Chapter 7:
Kamek examined the Koopa Troopa "volunteers" that he had injected with the Jenova cells from Sephiroth, as well as exposed to Mako. The transformation process took less time than expected. The Magikoopa had watched as several of the Koopas had a negative reaction to the Mako exposure, to put it mildly. One of the Koopa Troopas had almost immediately transformed into an unrecognizable monstrosity that looked more like a pile of flesh and bone than anything living. He was quickly put out of his, and Kamek's, misery as Kamek fired a single blast from his wand at the creature, vaporizing him. Another Koopa was rendered catatonic while a third lashed out at anything and everything. He killed one of the other subjects before Sephiroth had ended his threat by rushing the rampaging Koopa and shattering his skull with a single punch. The Koopa fell to the ground, dead, but Sephiroth made certain by walking over to him and lifting his foot up. He then thrust his foot down onto the shattered remains of the insane Koopa's skull, shattering it further. He then stomped on the Koopa's torso and limbs, shattering practically every bone in the unfortunate Koopa Troopa's body, along with the unfortunate Koopa's shell.
A few of the Koopas, however, had a positive reaction to the Jenova and Mako treatments. After being administered the Jenova cells and Mako, they had convulsed for a few moments, but quickly stabilized and were soon breathing normally. After a few seconds, they opened their eyes, which had now resembled those of a cat and had a distinctive green glow about them. Still, Kamek was unconcerned. One of the Koopas soon stood up and smiled. He took one look at Kamek and rushed towards him faster than the Magikoopa could comprehend, stopping mere millimeters from the Magikoopa's face, causing Kamek's eyes to go wide with shock and delight. He then turned to the other Koopas, who were demonstrating other superhuman feats with one of them lifting up a bed with one arm, another punching the air faster than any unaugmented Koopa could track, and another jumping high enough that he hit his head on the ceiling and proceeded to land normally as if nothing had happened. Looking up, Kamek could see that the ceiling had been solid stone, but that stone now had some noticeable cracks in it. He could only grin. The enhancements had worked far better than he had ever anticipated.
"And this is only the beginning," Sephiroth stated from behind in a sly tone. "Once we get to Gaia, I can give them access to items that will grant these Koopas, and even unaugmented Koopas, magical powers."
"We'll have to convince Bowser to let us do this, though," Kamek began. "But considering the losses we took from Mario and after a demonstration of what our enhanced…"
"SOLDIER," Sephiroth interrupted.
"Soldier?" Kamek asked.
"It's something that came to mind as we were enhancing your forces. It's also spelled in all capital letters."
"So, once we show Bowser what our SOLDIER Koopas can do, he'll almost certainly be willing to help you, as long as you still help us, too."
"Of course," Sephiroth stated. As Kamek turned away to alert Bowser to what he had discovered, though, the former SOLDIER could not help but grin. He had them. They were so desperate that they would do anything for a chance to defeat this Mario and take over the world. He was suddenly beginning to realize that his loss at the hands of Mario was actually a blessing in disguise.
Meanwhile, Kamek rushed towards Bowser's medical ward, eager to show off the new SOLDIER Koopas that he and Sephiroth had engineered. As he made his way to Bowser's room, he began to dream of the prospects of enhancing other Koopas with the Jenova cells and Mako that had made Sephiroth such a powerful fighter without the use of super-powers that made the Mario Brothers so dangerous. And if what Sephiroth said about his home planet having other items that could give even unaugmented Koopas magical powers were true, this would be a coup in terms of enhancing the entire Koopa Troop. Even if these SOLDIER Koopas were not as powerful as Mario individually where once, thirty Koopas would get slaughtered by Mario and/or his allies, now, it would be the Koopas that did the slaughtering.
Kamek arrived at Bowser's medical ward, the entrance being flanked by two Dark Koopatrols, the elite of the elite of Koopatrols, their scarlet eyes seemingly gazing into the souls of Kamek, the SOLDIER Koopas and Sephiroth, trying to ascertain whether or not the arrivals were friend or foe, for while Bowser and Kamek were known to be close, with Kamek being Bowser's chief advisor, the others were completely unfamiliar to the guards. For their part, the SOLDIER Koopas did not flinch under the gaze of the Dark Koopatrols despite the fact that they were strong enough to force even Mario and his friends to take them seriously in combat, something that was unheard of for normal Koopa Troopas. The Dark Koopatrols then scowled as they glared at the surprisingly courageous Koopa Troopas. Turning to Kamek, they demanded, "Who are these Koopas and why are they here?"
