Chapter 29—In Enough Time

It had been almost three months since the siege of Toad Town had begun. The reports that had been coming in said the even though Toad Town was guaranteed to fall, the city was putting up a fabulous fight, losing ground, but not without taking many Koopsian and Union lives. To make matters worse, he was sometimes having visions of the war. His position as Ztar Master had apparently enabled him to see places filled with emotion, and Toad Town was at an extreme. The anger and fear that engulfed the city made it easy for him to see the horrors for himself.

Nathaniel sighed. He looked over at the large foam tower that had been built for practice in the valley and closed his eyes, canceling out his sight. He had to sense the energy in the tower. As he focused his mind on the electricity surrounding him, the valley came alive for him; a veritable diorama of electricity showed itself to him. Sensing the dark spot near him, he poured electricity out of his hands and into a circle around him. The circle coursed and crackled with power, almost blinding him to all the energy elsewhere. However, he peered through the cracks and sensed the tower. Raising his arms and pushing them toward the tower, the spell he had cast blasted the tower to pieces. Then, sensing each of the pieces, he reached out to all of them and reassembled the tower, using Firebrand to smelt it together again. He opened his eyes.

"Very well done," Nathaniel's instructor said. "That must have demanded a lot of power. You would have never been able to do that when you first came here."

"Thank you, sir," Nathaniel responded.

"You have mastered the Surge spell very quickly, and you still had enough FP left over to reassemble the tower."

"Shall I do it again?"

"Please don't. You have already shown your skill, so please let the other students test themselves."

Nathaniel stepped back as the next student approached the tower. However, his sight suddenly left him as another vision of Toad Town entered his mind.

"Father…" a lady cried softly. As his sight improved in the vision, he saw the interior of a very extravagant building—a castle, most likely. He then saw an old man on what had to be his deathbed. He then saw the source of the lady's voice next to the bed, kneeling. It was Princess Peach. "We can't lose you now," she begged.

"Princess Peach," a voice interrupted. "No, Queen Peach… "We all knew this was coming. The only unknown was when. You have a mission, though. The armies are yours to command, the Steel Shrooms await your orders."

"My orders? What is there left to do? Our capital is under siege and is cut off from any reinforcements, the army is losing hope, the people are resenting us, and here we are, hiding in King Edward's Safe Castle because we cannot risk our lives on the surface."

"Your Highness, what are you suggesting?"

"We must end this war. At this point, we have nothing to gain from more violence. Tell everyone to raise the white flag."

"WHAT?!" another voice demanded. The vision grew more vivid, and the voice was revealed to belong to Lord Toadsworth. "Surrender? We are the Mushroom Kingdom! Even in the bleakest of moments, we have held strong, and because of it, we have persevered."

"No, Peach…" the dying man said. "We must keep fighting."

"No, Father. Our army is exhausted and low on supplies. Even the strongest battalions outside of Toad Town have been routed. There is no hope of reinforcements, nor is there any hope for victory. We are outnumbered fifty to one, and we are horribly outgunned. Luigi was right; we never stood a chance."

"Then we shall fight to the death!" a noble bellowed. "I would rather die in battle than surrender to the Koopa Kingdom!" Other nobles spoke up in agreement. Peach sighed.

"This is futile," she said. "I want to see a future for our people, and continuing this war will not grant one. Look around. We have been driven underground. Our once-mighty Kingdom has been conquered. Only Toad Town remains, and even then, the siege has made it a horrible place to live. If we are to have any hope of living, we must surrender."

"Steel Shrooms!" Toadsworth bellowed. Nathaniel felt the rage pouring from Lord Toadsworth. He knew what was next, and he poured all his power into the place he saw in the vision. A black aura began surrounding Peach. "Kill her!" Toadworth demanded as the aura teleported her away.

"Well done, Master Nathaniel," a voice said in Nathaniel's mind.

"WHAT?!" Toadsworth bellowed to no one. "WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!"

"No one, Lord Toadsworth," a noble said. "I have no explanation for this; it must be a sign from the Stars."

"Wrong, Lord Harold," the voice in Nathaniel's mind said. "The Ztar Master has been found, and he had a vision of what was conspiring. Through his powers, he saved the Queen."

"Who are you?" Toadsworth demanded of the voice. "Show yourself!"

"Why would I need to do that? Is it not obvious who I am?"

"A sorcerer who will die the instant he shows himself!"

"Wrong, but you have given me a good reason to not show myself. Know, Toadsworth, that the war will be lost. The Koopa Kingdom's army has just now broken through the last line of defense. It is only a matter of time before your hideout is discovered. I would recommend either surrendering or fleeing. You have nothing left to defend in Toad Town."

