Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

How long has it been?

How long has it been since she opened her eyes? Since she moved? Breathed? That, she didn't know. 

Being dead sure makes your perception of time fade. 

Though she did remember something , like how she died, where, and who she saw last. 

Meggy.

She really hoped she was alright. Dealing with the death of a—friend? Yes, a friend, perhaps—was hard.

Oh, she also remembered Axol had joined her in the afterlife. It was fun talking to him. He even had gotten a girlfriend of some sort– Melony, was it? She couldn't really recall her name at the moment.

But that was before ,

Now she was somehow awake again.

How could she know that? It could have been impossible to guess since where they had put her was incredibly dark, and even if she opened her eyes— felt her eyes open she thought they were still closed. But she knew because she felt her chest rise and fall slowly, indicating her lungs were still somehow in function, and because her stomach after a few seconds ( or minutes, as I said, time is strange to recall when you haven't interacted with it for so long) picked up the pain of getting stabbed in the middle of her abdomen, the same exact pain she felt when that Goddamned sword first passed her skin and muscles and– probably organs? She hasn't always been the best in biology– and poked right through her, making her able to see the purple stained blade right in front of her face, and her blood on the floor and her ears ringing and Meggy screaming and —

No. Stop. That was the past.

 It wasn't here anymore.

'Alright Desti, calm down, it's fine, just try to move and then you'll be okay.'

As she told herself that, she tried lifting up one of her arms, only for her hand to come in harsh contact with the hard wood of the coffin, which sent a wave of tingling up her bones and skin, like when one of your limbs is "asleep" and you hit it against something. That feeling. Horrible.  

She took her trembling hand back, giving an angry glare at the blackness before her (which was useless, since it was not sentient and could not answer her). And she thought. About what to do next. What could she do?

'Well, I can go ahead and try to open this thing.'

And that she tried, placing the palms of her hands—did her nails grow? They did. They did! Huh, that's fascinating, truly fascinating —on the roof of the coffin and pushed as hard as her weak, tired body could. Though the thing didn't move an inch. Great.

So, another option, break it open . With her fists. Oh yeah that would break her hands for sure.

Desti took a deep breath of preparation, before tightening her fingers in her palms until her knuckles were white(as if her skin already wasn't pale) and struck once right where the metal that closed the wooden box was. She would have really preferred if the pain would have stayed on the "You Aren't Getting This Back When You're Alive" list. But she struck again, and again, and again and again until she heard something break—was it her hand? Probably…though it sounded different, like met—

She didn't even get to finish that thought process as one of the pins that made the top close bust open, falling into the water.

Wait.

The water?

Was she in the ocean?

Oh God she was in the ocean.

This would have been hard. How was she supposed to do anything when at any moment, at any slightly wrong movement her little wooden prison would flip over and let her dissolve in the saline water and make her die again after no t even BEING alive in the first place! Okay, no, calm down, focus on opening the coffin first. First, freedom, then she can worry about being stranded in the sea.

So the girl pushed up, and up, until the top started to incline at her left, indicating that it was, in fact, opening.

With one last push to the left, she finally managed to open up her wooden prison (that was surprisingly comfy, given the soft intern casing of fabric) only to be absolutely devastated with sensations and surroundings and sounds and smells all at once.

The sun was high in the sky, not a cloud to be seen, only the gentle sea breeze caressing the waves of the water, which made her eyes sunk back in their sockets for the sudden change of lighting and her skin itch from the sudden warmness, and the waves and seagulls made her eardrums tremble as they experienced what sounds were again, and her bones felt heavy and she could practically smell the pure salt in the air and the water and everything was so overwhelming for her.

It felt like being a newborn child again. Like being birthed out of a soundless, smelless and temperature-proof place, into a new one with all kinds of things all at once because your body could not process things individually and made them pile up and mix and it was horrifying . She might have just made the right decision and close herself in that coffin again until she died of asphyxiation. 

But she didn't do that, instead she forced herself to remove her arms from her face, letting the seemingly way too hot sunrays touch her skin and make her eyes shine like gold and honey, let her rounded octoling ears isolate the sounds that were far away even though they seemed so close, while keeping the loud crashing of the waves on the wooden surface at a moderate volume.

She'd forgotten how beautiful the world was. How beautiful it was to feel it.

Okay, now she could worry on how to get to land.

Desti looked around, the only thing surrounding her was the endless crystalline sea, shimmering under the light of day, and a strange white and dark red tower, surrounded by blurry splashes of color, probably houses. Bingo!

Though that looked very far away. Like, very far . 

But that would not discourage her! She could do this! Had to, at least. She hoped.

So, she looked at her sides in hopes of finding a floating stick or something, and quickly realized one of her hands was in the water. But why wasn't she feeling her skin burning and dissolving?

