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CHRONICLES OF THE STARS 1: SCATTERED MEMORIES
(A/N: Since I'm in the process of going back over all my old stories and revising them so they flow better and are, in general, of better quality, I have decided to revisit my Mario series and give it a much needed facelift. In fact, I'm completely rebooting it. I hope you all enjoy my new and hopefully improved Chronicles of the Stars series. Feedback is much appreciated.)
Incantation
The Comet Observatory hovered high in the night sky, shadowing the Earth. From the pavilion its queen watched over the planet far below. It had been her home, once upon a time. She used to grow so homesick thinking of it. Over the centuries that homesickness had waned, but since she had come back it had returned in full force. Now she couldn't bring herself to leave again. At least not yet. She knew that once she did there would be no returning for another century, and she had made the mistake of developing too many close ties here, now, to want to face the reality that she would never see them again after she went. She had left a family behind once before. Doing so had broken her heart. She did not want to leave another, duty be damned.
Her lumas floated about the observatory as carefree as birds. She had missed the birds. She had missed many things she had forgotten she craved; casual conversation, a human touch, mortal understanding... The lumas, of course, did not make for poor conversation, no nothing like that, but it was not the same as speaking to another human. Her children did not experience things the same way, they did not understand the intricacies and tricky nuances of humanity, and by nature the vast majority were childish, so adult conversation was something she could only mimic with Polari and Lubba. Why those two were so different from the rest she did not know. The mystery, she sensed, was better left unsolved. Not because she did not want to know, of course - she could discover it if she so chose to - but because she sensed the mystery was in place to start with for her own protection. For that reason she would leave it be. Not every mystery of the universe needed to be unraveled, nor did she crave such knowledge. She had come close enough to achieving such as was, over the centuries. In truth she did not care if she ceased to know any more. Such knowledge was a curse as much as it was a gift.
An invitation dangled between two fingers. She lifted it up to examine it. The Mushroom Kingdom always had so much going on. Peach was infamous for her sports tournaments, grand and unique parties, and kart tournaments. Each one was more wild and outlandish than the last, and it was worth it each time to attend. She regretted accepting the first invitation to one such event now...
It had been a kart race that was to occur shortly before she had initially been scheduled to leave for good. Peach had invited her as a final thank you. There was to be a goodbye party afterwards. Not one of the large and elaborate ones, no, just a casual gathering between a few friends. Peach had suggested she come early. The princess had wished to introduce her to a friend of hers, Daisy. Rosalina had agreed and gone down, and that had been her greatest mistake.
SMB
The moment her feet had touched the earth, she had felt bonded to that place. Each time she had returned to nap in her favorite nook she had felt as much of course, but this time was different. This time all the homesickness she had thought long dissipated returned in a crushing wave that brought her to silent tears. She had taken some time to compose herself before at last going to meet up with Peach and Peach's friend Daisy. She had liked Daisy immediately. The three of them had gone shopping together for clothing for the race. Rosalina had not really liked the outfit, she vastly preferred her gown which was far more freeing and airy, but a gown could not be worn when one was driving a motorbike, as Peach had called the two-wheeled vehicles. She had then given Rosalina the opportunity to design her own bike and kart, and she, Daisy, and Peach had worked on their designs together, often spending the nights in merry chatter.
She had felt like she belonged...
It was not that she did not belong among the stars, clearly that had been her destiny from the start, but it was not the stars to which she had been born. She had been born of the earth, and the earth had been her home. The stars had been her home for much longer, now, but deep within she still longed for the planet of her birth. She had realized as much then, and repressed feelings and emotions had crept up unbidden. Now there was no going back.
She told her two new friends, at the close of the race, that perhaps she would stay a little longer. Until after the next event in fact. The next event had come and gone. She had told them again that perhaps she would stay a little longer. A little longer, a little longer, just a little longer. It was always just a little longer. Now she was bonded here, to this place and to all the wonderful friends and acquaintances she had made. She was bonded and she never wanted to leave it again, but she knew that one day she would have to. Tears pricked her eyes. She refused to give in to them. She held the invitation close to her chest, bowing her head low and closing her eyes. Perhaps in time the novelty would wear off and she would be free of her bond once more. Humankind lived for such a very short time. She would long outlive them all, she knew. Centuries ago she had come to the conclusion that she was not fully mortal. In part, perhaps, but not all the way. It had never been something she had to think about or confront as a child, but with maturity came more complex thinking and many an epiphany that she could have done well without.
