An: I do apologize for last chapter being so short. I've been under a lot of stress with preparing to move and working extra hours in order to have enough money to do so. This chapter will be extra long just to make up for it!
EAGLELANDPaula paced the stainless steel lab in anger. As Jeff and his father worked on the teleporter, Poo meditated, his sword in his lap. He had recently learned that this was , in fact, the kingdom sword that everyone talked about in the books about the sealing of the crystal people.
So naturally, he kept it on him at all times.
Tracey was on her cellphone, directing her courier service. This was the first time she'd been physically away from her business, so she was understandably nervous. As such, she had been talking with her workers for the last hour and a half.
As a spark burst from Paula's fingertips, Jeff threw down his wrench in irritation.
As he turned to Paula, his voice was sharp.
"Go outside."
"Why?" Paula sounded equally irritated.
"This lab is ninety percent stainless steel. You're going to electrocute everyone.''
Paula stormed out in anger. Tracey finally hung up her phone.
"I wish I could help more.'' She frowned.
Jeff shook his head.
"Tracey, you funded this entire project. Plus you're starting to show some Psi potential. You've already been an enormous help to us. Don't beat yourself up." He affectionately ruffled her hair.
"How much longer?" Tracey asked finally.
"At least another hour, if it behaves. If it keeps acting up, then five." Jeff stopped to take a sip from his fifth coffee. Jeff looked exhausted.
Poo clapped his hand onto Jeff's shoulder. The sword was in its sheath, having been carefully placed on Tracey's lap.
"Friend, you require rest.'' He stated. ''You have not slept in two days."
As Jeff protested, Poo lifted him bodily from the floor and dragged him towards the sleeping quarters on the second floor.
Tracey headed outside with the sword to check up on Paula.
Paula had burned a path through the snow, which she was now currently pacing through.
"Paula?'' Tracey called out, shivering from the cold. It was snowing rather hard, as it usually did in Winters. Tracey was clad in a Tshirt and jeans, which did nothing to protect her against the biting cold.
The older girl paused.
"What?" She snapped.
"I'm sure mister Jeff didn't mean to be so rude." She took hold of one of Paula's hands.
"Come with me. Jeff's gone to bed, so he won't bother you, I'm sure."
Paula allowed herself to be lead back inside. They were met by Poo, who regarded the two with concern. As he took back the sword, Tracey spoke.
"I didn't want to leave it on the floor. I'm sorry. You told me it was an important sword."
As the three sat in armchairs on the second floor, Poo set the sword on the arm of his chair. The chairs were made of a soft material, making the whole act of sitting on them very enjoyable.
"Why did he do it, Poo?" Paula's voice was soft. "Why would he leave without telling us?"
Poo glanced at her.
"I think, perhaps, he didn't want us to get hurt. I've done my research on this crystal kingdom. They're… well.. they're not nice."
Paula shivered.
"We need to hurry then. Who knows what they might do to him."
Raven
"Wake her!" A childish voice demanded.
"I'm not going to wake her. She's just had a lot of surgery." An older voice said sternly.
"BJ,don't wake her." Growled a gruff voice.
As Raven's eyes fluttered open, they squinted against the bright light.
"Nnngh." Her metal arm went over her eyes. "Bright."
Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. She felt as though she'd been drugged.
As the memories came back in a rushing wave, Raven sat straight up.
"Is Bowser Junior ok? I saw him faint." She muttered.
There was a sigh of relief.
"He's right here mom." Morton Jr's voice came from somewhere above her.
Something hugged her very hard around her middle, having jumped onto the bed she was in.
In that moment, for the first time in two years, she felt some semblance of home.
"B.J.'' Her arms wound around him tight. "I missed you so much."
He silently buried his face in her shoulder.
Raven took in her surroundings. She appeared to be in a lab of some kind. However, it appeared to have fallen into disrepair. The stones that made up the walls and ceiling were crumbling. Even as she looked up, a bit of powered stone fell into her face, causing her to have a coughing fit for several moments.
Morton Sr chuckled.
"Well isn't this cute?"
Raven turned towards his voice.
"What exactly did you do?" She demanded. "Don't leave anything out."
Morton Sr pulled a clipboard off the table next to him.
"Let's see…. Skin grafts for your face and other parts that the fish ate. Infused with magic so you don't have to worry about them tearing. Had to do a couple of organ transplants, that one was my own fault. Completely replaced the arm, but you were awake for that. And your wings."
Raven felt cold. Her back felt unusually light.
"I can't feel them." She protested. ''What did you do?"
"They're made of Enchanted Septanium. One of the hardest, lightest metals in all the seven kingdoms. We enchanted them so you no longer needed the harness.''
Shooting pain shot through her back.
