RECAP:
At her diner in Contemno's heart kingdom, Leanna relayed her past to Bowser and her relationship with Contemno came to light. Leanna revealed Eris to be her older sister, who had abandoned her long ago in the pursuit of greater magical power and the boy who came to be known as Contemno. At the end of their discussion, Leanna agreed to join forces temporarily with Mario and Bowser, though she made no effort to hide her skepticism of how long their partnership would last.
Meanwhile, Junior and the others closed in on their destination of Sarasaland. The abnormalities continued as the airship flew deeper into the eye of a terrible snowstorm. A nervous Iggy could only watch and silently hope they would be able to not only locate Daisy, but also solve the mystery of this desert kingdom blanketed in snow.
"Come along now, you two! Let us keep up our pace! There is still much to explore before the real cold kicks in!" Professor Kolorado shouted behind him as he marched proudly down the frozen corridor.
"C'mon, Professor. Haven't we done enough for today?" Kooper replied as he trudged behind and dragged his feet.
"Yeah," Goombella agreed. "Besides, if we don't head back soon, that blizzard's gonna make it impossible for us to find our way back to the inn. We could even get stuck in here if the front doors get frozen shut again."
"Oh, poppycock!" Kolorado remarked. "When did the youth of today become so soft? Here I thought you two wanted to become grand archaeologists like me! Was I mistaken perhaps?"
"What? No! Of course not, Professor. But…," Kooper started.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" Kolorado cut him off. "Do you know what that means?" The pair rolled their eyes.
"We cannot achieve true greatness if we cannot take extraordinary risks," Goombella and Kooper recited together in half-hearted unison.
"Exactly! That is the first rule of archaeology! The fact of the matter is that there is simply too much of this place to leave unexplored, but it will remain as such until we survey it in its entirety."
"It won't matter what we find in here if we freeze to death before we can tell anyone about it," Goombella remarked quietly. Kooper giggled at her comment.
"What was that?" Kolorado asked from across the hall. The duo looked at one another; fearing he'd heard them. But luckily, that didn't appear to be the case.
"N-nothing, Professor!" Goombella recovered quickly.
"Well then stop lollygagging with your little boyfriend and let us get a move on! There's a rather impressive looking door up ahead, and the contents of the room within are sure to be promising!" Goombella and Kooper each blushed at this.
"He's not my-!" she said.
"I'm not her-!" he added.
But their objections went unheard as Kolorado was already passing through the set of double doors at the end of the room. The duo relaxed as their faces returned to normal and hurried in behind their mentor.
The group entered what appeared to be a throne room as it had the most wide open space out of any room in the castle. But just like the rest of this kingdom, this room was completely coated in ice. The floor itself resembled an ice rink. The air was still cold, though somehow less so than outside. Goombella gathered that it was surely inhabitable enough for something that enjoyed ice.
"Professor, I know I've already asked you this several times already but...are you absolutely sure this is an ancient temple?" Goombella asked.
"Of course I am, my dear," Kolorado replied. "Why would you think otherwise?"
"I dunno…it's just, this place doesn't seem very old. I've seen a lot of this kind of décor in other castles throughout the other kingdoms. You know, ones that actually still have people living in them," the Goomba explained.
"Pfft, when did you become an expert in interior castle design?" Kooper asked with a snort.
"Hey, I just know a lot of stuff, alright?" Goombella defended as she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really?" the Koopa remarked playfully.
"Yes, really! Believe it or not, some of us are here because we actually have valuable knowledge and expertise to offer out in the field," she teased back. "Some of us can do a lot more than coast through Archaeology 101 with a C!"
"C+, thank you!" Kooper countered. "And I'll have you know I'm quite proud of my ever-so-slightly-but-not-quite-above-average grade!" Goombella rolled her eyes.
"Statistically, I suppose someone has to."
"Well, you could've fooled me. I'm frankly surprised you know as much as you do. All this time I thought you were just getting noticed in the archaeological field for your good looks alone."
