Chapter Seventeen: The Sacrifice

 

Dark Land, Kooparian

 

Dark Land was a wasted country, a smoldering pit of pain and misery that plagued the planet’s surface.  Rising jaggedly from the desolate crust, fire-blasted cones and plateaus pierced the smog that continuously choked the skies.  All the crooked mountain peaks that ringed around the basin of the country glowed with distant trails of magma as it seeped into the hardened valleys and built up layers of hard basalt.

 

Even in the grimmest winters of Ice Land, the spring would bring new hope to the hillside towns long burdened by endless snowstorms.  Here, though, life would never grow again in the crawling ash and sickly white mud that washed over the ground like rivers of toxin.  Only the Inferno offered a more barren reality, itself bred from the same burning hatred.

 

“My heart claws out for this place, Kamek,” said Bowser, breathing in the poisonous fumes with relish.  “It is nearest to the paradise we’ll create under the banner of a Koopa Empire.”

 

“Lovely,” said Vermik.  He groaned every time a rocky patch of soil tripped him and was shielding his face with the arm of his robe.

 

“The sheer power we could yield from the volcanoes is unimaginable,” said Jagger.  Although angered at having to leave his ship in the hands of Ludwig, he was immensely enjoying the journey.  “Rows of industrial plants, all protected by an outer edge of defensive walls and military outposts.  If we’d done it before, we could have been unstoppable!”

 

Bowser laughed deeply, shoving the Terrapin hard.  “Now you’re talking, Jagger!  After this matter of prophecies is settled, that’s just what we’ll do.  And maybe even a big sludge pool, a whole mile long and another half of one wide!”

 

“Closed to all but the most talented of Koopas, of course,” the Terrapin said slyly.  “Any trespassers should be shot on sight!”

 

“Hmm,” Bowser mumbled, pretending to consider the idea.  “You know what?  I like it!”

 

“Cut the chatter, boys,” said Kamek, turning from a brief conversation with one of the guards.  “It seems we’ve reached the appointed place.  The entrance to the Breaking Altar should be somewhere below us.”

 

“Underground?” Bowser snorted.  “I thought you said it was in a cave.”

 

“A subterranean cavern, if that suits you better,” said the Magikoopa.  “Either way, the place indicated in the scrolls we recovered from your traitorous son is in this area.  Lacking any visible edifice on the surface, I’m left to believe we must dig for the treasure we seek.”

 

“Be careful of the words you choose, Supreme Guildmaster,” Jagger said, gesturing to the wide line of soldiers behind them.  “The men will grow impatient with greed.  We must keep them dumb until it can no longer be helped.”

 

“Your confidence in their loyalty astounds me,” sniggered Vermik  “Perhaps we should have them all blasted now, before they join the next traveling caravan.”

 

“Keep your lackey silent, Kamek,” groaned Bowser.  “We’re trying to scheme over here, and his voice is whiney.”

 

“He knows his place, sire,” said Kamek, “and what will happen to him if he forgets it.”

 

Let that be your only warning, he thought to Vermik, manipulating the telekinetic waves of dark energy.  We are too close to the final revelation now for your adolescent chattering.  Learn to be still.

 

Yes, Master, Vermik replied.  Although I am wondering why you are so nervous.  They can do nothing to us, and we shall most likely be forced to take charge at the Breaking Altar, regardless.

 

Once we gain control of whatever lies behind the prophecies, Bowser will begin to forge the Koopa Empire.  We must acquire a primary role for the Magikoopa Guild in its administration at any cost, but we can’t do that in exile.  You get the picture.

 

“Razor Shells, begin the excavation!” Jagger called out to the troops.  “Do not stop until you find the underground tunnel that rests beneath our feet!”

 

“Ah, do you see, Vermik?” Bowser said, claws splayed out towards the hundred Terrapin digging furiously into the dust of the shadowed valley.  “They will do anything in the service of the rising empire.  It is mandated by the blood of my fathers and our glorious race.  Only by the will of my own iron fists could it be stopped now.”

 

A pair of the soldiers brought Parakarry away from the sudden madness and kicked him to the ground, bloodied and bound in heavy chains.  The Parakoopa was beaten but still aware and waiting for his chance to escape.

 

And what if he is right? thought Vermik, glaring at his superior.  What then shall we do?

 

Not even the Dark Lord himself will prevail against us, Kamek replied.  Besides, Bowser is only the face through which we shall gain an everlasting dynasty.  What I did with Morton, Sr. can be done again.  Only this time, I won’t make the same errors…!

