CHAPTER 20
-The Final Conflict-
Chopper moaned as he slowly got up from the red rocky ground he lied on. Noticing his surroundings, he saw that ground was made of red rock, and there was lava all over the place. It almost felt as if he was inside some kind of cave, but when he looked up, he saw no sign of a ceiling. What he did find in the distance, however, was a volcano.
Eventually everyone else got up and took notice of their surroundings too. For once, they were left in surprise.
"Dude, is it just me, or is it REALLY hot here?" Scrub asked, waving his hand in front of him.
As they looked around, Chopper suddenly remembered what Meta Knight had told him and lowered his head. "I can't believe that I didn't listen to Meta Knight… He was right this whole time. I should've listened to him this whole time..."
"Chopper, please don't put yourself down," Vivian suggested, approaching him. "I think we had a good reason to get those Crystal Stars. After all, the universe was still in grave danger, and we were being encouraged to go look for them."
"But still... Meta Knight warned me all these times, and I didn't bother with it."
"If anything, I'd say this is all of our faults," Flyer stepped in. "WE didn't listen to Meta Knight, not just you, Chopper. And, to be honest, I feel pretty guilty as well."
"Hey, not to interrupt this pity party and all, but there's an important question to be asked. Where the heck are we?" Tamber asked. "And where's that one white chick who was with us?"
"Oooog… I've never seen you people here before."
Chopper turned around to see a dark gray Goomba with fiery red eyes, a missing fang, a scar on his right eye and also the inside of his mouth resembling flaming colors.
"What the… Who're you?" Chopper asked.
"So, how'd you end up here, guys?" the Goomba asked, ignoring Chopper's question. Everyone looked at him with confusion. "What? You don't know where you are? You must be new here."
"Well... I guess we're in some new world, pretty much." Chopper replied, looking up at the flaming red sky and the dark clouds. "And it isn't a cave, that's for sure."
"Yeah, I had a feeling you folks had no idea where you are now. Well, might as well welcome you here." the Goomba took a deep breath. "Welcome to Tartamos!"
"Wait... Tartamos?" Bombette gawked. "How the heck did we end up here?"
Mario: It was probably that portal.
"Whoa, you came out of a portal? That's surprising." the Goomba remarked. "Though, I gotta warn you... The folks around here ain't friendly. The Tartaras run this world, and they LOVE torturing new folks! I even heard one of them saying that they wanted to get a boy named Chopper here so they could capture him."
"Wait, Tartaras? They're here?!" Chopper gaped.
"Hey, those guys wanna capture you, Gumball," Tamber snickered. "These guys must REALLY hate you!"
"Tamber!" Berry growled.
"Oh, really? You're really Chopper?" the Goomba asked, walking up to Chopper.
"Yes... That's me." Chopper sighed.
"Hmph... Well, you don't look like a huge threat to me, that's for sure. Heck, I'd be laughing right now if I hadn't lost that ability."
"So you're just going to tell those Tartafreaks that Chop's here?" Sonic asked. "'Cause that'd be pretty low."
"Nah, I'm not like them," the Goomba assured. "It's their fault that I've become a hideous Goomba. However, I can tell you about someone who can probably give you a hand on getting out of this place."
"Hmmmmm... Very well. Who is it?" Flyer asked.
"It's a Tartara, but this one ain't a fighter. In fact, this Tartara's just a minister. Yeah, sounds crazy, considering that they destroy stuff, but this guy's friendly. Go talk to the Tartara Minister, and maybe he'll give you a hand. Though, I gotta warn you... His place is located in the city, and lot's-a Tartaras inhabit that place."
"The city?" Chopper gawked, staring at the red and black buildings off at the distance. "Oh, man... If we go there, they'll gang up on us!"
"Geez... This isn't a good situation for us..." Sonic trailed. "We gotta think of something!"
"So, what's the plan?" Tamber asked, turning to Flyer.
"Wait, me?" Flyer gawked.
"Yeah, you! You think of all the plans!"
"Ummmmm..." Flyer pondered, trying to think of an idea. However, it didn't seem like his brain was working very well at the moment. "Oh, I don't know... I can't think of an idea..."
