Morton's heart thumped with each step he took. He looked around himself; Pillagers and the captured Koopatrols and Thaddeus the Raid Captain, all cast in eerie shadows by the cloudy night sky and torchlight from the Pillagers on the half-circle's edge. The Pillagers kept randomly shoving cooked green mushroom caps into each other's and the prisoners' mouths to keep their sanity up, too.
So much had happened to Morton in the past hour: making camp in the forest, rain, slimes, and Nightmare Creatures, meeting the Koopatrols, learning (a little bit) about sanity, hearing things about "the Koopalings," "the Midsummer Carnival," "The Prophecy,"...as well as King Slime and the gel that was still jabbing his and Roland's insides with pain, and now all of these Pillagers, types of Illagers, forces of evil? The Pillagers prohibited chatting between prisoners the entire trip, even though all Morton wanted were reassuring words from Brad or at least one of them. They reminded him of Sr, but only a little.
"Pick up yer pace," said the Pillager leading Roland. "What, ya got a problem er somethin'?"
"I've got a bunch of slime inside me, from the…King Slime," Roland replied. He exploded into a coughing fit.
King Slime…I thought that was the name of that creature…thought Morton. King…boss…it was like a boss creature, or something. The Dragonfly was kinda the boss of all that lava way back at the mesa, too. Two big, bad monsters that both nearly killed me, and I've narrowly escaped. I've heard Sr. use the phrase "third time's the charm." What if…what if that could mean that the next time a big bad comes for me, I actually have to duel it? What if it DOES get me? Ends me?
Oh my gosh, mind, I love you, but once again I hate you! WHY DID YOU GIVE ME THAT THOUGHT!?
Morton began to take the thought too far and he began to sweat and panic, but he tried to not freak out with all of the Pillagers. They might think he wanted to get away, and they'd shoot him with their big crossbows. They said they wouldn't harm him, but what reason was there for him to be sure? They didn't look trustworthy at all.
"*COUGH COUGH COUGH*!" came Roland.
Morton returned to what was going on around him, only to feel himself be prodded forward by the tip of an arrow loaded into Vincent's heavy crossbow.
Thaddeus's clenched fist was raised into the air. The patrol came to an abrupt halt that surprised Morton, which made him trip and run into the Pillager in front. The Pillager turned around and slapped Morton in the muzzle, and Vincent grabbed Morton's shoulder and pulled him back with one hand.
"What did he say was wrong wit' 'em?" asked Thaddeus.
"He's got slime down his throat…" said Roland's Pillager leader. He exchanged an anxious glance with other Pillagers, one that spread throughout the patrol. Only Vincent, Thaddeus, the bearers of the golden saddle, and one other Pillager did not appear to share the same concern.
Morton furrowed his brow. Are they worried about his health? Is that why they look scared? The Raid Captain doesn't look worried, though, and I assume his decision is what will go, no matter what the rest of the patrol thinks.
The Pillagers and prisoners parted to let Thaddeus through to Roland. "You got a slime problem?"
Roland nodded.
"And you're an enemy of ours?"
Roland nodded more slowly this time.
"You know how expensive a treatment costs for us, right?"
"I'm not asking you to help me…" Roland said. Morton could tell he was scared, and his thoughts flashed with They'll keep me safe, at least they say they will, but what about the Koopatrols?
"I'll probably die from the gel junk soon enough, anyway," Roland said.
Morton gritted his teeth. No! We WILL escape and we WILL get to King Bowser and Kamek and whatever and he WILL be okay!
"Does it hurt?" Thaddeus asked, poking Roland in the chest with one of the weird wing-like sides of his crossbow.
"Especially since you poked it," said Roland. He coughed. "Yeah. It hurts real bad."
Thaddeus nodded and backed up, kicking a pebble on the ground as he paced, as if he was thinking or something. Then he rotated his crossbow sideways and fired. Roland tried to move, but they struck his soft chest—technically "underbelly"—and blood spurted across him. He fell backward, and the Pillager behind him sidestepped, letting Roland's body hit the ground hard.
"The Butterfly Crossbow strikes again," Thaddeus said tauntingly, slinging his unique crossbow over his shoulder.
"YOU CRAP-EATING PEON!" Morton screamed. He tried to run at Thaddeus, but Vincent pulled him into his chest and pressed his loaded heavy crossbow to Morton's neck.
"You would be very wise to not try and rush me again," Thaddeus said, "and besides, I just cut his suffering short. I helped him."
Morton's nostrils flared. His claws sheathed and unsheathed themselves. He hissed. He had barely known Roland, but such a sudden death to an innocent Koopa enraged Morton.
He'd still be alive if it wasn't for me showing up. The patrol wouldn't have stopped for me, and then they would outrun the slimes and King Slime and not be in the same area as these stupid Pillagers or whatever they call themselves!
It's all my fault...
Midnight. The moon was in its third-quarter phase, but it was mostly blocked by the dark clouds. Warm winds rushed through the forest, draining the plants of their wetness and lushness and replacing them with dryness and crunchiness. The evergreens stood upright, unshaken by the elements, dropping little pines across the podzol and coarse dirt ground…pines that were broken under the boots of the Pillagers and Koopatrols. Most important, though, was that in front of them loomed the Pillager Outpost.
The Pillager Outpost was almost sixty-four feet tall. Made of a cobblestone base with dark oak log staves and support beams, it had a middle that looked like an evergreen tree trunk, made of brown wood plans, and a top made of the same blocks shaped like some kind of mushroom cap. Arrow slits let charged crossbows peek out, surveying for threats, and Illager banners flapped in the wind with OCD-agitating placement.
"Don't worry, you ain't gonna be here long," Vincent said to Morton.
"WHY?" asked Morton.
Vincent didn't say anything; he just chuckled and prodded Morton along.
