Chapter Two has been skipped as I'm having a slight problem writing it. Chapter Three picks up after Luca and Phil have recovered and been given their "containers" to hold their new powers in relative control. It shows their adjusting to a new world... and facing a new threat.
The strange box with the moving pictures flickered. Then flickered again. And again.
"I don't get it," Phil said idly to himself while continuously pressing the button on the strange device in his hand. The box flashed and got a new picture in it every time he pressed this button. It was highly intriguing, and he'd been at it for about an hour.
Aaron and Aiden were standing in the doorway separating the kitchen and living room, watching as their new guest steadily channel surfed. "I don't think he knows what the TV is," Aiden commented quietly to his older brother.
"That's crazy!" Aaron responded in disbelief. "He's older than us... he has to know what a TV is."
"Maybe he comes from one of those places in the Kingdom that doesn't have them," the younger boy suggested.
"Maybe we should've paid attention when he told us where he came from," the older brother shrugged.
Aiden nodded, and the two resumed watching their newest resident.
Phil slid off the couch and onto the floor, where he half-crawled to the television and put his nose on the screen. He gently poked the glass and murmured into it, "Hello?" The people within the glass continued on as if they didn't hear him. He blinked and poked the glass again. When he was given no response, he sat upright and huffed. "Hm. Rude people."
"Dude," Aaron walked over. "You are aware that they can't hear you."
"Well, I see that now," Phil responded without a trace of humor to be found. "I just wonder how they fit all those people into such a little space."
Aaron rolled his eyes. "It's a TV. What you're seeing is a recording of something."
"A what?"
"Ask Jared! I'm not a teacher. Sheesh..."
Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the entire house. Aaron jumped up and looked around in a panic. "What was that? I think Bowser's attacking! Mom! Dad!" He shouted.
Phil blinked, and easily got up. "I have a feeling I know what that was. Excuse me a moment." He boredly strode through the kitchen and into the backyard. Aaron curiously followed.
Standing out in the middle of the yard, a dusty-looking Lucafira smirked guiltily and held her arms behind her back. "Hiya," she offered up.
Phil rolled his eyes halfway. "What do you have?"
"Nothing," she responded.
"Luca..."
"Nothing!"
"Show me."
"No."
"Now!"
She whined and brought her hands into view, revealing a blinking, orange plant. "Nothing, hm?" Phil asked with a grin.
"Nice Fire Flower," Aaron said. "Obviously a very strong one for it to make such a noise. You know you're not supposed to point them at yourself, right?"
Luca looked down at the flower, which looked back at her. "Oh. Right." She turned it around and held it up. "Now let's..."
"No!" Phil instructed firmly. "Put it down!"
"I just want to see if it..."
"I just said no!"
"Wait just a minute..."
He walked over to her. "Give it here."
"No!" The two fought for it for a few seconds, before a huge explosion erupted and surrounded the two in a ball of smoke. When it cleared, both were covered in a thick coat of ash.
"You just had to do it, didn't you," Phil muttered.
Luca grinned sheepishly. "Maybe."
Jared walked out into the yard. "Um, I hate to interrupt, but Mom and Dad want everyone to start getting ready to go to town."
Aaron turned around. "For what?"
"Well, the Harvest Season started in Sarasaland today, and Grandmother is throwing the Harvest Festival. And as her family, we're expected to be there."
"Oh, yeah! The Harvest Festival!" Aaron's face lit up excitedly. "I love Harvest Festival. Seven days of carnival rides and free food!" He ran into the house, nearly knocking Jared over in the process.
"Hm," Jared murmured to himself before walking over to the quarreling pair. "Come on, you two. You guys get ready, too."
Phil blinked. "You mean you're actually going to take us somewhere?" He then paused and reworded his statement. "I mean, you're actually brave enough to take her out in public?" He pointed at his girlfriend, who was happily throwing fireballs about.
