Hey, dudes and dudettes, it's been a long while. But I'm back in the old swing of things (since today was a snow day!!) and I'm back to writing the epic King of the Koopas trilogy. Yeah...please respond/comment/critique this chapter. I'm missing all of my fan fic friends!
As the last remaining signs of summer finally began to disappear, the students of Bycaster slowly began to concentrate more on their studies. They knew that midterm exams were just around the corner and every little grade counted.

However, this didn't mean that the young adults lost their personal lives. Shoshina took long, secret walks with Raphael around the campus, constantly trying to avoid their peers and teachers. Kamilia knew this very well, and there was still a slight lingering jealousy in the back of her heart, but she hardly took the time to notice it anymore. She was too busy trying to get to know this new and exciting Korallis Koopa.

He was a very bright young man, clearly exceeding his fellow students in sorcery, sciences, and arithmetic. He was also fluent in many languages, including the dead language of the Pikarin. He was very skilled at most sports, particularly the game of ludi pilae, in which one must grab the opposing team's Spineys and throw them, carefully, through narrow hoops. He also played the violin beautifully.

Kamilia enjoyed his company. She loved spending hours with him in the sorcery hall, starring out the window, talking about the meaning of life, their hopes and dreams. It was as if she could tell the Koopa anything. She was truly happy being near him.


Shoshina stormed into her room late one night, sporting one of her roomie's beautiful orange dresses, anger fuming in her face. Kamilia, busy studying for a Flight prep class she had the next morning, noticed her friend's sudden, and rather dramatic, entrance into her room and felt that she was responsible to say something.

"Are you alright, Shoshi?" she asked politely. Her roomie shot her a mean glare.

"It's that Raphael Raven!" she shouted. "I saw him with another girl around his wings. I just…I mean, he said he was sorry and that it was an accident, but…how could he do that to me?"

It was now Kammy's turn to feel hot rage bubbling up inside her. How could Shoshina possibly expect sympathy from her? Was it not Shoshina who had taken Raphael from her in the first place? Kamilia took a few deep breaths, however, and returned to her studies. She chose to grin at her roomie's problems instead of helping her.

"Who does she think she is, that little wentch?" Shoshina complained. "She can't just take my boy away from me like that!"

Shoshina went on a little longer, getting closer to Kamilia with every new sentence in attempt to get her to respond. Kammy, however, continued reading.

"Kammy, why do you ignore me?" she whined. "When I need you the post, why?"

Kamilia looked up at her friend, smiling. "Because, honestly, Shoshi, I don't give a damn."

Apalled, Shoshina blinked in suprize and took a step backwards. "How…can you say that?" she said softly, suddenly acting hurt. "I'm your best friend…you said that you would help me through this year socially…"

"Well, I think that was before you took that two-timing bird away from me for yourself, you selfish bitch!"

Kamilia had had enough. She had the book down on the floor as she stood mere inches away from Shoshi's face. For a split second, her eyes flashed with hatred, wanting to curse her roommate like she did Ivy her first night here. However, she quickly regained her composture, picked up her book, and sat back down again. Shoshina, however, began to tear up.

"I hate you…" she whispered. "So much."

And she stormed out of the room.

Kamilia's eyes grew wide for a while as she watched her friend walk out the door, even more angry then when she walked in. For a while, Kamilia thought about apologizing, making amends and becoming best friends again. After all, this was all over some stupid boy.

'No,' she thought, grinning. 'I have no sympathy for her anymore. She has proved that she could be as wicked as they come, yet slap on a sad face whenever she needs something. I will not tolerate such childish behavior.'

And she continued studying.


Shoshina creapt out of the school again that night, the cold autumn air hitting her hard even underneath her cloak. Keeping her arms in her sheel for warmth, she began her now-ritualistic walk back to a large hut built behind the Bycaster dorms.

She kept her head low and her footstpes light as she approached the hut, built of dark green bricks and straw. Knocking five soft times, her heart began beating again. She had been talking to him many nights now, but this was the first time she came without questions in mind, but complaints. How would he respond?

The wooden door opened, and a slightly taller creature stood within, with only long pants on, his muscular build growing goosebumps immediately upon exposure to the cold air.

"Lady Shoshina." He said calmly, with his accented voice. "Welcome back. I've been anticipating your nxt return."

"Tonight will be somewhat different, Mr. Toadstool." Shoshina replied. "I have something I need to ask you about my roommate, Lady Kamilia."


The next day, the very last leaf fell from the tallest tree on campus, and Kamilia, a long light-pink scarf around her perfect neck, was standing out front with the rest of her Flight class, preparing for their semester exam.

The wind was at a standstill, almost as if it had known that the Flight exam was today and decided to give the students a break. Kamilia held a deep violet broomstick in her claws proudly and she thought back to her notes from the night before. Sit closer to the bristles, push off with both feet firmly, concentrate on the sky, wrap both ankles around the broomstick…

"Alright, class!" Emmera called out, immediately shushing up the entire class. "It is now time for me to see what you all have learned from the past month of training. We will go in alphabetical order, so Amaden may go first."

