Chapter 16

After another day of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and just generally enjoying themselves, another night had fallen for a certain family, and it was time for bed once again. A dark, starlit sky hung peacefully above the dome of Dr. Kamenstein. Inside, the goodnights were going around once again.

Storko tucked Wario and Waluigi snugly beneath their covers in the cribs. “Have a nice rest, boys,” he said on his way out, turning the light off and closing the door. The two brothers started chuckling mischievously...

In the guest room, the caring woman, Marilyn, was doing virtually the same thing with her two children. Tessa got the bed to her mother’s left, and William got the one to the right. “Sweet dreams,” she said to them, about to walk out of the room.

“Mom?” Tessa suddenly called out, stopping the parent and turning her around. “Since dad’s not here, can you tell us a story before we go to sleep?”

”Yeah, tell us one,” William agreed.

Marilyn thought about it, and then she walked back to her daughter’s bed. She sat down on it, facing a diagonal angle so both kids could be within good seeing and hearing range. “All right,” she said. “Let’s see...” She put a finger to her lips, trying to flip through the pages of her mind. Then she had it. Her finger came down. “I’ve got it,” she said. “It’s a poem I made. It’s not exactly like the ones your father would make, but I hope it works anyway.”

”Let’s hear it,” Tessa encouraged.

“Yeah,” said William.

“All right, here goes...” The children leaned in closer. Marilyn closed her eyes and breathed in. Then the poem started flowing from her lips...

”When the times are looking grim,
When the skies are turning dim,
When I’m drowning, and cannot swim,
When my chances are looking slim,
I can always count on you.

When I’m falling, and cannot fly,
When there’s nothing I can buy,
When I feel I’m going to cry,
When I feel I’m going to die,
I can always count on you.

You always come with your weapon in hand.
You always come with a strategy planned.
You scare the monsters from the land.
You make them die right on command.
I can always count on you.

You’re my brave and virtuous knight,
Filled with valor and awesome might.
When I’m blind, you give me sight.
You’re my shining ray of light.
I can always count on you.

You’ve come and gone. You had to get
To the faraway land of Mezuellette.
But I do not worry. My mind is set.
You, my friend, I will never forget.
I can always count on you.”

With those last few words, the poem came to an end. Tessa looked at her mother admiringly. “That was beautiful, Mom,” she complimented.

“Thank you, Tessa,” Marilyn said. With the poem and the exchange of comments complete, the adult could leave her offspring in peace. She left the bed, made her way to the door, and put a finger on the light-switch. “Goodnight, children,” she said. A flick later, the light was out.

“Good night, Mom,” the two kids said. Marilyn closed the door behind her and left the pair in the dark room. Only a sliver of light glaring through the space between the bottom of the door and the floor was able to make its way in. Tessa turned to one side and made herself comfortable. William remained awake with his thoughts.

It’s been a while since I got to see that music box, he was thinking. What am I going to do? He made careful note of what the miniscule thing was that was allowing itself to illuminate the lightless vicinity ever so slightly. I’ve got it, he declared. Once that light goes out, I’ll make my move...

The young boy turned to one side as his sister had, closed his eyes, and commenced pretending he was asleep...

The Koopa Klan had done it. After a good amount of time, they had finally used their lovely boat, the Koopa Cruise, and arrived at their much-awaited destination, the Clattagin Woods. It was a strange forest made out of paint. It was like a two-dimensional work of art come to life. The forest appeared to be stuck in a version of autumn taken to the next level, complete with more hues than ever. All the plants, trees, leaves, flowers, blades of grass, and even the birds were coated with strokes and wisps of a semi-liquid material, or so it seemed. Leaving a few others behind to protect the ship just to be safe, Gorroh, Helga, Bowser, Kamek, Arris, and that one green Koopa Troopa had gotten off of the boat the minute it came to this strange but beautiful place, to journey for hours through a land of red, orange, white, green, purple, and blue colors fading into one another like an artist’s masterpiece. After a long day’s work, the six-some was able to find a location to rest, whip out their tents, and bed down for the night. The tents were arranged around a dying fire. Five tents were set up. Four of them were for Bowser, Kamek, Arris, and the Terrapin, but the fifth was the only one made for two: Gorroh and Helga. The two of them were lying down in i.

