A diamond hidden within the gray line

Chapter 56: Song of the past, and mike's challenge to max.

-Narration-

"Um..everything ok..?" Max asked, who could hear the singing getting closer. "First it was larry, then iggy and lemmy, and then the whole fucking lot of them starts singing that song over and over!" Bowser grumbles. "Yeah, he's ok. Just what song is it?" Mike says with a chuckle before asking about what bowser us talking about. "Oh, you'll hear it..." Bowser replies with a grunt as the singing got louder to the point that EVERYONE on bowser's airship heard it as the koopalings and junior got closer with kamek not far behind who did his best to keep from screeching in annoyance.

-Bowser pov-

Ugh..nostalgia hit them just when i thought this would be a quiet trip...i should've expected this!

-Kamek pov-

Ugh, is over? They keep singing the same thing over and over...

-Narration-

🎵 "WE ARE MEAN, WE ARE PROUD, WE DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU THINK! HURRAH! HURRAH! THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM WILL BE OURS, AND MARIO WON'T WIN! HE CAN TRY, BUT WE WILL WIN, AND WE WILL WATCH MARIO FALL! WE ARE MEAN, WE ARE PROUD, WE DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU THINK!!" 🎵

That is what each and every person on bowser's airship heard and to them, they have heard it so many times that they've simply rolled their eyes and ignored him even though they have watched bowser become annoyed and have stifled a couple of giggles.

Max on the other hand, look absolutely flabbergasted at what he is hearing while mike couldn't help but chuckle. "That's uh...something i've never heard before." Max finally says after a few moments of stunned silence. He could only imagine what it must've been like all those years ago, though he immediately assumed that this particular song is something they sang before heading to the mushroom kingdom.

-Max pov-

Geez, these guys must've loved singing that...it's obvious that i will probably not understand what it was like back then...i wish i had been a part of that rather than sticking strictly to the woods and exploring koopa village. Hell, i wish i had been a part of SOMETHING back then! Hm..i can at least say that this is better than imagining what the world is like.

-Mike pov-

Ha, ha..wow. The joy coming from them is amazing! Sure, they caused mischief and mayhem when bowser kidnapped the princess...and even though they all got defeated one by one, it hardly crushed their spirits! In fact...i can't help but wonder why they always kidnapped peach and just when it looked as if bowser was going to win it all, mario gets the comeback win.

I imagine there's a good reason for that, maybe even a personal one that even mario isn't aware of...but right now? I don't plan on ruining the mood.

-Ludwig pov-

Ha, ha, ha.. i rather enjoy this moment! A shame that kooky would never join in; Then again, he swiftly made it clear that he wanted no part in it and called mario a pathetic speck who should stick to his profession. I almost cackled at his remark when he first said that about mario. And yet..he never said anything about luigi...probably because that guy is such a pushover most of the time. It's too bad that max never got to join in with us.

-Lemmy pov-

Hehehehe..singing this never failed to bring excitement! To me, it's just as exciting as a circus show! If it wasn't for larry, this trip would have been so boring!

-Roy pov-

Singing isn't something i never once liked...yet ludwig kept forcing me to! He made us all sing this stupid song come to think of it...yeah, max is lucky ludwig never made him sing. However, i can say that singing this song, even though i sound so shitty at it, made me miss how things were. I would've love it if max had been a part of it!

-Iggy pov-

AHHAHA! Hehehehehe..this brought back so many FUN MEMORIES! It's too bad max never got to experience them; BUUUUT that's ok! We have PLEEENTY of time to make new memories!

-Wendy pov-

You know, i don't know what the others think, but i have always enjoyed signing, and ludwig quickly took notice of that. I think that's why he ultimately forced every else to sing the song we're signing now. Oopsie, sorry boys!~

-Morton pov-

As much as i enjoy this, i never understood why ludwig forced me of all koopas to sing...especially since i'm apparently 'loud' and 'talk too much'. Who says being loud is a bad thing?!

-Larry pov-

Oh my god, i'm loving this! Singing is not my favorite thing to do, especially since ludwig kept forcing us to sing, but the nostalgia of remembering all those times preparing to kidnap the princess is something i couldn't just ignore!

-Junior pov-

GRR, i ought to smack larry with my paintbrush! Being forced to sing because of ludwig who, actually thought he would become a big shot musical master of the world wasn't fun! BUT..i just wish mario could've heard us all sing it! I bet he would've peed himself just as much as luigi!

-Narration-

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" Bowser roars, making max flinch as all the koopalings and junior quickly shuts up. "Oh, come on! You can't deny you miss hearing it!" Larry says with a giggle. "Not when it's been sung a multitude of times..." kamek grumbles as all the koopalings' copters land. "SO, how was the view and the ride?" Iggy says to max. "The inside of that copter was like a fancy hotel! There's even a seat that's big enough for dad." Max answers. "That good, eh? Maybe kamek needs a raise.." Bowser says with a chuckle. "By the way, why didn't jasper come?" Ludwig asked out of curiosity.

"He went back after we did the interview. He's gonna edit the recording he did for the public and give max the unedited version soon after. That will be a week from now." Mike explained, which made bowser raise an eyebrow. "You trust the guy?" Bowser asked. "Let's just say that there's no going back once everyone sees it." Max quickly says. "Hm..i see." Bowser replies, unsure of just what was said in the interview.

-Bowser pov-

One week huh? As much as i hate waiting, i get the feeling that this interview will end up becoming something big. Jasper has already gained my attention, and now he will gain my curiosity depending on just what has been said. As for mike? Once we get the castle, i have arranged something special for him that'll be to his liking....

Kamek pov-

Hm..sounds like the interview went well, but why the wait? Even i don't want to wait that long! Then again...i suppose the wait will be worth it.

-Narration-

"Let's show max the inside of the airship!" Lemmy quickly offers. "Yeah! There's a lot to see!" Morton says in  almost yelling tone. "We hardly have that much time to begin with. We're only 30 minutes from dad's castle, and showing max everything on this airship will take hours!" Ludwig said in response. "Aww, then..what can do?" Larry asked, leading to everyone aside from bowser to wonder what to do. "Hey max! You up for a spar?" Mike asked which caused some of bowser's army to look at mike in curiosity. "Here? You sure?" Max asked. "Oh come on! It's not like we will end up knocking each other off this thing!" Mike says while crossing his arms. "Oh, this i gotta see!" Roy says with a grin. "For once, i agree." Bowser says with a chuckle.

"See? Even the big guy agrees!" Mike chimes in. "Alrighty, but let's a least leave the weapons out of it. And.." Max takes his shades off and placed them along with gun that's in his holster right next to mike's sheathed katana near bowser copter. "I'll leave these off for now." Max says. "Oh, getting serious, eh? Fine by me!" Mike says with a chuckle. "Clear the area! We'll at least have ourselves a show to watch!" A hammer bro yells out as the army matches a a couple steps back. "A show indeed." Marx says as he floats silent in mid air next to a couple of nervous guards who definitely weren't used to seeing something like marx. "Here is hoping that they don't make too much of a mess..." kamek mutters, unsure of just what will end up happening.

Within this very moment, two childhood friends were about to duke it out, and in doing so, give quite a show to everyone watching!