Epilogue: The Aftermath
"Wake up, Larry!" Junior's voice cheered.
Larry slowly opened his eyes. He was still sitting on the throne holding his libra. Having woken up made the punk think his adventure was just a dream. The whole scenery proved him otherwise. He saw his father and the rest of his siblings lying on the ground. They slowly woke up and wondered where they were.
"Papa!" Junior greeted as he left Larry's arms and hugged his father.
The punk followed him. Their family hugged them and gave some compliments.
"LARRY DID GREAT!" Morton yelled.
"I knew you could do it, Larry-o." Wendy said.
"I can't believe it worked!" Iggy commented, fascinated.
"Ya did it, lad!" Roy complimented.
"Yay!" Lemmy simply said.
"Larry, zat vas remarkable!" Ludwig told to Larry.
"You saved everyone, son. I'm…" Bowser started.
A phone began to ring. The koopa family searched in their pocket. Bowser pulled his phone and answered.
"Hello? Peach? What a pleasant surprise to hear your voice! How are you? Fine? That's great! How about the Mario brothers? They are too? And… The Space Federation wants to plan a real meeting next Monday? Can it wait? I just woke up and I somehow need a lot of rest. How about we take some vacation together at Delfino Isle? You know: me, you, my kids and your plumbers. Of course the advisors can come if they want to. Alright, I have a lot to do before I can finally pack up some luggage. I'll see you and the others tonight at the Starman Airport. Alright, bye." The koopa king said before he closed his phone.
Larry looked to his left. Isabelle jumped at him and kissed him right on the mouth. She then released him and giggled. Another phone rang. It was her phone. She answered it.
"Hello? Digby!? You're alive!? I'm not talking to a ghost, right? Sorry, it's been so long. The mayor is looking for me? In that case, I'll be right there. Bye!" She said.
She put away her phone and looked back at Larry.
"I understand. I'll see you next time." He bid.
Isabelle ran to the exit. The punk looked at her until he could see Kraig and Riley who were waking up. Interestingly enough, the ship that crashed into the throne room was nowhere to be found. In fact, the room was fully restored. Riley completely woke up and quickly looked around him. The only thing that interested him was Kraig. He jumped at him to give him a big hug.
"Kraig! I'm so happy to see you! I was so scared to have lost you!" The pterodactyl sobbed.
He caught Kamek's attention who called the guards to arrest them.
"Here are the traitors, your highness!" Kamek declared.
The two aliens were brought to the koopa king by many guards. At least ten of them had to push Kraig to Bowser.
"Please, your majesty, have mercy!" Riley begged.
"You shall spend the rest of your life in the dungeon. Afterward, after you scrubbed all the floors in the kingdom, then we can talk about mercy. Take him away." Bowser replied.
He turned toward Kraig. The punk went to see them.
"Your highness, if I may…" Larry proposed.
The king looked at him and back at Kraig.
"Fine… You are free to go, sir. Don't cause any trouble." The king sighed.
"No, please, arrest me! I…" Kraig started.
"Kraig, don't throw your life away like that just like me. You have so much to life for. Please, promise me you'll never get into trouble like that." Riley asked.
"I hate to say that a criminal is right but he is." Bowser pointed out.
Kraig stopped. He looked at his little brother and hugged him one last time before leaving the castle. Junior went to Kamek and brought both him and Bowser next to each other.
"Papa, Kammy has something to ask you." The prince brought up.
"Bowser, can I…" Kamek started.
He was stuttering too much to ask the king anything. He was very nervous, even anxious. Bowser, however, figured out what his advisor would want to ask him.
"… Dad?" The king whispered.
Being called like that made Kamek burst in tears. He immediately hugged his boss and cried.
"I'm sorry, Bowser! I could've raised you properly! I could've ignored him!" He sobbed in Bowser's arms.
"Shhhh, it's all past, dad. I forgive you. You were led by a king who wanted to make sure that our kingdom would not fall to him. He may not have acted the best way but his intention was the same as ours. I should've paid attention to details instead of jumping to conclusions." Bowser quietly reassured.
Larry and Junior stood still, touched by this reconciliation. The other koopalings were shocked to learn that Kamek was Bowser's father and his royal advisor. The two koopa adults let each other go.
"Well, kids, we have a lot of work to do. Meet me in an hour here." Bowser announced.
The koopalings nodded and went to their room. Larry was about to leave too but he then noticed Starlow sat in front of the doll Geno used to inhabit. All the royal artifacts were scattered around her. The punk went to see her and sat down.
