Chapter Forty-Nine: The Flight of Kammy Koopa
I apologize for the delay in this chapter's release, since I've been sick. Don't worry, this won't become the regular for chapter updates. Also, this story recently reached 30,000 views! Thank you for all of your support!
The elderly, green-capped Toad examined the empty pedestal with narrowed eyes, scribbling down notes with lightning speed. Luigi watched him from the distance. While there was still a bit of tension in the air due to the threat of war, Toad Town was more cheerful than Luigi had ever seen it. There were families walking down the streets, the fresh paint on the Toad Houses' roofs seemed to shine, and the bar Luigi had been next to when he'd first met Cobal now appeared to be a respectable establishment instead of a den for criminals. Indeed, Wario had done a good jump knocking all the criminals who had taken root in Toad Town into shape.
News of the Princess' rescue had spread throughout the whole kingdom. There were reports coming in from all sides of the globe of people joining their cause. Thanks to the war, some smaller Koopa fortresses had been abandoned outright and entire towns were being freed. The resistance's scope was growing day by day. New people (and some old friends) were constantly showing up at Toad Town, thanking Luigi for giving them hope. Almost no trace of the old Koopa occupation remained in the Mushroom Kingdom. It was a situation that Luigi hadn't have dared to hope for.
Luigi was knocked out of his peaceful thoughts by the high-pitched screech of the yellow toad, Billy, who was running towards him up the main street so fast Luigi was concerned he'd trip over. "L...L...Luigi...you got to come here!" Billy skidded to a stop, nearly crashing into Luigi.
"Whoa, slow down!" Luigi said, placing his hand on Billy's smooth Mushroom cap. "What's wrong?"
"The...the...the...the princess is here!"
"Huh?" Luigi glanced back at the castle. It's flags were flapping merrily in the wind and it's roof was a bright and cheerful red, no traces remaining of the scars of battle. "Billy...Princess Peach is in the castle! She's catching up on what happened since Bowser took over."
"No, no Peach!" Billy exclaimed, shouting loudly. "The other princess!"
From the time Toad Town fell, Luigi's heart had been broken. Even when he had gained the courage to pull himself back up again, even when he had started winning victory after victory against the Koopa forces, something had always been missing. The fate of a certain person was unknown, and all he had left of her was memories and the flowers in his garden. But now a warm feeling coursed through Luigi's body, telling him that all would be well.
Princess Daisy stood before Luigi, her dark brown hair seeming to shine in the light of the rising sun. She'd aged, of course, but gracefully so, as befitted a princess. Her orange dress was torn and mud-covered, but that was nothing unusual for the tomboyish monarch. But it was the princess' eyes that Luigi was looking at, her deep blue eyes that contained nothing within them but relief, happiness, and love.
"I...it..." the words choked in Luigi's mouth. He'd spent years thinking of what he'd say to Daisy when they were reunited, but now that they were there, he...
"C...come her, you." Daisy said, tears dripping from her face. Luigi had never seen the strong-willed princess cry before...but these were tears of happiness, not of sadness. Taking a step forward, he ran and embraced the person he loved.
"What, so you're saying you've already got an army, ships, even a dozen heroes or so?" Daisy laughed. All of the foremost members of the Mushroom resistance were sitting in the council room of Peach's castle, the same council room in which Princess Peach had dealt with the "Blorbs" epidemic in what seemed like millennia ago. It was by now early afternoon, and the sun shone through the windows so that they needed no light. Luigi and Daisy had spent the entire day catching up, and Peach had been quick to join in, eager to see her dearest friend, once again. But they all had a duty to do for the Mushroom World. Peaceful picnics and get-togethers could be had once the empire finally fell for good. "Seriously," Daisy laughed from her place beside Luigi. "Why haven't you attacked Bowser yet? Luigi, you beat him and his whole army just fine with less than that before."
