A/N: This story was written before Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, and while I have retroactively come up with a way to fit it, and its horrifically inaccurate anatomy into my Mario continuum, it's really elaborate, so I simply omitted the whole shebang in the last chapter.

Chapter 6: Boat

The Koopalings spun through space; colours swirled all around and a haunting melody filled their ears. Most of them were screaming too loudly to hear, but Ludwig fell silent.

"Hey, I know zat tune," he said, looking over at his flailing siblings. None heard him. Suddenly everything became topsy-turvy. It felt like being sucked down a giant drain; there was light everywhere. Ludwig wondered if it was like what Bowselta went through going to and from Earth in the uncontrollable vortex. Then suddenly he was jolted out of his thoughts as he hit solid ground. He flipped and tumbled to a stop, covering his head with his hands as his siblings suffered similar fates all around him. The cave was filled with grumbling and groaning.

Again, it was Roy who managed to stand up first. "What da hell was dat?"

"I have no idea," sighed Ludwig, standing up. "Did anyvone else hear zat music? I'm sure I've heard it before."

"It sounded a little familiar," offered Morton. "But does it really matter? That was really freaky! The mirror practically reached out and grabbed us – and all those colours! It was like that time Lemmy and Iggy covered the castle in all those different paints, remember that? It was nauseating, but cool at the same time, which explains why Kamek was really ticked off by it. Oh, and the part just now was even more freaky! And why's the mirror turned off?"

Morton paused in his rant and looked over at Ludwig. He looked at the mirror himself – it was indeed, "turned off": the glass was void of colours (and faces).

"At least it's still a mirror," shrugged Iggy, looking at the blackened reflections in the glass.

"As opposed to what?" scoffed Wendy.

"Well, a window into an interdimensional portal, perhaps," elaborated Iggy, miffed that his sister would mock him like that.

"You sink so too?" asked Ludwig.

"It fits Mom's description," shrugged the bespectacled Koopaling.

"How would sending us to another dimension help us figure out how we can help Mom and King Dad?" wondered Lemmy.

"Because, in zis dimension's reality zey already have vat zey vant, and vat zey need," said Ludwig, suddenly understanding the mirror's riddle.

"Right," nodded Morton. "I get it, but I still don't see why the Magic Mirror couldn't just show us this dimension."

"Maybe it wants us to experience it first-hand so we can actually comprehend da real important stuff," mused Roy.

"Wow, deep," said Wendy.

"Not really," shrugged the burly Koopaling. "Any idiot knows first-hand's da only way ta go. If you wanna do it da right way, at least."

"I don't like it," whined Junior. "I wanna go back."

"Well too bad," said Wendy. "You got us into this, remember?"

"Yeah, vhy did you so blatantly ignore vat I said anyvay?" demanded Ludwig, glowering at his youngest brother.

"You're not in charge of me," snapped the little Dragon-Koopa.

"You chose a great time to go rebel on us," hissed Wendy.

"Um, shouldn't we get moving?" suggested Larry.

"Yeah, fighting's not gonna get us anywhere," agreed Lemmy before turning to Junior. "I suppose you could go back and wait in our dimension, y'know, watch the Clown Car-"

"I'm not scared," snapped Junior.

"I didn't say you were," defended Lemmy.

"Though you sorta did, with the whole 'I don't like it' thing," Wendy smirked at Junior as his cheeks turned red.

"Enough," sighed Ludwig before Junior could get mad over his display of humility. "Let's just go look around: if Muzzer and Fazzer's dreams have come true, zee place can't be too dangerous… for us, at any rate."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Totally."

"Let's get outta here."

But Junior hung back. Larry looked over his shoulder as he turned the corner, but didn't say anything to alert the others: he figured his brother'd do what he felt was right. Junior waited until his siblings' voices had begun to fade in the distance before taking a shuddering breath and reaching out to the glass. He wasn't scared, but he had a bad feeling about this. He knew something was bound to go wrong, and he didn't want to be there for it. He was leaving his siblings out to dry, but if they didn't return he could go get help – he could save them. That'd show Ludwig.

With a grin, the vindictive Koopaling reached forward and planted his hand on the Mirror once more. But nothing happened. No colours, no voices, nothing. "We're trapped," he whispered in horror, before turning and running after his siblings.

-xxx-

"Look who decided to join us after all?" jeered Roy, disgusted that Junior could have been so cowardly as to have even considered leaving.

Junior was going to tell the others that the Mirror was defunct, but that would mean he'd have to admit he had planned on running. So he had no choice but to lie. "I was going to come all along."

"Then why'd you lag behind?" asked Iggy, skeptically.

"I- I," Junior stammered – he should've sen that one coming. "I mean, it's stupid to go running off into a mysterious dimension with no back-up plan. I wanted to make sure we could get home, and it's a good thing I did, cuz we can't."

"What d'ya mean?" asked Morton.

"The Mirror wouldn't send me back: nothing happened when I touched it."

