Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
"Gah! Seriously! Put me down!" Junior protested for the umpteenth time, trying his hardest to pry himself off of Sonia's shoulders, but her grip was incredibly strong.
"So, Sonia… I'm curious about something." Kamek said. "How did you get so ridiculously strong anyway? You seem like an average girl, yet you have abnormal strength. Why is that?"
"I wanna know too. What's your secret? Push ups? Sit ups? Arm wrestling competitions?" General Guy asked.
Sonia giggled. "Well, no… it was an average day at Jabberwock Island-"
"Jabberwock Island… why does that sound so familiar…" Kamek mumbled quietly. "…Sorry, continue."
"Well, what happened was that there was a portal that opened up one day on the center island as I was out on a stroll. The others wondered what to do once word spread to the rest of my classmates. After...deliberating with myself for a few moments, I immediately offered to get whatever I needed and head on through," Sonia explained. "I then found myself in a familiar place, the realm known as the Fog from Dead by Daylight. The god of the game knew of my past, and wasted no time offering me a position as one of its killers. Make no mistake about it, I did enjoy being with some of my favorite horror icons. But at the same time, I could not abandon my classmates, not after everything we've endured…"
"Let's see… your favorite horror icons… sounds to me that you love horror." Captain Boo said. "…Which means that you've got a passion for the occult!"
"Yup!"
"Oooooh! Nice!"
"Ooooh dear…" Captain Shy Guy shuddered. "So, being with your favorite horror icons, something tells me they taught you a few tricks."
"Pretty much."
"…Uh… emergency group meeting!" Captain Goomba said as he and the other captains huddled. "She's not your average girl, she's flat out insane if she wanted to hang out with her favorite horror buddies!"
"Right? There's no telling when she'll turn on us. They always go insane!" Captain Shy Guy said.
"I dunno, I think she's pretty cool… buuuut, you do bring up a good point." Captain Boo said
"So should I get a cross just in case? I'm pretty sure there's a couple at the Dry Bones Dollar Store…" Captain Koopa said. "Her liking the occult is a major red flag! She's gonna be haunting our dreams and inviting Mr. Dream Monster himself!"
"Uh… guys?" Marnie spoke up. "What are you rambling about?"
"Yeah… I don't really see the big deal. So she likes the occult and went on a quest with her horror buddies and got herself stronger." Umber said. "Big deal. I say she's pretty cool. After all, she's on our side."
"Yeah so… I'm not sure what you four are being so uppity." Marnie added.
"SONIA IS GOOD. SONIA IS BADASS." Morton said.
The four Captains sweatdropped. "They… do have a point." Captain Goomba said.
"Did we get all horrified for nothing?" Captain Shy Guy wondered. "Phew… okay, good. We're in good hands!"
"So, we good now?" Captain Boo asked.
"We're good." Captain Koopa nodded.
"Alright, BREAK!" Captain Goomba ordered.
"I wonder if they realize they're not very good at whispering." Sonia said with a giggle, causing the four to stiffen.
"We don't even have inside voices to begin with." Junior snarked.
"Hmm… a woman who has a thing for the occult, loves the horror genre, probably spends a lot of time watching horror movies…" Kamek mused. "I'll admit, we're in good hands!"
"Indeed." General Guy nodded. "Oh, look at that… we're coming up at the Monster Commun-… oh no…"
"What, what is it?" Marnie wondered as she peeked behind Sonia and let out a gasp. "Oh my gosh… we were only gone for like… a few hours!"
"Monsters? Sounds intriguing~!" Sonia said as they walked over to the Monster Community… or what was left of it anyway.
BGM: Where Is The Hope? (Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age)
Everyone walked into the community. "This is on the way to the castle, right?" Sonia asked.
"Yes. This was an old abandoned town but it was refurbished when the monsters from Erdrea declared loyalty to Lord Bowser. You remember seeing those creatures that were with Lady Marnie? They're monsters from Erdrea." Kamek explained.
"Oh wow… they looked all feisty!" Sonia said.
"Normally, humans aren't allowed here with some exceptions. Lady Marnie here was conscripted by Lord Bowser after she saved him from being abducted by the Shroobs." Captain Shy Guy said. "Though unlike most of the Koopa Troop, she's like the kindest and most motherly out of us all. I think she secretly enjoys being here."
Marnie blushed, looking away while rubbing her arm. "Um… well… I…"
"Aw, don't be bashful now. That's usually my job!" Captain Boo said.
"Ah… Lord Junior and friends… glad to see you are alright." A voice said as they saw Bookwyrm approaching them. "Normally, we don't accept other humans here aside from Lady Marnie, but… we are in a bit of a pickle right now, so feel free to come in."
