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Shards of Love: REDUX!
Shard III: Alliances
With the 'Big Three' alliance within reach, Peach and the Koopas must, at all costs, stop the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasalandian forces from reaching Jewelry Land and forming an alliance with King Fret.
Chapter XVIII
TotoMessUp
"Mmph," Peach groaned, eyes still closed as she lays on the inland lake's sandy shore. She must've slept on a rock; every time she crinkles her face or moved her eyes around, she feels a stinging sensation overcome her. Great, can this situation get any worse? Despite the discomforts, the surface somehow gives off an emotionally soothing sensation.
She then opens her eyes and gasps at the green-and-white sight. Her face didn't rest on a loose boulder on the shoreline as she expected, but rather resting on one of the ivory spikes on Bowser's shell. Witnessing the unexpected reality while being too surprised to get up, the princess screams, pulls her head back and rolls away from Bowser.
Yes, things can get worse, and it did. She slept on Bowser; she'll never hear the end of it from him.
"Yaaah!" Bowser roared, sitting up as he felt the weight lift off his shell and heard Peach's shriek. With confusion replacing shock, he turns his head towards Peach, "You were sleeping on me?! I thought Mario's idiots were grabbing me!"
"Why were you by me?!" Peach questioned, still shocked by the encounter.
"You looked… Cold. Vulnerable…" the Koopa King answered, a wave of embarrassment welling up in him, "So, I went by you. I went away after a while but you, uhh, rolled to me in your sleep. I won't say this much but... Sorry for that."
Peach nodded, a sense of understanding and gratitude replacing her tone of annoyance and fright. All her life, she thought the royalty of Dark Land were nothing but abusers, but the past few days she's seen a side of Bowser she never witnessed. He's a family man, he seems to truly care about his children and the wellbeing of his kingdom. Both she and he may just be blinded by stereotypes the opposing kingdoms put on each other, and maybe… They both share commonalities. Or maybe she's just full-blown insane from all this dark mist.
"Well, I'm not bothered; nothing bad happened," Peach replied after her thoughts. She mentally faceplams after her statement; she would've thrown a fit in any other circumstance! Nonetheless, she couldn't deny the truth, "In fact, it wasn't all too bad. I stayed warm, so I can't complain."
Bowser smirks at Peach before perking up in curiosity at the sound of rustling bushes. No wind's blowing—it almost never blows in the Dark Realm—and other than this inland lake's low-enough salinity level to be considered fresh, the island offers no source of nutrients for any animal large enough to disturb such hardy vegetation, unless his instincts betray him yet again.
Peach focuses on the bushes as they continue rattling, but with concern and fright. Although Bowser's there and she has absolute faith he'll destroy any threat, Mario's goons looking for them make her paranoid about any foreign movements. Her initial punishment of isolation while her kingdom burns may be a godsend compared to what the goons would do to her next.
Not long after, both Peach and Bowser hear giggling from the source, followed by Daisy and Luigi walking out.
"Haha! Did I get you?!" Daisy exclaimed, adding a few bouts of giggling as Peach and Bowser transition from frightened looks to outright glares, "I'd take that as a yes!"
"Geez, do we have any privacy?!" Bowser questioned, resulting in Daisy and Luigi raising an eyebrow.
"Privacy, eh?" Daisy cooed, adding a wink for emphasis, "I thought you weren't dating!"
"We aren't!" Peach hurriedly declined, "I'm married!"
"Yeah, married to a guy that—" Daisy started off before she notices Luigi taking off his hat and scratching his hair. Remembering the sensitivities Luigi still has for his brother, Daisy reworded her sentence, "That arrested you and seized your kingdom! That's not a real marriage! Plus, it's probably void by now!"
"But still, talk about awkward! We were enemies a week ago!"
"And Mario was your best friend a week ago too!" Daisy pointed out, "Time can change everything!"
"It can," Luigi replied as he puts on his hat, "But we don't have much of it. We need to get off this island."
"Luigi's right. We'll deal with this later," Daisy acknowledged, once again winking at Peach, "But we need to get to Jewelry Land's castle before Mario does!"
The Dark Land Air Fleet soars over the Dark Land Woods; only the trees below greet the multiple doomships. In the doomship leading them all, Ludwig pilots while Larry continues looking back at Castle Koopa; he knows the castle won't survive mushroom occupation, at least not in its current state, and to be fair, it pains him to think about the only abode he knows getting ripped apart by invading fungi.
