Okay now, readers. Here is the ninth chapter of this story!
Now, we are getting close to the end of Chapter 1 here, and this is the last part before we focus on the interludes outside of Andrew and his group.
So, for this chapter, Andrew, Goombella, and Koops take part in their first major battle with Hooktail and use its weakness to their advantage, Hooktail attempts to trick the three travelers, and some other stuff will occur. How will this go for the three of them? Find out right now!
IN THE OUTSIDE AREA OF HOOKTAIL CASTLE:
As soon as they walked through that door, they found themselves in an outside portion of the castle. A Koopa and Paratroopa were present to pick a fight with them, but Andrew and Goombella made quick work out of them.
Andrew had noticed that a strong howling wind was heard in the background, and it was pretty loud. In addition to that, he saw that the sky looked darker from this height up. Were they 'really' that high in the air that it got dark all of a sudden?
"Whoa," Andrew saw the view beyond the ledge. "We're 'really' high up. Who knew that this castle was this tall?"
"You're not kidding, Andrew! It's like you could reach out and touch the sky, huh?" Goombella remarked.
"Not to mention the sky got dark at this height," Andrew pointed out.
"Yeah. Looking out from the heights makes my head go goomby..." Goombella gulped as she realized her mistake. "I mean... I mean goony! Sorry about that. I'm... I'm just..."
"Goombella, it's all right. We 'really' are high up, and falling from this height would be catastrophic," Andrew shivered slightly from that. "So let's stay away from the edge."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Goombella nodded.
"How about you, Koops?" Andrew decided to ask his Koopa partner. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Uh, huh," Koops' attention was gotten when Andrew asked him that. "Ummm... Y-Yeah. Yeah, Andrew, I'm...I'm all right. Really."
"Okay," Andrew told him. "Just stick close to us and you'll be okay."
"Uh, right," Koops moved closer to Andrew and Goombella as they walked along the bridge leading to a tower.
"Looks like we need to climb this spiral stairway to the top of this tower," Andrew pointed out. "We better get moving."
"Gotcha Andrew," Goombella was right behind him. "C'mon Koops! We gotta dragon to take down!"
"Ummm...Oh, right. Hooktail," Koops nodded as he stayed right behind Andrew and Goombella as they started scaling the spiral stairway in the tower.
It didn't take long for them to reach the end of the spiral stairway. A Spiny Goomba was there to ambush them, but Koops went ahead and took care of it instantly. Andrew spotted another set of stairs that led to the very top of the castle, right outside what seemed to be Hooktail's lair.
"Well, guys. This is it," Andrew told his two partners as he climbed up the stairs with them by his side. "We're about to take down a dragon, and there might be a chance that we won't make it out alive. But we'll at least go down trying to do the right thing for the people of Petalburg, and everyone else that was eaten by Hooktail, including Koops' father..."
"Ummm...R-Right," Koops frowned, knowing that he wasn't only doing this for his father, but for his girlfriend and the rest of Petalburg.
"Whatcha talking about Andrew? Of [course] we're gonna make it out of this alive. As long as the three of us stay together," Goombella went ahead to perk up their spirits before reminding Andrew. "And as long as you're wearing that red badge that you found."
"Oh, right," Andrew sat down on the edge of the stairway as he took out the badge kit he had.
He took out the Attack FX R Badge and put it on right underneath his sweatshirt, along with the Power Jump, Power Swing, and Power Bounce Badges.
As he was doing so, Koops couldn't help overhearing some deep breathing in the room that is Hooktail's lair. He knew it was Hooktail. This was a long time coming for him. He waited 10 long years for this. Now he was gonna finish it with Andrew and Goombella by his side.
By now, Andrew managed to get the badge on.
"There. Now that should do it," Andrew put his badge kit into his backpack, threw it over his back, stood back up, and approached the humongous door. "Now we should have a bit more of an advantage against Hooktail..."
I just hope this works. I hope that the letter and Ms. Mowz are correct about this... Andrew thought as Goombella and Koops walked right over to him, prepared to face off against Hooktail too.
