Vincent awoke in bed next to a sleeping Tyrendil, curled next to his arm. It seemed the previous night had tired her out, but given what happened he wasn't very surprised. If that's what she wanted, then that's what she got. But despite that, he wished he could stop and find someone that was more...normal. While Tyrendil could be useful in some ways, ultimately she was dangerous and could hurt him badly on a moment's whim. However, ditching her was a bad idea, especially now that he had few friends because of the marks that he bore. She could easily turn around and stalk him which was the last thing that he wanted. For now, he needed to keep playing the game until he could find some way out.

Vincent got up from bed and stood, amazed at how cold it was inside. The blanket in his pack would've been a better choice, but then again, this place wasn't meant to be used like it was now. He grabbed his backpack off the floor and pulled out a slice of Toadette's bread. Tyrendil stirred in her sleep just as Vincent finished. "Come on." Vincent called, tapping her feet. "We gotta go."

Tyrendil muttered something to herself before rolling herself out of bed. "I heard you." she said sleepily. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Vincent sighed and looked at his dwindling loaf of bread. He was going to have to find food at some point. Breaking off a slice, he handed it to her. "I don't have much left." he mentioned. "So take this for now."

Tyrendil took it and ate eagerly. "I need to find a place to pee." she muttered, looking around then noticing a bathroom adjacent to the closet.

"You do that." said Vincent, zipping up and putting on his pack. "I'm going down to the system core. I'll meet you down there." With Tyrendil saying nothing, he took out his wand and cast the teleport spell. He reappeared in the corner of a hallway not far from a pile of wreckage that blocked his path behind him. The sun had not yet crawled over the horizon: evidently, Vincent had gotten up earlier than he thought. Ahead of him was a group of Koopa's outside a large double doored entrance, seemingly trying to find some way to open it. Tyrendil appeared in front of him a few minutes later. "Always impulsive." said Tyrendil.

"I know what I'm doing." Vincent stated and walked forward. Several of the Koopa's had crowbars and similar instruments to try and pry the doors open. "One of these days, it'll happen." said one of them.

"We should just sleep." said another.

"That's why we do it at night!" said the first. "Everyone is trying to get in here during the day. They want to know what happened in the Galaxy because the royals never told us, not even during the announcement did they tell us."

"They never told us anything to begin with." said another.

"Well it's all in this room." said the first. "Every answer, that's what they keep saying. We can finally see how much of a douche Bowser and his kids were if we can get this open!"

"I still say we should kill them all." said another. "That gang was good for that at least."

"Except Ludwig escaped." said one Koopa, a young boy. "He could be anywhere now."

"I don't know, I still say Ludwig's kids have nothing to do with it." said the first. "But everyone's got their opinion on that."

"Doesn't matter, it wont stop some people from hunting them all down and wiping them out." said one. "They're the reason we were all poor to begin with."

Vincent realized he had landed into more than he bargained for. It was clear that if he was going to get past these guys, it was either through sweet talking, intimidating them or subduing them. Considering his situation, Vincent decided to try the former first.

"You're here to help us?" one of them asked, finally noticing him.

"I think I found a way to turn on the galactic core." said Vincent. "So I traveled here but didn't expect the doors to be shut. I guess that's Ludwig for you."

"Well, do you have any ideas?" asked the young Koopa. "We've been trying for days and have gotten nowhere."

"How the hell would you know how to turn on the core?" the first asked. "The only ones that have seen it were on the Galaxy and they were very few who seen it."

"Dude, I wasn't even born when the Galaxy was still up so don't ask me." said Vincent.

"Ah, one of those orphans." said the first and Vincent rolled his eyes. "Core or not, the doors need to open first."

"Have you tried using magic yet?" asked Vincent.

"Naw, we rarely get users around here." said the first. "But seeing that Ludwig was a magic user, it's probably worth a shot. Have any ideas for spells?"

"I have a few." Vincent pulled out his wand and some of the other Koopa's jumped back. "Woah, a Magikoopa!" one exclaimed. "That's perfect!"

"That's not a Magikoopa's wand!" said the first. "It's a fucking royal! No Magikoopa would ever have something that elaborate." Some in the crowd seemed to ready weapons behind their backs. "Why would someone like you visit a place like this? Crawling with people who hate your guts?"

Vincent sighed. So much for that. "Because I have a right to open them, and I will open them."

The first snorted, but the others talked with each other wondering what they should do.

"You can stand in my way, but that would be pointless since you're after the same thing." Vincent continued.

"A royal wouldn't come here unless he already knew." one of them pointed out. "He's still a kid so I doubt he knows the whole story."

"Fight or not, I'm going to get the answers." Vincent said, casting a quick scan spell that told him that there was a magical seal on the outer shell of the door.

"Trying to order us around I see." the first spat. "Those days are over. The people own this now."

"I'm not telling you what to do, I'm telling you what I'm doing." Vincent clarified, using his new magic melding knowledge to concoct a new spell. "If you want to know, then I'll show you the answers myself. But, if you attack me, then you'll get none of them."

"Fucking royals." one of the charged with a large hammer, but something threw him backwards and he was pinned to the wall with a knife on his jacket.

"Please do that again." said Tyrendil. "I love hearing you get angry."

"Not now Tyrendil." Vincent warned, and he unleashed a neutralizing white and blue spell that blasted the doors wide open along with a whirlwind that picked up already loose papers and tossing them all around the room. It was sloppy but it worked.

"Get in!" The group suddenly rushed into the room and Vincent tried to follow but they all pointed their weapons at him.

"Thanks for the courtesy royal, but now you die." said the first. "We can take it from here."

Vincent was not happy with that pronouncement. "One attack, and I will kill all of you." he pointed his wand at them. "Come on, who's going to give first?"

"This was not a good idea boss..."

"Shut up!" he yelled. "This is not your castle and you have no right to order me around!"

"And you have no way of getting into the core." Vincent pointed out. "You are putting yourself on the line for nothing. Oh wait, I'm of royal blood, I hate him! Screw logic, let's kill him." Vincent rolled his eyes. "Move out of my way now!"

The leader looked furious but for the moment had no way to refute his logic. Many of those around him looked ready to step aside however.

