Instead of saying why I took so long, I've decided to tell you everything I've been doing INSTEAD OF writing this :P
1) I got my driver's license. Go me! Don't worry, you're not in danger :P
2) I got a blast of nostalgia, went on YouTube, and watched half of the first season of Thomas the Tank Engine.
3) I decided to look for and start watching the new Ninja Turtles on the internet, since I don't get Nick (and I don't really care).
4) A reviewer threatened to tell Bowser where I am if I didn't update. Quite motivating. They are now basking in the satisfaction of being recognized upon reading this. And now they're smiling and nodding, because I KNEW that's how they would feel.

Disclaimer: Noun; in commercial law, a statement refusing to accept responsibility for something, e.g. a denial of legal liability for any injury associated with a product

Chapter 9: Gasp for Air

Koops blinked in shock. Could those be some of Bowser's kids? They look like they might be.

"K-Koops," Koopie Koo whispered shakily, snapping him out of his stupor. Immediately Koops surged forward and dove off the side of the bridge.

"Wait!" Koopie cried after him, but he had already hit the water and started swimming toward the three floating bodies. She hesitated before building up her nerve and jumping after her boyfriend, knowing that rescuing all three royals was more than the one Koopa could handle on his own, no matter how strong he had become with Mario.

Koops pumped his arms and legs as hard as he could. The young Koopa swam towards the largest Koopa, not wanting to leave Koopie to a likely heavy load. When he reached him, Koops tried pushing him to shore, but with little success. The momentum from the water flow was too strong for Koops alone, but he wasn't about to be bested by a river. Koops called upon his Shell Shield ability and deflected the body towards the water's edge. Koops held his breath until the Dragon-Koopa was washed ashore.

While this was happening, Koopie Koo was pulling the tall one along with great effort. Soon, the second Dragon-Koopa was beached. Only one more was left. The small one. Koops and Koopie Koo swam towards the small figure.

This one shouldn't be too big of a challenge, right? Koopie said to herself. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who thought so.

A small piranha-like Chomp leapt out of the water as the small Dragon-Koopa suddenly vanished beneath the surface.

"Nibbles!" Koops gasped before diving underwater. Koopie Koo followed suit. She wished she didn't.

Beneath the waves was a whole school of Nibbles! Apparently, they all thought small Dragon-Koopas would make for an easy meal. Especially unmoving ones. Koopie Koo wanted to scream.

Koops retreated into his shell and flung himself towards the predators in an attack. When he felt impact, he popped out of his shell to see if he hit his mark. His eyes widened when he saw a rather annoyed Nibbles staring at him. Just annoyed. No damage.

Lungs aching for air, Koops shot for the surface. His girlfriend followed.

"Koops!" Koopie yelled, "Your dad told me something about Nibbles once! He said they have freaky-high defense! Your attacks won't work!"

Koops growled softly in frustration, "I can pierce their defense." And he dove once more. This time he used Shell Slam.

Koopie watched in amazement as Koops' spinning shell plowed through the Nibbles. The creatures scattered and fled, deciding they could find easier prey elsewhere. The two Koopas didn't celebrate Koops' victory, however, as they looked around for the remaining royal Koopa. Panic boiled inside them when they couldn't spot the orange shell they were looking for.

Then Koops spotted it. The skirmish with the Nibbles sent the small Dragon-Koopa to the bottom of the river; one foot stuck in the murk lying on the riverbed. Koops and Koopie swam down to the limp royal and tried pulling upward, but the rainbow-haired Koopa was stuck fast. This confused the two rescuers, because the silt at the bottom was usually loose.

Koops lowered himself and dug around the Dragon-Koopa's trapped ankle. He was surprised when his fingers caught on something that was definitely not supposed to be in a river. He dug deeper and discovered what appeared to be part of an old chain-link fence. A little yellow foot was wedged in one of the openings. Koops tried pulling the foot out, but Koopie Koo stopped him and pointed out a small scrape on the Dragon-Koopa's ankle. Pulling the foot out would only make it worse, Koops realized.

Koopie then grasped side of the links surrounding the appendage and gestured for Koops to do the same on the other side. He did so, and they started pulling the metalwork apart. They hadn't made very much progress when they needed to replenish their lungs again. Once more they made for the air above. After both taking in as much oxygen as their chests could hold, the couple went back underwater. They were met with the horrible sight of air bubbles leaking out of the Dragon-Koopa's mouth and nose.

They'll drown without even knowing it! Koopie realized.