She moved it around a little, awestruck by this new discovery, happy to finally be able to feel what water is like without worrying about disintegrating her body, when suddenly a burning pain struck the tips of her fingers and she immediately took the hand back and dried it on her shirt, panicked. Alright, so water still hurts , but the pain kicks in later. Okay. Good to know. Now, look for a stick.

As the burning in her hand died down, a surprisingly big stick floated by, hitting her arranged ship. 

Desti grinned as she picked it up and began using it as a sort of boat oar, slowly directing herself towards that (hopefully it is) town.

After a long period of oaring the colorful blurs started to become more clear, taking the form of little houses and shops, a dark red and white lighthouse, and a small dock before the town. It looked quite lovely. As she sailed closer, she could see some rather strange looking boats anchored by the dock, the one sticking the most out to her being a sort of—cruise? It definitely looked like a cruise— with a giant turtle in front of it, attached aboard with very big ropes and chains, though it looked happy. And it even had a hat.  

What the hell even was this place?

She finally made it to the wooden platform of the dock, standing up in the coffin (barely keeping balance) she put her hands on the oak wood and pushed herself up, being able to sit with her legs swinging just an inch above the water. With one of her legs she pushed the coffin to the left, and with the stick she guided it ashore. It was a good coffin, it would've been a shame if it was lost in the sea. 

After being satisfied with the placing of her macabre boat, she started walking toward a large sidewalk just before a flock of houses and little shops, and she noticed a sign standing tall over a small stone wall that welcomed the visitors, with the name of this place, she supposed. So she turned in front of it and read:

"Welcome to Port Aurora!"

Chapter Text

Desti repeated the welcoming under her breath, trying to memorize the name of the place. Port Aurora. It sounded like a nice town. 

'Maybe it's near the Mushroom Kingdom?'

She was brought back to reality by a loud voice screaming something and another laughing hysterically, which quickly revealed to be a rather strange looking kid and a supposed burglar.

The criminal looked like a big potato, and it was in fact, except it was sentient and wore sunglasses, a hat, and black gloves. The other figure, the kid, resembled a blue ball, and he wore a belt far too big for him with a star and far-too-big-for-him cowboy boots. 

Plus he had a dead octopus on his head. Oh, wait, no, it was made out of cloth. Thank God, she thought she was going to throw up.

Right when her instincts of courage and pride kicked in and told her to help the kid, a tall figure swooped in from atop a building and effortlessly tackled the criminal to the ground before she could even register what they looked like. The figure stood up, and revealed to be a rather beautiful young woman of color with white hair, golden eyes (just like hers,she noticed), cat ears and a tail. That was…strange. This whole town was strange, actually. 

The kid took out a pair of police handcuffs, and arrested the Potato Man, while the woman looked around, probably searching for his colleagues or something.

"An alone mission huh?" The boy said, and Desti could hear the smugness in his voice, while the sentient potato was struggling with the handcuffs. "Yeah, what about it? My teammates suck at their job, alright?!" He complained, which only made the boy roll his eyes, the woman still intent in her search snapping her head back at the arrested man;

"Where are they now?"

"I have no idea!" The potato replied, scoffing.

"Well, you and the other Spudbuds are still going to prison. We upgraded it now!" The little boy said with a smile.

And with that the "Spudbud" ,as the boy called him and his teammates, was given in the hands of other strange ball-like people with blue hats on, probably officers. The woman only stood alert, in silence, watching as the police car drove away in a higher part of the small city.

And then they noticed her.

Desti froze in place, not knowing what to do, scared that they might see her as a suspect of a crime she didn't do(I mean, an octoling with a big scar on her abdomen with her blood still on her shirt was pretty weird, even for a town that seemed to be even weirder) and arrest her. She really would've preferred if she didn't have to meet these "Spudbuds" after not even experiencing life again.

Instead, the boy looked at her, gave her a puzzled look, then something must have clicked in his brain, because his eyes shone like the sea under the sun, and he smiled gleefully while walking towards her.

"Ah, hello there! You must be a tourist, right? It's weird seeing them right now, usually they come in summer… but that's not important!" 

He laughed happily, now being in front of her, and gave her a rather excited salut pose;

"Welcome to Port Aurora! The small sea-town, known for its great lighthouse, and the Phoenix Festival! Also known for its culinary specialties." He said, and his voice sounded genuinely proud of his hometown, which made the octoling remember the pride she held to be part of Inkopolis when she was little, just like this tiny boy. It made her smile.

"My name's Auri, the town sheriff! And this is Whisk, the cat supervisor!" Auri said, turning for a brief moment to Whisk, who was nervously wagging her tail, ears pressed on her skull, looking at her feet. "Auri, you don't really need to present m-me.." She said, her voice trembling at the end.

