Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ NSX ❯ Press Start, Player Two ( Chapter 1 )

"How long..."

"How long have I wandered..."

"How long have I wandered... and not found solace such as this..."

"How long have I wandered... to escape..."

"How long have I wandered... to escape... it..."

In one moment the void remained motionless, but was shaken the next by an almost inhuman scream, coming from virtually every direction... if such sense of motion existed within the plane. From deep within the darkness an epic flash of light rang out, the distorted shriek slowly fading back into reality.

A great door of light appeared, spewing forth rays of gold... but amidst it was something less than. What seemed like a spectral mist seeped between, becoming quite visible - moreso audible. An incorporeal shriek rose from it, piercing in all directions. Slowly the mist solidified, twisting and bending - in mere moments it became more pronounced, and bright almost to the degree of the portal of light. As soon as the process had begun, it was over - a humanoid form crumpled up, securing itself in the fetal position as the rift behind it slammed shut.

For what seemed like days the figure remained stationary, twitching from time to time as it continued to emit its shrill whimper. Images flooded its being; tragedy, war, death, famine, destruction. It writhed, focusing as hard as it could to eject its intelligence in a last-ditch attempt to purge the plague from what remained of its mind.

Slowly the infestation faded. Once again the being found silence beyond. There he remained, slowly regaining his sanity.

Millennia passed.

The void was as stagnant as it had ever been. Once again the figure was curled up, drifting solemnly on the cosmic wind. Slowly its "head" craned up, exposing a pair of nova-bright eyes that dwarfed even the rest of his luminescent composure.

Again... time marched on. Countless eons came and went... and a single extradimensional figure went unnoticed.

For the first time since creation... it drifted to a halt. With an explosion of light, it extended its limbs, unfolding spread-eagle in the air. Its body was tall and slender, pulsing from hypothetical head to toe with massive amounts of energy. As spectacular as the minor outsider appeared, what display of beauty was about to be cut short.

A twitch ran through it, causing a spark of energy to leap off into the vacuum and dissipate.

"....i....ittt...."

It slowly began to convulse, feeling dread return to its blurred vision after its massive lapse. A pair of ethereal hands raised, clutching the head in what looked like deathly pain. Slowly, a voice began to play, massively distorted, but still legible to the otherworldly being...

"VAST."

The figure of light turned this way and that - there was no way this was happening. IT was happening. Again. It had come, not for the omniscient presence ahead of it... but for other reasons. Slowly but surely, knowledge began to trickle back into the outsider's senses... upgrading it, returning it to its previous state, albeit somewhat more sane.

"...I feel. It..." both hands lowered, and were raised again into the creature's line of sight. Both fists clenched. "...you haven't come for me... you do nothing... but seek destruction..."

The now sentient being stared on into space. The corruption was there... growing... expanding... almost as if it were crafting a spherical barrier in all directions. As the force began to corrupt his senses... it disappeared in a flash. Once again the demibeing was left alone in the astral plane. Slowly his head craned up.

"...you've found a new target." he peered off into the distance. Indeed, by the trace power that was being given off... he knew that trail of energy well. The massive wave of energy off in the distance washed over his senses, magnifying them thousand fold. There was a physical realm. Near. Very near.

He had to pursue. His fists clenched harder, shaking violently. "...I will not let you do this... not again..." he cast his arm to the side, tearing a rift in space-time. He knew where he was going - with the nearby physical dimension, there would undoubtedly be a spirit well. And where there was a spirit well, there would be "blueprints" for any physical form of his choosing, providing it existed at some point in a nearby realm.

"You shall not win." the figure's eyes narrowed as a massive crack echoed out in front of him. Slowly space-time began to crumble, revealing a bright green light beyond. He reached forward, embracing a lone figure as it floated out. The silhouette began to envelop him - a massive frame, at least seven feet tall, powerfully built...

He saw no more.

In a bright flash of energy, the same figure tore across the cosmos as it slowly began to recompose its previous form, diving deep into the gate that lied before it...

How entwined he would become in the mortal realm...?

And what such legends would be born alongside him...?

********

Rain raked the ground, washing away any thing that the violent winds hadn't already disposed off. The usual pristine hills of the countryside were in an oddly chaotic state. It was safe to say it was not particularly a fun time to be outside. What sparse wildlife that inhabited the area had found shelter in the large underground pipe systems which entrances dotted the landscape, and what travelers remained out in the storm were quickly trying to gain entrance to the small city that lied in the heart of the expansive plains. A massive queue of short stubby figures, all topped with odd mushroom-like caps, was stood outside of the walls of the city, in the process of arguing with a pair of blue-capped gate guards who were sheltered within an admission booth.

"I am FREEZING out here!" one female barked in a shrill voice.

One of the guards was at the front trying to ward off the soaked and/or angry travelers while the other was in the back talking into the top half of a mushroom-shaped phone. Nodding frantically, he turned back to the front. "Alright, everyone… I'm getting in contact with the King's representatives now… we're going to try to get curfew extended so we can get our gates open a little while longer… until then, can I get you all to sit tight?"

The front worker slammed the Closed shutter down as multiple people lunged for the opening. "…that's taken care of."

On the other side of the gate, the city was no less spared than the exterior. The cobblestone roads were being pounded hard by the deluge, and what few mushroom people were left outside were fighting their way towards their cubish, sloped-roof wooden homes that lined the streets. Lights began to go out as citizens were able to seek refuge, and for a moment it seemed that locally at least the night was over.

Lights remained on in the large castle off in the distance, however.

The observatory was one of the largest rooms in the fortress, as well as one of the best furnished and the most expansive. The walls were of the finest wood available to the royal family, a pair of massive bookshelves took up most of the two long walls, a series of recliners were set up in front of an exquisite fireplace positioned directly underneath the right-wall shelf, and a pane-glass window on the far wall reached at least 40 feet to the ceiling. One could view nearly all of the city below from the perch.

A royal retainer stood at the window, his arms hanging behind him. He reached up, adjusting his mushroom cap, and giving his small white vest a last shuffle before letting his hands fall back into their standby position. He squinted as he stared off into the rain, only stopping as a thunderclap cut into his concentration. He suddenly whirled around as heavy steps resounded from the entrance.

"…sire?" he called out. "…some of the other retainers have been looking for you…"

The door shut with a soft click. A large man stepped into view, draped in long black robes with fine yellow trim. He wore a wraparound mushroom cap like his followers, save it was larger and pitch black, and sported a gold-foil-like spiked crest on top. He slowly walked up to the window, his bushy mustache twitching along with the rest of his face as he suddenly let out a hacking cough.

"…are you alright?" the retainer looked over his liege as he bent over and back again, dispelling his cough.

"…no, no… I'm quite fine…" he clenched a fist, beating his chest lightly. "…it's just that… the air's a bit chilly tonight… I wouldn't want to be caught out on a dreadful night like this, certainly… anyways… Toad, you said the other retainers were seeking me?"

"As was I," Toad remained motionless. "…curfew began half an hour ago but there are still more people arriving at the gates. We were seeking permission to extend curfew another hour so we open up for a little while longer."

The king waved his arm. "Well, by all means, do so! The Mushroom Kingdom will welcome all trapped in a quagmire like tonight!"

Toad nodded. "Gotcha." He glanced around the king's wide body where another retainer stood at the door. "…we've got a confirmation. Can you relay down to the main gate that curfew's been extended?"

"Can do." The retainer made a mock salute, turning and dashing off down the hall.

"Well…" the monarch reached up, stretching and allowing his long sleeves to hang limply on his arms. "…I'm going to be hitting the sack here… I'm sure everyone else can handle what affairs remain tonight?"

Toad smirked. In any other case he would have applied his stupidly affirmative grimace and marched off to do whatever, but he knew already what else the sovereign was implying. "Are you sure the princess is still up at this time?"

"Why wouldn't she?" the king slowly returned to the door, glancing over his shoulder. "…have you seen the size of that book she's reading? I know we have some magnificent works here, but the way she immerses herself into them… it's hard for me to imagine she EVER sleeps. Can you possibly find her and let her know that I'd like her to oversee admissions until curfew begins again? I mean, with the retainers' assistance?"

Toad nodded. "Affirmative." He paused, waiting until the king had reached for the closed door. "…sire?"

"Yes?"

Toad half-chuckled. "You know she'd probably have a fit, right?"

The king returned the gesture. "…not that I could blame her on a night such as, but it's important that I keep my daughter on her toes… frightening as it seems, she may be ruling this kingdom someday. She needs some gentle reminders that she's in a position of authority… and that position of authority entitles her to more than discounts at clothing and book stores. It entitles her to responsibility." He smiled softly, giving the doorknob a twist. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Later." Toad waved weakly as the door clicked shut again. He waited another moment before cursing to himself, that he'd be the one that needed to awaken a beast that night. Sighing to himself, he closed the damper on the fireplace, watching the blaze rapidly die out before leaving the expansive chamber.

********

"TONIGHT?!"

"That's the plan." Toad groaned.

