Chapter Ten

The coffin was slowly lowered into the muddy grave. Water had already begun to fill the hole, prompting the toads to toss in dirt as quickly as possible. Khad's many supporters were there, as were an assortment of regular toads. Peach herself was at the castle- she didn't want to be out in the rain, and Mario's continued absence was beginning to scare her.

Earlier that day, Peach had finally wondered to check the Warp Pipe near the castle. The toads she had sent to go through to Mario's house reported that an assortment of trash was blocking the way. Peach was infuriated- it was clearly Bowser's work. She decided she'd send a party of toads through the Forest first thing in the morning. For now, she'd let them weep over their idol Khad.

Blaine stood at one corner of the proceedings, leaning up against a tree. He now sported a large hammer mark over his left eye- a scar- that burned a little at every touch. Needless to say, it was not pleasant to stand out in the rain.

Blaine tried to light a cigarette, but it was too damp out. He swore and pocketed his lighter. This had been one hell of a bad day. Penter, who seemed like a harmless nobody, was now enemy number one. He had killed a fellow toad and had escaped. Blaine had been knocked out by him because of some moron in the crowd, and a good number of toad guards had died in Bowser's escape. The ones that were remaining were too terrified to chase after Penter- they had made a feeble attempt after Peach screamed at them, but they didn't go very far on purpose, and reported back to Peach that they had found nothing.

Pathetic! Blaine would've gone out, but he had only woken up an hour ago, just about when the storm had started. Besides, who knew how far Penter had gone now? Could they even catch up to him? If he was heading for Mushroom City, it'd be extremely difficult to catch him before he was safe inside. As much as Blaine wanted justice for the slippery killer…it didn't seem feasible.

Someone nearby was crying so hard that Blaine could hear them over the thunderstorm. Khad was pretty cool, and his death was sad, but people were crying over him like he was family. It was strange. Heck, even before Khad came to Peach's fields there was another toad that everybody worshipped: Zip…now that guy was cool. Whatever happened to him anyway? Blaine wondered. As soon as Khad had come, it seemed that people had stopped caring about Zip. Is it somehow necessary for toads to have an idol? And does the current idol change every few years? A nasty headache began to pound away at Blaine, and he stopped his line of thought immediately.

Lightning crashed again and the toads that had stayed through all of the proceedings finally began to shuffle away back to the cabins near the castle. Blaine followed after them, looking back to see the lonely shy guy grave keeper quickly filling in the rest of the grave. Ahead of Blaine the toads were fervently whispering together, faces solemn among the torrential rain. Something was being planned.

It was midnight when Seigal finally returned to Koopa Castle. He parked the mini-airship in the docking bay and carried the Rigex carefully using both hands. It was a struggle just to get it up into the castle's main hallway. As Seigal made his way down the hall, Roy Koopa, Bowser's nastiest son, came out of a room behind him.

"Hey! You! Servant! I need…" Roy stopped as Seigal turned around, the large Rigex gem gleaming craftily in the shadowy light of the castle. "Oh *# &" Roy gasped. He turned and ran.

"Wait! Prince Roy…!" Seigal stopped and sighed. Roy was far out of hearing range by now. Seigal turned back and continued his way down the hall. He passed several other working koopas who turned and gaped at the Rigex, entirely dropping whatever they were doing. Seigal pressed on- was he the only koopa who didn't know what the heck the thing was? Ludwig, Bowser's oldest son, appeared from up ahead. He too stared in shock at the Rigex and then tried to grab it.

"What are you doing? Give me that!" Ludwig snapped, reaching for the Rigex. Seigal backed up a little.

"Prince…er…Ludwig…Bowser gave this to me…he said I was the new king," Seigal muttered, at first quiet but then growing louder. If he was the new king, he wouldn't have to take orders from the koopalings anymore would he? …Or anybody?

Ludwig's strength won out and he snatched the Rigex away from Seigal. He then noticed the koopas Seigal had passed earlier making their way down the hall, pupils entirely white.

"What the hell?" Seigal gasped. Ludwig swore and grabbed Seigal. His hands were big enough to carry the Rigex in one hand and Seigal in the other. He ran into a nearby storage room and slammed the door shut, propping a chair up beneath the knob. He threw the Rigex down onto a nearby table and dropped Seigal. Outside the door came the sound of feet shuffling against stone. The sound was growing louder. "I repeat, what the he…" Seigal began.

"You need to give it back," Ludwig demanded. "I can't take it from you…so you HAVE to GIVE it back."

The creature shuffled through the woods, sucking in cold air and returning it rancid and bloody. It had stopped raining, but the creature didn't need any cover- the crowbar it carried by its side was all it needed: a dare to anything to attack. Still, some things were foolish, and believed that the man in red was weak because of his broken leg. They were so, so wrong. The creature made a painting out of them. His paintbrush was rather hard, and he only used one color, though.

He was completely oblivious to the pain in his leg. His only thought was of a princess: a princess in pink. She was all he could think about now. He had to find her and break her neck. Yes, that's what he needed. He needed to kill the princess.

Penter's wanderings through the Forest had been mostly eventless. There were a few boos to be dodged, as well as a village he almost walked into- the village where his sister lived. He knew she wouldn't help him with his plans.

