NOTES: Sheesh! Here's my first 8,000-word chapter of the story. I can't help but notice how as the story progresses, my chapters' wordcounts get larger and larger; it's almost like I'll be writing a 15K-word epilogue or something at this point (just kidding!). Speaking of wordcount, the story just passed 100K, and it's still only halfway done! Although, to be real, like 5-8K of those words were A/N's.
Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for all the support!
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 XXIV
Traction
After her conversation with Daisy, Peach attempts to think more about rescuing her parents, but other worries won't leave her mind. She's afraid, she admits. She's afraid for her parents. For her kingdom. For Bowser. For her. For all the time she wished her life was back to normal, she realizes her fear of that same normality. She doesn't want to go back to being with Mario if he doesn't love her as a lover, nor does she want to spread anti-Koopa propaganda to her denizens anymore.
She doesn't want Bowser to be the enemy again. She doesn't want Mushroom Kingdom invasions, Sarasaland takeovers or Dinosaur Land invasions anymore.
She just wants peace, love and understanding.
The cave's rough terrain only exacerbates the situation as it threw every obstacle from steep rockfalls to rushing waters in her path, all while she ponders her life's current happenings. She and the group pass the unexpected twists with ease, but after spending hours avoiding nature's pitfalls, the exhausted princess notices her determination's shredded. At the cave's last fork, the group took the wrong path, leading them to a dome hosting a slumbering colony of bats. Despite the group's unlucky turn, fate sides with them as even Bowser's hefty stomps couldn't wake the vampiric creatures of the night, and they returned to the fork without incident.
She regained some of her determination after the batty situation—mainly determination to get out of the cavern as soon as possible. She's not Daisy; she hates exploring unknown areas unlike her outdoorsy, tomboyish friend. All Peach craves is relaxation with the reassurance of both her parents' whereabouts and her rightful rule of the Mushroom Kingdom. She didn't want to embark on this journey and sojourn through unchartered caves, but something within her tells her that she needs these unfolding events.
"Hey!" Peach hears Luigi's voice, "The exit's here!"
Peach lifts her eyes from the floor and unleashes a small smile. She's within seconds from exiting this dingy cave and one step closer to the Jewelry Land Castle. She's closer to reclaiming her rightful kingdom from her betrothed betrayer, and she hopes she's a step further in finding her parents. Most of all, she hopes she stumbles upon new pieces of information, so she can assemble the giant, complex puzzle.
Daisy cheers before dashing towards the cave's exit; even the explorer appears anxious to escape the dingy grotto. Meanwhile, Peach continues walking, the dainty princess preferring to enjoy her temporary solitude despite her own desire to exit the environment.
She drifts back into her thoughts of her kingdom and Bowser, but before any ponderings matured, she's interrupted by both the Sun's piercing rays and the frigid temperature. She escaped the cold cave, only to reappear in a barren, snow-covered, frosted environment—although the Sun keeps the four wayfarers warm. Peach observes the multiple snow-capped peaks and plateaus surrounding her; the quartet's stuck somewhere within a mysterious mountain pass.
"Well," Bowser announced, "We're at least in the Light Realm now. Halfways done, I guess?"
"Of this, yeah, but something tells me more are involved than Mario and Totomesu," Luigi answered.
Peach nods, "Totomesu said Mario was just a pawn, not the master."
"We need to be careful then, because Mario wouldn't ever do this voluntarily," Luigi shuddered, "And if my brother couldn't escape this force, it could get us all."
Daisy rubs her chin, pondering over the present information, "But what IS this force?"
"Not sure, Daisy..." Peach sighed, "But if we have to stop it, shouldn't we at least know what it is?"
Luigi shakes his head, "The Mushroom Kingdom's hijacked, probably by this thing, or this strange plan. Who knows. But it's probably something we'll figure out by the time we take back control of the Kingdom and even Dark Land."
"We need to stop this plan still, and sitting here thinking about what's causing it won't help, so let's get going," Daisy declared, "What's the best way to the castle, Bowser?"
"Uhh..." Bowser thought, "So, we're in the Spirit Mountains. We have to get off here and go through Mushroom Land. On the northern border of Jewelry Land's Grass Land, we can access the Float Castle. After swimming forever and exploring a cave, this last part shouldn't take long, especially because we can use the Sapphire River to guide us, at least until the forest."
"Sounds like a plan, Turtle Dude," Daisy replied after removing a clump of snow from within her shoe, "Lead the way before my feet fall off! Which direction's the Castle?"
"West."
Daisy gazes at the horizon; assuming the time to be late afternoon, she wanders towards the Sun's setting direction. Peach, Bowser and Luigi exchange looks before following the Sarasalandian princess down the pass.
"We have to be quick," Daisy huffed, "The Sun's almost setting and we can't camp here. It's cold enough with the Sun out."
"We could always do a klondike, or use Bowser's fire to stay warm," Luigi suggested.
"We always could, but that's a waste of time. We need to figure out what's controlling the Mushroom Kingdom, Dark Land and my land."
"Good point," Luigi replied to Daisy's sentiment.
