Okay, readers. This is the 21st chapter of this story!
Now, I don't have a lot to say right now in these author's notes, so I'll make this brief. For this chapter, we focus on Bowser and Kammy Koopa as they arrive in the Petal Meadows and get to Petalburg, due to reports of Princess Peach being spotted there. And Bowser goes through a Super Mario Bros-esque overworld-based level, and he talks to a poster.
How will this go for the Koopa King and his elderly advisor? Read and find out now!
IN THE PETAL MEADOWS:
Elsewhere, in the Petal Meadows, it turns out that Bowser had managed to arrive there, along with Kammy Koopa. Bowser managed to catch his breath as he stared off into the distance of the lush green fields ahead of him.
The place reminded him quite an awful lot like Pleasant Path, which as he could remember, was where the Koopa Bros' Fortress was located. But he didn't have time to dwell on such memories. He was after something important.
According to what he was told by Kammy Koopa, it would appear that the Mushroom Kingdom princess was spotted somewhere in the town that's within the Petal Meadows. And it would seem that maybe the bold fool who abducted her was hiding out in this nearby town. Bowser was more than eager to take her back.
After squinting ahead for a few minutes, Bowser decided to proclaim about the supposed town nearby. "I'm pretty sure it's just up ahead here..."
It was then Kammy came down while still riding on her broom, as she had to agree with him.
"Right as usual, Lord Bowser!" Kammy decided to remind him. "We just got word that Princess Peach was spotted in the town up ahead. And her abductor is supposedly hiding out in the town too."
"Good! Yes, very good," Bowser proclaimed confidentially. "Then I'm off! These fools don't know what's coming! Especially since Mario isn't involved this time!"
"Mweh heh heh heh heh!" Kammy Koopa couldn't help but cackle at this before complimenting. "My lord! You're so super!"
"To heck I am! I'm Bowser baby!" Bowser bellowed proudly before letting out his trademark laugh. "Gra ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
With that, Bowser and Kammy Koopa started trekking through the Petal Meadows to reach the town known as Petalburg. They were more than raring to go and kidnap the princess who was spotted in Petalburg, especially the Koopa King himself, unaware that there was a flaw in the reports that were received.
The next thing Bowser knew, he was going through the Petal Meadows that conveniently set up like the overworld levels of Super Mario Bros. Bowser did not bother commenting on this type of logic as he stomped through the meadows.
From busting through bricked blocks to stomping on Goombas, Bowser was 'clearly' enjoying the destruction he was causing. Another Goomba got greeted by Bowser's Flamethrower attack, which burnt it to a crisp. Bowser broke through one of the big yellow blocks with eyes on it to unveil a piece of meat, which greatly resembled a lamb leg.
Bowser helped himself and chowed down on it, which resulted in him growing BIGGER than usual.
A couple of X-Nauts had stood in Bowser's way but were disposed of by either being stomped on or were completely torched. Bowser didn't know who those X-Nauts were, and frankly, he didn't care. He was just focused on getting the Mushroom Kingdom Princess back to his castle.
By then, he had found another lamb leg meat from torching another block with a flamethrower. As soon as he ate that, he became a giant and was granted invincibility.
"Aw heck yeah! Now we're talking!" Bowser bellowed in pure excitement at the thought of wrecking the place. "Now let's wreck this place up."
And with that, Bowser used his invincibility to his advantage as he plowed right through any block, Goomba, X-Naut, or anything else that stood in his way. He was 'clearly' getting a kick out of destroying stuff as an invincible giant when he made it to a bridge.
As it turns out, Kammy Koopa was already in front of the gate, which meant that they were on the outskirts of the town.
"Hey! Your Giant Invinsibleness," Kammy called out to him. "The town is just beyond this gate. We should be close to Her Highness by now!"
"Awesome! Now that princess is as good as mine!" Bowser boomed victoriously as he stomped across the gate.
There was a flag in the way after passing the bridge, but Bowser didn't care. He was more than determined to reach the town. So, using his massive size to his advantage, he plowed through the flag, which was sent flying off into the distance, before he followed Kammy Koopa into Petalburg. Bowser managed to plow through the gate along the way, pretty much destroying it in the process.
As soon as he passed the gate though, he returned to his normal size, much to his disappointment. Still, it would be worth getting Princess Peach back into his captivity, or so he thought...
IN PETALBURG:
It was then that the one Koopa who greets people who arrive in Petalburg had his back turned towards where the gate was destroyed. Bowser and Kammy Koopa had arrived in Petalburg, and the Koopa heard some stomping from right behind him.
He had thought that they were innocent travelers like Andrew and Goombella were, but he was about to be in for a surprise as he slowly turned around to greet them.
"Oh, hey, welcome to Petalburg and..." The Koopa was unable to finish the moment his eyes made eye contact with Bowser's eyes. Now shaking and quivering in fright, the Koopa could only react like anyone who was scared of a monster would react.
"EEEEEEK!" The Koopa screamed in horror. "Hide, everybody! HIIIIDE! BOWSER THE KOOPA KING IS HERE!"
As soon as he shouted that, the Koopa fled for his life. Once he was gone, all of the other residents of Petalburg saw Bowser for themselves as they screamed in terror. Everyone in Petalburg had scurried back to their homes in panic, locking their doors and barring their windows so that King Bowser couldn't break in to get them.
Bowser couldn't care less about this. There was only one thing that he was after in Petalburg. And that thing happened to be Princess Peach. Letting out a huff, Bowser made his comment.
"Hmmph! What a wuss," Bowser then roared towards all of them. " Yes, hide, chickens! I 'have' no need for any of you! What I do need, though, is Princess Peach."
It was then Bowser shot out some flames from his nostrils before stomping his foot and demanding from one of them. "Now, where is she?! Tell me this instant!"
Bowser realized that everyone was too scared of him to answer his demand. Letting out a groan, Bowser decided to look for the princess for himself. Unfortunately, Princess Peach was nowhere in sight. He had to wonder; was Kammy Koopa 'absolutely' sure that she got word that Peach was in Petalburg?
"Kammy? Do you see any signs of Princess Peach?" Bowser asked her, sounding a little impatient.
"Hold on, your Impatientness. I'm looking," Kammy Koopa scanned through the area and checked through all of the windows in each house when one of them captured her attention. "Lord Bowser! Over there!"
Kammy Koopa pointed towards a particular window with her magical staff on her broom. Bowser looked in that direction and saw what she was pointing at.
It appeared to be Princess Peach herself. And it looked like she was being shown on the window of someone's house. This caught Bowser's interest as he felt that he hit the jackpot.
"Bingo! Princess Peach!" Bowser yelled haughtily. "Man, that was easy!"
Bowser then stormed over to the house until he was right in front of the window that Princess Peach was looking out from. Perhaps the bold fool who kidnapped her lived in this house, and he wasn't home right now.
"I've found you, my princess," Bowser greeted her excitedly as any villain would. "I, Bowser, the mighty Koopa king, offer my greeting!"
Princess Peach didn't say anything. And from the looks of it, she was staring blankly at nothing in particular. She didn't look like she was breathing, so Bowser assumed that she was not bothering to acknowledge him by remaining quiet.
"Now, now! None of that silent treatment!" Bowser advised her. "You're coming to my castle with me! And this time, Mario isn't here to save you!"
Peach still didn't say anything and remained as silent as a doornail. Kammy Koopa approached them on her broomstick as she decided to give her theory as to why Princess Peach was not talking at all.
"Mweh heh heh! 'Clearly', she's so overcome with joy that she's been left speechless!" Kammy Koopa declared heartily. "The mind of a maiden is, well, rather...complicated. Mweh heh heh heh heh!"
Bowser was all for accepting that. After all, what would be better than kidnapping the princess who wouldn't be able to talk, and wouldn't be capable of warning her people about her abduction at the hands of the Koopa King?
Especially if Mario was not able to learn about how she was kidnapped by him again? This was a dream come true for Bowser. But unfortunately, that dream was gonna crumble in a minute, and he would find out the truth the hard way.
"Gra ha ha ha ha ha ha! I see! I see! How refined! How elegant!" Bowser laughed evilly before accepting this fact. "Awesome! I suppose I could live with a silent princess! It might even have its perks, you know? No one in the Mushroom Kingdom will EVER know about this, especially that mustache menace Mario! Now you're mine, Princess Peach!"
And Bowser was just about to grab her and take her back to his castle. But before he could even approach her, another voice was heard shouting nearby.
"NOOOOO!" This voice belonged to another regular Koopa, who was shaking in fear as Bowser had to grunt and glower at this pathetic weakling.
This chump is the bold fool who abducted Princess Peach without my say-so? Bowser thought in irritation. Are you serious right now?
Before Bowser could voice his thoughts on the possibility that an average-ordinary Koopa Troopa could make off with the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and relocate her to this faraway town called Petalburg, the Koopa decided to voice himself on this and revealed the truth to Bowser.
"My... My life's treasure!" The Koopa panicked. "I'd rather die than give up my life-sized Peach poster!"
Bowser thought that the Koopa was just pulling his leg when he called her his life-sized Peach poster. That is, until all of a sudden, the Koopa jumped up, pulled the Peach poster off of his window, rolled it up into a paper tube, and then stormed back into his house.
It was right after the Koopa had the rolled-up Peach poster under his arm that Bowser suddenly sported a shocked look on his face, with his right eye twitching in disbelief. He couldn't believe it. The person he thought was Princess Peach was a poster all along? To the Koopa King, this was unbelievable!
"P-POSTER?" Bowser yelled in shock and confusion.
Kammy Koopa had seen this occur as she had to adjust her glasses before commenting. "Oh, my goodness me... Didn't see that coming..."
After standing there in shock for another moment or so, Bowser then frowned, as if he had just made a fool of himself like this. How would this affect his reputation of being a fearless and evil Koopa King now? Because if everyone found out about this, he would become a laughingstock of the Mushroom Kingdom, and no one would take him seriously.
"Great. Just great," Bowser grumbled before revealing loud enough for others to hear. "Now I look like the huge, mighty king of GUYS WHO TALKS TO POSTERS!"
This caused some of the people to poke their heads out of their homes as they stared at Bowser. A couple of people started snickering and chuckling at this fact. It only took one death glare from the Koopa King himself for them to shut their traps and go back into their houses.
Kammy Koopa, for her part, came to a revelation of her own. Earlier, she had gotten reports that Peach was in Petalburg. But it seems both senility and incompetence got in the way of this, for as it turns out, it was revealed to be a life-sized Peach poster all along.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed about her slip-up, she had to make her comment to Bowser.
"Oops. Heh heh. Silly me," Kammy Koopa announced. "It would appear that a mistake was made on my part, Lord Bowser. I had thought that was the princess from the word that got out. But it was a poster all this time. Guess I made a mistake there."
"Oh, gee. You think? Great observation you did there, Kammy," Bowser had to retort in a sarcastic manner before snorting at her. "While I'm thinking of it though, I must ask; how's that research on the Crystal Stars coming along?"
"Oh, well as a matter of fact, I had heard talk about there being a Crystal Star located in this area," Kammy Koopa adjusted her glasses again.
"There is?" Bowser looked like he was ready to hunt for the Crystal Star that was located in Petal Meadows; at Hooktail Castle, until Kammy remembered hearing something else about it.
"Well, uh, unfortunately, it isn't here anymore," Kammy said shamefully. "It turns out someone else had claimed the Crystal Star that was located near this town."
"WHAT!? You're kidding!" Bowser snarled in disbelief.
"I'm afraid not," Kammy told him honestly while shaking her head. "And it turns out that this Andrew fool was the one who had claimed the Crystal Star that was located nearby here."
"Great! Just GREAT!" Bowser was now more than upset as he howled. "First I make a fool out of myself by talking to a mere life-sized Peach poster! And NOW I find out that there WAS a Crystal Star here, only for this Andrew stranger to get ahead of me and snatch it from under my nose?! AAARGH! Mario isn't here, and yet I still get the short end of the stick!"
Kammy had to shake her head at the outrage that her Lord was feeling right now. Perhaps they'll have better luck with the next place that has a Crystal Star, right? After clearing her throat, Kammy felt the need to tell him that they should move on.
"Ahem! Uh, Your Grouchiness? Perhaps now would be a good time for us to take our search for the Crystal Stars elsewhere?" Kammy made the suggestion.
Bowser only reacted by giving her an indifferent look. He didn't care what they did now, as long as they got out of this town, and looked somewhere else to find one of the Crystal Stars, and for Princess Peach.
"Pffft! Fine. Whatever, Kammy," Bowser snorted. "Let's just get out of this pathetic town..."
"After you, Lord Bowser," Kammy told him as Bowser stomped past her, with the elderly Magikoopa following after him on her broomstick.
They were planning on leaving Petalburg, as well as the area of Petal Meadows entirely. They decided that they'd have better luck elsewhere, as they decided to check out another area that's located in the Rogueport region.
But what Bowser didn't know was that if he thought that he had no luck here, then he was gonna find out for sure that the other places would be no better, and that he'd be left shorthanded in those places too. He was going to find that out for himself, though. That much was a given...
END OF CHAPTER 21...
Well, that's it for this chapter. This chapter is shorter than the previous chapters, and maybe even just as short as, if not shorter, than the last Bowser interlude chapter.
Yeah, one thing that I did make a change with in regards to the Super Mario Bros-styled level that Bowser went through was that I removed the castle and replaced it with that gate that leads to Petalburg. I did this to make the transition from the level to the town a little more believable.
The flag that is used to end the level remained though, and I also decided to have the Koopa King become an invincible giant to plow through everything in his path while storming through the level. Still, I hope that this was enjoyable for you all to read.
Anyway, for the next chapter, we're going back to focus on Andrew and his three partners as they plan on leaving the Great Tree. For that chapter, Andrew is delighted to know that Flurrie wants to remain with him to get the rest of the Crystal Stars, he gets another email from Princess Peach, and he decides that he and Flurrie should have some fun at her house, privately, before she gives him two gifts there.
Aside from that, Andrew starts to feel like a new man of himself, he heads to the Thousand-Year Door which Flurrie sees for the first time, and the third location of a Crystal Star appears on the map, along with a few other things. How will this go for Andrew and his three partners? Read and find out next time, readers!
For now, only if you like, you can leave a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter overall. That's all that I need to say about this.
Otherwise, I have nothing else to say. So until next time, I hope you all take care of yourselves. And on that note, thanks again for reading, everyone!