RECAP:
Junior and company attempted to brave a perilous snowstorm on-route to their destination of Sarasaland. Despite Iggy's best efforts to pilot the aircraft safely, the storm took control and forced them to crash. Stranded out in the middle of a frozen wasteland, the group is left with no other choice but to trust Junior's judgement as they attempt to brave the rest of the journey on-foot. As the Koopa Prince dawns a blindfold, his methods as well as their chances of survival, remained uncertain.
Marching in a line, Junior led the group straight into the untold perils of the blizzard ahead. They were each admittedly skeptical of the Koopa Prince's methods as he had tied a blind fold around his head and covered his eyes.
"I don't mean to keep questioning your methods, Junior," said Iggy. "But how exactly does blindfolding yourself help us find the capital city? There's no way you can tell where you're even going with that thing on."
"I told you," Junior replied. "There's no point in trying to rely on our eyes anymore. It's too dark and windy to make out anything."
"And blindfolding yourself is better…how?" Larry asked.
"Just trust me," Junior assured as he resumed his concentration.
The timid beating of his heart and the push and pull of his breathing slowed to a near stand-still. The whistling of the wind, the echoed pattering of feet trudging through the snow, and the chilling sensation of the blood and feeling being sapped from his feet and face all completely faded away. Junior was left with only darkness and his thoughts as his body shifted into autopilot. All he could do now was wait for the sign to come to him. Yet all Junior could think about at that moment was one of his most pivotal lessons with Merlon in the Realm of Refuge, and the first one at that.
"…A blindfold?" Junior asked as he stared skeptically at the cloth in his hand. Merlon nodded.
"To attain greater overall proficiency in magic, you must begin by forging a stronger unity amongst your physical, mental, and spiritual magic abilities. This comes by strengthening your mind and honing your instincts. You must learn to trust them just as much as your natural five senses."
"Yeah, I got that part," said Junior. "But how is this supposed to help me? I won't be able to see anything!"
"Exactly. Our vision is arguably one of our greatest tools we use to interact with the world around us. But it can also become one of our greatest weaknesses as well. Therefore, you must learn not to rely solely on your eyes. For doing so means that the moment your vision is impaired, your ability to perform magic as a whole will suffer."
"What do you mean?"
"Magic is influenced by our thoughts and emotions. Even the most powerful magic users are hindered when they succumb to panic and fear," Merlon explained. "The most common of this phenomenon is blindness; be it permanent or temporary. However, the principle applies to your other four senses as well to varying degrees. To put it simply, if you lose control of any of your senses and allow this to cloud your judgement or impede yourself from thinking rationally, it could prove to be your greatest downfall."
"Alright, alright. I get it," Junior said, nodding. "Don't let myself fall to pieces when someone kicks sand in my face or else I could lose control of my powers."
"As expected, you catch on quick," Merlon said with a laugh.
"So what exactly is this blindfold going to do for me then if I can't use my eyes?"
"It will teach you to rely on your mind and sharpen your instincts so that you can navigate a dangerous situation…without peeking, of course."
"…'Dangerous situation'? Like what?"
Melon snapped his finger. Nearby, a large wooden structure protruded out of the ground. The beams hosted a series of pendulums fastened together with ropes and menacing axe-like blades at the ends.
"Do you see the mechanical device over there?" Junior nodded. "You will be dodging those." The Koopa Prince's eyes widened with fear.
"ARE YOU INSANE!? Those things will tear me apart! I'll look like string cheese when this is over!" Junior protested.
"The more you observe them with your eyes, the more fear will cloud your judgement and hinder your abilities. That is why you will be blindfolded during this exercise. As long as you focus your mind and your instincts, you will be able to dodge the blades without seeing them, and no harm will come to you." Junior shook his head in disbelief.
"Uh-uh! No way! You have got to be kidding me!"
"I am quite serious, I assure you."
"I don't think I'd be able to dodge those things even if I could see them! You expect me to be able to dodge when I can't even see where they're coming from!?"
"It is not as impossible as you might think. You simply need to learn the art of Nimbelai."
"Nimbelai?" Merlon nodded as he walked over and stood directly in front of Junior.
"I believe a simple demonstration is in order. Prince Junior, I want you to hit me." Junior's face scrunched with skepticism.
"You want me to do what?"
"Hit me as hard as you can." Junior chuckled.
"I dunno. Aren't you pretty old? I don't wanna hurt you, Merlon."
