RECAP:
Merlon explained to Junior's group - sans Peach - the dangers of Essence and the grip it can hold over its victims until death. While contemplating how they should approach the situation going forward, Iggy suggested he may be able to learn more about Essence from Hariet. The Koopaling reasoned that he alone should take charge of extracting information from their prisoner, believing that this was the only contribution he'd be capable of making to the group going forward. Even though the others were quick to reassure him otherwise, Iggy remained firm that this would be for the best.
Afterward, Merlon announced the arrival of a visitor and surprised the group by revealing it was the late Kammy Koopa underneath his hood. Kammy explained that although she had in fact died, Merlon had agreed to channel her spirit so she could deliver an important message to the group. Only then could her spirit could finally pass on.
Junior was prompted to remove an item from the box he had been previously instructed to retrieve from Bowser's castle. Inside was the royal Koopa crown. Kammy explained that Bowser tasked her with instilling the crown with immense magic power, which came at a cost. Kammy instructed Junior to seek out Kamek in order to receive further instruction and guidance in mastering the crown's hidden power - in addition to his own abilities - so that he might soon command a powerful army and take action against Contemno.
Toad detached from the group to check on the absent Peach and summoned everyone upstairs in a panic.
Tatanga contacted Eris to inquire about removing the magic barrier guarding the base of Junior's group and was instructed to perform an incantation to make quick work of it. Before their conversation ended, Eris swore to carry out punishment on the Broodals for their hasty behavior.
Finally, Bowser and Mario uncovered a report written by Contemno reiterating his initial plans for turning Mario into Maldeon – a manipulated loyal successor. The pair discovered they weren't actually locked in the room and began to explore. Bowser's confidence in their whereabouts steadily grew. It appeared that they had in fact arrived in Castle Olympus, as they previously assumed they would. But how this was done exactly, remained a mystery. Bowser and Mario encountered statues of the four Star Keepers when they were approached by a mysterious man named Damian.
"Dis ain't good! Dis ain't good! Oh maaaaan, dis ain't good!" Rango bemoaned hysterically.
"W-whadda we do now?!" Spewart panicked. Topper reached up and slapped each of his siblings.
"Will da two of yous shuddup so I can tink?!"
"S-sorry, boss…," said Spewart with a small sob as he rubbed his red cheek.
"But whadda we gonna do 'bout Hariet? She's a gonnuh!" said Rango.
"I know, I know! But..if ya ask me, Hariet got what she desoived," said Topper as he folded his arms. Rango and Spewart immediately turned to one another; sharing utterly flabbergasted faces.
"But dat's our sista!" said Spewart.
"Nah, she was a doity traita! Yous guys hoid how she was spillin' da beans about da boss and what he tinks of us! She desoived ta get left behind fa sellin' out her bruddahs like dat!" Topper reasoned.
"Y-yeah…but…," Rango started.
"BUT NUDDIN! From now on, it's gonna just be da tree of us, see? We's don't need no doity traita like Hariet."
"But hows are we gonna tell da boss what happened when he sees she's not wid us no more?"
"Yes, care to explain why you decided to blatantly disobey our orders by acting so recklessly?" another voice intervened.
The three Broodals turned to find Eris standing in the doorway.
She quickly stepped into the room and slowly approached the trio like a cat cornering mice; the severity in her pupils and scowl practically spelling out a death sentence in that very moment.
"Oh! Eris! We's were just-" Topper started. Eris raised an objecting hand.
"Save it, cotton tail. I'm not actually interested in your excuses. Tatanga already filled me in on what you three did."
"Tatanga? How did he…?"
"His men were on reconnaissance in the Mushroom Kingdom and watched as you idiots picked a fight with Bowser Jr.'s group unauthorized. They saw the whole thing and I already know the enemy has your sister. If she's even half as idiotic as the rest of you, then she's likely already leaking valuable information about us right now."
By now, Topper, Rango, and Spewart were all huddled together in the corner of the room; the latter two brothers trembling in horror. Meanwhile Topper was profusely sweating up a storm as he tugged at his suit collar.
"O-oh…well, dat was just…uhh…"
"Just what?"
"W-well…I mean…w-we were just…y'know….r-roughin' dose chumps up a lil'! Y'know, ta remind 'em whose boss 'n all dat!" Eris's expression didn't change. Her icy stare continued to pin the Broodals firmly into the corner.
"And who exactly do you think is 'calling the shots' around here?" Topper's face fell in shame.
"C-Contemno a course…"
"Really? Because I don't remember Contemno ever giving you any authorization to do such a thing. In fact, I distinctly remember the last order you received being to remain put until further notice, which you blatantly disobeyed. So tell me, rat. Just what kind of message are you sending to your superior?" Topper gulped and he smiled nervously.
"W-well I…b-but we…I mean…y-yous don't think we actually…I-I-I mean we didn't mean ta…!," Topper stammered hopelessly.
Eris's arm transformed into a blade. She rushed in to shove it up close underneath Topper's neck.
"Shut up! You know, I never figured out what it is exactly that Contemno saw in you pitiful little freaks. I still don't see any shred of potential in you, personally. Not as you are now anyway."
"B-but we brought Bowsa and dat udder broad to yous guys like yous asked!" Spewart reminded. "A-and w-we shot down Mario's ship for yous!"
"You really think any of that matters now when you were also reckless enough to just let your sister get captured?!" Eris snapped back. "That wouldn't have happened if you had just done as you were told you miserable little-"
"B-but we can-!" Rango started.
"ENOUGH!" Eris shut him down quickly. "I don't want to hear any more of your pathetic excuses! Since you clearly can't be trusted, something must be done. You're just lucky Tatanga and I are cleaning up your mess so Contemno doesn't have to know this happened."
"…He doesn't know?" Topper chirped up hopefully as his ears sprung to attention.
"No, and I intend to keep it that way," Eris affirmed. "But by no stretch of the imagination does that mean you idiots are off the hook for what you did. The last thing we need right now is for anyone else around here to get word of this incident and get any ideas about acting on their own. There has to be retribution. We can't afford any more slip-ups. Not when we're days away from rolling out Phase 2."
"W-we's won't slip up again! We'll be good! H-honest!" Eris chuckled at this and she stepped back; her arm returning to its original form.
"Oh I know you will. Trust me, I plan to make sure of that. There's a steep price to pay for insubordination." The three Broodals all gulped at once.