"See? Theyre controlled by your thoughts. If you want them out, they'll come out, and vice versa."
Raven glanced at her new wings, awestruck.
They appeared to behave like her normal wings. They almost looked like them too, right down to the metallic feathers.
She glanced back at Morton Sr.
"We need to act quickly if we want to save the kingdoms.'' Her voice was a bit stronger now that she was fully coherent.
"No more hiding. No more stalling."
Morton Jr nodded.
"Time to go to war. I made you some armor."
Raven's eyes twinkled.
"Is this one of those Gauntlets I've heard so much about?"
Morton was famous for his enchanted armors. He could enchant the metal to retract into the gauntlet for easy access. Even in Hyrule, his armor was in high demand.
"Of course. Think of it as an early birthday present. But before we go anywhere, Grandfather got some dye for your hair. Back to black instead of the blue you're sporting. No offense mom, but blue is NOT your color."
Raven chuckled weakly.
"Yeah. Can't have me going to the War council meeting in blue. Has it started yet?"
Morton sr. shook his head.
"An hour. More than enough time for you to make yourself presentable."
Raven got to her feet, moving her son aside.
"Time to get to work then."
Morton jr. supported her into the nearby bathroom.
"Mother, if you're not feeling up to it, you know we could just set up a video feed, yes?" He looked a bit worried. Raven was not looking all too steady on her feet right now.
Raven shook her head as she took the box from the counter.
"Can't do that." Her voice was soft. "I hurt your father enough. He deserves my explanation in person, and not through a camera."
"You're still wearing the spiked choker he gave you."
Her hand grazed across one of the spikes. They were just as sharp as the day Bowser had given it to her.
"Always. I love him so much. These two years were torture for me." Raven's eyes filled with tears.
Morton jr silently held her as she began to sob. Two years worth of pain and loneliness was finally catching up with her.
"…It's not healthy to keep all this bottled up, mom." He patted her back gently.
Bowser Jr joined the hug, hugging Raven from the other side.
"Mom, everything's gonna be fine." B.J. said softly. "Papa's going to be so happy to see you!"
Raven wiped her eyes. She just knew they were red rimmed and puffy looking.
"If he's not completely furious with me for not telling him, it will be a bloody miracle."
As Raven dyed her hair, Bowser Junior turned to Morton Junior.
"…Can you do something for me?"
Morton Jr looked a little surprised.
"Of course."
Bowser Jr. paused.
"Can you teach me how to forge? I wanna make something for mama."
Morton jrs. Eyes gleamed.
"Of course. Come with me."
THE WAR COUNCIL
The large room had been built by Bowser's grandfather personally. This had been back when the seven kingdoms were in a state of perpetual war. It had been built large enough to comfortably accommodate several dozen full grown Koopas.
Right now, it was housing the entire Koopa royal family, minus Morton jr, Morton sr., and Bowser Jr. It was also housing representatives from the six kingdoms. Video Conferencing had been set up for the ones who couldn't make it, like Zelda.
Bowser was at the front of the room, beside Toadsworth. Toadsworth was looking worse for the wear. He had cuts all over his body, as though someone had attacked him.
A digitized map of the seven kingdoms was in front of them.
Toadsworth was the first to speak.
"We have confirmation that Queen Ariyana is still in Sarasaland. Whether she's in cahoots with the Crystal Kingdom, or if she's just hiding, we don't know yet. But that will be our first target."
He paused to adjust the map a little.
"From what we understand, His Grace King Tyrion possibly is being held here as well against his will. Syrio had a tracker implanted in the King's Pacemaker , which he needed because of Heart problems. The tracker is showing up in Sarasaland."
Bowser took over.
"We need someone who has an extensive knowledge of Sarasaland's Castle to infiltrate the capital. Now I'm not joking when I say this is a very dangerous mission. Failure could end with burial in the sky."
The door was pushed open.
As Morton Sr entered the room, he called out.
"Bowser, I think I might have just the lady you need to lead this mission. She has extensive knowledge of the castle and the surrounding area. She's a skilled warrior who is just itching to get back in the fray of things."
Syrio raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, so she's up and about is she?"
Morton nodded.
"Of course. I'm very good at what I do ,Syrio. I promised I'd fix her and I did."
As all eyes were now on the former king, Bowser scoffed.
"Who would that be?"
He stepped aside.
As he did so, a girl with short black hair pushed her way in. She was flanked by Morton Jr and Bowser Jr.
The choker gleamed from her throat.
"I do believe you've already met Raven?"
Raven grinned cheekily at the room.
"Looks like you all started the party without me Eh? Toadsworth, good to see you made it out. And Bowser. It's been a while, how have you been?"
Then the room exploded into chaos.