Jared groaned softly as he opened his eyes. Standing over him was Aaron, Aiden, Jessica, Kasandra, and Heather.
"Oh, thank the Stars!" Kasandra yelped, hugging her boyfriend tightly.
"Are you okay?" Jessica asked.
Jared nodded. "I'm fine. Thrown around, but fine."
Aiden whimpered softly, "Jared... where's Grandma?"
Jared hung his head. "Bowser..."
"No," Heather gasped quietly.
"Phil and Luca tried to save her, they really did. But I'm afraid that with them unable to control their new powers, they weren't a match."
Aiden's eyes became watery. "Phil got beaten up?"
Jared nodded sadly. "Yes. Both he and Luca were taken, too."
Heather hugged the boy as he sniffled and began to cry. "It's going to be okay, Aiden."
"He wouldn't have gotten beaten up if I didn't tell him to help Grandma..." the little boy sobbed.
Heather ruffled his hair gently. Jared replied, "I think he would've. He's got a heroic spirit hiding within him. He and Luca both."
Jessica sighed. "What do we do now?"
"We have to make a plan. We have to rescue them."
The family quietly brooded in the damaged remains of the castle's private chambers.
"Hey... hey, buddy, get up," a shaking voice demanded for the fifth time.
Phil mumbled incoherently to himself and forced himself to open his eyes. He was immediately dizzy, and his body felt as if it had been twisted into a pretzel. The blurry image of a Toad was looming over him, causing him to jump and sit upright quickly.
"Whoa!" The Toad squealed, jumping back. "Easy! I'm not looking for trouble!"
Phil blinked, his head slowly coming back into focus. The ground beneath his hands felt very cold and damp, like moist stone, and there was very little light. The room had a moldy smell, and was very small. The Toad nearby wore tattered clothing, was rather frail in appearance, bore a very pale complexion, and was trembling. "Who are you?"
"I was about to ask you the same question, buddy," the Toad replied, his voice still shaky. "I'm Nos. You are?"
"Phil," he replied simply, getting to his feet. He felt the wall and looked past Nos, seeing rusted iron bars. "Where are we?"
"In the 'guest rooms' of Bowser's Castle," Nos said sarcastically with a shiver. "I've been down here for about two weeks now. I know my family and girlfriend must be worried sick."
Phil blinked and visibly responded when Nos mentioned the word girlfriend. He whirled around, quickly. "Nos, did those weird looking things bring a short, redheaded girl down here when they left me?"
Nos furrowed his brow in thought a moment. "Yeah, but they didn't leave her. Apparently the big guy had something else in mind for her. Told his goons to take her up to his sky chamber."
"They didn't hurt her, did they?"
"Like you, she was completely unconscious. They simply tossed you in here and carried her off. That was hours ago." Nos leaned against the wall. "I didn't hear if they were gonna bring her back here or not. Knowing what I know about the sky chamber, I doubt it."
Phil paced furiously, his mind racing. He walked over to the rusty bars and gripped them, pulling backwards. They didn't budge, which was anticipated. "We have to get out of here and go find her."
"No way, Phil. If we even get lucky enough to escape the dungeons, the upper levels are crawling with Koopatrols. We'd get slaughtered before we had time to blink!"
"I can afford that risk," Phil replied briskly, pulling on the bars again. He paused after a moment and dug around in his pocket. A momentary burst of excitement rushed through him as his fingers brushed against his ring. "They didn't take it!"
"Take what?" Nos asked, standing on his toes to get a better look.
"You'll see." He held the ring in the palm of his hands and blinked as he heard the loud footsteps of patrols moving down the hall. Quickly, he sat down against the wall and feigned being miserably wounded, moaning softly in false pain. Nos raised a curious eyebrow at this.
Two Koopatrols approached the cell and looked inside. "Well, looks like he's waking up." One of them said in a mocking voice.
"It's about damn time," the other laughed softly. "It only took him what, six hours?" He mocked into the cell, "That's what you get for trying to be a tough guy!"
"Get over yourselves," Nos spat angrily. "Leave him alone."
The first Koopatrol rolled his eyes. "Count on the resident know-it-all to butt in where nobody asks him to." He snorted arrogantly, and the two patrols began to walk away. "Enjoy your stay, gentlemen..."
Phil waited until they were out of earshot, then quickly got back up to his feet. "They really know how to treat a guest around here," he commented sarcastically.
"You... you obviously have been in a situation like this before," Nos asked quietly. "Your faking was flawless. They really bought it."
