(Cubed Cinder)
Giant Land
Prince Hugo walked
towards the double doors that led to Princess Apple's bedroom. He knocked
casually on the doors with a smile.
"Good morning, honey!
Are you dressed yet?" Hugo asked.
"Yep, here I come!"
Apple said from the other side of the doors. Even though the two were happily
married, they slept in separate bedrooms as both rulers liked having their own
personal space to come to should they ever need it. Prince Hugo watched as the
doors opened, revealing Princess Apple in her usual attire of a red dress (with
black line circling around the bottom), red tiara with apple seed in the middle
atop her brown hair wrapped in a ponytail, and golden sandals. The 60 foot tall
woman approached her same-sized husband and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Good morning,
sweetie!" Apple said.
"You look lovely as
always." Hugo said.
"Thanks! I say the
same about you." Apple said.
"I'm really looking
forward to tomorrow." Hugo said.
"Ah, yes… our wedding anniversary! It still feels like yesterday even though
it's been a few years now!" Apple said.
"I couldn't agree
more. I'm excited because it's been a long time since we ventured outside of
Giant Land together." Hugo said.
"True. Thank goodness
Princess Peach and the Toads will be clearing the way!" Apple said. The two
giants slowly walked through the hallways of the palace they lived in.
"But today is all
about touching up the royal garden, right?" Hugo said.
"Yep, I can't wait!
Ahhhh… to think that's where this whole adventure started." Apple said.
"Indeed, when you
touched the Ultra Mushroom and it made you the size you're at today." Hugo said.
A few seconds later,
however, there was a sudden monster-like roar that shook up the castle walls
slightly.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!" the monster shouted. Hugo and
Apple immediately knew where and whom it came from.
"Oh dear. That was
Madzilla." Apple said.
"Oops… you think he
stubbed his toe again in the kitchen?" Hugo asked.
"You go on ahead to
the garden. I'll catch up after I've calmed Madzilla down." Apple said.
"An excellent idea,
dear. Your voice seems to have a calming effect on him." Hugo said. The two gave
a quick kiss to each other on the lips before Apple walked ahead while Hugo
turned around and headed for the royal garden.
The royal garden, as
Hugo mentioned earlier, remains a special place for both him and Apple, for it
was here that Apple touched the Ultra Mushroom and grew to the size she's at
today. Today, the garden has moved to the back of the castle into a greenhouse
that's connected only with a tunnel that hid beneath the castle, and the
location of this tunnel was only known to both Hugo and Apple. Hugo walked
inside the garden and took a nice breath of fresh vegetation scent.
"Ahhhh… the royal
garden is singing its praises once again." Hugo said. He gently walked around,
already noting some of the plants and loose Super Mushrooms (that didn't change
the size of anyone in Giant Land but made them feel nourished) that had to be
dealt with once Apple arrived in the garden.
But when Hugo took a
turn towards the back of the garden, a rather peculiar odor caught his
attention.
"Oh my… that smells
like something that has died." Hugo said. He carefully followed the scent,
feeling it get stronger the closer he got to it. Eventually he felt the scent at
its peak, and it was coming from a couple of thick bushes. Hugo pushed aside the
bushes and gasped when he saw what was underneath.
"What in the world!?"
Hugo shouted. It looked like a Poison Mushroom at first glance, but the brighter
than usual skull on its top and the mean looking eyes made the mysterious Dark
Mushroom seem like an angel. It also seemed be pulsing every second or two, like
a heart beating inside a person's chest.
"Where did this thing
come from?" Hugo said. He very slowly leaned in to examine the mushroom further.
And that's when the
mushroom struck and shot several dark purple spores up at the giant, making him
cough instantly as he tried to brush the spores away.
"COUGH COUGH
COUGH!!!" Hugo shouted. Hugo's cough was incredibly intense. He was worried he
was having a heart attack for a moment, but that wasn't the least of his
worries. Unknown to him at the moment, Hugo was getting smaller and smaller in
size. He shrunk at a quick pace, only taking a couple seconds to be 1/4th of his
normal size. He continued to shrink and shrink and shrink until one minute
passed. Prince Hugo finally stopped coughing and managed to open his eyes.
The garden looked
wildly different. Everything was incredibly huge now. The plants, the leaves,
the dirt, and the other mushrooms, including the mushroom that just sprayed him.
It was now slumped over and totally devoid of any color, like it shot everything
it had up at Hugo and then died.
"What… what has
happened?" Hugo said. He swirled around in a 360 degree motion, looking at how
much bigger the royal garden was. The roof of the greenhouse felt like it was a
mile or two away. That's when it finally hit him.
"Oh my word! That
mushroom must've shrunken me… and it didn't just shrink me to normal human size
either!" Hugo said. Indeed, the incredibly massive environment told him he
shrunk well beyond what a normal poison mushroom might do. He knew he had
shrunken down to a size that would make Princess Peach look 60 feet tall. At
least that's what he thought. Being only two inches tall, there were a LOT of
things that could now tower high above him.
"Okay, honey! Here I…
huh?" Apple shouted, with her voice echoing high above.
"Oh no! My wife has
arrived, and she…!" Hugo said, watching as Apple came into view. Words could not
accurately describe how big she appeared in Hugo's eyes. He almost strained his
neck as he looked higher and higher in the air trying to find Apple's face. It
didn't make him feel better that Apple's footsteps sounded like deep thunder. He
had to cover his ears as he watched Apple's golden sandals loom closer and
closer. He was worried for a moment that he'd be crushed underneath those
sandals, but Apple stopped her slow walk around the garden just a couple yards
away from where the 'microscopic' Hugo was standing.
"Where is he?" Apple
said. As she looked around, Hugo knew this was his chance to get onboard his
giga-sized wife before she got out of range. He quickly ran and leapt towards
the 'wall' that was her sandal. He climbed up and eventually made it on top.
"Whew… *huff puff*…
I'm glad I still have some athletic ability. It's thanks to all that swimming in
the pool!" Hugo said. Still, he gulped nervously as he looked up and up and up
at a pinky toe that looked hundreds and hundreds of feet tall.
"Apple! Down here,
Apple!" Hugo shouted. Of course, it was of no use. Apple didn't look down even
for a nanosecond down at her feet. In fact, she got back to walking around more
of the garden. This forced Hugo to drop down onto his stomach, laying flat and
hoping he wouldn't go flying off his wife's sandal.
It finally became
obvious to Princess Apple that her husband was nowhere to be found in the royal
garden, which felt somewhat strange to her.
"Huh, that's odd. He
said he was going to meet me in the garden. Maybe something else came up? I
better look around more of the castle." Apple said as she made her way to the
tunnel connecting the royal garden inside the greenhouse with the Giant Land
castle. Hugo crawled his way carefully to the skin underneath Apple's pinky toe
and cradled himself there until he felt it was safe to move again.
A few minutes pass,
and Apple has searched just about every room of Giant Land castle. It was
starting to worry her a bit. Where could he have gone? He always gave advance
notice to her if he had to go somewhere else, like Pipe Land or Sky Land. Apple
kept slowly walking, looking left and right for her husband.
"Hugo!?" Apple
shouted. Of course, she had no idea that her husband was around her right foot,
shrunken down to a measly two inches tall. People that small were almost
impossible to see… as Hugo already thought, he was small enough to make the
other princesses, like Peach or Daisy, look his normal height of 60 feet tall.
Despite the danger of Apple moving around, he couldn't stay down at ground level
for much longer. He had to find a way to higher ground and get his wife's
attention.
"She cannot possibly
hear or see me from down here. I've got to get to a higher level, like inside
her ear, to get her attention!" Hugo said. When Apple briefly paused to look
inside another room, that's when Hugo got to climbing… first on top of her foot
and then up to her ankle. He held on for dear life as the giantess got moving
again.
"Whew… fortunately
Apple's wonderful skin lets me get a good grip." Hugo said as he looked up and
gulped nervously. He had a looooooooooooooot of climbing to do to get to Apple's
dress.
