Chapter 33:
Seeing Stars.

~Lzn64~

Kadeja watched the two mushrooms with their box dissapear in the darkness and the smoke toward the spires of the mountain. She knew all about that mountain... before she and Kiero had banded together their group and ditched the palace, they had been assigned to the patrol there many times. It was reputed to be a holy place for the koopas, and none but those of the Magikoopa order had ever been allowed inside... them, and Bowser himself, of course. It was also rumoured that the mountain was where countless Koopa Kings and Queens had been buried, and the Magikoopas remained to make sure their graves were kept sacred and untouched. The security around the place was such that none but those with koopa sorcery- advanced, at that- could enter. She quietly sent a wish to the stars for the safety of the two mushrooms, and the success of their mission, and turned back to her own troops. They were mulling about with the mushroom people like old friends.

Kadeja smiled, knowing that it was her duty to take leadership, but an underlying sense of foreboding pervaded her good spirits. There were two battles about to take place against the empire she had been trying all these years to unseat, and she was stuck here out of them both. She glanced up at the tower above her, where her brother was heading toward a fight he had been looking forward to for a long time. After a wistful sigh, she turned away and began walking toward the victorious company.

------------------

Toad looked down only once on his flight, and regretted it all the way until the end. He had been fine until he had noticed the ground was so far below him, and it didn't help that he was being held up by transparent beings. The mountain loomed ever closer, but strangely, he wasn't nervous about the upcoming battle. He felt an odd nothingness, his emotions all but burned out from the trials he had underwent on the long journey to where he was now. Temier and Tempier floated on silently, just in front of him. The ? box floated next to him, and Ten just beyond that. The miniscule shapes of the fleeing army of magikoopas could be seen now, dark blotches on an already dark landscape. They scrambled over the rocky mountain, into what looked like some sort of hideaway. There were brief flashes of light every so often, undoubtedly the result of magikoopa sorcery, but even that subtle reminder of what was to come failed to stir any fear in the mushrooms. He watched as the dark shapes diminished and then dissapeared inside the mountain, and the rest of the trip was spent staring at empty rock. His stomach lurched as the ghosts dipped forward toward the rock, intending to set him on the surface. He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth, as he didn't feel particularly comfortable watching the rock careen toward him at such a pace. He opened them again only when his feet brushed the ground, and he was released by the ghost's "magic."

On solid ground once again, he stretched his stiff arms and looked around the area. He nodded to Ten, as he, too landed safely on the ground, along with the box. There was no sign that any koopas had been here. The ground was too hard to even record any footprints, and the entire area held the feeling of an abandoned warehouse. Toad walked toward the edge of the cliff, and looked out over dark land. He could not see anything but the sininster magikoopa toward far in the distance, and the wicked looking Dark Land palace that his best friends were undoubtedly waging battle in. He turned quietly, knowing that he still had his part to fulfill, and his hands went almost subconsiously to the purple-tipped Kichra at his side. The other two wands were a welcome labor to carry, as well, reasurring him with their weight. Ten set a reassuring hand on his shoulder, conveying an unspoken message meant to reassure him.

Their torn and tattered shoes cruched along the mountainous floor as they walked back toward Temier and Tempier, who were watching them silently, floating a few inches above the floor.

"Have you gathered your thoughts?" Temier asked softly.

"And your courage?" Tempier added.

"I'm ready, guys," Toad announced, flashing a surprisingly genuine smile of assurance toward the two.

"I am, too..." Ten said softly, his eyes fixed on the mountain in front of him.

"All right, then. There are a ton of Magikoopas in there... try to stay away from them, but if it's unavoidable, stay close to us, and we'll make sure they don't see you. You have to get in to the back, where the magikoopas and transakoopas will be. You can do it, guys... we have faith in you."

The other mushroom ghosts nodded their assent, their glowing faces

"I will."