"We had no plan for this part yet." said the kid. "And royal or not, he's way better than us. This is stupid, let's see what he pulls up first."

With the majority against him, the enraged Koopa was forced to step outside as the rest of the group filed out. Vincent and Tyrendil cautiously stepped inside the room and found a spherical shaped device sitting right in front of them along with a stool surrounded by loose papers. Vincent sat down while the others watched from outside, with a few readying their weapons. Using his wand like a flashlight, Vincent looked for a way to turn the device on. Spotting a red button labeled "POWER," he pressed it and a single screen came to life. Diagnostics sped by on the display until a message came up. "Auto-routed to emergency power. 89% battery capacity. Estimated runtime: 1 hour 10 minutes. Press return to continue." He looked for the return key and pressed it. The message disappeared and a login prompt was then displayed. "Please insert core key or enter login information..." Vincent took the media card around his neck and looked for a place to insert it. Finding a few slots next to the monitor, Vincent slipped his card in. A message popped up on the screen: "Profile 'Donkey Kong' loaded. Please wait..." The Koopaling snickered. What kind of name was that?

After a moment, the login screen was replaced with a menu containing a variety of options, such as "citizen records," "security detail," "column mechanical dynamics" and many more. Vincent hummed to himself. With everyone behind him now quiet, he clicked on citizen records and a long list of names appeared in front of him, along with mugshots and details for each individual. The space station apparently kept track of each person that lived there, and given the amount of information available they had to spy on them as well. There was no way people would simply tell their life stories to some random guard or overseer.

Finding Ludwig, he clicked on his name and a small biography of his life appeared, though how much of it was true Vincent didn't know. But with the videos that were attached to his name in the form of deliberate documentaries and security footage, it appeared he was a very important figure in the old world. Several videos showed large parties with hundreds of guests, complete with bars, swimming pools and what appeared to be hot tubs.

"Holy shit." said one person behind him, reminding Vincent that he was being watched. "I would of loved that shit." Vincent closed the video and scrolled through the list before finding a few with Ludwig talking directly at the camera.

"Addressed to my person." Ludwig began in one of them. "It is the 17th of November. It appears with the structural decay of the Galaxy that the mass evacuation will have to occur soon, with the ground intelligence being promptly notified beforehand of any incidents with falling wreckage that may enter their wake. In the meantime, I have begun initiating plans to prepare the government for exposure when the time comes, as the destruction will be visible to all and the devastation not just from some mere satellite. Bowser has prepared his son Bowser Junior for complete...takeover of his position, though while I am not pleased with his sudden decision, I am not surprised by the result. This is a matter that will be dealt with." The video abruptly ended.

"Yeah, so that was civil war stuff." murmured one. "Remember that?"

"Of course we do." said another. "That was the beginning of the end, I think. Once Junior took the castle it was all downhill. Economy crashed because none of Bowser's kids wanted anything to do with it, just cared about their precious riches and their power. Just shows how they don't give a shit about us."

"Careful, we don't know who this guy's dad is." warned another.

"So? Fuck 'em..." he trailed off, but Vincent ignored him and was browsing through more videos. He was amazed at how luxurious it all was, but also was amazed at people's reactions to it. Riches seemed to turn people into another monster altogether, either from an inflated ego or from people's jealousy. The civil war that Vincent was piecing together seemed to take place after Bowser's death, and he guessed that his grandad was killed when the Galaxy fell. Then a squabble to be the top Koopa happened, and knowing that Ludwig was the oldest, guessed that he was originally first in line. Something happened to make him lose the position, but given his uncle's track record that could have been a lot of things.

Regardless, it was clear to Vincent that his family was one born from politics from a state now destroyed and that they were once more selfish than they were now. He searched for Iggy's name, the one uncle he knew next to nothing about. Vincent wondered if he would hear his voice in his head now, given that he was watching everyone at once, but nothing turned up and he continued.

Iggy's name brought about a number of videos, much of his security cam footage of him walking through the Galaxy at large. One of them showed him entering a store, taking a notebook off a shelf, scanning a device across a counter, then leaving it promptly. He was seen headed towards a jungle like area marked with the words "Yoshi Land" before the video ended.

"That is such bullshit." one remarked. "So that guy wasn't making it up. There was no money up there."

"Money?" Vincent asked.

"You don't know what money is?" Several of them laughed. "You are one lucky son of a bitch."

"It is the root of all evil." said a Koopa with a wicked hairstyle. "It's why the Koopa Kingdom sucked so much. Everyone had to have money to just live life...they came in pieces of paper and coins and everyone needed to have them. Houses cost money, food cost money, cars cost money, and to get this money you had to work jobs, and that can be through companies or through the kingdom, government, whatever. Point is everyone needed money or they were homeless, couldn't buy anything to eat and they were labeled classless too. Looked down on for not "owning" anything."

"Sounds like slavery." Vincent muttered.

"That's what it was, debt slavery. You could buy stuff without paying for it, but then you owe money, or debt. That's how they got you, cause then you couldn't make enough to buy the stuff you needed because of some economic crash that made stuff expensive or whatever excuse. So millions and millions of innocent Koopas were enslaved to this system that your relative Bowser set up. I don't know if he's your uncle, grandad or whatever but everyone hated Bowser. It was an open secret you couldn't tell because you were forced to worship his feet, but now that he's gone, lots of people want his kids dead. They will always go after them, even Lemmy, though he's probably the least shitty out of all of them, he still has haters going after him. There are people here who probably want to kill you right now—"

"Well aware of that." Vincent spun around to face them. "But like any normal Koopa, I will defend myself and, seeing that I know magic I will probably win."

Some looked a little irritated at that and clutched their weapons, but Vincent removed a glove and showed his mark of Amura. They stopped immediately. "Do you know what this is?" he asked them. To Tyrendil, it was a bold move.

"Yeah, and it doesn't make a difference to me." the leader said. "Just another way for "King Iggy" to control his minions. I would kill them regardless."

"Then you sound like these guys." Vincent removed his other glove and the mark of UmNaru showed itself to them. The group was taken aback by this. "He's an UmNaru! Those guys have control over the family. He's a puppet!

"But he has the other mark." noted a young teenager. "The UmNaru wouldn't tolerate that." The group talked amongst themselves.