"...Are you calling me pretty?"
"Well, I'm sure not saying you're ugly." Goombella blushed at this.
"W-well...cut it out! You know I don't care about that superficial stuff! And I know a lot more than you anyway, dummy!"
Meanwhile, Kolorado seemed to be ignoring the banter of his assistants as he examined a popsicle-like throne.
"Since you two obviously have time for flirting, perhaps I should quiz you to keep your minds focused."
"Quiz us? You're joking, right?" said Goombella. "We're not at University of Goom anymore."
"Then I should hope your time studying there was well-spent. Now then," Kolorado started as he cleared his throat. "What is an archaeologist's primary means of gathering information at an exploration site? How do you identify what an artifact actually is?"
"By determining its age," Goombella answered quickly.
"Yes, and what do you look for in order to do that?"
"Piece together its origins. Where did it come from? How was it made? Look for signs of wear and tear or gradual deterioration to determine how long it has been here for," Goombella continued reciting proudly. Kooper wasn't even making an attempt at this point to answer himself. It seemed he wasn't going to get off so easily, however.
"Precisely. Now then, Kooper," said Kolorado. The Koopa had been slouching casually, but straightened up in a hurry at the call of his name.
"Y-yeah?"
"Take a look around this place and deduce for us how long this ice has been here." Kooper looked back at Goombella, who smiled and gave him a small nod of encouragement.
"Uhh…yeah, sure…," he said as he knelt down and touched the ice floor beneath them. He rubbed his hand on the smooth surface and eyeballed it intensely. At one point, his face got so close that Goombella was horrified he might lick the ice and place himself in a terrible predicament.
Kooper then stood up and scanned the entire room with his eyes. He was silent for several minutes. But just as Kolorado began suspecting that Kooper's puzzled expression meant he wasn't sure what he was doing, the latter spoke up.
"It's fresh. Hasn't been here long. Probably about a week or so at most," Kooper answered at last.
"What makes you so sure of that?" Kolorado challenged.
"Well…just look at the texture. There are no chips, scuff marks, or scratches anywhere on the floor. It still looks pristine. Normally even ice wears down to a degree over time from the natural elements just like anything else in the world; even in these freezing cold temperatures."
"Very good, very good indeed, Kooper," Kolorado praised as he applauded him. "So you have been paying attention after all, it seems. I suppose this means that much like myself, you've already deduced the truth about this ice castle, which is that it's-"
The archaeologist was interrupted as the entire room around them began to tremble. Several icicles fell from the ceiling and shattered like glass on the floor around them. Just as the trio was starting to regain their bearings, a gargantuan beast descended from above and crashed down in front of them. Goombella and Kooper were sent flying back from the shockwave. They slid along the ice until they hit the wall at the end of the room.
"What in blazes!?" Kolorado exclaimed. He raised his lantern and squinted as he gazed upon the creature, but couldn't make out its full appearance. Shadows obscured it, save for the glowing, menacing, pupil-less blue eyes.
Suddenly, the creature reached out and grabbed Kolorado.
"Professor!" Goombella and Kooper shouted in unison.
"Ack, unhand me you heathen!" Kolorado exclaimed as he struggled in vain.
"Let him go!" Goombella demanded as she rushed forward and leaped towards the monster for a Headbonk attack. But the creature swatted her away like a mosquito.
"Goombella!" Kooper cried out as he slid forward and caught her before she could hit the ice again. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah…," said Goombella weakly. Kooper set her down gently and glared at the monster.
"I say! Release me at once, you fiend!" Kolorado exclaimed. This only seemed to irritate the beast as it tightened its grip over him.
"What is that thing!?" Kooper panicked.
"I don't know! I don't know!" Goombella replied as she furiously flipped through her logbook. "I've never seen anything like this before!"
She pulled her own lantern closer and focused as hard as she could as she scanned page after page frantically. She had to identify what this thing was and fast. If she couldn't, Professor Kolorado would be a goner. Although the Goomba wasn't certain of its identity, the creature's physique was vaguely familiar.