He, Peach and Bowser remain silent as they follow Daisy throughout the mountain's canyons. Only knowing their desired direction rather than the path to arrive there, the four sojourn into one of the mountain chain's plentiful, snow-covered valleys via an unmarked path. The path's slope, although present, proves passable for even the most unprepared journeyers. Instead, for the first mile, they only worry about the ankle-high snow accumulation freezing their feet or saturating them.
As their altitude decreases, so too does the path's passivity. Down-sloping canyon winds—absent at the mountain's summit due to its peak elevation—blow the already-accumulated powder into the air, removing the Sun's comforting rays from the characters' skin and creating blizzard-like conditions. The resulting white-out fog drowns the slope's sudden steepness and the path's incline-counteracting zigzagging, although the four catch the shift in the nick of time.
Bowser stares at the path, determined. He's familiar with movement on ice from his battles with Mario, and he knows ice's frictionless property in union with the steep slope proves a terrible endeavor to overcome. He'll need traction—he could always use his claws—but even with those safeguards, the king knows falling on his shell on an icy surface will spell doom.
Likewise, the two princesses' stilettos, miraculously surviving the journey up to this point, also allow more traction. Like cleats, the heels dig into the ice as the princesses stomp down the path, resulting in cracked ice layering the path's surface.
From his shoes' worn-out soles, Luigi has no traction unlike the other three. After slipping and even falling on the sea of ice, the plumber instead decides to lay on his back and treat the path as if it's a luge course—in the dangerous conditions, he might as well have some fun. He pushes himself down the path with his arms, sliding slow enough for him to not run into the other three, while turning his body towards the curve's insides.
Each characters' strategy proves successful, and all four approach the mountain valley unscathed. Although the canyon winds remain in effect, the air clears as the valley, situated on the mountain's presumed leeward region, contains no accumulated snow light enough for the wind's lift. The underdressed quartet welcome the change and the return of the Sun's rays, although the wind's chillier than at the summit.
"So..." Daisy shivered, "The Sapphire River's here?"
"Look around." Bowser sighed.
"Wha–"
Daisy eyes the direction Bowser points towards. About a thousand feet away, a small stream trickles through the valley, forming a foggy enclosure around it as the wind skirts its surface. Daisy expected a roaring river with its contents storming from stone to stone like white horses; instead, the stream was a mere baby, crawling aimlessly through the valley.
"... Oh," Daisy finished, "That's a small stream! I was expecting, y'know, an actual river."
"Who cares?" Bowser shrugged, "It's water and it runs."
"If it's on a map, it should be more than 5 feet wide..." Daisy reasoned.
"I guess it's a cold year? Or a dry one?" Bowser suggested, "The snow's supposed to be melting. When we took Jewelry Land over, the river was at least ten times this size, probably more. Unless we came during a wet year that time."
"Yeah! Look how wet it is now, big guy."
As the two continue arguing, Peach and Luigi exchange glances before the pink princess rolls her eyes and steps in—she has a kingdom to tend to, and she refuses to be slowed down by a silly argument.
"We should care less about the size and care more about following it."
Daisy nods, "Right. Well, without further ado, let's go!"
The four approach the river and follow its trajectory. As Bowser stated, the river widens downstream a couple miles downstream; from the mountains' meltwater draining into its tributaries, the Sapphire River swells as the four characters journey parallel it. Daisy nods; at this point in the valley, the river's cresting at about a hundred-foot width, and she understands Bowser's claim concerning its size. Although the river doesn't compare to Sarasaland's massive Easton River in width, the river's opposing banks appear as a mere speck in the horizon.
Even with its increase in size, the Sapphire River remains tame, and like its namesake, the river remains valuable to them as their sole life source. Every hint of edibles disappeared from the sacks, and deducting from the sudden splashes erupting on the river's surface, the characters have trout or other fresh-water fish species as a food source. Not to mention the fresh water source, a now-woody biome and Bowser's fiery breath to produce potable water.
At the valley's mouth, the quartet approach another tributary in their path, its white, roaring waters lapping below a simple, yet renovated bridge. They cross the bridge over the tributary—on the other side, the woody shrubs transition into large, forest-like fungal growths.
By the time the four spot the giant fungi, only the canopy of stars offer their light. Their perils couldn't even persuade the moon to budge from its monthly break. Although the Sapphire River will guide them much of the way to their destination, the quartet know they need all the light they can receive before sojourning through an unknown landscape with no other guidance. Instead, they may as well receive their much-needed rest.
"So, this is the Mushroom Forest," Bowser stated, "Once we pass this, we'll be in Grass Land, then we'll be able to access Float Castle from there."
"This should be easy to pass then," Daisy replied.
"Yeah. Do you think we'll make it tomorrow, or the next day?" Luigi questioned.
"I'm betting on the next day. It's a medium-long hike, but we could get lost in the forest."
"But doesn't the Sapphire River lead us to Grass Land?" Daisy questioned, "I thought you were saying that."
"It does, but it flows south to Pipe Island instead of west to Float Castle," Bowser answered, "We could follow it out of the forest, but the river banks can get sketchy to pass if we're too close."
"Gotcha, turtle dude," Daisy yawned, "Well, I'm beat! Let's sleep, y'all."
