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Shards of Love: REDUX!
Shard II: Revelations
Chapter XIII
Convention
Kamek fails to receive more than an hour of sleep at a time before waking up. Larry's announcement put the magikoopa's mind into overdrive, resulting in him brainstorming plans on rescuing Bowser and Peach. Mario must be the prophesied usurper; he must've been behind these events, as Larry told him, and the Koopa Troop must stop his shenanigans.
The magikoopa sighs as he reaches over on his nightstand to grab his spectacles. Putting them on, he glances at the clock. 2:40AM; too early to wake up everyone else, even for something urgent and unplanned. The Koopalings will need all the sleep they can get to make sound decisions. Instead, Kamek retreats into his laboratory to jot down some ideas while finishing work from the night before.
"The kingdom's in danger," Kamek told himself, "I just need to come up with ideas on what to do."
The high-ranking magikoopa ponders over many circumstances. In one, the Koopa Troop defends the Koopa Kingdom against the Mushroom Kingdom. He figures the Troop will like this plan best, but to him, that option will go against Koopan prophesy. In this situation, the Koopas still defend their land, but they also must be on the offensive to take out Mario. Due to those prophesies, only defending the Koopa Kingdom will not work due to the low quantity of troops compared to the Mushroom Kingdom's Royal Fleet; the Mushroom Kingdom must be flanked somehow.
Considering that realization, the magikoopa comes up with his current plan: most, if not all, of Dark Land needs to be given up, and the Mushroom Kingdom will receive false security. During Dark Land's long and bloody civil war months after Morton Sr's death, the Mushroom Kingdom's security didn't exist at present levels; they were lulled into thinking their sole threat couldn't keep itself together, let alone go on invasion missions. Only with the complete takeover and ouster of Morton Sr.'s traditional kingdom by Darklandian rebels in 1985 did the current Mushroom Kingdom security reenacted due to the resurrected princess kidnappings. Hence, Dark Land requires a façade of instability and vulnerability.
Meanwhile, the pipe to Jewelry Land's Pipe Island appears in the Pipe Maze; a corps will need to instead take over Pipe Land, or otherwise inform King Pipeus to join the rebellion, before Mario's troops use it to surround Peach and Bowser. Dark Land contains nothing other than history and the symbolism of being the Koopas' homeland, while Pipe Land houses infrastructure vital to ending Mario's rule.
Lastly, Koopan air forces need to keep the Mushroomer air force and navy in check, and prevent them from getting to Jewelry Land in that way. Dark Land's air force outranks the Mushroom Kingdom's in both the number of aircraft and the power of them. Although the Mushroom Kingdom's navy fares better, they won't be any match against the Dark Land's Air Fleet's extra dimension of movement.
This plan will be risky, Kamek concluded, but if they don't sacrifice, they won't have a large win over a mighty superpower such as the Mushroom Kingdom. They cannot defend Dark Land anymore. The prophesy will come to pass.
With the blueprints of the plan jotted down, Kamek makes his way back to his bed, this time falling asleep within minutes.
Peach finds herself floating in the woods, the same two magikoopas in front of her in the same landscape. Confused, she tries touching them again, but once again, they don't respond. She recognizes the one to be a younger Kamek from her previous dream, but she never figured out who the magikoopa female is. Kamek's also not diligent with giving out her name either, no matter what he says.
"Nice talk, Kamek. Please make sure your toadies do well following King Morton's plans. Thanks," the purple-robed female magikoopa thanked as she shapeshifts into a common, purple-shelled koopa.
Wait, shapeshifted? Peach rubs her eyes and looks again; the koopa's still there. She couldn't believe it; from what she understands from Bowser, magikoopas, although powerful, mystical beings, never possess the ability to shapeshift. Only duplighosts know the magic, so this magikoopa must be either one of the most powerful mortals to live, or part duplighost, which Peach rejects.
Peach awakes with a start. There's no way magikoopas can shapeshift; shapeshifting's nothing but a silly fairy tale. A dream. That's all it was. However, no matter how many times she thinks that to herself, she can't brush off the feeling that this is more than just a make-believe conversation; rather, it's history.
Thinking less about the dream and more on her present conditions, she panics. Not only is she stuck in another cell by a passed-out Bowser, but a flying sensation overcomes her. She's no longer on the ground, but on an aircraft. She's being transported, yet she doesn't know where.
