. The slope was hard on his old knees. They all struggled for balance as the path kept them on a downward trajectory. Finally, the slope became so sharp that they lost their balance entirely and tumbled down into the dark below.  

Mario pushed himself up and spat a mouthful of dirt. The woods were dense and above them, there was no sky, just a blanket of black. But Mario was in an oddly cheery mood. It seemed that his plan had panned out. “Hey, we made it!” he said with a smile. 

Toad dusted himself off and said, “That’s one way to put it.” 

Chapter Text

XXII

Down in the Deep

The deep woods allowed no sunlight from the dense canopy above. The only light came from the little phosphomoths that made a home in the kheprisia flowers. Their white petals provided enough reflection to amplify the tiny burning balls. Golden amber puddles dotted the ground. Falco stepped in one and recoiled. He tried to wipe his boot on the grass but the substance was sticky, leaving a patch of lawn on his sole. “What is this?” he asked as he used a nearby twig to scrape the matter off. 

Fox dipped a finger in and gave it a whiff, his sensitive canine nose twitching as he recognized what it was. “Syrup,” he said and touched his tongue to it, knowing better than to ingest. “Maple.” He spit the syrup out. No telling what kind of pathogens could be hiding there in the dark.  

“Maple!” said Luigi excitedly. “My favorite.” Throwing caution to the wind, he scooped up a handful and gulped. Peach took out a small glass vial and filled it with a sample. She was a scientist after all and at the very least, it would make for a neat discovery: maple syrup on the far world of Pinna. 

Toad shook his head and laughed. “Afraid of everything except when it comes to his stomach.” 

“Dee-licious,” said Luigi, smiling. He wiped the syrup from his mustache and sighed deeply. He was feeling good. Fox pointed to the trail of syrup that led deeper into the woods. 

“Let’s follow it,” said Mario, cocking his pistol. “Guns up everyone. We don’t know what’s down here.” They obliged. Fox, Falco, Luigi and Toad pulled out their pistols. Daisy threw the sniper rifle over her shoulder. Again, she struggled with it. Fox noticed.

“Trade me,” he said.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I’m a crack shot with that weapon. I can hit a roh-pidgeon from a hundred yards through thicker brush than this.”

“It’s true,” said Falco. “I’ve seen him do it.”

“Thank you,” said Daisy. “I hate that stupid thing.” She removed the rifle from her shoulder and handed it over. She grabbed Fox’s pistol and readied it. It was a smart move, too. Fox was renowned as one of the galaxy’s finest infiltrators. His illusion technique that he developed in conjunction with his tactical cloak was the stuff of legend. Daisy, on the other hand, was a stout vanguard and had no proficiency with sniper rifles. 

They made a slow and steady pace through the dark woods. Luigi jumped at every noise but whatever critter was there in the shrubbery was too shy to come out. It was enough to announce its presence. It was a symphony of all manner of forest folk with clicking, croaking, and squawking that bounced through the boughs. Pairs of yellow eyes appeared in the dark and then were gone. The woods were dense and nondescript with the trail of maple syrup as their only guide. Daisy thought of an old story about a brother and sister who found themselves at the mercy of a witch. She shuddered at the thought of being fattened and cooked. 

They crested a hill and to her relief, they found a shaft light instead of the witch's house. The light came from high above, the only sunlight in the entire woods, and fell upon a massive maple tree. Its leaves were bright gold and its trunk was thick and strong. At the base of it was a massive puddle of maple syrup that was oozing out of a hollow higher up on the trunk. The tree was huge, its many limbs stretching for miles and intertwined with the upper canopy all throughout the woods. 

“The Maple Treeway” said Peach, astonished. 

“The what?” asked Mario. 

“We used to go karting on its branches when I was younger. But that was up top in Pinna Park. How did it get down here?” She shuddered as the truth dawned on her. During the Air Raids, the koopas used the Unwatched Territories as a home base. When they were driven out, the space pirates moved in. It must have been they who rocked the planet, which caused the tree to fall. They had far more ingenuity than she had ever given them credit for. Meaning, they were more dangerous than she could have imagined. 

In the splendor of the great tree, they failed to notice the shadow standing upon one of the giant roots. The shadow raised its arm and it blinkered a fiery red. There was a crack like a splitting log but it was no log. It was a superheated air pocket that popped, the unmistakable sound of gunfire from a weapon that used thermal clips. The shot landed just before Toad’s feet, kicking dirt up into his face and mouth. He spat, choked, and swore. 

“Find cover,” said Mario. “Fox, get to the high ground. I want a visual.”

Fox nodded and made for the hill. He threw himself into a prone position at the top and scoped out the tree but the figure was gone. 

“Anybody got eyes,” asked Mario. They fanned out in formation. He took point and inched his way towards the tree. 

“Negative,” said Fox through the ear piece.  

“Nope,” confirmed Falco.  

“I can’t see shit down here,” said Toad, still wiping dirt from his eyes. His nose was running, which left his face caked in snot and soil. There was a long silence as they moved in a radial formation. Daisy checked behind a nearby oak tree but there was nothing. Luigi looked under a bush and a little green tree frog hopped away. Falco looked skyward to see if maybe they had used thrusters to mount the canopy but all he could see was branches and darkness. All was quiet. Even the forest critters abandoned their chatter. 

“Is anybody out there?” Mario called out at last. “This is Mario, Spectre Agent First Class, on a search and rescue from the Galactic Council.” 

“First Class?” came a voice like the wind. “And here I thought I was the only one.” 

Chapter Text

XXIII

Firefight in the Woods

Mario proceeded towards the tree, checking his flanks at intervals. He tried to keep silent but the ground was littered with dried maple leaves. They crunched and crackled underfoot. The effort was theatre and he knew it. He was out in the open so, of course, she could see him. But he wanted her to see him as a professional, to regard him as an equal. “Lady Bow?” he called. “Is that you? We were sent to save you.” 

“Not by the looks of it, cowboy,” came the sweet voice like the wind. He strained to tell where it was coming from but it seemed to be all around him, echoing off the trees.  

“Come out unarmed and we can talk.” His gun arm trembled slightly and he cursed himself at his display of weakness. He was green in the field as far as First Class agents go and he prayed that she didn’t notice.  

“You’ve got four midrange gunmen in attack formation and a sniper on the left hill. You’re not coming to talk, hon.” Her voice was calm in a half-amused boredom. It was the unmistakable tone of a woman who has seen it all and found herself to be unimpressed. He, on the other hand, was intimidated by the sharpness of her mind.  

“Five,” he called back. It reassured him to correct her. Perhaps, she was full of herself. His spirits lifted as he realized that her overconfidence would be her undoing.  

“Excuse me,” she responded, not understanding. She wondered at where his newfound confidence came from.  

“You miscounted,” he said, ramping up. “I’ve got five midrange gunmen.” It practically felt like a declaration of victory. Falco had been inspecting the canopy away from the rest of the group and she hadn’t noticed. He felt like pumping his fist. Thank the stars for the expertise of Team Star Fox. This band of merry men was going to see them through to success. 

“Oh, sweetheart,” said Lady Bow with a giggle in her voice. “I’m afraid you’ve lost your bearings.” 

“What?” The word had barely left his lips when a shot rang out! A loud air pop came from behind him sending the birds in the trees scattering for safety. The hair over his right ear moved as he felt the bullet whiz by like someone blowing a warm breath on him. The bullet collided with a tree in the distance that sent splintered bark spinning. Sap oozed from the bullet wound. 

“What the fuck?” said Toad, his head swinging side to side to see where the shot had come from. He backpedaled, tripped over a tree branch, and fell. As he collided with the ground, he inadvertently squeezed the trigger and popped a shot into the air. It smacked into the branches above and leaves fell around him. Daisy reflexively dove for the dirt. She crawled towards a nearby bush and hid to get her bearings. 

Mario looked back and saw his brother. Luigi stood behind him with his gun raised in his organic hand. His eyes were weird, wide, and wild. The pupils were faded behind a milky film. The look terrified Mario but what scared him the most was that Luigi’s gun hand was completely steady. There was no agitation in him, no doubt. No fear. Whatever was making him do this was an all encompassing corruption. “Luigi,” Mario said in a pleading voice. “What the hell are you doing?” Luigi said nothing and fired more shots at his brother! Mario bolted for cover just in time. Shoots of dirt from the impact of the bullets followed his footsteps. One! Two! Three! He dove behind a rock just as a bullet whizzed overhead!

Falco entered the clearing with his gun at the ready. “Take cover, he’s gone berserk.” He fired a couple of shots at Luigi's feet in an attempt to scare him. But the other brother didn’t react at all. He pivoted slowly towards Falco, his gun arm never dropping and never wavering, until his sights were set on the bird. Falco's eyes widened and he threw himself backward as the shot flew over him. It was just in time as the bullet took off one of the feathers from his brow. Had he been a split second later, his brains would have decorated the foliage.  

“It’s that damn syrup,” said Fox through the earpiece.  

“At least one of you’s quick on the uptake,” said Lady Bow from nowhere and everywhere. Luigi took more shots at his teammates. Falco dove behind a tree. The bullets penetrated straight through the bark, one over each shoulder. He slid down the trunk into a seated position and put his head between his knees with his hands around the back of his neck as Luigi’s gunfire made Swiss cheese of the tree trunk. 

“Is this where I say, ‘You’ll never take me alive, copper?’” laughed Lady Bow. “I’ve always wanted to say that.” 

“We’ve gotta do something,” screamed Falco. His cover was being blown apart piece by piece.  

“Toad,” called Fox. “The arm operates through programming, just like any computer. Can you hack it?”

“I can hack anything.” Toad activated his omnitool. He searched for the connection to Luigi’s arm. Even though he was only twenty feet away, the tree coverage meant that the signal strength was in the toilet. Luigi fired wildly in all directions. Toad typed on his gauntlet in a panic, trying to refresh the connection settings. He prayed that Luigi's arm would appear. He jabbed his finger repeatedly on the reload button but there was nothing there. Luigi found Daisy’s hiding spot and took a step towards her. His firing became less erratic. He had a target! She yelped and crawled as fast she could from the bush. A bullet scraped her ankle, which bled. She pushed herself to her feet and ran, keeping her head down. Bullets whizzed dangerously close. 

Finally, the arm appeared on Toad’s gauntlet. He connected to it and began the hacking process. Each hack was a different puzzle. This was a letter code. There were three rotatable boxes in a 3x3 grid with a total of nine letters per box. He had to rotate each to form words so that the letters would disappear. At first, he thought that three-letter words would work and then realized that they needed to each be nine letters, which made the puzzle exponentially more difficult. The pressure was on but he was in the zone. He solved the puzzle with lightning quick thinking. He hacked the arm! Luigi raised his organic arm and his finger tensed on the trigger. He was aiming right for the back of Daisy’s skull. Just then, his robotic arm activated and slapped him across the face, rendering him unconscious! “Fool,” said Toad. 

There was a stillness and a silence for a long moment. Mario’s grip tightened on his pistol, the tension mounting until…

Bang!

A sniper shot rang out. 

Chapter Text

XXIV

Like Falling Stones

The gunshot cleared and faded, the silence magnifying the tinnitus buzzing in his ears. “The hell was that?” said Toad, sticking a pinky in his ear and wiggling it. 

“Agent down,” Fox said through the earpiece. His voice was dry and emotionless.  

“Fox, report,” Mario commanded. It almost seemed like he had a grip on things. Never mind that he just got attacked by his brainwashed brother.  

“There was a shot and I took it,” said Fox without a trace of irony or regret. He had heard those words before but under vastly different circumstances. Fox directed them to their quarry. They moved in a V-formation, with Mario at the point. Peach stayed several steps behind as she had made the mistake of going unarmed. Lady Bow lay under a tree, shot through the left leg. Her encasement suit was breached and her vapors were leaking out of the bullet wound like a jet of steam. She choked and gasped for air. 

“Good shooting, Fox,” said Mario. “Let’s patch that suit and cuff her.” 

Toad took the hint and holstered his gun. He took one step towards the boo before a voice sounded through the earpiece. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” asked Fox knowingly. He was watching them through the glass.   

“We’ll get Luigi on the way back,” said Mario, misunderstanding the question.  

“That’s not what I meant.”

 Toad turned to Mario, who stared back at him blankly. He blinked several times and then his mind cleared. Suddenly, he understood and the fact that he hadn’t seen it sooner terrified him. What if Fox hadn’t been there? Someone else could have gotten injured or worse. “Toad, wait,” said Mario. “Consider her armed and dangerous. We move together.” 

“Even if it looks like your enemy is incapacitated, never send your man into a dangerous situation alone,” Fox instructed.  

“That’s just Toad, though,” Mario complained. “He doesn’t use his head.”

“I’ll second that,” said Falco, chuckling.  

“No,” Fox said definitively. “You're the commander. They obey your commands. Make sure they’re the right ones.” He watched through the scope as the team fanned out with their pistols raised at the boo. Her pistol was in her left hand, a finger ready on the trigger. Despite choking on her last breaths, she still had a mind to kill.  

“Toss it,” said Falco. She obliged the command. Toad cuffed her hands behind her back and fixed the breach in her suit with medi-gel. Its viscosity was high enough to plug the hole. She took a deep breath to settle the burning in her lungs.  

“Why did you shoot at us?” asked Mario in as commanding a voice as he could muster. 

“Oh sugar,” she said unfazed. “You really don’t know what you’ve stepped in.” She was chalk white and bald, with plump red lips that curled out of mischief and dark eyelashes that batted. She had a pink bow tied around each earlobe. Her figure was slender and feminine.   

“I know what’s out in the dark.” 

“So you went through the warp pipe.” She wore an expression of mild interest.  

“No, but I looked in.” 

“I did,” she whispered. “It felt like the whole of my being was ripped apart and put back together. We boos are made of different stuff than you organics. It was terrible. But then he found me and he gave me such joy. And he showed me how to share it with the galaxy. The answer was right here underneath the gardens of Pinna. You saw it with your brother.” 

“Mind control?” spat Toad.

“The Maple Tree doesn’t control,” she countered. “It sets you free. Free from the illusions of structure and dignity. Like the wisps of my kind, it is all vapor. The great cosmic nothing. This galaxy, these people, Mario, they’re all ghosts. Shadows on the wall. But he is coming to tear down the walls.” 

“Then, the galaxy will stop him,” said Falco, clenching his fist.  

“The hour is later than you think,” she said and her smile broadened. Her teeth were sharp like fangs. “We must join with the turtle king.” 

“When did the great Spectre agent abandon courage for cowardice?” asked Fox through the earpiece.  

“Let’s get her back to the ship,” said Mario. There was a pipe in the rock just beyond the Maple Treeway that led out of the deep woods. Soon, they were back on the Great Fox. Slippy and Peppy put Lady Bow in the brig. They each went to their stations and took off, leaving Pinna behind. Mario retired to his quarters. He needed some time away to collect his thoughts. He looked out the window of his room and saw the ships of space pirates in the distance. They were locked in a vicious dogfight with a hunter gunship that was bright red with a striking green cockpit window. The gunship fired and struck one of the pirate ships and it exploded in a ball of fire. There was no sound, no shockwave. It seemed so distant and somehow unreal. Mario’s eyes fell from the visions of fire and death. 

There was a knock at the door and Fox came in. He nodded and Mario returned the gesture. “Maybe the Lady is right,” he said after a long pause.  

“How’s that?” asked Fox. 

“We rise, we build, we collapse. And the stars shine all the same. As if it didn’t even matter. Maybe it doesn’t.” The second pirate ship exploded and the gunship made the relay jump and was gone. The only evidence they were ever there at all was a handful of glittering dust in the great black void.  

“Of course it does,” said Fox affirmatively. “The galaxy is not vapor but a vast lake. And we are all stones falling from the sky. Who’s to say the ripples you make don’t one day become a great wave that crashes upon the grassy shore?”

“And those stones will sink and erode and be lost to time,” Mario countered.  

“Yes,” said Fox. “But the grass will be thankful for the water.” 

Chapter Text

XXV

Unsure Footing 

The hand gripped the rail and he descended. The metal steps creaked underfoot. There must have been walls, some semblance of structure, but all was black before his eyes. Something gurgled. Something was bubbling up. There was the sound of movement and it was there in the dark. The steps ended and the feet touched a spongy moss in the tiny room. There were windows covered in greasy film that let in a sickly yellow light, like a diseased flame. The walls were made of wooden slats and bare, except for a picture frame that hung at an odd angle. The picture showed a man hanging from a tree. 

In the sickly light, he could see he was standing in a graveyard, indoors and underground. The stones weren’t in neat rows or had any organization to them at all. Some were tipped, others were cracked, but each of them had the name worn away. He padded with slow and silent footsteps through the graveyard until he found one stone unlike the rest. Fleshy pink tendrils wrapped around it like fingers and before it, the grave was dug up and empty. On the stone, the name was clearly etched and read: 

Luigi. 

A thorny vine wrapped around his ankle and sunk in his flesh, hooking him like a fish. It dragged him from his feet into the open grave and down. He descended past engines and horns, the great scaffolding of all things, until they faded away and a tiny patch of stone was below him or above him. He couldn’t tell one way or the other. The smell of rot hit him in a wave of steam and he retched. Finally, he came to a stop and realized he was upside down. Before him, a great maw of razor teeth opened and he saw rent flesh on the canine in the shape of a handprint. Petey, the Piranha Maw, roared and shook the walls of the cavern beneath the worlds. 

Luigi lay on a cot in the brig. The muscles in his jaw clenched and his brow twitched. He hadn’t slept in days, not since he was put under for the surgery. Lady Bow watched his fits from her cell. She had eaten the pear and crackers but hadn’t the stomach for the sandwich. Instead, she resorted to picking apart the bread and throwing crumbs across the room. She counted how many times she hit his mustache. So far, she had hit four. Without warning, he jolted up wide awake and screamed. 

She snorted a laugh at his visage of pure terror. “Look who’s finally up,” she said, picking up a cup and clanking it back and forth on the bars.   

“How long have I been out?” He massaged the ache in his jaw. Clenching his teeth had given him a splitting headache. 

“Who’s to say?” Her eyes were wide with mischief. 

“Does that mean you won’t?”

“Clever boy. I see why she likes you.” 

“You’re a boo. Couldn’t you just walk out of those bars?”

“Of course I could, clever boy. But then where would I go?” She pushed herself against the bars with one resting between her small breasts. “I could join you on that cot.” 

“A lot of good that would do you. Being a ghost and all.” 