They pawed, petted, stroked, smooched, and hugged each other passionately. At some point, the two of them were able to slow down the romantic activity and just enjoy gazing into each other’s eyes. Then Gorroh got to say something. “So, Helga, how do you like the Clattagin Woods so far?” he asked.

“It’s very pretty,” she said, brushing his fiery mane.

“Yes, it is,” he said. “It kind of reminds me of that one story you once told Bowser about the Pied Painter.”

”Mm-hm,” Helga concurred, remembering the tale also.

“Speaking of which,” he inquired, “what story did you tell him tonight, pray tell?”

Helga scrunched her eyebrows up slightly. “He asked me to tell him the one about the Super-Happy Tree again.”

Gorroh nodded. “Ah. That one. I take it he really likes it?” he guessed.

“I suppose so,” Helga said, although a little on the doubtful side. “He kept asking me all these questions, like how to get to Yoshi’s Island, and if there’s a chance the Yoshis would be able to get their tree back if someone stole it.”

”Hmm. Most interesting,” Gorroh commented.

“I think he’s up to something, dear,” Helga suspected.

“Well, of course he is, Helga. He’s a Koopa. He plots. He schemes. It’s what we do,” Gorroh explained.

“I suppose so,” Helga said. The two of them lay down in their tent for a little while longer, looking into each other’s eyes. Pretty soon, they had one another in their grips again, and the kissing could go on...

Meanwhile, in another tent, Bowser was lying down as comfortable as ever, but still with a few bandages here and there. As he was lying there with his head resting against a pillow and his body beneath a sleeping bag, his mouth was mumbling things. “I’ll get you fo dhis, you gween donkey,” he said in his sleep, “if it’s dhe wast t’ing I do...” His mouth stopped moving, and the tiny tyrant’s slumber could resume...

Elsewhere, Arris was busy mumbling different words as he dreamt. “Full... speed... ahead...” he was saying...

In a tent different from the one Arris was in, the green-shelled servant was also having conversations with himself without even knowing it. “Another Maple Syrup, sir?” he said, groggily. “They’re throwing some kind of sweepstakes, you know...”

However, in a tent that didn’t belong to any of the others, the Magikoopa, Kamek, was still lying awake. He was writing something down. “Blast,” he grumbled. “I can’t believe I’m stuck doing this again...” A pen scribbled out the following inscription:

”...And then I finally came to my senses. I finally realized that I had been speaking in the third person the whole time...

Kamek thought about what to say next. Then suddenly it happened again. “Ahh!” he moaned. He wasn’t in a tent anymore; he was in the jungle. Right in front of him, those same two apes he saw earlier were helping themselves to some bananas. He saw only that, and he was back in the tent again. Kamek blinked, disbelievingly. “Hmmm,” he said. “I’ll have to tell Gorroh about this later...” He said those words, and he got back to work on the pack of lies...

Unknowingly, right above their heads the whole time, that mystery woman was on her broomstick once more, watching everything dutifully.

“So, sleeping on the job, are you? Well, enjoy yourselves while you can! The most beautiful Koopa in existence has her eye on you. Bleh heh heh heh heh heh hehh...”

William had to summon up every last scrap of patience he could find within himself in order to be able to survive the wait it took for that light beneath the door to go out. Seconds, minutes, even hours passed. He wasn’t sure how long he could hold out. Dang it, he thought, when is Mom gonna go to bed, already? That talking music box needs my help! Unfortunately for him, complaining about it in his head wasn’t really going to speed things up. He had to go on lying in his bed, pretending to sleep, waiting for that light to go out. After what seemed like an unbearable amount of time, it finally happened. Click! The light was out, and nothing could brighten the room up. It’s about time, he thought. Through the darkness his eyes had managed to adjust to, he was able to crawl out of bed, get back on his feet, and quietly sneak his way over to the door, remaining careful all the while to not wake his sister.

He had his hand on the doorknob. Carefully, he turned it without making a sound. Within moments, he was on the other side. Then he had to silently tip-toe his way past the door to the nursery, down the hallway, and right up to the door to the lab, just like before. It was left slightly ajar. He gently pushed the portal open, not making any noise in the process.