"I'm sorry, Starlow. I wish there had been a way to bring back everyone without giving up anyone." Larry mourned.
"Oh, I see that you met Geno." Bowser's voice spoke.
The duo looked behind them. Bowser was standing there.
"Don't worry, kids. He'll come back. I'm sure of it." The king optimistically said.
Larry and Starlow looked at each other, surprised. The star sprite smiled at him.
"I have to go, Larry. I need to return to the stars. My task is done. I hope they'll let me stay here." She said.
The star sprite left the room. The punk kept looking at her through on of the tall windows until she vanished into space. He looked back at his father.
"Well, Larry, it's time to return the artifacts to their owners but before that we need to prepare a ceremony for your deeds. How about you go on a walk and come back here in an hour." Bowser announced.
Larry nodded. He left the castle. He went to town where all the citizens applauded him and whistled. Among the citizens, the punk saw PamPam, happier than usual. He went to see her.
"Larry, you won't believe that! BoomBoom just called me! He's back!" She screamed.
It did not surprise him. Having already seen his family return, he expected more people to be back. He went back to the orphanage where he grew up before Bowser adopted him. It was still in the same condition as usual: in a state of disrepair. He brushed those bad memories away and carried on with his stroll. He returned to the castle an hour later. When he entered the throne room, two lines of koopas standing guard were there. Behind the lines, many citizens congratulated the koopaling and waved at him. Near the throne, Bowser was holding the Koopa Klaymore. The rest of the heroes, Peach, Mario and Luigi, were also with him. Junior emerged from behind the throne with a medal in his hands and looked at his big brother, smiling. Larry started walking and smiled back at his libra. A fanfare started playing while confetti snowed down on the floor. The guards that he passed saluted him. Near the end, his siblings were also in line, saluting him. Morton, Iggy and Lemmy were to the left while Wendy, Roy and Ludwig were to the right. When Larry reached the throne, Bowser approached him. The punk kneeled down while the koopa king lowered the sword to his shoulders.
"Larry Koopa, for your acts of heroism, you shall be honored as the Koopa Champion. Will you carry this title until your end comes?" Bowser asked.
Most of the crowd was surprised that Larry bore the same last name as the king. Not many people knew that the koopalings were part of Bowser's family.
"Yes, I'll carry this title until my end comes. I shall protect the kingdom from anyone who dares defile our land." The punk replied.
Bowser moved aside to make place for his youngest son, who put the medal around his big brother's neck. The crowd cheered even louder. Larry looked at everyone and waved at them. It was a glorious day for the Mario World. It was freed from the vile curse that turned everyone into dry creatures and everyone was brought back to life. A female koopa troopa with a red shell, wearing a green hat and pink shoes, approached the new hero.
"Hi! I'm Kylie Skoop, journalist for the Koopa Kronicle! May I ask you some questions?" The koopa troopa greeted.
Larry nodded.
"Great! First question: Are you really related to King Bowser?"
"Yes, he adopted me and the other koopalings eleven years ago."
"Wow! I wasn't expecting the others to be adopted by him either. Alright, second question: how did you restore the world and bring back everyone?"
"It first started with me finding the orange wand and trying to look after my family. A few days after the incident, I was visited by a star sprite named Starlow who told me about restoring the world. I helped her and she guided me into my family. Another star sprite named Geno also helped me during my travels. When I met my siblings, they shared their powers with me to allow me to make the Sword of Creation with the wands, the Koopa Klaymore and the Star Pendant and…"
Larry paused for a moment. He took some deep breath and took back.
"… If it wasn't for Geno, I wouldn't be here with all of you."
"How's that?"
"To bring back everyone, it did not only need enough heart or power. The sword would also take away a life and Geno volunteered to save mine."
"That's very kind of him… Shall we end the interview now?"
"If you don't have any other question, we can…"
"Third and last question: Who tried to destroy our world?"
"A group of space pirate led by and AI tried a new weapon here. I managed to stop them but they completely vanished after the world was restored. One of the most dangerous members, Riley, is serving a sentence in the castle's dungeon."
"That's all I wanted to know! Thanks for sharing some time with us! Stay tuned for the next interview!"
After the ceremony, Bowser and his children packed some luggage and headed to the Sunshine Airport, in Mushroom City. Before reaching the airport, they had to stop in all the lands to return the wands. In Grassland, Larry also gave his crown back to the Goomba King. After that, the family left Amarioca with Peach and her friends and landed on Delfino Isle.
