NOTES: So, 26 chapters in, and I noticed that for some reason, both FanFiction and AO3 screw up my formatting, especially with italics and ordinal numbers. If I use either, the words before and after would be adjoined to it, which is awfully annoying. I'll be going through my work and fixing those issues; thanks to everyone who pointed the mistakes out!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This one, and my next few chapters, have actually been one of my all-time favorite chapters I've written.
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 XXVI
Burning Curiosity
E. Gadd lounges on Peach's make-up chair, observing Larry as the koopaling uses Peach's eyeliner pencil to outline the castle's layout, the surrounding Mushroom Province and Grass Land on Peach's makeup counter. He's no cartographer, but for not living here, E. Gadd notices Larry has an extensive knowledge of the castle and its surrounding land, although the koopaling admits he doesn't know every room's purpose. Larry marks their current location on the castle's third floor with an X.
"Okay," the sneak announced, "Here's the four floors. The third floor has the guest rooms and the meeting rooms, while the fourth floor has the control room."
"Control room?" the professor inquired.
"Yeah. It's where communication between the Mushroom Kingdom and its military happens, apparently. From what I saw from spying, anyway," Larry shrugged, "When the Mushroom Kingdom went through its decentralization under the Toadstools, the seven Lands were given more authority in the federated government, but the military never moved out of the Province. The Province never wanted to give up military control."
"Ah," E. Gadd nodded, "I never knew military action was based in the castle."
"I think they have multiple bases, just so it won't remain too centralized. This one's main focus is collecting intelligence; I don't think actual commands are issued up there."
"I see. So, what's the plan, young'un?"
Larry draws a circle around the fourth floor before drawing arrows towards the castle's basement and towards Grass Land.
"First, we need to get to the control room up there," Larry points to the circled fourth floor, "When everything's clear, I need you to hack the system and transfer all the info to your lab. After, we'll sneak into Grass Land using one of the tunnels my monty moles built in the cellar a few years back. I think the entrances got boarded up, but the tunnels still work. Peach and King Grassley never bothered to fill it in."
"Yes, my lab's in Grass Land, but Grass Land's awfully loyal to the Province. We'll be extradited if Grass Land catches us."
"But isn't your lab near Luigi's mansion there?" Larry asked, "That's an isolated area, and so is the end of my monty mole tunnel."
"Fair enough. I trust your plan," E. Gadd nodded, "How do we get to the control room? I'd expect it to be under intense security."
Larry smiled, "Hey, you're starting to get it, old man! You're better at this spying thing than my dad is! Now, let's see what else you learned; try to answer your own question."
E. Gadd studies Peach's room. Other than the tunnel they emerged from, nothing strikes interest in him. Even that tunnel wouldn't suffice, considering the dead ends.
"I'm guessing neither the tunnel nor the hallway are viable options."
"You guessed right. As I stated, the tunnels only lead between the bedrooms and one of the first floor rooms—typically the kitchen," Larry smirks, "Lemme give ya a hint. Unlike the tunnel, it's well-ventilated."
The professor looks up and notices the ducts blowing air on him. That's it! The castle has centralized air, and the ducts in every room connect to each other! Maybe Larry's thinking about crawling through them to reach the control room. They should fit; after all, the ducts appear as if they belong in a warehouse in Mushroom City.
"We need to use the vents," E. Gadd finally stated.
Larry nods—smirk still implanted on his face—before he pushes Peach's makeup table below the vent. He places the chair on the table, clearing the rest of the required distance before removing the vent's grate.
"The more you spy, the more you realize how cliché vent spying is, because it's so effective," the young koopaling answered as he throws the grate onto the floor, "But Peach never seemed to grasp the lesson. Her and her family never secured their vents."
The koopaling helps E. Gadd up onto the chair and hoists the professor into the duct before pulling himself up into it. Larry inhales the cycled air—fresh and free of any dust or lint, although the rushing air gives him a chill. They may run into trouble, but Larry's determined to find answers to the complicated mess.
"Follow me."