It…almost looks like…King Bowser, she thought. "But there's no way he-"
"Well whatever it is, it won't get away with attacking my friend and mentor!" Kooper declared as he retreated into his shell and spun rapidly in place to prepare an attack.
"Kooper, wait!" Goombella exclaimed. He didn't seem to hear her as the Koopa shell took off like a rocket. The monster turned and raised its arm. Several ice pillars jetted out from the floor in Kooper's path. He dodged each one easily and picked up speed.
Unfortunately, he got careless.
One final ice pillar protruded out in front of him. Kooper was going too fast now. He couldn't stop or change direction in time. The shell toppled over and was sent flying through the air. Kooper's limbs and head emerged after he lost control.
The beast caught Kooper and stared at him menacingly. Kooper stared back and tried to hide his fear. Like Kolorado, he too struggled but couldn't get free.
"Let us go, you big snowcone!" Kooper demanded. Goombella was caught slightly off-guard by his terrible insult, but continued wracking her brain to come up with a plan.
"Little turtle talk too much…," the creature spoke in a deep, sinister voice. Sheer cold enveloped Kooper as ice began to physically form, grow, and spread all over his body like vines. The ice sapped him of his strength, and his struggling quickly turned into helpless shivering.
"NO!" Goombella exclaimed. Kooper's body was now practically frozen solid except for his head. The creature appeared to be bored with him as it carelessly tossed the Koopa over its shoulder. Goombella threw her book aside and raced after him as fast as her stubby legs could push her.
This ice is so dense that…he's practically made of glass now! If I can't break his fall before he hits the floor, he'll shatter into pieces! The Goomba panicked as she continued sprinting.
She wasn't gonna make it in time. She was too slow, and he was falling too fast.
Goombella dove head first into the ice and slid; doubling her movement speed. Although she didn't have any arms with which to catch him, Goombella managed to break Kooper's fall at least; her pudgy Goomba body offering just enough cushion to absorb the blow and prevent Kooper's frozen body from shattering.
The beast now towered over the two of them.
"This one make nice trophy," said the creature. Tightening its grip, Kolorado was instantly frozen solid.
"NO! PROFESSOR!" Kooper exclaimed, horrified.
The monster then set its sights on Goombella and Kooper, who were now sprawled out helplessly on the ground in front of it and raised one of its gargantuan hands.
Reluctant as she was to admit, Goombella was certain that this was the end. Whatever this beast had done to this kingdom and Kolorado just now, they were destined to share that fate.
Junior cracked opened his eyes and slowly stirred awake. His head was pounding and his mouth was dry. He didn't remember falling asleep the night before. But when he found himself back in his childhood bedroom again, he knew exactly what was going on.
"I'm back in my weird dream world again…, Junior thought. He looked around the empty room. He was alone. Where were his parents? This was unsettling to see them absent given how worried they apparently were for him and how much he'd been sleeping.
He harnessed as much strength as he could, and forced himself to climb haphazardly out of bed; stumbling to the doorway. Junior peered around the hallway outside, but still found no one. He examined the stairs next. In his weakened state, Junior hadn't the slightest idea how he was going to navigate them without it ending in injury. But he had to try. His time in this dream world was limited. He had to make the most of it if he was ever going to determine what these dreams meant.
Just as he was about to take his first dazed step down, someone grabbed his hand.
"Junior, sweetheart! You're awake!" said a woman's voice. It was his mother. She pulled him in close for a hug, and Junior embraced it.
"You weren't there…," Junior muttered softly.
"Hmm?"
"My room…you weren't there when I woke up…"
"Oh I'm so sorry, baby. I didn't know you were going to wake up again so soon. Daddy and I were just meeting with the doctor," Celia explained.
"Mom…what's happening to me?" Junior asked with a small croak. She hugged him tightly again and sighed.