 

I feel it, too, Vermik thought, whipping his head around to scan the fuming sky.  To the east, behind that patch of smoke…

 

Kamek threw back his robe and spun his wand out to attack, already crackling with tendrils of black energy.  With a wave of his hand, a section of the smog cover condensed and revealed three Nimbian cloud transports.  Snarling, he sent a wide beam of electricity towards them, splitting into three bolts at the last minute and wrangling them painfully to the ground.

 

The Cumulus soldiers immediately brought out their battle staffs, settling into their familiar stances.  Landing in a desperate flutter, Roshi hit the dirt hard, and Mario leapt clumsily off his saddle.

 

“We’ll handle them, sire,” Kamek growled.  “Let the troops continue.”

 

“You said he was dead!  You promised me Mario was no more!” Bowser roared.  “No matter…  I’ll send him back to the crypt!”

 

As the Koopa King charged his nemesis, fangs bared, Vermik moved in against the Nimbians with his wand spinning.  In a flurry of movements, he disarmed the first soldier and shattered his skull with the flat of his palm.  Unshaken by their comrade’s death, the other two circled the sorcerer, staffs held out defensively.

 

“Ah, Roshi III, another brave dinosaur after two other notable heroes of your race,” said Kamek, measuring his own opponent.  “Once the former of your namesake died at Kammy’s hand, I always regretted not being the one to kill him.  Perhaps my taste for vengeance can yet be fulfilled!”

 

“My ancestors had more strength than I did, but I won’t fall easily,” said the Yoshi, a growl curving his mouth.  “That and you’re a bit older than you used to be.”

 

“Still young enough to flay your scales!”

 

Vermik heard the other Magikoopa’s words as his wand made contact with the first of the two Nimbians’ staffs, hard metal ringing hollow against dense wood.  Pushing one hand forward, the black-cloaked wizard kept one soldier at bay as he bested the other with only five movements and blew the front section of his head off with a blistering blast of energy.

 

The last was obviously the leader, well-trained in the art of close-quarter combat.  It actually pained Vermik to think some of the less experienced Magikoopas might fall to the Nimbian despite their connections to the supernatural.  No matter the soldier’s skill, though, the sorcerer easily outguessed his every move and eventually wrenched the cloud creature’s staff from his grip.

 

Wordlessly, Vermik sent two flying kicks to both of the Nimbian’s knees, crumpling them on contact.  He grinned before he morphed the end of his wand into a flaming saber and severed the soldier’s head from his thick neck.  As it hit the ground with a sickening thud, Vermik turned and watched the other duels, preferring to enjoy the fights rather than lending his aid.

 

After toying with Roshi for a few minutes, Kamek was only mildly surprised when the dinosaur’s tail missed smashing into his abdomen by a few inches.  The Yoshi was quick, he had to admit, but all the fun of baiting him was gone.  Using a perfect feint to avoid Roshi’s next charge, the Magikoopa whirled close to his foe and decked him with a single punch.  Barely conscious, Roshi only hoped the fall was convincing.

 

“Impressive,” Vermik said, clapping his hands.  “Though I think the real sell-out belongs to the plumber.”

 

Even as the Magikoopa said the words, Mario barely evaded a downward tear from Bowser’s claws.  He tried to conjure a fireball while the Koopa King recovered, but the heat of Dark Land only lessened his power.  Instead of lending its raw and destructive energies to his will, the arid plains seemed to suck what resolve he had and crush it while he fought.

 

“You’ll think me mad,” said Bowser, “but I thought that you’re coming here alive would end my new reign just as your apparent death in the flooding gave life to it.  Now that you’ve arrived, though, that you’re actually here and standing before me, I feel all the more empowered.  You see, my old enemy, I plan to finish what the waves left undone!”

 

In the time it took Bowser to finish his monologue, Mario had charged up a twister kick and launched it sideways directly into the Koopa King’s chest.  The metal chest plate stretched across Bowser’s front crumpled inward, and the massive dragon himself was sent sprawling across the ground.  As he slid, Bowser withdrew into his shell and spun out of the friction hold, coming out again and more furious than ever.

 

“I’m disappointed, Bowsie,” said Mario, throwing off a wink.  “Usually you’re less chatty.  It’s going to get you flamed one of these days.”

 

“If you insist,” Bowser snarled, retching.

