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The next day, Koopin was still recovering in the hospital hut of Yoshi's Island. While the locals were incredibly forthcoming and helpful, with even a few visits from strangers wishing him the best in recovering, he was still downtrodden by his own failure for ending up here. Shelldon had come to check up on him, having managed to keep Koopin's mother away in order to not worry her. Comforting words of a father-son nature were made, and he related what he had said to FG yesterday. Hearing this made Koopin smile, glad to know that he need not worry about James for now. He was happy also that his father supported him in this venture, and soon he left to return to Klair. Sometime later however, an unexpected visitor came to the hut. The huge looming shadow of a colossal yoshi loomed over him, greeting Koopin with: "Hey." "Oh...um...hello sir." "How ya feeling?" Yoshitaka gently sat onto a chair, dwarfing it as he placed it alongside Koopin on the table bed. "...still sore. Bruised ribs...cracked shell." "Welll don' worry, the doctors here are awesome. I've broken every bone at least twice in my body and just kept kickin' right back up. You'll be outta here in no time." "I hope so, I got to leave soon on that ship." "Hahaha, yeah don't worry, I'll be there to keep an eye on ya." "Yeah...wait what?" "I'm goin' on the cruise too. Me and Marleen, we're on the same cruise too, just to get out there an' enjoy ourselves. ...listen, I'm sorry this didn't work out for you bu-" "N-no no, please. It's alright...I'm not strong enough, not as strong as I wanna be...as I HAVE to be. ...I shouldn't have done this stupid thing." "Why not?" Koopin sighed deeply as he began to unload his fears. "...I only did this because of James. He's always worried about me, and when he worries about me, he gets angry. Like, REAL angry, and it scares me. I don't want him to end up doing something he'll regret, like he almost did when we first met. So I thought, if I could be strong enough FOR him, maybe he can relax, feel like I can take care of myself. But...that's not gonna happen anymore after that fight we had." "Hahaha...you wanna be strong for yer boyfriend huh?" "Well, yeah." "Koopin, I been married fer a good while now, and I can tell where yer comin' from. See..."

The yoshi wiggled slightly in his seat to get more comfortable. "The problem with bein' strong, is that you THINK you have to be the absolute strongest in the world in order to be what you wanna be. Like, if NOBODY else can beat you, then that's it. And that's impossible, there's always gonna be someone stronger than you, stronger than yer boyfriend, stronger than me even. I mean, if you beat me, where ya gonna go?" "Um...the fourth World Warrior?" "And then what? After he's done, who next? Bowser? Mario even?!" "N-no of course not!" "Look at those two alright? Bowser's always tryin' to be the strongest dude in the world, and he ALWAYS loses to Mario right? He always tries, he never settles fer less, and does he win? No, he loses, always, and is NEVER satisfied. But Mario, he's the strongest dude that we know of always savin' everyone in the kingdom! And not even by pure strength, more because he's resourceful!" "Okay...um...I'm not sure where you're going with this." "Bowser wants to be the strongest JUST fer that. Mario doesn't wanna be because he's strong ENOUGH. Strong enough to protect, strong enough to keep the people around him safe. ...you? All you need to be, is to be strong enough to protect the ones you love." "So...why do you do it then? The wrestling and the pit fights and all that?" "I just do it because it's fun, hahaha! It's a heck of a rush, fighting's in my bones Koopin! I don't do it to be the strongest, I just do it because I'm having fun with it, plus it keeps the money rakin' in. But all you need to know, is that if yer strong enough to stand by yer guy, then it don't matter if you lost. Alright?" "A-alright...um...thank you sir." "Hehe, no prob kiddo." He patted Koopin gently on the head, standing up with a slight crouch before making his way out. "Besides, not like the end of the world or something, yer actin' as if you only get one chance to fight me." "Y-yeah, maybe I...wait, what?!" "...huh?" "What do you mean one chance?!" "...didn't they tell ya that you can fight any of us world warriors as many times as ya want until ya win?" "N-NO! They didn't!" "Hhhhhahahahahaaaa, ohhhhhh maaaaaaaan...awwwww wow kid that uh...well uh...yeah, it's not like game over fer ya Koopin, if you wanna try again, you can always try again!" "You mean this wasn't my one and only chance against you just so I could prove to be the strongest?!?" "Nope." Koopin responded by breaking down into tears of frustration, half-sobbing and half-laughing in disbelief. Yoshitaka smirked at seeing the wretched koopa, deciding to stay a little longer and cheer him up some more. For several hours the two talked away, sharing all sorts of stories they had about each other just to pass the time. Soon the next day came, and Koopin was carefully escorted back onto the S.S. Rosalina to rest in his cabin.

