Chapter 12: Deliberations
"Outta my way!" Roy Koopa, one of Bowser's eight children exclaimed pushing aside his siblings, Lemmy and Iggy. Roy had a dark pink, almost red colored spiked shell that matched his bald head, and wore dark tinted shades. The twins, Iggy Koopa-who wore round glasses and had a green shell with long, spiked green hair that pointed straight up-and Lemmy Koopa-who had rainbow colored spikey hair and an orange, spiked shell that matched the color of his skin-quickly stuck their tongues out to Roy at the same time in response.
"Quit being a jerk, Roy!" Larry Koopa-another of Bowser's eight children who had blue, spikey hair and a matching spiked blue shell-suddenly chimed in.
"You want a piece of me?!" Roy suddenly challenged as he rounded on Larry, Iggy, and Lemmy. "I'll take any and all of you on right here, right now!"
"Oh, shut up you show off," Wendy O. Koopa, the only female of the children added. She wore a large, pink polka dotted bow with white spots on her head that matched her pink shell and pink heels. As she crossed her arms, the two large, golden rings she wore on her wrists dangled in response. "You always think you're so tough, but once things start to heat up, you can't handle the burn.."
"WHAT?!" Roy shouted back loudly. "You take that back!"
"Make me!" Wendy snickered. "You're nothing but a big baby!"
"Says the girl who had a tantrum on her birthday, just because King Dad didn't get her the exact color Piranha Plant she wanted." Morton Koopa jr.-The largest of the eight children who had a gray, spiked shell with a matching bald head with a few short, dark hairs sticking out on the side. He was also notable as being the only Koopa of the family to have a dark brown skin tone, rather than the standard orange.-suddenly blurted out. He stomped on the cold, hard stone floor of the chamber as Wendy stuck her tongue out to him in response.
"You're all acting like a bunch of children." Ludwig Von Koopa suddenly said in a serious, yet aggravated tone. He was the eldest of the eight children, with crazy, blue hair that was parted down the middle. It stuck up from both sides in an almost wave-like fashion. His spiked shell was the same blue coloration as his hair, and he had one, long sharp tooth that stuck out in the middle of his mouth.
"But we are children!" Lemmy suddenly exclaimed. He proceeded to dance back and forth on a large, yellow ball as he made a face at Roy. Roy pounded his balled fist into his palm in response.
"You wanna go right now, you little runt?" Roy challenged, puffing out his chest.
"Yeah, let's see a fight!" Morton exclaimed, waving his arms.
"You men are just so stupid." Wendy said with a sniff.
"Come on guys, can't we all just stop?" Larry pleaded.
"Quit bein' a wimp!" Roy countered to Larry.
"Leave him alone, you idiot!" Iggy added.
Suddenly, the youngest of Bowser's kids, Bowser Junior. chimed in. Of all of the Koopalings, he resembled Bowser the most. He had short, spikey red hair tied back in a small ponytail, a green, spiked shell, and wore a white handkerchief on his neck. It had a painted face on the front of it that depicted large, razor sharp teeth. He growled as he spoke up.
"You guys are all wimps!" He shouted with a laugh. "I could take all of you on, no problem!"
"Oh, shut up Junior!" Morton replied. "You're the smallest, what makes you think you'd stand a chance against me or Roy?"
Morton reached out his hand for a high-five which Roy quickly accepted. Suddenly, Junior ran over and punched Morton in the gut who quickly fell down and started to whine.
"No… *gasp*… no…. FAIR!" He gasped as he tried to reclaim his breath.
"You'll pay for that, runt!" Roy shouted as he charged down Junior. Not paying attention, he didn't see Iggy's foot barring his way, and soon fell flat on his face. Iggy, Lemmy, Junior, and Wendy all erupted in laughter in response as Roy growled. Larry, looking rather intimidated, hid behind Ludwig who rolled his eyes. The arguments only escalated then, as Roy and Morton got to their feet, loudly challenging all of their siblings. The younger Koopalings, Iggy, Lemmy and Junior quickly started to antagonize the others, while Wendy started to protest that she was easily the most cunning of them all. Ludwig tried to stop the arguing, only to be dragged in, and soon all of the Koopalings started to punch, kick, scratch, and fight each other.