They had the vacations of their life. They stayed at an hotel in Delfino Plaza, explored the Bianco Hills, rode boats around the Ricco Harbor, surfed on the waves that clashed on the Gelato Beach, rode all the attractions in Pinna Park, ate the finest meal at the hotel on Sirena Beach, swam in the cleanest water of Noki Bay, danced under the stars in Pianta Village and climbed the Coronal Mountain. A week later, they returned to Amarioca and prepared for the next big day with the Space Federation. This time, no space pirate would ruin the day. They were all gone. Peach, Bowser and co prepared themselves save for…
"Wake up, Larry! You're late!" Kamek's voice shouted.
Our hero was sleeping in his bed at the Koopa Castle when Kamek's voice erupted. The punk slowly woke up, wondering what he was late for. He suddenly realized that today was the big day… Again.
"Give me a sec!" Larry said.
"There's no time for that! The others are already meeting your dad! Go see him right now!" Kamek's voice shouted back.
The koopaling had no choice. He left his room, feeling embarrassed for forgetting to set up an alarm. Kamek stared at him with his piercing gaze. Larry directly headed to Bowser's office. By the time he got there, Morton just received his instructions for the big day. Everyone else was already gone. Morton chuckled when he saw his little brother still in his underwear. The punk entered the office and sat on the chair in front of Bowser. He was not too optimistic for today though.
"Well, someone's been enjoying his vacations a little too much." Bowser joked.
"Yeah…" Larry simply whispered.
"Anyway, today's the big day. Like the other koopalings, you will represent me to one of the seven lands. I chose Grassland for you but…"
"I know. I'm just an escort for the representative."
Bowser chuckled. The koopaling had no idea why his father would laugh at his pessimism.
"… You'll have to find yourself an escort." His father announced.
Larry's jaw dropped.
"You mean I can represent you!?" He stuttered.
"Of course, you're my highest ranking troop in my kingdom. It'll be stupid from me to degrade the best to just an escort. Why I want you to bring an escort is because I want you to teach that person your ways."
"Yes, King… I mean dad! Can you give me some time to prepare myself?"
Kamek just entered the room.
"Speaking of preparation, I think Kamek can hook you up." Bowser said.
With a gesture of his wand, Kamek sprayed some magic dust on the punk and he was now wearing new clothes. Instead of the usual suit Larry had for the big day, he was wearing the clothes he wore during his quest: The black jacket, the sky blue tie and the purple pants.
"You look much better like that than with the other suit." Kamek complimented.
"I agree." Bowser added.
Larry nodded and left the office. He ran in the throne room looking for an ideal escort. He stumbled across BoomBoom and PamPam. They were not doing anything in particular besides walking in the room holding hands. The punk went to see them.
"Guys, I need an escort for the big day! Can you help me out?" Larry asked.
The couple agreed. They took BoomBoom's truck and left the Koopa Kingdom toward Grassland. During the trip, they spoke about what they did in the week after the world was restored. Once they arrived at the Grassland Fortress, They entered it and met the Goomba King.
"Greetings, your… I mean Sir Larry. I'm still not used to be a king again." The king said.
They had a good laugh and headed to the meeting room. They sat down around a table with many screens placed on a wall. When the meeting started, all the screens turned on showing the other participants from the other lands, the two kingdoms as well as the Space Federation president. The meeting went as expected and was a success. New treaties were made for trades and tourism. To celebrate that, a party would be organized at Peach's castle starting at 6pm.
Evening arrived. The party at Peach's castle was about to start. Larry was already there but he was leaning back on the bridge's railing. He was curious to see the special guests of this night. Sometimes, royalties would invite friends to come with them at Peach's or Bowser's parties. The first to arrive was King Goomba with his advisor Captain Goomba. It was nothing special. The Grassland king would always bring his advisor to parties. The second was King Wart with his niece Birdo in a red dress, along with an unexpected but not unwelcome guest. The green humanoid was wearing a full purple suit with a purple top hat and white gloves. He was also wearing a purple bandana that covered his golden eyes. The punk immediately recognized Popple. The Sandland king entered the castle while the couple stayed behind to chat with Larry.
"Goodness, Popple, it's great to see you again!" The koopaling cheered.
"Oh, sweetie, you should've seen the look on my face when I saw him again." Birdo said.
"But how were you release?" Larry asked.
"When the Obeanie queen learned that you had the seven wands in your possession and were the one that requested my release, she immediately retired, see? She gave the throne to her son the prince who released me, boss. He offered me a job as a spy which I accepted then I travelled to Sandland to tall Cathie the good news, see? She invited me right away as her escort for the big day and as her guest tonight." Popple explained.
