Review Responses:
Elemental Queen - I'm happy that someone else enjoyed that game. And that you enjoyed the chapter. I got a Wii U in between first writing the chapter and finally posting it. I only have Nintendo Land, but I'm wanting New Super Mario Bros. U.
dragon19kyoshi - It's always fun to see if I can reference one of Mario's latest adventures when I can.
Pandamonium2 - I'm glad that you were able to enjoy this chapter more than the others. And as for the mistake, thanks for noticing. I made sure to fix it.
Moley Koopa - Yep, someone had to step in and be the useful one now that Daisy's gone. Of course this challenge won't be a game show, so he could be out of his element.
Episode 14: Flip Flop Through the Pages
Location: Kamek's Library
Game: Mario Party DS
Team Royal Green: Koopa, Rosalina, Petey Piranha
Team W-Shell: Yoshi, Toadette
Team Zero: Waluigi, Dry Bowser
K. Kids Remaining: 2/3
Story Time With Kamek
Kamek looked up from reading a book in a small room.
"Greetings. I am Kamek. Allow me to tell you a story. Ahem." Kamek cleared his throat and turned the page.
"Once upon a time, there was this evil king named Bowser. Bowser forced ten unlucky people and creatures to compete against one another in a city called Faire Square. They were forced to draw upon their knowledge of the adventures of an acquaintance they all had in common, all to entertain at least thirty Snifits. In the end, the average Koopa won for his plant friend and space princess friend, while the blue Koopa was removed from the game. But today's story is going to be… different."
Kamek closed the book and stood up. "We're going to write this next chapter together, while King Bowser is… preoccupied."
All Teams:
All of the players woke up in the middle of a library. Kamek had previously dealt with Mario and friends here before. Even though the players were not tiny, the library was still pretty huge.
"What the heck? What's going on?" Toadette asked. Kamek walked out from behind a shelf.
"Well nice of you all to wake up. King Bowser is… busy. So I'm in charge for today! To make things easier, I've put you all under a sleep spell and had you taken to my library.
"You're in charge?" Dry Bowser questioned.
"Yes, me!"
"Figures. When's Bowser gonna get back to hosting his own stupid game?"
"That's none of your concern! He's been very busy with catching Mr. L and looking for Junker!"
"Catching Mr. L?" Toadette asked. "Does that mean-"
"Yep! Kahaha! Don't expect any help from him from now on!" Kamek teased. "Anyway, today's is gonna be different! Because guess what! You're not on teams anymore!"
Everyone looked around. It was a big shock. First, Mr. L was confirmed to be captured, next they were no longer on teams.
"Wahaha! Now I don't have to-a stick by this bag of bones all the time!" laughed Waluigi.
Petey slouched. "Dang, now I can't hide behind my teammates."
Rosalina considered all of this. "So it's every player for themselves now?"
Kamek nodded. "Indeed. I'll congratulate you all for getting this far, but it's not over yet!"
Koopa looked around and asked the question no one else had asked. "So, uh, what do you want us to do today?"
"You're all going to write a story about me! Whichever ones I like the most win for today!"
"Yoshi?"
"Yes, there can be more than one winner. It's how I determine who gets into the second part of today's events. Now all of you! Go around the library and read some books for inspiration! In two hours, you're all to meet back here and tell me your stories!"
The Browsing:
Petey was standing alone in the fiction section.
"So… now I have to actually do everything for myself. Lame. Eh I'll just take a nap and wing it." the plant reasoned.
"Are you sure that would be wise?" Rosalina asked, coming from nowhere.
"Whoa! How'd you get there?"
"I was looking in this section of books. I know we're no longer working together, but we still can't let the Koopa Kids win this."
Petey slouched. "I'm a giant monster. My favorite things are eating, napping, and playing sports. I really don't have a chance with this, so I'm just gonna enjoy a nap."
Rosalina sighed. "Good practice for coping with being in Bowser's dungeon, I guess."
Yoshi was reading a storybook when Waluigi walked up.
"Waa! Give that to Waluigi!" the purple man demanded.
Yoshi shook his head.
"Waluigi hates you!"
Red and Green Koopa Kid were both reading a book together. Dry Bowser walked past them and took it for himself.
