Chapter 18:
Once more, the party inside the Dribble Taxi rode in silence as they made their way to the Gold Saucer. Mario and Luigi flew outside the cab, flanked by Lady Bow, Vivian, Flurrie, Parakarry, Watt, and Lakilester. The others inside the cab had to squeeze together in order to fit, but they managed to do so without too much discomfort. Fortunately, the actual trip to the Gold Saucer did not take too long, the trip lasting little less than an hour.
The Gold Saucer was easy to spot in the distance, as it resembled a massive gold tower with numerous gold saucer-like sections on it at various points. Fireworks could be seen going off in the distance and there were also neon signs advertising various sections of the Saucer. The scene reminded the plumbers of Glitzville back on Hylia. Even at this distance, the sounds of partying and music could be heard by those outside the cab.
The Dribble Taxi made its approach, scanning for either a docking port or parking space where the group inside the cab could disembark. The search did not take long as there was a landing pad not too far away that was already occupied by several helicopters, some of them looking as if they may have been military or at least military style helicopters.
Making their way over to the landing pad, the cab and its escort fell into formation as they made their approach. Once they arrived, the cab descended until it touched down and slowed to a stop. Most of the occupants inside, save for Aerith, Goombella, and Ms. Mowz disembarked from the cab, with Mario quickly touching down near the cab and proceeding to board it. Luigi, meanwhile, simply landed and joined the rest of his party while Lady Bow and Vivian went to join Mario in the Dribble Taxi.
"You be careful in Wutai, big bro," Luigi admonished Mario as the older Mario Brother boarded the cab.
"You be on guard here, too, bro," Mario answered. "Also, be careful in your training with Star Power. We're still not accustomed to it and the last thing we need is to make the same mistake that the Koopas did once they got their enhancements. Still, train hard and smart. We will need to be better then our best for when we face Sephiroth."
"Right," Luigi answered, nodding. The rest of Luigi's party nodded in agreement.
With that, the doors to the taxi closed and Dribble revved the engine once before the taxi started moving once more. Once it got up to speed, it took off into the sky, heading west towards the nation of Wutai. Once the cab was gone, Luigi and his party made their way into the Gold Saucer.
Back in the taxi, Mario and his party rode in silence as they headed to Wutai. Aerith had given the cabbies a map of Gaia so they knew the shortest route to take in order to reach the nation. Mario looked at the map and saw that it was situated on the westernmost continent of Gaia, and while its landmass was quite large, while still smaller than the Eastern and Western continents, it was larger than the Northern continent. In addition, most of the continent was covered in forests and mountains, with Wutai village being the only major town on the continent.
Checking the guidebook that the people of Cosmo Canyon had given them, Mario and the others read that Wutai had been involved in a war against an organization called the Shinra Corporation. They had done well until Shinra used SOLDIER against them. The nation had been unable to withstand the might of SOLDIER and had fallen, eventually becoming a resort town and tourist attraction at least until the fall of the Shinra Corporation just after Meterofall. They also read that Sephiroth played a significant role in the war and grimaced. They only hoped that Sephiroth did not hold any potential grudge against Wutai with them having once been an enemy. If he did, then they knew their mission would be that much more difficult. After studying up on Wutai, the passengers inside the cab took the remainder of the trip to rest and prepare for the journey ahead. As he drifted off to sleep, he was suddenly aware that he had not gotten a wink of sleep since coming to Gaia, and long before since he had helped fight off the latest invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom by Bowser's forces.
After a good rest, the party was awakened to, "Hey, wake up back there, we're approaching Wutai now."
The party opened their eyes and saw Spitz looking back at them. "You all were out like lights," he commented.
"This was the first real opportunity we had for sleep in quite some time," Goombella stated, looking over at the others and seeing that Mario was taking the longest to awaken.
When the plumber finally did awaken, he stretched his arms out, nearly hitting Aerith, who had to duck, causing her to call out, "Hey, watch it!"
"Sorry," Mario said sheepishly as he pulled retreated a bit.
Looking out the window, he could see them making their final approach to Wutai. From what he could see, the nation, or at least the village they were entering looked to be reminiscent of the Earth nation Japan. The architecture, especially, gave him the feeling that the nation had a Japanese aesthetic.
Soon, the taxi landed and Dribble called back to the rest of the party, proclaiming, "We're here. We'll be here waiting until you're finished."
"Actually, you should head back to Cosmo Canyon and see if Luigi needs a lift to the Gold Saucer," Mario suggested.