"I wish we knew. I wish there was something more we could do for you. I can't tell you how helpless your father and I feel right now."
"…Tell me everything."
"Huh?"
"I…need to know how this happened. What was going on with me before I started sleeping like this? How did all of this start?" Before answering, she swept Junior up off his feet and carried him back into the bedroom.
"Honestly, I don't really know."
"Why not?"
"It just happened out of nowhere. One day you were fine. Then the next, you weren't," she explained.
The Koopa Prince was frustrated with his mother's worthless answer, but his anger faded when he saw the defeated look in her puffy, red eyes. She must've been crying a lot.
She was probably just as confused as he was. It wasn't her fault. And there was surely so much more she thought of saying; things that no mother would ever want to tell her child. Junior was certain she wanted to assure him right now that everything would be fine more than anything. But she couldn't. She simply didn't know that to be true, and it was written all over her face, and lying or trying to deny it certainly wouldn't help either.
"Well…what did the doctor say?" Junior probed. Celia hesitated and forced an obviously fake smile.
"…Oh, sweetheart. You shouldn't worry about that." Her words didn't work. They both knew it, but Celia refused to admit it. "Just focus on resting and trying to get better."
"Please tell me," Junior insisted a little louder. There were cracks in his mother's resolve. He could practically see them. But she remained adamant about keeping up this hollow facade for some reason.
"Junior, you're just…so young. I couldn't possibly-"
"I'm not as young as you think," Junior argued. This puzzled her. Celia abandoned her futile attempt at pulling the wool over her son's eyes as sheer confusion overtook her expression.
"What're you…?" But before he could answer, Celia shook her head, knelt down, and placed her palm to his forehead. "Oh, my poor baby. You must have a fever. I don't think you know what you're saying." Junior pulled himself away.
"No, I know exactly what I'm saying. The problem is you're not listening."
"Junior…"
"Just tell me what he said, Mom. What's wrong with me?" Yet even then, Celia continued to hesitate. The Koopa Prince sighed. He knew what he needed to do now. There was no other way. "I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I'm not…actually me." Suddenly, a sharp pain pulsed through his head. It weakened him, but Junior fought through it.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm…not the Junior you know. This isn't my body; all of this…isn't my real life. This is all just a dream to me. But it somehow feels so real; too real. Something's wrong with me, and I need you to tell me everything you know. I need to figure out why I'm having these dreams."
Celia's eyes fell as she tried to process this. When she looked at him again, Junior knew she didn't believe him, but couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Oh, Junior, sweetheart. You're delusional..."
"Please, Mom," Junior begged again. "Just tell me what you know."
"I…," she started.
"Mama…?" a small voice chimed in.
Junior shot up suddenly as though electricity surged through him. That voice…it was vaguely familiar. Junior searched frantically around the room, but there was no one else here. Celia still seemed so distraught. She didn't seem to have heard the voice at all. But where did it come from?
"Did you hear that?" Junior asked.
"Hear what?" Celia replied.
"Help…me…"
There was the voice again.
Junior looked all around again, but still found no one. Celia only looked at him. She still didn't hear the voice. Another surge of pain pulsed through Junior's head. His vision blurred and his hearing distorted.
The pain was too much. Junior collapsed back onto his pillow with a muffled thud. The most heart-breaking thing Junior saw as fatigue finally consumed him, was the blank expression his mother gave him as he fell. She wasn't fazed to see her son collapse again.
She had grown numb to it now. This fading in and out of consciousness must've been so regular that now she was used to seeing. She expected it.
Just how many times had he faded away?
Peach held her hand out and concentrated on the air immediately parallel to her hand. She gritted her teeth and her fingers twitched. The princess's entire body trembled slightly, but she fought to sit completely still.
Perhaps her eyes were too focused, and she was seeing only what she wanted to see; even if it wasn't actually there. Or maybe it was actually happening.
