[Other FULL] Paper Mario | The World Star [IC]

Jegretis · Jul 4, 2014

[PokeCommunity.com] Paper Mario | The World Star [IC]

No Paper Mario Experience Necessary!

| OOC Stuff |

Spoiler:

The Plot

The Crystal Stars…Originally created long ago by the Shadow Queen before she was destroyed, the stars are 7 magical objects capable of giving the user powers beyond the ordinary. Legends says that all together, they help hold the essence of the heavens and keep balance in the world. As of now, they are split up into 7 different parts within the Mushroom Kingdom under the watchful eye of Princess Peach. Each star grants the user a unique power, however if fallen into the wrong hands, may be used for malicious purposes.

Speaking of malicious stuff, some strange things have been happening in the Mushroom Kingdom. Although tightly secured, the Mushroom Castle has had reports of numerous break-ins, with no trace of anything being stolen, or any major property damage. Thought to be just a series of pranks, they were shortly excused. However, rumors say that the perpetrator was looking for something. Something that was apparently not in the Mushroom Castle.

~

Welcome to the town of Quiet Meadows! A placid town in the western side of the Mushroom Kingdom, known for its clean air, fresh flowers. This place has inhabitants of all kinds and is very welcoming! Quiet Meadows has everything someone would need to live a comfortable life! Stores, shops, groceries, you name it! There are also two schools located here called Meadows Grade School, as well as Meadows College. The mayor's house (Mayor Montgomery III) is right on top of a hill in the town's richer part of town, known as Ever Hills. Mayor Monty is a rather nice old Koopa, who simply just refuses to step down from his position until he kicks the bucket. He's a passionate guy, so chances are if you need help, he can be pretty reliable. On the outskirts of town, is located the Quiet Cave, where one of the Crystal Stars known as the Diamond Star currently resides. The cave can be scary, especially at night, so never go alone!

You are a citizen of Quiet Meadows. You have been living your life rather peacefully, away from the busy life of the city. Maybe you go to school, or maybe you work. Or maybe you don't do anything at all! The terms of what the Crystal Stars are capable of, are a complete mystery to you, as not many people talk about it, other than it is simply just a tourist attraction and pretty centerpiece for your dining room. Least do you know, that you will soon know the truth about what is going on in the Mushroom Kingdom.

The RP Itself

Okay guys, welcome to Paper Mario: The World Star! As you guessed, this RP is based on the Paper Mario games, mainly from the second one (although the the gist is still trying to get the stars, it has nothing to do with the Thousand-Year Door). However, if you have not played those, than you need not worry, as it is definitely not required as I will be mainly explaining a lot of things along the way was we progress! So if you are interested, read on!

So, with the plot out of the way, I may as well get down the RP mechanics and how things are going to work. Firstly , there is obviously not going to be a turn-based battle system like in the video games. Just straight up battling. Pretty simple stuff. Your character uses his/her attacks to defeat the opponent. In the games there is something called "FP", or "Flower Points". These are pretty much your points needed to use your stronger attack. In this RP, we are completely getting rid of Flower Points for simplicity's sake. Instead, using your stronger attack(s) will simply just use up more of your energy. Items that affect FP, will do the same thing, except affect your energy. Be warned though, this RP is not completely based on battling, as there are also puzzles and interactions driving the plot for the RP as well. So even if your character is not much of a fighter, they can still come in handy. As for the world itself, the RP takes place in the Mushroom Kingdom, although the places we visit are going to be different than those in the Paper Mario games. If you have an idea for a town or place, just let me know and we can figure something out.

Items & Badges

Click Here for Item Database | Click Here for Badge Database

So, items are a rather big thing in the Paper Mario games. In the RP, these items are also obtainable, but you will mostly be able to find them in the field, instead of purchasing them. Again, for simplicity's sake, every person is limited to only 1 item at a single, given time, and you are only able to find or purchase them with my permission first. Coins will be handled by me, so you need not worry about it (coins are shared among characters as a group). If you need help with what items are available or what items do what, just click the link above for a database. The items are fairly straightforward about their usage, so if you are unsure if an item is allowed in the RP, ask me. Any item that has anything to do with FP, does what it is supposed to do, except replenishes/decreases energy instead of FP.

And here we have badges. For those of you who are unfamiliar, badges are pretty much just used for giving certain abilities, power-ups, or passives. They can be found, given as a gift, etc. They are not a one-time thing, and your character will be carrying the badge around at all times (unless they choose to throw it away). Once again, for simplicity's sake, I'm limiting characters to only 3 badges maximum. Obviously not every badge can be used by your character (for example if you don't use a mallet as a weapon then the hammer badges are a complete waste). You need my permission before getting/finding a badge, so don't even worry about badges until I say so. With that said, I have a list of badges that are off limits/not available in the RP (They are off limits because some of them either just won't work properly in the RP, or they are redundant)If you need help, just click the link for a badge database:

List of Unobtainable Badges:

Spoiler:

The Rules

All PC Forum Rules Apply
No bunnying/god-modding
This is pretty much a 'G' rated RP, so violence, romance is allowed. But no swearing, and I mean it. Pretty much anything you find in the Paper Mario Games/Manga is allowed in the RP
Do not question, or argue with game logic. This could potentially lead to unnecessary questions or conversations about the Paper Mario Universe.
I understand characters are technically '2-D', but no turning yourself into a paper airplane or anything out of the ordinary (if you have played the second game, you'll know what I am talking about)
Let me know if you plan on being away for sometime so I can work something out
Please post often. Don't sign-up and then leave, as it will be hard to get rid of characters. We will all be travelling as a group so it's important to communicate.

The Characters

Spoiler:

The Prologue

Quiet Meadows
Alex Koopmore

"…Is this the place?" A hooded, floating figure spoke.

"That's what it says here. Well, sort of. It's here, but it's near the edge of town." Another hooded figure spoke, looking at the some sort of device in his hands with an antenna sticking out.

"Well let's get to it! It's going to take us all day to find it anyways. Make sure those things you brought are looking for it too." The floating figure hissed as his 'comrade', as they started to walk down a path making their way to the town of Quiet Meadows.

"Huh, weird. We don't get many tourists." Alex observed the duo from afar, while sitting on top of a nearby boulder. He looked at the two hooded figures as they slowly went out of his range of sight. One was floating, and one was walking, but they were both wearing a rather large hooded cloak covering their faces and their bodies. "Oh whatever, they are probably just lost." Alex shrugged it off. The only reason people ever came to this town was when they made a wrong turn somewhere and needed directions to get back on route. Otherwise this town was fairly off radar and out of the way.

"Yooo! Alex!" A voice shouted from behind him. "Let's go to the town square, I got a fun idea we could do, hehe." Alex turned around to see his friend, Billy the Boo, wearing a hat like his own, in the same fashion as well. He was carrying around a yellow bucket with what seemed to be…water balloons? "C'mon, c'mon, let's go! I haven't had any prank action in a while!" His friend giggled, trying to suppress his incontrollable laughter with his free hand.

"What if the Mayor finds out?" Alex really didn't want the Mayor finding out about his shenanigans, especially not after the last time when he almost accidentally set fire to the flower shop. But the option still lingered in his mind.

"Don't even worry, Mayor Monty's got other stuff to worry about! He's a busy guy, he can't be troubled with some college drop-outs throwing some water balloons around! And if anyone says anything we ruff them up, like we always do!" Billy exclaimed laughing a bit, until he started to float off towards town. "C'mon, c'mon, let's go!" Alex shrugged as he followed his mischievous friend deeper into town.

~

"Hehe, see? Who's gonna say anything?" Billy boasted to Alex. They had reached the town square, and it was…not busy to say the least. The fountain near them, at the center was doing it's usual thing, and there was some random old Koopa sitting on the fountain's ledge reading the newspaper and almost seemed like he was dozing off. A couple of kids were playing around with some chalk, and then those two hooded figures from before were still lingering around.

"So, now what? What do we throw them at?" Alex shrugged.

"Hehe, we throw them at buildings." Billy looked around, until he saw a random store in sight, across the fountain from them. "Here, take one!" Billy handed his partner-in-crime a black balloon, and laughed with one his hand as well. "One…two…three…THROW!" Billy and Alex grunted as they threw the balloons as hard as they could. They watched the balloons zip through the air, until they hit the front window of the store with a big splat.

"Haha, that was pretty funn-" Alex stopped as he looked at the window, now covered in a bright, thick yellow liquid. It wasn't water inside the balloons, it was yellow paint! "Wait, you filled paint into those balloons?! You said they were water!" Alex shouted.

"Well if I told you the truth, then you wouldn't have done it!" Billy giggled as he looked at Alex, who although wasn't exactly remorseful about what he did, was feeling a little bit more neutral about the whole situation. "Man, I feel sorry for whoever has to clean that up!" Billy laughed some more, wiping away a tear.

"You've lost it, you know that?" Alex sighed. He was getting too old for these shenanigans.

Sephear · Jul 6, 2014

Chester and Alex: Explosive vigilantism

It was yet another beautiful and...well...quiet day in Quiet Meadows. The sun was shining, and like many other days, Chester was running around with some of the kids in the town square while an old koopa read by the fountain. Coincidentally, Bob-Ombs aren't the best at games that involved chasing with their stubby legs, lack of arms, and rounded bodies. Chester slipped on a loose stone and all the kids dogpiled on top of him and cheered in various ways about how they'd won and Chester was bad at this game. "Okay, okay little comrades! Please to be getting off of Chester now!" He always played up his accent to make the kids laugh, but his own mirth died down when he spotted Alex and his friend, apparently up to some of their bratty tricks again.

Chester's body started to redden, but he calmed himself down before he could start shooting steam and gently god the kids off of him. Once he was free he strode over to the troublesome duo, his crank ticking in annoyance loud enough for them to hear. "Ahem! Don't you two have any number of more productive things you could be doing right now? Throwing water balloons is so-IS DAT PAINT?!? De nice toads will have to clean dat up!" Realizing that they were up to worse mischief than he'd thought at first made Chester's body begin to grow redder and start to shake in the typical sign that a Bob-Omb was angry, and in danger of lighting their fuse.

Alex and Billy looked in annoyance. "Oh yeah, and who are supposed to be? The town sheriff?" Alex said. Him and his partner in crime started to laugh. Although Alex wasn't trying to pick a fight, this wasn't the first time they had altercations with this particular Bob-Omb. He was actually a nice guy, as all the kids seemed to love him. The complete opposite of Alex.

"Oh look, he's getting red!" Billy shouted mockingly, covering his mouth trying to suppress his laughter with his free hand. "What' re you gonna do? Blow up?" The young Boo laughed maniacally, this time floating around in circles. Alex laughed a bit, but went serious in an instant.

"Oh, you think is funny to waste other people's time and hard work? Maybe little neanderthal boo would like a taste of fancy vacuum?"

"He IS gonna blow up, idiot!" Alex gave Billy a slug on the arm, stopping him from floating around in circles, with a frown that wept over his previous cheery face. "Quick, gimme that!" Alex took the bucket from the Boo, and grabbed a paint balloon. "Maybe this'll cool you down!" Winding his arm back, he stuck out his tongue and closed one eye, aiming at the infamous Chester. "Take this!" He threw the balloon, hoping to get a direct hit.

Chester was almost more disappointed than he was angry, he'd always had a feeling Alex wasn't all that bad, and for a second he'd thought the koopa was going to talk his moron of a friend into stepping down. When he saw Alex reach for the bucket of paint balloons he decided it was the last straw, the only way to teach those two a lesson was with a good BLASTing. He shuffled his feat faster and faster for a few seconds before he charged at the delinquents, his fuse lit and smoking into the air, making him look like for all intents and purposes like a one-car coal train filled with TNT. If he got covered in paint so be it.

Alex's eyes widened. Chester zoomed towards them spewing out smoke like a mini-volcano, getting closer and closer. The balloon Alex threw, exploded into a flash of yellow paint, but it was no use. The smoke completely engulfed the paint, and the Bob-Omb was now in point blank range. "He's gonna blow!" Billy shouted. Billy covered his face, whilst Alex quickly dropped his bucket and hid into his shell. A blast of heat and wind gushed out of Chester in a large explosion in the middle of the square, creating a rather big and noticeable cloud of dust that flew everywhere.

BOOM!

Billy's hat went flying off, and the mischievous duo were sent flying back into the side of the fountain, with Billy getting knocked out cold. The newspaper old man Koopa was reading, flew out of his hands and into the air, drifting away. "Oh he's done for now..." Alex grumbled, still hiding in his shell, still too shocked and in pain to come out.

The explosion didn't really pick favorites, it didn't hurt Chester itself but it had no trouble sending him soaring into the air. At the height of Chester's flight he rotated just enough to see back down to earth and notice the two strange hooded figures by the square. He hadn't noticed them before. Is not often one sees such creepy people in Quiet Meadows. He also noticed Old Man Koopa's newspaper fluttering to the ground. He had just enough time to shout "Many sorries Mr. McKoopus!" Before he crashed and everything went dark and quiet.