"Interesting," said Ludwig, leading the group through the tunnel. Like before they were using torches to light their way, and they were nearing the cave's mouth.

"'Interesting'? More like disturbing," protested Junior.

"Yeah, we're trapped," said Lemmy, turning pale.

"All it means is zat vee have to complete zee quest before zee Mirror lets us return. It sent us here on a mission, and I guess it must be completed."

"But it's a mirror," said Wendy derisively.

"A magic mirror," reminded Morton. "Well actually, The Magic Mirror. And I mean, it talks, and it has eyes and a face, and it sent us to another dimension…"

"We don't know that for sure," said Wendy.

"Actually, vee do," said Ludwig, stopping in his tracks. They had reached the mouth of the cave and there was no trace of the Clown Car.

"Great, how're we gonna get off the island now?" moaned Wendy as she and her brothers stepped onto the ledge outside the cave.

"Maybe we can hitch a lift with some Kremling pirates!" said Morton excitedly.

"No way! Not in a million years!" growled Roy. "Besides, you know da rumours – dat dey captured da ex-royal families when dey were kicked outta Dark Land by King Morton Koopa – and den ate dem."

"Please, that's just a scary story people tell their kids to get them to stay away from pirates," dismissed Iggy.

"Still, dey're no friends o' da Koopas, I can tell ya dat," warned Roy.

Ludwig ignored the discussion of pirates and looked up the cliff: it didn't look like too hard of a climb. "C'mon, if vorse comes to vorst, vee can probably make a boat out of stuff in zee interior. Sitting around talking von't do us any good."

"We'll continue dis discussion at da top," Roy said ominously to Iggy, before gripping onto the rocks beside the cavern opening and pulling himself off of the ground. The Koopalings slowly scaled the cliff, with Roy and Morton helping out their siblings considerably with their gravity-defying wall-climbing abilities.

"It's a good thing Mom's made us practice all these years," commented Morton as he carried Larry to the plateau. "Otherwise we'd never be able to keep up our strength enough to carry you lot up with us, over and over."

"Lucky us," grinned Larry, hopping out of Morton's arms when they reached their destination. Everyone but Junior had been shuttled up already, so Morton waited with the others until Roy reappeared.

"Okay, so Kremlings are polygamists too, and dey've got no women's rights at all, so Wendy'd be toast," continued Roy eagerly, but Iggy wasn't listening, instead he was scanning the horizon.

"Hey, look!" he said, pointing at a faint wisp of smoke coming from the northeast side of the island, to the Koopalings' left.

"I guess zee island isn't abandoned in zis dimension," said Ludwig.

"No duh," said Wendy. "And it's not too far either – we'll get there in no time. We can just go down that slope over there, and follow that river, it seems to go to the smoke."

"It'd make sense to build a village on the river delta," said Iggy, nodding.

"And the cliff's eroded away over there, so it's easy for the villagers to get to the interior," said Larry, looking out over the tropical forest.

"And easier for us to get out," grinned Junior. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

-xxx-

It took about an hour to navigate the steep slope into the forest below, and another hour for the Koopalings to pick their way to the river. Even then, their progress was hampered by Ludwig and Roy's insistence on secrecy: they didn't know who inhabited the village, and they had no way to escape if they were foes.

It was almost noon by the time the Koopalings reached the fishing village. On the way down, a couple of the kids had complained about their growling stomachs, but the first glimpse of the villagers pushed all thoughts of food from their minds: they were Kremlings.

"In Koopa territory?" hissed Roy. "Something ain't right."

"Vee'll vorry about zat later. Right now, vee need a vay out of here, fast," said Ludwig, peeking through the bush that concealed him and his siblings.

"Da wharf," said Roy. "We'll steal a boat."

"But what about all those stories you were telling us about the horrible Kremlings? If they catch us-"

"If we stay here, dey will catch us, and den it's curtains for da lot of ya," growled Roy, quieting Iggy's protests.

"'The lot of us'? They'll kill you too, ya know" hissed Wendy.

"I know," said Roy, not even turning to look at her. Instead, he focused on Ludwig. "Da sooner we get a move-on, da better. During lunch-break's our best window until nightfall."

"Lead zee vay," offered Ludwig, holding out an arm.

"Wid pleasa," grinned Roy, he turned to the others. "Don't make a sound and only move on my signal, capiche?"

The Koopalings mumbled in the affirmative, but Roy only scowled.

"I said don't make a sound, idiots."

"Sorry," said Lemmy, before wincing at his mistake.

"Yeah, you'll be wincin' all right – when da Kremlings've got you by dat fancy hair of yers."

"Jeeze, you might wanna let up on the doom and gloom a bit Roy, do you want us to be nervous wrecks out there?" said Morton uneasily.