"He's a rogue." the leader said. "That's what he is. No friends, no home, no nothing. No one will help him now, only the desperate. Now word will get out about you now that you visited this place, and if you aren't killed here first."

"You sound like someone the UmNaru would like." said Vincent. "I would join their ranks rather than risking your life with me. Better perks there too."

The leader launched himself at Vincent with a poisoned knife, but the effort was fruitless. Vincent channeled black and white magic through his marks and, melding them together, sent the torrent at the Koopa who was raised off of the ground. The black spectrum forced out and amplified the Koopa's selfishness and anger through his skin and he started to deform amid his cries, before a shot of white magic send him shooting backwards over the heads of his compatriots and into the far wall of the hallway. Slumping to the floor, the Koopa writhed in pain at his new reddish deformity. The group was in an uproar but amid their cries for action none could unify on a single purpose.

"I don't even need a wand anymore...and yet I do." Vincent said to himself and furrowed his brows. "You can take care of yourself, right?" he called to the Koopa. "Get some dressing and a few pads right? Can take care of those wounds, right?"

The Koopa growled at him, but his words were fumbled and unintelligible. He tried to get up, but the pain was too much and he slumped down again.

"Don't worry, this is all being watched." Vincent commented. "Did you get that Trent?" he thought.

"Yeah, I told the others about the Galaxy." came the reply. "No wonder my dad's quiet."

"You guys weren't ready for a lot of that yet." said Iggy. ""Some old world politics are better left buried."

"Yeah, well you could have stopped me earlier." Vincent thought. "A lot earlier, so why try now?"

Iggy did not reply. "So he really was that crazy." came a new voice.

"Junior...damnit." Iggy muttered. "You weren't supposed to know that."

"There are no secrets in the thought verse." Junior responded. "Cause those that keep them don't trust other people, right? So why don't you trust me? I already told the hybrids but they knew already."

Iggy wanted to pull his hair out. His insane past caught up with him and now, like the old social media was spreading like a wildfire that could not be stopped. It was something he said himself yet had a hard time living by: in this world, there were no secrets.

To Vincent, Iggy's mistrust was evident, which wasn't surprising considering his past behavior. He had a feeling that would make him or break him in the future, but even then...

Vincent got up and took out the card from the computer. The group however turned to face him, blocking the exit. "I don't know why you had to bud in our business." said an older koop. "But we-" But he stopped short when Vincent suddenly disappeared from view. Tyrendil could not see him in shadows, so cast a detect spell on him. However, nothing turned up. "What is this?" she muttered, now suspicious.

Vincent however suddenly found himself in a world not unlike walking in shadows, but here no spirits could be seen, let alone other people. "What is this?" he muttered in turn.

"Where are you?" Iggy's thoughts echoed. He could still speak telepathically, and the room was still visible but much darker than before. But then the walls in front of him seemed to stretch outward and his view changed to one traveling quickly to a faraway place.

"You cannot run now, forbidden one!" came a deep voice. "I see you!" A massive black shape came into view before fires stretched out from it until they formed the shapes of arms, a large gnarled body and a huge head of a beast with long curled horns and double rows of sharp teeth. From its arms a stream of intertwining reds, oranges and yellows went forth and the hapless Koopaling was caught by the blast, only held in place by his own white magic. Who the hell was this guy?

"Do not engage!" Iggy shouted to those about to help Vincent. "He's way beyond your magical capability!"

While the remaining denizens of Genlic couldn't see the redness, Larry certainly could and saw Vincent in a pinch with his nemesis. This wasn't the first time that Koopa had gone after the youth, but this was the first direct attack against him. Larry prepared a counter attack, but Vincent was one step ahead of him. With a balled up swirl of white and black magic, Vincent launched the concoction at Koopa which went straight into his arms. Immediately, there was an explosion and Vincent was sent hurling backwards through several steel walls until breaking through the outer hull in an explosion of debris, and landing on the ground back in reality. A number of people were now watching and racing towards him.

"The cards are down!" Larry's voice said in his mind. "Get going!" Vincent's wand automatically cast a white radial spell to heal his cut leg and sprained arm. "Ow..." He struggled to get up and almost didn't see a number of people running towards him from behind with weapons in hand. A blackened knife flew through the air and sliced through several heads straight across, and their bodies suddenly dried and shriveled up before they collapsed to the ground as mere bones. Tyrendil had appeared behind him.

"I'm sending a team of Amura there right now." said Iggy as the two started to run from the mob, who had begun attacking them. There was some infighting amongst those after Vincent and Iggy knew that Koopa was after the youth, but the forbidden one was a new term he hadn't heard before. It wasn't found in any of the ancient histories, but given what Vincent had, could it mean...?

"I advise you to reconsider your decision." said Erzembar, interrupting his thoughts. "This enemy is beyond your capabilities."

Iggy looked at Genlic, now filled with Koopa's rage. This was not a coincidence. He remembered the Kappur's words from before and saw through the AI's plan. They wouldn't meet when they were still alive...

"Oh yeah?" Iggy said. "Make me."

"Your foolishness will result in the deaths of your comrades." Erzembar explained. "And you will become the center of attention of one you are not prepared to meet." But as Iggy hoped, Penny had warped to the core of Erzembar and prepared for its deactivation. This distracted Koopa and turned his attention to Iggy, giving Vincent some breathing room as he cut his way through a temporarily dazed mob ahead of him. "Get out of my way and I wont hurt you!" Vincent shouted ahead of him. Some obeyed, but others were still oblivious. "We're going to the valley!" he said to Tyrendil.

"That place is a grinder." Tyrendil commented before slicing the throat of an enraged women next to her.

"So is this!" Vincent shouted back, but then he realized that there was no way he could run that entire distance without stopping. That was more than a day's walk away, but he got an idea. He teleported to a spot approximately 50 feet in front of him and the mob, with many of them now originating from isolated camps and the main road stopped and shifted directions. Tyrendil quickly got the idea and followed behind, covering his back.

"Again, the human who does not understand destiny." Koopa said before launching an assault upon the main complex of Erzembar which rocked at the blast.

