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Shards of Love: REDUX!

NOTES: Okay, it's officially time to thank my beta readers for the crap I put them through with this chapter. Consider this my special message. I'll explain at the bottom. But please feel free to read, offer critiques/reviews, and all that fine stuff!

By the way, this was one of the most fun chapters of this story that I've written. Not sure why, but I love writing prophesies like what will be shown.

Shard II: Revelations

Chapter XI

Reality Check

Peach sighs as she opens the book to the first page. She can't understand why everyone seems to isolate her. What happened during the last two days that transitioned her reputation from that of a mystical princess to that of an unwanted outcast? How come even Daisy's involved in this bashing? Did she say anything? Do anything? Do they blame her on the disappearance of her parents? Peach didn't do anything to her parents. She wasn't even home!

She attempts to shut down her negative thoughts as she skims over the table of contents. Many prophecies concerning leadership positions, astrological predictions and wars manifest their titles and summaries on the pages. Not interested in the Third Koopan War of the 1600's nor the replacement of the sage Varney by Venapect, she skims down the list until she spots the heading "The Koopa Kingdom's Last Days", followed by the subheadings "The Usurper", "The Chosen Ones", and "The Reconstruction".

"Well, I guess this is it," Peach accepted as she turns to the first page of the prophecy. Inside, a few paragraphs of an ancient text greet her, which she promptly reads.

~x~

I am not whole. I don't stand for one thing, for one set of philosophy, for any sort of prophecy. At my point of existence, being referred to as two-faced is very much a compliment. I came into this world a low being; if I stay as my true self, I'll only stay low. I couldn't gain popularity. Not honestly. However, I am manipulative; two-faced; a cheater, a liar, and an actor. I can't keep the charade much longer.

I started low, but I've gotten high up, and I can only get higher. I'm tired of pretending to be loyal; dependable. The wolf inside me demands to destroy the outer sheep surrounding it; everyone will see the true me. The hunger for the status I most desire grew at a gradual pace throughout the years, and the now-insatiable craving must be satisfied before my inner wolf breaks free from its flowery confines. It must happen now, even if it takes breaking everything else I have. Friends. Family. Peace. Immortality. Love. I will tear anything to shreds in return for my desire, and I'll cast the now-useless shards into the dark, eternal sea of hopelessness.

The time will come. It'll come soon. I can't have my desire fulfilled during peace. There must be a war. I must support violence; I'll guarantee all's distracted while I finally seize the power I craved for life.

~x~

"That's… Morbid," Peach commented, unable to think of anything else to mention, "If this describes someone, it doesn't sound like Mario. Well, to me, anyway."

'Then again, this is koopa prophecies. They could be very biased against the Mushroom Kingdom,'the princess thought.

She's well-versed in fake prophesies used by villains and her kidnapping suspects, ever since her supposed 'prophesied' marriage to Bowser which only proved to be a hoax. Peach shudders at the thought; marriage to Bowser. She couldn't imagine such a condition. However, he did show himself as a family man, so perhaps he wouldn't be half bad. And he... Cared about her. At her last thought, Peach blushes.

Despite the thoughts, she continues reading more of the ancient text.

~x~

Even with multiple failed unification attempts, our holy kingdom and our neighbour's vast kingdom will continue to stay in peace for time to come. However, the differences between the two kingdoms will become more apparent. They will initially work things out between the two of them, but as the years progress, both sides will cut diplomacy efforts. Many rulers and dictators will rule our holy kingdom to further protect our blessed inhabitants from the efforts of the opposing kingdom, while the enemy kingdom, though ruled by so-claimed benevolent monarchs, will have corrupt leaders behind-the-scenes, once again protecting them from our holy kingdom.

The struggles will continue, and they'll only get worse. That is, until The Usurper arrives.

Throughout nir time present in this land of two kingdoms, The Usurper will stand for good, for peace, and for virtue. The Usurper will start off doing small deeds before spreading nir cause throughout all the lands. Many will worship nem, depend on nem and stand in favor of nem. The Usurper will stand for all that's good, but ne cannot stop the pride-that toxic first stepping stone onto the path of irreversible evil- that will upwell in nemself.

As the almighty Varney of yore stated: "Pride is the first step on a dangerous, bumpy road towards hell. If unchecked, pride will lead to envy; envy will lead to greed and uncontrollable wrath; both will lead to thefts, usurpations and murders. With those sins as its foundation, entire societies will crumble to the ground and will cry out in their eternal damnations."