"Don't worry about it," Spitz answered. "That leonine creature said that they had a means by which to get Luigi and his party to Gold Saucer. We'll just stay here until you're ready to go. We'll also alert you if anything strange comes up."
"Thanks," Mario answered. With that, the doors opened and the party disembarked from the cab. Once they were out, they looked around and saw a small road that led into the town. It did not look to be too well traveled but given that it had been a resort town, and likely still was, chances were that there would be a lot of travelers coming, especially for the ninja tournament.
The group then followed the road until they came to an arch that had writing in a language that they did not understand but looked to be reminiscent of Japanese or some other Earth East Asian style of writing. They figured that it was labeling the entrance to Wutai. Mario then turned to Aerith and told her, "You'll be essential here since we're from off-world and even though I can speak with you and understand you perfectly, I can't read the language here. We'll need you to be our guide."
"That won't be a problem," Aerith answered. "But do know that I'm not all that familiar with the language of Wutai, either. Let's just hope that they have the important buildings labeled in multiple languages."
Much as they had seen from the air, the village, itself, looked very reminiscent of an old Japanese village. The houses had tall, red roofs and did not look to be all that large. The party quickly scanned the small village, hoping to find out where they could sign up for the ninja tournament. Scanning the buildings, they eventually found the building that looked to be taking applicants for the ninja tournament.
"This way," she directed as she pointed to a small building off in the distance. There looked to be a small line extending just outside the building. There was writing on the sign above the building's entrance that Aerith told them was labeled Ninja Training Academy. That certainly looked to be the building they were looking for.
The group followed her to the building, passing by several other what looked to be tourists as they were dressed in what looked to be casual clothes, as well as others that were likely from Wutai, since they looked to be clothed in kimonos with a few wearing what looked to be samurai armor. As the party made their way past the tourists, the tourists' gazes turned towards the heroes and Mario could tell that they were drawing attention that they did not want, for if enough people saw them, then there was no way that information would not get back to Sephiroth in some way.
Once the party reached the line, they waited for what seemed like an eternity until they were finally able to reach the counter. The interior of the building was sparsely furnished with only a few chairs and tables, but there were numerous plaques and flags mounted on the walls, as well as several swords, some of them looked to be ōdachi that were reminiscent of Sephiroth's Masamune. As the party approached the counter, they could see the receptionist, a petite young Asian looking woman who appeared to be in her late teens or early twenties.
"Welcome to the Ninja Training Academy's Ninja Tournament," she said in a polite but cheerful tone. "I take it you're here to register for the tournament?"
"Yes, we are," Mario answered for the rest of the party.
"Great, you're just in time. The registration ends in one hour and the entry exam will begin in only a few hours. I take it you'll want two team entry cards," the receptionist stated.
"Two team cards?" Mario asked.
"Each ninja team, or cell, for this tournament consists of three individuals," the receptionist explained. "This is to commemorate the fact that the Avalanche party that first beat Sephiroth during Meteorfall consisted of three fighters."
"We understand," Aerith stated. She then looked back at the rest of them and asked, "So, what do you want to do?"
"You and I should be on separate teams," Mario stated. "That way we'll be able to cover more ground. Also, one of the phasers should be on each team."
"I'll go with Mario," Vivian volunteered. "My Fiery Jinx will be useful if we get cornered by multiple opponents.
"And I've got Materia that can attack multiple foes," Aerith added.
"So I should go with you," Lady Bow told Aerith.
"You're welcome on my team."
"Great!" the Boo exclaimed.
That just left Ms. Mowz and Goombella. Ms. Mowz drew out a coin and flipped it, with heads being that she went with Mario, and tails being that she went with Aerith. It came up tails so she went with Aerith while Goombella went with Mario. They then went up to the receptionist as three-man teams and got an entry form. Once they had filled out the form, they handed them back to the receptionist.
"Thank you," the receptionist said, accepting the forms. She then motioned towards a door. "Please go through this door and take any open seats you find available. The written test will begin in fifteen minutes. You will get the rules for the written test once it begins."
Mario and the others nodded and then went through the door and into the testing room. Inside the room, they saw a series of wooden desks and that most of them had already been taken. They found that, ironically enough, there were only six unoccupied seats remaining. They had been the last entries into the exam. Goombella took one look and thought that the layout was similar to an old animated series from Earth that she had heard about in passing. Going over to find free seats, the party members took the seats and waited for the test to begin, hoping against hope that the Great Gospel tome would be a prize for passing the test. As they took the seats, they scanned the room to keep track of each other's location. As they did so, they noticed that most of the entrants looked to be quite young, teenagers to young adults at the oldest.
