The building stood just a few feet off a cliff overlooking a bay, surrounded on three sides by dense, black forest. It was huge with elegant lines to its structure, almost a castle, but not quite. The place had probably been picturesque once, but that would have been a long time ago. Now it was a forgotten, abandoned husk: a shadow of something that had once been.
Thick clouds had brought on a premature evening, something that was not needed given how short the days were around here. The wind was picking up as well, shrieking awfully through the bare branches of the trees; the building was adding its own two cents to the situation, like an old man complaining about his rheumatism. Then it started to rain.
Two massive figures glided over the gate and landed in the courtyard.
Murzim landed first, dropping like a stone onto the liquefied ground. He threw back his weight hard, mud and grass splattering his heavy scales, straining to close his wings before he was tossed into the side of the building. Sasura landing a little ways beyond him, obviously having the same problem. After a moment, Murzim managed to recover himself, but Sasura wasn't so lucky. Another gust grabbed her and she was spun across the courtyard, claws leaving rents as she dug into the ground like a cat, screeching all the way. The little figure on her back--who had been throwing all their weight onto the outstretched wings in an attempt to help close them--tumbled to the ground with an inaudible splat.
Murzim dashed forward to the aid of his sister, his own passenger slipping to the ground and running to the aid of hers.
"Are you alright?" asked Comet, as she got closer to the mud covered, waterlogged thing on the ground. Novi pushed herself up and tried to brush the mud off her front.
"Yeah..."
"Don't worry, this rain will wash anything off," said Comet. She gave a bat at the mud herself, then grabbing hold of Novi's hand. "Come on."
Murzim had helped Sasura close her wings by now, and both the dragons were loping for the relative shelter of the mansion eves. The two girls began to run as well, dashing forward to join them.
"Are you two alright?" Said Murzim as they ducked beside his flank.
"Perfectly alright," said Novi, trying, and doing a reasonably good job at sounding cheerful.
Comet let the answer stand for both of them. She took off her sodden pack and tossed it against the wall, slumping down to the ground next to it. Novi followed suit.
"So I guess the best thing to do is sit here and wait for the worst of this to pass?" said Comet. There weren't a whole lot of other options at the moment, so no one bothered to answer.
They sat there for a good while before the weather calmed down. By the time it did, nobody seemed inclined to get up again. The dragons were both sprawled on the ground, liquid turf bubbling under their weight, staining their bright bronze hides a sticky shade of brown. Comet had pulled off her riding cloak and laid it across the ground, where she sat against the wall with half closed eyes and head tilted back. Novi lay sleeping beside her, head in her lap, Comet's fingers tracing absently through her wet tangle of hair.
Murzim was the one to break the lull, heaving himself up and walking out into the remaining trickle of rain. He shook himself and stuck his nose into the drizzle, allowing it to wash away the mud, then turned back to the group.
"There's no good reason to sleep on the ground with a building behind us," he said. "We should look for a way in."
Comet nodded and gave her sister a little shake.
Groggily, the little group got up, and with Murzim leading the way, followed along the wall looking for any sort of entrance. It didn't take long thankfully; the first corner they turned revealed what seemed to be a runaway kitchen garden, and eventually the door that accessed it.
Comet tried the handle, but it wouldn't budge; whether it was locked, or just stuck, it was hard to tell. She grumbled a bit, then tried ramming the door a few times with her shoulder, but all this managed to do was bring down a shower of peeling paint.
Comet took a step back, spluttering at the fluttering flakes.
"Maybe we can get through a broken window. This place has plenty of them," She said as soon as she was out of danger of sucking the paint chips down. Without waiting for an answer she walked down the wall a ways and started inspecting the jagged edges of one of the lower windows. Novi took her place in front of the door.
First she gave the door her own experimental shove. When that didn't work, she gave a peek at the crack between it and the frame. A moment later she had her rapier out and slid it gently into the space. The wet wood hissed as the ionized blade slid along its length. When she pulled on the door’s handle again it opened smoothly; the locking mechanism had been disintegrated.
"That was smart," chirped Sasura, giving an affectionate snuff at her hair. "It's open," she barked out to their companions.
Comet glanced over at them, and when she saw the open door for herself, made her way back.
"I think I should go first," she said as she approached.
"I know..." said Novi.