“Don’t be stupid,” she snapped. “We boos feel everything. That shot through my thigh was like lightning. The pain was exquisite.” Her tone softened and she dragged her bottom lip up the shaft of the bar.  “Would you like a taste?” 

“Not a chance.” The throbbing in his head dimmed his vision and made him dizzy. 

“No one has to know,” she persisted. He glared at her and held her gaze. After a long moment, she relented and backed away from the bars and took a seat on her cot. “Pity. You did so well before. I think you would make a perfect pet for the Koopa king. How about it, clever boy? Join us or die, as they say.” He said nothing but his nerves caught up to him. His gaze faltered and a silent fart escaped from him. His face turned a beet red. “Suit yourself,” she said at last. “But someday you will lend us a helping hand.” She regarded his robotic arm, threw her head back and cackled, light glinting off her pearly fangs. He pushed himself from the cot and ran from the room as her cackling chased after him. 

With his head down, he nearly ran her over but stopped short at the sight of her feet. He looked up to see his fiance, wearing a puzzled expression. “Luigi!” she said. “You’re finally awake. Are you okay?” She put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed. Her touch felt like solid ground.  

“Yeah. I’m fine,” he said but it was clear to her that something had shaken him. He took her hands from him and pushed past her. She watched him scamper off down the corridor and out of sight. Her brow knitted and she squeezed her hands together.  We’re supposed to tell each other everything, she thought. Even when it’s tough. Especially when it’s tough. She wiped her tears on her sleeve. 

Outside, the Great Fox approached the mass relay. It entered the orbital dock and automatically, the great gyroscope whirled around it. The same blue energy field grew until it shot out of the runway, creating the massless zone. Inside, it felt as though their bodies had become vapor, as if they were all ghosts. Each of them felt it in their own way but, in silence, they shared the ill feeling that their mission was doomed. The feeling was as intangible and untethered as their bodies in the mass-free field. It was all color and dread but if they could put it into words, they might have asked themselves why it was so easy for them to capture Lady Bow, not just a First-Class Spectre, but, perhaps, the greatest field agent in the history of the Galactic Federation. 

“Watch your footing, crew,” said Slippy through the intercom. “We’re about to make the first jump.” 

Chapter Text

XXVI

Slack

There was a small table in the commander’s quarters that stood just under the window. Mario poured another two glasses of peach wine and pushed one of them forward. He took a sip and gazed out of the window. Fox swirled his and studied the man across the table. They were a bottle in and his eyes were glazed over. He slumped to one side and his mouth drooped at the corners. Fox saw the man as he was and pitied him. He still wanted his ship back and to retire in peace but looking at him now, he felt a certain protection over him, the kind a father might feel for his son. 

“You did good out there on the mission,” said Fox. “Before you know it, you’ll be a world-class fleet commander.” He lapped at his drink with his long pink tongue. 

“I dunno,” said Mario, not breaking his gaze from the window. “I feel unsteady. Like I don’t know which way is forward.” 

“Such is the burden of leadership,” Fox responded, taking a hearty gulp of wine. “I can tell you this, awareness is key. You can’t be prepared if you don’t know what’s going on.” He hiccupped. He was a practiced drinker like any good soldier but the wine was starting to go to his head.  

The Great Fox came out of the first jump into the Attican Traverse. Mario felt the wine in his glass regain its mass. It was an odd sensation, like jiggling Jell-O. He took another swig. Space debris spun across the window, reminding him of the glittering dust of the blasted space pirates. An old satellite rolled in place, shards of its former glass panels ringing around it like a halo. It was once the marvel of a civilization: the achievement of flight and long-distance transmission. Now, there was no one in federal space that would even know the name of the people it belonged to. Time doesn’t heal wounds, he thought. It just removes them from memory. 

The Great Fox cruised to the Attican Relay and entered the orbital dock. Mario felt his stomach lift as the weight left him. He hated the sensation. Every. Single. Time. He was itching to get off the ship and back on something resembling solid ground. 

“Here comes the second jump,” said Slippy through the intercom. Then, they shot like a bullet through space-time.  

Mario turned then from the window to his drink. He studied it with great intensity and thought for a long moment. He felt no pride or sense of fulfillment in his performance thus far. Fox had been sprayed with acid, the fur yet to grow back. Toad was a trainwreck who ruined the trust of the team. Luigi lost an arm, got a new one, and then attacked them under hypnosis. Was it all his fault? He was the commander. Of course, it was his fault. They must have blamed him. They must have seen through his charade. A dreaded thought occurred to him that they saw him as no leader, but rather the pantomime of one. And then there was Lady Bow who gave him a sense of unease that he couldn’t quite place. “How do I stay aware?”

“You can start by getting out of your own head. If your head is somewhere else, you’ll never be able to lead the path in front of you. 

“Easy for you to say,” he said with a tinge of resentment. “You haven’t seen what I have.”

“No,” said Fox, blinking to clear his bleary eyes. “But there’s nothing you can do about it right now, is there? Okay, something’s waiting in the dark. But the job isn’t for a ragtag team of idiots to take on the entire koopa army. It’s to bring Lady Bow back to the Citadel. And that’s what you’re doing. Give yourself some credit.” He clapped him on the shoulder with his paw and gave him a bare toothed smile. 

“Thanks, Fox,” he said, the whiskers of his mustache twitching with the hint of a grin. “I’m glad you’re with me. I don’t think I could do this on my own.” 

The blue light dimmed outside the window as they came out of hyperspace. Before them, the citadel rotated on its axis. The Great Fox was dwarfed by its enormity. With all the lights in its windows, it was as bright as a star.

Fox gave him a small salute and staggered to his feet. The port was busy and it would take some time before they would be cleared to dock. He indicated that he was going to take a short nap to regain his senses and he bid Mario farewell. Alone, Mario sat with his thoughts, which swirled and turned dark. He appreciated Fox’s advice but couldn’t help but feel like a fake, an imposter in hero’s clothing. They made him First-Class on a hope but titles don’t equal actions. Ceremony counts for nothing in the field. That’s why medals come after deeds. But they gave him their highest rank after one mission that didn’t even go to plan. He grew angry at the idea that the council had set him up to fail.  

“Star Fox and friends,” said Slippy. “Welcome home.”

It felt like it, too. For Mario, the Citadel was as close to a home as he had. Most people came to the Citadel from the surface of some planet or other. It was a place of gathering not originating. It was a place of discourse and gambling for the highs of success and the terrible lows of defeat. It was a place of coming and going, not of staying. It was not a place to raise children. But for those who were abandoned, there was a small orphanage in the lower decks. It was in that orphanage that Mario was left as a baby. He never knew his parents, only that Luigi was his brother and it was his job to protect him. That’s what I told him, that I would never let anything bad happen to him, he thought in tortured silence. What kind of brother am I that I let him get his arm bitten off? What kind of leader am I?

Chapter Text

XXVII

Kiss of Death

The burly C-Sec officer wrapped the e-cuffs tight around Lady Bow’s wrists. He gave her a shove in a vain attempt to assert control. She laughed and shook her head. His hand tightened on her shoulder as he guided her off the landing platform. She slowly lolled her head towards Daisy as she passed, maintaining eye contact with a lazy and disaffected gaze. “That’s some boy you’ve got there,” she said. Daisy covered her mouth with her hand and the ghost bared her fangs in a wide grin. She clicked her heels to a halt, annoying the arresting officer. They held each other’s gaze for a long moment, neither backing down. Daisy’s hand balled into a tight fist.  

“Don’t worry, love,” said Lady Bow, removing her hood. “He was a perfect gentleman.” She broke from the officer’s grip and threw herself at Daisy, planting a soft kiss on her plump, pink lips. She thrust her tongue down Daisy’s throat and massaged in rhythmic flicks. Daisy’s head whirled and she felt faint. What was she playing at? What could she have to gain other than embarrassing her? And she was embarrassed. She could feel the hot flush of her cheeks. But the ghost’s kiss was cool like a winter’s breath, like sucking on a peppermint. The world left her feet and spun out. She shut her eyes to it as it tumbled over and over. Everything else seemed to melt away and she surprised herself to find that she was kissing her back!

The officer pulled Lady Bow away from Daisy, leaving a line of drool connecting their lips. She wheezed, now out of breath, and quickly reactivated the hood on her containment suit. Her lungs were like fire from being exposed to the atmosphere for even just a few moments but the shocked look on their faces was worth the discomfort. The officer barked at her and shuffled her away towards the jail at C-Sec in the lower decks. 

Daisy looked back to Luigi, who shook his head. He didn’t know what to make of it but he knew it wasn’t her fault. And he knew he wasn’t mad. She wrapped herself around his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. He smelled the sweet perfume of her hair and kissed the top of her head. 

“Maniac,” said Falco, watching after her with narrowed eyes.  

“No she’s not,” said Toad, lighting a cigar and taking a long drag. “Working in the shadows of back alleys, you come across people like her. She knows exactly what she’s doing. And that’s what makes her so scary.” 

“We have to report this to the council,” Mario said with a clap of his hands. It was time to get back on track.  

“Are we relieved of our service yet?” asked Falco, suddenly annoyed. “We have places to be, you know.” 

“That can wait, Falco,” said Fox. His junior officer still didn’t know what time it was and it was working his nerves. When was he going to wise up? There was no way the council would let them off the hook, not with stakes this big. He tried to clarify his point and said, “We just captured the top Spectre agent for going AWOL and attacking a federal unit.” 

“She mentioned that I am going to help the koopa king,” whispered Luigi.  

Falco turned on his heel to face him. “What? When?” 

“When I was alone with her in the brig.” 

Mario placed a hand on his shoulder. “Why didn’t you say something?” 

“She, umm, she embarrassed me,” he stammered before turning to Daisy and holding her hands in his. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t blame you,” she said. “I saw just how good she is at embarrassing people.”

“Nothing happened. I promise.” 

“I believe you,” she said with a reassuring smile and kissed him. His kiss was warm and sweet and full of life, a comforting palette cleanser from the cold kiss of death.  

Falco folded his arms and scoffed. “Now that that’s settled, what do we do now?”

“Uh, listen,” Toad started slowly. “We brought the ghost back alive, or as alive as a ghost can be. That means the broker owes me. I just don’t want to be the one to tell him. Last time, I barely escaped with my mushroom cap. He’s a mean sonuvabitch.”

There was a long silence and they traded awkward glances between them before they all settled on one: Mario. McCloud was the first to speak up. “What’s your decision, Mario?”

He exhaled slowly as he formed his thoughts aloud. “I think it would be best if just Fox and I went to the council. Falco, Luigi and Daisy, go with Toad to collect from the Shadow Broker. Don’t take no for an answer. Toad, I assume there was an agreement?”

“Yep, I’ve got it in the holonet. Digital fingerprint from both myself and that hulking bastard.” 

“Then you’ve got him by the balls. Even the Shadow Broker has to honor his agreements. Reputation is all there is in his line of work.” 

“What about me?” asked Peach. Her eyes were bright and expectant as she awaited his order. 

His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. Her eyes were as blue as the clearest skies in Fossil Falls. He shook his head to regain his composure. “Do you have that sample from Pinna?” She pulled out the vial, which was three quarters full of the amber syrup.  

“I want you to take it down to Processing and find out what did that to Luigi. We meet back at the Great Fox before the Lunar Rotation. I don’t want anyone roaming the streets after dark. Understood?” They nodded in agreement and they each headed their own way. Fox and Mario held back. Fox watched Peach walk down the long corridor to Processing all on her own and his brow knitted and his teeth clenched, baring his pointy fangs. Mario noticed the look, which sent his heart racing. What was it again that Fox had told him on Pinna?

“What?” he asked, breaking the tense silence. “Did I do something wrong?”

Chapter Text

XXVIII

A New Deal

They were squished inside the small musky office of the Shadow Broker. All four of them. Toad sat in the lone chair in front of the silhouetted form behind the plate glass. Falco stood next to him with the rhino bodyguard in the shadowy corner behind him. On the opposite side, Luigi was pressed up against the wall with Daisy standing in front of him. She had wide hips with a large round bottom that rubbed up against his groin. She felt him swell against her and placed an absentminded hand on his thigh, which, of course, only served to aggravate matters. He studied the ceiling and recited times tables. Two times two is four. Four times four is sixteen…, he said to himself, but it was a fruitless effort to stymie the blood flow. 

“That was then, Toad,” came the avalanche of a voice. “The deadline has passed.” 

Daisy puffed out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips. “Nice try, Broker. I read the agreement. There was no deadline.” She bent forward to assert her point but the Broker took no notice. Luigi did, however, because when she did so, her bottom pressed firmly against him. His eyes rolled back and he placed a hand on hers to hold her hip. He panted like a dog without water. She straightened and placed her hand on his cheek and slapped him with three quick strikes. But there was no getting him out of it. He was on the long, lonely spiral to an achy crotch. 

“It was a handshake agreement,” growled the Broker. “Or don’t you remember, Toad?”

“You fuckin’ weasel,” said Toad, his eyes falling. Falco watched him with disgust as a tear fell from his cheek. The scoundrel had lied. There was no official agreement between him and the Shadow Broker. While there was a written note, it had no fingerprints attached and without those, it was as useless as sandals in the mud. And why would there be? The Broker was a big time player in all things seedy. He didn’t need to ante up to a chump like Toad. As far as he was concerned, Toad was meat to be thrown into the grinder. He was a lifetime loser who was never meant to succeed and now he was blubbering in his office. So, he lied about the official agreement. He made the whole thing up so that Mario and team would support him in trying to get his money. 

“You can’t do this to us,” breathed Luigi. “We did what you asked.” 

“I need that money, Broker,” said Toad in a small voice. He sniffled and wiped his tear-stained cheek on his sleeve. There was so much on the line for him: his ship, his freedom, his dignity. He couldn’t let it slip away, especially, when they had actually completed the job.  

“The client wanted Bow brought in within a week’s time. You’ve been cruising around for a month.” The broker slammed his massive fist on his desk with a bang that caused all of them, including the hulking rhino, to jump.  

“I wouldn’t call it cruising,” Toad protested.  

“You don’t know what we’ve been through,” said Daisy, her cheeks turning bright red. “We’ve fought rachquids and a Piranha Maw to see this done. 

“Regardless,” said the Broker with a swipe of his claw. “The client’s interest has passed. If I don’t get paid, you don’t get paid.” 

Falco pulled out his blaster and pointed it at the plate glass. If someone decided to get brave in the Broker’s office, the glass was thick enough to withstand a stray bullet and give the rhino enough time to get the drop and crack their skull. But it wouldn’t stand up to a shootout. “Pay up, scumbag,” he said. He flicked the switch on the receiver to ready a thermal clip in the chamber, causing the barrel to glow an angry orange. 

Toad stood, drew his pistol, and aimed at the form behind the glass. Daisy saw out of the corner of her eye the rhino pull both pistols from his shoulder holsters and aimed one each at the back of Toad and Falco’s heads. She drew her pistol and aimed at him. It was a good ol’ fashioned Mexican standoff. Luigi was so pressed up against the wall that he didn’t have enough room to maneuver. 

“Put your weapons down,” growled Rambi, the rhino.  

“You first,” Daisy shot back. He angled his head towards her then and his black eyes widened so that she could see the whites of them when he realized he was staring down the barrel of her gun. He stole himself and bared his teeth at her. So many people had graced this office, people of import and respect. People who knew not to draw their weapons. Even the bitch from New Donk knew to watch her manners and she was crazier than an ostrich in sneakers. Who the hell did this team of ruffians think they were? 

“Hey, hey, hey,” said Toad. “Let’s not lose our heads. I’m sure we can sort this out like civilized scoundrels.” He threw his hands up in a surrender gesture, his pistol dangling from his index finger through the trigger guard. They stood like that for a long moment in silence. Falco’s gun arm burned as the adrenaline coursed through his veins, his blaster like a lead weight. 

Suddenly, there came a light scratching from beyond the glass. The form was tapping his long nails upon his desk. “I could offer you another contract. A real one this time.” 

“Forget it,” said Daisy. “We’re not dealing with a bookie who doesn’t pay his debts.” 

“Very well. I should tell you that it pays double what was on the table last time. If you complete it in full. No partial payouts.” 

“Is it dangerous?” asked Luigi. 

“Very.” The form tapped the omnitool on his arm and swiped out with his finger, which sent the new contract to Toad’s omnitool. It chimed and flashed blue as it received the message. Toad checked the new contract and raised an eyebrow. 

“Okay, Broker,” he said. “I’m listening.” 

Chapter Text

XXIX

Agents of Disappointment

The Citadel rotated along an axis just like any celestial body. It was designed to complete a rotation every twenty-four hours to simulate a normal Earth day. Outside the large window, the sun fell towards the horizon bathing the inner chamber of the council in the soft yellow glow of late afternoon. Soon, the Citadel would rotate towards the moon and it would fall dark. Fox and Mario stood shoulder to shoulder waiting for a response from the council. Fox looked straight ahead like a professional, while Mario fidgeted and studied the ground. 

“Preposterous!” cried Booregard. “Lady Bow is of exceptional character. I should know. I appointed her, myself.” There was a lot riding on her success. He had gone to bat for her. It took a lot of persuasion for the council to approve her and he had hoped it would be the first step in repairing the galaxy’s relationship with his people. 

“Councilor,” said Fox matter-of-factly. “She fired at us. With intent to kill.” 

Adam Malkovich sighed and shook his head. “We should never have trusted a boo.” 

“What?” scoffed Booregard, taken aback. “Adam, that is an obscene sentiment from you.” 

“The boos caused irreparable harm to the House,” Toadette offered gently.  

“That was a long time ago,” growled Booregard. Toadette had the uncanny disposition to mediate in arguments. Normally, this was a benefit since it kept the council center but now, Booregard found her bothsidesism to be timid and irritating.  

“Their judgment is compromised,” said Adam simply. He stiffened his bottom lip as if his perspective was the absolute and undisputed truth.  

The combination of confidence and a concerted attack from the other two sent Booregard over the edge. “That is a bigoted sentiment, Councilor,” he shouted. “I would watch your words.” He thrust a pointer finger at Adam from across the table. They fell into silence for a moment with shock from his outburst. He was normally such a composed gentleman. In fact, he took pride in it. He was once the doorman of the House, after all. But he couldn’t allow his people’s reputation to be dragged through the mud due to fear and misinformation. His only option was to take a stand.   

Funky Kong cleared his throat after a long silence. “Not so, Boo-brodie,” he started, choosing his words carefully. “We’ve known for some time that the boos are unusually responsive to the waves of the Mass Relays. The bending of space-time causes shifts in their vaporous composition.” 