"W-what're ya gonna do wid us…?" Spewart asked. Eris smiled ominously.
Without warning, her gloved fingers stretched in the blink of an eye like miniature black serpents and wrapped themselves tightly around the necks of the three Broodals; Topper in one hand, and Rango and Spewart in the other.
Small black bubbles formed and grew from her fingertips. They soon began to fill with an eerie gas inside. The bubbles encompassed the Broodals as Eris hoisted them up higher and higher. Their captives immediately started coughing and gasping helplessly for air.
"You three are going to make yourselves useful for once in your miserable lives as part of our on-going Essence research. Grodus was just complaining to me about how one of his more promising test subjects escaped recently. So, you'll just have to take his place. Whether you live or die, I'm sure he'll still get some kind of data out of it."
Fear filled Topper's bulging, bloodshot eyes as he and his brothers lost consciousness.
"Sorry, but I really don't get what the big deal is here," said Daisy as she folded her arms skeptically. The whole group had gathered in the bedroom upstairs and watched as a panicked Toad violently shook the unconscious Peach, who was passed out on the bed.
"Yeah, she's asleep. Big deal," Junior agreed with a shrug. "You told us before that she wasn't feeling well so she decided to go back to bed."
"No! I'm tellin' ya! This is really bad! She was awake before and now she's not!" Toad argued as he continued shaking Peach's lifeless body. Roy pried him off the princess and allowed her limp body to flop back onto the bed on its own.
"Yeah, you don't exactly have much energy when you're sick, numskull," Larry retorted.
Merlon approached the bedside. He placed two fingers on Peach's forehead and slowly scanned her from head to toe.
"I'm afraid Toad may be right," said the mage.
"He is?" the group asked all at once.
"I am?" Toad joined in with equal disbelief.
"Yes. This is no ordinary fatigue. I'm afraid the princess is suffering from something much worse."
"What's wrong with her?" Daisy probed with concern this time.
"Princess Peach has fallen into a coma."
"…A coma?! No way! Is it really that serious?" Goombella asked. Merlon simply nodded.
"How on earth did this happen?" Iggy joined in.
"It appears that she has fallen to the mercy of darkness. I sense a terrible curse maintains a powerful hold over her. As long as it lingers, it is unlikely that the princess will be able to awaken on her own."
"Well…how do we lift the curse then?" Kooper pressed him further.
"I'm afraid there is little any of us can do for her now. Darkness has swallowed the princess's mind," Merlon elaborated. "I surmise that the reason she remains unconscious is because her body is using all of its energy to keep this darkness at bay from taking over completely. Though it does not appear so on the outside, I sense that she is engaged in an intense battle deep within. If she is unsuccessful, there is no telling what the curse will do to her."
"Well…there's gotta be something we can do to help! We can't just sit here and let her fight this thing on her own!" Daisy argued.
"I will consult my assortment of literature to study this curse. It will take time, but I will alert you once I have a better understanding of this affliction."
The mage exited without another word. Goombella approached the doorway as well and whipped out what looked like some sort of handheld video game device.
"I'll do some research too. I can email Professor Frankly on my Mailbox SP and see if he might know anything about this curse." Kooper was quick to follow her.
"I'm sure Merlon could use a second pair of eyes on those books. Guess I'll help him out in the meantime."
"Well, what do we do now?" Larry asked after the duo had departed. Daisy pulled up a chair by Peach's bedside and began tenderly massaging her friend's wrist.
"I hate to just leave Peach like this. Somebody's gotta stay by her side in case that helps her somehow."
"Makes sense, I guess," Roy agreed with a shrug.
"Toad, grab me a towel and a bowl of hot water, will ya?"
"On it," Toad replied as he took his leave.
"Well, I'm heading back down to the basement to work with Hariet some more," Iggy announced. He turned to Junior. "You should probably get your things together and head out to find Kamek soon, don't you think?"
"Oh…right," the Koopa Prince agreed with a serious nod as he snatched up his paintbrush from against the wall. Iggy dropped a handful of coins into his sibling's hand.
"Go into Toad Town first and pick up some supplies. It's a long trek back home."
"Good plan," Junior agreed as he closed his hand and followed his sibling out the door.
"Guess that just leaves you and me, Larry," said Roy.
Larry's heart sank. Of all the people to be left to linger with, why did it have to be Roy?
The Koopaling sighed and departed from the room as well without giving any sort of response.
"What's with him?" Daisy asked curiously. Roy sighed.
"I wish I knew."
"Remember, you need to be ready for action as soon as the shield drops, got it?" Tatanga instructed through the speaker. Omega rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. We got it already! Sheesh, quit treatin' us like those lousy rabbits, will ya? We won't screw this up!"
"You better not! There's a lot riding on this. More than we all thought."
"Relax, boss," Alpha assured him. "We've been keeping watch all day. No one has come in or out of there, and it's just a matter of time before they learn something potentially damming about us. A direct and calculated assault – and a swift one at that - is our only option."
The man scrunched his purple leather glove into a fist.
"But, as long as we have Essence, it doesn't matter how many of them come at us. The girl is ours."
"Don't lose sight of the goal, Alpha," Tatanga warned. "This is a rescue mission, not a raid. Last thing we need is for one of you to get captured too."
"As if!" Omega scoffed. "I'd off myself first before I let any of those yahoo's take me in!"
"Don't let it come to that. You're both still an important part of my operation. So don't use Essence unless you absolutely have to in order to get away. But don't get reckless with it either."
"Not to worry, sir. I doubt it'll come to that," said Alpha.
"See that it doesn't." There was an audible click as the line disconnected. Alpha shoved the communication device into his back pocket.
"Look!" Omega exclaimed suddenly. Alpha turned and immediately spotted what had caught his partner's attention.
There was a short, plump figure strolling out from the land safeguarded by the invisible barrier. A large paintbrush was propped casually across his shoulder and bounced slightly with every step.
"Is that…?"
"Looks like it," Alpha confirmed. "That's their leader: Bowser Jr."
"He's gotta be the one who messed the boss up back in Sarasaland. This is perfect!" Omega laughed hysterically. "Let's go rough him up. Whaddaya say? That'll send his whole little party into a panic!"
"No," Alpha declined firmly. "That isn't part of the mission. Our priority is extracting the girl before anything else."
"Yeah but c'mon, it'll be easy! We can still do that, but we can get so much more done at the same time!"