After around fifteen minutes, the door opened and a man dressed in a baggy gray and black ninja uniform and black ninja hood entered the room. Several other ninjas followed him. These were dressed in white, red, and brown ninja uniforms, respectively. On the backs of each of the ninjas was what looked to be a Ninjato and there were several pouches on their belts that almost certainly held hidden weapons or items. The features of each ninja were completely concealed save for their eyes, all of who had brown eyes. The only way they entrants could tell for sure whether or not the ninja in black was male was through his deep voice. "Welcome to the Ninja Tournament's Entry Exam. I am the Chief Proctor of this exam," he proclaimed as he held the tests in his hands. "As you have probably guessed, since you missed the general entry deadline, you will have to take a test to gain the final few entry spots left for the test. This test, however, isn't going to be like other tests, though. There will be a few ground rules for this test. First and foremost, if you're caught cheating three times, you're automatically disqualified. Any challenges that you may have will be taken up with an exam proctor sitting at the head of the class. Second, you must remain in your seats all throughout the test until you are finished. Should you stand, you will have declared that you have finished the test and will not be able to modify your tests at all. Third, if you are disqualified due to cheating, the rest of your team will also be eliminated. Also, once you finish the test, don't hand it in. We will collect the tests at the end of the test-taking period. Are there any questions? This is your only chance to ask."
"How long is the testing period?" one of the aspirants asked.
"That's for us to determine," the proctor answered slyly. He then waited for a few more seconds before asking, "Any more questions?"
There were none. "Very well, then. Good luck. The test starts now."
The proctors then handed the tests to the entrants. As they were doing so, Mario considered the rules and how they would affect the test. The fact that they had gone into details about cheating told the plumber that it was not necessarily cheating that was being discouraged, but getting caught, much like a spy mission. The having to remain in one's seat in during the test would make things more difficult but that was of little consequence. After all, one of the power-ups that both Vivian and Bow had would render that rule useless, assuming they were not caught. Mario also wondered if the proctors would lie about how many times someone was caught in order to test them and see if they aspirants would give away something in either challenging it or doing nothing about it.
Once the proctor reached Mario and handed him the test, Mario looked at it, expecting to not be able to read the test due to it being written in an alien language. He took one look at it and saw that the writing was similar to the writing found in the rest of Wutai. Just as he had expected, he was unable read the alien writing, though he, surprisingly, seemed to be able to get the gist of most of the questions since most of them were mathematical questions. While he was no mathematician, he still seemed to have a handle on how to answer the questions, assuming he was able to read them accurately. Still, he mentally called out to Skolar to be here and help translate the questions surreptitiously should the need arise, as well as to help the others surreptitiously, hoping that by using Skolar, he would be able to avoid being caught "cheating", though he had an idea that that was the true goal of the test: to avoid being caught cheating, since as he used Skolar to confirm what he was reading, he could tell that these questions would be difficult for most of the entrants to answer on their own. He just hoped that he would be able to help his and Aerith's parties pull through, assuming they needed any help. In addition, as he proceeded through the test, he noted that there were only twenty questions on the entire test, which made him suspect that the rules about cheating were what really mattered about this test.
As Mario, with Skolar's help, read the questions, he answered them to the best of his ability. Skolar had offered to help him answer them as well as give work since one of the rules that work had to be shown for any credit to be given, as well as not being suspected of cheating, but Mario declined. A part of it was pride, but he wanted to see how well he could do on this test without any cheating beyond having the questions translated into English. As he read the questions, he noticed that these questions were not easy to answer at all. They each had multiple steps and some even made it difficult to even determine what was being asked. It was clear that these tests were designed for college graduates, or whatever the equivalent was in Gaia.
So far, however, the plumber was able to answer the questions and was ninety-nine point nine percent certain that he had gotten them right, at least all of the math and science questions. Still, he double and triple-checked his work to make sure he did not skip or miss something before putting his answer down. The only ones that he felt he would have trouble with were those that were based on the history of Gaia, as well as some philosophy questions. However, the few questions based on the history of Gaia were based around Meterofall and the Geostigma Crisis, two events that Aerith had told Mario and the party about in detail due to Sephiroth's actions during both crises, so he felt as if he was going to be able to answer them satisfactorily. Now the only potential problem would be the philosophy questions, but there were only two of them so he felt as if he could answer them to the best of his ability and if he needed help, he could get help from Skolar.
