Mushroom Kingdom Anew - Book 1

Chapter Seven

It had been several hours since the group's pit stop at the Oasis. The sun was shining, the desert wind was blowing, and Terry was once again complaining profusely. "My feet hurt! I'm thirsty! God, when are we gonna find a town?"

"Soon, it shouldn't be far now! Be patient!" Ace groaned, slapping his forehead. Xavier wiped his brow for the millionth time from the sweat dripping into his eyes. "Jesus, it better be close now. Cause if it isn't, I think I'm gonna die."

"The heat isn't that bad, Xavier." Ace said, turning to his friend. The brunette responded by shaking his head. "No, it won't be the heat that kills me. It'll be Terry's whining that'll end my suffering."

"Keep up that talk, and the heat will be your end." Terry breathed threateningly, engulfing her two hands in flames. Xavier laughed it off nervously, turning back to the endless road ahead.

"Wait a second... guys, hold up." The Yoshi squints his eyes to get a better look at what's ahead of him. It was difficult, but between the stray sand from desert breezes and intense heat waves, a small village could be spotted ahead. "That's it, guys! We've found the desert village!"

Ace dashes off, with Terry in hot pursuit. Literally. She propelled herself forwards with her flame abilities to get there faster. Xavier just put his hands on his hips a moment, watching his friends run off ahead of him. "How incredibly convenient." He hummed before taking off into a sprint to follow his friends.

---

The town itself was quiet. There didn't seem to be a soul outside anywhere. A few tumbleweeds blew through the alleyways, indicating in a comical way that nobody was around. The three heroes inspected the windows of houses curiously, to see if anybody was in fact home. The houses looked well kept, which meant that people did live here. Fresh desert plants in pots, nicely washed windows, a cowering family in the living room. Wait... Ace took a closer look to see a couple figures shivering in the corner. One of them got up and dashed to the window, closing the blinds before Ace could even identify them or ask what was going on. He turned to his friends. "Guys, there are people here."

Terry laughed. "Okay, sure. And pigs fly, right?" "What's a pig?" The Yoshi asked. He shook his head and sighed. "No, nevermind. I mean it. There are people in these houses. They look scared of something. "

"What? That's weird, maybe they're scared of us?" Xavier suggested. Ace nodded. "Could be. But we aren't bad, so what's the deal?"

"People make habits of judging books by their covers." Terry said thoughtfully, meandering on the spot with her hands behind her head. Xavier hummed at that thought, stroking his chin. "Or maybe there's something else that's scaring them... Someone else."

A sudden loud scream erupted from one of the alleys between the sandy houses. The heroes quickly went into high alert, Terry preparing her flames and the others getting into poses. What came out of the alley was a small Koopa, who fell to the ground and crawled away from the entrance as if it was the plague. He had a yellow shell similar to the tone of his skin, and a dusty white turban atop his head to follow. He turned around to look at the trio, and screamed again, backing up into a wall and hitting his head. Xavier growled angrily, the Koopa triggering him at immediate sight.

"A Koopa! Bowser sent him, attack!" The brunette commanded. The Koopa screeched loudly and covered his head with his scaly hands. "Ahhh! N-No, please! P-Please don't kill me! I-I did nothing to piss off the Death Caps, I promise! I paid, I paid!"

The three heroes looked between each other, confused and slightly baffled at the Koopa's behavior. "Um... he doesn't seem like... a villain." Terry said slowly, staring down the cowering Koopa. Ace nodded in agreement and knelt down next to the Koopa, a sympathetic smile painted on his face. "Hey, relax, we aren't gonna hurt you. Sorry for scaring you. We're the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, and we're here to stop Vincent Koopa."

"Promise...?" He asked slowly. The Yoshi nods, and the Koopa stands up quickly, grabbing Ace's scaly hand and dragging him away from the alley. He calls back over his shoulder for Xavier and Terry to follow, which they quickly, but confusedly oblige to.

