NOTES: Woo! I felt like a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon with the amount of facelifts I gave this chapter! This mainly was originally transitions I didn't plan on writing (I was planning on going from 19's material straight onto 21's), but after reading 21 and on, leaving this out didn't feel natural. Actually, I'm surprised this chapter is as long and foundational to he story as it was.
Thanks for the support, everyone!
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 XX
Probation
Set on flanking the troops in Pipe Land, Kammy leads the airships and the ground troops towards the northeast. While the wise magikoopa appears confident over the plan, Lemmy, in his new role of commander, continues weighing his doubts, especially with specific concerns he'd never ponder over during conventional takeovers. Do they have enough supplies? Weapons and ammo? What about the casualties of his army? Wendy's army? Iggy's? A week ago he wouldn't care at all; the army, after all, were then treated as simple pawns. Now the army's their life force—their hope—and the soldiers sacrificed just as much, if not more, than the Royal Family. They are living beings, each with their own concerns and worries; they signed a contract with their own blood to defend Dark Land, and he's in charge of their fates. He must bring home as many as he's able to.
Iggy and Wendy express no such concern. Unlike Lemmy, Iggy sees each soldier as one willing to become a martyr in a righteous cause. They're on a mission to defend millions of residents in Dark Land. The operation matters, even if huge casualties occur. Wendy maintains similar views to Iggy, although her main strength resonates with hardline diplomacy and demands rather than with force, hence her support for such routes.
"How's the progress looking up there?" Kammy radioed in.
Snapping out of his concerns, Lemmy turns his head to a screen displaying the doomship's front camera. Zooming in, the second eldest koopaling notices a settlement containing several dozen tents and makeshift structures. The small koopaling zooms in with the doomship's camera and spots a mushroomer pointing towards him, mouthing words along the lines of 'Enemy spotted!'. The mushroomer's alert in mind, the soldiers scurry into their tents; within seconds, they reappear, weapons drawn and armor girded. They're now alert of the danger; action must now be taken by the ground convoy before they receive damage from the Mushroom Army.
"We've been spotted! Kammy! Prepare the army! They're coming from the west!" Lemmy shouted, "Iggy, release your paragoombas to distract them! Wendy, don't release yours yet!"
"On it!" Kammy replied before turning towards the convoy and raising her wand. The wand's purple orb pulses in anticipation, reflecting the old magikoopa's current aura, "The enemy is coming! Remember! You are fighting for the defense of your homeland!"
"Hurry, Kammy!" Lemmy cried as he observes both the gathering Mushhromer army and the paragoombas trickling from Iggy's doomship, "They're closing in on you!"
"You know what this means!" Kammy continued, "Charge!"
"CHAAAARRRRRGGGGEEEEE!" the convoy shouts, rushing behind Kammy, swords and wands drawn as Kammy zooms towards the mushroomers.
As the two enemies bunch together into one giant group, Iggy's paragoombas glide towards the mushroomers, causing more of a nuisance to the fungi than any serious harm. With their attention focused on the bothering swarm, the Mushroom army lose morale, resulting in the Koopas destroying large portions of the mushroomers before they snap back into reality. None of the Koopa Troop know why paragoombas prove successful when used on Mushroomers—theories circulate that goombas are nothing more than mushroomers cursed by black magic hundreds of years ago, resulting in some goomba-mushroomer connection humans and koopas alike cannot understand—but exploiting the Mushroomers' goomba-slaughtering priority proves successful for the Koopas.
"Magikoopas! KEEP ATTACKING!" Kammy commanded.
She summons a disorientation spell at the Mushroomers and points her wand at the Mushroomer mob. As Kammy casts it, arrows and throwing axes soar towards her. She avoids them, but not before a fire-tipped arrow pierces her robes. Kammy screams from the sudden agony and the quick-spreading fire. The wounded magikoopa collapses from her broomstick and into the mess below.
She lands on her ribs and her elbows; shattering fills her ears while she feels a sharp pain echoing throughout her body. A warm, metallic flavor overcomes her palate—the wounds must've extended to her mouth. Still demobilized, the elderly magikoopa attempts to roll out the fire while also avoiding the feet of both her allies and enemies. Much to Kammy's pleasure, she suffocates the fire, although the inferno leaves her robe with noticeable damage. Despite the good news, the shear pain prevents her from rising off the ground.
