At the border between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Bowser Kingdom stood a fortress constructed from red bricks. The flag fluttering atop its flagpole bore the emblem of the Bowser Kingdom. Center-stage to this fortress, Goombas and Koopa Troopas conducted wide-range patrols, with many more stationed directly inside the garrison.
Farther away, on a cluster of brick blocks floating high in the sky, Cyan and Nishi lay flat on their stomachs, peering down into the distance.
"Master, with so many enemies around, how are we supposed to get past?"
Nishi scratched her head in frustration as she watched the patrolling scouts. A small squad would be easy to handle, but the sheer volume of enemies meant that if they were spotted, they would instantly be surrounded.
"Wait for nightfall."
Cyan cast a glance at the darkening sky, her mind shifting to the Cape Feather. Using it during the day made them a conspicuous, floating target. Operating under the cover of night would be significantly safer.
"Sneaking past under the cover of darkness? But we aren't dealing with humans. What if the dark doesn't affect their vision at all?"
Resting her chin in her hands, Nishi watched the Koopa Troopas pacing back and forth below at a decent clip. A single Koopa Troopa had been troublesome enough before; now they were facing an entire platoon. A rough estimate put them at more than a dozen turtles, not to mention a considerable number of Goombas. The enemy possessed an overwhelming numerical advantage.
"We will try... to fly over."
Cyan brought up the item display, showing Nishi the attributes of the Cape Feather that Toad had gifted her.
"Master, you won't drop me and leave me behind, right?" Nishi read through the item details, her eyes sparkling as she immediately clung to Cyan's arm.
"I won't."
Cyan shook her head slightly. She was growing somewhat accustomed to Nishi's sudden displays of physical intimacy and didn't push her away this time.
Before night fully blanketed the landscape, the duo ate some rations to fill their stomachs. Once pitch-black darkness finally consumed the border, Cyan scooped Nishi into her arms and concentrated Hamon energy into her legs.
Hamon Overdrive!
Dropping into a slight crouch, Cyan unleashed a powerful leap. The brick blocks beneath her feet fractured under the pressure as she propelled them dozens of meters straight into the night sky. Nishi instinctively locked her arms around Cyan's neck.
The four corners of the flying cape were secured to Cyan's wrists and ankles, acting like a parachute. To maintain its canopy shape, she had to keep her body stretched out in a wide "X" formation.
"Master's posture is so weird... you look just like a flying squirrel!"
Clinging to Cyan's neck with one arm while wrapping her legs tightly around her waist, Nishi watched the somewhat comical, star-shaped posture and snickered into her free hand.
"Keep laughing and I'll drop you," Cyan said coldly, casting a stern look at her.
"No, don't! Falling from this high will literally kill me!" Nishi squirmed, shifting her weight as she hugged Cyan tighter. Suddenly, her arms pressed against a localized softness. She blinked in confusion.
Huh? Why is it kind of soft... Are these Master's pectoral muscles?
"Stop moving."
Cyan focused entirely on manipulating the pitch and drag of the cape, swiftly gliding right over the fortress. They sailed directly above the Goombas and Koopa Troopas marching out for their nightly shifts, completely undetected.
"Master, your pectoral muscles are kind of massive..." Nishi muttered under her breath.
"Shut up."
Down below, a sudden draft swept past the battlements. A Goomba blinked, tilting its head toward the sky as if it had caught a brief glimpse of something passing through the clouds.
"What's wrong? Did you spot something?" another Goomba asked, walking over to join its companion.
"Nothing, I thought I saw a large bird fly past."
"Keep your eyes peeled! Word from the top says that Mario and Luigi from the Mushroom Kingdom are incredibly dangerous. We have to be on guard for a sudden assault!"
"We have an army here, and there are only two of them. What's there to fear?"
"Who knows? The orders passed down from the higher-ups say that if Mario and Luigi attack, we don't need to fight to the death. Just put up a fake struggle and let them pass."
"Didn't the Queen capture Prince Peach? Why would she want us to just let them through? Unless... the Queen wants to personally crush Mario and Luigi right in front of Prince Peach to display her supreme dominance?" The Goomba smiled wickedly, its mind conjuring up a completely fabricated, dramatic scenario.
Having successfully bypassed the border fortress, Cyan and Nishi officially entered the territory of the Bowser Kingdom. They landed safely in a dense patch of woodland, opting to rest for the night and resume their trek at dawn.
"You sleep. I'll watch."
Cyan leaned her back against a sturdy tree trunk, cradling her demonic blade in her arms. She looked down at Nishi, whose head was already resting against her shoulder, her eyes blinking heavily as if she could drop off to sleep at any second.
"No way, Master. You sleep first, and you can take the second shift. Leave the first half of the night to me." Fearing Cyan might refuse, Nishi quickly added, "If any danger pops up, I can wake you up instantly!"
"Mm, alright."
Cyan conceded that Nishi's logic was sound. She closed her eyes and let her posture relax.
"Um... Master? Do you want to use my lap as a pillow? It might be more comfortable..." Nishi murmured, her cheeks flushing slightly as she kneaded her own thighs.
My legs are pretty muscular, I hope it's not too stiff... Nishi looked at Cyan with a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
"Okay."
Cyan shifted down, resting her head comfortably across Nishi's lap before closing her eyes once more.
The forest fell into a deep silence, interrupted only by the occasional, distant call of a nocturnal bird. Nishi stared down at Cyan's sleeping face. Looking at those fair, flawless cheeks, her hand twitched with an uncontrollable urge to reach out and touch them.
