The Draconian Star

An Original Concept of Laserai

Revised and Created By: Mistress Kasumi

Legal Notation: This Fanfiction makes use of story elements that belong to NINTENDO Co., SQUARE-ENIX Co., and other copyright holders and are being used for strictly creative means. We only lay claim to the original storyline itself.

Author Notes: This story borrows elements from all over the Mushroom World and its many games. This is in no way to be taken as canon. I have no idea or intent on debating what Nintendo's true designs are for many of its characters and is an artist's interpretation of events in the games or storyline. It is in no way to be taken as fact or regarded as such. If you disagree or think it all to be tripe then please move on and disregard the story completely. However, if you're willing to open your mind to a new idea then stay on for the ride.

Tears of the Heart

At the mention of her father's name, Wendy is brought to one knee. The koopa princess tries her best to maintain her composure but with her waning willpower and after what has happened her feeble attempts end in failure. Despite her inward losing battle, Wendy rises to her feet quickly as if trying to shake off the feelings of immense sorrow threatening to overtake her completely.

Kammy looks away distracted but her face betrays the inner grief she is also struggling to maintain. Luigi looks between the two confused but concerned as its clear something terrible has happened to them even as similar feelings claw at his sanity.

"What happened to him?"

Wendy sighs audibly and looks down at her pink shoes shuffling them in place.

Kammy is having a hard time finding her voice and keeps her gaze fixed on the sky though her thoughts are quickly becoming consumed in darkness. Wendy does not fare any better as her breathing quickens slightly as she gathers her will power to relate what she saw happen in front of her only moments ago.

After a somewhat calming deep breath, she returns her gaze to her shoes once again.

"Papa. . . "

"The X-Nauts. . . they . ."

As the realization and full impact of her loss finally gets past Wendy's mental barriers her eyes suddenly become unfocused as she sighs so deeply its almost a feral growl. Her voice then suddenly becomes monotonous.

"The X-Nauts destroyed my home."

"They . . . they shot a weird beam at Daddy-kins Keep and it was swallowed in a strange orb that made it disappear."

Kammy's head snaps up and her face visibly cringes in pain at hearing Wendy refer to her father, Bowser using that title. She hasn't heard Wendy call him that since her early days as a child when the koopalings had only been recently adopted. It was a loving title she often used to describe her adoptive father as she knew their fate could have been far worse had he not stepped up to take care of them after their parents died. Clearly this loss has exposed some very raw emotions for the koopa princess.

Wendy continues almost in a monotonous trance.

"I saw Daddy, Junior and Kammy just about to exit when . . . "

Tears are now falling freely from her sapphire blue eyes even as she tries feebly to wipe and maintain a tough composure but fails miserably. Her voice is starting to return to normal but Wendy is clearly having a hard time.

Wendy balls up her hands into fists repeatedly as she looks up at the sky avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"Daddy should have just come with us but he spent too long debating whether or not to leave. Those X bastards they. . .they . . . . .. . they. ."

"They killed my father! They probably killed all of my brothers as well!"

Wendy starts to tremble at hearing her own voice and exclaims a miserable cry that would pull at anyone's heartstrings as she falls to her knees and begins slamming her fits into the ground in overwhelming grief as tears continue to fall from her grief stricken face no longer contained.

Kammy is at a loss at hearing her words and seeing her student and princess seemingly stripped down to her vulnerable core in grief. After all, her only son was also beside King Bowser when the Keep dissolved into nothingness.

She really wanted nothing more than to succumb to her own grief welling inside but more than a hundred years of pride and self-conditioning won't allow her to reveal her true state to everyone. So she will keep her swirling emotions bottled up for a more private time.

Geno having never experienced such raw emotion at first hand is also at a loss. Having never the need to experience sorrow but only watch as a distant observer from the stars, the star warrior finds himself completely unprepared for how to respond to the unfolding situation. Geno can't help but feel sympathy for all involved as its clear no one deserves to feel pain like this and Bowser was a strong ally during the Smithy Wars despite his troubled past.

As Luigi carefully observes Wendy in her grief stricken state, he can't help but be affected by how miserable the koopa princess must be feeling. The young green clad plumber is in a similar place after all, as his twin brother Mario had also been killed in a similar fashion only moments ago.

To be honest, Luigi is still feeling numb about the whole incident. So he doesn't need to imagine how Wendy must feel which causes Luigi to take a brief hard look at their past meetings and take into account how the koopa princess is now. There had definitely been a long standing rivalry between the Koopalings and Mario and himself.

It was a different time back then and more than once, his brother and himself had to deal out defeat to them in combat. However, at the moment he could not help but think that all of that past history was meaningless now. So much of their collective time had been wasted fighting and now an even more powerful enemy has emerged from the shadows surprising them both with a sinister move.

With massive casualties and losses on both sides, their almost silly rivalry had lost all of its meaning.