Losing sight of their trusted land-bound commander and his childhood guardian, Lemmy panics. Though remaining as calm as possible throughout the conflict, he cannot imagine the powerful Kammy—his father's most motherly-like minion—perishing on the field to a bunch of mushrooms. Iggy and Wendy express similar emotions as Wendy signals her white-robed healing magikoopas.
"Get Kammy!" Wendy commanded through her microphone, fear stridden in her voice, "Find her and heal her! NOW!"
Previously pondering her eulogy while avoiding being stepped on, Kammy's hope returns as Wendy's voice breaks through her earpiece. Not long after, she feels two white-sleeved hands grab around her waist and pull her up. Noticing she's in the arms of a white-robed magikoopa, Kammy breathes a sigh of relief. She at least knows she'll live, although she also needs time to recuperate. She's unfit to lead; the group will need another land commander.
As if reading her thoughts, Lemmy's bold voice breaks through her earpiece, ushering in another command.
"Pom Pom, command the ground forces while Kammy's out! Iggy! Land your doomship behind our army and pick up Kammy!"
As Pom Pom hollers command after command, Kammy relaxes as the white-robed magikoopa transports her to the Iggy's doomship. She knows both the Koopalings and Pom Pom will defeat the Mushroom Army, even without her help, but Kammy also doesn't plan on giving up.
Being used to the luxuries of the doomship, Larry's unable to stomach the flight to Toad Town, even if it only lasted a few hours. Squished airline seats replace the elegant couches and chairs and budget, low-quality airline food replace the gourmet helpings the doomship's famous for preparing. Not to mention the lavatories! How do people even turn around in those?! He doesn't get how peasants fly in such inhumane conditions, especially when warp pipes prove to be a cheaper, faster, more reliable alternative, but then again, this is a simple alternative to the warp pipes' complicated infrastructure.
Nonetheless, the spy handles the situation well. He's lucky enough to even have a form of transportation, let alone having his basic needs satisfied. All Larry needs is some form of plan. He knows he'll infiltrate the Mushroom Kingdom, but what will he need to do to achieve that goal? Rigging the system from the inside always works, coupled with exposing the fraud both Mario and the current "rulers" are, but he's unsure on how to perform such duties.
'First thing, I need to do research,' Larry thought, unlatching the tray built into the seat before him, ripping off the back cover of a magazine and grabbing a pen stashed within the previous seat's pocket. In order to infiltrate, he'll need to first learn the locations of the Mushroom Kingdom's command bases and the top-secret areas Mario and his advisors meet. A simple tap in the Mushroom Kingdom government's intranet connection may help with the task, although a hack will make him detectable. He knows the mission will be risky—riskier than any other mission type he performed—but the spy also understands the necessity of this operation.
Thoughts run a mile a minute in his mind, but Larry attempts to formulate a working plan. Needing to weed out unknown variables, he starts with one vital piece he does know: Mario, unlike Peach and her parents, always favored centralization of the Mushroom Kingdom's power. The youngest koopaling recalls many instances when the red-clad plumber advocated for the military and judicial powers to take up residence in Peach's Castle, much to the annoyance of the Royal Couple. Now with the main obstacles uncalled for, Mario may have done just that, and if he has, Larry will have a source for more information on the military command center and other vital information.
Traversed in his brainstorming, he fails to realize a flight attendant refilling his drink and spilling a substantial amount of water on his drawing board. Larry stares at the mess in shock before looking up at the flight attendant in anger.
"What was that for?!" the youngest koopaling growled, fangs near-visible even in the disguise. Larry considers himself a clean, kempt koopaling; nothing ticks him off more than a mess on anything he created, especially on blueprints to his next kidnap plan.
"I'm sorry, Sir!" the female toad pulls out a rag, "I'll clean it for you!"
"No," Larry snatches the rag from the flight attendant. He didn't want anyone seeing these plans and ideas he's brainstorming, else he'll be found out, "I can clean it myself."
"But Sir-"
"I SAID I'll clean it myself!" Larry shoos the attendant with his hand, 'Geez, what's up with these flight attendants?'
"Understood, Sir. Enjoy your flight."
'Whatever,' Larry rolls his eyes at the flight attendant as she continues her rounds. With a sigh, he presses the rag on top the soaked paper; although the paper turns into a low-quality mess, the ink itself appears to not have messed up, and with a careful cleanup method, the ink will be unscathed.