She now looked back at Desti, her expression completely different, now serious and cautious, staring at her dead in the eye, her topaz cat eyes piercing through her pools of gold like thunder piercing through the stormy clouds, and Desti feared that the woman might even be able to see her soul and her thoughts for how hard she was looking at her.

"Well? What's your name, traveller?" A high male voice brought her back to reality, the cat woman still searching in her form some kind of clue,

"Oh. Uh. My name's Desti," She replied, and the way she hesitated made her courageous spirit roll in its grave from the embarrassment. "I'm not a tourist, actually, I just woke up in a…"coffin stranded in the sea" ruined boat. I don't know how I got here, really." She finally admitted, but that was not true, and she knew so.

Whisk finally stopped analyzing whatever she could understand of Desti, and asked a question: "Where are you from? I have never seen someone like you." Her tone still serious and deep, it made her bones shiver. "I'm from Inkopolis, it's a big metropolis near the Mushroom Kingdom" and what she said was true this time.

"The Mushroom Kingdom? Oh, I've heard of that!" The boy exclaimed, triumphant- and Desti swore that she saw him glow for a second, bathed in orange light. Man, she must have been awfully tired to start hallucinating kids glowing.

"Yes, I need to go there. There's a—friend?— there's a friend waiting for me." With this, Whisk put a hand on her chin, and thought, then: "Well, the nearest boat for the Mushroom Kingdom departs tomorrow morning." 

So, she looked to the dock, and her eye specifically caught the turtle-cruise she saw before,"Is it that one? The turtle thing, I mean." The woman nodded "Yes, but for now their gates are closed. I also suppose you don't have any money, so you don't have a ticket either." 

She was right, she noticed. Apparently putting money in the coffin was not an option for her funeral.

"Oh," She looked down, trying to find her pockets, putting her hands in them just to make sure, but they were still empty "No. I don't have money."

Auri looked at her, then at the cruise, then back at her again, and when he looked back he had a grin on his little face, so: "We're gonna sneak you in" and with that Whisk whipped her head at the boy, eyes wide and pupils as thin as a piece of string. "I beg your pardon?" 

Desti could not help but be surprised herself, like seriously, a sheriff trying to go against the law to make a living corpse infiltrate a ship. What could be the odds?

"Well, for now let's maybe get you cleaned. I don't think the cruisers wouldn't be suspicious of the smell of fish you have." He decided, and started heading for a street, Whisk throwing her eyes at the bright sky, which was now beginning to darken, and Desti followed after them, still slightly offended by the claim that Auri made about her smell. 

It wasn't her fault she smelled like putrid fish! She'd been dead for years! Did they expect her to have a bath in the meantime??

They arrived at a small house, Auri’s house actually, made with dark wood, in a rather high part of the small town. From there, the sunset could be seen perfectly, and Desti felt calm settle in her chest, a calm that not even the sweet release of death gave her.

The sun was barely touching the sparkling water, which was now the colors of sleepy sunlight and orange, and the sky was orange too, but had blurs of red and yellow and even purple at times, and the clouds were soft under the effect of light. The sounds of the waves were wonderful as well, accompanied by the creaks of the seagulls dancing in the orange sky.

She didn't know why, but with the calm there was a sense of nostalgia that was washing over her just like the waves washed up on the beach, and those warm colors reminded her of someone that she deeply cared for.

Meggy.

It looked just like her. The same colors, the same hour, when she last visited her. She remembered vividly how her hair swayed gently in the wind, her hair almost confusing itself in the colors of the sun, but it reflected the sunrays in a way that made her hair glow, even, and when she looked at her her eyes shone brighter than the sun itself, though they still were gentle and they absorbed the light in those beautiful magenta circles. Or was it magenta and turquoise? She couldn't remember clearly. As of now.

She hoped to see those eyes again once she was off this island.

"Desti?" Auri called,

"Uh—uhm, yes?" She turned around abruptly, the vision of the redhead fading away as quickly as sand gets dragged by the waves into the depths below.

She looked at him, his face with an unreadable expression, and she noticed that there were strange markings on his face and body that glowed in an orange light, and his eyes glowed orange too. It would've been hard to tell because of the light of the sunset, but octoling eyes were more refined than human ones. Even inkling. Octolings had evolved their vision, after being stuck underground for so long.

"We were going to go to sleep, so tomorrow morning we can think of a plan to sneak you in the boat. But you were still outside. So, uh, I thought to maybe call you inside,so you could wash up too, but you were very intent at looking at the sea, and I didn't want interrupt you, y'know…" he admitted, his right hand rubbing the back of his supposed neck, to which Desti smiled a little, then: "Oh, no, I should be the one apologizing. I got carried away, the– the, uh, sunset reminded me of something." She chuckled, and the little boy smiled at her, gesturing at her to come inside.