"You're thinking like the Broodals right now. They likely had the same flawed idea about how easy it would be to take it out the prince. Look how that played out for them."
"But that was different! They were outnumbered. It'd be the two of us against one of him," Omega reasoned.
"Until he calls for back-up," said Alpha. "I'm not letting you sabotage this mission for us. Forget the prince for now. We'll get another chance to take him out. For now, our priorities are elsewhere. End of discussion."
Omega sighed and rolled his eyes at this. He knew his partner was right deep down, and he hated that even more than being denied his desires.
"Alright, fine. Whatever. Have it your way. We'll settle for grabbing the rabbit for now. So let's get this party started then!" Omega declared as he rubbed his palms together.
"Settle down. We still need to do the incantation first," said Alpha. "That's my department." Omega waved his hand dismissively.
"Yeah, yeah. Just make it snappy, will ya? I've been itchin' for action all day."
Once Junior was out of sight, Alpha cleared his throat and methodically stepped forward towards the barrier's probable position. He slowly took in a breath as his hands steadily rose above his head; his open palms reaching out for an invisible touch.
Just as stillness settled within his body, Alpha was violently ripped out of his meditative state. Omega yanked him backwards by his shirt collar, wrestled him to the ground, and dragged him several feet away from the barrier's approximate location and around the side of a large boulder. Alpha turned back and met his partner's gaze with daggers.
"What gives?!" Omega pointed straight ahead.
"Look."
Alpha watched as two more figures emerged from a turquoise barrier that had materialized and vanished from view just as quickly. One appeared to be following the other, but they didn't seem to have noticed Alpha or Omega as they were briskly power-walking in the opposite direction.
"Larry!" Roy called out as he chased his sibling. "Larry, wait up!" He grabbed his shoulder.
"What do you want from me?!" Larry exclaimed.
"I wanna know why you're so upset with me! Tell me what I did to piss you off so much?"
"I already told you! Weren't you listening before?"
"Yeah, I know you didn't like what I told the girls last night about the orphanage; about how I remember it more fondly than you. I get that now. But so what? Why is that such a bad thing?"
"Because! I thought we were on the same page," Larry confessed.
"About what?" Larry hesitated and fell silent. "On the same page about what, Larry?"
"Growing up at the orphanage…those were the worst years of my life. I couldn't wait to get out of there. The only thing that got me by was feeling like I wasn't so…alone." Roy processed this, then shook his head in disbelief.
"Larry, you were never alone. You had me and the others there with ya."
"Physically, yeah. But that's not what I mean. The fact that you guys all hated living there too; just having others feel the same way as me; sharing that same pain. That's how I felt less alone. But after what you just said last night…about how you loved it there…you made me realize that maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was the only one who hated it there and I was really alone all along for feeling that way."
Roy gave a heavy sigh and took a moment to gather his thoughts, but was mindful of how apparent it was that Larry was emotionally distressed.
"Larry, you weren't wrong, and you weren't alone," the Koopaling started simply. "All of us were miserable there. It was an orphanage for cryin' out loud."
"You sure didn't sound miserable talking about it last night."
"Don't go twistin' my words. Last night, I said I'd gotten used to it. That's not the same thing as actually likin' it."
"But you also said that none of us had been there long enough to 'grow attached to it' like you," Larry argued.
"Well I-"
"Then again, how could you not? The Mistress always liked you best, you had the most freedom out of all of us, and you had that girlfriend anyway. What was her name? Lexie?" Roy blushed at this.
"Hey, c'mon! She wasn't my girlfriend!"
"Whatever. My point still stands."
"Okay, fine! So maybe I had less reason to hate the place than you! But that doesn't mean I loved it either. But even if I did love it there, who cares about any of that now? We can have different feelings about something. There's nothin' wrong with that. It doesn't make you alone in your feelings or change anythin' about us. Especially not anymore. We've been brothers for years. That stuff happened so long ago. Up until now, you seemed just fine with how things turned out. So explain to me why you're letting stuff from the past get you so worked up all of a sudden."
Larry glared at him, then sighed and shook his head in disbelief.
"I knew it," said Larry ominously.
"Knew what?" Roy replied.
"I knew this big brother sympathy stuff was all an act. You just don't get why this upsets me so much. All you want is for me to fall in line and quit making a big deal out of it so this doesn't inconvenience you."
"Say what?!"
"You're not capable of understanding me. We're too different." The Koopaling turned and began to walk away when a rock wall suddenly protruded out of the ground in front of him.
"Uh-uh. No more runnin' away from me," Roy declared. He waved his arms and the rock wall expanded in response. It stretched out until it encircled the two of them within a ring. "You and I are gonna sit here and hash it all out until you feel better."
"Is that a threat?" Larry asked.
"You already called my sympathy an act. So I'm switchin' tactics."
While Roy and Larry continued arguing, Alpha slunk out from behind his rock and quietly approached the approximate space he believed the force field was occupying.
"What're you doing?!" Omega whispered aggressively. Alpha placed a gloved finger to his mouth. He then turned to face the barrier and raised his arms over his head.
"I don't want your help!" Larry exclaimed.
"Too bad, cuz you're getting' it!" Roy rebutted. Omega's eyes darted back and forth between his partner and the shouting match taking place inside the rock pen nearby.
"This isn't something you can just slap a band-aid on and call it a day!"
"Well, pushing me out and running away isn't gonna do squat either!"
Alpha found it difficult to concentrate with all this racket, but it couldn't be helped. He had to act now while they were distracted. He quickly began muttering the words to the incantation softly.
"There's nothing you can do to help me!"
"Oh yeah? Talk to me first and I'll be the judge of that!"
"This is a waste of time, Roy!"
C'mon, Alpha. Hurry it up already, would ya? Omega thought to himself.
"How could helpin' my little bro when he's in pain ever be a waste of time!?"
"Stop acting like you're my brother!"
"I'm not acting! And if you won't talk to me as your family, then just do it as teammates! We're supposed to be helping Junior. How the hell are we gonna be good at that if you won't even communicate with me, huh!?"
Before Larry could retort, the sound of shattering glass erupted through the air.
He and Roy each turned and looked straight up; watching as a giant turquoise dome encapsulating Shooting Star Summit materialized, cracked, and began to break apart. Several large pieces plummeted down around them.
"Look out!"
