The Crystal Stars
In this chapter, our four heroes will start searching for the Crystals Stars…hopefully they can find them all before the Shadow Queen gets too powerful…of course, we all know how their quest is going to turn out but let's see the story anyway, shall we?
Chapter 10: Crystal Star Hunting
"After our heroes all got together, they began searching for the Crystal Stars…it would not be an easy task, as the Shadow Queen was careful to protect the stars from anyone that wished to steal them…and and would severely punish anyone that dared to try…" Professor Frankly once again read out loud.
On the Plains of Koopa….1000 years ago…
"Is this place called the Plains of Koopa because General Koopilus resides over it?" inquired Koop.
"Yes…apparently he has a big ego…so he decided to name his land after himself." answered Terra. "Just keep it down, will you? He probably has some of his troops around here to monitor for intruders."
Sure enough, a few Koopas spotted them and began to attack. Thankfully, they were somewhat easy to defeat, as Shroomo knocked them over and then jumped on top of them, causing them to explode into white smoke.
"Just be glad these were only his most basic soldiers…I hear he keeps his stronger ones as guards for his fortress." warned Terra.
Sure enough, our heroes noticed that his fortress was in the distance...it certainly looked menacing…but not nearly as menacing as The Shadow Queen's Palace itself.
"I wonder who built the castle? Was it the Shadow Queen herself? Or did General Koopilus build it?" Juniper asked.
"Funny you should mention that. I believe that it was built by his prisoners…due to the fact that he keeps getting them from the Shadow Queen I suppose that he's been using them for slave work." answered Terra.
"Just another reason to bring that slimeball to justice." thought Koop.
Our heroes noticed that there seemed to be Parakoopas flying around near the fortress.
"I wonder how we're going to bring them down so that we can fight them?" thought Shroomo.
Suddenly, he got an idea. Jumping high into the air, he managed to hit a Parakoopa on the head, causing its wings to disappear and for it to fall on its back.
"I hate it when that happens." stated Koop, recalling all the times he had been forced to lift himself up after being tripped.
Soon enough, they were at the front door…and noticed that there were several guards standing in front of it.
"I guess we shouldn't try using the front door then." suggested Shroomo.
Soon enough, the guards noticed our heroes and raised the bridge, preventing them from getting inside. Afterwards, they went to warn General Koopilus.
"We need to find a way in before they warn the general." informed Koop.
"Maybe we could try looking for a back entrance?" asked Juniper.
"Sounds like a plan." answered Shroomo.
Soon enough, Terra showed the back entrance…which curiously enough was not guarded nearly as well as the front entrance was. Our heroes were able to get inside the fortress without too many problems.
"Now then, all we have to do now is look for the treasure map. Where could it possibly be?" explained Shroomo.
"I think I might have seen it once…but I'm not sure." wondered Terra.
"We've got company!" warned Juniper, as several guards noticed them and began to attack.
"That's weird, I could have sworn that particular Koopa was executed by General Koopilus not too long ago…" thought one of the security guards. Why was he still alive? He pondered this as he launched his offensive.
Naturally, they didn't last long against our heroes…but just where was General Koopilus? He and Koop shared a deep personal grudge…why would he decide to hide from him? Maybe he was a coward…
"Come on out and fight!" demanded Koop.
"Looking for me?" asked General Koopilus.
Our heroes immediately noticed him…he must have known what our heroes were looking for, because he was holding out the treasure map for the Crystal Stars in his right hand.
"The Shadow Queen would have my head if I let you have this, you know. If you want it, you're going to have to catch me first." he spoke.
Immediately, our heroes began to chase after him…but unfortunately they were slowed down by more of his guards.
All the while, General Koopilus headed to the top of the fortress…he had already made plans for an escape in the event they actually managed to catch up with him. As it turns out, there was an airship flying around near the fortress.
"Reporting for duty!" the captain exclaimed.
Knowing how fast the airship was, General Koopilus decided to remain behind for the time being, just so he could gloat once the heroes managed to arrive. Assuming of course, the incompetent guards didn't manage to take them down, which he sincerely doubted.
"Hurry up! He's getting away!" exclaimed Shroomo.
"We're running as fast as we can!" replied Juniper. Apparently, being an old Goomba didn't make her much of a runner.
Eventually, our heroes came across what appeared to be General Koopilus's chambers. Due to the fact that he had a rather large ego, the room was rather posh, with a big chair reserved for the general himself.
"I bet he probably had his minions steal all this." thought Koop.
Curious, our heroes decided to check the chambers to see if there was anything the evil commander didn't want them to see. Soon enough, they saw a picture of three dragons…one of which resembled the dragon that Shroomo had faced earlier.
"I didn't know that Hooktail had two older brothers…" thought Shroomo as he examined the poster.