No, no, no! If Master catches me, I'm a goner!
Nishi forcibly held down her rogue left hand. Her mind instantly conjured up the terrifying consequences of getting caught, visualizing an enraged Cyan chasing her down a street wielding her demonic blade.
Suddenly, a heavy downdraft suppressed the canopy above. A colossal shadow materialized out of nowhere, blotting out the moonlight.
A... a flying Koopa Troopa? No, that's a Paratroopa!
Nishi looked up to see a massive turtle gliding through the air. Protruding from its back was a pair of immense white wings, fully capable of lifting its hefty weight. According to the intelligence files provided by the Chancellor, these winged variants were known as Paratroopas. Though they appeared to share a lineage with regular Koopa Troopas, they were functionally an entirely distinct subspecies.
The Paratroopa locked its gaze onto the pair below. Beating its wings with a fierce gust, it dove straight down at them.
Cyan, who had been resting, instantly sensed the incoming malice from above. Her eyes snapped open, locking onto the descending predator.
Boom!
The Paratroopa slammed into the campsite like a meteor, ripping a massive crater into the earth and snapping a thick tree clean in half. The beast scrambled out of the dust, looking beneath its massive frame only to let out a confused squawk.
"We're over here, you ugly turtle!"
Nishi delivered a soaring kick right to the side of the Paratroopa's head. Upon landing, she executed a succession of clean backflips to establish distance. A glob of viscous, pitch-black mud materialized in her palm, which she hurled directly into the beast's face, completely blinding its vision.
Faced with an opponent of this mass, she didn't dare attempt a sliding tackle. It was far too easy to get pinned down. Sliding directly under a giant turtle's shell would be an incredibly embarrassing way to get crushed.
With its eyes plastered in thick mud, the blinded Paratroopa thrashed its head violently, using its heavy claws to desperately scrape away the obstruction.
Cyan dug her fingers deep into a nearby tree trunk, using raw physical strength to defy gravity as she channeled Hamon into her legs. She kicked off the trunk with explosive force.
Crack!
The wood splintered violently under the impact as Cyan transformed into a streak of black shadow, slamming onto the Paratroopa's back like a human cannonball.
Iaido!
Clang!
The demonic blade cleared its scabbard in a flash of silver. A massive white wing severed cleanly from the Paratroopa's back, hitting the dirt as a torrent of blood erupted from the wound. With a swift follow-up arc, Cyan sheared off the remaining wing, completely stripping the beast of its flight capabilities.
Planting her feet firmly onto its shell, she gripped her blade with both hands and drove it toward the creature's neck, channeling a tempest of wind-attributed sword qi through the steel.
Mugen Style: Gale Slash!
The localized gale tore a ragged, deep laceration across the Paratroopa's neck. The excruciating pain carried the distinct stench of mortality, throwing the beast into a blind panic as it desperately tried to retract its limbs and head back into its shell.
Cyan had no intention of allowing it to hole up.
Holy Flame!
Pale golden holy fire ignited across the length of her blade. With a powerful downward thrust, Cyan drove the demonic weapon deep into the Paratroopa's neck. Before the geyser of blood could splash against her outfit, it was instantly vaporized by the blistering heat of the sacred flames.
Bam!
Cyan struck the pommel of her hilt with a heavy palm strike, driving the blade entirely through the neck and pinning the creature to the forest floor.
Unable to withstand the internal incineration, the Paratroopa thrashed in violent convulsions. Within a matter of seconds, the struggles ceased entirely, its head reduced to charred ash by the lingering Holy Flame.
A persistent creature. That took a toll on my mental energy.
The sacred fire on her blade died down. Cyan retrieved a bronze card floating above the corpse and tossed it toward Nishi, who was jogging over.
"Good job."
"Eh? For me?" Nishi caught the card frantically, treating it as if it were a scorching piece of coal.
Seeing her partner's bewildered expression, Cyan clarified, "Your luck is better. You open it."
"Oh, I get it now!" Hearing those words, the knot in Nishi's chest finally loosened.
[Bronze Card used. Obtained: 500 Survival Points, Cape Feather, Green Apple.]
[Cape Feather]
[Type: Consumable Item]
[Function: Sprout a pair of wings on your back, allowing sustained flight for 10 minutes.]
[Note: Oh my god! An angel is descending... wait, holy crap, it's just a giant turtle with wings!]
[Green Apple]
[Type: Recovery Item]
[Function: Restores 20 Health Points and 30 Mental Energy.]
[Note: A crisp, sweet-and-sour green apple. One of the favorite fruits of the Paratroopa species.]
"Look, Master, I pulled these two items," Nishi said, her shoulders slumping slightly as she handed the items over to Cyan. She muttered under her breath, "Maybe my luck isn't that great after all..."
"They are good."
Cyan, however, found the haul quite practical. The Cape Feather was a mobility item that granted genuine flight—a perfect utility asset for escaping fatal scenarios in a pinch. Even as a consumable, an item like the Cape Feather would command a premium price among contractors back in the Survival Space.
"Keep them both." Cyan declined to take them, pushing the items back toward Nishi. "You will likely find a use for them."
"Alright then..."
Nishi had originally intended to refuse, but upon hearing Cyan's reasoning, she moved the Green Apple into her inventory space, while tucking the Cape Feather securely against her person.
As for where exactly she hid it... well, that's for you to guess~!