Jared scratched the side of his head and grinned worriedly. "Um... no. I'm not sure on that. But... Mom and Dad say it would be unfair to leave her here, so she has to come to."
"What about..."
"I already suggested locking her in the hall closet. They said that wasn't fair, either."
"I didn't think they'd go for that."
"It was worth a shot."
Heading into town was the biggest adventure the two had experienced since their arrival in the Mushroom Kingdom, and it was the grandest of all. Beautiful buildings stretched up into the sky and lined the streets with plush green lawns and elaborate decorations. The town had banners and streamers galore as the preparations for the Harvest Parade were underway. The streets were packed with half-human, half-mushroom looking creatures who smiled and swarmed the large family as they made their way down the streets.
Phil nudged Jared in the side and asked, "What are those and why are they all around us?"
Jared smiled. "Those are called Toads, and they're citizens of the Kingdom, just like us. They're around us because my parents and family are celebrities. My mother is the daughter of the ruler of this place."
"She is? Wow. For someone who is so important, she certainly doesn't play the part."
"Mom is very adventurous. She takes after her father, who was an avid explorer and hero. But anyway, all those people are around us because they just want to talk to us 'important people.'"
Phil nodded, accepting the answer. "This place is huge, Jared. It's almost scary. I'd be completely lost if I got separated from the group." He put his hands into his pockets and looked around, completely absorbed in sight-seeing. Suddenly, a shrill screech pierced through the laughter and chatter of the townspeople, causing everyone to jump and turn around.
"Get her off me! Get her off me!" A voice screeched somewhere just out of sight.
Jared blinked. "Stars above... a mugging? In the middle of the Harvest Festival? Who'd be so..."
Phil brought his palm to his forehead and started running in the direction of the screaming. "Luca, whatever you're doing, stop it right now!" Jared quickly followed after his friend.
A young male Toad was pinned on the ground with Luca sitting atop him, hitting him over the head with what looked like a rather large mushroom. "Die, whatever you are!" She shrilled. "Die!"
"Oh, for the love of..." Phil ran over and grabbed her by the waist, trying to pry her off the poor young man. "Luca, stop that! He's not hurting anyone!"
She wriggled hard, still swinging the mushroom around. "He's not normal!"
"You're not normal!" Phil cried in frustration. He managed to pull her off her victim, lifting her up so that she couldn't touch the ground. He turned to the Toad and said, "I'm so sorry... my girlfriend is just a bit..."
"Totally insane?" The young man snapped while hyperventilating.
"Not the words I would've used, but..." He watched the creature walk away, then turned his attention back to his girlfriend, who was still squirming in his grip. "Luca, what was that?" He demanded to know.
"That... thing... was getting too close!" She growled. "Now put me down! You know I hate being lifted!"
"No," he responded calmly. "The reason he was 'too close' is because the people who have taken us in are important people, and he just wanted to have a word with them. Now you need to calm down, or you're going to wind up needing me to get you out of some kind of crazy situation. Again."
"I've never gotten into any 'crazy situations.' Name one time."
"I could name fifty. Would I get points for over-achieving?" He paused. "I'll put you down, but you have to promise to stand next to me at all times, and you better not go anywhere unless I'm with you. Understand?"
She huffed. "I'm not a child."
He put her down and held her hand. "Then behave like you're not."
Jared shook his head. "Come on, we got to get to the castle quickly! My grandmother is about to speak."
The castle was an amazing structure that caused both Luca and Phil to stop in their tracks and look up at it. It was the tallest structure they had seen so far, with its regal towers piercing through the clouds. It was built of a beautiful white stone, its towers glistening a bold ruby red. Beautiful pink flowers graced the courtyard, which was enormous and held a beautiful crystal fountain in the center. It was the epitome of beauty and grace, and took the newcomers' breath away.
Jared grinned slightly. "Yeah, Grandmother gets that reaction a lot." He nudged them both forward. "Come along. The speech is about to begin."