"Yeah, I've been in situations like this once or twice," Phil shrugged, quickly thinking back to the few situations back on Sage. "But anyway, it's time to get out of this place and go find this chamber you're talking about."
"How?"
"Watch." He put the ring on his finger and gripped the bars tightly. He focused his energy and began pulling on the bars, shuddering a bit as they slowly began to bend and move. Nos' eyes widened in amazement.
"You have..."
Phil shushed him. "I won't if you alert the guards!" He pulled the bars apart. "Come on, let's get out of here before we're missed."
The two slowly made their way down the dimly-lit corridor, which seemed to be quite long and full of cells. Surprisingly, none of the other cells held any other prisoners. Nos stayed closely behind his rescuer and ally, noticing how sharp the human character was. It was obvious that this courageous stranger had seen his fair share of prison escapes and stealth missions. He was curious about his background story, but knew now was not the time to ask questions.
"I heard them say you're a 'know-it-all.' No offense," Phil whispered after a moment.
"None taken," Nos shrugged. "It's true. I think I can trust you, as we're in the same boat here... I'm actually an undercover spy for the Royal Mushroom Guard. A renowned one, at that."
"Interesting," the human replied. "Since you're so well-informed, can you tell me how to get up to the sky chamber where they took my girlfriend?"
"Yeah. We're going to continue down this hall until we finally get to the stairwell. It'll lead us up to the ground floors. From there, it's straight up. As cliched as it'll sound, the Sky Chamber is the tallest tower here in the castle. Strangely, he put it in the center rather than on a side. But we always knew the Koopa was crazy..."
"What exactly are they planning to do with her? Did you hear anything?"
"No. I tried to, but I heard nothing. All I heard was that they're intending to move the Princess soon, as they figure the heroes are going to come looking soon."
"Heroes..." Phil murmured softly. He didn't have the heard to tell the Toad that the heroes weren't going to be coming anytime soon.
The two made their way to the main lobby, and slowly crept along towards their destination.
"Your Gruesomeness!" A Koopatrol ran into the throne room. "We have a situation!"
Bowser, the Koopa King, narrowed his dark eyes and growled ominously, "For your sake, you better hope we do."
"The prisoners in the dungeon have managed to escape," the now frightened Koopatrol gulped. "The bars of the cell they were in were bent nearly in half, and both of them are gone!"
The evil king laughed. "Is that all?"
"We fear the human may be trying to find the Princess and make an escape, sir!"
"He's not after her, I assure you." Bowser rose to his feet and strolled idly to the balcony nearby. "He's going to be searching for the redhead. What's the status report on her, by the way?"
"She's still locked in the Sky Chamber, sir. She's coming around, but we've already prepared her. All she can do is yell... and she has a very colorful vocabulary."
"A fighter, just as I expected. Good. That's what I was hoping for. See, the boy is only interested in rescuing his precious girlfriend. What he doesn't know is that I've set up a nice little surprise for him when he finds her."
"Sir?" The patrol looked confused.
Bowser began walking towards the Sky Chamber. "I have a way of dealing with stupidly brave little boys, soldier. Come along. It's time to get my new recruit."
"Well, this staircase should, in theory, take you straight up to the Sky Chamber," Nos said as he pointed at the spiraling steps. "Phil, are you sure you want to do this? Most people who go up there don't come back."
"That's why you're not going along," Phil replied simply. "Find the way out, and get back to safety. When you do, find Jared and tell him what's going on. You do know who he is, right?"
"Everybody knows Jared. Alright. I'll tell him. I'll wish to the Stars for your safety."
Phil started to climb up the steps.
"Hey, Phil?" Nos quickly piped up.
He stopped and turned. "Yes?"
"Thanks for busting me out of there. I owe you."
Phil smiled halfway, then cautiously made his way up the steps. The pathway was strangely bitter cold, and eerily silent. The stairs seemed to spiral up into the heavens themselves, and it made him dizzy looking up at his destination. To himself, he said aloud, "The climb itself is going to kill me." He blinked and immediately found himself transported to the top of the steps. He blinked again, realizing that his new powers responded to his thoughts. He could warp reality, in a sense. But fiddling with that would come later. He slowly opened the door leading into the chamber.
"So nice of you to join me again, son," Bowser's voice seemed to echo from everywhere. The room was completely dark.
Phil said nothing, instead crouching low and creeping along in the darkness.