Larry sighs as he turns, now facing the front windows to start his task on looking out for any mushroomer troops. Sensing his brother's anxiety, Ludwig feels remorse for him; Larry's smart and sneaky compared to the rest of his siblings, but out of the seven, he has the least experience in dealing with destructive situations or other attributes only gained through wisdom. Wanting to keep Larry's mind off the inevitable destruction of their home, Ludwig attempts to strike up some conversation.
"So, Lawrence, I've never interrogated you on zis matter, and I do apologize for my slothfulness," Ludwig started. Hearing the gentle voice of his oldest sibling, Larry turns away from the window and stares at Ludwig, "But Fazzer never taught you how to operate a doomship? Is zat right?"
"Nope!" Larry exclaimed, "I told King Dad I was old enough, but he kept pushing it off with meetings or some other stupid excuses."
"Vell, Fazzer's lucky ve don't need you to pilot an airship right now, because zat'd be total disaster if ve needed you, but vunce zis situation is suppressed, ve need to get you trained on zat. Ask me if you need to also, I enjoy vhen people desire to operate my inventions."
"Yeah! I love your inventions when they don't blow up!" Larry giggled.
Ludwig tends to get mad and possessive whenever most of his siblings make fun of his inventions, but due to common physical and behavioral traits, he's always had a soft spot for Larry and his innocence, despite Larry's participation in 'Unholy Trinity' schemes designed by Roy and Morton. Instead, Ludwig gives a little smirk before rebutting.
"I'd say othervise! Zat veed-vhacker took care of zose veeds in your garden, zey just didn't vhack zem!"
"I'll take that back. That was an awesome way to weed! Without the wires that constantly break too!"
"Amen, who needs vires vhen you can just blow up ze entire zing!" Ludwig giggled.
Larry's about to respond with enthusiasm when they once again fly over the lavender field. As he was previously in the cargo room of his father's ship, the smell wasn't detectable then, but in the cockpit, especially with Ludwig blasting the air conditioning, the smell permeates throughout the cabin. Both koopalings pucker their noses as the scent intensifies.
"I thought Wendy wore enough perfume, but that lavender is worse!" Larry acknowledged. Although a gardener by nature, the youngest koopaling's still intolerant to strong flowery scents, despite how appealing they may be to the eye.
"Enjoy ze smell; lavender's scientifically proven to help vith easing stress, zough zis reminds me of laundry day… Back at ze Kastle…," Ludwig sighed. Sure, the eldest prepared for the worst as Kamek delivered the news the past morning, but the grave situation never hit him before until now – and it struck hard. Being the heir to the kingdom, Ludwig's grown attached to the kingdom, and just the thought of it being destroyed sends shivers down his spine. Alas, he has to stay strong; his younger sibling's with him, and an entire air fleet depends on his sound judgment.
Both koopalings fall silent; Larry's absorbed in thoughts ranging from questioning the safety of the castle to forming a plan on how to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom from the inside, while Ludwig continues steering the doomship as he ponders potential problems on dealing with the Mushroom Kingdom naval forces. The duo snap back into reality as Kamek bursts into the cockpit, holding a map of Plit in one hand.
"Ludwig!" the senior magikoopa crowed, waving the map over his head in panic, "We have to take a detour!"
"A detour, you say? How come? Let me get Roy and Morton on ze line," Ludwig gasped before turning on the talk function of the doomship's radio, "Roy? Morton?"
Static blasts through the doomship's speakers before Roy emits a tangible reply, "Kooky? And da issue is?"
"We can't tell whether you're a cow or a pig anymore," Morton replies in his typical stark tone before adding, "Ugh, and my talk feature's on! Well at least Roy knows now."
"Oh shut dat large mouth of yours, Big Mouth!"
"Make me!"
"I don-"
"GUYS!" Ludwig shouts, silencing the two bickering koopalings, "Quiet! Zis is vhy I'm ze leader! Anyvay, Kamek has news to present to us, and it pertains to zis entire operation, so quiet and listen!"
"Fine then! I'll stay quiet, Kooky! I won't talk ever again!"
"Me too!"
As the radio quiets down, Larry and Ludwig turn towards Kamek. Making sure his words clarify the situation well enough, the elder magikoopa still studies his map before speaking out to the group.