Regardless, he started to hear some screaming, and panic struck him. Rrg! Stupid babies, he thought, looking flustered. Not knowing what else to do, he quickly squeezed his way right through the space he made and slammed the door shut with his back, hoping it didn’t make too loud a sound. He waited uncomfortably with his body shaking, his face sweating, and his heart pounding. A few seconds later, he could hear that stork mumbling to himself again.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Don’t worry, boys, Storky’s coming...”

More tiny fragments of time passed, and William felt he was in the clear once again. That was close, he thought, relieved. He was very glad the ordeal had come to blow over, but he was also perfectly aware that his mission was far from over.

Ah, so you’ve returned... The voice was back, just as he was.

“Yes, I have,” William said quietly.

Well, come on, dear, don’t keep your Annie waiting...

William nodded and got moving again. He went past the counter with the creepy blueprints on it, around the corner, and up to the shelf just as before. Without any trouble at all this time, he found it: the music box. Like he had been told, it was brown and had a big question mark on the front. It resembled a treasure chest with a crank sticking out of its side.

That’s the one, boy. Go on. Give it a few turns...

William put his little hands out, grabbed the contraption, and pulled it closer to him. He paused. Once again, he could hear Storko’s voice. “Don’t you worry, Madame. You just go back to bed now...” Still, William hesitated.

Well, go on, boy, don’t be afraid...

The child obeyed once again. With his right hand holding the device up, he placed his left on its handle, grabbed it, and cranked it forward. Pop! William gasped. That movement caused the upper, rounder half of the music box to fly up. Connecting it to the bottom half was some type of transparent cylinder that seemed to be hidden in it whenever it was closed, hence making the box smaller. William stalled some more. He had to observe the strange but highly detailed and very handsome statue that was inside this cylinder. It looked like a wondrous angel. This angel had everything an angel needed. It had a flowing, white skirt with an intricate pattern swimming across it, plenty of jewelry to decorate its wrists and its neck, a long staff that looked equally fancy (with magic powers, most likely), pretty hands, and two plumy wings sticking out of its back. While its garments were spectacular things to behold, what William found even more intriguing was how her head was not that of a woman sharing the same race as his mother, but rather something completely different. This angel was a masterpiece with the unsettling head of a jackal. He felt it was quite a specimen he was looking at.

“Is that you?!” he asked.

Perhaps...

William decided to stop wasting time and get on with it. With his left hand, he started turning the music box’s crank. Pretty soon it was playing a haunting melody. It was an enigmatic lullaby with a touch of mischievousness added to it. The song seemed to hypnotize William. As he turned the crank, the song played on, and the statue inside the cylinder slowly whirled around. The entire box itself, along with the statue, was gradually getting brighter. The whole thing was becoming ever so slightly more and more engulfed in light. He was with his thoughts focused on absolutely nothing else. This strange activity carried on, as did the eerie tune.

Any time now, William thought nervously.

Soon after he thought it, it happened. The last note had chimed. At this point, the light was so bright, the boy could barely keep his eyes open. He had to use his left hand to shield them. The statue had finished its rotating, and the next event occurred. A gigantic flash suddenly erupted from the cylinder. William yelped, dropped the box, and jumped back, covering his eyes. The music box clattered on the floor, and it seemed the entire laboratory was glowing with this blinding sensation. William wasn’t thinking about whether or not this could wake anybody up. He was thinking about when the light would go away. It burned his eyes even with having them clenched shut with both hands acting as blinders. When at last he could feel the burning starting to die down, he could remove his hands and see the results of what he had done.

The room was still quite bright at the moment. It seemed to be because of the figure that was standing right in front of the music box he had just dropped. This thing was humanoid and medium-sized and seemed to be made completely out of light. Its slanted, feminine eyes were glowing a light blue color. Even then, the light was still dying down. As the room got darker, so did this new being. Slowly, its colors withered away. In time, it became something with eyes that remained the same shape, but still completely different. They had rainbow colors swimming across them. It was like a warped version of the sky going from red, to yellow, to green, to blue, to purple, and back to red again thanks to the rising and setting sun, but in fast-motion. The rest of this new person’s body also remained unchanged in shape, but changed in color. It was like the black-and-white version of the eyes. They kept going from black, to gray, to white, and so on, as though it was made out of something called dark light.