Once in, she took in the sight of Auri's place, which looked much like a kid's room, except it also had a kitchen and a very big table with a greatly organized stack of papers on it. There was a staircase in the very far left of the room, where near it was placed an arranged bed in which Whisk had already laid down, asleep. Now in the house, that was greatly darker than the outside, those glowing markings on Auri’s skin could be seen a lot better, and when he turned away from her to grab a piece of cloth she noticed he had an even bigger marking on his back, which oddly looked like a type of bird, with its wings spread open and its tail forming a sort of spiral that morphed into an—egg? Yes, an egg, apparently—with a simplified star on it that was the color of Auri’s skin. 

‘Maybe it’s a sort of tradition to give kids strange tattoos? I mean he did mention something about a Phoenix and a Festival for it…’

As she thought this, Auri had picked up a small towel and had made it wet in the kitchen’s sink, which he then squeezed tight so there was as little water as possible. He remembered there were some inkling tourists one time, and while they were walking on the beach a kid had splashed another kid with water while playing, so the water got on one of the tourists and he started screaming so loud that people called his grandfather (y’know,Aloysius Bori, the great and well respected) and other police officers. He ended up having like a third degree burn or something. It was pretty bad. So, now he knew, water was bad for Inkopolians.

“Alright, this should do! I know that your people don’t really like water but maybe just a little bit won’t hurt that mu-”

The child turned around, (now) orange eyes wide as he looked at the octoling’s face, and her yellow eyes had started glowing brightly. Apparently it was one of the people of Inkopolis’ features, but it still surprised him. “Your- The- your eyes. They’re. They’re glowing. A lot.” 

“Oh. Sorry. I, uh, can’t really control that.”

She furrowed her brow,

“Yours are glowing too. They’re orange. And, you– you’ve got tattoos that are also glowing orange. What’s up with that? They weren’t there in the daylight.”

The boy gave her a confused expression, looked down on his body, and then: "Oh, that's what you meant! Sorry, I can't control that either, but I know that they came from the Phoenix Egg" He said, a little smile forming on his lips. "Now, if you don't mind, I can help you clean up that wound you've got. How did you get it, by the way?" And that he did, getting closer and letting her sit on a chair near the table, being ever so careful with the wet cloth so that it wouldn't touch her skin as much. 

She didn't really want to think about how she died.

"Someone stabbed me. With a sword. I don't remember who, though. What about you? How'd you get those tattoos?"

His little orange eyes shot up, looking at her, and Desti could see that there was a deep regret and sadness infused in that pretty glow. "Ah, well, it's kind of a funny story actually," he chuckled, though it was very much forced. "I was fighting a very dangerous criminal with The Supervisor, on the top of the lighthouse, on the night of the Phoenix Festival. This criminal had a laser gun, and– and he tried shooting at the supervisor, but I got in the way instead, and." He stopped, looked down, now, and his eyes put themselves on Desti's wound. "And I died."

Oh.

"But then, the Phoenix Egg broke open, and the Phoenix flew out of it, and its ashes and fire magic revived me!" He continued, and now he sounded happy, "You should have seen it. It was beautiful." 

Oh, she bet it had been beautiful. She remembered seeing some videos filming this "awakening" of a Phoenix, and the way the fire swirled with such force but still keeping its grace,while the bird flew in the sky, fascinated her greatly. Though the sound they emitted was blood-freezing.

After some time, Desti was finally cleaned up, and Auri showed her where she would sleep that night; it was a mattress put on the ground, with a warm blanket on it, and a very soft pillow. He wished her goodnight and to have nice dreams, and she did so too.

Finally, he went to his little bed, and closed his eyes.

At last, Desti fell asleep while looking at the bright moon out of the window.

Tomorrow, she would finally see her Sunset again.

Chapter Text

The first one to wake up was Whisk, who was usually an early riser (since cats don't sleep much at night), and started making something quick for breakfast. The day was long ahead of them, and they needed to be ready quickly. So, she walked slowly to the kitchen, as to not wake up the other two.

Auri, startled by the sudden noises of cabinets opening and pots moving, groggily woke up to a Whisk peacefully cooking some eggs, unaware of the little boy being up.

The one that was the last to wake up and join the two for breakfast was Desti, who looked incredibly tired still, even after a whopping 4 years of “eternal rest” (which turned out to be not so eternal for her)and a good night's sleep.

She took a chair and sat at the table, the piles of papers now gone and replaced with three plates containing two sunny-side-up eggs each. The smell they released was strangely both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, while a feeling she could not exactly remember settled in her stomach. Was it hunger or the pain of being stabbed right in the middle of said organ?

Auri noticed that she was looking rather perplexed, staring at the plate, not daring to grab the fork and start eating. It was like she was looking at an unknown creature that could be ready to strike at any moment, and so he asked: "Desti? Why aren't you eating? Is—is something wrong?"