"Don't worry, you won't." The Koopa Prince couldn't tell if Merlon was smiling underneath that hood. He was equally unsure what Merlon was planning. But judging by the vaguely smug tone of his voice, Junior was confident he had something in store.
"Alright…you asked for it!" Junior wound his fist back and struck. But Merlon seemingly vanished at the moment of contact! He didn't have to look far however to find that Merlon was standing close nearby, although his body was contorted into a strange stance.
"Again," said Merlon without leaving the stance.
"Huh?"
"Strike me again, Prince Junior." Without responding, Junior rushed forward and tried to slug Merlon again. But once again, he missed and Merlon seemed to disappear and reappear close by in the blink of an eye.
"Again," Merlon repeated. Junior followed up but was still unsuccessful. This repeated several more times until Junior was out of breath.
"Alright. I give," Junior conceded between breaths. "What's your secret?"
"There is no secret. Haven't you noticed it yet? I'm simply moving out of the way. The movement is key. The movement is Nimbelai." Merlon proceeded to demonstrate each stance in succession. Junior realized these dodges weren't random. They were choreographed; planned.
He studied Merlon, who shifted his weight around into a series of stances. It looked like a karate routine, and its connection to magic was lost on Junior.
Merlon went on to explain that Nimbelai consisted of four stances in total. The first was simply Merlon extending his leg far out behind him and leaning back. The second had Merlon shifting his weight to his front leg, and swinging his back leg in half circle sweep across the front of his body; leaning forward at the end of the stance. In the third, Merlon lunged forward to his left with his other leg. Finally, Merlon spun on his heels and faced Junior again. All the while, his arms seemed to position themselves in such a way so as to stabilize his balance. Without them, it would surely be easy for Merlon himself or anyone else for that matter to throw him off balance.
"One…two…three…four…," Merlon counted with each stance. He transitioned into each stance with such fluidity and control. It began to vaguely resemble a ballroom dance after a while.
Merlon demonstrated it several more times. Junior managed to pick up something new about the dance with each new cycle. Once he would study which leg moved where, then the direction he was moving in the other, then how Merlon twisted himself in another, and how he positioned his arms throughout in yet another. It seemed like pure magic in and of itself for someone as seemingly old and frail as Merlon moving their body like this at all.
"What kind of magic am I gonna learn from this dance exactly?"
"It is not a dance. It is a collection of stances. Nimbelai is an ancient technique invented by the earliest members of the Forbearance Society," Merlon explained. "They taught us that we perform the three types of magic using the natural life energy within our bodies. The energy swirls around in the pit of the stomach until the moment you perform a spell, when it travels to the corresponding part of your body such as the hands, feet, or throat. Nimbelai not only increases your flexibility, but it also creates and strengthens an organic network of pathways within your body. These pathways allow the energy to flow quickly throughout your body and in only the necessary quantities so you don't tire yourself out too quickly from using too much energy on any one spell."
Junior scratched his head and his eyebrows knitted together as he slowly absorbed the explanation.
"Oookay…? But why did you want me to hit you just now? How were you moving like that? Was that magic?"
"Not quite. I was moving with Nimbelai, but there was very little natural energy involved. You see, this art is especially effective at teaching you to control the distribution of your body's weight and move yourself with discipline so that the pathways can form and fall into place. Do you understand?"
"I…think so. But what does this have to do with the blindfold thing you wanted me to do earlier?" Merlon chuckled.
"Patience, Prince Junior. I assure you there is a method to my madness. You will learn all that you desire and all that I have promised. But first, you must learn how to perform Nimbelai," Merlon explained. "First, you must learn the stances."
Junior mimicked Merlon's steps and found the routine to be surprisingly harder than it looked. Keeping his balance was a challenge, and his transitions between each step were rigid and haphazard as he lacked the flow of his instructor.
"Again," Merlon instructed. Junior complied, but his attempt hardly resembled Merlon's.
"Again," Merlon repeated. Junior tried once more, with little success. Drill after drill, Merlon adjusted everything from the positioning of Junior's feet to the twisting of his waist.
One…two…three…four…, Junior recited in his mind.
One…two…three…four…
One…two…three…four…
One…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Learning the movements for Nimbelai took much longer than he would have liked, but Junior eventually began to assert more control over his body over time. His steps gradually became more precise, and the rest of his body slowly eased into sync. He began to move through the movements more gracefully before long.
Eventually, Junior and Merlon were able to move in perfect harmony; like mirror images of one another.
"Well done, Prince Junior. You are progressing nicely. I trust you are beginning to understand the importance of this exercise?" Junior scratched his head.