 

A spume of acidic-green fire erupted from his mouth, charring the black earth even worse than it already was and corroding the hard sheets of rock that it touched.  The searing blast consumed Mario until even his glowing silhouette dissipated, followed by a draping shadow smoke that blurred the air as it let out burning energy.

 

“Just as I thought,” Bowser laughed, running a hand through his mane.  “That has-been isn’t even a good match for me any more.”

 

Disbelieving, Kamek reached out with his mind to search the conflagration for any signs of life, but he found nothing.  “Sire, you handled it expertly.  He never stood a chance.”

 

“Funny, I used to think it would be impossible,” Bowser said, musing.  “Anyway, bring the Yoshi with us.  We can use him to carry supplies on the way back.”

 

“We’ve found something,” said General Jagger, who had patiently been waiting only a few meters away until the fight was finished.  “And I must say, you were in top form, my King!”

 

“Already?” asked Kamek, surprised.  “Is it really a tunnel, then?”

 

“And an impenetrable canister of some sort, a wide metal cylinder,” said the Terrapin, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.  “We’ve tried star blasts, high-power explosives… nothing is working.”

 

“Perhaps it’s time for the prisoner to play his part,” said Vermik.  “Remember, a sacrifice must be made!”

 

“Hey, that’s right,” Bowser joined in, rubbing his hands together.  “What do you say, Kamek?”

 

“For once, the young Guildmaster is right on target.  We should proceed at once.”

 

“Everyone out of the ditch!” Jagger called, scanning the shallow pit as all the troops scattered out of it.  “Now then, you two, bring in the Parakoopa.”

 

“Excellent,” Bowser intoned.  “Is there a certain way we have to do this?”

 

“I don’t believe so,” said Kamek, shrugging, and followed them into the open tunnel, “but a few spells couldn’t hurt.”

 

After they had all descended into the long cavern, the rising haze from Bowser’s fiery storm had settled down.  The smoke cleared gradually, and as the last of the gray trails were lifted away, a faint figure could be seen hunched over and then slowly standing up.

 

 

Star Hill, Mushroom Kingdom

 

“Steady, men, steady!” Lieutenant Tank called out, noting the distance of the incoming troops.  “Await my orders!  Hold your fire!”

 

The first enemy line consisted of heavily armored Goombas with third class Bullet Bill blasters attached to their heads.  Difficult to hit with long-range projectiles, the small monsters were perfect to lead full charges.  After they rapidly came to a halt and leaned forward, the attack began.

 

Skirling missiles ripped the air apart like mind-splitting thunder, breaking the concentration of all but the most experienced soldiers.  Even as the screeching of the rocket tails cut out, sparks and metallic shrapnel exploded all along the lines of Mushroomers, slicing through thick armor and bringing down hundreds of soldiers.  Those at the edge of the blast circles felt their backs singe with the overwhelming heat of the air before they were thrown out and flailing a hundred meters away.

 

“Hold the lines!” Tank shouted, dashing down the long ranks of Mushroomers, Koopas, and other troops.  “Don’t give into fear!”

 

More bombs blistered the ground until all the shattering detonations were sucked into the force of their own silence, quick lines of the rounded flames incinerating whole platoons of soldiers and driving back those fortunate enough to escape the destruction.  Sizzling and permeating the sky with its burning stench, dense walls of powder smoke washed up the hill in larger waves and poured over the corpses piled up near the front of the Mushroom army.

 

“That’s it!” yelled the lieutenant, his voice carrying over the remaining warriors.  “Now’s the time, men!  Charge!”

 

A rising, bellowing battle cry groaned out from the depths of the shaken lines and were strengthened as the rumbling energy reached all the troops on the other side of the mountain.  As one growling wave, the soldiers moved down the steep decline, rapidly and more terrible as they broke through the haze of the weapons’ expulsion and crashed into the opposing force.  Soon even the power of their shouting was consumed by the sounds of swords and spears clanging and tearing through reinforced steel.

 

Lieutenant Tank thrived in the chaos, tucking his legs and head into his shell and flinging himself blindly into massed hordes of the enemy.  A whole line of clustered soldiers fell outwards like bowling pins as he plowed through them, hardly receiving a scratch.

 

Once on the other side, he found himself in a clear patch before the next line started.  While the smoke was still clearing, he used his attached spike to ram into blinded troops, skewering as many as he could before hurling them as living bullets at other warriors.  One strike from a dropped blade managed to graze a white mark through the tough layers of his shell, but he continued on unabated, barely even acknowledging the pain.

