-Chapter 27-

Release the Blooper!

Wendy's Ship

Having acquired the information they sought, Gabo and his fellow Spikes proceeded to take Sushie away, the Cheep-Cheep struggling all the while.

"You miserable, overgrown kamegaeru (1)! You won't get away with this, you hear me!?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you, I hear you…annoying, old kipper," Gabo groused, earning himself a wet fin-slap. "Hey! Quit it!"

"Hey Gabo, you sure we can't just gut this fish right now?" one of the Spikes asked. "The Princess told us where they're keeping that other wand we're after, so we don't need her anymore."

Gabo shook his head. "Tempting as it is, no."

"C'mon, it's just one, lousy Cheep-Cheep!" another Spike said. "Who's gonna know?"

"Princess Wendy will know, Marty!" Gabo snapped. "She gave us strict orders to keep Game Overs to a minimum. We KO someone without her say-so, it goes right up to King Bowser, and if that happens–!"

"Right…" the others winced. "We'll be lucky to get bricked."

"Exactly." Gabo nodded decisively. "Now, let's get the hagfish back in her tank, lock it up, and get to the isLAND!"

Just then, a particularly rough wave surged forth, rocking the boat. The Spikes immediately lost their balance, wobbling around and waving their arms as they tried to keep from falling over; which was all Sushie needed to slip out of Gabo's arms and into the air.

"Yatta! (2)" She cheered and, with a flick of her fins, she slipped over the railings and into the water below.

"No!" Gabo cried in horror. "Spike Squad, get that fish!"

"Sir!"

Gabo lifted his head until he was facing skyward. As soon as he did, his cheeks began to bulge as something filled his mouth. A few seconds later, he opened his mouth and spat out a metal ball covered in spikes and as big as he was. His comrades then proceeded to spit out balls of their own, until every one of them was carrying one.

"Ready boys!? Aim…" They pulled back their arms… "Hurl!"

Gabo and his squad threw the balls. Despite their size, the spiky spheres traveled frighteningly quickly, as if they had been shot from a cannon; and once they'd been thrown, the Spikes quickly spat up another one and repeated the process.

Fortunately, Sushie was just as quick, if not quicker. She deftly dodged each and every spike ball that headed her way, swerving to the side the second she saw a shadow on the sea's surface. She even leapt into the air to ride the currents for an extra burst of speed.

"Nice try, boys!" she called out to her attackers. "But you'll have to do better than that to bear…!"

As soon as Sushie had turned around, her mouth hung wide open. Gabo had expanded to at least ten times his size, his eyes bloodshot as sweat poured down his body. Slowly, his mouth opened up; a large conical spike emerging as he groaned in pain. Finally, with a loud fwoosh, Gabo was launched backward into the wall, back to normal size, having launched the giant spike ball he'd been preparing right over Sushie.

He watched as the ball struck the water, launching a massive pillar skyward, which then rained down around them.

"Well…" Gabo winced in pain. "Did it work? Did I get her?"

A few of the other Spikes looked out at the ocean. There were ripples and waves from the ball's impact, but no sign of Sushie.

"Yeah, I think you got her, sir!"

Gabo grinned. "Good…"

He forced himself back up, grunting in pain as he did.

"C'mon, we need to report this to Princess Wendy."

Gabo turned around and hobbled back the way he came from, his soldiers following; none of them noticing the smaller trail of ripples moving away from the ship.

Meanwhile, in another part of the ocean, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Yoshi were swimming like heck after Delphinius.

"Come on!" Mario shouted. "Paddle! Paddle like there's no tomorrow!"

"I'm giving it all she's got, Captain!" Toad cried out. "Oh man…"

"Mario, slow down!" Luigi called out. "If you keep this up, you're gonna tire yourself out!"

"A girl's life is on the line, Lu! I'm not slowing down!"

"Wow, Red Man is really serious," Yoshi said worriedly.

"Not surprising." Luigi shook his head. "'Specially after what happened with Princess Peach."

"Guy's got a hero's complex," Toad added.

Yoshi blinked. "Hero...complex?"

"It's when someone has to be the hero," Toad explained. "Save the day, get the girl, all that jazz."

"But, isn't that good thing?"

"Not really. It gets in your head, makes you blind to what's around you, and eventually, those heroes may end up hurting someone close to them."

"Soooo, it bad?"

"Very."

Luigi grimaced, not liking the direction this was going. Mario, on the other hand, paid no attention to this; his eyes focused solely on the task at hand.

"Come on, come on! Gotta keep going! Gotta keep swimming!"

