Chapter 10: Smithy I: Battle in the Factory
The two heroes are falling to their destination, where the main target Smithy is lying in wait for them. Everyone that has come their way has fallen, but Mallow worries about the costs of their victory. He looks at Gemini, concerned about the stability of his mind after he destroyed Domino and tortured Yaridovich's cleaved head. Was it his own emotions getting the best of him, or could it be that the demonic heart implanted into his body is trying to once again take control. In fact, that brought another question the cloud Prince's mind. One that got unresolved because the person giving the info had no clue as to how it was possible.
All Mallow wanted to say to Gemini was "How did you get your original form back?" But because of his ally's melancholy mood he figured it would be intrusive for him to ask such a question. The way he saw it, Gemini had an agenda against Smithy alone. Once he is dealt with for good the Koopa would probably be back to his normal self and might be willing to talk about his past. These were only guesses, but Mallow wanted to believe in them not only for his sake, but for his friend's as well.
With their descent bringing them closer and closer to the bottom, the two of them begin to hear a massive object getting banged against a metal plate. "Clang! Clang!" The sound gets louder and louder, echoing through the air as the two heroes finally start to see the ground below their feet. There is a fan that blows enough air to cushion their fall, and after bouncing up and down a couple of times the two of them float in place. At that point they have to use their arms to wade through the wind and land outside of the fan's range. The area is much bigger than Mallow remembers is being, with more crafting tools spread about and columns of steel supporting the gargantuan platform that they are on.
Gemini looks around, but finds that Smithy isn't anywhere to be found. "Just got to follow the sounds…" He thinks to himself. The anticipation was overwhelming. He has done many heroic things with the powers of his demonic heart, but at the same time he has lost many bonds due to a premature lack of control over it. He was going to make Smithy pay, he was going to kill him using the very powers that he had given him. If he loses himself to the heart in the process, so be it. He didn't care about the consequences, he just wanted to see justice be delivered to that mechanical mongrel.
The Koopa marches towards the noise with Mallow following close behind. He already had his black electricity prepared around his tightly clenched fists, and the cloud Prince has his staff held out ready to cast the first spell of the battle. Walking across the platform, they soon find their target, who has his massive rounded hammer gripped in the curved golden fingers of his squared crimson hand. He hits it against the front of a large bronze construct that has consists of seven pillars and a two-sided door that has an empty crystal orb on top of it. The mechanical leader hears the footsteps of the two heroes approaching his body and lowers his hammer, but refuses to turn and look at them directly.
"So you finally arrived…Prince Mallow of Nimbus Land and Lieutenant Gemini of the M.S.I., correct?" Smithy's deep, elderly voice echoes within the confines of his body. But he is not yet done speaking. "Forgive me actually, I shouldn't call you by your fabricated name…My proudest achievement." Mallow knew perfectly well who the machine maker was referring to when he said that second sentence. The following reaction was expected, as Gemini grits his teeth and raises his hands in front of his chest, pouring his energy into a compressed spherical form aimed at Smithy. "You're right, you shouldn't call me by my name. Because as of now I'm not Lieutenant Gemini, but YOUR EXECUTIONER!"
Exclaiming his murderous intent to the mechanical mongrel, the Koopa thrusts his palms out and sends the orb spiral towards him. Letting out a metallic sounding sigh, Smithy calm twists his body around and uses the back of his left hand to swat the demonic lightning away as if it were a gnat in his line of sight. This reveals the full appearance of this grey mechanical monstrosity, and all that there is left to note is that he has a golden crown on his head and a long white beard on his face. "Was that really all you could muster? I felt a bit of a tickle in my hand, but besides that I stand here unharmed. So much for that declaration of yours…" Smithy acted haughty, but he did have a point in what he was saying. Gemini fired that attack off hastily, and there wasn't any power backing it up. The Koopa thrusts his hands out beside his body and charges more electricity in them ready to fire another shot, a scowl ever-present on his voice as a growl can be heard under his breath.
"Lieutenant, pull yourself together! The last thing I want to see is you dying on the battlefield out of recklessness!" Gemini had completely forgotten about his Commander's communicator, and as he is called out on his behavior by him he has but one thing to wonder about. "Commander? Why are you telling me this, how would you know about the current situation?" "I've been watching your progress via a microscopic camera that is hovering behind the two of you, obviously" Alpha's reply is said so casually that one must wonder if he didn't realize the repercussions of that comment.
