I'm very pleased with how last chapter turned out even with my dislike of exposition. Especially what I did with Swanky Kong and Wario.
Roy: Just get on with it, won't ya?
Someone's impatient.
Chapter 4: Afterparty
Teams PLMB, WYDT, PRDT, and WCKT stopped by Castle Toadstool first, while the other nine teams traveled to their nearest respective homes to report the recent news. The Koopalings played outside as they waited for their father and godparents to finish.
In the conference room, Peach summoned her trusted chancellor and the Toad Brothers.
"... and this is why we'll need you all to stay in charge in case we're called away," the princess finished.
The Toad Brothers saluted proudly.
"You can count on us to defend the castle and kingdom, Princess!" Ala-Gold affirmed.
The chancellor bowed. "And I will do my best to fill your shoes regarding the administrative duties," he promised.
"Well of course!" Toadsworth agreed. "We simply cannot imagine better Toads for the job!"
Bucken-Berry looked at Rosalina. "Will the Observatory be okay without you there?" he asked.
Rosalina nodded. "Yes, I'm not worried. I've left it in the care of Captain Luma, Polari, Lubba, and Co-Star many times before, this won't be any different."
"We're probably going there next, right? To tell them what's going on?" Daisy asked her. "It'll be faster than getting to Sarasaland or Big Ape City."
The mother of the cosmos nodded again. "We will, but first there's something I want to check on…" She stood and walked out of the room. Her teammates looked at each other before following.
The other teams similarly left, making their way to the closest destination to continue telling of their newfound duties. Team PLMB and the Koopalings made their way back to Castle Koopa.
Outside, behind Castle Toadstool, Rosalina led them to an unfamiliar area surprisingly close by.
"I've never been here before," Daisy wondered aloud.
"Me neither," Toadette said. "Where are we?" she asked Rosalina.
Rosalina remained silent, looking at her goal: a small hill with an enormous fir tree growing from the peak. I'm taller than the hill now since the last time I've been here, she noticed. But the tree's grown so much over the centuries! She walked up the hill.
The other three watched her make her way up, looking between her and the tree. Once Rosalina reached the top, Daisy gasped.
"Wait, is this…?" She lifted her skirts and leapt up the hill to join her friend.
Rosalina knelt down and leaned her head against the tree's trunk. Her breath hitched. As Daisy reached her side, the other two came to the same realization of what this was and followed.
Rosalina took a deep breath. "Hello, Mother. I finally returned to you here." She stopped leaning on the tree. "You probably never expected your little girl to become the mother of the cosmos, but here I am. And now I've been called on for battling a mysterious force of evil that hasn't actually revealed itself yet, so we've been advised to prepare and inform our loved ones. And I thought of you."
Rosalina took another deep but much steadier breath and straightened her posture. Daisy put a hand on her shoulder.
"So this is the tree on the hill," she said gently. "The hill looked much bigger in the book."
Rosalina chuckled, "I took some creative liberties with my illustrations. Mother actually had the redder hair."
Daisy and Pauline knelt and Toadette sat beside her.
"It's a beautiful tree," Toadette commented.
Looking up and smiling at the tree, Rosalina sighed, "Yes. It is."
The women remained like this for a good while after.
*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*
Finally, Team PLMB and the Koopalings returned to Castle Koopa by noon.
"HEY, MINIONS!" Bowser shouted at the gate, startling everyone next to him. "WE'RE BACK!"
"We really should be used to that," Luigi chuckled.
Roy chuckled beside him. "Trust me, there's no getting used to that. Gets us every time he yells like that."
A Goomba peaked out the window. "Hail, Lord Bowser! Welcome back everyone! I'll open the gate in a second!" She disappeared having said that.
Sure enough, the gate opened and the drawbridge lowered for everyone to cross.
"Where are Kamek and Kammy Koopa?" the soldier inquired, noticing the two Magikoopas' absence.
Larry held his arms behind his head. "It's a loooong story."
"It's not one we won't be able to explain to everyone," Ludwig corrected. He held his want out and magically flipped the mechanism to close the gate. "Come, Gomer, we temporarily relieve you of duty."
The Goomba looked back at her post hesitantly before nodding. "Uh, sure, Prince Ludwig. It must be important if I'm allowed to just walk away like this."
"We were all literally summoned by Eldstar," Wendy reminded her, shrugging. "Kind of obvious it'd be important."
"Oh, leave her alone, Wendy!" Lemmy giggled. "Gomer is just that good of a gate guard."
"Hey, I'm not shaming her work ethic, relax!" the Koopa Princess rolled her eyes, a subtle smirk gracing her lips.
Ludwig activated his wand again. "That reminds me, I'll go ahead and summon any remaining hardworking minions to the courtyard as well." His wand glowed for a few seconds before fading.
Junior sprinted on ahead suddenly. "Last one there is a sulfur-boiled egg!"
Larry, Morton, Iggy, and Roy followed after immediately, with Lemmy following on his ball equally as quickly.
Wendy reached out after. "Wait! I thought we're not supposed to separate the teams!" But her shout remained unheard by her racing brothers.
Ludwig smirked at her. "Well, I guess the two of us are left with no choice. Try not to eat too much of my dust, dear sister." With that, Ludwig broke into a sprint to follow the others.
Wendy's jaw dropped. "Why you—!" With a devilish grin, she finally joined the race as well.
Mario placed his hands on his hips as the last of his godchildren disappeared from view. "Well, look who's-a not so above it all, after all. Good for them."
"Sibling rivalry is tough to beat." Peach poked him and Luigi. "Some just don't fall for it as easily."
The Mario Brothers looked at each other and laughed.
*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*J*
The minions all chattered amongst themselves about the news their lieges had revealed.
"I can't believe the Star Spirits saw all that."
"I can't believe they let Prince Morton be the one to retell it to us."
"Or that he managed to stay on track for the whole thing!"
"I wonder what that great evil is going to be. Or when it will show itself?"
As everyone tended to their respective duties, three others found themselves in the same room as they had been in the day before.
"Sir!" Sergeant Guy pleaded. "What should we do?"
"Worry not, loyal minions!" Fawful reassured the Trio. "The planning of Fawful and friends accounted for Star meddling. It gives me chortles!"
The Elite Trio let out a collective sigh of relief.
A female voice spoke in the background from the crystal ball. "How many times do we have to say it? We. Aren't. Friends. None of us. Are friends. Working all together is just the most beneficial to our mutual and separate goals."
"Thorny plants smell of the smelling even with a different namecard!"
The female groaned, "Why do I try?"
Sergeant Guy cleared his throat. "Well, thank you for your patience with our panicked, uninvited call, Lord Fawful. The Elite Trio again looks forward to your next official summons." He hastily picked up the orb and cut off the communication.
"If he can be patient with us, we will have to be patient with him," Corporal Paraplonk said.
Private Goomp nodded. "The Elite Trio will not fail."
The three retreated back to their respective barracks, with no one in the castle the wiser.
I've missed writing these emotional moments. And while this one with Rosalina was bittersweet, I do have several ideas I look forward to implementing that drop the sweet part for some of the other heroes in this story… hehehe…
Roy: Try it. See what happens.
Down, boy. I'm not going to kill off any members of the Royal Koopa family. That being said, it won't be a breach of contract if I start looking at some of the other characters…
Roy: And I ain't gonna kill you, but it also ain't a breach of contract if I shove my fist up yer—