"Yoink! This is mine now!"
"Oh what, not enough books in the library for you, bonehead?" Green taunted.
Red started jumping. "Find your own book!"
Koopa was browsing a section of the shelves.
"Hmm… 101 Game Shows You Can Easily Recreate… How We Got Here: A Snifit Or Whiffit History… The Count's World… In the Darkness of Shadow Moses? That… doesn't sound like it fits in with these…"
Toadette walked up to Koopa. "How's it going?"
"Not good, I'm not really sure what to do exactly…"
"Yeah me neither. I think Kamek just wanted us out of his hair for a while. I feel like a good story for him would appeal to his interests while… as much as I hate to say it, brownnosing him."
Koopa rubbed the back of his head. "I guess? It'd be hard though, no one really knows what he likes. It's like he's kept his tastes hidden just for this challenge!"
Toadette gave Koopa a weird look. "No… Princess Peach told me once. Kamek's just one of those people. You know, they only like things until a lot of people like them, then they stop."
"So should we read the hardest books to find?"
Toadette tapped her chin. "Hmm… I'd say it's more likely that we should read the books that no one would really think to read."
"Okay."
Kamek was reading a magazine on a lawn chair in the center of the library, when Toad walked up to him.
"So how're they doing?" asked the wizard. Toad twiddled his thumbs.
"Well… not great. Petey's taking a nap, Waluigi and Yoshi are fighting over a book, Dry Bowser is spending all of his time stealing more and more books from the Koopa Kids, and I don't even know where Toadette and Koopa went."
Kamek did not seem interested. "Well slacking just makes it easier to decide losers. Wait, what of the space princess?"
Toad's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! She's the only one still focused on the assignment. Out of the people I can find, anyway."
Kamek went back to reading. "You know, you're good at this. You should consider being one of my Toadies. They're about as successful at kidnapping babies as your people are at guarding Princess Peach. So it'd be similar."
"Um… thanks…" Toad said in response to the non-compliment.
Story Time:
Two hours had passed, and Kamek called everyone back to the center of the library.
"All right, let's get this over with." Kamek said. "Petey, since you obviously don't need to prepare, you must have a good story. You'll go first."
Petey waved a leaf. "How hard could it be?"
"First Petey will go, then Toadette, Waluigi, Green K. Kid, Yoshi, Dry Bowser, Rosalina, Koopa, and Red K. Kid. Get to it, leafy!"
Petey's Story:
Once upon a time, there was a guy named Kamek. He fired spells out of his wand and made people read books. He also told Petey Piranha to go eat stuff in Shy Guy Jungle so that a sticker would land on his head. Little did he know, Petey was already going to eat there, so joke's on Kamek! The end.
Kamek was stunned. "That… was horrible."
"You try coming up with a story after taking a nap for two hours!"
"You weren't supposed to be napping!" shouted Kamek and Rosalina at once.
Toadette's Story:
On a lukewarm day in the Jewelry Kingdom, a bunch of Snufits were listening to the famous band, Johnny Mushroom and the Kingdoms. Then our hero Kamek came in and stomped them for listening to inferior music. He played a song that the Snufits had never even heard of, and was praised as a hero. From that point on, everyone listened to Kamek's musical advice. Fin.
Kamek stroked his chin. "Hmm… I like it. Too many people know about the Jewelry Kingdom, so I wouldn't just go there randomly. But otherwise, it's all right.
"Wahaha! Waluigi's a-got this in the bag!"
Waluigi's Story:
Wahaha! So Kamek took a visit to Waluigi's Island! "Welcome to Waluigi's Island" said the great host, Waluigi. "What brings Kamek here?"
"Kamek would like to challenge Waluigi for ownership of his island!"
"Well tough! Because Waluigi owns this island! It is the home of both his taco stand and bridal boutique! If Kamek does not want tacos or know of any girls who want to get married, then be gone!"
"What if Kamek beats you in a game of Mario Kart?"
"Waluigi says no! He was left out of the last big race and needs to work on his skills! He would lose!"
And then because Kamek got mad, he a-turned Waluigi's tacos into flip-flops! Waluigi avenged his tacos, and punted Kamek into the ocean! And he lived Waaaa- ever after!