Toad stared at the seemingly solid wall, knowing that this was where the entrance was. He took a deep breath, and again took up his wand. He sent a thin purple stream of light toward the rock, unsure of how he knew to do this, but knowing it was right just the same. The light melted into the rock, falling into various rivulets in its face, illuminating a picture that was engraved there. It was an ancient symbol of the magikoopa order, and it flashed a brilliant shade of violet, then went dark. Toad lowered his wand and watched as the rock face slid apart, revealing the entrance. Ten, behind him, lifted up the box and started forward.

Toad glanced at Tempier and Temier, sent a quick wish up toward the stars, and stepped into the maw of the mountain.

The ghosts floated after them their goulish light illuminating the walls of the entrance passage, which was pitch black otherwise. They walked on through the thin tunnel, and before long, emerged into a large room illuminated by torches hung along the walls. Toad stood in the darkness, observing the various koopas that milled about the chamber, and took a deep breath. It was now or never. He dashed as quietly as possible into the adjacent tunnel, which, too, was illuminated by fire. He saw Ten out of the corner of his eye follow him, the box held in front of him, and froze as another koopa emerged from the far end of this new passage and came toward him. The ghosts muttered at him to stay still, then surrounded him and Ten, and Toad watched in wonder as the koopa passed by him without a glance in his direction. They were released when it was safe, and the ghosts nodded at them to continue. Toad mouthed the words "Thank you," silently, then turned his attention to his wand. It seemed to be attracted to the power of the magikoopas, and he knew better than to resist the magical pull.

Ten was getting tired from carrying the burden, though, and a small company of mush-boos noticed it. They floated near him, and nodded at him to let it go. Ten did so gratefully, and the ghosts took up the burden of transporting the wands. The box floated above the ground thanks to their efforts, and Ten, after thanking them, went to catch up to Toad. They walked side by side, not speaking, but communicating just the same.

They went on like this for an insurmountable length of time, the wands leading them to the magikoopa chambers, the ghosts shielding them from view when neccessary, their feet making unlasting impressions in this place that no mushrooms had ever seen. Before long, it was apparent that they were quite lost, but it mattered not. What mattered was that they find a way to nullify the zombie spell keeping the mushroom ghosts undead. There was no doubt in the minds of the two that they could do this, it was only a matter of time. They would have to either find a magic that could open the box and use the white-tipped wand, or find some source of power in the magikoopa chambers that would acheive the same end.

They turned into yet another passage, and were surprised to see that it was far different from the other tunnels he had traversed. Instead of a rock floor and ceiling, the entire thing seemed to be made out of some sort of marble. Instead of crunching, their footsteps fell hollowly onto the smooth ground. They echoed througout the hall, which was dim and shadowy. The walls seemed to be made out of glass...

Toad glanced at his reflection, which he could barely seen in the darkness, and blinked in surprise. He stopped in his tracks and stared at the glassy wall. As he watched, a new shape seemed to manifest itself in its depths... it emerged slowly, and Toad gasped as he realized what it was.

"Truffle!" He cried, placing his hands on the glass. She walked toward him, smiling, and reached out toward him. Toad reached out his own hand in response, wondering in his suddenly befuddled mind how on earth she had gotten there, his hand passing through the once-solid wall with ease....

He was ripped from his trance suddenly as Ten grabbed him and pulled him back from the wall. Toad blinked as his mind returned to focus, and watched in horror as the image he had thought was Truffle dissapeared with a water ripple. He stared at the hand that had gone through the wall in dismay, it was cold and numb.

"Toad, hey, are you all right?" Ten asked, his voice filled with worry.

"My hand..." Toad mutterd holding his arm up. His hand flopped forward bonelessly.

"Careful... this has to be the entrance into the magikoopa's chambers. That was an illusion... I don't even want to know what would have happened to you if you would have gone all the way into that wall."

"Niether do I," Toad commented, shaking his hand balefully. It was regaining feeling, much to his relief.