"You can't?"
"Well, what are we supposed to do? It's not like we can sneak in through there while invisi-" Flyer paused, a light bulb suddenly appearing over his head. "Wait a minute... Perhaps we can! After all, we do have two people who can hide us from those Tartaras! Plus, even if they were to spot us and attack, they couldn't do a thing to us if we disappeared!"
"But what if they do spot us?" Shadower asked, pondering as well. "They'd know of our presence and alert the others! You know, like when we were dealing with the Phis?"
"Hmmmmmm... Yes, that could be an issue... That means we must try our best to avoid being caught."
"Well, that doesn't sound so hard," Chopper smiled. "Come on! Let's go to that city!"
Everyone nodded in agreement, walking away from the Goomba and heading toward the city. Once they were far enough, the Goomba turned away in disbelief.
"Those guys are total nutjobs," the Goomba said. "They aren't going to last a minute out there. Not with the kind of technology they have."
Before he could go back to his own business, another figure had come out of the portal. However, she was quick to get up and look around her with a surprised expression.
"What the... What is this place?" Silica gawked.
"Oh, great, another one..." the Goomba groaned. "You're in Tartamos. The Tartaras run this place yadda yadda yadda."
"Tartaras? Never heard of them before..." she remarked. "Well, that's not important at the moment. Did a group of people come out through this portal?"
"Yeah. You missed them about a minute ago. They're heading toward Tartara City." the Goomba answered. "Don't expect them to come out alive, though. Chances are they're already toast."
Silica looked up ahead at the city and took her weapon out. "If they're going there, then I'm going to have to help them!"
"Wait a moment, don't be going so-" the Goomba was cut off as Silica went running toward the city. "Well, so much for that. She ain't getting out of there alive either! Such a shame... They didn't seem like bad people either."
Tartara City-
The heroes had reached a lot closer to the city and hid behind a few large rocks. Flyer had taken out a pair of binoculars and got a look at the city. To his surprise, he didn't spot any Tartaras around.
"Strange... I don't see any of them in sight..." Flyer trailed.
"Really?" Chopper gawked.
"Here. Take a look for yourself." Flyer handed the binoculars to Chopper, who proceeded to look through them. The only problem? He was holding them the wrong way. "The other way, Chopper."
"Oh... Curse me and being bad with technology." Chopper frowned, turning it the right direction to look through. He, too, had found no sight of any Tartaras. "Yeah... I don't see them in sight! Weird, huh?"
"Well, then I guess there's no point to our plan then..." Vivian trailed.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Shadower spoke up. "There could still be some Tartaras around. We should just be on the lookout."
Everyone nodded in agreement and decided to make their way toward the city in the open. It looked much larger when they arrived than where they first spotted it. The buildings were tall, and there were even a couple of shops around too. Unfortunately, there didn't appear to be a salesclerk in them, nor were there any items available. Even then, Chopper had a feeling they wouldn't even sell him anything. As they made their exit from the shops, they spotted a couple of billboards attached to some buildings. One, in particular, had caught Chopper's attention.
"Hey! Why's there a picture of me being blasted by those Tartaras?" Chopper asked, seeing a poorly-made billboard with him being zapped by a few Tartaras with their ray guns.
"Wow. They really hate you, Gumball." Tamber gawked, noticing more billboards and signs that appeared to be anti-Chopper. "What'd you ever do to them?"
"He's done a lot to them, trust me," Flyer replied.
"Poyo… (That must stink for Chopper that all of these guys hate him so much…)" Kirby sighed. "Poyo! (They probably started it!)"
"Maybe..." Chopper pondered.
Eventually they had come across a black and red shrine near the edge of town. What was even nicer was that there were no guards in sight either. Smiling, the eleven made their way over to the front door and hit the Save Block.
"Wow! We didn't find a single Tartara in this city!" Scrub cheered. "They must be having a vacation during this time!"
Mario: Hopefully...
"Let's just hope this minister can give us a hand," Berry hoped. "I'd prefer to get out of here..."
