Last 30 Days

T Minus 3 Days

72 Hours Remain

Koopa slowly rolled over in his bed as his alarm clock went off and reached a clawed, meaty hand over to silence it. His muscles protested when he dragged himself out of the comfy bed and into a nice, cold shower. He ached everywhere, but that was one of the side effects of settling his "grudge match", as Vince had called it. The Koopa King preferred to call it his hobby. The aches, the bruises—they were worth it just to make that plumber tick.

The pain had mostly abated after the shower. After carefully drying himself off, his personal attendants came over to give him a massage, wax his shell and tend to his claws. Once that was done, he ran a brush through his tuft of red hair and was out the door.

Koopa sauntered down the hall toward the cafeteria. Huevos rancheros and hash browns were on the menu this morning, and he needed his fuel after last night. Ignoring the deathly glares around him, the turtle heaped up his plate and plunked himself down in the courtyard outside to eat.

Falco and Rolf were also seated outside, enjoying the cool early morning. The avian's head turned when he saw Koopa sit at a table by himself and dig in to a heaping mountain of huevos rancheros. "Hey," he called.

"Yeah?" said Koopa.

"Come sit with us. We won't bite."

Smiling, Koopa grabbed his food and utensils and moved over to Falco and Rolf's table.

"How'd it go?" asked Rolf.

"The usual," eyerolled Koopa. "He got his Peach back, and everyone was happy."

"That's two days in a row," said Falco.

"At least I got even," grinned Koopa. "Last night was different than Friday, because outside of the Smash battlefield, anything goes."

"The BBs are right about one thing, though," said Rolf. "One false move would've blown Project Nerf out of the water."

"Thank God the precautions worked, then," Koopa said smartly. "As a matter of fact, I'm doing it again—tonight."

"What?!" hissed Falco.

"Why?" added Rolf.

"Usually, I wait a month or so, but Friday's match got me riled up," Koopa explained.

"You just want an excuse to try out your little contingency plan," said Rolf.

"All the more reason to d—k with those pesky plumbers," chortled Koopa.

"Don't let them hear that," cautioned Rolf.

Falco shuddered. "They're already upset at you as it is."

"It's my job to upset them. Keeps them on their toes. Maintains the balance of the universe. They won't suspect a thing, as always."

"At this point, I would've just quit," Falco said frankly.

"Once I get my mind set on a prosperous kingdom and a beautiful woman, there's nothing that's gonna stop me," said Koopa.

"Wow," said Falco, shaking his head.

Koopa wolfed down the last of his breakfast. "Welp," he said, "I gotta get everything ready. See you in my castle tonight."

"See ya," Rolf and Falco said in unison.