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Shards of Love: REDUX!
NOTES: My birthday pressent for you all: another update! Good news is my writing boom that has been occurring for the past 2-3 weeks is still going strong, and I have the next SEVEN chapters being beta read and edited as we speak, while I have up to chapter 25-26 typed. So expect more frequent updates; the seven should be posted hopefully within the next 3-4 months.
Anyway, this is among the shortest chapters in the entire story, but I hope this is enough to satisfy you all! Thank you all for the support, reviews, favorites and follows!
Shard II: Revelations
Chapter X
Realizations
Peach appears in an otherworldly, yet familiar dimension. Judging from the red, smoky skies and the desolate landscape, she deducts the area to be somewhere in Dark Land, although one can debate a more specific location. Looking around, she spots two middle-aged magikoopas lounging underneath a bare, lava-ravaged tree. Curious, she attempts to saunter towards them, but instead she realizes she's floating. Shock overwhelms Peach; she can float for a few seconds after jumping due to the effects of her dress masquerading as a parachute or other gliding mechanism, but she appears to be gliding indefinitely.
After her bout of surprise, she attempts speaking to them, but the magikoopas don't pay her any mind. Even as she floats by them and speaks up, they still ignore her. She taps one of them on the shoulder, but still no response. Giving up, she instead decides to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Well, I'm not sure," one magikoopa, a male sporting a blue robe, replied. Peach continues staring at the magikoopa; somehow, he appears familiar, but she can't grasp on who he is. She knows the highest-ranked magikoopas don blue or purple robes–she learned that from Bowser– but she doesn't know any blue-robed middle-aged magikoopas, only older ones.
"The Almighty King's famous for losing his children, I swear. Traw's been the only one not disappearing often," an older female magikoopa sighs as she rustles her dark purple robe and pushes up her spectacles.
"Traw's the only child he cares about," the male replies in a tone of certainty, "He's growing up strong to be like his father, unlike his younger siblings. Perhaps that's why the King never reports Traw missing; he actually keeps tabs on him. The others could burn in a lava pit straight from Purgatory and he wouldn't bat an eye."
The female, considering the former's words, continues pondering the situation before speaking out, "Nonetheless, thing's been weird. Ever since I became the Magikoopa Troop Leader, I also notice odd behaviors with your toadies."
At the mentioning, Peach notices a dash of shock on the male's face, as if he's unaware of the situation or even covering up a larger plan.
"Err, perhaps the toadies were busy doing their duties? Remember, they were commanded to kidnap the babies to prevent The Usurper from destroying the kingdom."
"Why, yes they were, but…" the female sighs once again before releasing a little shiver, "Damn outside air sometimes, especially when the wind comes. Anyway, just… Well, I'm counting on you. Don't let us down. Don't let the kingdom down. Don't let the King down."
"I promise, madam. I'll do what's best for the kingdom."
"Good," the female smirked, "You've been my best pupil I've had in my three decades of being in the Magikoopa Troop. That's why I made you my deputy leader. I trust in your leadership of your toadies."
"I won't let the Kingdom down, Boss," the male promised, "As far as I'm alive."
"Great," the female's smirk grew larger, "Make the kingdom proud, Kamek."
Peach gasps loud enough to wake herself up. Still delusional from the dream, she sits up and gives a blank stare at her dresser. After regaining her full consciousness, she ponders over the dream, desiring to receive a full understanding of the situation. Why did she dream about Kamek and another magikoopa? Who was that other magikoopa? Was she more than just Kamek's boss? Does she play an important role in anything? And what kids were they talking about? Could it possibly be… Bowser's siblings? And... The Usurper? Again?
"Oh, hey…" Mario greets her, the bags developing under his eyes testifying of a rough night for him also, "What's up with you?"
"Nothing. I just had this weird dream about… Magikoopas," Peach replied, "One of them was a younger Kamek. It's just… Weird."
Mario gives Peach a shocked look before getting out of bed. In a sense, he appears panicked, yet… Serene. Peach didn't know whether her recollection of the dream triggered him, or if he's thinking about something else relating to magikoopas, or baddies in general.
"Sorry, I just… Your parents. I need to check on the progress. Daisy's at the library with Luigi if you want your mind off things. But, remember. That is but a dream."
Mario dashes out of the room, leaving Peach puzzled about the dream. She disagreed with Mario; she didn't believe the dream to be an imaginary story. It felt too much… Like history. Like it occurred in the days of yore.
She wants to know more about this mysterious female magikoopa. She wants to know more about this prophesy on The Usurper. Bowser indirectly mentioned such prophesies to her, while his koopalings appear confused about the concept from the get-go. She also wants to tie all these seemingly-individual pieces together into one sensual storyline. Or, perhaps, she's making false assumptions in her head that she must disprove. She might as well go to the library and perhaps find a few books on these things and whether they're true, plus she'll be able to reconnect with Daisy after days of not seeing her.
"Alright then," she muttered to herself as she puts on her signature pink dress. She smiles as she shuffles around in her dress; after days of wearing a falling-apart wedding dress, she feels a wave of relief and joy, "Library time it is!"
Late morning now falls upon Bowser's Castle. Despite being a typical morning for everyone, Bowser, who arrived at the castle during the early morning hours, takes the opportunity to sleep in. Being a king and needing to keep the kingdom running, he never found time to relax in bed for more than a few hours. No wonder his kids love sleeping in; he feels more relaxed and rested than he does on a typical day.