"I've sent a few toadies to scout the enemy, and the military situation's worse than I expected. Both the Mushroom Province and Grass Land are completely guarded by the military, while Desert Land and Water Land may already have anti-aircraft missiles deployed. Of course, Pipe Land also has military forces infiltrating, and flying over there can mess up our land troops. Instead of flying over those lands, we have to take a detour north over Ice Land and Sky Land."
"Vhat? Vhy Sky Land and Ice Land?"
"Well, we have to drop Lawrence off, silly!"
"But, um, isn't it easier just for me to get dropped off here and just use the Pipe Maze?" Larry suggested as he looks out the window, still seeing the lavender field before thinking, 'Geez, how large IS this field?'
"Dropping you off here, in a potential hotzone between our troops and the Mushroom Kingdom? Never! Too evil for even me! Even so, the Pipe Maze will be heavily guarded by either side. Instead, my plan is for you to be dropped off at Upper Sky Land; from their isolation, wealth and greater autonomy, they tend to be friendlier to koopas and more skeptical of the Mushroom Kingdom's military actions than the rest of the provinces and Lower Sky Land, but it can still be tricky."
"Upper Sky Land?" a confused Larry questioned, "How will I get to the Mushroom Kingdom from there? Jump?"
"Vacation planes and blimps travel regularly between Toad Town and Nimbus City. Try one of those. Of course, I'd recommend some sort of dress-up, considering you're a koopa. Upper Sky Land cares more about wealth, so they don't discriminate against especially rich koopas, but you will have issues in the Mushroom Province, obviously," Kamek suggested.
Remembering the mission given by Ludwig to spy on Peach's wedding, Larry digs around inside his shell until he feels the mushroomer disguise. Grinning, he pulls the disguise from his shell and flaunts it in front of the two.
Kamek eyes the uniform, bobbing his head up and down as studies the outfit, while Ludwig lets out a giggling fit.
"Aaaahahaha! Zat zing, Lawrence?! Zat'll pop off your head as usual!"
"Hey! It's the best I have!"
"Wait, dat mushroom thing?" Roy inquired, seeming to forget his permanent vow of silence, "Da one ya said ya'd throw away since dat one mission failed?"
Larry sighs before answering on the intercom, "Yes, Roy, that one."
"From Penguin to Pocatello, gee whiz Larry, you should've been a shapeshifter," Morton advised. Picturing Morton grinning to himself at his comment, Larry rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, whatever."
Despite the negative comments received from his brothers, Kamek gives one last nod before giving Larry an evil grin.
"That's perfect, Lawrence! Truly the purest evil!"
"Well, at least SOMEONE appreciates it," the youngest stated, giving a playful glare to Ludwig, "Anyway, how far from Sky Land are we?"
"We should be there in a few hours. Make sure you're ready by then, Lawrence."
Traveling on the multiple islands of the Dark Sea proves uneventful, other than the alternating between walking on sandy shores and swimming in salty seas. The four figured that, by this time, the food and water stored in the two bags may be suffering from the effects of salinity and moisture. While worried over the fact, they accept the fact that none of the four can do anything to keep their only guaranteed supply of essentials kempt.
"Geez! How far is this coastline?!" Peach questioned, vigorously swimming towards the large coastline now present. Not far from the coastline, she spots Bowser's Dark Realm Castle on her right, while to her left she sees a huge, sky-breaking mountain chain. Daisy and Luigi both grin at the coastline's sight while Bowser, burdened with the two bags and resorting to paddling on his back, sighs in relief.
None of the three answer to Peach, although all four know the obvious answer as their feet contact the sand below them. Ecstatic, Luigi and Daisy dash towards the unsaturated portion of the beach while Peach hangs behind with Bowser.
"We made it… Finally…" the koopa king sighed as he hangs the bags over his shoulder.
"We sure did! Though you were slow, slacker!" Peach exclaims before adding a playful punch to Bowser's arm, causing him to groan, before she runs around the beach.
"OW!" Bowser exclaimed before dropping the bags on the sand and chasing after her, "Now it's on!"
Peach giggles as she avoids Bowser's swipes before tripping over her own feet. With a gasp, she collapses face-first into the sand, stunned albeit thankful the sand's too deep to cause any damage. Before she's able to get back up and flee Bowser, she feels his claws around her body. Seconds later, she's hoisted up and raised above Bowser's head.
"I got you!" he teased, spinning around once before lowering the princess back to the sand, "Can't mess with the King!"