With that, they opened the door into the shrine. The interior was mostly red, having a red, shiny floor and black walls. There were also stain-glassed windows all over the place with a couple of portraits of some Tartaras. What surprised them was that there was even a portrait of Tipral on one of them. To most of them, it looked just like the one they found in the Dark Steeple.
"Hey… Why is there a stained-glass window with Tipral on it?" Chopper gawked. "Unless... He's on THEIR side!"
"And it looks just like the one in Dark Steeple!" Vivian added. "Maybe this is where he got it in the first place."
"What's this? Have people arrived to see me?" a small Tartara with a large, white mustache, and a red robe asked, turning to face them. He also had a large, red tiara on his head as well. "Ah... So you must be Chopper. I've heard many things about you."
"Yeah, that's me," Chopper nodded, he and the others approaching the Tartara Minister. "We need your help."
"Hmmmm... Yes, I foresaw this." the minister grinned. "You youngsters came here through a portal, did you not? Through those Crystal Stars?"
"Yeah, we did," Tamber nodded. "And we wanna get out of here!"
"Perhaps you may not want to... After all, I think there's more of a reason to stay here than you think."
"What do you..." Chopper paused, pondering for a moment. "You mean... Oh, right! If that demon's here, then that means we can finally stop him! We might have a chance after all!"
"Indeed," the minister nodded. "Do that, and perhaps you will find your way out of here."
"Well, I think it's a good idea to go give that demon what he deserves!" Sonic grinned, cracking his knuckles. "This'll be easy! Thanks for the help you provided, minister guy."
"Anytime, young ones."
The group waved goodbye and made their exit. Once they were gone, the Tartara Minister grinned and pulled out his communicator.
"This is the minister, do you copy? Chopper and his pathetic little friends are here! Now's our chance to capture him!"
Outside-
"Well... I guess this means that we have to go out and find this demon." Chopper declared, turning to his friends. "We just have to find out where he is and stop him! That way, the universe will finally be saved, and we'll be out of- Hey, what's with you guys, and why does it feel a little darker?"
At this point, Chopper's friends were staring wide-eyed at what was behind him. Chopper had decided to turn around and stared at the large Tartara with wide eyes as well. The Tartara was much bigger than them in both height and width. Unlike a normal Tartara, its red and black armor that had an emblem of Maquano on it. Along with that, they carried red, long jagged swords and had large wings.
They were staring at a Tartara Royal Guard. Two of them, to be exact.
"Well well well! So, you finally show up at last, Chopper!" the first Tartara Royal Guard cackled, staring down at him with its fiery red reptilian eyes. "We've been waiting for you. You and your friends!"
No one dared to speak back.
"What? You never met a Tartara Royal Guard before?" the second one grinned, showing off its rows of razor sharp teeth. "Oh, don't worry! We won't bite! That is, unless you don't listen to us."
"Wh-What do you want?" Berry asked, barely able to speak loud enough.
"You're all under arrest for treason," the first Tartara Royal Guard hissed.
"Treason?! We didn't do anything wrong!" Scrub yelled, raising his fists. "And you WON'T stop us so easily, monsters! C'mon!"
The other Tartara Royal Guard picked up Scrub and snorted at him. It could feel the warm air from its nostrils, and it left him staring at the Tartara in fear.
"N-Never mind..."
"Treason is when you try to commit a crime such as murdering a leader," explained the first Tartara Royal Guard. "You, Chopper…are an example of high treason!"
"Wait, you mean Maquano?" Chopper gawked. "I never murdered him. I just tossed him into a Light Orb and let him go flying in space. He's probably long gone by now."
"We're not just referring to our leader. You are also responsible for destroying countless Tartaras throughout the six years. It's thanks to you that we had to make our retreat two years ago! We would toss you into prison, but like all people here, you're given a trial, and that's in about a half an hour!"
"Trial? What trial?" Chopper gawked as he suddenly felt himself being lifted from the ground by the Tartara Royal Guard's giant hand. They were able to hold some of the others in their hands, too. Both got about around half. "Wait, what are you doing?!"
"What does it look like? We're taking you to your trial." one of the guards sneered. "Oh, boy... The judge has been looking forward to seeing your arrival. You have no idea how angry he is with you!"
"This doesn't sound so fair..." Flyer trailed.