The Usurper will be eaten up by nir pride. Ne will sacrifice the power of love for the power of war. Ne will sacrifice the power of peace for the power of chaos. Ne will sacrifice the power of forgiveness for the power of vengeance.

With this, and with no checks, both our beloved kingdoms will fall to nem.

~x~

"My whole question is, how does this relate to the Mushroom Kingdom?" Peach questioned after reading the passage. Sure, Mario stood—and still stands—for virtues, but from what she learned both from Bowser and from the book, the Koopa Kingdom also once stood for those values. Maybe this Usurper "person" is, in fact, not an actual person, but rather a sort of government. Maybe the Koopa Kingdom will split and fight itself in a long civil war—after all, it did just years ago—or perhaps the Mushroom Kingdom or even Sarasaland might invade. Automatically accusing Mario of being a usurper, let alone "The Usurper", is a step too far in the wrong direction.

With questions in mind, Peach continues reading the prophecy.

~x~

The Usurper will not initially usurp the throne of the vast kingdom. Ne will instead gain partial power through the Power of Binding. After ne usurps the remaining power, ne will call war upon our holy kingdom, causing all our precious things to be destroyed.

Ne will not need to force an invasion of our holy kingdom. The denizens of the vast kingdom will support nem in this takeover, due to the hate sprawling in their hearts.

The hatred between the two kingdoms will be key in picking out The Usurper. In a peaceful world between our two beloved kingdoms, The Usurper will not be rooted out before it's too late. We, as the holy kingdom, will need to be against the vast kingdom, even in topics we agree about, for our holy kingdom to be preserved, as we won't have peace.

Just like every other evil, The Usurper must be stopped before nir reign of terror falls upon our beautiful planet. There will be many Chosen Ones that will destroy the rule of The Usurper.

The Chosen Ones will seek alliances with other kingdoms in faraway lands—

~x~

"What? 'The Power of Binding'? But I thought Bowser said Koopas didn't have a word or term for marriage… So, how does this lead to Mario?"

Peach turns the page a few times, confused. The next few pages have been torn out of the book, resulting in the next page being on a Koopan economics prophecy of some sort. Indifferent to that prophecy, she closes the book and begins to ponder over what she learned.

And truth be told, Peach didn't know what to think. Apparently this all relates to Mario? Things that Mario have done do have similarities with the prophecy, but at the same time, all this time she's known Mario, he's been doing the right things for the right reasons.

He wouldn't risk the life and reputability of the Mushroom Kingdom, would he? Sure, the Kingdom's enemies with the Koopas, but firing the first cannon at them will make the Mushroom Kingdom appear to be war-hungry dictators.

He couldn't do that to everyone, or to her, or to himself. He just couldn't.

However, a pit of doubt grows within her. Or could he?

Larry stares out the cargo storage's window as the doomship flies off. From up in the air, he spots the woods, followed by a large, purple field most likely covered in orchids or lavender. He then sights the multiple pipes making up Pipe Land, and finally the farming fields of Grass Land before he feels the sudden falling sensation.

Bowser must've found out about Peach disappearing. Larry didn't want to be anywhere near his dad; he didn't need to be any form of genius to make the guess that his father's steamed about the situation.

After the doomship lands and the roaring engines cut off, the youngest koopaling feels the doomship sway as Bowser navigates around the ship. The shaking stops, but not long after, another engine cranks up and starts roaring. Larry can tell it wasn't the doomship's; it must be Bowser's Klown Khopper. Bowser's planning something, and Larry needs to know.

Curious about the situation, Larry sneaks towards the doomship's door and also gets off the ship. In the distance, he spots Bowser flying off towards Peach's Castle. The sneak looks at the ground; the plentiful bushes and trees make him break into a smile.

Maybe he's only getting Peach back, but maybe something larger in scale's occurring.

The day wasn't cheerful for everyone, however. Having waken up from an all-too-real nightmare, Roy continues lying in his bed, restless. Like the others, he's worried about what will become of their kingdom; their family. As much as he teases them, comes out cold to them or even lashes out at them, Roy hates the idea of his family being in potential danger. He needs to appear as a tough guy, but doing so only puts more pressure on him, especially when he must pretend not to care about his siblings.