"Do it!" Larry instructed, and Penny began to disengage the AI but was stopped short when an arc of black magic shocked her in place.

"See how easy it is to manipulate those born of my seed?" Koopa laughed, speaking of Larry. Larry thought nothing, determined to keep his plans secret. But Iggy had other ideas as he fended up Koopa's onslaught.

"Your attempt to disengage my control systems threatens the structural complex of Erzembar." the AI claimed.

Iggy suddenly laughed maniacally. "Doesn't it?! Doesn't it now?! Isn't that weird! Let's take a page from Koopa's biggest puppet!" He sent Koopa's attack through the capstone of the main pyramidal complex, which turned the spell into the opposite spectrum with help from the crystal generators nearby that kept the white radial intact. Then, he channeled the spell through Penny herself, which not only simultaneously healed her but it arched out of her Spirit Wand and into the AI's control center. Explosions were heard along with a long monotonous moan. "I...will...see...plan..." the voice of Erzembar faded as many of the lights went out across the complex. Koopa ceased his attack immediately upon seeing what Iggy had done, but the ancient said nothing. Iggy grinned, finally gaining the upper hand. "You will not see your plan through!" he said.

The Amura had finally arrived to help Vincent by sending white spectrum based purge spells left and right at the mob, who were anxious to kill an UmNaru, let alone a royal. But Vincent by now was teleporting large distances and was soon going for a mile at a time and still increasing his distance. However, not only was he getting tired, but other UmNaru had showed up to take advantage of the situation and try to capture him and so Vincent conserved his fighting strength towards them, dodging and defeating a few with white magic. But this did not last long as with the arrival of the Amura, the UmNaru began to think differently as they had no desire to engage two fronts at once, and their numbers were dwindling with each battle.

With a cue from someone above them, the UmNaru began their retreat just as the Amura force pushed forward with Ashley at the head. She took note of Tyrendil. "No pressure..." she muttered before purging a small group to Vincent's right, who abruptly stopped and wondered what they were doing. By now, Vincent was getting closer to the Valley and the peaks of the Koopa Crags towered not far from him.

Iggy noted that the closer Vincent got to the Valley, the more Koopa seemed to withdraw his influence. Since destroying Erzembar's core, Koopa had not even attacked again, presumably going back into his shell. Genlic's redness had certainly disappeared since then. But given what happened in the Valley of the Koopa's with Roy and Vincent, this didn't make sense in his mind. Wouldn't he use the dead against him again? Then why was the valley quiet?

"The valley is dead quiet." Larry said, reading his mind. "Koopa's mark is not controlling it like it did."

Iggy's mind was by now bombarded with thoughts all across the complex and he reminded himself that they were no longer simply imaginary people, but they were real and needed to be treated as such. After responding to the most important inquiries, he turned his attention to Larry. "I think this has to do with the "forbidden one" thing that Koopa mentioned." he said.

"Well, you just laid that out there." said Larry, reminding him they were being monitored.

"So? You said the cards were played." said Iggy. "It doesn't matter now."

"Except your area is incapacitated." said Larry." "And the UmNaru are out there full force. They may of retreated against the Amura, but once the Amura pull out they will return again and not only against Vincent. They may try the valley too, and are certainly thinking about it right now. They wouldn't do that for any lack of a reason, Vincent's a high profile target and we need to find out why, beyond his blood roots I mean. But first, Erzembar needs to-"

"I know, I know!" Iggy whined. "I'm just happy we won."

"Yeah, the battle." Larry said. "Not the war. I've already evacuated the majority of Genlic so Koopa can't hold them hostage if he chose to. So now this place can be used to its full potential, but Erzembar is still a major weapon against him and that needs to come back online."

"Junior's got an idea." said Iggy. "Until then, I'll look up this "forbidden one" stuff as it sounds like a lost prophecy...and Ludwig wants to talk to me about his progress, so I need to get going."

"I want to help out you know." Trent budded in.

"No Trent, we went over this." said Iggy. "You're not done with your training yet and your dad would disagree too. Work on your chakra balancing exercise and see me in an hour and we'll talk further."

Trent sat back and stared at the ceiling. He disagreed and believed he was ready for the fight again, or just to clean up even, but the adults would have none of it. Many miles away Ashley frowned, having listened to the exchange. She had wondered if Trent would have joined her, but it didn't appear likely now.

"Ashley, keep a distance from Vincent." said Iggy. "Your main job is to protect the entrance to the Valley of the Koopa's in case anything tries to get in."

"Okay." she responded and noted that the mob had dispersed as they drew closer to the Valley. Vincent noticed as well and had stopped teleporting as he was too tired from the rush and preferred to walk what distance remained.

"Let's camp outside the entrance." Vincent said. Tyrendil said nothing as they continued along, with Ashley and a group of Amura trailing behind them.

"Hey dad." Junior called to him in his mind. "The hybrids said they can replace that for you."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, Morton's talking to them now." Junior replied. Iggy saw their location outside, not far from one of the crystal pylons. It was funny how they started to make their home here without words, despite the fact they had cities all across the planet, though they were hidden. Then again, there were much less Koopa's alive now compared to Bowser's day and more were still going...

Iggy warped himself straight to them and his mental vision instantly became reality. All looked at him.

"They're willing to do it." said Morton, now a bit taller but still skinnier than his dad and a little more serious. "But they have a few conditions."

"Indeed." the hybrid telepathically relayed. Iggy still wished he could initiate contact with them himself. "We are willing to replace what you term the core of Erzembar with our own specialized power generator which would provide the energy needed with a limitless supply. This is a technology found in the Fourth Density however, so unfortunately only those who are service to others may operate and use it. While you are leaning towards service to others, it is not a solid choice as of yet. Therefore, we cannot allow you operation of the core."

Iggy made a face.

"Your mate Penny is in a similar situation." the hybrid continued. "Your son Iggy Jr. and Trent are willing to help."

"I can if you want." Junior said, who was with a number of hybrids and some Koopa's a few blocks from him. "I'm a little busy with these new building projects, but I could squeeze it in there. Wait, you can't even fight yet Trent?"

"Not yet." Trent replied.

It all clicked in Junior's mind then. "You can do it Trent, that'll give you something to do."

