The cutlery shaking was the one cue the occupants of the dining room had for the impending disaster. They could hear things breaking instants before a potent force sent them upwards, knocking out the duo of father and son. King Boo, being a ghost, was only carried along by the detonation, but he knew that he had to act fast. "Who could have done this? And why?" There was a strange power infusing the blast.

King Boo had managed to create a Paranormal Portal in the nick of time, sparing the Koopa Capital from being pelted by rubble and saving his fellow victims from a brutal landing. "This magic is strange..." The Boo felt it melding with his own energy and changing his body. "What's going on?!" The effects made the specter think of power-ups, but he knew not of one that could trigger these reactions.

Being a ghost enabled him to sense the gradual shift, and it was distressing. Besides, he felt oddly lethargic despite being an undead. "Gh... grhh... stay... awake..." Thankfully he and the others were now floating within the ghost dimension, which would give them time to assess the changes. Bowser briefly crossed his sight, still holding Junior protectively while unconscious.

Two men clad in overalls and color-coded ran from the hill where they saw the explosion towards their hometown, only to be stopped by a Toad, who said that the princess wanted to see them. (WHY-a now!?) Mario was pursing his lips into a stiff smile and was mumbling under his breath, secretly wanting to simply ignore the call. (Calm-a down bro, no fighting.) Luigi placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, hoping the pressure would ground his mindset.

Princess Peach smiled brightly at the sight of the heroes of Mushroom Kingdom. "I'm glad you came." Mario and Luigi nodded, bowing slightly for etiquette. "It's-a honor to meet you, no matter the situation." The blonde let out a giggle. "The reason I called for you is to give a notice. I want to host a sports meet, including some people." The twins knew what it meant, Bowser would get an invite.

(Should-a we tell her?) Luigi was starting to worry, considering what had happened not long ago. (No need to make-a her worry, we'll deal with this nicely.) Mario held a confident face. "Thanks for telling-a us, we wish you a-good luck with the preparatives." The princess nodded and waved, signaling they were free to go. "I'm sure that things will run smoothly. See you both soon."

Mario and Luigi had passed by their house to pick Koopa shells and masks, not wishing to bring entire troops on themselves. "What do you think that is-a happening?" The green plumber was stuffing his disguise in a backpack while facing his brother. "I do hope that it's not-a foreshadow to some terrible scheme." The man shuddered at the thought, the twins might get involved in something out of their control.

The red plumber was thoughtful, not having seen something similar in the past, it was new territory for him. "I haven't-a got the foggiest idea, but we'll find-a out." The plumber twins set off to the Koopa Kingdom, hoping that Peach or some other allied kingdom wouldn't suddenly need their heroic services. "Let's start thinking of a way to infiltrate the castle, this time we're playing spies!"

Kamek had rushedly sent for a messenger to get the Koopalings, calling for a meeting in his private tower. "Gods above, don't let this escalate into a full-blown disaster... please." The mage had clasped his hands and mumbled prayers in rapid succession. "Sir." A Troopa had knocked on his door, informing him that the group was on their way here. "Very good, dismissed." But once the door closed behind the last Koopaling, the turtle noticed a problem.

Kamek tilted his head. "One... two... three... four... ... Oh... dearie me..." The Koopalings were three members short, even Junior was missing. "Larry was using one of those rooms to practice his magic." Ludwig had kept track of his group until moments ago. "Roy was doing one of his music jams with some Boos in another of the rooms." Each statement only made the Magikoopa sweat harder, until he became a turtle waterfall. "Morton was chasing a Chain Chomp in that general area."

By now the elder was letting out a silent wail. "And Junior went to the dining hall." This made Kamek feel an ulcer, aneurysm, stroke, what-have-you overcome him, as the weight of his stupidity crashed fully on him. The Koopalings stared at the Magikoopa, having already figured from his reactions that he was the culprit for the explosion. "What did you do?" Ludwig was now worrying for the Bowsers and the other Koopalings. "Erm... You see..."

There was a figure among several propped on the floating pieces of Bowser's castle, being the first one to awaken. "Hah... How long has it been... I haven't fainted since my death..." Long hair was moved away from the eyes by delicate fingers. "Wait a minute..." The woman ceased moving completely as the situation dawned upon her. "I'm a MALE BOO! Not a female human!"

King Boo stared at his new form in a conjured mirror, pulling at his new skin in disbelief. "What the fucking Underwhere was that power-up!?" He was currently with the appearance of a completely ectoplasm-white human female, only his purple eyes, mouth, and crown were unchanged. Many theories rushed by his mind, stressing the ghost and making the rubbles floating around go wild until the Boo took a few calming breaths. "Okay, fine, fine, I'm cool, I'm fine..."

King Boo rubbed his face while thinking of the clothing he would materialize, only to recall that he wasn't the only victim. "Great... Just friggin' great." He rounded up the other people that came with him on one of the larger floor pieces, making clothing for them as well. He could have been a Boo for decades, but he knew human decency rules. Until they woke up, King Boo would think of a new name for himself. "Mu... there was a name for my Boos used in other lands..."

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!" But King Boo had his moment of concentration broken by the thunderous roar and the titanic gout of fire in the distance. "He woke up too..." The ghost floated towards the Koopa, taking note of the similar changes Bowser had undergone. "Let's go with the priorities first." The Boo materialized a simple robe for himself and a set of shirt and shorts for Bowser.

The Koopa stared at the items plopped on his hands. "Why did you give me these? Koopas don't wear clothes, Magikoopas do." Bowser had a pout and was about to blow some fire to get rid of the clothes, only to have King Boo face him very closely with a snarl. "Put these on for Grambi's sake! Or at least for mine!" Bowser was about to refuse, so the ghost temporarily reverted to his previous form through unbridled anger. "Put them on." The Koopa had a flat gaze. "... 'Kay."