"…he's got to be kidding." The young woman slowly shook her head, suddenly sitting upwards as she passed off the novel to her free hand. She pivoted off the fluffy bed with the other, standing up. She was dressed in casual and visibly worn trousers, and a simple white shirt. Toad was visibly shocked as he noticed what exactly she was wearing. Her blonde hair flowed behind her, tied back as such it just inched beyond her shoulders. "…Toad? Seriously… you look like you've seen a ghost."

"…hm… well." Toad straightened himself. "…I'm just not used to seeing you so… laid-back."

"…are you just going to stand there? C'mon in."

"Miss Toadstool, I came t-"

She audibly grumbled. Toad sighed, stepping in from the doorframe. He was again startled at the room itself - the excessively fluffy bed that was there the last time he was here was still intact, but the rest of the room which had been designed as a fauna of pinks and purples and was designated to house all the possessions of a princess had degenerated to a plain bedroom. Gone were the exotic cabinets and shelves and perfumes and jewellery and the belongings of the princess he once knew, instead replaced by largely generic bedroom essentials. Various posters dotted the walls. "…that's odd… what went on here?"

"I did some renovations." Toadstool slid the book back into a shelf, which was completely full of borrowed materials from the libraries of the castle. "…I got some help from Wooster."

Toad jarred his head to the left. Another beige-dressed retainer was at the edge of the wall with a paint roller, covering over the last strip of pink drywall with a coat of white paint. "I agree. This room… was just a complete and utter eyesore. I was more than happy to put my say in this."

Toad shrugged. "…hm, well, whatever floats your boat." He looked over to the open closet, where the princess' ceremonial dress still hung loosely in front of all her other clothes. It was a bright pink garment, which rapidly flared down at the bottom and suddenly tightened from the torso up. A large blue gem was held in place upon the chest. Somehow, just looking at made the retainer feel calm. He woke himself from his trance, turning back to the regal figure before him. "…oh, yeah… anyways, Miss Toads-"

She tilted her head. "...please… Toad, no. You know-"

"You know how much I hate that name." Toad sang. "Alright, alright. I thought I could get away with it… if you won't let me call you by your royal name, then we need to talk, Peach."

Peach's grin spread a mile wide. "That's… my little retainer!"

Toad blinked.

"…uh… yeah…" Peach fully propped herself off the bed, standing up. "…well, if we need to keep an eye on admissions so closely, we'd better get going."

Toad nodded, turning to march back through the door behind Peach. At the last moment, he glanced back over his shoulder. "…uh, Peach…"

"Yeah?"

"You swapped out everything else… but why'd you keep the bed?"

"It was comfy."

Toad heaved a sigh, and closed the door behind him.

Had they stayed any longer, they would have noticed the great green flash in the sky from Peach's window.

********

NSX

1: Press Start, Player Two

********

"HAAAAAAALTT!!!"

Wet mud flew as Troy planted his feet against the ground hard, letting out a yell as he launched into the air and over a large crevice in the soft dirt below. He landed hard on his feet, hopping once again into the air and landing in a run. He arms pumped in the air as he built up speed, taking himself down a hill and up the next as fast as his Koopa legs could take him. He continually reminded himself that the barrens of his home kingdom were NOT the best place to lose pursuers. Definitely not dozens of them. The physically draining rain storm didn't particularly help matters.

He followed a path down into the hills again, hanging left as the sand road twisted that way and turned back. He screeched to a halt as a pair of helmeted red-shelled turtles leapt down in front of him, both winding up to hurl a hammer. Troy leapt to the side, dodging them both, and circled around to the left Koopa, successfully latching onto his arm and swinging him hard against his comrade, sending them both to the dirt as he sped off in a run.

Both Hammer Brothers bounded back to their feet after trying to brace off each other twice unsuccessfully. They were promptly flanked by another two dozen staple Koopa soldiers, armed with generic spears and swords.

"What are you WAITING FOR?!" one of them shrieked. "AFTER HIM!!!" With a loud cry, the entire battalion charged forward, wildly swinging their weapons. Troy glanced over his shoulder. There hadn't been any turns after his last - meaning the mob was gradually beginning to gain on him.

"This is baaaaaad…" Troy muttered, still keeping his eyes behind him. He rounded another corner, much to his relief - the path began to wind down further into a cavernous gap in the ground, which Troy could see off in the distance slowly snaking up the other side. He leapt to a skid stop, screeching to a halt perfectly in front of a bridge that led across the gorge. The pit below was nigh-bottomless.

High in the sky, a massive green rift opened. The gate emitted a shrill howl as with one mighty explosion of force a heavily-built body was launched from it, its frame unfurling as it plummeted down, now in effect of the physical realm's gravity. Its true form was then evident - it was a massive humanoid avian, easily seven feet in height - its body was sheeted in seemingly metallic scales, comprised of the same material as the beast's beak. It spread its arms, unveiling a pair of wide patchwork wings. Slowly it began to spiral, aiming straight down as it pierced through the cloud cover.

Two more turtle-like figures stood upon the edge of the crevice, watching as Troy fled for his life across the fragile land bridge, somewhat of a stark contrast of the other soldiers still pursuing Troy due to their rather large hair. One's jutted up and was dyed a rainbow of colors, the other blue coif threatened to engulf the back of its host's head.

"Aw, man," the left one held a bow in his right hand, and shielded his eyes with the second. "How am I gonna hit him with this sun?"

"Iggy, you buffoon, did you listen to anything that father said? The defector is to be brought back ALIVE! Now, give me that before you manage to injure yourself with it like everything else!"

Iggy muttered to himself, handing the weapon to him. "Not fair, Ludwig."

"Very much so." Ludwig held up the bow, slinging a slim foot-long arrow into the nock. On its end was an explosive charge.

"Hey-" Iggy protested.

"I am quite aware of what I said! Just let me DO THINGS! WEEEEEEOOOO!!" Ludwig let out a shrill laugh as he let the arrow fly, watching with grim satisfaction as it flew up into the air and arced down unto the bridge. Troy grinded to a halt as the arrow exploded, completely blasting the center of the bridge to pieces. Troy remained at the edge, still looking around confusedly before noticing the two turtles upon the edge of the crevice. He then looked not-so-confusedly at the massive fissure that was slowly growing under his feet. With a screech he leapt up, running back the other way as the bridge literally crumbled apart one step behind him.

He glanced up again as he neared the beginning of the bridge - slowing down as he noticed the entire brigade of Koopas waiting patiently for him. "…oh… crud."

Ludwig dropped down in front of him. "That indeed." Troy stared blankly as the Koopa raised his bulky arm, driving his fist straight into Troy's face.

********

Troy reeled forward again, taking in a deep breath. The air around him was dark… just as dark as before, except rain was no longer beating down on him. It was then he accepted the cold, morbid truth. He slowly sat up on the frail cot he was haphazardly dumped onto, his eyes slowly regaining focus. As his vision became sharper, so did the rest of his senses, including that associated with his pounding sinuses. He fell backwards again, his head hitting no pillow. He lied there for a moment before sitting up again, swinging his legs to the side and off the rickety bed.

He was out of the rain, that was a given - his surroundings weren't any more appealing, however. The room was composed entirely of interlocking granite bricks, each slightly rounded at their centers. A small wooden table sat directly to his side, standing on three legs and using the wall as support. Soft blue light poured in from a small window along the ceiling on the same wall, which was fortified with several thick bars of metal. Troy felt cold, abnormally so even though there was no insulation around the gap in the wall. His shell had been confiscated, leaving him in striped shorts and little else.

His eyes lazily drifted to the opposite wall, which consisted of vertically-spanning iron bars not unlike the ones in his "window". Outside, a large chair just to the right had a massive helmeted tortoise resting upon it, with an almost comically large tempered mallet strapped across his back. A Sledge Brother. He whistled to himself in a low tone, flipping through a travel brochure. It was packed to the brim with all the usual commissioned-leave resorts, that much Troy knew. He was also aware that Koopas had an odd taste in leisure activities. While he himself wouldn't have minded a two-week paid leave to the sludge lakes of Pipe Land, he knew full well any other being would have vomited at the exquisitely disgusting photo on the third page of the pamphlet. Nonetheless, a Koopa Troop elite soldier keeping tabs on him meant full well that Troy had just hit 12 on the crapometer.

A loud clang echoed in the distance, followed by irregular footsteps. Troy blinked as a much smaller, though much more muscular turtle waddled into view. He and the Sledge Brother both exchanged lengthy if totally illegible salutes before the Sledge Brother rose off the chair, turning and sliding a large key into the door of Troy's cell. With a loud click the door of the brig swung wide open. The visitor strode in, and it was only then that Troy noticed that he was shorter than himself.

"Ah. You're that brat." His stubby arms folded behind his back as he slowly circled the Troopa. "…I've heard that you're in quite the predicament. I'm surprised you haven't been exiled already. But, given your knowledge of the inner workings of the king's plans, I suppose it would be best to give you a good whipping here."

"Uh." The Sledge Brother nodded dumbly.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Troy sighed.