"What the?" Peach continues looking around the room in shock, "This… This isn't just a dumb dream?"
Peach lays back down in misery, pondering over the whole situation. She can't believe she's been swiped by her own guards; now they're sending her to an unknown place. Mario let this happen to her, she concludes as anger seeps through her. Luigi and Daisy also gave her the silent treatment, albeit not directly involved in her jail time she figures. Not to mention, on top of those issues, her parents vanished from view, and she's being blamed for it. She knows her punishment won't be good; she knows it.
A coup's occurring; she's on the wrong end of it. She only hopes the citizens she rules over will fight against this illegal takeover.
As Peach feels the sensation to cry, she passes out again, the rhythmic sound of aviation engines encircling her.
She only hopes a group of gladiators will set things straight.
"Koopalings! Make your way to the meeting room immediately!"
Larry awakes and freshens up his ragged hair before exiting his room, hearing a chorus of six different groans and six near-zombies exiting their rooms. The youngest giggles to himself as he sees Wendy almost trip from being delusional. Unlike his older siblings, Larry's prior information on the meeting's occurrence prevented him from turning into the seventh near-sleepwalker.
All seven kids make their way to one of the many meeting rooms in the east wing of the castle, this time in a room displaying ten chairs and pictures of Bowser from his vacation in King K. Rool's share of Alligator Archipelago. The seven koopalings each occupy a chair while Kamek and Kammy perch at both ends of the table.
"Man, it's so early. You're totally torturing us!" Wendy yawned, earning a nod from the five other elder koopalings.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Iggy questioned as he adjusts his thick-rimmed glasses, "Something happen? And where's Dad?"
The six older koopalings begin firing question after question at the magikoopas. As the ruckus builds up, Kamek stands from his chair, raises his hands, holds his index fingers to his thumbs and closes his eyes, as if entering a meditative state. Seeing and knowing the sign, Kammy calls out from the other side of the table.
"QUIET!"
The six koopalings quit their complaining and stare at Kamek. After remaining in the position for a few seconds, Kamek opens his eyes, pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and smirks.
"Good. I have everyone's attention now. So, the reason I called you all in here is because of an issue involving your father."
The six older koopalings all gasp, but before any of the six can blurt out questions, Kamek raises his hand out towards them.
"Shh, let me talk before I answer questions please. Anyway, I have received knowledge, from Master Lawrence here, that your father's being held captive by the Mushroom Kingdom."
The six elder koopalings gasp again at the news, exchanging questioning looks between Larry and Kamek. Their father never gets captured by the Mushroom Kingdom; whenever he does, he has enough energy to break away and retreat to the castle. Either Bowser got caught off-guard, the Mushroom Guard strengthened, or both.
"W-w-w-wait, what? I mean, that's crazy! The ultimate, uncatchable King finally got captured?!"
"Like, how did he?"
"This is not good. This is so not good."
Kamek peers at Morton, Wendy and Iggy, taking in their words of shock. He then looks at Roy, Lemmy and Ludwig, who remain quiet about the revelation. With the magikoopa's gaze fixed on them, they begin spewing their concerns.
"Pops is captured? Did Peach do dis?"
"What are we gonna do?"
"Vhat vill become ze fate of ze kingdom of ours?"
Kamek nods, taking in all the koopalings' questions and concerns. He then brainstorms for another minute, finding the best way to explain his plan as well as answering the concerns.
"Okay, here it goes. Bowser has been kidnapped by the Mushroom Kingdom. However, Peach did NOT order the capturing of him. In fact, she also got kidnapped by her own troop. This is the sign of the Usurper coming. For those not familiar with that prophesy, someone who originally befriends what we assume to be the Mushroom Kingdom will turn against both the Mushroom Kingdom and Dark Land. With The Usurper in charge, Dark Land's fate will be terrible; in short, we'll be destroyed. It'll be taken over by the 'Elite Empire', which we also assume is the Mushroom Kingdom controlled by The Usurper."
The koopalings, familiar with their father's rantings on Mario, prophesies and historical accounts, all nod at the explanation. But, they thought, how can something already prophesied be stopped?