Once more, Kamek was stunned. "Well… that was a story… Green Koopa Kid, don't disappoint me!"
"You can count on me, Kamek."
Green K. Kid's Story:
So the Koopa Kids are just chillin' when they suddenly get hungry. The dudes look at each other and decide to hit the restaurant. But when they got there, this dude named Kamek came out and started rambling.
Blue Koopa Kid said, "Hey man, you don't want to bore me to death, you'd rather have the red one."
So Kamek thought about it and let the Koopa Kid go. Then Red K. Kid came up and Kamek started trying to bore him. But Red K. Kid wouldn't have it.
"Whoa, you sure you don't want the green one? He's more your type."
So Kamek thought about this one too, and let the Koopa Kid go. Then big bad Green Koopa Kid comes up and Kamek stops him. But Green K. Kid knows Kamek's tricks. He blasted Kamek with a green fireball and went on his way. Blue K. Kid and Red K. Kid paid for his lunch. The end.
Kamek was sitting at a table, with his head resting on it. Red K. Kid was staring in disbelief.
"I've made a horrible mistake by asking you all to tell stories. Yoshi, please save us from Green K. Kid's story." Kamek requested.
"Yoshi!"
Kamek's jaw almost seemed to touch the floor. The same could be said of everyone else, save for Yoshi, Petey, and Dry Bowser.
"How… how could you tell such a story with a straight face?" the wizard was bewildered.
"Wow… that story was almost as messed up as me…" Dry Bowser said, rubbing the back of his skull. "I almost don't even want to go next."
Toadette was shuddering. "Sheesh, Yoshi… I didn't think you could think of stuff like that. I'll have nightmares for weeks!"
"Did they ever find the body?" Petey asked.
"No! No more of this!" shouted Kamek. "Dry Bowser, tell your story! For the love of obscure music, tell your story!"
"Fine, fine…"
Dry Bowser's Story:
Once upon a time, Bowser was such a cheating coward that when he finally ran out of ways to win his own game, he brought back a failed player and turned him into three players, with Kamek's help. Kamek felt bad about depriving dear ol' Dry Bowser of an honest victory, so he helped him win. Hint-hint.
Kamek kept a straight face. "No sell. Rosalina?"
Rosalina's Story:
Once upon a time, a young Koopa boy named Kamek made a snowman. He felt lonely, so he brought the snowman to life with magic. Kamek didn't like him at first, but he grew to become good friends with the snowman. Kamek and the snowman played together all day long. But Kamek's dad didn't want him playing with snowmen when he could be studying magic.
So Kamek said goodbye to his snowman and went back inside. But he kept looking out the window and back to his new friend. Enough was enough, Kamek's father was tired of this. So he went out and used his own magic to teleport the snowman far away, where Kamek would never see him again. Upset, Kamek had no choice but to continue his studies now. He then went on to become the court mage for the next in line for the Koopa Kingdom's throne- Bowser. The end.
Toadette and Koopa were sniffling a little.
"Oh Kamek, I'm so sorry!" Toadette cried.
"Uh… what? Dude, it's just some story she came up with." Petey told Toadette.
"Yeah, it's just a story… nothing… nothing more than a story…" Kamek seemed distracted. He sighed. "Red K. Kid, tell your train wreck of a story."
"Well forget you too, Kamek!"
Red K. Kid's Story:
Kamek went for a stroll in Neo Bowser City. Then he got run over by two trains at the same time! A train wreck! There! Is that what you wanted, Kamek?
"… No." Kamek answered bluntly. "Ugh… Koopa, get this over with."
Koopa prepped himself. "All right, here goes!"
Koopa's Story:
Kamek. … That is all.
Kamek was flabbergasted. "That… that was it?"
Koopa shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything else without putting in something you'd hate!"
Kamek stopped to consider this. "… Good idea. All right. I will now rank your stories!"
Toad appeared and started doing a drum roll.
Kamek's Favorite Stories:
1. Koopa Troopa
2. Rosalina
3. Toadette
4. Green K. Kid
5. Yoshi
6. Waluigi
7. Dry Bowser
8. Petey Piranha
9. Red K. Kid
"Koopa, Rosalina, Toadette, and Green K. Kid may move on to the next round." Toad announced.