Sir Bastian · Jul 7, 2014

Caitlynn

Quiet Meadows Item Shop

Caitlynn had been charged with taking care of the item shop, while uncle, as she'd been calling him ever since he took her in when she arrived here, had gone to the other end of the town for a delivery. However, currently, there wasn't any customers, as there usually weren't in the morning, but that wasn't really her biggest concern right now.

Billy and Alex, as she'd heard them called before, not that she'd ever really talked to either of them, were outside with a bucket of... something. And whatever they were involved in, couldn't be good. She peeked out the corner of the window to see what they were doing, just as a splooge of yellow slapped against the top half of the window, causing her to shriek and fall back onto the floor.

"T-they're throwing... paint?" She let out a quiet whimper. When Uncle came back, he was going to be furious. Getting up again, she moved over to the window once more, peeking out while debating with herself whether or not she should go out and ask them, very kindly to avoid them being angry or... doing something against her, to stop... but she just couldn't get herself to do it. She was scared of what they were going to do or say to her.

Thankfully, the Bob-Omb known as Chester came marching over to them, and she smiled in relief. Chester usually seemed to know the rights and wrongs of what was going on. She'd only briefly spoken to him when he'd been in the store a while back, but from what she'd heard others say, he was just as much a stranger here as she was, which made her feel... connected to him in a way.

She shook her head to stop daydreaming, covering her mouth with a hand when she gasped as she saw Chester charging at the two and blowing them off to the fountain. Chester himself had disappeared though, and it wasn't until she heard a loud 'Thunk!' behind the shop that she realized where he'd gone.

Hurrying, she slid along the ground to the back exit, pushing open the door as she peeked out into the garden, where the Bob-Omg was stuck with most of his body in the soil. She smiled a little and 'floated' out besides him.

"Uhm... mister Chester, I'm... going to try to get you out of there, so just hold on, alright?"

She breathed out slowly, reaching down to grab his little legs sticking out into the air. Wincing and pulling, she managed to slowly unstuck him from the ground, eventually leaving him to popping right out. Caitlynn backed a bit away from the downed Bob-Omb, folding her hands in front of her while smiling faintly.

"I'd, uh... just like to say thank you for sorting out Billy and Alex. D-Don't mind the garden, I'll sort it out! Are you... okay?"

Sephear · Jul 7, 2014

Caitlynn and Chester: My hero, or her hero...or his? There's rescuing and niceness okay?

A deep sigh reverberated through the earth for the short distance it could. It seemed Chester never stuck a landing no matter how many times he BLASTed off. He blinked and there was no change, so either something was blocking his eyes, or he'd gotten a game-over. He tried to wiggles his toes...but he doesn't have toes so he just wiggled his legs instead, his feet flailed pointlessly in the open air. I should really get the ground a ring sometime if I am to keep meeting it like this. He butchered the metaphor even in his own head. The aimless leg-wiggling continued until something wrapped around Chester's ankles and he began to panic, it's a good thing his head was too smothered for his fuse to light.

"Mph! hrp, unf urf wum if twuhn et meh" Ai! Help! Giant earth-worm is trying to eat me! He didn't have long to live in his delusions before the grip of his assailant loosened him just enough for the wiggling to pop him right out of the ground. As soon as he was on his feet Chester began to pulse red and run around frantically in circles. "Is end of times! Prepare for Armageddon comrades! Giant bomb-eating earth worms will con-" WHAM!

In his terrified scurrying Chester slammed right into the garden's lemon tree and fell backwards, a few lemons loosened from his crash clunking onto him. His left leg hung higher in the air than his right and twitched a few times, before he opened his eyes again and saw the shadow girl who helped with the shop looking at him with a very worried expression. "Oh...hello miss...Caitlynn is it? I errr... no giant worms? I am sorry for de panic attack, Chester is claustrophobic. Thanking you much for de help!" He popped upright again somehow even with his lack of arms and beamed at Caitlynn.

At first, Caitlynn was looking very worried as Chester had run around, shouting out about armageddon, whatever that was, and a giant worm. But as he got knocked over and seemed to calm down, she offered him a light smile. "Oh, no, it's... it's me who's thanking you for helping. A-and yeah, it's Caitlynn."

Pausing for a moment, she suddenly moved in a bit closer, reaching over to brush a bit of dirt away from the top of Chester's head, quickly leaning back again with another smile. "I really appreciate you helping out like you are. I just wish people liked me as much as they did you, heh."

Chester didn't exactly understand what Caitlynn was thanking him for at first, but he jumped when he remembered, it had been the store she worked at that was being paint-ballooned. "Oh is no problem, such things are not tolerated at Fahr Outpost, and every able-bodied comrade is expected to help in punishing of naughty childrens." Caitlynn's mention of wishing people liked her more popped an exclamation point right out of Chester's head.

"People like Chester? Dis whole time I am thinking is just kids. To other citizens Chester must be nuisance with all the unwanted BLASTings. And who is to say people are not liking miss Caitlynn? 'Dat cute shadow girl is so nice and polite' I am always hearing people say. 'We are so lucky she wandered in here' I am told, and is true, Caitlynn is very nice girl. You are always helping me when I do not know what to buy at store, and are so gentle and helpful in pulling Chester out of da scary ground."

Caitlynn continued smiling, her cheeks turning a lighter shade of purple, bordering on pink as she shook her head, lifting a hand to brush a strand of her dark-blue hair further back from her face, looking away from Chester. "No, no, I just... I'm just doing what I can to help out. People always look at me... weird, and I understand why. I'm not like anyone else here. They... they have a right to be afraid of me."

She looked back up at Chester, the uncertain, worried look on her face disappearing for another little smile. "But... thank you for trying to comfort me." Glancing back up at the shop, she let out a little sigh at the thought of having to clean up the paint splattered across the front of the store. "Why... do you think Alex and Billy do what they do?"

"Is no comfort! Mama and Papa Bewm taught Chester to be honest Bob-Omb! Miss Caitlynn is sweet girl, but as for delinquents Chester say is face. Many of de koopa Alex's friends are no-good-niks, but I think Alex is not so bad, just have no better influence. He will learn not to do such stupid things if I must BLAST it into him myself. OH!" He jumped straight up at the last bit. "I am almost forgetting I must tell Mayor about paint balloons, if old Mr. McKoopus get there first he make Chester look like bad guy in vengeance for his newspaper!"

Caitlynn looked a little thoughtful, tilting her head and folding her arms across her chest. "You think Alex is just in bad company, then...?" She bit her lower lip in quiet thought, until Chester jumped into the air and landed down again, exclaiming that he had to go.

"O-oh, right! Come on, I'll let you out!" She said, smiling again as she slid along the ground with her body still connected to the shadow on the ground. She guided him through the store and opened the door for him, sending him another smile. "There you are. And... uhm, thanks again, Chester. For everything."

Chester stopped at the front door to the store and dipped his head the teensy weensy bit that a Bob-Omb can without falling over. "Thanking you very much for your help again Miss Caitlynn, I would have been eaten by giant worms if not for you. Here I have gift for you." Chester reached into his - errr - pockets? With his... well anyways he pulled out a small shiny blue rock that had been polished to perfect smoothness. "Pretty stone was found by little Sally Toadsif while playing hide and seek earlier. Would look good in necklace or other jewelery, compliments Miss Caitlynn's nice purple very well. Now I must be going, thank you again!"

Without waiting for an answer Chester dashed out the door, immediately bowling over one of the cloaked figures standing by the square. "Sorry friend I may be in BIG trouble if I do not run like cold Fahr winds!" And he sprinted off towards the mayor's house. It didn't make the least bit of sense that he could run so fast on those stubby legs, but then again he also pulled out a rock with no bag or arms. Chester had never really been in any danger though. The old koopa certainly intended on complaining about Chester, but in the time Chester was out and talking to Caitlynn the codger hadn't even made it all the way out of the town square yet. Coincidentally Chester was in too much of a rush to notice the lack of progress and the fact that Mr. McKoopus was on the cobblestone path directly in front of him.

Chester whisked right into the poor old koopa and sent him spinning on his back, slamming right into Alex where he still lay stunned by the fountain. In no time he was out of sight.

Watching as the Bob-Omb sped off into the distance, Caitlynn smiled a little, looking down to the pebble he had given to her. It had a really nice hue and shine to it. After admiring it for a few moments, she lifted it, tucking it away in her hat, letting out a sigh and shutting the door to the shop again, moving towards the backroom to get a bucket, some soap and some water. -Someone- had to clean up Alex' mess, even if he wasn't as bad as everyone thought.

Jegretis · Jul 7, 2014

Quiet Meadows
Town Square
Alex Koopmore

Alex groaned, as he was bumped into by something, only irritating him even more. After a little while longer staying inside his shell, he decided to finally come out. Mumbling to himself, he poked out his body parts and stretched out his limbs. He looked around to see old man McKoopus on his shell, ready to nearly doze off again, and the hooded figures gone as well as. He looked back at the store and saw someone cleaning the shop windows that Alex and Billy had made a mess out of. Alex recognized her as the girl that worked there, although he never did talk to her. "Oh…my head…" Billy groaned, rubbing his head. "We're going soft...c'mon, let's get that loser…" Billy slowly got up, hovering above the ground. Alex continued to look at the girl cleaning the window. He felt sort of…bad? If he had known there was paint in the balloons, he definitely would have not thrown the balloons. Maybe he should explain himself to the shopowner? "Hey ARE you listening?! Let's get that booger! He's not even from this town, we need to show him who's in charge!" Billy shouted, echoing around the square. All the kids had left, as they were probably scared by the explosion, so it wasn't like they needed to be careful about exacting their revenge in front of them. But Alex didn't want revenge exactly. He felt beaten inside, but if he got his chance at Chester, then so be it, however he wasn't going go look for him.

"Billy, go home. Right now." Alex said sternly, looking at the Boo.

"Whhaaa?! But why?! We can go get our pal JP Goomy, and then we can ambush that Bob– " Billy was cut-off mid sentence.

"Just go home! I got stuff to do, I don't have time for this prank nonsense that you seem to love so much, so get out of here!" Alex raised his fist at his friend, who whimpered slightly and backed off with a sad expression that wept over his face. He then turned around and sulked, hovering away from the Town Square and into a random avenue nearby. Alex waited a few moments, looking at the pointy-hatted girl cleaning the windows. "Maybe I should say sorry…after all it was Billy's fault…mostly." He mumbled to himself, and started to walk, until about halfway there, he stopped. Ughhh…I can't do it…What if she spreads rumors about me that I'm some sappy, flower-loving Koopa that loves frolicking in the grass all day? Alex nodded his head sideways, and then turned around, and began walking away from the store. He just couldn't bring himself to say anything, and started to sulk away from the town square into a nearby street.

Stinging Bea · Jul 12, 2014

Nina Shroomer And Caitlynn: Advice From An Adventurer!

"So, there I was... Surrounded by at least thirty pirates... maybe even forty! Each of them coming straight at me with their razor sharp swords! But they were absolutely no match for me or my trusty slingshot! With a quick aim and even quicker reflexes, I was able to shoot them all down into submission! The princess was saved and the treasure was mine!"

Nina Shroomer smiled as she looked down at all the small children, staring up at her with adoring eyes. One of them quickly waved his arm, trying to get her attention. Nina glanced down at the young, red-shelled Koopa who beamed as the girl acknowledged him.

"Can you tell us one more story? I wanna hear about the time when you fought the fire-breathing, 50-foot Birdo!" the small boy shouted, earning some cheers and pleading from the other kids around him.

NIna felt her ego inflate as she rubbed the back of her cap sheepishly. "That old story?" She looked thoughtful for a moment, before glancing down at her watch. It was almost time for her shift down at the shop, and she really did not want to disappoint her uncle... especially since she already skipped on one shift this week. "Tell ya what, I'll make double sure to tell ya that story next time, okay? Right now, I gotta get going on my next adventure! Don't worry, I'm sure it'll bring even more fantastic tales than the last one!"

Waving a quick farewell, Nina turned around and began to happily trot off towards the shop where she worked for her uncle. The story she had shared with the young tots of Quiet Meadow had went off even bigger this time than the last. Nina always had a feeling that adding a few more pirates and triple-headed Piranha Plant was a good idea, but she had no idea it would have been that great.

"Maybe I should add a few to the dragon story... I bet they'd love that..." Nina mused, glancing up as the item shop came into view. As it did though, the mushroom girl's eyes suddenly went wide. She noticed the yellow paint dripping from one of the windows, making the establishment look rather messy to say the least. The Toadette quickened her pace, running straight towards Caitlynn who was floating about outside the building. "Caitlynn! Caitlynn, what happened to the store?!"

As her name was called, Caitlynn spun around, carrying a bucket and a water-and-paint-soaked cloth in her hand, a look of apology quickly overcoming her features as she lowered herself down to the ground again.

