#shellton

“Are you alright?” King Boo immediately asked Trouboole, holding one of the smaller Boo’s arms worriedly. All Trouboole did was nod absently, as he had turned to Ribboon and Roswell.

“How did you find us?” Douboole asked.

“It wasn’t possible without Roswell’s help.” Ribboon explained. “He made a device out of the blue creature’s necklace, and we used it to track you.”

“H-Hello!” Roswell squeaked, a bit intimidated by King Boo. The royal Boo wasn’t playing attention to him, however. He was instead looking to the cave’s exit, where Chrome was now arguing with Shellton.

“What do you mean, your sister’s the one who summoned these things?!” The Yoshi growled, getting in Shellton’s face. The Koopa whined and stepped back, but answered in as level a tone as he could muster.

“Karolyn, she... She’s not herself. After mom and dad died, she blamed everything on Bowser and the Koopa Troop. She... She hoped to use the Conquerors to get back at him, to take over the land and show him she was better--Without hurting anyone.

“But that’s not the Karolyn I know! She was kind and happy to help everyone... I stole her wand to try and stop the Conquerors, to show her this wasn’t the right way...”

“Fat load of good that did.” Chrome spat back. “The pink one got away!”

“There’s also a blue one,” Roswell added, walking over to the group. “He gave us his necklace, but he’s still out there somewhere. He apparently said he was going to warn his comrades about something.”

“That’s all of them, right? Then our job is more then halfway done!” Chrome said. “I poofed the green and black ones!”

“Hey! You wouldn’t have defeated the green guy without our help!” Douboole chimed in.

“And I believe I was the one who dealt the final blow to Black Ring.” King Boo growled.

“It doesn’t matter who defeated who!” Gilda cried. “We need to get out of here, before--”

Gilda did not have the chance to finish her sentence. A flash of pink light struck Shellton’s hand, making him fling the wand away from the group. Pink Tiara floated into the cavern, still looking smug. She made her way over to the wand and picked it up as if it were a prize.

“It’s almost as if I expected this to happen!” She chuckled. She turned back to the group, her yellow eyes burning into all of them.

“I never went to talk to Karolyn,” She admitted. “You see, being a creature of magic, I kind of know when something powerful like, say, a wand, is being moved around. So I knew you were coming, Shellton, and I was hoping you would take care of Bangle for me. Keeps me from having to get my hands dirty.”

“And Karolyn! No need to hide in the shadows! We’re all here just having fun, so why not join us?” She called. 

From the tunnel outside, Karolyn cautiously stepped forward, revealing herself. She had apparently been chasing after Shellton.

“Great work back there, taking care of Blue.” Pink Tiara giggled. “But he didn’t have his necklace with him?”

Karolyn was quiet for a moment, then shook her head in response. Blue Necklace had not been wearing the item he had been named after.

“Oh, that’s right.” Pink Tiara sighed, hitting her head as if to punish herself for forgetting. “He gave it to you.” She then fixed her eyes on Ribboon and Roswell, who both stiffened in fear. 

She pointed at the device in Roswell’s hands, which promptly exploded in a shower of pink sparks. Roswell dropped it, yelping in pain. He failed to notice that the purple stone that had been inserted into the device was now floating over to Pink Tiara.

“We’ll just do a little of this... And good as new!” The pink creature hummed, waving the wand a bit. The gem was surrounded in blue light, which soon grew too bright to look at directly.

Once the light had faded, however, it revealed that the necklace had been repaired. 

“How were you able to do that?” Karolyn asked. 

Pink Tiara’s smile suddenly dropped, as if disappointed in Karolyn’s lack of knowledge. 

“It’s child’s play to reform a necklace. Not to mention, some of Blue’s magical essence still remains on it. Heck, all of our accessories still reek of our power. A strong enough summoner could probably bring us back if they tried hard enough...”

“So what? You want me to bring your friends back? There’s no way I’m doing that!” Karolyn growled.

