Chapter 6:
Goombario and Vivian waited in the shadows along a small dirt road that led to Goomba Village. The local gang of Goombas that stood just outside the village, terrorizing the peaceful inhabitants of the village who dared to venture outside the gates of the small village, were all loyal to Bowser and had taken quite a hit after Bowser had been defeated by Mario after claiming the Star Rod. Ever since then, the gang had suffered a large rate of attrition due to operations performed by Goombas like Goombario. Many of the members had either been arrested, killed, or drafted into Bowser's army in one of the numerous subsequent attacks on the Mushroom Kingdom, only to meet their end at the hands of Mario. Still, the remnants of the gang still had its uses for Bowser, though. They made decent spies and could give the Koopa King a pulse on the feelings of the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. Their numbers, however, had dwindled to the point where there were only a handful of gang members left. Goombario hoped that after today, that number would be reduced to zero.
Backing up Goombario and Vivian were the Toad Brigade, a group of Toads led by Toad, Peach's retainer and a close friend of Mario's. They stood at the side of the road, hiding behind a tree, looking on anxiously, hoping that Vivian and Goombario would deal with the troublemakers as quickly as possible so they could arrest them, assuming they survived the fight with Vivian and Goombario. They were there to arrest the remnants of the gang once Goombario and Vivian had dealt with them, assuming the Goombas survived. Both Goombario and Vivian knew that a single Fiery Jinx would make short work of these Goombas. The Shadow Spirit only had to ensure that she rendered the unfortunate Goombas, Spiked Goombas, and Paragoombas unconscious, rather than use the technique at full power and kill them. Goombario needed one of the Spiked Goombas' helmets to help him infiltrate the Koopa Kingdom and get him access to Bowser's Castle.
The gang members soon appeared, walking down the dirt road as if they had owned the entire path leading out of Goomba Village and heading into Toad Town. There were six Goombas, the leader being a Spiked Goomba, a Goomba who wore a green helmet with a gray spike on it, which not only protected him from being jumped on by other Goombas and people like Mario or Luigi, but also to increase the damage done when he jumped on an opponent. As soon as the Goombas approached, Vivian and Goombario emerged from the shadows and stood directly in front of the Goombas. The leader took one look at the pair and laughed as he stepped forward. "Man, it looks like we've got a real cute couple in front of us." Moving alongside Vivian, he then offered, "Why don'tcha ditch the dork there and come along with us, baby."
Vivian gave a giggle at the Goomba's attempt to seduce her, but was not a cheerful or innocent giggle. It was derisive and indicative of the fate that the Goomba would soon suffer if he did not heed the Shadow Spirit's dark warning, "You should get back, now."
Vivian's boldness took the Spiked Goomba aback. Frowning, he then asked, "Man, what's your problem, babe? We just wanna have some fun, ya'know."
"Surrender now!" Toad and the rest of the Toad Brigade cried as they emerged from behind the tree. "You are under arrest for being spies for the Koopa Kingdom, theft, extortion, assault and battery, and other crimes."
The Spiked Goomba and the rest of the gang merely laughed at the Toad Brigade's proclamation. "Yeah, you and what army?" the leader asked haughtily. He did not notice Vivian twirl her right index finger around. Once she had made a circle in the air, each of the Goombas in the gang burst into flames. She made certain to keep set her Fiery Jinx on low power so as to not risk damaging the helmet of the Spiked Goomba. Goombario would need it. As the Goombas were set on fire, they ran around, issuing cries of pain and protest. Their suffering would not last, though, for just as quickly as the flames had appeared, they vanished. As they vanished, the Goombas each fell to the floor, smoking and burned, but still alive. Vivian then went over to the Spiked Goomba and took off his helmet. Once she had done this, she turned to the Toad Brigade and said, "They're all yours."
As the Toad Brigade was arresting them, Vivian and Goombario left the scene, walking back towards Peach's Castle. As they were walking away, the badly burned former Spiked Goomba called over to the Shadow Spirit in a weak voice, calling, "Wait! We never had our date. Would you at least visit me in prison?"
Vivian and Goombario paid no heed to the Goomba as they left and went back to the castle. As they were walking, Vivian said, "Mission accomplished," in a satisfied tone, handing the green spiked helmet to Goombario, who placed it on his head. Once they were finished, the pair went back to Princess Peach's Castle, so they could begin carrying out their plan to rescue Mario and Luigi.
Back at Princess Peach's Castle, Vivian and Goombario made their way into the castle's main hall. Standing in the main hall were Peach, Toadsworth, as well as the rest of the rescue force. Goombario soon went over to join Kooper, Koops, and Parakarry, who was now without his traditional flight helmet and goggles, and mail sack. Vivian went over to Lady Bow. They would have an easy time infiltrating the Koopa Kingdom. Since they were a Shadow Spirit and ghost respectively, they could easily get in unspotted by anyone. The only issue would be the Magikoopas that would be on guard around Bowser's Castle. It was hoped that the diversionary attack would either distract them or actually cause them to abandon their posts and follow after Goombella and the other attackers.
It was not long before a Toadette, a Toad with pink spots on her mushroom cap and long pink hair tied into two ponytails came into the castle lugging a large trunk. The rescue team soon went over to the suitcase as she presented it to them. "It took some doing, but the Item Shops in Toad Town was willing to help us out in the rescue of the Mario Brothers. They gave me everything that this trunk could carry."