He was swimming so fast, he was neck and neck with Delphinius, much to the transformed king's shock.

"Gotta keep moving! Gotta keep pushing! Gotta save Marina before she...OOF!"

"Gah! Nanda sore wa (3)!?"

Mario floated around for a moment, clutching his face in pain. Once he came too, he found himself staring down a purple Cheep-Cheep, mirroring his motion with her white fins.

"What the…!?"

"Kuso! (4)" the fish cursed, her voice that of a woman. "Why don't you watch where you're going, you–!"

It was then she noticed what she'd crashed into. "Human in a Frog Suit?"

Delphinius approached the pair, letting out a loud squeal.

"Heika!" the Cheep-Cheep cried out, before bowing to the king.

"Heika?" Mario turned to Delphinius. "Is she a friend of yours?"

"Hey!" the fish snapped, swimming right into Mario's face. "How dare you address King Delphinius so casually!? Who do you think you are!?"

"Mario!"

The trio turned to see Luigi and the others finally catch up, out of breath from swimming.

"Mario?" the fish asked before examining the plumber and his companions. "Hold on…red and green with an M and an L…could it be?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "You're them! The Super Mario Brothers!"

"Ah! Fish person!" Yoshi screamed.

"Easy, Yoshi," Mario said.

"Oh, this is perfect!" The fish cheered, then quickly did a 180. "Wait, no it's not! I insulted the Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom…in front of King Delphinius!"

Suddenly, the fish bowed, her fins over her head in supplication. "Mario-sama! Heika! I apologize from the bottom of my heart for my rudeness! Please, find it in your heart to forgive this humble fish!"

"Whoa! Easy, easy!" Mario soothed. "It's alright, just calm down."

Delphinius made similarly sounding clicks and whistles.

"Yes… my apologies…"

Mario nodded. "Alright, why don't we start over?"

"Of course," the fish bowed again. "My name is Sushie, a retainer to Princess Marina, and I need your help! Our Princess is..."

"We know," Mario cut in. "She's going to be executed by Wendy. We saw the paper."

"Good, that saves us time." Sushie motioned for the group to follow her. "Quick, follow me!"

Sushie swam off, the others following after her.

Later…

After a particularly long swim, the group arrived at the coast of a small island.

"Here we are, Ile Isle," Sushi said.

"Ile Isle?" Toad asked.

"Sushie, we need to get to the capital on Isola Isle!" Mario protested. "That's where the Princess is being taken!"

"They're making a quick detour."

"How do you know?" Luigi asked.

"Because of the treasure hidden here. A magic wand of unfathomable power."

"The one that turn king into fish person?" Yoshi questioned.

Sushi shook her head. "No, that wand is currently in Wendy's possession. This wand is much more powerful and much more dangerous. It's said that its power is capable of destroying entire kingdoms overnight!"

A statement like that would've left most skeptical, thinking it just an exaggeration; but, after seeing what this world had thrown at them, Mario and his friends were more than inclined to believe the desperate tone in Sushie's voice.

"Seriously!?" Toad demanded. "Lady, that's the kind of thing you destroy!"

"You think we haven't tried that!?" the Cheep-Cheep snapped, causing Toad to yelp and duck behind Yoshi.

Sushie fumed for a moment before taking a deep breath, allowing herself to simmer down.

"Gomenasai…Princess Marina's kidnapping has done nothing for my nerves."

"It's understandable," Mario said. "We'll save the Princess. Can you keep an eye on the King for us?"

At that, Delphinius let out a few clicks.

"What'd he say?" Luigi asked.

"Heika has instructed me to go with you."

Everyone blinked at that.

"Uhhh...no offense, Miss Sushie," Luigi began nervously. "But, we're gonna be going up against the Koopa Troop. One of Bowser's kids. And...well...you're kinda…sorta…"

"Old," Toad said bluntly. "You're kinda, sorta old."

"Toad!"

"What? She is."

"Yes, I am," Sushie replied a little testily. "But I know my way around the islands and have protected the royal family before you four were even spawned."

"Mario, she has a point," Luigi said. "Plus, we need to think this through. We've gotten lucky the last few times. And what if the Blue Hood is with Wendy?"

Mario winced, remembering his thorough trouncing at the hands of Bowser's newest flunky.

"That's what I thought." Sushie nodded, pleased that they saw her point. "Now, c'mon! The wand's resting place is this way."

The group watched as Sushie hopped away with a surprising amount of agility.

"How Sushie-fish hop like that?" Yoshi asked.

