WOW, it's been a while. A very long while. I've suffered through writer's block and it's been painful. But, now I'm back and the story's ready to pick up where it left off!

(The title of this chapter was a line Glinda used in Wicked, and I thought it was appropriate for this chappie)

Gijinka Renamon: Yes, technically, Peach is Bowser's niece. That was discussed in King of the Koopas, so if you're just figuring that out, you've got alot to catch up on!

HeroInGreen: Thanks and I hope that this quality is up to par with what you've been hoping!

Bowser told his Flying Machine to take the two of them back to the castle. The wind was now cold and sharp, but neither of them cared. Peach was sleeping on Bowser's large shoulder, her blue gown keeping her warm. The Koopa King was steering his vehicle back to his home. Thoughts of hope ran through his head. He had the princess on his side at long last.

The small bottle was still stored in his shell, poking at him from time to time, like knife begging to kill. Bowser felt the urge to take one claw and pierce a tiny piece of the girl's soft flesh, but he simply couldn't do such a selfish thing. All of his hard work to gain Peach's trust would be for naught if he did so. He would simply have to find another way to defeat Mario.

He took a glimpse up at the star-littered sky. They all seemed to stare back at him with an evil, deadly glare. His skin began to crawl. As the harsh winds nearly cut the King in half, he placed a claw under his chin and quickly began to think of ways to rid the castle of his assassin.

Then, suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a loud crash coming from the nose of the Machine. He jumped up, causing the Flying Machine to bob violently up and down in the air. The princess's head hit the side of the contraption, causing her to wake up in pain, wincing. She rubbed her bruised head and looked up at Bowser. Her hair was whip lashing behind her, her eyes nearly blinded by the intensity of the wind.

"Bowser!" She had to scream over the roaring of the growing wind, and even still the Koopa King couldn't hear her. His eyes were fixed on the castle. Mushroom Castle. His castle. It was under some sort of attack. He normally would've jumped right into evasive action, land in a safe spot, and summon his army. However, at that current moment, Bowser could only feel his stomach in his throat, his heart bursting from his chest, and his life flashing before the horrible images in his eyes.

There was a large, black cloud growing above castle, the tiny flag on the highest tower having been snapped off a long time ago. A large, funnel-shaped whirlwind had emerged from the very center of the building. The very sight made Peach inhale sharply, holding a hand to her mouth. From what she could see, the tornado was carrying very shiny pieces of debris.

From what Bowser could see, the tornado was being caused by dozens of Stars spinning at a deadly and unbelievable rate.

The Flying Machine suddenly dipped, dropping the two passengers into complete freefall. The princess screamed, leaving Bowser's ever-fragile thought-powered Flying Machine to be manned by a torturous headache. The Machine twisted and turned, its Koopa pilot clenching his head hard. His brain was pounding. The winds disrupted his connection between his thoughts and the Machine, giving him the mother of all migraines.

He tried as hard as he possibly could to get the Machine under his control again and flew them closer to the darkened castle. Through the flying dirt and debris, Bowser could see that the tornado had not done much damage to the castle itself. It was as if a shield had been protecting it, leaving only the courtyard and all surrounding it to be destroyed by the Stars.

The princess held tightly onto two spikes on Bowser's shell, trying not to get whisked away by the all-too powerful winds. The Koopa King could hardly focus, but managed to capture a glimpse of a balcony on the castle's wall. If he could just command the Machine to fly directly there, he would be able to rest his mind and think about what was happening.

His planned worked quite well, only the wind stripped the entire Machine of its paint and the propeller was damaged. It crashed onto the balcony and into the princess's room, sparking in a heap of crushed metal. It would be some time before it would ever fly again.

Bowser had landed on his shell, which broke his fall. He groaned as he got up, his claws grasping his skull still. The winds were muffled by the stone walls of the strong castle, and it was a miracle that none of the Stars had pierced his skin. As he got up, he noticed his Flying Machine and sighed. He remembered that day, many years ago, when Kammy gave him that Machine. It was an early birthday gift she made herself. Besides the empty bottle in his shell and the spell book, the pile of twisted wires and smashed metal was the only thing he had to remember his teacher by.

He gasped. Where was Peach? He looked around the entire room, cold sweat building up on his brow. He checked his shell in the mirror, praying to whoever was listening that she wasn't crushed by him. Miraculously, she wasn't. She was still outside, on the floor of the balcony, unconscious. The Koopa walked as fast as he could over to the floor girl and scooped her up in his arms. Behind the small cuts and bruises, she still looked as beautiful as ever. He smiled and sighed with relief as she began to cough, the sign that she was alive. He placed her breathing body on a nearby couch and starred hard into his crystal ball.

He cursed. It was Mario, climbing up the magiked stairs up to his Throne Room. He remembered when Kamilia had assured him that the stairs were charmed so that no mortal man could ever make it to the top. This made Bowser even more nervous. What matter of a being was this?

He stopped short. He realized what was happening. This creature, Mario, he had been foolishly collecting the all-powerful Stars without knowing their strength. Before Kammy hid them in separate worlds, they were magically bound together, their power keeping the castle safe. The magic bind they were entrapped in must've been strong enough to keep the almighty Stars under control. Now that they were all together and free, their powers were too much for even them to bear. They had gone completely out of control! And Mario, completely oblivious, was responsible. And now he was coming up the staircase that defied all matter of knowledge in history to kill Bowser.

This Mario seemed utterly unstoppable. Thoughts of Giga Bowser came back to the King's mind. The raw, unimaginable power that he'd been seeking his whole life. The only power strong enough to defeat Mario. He looked back at Princess Peach, her delicate head resting on the arm of the couch. His mind began pounding again. What did he care more about: His kingdom or the princess?

He caught sight of Kammy's spell book, which was lying next to the princess's couch. He felt a small tear drip down cheek, winced and wiped it away fast. He was about to make a sacrifice and this was no time to cry. He needed to be strong.

He lowered his head and walked back to the princess. He shook her shoulder slightly, waking her up. She woke up slowly, rubbing her bright blue eyes. She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering like the deadly Stars that were consuming their castle.

"Bowser…what are we going to do about the tornado?" she asked. Bowser bit his lower lip and responded, "Princess, I must ask a favor of you. If you do this for me, then we can both save this castle."

The princess looked back up at him. Bowser could tell that she was confused, probably thinking how she could help. He just hated that...he would never see her again.

"Peach…I need you to read the same spell you read earlier." His own answer shocked him. She looked up at him, still confused.

"That horrid poem?" she cried. "But why?"

"Because you are the only one who knows how it goes, and you need to send the Stars back to their magic cage. It should be in your father's secret library in the secret staircase."

Peach accepted her new mission without much enthusiasm, but with worry. She bent down and picked up the spell book, clenching it in her arms. She looked back up at the King.

"What about you?"

Bowser narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. He began walking out the door, running through the Oblivion Arena spell in his head. "I'm going to take care of Mario."

I hope that the ending had most of you thinking he was going to take Peach's blood. If you did think that, then YES! I succeeded with this chapter! Please read and respond!

(ooo and I TOTALLY got tickets to see Wicked June 1st! UBER excited!)