She opened the trunk and showed them the contents. Inside were Fire Flowers, Hammer Suits, Raccoon Leaves, a Tanooki Suit, Life Mushrooms, Thunder Rages Ice Storms, Shooting Stars, Egg Missiles, Deluxe Feasts, etcetera. "I also got Tayce T. to whip up some useful battle items and healing items as well," she added, noting the presence of Egg Missiles and Deluxe Feasts. The party grinned at the sight of the items.
"You know, with this stuff, we might be able to rescue Mario and Luigi the old fashioned way," Goombario said, taking an Ice Storm and a Shooting Star and put them in his pocket.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Goombella warned. "If we do this the old fashioned way, then we'd likely have to go up against Kevin, himself. And that's before we'd have to face off against Bowser and his other children."
"Kevin's more powerful than Bowser's other children, though," Kooper stated.
"Which is why I want to do my best to avoid a fight with him," Goombella retorted. "Our best chance for success lies in making it so that the Koopa Kingdom doesn't suspect a thing until Mario and Luigi are already back in the Mushroom Kingdom. If they detect us as we're making the attempt, then we'll be joining Mario and Luigi in the dungeon…if we're lucky," she added ominously.
The others nodded. They all knew the risks, but they also knew that this was the best chance they had at saving Mario and Luigi. Each of the party members took as many items as they could hold, including at least one healing item, with some of them taking two or even three, just in case things went wrong during the rescue or Kevin happened to show up and they had to fight their way to Mario and Luigi, and out again. Once they had gained the necessary items, the party then broke off into the three groups. Lady Bow and Vivian stood to the side while Goombario, Kooper, Koops, and Parakarry each went off and tried to do their best to make themselves look like members of the Koopa Troop, right down to their mannerisms and expressions. Once they had satisfactorily made themselves look like minions of Bowser, they proceeded to leave the castle ahead of the others. Their part was one of the more important parts of the plan to rescue the Marios. That left the rest of the party alone to wait for all of the information they could gather on Bowser's Castle before the time came to launch the rescue attempt.
Several hours passed, and Goombario, Kooper, Koops, and Parakarry were making their way across the border of the Mushroom Kingdom, into the Koopa Kingdom. They did their best to look wary, as if they were trying to evade detection by any Mushroom Kingdom military forces, but in reality, they were really trying to get as far as they could into the Koopa Kingdom without being stopped by any routine patrol. The closer they got to the castle, the better off they would be. Kooper and Koops both carried spears that they had acquired from the Mushroom Kingdom armory that had once belonged to enemy Koopa Troopas. Each of the friends knew that this would likely be the most difficult part of the mission besides the actual rescue attempt that would be made by Bow and Vivian. If something went wrong, the whole plan would be doomed to failure.
The quartet soon came to a river that was about a hundred meters wide. A narrow wooden bridge served as the only means of transportation across the bridge. The river was a border between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom. The group scanned the bridge to see if there were any sentries, of either kingdom, patrolling the bridge or close to it. Surprisingly, they found none. As such, the quartet crossed the bridge without incident. As they reached the other side, and the shore of the Koopa Kingdom, Goombario then asked warily in a quiet tone, "Okay, does anyone else think that that is a little too easy?"
The others did not say anything, but they nodded slightly. Each and every one of them could not help but think that they were all being led into one big ambush. Still, as they continued, they encountered no Koopas, or any members of the Koopa Troop for that matter. Still, they were careful to appear as if they knew where they were going. However, the only one who really knew his way around was Parakarry, since he had once delivered letters to Mushroom Kingdom spies and defectors from the Koopa Kingdom on occasion. Goombario also had a passing knowledge of the kingdom, but he was quick to note that the kingdom had changed greatly from what little he had learned about it in the past. As such, the Koopa Paratroopa took the lead, with Goombario following closely behind, with Kooper and Koops bringing up the rear.
As they gazed around the environment, they could not help but notice that the Koopa Kingdom looked far bleaker than the bright and cheery Mushroom Kingdom. The sky was getting quite dark, despite there still being several hours of daylight left. Looking into the sky, they found dark clouds hovering over them. However, they had a feeling that no rain would fall from the clouds. They then gazed off into the distance and found a great deal of mountains and pools of lava. The party suspected that the mountains were actually volcanoes, and that some of them were still active. They soon came upon a series of mountains and they had to follow a path through a small ravine that split the mountain range.
Here, they finally encountered some members of Bowser's army. Koopa Troopas and Goombas looked down from their guard posts at the approaching party. As they passed by the sentries, the Koopas saluted the party. The party returned their salutes, looking up at each of the sentries as they continued. They hoped that their gazes did not arouse any of the Koopas' suspicions, but they could not afford to worry too much about that at the moment. They had to reach Bowser's Castle as quickly as possible so as to find Mario and Luigi and relay the information back to Vivian and Bow. As they were continuing down the path through the ravine, the sound of what resembled helicopter engines grew louder and louder. The group looked up and saw an airship passing over them. The ship looked just like a seagoing vessel, only it had numerous rotors on its back and underside. Looking over the railing down at the party and the sentries were several Magikoopas, not the least of which was Kammy Koopa, an old female Magikoopa with gray hair, a purple robe and witch's hat. She was also armed with a golden magic wand with a round red head. At the sight of Kammy and the Magikoopas, the party practically froze. As the airship was passing by, they noticed that the gazes of the Magikoopas were focused on them and were not wavering. Their hearts began to fill with dread. Had they been identified? If anyone would be able to identify the party members before they reached the castle, besides Kevin, it would have been a Magikoopa. Their magic may have allowed them to see the truth of who the party members were. After all, Kammy Koopa had managed identify Peach when she had been using the Sneaky Parasol, and umbrella that allowed Peach to appear as anyone the Parasol could copy.