"Life is doom and gloom: get used ta it," growled Roy, crawling out from behind the bushes and running around the back wall of a nearby hut. He waved for the others to follow. Hearts pounding, the seven other Koopalings followed, scooting one-by-one from behind the bush, after furtively looking for nearby villagers. Ludwig brought up the rear; he was clutching his wand, in case it came to fighting.

Roy saw this and nodded his approval. Personally, he was dreadful at magic, but he knew that a skilled spellcaster like Ludwig would come in handy when push came to shove. But Kremlings were larger than adult Dragon-Koopas. They were fast, thick-skinned and mean, and if the Koopalings were caught now, Roy knew they wouldn't stand a chance.

Keeping this in mind, he dashed from his hiding place, flitting between barrels ringing the gap between the first and second huts. He reached the next wall and crouched beside a container of rotting fish, he pointed to Wendy and motioned her forward.

She was surprised and wary of this move, but came forward without protest. She reached Roy, scrunching her snout against the fishy smell as he nodded towards a roadside ditch across the clearing. Her eyes widened: there was no cover between her current location and her goal. She shook her head at Roy. He frowned, there wasn't enough room in their corner for the rest of the Koopalings to fit – perhaps one more figure could squeeze in, but anyone else would be clearly visible from the alley between the houses and the clearing on the other side of the fish bin. He had hoped Wendy would be confident enough of her agility to make the dash, so she could wait in the ditch and help encourage others to follow.

Clearly that wouldn't work. Roy called Junior over as well, since he'd take up the least room in the hideout. When Junior arrived, Roy held out a finger, indicating for them to wait. He then slunk around the fish bin and disappeared. The other Koopalings waited in confusion, when they heard a loud smash in the clearing beyond. Wendy couldn't resist and crawled forward along the side of the house, peeking around the corner. She saw a couple Kritters and a Klap Trap run towards the source of the noise, and she heard shouting. A distraction, she realized, sucking in a deep breath and making a run for the ditch.

-x-

By the time Roy returned from his distraction-making, Ludwig and Junior (who had stayed at the second hut and directed the other Koopalings) were the only ones who hadn't made the trip. They ran across the road together and Roy lead the Koopalings down the trench, which snaked over to the edge of the harbor. They could see a couple dinghies and a larger sailing ship tied nearby, but Roy was looking for something faster.

Larry tapped his arm and pointed to the stern of the schooner, beyond which the tail end of a motorboat was barely visible. Roy flashed Larry a brief smile, before wading into the water. The harbor was located in a small bay that was protected from the ocean's pitching waves by small ridges of jagged rocks reaching out from the cliffs. The Koopalings had swum over to the motor boat in no time and Iggy immediately set to work hot-wiring the craft. The others crouched low in the boat. It was a four-Kremling craft, but all the Koopalings could fit inside – barely.

Iggy had almost got the boat moving when a Kremling appeared on the dock. "Hey! Filthy brats!"

Without thinking, Ludwig used his wand to hurl a box that had been stashed beside one of the chairs at the Kritter. He whacked it out of the way, yelling in rage as its contents of letters spilt onto the damp docks.

"You'll pay for that!"

Morton reared up and belted out a sonic scream, sending the Kremling courier staggering backwards, and off the dock.

"Now everyone knows we're here!" yelped Junior.

"Shove off!" cried Ludwig, roasting the nearest mooring line with a spell. "Qvickly, before more arrive!"

Roy jumped over the windshield and onto the boat's bow. He cut the second line with his claws, looking up to see two more Kritters approaching. Lemmy jumped up beside him and sent a flare towards their assailants, setting the dock on fire in the process.

"Oops," he said, wincing once again.

"No, it's a good ting," said Roy, magically extending his arms to push the bow away from the dock. At the stern, Ludwig was also working to turn the craft around.

The first Kremling suddenly reared out of the water and grabbed onto the side of the boat. Wendy was nearest and screamed, before hurling some spinning bracelets at the Kritter, smashing his fingers. He yelped and fell into the water. Ludwig then sent a blast of electricity after him, making the whole bay spark and crackle.

More screams filled the air: the two Kremlings had jumped into the water to avoid Lemmy's fire, and had almost reached the Koopalings underwater, being forced to surface as their bodies went out of control.

"Dat was lucky," said Roy, pushing against the schooner to finish pointing the motor boat out to see.

"Got it!" crowed Iggy, emerging form under the dashboard as the boat roared to life.

"And not a moment too soon," said Wendy, as the Kremlings started to revive.

"Let's get outta here!" cried Lemmy as he and Roy jumped back into the body of the boat.

"Already covered," grinned Junior, who had hopped into the driver's seat and sped the boat away the moment Roy and Lemmy were secure. Having Kart raced with Bowser on many occasions, he had the most driving experience, so the others didn't complain, and just enjoyed the fact they were getting out of the village.

"By the way, Roy," said Wendy. "What was it you distracted those guys with?"

"Wouldn't you like ta know," grinned Roy. "I'll tell ya dis much: dat market place is gonna stink ta Star Haven for quite some time."

"Ew."