Chapter 2 Dark Magic

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Wendy blinked and sat up in bed. Confused, she looked over at her bedside table, letting out a "hmm" when she saw her phone buzzing. She picked it up to see that she had gotten a text from Bowser, sent to each and every single one of the Koopalings.

Hey guys! You know what day it is; Train the New Koopa Troop Day! Meet me in the throne room in fifteen minutes; don't be late!

Wendy did a double take. "Dang, it's that time already?" She shook her head and put her phone into her shell. It seemed like only yesterday that Bowser told the Koopalings that they were gonna help out with training new members of the Koopa Troop. In reality, it had been three weeks, but… dang could Wendy have been fooled!

Well, whatever. She had work to do so she needed to get ready quickly. So, she sprung out of bed and reached for her bracelets (never left her room or got into a fight without them), flung her necklace on, and fashioned her bow in place. Unfortunately, she didn't have nearly enough time to do her makeup. She would be entering into this training session el natural, which wasn't… ideal. Whatever; it didn't matter. She didn't need to look fabulous; she needed to look like a Koopa who could get the job done.

So, not even bothering to put on her trademark high heels either, Wendy hurried out of her room. As she closed her door, she noticed a big chunk of her brothers were already out of their rooms. Larry was the first one to catch Wendy's eye, and he yawned and rubbed his eyes so much that one would think he hadn't slept in years.

"Man, I hate getting up at six o'clock," he groaned as he did his best to straighten his sky-blue mohawk.

"I hear you bud," Roy said as he adjusted his shades. "But hey, just be thankful Bowser didn't wake us up earlier."

Morton snorted. "Any earlier and I'm sure I'd get military camp flashbacks."

Wendy laughed right alongside him. She turned toward Lemmy and Ludwig, who were stepping out of their shared room. Ludwig adjusted his royal blue hair and cloak, and Lemmy looked ready to pass out on the floor. Seriously, the poor guy was barely conscious! He tried to take another step but almost fainted to the floor. Wendy and Ludwig both ran over to catch him, doing so right in the nick of time.

"Come on Lems, you've gotta wake up," Ludwig said with a soothing tone.

Lemmy cried. Actually legitimately cried. "But I was up til two trying to perfect a trick! I want to go back to sleep!"

Wendy and Ludwig cringed. "Well… your bed will still be there after we finish training the new recruits. You can sleep til the cows come home then."

In a sleepy daze, Lemmy chuckled and put on a little smile. "Cows… are cute…" He went back to sleep right then and there. Wendy, letting out a frustrated grunt, stood up and shook her head. As she did, Ludwig picked his brother up and held him in his arms. Lemmy's eyes didn't open a single inch as all this happened.

"Come on, guys, we need to get going!" Larry said. Wendy raised an eyebrow and turned to him, all while he wore a desperate face. "I don't want to get yelled at by Bow Wow; let's get going already!"

"Yes, yes, of course," Wendy said. The six of them made their way toward the staircase, and it was only once they were standing at the top that Wendy realized that someone was missing. "Wait. Where's Iggy?"

The Koopalings stopped, looking around the group. When they didn't see their bespectacled brother, Larry let out a sound that was somewhere between a moan and a sob. "Oh great! Now we're gonna have to look for him and make ourselves even MORE late!" He whimpered. "As if Bowser wasn't mad at me enough for that prank I pulled last week."

Wendy sighed. "Don't worry about it, Larry." She gave the group a serious expression. "I'll go look for Iggy. You guys go on ahead; there's no point in all of us being late."

Roy let out a breath. "Thanks Wen. You're the best." The other nodded in agreement, with Larry looking the most relieved out of all of them. Wendy smiled at them right back before going to find Iggy.

Which, believe it or not, wasn't hard in the slightest. Iggy was in the exact place where Wendy expected him to be; his lab. He leaned over a laptop at one of the lab tables, his face mere inches away from the screen. Right next to him was a device that resembled a remote control of sorts. It had a little light at the top, which currently was glowing bright blue.

Curious, Wendy walked down into the lab. "Hey, Iggy. I don't know if you got the text, but today's the day Bowser wants us to help train the recruits."

"I got the text," Iggy said, all without moving away from the screen.

"Oh! Well, that's good! So… are you gonna come and help?" Iggy didn't say anything, just clicked with his computer mouse. "Uh… Iggy?" He clicked again, all while Wendy groaned. "Come on, Iggy! You know as well as I do how seriously Bowser has been taking this over the past few weeks! If we don't show up, he's gonna be mad! Like, roast-us-with-his-firebreath levels of mad!"

Iggy sighed and closed the laptop. "Sorry, I apologize." He rubbed his eyes, which Wendy just now noticed had dark circles under them. "You are correct; Bowser has been hyping this up." He stood up. "I deeply apologize; I shouldn't be so engrossed in dark magic when there are more important things to worry about."

Wendy let out a breath, at this point just feeling thankful that she hadn't wasted too much time with fetching her older brother. "Thank you, I'm glad that you…" She stopped, blinking as her mind caught up with the last thing Iggy said. When it did, she gawked. "Wait. Dark magic?"

Iggy didn't say anything, just put the laptop and the remote-like device away in his hammerspace and made his way toward the lab exit. Wendy's heart rate picked up as she followed after him.