"Bookwyrm. What happened here?" Marnie asked.
"It was awful. As soon as everyone left, we were attacked by this strange bean guy. We were unprepared for such an invasion. We had the proper preparations in case if the Crimson Fang made their way over but not something like this. Everything was destroyed in seconds… then to make matters worse, our monsters were brainwashed and serve under him. Serpentina and I managed to protect a few monsters… but now we've got a crisis on our hands."
"Oh my… that's awful." Sonia said.
Bookwyrm looked to Sonia. "Pardon me, miss… but why do you have Lord Junior on your shoulder?"
"I'm his ride." Sonia said with a cheerfully smug smile.
"I could've walked, ya know!"
Bookwyrm chuckled. "I see."
"Hmm… how many monsters did you rescue?" Kamek asked.
"Just a few Slimes, unfortunately."
"Then that should be enough. They're more than capable after all." Kamek said. "We ought to gather them up and find any monster loyal to this bean guy and knock some sense into them."
"They'll only slow us down." Junior mumbled.
"Perhaps you and this Serpentina can help us?" Sonia asked.
"Unfortunately, I'm getting on with age… fighting is not really my thing. Serpentina would rather keep an eye on everything."
"I am calculating a 30% chance that you will succeed in these fights." Tech said.
"If I was more spry, I'd prove you wrong… but I'm an old Professaurus…" Bookwyrm mumbled. "Someone has to keep an eye on the town anyway."
"Can you take us to where the Slimes are?" General Guy requested.
"Certainly." Bookwyrm nodded as he guided them to the Slimes, while Marnie walked over to her destroyed apartment. She let out a sigh as Umber walked over to her.
"Let me guess. Your home?"
"Second. My first home's at Galar." She responded. "To see it all gone the moment you leave… tragic, honestly." She said. "Of all the times for this to happen…"
"What's up?"
"Oh, just before I went on this adventure, I had just got the living room painted. I decided to head over to Bowser's Castle to check on everyone during the Blorb Crisis… and lo and behold, this place gets destroyed." She let out a chuckle. "Had I known my home would've been destroyed, I would've held off on painting it."
Umber let out a chuckle. "Yeah, that would be annoying. So… I have to ask. Why did you stay with the Koopa Troop anyway?"
End BGM
BGM: Scent of Silence (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)
"Don't tell anyone this… I only said this to Kamek, but… at first, I wanted to leave the moment the Shroob Crisis was over, but… Neo, that lovable mute of a best friend that I have, asked me to give it a chance. Well… I gave it a chance and despite me being loyal to my other friends because I refuse to fight them, I slowly grew to love it here. Nice change of pace, new scenery… what have you."
"Ah, so you became loyal to the Koopa Troop?"
"Yes." Marnie nodded as she sat down on the front porch. "I've grown to care about them all. I don't regret saving Bowser from the Shroobs… I just wasn't expecting to be thrown into an army. But… I grew to love them."
"Heh, I guess your kindness got the better of ya?"
Marnie chuckled. "I suppose so. Not that it's a bad thing." She said and looked up at the sky. "Tsundere… that's what Gloria called me the first time we met, but I'm not exactly cold to anyone. I'm friendly to pretty much anyone. If anyone's a tsundere, it's Weiss. Lovable moron…" She quietly said to herself.
"But you didn't want to admit that you care about the others, do you?"
"Not… exactly. I'm kinda afraid of what the others would think if I openly admit I care about these knuckleheads. Though, Bede does call me that but usually Bea or Hop knocks some sense into him. That said… I… deeply care about these guys. I worry about them seeing them hurt when some of them jump on a Goomba's head or a Koopa gets kicked around… or some Hammer Bros get pummeled by Nora…"
She let out a frustrated sigh, putting her hands over her face and her elbows on her knees. "I want to help out the Koopa Troop, but I don't want to face the wrath of everyone… and I don't want to leave the Koopa Troop either… I don't want to break Neo's heart. I made a commitment to stay here… aaaagh!"
"Oh, that's a problem."
"And to make matters even more insane, I'm starting to see some of the Koopalings as siblings… like Morton. Dude's a sweetheart! I know I already have a brother, but I wouldn't mind having a few more… but I'm not a Koopa so it's like… gaaaah!"
"Does… your brother know about you being in the Koopa Troop?"
"At first, he thought it was a joke… and then he confronted Bowser about the whole ordeal when I told him it wasn't… then what happens after that? Bowser offers him to be part of the Koopa Troop and offered him a heavy metal band. Right now, I think he's writing up a song with a few Chargin' Chucks and Sumo Bros…"
"So, you want to be loyal to your friends, but you also want to be loyal to the Koopa Troop. …What do you mean by "wrath"?"