Roy tackled Larry as a large glass shard landed in the exact spot where he once stood milliseconds before, then disappeared. Several more pieces crashed down across the area. The rest of the barrier in the sky crumbled and brought forth an ominous rain of broken colored glass. However, all of it vanished into thin air seconds after beginning descent.
It's done, Alpha declared proudly to himself as he lowered his arms. Omega hopped over the rock and strolled over to his partner's side.
"What the heck was that?" Larry asked. Roy lowered the rock wall in a hurry, but froze at what he saw.
"Hey!" the Koopaling called out. Standing several feet away were two figures; one tall and thin, the other short and plump.
Larry raced over to Roy's side and summoned one of his pistols.
"Who are you? What're you doing here?" Larry asked.
The tall man dusted off his hands and smirked.
"Name's Alpha. But don't mind us," he replied. "You kids can finish having your little spat over there. We'll take what we need and be on our way."
"And what would that be?" Roy pressed.
"You've got something that belongs to us. Or, I guess I should say someone," said the short man.
"You're here for the Broodal girl," Larry surmised.
"That's the one," Alpha affirmed. "Now that your barrier's down, we've got a perfect view of your little hideaway. We appreciate you holding onto her for us, but we'll take her off your hands now."
Alpha took a step in the direction towards Merlon's house, but stopped in his tracks as he narrowly dodged a shot from Larry's pistol.
"I don't think so," the Koopaling denied. "One more step and you're toast."
"Ooh tough talk," Alpha's partner chuckled. "But trust me, Tex. You boys don't wanna cross us."
"And why's that?" asked Roy. The man cracked his knuckles.
"Well, it makes more sense if I demonstrate it for you, if I'm being honest. See, I've found it always works better than words. Not to mention that it's more fun that way." Alpha raised an objecting hand.
"You heard what the boss said, Omega. This is a rescue mission," he reminded.
Roy squinted his eyes and examined the pair more closely.
Wait a sec…these guys look familiar…
"Yeah, sure. But you heard what I said too, right? I'm itchin' for action. I don't see why we can't do both. You go grab the rabbit, and I'll stay here to make sure these kiddos behave themselves."
"You really think you can take us both on by yourself, fatso? You're even more insane than I thought," said Larry. "And that's saying a lot, given the goofy cowboy attire."
"Ouch! 'Fatso?' Now that's just plain rude. I oughta teach you some manners for running your mouth like that, Tex."
"The only thing you guys are gonna be leaving here with is a message for Contemno," said Roy as he rotated his shoulder. "We're not scared of him or any of his spineless little cronies."
"Yikes! You hear that, partner? They called us cronies! Are you really gonna walk away after being so blatantly disrespected like that?"
Alpha sighed and tipped his hat. He reached down to pull something out of his pocket.
Larry and Roy braced themselves for a weapon, but relaxed when they saw it was merely a rose. Although, confusion now washed over them.
"I couldn't care less what they think of me. You could stand to do the same," Alpha replied. He shut his eyes and softly sniffed at the flower's aroma. "After all, the only thing that matters is the mission."
"Well then, think of it like this instead," Omega offered. "It's all part of the mission. We gotta knock prince ankle-biter's two bodyguards here down a few pegs so we can get to the bunny girl. Sound good?" Alpha smiled.
"Now you're speaking my language. Alright, game on."
Without warning, Alpha tossed the rose in his hand like a dart.
It flew effortlessly through the air, but Larry summoned his shield before the pointed tip of the weaponized flower's stem could hit its mark.
Roy charged forward and threw a punch, but Omega suddenly teleported and reappeared directly in front of him; catching the fist in his hand.
"What the-?!" Roy stammered.
Spikes protruded out from the man's gloves at the knuckles as he tightened his grip on Roy's trapped fist. Omega smirked, then threw a punch of his own. The impact was far more devastating than the Koopaling had anticipated as he was sent flying through the air.
"Roy!" Larry exclaimed.
But before he could chase after his brother, Alpha leapt high into the air above him.
Four more of his mysterious dagger roses materialized between his fingers. The man threw them all simultaneously and dove to follow their lead. Larry raised his shield higher to block them.
Just as he repelled the roses and lowered his defense, he saw Alpha land and pull out a pair of pocket knives, then race towards him.
The man swung the blades with relentless precision. For their small size, Larry was startled by the noticeable impact they were making against his shield. Not to mention how effortlessly his opponent was able to force the Koopaling into retreating backwards.
What was going on here? Was Larry…afraid of this guy? Why was it so hard for him to fight back?
Roy summoned a rock wall, but Omega smashed right through it. He seemed to teleport and reappear once more in front of Roy; immediately closing the gap between them in the blink of an eye and delivering a powerful series of blows.
The Koopaling attempted to block them all, but several punches managed to get past his defenses in time. Even so, the ones that didn't still left painful cuts and bruises on his arms from the sharpened knuckles. Before he knew it, Omega's combo had sent Roy tumbling backwards. The Koopaling instinctively retreated into his shell.
"Oh no you don't! C'mon outta there, you wimp!" Omega exclaimed as he punted the shell into the air, then vanished again.
He reappeared multiple times in multiple spots to knock the shell back and forth across the sky. From the quick glances Larry got, it appeared as though the man had multiple clones of himself all acting at once.
Larry swung his shield horizontally and forced Alpha to retreat back slightly so as to avoid getting sliced by the rim. But that didn't stop him for long.
Alpha tossed his knives high up into the air, folded his hands behind his back, then swung a low kick to knock Larry off his feet. Before the Koopaling could respond, Alpha grabbed his opponent's shoulders and jerked him forward. He then delivered a knee to his face, spun in place, and sent Larry tumbling back with a kick from the other leg. The man then reached out and caught the airborne knives immediately after.
Roy's shell landed and he immediately popped back out. The Koopaling clapped and summoned a pair of rock walls, then directed them towards each other in an attempt to sandwich Omega in-between. Yet again, Omega disappeared out of the way, then reappeared and began wailing on Roy once more.
No way! What is with this guy?! Roy thought. How is he teleportin' like that?!
"Lemme guess, you took one look at me and thought this would be a fair fight, am I right?" said Omega. "You thought I'd be a heavyweight just like you, big boy, didn't ya?! But oooh you'd be wrong about that! Dead wrong!"
Omega shoved Roy into the ground with his boot, wound back his fist, and prepared to deliver a concentrated blow square across the Koopaling's face.