"N-Nina! I'm sorry, I-I was watching the store and suddenly, Alex and Billy were outside, throwing paint balloons at the store! I... was too scared to go out and tell them to stop, but Chester came along and got them to cut it out." She lowered her head a little, biting her lower lip. "Sorry."

Nina put her hands on her hips, sighing at the sad looking, floating girl. "I'm not mad, just a bit... disappointed. I mean, you can't always be so scared of those two bullies, Caitlynn. If you don't stand up to people like that, they'll always walk all over you."

Placing down the bucket and the cloth into said bucket, Caitlynn wringed her hands a little, looking off to the side. "But... but what if they threw paint at me? Or... called me names again?"

"Look, they may threaten to do that, but bullies are always nothing, but talk!" Nina reassured her friend. The Toadette smiled proudly before continuing. "Why, did I ever tell you about the time I faced down that Alex and a whole gang of his Koopa creeps?"

"Easy for you to say..." the girl mumbled, before looking up again with raised brows beneath her blue locks of hair, her lips pulling up into a light smile. She always loved it when Nina told one of her stories, and even though she'd already heard it, she really wanted to hear it again. "No, you've never told me that one! What happened?"

Nina nodded, taking hold of another cloth that happened to be sitting in the bucket before walking to the window to start aiding in the cleaning. "Well, there I was... It was a dark and stormy night, and I had just locked the shop up to head back to Uncle's for the night. I was all alone, with only a downpour of rain and some thunder, lightning, and wind gusts to keep me company... And that's when they appeared! It was that diabolical Alex and his gang of no-good Koopa creeps! There must have been about thirty... no, forty of them! Each one bigger than the last!"

Caitlynn had floated along and was helping Nina clean up the shop, but her attention was almost wholely on the mushroom girl besides her, her mouth slightly open in amazement. "Wow, that's... alot of Koopas! You're so brave, Nina. Then what happened?"

"Well you see, Alex and his rotten ruffians thought they were gonna break into the store and loot all the Super Star Snack Cakes for themselves. Now, I could have gone running away or just let them do whatever they pleased. But at that moment, I knew the chips were down and it was up to me to stop them once and for all. So, gathering up all my courage from my various adventures around the world, I took a stand! I readied my slingshot and began to drive back all of Alex's dastardly do-badders! Pretty soon, it was down to the two of us... Just me and the leader himself..." Nina explained. The expression on her face grew more proud with every passing moment.

Becoming completely absorbed in the story by now, Caitlynn was barely focusing on cleaning up the paint, staring at Nina in awe while moving the cloth in her hand slowly around in a circle. "And... and what then? What'd you do...?" she asked breathlessly.

"I walked up to him. I looked him dead in the eyes... I took aim of my slingshot, and with one mighty attack, I sent him running for the hills, crying for his mother! And he never dared thought about stealing from this store ever again!" Nina explained, laughing triumphantly with her hands on her hips.

Giggling, Caitlynn smiled brightly at Nina, briefly putting down the cloth in her hand to clap at her friend. "Yay! Oh Nina, I wish I could be as strong or brave as you. If you'd been there, the shop would never had gotten like this. I just hope we can clean it up before uncle comes back..."

"Don't worry about a thing. I'm sure we'll get it all cleaned up and he won't be any the wiser about it," Nina reassured her friend. She gave Caitlynn a reassuring smile and a quick nod. "I swear upon my career as an elite and courageous explorer!"

Nodding her head firmly, Caitlynn gave a warm smile, encouraged by Nina's words. "Alright! Let's do it!" She dipped her cloth in the bucket besides her to clean it from the paint, lifting it up again, only to come face-to-face with a middle-aged Toad standing right besides the girls, looking up at the paint. She let out a shriek of surprise, falling slightly back against Nina before managing to get back to her metaphorical feet.

"U-Uncle! We- I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to- it was-"

"That Alex Koopmore, right?" the older Toad asked.

Swallowing down, the girl nodded quickly, lowering her gaze to the floor. "I... couldn't stop him. We're cleaning it up though, so please don't be mad!"

The elder Toad started laughing. "Don't worry about it, girls. Alex is a bit... of a unique case. What he did could've been a lot worse. Just get it cleaned up before closing time, and we'll call it water under the bridge."

Nina smiled gratefully at her uncle. "Thanks, Uncle Jeremiah! We promise the window will look like new by then, I swear it on my life as a great explorer!"

Jeremiah glanced down at his niece, his brow furrowing a bit as she spoke. He opened his mouth to rebuttal the girl, but quickly decided to just let it go for now, placing the thought towards the back of mind. "Nina, don't forget that you're the one in charge of the store this afternoon. Please, don't go wandering off on one of those... 'adventures', okay?"

"Don't worry, you can count on me!" Nina exclaimed, waving to her uncle as he bid farewell to both girls before heading off to home.

Caitlynn breathed out a sigh of relief as Jeremiah took off, turning to Nina with a smile. "We're so lucky that uncle's so nice. If it'd been anyone else, I bet they'd been really angry at what had happened... if not at us, then at Alex and Billy." She paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Or... mostly Billy, I guess. Alex looked surprised when he found out there was paint in the balloons..."

"Trust me, Caitlynn... Chances are he was just as thrilled with it as that Billy was. I mean, you haven't seen him come back to apologize, right?" Nina questioned, glancing all around the area for emphasis.

"Well... no, I guess not..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "A-anyways, let's get this done as quickly as possible! I've got this book about the newest items around that's waiting for me at the library!"

"Well... If you're in a hurry, you could always head on," Nina replied. She gave her friend a genuine smile, easily telling just how excited she was over this book. "I totally wouldn't mind, Caitlynn. Why not head on?"

"No, I... I wouldn't feel right, leaving you with this mess." Caitlynn looked thoughtful for a moment before firmly shaking her head, sending Nina a warm smile. "I was the one who didn't stop Billy and Alex. I don't mind cleaning up the shop, as long as it's with you!"

Nina smiled, and the two got back to work cleaning up the shop. With the Toadette and Caitlynn working together, it did not take too much longer for the window to be clean once more. With the cleaning finished and Nina there to take over the shop, Caitlynn waved her step-sister goodbye before scurrying off towards the town's library, in search for her book.

Jegretis · Jul 12, 2014

Quiet Meadows
Town Square
Alex Koopmore

"Oh, what I am I to do…" Alex frowned with his head lowered, as he walked along the street. He glanced over at a few buildings and shops that were on both sides, and remembered a many years back when a bunch of boys were bullying his sister. That was when Alex first started to pick on people, and admittedly, it did feel good back then when the other person deserved it. But now he had feelings of remorse when he did dirty deeds, such as the paint-balloon fiasco earlier.

"Ay, how are you today, Alex? And how's your sister doing?" An old, raspy voice spoke from a little behind Alex. He turned around, and saw it was old man Hector, a Boo that owned a barbershop. He was sweeping the front part of his store, like he usually does every day.

"Ehhh, I'm okay. Could be better." Alex spoke. Hector was a nice old chap, although he was a tad slow at things. "My sister's good. I don't know where she is though, probably doing her own things." He shrugged.

"Say, did you hear that explosion? I'm pretty sure it was Chester blowing his fuse again." The old man coughed, brushing his mustache while sweeping.

"Hehe, yeah, it probably was." Alex laughed a bit. It was exactly really funny, but the reason Alex laughed was because Hector didn't know the whole story. "Anyways, I've got to get going. See ya Hector." Alex waved, as the Boo waved back, continuing to walk, taking a left down the road. Maybe if I see Chester I should just make amends. After all, I don't want to be hit by that Bob-Omb Blast again… Upon walking further, he eventually came to the Mayor's avenue, and as he looked, he was utterly shocked. It was Chester! He was talking to the mayor giving him all the inside dirt about him! Or at least so he thought. "Hey!" Alex yelled, as he started to ran across the mayor's front lawn, and stopped right in front Mayor Monty and Chester standing a little ways away from the entrance to his house. "Mayor, I don't know what this exploding goofball is blubbering about, but whatever it is, it's a lie!" Alex pointed his finger at Chester, and furrowed his eyes.

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down there!" The mayor put up his hands, obviously shocked at the whole ordeal. "Why don't we take this from the top? I need to hear both of your stories before I can come to a conclusion!" The Mayor stroked his mustache and adjusted his glasses. Alex looked at Chester.

"Ladies first!" Alex said. He didn't smile, as he was fairly upset, but he did want to go second, so he could skew Chester's story a bit to favor himself.

Quiet Meadows
Elline Koopmore

A curly, brown-haired Koopa walked through the streets of Quiet Meadows, looking through a list, scrolling her eyes up and down, whilst holding an empty bag in her other hand. Let's see…tomatoes, eggs, bread, milk, the usual stuff. Oh yeah, and I have to pick up Alex's ointment. Elline was put in charge of the week's grocery list, as it often gave her something to do. Plus, with her grandparents' old age, it often became a chore for them to go out all the time. "Maybe I'll go get his ointment first…" She muttered to himself. Normally they would just file an order for it, and it would come in the mail, but her clumsy brother accidentally spilt the cream, so placing an order and retrieving the cream days later was not an option. It was up to her to get her brother's cream, as he would often whine and complain about how embarrassing it was getting cream for those…hard to reach places. Elline didn't see the problem. It wasn't like he was the only Koopa in the world with this problem, and to her, he was just being a big baby. She finally entered the town square and looked around, until she found the item shop. But to her surprise, there was yellow goop splooged on the window. Elline saw a purple-capped female Toad, hard at work cleaning it off.

"Excuse me miss, I don't mean to bug you, but I was wondering if you could help me out? I need to get some ointment. It's for my brother. Usually I fill out an order form, but if I don't get it today, then he would probably have to wait a bit, and then…you know, rashes and stuff." Elline laughed a bit. She still would have liked if Alex would get it himself, bit she could see why he may have found it a bit awkward.

Sephear · Jul 12, 2014

Chester D. Bewm
Quiet Meadows
Mayor Monty's front yard

He was going to make it! Chester was working his little legs so fast the sound of his boots scraping each other could easily be heard nearby, but maybe he didn't need to hurry so much since he hadn't seen Mr. McKoopus along the way at all. When he got to the door of Mayor Monty's house he bumped it with his head a few times and waited, but he received no answer. "Oh no no no is not good, if Mr. McKoopus get here before door is answered he complain about Chester knocking over his newspaper!" When he still got no answer he decided the Mayor must have been out on one of his frequent walks, so he plopped himself down and resigned to wait however long was necessary. It took what must have been hours (a bit more than 5 minutes) before Mayor Monty came waltzing up and started to unlock his front door before he even noticed Chester.

"Oh hello Chester! How is this day treating you?" He said when he finally realized he was there, bending down towards the diminutive Bob-Omb.

"Mayor Monty! Mr. Mayor! Do not be believing Old Man Koopa! Chester is not newspaper killer Chester is friend to all paper, just like I am friend to children!"

"Hey, hey, slow down little fella, what exactly are talk-"

"Mayor, I don't know what this exploding goofball is blubbering about, but whatever it is, it's a lie!" Alex ran up protesting and pointing at Chester, and only then did Chester remember the other reason he had to see the mayor.

"What?!? Chester is not liar! Chester is truther! Everything Chester say is always not a lie!" Chester turned red and shook at Alex's accusation, but his fuse didn't light.

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down there!" The mayor put up his hands, obviously shocked at the whole ordeal. "Why don't we take this from the top? I need to hear both of your stories before I can come to a conclusion!" The Mayor stroked his mustache and adjusted his glasses. Alex looked at Chester.

When the mayor asked them to explain Chester cooled off and hung his head-body, ignoring Alex's swipe at him. "Except, I am sorry Mr. Mayor Chester did tell what was not full truth. Here is what has happened. Chester was playing with de childrens of town like he does many other days, but he tell children playtime is over when he hears strange noise. I did not have to walk far before I am seeing young Alex and friend Billy-boo." Chester didn't know Billy's last name, and couldn't call him 'the boo' since he wasn't the only one in town, so he always called him 'Billy-boo'. The similarity to some sort of insulting cutesy nickname was yet another reason the boo's dislike for Chester was so intense. "When I got closer I was being surprised to see dey were throwing balloons exploding with paint! I know Alex is not bad koopa, was probably Billy-boo's idea but whether Alex is approving or not he still continued throwing balloons after first one."

He took a deep breath to make sure he didn't relive the anger of the earlier encounter too much, it wouldn't do to take any chances at BLASTing the poor mayor and hurting his house, or worse: him. "Den I take it upon myself to tell Alex and friend is bad to throw balloons and demand dey stop. But when Chester tells dem to stop, not only do dey not listen, but Alex decides to throw balloon at Chester! Dis is when Chester can not hold in anger anymore, and decides only way to teach lesson is to BLAST it into hooligans. So, yes, Chester did hurt poor Mr. McKoopus' newspaper. But it was accident! I did not mean to hurt innocent newspaper! I like to read de newspaper when I am not working or playing with childrens. Chester is not thinking anything too harsh is in order, no fine or anything, after all delinquents already got a good BLASTing. But Alex and Billy-boo did throw balloons at store and one at me, so I am believing something must be done. It is Chester's opinion that Alex and friend should have to apologize to item shop's family, and too miss Caitlynn who was so scared of dem."