She shot her head up at the boy, eyes briefly going wide, then shook her head nervously. "Oh, no no no, I'm alright. I just–" She looked at the plate again "I never had eggs before. I think. I can't really remember." And what she said was a lie, again. But it was for the best.

"Oh. Well, there's always a first time! Trust me, they're delicious," he said smiling, a piece of egg finding its way into his mouth with the help of a fork,

"...I guess."

She looked at the plate once again, then cut a piece with her fork and munched it.

She could feel the texture, and the warmness of it, but the taste wasn't…exactly… tasteable. It tasted flat. Like paper or something. "Man, these are kinda plain." At that, Whisk turned her head around from the stove, a sheepish smile tugging at her lips”Oh, sorry, i forgot to put salt on them,” Auri continued munching, brows furrowed and eyes focused at nothing as he slowed his chewing, then: “Ya didn’t?”

This made Desti chuckle. It came out tired, deep, as if the fun thought that made her laugh wasn’t there, but there was! Why did it sound different than what she remembered,then?

It felt nice to laugh after a while, though.

It looked like it was about ten in the morning, the sun shimmering onto the calm waters of Port Aurora’s dock, where the “S.S.Tortle” (Desti had learnt the name of the cruise a couple of hours before from Auri) was anchored, waiting for the time of departure. Auri stood in front of the giant turtle, who looked absolutely oblivious to anything its eyes laid on, with his chest puffed out and hands on his hips, determination in his eyes. He quickly spun around to face Desti and Whisk, clapping his hands together and inhaling sharply,

“Okay, so, let’s run this plan again just to be sure. Whisk?” She nodded, then: “We get to the boat, claim that we need to check for safety precautions, then Desti goes to hide and so she can get back home.” She repeated exactly what he had said before they left his little hut, the octoling noticed; then, a doubt crept in her brain: “...What if they don’t believe us?” she breathed out,

Whisk’s ear twitched, her head turned to her, pupils contracting quickly before turning back to normal, eyebrows shallowly furrowed, eyes searching for answers in the sudden burst of anxiety. “I- I haven’t really thought about that. Oh. Oh no. Auri what do we do?” she panicked, her voice above a whisper, while her tail puffed up slightly, the sheriff looked down at the floor contemplating. What would they do if it really happened? 

Desti chimed in, determined to not lose hope, "Hey, we'll— we'll just improvise. I do that a lot. Plans usually don't really go as–as, y'know, as planned." She was smiling now, "We can take whatever they throw at us. Plus, you two are kinda in charge here, so, I mean, I don't think people would want to mess with the sheriff, right?" She chuckled, and in that smile Auri saw the smile of the first supervisor, one whose smile shone bright like the sun that was above their heads. It made him smile as well.

"Alright, I like the way you think, Desti! Let's go now, they're about to start the ship's engines," And with that, they walked on, anxiety not completely forgotten, but hopeful nonetheless.

The pilot of the famous S.S.Tortle had been around for many years, dedicating his life and all his passion to traversing the marvelous waters of the Mushroom Sea, bringing along with his boat countless passengers that wished to have a nice restoring vacation in Port Aurora. What he did not fully expect, though, was the new sheriff and his supervisor walking on the wooden bridge that let passengers get onto (and off, of course) the cruise. And they had a strange looking girl behind them, from what his old eyes could see she had purple tentacles as her hair, which he immediately recognized as an Octoling. He’s had his own fair share of Inkopolian passengers, and they were almost immediately recognizable thanks to their outstanding physical features. They were also incredibly thankful and polite. It was always a pleasure having them on board.

They approached along, and before he acknowledged it they were standing in front of him, the Sheriff offering a small wave which he returned,"Ah, welcome, welcome dear Sheriff! What brings ye to my good 'ol Cruise?" "Hello Mr . Jonathan, we're just here for a check up! To make sure none of the cruisers brought in dangerous items, y'know?" He smiled sheepishly, nervousness tugging at the corners of his mouth, and the Captain replied: "I see, I see. Though, with all due respect, ye don't need 'ta! My good pal Nick has already checked every cruiser aboard, and they're all safe. Might I ask who the octoling lassie is, by the way?" When he asked that question, he was already scanning with his eyes Desti's figure suspiciously, while Whisk looked greatly panicked, she turned to the young octoling who was even more anxious than she already was.

Oh god they were going to fail horrendously.

"I understand Captain, I really do, but I just wanted to make sure. I'm certain my Grandfather would have done the same; he always loved to ensure every citizen and every friend of his was alright." The boy declared determined, and Sir Captain Jonathan Quillers had felt his heart melt with pride at the sight of his old friend's nephew proudly taking his role and responsibilities. He chuckled to himself, then: "Go on in then, Sheriff Auri Bori"

The Sheriff bowed his head, then walked calmly to the stairs that ended up in the corridor to the cruise rooms, followed close behind by the Supervisor and the random corpse girl they found on the street. 

