No replies to this topic

[Surreal Canine]

Silly Cat 2 Presents
An Epic Quest by & Starring Silly Cat 2

…



Karen's Adventure!
Part 1: A Summer Unfolds

________________________________________________
|________Prologue: A Hero Awakens _________________|

Hello. My name is John. You know me on PureZC, Runescape, and Freewebs.com as Silly Cat 2. This is my story of "What I did this summer", back in 2006. The summer unfolds with Karen...

(Reflections by Karen)
The Mushroom Kingdom… This has always been my home. Nobody knows much about its history, up until 40 years ago, possibly its greatest event. The birth of my dad. This is the story of my very first adventure… a mere chapter of future legends.

Karen was sitting alone on her bed. Her life was set up just right to make her the most popular girl at Toadtown High. Not only was she a blond, fun-loving “hot babe” with blue eyes, she was a senior at 15, the first daughter of a legendary hero, and the best athlete in her class. With finals out of the way, she was all set to make this summer the best one ever. All that was missing was her cousin, Amy.

Today, Karen had decided to wear her black dress and blue Megajump shoes. She got dressed quickly. It's a good thing too; Amy walked in at just that moment. She had green eyes, brown hair, and a green shirt with matching shorts and sneakers. Like their fathers, the famous Mario Bros., these two girls looked alike and got along perfectly. So it was no surprise that they started talking immediately.

Karen: What's up Amy?
Amy: Did you hear?
Karen: {?} Hear what?
Amy: You know those kids from school? George and Bob? There's a rumor that they're planning something.
Karen: Probably just another one of their pranks. I wouldn't worry. (Still, it would be a good idea to check them out… Maybe it has something to do with Bowser.)
Amy: {!} Need I remind you that there's only 70 days left till school starts? {Karen:} Let's go outside.

So they did. A young boy ran up to Karen as soon as they left. She recognized this kid as her younger brother, Chris.

Chris: Hey Karen!
Karen: What's up Chris?
Chris: Wanna fight?
Karen: Sure!

I don't know how it works where you're from, but here, Wii Fu is taken very seriously. There are so many rules, I had the job of writing a battle guide when we weren't on an adventure. Karen, Amy, and Chris went to opposite sides of the arena in the center of town.

Chris: You remember this from gym class, right?
Karen: Of course I do.
Amy: Can we just fight now?

So that's just what they did. Karen and Amy fought brilliantly right from the start. Chris took plenty of damage. He asked for more.

Chris: Come on, guys! Show me a special attack!

A small flame appeared in Karen's hand and got bigger when she covered it. She then threw it at her brother for a burning showstopper! Amy looked at her, unimpressed. She preferred ice over fire. But Chris was impressed.
Chris: Awesome! Wanna stop now?
Karen: Fine by me.
Chris: That was great! See ya!

Leave it to the little brother to run off like that, Karen thought as she stopped to rest. Something caught her eye. George “Green” had just run by holding some rare gems and Chris's DS Lite!

Karen: [To Amy] Looks like you were right. [To George] Get back here you thief!

It took a while for the girls to catch up with the thief. When they finally did…

Karen: Return those things you took!
George: Make me!

They set up for a fight. It started off very well for the heroes. Karen did her trademark Double Bounce off George's head and Amy followed up with an iceball. A very damaging attack; George was already down to 15 HP. I won't bore you with the details, but Karen easily dodged every attack and quickly finished the fight..

George: Oh well. You can't win all the time.[Throwing everything to Karen] Here, you give them back. Oh, and Bowser says hi!

He ran off, leaving the girls alone in the middle of town. Karen was left wondering what had just happened.

Karen: I guess it was just a prank after all. Let's take this stuff back.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1
Worlds Collide

The day after the incident, Karen was at home reading the Kingdom Courier newspaper. She came across a Rumors article about Bowser, and that's when the adventure began for her.
Karen: Get a load of this Amy. It would appear Bowser is working on something big. Apparently, he's gonna use something called a Dark Sapphire to take over the MK.
Amy: We can't just stand here! Let's go!
Karen: And he just took castle security to the extreme. See? [Amy walks over and looks at the paper.] He put 7 locks on each of his castle's doors. The keys are each hidden somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. We're gonna have to get those keys first.
Amy: But it also says that the first key is known to be in the Koopa Bros.' Cloud Fort. Wanna go?
Karen: Sure! [Opens her Kingdom Map.] Look. The fort in on a stationary cloud, called the Skyway. We can get there from Luigi Coast! [Closes map]
Amy: Shouldn't we at least get our hammers? You never know what fights we might get into…
Karen: I have them right here. [Pulls out Steel Hammers and gives one to Amy.] Let's go!