Despite the watchful gaze of the Magikoopas, the party continued on its way, trying to look as natural as possible. They attempted to make their gazing at the airship looking like a group of young solders gawking at such a magnificent feat of engineering, rather than them studying the opposition to see whether or not they would have to hightail it out of the Koopa Kingdom as fast as they could and tell Bow and Vivian that they were on their own when it came to searching for the Mario Brothers. Eventually, Kammy and the others withdrew back into the ship and the airship sailed off into the distance and continued on its patrol of the kingdom. Parakarry and the others breathed a sigh of relief as the airship departed and they soon noticed a large castle that had a distinctive spiked Koopa shell shape off in the distance. It was Bowser's Castle. Evidently, this one was closer to the border with the Mushroom Kingdom than the others had been. Without any hesitation, the party immediately marched towards the castle, doing their best to look like veterans in the Koopa Troop.
When they arrived at the castle's outer gates, they were stopped by a team of four Koopatrols. The quartet was surprised to find this many guards on the outer perimeter of the castle. They took this as a sign that Kevin was in charge of security; that, or Bowser was finally becoming smarter about bringing in powerful security forces. As they were stopped, one of the Koopatrols stepped forward and demanded, "State your name, rank, and service numbers now."
The four took a deep breath. They had suspected that such information would be requested of them and thus, they were glad to have gathered information on some of the Koopas that had been injured, captured, or killed in the last attack on the Mushroom Kingdom. Parakarry stepped forward first and answered, "I'm Colonel Parabonk, service number zero-one-alpha."
Next was Kooper. "I'm Captain Koopaz, service number one-two-beta."
After Kooper came Koops. "The rank and name's Lieutenant Kooz," he said coolly. "The service number's zero-eight-delta."
Finally, Goombario stepped forward. "I'm Corporal Goompo, service number zero-two-epsilon."
The guard then pulled out a device that resembled a Nintendo DS and flipped it open. After inputting a series of commands, the images and personal information of the quartet that was standing before him appeared. Matching it with what each of the "soldiers" had said, he found that the information checked out. Powering down the device, closing it, and putting it back in his uniform, he said, "Okay, it looks like your information checks out. You guys may pass. You've undoubtedly heard about the executions that are gonna take place two days from now, right?"
The party nodded.
"Excellent," the guard said, elated. "Make certain that you guys keep a close eye on the castle. If the Mario Brothers' allies are gonna make a move, they'll make it within the next couple of days."
"We hear ya," Parakarry responded.
"Here are your duty assignments," the Koopatrol said, handing each of the party members a piece of paper detailing their stations, duties, and commanding officers. "Just so you know, Kevin's the Chief of Security of the castle. He has final authority over any and all assignments and regulations.
"Understood," they each said in unison. They managed to suppress a frown upon hearing that Kevin was in charge of security inside the castle.
The party walked through the gate and appeared on the castle grounds. As was expected, they found a large number of Koopas and Goombas on patrol. Most of the Goombas were Spiked Goombas, with most of them being either Gloombas, dark blue/gray Goombas, or Spiked Gloombas. Kevin was pulling out all the stops. Whatever Bowser had planned for the executions of the Mario Brothers, his oldest son was doing his utmost to make sure that everything went off without a hitch.
"I don't like the looks of this," Goombario said ominously.
"Me neither," Kooper echoed. "Kevin's preparing for something."
"Probably us," Parakarry stated. "He's no fool. He knows that we're planning something. He might know that it's us, personally, but he knows that Mario's friends are planning a rescue attempt."
"Then we don't have much time," Koops stated. "We've gotta learn the location of Mario and transmit the layout of the castle and the Marios' location to Peach's Castle before the execution.
"Then let's get down to business," Parakarry stated.
The party then split up and went over to their assigned stations. Parakarry went over to one of the taller perimeter guard towers and took his position on top of the tower, along with three other Koopa Paratroopas, looking out over the castle and the surrounding area. The first thing that Parakarry noted was that this castle was one of the few castles that Bowser had resided in that was not surrounded by lava. The field surrounding the castle, however, was still devoid of any life, save for any troops that were still arriving to bolster the castle's defenses. One of the Paratroopas looked over at Parakarry and said, "Well, looks like the new guy arrived."
"Yeah," another one said. Siding up next to Parakarry, he said, "I think that you'll like being assigned here. Kevin's a much better commander than anyone else in the whole kingdom, even Bowser. We won't be thrown away like cannon fodder grunts the way Bowser does with so many of his other troopers, even the more elite, and non-replicable Hammer Bros. and Magikoopas."
"I see," Parakarry replied nervously. "Well, I've had a couple tours of duty, so I'll be ready for whatever we have to go up against."