"Okay, what now?" Desti asked, panic very slowly setting in, looking for an answer in the young face of the Sheriff.

" Now, you go hiding somewhere, we pretend to be looking around until the boat almost has to go, so then when we get out they won't notice you're not with us because we're in a rush! Simple," Auri announced satisfied, hands on his hips and chest puffed. That didn't seem to calm down Whisk’s high anxiety and racing thoughts though. Desti put a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, so, where could I hide? There are a lot of places but I think I'll be discovered in the blink of an eye." Auri waved a hand, a smirk on his face " Don't worry, if they find you they'll just tell you to pay when you get down from the cruise. Then you just book it! Or on the other hand, you could find some spare money somewhere here on the boat, but that's pretty hard. Just try to stay low, alright? You'll be fine!" 

I hope so, her mind remarked.

“I’ll try to,” she replied.

“Very well then. Have a nice trip back home, Desti. We hope to see you again,” the cat-woman smiled, and Desti felt at home with it alone.

“Yeah, and by the way if you know her could you say hello to Meggy Spletzer for me? I figured she’s kinda famous back in Inkopolis,” he laughed, scratching his neck. He knew Meggy? 

“Uh. Sure. I guess.” she gave him a nod, and he nodded in return. They left, and she hid in a storage room.

Nobody had found her, as of now. Which was a good sign. She had a few close calls, for example when it was around six that her stomach demanded nutrients, and so she ever so carefully ventured out to the banquet area in the Restaurant.

She was almost discovered by an employee, as a towel she used to wrap up her tentacles let one of them slip out,revealing the eye-catching purple, but he shrugged it off for some reason.

She had entered the Restaurant area and grabbed a good portion of food supplies to satisfy her current hunger and the one that would follow in the morning. The security here wasn’t very efficient. Or observant, for that matter.

Once she returned to her little hiding spot, she ate just enough to be well-fed and to still have some left for breakfast. After that arranged dinner, she grabbed some towels that were there in case they needed a spare one on the ship, and made herself a blanket and a pillow of some sort with them. This was way worse than sleeping on a bare mattress.

And finally, finally did she close her eyes, hoping that the waves lulled her to sleep and the lazy movements of the ship cradled her into dreams. It did not do that. At all.

She had already become disturbed by the constant movement, even if not completely apparent because of the size of the ship, and apparently discovered that she was seasick. Wonderful.

So there she was, alone, on a ship, in the middle of the night, trying to doze off into the dream world and hoping to whatever God or Goddess may exist that she did not vomit in her sleep. Or vomited at all.

Even with that emotional turmoil, she squeezed her already shut eyes to block out any possible thought of getting sick, and to block the light that was coming from the tiniest creak in the door right on her eyelids,

And the warm feeling of nostalgia and happiness settled in her chest as she thought of the sunset she witnessed before at Auri’s house.

She fell asleep thinking of her again.

She couldn’t wait until tomorrow’s deboarding off to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Chapter Text

She awoke to the deafening sound of the ship’s horn the next morning, which announced that they had arrived to the Mushroom Kingdom, a sound so strong that made her jolt awake instead of calmly opening her eyes.

Desti was not an early riser, anyway.

She got up from her awfully uncomfortable “bed” and ate the remaining food she had gotten yesterday night. Thank the stars she thought about the morning in advance.

“Attention all cruisers; please exit your cabins and head to the exit bridge. We have arrived at our destination. Thank you, kind customers, for choosing S.S.Tortle. Have a wonderful vacation.”

“Finally, this water-centered nightmare is over. Sweet land, here I come!”

She walked out of the storage room, not even bothering to put on a disguise, and headed to the exit bridge as the speaker instructed. All the while staying hidden in the crowd, so nobody would catch her trespassing.

After almost tripping on an old woman the octoling finally placed her feet on the stoned sidewalk of the Mushroom Kingdom’s Harbor.

Now, came the slightly hard part. Where the hell was the Castle?

She could see it from here already, its pristine marble walls and red roofs standing high above the small houses of the town (because, mind you, the town was separate from the Mushroom City, which was filled to the brim with skyscrapers) , but she could not see any road that went directly to it. ‘I’ll have to ask around then.’

She looked to her right, then her left, and her right again while walking forward, hoping to find someone that could give her directions. She saw a toad, and walked towards him,

“Excuse me, sir. Do you know how to get to Peach’s Castle? I’m, uh, headed there for– uhm, a meeting.” And another lie. Man she was getting good at telling them!

He looked up to her, an expression of shock barely making its way past his eyes, and then replied; “Oh, yeah of course! You just have to head into town, there are a lot of signs that say where the roads are. You should find one that heads to the Castle to your right ahead of the Central Fountain.” She bowed her head lightly and thanked the stranger, him happily waving as he walked away and ran straight into town.