William could see that this person was like a bizarre shadow that walked upright and bulged out in all the right places like any regular thing that could cast a shadow. However, he could make out very little detail. He could tell this odd silhouette-like person had a skirt, jewelry, and the head of a jackal like the statue, but nothing else. What made it all even more peculiar for the boy was that, unlike the statue, this person had four long, pointy fingers on each hand instead of the five-fingered, normal-looking, delicate ones, and a pair of gargoyle-like wings in the back rather than the angelic ones. He was confused and terrified.

The woman he had just freed closed her eyes, stretched her arms, and arched her back. Then she started twisting her body to the left, and then to the right. “Thank you, my boy,” she said, using a voice that was spoken out loud rather than inside his head. She folded her hands in front of her. “You have no idea how uncomfortable it can be, spending over 300 years trapped in a box.”

William didn’t answer. He kept lying on the floor staring at this dark woman without blinking. She strode over to him with her hands still folded, seeming to just glide above the floor with that billowing skirt.

“I must repay you,” she said once she was directly in front of her savior. William didn’t stop staring. The intimidating woman tilted her canine head up, and suddenly shot two laser beams from her eyes. It hit something invisible in midair right before her face. Smoke started coming from that space, seeming to gradually change shape. Once the transformation was complete, this new object plopped from the air and into the sorceress’ hands. It was a sword. It had a nice-looking handle of silver, and a blade that was pitch-black. Light could not escape its surface. Flowing across it were runic symbols that glowed bright green. They kept coming from the handle, sliding across the weapon’s main part, and then vanishing beneath the tip. The symbols kept doing this pattern of appearing, moving, and disappearing. She lowered the sword in front of William. William fixed his frightened gaze on the sword. “Take it,” she requested. He couldn’t do it at first. Then he worked up his courage, got on his knees, put out his hands, and took the tool from the lady. His arms jolted downward at the sudden weight being added to his palms. He didn’t drop it, though. “It’s called the Essembi,” the woman explained. “It’s yours now, dearie. Use it to vanquish evil. I don’t need it anymore.” Still William didn’t respond. The woman started gliding her way to the door of the lab. Once she got there, she stopped, turned around, and raised her voice slightly. “By the way,” she added, “I am Annabyss, Queen of the Anuboos.” She turned back around, tried the knob, and walked out the door. “Remember it...” She left William behind, sitting on the floor with that nice, new sword in his hands. Still, his eyes wouldn’t blink. His mind remained in a state of something that was a mixture between appreciation and guilt in addition to confusion and terror. Had he done the right thing...?

This strange, new woman was walking through the dim halls of Kamenstein’s dome. Upon waltzing about, she managed to come across another woman with long, wavy, black hair and a nightgown. Her facial expression was groggy. Then she saw Annabyss and immediately woke up.

“Wh- Who are you??” she asked. “What are you doing here?!” Marilyn was scared out of her wits.

“Just calm down, dear. Treating me like a burglar isn’t going to help,” Annabyss advised.

“STORKO!” Marilyn shrieked suddenly. “STORKO, HELP!”

Wherever that bird was, it seemed he wasn’t the first to react. In his crib, the little Wario suddenly jolted awake. He got up and tapped on one of the bars of his infantile bed. With that, his brother, Waluigi, was awake too. They looked at each other. Wario pointed to himself, then to his brother. Then he pointed to the door, and he smacked a palm with a fist. Waluigi nodded.

“HELP!” Marilyn panicked further. “STORKO, HELP!”

Annabyss sighed. “I’m sorry, dear.” Suddenly, the shape of her body warped. Now it looked more like an oversized black-and-white flower with rainbow eyes. The flower sent two big leaves to where its lips would be, gave them a kiss, and blew it in Marilyn’s direction.

“HEL-“ She was cut off. A yellow dust was sprinkled over her body. She suddenly went cross-eyed and plopped down onto the floor, unconscious.