“She said as much when she went through the warp pipe,” Mario chimed in, but they paid him no mind. This conversation was far above his station. His cheeks flushed when they ignored him and he returned to studying his feet.   

“It is not uncommon for these shifts to cause a dissociation of self,” continued Funky. “In essence, it makes them coo-coo nutty.” 

“So you’re saying she’s lost it,” asserted Fox. It wasn’t a question.  

“I’m saying that she is a vulnerability,” Funky corrected. “One that the koopa king seems eager to exploit.” Mario felt a pang of embarrassment that the council took Fox more seriously than they did their own agent. That old feeling of being a fraud began to rear its ugly head. He looked at Fox, who stood at attention with his head held high and his arms crossed behind his back. He struck an impressive figure. That was how a soldier was supposed to act, not fumble with his gloves and avoid eye contact.   

“If there even is a koopa king,” said Booregard. It had been fifty years since the end of the Air Raids, which was just long enough for some troublesome theories to take root in the younger generations. One such was that Bowser wasn’t banished at all but rather destroyed completely. Some doubted that he ever existed in the first place. It was all nonsense, of course, and Booregard knew that all too well. He wore the evidence of the Air Raids on his back, ever since the flesh was torn from his bones.   

“True,” said Toadette in that neutral and placating voice. “There is no proof that the koopas are still alive. After all, who could survive out there in the cold of the Deep Dark.” 

“I’ve seen them,” said Mario, taken aback. He slammed his gloved fist on the table and they turned towards him reluctantly. He had stepped outside of his station but at least he made his voice heard. Fox kept his head up and eyes forward but a small smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. Pico, who resigned himself to an observatory role, gave him a small nod. Mario noticed and it seemed like validation. Pico spoke rarely but when he did it was for the little folk, people who have long lived with their voices silenced or erased.  

“You saw a vision, Mario,” said Toadette. “It could have been a manifestation of the warp pipe. But I agree with Councilor Funky Kong, until we know for certain, we prepare as if the koopa king is out there and preparing a strike. 

“After all, he was banished but never actually accounted for after the Air Raids,” said Funky. 

“Wait a minute,” said Fox. “You told him to get lost and took his word for it that he would oblige?”

“It was a chaotic time, McCloud,” said Malkovich. “The decision was made to focus on rebuilding what was lost instead of tying up the courts with expensive war tribunals. I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind you that that was long before the current members of this council. Most of the records of those conversations were lost in the data purge from the server collapse so we can’t know all of the details that went into making those decisions. But soldier, I will caution you against speaking to this council with disrespect. It is unprofessional and could be taken as insubordination. Frankly, I expect better of you.”

Fox withered. Mario’s mouth dropped open. The image of his role model was shattered before his eyes. But, really, what had he done? He called out an injustice to power and power was offended. Was that really so bad? Perhaps, he should have shown more restraint or chosen his words more carefully but as far as Mario was concerned, his intent was sound. Still, it was a mistake to draw the ire of those they served. If an old dog like Fox could make such a mistake, then perhaps, he should give himself more slack as he grew into his new leadership role. He made an attempt to move the conversation along and said, “Okay. So what do we do now?”

Chapter Text

XXX

Peach in the Presidium

The Citadel rotated lazily. A large window hung over the Presidium. Outside, the sun was starting to dip behind the moon signaling that nightfall was within the hour. The Presidium was the polished and pristine heart of the station. It contained the council chambers and government offices, interplanetary embassies, and major financial institutions, such as the federal bank and stock trade. Mushroom Hospital, the premiere medical house for the rich and powerful, was also located here. 

Peach wore a snug white t-shirt and navy leggings that clung to her athletic frame. She wore a pink hoodie with the hood up and her head down to keep from being recognized. Being the princess and de facto leader of one of the most populous core worlds carried with it a certain amount of fame and intrigue, two inconveniences she was eager to avoid. She made her way through the bustling Presidium. Crabbers tended the floors, cleaning the scuff marks from the rubber shoes on the chrome tiling. The hour was late and government employees had just called it a day, ready for a drink down in the Wards. They pushed past her, bumping shoulders with nary an apology or an “excuse me.” Life moved fast and hard in the Presidium. 

Peach stopped short before a virtual intelligence. The VI was the hologram of a young woman in federal uniform that served as a navigation center for visitors to the colossal Citadel. She spoke on a loop, a predetermined script written by an idiot ages ago, unless prompted otherwise. “The Presidium is home to the embassies of the major civilizations of the galaxy. Located below are the Wards where the major shopping districts are. Enjoy cool drinks at Plessie’s Den or games at…,” said VI, trailing off as Peach lost interest and continued towards her destination. 

He sat on a bench near the large fountain in the center of the Presidium. From that angle, he could see all movement in the crowded place. People coming. People going. He kept eyes on it all, ever scanning for his quarry, until, at last, his eyes landed on her. She tugged at her pink hoodie with her head down as if that would make any difference at all. Even at that distance, he knew exactly who she was and more importantly, exactly what she was worth. As soon as he locked onto her, his black needle-point eyes never left her. He tied his handkerchief above his nose and waited. He was an impossibly patient man with a singular focus, which was, of course, how he got the job in the first place. He watched her push through the flooding crowds, never the wiser that she was, indeed, being hunted. 

The fountain emptied into a wide reflection pond that stretched the length of the Presidium. Red barberry bushes and large white soapstone platforms flanked the lake. On one of those platforms was a stargazer who was in the middle of a particularly piquant sermon. He was dressed in stained rags that hung from his wiry frame. His brown beard and hair were oily and knotted from a lack of soap and water that was headed for the one month mark. His hands reached above his head and his eyes were wide so that the whites were visible above and below. His grungy, chaotic visage was a far cry from the clean and bored government drones that constituted the general patronage of the Presidium. 

“Repent, I say!” shouted the Stargazer. “For in penance, ye shall be saved. So sayeth the prophet. Do not, my friends, put your faith in the metals of man for they shall fall to rust and disrepair. Trust not in the structures and scaffolds that confine thee to thou doom. Trust instead the prophet for she alone shall save us.” No one in the shuffling crowd batted an eye as he finished his speech for the seventh time. He began again and finally, someone had had enough. It was a long and monotonous day, which was bad all on its own. But having to push through the late afternoon crowd while listening to a cultist loop his insanity was too much. 

“Shut up, you friggin’ howlie,” said the bystander. Howlie was a derogatory term for members of the cult due to their incessant howling of all things prophet. He chucked his cup of soda at the stargazer, which hit him square in the chest and exploded fizzy brown drink all over the front of his shirt: another stain to blend in with the others.  

Peach watched but kept moving. Her stomach tied in knots to watch the common folk fight among themselves. She thought of her castle and how tall her tower was. At the top, everyone below her looked like ants on a pile. And she was above it. All of it. With her great mirror, and her perfumes, and her many dresses, and all the different outfits for the vacations that she had taken or planned to take. And her shelves upon shelves of books of the great histories full of so much wisdom from those that had come before. She had read every word so, surely, she knew better. Shouldn’t everyone know better? But down here, they were in the muck or something like it, fighting over the same old shit. Religion. Poverty. Belonging. Goddammit, she thought. What else is new?

“Bare witness,” the stargazer continued. “Bare witness to the transgressions that I endure. Your bigotry does not deter me. The Great Devourer comes! And when he does, all shall burn.”

Peach shuddered at his words and made her way out of the main courtyard. The man on the bench with needle-point eyes rose and followed. She skipped down a flight of stairs that led to a back alley. It was dark and dingy, the fluorescent lights flickering overhead. Clearly, the crabbers didn’t make their way down there. It was lined with beggars and overflowing trash bags that hadn’t been picked up all week by a stretched-too-thin sanitation department. It reeked of body odor and rotten food. Peach wretched and lifted her shirt above her nose. She marveled at how the quality of living could be so different between the Presidium and the lower decks and they were separated only by a flight of stairs. The man followed a few paces behind and pulled at his handkerchief, which did little to block the reeking stench. 

She shuffled past a lone police outpost, which was little more than an information kiosk. The portly toad officer was reclined in his chair and dozing, a snot bubble hanging from his nose. Just past the outpost was Processing, but down there, everyone called it the Tubes. There were a couple of reasons for this. First, and most obvious, were the vials of blood that they centrifuged for testing, quite literally, test tubes. Secondly, disease ran rampant in the Lower Decks but actual medical care was scarce and typically reserved for the upper class workers of the Presidium. So, if it happened that you needed testing for something you caught, you could consider your life to be “down the tubes.”

She pushed through the front door and a bell at the top chimed to signal her entrance. An attendant in a white nurses uniform and an accompanying hat with a red cross looked up with a plump and pleasant face. Her makeup was tidy and professional and uniform freshly pressed. “Welcome to the Tubes,” she said. “How can I…” She stopped short in shock when she saw the face of a princess nestled in a pink hoodie. 

Chapter Text

XXXI

The Tubes

Peach smiled and cocked her head to one side, expecting a follow-up. The attendant was frozen in time with her mouth hanging open. It isn’t everyday that a famous person wanders down into the Tubes, let alone the most famous person in the galaxy. A line of drool traced the inside of her cheek and fell down her lip. She caught it before it dribbled down her chin but she saw that the princess noticed and she whimpered as her cheeks turned a bright scarlet. 

“It’s okay,” Peach said quickly. “Really.” She reached into the front pocket of her hoodie and pulled out the small glass vial of the maple syrup sample from Pinna. She handed the vial to the attendant. “How long will it take you to sequence this?”

The attendant took the vial in both hands and rolled it over. It was rather viscous. She could tell by the way it clung to the glass, leaving a sticky film behind. She held it up to the fluorescent light above and took stock of its amber color. Strange, she thought and cocked an eyebrow. She was used to receiving the samples of galactic species. Humans and Kongs shared a similar composition of blood and urine. Toad blood tended to be paler in color due to their naturally low hematocrit. They were, quite literally, a thin-blooded people. The mesoglea of metroids was just water and collagen. Simple enough. But she had never seen anything like this from a living species before. She popped the cap and took a tentative sniff. Her brow fell and she felt bamboozled. Was the princess playing some kind of practical joke on her? “I don’t mean to be rude, princess, but it’s just maple syrup,” she said, feeling dejected.  

Peach gave a reassuring smile at the attendant’s confusion. The attendant narrowed her eyes and studied her closely. She could see that her smile was warm and genuine. There was no malice or mischief in it. She shook her head and said, “I guess I don’t understand what you’re asking.” 

It’s a long story and one that I don’t feel the need to recite, if it’s all the same to you,” she said. “I need you to sequence this sample to see if there are any contaminants.” 

The attendant sighed. “It’s a small sample. An hour, give or take.You can have a seat in the waiting area.” 

Peach gave the attendant a small nod and sat on the sofa. On the oak table before her were a variety of print magazines that were yellowed at the edges. The dates in the top left of the covers indicated that they had sat there for decades. A monitor in the top right corner of the waiting room displayed the news. A dalmatian newscaster in a teal waistcoat and matching hat held a microphone to his snout as he droned about the day’s current events. 

“… said C-Sec Deputy Mitchell. Lady Bow is expected to face tribunal tomorrow morning where she will testify in front of the galactic council. If convicted of the alleged treason, she will be stripped of her rank as first-class spectre and receive a sentence of up to life in prison. This is Anchorman Rocky with Citadel News.” 

Maybe it was his monotone voice or maybe it was the way the chevron whirled headlines at the bottom of the page, but Peach felt suddenly exhausted. The sofa was pink and plush, which suited her just fine, and she realized just how soft it was. It seemed like forever since she sat down and it felt like the weight of her body melted away. It had been a long day running around through the cramped and crowded Presidium. The rush of it had worn off and now her eyelids were heavy and her chin began to bob towards her chest. 

Outside, the alley was crowded with local fixers, wanderers who came out at night looking for another high. The man with the needle-point eyes, who was no man at all but rather a small purple rabbit, shoved his way through the crowd. Most of whom were too dazed and glassy eyed to notice. He had a large white sack slung over his shoulder. A homeless man, a clear-eyed regular Joe who was down on his luck, was relieving himself in a corner. The rabbit bumped into him, which knocked him off balance. He stomped his foot down to catch himself and sprayed on his pants. 

“Hey, asshole,” he called after the rabbit. “You made me piss down my pant leg.” The rabbit, whose name was Nabbit, kept walking without so much as a glance. He was, after all, a rabbit of singular determination. The man zipped himself and gripped Nabbit's shoulder. “I know you heard me with those big ears.” Nabbit angled his head towards the man who raised his fist. “That’s right, asshole. Come get…”

He stopped short as Nabbit turned to face him. The handkerchief he wore over his face had the imprint of a smile with broad red lips and sharp white teeth. He rarely pulled the kerchief down but something about the man irked him. He was a task oriented creature and became easily agitated when something stood in the way of that task. He pulled down the kerchief and presented his grisly visage to the man. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of it.  “Woah, man,” he stammered. “I was just playing. Look at me, I piss on my leg all the time. We’re good, I swear.”

Nabbit pushed him up against the wall and pinned him with his hand wrapped around his throat. The man’s hands shot up over his head out of instinct. He tried to move but the rabbit was impossibly strong. Nabbit glanced over his shoulder at the small police outpost and saw that the chubby toad officer was still snoozing. He turned back to the man who began to whimper. 

“Don’t. Just, don’t.” Tears streamed down his cheeks. 

Nabbit clenched his fist closed on the man’s windpipe and twisted. He felt the cartilage pop and tear away from the muscle. The man gagged and his eyes rolled back so that only the whites showed. Nabbit kept squeezing and his muscles trembled causing the man’s head to bobble like a rag doll. He collapsed to the ground, dying silently among the squalor.  

Nabbit approached the outside window of the Tubes and went on the tip of his toes. He allowed himself to feel a small joy at the sight through the window of Princess Peach alone and asleep on the couch. 

Chapter Text

XXXII

Nabbed

Peach awoke with a start and wiped the line of slobber from her chin. The attendant was staring at her and Peach smiled at their shared experience of drooling on themselves. To her surprise, the attendant did not smile back. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was pulled back in a thin tight line. Off of Peach’s confused look, she motioned with her eyes. Peach turned her head slowly in that direction and saw the purple rabbit with the menacing handkerchief over his face sitting right next to her. She yelped at the sudden sight of him and was immediately embarrassed. 

“Oh, sorry,” she said, her cheeks flushing. “I didn’t expect anyone there.” 

He made no attempt at a response and kept his gaze fixed on the mint green wallpaper. He didn’t move. His ears didn’t twitch at the sound of her voice. It was as if she had said nothing at all and wasn’t even there. He had set himself a new task and the new task was to watch the wallpaper in complete stillness. He would watch that wallpaper until the task was done and then, he would perform the task that he had been waiting very patiently to complete. But, for now, the wallpaper demanded attention and that other thing could wait. 

Peach observed him for a moment. She disliked judging too hastily. She didn’t know him or what he was going through. It is a cruelty to look down on others when the tower you’re in is so high , she thought. She tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but his entire manner disturbed her. His stiff and rigid posture, his hands folded neatly in his lap, and the way he stared at the wall to the oblivion of all else. It was unnatural and performative. She realized that’s what it was that unnerved her and it sent shivers down her spine. It was a performance that was meant for her. She looked at the attendant who motioned to the phone. Peach shook her head. She should at least be sure before having her call C-Sec. 

“Why don’t I move to- uh-give you some space.” She got up and moved a few chairs over. Nabbit got up, followed, and sat right back down next to her. “Okay,” she said, drawing out the vowels. “You’re really starting to creep me out.” She gave a nervous laugh but he said nothing. He continued to stare at the wall with those black needle-point eyes. 

“Miss, excuse me,” called the attendant in a breathless voice, which betrayed her rising panic. “I have an update on your request.” Peach got up and approached the front desk. She cast a glance over her shoulder and saw that Nabbit, mercifully, stayed seated. She leaned in over the desk and the attendant spoke in a whisper. “He came in about ten minutes ago and has been sitting there ever since. I asked him if I could help him with something but he’d rather watch the paint dry.” 

Peach rolled her eyes. “After the day I’ve had,” she whispered back, “it only makes sense to end it with a creep.” 

“Do you want me to call someone?”

She thought for a moment. Should she call C-Sec? The rabbit hadn’t really done anything except play musical chairs. His actions were clearly threatening but as far as the police were concerned, they were just under the line of what could be considered an offense. Calling them might do more harm than good. “Yes,” she said finally. “Call the Great Fox in Bay 17 when I leave. That way my team will know when to expect me. And it will avoid making a scene.” 

“You got it.” 

“So, what’s the update on that sample?”

“I just said that to call you over. It should be done any…” She stopped short as a beep chimed on her monitor. “And there she is. Let’s see.” With a few taps on the keyboard, she leafed through the results. Her brow knitted as she read over the pages and she pushed her thick black glasses up the bridge of her nose, just to make sure she was reading things correctly. “Weird,” she said as she finished her readthrough.  

“What’s weird?”

“You were right about contaminants,” she said, scrolling again through the results. “And this one’s a doozy. The sample contains dangerous levels of 5-cycloprotiferane.” 

“Come again?”

They heard a shuffle behind them and their heads snapped in that direction. Nabbit got up from his chair and exited the main lobby, the bell at the top of the door ringing his exit. 

“I guess the paint finished drying,” said the attendant with a shrug before returning back to her monitor.  

“Lucky me,” sighed Peach, though she wasn’t relieved. “So about this cyclo thing.” 

“It came to market as a sleeping tablet called Mesmerex. Ever heard of it? The kids call it Zombie Dirt.” 

Peach shook her head. 

“Anyway,” the attendant said. “They discontinued it because it had this nasty side effect of hypnosis. If you hit the dose high enough, you could get someone to saw their own leg off and thank you for it.” 

“And I’m guessing the dose in that sample is high enough.” 

“That and then some. I know I shouldn’t ask but where the hell’d you get it?”

“Somewhere it won’t be found again.” 

“That’s a relief. I wouldn’t want to imagine what could happen if it got into the wrong hands.” She gave Peach the vial back and she tucked it into the pocket of her hoodie. 

“What do I owe you?”

“On the house,” she said with a wave of her hand. It wasn’t everyday she got to help a famous person, let alone a princess.   

“The richer you are, the more free stuff you get,” said Peach, shaking her head. She reached into her other pocket and pulled out her purse. The attendant’s cheeks flushed red and she looked down at her keyboard. Peach placed a pile of coins on the desk and said, “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll pay you anyway.” 

The attendant nodded and took the appropriate amount, leaving the rest as change. Peach placed the change back in her purse and pocketed it. She thanked the attendant for her time and left, the bell ringing her exit. 