A tiny particle of pink light materialized in the air near her hand. Peach willed herself to give it life. This time it appeared to be working. The dot grew into a bubble which was still rather unimpressive in size. She pushed herself harder; picking up momentum. The bubble expanded faster and faster; growing larger and larger. Suddenly, it burst and took Peach's pride along with it. She sighed and shook her head.
"What're you up to?" Roy asked as he entered the room.
"Trying to practice using this power," Peach answered without looking at Roy.
"Power?"
"Well…I don't really know what it is. It's some kind of energy. I only started feeling it recently when I fought Contemno, and again with Eris." Roy's mind flickered back to the latter incident.
Peach immediately looked around and found herself cocooned inside a large pink bubble of some kind. Eris had released her grip on Peach's neck, but was now struggling to set her hand free from the bubble.
The princess curled up into a fetal position, then immediately stretched her limbs out wide in an "x" pose. The sharp pang of glass shattering encompassed the room. Eris slid a few feet, but managed to keep her balance. All of the inhabitants of the room froze to look at her.
Peach looked down and examined her hands.
"Oh, right. I was wonderin' about that pink power myself," Roy recalled as he crossed his arms. "Merlon didn't help you out with it?"
"He said it's something I have to bring out from within myself. It's triggered by intense emotion."
"Heh, so you mean, if you start bawling your eyes out, it'll rain?" the Koopaling guessed. Peach chuckled.
"I doubt it. So far the only thing that's brought out any kind of reaction is fear."
"Fear?"
"Yes. Desperation, or an intense desire to get away from something. Both times I've felt this power, I thought I was about to be killed."
"Sounds like something that'll come in handy in a pinch."
"Perhaps, but I don't want to have to rely on this power for that. I want to do more with it. You know, own it. Make it something more immediately beneficial." Roy patted her on the shoulder.
"Well, don't sweat it. I'm sure you'll figure this out," he assured. Peach smiled.
"Thanks," she replied.
"C'mon. Iggy said we're almost there. We should get ready."
"Right…" Peach observed her hand as the last of the pink energy disappeared.
"And then I woke up before she could say anything else," said Junior as he sighed. "At this rate, I'll never figure out what these dreams mean."
"Relax, small fry," said Larry. "With all that training Merlon gave you, I'm sure you'll find out what's going on with you in no time."
"You think so?"
"Of course. I'm sure you're capable of a lot more than you think. Don't go soft on us just yet." Junior smiled.
"I won't," he agreed.
As the pair continued strolling down the corridor, they were instantly thrust against the wall.
The entire ship jerked violently and seemed to be falling out of the sky suddenly. There were no guard rails or anything to grab onto. Junior and Larry felt practically weightless as the entire ship was dragged down by gravity's dominant strength. But as suddenly as it all happened, it went away just as fast. The ship steadied itself and returned to its normal altitude seconds later. Junior and Larry staggered to their feet.
"What the heck was that?" Larry wondered.
"I don't know. Let's find Iggy and the others; find out what's up," said Junior as the two took off in a hurry towards the control cabin.
"Iggy, what's going on!?" Roy asked in a panic. As Junior and Larry walked in, it seemed Roy was already interrogating their captain. Peach was in attendance as well. No doubt they had experienced the ship falling out of the sky briefly a moment ago as well.
"The weather's getting bad out there," said Iggy in an eerily calm and matter-of-fact tone. "We're gonna need to land sooner than expected."
Junior and Larry rushed over to the window and caught their first glimpse at the endless abyss of pure gray the ship was now drifting through. They could barely make out the tiny silhouettes of millions of snowflakes racing past them and blending in with the overcast sky. It was impossible to see the ground below, much less their destination.
The ship continued to twitch and tremble. Everyone could feel it jerking around as the autopilot system combated the aggressive winter winds.
"How much sooner?" Larry asked. Iggy directed everyone's attention to the map on the computer monitor in front of him.
"From here, we're a few miles out from town."
"Meaning…what exactly?" Peach inserted. "Are you proposing we walk the rest of the way in this blizzard instead?"