Not too far into the test, he heard the thunk of a knife burying itself into a piece of wood. The rest of the entrants looked up and, indeed, saw a knife buried in the desk of one of the entrants, a male who looked to be a Wutai in his early twenties. Mario gave a sigh of relief that it was not any of his party members, or Aerith who had just been eliminated.
"You're out," one of the proctors said in a low, cold, voice.
"What?" the aspirant cried in retort. "Whadaya mean 'I'm out'?"
"Just what said," the proctor answered in an almost murderous tone. "You're out."
"Why?"
"You've been caught cheating, five times," the proctor answered, suppressing a snicker. An audible gasp could be heard from another part of the room, as well as a snicker from one of the other aspirants. "You're lucky we were nice enough to give you those two extra chances. Don't think the rest of you will get that lucky," he warned the others. That warning was the only other warning the other ninja aspirants needed to get back to work and be more careful about potentially getting caught cheating.
As for the aspirant that had been caught, he offered no further challenge and simply walked away from his desk, defeated. Two others then rose from their desks and scowled at their teammate before they, too, departed. The proctor turned to face them and smirked, almost as if he had not been certain about their cheating until they departed and did not counter it. Either way, they had failed, both having been caught cheating and having exposed themselves as having actually cheated since they did not feel as if they would be able to talk their way out of it.
As for the rest of Mario's party, as well as Aerith and her party, they were doing fine on the test. Aerith, being from Gaia and having been inside the Lifestream for centuries, knew all about the history of the world and had also gained more than enough math and science skills to answer the math and science questions accurately.
The two ghosts, Bow and Vivian, subtly grabbed their Copy Flowers and used them to create copies of themselves, which promptly vanished before they could be spotted by anyone. Using their now invisible copies, they were able to glean the answers from Aerith's test and relay them back to the originals so they could copy down the answers, the two ghosts doing their best to make their work not identical to Aerith's so they would not be suspected cheating, though they were quite careful in how they did it since they knew that the proctors would give no warning about who they had identified as having cheated. They also answered slowly so as to not give the proctors any reason to suspect them of doing anything. They then went over to the rest of the party to do relay the answers to the rest of the group, the ghosts "possessing" the others so as to make it seem as if the party members were doing their own work. Vivian saw that Mario was doing fine, at least with the math and science questions and only helped him out with the history and philosophy questions.
As for the rest of the parties, Goombella and Ms. Mowz were doing fine on the math and science questions as well, but like Mario, were having trouble with the history and philosophy questions so the ghosts helped them out with those questions, the invisible copies looking up to make sure that the proctors were not focusing on the group.
As time went on, more teams were eliminated as they were caught cheating. The ghosts looked over at other groups and saw that they were also cheating but somehow, were not being caught. Vivian began to wonder if the proctors were playing favorites but she quickly dismissed the notion as more and more teams were being eliminated. As the number of aspirants dwindled, it became clear that Mario, Aerith, and their parties seemed to be stronger groups than most, if not all, of the others, for Mario did not even really have to cheat aside from having the questions being translated into English for him. Heck, given how many teams were being eliminated, they likely would not have had to cheat at all due to the fact that there would have been so few teams left.
After a while, Mario looked up at the clock and found that forty-five minutes had already passed. He had already completed his test and put the pencil down. Looking around at the rest of his party, he saw that they, too, had put their pencils down and looked confident that they had answered the questions correctly. Still, looking over at Aerith, he noticed that she was covering her test, almost as if she were trying to keep anyone from being able to copy off of her test, save for her allies. Mario took the hint as well and did the same, not wanting anyone to be able to cheat off of him. It was not long before the rest of the party did the same. Then it was only a matter of time until the test came to an end. At the top of the hour, a bell rang.
"That's it, time's up! The test is over, or rather, this part of the test is over!" the proctor declared.
This part? Mario wondered. He gave a small sigh. He should have expected there to be more to the entry exam than a simple written test. The question now was what came next.