Annabyss reverted back to her original shape and form. “Forgive me,” she said quietly. She turned to her left and continued walking. She didn’t get very far. She heard an “A-HEM” and turned around. The two mutant babies, Wario and Waluigi, were standing side-by-side with their fists clenched. “Ah, what’s this? Two products of a rebellion against Mother Nature, I see. How intriguing...” she mused. The boys got into fighting stances and lunged. Wario was flying with his fists ready, and Waluigi was flying with one foot out, prepared to kick. “Feisty little angels,” she chuckled. WHUMP! WHUMP! The two young fighters collided with the air in front of their opponent, and fell to the dome floor on their padded butts. They shook their heads and looked up, confused. This time, Annabyss had taken on the form of a dark Yoshi with rainbow eyes and one hand out. “So, you think your purpose is to inflict harm upon poor Annie?” She turned back into her normal form, dropping the force-field, and then she morphed again. This time, she looked like a dark, female Magikoopa on a broomstick. She raised a shadowy wand that appeared out of nowhere. “Don’t worry, dears, I’ll help you with that...” Wario and Waluigi had gotten back up just to suddenly drop back to the floor again. They had their hands covering their trademark hats this time. WHOOSH! Annabyss fired a swirling, colorful trio of a triangle, a circle, and a square. They splashed into the air between the youthful duo, and they started flashing rainbow colors. As they flashed, they grew larger. Their shapes also changed as well as their clothes. In a matter of seconds, the transformation was complete. They stood up and let their changes be seen. No longer were they a pair of babies in diapers. Now they were full-grown men with exaggerated chins, big teeth, dark pink noses, wicked mustaches, oversized cheekbones, large pointy ears, full heads of hair, and rainbow eyes, not unlike the ones Annabyss had. Complete with the short fat body, the purple overalls, the green shoes, and the yellow T-shirt of Wario, and the tall scrawny body, the black overalls, the orange shoes, and the blue sweatshirt of Waluigi, the two new men looked just like the ones in the blueprints. They tilted their heads up at Annabyss in perfect synchronization. “There,” she said to them, turning back into her usual self. “Now society will accept you.”

The transformed duo, in perfect synchronization, clicked their heels together, kept their left arms by their sides, raised the right arms, thumped their fists against their hearts, then extended them forward all the way with the palms facing downward, but uplifted slightly. “Ja, Madame,” they said at once. Their voices had changed as well.

Annabyss was amused. “Are you going to behave now?” she asked.

The Kamenstein Bros. nodded. “Ja, Madame,” they said again.

“Good,” she said. “We’ll be needing a vehicle. Can you boys help?”

They nodded again. “Folgen Sie uns, Madame,” they said.

“All right...”

Not only was William inexplicably gone, but it was also getting quite noisy. Tessa couldn’t take it anymore. She had to find out what in the world was going on out there! She hopped out of bed, ran to the bedroom door, and opened it up. There, on the floor, she could see her mother lying with her eyes closed. “MOM!” she cried. She ran up to her and got onto the floor beside her waist. She put two hands on it and started shaking her. “Mom, wake up! Tell me what’s going on!” she urged.

“THE BABIES!” they heard a voice shriek. “THE BABIES ARE GONE!” The tardy Storko flapped his way madly out of the nursery. He saw Marilyn and Tessa on the ground. “What in-“ he started. He flapped on over to them. “What’s going on?!”

“She...” Marilyn was slowly coming to. Both Storko and Tessa were eager to hear what she had to say. “She... came... from... the laboratory...” she got out.

“The laboratory?!” Tessa said.

“OOHH, I knew I’d slip up! Dr. Kamenstein’s gonna kill me! How can this be happening?!” Storko moaned.

“She... turned... into a flower... Knocked me out...” the drowzy adult mumbled.

“She who?!” Tessa said.

“The Queen of the Anuboos...” Storko and Tessa turned their heads in the direction of the laboratory’s door. William was there with a sword in his left hand and his head hung low.

“Will,” Tessa asked, “where’d you get that sword?”

”Who or what is the ‘Queen of the Anuboos’?!” Storko asked.