"We don't have much choice. I'm sure you all felt that enormous gust of wind we took the brunt of just now. Well, there's plenty more where that came from. If we try to fly the rest of the way there, this storm will continue to thrash and throttle us around until we lost control and crash," Iggy explained.
"But if we try to walk there, we'll freeze to death!" Roy argued.
"Possibly, but at least we'll be safely on the ground. If we stay up here for much longer, we're going to become part of the ground," Iggy countered.
"No," Junior said bluntly. Everyone turned to him. Iggy raised an eyebrow.
"No?'" he repeated.
The two stared intensely at one another. Iggy was certain he could make Junior back down if he just stared at him long enough. Junior always did before. Surely now would be no different. Although, his younger brother seemed more determined this time for some reason.
"Keep flying," Junior ordered as he folded his arms.
"Are you even listening to me? I'm telling you it's not safe!"
"I don't care."
"Hey, think about the safety of your crew here, Mr. Future Ruler!"
"There's no point in worrying about that right now. We're already putting ourselves in danger by coming out here in the first place. And you're right, I am the future ruler. So do as I say and keep flying!" Larry, Roy, and Peach stepped back as things continued to escalate.
"I'm just saying, there's a smart way to do this. We just need to-" Suddenly Junior reached out and yanked Iggy by his shirt until he was at eye-level with Junior.
"The only smart thing to do is to listen and do as I say! We're flying there. End of discussion! Now make it happen!" Iggy was frozen for a moment by the ominous glare he was receiving. He snapped back to reality and freed himself.
There's certainly no mistaking it. He's Bowser's son alright…, Peach thought with a sharp breath.
"Alright, alright, jeez. Just take it easy. I'll see what I can do," the Koopaling agreed as he approached the steering wheel and turned off the autopilot. He looked back at Junior. "But if we go down, it's on you."
"Fine," Junior agreed as he folded his arms.
Although they were all too intimidated to say it right away, Larry, Roy, and Peach were unsettled by Junior's sudden outburst.
"You don't think that was a bit harsh?" Peach said at last.
"I wasn't saying it just to be harsh. That's what my dad does and I'm not him. But I'm in charge here, and what I say goes. You especially should know that from when you first said you wanted to join us," Junior defended. Peach certainly hadn't forgotten the ice cold reception she had gotten from him back in the forest. She couldn't find any words to fight back with.
"Yeah, but c'mon, Junior. Iggy's the smartest guy here," said Roy. "If he's got a suggestion, ain't it worth listenin' to him? After all, he got us this far."
"No, I got us this far. If it weren't for me, you would all still be trapped in the castle turning into mindless zombies right now like Wendy and the others. I was the one who came in and saved your sorry tails. I'm the future king, and I won't have you questioning my authority anymore."
This sentiment was met with an equally cold reception across the room. Resentment and annoyance was plastered across each expression, but no one seemed willing to voice their disagreement. Perhaps because the raw shred of truth in Junior's statement did resonate with them as intended. But it also seemed easier to just silently, begrudgingly fall in line. With subtle head shakes and cold shoulders, Larry, Roy, and Peach disbursed to opposite sides of the control room.
Junior's eyebrows rose at this. Where was the gratitude? The admiration? The respect? Not so long ago, Roy in particular had been chastising him for not being the leader their kingdom needed as evidenced by Kammy's untimely demise. Yet now he was the enemy for taking charge?
…Maybe that wasn't it. Maybe this wasn't how he was supposed to go about it. Down-playing the safety of the crew for the sake of the mission definitely sounded like something his father might do and lately, Junior wanted to be nothing like him. He needed to be better.
Junior hardily swallowed a heavy swig of his pride and prepared something new to say; something that would hopefully paint his intentions in a slightly better light in that moment.
"Iggy…look, I…" Suddenly the ship violently shook and sharply tipped sideways; sending its passengers spilling under gravity's lead. Iggy planted his feet, gripped the steering wheel, and fought with gritted teeth for control.