So they left for the Skyway. When they reached the fort…

Karen: I think this is the right place. Look!

They were right in front of the fort. It was a big, solid citadel of stone. All that stood between them and their goal were the guard Goombas.

Karen: Key 1, here we come!
Amy: I don't know. Those Goombas look pretty tough.
Karen: Don't be such a baby, Amy They'll be a piece of cake.

It was time for another battle. Tougher than their previous fight, but the heroes still came through. And the “Elite Goombas” even dropped a key!

Amy: I told you so.
Karen: Whatever. Let's just unlock the door. [She does so.] Wow. It's awfully quiet in here.
Amy: You mean except for that background music.
Karen: That's your iPod!

Meanwhile, in another part of the fort, I waited. I had attempted to fight the Koopa Bros. alone, but I was caught and thrown into this holding room. I heard two Pokemon coming into the room. I turned around, and, through the cell bars, I saw that my two best friends, Charmy and Spritz, had come to save me. I could always count on them when I was in trouble.

Charmy: We've come to save you John!
John: Charmy? Spritz?
Spritz: In the flesh!

Charmy's claws started glowing as he prepared to break the bars. He slashed; nothing but a clanging sound and a broken claw.

Charmy: This isn't working. Not even my Metal Claw can break through this kind of bar.
John: And the switch won't work?
Spritz: We're not heavy enough to trigger it. Not even if we both jump together. Right John?
John: Oh yeah.

Just then, the door opened and two girls walked in. I recognized one of them as Karen, but I couldn't identify the other one.

Karen: What the heck?
Amy: What's going on in here?
Charmy: I should be asking that!
Spritz: You're gonna have to face us if you want John!
John: I don't think they're here to…
Charmy: Let's get them!
John: Wait! Stop!

Of course, they didn't listen. The battle ended with my friends defeated and lying on the ground. Charmy got up quickly enough.

Charmy: Sorry John.
John: You'd better be sorry. Can't you tell when someone wants to help?

I was right and he was wrong, yet again. Amy triggered the switch and the door opened as Charmy and Spritz left the room.

John: Thanks. Actually, I have a score to settle with those Koopas that threw me in here. Mind if I come with you?

The girls just smiled.

John: Great!

And that's how I met Karen and Amy. But there was no time to celebrate; a pair of Elite Paragoombas flew in through a window at just that moment.

Goomba 1: He's getting away!
Goomba 2: Get them!

We beat them easily enough. I noticed they dropped a short sword as well as the Fort Key. So that's where my Pika Blade went! I picked it up and waved it around a bit.

Karen: You look so cute holding that!
Amy: I suppose. Just don't hit me with that thing.

We continued to the bridge. I heard voices in the next room.

Charmy: Let's see how you like extreme heat! Flamethrower!
Spritz: [to himself] It looks like Charmy leveled up again…
Red Koopa Bro: I thought only King Bowser could do that!
Black K: Someone stop the arsonist!
Yellow K: Nice shot!

We opened the door and a green Koopa came sliding out in his shell. He ran back inside.

Yellow K: Or not…
Spritz: About time you showed up!
Charmy: You can deal with these morons. I need a rest. [They leave the room.]
John: Got it.
Karen: Time to party!
Green K: You're not gonna get the key that easy!

I suppose that if this was a video game, I could compare this to a boss fight. The hardest one I've ever had to do, but we won anyway.

Black K: Fine. You want the key? Take it.

He threw it on the ground. I picked it up, but it was a trap! We all fell through the trapdoor that opened. What was going to happen next?




Chapter 2
Run Escape


So we found the first key pretty quickly, but we were trapped in the basement of the fort. Meanwhile, Bowser was panicking in his castle; the Koopa Bros. must have e mailed him or something because there's no way he would have found out otherwise. In the room with the Koopa King were George's brother Bob, and his girlfriend Paula.