"GET OFF!" Roy exclaimed.
The Koopaling reached back and pulled a boulder out from the ground behind him. He smashed the rock over the top of Omega's head, which dazed him.
Roy capitalized on this by climbing up in a hurry, pursuing Omega, and throwing a series of punches of his own. He managed to get in a few clean blows, but not nearly enough to turn the tide of this battle in his favor.
Meanwhile, Larry transformed his shield back into a pistol, summoned the other in his free hand, and began firing rapidly at Alpha with each. To his horror, the man dodged and weaved past every single shot. Larry continued to fire madly, but his opponent hadn't missed a beat.
"Try this on for size! SUBMISSION SHOT!" Larry exclaimed. He charged for a second, then fired a pair of blue light cylinders.
Alpha smirked at this and ran directly towards them. He crossed his arms into an "x" formation with a knife in each hand, then sliced each of the beams cleanly in half.
Larry was dumbfounded by this and barely noticed Alpha still approaching and closing the distance between them in time. Had his pistols not been there, Larry's hands would have been sliced to ribbons.
This guy's insane! The Koopaling said to himself. Nothing I do fazes him! I gotta change up my strategy somehow…
Roy shoved his fists down into the ground. When he retracted them, they were covered in stone as though he were wearing gloves made out of rock. Roy and Omega raced towards one another and exchanged blow after blow.
They were equally matched for the moment. But it wouldn't last.
After throwing another punch, Roy raised his arm to guard his face. Omega's fist approached from the direction Roy predicted. However, just as it neared his defense, the fist suddenly disappeared into thin air. In its place, silhouettes of five fists appeared all at once and obliterated Roy's guard.
Once again, the Koopaling fell backwards. He encapsulated himself within a rock dome, but could already feel the tremors as Omega furiously chipped away at it.
"C'MON! IS THAT REALLY THE BEST YOU'VE GOT, TURTLE BOY?!" Omega exclaimed. "THAT BODY OF YOUR'S IS ALL FOR SHOW, AIN'T IT?! YOU'VE GOT NO BACKBONE!"
Roy's mind raced as he tried to figure out what his next move was. The barrier wouldn't hold out for much longer.
As the fight raged on, Larry was still barely holding Alpha at bay with a pistol in one hand and his shield in the other.
The latter was mercilessly hammering away at his shield with his knives, yet somehow also expertly evading Larry's shots at the same time. Larry ducked under one knife, then took the brunt of the preceding kick and was toppled over onto his shell.
There was no question about it. This guy was the toughest opponent he'd faced so far. But why?
He didn't seem to be anything special on the surface. Just an average man dressed up in a gaudy purple suit who attacked with weaponized roses and pocket knives. Maybe it was the realization that this Alpha guy was much more than he appeared which frightened Larry.
And yet…there was also something oddly familiar about Alpha. Unfortunately, now wasn't exactly the best time for him to ponder why that was.
The Koopaling's weapons de-materialized as he retreated into his shell and spun directly into Alpha's path like a top. The man dodged out of the way and chased after him.
"Running away now, are we?!" Alpha called out after him as he chased the shell. "What's wrong? I thought you said you two weren't afraid of us 'spineless little cronies?!' Tell me, have we changed our mind about that yet?!"
Omega smashed a hole clean through Roy's rock dome. But Larry's shell knocked him out of the way before he could continue his assault.
Roy stood up as Larry popped back out of his shell. The brothers now stood back-to-back as Alpha and Omega slowly approached them from both sides.
"Okay…these guys are insanely strong," said Larry between heaving breaths.
"You think they…might be usin' Essence?" Roy asked, equally out of breath.
"Essence? Ha! As if!" Omega called out with a hardy laugh. "Using Essence on you chumps would be a waste! We're not even breakin' a sweat here!"
"Well? Any bright ideas?" Larry whispered.
Meanwhile, Alpha and Omega slowly drew closer; savoring their assured victory.
"You mean besides surviving?" Roy answered sarcastically.
"Well duh, obviously! Listen, I hate to say it, but we need back-up. Let's get Junior and the others so we can-"
"No! We can't draw these two back to the house after us. Then they'll just be that much closer to gettin' Hariet. We need to stand our ground and hold them off."
"What do you think I've been trying to do? I can't land a single shot on this Alpha guy! He's too quick!" Roy scoffed at that.
"Oh please! You think you've got it bad? My guy can teleport and hit like a truck!"
Alpha rubbed his knives together. Omega cracked his knuckles as a large, malevolent grin overtook his face.
"Pfft, I bet my shield could take a punch from him," Larry theorized. Roy smiled as an idea hit him.
"And I bet I could knock your guy off balance easily," he rebutted.
Larry also smiled at this as he caught on to what his sibling was actually hinting at.
"Care to put it to the test then?"
"With pleasure."
Roy knelt down and summoned his rock gloves once more. Larry leaned back as Roy launched the gloves over his brother's head.
Alpha held his knives up to protect his face from the oncoming projectiles. But, he failed to notice in time as the airborne rock gloves suddenly changed course and instead attached themselves to his ankles; immobilizing him.
Omega teleported in front of Roy. He threw a punch, but Roy ducked under it. Instead, Omega's fist made contact with Larry's shield. The impact created a numbing vibration, which traveled up through his arm and sent the man staggering back a few paces.
The two Koopalings turned and sprinted past one another in a perfect circle as they pursued their new opponents.
Alpha struggled to free his legs from the rock traps and failed to dodge in time as Roy slugged him across the face and sent the man tumbling to the ground.
Larry summoned his pistol and managed to get a few shots in against Omega before the latter could teleport away. It was subtle, but Larry noticed something peculiar. The shots had slowed Omega down just enough for the Koopaling to make a discovery.
In the seconds before Omega visibly disappeared, his body had briefly contorted in just such a way to reveal that the man was not in fact teleporting. Each time, he was gearing up to take off in a sprint just before vanishing.
He's not actually teleporting. He's just running so fast our eyes can't keep up with him! Larry realized. But if all he's doing is running, he's gotta stop at some point to attack…
Larry turned to the side and changed the trajectory of his pistol. His claw trembled over the trigger. The Koopaling's breathing and heartbeat synchronized.
He had to trust himself. This had to work.
Right as Omega reappeared, Larry instinctively pulled the trigger.
As fate would have it, Omega had emerged right in the line of fire. He realized it too late and took a direct hit from Larry's pistol.