"Please keep in mind. Prophesies do NOT tell us how a specific event will end. They only tell us that such events will occur," Kammy reminded, appearing to have read the Koopalings' minds, "So, we have to follow it. Dark Land needs to be given up, and it will due to the prophesies, but such forecasts never say that we cannot get it back."
"So what now?" after Kammy's explanation, Lemmy repeats his previous question, although fearing the answer, "Is this prophesy right?"
"Yes and no. The way I see things happening from my decades of experience with conflict, the Koopa Kingdom will be taken over, no matter which direction we go. If we do nothing but defend, we'll have tough, nasty battles, and we eventually lose. If we go on the offense somewhere else, we have less troops here to protect the Land. However, although our Land might be overrun by Mushroomers, it won't be permanent. Eventually, people will see the true evil of The Usurper, and they will rebel from their rule. Our land will come back at that point, at the very latest," Kamek explains, boggling the minds of all seven koopalings, "And this is only the start. Bowser and Peach are no longer in the Mushroom Kingdom."
The koopalings, and even Kammy, all have grim looks on their faces. Soon, they'll be without a kingdom; they'll be commoners, or worse: prisoners. However, they could also be military commanders and take over the Mushroom Kingdom, and it's this direction Kamek strives to go down.
"Instead, according to Master Lawrence's surveillance, they are in Jewelry Land. We all know Jewelry Land; although militarily unaligned, Jewelry Land, combined with Sarasaland, form the Big Three with the Mushroom Kingdom. If all three are allies in the same war, they'd win; we'd have no chance. And, unfortunately, it appears that Daisy's also in on Mario's plot, so we must get Jewelry Land since Sarasaland now supports the Mushroom Kingdom. This is why, in a gross form of irony, if we want to save the Koopa Kingdom, we must lose it. Instead, get to Jewelry Land before Mario can."
All seven koopalings appear hesitant about the whole plan, but trusting the wisest member of the Koopa Troop, they decide to give the plan a whirl. On behalf of his six younger siblings and himself, Ludwig speaks out in support of Kamek's ideas.
"I have my trust in you, Kamek. As my guardian growing up, and as Fazzer's, I know you vant ze best for us. Now, how vill ve do zis plan?"
"First off, we need to stock up for our missions. We will leave tomorrow," Kamek instructed, "But we have a slew of duties today. Ludwig and Ignatius, make sure every doomship's running in optimal condition. All mechanics and engineers will be on call to help you. Lemmy and Morton, make sure we're well stocked on food, necessary supplies and weapons for each doomship. Once again, our farmers and inventors will be on call. Roy and Wendy, rally up the conscripted soldiers and get them prepared, then help Lemmy and Morton after. Lawrence, you stay here in the castle; I need to talk to you more about King Bowser, the Princess and our plan."
The elder six koopalings nod at their partner, each relieved over who Kamek chose to assist them.
"I'm not calling for a meeting tomorrow, so I'll now go over your assignments that go into effect first thing tomorrow morning," Kamek continued, "There are three ways to get to Jewelry Land: through the Pipe Maze, by sea and by air. I will need three divisions to take over Pipe Land, or the Pipe Maze at the very least, and I'll need three forces to patrol the seas between the Mushroom Kingdom and Jewelry Land. Ludwig, Roy and Morton, you three are the best at navigating the doomships, so I'm putting you three in charge of the surveillance and the commanders of the Air Fleet."
Ludwig, Roy and Morton nod at the command, although the former and the two latters glare at each other.
"Lemmy, Iggy and Wendy, take over the Pipe Maze."
Lemmy, Iggy and Wendy each nod, though this time, none of the three glare at each other.
"Lastly, Larry, continue to spy on the Mushroom Kingdom. If you can, try to rig them in our favor. Catch a ride there with Ludwig."
Larry accepts the mission, grinning unlike the other six. He's glad he still gets to spy on them, as well as tamper with anything they consider to be important; it's what he does best.
"Good. I'm proud of you all. Kammy and I will tag along with each group; Kammy will be with the land troops, while I'll be with the air fleet. Larry, you're on your own, so be careful. Any questions from anyone?"
Larry nods, acknowledging the offer, as did the six elder koopalings. None of them raise their hands or speak up.
"Good. Please finish today's assignments and get your armies ready for tomorrow. Meeting adjourned."