Meanwhile, as for
Apple herself, she started to sweat a bit as she still couldn't find her husband
even after checking every room almost 3 times. She was so obsessed with finding
Hugo that she didn't see Madzilla in her path, and the two bumped into each
other.
"Oooooof! Hey, watch
where you're…" Madzilla started to say until he saw who it was he crashed into,
"Oh! Princess Apple! Please forgive me!"
"No, no. It's okay,
Madzilla. That was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going." Apple said as
she looked around the immediate area once again, something that Madzilla caught
onto.
"Are you okay,
princess? You look like you lost something and you're frantically trying to find
it." Madzilla said.
"As a matter of fact,
Madzilla, I am looking for something." Apple said.
"I hope it's not more
bandages, because I think I got plenty of them!" Madzilla said with a smile,
showing off one of his toes that was bandaged by the princess earlier when he
stubbed it on a table.
"Actually, it's
Prince Hugo. We were supposed to meet in the royal… um… the royal golf course
out back, but he never showed up." Apple said, making sure not to mention the
royal garden because it was a secret known only to herself and her husband.
"Maybe he had to go
somewhere urgent?" Madzilla said.
"That's the thing.
I've looked in every room of the castle two or three times and I can't find him.
The guards and maids tell me they haven't seen him come by
either, and normally he tells SOMEBODY if he's going away from the castle!"
Apple said.
"Oh my! This sounds
serious! Perhaps we should form a rescue squad and search for him!" Madzilla
said. Apple was at first gonna shrug that thought off as Madzilla being on his
cheery side, but quickly changed her mind.
"That's not a bad
idea. Bring together as many castle guards as you can." Apple said.
"Aye aye, captain!"
Madzilla said.
About 15 minutes
later, Princess Apple came outside the Giant Land castle as requested by
Madzilla. There, she saw six of the castle guards and also Madzilla, complete
with an army style helmet that made Apple lightly gasp.
"Oh! Where did you
get that helmet, Madzilla?" Apple said.
"Mario and Luigi gave
me this as a gift from something called a United States military base, and
Prince Hugo helped enlarge it to a more fitting size." Madzilla said.
"I see…" Apple said.
"But enough about
that! Alright, troops! You have a dangerous mission ahead of you. Your
objective, should you choose to accept it, is to search all over Giant Land for
our beloved Prince Hugo! You will leave no smiling hill, no rusty pipe, and most
importantly, no angry sun unturned as you seek out and find Princess Apple's
husband. Are you with me!?" Madzilla said.
"Yeah!!!" all six
guards shouted.
"I said are you with
me!?" Madzilla shouted.
"YEAH!!!" all six
guards shouted.
"Alright then, let us
move out and begin the search! Hop two three four! Hop two three four! Hop two
three four…!" Madzilla said as he marched himself and the guards away from the
castle, prompting a chuckle from Princess Apple.
"Oh, that Madzilla.
Such a spirited monster that I'm glad to have as a friend." Apple said. As Apple
turned around to head back in the castle, she looked down and noticed a very
tiny black spot just underneath her red dress.
"Oh? Is that a fly on
my leg? Shoo, fly!" Apple said as she swept her hand over the spot and brushed
it aside.
What Apple didn't
know was that she had just knocked her mini mini miniscule husband off her leg.
While Madzilla was
giving marching orders to the palace guards and Apple was watching from the
castle's front entrance, Hugo continued to climb up the mighty skin colored wall
that was Apple's leg. It wasn't easy climbing up the leg, as the sweat on the
prince's forehead would tell you.
"*Huff puff* It's too
bad Apple is not wearing her winter clothes… but I can't give up! I have to make
it up to her head and get her attention!" Hugo said. A couple more minutes of
climbing later, Hugo was roughly 5-10 yards away from reaching the very bottom
of Apple's red dress, and then he could breathe just a little bit easier…
although his shortness of breath told him he wouldn't be out of the woods yet,
provided he could find the strength to continue climbing even after his internal
stamina meter would wear out.
But Apple's
incredibly loud voice told him otherwise.
"Oh?
Is that a fly on my leg? Shoo, fly!"
Apple said. And when he saw a hand the size of his own home island coming down
towards him, he panicked.
"Oh no! No no no no,
honey! Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!" Hugo said as he felt like he had gotten
punched a thousand times over by the giant hand. Hugo watched Apple walk back
inside the castle as he fell and fell and fell towards the ground.
Hugo eventually
bounced off a blade of grass, and then towards another and another. He ping
ponged back and forth between the thick grass blades until he was on the soiled
ground. Hugo dizzily stood back on his two feet, wobbling around until he shook
himself off a few seconds later.
"Wow… that was
incredibly lucky. I thought I'd be dead for sure." Hugo said. Then he looked
around at his surroundings. Blades of grass that were a couple hundred feet
tall. An anthill that looked the size of a volcano. He was a long ways from the
castle now, and seeing the castle tower over him even several feet away only
made his heart sank as he collapsed onto his knees.
"Sigh… it's hopeless
now. It's going to be days before I can get back into the castle… provided I
don't starve to death. But then again, even a small cookie crumb would feel like
a gourmet meal as tiny as I am." Hugo said.
As the shrunken
prince got up and walked through the 'jungle' that was the front yard of the
castle, he tried to think of how he could possibly get back into the castle now.
He ran all sorts of scenarios through his head trying to think of something that
will get him back to Princess Apple now, but it wasn't until a subtle pat on his
chest that he suddenly came up with an idea.
"Wait… of course! The
Warp Whistle!" Hugo said. He reached inside his shirt and pulled out the famed
Warp Whistle (that you may recognize from SMB3), which he knew allowed the
wearer to teleport to anywhere in the world with a strong mental thought…
otherwise they'd just be whisked away to World 9 where he/she can pick their
destination.
"Apple was right…
this thing would come in handy one day!" Hugo excitedly said. He started to put
the whistle into his mouth and blow the familiar tune that would summon the
whirling warp, but he suddenly stopped and took a deep breath.
"Wait, wait… I need
to carefully think this through. This whistle loses its power the instant I use
it." Hugo said. He paced back and forth on the soil and between two giant blades
of grass.
"It wouldn't make
sense to teleport directly towards my wife. She not only didn't hear me, but she
easily mistook me for a flea! I'm going to need a 'smaller' solution… that's it!
Princess Peach in the heart of the Mushroom Kingdom. Surely she will see me and
have a solution to this problem." Hugo said. And so it was settled. He would use
the whistle to warp inside Peach's Castle and, provided he doesn't get stepped
on by the princess, enlist her help and the two of them could work together to
come up with a cure for his condition.
Tightly clutching the
whistle with confidence, he put it into his mouth and blew the tune. A few
seconds later, a tornado suddenly approached that was amazingly only a few
inches taller than he was. Hugo stood perfectly still and put his mind to work
as the tornado scooped him up and carried him into the air.
Toad Town
Prince Hugo
eventually couldn't take much more of the spinning, feeling like he was going to
hurl at any second. His mind pleaded with the 'whirlwind warp' to stop and drop
him wherever he was at, and that's just what happened. He was suddenly back on
solid ground… but the bad news was that he wasn't at Peach's Castle. It was in
the distance, but he had another obstacle standing in his way. More than a few
obstacles to be precise as he watched giant-sized Toads come close to stepping
on him. As Hugo danced out of harm's way, his surroundings told him exactly
where he was.
"Hmmmm… this must be
Toad Town, the town that lies directly in front of Princess Peach's Castle. I
suppose it could've been a lot worse… I could've been dropped off in Desert
Land. That would've been a nightmare!" Hugo said. Still, he was also relieved to
see the Toads walking around were not remotely close to being as big as Apple
appeared.
"Even though
everyone's not as big as in Giant Land, I must still be vigilant and on the
lookout. One wrong step by any of these Toads could be the end of me." Hugo
said. That's when he took a look at one of the food stands and spotted a
different looking toad… one sporting pink braid-like plaits coming from her
head. Hugo immediately recognized the toad to be Toadette, whom has visited the
castle a few times.