"Well, let's get this over with," Andrew motioned to his two partners.
"Right. Let's kick some dragon butt," Goombella remarked.
"Ummm...Okay. I can do this..." Koops trailed as he then had a thought in his mind. This is for my father.
Without another word, Andrew opened the door as the three travelers went right into Hooktail's lair, ready to take down the dragon at any cost...
IN HOOKTAIL'S LAIR:
As soon as they were in the lair, the door slammed right behind them, making a loud echo throughout the castle. Andrew could 'definitely' smell the scent of a dragon in this lair, as he and his partners could feel it. It was then a loud bellow that got their attention.
"Who dares approach me?!" This got them to look up and they then saw Hooktail towering over them.
Andrew was able to get a closer look at Hooktail. It was red, just like he had seen before, but he noticed several things about it. For one, its snout and face looked an awful lot like that of a Blargg; a lava dinosaur. Three bell-like things on the back of its head were yellow.
Its belly was barf-green in color, its wings were tiny even though they had seen it flying earlier, its claws were dull blue on all four of its paws, and it had three large dull blue hook-shaped tails. Andrew figured that this might be why it was given the name Hooktail in the first place.
It was then Hooktail looked up towards the ceiling and let out another bellowing roar for the three travelers to hear. As soon as it was done with that, Hooktail looked downwards and inspected these three little trespassers.
"Hmm... So... You are friends of the strange-garbed one who came earlier?" Hooktail guessed as to who they were.
Strange garbed one? Oh no... Koops thought dreadfully before whispering. "This fiend is talking about my dad..."
"I didn't expect more to come to steal the treasure I protect..." Hooktail continued. "Such rashness..."
"Yeah. Well, we just came for one thing," Goombella found her voice. "Along with taking you down ourselves."
Hooktail could only snort in amusement at that. That Goomba girl never met the wrath of a dragon in her entire life, considering her rather determined expression.
"That was foolish, I fear," Hooktail huffed. "Do you 'really' think you can beat me?"
"Well, we're gonna attempt to beat you," Andrew told the dragon. "Even if we die trying."
"But you're so small. And you don't appear tasty," Hooktail then decided what to do with them. "I suppose you might make a good snack."
"I thought you said that we didn't appear tasty," Andrew had to deadpan a retort in response.
"And the bottoms of your feet smell like they might make a good sauce with some spices." Hooktail declared.
"What?" Andrew couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did this dragon have a foot fetish or something?
"What I'll do is saute you to crispy goodness and gobble you down...HEADFIRST!" Hooktail proclaimed before starting a battle with the three so-called heroes of Petalburg.
"Okay," Andrew took his bat out. "You asked for it. Ready for this Goombella? Koops?"
"Ready whenever you are," Goombella smirked as she got into battle position.
"Ummm... I'm ready," Koops hesitated to answer but decided to stand his ground.
Hooktail then stomped within three feet away from them. The dragon then decided to announce something.
"Snack time, little appetizers!" Hooktail boomed. "But which one of you morsels should I taste first?"
As Hooktail was deciding which one of the three travelers to eat first, Andrew decided to look towards Goombella.
"Goombella? You got the information on this dragon?" Andrew asked as Goombella took out her Tattle Log and flipped to the page that Hooktail was on.
"Yes, I do! That's Hooktail," Goombella read off from the Tattle Log. "It'll stomp and munch on you, and it has a more dragonish attack: stinky, fiery breath!"
"So it'll use its fiery breath to burn us to a crisp," Andrew realized.
"That's right," Goombella nodded before continuing. "It's tricky, especially when it's losing, and it'll try to fool you into being merciful."
"Yeah. Don't let our guard down," Andrew stated.
"Yeah. And you already know what its weakness is," Goombella uttered to him. "And you had already found the item that's related to it."
"I sure do," Andrew pointed towards where the badge was underneath his shirt.
"Ummm...Guys?" Koops got their attention and pointed towards Hooktail, who decided to unleash a fire breath on them.
"Guys! We better get down!" Andrew grabbed Goombella as he raced for Koops to get him onto the ground too.