They stopped at the big double-doors in front of the Pillager Outpost. Torches were propped along the outside walls and beams, providing light from the bottom all the way to the top. It was a beacon of light, shining bright for all to see, even if by chance any lost traveler came there they'd likely be dead in seconds. At least, Morton thought so. The murder of Roland and the seemingly dark nature of the Illagers provided him with his assumption. And not to forget that they defeated the King Slime without barely any effort, either.
Three Pillagers—crossbows, gray skin, crimson/maroon/brown robes and all—guarded the double doors. One was positioned in front of each door, and the third Pillager stood in front of them. This one had a heavy crossbow, like Vincent, and a banner, like Thaddeus. Another Raid Captain.
"Thaddeus, yes?" said the leading Pillager. He dipped his head and cracked his knuckles in standard Illager greeting.
Thaddeus returned the greeting. "We have found a Koopatrol patrol wandering through our territory." He gestured to Brad, Trevor, and Goldberg. Then he gestured to Morton. "We found this queer Koopa with the patrol. They say they just found him and know nuthin', but I wouldn't be so sure. I think…I think he's one of the Koopalings. The Koopaling."
The Pillager in front strode over and looked Morton up and down. He stuck his hands in Morton's pockets and pulled out Morton's flint knife.
"HEY! NO! THAT'S MINE! I MADE IT BY MYSELF!" Morton shouted.
Vincent slapped him again, and he went quiet.
The Pillager fiddled with Morton's knife, then gave it to Thaddeus. "We need to loot 'em all before they come in. They might have somethin' dangerous, y'know? They might have some of dat new gunpowder stuff."
"As always," Thaddeus said and then pointed at the Koopatrols. Their Pillager captors took off all their armor and belts and then plucked their shells clean. The only things they had inside were gel globs, sticks, cut grass, cooked green caps, cooked potatoes and steak, and Goldberg had that flint on him. They also took their almost empty quivers, then their iron tools and copper bows. All the Pillagers dumped the loot into a big wooden box that was outside the Pillager Outpost. Some other loot was already in the box, and Morton assumed it was just "the loot box" and they would bring the stuff inside to the outpost, or somewhere else. Some other BIGGER place.
"Vincent; Morton!" ordered Thaddeus.
Vincent ripped off Morton's grass shirt, crumpled it up, fingered for anything else in it, and finally tossed it to the wind. Next, he took the gel and bone shards from Morton's shell and dropped them into "the loot box," then paused after taking out the black, slimy substance—what Morton called the "shadow guts."
Everyone looked at what Vincent had in his hands, then looked back to Morton.
"Nightmare Fuel, eh?" drawled Vincent. His bushy eyebrows were raised. "Quite impressive, based on the intelligence you appear to 'ave. Where'd ya get it?"
"A N-NIGHTMARE CREATURE," said Morton, "IT HAD THREE LEGS, A BIG BEAK, BACK SPIKES…" He was describing the chair-legged variant.
"Ah," said Vincent, "a Terrorbeak."
Terrorbeak. That's what they're called. Terrorbeaks. Terrorbeak…
"WHAT DOES…NIGHTMARE FUEL DO?" Morton asked, not expecting an answer. He was right.
"Hmm…" Vincent took out the last item in Morton's shell. The yellow gem.
"NOO! NOT THAT ONE!" Morton bellowed. That yellow gem had led to the argument that led to Sr. promising an adventure. The next day was an adventure all right, but the big-green-bug and lava made it that way! "THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT! BESIDES MY KNIFE! I MEAN THEY ARE BOTH EQUALLY IMPORTANT, I THINK?"
Vincent pocketed the yellow gem and got up in Morton's face. The moonlight and torchlight mixture provided an unusual tint to Vincent's visage, and it cast the side of his face with his good eye in the murk.
This left only his bad eye to look at. Morton stared right into it, the shadowy void rimmed with vermillion that seemed to keep going, going, going, a bottomless pit, bottomless socket, like the bottomless pit of Morton's mind. It just kept falling, and the amount of questions and mysteries and thoughts growing the deeper he went, and thus too it was like an iceberg. The pit, it was cold as an iceberg, like Morton's mind, which now and for most of his life had been devoid of mental warmth—compliments, achievements, free fun, though much physical warmth had come from the mesa's heat.
Morton shivered and took a deep breath. "SORRY." A pause. "VINCENT."
Vincent wrenched Morton's mouth open and peeked inside. Morton hissed, and Vincent clamped Morton's mouth shut.
"He's clear," Vincent said after nodding and turning to Thaddeus, "he's got slime down his throat, but nothin' hidden' in his cheeks."
Thaddeus raised his eyebrows at the Pillager at the door. The Pillager dipped his head and cracked his knuckles again, and then the two Pillagers at the double-doors opened the doors.
"Well? Go on in!" commanded Thaddeus, and walked inside.
The Pillager patrol exchanged looks one more time, and then they marched in, bringing Morton and the Koopatrols along.
The first floor, like the others, was small and compact. Birch wood planks lined the floor, and lanterns and torches along the walls lit the place up. A spiral staircase at the back of the area (which was really just a room) led to upper rooms/floors. There was a pile of dirt on one side, too, with many hay bales around it. In fact, so many, they took up ⅔ of the room!
"You all!" said Thaddeus as the Pillagers began to shove each other to get in. "Stop. You Pillagers with the Koopatrols, including the one of you who had the slimed Koopatrol I shot, go up to the top floor and begin questioning. Next, you two with the Slimy Saddle, go up to the second floor and have two others come along to assist in finding the chest with enchanted loot. Now, Vincent and any three others, come in here and bring the Koopaling—Morton. The rest of you, spread out and guard the outpost!"
"Yes, Captain!" said all the Pillagers at once. Then the Pillagers with the Koopatrols headed to the top, two Pillagers and the Slimy Saddle bearers went one floor up, Vincent and the others came in with Morton, and all the rest spread out.
