OK, fellow readers. This is the 54th chapter of this story!
Now, there 'really' isn't much to say for this chapter. 'Basically', Bowser and Kammy Koopa arrive in Twilight Town since a Crystal Star is rumored to be in that area, even though Andrew already claimed it.
All of the Twilighters are either frightened by the Koopa King, barred themselves in their homes, or are in denial that this is 'really' happening and that it's a terrible nightmare. Additionally, Bowser and Kammy Koopa encounter Lord Crump, who's looking for the Superbombomb that Beldam dropped there, as ordered by Sir Grodus.
And, of course, Bowser and Kammy Koopa get into a confrontation with Lord Crump, to the point where a war erupts between the X-Nauts and the Koopa Troops. And some other crazy stuff will occur too. How will this go for all of them? Read and find out now, everyone!
IN TWILIGHT TOWN:
Elsewhere, in Twilight Town, the place was looking as bleak, eerie, and spooky as ever. And most of the villagers were going about with their usually gloomy lives.
Or they would have if it weren't for one thing; two people who aren't from the place had arrived in the town through the pipe. These two people happen to be Bowser and Kammy Koopa, but the citizens are more frightened by the Koopa King himself.
Bowser didn't pay any attention to the residents though. He was more creeped out and disturbed by how bleak the town was. None of the Boo's Houses that he has been to were as creepy as this village. Heck, the Boo's Mansion, which is located in the heart of Forever Forest, just a few dozen feet away from Gusty Gulch where the former castle of Tubba Blubba that is resting at the very top, was nothing compared to this place.
And to add to that, Bowser was still irritated at the fact that Kammy Koopa had to make sure his name was on the back of his shell, even though he figured that everyone ought to know who he is since he is FEARED by every normal citizen in the Mushroom Kingdom, and quite possibly the world.
But alas, they couldn't get through the pipe without their names being written on their backs, so Kammy Koopa had to write Bowser's name on his back while using her magical staff to imprint her name on her back. 'Needless to say', it wasn't a pleasant experience for Bowser at all, as he observed the place once again.
"Bleck! What is this place? Why is the light so weird here?" Bowser huffed. "It's spooking me out! You wrote my name on the back of my shell for this!?"
"The light's odd because this is Twilight Town, my lord. And you needed your name written on your backside because the pipe here wouldn't accept you otherwise. It has something to do with a rumor of some monster that kept his name a secret," Kammy Koopa explained before moving onward. "And there should be treasure here... Let's put the screws to one of these creepy things and find the Crystal Star!"
"Sounds good to me, Haggy!" Bowser cackled in delight. "Let's go to it!"
And so Bowser roamed around town to find out if any of the residents knew about the Crystal Star. The first person he approached was the guy who was in front of the Inn. Once Bowser was in front of him, he remained in denial about the fact that he 'really' was there.
"...I'm dreaming. Yup," that resident exclaimed. "Juuuuuuust a bad dream..."
"Ah, no. Afraid this ain't a dream, bub," Bowser snorted. "I'm Bowser, the Koopa King! And I'm your worst nightmare! Gwa ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Gonna wake up ANY second..." The Twilighter completely ignored him.
"Bah! You're not worth my time anyway!" Bowser snarled as he stomped away and he approached another resident.
This one happened to be scared of Bowser, judging by how he was quivering in fear.
"EEEEEEEK! ...Hafff... AAAAAAACK! ...Hoooff..." The Twilighter squealed and hacked in fright at his presence. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
He then ran away from him, which caused Bowser to howl and breathe fire in the air before he stomped off elsewhere in Twilight Town. He then ran into another Twilighter, who was just as scared as the other one who ran off.
"Puh-Puh-Puh... Muh-Muh..." The Twilighter stuttered.
"Enough with the games, punk!" Bowser then bellowed at him. "TELL ME WHERE THE CRYSTAL STAR IS, OR I'LL ROAST YOU!"
"I-I have no idea!" The Twilighter then begged for mercy. "Really! Puh-Please, spare me!"