"A penny for your thoughts, Rosalina?" Polari questioned, floating up alongside her. His voice was kind and gentle as always.
"Far more than a penny, dear Polari," she replied.
Polari was quiet, turning to look down upon the earth far, far below. "You know you cannot stay," he at last said.
"Not forever, perhaps. What is it, though, that prevents me from staying until the ones I have grown to love have all passed?" she asked.
"Nothing I suppose, but if you do stay, you will experience far more pain than you would have if you had left them all alive and well," Polari replied. "Do you want your last memories of them to be bodies lying in caskets being lowered into the ground, or do you want your last memories to be of them happy and well and joyful?"
Rosalina was quiet. She did not know the answer to that question yet, but she wanted to find it. To find it she would have to stay. At least for a while more. "When I find that answer, then perhaps I will be able to leave," she at last replied. "I did not have the chance to find those answers before."
"You mean when you first left this place," Polari sympathetically murmured. "I suppose it was an unsatisfying conclusion, wasn't it? You left with the understanding you would return. You never did."
"And all that I knew and loved died, and I was not there. I never knew if they lived their lives well or if they had happy endings. That, I think, was hardest to swallow when at last I acknowledged that I had long outlived them," she answered. "I do not want to come to terms with that again, always wrestling with questions of what and why and how. May my last memories of these ones, then, be of their happy endings, not left an unfinished book as it was before."
"You are wise, cosmic queen," Polari said, nuzzling her reassuringly. "If that is your wish, dear, so be it. I won't press you to leave again before you feel ready. We can watch the stars from here! Well enough at least."
"Thank you Polari," she said, smiling fondly at her luma guardian.
"What is the invitation to?" Polari questioned.
Rosalina looked at it. "Something most unusual and out of the ordinary for Peach. A formal ball," she said.
"Do you know what that is?" Polari questioned.
Rosalina looked towards the earth. "I have the faintest of memories of what it is. I remember beautiful, mysterious, dancing lights. I remember men and women swirling around a grand hall locked in one another's arms. I remember laughter and music and delicious foods of all sorts... I remember watching in secret when I was supposed to be asleep. My brother was at my side. He was the one who convinced me to sneak out with him and watch. I was so hypnotized by the sights and sounds. He was excited, searching for ways to cause mischief. I was older and more responsible and knew his thoughts, so I distracted him. I told him that I wanted to dance too, but I had no partner. I asked if he would dance with me. He wrinkled his nose in such distaste." A smile danced across her lips as she spoke before becoming a look of sadness again. "The expressions are so clear, but his face... It becomes less and less clear with every century that passes... He begrudgingly agreed to dance with me and we swirled around with the music until we accidentally knocked over a vase. The crash was so loud. It frightened us. We knew we would be caught."
"What else do you remember?" Polari murmured gently.
She was quiet. She felt a tear slip from her eye and roll down her cheek. "Father came to investigate the sound," she said in a whisper. "Mother was on his arm. She looked so beautiful... Mother asked us why we were awake. I told her we wanted to see the ball and the dancing. She chastised us, though not cruelly. Father soothed her annoyance. He told her to 'let the children come and see'. It was all so magical that we could hardly be blamed, he claimed. Mother relented." She looked towards the stars. "I remember dancing with father, standing on his feet. Eventually he coaxed me off them to learn to dance on my own. Mother danced with my brother in her arms, cooing to him and teasing him as he giggled and insisted to be let up on her shoulders. She obliged him and they kept dancing. They disappeared into the crowd and I remember this... feeling coming over me. This sense of foreboding. I did not want her to go out of my sight. Father lifted me then, high up above the crowds where I could see them. He promised me that they would not go anywhere... Then they did..." All of them had, she inwardly added. To be fair, though, she supposed she had gone too. In the end it had been her brother who was left alone...
"You've never spoken of them like this before," he noted. "What brings it about now?"
"Dreams and memories," she answered.
He nodded sympathetically and looked at the invitation. "Will you go?" he questioned.
She turned to the invitation and was quiet. "I do not know," she answered at last.
"You should," Polari pressed.
"Who have I to go with, Polari?" she questioned with a sad smile, turning and walking away.
SMB
"What the heck is this garbage?" Wario grumbled as he glared at a fancily sealed letter in his hands. He ripped opened the seal none too gently. Waluigi grimaced at him and snatched the letter from behind his brother, turning to read it. "Wha?! What's-a the big idea?" Wario demanded.