"Like, you know… pissin' them off and getting the full brunt of their attacks. I know I can hold my own, but dear Arceus… I don't think I can compete with some of them, especially RWBY."
"Oooh, that makes sense. You want to help out, but you don't want to get destroyed by your friends."
"I especially don't have this "protective aura" that some of them have… so that's a double… no… triple whammy."
"You want to help out, but you don't want to face the wrath of anyone, but at the same time, if you leave the Koopa Troop, you break your friends' heart."
"And Neo is the most sweetest girl I know when she's not in battle! Uuuuugh! What do I even do… I love them. All of them. It's frustrating… what do I do?"
"Well… I think the only way is to… confess that you love the Koopa Troop and want to help them out, but also say that you love them and ask them to not go all out."
Marnie sighed. "Those are the exact words Kamek said to me. I haven't said this to anyone else in the Koopa Troop. I'm… not sure what to say. And I can't vent this to Neo because she's nowhere to be found, and I'm pretty sure if I try to go to vent this to Luigi… I'm pretty sure that he's long gone on trying to figure out this Blorb pandemic with the others, so trying to find him is hopeless."
"Well, it's not healthy to bottle it up… so I say the sooner you confess to the Koopa Troop that you deeply care about them and you're one of them, the better. You only get one chance… so you oughta make the most of it."
"Yeah… you're right. I'm just not sure when I'll get the chance though…"
"Hey you two!" General Guy waved over. "We're setting out! We got the Slimes all ready to go!"
"Coming!" Marnie said as she stood up. "Thanks for hearing me out."
"No problem." Umber chuckled.
End BGM
"Goo is this woman and why is she carrying Lord Junior around?" A Slime wondered.
"It's kinda funny…"
"It's not funny!" Junior protested. "Gaaaah!" He yelled. "Let me go!"
"Nope. We still got a ways to go~!" Sonia said as they walked off.
A little bit later…
"And we are arriving at the castle mo… men… tar… ily… WHAT THE HECK?!" Kamek yelled. "What happened to the castle?! It's not there anymore!"
"Wha? Let me see! I wanna see!" Junior exclaimed. "Put me down! PUT ME DOWN!"
"You know, there's a nicer way to say it." Sonia said.
"Like what… "Put me down and I won't roast your hair?"
"Nope."
"Put me down and I won't claw the back of your neck?"
"Nope~!"
"…Ugh, then what is it? It can't be just "Please put me down" or anythi-" Sonia smiled and then put Junior down on the ground. "…Wait, what."
"There we go!" Sonia smiled
"…Excuse me, what."
"I was wonderin' when he'd say please." Marnie chuckled.
"Excuse me, what?"
"So… by the looks of it…" Sonia looked up ahead. "It looks like your castle has been uprooted. One question… how?"
"Well… I do have this one idea." Captain Goomba said. "Someone probably got a bunch of balloons and then released them all at once to uproot the castle and then took it to some tropical paradise."
"I think that only happens to small houses." Captain Shy Guy pointed out.
"Oh, I hope everyone is okay…"
"EVERYONE IS OKAY. MORTON IS SURE OF IT."
"Yeah… if anything, it could just be invisible." Captain Koopa said.
"How do you explain the crater?" Captain Boo asked.
"Uh… visual effects? CGI? I dunno."
"How do you CGI a crater?" Umber asked.
"Why don't you ask the bigwigs who thought CGI-ing a lion was a good idea. I wouldn't put it past them if they CGI'd a crater for no good reason." Captain Koopa snarkily said.
"They would do that." Marnie agreed.
"I dunno… it looks real to me." General Guy said, taking a closer look from a telescope. "Uh-huh… just as I thought." He said, handing it to Captain Koopa.
"Oh… awkward… well, I'm glad I was wrong!"
"If that really was CGI, there'd be some sort of projector nearby causing it." Sonia said.
"Bah… we're wasting time." Junior said as he walked off.
"And where are you going?" Kamek asked.
"Get the Ever Ice. You said it was in the basement when we were getting closer, correct? Then why don't we go ahead and get it? I highly doubt the basement would have been uprooted."
"He's got a point. I doubt the foundation would go with the castle." Umber pointed out.
"Exactly! Now you guys can gawk at where the castle used to be at. I'm gonna go and get me some Ever Ice!" He said and took off running… but then came back a few seconds later. "Say uh… where exactly is the basement anyway?" He asked, causing everyone to anime fall.
"Right this way, Lord Junior." Kamek said as he took the lead.
BGM: Stolen Koopa Castle (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story plus Bowser Jr's Journey)
"The basement is right at this path." Kamek said as they walked through the path, but as they did, they were greeted by a few Goombas.