The three walked into the castle, which was just as beautiful on the interior as it was on the exterior. Large tables were set out on either side of the large lobby, and were wonderfully arranged with all kinds of delicious foods that neither of them had ever seen before. A huge chandelier made purely of pink crystal hung over the center of the room, its candle-like lights flickering quietly. There was a soft murmuring of the patrons, but it was quickly hushed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Princess," a voice announced as if from nowhere. Everybody quickly turned towards the staircase. Phil nudged Luca in the arm as he saw her still looking around.
"Be respectful," he chided. "It's just like back home when you or I start talking."
"Sorry," Luca growled quietly and focused her attention forward.
The large doors opened, and a beautiful woman walked through them. She had long, flowing blonde hair and warm blue eyes. Her flowing gown was a stunning shade of pink, and demanded to be admired. She smiled down to everyone, looking as if her eyes made contact with every single person in the audience.
"Greetings," she spoke in an angelic voice. "Welcome to my castle. On this day, we celebrate the good fortunes of our neighboring kingdom, Sarasaland, as the time of Harvest draws near."
Jared looked at his new companions, blinking in puzzlement at how quiet and respectful they had suddenly become. They were both standing completely straight, hands at their sides, hanging onto the Princess' every word despite not having a clue as to what she was talking about. Upon closer observation, he swore the couple looked royal themselves, even dressed in mere shorts and shirts.
The speech went on for twenty minutes before the Princess smiled and gestured towards the door. "My friends, let us begin the Harvest Parade!"
The crowd poured out into the courtyard as a massive parade began strolling by. Luca stood on her toes to watch despite being taller than just about everyone in the crowd. Phil kept his glance on her while also allowing himself to relax and watch the festivities. Even he couldn't hide a somewhat childish smile. The two of them had never seen such a display -- creative and wonderfully decorated floats traipsed down the street while Toads played musical instruments, twirled batons, and danced. Confetti rained down from the skies, and the cheering was loud. It was quite a fun and festive scene. Jared continued to watch his friends, smiling a bit at their antics.
Luca tugged on Phil's sleeve and pointed. "Look at that one!" She squealed.
He grinned slightly when he saw it. "Oh, I like that one!"
"This is fun. I like parades."
He nodded. "Mmhmm."
They're sweet when they're not bickering, Jared thought warmly. You can definitely feel their love.
The parade ended and the carnival opened. The town was abuzz with loud music and laughter. Aaron and the younger children broke away from the group and got in line for their favorite rides. The older teenagers headed towards the haunted castle exhibit, which was their favorite of all the attractions.
Phil was sitting at a table nearby, keeping a close eye on Luca as she bounced around on a giant, inflatable attraction. She was wound up and he needed a break. He smiled while watching her when suddenly a gentle touch prodded his arm. He turned and saw Aiden standing behind him.
"Can I sit with you?" The young boy asked quietly.
Phil smiled. "Sure."
Aiden smiled back and sat down, gently kicking his legs. "How old are you?" He asked after a moment.
"Nineteen. What about you?"
"Nine." The boy responded shyly. "Um, I wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Where are you and your girlfriend from? I mean, if you don't wanna tell me, that's okay, too."
Phil smiled again. "Of course I'll tell you. Luca and I come from a faraway place. We live on an island called Admiral in the middle of an ocean called Sage."
"Sounds exciting."
"Oh, it is." He leaned back a little in his seat. "It's a very busy place, much like the town here. Only we don't have all these fun festivals and parades. We do have people who do swordfighting in the streets... they're kind of like performers."
"Swordfighting?" Aiden's eyes lit up curiously. "Could you show me some moves?"
Phil laughed quietly. "Me? No. I'm not good with a sword. But Luca might, if you ask her real nicely."
"What else do you have on Admiral?"
"Back home, Luca and I live in a really big house. We have a lot of pets, too. Some of them are brothers and sisters, like you and Aaron... and some of them are adopted. They're almost like your family."
Aiden smiled. "Do they get along?"