"Iggy, wait!" She ran up the stairs, almost tripping over her own feet in the process. "What have you been doing with dark magic?" Iggy didn't turn toward her, almost like he had lost his hearing. Wendy's breath grew ragged as she ran after him. "Iggy, what the hell? What have you been doing with dark magic; tell me!" She grabbed him by the hand, finally causing him to stop. "Have you been practicing it; is that what's going on?"

Iggy stood in place for a few seconds. For a second, Wendy was worried if he was going to continue ignoring her. And if he did… what did that mean? Were Wendy's theories and fears about him and dark magic accurate? Were they true? Oh dear, what exactly was going on here?

"I haven't been using dark magic," Iggy said, turning back toward her. "I have morals, Wendy."

Wendy glared at him. "I know you do, I just…" She shook her head. "Okay, fine, so you aren't using dark magic. So what exactly are you doing?"

Iggy let out a breath. "Well… it requires context." He gestured for Wendy to walk alongside him, so the two resumed walking down the hall. "Are you familiar with demon hunting as a profession?"

Wendy hesitated. "Uh… I think so? Those are the guys who collect cursed artifacts and try to get rid of demons and other forms of dark magic, right?"

"Correct. A bit general, but correct." Iggy fidgeted with one of the spiked bracelets he wore to prove he was royalty. "And… well, you know me. Sometimes I hyperfocus on one specific subject. Sometimes I study certain topics well past the point of common sense."

Wendy snickered. "Yeah. Yeah, you do do that. And you've been wanting to study demon hunting, huh?"

"More or less." The two of them walked down the stairs. "There's just so much that's fascinating about the subject. I mean… depending on who you ask, this next statement might be perceived as a falsehood, but… demon hunting is very well intetwined with our world's history."

"You think so?"

"I know so! The origin of the world with King Borealis, the legend of the Shadow Queen and her son the Dark Prince…" Wendy gave him a confused look when she said that, causing him to blink. "You do know of those legends, right? We were taught them when Kamek tutored us, remember? I believe the exact subject was Mythology and Religion."

Wendy nodded. "Yeah, I do remember, I'm just…" she bit her lip before shaking her head and waving her hand. "Never mind; it's not important." She waved at some of the servants they passed. "So, you've been studying demon hunting. That's cool; it's nice to have things you can do in your spare time."

"Uh, I would not trivialize it so quickly, Wendy." Wendy raised an eyebrow at him, becoming shocked when he gave her a look that screamed with seriousness. "Especially since I have discovered a site filled to the brim with dark magic close by."

"Oh you have, have you?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. It's in Soda Jungle, specifically the haunted area."

Wendy snorted. "Huh. Who could've guessed that?"

"Again, you are trivializing this!" Iggy exclaimed. "From my research, there seems to be an abandoned temple dedicated to the Shadow Queen in that region. And the thing about abandoned temples is that… well, they aren't COMPLETELY deserted. Especially when you're talking about rogue spirits. There could be boos in such a place. Or worse."

Even though she wouldn't admit it, Wendy felt chills running through her. "I… I see."

"Yes. This is a very serious matter, Wendy." He reached into his hammerspace, pulling out the remote. "Which is why I plan on making good use of this. It's a Dark Magic Tracker. I bought it off the web, and I plan on taking it to Soda Jungle myself in order to find the temple and try to stop whatever evil beings are setting up camp there."

Another round of chills shot through Wendy's body. "Uh…" Oh goodness, she was starting to sweat too. "Iggy, I think it'd be best if you leave stuff like that to REAL demon hunters."

"REAL demon hunters haven't even noticed this site! If they have, it wouldn't be as active as it is!"

"OR… they have noticed this site and realized that they can't go into it alone, so they're forming groups in order to create the most ideal team to go into the temple!"

Iggy just snorted, doing so so dismissively that it genuinely pissed Wendy off. "I HIGHLY doubt that's the case."

"Why? Because your head is so far up your ass that you aren't listening to anyone but your own ego?" Iggy glared at her, but she wasn't going to back down. "Iggy, you can't go into that temple! Okay? It could be dangerous! For all you know, there could be a monster in there that wants to eat anyone who walks into its territory! And if that happens to you…" she paused. "Please, Iggy! Stay out of that temple, okay?"

Iggy stood in place for a solid minute. Wendy studied his face, noticing how supremely pissed and extremely wearied that he had become. She continued staring him down, hoping that her assessment of him was wrong. He HAD to listen to her. He had to!

"Alright," Iggy sighed. "I'll leave the temple alone."

Wendy smiled. "Thanks, Iggy." She gave him a quick hug. "Now, let's catch up with the others, okay?"

Iggy nodded, albeit doing it with a frustrated look. Wendy decided to ignore that and just led him through Bowser's Castle's many twisting corridors. After a while, they finally got to the throne room, where Bowser, Bowser Jr, and the rest of the Koopalings were waiting.

"There you are!" Bowser squinted at them. "Didn't I tell you guys in the text to not be late?"

Wendy felt a pang. "Sorry, Bowser."

"Yes. You have our deepest apologies."

Bowser continued glaring at them before sighing. "It's alright." He smiled. "Let's not wait any longer." He turned toward the door. "Let's welcome in the new recruits!"