"That's the spirit," the first Paratroopa blurted, slapping Parakarry on the shell. "I think you'll fit in fine."
Parakarry gave a smile as he took his station and continued to look out over the landscape and the castle, subtly taking notes on the positions of the guards in various other guard towers and, when the time came, when relief would come for the next shift. He used a pocket-sized camera and data recorder to take pictures of the castle and the town, while also making certain to make notes as to what parts of the castle each picture represented. Whenever one of the others talked to him, he merely said that he was taking detailed looks around to make sure that there were no blind spots that the enemy could use to sneak into the castle. That explanation seemed to satisfy the curiosity of the others, for the moment. Still, Parakarry was concerned that one of the Paratroopas might report what he was doing to Kevin, just to be sure that he was not doing anything unauthorized. Still, that worry did not stop the Koopa Paratroopa from completing his part of the mission.
Meanwhile, Goombario made his way over to the main storage room. He found the entrance to the room and entered. Inside the room was a large supply of healing items like Ultra Shrooms, Jammin' Jellies, Jelly Ultras, Life Shrooms, along with battle items like Fire Flowers, Thunder Bolts, Thunder Rages, Ice Storms, Shooting Stars, etcetera. The castle turned out to be stocked to the gills. Standing near a small bench was a normal Goomba. When the Goomba saw Goombario, he jumped for joy. "Finally," he exclaimed, "my relief has arrived." He ran over to Goombario and said, "Thanks for comin'. I don't know what I would have done if I had to stay here another minute."
"Glad I could help," Goombario answered unsteadily, surprised at how bright this Goomba's personality was at the relief of his duty.
The Goomba then ran towards the door but before he left, he stopped for a moment and turned back to Goombario, stating, "Hey, new guy. Just so you know, Prince Kevin stored some items here a few hours ago. He might be comin' to pick them up during your shift."
This caused Goombario to become nervous, but he did not show his unease. He merely called back, "Okay, where are the items that Prince Kevin stored?"
The Goomba shrugged. "Heck if I know. I wasn't exactly in sober when he came to store them. I think that they're in some crate back there in the storage compartment." With that, the Goomba left. Goombario grumbled as the door closed and he was left alone. The primary concern he had now was if Kevin came here to claim his stored items, he might manage to identify Goombario; and he did, then their entire plan would fall apart.
Elsewhere, Kooper and Koops were patrolling the castle as part of a squadron whose duty was to patrol the castle to ensure that there were no intruders or any unauthorized personnel in secure areas. As they were walking, they heard the squad leader begin talking with the others. "Man, Kevin must really be worried about the threat of rescue for the Mario Brothers if he's having several squadrons patrol the castle all at the same time."
"Maybe he has a reason to be," one of the other Koopa Troopas, one in a green shell responded sagely.
"I can't see why," the leader responded. "I mean, it's not like Peach is gonna launch a rescue attempt if she knows what's good for her."
"But Mario has other allies as well," the other Koopa countered. "He's got a couple of Goombas, a Boo, two Koopa Troopas and Bob-ombs, a Shadow Spirit, Wind Spirit, a Lakitu; the list goes on. Those guys can actually put up a fight and inflict some serious damage if they were to launch an attack on the castle."
"Against rank and file troopers maybe," the leader retorted. "But against guys like Bowser, Bowser Jr., Kevin, and the other Koopalings, don't count on it."
The two continued to argue as Kooper and Koopa continued to listen. Eventually, the discussion changed towards the concern that Mario and Luigi might try to escape, themselves. "I think that we should be wary of having the Marios attempt an escape," the argumentative Koopa stated.
"Yeah, and this coming from the guy who's concerned about Mario's allies from the Star Rod and Rogueport incidents comin' to save their hero," the squadron leader retorted arrogantly. "Look, you must be new, so I'll keep it simple for the two of you. There's no way that anyone's gonna reach the deepest dungeon in the castle. There is also no way that the Mario Brothers will escape their confinement. They're stuck inside a steel cage with a door that only has a single transparent window. They're only given a single meal per day and they've got two Dark Koopatrol sentries guarding the cell, itself, with another squadron patrolling the area. No one can get down there without authorization. There's no way a handful of Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and a bit of other rabble will make it into the castle, let alone actually manage to make it all the way down to the deepest dungeon in the castle and get past the squadron of Dark Koopatrols, the two Koopatrols guardin' the Marios and actually get them out of the castle."
The other Koopa Troopa had to admit that the leader had a point. He just did not like the fact that his commander was so arrogantly presumptuous that Mario and Luigi would not be able to escape. Kevin was doing his best to ensure that they did not escape, but he was already coming up with contingency plans on the off chance that the Marios did manage to escape and fight their way past the first set of guards. Still, he did not argue with his commanding officer any further. He would merely alert Kevin to his commanding officer's arrogance and unwillingness to listen to reason and let Kevin deal with him later.