"Oh, believe me, you're all not alone. Like all people here, they're entitled to a lawyer."
"A lawyer? What are those?" Chopper asked.
"They handle court cases," Flyer explained. "It's their job to either prosecute or defend the criminal or something."
"Like that one guy named Phoenix Wright? I hope we get him! I heard he's good at that."
"Don't even count on it, you fool," the first guard sneered. "We got someone much better for him… You'll thank us later!"
"So we're going to end up losing anyway?" Tamber pouted.
"Most likely!" the other Tartara Royal Guard laughed.
"Well, that seems a bit biased," Flyer stated. "You should at least make the trail fair for us. This isn't how you set up a trial anyway…"
The Royal Guard growled at him, which caused him to shut up. "All right, Chopper! We should be there pretty soon! Get ready to give any evidence you might have. Don't count on winning, though!"
"Crud... This isn't going to be fun." Chopper sighed as they were taken over to a large red and black courthouse further away from the city.
Inside the courtroom-
"Wow… All of these Tartara are all here, ready to taunt us." Vivian gasped, spotting the jury in their seats. They were all Tartara Soldiers in their armor, giving the group glares. Some even started to call them names and throw rocks. One even attempted to fire at Chopper, but another Tartara had ended up holding it off.
One thing for sure was that they were all uneasy. Including Tamber.
"Oh, man… I don't like it here…" Tamber gulped.
"Wow. YOU'RE scared too? Can't say I'm surprised about that." Sonic admitted.
The two Tartara Royal Guards dropped the eleven to their seats. They were all cuffed by their arms so they wouldn't escape. Of course, with people like Bombette, they simply cuffed her legs instead.
"This is going to be fun..." Bombette groaned.
"All right, we have the boy and his stupid little friends, your honor!" sneered the Tartara Royal Guard. "We can begin the trail now!"
"You have Chopper? Excellent!"
"Hey... That voice sounds familiar..." Chopper trailed.
"Everyone please rise to honor the Great Camikon!" ordered the Royal Guard.
All of the Tartaras remained silent and they stood up.
A small Tartara had finally gotten onto the judge's seat. He was wearing a black wizard's hat and a monocle on his left eye, he had purple eyes, unlike the other Tartaras. The old Tartara had two fangs hidden underneath his large, gray mustache and beard. The wizard was also wearing a black with long sleeves. He was also holding a wand that had a red orb with darkness inside of it. His legs were rather short as well, hence why they were hidden underneath his robe. Beside him was a black broomstick with a purple circle resembling an eye on the back that had a flaming pupil. Surrounding the back of the broomstick were around four spikes, with the front of the broomstick was pointy as well.
Many knew that this Tartara was quite old. Possibly even the oldest Tartara out there, and Chopper knew this wizard was high in command.
"So! We finally meet again after two years, Chopper!" Camikon started. "You've foiled our plans, and you've gotten rid of Maquano. This time, we can finally get payback!"
"Hey, he started it, you know! If he hadn't destroyed Mondrao, I wouldn't be in this mess right now!" Chopper frowned, though Camikon nor the Tartaras seemed to buy it. He sighed and decided to look around him. "So, this is the place where you guys live?"
"Correct. Hence why the Tartaras are named after this place, Tartamos." Camikon replied, spinning his gavel around slowly. "I would like to slam this down and say you're guilty, but I'm willing to put you on trial…and assign you a lawyer."
"And who's our lawyer?" Vivian asked.
"He's right over there," Camikon pointed his wand at the Bumpty with the magnify glass and hat.
"Fear not, my dear Flyer! I will help you win the case with my detective skills!" Pennington assured, twirling his magnify glass as he sat next to them.
The eleven either let out a groan or face palmed.
"Well, we're doomed," Scrub stated.
"Nyeah heh heh heh! So, shall we get started?" Camikon slammed his gavel on the stand. "The defense may start! You! Pennington! What do you have to say?"
"Thank you, good sir," Pennington stood up and turned to everyone. "Hello, my fellow monsters. I am known as Pennington. I am a master detective who has managed to find out the truth in every case! And I can certainly tell you that Flyer is NOT guilty!"
