Chapter 30 New Day

Rosalina waved her wand, and the lot were teleported back down to the Mushroom World. With his feet firmly planted on the ashy ground, Morton looked around. Everything was still. There were no rumbles occurring, which was an extremely good sign. Morton breathed a sigh of relief.

"Everything looks good," he said.

Ludwig snickered. "Yeah, but the rift is still there."

Morton's eyes grew wide. "What?" He looked up into the sky. Sure enough, the rift was still there, floating above Bowser's Castle. Granted, it had sealed itself up a little bit, but it was still there, looking like a hairline crack in the sky. The glow it produced sent shivers down Morton's spine.

"How do we get rid of that?" he asked.

"I'm afraid you can't," said Rosalina. "The most that you can do is watch over it and make sure that it doesn't split open again. I believe your magikoopa friend might be able to help with that?"

Morton thought about this before nodding. Kamek had some strong magic, arguably the strongest that a magikoopa could possibly possess. He would make an excellent guardian for the rift.

"Yeah. You're right."

Rosalina nodded. "Okay." She directed her attention toward the castle. "Let's go see how everyone is doing."

Morton nodded and made his way toward the castle with his siblings in tow. When they got there, they found that the hallways were deathly quiet, as if not a single living soul was present. Morton gulped. What if the rift had killed everyone here?

Thankfully, he found that wasn't the case. Bowser and Kamek were in the throne room. They were sprawled out on the floor with their eyes closed, but they were at least alive, as indicated by the rising and falling of their chests. Morton ran over to his adopted father and the magikoopa advisor, as did his siblings. Lemmy shook the Koopa King in order to wake him up.

"Bowser!" Lemmy exclaimed.

Bowser slowly but surely stirred. He groggily opened his eyes, as did Kamek. They both let out very loud groans, as if they had awakened from a thousand year slumber.

"What happened?" asked Bowser. "I...I feel like I've lived the same day over and over."

Morton blinked before smiling. Bowser was aware of the time loop. That meant that they really had broken out of it.

Wendy laughed. "That's a distinct possibility."

With Rosalina's help, the group explained what exactly had happened over the past few days. When they finished, Kamek gave Morton an intrigued look.

"Woah. So you really weren't kidding about the time loop."

Morton shook his head. "No sir, I was not."

"We think that you are the person who should be able to watch over the rift; make sure it stays sealed," said Rosalina. "Do you think you'll be able to do that?"

Bowser looked over at Kamek, seemingly interested in whatever his response would be. The magikoopa bowed his head.

"If it means saving the world, I will do it with honor."

Rosalina smiled. "Good. Very good." She turned toward the Koopalings. "This is where I leave you all. Until we meet again." With that, she started making her way toward the door. Before she could exit, however, Ludwig called out to her.

"Hey! What about me?"

Rosalina paused and turned toward the Koopaling. She chuckled. "Right. You were originally nineteen, weren't you?"

"Yes!"

"Okay." She waved her wand and pointed it at Ludwig. The eldest was surrounded by a white glow, and within minutes, he was back to his normal age.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Rosalina said. "May the stars shine down on you, everyone."

With that, she left.

…

The next day, Morton woke up at around five. He breathed in the silence, really appreciating the stillness. It was also still dark outside, for the sun hadn't risen yet. With a smile on his face, Morton went out into the hallway and outside. He really wanted to watch the sunrise.

When he got outside, he set up a lawn chair facing east. He kept his eyes glued to the sky for about an hour before he started to see some changes. An orange and pink glow overtook the sky. Morton felt a warmth overtake him just looking at it.

"Hey, Morty!"

Morton turned around when he heard his sister's voice. All of his siblings made their way over to him. He grinned at them.

"Hey, guys." He then noticed a box underneath Wendy's arm. "What is that?"

"Well," said Iggy. "With Koopsmas finally over, we realized that you didn't exactly receive any presents."

Wendy held the box out to him. "We wanted to make that up to you today."

Morton shook his head. "Guys, that's not necessary."

"Sure it is!" Lemmy said. "You need it after the horrible things you went through!"

"Please," said Wendy as she handed him the gift. "Open it."

So, Morton opened it. He was surprised to see that he had gotten a collection of Rainbow Mare figurines. They were painted over with a golden coat, meaning…

"No way," said Morton. He gawked at his siblings. "These are the rarest collectors items in the Rainbow Mare franchise! How'd you get them?"

"A magician never reveals their secrets," said Ludwig with a laugh. "We thought you would appreciate them."

"Oh, I do!" Morton grinned. "Thanks guys!"

"Oh, don't thank us yet," said Larry. He pointed toward the box. "There's one more item in there, and it's pretty important."

Morton moved the figurines and found a letter at the bottom of the box. He tore open the envelope and grinned when he saw that the letter was from Bob.

Hey Morton. Congratulations on finally getting out of the time loop. I'm so happy right now. I really hope that I see you and your siblings sometime soon. Maybe next Koopsmas? Or whatever time you're available.

Bob.

Morton felt his heart grow extra warm. He turned toward the others. "Thank you guys."

"You're welcome," said Roy. He grinned cheekily. "Do you actually like Koopsmas now?"

Morton chuckled. "It's starting to grow on me."

The others laughed. They all gathered around their brother to watch the sunrise. Morton smiled. To him, there was no better way to welcome the new day.

AN: And finished! Thank you all so much for tuning in. I really had fun working on this one, and I'm glad it's finally done. I hope you all have. a good day. If you see any time crystals, make sure to avoid them like the plague lol.

Stay safe and stay awesome :)