"It's not that simple." came a voice from the other side of the table. It was Strike, the Fire Bro who was Cobal's friend. While Luigi had been apprehensive about the former Koopa Troop officer, the steely Koopa had proved invaluable due to his inside knowledge. "In the past," Strike continued, "The Koopa Troop was not prepared for a full-on attack. They had a large amount of fortresses and defences, but no real strategy. The Imperial Citadel is not like the old castles you're used to, princess. It's surrounded by hundreds of battleships and a hundred-thousand ground troops. There are Bill Blasters hidden all throughout Koopa Central and brigades of Magikoopas weaving spells of defence and regeneration on just about everything. It's an unassailable fortress. If we want to take out Emperor Bowser's seat of power, we're going to have to approach this with caution."
Luigi nodded. He didn't want anybody to die on his watch.
"Oh dear..." Toadsworth fretted. "This seems quite the issue."
"Suggestions are welcome." Peach said. She was standing at the lectern at the head of the table, presiding over the meeting. "Bowser's empire is weaker than it's ever been right now, if what Luigi tells me is correct. This could be our chance."
"How 'bout we do a stealth mission?" Captain Toad suggestion, from his place near Toadette. "Nice and classic. We go in from the sewers or something, sneak into the castle, Luigi fights Bowser and wins, and we mop up the rest!"
"And clear out ol' Bowser's treasure vaults along the way!" Waluigi snickered, causing Wario to roar with laughter.
"Hey, that might work..." Cobal started, but Strike quickly cut him off.
"No." the Fire Bro said harshly. "You're thinking about this wrong. If we were trying to, say, rescue some princess, Captain Toad's strategy would be perfect. But we're not. We're trying to attempt a proper military takeover. Even if we defeated the emperor, we'd be surrounded on all sides by the Koopa Central Defence Force. We can't expect an easy fight. We need to engage the enemy army head-on."
Wario laughed uglily. "How about we take advantage of Bowser's family drama?" he said, a cruel glint in his eye. "While Ludwig's army's rolling in to take the throne from papa, we swoop in and crush Bowser in the middle! Then we deal with Ludwig while he's weak."
"Heh heh, I love it!" Waluigi giggled.
K Rool smirked, baring his teeth. "Sounds delicious." he admitted. "Perhaps we're going to get along."
Luigi looked at Peach. A plan like this was definitely up Wario's ally, and yet.
"Well, really..." Peach said, looking down at the rest of the council, "I don't see anything wrong with it..."
Luigi nodded. Even though Wario's plan did seem a bit dirty, in the end it was only taking advantage of the situation they were in. Both the original Koopa Empire and the Neo Empire needed to be defeated if peace was going to be restored.
"Thank you, Wario." Luigi said. "That's a good start."
Wario laughed, before burping out a foul belch. "Oh yeah, Wario's the man!" he exclaimed, much to the annoyance of Toadsworth.
"I don't understand." Goombario spoke up, his eyes peering over the table as he stood up in his seat. "We do we need to bother with all of this. There are so many wish-granting artifacts in the world, why can't we just wish Bowser away! It's the simplest, most peaceful solution!"
"I told Luigi this before." Toadette countered. "Bowser has in his possession the Sticker Star, which he uses to protect his empire from being wished away. No getting out of this fight easy!"
"In fact..." Strike added in a grim voice. "If the battle really does go poorly, there's always a chance Bowser will use the Sticker Star as a last-ditch situation to take out us!"
"Then we need to get wish protection, as well!" Cobal exclaimed.
Luigi thought about wishes. Seemingly all-powerful sources of magical power seemed to be surprisingly common in the Mushroom World, but they didn't have much time to look for one. If they spent too long trying to track down, say, the Sundream Stone, Ludwig might succeed in overthrowing his father. Defeating Ludwig with a secure base of power would be much more difficult than defeating Bowser and Ludwig when they were both weakened from fighting each other. So, what to do..."
"The Dreamstone." it was a calm, regal sounding voice from near the end of the table. Luigi turned and saw the hopeful-looking face of Prince Dreamburt. The ruler of the P'illo people had been imprisoned in Stoneshell Prison with several other heroes, but he'd been freed in Cobal's daring escape. "Luigi, we can reclaim the Dreamstone!"
"Dreamstone?" Luigi scratched his head, remembering one of his old adventures. "Wasn't it...destroyed."
"Yes." Dreamburt said excitedly, "But it can be restored! The Zeekeeper allowed it to remain destroyed so that people wouldn't abuse it's power. But now we need it! It's simple. No quests and errands...we simply need to ask the Zeekeeper. I trust he'll understand us."
