Mushroom Kingdom Anew - Book 1

Chapter Two

Toad Town was nice and small. Tons of Toads, varying of all colors, were busying themselves with their daily lives. Some worked on their homes, others watched their children play outside happily, and some ran shops selling Power Ups and produce. One distinct fact that was easy to pinpoint was that everybody, literally every single Toad here looked so unbelievably happy. This looked like something you'd see in a kids film, not a war driven apocalyptic land filled with desolation and tyrannical rule from another dominant and more powerful species. Xavier curiously watched the small Mushroom creatures prance around as if nothing was wrong. He was finding it mighty difficult to link Ace's story of the Toad and Koopa war to the Toads of this town.

"Why is everybody so... happy? I thought you were all at war..." Xavier asked curiously. Ace smiled and looked at him. "Ever seen the Walking Dead? If no, then get on that. But if yeah, this place is basically the equivalent to Alexandria."

"Yeah, the happy town amidst a dystopian apocalyptic wasteland filled with- Wait, you guys have cable here?" The brunette asked in shock. The Yoshi nodded. "Yep. Strictly Rogers here in Toad Town. Although I think the castle uses Bell... Oh, hey, speaking of the castle, here we are."

Xavier turned up front to see they had, in fact, made it to the castle. It looked much bigger in person, towering over them and casting a slightly overwhelming shadow over the two. Flags with the mushroom symbol flew rhythmically through the wind atop the large spiraled towers on either side of the main castle. The castle itself was bigger than the towers at the side, and overall maybe ten stories tall in total. It also looked well fortified and durable, not to mention well armed. A whole armada of Toads, dressed in uniforms and armed with spears, guarded the castle with diligent eyes.

"This place is huge..." The teen marveled at the large structure in front of him. Such an incredible building in such an intricate world. Ace guided Xavier up the long dirt path up to the large castle's entrance.

As the duo neared the front gates, they were abruptly stopped by two Blue Toads who crossed their spears to block the entrance. The left one spoke up, having to cran his small neck to glare at the tall teen. Xavier returned the glare with a sheepish and confused look. "No entry beyond this point. Turn back now, the King will have no visitors."

Ace spoke up. "Please, we need to see his majesty, it's important. It involves another hu-" The Yoshi was rudely interrupted as the right Toad piped up. "We said no visitors. Turn back now, or we will use force."

"Please, sir. I'm a human from Earth, and was told to come here to help with the war effort and eat some Mushroom. I dunno, it's all kinda vague, but apparently the king has some answers...?" Xavier explained slowly. The Toads looked between each other in surprise. "A human? I've never seen a human before. Have you?" The left asked the right. "Nope. Never." The right responded.

"Then that means we have no proof of you being a human. Therefor, you aren't worthy of being in the king's presence. So, I'll only say this once more; leave now or we will use force." The left stated. The right nodded in agreement, and both Toads aimed their spear heads at the duo. Something seems fishy to them, and they knew now that they absolutely couldn't trust these two individuals.

Xavier sighed and flicked his nose with his thumb again. "What a bother... Well, sorry, but we aren't taking 'no' for an answer, and we won't be leaving until we see the King. So either get out of our way, or we'll make a way of our own." Ace didn't particularly like that the teen was threatening the Toads, and sighs. "Xavier..."

That comment was the last straw, as both Toads charged. The left shot his spear at Xavier, aiming for the left shoulder. But Xavier dodged to the right so he stayed at the side of the spear. He grabbed the metallic rod with both hands and swung the surprisingly light Toad over his head in an arc, smashing him into the dirt. Ace dealt with the right, not in the mood to deal with this. He stuck out his tongue and grabbed the guard with it. The right Toad looked horrified as he was pulled into Ace's mouth, coming out a moment later trapped in a white and red spotted egg. His spear clattered to the dirt at the side of him.