Under my Shell { a bowserxluigi fanfic }

Chapter 16: Deaths Witness

The air wasn't warm or welcoming like it once was. Not only do I know feel an intruder to the Mushroom Kingdom but their is hatred and dread in the air. Hatred for me, I can't understand what's going on. Has Daisy really gone this crazy ? Sure she has a crush on me but I'd never imagine her sending spies to kill me because I rejected her. "Can I talk to you...?" Mario walking on my left side interrupts my train of thoughts. Breath was just right in front of us, I nodded at my brother.

"Breath, please scout a little ahead. I need to talk to my brother."

"Understood." He's serious when he's working. Not like the quick witted charming Koopa when he's carelessly walking me home.

"What is it you wanna talk to me about Mario ?" I ask in a questioned tone.

"I just- so much has happened in a couple of days, I feel like we haven't had time to connect. What's with bowser and you're a noble now ?"

"It's been weird trust me, I think bowser has a crush on me.... It's a bit obvious actually."

"WHAT" he laughs a little bit then look back at me with a huge smile. "No wonder he hasn't went after peach you've charmed him."

"Oh, you won't believe the stuff he's told me Mario... I've had trouble believing-" my words interrupted by a cling of metal and metal. I look up to see breath blocking an assassins dagger, with others slowly surrounding him. I watch as he uses his full body knocking the blade out of the assassins hand as well as sending his attacker flying back. In another fluid moment he thrust his spear blade behind him impaling another attacker, I watch with tears in my eyes as blood splatters on the ground. My breath increases again, "h-he."

"Stay behind me." Mario yells out before running over to assist breath. I watch as he runs in and leaps over a couple of assassins extending his hand out shooting fire at them before he lands on his feet besides breath. Their screaming.... They scream out in agony as they burn and fall to the ground. It takes all my will power to not turn around and run. I focus on breath, this is my life now... I need to get used to seeing death. I calm myself down focusing on breaths movements. He had two characters approaching him. One seems to be a spell caster of some sort, I can see some sort of sparks appearing from his hand. The other holding a short dagger in one hand and a sword in the other. The spell caster blast a bolt of flames towards breath which he missed..... oh. It seems the flames were a distraction, through the flames leaps out the duel wielder. Breath caught off guard barley manages to block the swipe knocking his opponent onto the ground. For a split moment my eyes catch breaths face. I watch as hatred and rage fill his eyes, only seconds later he thrusts his spear into the gut of the duel wielder. The same face that I watched, now covered in blood.

"Please, please spare me." My eyes shoot to the voice of the same spell caster who was fighting breath. My focus ends and I begin to notice everything else around. Mario... his fists were covered in blood. He's just staring down at the spell caster who is still pleading for his life. I move in a bit closer. Breath notices my footsteps, startled at first until he saw it was me. I take a deep breath trying to calm myself. Mario also looks at me and I at him.

"MOVE !" Breath exclaims causing me to panic, one moment I was looking into my brothers eyes watching them return from battle hardened to loving. The next I'm being tackled to the ground. I don't know how or why this happened, but my mind seemed to slow everything down for me. As I was falling I noticed it was breath falling on top of me. I look to the spell caster to see him shooting a purple magical shard at me... where I was standing, after pleading for his life. I- I felt bad for him, I was going to convince them to spare him. They must have seen right through him though. I let my guard down when the others kept it up. The fall didn't hurt as much as I imagined it too. Either because my body is so pumped full of adrenaline or because I wasn't focused on the fall at all. Probably a mix of both.

Thump. Mario's blood covered fist strikes the spell caster's jaw. His hands stop glowing as he enters unconsciousness. "Tie him up, I'll let Kamek know this location. He'll be able to teleport him to the dungeons." My brother nods and begins to move the body to a nearby tree. Breath stands up removing a bit of rope that was tied to his spear. "Here" he shouts before throwing it over to Mario.

"I-"

"Shhh, I know Lilly. I'm sorry you had to see any of this. I could sense you the entire time. You don't have to speak if you don't want too. Just take some time to process this all." He looks at me with caring eyes, all I could see was the ones from before though. The one filled with hatred and rage as he...

"I agree." Mario mutters as he walks up to me, he pulls me into a soft hug before whispering into my ear. "I'm so sorry L.." he hasn't called me L since when we were kids. Something about the old nickname brought me comfort. Maybe he knew it would.

"Let's get moving, this group was probably on their way to attack an unsuspecting Mario. We must have caught them off guard so they hid when they spotted us. The rest of the path should be clear." Breath swings his spear to the ground, blood from the blade splatters onto the ground in a sick, disgusting thud. I close my eyes in shock, out of all the things I just witnessed and the blood splatter causes me to close my eyes. We make the turn into the Koopa kingdom. Both breath and Mario remained silent the entire walk. Both scanning the tree lines and keeping a close watch for anymore attackers. They wouldn't dare enter the Koopa kingdom and attack us in the open would they... the kingdom I grew to feel safe in now ruined by a threat that feels all to unknown to me.

I want to be back in the castle, for now... that is where I feel the most safe.