"Tie him," snapped Thaddeus, pointing to a support beam. A coil of rope was dropped at the foot of it, and it was promptly used by Vincent to bind Morton to it, after forcing Morton into a sitting position on the floor.
"THIS NOT BE VERY COM-FOR-TA-BLE," said Morton, sounding out the syllables of the last word to emphasize. No one responded. His shell was pressed against the beam, and his spikes were digging into it, which hurt, but also the rope was very tight around his arms and chest, which were pressed together against the beam, and he couldn't really move well as they also bound his legs.
The bottom floor was now empty except for Vincent, Thaddeus, Morton, and three random Pillagers. One of the Pillagers went to the stairs, and another went to the door, but the third one stood at Vincent's side. The three Pillagers' crossbows—and Vincent's heavy one—were loaded and pointed at Morton. Thaddeus's was strapped to his back.
"So…Morton, isn't it?" began Thaddeus. He began to pace back and forth, just like he did before he killed Roland. "You'd better tell us the truth. Where DID you come from?"
"THE MESA. DO YOU KNOW?" Morton asked.
"The one past the grassland—Gecko Fields?" replied Thaddeus.
"YES. I THINK."
"Who are your parents? If…you have any?"
"THAT IS PRIVATE."
Thaddeus sighed. "I don't care, Morton. Tell us, or we kill the Koopatrols."
Morton froze. He'd killed Roland without too much consideration—he surely wouldn't hesitate to do away with the others, wouldn't he? I can't let more innocent people die because of me! Roland, possibly the other Koopatrols because they stopped to help me from the green slime and Nightmare Creatures when I first met Brad. And Sr., too, if he's…
No. He HAS to still be alive, waiting for me to help him!
"SR. MORTON KOOPA SR. MY DAD," said Morton. "MY MOTHER WAS CLAUDIE KOOPA. BUT SHE DIED GIVING BIRTH TO ME." He mulled over telling them about Kevin, and decided that since he died before he was born, or whatever exactly happened to him, and he didn't do anything in his "life," he didn't need to let the Illagers know about his brother.
"Where did you live in Redpepper Mesa? Is there a village?"
Redpepper Mesa. "SR. AND I HAD LOTS OF LITTLE…SHACKS, IF YOU WILL…THROUGHOUT THE MESA. SOME HAD MORE OR LESS RESOURCES, OR ADVANTAGES, OR THINGIES LIKE DAT. NO VILLAGE. I DON'T KNOW OF ANY, I MEAN. YEAH."
Thaddeus paused, gave Morton a suspicious look, then proceeded to continue his pacing. "Why did you leave? And where did Sr. and Claudie come from, if not from a village or the like in Redpepper?"
"DUNNO EXACTLY WHERE THEY CAME FROM…" Morton said. He really didn't know. "SOME TOWN. SR. WAS SHUNNED OUT DUE TO HIM BEING WEIRD. HE'S LIKE…BIG, SMART ME. I MEAN, SMART-ER. NOT SAYING I NOT SMART. I MEAN I AM NOT SMART. SORRY."
Morton paused when Thaddeus chuckled at Morton's contradiction. After a moment Vincent broke into the conversation and snapped, "Keep going!"
Morton took a deep breath or two, then went on. "I ONCE ASKED SR. IF CLAUDIE WAS LIKE HIM AND ME, AND HE SAID NO. SHE WAS JUST NORMAL KOOPA TROOPA. THEY WERE JUST A THING, THEN, AND SHE WENT WITH HIM WHEN HE WAS KICKED AWAY FROM SOCIETY. AND ABOUT WHY I LEFT…ONE OF OUR HOMES WAS DESTROYED BY SOME LAVA INSIDE AND UNDER IT, OR SOMETHIN', AND A BIG, GREEN, FLYING BUG CAME OUT AND CHASED US, AND SR. LED IT AWAY SO I COULD GET AWAY. I'VE BEEN ON MY OWN SINCE. I DUNNO IF HE…DIED. I'D LIKE TO THINK HE STILL LIVING!"
"Hmm…" Thaddeus rubbed his forehead. "I see. Did this bug breathe fire?"
"YES."
"Big black eyes?"
"YEP."
"Like a…dragonfly?"
"WHAT THAT?"
"Okay, hold on…transparent wings?"
A nod.
"I thought so…did it have little pill-lookin' bugs encased in lava following it?"
"I BRIEFLY SAW SOME DHERE."
"YES!" exclaimed Thaddeus. "Well…the beast is called The Dragonfly. Rare and lethal. Simple as that. A literal dragonfly. And it's very likely your father, Sr., has perished."
"YA MEAN…DIED?"
"Yes."
"NO!" Morton screamed. Someone else saying Sr. was dead was much worse than him telling himself that he was, or his thoughts doing so. It felt like…confirmation. "SR. IS A GREAT FIGHTER, AND HE ALWAYS CARRIES A GREAT BIG HAMMER WIT' 'EM. HE SMASHED THE DRAGONFLY TO BITS! DEFINITELY!"
"Unlikely."
"NO! NO NO NO NOOO! FATHER!"
Thaddeus flinched at Morton's bloodcurdling screams but out of being startled, not remorse. Morton jerked back and forth, banging his head and shell against the beam as he shouted. Vincent stepped forward to slap Morton again, but Thaddeus put out a hand to stop him.
Sr. couldn't have died, Morton pondered. Impossible! Improbable! Sr. is the strongest Koopa in the world and he bashed that Dragonfly inside out and ate it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack! And still had leftovers!