Not feeling the wave of drowsiness crash into her as it did the others, Peach remains quiet as she observes the trio. She smiles as Daisy and Luigi unconsciously sleep side by side—she knows there's some bond between them, but the duo always stow such possibilities the moment she mentions them. Peach shakes her head; if she can admit love for her archenemy, shouldn't they be able to admit their love for each other, having been partners for much of their lives?
Thought in mind, she stares at Bowser. His peaceful expression counteracts the problems he also faces with his family and his kingdom. Perhaps that's why she feels for him now more than she ever did—they're both going through the same harrowing changes in their lives, and they're forced to reorganize their priorities.
As she stares at Bowser, the fatigue starts to overcome her, bringing a strange sense of peace to her mind.
Perhaps she's more emotionally bound to him than she thought.
Rested and healed, Kammy stares out the doomship's window and observes the occurring carnage among the three armies. The Pipelandian Army were like the Mushroom Sea's tumultuous waters: they push towards the Mushroom Army, drowning their helpless enemies in their own cresting waves of blood. Throughout the wrenching battles, she notices the Koopa Troop's morale increase, although the soldiers appear confused on whether they should flank the Mushroom Army at an area away from the Pipelandian Army, or to attack their unofficial allies also.
Despite her wounds disappearing from the tiger lilies' effects, the old magikoopa lacks the strength to command any army, let alone the ground forces. As a young apprentice to Kamek, Kammy learned that high morale can accomplish even the impossible, but through her wisdom, she realizes that age deadens any possibilities.
Instead, through her healing, she burned time pondering over the current macro-scale situation. Everything rubs her the wrong way. Even as an archenemy, Mario never wished for a war with the Koopa Kingdom, especially an offensive takeover. He never supported anything more than pre-emptive strikes. On top of that, Mario would never jail Peach or frame her. He cherished Peach—as someone fiercely loyal to Bowser, Kammy knows loyalty when she sees it.
She's only able to come up with two possibilities: either Mario's mind-controlled, or a figure stole his body via black magic—magic that only duplighosts and the most feared magikoopas in history knew. She doubts Mario suddenly changed, especially for the worse.
Either way, she only hopes Larry's safe from whichever evil occupies that castle.
Kammy's head snaps towards the door as she hears a knock. Too interested in the outside events to leave her window, the magikoopa waves her wand, resulting in the door opening and Iggy stepping into the room. The koopaling places a mug of tiger lily tea next to Kammy's bed before wiping his hands on his scrubs.
"Hey Kammy. Feeling better?"
"I'm fine, but I'm not young anymore, young master," Kammy answered, "My energy hasn't quite returned."
"We have Pom Pom commanding. Don't worry about the army; Pom Pom does a great job," Iggy acknowledged.
"She should flank the Mushroom Army while making sure the Pipelandian Army doesn't get too strong," Kammy advised, "With both armies at each other's throats, the Koopa Troop can dominate over both."
"That brings me to why I came. We need your help—not with advice, but with alliances. You can call this a diplomatic mission," Iggy replied, "I just got done talking to Lemmy. He wants us to form an alliance with Pipeus."
Kammy gives Iggy an 'are-you-sure?' scowl before staring at her magic wand tip. Like her, the wand tip's flashing blue orb also shows disapproval to the plan.
"I know," Iggy added, appearing to read the sorceress's expression, "But we're having a difficult time fighting a three-front battle, and we'll have an even tougher time maintaining it while also taking over Jewelry Land's Pipe Island. If we want the Pipe Maze, we need Pipeus on our side."
"Ignatius," Kammy sighed, "I have my concerns about this plan, but as his childhood guardian, I have full faith in Lemuel."
"Me too, which is why I'm here," Iggy continued, "But I feel like we're losing Lemmy's true self to a sudden Roy-like macho demeanor he established."
"Remember, young master: Lemuel's under a lot of pressure. Lives depend on his every action and his clear thought processes. He knows this, and he's developing another method of leadership just to cope," Kammy said, "It's like you, Master Ignatius. I've noticed perturbed, yet poignant characteristics in how you act."
"Yeah... I guess that's true," Iggy sighed, "The troops, their healing and the multiple close calls I've had with death are weighing me down. I can't wait for this to end."
"It's the unfortunate cost of war. People assume war's nothing but fun and games, or soldiers are nothing but dispensable subjects," Kammy stated, "But the people who witness these ghastly sights are scarred for life. They come home, become bankrupt, thrown out on the street and mistreated by the same government they risked their lives for."
"Exactly. It's sick."
"Your grandfather Morton was the same way. Dark Land's population of able-bodied males were as low as a quarter of their same-aged females during his rule simply because he couldn't let go of the dream of conquering everything or profiting off bloodshed."
"I'm glad we're no longer in that."
Kammy smiles at him before she summons her magic broomstick with her wand. The witch hops onto the stick then hovers, her broom unleashing puffs of glittery air as the magical, cloud-tipped stick rises. Iggy opens the medic room's window as he watches the spectacle and gives Kammy a nod.
"Good luck, Kammy," Iggy wished.
"Stay safe, master."