"Thanks...if Iggy will let me." said Trent. The hybrids looked at Iggy, who sighed. It was all happening so fast and all without him. His gut told him this had to do not only with the Vice and his failure to deal with him, but also with his own maniacal past. He calmed himself and decided to push one of his plans ahead, despite how early it was.

"Alright, Trent can do it." Iggy finally said after moments of silence. "After I'm done with reviewing his current state of health."

"Very well." the hybrid said. "We will begin the installation of the core in the meantime." The hybrids turned and with Morton walked in the other direction. Iggy tried to not let his heart sink; it seemed that his control over Erzembar had slipped away to everyone else and he felt a bit disappointed. Yes, the shelter now had a mind of its own, and no longer really needed his help. Maybe he was too old school, following the patterns of power and control that he was taught as a child, molded into something more benevolent as experience taught him. But it was clear that this new generation was different: more trusting and more caring of other people than for one's insecurities. They put others before themselves, something the old Koopa Kingdom would never do. They were better than he was, that was for sure. But that didn't mean he didn't have a place anymore. He was still the Spirit King and was heading the assault against the UmNaru with the reformed Amura. Speaking of which...

Iggy warped back into Erzembar and into a small room filled with a variety of plants and the light of the sun. Seated crosslegged near a wall was Trent with a plethora of lights swirling about him. Perhaps due to the Spirit Wand, his chakra system was visible in their colored spectrum with each spinning like a wheel at somewhat varying speeds. Surrounding this was his auric field and the accompanying chi flow which now moved mostly uninhibited around his body. Iggy did notice a white light at the base of Trent's spine, and the youth's face seemed to wince every now and then.

"It seems you're going through Kundalini activation." Iggy commented. "That is really early for you."

"My back hurts a lot." Trent thought.

"That can be done in your spare time for now." said Iggy. "Let's look at your fifth..." The blue was spinning better than it did before, but the green still had sluggish movement. "Still some emotional issues there." Iggy commented. "Better than it was though. Can you breathe easier?"

"Yes." came Trent's response.

"Then these patterns are taking hold in your subconscious." Iggy explained. "Soon you won't have to think about it at all, it'll just happen."

Trent nodded, and the showcase disappeared as he got up. "I guess I'm taking your spot as maintainer." Trent said. "I hope you don't feel too bad about it, because it's nothing personal. We learn and we fail, but the end must still be won."

Iggy did not respond, and so Trent teleported out of the room leaving Iggy to stare at the wall.

"You're way better than I am." the Koopaling said to himself as he watched Trent converse with the hybrids in the central chamber. He shook his head and looked at what Ludwig was up to. It seemed he was ready to present his findings, despite Iggy already knowing what they were. Still, seeing it in action was better than not. He warped into the magic room located within the bowels of Erzembar. There, in front of him were a variety of magic wands that all lay upon a table. Next to this was a large book set atop a pedestal in which Ludwig was writing something. Ahead of him was a large circular space in which various debris was seen strewn across the floor, along with a number of burn marks.

"Ah yes, greetings Ignatius." Ludwig started, never dropping his formalities despite his experiences. "I am glad to have been given the permission to peruse through the expanded library, for I have discovered a number of disciplines never before seen to our generation."

"What did you find?" Iggy asked.

"Through careful experimentation, new spells have been created and are currently being cataloged through this new magical system, which I will now explain. Before, the use of magic was relegated to a single spectrum, due to the withholding of knowledge as you yourself had explained earlier. As such, each wand was relegated to a single gem denoting the expertise of a certain spectrum rather than a wide range an individual may be competent in. As a result, any other spectrum not represented by such a crystal had its resulting manifested conjuration more watered down than the rest of the primary that was used. This has been solved however. Please observe."

One of the wands on the table flew into Ludwig's paw. It had one gem on both ends with a hand grip in the middle. "This is a basic melding wand, capable of casting not only two spectrums at once, but melding the two together thereby creating new spells altogether. Within the center of the wand is a quartz balancing crystal, the secret ingredient to this process. Observing that the gem's cater to wind and water magic, blue and teal respectfully, we can deduce that the wand targets those beginners interested in weather phenomena. For example..."

The circumference around the open space in front of them flashed momentarily before Ludwig twirled the wand in his hand like a baton. Both crystals glowed, and the ceiling suddenly grew cloudy until an area of low pressure developed in the center. A center of circulation developed in the middle, but not before rain started to hit the floor, gently at first then in a ravaging downpour.

"This is a very basic example of using the potential of two spectrums at once." said Ludwig, and with a flick of the wrist the cloud dissipated and the rain stopped. "Now, let's demonstrate something more complex."

Placing the wand on the table, Ludwig picked up another which was covered in many more jewels. "This is a wand for the melding expert." Ludwig said. "Along with the gems upon each terminating end are a number of secondary gems located between the central hold and said terminations. Therefore, one can wield two primary spectrums with a number of supporting secondaries in turn depending upon the wielder's needs. Again, note the number of balancing crystals upon the exterior with the quartz spirals between the ends. This is in addition to three of the same crystals upon the interior. Given the number of spectrums inherent upon this particular piece, it is necessary to also include balancing crystals upon the exterior as without said crystals, the mind would collapse upon itself due to its inability of handling such a large amount of power at once. Thus, they are required. Note that the number of gems on this wand equals no less than four: Earth, Water, Air and Mind. Theoretically, one can hold up to six spectrums on a single wand."

"Wow." Iggy muttered.

"The wands become rather heavy however and can only be used by those with sufficient strength, physically and mentally." said Ludwig. "Now, let's demonstrate how the different spectrums can cooperate together." Twirling the wand, clouds began to form again in the center of the room, a recasting of the spell previous. Wind and rain pounded the magical periphery and Iggy guessed a Category 2 with winds at those speeds. The floor also started taking on water, and a massive flood began to rise.

"It appears, by coincidence that a meteor storm is incoming." Ludwig mentioned as flaming balls of rock were hurled into the water like ignited hail. But Ludwig soon grew bored, and with another twirl the ground suddenly opened up and all the water and precipitation fell straight into the gaping chasm. "Even more extraordinary is the fact that an earthquake has stuck the vicinity." Ludwig said.