"Forget that, how is she not suffocating!?" Toad demanded.

"We should be the ones asking that," Mario pointed out.

"Questions for later," Luigi added.

-X-

A short trek later, the group peeked out of some bushes.

"Oh no..." Sushie gasped.

The group found themselves outside a partially demolished Toad House; a Koopa excavation crew searching around.

"The Toad House..."

"Those rotten no-good Koopas..." Toad growled.

"C'mon, people! Keep it moving! We haven't got all day!" Wendy walked by, twirling her personal wand. "If we don't find that wand by sundown, then somebody's going to be my ottoman for the rest of the week!"

"Yes, Princess Wendy!" the Koopas declared, redoubling their efforts.

Luigi looked around. "Well, there's good news. No Blue Hood."

"Still, that's a lotta Koopas," Toad pointed out.

"Not a problem." Mario adjusted his hat. "Let's-a go!"

Mario leapt out of the bushes, startling Wendy and her minions.

"Hey Wendy!" he called out. "You have a permit for this?!"

"Well, well," the Koopa Princess began. "If it isn't Super Mario himself. Why am I not surprised you're here?"

Mario narrowed his eyes. "Where's the Princess?"

"Hmm…I think she's in another castle."

"No, she's not, she's on the ship!" one of the Koopas declared.

Wendy slowly turned and gave the Koopa the flattest possible look she could. "Oh..."

Luigi, still hanging back, quickly darted toward the ship, only for Wendy to aim her wand and blast him, ensnaring both his legs with a striped ring. He promptly fell over with a yelp.

"Going somewhere, Green Stache?" Wendy asked. "Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to run off on a lady?"

"She did, yes," Luigi replied. "But I don't think this counts as a date."

"Ugh...gross!" Wendy cringed. "I'm sixteen, you creep!"

"What?! But I wasn't-" A loud crash cut him off.

"What the!?" Mario exclaimed.

"Ooh…" Wendy smirked. "Sounds like Gooper Blooper's arrived."

Mario raised an eyebrow. "Gooper...Blooper?"

Sushie went pale. "Gooper...by the Stars, you didn't!"

"Believe me, Cheep-Cheep, I did. He's on his way to my ship, which I left in the middle of the ocean...with Princess Marina."

"Um…" Mario raised a hand. "What's Gooper Blooper? And how bad is it?"

"One of the biggest, meanest, ugliest, most dangerous monsters in the whole, entire ocean!" Sushie cried. "He's known for sinking whole ships single-handedly!"

Mario glared at Wendy. "You..."

"Well, what's it gonna be, Mario?" Wendy asked mockingly. "Stop me or save Marina? You can't do both."

"Damn it…" Mario ran off. "Come on! We gotta move!"

"But what about the wand?!" Luigi cried, only to hear a loud roaring noise in the distance.

"No time!" Yoshi exclaimed. "Gooper monster coming!"

Wendy smirked as the group ran off. "Idiots."

"Princess Wendy! We've found it!"

Wendy turned around to see a group of Koopas arrive with a large, ornate treasure box. The box was made of carved ebony and had several, silver nodes embedded in the lid, each depicting a face making a different expression. One was smiling and laughing, another had a look of serenity and peace, and others were crying, screaming, or fuming in anger.

"Good work," Wendy said with a grin. "Let's get this back to the castle."

"But what about Princess Marina?"

Wendy scoffed. "What about Princess Marina? Even if the Mario Bros. do get to the ship in time, what do they really expect to do to fight Gooper Blooper off?"

Meanwhile, Marina was chained to the mast of Wendy's ship. She kept a calm face, refusing to show any sign of fear as Gabo looked up to the sky, deciding to ham it up.

"Let no joyful voice be heard! Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed by we who are ready to wake... GOOPER BLOOPER!" Marina gave him a deadpan look. "What? I'm a villain. I'm allowed to chew the scenery."

"Just don't let any get stuck in your teeth," Marina shot back.

"Hmph! Everyone's a critic."

"UWOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Ooh!" Gabo smiled with wicked glee. "He's heeerrrrrrrrre."

White, blue-tipped tentacles snaked up before the ship's bow, followed by the pointed, blue-speckled white head of a massive squid-like creature. Upon seeing the beast, Marina's stoicism cracked.

"By the Seven Stars..." she whispered in horror.

"Princess Marina, meet Gooper Blooper. You're his dinner guest."

Marina steeled herself. "Just don't blame me if I give him a belly ache. He brought it on himself."