"EEEEENNNNOUUUUGGGGHHHHH!" Bowser suddenly roared. It echoed through the chamber, shattering a glass portrait of himself to bits. The Koopalings all stopped at once, visibly shaking at the anger in their father's voice. He slammed his fist down upon the arm of his throne, breaking the other stone likeness of his hand off. It shattered as it hit the hard floor, and suddenly, the whole chamber was dead silence.
Bowser growled in anger, and started to drum his claws upon the arm of his throne. He looked his children up and down, and gave a heavy sigh.
Eight children. He thought. What in the seven shells was I thinking?
"I summoned you all here for a reason," He growled. "Not so you would aggravate me to the point where I would want to throw myself into one of the lava pits."
"Sorry, sir." Ludwig said, frowning
"Forgive us, King Dad." Iggy said bowing.
"Sorry, Daddy… I mean, it wasn't my fault, but I'll still take responsibility." Wendy said, puffing out her lips.
"Oh, please Wendy. Shut up." Morton added.
Wendy rounded on Morton, giving him a dark glare.
"STOP!" Bowser roared again. "I don't care who's fault it is, I don't care about your petty squabbling. We have much bigger Cheep Cheep to fry right now."
The Koopalings all seemed to grow attentive at once. Each one nodding to him in turn.
"What's up, King Dad?" Roy asked, crossing his arms.
"Is it Mario again?" Larry asked curiously.
"Oooooh boy!" Junior exclaimed. He giggled mischievously and started to jump up and down. "Are we gonna try and take the Princess again?"
"Oh boy! Another dastardly plot!" Ludwig exclaimed excitedly rubbing his hands together.
"Are we actually going to win this time, Daddy?" Wendy asked with a huff.
Bowser frowned at that, and all at once he felt his temper starting to boil over again. He tried his best to suppress it, only to receive a curious glance from Wendy. He shook his head and growled as he spoke up.
"No, we are not going to attack the Mushroom Kingdom, kidnap Princess Toadstool, or anything else for that matter." He growled.
"What could be more important than that?" Lemmy asked curiously.
"We need to prepare." Bowser retorted. "And we don't have much time."
"Prepare?" Morton repeated.
"For what, King Dad?" Junior asked.
Bowser took a deep breath, and sighed heavily. He had been dreading this moment, the moment where he would have to tell his children that he did not have the answers, the moment that he had to tell them that he was going to make a deal with his worst enemy. Bowser hated it with every ounce of his being, but he had no choice.
"For the worst, children, for the worst." He said, sighing heavily.
"The worst?" Larry asked, looking visibly confused. "What do you mean, sir?"
"Are we in trouble?" Lemmy asked.
"No way!" Roy said confidently. "Nobody is tougher than the Koopas!"
"Except for the Mario brothers." Wendy sniffed.
"No, they're not!" Morton retorted angrily, stomping his feet. "King Dad is way tougher than them."
"Yeah, that's why he always gets his tail kicked every time he tries to kidnap the princess!" Wendy huffed back in response.
"Oh, shut up Wendy," Junior exclaimed. "You think you're so smart, but really you're just an idiot."
"SHUT UP!" Bowser roared again.
He was really starting to get angry now. As if offering a treaty to Mario wasn't enough, his wretched kids were going to drive him to insanity long before he would be able to do anything to turn the odds in his favor. His kids stiffened at the intense expression he gave them, and he quickly stood up out of his chair, nodding to each of them in turn.
"Look, circumstances would now have it that it would be too risky for me to strike against the Mushroom Kingdom. You all know that it will always be my first priority, and it is the ultimate goal that drives us and is the very core aspiration of the entire Koopa clan." Bowser explained. "However, last night, Kamek had a vision. It was not a clear vision, however he was able to confirm on thing…"
"What is it, King Dad?" Lemmy asked.