As the day went on, the quartet gathered all of the information on the castle that they could without arousing the suspicion of their commanding officers or others inside the castle. It did not take long for them to acquire an accurate map of the castle that they could send to Bow and Vivian so they could take the most direct route to Mario and Luigi's cell. Not only that, but Parakarry was able to get a rough estimate of the amount of Koopas that they might have to fight against in the castle. The number that he had come up with was somewhere on the order of ten thousand enemy soldiers, not counting Bowser, his children, Kamek, and Kammy. In addition, Koops and Kooper were able to get information on patterns of the patrols that roamed throughout the castle. They also gave the locations of the emergency hangar bays and of Bowser's quarters, as well as the quarters of the Koopalings and Kevin in the process, if for no other reason so that they could avoid going anywhere close to Kevin if at all possible. The quartet was quite concerned that if they ever came face to face with the Koopa Prince, that he might be able to identify them, or at least place them as not being members of the Koopa Troop. Once the four friends had gathered the information, the downloaded it to a small hand-held computer and transmitted it to Bow, Vivian, and the others.
Back at Peach's castle, the information that Goombario, Kooper, Koops, and Parakarry had acquired on Bowser's new castle appeared on the large screen in the conference room. Images of the castle, its map, as well as dossiers on the types of guards that the friends might encounter also appeared. Soon, the voice of Goombario rang in over the speakers, asking, "Did you get all of it?"
Peach flipped through the images once more as she confirmed, "We got it. Thanks, now do your best to blend in. We don't need you guys to be captured just before the rescue plan is launched."
"Got it," the quartet said in unison. The link was then terminated.
After the link was terminated, Peach turned to Toadsworth and commanded, "Make copies of this information to give to everyone here. They'll be needing it for the plan to have the highest chance of success." Then, turning to the rest of Mario's friends and comrades, she said, "I guess that you'll be wanting to move out as quickly as possible."
"We'll begin moving at midnight," Goombella told her. "That should allow us to reach Bowser's Castle at first light, leaving us a full day at the very least before Mario and Luigi's execution."
"Well, be careful, and take all of the items you need. We need this to be done quickly and successfully. If you have any trouble at all, call us. We'll come running to help."
"We will," the female Goomba assured her. The group then proceeded to get some rest before making the rescue attempt on Mario and Luigi.
On the next morning, just before sunrise, in Bowser's Castle Goombario went over to the storage room to begin his duty shift. He was surprised that Kevin had not appeared to take the items that he had stored there. He was thankful, though, that the prince had not come during his shift, for he strongly suspected that the prince would have easily made him. He soon went around, taking a full inventory of the items that were in storage. As he was taking the inventory, he noticed that none of the items were missing and that the compartments were still full. This caused the Goomba some concern, since it indicated that Kevin had not picked up any of the items he had supposedly stored in this room.
Goombario soon heard the door creak open and a large figure soon entered. He was dressed in the black robes of what looked to be an Elite Magikoopa, but he was noticeably larger than any Magikoopa Goombario had ever seen. A feeling of dread came over Goombario as the "Magikoopa" removed his hood and revealed himself to be Kevin, Bowser's oldest son. "P…P…P…Prince Kevin," the Goomba stammered, trying to lower himself before the prince so as to look like he was kneeling.
The prince looked down at Goombario and got right down to business, asking, "Do you have the items I stored in this room yesterday?'
"Yeah, sure," Goombario replied unsteadily. The Goomba began to quake in fear, since he did not know where the items Kevin had stored down here were, or what Kevin had actually stored. "Uh, forgive me, my prince, but I'm new here, so may I ask what exactly you stored down here yesterday? Yesterday was my first day and I took one of the late shifts."
Kevin gave a kindly smile and replied, "Certainly. I stored a Fire Flower, Super Mushroom, Thunder Rage, and a Tanooki Suit."
"Thanks," Goombario replied brightly. "I'll get them for you in a jiffy." The Goomba then went back into the storage area and searched for Kevin's items. He found a large number of Fire Flowers, Super Mushrooms, and Thunder Rages, but only one Tanooki Suit. He took the Tanooki Suit and then searched to see if there were any indicators of which Fire Flower, Super Mushroom, or Thunder Rage was Kevin's. Each of the items had a different marker, so Goombario decided to compare the markers on the items to the one on the Tanooki Suit. Unfortunately, there was no mark on the Tanooki Suit at all, which prompted Goombario to sweat. He looked back over at Kevin, who was waiting patiently, but seemed to be studying the Goomba very carefully. Eventually, Goombario decided to take a Fire Flower, Super Mushroom, and Thunder Rage that had the same markings on them, hoping that they were the items that Kevin had stored. At least he had a good excuse should Kevin tell him that he got the wrong items.
After picking up the items and putting them in a sack, he went back over to Kevin and informed him, "I've got your items right here, Prince Kevin." He then handed them over to the prince.
After receiving the items, the Koopa Prince examined them very carefully. After a moment, he said, "The Fire Flower, Super Mushroom, and Thunder Rage aren't mine. They belong to someone else. The Tanooki Suit, however, is mine." Goombario did not know why Kevin was saying this, or how he could tell whether or not the items were his. Kevin then gave his explanation, "My items don't have any markers on them. It is a tradition of the Koopa Royal Family." Kevin then stared down at the Goomba suspiciously. The Goomba's heart began to sink. He feared that Kevin knew who he was. He would have to think fast to get out of this predicament.
"Well, sir, I am new here," Goombario answered waveringly. "Neither the guy I relieved, nor my relief, told me about that little tradition."
Kevin gave a humph. "I know, but you would have known of it if you came to the orientation earlier yesterday," Kevin told him in a low voice.
"As I said, sir, I'm new here."
