A cry. A shout. 

Where does it come from?

A scream. A sob.

I can't find them. It. Her. Him. 

What is it?

Who is it?

Why are they suffering?

Shouts echo all around. They engulf me. They drown me. I hear my name. I hear so much- too much. I feel their screams. They rip me apart. 

They say my name so much. Please, stop. Please. Please, please. Please... Please.....

~

"Mario! Mario, get up! Get up, Mario! Come one, we have to go!"

I open my eyes, gasping for air. Rosalina's bright blue eyes meet my brown ones. "Mario, hurry! Gather your stuff!"

I sit up and feel dizzy. What was going on?

I reach for a protein bar, but it gets smacked out of my hand. I look up, dumbfounded, at Daisy. She shakes her head. "No time."

"No time," I mumble. I crawl over to my backpack and stuff in my sleeping bag and the last protein bars in it. I zip it up and hurry to get my boots on. My fingers shake as I try to tie the laces.

"Mario! We must leave!"

I look up at Rosalina. Sleep was still in my veins. 

She sighs and bends down to tie my boots. I zip up my bag. Luigi stands with Daisy ahead, looking out.

"What is it?" I mumble.

"Turtles," Rosalina whispers. "Lots. Honestly, Mario, I thought you would have heard them. What is going on with you?"

I shrug. My dream, that's what. Was it coming true? 

I hear the screech of a turtles from up ahead. Where were we going to go? I didn't want to backtrack, but if they're in front of us, then we might just have to.

As if she was able to read my mind, Rosalina told me what the plan was. "Daisy found a Shroom Trail. It will be more dangerous than flat ground, but it's safer than facing the turtles. They're big."

I shake my head. "Shroom Trails are too much of a risk. They're not safe." I rub my eyes and stand, feeling another wave of dizziness wash over me.

She sighs and stands with me. "Well, you weren't awake when the plan was made. You're just going to have to go along with it."

"Where's Yoshi?" I ask, deciding not to argue. Then I remember. He left. He had to. He got to return. He made it seem like he didn't want to, but I knew he couldn't wait to get back to the security the palace provided. "Sorry."

"Come on," she murmurs, walking ahead to join Daisy and Luigi. She curled her arm around Daisy's and leaned her head on her shoulder. 

Something was up with them.

But I refuse to believe they're together. No royalty would ever be... gay. Sure, Luigi was, but he had always been a mama's boy. And besides, we weren't royalty. I was famous because I worked for it. I'm the youngest man to become a general. Besides, it's more common for men to be gay.

At least, I think it is.

I hurry up and walk with them. I wanted to be able to try to protect them if something attacked us. We were on a muddy trail, which was odd, since we were in a desert with only little shrubs for shelter. Then again, Shroom Trails always brought moisture to the desert. 

The Layer-Cake Desert was a dangerous place. You always need t be on your toes, otherwise you might get sucked into quicksand. Also, there are Shroom Trails. Shroom Trails are deadly. The Mushrooms stand tall above cliffs with a drop that's never-ending. Also, you never know when you're going to get a bouncy mushroom where they can bounce you right off before you can even process what happened.

But I knew they were right. We can't backtrack and we can't fight them.

While we're walking behind the shrubs, I catch sight of a turtle and gasp. It's huge. I hurry to catch up with the others. 

"It's just up here," Daisy murmured.

Sure enough, just a few yards ahead, there was a bright pink mushroom, others after it, in an assortment of colors. I breathed heavily. We could do this.

"You want to lead the way?" Daisy asked, sensing my apprehension. 

I nodded. If I was going to let it happen, I was going to be the first one down.