Jegretis · Jul 14, 2014

Quiet Meadows
Town Square
Alex Koopmore

"Except, I am sorry Mr. Mayor Chester did tell what was not full truth. Here is what has happened. Chester was playing with de childrens of town like he does many other days, but he tell children playtime is over when he hears strange noise. I did not have to walk far before I am seeing young Alex and friend Billy-boo." Alex rolled his eyes. Here it was. That darn Bob-Omb was going to ruin everything, and the mayor would put him on community service again. And even worse, he would tell his grandparents about the mischief he was up to."When I got closer I was being surprised to see dey were throwing balloons exploding with paint! I know Alex is not bad Koopa, was probably Billy-boo's idea but whether Alex is approving or not he still continued throwing balloons after first one." As much Alex didn't want to admit, Chester had a point. He could have easily stopped and convinced Billy not to do it, but he chose to sit back and let things unfold. "Den I take it upon myself to tell Alex and friend is bad to throw balloons and demand dey stop. But when Chester tells dem to stop, not only do dey not listen, but Alex decides to throw balloon at Chester! Dis is when Chester cannot hold in anger anymore, and decides only way to teach lesson is to BLAST it into hooligans. So, yes, Chester did hurt poor Mr. McKoopus' newspaper. But it was accident! I did not mean to hurt innocent newspaper! I like to read de newspaper when I am not working or playing with childrens. Chester is not thinking anything too harsh is in order, no fine or anything, after all delinquents already got a good BLASTing. But Alex and Billy-boo did throw balloons at store and one at me, so I am believing something must be done. It is Chester's opinion that Alex and friend should have to apologize to item shop's family, and too miss Caitlynn who was so scared of dem." Alex looked at Chester and gave him a threatening look, and then looked at Mayor Monty.

"Ahem. Well, Alex is that true? Did you indeed throw paint balloons?" The Mayor said, stroking his moustache once more. Alex looked down but slowly nodded. "And what about Billy?"

"I don't know, he left somewhere. Besides, it was my fault not his." Alex admitted, and came clean. He didn't really want to go looking for Billy, plus he could have prevented everything if he wasn't so double-minded.

"I see. In that case, I want you to go apologize to miss Caitlynn, as well as the Toadstools that work there. I think you owe it to yourself to do at least that much, right?" Mayor said. Alex frowned and nodded silently. He honestly had nothing else to say. "That's a good boy. Chester, would you mind accompanying Alex back to the store? I don't want him to take any…detours, or get caught up in something else." The mayor asked Chester. Alex's eyes widened. Was he kidding? He didn't want to be anywhere near that exploding goofball, and now the Mayor wants him to babysit him? Alex sighed, but didn't argue. He didn't want to get into more trouble, as he was already let off easy by just having to apologize. But it could be argued that he would much rather pick up trash than saying sorry.

Stinging Bea · Jul 14, 2014

Nina Shroomer: "Evil's" Sister

Nina glanced up as she heard the sound of a young, soft voice coming from behind her. The self-proclaimed explorer and adventurer turned around and smiled brightly at the sight of Alex Koopmore's younger sister, Elline. While the Toadette was not particularly fond of Alex, she had nothing against his sister or the rest of his family.

"It's no problem at all," Nina replied, taking the form from the little Koopaling and reading it over carefully. She nodded once she had examined it carefully for before heading for the door of the store and waving the girl over. "I think we got some of this in stock, sure. Why don't ya come inside while I get it ready? No point in waiting around out here while I dig some up, am I right?"

Leading Elline inside, Nina gave the young Koopa another smile before walking behind the counter where she began looking for the ointment she was there to pick up. As she got it ready, the would-be-adventurer began to make small-talk.

"So, here to pick up some ointment for your brother, huh?" Nina inquired. She glanced up at Elline, before gesturing towards the window that she and Caitlynn had been busy cleaning earlier. There were still a few specks of yellow paint on the window. Nina made a quick, mental note that she'd have to give it another quick once over with a sponge and soapy water before closing up for the night. "He's been a bit of an... um... unique case as of late, you know?"

Sephear · Jul 15, 2014

Alex Koopmore and Chester D. Bewm
Quiet Meadows
Awkward walk is awkward.

Chester beamed at the mayor as he made his judgement, Monty was always a very wise and generous koopa. He did his best to salute, which thanks to his lack of arms amounted to him standing on his tiptoes for a moment while smiling. "Da! Chester is on de job Mayor! Alex probably okay to go by self, but if any of his friends show up to stray him from path I chase away! No amount of delinquency is match for good old Fahr Outpost BLAST! Come on Alex is time for apology! You will like miss Caitlynn I am promising, is very nice lady. Little Nina is also good girl when not spinning tall tales to childrens, children are always comparing everything Chester does to impossible feats she tells dem of. But she is easy enough to like." Without waiting for an answer he scurried off a ways before stopping by a wall and turning around.

"Come on comrade! Is no time like present for making de amends, Chester will vouch for you if Mr.Shroomer is grumpy about de paint!" He called out, bouncing on his tip-toes excitedly.

Alex sighed. There was no use in arguing. The decision was set in stone, and whether he liked it or not, he would have to apologize. "Yeah, yeah…I'm coming, I'm coming. I don't need you to vouch for me…I think." He wasn't too sure of himself, but in all honesty, Alex was more scared of them seeing the shy and timid part of him than anything else. Alex hastily walked up to the Bob-Omb, and the duo started to walk down the street, and head over back to the item shop the Shroomers owned around a block away. "So…you think that they'll accept my apology, Chester? I mean, it's not like this was the first time I really did something bad to them…" Alex frowned as he walked. He wasn't usually the kind for small talk, but he had a nervous gut feeling that made him a bit uneasy.

"Shroomers are nice people." Chester intoned jovially. "Mr. and Mrs. Shroomer are 2 first citizens of Quiet Meadows to accept Chester and not think I am just crazy BLAST happy foreigner. Admittedly Chester likes to BLAST but I try not to without a good reason, I was just very scared to be in new place with no snow. Tink of it, here is little Chester, barely grown out of being bomblet, BLASTED halfway across de world to places completely different from home. I had neyvar even seen toad or koopa before, besides nice toadette who lived in Fahr Outpost, but ve all thought she was one-of-a-kind, maybe even mutant. But Quiet Meadows is full of many nice and gentle people, so I came to love it eventually." It finally hit the chatty little bob-omb that he'd spoken much longer than was necessary, and trailed off from his point. "I am sorry for rambling, but Chester knows Shroomer family will forgive Alex, especially friend Miss Caitlynn. Miss Caitlynn is probably kindest person in all of town, she saved Chester from being buried alive and possibly eaten by giant worm."

After a few more seconds of walking passed Chester remembered something he'd always wanted to ask Alex, but had never had the chance before since Alex wasn't one to sit and chat. "Am sorry if rude to ask, but Chester must know if possible. Why do you do such things Alex? Why do you do mean things and join in with rotten youngsters who still want to watch others suffer in such happy, relaxing place?"

"…." Alex made a humming sound. He tried to think of a possible answer to Chester's question. "I don't really know….Ummm…You know that feeling of not fitting in? Like, no matter how hard you try, people just don't want to talk to you after you do one bad thing?" Alex took a pause. "The only people that really hung out with me and talked to me were people like Billy. We were all the same like that. After hanging out with them for so long, you soon realize you get so caught up doing one prank after another, that it starts to get out of hand." Alex looked at Chester. "And then soon enough, you are throwing paint balloons at people's place of business." Alex frowned a bit, and realized he was talking nonsense, and that Chester had indeed struck a nerve that Alex didn't even know he had. "Hey, why are we even talking about this? This is a dumb conversation…"

He seemed to have made a breakthrough, at least a minor one. Chester listened in silence while Alex partially explained his delinquency, and sighed at the end. "I am to apologize, I no meaning to pry I just think you are good person. I am thinking this from things I have seen here or there, and it make Chester sad to see when you do bad things, it make all de people who like you sad. Banding together with others in similar situation is good way to grow stronger and wiser, but true friends would not want you to do bad things and get in trouble. I do not believe in giving up on friends, but I do believe in not letting them dictate what you do either, I am thinking maybe you need some time away from friends like Billy-boo. Maybe y-OH!" The diminutive powder keg hopped up in the air at the sight of the item shop. "We are here! Quick maybe we not miss er... miss miss Caitlynn yet!" Alex looked and saw the item shop, which was now much cleaner than before, however there was still some residue leftover on the window. Alright, Let's get this over with... He slowly started to walk, but once again Chester rushed ahead, running right into the door and pushing it open without stopping since it wasn't completely shut.

~Inside the Shroomers' Item Shop~

"It's no problem at all," Nina said. She smiled at Elline and took the form, reviewing it. Elline smiled back. Nina was a nice girl, always a hard worker at the shop she noticed. I think we got some of this in stock, sure. Why don't ya come inside while I get it ready? No point in waiting around out here while I dig some up, am I right?" Nina said. Elline nodded and smiled, and followed, as Nina led her inside. She gave her another smile and went behind the counter, looking for the ointment, while starting a conversation. "So, here to pick up some ointment for your brother, huh?" Nina said. She then gestured at the window to the front. "He's been a bit of an...um... unique case as of late, you know?" Elline's eyes widened. That mess she was cleaning up was Alex's doing?

"Whaaat?! HE did that?!" Elline couldn't believe it. She knew her brother would sometimes get into trouble, but she never knew he was type of boy to pull this garbage. "Oh my…I'm sooo sorry!" Elline turned red. She was embarrassed to say the least, having to apologize for her brother's actions. "It's so embarrassing having to apologize for that clumsy boy…" She frowned. "He isn't usually like this though. He really is a nice guy once you get to know him…" She looked at the window. "How much damage did he do? The least I could do is pay -" Before she could finish, she heard the store door fly open, and turned to see Chester the Bob-Omb who barged into the shop shouting.

"Miss Caitlynn! Miss Nina! Mr. Shroomer Chester has good ne-oh! Ehh..." He gawked at the sight before him, Alex's sister Elline was buying some kind of tube. The few times he'd seen the siblings together Alex acted strange around Elline...what if he saw her and didn't want to apologize anymore?! But Alex wasn't that far behind him and Chester had no plan, so he just acted normal...well...'Chester normal'. "Oh, eh, hello miss Elline. Chester is hoping this day finds you with tons of happiness, I...well de Mayor sent me here."

Elline was shocked, yet at the same time confused. "The Mayor...? What does he have to do with anything?" She looked at Chester confusingly, until she saw someone else walk in through the store door. She gasped. Why, it was none other than Alex! Standing there Alex, wondered what was going on, and why is sister was in the store. "Alex! Were you the one who made a mess of the store?!" His sister walked up to him and confronted him, putting her hands on her hips. Alex frowned a bit, but didn't answer. Instead he just looked to the side not wanting to make eye contact with either Nina nor his sister. "Well? Say you're sorry!" Alex closed his eyes to think for a moment, but he slowly turned his head to Nina and opened his eyes.

"...I-I'm..I'm...sorry. And I'm sorry to the other girl as well. To your whole family actually..." He simply said. Alex's voice was a bit softer than it usually was, and he turned a bit red. "To b-be honest, I thought those balloons were filled water....I didn't know there was paint in them until after I threw them..." Alex looked at Nina, an then noticed a tube in her hands. A familiar tube.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out? If I hadn't come here to get your rash ointment, then I would have found out about it another way, so don't think for a minute you were going to get away with it...but at least you said sorry." His sister gave him a smile. But Alex was far from happy. In fact, he was getting slightly angry. Did she say...ointment? He couldn't believe it. He came here to say sorry, and this whole fiasco felt like it was one big public shaming! It pained him enough to act all nice, but then he was hit with another low blow from his own sister, in front of everyone, that he needed rash cream! Alex was silent for a bit, but without speaking, and refraining from letting his anger show, he turned around and quickly ran out the door, running wherever. All he wanted was some alone time, as this whole situation really struck some chords with him, and he felt like having a breakdown.

Elline turned to Nina. "I'm really sorry...he meant what he said. About saying sorry." Elline tried her best to give Nina a smile, walking up to the counter.

Chester was completely at a loss for words, he knew Alex didn't act quite the same around his sister as he normally did but he hadn't expected anything even a fraction as awkward as all this. He looked down at the floor and took a few steps back, hoping to fade into the background and be ignored.

