The Crystal Keepers

By Pyro Guy

Iggy is standing in his room. He looks at his old, broken down machines, and sighs.

Iggy: I'm the keeper, it's really me. All this time I thought it was Larry. But no. It's me. How can it be me, though? All I can do is make these machines that always break down. Those Microgoombas knew everything. They knew that Swaps messed up, they knew that Kamek's story was true, they knew where the keepers have been hiding. But if all that is true, then I can't go there. If I go and get caught, then it's all over.

Lemmy rolls into the room. He is wearing a backpack that contains a handful of Ice Flowers, his freeze ray, and his wand.

Lemmy: Come on, Iggy. It's time to go.

Iggy: I can't go.

Lemmy: What do you mean? We have to stop them once and for all. And we have to rescue Larry and Jr.

Iggy: What if I get caught, Lemmy? You were there when we drilled Swaps's minions. If I get caught then it's all over. I can't even help you guys much in the fights.

Lemmy: Iggy. You can help. They need you to help them, so they can’t hurt you. Don't give up. We can win. We beat back five of them already, there's only one who we don't know. And if the fight triggers your powers, then you'll be our biggest asset.

Iggy: Thanks, Lemmy. You're right. Just let me finish packing up. I'll meet you on the doomship.

Lemmy: See you there.

Lemmy heads off to the ship while Iggy looks at his machines again.

Iggy: I hope that this works better than it used to.

Twenty minutes later, the six remaining Koopalings and Kammy were on Ludwig's ship, The Amadeus. All of them had packed and were ready for the final fight. The keepers were going down.

Ludwig: Are we all ready?

Others: YEAH!

Ludwig: Good. Setting course for Dimble Woods.

They flew off, but Iggy was still unsure of himself. He thought back to the interrogation.

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Lemmy: Now why did they want Larry? Is he the keeper?

Microgoomba 1: They didn't! I swear. Swaps came for Iggy and messed up.

Lemmy: Then who is the keeper?

Microgoomba 2: Iggy!

Iggy: What? It's me. Whoa.

Lemmy: Iggy, it's you?

Ludwig: Then where are they keeping our siblings?

Microgoomba 1: Their HQ!

Wendy: Which is where?

Microgoomba 2: Dimble Woods, where the Wiggler farm used to be. They have a big underground complex now.

Ludwig: Who is the last keeper and what can he or she do?

Microgoomba 2: We don't know. He never spoke to us! Can we please go now?

Wendy squashes them.

End Flashback.

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Lemmy: Iggy, are you paying attention?

Iggy: Um, what?

Lemmy: We have to land on the outskirts. We can't land in the trees.

Iggy: Oh, okay.

Back with the keepers, Kamek saw it all.

Kamek: Paradox, they are entering the wood now.

Paradox: Has Swaps left yet?

Kamek: Yes, of course.

Paradox: Good. I have to get something. This should be fun. Prepare a monster to slow them down for me.

Kamek: I'm on it.

Paradox: Oh, and Kamek, send them Larry as a part of the welcome party.

Kamek: Are you sure?

Paradox: He is unneeded anyways.

Kamek: Well, okay.

Meanwhile, the Koopalings had entered the forest and were headed for the farm.

Wendy: AUGH! I hate these little bugs everywhere!

Morton: Just don't touch, interact with, go near, acknowledge them, the bugs.

Kammy: This way, I think.

Iggy: So, what else is in these woods?

Ludwig: Not much, just don't go into Sockop territory, or you might not get out.

Roy: Well let's just find them so we can beat those creeps and rescue punching bag and the twerp.

Wendy: Does anyone else hear a noise?

Lemmy: Finally I get a line in this scene. And yeah. It sounds weird.

Ludwig stops to listen.

Ludwig: It's coming from over there.

Suddenly a bunch of scuttle bugs ran by them. They were followed by what resembled Trunkle, except with red eyes, nightlock berries instead of an orange, and burnt bark. It immediately charged at them. Everyone dove out of the way and Kammy flew up on her broom. Roy, Morton, Wendy, and Lemmy all spat fireballs at it but it just brushed off the attack.

Ludwig: It must be Kamek again! LOOK OUT!

"Trunkle" charges at Iggy, but he jumps over it. He then hops into a tree.

Iggy: I know you're after me, Kamek, so come and get me!

The fake Trunkle charged and he ran threw the trees.

Lemmy: Iggy, are you crazy?!