Gabo's eye twitched. "Okay, you are taking all the fun out of this! You're trapped on our boat! Your game's about to end! Why aren't you scared!?"

"I am a princess. I will face the end of my game with dignity. Besides, there are worse things than death."

"Like?"

Before Marina could answer, something shot out of the water like a torpedo. They watched as, with a mighty yell, the figure slammed both feet into the space between Gooper Blooper's eyes before recoiling off and landing perfectly before them. Marina and Gabo both gasped, realizing who this was.

"You!" Gabo roared.

"That's right," Mario tipped his cap to Marina. "Nothing to fear, Super Mario's here!"

A few moments passed before the rest of Mario's team hopped up, followed by Sushie. They all took in Gooper Blooper's appearance.

"That's Gooper Blooper?" Toad remarked. "I thought he'd look more... imposing."

"Don't let his appearance fool you," Sushie warned. "He's a monster."

"UWOOOOOO!"

"And that's my cue to leave!" Gabo shouted as he hopped overboard. "Seeya, schmucks!"

The heroes watched as Gooper raised his tentacles high into the air in preparation to crush them like ants.

"HEADS UP!" Luigi cried out.

The group narrowly dodged the tentacles as they slammed onto the ship, crushing the deck like a wet graham cracker.

"Whew, close one!" Mario said. "Luigi, get Princess Marina outta here! I'll handle the squid!"

"How?!" Luigi demanded. "With what?!"

"...Not sure. Kinda making this up as I go, Lu."

Luigi just shrugged as the two split off

Sushie hopped up to Mario as he turned to face Gooper Blooper.

"You wanna back me up?" he asked, eliciting a grin from the Cheep-Cheep.

"This old fish still has some tricks up her sleeve,"

Mario smirked as the two rushed into the fight.

Gooper Blooper tried to slam them with its tentacles again, but Mario sprang back, doing a backflip before coming down with both feet; stomping on one tentacle with all his might and causing Gooper to cry out in pain.

"Grab that tentacle and pull!" Sushie instructed. "Quickly!

"Right!"

Mario did as he was told; pulling the tentacle with all of his might; eventually pulling it off with a loud SHRIP!

"UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Blood oozed out as the Blooper writhed in pain

"Holy crap!" Mario shouted, horrified at what he had just done. "I-I didn't mean...!"

"Don't worry, they grow back!" Sushie shouted, pointing to Gooper's rapidly healing wounds; his flesh bulging as a new began forming from inside.

As this went on, Luigi, Toad, and Yoshi rushed to Marina. Looking over the chain, Luigi nodded

"I've got just the thing to get you loose, Princess Marina."

He pulled a small Swiss Army knife-like device out of his pocket, monogrammed with his L.

"I give you Super Mario Bros. Plumbing's patented All Purpose Portable Plumber's Helper! Guaranteed to provide all your needs, plumbing or otherwise, or your money back! Now, where's that lockpick?"

Toad raised an eyebrow. "Lockpick?"

"Broken doors," Luigi replied as he began going through the different tools. "Let's see… pipe cutter… mini-spanner… nose hair clipper… nail filer… cheese grater… corzetti stamp…"

"Wait!" Yoshi shouted. "Go back to file!"

As soon as Luigi did, Yoshi took the Plumber's Helper and immediately got to work sawing through the chains.

"Okay, that works too."

"C'mon, hurry!" Toad cried out.

Yoshi sawed faster, his arm a blur, until the chain snapped with a loud chink.

"Got it!"

They unhooked the broken link and the chains went slack, pooling at Marina's feet. She steps out of them, sighing in relief.

"Thank goodness. That was getting very uncomfortable."

"UWOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Uhh… Your Highness, perhaps we should leave while we can!" Luigi suggested.

"What about Sushie? Your brother?"

"Don't worry, they got this!" Toad said. "Mario beat Bowser, after all."

As Mario yanked another tentacle off, he took a close look at Gooper Blooper's face, noticing a cork lodged in his tube-like mouth.

"Hmmm… that looks like a weak point to me…"

Mario charged forward, grabbed Gooper's mouth, and pulled. After stretching his mouth out a ways, Mario released, causing it to snap back and smack the creature right between the eyes.

"GWOOOWOOOO!"

Gooper shook in pain, spraying ink all over its face.

"Bingo! That hurt it!"

Mario ran to do it again, only to discover that he couldn't get a grip on his mouth again. His hands slipped on the ink, sending him stumbling back

"It's no good! That ink's too slippery!"

