CHAPTER NINE

Geno vs Kamek

"Geno Beam!" cried the celestial puppet, shooting a large blue beam from his wand.

Kamek only smirked, giving his wand a flick, knocking the attack wide but into a flying troopa. The accident caused the magikoopa to flinch slightly but again he turned his attention back to his fellow wizard. The moment of concern for his fellow koopa, no matter how short, was not lost to Geno.

That single action, if but an instant, truly showed Geno, Kamek's motives. This wasn't a cruel, selfish creature that was so easily labeled on his race. Geno was a listener and he could always hear and in that brief moment, he seemed to have heard Kamek's stories by sheer body language. He lifted his wand on instinct alone, still lost in his own reverie, knocking spinning shapes up into the sky.

Coming back to the wizard's duel, Geno nodded to the magikoopa with a silent chant from his wooden lips. Kamek nodded slightly, understanding the mage's cant as if Geno scream it. Every spectator thought they were just showing respect for the other. No one except the magicians knew the duel was just going to be an act. And what a spectacular act it was going to be.

Lightning lit the sky with fire. Rain pounded the earth with the ground that both combatants stood on raising to the heavens. Devastating rays of power shot out from one wizard and a split second before it could harm the other; the attack was deflected or dispelled. Both showed great power and endurance as both fought on without giving ground for close to an hour. All the while, canting to the other about what they would do next.

It was time to wrap up the duel, however, as Kamek was tiring while Geno had plenty of magic in reserve. It was the desired and result anyways as Kamek didn't want to lead his army to conquer Rose Town and Geno wanted as little bloodshed as possible. Silently mouthing a few words and skipping into a bow, Geno came back up, raising his arms to the sky. The clouds rolled in on themselves, parting the heavens so that the golden rays of the sun encased the puppet in a golden halo. Feeling his homeland feeding him power, Geno flipped backwards and his body morphed instantly into a cannon. In a heartbeat, the cannon fired, sending out a spell with as much limitless power as the sun itself. The Flash sent Kamek flying off his pedestal and plummeting to the earth below. With his last bit of power, Kamek instantly turned the hard ground into a large pool of mud.

The koopa pack grumbled amongst themselves; obviously not liking the end of the wizard's duel. Many goombas were itching to just run and snatch the princess while a couple shelled warriors thought it was the perfect opportunity to ascend in rank as Kamek was at his weakest. But all plotting and planning were hollow. Their orders were simple; obey Kemek as if he was Bowser himself. Though the duel didn't go in their favor, the magikoopa showed great strength and zealous against this mighty foe. None would speak ill of him when they had to turn back to Bowser's Keep. Just the way Kamek planned.

Even the finale was exactly how Kamek envisioned it. He knew he would be grinning from his 'defeat' and needed a reason to be fuming and thus, the mud pit spell. Being filthy always infuriated the magikoopa. Even though he came out of the duel without a scratch (if not trusting Geno's cant, he would've never known to put up a fire resistant shield) he needed to show his soldiers he was not pleased of the outcome.

Snapping a glare up at his rival, Kamek spat away a creeping grin as he saw Geno cross his arms and nodded to the magikoopa. Out of the Koopa Troop, Geno showed the greatest of power Kamek ever seen. Respect. If it was to a lowly goomba, to a beast like Smithy or to the gentlest of Nimbians, Geno showed great respect to all who lived. As now, Geno silently thanked Kamek and was honored to have battle such a worthy opponent. Kamek wished times were different. He wanted an honest duel, a true sparring match, just to test their limits.

However, times were not peaceful. Turning away from his rival, Kamek fought to get out of the mud; even ordering a couple of flying troopas to help didn't give him much progress. Once out, the magikoopa glared back to the triumphant puppet.

"As a word given by a wizard, I shall admit defeat and go back with my army, BUT BEWARNED!" Kamek pointed angrily. "Once back at Bowser's Keep, we will return."

That sent a wave of cheers amongst the ranks of koopas, a wave of dread to Croco and Peach but a word of caution to Geno. The puppet knew Kamek gave them a warning that Bowser will simply send them back, perhaps without the magikoopa to detour them. That gave them time. What continued to boggle Geno's mind, however, was why was Kamek being so helpful?

Once the army gone and out of sight, Geno came down to his old friend. He couldn't believe the chaos that spread so quickly throughout the land. The puppet was hoping to find Peach in her castle but fate spun its wheels and sent her right to the puppet's lap. And then there was Croco, a backstabbing thief, acting like a bodyguard and Kamek, a magikoopa who he thought would be the last to question Bowser. The Mushroom Kingdom seemed to have gone mad.

"Geno?" Peach asked, tilting her head like it was the first time they met even though he's been in front of her for an hour.

"Yes, princess," Geno said with a bow. "It is an honor to see you again."

"Sock puppet. Do ya knows what be goin' on?" Crono snapped, not liking that Geno 'beat' his employer to a pulp.

"Do you really want to know what I know?" Geno asked gently, closing his eyes and bowing his head gently.

"Yeah," both Peach and Croco said in unison, inching their way to the puppet.