Bowser paused for a moment, and gave his kids a small nod.
"The future of the entire Koopa Troop, the Mushroom Kingdom, and even the universe hangs in the balance." He growled softly.
The Koopalings stood quietly for a moment, all giving each other looks, as if searching for an answer among themselves that they could not find. After a few minutes, Ludwig spoke up.
"So what do we do then?" He asked with a frown. "If we don't know what's to come, and there's so much at stake… how can we possibly prepare ourselves?"
"I want you to rally the troops." He said, now pacing back and forth. "I have had Kamek arrange for each of you to be in command of exactly one ninth of our army. For the moment, you will train with them, but soon I will have you each disperse to where I feel you'll be needed."
"No problem, sir." Larry said with a grin. "Same old stuff we always do."
"Yes, but it's different this time." Bowser said with a frown. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Now we may have to…"
Suddenly, the large, steel chamber door slammed open as Kamek entered. Bowser immediately noticed his torn and tattered clothing, as well as his cracked glasses. Dried blood, dirt and leaves littered his body, and Bowser noticed the old Magikoopa using his broom like a cane as he limped across the small bridge that was suspended over the lava pit before him. Bowser gave him a questioning glance, and growled.
"What happened to you?" Bowser asked, addressing Kamek as he stopped before him. "You look like you fell out of a tree."
Kamek grimaced at that, but bowed to him respectfully, wincing in pain as he straightened himself back up.
"Something like that," He replied. "It doesn't matter. Your rotteness, I have the truce…"
Kamek reached into the sleeve of his robe, producing a small scroll. Bowser quickly grabbed it from him, opening it up. He could see Mario's signature at the bottom, and nodded to Kamek.
"Good. It's done then," He said, rolling the paper back up and stuffing it into his shell. "We can proceed as planned."
"Your wickedness…" Kamek said. "Do you really think that this is going to work? That cursed plumber was not so easily convinced that you are serious about this. If anything, we've raised his suspicions."
"Plumber? You mean, Mario?" Wendy asked, speaking up.
"Is that who beat you up, Kamek?" Iggy asked.
"What's going on?" Junior questioned.
"Enough." Bowser said, silencing them. "You all will find out soon enough. For now, do as I said and start preparing the troops. Go train with them, get all of your weapons together, and await my further instructions."
"But, Daddy…" Wendy whined to him, puffing out her lips.
"No, Wendy." Bowser said sternly. "You are all dismissed. Go and prepare, we don't have much time."
The Koopalings looked all but flabbergasted at that point, again exchanging looks as if searching for the answers amongst themselves. After a few minutes, they slowly but reluctantly exited the chamber, slamming the door behind them. Bowser growled to himself, taking his seat back on the throne. Sometimes, it was extremely difficult being king, but over the years, Bowser noticed that no matter how hard it was ruling a kingdom, being a father was easily ten times harder.
"Sire," Kamek suddenly spoke up. "There is something else that we must speak of."
"What is it now, Kamek?" Bowser replied, feeling agitated.
Kamek once again reached into the sleeve of his robe.
"As I was flying back from Toadstool's castle, I crashed into something, and fell through this dreadful tree." He said.
"Well, that explains the torn clothing and leaves, but what's your point, Kamek?" Bowser retorted with a sniff.
"After casting a healing spell on myself, I sat back against a rock to recuperate for a moment, when I noticed a shiny object high atop the tree." Kamek replied, and then suddenly pulled out a small, shiny object. It appeared to be shaped like a wand, it's handle a light blue color etched with small, bright star shapes. Its head was so bright, Bowser had to squint his eyes to look at it. It was star-shaped, and radiated a brilliant white light. Almost instantaneously, Bowser found himself grinning widely. It quickly became a thunderous laugh as he realized exactly what it was that he was now gazing upon.
"Kamek," He said, still laughing. "Do you have any idea what this is?"
"No, your dreadfulness." Kamek replied, shaking his head.
