Here it is, folks! Oogie Boogie is down, and now all that is left is Bowser! Will Mario, Luigi and Jack save the Princesses, and the Mushroom Kingdom and Halloween Tow?
...Duh.
XD
The staircase, yes, is a mild reference from Super Mario 64, or even Super Mario 64 DS, in which you had to climb endless stairs in order to get to the final Bowser battle to save Peach.
Enjoy! :)
Today's song is Now Or Never, the last song in the story! ...At least, until the short one that will be in epilogue. :)
Now Or Never ~-~Bowser, Mario, Luigi and Jack
With Oogie Boogie out for the count, our heroes now made their way to the rooftop of the castle. Twink had made it out of the cage that he was in , and found the brothers and Pumpkin King, telling them that Bowser was indeed on the roof, with the cage that held the Princesses. He was waiting for them...and surely determined that they would not win.
It had taken all of Mario and Luigi's strengths not to roll their eyes. Bowser was, and always would be, overconfident.
Then again, it did remind them not to get overconfident, either. While they may have defeated Oogie Boogie, let alone making it this far, they were still a far cry from safety, saving the girls, and then going back home. Now was not the time. They had plenty to do before they could officially feel victorious.
In time, they did come to a door that into a round room, looking to be one of the towers. Inside the room was a spiral staircase going up. They had to crane their heads back just to see how far it could possibly have been going. Further up was delved in shadows, making it seem dark and endless, obviously an indication that it went up pretty high. Whether or not it would lead them to the roof was beyond them. None the less, it was time to make a choice. Either to go up the stairs to see where it would lead, or to turn back and find another way.
If they did go up, and it didn't lead to the roof, then it would at the very least lead them to a higher floor. With that, they would be able to find a roof access passage and get up there faster.
If they didn't, it would likely take forever to find any stairs, or even stairs that would lead to the roof. Then again, it could have also been a trap either way.
Jack stepped forward then, looking up again into the darkness that the staircase seemed to disappear into. "I do have a strange feeling about this...but I cannot help but wonder if it will lead us to where we need to go."
"W-W-We c-c-c-could just find another way..." Luigi said shakily.
"Come on." Mario grabbed his brother's arm and led him to the stairs. "We'll take-a the stairs."
Jack nodded, taking the stairs at least four at a time, given that his long legs offered a very quick stride and also the ability to reach higher steps. Mario and Luigi followed after him, breaking into brisk walks in order to keep up as much as they could. Just as they had thought, as they went further and further up, the staircase seemed so endless. Like an endless abyss.
But that didn't stop them. The trio pressed on, going up and up and up and up the seemingly endless spiral staircase leading to who-knows-where. Nothing was going to stop them now, not when they made it this far, and not when the very well-beings of not only their respective Princesses, but also their lands were at stake. As said before, it was time to put a stop to this madness once and for all.
Up, up, up they went.
Finally, they reached the top of the staircase, with Mario and Luigi having to stop to catch their breaths. As Jack waited, he took a look around and saw a door ahead of them. Surprisingly, there was a sign on it that read ROOFTOP ACCESS. He wondered, was this truly the roof access door? Or was this a trap? From what he found in Bowser's Castle so far, you could never be too careful.
Did it lead to the roof? Or did it just lead to another floor, or worse, a deep dark hole that would send them plummeting to their deaths?
Jack motioned for them to wait, and approached the door slowly. He grasped the knob, turned it, and then pulled it open. Peering out beyond the threshold, there was no hole, and there was no familiar carpeted flooring. Instead, it lead to a stone walkway, leading to a smaller flight of stairs, that lead to...the roof. It really was the roof access door, after all.
"Let's go, it leads to the roof!" Jack told them.
"Okay!" Mario nodded. "Ready, Luigi?"
"No." Luigi said with a shudder.
"Thought so." Mario said, shaking his head.
The three stepped outside, and went up the small staircase, coming out onto a large, expansive rooftop. Above them, the sky was a deep red with decimation, dark storm clouds rolling in, lightning striking, and all around them the air felt heavy and oppressive, despite the winds.
A large shadow fell over them, making them scurry out of the way in a panic, just as they came to see that Bowser had landed on the roof. The mighty Koopa King laughed maniacally, sneering at them with great devious evilness.