"Phew... C'mon. The sooner we get out of here, the happier I'll be."

"I'm with you."

"Me, too," Tempier called, and the ghostly agreement of the others rustled out like wind through dry grass. "As much as being able to float is fun, we really would like to regain our bodies, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," Toad smiled, flexing his hand warily as they continued their walk. It was working again, much to his relief.

There were several more attempts made to entrance them, but the two stared straight ahead. Toad muttered to himself when he heard the princess' voice emerge from the wall on his right, and Ten sent him a reassuring look. it'll all be over soon... Toad thought, setting his jaw and walking past without even a glance in the illusion's direction.

The hall seemed to stretch forever, but eventually they reached its end. They passed through the doorway into a large, oval-shaped room carved of the same marble the passage to it had been. This room was, unlike the passage, well-illuminated, but the light source was unidentifiable. The light seemed to radiate from the very walls, and from this light, a still pool in the center of the room shimmered radiantly. The structure of the room resembled the interior of an egg on its side. Toad stopped in the doorway.

"This room...."

"Who would have thought something so beautiful could exist in this Kingdom?" Ten agreed, staring at the interior.

"There's something about this room," Toad muttered, holding Kichra up in front of his face. The purple stone that gave it its power was pulsing, and Toad realized that the light in the room was doing the same. They seemed to be in tune. "This room... it's a sacred place. There's so much magic in here..."

Ten glanced at him and the wand, then stepped into the room. The ghosts floated in above them, filling the room with their transparent bodies. He stepped toward the pool in the center, and stopped when he had reached its edge. From the middle of the pool a white stone spire exented upward, and on it was an enscription written in an ancient language that he could not decipher. He walked around the perimeter of the pool, besides that, the room seemed to be empty. There were no other passages, no way in our out except for the tunnel they had come in through. He glanced back at the entrance, where Toad still stood motionless.

"Hey... where do we go now, Toad?" Ten called, his voice echoing in the room.

"This is where we were supposed to come," Toad replied, walking in and toward the still water.

"But... there's nothing here."

"There's so much here..."

"Where?"

"All around us," Toad replied, and as he spoke he lifted the wand and pointed it at the spire jutting from the pool's middle. The purple light again expelled itself from the wand and illuminated the white tower, turning it a light shade of violet. The words enscripted on them flashed brightly once, then fell back into darkness... then disapeared entirely. Ten watched uneasily. The magic from the wand was activating something, but he didn't know what it was.

As he watched, the tower sank silently into the pool. The water took on the same purple color as the wand, and remained that way even after Toad lowered it and stopped the flow of magic. Ten opened his mouth to say something, but Toad waved a hand toward him, motioning for him to stay quiet. Ten wrinkled his brow and waited patiently.

What happened next would remain forever imprinted in his mind. The room went dark, the only things that were visible were the hovering forms of the ghosts and the softly glowing, purple tinged water. A disembodied voice emerged from the depths of the pool, sad-sounding yet unmistakable authorative...

-Kichra.... why have you come-

Ten stared at the water, his mouth gaping. Toad, however, mustered up his courage and answered.

"To help my friends."

-Ask you nothing for yourself-

"I ask assistance only for my friends."

-Whom are your friends-

"These ghosts in the room... they would have themselves back."

-You ask me to revive the dead-

"I do."

-Why should I do this thing for you-

"Because I ask it."

-You are not in a place to demand anything from me-

"I'm asking you... Please."

The voice remained silent for a long while, and Toad began to worry. What if he had insulted it? He didn't even know what exactly it was...only that it was an emodiement of power. Was this, then, the source of the magikoopa's power? What would happen if this place were to be destoyed...? Would the magikoopas lose their power as well? Would Kichra lose its power?'

-I will do as you ask-

"Y-you will?" Toad stammered in surprise, and relief.

-On one condition-

"What's that?"

-You must surrender the wands to me-

"What?" Toad gasped in disbelief. His hands tightened on Kichra defensively.