Comet spared a moment to raise an approving eyebrow at the slagged lock, then peered into the black hole beyond the frame. It was almost totally dark inside, too dark to make out much of anything.
Something slid into her free hand; she looked down to see Novi pushing a lantern at her.
"Thank you," Comet said, flicking it on and holding it up.
She looked around the room again, squinting past the white-out caused by the sudden light. What was immediately in front of her was a short, steep stairwell. Beyond, as she had suspected, was what was left of an old fashioned kitchen. She mounted the stairs cautiously, cracked tiles shifting under her feet. It was a lot bigger than she had anticipated, with what appeared to have been a servants dining room stretching away to one side, drifting off into undisturbed darkness. It was suppressingly quiet.
"Well, it doesn't look like it leaks," said Comet, a little louder than necessary. She spared a glance back at Novi, who was standing in the doorway watching, uncertain as to whether or not that last statement was her cue to follow. Comet gestured with her head, and Novi stepped up the stairs to join her, her boots sounding loud on the stone steps.
Comet could see by the way Novi was walking that she wasn't going to stop behind her and stepped forward herself. The two moved into the middle of the kitchen this way, more or less being driven by Novi. It was apparent that she was exhausted, but her curiosity was thoroughly piqued, and it wasn't hard to see why.
The place had obviously been deserted for ages, but despite that, everything was in remarkably good order. Cobwebs peeked from the corners, there were two broken cups on the counter and a bent spoon under the table, but other than that, everything was in its proper place. The furniture was remarkably undamaged, and the table even had soft dust cloth draped over it. It was as if whoever had left had every intention of coming back some day. Novi was fascinated.
There was a horrendous scraping behind them. Comet whipped around to see Sasura trying to worm her way up the stairwell. The dragon had somehow managed to force her head and shoulders through the little doorway, and she was twisting in almost a corkscrew to get the rest of herself through. She clawed at the stairs, but their hard, polished surface was giving her no grip; all she was managing to do was mar them with massive spider scratches.
"Stop, stop!" shouted Comet.
Novi instantly ran back to help her, Comet set down the light and followed.
"You're going to get stuck," said Novi. She looked back and forth over the situation, trying to find out exactly what she could do.
"I'm fine." Sasura growled. "I almost have it.
"Go back!" ordered Comet, "This isn't going to work."
Sasura huffed and twisted her neck to glare at Comet; her tone was obviously not appreciated.
"Just go back," Comet repeated, attempting a less severe tone. "We can find another way in."
Sasura huffed again, untwisted, and began to back out. Or at least she tried. Her eyes widened as it hit home exactly how bad a situation she had got herself into. Sasura pulled back again and again, efforts quickly deteriorating into a panicked thrash. Behind her the wood frame buckled and cried; that door was never closing again.
"Stop! You're not helping! You're going to take the whole front of the building with you!" yelled Comet.
Novi ducked forward between Sasura's flailing talons and grabbed hold of her massive muzzle.
"You're fine, it's fine," she said gently. "We'll help you out, just calm down."
Sasura stopped her thrashing, breathing heavy and ragged.
"Okay," said Novi, rubbing her hands softly over Sasura’s nose. "Just hold still."
The dragon gave an embarrassed grumble as Novi clambered over her shoulder into the stairwell. There was a white flash as she created a light.
"You've got spines embedded in the door frame," Novi called back after a moment.
"Move forward some," said Comet, peering as best as she could into the jammed stairwell.
Sasura shifted, invoking a yelp from beneath her.
"Wait, let me move!" said Novi. The light dowsed as she scrambled as fast as she could back over Sasura's shoulder. Then proceeded to fall flat on her face as her cloak snagged on the dragon's shoulder crest. Or at least she would have if Sasura wouldn't have caught her.
The dragon set her down and shifted again, trying to pull forward, but the stairs still refused her any grip.
"Now what," she said, then squawked as she was butted from behind.
Murzim pushed her again, there was a pop, a splinter of wood, and Sasura jarred forward.
"That should do it," said Comet. "Now turn sideways."
Sasura lay down on her side and carefully, Murzim dragged her out.
There was a period of silence after the resolution of the catastrophe.
Comet stood at the top of the stairs, hand over her nose in frustration. When something squeaked and skittered near the floorboards, she started. Novi pretended not to notice.
"Now what?" she asked quietly, glancing up at Comet.
