I woke up alone in the bed, as usual, Waluigi was gone again and had left me in silence. I looked out the window, still no sunshine, just dark clouds everywhere.

''Polari?'' I yelled.

The sound of two small little feet came closer to the bedroom door until Polari burst inside. ''What? What is it? Bad guys?!''

I chuckled and went to pick him up. ''No, dear. I wanted to see if you were awake.''

''Well, now I am.'' He said with a grumpy stare. ''You shouldn't raise your voice...''

''I'm sorry, Polari. I won't.'' 

I went into the kitchen and grabbed the small pile of coins Waluigi had left on the counter. ''I'm going out today.''

''For how long?'' Polari asked.

''Don't know, but it'll be for a while. So don't be so close to the windows.''

Polari saluted. ''Alright, be careful out there and don't run into bad guys!''

I got dressed and put on my wig, then headed for the stairs in the hallway leading to the roof. As soon as I opened the roof door I could hear the chomps coming from several piranha plants planted in one pot each. 

''Hi, guys!'' I said. ''Has daddy forgotten to feed you today?''

They chomped hungrily at me, I couldn't get too close or else I would be bitten. I went inside again and grabbed a big bag standing next to the door, it was filled with dry pieces of meat. I took it outside and threw some pieces at the plants, they happily gobbled it all up in an instant. 

''Wow, real gluttons you are,'' I smirked. Now when they had gotten their food they had stopped chomping and were now very cuddly. I started petting one of them on the head and it let out a small purring sound. I had learned to like Piranha plants a lot more since I met Waluigi. Piranha plants were very special to him. He was like their mother. Some of these plants were more than seven years old. It's unusual to see piranha plants reach old age since many people dislike them and treat them as a weed that needs to be pulled out of the ground immediately. But what most people didn't understand was that with a little care they could become very nice pets. Waluigi was one of the few to notice it and took an interest in it.

''Sorry, guys. I have to go now. Daddy will surely be home soon.'' I said and left them alone. They whined for me to come back, but I knew they would be back to their usual happy selves as soon as I was out of their sight... well, more like their smell and rumble area. They didn't have eyes...

The building we lived in was very tall, so I could practically just walk from roof to roof from here. I jumped down onto the next building, landing with a large thud. My knees hurt a little from the impact but my magic would quickly fix that. I continued on and looked down on all the people on the street, many goombas and koopas roamed around there, every toad that was walking among them looked scared and nervous. They feared that they could be attacked at any moment.

But then something caught my attention. A truck driving through the street. I knew that Mushroom City was known for its constant traffic but on this street, it was very unusual to see a vehicle driving on it. It usually meant that someone is extremely impatient and doesn't care about the safety of other people or... something fishy is in the works.

I used up a lot of my magic powers to make myself float through the air and land directly onto the truck. It made my body feel heavy afterward, using magic was so energy-consuming.

I put my ear against the truck's roof and heard small frail whines coming from the inside. It almost sounded like... yoshis!

''This is bad,'' I whispered to myself and tried to listen if there was something more inside. 

I could hear the sound of chains being dragged around and one of the yoshis crying. They were captured and would surely be delivered to Bowser. He would turn them into loyal warriors to strengthen his army. yoshis had high skills in combat and was very flexible, they're practically machines of destructions if you can brainwash them enough to work for you. But what were they doing here? I thought every yoshi left for Yoshi's Island years ago. There they are safe since only they and the storks can find it.

I had to free them, more yoshis for Bowser meant less victory for a hero.

The truck drove for a while until it stopped by a pretty shady looking place filled with crates and boxes everywhere. The driver, who was a hammer bro, went out of the truck as a goomba and a boo walked out of a door on one of the buildings surrounding us. 

''You got the goods?'' They asked.

''Yep, five yoshis. Just as promised.'' The hammer bro said. ''And they're strong ones too. Took a while to capture them.''

''Let's take a look then.'' The goomba said.

I climbed off of the truck and snuck behind a few crates so I could see the yoshis myself. The hammer bro opened the backside of the truck and revealed five yoshis in different colors sitting inside a cage with chains around their necks and legs. They looked so helpless and afraid. 

The Boo gave out a satisfied laugh. ''Bowser will be happy when he sees them.''

I had to free the yoshis. I could use my magic, but it would not be any strong attacks. But maybe...

I put my hands on the ground and searched for the goomba's and hammer bro's position. When I found it I sent out a small jolt of magic so that they both suddenly fainted. I could not get the boo since he was hovering in the air and was not connected to the ground in any way.

''Who's there?!'' The Boo asked. 