“Oh, but I don’t want you to!” Pink Tiara replied. She held out Karolyn’s wand so everyone could see it better. “Not when I have this! You know why I’m so glad I have the wand now? Because now I don’t have to listen to anything you say. That’s right! You don’t control me anymore!

“This is all my fault.” She mumbled. “I shouldn’t have... I...”

“If we can’t do anything, we need to run!” Shellton urged. He turned to the cave’s exist, but his heart sank when he saw the pile of rubble blocking the way. 

“We’re trapped...” He gasped.

Karolyn seemed lost in thought, but stirred a bit as Shellton spoke. A small rock from the ceiling struck her on the head, and she finally came to her senses.

“Well, what is it?” Shellton asked, waving his arms. “Hurry, so we can stop this thing!”

“You’re not gonna like it.” Karolyn mumbled. She stared at Shellton for a few moments, and he could see her eyes were starting to form tears.

“Lyn... Lyn, tell me what it is.” He breathed, suddenly scared. 

“What are you--”

But before he could finish speaking, Karolyn darted away, running straight for the lumbering beast.

It was in that second that Shellton realized what she was going to do. And it made his heart plummet.

“YOU CAN’T! DON’T BE STUPID, DON’T--”

Shellton ran after his sister, grabbing her by the shoulder and forcing her to stop. Tears were running down her face, and she shook her head slowly.

“Why did you follow me, Shellton?’ She managed. 

He didn’t respond, but looked up as a great shadow suddenly covered the two of them. It was the beast’s clawed hand, rushing down to them.

Apparently, Ancient Law magic was once used by magicians many, many, years ago, until a more efficient type developed, the general magic of today. Ancient Law was very powerful, but had it limitations, such as:

It used up a lot of energy from the user. 

Magic these days does that too, but much less than AL. If an AL user isn’t careful, they can quite literally magic themselves to death. Karolyn sometimes forgets her limits and injures herself when doing this magic, which is the main reason I worry for her.

It wasn’t as versatile as today’s magic

Today, most magic users use a form called ‘general magic.’ Basically they can do anything within their power like lift heavy loads or cast some elemental spells. AL, however, wasn’t like that. In order to do something with AL, you either have to know how to do it with general magic, or you need a very specific spell to use it with AL.

 AL gives your general magic abilities a boost, but in order for AL to do something itself, you need a specifically written down spell to do it. AL also was unable to be elemental. Even if you could naturally use fire abilities, you couldn’t cast any fire spells with AL. 

Without an instrument to use it with, AL is pretty much useless

AL also requires you to use a wand or a staff or something. You can’t just use AL like you can use general magic. If your wand broke, you couldn’t use any AL magic until you made a new one. 

“Let’s try asking one of the houses.” The first traveler said. He was a squat Magikoopa with bright red robes and scratched glasses. He didn’t seem to be too happy to be walking around at such a quiet time, but didn’t want to anger his companion.

“Okay, then.” The second traveler, a blue-shelled Parakoopa, responded. He tried to gesture for the Magikoopa to follow, but couldn’t manage it very well. In his arms were bright blue robes and shards of some red material.

The two walked up the pathway to a miserable-looking cottage. For a moment, they suspected it was abandoned, but then heard several dull booms from below.

“Sounds like somebody’s working on something in the basement. Think they’ll hear us?” The Magikoopa asked his Parakoopa partner.

“Well, knock and find out!” Was all the other Koopa said in response. With an irritated sigh, the Magikoopa lifted his hand and hammered at the door, even calling out a couple of times.

“Hello? Anyone there?”

The two waited after a moment, trying to determine if they had been heard or not. With a bit of relief, they noted that the booms had ceased, and they could hear footsteps.

Inside the house, there was a flurry of activity. Having heard somebody call for her, a Magikoopa was doing the best she could to make the house look neat. She waved her wand around wildly, sending papers flying in the air and chairs scraping across the floor.

