Hello everyone. Chapter 10 loaded and ready. Short message... yeah. Anyway Enjoy and Review.
Chapter 10: Sun Shine in the Dark
The Moonfangs made it to the door to the outside. However, Kamek was blocking it and he didn't look threatening than the other koopalings they faced. Michael didn't like what was happening nor did his siblings.
"If you step out these doors you'll never find home," he said from a distance.
"Then why did you bring us here?" Michael asked.
"Your family and your kind have been here before. A long time ago..."
"Blah blah blah. Geez Kamek can you not bore anyone to death with your stories?"
From the same side a big koopa stepped out along with a smaller koopa that looks like him.
Kamek stepped aside, "Of course your boringness."
Michael groaned, "And who are you?"
"Bowser Koopa. The king of Darkland and the king of Koopas."
"And I'm the heir to the koopa throne, Bowser Jr."
Michael backed away in the other direction then bumped into something. He turns around to see the koopalings behind him more angry than usual. They are surrounded once again and no way of escaping. Ludwig stepped in front of them with his wand glowing in his hand. Michael shifted into his wolf and feeling heat rise in his mouth as he prepared for the worst. Instead of fire it was electricity which Michael retaliated with his white fire. The two energies collided with each other, but he was worn out from the fights early on. His stream of fire was weakening and being overwhelmed by the electricity from Ludwig's wand. Then it pushed Michael's fire back and the electricity shocked him a lot. He could feel the current in his body painfully hurting him. He screams as the power was too intense for him to handle. It stopped to his relief, but he couldn't comprehend his surroundings. Some parts of his fur were singed and the skin felt on fire.
His form sparked a bit before his collapsing on the ground. Shifting to his unconscious human form. Oran and Astell ran to his side attempting to wake him up.
"Wake up wake up big brother! Wake up!" Astell begged.
"C-come on. Your s-stronger than t-this," Oran struggled to lift his body.
He barely heard his siblings' voices, then he heard a loud voice.
"Enough! Take them to the dungeon!" Bowser ordered.
The troops moved in on the Moonfangs. Before Michael blacked out, all he could hear was his siblings and then nothing.
In Michael's Mind
The good news is he can't feel the pain, but the bad news he was in his mind again. Sitting down with his hands in his head then he felt a presence that he knew too well. Sighing in defeat he stands and walks forward a bit to find his dark form sitting with his back turned.
"Well are you going to growl at me or something?" No answer.
"Pounce on me?" Still no answer.
He paused for a moment then walked over to him. As he got closer he heard clattering sounds from his chains. He thought he was just chewing on them, but that wasn't it. The dark form was digging at the ground even though it's in his head. He went to his right side and peaked over his shoulder. It was a small crack on the floor, white light shining out of it.
"Aren't those where my memories are?"
His dark form nodded.
Michael was confused," You're a part of me shouldn't you see them too?"
He shook his head and words formed at his feet. "The memories of your younger self are the ones I can't see."
He crossed his arms, "Then why is there a crack?"
"You coming to this place surfaced them."
"Well duh. If they are my memories, then I should know them."
His dark form turned and growled. "But you don't know THESE ones!"
Michael flinched a bit, "Shesh. Why do you act like it's so important?"
He freezes for a bit to find the words
"I don't know why, but they feel important. I want you to understand, so that WE can understand."
"You're on Kamek's side now?" He deadpanned.
More words appeared at his feet, "I'm on the right side."
Then Michael closed his eye and opened them again.
Outside Michael's mind
When he opened them, he was in the same place he started: the dungeon. He sighs that he made no progress on escaping and ended up back in the same place. He put his hands on his head then he heard something. He saw chains on his wrists and they are connected to a wall in his cell. He pulls on it then tugs on it until he gave up. It wasn't coming off. When he stopped looked around and saw nothing. He panicked a little when he didn't see his siblings anywhere. He heard groaning on his left, he's relieved and angry of what he saw.