Stinging Bea · Jul 16, 2014

Nina Shroomer: Not A Typical Day

Nina nodded at Elline's question about the paint-lobbing culprit. The Toadette did not directly face the female Koopa, as she was busy getting the ointment for Alex ready. She smiled softly as she found the appropriate tube, quickly turning to hand it over to Elline and continue the conversation. Nina was about to tell the younger sibling that there was no real damage to the store, when the door suddenly flew open and the sight of Chester D. Bewm barging in came to her eyes. The Toadette was naturally curious and concerned at what could possibly be bothering the Bob-Omb. Nina was about to question Chester, when her eyes fell upon the next visitor to the store...

It was none other than Alex Koopmore, himself.

"What... What is he doing here?!" Nina thought, her eyes wide as she took in the sight of the male Koopa. The last thing she had ever expected was for Alex to come back to the store. The Toadette's mind began to race with thoughts about what he was doing there. "Is he here to finish the job? Is he gonna loot the store and burn it down to the ground?! What am I supposed to do here on my own?!"

The Toadette reached into her backpack carefully, taking hold of the slingshot inside. Nina did her best to put on a tough face and try and look strong. However if anyone would have taken the time to notice, the slight sound of her boots knocking together from her short, shaking legs would have been heard. The defense of her uncle's store all fell upon her alone... and possibly Chester, but Nina knew it was her job to keep it safe. She had an edge. She knew that with her trusty slingshot, she'd be able to keep that bully at a safe distance and drive him from the store before his dastardly plan could come to light. Needless to say, Nina was taken back in surprise by what happened next.

Alex Koopmore... one of the most feared bullies in Quiet Meadows... The subject of several of Nina's "adventures"... apologized. Not only that, but he started getting scolded by his younger sister as well. Nina remained absolutely silent, watching the display before her with bated breath. The Toadette half expected Alex to fly into a rage. Her surprise grew when instead of that, he seemed to get embarrassed and then hoof it out of the store. Nina's mind was practically working on overdrive at this point to piece the whole thing together. Eventually, the Toadette finally spoke up, glancing back over slowly at Elline.

"Um... That'll be 24 coins, please," she said quietly.

Sir Bastian · Jul 18, 2014

Caitlynn & Alex

Quiet Meadows Library

"Thank you, miss!" Caitlynn urged in a low voice, smiling brightly at the female Boo behind the counter, hugging the book she had just borrowed from the library close to her chest. With another smile at the librarian, she turned and quickly floated out of the library, lifting it up to look at the cover. There was a green mushroom on the front and the title read "Items, badges and their effects, Vol. 7".

"Can't wait to read this~" She hummed to herself as she floated down the steps and back onto the path. Normally she'd read it in the library, but there were alot of people around today, and alot of them had tossed a weird glance her direction. After having looked around briefly, she spotted a tree a good bit away from the path, which she proceeded to float over to. She lowered herself down to sit up against it, flicking the book open with a smile as she went to work on reading through it.

"Elline is so dumb..." Meanwhile, Alex sulked, walking down the streets of Quiet Meadows. He was still bitter from his sister letting everyone know about his ointment and rash problem, even though he knew that she didn't do it on purpose. He just couldn't control himself, and this certainly wasn't the first time he's had random outbursts. I know she was just trying to help and stuff...but still Alex looked up at the sky, mulling over his current predicament. Sighing, he just shook his head in disbelief, and continued to walk along the path in front of him. Looking around at his surroundings, he reached the Town Library, and then upon further surprise, saw a familiar figure sitting under a tree on a grassy hill away from the path, reading a book. It was Caitlynn! Alex looked at her from afar. She's here? She doesn't look mad...I think. Alex wanted to apologize in person, but was unsure if she was angry at him from earlier. However, he then remembered Chester's words about her being really nice, so he assumed odds would be in his favor. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the side where the grass and the lone tree was, and approached Caitlynn. "H-Hey..." He looked at her, stuttering a bit. His voice sounded slightly cracked. However, in his defence, he was getting nervous once again, which often did that sort of thing to the tone and pitch of his voice.

Caitlynn looked up from the book she had open in front of her, the calm, pleasant demeanor quickly being replaced with surprise and a hint of fear as she gasped, shut her book and held it up in front of her while still peeking out over the top of it. "O-oh, it's... it's you. Uhm... hi there... A-Alex."

Alex stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. She had looked surprised to see him, but he could see why. He glanced around to see if anyone he knew was close by, and mustered up the courage to say something else. "I-It's Caitlynn, right? Do...you mind if I sit with you? I need to tell you something." Alex twiddled around with his thumbs, looking down rather than directly at Caitlynn, and he was starting to turn a bit red from the cheeks as well.

Still halfly hiding behind her book, Caitlynn peeked over the top, or at least he assumed she did, what with her hat and her hair covering almost half her face. She swallowed down. What could he want to tell her? Was he going to yell that she was a freak and didn't belong? But if he did, why did he want to sit down? After a few, tense moments, Caitlynn gently nodded her head and slowly lowered her book.

"Uhm... n-no, go ahead and sit, Alex..."

Looking around one last time, Alex nodded in return. "Thanks." And sat down next to Caitlynn. He waited a few awkward seconds, not knowing how to exactly start the conversation. He then turned to Caitlynn, and awkwardly looked at her, until he finally opened his mouth. "I...I just wanted to say...sorry." Alex frowned. "Not only about the paint balloons. I'm sorry about everything. I have given you a lot flack since you have been here..." He turned away from Caitlynn purely out of embarrassment, as well as not knowing how to exactly look at her without making things even more awkward.

The look of worry was slowly replaced with one of surprise as she gently lowered her book into her lap, still holding tightly onto it, while Alex apologized. A faint smile managed to tug the corners of her lips a little up. It seemed like Chester was right about him after all. Bowing her head a little down in his direction, she replied. "It's... it's okay. Nina and I cleaned it up in a jiffy. And, uhm... I... I appreciate you apologizing like this." She paused for a moment, unsure, before offering him another little smile, her cheeks turning a slightly more light-purple hue. "You're... not as bad as everyone says, Alex. Thank you."

Alex blushed a bit. Those words felt weird to him to say the least, and it made him feel a bit tingly inside. "Uhhh...well, you don't have to go all sappy on me." Alex crossed his arms trying put on his tough guy attitude once again, but he doubted he would be fooling anyone. He then turned back to Caitlynn. "I apologized to Nina as well, back at the store...but your uncle wasn't there. Do you think he's mad at me?" Alex asked, with a tone of concern in his voice.

Caitlynn swallowed down and grasped her book a little tighter, trying to do as Alex had said and not get all sappy. At his question, she tilted her head a little backwards to look up at the crown of leaves above her, thinking back to when her uncle came around. "I... don't think so." She looked down at him again with a careful, questioning look on her face. "Do you... uhm, want me to tell him that you're sorry about it?"

Alex's face lit up. All this apologizing really tuckered the poor Koopa out, and he was a little bit joyful that she would be willing to tell her uncle for him. "Oh wow, you'd that?!" He exclaimed. "Oh, I-I mean, you'd that? Yeah, that's cool too." He tried to cover up using his more monotone voice. "But...If you wouldn't mind, that would be great, Caitlynn." He said, smiling a bit.

Unable to hold herself back, she lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she let out a giggle due to him sounding so excited. She lowered it onto her book and offered Alex a light smile, nodding her head. "Yeah, of course. It's the least I can do, since you went to the trouble of apologizing like you did." Her cheeks went a little pink again for just a few moments before snapping back to reality. "Oh, uhm... do you want me to apologize for Billy too, or...?"

Alex raised an eyebrow when she mentioned his name. "Ummm…that's fine…don't worry about him." Alex looked up, and remembered that he did indeed give Billy a rather good scolding, after the balloon incident. "I don't even know if I'm going to be hanging out with him again...plus it was mostly me that caused the ruckus." Alex frowned a bit. "Thanks, anyways though."

Caitlynn nodded her head gently, picking up her book and pulling it up against her chest. The fact that Alex wasn't going to hang out with Billy anymore definitely spoke towards Chester's statement of him, and actually being able to sit down and talk to him had convinced Caitlynn as well. She smiled and hoved to a stand, turning to Alex. "Alright. I'll be sure to tell uncle. I'll, uhm... see you around, okay Alex?"

Alex nodded. "Oh, you're going already?" It was sort of nice hanging out with someone who was not Billy or JP Goomy, but Alex understood. "Yeah, uhhh...okay I'll see you around." Alex remained seated, giving Caitlynn a smile. Huh, she was nicer than I thought.

With a brief little wave of her gloved hand, she returned the smile before turning with the book held tightly to her chest as she somewhat hurriedly hovered back towards the shop. I have to tell Nina and uncle about this! I can't believe it, Alex actually apologized!

Jegretis · Jul 22, 2014

Quiet Meadows

Alex Koopmore

Alex watched as Caitlynn hovered off in the direction of the store. She certainly was more compassionate than he had originally thought. I guess Chester was right. After sitting for a few more moments, he finally mustered up the strength to get back on his feet, and started to walk away. It certainly was an eventful day, more than he would have thought. "Maybe I should just go home for the day..." He muttered to himself. Alex really didn't want to get into any more trouble, so he thought maybe by staying indoors, it would prevent that. Plus, he was tired amd a little nap never hurt anyone. He started to walk in the direction of his home, which was still a little bit farther away, thanks to him running all over the place for apologies.

"Ehhh...excuse me boy, do you know where the Mayor is?" Alex stopped and turned, hearing a raspy voice, similar to an old man's. He looked, and to his shock, found the hooded figures from before standing right behind him. At least, one of them was standing. The other was hovering above the ground. "This darn contraption ain't working!" The one on the ground spoke, hitting some device in his hand, that looked similar to a remote.

"Uhhhh...yeah. Well, sort of. I don't know where he is specifically, but he lives down that way." Alex said, pointing in the opposite direction. Normally he would have just ignored the tourists, but he was in a rather cheery mood so he let it slide. "I'm not sure if he's home, so you may just have to check." He said, shrugging.

"No, no, that's good! Thanks boy! Here, take this!" The hooded figure walked up to Alex, and handed him a candy piece. "I know how much you kids like your candy, so there!" He said enthusiastically, turning around and walking off into the direction Alex told them to go in.

"Wow. Okay, I guess." Alex just stood, watching them, as they slowly went out of sight, going downhill and heading down the block to the Mayor's house. Funny people, tourists. I guess they wanted a picture with him. He shrugged once more, turning around and heading back in the direction he was originally going, back to his house.

~

"I'm home!" Alex shouted as he entered the front door. To his immediate right was his grandma cooking up some stew, and his grandpa was on the couch, sleeping. What else is new? He greeted his grandma, and upstairs to where him and his sister's rooms were located.

"So, have you calmed down yet?" He heard his sister's voice as he passed her room. Alex stopped in his tracks, and nearly cringed when she spoke. "You left in a hurry. I put the ointment on your bed." Alex just stood there, finally speaking after a few seconds.

"Okay, thanks. Sorry about earlier." He simply said, as he continued to walk past.

"Huh?" Elline thought he was going to get angry again, but that certainly wasn't the case. In fact, it was almost as if he was in a slightly happier mood. "Whatever." She said, as she continued to do her business.

Flopping down onto the bed on his side, Alex noticed the tube of ointment next to him. "Eh, I'll put it on before I go to sleep." He muttered to himself. He then rolled over onto his stomach and stuffed his face into the pillow.

GoldfishHorde · Jul 23, 2014

Stompe: Kids These Days...

Quiet Meadows. A peaceful town, where everything was quiet and, well, peaceful. That's what Quiet Meadows had been known for. Being quiet and peaceful. A certain old Dull Bones knew that quite well, as he had lived there for most of his life. And his afterlife. His name was Stompe, and he's pretty much the oldest living thing here. Stompe is a recluse, always having an excuse to do something else rather than socialize, whether it be tending to his duties as Gravekeeper, or collecting stamps. The only people he's really gotten to know is the Mayor himself, and several of the youngsters around town, which take interest in his stories. Speaking of which, Stompe was telling stories of his grave keeping escapades to a couple of youngsters who had gathered around his porch to hear of his tales.

"Oh, oh! What happened next?" A young Dayzee girl asked, before others among the group of kiddies chanted "Yeah! Tell us, tell us!" from the front of Stompe's yard. The Dull Bones chuckled heartily as he rocked back and forth on his rocking chair from his porch.

"Well then, aren't you kids an eager bunch! Alright then, where was I?" Stompe rubbed his chin for a few seconds, trying to remember where he had left off. "Oh yes! So there I was, up against Bandy Andy and his gang of misfits, looking for trouble in my graveyard. I was outnumbered, one against four. He said 'Bring it on, gramps! We can take you!', and his goons laughed at me. So I ran straight at them and WHAM!" Stompe said as swung his arm as if he was holding his trusty shovel. A couple "Whoa!"s and "Ooh!"s came from the crowd. "I gave each and everyone of them a whopping and they ran home, crying to their mothers!"