"Goombas?" Umber wondered.
"Hello! Welcome to Fawful Theater! Please take your seats and wait until it comes back!"
"Please!"
"Huh?" Marnie wondered.
"Fawful Theater?" Sonia tilted her head.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT, FAWFUL?!" Captain Goomba yelled. "You mean to tell me that dude uprooted the castle just like that?!"
"So that's his revenge… uprooting the castle after he got beat up by all of y'all in the Beanbean Kingdom…" Captain Boo said.
"I… admittedly forgot he even existed." Marnie said. "I honestly think he got overshadowed by that Cackletta lady."
"Well, when you give Bowser boobs, then it would be quite overshadowing." General Guy agreed. "That said… WHAT IS FAWFUL DOING TO OUR CASTLE?!"
"Castle? It's a theater! Please take your seats when it comes back from Dimble Wood."
"Please!"
"What's a Fawful?" Junior wondered.
"When Lord Bowser wanted to do some renovating… I doubt this is what he had in mind." Kamek muttered.
"The show will begin momentarily. So please take your seats and Lord Fawful will begin his show."
"Momentarily!"
"They must be brainwashed… again." Kamek said.
"Alright, do I have to knock your heads around for a second time! Let me at 'em!" Captain Goomba exclaimed.
"Let's ignore them… it's not worth it." Marnie said, picking up Captain Goomba as Kamek decided to take a detour.
"YOU PUNKS GOT LUCKY! YOU HEAR ME?! IF IT WASN'T FOR LADY MARNIE HOLDING ME BACK, YOU'LL BE FACING A NASTY HEADBONK FROM YOURS TRULY! THEN YOU'LL BE SORRY THAT YOU GOT BRAINWASHED AGAIN!"
"Yeesh… and I thought Lord Bowser was passionate." Captain Shy Guy said as they walked off.
One calmed down Captain Goomba later…
"Lucky punks…" Captain Goomba muttered.
"Glad to see that you've calmed down." Marnie smiled, patting him on the head as they continued on, where they saw several Choombas walking around.
"What in the world are these?" Umber asked.
"Choombas, by the looks of it." Kamek said. "Last I heard, Bowser scrapped the Choomba project because he didn't think it'd work out against the Mario Bros and RWBY." He said.
"Hmm, a shame… it sounds like it would have been a nice idea." Marnie said. "If I had to guess, Fawful probably finalized the Choombas." She said as some of them turned around and charged at them. "…Aaaand brainwashed them."
"I got it!" Sonia said, pulling out a rocket launcher and quickly shooting them down, but one Choomba made its way past and slammed right into the Novoselic Princess, but she held strong by pushing it back, then she picked it up with surprisingly little effort and threw it into the lava.
"Whatever this deity did to you in the Fog… it's definitely impressive." Captain Shy Guy said.
"Whoa…" Junior said in awe as they pressed on until Kamek made their way into the Cold Storage.
End BGM
"Here we are, the Cold Storage." Kamek said. "It only opens automatically to you and your father. To the rest of us, you have to put in a code, hence the pedestals."
"What's the code?" Marnie asked.
"Square Square Circle Triangle Triangle Trangle." Kamek explained, unaware of Umber sneaking away as he pulled out a note.
"Square Square… circle… got it…" Umber said, placing a sticky note on the middle pedestal. I've a feeling our friends will come by later. Call it a hunch. He thought.
"So I just have to walk up to this door?" Junior asked.
"Yes." Kamek nodded as Junior walked over to the door where it automatically opened.
"Woo! Ever Ice, here I come!" Junior said as he rushed in with the others behind him.
"So this is the Cold Storage…" Marnie mused. "Well, now we know where to store ice cream. I know Neo'd be thrilled."
"Ta-daaaaaah! Ever Ice!" Junior grinned. "Oooh, it looks so good… I wanna eat it!"
Kamek sweatdropped. "Master Junior, do you not remember what we came here for? Besides, it wasn't easy to get this. We need this for the cure. It'd be next to impossible to find another chunk of Ever Ice."
"Well, why not just put a duplication spell on it and you'd have loads of it?" Umber pointed out. "I mean, that's what I'd do. It would save a trip or two."
"Mmmph!" Kamek stiffened.
"You did not think of that, did you?" General Guy deadpanned.
"I… um…" Kamek started sweating.
"You call yourself the smartest Magikoopa in the Koopa Troop, yet you didn't think that one through?" Marnie folded her arms.
"KAMEK IS SLIPPING." Morton said.
"Wow, Kamek… that's disappointing." Captain Shy Guy said.
"Perhaps he didn't think about it?" Sonia guessed.