"We're here to give King Bowser a demonstration," Kamek answered calmly. "Please let us pass. This is something King Bowser needs to see, and you're also welcome to watch, for you'll soon have these same enhancements, too."
"Enhancements?" one of the Dark Koopatrols asked in a curious tone. He then took another look at the Koopa Troopas and noted their confident expressions, something that was rare for a mere Koopa Troopa to present in the presence of two Dark Koopatrols. "What enhancements?"
"These," came the response from one of the Koopa Troopas as he rushed the quizzical Dark Koopatrol and gripped him by the arm, not tight enough to hurt the guard, but enough to get his attention. The Dark Koopatrol, meanwhile, did not even comprehend the Koopa Troopa's movement. He looked at the Koopa Troopa, his red eyes going visibly wide with shock. He then tried to pull his arm away from the Koopa Troopa's grip but found himself unable to do so. He gritted his teeth as he tried to pry his arm away once more, only to find it still held in the now tightening vice-like grip of the Koopa Troopa. After a few seconds, the Koopa let go and said, "No hard feelings, sir."
The Dark Koopatrols then glanced at one another before focusing back on the party before them. "Okay, you all can pass," they said in unison as they stepped aside to grant the group passage into Bowser's room.
"Thank you, sir," the Koopa Troopa answered, bowing as Kamek led the party into Bowser's room.
Inside Bowser's room, a legion of medics, consisting of mostly Medi Guys and a couple Magikoopa doctors, were tending to the King of the Koopas. The lights were dim since he still had concussion symptoms and the medics were working as quietly as possible while still being diligent about the care of their king. Bowser did his best to rest, hoping that getting some sleep would ease his concussion symptoms. That hope was dashed as Kamek called out to him, "Master Bowser, I have good news to report, and a demonstration to show."
Bowser nearly leapt out of his bed at the seemingly booming voice of his chief advisor. "Keep it down!" the Koopa King roared. "I'm trying to rest!"
"Sorry, master," Kamek apologized as he bowed before his king. The four SOLDIER Koopas, however, simply stood still, waiting for either Kamek or Bowser to issue an order that would allow them to demonstrate their ability. One of the Koopas, though, noticed a Medi Guy floating up to get a bottle of magical medicine that would alleviate some of Bowser's concussion symptoms. Wanting to help his king, and viewing this as a great chance to give a demonstration of his newfound capabilities without having to resort to violence, the SOLDIER Koopa rushed towards the cabinet and jumped high into the air, far higher than any Koopa Troopa had demonstrated before. He reached the bottle, grabbed it, and then landed on the ground as softly as a gold medal gymnast. The Medi Guys and the Magikoopa doctors stared at the Koopa Troopa in utter amazement and shock, as did Bowser, who managed to catch everything out of the corner of his eye.
The SOLDIER Koopa approached the king and, grabbing a spoon from a nearby tray poured some amber liquid from the bottle onto the spoon and offered it to his king. "Take this, my king," the Koopa said in a confident but reverent tone. "This will make you feel better."
Bowser could scarcely think at the moment, between his concussion and the sight of a mere Koopa Troopa jumping like Mario and also having the plumber's confidence. "Uh, thanks," the king answered. He then continued to stare at the Koopa and then asked, "How did you do all that just now?"
"I've been enhanced," the SOLDIER Koopa answered. "Kamek can explain it better than I can, but I was given some cells and a mysterious substance. I survived the procedure and am now faster, stronger, and more capable than I ever dreamed of ever being."
Even after taking the medicine, Bowser was still finding it difficult to get his thoughts in order. Words that did stick out, though, were 'survived', 'faster, stronger, and more capable.' "And it only gets better, master," he heard Kamek add.
Turing to Kamek, he saw him flanked by three other Koopas, who he figured were also enhanced, as well as the silver-haired Sephiroth. The human looked giant to Bowser compared to other humans that he knew, but even in his compromised state, he could tell that there was something different about this human, something alien and that he was nothing like Mario, Luigi, Peach, or any of their human friends.
