Okay, cliffhanger time over! Now will learn about what happened to the Koopa in the machine.

Disclaimer: Mario and KH; not mine.

They huddled around the pod, eager to see what had happened in the now disappearing black cloud inside the pod.

Suddenly, before anyone knew what happened, Iggy, who had been closest to the pod, let out a scream and jumped into the arms of his dad (think Scooby-Doo.)

Bowser dropped his son Iggy on the floor and went to expect the pod. In it was a small thing with anatine. Bowser had seen a picture of a Shadow, but never expected it to be so small. How was this suppose to defeat Mario?

Iggy, who had recovered from his shock a bit, screamed, "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING?!?!"

Bowser frowned and said, "It's my future army…I think. Bring Kamek in here."

The rest of the guards quickly ran to get Kamek. When they got back, Kamek was in the middle of them, still holding the black book.

"Alright, alright," he said, pushing threw them, "what seems to be the problem?"

"That, Kamek," said Bowser, pointing to the pod." Just tell me how that can defeat Mario? Why, it's no bigger than a normal Koopa Troopa!"

But Kamek was smiling all while he was expecting the thing inside the pod.

"Why, lord," he said, turning around to face Bowser, "this Heartless may be small, but what it lacks in size it makes up for numbers. True, the Shadow may be easy to defeat, but it overwhelms the opponent in numbers!"

Bowser stared at Kamek almost blankly. "Hey, Kamek, how do you know all this stuff?"

Kamek smiled and said, "Why, there's an encyclopedia of all the Heartless in the back of this book."

(I want to cut in for a moment to say he glanced back there. He did not finish the book. And now we return you to your program-I mean story.)

"Well," said Bowser, "guess we have to make more than. Get me more minions to put in the pod."

"But your forgetting something, master." said Kamek, "The Heartless can make even more of themselves out of there victims. Might I suggest the prisoners in the dudgeons, sir?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," said Bowser, "I'm glad I thought of it."

"Can I come too, dad?" said Bowser Jr., who strangely wasn't scared of the Shadow Heartless. In fact, he thought it was kind of cute. (But he would never say that out, of course.)

"Sure," said Bowser, "why not? It might teach you how to control your minions like me!"

"Awesome!" said Bowser Jr.

Bowser turned toward the pod. "So, Kamek, how do I control this thing?"

"Well, your Pitylessness, you have to show that your are the ultimate evil here. Try thinking dark thoughts. Don't lose control, though."

"What happens if I lose control?" asked Bowser.

Kamek remained silent, which was a bad sign. Bowser began to think about all the evil he had done, like kidnapping the princess or trying to make a new universe. But every time he thought of something, he remembered he would lose in the end.

Why did I lose every time? He thought to himself. Simple: Mario.

That name brought up anger, and that anger brought up the darkness in Bowser. The Shadow, who had been scratching at the glass of the pod, stopped and turned to face attention to its new master.

"Good," said Kamek, "it recognizes you as the most evil one. Now it is safe to open the pod. But tell it not to hurt anyone yet."

"Er, Heartless," Bowser said to it while feeling like an idiot at the same time, "do not hurt anyone until I tell you to. Do you understand?"

Amazingly, the Heartless shook it's head up and down. Bowser pushed a couple of buttons on the machine and the pod was opened. Everyone backed against the wall; everyone, that is, except for Bowser and Kamek.

"Shall we go to the dudgeon now, sire?" asked Kamek.

Bowser nodded yes and started to walk out of the room when Iggy said, "Wait, what about me?"

"Well," said Kamek, "I do need another thing built…"

Iggy instantly rushed up to the side of his dad. "Actually, the dudgeon sounds fun."

So Bowser, Bowser Jr., Iggy, Kamek, and the rest of the Koopa Troopas walked to the dudgeon, while all the while keeping a distance away from the Heartless.

When they arrived at the dudgeon the guard that was there instantly straightened up.

"Lord Bowser!" he said while saluting him. The Koopa than noticed the Heartless between Bowser's legs.

"Oh, this?" Bowser said, noticing the Koopa looking at it, "It's for the prisoners."

"Of course it is, your Evilness," said the Koopa. He than opened the door for Bowser and his group.

As Bowser's group descended into the dudgeon, it began to get darker and darker until the only light was from occasional torches.

"Hey, Kamek," said Bowser, "did you tell them I defeated Mario?"

Kamek hesitated. "No, my lord," said Kamek, "I thought it would be more important to find a new plan for you."

"Good excuse." said Bowser.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs they saw Dry Bone guards patrolling jail cells. Occasionally one stopped to look at Bowser, and then it went back to work.

"So, who should we try it on?" asked Bowser Jr.

"Hmmm…" said Bowser, "how about…this one?"

They had come to a cell with a bunch of Toads in it. They had tattered clothes and faded colors from lack of sunlight.

"Good choice, my lord." said Kamek.

"So, what do I do?" asked Bowser.

"Well, it's simple, your Scalyness," said Kamek, "all you have to do is put the Heartless in the cell. It will do the rest."

"Okay," said Bowser as he opened the cell door, "here goes nothing."

The Heartless, sensing a heart it could take, rushed into the cell. But because of the violence that issued, I cannot say what happened in there. All I can say is that there were five more Shadows and strangely a NeoShadow.

"Hey, Kamek," asked Bowser, "what's that big one?"

"It's called a NeoShadow, sir." replied Kamek, "It's a powered up version of the Shadow."

Bowser laughed his oh-so horrible laugh. "Now this is what I call a success! Now nothing can stop me from taking over Mushroom Kingdom!"

As Bowser began to walk up the stairs, he whispered to himself, "Get ready Mario, cause this time, I'm going to win!"

What will await our favorite plumbers? Stay tuned and (probably) find out in the next chapter of

Koopa Hearts

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