"That's an excellent idea." Peach agreed. "If we have a wish-granting artifact of our own, it'll give us an extra defence against Bowser."
"I can head to P'illo island right away." Luigi said, standing up.
"Don't count me out." Daisy said, smirking at him.
Peach smiled at the two sweetly. "Ok." she said. "Luigi, I want you to go take care of the Dreamstone. Take a few others with you so that you're safe. Everyone else...we're moving base."
"W...what?" Captain Toad exclaimed, his eyes wide. "But...this is your castle, Peach!"
"Exactly." Peach said, bowing her head. "We don't want Toad Town to become a target again. Wario's spies have already located a good place in the Beanbean Outskirts. From there...we'll make our final plans to attack Koopa Central."
Cobal left the council chamber, strolling down a sunlit carpeted corridor, the walls covered with paintings showing the Mushroom Kingdom's history. The meeting had gone well, although he missed his father. The Great Gonzales Jr had left Toad Town with his companions to free Koops' family, as well as the former Glitz Pit fighters who had been pressed into the Koopa Troop's service. He couldn't wait to tell his dad what had gone down in the meeting. His heart was beating excitedly.
From the time he'd been in his early teens, Cobal had always stood up against the empire. Stealing from the Toad Town garrison, standing up the guards, helping out people who got on their bad side...and now, he was going to participate in an attack on Koopa Central! He couldn't believe how far they had come. For all he knew, within a month the Koopa Empire would've fallen. Cobal grinned as he glanced at a historical painting depicting a heroic-looking toad driving back an army of Beanish invaders, probably depicting some war that had happened hundreds of years ago. He was part of history now. In future centuries, the people of the Mushroom Kingdom would learn about the brave exploits of the people who worked to push back the tyranny of Emperor Bowser's oppressive regime. The thought filled him with pride.
As Cobal continued walking down the hallway, he became aware of something strange happening. Was it just him, or was it getting...darker? Now there were strange black particles rising from the floor, and the hallway seemed to be leading not further into the castle but into a black void, like a starlit sky...
Cobal started to panic. What was this? Was it a Koopa attack? Some evil spell? Was he in danger? Was everyone else? Was...
Cobal now stood entirely in the void. He stood on solid ground, even though there seemed to be nothing beneath him, and a deathly chill swept over him. Cobal glanced from right to left, but he could see nothing but stars. He tensed himself. There was a woman appearing before him, a tall young woman with a graceful blue dress, and pale blonde hair covering her left eye. In her hand she glimpsed a small wand. Cobal's eyes widened. He...he'd seen this woman before! Hadn't she appeared in one of his dreams?
"It is too late, Cobal the Yoshi." the woman said in a cold voice. "You can't change the future."
"Huh?" Cobal yelled at the woman. "What future?"
"The fate of the Mushroom World." the woman replied. "The Mario brothers, Bowser...all the others have destroyed it. You're still young. You should turn back."
"What, and leave everyone to die?" Cobal shot back. Who was this lady, anyway?
"Yes." the woman replied. Her eyes were blue like the depths of the ocean...beautiful, but concealing unimaginable danger. "They have brought their fate on themselves. For you, there is still hope."
"Not my kind of hope." Cobal scoffed, turning his back on the woman. "If they die, I die with them. Besides, who are you to say we'll die? Not even the shamans can predict the future without flaws. I've come this far, so why should I give up?"
"You're too naive." the woman said, closing her eyes. "Cobal the Yoshi...I pity you."
Like wind blowing away smoke, the strange void and the woman vanished, leaving Cobal alone in the brightly lit corridor. He gasped and stared out of the window, no starlit sky and blue-glad woman to be seen.
"What...what in the world was that?"
Kammy Koopa flew through the sky, wrinkled hands gripping her broom tightly. Purple smoke trailed behind her as she flew over the rolling plains of the Mushroom Kingdom, over little thickets of trees, tiny hamlets nestled in forest glades, and tall hills dotted with green warp pipes.
It was a peaceful afternoon, and the comfortable Mushroom Kingdom weather was much preferable to Kammy than the unpleasant climate of the dark lands. Unfortunately, the aged Magikoopa had little time to relax in the sunshine. She had a mission she needed to complete.