“I-“ William stammered. His voice was cut off by a noise in the background. Ttssseeeeeee... It sounded like an airplane was taking off.

“Oh NO! Someone’s stealing the Kame Cruiser!” Storko panicked.

”IT’S HER!” Tessa shouted. She jumped up from the floor, left her mother behind, ran past a flustered Storko, and down the hall. William soon went after her.

“TESSA! WILLIAM! NO!” Storko yelled. He noticed a tear rolling down the side of Marilyn’s face. Her damp eyes were shut, her eyebrows were scrunched, and her mouth was twisted and trembling. “Oh dear...” Storko worried. He hopped up to her and bent down. “Madame,” he said, “are you going to be all right?”

Marilyn gulped back the phlegm forming in her throat. “Save them...” she requested. Storko nodded. He went flapping his way down the hall...

In the doctor’s arsenal/garage, a certain buck-toothed jet was starting to take off. Tessa ran through there as fast as she could. Somehow, she managed to catch up with it in time. Just when the device was barely beginning to lift itself into the air, she lunged with all her might and grabbed a hold of one of the legs keeping the wheels in place. William ran into the garage and started chasing after with both hands clasped around the Essembi’s handle. He kept running for it even after crossing the thin line between the doctor’s wide room and the dirt of the outdoors. He witnessed the wheels of the jet tucking themselves into it, making his sister disappear with them. “HEY!” he called out. “HEY, WAIT! COME BACK HERE! YOU’VE GOT MY SISTER!” He went sprinting onwards with his sword, but it was futile. The Kame Cruiser was in the air, it was going way faster than him, and even if he could catch up with it, chasing after it still wouldn’t have done him any good. “YOU’VE GOT MY SISTER! COME BACK HERE!” he kept yelling. His mind was clouded by anger, frustration, and confusion. His feet kept moving as fast as they could. “COME BACK HERE! COM-“ He tripped over a rock jutting out of the ground. It resulted in a bloody mark going across his bare foot, his sword flying from his hands, and his body tumbling head-over-heels. He went flying off the cliff that Dr. Kamenstein’s dome was built on. “AAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHhhhh...” he screamed as he fell from the height, his sword tumbling from it as well.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Storko said, late again. He flew as fast as he could through the vast room, out into the night. He was almost to the cliff’s edge when he heard a SPLASH. He flapped his wings some more, landed, and skidded to a halt. He peered over the edge. There was nothing but the rolling river at the bottom of the cliff. He looked up and could see that the Kame Cruiser was just another white speck in the sky. He slowly stepped back and collapsed to his knees. He buried his eyes in his feathery wings, keeping his long beak out of the way. “This can’t be happening,” he groaned to himself. “The babies are gone, the Kame Cruiser’s gone, Tessa’s gone, William’s gone... How am I going to explain this to Marilyn? How am I going to explain this to Dr. Kamenstein?!” He remained in his woeful position a while longer, basking in his grief and his self-pity. Then he tore his wings from his eyes, threw his head back, and made his voice explode. “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!!!” he roared. His cry of despair rang out into the sky, causing birds to fly away from their trees and rodents to go scampering back into their holes. For a response, he got only the valley repeating his words back to him an mournful echo. He put his eyes in his wings, and bent forward again...

Inside the jet, Waluigi was the pilot, Wario was the co-pilot, and Annabyss was in one of the two seats behind theirs. “Well, I hope you’re happy,” she grumped. “They probably won’t mind my borrowing you boys, but who knows what they’ll think of us stealing their jet? I can’t believe you talked me into this...” She shook her head.

Wario and Waluigi spoke in unison again. “Unsere Entschuldigungen, Madame.”

”Don’t worry about it,” Annabyss said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do...”

Meanwhile, on that same jet, in a dark and rather uncomfortable chamber, Tessa was having troubles of her own. Mom, Storky, Will, she thought. I hope you’re all all right...

Her brother, Will, was floating unconsciously atop the surface of the raging river. As the jet flew off into the night sky, this unfortunate young boy was uncontrollably rolling with this water, not even knowing it. It carried him deep into a forest, on its way to unknown regions. Both he and his sibling were bound to find themselves in places even further away from home...

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