 

“Rally to me, men!” he shouted louder, voice growing hoarse.  “Break through!”

 

Another strong push smashed the first line of Goombas and scarred the shocked Koopas behind them.  Battered, determined Mushroomers continued to chop away at the tightly packed soldiers, shorter but much faster and able to slice the legs out from under their enemies before they knew what hit them.  Steaming from the heat of clashing swords, the ground was littered with the limbs and heads of the dead, now a river of bodies complicating the footwork of the troops.

 

“Artillery!” the lieutenant called out, struggling to make it past a group of charging Terrapin.

 

Marching in alternated lines over the rise of the mountain, the star gun carriers were spread out over the deeply blue earth with their boots sticking to the blood-dampened mud as they moved forward.  At the command of Tank, they raised their weapons in unison and fired on the rear lines of the Koopa Kingdom forces.  Rank after rank of metal-plated soldiers fell as the fountains of bright-yellow energy rained over the ground and scattered jagged rock fragments into the fleeing troops.

 

“Keep at it, men, keep firing!” Tank shouted, pulling close behind a pair of snipers near the blasting range.  “Don’t stop until you’ve run out of power!  Drive them back to their ships!”

 

His elation was smothered by desperate screams from the eastern unit, and soon the star gun warriors were being picked off faster than he could hear them die.  Flaming arrows bloomed in the air as falling sparks and seared through the soldiers like a forest of dry shrubs, each withering into black ash before collapsing.  Then the troops nearest him were dying, as well, suffering under an unseen barrage from the curtains of mist to either side of the battlefield.

 

“It’s a trap!” someone yelled, his voice immediately silenced.

 

Cursing, Lieutenant Tank dashed towards the middle ground to reform the lines, but a stray shot caught him off the tip of his shell and sent him spiraling into the sharp face of a boulder.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Incoming report from the recon ship,” said the admiral, handing the readout over.

 

“It’s that bad, Enoki?” the general asked, studying the Mushroomer’s face before he looked down at the papers.  “Thinned out front lines… rear detachments grouped at the sides… outflanking preceded by artillery clustering… heavy losses… poor vision due to fog.”

 

“Whoever’s in charge down there anticipated our strategy,” said Enoki, crumpling his own copy.  “We could have warned them if the jamming beam hadn’t been put up, so they had it in mind for us all the while.”

 

General Spore was pale-faced but not yet out of ideas.  “There’s no other choice.  We’ll have to bring out the aerial assault before they send in the Paratroopas.  It’s just what they want, but we can still hope they’ve underestimated the size of our fleet.  Three full-sized airships isn’t a low-stakes ante.”

 

When Admiral Enoki turned to give the order, a flashing light on the primary console signaled an incoming message.  Carefully, he pressed the acceptance button and listened as the call came through.

 

“Prince Mallow here,” said the familiar voice.  “Admiral, we request permission to begin our attack.”

 

“Permission granted!” Enoki stumbled for words.  “By the Stars, boy, give them all the fire they want!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Five-thousand Nimbian soldiers dive-bombed the Koopa army, all staffs whistling and cracking against the armored shells of the enemy.  Those who weren’t needed to steer the battle clouds leapt off their platforms and confronted the opposing host, slowly pushing them back from the faltering lines of Mushroomer artillery.  Inflamed by the devastation of the flood, the aid from above tore through the ranks like the storm that was forming to the west, showing no mercy, leaving none alive in their path.

 

Luigi vaulted from his own cloud and scattered a lone group of warriors with a whirling tornado spin.  Landing beside him, Mallow threw off his light blue cape and sent bolts of forked lightning at the surviving soldiers.  Together they recharged and guarded, mangling all who came at them in their unbreakable defense as the every-growing thunder in the sky lent its elemental power to the prince.

 

“They look shocked to see us!” Luigi shouted, clearly enjoying himself.

 

“Well, we weren’t exactly invited,” Mallow chuckled, blasting another line of Koopas.  “It’s just like them to be unappreciative when all we want to do is liven things up a bit!”

 

Several meters away, Rezan had landed on all fours and wrapped his tail around the nearest Terrapin, snapping his neck in two.  Fully charged, the glop gun he swung out obliterated rows of Koopas, and the acidic discharge melted through all the troops lucky enough to escape the main blast.  Those remaining were quickly dispatched by deep gashes from his claws as he whirled through the cluster of soldiers without pause.