Comet placed her hands on her hips and took stock of the situation. Novi was sitting on the bottom step, looking up at her in a' trying not to doze' sort of way. Outside the door, she could make out Murzim's feet, pressing massive holes in the sodden turf. She couldn't see Sasura, but knowing her, she had probably slunk off a little ways in shame. This whole situation was a disaster.
"We'll figure something out."
"You two should find an adequate place to rest," said Murzim.
Novi sat up quickly, all of a sudden looking much more awake, and none too happy. Comet saw the warning signs; Novi was more likely to head back outside and sleep on the ground than leave Sasura in the rain. She gave a hesitant cough, but Murzim saved her the trouble of attempting to make a case.
"Sasura and I will circle around and find a place for ourselves. The rain has stopped, and we will be comfortable enough. It'll be a good experience for her, and that's all assuming we can't just find another way in."
Novi sighed, and the fire in her eyes faded.
"Okay."
Murzim puffed, his universal cue that he wanted to discreetly talk to Comet. Comet glanced at Novi; the sooner they found a place to sleep the better, but this room wasn't exactly the most ideal location. If they were going to look for something better, though, they needed to move soon. But Novi had a bit left in her still, she was fine for now, at least for long enough to see what Murzim wanted. She stepped out to meet him.
It had indeed stopped raining, though the sky was still as black as before; there was no telling how long the rest would last. The night seemed even darker with the light of the flood lamp seeping through the door behind her.
"I'm assuming that you'll be going further in," Said Murzim.
"Probably. I would prefer to be in a room where the door actually closes."
The dragon nodded.
"Choose where you like, but I would be most comfortable if you were near a window. So we can at least see where you are."
"Of course."
There was a brief silence.
"You aren't terribly satisfied with this place, are you?"
"Not, particularly, no."
"Is there a reason? Some concern?"
"It makes me uneasy," said Comet, then paused at Murzim's questioning look. "I'm probably just a bit edgy, over tired. There's nothing wrong with the castle; it's better than half the places we've stayed before, and definitely preferable to under one of those trees over there," she said, motioning with her head. "Having Novi here is just making me overcautious."
"Maybe that's not a bad thing." he replied gently.
Comet Shrugged.
Murzim gave a low grumble, pointedly announcing his dislike for her manner.
"I hope this humor of yours will pass with some sleep, little one," He said, the growl creeping over into his tones.
"Probably," said Comet.
Murzim huffed, stood up, and gave himself a light shake.
"Sasura and I won't go far, we'll be there if the need arises," He said more gently, giving her hair a snuff. "Good night."
"Good night, Murzim."
With that, the dragon turned, and walked down the side of the building. Comet went back inside.
Novi was sitting on the stairs still, looking even more awake and reasonably concerned.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine, Murzim just wanted to compare plans. They want us to find a room with a window to stay in so they can know where we are."
"So we're moving."
"I think we should head at least a little further in. See what we can find."
Comet propped the garden door in the closest vicinity of closed that the thing would allow. After the nights circumstances it was in quite a state; it was only half on its hinges, the paint had been completely ripped off the inside by Sasura's rough hide, and that was saying nothing about the slagged lock and the devastated frame. It certainly wouldn't be keeping anything out.
"Why can't we just stay here?" asked Novi.
"Because we need to be somewhere with a door that closes."
"Murzim and Sasura aren't outside?"
"They aren't anymore. they went looking for a better place to rest. And I-" she stopped suddenly, listening, eyes darting around the little room. She could have sworn she had heard something, a hissing, spitting kind of noise. But all that was there was Novi, looking rather confused.
"Come on, let's go."
• • •
Silver white orbs drifted around the room, milling in a silent display of tension and excitement. The air pricked with the ghosts' anticipation and more than a little of their unease. They were coming. They were here. Both of them. How had they both managed to make it here at the same time?
King Boo rested in the center of the silent chaos, a pillar of collected, if slightly forced calm. Many of the other boos in the room flocked close to him to share in that feeling of confidence. Or, at least, mock confidence.
It was true, this was not how things had been intended to go; his whole thing had hinged around encountering the brothers separately; he had gone to special pains to make sure this wouldn't happen.
But somehow, despite everything, it had still happened. He would need to discuss this at length with those responsible for carrying out that phase of things. How they could've gotten it wrong, the one thing in this whole venture he had specifically planned for, he didn't know. But those weren't thoughts for now. For now, he would improvise.