He ran after the two of them and was quickly followed by his siblings and Kammy.

Iggy: Kammy! Use your blocks!

Kammy: Blockicus appearicus!

A yellow block formed over the beast and fell. The attack slowed it down for a moment and then it charged after Iggy again. Iggy was still running, but he had a plan.

Iggy: Ludwig! Light its tree on fire!

Ludwig blasted the tree and it caught fire. The monster didn't notice though. Iggy ran until he reached a Wiggler statue, which he jumped on top of. "Trunkle" crashed into it, and the flames caused the statue to start walking. Iggy laughed.

Iggy: WAHAHAHA! Come and get me, Kamek! You were the worst caretaker ever!

The beast charged even faster. Kamek could hear through it, and he was getting annoyed with Iggy, ordering it to go faster. The statue kept running until it reached a cliff, Iggy jumped off before it went over. He turned to see the monster was still coming.

Iggy: Block please.

A block appeared in front of him, courtesy of Kammy.

Iggy: THANKS KAMMY, YOU ARE SUPERIOR IN EVERY WAY!

Kamek's beast charged, smashing straight through the block, only to find that Iggy wasn't there. Kamek's rage had given it extra speed and it was moving too fast to stop and went off the cliff. Iggy, hanging off Kammy’s broom to avoid falling himself, yelled down triumphantly,

Iggy: Now what, Kamek?!

The beast fell, and Kamek released his control, knowing he couldn't get it back up in time. He was tired though. That power weakened him a bit and he needed to rest. He would let the others try now.

Iggy and Kammy landed as the others caught up to them.

Ludwig: Good job, Iggy.

Lemmy: Iggy, that was amazing! How did you come up with that so fast?

Iggy: I don't know. It just came to me.

The group started walking back. Kamek had at least delayed them. Paradox watched, hiding in a tree.

Paradox: He's smart. He won't turn us down. Swaps should be ready now. I suppose I should provide another detour.

He threw his cape around himself, warping into a tree up ahead of them. Time to put his hobby to practical use.

The Koopalings walked for about ten minutes before reaching the tree he was in. He smiled as the false King Boo lowered itself from the next tree ahead of them.

King Boo?: Hello there, Koopas.

Wendy: King Boo! You're the last keeper!

King Boo?: Correct-ish. Six of you die now. BLEE HEE HEE!

As he laughed, a lightning bolt came down that Lemmy narrowly dodged.

Lemmy: Hey! Lightning isn't fair!

KB?: Too bad!

He summoned more lightning as the Koopas dived around trying not to get hit. Roy and Morton, who were the slowest, went down quickly.

Ludwig: Enough of this. BWOOSH!

He spat a massive fireball at KB? But even though his face caught fire, he didn't act hurt.

KB?: Is that it? BLEE HEE HEE!

He called down even more lightning.

Kammy: Mirror Block!

She deflected a lightning bolt, but it just added to the flames on KB's face. None of them seemed to notice that the lightning came from behind them, not from straight up. KB? flew at Kammy and knocked her out.

Ludwig: He's a ghost, that shouldn't work! Wait, what's that above him?

He ducked to the side and watched. The flames were spreading to something above KB?  He realized that something was off with the lightning as well.

Ludwig: From that trajectory... Yes!

He spat a fireball at a nearby tree and jumped on top of KB? He slashed his claws at the air and KB? fell and smashed into a tree. Part of his face peeled off to reveal a wooden interior.

Ludwig: It's just a puppet!

Lemmy: What? But then, who's controlling it? And what about the lightning and the voice?

Ludwig pointed at the tree he'd lit on fire, as Paradox dropped out of it. He dropped the puppet control as the flames on his cape went out.

Ludwig: The real keeper, I presume.

Paradox: Clever Koopa. Yes, I'm Paradox, the last of the Crystal Keepers. And yes, that was my puppet. It's always been a hobby of mine.

Iggy: Where are Larry and Jr, you creep?

Paradox: Jr. is at the base. Larry escaped. He's in the forest, though. I came to look for him and saw you all.

Wendy: Liar!

Paradox: Not like it matters. I'll be seeing you all. Heheheheh.

He grabbed his cape and warped away. None of them noticed yet, but there was a mysterious ticking noise.

Iggy: So that was the last keeper?

Lemmy: I guess so. But what was up with that? Can't he fight without a puppet?

Ludwig: I'm sure that we will find out.

Wendy: Guys, what's that noise?