"They call me Boom-boom, and it's my job to curate this little pit and see to it that prisoners, Koopa or not, get the thrashing they deserve. As you might have expected, you're going to be receiving a thrashing times ten thousand. I was told to inform you that the king himself would like to see you," his eyes narrowed and his voice hissed. "in person."

Troy slid back as his heart leapt. What was he expecting? A discharge, an exile, not having to report every intricacy of his plot to the king of the Koopas in the flesh. He glanced around, still lacking breath. There was no way out of his situation now. Boom-boom raised an eyebrow as Troy continued to glance around frantically, a smirk beginning to grow on his face. "Heh. I'm assuming you're a little afraid. I couldn't blame ya. But that's what you get when you mess with the Koopa Troop." He stood, falling back onto his stumpy legs. "King Bowser has already made arrangements to arrive at this fortress in eight hours. I'd be writin' a will if I were you. Well, I'm spent. G'day." Boom-boom let out a low chuckle as he turned, stepping out of the cage as the Sledge guard slammed it back shut.

As Boom-boom left his sight, Troy focused again on the cold grey ground. What information he had obtained through uncertain means had definitely turned out to be as hazardous to the diplomatic affairs of the Koopas as he had thought, if Bowser himself wanted his head on a silver platter for threatening to take it elsewhere. For now, there was little to do but sit and wait…

********

The hours came and went. Troy remained steadfast, idly twiddling his thumbs and whistling as he nonchalantly accepted his fate. Outside a loud thump sounded. The gate of the fortress was lifted. Obviously the gate on the otherwise shoddy prison was put there for grand entrances, and it took Troy a heartbeat to realize who'd shown up. He stared up at the ceiling, the noise on the upper levels gradually rising and falling again as his visitors navigated the maze-like fortress. Troy rocked back and forth on the cot, waiting a few more minutes before a massive crash echoed out from the far end of his hall. They slammed shut again, and footsteps could be made out. One set was obviously heavier than the others. Troy took a deep breath, slowly propping himself off the cot. Two Fire Brothers and another massive frame positioned themselves in front of Troy's cell, staring inwards.

He was an absolutely massive Koopa, sheeted in muscle mass drastically greater than that of even the Sledge Brother - Troy wasn't aware if that made him even more catastrophically heavy, but he stood in a half-hunched position, wrapped in a gigantic plate-armored shell, with large spikes jutting out in symmetrical arrangement. His head was topped with a fiery-red tuft of hair, on which both sides large horns protruded. As the cell door slid to the side, he stared down upon Troy, the glare of his dark red eyes piercing into him. He nodded to both sides, dismissing the Fire Brothers. He set his sight on Troy again, giving his head a quick tilt to the side.

"Get dressed," his voice rumbled. He passed a generic green shell to Troy. "You're coming with me."

Troy stared at the shell. Bowser's massive claw nearly wrapped around the shell. He could very easily have crushed it, and whatever was unlucky enough to be inside. Troy reached forward, slowly dragging the shell from Bowser's palm, and fitted himself into it as fast as possible. As Troy clamped down the shell's restraints and secured himself in, Bowser had already begun down the hall. Troy kept several steps behind him lest the behemoth find reason to tear him apart.

While Troy had never been in any of the Koopa jail fortresses before, he already knew that they were beyond a restricted area. He glanced to his side, peering into the cages, and the open-air chambers after that, furnished with a table, a chair and little else. Troy came to the conclusion that they were obviously interrogation rooms of some sort. "…where are we going… sire?" he slowly turned his head to Bowser, keeping his eyes on the wall. They passed the stone stairwell that led down to the last, deepest level of the dungeon. Bowser slowed to a stop at the end of the hallway, as did Troy. Bowser suddenly drove his hand into a large crack in the wall, fiddling inside it until a loud click echoed through the barren hallway. He removed his limb, stepping back as the wall suddenly slid away. Inside was a room not unlike the empty rooms he had seen earlier. He stepped to the side, allowing Troy access. He moved in after, the wall closing behind him.

The chamber was illuminated only by a short beam of light turning in a short radius, the device emitting the ray hanging a short distance from the ceiling. Troy knew it as a rotoscope, a high-intensity and physically damaging beam of light that was often used as a security device in the lower-level fortresses. Wasting no more time, he quickly seated himself, while Bowser moved to the opposite side.

"This is…"

"…one of the interrogation chambers originally installed in this fortress." Bowser finished. He let his arm fall to the table, raising it again with a few papers crumpled in his grip. "…I don't want to waste anymore time… your name is… Troy Kiemen, from the 99th brigade of the Koopa Troop."

"…well… yes."

Bowser let his arm droop again, his expression rapidly becoming more fierce. "It's come to my attention that you had attempted to escape Dark Land earlier this evening. Is this correct?"

"…yes." Troy said dully.

"Tell me, Troy, what would compel you to leave the realm of the Koopas, when you were NOT on any registered leave and were distinctly ordered to remain in Dark Land on reserve duty?"

"I was…" Troy's face suddenly went pale. "…we were … told earlier by my brigade commander that the 80th through 99th brigades would be sent out of Dark Land to the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Can you be any more vague?" Bowser waved his arm across.

"I was…" Troy's voice cracked. "I was running away. I was escaping duty! My friends were out on leave… and they'd gotten me a registration for the Dark Land Kart Tourney! But… now I have no idea why I did something as ridiculous as abandon my post! I'm just some slacker who thought of himself before the Troop! I'm ashamed of myself… and I wish to make it up in any possible! I will take whatever punishment you give me!" Troy suddenly rocked back, sulking in his chair. He rubbed his forehead, shuddering as he staring up at the Koopa king.

Bowser's forehead wrinkled. "Wrong."

Troy blinked. "Huh?"

"You know EXACTLY what's going on. Far too much for your own good, in fact. You were not headed to the Dark Land Kart Tourney at all… you were headed PAST the Tourney grounds… and out of Dark Land… on a beeline for the Mushroom Kingdom!!"

Troy quickly stood, glancing all about. "…what?! Why would I be going to the Mushroom Kingdom already?!"

"I find it LARGELY convenient that you would be leaving the grounds the night after being told your waypoints for the next patrol route. You cretin… I don't know how, I don't know when, but you found out EXACTLY what's going to be happening then… and that information is largely confidential. If you had managed to inform those buffoons in the Mushroom Kingdom about our plans the Koopa Troop would have been ruined!"

Troy was literally at a loss of words. "...you're going to INVADE?!?"

"Don't PLAY DUMB, you insolent…" Bowser's fist was clenched, shaking violently. "You will see what happens to those meddling in the most internal affairs of the Koopa Troop…"

Troy whirled around as the wall parted again, a quartet of blue-shelled Troopas bursting in and rushing Troy. He was knocked to the floor, letting out a hack as the squad wrestled him to the ground. Troy tried to fight, but was quickly overpowered by the high-ranking Troopas. One delivered a blow to his head, knocking him out cold as the other three scooped him up and quickly shuffled him out of the hidden chamber. Bowser watched as the wall shut again before slowly turning. "…make sure he never sees the light of day again."

********

The muddy wastes of Dark Land, only worsened by the rain, were now quiet. The large fortress off in the distance was still lit, noise coming from every orifice, even though there was but one prisoner inhabiting it. Outside, a bright green flash of light filled the air as an object rocketed towards the ground. With a piercing shriek, it slammed straight into the ground, causing fissures to spread in all directions as the ground itself rippled from the force. As the mud finished raining from the sky, the mist soon parted, revealing the massive avian standing upon the epicenter. His arms were spread, as were his wings directly above. His face remained emotionless, a loud thrum sounding as the eyes of the beast opened. They were pupilless, radiating with an unearthly light. In one split second, the previous memories of the body made themselves known to its host.

"…alright." He said in a deep voice. "…it is time… I begun searching." Slowly his arms were lowered to his side, and his tough neck twisted with a dull crack. He turned it the other way, emitting another loud snap. As the physical form it inhabited slowly began accustomed again to movement, it very quickly realized that this terrain was alien even to his memories.

Checking around himself once more, he turned to his left and started walking. His massive taloned feet dug into the ground, making every step of his firm and powerful. He would have to refer to himself as a he from this point on, noticing his male status.

A single sweatdrop rolled down.

Thankfully, powerful magicks began to make themselves known in his mind. He held his arm forward, causing small stones to rise from the ground. Soon their physical form began to rupture, and he brought them together, creating some kind of gelatin-like compound from the hard rock. It floated towards him, wrapping around his waist. Soon it had molded to his body, creating stone armor from his waist down. Oddly, he felt no increase in his weight. Already he was somewhat perplexed by the abilities of whatever race he had chosen, although he did assume they would be very handy at some point. Clenching his fists, he walked straight - hoping dearly he would find some sort of civilization before his body's desire for food and drink would settle in.

********

Peach's fingers continually drummed on the counter inside of the admissions booth. Her other hand was busy deforming her face as she leant on it. Toad was slumped over next to her, sleeping in a rather uncomfortable position. The rain had stopped, but the air was unbearably chilly as a result of the downfall.

"Toad." Peach said dully.

"Yuh?..." Toad responded.

"This isn't what I thought of when I was told to give everyone a royal welcoming."

