Chapter 6 A Mysterious Crystal

"Okay, there you go," Morton said as he led a little old koopa lady out of Stonebrim. Her dust-covered hand trembled as she coughed. Her mask was doing nothing to help her with her respiratory symptoms, her normally golden hair was caked over with debris and dirt, so much dirt. There was a sad look in her eyes, one that made Morton's heart ache tremondously. He turned away from her, unsure if he could look at her for much longer.

This was certainly a disaster. Morton always considered Koopsmas to be a cursed day, but this was just taking it one step too far. He thought back to the monster. His breathing rate sped up as he recalled its glowing yellow eyes. He would be seeing that creature in his nightmares that night.

"Alright," Morton said softly once they were a sufficient distance away. "I think we're good." He let go of the old lady's hand. "Here, you won't get hurt."

The lady nodded. "Thank you," she wheezed. She gripped the tip of her cane with a shriveled hand. She stared at Morton, her eyes shiny with fright.

Morton swallowed a lump in his throat. "Do you want me to take you to Bowser's Castle? It's less than a mile away."

The lady shook her head. "These bones won't allow me to walk a mile."

"Well then," Morton said. He picked her up and held her in his arms. "We'll just have to make do then."

The lady smiled a toothless smile and chortled. "Such a gentleman."

With that, Morton made his way toward the castle. The lady was light, almost in an unhealthy way, so carrying her was not a problem. In fact, since he knew the path so well, Morton allowed his mind to wander for most of the walk. He wondered if his siblings would be alright. He wondered if he himself would be alright, since he had been exposed to a lot of dust and smoke. Perhaps he should carry himself to the nearest hospital for an examination, just in case.

Anyway, they arrived at the castle in less than half an hour. Morton knocked on the door, which was quickly answered by a Koopa troopa servant. The servant gawked when he saw Morton's dust covered form.

"Master Morton! What happened?"

Morton let out a breath. "Stonebrim got attacked." He set the lady down on the ground. "Please, I need you to take care of her."

The troopa nodded. "Not a problem." He grabbed hold of the woman's hand in order to provide her with support. "Come on, Ma'am."

"Thank you," said the woman. She turned toward Morton with a smile. "And thank you as well, young man. Merry Koopsmas."

Morton almost snorted when he heard that. "Yeah. Merry Koopsmas."

With that, the doors closed. Morton rubbed his aching head. As much as he would love to stay and get some help for himself, he needed to get back to Stonebrim. Or, more specifically, a hospital nearby. So, with his lungs feeling like they were full of dust bunnies, Morton turned on his heel and turned back around.

As he made his way south, Morton couldn't help but worry. He didn't want to get sick. Sickness, on top of being painful, would just be plain inconvenient. He remembered the last time he got pneumonia, how much it had affected his out-of-shape body and his battling depression mind. He shuddered and inadvertently coughed.

He also hoped that his family was okay. He didn't know what he would be able to do without them. Just thinking about the possibility of them not being okay caused Morton to shed a tear.

"I need to pick up the pace," he said out loud. He tried to speed up, but the acceleration did nothing but hurt his lungs. He clutched his core as his vision went fuzzy. He stopped and took deep breaths.

"Oh, Mama Mia," he wheezed. He stood in the same place for a good five minutes, not daring to move. Once he got his breathing under control, he lifted his head. "I hope that this doesn't indicate something…."

Morton stopped. He saw something. Something in the sky. It looked like a shooting star, as it had a glowing head and a sparkly tail. But that didn't make a lot of sense. After all, shooting stars weren't visible during the day time.

"...serious."

Morton watched the object shoot through the sky. It sparkled like a priceless diamond, entrancing the young Koopaling. He noticed that it was getting closer and closer to the ground. Intrigued, Morton willed himself to run after it. He had no idea what it was, but considering it came from the sky, it would probably be worth checking out.

The object kept getting closer and closer. Morton was intrigued to see that it was covered by a pink and white flame. It kept getting closer and closer and closer until…

Crash.

The object landed on the ground, the force of its impact so strong that it made a crater upon impact. Morton ran over and stood at the edge of the crater. The object rested right in the center, surrounded by a soft white light. Curious, Morton made his way toward the bottom. When he got there, he stood over the object, the white light it produced being reflected in his eyes. He slowly reached out his hand to touch it, not even thinking about any possible consequences. When he touched it…

The white cleared, allowing Morton to pick up the object. It resembled a prism, a very opaque prism. It was mostly white save for a pink and blue sheen that was present on the edges. Morton twirled it around in his hands.

"This is so cool," he muttered. His mind tried to pinpoint what it could possibly be. Maybe it was a diamond? Or perhaps some form of exotic space gem?

Whatever it was, it was definitely valuable. Morton could only imagine how much money people would pay just to get a one second glance at it. Morton smiled, trying to decide what he could use that money for.

That is, until he heard another siren in the distance, which snapped him right out of his trance. Morton lifted his head as his mind filled, once again, with worry about his family's well being. He hastily put the object in his hammerspace and climbed out of the crater.