Kammy had, through painstaking research and ancient spells, discovered the circumstances behind the death of Bowser's wife, Lavaria. She'd collected the essence of the Dark Star from the top of Peach's Castle where, ages ago, her king had destroyed it in battle. Now only one thing remained. Kammy had to obtain the essence of a Crystal Coconut.
The essence of a Crystal Coconut was a fabled magical ingredient. It could be used as a base for potions, although Kammy, in all the years she'd been a Magikoopa, had never heard of it being done in her time. Most potions didn't need such a strong base. Crystal Coconuts were rare and incredibly powerful. If they reached maturity, they could even grant wishes, although it could take hundreds of years for them to reach this, so it seldom happened. Kammy had been to Donkey Kong Island in an attempt to find one of these coconuts, but had been unsuccessful. That was a setback...as the potion that she was planning to make, one that contained the essence of the Dark Star itself, needed a powerful base made from the essence. Kammy didn't have time to search the whole world for the mystical fruit...especially when she believed that forces were conspiring against her, trying to keep the Crystal Coconuts away from the public. All it took with a quick interrogation of a suspicious Koopa in a sleazy Mt. Brrr tavern to learn the location of a secret Seven Stars outpost in the Mushroom Kingdom. Kammy allowed a sly smile the play in her lips. Soon, the power of her ruler would be restored.
There were two stony hills beneath Kammy, the tops of which had been carved into the letter "M" and the number "9". This section of Toad Road, Kammy knew, had been one of the locations for a party Mario and his friends had had together. Little had they known, of course, that under the hill that was to the right was a secret Seven Stars bunker.
Kammy angled her broom downwards and shot towards the hill. She stretched out her wand. It was time to get started...
Toadificus lounged in his chair in his dimly lit office, his feet resting against his glass desk. Holographic screens floated around him, showing lists of weapons.
The Green Star was feeling quite positive. He'd done well recently, reporting on the actions of Fire Flower. That mission was over now, of course. The Grand Star had sent him to this smaller base to collect the weapons they'd stored here. Toadificus had a feeling that the organization's endgame was soon approaching. As to what this was, Toadificus cared little. He was a man of business and profit, who's skills had allowed him to climb the ranks of Seven Stars until he had sat on the council. When the Grand Star overthrew the old order of the world, Toadificus was certain he would be able to place himself into a profitable position. The Seven Stars "trinity" of Antonio, Giovanni, and Skallz had more complex goals, of course, but he was content to remain where he was, so long as the coins kept pouring in. And pour in they did...Toadificus had become quite a wealthy man, managing Seven Stars' criminal enterprises. Taking a step back to infiltrate Fire Flower had only been a minor drawback for him.
"Ah, I certainly hope we'll be through with all of this." he mused to himself. "The Grand Star is taking too many risks. We could even end up exposed..."
Alarms suddenly rang through the office and Toadificus quickly sat upright. "What's this?" he exclaimed, glancing at one of the screens.
In one of the darkened, metallic corridors of the base, the ceiling was heating up with a glowing pink light. Seven Stars agents in green uniforms swarmed around, perplexed...then the ceiling exploded. Kammy Koopa had arrived.
Kammy struck this way and that with her wand, launching magical blasts at the Seven Stars members and knocking them back. A group of them charged at her, but she spun around, expelling magical light which blasted them against the wall. Kammy shot down the hallway like a rocket, as gun emplacements popped out of the walls, firing at her. Kammy dodged the bullets with expertise, demonstrating such control over her broom as would make any Magikoopa novice cry tears of joy. A ground of Seven Stars agents ran at her, but, waving her wand in a circle, Kammy conjured up a chain chomp of enchanted violet light which sent them running.
Kammy knew the magical signature of the Crystal Coconut. She knew it was located in the vault on the last floor. As she had no knowledge what the vault looked like, she could not teleport inside, but breaking in would not be difficult for a Magikoopa of her skill.
