Chapter 4: Red vs. The Blood Thunder
The terrified Axem Red looks up at the battleship that dwarves his own. His Master Smithy told him nothing about the person who owned it, so this wasn't a factor that he had taken into consideration when he and the rest of his men journeyed into this realm to capture the Elemental Overlord. Nothing on the ship's arsenal save for the Breaker Beam could ever hope to match the defenses it has, and even then he knew that there was no way that he would be able to outmaneuver the weapon system to be able to fire it in the first place. There was only one thing he could hope to do at this point, and that is to use the highly destructive beam to annihilate Mario and the rest of Toad Town, which if he is lucky enough might allow him to speed down and swipe up the orb that the young Overlord is trapped in during the ensuing confusion.
"There is too much of a risk involved in this plan, but without the rest of my team I don't really have any other ideas…" Red says, his voice dripping with the feeling of desperation. Sacrificing a town to accomplish his goals wasn't really something he wanted to do, but as he moves his trembling left hand towards the button he realizes that if he is successful he'll be killing two birds with one stone. This insight reinforces his resolve and allows him to curl his fingers into a fist and slam the button with all his might, a klaxon going off inside of the ship's engines as the axe-head opens its mouth up wide to summon the barrels that will mark the town's end.
Will this scene unfolds down below there is one person standing on the runway of the M.S.I. gargantuan technological marvel, and that is the second-in-command of the esteemed Alpha. A Koopa with a yellow shell, the Lieutenant known as Gemini waits with arms folded into his chest, a serene smile on his face as he awaits his superior's orders. The man in question is still sitting in his rotating in his chair looking on at a view screen that shows an aerial perspective of the area where the Koopa is at. "What is with the smile Lieutenant?" Alpha asks in a curious tone while he leans one elbow of his mechanical arms against the right side of his chair.
"I'm just glad to be on the battlefield again after the whole Tabuu thing, that's all." Gemini says in response to the speakers on deck, his reply coming off as a bit fuzzy due to some interference from their current elevation. "Well stay focused, the mission here isn't to take out the enemy, but rather to incapacitate them." "Right, right. So my opponent is Axem Red huh? Don't worry Commander, I'll be making him see red before you know it." "The quipping isn't welcome right now Lieutenant, I'll have you know…" "Sorry, that was just a spur of the moment. So what about the Blade?" "I'll take of that. You've already been given your mission, use your own judgment where necessary Lieutenant." "Roger that Commander, I will mobilize right now!"
His acceptance of the orders is given before the klaxons go off, but that does little to hasten him as he removes his arms from his chest and makes a dash towards the end of the runway. When he is at the proper point he dives headfirst off the edge, his arms outstretched as the sky opens up above him and sends a pillar of holy light cascading down to meet up with him. Axem Red looks forward past the giant metal head of the ship and sees the glowing magnificence crashing through the Koopa's body, the thin images of the Star Spirits surrounding and following him as he continues towards the ground.
At the end of the pillar's appearance white electricity surges through it, by this point the barrel of the Blade's weapon has started charging up the energy needed to fire in the form of a translucent orb with blue swirling around it. It was close to reaching its peak, and as he looked on in anticipation Axem Red wondered just where the Koopa had gone, for his body had not impacted with the ground after his appearance. The moment arrives, and Alex looks up towards the sky as the area trembles in the face of the beam's overwhelming power. The boy grits his teeth and pulls his right fist back, hitting the side of the orb he is trapped in with all of his might. He noticed the M.S.I.'s battleship, but not the falling Gemini or the pillar of light that followed him.
"I can't let the Breaker Beam…" He uses his other fist to hit the orb. "FIRE!" He exclaims the moment it connects and once again fails to even disrupt the energy. "Son of a BITCH!" Alex yells out at the top of his lungs as he repeatedly pounds both of his fists against the orb. The moment of destruction comes at last though, as glowing crevices start to emerge across the cannon due to build-up putting pressure on the structure. At the very second that the massive beam of energy fires towards the town, the cannon explodes and the bits are absorbed into it, disintegrating until there is nothing left to remind anyone that it existed.
