The Good, the Bad, and the Torte 3
The Passion of the Chef

By Chef Torte

Chapter 29: Rising Despair

The green dinosaur named Yoshi awakened to a throbbing pain in his head and a cold rushing along his spine. As his senses came to him, the Yo’ster found himself staring at the stone ceiling. When he attempted to right himself, he found his arms and legs chained to the steel table he was erected upon.

At once he noticed his absent saddle. He darted his head around to find a pair of hooded soldiers leafing through the pack within the red saddle.

“A most unusual device,” hissed one of the slimy servants. “It contains more then it appears to withhold.”

The second faceless figure reached his scaly palm into the pack and retrieved a dullm metallic object. “The green filth must cook his own meals.” The cooking utensil was tossed to the ground, among a pile of Yoshi’s other items that were deemed useless.

“Aha!” the first soldier cheered. “This looks useful.”

Yoshi watched the foul creature fetch a spherical object of blue from his pack. It was an Ice Bomb that Yoshi had with him just in case trouble should arise. He certainly wished he had it now.

“What do you suppose it does?” the first asked.

“Maybe it’s a weapon,” the second replied.

“How does it activate?” the first questioned, fumbling with it in his hands.

“Put that down!” a third, familiar voice called.

“My apologies, sir!” the monster subdued, placing the object on the table before him.

Yoshi couldn’t see the newcomer, but the scent carried with him was distinctive. It smelled like Bowser, but it certainly didn’t sound like him.

“The two of you are supposed to be watching the prisoner, not rifling through his belongings! Did you happen to realize he is awake?” the third voice threatened.

Yoshi felt suddenly exposed. His eyes met with the shadowed face of the two servants.

“Leave this place,” the superior commanded. Yoshi watched the pair exit from his field of vision and heard them leave via an unseen door. There was a moment of silence before the new shadow spoke. “Yoshi… my old acquaintance, what brings you here?”

“Who are you?” Yoshi asked with aggression.

“I’m disappointed you can’t tell,” A loud noise sounded as Yoshi felt the table he was on move vertically. The slab he rested on turned in the air and presented the dinosaur before a large, cloaked figure that Yoshi recognized. “Now you see it, don’t you?”

“You’re Vuljiin’s monkey,” Yoshi spat. “Still alive, are you?”

“Yes, just as you are, and you are quite fortunate that I got to you before my master,” the figure spoke. “Vuljiin most certainly would have killed you on spot.”

Yoshi struggled for the breath he lost. “Vuljiin… is alive?”

“And quite well, I’m happy to say,” the snide shadow replied.

“But… he was completely destroyed! I saw it!” Yoshi stated.

The figure turned from the dinosaur and headed over to a computer console. “Yes, his body was destroyed. But death cannot stop a force of the cosmos, it can only delay it.”

“What does that mean?” Yoshi had so many questions whirring in his skull. “Where’s the princess? And Stario?”

The figure chuckled. “The princess is safely locked in her room, and alive, despite suffering from unconsciousness.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Yoshi glared. “Where’s Stario?”

“I’ve entertained your questions for long enough, green donkey,” the figure snarled. “Pipe down or I’ll make this very painful for you.”

Yoshi stared at the figure. “What are you talking about?”

The dark figure lifted a syringe filled with a black liquid. “Hold still.”

~*~*~*~

“This was a bad idea… we never should have let Yoshi go alone…”

Splooshi shoved a tree branch from his path as he nervously marched into a thick forest. Orchil rode on the dinosaur’s yellow saddle and closed her eyes, fatigued from all that had happened.

“Neither of us are familiar with the mainland… where are we supposed to go?” Splooshi worried. “Didn’t Yoshi say something about a village around the place where we left the chest?”

Orchil groaned. “I can’t remember…”

The bipedal dino grimaced at her faint response. Orchil had been silent and worrisome ever since they’d left the rim of Mushroom Village, and frankly, it was growing on Splooshi’s nerves. “I’m starting to get tired, could you walk again?”

The red-headed child squeezed onto Splooshi’s shoulders in an embrace. “Please… take me just a little while longer.”

The dinosaur sighed and continued walking through the Forest Maze. When they had cut through it with Yoshi’s aid, it had taken them less than a day to reappear at a location known as Bandit’s Way. However, without his guidance, the two found themselves quite lost despite making good time.

The traveling continued until the day had passed into evening and Orchil was fast asleep. Splooshi, too, was worn from his travels and was looking for a nice spot to camp for the night. He found what he was looking for as he passed into a clearing with two rows of tree stumps, four in each row. He carefully set Orchil down on the ground next to one of the massive stumps. He watched her for a moment, feeling his annoyance with her drown in his own tiredness. But as he gazed at his sleeping friend he smiled, finding joy seeing her at such peace. He watched her a minute longer before yawning and lying down himself. He caught a glimpse of the twinkling stars above before he closed his eyes.

“I wish to see Yoshi again…”

A shooting star plummeted from the sky and was visible for just a second before disappearing beyond the forest’s canopy.

~*~*~*~

A gloved fist smashed down on the desk. “BOYS! You did it!” The Jester in black and white pushed his hands against his desk and hurled himself over. “The Soul Stone… what a beauty!”

The mob-boss Master Blackjack stood in his seedy office before his two hired criminals, Croco and Cobalt, otherwise known as Blue Boo. The purple-scaled crocodile held the glowing silvery sphere in his hand.

The Jester rubbed his hands together and grinned. “Let’s have it.”

Croco snorted as he relinquished the treasure. “Now, where’s the cash?”

Blackjack laughed hysterically, the way a clown-faced psycho ought to. “Oh you, it’s in the suitcase there.”

Croco pushed the Jester aside and went for the suitcase. “How much we got in here?”

Blackjack hissed. “It’s enough for the both of you, fool.”