Kammy accelerates out the window and into the battlefield. She spots the frontline between the koopas and the Mushroom Kingdom below her, while two doomships hover about a half-mile away. She widens her eyes as she understands the pressure Lemmy and Wendy experience; about ten different battles take place within the small area, all involving Pipeus's army. Despite the Pipelandians' gains near the doomship's area, all three armies appear halted in their gains in the larger scope, with the koopas having the upper hand in most of the occurring battles.
She pulls her wand from her robe and gazes into the tip, seeking directions towards the Pipe Land castle. The castle's about fifty miles from her, and it's in the opposite direction of the battles. At least she won't be knocked off her broom and left to die again.
She tucks her wand away as she heads towards the southeast. The witch rehearses questions and answers in her head—she never was the persuasive type, other than towards Bowser, and her diplomatic experience's nonexistent. Excuses like 'We're on Peach's side!' and 'We can defeat Mario together!' flood her mind, and she only hopes Pipeus also finds comfort in them.
Larry sneaks through the various hallways within Peach's castle, surprised at his mission's relative ease. On a typical day, guards would patrol the pink-themed regal hallways' vast swaths – but today's not the Mushroom Kingdom's cookie-cutter day.
He admits, he doesn't know what he's hiding from or what he's fighting, but considering an unidentified being's posing as Mario, Larry figures he's not welcomed anywhere in the castle. But why is there an anomaly in the guards present?
He turns around and spots E. Gadd dashing away from the hallway's line of sight. Larry's not used to a partner-in-crime on his spy trips, especially the typical "good guy." He must admit the process becomes more cumbersome, yet fun with company. He's lucky the mission is in easy-mode at the moment.
"My my," E. Gadd groaned, "You do this for a living, youngster?"
"Pretty much. Now, take this and add weapons, guards and traps, and you have my typical spy mission."
"That's tough work!" E. Gadd marveled, "Do you even have fear?"
"Eh, everyone has fears, but people like me don't let fear slow us down. Life's a series of stunts and pitfalls, especially with my family, so I had to become a daredevil, in a sense," Larry shrugs, "But we need to find Mario. The real one this time."
"Yabba yabba!"
Larry peeks down a hallway from the wall's pink edge. He recognizes Tayce T.'s Royal Kitchen; the spy knows from earlier trips that much of the castle's keep can only be accessed through this hallway.
"Okay, Gadd," Larry whispered, "The hallway in front of us? We need to get through there, but it's usually heavily-guarded."
"What's there, youngster?"
"The rest of the keep," Larry answered, "I don't know if Mario—the real one—infiltrated this yet, but I don't wanna risk capture."
"So, do we just run as quick as we can, youngster?"
Larry studies the ceiling around the hallway, where a minimum of seven machines descend from the overhanging tiles. A few more machines shoot laser beams from them – obviously not a Larry-friendly contraption. The sneak shakes his head at the sight.
"Not at all; the guards are gone, but it's heavily-surveillanced this time. It's a booby trap," the sneak objected, "My typical Plan B of using the castle's outer staircase also won't work due to the guards outside."
"Why are they outside, and not inside?"
"Because they don't know that we infiltrated the castle already," Larry replied, "They're waiting for me to come from the outside. Kamek warned me about it."
"Then how do we get up?"
"Just a lesson on architecture for you. My brother Ludwig does tons of work with renovating and overtaking castles in the Lands we conquer," Larry started, "But according to him, room in a castle are connected to each other by secret passages, and it's done due to security reasons. If a castle's taken over, the Royals could use the secret passages between each room before escaping."
"My, you learn a lot from this Ludwig feller," E. Gadd nods at the explanation before moving his eyes to Tayce T's kitchen, "So, you mean we can get up there through a room, like that kitchen over there?"
Larry nods, "It's a well-kept architectural secret to the point where only they know. I'm not sure if even Peach knows about the secret passages in her Castle, because she never uses them. I use the passages at home to gather blackmail on my siblings... Heh."
E. Gadd cracks a smile.
"The kitchen shouldn't have cameras also. They typically don't."
"So, kitchen it is, young one."
E. Gadd trailing him, Larry dashes towards the hallway's other wall and peers around it. The coast is clear; he creeps towards the kitchen door, unsure how deep the castle's motion detectors go. He flinch-touches the doorknob, seeming to expect an overheated or electric doorknob, but no such problems arise. He turns the knob and cracks the door open.
Larry lets out a sigh of relief. The kitchen's dark, although the smell of fresh-baked cookies attack his nose. Tayce T. may have wrapped up her duties for the day not long ago.
The sneak pushes the door open and flips on the lights. For a castle, the kitchen's quite modest with two ovens, two stoves, three sinks, countless drawers and an island. He rubs the island's granite top before knocking on it; nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing suggesting a hollow entrance. The koopaling then studies every detail within the mahogany cabinets and notices one of the floor-level cabinets being too stubborn to close.
"Typically, the secret passages are either part of the island, or they're one of the floor cabinets," Larry stated, "This island appears to not be hollow, so if Peach followed the typical castle procedures, it should be near the ground. I choose this one because some monarchs foolishly mark which ones are the secret passageways due to them assuming their joe-blows don't know about passageways. I'm hoping this person's no exception."