The town was filled to the brim with little children, playing in the streets unbothered by anyone, and there were young women either doing chores in the streets or keeping an eye on their own kids. There were many people, running about their simple lives, and Desti couldn’t help but smile. It was comforting, to see people living so cozily and warmly in their small town, content even with the smallest things. She continued her path to the fountain.

There was a statue, in the middle of it, though the fountain itself was not very large. It was done in simple stone, the statue raffigurating Princess Peach, holding the flag of the kingdom and a Golden Mushroom, where water was running from it and down in the basin.

The ruler’s expression was calm, a soft smile carved on her lips. 

She went to her right and pushed forward.

She walked, and walked, and walked, until there were no more signs and there was a clear road that led straight to the Castle gates. By the time she had arrived there, it was almost evening.

As her tired limbs strode about on said road, she admired how the playful shades of the afternoon melted into those deep of the night, in a state of balance and overpowering of both, where in certain areas the dark and profund blue that housed the stars covered the now pinks and oranges of late summer afternoons (even though it was spring), and vice versa. The Castle loomed great in front of her, if only from afar, and the soft shades of orange in the sky circled it completely. Finally, the golden royal gates greeted her.

The stroll through the gates, the garden, the bridge that connected the garden with the isle the castle was on was only a blur. Her mind had other thoughts circling through. Get inside. Ask for Meggy. Ask for a place to sleep, maybe. Eat. God, I’m starving. Just get inside. Be quick, be quick!

The doors opened, she ran, through the corridors up the stairs in through doors  and down the stairs and she finally came in front of the throne room. The toads had told her that two of Meggy’s friends were there. The blue one and Merio right? Mario? Mayo? It didn’t matter. They knew where she was, she supposed, and that was all that counted.

She slowed her pace, wiped her sweat, waited until her heartbeat was not in her ears anymore and gingerly opened the door. And there they were, the two Italians inside, arguing, Princess Peach, and some Toad guards. 

What they were arguing about seemed to stiffen when the old door creaked and the girl went in. It was like time stopped, they turned simultaneously to her with the purest look of horror and confusion on their faces, seemed to hold their breath, even.

What would somebody do in this situation?

A nervous laugh escaped her, her right hand waved. Suddenly she wished to go back in her grave again.

“Hi there,” Her voice was full of embarrassment, and she was anxious. Very anxious.

The responses were likewise confusional as her current state.

The Princess covered her mouth with her hand and let the other rest on her chest, the “Blue one” quite literally fainted, and the last, most verbal out of them, was Mario’s;

“What the fuck”

Chapter Text

“So, long story short; you woke up without any specific reason and went against the laws of nature by doing so, then oared to an island called Port Aurora where a child sheriff and a supervisor helped you infiltrate a ship to get here and they apparently know Meggy?” the red plumber asked, while loudly munching on a biscuit. The four of them had sat at a small table with warm beverages and sweets, mainly offered by the princess to their particular guest.

“Essentially, yes.” Desti sipped on some tea, relishing the lemon flavor. Smg4 in the meantime seemed still in shock, and the girl saw him lightly bite his inner cheek to assure the realness of this situation.

Peach hadn’t said anything in the last few minutes, so she broke the silence: “If you don’t mind me asking, do you have an idea as to where you will reside? I don’t think they’d let you back into the apartment you had before your death.”

At that, it was Desti’s turn to fall silent. She thought for a moment, debating if what she was about to say would betray her usual cocky and independent character, then decided it wouldn't matter in the slightest. “I was hoping to reunite with Meggy first. I didn’t think that far, really.” Smg4 hummed, putting a hand on his chin, while Mario slowed his chewing, seemingly in thought too. “You could stay at her house. Or if she’s too distraught you can stay at my place, it’s pretty spacious and I have a guest room.” She managed a small smile, “Thanks for the offer. I hope we can talk, still.” 

“It’d be hilarious if she kicked you out” Mario chuckled, and Smg4 softly punched him in the elbow. 

The Princess clasped her hands together, “Well then, shall we prepare a vehicle for your travel?” she announced as she got up, and Smg4 turned to the octoling who was sporting a confused expression. (She still didn’t quite understand more sophisticated english) 

“We’re gonna get a car to take you to Meggy’s house.If you need to pack anything I’d suggest you go do that” he softly smiled and followed the princess out the door.

Desti was now left alone with the italian plumber, who had his eyes locked on the door, still munching on a cookie. “Hey,” he started, “Just to give you a heads up, she always starts with the right.”

She narrowed her eyebrows in confusion, “What?”

“Ci senti o no? I said she starts with the right. In case she hits you out of panic.” he grabbed another cookie, seemingly serious,

“Why would–” she paused, realizing Meggy hitting her square in the face after she’d been dead for years was more than justified. “Hm.”