A few hours after passing the village he happened to come by a bizarre cabin with a hole blown into it along with an assortment of books in a pile outside. He had looked in the books, but the text was in some unrecognizable language. When he approached the cabin, a terrible feeling of unease swept over him, and he turned back to the route he had been taking. The cabin was a bad place.

Eventually Penter emerged from the Forest, finding himself at the edge of a great expanse of mud. He couldn't see it because of the darkness but the muddy plains extended for many miles into the distance. No, the only thing he noticed was the hulking body a couple of meters out from the Forest. It was hard to tell what it was, so Penter crept up and checked.

It was Bowser- no doubt about it. He was lying face-down in the mud, but his massive shell and signature horns were clearly visible. Penter gathered some courage and slowly poked Bowser's head. He thought his heart would burst from the tension, but nothing happened- Bowser was dead. How did this happen? Penter wondered. He wasn't strong enough to roll Bowser over so there was no way to check for wounds. Penter paused and then shrugged. He walked back to the closest tree at the edge of the Forest and sat, thinking over the situation.

What were his options now? It wouldn't be safe to remain in the Mushroom Kingdom…Peach would be sending guards out every day to try to find him, along with sending "Wanted" Posters to the nearby villages. He could head west, to Mushroom City: that place was wild with anarchy, and it'd be an absolutely safe haven from the Mushroom Castle guards- but it'd be hard to raise an army. The people there simply didn't care about taking over the Mushroom Kingdom.

Now that Bowser's gone… Penter thought, and then an idea stuck him like lightning: the Koopa Kingdom. So what if Bowser had backstabbed him? Not all koopas would be like that…would they? Since Bowser was gone, it would be much easier to join the Koopa Troop, maybe even as a general! Penter knew so much about the Mushroom Kingdom that he would be extremely valuable…he could give the koopas the complete layout of Peach's Castle, to start with, and the easiest routes through the Forest…and if Luigi was still alive, his weaknesses.

Yes, it was perfect- travel through the Desert, join the Koopa Kingdom, come back to the Mushroom Kingdom with an army…and then execute Peach. And then after that…well, Penter would cross that bridge when he got there. He'd become good friends with the koopas…they'd let him rule the Mushroom Kingdom.

West of Penter, a ways into the Forest, wandered a confused and miserable koopa. It was very early in the morning and extremely dark and these facts only added to the koopa's great confusion. Mud…there was mud…

He started crying a little. Then he realized there wasn't any mud…no, only trees- endless woods. He tripped over a root and fell to his knees. The bizarre cloak he was wearing was becoming coated with dirt, but he didn't care: he felt like he was going crazy. And the cold…so cold…a vague memory surfaced, and he remembered that it was fall…soon it would be winter, and it would snow, and everything would become even colder still.

red

The koopa jerked up in terror and fell back against a tree. Flashes of red…red was death…red: blood, flushed face, gore, wounds, pain, mud, M-

No no no no no no! He started crying again, but now he was also shaking in utter terror. He could feel it: his cloak was wet with blood. Was it his blood? The smell was unbearable. Death…death everywhere…M…M…M…

Laughing laughing laughing laughing laughing laughing laughing someone was laughing. The koopa drove his head against a tree. He couldn't stand anything anymore. Existence itself was unbearable. He had to escape, he had to-

Wes…Wes…calm down…

It was a book…floating in the air, open to the middle, displaying a drawn face. Wes sniffled. Wes…is that my name? He wondered. Wes…it was all he had. He would take it. He tried to say something to the Book but he bent over and threw up instead.

Poor, poor Wes… The Book laughed. The laughter rung in Wes' head.

"Is…is that my name?" Wes gasped. His head felt terrible...and he was slowly becoming aware of a pain in his left hand. He brought his hand up, causing his vision to go blurry. His pinky, ring finger, and middle finger were all wrecked, bent and completely snapped. The Book laughed again, its wide mouth reaching wider and wider. "I don't…I don't…understand." Wes choked. He felt so utterly broken.

Ah, Wes. It seems your magic spell caused you to lose your memory. Let me explain. You are a famous Magikoopa. I'm your spell book…and your goal is to be king.

Wes opened his mouth to ask a question, but a splitting headache suddenly shot through his mind. He cried out in pain instead.

In order to be king, Wes, you have to get to a castle that is north of here. There is an object there that you need in order to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Mushroom…" Wes muttered.

There'll also be a princess…you'll have to deal with her too.

"I don't…I don't want…" Wes started, but the Book flew into his face, its sharp-toothed grin becoming a cavern of malice.

You don't WANT? Of course you want, Wes… The Book sneered. Before you were a Magikoopa, you were a worthless pile of trash. Perhaps you don't remember because you misused your magic like an idiot…but I do. You created me so that you wouldn't live like another piece of garbage for the rest of your pathetic, laughable life.

Wes stared at the ground, like a child being reprimanded.

Now, it's very simple. We need to cast another spell in order to get to the castle as soon as possible. I'm going to need your index finger, and your thumb.

"What…no…I don't want…" Wes pleaded.

SHUT UP YOU GODDAMN FAILURE! The Book screamed. Wes flinched and threw his hands up in front of his face. Once you're king we can fix your fingers…but for now…

Wes already had his hands up near the Book. He slowly moved the last finger on his left hand, along with his thumb, below the face in the Book.

Good. The Book leered. It slammed shut, and Wes heard his fingers snap before the white light engulfed him again.