Blue Boo hovered over to Croco’s side. “Oooh… that’s a lot of coins.”

Croco smashed the suitcase angrily. “That was it?”

Blackjack’s once gleeful face turned positively gruesome. “Is there a problem?”

“Yeah, there’s a big problem,” Croco stated. “I’m not receiving the proper reward for my job well done.”

“I don’t like your tone, reptile,” the white-faced Jester threatened.

“Woah, woah… Croco, it’s enough,” Blue stated.

“Are you kiddin’ me?” Croco fumed. “I bet that gem we snatched is ten times the amount we got here.”

“Croco, darling… you’ll take it and you’ll like it,” Blackjack growled.

“Croco… if it’s that big of a deal you…” Blue couldn’t believe he was going to say this. “Er, you can have all of it.”

The reptilian robber guffawed. “You’re a down-right fool, Cobalt. But no, I’m not accepting any of this.” Croco glared at Blackjack. “Your payment will be leaving me alone and not making me do any more of these jobs.”

Blackjack whimpered, caressing a knife in his hand. “I’m sorry to hear that… you were one of the finest, that’s for sure. If only your accursed attitude was tweeked a touch. We could have been partners.”

“I hate partner jobs,” Croco complained.

“I can vouch for that,” Blue chimed.

Blackjack turned away, eyeing his prized Soul Stone again. “So be it. Leave my office, Croco, don’t disturb me again and I’ll leave you alone.”

The crocodile left in silence. Blue hovered awkwardly for a moment before floating over to pick the suitcase up. He went to leave but stopped in the doorway. “Master Blackjack… what did you need that for, anyway?”

“A paid man doesn’t ask questions, Cobalt,” Blackjack hissed.

“Oh…” Blue reacted.

Another, gruff voice split through the room. “I believe he has a right to know.”

Blue turned to the back of the room, where a hooded Shaman with yellow eyes stood. He was dressed in a black and silver arrangement of armor and robes, along with a slightly beaten leathery cape that dragged on the floor.

Master Blackjack turned and a sweat bead appeared on his brow. “Oh… Borg… you’re… you’re here soon…”

“I picked him up in my shuttle,” came a feminine voice.

A tight-skinned shell-less Koopa with thin eyes and silky, black hair that tied together in a bun walked into the room. She wore similar colors to the shaman, but different garments. Her black leather pants ended just before her knees, where the rest of her legs were tightly woven with a black tape that wrapped down to her bare feet, with only parts of her toes and ankles showing.

“You’re more efficient than expected, Blackjack. Kudos to you.” The female turtle stepped forward to the Jester’s desk and snatched the silver rock into her gloved hand. Her forked tongue slithered out and rubbed along the glossy orb.

The Shaman folded his arms and glared at Blue with his yellow eyes. The top hat-wearing Boo locked his gaze upon the insidious Shaman and felt his skin, or lack thereof, crawl.

“Now, I’ve upheld my end of the deal, Noko…” Blackjack fettered. “Let’s see my reward come to fruition.”

The female’s attention was drawn from the stone. She smirked. “Give him his reward, Borg.”

The immense man giant-stepped across the floor and lifted the suitcase from the floor. He tossed it over onto the desk. Blackjack looked at it blankly, with his etched smile on his face.

“This isn’t what we agreed to. What about the merger of mafias?” Blackjack queried.

“A paid man doesn’t ask questions, Beej,” Borg explained in a reptilian voice.

Blackjack’s white hands pushed down on the desk and propelled the Jester’s body like a spring over and in front of the jewel-eyed Koopa. “No, no, no… this… this was not in the deal. We signed a contract of criminals! We had an oath of organized chaos!”

The girl’s thin eyes met with Blackjack’s comical slits. “Accept the reward of continued existence with grace, clown, or be the guinea pig of my test.” The slender, gloved fingers of the female wrapped around the stone. “Borg!”

The stone was thrown into the wizard’s hand. He held it between his gloved thumb and his middle finger. He whispered an incantation with an unknown tongue.

“Kolingo… chareis… mora-morul tucantaga.”

Blue Boo watched in puzzlement as the purple haze surrounding the silver stone began to build and thicken, like a growing storm.

Borg’s eyes met with the female’s. Her eyes turned to Blackjack.

“Thanks,” Blackjack slimed in the most irritated voice. He sulked into his chair.

The unpainted lips of the girl curled and she nodded to Borg. The Shaman turned to Blue. “Now, I believe you asked a question.”

Blue felt very uncomfortable. “Um… no, actually, that’s fine. I really, really should get going…”

“Please, stay,” Borg persuaded. “I will gladly answer it.” His fingers smothered the small sphere in his clenched fist, which then became ensconced in the purple cloud, now a violent pace of swirling. “You see, I have been hired to find this stone by a very important person. I’ve been searching all across the world for it for months now… I trekked the entirety of Dinosaur Land for this marble…”

Blue’s eyes widened. “You… you’re the one…”

“I am an exorcist.” Trails of purple smoke crept from the base of the smoke and started to tint the room a violet color. “But even a magi as skilled as I in the art of ghost-hunting is no match for the planet’s spirit guardians.”

“Spirit guardians? What… what are you talking about?” Blue asked.

“A dead man only gets one request before his execution.”

Borg opened his palm, the Soul Stone hovered in his grasp and emitted a blinding white light. Piercing rays of silver fired out from the gem. Blue swerved around to run but felt a force pulling him back. He cried out in pain, exerting all his strength to escape, only to fail. Blue’s expenditure of energy came quick and he turned around suit, his sapphire top hat flying from his skull and vaporizing in the mists surrounding the stone. A dark violet smoke coiled from the center of the storm and shaped itself into a dark, skeletal hand. The claw of despair clamped onto the ghost and Blue felt his form malfunction and begin to split. His mouth opened but no scream came out, only a pure white light. Like his hat before him, Blue’s body shattered into nothingness, whilst the white glow was drawn into the crystal. After absorbing the light, the dark smoke retreated back to within the now dull gray marble in the Shaman’s hand.