As such, his mind starts wandering around in abyssal territory; in the world of the worst-case scenario, thanks in part to the nightmare.

He imagines life without Ludwig. Such a truth would be a blessed time, until Roy realizes how deep his life's rooted in his rivalry with his eldest sibling. Roy knows his life would be meaningless without Ludwig. Without Ludwig's disdain for the pink koopaling, Roy wouldn't be the present day's tough, driven, improved figure. Rather, the cold, lonesome, untrusting, damned koopaling he used to be in Brooklyn would wander and haunt the Mushroom World. Without Ludwig, Roy would have no competition forcing him to become better. Roy hates admitting the truth, but Ludwig taught him about being a fearless alpha; Ludwig's his older brother, after all. He owes heaps to Ludwig, even if Roy can't stand him.

Roy then ponders to Morton. Morty. Roy sees himself in that ever-so-sarcastic koopaling, and he can't bear the fact of losing him. At times, Roy wonders if he'd be more like Morton if he wasn't isolated in the Real World and forced to bottle in his feelings, fears and concerns, rather than Morton's free expression of them. Nonetheless, connecting with Morton proved easier than with the rest of his brothers; Roy ultimately trained Morton, and Morton looked up to him. Morton was trained to fight by the best – Roy smirks at the thought – and can defend himself, much like Ludwig, so he didn't worry about the two in the same manner.

But Roy sighs when he thinks about Lemmy, Iggy and Larry. Lemmy's great at evasion and tiring out his opponents, while Iggy creates fantastic inventions to deal with enemies, but both cannot physically defend themselves like Ludwig, Morton or even Wendy can. Larry, despite his great spying skills and sneakiness, has near-zero experiences with not only fighting, but with life in general. He hasn't experienced gain, life and love. Larry doesn't even know how motherly love feels; their mother died before Larry hatched. Roy always felt more sympathetic towards the youngest koopaling for such reasons, and the thought of Larry being gone before he reaps the benefits of life he worked hard to sow only breaks the bully's heart.

They all deserve to live. To love. To prosper.

A knocking interrupts Roy's cascading thought. Sighing, he opens the door and sights Wendy, who offers him an apologetic stare, yet no words. Awkwardness overcoming her, she twiddles her new phone in her hands while moving her stare from Roy to the ground.

"'Sup, Kootie Pie," Roy acknowledged before signaling her to come in. Accepting, Wendy sits on the edge of Roy's bed, her eyesight swapping between a hanging punching bag and the floor, "Something bothering ya?"

Then, of course, there's Wendy. Unlike his father and five brothers, Roy finds ease in talking to his sister about his emotions. He doesn't feel vulnerable or challenged around her. Throughout much of Roy's time in Dark Land, Wendy's been his primary source of expelling his feelings, whether due to her advice from a female perspective or simply her willingness to listen without judgment. Of course, both Koopalings have too much pride to admit to such exchanges of feelings and friendship, resulting in the two expressing condescending and even hateful attitudes towards each other when they're around their brothers.

"I could ask you the same, BULLY. I feel like you seriously need to talk, BULLY," Wendy gritted her teeth, resulting in Roy's eyes narrowing, "But for me? Just some drama with Koopook, BULLY."

"Dat hidin' punk, KOOTIE PIE?" Roy questioned. Koopook's notorious for his large hide-and-seek games throughout the Mushroom Kingdom and Dark Land. He even puts out Missing Persons reports for himself, just to get people to search for him. Roy always saw him as someone begging for attention, rather than true boyfriend material, "I always hated dat twerp. Da hell you see in him, KOOTIE PIE? He runs from everything, KOOTIE PIE!"

"It's hard to explain, BULLY," Wendy flinches at Roy referring to her as her codename, "I think he's totally running off with that skank Kylie again, BULLY."

"I always said you should dump 'em for a strong, fearless koopa like Boom Boom, KOOTIE PIE!"

"What makes you, BULLY, the all-knowing, BULLY? Or, BULLY, is it your stuck-up ego, BULLY? And STOP calling me Kootie Pie, BULLY! I HATE that name... BULLY!" Wendy interrogated as she glares at him.

Noting that he's communicating with his dear little sister about personal information—his sarcasm wasn't welcomed at this moment—Roy instead explains.

"No one can see through a girl's ass-of-a-boyfriend better dan dat girl's ass-of-a-brother. AKA, yours truly," Roy stated, pointing to himself with his thumbs and grinning.