E. Gadd obliges and tags along with the spy. Unlike the tunnel, they encountered no staircases or any steep slopes, but only a gentle upward slope. The corridor should be a more relaxing crawl than the staircase tunnels, although the multiple pathways may make the pipelines their own labyrinth.
"So, young'un, how'd you get into spying?"
"I thought I told you this," Larry continues crawling as he replied, "But it's a skill I picked up because my brothers and sister constantly made fun of me because of my lack of abilities, or they babied me because of my age. Dad did too; he either gave me the easy Lands to conquer, or he forced me to stay by his castle."
"Lack of abilities?"
"Ludwig and Iggy are the brains; Morton and Roy are the brawn; Wendy and Lemmy are the distractors and evaders. Each use those traits to fight Mario. Then there was me. All I was good at was botany and tennis," Larry shook his head, "Tennis is useless in evil schemes, and even botany was too since Kamek's magic took care of the piranha plants we used. My siblings constantly belittled me because of that. They called me a waste of space; a weakling; a paperweight; useless. Well, besides Lemmy; he was always too nice to go against people."
"So, to pick up an evil trait, you learned to cheat and spy."
"You got it, old man. Everything changed when Ludwig stole one of my favorite plants and destroyed it while testing an invention. I wanted to get back at him and avenge my poor plant... But, he was too strong for me to take him on, he was too smart for me to outsmart him, and I didn't dare ask the others for help. So, I figured another way: blackmail I've unintentionally gathered," Larry giggled, "Ever since then, I've gotten into spying, cheating, betraying, stealing, lying, luring and sneaking, all while looking innocent."
E. Gadd shivers as Larry describes his traits—what charming qualities he has.
"My siblings changed their views towards me. Well, some. After going against their archrival, I've received respect from Roy and Morton, and I started aligning with them against Ludwig, Iggy and Wendy, although Ludwig and I eventually got along," Larry sighed, "I just hate feeling useless or a helpless baby, y'know? I can't do things that my brothers and sister can. I can't pilot a doomship. I can't breathe fire. I needed to do anything I could just to stay relevant. Spying and magic allowed me that gateway."
"Well, I'm glad everything worked out."
"Yeah," Larry said, "Not to brag or anything, but my spying's the reason why we still have hope. It was me that told Kamek about the Mushroom Kingdom, and Kamek's the one whose plan we're following."
"Once again, everything fell into place, youngster," E. Gadd changed the subject, "Which vent leads to the control room?"
"The control room takes up all of the fourth floor, so whichever one we get to first."
The duo continue crawling until they spot a vent broadcasting the light from below. Larry peeks from the vent's cracks. A table, seeming as if a paper bomb exploded on its surface, rests a couple meters away below the vent. Several computers buzz, radio communicators erupt and phones ring, but the koopaling cannot find any of the room's residents.
"The coast is clear," Larry whispered as he dislodges the circular vent. The covering slips from Larry's grasp, tumbles onto the table with a loud clang before rolling off the table's edge, bringing stacks of the table's papers with it, "And don't do that either when spying. But the room seems empty, so it doesn't matter."
After double-checking for guards or employees after the disturbance, Larry creeps down the vent and lands on the table, cautious not to slip on the messy desk. He catches E. Gadd as the professor follows his steps, and places him down on the ground.
"Okay. I'll explore more around here and see if we can get info. You hack into the system."
"Yabba yabba!"
As Larry turns the corner, E. Gadd approaches the computer system. Several monitors above him broadcast maps of the Mushroom Kingdom, Dark Land, Sarasaland and Jewelry Kingdom – all but the latter maintaining a red tinge. E. Gadd nods; this must be the map the military's using for their conquests. The Koopa Troop must've secured an alliance with Jewelry Land, or at least prevented the Mushroomers from invading.
The monitors switch to a more in-depth look at the Mushroom Kingdom, and the scientist notices much of Pipe Land, Giant Land and Water Land contain a purple tinge, while Sky Land, Ice Land and northern Desert Land maintain green—most likely neutral lands. The other kingdoms bear a red tinge; a tinge which starts bleeding through western Pipe Land, southwestern Giant Land and northern Water Land. He rubs his eyes—whoever's behind this, both Grass Land and the southern two-thirds of Desert Land are supporting them, and they're helping with conquering the other Lands.