"Well…I guess I feel more relaxed with all the breathing and stuff. I mean, that's important too, right? Being relaxed?"
"Of course," Merlon agreed. "But that is not all there is for you to gain from Nimbelai. Do you remember what happened when you tried to hit me earlier?"
"Yeah, I missed every time. You kept dodging out of the way."
"And you felt out of breath, yes?" Junior nodded.
"Good. That is how you want your opponent to feel in a fight." Junior's eyebrows rose.
"Hold on…you mean Nimbelai is also some kind of fighting technique?"
"It is not meant to be used as a weapon, if that is what you are implying. Nimbelai is purely for self-development. But in a combat situation, Nimbelai is customarily a tool for defense. Although, it can prove detrimental to your opponent psychologically."
"What do you mean?"
"The reason you felt exhausted and frustrated after only a few attacks is because you exerted far too much energy with each attack."
"Hey, gimme some credit here, alright? I'm still learning!"
"That is not meant to be a personal critique. It is the reality of how most inexperienced people – that is, those who are unfamiliar with Nimbelai - choose to fight." Merlon took a seat on the ground and invited Junior to do the same.
"Not sure I get what you mean…"
"I have seen into your future, Prince Junior. You have a long, arduous journey ahead of you. I have seen that you will face all kinds of opponents who will seek to stand in your way, and they will vary in combat experience, intelligence, and ambition. It is almost certain you will encounter opponents who have less training than you. Therefore, it is paramount that you recognize the situation when it presents itself to you, and make the most of it. Nimbelai will help you do just that."
"How?"
"If you can simply remain calm, focus, and move your body with purpose the way I've trained you, an inexperienced fighter will never be able to hit you." Junior's eyes widened at this.
"Woah…seriously?" Merlon nodded.
"Yes. Keep it up long enough, and you opponent will become frustrated and fatigued. They will lose control of their power if you push them to their limit in this way. Theoretically, you could push your opponent to the point of collapse without delivering a single attack." The cogs were turning in Junior's head.
"Ahhh, I think I getcha. It's like you said at the start. If you get frustrated or upset, you can lose control of your power."
"Precisely," Merlon confirmed. "Nimbelai works as a defense against all kinds of attacks, magic or otherwise."
"So instead of me getting frustrated and losing control, I can make my enemies do that to themselves just by making all of their attacks miss!"
"You cannot lose if your opponent cannot touch you. And in turn, their impatience will become their own undoing." Junior frowned and looked to his feet. "Is something troubling you, Prince Junior?"
"Well… Nimbelai really only works on weak opponents, right? I mean, ones who don't have training or are just kinda stupid, I guess? So there's no way this would work on someone like Contemno, right?"
"Don't be so sure. Nimbelai is a fundamental psychological technique," said Merlon. "While it may be true that Contemno might not fall for this tactic at first, even the strongest of warriors can succumb to their own rage if given enough time."
"So…it becomes more of a game of endurance then; seeing who can outlast the other until someone cracks."
"In a manner of speaking, yes. But you will need to find a way to lure your opponent's energy out of them without them realizing what his happening. You cannot be obvious with your intentions, or someone like Contemno will see right through you. Therefore, it is important that you learn to engage your opponent with strategy and discipline. Use Nimbelai in a clever way to draw out your opponent's offense, be vigilant as you do so, and bide your time until you can find a weakness to exploit."
"But what kind of weaknesses should I be looking for?"
"That I cannot say. It will depend entirely on the opponent you face. However, now that you have acquired this knowledge and perspective, I believe you are ready for the next step."
"What's that?" Merlon tilted his head in gesture towards the menacing blade pendulums nearby. Junior swallowed hard. Whatever confidence he had just mustered was now slowly leaking out of him. "Y-you're not serious, are you?"
"I am," said Merlon. "Now that you have learned the basics of Nimbelai, putting them into action is the next logical step."
"But…that's a machine. It's not gonna get mad and lose its patience if it can't hit me. I thought that was the whole point of the movements you just taught me."
"Even though you know how to perform the movements of Nimbelai, you need practice applying the technique in a real life context. The blades are situated to move in the exact same angles and trajectories every time. I have designed them to move in a specific pattern that repeats itself over and over. Nimbelai will help you learn the pattern of the blades' movement by guiding you in how to position yourself so you may dodge the blades just before they make contact. Since you are familiar with the steps, this means you already know how and where to position yourself. All you need to do now in order to complete this exercise is learn the timing of when to perform each step."