That Twilighter dived into a pumpkin patch that was nearby, which got Bowser even more irate than he was before. He then stomped off to a female Twilighter, who was just as frightened.
"Nuh-Nuh-No... Nuh-No..." The female resident then had to wonder. "Am I going to be turned into a pig again?"
"Huh? I don't know what the heck you're talking about," Bowser huffed. "And frankly, I don't care! You're a waste of my time anyway, lady!"
With that, Bowser then stormed off and approached another male resident, who jumped and squealed in fright at the sight of him.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Shuh-Shuh... Whuh-Whuh..." The Twilighter pretty much clammed up, which didn't sit well with Bowser at all.
He then saw a nearby house that he tried to break into. Only the door was blocked and barricaded as he tried to pry it open. It was then someone yelled out from inside the house.
"Nobody's home! Really! Everyone left for the day!" The Twilighter yelled out from the safety of his own home. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease..."
"Bah! Do I have to huff and puff and burn this house down or what?" Bowser huffed in annoyance.
"I'D RATHER BE TURNED INTO A PIG THAN FACE YOUR WRATH!" The Twilighter screamed before gasping and collapsing onto the floor.
Judging by the sound of it, it was apparent that he fainted. And Bowser didn't appreciate that one bit.
"Hmph! Whatever!" Bowser stormed off. "What a waste of my time!"
"Ahem! You're Impatientness," Kammy Koopa got his attention. "Look at that guy! The one searching through the bushes!"
"Huh?" Bowser saw him for himself. "You mean the fat guy in purple?"
"Yes. He seems too busy searching for something," Kammy Koopa proclaimed. "Maybe we ought to listen in on what he's saying to himself."
"All right. Sounds like a plan," Bowser was willing to go with that, seeing that none of the residents were willing to give him the info he needed.
The guy they were talking about was Lord Crump. And apparently, he was looking for the Superbombomb.
After Grodus had that meeting with Beldam, he sentenced Lord Crump to Twilight Town to find the Superbombomb that was there so they could use it for their next plan to eradicate Andrew.
The X-Nauts had already supplied him with purple pants that had his name written on the backside so he could get through the pipe to Twilight Town. But judging by how he was having so much trouble trying to find it, he felt that there was no way for him to get back on Sir Grodus's good side.
"Oh, man..." Lord Crump groaned in aggravation. "I'm pretty sure Beldam said...she lost her Superbombomb somewhere around here..."
This pretty much confirmed that it was Beldam who lost it and not Vivian, who had found it earlier with Andrew's help, only to find that it was broken. Lord Crump then muttered under his breath.
"This...stinks. Really," Lord Crump grumbled before he suddenly started to raise his voice in aggravation. "This whole deal is ex-TREMELY BAD! BAD! BAD! BAAAD!"
Lord Crump then took a few deep breaths before he continued talking to himself. "I gotta cowboy up and make a serious comeback here. Or else..."
It was then Lord Crump looked off to a nearby bush and noticed that the Superbombomb was there. It was in the spot Andrew and Vivian discarded it when the former lost his name and identity after they forgot about it altogether.
Storming up to the bush, with Bowser and Kammy Koopa following right behind him, Crump then grabbed the Superbombomb and held it up high over his head. It seemed that his spirit was rising again and that he was over the moon with delight.
"Bam! Got it! I am the MAN!" Lord Crump bellowed proudly. "Now we can crush Andrew and get the Crystal Stars in one fell swoop! Hot-diggety-DOG!"
Lord Crump then let out his trademark laugh before declaring. "Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! The luck of the moon is still riding shotgun with me!"
Kammy Koopa decided now was the time to stop being silent as she then spoke up while pointing her staff at Lord Crump.
"You there! Suspicious guy!" She then had to ask him. "You know something about the Crystal Stars, don't you?"
Lord Crump then jumped upon hearing that voice. Just who was following him? Was it possible that someone was snooping on what he was doing? He had to check them out for himself.
"Buh? Somebody there?" Lord Crump then came face to face with Bowser himself. "Hey! What's the big idea, Turtle Boy?"