Bowser: I just can't believe it. I would understand if the Koopa Bros were beaten by Mario again, but Karen and Amy and a bunch of Pokemon? [to Bob and Paula] We need to delay all five of them as long as we can, at least until you-know-who comes up with a Plan B… I need the two of you…
Bob: To find them and take back the key? Got it.
Paula was certainly confident in herself and her “BFF Forever”, who was obviously embarrassed about the way she was talking to him.
Paula: I'm sure we can do it together, Bob!

(continued on next post; I ran out of space)

(continued from previous post; this is still Chapter 2)

A note to the reader… This next part is what Spritz told me after the quest ended. This is the way he remembers it. They were outside the "boss room".

Spritz: Are you sure you're OK, Charmy?
Even though he clearly had only 1 HP left…
Charmy: Yeah. Let's just get out of here and find the pipe back to Istoria. It was by that building on the beach, right?

They entered the next room but...

From a loudspeaker in the room: Intruder on Floor 5!
Several Elite Paratroopas entered the room and both doors sealed.
Spritz: Oh great.
A little harder than they were used to, but those guys always come through.
Charmy: Hmm. Dynamite. Do you think it would react to a fire attack?
I always knew he was a little different from a normal Charmander. He usually throws his fireballs like a certain famous plumber, which I thought was weird for a Fire Pokemon. I guess it's for the same reason he hates chili peppers ^_^ Anyway, he threw a fireball at the dynamite and it blew a hole like 8 feet wide in the floor.
Charmy: I guess that's a yes.
They continued through the hole and fought their way outside the fort.
Spritz: We made it!
He looked left.
Spritz: Hey Charmy, look. There's a Heart Block over there. You should heal now.
A Heart Block, as you may or may not remember from several RPG's, heal HP and FP. Charmy hit the block and recovered.
Charmy: Now let's find that pipe.
They found the pipe behind Luigi's house, of all places. But they still had some unfinished business.
Spritz: Umm… Isn't the guy we're looking for still in the Mushroom Kingdom somewhere?
Charmy: Oh yeah, I forgot.
Spritz: Are you thinking about your brother? You're never that un-focused unless you're thinking about him.
Charmy: Jeremiah? Yeah. I just want to see him again…
Spritz: I know how you feel. I spent 12 years looking for my sister. I think I may have found her at last, but…
Charmy: She'd never believe you, is that it?
Spritz: Yeah. I know you want to see Jeremiah again, but we can't get there from here…

Back at the fort, I got up after a long fall. This appeared to be B1F. I saw Karen on her feet already, but Amy was stuck upside-down in the cloud.
Karen: If you're so down-to-earth all the time, why do you have your head in the clouds?
That was probably the funniest thing I ever heard, I thought as I helped Karen pull her cousin out.
Amy: Are we just gonna sit here telling jokes, or do we want to get out of here?

And with that, we left the room and started making our way through the semi-dark basement. On the way, we fought in almost every room, but one room was suspiciously empty.

John: That's weird… Why would they have an empty room in this place?
???: They don't.
Bob and Paula dropped from the ceiling.
Karen: Let me guess. You're here for the key.
Bob: As if you can stop us from taking it back!
We were in for a huge fight. They used items, Bros. Attacks, and Bob powered up after we beat his girlfriend! But we came through in the end, as we had been doing for a while.
Bob: Fine. You won't make it out anyway. Let's go, Paula.
They left through the newly opened door.
Amy: I told you so. Those four are nothing but trouble.
John: Four? There are more of them?
Karen: Yeah, but the other two weren't as tough last time I fought them.
John: Oh.

There were only five more rooms to go before we saw the exit.
Karen: Hey, we're almost out!
John: I just hope those Hammer Bros. guarding the door will let us through.
Hammer Bro 1: Well we won't!
Hammer Bro 2: We're gonna take you out right here!
Hammer Bro 1: I bet my best hammers we're going to win!
This fight was ridiculously easy.
Hammer Bro 1: Th…This is only the beginning!
Hammer Bro 2: Idiot. Now they get your hammers. [to Karen] Here. Just take them and leave.

The girls put away their old hammers and took the Bros. Hammers. Then we left for Karen's house. It's just as I imagined it: two floors, a bedroom for each kid (as well as an empty bedroom), and Mario stuff everywhere. Amy left for her house, Karen went straight to bed, and I stayed up for a few hours playing Zelda Classic before going to bed in the empty room. It smelled like Spritz for some reason…