"But won't I get all sliced up in the meantime!?" Junior protested.
"Trust yourself, Prince Junior," Merlon assured him warmly. The Koopa Prince lingered and stared at Merlon for a moment longer; as if he could somehow change his teacher's mind about making him do this just by staring into the latter's eyes long enough. It didn't take long for him to realize the attempt was futile, even if Junior already knew that to be true deep down.
Reluctantly, Junior slowly approached the contraption. He spotted a red x etched on the ground directly below the wooden frames and surmised that this was where he was supposed to stand. After all, he was now surrounded by a circle of blades with himself at the center in this spot. A trembling sensation overtook his entire body.
"Now then. Dawn your blindfold," Merlon instructed as he strolled towards the device.
"But how will I-"
"You will dodge them with Nimbelai. Perform it just as I have taught you, and you will not be harmed."
Junior's face scrunched and he eyeballed the cloth in his hand as though it were a live worm he was expected to ingest. The Koopa Prince looked back at Merlon one more time, but the mage's expression was absent as always.
Junior took a deep breath and wrapped the blindfold around his head and over his eyes. His racing heart was becoming more and more difficult to ignore by the minute. He firmly planted his feet into the dirt. His sweaty limbs gave off a reflective glow under the sun's light.
"Ready…," Junior croaked after his mouth had long since gone dry.
"Begin," said Merlon. The wizard waved his hand and the blades slowly began to swing towards the center – towards Junior - in rhythmic succession like a circle of dominoes. The first blade was directly in front of him, though the Koopa Prince was oblivious to this. It drew closer.
Closer.
Junior's heart raced. Time slowed down around him.
Closer.
His body was practically drenched in sweat at this point.
Closer.
His body trembled and his teeth chattered wildly as if an icy breeze had just blown across his scales.
Closer.
Junior couldn't see the blade coming obviously, but he sensed it. Would that be enough?
Closer.
Suddenly, Junior regretted never getting to say his goodbyes. This was the end for him. He was sure of it. And he would never get closure with anyone.
The blade nearly reached Junior and was about to poke his snout, but Junior's legs buckled, causing his entire body to drop to the ground just in time to avoid it.
Now the other blades were in full motion and although Junior was still blinded, he could hear the subtle "woosh" and "swish" as each one tenderly sliced through the air inches above him. Junior laid there on his stomach as still as his trembling body would allow; a heap of flesh and shell on the ground.
Fear and shame wrestled for control in his mind. He couldn't do it. He failed. He was just too afraid.
When it came right down to it, Junior had choked. And as long as he remained this way, there wasn't a thing he could do about Contemno or any of the other seemingly insurmountable problems that weighed him down.
A minute later, the wooshing and swishing stopped. But even then, Junior hesitated a moment before moving; still unsure if he was safe to sit up. Once he managed to calm down, Junior slowly climbed to his feet and removed the blindfold. He sniffed and wiped away the tears forming in his eyes. He met Merlon's gaze, but neither teacher nor pupil moved or said a word.
At least Ludwig made it obvious to Junior when he'd screwed up.
The blizzard raged on, but it hardly fazed Junior at this point. He'd sacrificed his useless vision by dawning the blindfold. The howling winds muffled his hearing, but he was deaf to it. The bitter cold had long since numbed all feeling he used to have in his fingers and toes, but it didn't bother Junior. Fortunately, he expected all of this to happen to him. It was just as Merlon had explained. He couldn't rely on his five senses to do everything for him.
It seemed to be working. Deep within the void of cold and shadow that were engulfing his mind and body, Junior could sense…something in the distance; some kind of life. If there was any kind of civilization left in this winter wasteland, Junior and his crew were getting closer. It was faint and still pretty far off, but it was there. They just needed to hang on a bit longer.
The others heard a loud, yet muffled plop behind them. Larry dropped to his hands and knees; shivering violently as though he were having a seizure. His scales were turning a visible tint of blue. The storm was already beginning to bury him with the imprint he'd just made using his hands and knees. Without saying a word, Roy approached Larry and extended his arms.
"N-no….I'm ok-kay, Roy….," Larry muttered weakly.
"I didn't ask if you were," said Roy. The Koopaling removed his leather jacket and wrapped it around Larry as best he could to form a blanket. Then he hoisted his sibling out of the snow and up into his arms as they rejoined the group.