 

After the vice-grip of the enemy was broken, the star gun warriors gathered again and fired their entire payload into the retreating forces.  Wave after wave of soldiers fell to the blinding light, stumbling over themselves as they stampeded down the hillside to their ships.  With the Koopas on the run, the Mushroomer army charged down the mountain after them, all weapons blazing.

 

Sprawled by a patch of rocks, Lieutenant Tank was shaken out of unconsciousness by the sound of his victorious men.  Not missing a beat, he joined the downward push and shouted out orders, not even shocked by the sight of thousands of Nimbian warriors soaring through the air.

 

“To the sea, to the sea!” he called.  “Push them to the ends of the earth!”

 

Their wings beating over the sound of the Mushroomers’ advance, the full might of the enemy Paratroopas clashed mid-air with the Nimbians.  They fought tooth and claw, swords splintering staffs and staffs fracturing skulls all among the bright explosions of lightning.  Soon the sky was filled with the barely visible trails of the opposing squadrons, zipping in the air as the sonically overwhelming conflict mounted to a chaotic peak.

 

“Keep on, men, keep up the fight!” Tank commanded, barreling through a nearby group of Koopas.  “That’s the signal!  Our airships are coming!”

 

Even as the words left his mouth, the Indomitable and its sister ships crested the summit of Star Hill, pounding the base of the mountain with flaming bursts of firepower.  The looming flight lumbered towards the aerial battle, as well, picking off Paratroopas before they could kill more Nimbians.  Everything was an incoherent maelstrom of star energy and blood and weapons, the ground and air alive with the crawling masses of both armies.

 

All events seemed to favor the Mushroomers, though, until a new force entered the fray.  From the far north came the unmistakable frame of a doomship, shadowing over the battle on Star Hill and issuing out its full complement of gun ships.  No one under its primary strike radius ever had a hope of surviving as Mushroomers and Koopas alike perished in the holocaust it unleashed upon the land.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Impossible!” Admiral Enoki said, his blank eyes searching the sky.

 

“What in the world has possessed Morton, Jr. to attack us?” asked Spore, disbelieving.  “He hit some of the Koopas, too, but it’s obvious the brunt of the attack was meant for our troops only.”

 

The Skullbasher was known throughout the Mushroom Kingdom as the infamous Koopaling’s ship, but it was even more widely understood that all of King Bowser’s children had broken off with him after the War of the Star Rod.  Why, exactly, they had left him high and dry during the final battle remained a mystery, but the effects of the split were undoubted and far-reaching.

 

“The enemy’s ground forces are regaining their positions!” one of the recon interpreters shouted from across the bridge.

 

“With the cover fire from that doomship, neither our men nor the Nimbians stand a chance,” said the admiral, scowling.  “We have to concentrate all primary cannons on that hulk and destroy it before it wipes us out!”

 

“Agreed,” Spore said, nodding.  “Do what you must.”

 

“Admiral!” a voice crackled over the reception console.  “This is… Lieutenant-Major Herult… the… Judicator is sustaining… massive damage.  Request… back-up!”

 

“They’ve already begun to hammer us, as well?” the admiral asked, rushing to the display screen.  “All weapons online!  Rip a whole in that son-of-a-Goomba’s side.  Spill its guts!”

 

A blinding light filled the bridge, suddenly quaking the Indomitable to its metal framework.  Scrambling to brace themselves, the entire crew tumbled around haphazardly as the automatic stabilizers balanced the ship.

 

“What in the Inferno—” someone yelled, cut off.

 

“The Judicator,” said a radar technician.  “We’ve lost it.  It’s been destroyed!”

 

“No matter!” the admiral shouted, rallying the operational officers.  “Reestablish contact with the Striker and bring back all recon detachments.  Release every gun ship we have, and then order all functioning missile launchers and star batteries to be aimed at that doomship!  Blow it out of the sky!”

 

“It has to work,” muttered General Spore, looking away from the battle and over the peak of Star Hill.  “We’ve already so much!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Dark Land, Kooparian

 

“Not very impressive,” Bowser snorted, running one clawed hand over the mirrored surface of the cylinder.  It stood twice as high as him, and there appeared to be no entrance.  “Well, let’s get this over with.  It’d better be worth the wait.”

 

Vermik wanted to say something inappropriate, but a jab in the ribs from Kamek stifled the urge.  “We’ll see soon enough.”

