Instability (Mario)

Chapter 28

"Toadette, I think I found something! Come, look over here."

Skeptical, the pink haired female known as Toadette walked over to the wall in her room. Ever since Dixie had died, Daisy had been Toadette's hope and practically only friend besides Saiko and Kaira. Still, Kaira was not one for emotions or sympathizing and the mere mention of Dixie had Saiko in tears, and Toadette did not like the idea of coming off as weak. Daisy understood the problems Toadette faced- the grieving of a close friend and the need to get out, but Toadette did think that her orange haired friend was getting a bit carried away with their plans.

"Daisy, there's no way you found something. It's too convenient."

"But that's exactly why!" Daisy smiled brightly, glad that there was multiple entries into each Grand Star room so it was impossible to track where someone came from. Thanks to the dark lighting of the Grand Star rooms, they were able to sneak in with their faces covered by pink cloaks, which was stashed in Dixie's closet, and didn't stick out because of all the pink in her room. This left Pauline as well as Mario frustrated since they were unable to prove it was indeed the group. "I think that since we've been breaking all these stars, the prison is breaking. More entrances to the Grand Star will open. This is the perfect opportunity!"

"That might be true, but you know how long, tedious, and disorientating that walk is," Toadette reminded her excited friend, not wanting to burst her bubble. However, someone needed to remain realistic. "You are ill equipped for such a job with a lack of flight, like Rosalina or I. My height gives me away. You will have to tell Rosalina, but good luck with that. She told me how she disliked having to hunch and bend her knees the whole time she floated to make herself look shorter. Or, you could walk by yourself, and bring the hammer, but that would just be stupid."

"Well, maybe I'm willing to be a little bit stupid," Daisy grit her teeth, annoyed with the circumstance as well as herself. Lately, she'd found herself explosive with others around her, and while they weren't the most traditional of friends, she didn't necessarily want to lose them. "Toadette, I really want to get out of here."

"Daisy, we all do," Toadette reminded her in her stern way. "But we have to be smart about it. Think about how suspicious it is if we call Rosalina over here, and then a Grand Star breaks."

"True..."

"So we'll call her over here," Toadette explained, not wanting the younger girl to give up hope entirely. "And then a few hours from now, we'll let her go in."

"Thanks, Toadette," Daisy smiled weakly, glad that someone finally understood. Kaira seemed completely uninterested in leaving all of a sudden, and at the mere mention of leaving, Saiko would go off into a squeal of happiness, and began speaking so fast she was impossible to understand. She tapped the wall, revealing a open passageway. "I'm glad you feel the same way."

<><><>

"You want me to do... what?" Rosalina shook her head in confusion. "Daisy...I think it's far too soon... and there's no way I'll get back before they check the Grand Star.."

"That's a poor excuse," Daisy folded her arms. Without the light provided from the Grand Star in the Grand Star rooms, the room was practically pitch black, leaving any sort of magic to be performed under cover. "You made a portal the first time. Why can't you do it a second?"

"I..." Rosalina hesitated, and Daisy never thought she'd have to worry about her cell mate having doubts. "Daisy, I...I don't know if this is a good idea."

"Oh, come on!" Daisy sighed exasperatedly. She wondered if she was the only sane one in the whole prison, which honestly wouldn't be much of a surprise to her. "Rosalina, don't you want to get out?"

"Of course I do.." Rosalina stopped suddenly, as if trying to get more air. Her last words were rushed, but she didn't have to pause between words. "But I don't want to get caught before that."

"You're right," Daisy calmed down, realizing Rosalina's concerns were not with not wanting to leave, but rather with getting caught. That would certainly derail her plans. "I'm sorry. I'm just on edge."

"It's alright... don't worry about it... I can do it."

"Really?" Daisy perked up extremely, excited with the thought of Rosalina agreeing with her. "Thank you, Rosalina."

"It's not a problem at all...hopefully."

<><><>

The tall, platinum blonde woman concealed by a pink cloak stepped into the passageway in Toadette and Dixie's room. After wishing Daisy goodbye, she stepped into the corridor, and began her long descent. A few moments in, the wall cracked to the left of her, causing the woman to flinch. She hunched herself shorter and continued to float, ignoring the obvious signs of the prison coming apart.

She was beginning to tire of using her powers for such a long time. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, perhaps an hour or two, but the magic use and her hunched posture was taking a toll on her well being. When she reached her hand up to run her hand across her cloak, her eyes widened as a wolf jumped at her. Forcing herself not to scream, she went to use her magic, but stopped herself when she realized she needed to remain incognito. She picked up the large hammer she'd brought to destroy the Grand Star, and readied herself for battle.

The woman was ill equipped for a physical battle, since most of her fighting included her powerful magic as well as small daggers and her crown. Without access to any of them, she was forced to use the hammer she was provided with. Desperately trying to remain calm, she dodged the wolf's lunge at her heels, and smashed its head into the ground. It whimpered loudly, and the woman did it once again to make sure it was at the very least, subdued.

Continuing on her way, she realized how difficult it could be from now on. Mario and Pauline had realized someone was breaking the Grand Stars, and they'd stationed guards. While a wolf wasn't the strongest, Rosalina realized she could no longer go alone. She was useless with a giant hammer, and if there was anything stronger than a wolf, she was pretty much doomed.

Finally, she made it to the Grand Star, practically jumping for joy once she saw it. Carefully, she reared the hammer back, when the intercom went off.

"Intruder, stop! We will shoot!"

With adrenaline running through her veins, her eyes widened and she quickly smashed the Star with all her strength, and stepped into the portal, disappearing swiftly.

Hey everyone! Fast chapters, I know. I've decided that for the Naniwrimo challenge I'm doing (write a 50,000 word novel during November) I want to use the third (and final) book in this series.

Question of the chapter: do you think Rosalina will get caught?

By the way, the pacing for the story is changing a little bit, so this middle-ish plot will be a bit rushed. I'll probably go back when I'm done and fix it, it's just that the middle is filler and unexciting, with literally nothing plot relevant happening.

Thanks for reading!