Hooktail's fire breath managed to scorch part of its lair, leaving behind some charred marks. Koops felt some heat on his shell from the fire breath, and there were some charred marks on it. But otherwise, he came out alright. As for Andrew and Goombella, they were within seconds of having their tushies torched by the fiery breath.
Goombella was able to put her Tattle Log away just in time for the three of them to see Hooktail laughing haughtily.
"Bah ho ho ho! You foolish mortals!" Hooktail declared. "You 'clearly' don't have what it takes! Now why don't you give up now and I'll eat you nice and quickly, hmm?"
"I...I don't think so," Koops stood up, feeling some sense of courage flowing through him as he glowered. "You killed my father, you fiend. And we're going to take you down for all the horrors you caused!"
"Bah ho ho ho ho! Foolish Koopa!" Hooktail laughed once again. "You don't even look tasty enough to be made into a mid-day Koopa soufflé. You'll never be able to stop me!"
"We'll just see about that," Andrew had his bat ready as he rushed over to Hooktail to slam its maw with his bat.
Surely enough, Andrew's bat made contact as it did some damage to the dragon. Not only that, but the impact from the attack was accompanied by a sound. It was a high-pitched cricket chirp.
Just the sound of it was enough for Hooktail to get nauseous and feel like it was being weakened.
"Bleck! That awful sound! It...sounds like a cricket!" Hooktail moaned. "How did you know?"
"I have my ways," Andrew said slyly as Goombella rushed over to join him, along with Koops.
"Stop that this instant! Urp..." Hooktail looked like it was ready to gag. "I got really bad...ugh...food poisoning once when I ate a cricket. I HATE them!"
"So this happens to be its weakness," Andrew deduced.
"Right on, Andrew," Goombella cheered for him.
"Oh... Fight it, Hooky..." Hooktail told itself. "Just hearing a cricket chirp makes me feel woozy!"
"I don't think we'll be stopping this. We're gonna put a stop to your terrorism of villages such as Petalburg once and for all," Andrew proclaimed. "All right Goombella? Koops? It's all you! Let 'em have it!"
"You got it Andrew," Goombella smirked as she went over and delivered two Headbonks on Hooktail's snout.
"Right," Koops then went into his shell and launched himself, performing a Shell Toss which made an impact on Hooktail's paw, before racing back and doing another breakdance move on his shell before standing up.
Hooktail decided to retaliate by stomping on the human with its front paw that Koops rammed into. Andrew almost felt a part of his backpack torn open, along with an inch of his hair getting shredded off from that Stomp attack. But he managed to get out of the way in time.
Andrew then decided to take action as he stood back up. With a leaping jump, Andrew went ahead and did a successful Power Bounce on Hooktail's maw. He jumped about 6 times or so, activating the cricket sound yet again, as Hooktail felt like it was getting weaker.
"Ooooog... Must...not...gag..." Hooktail felt its stomach churning. "My poor tummy... Uuuuurp... So very woozy..."
"We're doing good guys," Goombella declared. "Hooktail is getting weaker."
"But just in case, here," Andrew took out two Courage Shells and gave one of them to Goombella. "These oughta keep us protected!"
"Thanks, Andrew!" Goombella smiled before asking. "Wait, what about Koops? Doesn't he need one?"
"Koops is already a Koopa," Andrew informed her. "He doesn't need another shell."
"Good point," Goombella understood before telling their Koopa partner. "Didja hear that Koops? Are ya okay with that?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm alright, I guess..." Koops nodded rather hastily.
Andrew and Goombella activated their Courage Shells, as they then felt a strong armor coating around their flesh. They somehow managed to get transparent shielding.
"All right! Now that we should be protected, let's continue the battle," Andrew declared, pointing towards Hooktail as he charged for it.
Andrew swung his bat on Hooktail once again, making that same cricket chirp from a Power Swing. Goombella followed with her Headbonk, and Koops launched his Power Shell attack on the dragon, using his breakdancing moves to get out of Hooktail's fire breath path. The three of them continued landing these attacks for several moments.