Wendy nods her head; she knows Roy only wants the best for her, albeit expressing it in rather unorthodox ways, but she must make such decisions for herself, according to her own gut.

"I want to get the facts first. If he's cheating on me, I'll totally dump him this time. Plus, the last time Boom Boom even tried to recognize my existence was like five years ago."

"Good. Dese problems remind me of why I ain't dating right now," Roy smirked, "Also, let me know if dat wimp cheats on ya. I wanna spaz out on him."

"You don't need to, Roy."

"Sure I do. I'm your older brother; it's my duty to take it dere with him. Dat kid pisses me off. Only one koopa's allowed to make hell for my sister, and dat's me. Plus, I really just wanna pummel da pulp outta somethin' right now."

Wendy's eyes widen at Roy's mentioning of violence. He tends to utter such statements only during times of incredible stress or if an intense emotion plagues him. As far as she remembers, Roy always thought with his strength and his adrenaline before he did with his mind in those moments.

"Seriously?"

"Dead ass."

Wendy motions for Roy to sit next to her. Her brother knows what such a gesture meant: he can no longer hold back any of his thoughts. Obeying, Roy sits beside her on his bed.

"Something's up with you, dude. Spill it," Wendy assured, albeit in a near-demand, "And don't say stuff like, 'I'm good' or 'chill out' because I'm totally not buying it this time. I know you better than that, Roy."

Roy sighs; even with Wendy, he feels uncomfortable sharing his deepest fears. But, he's not getting out of this unscathed.

"Just dumb thoughts," Roy admitted before he shifts positions on his bed, "About dis Peach thing."

"About Mario stealing the throne or whatever?" Wendy questioned, "I totally don't believe that stupid prophesy. Why would MARIO steal the throne?"

"Exactly," Roy nodded, "I knew Mario longer dan Dad, or anyone in da Koopa Troop. He lived not far from me in Brooklyn. I hate dat plumber. I hate him so much. But Mario wouldn't do dis. He... He COULDN'T!"

Wendy flinches at Roy shouting the last word of his explanation—also a typical Royish trait she's accustomed to—but then nods her head to get him to continue.

"And da prophesy mentions some 'Power of Binding'. Morty was doing research; he found da definition of Binding in Dark Land's different dan Binding in da Mushroom Kingdom."

"How?" Wendy questioned, intrigued at the new development.

"Da Mushroom Kingdom's 'Binding' is marriage; it binds two bodies together. Or two spirits together. However ya look at it. But Dark Land's 'Binding' is binding body to spirit. I don't know what dis means. It could be possession or birth or somethin', but it ain't marriage. Dark Land didn't even do marriage back den!"

"And we're looking at the Mushroom Kingdom's definition! But that's totally wrong, as the prophesy's from Dark Land!" Wendy exclaimed, "I seriously don't believe these silly prophesies, but at least this makes MUCH more sense."

Wendy expects Roy to crack a smile, but looking at him, the elder koopaling only stares at the ground, and he starts trembling. She senses a reservoir of worry within her brother, and she wants him to express it.

"Dis is why I was saying dis isn't Mario. 'Cus it wouldn't be. I was calm about it, but I had a nightmare. I know it's a dream, but it felt mad real, Sis. Someone took over the Mushroom Kingdom. Dey den invaded Dark Land! We all were in danger! And it... I lost you all!" Roy exclaimed.

Throughout the explanation, Wendy pays attention to Roy's tone. His voice didn't broadcast his typical sarcasm or fearlessness, but rather genuine concern. His voice came out strained, as if he got punched in the stomach and couldn't recover his breath in time. She knows he's fighting back something, although she's unsure of what.

"I admit it... I'm... I'm scared. For all of us," Roy repeated, "I don't want to lose you. Or Morty. Or Lem. Or the rest of ya. Even Bigwig. I already lost my family once; I don't wanna lose you all again."

Roy shakes his head as he recalls the dream. Wanting to give him a comforting gesture, Wendy wraps her arm around the back of Roy's neck while patting his shoulder opposite to him, doing all she can to not cry also. She hates when her brave, burly brother... Looked so weak and vulnerable; she feels for him in those moments. She knows this must be one effect of Roy's growing up in isolation, and that her words will make little difference; such situations and emotions never healed with time.