The alleyway was completely dark by the time she left the Tubes and oddly vacant. The Citadel had completed its rotation towards the moon. She pulled at her collar at the chill that ran down her neck but there was no breeze. Hell, the ventilation barely worked in the Lower Decks. She remembered Mario’s words about being out after dark and made haste down the alley. Her steps clacked loudly off the chrome walls, which was a far contrast to the bustling noises from earlier. It unnerved her and her steps quickened. She was almost at a jog when she crossed a side alley that was completely devoid of light. 

Suddenly, a figure jumped out at her! In one quick motion, Nabbit threw the white sack over her head and wrapped his hand around her throat with a vice grip, choking off her windpipe. He dragged her back into the shadows before she ever had a chance to scream. 

Chapter Text

XXXIII

Breakout

The air traffic in Bay 17 abated an hour ago. Dock workers hosed the space debris that came in with the ships. Officers and crewmen grabbed their personal effects and headed home for the evening as the night shift came in. Mario and Fox stood together on the landing dock outside the Great Fox. Mario’s chest grew tight as his eyes flickered across the docks only to realize there was no sign of her. Fox waited patiently alongside his commander as was his station, but there was no optimism in him. 

“She’s late,” Mario said through clenched teeth. 

 Peppy exited the freighter and joined his two crewmates. He wore a frown and planted his hands on his hips. “That was C-Sec,” he said in his southern drawl. “They haven’t seen hide nor hair of her. But they’re gonna continue to comb the place through the night. They’ve got a profile from the attendant on the creep that was sniffing around her.” 

“I should never have sent her alone. I’m an idiot.” He took his cap off and ran his fingers through his hair.  

“You made a call,” said Fox in an apathetic tone. 

Mario turned on his heel and confronted him, huffing a hot breath in his face. “That’s all you have to say?” 

“You made the wrong call,” he responded with an edge in his voice that sounded like condemnation.  

“Why didn’t you say something?” His ears blistered with rage as if steam would burst from them at any moment. 

“It’s not my place to,” Fox said with a shrug. “Your ship. Your crew. Your orders.” He was an old soldier. Orders were followed or people would die. That’s what he was taught. That’s what he knew.  

“That’s a piece of shit thing to say,” said Mario, raising his voice. “We’re a team. We’re all responsible for each other. If something doesn’t smell right, it is your obligation to let me know. If you see something, say something. You got that?”

Fox gave a small nod. “Sounds like an order.”

Mario hung his head. Was it all a game to him? Was he messing with him? Did he really have to be told what to do? No, that wasn’t it at all, Mario realized. It was a test. He was testing his leadership and he failed. A fear took hold of Mario, then. Fox kept saying he was an old dog. Perhaps, his judgment was impaired. For, if this was a test, he picked the wrong moment and now, they lost the princess again. Fox saw the quizzical look on his face and figured that his thoughts must be spiralling. He placed a paw on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.   

“Don’t worry, we found her once, we can do it again,” he said and added, “Commander.” He gave him a reassuring smile and Mario’s expression softened a tiny bit. It felt like hope until…

Bang! 

An explosion rocked the Lower Decks. A strange fire of a violet hue lapped up the stairwell, followed by black acrid smoke. Odd geometry pierced through the smoke like lightning bolts. It was unlike any biotic energy Mario had ever seen. Most biotic powers manifested as formless waves or explosions of energy. But these constructs were rigid and angular and each of a separate color as if formed for specific purposes. Whatever created them was a very talented biotic, indeed.    

“That looked like it came from C-Sec,” shouted Peppy over the cacophony of the now screaming crowd who were fleeing the blaze. He tugged at his ears and paced. 

A sudden thought struck Mario. “Fox,” he called. “Where is Processing in relation to the prison quarters?”

“On opposite ends of the Citadel,” said Fox, not understanding. Then, he too, realized what Mario was getting at. “Oh no.” 

Mario tapped on his omnitool to open his communicator. “Daisy, Luigi, Falco, Toad. I need you out here right now.” 

“Now?” whined Toad. “I just started fluffing my mushroom cap.” 

“You can finish that later,” Daisy barked through the earpiece. “Mario, we’re on our way.” 

A moment later, they all scrambled out onto the landing dock together. Each of them took in the scene in their own manner. Falco folded his arms and scoffed that this would surely mean another adventure with this ragtag crew. Toad smacked his forehead at the thought of more trouble coming his way. Daisy shed a tear at her sister’s absence and quickly wiped it on her sleeve. And Luigi farted. 

“What the hell was that?” asked Luigi, fanning the fart away. 

“And where’s my sister?”

“I think someone took her,” said Mario.  

“A diversion?” asked Fox. 

“They knew that taking the Princess of Mushroom Kingdom would draw out the guards from C-Sec.” 

“C-Sec?” said Daisy. “She never called C-Sec.”

“No,” said Mario. “But we did.”

Daisy’s eyes went wide with horror. “So, what they were really after was…”

“Lady Bow,” said Luigi, finishing her thought.  

They made their way down the stairs to C-Sec, crunching over shards of glass. The prison sector was blown to bits. Purple fire still burned, sending clouds of smoke bouncing off the low ceiling. A guard sat in an observation room to the side of the main quarters. He was a small toad with yellow spots and was coughing violently through his salt and pepper mustache. Mario approached him and asked if he saw who conjured the biotic blast. 

“I didn’t get a good look at the guy,” the officer said through coughs. “Some hooded figure. Then, all of a sudden. Boom! I see triangles bouncing off the walls.” 

“Triangles?” said Daisy. “That’s not any biotic ability I’m familiar with.” 

“That’s what they were. These glowing red shapes. Then, they detonated like sea mines. I could see the air bend. After that, it was all fire and smoke. If I wasn’t behind the glass, it would’ve singed my mustache off.” 

“To say the least,” said Toad, kicking at a piece of rubble.  

“Did you see anyone leave?” asked Mario. 

“Darndest thing,” said the guard. “I went back to the holding cells and the only one damaged was Lady Bow’s. For all that flash and bang, it turned out to be a precision strike. Besides the blown force field, there was no sign of where they went. I know how they got in but I’ll be damned stumped on how the hell they got out.” 

“The trail’s gone cold then,” said Toad. Annoyed, he kicked at another piece of rubble. 

“Not quite,” the guard countered. “We tag everyone who comes in here. Y’know, just in case. And Lady Bow’s tracker is ringing out loud and clear.” He turned his monitor towards them so they could see the bright red ping on the star map.  

Luigi gasped. “That’s impossible.” 

“The Outer Rim,” Daisy muttered. 

“That journey would take weeks from here,” said Luigi. “Three relay jumps at least.” 

“I don’t recognize the area,” said Fox. “What the hell’s even out there?”

“I don’t know what’s out there now but I know what was,” said Luigi. “Back during the Air Raids, that is.” 

Mario turned to his brother. “And what would that be?”

“The Battlerock.” 

Chapter Text

XXXIV

Time Together

The Great Fox was set to cruising speed and strolled lazily through the starfield. The Citadel became a black shadow in the distance, eclipsed by the sun. The Citadel itself was a mass relay but its connection to the Deep Dark had been severed after the koopas were driven out, an event that came to be known as the Banishment. They headed instead for the next nearest relay, the Lotus in the Tranquil Zone. It had rotated to the border of Citadel Space, making the diversion a little less inconvenient. 

Luigi and Daisy’s quarters were located in the bottom of the freighter near the engine room where it was warm. The quarters were furnished simply with a full bed, kitchenette complete with minifridge, and a chest of drawers that Daisy dominated. That suited him just fine as he had the habit of leaving his clothes on the floor. A lily flower in a small clay pot sat on the bedside table and was starting to wilt. It would be dead by the time they reached the next star. She had taped old photos, little snapshots of their relationship, on the chrome walls to give the sterile room a semblance of home. Whatever help it offered was undone by the large window above the bed that served as a constant reminder that they were in the cold dark of space. But at least the room was warm and that was good enough. 

Luigi took the zipper in his teeth and tugged. Daisy bit the bottom of her lip as it curled into a smile. Her suit was snug and she was curvy, a trait her slender sister was eternally jealous for. The zipper snagged over the mound of her large chest. Luigi grunted and gave it a sharp tug. She gasped as her breasts spilled over the collar. It was the first time in what felt like an age that they had the chance to be alone and he was ravenous for her. She threw her arms over her head to allow him access, which pulled her breasts up and into a tight cleavage, barely nestled in the demi bra. It was a risk going with lower coverage as they could pop right out of the cup with even the slightest jostle, but the bra made her boobs look fabulous and she knew he loved it. He pushed them together and jiggled them. They rippled like the ocean. She moaned a little and threaded her fingers through her hair, feeling very relaxed. He tore at her clothes and his own and tossed them on the floor next to the pile. Then, they made love in a desperate passion. 

When they finished, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. They held each other’s gaze before she licked him on the nose. He winced, rubbed the slobber off on his palm, and rolled over. She laughed until her cheeks flushed pink and then rolled onto his shoulder. With the tip of her finger, she traced a circle in the small patch of hair on his chest. They laid that way for a long while. 

“If it’s a girl, how about Rosa?” she asked in a whisper. 

“What about Margherita? After her mom.”

“Mmm, maybe.” She pushed herself onto her elbows with her chin cradled in her hands. “And what if it’s a boy?”

“I always liked Giovanni.”

“No. Sounds too much like a rocketman. I want my son to keep his feet on the ground.”

“So, you want him to have a nice planetside job?”

“Yeah! Don’t you? After everything we’ve been through, I wouldn’t want my son to follow in his parents’ footsteps. Planetside is good. That’s safe.” She nodded to emphasize her point. 

“I agree with you, baby. Hell, you’re looking at the body of bad decisions right here.” He held up the robotic arm. She gave him a sad smile and kissed the metal fingertips. 

“You have to say something to him,” she said, gliding her bottom lip up the metal finger. 

“What can I say? Sorry Mario, Daisy and I are going back to the Citadel. Good luck with the koopa army.” 

“It has been nonstop for months now,” she protested. “We’ve been shot at, eaten, blown out of the sky.” 

“I lost an arm,” sighed Luigi, acquiescing.  

“You lost an arm,” said Daisy, emphasizing the word to illustrate her point. “That’s what I mean. And for what? Because of some visions through a warp pipe?”

“You think he’s lying about what he saw?” He felt his blood race at her accusation. 

“You know I don’t think that,” she said tenderly. “But it can’t just keep falling on our heads. He can find other squadmates. Real soldiers. People who are trained for this kind of thing. Not a pilot and a nav specialist. Hell, he doesn’t even need me now that he has Peppy.” 

His blood pressure continued to rise, making him feel tense. She talked quickly when she was agitated and could be relentless. It didn’t allow him enough time to think, to process. To breathe. “W-we can’t just abandon him,” he stammered. “I can’t at least.” 

“Why not?” she said, her voice growing higher and louder. She hated his indecisiveness and that he put everyone else above himself. Everyone except her. “You are scared all the time. I see the toll it takes on you. You don’t have to keep punishing yourself for his sake.”

It was happening again. Every time they got into an argument, she kept up the attack. It overloaded him and prevented him from processing. His thoughts became a jumbled mess, caught in the brain somewhere between emotion and the language centre. It was all color and noise. He felt the tension headache coming on, the muscles of the cranium tightening like a rubber band. He didn’t even have the wherewithal to realize it wasn’t her fault. Her points were valid and she deserved to make them. She was fighting like hell for the relationship but in the chaos of his mind, it felt like she was waging war on him alone.  

“I made a promise,” he said weakly.  

“What about your promises to me? What about what we want? We’re trying to start a life together, Luigi, and you’re going on little boy adventures. And taking me with you.” 

Finally, he snapped. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! What the hell do you even know? You had parents. You had a family. You had a fucking castle, for God’s sake. We didn’t have any of that. We grew up in the Citadel sewers. All we had was each other. He didn’t abandon me when the rats were nibbling my toes. And I won’t do that to him now.” 

Daisy’s cheeks grew hot and she fell quiet. She pushed herself away from him and sat with her back against the wall, her breasts hanging nakedly. He cocked his head at an odd angle to avoid her gaze. Her eyelids drooped halfway as she looked down her nose at him. She took several deep breaths to steady her rage. After an unbearable silence, she said, “Are you done?”

Luigi gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. 

She grabbed his chin and angled his face to meet hers. She leaned in but there was no romance in it. Her voice was low and firm as she spoke. “I love you but don’t ever tell me to shut up again. We are having a conversation because there’s an issue. That’s how we handle it, by discussing it openly. Not by shouting each other down.” 

Luigi tried to speak but his words wouldn’t come. He placed his hand on the ridge of his brow to cover his eyes and began to cry. She dropped her head to one shoulder and sighed with pity. She knew it wasn’t easy for him. He had a rough upbringing, which left him defenseless in advocating for himself. That’s why it was so much easier to just do what Mario told him to do. To make matters worse, he didn’t know how to manage his emotions. He had spent so much of his childhood repressing his anger that it left him without the language to express it. She grabbed his hand from his brow, pulled it away from his face and held it. 

“What do you want to say?” she asked. She hoped to get through to him and help him process. 

“I’m sorry,” he choked out through sobs. He looked up at her with tear stained eyes.  

“That’s a good start.” She nodded encouragingly.  

“I love you.” 

“Keep going.” 

He took a deep breath and sat up to meet her eye level. He held her hands in his. “It was wrong for me to shout at you. That’s not how I want to treat you. I want to treat you like the princess you are.” 

“Ugh,” she said with disgust and rolled her eyes. “You were doing so well.” 

“What?” he said, taken aback. 

“Luigi, I don’t want to be treated like a princess. I just want there to be time for us.” 

“Daisy, I promise you that there will be plenty of time for us.” And he meant it, too. She rested her head on his shoulder and he kissed her temple. 

The hulking freighter drew near its destination while two lovers lay dreaming down where it’s warm in the darkness of space. 

Chapter Text

XXXV

The Battlerock

“That was a rough one, folks,” said Peppy from the helm. “But that was the last jump. Now approaching the uh, destination.” 

Mario leaned to one side in the commander’s chair and watched the stars go out. Nothing lived in the Deep Dark except for shadows and questions people were too scared to ask. The kinds of questions that prey and feed. The big myths and what-ifs. What is the creature that’s shackled in the dark? And what will it do when it’s finally set free?

“Everyone to the bridge,” said Mario.

Falco and Fox came onto the bridge together arguing in hushed tones. Mario strained to hear what they were saying. Falco said something like, “If we don’t act now, we’ll lose our chance at revenge.” He was going to continue but Fox cut him short with a simple,”Enough.”

Toad followed soon after. His eyes were bleary and he was yawning. He scratched his butt before taking his seat. Luigi and Daisy came in holding hands, still in the afterglow of their lovemaking. He gave her hand a small squeeze before letting go and taking his seat apart from hers. 

Mario stood and they all turned to watch him. “I’m gonna keep this brief,” he said, taking off his cap and holding it to his chest. “Today, our mission has taken us to the last bastion of the koopa army. The Battlerock was the site of one of the bloodiest conflicts during the Air Raids. I know there are doubters about what I saw in the warp pipe but I expect that today we will encounter conflict. Keep your guns and your wits up and shoot anything that moves. Koopas won’t hesitate to do the same. Understood?”

They each gave a curt nod and a “hoorah.” Peppy set the landing zone along a steep cliff wall. The hydraulics of the landing gear hissed and the vessel shuddered and bucked to a halt. 

Mario replaced his cap upon his head and said in a low voice, “Let’s move out.” 

They exited down the long landing ramp and fanned out in military formation. With his pistol up, Mario took point. The Battlerock was a wasteland of industry. There was no star for lightyears so the only light came from the emergency lamps from the old factories, which made the entire rocky landscape flash an eerie red. Where there wasn’t dry and cracked stone, there was rusted metal. Nothing grew there and there was no sign of life, not even a drop of water. It was a hell of Bowser’s design and its purpose was to forge killers, desperate and dangerous. 

It was all quiet along the cliff wall as they made their trudging trail through towards their desolate destination. They were coiled tight like a spring, waiting for something, anything, to happen. Luigi carried a pistol like his brother. Daisy traded out that sniper she was none too good with for a much more acceptable submachine gun. Falco carried an assault rifle, while Fox accepted his station as the team’s sniper. He was better at it anyway. As for Toad? He had his shotgun slung nonchalantly over his shoulder as he puffed on a cigar with his other hand. 

They came to a fork in the mountain pass. One road followed up along the ridgeway while the other led into the canyon below. “Shit,” said Toad, peering down into the black crater below. The rhythmic pulse of red illuminated a scatter of shapes in the dark.  

“Now what?” asked Daisy. 

Mario knitted his brow and looked to Fox for some kind of gesture. There was a fifty-fifty shot of making the right decision and the exact same chance of it going the other way. It was too easy to call and too hard to commit. He wanted Fox to give him some guidance, a clue that settled the matter without the burden resting on his shoulders. But Fox looked at him with tired half mooned eyes that hid a growing annoyance. He wasn’t going to tell him what to do. 

“Make a call, Commander,” he barked. 

Mario sighed. “We split into two teams of three,” he said, thinking aloud. “Luigi, Daisy and Falco take the ridgeway. Fox and Toad, you’re with me. We’ll take the canyon road.” 

“Works for me,” said Falco.  

“Good call,” Fox said with a nod. Mario smiled at the affirmation. It may not have been advice but Fox’s reassurance was good enough for a counter offer. 

They split into their assigned teams. Mario watched them disappear above the ridgeline as he made his way down the canyon road. The road was steep and narrow with rocky outcroppings above and below that were perfect for flank attacks should there be someone enterprising enough to make use of them. But there was nothing in the gloom, not even a lizard cooling himself on the stones. It was as silent as the vacuum of space and it worked Toad’s nerves. The only sound he heard was the thumping of blood in his ears. 

“It’s too quiet,” he said to break the silence. “I feel like shit stuck to an asshole. Just waiting for someone to wipe me out.” 

“Don’t lose your mushroom head, Toad,” said Fox. “I don’t want a repeat of…”

“I know, Conkdor Canyon. I’m cool, okay? Barely, but I’m cool.”

Crash! Toad snapped around with his shotgun raised. His hand trembled a little. Just up the path, a rock had fallen down from one of the outcroppings and rolled away. “It’s nothing,” he said with a sigh of relief. He was about to turn back towards his teammates when he caught sight of something, the glint of red off of something metal, the metal of a gun barrel. “Koopas,” he said just above a whisper. 