"You have some skills, I do admit," the evil king's voice spoke again. Suddenly there was a flash of light and a yellowish powder spun through the room in a sparkling vortex. Phil's muscles began to tense and tighten, and he found himself paralyzed, crumbling to the floor. The lights came on, and Bowser was standing over him. "It's a shame your skills have to go to waste."
"Where's Luca?" Phil growled softly, trying to squirm but making no progress. Two Koopatrols hoisted him upright to his feet, tightly gripping his numbed arms.
"She's present," Bowser disappeared into a cloud of black smoke, reappearing a few yards away. In front of him, a strange altar of sorts. The redheaded girl was strapped to it, thrashing futily. "Her language was a bit too vulgar for my likings, so I had to silence her." He took a piece of cloth from her mouth.
"Leave him alone!" She immediately yelled.
"Luca!" Phil yelped softly.
"Good, good," Bowser snorted, "the children have had their reunion. Now, boy, I thought I'd let you witness the true power of the Koopa Klan."
"You better not touch her," Phil growled lowly.
"Oh, I won't touch her," the lizardlike creature replied simply. His scepter flickered to life, and a strange purplish black mist began rising up from the floor around the altar. "But I can't say that this ravenous evil spirit won't."
Phil's blue eyes widened and dilated, and he tried desperately to move. His limbs still felt numb and refused to move. He reached for his ring but found one of the guards had taken it off his finger. He was completely powerless.
The purplish mist began to take on the form of a very distorted woman. It looked half-human, half-serpent, developing eyes that sparkled the color of blood. It swirled around the altar slowly. The room's temperature dropped well below freezing, and all the candles in the room turned a strange whitish red. The air began to feel heavy and crushing.
"Convert the conflicted..." It spoke in a warbling, horrible tone. Its head and eyes pointed down at Luca, who was frozen with her own terror. The serpent-like mist quickly swooped down on its prey, snatching her from the altar and levitating her in midair. The girl's body immediately tensed, and all color drained from it. She made a horrid choking sound, then a whimper, and a gagged yell. Her hair's color began to change to a purplish black hue, and her eyes lost all color.
Phil felt his limbs regaining their feeling, and he quickly thrashed away from his holders. He sprinted forward towards the mist, but what seemed like an invisible wall sent a pulse of energy through him and knocked him backwards. He fell back and looked up, trembling in terror. But as quick as the mist had come, it was gone. Luca slowly stood up, her flowing hair the same color as the mist, and her eyes completely black and emotionless. Her skin was sickly white.
"My dear girl," Bowser gently rest his claw on her shoulder. "I want you to do me a favor."
"Anything, my King," she responded in a voice that wasn't her own.
Bowser pointed at Phil. "Destroy him."
Phil shivered as his girlfriend's empty eyes stared him down. He felt as if he was suddenly in an assassin's crosshairs. A very cold pulse raced down his body as she smiled wickedly.
"It shall be done, my King," she spoke. She immediately lunged forward at her boyfriend with the ferocity of a tiger. He yelped in alarm and jumped backwards as she landed and threw a sharp punch with her left arm.
"Luca!" He cried out in distress. "It's me! Your boyfriend! You can't possibly do this!" He trembled when he was met with the soulless black eyes and matching evil smile.
"I do as my King instructs," she replied, growling and throwing herself forward again.
"You don't take orders from anyone, Luca... Come on... You're better than this..." He leapt backwards a few times as black fireballs were thrown his way. "Don't let yourself be controlled!"
She narrowed her eyes and threw a large orb of black fire. It connected with its target, knocking him to the floor. She stood over him and grabbed him by the nape of his neck, lifting him up to his feet. "You know nothing!" She yelled, thrusting another fireball into contact with him. He hit the wall and bounced off it, landing on his stomach.
"I... I'm not going to fight you," he managed to get out. He yelped as another barrage of black flames threw him around viciously.
"It is because you are a coward that you refuse to fight?" The possessed woman snorted, walking over to him and grabbing him by the throat. "It is pathetic, the day a man fears a woman."
He felt his windpipe being dug into, and squirmed softly. "I made a promise," he choked, "and I'm not going back on it. Ever. I won't fight you..."
She yelled and threw him towards the window. He tensed his body and braced, falling from the window and bouncing onto the balcony. He closed his eyes as a blast of black light launched him from the balcony and onto a platform just below. He coughed a few times, battered and aching, his body shivering as he tried to get back up.