Yoshitaka also came on board with his wife Mareen, and perhaps out of responsibility to himself, kept in regular contact with Koopin and James. Eventually James bore no ill will towards the yoshi wrestler, and stayed devotedly at Koopin's bedside, tending to his every need, never staying out of his sight. He had his own reasons which he would never tell Koopin, but for most of the voyage, the cruise went unabated. There were no further suspicious activities as far as James was concerned, though he did keep his head low when they discovered the broken speaker in the elevator. The cruise ship skirted further out towards the smaller islands of the southern seas, and Koopin started feeling the pain leave him after the first week of voyage. The cruise itself was only halfway over, and he soon found himself sitting up on deck, looking towards the sea beyond the rail bannisters of the ship. James was in front of him, leaning upon the white railing. "Man this sea air is so pure," said James with a deep breath. "I know," said Koopin, "isn't it beautiful?" "Mmhmm...OH, look, dolphins!" "Wh-where?!" "Right there, beside the ship!" Koopin slowly got up and hobbled towards the railing to look with James. Faded-blue streaks of rubber skimmed across the water, chirruping joyfully alongside the boat as their white bottle-shaped noses went up and down across the waves. James also noted that they had adorably thick goggles on their eyes, which blinked clearly up towards them like that of a yoshi's. James grinned widely at such a sight. "Oh my god they're adorable! Hiyaaaaa!" "Hiiiiiii!" said Koopin. "I didn't know you had dolphins here!" "Course we do! ...they have them back home?" "Heh, have them? Sarah WAS one." "...oooooooh...wow, the creatures evolved pretty rapidly in your world huh?" "Oh god let's not even go there, hahaha...man...how you feeling?" "Better now, MUCH better now that I'm out of the room. That sauna wasn't a bad idea either." "Yeah...though why did your dad insist on joining us?" "He just loves that sauna!" "Soooo seeing your dad with nothing but a towel on was perfectly fine then?" Koopin turned towards James surreptitiously. "...I don't know where your brain is going but I don't like it." "Hahahaha...I'm just saying, didn't expect to see your dad like that on this trip and KINDA was hoping I wouldn't. ...but I can tell where you got your good looks." "...okay you need to stop right there, this is getting weird." "Hhahaha, ohhhh you're easy." "Whaaatever...hhhehehe-oof." "You okay?!" "Yeah just...trying not to laugh." "Right, heh..." "I'm gettin' a li'l tired actually, mind if we head back?" "Sure, come on."

As the two returned back to their cabin, James took one last look at the dolphins before escorting Koopin to his bed. He sighed with fondness at how many years it had been since he had seen anything close to one, gently holding the koopa closer to him with a smooch to the head. Koopin blushed and wrapped an arm around him in turn. It was strange for the raptor. Everytime his mind had a chance to infect his mood with sorrow for his home, he would not listen. All he had now was Koopin. This turned all the more true when, two days later, something unexpected would happen. It happened sometime in the afternoon, whilst Koopin was asleep in recovery and James was out to assist Klair with some dance lessons. His mind was a little bleary from antibiotics, but he could hear something as clear as day. A voice, echoing throughout the halls of the ship. "Koopin." His eyes twitched open. He had just felt that dream in his drugged slumber. The sea. The rock. The hidden tunnel. The voice had broken through now into reality. "Koopin..." He slowly got out from his bed, feeling strangely less in pain than he was. The hall outside was silent, empty somehow with everyone at their lessons. Maybe some were still in their rooms, but he did not notice how disturbingly absent it was. "Come Koopin...come to me. Your journey is nearly over." He could never ignore that voice. The voice that he had felt in his dreams since the days of his youth. It was finally in the real world. His eyes remained unfocused, yet his steps were strong and confident. He began to walk down the hallway towards the stairwell heading downwards.