Blaster fire rained down on them like tephra and kicked up a cloud of dust. Koopa troopas hiding in the rock wall revealed themselves, eager to put their decades of training into practice. 

“Go loud!” screamed Fox. 

The dust provided the only coverage on the narrow slope but it also sent visibility straight to hell. Toad fired wildly in a panic, carving craters into the rock face with haphazard shotgun blasts. One of the blasts knocked loose a hanging rock that fell like a dagger and impaled a koopa straight through the shell. Blood bubbled from between the seam of where the shell met skin. Fox activated his tactical cloak, effectively rendering him invisible. He repositioned himself to a higher ledge to get a vantage shot. With quick aiming through the glass, he took two of the turtles’ heads clean off. Another koopa dropped down to the canyon road below just as Fox’s bullet whizzed over his head. Toad threw himself into a tactical roll, popped up, and let loose the barrel of his shotgun, splattering the koopa to bloody bits. 

“Haha. Die, turtle scum.” He pumped his fist and cheered. Out of his line of sight, a koopa rolled in his shell to his flank and popped out with his omniknife drawn. He dove for Toad’s throat, who saw the koopa out of the corner of his eye but it was too late. The hot blade was already there and searing his flesh. He felt a scream rising up in his throat. A shock thought hit him and he wondered if he could make the scream come out before the throat was cut. But then…

Bang!

Blood and brain matter splattered across the side of Toad’s giant mushroom head. He ducked away as the knife continued forward, narrowly missing his jugular. He looked and saw that the koopa’s head was gone and the body fell away in a limp crumple. On the ledge, Fox cocked the rifle, ejecting the thermal casing that flashed like a spark. 

“Focus, Toad,” he said simply. Toad caught his eye and gave him a small salute.  

Growing off of the side of the cliff was a small green bush that was checkered with flowers. The petals were red and orange and the pistil was chalk white with two black anthers that looked like eyes. As Mario approached, the flowers began to glow. He reached out his hand and felt tendrils of warmth snake up his arm. He focused the heat into his palm, which bubbled in bloody blisters. They popped and the energy oozed like lava, coalescing into a small but perfectly round fireball. It was fitting then that the only thing that grew in this wasteland was the fire flower.

He threw the fireball, which smacked into the face of a nearby koopa. It was plasma energy that came from the biotic charge of the fire flower mixing with Mario’s blood. The viscous liquid didn’t light the koopa on fire. It stuck to his skin and melted through it like acid through metal. He howled as it slowly made its way through him and didn’t stop screaming until it dripped down into his chest cavity and ate away his heart. 

Mario readied another fireball but he was already winded. His biotic abilities were quite limited and any more exertion would send him straight into a coma from blood loss. He was about to toss it but then noticed a shift in the koopas’ attack. After watching one of their own melt into turtle soup, they slowed their advance. One of them fired a warning shot that went wide and turned and fled. The others followed suit.   

“They’re pulling back,” said Fox, shouldering his rifle on the strap. “Let’s move.”

They made a break for the end of the road and the canyon that lay beyond. In the distance was a military base that was featureless in appearance with thick concrete walls, a low roof, and no windows. At the top was a large satellite dish and at the bottom was a steel door. Standing at it was none other than Lady Bow, who ran inside and slammed the door behind her.  

“Let’s put this rabid bitch down,” said Toad, cocking his shotgun with a small nod. 

“Hey, guys,” said Daisy over the earpiece. “Can you hear me?” 

“Loud and clear, Daisy,” said Mario. “What is it?”

“You’ll never guess what we found.”

Chapter Text

XXXVI

The Boom Bunker

Luigi, Daisy and Falco stood at the end of the ridgeway on the high cliff. Looming in the distance was a towering structure wreathed in flame. Oil pits that had once fueled their machines surrounded it like a nocuous moat. One of those machines, the mighty megahammer itself - once a staple of Bowser’s fearsome fleet - lay in pieces and was left to rust. Dark matter, purple like a bruise, bubbled up from steam vents in the ground and hung in weightless clumps. One touch of the stuff meant a sure death. Guarding the large portcullis was an electrogate that was made of two pylons on either side that sent an electric current back and forth. At the very top of the ominous tower was the black flag of the koopa army, a warning to any would-be assailants. 

“What is it?” asked Mario through the earpiece. 

“Brother. It’s their Boom Bunker.” 

“Bullshit!” said Toad through static as the reception dipped. “That was destroyed.” 

“Then, they must’ve rebuilt it,” Falco said matter-of-factly.  

“Bastards have been busy,” said Fox.  

“How’s it look, Luigi?” asked Mario. 

A shadow touched each of them as they stood in the wake of that colossal outpost. Daisy looked away from the Boom Bunker as its black turrets filled her with dread and sorrow. Lady Bow had told them that the hour was later than they realized but Fox had taken it for bluff and bluster. Now, he knew just how wrong he was and the oversight shook him. How could I be so naive, he thought. Luigi wondered why he wasn’t gassy until he realized that he wasn’t afraid. He was sad. He looked at the pathetic pistol in his hand, so small and insignificant. What arms could he use against the might of the koopas? 

Finally, he said simply, “Operational.” 

“Sonuva…” Toad groaned. 

“How do we destroy it?” asked Mario.  

“In the Air Raids, bombers blasted it to bloody Hell,” said Luigi in a faraway voice. His mind raced from his body to that dark place when hopelessness sets in.  

“We’re a bit light on a professional bombing squadron,” said Falco.  

“Give me an option, Luigi.” His brother’s voice had command and vigor. There was no quit or give in him and it shocked Luigi back to his senses. He racked his brain for those tiny annotations in the history holos, the little details the professor swore wouldn’t be on the test but you committed to memory anyway out of paranoia and mistrust. The thought struck him like a lightning bolt.  

“If it’s the same as before, the bunker draws power from a series of underground neblunium reactors that are connected to an insulated network. The network keeps the rhythm of the reactors, making sure they fire in sequence for a continuous supply of energy. If we can get into the bunker and hack the network, we can make the reactors fire at once. Theoretically, that should overload the system and…”

“And boom,” said Falco. 

Luigi nodded. 

“Do it,” was Mario’s simple command before the intercom cut out and hissed static.  

“We’re just supposed to fight our way into that bunker?” said Daisy, raising her hands and then slapping her legs. 

“Captain’s orders,” said Falco, cocking his rifle.  

“He acts like we’re real soldiers,” she said to Luigi. She looked to him to back her up in this. They shouldn’t have been out there in the first place. They weren’t qualified and it wasn’t fair. 

“I’m a real soldier,” Falco protested.  

“And we’re both grateful to have you with us,” said Luigi. He looked at Daisy and shrugged. She puffed out her cheeks, turned, and walked forward in a huff. Falco nodded to Luigi and smiled, who responded with a nervous chuckle and ran after his fiance.   

Suddenly, a swarm of paratroopas armed with RPGs flew overhead. They fired a volley at the rockface, which caused a violent slide of stone. The rockslide was intended to bury them but a stroke of luck was on their side and instead formed a stone wall that separated Falco from the couple. 

“Are you fucking serious?” screamed Daisy at the rock, which bounced her words back to her in a muffled echo. 

“Keep going,” said Falco, now communicating through the earpiece.  

“What happened?” called Toad. 

“Paratroopas. I’m gonna circle back, see if there’s another way up.” 

“No,” radioed Mario. “I want you to provide ground fire. Draw their attention. Luigi, Daisy, make haste for that bunker.” 

“Understood.” He raised his assault rifle and fired a barrage of thermal rounds at the paratroopas that circled like vultures. He saw his rounds ripple through their shields and he smirked to himself. There’s an opportunity, he thought. He ducked behind a rock as they returned a volley from their side arms. Now that they were aiming towards the bunker, they were careful not to use their explosives, less their hard work at the rebuilding effort go to waste. Falco readied his omnitool and waited for it to complete its charge. As a practiced engineer, he had a neat little trick up his sleeve just for these paratroopas. The charge gauge filled to completion and he waited for a break in the volley. The break came and he seized his opportunity. He jumped out from behind the rock and with a flick of his wrist, fired an overload blast from his omnitool at one of the paratroopas. The blue energy orb hit him square in the shell and overloaded his shield causing it to rupture. The explosion set off a chain reaction with the other paratroopas’ RPGs, causing the grenades to detonate all at once. Ash, blood and bits of shell rained from the sky as the fireball flashed and went out.   

Luigi and Daisy watched the fire and smoke from behind the rockwall and then looked at each other. His lips tightened into a thin line and he held his hand out to her. Her eyes welled with tears as she placed her hand in his. Together, they ran for the bunker. Guarding the portcullis were the two Boomerang Bros, back from their long exile. They were hulking brutes and their boomerangs were like razor blades, which they tossed with ruthless accuracy. Daisy screamed but two shots rang out and the boomerangs stopped short and fell to the ground. Two more shots and the Boomerang Bros fell dead, both shot between the eyes. Daisy looked and saw Luigi, his prosthetic hand raised with the pistol. He looked down at his hand in shock and horror and saw that it was steady. They reached the portcullis and threw themselves on the winch. The rusted metal was stubborn but with a mighty push, they wrestled it open and entered the belly of the Boom Bunker.

Chapter Text

XXXVII

(untitled)

Luigi and Daisy crossed the threshold together. The portcullis slammed shut behind them, which made the entry hall black as pitch. Luigi farted with the jolt of the clanging door, which made Daisy blast a laugh that bounced down the arched stone walls. She slapped her free hand over her mouth to muffle herself and laid her head on his shoulder feeling the tension begin to ease. 

They made their way hand in hand through the darkness. He gripped her tight, which made their palms begin to sweat. He wiggled the fingers of his other arm, cold and sterile. There was no life in it, just the pantomime of life. But the hand that held Daisy’s was lively and strong. Through his fingertips, he felt his pulse and hers and they beat like a drumline in perfect rhythm. On the one hand was the cold reality of war and on the other was the thing worth fighting for. 

After a stretch, they saw a strange glow appear like a penlight at the end of the hall. It flashed for a moment and then was gone. A moment later, it was replaced by another light, which, again, shone for a second and then disappeared. As the light grew with their advances, Luigi realized they were seeing the blinking lights of some kind of control room. They reached the end of the hall and stepped into the central monitor room. There was a massive server in the corner, screens adorned the walls and rows of desks formed the stations that controlled the lights, locks, and loadouts of the bunker. 

“I’m going to try to get the lights on,” said Daisy, approaching one of the stations. She placed a finger on the keyboard but before she could start, the fluorescent lights came on by themselves. She squinted until her eyes adjusted to the bright white lights. In the corner of the room was a small intercom of brown wood that housed a mesh speaker. Something was growling through it. They thought the floorplan was open and didn’t notice the hydraulic door that separated the control room from the entry hall. Before they realized what was happening, it slammed down and locked shut. 

“Shit,” said Luigi. He tried to hook his fingertips under the door but it was flush with the stone flooring. There was no muscling it open. In his panic, he began to pace the room.   

“We walked right into it.” 

“Thirty-five koopas,” growled the voice on the intercom. “Ground squadron, dead. Five paratroopas, cloud squadron, dead. Two boomerang bros, dead. That’s a lot of my people for you to get into my bunker.” 

“Mario, can you hear me?” asked Daisy. 

“Your coms won’t work here.” His voice was low and level. Any trace of emotion had left it long ago. 

“Disruptors,” Luigi said gravely.  

“Who are you?”

“I am Roy. The youngest of the bastard koopalings. My father is coming.” 

“Let us out of here,” Luigi said in his most commanding voice.  

“You don’t make demands of me.” 

Luigi took a deep breath and puffed out his chest. This was his moment to prove himself, to stand up for him and Daisy. He stepped up to the intercom and looked right at it, his steely gaze unwavering. “We’re the squad that took down Petey, the Piranha Maw,” he called out in feigned confidence. “We defeated the rachquids and captured Lady Bow. You don’t want to mess with us.” 

“I don’t care.” The simple response was like a punch to the gut. Luigi deflated and felt like his chest was going to collapse in on itself. So much for ‘fake it till you make it,’ he thought.   

“Your paper medals won’t save you from me,” Roy said with a twinge of sorrow. He was a monster in monstrous times but it didn’t have to be this way. It could've been different. The dark was cold but they had what they needed. They had enough. The expectations of his father weren’t at all fair but what was he to do other than toe the line?

Daisy turned her attention back to the monitor and began typing furiously on the keyboard.  “Keep him talking, Luigi,” she whispered. “I’m gonna try to hack the door.” 

“Good idea,” he whispered back before speaking to the intercom in a full voice. “What do you mean you're the youngest of the bastards?”

“My father only claims one of us as his own. He will get the throne when the time comes.” 

“If he doesn’t respect you, why fight for him?”

“You mean instead of the federation who kills my people?”

“You’re doing great, Luigi. Keep going. I’m almost in.” She smiled as she clacked away on the keyboard. She didn’t have Toad’s hacking expertise but she could manage when the situation called for it and the hacking program for the bunker was nothing so advanced. Perhaps, the koopas didn’t consider that anyone would make it this far that they would need a more secure system. The hack was a simple line puzzle. Using a tray of shapes, she had to connect two nodes while avoiding the red hazard lines. There were five puzzles in all, each with increasing difficulty, but it was more tedious than difficult. She was confident that she would be through in no time.   

“You attacked us first. The Air Raids…” Luigi suddenly went silent. Daisy began the third puzzle.

“It was a good attempt,” said Roy. “But it ends here.” The intercom hissed static and then cut out and Roy Koopa was gone.  

Daisy heard the words but was too busy for them to register. Her palms were sweaty and kept slipping across the keyboard. She finished the fourth puzzle, wiped her hands on her suit, then clapped and whooped. This was it, the last hack. Take that, assholes, she thought. 

Suddenly, a lightning bolt of pain went through her leg and she crumpled to the floor before she could finish the hack. She rolled over onto her butt and pushed her back against the wall. She looked down at her left thigh and saw a two inch hole through the flesh and bone. She screamed as blood bubbled over, the source of the pain made manifest. She looked up and saw Luigi, his prosthetic arm holding the gun on her. The power light glowing red meant that it no longer belonged to him. She was so focused on hacking the monitor that she never even heard the gunshot. 

“Daisy, get back. I can’t control it.” The blood vessels in his forehead and shoulder throbbed as he strained with all his might to regain control of the arm. Sweat beaded on his forehead but the hand that held the gun remained steady. He shook and raged. But the hand remains steady, she thought. In all his uncertainty and fear, in all the chaos of his mind, now he finds clarity? Now he finds resolve? And he points it at me. 

She wanted to tell him “no,” that she couldn’t move, that the leg was shot through. She wanted to tell him to fight it but the pain overwhelmed and reduced her to sobbing on the floor. The thermal clip had shot a hole through her leg the size of a rebar. The meat was obviously obliterated but the femur was fractured and displaced, much of it poking out of the exit wound. It disfigured the entire frame of her leg and hip joint, which caved in and dropped from the dislocation. She screamed until the air left her lungs and it turned into a hoarse and quiet moan.      

His eyes bulged in terror. But the hand remains steady . A large and bitter pill that caught in her throat. He struck at the metal arm to get the fingers to loosen. Just enough give and the gun would fall. He wasn’t a strong man by any stretch but surely he could manage that. For her, he could lift the Citadel from its axis, throw it straight into the sun, and right now, he would get the gun to fall. A necessary thing needed doing and he would see it done. It was altogether that simple. Daisy was not going to die at his hand. “Come on,” he growled. “Drop it, dammit.” 

But the fingers did not relent. And the hand remains steady. She bit through her lip and tasted blood. I worked so hard for us. To make you happy. To raise you up. Only for you to knock me down. It shouldn’t be this way. He punched at the arm but it was like punching a steel wall. It didn’t move. It didn’t dent. It didn’t even twitch. He punched it with all his strength and felt the third and fourth finger fracture on the live hand. He wailed insanity as he looked from the gun to Daisy. He felt the finger tense on the trigger. It didn’t belong to him anymore. “Daisy,” he sobbed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

With his eyes shut tight, he cried and shook. But the hand remains steady. I know you love me. I know you’re not a bad person. But you have to live with this… for the rest of your life. He heard her moans descend into loud, full bodied sobs and he opened his eyes. He wasn’t going to take his eyes off her for anything. He would be with her to the end. She returned his gaze but was in too much pain to say anything at all. He didn’t need her to forgive him and he didn’t need her to say goodbye. He just needed her to know that he would not look away.   

“Daisy, I love you,” he said. “So much.”

“Ahh,” she breathed. “I-I…” 

Bang!

She was dead. 

He held his eyes open as wide as they would go. Every last detail would cement in his mind. Of that, he would make sure. He screamed rage and madness as the tears fell from his cheeks. His mind was a chaos storm of color, neurons firing in all directions in an unsynchronized disharmony. Every plan they made, every promise now unkept. There never was enough time for us, he thought darkly. The grounding of his life had fallen away in an angry avalanche and now, he looked out over a precipice into a darkening abyss. 

But the hand remained steady. 

Chapter Text

XXXVIII

Infiltration 

Mario led the way through the military base as Fox and Toad guarded his flanks. They were silent in step and speech, having heard the entirety of Luigi’s plight. The disruptors had cut Luigi off from them but, in a twist of cruelty, they were unable to shut off their comms in kind. Roy hacked their links and forced them to listen. Mario choked the life out of his pistol, his knuckles blanching with his grip. The message of the koopas’ hatred had been received loud and clear. Even Toad, the selfish scoundrel that he was, wore a scowl upon his face. Fox, however, remained impassive. Tragedy happens on the battlefield, he reasoned, and while on the battlefield, they must remain focused. Whatever pain he’d feel over Daisy’s death could be felt later in the privacy of his quarters and when enemies weren’t trying to kill him. 

“He’s gotta blow that bunker,” whispered Toad as he covered his commlink with his hand. He was being overcautious even though he thought Luigi couldn’t hear him. Little did he know that Roy took the disruptors with him and the communication lines were now open. 

“For pity’s sake, Toad,” whispered Fox, also covering his commlink. “Give him a minute.” It would do no good rushing a man to action if he did the job poorly. A clear head meant the job would get done. 

Mario switched channels to talk directly to Falco. Since he was outside of the Boom Bunker, his commlink should still have been working. “Falco, are you there?” 

There was a long hiss of static before, finally, “I’m here, Commander.” 

“I want you to circle back to me.” 

“Yessir,” said Falco before the line cut to static. 