"Ah, there's
Toadette. I should be able to get her attention." Hugo said. The tiny prince
took a deep breath and took off running towards Toadette, hoping he wouldn't get
stepped on by another Toad along the way.
Toadette, meanwhile,
was cradling three different bottles of liquid in her arms as she looked at
Tayce T.
"There you go,
Toadette, dear. Three instantly nourishing sports drinks to help the three
princesses at the castle heal quicker after a tough workout." Tayce T. said.
"Thanks, Tayce T.!
The Mushroom Kingdom is so lucky to have someone as talented in making food AND
drinks as you." Toadette said.
"I'm glad to hear
that! Tell Peach and the others I said good luck to them at the Rio Olympics!"
Tayce T. said.
"I shall!" Toadette
said as she bowed her head and got to running towards Peach's Castle.
It looked like Hugo
was going to make it to Toadette's shoes, but to his despair, he watched as the
female Toad went running away from him.
"Oh no!" Hugo
screamed. Even though the size difference made sure he couldn't keep up, Hugo
nevertheless chased after Toadette, all while dodging a couple of Toads before
they could unknowningly stomp on him. However, Hugo caught a break when Toadette
ended up dropping one of the drinks onto the ground.
"Whoops!" Toadette
said. As Toadette got down on the ground to pick up the drink, Hugo was closing
in fast on Toadette. Thinking leaping onto her shoe might be dangerous, Hugo
instinctively ran towards one of the locks of hair and leapt onto it. Only a
second later, Toadette stood back up.
"Whew… good thing
these drinks aren't carbonated. No more time to waste… Peach, Daisy, and
Rosalina are all probably sweating like crazy by now!" Toadette said as she got
back to running. Before Hugo could call out for the giantess, her hair swung
back and forth in the wind, leaving him with no choice but to hold on. At least
he was going to be getting a free ride straight to Princess Peach.
Somewhere in Peach's
Castle
Toadette ran up the
stairs and made it up to the door she was looking for. Even with the door
closed, she could hear the music thumping through the walls.
"Wow… must be an
intense dance!" Toadette said as she set the drinks down so she could open the
door. Once open, she picked up the drinks and walked inside, where she saw
Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina all dressed up in their gymnastic outfits and holding
two batons each. As the song 'From The New World' played out over a nearby
stereo, the three girls were dancing all around the room and either swinging or
throwing their batons around. It made Toadette's (and for that matter also the
tiny Hugo's) heart race as she heard the bare feet of all three ladies hitting
the floor at different intervals of the song.
Finally, the song
ended and all three ladies struck their final poses. Toadette couldn't help but
put the drinks down and happily applaud.
"Bravo! Bravo!"
Toadette said.
"Hey! I thought you
said we wouldn't have an audience for practice!" Daisy shouted.
"Oh, come on, Daisy.
You know Toadette is always welcome in my room." Peach said.
"That was beautiful!
One of you three is going to take the gold medal in Rio for sure!" Toadette
said.
"Mmmm… thank you for
your support, Toadette. It means so much to me. I can't help but be nervous
considering this is the first Olympics I'm competing in." Rosalina said.
"Pffft… you've got
nothing to be nervous about! You'll be surrounded by the lights, the atmosphere,
the sweet smell of Amy Rose's perfume…" Daisy said.
"And yet Sonic still
runs away from her." Peach said, prompting a laugh from all three ladies.
Toadette then picked up the drinks again and approached the princesses, all
while Prince Hugo let loose on his grip of Toadette's hair and fell to the
floor.
"Anyway, here you
are, your highnesses. And of course, I got the peach flavored one just for you,
Princess Peach." Toadette said as she handed the drinks one by one to the
princesses. All three of them immediately twisted off the caps on their
respective bottles.
"Thank you,
Toadette!" Peach said.
"If you need anything
else, just let me know!" Toadette said as she bowed and then turned around to
leave the room. The three princesses, meanwhile, chugged away at their
respective recovery beverages. In fact, almost half their bottles were gulped
down when they moved them away from their mouths.
"Ahhhhh… that really
hits the spot!" Daisy said.
"I concur. It's like
the juicy nectar from crushed star bits." Rosalina said.
"Mmmm… and it helps
they're so cold too. It's going to be sizzling down in Rio." Peach said.
"Heck, it's already
sizzling! I wonder what the temperature in Ice Land is right now!" Daisy said.
The three ladies then sat down on a nearby couch and started talking about other
topics here and there while their bodies recovered from the gymnastics exercise.
Meanwhile, Prince
Hugo had to jump to the right to avoid being stepped on by Toadette. Then he
looked up at the 'giant' princesses. He couldn't help but be fascinated with
seeing them where he was standing. He was always used to looking down on
them. Their outfits stood out to him as well. It reminded him of the two piece
bikini that his wife wears whenever they go swimming in the castle's backyard
swimming pool.
"No, I must
concentrate. There will be another time and place to fully appreciate this kind
of size difference." Hugo said as he got to running towards Peach's bare feet
even as she and the other two princesses, Daisy and Rosalina, went over to sit
down on a nearby couch.
"Princess Peach! Down
here!" Hugo shouted as he jumped up and down and waved his arms trying to get
the giantesses' attention. It did not work, and Hugo immediately knew why. The
three were busy talking to each other.
"They can't hear me
through their own voices. I'll have to climb up… fortunately this shouldn't be
as hard as trying to climb Apple." Hugo said, noting how because Peach was
'normal sized' compared to his wife, she wasn't anywhere near as big and so
would have an easier time climbing Peach's leg.
In fact, it only took
a couple minutes for Hugo to make it above Peach's knee, but he could only take
a couple more steps when he suddenly heard Daisy's voice from above.
"Oh, hey! Look,
Peach, there's a little bug on your leg!" Daisy said.
"Oh my!" Peach said.
"Don't worry, I'll
crush that little booger!" Daisy said as she raised one of her hands up.
"Noooooooooooooooo!!!" Hugo shouted as he held his arms up in vain, but Peach
came to his rescue.
"Don't you dare,
Daisy!! How many times do I have to remind you that not all bugs are disgusting
little creatures?" Peach said.
"Huh? I thought you
were talking about just the Pikmin, and I don't see any Pikmin walking around
here!" Daisy said.
"They'd be pretty
hard to see anyway, as tiny as they are." Rosalina commented. Peach lowered a
finger towards the tiny Hugo, right now still thinking it's just an ordinary
bug.
"It's okay, little
bug. I won't hurt you. Climb on." Peach said. To her astonishment, the 'bug'
actually climbed onboard her finger. That's when she slowly moved the finger up
towards one of her blue eyes and got a close up look at the 'bug.'
"Princess Peach!
Thank goodness you've found me!" Hugo shouted. Peach flat out gasped.
"*gasp* Prince
Hugo!?" Peach said.
"Huh? Are you trying
to pull one on me, Peach?" Daisy said. Rosalina leaned in and got a closer look.
"Oh my… it really is
him, Daisy!" Rosalina said. Daisy leaned in as well, obscuring Hugo's view
almost entirely with the giant faces of the princesses.
"What the… no way!
What happened, Prince? You must've been on some ultra crazy diet!" Daisy said.
"I wish that were the
case, Princess Daisy, but as you can see, I really have been reduced to a mere
two inches tall." Hugo said.
"How?" Peach asked.
"Apple and I were
supposed to be doing some work in the royal garden today. I went ahead of
her, and then I saw this weird and evil looking Poison Mushroom. I took a closer
look, but then it sprays these spores at me. Next thing I know, I've been
shrunken to this size of two or three inches tall." Hugo said.
"Oh dear… that's
horrible!" Peach said.
"And I thought weeds
growing were quite evil!" Daisy said.