"What?" Dry Bowser roared in disbelief. "How did Koopa's story beat anyone's?"
Kamek shrugged. "He knows my tastes. The rest of you are to wait right here until we're done for today!" Kamek waved his wand. Yoshi, Waluigi, Dry Bowser, Petey, and Red K. Kid were all trapped by a pyramid of energy. Then the wizard turned to the other four players. "Follow me."
Kamek, Koopa, Toadette, Rosalina, and Green K. Kid were standing in another part of the library. Toadette jumped to get Rosalina's attention. The princess leaned down to hear what Toadette had to say.
"Maybe this can be our chance to get rid of Green Koopa Kid!" Toadette whispered. Rosalina nodded.
"Good idea."
"Ahem!" Kamek cleared his throat. "It's now time for the real test! You're all gonna play a game!"
Toad floated down in his copter. "It's time to fight against Kamek!"
"That doesn't make any sense. Why?" Green K. Kid asked.
"Because! I'm telling these stories at my high school reunion, and I don't need any of you telling anyone that I'm just stealing stories! Time to get rid of the evidence!"
"What?" Toadette was awestruck. "So this whole challenge was just to help you because you're too lazy to impress your old classmates? Sheesh!"
"Well there's the possibility that I might not win. I guess I might as well offer something…" Kamek reached into his robes and pulled out a coupon with Bowser's insignia. "A 'Get Out of Dungeon Free' coupon. Flash this baby at the end of the day, and you're immune to being sent to the dungeon!"
Everyone's eyes lit up.
"Though… it's not like any of you are going to be able to use it! I'll crush you all!"
Koopa
Vs.
Toadette
Vs.
Rosalina
Vs.
Green K. Kid
Vs.
Kamek
Game: Flip Slap
Players: Koopa, Toadette, Rosalina, Green K. Kid
Instructions: Kamek's put flip-flops on your feet with magic! If you try jumping on him, it'll be weaker, but it's his only weakness! Try to jump on him as often as possible while avoiding his spells!
Controls: Joystick (move), A (jump), A+A (ground pound)
Tip: "You're over a pit of lava, so one drop and you're out!"
Kamek waved his wand. His broom appeared, and he boarded. Then the whole library, minus the area of the floor they were all on, disappeared. An abyss of lava remained along with the players' platform, and all of the characters were suddenly wearing flip-flops.
"Let's see you jump on me now!"
START!
Kamek started floating away from the edge of the platform, firing magic spells from the safety of his broom.
"Ka ha ha!"
"You think you're so tough, firing from all the way over there!" Green K. Kid taunted. Luckily, Kamek floated more inward, to somewhere slightly above the platform. He started charging a big spell.
"Now!" Rosalina cried. Everyone started jumping on him. It did not do much damage, thanks to the flip-flops, but Kamek still felt pain.
"Ow! Ow! Stop! Quit it! Cease! Discontinue!"
Everyone but Koopa was having a go at Kamek, until the wizard spun around, knocking everyone off and disappearing. Rosalina was knocked into the lava.
"Oh no!"
A spare broom flew by and placed her in a cage. Kamek went back to firing at the players, until he got back within reach and started taking more hits. After taking some more hits, he spun around again, though this time no one was sent into the lava.
Kamek reappeared over the abyss and started firing some more, continuing another round. After a while, he was jumped on some more, and he was at wit's end.
"Kerrrr! That's enough!" roared Kamek.
Koopa: 6 points
Toadette: 13 points
Rosalina: (Disqualified)
Green K. Kid: 12 points
Kamek flew away, and then soared across the platform, sprinkling it with magic. He flew across a second time, and his spell was complete. The platform was now icy and slippery.
"Oh man!" Koopa started struggling to stand up. Kamek had already returned to his position and started firing more spells at the party. With his two left feet, Koopa was hit first and slid closer to the edge.
Toadette shook her fist. "You big bully!"
"I try."
Kamek kept firing. Due to his own clumsiness, Koopa kept sliding around until he slipped and landed on his shell. One spell from Kamek sent him over the edge and into the lava.
"OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN-" screamed Koopa, until a broom rescued him and carried him into the cage with Rosalina.