"We already know that he's guilty," Camikon snarled. "But please, go ahead and prove to us why he's not guilty."
"Well…" Pennington pondered for the moment. "Perhaps that was a clone of my dear assistant. Hrrrmmm... Yes, it makes perfect sense!"
"OBJECTION!" a Tartara lawyer in a black suit slammed the desk it was at and pointed at him. "How could he have been a clone when he knows everything about it!"
"Well... Ermmmm... Exactly! He does NOT know about the crime, hence why he didn't do it!"
"Oh, we'll see about that... I call to the stand...Chopper!"
"Wait… Why me?" Chopper questioned as he was suddenly teleported to the stand as a witness.
"Now, Chopper… You were there at the scene, and not to mention you were involved in it." the lawyer explained. "So, care to tell us what happened?"
When Chopper looked at his friends, they all shook his heads at him, and he gave an assuring nod.
"Oh, yeah... We can also tell if you're lying or not." the lawyer added. "That chair is able to detect lies and electrocute you, so we can tell if you're bluffing!"
Sighing in defeat, Chopper began to explain. "Well, after I beat Bowser, I was thrown to another area in Star Haven that happened to lead me to Staris's Shrine. But, Maquano happened to stop me and my friends, and, well, we fought."
"Could you explain what happened next after that?" the lawyer asked. Chopper shook his head. "And why not? You're obviously trying to hide something! And that could result in an electrocution!"
"Err… OBJECTION!" Pennington shouted as he pointed his magnify glass. "And what makes you think that? It's obvious that you did not see Flyer defeat this evil villain! If he's telling everything, then he-"
"OVERRULED!" Camikon shouted. Pennington sweat dropped and sat back down…until he had an idea.
"Oh, not so fast, you! You don't have the evidence of which Flyer DID destroy him! My dear boy would never eliminate someone unless he was too evil! Isn't that right, my assistant?"
"Err... Yeah! What he said!" Chopper agreed, unsure of what else to say.
"Order in the court!" Camikon banged his gavel, which made everyone be quiet. "Now, tell me, Chopper… How do you plead?"
"Ummmmm... What do you mean?"
"Guilty or not guilty?"
"Well, I'm definitely not guilty! But I bet you guys are going to think so anyway." Chopper grumbled with a pout.
"Now now, Flyer… No need to get angry." Pennington said, trying to calm him down. "I, Pennington, will definitely make sure that you come out of this alive! So! Now it's MY turn!"
"Go right ahead," Camikon said, appearing as if he didn't care.
Pennington took out a suitcase, and he pulled out a bag of potato chips. "This, my friends…is a witness I found earlier today! I believe it has something interesting to say!"
With that, Chopper was teleported back to the others, while the potato chip bag was replaced.
"So, witness… Explain to us what happened the other day!"
Potato Chip Bag: …
"Ah-HA! Now I'm starting to see it… This witness has told me that your leader seemingly went into his castle, got a rope, wrapped it around his neck, and let himself hang there! That might explain why there's a rope in his castle." Pennington explained proudly, giving off a proud look. "Case closed!"
"HOLD IT!" the Tartara lawyer stood up from its seat and pointed at Pennington. "How do you surely know that Maquano would do something like that? That's preposterous! There's no way he'd be capable of dying like that. Honestly, I doubt you even know him."
"Oh, ho ho ho! I do know him indeed! Why, he's... Ermmm... Give me a moment here. Errrrrr..." Pennington paused, trying to ponder. "Can you tell me a bit about him?"
"Ugh... You're seriously annoying me." the lawyer growled, about ready to shoot him.
"Now, now, lawyer... There's a reason why I picked this guy to be his lawyer. Just look at him!" Camikon looked at Pennington, who was staring at the potato chip bag with shifty eyes. "See? He's a bumbling idiot!"
"I see…" the Tartara lawyer brought its attention back to Chopper. "Ahem! Now, Chopper… Could you explain to us what happened after you fought?"
"All right, fine..." Chopper sighed. "Basically, we fought with swords, and eventually I managed to defeat him with a Galaxia Sword Beam. And then..."
"And then what?" Camikon asked.