"Okay, I got the point." Iggy said, not wanting his older brother to ruin the place. The entire show stopped all at once and the open floor faded back into its solid state from earlier.

"This is a good way of showing how different spectrums can work together." Iggy continued. "But what about actually merging them?"

"That is precisely what this book is for." said Ludwig, motioning to the book behind him. "I have been recording the new spells discovered and the methods used to arrive at said spells. I will demonstrate just a fraction of what has been discovered thus far, as the imagination is the only true limit, I believe."

Spinning the wand again, the gems let loose a ray of their own color which then combined with the others into a dark greyish morass at the center of the room. It molded itself into a monstrous humanoid shape before manifesting a figure of rocks and large boulders held together by some invisible force. A shape resembling a head came into view and promptly looked at its creator. "Hummm...creator." it hummed.

"This is a rock golem with sentience." Ludwig explained. "It is capable of thinking for itself unlike most creatures which rely on their masters for control and guidance. Obedience however depends upon the will and intent of the user. You may recall the creatures that had overrun the Koopa Kingdom during the civil war that was in progress."

Iggy remembered that time, when he reincarnated inside of his corpse which was something he didn't like thinking about. It was funny how time made previously tolerable things more unsettling. Complacency? Or Fear?

"I saw the tail end of it." Iggy responded.

"I do believe the creatures were intentionally created constructs using a similar method." said Ludwig. "It is a wonder that the UmNaru do not use such magic more directly against us lately, although the danger of discovering their art is ever present especially with the creation of the Amura. In any case, this golem here can wield a number of different magical spectrums, in this case fire and water and can merge those spectrums to create its own spells as well. You can imagine the limitless possibilities with such magic." He turned to the Golem. "Your service as demonstrator is appreciated."

"All for the creator." the Golem said as he was seemingly demolecularized into nothingness. Iggy felt a little bad for it, perhaps as conscious entities have a chance of obtaining third density.

"Of course, more than Golems can be made." Ludwig said.

"We'll save it when you present these spells to the others." Iggy interjected, growing tired of Ludwig's long winded explanations. "I'm needed in other areas right now. Thank you for showing off what you've discovered though, this is a good edge against them. Also, I figured I should let you know that Trent got promoted to be the core operator of Erzembar. It seems the hybrids are pushing their civilization into this area."

"That is excellent to hear." said Ludwig. "Thank you for informing me." Iggy teleported out of the room leaving Ludwig to himself. He breathed, as for once he had not been ostracized. Though disappointed that he was unable to show his greater melding examples, the upcoming "presentation" would be a better venue to showcase what the Amura would soon be capable of doing.

Ludwig returned to the book and began finishing his latest entry in his log of melding magic. Only a few minutes went by however when the familiar sound of someone teleporting was heard behind him. He turned and saw it was Elizabeth.

"Hi dad!" she greeted before hugging him.

"...greetings." Ludwig managed, not used to getting hugs from his children.

"What are you working on?" she asked, pulling away.

"Ah, well this in particular is a log of the research of melding magic," Ludwig replied, "which is the merger of two or more magical spectrums which then create new spells never before experienced."

Elizabeth hummed. "Can that be used for those in the hospital right now?" she asked, referring to the wards at Lemmy's Castle. "Because we're almost out of supplies and we're really getting desperate trying to find something else."

"Theoretically yes." Ludwig said. "Though experimentation in the area of serious healing is limited at the moment. I will ask your brother Trent if he can volunteer his knowledge for the effort once he finds free time away from his new duties as the core operator of Erzembar."

"Wow!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "That's a huge job!"

"Indeed." said Ludwig. "And though it is tempting to ask for a few...favors, I must abstain in light of recent experience."

"No." Elizabeth pointed at him. "Bad. Don't do that to Trent."

Ludwig rolled his eyes and sighed. "So how is the rest of the family then?"

"Sam is sick." she said, frowning. "That's kind of why I asked..."

"Again?" Ludwig suspected some type of immune system deficiency.

"Yeah...all the medicine is gone, so...some of my friends tried their magic on her, and she felt better for a little while, but she keeps relapsing."

"What are the symptoms?" Ludwig asked.

"Hot head, her whole body is hot really. And her leg that just healed is swelling up."

"I will ask uncle Iggy to spare a doctor, perhaps of the Amura to check on her condition." said Ludwig.

"I'm on it." Iggy responded telepathically.

"Actually...if you don't mind." Elizabeth started, getting an idea. "Would you teach this new melding thing to the normal magic users too? Cause the Amura aren't even allowed in the castle anyway, so it would be best if all these Magikoopas or whoever know it right?"

"That's actually a better idea." said Iggy. "If they can't, I mean those who are STO can't come here themselves, then we can send a group of Amura to the castle and teach them outside of it."

Ludwig sighed and muttered to himself. "That will increase the already existing busy schedule I must pursue, but Samantha's health takes precedence. Very well, I will tell the other researchers to prepare for a separate presentation at the Castle targeted towards those in the hospital setting."

"Thank you!" Her smile returned. "We really needed help and we were looking at everything."

Ludwig made a dismissive wave. "It is not an issue. However, the training may take some time due to a lack of a thorough teaching program involved with melding magic at the moment. For the practice of healing, I would imagine white and green magic to be the most effective, perhaps with a touch of purple for otherwise chaotic minds."

"Purple magic...that would be perfect for mom." Elizabeth commented.

Ludwig blinked. Why didn't he think of melding purple magic and white magic before to heal Kylie? Considering the UmNaru's heavy use of purple magic, the possibility was probably pushed out of his mind. "You are full of productive ideas today." complimented Ludwig. "My person has been attempting to remedy your mother's unfortunate mental condition without much success...but the answer appears to have been staring at me in the face, like many other problems lately..."

"I told her to go sew because she wouldn't stop talking about how awful everything is." she said, and she shook her head. "I hate seeing her like this. She was so nice, and then the end of the world thing happened and she snapped, like totally. I had to literally push her into the sewing room cause she wouldn't stop saying bad things about us and how bad I was being. I got sick of it, lost my temper and told her to shut up and listen to yourself before saying anything else. She hasn't said anything to any of us since."

