Chapter 7: Legend

Peach sat in her room brushing her hair. She had just finished a nice, cleansing bath, and she felt a bit better. The medics had finished up on the last injured Koopa soldier a while ago, and all that was left was Bowser. She was surprised he wasn't perfectly healed yet: he had always bounced back so quickly in the past... She hoped he would be better in the morning: she wanted to talk to him and make sure he was alright. Deep down she knew he was a good guy, maybe not in the literal sense of the term, but in his own special way.

His wife on the other hand…

Peach sighed and continued her brushing. Sometimes she had her Toad maids do her hair: it felt so nice, but she also liked doing things on her own every now and then. She had gotten all the tats out some time ago, but she still absentmindedly ran the brush through the inoffensive strands. Sighing, she flicked a lock out of her face, catching sight of her ear in the mirror. She reached up and ran a finger along its rounded edge, Bowselta's words echoing in her mind.

Suddenly, Peach knew what she had to do. Standing up, she made sure her robe was nice and secure, before slipping on a pair of fuzzy pink slippers and marching out of her room. It was late, and only a few Toad maids, guards and medics were around; all were surprised to see the princess in nothing but a bathrobe.

Toadsworth was surprised too. "Princess! What are you doing? What if someone sees you?"

"I'm perfectly covered," said Peach. "And it's my home: I can wear what I want."

"I'm just glad Wario and Waluigi have left," grumbled the old butler.

"Toadsworth!" exclaimed Peach, shocked that he would think so lowly of the men who saved them all. And that he would think she'd let them try anything indecent anyway…

"I'm sorry, it's been a long day," sighed Toadsworth. "And you should be asleep by now!"

"I know, but I need to know something first," said Peach.

"Oh, I had a feeling you'd come to me about this," said Toadsworth, fumbling with something in his overcoat. "Here."

"Um," said Peach, confused at the silver key her aide-de-camp had handed her.

"It's to Bowselta's cell. She's such a shifty character, I wanted to make sure the key was guarded extra well."

"What? Oh, no, it's not about her… Not really… It's about something she said, actually," said Peach, clutching the key as if it would ease her mind.

"Oh? Did she threaten you?" demanded Toadsworth.

An image of bloody claws flashed in Peach's mind, but she pushed it away. "N- no. Toadsworth, can you tell me about how my ancestors arrived from Earth? And what they did to the Koopas?"

"Why? What has she told you?"

"It doesn't matter. Please Toadsworth, I need to know the truth," Peach was quite insistent.

The old Toad sighed, he knew there was no arguing with the princess when she got like this. "Well… Okay, if you insist. Let's sit by the fire, though – I don't want you to catch a cold."

"But it's the summertime," chuckled Peach, following Toadsworth through the parlor. She had caught him finishing up a late-night snack at the table, though he still had a warm mug of hot chocolate clutched in his hand. He always had quite the sweet tooth.

He noticed her smiling at his beverage. "Oh, do you want one?"

"Oh, no," said Peach graciously. "I already brushed my teeth."

"Oh-o! That's my little Peachie!" chortled Toadsworth, settling himself in a big cushy armchair. Peach sat across from him, both chairs were angled towards the fire, but Peach shifter hers to face Toadsworth directly. "Are you sure? You could brush them again afterwards."

Peach shook her head. "I'm fine, now stop delaying!"

She flashed Toadsworth an eager grin: she had always loved it when he told her fireside stories. Even if this tale was about serious matters, Peach couldn't help but feel exited.

Toadsworth smiled. "My word, your eyes haven't shone like that for years, it seems! It does an old heart good. Now, let's see, how shall I begin?"

"How about 'once upon a time'?" suggested Peach.

"Actually, the story's not quite old enough to merit that," explained Toadsworth. "It happened just under 200 years ago, in the Earth year 1800."

"Mario and Luigi said it was 1990-something when they were trapped on Earth," offered Peach, wishing she could remember the exact date.

"You see? 200-ish years. Of course, different humans use different calendars, but this is the date the settler's brought us. They arrived on two ships, the USS Pickering and the USS Insurgent (if I'm not mistaken) and made contact with the locals on the eastern coast of what is now our Mushroom Kingdom. Rougeport, Sea Side, Mushroom City – thereabouts. Anyway, there were already humans about, but what really set the newcomers apart was their technology. No one had schooners like theirs. Of course, the ships needed to be strong to get through the portal, from what I've heard."

"It's quite violent," agreed Peach. "I'm surprised a wooden sailing ship could even make it through."

Toadsworth shrugged. "Perhaps the randomly occurring portals are different than Bowselta's artificial ones."