"…And then he was thrown into space thanks to that Light Orb," Chopper finished.
"See, people? He admitted it!" the Tartara lawyer cried. "Now we can finally punish him for his crimes!"
"Yeah, he's right!"
"Chopper must pay!"
"Our leader is gone! We want REVENGE!"
"You're such an awesome lawyer!"
"Give Chopper a harsh punishment!"
"I want something to eat!"
"Order! Order in the court!" Camikon roared, banging his gavel and silencing the Tartaras. "You people are giving me a headache! Yeesh! I'm too old for this stuff! At least we weren't loud like back in the old days!"
Everyone could only stare at him in silence.
"Hold on a moment! May I speak?" Vivian asked. She would've risen from her chair, but since her arms were cuffed to the chairs, she couldn't.
"Hmmmmmmm?" Camikon looked at Vivian with his monocle. "Hmmmm... What now? Who are you, missy? One of Chopper's friends?"
"Yes..."
"Hmph... Fine, if you insist."
"Thank you," Vivian was brought up to the chair, while the potato chip bag was opened by Pennington, who now began to chow down on the chips.
"Sometimes when you're on a mystery, you must make sure you have something to eat. Don't you agree, my dear Flyer?"
"I guess," Chopper answered, attempting to shrug.
Vivian immediately cleared her throat. "Listen, I know you may not be happy with what I say, but I think you should forget about this issue. I mean, considering what you people have done, I'd say Chopper was pretty justified in what he did. If you hadn't tried to destroy his birth planet, then you would've have had to deal with him."
"We don't consider losing our leader to be justified when he's involved in it," the Tartara lawyer hissed.
"Order in the court," Camikon demanded, banging his gavel. "Now the jury shall make their decision!"
One of the jury members stood up. "We, the jury, find Chopper, Hero of Clara, guilty of murder, foiling our plans, and MURDER!"
Of course, Chopper was baffled by the results, while Pennington stood in shame before the heroes.
"My apologies, dear Flyer. I tried as best as I could, but surely you will…" Before Pennington could even finish, he was transported out of Tartamos and back to...wherever he was.
"Excellent! Now that we've gotten that over with… I, Camikon, the judge and the new leader, sentence you and your friends…to death!" Camikon cackled, banging his gavel and making the Tartaras cackle as well.
"Oh, that's just great… How did I NOT see this coming?" Chopper groaned.
"Wait, isn't this technically child abuse?" Berry asked. "You can't do something like that!"
"We've made our decision, and we're keeping it that way, whether you like it or not!" Camikon grinned. "And we don't care about such laws around here. We play by our own rules. So, tomorrow morning, you will be thrown into the volcano, and that is where you shall perish."
"And where are we supposed to stay?" Bombette asked.
"Why, you'll be staying in prison, of course! Have no worries, my friends! There will be no escape! Yep! Just a bunch of hot molten lava surrounding the prison. So don't expect to get off the island, 'cause you can't survive in lava."
"Heh heh heh! I can't believe we're finally going to have Chopper destroyed after all of these years!" cackled a Darkling. "Getting him here was such a good idea!"
"Shut up, you!" Camikon silenced the Darkling before he turned his attention to the two Tartara Royal Guards. "You two! Take these eleven to their prison cells!"
"Understood, Lord Camikon!" the two Tartara Royal Guards saluted him and picked up the heroes. "All right, you guys. Let's get you where you belong!"
With that, the guards made their exit with Chopper and his friends.
"Nyeah heh heh heh!" Camikon snickered, putting the gavel down and getting on his broomstick. "Lord Maquano would've been so proud of me! I'm going to finally avenge him! I can't wait for tomorrow! ...But first, I need to pay someone a visit. They should be making their arrival here pretty soon."
Camikon flew out of the courthouse, while Tartaras wearing suits had disposed of them and got back in their armor. They soon made their exit, returning to their usual positions.
Right by the portal-
Unfortunately, Bowser and Kammy were a little slow compared to the others. They had just recently arrived, and Bowser had fallen on top of Kammy upon getting out of the portal.