"Meh." Toad collapsed again.

Peach glanced at her watch. "Curfew's starting in two minutes. Let's get inside." She stood from her stool. Toad tried to push himself off his and landed facefirst on the floor. Any other day Peach would have assisted him in prying his face off the ground, but it was important that she got inside before her body ceased operating from the heavy concentration of boredom in the air.

Eventually they both got outside, Peach leading as she opened the small wooden door right next to the giant gate as it began to close. She slowed down again as another retainer rounded the corner up the street, jogging at an obnoxiously slow pace towards them. His attire was a light beige, he was a bit taller than Toad, and had a large grey mustache that bobbed as he moved.

"Toadsworth." Peach said blankly. "What are you doing here."

"It's a most odd occurrence, your highness, see…" as Peach and Toad walked around him, he turned as well, keeping pace with them. "…anyways, I was just looking through my telescope, since the sky is ever so clear following this dreaded storm-"

"Can you make it fast?" Peach began to speed up.

"…oh, yes… anyways, I happened to be looking for the constellations nearest to Star Road when the most peculiar thing happened… one star had just appeared out of nowhere, in a great green flash… I may have found some kind of nova! Such a spectacle of nature, who would have thought that I would see such phenomena with my own ey-"

"TOADSWORTH." Peach repeated.

"…yes, anyways… I was watching this new star for quite a while before it just upped and fell out of the sky. The most odd thing. Usually you have some kind of warning. The odd thing, though, if my math is correct it's not falling anywhere near the Mushroom Kingdom. If I'm not mistaken, it was headed straight for Dark Land."

This caught Peach's attention, if for a moment. It was a widely believed legend that the Star Road, a lost kingdom in the sky, was responsible for the answering of the most solemn of wishes, and went about distributing them upon the earth by shooting stars, or so went common belief. Naturally, one who made insecure or harmful wishes was disregarded by the Star Road and its theoretical inhabitants. Peach recalled one kingdom that the Mushroom Kingdom was in talks with, a kingdom of Koopas that reigned throughout Dark Land and the Land's End. A trade route was to be arranged that would allow the Kingdom to pay raw currency for the vast deposits of oil at Land's End. It was during an orienteering trip through the outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom that the mightiest of Koopas, the king Bowser, blatantly laughed when he was told the legend of the Star Road - Peach couldn't remember word for word, but Bowser himself had made some particularly rough comments about seeing what was up there someday.

She was disgusted largely - she came to the conclusion that the Koopa kingdom saw it as yet another material possession… as they saw the riches of the Mushroom Dynasty.

"What would Star Road be doing sending something out that far?" Peach scoffed. "…you think anyone out there has a heart in their chests?"

Toadsworth backed off slightly at the princess' sudden outburst. "…well… I… just thought it… would be of some interest."

Peach heaved a sigh. "…sorry… forget about it, let's just get inside before we all freeze to death…"

********

Troy slumped up against the wall, shivering. Even hiding within his shell couldn't stop the coldness from permeating to his core. Wherever he was, it was safe to assume that no living thing belonged there. His head craned up as his eyes squinted again. The room was pitch black, save for one tiny of speck of light far off in the distance, which was obviously coming from upstairs. He had been banished to the lowest level of the dungeons, one he had no idea existed - obviously walking by the downstairs access on the way to his meeting was just one very badly planned occurrence. Troy hunched up again in a desperate attempt to keep his body temperature high, lest his cold-blooded system slowly begin to shut down.

Moreso disturbing to him than his pain and physical state was the atmosphere. He took another deep breath, trying to force it from his mind. The dirt was no longer gritty, but clumped together by some sort of long-dried liquid… the air had a putrid scent to it, even by Troy's reptilian standards. It was mysterious, largely unnatural to him… but whatever it was, it made him wretch. He planted his hands against the ground to push himself up, but found him reeling his right arm back in pain. He tried to examine it in vain, the pitch darkness giving him no indication. He rubbed his hands together, feeling a stinging sensation come over them - a lukewarm liquid, a shard of cool metal…

"…what… IS this?..." Troy muttered in shock. He continued to mock-examine his hand, eventually giving up and letting his hand fall to his side. He brought it back up, quickly ripping the small shard of iron from his hand with a pained yelp. He threw the heavy scrap of metal across the room, it landing with a dull thud against the moist ground. He kept his fist clenched instinctively, his cut eventually clotting. This compelled him to give it another look. He faintly saw a massive gash across his hand, as well a small amount of dull red liquid already dried onto his hand. He slowly drew his hands back, sulking down even further. Whatever was happening, he did NOT like it one bit. "…Bowser… he's set on launching a full-scale attack on the Mushroom Kingdom."

His head craned towards the ceiling. "…but… why?"

A disturbing thought hit him. His eyes widened as his head lowered back into its stationary position. "…there's no way the Koopa Troop would be able to fill up all the cells in this facility. They've… been saving it for use in their Mushroom Kingdom campaign all the long!" he slammed both his fists into the ground, this time hitting dirt. "…why?! WHY is the Koopa Troop stepping up for a possible WAR? How can Bowser just up and launch a rampage like this?! I didn't join the Troop to join in a slaughter!... I came here to serve my country passively… not… anything… like… THIS!!" Troy pounded the dirt repeatedly, letting out grunts as he forced himself further into the dirt. He stopped a minute later, completely sliding down against the ground.

Something began to gnaw away at his being… something he had no idea was present… something that he feared…

It was at that moment that he was almost certain he was being watched. Who by, he had no clue. But the possibility was there - these levels of the dungeons were obviously designed for the most intense of imprisonment… and other things. What things were these?... almost immediately he felt pain shooting through his scar.

Troy made the sudden realization that he and the Koopa Troop were in very, very deep trouble.

********

A taloned grip slammed down into the dirt once more. The avian slowly pivoted his head upwards, his massive frame buckling in response. He was upon a hill, higher than others in the area. In the distance, across the barren wastes, he could make out clearly a massive fortress, encased in a wide yard and the tall walls surrounding it. He slowly advanced down the hill, beginning his long walk towards the superstructure.

"…this is where these thoughts are coming from…" he mumbled, both his claws glowing an intense green. "…it is beginning… and it must be stopped."

He glanced over the base once again. He happened to notice the main gates open - the path leading from it looked like it had been trampled almost nonstop for the past many hours. His eyes dimmed as he continued to move forward, starting into a jog, then a run, then a great sprint. His powerful legs took him down the hill and over the next at blinding speed, on a straight line to the massive compound out in the distance.

"…something still lurks within…" his eyes slimmed, emitting a dull green light. Energy continued to charge in his arms as he zeroed in.

A guard Troopa at the entrance looked up from his own leave pamphlet, vaguely noticing a rising cloud of dust on the horizon. He shrugged, returning to his seat on his side of the moat. He glanced over it for another minute before instinctively looking up again. The massive avian towered over him like a bad omen.

"…hi?" the Troopa squeaked. A massive clawed hand reached down, snatching the turtle up by the throat.

"You will let me in. I don't believe I need to be any more blunt." His hand began to shake as he squeezed tighter.

"N-no wa-agghh!!" the Troopa's eyes went wide as he finally got a good glimpse of the warrior's massive frame. He quickly slid inside his shell, escaping the chokehold, and stuck his head out the bottom. "CLOSE THE DRAWBRIDGE!!"

The being glanced over. The bridge's supports let out a dull clank as the medieval machinery began to slowly raise the bridge into a locked position. He simply tossed the Koopa over his shoulder and ran straight at the moat, leaping at the last second completely over the ramparts of the castle, which momentarily stopped the raising as every Troopa nearby stared on in bewilderment as the enormous bird landed with a crash in the fortress' courtyard, dashing for the nearest substair.

"Call for reinforcements!!" one of the Troopas poked his head out of the guard booth.

"We can't!" the other replied.

"…why?!"

"Because all our residing troops have already been called to the front lines!... the invasion begins… tonight."

The avian moved with godlike grace, tearing down the lower hallways with a choreographed sprint. What few Troopas hadn't noticed him were already on his tail, securing whatever weapons they could from the racks on the walls. Glancing over his shoulder, he slowly slowed to a stop in the middle of the cramped hallway, allowing the soldiers to get closer to him. He turned, facing them as the slowed down, readying their arms. "Alright!! Whoever you are… you're coming with us!"

The bird reeled back. "…hm. Is that so. I'm afraid… I can't comply."

"WE'VE got the weapons here!"

His eyes narrowed. "…oh, so very wrong…"

The lead Troopa charged blindly, waving around his stubby broadsword. It was caught effortlessly by the avian's claws. As the Troopa tried to wrest it free, it was snapped like a twig in the intruder's grasp. He launched forward with his other hand, slamming his palm into the front of the soldier's shell and discharging a blast of energy. The soldier was launched backwards with a shriek, smoke pouring from the wound. The other two looked on in horror as the Troopa slowly climbed back to his feet, the alien in the meanwhile gathering another two bolts of energy and hurling them. Both blasts hit home, completely destroying the front of the other guards' shells and sending them hurtling backwards. Dispelling his charge, he turned, diving into another substair, dashing down two more floors before exiting. He sped up, waving his arms madly as he careened down the hallway.