"Who is that?" the Koopa King asked, gazing at Sephiroth.
"That is Sephiroth," Kamek answered. "And he is the source of the cells and Mako that Private Koop used to become a fighter that could beat a Dark Koopatrol."
"And I can give you access to more Mako and possibly even some more Jenova cells," Sephiroth added.
"Jenova cells?" the Koopa King inquired, beginning to be able to think more clearly and being less disturbed by bright lights and loud sounds.
"They are the cells that grant me my enhanced speed, strength, cognition, and abilities," came Sephiroth's answer. "Combined with the Mako energy I was exposed to, I am far stronger than any human. Complete, I would even be able to defeat this Mario you seem to be having so much trouble against."
"How would you know about him?" Bowser asked.
"Because I fought him."
"Why would you fight him?" Bowser asked, growing suspicious of the former SOLDIER.
"I was trying to gain access to the Star Rod so I could return to my planet when Mario came and engaged me in battle. It was a close fight but in the end, he managed to get the better of me."
"Master, I found Sephiroth on the ground having survived not only the beating from Mario, but also having survived the fall from Star Haven," Kamek volunteered. "So far, I have enough Jenova cells and Mako from Sephiroth's own blood to produce a dozen or so more SOLDIER Koopas, assuming all of them survive the procedure. However, if we manage to get him to his own homeworld, he promises us that he can give us access to more Jenova cells and Mako, possibly allowing us to enhance our entire army. Our entire army," the Magikoopa reiterated letting the idea sink in for Bowser.
Bowser considered what Sephiroth and Kamek were offering. The word 'survived' still stuck out from the SOLDIER Koopa's explanation as to why he was suddenly so strong. "What are the side-effects?" he asked.
Sephiroth then stepped forward and answered, "The process of making a SOLDIER is not easy. On my world, only the strong survived the process of becoming a member of SOLDIER. Even a number of Koopa Troopas did not survive their infusion of Mako. However, I believe that you are more than strong enough to survive and become a SOLDIER Koopa, or rather, a SOLDIER Koopa King."
Bowser could only grin at the title Sephiroth had given him. SOLDIER Koopa King; that had a nice ring to it. Still, he did not want there to risk being a statistic, so he then asked, "What was the success rate of becoming a SOLDIER on your world?"
"I don't remember," Sephiroth answered. "It wasn't so much about success rate as it was about the strength of the candidates, mentally and physically. The stronger candidates survived while the weaker ones succumbed to Mako poisoning. It's the Mako that makes the process dangerous."
"And what are the symptoms of Mako poisoning?"
"Mako poisoning can result in a disruption of one's senses. This can lead to catatonia, coma, or in the worst cases, death." Sephiroth then paused before continuing, "There is a definite risk with this procedure, though I believe that once I return to my homeworld, I should have all of the information I need to minimize the risk, especially to yourself and/or any family members that may want to become some form of SOLDIER Koopa."
Bowser then sat up in his bed, considering the offer. A part of him was desperate to accept this offer, feeling that things could not likely get much worse than they already were. However, his army had suffered brutal defeats before so he knew that it would recover, eventually. Another part of him, however, knew that Sephiroth would not be offering so much if he did not expect to get something big in return. The fact that he would have to help Sephiroth get back to his own homeworld, no small feat since the Koopa Troop currently lacked not only the knowledge of where Sephiroth's homeworld was, but also any form of interstellar travel, meant that Sephiroth could trap them and possibly force him to become the former SOLDIER's servant. Still, he thought it was a risk worth taking, but he did not want to risk his family, too.
"Let me talk it over with my kids," he told Sephiroth. "I want to accept it, but I still am going to have a second opinion before giving my final answer. Until then, Kamek, you do the procedure on twelve volunteers: six Magikoopa and six Koopatrols. I don't want to put all our eggs in one basket with this but I want our strongest to undergo the procedure in case Mario comes for an uninvited house call."
"Understood, Master," Kamek answered.
"Very well," Sephiroth echoed. "I'll be waiting for your final answer."
