The lava fields cast an eerie glow over the damaged Bowser's Castle, its jagged towers rising like skeletal fingers against the night sky. The gates of the imposing fortress now lay in ruin, the aftermath of a fierce battle that had left the courtyard scarred and smouldering. Broken bricks and shattered remnants of Bowser's minions littered the ground.
In the heart of the desolation, a congregation of Bowser's army had gathered. Koopas, Goombas, and various other creatures donned in spiked armour stood in formation. Their ranks, though battered, exuded a sense of excitement, as if the very ruins around them whispered tales of their resilience.
Atop a blackened balcony overlooking the courtyard, stood Bowser. The returned King was no longer in his enormous Giga form, but still stood as an imposing figure. Off to his side was a hanging iron cage which held Mario. The devastated hero slumped at the bottom of the cage, his head buried in his red cap, quietly sobbing.
The towering reptilian king surveyed the assembly of his loyal army, waiting for their chant of his name to die down. The firelight danced on his spiked shell as he clenched his fists, a low growl escaping his throat.
"The usurper has been abolished!" he roared over the gathering of minions. He turned and waved his hand at the crestfallen Mario, "And my greatest nemesis, who would sit my throne, has been defeated."
Many of his army cheered and raised their arms in reply.
"No one shall rule the Koopa Kingdom, but me. I have returned, as I always do. And I am stronger than ever. With their champion, Mario captured, the Mushroom Kingdom is vulnerable...and we are strong. Many centuries ago, we Koopas were exiled from the Mushroom Kingdom. They banished us to this desolate place of fire and brimstone. But we survived and thrived, we became stronger than they realized. And there arose a powerful king--Me, King Bowser!" He raised his thick arms and the crowd below cheered.
"It is time, my loyal minions, time for us to fulfill our destiny and take the Mushroom Kingdom back. And it will be the first of many worlds that we will conquer. Now begins the age of Koopa dominion!"
His army erupted in excited cheers again and resumed chanting his name.
The Koopaling, Larry watched the hulking tyrant give his speech from a dark corner of the balcony. He could see Kamek standing in the doorway several meters behind the King. The short, robed Magikoopa was making the same gestures as Bowser, mouthing the words he was speaking. The sight was disturbing to Larry. He slipped away, moving through a doorway and making his way down toward the lower levels of the massive castle.
He reached the spiraling stone staircase and descended to the lower levels of the castle dungeon. A dozen large stone pillars rose up in the large room. Along the grey stone floor, rows of ordered lava pits emitted their warm orange glow. The air was hot and had the distinct smell of sulfur.
Larry was not alone in the dungeon beneath Bowser's castle. He saw four of his five brothers waiting for him. The bulky brown bruiser, Morton Jar was sitting on a barrel with his arms crossed. Roy, with his distinctive pink shades was casually leaning against one of the stone pillars. The two youngest and craziest brothers, Iggy and Lemmy were messing about toward the rear of the room, with Lemmy rolling about on his ball and laughing as Iggy tried to pelt him with stones.
Larry stood at the bottom of the stairway and heard footsteps behind him as someone else walked down. He tensed, this is supposed to be a secret meeting and he didn't want to be discovered. He was relieved to see that it was Ludwig von Koopa, with his blue spiked shell and large parted tufts of blue hair.
"Brother, hope you are well," he said as he reached the bottom.
"I'm quite concerned with recent events. We have much to discuss," replied Larry.
"Indeed."
They walked further into the room and Morton and Roy got up as they approached. Iggy and Lemmy stopped messing about and came over until they were all standing in a loose circle. The Koopalings had begun their secret meeting, but there was one noticeable absence.
"Where's Wendy?" asked Lemmy.
"She went missing when Queen Bowsette left. I assumed they went together," said Larry. "Thank the flames she didn't return with the Queen. She's loyal to Bowsette, They might have killed her as well."
"No, not Wendy!" exclaimed Lemmy, his eyes widening in fear.
"She wouldn't be so stupid as to defy Bowser," said Morton.
"That's Junior!" said Larry, waving his arms. "Kamek grew him up, and now he's controlling him like a puppet. It's really Kamek who has taken the throne."
"So what if it is?" said Morton, "We Koopas follow power. And he has captured Mario and vanquished Bowsette. We have Bowser back."
"But the Bowser who took us all in, raised us up to be his generals, he became Bowsette. We swore an oath of loyalty to her and Mario. And we just stood by and did nothing as she was overthrown."
"Oh yeah, were you going to do something Larry?" said Morton, pointing a finger. "I didn't see you fighting with her against Giga Bowser."
Larry look flustered, "No...I would have been killed too, but..."
"Didn't you hear Bowser's speech?" Ludwig chimed in.
"Kamek's speech," Larry corrected.
"Yeah, well things are finally moving forward. We Koopas are strong right now. We are going to conquer the other worlds. And Kamek is going to need vassal lords to rule these conquered worlds. It will fall to us, I'm sure. And I have dibs on the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Oh, I'll take Sarasaland," said Morton.
"Eh, I'm not getting stuck with Snowfall Kingdom," said Iggy. "I hate the cold."
"Isn't there one kingdom made of candy?" said Lemmy excitedly.
Then Roy spoke up, "Bah...war, man. All the death and destruction...and responsibilities. I kinda liked Bowsette's plans for peace between our kingdoms."
"Peh, you sound like one of the mushroom-heads," growled Morton.
"Wendy would remind us that we swore an oath of loyalty to Bowsette and Mario," said Larry.