-I do not wish to be summoned again-

"But..."

-You will do as I ask if you wish to raise the dead-

"But... there has to be another way..."

"Toad..." Ten whispered quietly, imploring him. "You have to do it."

"But you saw what happened last time Kichra was taken from me!"

-That will not happen again-

"But, I-"

"Toad. Please. Look... look at them. They're depending on you. You can give up the wand for them, can't you, Toad?"

Toad looked up at the floating ghosts. Their "eyes" were all fixed on him, willing him to give up the wands. Their sadness was almost a tangible thing, and it ripped at Toad's heart. He would have to give up Kichra to save his friends... it was unfair decision that was placed before him. The purple water shimmered in front of him, his wand shimmered in his hands... and his friends shimmered above him unnaturally. He shut his eyes and fought down the urge to scream.

"Please, Toad..." Temier called softly from above him.

-Have you made your decision-

"I have. Take it. Take them all, just save my friends!"

-It shall be done-

Ten watched as Toad lowered Kichra and shuffled toward the ? box. He ran to help him, and both mushrooms lifted one side of it, and carried it toward the pool. They set it on the floor near the edge of the violet water, and Toad carefully took the two other free wands and set them on top of the box. He gasped as they dissapeared inside, through the top of the box. He picked up Kichra and held it before him for a full minute, transfixed by the purple glow.

"Toad," Ten whispered quietly.

"I know."

He shut his eyes and placed that wand, too on the box. He refused to look as it dissapeared inside it, and when he opened his eyes again they were hard and angry.

"Let's do this, already, before I change my mind..."

Ten nodded, lifted his side of the box, and Toad his. They stared at each other over the box, their eyes meeting momentarily, then in unision they tossed it into the pool.

Instead of splashing, as they both had figured it would do, it hit the surface and stuck there, as though the pool was filled with jelly. It was pulled in with a sucking sound, and dissapeared inside the goop without a trace. The lights flashed brightly then, and the two mushrooms gasped and looked above them as the ghosts were filled with the purple light from the pool- the last spell Kichra would ever cast.

They glowed brightly for only a few seconds, then slowly floated toward the ground. When they reached the marble floor, they stood, looking at each other for a few seconds, then Tempier tapped the ground experimentally. The ex-ghosts let out a cheer of happiness at the echo his foot made on the floor. They were living once again.

-Follow my sign to leave this place-

The voice sounded a final time, and Toad blinked as the ground from the tunnel took on a flourescent purple color. As he watched, a hole opened in the back of the room, and the floor again returned to its normal marble coloring.

He couldn't help smiling at the revived mushrooms, even though he was anything but happy at the moment. He had been told that he wouldn't be harmed by giving up Kichra, as he had been last time, but that didn't ease the pain of losing the wand. This time, for good, he knew. The box had been sent somewhere safe, and although Toad knew that it was no longer in that pool, he got the feeling that he would never see it again, anyway. He bit his lip, watching as the "water" lost it's purple coloring and returned to its normal tranquil blue, and as the spire reemerged from the depths of the water. He turned away from it to meet his friends, and was greeted with hugs from various mushroom girls and high-fives from the guys, including Ten.

"All right! We made it!" Ten exclaimed happily.

"We did," Toad agreed.

"Yeah, so let's get out of here, already!" Temier called, and everyone shouted agreement.

Everyone froze suddenly as another voice echoed from the tunnel they had come through to get there.

"Who's there?" It cried, unmistakably the voice of a magikoopa. "Who lies in the sacred chamber?"

"Quick, we have to get out of here!" Ten yelled, gesturing toward the new passage that had been opened for them.

Everyone nodded fearfully, and ran through it, not daring to look back. The magikoopas swarmed into the room, and watched as the mushrooms dissapeared from sight. From their midst came the Sparkoopa, leading a band of magikoopas and transakoopas into the tunnel after them.