Parts of the ground are torn and pulled up by the gravitational force exerted from the beam before it has even come close to touching it. It looks like this might be the end of Toad Town, and that is the only thought running through the minds of both the citizens and the heroes standing on the hills as they look on with expressions of abject horror on their faces. But it is not too late, it is never too late so long as one hero is still alive to fight. Gemini quickly rockets towards the path the beam is taking, angelic wings having now appeared on his back and a curved sword also being attached to his right arm. He had been hiding in wait by hovering in place so Axem Red wouldn't notice him and re-direct the beam his way.
Gemini raises his sword up and thrusts it right out in front him, the tip of his blade slamming right into the center of the beam and causing a loud "Boom!" to echo across the lands from the act of the two forces colliding. At the same time a powerful invisible shockwave goes off and fractures most of the ground below them. "You are certainly one obstinate beam, but I will never acquiesce to one of Smithy's creations!" Raising his voice to match the intensity of his determination, the Koopa pushes against the beam with all of his might, his other arm grabbing the elbow of his sword one to reinforce it.
His efforts are not in vain, and slowly but surely the beam is being pushed back into its place of origin. However, seeing as reversing the flow of the beam would destroy both the Blade AND the being that he has been assigned to capture, Gemini tilts his blade so it is pointing to the left, using the reflective surface of the dull edge to absorb the light from the attack. But he doesn't stop there, and continues to bend his wrist to move redirect the beam in another direction. Since the energy wasn't being continuously fired, the end of it comes sooner than expected, and with time it vanishes from view into the sky, never to be seen again.
Victorious in one of his efforts, Gemini swings his weaponized arm out to the side and bends his body slightly before launching himself through the air like a torpedo to get over the Blade, curving himself mid-flight in order to swoop down and land gracefully onto the ship, his back turned to Axem Red with his wings outspread to obscure his view of the area behind him. The leader turns around and looks at the Koopa with surprise in his eyes, but refuses to surrender and runs at him. He was without a weapon, but he knew that he would be able to procure another one if he could make it to the armory stored in the other side of the ship.
He somersaults forward to avoid a 180 degree slash from Gemini, flipping his body so he is back on his feet to continue his rush while the Koopa deals with the cool down from his attack. When that has ended Gemini turns around and quickly flicks the fingers of his left hand towards his fleeing target, sending out a few weak streams of electricity towards him so he can paralyze his circuitry for easy capture. With his sensors detecting the energy before it can touched him, Red grinds his feet against the metal plates below him and turns himself around, holding his left hand out and using the tip of an electromagnetic rod stuck to his palm to absorb the electricity without suffering any negative repercussions.
Gemini raises his brows in surprise while Red lowers his arm and looks on at the Koopa out of curiosity. Then a spark of remembrance hits his mind, the words his Master Smithy once told him about a ground-breaking experiment of his that escaped from the factory and returned to Plit without ever being found during the attack on the Star Road and the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom. He lowers his arms to the side of his body while the Koopa pauses to gather his thoughts and think of another plan of attack. "I see, so you are the one Master Smithy talked about. You are the end result of 'Project: Demonheart'!"
Red's comment is ended with a chuckle of disbelief at his luck. He may have lost his comrades and failed to destroy Toad Town along with his eternal enemy Mario, but luck kept giving him new ways to owe up for those short-comings. Not only was he going to be able to bring the Elemental Overlord back, but also the thought to be deceased subject of his Master's greatest achievement. While his cybernetic mind was racing at the prospect of pleasing his creator, he had no idea the consequences of which his comment will bring upon him. Gemini tightly clenches his right fist behind the cold metal of his blade, veins popping out slightly as the bones crack underneath the skin. He closes his eyelids and slowly breathes in air through his nostrils, thoughts of anger plaguing his mind as he tries his hardest to fight against them.
"Well, at least now I understand just why I was outfitted with the ro-" A punch to the face. Closing the distance between the two fighters in a span of time faster than one could ever hope to react to, Gemini delivers the previously-mentioned action to silence the leader before he could say anymore. His body goes hurtling back, colliding with the ground and sending him scraping across the surface until the back of his head slams right into the wall separating the deck from the section where the armory lies. The Koopa walks towards him slowly while placing his hands together and cracking his knuckles as hard as he can. As Red slowly opens his eyelids, Gemini has but one thing to say to him. "If you want to open your mouth about the experiment, be my guest. I was told to bring you back alive, but if you say anymore then I will not hesitate to beat you within an inch of your fabricated life!"