"It's-a an invitation, Wario. Like you get every other week," Waluigi bit, shoving it back at his sibling. "It's-a to a ball! Principessa Peach is hosting a ball. Waluigi's-a gonna get his dance on, oh yeah."
"Oh yeah? Who's-a your date?" Wario bit.
Waluigi stiffened and deflated with a groan. He turned to his sibling in annoyance. "I don't-a need no stinking date. The food's-a gonna be reason enough to go alone. And who needs to dance with a partner anyway? I'm-a better dancing on my own than with someone else. It's-a not like you have a date either."
"Yes I do," Wario said.
"Huh?!" Waluigi exclaimed in shock.
Wario smirked and held up a phone, wiggling it tauntingly in the air. On it was a picture of Wario's friend Mona who, Waluigi knew, had it real bad for his brother. Why she did was beyond Waluigi's understanding, but it was convenient for Wario who tended to like using her feelings for him to his own advantage whenever possible. They had met when Mona was in high school. Her last year or second to last. Waluigi didn't know the story behind it, or what had so fascinated her about Wario of all people, but she'd started putting on the moves and Wario, from what he understood, had put up with it. He'd been annoyed and had blatantly ignored every advance, totally disinterested in anything except for whatever his plan had been at the time - he had no patience for hormonal teenaged nonsense - but Wario was not as much of an idiot as he'd have people believe, and he'd seen opportunity and use in the tagalong kid who undoubtedly had been clueless how much she was helping his plan along. Wario was no stranger to using someone's feelings against them to his own ends. Neither was Waluigi for that matter. Apparently when Mona had learned the truth, she had only become more impressed for some twisted reason or other.
She was in college now, Waluigi believed. Head of the cheerleading squad, lead of the soccer team, pizza delivery job along with a host of other jobs, to say nothing of her job with WarioWare. The girl knew how to keep busy. The only social interactions she had any time for, it seemed, were the ones involving Wario's company. She spent time with her coworkers and precious few others outside of the workplace. Girl was a workaholic, which only added to the mystery of why she had gotten it so bad for his lazy slob of an older brother. Brilliant girl too. Opposites attracted, he guessed. It was the only reasonable explanation behind that relationship, though to say it was a relationship was maybe stretching it. Mona would have liked it to be, but Wario was harder to figure out. After Mona had graduated high school and started college, she became fair game and Wario began to entertain her fantasies just a little more. Not all the way, but just enough to reel her further in and harness more of her feelings for him to his own ends. Promises of this and that that were neither committal nor empty.
What's-a that Mona? You want to date. Bah! You're-a here to work not date.
What's-a that? You wanna date me? Get the job done and maybe we'll-a see.
You got it done? I guess we can go for dinner, but no nonsense! It's-a not a date.
What? Did I have a good time? Maybe.
Would I do it again? Eh.
My thoughts on marriage? Wahaha, Marriage is for pansies! What? You wanna be married? Maybe one day marriage might be nice I guess. As long as it's-a with... nah, never mind.
Oh yeah, Wario was a tease apparently. In all honesty, the relationship fascinated Waluigi as much as it puzzled him. Over time it had become this strange amalgamation that Waluigi liked to call unofficially official. His brother was unofficially official with Mona. It was the similar with Mario and Peach, he knew. Mario and Peach were clearly in love, but they weren't technically official so he liked to say that Mario and Peach were official unofficially. He could have scoffed at the situations his relatives got into. Why did everything have to be complicated with their family, he bitterly wondered? Luigi, he supposed, was somewhat simple. Just a classic case of shy guy too afraid to ask out the girl who was obviously into him, but wouldn't ask herself. In part because of her own insecurities, few and far between as they were, and in part because she wanted to help break the guy in question out of his shell. The woman had afforded her cowardly crush every opportunity to spit it out, but Luigi was a moron so kept his yap shut. Humph, Daisy would have been better off with him, he petulantly decided. Ah well. If he was lucky maybe she'd pity him and grace him with a dance at the ball. Clearly he was going to be showing up without a date. The awkward third wheel to Mona and Wario, as always.
"Walu? Waweegie!" Waluigi heard Wario insistently saying. He blinked a few times, snapping out of his thoughts, and gave his brother a questioning look. "I asked who your date was gonna be," Wario said with a mocking smile. Waluigi glared bitterly at him, eyes narrowing, and refused to answer. Wario knew full well who his date would be. Miss Nobody, as per usual.