Larry opens the cabinet. A stack of a dozen skillets lie in a chaotic mess, its many limb-like handles attempting to intimidate the koopaling as they sprout in every which way. He ignores the skillets and knocks on the cabinet's back wall. He marvels when the cabinet returns a drum-like tone.
"This should be the passageway. It's hollow enough to be, anyway," Larry confirmed, "We need to move the pans."
Larry takes the skillets and hides them in the pantry; he's uncomfortable about leaving them on the floor only for suspicion to rise within whoever enters the kitchen. He grabs a knife and jabs the blade into the cabinet's hind wall. As he expected, the knife destroys the hind wall's plastic membrane while it spews torn cardboard throughout the cabinet's interior. Larry tears the rest of the wall back until he has a circular tunnel about twelve feet in circumference.
"This is a tight squeeze, but we'll be able to fit," Larry stated before climbing into the cabinet. E. Gadd follows him in before the scientist closes the cabinet and blocks the tunnel with a spare cake tin.
Peach and her parents must not know about the passageways; an inch-thick layer of dust blankets the floor and the handrails. Larry sighs; his cursed hay fever acts up yet again, but he hopes his sneezes and sniffles don't alert the usurper nor affect the mission.
"This need a little spring cleaning," E. Gadd commented.
"Right? I'm sure the dust here is older than Peach is. Remind Peach to stick a-" Larry pauses as he holds back a sneeze, "Gaaah. She needs to stick a giant fan in here. No way a pathetic duster stick can get all this. Wooster would have a cow if he saw this. You know how much of a clean freak that guy is."
"Yabba yabba!"
The passageway zigzags across the first floor before it rises towards the second. Larry dusts off the floor's handrails before he grabs onto them and climbs up.
"Okay, these are the handrails. They act as the stairs."
E. Gadd nods as he grabs onto the rails and hoists himself up as best as his old arms can. Towards the top, Larry reaches his hand out to E. Gadd, then pulls him up.
"That's probably the most annoying thing, other than-" Larry attempts to hold back a sneeze, but he's unsuccessful this time. The resulting air scoops up dust from the floor and creates a dusty fog around the character, causing about four more sneezes, "Geez! Other than this damn dust!"
"Yeah! Tell me about it," E. Gadd stated as he rubs his now-red eyes with his quivering arms, "My arms got a workout, young one!"
"Anyway, so depending on the castle, the paths from the kitchen either lead to the bedrooms or the bathrooms."
"Bathrooms?" E. Gadd shivered, "I'd pass on that one."
"Our castle used to have them in the bathrooms," Larry stated before smirking, "That was before Luddi assumed I was a 'potential voyeur' and sealed them. But I'm not a voyeur; I'm a blackmailer. Two different things."
"That's... A rather interesting situation. A normal person wouldn't want either to end up in an occupied bathroom, young one."
"Hey. First off, I'm the youngest, and I have to defend myself somehow! Also, Dad's been refusing our allowances lately, and a guy's gotta make money somehow. With all that, what do you expect me to do? Get a job? Rob a bank?" Larry defended before focusing back to the task at hand, "But usually, even if the path forks, the passage's other exit is at the end of whatever path you chose. It just leads to a different bedroom or bathroom."
"Sounds easy enough."
The duo continue crawling through the tunnel, attempting to ignore the dust while they study the walls for any indication of an exit. Slivers of light from the open rooms above leak through the tunnel, giving them a dim view of their surroundings, although they regret seeing the copious amounts of dust they're crawling in. They climb another set of handrails to the third floor before they come across the blocked exit.
"So, this is it?" E. Gadd questioned.
"Should be."
Larry dusts his claws before knocking on the barrier, which returns the drum-like sensation.
"It's hollow, so it must be," Larry concluded.
The koopaling clenches his fists and punches the barrier, resulting in the barrier shattering. Larry removes the barricade's edges from the wall before throwing them in a makeshift pile outside the tunnel. He crawls out; a slew of pink dresses greet him, each emitting a distinct fruity scent reminiscing a produce-themed fresh marketplace. This must be Peach's closet.
E. Gadd crawls out not long before him, also browsing the surroundings while puckering his nose.
"I'm drained, youngster," E. Gadd yawned, "This old man doesn't have that kind of energy anymore, hoo hoo."
"You know what?" Larry stretches his arms, "I agree. I'm dead. Probably from all the dust."
"We're tuckered out. Wanna just rest?"
"Sure. I'm gonna wash up first. I hate feeling dirty."
Larry stands up before he walks towards the door and bolts it—even if any evil entity breaks the locks while attempting to enter, the duo will have enough time to use the tunnels again. The koopaling heads towards Peach's bathroom and flips on the light. Larry grins at the fresh smell of bleach—his favorite, as it represents cleanliness—before he pulls two towels from the bathroom closet. He cringes at the mirror; his flat hair appears gray and ghastly, as if he aged sixty years in the past sixty hours, while his red, baggy eyes rivals that of an undead zombie.
He abhors the cursed, damned dust.