With his threat given the ranger begins to panic, understanding full well that the Koopa will go through with what he is saying. Immediately after these thoughts are cast Gemini breaks into a run, pulling his sword arm back behind himself and leaping forward with his speed still kept up. He thrusts his weapon out, Red reacting to this by regaining his composure and rolling to the right. With the tip of the blade piercing the wall Gemini becomes momentarily stuck. While he deals with freeing himself, the leader leaps up to the front of the armory and presses his right palm against the sensory on the front. Recognizing his data code, the armory door folds up into the roof, revealing the plentiful cache of weapons that he can use against the tranquil fury of his opponent.
Opting to stick with something familiar at first, Red pulls out a duplicate of his axe and turns around right as Gemini has ripped his sword through the metal and risen his body up off the ground. He can feel the Koopa glaring at him, even when he closes his eyelids for a couple of seconds. If he had a heart, this would be the part where it would start beating rapidly. If there needed to be another reason for Axem Red to silence himself when it came to glorifying his creator's proud achievements, then it would be Gemini's action now that would cement that as a part of his mindset.
"You won't take me alive!" Red yells with much bravado, charging forward in a streak of red and colliding the blade of his axe into the blade-arm of the Koopa. The metal of the two forces creates a quick clinking noise, followed up by the sounds of many more as the Ranger brings his weapon back and swings it repeatedly at Gemini's defense. His efforts are proving to be successful as the Koopa inches further away from his previous location and actually grimaces after a few more strikes hit the dull side of his blade. Gemini quickly analyzed that his opponent was desperate for survival, and decided to retaliate to this barrage of attacks by quickly pulling his blade back and letting him stumble forward after a single hard swing, floating backwards slightly and squinting his eyelids to focus in on the hand with the electrical rod stuck in it.
"Got to puncture it, once I do that this battle is mine…" With his one goal now set in his mind the Koopa could now put more focus into the battle itself, and the first objective on his agenda is to destroy the armory to leave Axem Red defenseless. However, after acquiring his current weapon the door was sealed shut, and Gemini wasn't certain that he would be able to break through it after seeing how Red was designed to handle his powers. So the Koopa pulls his sword back horizontally and swings it at the delicate staff portion of the axe the moment the leader shows signs of recovering.
One slash is done at normal speed to break the target in two, but this is followed up by an unnoticeable flurry of cuts that breaks it apart all-around. The only thing that survives is the blade itself, and that is only because of the durability of the metal it is composed of. Looking out at his arms ready to strike again, the very moment that Red moves them above his head is the point where his weapon breaks apart and falls right out of his hands, the blade falling right to the floor with a metallic thud. Though Red's eyes widen momentarily, he quickly realizes how exposed his reaction leaves him and proceeds to backflip out of the way of another attack attempt by the Koopa, making it back over to the armory and opening it up with a snap of the fingers since the door could now recognize any action he performs.
When it slides only halfway open Red goes right for the laser pistol, brandishing it out in front of his body after turning around and clicking the trigger, the barrel glowing red as a couple shots are fired out at the caught off-guard Gemini. The Koopa takes his sword and blocks one shot, swinging it towards the ground to deflect the other away from his sight. He then rushes forward, caring little about the other shots aimed at him due to how flimsy the wielder of the gun's aim is. But Red manages to get lucky and one shot connects with Gemini's left wings, igniting it and wrecking his flight pattern just moments before he was about to cut the gun in two.
The Koopa collides face first against the ground, but instead of taking the act of his face grinding against it he stamps his hands down and lifts his legs up, using his weight to flip himself over Red right after a laser is shot between his legs and landing on the top of the armory with his body bent down as he rapidly flaps his wings to kill the fire. The leader turns around and prepares to fire again while his target is immobilized, but Gemini senses the electricity in the gun building up and leaps forward with his arms outstretched in front of him over the edge of the battleship.
Even with the damage taken Gemini sustains flight long enough for him to glide to the underside and magnetize his left hand to the metal plates, the rest of his body dangling towards the ground. "Whew…That was a close one…Alright, I can't fool around at this point. Got to launch a sneak attack and take out the armory while I have the chance…" While the Koopa thinks over how he is going to proceed, on deck Red is opening up the door of the armory to put the gone away. "Seeing as he hasn't come back, I guess he wasn't able to keep in the air for very long with that burned wing and fell to his death…Oh well, so long as his body is somewhat intact Master Smithy won't mind."