As the koopaling pats the towel over the plans, the paper becomes dry and rough to the touch. Just as he's about to jot down more ideas, an exhausted voice erupts on the plane's PA system.
"Attention passengers: we are arriving at Toad Town International Airport. We are now in the Heartland Standard Timezone; please adjust accordingly. Due to our landing, please remain seated and lift up the trays."
Larry picks up his draft and puts up the tray. He's confident in his ideas, and he doesn't want to cause even more scenes with the flight attendants—that'd only risk his disguise.
"Mario and the other freaks won't see this coming..."
"Peach!"
Snapping back into reality, the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom breaks her stare from the unconscious Totomesu and realizes her current situation. Not only did she do a brutal beat-down on one major member of the adversary, but she lacks any sort of wounds from doing so. Puzzled yet satisfied, she peeks over the ledge's edge: several unconscious baddies lie around her, while Daisy and Luigi, not far from the brutal scene, calls out her name.
"Peach!" Daisy repeated, still struggling within her restraints, "Did you get him good?!"
"Yeah… I did…" the soft voice escapes Peach's throat, although by some miracle, both Daisy and Luigi comprehend the words.
"Wow, umm," Luigi surveys the scene and identifies the knocked out minions before studying Peach's blood-soaked gloves, "We miss something?"
After looking around from the ledge, Peach jumps from the ledge and lands on both her hands and feet. She brushes the dirt from her gloved hands before taking the ruined clothing off, revealing her still-manicured hands. Dropping the gloves onto the ground, she hastens towards her two tied-up companions.
"I don't know; I guess so," Peach untied the duo from the pole before further explaining, "Mom always told me to touch the crystal on my dress whenever I was in danger. So I did."
Luigi and Daisy both glance at Peach's chest. The jewel, once noticeable on the princess's frilly pink dress, now absent.
"What do you think the jewel was, girl?"
Peach shrugs before answering Daisy, "I'm not sure, but when I touched it, the skies cleared, the Sun became visible, and, like a Super Star, I had immunity."
While Daisy now stares at the skies—apparently not noticing the sudden changes of light intensity before—Luigi ponders the phenomenon. He knows they all saved Jewelry Land from Bowser's curse, and they relightened the Dark Realm with the missing jewels, but that doesn't explain the Dark Realm darkening again. Someone else must've used magic here, but the way Peach's jewel cleared it, that couldn't be possible… Right?
"Well…" the green-clad plumber concluded, "Whatever it was, it saved us all."
Not participating in theories of any kind, Daisy snaps her eyes from the sky before sauntering towards Bowser.
"I totally love frolicking in the meadows, recalling our day and all, but we gotta go to Fret and Pine before my kingdom does!"
Peach and Luigi shrug before they both follow Daisy, who now kneels by the conscious, but dazed Bowser. Peach's eyes widen; despite being whacked hard by a bomb, not a wound appears on the Koopa King. The magic Peach experienced must've healed him too; she remembers the injuries he sustained even before the bombshell koopa incident commenced being gut-retching.
"Hurrr… I'll destroy you…" Bowser moans, eyes closed as he attempts to sit up, yet fails, "Graaah… Fear me and my army…"
Luigi and Peach giggle at the king's empty threats while Daisy hovers her gloved hand over Bowser and slaps him.
"Wake up, cuckoo! Rise and shine!"
Bowser snaps to attention before greeting the three with a confused, groggy expression.
"Wha?"
"You got knocked out by a bombshell koopa. I… Somehow let out magic, and it healed you and me."
Bowser attempts to nod, but the resulting rush of pain causes him to groan while rubbing his neck. Alarmed, he gazes at Peach.
"Healed me? Are you SURE about that?"
"Yes! You were bloodied up almost beyond recognition! Now you have no wounds!"
"But I still have pain," Bowser sighs, still working a kink out of his neck, "What magic was that? And when did the Sun come out?!"
The princess shrugs; she herself just noticed the soreness of her foot due to kicking the bombshell koopas. It could be their nerves after suffering trauma—nerves tend to take time to settle—and even the crystal couldn't speed the process up.
"You and me got healed, at least physically. Maybe mentally we still think we're hurt. As for the Sun… Well, that was the magic too."