"Get them! Don't let them escape!" He yelled, and even as he spoke, he sent a tongue of electricity out into the tunnel. The mushroom gasped, and there were cries of terror as sparks flew by them, along with various other bolts of magikoopa spells.

"But... I thought we had gotten rid of their power source!" Ten gasped, running beside Toad at the front of the company.

"We didn't destroy it; it still exists... it's just not going to be bothered by anyone again."

Ten shrugged, not fully understanding those words, and ducked as another bolt nearly grazed his mushroom hat. The exit was visible not far ahead, and he rushed toward it, fighting the pain in his legs and his own fatigue.

The mushrooms burst out from the tunnel onto the backside of the mountain in a flood, colored bursts of deadly light emerging with them. Toad gestured for them all to hurry, standing near the entrance as the others ran past. At the end of the group came the brave mushrooms who carried those that had been wounded by the magic onslaught, and as the last one stumbled out of the tunnel, the passage slammed shut, trapping the magikoopas inside. Toad grinned as he heard them cursing angrily, and stuck his tongue out at the wall.

"Let's get out of here! Before they come out from around the front!" He yelled then, and the other mushrooms nodded. They started down the mountain, looking back at the spires containing the magikoopas fearfully, but they couldn't go very fast unless they wanted to fall to their deaths. And most of them really didn't want to be dead again.

They didn't have to go very far, though, because after only a few minutes, several winged shapes came into view. Toad blinked up at the sky and squinted into the darkness, trying to make out what they were...

"Kadeja!" He cried jubilantly, as the form of the koopa came into focus.

"The one and only," She agreed, lighting on the floor. "We got sick of waiting for you guys to come back."

"But how did you get wings?"

"There was more than one Parakoopa shell lying around after that battle!" Kadeja laughed, then suddenly her face became somber. "Let's hurry, by the way. This shell is really uncomfortable."

"Sure thing!" Ten agreed from nearby, sending a meaningful glance back upward.

The koopas each grabbed a mushroom, some of the stronger ones grabbing two, setting one on their backs, and they took off from the mountain back toward the palace to wait for Mario and the others to come out. The flight back seemed much shorter than the one that had taken them there, and soon enough they were back at the site of the battle, looking at each other with dazed expressions.

The koopas, once they landed, scrambled out to recover their shells. Most of them self-conciously headed far away before they made the switch, but some of the less conservative ones changed right there. When Kadeja returned with her own shell back in place, and looking considerably more comfortable, she favored Toad with a smile.

"Looks like you did it, after all, Shroom."

"Yeah..."

"Where's you wand at?" She inquired, noticing for the first time that Kichra was not gripped in one of his hands like it usually was.

"It's... gone. For good."

"Oh, really? Well, good for you. Glad you finally parted with it."

Toad nodded sadly, not really wanting to talk abot it. Ten sent a glare at Kadeja, and she grinned.

"It really is good, you know."

"Yeah...."

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Ten asked hastily, to change the subject.

"I guess all we can do is wait..." Toad replied, and everyone raised their faces upward toward the highest tower of Bowser's Castle, and prepared to do just that.

~Masamune~

Ahead the clown copter was flying about out of control. Mario had already been tossed off easily by the huge mechanical montrosity. But this had allowed more then enough time for Geno to charge up his specialty, a move called the 'Geno Beam'. Ever since the rise of the machine, he had been preparing for an attack. And now it was perfected, the strongest focused energy ball he had ever created. When it hit, the power would rip through it like paper. He had judged the location of Peach, he would launch it and not even hurt the koopas inside.

His eyes darted around, as everything took on a greyish tone. Mallow's running from an attack seemed to slow down until he was suspended in the air indefinitely. Mario was crouched on the ground, preparing to jump. Luigi was rolling away from a large black cannonball that was near to crushing him. Daisy was off to sidelines, seemingly unnoticed by all. Yoshi was jumping towards the tank in half courage and half recklesness. The cries of battle below faded to echos, the sun dimmed so that it could be looked at like a picture in a book.