"It… is here…" he snarled, setting his eyes on the wall at the end of the corridor. He emitted a loud screech as his feet left the floor, his sleek form launching through the air and down the hall. With an enormous crash, he smashed through the hidden door at the end of the hall, charging up another sphere of energy in his hand. He stepped forward, firing off charges of energy into the cloud of dust. More explosions rang out, but little else. He stood still, watching patiently as the dust cleared. He was in a sort of interrogation room, laden with debris from his entrance. The table was turned over, the rotoscope on the ceiling was no longer functional, and the entire back wall had been blown out, exposing the dark horizon off in the distance.

"…what?!" he roared, his eyes flaring up with an intense light. "…but… my sense… told me it was HERE!!" he spun around again, trembling in almost a paranoid manner. "…perhaps… it made its entry into this world via this room… and now… this entire fortress is corrupt…" his eyes slimmed, filtering his surroundings again. "…there is one on a lower level with a low level of corruption… I must get him or her out of here before a full corruption can occur…" he strode forward, turning and stepping into the stairwell. He broke into another run, darting down the spiral staircase. Slowly but surely all light around him ceased.

Troy glanced to his side as heavy footsteps rang out, heading his direction in a hurried frenzy. He was beginning to wonder what that racket upstairs was - he was answered abruptly as massive figure bounded into the room, his faint outline making him look that much more menacing - but what stood out were his beaming eyes, glowing with turquoise light. Troy blinked, leaning forward as far as his wall chains would allow him. "…who are you?..."

The beast turned, setting his eyes on Troy almost as if the darkness had no effect on him at all. "…you… you stand out in this building… you are the least corrupt… thus, I must get you out of here before any more damage occurs."

Troy shivered. "What are you talking about?"

"You appear to be imprisoned. Perhaps it would be easier to say I've come to set you free."

Troy stared blankly at the imposing figure. Was he hearing this right? It must've been hours since he was left in the deepest dungeons of the fortress and a jailbreak had just begun. His grin spread a mile wide as he held out his arms. "Alrighty." He just about threw himself back again as the creature held up his arms, two bright green blades of energy extending from his wrists. They were brought down, swiftly severing the heavy chains and letting them fall to the dirt with a dull whump. Troy leapt to his feet, staring at his savior with equal parts confusion and wonder.

"Get on my back." he ordered. "You will not be able to keep up with me on foot."

Troy obediently did as he was told, grabbing onto one of the beast's massive scales and slinging himself up onto his back. He wrapped his arms around his upper torso, holding on for dear life as his mount leapt into an instantaneous sprint. He aimed for the narrow opening that led into the stairwell, banking to his side and climbing the shaft at an alarming rate. It took them mere seconds to reach the top, after which they both turned right on a dime and headed for the hidden interrogation room.

"Eep." Troy squeaked, watching painfully as they both screamed towards the plain wall. The bird suddenly leapt, digging into the hard ground with his claws before rocketing forward into the air, smashing straight through the hidden door while Troy struggled to keep his grip. Granite rained down behind Troy as the creature landed in the middle of the chamber, narrowly missing the table. He glowed with a bright green aura as he leapt forward again, this time a shriek following as they crashed straight through the next wall ahead of them. Troy kept his eyes closed, letting out a yelp as debris bombarded him. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in darkness once again. Keeping his grip, he glanced behind him. They had completely broken through the heavily fortified walls of the fortress, and now were headed down a wide underground tunnel. "What… how did you know there'd be a tunnel here?!"

"Because it was headed this way." He responded.

"What was headed this way?" Troy mumbled.

"There's no time to explain. Hang on for a while longer, I'll find somewhere we can rest for a while." He surveyed his surroundings as they whizzed by him. "…if you're wondering, I happened to notice another switch on the back wall of the interrogation room similar to the one that led into the room itself when I was first in there. Whatever was beyond would probably be a most secret place… and it appears to be so. We should be safe down here for now."

********

Troy hunched up against the dirt walls, warmed somewhat by a small fire that had been started in the center of one of the cavernous rooms him and his partner had come across. It was started by tiny shreds of wood and fueled by garbage that Troy had located further on in the tunnel. It itself was entering the initial stages of decay, so he was able to confirm that no one had in fact been down here for a long time. It came upon Troy that the structure of the corridor itself was similar to that of the pipe mazes that dotted most of the inner continent. No one was sure how they had gotten there in the first place, but most of the inland was connected by labyrinthine caverns which one could enter through large green pipes that were scattered throughout the overworld. Troy had only been in the caverns twice, spending most of his life in Dark Land, at the Land's End.

With the entrance where it was, it was easy to come to the conclusion that the cavern where the two were was an emergency exit from the fortress, known only by the highest-ranking of the Koopa Troop, up to and including the King of the Koopas himself, Bowser.

Troy glanced up from the flames. Being a recently made tunnel, it was much better ventilated than the labyrinth that he remembered. The exhaust from the flames, and the revolting stench that came from the garbage within, was less noticeable than he would have figured. "…hey."

The avian loomed over the fire, leant forward in a crouch. "…yes?"

"…well, after being somehow saved from eternal punishment and such, I'm just a teensy bit curious who you are, what you are, what you were doing at the prison… and what obliged you to set me free."

The figure stared at Troy with emotionless eyes before scooping up a small stick from the ground in his massive hand, poking at the flames with it. "...my name… I do not know my name. I have no idea what I am either. I was sincerely hoping someone in this world would be able to inform me."

Troy heaved a sigh. "I'm being serious here."

"As am I." the beast continued to prod at the fire, half-muttering to himself. "…this physical form… I have no knowledge of what it accomplished in its previous life… or its wisdom and experience… but if I could find something to trigger its memory…"

Troy stared blankly at him as he continued to babble. "…uh… whatever… yessir…"

"Sir." He boomed. He raised his head, his eyes beaming with a newfound vigor. "Sir! That's… I don't know what, but that's… that's it! My name… is Sir… my name… is Sirius! Thank you, my friend, I think I may have broken into his memory… soon, with enough perseverance I should be able to recall everything that resides within this being's physical mind…"

"That's dandy." Troy said dully. "…anyways… about this entire raid you just pulled… why were you at a Koopa prison fortress? And what exactly compelled you to save me of all people?"

"I came to the fortress…" Sirius dropped off, staring intensely at Troy. Troy glared back, blinking.

"…and?" Troy asked.

"…am I sure I can trust you with such knowledge?"

"Knowledge of what?"

"Something that may or may not have the potential to destroy your world."

Troy shook his head. "Hey, we were talking about you here, how did the end of the world come into this…"

"Because my being here, its being here, and your being here are all deeply intertwined."

"Stop, stop, stop…" Troy waved his arms frantically. "Can you be any more vague? Just tell me, what were you doing there?!"

Sirius stared into the darkness, his head drooping slightly as it turned back to Troy. "…I understand you may not believe me, but I have come from the heavens to this world for an important purpose - to stop another extradimensional force from embedding itself into this world and draining it of all life, to put it mildly. I was right behind it when it came into this physical plane - its first objective would be to find a physical form in which to begin its assault on this world. I traced it to this fortress. I launched an attack on it, hoping to locate and try to prevent it from manifesting fully into a form with which it could begin its rampage."

Troy's heart ran cold. Looking over Sirius' massive frame once more, it was feasible to argue that the distinctly alien physique before him could HAVE been an astral figure. "…and as for you, Sirius, I'm going to share some confidential information with you…"

Sirius opened his beak to speak, but let it close again. "Make it quick."

"…my name is Troy. This is a prison fortress built by the Koopa Troop, of which I am one of. I was trying to run away from duty to attend a go-kart championship in a land a short ways from here… but I was captured by my own brigade, jailed and eventually brought before our king… I tried to plead my case and accept my punishment, but he didn't believe me… he had thought that I was fleeing to the Mushroom Kingdom beyond to report that he was going to launch a full-scale invasion on it!"

Sirius' eyes widened. "Is this the truth?!"

Troy nodded grimly.

"…this is why I never found it when I came… do you know when he's intending to orchestrate the attack?"

"He couldn't be thinking of attacking already, could he?" Troy mumbled.

Sirius' face twisted as he turned away again, a cold fire in his eyes. "…it has evaded me again! I have no choice but to follow, and hope he doesn't begin any bloodshed…"

He faintly saw a massive gash across his hand, as well a small amount of dull red liquid already dried onto his hand.

Troy shook his hand, shrugging off the disturbingly realistic mental picture. Now that he looked back on it, his injury… blood? It was almost alien to him. Had he ever witnessed his own cold blood before? Troy glanced down at his hand, again checking over the rapidly diminishing cut. "…bloodshed…"

He brought it back up, quickly ripping the small shard of iron from his hand with a pained yelp.

Troy stared back at Sirius. "…pain. Bloodshed leads to pain."