"I tried to get
Apple's attention, but of course that went nowhere. Now that I think about it,
I'm probably small enough to sink deep into her skin… so I should consider
myself lucky that I'm even talking to you three!" Hugo said.
"That's for sure. You
being two inches tall in Giant Land… I can't even imagine that kind of a size
difference!" Peach said.
Just then, Daisy
carefully plucked Hugo from Peach's finger, holding him between two of her own
fingers and giving him a closeup view of her own blue eyes.
"Still, I can't help
but feel powerful holding you, Hugo. Or maybe we should call you Tiny-O?" Daisy
said with a giggle.
"Um… you don't say."
Hugo said nervously. Daisy laid back on the couch she and the other princesses
were sitting on and she placed the tiny prince on the flower jewel part of her
gymnastics outfit.
"Heehee, I'm getting
a kick out of this!" Daisy said. The princess, however, moved a little too much
for Hugo to keep his balance, and he ended up falling down and sliding down
Daisy's outfit.
"Whooooooooooa!!!"
Hugo shouted. Suddenly, he stopped sliding when he landed in the palm of another
giantess's hand, this one belonging to Rosalina.
"That was a close
call. Are you alright, prince?" Rosalina asked.
"Y-y-y-yes… I feel
heavenly… no pun intended." Hugo said as he tried to calm his rapidly beating
heart down.
"Daisy! This is not
the time to be fooling around! Hugo could've gotten hurt!" Peach said.
"Okay, okay, I'm
sorry. But come on, you gotta admit… being bigger than anybody in Giant Land,
even if it's because they shrunk, has to make you feel good!" Daisy said. Peach
simply rolled her eyes.
"Peach, what should
we do? How can we cure Prince Hugo of this ailment?" Rosalina said.
"I think the first
thing we all need to do is let Apple know what's happened with Hugo." Peach
said.
"I concur. She's
probably worried sick that she nor Madzilla can find me." Hugo said.
"Alright then. Let's
all change and go to Giant Land. Wait here, prince." Peach said as she took Hugo
carefully from Rosalina's hand and placed him on a nearby table.
After the princesses
changed back into their normal dresses and took a few final sips of their
recovery drinks, Peach picked up Hugo and walked out of her castle, with Daisy
and Rosalina following behind. They took the nearby warp pipe that would take
them straight to Giant Land.
Giant Land
As soon as the three
princesses (with Hugo now sitting on Peach's right shoulder) emerged from the
giant warp pipe, they looked around and saw many of the Giant Land castle guards
walking around the land around the castle with Madzilla going from one guard to
another encouraging them not to give up.
"Wow… it looks like
every guard from the castle is looking for you!" Peach said.
"Man, we'd really
have to do some athletics to keep from getting stepped on!" Daisy said.
"But thankfully that
is not the case as close as the pipe is to the castle." Rosalina said.
"Rosalina's right,
but still… let's not waste another second." Peach said. The three ladies grabbed
a nearby rope ladder and used it to climb down the pipe and onto the ground.
They were next in
front of the gigantic front door of the castle. They all approached the much
smaller door to the left side labeled RESERVED FOR VISITORS OUTSIDE GIANT LAND.
Peach pressed the button which rang a buzzer. A few seconds later, the front
doors of the castle opened up and there was Princess Apple.
"Oh, Princess Peach!"
Apple said.
"Hello, Princess
Apple! I hope this isn't too much of a surprise." Peach said.
"Not at all. You know
you're always welcome at the Giant Land castle." Apple said. That's when she
kneeled down and held out a hand, allowing Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina to climb
onboard. Apple then brought the three ladies to the throne room, setting them on
a pedestal next to her throne that she sat down on.
"So what is it that
brings you to the castle?" Apple asked.
"Apple… are you
looking for Prince Hugo?" Peach said.
"Oh? You know about
that?" Apple asked.
"Yes… as a matter of
fact, he's sitting here on my shoulder." Peach said.
"Huh? Peach… I don't
have time to kid around. I've been searching high and low in this castle for
him, while Madzilla and the guards are doing the same in the rest of Giant Land.
He would absolutely tell me if he's going somewhere!" Apple said with a hint of
frustration in her voice, which didn't surprise Peach given how much she loved
him and any mysterious disappearance of him would make her distraught.
"No, really, Apple. I
speak the truth. Get your magnifying glass that you normally use as Dr. Apple."
Peach said. Apple knew Peach wasn't the type to play practical jokes on her, not
unless she and herself were in a very good mood.
"Okay. I'll be right
back." Apple said as she got up and left the throne room with Peach, Daisy, and
Rosalina watching as the giantess left.
"Oh dear… I wonder
how she'll react." Hugo said from Peach's shoulder.
"I'm both excited and
nervous at the same time." Daisy said.
Apple returned a
couple minutes later, indeed holding a magnifying glass. She focused on Peach,
looking all around her.
"On my shoulder, Apple." Peach commented. That's where the giantess focused on Peach's right shoulder.
"H-H-H-Honey!?" Apple
said. Hugo was jumping up and down and waving his arms.
"Hello, my love!!"
Hugo shouted. And yet, Apple could not hear her 'microscopic' husband. She tried
leaning in with her ear.
"I said hello,
dear!!!" Hugo shouted.
"He said hello,
dear!" Peach said. Apple moved her head back and looked in the magnifying glass
at her husband.
"I can't believe it…
he's so small! Smaller than you three, even!" Apple said.
"Yeah, imagine OUR
surprise when we saw him climbing Peach's leg!" Daisy said.
"Only to get our
attention, of course!" Peach said.
Apple asked what
happened and the three ladies spent the next couple of minutes telling the whole
story.
"Oh my… I don't
recall wanting to grow such a mushroom! Someone had to have planted it there!"
Apple said.
"But who?" Rosalina
asked.
"We can worry about
that later, especially since it only works once, thankfully. Right now we MUST
figure out how to undo the effects and return my husband to normal size." Apple
said.
"I agree! Our
marriage would never work with this much of a size difference!" Hugo said, with
Peach relaying that comment to Apple.
"Hmmm… how indeed.
Couldn't he just find another Ultra Mushroom and use that?" Daisy asked. Apple
immediately shook her head.
"We both disposed of
all the Ultra Mushrooms until absolutely necessary, after that one time when
Wendy Koopa tried to steal it. We're not taking any chances anymore." Apple
said.
"An understandable
precaution given how powerful those mushrooms are." Rosalina said.
"Although… perhaps
the people of Small Land might have a solution!" Apple said.
"Oh?" Peach asked.
"Hugo, you're the
perfect size for that land. The people there can thoroughly examine you and
perhaps find a cure to extract the poison from that mushroom out of your body."
Apple said.
"Good thinking,
Apple! All that time as Dr. Apple paid off, didn't it?" Peach said with a smile.
"Heh, it certainly
helped! Do you remember where Small Land is, Peach?" Apple said.
"I believe so." Peach
said.
"Good, I'll wait here
and hope you come back with a solution." Apple said.
"Okay! Rosalina, I'd
like for you to come with me, just as a security blanket." Peach said.
"Very well." Rosalina
said with a nod.
"Hey! What about me?"
Daisy said.
"Well… it'd be best
if you stayed here and kept Apple company. You and small places are kind of a
volatile mix…" Peach said as she started to explain, but Daisy quickly got the
picture.
"Alright, alright. No
need to rub it in!" Daisy said as she folded her arms.
"I'll at least take
you back to the pipe." Apple said. She held out a hand allowing Peach (with Hugo
still on Peach's shoulder) and Rosalina to climb onboard.
Once they were at the
pipe, Hugo passed a message to Peach for relaying to Apple.
"Apple, Hugo says
don't worry, everything's going to be alright." Peach said.
"I sincerely hope so.
But no matter what, I will always love you, Hugo." Apple said as she winked one
of her eyes down on Peach. Hugo simply nodded and blew a kiss to his wife even
though he was way too small for her to see it. Peach gently grabbed Hugo and
clutched him into her gloved hands while she and Rosalina jumped into the warp
pipe. Apple took a deep breath and hoped for the best as she walked back to the
castle to chat with Daisy and pass the time.