Sensing his foe was distracted, Gooper swung his tentacles down at Mario, only for Marina to pull the plumber out of the way just before they could make contact.

"Princess!"

Marina nodded. "We need to clean the ink off his face!"

"Leave that to me!" Sushie declared.

The others watched as the Cheep-Cheep took a deep breath, swelling up to twice her size before spitting a torrent of water at Gooper Blooper, washing the ink off his face.

"It's working!" Mario cried.

As this happened, Luigi and Yoshi grabbed the tentacles and pulled. With a mighty rip, they came free.

"NOW!" Sushi yelled.

Mario dashed in, grabbing Gooper Blooper's mouth and stretching it out. The creature writhed frantically, trying feebly to escape.

"UWOOOOOO!"

"What's that?" Mario put a hand to his ear. "I can't hear you."

"UWOOO! UWOOOOOOOOO!"

"You want me to let you go? Okie-dokie!" He let go. "Buh-bye!"

As its mouth snapped back, Gooper Blooper was sent flying off the ship, roaring as it splashed down far off in the sea.

"Wahoo!" Mario cheered, jumping and pumping his fist in the air. "How do you like that!?"

"Okay, we saved the princess," Toad cut in. "But just one problem. Wendy got away with the wand. We can't change her dad back now."

Mario froze, his arm slowly falling to his side.

"Ohhhh... Right..." He facepalmed. "I completely forgot about that."

"Yoohooooooooo!"

Everyone turned to see a Koopa-themed yacht sailing away. Wendy was there, waving to them with a fan as she reclined on a beach chair.

"Wendy..." Marina narrowed her eyes.

"Hello Princess!" she called out. "Did you enjoy your little cruise?"

"You won't get away with this! You hear me!?"

"Oh, I already have."

"Give us the wand, Wendy!" Mario demanded.

"You mean this wand?" Wendy held up her magic wand, her face scrunched up in thought. "Let me think… How abooooout...no!"

She Mario grit his teeth as he squeezed the guardrails of the ship.

"Sorry, peasants, but if you'll get this wand when you pry it from my cold, dead..."

Suddenly, Yoshi's tongue lashed out, wrapping around the wand.

"Oh gross!"

Wendy recoiled in disgust as Yoshi yanked the wand out of her hands, swallowing it in one gulp.

"No!" Wendy wailed as Yoshi licked his lips.

"Wow! Magic taste like candy!"

Wendy growled as everyone laughed. "Well... laugh while you can! You'll rue the day you crossed Wendy O. Koopa! You hear me!? I'll be back!"

As she sailed off, Yoshi held up a finger before squatting down and popping out an egg.

"I got it!" Toad pulled out a hammer, giving the egg a tap. It split in half, revealing the wand.

"Alright!" Mario cheered.

"Way to go, Yoshi!" Luigi chimed in.

Mario picked up the wand, looking over the edge. "King Delphinius! We have the wand! Where are you?"

At that, the king dolphin jumped beside the boat, letting out a loud whistle.

"Father!" Marina snatched the wand from Mario. "VICISSiM!" (5)

In the water, the dolphin was bathed in light, his form shifting and growing. When the light faded, an older man with long silver hair was treading water. His body was tanned and muscular, and was garbed in billowing, seafoam green robes that appeared to be made of woven kelp and a crown that resembled a piece of coral with a pearl adorned with pearls. Marina threw him a rope and he climbed aboard.

"HUZZAH! I'm back to my old self again!" the king declared, flexing his muscles.

"Father!"

Marina rushed forward, hugging him; he returned the hug in kind.

"My sweet Marina," he smiled. "How brave you were. I couldn't be prouder of you."

Marina looked down, her frown as big as her father's smile. "I barely did anything, Father. It was Sushie and these gentlemen who saved us and our kingdom."

"You still fought with all you had for our people," He cupped her cheek. "The kingdom is in good hands with you as my heir."

The brothers watched the scene, their expressions almost nostalgic.

"Heh... reminds me of when we graduated Plumbers Academy," Luigi said.

Mario nodded absently, his mind half elsewhere. "Yeah…"

"Pops was blubbering like a baby. Ma hugged us both for a good five minutes after the ceremony." He chuckled. "And Mips just kept trying to beat your high score in Jump Man."

"Yeah…" Mario looked down, his smile turning bittersweet.

A moment later, Delphinius pulled away, turning to the brothers

"You have my thanks, Mario Brothers," he began. "You rescued my daughter and restored my humanity. If there's anything you need, just ask."