"Well! So you all made it!" Bowser cackled. "I'm surprised you're not burnt to a crisp! But that's okay, it can be arranged, of course."
"You cad!" Jack snarled with pure venom. "Where are the Princesses?.! What have you done to them?.!"
"T-T-Tell us now!" Luigi chimed in, despite his frightened stutter.
"Or you will pay!" Mario pointed a finger at him, narrowing his eyes.
"Geez, would you quit getting your hats in a knot? They're over here!" Bowser stepped aside, revealing the cage the girls were held in.
"Mario! Luigi!" Peach cried in happiness.
"Peach!" Both brothers said in unison with relieved smiles.
"Jack!" Sally exclaimed in relieved happiness.
"Sally!" Jack managed, relieved that she was all right.
"They made it!" Said Twink, twirling a bit.
But that wasn't the only problem at hand. The heroes were horrified to discover that the cage was actually being suspended over the edge of the roof! The fall alone would kill Peach, but the drop looked to be right over the pool of boiling lava far down below. Jack felt his bones shatter in terror as he realized the only true way to kill Sally was to set her on fire and let it burn. And if she fell into that lava...it would be the end of her.
As terrified as they were, the Mario brothers couldn't help but feel that this was very out of character for Bowser to do. Sure, he was very much an evil being and kidnapped Princess Peach or whoever it seemed convenient to capture, but he wasn't a sadist to them. Not completely, anyway. And since when did he actually attempt to have his captives, let alone Princess Peach, fall to their death?
This was likely just a trick to scare everyone. It made Jack think of something Oogie Boogie would do. If anything, it reminded him all too well of the time he had seen that Oogie Boogie had Sandy Claws and (much to his horror at the time) and Sally tied up onto a table, up-righting it so that they would fall to their deaths into the boiling acidic substance pit. Oogie Boogie was probably behind that scheme, but given what he'd heard about from Bowser, it seemed unlikely that he wanted to kill them, especially Peach.
It had to be a scare tactic.
"But enough of these stupid delays! Now it's battle time!" Bowser roared, stomping one foot onto the roof ground. "Prepare to be crushed!"
"I'm not afraid of you! I am the Master of Fright, and nothing will deter me in the slightest!"
"I've beaten you many times before, so don't think I won't try to do it again!"
"I may be a coward, but I will never back down when it comes to helping my friends! You're going down, Bowser!"
"Bring it on, you measly wimps!
Mario brothers!
And you too, Jack
You made it this far
It'd be wise for you to turn back!" Bowser let out a roar and blew his fiery breath toward them.
"Try as you might
Nothing you say will stop us now
It's the end of the line!
We won't let you win this time!" Jack twirled Soul Robber like a lasso as he dodged the fiery breath.
Mario dodged as well, looking for an opening he could use.
"Too late now, Bowser!
Release the Princesses!
Your ways of power are all wrong!
Begone!"
"Brave as I'm not
I refuse to be nothing but prey!
We'll make you go away!
It's now or never!" Luigi leaped out of the way of the oncoming stream of fire, managing to land safely away from it.
"Now or never
It's time to do you wretched plumbers in
This time you won't win
Princess Peach will be MINE!" Bowser cackled, jumping into the air and coming right back down, causing a violent tremor.
Although the three of them fell to the ground from the shaken ground, it didn't take them long to leap to their feet yet again, joining in singing together.
"Stop this now!
We've had enough of this!
You can taunt us all you want
But we'll never back down!"
Bowser only laughed menacingly.
"It's now or never
You wretched plumbers, skeleton man
Turn back now, enough meddling with our plan!
I've told you once I'll say it again, begone!
"I'll save my dearest Sally no matter what it takes!" Jack managed to launch Soul Robber toward the Koopa King with force, striking him in the face.
"GAAAAH!" Bowser cried, covering his face. "My eyes! You wretches! Where are you?.!.?"
"We'll save the Princess Peach no matter what you say!" Mario threw his hammer to Luigi, giving a thumbs-up.
Luigi grinned and caught it. "And we'll make you pay!" He struck Bowser's knees, making him fall forward onto the ground. "Go, Mario!"