Unknown to everyone
in Giant Land, they were being watched carefully by a small army of winged
Goombas, all of whom eventually flew back to…
Dark Land
About the only thing
you could hear coming out of Bowser's Castle was the excessively loud voice
belonging to none other than Wendy Koopa.
"WHERE IS MY BIRTHDAY
PRESENT!?!?!?!!???" Wendy yelled out. She was stomping around Bowser's throne
room, throwing some of her things around in absolute frustration, while Bowser
just sighed away on his throne, trying with no success at all to ignore his
child's words.
"I keep telling you,
sweetums, it takes time! Those flying Goombas should be back any minute." Bowser
said.
"That's not good
enough!!! You said she would be here in my hands today! WELL, SHE'S NOT HERE
YET!!!!!!" Wendy shouted. Kamek then suddenly flew into Bowser's room, just
dodging Wendy's television that she had thrown clear across the hallway.
"My king! I have most
important news!" Kamek said.
"It better be good...
I'm getting a headache from Wendy's temper tantrum!" Bowser said.
"Well... it seems the
Maximum Mini Mushroom has taken root in the royal garden of Giant Land castle
after we tricked Princess Apple into planting those seeds. However…" Kamek said.
"However?" Bowser and
Wendy both shouted.
"Princess Apple is
still her usual giant size. The Goombas are telling me the mushroom has effected
her husband, Prince Hugo, instead!" Kamek said. He was then picked up off his
flying broom by Bowser as he shook him up like mad, a sure sign he was angry
with the magikoopa.
"You moronic
magician! It's no wonder you're hardly any help these days!!" Bowser shouted.
"F-F-F-Forgive me,
master! Hugo is now with Princess Peach and that Rosalina girl! They're on their
way to Small Land no doubt to research a cure for Hugo's condition!" Kamek said.
Wendy would ordinarily throw one of her temper tantrums by now, but instead she
snapped her clawed fingers.
"Wait, Daddy-kuns!
Maybe we can use this as an advantage! We can capture Hugo and hold him hostage,
forcing Princess Apple to come to us!" Wendy said. As Bowser threw Kamek out of
the room, he smiled down on the only female Koopaling to reside in his castle.
"Good thinking,
Wendy, my dearest! I'll go off to Small Land, ambush Princess Peach, and get
Prince Hugo for you!" Bowser said.
"NO!!! You've messed
up enough thanks to Kamek's incompetence and your lazy flying Goombas! I'll go
pick him up myself!!!" Wendy said.
"Now you listen to
me, Wendy, it's..." Before Bowser could start, however, Wendy interrupted.
"I WANNA GO GET THAT
LITTLE PRINCE!!!! I WANNA!!! I WANNA!!!!! I
WANNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Wendy said.
Bowser finally had to relent and let Wendy go as he fell back on his throne
trying to get his eardrums back.
"Alright, alright...
go! But take the Doom Ship! The Sledge Brothers can help you pilot it." Bowser
said.
"Thank you, Daddy!
You won't regret this! I'll even let you see my new pet once I capture him!"
Wendy shouted as she ran out of Bowser's throne room. Bowser just sighed.
"Why do I even put up
with her..." he said to himself as he tilted his throne backwards in order to
take a nap.
Grass Land
Peach and Rosalina
eventually made it to Grass Land and walked around looking for Small Land,
taking their walk nice and slow so that they wouldn't accidentally crush the
hidden land.
"I must admire
Princess Apple's courage and bravery over this whole ordeal." Rosalina said.
"Yeah, I agree, but
still, it's gotta be hard for her. The sooner we can get you back to your old
giant self, Prince Hugo, the better." Peach said.
"Thank you so much,
Peach. That's what I love about you and the Mario Brothers. Always willing to
help those in need." Hugo said.
"So, I take it this
Small Land is the total opposite of Giant Land?" Rosalina said.
"Indeed. It's so
incredibly tiny, one false step could cause indescribable destruction to that
land. They've done a fantastic job keeping themselves hidden from the rest of
the Mushroom World." Peach said.
"Still, it's good
such a land exists in the first place. It shows how diverse and varied your
kingdom is, much like the many other galaxies I've visited." Rosalina said.
"And I'm sure it's
been a lot of those!" Peach said with a smile.
The two princesses
walked around until a small swarm of flies started flying circles around their
faces.
"Oh! Shoo, flies!
Shoo!" Rosalina said as she swung both her hands (one of them holding her star
wand) around trying to get the flies away.
"Wait, Rosalina!
These are the residents of Small Land." Peach said. As soon as she said that, a
couple of the flies flew in front of Peach's blue eyes so she could better see
the Toads that were flying on these flies.
"Princess Peach! It
is a pleasure to see you again!" one of the Toads said.
"Thank you! I'm sorry
I didn't give advance notice of my arrival, but it was important I get here as
fast as possible." Peach said.
"It's alright,
princess! You're always welcome to visit Small Land anytime. We're always on the
lookout for anyone, not just you, that towers over us." the Toad said.
"Haha!
Understandable, given how incredibly tiny your land is." Peach said.
"But who is this lady
next to you? I can't believe she's even taller than you!" the other Toad said.
"Oh! This is my
friend, Rosalina. She comes to us from outer space." Peach said. The two Toads
commanded their flies to fly towards Rosalina, and they stopped directly in
front of her visible eye (the one not covered by her hair).
"Wow! You're from
outer space!?" one of the Toads said.
"Well, kinda. I like
to travel amongst the stars and find or create other galaxies." Rosalina said.
"I see! Well, welcome
to Small Land! Any friend of Princess Peach is a friend of us!" the Toad said.
"Thank you… I'm
honored to meet you." Rosalina said as she lightly bowed her head at the Toads,
who then flew back over to Peach.
"Wait here, your
royal highness! We will summon the king at once!" the Toad said before they flew
down to the ground. Peach watched where they flew so she could see where exactly
in the thick grass Small Land resided. She and Rosalina only had to take a
couple steps forward to finally get a good look at Small Land.
Small Land looked
like an ordinary town of Mushroom people, but of course the buildings and Toads
were very small. In fact, the castle could only reach to the princesses' ankles. The
many Toads could only stop and admire how huge both ladies looked, especially as
they towered over the protective wall that surrounded the town.
Finally, a couple
trumpets sounded off, and coming out of the castle was a slightly taller Toad
wearing a crown. Peach smiled and got down on her knees, as did Rosalina, and
watched as King Small approached.
"Princess Peach!
Welcome once again to Small Land! We are always humbled by your gigantic
presence." King Small said.
"Heh heh… thank you,
King Small, but you need not go through all this trouble just to greet me."
Peach said with a smile.
"Nonsense, young
lady! The people here all look up to you in more ways than one! So what
brings you to our kingdom?" King Small asked.
"King Small, there is
someone that needs your help. Princess Apple and I feel you're the only land
that may be able to help." Peach said.
"Oh? Princess Apple,
you say?" King Small said. He and the other miniscule Toads watched as Peach
reached up to her shoulder and grabbed Prince Hugo, gently lowering him down to
the ground. Hugo casually stepped off Peach's gloved hand and approached King
Small, with many of the Small Land Toads gasping loudly. They knew something was
definitely off regarding Hugo's size.
"Hello, King Small.
Long time no see." Hugo said.
"P-P-P-P-Prince
Hugo!?!?" King Small said.
"Yep, it's me, in the
flesh." Hugo said.
"My heavenly stars…
what has happened!? It's been over 20 years since I last saw you at any size
other than Giant!" King Small said.
"Indeed. That was
before I grew in size and became the prince of Giant Land." Hugo said.
"Hugo was hit with
some kind of gas from a mysterious poison mushroom in his garden, and it shrunk
him to the size you see him at." Peach said.