Now they turned and saw the broken puppet. The ticking came from it.

Ludwig: It's a bomb!

They all dived aside as the false King Boo exploded. One extra trick. Morton and Roy were getting up, as was Kammy.

Kammy: My back.

Roy: What happened?

Iggy: King Boo was an exploding puppet controlled by a creep named Paradox, who is the last keeper.

Morton: Where is he, Paradox, this last keeper, the puppet master?

Ludwig: He teleports.

Roy: Well let's go find him then.

There was a scream from nearby.

???: Help! Iggy! Lemmy! Ludwig! Wendy! Morton! Anybody!

They all ran to see what it was, and saw Larry on the ground. His foot was stuck in a tree root.

Ludwig: Larry! How did you get away from Swaps?

He burned the root Larry was caught under.

Larry: I didn't.

Ludwig: What do you- Argh!

Larry punched him in the face and then jumped back, barraging them with fireballs. Iggy, Ludwig, Wendy, and Morton dived to one side as Roy, Lemmy, and Kammy dived to the other. Unfortunately, the other side was a hill that the three of them fell down. Larry faced the other four.

Larry: Come out come out! Heeheehee.

He threw a Bob-omb at the tree they were hiding behind. Ludwig rolled away and shot him with a fireball. He fell back as Popple's mask fell out of his shell.

Ludwig: Popple is controlling him!

Iggy: How do we fix it?

Wendy: This usually works in movies.

She fired a blast of water at him. It did nothing besides knock him over.

Larry: Is that all you've got?

Ludwig: No, this is.

He shot a lightning bolt from his hand and electrocuted Larry.

Larry: BLAGITYBLAGITYBLAGITY!

Wendy: Hmmm...

She grabbed Popple's mask and looked around. She saw a Goomba walking by and threw the mask on it.

Larry: What happened?

Goomba: I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!

Wendy squashed him out of existence and picked up the mask.

Wendy: Let’s get rid of this thing.

She tried to burn it, but that didn't work. So instead she just threw it into the Dimble River.

Larry: Guys, how did I get here?

Morton: You were captured, Koopanapped, taken by Swaps, a keeper, the hyper Tanoomba. Then we came to rescue, retrieve, save you. But Popple, the shadow, shade, thief, bandit, robber controlled, brainwashed, hypnotized, you to attack, barrage, maul us, your siblings, the Koopalings.

Larry: Oh. Well, where are the others?

Wendy: They fell down that hill, I think. Let's go find them.

Back with Roy, Kammy, and Lemmy...

Lemmy: Iggy!

Roy: Ludwig!

Kammy: Wendy!

All 3: Morton!

Lemmy: Where are they? And why did Larry attack us?

Kammy: Something wasn't right about him.

Roy: I'm gonna beat him for that when this is over.

Just then they heard a voice from the trees.

Iggy's voice: Where are you?

Lemmy immediately rolled toward Iggy's voice and was followed by Roy. Kammy was about to follow when a voice came from the opposite direction.

Wendy's voice: Larry! Get away from me!

Kammy rans toward Wendy but found a Sockop.

Kammy: What?

Paradox warped behind her and pushed her forward. The Sockop grabbed her in its hole and started struggling to swallow her.

Paradox: One down.

He warped away. Back with Roy and Lemmy...

Roy: Dang. That guy's fast. Lemmy! Wait up!

Lemmy didn't hear him and left Roy behind. Roy then heard a noise. He turned around to see a Tanoomba.

Roy: Swaps! They warned me about you!

Swaps: Hi Roy sorry but I'm on a tight schedule you see I quote-unquote convinced the giant Sockop to take a vacation and the others are mad about it and are now hunting for whoever did it. *turns into a Sockop* Hey everybody I think that this might be the one who attacked the big Sockop!

Roy: Why you little- Uh oh.

A large swarm of Sockops came out from around and, with Swaps, charged at Roy. He quickly pounded the ground to stun them and then started breathing fireballs at them. Swaps turned and ran. He knew that Roy would get taken down eventually.

Meanwhile, Iggy and Wendy were running through Dimble Woods. They had heard Lemmy's voice and run off after it. Ludwig, Larry, and Morton were now looking for them too. Lemmy and Wendy reached a clearing and saw Lemmy on the ground. Iggy ran over and picked him up.

Iggy: Lemmy, are you okay?! Wait a sec, this feels wooden...

Just then, a lightning bolt came from the trees and knocked Wendy unconscious. Paradox stepped out, pointing his cane at Iggy.