This is the computer system he wants.
The scientist boots up the computer, enters into the computer's command prompt and types in a few dozen lines of code. As he hits Enter and the computer logs into the administrator profile, a radio broadcast near him picks up.
"Alpha Central, this is Zeta Eight-Four-Seven, located in map grid three-zero Victor Quebec five-five-six-three. Our forces have taken control. Repeat, our forces have taken control in three-zero Victor Quebec five-five-six-three. Over."
E. Gadd scowls at the report's coordinates. No army on Plit uses that coordinate style; this is something Mario and Luigi told the Mushroom Kingdom's military about. They most likely learned it when they were on Earth from its military there.
But the Mario that took over turned out to be fake, right?
E. Gadd sighs; he doesn't know who to trust, but he should check the coordinate for where this army's at.
The professor types in the coordinates on the computer's mapping software. The report's within a kilometer from Rolling Hills in northern Desert Land—a koopa-majority, heavily tribalistic and anarchist society autonomous from the rest of the more authoritative Desert Land. The professor exhales; even the "neutral" northern Desertlandian anarchist tribes are teaming up with Southern Desert Land in supporting this new government. Grave news.
"Good, good. Desertlandian koopas naturally hate Darklandian koopas, so I was afraid their alliance may have gone either way," a voice spoke back—one that gives E. Gadd the shivers. The sinister voice—mysterious yet familiar—continues, "But stay in Desert Land, Eight-Four-Seven; I'll command the other Zetas to stay there also. We need the Northern Desertlandian tribes to be aligned to us and Southern Desert Land, to secure both the Province and the North's oil. The Thetas are in Grass Land, the Epsilons are rushing Pipe Land, the Lambdas are pushing into Water Land, the Sigmas are invading Giant Land, and the Phis are stationed in Dark Land. If you need any assistance, contact them or us. Over."
"What's next, Sir? We already have access to Dark Land by driving Bowser and his troops out, and we have access to the Land's Light magic. Wasn't that your goal? Over."
"No. I couldn't care less about Light magic, or any form of magic. That's their goal. Mine is... I want to do what Grandpa never did and Dad never had the chance to attempt: to take over the whole world. I want to get Fraser, Sean and Dayvv on board with our conquest, and we can rule the world as a family like Dad and Grandpa dreamed."
"Ahh, your brothers. How're you gonna do that? Over."
"Don't worry about my methods of control. Let's just say it runs in the family... Deep in the family... Over."
"Right."
"Once they're on board, Sarasaland will be ours, then Jewelry Land, then Dinosaur Land... Then maybe Emerald City? Wario's always been pathetic."
"Doesn't Dinosaur Land have remnants of Cosmic magic that we can use?"
"Once again, I couldn't care less about magic. But, whether it does or not, I want more lands under my control. Plus, Dinosaur Land is typically more aligned with the Mushroom Kingdom's Elemental magic than Cosmic magic."
"We could always use that magic to get rid of Bowser and his gang of rebels."
"I wouldn't worry all too much about him. After all, I have the blueprints to their airships' endurance, and the Mushroom Kingdom scientists developed the Ultra Scope to pierce those defenses and their forcefields. The Navy lost the battle over the Onyx Ocean, but they were able to shoot down a few of Bowser's airships with the Scope."
E. Gadd's eyes widen at the conversation. Were they talking about him? The Ultra Scope HE invented? The only airship-related request he received was from a paratroopa – he can't remember his name – asking about its defenses and asking him for weapons that overpower it. He couldn't help but wonder: does that relate to this entire plan?
"How about the hit list?"
"It will still be implemented as the conquest goes on. Mario's been taken care of. Peach was released by Daisy and Luigi; we're looking for all three. We need to dispose of Bowser, the two pathetic Magikoopa traitors Kamek and Kammy, and the rest of them before they find out about us-"
E. Gadd focuses on the list's names, but the radio communicator cuts out as the voice reads its hitlist. From the names he heard, he's not on the list so far, but Larry might be if he's a part of "the rest of them."
