A diamond hidden within the gray line

Chapter 53: Reporter's lucky day, the clown copters and marx's prediction.

-Narration-

"Somethin' wrong? Is this little punk bothering you?" Roy asked who heard max, making the reporter become too scared to move. "Not at all. You remember the reporter who i had that staredown with? Here he is." Max says to roy. "Um..i'm not looking for trouble here..." the reporter says nervously. "You? Looking for trouble? Please, you're a little punk who is too curious for his own good." Roy says with a sneer. "Hey! What's going on over there?" They hear bowser say, who noticed what was going on. "Oh, just me encountering the guy who i had that brief staredown with. I'm planning on letting him interview me." Max answers, catching both roy, bowser and the reporter off guard, as well as everyone else.

"Hold on, why the hell would you let him do that?!" Roy asked. "Well, i figured i would have to sooner or later. Better to get it over with now than later." Max answers as bowser walks up and looks down at the reporter, who is starting to become frightened. "Well, well..what a curious surprise. Normally, i wouldn't allow it, but i'll make an exception." Bowser says while crossing his arms. "What about these other bozos?" Roy asked. "No one else but him." Bowser answers, making the reporter feel as if he's just been given a lucky break while the others quietly backed away. They knew better than to say anything.

"Don't get used to this...got it?" Roy says, who practically got close to the reporter's face. "G-got it." He says, before following them in the warehouse. Once they all went inside, max expected to see multitude of items in boxes and even the possibility of treasure! But he instead sees a nine tarps covering something up in the middle of the room.

-Max pov-

Before i realized that it was only the reporter, i had this moment of panic. In that moment, it brought me back to that guy i saw in that place...whoever that hooded guy is, made me feel...uneasy, and...horrified even though there's nothing here that can scare me. Even now, it made me wonder...who, or what, was that guy who i have never seen before? As for this reporter guy? He's lucky i'm even letting him do this, especially since it quickly brought me in a good mood. And the fact that roy got confrontational with this guy? Heh..looks to me that he's showing his protective side. As for the warehouse...i half expected to see a treasure trove, but..this wasn't what i was expecting. Hmm..maybe dad's castle has that?

-Roy pov-

Just like that, huh? Max let this idiot interview him? I guess he's right when he says that they won't stop asking questions. But i'll be keeping my eye on this guy...

-Bowser pov-

I'm surprised that max would even let this happen. They've been hounding me for questions ever since i defeated the dark star and returned to live in koopa kingdom and i have given them nothing. This'll be interesting to see just what this puny little reporter wants to ask max.

-Narration-

"So..um..where can we get this started?" The reporter asked, who is an inch shorter than roy. "On my airship. The clown cars just need to dusted off, and we'll be heading up to it." Bowser replies. "Uh..the what..?" Max looked so confused, which roy chuckles at. "You'll see." Roy says to him before ludwig walks up. "Interesting...i look forward to seeing just what you gotta ask." Ludwig says while giving jasper a brief icy stare while they walk inside the warehouse. "So..got a name?" Max asked the reporter. "Jasper." He replied. "Jasper, huh?" Mike says while walking up to them. "Today's definitely you're lucky day." He says to jasper, but he silently wondered where he heard that name before.

-Mike pov-

That name...where have i heard that name? It sounds so familiar to me. Is it possible that my dad met him? Or...hm..i suppose i'll find out soon enough.

-Jasper pov-

Aside from the fact i stood before the koopa king himself, this is definitely a big break for me. No doubt all the others will likely be jealous about this, but...there's something about max..and his pikachu friend. Being a reporter, it's my job to ask questions, even if it means getting in harm's way. However...the reason why i got this job is because i want to one day find out more information about a certain family...and..it's far more personal to me than the koopalings, and even bowser could imagine. And this pikachu...I feel like i've seen him before...but where?