“It works,” Borg stated.

The female smirked. “Let’s return to my craft, we’ll depart for Koop’s lair immediately.”

The black and silver duo marched from the room, leaving the hapless and defeated Blackjack wallowing in his own shame. He grit his rainbow-colored teeth.

“Nobody crosses a double-crosser!”

~*~*~*~

Princess Toadstool’s eyes opened. Here she was again. The fluffy terrains of blue soil resembling Star Hill surrounded her in the subconscious realm she’d withdrawn to. The golden-haired female felt safe within her mind’s world, flashing a half-grin at the sight of the stars that descended like snow. She reached her hand out and caught one of the falling lights. She pulled it close to her and let her breath pass over the star. The familiar image of her greatest wish shone from within the star’s essence. Mario stared back at the princess lovingly.

“Why did you leave me?” Peach asked, feeling her heart ache.

The plumber inside the star said nothing, but continued to shine his smile at the princess. This is what always happened. No matter what she’d say the image of her desire would never respond. Peach’s eyes began to water and her throat clenched as she continued to watch the Mario she’d imagined.

“… I love you, Mario…”

Peach’s cheeks reddened even in this dream she’d created for herself. She looked beyond the star in her hands to see a collection of the cosmic lights form into the images of herself and the plumber. She smiled, watching Mario trudge before herself dramatically, thinking only of the adventure at hand and what he needed to do to better the world. As Peach watched the image of herself following the plumber, she came to realize the memory she was viewing.

“The library…”

Suddenly shelves of books rose from the dusty ground and placed the scene in its proper setting.

The memory princess grasped a book from a lonely shelf. She read its title silently. “Mario, come here a second.”

Mario turned back and walked over to the princess. “Yes, Peach?”

“I want you to read this, you know, after you find the Crystal Cosmos and have time,” Princess Toadstool said.

Mario grabbed the book in his hand. The title read "The Star-Met Knight". “What is this?”

“It’s one of my favorite books… I remember reading it as a little girl.” The princess grabbed the book from Mario’s hand and flipped it to the back, where a drawing of a beautiful Koopa stood in a pose of prayer as the stars above her surrounded the face of a male Koopa. “It’s about this girl who falls in love with a knight. The king sends him out to battle a dragon only to fall against the beast… but the maiden’s love brings him back to life.”

Mario looked at it some more. “It sounds like a nice story. I’ll definitely have to read it when all this is over…”

The princess watched as she and Mario stared into each other’s eyes before disappearing within her dream world. She felt a cold tear drift down her face.

“He never got the chance to read it…” Peach whispered.

She closed her eyes as another black tear seeped out of her eye and crawled down her face. Upon opening her eyes, she stared back at the star in her hand, looking to see her true love again. She stared into the star to find Mario replaced with the image of the Dark Stario. She froze.

“No…” Her hands grew weak and she dropped the star. It shattered into shards of black sludge. The Dark Stario faded into existence in the center of the sludge, now his real size. Peach backed away. “This can’t be… This is my dream… I’m safe in here…”

Vuljiin slowly lifted his hand before him and extended it toward the princess. Peach’s face was drenched with black tears as she unwillingly lifted her own hand into his. His hands were cold, wretched. They weren’t the hands of the body’s true owner. Vuljiin’s other hand wrapped around Peach’s lower back and he pulled her close. Completely helpless, almost in a state of trance, she began to dance with the villainous Stario. As she danced, everything was in slow motion. The stars falling in her dream were saturated with an evil energy that disposed of the light and created gaping chasms in the matter surrounding her. These created holes that began to ooze out a dark sludge. She screamed silently as the dark matter filled the realm and began to flood her existence. It climbed to her waste in an instant, but she still continued to dance with the fiend. The black liquid rose to her shoulders now, and was rising fast. At last her dance stopped.

“Let me go…” Peach begged.

“Come to me,” the voice of Vuljiin said through Stario’s lips.

“No… Let me go… please…”

Vuljiin stared into her eyes, leaning closer to her face. The black ooze was to their necks now. “I love you, Sorcia.”

Peach said nothing, her strength diminished. The Dark Stario’s face came to hers and their lips met. She closed her eyes and cried more black tears as the black sludge rose over their heads.

Everything was dark now.

Chapter 30: Alliance?

The strange bath consumed the fallen sorceress, contorting her body. The elder Koopa felt her skeleton ripple deep within her flesh, her bones redesigning posture, growing stronger. Her hunched, graying shell shaped itself into a sleek, ovular shell with a healthy, green color. Kammy’s wrinkly scales stretched and shed in the water, creating a new mold for the witch, one to wrap tightly around her freshly toned muscles and elongated limbs. As the female rose up and out of the pool, her damp hair slithered down her back and radiated with a vibrant new color of brown.

Kammy’s feet touched the ground and she opened her violet eyes. The creature before her bellowed, dripping oily drool from its jaws. A torrent of magical essence swirled around the robe-less Koopa, conforming to her body and creating a new set of clothing for the youthful-looking turtle. This cloak was colored a light green, matching her new crescent-moon spectacles.

The mutated Phoenix Flower had grown impatient. Tentacle vines fired out, accompanying a monstrous shriek. Kammy’s right eye opened wider, seeing the poisonous thorns erect from the moving vines. The Koopa bounded into the air with the hop of one foot, letting all the tendrils smash into the ground and into the adjacent wall pursuing her jump. Once airborne, the Magikoopa flicked her slender fingers outward and watched her claws excite with a yellow aura. A wave of her wrist sent a cutting spell downward, slicing the tendrils in two. With a pained wail, the plant beast retracted its black-bleeding vines whilst the severed heads quickly turned to ash. Kammy studied this for a moment. With another shriek the monster had re-grown its tentacles and increased the number twofold.