It was then Lord Crump realized something. Did they just ask him about the Crystal Stars? Could it be that they happen to know something about the whereabouts of the remaining Crystal Star that Andrew hasn't collected yet that wasn't in Sir Grodus's possession?
"You looking for the Crystal Stars, too?" Lord Crump then clapped his hands in excitement before declaring haughtily. "Sweet! This'll help the Crump comeback!"
Lord Crump then went down to business as he then pointed at them and demanded. "Now, then! Let's get to it! You'll be telling me everything you know. Now."
Bowser did not appreciate this gesture one bit. With the need to retaliate, he stomped one foot forward and countered.
"Uh, actually, it's YOU who's gonna spill every bit of info out of your big, ugly head!" Bowser snarled. "Yeah. Sorry about that. And if you hesitate at all, I'll show you no mercy!"
It was then Lord Crump who had to jump at that. Did Bowser just threaten him? And why was he getting scared? Did this guy know exactly who he was dealing with? And who the X-Nauts were exactly? He'd have to let him know about that right then and there.
"Wh-Whoa there, big guy..." Lord Crump then shook off his stutter. "I mean...NO! Wait! What am I afraid of? You?"
Lord Crump got himself together as he laughed and decided to show Bowser and Kammy Koopa exactly who they were messing with.
"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! If you think you can take me, then try it, Chubby!" Lord Crump then let out a whistle. "All troops, REPORT!"
It was then an entire army of X-Nauts appeared on the right side of the town. This gave the villagers the ticket they needed to amscray before they got caught in the crossfire. Lord Crump then moved forward and stood right in front of the X-Naut army.
"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! Yeah? You like that?" Lord Crump then asked smugly. "Kind of a lot of dudes, huh? You feel like talking yet?"
Neither Bowser nor Kammy Koopa were the least bit fazed by this, as they walked upward until they were standing right in front of Lord Crump.
"Mweh heh heh heh heh! You dare scoff at us?!" Kammy Koopa cackled and sneered before she let out a whistle of her own. "Koopa Clan...FORM UP!"
Immediately afterwards, a bunch of Koopatrols, Hammer Bros, and Magikoopas formed an army right behind Bowser and Kammy Koopa on the left side of town. They pretty much evened the plain field, and Lord Crump took notice of this. It seemed that they were going to play the same game that he was. Still, he wasn't willing to back down on it.
"Whoa! Well played!" Lord Crump had to admit with a low whistle.
"Mweh heh heh heh heh!" Kammy Koopa cackled again before asking him. "So, what's it gonna be, tough guy?"
The next few minutes or so were spent with both sides giving the staredown. The setup seemed strangely familiar. The only difference was that it was in a creepy town instead of the Wild West. Plus, both sides had an army to support them. A war was about to go down in Twilight Town between the X-Nauts and the Koopa Troops.
Not that Twilight Town already didn't have enough problems with its bleak and eerie atmosphere. To say nothing of the fact that the town was once cursed by Doopliss, who had been turning villagers into pigs until Andrew put a stop to it.
And that was before Andrew worked on reclaiming his name and identity, with Vivian's help. Was it possible that the already bleak Twilight Town was about to be turned into a war zone? Thanks to the X-Nauts and the Koopa Troops? Frankly, this was the last thing that the town needed right now.
After a few minutes of silence, Crump suddenly got an idea of how to deal with the Koopa Troops that were in front of them. And it was one that he would later regret doing once it was too late.
"Buh huh! Oh, I gotta laugh!" Lord Crump bellowed haughtily. "THIS is why I keep one of these around! Sorry, suckers!"
Taking out the Superbombomb, Lord Crump held it in his hands before shouting. "Eat this, turtle dorks! SUPERBOMBOMB!"
And with that, POW! He threw the Superbombomb in Bowser's direction, who reacted appropriately upon seeing that it was heading for him and his troops.
"INCOMING!" Bowser yelled in shock as the Superbombomb hit him. He looked like he was expecting it to explode upon impact.