"Were there pirates?" A small, but rough voice came from the back of the crowd.

"Excuse me? I don't believe I've had any run-ins with pirates." Stompe said, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Well then your stories are LAME! Nobody cares about robbers if they don't have ship!" The voice had come from a Bob-omb tyke who was tired of Stompe's stories. "Come on, let's go do something fun, not listen to old man Geezer tell us lame stories about dead people!" The tyke barked, walking away from the crowd. However, the crowd soon followed him, off to do stuff kids do. Stompe sighed, getting up from his rocking chair.

"Why, I've never seen that much disrespect in ages..." He mumbled as he walked off his porch, towards his mailbox. Stompe opened it up and sorted through the junk mail and bills. I dunno what these kids expect, this is Quiet Meadows, after all. It's quiet and peaceful. Stompe dropped the subject and brought his mail inside.

~

Sitting in his dining room, Stompe sipped away at a bowl of lentil soup, with what happened earlier stuck in his mind. Those brats don't care about quietness or peacefulness, do they? All they care about are pirates, and ninjas, and 3-headed Piranha Plants! He took another sip of his soup and savored the flavor. It's like they think being safe isn't good enough for them! There always has to be danger for it to be interesting! I've been in danger, and they don't think that's interesting! Why I oughta... Stompe continued his mental rant while he ate his soup. Before he knew it, he heard his watch go off.

My, my. Is it time already? Stompe walked down the hall towards the door, but stopped at the shoe closet. He dug out his rusty old shovel and his lantern from the mess before heading out the door. As he walked outside, he took a deep breath and sighed. Time to get back to work, where everything is quiet and peaceful, with some occasional danger!

Sephear · Jul 29, 2014

Chester D. Bewm, Nina Shroomer, and Elline Koopmore
Quiet Meadows
Shroomer Item Shop

Chester just sat in the item shop, completely lost on what to do. Sure technically everything hadn't gone wrong, Alex had apologized and most of the paint had already been washed off before they showed up anyways, but it was SO AWKWARD watching Alex and Elline. "Ehhh...." He looked left and right before finally settling on continuing to stare at the floor. "Sorry to interrupt discussion Nina and Elline, I just thought dat Alex could help clean off mess on store. But den Mayor Monty was on walk and took too long so Chester is late and work is already done... And also Nina I must apologize to you and your family for hole my head made in garden when I...went off earlier." Elline looked at Chester confusingly, but finally put the pieces together. She realized that Chester and Mayor Monty were the ones who made Alex apologize, which was sort of making sense to her now, seeing as how he had past history with the Mayor. That was why Chester was with Alex, and the reason why her brother was acting so weird.

Nina glanced down at Chester as he spoke, giving a rather confused look in the direction of the Bob-omb. The Toadette honestly had no idea he had even exploded... much less of the fact that he had done so in the garden behind the store. For some reason, Nina Shroomer was starting to get the feeling that today was just not going to be her day.

Putting the exact amount of change on the counter in front of Nina, Elline gave a nod to Chester and Nina, grabbing the ointment. She really did need to get going, although it was rather pleasant running into Nina and the infamous Bob-Omb. However, she only wished it would have been under a different circumstance. Giving them smile, she headed out the door leaving the two alone.

"Um... Don't worry about it, Chester," Nina finally replied. The self-proclaimed explorer rubbed her temples slowly, trying to figure out just how she would explain the damage to her uncle later. After all, there was only so long one could cover-up a hole in a garden. "Just out of curiosity, about how big of a hole are we talking about? You know, a small one about the size of a rock?"

For some reason Chester perked up a lot simply by being asked a question about the problem he could definitely answer. "Oh, is easy question, hole is de size of my head! Because... well Chester's head is what made hole."

"I see..." Nina replied. She moved out from behind the counter and walked over to Chester with a sigh. "I guess we should go take a look at the damage. Hopefully it's not too bad. The last thing I need is for Uncle to freak out so hard his spores shoot off."

"Is actually pretty lucky fall if I say so myself." Chester answered happily, bouncing a little bit while he followed Nina out the back of the shop. "If I am remembering correctly I didn't land on any flowers or anything, I fell in one of da few empty patches of grass."

Nina's eyes widened as she walked to the spot Chester was talking about. Luckily, the Bob-omb did in fact manage to miss the flowers and her aunt's collection of lawn gnomes. Still, it was a rather impressive looking hole that stood before them. It would probably take a decent amount of dirt to fill the hole back up. Nina put her hands on her hips as she glanced over from the hole and back over towards Chester.

"What... exactly set you off to blow like that, anyways?" Nina asked. She bit her lip for a moment, as if hesitating to press on further. Still, she knew Chester for a bit. The Toadette figured that she had nothing to lose at this point. "Don't most Bob-ombs have some sort of control or switch or something in them to decide when they're gonna blow up like that?"

Chester looked down at the hole when Nina finally saw it and looked at her nervously when she turned back to him. "Is Alex and Billy boo of course! Chester saw dem throwing paint balloons at shop and demand dey err...'cease and desist'? When Alex refused and decided to throw balloon at Chester I realize only rehabilitation is good BLASTing, so I Blasted dem in town square. Is not many people who can continue delinquency after explosive reformation." At his own description of the events Chester's eyes closed happily, the closest thing a Bob-Omb could do to a smile, and he bounced on his toes a little bit.

"Den BLAST sends Chester in to sky and next thing I know everything is dark and I am knowing giant worms will come and eat me if I do not escape soon. But much to my thankings miss Caitlynn pulls me out of de ground, closed spaces are no place for Bob-Ombs. As to last question...ehh...When something needs to be blasted or I am very angry I just...BLAST it?" He tilted his head and said the last part with an inquisitive inflection, not really knowing himself exactly how he or the rest of his people controlled when they exploded.

"I think I followed most of that," Nina replied. She looked back to the hole, a small whistle escaping her lips as she did so. "You know, Chester, this really is some hole. In fact, it sort of reminds me of that time when I was digging for treasure in the middle of the desert three years ago... Have I ever told you that story?"

He was listening intently to every word like he always did when someone was speaking to him, but the moment Chester heard the word story he was glad Bob-Ombs couldn't pale at bad news. "I...err... may have heard dat one from de children at some point but it is not ringing the bells at de moment."

"Well, why not settle in and I'll tell you the tale!" Nina exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "I remember it just like it was yesterday. I was just about 13 or 14 years old, and I had just been shipwrecked on a deserted island. Lemme tell you now, when I say deserted, I mean it. There was no life anywhere! No trees, no water but the salty, salty ocean around me!"

Chester resigned himself to his fate and 'settled in' sitting on the floor and looking intently at Nina while he listened. He couldn't take the story seriously, but that was no reason to be negative about it, it could still be fun true or not!

"I knew that I had to think quick if I was gonna make it out of this mess alive. It was going to require cunning, wit, and courage... None of which I have a shortage on, I might add," Nina explained. A proud smirk graced the Toadette's lips as she spoke. She closed her eyes, the scene starting to play out in her head. "I was short on supplies from the crash of that dreadful voyage. Armed with only a shovel, an umbrella, and my trusty slingshot, I quickly sat out from the wreckage of my ship and began to explore the island before me."

Chest fidgeted, she was actually going to go on with her story...Something occurred to him, but as an actual concern instead of a way out, so he cleared his throat. "Miss Nina, what about hole? Does Chester need to help fill in? Pay reparations? Do other work? Or just apologize very nicely?"

"Please, don't interrupt me," Nina replied quickly. "Now, where was I..."

The Toadette crossed her arms, gazing up at the sky as she continued to tell her story. What followed next was easily an hour's worth of rambling. Nina's story quickly escalated to cover things that most people would never conceive as possible, including being attacked by restless natives made of broccoli, finding the treasure of an ancient volcano god, and even managing to tame a flying, fire-breathing Czar dragon that she used to fly back to Quiet Meadows with.

"And from that day forward, I was known as the great hero of Dry Dry Island. Well, what do you think? Quite the story, am I right? I bet you wish you could've been there," Nina said proudly, placing her hands on her hips.

At the words 'am I right?' the bubble coming from Chester's face popped and he jumped up. "Who?! Wha!? Where are de giant worms? Oh, I am safe, thank goodness. Err yes Chester is so filled with enviousness of your great adventures, Nina...now what do we do about hole?"

"Hole... What hole?" Nina asked, an actual clueless expression gracing the Toadette's face.

"....De hole" Chester said, looking down at the spot his head had made in the garden earlier. "De hole we came out here for Chester to show you?"

"Oh... Um... We'll just cover it up," Nina said quickly, more or less shrugging off any concern she may have had for the hole. "I'm sure Uncle won't notice a thing."

Chester thought for a moment, furrowing his lack-of-a-brow and staring at the hole. "I...suppose, whatever you tink is best, Miss Nina."

And so the two of them went about filling in the hole as best they could. This was mostly done by using rubble and any dirt that happened to be around from where Chester had let himself go in the first place. It was not by any means a job well done, but at the very least there was not a noticeable hole in the middle of the garden anymore.

"I think that should just about do it," Nina said, patting the ground some to try and even out the dirt they had used to fill the hole. "Now, please be more careful next time? Maybe you should try counting or deep breaths the next time you feel a boom coming on, yeah?"

"I will try my best." Chester answered with a nod. "But sometimes when trouble is a foot the only solution is a good BLAST!" With the knowledge that he'd more or less made up for his earlier outburst Chester bowed as best a Bob-Omb can and left the shop. "Good day miss Nina! Chester is hoping you have lots of fun and many things are bought from shop!"

Nina sighed and waved at the Bob-Omb as he left the shop. Out of all the characters in the little town, Chester was definitely one of the most unique. Glancing back at the hole that she had filled with his help, Nina sighed and shook her head before returning to her work inside the store. With any luck, Chester would be somewhere else and away from her uncle's shop the next time he felt an explosion coming on...

Sir Bastian · Aug 1, 2014

Caitlynn & Nina

Quiet Meadows Item Shop

Nina hummed quietly to herself as she walked about the shop, slowly straightening up the various shelves which filled the building. After the whole thing with Chester, Alex, and his sister, the Toadette found herself growing a bit bored as time slowly ticked by and day began to fade into night. Nina often wondered why her uncle decided to keep his store open so late. It was always around dinner time that the store just stopped receiving visitors as a whole, often leaving Nina to find ways to pass the time on her own.

"It wouldn't be so bad if maybe people just came in... Maybe we should advertise more," Nina thought, adjusting a bottle of Koopa oil for what seemed like the twentieth time that evening. "Sometimes I think I could just sneak out early and no one would ever know about it... except uncle. Somehow he always knows when someone does something sneaky like that."

Suddenly cutting off her train of thought was the door to the shop bursting open, with Caitlynn quickly moving through the opening and shutting the door behind her, an excited smile on her lips as she noticed Nina, quickly hovering over to the opposite side of the counter.

"Nina! You're never going to guess what just happened!"

Nina jumped at the sudden sound of the door slamming open. The girl spun around, half expecting to see Alex standing on the other side, plotting some sort of revenge for what had happened earlier with the display between himself and Ellie. Needless to say, the Toadette was relieved to see it was Caitlynn "standing" in the shop instead. After managing to calm herself and check to see if all the spots were still there on her cap, Nina made her way over towards her "sister" to see what she was so excited about.

"You okay, Caitlynn? You look more happy than the time I found the legendary lollipop forest... Have I ever told you that story? You see, it all began..." Nina began to ramble.

Caitlynn shook her head quickly, still hugging the book tightly to her chest. "No no, it's better than that! I was sitting outside the library reading when... Alex walks up to me. I was pretty worried he'd do something, but he..." She paused, looking a little to the side before looking back again, smiling brightly. "He said he was sorry for what had happened! And he asked me if I'd apologize to uncle, too!"

Nina gave Caitlynn a small look of disbelief. Alex... apologizing? That was like something that dream would be made of. "Um... I don't know... Maybe you dozed off while you were reading and dreamed it? That doesn't sound like Alex, Caitlynn..."

Quickly shaking her head, the shadow-girl seemed very insistent on her point. "No, I didn't! I swear to you, Nina, Alex came over and sat down and... well, talked to me! Like... regular talking! I... I even asked if I should apologize for Billy too, but he told me not to bother and that he wasn't gonna hang out with him anymore!"

Nina still had a hard time believing it. Such behavior and choices just did not seem like the sort Alex that she knew. She had grown accustom to avoiding the Koopa whenever possible, thinking like most others her age that he was nothing more than a bully or something of the sort. Still, Caitlynn seemed to be... very insistent on the matter. Nina had learned quickly that when the shadow-girl was sure of something...

"O-Okay, maybe he did..." Nina replied. She crossed her arms over chest, thinking for a moment before speaking again. "But why? That's not how Alex usually acts... unless he's planning something sneaky, that is."