 

“Bring the prisoners over here!” Jagger shouted, motioning with one arm.  His Razor Shell elite dragged the Yoshi and Parakoopa over, but only the latter appeared aware of his surroundings.  “Alright, Supreme Guildmaster, it’s your time to shine.”

 

Kamek grinned and raised his robed hands, chanting an archaic offertory spell.  “Dem chi’kunk’lak se toler mein… Ke balo te sum deosh un de… su tundis… su tendis… se pa’lor’trein…”

 

“Now that’s sorcery!” Bowser said, throwing Jagger a wink.  “This guy really knows how to pump up a crowd.”

 

“Please, sire!” Kamek grumbled.  “I require complete silence!”

 

“Sorry,” the Koopa King whispered.

 

Vermik rolled his eyes and groaned as the other Magikoopa went on for another five minutes.  “Alright, we’re all impressed.  Let’s cut their throats and be done with it!”

 

Relieved that his moment had come, the Terrapin assigned to make the sacrifice lifted his ceremonial saber and prepared to cleave Parakarry’s head in two.  Before he could move an inch, though, a yellow blur shot past his body and left him crumpled on the blood-soaked ground.

 

“Oh, great!” Bowser bellowed.  “What now?”

 

“Sorry to ruin the party, Your Highness,” said Mario, hovering above them all with a power cape flowing at his back, “but all this craziness has gone on long enough.  If you have to kill one of my friends to get in there, then you’ll just have to stay out.”

 

“I’ll give you a ten for the entrance,” said Bowser, claws clinched,  “though the rest will have to be pieced out of your remains.  Kill him!”

 

Clever, Kamek thought as the Razor Shells leapt up to attack the Human.  Only a power cape could have withstood Bowser’s onslaught.  I should have known he’d come prepared.

 

Vermik yelped and flew across the room, a rumpled dent showing in his black cloak where a renewed Roshi had kicked him flat in the back.  Apparently, Mario had also sliced both their bonds as he went through, because Parakarry was up, too, and they were both fighting their way through the Razor Shells.

 

“Finally, something to sink my canines into!” Jagger growled, viciously striking the Parakoopa across the mouth and sending him plowing into a nearby wall.  As he walked confidently over, the general drew out his sword of rank.  “For such a renowned hero, you’re a bit of a lightweight.  I’d say you probably bleed just like any other weak coward, though.”

 

“Not today, traitor,” Mario growled, meeting Jagger’s blade with one he had taken from a fallen Terrapin.  “I’d say you’re the weakling, General, running away from Jinx just because you couldn’t beat him fairly.”

 

“I’ll have your head for that,” Jagger said, pressing his attack.

 

“Kamek!” Bowser whined, stomping his feet angrily while chaos reigned around him.  “It doesn’t really cause me to have a mental break-down any more, but Mario’s still ruining all our fun.  Do something!”

 

“Very well,” said Kamek.  “The prophecy doesn’t specify who we have to cut open.  Just sacrifice one of the Goombas.”

 

“This is why you’re my Vizier, you know,” said Bowser, as if just realizing the option.

 

Before a Goomba aide could recognize his danger and scamper away, Bowser gouged him with his massive claws and smeared the small monster’s entrails over the side of the cylinder.  Finished with the corpse, he flung it aside carelessly and watched as the capsule began to glow with a violent blue light.

 

Kamek was right! Vermik thought gleefully as he recovered from Roshi’s kick.  The Prophecy was right after all.  We might yet control the power of the cosmos!

 

As the narrow chasm shook to its core, an even brighter light escaped a rapidly opening access in the transport.  Even as the Razor Shells and heroes stopped their brutal struggle, Bowser and Kamek had already stepped into the luminescent entry.  It didn’t take much consideration for the bravest of those left behind to follow them in.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Rogueport Sewers, Salinia

 

“Professor Frankly!” Goombella called as the metal door began to glow and slide open.  “Professor, it’s happening!  The shrine is going to let us in!”

 

No matter how loudly she shouted, though, Frankly was nowhere in sight.  With the doorway shimmering before her and without anyway to know how long it would remain open, she gathered all the courage she could muster and leapt in.

 

Nearly an hour later, after the Breaking Shrine had closed again, Professor Frankly returned.  He was munching on a particularly unpleasant calzone and staring disappointedly at the tall shaft before him.

 

“Oh, bother!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Mt. Lavalava, Lavalava Island

 

“I think something’s happening,” said Henry, still bandaging the injured Yoshi who had saved his life.  “Look, Kino, it’s opening!”

