We all walked through the halls. You held your lighter up to give us enough light while I lead the way. 

"I meant to ask, how'd you find your lighter?" Mario questioned you, frowning and tilting his head slightly.

"Oh, One stole it!" You chimed with a giggle.

"Found it," I corrected, shaking my head and rolling my eyes while continuing forward. 

"Sure, sure," you chuckled. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I will, because, unlike someONE, I am not a liar," I chuckled, gently nudging you with my elbow. 

"Hey! Are TWO!" You laughed, which in turn made me snort. We both broke out laughing.

"Why are you two laughing?!" Mario asked, an utterly confused expression on his face. I looked back at him, having completely forgotten that he likely didn't even know what the numbers representing power were. You didn't know until I explained it to you, after all.

I took the time to explain the entire system to him, making it very clear that I wasn't going to hurt him and that he didn't need to be afraid of me for being a one. I then pointed to the small 20 on his wrist and told him what it meant. I could see his face turn a soft shade of red when you showed him the two engraved on your own wrist. 

It almost looked as if Mario was jealous that you had a lower number. Not that you noticed. He did a fairly good job at hiding his emotion. I think I was the only one who could see. I could hear it in his voice as he explained the powers he and Luigi had.

It was weird, learning about these two kids who looked completely human. You had your thunderhand powers, which were perhaps some of the most impressive powers I've ever heard of. I mean, think of all you could do with a power like that! And Mario had a weird fire power, which was also quite impressive. He called it 'Firebrand.'

I didn't explain my powers to the two of you. I didn't want to seem like a disappointment. Even though I was a one, my powers didn't feel all that great. All I could really do was teleport through mirrors and make that one weird explosion box I made when I killed the man who wore the black mask that I keep with me.

I never want to use that second power again.

"So, where are you going after we get off this ship?" You asked me as we walked, the cold tile floor squeaking beneath us. The ceilings were high and the rooms were quiet. We had no idea where we were going, to be brutally honest. We could tell we were still in the cooking areas, but there were so many rooms that it was hard to tell where we were heading. We didn't even know if we were going in the right direction.

"Everywhere," I answered with a shrug. "I don't have a specific place in mind. Currently, I'm just trying to survive and help everyone I can until my powers FULLY develop. Then, once I grow up, I'm going to go back to where I came from and fix everything."

"Wow, talk about dreaming big," Mario chuckled. "Weegie and I were just planning on getting to the Mushroom Kingdom. We've heard about it and rumor has it that it's one of the safest, happiest kingdoms in the world! Aside from their war with the Koopas... but I suspect that those issues will be resolved soon. Rivalries like that don't usually last forever."

"Hmm. Well, maybe someday once I finish my work here, I could visit you guys!" I chimed. "I'd love TWO see you!"

You and I both laughed while Mario sighed and rolled his eyes. I couldn't help but smile. A whole new world of number puns had opened up now that there was a two in my presence. 

Blumiere would probably hate it. If he were there with us, you and I could tease him so much. I could almost imagine the annoyed expression on his face.

I missed him. So very much.

"Hey, are you alright?" You asked me, waving your hand in front of my face. "You look lost in thought..."

I didn't even notice that I had stopped walking and laughing. I paused for a moment, looking back up at you. Your eyes were actually somewhat similar to Blumiere's eyes. Sure, they were a lighter shade of blue, but they held that gentle quality. His did hold more fear, but yours had similar elements. 

Both held hope. 

"Yeah... yeah, I'm good!" I smiled, starting forward once again. "I was just thinking about someone."

"Cool. Cool. And are you going to tell us who that is or..." Mario trailed off.

I smiled and shook my head, trying to cover up the uncomfortable feeling that was forming within me. "Nah, I don't think I will," I shrugged.

I half expected you and Mario to keep bothering me about it, but the two of you dropped the matter surprisingly quickly. It was rather nice, although it left me feeling slightly uneasy because I knew that the conversation would likely reappear in the future. But for now, I wasn't going to waste time worrying about it. Instead, I was going to focus on the mission. 