Mario giggled, covering his mouth with his hand, still holding the chocolate chip cookie, “I was kidding! But seriously, if that happens be prepared. She hits like a truck”

Desti couldn’t help but chuckle herself, the scene in her mind sounding almost comical, “I’d bet”

She was now in a car, a very nice one, with Smg4 and another guy she didn't quite remember the name of. Ben? Bob? She wasn’t sure which one of the two was right.

Smg4 had come back in the room holding car keys, saying that Bob would have accompanied them to his hotel, which apparently was Meggy’s house, with an addition of a skyscraper on top to serve as the hotel rooms. Whoever thought to make the redhead's house an hotel was most certainly an idiot.

Now that they were in said car, Desti kept to herself and watched the landscape out the window, admiring the grassy hills and sparse houses in the area. They were at the outskirts of town, a couple kilometers away from the Pipe Station and the Train Station. Why have them so close together she couldn’t comprehend.

“ ‘Aight, we’re here. ‘G4, help me take this luggage” Bob announced, and his ragged voice most definitely startled Desti, not having heard him once during the whole trip. “Coming right up!” the blue Guardian exclaimed. He helped Desti get out of the car and turned to assist Bob take out luggage of other clients. He gave Desti her small bag, and she turned to the massive building in front of her,

At the base was a small house, looking rather simple but cozy, perfectly resembling its inhabitant, and right on top of it was attached a giant skyscraper, with a big sign reading “BOB AND BREAKFAST” with a wooden plate attached to it with “+Mario” scribbled on top of it. It was beginning to be darker, all of the lights of the hotel were mostly shut off, except for a few. She could see blurry figures passing in front of the glass, and a childlike wonder made her question what the people in those rooms may be doing. Smg4 tapped her on the shoulder and gestured for her to come with, and she obliged.

Bob opened the door with a pair of keys, and waved at a young boy with pink hair and red glasses behind the counter, “Whimpu, d’you mind taking these to room 109? The pipe station employees finally found the lady’s luggage and sent it to me.” The boy walked over and picked up two bags “Yeah, sure! What about the new customer?” He spoke with a korean accent, and as he said this he inclined his head to Desti,

“Don’t worry, ‘ll take care of ‘er.” He patted Whimpu’s back and he jogged to one of the elevators. “ ‘Kay, so Meg’s apartment is a bit more upstairs, had to move up since..uh…y’know.” He vaguely gestured to the hotel’s Reception. “Understood.” Desti replied, looking around. 

They reached Floor 2, and walked to a secluded area which was labeled “PRIVATE PROPERTY” and entered a corridor with a few doors, with only one of them having a nameplate. Desti got closer, and read the name “Meggy Spletzer” on top of the plate. She stood in front of the door, her hands sweaty and trembling. She’d never thought she’d be more anxious than now.

Bob placed his hand on top of her shoulder, turning her to face him, “Let us talk with ‘er first. We’ll spare you a punch in the face” he spoke softly, and she backed away from the door. Bob knocked twice, and a muffled feminine voice screamed from apparently another room “Coming!” before steps were heard.

Smg4 looked back at Desti, a reassuring smile on his face, “We won’t take long, don’t worry.” He advanced and went next to Bob, “The offer for my house still stands, just in case.” He turned back again, a smirk on his face. Desti chuckled, “Yeah, alright.”

The door opened, and the redhead stood by the doorway. She was wearing an oversized black t-shirt and her hair was tied up in a bun, and brightly smiled to the two boys. "Heya Bob, heya Four! something wrong? Did Mario forget anything at my place again?"

"Uh, no, 's something a little different." Bob looked at the other male, hands in his robe pockets and nervous tapping of his bandaged foot. SMG4 cleared his throat; "Yeah so– there's someone you probably haven't seen in a while that wanted to see you again and um, if it's alright she could stay with you since she doesn't have a home at the moment" he clasped his hands together as Meggy's brow furrowed in confusion, eyes darting between the two.

Bob held up a hand, stopping her from saying anything "Oh, please don't resort to violence if ye're startled. We know you do that often so…j'st a heads up."

"Why?"

"We know you're gonna react big about this." SMG4 pulled a downward smile and stepped aside, Bob doing so too, revealing the special guest behind them.

Meggy gripped the doorframe lightly harder.

"Hey" Desti smiled.

"Hi," her voice trembled. 

Her mind was still realizing. Desti stepped further and she felt like she would faint at any moment.

She walked forward and they met with a hug, the redhead trying to cover her sobs in the other girl's shoulder, while she openly smiled and let her tears flow slowly down her dirty face. 

"You stink" Meggy laughed between sobs, and Bob gave a low wheeze at the remark.

"They don't exactly have a bathroom in a casket" Desti replied, laughing as well.