Princess Peach And The 12 Elemental Keys

Chapter 3: All Aboard The Mugen Express!

Terrus appeared by Kori's side. "Princess Peach, thank you." She said, gratefully, her voice soft and silky. "But now isn't time to celebrate, you still have to find the other ten Keepers," Terrus told Peach. "Correct, please don't stand around, Princess, you have to keep going." Kori chimed in. At that point, Peach vanished out of The Temple of The Keepers and to a mildly wooded area with pine trees. Unlike Peaceable Gardens and Sweltering Desert, this place didn't look like something was wrong with it. "Princess Peach," The voice said, out of nowhere. "It's you again, what do you want?" Peach asked, just about fed up with the voice appearing and disappearing whenever it pleased. "Listen, I don't want to have to appear and disappear over and over again, but don't take it out on me!" The voice replied. "What's happening now?" Peach asked the voice. "The next Keeper to find is TicToc, The Keeper of Time. But you must board the Mugen Express to find him." The voice replied. "What is the Mugen Express?" Peach asked further. "Moreover, where is it? And how is supposed to help me find TicToc?" The voice didn't answer again. Is there a word for this? Ah yes, elusive.

Peach could spot a building in the distance, she wondered if it could be the train station. She made her way through the grove towards the building, which, to her delight turned out to be the station. "Now to get onboard the Mugen Express." Peach said to herself. She entered the station. Peach checked if she had spare money (which she had) and went up to the ticket counter. "Excuse me," She told the person behind the counter. "Can I have one ticket for the Mugen Express, please?" "Any money?" The employee asked, Peach pulled out her money and gave it to the employee, who gave Peach a ticket. "Have a nice day." The employee told Peach as she walked to the platform. There were people of all ages standing at the platform, waiting to board the Mugen Express. Peach joined the crowd and stood on the platform, not much else to do other than waiting. It wouldn't be long before the Mugen Express started arriving - it was an absurdly long, green steam locomotive with a plush and elegant interior. The station was wide enough to accommodate the length of the Mugen Express, and it finally came to a stop. The conductor stepped out of the train. "All Aboard!!" He shouted to the crowd. Peach showed her ticket to the conductor and made her way onboard the Mugen Express. She found herself a window seat and sat down, waiting for the other passengers to get into their seats. "Everything's going fine so far," Peach thought, tapping her fingers on the table. "I haven't seen anything that has been caused by the Keepers's powers." The Mugen Express started on its journey once all the passengers had settled in. Nothing happened at first, Peach got a lovely view of Elementopia, and everything on the Mugen Express was peaceful. Out of nowhere, Peach heard a baby crying. She didn't think much of it, babies cry all the time, that's just babies for ya. When she turned around, Peach saw that people were looking at the baby like it was from outer space. "Okay, the baby must have been left by itself." Peach thought. "That elderly man just turned into a baby right now!" A person in the small crowd cried, Peach's forehead creased. "What?" She asked herself. "And look over there!" A child exclaimed, pointing at a mother and daughter - except the child was a grown woman and the mother was now a toddler. "What is happening on this train?" Peach wondered. More and more people were changing ages, adults becoming toddlers, children becoming teenagers, and vice versa. The only person who wasn't affected by this strange age situation was Peach herself. Except, not really. Peach wasn't aging or the reverse, except she felt a rotating sensation in her head, like a clock. Not only that, but in her vision the world was rotating, too. "We have to make a stop somewhere, I can't stand being on this train!" She said, holding her head in her hands. The announcement bell sounded, except the conductor had now become a toddler. "Ladies and Gentlemen," He said over the intercom. "We will be making a stop at..." He paused. "Middlewood Station." The Mugen Express pulled up to the station and stopped. Peach stumbled off the train and onto the platform, and the spinning sensation she felt had vanished entirely. "TicToc's powers are being abused, there's no other explanation for that mess of a train journey." Peach went to find somewhere to sit down. There was a green bench inside the station, and Peach toppled onto it, legs hanging off the edge of the bench. Was this unprincesslike of Peach? Perhaps. Peach sat up in the bench properly. "A part of me doubts that what just happened was an isolated incident." She thought. The station's announcement bell sounded. "Ladies and Gentlemen, can we have your attention please," Someone said over the intercom. "The Mugen Express will be delayed for a few minutes as there have been unexplainable circumstances that have transpired onboard. The locomotive will be inspected and we will do everything in our power to ensure that everything stays on schedule, thank you for listening and thank you for being patient with us." Peach sat on that bench for thirty minutes before the announcement bell sounded again. "Ladies and Gentlemen, any passengers who were ticketed for the Mugen Express may return to the platform as inspection has been completed. Thank you." Peach got up from the bench and headed towards the platform. No one had reverted to their normal ages, and Peach wondered what would happen if they continued on the Mugen Express. A new conductor was brought in to replace the other one. Some of the old passengers, new passengers, and Peach reboarded the train and Peach returned to where she had been sitting - the window seat. The Mugen Express started moving again and out of the station. Peach kept an eye on the new passengers, as they hadn't felt the aging curse yet. Suddenly, Peach felt that spinning sensation in her head again. The world was rotating again, but this time Peach could see orange numbers, the kinds one might find on a clock, spinning slowly in the opposite direction of everything else. "It's getting worse!" Peach said, holding her head in her hands again. "I don't know how much longer I can take this!" But it didn't stop there, the passengers were starting to feel the effects of the strange aging curse. One of the child passengers suddenly grew into a teenager. "Tommy! You're big!" One of the children exclaimed. Nearby, a teenage girl with black hair suddenly shrank down and became a child. "I don't understand why we keep getting on this train!" Peach yelled over the confusion of the other passengers and the still-there spinning sensation in her head. They all turned to look at her, like deers in headlights. Peach sat down in embarrassment. The announcement bell sounded again, the new conductor had now aged down. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be making another emergency stop at Dead End Station." The Mugen Express pulled up to the station. By now, Peach was swaying from that rotating feeling, and right after she took her first step on the platform, she blacked out and landed straight on her face. She woke up a few minutes later, there was a darkened figure over her, and when her vision cleared, she noticed that the figure was a paramedic. "Where am I?" She asked the paramedic. "You are at Dead End Station, ma'am." He replied. Peach sat up and looked around her. She was inside the station, which looked more run-down and old. Even the announcement bell sounded more like a bell in a church. "Ladies and Gentlemen, can we please have your attention please." The voice said on the intercom. "Anyone who was ticketed for the Mugen Express, we regret to inform you that service is cancelled." This was followed by complaining from the passengers and other people who were about to get on the train. "We understand and empathise with your current situation, and we'll do everything in our power to ensure that you are all refunded and are able to return home safely." Peach realised that she had hit a real dead end, the Mugen Express was cursed, the passengers were unable to return to their original ages, and whoever had TicToc had probably gotten away. "Don't get upset, Peach, that's all Bowser wants." Peach told herself, though she barely believed it. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Peach saw a shadowy figure run out onto the platform. "Hey! Where do you think you're going!?" She exclaimed, getting up. The shadowy figure hopped inside the locomotive of the Mugen Express, Peach noticed that the figure had an oddly familiar shape. But the Mugen Express looked as though it had undergone a major transformation. For starters, almost all of the cars were completely gone, replaced with four or five flatcars and only two passenger cars. "What happened here?" Peach asked. Suddenly, the now-unrecognisable Mugen Express started to roll out of the station. "Hey! Get back here with that train!" Peach shouted. She jumped from the platform and started running after the train. "Madam! Stop what you're doing!" A station worker called out to Peach. She was too far away to hear. Peach was following the train over a long bridge over the open sea, and the train was starting to speed up. The caboose was not too far away from Peach, but she didn't know how to get onto it. She leapt forward and just barely grabbed onto a railing. Peach managed to get herself onto the caboose's floor and inside. As soon as Peach was inside the caboose, the rotating sensation and the spinning numbers returned, but faster. Not only that, but now Peach had a throbbing headache. "These spells are getting worse!" She shouted. "But still, I can't give up now, I'm already on the train." In spite of her vision going in circles, and the headache, Peach continued through the Mugen Express, with caution of course. Peach's state was deteriorating, but she had to move forward. She pressed on, even when there were enemies and obstacles - like Bullet Blasters - trying to get in her way. By the time Peach had reached the very front of the train, her head was absolutely sore, and the rotating sensation and the vision had intensified. "Don't give up!" Peach told herself again. She entered the locomotive to find Morton piloting the train. "Morton!" Peach piped up. Morton turned around, he had a nose piercing, on which an orange orb was held. "Princess Lady!" Morton replied. "You come to take orb! No can do!" Morton jumped up and suddenly ground-pounded the floor, producing a shockwave. "Please don't tell me I have to fight Morton in this narrow space." Peach thought. Even though they were in a smaller room, Morton was like a fly that would not go away. Peach's best strategy was to jump before Morton hit the ground, but how to get the orb? Peach decided to subdue Morton, because ripping the orb off his piercing could tear the piercing off his nose. So, Peach jumped on Morton's head two times, just hard enough to subdue him, but not enough to knock him out completely. Also, the excessive movement was making her headache worse. When Morton was finally subdued, Peach knelt to him, gently grabbed his piercing, put her index finger and thumb on the orb and gently pulled it off the piercing. "Well done, Princess Peach." The elusive voice said to her. "You again!" She said, surprised. "Yes," The voice replied. "Now, hold up the orb and say the chant 'O TicToc, Keeper of Time, awaken and undo this turmoil'." As soon as Peach chanted, the spinning feeling, the headache and the numbers in her vision had all disappeared. Peach let out a massive sigh of relief.

Morton had awoken from being subdued. "Princess Lady?" He asked Peach. "You've been very naughty, Morton." She scolded. Suddenly, they heard cheering outside the Mugen Express. "What is that?" Peach thought. She took Morton and went outside the Mugen Express to see what was going on. All the passengers and the conductor had returned to their original ages, they were cheering for Peach for saving the Mugen Express. Peach waved at the passengers as she took Morton inside the station. Inside, she saw that she now had an orange key in her hand. "Lift the key and chant 'Clockwork Topaz Key, guide me to The Temple of The Keepers'." The voice told Peach, who chanted and disappeared in an orange light. She was back at the Temple of The Keepers and the key inserted itself under the first two, and above the circle next to Kori's an orange outline was forming. The outline took the form of a man with long, brown, balding hair, thick eyebrows, wearing an orange robe with open sleeves, and on the bottom of his cloak were the Roman numerals for the clock numbers. TicToc, The Keeper of Time, had been saved.

Author's Note: For those that don't speak Japanese - "Mugen" means infinity, referencing how long the Mugen Express is.