The striking Magikoopa floated to the floor and readied herself. With a deep breath, she stuck her hand out in a fist. A transparent purple ring of energy closed into the monster in sync with Kammy’s fist. Confused at first, the quadruped snarled and launched its umpteen vines to attack the concentrated Koopa. In the instant before the vines came upon her, Kammy spread her hand open as wide as she could. Black blood burst through the beast’s hide before it knew what had happened. The creature’s tentacles fell flat on the ground and it bellowed with pain. Kammy continued to drain the monster of its life force, and gathered the dark liquid into a sphere floating overhead. As the final drops were taken, the vines turned to a gray color and then to ash. Like a fire to a trail of gun powder, this same effect followed up the many tendrils and overtook the main body until finally the head was engulfed in gray. Kammy brought the condensed sphere of the black blood before her, it being about the size of a Bob-omb. Sensing a foul presence, the female waved her hand at it, encasing it within a magical ball that she then shrunk and placed with the folds of her cloak.

Kammy’s eyes turned to the incapacitated Jagger and the Amazee girl.

~*~*~*~

Jonathon Jones and his surly crew of shark-man pirate-things had just arrived at what they didn’t know was the beach of Isle Ovaria. Their sails had been torn and tattered in several places due to the piercing gales the storm had offered. In the meantime, Johnny had taken much of his crew into the island in search of any native fruit or animals they could snag for food, and of course for fresh water to barrel up. And who knows, they’re pirates, they might have gone to bury some treasure.

Anyhoo, they had left the ship in the care of Chud and Barney, who patrolled the deck with their skewers in fin. Inside the ship’s designated ship area, the "No-Name" Apprentice and Ashley had met with the captain’s nephew Dimplestick for a late night snack.

Using his knowledge of culinary expertise, the Apprentice drowned a hunk of calamari in flour. “I think this is gonna turn out great.”

“So, where are you going, No-Name?” Dimplestick asked.

“Where am I going? I don’t know…” The Apprentice thought silently as the bag of flour continued to pour onto the meat and soon overflow the pan he was using to cook. “I think I’ll just stay with the crew for a little while… Though I’d really like to find some sort of civilization.”

“Capital idea for a capital situation, m’boy!” Russ T exclaimed, entering the room with a book in his clutches.

“Hi Russ T!” Ashley gleamed.

“Hey,” Dimplestick simply stated.

“Hello Ashley, Dimplestick.” Russ T walked over and sat down at the small table, placing his book out in front of him. “The current conundrum we’ve compiled our cragged crew has kept me quite clearly concentrating on the coming craving for calamari quelling down in my clear stomach whilst cloud-lands of my calculated conclusions inconvenience my consciousness with conceivable outcomes of scientific consummation for crazy circumstantial discoveries of long-lost, crestfallen civilizations.”

The room was dead. The flour proceeded to topple over the stove and cover the floor. “Erm, I’m hungry and have a lot on my mind,” Russ T explained.

~*~*~*~

“Madam Sorcia!”

The King of Koopas felt something inside his skull begin to punch itself repeatedly.

“There’s something strange happening! The sky is thick and crying!”

The blind Koopa felt something warm leave his presence.

“Oooogggh… My head…” Bowser groaned, leaning forward.

The immense tyrant awakened within the room he had fought Sorcia, the female nowhere in sight. He looked behind him to see his daughter Wendy tying her brothers up with a very thick rope.

“Wendy?” Bowser asked.

“Father!” Wendy said, startled by his sudden waking.

Bowser pressed hard against his face to quell the throbbing. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t move! I’ll scream for Sorcia to return!” Wendy threatened.

The Koopa rose to his feet. “What’s wrong with you? We’re leaving this awful place.”

“No one leaves, not until the Age of Apocalypse,” Wendy said. “That is when Ovaria will return to save those faithful.”

“I’ve had enough of that.” Bowser’s fist came down on his daughter’s forehead, knocking her unconscious. “You’ll be fine.” Bowser started to slap his other offspring awake. “Boys! Boys, get up!”

Iggy strained to open his eyes. “Ugh… What happened?”

“Never mind that, the time to escape has arrived,” the King spoke.

“We still don’t have a method of transportation, Dad!” Morton snarled.

“Yes we do. We’ve only got a limited time to catch it, too,” Bowser explained.

“What are you talking about, Poppa?” Junior asked.

“When it was light out I saw a ship in the very far distance, but I’m certain it was headed this way,” Bowser stated, picking up his daughter and throwing her roughly over his shoulder. “With it storming, we’ve got a good chance that it’ll look for land.”

“Is that so?” came a new voice.

Bowser and his sons turned to look at Jagger and Petal dropped to the floor by a youthful-looking female Koopa. She grinned and placed her hands on her hips.

“If Vermik’s plan doesn’t work then we’ve got a backup,” Kammy exclaimed.

Bowser’s jaw dropped in awe. “KAMMY?”

~*~*~*~

As Johnny blazed through the thick jungle, one of his men came across an interesting discovery. Sniveling pathetically, the mate sniffed if joyfully, claiming a goddess had left it. Sickened, the captain pulled the article from the perverse pirate and perused it. How out-of-place it was, this was an item found within the confines of landlubbers, which meant this island was inhabited by something. Though Jonathon’s noted for being one of the more noble of pirates, and has been romanticized through stories passed down (especially due to his friendship with Mario) he is, at heart, a pirate. And if there are people, there is plunder. With a wave of his fin, the caped captain signaled his men to unsheathe their weapons and make way in a new direction.