The military base was well lit with wide open rooms connected by a grid network of hallways, making the entire facility simple to navigate. Simple enough for a turtle, at least. At the end of the hallway was a large hydraulic door. Toad hacked the door at Mario’s order, which led into the central control room. The room was full of blinking monitors and koopa troopas keeping patrol. The alarms on the monitors had been so loud that they didn’t hear the door open. Mario, Fox and Toad fanned out in formation.  

“Take em out,” said Mario. 

They attacked with laser precision. The koopas never knew what hit them. Toad let loose both rounds of his shotgun on two nearby koopas, blowing them to bloody bits. “Ha,” he chortled as he reloaded the thermal clip and pumped the fore-end. “I haven’t had this much fun in years.” 

Fox picked off koopas with the sniper rifle. Mario got a bead on one troopa at the far end of the room and blasted it between the eyes with his pistol. Another came into view and with lightning fast reflexes, he took him out in kind. 

“Sharp shooting, Mario!” said Fox as he took out the last remaining koopa and threw his rifle behind his back.

Mario gave him a curt nod and holstered his pistol. “Luigi,” he said into his commlink on a whim. “Are you there?” But there was no reply. Mario continued despite not knowing if he could hear him. “I’m sorry, brother. I really am.” Again, there was only silence that seemed to go on forever. 

“Thanks,” said Luigi at last. His voice was hoarse from screaming.  

Mario gave a deep sigh. “We need that bunker destroyed,” he said as carefully as he could.  

“Can we get her out here first?” His voice was flat and distant.  

Mario’s heart broke for his brother. “You know we don’t have time for that.” 

“Then, maybe I’ll just lie down next to her.” 

“Don’t talk like that.” 

“I can’t stop thinking how lucky I was to have her,” he said. “That I’ll never find anyone else.” 

“There will be time to talk later,” said Mario and then, switched his voice to a more commanding tone. “But for now, I need you to stop thinking and start doing. You know what happens if that bunker stays operational.” 

“They’ll activate the Boomsday Machine,” said Luigi, absent of interest and emotion. 

“Exactly. So get up and blow that thing to bloody hell.” He hoped that would kick him in the ass, give him the last bit of motivation he needed but it was followed by another silence. He worried his brother just didn’t have it in him. Maybe, he really would lie down and die. 

But then, Luigi said, “Yes, Commander. Then, the line cut out. 

Mario and his crew made their way through the bloody carcasses of the koopas to the far door that led to the backroom of the military facility. Mario traced the door with his hands. There was no terminal or lock on it. It was obviously a door but with no handle to open it. Hacking was out of the question. 

“Mr. McCloud,” said Mario, stepping back. “Get that goddamn door open.”

Fox pulled out two plastic bomb charges from his belt and set them for a ten second detonation on the rail line of the door. “Explosives live,” he called. “Get back.”

A stack of metal crates stood ten feet from the door. They ducked behind them just as the timer hit zero. Bang! 

Bang! Bang!

The entire facility shook as if in an earthquake. The scaffolding whined under the pressure. Fox arched an eyebrow. They were two plastic explosives. It was a local detonation so why the hell did it feel like they were in a sudden air raid? Toad scratched his head and then his ass, as was his usual for whenever he was stumped. Mario noticed that the door lay on the ground and turned to them and shrugged.    

“Luigi?” he said into his comms. 

“It’s done.” 

The plastic explosives had detonated at the exact same time that Luigi had overloaded the reactors. The Boom Bunker was now a smoldering heap. Its turrets had fallen, the flamethrowers that had looped around it were now spraying nothing but cold petrol in the absence of their pilot lights. A towering giant had come to its final slumber. 

The room beyond the door was small and round and barren. And, unfortunately, it was quite empty. Inside, there was a lone computer monitor that was beeping and in the very center was a warp pipe. 

“Lady Bow,” said Toad, shaking his head. “She gave us the slip.” 

“Maybe not,” said Fox, pointing a paw to the monitor. “Look.” The three of them crowded around the tiny screen, which displayed the coordinates of what would inevitably be their next destination: the Sky Station.

Chapter Text

XXXIX

Fires in the Wind

The black smoke that billowed from the smoldering husk of the Boom Bunker was acrid and thick. Falco sat on a stone at the base of the wreckage, using his blue plumage to shield his watering eyes. Through tears and smoke, he caught the shadows of his friends making their way down the hill from the military base and into the canyon. Fox looked over the ruins and nodded his approval. 

Falco stood and blew the snot from his nose. It was thick and blackened with soot and he wiped it on his sleeve. “What’s next?” he asked with a snort and swallow to clear the remaining mucus from his nasal passage. 

“Lady Bow has used a warp pipe to travel to the Sky Station,” said Mario, waving his hand in front of his face to fan away the smoke. It burned his eyes, as well, and he recoiled. 

“Why the hell would she go all the way out there?” 

Mario shook his head. The Sky Station was located along the Outer Rim in the Attican Traverse just outside of Terminus. It had been unused for as long as anyone could remember. There wasn’t a toad on the Citadel who could even tell you who built the thing. As far the federation was concerned, it was a relic of an ancient era. But what was really concerning was why the Sky Station was connected to a warp pipe. And more concerning still, how long had it been connected to the Battlerock?

The four of them made the long trek back to the Great Fox in silence. The rocky slope was steep with uncertain footing as the explosion of the bunker had knocked loose a rockslide. They clambered over stones and jutting crags. Just beyond the pass, Toad slipped on a bit of gravel and nearly toppled over. With fast feathers, Falco threw out an arm and caught him and pulled him back to his feet. Toad gave him a sheepish smile, to which Falco returned a curt nod. They boarded the Great Fox, each taking their station and avoiding the penetrative gaze of Peppy. Wearing a quizzical look, he tapped his buck teeth with the tip of his finger but thought better than to ask. 

“Luigi?” said Mario through the commlink from the Commander’s chair. 

“Yep.” 

“We’re on our way to pick you up. Sit tight.”  

“Okay.” 

Luigi stared at the flames rising in flashing blues that tapered into fading hues of orange. His eyes stung but he didn’t take them off the bunker. Daisy’s remains were still in there or, at least, they were. He had to leave her while he detonated the reactor. There wasn’t enough time, he said. There was never enough time. A breeze kicked up, sending a flurry of embers tumbling off into the sky and he saw that it was her: the dust of her remains flying away on the fires in the wind. If there’s somewhere better, I hope they take her there. I hope she finds peace. 

The freighter flew along the ridgeway and past the smoldering bunker. Luigi was on the other side of it, standing off at a distance. They lowered the freighter, the down thrusters kicking up a cloud of dust and flame. Luigi entered the command deck with his head down. They each took their turn to look at him and then each other and then away. Mario looked at his crew and found himself frustrated by their silence. No condolences? No words of grace? He stood up from the command chair. 

“Brother,” he said and stopped short. His brother said nothing and continued on his way towards his quarters. Fox caught Mario’s eye and pursed his lips and shook his head. Mario sighed and sat back down. After a moment, he said, “Peppy, tell Slippy to set a course for the Sky Station.” 

“Aye, aye captain.”
Luigi lay on his bed with his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling fan whirring around and around. He wondered why he wasn’t crying. He was curious more than guilty. Had he screamed so much that he had exhausted himself? Or had he grieved enough and there was no more grief left in him? Or, perhaps, he just didn’t care enough? The last thought hit him like a shotgun blast, which turned his insides into knots. Then, a knock came at the door.  

“Come in.” 

The door slid open and Mario walked in. He took a small wooden chair from the kitchenette table, pulled it up to the side of the bed, and sat. He crossed his hands in his lap and waited in silence. For a long time, he watched his brother staring at the ceiling. Perhaps, his presence was good enough. 

“I’m not like you,” Luigi finally said. “I’ve never been like you.”

“You don’t have to be.” 

“I’m not brave or sure. I’m a coward. A bumbling, chaotic mess of a man,” said Luigi, his voice beginning to tremble. A tear fell down the side of his face and into his sideburn. He wiped it away and scratched at the itch. “I am so very sick of being me.” 

He fell back into silence and Mario waited. Outside the window, the stars flew by in streaks of blue as they traveled through the Mass Relay. Having reached the Sky Station, the Great Fox came out of the jump and the stars stopped whirling.

 After a long moment, Luigi continued, “The only one who ever looked past all that was her. She’s the only person I’ve ever been with and I don’t think I’ll ever find someone again. I don’t think I want to.” 

“It’s an open wound, Luigi. It’ll take time to heal.” 

“I don’t want it to heal. Then, it’ll just be scar tissue, dead and numb. The only person I’ve ever loved, the only person who ever loved me and she died by my own hand.” 

“You didn’t kill her.” 

Luigi sat up and looked his brother straight in the eye. His brow was furrowed and his demeanor had changed to one of determination. “Yes, I did,” he said. “But, so did they. And they’re going to pay for it.” 

“So you’ve found your courage?” 

“No,” said Luigi. “I’ve found my anger.”

Chapter Text

XL

Signals from the Distant Past

The Sky Station was a small moon with two orbital rings that spun like crescent blades. The surface of the moon was lush and tropical, carved with scars of industry: rusted roads of steel, forgotten watchtowers claimed by mossy creep, and a signal turret whose function was lost to memory. The Great Fox sat in low orbit giving chase to the blades of heaven. 

The shore team took the shuttle to the surface. They landed on a main artery of the road network. Fox and Falco were the first to push their way out of the cramped shuttle, slinging their rifles over their shoulders. Toad followed and stretched. He removed a cigar from his pack and lit up. Mario threw a hand to help Luigi to his feet, a gesture that he declined. They were armed to the teeth and ready for battle but a quick survey of the land revealed that not a soul was in sight. 

“Weird,” said Falco, scratching his beak.  

“Keep your barrels up,” commanded Mario. 

They obeyed the order and removed their guns from their slings and fanned out in a V formation with Mario taking the point position. The road was a steel half-pipe that stretched in a perfect straight line. It must’ve followed the curvature of the moon, Mario thought, but there was no bend in it as far as he could tell. It didn’t seem to fall below the horizon but rather continue until it faded from sight entirely. It was an optical illusion of mathematical precision. 

At the end of the road was a kiosk of sorts, something akin to the info stations on the Citadel. The kiosk flickered as they approached. Its visual projection unit, or VPU, struggled to warm the lamp up from years of disuse. The image appeared warped and discolored like an old television that lost signal. Slowly, the VPU assembled the image piecemeal through flickering scanlines. Mario squinted at the flashing chaos, trying to make out what he was seeing but it was all noise with no coherence. Finally, the image took shape in the form of a boo in a pilot’s uniform that was some two thousand years out of date. 

“How long has this been here?” asked Falco.  

“Looks to be third generation,” said Luigi, giving the image a once-over.  

“What gen are we up to now?” asked Fox, the brow of his right eye raised. 

“Eighth,” said Luigi. “This thing’s been here since before the Air Raids.” 

“Hey!” Mario called to the VI. “Can you talk?” 

“I understand you,” it replied through static distortion. Its speech unit was similarly rusted and sluggish from disuse.  

“What is this place?”

“You have reached the Sky Station,” replied the VI unhelpfully.  

“I gathered as much,” said Mario with a roll of his eyes, a gesture aimed more at himself than the machine. He should’ve known that a simple question would receive a similarly simple answer from a dated computer system.  

“What is the Sky Station?” asked Luigi to elaborate on his brother’s angle. “It’s not mentioned in official records.” 

“Nor would it be,” replied the VI, its voice system now much clearer than before. “Not much of deep space construction is a matter of official record.” 

Fox stepped forward with his arms folded. He was intrigued by the construction he was standing in. The half-pipe reminded him of the silent roads and big blues that his father had once raced on. “Do you have a record of when it was built?” 

“Indeed, I do. The Sky Station was built shortly after the discovery of the Citadel. It was the farthest travel point after the first jump from the Citadel’s mass relay.” 

Luigi tugged at his mustache as he thought back to the history holos from school. “So it was built by the Federation?”

“Negative,” said the VI without a trace of emotion. “Nor was it built by the koopas. It was built by the first space-faring peoples. My kind, the Boos.” There was no pride in the statement, no sense of pageantry. Just the cold, hard, mechanical truth.  

“I thought that the boos were prone to space sickness,” Falco countered. He’d seen them babbling to themselves when there were disturbances in the Citadel’s atmospherics. Like most in the galaxy, he found the boos unsettling, a people of poor taste and even poorer manners.   

“This was when we wore flesh,” said the VI. “Before the Vaporization. The sickness came afterwards.” 

Mario winced at the term, vaporization. It had fallen out of polite conversation decades ago for its connotation with withering and destruction. Boos had since retitled the event as the Fleshing to indicate it wasn’t destructive but rather transformative. “And what does this place do?” he asked, regaining his composure. “Why was it built?” 

“It was built as an amplification terminal, a jump point to explore other galaxies.” 

“What can the terminal amplify?” asked Luigi. 

“Any form of transport.” 

“Lady Bow was able to warp here from the Battlerock,” said Mario. “That means there’s a warp pipe somewhere around here.” 

“And we know she used a warp pipe hidden somewhere on the Citadel,” said Fox, nodding. 

“Right, which means if the koopa king amplifies the signal of the Sky Station warp pipe, he would be able to use it to invade the Citadel.” 

Falco’s eyes widened as he suddenly understood what they meant. “You’re saying he could transport his entire army from the Deep Dark instantaneously?” His voice was hollow and hoarse. The cold shock numbed any sense of terror. That would come later.

“Exactly.”

“ We have to destroy it before he can get here,” said Luigi, his voice rising in pitch. “The entire station has to go.”

“I agree, brother. The only thing is, where is Lady Bow?”

Fox scratched behind his ears and tapped his foot. Looking around, there was no sign of anyone having been there before them but on a hunch, he asked, “VI, did you speak with a boo before we got here?”

“Yes. She activated the amplifier and left through the warp pipe.”

Falco paced the pipe with his arms behind his back. His mind raced. What could he say to get out of this? He had plans, places to be. It wasn’t his problem. The Federation could handle things from here. Hell, he could just say he’d be on his way. Nice knowin’ ya. Good luck! See ya! He stopped and took a deep breath. War was on the doorstep and the door was about to be blown off the bloody hinges. He turned to his companions and said in a choked whisper, “She went back to the Citadel to prepare for the invasion.” 

Mario clapped a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll deal with that later,” he said with a reassuring smile. “First, we stop the koopa king. Right here. Right now.” 

The VI flickered with warped discoloration. A loud noise came from the kiosk that sounded like a dial-up modem. Someone was hacking the processing unit. The boo disappeared and in its absence came a low guffaw dripping with malice. 

“Bwahahaha.” 

Chapter Text

XLI

Conversation with the Koopa King

It came as a flickering shadow. A garbled noise of lights hung in the air like an abstraction. Mario clutched at his heart as it seemed to him that he was witnessing the manifestation of a shifting demon from the very pits of Hell. He took his shape, then, the beast, now that the hack was complete. What stood before them was a monstrous creature wreathed in a mane of flame. His bushy red brow was knitted in rage and his massive jaw was pulled back in a snarl that revealed fangs blackened with rot. His claws were sharp and cracked as if he spent his days scratching at stone. While his belly was bulbous, his skin was sunken and sallow and stretched like Saran wrap across his knotted muscles. Though he was massive, he appeared shrunken and starving and pulled away from the thing on his back. The beast was housed in a green shell and the shell was the seat of all creation but the shell was horned and from those horns all malice flowed. 

Toad bit through his cigar at the sight and doubled back as embers fell from his lips. He tripped over a raised plate on the ground that had been knocked loose centuries ago. He swallowed the nub of the cigar on impact and cursed at the bitterness that clung to the back of his tongue. Falco turned and walked back towards him. He was done playing it cool. The weight of reality fell upon his shoulders. All the times he raced into danger, so cocksure, he had never before felt the sting of his own mortality as he did staring into the cruel visage of the koopa king. He took a seat next to Toad, his eyes falling to the ground as his chest huffed and puffed. Fox, too, pulled away a pace despite being a seasoned soldier. A pity that gunships and barrel rolls, dogfights and all the adventures of an ace pilot had ill prepared him for the Hellkind. Luigi shuffled back, farting all the while. 

Mario, for his part, remained fixed to his station. 

“You again,” growled the voice of fear and loathing. “I don’t know if I find your persistence amusing or aggravating. Either way, we have arrived here all the same. I would mistake it for fate if it hadn’t taken so much planning.” 

“Bowser,” said Mario, steeling himself.  “What do you want?

“What I’ve always wanted: domination,” he said simply. “I will steal the stars from the skies.” His voice trailed off as if it were a thought he had been contemplating for a very long time. His black eyes glassed over as he envisioned the certainty of his success.  

“You’re going to bring back the Air Raids?” Fox barked. There was panic in his voice and the turtle smiled. 

He sniffed at the air for the scent of fear before cursing to himself that he was just a holo. All good things, perhaps… He was no feral thing of impulse having bid his time. Patience is at the command of conquerors , he thought, and I have come to conquer. “Ah, the mutt has a brain,” he breathed. “The Air Raids. Clumsy but effective. Yes, the cleansing flames will birth this galaxy anew.”

“You don’t have that right,” whined Falco, shaking his head in his arms.  

“Think again, bird brain. I am the galaxy. I have the only right. Without me, the scaffolding of the galaxy falls away and all will be lost to the Deep Dark. Not just the koopas.” He gestured to the shell on his back. 

“That is an old fable,” asserted Luigi, standing up.  

“And do you dare put it to the test, coward?” the turtle snarled.  

Luigi felt the breath punched out of him and collapsed to the ground. As soon as his ass hit steel, he farted. His cheeks grew hot and tears fell from his eyes in embarrassment. He felt so ashamed by it. He tried to stand up for himself, his friends, their very right to exist and he was bullied down by nothing more than flashing lights. How could he ever measure up when even the slightest hint of conflict sent him shaking and sobbing? His brother hadn’t even moved a muscle. He stared straight into the face of madness and murder and held its gaze. He never liked that his brother got to wear the red hat and he the green, but sitting there on the half-pipe road he thought that perhaps green was his rightful color for in that moment he was overcome with an aching envy. 

“Yes, I know all about you,” Bowser continued. “Each of you. I have waited so long.” 

“The koopas were banished because of the Air Raids,” said Mario defiantly. “We beat them before, we can do it again.” 

“I am the koopas!” Bowser roared and his voice shook the canyon. “I am a nation.” 

“How will that nation make its invasion without this amplifying terminal?” 

Bowser’s mouth pulled back into a menacing grin as he turned to face his foe. “So you plan to thwart me? It will be a temporary success for you and a minor setback for me. You cannot escape your doom.” The canyon shook again at the boom of his voice. “I carry the weight of the galaxy on my back.” 