In front of him, a light descended towards him. Shining brilliantly among the dull colors of a frozen gray world. The light took on a humanoid appearance, until it darkened away to a old elderly man. Leaning on a old woooden cane, with a long white beard extending to his chest and a great deal of wisdom showing in his face.

His mouth cracked open as he began to speak, "Your time here has past."

Geno knew exactly what this meant, but was still awestruck. He managed to come around and process the words spoken. "Past? Why?"

"The council of stars has decided." The star replied.

"I was sent to fulfill a mission, I have not even-"

"Silence." The old man said in a commanding tone, "It is decided."

"Why?"

"The wands are no more." The old man replied, "We must not interfere with the realm of mortals any longer. The Great Star will be freed soon, you needn't remain here..."

"The wands..." Geno repeated silently, "Eldstar... I must help them... at least bid them farewell."

"No." The elderly man, whom was the Eldstar, said in a voice that left no room for objection.

Geno looked at the group and sighed deeply, "Ugh...."

.............................

Mallow tumbled violently away as a large explosion destroyed a section of the ground. As the remains of rock and dust fell upon him, he saw Geno and the breif flash of a strange old man. A second later, Geno's body shrunk in size and fell lifelessly to the stone ground below. The nimbus prince ran over quickly and picked up the wooden doll in his hand. It was as he remembered it several years ago, a small child's toy. Mario soon joined beside him, also quite shocked at the suprising turn of events.

"Geno... he..." Mallow began, but quieted down.

Mario thought of something reasurring to say, but he was in the same mental state as Mallow and was unable to. All he could manage out was, "He's gone."

It was not much, but the obvious truth in the statement was enough to draw Mallow to the current matter at hand. Which was very good thing it did, as another explosive fired at them and engulfed the area. When the two looked back, they suddenly realized that the toy doll had been left behind. They were both awestruck and saddened by the sudden destruction. Although they both knew the doll was never the 'real Geno' they had travelled so long with, the doll held a symbolic place in their minds. The two managed to recover and attack again, lacking the help of Geno.

..................................

Kamek sat silently, his scaly fingers hastily skimming a ancient book of magic. He was desperately looking for a certai ntext he had read so long ago. If he remembered correctly, it was a 'Magnetic Spell' that would allow him to draw all the wands to him instantly. Suddenly a rush of strange magic hit him like a brick wall. Knocking him out of his chair and stunning him for a few short seconds.

When he came around, the hard evident truth seemed to strangle him around his neck. He could feel the power begin to fade away and spread throughout the air and vanish for good. A cold chill ran up his spine as his fingers began to quiver.

"No... the wands... their gone!" Kamek wailed loudly.

At that moment, Kammy ran in about to announce what happened, but soon realized Kamek was fully aware of the horrible turn of events. Kamek voice croaked as he spoke to his sister, "Order the magikoopas to a full retreat... We need not waste the remainder of our power..."

Kammy nodded and turned to leave, but looked back silently. "How much longer will our magic remain?"

"If we use it sparingly..." Kamek mumbled, "A year..."

"Ugh..." Kammy mumbled out as she left the room.

...........................................

Within the nick of time, Luigi had managed to roll out from the huge ball. Glancing at Mario trying desperately to get eaten up, he suddenly conceived a plan. He ran as fast as his legs would carry his to Daisy, gasping as he did. He whispered somethign short in her ear and motioned her out to the battlefeild as he went towards Mario.

Inside Ludwig watched the green plumber do all this in interest. He turned to his sister, who seemed only interested in taunint Peach. "That green pest seems to be trying something. Do you not think so?"

She shrugged as she looked at him, "Let's just squash him."

"Dear sister, you certainly have a way with words." Ludwig replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Even so, this hull is designed to be inpenatrable. Ever harder than the head of that stupid Mario."