"Guys, I'll be in the adults' room if you're looking for me." Birdo declared as she left.
"Boss, I want to thank you for everything." The fancy burglar said.
"Don't mention it. And please, call me Larry."
"Sure thing, Larry."
The two entered the castle. Popple joined his lover in the adults' room. The punk could not go in there. He was still too young. This year, Iggy was the new guest among Bowser's children that could go in but chose to be with the younger guests. Larry joined the other children in another room. Morton and Wendy were already inside when Larry entered the room. Junior and Kamek just entered it. During the week of vacation, the magikoopa grew attached to the prince and he would now raise him as he intended to raise Bowser: as one of his children. Oddly enough, Lemmy was also among them. He did not light the adults' room where they served beverages he disliked for tasting weird and make him feel funny. The guests in the room spoke to each other about many things. An hour later, Ludwig joined them to speak to Larry.
"Larry, I see zat you've been doing very vell lately." Ludwig complimented.
"Aren't you supposed to be with the adults like every other year?" Larry asked
"I just vanted to see vat my favorite little brozer vas doing tonight."
"I just got in the room. I was planning to drink some punch and eat a few sandwiches."
"Don't you mean a lot?" The big brother teased.
"I can control myself, Ludwig."
While they were speaking, Petey Piranha entered the room, holding a plate full of sandwiches. He was also one of the few adults that preferred to be with children than other adults.
"Who wants a LUDWICH!?" Petey joked.
Ludwig's good mood quickly vanished.
"Excuse me vile I make my vay out and back vith ze real adults." The eldest koopaling concluded.
When he left, the other guests in the room started laughing. They heard Ludwig screaming.
"Phew, guess he really needed to VONT out some frustration!" Petey joked again.
The guests laughed even more. Larry left the room and saw Rosalina holding Tatanga in her arms. They were both in their fanciest clothes for the night. The punk went to see them. He noticed that the alien was grumpy.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Larry asked.
"We just received a new member among the Space Federation a few days ago and he started working with us. He's a really sympathetic person and very knowledgeable. He's not with us right now. He chose to stay at home." Rosalina answered.
"Who's the new recruit?" The punk asked, small ounce of sarcasm in his voice.
He already had an idea who would join the Space Federation.
"He asked us to not speak about him during the party, I'm sorry." The woman asked.
"Speak for yourself. At least, someone didn't steal your ship." Tatanga muttered.
"Come on, sweetie. We're here to have fun. We'll start the search tomorrow but for tonight I want you to smile for us and the others."
"Easy for you to say I'm…"
Rosalina kissed the bat boy on the head. This made the latter instantly smile and lose control of himself. He was slowly stuttering and had a funny look on his face, blushing red that slightly mixed up with the purple on his face to form some blue. The two left to the adults' room. Larry decided to take a walk in the backyard. He walked among the trees and plants that gave life to that part of the castle. He spotted the bench with the statue of Geno in front of it and sat on the bench. He stared at the statue for who knows how long.
"Hey…" A familiar voice spoke.
Larry looked behind him and saw Starlow. He was surprised to see her here after she said that she had to return among the stars after her task was done (Chapter 2-2). She sat on the bench and stared at the statue. The punk could tell that she was still missing Geno. Everyone that survived the incident at first was but the star sprite was a different case. She could have loved him.
"To think I could've know Geno's true appearance just by staring at that statue…" She whispered.
"I don't think so. It's only a statue of a starman with the encryption "L is real" on it. Speaking of encryption, I wonder what that means." The punk told to her.
"I remember the stars telling me that those were part of Geno's last words when he freed the Mario World from Smithy. Since it misses words, we can't take it in any context. It shall remain a mystery forever."
"Tell me, did the stars let you stay here?"
"Yes…"
Starlow posed for a moment.
"Larry… Do you think what your father said about Geno might be true?" the star sprite asked.
"I'm not sure myself. I don't even know if Geno had to sacrifice himself when Smithy took over. I want to believe it might be true but I also doubt it. Maybe what my dad meant is that he'll never be truly gone since we'll remember him."
A shooting star flew across the starry night. It caught the duo's attention. They stared at it until it went out of sight, behind the walls probably. That part of the backyard was not brightened. Larry looked back at his friend.
"You must've wished for his return? Don't feel embarrassed to admit it. I also want him to return. I did not thank him properly before he restored our world and…" The koopaling started.
"No…" Starlow simply whispered.
"What?"
Starlow looked at him and smiled.