SMB
Bowser cautiously hovered around the ancient, dilapidated castle that had once been the crown jewel of an old and great kingdom. No one today knew, of course, what that kingdom had been. That was why the name it went under now was simply Ruined Kingdom. It was a hostile place, and dangerous. Once upon a time it had probably been beautiful. Now it was a mess of ruined streets and buildings, overgrown gardens, hostile wildlife, and the list went on.
"This is the place vhere the scroll is supposed to be?" Ludwig Von Koopa asked from his side, looking incredulous and wary.
"Not a scroll. A book of untold power filled with dark incantations strong enough that I can finally defeat Mario once and for all," Bowser replied.
"And you learned of zis, this, book through an anonymous letter?" Ludwig dubiously asked.
"I dreamt of it," Bowser answered.
"Vhat?! You are dragging us into the middle of this... place because you're following a dream?!" Ludwig heatedly demanded. He started when Bowser clamped a massive paw over his mouth and gave him a warning look. Ludwig's eyes narrowed and he huffed, folding his arms but keeping quiet. Bowser removed his paw from Ludwig's mouth. "If it had been a letter, I would have sent the minions to retrieve it."
"You're sending your minions now," Ludwig bluntly and dryly replied.
Bowser gave him a look. "Not alone I'm not. These particular minions wouldn't have been risked if I had any doubts," Bowser replied.
"You're trusting a dream over an anonymous letter, and an anonymous letter vould have already been a stretch as vas," Ludwig flatly said.
"I don't dream, Ludwig. When I do, they usually aren't dreams. They're premonitions or linked to something similar. Eventually yours will be too. How often do you dream still?" Bowser asked.
Ludwig was quiet, glaring at him. "Rarely," he at last admitted. "Maybe once every couple months."
"And let me guess, they're been slowing down for a while? They've been getting more vivid and real whenever you do dream?" Bowser asked. He looked ahead again, arms folded. "Humph, soon whatever dreams you have won't be dreams anymore. They'll be premonitions. Maybe sometimes you'll get a real dream, but you'll never really know for certain if it was a dream or premonition or message anymore. That's the nature of your powers. Heck you might never have a dream again. You or your more magically inclined siblings for that matter. I wouldn't know. The point is it was a premonition and it's right, and I'm not risking your lives for nothing! Besides, the Lord of Lightning and I are on great terms! I think. He did kind of get his backside handed to him by Mario, which was maybe sort of my fault, but that's besides the point!"
Ludwig sighed in exasperation and looked down again. "The travel brochure calls the capitol of Ruined Kingdom Crumbleden. Was that what it was really called?" Larry Koopa asked, sitting cross-legged behind them and reading through said brochure with a smile.
"No one knows what it was really called to start with," Iggy Koopa replied, walking by to take a look. "Maybe it was called Crumbleden, maybe Crumbleden just sort of became it's name later. Either way, Crumbleden isn't the name of the whole Kingdom. Just what was once it's capital city." He peered over the railing. "This place gives me the creeps."
"And you give everyone else the creeps, so it evens out," Ludwig bit. Iggy giggled maniacally. Bowser face-palmed, shaking his head, and looked towards the tower they were approaching. "Lord Bowser, an ancient book of spells in a dilapidated dump like this can't mean anything good!" Ludwig insisted as they drew near said tower.
"What did you call me?" Bowser darkly asked. Ludwig glared defiantly at him. Huffing, Bowser looked forward again. "Don't you worry your head over it. I know what I'm doing."
"You never know vhat, what, you're doing!" Ludwig protested.
"I'll toss you in the brig, Ludwig, I swear!" Bowser snapped. Ludwig harrumphed but fell quiet again. After a moment, Iggy began to shift uncomfortably. Wordlessly, he turned and left with a grimace. Ludwig watched after him.
"Boy, this place is really getting to him," Wendy O. Koopa remarked in a measure of concern as she came up from below deck and passed Iggy on his way back down. "I don't like it either. I wanna go home right now!"
"Now's not the time, Wendy," Bowser bit. She petulantly huffed, crossing her arms with a pout. After a while, Bowser gestured for his crew to stop the airship. They did so. Bowser leapt off the edge, jumping through a hole blown in the side of one of the grandest towers here. Not the one on which Mario had fought the Lord of Lightning, but another neighboring one that overlooked that tower. They were connected lower down, so he assumed the two towers were often used in association with one another, but it wasn't his to try and figure out what the heck this place had been long before. He looked around the tower, growling lowly, then moved deeper into it.