Kevin, however, was becoming increasingly suspicious of the Goomba standing in front of him. "Tell me your rank, name, and show me your standard ID card now," the prince commanded.
"My rank and name are Corporal Goompo," Goombario answered. "As for my ID, I left it back in my quarters. I didn't know I would need them down here while I was on duty. I'll go back to my quarters to go get it."
"You don't," Kevin answered. "You only need your military ID while on duty, which would be provided to you by your commanding officer. Anyone who serves in the military would know that, even a draftee." Kevin then leaned down towards Goombario, revealing his wand. "Now tell me, who are you?"
"I'm Corporal Goompo," Goombario answered.
"No you're not," Kevin answered as he then fired a blast of energy from his wand. Immediately, Goombario's spiked helmet disappeared and a blue cap appeared in its place. Kevin instantly recognized the Goomba as he said, "Goombario."
Goombario held his breath as Kevin knelt down next to him and fired another spell, this one a paralyzing spell. Goombario attempted to move but try as he might, he was unable to do so. Kevin then brought him to his face so that their eyes could meet directly. "You will tell me where the others are, and the plan of attack for the rescue of the Mario Brothers, now," the prince commanded in a calm, but cold, voice.
"Never," Goombario declared defiantly.
This almost brought a chuckle from Kevin. He then waved his wand and a cloud of blue energy surrounded the Goomba's body. It then penetrated the body and after a second, retreated from the body and back into his wand. Goombario would have slumped over in defeat had he been able to move, for he knew by Kevin's satisfied grin that he had everything he needed. Kevin then snapped his fingers and two Dark Koopatrols, along with four normal Koopatrols entered the storage area. Looking at the familiar Goomba, one of the Dark Koopatrols said, "Looks like you were right, sire. What are your orders?"
"Take Goombario down to the dungeon, and keep him under heavy guard," the Koopa Prince directed. "There will be others joining him shortly." This brought a feeling of defeat to Goombario.
"Understood, sire," the Koopatrols replied. They then saluted him and took Goombario away. As they did so, the prince swished his wand again and took out what looked to be an Earth early twenty-first century cellular phone and spoke into it saying, "We've got intruders. Their names and faces should be appearing on your pads, now. Arrest them and take them to the dungeon. Then call Airship Squadron Beta to the castle immediately. The attack is about to begin."
"Roger that," a chorus of responders answered. Kevin then disappeared from the storage room, smiling. His little trick of storing the items actually worked, even when he thought that it in and of itself, was a long shot at best.
On top of Parakarry's perimeter guard tower, the orders from Kevin filtered to the Koopa Paratroopas that were stationed on top of the tower. "We got it," the squadron leader stated. He then cut the signal and pushed a button on his phone. Just then, the phones of the other guards began to beep. Parakarry looked over to them, noticing the guards' phones beeping, and asked, "Hey, what's happening? When do I get a pager like that?"
"You don't," the squadron leader answered. Just then, four Koopatrols and two Magikoopas appeared on the tower next to Parakarry, their spears, and wands already drawn. "You get a trip to the dungeon, Parakarry is it?"
Parakarry gasped at the use of his real name. The others merely laughed. "Yeah, Prince Kevin had an idea that you guys would be tryin' to rescue the Mario Brothers. We've not only identified you, but the rest of your team as well. After they're dealt with, we'll deal with the rest of your assault force as well." The Magikoopas then fired blasts of magic from their wands that struck Parakarry in the chest and rendered him unconscious.
"Well, that was easy," the Paratroopa squadron leader said nonchalantly. He and several others then picked up the unconscious Koopa Paratroopa and led him down to the dungeon.
Inside one of the castle corridors, Kooper and Koops continued to patrol the castle with the rest of the squadron. The Koopas marched along in silence when suddenly, a flash of light erupted in front of them, causing the squadron to come to a stop and cover their eyes. Once the light had subsided, it was revealed that Kevin Koopa was standing along over a dozen black-robed Elite Magikoopas, their wands already drawn and pointed at Kooper and Koops. The squadron leader stepped forward and asked, "What's going on, my lord?" He then knelt before the princes and their entourage.
"There are two infiltrators inside your squadron," Kevin answered. He fired a blast of energy that washed over the entire party. Immediately, the Kooper and Koops' old uniforms disappeared, and their normal attire was now shown over their bodies. In addition, the two infiltrators were now paralyzed and suspended in midair. Several of the Koopas jumped at the sight and exclaimed, "Woah! Who are these guys?"
"The blue-shelled Koopa is Kooper, and the one in the sky blue hooded sweatshirt is named Koops," Kevin explained calmly. "They are allies of Mario and have come to rescue him. They are not alone, either, for there are already two other infiltrators already in captivity in the castle. In addition, there should be an assault force coming towards the castle within the hour or so. Prepare yourselves on the off chance that they manage to break through our lines and reach the castle."
"Yes sir," the squadron leader replied, saluting. He and the others then continued to march along while Kevin and the others dragged Kooper and Koops down on the long trek down to the dungeon.
Not too far outside the castle grounds, about an hour after the captures of Goombario, Kooper, Koops, and Parakarry, Goombella and the rest of the assault force were marching towards Bowser's Castle. Lady Bow and Vivian turned invisible and traveled through the shadows respectively in order to infiltrate the castle unseen, hoping that should there be any suspicion of intruders, that the assault force would divert attention away from the two of them. Goombella and the others, however, had a far more daunting task in having to divert the castle guard away from the castle, and the Mario Brothers, and onto them.