 

As the blinding entryway hissed outward into a pure white light, Ryok stood up and shielded his eyes.  “Kino and you will have to stay here, but I have to get to the bottom of this.  It might be the cause of all our troubles on the island.  Kolorado, I’m afraid you’ll have to stay behind, too.”

 

“Of, course, my boy, I understand,” said the explorer, bowing as the Yoshi walked bravely past and vanished inside the transport.  “Hmmph!  Me staying behind when such golden opportunities await?  I think not!”

 

Henry sighed as the Koopa twirled his mustache and jumped in after Ryok.  “I hate it when he pulls stuff like that.  If he’s not careful, he’ll get them both killed!”

 

“Pray for them, Henry,” Kino said hoarsely, cured of the demon Piranha Plant’s poison but still weak from the battle.  “Even if all the Star Spirits in the world were unable to hear you, then there would still be something watching over us.  Everything is connected that way, my friend, through the love inherent in our forging to the way you saved me today, a stranger you might never have met.”

 

“I’ll try, Kino,” Henry said, closing his eyes and succumbing to the flood of thoughts that ran peacefully over his mind.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Ice Land, Kooparian

 

“The midget and his kid friend are waking up,” Mouser said, gaining the Armored Ant’s attention.  “Croco was right.  They haven’t kicked the bucket yet.”

 

“So he was,” said Shogun, turning a soulless eye to the marine-colored crocodile.  “You’ve redeemed yourself for now, Croco.  If you want to stay alive, don’t disobey my orders again.”

 

“Hey, pal, I just wanted a quick walk outside, ya know?” the thief said.  “Everyone’s gotta cool off once and awhile.”

 

“And what a place to do it!” Mouser said, snickering uncontrollably.

 

“Quiet, you two,” said the leader, and he approached the prisoners.  “Well, well, if it’s not the illustrious Jinx.  Or should I say, Sensei?”

 

“I recognized your foul trail at the base of the mountain, Shogun,” Jinx said, flashing a short grin.  “Though I must say I’m surprised your kinsmen let you out of the Belome Temple dungeon.  They are not known for their patience with revolutionaries.”

 

“Only because those in charge are now pawns of the Mushroomer ideals.  They are brainwashed, worn out from years of fighting without economic gain.  It is up to me to restore the glory of the old dynasty and bring prosperity to our people once more.”

 

“You will not find the strength to accomplish your goals beyond that barrier, Shogun,” Jinx said, his voice gaining conviction.  “Please, end this madness and let us deal with what lies in the Breaking Shrine.  The fate of Plit itself is at stake.”

 

“Another lie to keep the secret in the hands of your descendents,” the Armored Ant said, his toxin-coated mandibles clicking.  “I shall not be tricked and bartered with as all the past members of my family.  This treasure will be mine to use, mine to renew the peace Land’s End once possessed…. ah, you see?

 

Keb tried to struggle out of his bonds as the metal wall slid open, glowing frantically in the reflective ice mirrors of the cave.  “You can’t do this!  At least let us come with you.”

 

“Impossible, sadly,” Shogun said, taking a step towards the opening.  “You see, I cannot trust you to behave civilly.  It is simply too much to risk.  Maybe you’ll be lucky and freeze before the beasts of the mountain find you.”

 

“Sayonara!” Mouser said, following Shogun into the piercing light of the Breaking Altar.

 

Hurrying to gather his things, Croco made it to the entryway just as it began to close shut.  Before he could enter, though, Shogun’s curving claw caught him by the tunic and threw him against a far wall.

 

“This is how your loyalty is repaid,” said the Armored Ant, hissing before he vanished again into the light.  “Sleep easy and freeze well.”

 

“We’ve failed, Sensei,” said Keb, hanging his head low after the barrier sealed shut.  “It’s over.  All this way for nothing!”

 

“It happened this way for other reasons,” said Jinx.  “If we were not able to go in, then we must not have been meant to.  Croco, release us!  You have no reason to detain us any longer now that your partners have betrayed you.”

 

“Maybe,” growled the crocodile, strapping his brown pack on tightly.  “But then I’ve always had a penchant for reckless spite.  Smell ya later, jerks!”

 

“This isn’t good, is it?” Keb asked wearily as the thief bounded towards the cave’s exit.

 

“Not particularly,” said Jinx, “but then you never know.”