"Koopalings, move out!" he heard Ludwig command. "Yes I mean you too, Bowser Junior! Get out here now!" Bowser rolled his eyes. He paused, looking back in vague annoyance to make sure they all made it in. Ludwig and Lemmy were the first two to jump through the hole, Lemmy looking goofy as ever of course and Ludwig looking both annoyed and intrigued at the same time. After them, Roy and Iggy leapt, then Wendy and Morton. Larry and Junior took up the rear. Junior looked grumpy and less than impressed, so either he had been napping or had been in the middle of an art project.
"Why do I have to come papa?!" Junior testily demanded of his father. "I was busy scheming my own schemes!"
"You were painting," Lemmy said, frowning at him in mild annoyance.
"Nuh uh! I was drawing my next plan," Junior said with a huff, folding his arms.
"Enough!" Bowser testily shot at them. they stopped, wincing, and looked guiltily at him. "Stay behind me but close." The Koopalings nodded and trailed after Bowser quietly, looking uneasily around the eerie ruins.
It wasn't long before they reached the top of the tower. So far it had been eerily still and eerily quiet, and none of the Koopalings trusted that one bit. A heavy door was up ahead, locked by chains it seemed. Bowser approached them, looking over the ancient, rusty things. "They wanted to keep something out," Ludwig said.
"Or something in," Iggy said, creepily grinning and wiggling his fingers to try and unnerve the others.
"Ooh, chills. Iggy, stop that!" Wendy insisted.
"Aw, chicken little sis?" Roy mocked.
"No! Just... uneasy," she replied, looking nervously at the door.
Bowser rolled his eyes then swiped his claws at the chains, slicing them right off. He seized the door and barged in with a roar in case anything was inside waiting. The roar might intimidate whatever threat there might be. Inside, though, was nothing. He looked around. To say there was nothing wasn't entirely true. It looked like it was a library of sorts, or some mystic's tower. Books lined the walls, but also strange devices that were clearly of a mystical nature. In the center of the room there was a pedestal. On that pedestal was a book. That book didn't give off any kind of good vibes, which meant it was most likely what he was looking for. Carefully he approached it and rested a hand on it to get a sense of its energies. Soon he picked it up and opened it, flipping through. It was handwritten and very old, but preserved somehow. Most likely through the magic of whoever it had belonged to long ago.
"What is it?" Ludwig asked.
"A book," Bowser bluntly replied.
Ludwig frowned in annoyance. "What type of book?" he clarified in annoyance.
Bowser was quiet. "I don't know," he finally admitted.
"Not a spell book?" Larry asked.
"Or a storybook?" Morton questioned.
"No," Bowser replied. "It looks more like poems and musings. That probably sounds strange, but it is what it is I guess."
"Let me see," Ludwig said, grabbing it. Bowser growled angrily but didn't snatch it back. Ludwig flipped through the pages quickly. "It had more than one writer. The handwriting changes about halfway through. He looked back over the previous pages. "Are you sure this isn't a book of incantations or spells?"
Bowser snatched the book back. "Some might be, whichever pages you sense more power from, but not all of them. The book overall makes no sense," he said. "Ugh, let me see if I can't find something useful." He began to flip through the pages again then perked up, smiling. "Ah ha! Here it is. This must be what I'm looking for." He jabbed a finger at a page and held it in front of Ludwig. Iggy came over to look too, curious.
The two Koopalings scanned it through then gave Bowser incredulous looks. "Are you sure about this?" Iggy warily asked. "This doesn't seem... safe. I'm gonna go with safe."
"Since when do you care about safety, Iggy?" Bowser Junior demanded.
"Since never. But at least in the palace I have the unsafe stuff under control and generally my siblings aren't in the crossfire. Generally... Half the time..." Iggy replied with a smug smirk. The smirk fell as he looked nervously around, then back at Bowser Junior. "Here not so much."
"Just do what daddy says!" Junior insisted. Iggy frowned at him, eyes narrowing a bit in annoyance. Rolling said eyes, he looked back to Bowser.
"What makes you think it's unsafe?" Bowser asked.
"Are you kidding? The first vords on the miserable page are 'Rip a hole in the fabric of reality's design. So he said, so it shall be. Be careful what you wish for'. Need I say more?" Ludwig replied bluntly, clapping the back of his claws against the paper.
"It's probably nothing I can't handle," Bowser replied, pulling the book away and skimming the words beneath.