"Ah! Yes! That's it! I didn't think about it!" Kamek said. "Aheheheh… Junior, mind if I borrow that for a moment?" He asked as he took the Ever Ice. "Duplicara Raga!" He chanted, as about a hundred chunks of Ever Ice appeared.
"Oooooh!" Junior's eyes sparkled.
"Now we only need one." Kamek said.
"Great. So… now what?" Captain Goomba wondered.
"Well, for starters, I say we-"
Suddenly, Grumpy Grublins appeared behind them, and were joined by Calasmonauts, Dark Gryphons, Malicious Goombas, Koopas, Shy Guys, Boos, Moblins, Buzz Bombers, Beowolves, Ravagers and even Malicious Shadows and Soldiers popped up.
"-Have ourselves a fight. Typical." Kamek said.
"What the devil are those two?" General Guy asked, referring to the Shadows and Soldiers. "I've never seen those types of creatures before."
"They are called… Heartless." A voice said as Damian landed near them.
"It's him! The guy that nearly killed Lady Marnie!" Captain Boo exclaimed. "Dumbian or whatever his name is."
"Tight formation!" Captain Goomba said as the four captains got in formation in front of Marnie. "You have to get past us if you want to take her on!"
"Guys…" Marnie whispered, forming a small smile on their bravery. She immediately pulled out her Orichalcum Claws before they burst into flames. She then blew into a whistle as her Punk Squad came running in.
"How cute… you think you can protect a mere human."
"What do you want?" Sonia demanded. "Can't you see we're trying to do something here?"
"I want to pave the way for Calasmos' grand entrance to this world… and I will do whatever it takes. You have proven yourselves last time… most of you." He said, looking at Junior as he let out a growl. "That said, if I get rid of the strongest one here, then your morale will take a dip."
Sonia pulled out a submachine gun. "Not gonna happen." She said as everyone got ready to fight.
"Hmph. Amusing." Damian smirked and then disappeared.
"Where'd he go?" Umber asked.
"GAH!" Marnie yelled, as she was kicked out of the Cold Storage. Damian had appeared right behind her and kicked her out.
"Marnie!" Sonia and Umber exclaimed.
"Dispose of the rest. This one is mine." Damian ordered as he approached the punk girl, as she quickly got up and shook it off.
"So… taking pot shots now, huh? Alright… you asked for it!" Marnie said.
BGM: Remnant of Twilight (Hyrule Warriors)
The Bittercold Demon - Damian
"I see you as the bigger threat out of them all… and you must be destroyed."
"Oh, how flattering." Marnie rolled her eyes as she rushed over at Damian and then slashed him, but he swiftly blocked the attack with his sword and countered, knocking her back as his sword burst into flames and then used Inferno Slash on her, but she rolled out of the way and countered by Fire Punching him in the side to knock him back.
Damian smirked, snapping his fingers as he used Swoosh below her, sending her flying into the air as he jumped up to try to slash her down, but she used Farore's Wind to teleport above him as she flipped over, her heel bursting into flames and Flame Kicked him to the ground.
Marnie immediately backflipped and then clapped her hands together before unleashing a stream of fire. Damian would twirl his sword around and deflected the flames as he jumped back and used a point blank Frizzle at her, knocking on her back as he then rushed over and jumped up to try and stab her in the gut, but she teleported away and then appeared nearby where she pulled out her Lightning Rod and then quickly shot out lightning bolts at him.
Damian would quickly throw another Swoosh at her, but she rolled out of the way and rushed at him, quickly slashing at him with her claws and then delivering a roundhouse kick shortly after. Damian would then kick her back and swung his sword, forcing her to bend herself backwards, the blades narrowly missing her eyes as they widened in surprise before she backflipped, then she snapped her fingers as a diamond-like shield surrounded her body.
Thank Arceus for Nayru's Love. She thought, as Damian rushed forward and stabbed the shield, the blade cracking it and some of the blade actually going through the shield. She let out a gasp and then smirked, as she snapped her fingers again as the shield exploded into crystals and some of them impaled him.
Damian smirked, quickly disappearing from her eyes as she let out a gasp and turned around, quickly throwing a fireball, but he wasn't behind her. Damian fell above her, readying his sword to try to impale her as she looked up and gasped, quickly rolling out of the way as the sword stabbed the ground instead. Marnie's claws burst into flame and slashed him, but he elbowed her in the diaphragm to counter.
"Nnngh!" She grunted, as Damian then punched her in the gut to make her hunch over as he then let out an uppercut to knock her into the air as he then pulled out his sword and then jumped over as she quickly recovered and then conjured up a fire shield to block his attack, but the sheer force was enough to knock her down and landed near the edge of the path.