But Morton couldn't shake the thought that Sr. had truly passed. It would've meant that Sr. went out a hero, sacrificing himself for his son—at least that was what Morton saw in his eyes. He wondered if, if Sr. was dead, was his spirit—if he had one—mad? Or did it accept its mortal body's choice? Sr. had said the night before the Dragonfly that he raised Morton just so Morton could get a shot at what life was like, and maybe that was what Sr. wanted. For Morton to lead a long, successful life, not a sad one like Sr.'s. Maybe, if Sr. was dead, his soul was at peace now, free from Redpepper Mesa and reunited with Claudie and able to really meet Kevin, wherever their hypothetical spirits would be, and all of them were watching over.
Morton began to cool down. He stopped jerking about and closed his eyes.
That must be it. That's what he would've wanted. For me to have a long, happy life. If Kevin's watching over me, or something like that, he'd see my life, too; it'd be like he also had a life or something. Yes. And if Sr. is dead, he's at peace. And if he's alive, I still have to go save him. Eventually.
But if he really is gone, what am I supposed to do? He wanted me to have a life, but if he's passed, what do I do with it? If I died to the Illagers right now, his potential sacrifice would have been wasted. We'd be a family, together, then…but I wouldn't have seen all that Sr. wanted me to see.
So what's my purpose?
Then Morton realized something. The dream with the man, the Koopatrols, King Bowser Koopa, Kamek, the Midsummer Carnival, The Prophecy, being whatever a Koopaling was. He'd heard all about that after being separated from Sr. Strange, enthralling things.
Is that my destiny? Being a "Koopaling?" Am I supposed to be a hero, like in Sr.'s stories? A prophet of some kind? A magic-wielder—a magikoopa? No no no. I'm getting ahead of myself. But…I'm different. Strange. Peculiar. I have that DARK STAR over my face. I'm something…more. Even the Illagers think so, too.
He made eye contact with Thaddeus and sat up straight.
"ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?" he asked smoothly.
Thaddeus raised his eyebrows, then scrunched them up as his face contorted into confusion. "Um…well, Morton, I do have another question. Where did you get this?" He snatched the yellow gem from Vincent, who was tossing it back and forth between his hands, and waved it in Morton's face. "Do you know magic?"
Morton felt tense. "I FOUND IT IN A TUMBLEWEED. IN THE MESA. R-REDPEPPER MESA. JUST…GOING ALONG. IT BONKED MY HEAD SO I CHASE IT."
"Don't lie to me."
"I AIN'T, I AIN'T! I REALLY DID JUST FIND IT IN A TUMBLEWEED! IT WAS JUST LUCKINESS! I SWEAR!"
Thaddeus's face changed into suspicion and then gave the yellow gem back to Vincent. He backed up from Morton, who was trying his best to look calm and sly. He had a smirk on his face that made his muzzle look even fatter, and it stretched the dark star on his eye out more.
"My other question?" Thaddeus continued after a moment.
"RESTATE?"
"Do you know magic?"
"IN WHAT WAY? LIKE WIELDING MAGIC. OR ABOUT IT. IF IT IS NUMBER TWO, I KNOW A BIT ABOUT INSANITY. IS THAT MAGIC, BECAUSE OF THE NIGHTMARES? WAIT…DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MONSTER IN PITCH-BLACK DARKNESS THAT GOES WHOOSH AND SLASH?"
"You've met it?" Thaddeus asked. He was suddenly very curious.
"YES. MY FIRST OUT HERE ALONE. A CLOUD WENT OVER THE MOON AND IT WAS PITCH BLACK AND IT SLASHED ME. IT HURT A BUNCH, BUT DIDN'T LEAVE A SCAR OR ANYTHING. I THINK IT WAS MAGIC. IT ALMOST ATTACKED ME AGAIN, BUT STOPPED AND THE MOON CAME BACK."
"Did it stop when the moon came?"
"NO, IT STOPPED SOME SECONDS BEFORE THE MOON CAME BACK!"
"That's impossible," growled the Pillager guarding the staircase. "He should be dead!"
"That just proves my theory," said Thaddeus to the Pillagers. "The Darkness didn't kill him after realizing who it was." He went back to Morton. "Your shadowy color tints, dark star…it all leads to you being the Koopaling. The one of the darkness!"
"WHO ARE THE KOOPALINGS?" Morton yelled.
"Our enemies," returned Thaddeus. "There's a prophecy, The Prophecy, that says that seven young Koopas, very different from the rest, must be brought together before going on special journeys to find ancient artifacts to do away with the shadows! But the shadows are good! They provide beneficial magic and tools to help things stay alive, keep our sanity in check with Nightmare Creatures, and since food, water, and other comforts boost sanity, make sure we get enough of it all! We as Illagers have endorsed shadow magic because it gives us strength! Hope! We want to get rid, or convert, rulers who don't see this. We want to spread this power, for everyone! Many Koopas, Goombas, and more have joined our ranks. The Prophecy says that one Koopaling will be of the darkness, and they…are…YOU!"
"I CAN'T TRUST YOU!" Morton burst. "ALL THIS DARKNESS STUFF…SOUNDS EVIL! ISN'T THERE LIGHT MAGIC, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, INSTEAD?"
"There is NO light magic," boomed Thaddeus, "there is the Lunar side, the Darkness side, and then a third side. That's the majority of the Koopa Kingdom. King Bowser. They don't support Darkness or Lunar. I respect that, but we are fighting them to try and find the Koopaling of Darkness, and show them the benefits of shadow magic! Now we have you, and the fighting can come to a rest. For the moment. We HAVE you. You must be the one. Everything points to it. Once we show you to our master, we can transfer the dark power to you, and everyone will be of the shadows, and THE WORLD WILL BE AT PEACE! THEN OUR ILLAGER NATURE WILL BECOME KEEPING THAT PEACE, NOT RAIDING PLACES TO SPREAD OUR WISDOM!"
Thaddeus leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily. Everyone had their eyes on him, concerned, but then Thaddeus stood straight, made sure his Illager banner was banded tightly around his forehead, and came forward to Morton.