"Now step," said James. "One, two, three, turn, hop, back, one, two, three." "Oho my!" said Klair cheekily, "I'm amazed at how good you are at this! Koopin almost never mentions this about you!" "Well we rarely ever dance other than that anniversary so, yeah." The dance hall was reasonably full of waltzing couples, from amateur youths to graceful elders. James and Klair met somewhere in the middle of this, what with her slightly clunky steps combined with the raptor's smooth slow turns. Smooth varnished wooden floor with a stage that a band would play upon, now empty in order to not distract the instructor who was also trying to teach. But James was giving his own lessons, pulling closer to Klair as he said: "Now just sweep your leg in a half-circle, bit of a swing up, not too fast like you're moving a skirt." "O-oh...hahaha...I feel better already!" "Yanno I'm kinda amazed you asked me to do this, I thought you being good at music you'd be an awesome dancer." "Well...you either play on stage or dance in front of it, you never get to do both. Shelldon always was the better dancer, I'm going to give him such a surprise tomorrow night!" "Hehehe, well I know he's lucky to have you-...huh?" The couples started to slow down as a strange sound began to resonate throughout the ship. A sound that nobody should ever wish to hear on a ship. Creaking. Groaning. Not the small kind when a wave could hit the ship, but a much larger kind. The kind followed by a sudden unbalance of everybody on board, which was exactly what happened to the dance hallgoers. Everyone felt the world suddenly slant to one side, screams of panic making them slide down towards the wall. James held on tightly to Klair, bracing her against his body as fear rose amongst them. "Wh-what's happening?!" "I don't know, oh stars!" "J-j-just calm down everyone, it's probably just a rogue wave of some sort, no harm done!" No harm done except for the second slam of something much stronger than a wave, making the entire ship groan with a shudder of destruction. Then came the sounds of crunching metal, something being torn apart from below that everyone heard. Then came the screams from every corner of the ship. James suddenly had a weird sense of deja vu. If this ship is sinking I swear to god I'm a fucking jinx. "ABANDON SHIIIIIIIP!" Aaaaaaand there it goes. "Everyone, follow me!"

James and Klair followed the dance instructor, who guided his pupils through one of the doors and into the corridors. The ship began rocking insanely to and fro, as screams and crushing sounds came from all directions. The corridors swung back and forth, forcing everyone to brace against the walls as they tried not to slam into each other. Those who were able to glance out of the portholes could see the waves turn violent around them, despite the fact that it was a strangely clear day. Not a trace of storm upon the horizon. The ship suddenly slammed its bow upwards, sending the corridor slanting backwards and almost making Klair lose her grip on James' arm. "AIIIIIIIIIIE!" "KLAAAIR!" Turning fast he grabbed her with both arms and pulled her close, as the group hurried forwards to try and reach a larger area. Eventually they managed to make it to the 1st-class reception on D-deck, a large staircase less elaborate than the grand staircase of A-deck. Already there were a congregation of panicked and confused guests who were desperately seeking answers. Some were trying to find friends and relatives, including James and Klair. Others were screaming out questions of fear. "WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" "SOMEONE HELP US!" "PLEASE, EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" "I DEMAND AN ANSWER TO THIS!" "WHERE'S MY HUSBAND GONE?!!?" "PLEASE CALM DOWN EVERYONE, IF YOU JUST LISTEN FOR ONE MINUTE, I'M SURE WE WILL ALL-" He never got to say his practiced safety rhetoric when the portholes burst open, flooding the staircase with seawater vomited up from the rocking waves. Screams turned louder, muffled halfway beneath waves as everyone desperately grabbed for each other and the staircase. Bodies slammed against walls, but nobody was severely injured as of yet. James kept Klair tightly to his body, holding the staircase bannister in preparation for this. He knew how this all went down, and he was going to make sure she stayed safe, saying to her: "COME ON!" "WHERE ARE WE GOING?!" "WE HAVE TO FIND SHELLDON AND KOOPIN!" "B-BUT WHAT ABOUT-" "EITHER WAY IT'S A BAD IDEA TO STAY ON LOWER DECKS, COME ON!"