Ludwig was silent. Elizabeth rubbed her forehead. "Listen, I don't hate her or anything because I know she's sick, sick in her mind. I still love her and want to help her, but I don't know how. This mind magic stuff is not something I know about. Please help her out. I don't want to see her get any worse."

The greater problem in Ludwig's mind was how negligent he was being towards Kylie, like a broken Koopa beyond repair while using his new position as Senior Researcher of the Amura as an excuse not to face the problem. "This is my fault, as my person and my duty as husband is to look after your mother. I shall accompany the Amura to the Castle, though unfortunately like them, I cannot enter the premises." He showed the mark of Amura to Elizabeth.

"Oh that's right." she murmured. "I'll figure out how to get her outside."

"It seems uncle Lemmy has granted you an exception to the rule." Ludwig pointed out.

"Oh yeah, he did and most people are cool with it, though some don't like it." said Elizabeth.

"A natural course of events. So then, is there anyone else that requires assistance?" Ludwig asked.

"Shirley could use some of that purple magic." said Elizabeth. "She still hates guys."

Ludwig shook his head: another thing he forced out of his mind. If anything, Shirley needed professional therapy, something he knew no longer existed in its old form.

"She will need extensive therapy." Ludwig began. "As it is better to solve mental dilemmas at an early age before the mind begins to solidify with age. It would be a shame to see her choose homosexuality as her sexual orientation because of this issue."

"Why would that be a shame?" Elizabeth asked. "If that makes her happy, then what's wrong with that? She told me she wants to like guys...but she can't help herself. If she lets the problem steer her then that's something, yeah. But I mean, Xavier's gay and he's happy. There's nothing wrong with that."

"What did you say?" Ludwig asked.

"That Xavier is gay?" Elizabeth repeated. "...you mean you didn't know?" She cupped her mouth and realized she messed up. "Oh boy, here we go..."

Ludwig turned and paced around the room with clear frustration. "I had expected my eldest son to continue this lineage, but now that is no longer an option." Ludwig said angerly. "Now only Trent remains and surely this is now his responsibility, whether he wills it or not."

"What?" Elizabeth blinked. "You mean only guys can have kids that count as being part of the family? What about me, or Shirley, or Sam?"

Ludwig turned to look at her, his anger simmering upon realizing she didn't know the law of succession. "The law of succession states the head of the family lineage, typically the King of the Earth be descended from the male. However, this law also rules over each familial branch, whether it be the royal house or not. The eldest son is preferable, as with his children the title is passed on to him and so forth."

"But why can't girls do that?" Elizabeth asked. "What's the difference? I don't understand, but to me it hurts to think my kids would be thought of lesser than just because I'm a girl. That's not right. I'd like to live in a world where being a boy or girl doesn't matter. We're all the same family-"

A sound and King Lemmy suddenly appeared next to them, interrupting Elizabeth. "Surprise!" he exclaimed.

"Well, this is rather unexpected." Ludwig commented.

"Iggy sent me, said you were arguing about the kids of females not counting as much as males or something like that?" Lemmy asked.

"Yes, though I'd wish he would not bud into business that is not his, despite his job and abilities." said Ludwig.

"It's nothing personal." said Lemmy. "It's just the perfect time to tell about my plan on fixing the old laws to something more...I don't know, humane? Universal? I like that word. But the old way of doing things, finding the next king and all that are going away soon."

"How soon?" Elizabeth asked, already wanting them fixed.

"Right now!" Lemmy exclaimed. "I'm going to tell everybody all at once. Let's meet outside my place then have a good time afterward! Cause we're all done with work for today anyway, so this is perfect. See you there!" He disappeared with a flash.

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "His spontaneous nature does not translate well into administrative duties." he muttered. "Especially those with rigid schedules."

"He's pretty fun." Elizabeth said. "You just have to not be too serious all the time. He doesn't like that. Well, I'm going to see what's he's going to say."

"I shall watch from a distance." said Ludwig, deciding to use magic instead of risking being hurt by the crowds. Elizabeth teleported out and she arrived on one of the balconies of Lemmy's Castle, where Lemmy was seen talking to a few people with thousands of others congregating below him. Behind Lemmy in the corner, King Larry could be seen, arms folded and talking to a few people. He was apparently aware of what was going on.

"Yeah, I want to do it now!" said Lemmy. "We're done with today's routine right?"

"Well mostly." said a toad next to him. "I guess we can do it, but it's rather sudden don't you think?"

"Do what the enemy does not expect." Lemmy said as words of wisdom. "Like changing the rules at random. Hahaha! You know they're watching. I know they're watching. Things just heated up and we have a chance to beat evil so, I'm going to do this. Ready?"

None of them said anything, so Lemmy took to the front of the balcony. "Yooooooooo!" he called out which got some people'z attention below. That was one thing that he missed: a microphone and speakers. Then again, there was his wand.

"Yooooooo!" he called again, this time his voice amplifying everywhere using magic from his own wand. This got most people's attention. "What's up? Thanks for coming on short notice, a little random I know. Haha. It's just that I keep hearing about this gossip. What happens if I ever...go away? What do we do then? Yeah, well you got a council already. I know." He paused as some shouts came up. "It would be great to have you guys just run the kingdom for yourselves. But the game we gotta play on stage now doesn't work like that...and it's not quite over yet. A lot of people have an idea what it's about, but most don't know all the rules, what the whole picture looks like, what's really at stake and what it means. This is something that's been going on for centuries. Yeah I know, get angry for not being told. There were some bad motivations behind that. But you know, ignorance is bliss too. If you knew half the stuff that goes on in this game, you would get pretty pissed off. You just want to be happy, so I'm not going to say everything not because you don't deserve to know, but because it might rob that happiness. Just know that once this game is over, you'll be able to see what's been going on and I'll lay it all on the table if you want to see. If you want to. I think this will all be ending soon, so I'm going to do something that'll piss the other side off a little bit, but the rest of you deserve it.

"So here's what I'm doing. This whole Koopa family thing is not an absolute monarchy anymore. Nope, it's gone!" There was near dead silence after that. Lemmy tried not to laugh at the sudden change and continued. "Since I can do that sort of thing. Those guys before me, they were under the control of you know who and didn't have much of a choice besides getting killed. Well, I don't have that problem so it's time for something really cool. The succession laws, or whatever they call them are totally changing too. So here it goes.