It was at this point that Hooktail felt numbered. These three trespassers that would've made a good appetizer were besting it in its castle, and they used its weakness to their advantage too. But it wasn't over. Hooktail had one last trick up its sleeve, in which it would help save its 'own' skin. Now was the time to do it.
Goombella and Koops were right by Andrew's side as he had his bat up and was in front of Hooktail. He was about to land the final blow on the dragon when suddenly, Hooktail spoke and got their attention.
"W-Wait! Hold up a moment!" Hooktail begged.
"Huh?" Andrew raised an eyebrow at this, lowering his bat to the side.
"I give up! Please!" Hooktail tried playing their sympathies to its advantage. "I won't be so bad anymore. I promise! 'In fact', I'm sorry! For everything!"
Andrew, Goombella, and Koops gasped at this before they gained blank looks on their faces, especially Andrew. Was this for real right now? Since when did a dragon ever bother to surrender, promise to be good, or apologize for any of the horrible stuff they caused? Surely, Hooktail wasn't trying to play with his empathy right now, was it?
"Er... Yeah..." Hooktail then fished out a promise that it'll give to Andrew right on the spot as if it was a bribe. "To prove it, I'll give you 1,000 coins! What do you say? Can you forgive me?"
Andrew couldn't believe it. It was trying to do this! Did Hooktail 'really' think that Andrew was stupid? Did it seriously think that he would fall for a promise of 1,000 coins, just like that? Despite this, Andrew didn't look angry. Instead, he looked cool and collected as he decided not to raise his voice before saying.
"Nah. I'm good with coins right now," Andrew had such a flat tone in his voice.
Goombella and Koops noticed how calm he was, and also were catching on to what he was doing, and that he wasn't going to fall for the dragon's trick.
Hooktail was shocked by that. Since when did any man want to turn down a 1,000-coin reward like this? Even if he was rich, surely he'd ask for more, right? Well, it didn't seem to be the case with Andrew.
"What? You must be joking!" Hooktail was baffled. "You don't need any coins?"
"That's what I said," Andrew responded in such a deadpan tone.
"Then how about the lovely, rare-extra special badge I have?" Hooktail made another promise. "I'll give you that. It's one of a kind! And it's yours for a limited time only! Will you take it?"
"I can do without a badge right now," Andrew said in such a nonchalant manner.
"Yeah, ummm...that's right, Hooktail," Koops found his voice as he stepped up. "You... You can take that badge and ummm... stuff it, you fiend!"
"Wow," Andrew blinked in amazement at what Koops said. "Not bad, Koops."
"Errrr... Really?!" Hooktail was surprised by that too.
"That's right," Andrew nodded.
"Well, I suppose I could apologize by letting you smell the bottoms of my feet," Hooktail offered. "People pay good money to do this. I'm being completely honest right now. Really. So? Care to take a whiff of the rich, yet delicate scent of my world-renowned feet?"
Andrew had a disgusted look on his face from hearing that. Now, it was becoming painfully OBVIOUS that Hooktail was getting desperate. Foot fetish or not, did it 'really' think Andrew would even want to sniff even a tiny ounce of its feet?
With a cringed look on his face, Andrew was about to say something, but Goombella raced up and then yelled furiously.
"EWWWWWW! Why don't you keep those feet to yourself, YOU DISGUSTING CREEP!?" Goombella didn't hesitate to let her feelings on that offer out of her system.
"Yeah. What she said," Andrew said in disgust, keeping a stern expression on his face. "We're not interested in sniffing your feet. So just keep them away from us."
Now Hooktail was shocked. They weren't falling for its trick. Perhaps these three were far SMARTER than it thought they were. Still, it had one last trick up its sleeve. And it involved its wings. And its appetite.
"Hrrrrrrrrmmmm! You aren't a very trusting fellow, are you?" Hooktail remarked.
"Not when the person happens to be a bad person who's done horrible things, such as a menacing dragon," Andrew pointed out dryly.
"It's important to be able to trust someone, you know." Hooktail reminded him.
"Unless it happens to be a dragon that goes around terrorizing villages and keeps eating Koopas daily," Andrew deadpanned yet again.