A Chargin' Chuck in a Seven Stars uniform ran at her, but Kammy sent him back with a magical blast that exploded, scattering the Goombas who were with him. She turned right and flew down a corridor, zig-zagging to avoid the defences, ducking underneath a Paratroopa's shell...there. She was right above the vault. Kammy pointed her wand at the floor, beginning the metal-melting spell. She could hear the footsteps of Seven Stars troops behind her. The floor glowed red hot and began to bubble. Kammy spun her wand around, charging up a magical blast, and launched it at the floor. The floor, melted from solid still to a malleable, goopy, barely-solid surface, yielded to the blast's force. Kammy zipped into the vault, just as the enemies reached her.
The vault was a tall room, with countless little cabinets, dimly lit by red lights. Kammy smirked. She was being drawn to the Crystal Coconut essence like a magnet. The Magikoopa flew to a cabinet in the centre. It was locked, of course, but Kammy latched onto it with magical force and wrenched it open. The essence of the Crystal Coconut looked like diamonds...a glittering dust that could transform ordinary water into a liquid of the highest magical properties. Kammy took a few handfuls and tucked it into a pocket on the inside of her robe. Now, to get out...
The door to the vault opened, filling it with light. Cape floating behind him, Toadificus stormed in, flanked by a squad of Seven Stars Fire Bros.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" the moustached Toad exclaimed. He looked frantic. "You're Kammy Koopa, the emperor's advisor! How...how do you even know about us?"
Kammy smirked. "Your little secret isn't as secret as you'd like to think!" she couldn't resist saying smugly. "I'm sorry, Seven Stars, but you can kiss your pretty organization GOOD BYE!"
"Not if I have anything to say about that!" Toadificus shouted, stretching out his hands. There was a flash of light, and magical beams shot from his hands, streaking towards Kammy. Kammy's smile didn't falter. A Toad, using magic? Well, that was unusual, but Toadificus was doing his species no favours. Kammy stretched out her wand and countered Toadificus' beam with one of her own, wider and brighter. The wand barely shook in Kammy's weak wrinkled hand as it pushed back Toadificus' attack.
"Trying to take on the world's greatest Magikoopa with a lousy spell like that, are you?" she shot back. "Maybe you shouldn't have dozed off in magic class!"
Toadificus broke off his beam and clumsily leapt to one side as Kammy's beam struck the ground, exploding and scattering his guards.
Kammy spun around, beginning the teleportation...suddenly, something stopped her. With a screech of annoyance, she glanced back. Toadificus had stretched out his arm, his hand glowing with magical light.
"I see...so he's interrupted my teleportation." Kammy realized. This Toad was arrogant...did he really expect he could hold her back? If he persevered, he'd succeed in scrambling it a bit, but that wouldn't help him at all...
Kammy completed her spin, finishing the teleportation. Her surroundings whirled around her. A second later, Kammy found herself in a different room, a huge chamber filled with giant Bob-ombs. She was floating above a thin bridge suspended above them. "Seven Stars must be planning something big." Kammy mused momentarily. "They're stockpiling weapons. I'll have to tell His Brutalness about this..." she mused.
"You'll die here, Kammy Koopa!" Toadificus exclaimed.
Kammy glanced at him as if he were an insect. So this persistent Toad's attempt to stop her teleportation spell had meant he'd ended up teleporting along with her...well, that was annoying.
Toadificus reached out his hands again. Two huge glowing fireballs whizzed towards Kammy, glowing like suns...with a casual wave of her wand, Kammy batted the fireballs away, causing them to whiz down towards the Bob-ombs.
"Don't play with me!" Toadificus insisted.
"Really?" Kammy chuckled. "You make it so easy."
Before the infuriated Toadficus could make another move, Kammy spun around again, teleporting out of the room.
Toadificus tightened his fists. His magic training...it had been for nothing! But no matter. His resources would be enough to bring one old lady down. He'd assemble the rest of his forces and send an urgent alert to the main base! He'd...
The Bob-omb lit by the wayward fireball exploded, the fire detonated the hundreds of others surrounding it, consuming the room and Toadificus with the force of a volcanic irruption.
Kammy popped into existence outside of the mountain. As she flew away, the mountain rumbled, flames bursting from at as the carved "9" collapsed. This had been quite the annoying trip, but at long last, it was done. Now all that remained with the creation of the potion...and then the great King Bowser would be restored once again to the strength of his youth.