They also found a picture explaining the origins of the Shadow Queen…apparently she was a sorceress who went mad with her own power, and decided to conquer the kingdom using an army of evil minions because of it.
"That explains how she's creating all these monsters." pondered Juniper.
They also found a picture of the Crystal Stars…and discovered that there were seven of them.
"This adventure is going to take a long time if the Shadow Queen decided to separate them all." Koop wondered. And to think they didn't even have the map to get them yet.
Eventually, our heroes decided that they had uncovered enough information, and they should try to leave before any more of the guards spotted them. They continued advancing to the top of the fortress, where soon enough General Koopilus was waiting.
"You're too late!" he laughed. "I've already got escape plans…it looks like you won't be getting this map the Shadow Queen entrusted me with after all!"
Immediately, the airship dropped him a ladder, which he eagerly climbed.
"Stop him! He's getting away!" Terra exclaimed.
Thankfully, our four heroes managed to hop aboard the airship just as it was about to take off, much to General Koopilus's frustration.
"I'm really sick of your persistence. You honestly think that you can fight the Shadow Queen? I don't think you could even face one of her lieutenants!" taunted General Koopilus.
"Shut up." replied Koop, punching him in the face and giving him a black eye.
"How dare you!" he yelled, pulling out his sword. Immediately, he started to swing it at our heroes, hoping to literally cut them down to size.
Shroomo gave the general another black eye, as he once again punched him in the face while he was distracted. Unfortunately, he managed to stab him in the arm.
"Ow! My arm!" he screamed.
"Hahaha…that's just a taste of what I'm going to do." laughed the evil overlord.
Suddenly, he found himself slapped several times by Terra, and he snarled in rage.
"Ah yes…you're the one that betrayed me and ruined my perfect deathtrap…well I suppose I'll have to reward you for your betrayal…"
Immediately, the general launched several dark fireballs at Terra. Apparently, the Shadow Queen had given him the ability to use dark magic.
Thankfully, Terra was too quick for him, and dodged every single one.
"Hold still, why don't you?" he demanded.
The airship was high in the sky now, and our heroes started to get concerned. What if they fell off? Granted, Terra would be safe considering that she was a ghost and therefore could fly, but the others didn't have this luxury.
"Here's an idea! Why don't I make you walk the plank!" he exclaimed, trying to knock our heroes off the airship with his sword.
This proved to be a rather large problem, as General Koopilus was rather fast with his sword and our heroes weren't able to fight back.
Nobody except Terra that is. As it turns out, Koopilus's sword simply went right through her, and she immediately started possessing his body.
"Terra, you traitor! Aarghh!" he screamed.
Afterwards, the Boo made him stab himself with his own sword, cuasing him to collapse on the ground. Was the battle over?
Suddenly, the general expelled Terra from his body and grabbed onto Koop's neck. He wasn't out of the picture quite yet.
However, Shroomo had enough of the general of this point, and punched him right off of the airship. He screamed as he fell…unfortunately, he was not one of the Koopas that was blessed with wings.
"Thanks for help…is he gone?" he asked.
"Mm-hmm…it seems that we've actually managed to defeat one of the Shadow Queen's enforcers…perhaps she isn't as powerful as she claims to be…" wondered Juniper.
Afterwards, our heroes retrieved the map and hijacked the airship…and started wondering where they should travel next.
"How about Hooktail's Castle? I've got a grudge against her…" suggested Shroomo.
"Isn't she a ferocious dragon that eats everything in sight?" questioned Koop.
"Well, it's not like she'd be able to eat me…I am a ghost after all…she'd probably still be able to roast me with her fire breath though." added Terra.
"I believe that we should all be able to defeat her…as long as we stick together and are cautious." spoke Juniper.
"Then I guess we should get going." Shroomo agreed.
And so our heroes set off to find the first Crystal Star.
Meanwhile…
"So, General Koopilus's game has ended?" asked the Shadow Queen.
"Yes…apparently, he fell to his doom after someone pushed him off of his airship. As for the airship itself, it is now under the control of your enemies." explained one of the Parakoopa guards.
The Shadow Queen pondered this turn of events.
"It appears that the four heroes who insist on stopping me are more dangerous than they appear…I'll start making preparations." she explained.
Immediately, she ordered her remaining generals to be on the look out for the foursome. They immediately nodded and they in turn began ordering their own respective armies to do the same.
"They think they can stop me? Well then, we shall see what exactly they're capable of…" thought the Shadow Queen.
Back to Professor Frankly…
Professor Frankly immediately fell asleep after reading the latest chapter of the book. His audience immediately tried to wake him up. Apparently, they wanted to hear more of the story.
"Aw man! We're going to have to wait forever!" complained a Goomba kid.
It looks like things won't be so easy for our heroes for now on…can they locate the first Crystal Star irregardless? Or will their victory in this chapter be a one-time fluke? Tune in for the next chapter…