Luca easily landed just inches from his hand. Below the platform was the magma moat that surrounded the evil king's castle. She smiled at this and kicked him towards the ledge. He felt himself hovering for a moment and grasped the ledge before he fell to his demise. He peered up at the girl looming dangerously over him, and slowly hung his head.
"So it ends like this," he murmured softly. His voice broke a little.
For a split second, the heartless woman paused. She glared down at him, a black orb developing in her hand.
He looked up at her, his blue eyes watering somewhat. "So this is how it's going to be?"
The crimson lightning that flashed above actually seemed to stop. The booming thunder seemed to silence.
"If this is how it has to be, Luca," he mumbled quietly, looking up at her with genuine anguish in his eyes, "then can you please make my death quick? Don't let me suffer, Luca. Please."
The black orb in her hand seemed to be fading.
"I told you I'd love you to the end, Luca," he continued, slowly looking down and away as a stray tear escaped his eye. "Even if the end plays out like this."
There was a strange moment in the land of evil, a moment of complete and total silence. A soft, cold breeze rustled through some of the dead trees nearby. Phil closed his eyes tight and mumbled softly to himself, "I promised you, Luca. I promised you."
Suddenly he felt something around his wrist, and he quickly looked up. He was met with the normally hard green eyes of his lover. But those eyes were presently soft, weak, and moist. He smiled slightly. "There's my girl," he spoke softly.
She hoisted him up onto the platform, gently hugging him against herself and sniffling. "I'm so, so sorry," her voice quivered. "I... I'd never..."
"I know," he reassured. "I know you'd never hurt me. It's okay. I promise."
She gently laid him down on the platform, her eyes suddenly flickering with rage. She looked back up at the window. "No, it's not. But I intend to make it okay." She tightened her left hand, creating a silvery, wispy sword. She leapt up through the window, back into the chamber.
Phil smiled weakly. Despite wanting to jump to her side, he knew he was too weak -- and he knew it was her battle to fight. "Make it a lesson they'll never forget, love," he whispered to nobody.
"Did you dispose of the garbage like I asked?" Bowser asked of Luca as she reentered the room.
"Not yet," she growled, sprinting towards him. "But I'm about to!"
"How did you escape my curse?" He demanded, quickly sidestepping.
"I know where my true alliance lies," she snapped, quickly matching his sidestepping to make contact with her misty sword. He grasped it, but it sent a mighty pulse of energy through him. He roared and jumped back.
"You're a feisty little girl, aren't you? I can fix that... permanently!" He gripped his scepter and fired a crimson ray at her.
"Try me!" She retorted, morphing her sword into a shield. The crimson ray reflected off the shield and turned purple, attacking its creator and shocking him. She morphed the shield again, back into the sword, and threw it at him. It penetrated his right shoulder, causing him to bellow in agony.
"Gah, you're catching on to how things work!" He snarled. "This is a battle I cannot win. But there is one that I can... I still have the Princess. I still have control of the Kingdom. This victory is yours... but you will join my forces. Voluntarily or by force." His scepter flickered again, and he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"I am controlled by nobody," she instructed at the cloud. "Nobody!" She relaxed and jumped back out onto the platform where she'd left her boyfriend. She knelt down gently beside him, tracing the side of his face with her fingertips.
"Did you get him?" Phil smiled at her, reaching up and taking her hand in his.
"I did," she replied, bringing his hand up to her face and nuzzling it softly. "I promise."
"You did good," he praised. "I'm proud of you."
"Luca! Phil!" The couple looked up to see Jared standing on the balcony, looking down at them in a panic. "Stars above! Are you two okay?"
Phil sat up, with a little assistance from his girlfriend. "Yeah, we're fine."
"You're late," Luca joked.
Jared jumped down. "We've been worried sick about you two!" He looked at Phil and quickly helped get him to his feet. "Wow, what happened to you?"
Phil glanced at his girlfriend, who looked guiltily at her feet. After a moment, he answered, "I just got a bit roughed up. I'm fine, thanks to Luca."
"Nos told us you were here. He said you were heading to fight Bowser, so I hurried as fast as I could. But I see you guys have handled it on your own." Jared smiled. "I'm just glad you're both okay."
"We're always okay," Luca said confidently.
Phil smiled and nodded halfway. "We are."
"Come on," Jared said after a moment. "Let's get out of this place and get back home. I'm sure you two are looking forward to a good meal and a soft bed."
The couple nodded in an unison that only lovers could possess. Jared grinned at his two friends, relieved and amused, and began leading the way back towards the safety of the house.
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