The koopas didn't harm them, but they had chains on their wrists too. Oran in one cell was trying to bite the chains with his wolf teeth. Astell was in her wolf form fast asleep. He sees some of her fur was matted; maybe cried herself to sleep. Michael was on a bed messing with chain trying to break free of them until he heard his brother calling them.
"Psst. Michael," he whispered.
He doesn't get up, but turns his head, "Yeah Oran. You okay?"
"Yeah I'm okay. Just shaken up."
"Is Astell okay? I would ask her, but I'm a cell away from her," he turns his head to him.
"She was crying when we got put in here. I tried to comfort her and I think her flower used its spores to put her to sleep."
Michael arched a brow and sat up in the bed, "Is she in control of that? That's twice that flower helped or saved us."
Oran shrugs, "I have no idea."
Michael laid back down, "How long were out?"
Oran jumped on his bed and pulled himself up the barded window, "I wanna say we were out all night. It looks like it's morning," he dropped down.
A few moments later was total silence besides Oran scrapping the floor with his claws and Astell's soft breathing as she slept. Then a large clang echoed through the dungeon. A winged koopa silhouette was hovering at the door. It walked forward a little and revealed that it was a koopa with a red shell. It gasped and flew from Astell's cell to Oran's then to Michael's. He unsheathes his claws in case it wants to attack, but…
"Ohmygoshohmygosh. I can't believe it's you," the koopa said excided.
Michael paused in total confusion, "Huh? You know us?"
"Well not exactly your siblings, but I know you."
Michael put his claws away, "Really?"
The parakoopa nodded, "Yeah. I remember when you this small," he emphasizes with his claws close to the ground.
Michael went to the cage bars, "Who are you?"
"I'm Lloyd little alpha. Or big alpha since your all grown? It has been soooooo long."
"I thought MY family calls me the alpha," Michael wondered.
"Ok Lloyd. Why have you come down here?"
The parakoopa paused in air and slapped his forehead, "I forgot and I know you're gonna be mad for hearing this but," he takes a deep breath nervously, "Lord Bowser wants to see you and your siblings."
Michael's red eye glowed and he grunted holding back his dark forms anger. Then he breaths knowing he is back in control and even if Lloyd was right he had no other choice.
"Ok."
Lloyd reached into his shell and pulled out a ring of jail keys. Going through them he selects the one for the cell door. With a click and a twist, Michael's door is unlocked. Next, he selects a different key for Michael's chains and unlocks them. Michael felt free as he twisted his wrists to get the blood pumping again. Michael went to Oran's cell and let Lloyd open his cell and get his chains off. When he unlocked the last chain, he raced past the parakoopa to his brother into a hug. When Lloyd unlocked Astell's cell, her ear twitched and she awoke, frighten. Lloyd tried to unlock her chains, but he can hear the rattling and see her shaking. Lloyd carefully unlocked her chains without scaring her any more. Once unlocked she moved at her shadow speed behind Michael. She cried against his leg.
"Shhhhh. It's alright we're together," he calmly said.
She calmed down and wiped the tears off her face. Then a loud voice surprisingly made it to the dungeon. " Lloyd! What's taking you so long!" The koopa king shouted from above.
He sighs, "Can we please move along? My lord can be very impatient," he flew towards the door.
"Yeah," Michael kneels to his siblings, "Just stay by me."
They nodded and followed the parakoopa to his king. Michael shook his head because he heard king and lord. He doesn't care what rank they were, he doesn't want anyone or anything hurting him and his siblings. If it comes to that... they'll be more than shredded. They walked through halls and they've been getting stares everywhere from everyone like they're aliens from another planet. Oran and Astell his behind him, yet Michael had his claws out ready just in case. They climbed to the throne room where they would confront the koopa king, mostly Michael.