"I, uhm... w-well, he might, but..." Caitlynn muttered, looking a little down again before gathering up her courage once more, looking up at Nina. "But... he seemed really, really sorry about what he'd done. You don't think he's up to something, do you...?"

Nina frowned for a moment. "There's always the chance he is, but... I don't want to really hurt her feelings by letting her know that," The Toadette looked back up at Caitlynn, offering her an apologetic smile. "Maybe he really has changed. It's possible that when he saw how disappointed his sister was, that he just couldn't bare to keep up that sort of behavior."

"His sister?" Caitlynn replied, looking surprised as she shifted around a little, still holding the book snugly in her arms. "His sister yelled at him? I suppose that could make him change..." The girl looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling brightly. "In any case, this is great! It was actually really nice talking to him... uhm, not that I've had the chance before now. A-anyway, I just wanted to let you know! I'm gonna go tell uncle and apologize on Alex' behalf!"

"Wait a second, lemme close up shop and I'll tag along," Nina replied. The Toadette flipped off the lights of the shop, taking care to get the key to the store and began to make her way for the exit. "Hard to believe that Alex really apologized... not that I doubt you or anything like that! It's just... after I've known him for so long, it's hard to see him doing it, you know?"

Caitlynn nodded softly as Nina came over, though the smile seemingly wouldn't go away from her lips as the two of them made it outside of the shop. "Yeah... I know. I-I mean, after the past, I thought he was gonna call me names or something again, but he... he was actually really, really nice. It felt so good..."

"Hmm... Well, I guess all we can really do is wait and see just how he acts the next few days," Nina replied. She glanced over at the shadow-girl, her eyes falling onto the book that Caitlynn was carrying so tightly in her arms. "So, what kind of book did you check out again?"

"O-oh!" She replied, as if she had forgotten all about the book she was clinging tightly to. Holding it up, she smiled as she showed the Toadette the cover. "It's the latest issue with all the information about the newest items and badges circulating around! It's super interesting so far and I can't wait to read more about it. Some of the items have a little star next to them, which means that they've been seen being used by Mario and Luigi! How cool is that?" she asked, beaming excited at her sister.

"Mario and Luigi...?" Nina replied. A small frown quickly took over the Toadette's lips as the names of the famous plumbers were mentioned and then repeated. The mushroom girl slowly looked away from Caitlynn, trying to hide the look of complete disdain at the mention of the duo. "You know... Those two wouldn't be anywhere in this world if it wasn't for me, right?"

Blinking a little, Caitlynn's head tilted to the side while the two proceeded down the street, towards their uncle's house in the other end of town. "They wouldn't...? What do you mean, Nina?" The girl gasped for a moment, briefly covering her mouth with her hand. "Don't tell me you've met them?!"

Nina nodded, her smile growing broader. "Met them? I taught them everything I know, Caitlynn!" She placed her hands on hips as she spoke, turning to look the shadow-girl right in her... well, where Nina figured her eyes would be. "The two of them were just some lost plumbers when I first saw them. They were lost out in the middle of nowhere without any clue where they were or what was going on. I felt sorry for them, so I took them under my wing to teach them everything I knew!"

Caitlynn's mouth was hanging slightly open, having a hard time focusing on where they were going as 100% of her attention was on the Toadette besides her, her expression and words filled with awe. "Nina, I... wow, I never knew. You're so cool! You have to tell me the story about how you met them! Please?"

Nina was honestly hoping that Caitlynn would have wanted some sort of mystery to this story to be in tact. Nina had even attempted to try and change the subject. However, the shadow-girl remained steadfast in her position to hear Nina's stories of her adventures with Mario and Luigi. So, Nina did what she did best. A little bit of imagination, some bending of the truth here or there, and soon the Toadette was able to create a story of unimaginable proportions. Once the words started flying from Nina's lips, she found that she just could not stop... something that made it a good thing that Caitlynn was a bit naive if not anything else.

"So, Mario and Luigi were both trapped. Both of them were helpless as they surrounded by thousands of Bowser's Koopa Troopas. I knew time was of the essence for the two men, but I had troubles of my own. I was locked in battle with Bowser himself, my trusty slingshot starting to run low on ammo," Nina explained, pulling her hair out of her usual ponytail as she and Caitlynn were readying themselves for a good night's sleep.

Somehow or another, Nina's story had managed to go on for so long, that time had managed to completely get away from the duo. Nina had rambled on and on throughout dinner. Somehow or another, Caitlynn even managed to apologize for Alex. Nina had even somehow managed to forget all about the fact that she needed to tell her uncle about Chester's little explosion out behind the shop.

Jegretis · Aug 1, 2014

Quiet Meadows - Town Square

Alex Koopmore & Stompe

Using his pillow, Alex covered his ear from the annoyance of the birds chirping outside his window. "Lousy birds…." He mumbled, as he tossed and turn in his bed, eventually falling off and landing on the ground onto his belly. "…Ughhh…" He groaned, getting up and rubbing his eyes. He looked at the clock hung in his room, and realized he had actually slept in. It was nearly noon! "…Well, there goes my morning." He mumbled to himself as he dragged his half asleep body out of the door and downstairs. He looked at the kitchen table, and saw a bowl of cereal and fruit waiting out for him. Gone again I see. He glanced at the couch and saw his grandfather asleep, and rolled his eyes as he approached his cereal. It seems sister and grandma are out. He took a seat on the chair and started to take scoops of his cereal, slowly munching it, still half-asleep.

~

Closing the door behind, Alex stretched out his arms and looked into the sky. Another nice day. He thought hopefully. He stood there for about a minute, staring blankly in front of him. What was he supposed to do? He wasn't going to be hanging out with Billy, and he didn't really have a job. Plus his usual day of pranks seemed to be over. "Huh, maybe I should go to the shop?" He muttered to himself. The thought occurred about visiting Nina and Caitlynn, as it would certainly give him something to do, plus make some level ground between them. Maybe Chester will be there too. I did sort of leave him on an empty note. Alex realized his fault in panicking and running off, but for some reason he didn't care that much about his ointment incident anymore. He started to walk along the path, with a slight smile on his face.

~

Cheerfully walking down the path towards the square, the item shop was within Alex's sight. "I can't really see if anyone is in there yet." He mumbled. He shrugged and entered the square to walk to the Shroomer's Item Shop, but stopped upon noticing a small crowd in front of the fountain smack dab in the centre of the square. Huh? What's going on? As he approached the crowd, he saw a toad with a beard and an expensive bright blue jacket, standing on the edge of the fountain, shouting. Alex recognized him as Gerry, a member of the town council. "Excuse me, what's this about?" Alex asked a nearby Toadette in the crowd.

"Oh, apparently the mayor is missing. Gerry is trying to get answers from the townsfolk, but we are just as confused as he is." She replied to the young Koopa, turning her attention back to the bearded Toad. Missing? Alex put his hand on his chin. I just talked with the Mayor yesterday, how was it possible he went missing? Could Chester have something to do with it?

Among the crowd of confused citizens was Stompe, who had stumbled upon the interrogation not too long ago. He came to Town Square to do run some errands, but had ran into the crowd and was just as confused as the rest of them. Stompe had been questioned earlier, since the Mayor and him had known each other for years. What could've happened to ol' Monty? Surely nothing bad happened to the poor guy...

"…Anyways, the mayor did not show up for the meeting last night." Gerry, the council member resumed with his speech. "Obviously something happened to him. He always lets us know if scheduling conflicts arrive! The housekeeper says he was not in the house yesterday in the afternoon, after his other meeting, and the last people she knew that were talking to him were Chester and Alex!" The crowd started to murmur amongst themselves, until a voice shouted.

"Alex is right here!" A Koopa much like Alex pointed at him, and the crowd leered some incredibly dirty looks his way. Whispering to each other, Alex backed away a bit. Stompe turned towards the young Koopa. Alex Koopmore had always been a thorn in his side. He had been involved in so many acts of vandalism and tomfoolery, some which were directed towards Stompe's house, that he had lost count. But kidnapping, or possibly even killing the mayor? Alex didn't look like the kind of Koopa capable of doing such a thing.

"W-Wait! How do you know I did anything? What about the people at his other meeting? How do you know they didn't kidnap him or something?" Alex put up his hands to show he meant no harm, however they were making it incredibly hard for him not to jump out and strangle one of them for making such accusations.

"Impossible. We talked to them too. They say he didn't even show up to that meeting. Which means we have some possible suspects on our hands." The crowd murmured, as Gerry pointed at Alex. He couldn't believe it. He had nothing to do with the mayor's disappearance, but nobody believed him!

"Hold on! I'm innocent until proven guilty!" Alex looked at the crowd and then at Gerry. "Why would I do something like that to the mayor?" He pleaded. He looked around as the crowd and Gerry ignored him.

"Ahem. Suspect one, is You." Gerry pointed at Alex. "Suspect two, is Chester." Gerry looked around crowd and then around the square. "Speaking of who, where is that rascal? I knew he was bad news ever since he showed up to our small town of Quiet Meadows. This is why I tried to get the mayor to ban foreigners from running this place to the ground." He mumbled the last bit to himself, but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear. Even though he was pretty old, Stompe heard the bearded Toad loud and clear. Something was wrong, he could feel in his metaphorical gut. He could see how Alex could be a suspect, but Chester? From what he's seen, Chester was the most happy-go-lucky and charming guy around. There was no way that he would be involved in such a scheme.

"Just wait! Me and Chester did indeed talk to Mayor Monty, but that was only to discuss some issues me and Chester were having. Then we went to the Shroomer's Item Shop because I had to talk with Nina and Caitlynn!" Alex shouted. He skipped out on the bit where he paint-ballooned the shop and the real reason he went to talk with them was to apologize. He was already in a bad spot, and didn't want to make it worse.

"So those girls are in on it too, eh? You tried to cover your tracks, both you and Chester." The crowd turned to Alex and gave him more dirty looks. "We'll just see what they have to say about this. Everyone, march!" Gerry shouted, as the crowd started to move down the square. Alex walked next to Gerry with a worried look that wept over his face. They approached the store, stopping right in front of the entrance. "Jeremiah!" Gerry shouted "Get out here! And bring the girls out too! Getting mixed up in this kerfuffle with ruffian Alex and Chester is never a good thing! We WILL get to the bottom of this!" Alex looked at Gerry, who was nearly red like a Bob-Omb from yelling so much.

That was the last straw. The girls who ran the store were, by no means, criminals or delinquents of any kind. At the back of the crowd, Stompe was fuming. He kept up with the crowd until they reached the Shroomer's Item Shop, at which point he pushed and shoved his way through the crowd. Stompe stood between the crowd and Alex, firmly standing his ground.

"What in the name of Eldstar is wrong with you people!" He yelled, his fists clenched tight. "This is NOT how we settle a dilemma in Quiet Meadows! We can't just go running around, pointing fingers left and right, much less have a MOB running down the streets! If we want to find the Mayor, we need to send out a search party! For all we know, the guilty party could be long gone!" Stompe looked mad enough to strangle somebody, as he finished his rant. It wasn't until Stompe looked back at the crowd, and Gerry, that he realized what impression he gave off to the crowd. Oh, dear Star Spirits, what have I done?

Alex felt a sigh of relief. He didn't really get along with old man Stompe, but the fact that he stood up and tried to settle things down really made Alex feel better. Gerry however, hissed at Stompe. He certainly wasn't pleased with people questioning him.

Stinging Bea · Aug 2, 2014

Nina Shroomer, Alex Koopmore, And Caitlynn: Ruckus At The Shroomer Shop!

While all the commotion happened to be going on outside of the shop, Nina, Caitlynn, and their uncle Jeremiah were busy preparing to open the store for the afternoon. However, as the Toad made his way to the door to unlock it, the sounds of the crowd outside easily reached his ears. A curious expression quickly graced his features as he pushed open the door, his eyes widening as what looked to be a good chunk of the village standing on the other side of the door.

"Is there... something I can help you with?" Jeremiah inquired. The older Toad stepped outside of the shop and slowly made his way towards the gathering of villagers. "I don't suppose you're all here because you ran out of milk at the same time?"

Nina, finding her curiosity getting the better of herself, quietly followed behind her uncle. The Toadette peeked her head out from inside of the store, a quick gasp escaping her lips as she noticed the large crowd gathered outside. She quickly glanced over her shoulder at Caitlynn, motioning for the shadow-girl to come take a peek at the occurrence, at which point she quickly joined her sister at her uncle's other side, peering out at the large crowd, an equally surprised gasp escaping her.

Gerry furrowed his brows and pointed his finger at Jeremiah. "Jeremiah, we got a problem. The mayor has gone missing, and we are trying to get to find all possible suspects who may know something about his disappearance." Gerry settled down a bit after his scolding from Stompe, however Alex noticed he was still a bit red. ""You see, Alex and Chester were last known talking to the mayor, so we are just trying to find every possibility." Alex gave himself a face palm and tried to hide a bit behind Gerry, turning a slight orange-y red hue.