The Koopa leads the trio into a small, dark house, with the blinds shut and the door reinforced with steel. He shuts the door, barring it on the other side and lighting a few large lamps in the house to provide some light. The four sat down at a kitchen table, silent for a moment before Terry asks; "So uh..." The Koopa sticks up a finger to shush her mid-sentence. He was glancing nervously between the windows and door, listening for any signs of somebody nearby. Once the coast was clear, he exhaled and wiped his brow.

Terry continued her question. "Okay, few questions. Who are you, why did you just turn this into Fort Knox, and do you have food and a bath here?" Xavier and Ace pinched their noses at that last question.

The Koopa shuffled nervously in his spot, glancing at his tightly woven hands. "Well, uh... I'm Cooper, and I'm a villager here, and I'll tell you our story. This is a peaceful Koopa village where, obviously, Koopa live. But lately, a desert raider gang known to us as the Death Caps... they've got our town under their finger, taking 80% of our taxes and supplies all for themselves. They also like to corner us on the streets and beat us up, take whatever we have and beat us up some more. All for their stupid enjoyment. So uh... no, we don't have food or a bath because Death Caps took it all."

"Wait, all of it? But you said roughly 80%." Ace inquired. Cooper sighed. "Well, the Death Caps also like to target certain citizens and take everything they have. Including... their lives."

"Christ..." Xavier said quietly. Cooper nodded. "Actually, the Death Caps were after me at that moment, until we all escaped. Problem is, I'm worried we were followed..."

The trio looked between each other in sadness. This poor town was quietly suffering while the bigger issue, Vincent, was being regarded. Xavier stood up, flicking a thumb across his nose. "Don't you worry, Cooper. We may be after Vincent Koopa, but the Mushroom Kingdom is our home now. I want to protect every square inch of it, and this town counts. We'll stop these Death Caps and save your town!"

Cooper's face lifted as he looked at Xavier hopefully. Terry stood up with him, igniting a fist as a show of power. "Absolutely, I'm with him! We'll save your town, don't you worry Cooper." Ace stood up too, a happy smile painted on his face. "Agreed. Those Death Caps are going down."

The Koopa smiled happily, a few tears welling up in the corner of his eyes. "Thank you. But uh... maybe quiet down a bit with the hero speeches. We are hiding after all." All three heroes deadpanned and sat down in unison. Xavier leaned on the table, his voice drawn down to a whisper. "Right. So then, do you have any information on the Death Caps that could help us?"

Cooper nodded. "Yeah. They have a cave just north of the town where they run their base of operations. They also use weapons they handcrafted themselves, and constantly use them to beat us. Big mixture between close-ranged and projectile. They also fight dirty, using tricks to win the fight if need be..."

"What species are they?" Ace asked. Cooper gulped down a lump in his throat, his woven hands shaking slightly. "Well, that's the thing... they're uh... they're..."

Suddenly, the door burst open and a few Toads, all with Yellow spots, entered the room. They noticed Cooper, who screamed as they showed themselves, and the angry trio, who seemed to realize these were the Death Caps. They all nodded between each other, and the center Toad pulled out what seemed to be a pistol. Or, sorta. It looked more like a slingshot shaped like a magnum. He pressed a trigger, and a loud bang erupted throughout the small empty house, followed by a dusty explosion. The heroes put their guard up, so as to avoid the sudden sandy storm. When they opened their eyes, the Toads were gone, and Cooper lay on the floor. Blood spilled from his left temple, and a look of fear was plastered on his face.

Ace crouched down and checked the Koopa's pulse, sighing and standing up only a moment later. "He's uh... he's dead..." Xavier sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Shit..."

Terry stared at the dead Koopa on the floor, fists shaking and sparking with her fiery abilities. She was royally pissed, and didn't bother to hide it. Setting herself aflame and dashing out of the house, Terry wasted no time in pursuing the Toads. "Terry, wait!" Xavier called, dashing out after her with Ace in tow. The heroes didn't understand what was going on, neither did they have the full story, but they knew they had a mission; avenge Cooper's death and take down whoever these Death Caps were.