"Okay, part one is over," the chief proctor declared. "For those of you that are left, I must congratulate you. You have managed to pass the written part of the test without being caught cheating three or more times. Now comes the really hard part. Some of you probably know by now that not everyone got the same test. Now, some of you probably lucked out and had all of your team members get the same test and manage to find the answers to the questions on your test. All of you probably noticed, though, that these questions were not designed to be easy to answer. Indeed, these questions were designed for university and academy graduates. And given the added pressure of consequences for being caught cheating, this test was designed to weed out those who were capable of getting the information required in a calm, collected, and surreptitious manner, just like a real ninja, from those who could not. So far, you all have made the cut. However, it's not over yet. Now, you have one final question to answer. If you get it right, you pass, and will get a bonus for gift for the Ninja Tournament, proper. However, if you get it wrong, you're out. And all previous stipulations apply as well. If you want out, just stand up now and leave."
"Wait!" one of the aspirants called. "Why would we stand when if we do so, we'll be eliminated, just as if we would be if we fail to answer this question right?"
"Because if you leave now, we'll give you a parting gift of a set of coins that was worth one thousand gil as of Meteorfall and a piece of old elemental Materia of your choice," the chief proctor answered. "But if you stay and get it wrong, you get nothing. Oh, and if you leave, the rest of your team is eliminated, but you're going to be the one who gets the coins and potentially the old Materia. So, what'll you do?" Mario could not help but notice that the proctor was choosing his words very carefully.
The aspirant then promptly sat back down, not being willing to give up just yet. Others, however, were not so confident in their abilities, or were simply too greedy and wanted to get something now. Several people immediately stood up and went to leave the examination room as quickly as their feet would take them, their greed on full display to the rest of the aspirants and proctors. The plumber also noticed that as the aspirants that had risen had left, the proctors began to grin as if they knew something that the former aspirants had not. No one from either Mario or Aerith's party moved a muscle. They would take this challenge to its end if that was what it took to get a Great Gospel tome.
The proctors waited several more minutes for anyone else to leave should they choose to. So far, though, no one else rose, though there were not many others left in the room. Aside from Mario and Aerith's teams, there were only two other threesomes left. None of them, however, indicated that they had any intentions of leaving. After a few more minutes, the proctors decided to call it.
"Okay everyone, your time is up. Here's the final question for the test. Get it right and you'll be granted entry to the tournament. Get it wrong, though, and you're out right here, right now!" the chief proctor declared.
Everyone sat there, some of them looking tense as the proctor let the tension build in the room. After a few more moments, he proclaimed, "And here's the question: are you confident in the answers you wrote down on your test? If you answer correctly, you pass. If you answer wrong, you're out!"
"What?" one of the remaining aspirants blurted. "What type of question is that?"
"The one that really matters," the proctor answered with a dark grin. "Remember, you're basically relaying your information back to your employer. If you get it wrong, what do you think he or she will do to you? Consider that as you give your answer." He then looked out over at the rest of the aspirants and proclaimed, "If you are confident in your answers, come up and present your tests to your designated proctors. There will be a colored mark on the top of the first page of your test. There will be an identical mark on the proctor you are to present your test to. If, however, you are not confident in the answers you have given, stay seated. Note, however, that if you stay seated, you are not eliminated from the test, even if the rest of your teammates present their test and are shown to be correct. Okay everyone, make your decisions."
There was no decision to be made for Mario and the others. They were confident in their answers so they each stood up to present them to the proctors indicated on the top of their tests. All of the tests in Mario's party had a red circle on the top of their test so Mario and his party simply presented their test to the assistant proctor that had a red circle on their uniform. As for Aerith, she and her party had green circles on the top of their tests so she sought out the assistant proctor with a green circle on his uniform. Once they had handed in their tests, they went back to their seats. As it so happened, they were the only ones who handed in their tests.
Once the tests had been handed in, several proctors went down the aisles to scan the tests of those who were not confident in the answers they had given. The proctors smirked, a clear indication that the aspirants had been right to not hand in the tests. Then it was time for the proctors at the head of the room to check the work of Mario and Aerith's parties. They checked the tests and their eyes went wide. After a moment, though, they began to smile. They then turned to the head proctor and nodded. That was the signal that the head proctor needed.
"Very well then, there's only one thing for me to say to all of you." He gave a pause before declaring, "Congratulations on passing the entry exam to the Ninja Tournament. We now declare you genin for this tournament. Report to your jōnin instructors outside the building through this exit. You've undoubtedly noticed the mark on top of your tests. Your designated jōnin leaders will have the same mark on their uniforms."