However, his good mood ends when the flustered Kamek and Kammy, riding on their brooms, burst into his quarters.
"Uhh? Don't you two know how to knock?!" Bowser growled, suspecting something bad came up already. He likes the magikoopas—albeit giving Kammy a hard time whenever he sees her—but seeing both of them together tends to bring grave, terrible news. That's bad enough, but to interrupt a relaxation session with bad news makes the situation even worse.
"Apologies, Your Relaxingness," Kammy apologized, "But there's bad news, I'm afraid."
Bowser sighs before answering, "I know, you hag. What's the issue?"
Kamek and Kammy eye each other as if debating how they want to inform their king. Neither one want to risk a large wall of flames scorching them, their robes and their brooms. Ever since infancy, Bowser's always had a short temper, in which Kamek knows too well. And although she didn't start serving the King until after his wife's death, Kammy also knows not to be on the wrong end of Bowser's fury.
"Well, Ludwig and Iggy visited us last night…" Kamek started, "We couldn't get ahold of you though…"
"And?" Bowser fired off, eager to get to the point of this busted, unfortunate meeting.
"Your Orneryness, Peach fled the koop!"
Peach makes her way towards the library, smiling and singing as she moves one foot in front of the other. Today's a great day; she feels aches in her legs due to her sojourning back to her castle, but the warm, relaxing temperatures of Toad Town make up for all of the discomforts. However, amid the signs of happiness, Peach fails to notice the grim looks the local mushroomers give her.
She passes street after street, singing merrily despite the dirty looks she receives from the locals. After turning on Sixth Street perpendicular from the castle's Frontage Road, she spots a large, ornate building with postings of new book releases on its walls. At the top of the building, a large symbol of an open book lies below large, bolded letters: 'TOAD TOWN LIBRARY'.
Peach enters the library and observes the surroundings. The place didn't have much business, but as a precaution, Peach seats herself at a table to reserve it before anyone else beats her to it.
Before she bothers searching for books, she spots Daisy and Luigi, with Daisy's back to her and Luigi facing her. The two appear to be whispering to each other; Luigi blushes every now and then while Daisy shakes her head in a silent manner, stifling giggles. Peach observes the two for a few minutes before Luigi makes eye contact with her. Ashamed and embarrassed over being caught, Peach turns around and subconsciously ducks her head.
She remains in the position for a minute, not aware of her surroundings. All she can think about are the two of them. She's glad her best friend found a great guy to hang out with; they could just be friends, but Luigi's blushing tells her otherwise.
She's engrossed in her own gossip about Daisy that she doesn't notice a large book slammed on her desk. Shocked, Peach looks up and spots Daisy giving her an unimpressed look. It's been days since the two saw each other. They weren't even days of vacation; they were days of Peach being kidnapped and potentially put in harm's way. Two long and demanding days, yet Daisy still didn't bother to even smile at her.
Peach opens her mouth to whisper questions to her, but before Peach got the chance to mutter her complaints, Daisy walks from her and towards Luigi without speaking a single word. Not long after, the two get up from their tables and leave the library.
Peach sighs; she doesn't know what she's done. Why is everyone, save for Mario, giving her the silent treatment? Perhaps Ella's correct in her rumours: maybe they all hated her.
After all, who wouldn't hate someone who got kidnapped dozens of times, yet "still doesn't learn from it" as critics would say?
Maybe they all now realize she's nothing but a burden that nobody in their right mind will want.
Nobody.
"WHAT?!" Bowser yelled, an isolated flare torpedoing out his mouth. Although ticked off at the situation, he spares both Kamek and Kammy from his fiery rage, much to their hidden satisfaction.
"She left sometime yesterday or the night before, Your Aggressiveness!" Kammy informed in a scared tone, "We don't know!"
"Ugh, you all had ONE simple task!" Bowser roared as he got out of bed, "Now our kingdom's at risk!"
"Oh dear," Kamek sighed, "The prophecies: they're coming to pass!"
"No, you think?" Bowser replied in a snarky, sarcastic tone, causing both magikoopas to hang their heads in shame, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a princess to grab. Watch the brats for me, pronto!"
"Yes, Your Dismissiveness."
Bowser gets up from his bed and shoos the two magikoopas away. Not even bothering to greet his kids nor his servants, he rushes downstairs and to the hangar. He needs to rush to the Mushroom Kingdom as quick as possible; only his doomship can go at such speeds.
Meanwhile, unknown to Bowser, Larry's exploring Bowser's doomship, attempting to hunt for some piranha plant seed packets he misplaced. He couldn't find them in his room nor in his greenhouse; Larry figured he left them in the doomship after the family's last trip to the mall. Despite his lack of luck, he still hopes his seeds stayed safe rather than having fallen into the hands of Roy, Iggy and other destructive siblings.
"Ugh! I can't find them! I'm gonna miss planting season!" the gardener wept, still searching under cargo boxes and above barrels, "Iggy probably experimented on them again! I'll need Dad to get me some more, and quick. I need them today!"
Larry rearranges the cargo he disorganized, having a last minute hope he'll find his seeds. As he finishes rummaging through the stacks, however, he feels a sudden tremble ripple through the entire doomship; before he can react, the engines on the ship roar to life. He falls back on his shell as the doomship zips forward, yet he still fails to realize what occurred until he feels the hoisting sensation.
"Oh crap! Dad's going somewhere! And he accidentally took me!" Larry stated, first in shock, then in pure ecstasy as he thinks about gathering more blackmail, "Now I can see what he does on his free time."