Pressed tightly against his brother's bare chest, Larry was taken aback at just how warm Roy was. Was it the jacket, physical magic, or did the big guy just have a metric ton of body heat? His shivering mellowed down into a minor twitch almost instantly. The soothing sensation was overwhelming. He shut his eyes for a moment and vividly pictured himself resting comfortably in front of the fire place of a cozy log cabin.
The Koopaling forced himself to open his eyes quickly. No. H couldn't fall asleep now. Not while poor Roy had to carry him naked through the cold. In fact, it wasn't fair to the others either. They all still had to keep walking no matter how tired or cold they were. They didn't have the luxury to just give up like Larry did just now because they didn't all have big brothers to carry them like he did.
So how could Larry be content with being the weakest link? The least he could do was stay awake and see this journey through to the end with his comrades instead of giving in with little fight.
Larry's wandering eyes met Roy's and he saw his brother's lips curve into a tiny smile. "Kinda like old times, eh Larry?"
"Old times?" Larry repeated.
"Yeah, I used to carry you like this all the time when you were little. Y'know, back at the orphanage."
"The orphanage…right…" Larry's eyes fell as their lids drooped low.
Truth be told, it had been quite some time since Larry had thought about that cursed place. But it seemed his hatred towards that prison hadn't faded in the slightest. Larry never had any reason to think about the orphanage ever again after Bowser had adopted them. He always told himself that it was for the best to forget that part of his life forever. He smothered those nightmarish memories with anger, sadness, or a combination of the two over and over again for as long as it would take to be rid of them for good. It was just too painful to think about those days anymore. Of course, Larry had never explained this to anyone. That is…except for Junior.
"What's wrong?" Roy asked, noting his brother's downcast expression.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. It's just…those days are hazy for me," Larry lied, as he often did whenever someone managed to catch him remembering those awful times. Ignorance was his only weapon to ward off the prying judgement of others.
"Ah, I guess that makes sense. You were still just a little fella back then. Barely older than Junior was when we first met him, I think."
"Right…" That much was easy for anyone to expect him to logically remember. Being on the younger side of the Koopaling age spectrum was a fact that had been burned deep into Larry's memory. For better or…mostly worst.
"The storm's getting pretty bad," Peach inserted. It was unclear how much of Larry and Roy's conversation the rest of the group had heard. Though, it seemed the ferocious winds had erected a wall of inaudibility between them and others, as no one else commented on any of their responses to one another. "Maybe we should stop and make camp for the night. At least for poor Larry's sake. Surely the weather will be more bearable in the morning."
"What good would that do us now?" Iggy questioned. "We have no supplies whatsoever."
"Well…Roy's good at bending the earth with physical magic, right? So…maybe he could build an igloo or something that we can use for shelter." Roy stepped in closer when he managed to catch the sound of his name; shaking his head.
"Uh-uh. No can do, princess. I can only bend earth and stone. Snow's a no-go. Not enough solid material for me to work with," the Koopaling explained.
"I see…," Peach replied as she felt her heart sink.
"Besides, even if we could build a shelter, we'd still freeze to death without any way to warm ourselves up," said Iggy.
"But can't Junior breathe fire like his father? He could start a fire for us," the princess proposed.
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Iggy agreed. "Although, that wouldn't do us much good unless we had something to burn. Somehow I doubt we'll find any firewood out here."
"It doesn't matter," said Junior without moving his head out of its downward-facing position. "We're getting close. See? Look over there." The others followed Junior's pointed claw straight into the dark abyss and saw a small yellow shape. It could only be a light of some kind cutting through the darkness. Against all odds, their destination was approaching them at last. Sarasaland, the Desert Kingdom's capital city.
"Incredible!" Iggy exclaimed as he adjusted his glasses. "Junior, how on earth did you-"
"Merlon trained me well. I've got all sorts of tricks up my sleeve that you guys haven't seen yet," Junior answered in a matter-of-fact tone as he polished his knuckles against his chest and smirked with pride.
"Well, color me impressed," said Peach with a sigh of relief.
"I'll say," Larry agreed.
"What're we still standin' around here for then!? said Roy. "I've been freezin' my tail off all night! Let's get a move on!" The group rode this newfound wave of adrenaline and took off together towards the small beacon of hope waiting for them across the wide open plain blanketed by snow.
The group's luck seemed to hold out as by the time they reached the outskirts of the city, the blizzard had calmed to a gentle shower of snowflakes. It wasn't a surprise to see the frozen city streets empty and darkness engulfing all but the street lights. Iggy roughly calculated that it was well after midnight when they finally arrived in Sarasaland. Conducting a reasonable investigation into the well-being of the city's denizens would have to wait until morning.