"And the writing looks newer than almost the entirety of the rest!" Ludwig protested. "That vas not penned more than a few years ago if that! Look how bright and fresh it looks compared to most of the rest of the book. And who is 'he'? Lord Bowser, this isn't safe! You're going to get us all killed."
"Never question me Ludwig!" Bowser roared at him, causing him to jump a bit and fall back, startled.
Ludwig blinked then frowned, eyes narrowed. "Fine. It's your funeral. Oh vait, no it's not. It'll probably be ours too," he bit.
Bowser shifted slightly, for the first time seeming a bit hesitant. He looked at the words on the page once more and pursed his lips, if you could call them that. He turned to Ludwig once more, eyes narrowed. "Take the others and go back to the ship."
Ludwig started. "What?" he asked after a beat.
"Go. If something goes wrong, get out," Bowser said.
Ludwig was still for a moment. Soon, though, he looked at the others and nodded at them. He made his way towards the door and took hold of it, pulling. He started and stiffened when it didn't move. "Uh oh," he said.
"What?" Bowser coldly asked, turning.
"I-I can't get it open!" Ludwig exclaimed, pulling at it a few more times.
Bowser snarled then roared, charging the door and slamming into it in an attempt to break it down. He roared in pain as he was thrown back by his own force. The Koopalings gasped when they heard chains clanking on the other side. "D-didn't you break the chains?" Wendy tightly asked.
Bowser, gaping in shock, stood up and stared at the door in disbelief. "D-daddy," Bowser Junior fearfully asked, shrinking back.
Bowser was quiet, considering the situation. He looked around for another way out. It seemed no exit would be forthcoming. He looked uneasily back at the book in his hand. He laid it back in its place in the hopes the chains would drop off again. Both Roy and Morton together tackled it, then the rest of the Koopalings, including Junior, but it wouldn't budge. After a long, nervous silence, Bowser finally picked up the book again and flipped it to the final page. He sighed in frustration. This was the only chance at a way out they had now. He cursed himself for not bringing along Kamek and Kammy. Fine. For now he'd go along with whatever game was being played here. He looked back at the Koopalings worriedly, then to the book once more. Taking a breath he began to recite from it. It was written in a language none of the Koopalings understood. They could only guess at how Bowser had come to know it. They'd hedge their bets on Kamek and Kammy. Bowser finished reciting from the book and looked warily around to see if anything had changed. He frowned. Everything seemed completely normal. What was...?
Suddenly he noticed a chill in the air and turned quickly to the Koopalings and Junior, all of which were huddled together nervously. He frowned and approached them, standing close by in case anything went wrong. An eerie sound started to hum from what seemed like all directions. Suddenly it seemed very cold. Nervously the Koopalings and Junior huddled around Bowser, who now felt extremely nervous. Then they heard what sounded like screams and gasped, getting as close to the Koopa King as was physically possible.
All at once a portal ripped itself open in the tower, splitting wide with what looked like jagged teeth all around it. Bowser gaped in horror. "Kids, fall back!" he ordered. With fearful cries the children hurried to try and get away but soon felt themselves being drawn towards the portal! They began to cry out fearfully for Bowser, clawing at the ground. "Kids!" Bowser roared, eyes widening. He gasped when he felt himself being drawn towards it too. Furiously he cursed and tried to break free, clawing at the ground. The tower seemed to disappear around them, but they could see the airship again. It too, though, was being sucked into this mysterious void that was eating them. Suddenly the void surged outwards, devouring them all!
"Help!" the Koopalings and Junior cried out as they were sucked into the portal. Bowser roared in rage when he felt himself follow shortly after with his airship! Soon after, the void closed in on itself and vanished as if it had never been there. The tower was untouched. The book, still in Bowser's possession, was gone. There was no sign of what had happened to the Koopas and the ship...
SMB
Rosalina gently ran her hands down a beautiful gown the lumas had set to work making for her as a surprise. She was deeply touched. The gown was absolutely breathtaking. It almost seemed as if galaxies were woven into the fabric. It's every thread was made of moonbeams and starlight. At least that was how it seemed, and perhaps it was. Millennia spent among the lumas, and still they were so very mysterious to her. She did not know all of their ways, and they never spoke of them. They were connected to the Star Spirits, she knew, in a deep and intimate way. Some stories claimed they were their tears sprung to life, or the tears of the Cosmic Spirit. Those were two of the more romantic suppositions about their origins.
She smiled and giggled a little, taking the gown and floating into her room to change into it. She came out, and the light that radiated from her was almost blinding.