The chief proctor then looked out over the room and saw that several aspirants, including a couple in Mario and Aerith's parties, were shocked at what had come to pass, even if they had been confident that they would have passed the exam anyway, something that the proctor had noticed. He then gave a knowing smirk. "You're wondering how why you all passed even if you didn't hand in your tests and also seeing as how we only did cursory scans of the test. The answer should be obvious to you by now. The test was not just about the eclectic knowledge of science, math, history of this world, etcetera. It was about being discerning about the ability to gather information and pass it to your teammates as well as making sure the information was accurate. Remember, misinformation and disinformation can be worse than no information at all, and oftentimes is. That was what the last question was all about. Remember, ninjas are not just assassins. They are also spies, operatives, and mercenaries. They would do the things that samurai could not due to their codes of honor. Ninjas were not beholden to such codes. They could lie, cheat, steal, assassinate, sabotage, spy, etcetera. That was what this test tested you on. You played the role of spies so you had to discern whether or not the information you gained and had to pass back to your, quote unquote, employer, was accurate. Since you have shown yourselves to be discerning enough to know whether or not the information you gained was reliable, you have earned the right to be genins and fill out the final spots in the Ninja Tournament. Congratulations."
The remaining aspirants bowed before the proctor and went to the exit to go on to the tournament. As they departed, Mario and Aerith's parties formed up with each other and followed the path to the Ninja Tournament, where they hoped they would find a Great Gospel tome.
Meanwhile, back in Junon's undersea reactor, Bowser and the remaining Koopalings in the core watched as the reactor drew more Mako into it. Kamek continued to make certain that the reactor would not refine it and transform it into Materia or energy. As they he did so, the rest of them kept watch at various points, with Wendy watching from one of the security consoles to make sure that no one was taking an interest in what was going on with the reactor. Despite Kamek's spell that would subtly divert any interest in the reactor away, Bowser and the others wanted to keep watch just to make sure they were not discovered until it was too late.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the base, Ludwig and Bowser Jr. continued their search for the entrance to the submarine base they knew was around there somewhere. They only hoped that when they found a submarine it would be able to store the Mako and they would be able to find a ship of some sort that could take them back to Hylia. Walking down the corridor, Ludwig made mental notes of where various doors and chambers were. The doors had no markings but they did not look like they entered into any larger section of the reactor or base. Going over to one of the doors, he opened it and took out his magic wand and lit its head, using it as a flashlight. Looking inside, he found what looked to be a treasure chest. Bowser Jr. cast a questioning glance at Ludwig.
"Hey Ludwig, what are you doing? We're supposed to be looking for the submarine base."
"Right now, we need to get more than just a sub," Ludwig answered. "You know it, too. We need to get everything we can from this base if Sephiroth's plan is to have the best chance of success."
"Sephiroth?" Bowser's youngest son queried. "You mean Dad, right?"
"Sephiroth and Dad's plans are one in the same," Ludwig answered. "And if this works, we won't be taking over the Mushroom Kingdom, but our whole world, too."
Bowser Jr. smiled and did not stop Ludwig as he opened the chest to see all sorts of Materia inside. "Look at this," Ludwig told his youngest brother, taking out a piece of green magic Materia the size of the tennis ball.
"It's bigger than the other Materia pieces we've seen," the younger Koopa noted.
"Yes, which means that it may well be fully grown," Ludwig stated. "Imagine if can start using high-level spells with this stuff."
That would be helpful," Bowser Jr. agreed. "But we still have to find the submarine base or this won't do us much good."
"Don't worry, Junior," Ludwig chided. "We'll find it no problem. How hard can it be?"
Bowser Jr. almost cringed as Ludwig had uttered that last question. Still, he said nothing more and continued the search with Ludwig putting the Materia piece back in the chest and dragging it along.
After a few more minutes of searching, which mostly consisted of Bowser Jr. searching while Ludwig dragged the chest of Materia behind, they came to a series of metallic doors that were labeled Submarine Base. Bowser Jr. grinned and called back to Ludwig, "Hey Ludwig, I've found it!"
Ludwig put down the chest and went over to his younger brother. Once he arrived at the door, Bowser Jr. turned to face him and gave a satisfied grin. Still, since the doors were metal and did not seem to have a lock or a knob, it looked as if they were mechanical, which would require the power of a wand to open, assuming they did not just blow the doors open, though they did not want to risk damaging anything on the other side.