Johnny tossed the mud-caked boot behind him, and the pathetic pirate snatched it up. Holding it close to his face, visions of beauty filled his head, and the scent of a woman enticed his nostrils.

~*~*~*~

The rain atop the plateau began to dissipate, but the howling winds remained. Jade’s hair blew into her face as she stepped away from the abandoned fire pit and ambled toward the gathering of women, where Madam Sorcia and her right-hand Serena T. had come to speak with the females.

“What’s wrong with the sky, Madam?” a Goomba asked.

“Why was Mother crying?” a Pianta worried.

Sorcia gave a deep breath and tried to get the recent events off her mind. The women weren’t used to a change of weather, so it frightened them. Using her magical abilities, Sorcia began to part the canopy of clouds above her. As soon as a tiny hole was made, the human felt the blood rush to her head. Her body turned icy cold, in her mind she could see the red eyes widening, looking at her exposed self. Her heart swelled with pain and her throat choked on a scream.

“Madam Sorcia!” Serena T gasped.

The black-haired sorceress fell to her knees, her hair smothering her face. Quickly, the hole in the clouds above was filled again.

“I’m a fool…” Sorcia whimpered.

“What do you mean? What is it?” the crowd worried.

She looked up into the sky, one of her eyes appearing through the black veil.

“He knows where I am.”

~*~*~*~

Bowser and family continued to look on in awe. Seeing Kammy as a youthful, beautiful Koopa was taking a while to process. It’ll take a bit more time, actually. So until then, let’s have a look-see at what Vermik’s up to, shall we?

~*~*~*~

Vermik’s wingspan stretched far as he soared the calming gales of the storm in the form of an owl. Reaching the top of the second tallest mountain, he landed on the ground while morphing to his original state. It was here that the mountain was hollowed out and made into a large cavern. This was where the worm creature returned to slumber, but also where it left several of its findings, including Vermik’s eyed prize: the Koopa Jet II. He leapt down into the mountain with little noise, walking toward the damaged aircraft. He stopped when his ear focused on a something flapping behind him. He turned and found the sinister bird staring at him from the ridge he had just jumped down from.

“Oh no,” Vermik sighed.

The Magikoopa began his mad dash for the control panel as the horrible bird screeched for its larger comrade.

~*~*~*~

“The Suttinans discovered oil, and actually based their religion upon the 'black blood', as they are said to have called it. Their largest village was surrounded around a massive altar called the Black Fountain, where the oil was found.”

Dimplestick stretched the meat in his teeth with his fork, trying to get a piece of it to chew. Like a rubber band, the slab of squid smacked him in the face and flour sprayed everywhere. Apprentice looked down at his plate and embarrassedly cut through the tough piece he’d given himself.

Russ T. swallowed the piece he’d just eaten. “It’s quite amazing, really. There was a search expedition led by Professor Frankly decades ago, but the records they kept weren’t at all descriptive. He summed up his findings quite simply, but I’ll bet you I’ve studied more on this culture than him. There certainly must be more to Suttina’s lost ruins than he found. I don’t even remember him seeing the Black Fountain. In fact, I think he was convinced it was a myth.”

Russ T. strived for another bite while Ashley, Dimplestick, and Apprentice exchanged looks of discomfort. The Mushroom swallowed vigorously.

“I did my homework, and I’m positive it is mentioned in writings of both the Suttina culture and the ancient Gabapas, the eastern Koopas under the reign of King Gaba, that is, that there was a fountain of oil in the heart of the Suttinan city. Legend has it, the two cultures actually clashed and that the Suttinans and the Gabapas were buried underground due to a massive explosion, which I’m guessing was the oil catching fire. Just imagine, once I get there and meet with my team, I might unlock the secrets of the first epic war that happened on Plit. How... EXHILIRATING!”

Russ T. had another bite. “So, mmm, do any of you have anything to say?”

Before another mouth was opened, a fearsome roar bellowed outside the ship. Chud and Barney, both bewildered, looked out into the sea to discover a behemoth serpentine creature rising from the depths and slithering in the air towards the island.

~*~*~*~

At long last, the new Kammy, though unexplained, had finally registered in the minds of all the Koopas, and they were headed directly for the exit to the temple when Sorcia appeared after turning a corner. She looked terribly frightened and there was something different overall about her presence. Preparing for a fight, Bowser and the others put up their mitts, but the female dashed ahead and hugged Bowser submissively, like a helpless child.

“I beg you… take me with you!”

Chapter 31: Escape Ovaria

“Well, that’s something you don’t see every day,” said Barney.

Zargg, the enormous, funnel-mouthed serpent, slithered through the surface and trumpeted its reappearance once again. A large wave slammed against Johnny’s pirate ship and tossed Chud and Barney to their dorsal. A moment later, Russ T. materialized in the stairway and exited the hull with Ashley, Apprentice, and Dimplestick in pursuit.

“What was that sound?” Russ T asked.

“Is it the Kraken?” Dimplestick whined.

“It’s THAT!” Ashley exclaimed, bouncing in position.

They recognized the problem at hand. Zargg billowed across the jungle island towards the plateau. The faces of the watchers turned grim. Russ T. adjusted his glasses.

“Well, I do believe this is one of those pickles so many of us come across in our lives,” Russ T theorized.

The Apprentice shot him a dirty look.

“Chud, Johnny and our mates are on land where that thing’s a-headin’!” Barney worried.

Chud closed his eyes in thought. “We’ve still got that emergency flare barrel, right?”

“Yes, the flarrel!” Barney exclaimed.

“I never cared much for that name meself,” Chud disagreed.

“Why not? It’s great combination of both words into a fun-sounding title!” Barney debated.

Russ T, Apprentice, and the others looked back and forth between the arguing shark pirates.