He opens a text document on the computer and types the key points in the conversation. Conquered northern Desert Land; will conquer the entire continent; brothers Fraser, Sean and Dayvv; Elemental, Light, and Cosmic magic; Bowser, Kamek and Kammy are on a hitlist... Possible Ultra Scope. He has no idea who the brothers are, or what these forms of magic are, but he's hoping Larry or someone from the Koopa Troop will.
But now, he'll need to spoof the computer's connection and the internet's address at his lab.
He makes another section of it and records both the computer's details and the Internet connection's address. Satisfied, the professor saves the text document and, to keep his identity private, uses the control room's email platform to email his experimental sock puppet email address back at his lab.
Once he's home, he'll be able to tap into the control room's Internet connection and gather information that way.
"Well, that's done with, but that conversation was unsettling," the professor shivered, "Larry? Are you finished? We're good to go with the hack."
-x-
Larry studies the control room's other side, looking out for any anomalies present in the room. Several computer systems, perhaps each offering a different purpose, remain offline, unlike the systems near the vent. For dealing with a worldwide chaotic situation, the area's rather serene. If this is one of the Mushroom Kingdom's command center, then why is this area so... Silent?
He shrugs as he turns towards the security camera footage and notices two guards patrolling the hallway outside. Something here must be important enough to guard, but where is everyone else?
As he studies the room, Larry's eye catches a stack of crates in the room's corner, overflowing with dark pebble-like objects. A dark mist swarms around the pebbles, and he feels a magical sensation he never encountered, even with Kamek.
"What are these?" the sneak asked, cautiously approaching the crates. Out of all the times he spied on the Mario Brothers and Peach, Larry never noticed the objects. Now, they're everywhere. Shrugging, he reaches into the crate and pulls out a pebble.
As he grasps onto a pebble, his perception on reality fades and multiple visions ensnare him. In the vision, he's in a forest peering behind a boulder as four cloaked figures chant around an altar bearing an insignia, much like the letter M with a horizontal line running through it and forming two letter A's. A fifth figure's bound to the altar as the four circle the fifth and continue their chant. One of the four figures pulls out a lit torch, approaches the altar and lowers the flame towards the altar before Larry's taken out of the vision.
In his next vision, Larry notices pictures of the royalty bloodline of his family since the rise of the Koopa Dynasty, all stamped with the same crossed M. He watches as a hammer, bearing the insignia, stamps the M through the most recent few hundred years of his lineage, including the pictures of his great-grandfather King Desmond III and grandpa Morton Koopa I. Below Morton's stamped picture, four koopas appear. Larry recognizes them as Morton's kids: Traw, Alyssa, Lennox and Bowser. The hammer attempts to stamp Traw's picture, but the ink wouldn't set. It tries stamping Alyssa's; same result. Lennox's picture initially took the ink before the pigment shoots off the page and back at the hammer. Lastly, the hammer attempts stamping Bowser's picture, but the tool bursts into flames before it swings down.
The vision cut before a slew of jumbled visions overcome Larry. Everything, from wars and other government decisions, to conspiracies and rendezvouses, fast forward at speeds too quick for the koopaling to process the visions' entirety.
But one trait remained constant: the koopa kings and queens didn't appear as royals. They appeared as slaves. Servants. Serfs. They weren't strong, but rather weak and defenseless, desperate to lean onto another source just to stay alive.
All, except Bowser.
Even Morton Senior, for all his political power and military might, appeared low-status and helpless.
A violet tinge curses the control room, increasing in intensity before the room's covered in a hazy void. Numerous voices and whispers surround the koopaling, each calling him by name before chanting, in unison, spells in a language he cannot understand. The sneak feels his mind fogging up and his cognitive functions declining, as if he's being possessed by the same void.
Amid the mess, the koopaling feels a surge of power rush through him—just enough to break out of the matrix.