"Mwah ha ha ha!" Bowser laughed, grabbing it out of Kamek's hand. "This is the single most powerful object in the entire universe! The Star Rod!"
"The Star Rod?" Kamek asked with a confused look.
"Do you remember that plan I concoted to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, when I had the princess's castle lifted from the ground into space?"
Kamek scratched his head for a moment, appearing to search for an answer. After a few minutes, he shook his head and frowned.
"Can't say I recall sire." He said.
"A few years ago I came up with this brilliant plan to take over the Mushroom Kingdom and defeat Mario once and for all," Bowser said, crossing his arms. "I took the war ships out to the far reaches of space to the Star Road and attacked the kingdom. After a quick, satisfying victory, I managed to capture the seven Star Spirits and snatched their most powerful weapon."
Bowser tightened his grip on the Star Rod, and thrusted it over his head.
"This little gem, the Star Rod, possesses magic easily a thousand times more powerful than you, and every other Magikoopa in the entire kingdom combined!" He exclaimed with a grin. He bellowed a deep, maniacal laugh and roared. "And, once again it is in my grasp! Mwah ha ha ha!"
Bowser once again stood up, crossing the room to the large portrait of himself hanging on the wall. He gazed upon his own likeness, and after a few seconds, turned his gaze to a smaller portrait underneath his own, the painting of Princess Peach. He gazed at her deep, pools of blue that were her eyes, those eyes that he so frequently found himself lost in. He took a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating aroma of boiling lava radiating from pits and grinned a large, toothy smile.
Soon, sweet princess. He thought. Soon it will all be mine! And so will you.
"Sire." Kamek suddenly spoke up.
Bowser turned his gaze back to the old Magikoopa. Kamek was leaning heavily on his broom, and gave Bowser a quizzical look.
"What is it, Kamek?" He growled.
"What do you plan to do now?" He asked with a questioning glance.
Bowser stood there for a long while, weighing his options. The tide had definitely shifted in his direction now that the Star Rod was in his grasp, however he would need to be careful. Even though he had previously used the Star Rod to execute his plans, he had ultimately failed. Mario had, somehow, managed to defeat him and he once again was back to square one. There were also many other factors to consider. With all of the revelations that had been rearing their heads in the past day, Bowser knew he had to tread very lightly, and not repeat previous mistakes. If Kamek's vision came to pass, there was a good chance that, if defeated, his actions could spell certain doom for him and his entire clan.
Bowser gave Kamek a very direct, serious look, and cleared his throat.
"We proceed as planned, Kamek." He growled sternly. "Send word to the troops not to antagonise, approach, or even glance in the general direction of the Mushroom Kingdom or any of those wretched goody two shoes at the castle. Make sure my children stay in line, and on point with the task I have given them."
Kamek nodded and grinned, obviously pleased with his decision.
"I have much to think about, Kamek," He said, walking towards the old Magikoopa. He gently rested a clawed hand on his shoulder, and gazed into the now shattered dark lenses that covered Kamek's eyes. "You have done well, Kamek. It isn't lost on me that you have been a loyal, dedicated and vital member of the Koopa Troop for many years, and I am not ashamed to admit that I trust no one more. I am going to need you now more than ever as these events continue to unfold, your council will be vitally important to our very future."
Kamek took a step back, and gave Bowser a deep, respectful bow.
"I am honored, your viciousness." He said. "I will not fail you." He winced in pain as he straightened himself.
"Go get yourself cleaned up, Kamek." Bowser said with a growl. "And get some rest. You're going to need it."
Kamek nodded, and moved to leave, when suddenly there was a knock on the large chamber door.
What now? Bowser thought.
"Enter!" Bowser roared.
Suddenly the large door creaked open, and a Lakitu-a Koopa with glasses riding upon a small cloud-entered the chamber.
"Your vileness!" The Lakitu exclaimed as he quickly flew towards the pair.
"What is it?" Bowser growled. "Make it quick, I'm very busy."
The Lakitu shifted its gaze for a second and frowned, looking intimidated.
"Sire." He said nervously in a soft voice. "You have a visitor..."