I calmly stepped out of my hiding place. ''Me. And I don't think that you should capture yoshis like this. They clearly don't want to join the army.''

''Huh? Who're you to talk, girlie? This is a royal business!'' The boo said. ''I oughta teach you a lesson!''

He flew behind a pile of boxes, then came back with a lot of stones, empty cans and other hard objects floating inside of his body. He shot the objects like bullets through his mouth. I had to take cover behind the crates I had hidden behind before. He stopped firing and started getting closer to me. I looked around to see if there was anything I could use to defeat him. I noticed an old trash lid lying next to me and quickly grabbed it. I could use it as a shield!

''Come out, girlie!'' The boo chuckled evilly.

I immediately jumped out of my hiding place and used the lid to shield myself from his shots. When I got closer, he was out of ammo and I saw the opportunity to make my move. I ran up to him and gave him the most deadly stare I could give him as close to his face as possible.

He blushed and covered his face in fear. ''Ahh! Don't... look at me! Okay, I'll leave! I promise I won't hunt yoshis again! Just stop staring!'' He cried.

He cowardly floated away and I went to the truck to see if I could open the cage. The yoshis cheered and licked me with their long tounges like happy dogs. 

''(Thank you for saving us)!'' They all said. 

I found a lock on the cage that would open it if I managed to unlock it. I searched the hammer bro and the goomba for the keys and eventually found them inside of the hammer bro's shell. I opened the cage and unlocked the locks on the yoshis' chains so that they were free.

''What are you all doing here?'' I asked them. ''Didn't all yoshis leave for Yoshi's Island?''

''(We're with the resistance)!'' A red one said.

''(Yes, the resistance)!'' An orange one said. ''(To bring down Bowser)!''

''The resistance?'' I asked. ''How long has there been a resistance?''

''(Not for long)! (We're trying to find a hero)!'' A green one said. 

''(Yes, a hero)!'' The others said in unison. ''(One of the star children)!'' 

''(But we have to go now)! (Thanks for the help)!'' A yellow one said.

''Wait!'' I said but it was too late. They were already running away from me.

A resistance, huh? I thought. So there is hope after all...

____________________________

''I'm telling you that there is a resistance! For real! There's an actual group of people out there that wants to bring Bowser down from his throne!'' I said excitedly as I bounced a little on the bed.

''And who are those people?'' Waluigi asked skeptically.

''I've only met five yoshis so far, but even if it doesn't sound like much it's a great sign! Yoshis have started to come back to the Mushroom Kingdom again and actually want to help us!''

''So they're looking for the remaining star children, right?'' He asked as he took off his shirt.

''That's what the yoshis told me,'' I said. ''They said they were searching for a new hero.''

He took off his pants, leaving him only dressed in his boxers. ''Well, good luck with that.'' He said sarcastically. ''It's practically impossible to locate Luigi. We all know he's in his mansion somewhere in the lost woods, but ever since King Boo took over that place it's been like a maze trying to find anything in there. All people that dared to enter never got out again.''

''Okay, I get what you mean. But what about Yoshi and Donkey Kong?'' I asked.

He sat down next to me on our bed. ''Yoshi fled to Yoshi's Island. But it wouldn't be impossible to find him because they have Yoshis on their team. And Donkey Kong... well, some people say that he doesn't care about this whole situation the kingdom is facing, that he only cares about his bananas.''

I sighed tiredly. ''Well, I think that every star child wants to help. And we could help as well. We could join the resistance.''

''Yeah, sure. I'm up for it. If we could find them.'' He retorted.

I kissed him. ''I'm sure we can find them in one way or another.''

We both laid down and closed our eyes, trying to get some sleep for the tournament tomorrow.

''Walu?'' I whispered sensitively into his ear.

''Wah?'' He said.

''Can I come with you to the tournament tomorrow?''

He turned around and looked at me with wide eyes. ''Are you crazy? Bowser will be there.''

''I have never been there before. And watching it on TV is a little bit boring. If I'm there I can cheer you on.''

He was quiet for a moment before letting out a small sigh. ''Sure. But you need to be extra careful to not let anyone notice that you're a princess.'' He said.

I hugged him. ''Thank you, Waluigi!''

''And,''

''And?''

He smiled lustfully as he put his hand on my waist. ''If I survive I want a damn good reward for it.''

I smiled back in the same way as he did. ''Greedy, aren't we? Do you wish for anything else?''

He thought for a moment. ''The other thing I would want as a reward is to see your beautiful smile.'' He finally said.

I kissed him again. ''What a simple reward,'' I said and chuckled.

''It's the one thing that keeps me from giving up.'' He replied.