He dragged her higher up towards the second-class hallways, the other passengers following them in turn out of orders from the staff who were trying to pile upwards. A gathering group started to form, turning larger and more hectic with every turn they made as more and more passengers joined them. James kept ahead of them with Klair, making sure she stayed right beside him. The ship was unrelenting in its mutually-assured destruction. Waves began crashing in even more, windows shattering as heaving volumes of seawater began flooding out rooms all over the place. Terrible cries and bellowing roars from both passengers and staff came from both ends of the ship. The shuddering groans of the cruise liner only further worsened everyone's minds and motivations. Desperation kept them going, but panic disoriented them to the point of some trying to go the wrong way. The crew did everything they could to bravely stand defiant and force them one way, herding like sheep in a thunder storm. They couldn't even begin to imagine the ones who were still stuck down in the lower decks, desperately hoping that none were. James resisted the urge to run up to the top deck, despite many others doing so. He knew that was an easy way to get washed off the ship itself without any rigging to secure to. Holding Klair tight, he reached towards Room 210, after parting many crowds with furious roars and desperate insults through flooded hallways on every deck. Everyone was heading to their rooms regardless to try and save their most important belongings. Thankfully, Shelldon was bracing himself hard in Room 210, hugging Klair desperately the moment they saw each other again.

"HONEY!" cried Klair. "OH STARS!" "Wh-what's happening?!" "We don't know!" said James. "The ship was going apeshit, where's Koopin?!" "I-i thought he was with you!" "WHAT!?" "He's not in his room!" "WHAT! ...KOOPIN!" He ran towards Room 213 where, sure enough, Koopin was not in his bed. "KOOPIN! KOOPIN, WHERE ARE YOU!?" As he desperately called out for Koopin throughout the corridors, trying to think where he could have possibly went, Klair and Shelldon met up with him with their most valuable belongings in small bags. "WHERE IS HE?!" "I DUNNO!" said Shelldon. "HE CAN'T HAVE GONE FAR, HE'S STILL WOUNDED!" "HEY!" From further down the hallway, leading towards the downwards stairwell, was Yoshitaka, desperately clinging onto his wife. James hurried towards him through the sloshing tidewater of the soaking carpet, the ship constantly rocking back and forth. Yoshitaka however was as still as a rock, bracing against the doorframe of one hallway as he said: "YOU LOOKIN' FER KOOPIN!?" "YEAH, YOU SEEN HIM!?" "HE WENT DOWN THE STAIRWELL, NOT MORE THAN AN HOUR AGO! SAID HE HAD TO CLEAR HIS HEAD!" "WHAT!? FUCK! WHERE IS HE!?!" "I DUNNO, HE WAS MURMURING SOMETHING ABOUT...ABOUT-" "TELL ME WHERE HE IS! _ NOW! _" "H-HE WAS MUTTERING SOMETHING ABOUT A VOICE, SOME KINDA FOUR-STAR ROCK A-A-AND HEADING DOWN TO THE BOTTOM!" "...the BOTTOM!?" Another creaking groan of the ship made everyone shudder with fear. James felt this exact situation coming back all too familiarly to him. But he was determined to do it all again if it meant saving Koopin. "KLAIR, SHELLDON, STAY HERE WITH YOSHITAKA, I'M GOING DOWN TO FIND KOOPIN!" "WHAT?!" shrieked Klair. "NO, IT'S TOO DANGEROUS-" "I DON'T CARE, I AM NOT LOSING HIM TODAY! I JUST NEED ONE THING!" He rushed back to his room, grabbed the pair of scissors that had been left rattling around in his cupboard before ripping off the mattress sheets, the ones that were still dry at least. Trying his scissors to his back firmly with a mattress sheet around his upper half, the raptor was now ready to head down into the depths, as he charged out and deep into the stairwell of the ship. Klair and Shelldon, despite being thankful for James' bravery, were still fearful to want to stop him from going. Heading down after D-deck, the water was now reaching around his knees, and he was still not entirely sure what was going on. The rumbling murmurs of the ocean waves continued all around him, now in greater intensity than before as he neared the waterline of the ship. Yet strangely enough, there was no true flooding other than the windows. No huge tears and the sea outside was not stormy. He felt as if something else was causing it, as he headed towards the dining area.