Bowser then went to stand up. He swung his legs to the side of the bed and attempted to stand. As he did so, he stumbled forward unsteadily. Two of the SOLDIER Koopas went to assist him, but Bowser held up his hand as he steadied himself to ward them off. He was going to stand on his own power. After a few more seconds, he was standing on his own two feet. He then took a few wobbly steps forward before eventually managing to stabilize his gate. Once he did so, he told Kamek, "Tell my kids to meet me in the throne room. All of them."
"Yes, Master," Kamek answered, bowing.
"Once that's done, get to work on making the six Magikoopas and six Koopatrols SOLDIER Magikoopas and SOLDIER Koopatrols."
As Bowser departed the room slowly, Kamek went to make the call to Bowser's children. He was beginning to grow concerned that Bowser might not accept Sephiroth's offer. While he knew that the Koopalings and Bowser Junior would gladly accept the offer merely for the chance of beating Mario, he was far less certain about Kevin. Kevin was far more cautious than Bowser or his other children. Not only that, though, but Kevin was also far wiser. A part of Kamek was thinking that it was foolish to trust Sephiroth so blindly, even though the silver-haired fighter had been willing to help create the SOLDIER Koopas that would likely be able to fight competently against the Mario Brothers. Still, Sephiroth had shown his superiority to anyone present and he was still not making a move against Bowser. That was good enough for the chief Magikoopa. As such, he soon went to find six Magikoopa and six Koopatrol volunteers to perform the procedure on. Sephiroth followed him out the door, his lips subtly twisting upwards in a dark smile.
Meanwhile, in his throne room, Bowser sat in his massive throne, waiting for his children to arrive. He did not have to wait long, for all nine kids soon filed in, each according to their age: Kevin, Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, Larry, and Bowser Jr. Once they filed in, they formed up around Bowser and Wendy began the proceeding proclaiming, "We're here Dad. What do you need us for?"
Bowser then gave a satisfied grin. "Kids, we finally have a chance to get the power needed to beat those stupid Mario Brothers once and for all and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom in the process; and probably the world after that."
"What is it?" Ludwig asked.
"Kamek found this guy called Sephiroth who was greatly enhanced; enhanced enough that he gave Mario the fight of his life. And now, he's willing to give us his enhancements," the Koopa King opened excitedly
"What enhancements are those?" Bowser Jr. asked, his curiosity piqued. The others were also interested, though Kevin was keeping his expectations in check.
"His blood has some type of cell called Jenova cells and also has some energy called Mako that, when combined, greatly enhance the one getting the infusion. They'll greatly enhance one's speed, strength, agility, and cognitive ability, and so on. He's already enhanced a number of Koopa Troopas and they're faster and stronger than anything I've seen in recent times. We're also currently enhancing six Magikoopas and six Koopatrols so we'll soon have an elite guard of SOLDIER Magikoopas and SOLDIER Koopatrols."
"What are the side-effects of the enhancements?" Kevin asked, keeping a skeptical look on his face.
"If you're not strong enough, you could suffer a series of side-effects and/or die," Bowser answered.
"Is that all?" Kevin asked, not convinced that there were not more side-effects.
"Those are the ones Sephiroth told me about," Bowser answered, wondering what his oldest son was getting at. "And those are the only ones that concern me. And if we help him get back to his homeworld, he'll help us give the entire army these enhancements without the side-effects.
Kevin looked at his father skeptically. "Really? How will he do that?"
"He didn't say directly, but my guess is that he'll have some equipment on his homeworld that will allow the process to be optimized so that we get the greatest benefits of the infusion."
Kevin still had misgivings. "And how do we go about finding this guy's homeworld? We don't even know its name."
"I can have Kamek use a spell to try to find it," came the Koopa King's answer. "As for the name, I'll just ask Sephiroth. Once I get its name, we should be able to locate it using magic. But if worse comes to worst, we can always hire the cabbies Dribble and Spitz to take us there or at least give us a map to that world."
"Next question: how do we get there with a large enough force to enhance quickly?" Kevin asked. "If we hire a couple of cabbies, only a few of us will be able to go with Sephiroth to his homeworld."
"We can take over the Starship Mario that's in orbit around Hylia," Bowser answered with a sinister grin. "We'll use some Power Moons to power it up if needed and then use its FTL drive to get us to Sephiroth's world, following the cabbies if necessary. It's also large enough to hold quite a number of Koopas. Once we get there and get them, and ourselves, enhanced, we can come back here and do the enhancement on the rest of our army."