On top of all this, there was a new complication; somehow, they had managed to get into the wrong door. How they had manage to get through the seal placed there was another thing that would need to be discussed; he was just glad that someone had noticed their arrival in time to relocate the ambush and clear any of the resident ghosts from the area. They had managed to keep the element of surprise on their side, which at least gave him something to work with.
Now that he thought about it, though, maybe the ambush wouldn't be the most appropriate way to proceed; not in these circumstances. With a little trouble, they could very well set things to the way they were meant to be initially. All he would need to do was hold back the attack, let them become more at ease, then discreetly separate them.
Another boo darted into the room and flew straight to the king, interrupting his contemplations.
"They're here! They're at the door!"he squealed. Instantly the room broke into silent panic.
King Boo risked a chirp. It got instant attention from all present. Without a sound, he drifted behind one of the many pieces of furniture in the room. The rest of the boos followed his example.
King Boo was mildly surprised when the scout who had brought the alert followed him into his hiding place.
"Sir, I-" he began, as softly as his urgency would allow.
King boo raised an arm to quiet him.
"Have they made any other detours through sealed doors?"
"No."
"Are they on route to this room?"
"They're coming up the stairs now, sir."
"Good," said King Boo, letting the inkling of tension that had crept over him melt away."
"But sir I-"
"Silence," said the King softly. The scout didn't dare to speak again.
• • •
Comet tramped up the stairs, holding the light high, Novi stepping at her heels.
The room beyond the kitchen had been a huge servant's hall; if the dragons had only been able to make it through the garden door there would have been plenty of room for them in that chamber. The place had quickly been ruled out as a place to sleep, though.
Some sort of thick, luminescent web was laced over some of the doors leading off the chamber. Novi had almost poked the stuff when Comet wasn't looking; why, or what she had been thinking, Comet had no idea. All things considered, those webs might not be uncommon in places like this, but they were definitely not things that existed were the two of them were from, and Comet wasn't keen on meeting whatever had made them. Not tonight.
Needless to say, this turn of events hadn't exactly helped Comet's view of the place, she didn't say anything though; there was no point in worrying Novi. With a few precautions, they'd be fine, it shouldn't be too hard to prevent being walked in on by oversized spiders.
Yep, for sure, she just needed to relax, no need to worry.
Whatever the creatures infesting the downstairs they didn't seem to like the upstairs, so that’s were Comet and Novi were going.
The whole upper level was open to the hall below, (which is how they had known that there was no webbing on the doors up there). It was just a banister ringing the upper half of the hall with closed chambers branching off it at regular intervals. Comet tried the closest door to her, but it was also locked or at least badly stuck.
"Should I..?" asked Novi."
"No, don't bother," said Comet, not particularly keen on ruining more doors.
She tried the next one, and then the next, moving around the hall until they found one that opened with relative ease. Comet pushed it open slowly, shining the light into the room beyond.
• • •
The excitement of the boos surged as the handle of the door turned and it gently swung open. That excitement was a bit soured though at the torrent of burning white that flooded inside. King Boo hissed; the light they carried was a flood lantern. Why did they have equipment like that? As his vision adjusted to the glare he realized there was something else very wrong.
They weren't the right people.
The figures in the doorway appeared to be human, but they were nothing like the brothers he was expecting. The first was tall, the copper curls suggestive of an inhabitant of Sarasaland, but her deep olive skin seriously undermined that assumption, as did the sharp angles of her body and face. The other was smaller, younger, and a bit more like the humans he was used to, but there was still an air about her that was undeniably foreign.
Who were they? Why were they here?
The two hung in the doorway for a moment, waving their light in the most frustrating manner, ignorant of the fact that they were standing in front of a room stuffed to the brim with boos. Eventually, the older stepped forward, the younger trailing behind.
King boo could sense they were ill at ease, or at least, the older was, but it was a vague feeling, and he doubted they truly expected anything. He pondered what to do. It would be easy enough to deal with this pair of bedraggled, uninvited intruders; even with that blasted light, they were unprepared and unsuspecting. But maybe it would be better to wait. After all, he had no idea when his true quarry would arrive. The way these two wandered wasn't very purposeful; it was likely the only reason they were here was to shelter from the weather. They would no doubt wander away and sleep, then he could deal with them at his convenience. The Mario Brothers were the ones who truly required the ambush.