"I think this may be far too fair a gown to wear at a ball," she ruefully said, swirling it around.
"Then let's dull it a little, Queen Rosalina," Lubba enthusiastically replied, clapping. "No one needs to see it in its full radiance yet! It can be dressed down. We'll cover it with silk and then it won't be so outstanding. Silk and velvet. Don't worry, your majesty. While you're gone, Starship Mario will make sure everything stays okay up here." He hurried off to collect the velvet and silk, a large group of lumas following him, and in only a very short time they returned with another layer to the dress and draped it over her. Her gown still shimmered like starlight and moonbeams, but much more dulled and subdued so as to seem almost an illusion.
Rosalina smiled in approval and looked at Lubba. "Thank you dear Lubba," she said. She turned to look at herself in a mirror. "I think I'm ready to go down now." Her hair was semi-up and styled tastefully. She was very satisfied with the look.
"Every eye will be upon you, Rosalina," Lubba said with a smile.
"And every eye will be disappointed," Polari sternly said, frowning at Lubba. Rosalina had lost too much already. The last thing she needed was a would-be lover thrown into that mix of things she had lost.
"Every eye must be disappointed," Rosalina corrected. Her life was destined to be a lonely one, she knew. She had resigned herself to that long ago. She would have liked to fall in love once upon a time and be married, but once upon a time had been a long, long time ago now. People changed.
"Well then, shall you go majesty?" Polari asked. He and Lubba were the only two who did not address her as mama. Not often at least, if at all.
"I shall," she replied with a gentle smile. She circled her wand above her head and vanished with a spin.
SMB
Bowser and the Koopalings were spat out of the portal they had been dragged into, landing hard on the deck of Bowser's airship. Bowser, shaking his head and baring his teeth, rose with a roar and looked around. He frowned. This place... It seemed familiar. Unsettlingly so. He shifted uncomfortably and looked back at the Koopalings. The shaken children scrambled up and to the side as soon as they stood, frantic and terrified. All except for Ludwig of course, who, while clearly unsettled, would sooner not give Bowser the satisfaction of hurrying to him for protection. Bowser looked around. Actually, Roy wasn't coming either it seemed. Roy was, though, shifting uncomfortably and nervously. He looked like he wanted to draw near but had determined he needed to play it tough instead. Bowser quickly pulled the ones who had come to him close, all of them. He roared in shock, losing his balance when the ship suddenly touched down hard into the water. The children cried out, tumbling down on top of him. Roy broke with a yelp, springing quickly over to Bowser's side. Bowser was quick to drag the Koopalings close again, keeping them near. He gave Roy a wary and curious look though.
"I uh, gots to protect my sibs," Roy said awkwardly, flushing a bit and wringing his hands. Bowser looked dubious but didn't comment. Instead, he gingerly made his way to the front of the ship. Ludwig was already there, peering out into the blackness.
"It's dark as night here," Wendy fearfully said, clinging to Bowser tightly. "There aren't even any stars! Are we outside at all?"
"Shh," Bowser warned. Wendy looked quickly up at him then around again, but she kept quiet this time. Bowser, scanning their new environment, sniffed at the air. Frowning, he looked towards Ludwig who was gaping in fascination at this place. "Ludwig, come here," Bowser commanded. Ludwig started and looked over, eyes narrowed warily. "Come. Here," Bowser warned darkly. Ludwig considered protesting, but something in Bowser's tone told him that doing so would not be the wisest course of action here. At last he heaved an exaggerated and dramatic sigh before flutter jumping over and landing next to Bowser and his siblings.
"Where are we?" Larry fearfully asked.
Bowser was quiet. "It doesn't matter," he at last chose to answer. "We're getting out. That's what matters." One way or another they were getting out. He would do whatever it took. He looked at Iggy. "I need you to get in contact with Kamek and Kammy," he said.
"Huh?" Iggy said.
"Now," Bowser ordered. When Bowser entered serious mode, you didn't argue him. Iggy shifted uncomfortably then waved his wand around before firing it and opening a sort of window to where Kamek and Kammy were.
"Bowser, where are you?" Kamek testily asked through this window.
"We've been worried sick! You left without us!" Kammy backed. "What were you thinking? We've told you a thousand times, you're better off bringing at least one of us along because..."
"Wait," Kamek cut off, suddenly realizing what he was looking at.
Kammy looked at him curiously, then back through the window. She frowned too, eyes narrowing a bit, then gasped in alarm. "Oh. Oh my..." she said.