"Well?" he said to Morton. "Do you see my reasoning? Why must we bring you to our master?"
Morton's mind was a tornado. The master, shadow magic, The Darkness, what the Koopalings and The Prophecy were, the three sides, King Bowser, the Illagers…what is all of this? Is my fate to become some evil shadow beast or something? If it is, then maybe Sr.'s potential sacrifice WAS, truly, a waste. If I'm meant to become evil, I should've been torched and flattened by the Dragonfly! Maybe the Dragonfly had good intentions?
NO, I'm wrong, it's a mindless monster like the King Slime…even all of these Illagers, The Darkness, and their master! They may want to spread "good," but they're just taking control of everything! It's not good!
But what do I know? Maybe darkness is good, and light is bad. Maybe it's the opposite of Sr.'s tales. I would like to think that Sr. would portray good as good and bad as bad in his tales to properly educate me, but…!
What about this third side, though? King Bowser and most of the Koopa Kingdom, and then possibly to an extent the other Koopalings, are said to believe this. Is the light and dark both equally controlling in their eyes? And they follow nothing in particular, and they just use general magic? Not specific-sided magic? Maybe that's the best side.
That means that the Illagers, and possibly the light, "the Lunar side," are all my enemies. That could be terrible. But if most of the Koopa Kingdom, which sounds powerful, believes in neither, I'd be better accepted if I ever made it there, and I'd have backup in a fight. Backup in a fight…what kind of thought is that? Yeah, right…I'll probably never even live to see Bowser with all these Darkness-oriented Illager idiots!
Yet how can I trust all of this information? It might be faux. I can't trust Thaddeus, but I also can't really trust the Koopatrols, either, to be honest!
"HOW MUCH OF THE INFORMATION YOU GAVE ME IS REAL?" asked Morton.
"All of it is true, Morton," Thaddeus told him, "if you are the Koopaling of the Darkness, you should know all of this information."
"THERE MUST BE MORE YOU AIN'T TELLIN' ME. SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO MESS ME UP."
"Trust me! I told you all you know."
"Trust me!" Hah. Sr. told me if anyone is like that, they're probably lying. Screaming? Probably lying. Though not always—it also depends on the situation.
"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME EVERYTHING!" Morton said.
"Okay. Honest? Not everything. However, I told ya the vitals, Morton," Thaddeus explained. "I didn't make you tell me everything—just the vitals. I don't need to know every scale on your body, and you don't need to know my every pore. You got it?"
"I GUESS." A shrug.
"Good. We leave in the morning," Thaddeus said, stretching out the "e" of "leave."
"WHAT?!" blasted Morton. He began to jerk around again.
"If you're the Koopaling of the Darkness, we have to get you to the master as soon as possible," Thaddeus said,
"BUT WHAT IF I'M NOT THE ONE? WHAT IF I AM NOT A KOOPALING AT ALL?"
"You're definitely a Koopaling, and you're the one with a…oh, 74% chance."
"YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE A MATHEMATICIAN."
"I ain't."
"THAT A GUESS?"
"Yeh."
"OR HAVE GOOD GRAMMAR."
"Says you."
"NOT THIS AGAIN! BUT I AM NOT GOING YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"
"We can," said Vincent, taking out his heavy crossbow.
Morton was, at first, threatened, but after a quick bit of thinking he figured something out.
"I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU," hissed Morton, "BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HURT ME. YOU GUYS PROMISED ME WHEN YOU CAPTURED ME AND THE OTHERS."
"That can change," Vincent replied.
"BUT A PROMISE IS A PROMISE!"
"Look, whatever Sr. told you, I'm sure it was some real smart bull, but in the real world we don't keep 'em promises," Vincent groaned. "We don't live in a perfect happy world. Yet. We will once everyone learns about shadow magic and what it provides!"
"THAT'LL NEVER HAPPEN."
"If Sr. told ya that people keep their promises, then he must've told ya about dreams comin' true..."
"...IF YOU WISH ON A SHOOTING STAR…"
"And that has a nugget of truth. Like keeping promises. Some do, but most, like us, don't. Same wit' dreams. Some come true, most don't. You gotta work for 'em. Us Illagers want something? Look at what we've amassed, how far we've come! We will get what we want! A world following shadow magic!"
"NEVERRRRRR!" Morton screamed. In a blur of motion, he retracted his shell spikes, allowing himself to slide downwards, and then he poked his spikes out again, which skewered the rope. After, Morton grabbed the pole and pulled himself away while twisting, and his spikes severed the rope and he flew away from the pole into the Pillager at the staircase. He bashed into him, shell-spike side, and the Pillager fell back and hit his head at the foot of the stairs, then went silent—knocked out.
"MORTON!" yelled Thaddeus, aiming his Butterfly Crossbow at him. Vincent and the other two Pillagers had their crossbows out as well.
Morton took a few steps up the staircase.
"We will shoot you if you don't come down here RIGHT NOW!" instructed Thaddeus.
"WHY DON'T YA TRY?" Morton taunted before dashing up the stairs. Arrows whizzed past him, and one—Thaddeus's'—hit his middle shell spike, but the spike was too tough and the arrow shattered.
This is so stupid I'm gonna die RUN RUN RUN!
Morton took three stairs at a time and quickly came into the large tree trunk-like room with the staircase that kept going up. Several oak-wood chests with iron latches and outlines were scattered about, and four Pillagers were hanging out there—two of them had had the Slimy Saddle, and now one was sitting on the chest that had it. They all turned to him with surprise.
"Uh…" said the one on the chest.
"Get him!" came Vincent's voice from behind Morton.
The four pillagers pulled out crossbows and fired.
Morton ducked down into his shell and spun around, but the wood scratched his underbelly and the surface was too rough to spin very well. He felt arrows bounce off his spikes and shell and land on the ground next to him, but in his shell, he just crashed through them. He could only see the floor from his head-hole, and he mostly had his eyes closed anyway just in case an arrow somehow came through.