"Traveling through dimensions was easy as walking through doors when Mario, Luigi, Bowser and I were in the Flipside dimensions, though I gather they're different as far as the laws of nature go. All that business in 5-D was hard on the eyes..."

"Quite a few ships have mysteriously appeared like those first two, and there have been even more wrecks. At least now we know something about the portal, even if Bowselta's discovery has left us with more questions than answers… But that's beside the point! You always did have a habit of asking such distracting questions!"

Peach giggled at Toadsworth's mock-chastising. "All right, all right, I'll be quiet. So the ships arrived and the locals were impressed by their technology, then what?"

"Then the humans made alliances with the locals; the trip had been hard on them. It had always gone that they both got lost in a horrible storm, hit a maelstrom and were spirited here."

"That sounds about right," said Peach, before realizing she had interrupted again. "Oops, sorry Toadsworth."

He waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm still on track with the story. You see, the larger of the two ships, the Insurgent lost her captain, and a man named Toadstool had taken command. His crew fared almost as badly as their old captain, and the Pickering wasn't much better off. They needed supplies, and in return they offered to share their technology with the local Mushroom People."

"Mushroom People?" Peach had given up her vow of silence.

"You'll see," winked Toadsworth. "Anyhoo, the locals were eager to learn, but a new problem soon arose, and that was the Turtle People."

"Koopas," piped in Peach.

"For now, they're the Turtle People," said Toadsworth mysteriously, before clearing his throat and continuing. "You see, they would attack the Mushroom Peoples' villages, stealing food and animals. The humans vowed to help their allies, and fought the Turtle People, driving them into the mountains of Dark Land."

"At least something's still the same," sighed Peach, but a worried look crossed her face. "Toadsworth, how did the humans combat the Koopas?"

"With one of their most formidable and deadly advancements: the gun," said the old butler ominously.

"You mean, like a Super Scope?"

"Slightly: instead of employing energy pulses, the human guns fired small metal balls called bullets. Victims would be penetrated by the projectiles and depending on where they were shot, their internal organs could be damaged enough to cause death."

"It sounds terrible," said Peach, understanding why Bowselta spoke of the "invasion" which such disgust and anger.

"It gets worse," said Toadsworth. "The guns – and all the rest of the humans' projectile killing-machines – supposedly destroyed life energy itself. It's been branded as "black magic" by many, including the Koopas."

"What happened?" demanded Peach. "I mean, there's nothing like that around now. Like Bullet Bills – they're totally different."

"They're a recent development, I was around to see their rise in popularity, actually. Before that, inanimate Bullet Bills and Bob-Ombs were used, but they still employed the magical energy of the world in their existence. In fact, I do believe the only ones who still use the barbaric basics are Kremlings."

"But why?"

"Because they're savage pirates," growled Toadsworth.

"No, not the Kremlings," said Peach. "Everyone else, and the lack of guns!"

"My word, Peach, don't get so exited!"

Peach sighed. "I'm sorry Toadsworth, but I need to know."

"Yes, yes," said Toadsworth, taking a sip of his hot chocolate before continuing. "Unfortunately, the humans had a rather disturbing tendency towards violence, and would not relent on the chase. The Turtle People were at their mercy, but they didn't care. They no longer wished to settle peacefully: they wanted to conquer the land. And it wasn't just Turtles who bore their fury – Dragons in particular were hit hard."

"Dragons?" asked Peach, a sinking feeling in the pit of stomach.

"Oh yes. It seemed the creatures had been a staple of Earth mythology for centuries, and dragon-slaying swept the nation. And not just the big ones: they were too scarce. O ho! The real massacre befell the Shelled Dragons."

"As in Bowser," said Peach softly. "And Bowselta, and the Koopalings."

Toadsworth saw the sadness in the princess' lowered face. "I'm afraid so. Countless hundreds fell; they would've gone extinct had one not had the courage to stand alone and fight."

"Oh?"

"Her name was Koopa, her mate was killed by humans, and she vowed revenge. But she was smart about it: she knew she would never stand a chance against the black magic of the guns, so she sought out the source of 'light magic' on out world."

"The Stars?"

Toadsworth shook his head. "The Mystic Meteor. It supposedly traveled out from the heart of the Universe, and brought a brilliant energy to this world. It seeped through the planet and brought all creatures their extraordinary powers, the likes of which could never have been possible on Earth, for one."

"So she used it against the humans?" said Peach, who couldn't help but feel Bowselta was like a modern-day Koopa.

"At first," said Toadsworth. "She seemed to appear out of nowhere and lead the Koopas against their assailants as their queen. But she soon realized an evenly matched war was little better than the bloodbath that preceded it: so many died – only now it was on both sides. So instead, Koopa called for peace. She made an alliance with Toadstool: she would use the Meteor to give his soldiers magical powers, and they would destroy their own black magic."