"Yeah yeah, little dork, I'll get you again," Peach replied as she studies the beachfront. This must've been a spectacular location before the skies turned dark; the beautiful, purple water stretches clear beyond the horizon, while the float island – their former prison – appears near-transparent due to its distance. Under the violet-tinted black clouds, the ocean seems to almost… Glow.
A sudden scream snaps Peach back into reality. She knows that scream, although she hears it once in a blue moon. Daisy never screams at anything; she must be in trouble!
"What was that?!" Bowser questioned as Peach sprints away from the beach. Not wanting to be left behind, the Koopa King runs until he catches up to the distressed damsel, "What's wrong?"
"That scream – it's Daisy's! Something's wrong, Bowser, and I don't know what," Peach huffed. Despite the tiredness and the aching, she continues running, eager to catch up with her friend.
"Geez! How far did they go?" Bowser asked as he slows down his pace, "Because-"
Before he can finish, a multitude of goombos, bombshell koopas, bunbuns and other foreign fauna surround a burning Bowser's Castle. Amid the baddies, Bowser and Peach spot Daisy and Luigi gagged and tied to a large pole. The baddies must've found out about Daisy's defection, unless Chai itself risk trouble from the three lower kingdoms.
From amongst the goomba lookalikes, explosive koopas, fearsome bees, and other Sarasalandian species, a large, lion-like creature walks up to the duo, a glare implanted on his feline face. Bowser glares back at the beast while Peach trembles behind the koopa king. Seeing the movement behind him, the lion smirks.
"Well, well, well!" the lion roared, flicking his red-tipped tail in annoyance, "Look who we have here! The FORMER princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, AND the FORMER king of Dark Land! You just know it's a good day when you capture THREE pathetic monarchs and a pathetic blood traitor!"
"Look, dude, cool intro and all," Bowser replied, folding his arms and still glaring at the figure, "But get out of my way. Now!"
"No? We're just starting our fun!" the feline grinned, "For decades, Birabuto and the others have been stuck under Chai's rule. Sarasaland, under Princess Daisy Sarasa's rule and her parents', have turned our entire continent into a pathetic, laughable joke. Sarasaland looked weak; it couldn't protect itself from the disgusting influence of BOTH your kingdoms!"
"And you think the idiot, Mario, will do anything about it, doofus?" Bowser growled, "He can't even lead a yoshi out of a pit!"
The lion smirks while shaking its head, seeming fed-up with the situation.
"You don't get it? Mario's merely a useful pawn in all this, not the master. Mario has absolutely no control over this."
"Then who's the master?" Bowser interrogated, fists clenching together.
"Why should I tell you?" the lion questioned, smirk still implanted on his face as he readjusts his orange-and-black-striped headdress.
"Because I WILL knock you out, you piece of-"
"Why so violent?" the being questioned, his smirk only growing in size, "Your previous responses show you love mysteries and guessing games. Why should I ruin your fun?"
Bowser remains silent, seemingly stunned at the feline's snarky responses. Satisfied with the silence of its opposition, the lion then raises his right paw, gathering the attention of all the minions around Bowser's Castle. With all attention poisoned on him, the lion then speaks to the duo.
"I, King Totomesu of the Birabuto Kingdom of Sarasaland, pledged to defend my kingdom while simultaneously attacking the enemies of my allies. I will NOT refrain from pursuing my mission, nor will ANY of you stop me from doing so! Get in my way, and I WILL blast you to smithereens!"
For the first time since the encounter, Peach now has the energy to confront the king.
"My duty as Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom is to defend my residents from the wrath and torture of dictators, tyrants and disgusting philistines like you! You are in our way, and I command you, right now, to step away!"
"Ha!" King Totomesu guffawed, "Ha ha ha! Oh man! That's hilarious! Comedic gold! You two pathetic rejects against my magnificent army?! Nobody with even half a brain would dare!"
Unfortunately for King Totomesu, he was too busy laughing to realize the elbow nudging, the grinning and the silent whispers between Bowser and Peach. Both were up to a plan; both look as if they'll put up a fight against the army.
NOTES: Weee, thanks for the support as usual, everyone! I'm almost at 100 followers (and only ten of them were before 2014's redux), which surprised me in all honesty; I thought I'd get maybe 40-50 maximum. But enough about the stats! Good news is I'm past writing Chapter 30, so updates should be more common now. I don't believe in rushing chapters for a story, and I'll never rush, but I'm hoping for twice-a-month updates now, or once every 2 months at the slowest, but it shouldn't be 6-month intervals like it was back in 2015-16, and certainly not 14-year waits! :)