Without warning, Morton was pushed over by a Pillager who was trying to expose his underbelly, and while his underbelly was revealed, he was also right next to the downward staircase and fell down it. Also, because he was flipped over, his shell-spikes hit the stairs instead and reduced the impact as he fell sideways off them and landed on the first floor once again.
As soon as Morton landed, he stuck out his arms, legs, and head and turned himself over so his shell-spikes were up. Luckily he did this just then because a moment later several arrows bounced off his spikes that surely would've punctured his chest. Standing like a normal turtle, Morton spotted the hay bales and charged. He leaped over the first one and landed in the others, and he buried himself in the hay. Arrows struck the hay bales as Morton backed up into the wall, sending them down or blowing strands of hay away. He slid his shell spikes in and crouched, trying to become as unnoticeable as possible while also moving back and forth, so he was harder to hit. He tried to brainstorm ideas of how to get out of this and decided on either trying to get through the door or bust through the wall.
The Pillagers began to close in.
He tried the first, by kicking backward against the wall like a donkey, but realized if he was going to do any damage he would have to barrel into the wall with his shell-spike side out.
Maybe I could do that, but then they'd know exactly where I saw, and my underbelly would be facing them if my shell was hitting the wall…I think the door might be better, but what if it's locked? It's got to be, hasn't it?
The door was indeed locked, and the Pillager guarding it was also firing at Morton's general location. Morton would have to destroy the lock to open the door, because the key was in Vincent's pocket, and not only did Morton presume it was in one of the chests on the second floor instead, there was no way he could get close to the one-eyed menace, get the key, and unlock the door without getting shot and recaptured.
The door is my best bet, I think. My shell could bust through the lock…
"This is gonna end NOW!" Thaddeus shouted from atop the stairs. He fired the two normal arrows in his crossbow, both of which hit the ground near the hay bales, and then pulled out two greenish-purple arrows that lit up glowing white as he fitted them in the Butterfly Crossbow.
The Jester's Arrows.
Thaddeus aimed at where he assumed Morton was and fired, then started to reload. The arrows were streaks of light as they zipped over the heads of Vincent and the other Pillagers on the bottom floor. They sliced through the hay bales and hit the wall with a colorful explosion, without barely damaging the wall at all.
"GAH!" sputtered Morton as the Jester's Arrows went past him. The hay bales to his left had been destroyed, and then Vincent and the others on the ground saw him and began to reload their crossbows.
Taking his only chance, Morton tossed himself through the hay bales, putting out his shell-spikes, and rolled into a sitting position before springing up and twisting mid-air so his shell faced the Pillager guarding the door. He impaled the Pillager just as the Pillager fired, but since Morton's shell was pushing the arrow and crossbow back, it broke the crossbow and the arrow backfired into the Pillager. Finally, Morton and the Pillager hit the door and tore a hole through it, sending wooden chunks and dust everywhere. The Pillager's bottom half hit the part of the door just below the hole, and the Pillager was flipped over and his head was smashed into the ground outside. Morton flew out over the Pillager and took out the other Raid Captain in front of the door, who had greeted them when they first arrived.
This all happened in three seconds.
Morton and the Raid Captain hit the ground and rolled. Morton got up and ran to the loot box as soon as he could and grabbed what was on top—the Nightmare Fuel and his knife. He put the Nightmare Fuel in his shell, along with some cooked green caps and steak, and then grabbed a copper bow and a quiver of arrows and slung it between his shell. He didn't know it, but the one he grabbed had been Roland's. He also grabbed a belt that came with a scabbard and a spiked iron helmet from the box (the helmet's leather chin strap was too small so he just let it hang there) and put them on before he heard a crossbow loading. He ducked as an iron arrow sailed overhead, and he turned around to see the three Pillagers who had been outside in different positions: one at the door was on the ground, being struck by the wood debris; the other at the door had his crossbow out and had shot at Morton; and the Raid Captain was getting to his feet after tossing his crossbow aside—it was broken.
Thinking quickly, Morton put his head down so the helmet spike was towards the shooting Pillager, and he charged. The Pillager began to aim downwards to hit Morton's legs instead, but then Morton turned and the arrow hit Morton's shell. Morton fell back over the Pillager and smashed him into the ground and the Pillager Morton had knocked through the door. Next, Morton rolled up and kicked the Pillager with the debris, who had been trying to get up, and sent him back down.
Morton heard the clanging of metal behind him and whirled to see the Raid Captain grabbing a spare crossbow from the loot box and fitting an arrow into it.
Sensing trouble, Morton took out the copper bow and tried to notch an arrow. He fumbled with the string, hands shaking from fear as he heard the Raid Captain's crossbow draw back, and Morton dropped the arrow in a panic. He dove to the side right at the nick of time to dodge an arrow, and he landed in a crouch and slung the copper bow over his shoulder. He took out his knife from the scabbard, even though the knife was very small for it, evaded another arrow, got to his feet, and stared down the Raid Captain.
"What do you think you're doin'? We're not letting ya go, Koopaling," growled the Raid Captain.
"I'M ALREADY OUT OF THE OUTPOST," Morton said, "I'M BASICALLY FREE!"
"Not yet!" said Vincent, using his heavy crossbow to bust a bigger hole into the door. He fired an arrow, but it missed by a mile so he pulled himself through the door and reloaded. Thaddeus, the one Pillager at the staircase, and the other Pillager that wasn't the one who'd been at the door knocked the door down came around Vincent. They aimed at Morton, scowling.
Morton gritted his teeth. He looked to the Raid Captain, to Vincent, Thaddeus, the other Pillagers, the loot box, and then at the Raid Captain again. He put his knife away in fake defeat.