At this moment in time, the person standing before him was no longer an enemy. In her current state, Luigi could honestly say that it was no longer right to even see her as a koopa. Well, technically she was and will always be but no longer with the usual contempt and hatred that some in the Mushroom Kingdom harbor towards them.

Some are probably thinking that they finally got with they deserved or it was simply karma paying them back but Luigi could never understand how anyone could think that way. Despite all that had happened, strangely there had never been any true casualties. Even in some extreme instances, where the Koopalings or Bowser were thrown into boiling lava or buried under rubble everyone usually came home once it was all over.

Now however they are facing an enemy who has brought them to an entirely new level and has no quarrels about spilling blood to accomplish their fiendish endeavors. His eyes as of this moment are now opened by the sorrow and misery they both share making his vision clear as crystal.

The koopa princess is lonely and in an emotionally vulnerable place because of hostile elements beyond her control. She has been pitched into a dark place and can't find her way out of it on her own power. But she is not alone because Luigi can honestly admit he too has been pitched into the same dark pit. Alone they will likely be crushed in the merciless maul of their own grief. Perhaps together though, they can find their way out of it.

The sheer anguish on her face is enough for him to easily and instantly forget about the encounters he and his brother had had with her in the past. His observation and deliberation on what to do lasts only a second or two be observes much about the beautiful but grieving koopa princess in that short time.

Luigi sees this opportunity to put an end to their rivalry as he approaches Wendy and kneels down on his knees face to face with her. He then pulls her into his arms careful her shell. Those spikes are kept awfully sharp after all.

Wendy still sobbing uncontrollably looks at Luigi through teary eyes in wonder at his act of undeserved kindness. But rather then push him away, she grabs hold of him as if he is a lifeline and continues to cry audibly.

"Why did this have to happen?"

Wendy poses the question to no one.

"Why?"

Toadette drops her eyes to the earth sobbing silently as the loss of the castle meant the loss of her brother and twin sibling Toad. They had done everything together when they could. The two had been inseparable since birth almost to the point people sometimes mistook their relationship to be romantic but it was nothing like that. But she tries to contain her own grief as her heart also aches even more so for her princess, Peach.

Peach during this ordeal has been motionless though visibly shaking as though she is cold due to the intensity of emotions of the like she has never felt before that almost paralyze her.

POV Shift to Peach

As I struggle with my emotions which are all over the place ranging from rage to soul crushing misery, my thoughts first shift to Mario. If I am truly honest with myself, I have been in denial on my feelings about Mario.

Most people assumed we had been a steady couple destined for the altar but our relationship hadn't really progressed beyond being steady sweethearts. That day almost came on the moon but outside influences wrecked it. Still I hoped that one wonderful day, Mario would finally pop the question. With all the conflicts the Mushroom Kingdom has been weathering as of late, their just haven't been a lot of time we could spend together.

Now that day would never come. But I didn't want to believe. I couldn't bring myself to believe it.

I rise to my feet slowly in defiance despite how heavy and lethargic I am feeling emotionally.

"Mario?"

I try to speak his name but it comes out as little more than a whisper as my voice refuses to work properly. I am still apparently audible as all eyes are on me but my eyes remain transfixed on my castle foundation where my castle once proudly stood with its lovely spires reaching to the heavens.

Now there is nothing.

I can feel everyone's eyes are resting on me and I know I am supposed to portray a strong ruler right now and shore up their confidence in this dark time. But honestly, I don't give a damn about doing that right now. I am doing everything I can to not fall apart like I just saw Wendy do but I know I am quickly losing the battle and its only a matter of time.

My face which is almost always smiling even amiss hardship in the past is anything but that right now. To any casual observer, gone is the seemingly happy and content smiling princess they all adore. Standing before them is a royal young woman who seems to have just had her heart savagely torn from her chest and viciously stomped on by the fates and is not taking it very well.

It takes a bit but I have started to get over the initial shock of my loss but an unexpected overwhelming wave of soul crushing grief hits me like an ice cold stiff breeze of arctic air as I state at the empty space of my lost castle with unspoken tears in my eyes which have slowly started to become unfocused.

"Mario? Where is Mario?"

Despite knowing what has happened, my grief stricken mind is conflicted by my inward stubbornness to refuse to accept the reality of the situation. Toadette who has been beside me sobbing for her own loss looks over at me sadly.

"Princess."

"Mario is. . . ."

Toadette is going through the same emotions I am and yet like the trooper she is still tries to console me, knowing full well I am quite aware Mario is no longer with us but that I just don't want to accept it. So my best friend just wraps her arms around me saying no more.

"Toadette . . . ."

"We were going to get him and bring him back."