As they saw the castle in the distance, they noticed that the path towards the castle was unusually quiet. They had only encountered a few squadrons of Koopa Troopas that seemed to have been zombie Koopas created by Magikoopas out of the bricks that were strewn about the landscape. The party had thought little of the paltry resistance until they started getting closer to the castle and noticing that the guards were not on edge at all. A glimmer of hope still entered their hearts, though, since this could mean that they would have an easier time of rescuing Mario and Luigi.
That glimmer of hope, however, vanished when they heard the sounds of Koopa airships approaching them. Coming from not only the castle, but from around several mountains behind them, to the sides, and right out in front of the party were no less than six Koopa airships. Escorting the airships were squadrons of twelve fighters per airship. In addition, dozens of Magikoopas and Elite Magikoopas also flew close to the airships. The party stared into the sky and found that the airships were bristling with weaponry ranging from cannons, Bullet Bill, Missile Bill, and Banzai Bill launchers, as well as flamethrowers. The dozens of Magikoopas soon swooped down and hovered only a few meters off the ground, drawing out their magic wands and pointing them at the party. Then, Kammy Koopa and Kamek stepped out onto the observation deck of the lead airship. Looking down at the surrounded party, Kamek proclaimed, "Citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom and allies of Mario. We have you surrounded. We've known you were coming for quite some time. The infiltrators you sent ahead of you have been captured by Prince Kevin. As you can see, you have no hope of escape, much less victory. Surrender now and your lives will be spared. You will still be taken to the dungeon, but you will still survive. If you don't, we will kill you where you stand. You have one minute to decide."
Goombella looked back at her friends and told them, "Well guys, things don't look good for us at the moment."
"Yeah," Lakilester agreed. "They've captured Goombario, Kooper, Koops, and Parakarry already."
"What about Lady Bow and Vivian," Ms. Mowz asked. "They went ahead of us a few minutes ago, and were already invisible. If they haven't been caught yet, then our plan may still be on."
"Perhaps," Goombella shrugged, considering the possibility, "but I wouldn't bet on it right now. Kevin's still at the castle and chances are he might be expecting such a plan."
"We can't just surrender to them," Yoshi Kid blurted. "Gonzales would never do such a thing!"
"We're not Mario," Goombella sighed. "Look at what they've got arrayed against us. I think that we should surrender."
This brought a gasp from the rest of the force. "What?" they all cried.
"Hear me out," she told them. "This is an unwinnable battle. But we may still have a chance to help Mario when the time for the executions come. Chances aren't good that we'll be able to do much, but we might be able to do something. And it's better than dying here and ending Mario and Luigi's hopes of rescue. This will at least get us closer to Mario and Luigi."
The others had to admit that she had a point, but they were still uncomfortable with surrendering to Kamek and Kammy. Goombella knew what they were thinking when she called up to Kamek and asked, "If we surrender, what guarantee do we have that you won't just kill us anyway?"
"The order to spare your lives should you surrender comes from Kevin, himself," the Magikoopa answered. "And Kevin surpasses me in magical ability. I would not dare to defy an order such as this that comes from him."
Kamek's answer surprised Goombella and the rest of the party, but they figured it was the best assurance that they would get. Goombella then turned to the others. They each gave a melancholy nod. Seeing this, she turned to Kamek and told him, "Then on behalf of the party, we surrender."
As soon as Goombella surrendered, the Magikoopas then came down and levitated the items away from Goombella and her assault force and then fired paralyzing spells at the party. Once they were fully paralyzed and floating in midair, they turned around and took the group back to the castle so as to put the group in the dungeon. As they were being transported to the dungeon, all they could do was hope that Vivian and Bow would be able to save the Mario Brothers, and them too. As Kamek and his forces took the assault party back to Bowser's Castle, Kamek waved his wand and the image of Kevin Koopa appeared. Once the image of the prince had fully formed, he said, "Mission accomplished, my prince. The enemy surrendered and we are taking them to the dungeon."
"Good work, Kamek," Kevin congratulated. "Once the prisoners are safely in the dungeon, make certain to quadruple the guard and to set up guard posts and perimeters for the executions tomorrow."
"Understood, my prince," Kamek said, bowing as the image of Kevin disappeared. With that, Kamek enjoyed the ride back to the castle, content in the knowledge that tomorrow, Bowser's long war with the Super Mario Brothers would finally come to an end…in victory.
Meanwhile, inside Bowser's Castle, Bow and Vivian were making their way down to the dungeon levels. They had passed several patrols of Koopatrols, Dark Koopatrols, and even a pair of Elite Magikoopas on their trip down to the dungeon. They had not yet heard about the capture of the assault force as they made their way throughout the castle. Bow and Vivian were careful to avoid any spotlights or other sources of light, for light would reveal them to the Koopas that were present.