“And what stands below you, turtle?” Mario mocked. 

“Oblivion.” The word rattled from between his fangs. He clung to the sound of it, squeezing out the malice like a hand around your throat. There was no trace of irony or self-awareness, just the cold cruelty of what had been obvious to him for centuries: he was strong, they were weak, and he could take what he pleased. 

“There’s an entire galaxy ready and willing to face you,” came Mario’s words, but they were hollow and he knew it and the turtle certainly knew it, as well.  

“Your words are as empty as your future,” he retorted. 

“I won’t let you do this,” said Mario through gritted teeth. His eyes were wild and his hands were balled in tight fists.  

Bowser looked right into those wild eyes with curious fascination. “You won’t let me?” he asked mockingly. “I’m afraid you have our relationship reversed. You’re only the hero I allow you to be.” His eyes became bright red and the mane of his hair smoldered like embers as his voice became high and mad. He screamed at the top of his lungs. “You exist because I allow it and you will end because I demand it!” 

Mario gasped at the sight and took an involuntary step back. Bowser snorted smoke through his nostrils as his eyes darkened to black and his voice fell back into a gravelly monotone. “This exchange is over.”

The light flickered and flashed and he was gone.  

Chapter Text

XLII

Countdown

They stood up slowly. Toad reached for a cigar but found that he was all out and cursed under his breath. Now was exactly the wrong time to quit smoking. Luigi’s legs wobbled like jelly but he gave himself credit for getting to his feet on his own even as he feared he might collapse again. A moment and the tremors in his legs passed and he remained standing. There was something in that. Falco was the last to join them and sobbed quietly behind his feathers. 

Fox placed a hand on his comrade’s shoulder. “We have to get back to the Citadel,” he said softly.  

Mario nodded and reached for the pack on his back. He removed the micro-detonators that he brought and divided them amongst themselves. “Fan out and plant the charges,” he ordered. “Set timers for 60 seconds. I want this entire station to be a heap before we leave.”

They did as they were told and located the major structures of the station. The half-pipe road that they had stood in served as the central corridor that branched out to the signal tower, the coolant system, the stabilizers, and the central control station. 

Fox headed for the eastern ridge where the signal tower was located, which was a fifty foot tall antenna that amplified the signal coming from the Sky Station by transmission to the nearest mass relay. The relay’s gyroscope bounced the signal back to the antenna in a circuit that made the amplification exponentially effective. 

The alcove of the eastern ridge was a hard climb of jagged stone and unsure footing. He started off well enough, finding crevices and footholds with ease. He was a practiced climber, after all, but the alcove had been subject to years of heavy rains and practice or no, eroded rock does not well support the body. Nearing the top, he made a clumsy reach for a high handhold but the rock broke free. He swung out wildly, his back smacking into a rocky protrusion, which forced the wind out of him. His foothold was strong enough to support him but with the sudden flail, it twisted up his ankle and he yelped like a kicked dog. He pushed himself off the rockface and clambered over the topside and flopped on the ground to catch his breath. Up the ridgeway, he found the main support beam of the signal tower and set two charges. The micro-detonators were neblunium bombs capable of local but devastating explosions. 

60… 59… 58…

While Fox clambered up the ridge, Falco descended into the tunnel under the alcove where the amplifier’s coolant system was located. The system in the cave at the end of the tunnel was a series of four large battery packs being cooled by a network of hoses that pumped water up from the aquifer. The water vaporized on contact, which was subsequently reclaimed by steam collectors on the cave ceiling where it would condense and travel back down into the aquifer as a replenishing system. He had two charges on him, the same as the rest of them, not enough for every battery and certainly not enough to collapse the cave. He resolved, instead, to blow the hose network for the coolant itself. Without it, the batteries would overheat in a matter of minutes. Their ion casings would melt down releasing a drip of superheated molten steel. The steel drip would eat through the battery shell causing the fuel cells to fuse until they reached a critical mass of energy. After that, boom. Their explosion would be far more powerful than the tiny neblunium bombs they packed. Falco smirked at his own cleverness and set the charges. He blew a kiss with a flourish of feathers, turned, and made his way back down the long tunnel. 

45… 44… 43…

The Sky Station was supported by a hyperdensity generator dispatched by stabilizer units that spiderwebbed around the moon. The complex systems of amplification terminals, satellite transmitters, and electrical networks lacked enough mass to stay put by the moon’s weak gravity and with flare-outs in the ring network causing fluctuations like the tides, they would be subject to sudden changes in gravitational force that would cause collapse. The hyperdensity generator combatted this by increasing the density of objects to maintain an even gravitational distribution in response to these fluctuations. The network was moonwide so blowing it completely was out of the question. Toad resolved instead to blow the regulator that would cause the system to malfunction. He would let the rings do the rest. 

37… 36… 35…   

Luigi watched as the others made quick work of their assignments. He took a deep breath and walked the long half-pipe road with his brother. The door to the central control station was rusted shut from years of disuse. They locked arms around the wheel lock and pushed. Sweat beaded on Luigi’s brow and his muscles burned but the wheel didn’t budge. Then, Mario had an idea. Medigel was viscous but slick. Perhaps, it would work well enough to grease the wheel. He applied a dab of the stuff to the axle. They pushed again and, suddenly, a red-orange fleck of rust popped from the screw threads. The wheel turned slowly and the lock released. With salt stinging his eyes, Luigi pushed his way into the darkened control station. Mario clapped him on the shoulder, gave him a smile, and left him to pursue a side path. 

In the circular room, not a light was lit, the bulbs having burned out long ago. The dim green from the central computer terminal proved the only illumination in the place. Luigi farted and it echoed loudly off the walls. He reached for a hand that wasn’t there and waited for that unabashed chuckle to reach his ears but only silence remained. He took a deep breath and held it, placed the charge and left. 

22… 21… 20…

The side path from the circular room led Mario down a long dark hallway. There were red emergency lamps that were still lit intermittently providing a hellish glow. The air seemed to grow thick the farther he traveled. Even with his mask on, he felt a constriction around his throat but not like hands; rather, it was the syrupy sensation of hot and humid air that came from the sun drying the rains. At the end of the hallway was a door with a question mark painted in emergency yellow. He pushed open the door, whose handle was missing, and saw that beyond it was a perfectly square room. It had no paved flooring or tiles but, rather, naked earth. In the center of which, well, there it was: the warp pipe, dug into the earth, bright green, shimmering and whispering in the darkness just like before. And just like before, it was whispering directly to him. He placed both of the micro-detonators upon its lip and as he did so, he could feel its gentle suction drawing on the whiskers of his mustache. It was like a warm summer breeze. His eyes rolled back and he placed his hands on the cool, slick metal as his face inched closer and closer to its gaping maw. It felt like a warm embrace from an old friend. He wanted it so badly but then, he remembered the darkness and fire and he remembered just as clearly the troops in the walls and pushed himself off and quickly hurried away before a mistake seemed like a good idea. 

16… 15… 14…

Luigi met Mario back outside of the control station where they had split and made their way back to the half-pipe road. Toad and Falco were already waiting by the time they arrived. Fox arrived last, limping on his sprained ankle. Mario shot him a look and he nodded back that was he fine. 

“All charges set?” asked Mario. They nodded. Mario sighed in relief and said, “Let’s move out.” They made a break for it, Luigi and Falco supporting Fox, as it was a straight shot back to the shuttle. They clambered in and lifted off, breaking the atmosphere with eight seconds to spare. The shuttle docked and the Great Fox left orbit. 

5…4…3…

It reached the mass relay and they made the jump, heading for the other side of space. 

2… 1…

Boom! 

They never did see the Sky Station burst into space debris, glittering in the fleeting rays of the sun. They didn’t see the rings spiral off and crash into each other. It would have made such thunder if not for the dead of space. They didn’t see the core, small though it was, flash and fade. They had bigger troubles on the horizon.

Chapter Text

XLIII

Invasion of the Citadel

There were fifteen of them in all, only as many as could get through the warp pipe. There were eight koopa troopas armed with rifles and five paratroopas raining hellfire with RPGs from above. Leading the charge was the commanding officer, herself, and her second-in-command following at her heel. She pointed to the defensive structures and security outposts as they made their way through the Wards. The koopas took out each outpost with surgical precision. The RPGs were for chaos and distraction, and, of course, as much carnage as they could muster. The koopa troopas were the drill, while the paratroopas were the dynamite: a unified force chipping away at the wall of security the galaxy had come to rely on. War had come to the Citadel. 

The second-in-command looked upon the battlefield and a smile crept up his lips, revealing a lone sharp fang. He was dressed in blue robes with a hat to match, the old garb of his order that had long since fallen to ruin. The smell of blood in the air, people screaming, dust and rubble, he drank it all in like nectar. It had been so long since he had seen combat and, boy, did it feel good to be back. 

He swelled with pride as he watched a koopa troopa put the final bullets in a woman and her child. A stray shot caught her in the leg and she tumbled down the steps as she tried to make her escape from the Wards. Her son came back for her. The blue robed koopa found it almost charming when the boy held out his hand to the troopa as if to say, “Stop.” What would make one so small think they could make any demands of those that held power over them , he thought. It was like a dog begging for scraps from the dinner table. 

How best, then, to describe the invasion when he finally made his report to the koopa king? He kicked himself as the word eluded him. Perhaps, it was “joyous” that he was looking for. Yes, he thought, it was a joyous occasion to be back on the killing fields. 

Lady Bow led the way up the steps with her koopa troopas in tow. She navigated over bodies and bits of bodies, spraying fire towards anything that moved. “Make for the Presidium,” she barked. “I want to bring the Council to their knees.”

 At the top of the stairwell, a small platoon of C-Sec officers mounted a final defense. The koopas’ invasion had been so swift and sudden that the majority of outposts had been destroyed, killing the bulk of the on-duty officers. Those that were off duty would find there were no stations left from which to collect weapons and armor and, instead, would resign themselves to joining the remaining civilians in the evacuation zones. 

Of the platoon, there were three officers with their shields up and kneeling shoulder-to-shoulder at the entrance to the stairwell to stop the forward advance. Four officers, including the captain, held perch positions on either side of the guardrails. “Hold the line!” shouted the C-Sec captain. “We stop them here.” 

They rained fire upon the koopas but the koopas had shields and shells to boot. Their defense was ironclad and they waited until the officers exhausted their thermal clips. They retreated behind the cover of the guardrail, waiting for cooldown, but the koopas never gave them the chance. They popped out of their shells and raised their guns to fire but the blue robed koopa held out his walking staff to stop them. He had observed enough and was eager to stretch his legs, to see if he still had the stuff. He wanted to leave his mark and make sure that they would remember Kamek. 

“For all your bluster,” said Kamek, “the best you have to offer is little more than a cat scratch.” He raised his walking staff and the ruby on the tip began to glow. In the times of his order where reason had yet to replace fantasy, the ancient peoples thought it magic. The truth was they were some of the most powerful biotics in the galaxy. He fired a blast of crazy multicolored geometry. The C-Sec officers’ shields were obliterated, taking the officers with them. He quickly dispatched the remaining officers along the flanks. 

Only the captain remained. He pulled himself from beneath the rubble and crawled towards his rifle. His ankle was broken with the chalk-white bone protruding from the skin at the mid-calf, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. He slapped at the ground as he crawled, the gun inches from his fingertips. He could reach it. He would end the invasion and if not, he would take as many of the bastards as he could manage with him. Just before he reached the gun, a lightning bolt went through his leg, forcing a wrenching scream that scarred his lungs. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kamek digging his heel into the exposed bone. 

“I bet you thought you were going to be a hero cop,” he said, leaning in as if examining some disgusting specimen. “Stunning courage. Impossible odds. Instead, I’m going to blast your brains all over the pavement and there’s going to be nothing left of your face, nothing left for anyone to recognize that you were ever you. 

The Captain’s breath burned in his lungs. He sighed and retracted his hand from the gun. “Do what you’re gonna do.”

Kamek made good on his word. The biotic energy split the cranium in half like a buzzsaw, spraying blood and brain matter all over the tile. The impact superheated the metal tilework, which caused it to fuse with the skin of his face. By the time the cleaning crew scraped him off the floor later, there really would be nothing left.    

Lady Bow and her platoon reached the Presidium but the doors to the council were huge, reinforced titanium alloy with a biotic shield overlay. 

“Bring those doors down,” she ordered. 

The koopa troopas unloaded on the doors but they were built strong and resisted the bulletfire. The paratroopas tried their fire bombs but the doors continued to hold. 

“I said bring those blasted doors down,” she screamed, growing impatient. 

 The Great Fox docked at port and Fox, Falco, Mario, Luigi, and Toad exited in full battle gear. A black plume of smoke billowed in the distance. Mario noticed at once that it was coming from the Presidium. His eyes grew wide and terror shook him. 

“They’re going after the Council.” 

Chapter Text

XLIV 

The Council Chamber Breached

As soon as Mario’s boot touched the platform of the Presidium, the doors to the Council’s chamber fell. Under the relentless assault of the koopas, the shields could only take so much. Mario pulled on the hairs of his mustache. Fox pinched his brow as a throbbing headache came on. Falco preened at himself, spitting blue feathers from his beak, until his forearms bled. Toad ground his teeth and wished for a cigar between them. And Luigi farted. 

“Finally,” said Lady Bow, licking her lips. She could taste victory. “Make for the inner chamber you filthy wretches. I want the heads of each of those council members laid at my feet.”

Her platoon of troopas moved in synchronous formation, a killing blade honed to a razor’s edge. The paratroopas circled and blasted the Presidium with hellfire grenades. Bridges crumbled and the fountain crashed into the reflection pond below. Crabbers scurried to clean up the dust, following the automation of their programming, but the ground fell out from under them and they drowned in the water with a flurry of sparks and smoke. They were only machines after all.  

“Go,” said Mario. “Stop the koopas. I will take care of Bow.”

 Falco, the fastest of the group, made a break for the Council chamber. Toad, with his little legs scurrying, struggled to keep pace. The paratroopas noticed them at once and descended on them. Jets of flame followed them as they dove headfirst into the chamber. The paratroopas circled like vultures before landing and then approached the doors to claim their prey. 

“Bow!” Mario called across the platform. 

The boo turned to face him. Her face was chalk white and beautiful with a pink bow tied to each earlobe. Her eyes were large and black and dead. She stared at him with those half-lidded eyes, almost bored, for just a moment and then her face twisted into something angry and cruel as Mario’s face triggered a memory. 

“You!” she growled. She raised her pistol with lightning reflexes and fired a shot at him. He dove behind a large piece of rubble as the blast shaved off a chunk of his sideburn. Had he reacted a second later, it would have shot straight through his skull. She huffed and puffed as she shot at the rubble, breaking off large chunks with each blast. He dove out from behind it just as she finished blasting it to bits. He bolted behind a pillar as three more shots from the boo flew wide.

“You are like gristle in my teeth,” she raged. “I just can’t seem to get rid of you.” 

Luigi made to go help his brother but before he could take one step, Fox caught him on the arm. Luigi tried to shrug him off, he was going to go do the right thing after all, but Fox held him with an iron grip. 

“Let’s do what he commands. He can take care of this,” Fox said reassuringly. 

Luigi’s brow knitted in concern as he turned to watch his brother in the firefight of his life. In a split second, he was so sure that rushing off to help him was the right thing to do. That was what it meant to be brave and now it was his chance to prove it. But Fox was right. Soldiers follow commands. It was foolish to disobey orders out of fear, even if it was the fear of losing his brother. Perhaps, he would have found his courage in trusting his teammates but in the chaos of battle, the most he could muster was to simply follow orders.  

They turned and joined Falco and Toad in the inner chamber. Falco activated his omnitool and waited behind cover for it to charge. Toad fired off a barrel from his shotgun that kicked up a cloud of dust in the eyes of the advancing troopas. The charge’s progress bar climbed until it reached a fully-formed 100 and Falco shot his overload, an electromagnetic pulse that disrupted the shield of a paratroopa. He seized on the opening and shot off his wing, which caused the paratroopa to lose control of his flightpath and swerve into one of his comrades. The sudden collision caused the hellfire grenades to detonate, sending blood and bits of shell shrapneling across the chamber. The three remaining paratroopas circled overhead, waiting for the next opening. 

The council members ducked behind the long curved debate table for cover. Toadette had no combat experience and pulled at her pigtails as she shivered under the table. Funky Kong had long since retired from the ways of war to break from his people’s reputation. He cursed himself, now that he didn’t have a weapon. 

Be cool, you guys,” hollered Funky. “There’s no reason for this kinda violence.” A troopa fired off a well-aimed shot that split the bandana off of Funky’s head and shaved a runway through his fur. He shrieked and clasped his arms over his head. 

The eight troopas unloaded on the debate table, sending wood and dust flying into the air. Adam Malkovich reached inside his coat for the pistol that hung under his armpit. He unclipped the shoulder holster and surprised himself to find how steady his hand was. It had been decades since he had to draw a weapon, back in the days when dark caverns and pirates were the enemy, not these pesky turtles. Still, he marveled at their battle prowess. They took turns in attacking to prevent their rifles from overheating. There was a rhythm to it and it prevented the usual opening for counterattack. But then, good luck struck when a troopa’s gun jammed. It threw off the rotation and they became confused, shooting wildly until their clips were spent. Adam popped up without hesitation and fired off three shots. Two of them went wide but the third found its mark in a troopa’s chest. 

“Like riding a bike,” he said with a smirk.  

“I can’t breathe,” came Booregard’s voice in gasps. A stray shot had breached his suit on the pant leg and he was losing vapor fast. 

Toadette noticed Toad round a pillar into a flanking position. She caught his eye and flared her nostrils at him. “Toad, you scoundrel, get us out here.”

With quick aim, he shot a troopa dead. “I’m working on it,” he growled.  

Fox activated his tactical cloak and found a corner to post up. He pulled the sniper rifle from his shoulder and aimed down the sights, adjusting the turrets on the scope to line up the reticle and fired a penetrating shot that blasted through one troopa and into another. Two for the price of one. He smirked at his achievement. Falco sprayed the field with his assault rifle, his nerves wound tight, and hit nothing but air. He took a bullet in the arm for his efforts that blew him off his feet and over a bench. The circling paratroopas watched as the ground force was steadily eliminated. The order had been to take the councilors’ heads but without ground troops that was impossible. They rained hellfire on the inner chamber causing the small room to choke with smoke. Toad cursed himself as he was out of range with his shotgun but Adam and Fox found their marks, felling the three remaining paratroopas. 