A horrid screech filled the air as the mechanical carrier began to tremor. The many rust-coated gears were resisting and stalling. The ship itself moaned like a monstrous whale as its joints and surfaces froze from the harsh climate.
It became abundantly clear the ship was not designed to fly in such harsh conditions. But it was far too late to turn back now.
The ship continued to fling the crew in sporadic circles. An utterly overwhelming, almost supernatural force seemed determined to ground them at any cost. But still Iggy fought back for control.
"Iggy, what's happening!?" Peach exclaimed as she slammed up against the wall.
"The blizzard's getting worse! That's what's happening! And the ship's falling apart from the pressure! I tried to warn you this might happen, but you insisted we press on anyway so…here we are!"
"Hey, that was Junior's idea, not ours!" shouted Roy.
"Whatever happens, just don't stop this ship!" said Junior.
"Junior!" Larry scolded. The Koopa Prince ignored him.
"Keep going!"
"We won't make it!" Peach surmised.
"We're losing altitude! Brace for impact!" Iggy warned.
The ship continued to toss them around and around the room as it erupted and spun wildly out of control. It twirled at dizzying speeds; caught in a violent vortex of wind and snow. The propellers and thrusters on the ship's exterior froze from the sheer cold and shattered from getting constantly slugged and devoured by the abrasive gusts.
The windows of the control room shattered one after the other in a domino line and the blizzard wasted no time flooding inside. Roy was thrown against a steel beam holding the ceiling up and was knocked out after the back of his head made contact with it. Peach and Larry huddled together to protect themselves from the inevitable. Iggy's heart plummeted into his gut when the entire steering wheel came off in all the chaos.
Junior stood frozen and dumbfounded. Then it hit him. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he fell out of consciousness or even what caused it, if asked. But it came and put an end to him at once. It was all a blur. One moment he was watching the storm swallow the ship and its crew around him. Then the next, absolute nothingness.
The impact was abrupt, immediate, and decisive.
As the ship met the ground, it sent out a shockwave that knocked all of its passengers unconscious instantly. Darkness and bitter cold were free to buffet them now.
By some lone miracle in a winter wasteland of despair, Junior managed to stir awake before freezing to death. He wasted no time rousing his comrades awake, who were all scattered across ground zero. Thankfully, no one had sustained any serious injuries.
They found themselves nested in a massive crater in the snowy earth, which was populated by dozens of large fragments of rubble, burning wood, fractured steel pillars, and other various scattered remains of their ship all around; the glow of an outmatched fire and its smoke cut through the blizzard, but didn't leave much of an impact. The weather would put out the flames before long.
The air smelled of soot, and a numbing sensation of dread and hopelessness crawled across Junior's scales as he rubbed them futilely to get warm. He looked around as Iggy and the others drew near and stared him down.
"Is everyone alright?" Peach asked.
"Mostly...," said Roy.
"Yeah, somehow...," Larry added.
Junior waited for them to make their move on him. He wouldn't have to wait long. Iggy threw his hands up in the air.
"Well? Happy now?" he asked sarcastically. "We did as you said, and look what happened. Just as I predicted. We crashed."
"How far out from town are we?" Junior asked, seemingly ignoring his scolding altogether.
"How should I know!?" Iggy exclaimed. "Our navigation system is in pieces, our only map of the region went up in flames, and once that fire goes out, we'll have zero visibility out here in the dark!"
"Maybe we got enough distance before going down that we can walk the rest of the way," Larry suggested with half-hearted optimism. His faith in the idea practically vanished the second it left his lips.
"Or maybe that storm sent us so far off course that now we're destined to freeze to death!" Iggy argued.
"C'mon, Iggy. That isn't helping," Peach said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"She's right. Let's get moving," said Junior. Iggy shrugged Peach away and stomped through the snow to confront Junior.
"No! We're not just sweeping this under the rug like everything's okay! I warned you what would happen if we kept flying, but you didn't listen! Now look where we are! Just admit you made a mistake! There's no point trying to deny it!"