I'm dead. Or captured again. Or maybe…
Morton raced towards the Raid Captain and jumped towards him, spinning into his shell to block the incoming arrows (he couldn't fully fit his head inside because of the undersized helmet, and tail, arms, and legs because his shell was full of cooked green caps, steak, and that Nightmare Fuel). Unfortunately, the Raid Captain dodged him, and Morton hit the ground. He felt the Raid Captain grip his shell's encasing, and he was flipped over, soft underbelly exposed. Morton kicked out his legs, which just happened to be where the Raid Captain was, and he knocked the Captain's feet right out from under him.
The arrow rain ceased as the attacking Pillagers didn't want to shoot the Raid Captain, who was really close to Morton. Taking his leverage, Morton fully got out of his shell and rolled to the side to dodge a slash from a golden shortsword the Raid Captain had taken out, before ramming the Raid Captain with his shoulder. The Raid Captain was pushed back but quickly rebalanced himself and jabbed Morton in the leg.
Blood oozed from the thin cut on the side of Morton's right leg. It hadn't gone too far in and was really only a glorified scratch, but it still drove Morton to the ground. Morton clenched his fists in pain and then fell backward to not be cut in half by another sword slash. After, Morton reversed what he just did by somersaulting forward into the Raid Captain, driving the spike on his helmet through the Captain's knee. Morton kept somersaulting as his spiky shell crushed the Raid Captain, and he rolled off the Captain's head.
Morton got up and brandished his knife at Thaddeus and the others, who were trying to center their crossbows on him.
"DON'T TRY ME," Morton said very nonchalantly, spit flying from his mouth, "I JUST HURT, LIKE, THREE PILLAGERS IN A ROW. I WILL BE LEAVING NOW, THANKS!" He began to walk away backwards, ready to curl up in his shell if need be.
Thaddeus just stared at him, not making any threatening remark or motion to summon his troops. It was like he was in another world, not knowing what to do.
"HURK!" coughed Morton as the Raid Captain flung his arms around Morton's neck and squeezed. Morton's eyes bulged and he squirmed, his face paling. He swung his knife around wildly as the Raid Captain hopped upwards and landed on Morton's shell-spikes, then clambered to Morton's head. Morton let his legs slide into his shell and he fell like a rock, bouncing off the ground and falling over awkwardly like an unbalanced egg.
The Raid Captain fell off and hit the ground. Morton popped his legs back out and spun, landing on top of the Raid Captain, who rolled onto his back. The Captain pushed his hands out to lift Morton off him, but Morton hit him and sank his claws into his chest, trying to stay on.
The Raid Captain struggled, choking. He kept trying to shake Morton off, and Morton wanted to stay on and so sank his claws deeper. His claws felt warm as blood pooled at his claws, and then Morton realized he had his claws out. He gasped and let go, and the Raid Captain's unfocused eyes rolled back as his body fell back onto the ground.
Silence.
Morton got up and ran into the surrounding thicket, away from the torchlight of the Pillager Outpost. Arrows fired, but they were delayed and barely even close to the target.
What have I done?
The time had almost crawled to dawn. Morton retracted his shell-spikes and laid back against a tree, savoring the slight coolness provided under the pines of the evergreen. He clutched his head and shook it back and forth, trying to shake the red liens, shakiness, and whiteness of his vision, and the whispers that wove through his head. His eyes drained of color for a brief second before returning to normal. Paranoia of Nightmare Creatures overflowed within him. Glowing eyes that weren't really there peered from the darkness. The shadows seemed alive, twisting in the summery, balmy wind like a thousand snakes, or a kite of darkness.
Morton reached into his shell and took out a cooked green cap, consumed it in two bites, and then took out his Nightmare Fuel and began to push it around his cupped hands, like he had that morning—or, technically last morning, as like said before dawn was nigh.
His thoughts that had been on repeat for the past several hours returned. What will happen to Brad, Trevor, and Goldberg—the Koopatrols? Are the Pillagers hunting me? How far away are they? What will happen if they find me? I killed one of them. KILLED! The others I had just needed to get out of my way, and the one I smashed through the door is probably still alive. Nonetheless, that was payback. Roland is avenged. At least I hope. Thaddeus isn't dead, though. Does that make him unavenged? I don't want to have to kill him. I probably couldn't, anyway.
But that other Raid Captain. I straight up MURDERED him! What would Sr. think of that? If he's a spirit and watching me, what DOES he think? I'm probably a wanted Koopa on the run.
No. Probably not, actually. The Illagers don't seem like they have law. Maybe they do. I don't know. You can still be wanted by a non-governmental organization, right? Sr. told me about some of that crap. Yeah. That's it.
Still, though. I didn't need to kill him. It was kind of an accident, but…I should have just run when I got through the door, and not stopped to get stuff from the loot box. I mean, I have a belt, helmet, my knife and that Nightmare Fuel…some was mine, some not…arrows and a quiver for them, plus a bow and some food, which I already almost ate all of, and…
The yellow gem. It wasn't there. Vincent had it.
Vincent has my yellow gem.
Morton stopped. He turned around and looked back at the direction of the Pillager Outpost. If the Pillagers are searching for me, then Vincent will likely be among them, and I might have a chance to swipe it back. But what if he put it away? In the chest, the loot box thing…?
Morton needed that yellow gem. He needed it. It calmed him, reminded him, a memento of all that happened, and what would come, from the day after he found it.
A twig snapped from behind him. Morton removed his knife from the scabbard and slowly turned around. There, a deep green zombie with black eyes and wearing rags with blue hues shambled towards him, groaning. It was identical to the first zombie he'd ever fought, in the grassland.
Seeing how slow the zombie was moving, Morton put away his knife and instead took out his copper bow. He fit an arrow into it, ran back a bit, pulled the bowstring, and aimed. Sr. had taught him to use a slingshot, but bows and arrows were a little more advanced. He kind of got the hang of it, then aimed and fired. His arrow struck the zombie in the stomach, which was poking out from its belly.