"Haha! Serves him right!" taunted Green K. Kid. He got blasted with a spell.
"Serves you right!" Toadette was now the one taunting, and she also got hit with a spell.
"Ka ha ha!" Kamek laughed as he flew into range. He started readying more spells, but Green K. Kid recovered from being hit and started jumping on Kamek. "Yow! Ouch! No! Stop! Desist!"
"Oww…" Toadette got up from being hit and noticed Green K. Kid jumping on Kamek. She quickly ran over and joined in, and Kamek shortly disappeared.
"I'm gonna get you two!" screamed the Magikoopa. He kept firing more spells, but Toadette and Green K. Kid kept dodging. "Krrrrr!"
Kamek floated inward again, with a big spell being charged. Green K. Kid ran up to him and ground pounded, and Kamek was finally defeated.
"Kaaaaaa!"
FINISH!
Koopa: (Disqualified)
Toadette: 16 points
Rosalina: (Disqualified)
Green K. Kid: 19 points
Kamek fell off his broom and onto his back. The library changed back to normal, and everyone was free.
"I'm… I'm just gonna take a nap… Zzzz…"
Toad floated back down in his copter. "I'm sorry sis, but Green K. Kid scored more points than you. I'm afraid he's won the boss game and immunity."
"Oh no!"
"Righteous! Lay it on me!" The scoundrel went over to Kamek's body and snatched the coupon.
Petey, Waluigi, Red K. Kid, Yoshi, and Waluigi all joined the others.
"So waaa-t happens next?" the purple man asked.
"This!" Bowser roared. He flew in on his copter and jumped out in front of everyone. "What's going on here? I leave Kamek in charge for one day, and you all beat him up?"
Rosalina shook her head. "He made the objective of the game to beat him in a boss battle. We had no choice."
"Grrr! Curse Kamek for being so weird! Well anyway, I heard something about Green K. Kid winning? Well good for you, you actually managed not to mess up!"
Koopa raised his hand. "So are we still off our teams?"
"Yes! You're all against each other now, Kamek was right about that! You're all sharing an airship from now on! We're all heading back to my castle! When we get there, all of you except for Green K. Kid are to report to my throne room! Now let's move!"
Everyone started leaving. Rosalina quickly stopped to look behind at Kamek's unconscious body. She sighed sadly and followed the others.
Bowser's Throne:
Bowser sat on his throne. Toad and Bowser Jr. were flanking him.
"All right, take these!" Toad announced. He handed out one small, white star each to Koopa, Petey, Rosalina, Toadette, Yoshi, Dry Bowser, Waluigi, and Red K. Kid. "Wish upon these Mini Stars for who you want to be sent to the dungeon!"
Everyone took the time to wish upon their stars. After they were done, all of the mini stars floated above Red K. Kid, Petey, and Yoshi.
"Huh?" the plant asked.
"Hmm…" Bowser Jr. started focusing. "Petey has one Mini Star… Red K. Kid has two… and Yoshi has four! Yoshi's out!"
"Waaah!" Yoshi squealed. Toadette gasped.
"But why?"
Koopa cowered away. "I wanted to vote for Red K. Kid… but Yoshi's story just creeped me out."
Petey, Waluigi, and Red K. Kid nodded in agreement. Bowser started laughing.
"Bwahaha! All right, Yoshi goes to the dungeon!"
A warp pipe appeared under Yoshi.
"Owowowow!"
"Yoshi, no! Now I'm all alone!" Toadette cried. Bowser Jr. shook his head.
"No, you were alone ever since Kamek dissolved the teams!"
"But don't worry," Bowser started, "I actually have someone here who's willing to fill the void! Come on out!"
Mr. L dropped down between Bowser and the players.
"Mr. L?" Waluigi asked.
"Don't wear it out." the Green Thunder answered.
"He's my new minion! You remember how he made things easier for you? Well instead, now he's gonna make things harder for all of you whenever he can! Bwahahaha!"
"Nyeehehe!" Bowser Jr. joined in the laughing.
"Now get to your room!" Bowser ordered. Everyone ran off to their rooms. Toad hung his head in shame. Then Bandit peeked out from behind Bowser's throne.