“It sounds too fruity! We’re pirates, after all!” Chud snapped.

“How is it too fruity? It’s a barrel and a flare! Two quite non-fruity things!” Barney argued.

Chud rolled his eyes. “I don’t expect someone named Barney to understand.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean you’re a PANSY!”

“You scurvy…” Barney tackled Chud.

Russ T sighed. “Pirates…”

~*~*~*~

“Why should I trust you?” Bowser snarled.

Sorcia hugged the Koopa King’s leg as he flung it about. “I can help you. I’m the only one that can get you off this island.”

Bowser put his foot down. “How would you help us do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kammy chimed. “That monster out there is trapping her here. Typical princess-hording dragon story. The only way she’ll help us is if we throw her to the beast in human sacrifice.”

Sorcia took notice of Kammy’s rejuvenated appearance for the first time. “You… you went into my bath!”

Kammy smiled. “I don’t know how you cracked such a flawless fountain of youth, but it certainly does the trick.”

“You fool… now you’re a part of it too! You’ve been cursed,” Sorcia threatened. “It’s inside you.”

Kammy pondered this statement but decided now was not the time to ask. She flung out her hand and sent a yellow block at the female’s head. It broke apart and Sorcia fell unconscious. “Bring her, she may be useful yet.”

Bowser lifted Sorcia over his shoulder. “Are you certain Vermik can fly the Koopa Jet II?”

Zargg’s roar echoed from outside into the temple. Kammy looked to her master. “If he can it’ll be one quick get away. Let’s move!”

~*~*~*~

A scaly claw shoved a lever forward with maximum strength. A row of red bulbs lit up with energy, quickly followed by a few beeps and a spastic crackle from a bulb burnt out. Sharp nails pushed down on several buttons and derelict monitors blipped to life while a whirring sound grew louder.

Vermik crossed the room and met with the steering controls. They worked very much like a large wheel, only the upper half was gone. Vermik wrapped his hands around the rods sticking out at either side of the directional semi-circle, and lifted. The shell-shaped aircraft puttered to life, tossing out sickly smoke through its exhaust piping. It limped into the air and shook violently. If the machine could fly, Vermik would then have to worry about his stomach turning ill.

~*~*~*~

“Quickly now! Back to the ship!” Johnny commanded amidst his fleeing crew.

Since the sighting of the creature, the pirates had stored whatever loot they'd found and made off in the direction of the boat. All but one, that is. A short, stocky shark curled up behind a tree with his prized possession. He stuffed his nose into the boot and inhaled. With teary eyes he exhaled through an open smile. He turned the boot upside down and let his gray tongue tickle the sole of the footwear. Mud fell from the shoe’s bottom as he pushed against it with his lips and face. A loud noise stopped him.

Zargg was directly above him, soaring at high speeds toward the plateau. The shark flashed a face of worry and stood up, looking everywhere for his mates. Lost, he stumbled on ahead – in the same direction as the beast.

~*~*~*~

The Daughters of Ovaria were in complete panic. The weather spoke a deadly omen, their burning sacrifice had escaped, their eldest sister was nowhere to be found (and a complete nervous wreck at that), and the horrible beast they called Zargg was coming to the plateau.

“Sister Serena, where do we hide?”

“Why is Zargg coming for us?”

Serena was now being bombarded with questions. “I… I don’t know!”

“We always were safe on the plateau! Now the beast is coming here!”

“To the temple… that’s the safest place. In the basement!” Serena ordered. “Follow me!”

The legion of women charged into the temple and didn’t take notice as the Koopa family struggled to break through the marathon. Bowser, Roy, Morton, and Iggy all hopped out carrying unconscious comrades on their shells, with Kammy, Larry and Bowser Junior trotting behind. It was strange to see the plateau vacant of the women, but it wasn’t something to really dwell on considering Zargg was midway through the island.

“What do we do now? Where’s Vermik?” Bowser barked.

Kammy stepped forward and scanned the sky, seeing nothing. “Grast it. That slimy snake must have left without us.”

“What?! Vermik, a traitor? I never would have thought the day…” Bowser exclaimed.

“Sire, Vermik betrayed the Koopa Troop years ago when he…” A large javelin struck the ground before Kammy.

Heads turned. Jade Koopa had changed appearance yet again. Her hair was still down and she was still wearing the amber armor over her chest, but she had replaced the dress and sandals with a tribal skirt and brass slips around her feet. Marks of red and black underneath her eyes showed her descent into madness. The saucy female front flipped forward, landed next to the weapon, and yanked it our, swirling it around her. Kammy and the others jumped back to a safe distance. Jade’s eyes met with Kammy’s. She smiled.

“You really are a psycho hose beast, you know?” Kammy snapped.

“Silence, witch!” Jade hissed. “With the others hiding in the temple, I am the only one here to stop you from taking Madam Sorcia.”

“You idiot. You’re entranced by Sorcia’s spell. WE are your friends! That giant worm is coming to kill us, so let’s skip this part and just find a way out of here, please?” Kammy pleaded.

Jade thought a moment. She lifted her spear. “No.”

Kammy rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

Golden auras surrounded the sorceress’ hands as Jade lifted her weapon fiercely. Bowser and his boys grinned. “Oooh… Cat fight…”

~*~*~*~

The Koopa Jet II was at long last airborne, but barely. Steadily, it climbed towards the lip of the mountain’s peak. Vermik continued his ascent when suddenly the ship jostled in extreme turbulence.

“Did I hit something?” Vermik wondered.

The Magikoopa stepped across the control room to look out the gaping tear in the ship’s hull. He squinted behind his spectacles in search for the source of the sudden stop. The feathered demon glared down at him, fire in its eyes.

“So it has to be like this, huh?” Vermik asked rhetorically, removing his wand. “Okay.”