Damian smirked, planting his foot on her chest. "I wonder what would happen if you met an untimely end in this lava?"
Marnie let out a pained chuckle. "You… you actually think I'll die here? Don't… make me laugh!" She said as Damian then got off of her and then kicked her off the path right when Umber and Sonia made a path to get to Marnie, where they saw him kicking the girl into the lava.
"MARNIE!" Both yelled as they watched her take a dip in the lava. Both of them looked on in horror as Umber fell on his knee.
"Hmmhmmhmm… the girl is no more." Damian said.
"You… you…" Sonia trembled with rage. "YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAARD!" She screamed, quickly shooting at him with tears forming in her eyes. He immediately blocked with his sword and let out a smirk.
"Amusing. You think your rage will bring her back." He smirked as Sonia switched to her rapier and quickly rushed to him and stabbed him a few times and pushed him back. "It will not."
Immediately, a lava plume rose out of the lava as the three of them turned to see it… and then when the lava dissipated, Marnie was floating where the lava plume rose. "What?!" Damian said in shock.
"You actually thought I'd die in lava. How amusing." Marnie smirked, flying directly toward the stunned Damian as she delivered a hard fiery punch to his gut and then hit him with a fiery uppercut that knocked him off his feet, landing on his back as she then planted her foot on his chest.
"Mmph… you are filled with surprises… but know this, next time you will not be so lucky." He said and then disappeared.
End BGM
"Marnie!" Umber smiled. "I'm so glad you're okay!" He said, rushing over to hug her.
"Wait, careful! I-"
Hissssss
"OW!" Umber jumped back.
"I just took a lava bath, what did you think would happen?" Marnie sweatdropped.
"But… how?" Sonia wondered. "You-"
"You can thank Kamek for that. When I saw Neo and Roman taking a dip in the lava, I was curious how it was… so Kamek put a permanent spell on me where I'm immune to lava. Which is nice, because soaking in the lava actually feels nice."
"…How does it feel?" Umber wondered.
"Think of it like being in a hot tub… but a more extreme hot tub, and without the jets unless you find a spot where lava plumes rise out of the ground, but other than that… it's pretty much that."
"Oh dang…"
Sonia wiped her tears. "That's quite impressive." She said, wrapping Marnie into a hug.
"Careful!" Marnie said in a mild panic.
"Ah, you cooled off a bit." Sonia giggled.
"This Damian guy is getting crazier… now he's bringing these unknown creatures called the Heartless… and I don't know what they are!" General Guy said as they approached them.
"I am calculating a 100% chance of an explanation. I do not know who, but perhaps someone might know what a Heartless is." Tech said as Marnie's Bongo Bango pounded on his drum, where Marnie felt herself getting healed up.
"Thanks, big guy." She said with a smile as the Bongo Bango nodded back with a smile as well, then she knelt down and hugged the four captains.
"Oh! What's all this?" Captain Koopa asked.
"Thank you… for trying to protect me from that loser."
"Aww, you're welcome! Least we can do for our favorite punk!" Captain Shy Guy said, causing Marnie to blush a bit, then Marnie felt a giant hug from Morton.
"MORTON GLAD MARNIE OKAY."
"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere, big guy." She said, patting him on the head.
"Soooo… now what do we do?" Junior asked. "We got all the ingredients we need."
"Well… I actually do happen to have a friend over at Blubble Lake. She'll know what to do over this." Kamek said.
"Blubble Lake? Time's-a-wastin'!" Junior said, taking off running. "Don't slow me down!"
"Hey, wait up!" Marnie said as they all chased after him, leaving Kamek behind.
"We're down to one Koopaling… and Lord Junior is still as hardheaded as ever. Sure, we have a few capable people here, but… if Junior doesn't get out of this dangerous mindset soon, we'll all be wiped out." He said. "I think it's time to show what makes me second in command." He said as he walked off, but then turned around. "Ooops, I ought to close this real quick." He said and started to close it, but then spotted something that caught his attention.
"That's odd… when did Lord Bowser get a statue of Sephiroth… and why did he place it in the Cold Storage? …Eh, I'll ask him later." He said and then shut the door.
Meanwhile, with Bowser and Co…
"So, let me get this straight." Sora said. "You two ladies are technically Blades and you're all buddy buddy with this Rex guy?"
"Pretty much, yes." Pyra nodded.
"And… where's Rex now?"
"The moment this Blorb crisis became a problem, we asked Rex to stay in Alrest while we handled the situation." Mythra explained. "He was honestly more than happy to give this Team CFVY a tour of Alrest."
"Team… Coffee?" Sora tilted his head, picturing Rex giving four cups of coffee the grand tour of Alrest. "Uh… Mocha, Latte, Black and… Iced?"