Roy froze in his place when he heard a faint whisper of shifting snow. Footsteps. He was certain of it. But it was too poorly lit out here to determine where they were coming from.
"Hold on, did you guys hear that?" Roy asked. The others stopped around him.
"Hear what?" said Junior.
In the corner of his eye, Iggy could've sworn he saw a small sample of snow trickle off the roof of one of the pueblo houses behind him.
Peach turned just in time to see a silhouette rushing towards them from the other end of the street, but it was already too late to act.
Suddenly, a small army of light blue Piranha Plants popped out of the snow and circled the group. Their sharp teeth were covered in a thin layer of ice that gave them a porcelain appearance. Their breaths were even colder than the evening winter air all around. Their roots were covered in frost, and yet their dark blue color seemed to indicate they actually thrived off the cold instead of shriveling from it. The plants collectively lunged forward and chomped, forcing Junior and the others to retreat and stand back-to-back with one another.
As the Piranha Plants took turns snapping at them, Peach spotted the silhouettes racing towards them and coming into view. It was hard to make out their appearance with so little light, but Peach managed to make out enough of them to realize that these were Shy Guys. Although, their masks were shiny and reflective like the teeth of the Piranha Plants; almost as though they were carved from slabs of ice.
"Shy Guys…?" Iggy questioned aloud.
"But what are they doing all the way out here?" said Junior. The Shy Guys thrusted their spears forward a few inches in the small gaps between the Piranha Plant heads, causing the group to raise their arms in the air in submission. All except for Roy of course, who was still carrying Larry. The plants retracted their heads slightly; submitting to the authority of the Shy Guys by allowing them to step in and take over.
"Uhhh…nice…fellas?" Roy offered. "We don't want any trouble."
"Errf," one of the Shy Guys muttered.
"Come again?" said Peach. She knew it was pointless deep down to try conversing with them since Shy Guys didn't speak normal English. But then again, she was hardly in a position at the moment to behave anything other than cordial.
"Errrrf. Err, err. Errrrrrf," the Shy Guy spoke again.
"We don't speak 'errf,'" said Larry.
Junior carefully reached his hand inside his bag. He figured one circular scythe swing with his paintbrush would slice all of the plants and Shy Guys to ribbons. However, one of the Shy Guys took notice of Junior and prodded him with its spear. Junior yelped and retracted his arm back down to his side. So much for that idea…
Roy, Peach, and Larry each got separate ideas about summoning their own weapons, but after seeing how quickly Junior was caught in the act, none of them felt brave enough to take the risk by moving their arms, much less clapping their hands. For low-level minions, they were extremely perceptive. Peach suspected Contemno had some kind of influence over them. What next? Was Eris going to magically show up out of nowhere, call Junior a baby, and gloat some more?
Neither the Shy Guys nor the Piranha Plants made any sudden movements. They just stared at their captives, waiting for…something. But what?
"Uhh…so, are we under arrest or something?" Junior asked.
"Errf," one of the Shy Guys replied.
"Iggy?" said Roy, nudging his sibling with his elbow.
"Ow! What? Why do you guys always immediately turn to me when our shells are up against the wall!?" Iggy complained.
"Well…your plans have gotten us this far. Got anything for us this time?" said Peach. He sighed.
"Unless one of you can manage to summon a weapon without getting impaled, I don't see any way of us fighting our way out of this," said Iggy. "What about you, Junior? Any surprises left for us tonight?"
Junior didn't respond.
"…Junior? You alright?" Iggy's eyebrows rose when he saw the Koopa Prince visibly trembling. It couldn't be from the cold as Junior was the only one shaking this badly. Even Larry had managed to warm up by now after being out in the blizzard for so long.
No, this was something other than cold. Iggy caught a partial view of the expression on Junior's face.
He looked…scared. More scared than anyone else present at that moment. In fact, Iggy hadn't seen Junior look this scared since they first met Contemno back at the castle.
"Junior…what's wrong? What is it?" he asked.
"Not….again….," Junior muttered as his voice bounced.
"Huh?" said Peach. "Junior…what're you…?"
"I…can't. I just can't!" Junior cried.
"Can't what? What are you talkin' about?" said Roy.
"I TOLD YOU I JUST CAN'T DO IT, MERLON!" Junior exclaimed. The Koopa Prince immediately dropped to his knees. This sudden movement startled the Piranha Plants and Shy Guys; provoking them to attack.