"We're going from an absolute monarchy to an elective monarchy. So that means you can vote for whomever you want in the Koopa family to become the next king and queen. Yes, that is all of you. This isn't just restricted to the courts, this is everybody in the kingdom. Aged 14 and up I should add, sorry kids. Haha. I want to make the age low because we have so many orphans that just work better than many of the adults...no offense, but many are pretty smart too. They deserve a voice so they got one. But anyway, here are the nitty details.

"Basically, you can vote for anyone in the Koopa family to be the next Earth King or Queen. Doesn't matter who it is, as long as they are approved by the Blood King and Queen, most are. Those guys run the family, I'll talk more about them in a sec. But basically, an election is held after some period I still haven't made up my mind about, maybe 5 years or something. We're still talking about it. Everyone that can vote then votes and here's the thing that might sour you a little bit. The total vote count of the kingdom goes to 75% of the overall vote. The entire family also casts a vote that is worth 25% of the whole vote. This can be changed when the game is over by you guys if you want, maybe to 100% but for now we need folks who know how it all works. Then when a winner is found, the Blood monarchs make their final approval and that's that.

"But these Blood monarch guys, let me talk about who they are cause you probably heard them many times but don't know much about them. They run the entire Koopa family and keep everyone in line. That means making sure none of them taking advantage of you guys as well. Right now that's King Larry's job." Larry made a short wave to everyone below. "And yes, one of them is a human at the moment, her name is Mona. Those were desperate times and we needed someone, but that should change at some point. But anyway, they stop infighting and keep selfish people in check, and appoint others to all these different positions. That includes approving the Earth King and Queen for election, so yes they approve them twice, one before and one after because we know an election run can show how a person really is. Don't worry though, if a Blood monarch abuses his power then the Spirit King and Queen can call him out on it, along with the Nexus being myself. So there's a checks and balances thing in place too."

Lemmy drew a breath. "The Blood monarchs will go through election cycles too, at separate times from the Earth King's election. However, this election is the opposite because here 75% of the vote comes from the family members themselves. However, you guys still have a voice in this and make up 25% of the vote because the Blood King still has a say over how the Earth King does things, but not directly per se, more like making sure he doesn't do anything stupid.

"Sooooo...yeah, that's a lot to take in. That's not to mention the committee that we already have in the castle. They run things here, I'm just a part of the board. I don't really sit on top of anything, except my chair at dinner. There's going to be a lower level committee set up for you guys living outside too that will be made up entirely of people like you. That will have different elections too, you'll hear more about that later. So that's the news. I'm sure the enemy won't like any of this, because they have made their bets on the monarchy not changing itself cause then its easier to control whomever is in "charge," along with all their kids and grand kids. Well, not anymore. It could be anyone now. And all those who want to be king just to make slaves out of people are blocked automatically from election, so don't worry about them. The Blood King can see the minds of his whole family so he already knows. That also means he can see them have sex..." Laughter erupted. "I know, that's not an easy job. Be glad with what you know now.

"Speaking of which, that's another thing. We're going to have a party tonight, but not like those old parties from before...all of this. I want people to appreciate what they have now, and be glad they are still alive. So many people have died already, even right now as I talk, people are dying. But we need to look at the positive. We can't forget what makes life so great, what makes us happy and what keeps us moving forward. So we're gonna have a lot of stuff, the chefs in the castle are getting creative so you'll be surprised when they bring out their latest creations. There's a lot of bands that will jam in and out of the castle, and a few tell me that a replacement for those meds we ran out in the wards has been found, a magical replacement, but they'll be here tonight for anyone interested in wanting to learn how it works. You'll see a few faces that will look familiar, a few may surprise you. Oh, and don't even think about crashing the party. You know who you are. We got this covered. We're going to enjoy our lives with other people and don't plan on ruining anyone's lives for some fear you can't control. Figured I get that out there.

"Okay, I'm done talking. I need water. Thank you for listening and being awesome people. See you tonight!" A round of applause went up as Lemmy made his way to the back of the balcony, where Larry was giving him a slow clap.

"Well done." said Larry. "You're tempting me to pour a glass of wine, but this isn't over yet. Don't get drunk just because you can see victory on the horizon, you have to get there first."

"Yeah I know." Lemmy muttered. "I just want to have fun and send good vibes to those that need it. Like Vincent, I feel for him."

"He's not a bad guy?" asked the toad. Elizabeth listened on in silence.

"He's labeled as a bad guy." Larry clarified. "That doesn't mean he is a bad guy. He's also labeled as a good guy, but what does that mean? It means he's important. He's a wild card, and you don't want to lose wild cards. They are very valuable."

"But where is he now?" Elizabeth asked. "I know the castle voted him out, but I'm still worried."

"He's on his way back to the Valley of the Koopa's." Larry responded.

"Why there?!" Elizabeth said, surprised.

"I can say that now regardless of any spies here." Larry continued. "Because the house of cards the enemy has is folding right now and there's no way they can save it. That doesn't mean the war is over, battles still need to be fought. The Amura have his back so there's little to no chance of stopping him from entering. He's going in because that is how we will win."

"Vague." Elizabeth muttered.

"The whole world is your audience, so everybody is listening." Larry explained. "You have to be vague and let the other figure out the rest. Don't say something the enemy may profit from. They are always listening too, even right now. But if all goes to plan, they won't anymore. I can see what your cousin is doing, what he's planning on doing, and it is the way forward. Those playing the game now know what I mean. Those who don't ask endless questions that can't be answered directly."

"Right...I sort of get it now." said Elizabeth, also realizing that this "game" was a bit beyond her at the moment. "I was just worried because everyone kicked him out and I didn't know what he was going to do."

"Hey liz, I got his back." Ashley's voice said in her mind. "Don't worry about it."

Elizabeth sighed. "Well thanks. I feel a little better about it now, haha." By that point, a bunch of people were talking to Lemmy and Larry was talking to other people as well. Deciding to get ready for the party, Elizabeth headed back down to the ground level and looked for Sam in the ward to tell her what had transpired since visiting Erzembar.