"CFVY as in C-F-V-Y." Terry explained.
"Huh?" Sora wondered. "Is that how you spell coffee in this world?"
"No, it's a team." Bowser said. "C stands for Coco, F stands for Fox, V stands for Velvet and Y stands for Yatsu… something something."
"Ooooh… so why are we calling them coffee?"
"I dunno! It's a thing they do at Beacon or something." Bowser shrugged.
"This is one strange world we're visiting." Sora said, rubbing the back of his head with Donald and Goofy nodding.
"Eh, you get used to it." Aoi said.
"I see something up ahead." Kyoko spoke up. "It looks to be some kind of town, or what's left of it."
Bowser looked on ahead. "What the?! I was gone for a few hours and the whole town is up and destroyed!" He exclaimed as he rushed over to the community with the others behind him
BGM: Where is the Hope?
"Hmm?" Bookwyrm looked up. "Ah, Lord Bowser. It is good to see you." He said and then saw the others. "Normally we do not allow humans here, but… considering our community has been destroyed, feel free to look around…"
"What happened here?" Kyoko asked.
"We were overrun by this bean guy… they captured our monsters and are more than likely brainwashing them."
"Fawful…" Bowser growled. "So he set his sights on this place too… that lousy good for nothing…"
"You weren't the first ones here." Bookwyrm spoke up. "Your son was here earlier."
"How long were they here?"
"Possibly… an hour and a half ago?"
"Bah! Just missed them…" Bowser said and then chuckled. "Tell me, is he doing alright?"
"By the looks of it, yes… though he was getting a piggy back ride from a girl."
"A girl?" Bowser raised an eyebrow. "You mean Marnie?"
"No, it wasn't Lady Marnie. She was blonde, and no, it was not Yang nor Bowsette if you were wondering."
"Huh… he must've recruited someone for his cause." Bowser mused and then chuckled. "That's my boy! Conscripting people into the army just like his old man!" He said proudly.
"Just out of curiosity… who was this blonde woman anyway?" Aoi wondered.
"I didn't get her name… but she did have military garbs on her."
Aoi let out a small gasp. "That's Sonia Nevermind! She's here?"
"She was here. Last I've seen her, they went to the castle for something about… Ever Ice. I'm highly sure they're long gone."
Aoi slumped. "Oh…"
Kyoko patted her on the back. "If she's with his son, then I'm pretty sure he's in good hands. I trust that she knows what she's doing."
"Good point." Aoi smiled.
"Well, if this Sonia gal is military, then I'm sure Junior is alright." Mythra said.
"Yeah, he sounds like he's in good hands." Pyra agreed.
"Well of course he is! He's my son, after all. He takes after yours truly!" Bowser said proudly.
"That's great to hear!" Goofy grinned.
"Now then… to the castle!" Bowser exclaimed as they took off running.
Once at Bowser Path…
BGM: Stolen Koopa Castle
"Do you hear something?" Donald asked. "I hear… grunting."
"Yeah, I hear it too." Sora said.
"It's coming from over there." Terry said, turning his head to see several Shy Guys locked in a cage.
"I got it!" Mythra said, rushing over and slashing through the cage, destroying it easily.
"Wahoo! We're saved!" A Shy Guy exclaimed.
"Freedooooom!" Another exclaimed.
"Shy Guy Squad reporting in, sire!" A Shy Guy saluted. "We'll be with ya every step of the way!" He said as they went inside his wand after Bowser pointed it at them.
"Another squad down." Bowser chuckled as they started to walk ahead where they would see a few Chain Chawfuls hopping around. "Gah! Fawful got my Chomps!"
"Hmm… what if you got rid of those things on their heads?" Kyoko wondered. "They seem to be controlling them."
Bowser smirked. "Well, in that case…" He proceeded to inhale the Fawful-lized Sworms and sucked them in, immediately chomping down on them. "Mmm! Not bad… tastes like chicken." He said as the Chain Chomps started barking happily and hopped over to Bowser in gratitude, but one in particular hopped his way over to Sora.
"Wah! Whoa! Heel!" Sora exclaimed as the Chain Chomp bounced around him happily and licked his face.
"I think he wants to come with us." Goofy said.
"You want to come with?" Sora asked as the Chain Chomp bounced happily. "Oh, the more the merrier, right?" He chuckled, patting the Chain Chomp on the head… when it suddenly started glowing and disappeared... and in its place was a Heartbinder "Oh!"
"A Heartbinder!" Donald exclaimed as Sora picked it up.
"Guess I got a ball and chain for a summon… with teeth." Sora chuckled, putting it away as they walked off.