The rest of the boos waited tensely. They knew they were supposed to wait for the king's command; now that his mind was made King Boo only hoped the resolve of his loyals would hold. He could feel the tension vibrating around him, thickening the air until he could hardly believe the humans couldn't sense it.
The two were taking their sweet time deciding what they were going to do. They meandered into the middle of the room for no apparent reason, the younger taking the liberty of poking at everything. Eventually, mercifully, they made their way to a side door, a locked one.
"Open it," the king hissed to the scout still at his side. The little boo vanished and darted to the door, flicking into the lock just as the human's hand rested on the handle. It opened without a sound, and the two disappeared into the hall beyond, shutting the door behind them.
When he was sure they were gone, King Boo drifted into the open. The rest of his subjects followed his lead; it was obvious that they were confused and not altogether satisfied with how things had panned out.
"Well done," he said as the scout abandoned the lock. The little boo was vibrating with nerves.
"I assume that was what you were trying to tell me?" the king asked, gesturing to where the two strangers had disappeared.
"Yes sir."
"Why didn't we attack?" piped up a boo from the gathering.
"Because they aren't our target," said King Boo, loud enough for everyone to hear with no mistake.
"They will be dealt with at the right time, but for now we have other, more important guests coming."
"You," he said, pointing out the boo who had announced the two as the Mario Brothers in the first place. The boo flinched.
"Follow them, and report to me where they go."
The boo darted away instantly, glad to get off with such a slap on the wrist. The rest stood to attention as their king restated their orders and reset the ambush for their still expected arrivals.
• • •
Comet shut the door behind them as soon as they left that room. The longer they were here, the more displeased she was with the situation. She kept having the feeling that she was being watched and didn't like it; they were getting out of this place the second the weather allowed.
Novi had definitely picked up on her uneasiness by now. She had stopped wandering ahead, sticking close behind Comet instead; though her actions seemed more out of consideration for her sister than concern on her own part. She seemed to have more or less chalked Comet's unease up to rodents, general stress, and maybe the one bat they had managed to disturb. Comet had mixed feelings about this, but at least Novi was happy.
"Are we going to stop soon?" asked Novi.
"Yeah," said Comet. "Just trying to find a good room."
Novi nodded and started trying door handles along the hall, Comet following her example. Most all of them were locked, and the few that did open revealed less than preferable quarters. Eventually they did manage to find a room that suited them. It wasn't a bedroom, more of a sitting room, but it had a window, and neither of them were in a mood to be picky.
Comet set up the sleeping rolls on the floor while Novi arranged their supplies and propped the lamp up in front of the window.
"You're a mess," she commented as she joined Comet by the two piles of blankets.
"You are too," Said Comet, "But there's not a lot we can do about it."
Novi gave a quiet sigh as her sister dropped down into the blankets and proceeded to remove and fold her cloak. Comet reached over and wiped a smear of mud off her forehead.
"We'll head down to the water tomorrow before we leave and get cleaned up. Wash the cloaks too, they need it."
Novi smiled and gave a sort of half nod, placed the muddy bundle at the end of her bed, and crawled under the blankets. It only took her a few minutes to drift off after that. Comet tried to follow her example: sleep before her vague anxieties and other less than savory thoughts crowded in. She turned over and inched her pallet closer to her sister. Novi was sleeping like a rock, one hand thrown over her face to block out the light. Comet smiled to herself and pulled her own blankets over her head. Everything was fine. She was worrying too much.
Notes: This story is a character test run.
I've explained what this is before, but just in case you missed that post, here's a re-cap:
Basically, it's inserting someone of your own into another person's world; pre-publication cross overs if you will. I use this tool often to round out new, undeveloped, or previously unwritten for characters (hence the 'test run' part). Nothing teaches you how to portray people like actually writing for them; taking them off world allows you to do that in a controlled, non plot destructive way.
Why did Comet, Novi and crew wind up in Super Mario? It's always been really random which worlds end up being infiltrated; putting it simply, I have no earthy idea. I think I wanted to see how they'd clash with Peach once, yet somehow they ended up in Luigi's Mansion instead.
It is what it is, though, and it's turning out pretty fun, so I'm not complaining.
That should be all you need to know about this, so I'll quit drowning you in blathers. On with story.
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