"You have learned a very important lesson." Sirius began walking off into the darkness. "…the reason I freed you was because… you stood out in that building like a lamp in the darkness. From what I understand the dark essence had already enveloped that fortress… and you were the least corrupted by it, you received but a smack of the potential destruction that could occur but were otherwise not afflicted by it as many others within were. This may be due in part to the fact that you may have been in that fortress for a shorter time than anyone else within since the corruption began. Before I depart on my quest, it is mercy that drives me to purge you of what corruption you have received."

Troy looked up at Sirius, dumbstruck. "…how are you going to do that?"

Sirius spun around gracefully, marching off into the darkness. "Come with me."

********

Troy trudged on, slightly hunched over as his tongue hung out awkwardly. Slowly his head pitched up so he could get another look at Sirius - it would have pleased him to see, at the very least, that he was becoming somewhat tired from their long march - they had been on the move for nearly three hours now, and had taken many turns - obviously they were no longer on the evacuation path used by the fortress, but instead in a labyrinth of some sort. Troy glanced around again. Even the dirt at their depth in the maze had taken on a lighter, healthier tone - weeds and many odd types of lichen that Troy hadn't known existed sheeted the earth around him in patches. They were obviously out of Dark Land's grip, and in the mainland pipe maze - but obviously at a lower depth than had been traversed recently.

"…we're… in kinda deep, aren't we?..." Troy mumbled audibly. He got no response. "…uh, you DO know where we're going, right?"

"I'm going by my senses." Sirius replied emotionlessly.

"…that's… great…" Troy paled.

"…we are getting close, however…" Sirius' head pivoted, his eyes following a large rat as it scurried into a small side tunnel. "…it shouldn't be more than a few minutes at this rate."

"Where ARE we headed?" Troy muttered.

"Patience." Sirius scowled. Troy slowed as if he had been hit hard in the face. Sighing, he followed Sirius closely as they turned right again, heading down a steep incline. Sirius seemed to have no trouble with the slope, but Troy slowed to a crawl as the loose dirt threatened to remove itself from under his heavy boots. As Sirius hit level ground, he continued walking forward, letting Troy tumble to the ground with a dull thud, a dust cloud rising. Troy propped himself up, spewing out dust as he continued to follow Sirius into a rapidly narrowing pass. There were now small stone tablets lining the walls, inscribed with odd symbols and ancient text.

Troy slowed down as Sirius halted in the next room. "…is this what you were looking for?"

Both were standing in a small chamber of earth - large shards of stone littered the ground alongside all the staple rocks and vegetation that was commonplace throughout the catacombs. What caught Troy's attention, however, was the large crystal lodged in the ground, tilted somewhat as it jut out of the earth. Within was some sort of artifact that Troy was able to fully make out as he edged closer to it.

"…a key?" Troy stared with morbid fascination at the comically large tool - it had a large, yellow, almost cage-like handgrip attached to the bottom of a tall, thin shaft that suddenly turned in on itself at the top to form a hollow half-moon to which the teeth were attached. "…you led us to a… key?"

"This is no ordinary key." Sirius stepped closer, now between it and Troy. "…it is not in your interest to understand. Now, come, place your hand on the crystal." Sirius stepped to the side again, allowing Troy passage. Troy shot a confused glance to Sirius as he stepped up, lifting his scarred hand closer to the gem. It glowed with a soft green light as Troy brought it closer, eventually planting his palm on it. Troy let out a yelp as a pulse of energy was sent into his hand, tearing it away. He held his arm up with his other hand, surveying it - the scar was now completely null, the dark red clot now completely black. However, it no longer throbbed with the low thrum of pain it had before. Troy twisted his head up, staring dumbstruck at Sirius.

"…what did it do?..." Troy shuddered, letting his hand fall back to his side.

"You have been purged. What MORE do I need to say?"

"…h-hey." Troy held up his arm, causing Sirius to stop and slowly turn.

"…what is it?" Sirius' eyes let off a soft pulse of light, letting Troy know full enough he was waiting to leave.

"…this key… what is it? How did it just heal me like that?... how did it stop the pain?"

"Your business here is done." Sirius growled. "…be happy you were able to see this firsthand… this is normally not a sight for mortal eyes."

"Was pain a feeling for my mortal sense?" Troy shot back.

Sirius paused, eventually facing away from Troy. "…no. No it wasn't. I can see it in your eyes… this is alien to you. All of it is. The blood, the pain, the anger, the vengeance sworn by your ruler, it is all a new experience of yours… it is something I seek to stop before it manifests itself in this world for eternity."

"Sirius." Troy said firmly. "…what is the key?"

"That is not for you to know, boy!" Sirius bellowed.

"Tell me!" Troy stepped forward, still clutching his arm. "…I've felt this pain you speak of, do you think I'm going to stand by and let it grow?! I need to know… what is bloodshed? What is pain? What is this force acting upon me? Upon the Koopa Troop? Upon the King?!"

crikk

Sirius prepared to speak, but felt a ripple cut through his thoughts. "…what… are you suggesting?"

"…I saw and felt something I was never intended to… something this world was never intended to, that's what you're trying to say, right? Sirius, I want to know - what is causing this? What are these feelings that are being forced upon me, this world? It's what's causing the Koopa Troop to blindly march into battle, right? They, too, want to know what bloodshed and pain are?"

cr-crikk

"…I want to know what it is too. But… I don't want to see it carried out…"

"You want to witness it."

"No."

"You want to understand it."

"Yes."

"You want to evolve."

"Yes!" Troy furiously nodded.

cr-crik-crikk

Troy let his head fall, his breath becoming ragged. He glanced up again, expecting to be staring into Sirius' defiant face. Instead, he found one of utter shock. Troy blinked, whirling around. The crystal in the ground was now standing straight upon it, fissures beginning to form in its outer shell. Troy felt his heart leap as he nodded in confirmation. "…I want to evolve!"

The crystal pulsed once more, almost in confirmation, before exploding into dozens of shards of light. Troy shielded himself as the laser-like shreds of hard crystal were sent in every direction, lodging into the wall at random spots. From within, another flash of light leapt, this time dissipating into the air and letting the key within fall to and stick itself into the dirt. Troy let his hands slowly drop from his face, opening an eye. The ground underneath the key was completely blasted apart and scorched heavily. Thinking of nothing else, he turned back to Sirius.

"…by the gods." Sirius stared blankly at the artifact, still teeming with life.

"…S-Sirius?!" Troy spat. "What do we d-"

"Troy." Sirius' eyes floated. "Take the key."

"…what?!"

"Do it. Do it now."

Troy glanced at the key, and back to Sirius, and back to the key, and back to Sirius once more. He slowly moved, inching towards the relic as the ground around it still smoldered. He continued to advance, his boots sinking into the heated dirt. He raised his hand, wafting it over the handle of the device - he was shocked to find there was a frigid air about it, almost as if it were consciously counteracting the heat produced by the crystal's destruction. His hand suddenly lunged forward, seizing the key's handle within its grip. Troy slowly lifted the key, pulling it slowly out of the ground. Very little of it was actually embedded in the earth, overall making the key just a bit longer than three feet. Once more he looked back to Sirius in confusion.

"…we will camp here for now." He said, still somewhat disoriented.

********

Peach and Toad approached the palace gates, somewhat slowed by the large patches of mud that were scattered across the castle's usually pristine lawn. Toad removed his cap, wringing it. A large puddle grew in front of him. "…this… is bad."

"Wooster'll take care of it." Peach sighed. "…he'd be the one to take a stroke at this, not me."

Toad was already in front of the gates, undoing the giant padlock on them with a small key. "…I'm surprised the guards aren't still here… they must've been requested to help setting up temporary settlements. Maybe we DID get quite a few visitors tonight."

Peach shrugged. "Were they any useful here anyways?"

"That's their primary objective, defend the castle." Toad said dully. He wrenched the key free from the slot, wrapping both of his hands around one of the gate's bars and dragging the gate open. "…you of all people should know that."

"…judging from the history texts I've come across in the libraries the last threat the Kingdom's had was 49 years ago when three Goombas stomped the flower gardens flat."

"Better safe than sorry." Toad slipped into the gap in the gate. Peach was ready to enter when she heard a dull clunk from within.

"…oh, you IDIOT!" a raspy voice inside muttered. "THAT'S not the one!"

"…uh… how was I supposed to know who it was…?"

Peach edged closer to the gate, ready to peek around the edge - but before she got there, another figure lunged out from the shadows, arcing around and yanking Peach backwards. A boomerang was being pulled back against her throat. Hearing the commotion, the other two assailants leapt out from behind the gate. One was a stubby, light-skinned turtle with pink-rimmed shades, and the other was one of the many Sledge Brothers. Behind Peach, the Boomerang Brother pulled harder on Peach as he drug her back.

"K-kh-koopas?!" Peach hacked.

"Roy Koopa, that is." The shorter one chuckled as he moved in closer.

"…but… I'm not Roy Koopa…" the Sledge mumbled.

"That's right." Roy grumbled.

"No one cares about me…" the massive tortoise proceeded to sob quietly. Roy rolled his eyes, throwing up his arms.

"What do you want with me?!" Peach rose slightly, no longer being choked.