Vermik shot like a black missile toward the open-winged Arajiin. A trail of fire followed the gem of his scepter as he swung at the avian. A shrill shriek split through Vermik’s ears as the pyres of his spell singed the bird’s chest. The black creature fell three meters before righting itself, climbing through the atmosphere with its enormous wings. Its glossy eyes darted through the air searching for the Magikoopa. Arajiin soared above the rising ship’s top when suddenly a trio of geometric shapes fired into its stomach like gunfire. The bird cried again, white pus foaming at the corners of its beak. Vermik stood with smoking wand pushed out in front of him, unmoving. Arajiin reached its wings and breaststroked as a bullet toward its pray, spiraling in the air with toothy beak opened wide.

With a flick of his wrist and spin of his wand, Vermik exploded into a cloudy mist of black that the bird flew straight through. Arajiin uprighted itself and turned about in confusion. Something tickled its shoulder before a sharp pain coursed through its bloodstream. The creature wrangled in the air before it collapsed on the Koopa Jet II’s surface. A hairy arachnid with interweaving black and orange fur hurled backward from the bird’s back and shape-shifted in mid-flip to Vermik’s true state. He landed with a slide and a hand placed on the ground. His second free hand produced the flaming wand and the warlock left no time for his enemy to pick itself up before he released a column of flame in its direction. Arajiin managed to look at just the wrong time before half its face was engulfed in the firey spell.

Vermik took full stand as the shoddy aircraft rose above the opening in the mountain and into the sky. The tropical winds caught him off guard and blew out the flames of his wand and target. The vicious bird writhed in the clearing smoke, goopy black liquid pouring from the visible veins and bone of its scorched flesh. It made a violating, pained growl that only produced more gobs of darkness to seep out its wounds and onto the hull of the ship. Vermik’s gaze turned to the puddle on the craft and noticed its acidic tendency to eat through metal.

“What is that?”

During Vermik’s brief synapse, Arajiin rocketed upward, calling its ally with a hideous shrieking. Vermik snarled and tossed his orange-jeweled wand into the air. He crossed his arms, which became long, feathered wings, and sliced the air to bring them at his sides to reveal his Halfling bipedal bird body. He took to the air and snatched his falling wand in his right talon just as the fire rekindled around the gemstone.

~*~*~*~

A golden fist made a dent in Jade’s chest plate, the Koopa spitting up blood on the way back into a large wall of rock. The brunette turtle made quite the impression on the cliff. Kammy cracked her fingers, golden sparkles dancing around her knuckles. She stepped forward and levitated to reach her claw to the admiral’s neck. Kammy wrenched Jade from the rocks and held her above the ground, smiling. Jade reacted hastily, shoving a knee into Kammy’s gut and then, free from the witch’s grasp, spun in the air and delivered a painful blow to the face with her metallic footwear.

Kammy crashed to the ground and dug herself a trench five miles deep. The testosterone-sporting turtles wiped their mouths of drool to allow room for a second coat.

Kammy’s dirtied nails bore into the soil above her and the spellcaster pried herself out of the hole. She placed a hand on her swollen cheek and felt through the blood with her tongue.

“You bwoke mwy toof,” Kammy winced. “You wunt.”

Jade, showing expert control of upper body strength, swirled her javelin to a position perpendicular to Kammy. The newly rejuvenated sorceress grit her teeth through blood and formed four metal bricks circling above her head. Jade wiggled her tongue with a cry of fatal femininity charging to strike the witch.

“You go, girl!” Iggy hollered.

Bowser leaned over to Roy. “This is the kind of thing I’ve been wanting to take you boys to see for ages.”

“You’re a good father, Pops,” Roy replied. Turning back to the fight, their mouths opened and Roy lowered his sunglasses.

Jade darted past the first metallic brick and somersaulted beneath the second, proceeding to spring into the air and swirl her weapon 360 degrees with enough momentum to shatter the third. She dropped to the ground and smirked at Kammy. The Koopa family placed a knuckle on their forefinger in their mouth. The Magikoopa sneered and hurtled the final brick telepathically, causing it to spin rapidly in the air with a twitch of her wrist. Jade turned about and with all her strength drove the javelin into the block. The force of the throw died down after pushing the hypnotized admiral back a few feet. When stopped, Jade screamed and pulled the weighty brick in a circle before swinging her spear to shake it loose. The massive block flew back at Kammy and was only stopped a second from her face. The purple-clad Magikoopa held the object telepathically with her opened palm.

“Wooo! It’s gettin’ HOT in here!” Morton chimed.

Kammy’s hand shifted 6 degrees to the left and Morton’s big mouth was filled with the metal brick. She clasped her hand and smirked.

“Your athletics and strength are truly compelling. I can now see why you were given the esteemed rank of admiral.” Kammy’s eyes met with Jade’s, who still clasped her weapon tightly. “Let’s put this pettiness behind us and use our powers to fuel the Koopa Troop back into action.”

Jade glared. “My loyalty does not lie with you or the Koopa King, but with the great-”

“MOTHER OF PEARL!” Bowser shouted.

Zargg’s funnel-shaped mouth unsheathed its dozens of rows of teeth as the floating worm hovered uncomfortably close above the collection of Koopas.

“All right, everyone, we’ll have to use our combined strength to take it down!” Kammy commanded, staring into the beast’s approaching jaws.

With cheetah-speed, Jade launched across the plateau and took her club of a javelin to baseball Kammy off her feet and toward Zargg’s toothy gullet. Kammy’s body ignited with pink magic as she was swallowed by the beast.

Bowser threw his arms back. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”

Jade spun around and pierced the Koopa with her gaze. “Release Madam Sorcia.”