"The pleasure's all ours, King Delphinius," Mario began. "But, our work isn't over yet. We need to get to the next land the Koopalings have hit."

"Then your next destination is Giant Country to the north," Marina said. "Provided that deplorable Koopaling hasn't Bob-ombed our harbor, I can provide you with a ship."

Yoshi perked. "Ship? Our own ship!?"

Delphinius nodded. "The fastest in our fleet."

"We appreciate it, Your Highness," Mario said with a bow. "I just wish we could have stopped Wendy from obtaining the other wand."

Delphinius perked. "Other wand?"

"Carp!" Sushie panicked. "The one from under the Toad House! She has it!"

"I'm sorry, King," Mario told him. "We couldn't stop her from getting the wand and save Marina at the same time."

"That's alright, Mario. I wouldn't worry about it too much..."

Delphinius smiled knowingly.

Meanwhile...

Wendy's eye twitched as she surveyed the results of her test run with the wand.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Everyone on the ship was an emotional wreck. Minions were laughing like loons, dancing and celebrating, screaming in terror, bawling like babies, and ranting, raving, and beating each other up.

"We spent Grambi-Knows-How-Long searching this overgrown puddle for this stupid thing and this is all it does!? What a worthless piece of junk!"

She threw it overboard in a rage, turning away and rubbing her face.

"So much for the legendary Vibe Scepter," she groaned. "Dad's gonna be so disappointed."

Gabo sniffled, his eyes welling with tears. "Yeah… We screwed uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Gabo threw his arms around Wendy as he cried into her shoulder. The Koopa Princess just rolled her eyes as she shoved him away.

"Ugh! Get back to the ark Lands yourself!" she groused. "I'll take the warp."

"Wait, Princess! Don't leave...!"

Gabo fell over as Wendy vanished.

"Us..."

A moment later, Wendy reappeared in the Dark Lands castle, groaning as she made her way through the halls.

"Stupid, big-nosed Yoshisaur and his stupid, nasty frog tongue…" she shuddered at the thought of Yoshi's tongue touching her. "Seriously, what was Grambi eating when he made those things?"

She took a breath.

"Okay, focus. Gotta tell Dad about the Vibe Scepter. Hopefully, he won't be too upset. I mean, how much of a doomsday artifact can it be if all it does is make people feel–?"

"Come on, what is it!?"

Rounding a corner, Wendy spotted Iggy pacing, muttering to himself, and making notes.

"Uhhh…Iggy, what are you doing?"

Iggy yelped, turning in fright and throwing his pen, which bounced harmlessly off her plastron. Upon seeing his sister, he calmed down a bit.

"Don't do that! Seriously, I'm freaking out enough as is!"

"Don't tell me that masked thing got to you already." Wendy shook her head in resignation.

"No, it's not Phanto, sis." The bespectacled prince looked around to make sure nobody was listening in. Once he was sure, he leaned close to Wendy.

"It's Mary Pat," he whispered.

"The human Dad summoned? What about her?"

"She's acting...weird."

Wendy sighed as she massaged her temples. "Iggy... I love you, but you've only known her for like... a week? How do you know what 'weird' is for her?"

"No, listen. She stood up to Phanto when he sucked the life out of some of our guards. Showed no fear at all! Then she said, totally emotionless, 'I have nothing to fear under Bowser's protection.' Like she was some kind of robot or something!"

That gave Wendy pause. "Okay, that is weird."

"Something's going on with her… And I need to find out what it is."

Wendy put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Well, you just might get your chance. I lost the Seaside Kingdom, meaning they're headed for your territory next."

"Awww crud..." He sighed. "Well, at least I can finish testing those upgrades for the Soopa Suit."

"Yeah." She ruffled his hair. "Good luck in the Giant Kingdom!"

Iggy grinned. "Please, I don't need luck." He walked off. "I have something much better…I have SCIENCE!"

He then proceeded to cackle maniacally as he disappeared into the shadows of the hall.

Author's Note:

(1): Japanese for "turtle frog"

(2): Japanese for "yeah!" or "yay!"

(3): Japanese for "What was that?"

(4): Japanese for "Crap!"

(5): Latin for "Reverse"

The Water Land kingdom has been saved, Wendy has been sent packing, and the Koopalings realize there's something fishy going on with Mary Pat. What will happen now? Stay tuned.

King Delphinius' human form was taken from King Triton, natch.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Delphinius - Barry Bostwick (Grandpa Longneck in The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave, Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Thunderbolt in 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure, Mayor Randall Winston in Spin City)

Please R&R. Until next time!