Two

The Kitchen: Part 4

We all walked through the halls. You held your lighter up to give us enough light while I lead the way. 

"I meant to ask, how'd you find your lighter?" Mario questioned you, frowning and tilting his head slightly.

"Oh, One stole it!" You chimed with a giggle.

"Found it," I corrected, shaking my head and rolling my eyes while continuing forward. 

"Sure, sure," you chuckled. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I will, because, unlike someONE, I am not a liar," I chuckled, gently nudging you with my elbow. 

"Hey! Are TWO!" You laughed, which in turn made me snort. We both broke out laughing.

"Why are you two laughing?!" Mario asked, an utterly confused expression on his face. I looked back at him, having completely forgotten that he likely didn't even know what the numbers representing power were. You didn't know until I explained it to you, after all.

I took the time to explain the entire system to him, making it very clear that I wasn't going to hurt him and that he didn't need to be afraid of me for being a one. I then pointed to the small 20 on his wrist and told him what it meant. I could see his face turn a soft shade of red when you showed him the two engraved on your own wrist. 

It almost looked as if Mario was jealous that you had a lower number. Not that you noticed. He did a fairly good job at hiding his emotion. I think I was the only one who could see. I could hear it in his voice as he explained the powers he and Luigi had.

It was weird, learning about these two kids who looked completely human. You had your thunderhand powers, which were perhaps some of the most impressive powers I've ever heard of. I mean, think of all you could do with a power like that! And Mario had a weird fire power, which was also quite impressive. He called it 'Firebrand.'

I didn't explain my powers to the two of you. I didn't want to seem like a disappointment. Even though I was a one, my powers didn't feel all that great. All I could really do was teleport through mirrors and make that one weird explosion box I made when I killed the man who wore the black mask that I keep with me.

I never want to use that second power again.

"So, where are you going after we get off this ship?" You asked me as we walked, the cold tile floor squeaking beneath us. The ceilings were high and the rooms were quiet. We had no idea where we were going, to be brutally honest. We could tell we were still in the cooking areas, but there were so many rooms that it was hard to tell where we were heading. We didn't even know if we were going in the right direction.

"Everywhere," I answered with a shrug. "I don't have a specific place in mind. Currently, I'm just trying to survive and help everyone I can until my powers FULLY develop. Then, once I grow up, I'm going to go back to where I came from and fix everything."

"Wow, talk about dreaming big," Mario chuckled. "Weegie and I were just planning on getting to the Mushroom Kingdom. We've heard about it and rumor has it that it's one of the safest, happiest kingdoms in the world! Aside from their war with the Koopas... but I suspect that those issues will be resolved soon. Rivalries like that don't usually last forever."

"Hmm. Well, maybe someday once I finish my work here, I could visit you guys!" I chimed. "I'd love TWO see you!"

You and I both laughed while Mario sighed and rolled his eyes. I couldn't help but smile. A whole new world of number puns had opened up now that there was a two in my presence. 

Blumiere would probably hate it. If he were there with us, you and I could tease him so much. I could almost imagine the annoyed expression on his face.