The Koopaling rapid fired and pelted Omega with an onslaught of magic bullets. The paralysis quickly set in, but Omega refused to go down without a fight. He disappeared again.
Once again, Larry took a leap of faith and changed his trajectory to predict where his opponent would pop up next. He guessed correctly again and Omega found himself penalized with more and more magic shots.
"Why you…!" Omega cursed. He turned and this time set his sights on Larry directly. The man took off. While still traveling quickly, he was now moving just slow enough that Larry could see him running. Omega made a beeline straight for Larry, but took a charged shot directly to the face and collapsed backwards. Sitting up, Omega found himself now staring directly into the barrel of Larry's pistol.
Alpha threw a low kick and attempted to sweep Roy off his feet. But to his horror, Roy didn't budge.
"Sorry, pal. But I'm too big for that."
The Koopaling lifted Alpha off the ground by his shirt. Alpha swung a knife at Roy's head, but the latter knocked it away with his free hand, curled it into a fist, and sent Alpha flying.
Alpha managed to course correct himself and land on his feet, but Roy slammed his palms into the ground and caused a tremor. A series of long stone cylinders protruded out of the ground diagonally around Alpha and smacked him back and forth. The man was too dazed from one clobbering to anticipate the other.
With the wind knocked out of him, Alpha crumbled to his knees submissively. Roy folded his arms and dug his heel into the ground. This summoned one final rock cylinder behind Alpha, which launched him into the air and landing directly next to the collapsed Omega.
"So, still think we're just bodyguards?" Larry called out.
"You can forget about takin' Hariet. She's stayin' with us," Roy declared.
Alpha was first to stand up, and Omega took his partner's assisting hand to rise to his own feet as well. The pair brushed themselves off, then stared down Larry and Roy.
"Not bad…," Omega admitted as he spat.
"Unfortunately for you two, it's not gonna be that simple. You see, our boss put us in charge of this mission for a reason," said Alpha. "Oh, and just so we're clear, Contemno isn't our boss."
Larry and Roy looked at each other, confused.
"Then, who is..?" Roy started.
"Heh, wouldn't you like to know?" Omega teased.
"No more playing games, Omega," said Alpha. "I hate to say it, but it looks like we don't have any other choice." His partner turned to him, startled by this assertion.
"Hold on, this ain't that serious yet," he objected. "C'mon, Alpha. The girl's not worth goin' all the way for and you know it."
"We have our orders. So we have to do whatever it takes to see the mission through," Alpha reasoned. "I'm not any happier about it than you are. But it can't be helped at this point. Failure is not an option."
"What're you…?" Larry began.
Alpha and Omega each clenched their fists and gritted their teeth. Ominous red veins began crawling all over their faces like cockroaches. The pair's eyes opened to reveal only empty red voids. Sparks of crimson lightning emanated from their bodies. Larry and Roy struggled to hold their ground against a powerful gale stirred up by their enemies.
"This has to be…," said Larry.
"Essence…," said Roy.
Junior strolled out of the local shop; placing the last of his purchases inside his bag. The Koopa Prince turned to proceed towards the outskirts of town when a figured collided with him head-on and sent him back onto his rear.
Instinctively, Junior snatched up his paint brush and prepared to retaliate. He stopped however, when he saw it wasn't an enemy whom he'd just made literal contact with. This couldn't have been an intentional attack, he realized, as Junior recognized this person.
Sitting up and recovering from the collision was Diddy Kong. The monkey retrieved his red baseball cap and his eyes scanned Junior from head to toe.
"Ohh! Would ya look at that! The rumors are true. Bowser Jr. is in town after all!"
"Diddy? What're you doing here? Aren't you like, from a different island with DK or something?" asked Junior.
"Sure am! But I heard through the grapevine that someone in Toad Town was doing something about all the people going missing lately," Diddy explained. "I thought it was Mario at first, but then I heard your name getting tossed around. Have you seen him around here, by the way?"
"Believe me, you're not the first one to make that assumption. But no, Mario's not here right now. It's a long story. What do you need him for?" Diddy frowned and scratched the back of his head.
"Well…thing is, I need his help. See, DK's gone missing. Heh, that's a long story too." Junior crossed his arms to ponder this.
"That so? Well, I've got my own task to take care of. But I know some people who might be able to help you track him down. Come with me," said Junior as he turned and began heading back into the heart of the city.
With a hop in his step, Diddy grinned and followed closely behind.
Larry and Roy found themselves now paralyzed in the presence of Alpha and Omega as the latter pair underwent a sinister transformation. The skin of both men's faces dimmed to an unsettling shade of red with protruding black veins. Their entire bodies emanated an almost radioactive red glow.
"No more messin' around...," said Omega with a subtle echo in his voice.
Alpha extended his hands and the discarded knives on the ground instantly took flight and returned to his grips in an act of telekinesis. In a burst of light, the knives then changed shape and grew into machetes.
Larry fired several rounds, but Omega faded from existence in the blink of an eye. When he returned to reality, he snatched Larry up by his wrist and squeezed tightly.
The Koopaling let out an anguished cry. His grip was broken, causing his pistol to drop to the ground and vanish. Steam seeped out between Omega's fingers. To Larry, the intense, burning sensation was unbearable; as if his arm were being shoved directly onto an active stove.
"Larry!" Roy exclaimed. Before he could do anything to save his sibling, Alpha rushed in and swung his machetes. The Koopaling fell backwards onto his shell, but not before receiving deep, parallel cuts carved horizontally across his chest. He writhed in pain as the fresh, red wounds darkened in color.
Larry swung his shield, but Omega launched his free fist directly into it. When the two forces clashed, Larry's shield was shattered to smithereens.
Omega smirked, then tossed Larry aside onto the ground near Roy. The Koopalings each nursed their agonizing injuries.
"Not so tough now, are we?" Omega teased.
"Without Essence, you two don't have the slightest idea of what true power is," said Alpha as he wiped the red streaks from his blades consecutively with his thumb and index finger.
Omega extended his arms out to his sides – palms wide open – and wound them back past his shoulders. In the blink of an eye, he quickly brought his hands together in a thunderous clap. This triggered a sonic boom that exploded through the air and created a seismic wave along the ground.