"What…What did you say?" Gemini says with his lips curling into a scowl. He knew all too well that the Commander has cameras set up around the planet to monitor the activities of the people in the name of good, but to have on watching his and Mallow's progress? To the Lieutenant that felt like a breech of trust, as if Alpha didn't trust him to keep in control. Of course, he has failed to keep himself together twice now, but Gemini was feeling far too enraged at this point to think about that side of things at the moment. "We can have a talk about the ramifications of my decision later Lieutenant, right now there's a more pressing matter in front of you."
That comment from Alpha calms Gemini down, and he lifts his head up and looks at the machine that is lurking behind Smithy. "Lieutenant, increase the volume of the communicator so I can ask that mechanical mongrel a question." Complying to the request, the Koopa taps the side of his head to increase the volume of the device. "Smithy is it? I must admit it is not exactly an honor to have to talk to you…" The machine king hears the Goomba's voice calling to him from Gemini's head and raises one brow in confusion. "My goodness, the great Commander Alpha of the M.S.I. wishes to speak to me? To what do I owe the pleasure?" He says with a great deal of mocking sarcasm.
"Just what are you up to? That device certainly doesn't look like it is meant to act as a weapon…" "Oh?" Alpha's comment piques Smithy's interest, and he turns his head to look up at his grand creation, a light yet deep sounding chuckle emerging from his metallic lips not long afterwards. "Perceptive, aren't we? Unfortunately I am not going to let slip my little secrets, so…" Smithy turns back around and raises one hand into the air, snapping his metallic fingers together with a loud "Clang!" following as if he was trying to grab someone's attention.
"Jester, I know you are watching from afar! I have done all that I need to do, you can take it from here now!" "Is that so my companion of steel? Very well, like a leaf in a mid-summers breeze I shall be on my way~" The sound of another pair of fingers snapping is heard echoing in the distance, and a three-dimensional neon box grows from the bottom left corner of the bronze construct until it completely engulfs it. By that point the device flips around a few times before vanishing into a puff of smoke, leaving the two heroes with befuddled expressions because of how unexpected that action was. "Where did it go?" Mallow asks.
From within the M.S.I. battleship the rest of the heroes have been watching Gemini and Mallow's progress on a widescreen T.V. positioned in the northern quadrant of the command room. Mario of course had his qualms with doing this, but he stood still with arms folded and did little to make his objections known. But the moment he notices the 3-D box his eyes widen in shock along with his brother's, for they recognized the technique all too well. Luigi immediately rushes up the staircase where Alpha is at and shoves him away from the microphone so he can speak to Gemini.
"Gemini! That box was created by Dimentio, the dimensional-warping jester from Flipside! He must be the other ally working for Cackletta!" The man in green's urgent message reaches the Koopa, but unlike the Mario Bros. he knows nothing about the being described to him. Smithy however, who is listening and watching the movements of the two heroes with interest, knows the identity of the jester full well and can't help but chuckle at Gemini's ineptitude. "Are you puzzled, my little experiment?" He says to mock the Koopa and ignite that feeling of anger he was expressing before.
Gemini stops listening to the communicator for a moment and lowers his hand down to the side of his body before clenching it into the shape of a fist. "What did you say?" He asks. "You look flustered…Do you know nothing about my colleague Dimentio? That's funny, Alpha knows about his existence, just like he probably knew all this time that I wasn't truly dead. He has been hiding many things from you, hasn't he?" That was the last thing Smithy needed to say to make Gemini snap. Bringing that up causes the Koopa to widen his eyes and think for a moment about just how much he can trust the loyalty of his Commander.
"Gemini, don't listen to Smithy! While it is true that I knew about Dimentio, I had no idea that Smithy had managed to survive for this long, you got to believe me when I say this!" There was a conflict of emotions welling up inside of Gemini. His hatred of Smithy, his distrust of his Commander, and his desire to keep himself together just so he Mallow doesn't have to go through what he had to see ever again. But nothing being said to him was calming him down, and there was only one thing he could think of doing to alleviate some of the pressure.