"Goodness gracious,
and you're still in one piece!? I know I'd get crushed 100 times over if I ever
came to Giant Land and tried to have a chat with you or Princess Apple." King
Small said.
"King Small, we were
hoping maybe your doctors could look over Prince Hugo and determine if he can be
cured of his condition." Peach said.
"Oh, of course! Of
course! We will do whatever we can. Guards, please escort Prince Hugo to the
operation room." King Small said.
"Yes sir!" A couple
Toads said as they led Prince Hugo inside the castle. King Small looked back up
at Peach and Rosalina.
"It should take no
more than an hour for his body to be fully scanned. We'll keep you updated!"
King Small said.
"Thank you, King
Small. We will remain here for the time being." Peach said.
"As you wish!" King
Small said as he turned around and walked back inside the castle himself.
Like Peach said to
King Small, she and Rosalina chose to remain behind in Small Land instead of
going elsewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. But both princesses wouldn't be sitting
out of boredom. A few minutes after King Small left their presence, a handful of
Small Land Toads, a mix of grownups and children, came walking towards Peach's
dress.
"Oh? Hello, little
ones." Peach said.
"Princess Peach, my
kids have always dreamed of climbing you. Is it okay if they do this?"
one grownup Toad said.
"Well… okay! Whatever makes you happy!" Peach said.
"Mine too!" another
grownup Toad said.
"Yeah, my kids will
call me the best Dad ever!" another grownup Toad said.
"Now now, there's
plenty for everyone. In fact, why don't some of you climb my friend, Rosalina?
She'll be extra gentle!" Peach said. Half of the Toads did exactly that as they
sprinted towards Rosalina, who was a bit concerned about seeing such incredibly
tiny Toads risking their lives in this manner.
"Peach, are you sure
this is a safe idea? They're so small, I don't want to accidentally crush them…"
Rosalina said.
"Don't worry,
Rosalina. You'll be fine. Just pretend they're incredibly small Luma." Peach
said.
"Hmmm… yes, a good
thought." Rosalina said as she watched some of the younger Toads slowly climb up
her turquoise colored dress.
Peach and Rosalina
smiled as they watched some of the Toads climb up their dresses. They both tried
to imagine what it must look like for the Toads to be climbing such towering
figures. Some of them jumped up and down on the giantesses' legs like they were
mattresses or something else bouncy. Some of the kids were climbing up their
dresses real fast, and some were even sliding down the dresses like they were
giant slides. Rosalina also took delight that the younger Toads were having fun,
although some of them did ask her a question.
"Um… excuse me, giant
lady, but what can you do with that wand?" the younger Toad said as he pointed
over at Rosalina's wand down on the ground.
"Oh, almost anything
I want, but most of the time I use it to command my Luma." Rosalina said.
"Luma?" another
younger Toad asked.
"Little star-like
creatures that I take extra special care of." Rosalina said.
"Oh, I was hoping
that wand could make us fly." the first younger Toad said.
"Hmmhmm, of course it
can. Hold still…" Rosalina said. She gently waved her wand around until it
started sparkling lightly. That's when she pointed the wand at her waist where
the two tiny Toads were and surrounded them with sparkles. Those sparkles lifted
the Toads away from Rosalina's dress and made them float in the air.
"Wow! This is cool!
We're really flying!" the younger Toads both shouted as they flew around a short
distance, tickling Rosalina in the nose with the sparkles they were leaving
behind. The sparkles eventually wore off and the Toads started to fall for the
ground, but Rosalina was right on top of this and held a hand beneath them,
allowing them to land safely in the palm of her hand.
Another 30 minutes
passed, and the princesses didn't realize it as much as they were entertaining
their tiny guests. It was the trumpets signifying the arrival of King Small
outside the castle that got their attention. The tiny Toads all returned inside
the castle walls as the princesses leaned in to hear what King Small had to say.
Standing behind him were a couple guards as well as Prince Hugo.
"Good news, Princess
Peach! We should be able to flush out the material from that poison mushroom
from Prince Hugo's body! We just require something from you before we can
proceed." King Small said.
"Oh, what's that?"
Peach asked.
"A Super Mushroom. The doctors say the juice from deep inside the mushroom can
act as a cleanser for his body, essentially neutralizing the poison from
within!" King Small said.
"Hmmm… a most
fascinating way of curing such a disease." Rosalina said.
"I agree, Rosalina.
Don't worry, King Small. There should be plenty of Super Mushrooms around this
part of Grass Land. We'll be back in about a minute." Peach said.
"I knew we could
depend on you ladies!" King Small said.
However, Peach could
only take one step when she heard a familiar sound coming from above, as well as
a huge shadow blocking all sunlight. Peach and Rosalina gasped.
"Oh my… what is
that?" Rosalina asked.
"Oh no! It's Bowser
Koopa's Doom Ship!" Peach shouted. The Doom Ship shot cannon balls down towards
the princesses as well as Small Land, although they all were far off from their
targets. Still, it was enough to distract the ladies long enough for Wendy Koopa
to come down from the ship's anchor. When the anchor was three feet from the
ground, Wendy hopped off and landed squarely in the middle of Small Land,
crushing a few houses (but no Toads luckily).
"Hahahaha! There you
are, my little boy toy. You're coming with me!" Wendy said as she reached down
and grabbed Prince Hugo with two of her claws.
"No! Help me!" Hugo
shouted.
"Prince Hugo!" Peach
shouted.
"Tell that bimbo of a
giantess, Princess Apple, that if she wants her teeny tiny husband back, she'll
have to come to my castle and surrender Giant Land to ME!!!" Wendy said. She
then jumped back on the anchor and it rose up back towards the Doom Ship, which
then got back to sailing through the sky, no doubt back towards its home in Dark
Land.
"Oh my! This is
terrible! Prince Hugo has been kidnapped! That Koopa girl has some nerve coming
to our fabled kingdom!" King Small said.
"Fortunately it does
not appear anyone was hurt." Rosalina commented.
"Don't worry, King
Small. We'll get Prince Hugo back!" Peach said.
"Huh? Us? Perhaps
this would be a job best suited for the Mario Brothers, Peach." Rosalina said.
"No. Prince Hugo was
taken on my watch. I'd never forgive myself to Princess Apple if anything
happened to him. And besides, it's time we princesses taught them a lesson they
never forget!" Peach said.
"I admire your
courage and tenacity, Princess Peach. I will help you in any way I can."
Rosalina said with a smile.
"Thank you, Rosalina.
We better get to Bowser's Castle immediately!" Peach said.
"I know the quickest
way possible." Rosalina said. That's when she waved her star wand around a few
times and then covered herself and Peach with sparkles from that wand. Peach
could suddenly feel herself floating a couple feet off the ground.
"Oh? Am I flying
now?" Peach asked.
"Indeed, although
only for a short while. You lead the way to Bowser's home." Rosalina said.
"Okay, follow me!"
Peach said as she went flying in the same direction the Doom Ship went, with
Rosalina flying right behind her.
Dark Land
Meanwhile, inside
Bowser's Castle, Wendy was already in the throne room playing with the tiny
Prince Hugo that she had captured. Bowser was just sitting back in his throne,
happy to see the female Koopa all excited and no longer angry over her loss.
Wendy was laying down on her stomach and poking at Prince Hugo with her sharp
nails.
"Look at him,
Daddy... isn't he so cute and adorable, especially when he struggles?" Wendy
said.
"He sure does. It
kinda makes me wish I had done this to the prince instead of turn him into a
poodle..." Bowser said.
"You'll never get
away with this, you, you..." Hugo started to shout, but the look on Wendy's
menacing face told him that he better shut up before she does something bad to
him.
"That's a good little
prince. Oh! I can't wait to see the look on Princess Apple's face..." Wendy
said.
"What is it that you
have against my wife?" Hugo asked.
"Hmph! She just looks
so perfect, like she had the perfect upbringing! Nobody like that deserves to
rule a kingdom! She should be the one at my feet instead of you because of that
poison mushroom, but oh well!" Wendy said.