"Agh!" Larry yelped, snapping out of the visions and chucking the pebble towards the control room's fire pit. His visions stop, the whisperings silent and the void disappears the moment the pebble leaves his hand. These pebbles must be magical, he thought. Arcane magic, too; magic he never learned from Kamek or Kammy.
Maybe they're power-ups to that strange magic.
"Something the matter, Larry?"
Larry shakes his head, "I'm fine now, but the rocks over there are something else." He continues staring at the pebbles before continuing, "With Mario's identity being stolen, and everything else going on, I think these rocks are the source of our troubles."
"Hmm?" E. Gadd questioned.
"I grabbed a rock, and it took me into all these strange visions. Then, a purple void surrounded me and tried to possess me. I think."
E. Gadd rubs his chin; maybe this relates to the conversation earlier, but he cannot put his finger on the happenings just yet, "Interesting. Do you think this is what happened to Mario? Are the pebbles behind this? Who do you think is responsible for these pebbles being here?"
"Maybe," Larry scratches his head, "But I don't even know what they are. It's magic, but it's not the magic I'm used to, and I excelled at learning from Kamek. Whoever's behind the rocks must be a magician more powerful than even Kamek and Kammy."
"I just heard about different types of magic, like Elemental, Cosmic and Light."
Larry scowls, "Magic comes in more forms than one?"
"Uhh, I'm guessing you don't know. Perhaps this Kamek feller knows what this is? Do you have a way to contact him?"
"I do, but we gotta leave the Castle," Larry replied, "I think the magical residue from the rocks prevents me from making contact either through my wand or through the transmitter I have. Kamek warned me about that before I left."
"Yabba yabba!" the old man exclaimed.
"Are the systems hacked?"
E. Gadd nods, "All info will be forwarded to my lab's servers."
"Okay, so we can leave through the tunnels," Larry started.
E. Gadd nodded before he hears a crackling from the firepit. He turns his head. From the pebble rises an ember the size of a candle's flame and the luminosity of a distant star in the night sky. The flame sprouts legs and walks towards the duo, incinerating the regal pink rug in its path.
"Uhh, Larry... We need to escape. Now!"
"Huh?" the koopaling questioned before staring at the firepit. By now, the burning rug sets the curtains on fire. The curtains' smoldering silk invades his nose while his scales beg for relief from the generated heat, but he remains too stunned to move.
Within seconds, the room's a literal hell. A slew of orange, yellow and black dooms the pink-themed room as the fire tears through the walls. Alarms blare and the castle's sprinkler system activates, doing moot to the intense inferno. The fire consumes the sinister pebbles, resulting in numerous walking embers approaching the duo. Only now does Larry process what's occurring. They need to get out through the cellar before the fire consumes them.
"Right! Run!"
After spending much of their morning washing off their journey's dirt, Peach, Daisy, Bowser and Luigi depart from their campsite towards the float castle. Other than the protruding roots' tripping hazards, the rest of the forest proves uneventful. Peaceful, if anything.
But something keeps nagging Peach about Bowser as they sojourn through the forest. She trusts him overall, and he's been open with her about his past for the trip's entirety, but she feels as if there's a deeper, darker secret he's refusing to tell her, and that secret's revealing itself. Why would all this happen during the one time Bowser didn't want her kidnapped?
Does he know of this threat, just not its manifestation? She knows he isn't the perpetrator, but is he also a victim?
Maybe he doesn't know what that past is. Maybe it affected his family before he was alive.
Or, maybe she's just going crazy. She relates to that possibility. The uncertainties of both her parents and her kingdom nag at her during every waking—and hibernating—hour.
As they exit the forest, so too does she leave her thoughts behind for greener pastures. The flat, flowery fields of Jewelry Land's Grass Land greet the four wayfarers, although armies occupy the otherwise-peaceful region. Soldiers patrol the now-south-bound Sapphire River while an air fleet fly above the float castle in the distance. No battles occur, but cannons and other artillery litter the makeshift battlefields, their observers poised to attack if commanded. Peach studies the soldiers' uniform before sighing in relief—all Jewelry Land troops. Not a Mushroomer or Sarasalandian in sight.