The small Dayzee shyly stepped forward, bright yellow broomstick in hand. Her petals shook nervously as she mounted her broom. She closed her eyes slightly and jumped into the air. However, she did not fly into the air, but collapsed to the ground again. Her classmates held their hands up to their mouths in attempt to hide their chuckles. Amaden quickly turned red.

"Now, now, my dear, that was a fine first attempt." Emmera said. "However, you must feel the sky, not just wish for it. Now please try again."

The Dayzee, still blushing from embaressment, swung her legs back over the broom and attempted again. She shut her eyes softly and began to breathe in deep. The red in her face began to disappear as her classmates began to feel a slight breeze coming from the end of her broomstick.

She suddenly opened her eyes, pushed off the ground with both feet, and accended into the air, her petals rippeling in the wind.

The class cheered and shouted in awe as Amaden continued to fly circles around them. Without doing anything fancy, but still crying out of joy of her accomplishment, Amaden landed in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by her entire class.

"Excellent, excellent!" Emmera cried out, clapping her hands. "That wasn't the most graceful form I've seen, but it surely got the job done. Congradulations, Amaden."

The Dayzee smiled shyly and disappeared back into the sea of faces. That was how it was for the rest of the class up until Kamilia. Once it was her turn, she turned pale. Her heart beat far too fast once Emmera called out, "Kamilia!"

She stepped forward, her violet broomstick in hand. She looked into the eyes of her classmates, almost half of them having already flown. Richerd the Tanooki had flown beautifully, how was she supposed to compare to his form?

She took a deep breath in, closed her eyes, and tried as hard as she could to imagine the sky. As she was doing so, she invisioned the wooden chair floating into the air, as well. She knew that she could do this. She knew she could.

She pushed off, her eyes still shut. She said a silent prayer to the stars, hoping that she wouldn't trip over her feet. She did no such thing, however. Instead, she felt cool air blow back her blonde hair and scarf, sending shivers up and down her skin. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

She was at least ten yards above the rest of her class and still flying! Soon, even against Emmera's better judgement, the entire Bycaster building looked like a dollhouse. Kammy could hardly contain her own excitement. She had been dreaming of this day for so many years…the day of flight.

A small tear soon dripped from her eye and down her face, freezing on impact with the cold winds. This was a tear of discovery and beauty, however. A tear of conquering dreams.

Suddenly, though, her mind was consumed by a black thought, one so mysterious that one would even call it evil. Kammy squinted her eyes, struggling to shake away the vision without losing control of her broom. However, this premonition was too strong, blurring Kammy's vision and making her painfully dizzy.

She saw the same creatures that haunted her dreams, however, this time, she could make out slight details. They were like Koopas, only they were stripped of any and all flesh and organs. Only crimson-stained bones remained on these shelled and winged creatures. They looked positively bloodthristy.

Then, she saw the Devil. His horrific face burned with pure insanity and hellfire, his eyes longing for nothing but death. His sickly brown-colored scaled skin and his sword-like teeth made up a grin so positively satanic that Kammy was forced to slam her eyes shut and grasp her pounding head.

She suddenly felt her broomstick fly out from underneath her. The vision instantly disappeared as she opened her eyes again, only to see the Bycaster building grow larger and larger. She was in complete free fall.

The cries of Emmera and her classmates couldn't possibly be heard over the rushing of the air past her ears. She could hardly focus on anything but the horrible face of the Devil as he grinned his victim good-bye.

The ground was coming up quickly and Kammy had too little time to act. Almost impossibly, she brushed the premonition out of her mind and concentrated hard on her broomstick. She needed to fly it back underneath her before she hit the ground at five hundred miles an hour.

She needed to picture the broomstick flying back to her, wherever it was at the moment. It was her broom, so all she needed was strong will power to control it. That, of course, would prove easier said than done while plummeting through the open air.

She couldn't breathe, the wind pushing all oxygen out of her lungs. She felt her mind shutting down, growing ever light headed. The last thing she saw before blacking out was a long, purple blur zooming towards her.


She awoke in a bed in the hospital wing, her head pounding. She slowly opened her eyes to be greeted by Professor Emmera, her classmates, and Raphael Raven, each looking relieved and yet concerned.

"What…?" she mummered. Emmera placed a claw to the girl's forehead.

"Sush, dear," she whispered. "You fell from your broomstick while in midair."

Kamilia nodded. Of course she remembered that. She wanted to know how she had survived. As if reading her mind, Emmera looked back in Raphael's direction.

"This brave young Raven saved your life." She said, and Raphael smiled. He looked almost nervous, having not seen Kammy since he hooked up with Shoshina. Kammy gave Raphael a smile of gratitude, not to be comfused with happiness or love.

"Though I don't think she needed my help." Raphael quickly added to his smile. Kammy gave him a puzzled look. He approached the young Koopa, holding something behind his back.

"You were grasping this when I flew up to catch you."

Kammy couldn't help but grin in accomplishment. It was her broomstick.


Sweet? Tell me so! Not sweet? Tell me why! Hated it? Well, f you!

(Totally kidding, just talk to me, peeps!)