The wounded Larry and Roy were sent flying backwards. Roy curled up in a ball along the ground and gritted his teeth as dust and debris nipped at his wounds. He could see his bruised and battered arms already being stained red as well. But there was nothing he could do. Applying pressure was all that stood between him staying conscious and bleeding out. The pain had him completely immobilized him, and his pride was suffering just as much because of it.
Larry struggled, but managed to stand up. He twitched his trembling hand, but nothing happened. He examined the deep red burn around his wrist.
"I can't…"
"You can forget about summoning your weapons for a while," Alpha finished for him. "The nerves and tissue in your wrist have been fried. If you try using any magic, you could damage them further to the point of destroying your arm entirely from the inside out."
"You dirty…," Larry muttered.
"You chumps only got yourselves to blame for this, y'know," said Omega. "All we wanted was the girl. But you just had to stick your noses in where they don't belong. Now see where that got ya."
If his injury wasn't already bad enough, Larry found himself frozen in place by the eyes of these two. They shared the same empty, glowing, pupil-less voids; the eyes of demons. Yet, they each struck vastly different forms of fear in Larry.
Omega's wide smile showcasing his large, monstrous teeth with fangs.
This was a face that loved carnage; he reveled in it. Death was amusing to him.
Right now, Larry could only assume Omega viewed him and Roy as nothing more than playthings. Any ounce of respect or control the Koopalings might have won over him previously was gone.
Alpha on the other hand, was not smiling. He was scowling. There was no pleasure in his face. Only the harsh, judgmental, indifference of a monster who couldn't care less.
He took no pleasure in killing. It was simply a job to be done.
Alpha conveyed a dominant sense of superiority with utter indifference for his prey. It likely made no difference to him whether his victims feared death or not. All that probably mattered to Alpha now, was the outcome.
"Let's wrap this up," Alpha suggested to his partner. "I'll go retrieve the girl. Make sure these two stay put. If they move, kill them."
"Aw but killin' 'em is the best part! I'd rather do that regardless," Omega bemoaned playfully. "After all, if we leave 'em alive, they could make trouble for us later."
"You've already got trouble regardless!" another voice called out.
Suddenly, a pair of Piranha Plants lunged forward and snatched the machetes directly out of Alpha's hands.
Alpha and Omega turned as Daisy landed in front of Larry and Roy with Chomper and Bitey protruding from her bracelets.
"Oh great, there's more," said Omega with only slight annoyance.
"This is why we all agreed to this being a rescue mission, not a raid," Alpha recounted.
"Well it's a bit late for that, I'd say."
"Your friend's right," said Daisy. "You want a fight so bad? Done. Now you've got me to deal with, boys."
"Daisy…don't…," Roy said hoarsely.
"They're using Essence," said Larry.
"Really? Well that just makes this more interesting then," Daisy replied with a confident smirk. "I'm curious to see what these two can do differently from Midbus."
"Careful what you wish for, girlie," said Omega as he pointed a finger at her.
Alpha flicked his wrists. Suddenly, the discarded machetes came to life and flew right back into his hands. Daisy and her Piranha Plants were forced to duck and narrowly avoid being beheaded by them during their flight.
"We don't have time for this…," said Alpha.
"Relax, I'll make this quick," Omega assured as he wound his arms back.
Chomper and Bitey unleashed a flurry of fireballs at him, but Omega's hands came together and delivered another sonic boom; the fireballs dissipating in seconds. Daisy adamantly stood her ground but could feel herself slipping off-balance against this hurricane-like gust of wind.
Alpha aimed and threw his machetes into the continuous gale. The twirling airborne weapons immediately picked up speed and hurdled even faster towards Daisy, Chomper, and Bitey. The princess winced and her Piranha Plants rushed in to shield her.
However, just as the wind subsided, a sharp ring of clashing steel cut through the air and the machetes were deflected.
"Your timing just keeps getting better," said Larry with a slight chuckle. The dust settled and Daisy opened her eyes.
Junior was now standing in front of her with his sword at the ready. His determined red pupils stared down Alpha and Omega with deep anger.
"They just keep comin'…," said Omega as he forced a laugh.
Alpha summoned his machetes once more. Junior and Daisy steeled themselves for action.
They hesitated however, when Alpha's Essence transformation mysteriously subsided all of a sudden.
The veins and red glow of Alpha's eyes vanished. His skin returned to its normal color. The machetes in his hands turned back into pocket knives.
Did his power run out? Did he mean to do that just now?
"That's it. I'm calling it," Alpha declared. The echo in his voice was absent.
"Huh? Wait, what the hell? You're done?!" Omega exclaimed in disbelief. "After what those other two punks did to us?"
"Four enemies is more than I care to face," said Alpha. "The longer we stay here, the more attention we draw to ourselves."
"So what, you're chickening out then?" Junior asked. Alpha turned and glared at him.
"As much as I'd love to tear you down in particular as payback for what you did to the boss, now's not the time for it."
"Your boss…?"
"But what about the girl?" Omega reminded him. "You really wanna turn tail now? The boss ain't gonna be happy if we go back empty-handed!"
"It can't be helped. But it doesn't matter. I've got a better idea." Reluctantly, Omega decided to play along as he forced his own red transformation to subside as well.
Alpha reached into his coat pocket. Junior and Daisy froze.
But instead of a weapon, he instead retrieved a sealed envelope between his fingers. Alpha casually tossed it like a throwing star. Omega's eyes widened and he turned to his partner in shock. Chomper seized the letter with its teeth, then handed it to Junior.
"What the hell, Alpha?!" Omega exclaimed.
"Relax, Omega. I've got a plan," Alpha murmured just loud enough for only his partner to hear.
"What's that?" Daisy asked.
"You want to know more about our operation, right?" Alpha replied. "That's why you're holding the Broodal girl hostage."
"Yeah, and it's just a matter of time before she spills the beans. That's why you're here now, isn't it? You tried to get her back," said Junior. Alpha straightened out his back to stand tall, crossed his arms and smiled.
"Correct. But, you won't learn much from her, I'm afraid. She's not very bright. None of those rabbits are, as I'm sure you're already well aware."
"But she must still be important to you somehow if you were willing to use Essence to get past our friends," Daisy pointed out as she tilted her head back and gestured to Larry and Roy on the ground behind her.
"You're giving her too much credit," Alpha argued. "She isn't worth all of this effort in the slightest. I'm simply following orders."
"Then what's this?" Junior asked as he held out the envelope.