"This is the beginning of things. We kidnap the Princess, designate it as an act of aggression, and continue moving the Koopa Troop to crush this kingdom of yours."

"What? But the Mushroom Kingdom was just talking about trade deals with the Koopa kingdom just days ago!..."

"You have things to trade that we would like. But would it not be easier for us to pummel you with our blatantly superior military and take it with no cost to us? For a regal figure you don't got a lotta sense about ya."

"You won't get away with this!" Peach fought her way forward but was again drug backwards.

"And who's gonna stop us? Your national guard which is busy makin' homesteads for every piece of fungus that walks through your door? I wouldn't call that an army… I'd call that a Salvation Army!"

The Boomerang glanced over his shoulder, his loose helmet's straps flopping from side to side. "…someone's coming."

"Let 'em come." Roy laughed. "…we're pretty much done here."

Roy's grin twisted as the rain slowly resumed, although at a much more bearable level than before. At an intersection down the street, a man stepped from behind one of the buildings, slowly beginning to walk towards the group. He trudged straight through every puddle he found, his heavy boots virtually ignoring them. As he neared, Roy was eventually able to fully make him out. He was draped in baggy jean suspenders, with red clothing underneath. He had oddly bulky work gloves, white, wrapped around each hand. As he neared he blinked, getting rain in his eye. His mustache twitched. Eventually he made eye contact with Roy, reaching up and pulling down on his red cap. Roy was visibly confused by the M insignia on it.

"Bah." Roy noticed to his side another man, taller and slim jog to his side, nearly identical to the other as far as features were concerned - although his clothing was green, and his own hat was emblazoned with an L. He had a large bag of various spanners, wrenches, and other pipe-mending tools slung over his shoulder. "…lemme guess… the alphabet had a party and you weren't invited."

"Brother…" the taller one leant down. "…maybe we shouldn't be poking into other people's businesses."

"Some help here?" Peach ground her teeth.

"You see?" the shorter one glared at his partner as he walked forward, rolling up his sleeves. "…does this situation look a friendly exchange to you?"

"Bleh." Roy waved his hand. "Get rid o'im." The Sledge nodded in response, seizing its massive hammer from the back of its shell and slinging it into both hands as he lumbered with a dull roar at his target. He slowed slightly as he wound up, sending the mallet behind his back, and brought it high into the air and down. The plumber hunched down, effortlessly rolling to the side as the hammerhead struck the earth, tearing up the cobblestone. This gave the other man enough time to slip around the other side, making a mad dash straight for Roy.

The Boomerang sidestepped straight into his path, reeling back to sling his weapon forward - it was a bad judge of distance. He fell backwards as the tall man leapt up and literally ran up his body, pushing off of the soldier's helmet as he launched from it. Roy stared upwards as he plummeted back to earth. His attacker's shrill war cry aggravated him more the fact he was bringing his hand down on the Koopa Kid's forehead.

"JUUUUDO CHOP-A!"

He just hung in the air, the side of his hand pressed firmly against the bridge of Roy's specs. With a tinkle the two lenses fell against the ground. As did the chopper facefirst, no longer able to sustain his blatant defiance of physics. Roy, meanwhile, was flailing his limbs wildly.

"I'M BLIND! I'M BLIND!!" he backed up, heading forward again and running in a circle before plowing into a lamppost. His attacker slowly rose to his feet, staring dully at the

The Boomerang sat up, rubbing his beak. "If you stopped wearing those once in a while maybe you wouldn't be." He was suddenly drug up by the scruff of his neck by the Sledge, lumbering off with both him and Roy in his grip. Everyone watched blankly as the assailants slunk back into the darkness.

"…uh…" both men exchanged glances.

"…that was a bit easier than I was thinking." Peach dusted herself off, rubbing her throat with both hands as pain settled in. "…how were you two… able to stand up to the Koopas… like that? Especially one of the Sledge Brothers, AND one of the Koopa Kids?"

They turned to each other again before the shorter one returned his gaze to the Princess, counting on his fingers. "One was all-a talk, the other appeared big, dumb and easy to distract, and the last was busy with you."

Peach bowed. "Thank you, thank you - on behalf of the palace, I thank you. If there's any way I can congratulate you, feel free to make it known."

"…could we… uh… get shelter?" the taller one removed his cap briefly, wringing it.

"By all means," Peach nodded fervently. "come with me." She ducked back into the gates, shrugging Toad back to consciousness.

********

The dirt underneath Bowser was steadily growing thin. He turned around again, pacing over the same patch of ground he had covered a minute before. And the one before that. And the hour before that. Finally he slowed to a stop, pivoting his head. He glanced over the hill, in the valley below residing Toad Town - and the castle in its centre. Growling, he slammed his foot down, causing the ground to split underneath him and shake up everything in a wider radius - causing many Troopas to simply flee for their temporary barracks, and the mess tent to collapse as an entire battalion of Koopas were halfway through setting it up in the beating rain. Bowser was not one to keep waiting. "Grrraaahh!! Why is that brat taking so long?!"

"With all due respect, dad, I was wondering why you sent that moron out there in the first place." A rainbow-plumed turtle stood to Bowser's side, carrying a teal, star-patterned ball under his arm.

"Is it wrong for a father to have a teeeensy bit of trust in his son once in a while?" Bowser spat. "…rats, what was I thinking… Lemmy, get the others, it appears that kidnapping a princess is beyond your brother's feeble mind."

"Can do." Lemmy bowed, walking ten feet to a polka-dotted tent, which stood out like a sore thumb amidst all the dark tarpaulin tents around it. "…one thing I was wondering though… why did you want to get the princess out of there in the first place?"

Bowser raised his binoculars again, staring down at the asleep town. "Why, I'm glad you asked. For one thing, if we're going to attempt a hostile takeover, there's got to be at least ONE regal figure left alive to, you know, ACKNOWLEDGE their defeat, and two, if we somehow manage to mess this up, we'll still have them begging at our knees regardless while we hold their princess hostage." He dropped them, letting them dangle on a cord attached to his collar. Another blast of thunder filled the air, after which the figures of Roy and his posse were visible a short distance away. Bowser turned towards them, frowning. Roy approached his feet in a tired jog, bowing as the Boomerang and Sledge brothers knelt behind him. "…well, well… look what we have here."

"…we were attacked…" Roy coughed.

"By whom?" Bowser snarled. "Last I seem to recall the entire royal guard are still helping with the blasted shelters! I'm smelling more incompetence than anything else! Now go join your siblings… we're going to have to think up something different… and you two, rejoin the 82nd brigade and await further orders." He watched as both soldiers quickly leapt to their feet, darting off into the maze of tents - knowing much better than to stay around the vastly annoyed Koopa king. Bowser growled to himself, watching as Roy slumped off to the odd-looking tent adjacent to him. His face suddenly went blank as his massive arm twitched.

That idiot… that attack could have been launched… two minutes and twelve seconds ago if he had brought the princess, right?

Bowser clenched his fist, feeling it throb. "…yeah…" he glanced back to his hand - only to let out a horrified yell.

********

"Oh dear… oh dear." A white-shelled Troopa examined his gloves. Bowser, seated on the relatively dry ground in the tent, could only watch as the medic tried desperately to wash off the latex gloves in the field hospital's freshwater supply. The turtle finally unwrapped the gloves with a loud snap, throwing them down on the table. Bowser continued to clench his fist, stopping only to examine the huge bandaid wrapped firmly around his palm.

"What's the deal?" Bowser grunted. "You figure out what it is?"

"…whatever it is, it isn't coming off easily!" Kare turned around, glancing back at the gloves. They were completely covered in a thick, oily substance - to Bowser it looked like the sludge found abundantly in the Pipe Land wastelands, where one of the Troop leave resorts had been founded a short time earlier - he himself had spent a solid week there as a VIP - but its resistance to water made Bowser question that prediction. On second thought, he didn't particularly remember even the most pure of sludge being that black. At that moment, something about it made him feel extremely uneasy.

"…so… when'll this clear up, whatever it is?" Bowser continued gripping the air. "…I'm telling you, I'm feeling perfectly fine. And there weren't any physical injuries, like you said…"

"That ooze just came out of your hand, right? Isn't that what you said?" Kare continued to inspect the gloves, eventually turning around. "…right?"

"…well, yes."

"Then it's important you keep that bandaid where it is and sit tight. I'll do some quick research and see if I can find a remedy… I'd think the chances of us coming upon a disease not documented by me or my team are slim-to-none. I'm sure we'll get you back on your feet, sire, until then, I'd suggest sitting this operation out, at least for the time being."

"Are you crazy?!" Bowser suddenly leant forward. "…we're standing right on the verge of Toad Town and I'm just going to 'sit out'?!"

"Seriously, until we figure out exactly WHAT is happening to you, I insist you stay here and not in harm's way."

Bowser was ready to give the Troopa the beating of a lifetime, but slumped back again - as much as he hated to admit it, Kare was probably right - the last thing he needed was to get a good hit of paralysis or go blind or deaf or endure some other externally amusing epidemic in the heat of battle. "…alright. But I want a transmission system set up here. I want surveillance from every eye and ear, and complete command when the attack commences. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sire. Just don't get too worked up about this, okay?" Kare darted out of the tent, flagging down a passing group of Troopas.