"Err... I guess I'd better..." With that, Hooktail backed away from them towards the broken wall, jumped off, and took flight, getting the three travelers' attention as they rushed over and looked over from the edge.
From a distance, Hooktail saw three Koopas in the field, minding their own business. This gave it the perfect chance to scoop up a fine three Koopa meal. Then, like a freight train, Hooktails flew down towards the Koopas, and scooped them up into its mouth, as it started crunching away before it was seen flying in front of Andrew, Goombella, and Koops again.
They saw that it was eating three Koopas that it found in the field, and were horrified. That feeling of horror turned into anger as the three of them were prepared to take down Hooktail.
"Did...Did it just...?" Andrew couldn't even finish his sentence.
"Yes, it did," Goombella sneered at the dragon. "That's just terrible!"
"Yeah," Koops remarked sharply. "That's just not right!"
"Ohhh ho ho ho ho ho ho! Ahhh!" Hooktail cackled while still flying. "Now my strength has returned to me!"
While Andrew and Goombella were more than eager to take down this dragon, Koops suddenly grew a backbone as he decided to join them.
"That's it! Enough of this!" Goombella shouted. "Let's finish this creep off once and for all, Andrew!"
"I've also had enough of this," Koops yelled. "Let's finish this guy off fast, Andrew!"
"I'm all for doing that," Andrew had his bat in his right hand. "Let's wrap this up!"
The three of them charged and made perfect timing. They landed on Hooktail's back as the dragon took to the sky and flew around the area. While on its back, Andrew swung his hammer into the back of Hooktail's neck, making that cricket sound once again, which got Hooktail feeling all woozy again.
"Blurp! Why do I always have to feel so faint every time I hear a...urp...cricket?" Hooktail looked like it was about to gag.
Goombella timed a perfectly aimed Headbonk to Hooktails' back, making sure she didn't fall off. Koops then got into his shell and performed his Shell Toss, causing more damage to Hooktail in its neck.
With all its energy, Hooktail tried swerving in the air as it struggled to shake Andrew, Goombella, and Koops off of its back. But the three travelers kept themselves firmly on Hooktail's back as they dished out some more attacks, including a Power Jump from Andrew.
But what Andrew didn't realize was that someone was watching him and his two partners battle Hooktail on its back. A silhouette was viewing the fight from the highest perch of a tree branch, with a camera in its hands.
The silhouette kept watching the fight in the sky from a distance before it could get a good snapshot of Andrew up close. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Hooktail flew near the tree with Andrew still attacking it.
The silhouette got the perfect timing to snap a photo of Andrew up close, as it got a good photo of what Andrew looked like before Hooktail flew back up towards the castle. The silhouette looked like it meant serious business as it continued watching the fight from afar.
By now, Hooktail stopped swerving as it entered its lair in the castle again, where it skidded on the ground and lashed the three travelers off with its hook-like tails. They were flung into the air as they felt a bit of a wind blown out of them, but otherwise, they stood back up.
"Hey, Andrew," Goombella pointed towards Hooktail, who was a few feet from them. "Looks like Hooktail has almost had it!"
"It would appear so," Andrew then did some thinking before coming up with something and turning towards Koops. "Hey, Koops? You wanna avenge your father, don't you?"
"Uh, sure I do," Koops nodded. "More than anything..."
"Then I think you should be the one who delivers the finishing blow," Andrew suggested to him.
"Oh, but umm..." Koops pointed out. "How can I reach?"
"No worries. I'll give you a little boost," Andrew took out his bat. "First, I'll need you to go into your shell."
"Ummm...Okay, Andrew. If you say so," Koops did just that as he was in his shell. Andrew went over and picked him up.
"Now, I want you to spin yourself in place as I throw you upward and then fling you towards Hooktail with my bat so you can dish out the final strike," Andrew suggested.
Koops didn't argue as he started spinning in place right as Andrew tossed the shell up in the air. Andrew readied his bat and just as Koops' spinning shell was within his range, Andrew swung the bat, managed to strike the spinning shell, and caused it to zip towards Hooktail.