"And Mario? There's no way Mario will let his own starship get captured."
"He won't know we're going for the starship. It's up in orbit and even if he did find out, he wouldn't be able to follow us in the Odyssey since it's not an FTL ship. And if worst comes to worst there, we can always have a few airships intercept the Odyssey and shoot it down."
"But what about the homefront?" Kevin inquired. "We can't leave it defenseless and what if the worst happens and Sephiroth leads us into a trap?"
"Then we'll beat him and drain his body dry of the Jenova cells farm them, and the Mako in his body as well as on his planet," Bowser answered with a satisfied grin. "We'll all be infused with these Jenova cells and Mako energy. If Sephiroth tries anything, we'll beat him through numbers if nothing else. And it likely won't even come to that since we'll be on his level. Besides, once his usefulness is over we'll dispose of him anyway."
Kevin's misgivings did not diminish. If anything, they grew even greater. There was no way Sephiroth had not planned for a potential betrayal by Bowser and/or the rest of the Koopa Troop. This had 'trap' written all over it. However, Bowser's other children had heard enough. In fact, they had heard enough after Bowser got through giving them the offer.
"I say we do it!" Wendy proclaimed. "We'll finally be able to take out Mario once and for all!"
"Yeah!" Larry agreed.
"But Wendy, you heard the issues with the Mako infusion," Kevin protested. "And there's the issue of whether or not we can even trust this Sephiroth in the first place. From what I've heard, these Jenova cells seem like an infection or possibly even a virus. How do we know they don't make us more malleable towards Sephiroth's control? So far, he's asked only for our help in taking him back to his homeworld while he's willing to give us almost everything we could ever dream of while he's only one person and would likely be at our mercy unless there's more to this Jenova treatment, or rather infection, and Mako infusion than he's letting on."
"I'm with King Dad," Bowser Jr. declared.
"I am, too," Ludwig agreed, nodding. "This is our best chance to finally take down Mario and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. And heck, not only the Mushroom Kingdom but the entire world; two worlds if Sephiroth's homeworld doesn't have too many warriors of his caliber."
"Yeah!" the other Koopalings and Bowser Jr. cried in agreement.
"This is a mistake," Kevin warned. "We really need to know more before making a final decision."
"Don't worry Kev," Wendy chided. "Once we see the next batch of SOLDIER Koopas you'll see their potential."
"I know they have potential," Kevin stated. "But I don't like the hoops we'll have to jump through. We're getting everything we could ever want, and what is Sephiroth getting but a trip back home? Who's to say he hasn't already heard of Dribble and Spitz? They don't do anything to hide from the public."
"I've made my decision," Bowser declared. "We're going through with the infusions. Anyone is free to refuse the infusions," he added, looking directly at Kevin. "But I at the very least am going through with it."
With that, Bowser stood up and proceeded towards the exit, his children following behind. The last to file out was Kevin, the oldest of Bowser's children still skeptical of Sephiroth and what he was offering.
Bowser made his way down the corridor towards the castle's medical ward. He passed the room he had been staying in and made his way towards the research ward next door. When he arrived at the large pair of black doors with a skull and crossbones sign, indicating that the research going on in there was dangerous, he stopped and shoved the doors open.
Inside the research ward, Bowser saw Kamek and Sephiroth along with a few Medi Guys examining the twelve selected Magikoopas and Koopatrols that had undergone the Jenova and Mako infusions. Of those that had undergone the infusions, all but two had survived with no issues whatsoever. Two of the Magikoopas selected must not have been strong enough to endure the procedure, for one of them had convulsed and had gone catatonic while the other one was rendered comatose. At least they had not died, though, which surprised, and actually pleased, Sephiroth.
"Take the two that suffered Mako poisoning to the medical ward and monitor them further," Kamek instructed the Medi Guys.
"Yes, Master Kamek," the Medi Guys responded in unison. They then went to place the two Magikoopas on stretchers and took them away.
As for the remaining subjects, they showed no signs of Mako poisoning or any other side-effects. Bowser took one look at them and was eager to see what they could do. "Kamek," he bellowed, causing the Magikoopa to jump up in surprise and turn to face his king.