Iggy: You! This is just one of your puppets! Where's the real Lemmy?

Paradox: Somewhere in the woods. Did you enjoy my little voice trick? Very useful power. Not quite as good as my second one, but still amusing.

Iggy: Voices, then what's your other power? The lightning?

Paradox: Actually, that's just a mechanical trick.

He pointed the diamond on his cane at Iggy, and lightning shot out of it. Iggy jumped aside.

Iggy: The cane. Well I-I'm not afraid of you.

Paradox: You shouldn't be. I just want to make a deal.

Iggy: What do you mean?

Paradox: We need all seven keepers. You are the last one. Cooperate and I'll show you how to control your powers. You'll get a seventh of the world, more then you'd get with your family, and they would remain safe in your portion. All you have to do is come with me.

Iggy: How do I know you're not lying?

Paradox: Are you really going to be this difficult?

Iggy: Anyone who hides behind a mask can't be trusted!

Paradox: Really? Does Hotel Mario ring any bells?

Iggy: One time. I hid in a mask one time!

Paradox: So why not trust me?

Iggy: ‘Cause you and your friends tried to kill us.

He reached for his wand to fight, but it wretched itself from his grasp and flew over to Paradox.

Paradox: Don't bother. I won't let you pull any tricks. Now, can I trust you with this?

Iggy: I- um.

Lemmy rolled into the clearing they were in and saw what was happening.

Lemmy: Iggy! Don't do it!

Paradox: Insufferable pest.

He blasted Lemmy off his ball with a lightning bolt.

Iggy: Lemmy! You!

He charged Paradox, who just stood there chuckling. When Iggy was about to reach him, he grabbed his cape and warped the two of them away. They appeared outside of the Wiggler farm.

Iggy: What?

Paradox: Come along now.

Iggy turned and ran. He knew he went straight, but he ended up back at the farm.

Iggy: That doesn't make any sense.

Paradox: Your little brother had the same problem. But logic doesn't count when I'm involved.

He knocked out Iggy with a bash from his cane. He then dragged him inside his base. Soon he ran into Bonnie.

Bonnie: You got him! Great job!

Paradox: Thank you. Now, where's everyone else? His siblings are still in the woods and we need to end this.

Bonnie: Drystone, Kamek, and Popple are here. I thought Swaps was with you though.

Paradox: Blast that Tanoomba! When he first joined he was at least able to keep a schedule! I'll go back out to find him, you take Iggy.

He went back out as Bonnie carried Iggy further into the complex.

Meanwhile, Roy was being overpowered. There were just too many Sockops for him to fight. When he was finally losing, Ludwig, Morton, and Larry showed up.

Ludwig: Look out!

He blasted the Sockops away with lightning as Larry threw a Bob-omb into one and Morton breathed fire. The Sockops got scared and ran off.

Ludwig: What happened?

Roy: That Swaps guy has them working for him. I'm not sure what happened to Lemmy and Haggy, though.

Larry: Now what? Iggy and Wendy ran off earlier.

Wendy: There you are!

She and Lemmy came out of the trees.

Lemmy: Paradox got *sniff* Iggy.

Morton: What?! This is disastrous, horrible, terrible…

He continued ranting for a few minutes as it sunk in with the others. Finally, Wendy slapped him and he shut up.

Lemmy: We've got to rescue him!

Ludwig: True... But what happened to Kammy?

A Sockop walked up to them before turning into Swaps. They all looked at him and prepared for a fight, but instead...

Swaps: Haha we win you lose now we have Iggy and the Sockops have Kammy and now you're all gonna lose nahynyanyanya and oh dang it I have to be back there for it to work!

Ludwig: Don't try any tricks, you!

Swaps: Your a mind reader but oh well now it's time for my... SOUL ROULE- ACK!

A Wiggler rushed out and tackled him. It repeatedly stomped on him.

Wiggler: You're one of those guys that kicked me out of my farm! You will pay!!!

Swaps: Ow Ouch Pain Transform!

He turned into Dimentio and teleported away.

Ludwig: Wiggler, we need to beat them too. Can you show us how to reach your farm? Once we clear them out you can have it back.

Wiggler: Follow me.

Wendy: What about Kammy?

Lemmy: There isn't any time if Swaps was in such a hurry to get back.

Ludwig: She would understand.

Lemmy: Iggy, we're coming for you!

Read on!


 
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