Larry pulls away from the horrendous sight before he turns on the shower, making sure to keep the water at mid-pressure at most. He steps into the steamy, yet comforting stream of water before wetting his hair. Typically picky about his shampoo choices—after all, he will never allow any sulfates in his hair—he didn't care about the chemicals found in Peach's shampoo as washing out the dust became the top priority.
He lathers his hair about five times before turning off the shower, wrapping one towel around his hair while he dries himself with the other. Satisfied, he turns off the light and exits the bathroom.
By the time Larry finished, E. Gadd was already passed out on the bed, unalert at any sensation around him. Larry sighs as he grabs the other pillow and plops down on the ground, too tired to care about getting a blanket from the closet.
Despite his drowsiness, the youngest koopaling couldn't help but ponder his actions. They're sleeping in an unsafe area, and his shower may have alerted any residents. Yet, at the same time, he wanted to sleep and leave tomorrow's problems to tomorrow's Larry.
With a yawn, Larry's latter half wins the battle. His eyes closed, he distances himself from his current predicaments until his consciousness fizzles.
Morton shakes his head and opens his eyes. Rather than the deep-blue ocean, a dark-themed castle, obscured by the mysterious setting's smoke-filled air, dots the horizon. Countless crows fly around the ghastly fortress before landing in its nearby skeleton-like trees. Although the setting seems familiar, he's unable to put his finger on where here's at.
"Am I dead?" Morton questioned as he stares at the gothic castle in the background. As he approaches it, he recognizes the fortress as his home in Dark Land, but a different vibe infiltrates the building, "'Cause if I am, I promised to haunt Ludwig!"
Brushing off his oath, Morton continues walking towards the castle. He notices the surroundings—the trees, while bare, appear alive. Abandoned bird nests, indicating the trees' vital role in the area's biological functions, litter the trees' limbs, while animal tracks circulate around the trunks. Despite their lively conditions, Morton compares them to the decaying woods outside Castle Koopa.
"No way. Is this home?" the large koopaling rubs his temple, dazed at his surroundings. He must be dead, or at least in a vivid dream; he cannot be in reality. Water surrounded him just moments ago. The relentless liquid filled every empty space of his lungs; how can he be back in arid Dark Land?
Shrugging, Morton continues his trek towards the castle, but as he nears the woods' exit, he stares at the castle and gasps. Countless armored vehicles camp outside the castle's fortified walls, each launching explosives either inside the castle's courtyard or at another army near the fortress's entrance. Morton also notices that the grey-clad army doesn't match the current Koopa Troop's red camo uniforms.
"Wait... What's this?" Morton exclaimed, "Is this Mario's army?!"
Eager to discover more information about the conflict around him, Morton approaches the fight scene. He expects the assaulters to be mushroomers, but Morton gasps when he spots the offending war trucks and warthogs being operated by koopas. He doesn't know where he is, in what time period, or even what dimension he's in, but Morton knows something's off.
He notices a bomb, launched from the castle, hurling towards him and plunging into the ground behind him. He fails to step out of the bomb's trajectory in time, but he doesn't feel its blunt impact nor its explosive power. Wherever he is, he's also immune; he's either dead or he's in some strange dimension.
"That's it..." Morton murmured, "Where's Ludwig?! I'm haunting that geek!"
On cue, the scene around Morton fades, leaving the koopaling bewildered. As he questions the events, he's transported into another scene, where he spots three little koopa kids huddling together. He looks around; the calming moonlight forms bands onto the room's floor through the closed window blinds. The scene appears tranquil, yet the kids appear panicked.
Multiple flashes occur outside, each bright enough to broadcast the koopa children's frightened expressions. During the brief respites, the previously-peaceful moonlight instead gives Morton a peculiar, uncomfortable feeling – he relates to the kids now. He doesn't understand what's happening in the scene, but from the koopa kids' demeanors, the flashes are unwelcomed.
"The loud things that go boom… I'm scared. I want Mommy," one cried. Within seconds, Morton hears a blast accompanied by muffled screams.
"I-I hope it ends s-soon," another kid, most likely the oldest of the three, replied as he wraps his arms around the younger kids' necks. Morton can tell the oldest kid wants to remain brave, but his voice cracks tell otherwise.
Morton still can't piece the puzzle together. He assumes the flashes could be bombs; is this related to his previous vision? If so, this is koopa against koopa... Perhaps a civil war?
"Here," the oldest said as he pulls out a scepter. From the scepter's tip, a soothing lullaby—one all too familiar to Morton— blares louder than any outside event can counteract. The three appear to be more at ease as the music plays; the smallest child even start closing his eyes.
Morton observes the presumed eldest koopa as he carries the youngest child towards the crib and places him there. The oldest koopa's familiar, although Morton cannot piece together who it is.
And then, the middle child spoke.
"I'm still scared, Luddy!"
Morton's eyes bulge. Luddy! Koopas attacking koopas! Castles! Three small koopas! The lullaby! He's able to put two and two together: this must be when Ludwig, Lemmy and Roy were kids during Dark Land's latest civil war! But, Morton pondered... Why is he here?
Maybe he is dead! Maybe Morton can haunt him!