"Oooog… I wouldn't exactly call that a nice ride…" moaned Bowser, slowly getting up to check out the place. "Whoa... What's this place? Got any ideas, Haggy? ...Haggy?"
Looking below him, he saw a flattened Magikoopa lying on the floor. He stepped away, allowing her to get back up and onto her broomstick.
"Oh, dear... Now that was quite a trip." Kammy moaned, readjusting herself and taking a look at Tartamos as well. "What's this? Why does this place look somewhat familiar?"
"...Hey, now that you think about it, it kinda does!" Bowser realized, looking at the lava and the rocks, along with the city ahead. "This reminds me of that one place we were at two years ago!"
"Again with the new people?" the Goomba groaned, spotting Bowser. "Ugh... How do these people keep coming here?"
"Who's this weird Goomba?"
Ignoring him, the Goomba continued. "By the way, this is Tartamos, go crazy and stuff."
"Tartamos? Why, Lord Bowser! We WERE here before!" Kammy gaped.
"Oh, yeah! We were!" Bowser recalled. "...Though, I don't recognize this area."
"Why, Lord Bowser and Kammy Koopa! It's so nice to see you again!" Camikon came flying over to the two on his broomstick, pushing the Goomba out of the way. "It's been two years since we've seen each other!"
"Whoa… Who the heck is this old geezer?" Bowser asked.
"Why… Camikon!" Kammy gaped, recognizing the old wizard. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon! So, where are we?"
"You two are in my home world, Tartamos, remember? Lord Maquano showed you that place after you lost your castle." Camikon explained.
"Oh, this place? Yeah, now I remember..." Bowser grumbled, crossing his arms. "But that's not what's important right now. Tell me where Chopper and Mario are! I have a score to settle with them!"
"At the moment, Chopper is in prison. We got a hold of him thanks to the minister, and now he's going to be thrown into the volcano tomorrow morning! Nyeah heh heh heh! This is what I've been dreaming of!"
"Hey, don't get any funny ideas, because I want to be the ones to take care of them!"
"Yes, yes... Perhaps you could participate in their execution... Anyway, I also did you another favor as well. Look over at that rock ahead." Camikon said, pointing his wand at a castle in the distance. "I wanted to make sure you were welcome here!"
Bowser had gotten a view at what Camikon was pointing to and gaped.
"Wha…? What's my castle doing here?!" Bowser exclaimed. "WHY would you bring it here? All I want to do is get rid of Chopper and Mario so kidnapping the princess would be easier, not live here!"
"Relax, king… I think he's got a little deal for us!" Kammy assured.
"A deal I DO have! I was able to get a hold of your older minions from two years ago." Camikon mentioned. "You remember the seven guardians of the Star Spirits, don't you?"
"Oh, yeah… That. All right, what are you proposing, weirdo?" Bowser asked.
"Oh, you'll see…" Camikon grinned as he raised his wand. "This should be a little nice! I'll make sure you have plenty of company and people to help you crush Chopper when you finally get the chance.
Using his wand, he had summoned seven minions. Well, more like six minions and one group, actually. One was the Koopa Bros., the next was King Tutankoopa, the third was Tubba Blubba, the fourth was General Guy, Lava Piranha came up next, then Huff N. Puff, and then finally the Crystal King.
"What the… What the heck's going on here?! Where are we?!" General Guy asked. "I demand an explanation right NOW!"
"And what is King Bowser doing here?" the Crystal King asked, spotting Bowser. "And it also feels too hot here."
"I'll say," Red nodded, waving his hand.
"Can I borrow one of your masks, guys?" Yellow groaned.
"No way!"
"Whoa… Now THIS is what I'm talking about!" Bowser grinned. "Gwaa ha ha ha! Sure, they failed to beat Mario before, but they're a lot more competent than the others!"
As Bowser started to cackle, he and the others were unaware of an army of aliens making their arrival through a portal as well.
Dark Doom grinned evilly as he stepped out of the portal.
Yup. Chapter 20 takes place in Tartamos from the previous story. Sure, we saw a bit of it there, but now Chopper is finally getting a chance to go in there himself.
I couldn't help it with referencing Phoenix Wright, even if I didn't play the game. And of course I had to bring in Pennington as well. :P