“Want me to get the door?” A voice asked. The Magikoopa looked up at the stairwell, noticing her red-shelled brother had woken up. Apparently the voices had stirred him, as her explosions in the basement hadn’t.

“N-No, Shellton.” The Magikoopa finally responded, turning back to her original task. Luckily, it was almost done, so she began to back up towards the door. Her brother frowned, but tromped down the stairs to see who the visitor was.

“Just keep quiet, okay?” She urged, taking the handle in her free hand. She quickly adjusted her hair the best she could with the hand that held her wand, and then opened up the door.

“Can I help you?” She asked, looking at the red-robed Magikoopa and blue-shelled Parakoopa in turn.

The Magikoopa nodded quickly, but raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected somebody so young to answer the door. It seemed like this Magikoopa was only just nearing the end of her teenage years.

“Um, yes, we’re looking for the home of Philippe and Kristy Koopa? This is important business regarding the Koopa Troop.” The Parakoopa said, flapping a little bit in the air.

The Magikoopa at the door was quiet for a moment, a look of confusion on her face. She glanced back at Shellton, who didn’t seem as off-put as she did.

“This is… This is the home. I’m their daughter, Karolyn.” She finally said, turning back to the older Koopas. “But Philipe and Kristy aren’t here. They’re out in the field, right?” She didn’t exactly know how the Koopa Troop functioned, since her parents went out for long periods at a time, but she knew they weren’t supposed to be home.

At this explanation, the older Magikoopa and the Parakoopa went still and exchanged looks. The Magikoopa held up a claw for Karolyn to wait before pulling his companion back down the path and initiating a quiet discussion.

“A kid. We have to break the news to a kid. No! Not even a kid! Two kids! Cripes, what do we do, Aurora? I hate doing this normally, but with kids?” The Magikoopa hissed to his partner. He didn’t know what to do. The news they were about to give was heavy.

Aurora seemed equally distressed. He looked down at the bundle he held, relieved that Karolyn hadn’t noticed it. His wings fluttered far faster than usual, a sign that he was anxious.

“Um… But… We can’t just not tell them.” He finally said. “Borealis, we gotta come clean. This kind of thing happens from time to time, and… The sooner she knows, the sooner she can get over it.”

Borealis sighed, rubbing his beak. He knew Aurora was right, but he still didn’t feel right about it. He had worked with Philipe and Aurora had worked with Kristy, but neither of them could believe that something like this had happened.

“Okay. I’ll tell her. If we mention that we’re friends of her parents, she might take it just a bit easier.” He said, turning back towards the door. He walked back up the path, swiftly followed by Aurora. When they reached the door, the Magikoopa looked at them expectantly. The younger Koopa was nowhere to be seen, and Borealis thanked the stars for that. He didn’t want the kid to overhear what was about to be announced.

“We have come to deliver some bad news.” He began. “I’m Borealis, and this is Aurora,” He pointed to his partner. “And the two of us worked with your parents in the Troop.”

“‘Worked?’” Karolyn’s eyes suddenly widened, and her tone changed to one of alarm. Borealis felt his heart leap. She was catching on after noticing they were speaking in past-tense.

“Yeah, ‘worked.’” Aurora cut in, pushing to the front. Now, Karolyn could clearly see what he was holding. Her mouth opened slightly as she realized what the bundle was. “There… There was an accident on the field… A Chain Chomp was running about… They were two of many fatalities.”

Aurora passed the robes and shell fragments to Karolyn who was still staring at them in shock. She patted the robes uncertainly and turned the fragments over a few times. Both Borealis and Aurora were silent as they waited for her to process the information.

“How long ago?” She finally asked, looking up at them. Aurora couldn’t help but notice that suddenly the younger Magikoopa seemed much smaller than she originally did. He didn’t blame her, since he had experienced something similar when he was about her age. Shock can do many things to a person, he noted. He had seen many different forms of it whenever he had delivered this kind of news.