Koops, in his shell, was spinning as he made contact with Hooktail's jaw. He struck it multiple times before going downward and striking her across the chest and back legs. This did a serious number on Hooktail as the dragon lowered itself down when Koops landed on the ground, still spinning in his shell.
Andrew saw that this was a success as Koops zipped right back to Andrew's side, flipping onto his back to do four more breakdancing moves on his back before getting back up and doing that pose with his fingers.
"You know, you are 'really' good with breakdancing, Koops," Andrew complimented him again.
"Golly gee... Really?" Koops seemed flattered. "Thanks for that, Andrew."
"It's my pleasure," Andrew crossed his arms.
"I think it was 'totally' cool, too," Goombella agreed when she noticed something going on with Hooktail. "Hey guys! Look at Hooktail!"
Andrew and Koops looked up at Hooktail just as Goombella suggested and they saw that the dragon had just about met its match.
From Hooktail's perspective, it knew what this meant. These three trespassers managed to outdo it as they took it down. There was no denying it. It's time was up. Hooktail started bobbing its head left to right, with its tongue hanging out as its eyes started spinning. It's as if it was getting dizzy.
"B-But... I... I..." Hooktail moaned its last sentence. "GURK! How? Why? There's still so much I wanted to do with my life... So many meals..."
After breathing its last breath, Hooktail roared in agony before flipping over in the air as it was about to crash down on the ground of its lair. This got Andrew on alert and he decided to advise his partners.
"We better hit the deck, guys," Andrew informed. "Let's get out of the way!"
They did just that as they zipped out of the way, just in time for Hooktail to crash land on the ground, causing a massive tremor to shake throughout the whole castle, and quite possibly the entire area of Petal Meadows, and maybe Petalburg.
Once the tremor settled and it was quiet again, Andrew, Goombella, and Koops rushed over to where the defeated Hooktail was, lying on its back while twitching its back left leg. They couldn't believe they did it. They took down a giant menacing dragon, despite the circumstances that came with it, and the possibility that they wouldn't make it out alive. Could they have managed to get through that possibility? And did Koops avenge his father now that Hooktail was defeated?
Feeling themselves having caught their breaths, Andrew put his bat away as he dusted his hands.
"Well guys, I guess we did it," Andrew sighed in relief.
"Yeah! We did it, Andrew! We 'totally' did it!" Goombella cheered.
"Wow! We 'actually' pulled it off, Andrew!" Koops added in agreement.
"No kidding. I didn't think we had it in us," Andrew admitted. "We 'actually' took down a giant dragon together."
"You bet. And it's all because we had used its weakness to our advantage," Goombella admitted.
"Yup. Seems like it worked after all," Andrew said. "Now with that out of the way, there's one other thing to take care of; the Crystal Star."
"Yeah. We have to search for that Crystal Star we can't seem to locate," Goombella proclaimed. "And it's supposed to be in this castle."
"So, uh, let's find that Crystal Star thing you're looking for, Andrew," Koops admitted.
"But where?" Andrew was thinking. "Where could that Crystal Star be?"
"Hmmmm..." Andrew, Goombella, and Koops started thinking about its whereabouts. They were brought out of their thoughts when they heard something coming from Hooktail.
"Ooooo... Oooooooooooooo..." That sound caught their attention as they looked at Hooktail.
Something was seen crawling up Hooktail's gut and made its way up its throat. Once that something was now in its mouth, Hooktail spat that something out of its mouth as it landed on the ground.
The object was revealed to be a blue Koopa shell. Once it was on the ground, a Koopa emerged from it as he stood up onto the ground. This Koopa had blue shoes to match his blue shell.
But the most distinguishable features were the thick eyebrow and goatee that he had, both of which were brown. As soon as he saw that he was no longer in Hooktail's belly, he decided to announce.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAH! I'm out! I'm finally out!" The Koopa was 'clearly' happy to be outside of Hooktail's body after so long.
Andrew and Goombella were confused, as they didn't know who this strange middle-aged Koopa was. Koops, by contrast, was shocked by this, as if he had recognized the strange Koopa right off the bat, just by looking at him.