"He wouldn't want me to waste my wish like that so that's why… Larry… We've been on an adventure I will never forget… We met so many people that I did not know before… I made so many friends here… We went through many dangers… We almost failed our missions and even if there were times I could not go with you I watched over you to make sure you would not need me… We made some mistakes and almost lost our cause but in the end we prevailed because we were able to fix them… So that's why… Larry… I wish that we can go on another adventure like that one." Starlow declared.
The punk was touched. The star sprite lifted off her seat and went to kiss Larry on the cheek.
"This one is real, right?" The punk joked.
"Do you see your little brother around?" She joked back.
They had a good laugh and sighed. Starlow then focused her energy. The star on her head shined. She made an orb of light that imploded into a golden ring with a starman on it. She gave it to her friend. Larry took the ring and looked at his hand. He remembered that he was no longer the Grassland king and that he no longer had the orange wand. He put his new ring on the finger that used to wear his ancient golden ring.
"What's that?" He asked.
"That's a sign of our friendship, Larry. I want you to keep it." His friend said.
"Excuse me." A more powerful voice interrupted.
The duo saw Bowser walking to them.
"May I speak with my son in private please?" The king asked.
The star sprite nodded and headed inside the castle.
"Tell me, dad. Did you really plan to give me that much? It seems a lot for someone at my age." Larry asked.
"I just want to give you back what belonged to your family. I did state in my message that you could keep whatever you want from the land but that you must keep the wand with you."
"Yeah… But why do you want me to keep the wand? Wouldn't the Grassland king need it more than I would?"
"No, he does not need it. Only a drakoopa can use it at its fullest if either he becomes a king or had mastered his abilities on his own."
"How long were you planning to hide my true identity?"
"Until you would become old enough to know the danger of being a drakoopa. King Boo and some other people hold a grudge against our kind so I had to make them believe that you and your other siblings were just normal children. It partially worked. King Boo knew that I was trying to deceive him. I suppose you discovered who you are from him."
"I first knew what an athlean was when Toadsworth explained it to me after I helped him rescue Peach (Chapter 1-3) and then Geno scanned me and told me my true name (Chapter 3-3). It was only days later that I met him and he confirmed to me most of it while also telling me about some of his plans and how he started the Dragon War."
"You already knew that before meeting him? I guess I underestimated Geno."
"And what about Junior's mother?"
"I was too scared to tell him that he passed away after her mother gave birth to his egg. I was afraid he would think that her departure was his fault."
Bowser looked down. He did not seem sad. Something caught his attention on his son.
"That's a nice you have there." He complimented.
"Oh, yeah, Starlow gave it to…" The punk started.
He then saw his father wearing a similar ring, certainly as a sign of friendship with Geno.
"There you are. Junior is about to sing for us." Peach's voice spoke.
The two koopas followed her back inside. They even saw Luigi, in his fanciest black suit and drinking something in a cup, who just arrived with his Poltergust 3000. The apparel was dancing on its own as if another party was going on inside.
"Let me go! I wanna be part of the party too, you know!" A voice spoke.
King Boo was still trapped inside the vacuum. Luigi ignored him at first.
"Can I have something to drink at least?" King Boo's voice begged.
Luigi poured his drink inside the vacuum.
"Hey! Hey! I wasn't ready for that, idiot! Now I'm all covered in juice thanks to you!"
The others laughed and went to the main hall. A piano was installed since Ludwig would be performing for Junior's singing. The lights lowered in brightness. Ludwig started playing while Junior started singing.
"On an ocean of stars;
Lo, an angel they see;
Untouched by the war that they waged.
Lain low by their scars;
A people wounded, but free;
Seek what lies beyond this Dark Age.
The seasons they turn, winter to spring;
Dulling the pain and erasing the sting;
The seasons turn, summer to fall;
Time's warm embrace begins to heal all.
On the wild, at first light;
The jasper lion will run;
Hark an anthem he drums. Can you hear?
The people fresh from the night;
Rise and listen as one;
The land that they were promised is near.
And though I am gone, just ash in the wind;
One life surrendered so yours can begin;
Courage my children. This is your song;
I am the Earth. I will make you strong.
A world riven by pride, repaired at last;
And now its makers can be at rest. Our vision come to pass.
The seasons, they turn, memory fades;
But when my name has been lost to the grey;
I will sustain you, year after year;
I will protect you when dangers appear.
And though I am gone, just ash in the wind;
One life surrendered so yours can begin;
Courage my children. This is your song;
I am the Earth. I will make you strong."
After the party, everyone returned to their home. Larry went to sleep. Tomorrow, he would return to his old life, his two jobs and his two sports.
THE END