"Sorry Alpha…" Breaking through his rising anger for just a moment to apologize to his superior, Gemini's hands spark with electricity. From the battleship Alpha can hear the static and notices the screen becoming blurry in a matter of seconds. Nudging Luigi out of the way momentarily, the Commander latches onto the microphone with one hand and brings it close to his face. "Gemini, don't do it. Revenge isn't worth it if you lose yourself in the process…" Alpha's words are barely heard by the Koopa, for the effects of his electricity are already taking hold and causing both the communicator and the camera to deactivate.
Before they shut off completely, Alpha slams his fists against the arms of his chair and screams into the microphone with all of his might "LIEUTENANT GEMINI, DON'T YOU DARE DO IT!" But it was too late. The screen becomes filled with static along with the speakers that projected the noise from the other realm. The Commander looks on in abject disbelief, taking his right hand to the front of his face and spreading his fingers out wide. "What have I done…Why did I allow him to go…" He mutters under his breath, horrified by the fact that by the time this day is done, Gemini may no longer be himself.
Back in the factory, Gemini's hands surge with black electricity. The job was done. He had cut off all communications with his Commander and the rest of the heroes back on Plit. It was just him and Mallow alone against Smithy now. The power of his energy jolts outwards and causes the lights above to flick on and off. The mere presence of the Koopa in his current state of rage was enough to alter the flow of electrons in most of the machinery around Smithy's workshop. Rubbing his metallic beard with a look of intrigue on his face, the machine king looks forward and says "Marvelous. Simply marvelous…" With a creepy amount of intrigue in the tone.
"It is such a shame that you somehow managed to escape from my factory six years ago…That power source within your chest, the heart of the demon from the otherworld, would've certainly made my invasion force unstoppable…Whatever, that is all in the past. As of now I WILL sub-due you and your Nimbusian ally and use both of your powers for my own ends!" Though Mallow has been mainly silent up until this point, he now finds himself feeling the same way that his ally does towards Smithy. His blatant lack of empathy, his inability to understand the value of life, and his desire to fill the world with nothing but weapons. There was nothing likeable about this mechanical mongrel, and he was a threat that needed to be silenced even before it was known that he was working with Cackletta.
"Smithy…You aren't going to anything to either me or my friend! No, scratch that…You won't do anything to anyone ever again when we are done with you! I'm going to kill you with the very powers you granted to me, and this time you won't be able to weasel your way out! Mallow!" Exclaiming his desires with the utmost confidence, Gemini turns to the cloud Prince and sees him nodding his head in response to the mentioning of his name. "Don't hold back, hit this monster with everything you've got!" "Understood!" Mallow replies with a great deal of vigor in his voice.
Raising his staff high into the air while his ally transforms into his demonic state, Mallow lets the tip glow brightly as he prepares his strongest spell. Gemini takes his hands and places them in front of his chest, drawing in blood from his body and converting it into electricity to power up the compressed orb being created between his palms. Smithy stands completely still, letting a sigh out as he waits for the two heroes to finish charging up their attacks. He has his hammer hand lowered, which the Koopa mistakenly takes as a sign that he is actually willing to accept his death.
"Die! You goddamn mongrel!" Thrusting his hands out as hard as he can, Gemini sends out a massive black and red mixed electricity sphere at Smithy. The bottom of the attack melts a path through the ground and collides with the mechanical monstrosity in a matter of seconds, creating a wide-scale explosion that sends darkened sparks through the ensuing cloud of smoke. Mallow swings his staff in front of his body, opening the sky up and sending a gigantic thunderbolt cascading down through the cloud, dispersing it and leaving behind an electrical explosion in its place, the likes of which sends volts hurtling through the cracked metal plates below their feet.
It was pretty well-thought out, considering that as a being of metal Smithy should have a weakness to the lightning element. Gemini was pretty confident that the two of them had won right then and there, but that feeling would not last for long. "Is that all you got?" Swinging his hammer through the smoke to dispel it, Smithy is revealed in full form without a single scratch on his sleek armor. "Impossible…" The Koopa states with a hint of exhausted disbelief in his words. "Our strongest attacks did nothing?" Mallow then exclaims in surprise. Smithy raises his hammer over his shoulder and looks at the two heroes, scoffing at their hastiness with a smug look on his face. "Fools. You think that after my previous defeat I just stood around and made upgrades only to my men? Gaze upon me as I stand now, the pinnacle of all machinery that has and ever shall be created. I am Smithy, the lord of all machines, and you who have come to topple me shall now see just why I earned that title!"
Next Time: The First Car