Bowser once again attempts to hoist himself up, this time cautious to his 'injuries'. Once on his feet, the king stares at Peach's chest, puzzled.
"Shame you lost that jewel. Would've been great in the caves, the way it glowed."
"We have your fire, dude," Daisy intervenes before she and Luigi journey towards a large mountain just opposite Bowser's Castle, "Now let's go! Don't you lovebirds take too long!"
Daisy and Luigi giggle as both Bowser and Peach unleash verbal threats at the duo. The princess must admit: she didn't mind the company of Bowser; she in fact looks forward to their one-on-one meetups, and to be frank, she's worried about that development, especially due to their history. She's risked life and limb for him, while he's done the same for her, all whilst encouraging her.
For the first time in her life, she's unsure whether to inform Daisy of this development, due to the flower princess' latest habit of 'Bowser and Peach together forever, nanananabooboo' jeering. Nonetheless, she's inclined to at least inform someone… Anyone except for, of course, Bowser.
Hearing a throat clearing, followed by the words "Peach; Peachy, you okay?" she snaps out of her thoughts and spots Bowser eyeing her with concern. She feels her face warm up—praying to whichever star that Bowser wouldn't notice—before she responds.
"I-i-i-I'm fine. Yeah, I'm fine! Let's catch up with the others."
In a dark, forested area, Ludwig opens his eyes before stretching and murmuring incomplete sentences. He tends to be a morning person, save for the long, peaceful hours of the night he'd put into inventing back in the Kastle; this current period proves to be an exception.
The eldest koopaling rubs his eyes before letting out a soft yawn. Expecting to be in a secured chamber within the doomship, Ludwig does a double-take when he spots dead trees surrounding him, and a large, medieval-styled castle just past the trees. Did he get exiled by his own crew? Did the doomship crash and he was just knocked unconscious?
Or, perhaps, he found a wormhole transporting him to an alternate dimension. That must be it! After all, the warp pipe system that brought him to Austria and Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom exploited what may be a magically-summoned wormhole casted during ancient times. No expert, whether magikoopa or scientist, can explain in full how a wormhole forms nor what lies on the other side of one; if the ancient magic hypothesis proves true, any understanding of that magic now is lost.
Unnerved, Ludwig picks himself up and attempts to move towards the fortress. Although he feels himself moving, Ludwig doesn't feel himself walking. Curiosity overflows him as he looks down at his feet; he wasn't on the ground, but rather floating about half a meter in the air. If this were indeed the result of a wormhole, the concept of gravity may be subtle at best. He'll be the first person in recorded history to be on the other side of a wormhole; after decades of research, the forever-nagging mystery may now be settled!
The eldest koopaling stares at the full moon illuminating the scene. Although a scientist by nature, Ludwig's also fascinated with philosophies of all sorts, including astrological predictions, even if he doesn't always believe them. If no wormhole occurred, then perhaps the full moon's causing this, or the far-off Philosopher's Planet Kapia aligned itself with Plit. Who knows, but even the most skeptical person will know this current situation is against the Scientific Laws themselves, and this occurrence feels more than just a dream.
Shrugging the possibilities, Ludwig continues floating towards the citadel. Much of the citadel reminds him of Kastle Koopa—perhaps it was—making the koopaling even more confused. Are the armies not invading Kastle Koopa then? Or is this just a similar, yet different, castle in some undiscovered dimension?
Ludwig spots two figures exiting the castle: both young koopas, a male and female. The male sports a rose-colored shell and shorter, black hair, while the female exhibits a dark-blue shell and long, wavy dark hair. Ludwig ponders about the familiarity of the two; he's never seen these two before, but he feels as if he has a connection to them, especially to the girl.
A connection to kids most likely younger than him?! How does this happen?
With the questions digging at his mind and begging for answers, Ludwig glides towards the kids; perhaps they'll know what's going on.
"Greetings!" the koopaling calls to the kids, although the two ignore his salutations. They pull out a soccer ball, resulting in Ludwig sighing, "Excuse me?"
Once again, ignored. Defeated, Ludwig watches the two play, both giggling as they kick the ball from each other. Noticing a set of bleachers nearby, the eldest koopaling ascends to the top bench and sits down. He may as well watch, as they'll ignore any word he attempts to utter, and he has no idea on how to… Well, escape… this current scene.