"You left your brother alone... You left him to die... Now he's gone because of you..." Morton whispers in a raspy tone by the young Ludwig's ear. Morton repositions himself before Ludwig then shouts, "Boo!"
The koopaling fails to budge.
"Huh... He can't see or hear me?"
Confused, Morton continues watching Ludwig's actions. By now, Ludwig has Lemmy tucked under his arm, and he appears tro be rocking his younger brother.
"Shh, Lemmy, Roy's asleep, and we know how hard it is for him to get to sleep. We need to calm down and sleep too. Just focus on the music. Mom and Dad and their army will protect us."
The middle child—Lemmy—nods as he rises from the floor and lays in his bed, with Ludwig doing the same. With the lullaby continuing, the two then were able to fall asleep.
As Morton begins zoning out to the lullaby, the scene switches to a koopa and a magikoopa, neither of which Morton has seen before. A scowl appears on the koopa's purple face while he rubs his cream-shaded chin. The magikoopa—an old, glasses-wearing witch in near-black attire—stands beside the koopa, smirking. Morton turns towards the direction of their stares: Castle Koopa.
"Here's your chance to defeat your usurper of a brother," the magikoopa stated, "That's been your goal ever since His Majesty Morton was killed."
"Trust me, Bowser will pay for the death of my father, and so will the twins' disgusting spawns he protects," the koopa declared, "Killing the twins was the most glorious moment of my life. I'd repeat it until the day I die if I could."
The magikoopa continues smirking, "Your wish is my command."
"Good; that's heaven. But first, that little pipsqueak Bowser must die, and both Dark Land and the Mushroom Kingdom must be under my control."
"You're fit to be King of the Mushroom Kingdom; prophesies point towards it, and my prophesies are never wrong," the magikoopa reassured.
The koopa glared, "Of course I am! The Mushroom Kingdom is mine, because I said it is, and because I'm Dad's heir!"
"Chill, Master," the magikoopa stated, "Our spies state that Bowser will invade the Mushroom Kingdom. After he does and he gets destroyed, we'll launch an attack! That way, he and his old Koopa Troop rebels will be slain."
The koopa continues rubbing his chin in thought before a smirk creeps on his face.
"I love it, Ka-"
"Salutations, Morton."
Morton opens his eyes. He's no longer in Dark Land, but resting in a blue-themed room. From the flying sensation around him, he must be in a doomship or another aircraft. Great—will he crash down again? That much Morton remembers.
"Ugh, my head... Where the hell am I?" Morton stated, still delirious.
"You're in my doomship, brozzer. Vhere does it look like?" the voice informed the confused koopaling.
"Screw you, Ludwig. Can I just choose death now? Better than being in this shithole with you," Morton murmured.
"Ahh, my brozzer's his sarcastic-as-ever self," Ludwig replied, "I zought you'd be braindead from ze amount of time you vere submerged, but—vell, I digress—you cannot kill vhat's already dead."
Morton moves his head towards the voice's direction and spots Ludwig and Roy sitting together by Morton's side. Ludwig gives Morton a slight smile while Roy, appearing absent-minded while a blanket's draped over him, continues staring at the bed-ridden koopaling.
"Your doomship vas struck, resulting in you sinking. Roy's doomship also was impacted, but he was still conscious vhen he vas found. You almost drowned before ze toadies found you and lifted you from ze vater. Roy, however..." Ludwig waved his hand in front of Roy's face, who doesn't respond to the action, "It appears as if he's still in shock."
Morton nods, although his neck's stiffness prevents him from following through with the motion.
"Vhat struck your ship?" Ludwig questioned before turning towards the unresponsive Roy, "You too, if you're psychologically present."
"Uhh," Morton recalls his avoidance of the laser beams before remembering an airshroom in his peripherial, "It was the Super Scope... I guess?"
"You guess?"
"Uhh... It was, like, a green blast thing, but it, uhh, like, totally fired too early," Morton cringed as his blanked-out sentence came out in a Wendy-like fashion. Ludwig paid no mind to it, instead attempting to clarify his brother's claim.
"Immediately?"
"Yeah! What happened to 'Oh, it'll fire in 10 seconds! Don't worry, Morty!'?"
"It's supposed to!" Ludwig raised his voice before realizing his tone, "... Vell zen. It's possible ze Scope has been... Upgraded, in some fashion... Vait. You said ze blast vas green?"
"Yup! It was a green blast! Green like... If Iggy stepped in front of a fan or something."
"I feared so," Ludwig sighed, "Super Scope blasts are yellow, not green. I don't know vhat zis zing is, but it's ze upgraded version, and it may be homing. Ve need to be careful, and ve need to rid ze Mushroom Kingdom Fleet of such overpowered veapons."
After his statement, Ludwig hears a crumpling beside him. He looks over and sees Roy now clenching onto the blanket and shivering.
"I..." Roy spoke up, causing Ludwig to raise his eyebrows and stare at the bulky koopaling.
"Roy?" the eldest koopaling questioned in concern, "Are you feeling okay?"
"Uh... I think?" Roy responded, "What h-happened?"