Approaching the door, Ludwig drew out his wand and swished it a couple of times before firing a beam at the doors. The doors almost immediately slid open, revealing a darkened dock on the other side. Entering the base, they took a quick scan of their surroundings as Ludwig used his wand as a flashlight once more to illuminate the area. At first, there did not seem to be much in the room but soon, the light washed over something metallic a few dozen yards away. Widening the light's beam, it was soon revealed that the light was illuminating a red submarine.
"We found one," Bowser Jr. said eagerly. The young Koopa then approached the sub. "Let's just hope it's still functional and seaworthy."
Ludwig nodded in agreement and answered, "Only one way to find out."
With that, the duo scanned the area for a ramp that would lead to the submarine. Finding a ramp a dozen yards away, they went over to it and used it to walk onto the submarine's hull. On the submarine, the Koopas checked its hull to see if there were any signs of damage or rust that could indicate that it was not seaworthy. Fortunately, the submarine seemed to be in pristine condition, indicating that it was likely not only seaworthy, but also either in active service or only having recently been retired. Scanning the sub for its boarding hatch, they eventually found it near the small periscope tower. Reaching down, Ludwig turned the wheel counterclockwise until he heard a clank and he pulled open the hatch. The hatch flew back and revealed the interior of the submarine.
Boarding the submarine, the Koopas scanned the gray interior, walking single file down the corridor as they made their way past crew quarters and other sections until they reached the control room. Opening the door to the control room, they entered and saw that the room looked to be in just as pristine condition as the rest of the sub. Over the navigation consoles, they noticed a map of Gaia with a crosshairs marking on it indicating the location of the submarine. In addition, there were marks on the map indicating various towns, cities, and points of interest.
Going over to some of the control consoles they saw that it was powered by an oil-based fuel called diesel. Heading over to the fuel gauge, they saw that it was currently fueled to half capacity. Checking a tech manual on the captain's chair, the two Koopas saw that the range of the submarine would allow them to reach any area in the Northern or Western Continents without a problem. While the manuals also mentioned being able to refuel the sub in the base, Ludwig and Bowser Jr. thought it would be best if their father made the decision on that. Either way, they had to report back to their father.
Taking his wand, Bowser Jr, activated it and spoke into it, saying, "Dad, it's me, Junior. Ludwig and I have found a submarine at the dock and it not only looks seaworthy, but also ready to go once it gets a crew to activate it. It even has a map of Gaia with some points of interest on it."
"And it gets better," Ludwig interjected. "We found a large chest full of Materia. Most of the Materia in the chest is far larger than most we've previously encountered, indicating that it's either fully grown or close to it. If it's close to being fully grown, it may spawn more."
"Excellent," Bowser cooed into the wand. "You two stay there and get the sub ready. And get that chest onboard as well. I'll send the others to you as needed but make sure that the sub is ready once we've got enough Mako. Once we've got the requisite amount of Mako for this plan to work, we'll want to get out of here pretty quick."
"Understood," both Ludwig and Bowser Jr. responded in unison. With that, the duo went to work preparing the sub for Bowser and the Mako they would be storing on it.
Meanwhile, inside the Lifestream, clones of Sephiroth were forming from the green effervescent strings of energy that flowed like a river all around Gaia; extensions of his will given physical form, just like his 'remnants'. Each clone wore clothing identical to Sephiroth and carried a sword identical in form to Sephiroth's own Masamune. These clones, however, were not as powerful as the former SOLDIER, even when he had been outside of the Lifestream, though they did wield enough power to be very capable fighters in their own right. And Sephiroth's wishes were built into them.
Some of the clones remained behind to support the remnants in protecting Sephiroth while he finished his takeover of the Lifestream. Others, however, had a different mission: the destruction of the Mario Brothers, their allies, and Aerith Gainsborough. He knew that she was looking for another Great Gospel tome and that at least some of the tomes may have carried variants of that Limit Break, or even worse, Aerith, herself, could develop a variant of it just like Cloud had with his Omnislash Limit Break. And if a variant of Great Gospel was created, or taught to her, it might be enough to cure the Lifestream if she could inject its healing water into the Lifestream, itself. However, he did not think it would come to that. He knew that in order for her to be able to deliver it into the Lifestream, he would have to be vanquished first; and he intended to kill her first. As such, once the clones had formed, they immediately left the Lifestream and went to scour the planet for any sign of Sephiroth's enemies, Sephiroth hoping that he would not have to rely on his contingency plan for his survival and the spread of himself throughout the universe.