"Lord Bowser, this is..." Kamek nervously began.
"I know," Bowser cut quickly off.
"Oh dear," Kammy fretted, wringing her hands. Kamek looked suddenly nervous too.
"Where is this? We can take it! Just tell us," Lemmy whined, pulling demandingly at his Bowser's shell.
"No you can't. Get into my cabin. All of you," Bowser ordered. None of them moved. Bowser growled. Some whimpered, others outright shook their heads, reluctant to be parted from him. Bowser looked at the older ones. "Take the little ones and go," he ordered them flatly.
Roy grunted and was first to obey, stomping over to Morton and seizing him in a headlock, dragging him towards the cabin as Morton sputtered arguments and tried to talk his brother into letting him go.
"Wendy, come on," Iggy gruffly said. "You know we can't be here right now. Something's wrong."
Wendy hesitated, but of the four youngest she was the oldest, and so at last she relented with a nod and accompanied her brother away from the king's side, following Roy and Morton.
"Larry, let's play ball in the hold. We can't do it out here. It would just bounce over the edge and into... whatever's beneath us," Lemmy said, trying to coax Larry away from Bowser. Larry shook his head, clinging almost as tightly to Bowser as Junior was doing. "Come on. We'll have fun! I'll even teach you some tricks if you want. Ones that you can use to prank people or steal stuff."
Larry shifted, perking up a little more. Lemmy smiled reassuringly. Larry looked up at Bowser, who nodded in confirmation. Larry looked at Lemmy again. "Okay," he finally relented, letting go of Bowser and going towards Lemmy.
"That's the spirit!" Lemmy cheered. "Let's have all sorts of fun!" Larry perked up a little more, looking a bit more hopeful. Lemmy, giggling, bounced off. Larry hurried to follow him.
Ludwig watched after them then looked coldly at Bowser Junior, who turned to him and glared, eyes narrowing defensively. The little one blew a raspberry with his tongue in defiance. "Junior," Bowser sharply said. Junior looked quickly up at his father nervously, then looked at Ludwig warily again.
Ludwig sighed. "Come on Junior. Lemmy will show you tricks too," he at last said.
"No!" Junior protested.
"You come willingly or I pick you up and drag you," Ludwig sneered at him.
"Daddy!" Junior screamed.
"Quiet!" Bowser roared sharply, startling them both and making them jump with fearful gasps. Junior even falling back and onto his backside with a grunt. He looked up at his father in terror as Bowser snarled at him and Ludwig. Tears began to prick his little eyes. Ludwig, knowing the look better than Junior did, seemed outright terrified and hurried to the young prince, scooping him up and looking at Bowser nervously again.
"Vat is out there?" he asked, not beating around the bush. He asked directly.
"Get inside," Bowser growled. Ludwig shifted but at last let out a breath and turned, hurrying to get inside. Bowser wasn't going to talk, clearly, but that was fine, because Ludwig wasn't convinced he wanted to know.
Once certain the children were inside, Kammy and Kamek looked nervously at Bowser. "Sir, this is..." Kammy fearfully began before trailing off with a gasp at an eerie noise.
"The Underwhere," Kamek whispered, looking warily around with wand brandished just in case he had to teleport himself there to help. "Bowser, what did you do? Are you... are you all dead?"
"They can't be!" Kammy immediately said, looking nervously at Bowser. "They couldn't contact us if they were, right?" Kamek shrugged. He had no idea how it would work. "The question should be how did you all get there?" Kammy demanded, frowning sternly at Bowser.
"Through a portal," Bowser flatly answered. "It came out of nowhere. I read some incantation in this book here, and now..." He trailed off, looking uneasily around.
"A portal? Hmm, I need to see that book as soon as possible, so the quicker we find a way to get you all out, the better. I mean what kind of power can open a dimensional portal to the Underwhere with such ease?" Kamek asked incredulously.
"Who's to say it was with ease?" Kammy asked.
"Even if it wasn't with ease, that kind of ability is almost unheard of!" Kamek said. "It would take you and me both to even have a hope, and even then there'd be no guarantee we could do it. My question stands. What sort of dimensional power could open one at all in the first place?"
"A master's," Bowser darkly said. They looked at him. His eyes were fixed ahead and they followed his gaze. Both of them gasped in alarm when they saw what he beheld. There in the darkness sat a shadowy silhouette, one leg crossed over the other lazily swinging. An eerie smile appeared in the darkness, and its eyes began to glow...