He's still curious about the duo. Why do they appear so familiar? He's never seen either of them before. Then again, if he did stumble upon a wormhole, these may be two relatives in an alternate dimension. The pink-shelled koopa DID, in a way, resemble a slenderer Roy if he had hair, although the female didn't resemble any close siblings other than maybe Larry or Lemmy... Or even himself.
He snaps out of his thoughts when the soccer ball soars through him.
Wait, THROUGH him?! This is definitely a dream, or some sort of memory. This goes against scientific laws, even in a wormhole!
"Nice one, Lenny…" the girl sighs before collapsing onto the ground.
"Don't be jealous, Aly!"
"Yeah yeah, shut up and get the ball," the girl—Aly—commanded from her spot on the grass. As Lenny runs towards the ball, Aly now lies down shell-up on the cool grass.
However, not long after Lenny returns with the ball, the castle's door bursts open and a darker koopa emerges, sporting a stern expression on his grey face. Ludwig feels his eyes widen at the sight of the koopa: being familiar with the portraits of the kings preceding his father, the genius knows who the koopa is, even if they've never met in real life.
A shiver overcomes Ludwig as he continues studying the koopa's large stature. His clenched fists expose his shredded muscles, while his height and girth make Bowser appear as a mere runt. Multiple massive fangs leak from his scowl while his two sharp horns seem to even unleash their own expressions.
The koopa's none other than Morton Koopa Senior.
"Alyssa! Lennox! Get over here, now!"
Ludwig sits up, shocked at the names mentioned. Alyssa! Lennox! They're Bowser's younger siblings! He remembers them, and the stories Bowser would tell him about his younger siblings and about his father, although he never discussed the fates of the three. In short, with the help of Kamek, Bowser defended his younger siblings, and once again with Kamek's aid, they escaped Morton's wrath – most of the time.
The glowing smiles now wiped from their faces, the duo sag their shoulders and clump towards the large koopa. Ludwig follows their lead, floating his way towards the two, careful not to miss a line of dialogue.
"What did I say about training?!"
Lennox and Alyssa both shift on their feet, uncomfortable in the situation. From their eyes, Ludwig senses the despair, the dreariness and the darkness both endure in the fortress. Having grown under Bowser's explosive tempers, he's able to emphasize with them, to a point. But dealing with Morton's madness all day, every day? No wonder Kamek assisted them in an escape! Bowser's a cuddly teddy bear compared to Morton's wrath!
"Y-you s-said-" Lennox stuttered.
"-to focus on it more!" Alyssa sighed, staring down at the ground in disappointment.
"Exactly! So why are you out here?!" Morton stomps his foot, "You can still walk and run! That's a sign you didn't do enough!"
"Please, Daddy!" tears rolled down Lennox's face, "Give us a break!"
"Is the Mushroom Kingdom under our control?! No! That comes as the number one priority! And stop using those childish names and grow up!"
Speechless, Lennox trembles under Morton's extreme gaze. Sensing her brother in distress, Alyssa wraps her arm around him, although fear also wells up within herself.
"Okay, okay! We'll train!"
"I know you will," Morton takes his glare off from both koopas, "Because I commanded you to. Now get to it; train until you can't walk."
Morton reenters the castle, followed by Lennox still supported by Alyssa's arm. Ludwig attempts to enter the castle, curious onto where the two koopas 'train'. However, the door shuts before he's able to walk in, and unlike with the soccer ball, he's unable to walk through the door, nor can he open the door due to it being jammed.
"Curses!"
Ludwig awakes with a start, though this time he's back in his doomship chamber. The convoy must've landed in some location during his slumber; he cannot sense any flying sensation. Wondering what the holdup is, the eldest koopaling pulls open the window's blinds and sighs. Outside, a mid-spring blizzard rages, with visibility reduced to just meters ahead. The doomships are in no condition to lift off in this weather.
Perhaps he'll spend this extra time forming more of a plan with Kamek, as well as his two brothers if the connection's able to work.
Despite the agenda solidified in his head, Ludwig still wonders about the dream he had. This dream wasn't any ordinary dream: it wasn't something imaginary; he felt he was THERE, as if it was a different dimension.
But perhaps he needs to rid the thoughts. After all, what does his aunt, his uncle, and even his grandfather have to do with Mario's takeover of the Mushroom Kingdom? They don't even relate at all.