Unbeknownst to him though Gemini has already soared back up on the right side of the Blade and aimed his electrically charged sword at the now vulnerable armory. He fires out a highly concentrated beam of static energy at it, taking precautions to lower its power to the point that Axem Red won't be damaged too much in the ensuing explosion. The leader turns around upon hearing the crackling, expressing his surprise with a "WHAT?" before leaping out of the way of the attack by rolling straight to the left. The tip of the beam strikes the grenades that rest on the bottom and set them off, causing a chain reaction with the gunpowder in a couple of the other weapons that eventually leads to the armory going off in a fiery detonation that encompasses and takes out most of the battleship's backside as well.
Thoughts rush through the leader's head now that the situation has changed and he is truly defenseless. But he had little time to react as he gets on his feet, for Gemini promptly rushes towards him and jams the tip of his blade into the palm where the lightning rod is at, damaging it to the point that it will no longer be able to perform its original function. As the Koopa stamps his feet onto the ground and raises his other hand to catch his opponent's punch in mid-air. "Checkmate." Gemini states with a grin as he quickly sends a low-voltage amount of electricity through Axem Red's body to shut him down temporarily. He doesn't react in the slightest, the process being swift and painless.
When he finishes Gemini pulls his sword out and lets go of the fist, lifting his right leg up and kicking the robot square in the chest to knock him to the ground. After that he walks over and picks him up, carrying him over his right shoulder as he prepares to take off back to the M.S.I. ship. "I have captured the target, returning to base." "Roger that Lieutenant. You might want to get out of the way…Things are about to get ugly." Hearing his Commander through a transceiver in his ear, the Koopa nods his head and flies off, the guns on the bottom of the ship above directing their barrels towards the Blade to destroy it for good.
As Gemini arrives on the runway and returns to his original form, the soldiers on deck turn their chairs around towards their Commander. "What are your orders sir?" "Do I need to say them?" The Commander replies in a sarcastic tone, the men getting the clear message and turning back around to activate the weapons system. It takes a few seconds for the orders to be given through the motherboard, but at the sound of a echoing detonation some miniature napalms are launched through the cannons, impacting with the now defenseless Blade and creating widespread explosions that tear up and atomize the entire structure one massive chunk at a time. It was a bit overkill considering the difference in size, but Alpha was merely making sure that no one in the Kingdom, not even himself, would be able to salvage the specs for the Breaker Beam from the battleship.
It takes a few seconds to cover the entire ship in a sea of explosions, but when the job is finally done and the echoes of the explosions finally die down all that lingers in the air is the blackened ashes from the napalms that gently float down before the wind carries them away. Back in the confines of the dome, Alpha can be seen speaking with Lieutenant Gemini as he walks across the runway. "You can just put him in one of the jail cells for now. After you are done with him, come here and wait for me to return with the others." After the Koopa has nodded at his orders the Commander waves a hand at one of the soldiers in front of him to shut the screen off. When this is done he moves one of his hands towards a button on his chair, causing the seat to sink into the pedestal he is on.
He moves towards the bottom of the ship, the chair pulling back into a wall and allowing the Goomba to fall onto a capsule shaped platform, which then descends out of the range of the ship and heads towards the ground. Specifically, the Commander is heading towards the area where the unconscious Mario and the encaged Alex are. His arms are folded behind his back, and even when the platform is hovering close to the ground and he jumps off he keeps them there. He overlooks the area, noting the bit of damage the town has taken from the overall battle. "I guess I'm gonna have to send a clean-up crew to deal with this mess later…"
Since the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom wouldn't be able to hear him at present, he heads over to Alex's orb and examines it in great detail, intrigue present on his face all the while. "Got into a bit of a jam here, didn't ya Alex?" He asks. The boy can barely hear him due to the low volume of his voice, but responds none the same. "…Yeah, I did. Can you break me out of here Alpha?" "I'm afraid I cannot." The Commander bluntly replies as he removes his arms from his back and stretches the left one out to wrap it around the orb so he can pick it up and take it back with him. The young Overlord's body tumbles around inside for a bit as the Goomba walks over to Mario and picks him up as well. "Look, I can't say anything major right now, but we got a big problem on our hands here, and let us just say that a certain someone may not be as dead as we once thought she was…" Leaving the boy to think about those words, Alpha leaps onto the platform with both heroes in his grasp and ascends back up towards his massive battleship…
Next Time: The Witch and Crafting Machine.