“About… Three days.” Borealis finally answered. He took a tentative step backwards, not sure if Karolyn was going to say anything else. To his surprise, though, she nodded numbly and backed up to close the door.

Once the wooden door had slammed shut, Karolyn collapsed on the floor. Trembling set in almost instantly, and it wouldn’t be long before tears began to flow. Why did this have to happen? Her parents were very good at what they did… And something so random like a Chain Chomp attack… Really?

“Karolyn? Are those Dad’s robes?” Shellton’s voice made her look up. He had ducked out of the room a few minutes ago, and was now emerging from the kitchen. He looked down at the bundle that now rested on her lap.

Karolyn stared at her brother for a few minutes, knowing he would put the pieces together. Rather than vainly try to spare him from the truth, she blurted it out.

Shellton’s Journal, August 23rd, XXXX

Karolyn said she had made a breakthrough. She had deciphered the gibberish from dad’s notes. I congratulated her, but sent her straight to bed before she could do anything. She’s been up far too long and even collapses on her workbench from time to time. She tried to argue, but I think after I raised my voice she could tell I was concerned.

It’s been a few hours since then, and I haven’t heard anything from her since, so I think she’s getting some well-deserved rest. Once she wakes up, I’ll be sure to ask her about what she discovered. 

Shellton’s Journal, August 24th, XXXX

It’s hard scraping up a living without mom and dad. I’ve taken up doing small jobs around the town just so we can get by. Karolyn’s potions, the ones that cure illness and fatigue, have helped a lot. But that’s only because we’ve had them in reserve. Making new ones seems to be the last thing on her mind. After she got some rest, she went back down into the basement. I couldn’t even ask about her findings.

If only I were a Parakoopa like mom! I could go out and apply to deliver mail! Then maybe we’d be better off. For now, I guess it’s just tending to crops and repairing roofs for me...

Shellton’s Journal, August 31st, XXXX

Karolyn told me that dad’s note were about some sort of ancient summoning spell. It would bring forth five beings known as the ‘Conquerors,’ who were known for taking over lands thousands and thousands of years ago. The way to summon them was lost to the centuries, but apparently dad rediscovered it!

Dad’s notes also say he was going to suggest the spell to one of the other Magikoopas in the Troop. If they thought it was good, maybe it would be brought up to Bowser himself! 

...

Well, I guess it’s pretty obvious he never got the chance to, huh?

Karolyn hasn’t said anything about going to the Troop to propose the idea in his place. Heck, when I suggest joining the Troop like mom and dad did, she gets really angry! My only guess is she’s taking her anger about their deaths out on the Troop...

Shellton’s Journal, September 2nd, XXXX

Karolyn’s been getting out of the house a lot lately. I think she’s starting to get over what happened, which is very good. She comes home with a lot of supplies for her magic. Is she considering brewing potions and things again? That would be great, because we ran out yesterday, so it’s just my odd jobs keeping us afloat right now.

Shellton’s Journal, September 3rd, XXXX

Karolyn asked me to help her with her current project! I was tasked with dragging these heavy cauldrons down into the basement while she got her brewing supplies. Oh, I’m glad to see she’s going back to her roots! I see that familiar glint in her eye that she used to get whenever she was working with magic!

Shellton’s Journal, September 6th, XXXX

It’s been a few days since I moved the cauldrons... I tried to talk to Karolyn, but she shooed me out of the basement. I wonder what she’s doing. All I could see was clear liquid, maybe water, in the cauldrons.

Shellton’s Journal, September 8th, XXXX

So Karolyn’s told me she’s going to use the summoning spell dad found. Not telling the Troop about it, no suggesting it to Bowser. She’s going to do it herself.

I...

I know Karolyn’s magic is strong. But there are times when I doubt it. She can’t use it too often or it wears her out, and that’s with basic spells. What if this summoning spell requires a lot of power? Then what? The last time she used up her magic reserves, she fell asleep for a week!

I won’t stop her, since I don’t understand her motivations... But...