Unless… It somehow does…
Brushing off his dream, the eldest journeys towards the doomship's cockpit. The windshield's caked with snow; this storm may delay the fleet by at least a few hours, if not days. Of course, with time against them, Ludwig may need to risk takeoff if conditions don't improve soon.
"Ahh, there you are, Master Ludwig," Kamek stated as he enters the cockpit. The blue-robed magikoopa inches towards the koopaling before staring at the windshield and gives the obscured view a half-smirk, "The snow's fierce today, hmm?"
"Indeed," Ludwig replied, "Who called for ze landing?"
"I did, Master Ludwig, with confirmation from Boom Boom and Morton," Kamek admitted, "The conditions were worse then than they are now. We appear to be in Lower Sky Land."
Ludwig utters no reply as he browses through the doomship's flight history. The engines cut off about five hours ago, when temperatures plunged to -5F and the windspeed was at 41 knots from the east – against their path of travel. Looking at the provided meteorological information, the temperature rose to 10F while the wind only registers at about 12 knots.
Shivers overcome the eldest koopaling as he double-checks the temperatures. He can't imagine seeing temperatures as low as they were during any time of year, let alone in late-April. January must be a brutal month for Lower Sky Land, Ice Land and the other lands within this area; he always preferred the sub-tropical Pipe Land, Giant Land and the much balmier Upper Sky Land for his invasion targets.
"Vell... Ze meteorological data collected indicates zat ve have favorable conditions for relaunch. Of course, 'favorable' being relative," Ludwig clarified before turning on the doomship's windshield wipers. The machinery, despite struggling, manages to push off the thick clump of snow in its path, leaving behind only a patch of ice about a centimeter thick. The koopaling then turns on the heat's windshield defrost setting, "Vunce zis defrosts, ve are ready. I'll inform ze ozzers."
"Good plan, Master Ludwig," Kamek confirmed as Ludwig turns on the PA system and tunes it to Roy and Morton's channel.
"Brozzers," Ludwig spoke into the mic, "Are you available?"
Ludwig hears shuffling from one of the two before a groggy voice replies.
"Graw... I'm here now," the voice yawned, "When are we leaving, oh Dear Wonderful Leader?"
A chuckle escapes the eldest's mouth before he replies, "I'm glad your sarcasm's in sync vith your vords, Morton. It shows zat you are mentally capable of handling ze events ve vill partake in. Now, all ve need is Roy-"
"Yeah yeah, I'm here," Roy's voice cuts in the moment Ludwig mentions his name. Expecting an argument, Ludwig closes his eyes in annoyance before replying.
"Phenomenal. Now, defrost your vindows, get your troops ready and tell ze rest of your fleets to be ready. Ve vill depart in approximately half an hour. Ve must get to Jewelry Land, and ve must do it as efficiently as scientifically possible."
"Roger," Morton relayed.
As the line goes silent, Ludwig turns towards Kamek, who observes several scenes through his blue-tipped magic wand.
"Kamek, I must inquire you of a mind-infuriating circumstance plaguing me at zis moment," Ludwig stated, "Zat is ze concept of dreams. How often do you rely on dreams?"
Kamek looks up from his wand and towards Ludwig, "Well, Master Ludwig, dreams can mean anything. In most cases, they are symbolic gestures from the Stars themselves, but they can also be prophesies. Sleep, like meditation, connects us to a realm that's much more sophisticated than our basic three dimensions. A realm where we can control time and erase previous actions."
"Do such actions reflect in our... For lack of a better term, 'present' vorld?" Ludwig questioned.
"Nope," Kamek shook his head, "But that doesn't mean we can't get information about the past or the future. That's how our prophesies and our history became available. Why do you have these questions, Master Ludwig?"
"I'm unsure myself. I had a dream about Uncle Lennox and Aunt Alyssa vhen zey vere kids."
Kamek shrugged, "It could be a message. But, with dreams about the past, you typically find out the meaning only when you're caught up in the same situation it tried warning about. As they say, history repeats itself, because we all think we're more sophisticated than our primitive past. But no one ever realizes that the same primitive actions make up our core; it never disappears from us."
"Hmm..." Ludwig thought, "A razzer enlightening conversation. My gratitude, Kamek; as curious as I am about zis dream, I must first focus on the safety and survivability of my fleet."
"I agree, Master Ludwig, but always keep an open mind. Only then can you receive the answers you most desire."