"WHOA!" Koops yelped, having a hard time finding his voice. "It... It can't be!"
This got the strange Koopa's attention, as he was curious about this.
"Eh?" The Koopa wondered.
Koops had to wipe his eyes. He needed to make sure that this wasn't a dream. He wasn't. He couldn't believe it. He had missed this Koopa for ten long years of his life, straight into early adulthood. There was no denying it at all. Koops was convinced as to who this Koopa was.
"Da... DAD?!" Koops cried out as he rushed over to the Koopa, who was Koops' father.
"That's Koops' father?!" Andrew and Goombella were shocked by that revelation as Koops' father saw Koops run over to him.
"Hey! You're... You're Koops!" Koops' father, who was 'apparently' named Koopley, recognized him despite the growth in his size. "Hey, Son! You've gotten so big since I saw you last!"
"Well, yeah, I guess I have..." Koops said as Andrew walked over to stand behind him, along with Goombella. "But who cares, Dad? I mean, golly! What happened to you? Where've you been all this time?"
"Well, I came here a while back to deal with Hooktail, and all was well and good..." Koopley explained to his son. "But just before my finishing blow, he played a trick on me and gobbled me down whole. I've been hiding in my shell for the ten years since then... Inside Hooktail's belly! And boy, was it nasty! Yuck! I'm so glad to finally get out! Ahh ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Honestly, Dad... Don't you know how worried about you we all were?" Koops had to express the sadness he felt during this whole time. "For ten long years we all thought you'd...you know! We thought your game was over!"
"Oh, sorry, Son, but... I'm OK!" Koopley decided to give his son a fatherly hug, the first time he'd done so in ten years, which Koops gladly returned. "That's good, right? We're together now, right?"
"Right," Koops said softly, as Goombella admired this picture.
"Isn't that nice, Andrew," she whispered to him. "Koops is finally reunited with his father."
"Yeah. I guess it is," Andrew couldn't help but give a small smile towards this. It 'really' did remind him of the once strong connection he had with his late mother.
"Hey, speaking of which..." Koopley got them out of their thoughts as he and Koops separated from the hug. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Oh, come on, Dad... " Koops had to explain to him. "I came here to defeat Hooktail, who's been wreaking havoc in town."
It was then Koops motioned his dad's attention towards Andrew behind him. "And Mr. Andrew here is looking for a gem called the Crystal Star."
"Uh-huh. Yeah, that would be me," Andrew rubbed the back of his neck before directing him to Goombella. "And this here happens to be Goombella."
"Yeah," Goombella smiled. "Nice to meet ya!"
Koopley nodded at that before he realized something. Did his son just mention something about a Crystal Star? It's as if he figured out what he was talking about.
"...Crystal Star? This wouldn't be what you're talking about, would it?" Koopley asked as he then took something out from his shell and dropped it to the ground.
It was it. The Diamond Star; the first Crystal Star that they needed to get. It was right in front of them. Andrew managed to get a closer look at it. It looked even more amazing and sparkly than it did on the map. He was honored to have gotten to see the real thing right in front of his face.
"Wuh..." Andrew had to ask. "How did you find that?"
"Yeah," Koops agreed with Andrew. "What's THAT?"
"I found it down there in Hooktail's belly," Koopley explained. "I kept it as a souvenir. So...this is the thing you're looking for?"
"Yes it is, Mr. Koops' dad," Andrew nodded.
"Please, just call me Koopley," Koopley insisted.
"Right, Koopley," Andrew remarked. "That's the Crystal Star, right Goombella?"
"Totally," Goombella beamed. "That's 'definitely' the Crystal Star!"
"Perfect! Just perfect!" Koopley then made the suggestion. "You can have it!"
"Wuh," Andrew was surprised to see him part with it so easily. "Are... Are you sure you want to give it to us? We don't want to trouble you over it..."
"Come now! I won't take no for an answer," Koopley insisted. "You're Koops's friend. Please take it!"
Andrew was shocked to hear him say that. Earlier, he had let Goombella know that she was a friend of his. And now Koopley felt that Andrew was a friend of his son. Was there more to this adventuring business than just collecting the Crystal Stars? Was it the friendship that was formed from it?
Andrew couldn't tell for sure, especially since he was a loner for most of his life. He didn't have any friends before setting off to Rogueport to find the Mushroom Kingdom princess, and he had no idea where she was currently.
After shaking his head, Andrew found his voice.
"All right. If you say so," he turned to face Goombella. "Well, Goombella. I guess you know what this means, right?"
"Yeah! You got a Crystal Star!" Goombella cheered as Andrew walked over to the Diamond Star and claimed it.
Upon grabbing it, he held it over his head as he made the first step, by claiming the first Crystal Star.
"And now you've learned a new special move thanks to the Diamond Star," Goombella informed him. "It's a move called Earth Tremor!"
"Earth Tremor? Wow. That's cool," Andrew admitted as he kept it held over his head.
He seemed pretty satisfied with this accomplishment, as Andrew had just finished the first chapter of his adventure.
"Andrew and his two partners finally got a Crystal Star in the castle after defeating Hooktail. Koops even reunited with his long-lost father, whom he thought was dead. Yet they were unable to learn anything about the whereabouts of the princess. Where could Princess Peach be? Yes... Andrew's new adventure has only just begun."
As soon as that was said, Andrew put the Diamond Star in his backpack for now as he then turned to say to Goombella and Koops.
"Well now that we got that taken care of, why don't we head back to Petalburg," Andrew suggested. "What do you say, Goombella? Koops? Koopley?"
"Totally! I am all for that, Andrew!" Goombella whooped in excitement.
"Yeah. I'm more than happy to leave this castle, Andrew," Koops commented shyly.
"Uh-huh. Why don't you kids lead the way out of this castle and straight for Petalburg," Koopley suggested. "I don't know how much has changed since I've last been to Petalburg."
"Aww shucks, dad," Koops told him as he grabbed his father's hand. "Petalburg hasn't changed all that much since you left there ten years ago."
"Well regardless, we should leave this castle," Andrew opened up the massive doors as they were ready to leave the castle. "Let's shove off."
And with that, Andrew walked out of Hooktail's castle, with Goombella following right behind him, and Koops trailing after them, escorting his father out of the castle as they were bound for Petalburg, feeling accomplished that they claimed the first Crystal Star.
But what Andrew didn't realize was that the same silhouette who had just taken a photo of him had also witnessed him and his two partners defeat Hooktail and claim the Crystal Star that Hooktail guarded. This seemed to be important news that the silhouette needed to report, effective immediately.
Climbing down the tree, the silhouette rushed off without being exposed or giving away his identity. He had to tell his boss something important about what he saw and the photo he took. And boy, was it going to be important later on...
END OF CHAPTER 9...
Yeah, that's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoyed the battle between Andrew, with his two partners, and Hooktail.
Now, for the record, let me just say that yes. I know Hooktail's a girl. But the way I presented it here was to make the revelation that her brother gives much later on all the more shocking. So I'm keeping it like that.
So yeah, a little notice for all of you. That silhouette figure that I added to this chapter is going to trigger something very important, and it involves the whereabouts of the princess, as well as who abducted her. Just be aware of that.
Anyway, Chapter 1 has come to a close in this chapter, as Koops' father is alive and reunited with him, and Andrew and Goombella claim the first Crystal Star. Of course, trouble should be set for Andrew and his two partners as their adventure continues, especially into Chapter 2. I hope you look forward to that.
Enough of that, the next chapter is going to be an interlude that focuses on Princess Peach, which shows who her captors are, she learns that Andrew now has the map along with her captors, who plan for Andrew's annihilation, and Peach gets introduced to a certain computer. How will this go for her? Find out next time, readers.
In the meantime, if you like, you can leave a review for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed the action and humor that I added to this chapter, along with the touching reunion.
Otherwise, I have nothing else to say. So until next time, I hope you take care of yourselves. And on that note, thanks again for reading, everyone!