"Gawrsh, I have to say… this lava is intense" Goofy said.
"Yeah… who knew Bowser owned a lava lake?" Sora said while walking.
"I guess it's to fortify his defenses. Forget a moat, he has a lake!" Donald said.
"But why lava specifically…" Sora wondered, looking at the lava below him and rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmm…" He then glanced at Bowser and then back down at the lava lake before shrugging it off.
"Goodness gracious… you had to pick the hottest place in the kingdom?" Aoi rubbed her forehead.
"You get used to it." Bowser chuckled as they saw Bowser's Castle up ahead, but saw it being completely repaired. "Bah! They already repaired it so quickly!" He said as he walked over to it.
Inside the castle…
"Lord Midbus! Bowser and co are here!" A Goomba said.
"Finally. This time, I'll crush that Koopa with everything we have. Commence procedures!"
"On it!"
Outside…
The castle lifted itself off the ground, its thrusters making it fly up. "Gah! Do I have to get giant again!" Bowser said.
"Okay… how are we gonna get in there?" Mythra asked.
"Mmm… this way! Maybe we'll find a way to knock the castle down!" Bowser said.
"Let's hope it's not anything too destructive." Kyoko hoped as they made their way to the end of the path.
"Good! Fire the cannon!" Midbus ordered as the top of the castle shrunk inside as a cannon rose up and shot off a cannonball.
"We should move. NOW!" Terry yelled as they quickly dove for cover but Bowser raised his arms up and caught the cannonball, but it was slowly crushing him.
"Hrrrrrgh! This… all you… got!" Bowser yelled, struggling to lift it up. "HRRRRAAAAAH!"
End BGM
Inside Bowser…
"Bowser! What are you doing?" Starlow asked.
"Working out… with a cannonball! Nnngh! WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE!"
"Good enough for me!" Starlow said as she flew down where the Mario Bros were chatting and Nora was playing with her Thunder Hand. "You three! We need to give Bowser some juice!"
Nora grinned. "On it~!" She said as she took off running with the Bros right behind her.
Outside…
"Bowser… why would you-" Kyoko wondered.
"Because…. Hrrrgh! I'm not going to let my teammates get crushed… by this measly cannonball!" He grunted. "I'd rather see you boneheads live… and not get crushed by defeat!"
"One juicing coming right up!" Starlow called out.
He's a bad guy… but… he's not really a bad guy… Kyoko thought, watching on in amazement.
"Come on, Bowser! Work those muscles!" Aoi cheered.
"You got this!" Sora cheered.
"Come on, big guy!" Terry said as everyone was cheering for him, then they watched him slowly starting to lift the cannonball.
BGM: Determination (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity)
"Hrrrgh…. RAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Lord Midbus! We got trouble! The cannonball is moving!" A Goomba exclaimed.
"What!"
"You… you think you can crush me… with this pathetic cannonball!" Bowser smirked, his joints shining when the Bros and Nora were powering him up. "Ga… hahahaha! You think you can crush ME? Don't make me laugh! This puny sized cannonball will not crush me today… for I will crush YOU with this cannonball!"
"Lord Midbus, he's getting stronger!"
"Impossible!"
"There's no crushing me…" Bowser smirked. "FOR I!" He started to stand up straight. "AM!" He started to straighten his arms. "THE!"
"LORD MIDBUS, HE'S HOLDING IT MENACINGLY!"
"FIRE ANOTHER CANNONBALL!"
"We're loading it as fast as we can sire, but…!"
"KING!"
He pulled his arms back.
"OF!"
He flashed a toothy smirk.
"WE'RE SCREWED!" The Goomba yelled.
"AWESOOOOOME!" He yelled, throwing it as hard as possible, sending it back to his own castle and letting out a victorious roar as the cannonball slammed into Bowser's Castle, causing multiple explosions as everyone cheered as Kyoko stood there in awe before finding herself clapping for the Koopa King as Bowser's Castle came crashing down onto its original spot.
"AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!" Bowser yelled as he let out another victorious roar.
End BGM
"That… was awesome…" Kyoko breathed.
"It sure was! Though uh… he kiiiiinda went overboard." Aoi sweatdropped, looking at the remains of the castle.
"Considering the threat we were facing, I think it was perfectly justified. Wouldn't you agree?" She asked the others as the guys and the blades agreed with a nod.
Bowser let out a low growl. "Fawful… he made me do what I had to do to my own castle… against my minions." He clenched his fists tightly. "He'll pay for this…" He turned around and faced the others. "Let's go. We got a bean to pummel." He said as he walked off with his crew right behind him.
Squish Bowser once, shame on him. Try to squish Bowser twice... with a cannonball? He'll just throw it back at ya.