After receiving enough directions from various hectic crew members, none of whom managed to convince him to head back upstairs, he found a most bizarre sight upon arrival. The tables had all been scattered, chairs strewn all over with tableclothes and cutlery completely smashed and soaked. The band stage was occupied by one lone koopa, with two arrow-shapes upon his shell. "KOOPIN!" The koopa turned softly amidst the constant stirring of the ship's eternal struggle. His eyes were strangely blank, devoid of any emotion as he spoke with empty words. Yet the one word he said was of a soft mourning. "...James." He tried to reach out to him, but the moment he did, a sudden explosion came from behind him, the band stage tearing apart into a thousand splinters. Koopin remained unharmed, his body unmoving like a statue as six enormous white tentacles suddenly burst forth from the violent flood of the sea behind him. Water rushed forwards like an onslaught across the dining hall. Before either of them could do anything, the raptor bracing hard against the surging waves, Koopin was uplifted into the unseen creature's limbs, unresisting. "WH-WHAT!? KOOPIN! KOOPIIIIIN! LET GO OF HIM NOW!" "James." His voice was surprisingly loud and clear across the roaring sea from all around and within the ship. The creature was strangely gentle, fondly regarding Koopin with its large sucker-filled ends. "I've been waiting for this...he's spoken to me in my dreams." "KOOPIN, YOU'RE NOT YOURSELF! WAKE UP!" "Do not fight, James. I have waited for him...the gift of the mother has brought me here." "SHUT UP! WHOEVER YOU ARE, STOP CONTROLLING HIM!" The raptor charged forwards across the sea-filled floor, roaring with a vengeance as he leapt onto the stage to try and slice at the tentacles. But the moment he did, Koopin was dropped from their grip, and landed on his feet, his face completely blank. Before the raptor could even react, Koopin had rushed forwards with a brutal double-palm strike, straight into his chest and pushing him backwards. "AUGH! ...the hell!?" "Don't interfere," said the neutral koopa. "This has nothing to do with you." "Wh-who...who are you?! What are you doing to him, leave him alone! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" "I must travel to the deep one. The deep one has protected me always, but now, I must return to him myself." "NO! I won't lose you Koopin, I'll always be there to protect him!" "I do not need your protection, demon!" "...h-huh?" "Your darkness pours from your heart like a wretched wound! You have tried to crush me with your suffering long enough, now I shall show you true strength!" "...who are you? ...how do you know about that?! ...you're not Koopin. YOU CAN'T BE HIM!" "I...am his saviour." "Oh fuck you, I'M his saviour! AND HE CAN HANDLE HIMSELF ANYWAY!" "I will protect him! Whatever you are, you will not get past me!"