"For the most part. Sometimes they don't like to share their treats with each other, but for the..." He blinked as a large, dark shadow suddenly caught his attention. The laughter and chatter suddenly began to fade as the shadow draped itself over the carnival. Phil looked up as a large flying object came into his line of sight. His eyes grew wide and he stood up to get a better look.
"What is..."
A booming, ominous laugh erupted from the airship, and a few circular objects fell from its bowels. He watched as one hit the ground and exploded into a massive fireball. He jumped back, frightened by the sudden explosion, watching as people started to scream and run. He turned back to the airship, which had gotten closer. A circular object fell from the sky, very close to where he and Aiden were.
"Aiden!" He cried, quickly grabbing the little boy and bringing him close. He held the child against himself and turned his back towards the object, bracing as the explosion erupted a few feet away. He felt the boy grip his arm and tremble. When it seemed clear, he let the boy go and looked at him. "Are you okay?"
Aiden nodded, his eyes wide with terror as he pointed over his rescuer's shoulder. "He's going for my grandma! Phil, you have to stop him!"
Phil blinked. "Who is?"
Aiden looked panicked. "Please! My grandma's in danger!"
"But I..." He looked down into Aiden's eyes and blinked. The boy trusted him and believed in him. He turned to the castle and nodded. "You got it, Aiden." He ran to find Jared, and the two intercepted each other halfway.
"Phil, Bowser's ambushed the castle," Jared explained.
"I saw it."
"You're not going to like what I'm about to say next."
The two young men looked towards the castle. Phil felt his stomach drop out of his body. "Please don't."
"She did."
"I got to get to her!" Phil tore away from his friend with near blinding speed, causing Jared to jump back. He then chased after him.
"Activate your abilities!" He warned. "If you go in there without them, you'll be obliterated."
"How?"
"Take the ring I turned into your container and put it on your right hand. Quickly! Both Luca and the Princess are in danger!"
Phil quickly dug through his pocket, pulling out his blue ring. Jared had turned his and Luca's rings for one another into containers, as they would never lose them. He put it on his right hand and felt a sharp shiver race up his body. It felt cold and hot, sharp and dull, violent and gentle all at once. He caught his reflection in the mirror and saw his eyes were white and red again, but he had no time to admire the change. "Where would they be?" He blinked as a strange forced seemed to be pulling on him. "What's that feeling?"
"Your bond is responding," Jared explained. "See, you and Luca share a Twin Bond."
"A what?"
"A Twin Bond: You two are so close that you are both bound to one another. If you feel anything, she will too. It halves the feelings and splits them between the two of you. It also lets you know where each other are. Now follow it! We have to go!"
Jared found himself nearly unable to keep up with his ally, who was running up the stairs nearly three at a time. Put his girlfriend in danger and he really steps it up. His agility is amazing... I've never seen anything like it. He must be a fighter back in his own world.
Phil suddenly winced and stopped. "I just felt a weird pain."
"Luca's probably taking damage," Jared replied grimly. He blinked as his partner randomly grabbed a coat-rack. "What're you going to do with that?"
"Improvising," Phil explained, thrusting himself through the door at the end of the hallway. He paused for a moment to take in the sight before him.
A twelve-foot tall lizardlike creature with a fiery red mane was glaring at him with piercing dark eyes. It had extremely sharp, long fangs and claws. Trembling in the corner, the beautiful Princess was huddled up. She looked at Phil.
"Please, sir, help!" She pleaded.
"This is the best the Royal Mushroom Guard can send? A boy with a coat-rack?" The creature laughed. His voice was deep, booming, frightening. "I guess it's better than the silly girl that intercepted me a while ago."
Phil growled. "Where is she? What did you do to her!" The coat-rack he wielded flickered and turned into a bluish white flame.
The creature held out a limp-looking woman. "You mean this?" He taunted. "I thought it was a human, but it turns out it was just a silly little rag doll." He smirked as he saw the fires of rage welling in the boy's eyes. "Aw, don't get so upset. You can have your silly toy back..." He threw her down to the floor. "...If you can wrestle her from me."