Unfortunately, the shock turned to confusion when he noticed something. The grenade didn't go off. He didn't even think of the possibility that it was a dud. Upon seeing it on the ground in front of him, he let out a huff at what just happened.
"Huh? That was it? That was your big weapon? It didn't even go off!" Bowser then let out a haughty laugh of his 'own'. "GWA HA HA HA HA HA HA! This is how you do it, amateur! Watch and learn!"
Then acting on impulse instead of using common sense, Bowser took a deep breath and got ready to show Lord Crump how it's done.
"GWAAAARRR!" Bowser unleashed his Flamethrower on the Superbombomb, which then started shaking and flashing.
This proved to be a big mistake on Bowser's part since he breathed fire on the crack, which somehow ignited it. And everyone knew what that meant.
"Oh, crud..." Lord Crump whispered while gulping. "Sir Grodus is gonna kill me for this foul-up..."
As far as Bowser was concerned, it was then his brain slowly started catching up to him as he realized what he had just done. He detonated the Superbombomb with his Flamethrower. And now it was going to explode. He then sported that shocked expression on his face as it started to go off.
Then in a matter of seconds, the Superbombomb exploded, blasting in the face of every X-Naut, Hammer Brother, Koopatrol, and Magikoopa that was present currently, as well as striking Bowser, Kammy Koopa, and Lord Crump right in their faces.
For some miraculous reason, nobody was killed during the blast. Instead, everyone that was struck by it was knocked out cold. Lord Crump knew what was going to happen next. Sir Grodus would be so furious with him once he finds out about this.
Turns out the Shadow Sirens would need to come up with ANOTHER plan to exterminate Andrew and his pals since their Superbombomb exploded thanks to Bowser's stupidity of breathing fire on it. Although, Crump was just as stupid for throwing the Superbombomb at Bowser in the first place. Things just weren't looking good for Lord Crump by the looks of it. And he'd have to report back to the base once he regained consciousness with his X-Naut troops.
As far as Bowser and Kammy Koopa were concerned, they would then find out that the Crystal Star that was in Twilight Town was already taken by Andrew, leaving them with nothing from this experience, with Bowser getting the short end of the stick yet again. They would have to search elsewhere once they regained consciousness along with the Koopa Troops.
And of course, Bowser and Kammy Koopa would have no luck next time either. There was no doubt about that at all...
END OF CHAPTER 54...
Yeah. That's it for this chapter. This 'really' wasn't a long chapter to write out. Just like chapter 32, there wasn't a whole lot of content to add here since it's solely in Twilight Town.
Despite this, I thought it was funny how this chapter came out since Lord Crump gets just as much focus here as Bowser does. With that said, I hope you have all enjoyed it too.
Honestly, I 'really' don't have much to say here. The plan mentioned that the Shadow Sirens had in mind was to use the Superbombomb to kill Andrew and his pals wherever they would go next. But of course, thanks to Bowser and Crump being a couple of dummies here, that plan got vetoed as the Shadow Sirens have to come up with another plan, with the X-Nauts' help. This serves as a buildup for Chapter 6.
Anyway, the next chapter will focus on Andrew and his pals again. For that chapter, Andrew and his six friends can get back to Rogueport along with Flavio, and several of the Toads that were stranded on Keelhaul Key, as well as George T and his brother, thanks to Cortez and his Black Skull.
While a couple of the people will stay on Keelhaul Key, Andrew and his pals decide to move on, as Andrew gets another e-mail from Peach. Additionally, Andrew finds out something from Merlon that he'll look into later, as well as giving Bobbery that power-up.
Other things that will occur include the seven travelers heading into Rogueport Sewers, which has members of the Koopa Troops roaming there, Bobbery's thoughts on the place are shown, and they get to the Thousand-Year Door, which Bobbery sees for the first time despite hearing about all the tales of it from his sea traveling days.
And a few other things will occur too. How will this go for them? 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.
Otherwise, I have nothing else to say here. So until next time, I do hope you will all take care of yourselves. And on that note, thanks again for reading, guys!