"He was . . . not there. Maybe we missed him and he is still on his way. Maybe . . "

By this point, my own will power is fading and my stubbornness to refuse to believe he is truly gone is finally buckling. I can still see his smiling face in my mind's eye or how adorable he looked when he is blushing after I kiss him.

I then think about my faithful retainers, Mia and Nina and how I won't be greeted by their smiling and genuinely happy faces every morning or evening anymore.

My many faithful royal maids and servants who proudly served for me every single day from sunrise to sundown.

My busy and content highly skilled royal kitchen staff always ready with a delicious, warm and comforting meal at just the right time.

Toadsworth for all his bothersome worrying was like a father to me and now I would no longer hear his voice or see his face again.

My old friend Toad who had been dutifully by my side even longer then Toadette his sister.

Even my recently highly trained honor guard who were guarding my bed chambers to the very end.

I try so hard to fight back the tears begging to be released to the point my quivering gloved hands are clenched so tightly my gloves soon begin to noise their protest. The crowded town square behind me is deathly silent as all activity has ground to a halt as eyes are on me though I am oblivious to it. No one dares to utter a word at the heart wrenching site seeing their beloved princess laid so low. It is then my strength finally gives out completely as my tears are soon falling freely.

"NOOO?! NOO!? This isn't real. This is a cruel trick right?! This is your doing isn't Kammy?! Please . . . . god just make it stop!? I . . . I just need to wake up and this terrible nightmare will be over, right!?"

I shake my head violently as my tears continue to fall as I drop to my knees as my vision becomes blurry even as Toadette continues to hug me tightly.

Kammy wisely ignores my emotional outburst as she doesn't need to imagine what kind of anguish I am going through at the moment desperately trying to find a logical reason to it all but miserably coming up short. It's clearly my grief talking as its putting words of madness into my mouth.

End POV

The spectacle of not one but two princesses brought low in soul shattering grief holds the attention of everyone in the area as the Mushroom people of Toad Town stop and painfully reflect on what has just happened. Many kneel to the ground in grief shedding silent tears as the loss finally starts to sink in.

Though their beloved Princess is safe, she has been left heartbroken in the worst way. So too gone is Toadsworth who has stood in their corner though often times admittedly shivering in fright to provide aid in their time of need. Admiral Toad who had only recently become their military leader of the Mushroom Kingdom forces had also been lost. Not to mention the other monarchs and leaders who made up the government of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Finally, they lost their reliable protector and hero, Mario who had time and again stepped up putting himself in hams way to protect them.

The Mushroom Royal Palace Guard that were originally stationed outside the castle are forced to pause. Some of them are lost in their own anguish as others stare at the own hands in contempt even flexing their fists in anguish.

Here they were only recently trained to keep the royal castle and its inhabitants safe but were proven powerless to do anything in the face of this new formidable foe. Though they were spared the embarrassment of losing their princess it failed to compensate for the loss of so many others.

For a time, all differences are set aside. Everyone is the same.

The sorrow felt by everyone transcends creed, rank, affiliation even species.

The profound loss grips all in its wake and they are for a time frozen without a word to say. To say even the air itself is heavy with grief would be an understatement. However, eventually the feelings lessen as townspeople disperse for their homes to process what has happened most dragging themselves along with forlorn expressions.

Wendy is the first to eventually start to calm down and regain her composure. Her usually flawless makeup is a mess. But it's the last thing on her mind at the moment. Locking eyes with Luigi, Wendy mouths a silent thank you to Luigi as she slowly steps back out of his warm embrace inwardly surprised at her own reluctance to do so.

Luigi says nothing about it however and shakes his head.

"It would seem we are in a similar place. I just lost my twin brother as well. So I can honestly say I know exactly where you're at right now." Wendy nods at this but says nothing not trusting her voice just yet.

Kammy nods to this as well then turns to her protégé and princess and start to administer to her pulling out a few tissues so she can fix her makeup.

While Wendy has begun pulling herself together with her master's help, I have been doing the same with my best friend, Toadette's help. Seeing her princess has stabilized Toadette has busied herself fixing my tear blotched face which I am sure is a mess about now.

Once I am somewhat presentable, I look over at Wendy giving her an expression of empathy as we are now royal sisters in this pain. Her eyes lock onto mine and reflect a similar sentiment. Perhaps through this terrible ordeal, a friendship can be brought to birth that would have never come to be otherwise.

Toadette seems to be on the same wavelength that I am on as she looks between the two of us nodding in understanding seeing it maybe finally time to put an end to her hostility towards the Koopa clan. They are hurting just as much as we are if not even more so since aside from loss of family their home is even under siege.

Geno seemingly sensing the worst of our grief has passed wisely deduces what has happened as he looks to the ground solemnly and after taking a handful of earth begins to slowly let it fall through his fingers.

"So, it would appear Mario, King Bowser and King Mallow have all been summarily taken out by hostile forces identified as the X-Nauts. May they rest in peace."