"So that's why humans are so powerful," mused Peach. "It explains so much, like how Mario and Luigi survive everything that gets thrown at them…"

"Indeed it does," smiled Toadsworth. "But the story's not quite over. No one is sure how Koopa diverted power to the humans, but whatever happened took her life. She went away, and was never seen again."

"That's terrible!"

"It was tragic, but it is the reason we are all here. I am sure if she hadn't done what she did, the fighting would not have stopped until every human and every turtle was dead."

"Is that why they're called Koopas now?" asked Peach.

"Yes, the Turtle People immortalized Queen Koopa by naming themselves in her honor, just like the Mushroom People honored their savior, Toadstool, by calling themselves Toads."

"I had always wondered about that," smiled Peach good-naturedly. "And Toadstool, he was my ancestor?"

"Of course," nodded Toadsworth. "Fortunately for he and his men, there were quite a few native human populations, though they were a bit different."

"I know," said Peach. "They had pointed ears… But how come all the humans – except Wario and Waluigi – that I have ever met have rounded ears? Just how many humans arrived on those ships?"

"About three hundred between the two, not including casualties of the trip and of the war. All men, of course, and they found the pointed ears of the native women... ah, how do you say…uh, stirring," said Toadsworth, blushing.

"Obviously they never met Wario," chuckled Peach. "But after only two hundred years, that's what, six? Seven generations?"

"About that," agreed Toadsworth. "But they reproduced like rabbits, as some would say. And pointed ears are a very recessive trait. Over in the Waffle Kingdom most people have pointed ears, though, since the Earth humans never really got that far."

Peach nodded, and stared into the fire, digesting everything she just heard; true, she had known bits and pieces of the story, but only now was it clear to her. At first she thought she understood where Bowselta's anger came from, and when she first heard about Queen Koopa she was sure of it. They were so similar at first, but Koopa had decided on peace – something Bowselta rejected time and time again. And the humans – sure they were horrible, but it was the Koopas who started the war… It's always the Koopas who start the war.

"But…" said Peach. "She's got it all wrong."

"Who?" asked Toadsworth, startled by Peach's sudden assertion.

"Bowselta. She acts like humans don't belong here, like we're aliens. But Koopa made us part of this world, didn't she? She knew the only way we could both live was if we had peace between us. And all Bowselta wants to do is destroy that. She says it's the Koopas' right to rule, but it's not: they never ruled, they were just bullies."

"Unfortunately that happens a lot with legends – factual events take on the mantel of myth, and become open to interpretation. 'The Story of Koopa', as they call it, has already phased out the ancient creation stories in Dark Land. Queen Koopa was just a smart, courageous widow, yet she's revered as a god. There's even a few groups who believe she called the Star Spirits down from their own dimension to ratify her deal with Toadstool, and to make sure it was upheld after her death."

"I doubt Bowselta believes that – she hates the Stars," said Peach bitterly.

Toadsworth was startled by the princess' tone, but he left her to her thoughts and raised his mug once more, only to find he had absentmindedly finished the hot chocolate during the last leg of the story. He frowned and looked at his watch. "Gracious me! Is it that late already? My word, you should have been asleep hours ago!"

"I'm not a child," huffed Peach, but she was smiling.

"I don't want to hear it, now off to bed, chop chop, you've heard your story. And besides, you look tired."

Even as Toadsworth spoke, Peach let out an enormous yawn. "I suppose you're right Toadsworth, thank you for the story."

"It was my pleasure," smiled the old Toad sincerely. "Now, to bed!"

"Yes Dad," joked Peach, making her way to the door. As she crossed the threshold she called back to Toadsworth. "'Night!"

"Sweet Dreams!" responded Toadsworth, before adding in an undertone, "…Princess Toadstool."

-xxx-

Peach was sound asleep in no time. On her bedside table lay the silver dungeon key, which she had forgotten to return to Toadsworth. A shadow fell across the shining metal and there was a click at the window.

The princess' eyes flew open. After yeas of kidnappings, she had become sensitive to even the faintest of noises that could spell trouble. She sat bolt upright and looked to window: it was still closed, and nothing but the full moon hung beyond the glass. Peach sighed, falling back to her pillow and turning over onto her slide, slowly drifting off once more.

Below her window, outside the castle crouched a very irate Bean. "Fink Rat! Now I am waiting until morning to have the taking of that key of neededness! Grrrr… I HAVE FURY!"

He froze, realizing he probably woke the princess with that exclamation. Leaping from the roof, he activated the rockets on his headgear and flew away into the windy night.