“Er, of course! Right away, uh…” Bowser looked about, not finding an unconscious maiden over his shoulder. “Uh…”

Jade was suddenly knocked back down the plateau with a punching gale. The dark-haired Sorcia stepped forward, arm extended, confirming her direct hit. She turned to the gaping-jawed Koopas.

Roy grinned. “Cat-ty.”

“She was starting to get on my nerves,” the witch of winds explained. “Now, you had an escape plan?”

Bowser’s mouth stayed opened for a few moments. “I am confused about so many things right now but really am pressed for time so I’ll make this count- What was it you could to do stop the scary monster lurking just above us and currently digesting my friend?”

Sorcia looked at the sky. “I think your friend can handle it.”

Zargg shook with paled eyes as an internal glowing resonated from his mid-section. With a great explosion of magical energy, the immense beast was cut in two with hundreds of white meats spilling out over the island below. Enveloped in a pink aura, Kammy hovered with her hair strands flowing and pulsating with magic. She pulled her arms out, and pink lines formed together above her into three figures: a triangle, a circle, and a square. Kammy swung back her arms and head and arched her back, sending the trio of magical shapes into the front half of Zargg’s body. The atrocious monstrosity’s bellows shook the island as pink columns of light tore its hide into shreds. A subsidiary explosion resulted, leaving Zargg in thousands of chunks that showered the island. Kammy’s body returned to normal and she joined the party on the plateau.

“It seems your pool didn’t just restore my former power, but actually increased it,” Kammy smiled.

Sorcia shook her head and sighed. “The dark powers you’re flirting with…”

Kammy rolled her eyes. “Can I knock her out again?” she asked Bowser.

“Unwise, my dear,” Sorcia stepped forward. “You plan to leave this island, but the surrounding weather is enchanted, it draws ships in but makes it impossible to escape. Only I have the prowess to manipulate through the curse.”

“Well one would hope to have the counterspell to the trap they set,” Kammy replied.

“I never said it was my trap.” Sorcia looked away from Kammy and stared into Bowser’s eyes. “But we have no time for melancholy. Let’s board your ship and leave this place.”

“Unfortunately our ship’s been hijacked by a thieving git,” Kammy snarled.

“Oh? Then what is that?” Sorcia proffered.

Kammy, Bowser, and the rest turned to see a damaged Koopa Jet II shakily flying forward from the island’s mountains.

~*~*~*~

Two black, feathery figures chased one another through the clouds. The mortally wounded Arajiin was left with nothing but pathetic escape attempts, and found it no easy feat.

“Your thick friend is nothing but fish food now, and your ugly face won’t land you any freakishly creepy female birdies, so it looks like you’re the last of your sorry kind,” Vermik taunted.

Arajiin grew weak, the loss of vitals pouring from its scarred face was making it sluggish, clumsy. The creature often found itself flying toward its opponent rather than away.

“Can’t you see I’m just toying with you now? I could have you dead at any moment. I’m just enjoying this futility a little too much for my own good,” Vermik laughed. “So I’m afraid our time is up, beaky.”

Arajiin’s disfigured head scanned the sky half-blind, desperately searching for its enemy. Its vision jarred when Vermik fired up from below and sent the wicked avian into a tumble. The bird was stopped when the shape shifter’s left talon wrapped around Arajiin’s waist. Saying nothing, Vermik, with his right talon, shoved his firey staff into the monster’s heart. It gave a final, horrible shriek. Vermik pulled back and the bird was left to plummet to the plateau, engulfed in flames.

~*~*~*~

The black-clad sorcerer flew back to the Koopa Jet’s control room, reverting into his natural state only to find the remaining Koopa Troop on board and piloting it toward the island’s coast.

“How’d you guys get here?” he asked.

“I’m proud of you Vermik,” Kammy exclaimed. “Thought a snake like you would have left without us.”

Vermik’s face, possibly for the first time in years, look shocked. “Kam! What… what happened to you?”

Bowser gave the wheel to his son, Iggy. “Now you’re sure you can get us out of here?”

Sorcia looked into the king’s eyes. “Yes, just give me a moment to concentrate.”

The sorceress bowed her head and closed her eyes. Her human hands came together in a pose of prayer before her heart. She filled her lungs with air, held for a moment, and slowly breathed the air through a tiny gap in her lips that blew against her connected hands. Slowly she separated them.

Outside, the rickety aircraft hovered above the beach and out over the water. The thicket of clouds before the Koopa Jet II wormed about before creating a tiny, vertical opening before them. It stretched wide from the sky to the sea surface, where a wooden seaship was making its way for the very same opening. Both ships passed through and the clouds sealed upon themselves, locking the island and all those left behind.

~*~*~*~

The sunlight on Jade’s face was like a kick to the pants. She sat up amidst dense foliage that cratered around her. She placed a hand to her head and remembered nothing. Her eyes adjusted to the golden-lit jungle, and she fixed her eyes on something dark, something mud-covered. It was a boot. Her boot. She remembered everything and smiled. Her life, her past, her lost loves and the delicious taste of vanilla ice cream on her tongue, and of course, her bizarre appreciation of boots. A moment passed. She remembered everything else, and frowned.

Something wet and bumpy slugged at her foot. She turned to her feet and found a fat, boil-ridden shark pirate flossing her toes with his tongue. Jade half-screamed, half-vomited in her throat (thus resulting in only a half-scream). The pudgy pirate made a frightened noise and scampered into the jungle. Jade’s wide eyes blinked. She tried to lift herself but could not find the strength. Her body was broken. She fell back on the ground and lay there, defeated.

A rustling of bushes surrounding her announced the arrival of a circle of tribal females of all species. Serena T. leaned down and placed her hand on Jade’s face.

“Sisters, we must take this one to the sacred pool. There she will be blessed, as a new vessel for Mother Ovaria.”

Jade again tried to scream, but this time managed to fully vomit.

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