"Ah, King Bowser," Kamek began, regaining his composure. "Everything seems to be progressing nicely." He paused a bit before continuing, "Unfortunately, two Magikoopa suffered Mako poisoning and are in no condition to do much of anything. The others, however, seem to be doing just fine." He then stepped aside so he could present the others to Bowser.
When he stepped aside, the ten remaining subjects stepped off their beds and looked forward at Bowser and his children, bowing as they made eye contact with him.
"Show me what you've got," Bowser commanded.
One of the Magikoopas grinned and gripped his wand. He then turned towards one of the Koopatrols and fired a blast of pink magical energy towards him, the blast traveling far faster than normal. The enhanced Koopatrol grinned as he seemingly vanished from view, avoiding the blast, and reappeared right before the Magikoopa, drawing a spear to thrust towards the magician. The Magikoopa vanished as the Koopatrol hurled the spear at him, the spear passing through nothing but air and continuing until it embedded itself a foot into the steel wall ten meters away, the shaft quivering after the spear had struck. Bowser looked at the displays of speed, as well as the strength of the Koopatrol's spear throw and grinned. This was everything he could ever have wanted. He also saw Kamek and Sephiroth give satisfied grins with the human even giving a subtle nod.
"I'm next," Bowser declared. "Do you have enough Jenova cells and Mako to enhance me and my kids?"
"Not at the moment," Kamek answered. "We used the last of the cells to enhance the Magikoopas and Koopatrols." He then turned to Sephiroth and asked, "Could you give me another sample of your blood? With that, we could enhance King Bowser and his children."
"I can only give enough for Bowser at the moment," Sephiroth answered.
"And besides, Kevin doesn't want to undergo the procedure and has misgivings about it," Bowser added. "I and my other kids, on the other hand, are eager to begin."
"To have the best chance of success, I'll need to get to my homeworld in order to get the required amount of Jenova cells and Mako sources to create more SOLDIER Koopas," the silver-haired human explained. "We should go as soon as possible."
"That could be a problem," Kamek stated warily, prompting Sephiroth to turn and scowl at him. After a few seconds, Kamek clarified, "We don't know where your homeworld is or even what it's called so we have virtually nothing to go on."
Sephiroth was about to make a retort when a word came to mind: Gaia, which he soon voiced. "Gaia," he blurted, causing Bowser to raise his eyebrows and take notice.
"Gaia?" he queried.
"It just came to me when you were talking about not knowing my homeworld's name or location," Sephiroth explained. "I think it is the name of my homeworld."
"And if we take you to this Gaia, you'll have enough Jenova cells to enhance me and my children?" Bowser inquired.
"Yes," Sephiroth stated, nodding. "Not only that, but you'll have enough Jenova cells and Mako to enhance your entire army, from the highest-ranking noble to the lowliest foot soldier. In addition, Gaia also has something called Materia. Materia grants magical capabilities to whoever uses it. It can also grow and become more powerful as you use it more."
The Koopa King's eyes went wide as he grinned. This was better than he could ever have dreamed. Finally, he was going to have access to the weaponry and materiel needed to finally destroy the Marios and their allies once and for all. And after that, the Mushroom Kingdom, and most importantly, Princess Peach, would be his. Thoughts of even basic Koopa Troopas and even the lowly Goombas running roughshod over the Marios and the Mushroom Kingdom swirled in his head.
"Alright everyone, prepare my airship and alert my kids and call up an elite cadre of Koopatrols, the Dreadtrol Squad and the elite Magikoopas. We're mobilizing for a takeover of the Starship Mario up in orbit."
"Yes, master," Kamek answered bowing but not bothering to hide his pleasure. Finally, the Mario Brothers' days were going to come to an end.
As the Magikoopa went about his tasks, Bowser departed the medical ward followed by the surviving Koopatrols Magikoopas that had survived their enhancements into SOLDIER Koopatrols and SOLDIER Magikoopas. However, as he was departing, the group did not notice Sephiroth begin to grin. As for the former SOLDIER, he had to suppress his own grin. Things were going better than he had ever anticipated. And even better was the fact that he did not foresee any scenario where he would have to engage Bowser in a battle if he underwent the Jenova infusion and Mako enhancement.