Mario immediately grabbed Bowser's tail, picking him up off the ground and twirling around in a circle. He went a few times, before releasing him. Bowser went flying between two towers, just as lightning struck. With ingenuity, Jack launched Soul Robber to latch onto one of the flagpoles, which caught the electric chargest of the lightning. Bowser flew right into it, and once he made contact with the charged slime, he was electrocuted. Jack was also, but given that he used his electric chair at home, he was more than immune to the electric charges.
Bowser then was propelled backwards, as if he had flown into a giant rubber band, and fell onto his back onto the roof. He then got up, facing the three again. "Dream on! You'll never win this time!" He then blew his fiery breath at them yet again.
"Stop at once!
There will be consequences!
And that I promise, this is true!
We have done much, and now we're after you!" Jack dodged the fire yet again, twirling Soul Robber.
"Learn your lesson you cad
There's mayhem to be had
If you don't stop this now
And turn the Princesses loose!" Mario rolled out of the way of the oncoming flames, just barely avoiding them.
Luigi leaped into the air again, landing away from the flames.
"We'll never give up
It's now or never, Bowser
And we won't back down
Together, we can overtake your power!"
Bowser cackled yet again and jumped into the air, landing on the ground again. This time though, his enemies only leaped before he landed so they would not absorb the impact.
"GWAHAHA! Don't make me laugh!
Full of big talk, that's what you've got!
I do what I do, and I like it a lot!
You can't stop me now!"
Readying their next attack, the trio sang together yet again.
"Stop this now!
We've had enough of this!
You can taunt us all you want
But we'll never back down!"
"It's now or never
You wretched plumbers, skeleton man
Turn back now, enough meddling with our plan!
I've told you once I'll say it again, begone!"
"I'll save my dearest Sally no matter what it takes!" Jack yet again launched Soul Robber at Bowser's face, blinding him for a moment.
"We'll save the Princess Peach no matter what you say!" Mario hurried behind Bowser before he could be seen.
"And we'll make you pay!" Luigi struck Bowser's knees with the hammer again.
Bowser roared in pain and fell onto the ground again. Mario grabbed his tail, spun him around, and sent him flying.
"So long, Bowser!"
Bowser crashed into one of the towers, and then he fell back onto the ground of the roof in a daze. He got back up again, roared in anger, and stomped toward the heroes angrily. "Now or never!"
"Now or never!"
"Now or never!"
"Now or never!"
"It's now or never!" They all finished.
Mario considered his next move, but then he smiled toward Luigi, allowing him to do it this time. "Go on, Luigi."
"Take-a this!" Luigi tried a new tactic, and tossed the hammer at Bowser's head.
"GAH! OW!" Bowser roared in agony, clutching his head.
"I've got you now!" Jack launched Soul Robber to latch onto a nearby pole, hanging a few inches off the ground.
This caused Bowser to trip over it, falling to the ground yet again. Mario rushed in, grabbing onto Bowser's Tail and twirled him around and around and around before letting go. This time, he went sailing over the edge!
"So long, Bowser!" Mario called after him.
"Yahoo! We did it! We did it!" Luigi jumped for joy as he pumped his fists. "You did it, Mario!"
"We did it!" Mario corrected.
"Well done! It looks like we trounced him now!" Jack exclaimed. "Come on! Let's save the girls!"
"All right!" Mario and Luigi agreed, and they rushed toward the chain that was holding the cage back.
"Oh, you did it! We knew you would!" Peach gushed happily. "You were amazing! Thank you so much!"
"You made it through, I was so sure you would. We're sorry to have put you through this!" Sally uttered with a teary smile.
"Don't apologize, dear Sally!" Jack said passionately, unable to keep from smiling. "It's all right, you're safe now, and that's what matters!"
"I don't think so, you so-called heroes!" Came an all-too familiar voice from behind them.
Mario, Luigi and Jack turned around in unison and were shocked to find a battered Bowser now coming toward them in his Koopa Clown Car, and the spirit of Oogie Boogie was floating alongside him!
"How can this be?.! We had defeated you!" Jack was shocked at first, before it melted into malice.
"So you think!" Oogie Boogie cackled. "But I live on, Jack! As long as I'm around, my good friend Bowser can keep going on!"
"No! This can't be!" Luigi wailed.
"Oh no..." Mario groaned.
"No! No, please, stop this!" Peach pleaded.
"Jack...!" Sally whimpered.
But it was no use. All hope was lost. There was nothing more they could do now.