The vision faded. Did King Ztar want Nathaniel to see that and save Queen Peach? He didn't know, but at the moment, it did not matter.

"Do you think he's the Ztar Master or something?" a voice asked.

"Well, nothing else makes sense," another responded. "After all, look at his eyes."

"Did I lose consciousness?" Nathaniel asked, his sight returning to him.

"No, but your eyes started glowing and a huge pillar of Ztar magic rose from beneath you."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I am a noble, so I already have people trying to kill me. Being Ztar Master does not make living any easier."

"So…" the teacher cut in, "what happened?"

"I had a vision," Nathaniel said. "King Jacob is dead, and Queen Peach has been betrayed. I teleported the Queen to safety when the Steel Shrooms were about to kill her. I do not know where she is now, but I believe she is alive and safe. It would be fair to assume that Lord Toadsworth is now in control of what remains of the Mushroom Kingdom."

When class was dismissed, Nathaniel walked off to a section of the valley that he had kept secret. "Soon," he thought. He used Thunderhand to move a boulder, revealing a small cavern lined with Sombrium metal. The familiar glint of a tiny black gem entered his eye from atop a stalagmite. "In enough time, you will be ready," he thought.

A month later, Nathaniel was in Toad Town, where the Treaty of Toad Town was being signed. The Cathedral of Shooting Star Summit had been chosen as the location because it was relatively unscathed by the siege. Queen Peach was there, as were King Bowser, King Boo, King Peasley, the four Thunder Continent Pact Premiers, Emperor Guy (from Shysia), and Nathaniel's mother. There were also plenty of lower-ranking nobles, as well as the Koopa royal family. Many officers were attending the signing, but they were little more than an audience.

The Treaty was read out, dividing up the territories between the Koopa, Boo, and Beanbean Kingdoms. The Koopa Kingdom claimed Toad Town and all the land to the east, the Beanbean Kingdom claimed the land taken from her long ago, and the Boo Kingdom got what remained. Queen Peach was to be promised safety, as were any other Mushroom nobles who signed the Treaty. The Mushroom Kingdom was effectively dissolved by that treaty.

"Empress Morgana, and my comrades from the Thunder Continent," King Bowser started, "I appreciate all you have done to help us win this war. Now that it is coming to an end, we have just one mission left. Toadsworth is still out there somewhere, and I have made it the Koopa Kingdom's intent to seek him out. Your work here is done. Let the Star Continent strike the final blow."

"I understand, King Bowser," Nathaniel's mother said. "Though your troops have fought for more than a decade, our people have grown tired of violence. They want us to return home. For the most part, the war is over."

"As for you, Queen Peach, do you find the terms of the treaty acceptable?"

"Yes," she said with a sigh. "It is much better than I could have wished in these times. I have failed the Mushroom Kingdom in losing this war. May you serve her people better." With those words, she placed her signature on the treaty, others following one by one. Applause rose from the cathedral. Some of the people outside heard the applause inside and joined in, the entire mountain eventually awake in cheering and rejoicing. For a people who had lost a war, it was odd to hear cheers, but given the torment the war had taken them through, there was some reason to rejoice. King Bowser was the first to leave the cathedral, followed by his children, and then Queen Peach. Other leaders then filed out one by one, the officers last.

Nathaniel weaved his way through the crowd, looking for a lady he knew was there. He eventually gave up searching for her and just weaved and "excuse me"ed his way toward the ruined castle, finding Flora waiting right there. They greeted with the usual kiss.

"I knew you'd catch on soon enough," she said, chuckling. "There aren't any more war plans, are there?"

"Only if my mother is keeping them from me," Nathaniel responded. "Besides, the people want you and everyone else back home, and my mother is not one to argue with them."

"Well, good for the people. Besides, I'm getting sick of being sent off to war all the time."

"Such is the life of a knight. I have no intent to be seeing you off anytime soon, though. I am getting quite tired of worrying about you so often." He paused. "When you find the time, please visit me in Ztar Valley. I would like you to see the place."

"Oh, Nathaniel… I would love to. I hear the place is the most beautiful place in the world."

"Yes, but not the most beautiful sight." Flora punched him lightly in the arm, then chuckled. Nathaniel blushed. "Well, it is true," he said.

"That's enough," she said. "You've already made it clear that you love me."

"Yes, but I still like to say it. Now, would you care to accompany me on a tour of the city?"

Flora took Nathaniel's hand and did as he asked.


Author's Notes: Now that I know that special someone does not love me back, I envy Nathaniel even more. Sorry about taking so long to post this chapter. I've had my mind occupied with other projects, not to mention I couldn't think of an idea that would last long enough through a chapter. For those of you who are also reading Shellfino, you now have a good idea of the ending. Sorry about the spoilers.