"There they are!" Peach hears a shout; she looks towards the noise's source and notices a soldier pointing to the four. The surrounding troops focus on Peach and the troop's captain approaches her.
"Peach Toadstool, you are under arrest, and so are your friends here."
Despite her nervousness, Peach prevents her shivering from overtaking her rational—or irrational—mind. She stands large and tall before the captain, hands at her side. She didn't swim in the sea, sojourn through a cave, and slipped down a mountain pass, just to be arrested again.
"On what grounds?" the princess questioned—a hint of anxiety peppering her otherwise-bold voice.
"On the grounds that the King demands your presence."
-x-
The quartet submitted as the soldiers handcuffed them, led them towards one of the military-grade helicopters and took off towards the float castle. They didn't expect their arrest, but they also cannot think of any worst-case scenarios for what will occur behind the castle's regal walls. They also didn't want to trouble their potential allies – and the plethora of loyal soldiers – by resisting arrest.
The helicopter lands outside the palace's main entrance, where two armor-clad humans stand guard at the large double doors. The soldiers escorting the quartet approach the guards, and the guards open the doors in response.
Peach studies the castle's interior as they step inside. Other than the renovation of the walls destroyed during the float castle's takeover by the Koopa Troop eight years ago, the castle remains how she remembered it. The foyer and hallways combine marble and precious metals to create a regal ambience, while multiple paintings of royal figures cover the high ceilings. Multiple jewels decorate the interior, each commemorating the founding of the Land's southern settlements-turned cities of Crescent Coast and the farms of Grass Land—the only permanently-inhabited parts of the vast kingdom.
"So..." Daisy murmured, not intrigued by the castle's design, "Where ya taking us?"
"As I stated, His Majesty Fret wants a word with you," one of the soldiers stated, "And he demanded your arrest."
Bowser sighed, "Look. We didn't walk through all of Dark Realm, the Spirit Mountains and Mushroom Land just to sit in a cell again."
"Unfortunately, it seems you did, prisoner," the soldier mocked.
Bowser growls but remains silent. Meanwhile, Peach remains confused at the actions. Why are they getting arrested if they weren't infiltrated by the Mushroomers or the Sarasalandians? How would Jewelry Land even know about their plight? Something about this situation's fishier than Water Land's fish festivals, but she still hopes for the best.
"Now, here's the throne room," the soldier paused, "Show the King respect and formality, or I'll take you to the dungeons."
"How does a floating castle have a dungeon-"
"Strike one," the soldier interrupted Bowser's question, "Keep your smart-aleck comments out of our castle, and definitely keep them out of the throne room."
Peach nudges Bowser and scowls at him. They have a chance to right the wrongs, and that feat requires Jewelry Land's assistance; she can't have the chance blown.
"Fine," the koopa king mumbled, "Can we go in?"
"Surely."
The soldier opens the throne room's door and leads the characters in. Much like the foyer, the throne room's decorated in an assortment of jewels, while numerous drapes and tapestries hang from the ceiling. A red carpet, leading from the door to the throne, coats the sleek gold-trimmed marble floor.
She focuses on the throne occupier: a short, old man donning a simple, yet elegant crimson-trimmed violet tunic. His ruby-tipped gold crown remains snug on his head while shoulder-length white-tinged blonde hair leak from the ornament. He sits poised on the throne while two figures—a man and a woman also of royalty—stand before him.
"W-What?" Peach stares at the figures in shock as they turn around and face her.
The woman stands tall and slender, her gothic-styled black dress brushing the red carpet as she turns towards Peach. Her platinum tiara adds weight to her otherwise-simplistic argent hair, and a rush of emotion lightens her then-lifeless face. The man—a silly grin implanted on his face—dons a black Mushroomer cap, despite being human. His gilded violet robes appear dirty, as if he just returned from one of his all-too-familiar golf trips.
Peach stands motionless, mouth gaping and wide-eyed, too shocked to even break down in relief.
"Mom? Dad?"