Sephiroth, however, did not move immediately. Kamek stopped and looked at him curiously, asking, "What is it?"
"I want to try to get the Star Rod again," Sephiroth answered. "More importantly, we need to keep Mario off balance while we find this Starship Mario. The last thing we need is for Mario to discover where we are going and stop us before our plans get off the ground."
"There's been no report of Mario appearing in the Koopa Kingdom recently," one of the SOLDIER Koopas volunteered. "It's unlikely that he would know that we're headed towards his ship."
"But the Mushroom Kingdom is likely still on high alert due to our last attack," a SOLDIER Koopatrol countered. "If their early warning systems are active, they'll detect our airship departing from the castle and entering Mushroom Kingdom airspace, even if we're heading towards low orbit. They'll almost certainly know that something is up and figure out that we're headed towards Starship Mario. They'll likely suspect that Sephiroth is with us and they'll want to try to finish him off."
A SOLDIER Magikoopa then turned to Bowser, Kamek, and Sephiroth and told them, "We could go to Star Haven and look for the Star Rod; and hopefully take out Mario, too."
"Huh?" Bowser gasped. "You?" He could scarcely believe that the SOLDIER Magikoopa was not only ready, but eager, to fight Mario. He then turned to see the rest of the SOLDIER Koopatrols and SOLDIER Magikoopas grinning excitedly. They were eager to show their new powers against Mario and his allies. Bowser, however, was surprisingly more hesitant. As much as he wanted to send them up against the Marios and possibly kill them right here and now and get the Star Rod for himself, he knew that Mario was still a very dangerous opponent and while the Jenova and Mako enhancements did increase the abilities of the Magikoopas and Koopatrols present, he also knew that they were still not able to defeat him in a one-on-one fight, whereas Mario had consistently been able to defeat Bowser in battle, even without super powers. More importantly, though, was the fact that he did not want Mario learning of his plans or where he was going. He wanted his trip to this Gaia to be without incident.
"Master Bowser?" he heard one of the SOLDIER Koopatrols ask, wondering what his orders were.
That snapped him out of his reverie and he soon took stock of the ten enhanced Koopatrols and Magikoopas present. "Do you really think that you all together could at least hold off Mario if he arrived at Star Haven while you search for the Star Rod?"
"Hold him off?" one of the SOLDIER Magikoopas retorted, almost chuckling. "With all of us together, we'll slaughter Mario and his friends, especially if Mario's the only Mario Brother at Star Haven."
Bowser considered their answers. A part of him was thrilled. They were confident in their abilities; too confident. And that concerned him. They had just received their enhancements and were not trained in how to fight with them. The last thing he needed was for the SOLDIER Koopatrols and SOLDIER Magikoopas to get themselves killed fighting carelessly against Mario. Still, they would likely be able to keep Mario and his friends occupied so he, Sephiroth, Kamek, and the others could get to Starship Mario unnoticed. In the end, he decided, "Okay, you can go. But I want at least one of the SOLDIER Magikoopas and SOLDIER Koopatrols to remain here with me. I don't want to lose you all just after you got your enhancements. Also, be prepared to be intercepted by the Mario Brothers since you'll be flying into the Mushroom Kingdom."
"That won't be a problem," one of the SOLDIER Magikoopas said. "I can use an invisibility spell to make myself invisible to the early warning systems of the Mushroom Kingdom and once I get in there, I can summon the SOLDIER Koopatrols."
"We also want to go," the four 'regular' SOLDIER Koopas stated as one. "Besides, you can't have too many friends when fighting Mario and his allies," one of the SOLDIER Koopas added.
"You're right about that," Bowser agreed. He then turned to them and said, "Okay, you all get going and either find that Star Rod, or at the very least keep Mario occupied while we take over the Starship Mario. But don't be too scared to teleport out of there if things get too hot. As I said before, I don't want to lose you guys."
"You got it, sire," all of the SOLDIER Koopas answered as one.
With that, the SOLDIER Koopatrols, SOLDIER Magikoopas, and SOLDIER Koopas departed the scene, save for the lone SOLDIER Koopatrol and SOLDIER Magikoopa that remained behind in order to keep Bowser from potentially losing all of his SOLDIER Koopas in this attack. With that, Bowser and the others made their way towards the airship hangar bay.