Carefully making their way down into the deep recesses of the castle, they followed the map that they had memorized until they came upon the dungeon levels. They knew that Mario would be kept in the deepest and most heavily guarded dungeon cell of all. Staying invisible and in the shadows respectively, Bow and Vivian continued down the stairs until they reached the lowest level of the castle. They phased through the door and made their way down a long row of cells that were made of solid steel, with doors that were of similar consistency. They each searched for the cell that Mario and Luigi were occupying, and figured that their cell would be the one that was being guarded by two Dark Koopatrols. This was not good, for both Vivian and Bow knew that the Dark Koopatrols were both powerful, and may have been able to detect them if they revealed themselves to Mario and Luigi inside their cell. The Dark Koopatrols would have to be dealt with, and they both knew exactly how to do so. Vivian took out a Sleepy Sheep and deployed it against the two Dark Koopatrols. Suddenly, a multitude of yellow sheep appeared and stampeded towards the Dark Koopatrols. The stampede took the two armored Koopas completely by surprise and they were practically crushed by the stampede. As soon as the last sheep passed, the two Koopatrols immediately fell asleep. Once they were asleep, Vivian and Bow grabbed them and took them over to two cells far away from the Mario Brothers. Once the sleeping Dark Koopatrols were tossed into their respective cells, the two spirits closed the doors and locked them inside. The duo felt that the Dark Koopatrols would be asleep for several hours at the very least. As soon as the Dark Koopatrols were dealt with, for the time being, the two spirits went over to Mario's cell and phased through the door.
Inside the brothers' cell, Bow immediately became visible and Vivian emerged from the shadows. The Marios, noticing their friends arrive, jumped at the sight of them and exclaimed, "Bow, Vivian, what are you two doing here?"
"Getting you out of here," Bow replied haughtily. "What does it look like?"
Just as they were about to make a move, the group heard the sound of footsteps coming down the dungeon corridor. "Uh oh, you two had better hide," Mario warned. "It's likely a guard or one of the members of the Royal Family."
Bow and Vivian followed Mario's advice and turned invisible and retreated into the shadows, respectively. The sounds of the footfalls got louder and louder until they sounded like they were just outside the cell. Just then, they stopped and the window opened. The face of Kevin Koopa was visible to the Mario Brothers as they gazed out at the Koopa. Both Vivian and Bow had feelings of dread well up in their hearts. They had a feeling that something bad had happened. Mario and Luigi merely scowled. "What is it Kevin?" Mario asked.
"I am here to tell you of your fate," Kevin answered plainly. There was no note of haughtiness or arrogance. "You will be executed tomorrow at midday." Kevin was about to leave when he said, "Oh, one other thing. There was a rescue attempt. Some of your allies tried to save you, but failed. I and the castle's security managed to capture them and have locked them in the dungeon. They, too, are scheduled to be executed tomorrow with you. You may still have a chance to save two of them, though. Before you are executed, the two of you may be given a final request, though it is not guaranteed. While you cannot save yourselves, should you be given a final request, you may ask him to spare one of them, each. Don't waste it."
With that, Kevin closed the window and the Koopa departed. As he was leaving, the Marios could not help but note that it seemed as if Kevin was hoping that some of their friends might manage to survive, even if they would be confined to the dungeon for the rest of their lives. As soon as the Koopa Prince left, Vivian and Bow reappeared before Mario once more. "So the others have been captured," Vivian said, her worry evident in her voice.
Bow did not say anything at first. She merely turned to Mario and Luigi and then said, "Looks like we'll be on our own. We have to get you guys out of here first and then rescue the others."
"No," Mario said, cutting her off. "We'll go to the executions."
This took both Bow and Vivian by surprise. "Are you nuts?" Bow exclaimed, not hiding her shock.
"They'll kill you," Vivian echoed.
"I know," Mario said with a smug smile. "But I think that I may have a way to not only save us, but also the others as well."
"I'd like to hear it," Luigi volunteered.
Mario smiled. "It all hinges on Bowser's pride. Think about it. Kevin managed to capture us; Kevin managed to capture the assault force that was going to rescue us. We all stormed Bowser's Castle years ago and defeated him when he had the Star Rod. We nearly killed him in that battle. Bowser may be incredibly proud of his oldest son, but he's also scared of him. Kevin's popular with the civilians and military of the Koopa Kingdom. Bowser sees this, and he will be eager to show his strength. Since Kevin was the one who has accomplished more in three days than Bowser has in more than a decade, we can use Bowser's fear of his son's growing reputation to try to get him to release everyone."
"How are you going to do that?" Vivian asked.
"Simple," Mario replied. "I'm going to challenge him to a one-on-one fight, winner take all, no superpowers for me. If I win, everyone goes free. If he wins, we all die."
"Do you really think he'll go for it?" Luigi asked.
"He'll have no choice," Mario answered. "He'll have to accept the challenge to show that he's still as strong as his son."
"But Kevin will advise him against it," Bow told him.
"I'm counting on it," Mario replied slyly. "That's going to be what clinches Bowser's decision to fight me. You all stay out of sight until the time comes. Should Kevin or someone else interfere, we'll be needing all the help we can get in order to escape."
"Got it," Bow and Vivian replied in unison.
Vivian then took out two items, a Metal Cap and a Fire Flower, and handed them to him. "Just in case someone interferes," she told him.
"Thanks," Mario said as he accepted the gifts and stuffed them in his pocket. Bow then handed Luigi a Shooting Star and a Hammer Suit. Once that was finished, the two spirits retreated to the shadows in order to wait and tell the others that they were not without hope.