"Wait, so it was you
that planted that mushroom in the garden!?" Hugo said.
"Not me myself. I
would NEVER subject my eternal beauty to such a sloppy environment. That's why
we have Goombas and Koopa Troopas after all. But still…" Wendy said. She then
got up and picked up Hugo, placing him down on the floor.
"Alright, you...
start running before I crush you like a little mushroom! Daddy... watch me play
Stomp the Teeny Tiny Prince!" Wendy shouted.
"(sigh) I'm
watching..." Bowser said. Indeed, Wendy started making stomps at Hugo who just
took off running in the opposite direction. Wendy was deliberately missing on
each attempt to stomp on the prince, no doubt to make him feel a full dose of
fear and panic. Kamek and Bowser simply watched all this unfold in front of
their eyes.
"Gosh, your
majesty... I didn't think your daughter had this kind of behavior in her." Kamek
said.
"Well, it could be
worse... she could steal one of Iggy's wands and become a towering giant Koopa,
and then we'd all be in trouble!" Bowser said.
Just then, one of
Bowser's Hammer Brothers came running into the throne room.
"Your royal meanness!
I have most terrible news to report!" he said.
"Hammer Brother! How
many times do I have to tell you!? Knock before you come barging in here!"
Bowser said.
"Yeah! YOU ALMOST
CRUSHED MY LITTLE PRINCE, YOU MORON!!!" Wendy shouted.
"Oh... I'm sorry, but
Princess Peach and one of her friends have broken into the castle and they're on
their way here!" Hammer Brother said.
"What!? Princess
Peach? Why her and not the Mario Brothers?" Bowser asked.
"Because that's our
friend you took from us!" Peach shouted. Indeed, she and Rosalina were both
standing on either sides of the door to Bowser's throne room.
"Cursed crocodiles!
It is that pretty-in-pink princess!" Bowser shouted.
"And a traveler from
the cosmos!" Rosalina shouted.
"Impossible! How did
you get past our many guards in this castle?" Kamek shouted.
"A little help from
this wand I happened to steal from one of your Koopa Kids." Peach said as she
held up a wand with a light green-colored jewel at its end.
"Arrrrrrghhh!!!
Somebody stop those princesses! And Kamek... get my warp zone wand!!!" Bowser
said.
"Yes, sir!" Kamek
said as he sped out of the room.
"Leave them to me,
Daddy... I'll stop those pretty princesses!" Wendy said as she pulled out her
wand that had a red jewel on its end. She fired it and out came one of her candy
cane-colored hula hoops.
"Watch out,
Rosalina!" Peach shouted. Rosalina thrust her wand down, and suddenly a Yellow
Luma appeared to block the hoop.
"Good job, brave and
noble Luma!" Rosalina said.
"Now it's my turn!"
Peach shouted. She shot the wand forward and out came one of Lemmy Koopa's
bouncing balls. It hit another hoop and sent it flying back for Wendy! Wendy
could not dodge it in time as she became trapped in her own hoop.
"HEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! NO FAIR!!!!" Wendy shouted as she cried out in
frustration once more. Prince Hugo, meanwhile, managed to find cover against one
of the walls of the throne room after barely missing being crushed by the giant
Wendy.
Kamek then came
running in holding a gold-colored wand.
"I got it! I got it!"
Kamek shouted as he threw the wand across the room and into Bowser's hands!
"Yes! The Warp Zone
Wand! This wand allows me to open a warp pipe into any place I wish! Now I can
use it to zap you two to my dungeon! Hahahaha!" Bowser said.
"Any ideas, Peach?"
Rosalina asked. Peach stood still for a few seconds and then snapped her
fingers.
"It's time for a
little rhythmic gymnastics practice!" Peach said. Rosalina opened her mouth wide
then smiled, knowing exactly what the princess had in mind.
That's when the
princess suddenly began to undo her dress, with Rosalina doing the same thing
seconds later. This took Bowser by surprise.
"Huh!? Now w-w-w-wait
a moment! There are children present!" Bowser shouted as he frantically waved
his arms, dropping the golden wand in the process.
"I knew I should've
brought my camera with me!" Kamek said. But to everyone's relief, underneath
Peach and Rosalina's dresses were the outfits they wore earlier during rhythmic
gymnastics practice. The two ladies even went as far as taking their feet out of
their shoes.
"And now for the
music." Rosalina said as she waved her wand around and shot some sparkles in the
air. Suddenly, even though there was no stereo in the room, 'From the New World'
started playing at an almost too loud volume for everyone except the princesses.
As the music got
going, Peach and Rosalina got dancing around the throne room, using the wands
they stole as makeshift batons. The loud music and being fascinated by the
dancing of the princesses left all the Koopas almost motionless. Bowser didn't
even see Peach coming in from the side and kicking him in the nose.
"Ow! My nose!" Bowser
shouted.
"Now... while he's
distracted!" Peach shouted while dancing around. Rosalina at first didn't know
what she meant by that... that is until she looked down at the wand by her bare
feet.
"Oh right! Have a
ball, Bowser!" Rosalina shouted. She shot a rubber ball out from the wand and it
went smack onto Bowser's nose! The hit knocked him unconscious as he fell
backwards and dropped the golden wand in the process.
"Hey! You can't do
that to the king!" Kamek said, only to suddenly have a ball go flying into his
face, knocking him out cold and off his flying broom.
The song then came to
an end, with Peach and Rosalina striking the same fabulous poses even though
there was no audience around, except for Wendy who was still trapped in her
candy hoop.
Peach and Rosalina
took deep breaths… the dances obviously taking much of their strength with them.
"Whew… that was
great, Rosalina!" Peach said.
"I couldn't agree
more. The judges in Rio will surely have to give us gold medals after we perform
for them." Rosalina said with a wink from her visible eye. Peach ran over to the
wand and picked it up before walking towards the wall and looking down at Prince
Hugo.
"Are you okay, Prince
Hugo?" Peach said.
"I am now thanks to
you! I didn't think you ladies had it in you to take on Bowser like that." Hugo
said.
"Awww… it's nothing,
really. We'd do anything to help you." Peach said.
"Now then, we'd
better get back to Small Land before Bowser and the others either wake up or
break free." Rosalina said.
"You're right,
Rosalina, and we better take this souvenir with us. Bowser can't be allowed to
have the power to warp anywhere he chooses!" Peach said as she showed off the
golden wand while Rosalina walked over and gently picked up the shrunken Prince
Hugo. Peach then concentrated and fired a beam from the wand at a section of the
floor. A pipe sprouted up from the spot. The two princesses changed back into
their regular princess outfits next, brushing off the dust from the checkered
floor of the throne room.
"Here's our ticket
back to Small Land!" Peach said as she jumped inside, taking the wand with her.
Rosalina tightened her grip on the tiny Hugo a little bit.
"Hold on tight,
prince." Rosalina said as she followed Peach inside. The pipe then disappeared.
A few moments later,
Bowser woke up, only to realize that Peach and Rosalina were gone, along with
Wendy's little birthday gift.
"Oh crud... first I
always get beaten by those pesky Marios, and now I get beaten by a couple of
helpless princesses!" Bowser said. Wendy finally was able to break out of her
own candy trap and she stood up next to Bowser.
"It's all your fault!
You just had to let those annoying princesses rescue my birthday gift! You're
like the worst Dad EVER!!!" Wendy said. Bowser showed a face of anger as he
looked down at Wendy.
"Wendy..." Bowser
said. Wendy saw the face and knew what was coming.
"Um... yes, Daddy?"
Wendy said, softly.
"SHUT
UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Bowser shouted in a tone so loud that all of Dark Land could hear it... not that
there was anyone else outside of Bowser's Castle.
Small Land
Peach and Rosalina
(with Hugo firmly in Rosalina's hands) both came out of the warp pipe that was
generated by the golden wand about 50 feet away from where Small Land was, so it
was only a short walk to be towering over the land once again. However, Peach
came to a sudden stop.
