Brother's Loyalty: Endgame

Touch the Hem of His Garment

October 2019

In the early hours of the morning, a specially-chartered bus eased onto the expressway, quickly settling into a consistent speed of 65mph. The bus's occupants consisted of five half-asleep but excited passengers, plus one fully awake driver, all of them armed with luggage. Ahead of them, the eastern part of the sky lightened into a beautiful pink as the dawn broke. But if they wanted to reach their destination by sundown, then they had to leave this early.

Oldies tunes played on the stereo as a Toad retainer by the name of Thad sat in the driver's seat, casually guiding the bus through the early morning traffic. For a Thursday morning, it wasn't too crowded. But the question was—how was Thad even driving? Due to his diminutive stature, his feet barely touched the pedals, and his line of vision was just above the steering wheel. Yet here he was, maneuvering the bus down the freeway like a professional driver.

The bus's other occupants didn't seem to mind Thad's driving. Peach sat in the front row, having swapped her usual pink gown for more travel-worthy attire. Namely, a sleeveless, midriff-baring pink top and pink leggings, her hair in an informal ponytail, and sneakers on her feet. Mario sat next to her, clad in his usual getup, the two of them exchanging loving smiles. Two more Toad retainers sat behind them, a Blue Toad and a Yellow Toad. The former's name was Brad, and the latter's name was Chad, and both were absorbed in a game on Brad's Nintendo Switch, hoping that the activity would help wake them up.

In the row beside them sat Luigi, his seatbelt on and his seat reclined, earbuds in as he listened to his own music. Polterpup was curled up in the seat beside him, his tail wagging in anticipation. Lazily, the man in green allowed one hand to sift through the puppy's "fur", the two of them enjoying the view—and the sunrise—in silence.

It wasn't long before the traffic lightened up, and the bus seemed to soar down the expressway as the passengers shook off the last of their sleepiness. About three hours in, Thad stopped at a McDonald's drive-thru, where they ordered McCafé lattes and croissant sandwiches. The breakfast break served to perk them up further, and by the time the sun reached its zenith, everyone was singing along to the music on the stereo.

Shortly after 3p.m., the bus pulled off the freeway and started down a long, winding road, approaching a mountain range. It occurred to them that they were currently the only vehicle driving on this road. That was fine by them. Leaning back in their seats, they allowed the tranquil scenery to relax them. Luigi even dozed off several times.

Soon, the bus's gas tank was half-empty. Luckily, Thad saw a gas station up ahead, and beside it was a sleepy little diner. After refueling the bus, everyone disembarked and headed inside the diner for a bite to eat.

"I still can't believe it," said Peach as they chowed down on their food. "This brand-new hotel is having its grand opening, and the proprietor personally invited us."

"You're right," said Mario, "it's pretty surreal."

"I could use the vacation," said Peach. "Ruling over a kingdom is huge work. Not to mention having to deal with that turtle every Tuesday and Friday!"

"I'm with you there, Peachy. It's taxing being a hero—but I love every minute of it."

"Still—a little respite from it would be nice," said Peach. "It's a chance to just sit back and concentrate on—us."

"Yeah," Mario solemnly murmured. "Us."

Peach tilted her head. "A Star for your thoughts?"