Luigi rushed to Booregard’s side and sprayed medigel on the torn pant leg, which was viscous enough to clog the hole. The pressure in the suit stabilized and the boo’s fading form returned. He took a deep breath to inflate his collapsing lungs. “Thank you,” he said at last.

Toad helped Toadette to her feet and she brushed the dirt from her pantsuit. “Good to see you cleaning up your act,” she said with a grin. 

“As much as a scoundrel like me can,” he shot back. 

“Don’t give him too much credit,” said Falco as he climbed to his feet, nursing his wounded arm. Councilor Pico lent him a shoulder to balance himself, which he was grateful for.  

“Thank you, Team Star Fox,” said Booregard, breathing slowly.  

Fox decloaked, smiled, and said simply, “Team Mario.”

Chapter Text

XLV

Debridement

Questions get asked on the battlefield. The big cosmic ones: Where do we go? Why are we here? Between sweat and smoke, blood and bullets, the questions come through loudest of all. As bulletfire from the boo whizzed over Mario’s head, he thought on his life’s journey and wondered if it had been worth it. If he knew that the decisions he made would lead him from the slums of the Citadel to the hell of galactic warfare, would he have made them again? Would he have accepted that engineering job from a scoundrel like Toad? On the one hand, Toad had made good on his promise. He took the brothers on the trip of a lifetime. Mario got to see the galaxy and he even got to meet his lifelong crush, Peach. Then again, he never did work up the courage to ask her out. But if he could go back…

Bang! A shredder shot blasted a chunk out of the stone pillar. Mario dove out of the way as rubble crashed to the ground. He looked around for a new cover point and found a small bench overlooking the reflecting pond. The massive fountain was split in two. It had been a tiered structure that shot jets of water in concentric ringlets. Now, the jet streams splattered and gurgled like sewage. The beauty of the Presidium was made horrid by their actions and it turned Mario’s stomach. It was as if he had brought the slums of his childhood to the upper decks that once held so much promise for him. Instead of inhabiting his ambition, he had corrupted and defiled it. 

Bang! Another shredder shot splintered the wooden bench. Tiny fragments of oak embedded in his cheek like stinging nettles. He yanked them out and little dots of blood bubbled out of the wounds. He felt a warmth in his finger tips and looked down at the grassy perimeter of the fountain and saw a fire flower not two inches from his hand. He drew what little biotic ability he had until a ball of fire formed in the center of his palm. He jumped up from his cover and threw it at his foe but the fireball went wide and hit a federation flagpole two feet to the left of the boo. The flag burned and fell in tatters. 

“Nice shot,” mocked Lady Bow, dropping her gun to her side. “Trying to do my job for me?” 

Mario held his gun on her. “You’re not getting out of this, Bow. Toss the weapon,” he commanded. 

“You first, pumpkin.” With lightning reflexes, she raised her weapon as if in a quick draw and blasted a stone at his feet, which exploded a cloud of dust in his eyes. She retreated to the cover of a nearby pillar. 

His face was a mess of tears and snot. He was blind and choking as he ran towards the last cover point that caught his eye. He fired off several rounds wildly to cover himself and coughed violently to clear his lungs and swiped at his eyes, which were caked in tears and dust and sweat.

“I promise I will see you to safety,” he heaved as he regained his breath. “You will stand trial.” 

“That’s real sweet of you,” she drawled. “Why don’t you wiggle that little ass of yours on over here and I can give you a proper thank you.” Bang! Another shredder shot, red and angry, blasted through a large ceramic pot that held a giant pikfern. Soil fell down the back of Mario’s collar, which was gritty and unpleasant.   

“Bow, please!” he screamed. “We don’t have to kill each other today.” He shook the soil from his hair. 

She laughed and it was high and hysterical and delirious. Madness grows in war like maggots in a wound, debriding the mind of reason. The perfume of blood in the air intoxicates and invigorates all those reptilian urges that sit so low on the brainstem. She was saturated by it, her boots sloshed with it, heavy and sodden, making the pounding of her footsteps sound like the blood drumming in her ears, a phantom effect of a lifetime ago when she still wore flesh. It happened like that sometimes. 

“You’re twice as stupid as your brother and half as cute,” she spat. “You don’t get it at all, do you? You got a glimpse when you looked in the warp pipe but I went through. I stood there and saw it all, everything Bowser was planning.” 

“He indoctrinated you,” he pleaded. “Just like the maple tree on Pinna. Bow, please, we can fix it.”

“Idiot!,” she screamed, firing off another round from her pistol but the shot went wide. “He didn’t indoctrinate me. He gave me a choice and when I looked out into that darkness, I saw everything that made us falling away in flames. So I made the only choice I could. Don’t you get it? It doesn’t matter if you stop me. Eventually, the council will die and the federation will flicker out like embers on the wind.” 

Mario wrapped his arms over his head, waiting for the next volley as his final cover point slowly disintegrated. But the shooting had stopped. He looked over to his right and saw his friends exit the council chambers. Fox moved to a far cover position at the edge of the reflecting pond with his rifle set. Toad marched towards a nearby pillar to move within blasting range, both barrels of his shotgun at the ready. Luigi’s pistol shook violently as he stepped out onto the battlefield but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his brother’s dirt covered face. Falco ducked under the stairs to the chambers, his arm now useless and unable to lift his rifle. 

“Mario,” called Fox. “The council is safe.” 

Bow had seen what he’d seen, his friends assuming flanking positions, and knew that her assault had failed. There was no trick and there was no talking her way of it. She finished reloading her pistol and stepped out from her cover point with her gun arm dangling at her side. Mario popped up with his gun trained on her. Her eyes were dead again and it sent a shiver up his spine. The fight had left her and the bloodlust along with it. 

“Drop it,” he commanded. “Bow, I won’t tell you again.” 

“You are so stupid,” she whispered with a hint of sorrow. “And so very out of your depth.” She raised her pistol to her temple.  

“Bow,” he said, reaching out with a hand. “Don’t do it.” 

Bang! The bullet carved through the suit and her vapor swirled and distorted like milk in coffee. There was a howling that was her voice but not her voice, the wind of her soul escaping into the void that all boos know, black and silent. They don’t get to go anywhere else afterwards. The vapor, the manor, the suit, this was their afterlife. Mario clasped his hands over his ears to block the cacophony but as quick as it came, it was gone. And all was silent. 

“No,” he whispered. He was supposed to bring her in but he had failed. He squeezed his eyes closed and turned away.

Chapter Text

XLVI

Odd Angles

Bow’s suit laid in a crumpled heap. A residue was left behind by her unbecoming, a thick grayish sludge that was frosted at the edges, which were as sharp as glass. It dripped from the helmet wound in fat globules that stacked on top of one another until they toppled over and sank like pancake batter. Within the brackish ooze was a tiny set of teeth attached to a lower mandible and an upper maxilla that curiously inserted into nothing, no zygomatic arch nor frontal bone. In the Fleshing, they had lost all the remnants of their physical selves except for their eyes and teeth but her eye jelly was lost in the residue of her former being. 

Mario felt a pit in his stomach at the sight of her corpse. He found it bizarre that there was no smell and the strangeness of it made it worse somehow. A moment ago, he was talking to this person and now there was barely anything there to suggest they existed in the first place. Ghosts were for scaring children around campfires, he thought bitterly. They made fear fun since you knew that they couldn’t really hurt you and that it was all pretend but the pillar that collapsed behind him brought home the truth in a clattering of debris. He saw in piles of dust what his battle with a ghost had wrought with all her anger that went back eons that she hid so well. She was a legend on the battlefield, the greatest Spectre to ever assume the role, and the fact that she had to battle the inherent mistrust the federation had for her race made her all the more impressive. She was the best of them and she blew herself away with a bullet. He nudged  the heap with his foot just to make sure it was real and saw a thermal clip of shredder ammo underneath the suit and pocketed it. 

Bang! He looked up to see an explosion at the far side of the reflecting pond where one of the extraction zones was located. Fox ran up behind him and grabbed his arm. 

“Come on,” he said in a huff. “This isn’t done yet.”

They ran towards the plume of black smoke that dispersed on the plate glass roof, beyond which was the cold of space. Luigi joined them and gave a small salute to his brother, who returned the gesture with a smile. Toad struggled to keep pace with his awkward shotgun and little scurrying legs. Falco lumbered far behind, his arm hanging uselessly at his side.

Biotic energy of odd angles and impossible geometry flew through the air and collided with the offices of the starboard strip. They detonated with furious destruction, knocking out the support beams of the buildings. Glass exploded as the three-story buildings came tumbling down. Running into the blast, Toad shielded his face just in time as a glass shard sliced across his forearm, drawing a thick line of blood. 

“Pan fry me with parmesan,” yelled Toad, cradling his wounded arm. “This goddamn glass is gonna take my eyes out.”

Beyond the strip was a hospital that served as the major evacuation point for the sector. A boy cried as his mother dragged him across the threshold. A small girl tucked her face into her father’s shoulder, trying her best to shut out the world until he carried her to safety. Crabbers were trampled underfoot and exploded into circuits and sparks. C-Sec officers barked orders as they directed families beyond the shield wall, strong men whose job it was to maintain footing even as the plates of the world shifted underneath.   

Kamek stood at the base of the hospital, firing off a flurry of biotic blasts at the shield. He cackled as he watched them panic and scurry like insects. Fox clambered up a small overhang of a nearby sweets shop to use as a perch. It wasn’t long enough to lay on his belly so he crouched low instead, which was a sacrifice to stability, but at least he would have the high ground. Luigi fired off rounds from his pistol to provide cover fire but Kamek’s shields were too strong ignoring the older brother’s attack altogether. Toad used the cover to inch forward, just a bit more and he could take the bastard’s head clean off. He glanced over his shoulder and Mario held out a hand for him to stop. 

“So the ghost is dead,” said Kamek without turning from his task. “Pity, I liked her. She had real… gusto.” 

“Who are you?” Fox called from his nearby perch. 

“Granted, she was only a temporary solution,” said Kamek, ignoring the question. “That’s why I’m here. Who am I? What I am, hound, is insurance and I’ll ask that you refrain from speaking out of turn. 

He spun slowly on his heel, then, and his face was a twist of malice and hatred. He banged his wooden staff twice upon the ground and the ruby flickered to life. “I have a real irritable streak, you see,” he continued. “And I do so hate being interrupted. It gives me a mind to experiment. And like a boy playing with tree frogs, it begins with tearing… off… the legs.”

He tapped his staff upon the ground a third time and a subspace grew around it and shot at Fox, who activated his reflector shield just before it hit him below the belt. But the shield wasn’t strong enough and the blast broke through! His legs twisted at odd angles and snapped and he fell from his perch, smacking to the ground with a mighty thump, his right leg folded under and his left leg bent at a perpendicular angle at the knee.   

Mario and Luigi fired a volley at the koopa but his shield was strong and the bullets glanced off and evaporated. 

“Toad, get him to cover,” Mario commanded. 

“Oh sure, cuz I’m expendable,” he complained but he did as he was told. He threw his shotgun over his shoulder and bolted for his comrade. He grabbed Fox at the shoulders and tugged but he was quite small and struggled to make him budge. Kamek watched with glee as the tiny Toad tried to move him and began to tap his staff on the ground once more. He would time it perfectly, he thought. As soon as Toad got him moving, right when he thought he was going to make it, that’s when he would strike. Crushing hope, shattering arrogance and bravado, is what made battles worth fighting. Watching an enemy slowly come to the realization that they were hopelessly outmaneuvered and overmatched and knowing not suspecting, but knowing, that they were about to die was a vision to Kamek that was brighter than the sun. 

Mario saw the glint of fire off the koopa’s fang, saw the staff clanging on the ground, saw the ruby begin to glow once more. He flicked out his thermal clip and loaded the shredder clip in one swift motion. He took aim and exhaled in a slow and measured breath. There was only one shot left. As the koopa readied his spell, Mario fired, shattering his shield and catching Kamek in the arm. Mario glanced over his shoulder to see Toad dragging Fox behind a pile of debris. 

The pain forced an angry cackle from Kamek and he placed a tight grip on the bullet wound, bright red blood cascading over his fingers. Despite the pain, he still had the resolve to maintain a hold on his staff. “That was clever,” he panted.  

“A final gift from Lady Bow.” 

“Well, wasn’t she just a merry little waste of time,” he spat angrily. “All that tech we gave her and she didn’t land a single shot.” 

“Just on herself.” 

“What?” said Kamek, his eyes wide with shock. “I see. So, she lost her resolve. Can’t say I’m surprised, really. You don’t hire ghosts for their backbone. We didn’t get as much as we’d hoped for but still and all, this has been a very productive day out. It has been very long indeed since my kind has seen the sun so I thank you humbly for having me.”

He tapped his staff upon the ground.  

“What makes you think you’re just going to go back to Bowser?”

“What makes you think you can stop me?” he shot back. “A scratch on the arm? My dear boy, if I was under any real threat, I simply would have blasted out the plate glass and let the darkness of space bring us all to our icy death.” 

He tapped his staff a second time.

“You’re going to return to Bowser a failure,” Mario countered. “He’ll kill you.” 

“You don’t get to where I am by making yourself disposable. My momentary fascination with you has subsided and you have courted my boredom. Next time we meet, make sure you have something of interest lest you earn my frustration.”

He tapped his staff for a third and final time and the ruby glowed hot and he was gone leaving faint traces of geometric figures in his wake. 

Chapter Text

XLVII

Old Dogs

“Who the hell was that guy?” asked Toad as the rings and angles faded into thin air. 

“I dunno,” said Mario. “But he’s not someone to take lightly.”

“By the robes, I would guess he was one of the magikoopas,” said Luigi. “But their order was wiped out long before the Air Raids, back when the Kongs still threatened the galaxy.” 

“That’s very interesting and all,” huffed Fox, still crumpled on the concrete. “But can someone get me to the medbay?” 

“Fox!” Mario suddenly exclaimed, having been preoccupied with the magikoopa. “Come on, guys.” 

They rushed over to their broken friend. The Battle for the Citadel was over. The long hand of war reaches out and touches all things, leaving its fingerprints most clearly on the bodies and buildings that lay in ruins. For those beyond the shield wall, the ones whose task it will inevitably be to clean up and carry on, the touch of war will come in those sleepless nights and empty bottles, the downcast gazes and that creeping nihilism when the forces that govern one’s life lies beyond their control. Venom will infect the discourse. For those that live, there will be no grace or patience. Misery, after all, loves company, not compassion. 

Mario reached out his hand. “What’s the damage?”

“I think my legs are broken,” said Fox. That was an understatement. They weren’t broken, they were shattered. The bones were twisted at odd angles. He placed a prodding finger on his lower right thigh and withdrew with a yelp of pain. “Yep, definitely broken.” 

“Let’s get him up.” Mario hooked an arm under his shoulder and hoisted him up. Luigi threw an arm under his other shoulder. Fox growled. Falco lumbered up the steps onto the platform.  

“Now you’ve done it, old man,” he said gently.  

“Nothing a little medigel can’t fix,” Fox said through labored breaths. “You know that, Falco. We’ve been at this long enough.” 

“Too long,” he sighed. “Joints start creaking. Wounds take longer to heal.” He held up the bullet wound in his arm. “Hell, I’m wearing my recklessness on my sleeve.” 

“You’ve never been good at picking your moments. No patience for it.” 

“On that, we agree.” 

Team Mario left the Presidium for the medbay. Dr. Stewart was busy going over a patient’s chart with the front desk clerk when they burst through the door, dripping blood and sweat on the tile.   

“Back again, huh?” he asked, not batting an eye at their war wounds. “You all are quickly becoming my most valued customers. I should start a rewards program.” 

“How many points do I get for two busted legs?”

“Let’s have a look.” He invited them into the exam room. Mario and Luigi lifted Fox onto the table. He yelped at the lightning that shot up his leg. Dr. Stewart wheeled a small stool over and took a seat, his spectacles balanced on the tip of his nose. He clicked his teeth as he inspected the wounds, prodding gently with his fingertip. He could feel the mangled bone beneath the skin. It was as if a giant set of hands had taken the leg and twisted it until it snapped. He had seen all sorts of injuries in his years of practice but nothing so precise in its deformity. There was no tearing of the flesh or crushing, the sorts of injuries that would accompany a heavy equipment malfunction. There wasn’t even rupture of the larger blood vessels. The capillaries had burst and there was bruising, sure, but the femoral artery was left intact. It was all so strange. “What did this?” he asked with a curious sort of dread. 

“A biotic,” said Luigi.  

“Biotic?” he scoffed. “Their powers are party tricks at best. Light a candle with your finger to impress the girls, that kinda thing. This looks like he got sat on by a hoppo.” 

“It was a very old biotic.” 

“Is that what attacked the Presidium?”

Luigi nodded. Falco entered the exam room with a bandage and a sling on his arm. The bullet had shot straight through so the nurse applied a salve of medigel and wrapped it. 

“The news kept saying it was an invasion,” said Stewart, removing his glasses and wiping his brow. “I just assumed it was artillery fire.” 

“You’re very calm about it,” Falco observed.  

“Eh? I suppose I am.” He replaced his glasses and continued his exam, prodding Fox’s sacrum. “I used to be into racing machines back in the old days of the Grand Prix. I raced alongside your father a few times.” 

Fox’s ears perked up at the mention. “You knew my father?”

The doctor nodded. “He cut his fangs on the Prix circuits before becoming a pilot-for-hire.” 

“I had no idea,” said Fox with a pang of sorrow. “What was it like, the Grand Prix?”

“Thirty angry racers on a narrow track, some with high walls. Some with no walls. Cylinders and long jumps, 90 degree turns. They were practically daring you to die. Most people did. By the end of the Prix, you’d be lucky to have five racers left. When you see your friends and rivals explode beside you, you don’t have time to think, “Why not me?” You just keep going.” He prodded further down on the tail bone and hit a nerve. 

“Ow,” Fox yelped. 

“Sorry,” he said, easing up. “So, I guess I just don’t think about it. I just keep going.” He finished his exam, removed his gloves, tossed them, and washed his hands. 

“What’s the verdict, Doctor?” asked Mario. 

“Blood flow is adequate so he won’t need amputation. I can repair the bones well enough but there’s been some nerve damage at the base of the spine. That’s not something I can fix. You’ll have some pain, you’ll very likely have a limp and need a walking stick.” 

“I gotta learn to use a walking stick?” Fox whined. “I’m an old dog, doc. That’s not something I can do.”

The doctor squeezed his shoulder and with a small smile, left the exam room to give the surgery orders to the charge nurse.