"Roy," Ludwig ignored the question, "Spell your name."
Roy breaks out from his glossy stare and scowls at Ludwig, "What does dat have to do with anyt-"
"Just execute ze action."
Roy sighs before shrugging, "Fine. Uhh... R-O... Uhh... Y... I think?"
Ludwig facepalms; he hates when Roy does this, not because he's stupid, but because he isn't. He knows Roy's nowhere near his full potential when it comes to obtaining knowledge, but Roy never exercises the desire to fulfill everything he's capable of due to his ego. The eldest sees such events as a waste, "You zink? Really? You have ze easiest name out of all of us and you can barely spell it."
"Look, punk. I spell my name how I want. It's mine."
"Vhatever," Ludwig gave up, "Next: of vhat kingdom are you a prince?"
"You know dis one, dipsh-"
"Answer ze question, Roy. Nozzing else."
"Dark Land! But-"
"Favorite minion?" Ludwig cut him off.
"Chargin' Chuck," Roy stated.
"Favorite food?"
"Meat... Lotsa meat... And blueberry muffins."
Ludwig nods at the answer before replying, "My apologies for such a confounding assessment. Due to your condition at present, I'm required to analyze ze current state of your mental fitness and how such potential trauma to your cranium may have impacted your personage, but such ramifications may not have sprouted from your ocean plunge."
"... What?"
The eldest koopaling sighs, "You've had an acute stress reaction, and I needed to confirm that such impacts didn't damage your brain."
"'Course it didn't damage me, genius! I'm still here!" Roy fired, resulting in Ludwig rolling his eyes.
"Aphallic lizard..." Ludwig mumbled under his breath as he rolls his eyes, causing Roy to perk up and glare at him. Meanwhile, Morton glares at the two bickering koopalings.
"Um, yeah. Can we focus on me now?" Morton questioned.
"Vhat about you?" Ludwig pointed out, "You didn't sustain head injuries like Roy did. You just need some rest after your bout vith anoxia drained out your energy."
"No... I mean the stupid thing that shot me down."
Ludwig shook his head, "You have just as much of an idea about zis strange development as I do, my dear brozzer. From your reports, ve know zat it may be homing, vhich means somevun somehow got a hold of our doomships or zeir blueprints to set our doomships as targets. Ve must be more vigilant of our surroundings, but zat's all ve know."
"Okay..." Morton drawled, "But I had this weird dream."
Ludwig and Roy both perk up at Morton's statement. Ludwig nods.
"Vhy yes, I've had ze same predicament vhen ve vere grounded during ze blizzard," the eldest said, "It vas about our grandfazzer and Fazzer's siblings."
"Yup," Roy nodded, "Had dem weird dreams too before all dis started."
Morton nods before stating, "Mine involved both of you."
Ludwig and Roy stare at their younger brother, intrigued.
"Hmm?" Ludwig uttered, "A dream about us? Do tell."
As Morton recites the castle's bombings, the three kids and the lullaby, Ludwig and Roy nod their heads.
"Zat did happen, dear brozzer. Beethoven's 7thvas ze lullaby I played during our younger years—" Ludwig confirmed.
"Somehow; that song's more annoying than Wendy's rendition of Superstar," Morton interrupted, but Ludwig ignores the outburst.
"—But vhat confounds me is vhy zese... Vision-like dreams plague us."
"Dunno," Morton shrugged, "But... How'd you all survive that?"
"Simple," Ludwig stated, "I grew up in ze Real Vorld vith Kamek. I vas raised in zis small village in a country on Earth called Austria. Life vas different, but it's a lifestyle I miss. Ve farmed, ve did activities as families. Ve spoke ze language, German. Ve learned to despise var unless our own land's in danger. Life vas... I vouldn't trade it for anyzing, and it's somezing I vouldn't have experienced vithout ze civil var. At times, I find myself missing Austria; it's my second home."
Morton sees Ludwig smiling as he reminisces, but notices Roy frowning over the memories.
"Tough life, Roy?" Morton questioned, "It's actually the one thing you never talk to me about, other than, like, New York."
"No parents. No guardians. No friends. No family. No info on who I was. My childhood was based on a lie, so what's dere to be happy about?" Roy snapped.
Morton doesn't respond, instead electing to stare at the room's ceiling in boredom, while Roy's back to giving Morton a blank stare. Observing the two dejected koopalings, Ludwig stands up and refills two water glasses on a nightstand by Morton's bed.
"Get some rest; Kamek's helping your army, Morton. You too, Roy; ve have Boom Boom commanding," Ludwig suggested before exiting the room, leaving the recovering koopas alone. Smirking, Morton looks at Roy.
"What was your dream about? The one before all this happened?"
Roy shifts in his chair before giving Morton a glare. Morton knows he struck a soft spot in his otherwise-tough brother. Knowing Roy's typical dismissive attitude towards dreams and thoughts, whatever he dreamt that night affected him personally.
"Nothing, punk!" Roy growled, "But just so ya know. I'm not letting dat witch hurt any of ya like she did with me! Only I can do dat!"
Before Morton can interrogate his brother more about his dream, Roy rises from his chair, exits the room, and slams the door.