We walked up to a large door that was just cracked open. Since we were moving slowly and carefully, we had been long separated from the Chefs, which was good because it meant they couldn't get us, but bad because it meant we had no idea where to find whatever they had.

The three of us pushed the large door open, only to immediately be hit by a wall of cold air. I shivered and stepped inside, seeing frost gathering up on the wall. 

"The freezer," you whispered, looking around at the room. There were no windows and only one door. There were a bunch of bags, each different sizes, hanging from the ceiling by small hooks. If I were to guess, I would say that they were holding different assortments of meat. Although they looked just like body bags. Similar to what you and I saw before, only there were more in this room. This was probably where they were stored before they were ground up and used.

"Disgusting..." Mario muttered under his breath when we all suddenly heard a soft rustling noise. 

The three of us jumped and looked to the corner of the room where the sound had been coming from.

There was a single bag hanging in that corner, which was swinging and moving ever so slightly. You and Mario exchanged nervous glances. I, wanting to appear brave, took a step forward and held my hand up as if telling the two of you to wait. I then carefully approached the bag. 

As I got closer, I began to notice more. I could hear the sound of teeth chattering. The bag was shaking slightly as if whatever was inside was shivering. Once I got really close, it almost sounded as if the bag was... softly crying.

Whatever was inside wasn't speaking. It wasn't trying to escape. It was just crying.

"Hey," I whispered in a soft, gentle voice, looking around myself and searching for something I could stand on top of so I could reach the top of the bag and unhook it. "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out."

There was no reply. The bag just continued shivering and whimpering. I wasn't sure if this was a good sign or not, but I didn't care. Something was trapped in there, and I was going to set it free. 

I took a short step back, then located a small crate on the ground. I didn't take the time to look and see what was inside. I just pulled it over and stood on top, standing on my tip-toes so I could reach the knot where the hook that was hanging from the ceiling was connected to the bag. After a moment of struggling, I was able to unscrew the hook, allowing the bag to fall to the floor. 

Whatever was inside let out a short shriek, then began squirming around, kicking and flailing its arms from inside the bag. You immediately rushed over, sliding to your knees and trying to open the bag up to help whatever was inside get out. I kneeled down right next to you to help as well while Mario stood back, keeping a safe distance just in case something were to go wrong. He flicked his lighter on and held it out in front of him, as if it was a shield of light, there to protect him and keep him safe.

After a moment of struggling, you and I got the bag open, we were met with two wide grey eyes. 

The kid inside squeaked softly and scrambled backward until his back hit the wall, looking like a terrified, helpless puppy. 

You and I briefly exchanged glances, then looked at the terrified kid. He was small. Far smaller than the rest of us. His eyes were a gentle grey color, like the moon. His hair was light blonde. His cheeks were slightly chubby, giving him a more youthful appearance than the rest of us, though we still all appeared fairly young. If I were to guess, he looked to be about seven or eight years old. He wore a light blue long sleeve and had a small brown bandaid on his nose.

I briefly looked at you once again, as if I were silently asking permission to move forward. You nodded at me, and I carefully stood up, walking towards the kid and holding my hand down to him. 

"Hey," I quietly whispered, trying to speak softly so I wouldn't scare him. "It's okay. We're not here to hurt you."

The kid curled up and hugged his knees to his chest, burying his head in them and shaking. I sighed, then kneeled down by him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," I whispered again. "I'm not going to hurt you."

We stayed that way, silent for a moment until he finally summoned the courage to look up at me with his big, grey eyes. He blinked a few times and cocked his head to the side as if studying my face. 

Then, he pointed to the place where my hair covered my left eye.

The bad eye. 

Could he see it?

I stilled for a second, then drew back, changing the subject even though he technically didn't say anything. "What's your name?" I asked.

He stayed silent, then looked down at the floor, where a layer of frost was covering the ground. He et out a small sight, then held up his right index finger, placing it on the ground and writing out three letters.

B

E

N

"Ben?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He looked up at me, wiping the frost off of his fingertips and nodding. 

I nodded back, then smiled, sitting next to him on the ground and taking my hand, writing in the frost as well. 

Hello Ben. I'm One.