"Don't you dare touch her again!" Phil demanded, jumping forward with a force he'd never possessed before. He threw his makeshift sword forward, landing a strong blow on the creature's right shoulder. The lizard roared with pain and swung its massive hand at him, but he quickly evaded. The white aura that was flickering around him was slowly being swallowed up by a strange black light.
Jared noticed this. "He's so angry he's channeling dark energy from the Twin Bond... He's going to overwhelm himself..." He rushed into the fray, tossing orbs of different colored lights, but the lizard made quick work of him.
"Pathetic," the creature snorted. "Having to resort to the substitute hero and an overly aggressive boy with a matchstick..." He found himself blindsided by the flaming coat-rack, and stumbled forward. He recoiled quickly, swinging his mighty hand again and making contact with his target. Phil found himself tumbling several feet along the floor until the wall stopped him. Unconsciously, he put his feet against the wall and kicked off, rolling backwards back onto his feet.
I've never done that before, he thought to himself. These powers give me weird abilities...
"Give it up, little boy," the lizard laughed quietly. "I don't have a problem mopping up the floors of my castle with you."
"Try it and see what happens," a female's voice suddenly broke into the conversation. Luca unsteadily rose to her feet, limping to her boyfriend's side.
"Luca, you can't... Look at you!" Phil cried out. "You can hardly stand!"
"I've got a score to settle with him," she responded bitterly, her eyes red and white from her powers. She threw both hands forward and a black beam erupted from her palms. The creature jumped up and over it, landing with such force that the entire castle shook. He opened his mouth and inhaled, then exhaled ferociously, engulfing the girl in a wall of flames.
Phil's eyes widened as he witnessed it. He launched himself forward at the creature, outstretching a hand and hoping to accomplish the same feat as his girlfriend. A strange white light shot from his hand and made contact with the creature, who stumbled backwards.
The lizard smirked as he looked at his two opponents. Luca was barely upright, wobbling and moaning softly in pain. Phil was breathing heavily and looking weary. The creature laughed. "It was a nice try, it really was, children. Unfortunately, the girl has no strength and the boy overwhelmed himself with too much energy. Now, it's time to put an end to this. I have business to attend to."
He withdrew an onyx scepter and held it up to the ceiling. The blood red jewel in the scepter flickered to life, launching a crimson red beam at the two weary challengers. The light engulfed the two for nearly a full minute before fading away. When it disappeared, the two simply collapsed to the floor. The Princess yelped softly from her corner. These two strangers risked their lives for her, and were now laying on the floor.
The creature walked over to them and looked down at them. "Interesting specimens we have here. Very strong powers, but absolutely no control. Obviously novices." He touched Phil gently with the onyx scepter, which seemed to scan him. "It seems that he's got a lot of light energy in him. Hmph, utterly useless. A waste of a good fighter." He touched Luca with the scepter next, a malicious grin crossing his face. "This one, however, seems charged with an extremely high level of dark power. She's conflicted and can be converted. This is promising."
"Bowser, please," the Princess pleaded in a shaky voice, "spare these children. They were just concerned strangers."
He looked at the Princess, then gently traced a claw along the sides of the unconscious redhead's face. "My dear Princess. I wouldn't dare eliminate such a promising young warrior. The boy... maybe. If he doesn't swear his allegiance. But the girl? Oh, no. I have plans for her. Just like I have plans for you." He turned to the window and summoned his followers. "Bring the three of them along. Do not harm the Princess or the girl, understand?"
"Yes sir!" The three followers bellowed in unison.
"Sir, what about that one?" One of them pointed to Jared, who laid unconscious in a corner.
Bowser rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "He is of no use to me. Just bring these three."
As the airship took flight again, Bowser looked down at the ruins of the Harvest Festival.
"A wonderful harvest indeed," he laughed quietly to himself.
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