"I know…"

Both waited, hoping for some answers from this maddening army of Bowser's. What plots he may have planned, anything to shine some light on the gloom that plagued the Mushroom Kingdom.

"…nothing."

Together Peach and Croco fell over, completely stupefied. Geno did raise his head again as they got over the shock and looked down the Way. Since Peach was not a prisoner in her own castle, everything he had planned had changed. He couldn't risk the princess's return to the castle with what he had in mind but he had one last thing to do along the way.

"However… I have an idea what is going on but first, your highness needs to get to Rose Town and evacuate them before that army returns," Geno gently but firmly instructed the royal of her duties. "I'll meet you both in Seaside Town."

"HEY! Whazit 'both' stuff. HEY… HEY!" but Croco's words fell on deaf ears as the puppet was already zipping back down the Way.

"Blasted sock puppet. What the… now where ya goin'!" snapped the croc as the princess, his meal ticket, was going the opposite direction.

"I have a job to do as princess and I will not fail my subjects of Rose Town like I did…" Peach trailed off, knowing it made no difference anyways.

She continued moving forward, not looking back. She trusted her friend, like Croco said, she should and she would trust in Geno now. She would save her people and meet up with her friend in Seaside. The path the Way showed was a straight beeline to Rose Town but in symbolized the first true path that she found that she could walk and do the most good.

Croco was beside her in a second. The road symbolized something to the crocodile too. It was his path to riches and treasure and it was an easy path to follow. All he had to do was keep Peach alive. True, it would be easier to keep her far from those who wished her harm but Croco had to admit, where would the fun be in that?

--

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" bellowed the great dragon, shaking the very foundation of Bowser's Keep.

At least he yells like Bowser, Kamek thought, keeping his distance while plugging his ears.

"You pulled back a whole army from one man? All for what?" Bowser snapped, leaping from his throne and shaking the castle all the more when he landed but as he stalked up to Kamek the remaining distance, his feet made not a sound. "Honor? Pride?"

The magikoopa immediately crawled into a ball, expecting his king to spit fire at him, claw him, kick him or anything else to relieve his temper. But the Koopa King did worst. He stopped only a pace away, leaning in close, so close that his reptilian, smelly breath gently tickled the magikoopa's neck. The king waited… waited… having the minutes pass. Kamek only wish for the punishment to be over with.

However, the elements around the room changed to the king's senses. Something didn't smell right. Something didn't feel right. Slowly standing straight up, Bowser scanned the entire throne room, keeping a close eye on each shadow. A movement caught his attention from the left.

Leaping far from where he was, the Koopa King landed with all the force his huge frame would allow. Several lights began dancing about the exact spot Bowser was at a moment ago and from the shadows tumbled a familiar puppet man. Geno was up in a blink of an eye, fearing his vulnerability at such a prone position would give the king that one second to kill him. The blow, luckily, never came.

"Kamek…" Bowser gently said with a hint of a threat behind it. The magikoopa knew what that meant. Time to leave. In a second, a puff of smoke remained where Kamek was.

"You don't want anyone knowing the truth but how long can you really hide behind this charade?" Geno passively asked, taking a much more careful measurement of the dragon. The wizard knew much by just seeing the shimmering, prismatic wings that his guesses were on the mark.

"You. You've been chasing me for some time now, eh?" Bowser replied more calmly than ever in his entire life, as if he wasn't Bowser at all. Geno nodded.

"All the way from Star Road, a place I miss very much."

"Then go back there," Bowser passively replied.

"You know I can't," Geno said while shaking his head. "You must know my charge."

Geno blinked, only for a split second but the Koopa King seemed to vanish. A massive claw engulfed his woodened head but Geno didn't feel any pressure behind it. He knew the dragon could crush his skull without much effort, however, Geno also knew he wouldn't try. The dragon wanted to feel and see his ancient enemy from times long pass, in sheer terror. But such emotions were beyond the puppet.

"Things are not looking good for you and less each passing day. By my word, if you surrender now, I will do what I can for leniency. Continue to compound your sins…" Geno quickly spun his head in the dragon's palm, a complete 180, while pointing his wand at the chest of his target point blank. "…your punishment will be far worst."

With a roar, Bowser began squeezing but the Beam from the wand pushed him away, which freed the puppet. But his victory was a brief one. Geno knew his chances the moment he followed Kamek that he was very unlikely to defeat the opponent alone in his one domain. The wind thickened as the heat threatened to suck away all the oxygen in the room. Here, where the fire and brimstone was at its pinnacle, Bowser's magic, too, was at its summit. Warping Geno's own magic around him, the Koopa King thrust out his claw with a roar, blasting the puppet with his own Beam, sending Geno flying through the wall and out the castle, plummeting to the molted rock below.

Bowser calmed quickly, nodding at the hole in the wall. Such an attack proved he was finally getting accustomed to his power and to destroy his ancient enemy was truly a blessing. Now he knew it was going to be a nuisance to get some stupid hammer brother to fix the wall. With a sigh, Bowser turned and walked away.

If he took the time to walk over to the hole, the Koopa King would've had a brilliant view of Geno being caught in mid-fall by a magikoopa and his broom.