Koopin went into a bizarrely focused stance, completely oblivious to his wounds as the ship continued to rock to and fro with sudden tremors. The tentacles readily began to flail at FG. He dodged quickly enough, striking with his scissors to keep them away as Koopin stayed defiant upon the stage. The tables slid heavily across the floor, more obstacles for the raptor to avoid. Running forwards, he tried to leap-slash at the tentacles once again, but Koopin simply grabbed his arm and gutpunched him hard. A footpin shove further sent him backwards. What the hell's wrong with him, thought the raptor in panic, it's like he's not himself, he looks like he's asleep or something! ...if something IS controlling him, I better not fight him, just lure the tentacles close and slice 'em up. There was no hesitation in Koopin's motions, no emotion in his half-open eyes. James came roaring with a violent furore as one tentacle readily came down upon him. He dodged swiftly and slashed across the rubbery length, slicing a deep wound that made the entire room groan with a monstrous sound. He tried not to approach the stage, knowing that the koopa would repel him if he tried. Another tentacle came crashing down onto the floor, splintering it around James before another, then another. Tables flew with chairs as water continued to fill the dining hall. Soon he was finding himself unable to fight or evade well enough in the rising tide. One of the tentacles managed to grab him during a particularly slow dodge, hoisted up into the air upside down as the creature roared a froth-filled moan. James readily fired out several fireballs from his hand, crying out as inertia threw off his aim. He managed to hit some of the upper tentacles, but he also set fire to the stage curtains, creating a firey embrace around both Koopin and the sea monster. The smell of burning seafood came to James' nostrils as the creature roared and tried to splash water angrily upon the flames, a few of which came dangerously close to the koopa. Koopin's eyes blinked barely at the feeling of fire touch upon his leg, a searing sharp pain that made him gasp and cry out in the midst of the maelstrom. The scene around him was utter chaos. A dining hall ravaged with seawater, chairs and tables broken and washed away. James stood defiant upon one table, his scissors out and ready. Framed around himself, were six huge white tentacles that were trying to protect him by shielding him with its limbs from the fire.

This was James' chance. He ran up towards the stage and leapt into the roaring tide, trying to find whatever was the source of these tentacles before slicing through one. They were too thick to cut off completely, but he had managed to score several deep scars upon them, making it quiver and utter a deep cry of pain. Yet it would not let Koopin go from its grasp, the water now rising towards the stage itself. Koopin stood upon one tentacle, softly off-balance, crying out: "STOP!" "Huh?!" "JAMES, STOP! DON'T HURT HIM!" "KOOPIN! KOOPIN YOU OKAY!?" "I...I DON'T KNOW! WHAT'S GOING ON!? WHY AM I HERE?!" "THAT THING'S KIDNAPPING YOU, IT'S SINKING THE SHIP AND NOW HE WANTS TO TAKE YOU AWAY!" "...it wasn't a dream." "HUH!?" Koopin started to connect everything in his head now. He thought he had been dreaming the past hour or so, and in a way he had been. But now he realised what he had to do. Follow his heart. "...JAMES! LET ME GO WITH HIM!" "WHAT!? YOU FUCKING CRAZY, I WON'T LET HIM TAKE YOU!" "NO, JAMES PLEASE! I HAVE TO DO THIS! JUST TRUST ME!" "...I TRUST YOU, BUT I DON'T TRUST THAT THING!" "THEN TRUST IN ME ALONE, OKAY!? I HAVE TO DO THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE KNOWN ALL MY LIFE!" "...but...but I-" "JUST STAY CLOSE TO MY MOM AND DAD! I'LL COME BACK TO YOU SOON!" "KOOPIN! KOOPIN DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Without another word, Koopin turned towards the raging source of water behind the stage, the tentacled creature growling softly to him. "...I'm ready. I'm awake now. Take me back...back to you." "KOOPIN!" He soon disappeared behind the waterfall, wrapped within the tentacles' embrace. James tried to charge in screaming against the fury. "KOOPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" At that very moment, the walls exploded around him. The water began to pour in. Everything turned to darkness. He had felt this before, that he knew. But this time he was less concerned about himself surviving. Now, he had a new fear awaken within him as he saw the white tentacles recede from the ship. His words were muffled within the sea's embrace. "Koopin...Koopin...come back...come back Koopin..."