The zombie recoiled, nostrils flaring as it howled. The zombie gritted its mossy, broken teeth that were so mossy that they probably had an ecosystem of their own, and charged. Its sudden speed startled Morton, and he turned and ran, jumping onto a diorite boulder. He recollected himself and fired another arrow. It struck the zombie on the shoulder, and the shoulder fell off, taking the arm with it. The zombie paused and looked at its bleeding shoulder-stump, and Morton shot two more arrows. Both struck the zombie's chest, and with a sad gurgle the zombie fell to the ground. Several orange chunks of rotten flesh rolled off the zombie, and Morton curled his upper lip in disregard.
A low rumble resonated behind him. Morton got another arrow ready as he looked to see a large, lumbering, tick-like Nightmare Creature approaching. Its pitch black hairs and spines bristled as its mouth, which was actually the bottom half of its body, wrenched open to emit a roar.
Morton fired an arrow. It clipped the Nightmare over the eyes, and it hissed and tore after him.
"I AM FOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!" Morton yelled as he sprinted away from the Nightmare, slinging his bow over his shoulder. He easily outpaced the Nightmare Creature, but that was until two of the chair-legged ones, the Terrorbeaks, blocked his path. Their big beaks snapped open and closed as they chased him with a bone chilling screech, and Morton had to veer left to dodge them.
Pines and podzol crunched under Morton's feet as the moon was mostly obscured by the evergreens high above him, only letting little slivers of lunar light mixed with the early sun bypass the barrier. The wind had calmed down, but the air was still warm and dry. The Nightmare Creatures darted up, down, back and around the trees as they tailed Morton like wolves, screeching like shattered animatronics. Their pinpoint legs woven of shadow left indentations in the ground as they went along, moving as fast as a little spider.
Morton's eyes were wide and bleached, like a dead man—like the dead Raid Captain. He was completely insane, and everything was dark and desaturated. He tried to eat another green cap, but choked on it and it spit it out mid-sprint, spit flying from the sides of his mouth until he wiped it off with his arm. Everything was a blur as he ran for his life, the Nightmares coming closer and closer. The tick-like one was falling behind, but if anything the Terrorbeaks were getting faster.
Orange light engulfed the forest as the sun came over the horizon, washing away the moon and clouds to reveal a quaint summer day. A warped jingle played in Morton's mind, but he also felt his sanity slowly begin to return. Unluckily, as he looked back he saw that the Nightmares were still after him, unaffected by the sunlight. Morton's jaw dropped and he kept running. One of the Terrorbeaks chomped at Morton's head, but it only took a snippet of the longest of Morton's three hairs off, fueling Morton's hope to outrun them.
Morton crashed through a clump of sweet berry bushes that pricked and slowed him as he went through, and on the other side was another paved road, like the one he had followed earlier. Without consideration, he ran along on it, and he felt a burst of energy. Somehow, he began to lose the Terrorbeaks, and he tossed three green caps into his mouth and swallowed them. Most of his vision returned from being warped, like the edges being red and blurry and shaky, and his eyes returned to their cute almond-brown normalness. When he threw a glance over his shoulder at the Nightmares, they had faded.
Morton slowed to a stop. He keeled over, putting his hands on his knees as he took shaky breaths. He stumbled over to a tree and sat down under it, feeling his pulse. He pulled a strand of steak from his shell and chewed it, satisfying his hunger and destroying his remaining insanity. All except for a little bit, which as Morton saw before him, manifested as Mr. Skits.
"HELLO AGAIN, MR. SKITS," said Morton. He patted the podzol next to him, for some reason assuming Mr. Skits would take a seat. It wouldn't be able to anyway; its small body was basically a tail and it couldn't' really get any lower to the ground. Instead, it made a skittering noise.
"YEAH, YEAH, YOU'VE SAID IT BEFORE," Morton said before taking a big bite.
Mr. Skits opened and closed its mouth.
"WHAT DO I DO NOW, 'EY?" huffed Morton.
Mr. Skits did something like a shrug, even though it couldn't really understand him.
"I BE THINKIN' THAT I FOLLOW DIS PATH, AND JUST SEE WHERE I GO, YEAH?" he explained to Mr. Skits, looking at the creature for some kind of reassurance. Comfort. Without the Koopatrols, who like Sr. he wanted to find and save some time, he felt alone. Empty. He'd been with someone his entire life, and he wanted it to stay that way. Mr. Skits was the best he had. "MAYBE I'LL FIND SOMETHING. SOMEWHERE. LIKE THIS KING BOWSER KOOPA THEY TALK ABOUT?"
Mr. Skits opened and closed its mouth. Morton finished, and when he looked up again, Mr. Skits had vanished. Morton was almost as sane as he could be.
Morton got up. He went to the berry bush and picked some berries, wrapped them in some grass, and put them in his shell, for he was almost out of food. He ate a berry, and it tasted sugary and wasn't poisonous or anything. Finally, he went along the path. On and on and on he went.
Where will it take me next?
New references to games in this chapter:
67. When it said "slinging his unique crossbow over his shoulder," it was referencing that the Butterfly Crossbow is classified as a unique Rapid Crossbow in Minecraft: Dungeons
68. The mesa Morton lived on being called "Redpepper Mesa" is a reference to Redpepper Volcano in Paper Mario Color Splash
69. The "shadow side" and "lunar side" as described by Thaddeus being at war is in reference to Don't Starve
70. The "warped jingle" Morton hears while being Insane during the sunrise is a reference to the same thing that happens in Don't Starve
71. In Don't Starve, walking on roads/paths quickens the Player's speed, as it does with Morton's when he was chased by the Terrorbeaks
72. The Terrorbeaks sounding like "shattered animatronics" is a one-time reference to the sounds they make being like the ones of the Shattered Animatronics in Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach