Chapter 27 Call Her

Roy looked down at the jumbo ray he currently rode on. The thing sailed through the air in the smoothest way possible, and it smiled the entire time. It was kind of cute, actually. Of course, Roy never in a million years would've expected that something like a jumbo ray had the ability to fly, but even with that said, it was cool that it did. It was cool that it moved toward the Koopa Kingdom at such a good speed too.

"We're approaching the Koopa Kingdom border!" Mario called out from the back of the lead jumbo ray. He cast everyone a smile, one that brightened up his face. "Looks like we'll be at Bowser's Castle shortly!"

Roy beamed. Oh, we most certainly will be. He felt immensely satisfied, which was odd given the fact that nothing worth being satisfied over had happened yet. They still had yet to defeat the Shadow Seeker and get their koopa forms back, after all. Oh well, they would do that eventually. They would all engage in a heated battle, one that could potentially put their lives at risk.

Roy shuddered when he had that thought. He never really thought about this situation that way before, but he knew that it was the truth. A Shadow Seeker was a powerful being, after all, and it had already made quick work out of both Bowser and Kamek. If it was able to do that, what hope did this little ragtag party have against it? Would they even be able to get to the ritual before their opponent kicked their asses and mounted their corpses on the wall as trophies?

The shuddering Roy experienced got even worse. He even whimpered a little, thinking about everything that could go wrong. Looking at his siblings' faces, they didn't seem nearly as bothered by this. Why? Why didn't they? This was a dangerous trap they were all willingly walking into. Some may even label it as a suicide mission. Oh, Roy was starting to feel a little sick.

"You okay?"

Roy looked over at Luigi, sitting right next to him on the jumbo ray. He hesitated over what to say, whether he should reveal the truth or if he should put on a tough guy act and act like he wasn't bothered. Both actions had their advantages… while also having drawbacks.

"I'll be okay," Roy eventually said. He looked forward, trying his best not to think too hard (he usually did it, but when he did, man could he get himself in a rut). "I mean, we have a plan. We'll be able to beat that Shadow Seeker."

Luigi nodded, patting his Poltergust G-00 as he did. This sight, unfortunately, did nothing to calm Roy's nerves. It actually made them worse, as his mind reeled over how in the world such a rinky-dinky vacuum cleaner had the possibility of aiding in the fight. He gripped the tanooki leaf Mario had loaned him, feeling like he was entering panic mode at its maximum setting,

"Yeah, you're right," Luigi eventually said. He smiled. "If we stick together and follow the plan, we'll be able to do this. It won't be that big of a hurdle to clear." He chuckled. "That Shadow Seeker won't even know what hit it."

Roy tightened his grip around his power-up. Man, I wish I had your confidence, he thought. In fact, why didn't he? He was the toughest dude ever, and he could go into pretty much any situation with a clear head. By all means, that should be the case here to. Why wasn't it? Why was his fear climbing at such an alarming rate?

The jumbo rays chirped just as they passed over the border. The lands down below now looked obsidian black, exactly what Roy was accustomed to. He managed to smile, knowing that he was back in his cherished home. Even the stink of sulfur made him feel good and made his nerves lessen a little bit. He never realized before how much he loved his home, but now that he had been away from it for an extended period of time, he never wanted to leave. He wanted to find a nice house in the Koopa Kingdom countryside and spend the rest of his life there, not worrying about anything (least of all the mission they were going on).

That thought made him shudder again. He tried to bury his feelings… until something occurred to him. Something that made him stop, made him realize that he had something important that he should probably do. He turned to Luigi, who he noticed looked a little uncomfortable now that they were in Koopa Kingdom territory,

"Hey dude. Can I borrow your phone?"

"My phone?" Luigi asked with a blink. He hesitated before nodding. "Um, sure." He reached into his pocket, unlocked the device, and handed it to Roy. "Who are you gonna call?"

"Just… someone." He typed the number into the keypad and put the phone straight to his ear.

…

Celia sat on a rock and watched the sunset just outside her house. A chilly breeze blew through the town, rustling her hair and making her shiver. She pulled her sweater closer to her skin, thinking about all that had happened to her over the past few days. She thought about what her mother said. She thought about what her father said. Both of them made good points… but even still, Celia still struggled. Even knowing that the people who loved her would support her no matter what, thinking about the decision that hung over her head still made her queasy.

She sighed. It shouldn't be this hard, should it? Shouldn't the answer to this question be obvious? Shouldn't there be a clear right and wrong way to look at this situation? Oh man, why wasn't there? Why was this matter so complicated? Why did everything have to make so little sense while in the middle of trying to decide what to do.

Ring ring!

Blinking, Celia pulled her phone out of her pocket. She saw that the call came from an unknown number, which made her sweat a little. Should she answer this? She probably shouldn't… and yet, there was this little voice in her mind telling her that it would probably be for the best.

So, she accepted the call. "Hello?" she said once she put the phone to her ear.

"Hey Cee," said a familiar voice

Celia's face lit up. "Hey, Roy!" She adjusted her position. "How are you?"

Roy let out a breath. "Well… we're making our way back to the Koopa Kingdom. We now have a plan that could help us all become koopas again."

Celia wanted to jump for joy. "That's awesome, Roy!" She smiled, her mind racing as she thought about all this would mean for the two of them. "I've really missed your Koopa form."

"Oh, did ya?" Roy chuckled. "Well, if this plan is successful, I definitely won't deprive you. I'll come see you as soon as possible. I'll let you see me in my scaly glory, and I'll even let you feel my muskles if you want." He chuckled. "Does that sound good to you?"

"It sounds perfect," Celia said with a grin. The grin fell from her face though when she realized something. "Hey, what do you mean by 'if this plan is successful?'"

Roy was quiet on the other line before sighing. "Well… we are going up against a demon…"

A pit formed in Celia's stomach. "Oh. Right." If that was the case, then Roy's nervousness made perfect sense. After all, who wouldn't be nervous going up against a supernatural entity such as a demon? If anything, the way Roy felt about this whole thing was completely rational.

Even with that said though, he needed encouragement. After all, this wasn't a fight that the Koopalings could just walk away from. They needed to do this if they wanted their lives to go back to normal. It would probably be wise to make Roy feel better, to tell him that, as scary as this was, it wasn't a completely hopeless situation.

"I know you can do this, Roy." She smiled. "You can take that demon, slap it across the butt, and send it crying to its Mommy. You're cool like that."

Roy laughed. "I mean, I don't think this demon has a Mommy. And it doesn't have a butt either."

"Even still, the point still stands." Celia looked up at the pink sky. "You and your siblings have gotten into countless situations, each one crazier than the last. And every time that you got into them, you managed to come out on top."

"Well, that is if you don't count the kidnapping missions." Roy paused for a minute before chuckling. "But then again, my siblings and I never really put that much effort into fighting the Mario brothers…"

"Yeah." Celia smiled. "You can do this. I don't have a doubt in my mind that you can do this." She giggled. "You'll become your handsome self once again. And when you do, you won't even know why you were scared in the first place."

Roy chuckled. "Maybe." He let out a breath. "Thanks, Celia."

"Of course." Celia pressed the phone closer to the ear. "I believe in you Roy, you and your siblings." She smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too," Roy said almost immediately. "And as soon as I'm back to normal, coming back to the Mushroom Kingdom will be the first thing I do."

"Good." Celia wiped some dust off her lap. "Well… I'll talk to you later."

"Talk to you later."

…

Roy hung up the phone, smiling as he did. Somehow, that conversation made him feel a little better about the odds they faced. Maybe it was Celia's words, or maybe it was just because of her hopeful tone. Either way, his nerves, while still there, weren't nearly as pronounced. He felt kind of confident now, like everything was, indeed, going to work out alright in the end.

"Was that your girlfriend?" Luigi asked.

Roy chuckled as he handed him back the phone. "You bet." He sighed. "I think things are starting to look up."

"Good to hear," Luigi said with a grin. He put his phone back in his pocket. "I have full confidence that things are going to go smoothly."

"You and her both." Roy looked up at the sky, glowing with pinks, yellows, and oranges as the sun dipped below the horizon. "And you know what? I think I can see where you guys are coming from." A small smile grew on his lips. "We're gonna kick that Shadow Seeker's butt and send it back home to its Mommy."

…

The Shadow Seeker soaked in the air of the Castle. So still, so warm, so stale. The place itself was quiet too, which the demon thought was the best possible thing. He didn't have to listen to the Koopa King and his insufferable voice. He didn't have to worry about anything. All he had to do was just sit in the silence, soaking up the atmosphere and allowing it to do amazing things to its dark soul.

Yeah, things were definitely working out. When he got the chance, he was going to spread his influence to the rest of the Koopa Kingdom. Then, after that, he was going to try and conquer the other regions of the world. He could see it now, a whole planet ruled by him and his dark powers. Sure, this world rightfully belonged to the Shadow Queen and her Dark Prince. But they weren't around at the present time. They were locked away in interdimensional prisons. So, there was nothing stopping the Shadow Seeker from spreading his influence. There was nothing stopping him from taking over the world…

Until the Shadow Seeker got another vision. A fight flashed across his eyes, led by Aria Shellcreep and Bowser's insufferable brats. At first, when he saw this, fear shot through the Shadow Seeker. He realized that, if he was having this vision, then the Koopalings and Aria Shellcreep were probably already on their way back to the Koopa Kingdom. This meant… this meant that they could kill him! This meant that his plans wouldn't come to fruition! This meant his life was essentially over.

The Shadow Seeker sneered. "No," he said out loud. "I've come to far to give all this up now." He rose into the air. "I'm going to defeat those Koopas once and for all." He grinned. "And I have the perfect way to do it."