Bowser slumped back, watching as the group all darted in different directions, fetching equipment that would be set up in the med tent for his use. His gaze floated over to the discarded gloves, still lying on the folding table nearby. Staring at the scattered ooze on it, the air in the tent suddenly turned frigid. He continued to stare as the mess slowly but surely came alive, detaching itself from the glove and slipping down onto the table - where it began to form a condensed ball of itself. Bowser felt another sharp pain from his claw - lifting it up he saw the substance again seeping from his hand, working around the bandaid. Once again, he sat frozen in confusion as it virtually came alive in his mind.

CONQUER…

********

"Alright, are you SURE you know where we're going?"

Troy continued to follow Sirius as he made his way through another twisting tunnel in the earth - though Troy had some comfort in knowing they were headed upwards to some degree. Unlike before he was keeping pace with the extradimensional entity, and rested the massive key over his right shoulder. "…say, are you by any chance going to tell me why we're bringing this thing with us… never mind that, what it IS in the first place? Or why it reacted to me? Or-"

"It reacted to you because you were its designated owner." Sirius droned.

"Then why'd it get stuck way down in the pipe maze catacombs?"

"To keep it safe from those with dark hearts… and those who have been corrupted. Troy, I speak seriously when I say that the keyblade coming out of its hibernation is not a good thing for this world… or any other."

"This is a keyblade…" Troy held the device forward, swinging it around. "…doesn't look like much of a blade."

"You do not truly need a blade to pierce the heart."

Troy slowed to a halt, giving Sirius an odd stare as he continued on. "…what's THAT supposed to mean?" Sirius continued on a short distance before he, too, went still. He glanced over his shoulder at the confused Koopa. "…was it something I said?"

"…you are a fool."

"Yes, I am an idiot. You might've come to the conclusion already that I know approximately zilch about what's happening with the Koopa Troop, have been a bit unsettled by a full-out prison break aimed at freeing ME, have no idea how or why I experienced bloodshed on my own behalf, and moreover, I'm a little bit miffed as to WHY I am hauling around a key to some amusingly-large DOOR somewhere."

"I rest my case."

"Alright. Sirius, I'm giving you a garden hose, and you're going to save the universe with it. Do you see what I mean? That's TOTALLY the vibe you're giving off here."

Sirius stopped abruptly, heaving a sigh. "…alright… you know that extradimensional force I was talking about earlier, correct? That item you hold… that is the only weapon capable of destroying it. I myself have no idea how the Keyblades came to being, but it is clear that their purpose is to repel this dark force… I have seen many wield them… many of them eventually falling to the corruption and devastation of the Vast… their worlds quickly followed suit. I have come to this one in yet another attempt to make sure such a thing does NOT happen."

"…what IS the Vast?" Troy asked slowly.

"I do not know myself. All I understand is that it must be stopped by all means necessary. If my assumptions are correct and the Vast and the Koopa Troop's sudden decision to invade the Mushroom Kingdom are related somehow, then we may already be running out of time. If you wish to ever see any of your friends ever again, we must head them off and stop them before it is too late."

Troy grit his teeth. "Isn't stopping an army a little bit out of my league?"

"Not as long as you hold a Keyblade. This weapon is capable of many miraculous things - ones that only you, now, can put to use. This key can both unlock and lock a great world of things… it is up to you as a chosen Keyper to decide what to pursue."

Troy shivered, examining the artifact once more. It gleamed in his hands, almost as if it had acknowledged. "…so, in theory I COULD stop the Koopa Troop with this."

Sirius nodded.

Troy was divided - living within the Troop for so long made it hard to question the Troop's, as well as Bowser's, choices or whether Sirius did in fact speak the truth, in which case Troy would be the only thing standing between the two largest kingdoms and utter anarchy. "…alright, I'll tell you what - I want to head to the Mushroom Kingdom and see this for myself. I'm not saying for sure if I'll help you or not. If this 'Vast' is there I'll see it with my own eyes, right?"

"As long as your heart is true."

Troy slung the keyblade over his shoulder. "Let's mosey."

********

Peach hummed to herself, walking up to the library door with a polished silver tray loaded with snacks. She was ready to scoff at not having a hand free to open the heavy wooden door, but noticed at the last moment that it was in fact open a fair amount. She stepped forward, nudging it open with her hip as she quickly slipped in. She set the tray down on a small coffee table, noticing the two suspender-clad men huddled inches from the fireplace - also somehow managing to block out every bit of light that left the flames. Peach coughed, causing the two to spin around.

She smiled, seating herself. "…well, I don't have much to do… I'm interested in knowing what you two were doing out on a night like this, or what compelled you to come here of all places…"

"We're not really keen on where here is, to tell you the truth." The green one sighed, glaring at the other. "…isn't that right, MARIO."

"Luigi here was so set on cleaning this sewer conduit to the end, see…" the other acted it out with his hands. "…and it was dark in there, and it turned downwards really fast at the end… and WOOSH! So I go check out what's the matter, right? And I fall too!"

"Bro, I'm about sure that if you'd put down your lunch for ONE second we wouldn't be HERE!"

Peach raised an eyebrow. "You're from the pipe catacombs?"

Luigi was visibly confused. "…I guess you could call it that."

Peach was already up in arms. Luigi's eyes rolled from one side to the other as Peach started pacing. "How can anyone LIVE down there?! It's hostile enough down there with all the monsters… and no sources of food… no light…" she suddenly stopped, turning to face the two. "…forget the snacks… you two must be famished! You both wait here, I'm going to go whip up something a little more filling…" Mario opened his mouth to speak as the door slammed shut again.

"Free meal." Luigi rubbed his hands together. "…I guess there's nothing wrong with that."

"Humility is dead." Mario sighed.

"That it is."

Mario just glared.

********

Bowser stood within a ring televisions, offering surveillance on most of the brigades of Troopas that were present in the immediate vicinity of his tent. He casually glanced between them every so often, trying hard to fight off the rising sickness in his gut. Every so often he would look to the glove on the table - and the rapidly growing bulb of darkness next to it. Earlier it had been the size of a baseball, now it had ascended to almost the size of a basketball in the past half hour. He looked up with weary eyes as Kare dashed back into the tent, giving a mock salute.

"Sire! Our scouts have reported that the princess has taken refuge back within the castle! Morton and Wendy are finding a way inside as we speak!"

Bowser at any other time would have made some insulting comment relating the two, but simply nodded slowly. "You're really enjoying this scout position, aren't you."

"Yes, sire, when all you do any other day is slap bandages on people, this sort of thing really gives you a rush, you know what I mean?..." his mile-wide grin rapidly faded as the king bowed his head. "…erm… are you alright there…?"

"…no." Bowser growled. "…Kare, something is not right here…" he quickly glanced to the dark orb and back again. "…how many brigades are in their ready positions?"

"Three, last I counted, five more are finishing their preperati-"

"Call them back!!" Bowser bellowed. Kare would have split, save for the fact that it was very apparent that the massive turtle was going through some kind of wrenching pain. "…did you hear me?!"

Kare stumbled back, now noticing the darkness on the table - now pulsing a steady purple. "…wha?!"

"Tell everyone you can to get out of here!! Forget about the equipment, just clear out this place as fast as you can!! It wasn't I who ordered the invasion… it was this… THING!!"

Kare pivoted back to the table. Standing atop it was a hunched figure, constructed from the same dark ooze that had been there moments ago - its surface warped wildly as it finished forming itself - more dark wisps of energy folded down over its 'face' as a pair of pupilless, white eyes bulged from it. Kare dove for one of the spare tent posts lying at his side, turning back and smashing the beast aside as it leapt at him, emitting a high pitch scream. As it hit the ground it went into a puddle, quickly rebuilding itself. Kare watched with deathly amazed eyes as it turned back in his direction.

CONQUER…

BLOODSHED…

"Wh-wha?!" Kare dropped the post, backing away.

"FORGET about me, you idiot!!" Bowser yelled. "Tell everyone that I have cancelled the at-"

Kare stared in disbelief as the creature's arm morphed into a long spike. With one swift movement it drove it straight through Bowser's thick hide, causing him to rock backwards. Another pulse of dark energy was sent through him, causing him to scream out in pain. Wasting no more time, Kare leapt for the tent's exit, bursting back out into the vicious rainstorm that pounded the Koopa encampment. Soldiers were running around everywhere.

"EVERYONE!!" Kare threw up his arms. "LISTEN TO ME!! BOWSER HAS CANCELLED THE-"

A flash of Bowser's massive claw was the last thing he saw.

By now dozens of soldiers had gathered around Bowser to see exactly what had happened. They found Kare's body at his feet. Minus life. Minus a head. Plus a growing puddle of blood that mingled with the rain to spread it all about the center of the camp. As utter chaos and confusion swept through the crowd, Bowser stood at its epicenter, his bloody claw raised high in the air - and purple light teeming from his eyes.

"CONQUER."

********

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