They darted to the chain-link fence and pulled with all their combined might. Unfortunately, their efforts were unsuccessful. They started to despair until they heard a snap snap. Opening their eyes, which they didn't remember closing, the two saw the remaining Dragon-Koopa being dragged towards the riverbank by a small figure. Koops and Koopie Koo glanced at each other before following this newcomer, preparing for whatever it might be.

They slowly surfaced, wanting to identify whatever had seemingly rescued Bowser's child. Koops shot up all the way and grinned when he saw who it was.

"Ms. Mowz!" Koops ran up to his friend, Koopie right behind.

"How did—?" Koopie began.

"Later," Mowz interrupted. "Right now, we need to get these three someplace they can get proper medical attention."

Koops nodded. "She's right." He turned to the three prone Dragon-Koopas. "But there's no way we can carry them to into town on our own. We'll need help."

Koopie stepped up. "I can handle that." She took a deep breath.

Koops' eyes widened, and he covered his ears. Ms. Mowz was confused at her friend's change in behavior at first, but she quickly put two and two together and followed Koops' example. And it was a good thing she did.

Koopie Koo let out an earsplitting scream.

*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J *J*J*J*J*

Minutes later, the group was at Petalburg Health Center. The building itself was barely twice the size of Koops' own house, but it held the proper equipment.

Due to the hospital's small size, there was no waiting room, so Koops, Koopie, and Ms. Mowz resorted to waiting outside. They were soon joined by Koops' dad, Koopley. No one said a thing as they waited for news, hopefully good, to come from the doctors. After several minutes, the unnerving silence was broken, much to the relief of everyone present.

"Ms. Mowz?" Koopie Koo's voice was very small. She fought the urge to shrink back when everyone looked at her. "H-How did you find us? Or them?"

"I'm a thief, dearie," Mowz replied emotionlessly, but there was still a mischievous glint in her eye. "I know the scent of royalty. I just followed it."

Koopie piled on, "How did you get that little Dragon-Koopa out of the fence?"

Koopley cut in, "Hold on, now. Would someone please tell me what all this is about?"

Koops, Koopie Koo, and Ms. Mowz looked at each other and nodded. Koops sighed, and proceeded to tell his father all that he knew of the events of that morning. Koopie Koo weighed in every so often with her own thoughts on what happened. The couple explained as much as they could, although their knowledge was greatly limited on Ms. Mowz's e-mail and the rescue of the final Dragon-Koopa. Mowz explained that while she knew little about the Dark Land tragedy, she could show how she saved the royal Koopa, using a visual aid.

Mowz focused to summon a dark orange Crystal Star. "I used the Garnet Star's Special Move to break the fence."

Koopley and Koopie Koo hummed in acknowledgement.

Koops, however, looked at his friend skeptically. "How did you know Showstopper worked on ordinary objects?"

"I didn't."

Koops stared wide-eyed at Mowz's bluntness.

"All I knew was I had to do something." Mowz shrugged. "I didn't know what I was doing at the time. I guess I just acted on instinct."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

After a short moment of anxious silence, Koopley spoke, "Do you know who they are?"

No one answered.

"Anyone?" he persisted.

"No, Dad," his son answered dejectedly. "We don't even know if they're boys or girls."

"How do we even know if they're the Koopas we're looking for?" Koopie Koo wondered aloud.

"Goombella could probably find out," Ms. Mowz mused softly. She was unaware of the wisdom in her own statement.

Soon, however, she, along with all the others, perked up in realization.

"That's it!" Koops exclaimed. "Goombella can use Tattle on them." He whipped out his Mailbox SP to e-mail said Goomba.

"E-mail everyone," Ms. Mowz said. "They might have started searching, too. They'll probably want to know if anyone has made any progress."

Koops nodded and started writing a brief message.

Everyone. Found 3 Dragon-Koopas. Don't know who they are. Need Goombella to I.D. We are in Petalburg now.

Koops hit send.

Now all they had to do was wait. Wait for something to happen, be it a friend's arrival or a doctor's diagnosis of one of the rescued.

It felt like an eternity.

This chapter was pretty boring if you ask me. Although I DID come across some speed bumps. Mainly it was that I had to refrained from using gender-specific pronouns when referring to the Koopalings present in this chapter. The reason? I wanted it to be in the others' perspective. As Koops stated, they don't even know the Dragon-Koopas' sexes.

Read and Review. And don't forget to wish your moms a happy Mother's Day tomorrow!