"I never realized you were so much of a family guy," Wendy mentioned, hoping he'd take the statement as a compliment. However, Roy finds no comfort in it.

"Shut da hell up. Try bein' abandoned on a planet you don't belong to before you speak, Sis," Roy snapped, resulting in Wendy flinching once more.

"Okay, fair point. Sorry. But look, Roy," Wendy stated, a tinge of sadness filling her voice, "Your heart's in the right place, but you seriously need to get this extra pressure off you. It's not healthy, dude. We all can fight. We've all battled Mario. We've all battled Cackletta's hypnosis. With the seven of us, we're strong, and we can totally kick tail!"

Wendy feels Roy's head bobbing, as if he's nodding at her statement.

"It's just... Da dream made me realize our situation. Ever since da family found out Pops wasn't our birth dad a few years ago, I just worry about us splittin' apart or something. We ain't full siblings, we don't have da full blood bonds. Well, I might be full siblings with Lemmy if the hospital has dere way and dey're correct. I always had some lil' soft spot with dat circus freak. But I don't want dat loss of family to divide da rest of us."

"Relax, Roy. You seriously need to calm down, dude. Us seven are stronger than ever, with strong relations between us! We may not have the same birth parents, but we all grew up under Bowser's care. From that itself, he deserves the title of Daddy."

"Yeah. But I hope... I hope all dis is just a dream, But I feel it's something more..." Roy whispered.

"We're totally rad. Don't worry! Just be your insulting, teasing, mischievous, fun, sarcastic self. I know you care about us, but I totally miss that side of you. You sound totally like Ludwig right now, and he's a total snooze!" Wendy comforted before letting go of Roy and sitting back up, "But anyway, we have to do STUPID magic tricks with Kammy soon. That's really all I came here to say. But, like, good talk, brother!"

Roy groans at the mentioning of the magic tricks before lying on his bed again, "I hate dat hag and her lessons."

"Me too. But I should leave. I have to talk to this BLOCKHEAD Koopook!"

"Give 'em hell, Sis," Roy murmured, "But remember da policies of Roy Koopa's room."

"Nothing leaves the room, yeah yeah yeah. Not even for blackmail, yeah yeah yeah. We're low, but not THAT low, yeah yeah yeah. Pretend to be enemies, yeahuh uh," Wendy rolls her eyes, "We've been doing this for, like, YEARS, Roy."

"Good," Roy grins, "'Cus snitches get stitches. Can't have no info leakin' out. Almost had Larry buggin' my room a few times. I had to remind him that unless he wanted a good ol' applesauce diet with a feedin' tube for life, he'd stay da hell outta my room with dat shit. Same with threatenin' Old Man Jenkins' green mess of a hair-do with a shavin' whenever he tries to invent some conversation-grabber. Dat one was fun."

Wendy nods her head; the two released too many secrets within the room's confines, and neither want them to escape, "Let me know if you need anything, Roy. In private, totally."

"Of course in private. Always den. I can't have people know I depend on advice from my lil sis. No one would fear me."

Wendy rolls her eyes before she stands up and sashays towards the door.

"Dude, don't worry, Softie. Your precious, delicate ego's safe with me, Roy."

Roy gives her another smirk before making a swatting action with his claws, "Peace, Sis."

He ponders Wendy's words as she left. Maybe he's overreacting; maybe this Dark-Land's-in-danger thing's just a bunch of hooey. He'll just need to shake it off. But for reasons he fails to understand, he couldn't. Maybe he just needs something to distract him.

"Feh, I should go out and chill. Have some fun before dis stupid lesson."

Peach closes the book, still conflicted on what to believe. Mario's always been the good guy, right? Or, maybe she's just overthinking everything and she just needs to talk to him. After all, she's married to him, and communication's key to nurture that bond.

Peach didn't know where she—or rather Daisy—got the book, nor does she have the time to find where it goes. Although feeling guilty, she leaves the book on the table; perhaps the librarian knows where the book goes and will put it away for her. Peach receives fishy looks as she leaves the library; she brushes them off, thinking they're glaring at her due to her impolite gesture. All she desires is a one-on-one conversation with Mario.

Outside the library, Toad Town's streets appear busier than earlier. The princess couldn't think much about the book; half the times on the bustling Sixth Street, her needing to squeeze through crowds in the shopping hotzone and avoid running into people take precedent over other processes.