"There's that green guy!" the thief said aloud. Bowser, his son, Toad, and Mr. L all turned around.
"Hey! You're that chump who took my Junker!"
"Uhhh-" Bandit was at a loss for words.
"You're about to spend a very long time in my dungeon!"
Bandit panicked. "But, uh, I'm allergic to dungeons! Uhh-" At that point, Koopatrols came in and grabbed him. "Oh please! Please don't make me go to the dungeon!"
Bowser thought about this.
"Hmm… Okay, I won't take you to the dungeon… one on condition."
"Yeah?"
"You're going to play in my game! And if you win, I get to make a wish on the Celebration Star! And then I won't throw you in my dungeon!"
"Really? Deal! Whatever!" Bandit begged. Bowser nodded, and the Koopatrols took him to the room with the rest of the players. Bowser sat down and sighed.
"So I'm back up to three inserts, got Mr. L doing my bidding, and we've finally found where Junker has been! Things are going my way! Bwahahaha!"
Kamek woke up, all alone in the library.
"… Hello? Is anyone still here? … King Bowser? … Nuts."
Winner's Thoughts:
"Score one for the K. Kids!" - Green K. Kid
Losers' Thoughts:
"Man, today was weird." - Koopa
"I've told stories for years, so I'm used to it. But I just want Petey to realize what we're all up against." - Rosalina
"Man Yoshi's story was messed up. And I don't mean the game for N64. It was all right." - Petey
"I'll miss Yoshi, even if he did creep me out with his story." - Toadette
"Wahaha! Waluigi's still here!" - Waluigi
"Stupid, lousy, no-good Koopa Kids!" - Dry Bowser
"Stupid, lousy, no-good Dry Bowser!" - Red K. Kid
"So… Now what?" - Bandit
To be continued.
Remaining Players: Koopa, Rosalina, Petey, Toadette, Waluigi, Dry Bowser, Red K. Kid, Green K. Kid, Bandit
Losers: Wario, Luigi, Birdo, King Boo, Shy Guy, Dry Bones, Hammer Bro., Koopa Kid, Blooper, Boom-Boom, Daisy, Blue K. Kid, Yoshi
Author's Notes:
Well, there's today's chapter, and a goodbye to Yoshi. I thought it'd be funny to keep his story out of character and unexplored. I also realized I could use that to have him sent to the dungeon. I like Yoshi, but he's more or less a non-talker, and those aren't fun to write.
Bandit's joined the game! Originally, I was thinking of having Mr. L do it, but I changed my mind at the last minute. Not only that, but Bandit's playing for Bowser! Not to the extent that the K. Kids are, but still. Though as remains of my old plans, Mr. L is still around, but now he's also working for Bowser for some reason! What could he have done to get Mr. L to switch sides?
In addition, no more teams! Everyone's now by themselves. I've been waiting for this chapter for that reason. During the book browsing, I wrote at least one bit for every character to interact with someone who wasn't on their team (other than Petey and Rosalina). That's to hammer in the message that the teams are dissolved. No more Royal Greens, W-Shells, or Zeroes. The Koopa Kids aren't really on a team, but they still like to stick together for Bowser's sake.
I'm not sure how to explain Rosalina's story for Kamek. I was listening to her course's music in Mario Kart 7 and remembered that it was an ice level. Then it just kind of went from there. As a small, short piece on Kamek in a sympathetic light, I like it. I also made Kamek kind of a hipster, since he was called that in Sticker Star. If those exist in Mario's world, then by golly I am using it. I don't really know much about hipsters other than the stereotypical "I like things only before everyone else does" shtick, so if any of you are intimate with their culture, forgive me if I get any details wrong.
Overall, Kamek's become more fun to write. In this story, he was just sort of a filler "hey someone should talk to Bowser" character. But he's been appearing more and more in games, and he made an impression on me in Sticker Star, so I gave him some limelight in this chapter. A lot of this story was improvised, so there is a chance that I might've had Kamek instead of Boom-Boom at the start of the story, if I had considered it.
One of the books that Koopa was browsing (The Count's World) is a reference to one of my favorite series of fan fiction on this site. I'd give them a read, they center on Count Bleck and his minions. Another book is a reference to the Metal Gear games.