He waited for Junior to say something, but received no response. The Koopa Prince simply stepped past him and walked a few paces away.
"Don't walk away from this!" Iggy shouted after him.
"C'mon, Junior!" Larry joined in.
"Just listen to Iggy!" Roy added. Junior took a deep breath. But…
"Nobody got hurt," was his only rebuttal.
"Huh?" Peach asked aloud on the others' behalf.
"Nobody's legs are broken. So we can still get there if we walk." Out of nowhere, Iggy charged towards Junior and violently tackled him; pinning his younger sibling in the snow.
"HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND!?" Iggy retaliated furiously. "HAVE YOU EVEN HEARD A SINGLE WORD I'VE SAID!?"
"I heard you," Junior responded calmly. "I never said you were wrong." That made Iggy lighten up ever so slightly. But now he was stunned by Junior's composure.
This wasn't the Junior he knew. The one he knew would've been angry, argumentative, or at least shameful. But Junior didn't seem to be feeling any of that in the moment. What was he feeling?
Just what the hell did Merlon do to you?
Iggy reigned himself in mentally and tried to match Junior's level of composure. He wondered if that was what it would take to reach him now.
"But Junior…we'll die out here. Don't you get it?"
"Yeah, we will die if we just sit here arguing," said Junior. "But if we get moving, maybe we can still make it before we freeze to death."
Peach looked around at the burning carcass of their demolished ship. The flames were dying at an alarming rate; the light expiring along with them.
"Or maybe we won't," Roy argued. "What if we're already doomed?"
"Maybe. But we won't know for sure until we try," Junior reasoned. "If you want to make sure we're doomed, then stay here for all I care. But if you want to give yourselves a fighting chance, then let's get moving already."
"Junior…," Larry said softly.
"You think Dad would just lay down and call it quits if he were here right now instead of me?"
"No…he'd just be stubborn," Iggy answered reluctantly.
"Damn right he would be. So we have no excuse." The Koopa Prince turned away from them to face the storm ahead. "If you must know, I wasn't pushing you to keep flying because I was selfish."
"…What do you mean?"
"I had a reason for ignoring you and pushing us to keep flying."
"And what reason is that…?" Junior turned his head back and looked Iggy straight in the eyes.
"Simple. I trusted you." The group fell silent; now almost oblivious to the cold.
"You…trusted me?" Junior nodded. His lips curled into a small grin.
"I ordered you to keep flying in spite of the danger because I believed you could make it. How could I not? You got us out of the castle after all!"
"But…why? I failed. We didn't make it…" Junior turned back around and place his hands on Iggy's shoulders.
"With the ship, maybe. But like I said, nobody's hurt and we can all keep walking. We still have a chance as long as we can keep going on-foot."
Peach smiled warmly. She sensed a newfound maturity she never knew existed inside of Junior. Whether it stemmed from whatever training Merlon gave him, or his own growth as an individual, it didn't matter. It couldn't be ignored, and it might've been just what they needed right now.
"Well…it definitely won't be easy," Roy inserted as he crossed his arms. "But standing around here won't help either. The squirt's got a point."
"I just need you to trust me, Iggs. Like I trusted you," said Junior. Iggy quickly wiped at his eye.
"Well…I appreciate you trusting me and I'm sorry if I went off the rails a bit just now," said Iggy. "I want to trust you, Junior. Really, I do. But forgive me if it's a bit hard for me to see how we could possibly make it out of this when, in a few minutes, we won't even be able to see our snouts in front of us."
Junior picked up his bag off the ground and brushed off the snow. He reached inside and pulled out a rag of some kind. Iggy and the others gathered around and watched as the Koopa Prince tied the cloth around his head and formed a blindfold for himself. Skepticism bled across each of their faces. Junior smirked as if he could sense their expressions. He gave them a thumbs-up.
"Hehe…you just leave that part to me."