They reached a large, detailed door with guards standing on each side. Lloyd went to them to let them in while the Moonfangs kept their distance. While the parakoopa was talking, Michael spotted something on his shell. On his red shell were scratch marks going diagonally and they weren't red, it was white. Something must have scratched that hard to remove pigment. His thoughts were interrupted when the doors opened and they went through. The throne room was huge: two rows of torches, pillars with spikes at the top, and of course a throne. On the throne was the koopa king himself with the koopaling and Bowser jr. They were lined up from oldest to youngest from the looks of things and Kamek was standing close to his throne. The doors close behind them as they walked forward until they were close, but at a safe distance.
"Finally!" Bowser's voice boomed through the room, but then his eyes narrowed, "Why aren't you in chains?"
Michael was about to say something, but Lloyd flew in front of them and was about to speak, then Bowser cut him off.
"Whatever. Although, I'm surprised that you aren't trying to run off again."
Lloyd breath in relief and flew off somewhere. Michael crossed his arms. "Why should we? We don't know where we are, what this place, is, or what's going on!"
Bowser snorted in annoyance, "You show up in MY castle randomly, stole food from our dinner table, and attacked!"
Michael growled and pointed a finger at Kamek, "The only reason we're here is because of your wizard!"
Bowser laughed, "Kamek is a loyal soldier. He's been at my side ever since my dad, Morton Koopa Sr."
Michael flinches and stumbles on one knee from hearing that name. Holding his head from the sudden migraine and his red eye flashes, but luckily no one notice except his siblings.
"Now what's wrong with you," Bowser slumped in his throne, "thinking about escaping again?"
"Ha! Good luck tryin," Roy laughed.
He ignored it and stood up, "There is no point in trying. But I do have questions."
Bowser rubbed his chain, "I guess it's fair."
"Fair? Really?"
"Where are we and what will happen to us?"
He could hear Bowser breath out his nostrils bored and annoyed, but he sat straight up in this throne, "First, you're in my territory, the Darklands. Once Dark city with a few volcanic spots then conquered by my dad into the Darklands. This is my castle you showed up in. Second, I decide what happens in my castle not you."
"Your missing one thing, I protect my siblings. No one, and I mean NO ONE will harm them as long as I'm here."
He slammed his fist on the arm rest, "DON'T get snappy with me. Lloyd! Take them back."
The parakoopa guided them back to the dungon out of earshot from Bowser. They arrive at the dungeon, but this time Oran and Astell went in their big brother's cell instead of their own. Lloyd didn't stop them. When he closed the door, he heard someone's stomach growl.
Astell pulled on Michael's pant leg, "Do you have any food in that bag?"
Michael pulled the bag toward him and opened it, fishing for any snacks. Eventually he found a pack meat flavored cracker, but not enough to satisfy their hunger. While they distributed their amount, Lloyd got an idea. He flew out from the dungeon and upstairs. When they finished, the parakoopa came back with boos holding three treys. Lloyd opened the cell door and the boos left the treys on the floor, they vanish somewhere else. Each trey had meat, veggies, bread, and a little cake. Oran and Astell wasted no time digging in, but Michael was curious.
"No slush, no bugs flying, not disgusting at all?"
"Not at all," he sits with them on the ground, "most of us are loyal to Lord Bowser, but we're not always mean. Some," he mumbled the last word.
Michael's ears picked up on his mumbling, but he ignores it and eats with his siblings.
"And when your done with your food," he pulls a deck of cards out from his shell, "I have uno if you wanna play."
The siblings smile through their food-covered lips in which they lick it off. Michael eating his food and wondering all that has happened.
"Despite the threats and this scary castle, there are some good in here. This parakoopa "knows" me somehow and I want to ask him what he knows. And that name, Morton Koopa Sr, why does it sound so familiar?"
"Hey! Big brother, you want in? Winner gets the last cake," Astell asked.
"That cake WILL be mine," Oran boasted.
"Alright alrght. Lloyd, shuffle the deck."
Lloyd did the shuffle bridge and started handing seven cards to everyone including himself.