"They mayor is missing?" Jeremiah repeated. This was news to the Toad, as he had been at the store most of the morning. Still, he could not help, but be curious over the fact that such a crowd had gathered outside of his shop. "Well, he's not in the store, I can tell you that much... So, what in the world would bring you all here in such a ruckus like this?"

Gerry looked at Alex and gave him a rather irritated look, and then turned to the crowd, waving his finger around. "Well..." He coughed, clearing his throat. "We all know this Koopa over here is quite the troublemaker...not to mention he never did have a good relationship with Mayor Monty." Alex looked at the crowd was nodding and humming in agreement. "Not only that, but he says he was here yesterday talking with your girls, Caitlynn and Nina." Gerry turned to Jeremiah, and once again pointed his finger. "We think they have something to do with this whole mayor fiasco!" Nodding in disbelief, Alex sighed and stepped back a bit, trying to blend in with the crowd.

"U-us?" Caitlynn squeaked, covering her mouth halfly by her hand. "We never even saw the mayor yesterday..." She paused, noticing Alex shuffling around behind Gerry. "W-wait, you think Alex was part of this?" For a moment, she was quiet, but it didn't take long for her to move from her hiding place behind Jeremiah to just a little in front of him, swallowing down before raising her voice. "Alex... Alex didn't do anything! I met him yesterday afternoon! He'd never do anything to the mayor!"

Nina peeked her head out further at this point, swallowing nervously. "You can't really think that we had something to do with this, right? I mean, I'm a famous adventurer and hero! I don't do dastardly and dubious disappearing deeds!" She glanced over at Caitlynn, who was defending Alex, knowing full well she could not just remain silent if they wanted to clear their names. "Alex stopped by the store yesterday afternoon along with Chester! I swear on my renown as a great adventurer that they're both innocent in this matter!"

"Well, someone is responsible, and we have to get to the bottom of this! The bottom, you hear me!" Gerry at this point was fuming in anger. "Even if Chester and you girls aren't a part of this, what about this young Koopa? Besides, you four are the only suspects we really have right now." Gerry pointed his finger at Alex and then at Nina and Caitlyn. Alex could tell Gerry really wanted to solve this mystery, but all this accusing was doing more harm than good. Stompe was right. All this time spent in creating a mob, could have been used more efficiently on finding the mayor. Alex looked at Caitlynn who defended him, gaining the courage to finally say something. Gulping, he waited a few seconds before saying something, to avoid Gerry using his words against him.

"W-wait!" Alex stepped up next to Gerry. "What if...What if we can prove this has nothing to do with us? All this time we're spending on pointing fingers at random townsfolk is getting us nowhere!" He preached to the crowd, however Alex garnered little response.

"What do you propose we do then?" Gerry asked. He crossed his arms, looking rather unimpressed at Alex's sudden urge to speak out. Alex stood blankly for another few seconds thinking of what to say. He looked around the square, hoping to find some inspiration for an idea. I know we are innocent...there has to be a way out of this. Let's see...he said that the mayor was supposed to go to a meeting, but never showed up. However...that was before Chester and me went to his house... Putting his hand on his chin, Alex's face suddenly lit up.

"Wait! I got it!" He exclaimed. "What if you start up a search party with the people that are already here, and then us three go to the mayor's house? You know, to investigate? That's something nobody's done yet, right?" Alex nodded to himself, and looked around hoping to find someone who thought it was worth a try.

Nina's eyes widened at Alex's proposal. Slowly, the Toadette turned to glance over at the Koopa, a sudden rush of panic quickly running up the mushroom-girl's back. "W-Wait a minute? Why does he want to get us alone with him? What if it's for revenge from the previous night?! What if he's trying to finish us off because how he was embarrassed in front of us?!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here! Taking a look around the village is all well and good, but we shouldn't all run around and such. Some of us should maybe stick to one spot and make sure that the mayor doesn't come running by while we're all distracted!" Nina determined. The Toadette tried to look confident, something that was a bit difficult as the thought of just her and Caitlynn being alone with Alex caused her boot-clad feet to start shaking... something she hoped no one would notice. "Normally, I'd be all for helping turn every stone, but all my recent adventures have left me weary... It's probably for the best that I stick close to the shop... you know, in case he stops by for something!"

Caitlynn briefly looked over at Nina at her exclamation before looking back at Gerry, swallowing down again as she mustered up enough courage to speak again, her voice much less confident now than it was earlier. "I... I think Alex is right. W-we can't just start blaming each other, we have to see if we can find some... uhm, clues, about what happened...!"

Alex turned to Gerry, who let out a hiss of defeat. "Tsk, fine! Do what you will. Search party, investigation team, heck even make a chess club. As long as we find the mayor…I guess that's all that matters." Gerry angry tone turned a bit somber towards the end, as he looked at Alex. "I still think you have something to do with this, but I'm 100% focused on finding the mayor...so I'm putting my trust in you." Gerry spoke a bit quieter and almost as if he were threatening the young Koopa. Alex didn't care too much about his tone, but was happy with the fact they now had a chance to do something productive.

"Alright, you go do the searching and leave the investigating to me!" Alex exclaimed, and watched as Gerry gave Jeremiah and the girls one more dirty look and then turned away speaking to the crowd. Glancing at Caitlynn and Nina, Alex approached and smiled a bit awkwardly. "S-So....are we investigating or what?" He then looked at Nina. "Or are you too chicken?" He gave a sly smile, and crossed his arms boastfully.

Caitlynn, having backed a little away to halfly hide behind her uncle again, smiled sheepishly as Alex approached, but as the mob started to somewhat deflate, she seemed to get a bit of her courage back, shaking her head quickly. "O-of course she isn't! Nina's the bravest adventurer ever. We'll go over to his house and she'll find some clues in a matter of seconds, I bet!" She replied with as confident a smile as the girl could muster.

"W-Wait a minute! I never said I was scared! Don't you know who you're talking to?" Nina inquired, sending an annoyed glare in the direction of Alex. "An adventurer is never scared! I wasn't scared that time I stared down the Spear Guy tribe of Carrot Juice Jungle, and I'm sure as punch not scared now!"

Alex quickly glanced at uncle Jeremiah, and then at Nina. He wanted to avoid saying something that could get him in trouble by the shopkeeper. Uncrossing his arms, Alex smiled. "Well then, a 'great' adventurer like you should have nothing worry about. Right?" He wasn't too familiar with Nina's stories, but from what he could tell she sure had an active imagination.

"R-Right! Of course not!" Nina replied, placing her hands on her hips. "Why me...?"

Uncle Jeremiah coughed lightly, gaining the attention of Nina and the others. "Well then... While you are all investigating, I'll help out with the others in searching the village to see what I can find. I think that locating our mayor is far more important than keeping the shop open for the time being."

Turning to Jeremiah, whom she had briefly forgotten, Caitlynn smiled and nodded her head quickly. "A-alright! Thank you, uncle. Don't worry, we'll find the mayor in no time. Right guys?" Alex nodded at Caitlynn, smiling.

"Y-Yeah, sure! No problem!" Nina replied, feeling her boots start to knock together once more. "Leave it to us!"

"Well then, as head of the investigation team, I say we take some time to get ready. You know, preparation, supplies and whatever we may need. And then we can meet up at the mayor's house in an hour." Alex looked at Caitlynn and Nina. Although he would never say it, he was a little bit excited about the 'mission'. Alex looked at the large clock that was placed on a nearby building in the square. "Alright, this is gonna take me some time, I'll see you guys there." He gave them a smile and a nod, and turned around hastily walking towards the path he came from upon entering the square.

Jegretis · Aug 3, 2014

Quiet Meadows - Town Square

Alex Koopmore & Stompe

As Alex was busy mingling with Caitlynn and Nina, Gerry had led the crowd back near the fountain, giving instructions on the search party. "Alright, I don't know how long this thing is going to take, but we have to keep looking until we find the mayor!" Gerry stuck his finger and pointed it in the air. "I say we break into groups and search each nook and cranny in this town!" Gerry spoke reeking with confidence. The crowd agreed and whispered amongst themselves, obviously willing to give it their all to find their beloved Mayor Monty. Gerry then turned to old man Stompe. "Stompe, ol' buddy..." Gerry approached Stompe leaving the crowd to discuss among themselves. "I was wondering if you could do me a little favour?"

Stompe had left the youngsters to mingle and followed Gerry to make sure everything was in check. Several feet away from the crowd, Gerry had walked over to Stompe and asked him for a "favour". He paused for a second before responding. "Eh, I suppose. And, uh...sorry about that back there." Stompe felt it was necessary to apologize, now that the two were on the same page. Gerry nodded his head.

"No, no don't worry about it. I was a bit...frantic." Gerry looked down in disbelief, but quickly looked up at Stompe once again after a few seconds. "Anyways...you know that young chap, Alex Koopmore? Yeah, well, him and his friends are going to go 'investigating', so I was wondering if you could...you know, tag along to make sure they don't get out of hand. Could you do that for me?" Gerry spoke a bit quieter and in a softer tone towards his elderly friend.

Tag along? With Alex? Stompe would've rather fought a Thwomp with nothing but his bare hands, considering how troublesome and infamous the youth was. But, this was for the Mayor's safety, if anything.

"Someone will have to keep them in order, I suppose. I'll do it." Stompe agreed, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Gerry's face lit up with excitement.

"Alright I knew I could count on you! You know how youngsters are these days...all racket and no respect." Gerry nodded at his own statement, crossing his arms as he saw a familiar Koopa walk by Gerry and Stompe. "Speaking of troublemaking kids..." Gerry muttered under his breath, as he whistled Alex to come near. "Hey, boy. Mr. Stompe here is going to be keeping an eye on you while you and your friends do your thing at the mayor's house." Alex sighed. Leave it to old people to ruin all the fun... He felt like saying it out loud, but again, didn't want to cause any trouble.

"Alright...I guess." He said, looking at Stompe. "Okay, Mr. Stompe, we are going to go get ready, so the plan is meet up at the mayor's house in an hour. Can your old keister handle that, or would you like two hours?" Alex smiled a bit, trying to rustle up the old man. It wasn't like he didn't respect him, he just wanted to see Stompe's reaction.

Why I oughta...The things I do for you, Monty. Alex's comment definitely "rustled his jimmies", but Stompe figured not building conflict between him and the boy would make things go a lot smoother. He refrained from scowling at Alex, and instead gave a light-hearted, but feigned smile.

"Oh no, an hour will do." Stompe replied, keeping up his act. He thought he was rather convincing, considering how much he despised kids, dare he say, hooligans like Alex. The young Koopa eyed Stompe, and then put on a genuine smile.

"Alright Mr. Stompe, we'll see you there. I would love to stay and chat, but I gotta find Chester and let him know about our investigation." Alex boastfully spoke. He gave one final nod to Stompe and Gerry, and went on his way out of the Town Square to get the preparations ready, and find his friend Chester.

Stompe kept up the act until Alex was out of sight before he gave a hefty sigh.

"Well, I'll be off as well then. I'll need to prepare, in case things get out of hand." He walked off, giving Gerry a wave before yelling, "Good luck with the search, old chap!" and heading off on his way.

[Other FULL] Paper Mario | The World Star [IC]

The Plot

The RP Itself

Items & Badges

The Rules

The Characters

Quiet Meadows Alex Koopmore

Believe in the you that believes in cheese

Chester and Alex: Explosive vigilantism

Christina - Crossroads

Believe in the you that believes in cheese

Caitlynn and Chester: My hero, or her hero...or his? There's rescuing and niceness okay?

Quiet Meadows Town Square Alex Koopmore​

Quiet Meadows Town Square Alex Koopmore​

Quiet Meadows Elline Koopmore​

Believe in the you that believes in cheese

Chester D. Bewm Quiet Meadows Mayor Monty's front yard

Quiet Meadows Town Square Alex Koopmore​

Believe in the you that believes in cheese

Alex Koopmore and Chester D. Bewm Quiet Meadows Awkward walk is awkward.

Christina - Crossroads

Quiet Meadows

Whoa! A horde of Goldfish appeared!

Believe in the you that believes in cheese

Chester D. Bewm, Nina Shroomer, and Elline Koopmore Quiet Meadows Shroomer Item Shop

Christina - Crossroads

Quiet Meadows - Town Square

Quiet Meadows - Town Square

Quiet Meadows
Alex Koopmore

Quiet Meadows
Town Square
Alex Koopmore

Quiet Meadows
Town Square
Alex Koopmore

Quiet Meadows
Elline Koopmore

Chester D. Bewm
Quiet Meadows
Mayor Monty's front yard

Quiet Meadows
Town Square
Alex Koopmore

Alex Koopmore and Chester D. Bewm
Quiet Meadows
Awkward walk is awkward.

Chester D. Bewm, Nina Shroomer, and Elline Koopmore
Quiet Meadows
Shroomer Item Shop