"Huh? What is it,
Peach?" Rosalina asked.
"I almost forgot! The
Super Mushroom that King Small asked for." Peach said. That's when she jumped up
at the ? block directly over her head. Coming right out was indeed a Super
Mushroom, and Peach made sure to touch the very bottom of the 'shroom so that
its power wouldn't activate on her. Then the two resumed their walk and made it
back to Small Land.
"Oh, Princess Peach!
You have returned safe and sound!" King Small said.
"That's right! And we
got Prince Hugo back too." Peach said as she nodded over to Rosalina, who gently
kneeled down and dropped Hugo directly in front of the king.
"Excellent! And you
brought the Super Mushroom too! We'll begin Operation Unshrink on the prince
right away! Just set the Super Mushroom down behind the castle." King Small
said. Peach did exactly that and found it astonishing that even a Super Mushroom
towered well over the land.
There was nothing
more Peach and Rosalina could do except wait, and wait, and wait. They paced
back and forth outside the Small Land walls, occasionally watching as doctors
ran in and out of the castle connecting probes and other things to the dormant
Super Mushroom. They even respectfully declined the requests of some of the
Toads to play around the giant princesses. A little over 30 minutes later, they
heard a Toad crying out.
"Whoa! He's growing
fast!" one Toad shouted. Peach and Rosalina both looked to see what that meant,
they were watching Hugo grow bigger and bigger… he was already five times taller
than the Small Land castle. The prince quickly stepped over the protective
walls, where he was already the same size as Peach and Rosalina.
"Oh! Prince Hugo!
You're growing!" Peach said.
"Indeed I am…" Hugo
said, watching as he now towered over the princesses. In just about a minute, he
was back to his original gigantic height of a little over 60 feet tall.
"Hooray, Hugo! You're
back to normal!" Peach said.
"Yes, and it's all
thanks to you and the people of Small Land. I am forever in their debt." Hugo
said. Peach looked down on King Small and the rest of Small Land.
"Thank you so much,
King Small! I hope it wasn't too difficult to cure Prince Hugo." Peach said.
"Awwww… no trouble at
all. As I said, it was an easy process of using the Super Mushroom to cleanse
the prince's body of the poison that caused him to shrink." King Small said.
"As the prince said,
we are forever in your debt." Peach said as she blew a kiss down to King Small
and everyone else in Small Land.
"Hahaha! I just love
big kisses!" King Small said.
"Alright, we better
get back to Giant Land immediately. I can't wait to see the look on Apple's
face!" Peach said.
"Until we meet again,
Princess Peach! And do say hello to Apple for us!" King Small said. Finally,
Peach and Rosalina walked away from Small Land, and they were picked up by
Prince Hugo as he made his way out of Grass Land and towards Toad Town, looking
for the warp pipe that went directly to Giant Land.
Giant Land
Hugo jumped his way
out of the warp pipe and landed on his two feet with Peach and Rosalina riding
along on his shoulders. Before he could take another step, though, he was
suddenly greeted by Madzilla.
"Oh! Your royal
majesty! There you are at last!" Madzilla said as the monster came running up to
his fellow giant.
"Yes, Madzilla, here
I am! I'm sorry to have worried all of you." Hugo said.
"No trouble at all,
sir. Where did you go, if I may ask?" Madzilla said.
"Oh, it's a really
long story. I think it would be best if I told it at dinner time. Besides, I
must see my wife immediately!" Hugo said.
"Yes, yes, I concur!
She's become really worried over the past few hours. Follow me, I will take you
to the castle with great haste!" Madzilla said as he led the way towards the
castle.
Once both giants got
there, Hugo quickly realized the predicament that Peach and Rosalina might find
themselves in. That's when he gently plucked both ladies off his shoulders.
"You two better get
down on the ground. We wouldn't want my wife to be knocking you two down when
she hugs me." Hugo said.
"Oh yes, we
understand!" Peach said. Once the two were down on the ground and they ran to a
safe distance, Hugo ducked down behind Madzilla so Apple wouldn't see him right
away. That's when Madzilla nodded and then knocked on the door. It only took a
few seconds for the front doors to open up and reveal Princess Apple, with
Princess Daisy sitting on her right shoulder.
"Madzilla? What do
you have to report?" Apple asked.
"Princess Apple… I
return to your humble home to bring you very important news about your husband."
Madzilla said with a suddenly somber look on his face. This made Apple quiver
seriously as she placed a hand over her open mouth.
"Is… Is he…?" Apple
said.
Madzilla then smiled
and stepped to his left, fully revealing the restored-to-giant-size Prince Hugo.
"Surprise!" Hugo
shouted. Apple gasped loudly.
"HUGO!!!!!" Apple
screamed. Immediately she wrapped her arms around her husband as the two giants
hugged each other. Daisy held on for dear life to Apple's brown hair as she
tried to stay atop the giantess's shoulder.
"Heh, it's been a
looooong time since I came home to a hug like that!" Hugo said with a smile.
"I was so worried I'd
never see you again like this!" Apple said as she wiped a couple tears from her
eyes.
"Hey, what about me!?
Don't I get some hugs for finding him?" Madzilla said. Of course, Apple knew the
real reason behind Hugo's 'disappearance,' but she still went over and hugged
him as well.
"Of course, Madzilla.
I have you to thank as well. Please gather up all the guards and have them
return to the castle." Apple said.
"Right away, your
beautifulness!" Madzilla said as he saluted a little too hard and knocked the
Army helmet off his head, much to everyone's laughter. After picking up the
helmet, Madzilla walked away.
"So Small Land was
able to cure your condition?" Apple said.
"They sure did,
albeit after Peach, Rosalina, and myself took a detour through Dark Land." Hugo
said.
"Oh? Dark Land?"
Apple said. Peach and Rosalina stepped towards Apple's golden sandals to tell
the rest of the story.
"One of the
Koopalings, Wendy, managed to find us and kidnapped Hugo." Peach said.
"Where we found out
it was Bowser's evil minions who planted that poison mushroom in the garden.
They were trying to shrink and kidnap you, my sweetheart!" Hugo said.
"Oh dear! That evil
Bowser!" Apple said.
"But fortunately we
got him back using some of the rhythmic moves we practiced." Rosalina said.
"Man! Sounds like I
missed a lot of action! Seriously, Peach, we gotta take more adventures!" Daisy
shouted, prompting laughs from everyone in the area.
Apple took a deep
breath and smiled.
"I can't thank all of
you enough for saving my husband and restoring him to normal, including everyone
in Small Land. Perhaps you'd like to stay for dinner as royal guests of honor?"
Apple asked.
"We'd be honored!"
Daisy said.
"Absolutely."
Rosalina said.
"You bet!" Peach
said.
"Good!" Apple said.
She then gently picked up Daisy and placed her down on the ground next to Peach
and Rosalina.
"Let me just use the
crystal in my bracelet to temporarily enlarge all of you…" Apple said.
"Actually, Apple, we
would like to remain our normal sizes this time around. We… kinda want to look
up at the two of you after everything that's happened with Prince Hugo." Peach
said.
"Huh? We do?" Daisy
said, only to suddenly get a bump in the chest from Rosalina's elbow.
"I mean… yes, YES!
Peach is right! You two should wear your size proudly for the three of us!"
Daisy said. Apple then smiled.
"Very well, if that
is what you wish. But…" Apple said as she reached down and picked up the three
ladies.
"I'm still carrying
all of you to the dinner table. We wouldn't want to accidentally step on you,
would we?" Apple said.
"Of course not!" all
three princesses shouted. Apple giggled as she and Hugo kissed each other one
more time before walking back inside the Giant Land Castle. Peach, Daisy, and
Rosalina were looking forward to having whatever huge dishes they'd be served at
the dinner table.
Hugo took a deep breath as he walked around the castle and looked at his same-sized wife. Never again would he wake up and take his size for granted.
END