A few more squeezes, and Peach finds herself walking up Frontage Road. Being the road leading to the castle with no storefronts, the street doesn't host much foot traffic. In turn, Peach's able to ponder about both the tome and questions to ask of Mario. Maybe with anything he knows, this whole puzzle will fit together.

Still, why is she obsessed with Koopan prophecies, and does it relate to her dream at all? This thing can be one whole fabricated lie to have her question everything and everyone in her life. If it was, then… Well played, Bowser. Well played.

Thoughts still in mind, Peach fails to notice how close she got to her castle until she trips and almost falls on the steps in the courtyard. Embarrassed, she brushes her dress and continues on. She's about to enter the castle doors when she hears a low-pitch voice call out her name.

"Huh?" Peach questioned, turning around in confusion. The voice's familiar, as if she'd heard it not long ago. However, the voice also causes her to shiver. She knows the voice well; a little too well for her comfort level.

"Come here, Princess!" the voice called out from behind a bushy tree. Peach notices a messy red hairdo, smacked between two horns, sticking out from the plant

"No! I escaped from you for a reason," Peach yelled, disgusted at how he still tries to follow her.

"But why did you leave?"

"Because, Bowser Koopa, I have to be in my kingdom, looking for my parents with my—"

A sudden slam of the door occurs, breaking up Peach's sentence. Dozens of toad guards come towards the two, armour equipped, weapons in hand and serious faces on. As the guards circle Bowser, Peach appears relieved, but she then becomes confused when guards also surround her.

"You are hereby under arrest! Hands in the air!" one of the guards commanded. Not wanting to risk being shot by whatever projectile, Bowser cautiously raises his arms while displaying a defeated look. Following his lead, Peach also puts her hands up, but this time, confusion overtakes her face. Why is she being arrested?

"Umm, I'm the Princess, I can't be arrested!" Peach rebutted, hoping the situation's just a giant misunderstanding.

One of the guards, however, proceeds to give Peach a dirty look.

"Sure you can. You and this menace here are under arrest for the disappearance of King and Queen Toadstool."

From a few other bushes away, Larry observes the scene, awestricken yet scared. Despite all the times Bowser plundered through the Mushroom Kingdom, the spy never saw his father get arrested by the mushroomers before, nor did he witness Bowser give up without a fight. This appears to be on different territory; something's going on as the guards never appear to be this ruthless and fearless.

Although surprised at his father's inevitable arrest, Larry stands in complete shock as Peach also surrenders to the guards. Why is PEACH getting arrested, out of all residents? What would the RULING PRINCESS be arrested for, why would they take her into custody, and who will take over rule with Peach and her parents out of power?

Larry needs to take this situation into his own hands. He needs to know what's going on. Perhaps the guards will give both his father and Peach their plans as an ultimatum, then Larry can use that information to warn the rest of the Koopa Troop. Or maybe the new Mushroom Kingdom elites will leak their plans from one of the castle's conference rooms.

The youngest koopaling smirks; only one way to find out.

NOTES: Okay, story time involving my beta readers!

In short, I have 3 beta readers. I'll keep them anonymous unless they want to reveal themselves, but I'll call them Skelly, Muse and Newt. Originally, this chapter was supposed to be the shortest in the entire fic (it was below 2,000 words; quite sure it was around 1,800 words when I had it sent out at first), and I sent this and the next ~6 chapters to Skelly (who mainly checks the basic foundation of my plot, whether it's the story's plot, shard's plot, or chapter's plot. Meanwhile, the other 2 check over my details and consistencies) to make sure my plot was consistent.

During our discussion, she pointed out a larger hole in the plot and character development than I intended, resulting in me writing a completely new chapter to patch it (which will be Chapter 14) and certain scenes being pushed back or moved forward. Because of this, the size of this chapter grew tremendously; it's now at 5,000 words, and Chapter 12 will also be larger than originally expected. Of course, Skelly, Muse and Newt had to read everything all over again, then I had more ideas for fixing the Chapter 14 hole. They read it all again. Then I wanted to rearrange scenes. Then once again, they read it again. The bad part is we're not even done dealing with the Chapter 14 hole; everything up to Chapter 27 got affected by it.

So... Thank you Skelly, Muse and Newt for being lifesavers and reading these next chapters AT LEAST six times, if not more! This story would be AWFUL without them. I'm not even kidding. Trust me, I saw my original 2000-era outline; it was terrible after this chapter.