Wendy nodded boredly and retured to her controls, receiving a groan from her eldest brother. "Hey look, that other princess is there. Let's get her."

"I don't think..." Ludwig began, but was cut off as Wendy took over his controls.

Outside, Daisy just stood in the middle of the battlefeild. She had attempted to be brave as possible, but ended up closing her eyes and mumbling something repeatedly. The Clown Copter continued down, with it's large jaw opening up. Just before it would suck her in, Mario made a mad dash towards her and pushed her out of the way. As it went to swoop up, Luigi gave his mightiest jump and climbed into it. With his feet firmly placed, he held his hands on the upper-side of the mouth to prevent it from closing. Mario soon recovered from moving Daisy, and leaped up to the clown copter. Just barely grabbing the lower jaw with his fingertips. He then pulled himself in, allowing Luigi to let go and allow the mouth to close.

Inside once more, Ludwig had finally managed to pull Wendy off the controls and regain access for himself.

"Drat, you somehow damaged the jaw. Now we cannot get that miserable princess." Ludwig retorted.

"Hmmph." Was all the reply he received as she turned away and sulked. Two white gloves suddenly grabbed her face, as she was pulled back and held tightly. Kicking madly, she managed to turn around to see Luigi. He had her held rightly, and Mario was working on tying her waving arms and legs up. After a long time of her constant fidgetting, they had her tied up completely with a fitting gag.

Their attention the turned to Ludwig, who had employed mechakoopas to defeat the combatants below. Luigi had went towards the back end of the copter to retreive Peach, while Mario went to take on Ludwig. With a swift punch, he knocked Ludwig out of his seat and on to the sticky, disgusting floor panel. The red plumber then took over the controls, attempting to find some way to land it. He was tackled again by Ludwig, who tried to force Mario away and take over.

Outside the remaining fighters were doing their best to defeat the Mechakoopas while avoiding the randomly fired explosives coming from the Clown Coptor. Yoshi had been left with the fore-front of the attack. Being the strongest of the three, he was pounding away at the mechakoopas. Mallow did his part in fighting, since Daisy was kind enough to help out and provide healing magic.

By now, the coptor was flying even more recklessly then before. It would dive to the ground, then suddenly fly straigh up once more. Then it would almost run into the wall, only to swoop back just in time. The robotic monsters and explosives apparently had ran out, as it continued it's perilous path. Finally it came to close to the ground, one of the bottom propellers hitting the ground and getting bent terribly out of shape. This completely ruined the balance and caused it to dive towards the wall, ruining another propeller and scratching the side of the copter. It finally managed back to the middle, where difficulties inside were causing things to fly off and explode. From the top hatch, Ludwig was seen jumping out with his younger sister in his hands, tied head to foot. Before it plummeted to the ground, Mario, Luigi, Daisy and Peach managed to leap out on the ground, rolling away very dramatically as the coptor exploded into smitherines.

Ludwig, parachute deployed gracefully landed on the ground. Freeing Wendy with his claws, he took on a very feirce pose. Wendy followed suit, while the five other koopa kids ran into the battlefeild out of one of the doors nearby. Each one of them were snarling and attempting to be as intimidating as possible.

"Finally some action!" Roy exclaimed as he looked over the group for a easy target. He spotted Daisy as the easiest one, "Hoo ha!"

...........................................

Just above, Bowser sat in a secret, dark room watching the koopalings battle the enemies. He was getting impatient with them, waiting to finally get his chance. He knew they would be defeated somehow by the group, they always had been. But if Mario was worn out for battle, it made it all the better for him. Beating him when Mario was down was not fair, but being fair never had worked. Being beaten so many times made 'fair' seem like such a stupid concept. He was not going to be stupid, he would crush him when he was down and weak.

A sadistic smile crossed his face, which was sooned stopped as a peice of flying metal broke through the window and smacked him in the head.

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