"Give that to your friends when they come to. It's meant for them. They should consider themselves honored."
"Alpha, this ain't part of the plan," Omega objected with clenched teeth.
"Trust me. I know what I'm doing," his partner assured him once more.
"How about you start making sense," said Daisy.
"I'd hate to spoil the surprise, so I'll leave it at this. My partner and I run a little 'event' in the metro kingdom. Based on what I witnessed today, I think your friends there might be interested in participating in what we do. That letter has all the info they need."
"What, so now you're trying to recruit them?" Junior scoffed.
"If they're good enough, maybe. If they're not, then they won't be a problem to us for very long," Alpha explained. "I'm extending this gracious invitation to them so they can learn more about what we do. They'll learn a helluva lot more than you ever will from the girl. In fact, you can keep her for all we care. She let herself get caught, so she's worthless to us now."
Junior eyeballed the envelope with disdain. Daisy refused to take her own skeptical eyes off Alpha.
"You're out of your mind if you think any of us would ever join you freaks!" Junior exclaimed.
"Pipe down, prince-y. This doesn't concern you or the brunette over there. Let your minions decide for themselves. The invitation's for them. If they're man enough, they should come on their own. But after today, I wouldn't blame them for wanting to steer clear of us." Alpha tipped his hat. "If I'm wrong, then we'll be waiting. Ciao!"
Without warning, Alpha and Omega disappeared into thin air. Junior's sword changed back into his paintbrush and he returned it to his holster. The Koopa Prince helped Larry stand up, while Daisy struggled to lift the now-unconscious Roy.
"Thanks for the save," said Larry.
"Don't mention it," said Daisy. "Junior, help me with him, will you? Roy's bleeding out over here and he needs treatment stat." The Koopa Prince nodded and stepped forward to assist.
"Is that Diddy Kong?" Larry pointed out. The monkey hurried over from the sidelines where he'd been standing all this time.
"Larry Koopa? You're here too? Boy, this day just keeps getting weirder!" Diddy exclaimed.
"Let's get back to Merlon's so we can sort all of this out," Junior instructed as he took the lead in guiding the others back.
Far off in the distance, Alpha and Omega stood atop Shooting Star Summit and watched their enemies depart from the scene. Omega glared at his partner.
"I hope you know what you're doin' here," he warned. Alpha smiled ominously as he continued facing forward.
"Trust me, it's better this way."
"But Tatanga's gonna go nuclear when he finds out we didn't get the rabbit! Not to mention what he's gonna do to you when he finds out you gave an invitation to the enemy!"
"I misjudged the opportunity and dropped the barrier at the wrong time. I can admit that. Truth be told, I didn't think it would matter as I didn't expect those Koopas to give us such trouble."
"I'll say! You and the boss are always goin' on and on about how we shouldn't 'underestimate our enemies!' You screwed up big time!"
"I know. Relax, I'll take the fall for that. But we can still make this work in our favor. Those two have potential that can be put to much better use than it is now with shielding their precious prince." Omega raised an eyebrow at this.
"Hey, I know what you're thinkin'. But it's never gonna work! You know we're not takin' on any more recruits!" Alpha turned to Omega at last and smiled.
"Who said anything about recruiting them? They'll work just fine as contributions."
"The name's Damian," the man introduced.
"Bowser," the Koopa King replied as they shook hands. "Oh, and this is Mario." The plumber smiled and waved. "He doesn't say much so…I pretty much do the talking for both of us." Damian's brows rose slightly at this.
"Oh, I see. Well, Mario must consider himself pretty lucky to have had a friend like you to rely on all this time." Bowser and Mario glanced at each other awkwardly.
"You could say we've got…history," said Bowser woodenly.
"That's nice. You're big fans of the Star Keepers, I take it?" Damian assumed as he gestured to the statues behind them.
"Uhhh…," Bowser hesitated. "Yeah, I know about them. I read all the stories as a kid."
"They must mean quite a lot to you then if you came straight to the castle after arriving." Bowser's eyebrows rose slightly.
"…Arriving?" Bowser parroted hesitantly.
"In town, of course. This is your first day on the island, isn't it?"
"Island…?" The Koopa King turned to Mario for back-up, but the plumber only offered him an equally-confused shrug. By now, Damian's expression grew slightly puzzled as well.
"Don't you know where you are…?" the man probed.
"Y-yeah! Of course we do!" Bowser quickly assured him. "It's just…been a long day of traveling! Yeah, that's it! And…when we got here, we…" Mario motioned to the statues. "We were just…so overwhelmed by their…majesty that everything else just sorta…slipped away…?" Bowser continued without a shred of any real confidence in his voice.
Damian folded his arms, but his skeptical expression softened. He gave a small laugh.
"I understand. They certainly are a sight to behold," he agreed. Bowser and Mario both exhaled and relaxed at once; utterly relieved that this shoddy narrative they'd managed to hastily fabricate on the spot seemed to be working.
"You're quite stealthy then," Damian continued. "Whenever there's word of new arrivals on the island, it's always the talk of the town. Yet you guys seemed to have slipped by right under our noses without anyone seeing you."
"…Yeah, stealthy! Right!" Bowser affirmed with slightly more confidence as he started to get comfortable with his fib. "I-in fact, we…we didn't even get a chance to see where we'd be staying yet."
"Oh, really? Well, if you're lost, I'd be happy to show you two to your quarters, if you'd like," Damian offered.
"Sure, that'd be good," Bowser agreed. "Lead the way."
"Alright then. Follow me," said Damian as he turned and approached a staircase behind him leading down the hill. Bowser was quick to follow.
Mario turned and glanced back at the statues one last time. Before he could take his leave however, he froze.
A brisk chill brushed past his arms and sent a shiver up the plumber's spine. A faint whistling sound glided through his ear.
Mario turned back and cautiously approached the statues once more; gazing around aimlessly to determine the source of this phenomenon.
I can sense it. There is light in your heart, a small voice whispered.
Mario quickly scanned the castle grounds once more, but there was no one around. But someone had to have spoken to him just now. He was sure of it. The plumber folded his arms to ponder this.
"Hey! What's the hold up, slowpoke?!" Bowser called out to him. "Let's get a move on!"
Mario snapped out of his trance and hurried over towards the exit to join Bowser.
He knew what he felt just now. It was too real for him to have simply imagined it. Even if he didn't see anyone, there was definitely a presence there.
Someone or something was watching them.