I've been busy for quite a while, so that's why it took longer than usual to make this chapter.
Well, this is it, folks. It's time for the final battle to begin...
Chapter 13: The Final Strike
Giga Bowser looked down at the heroes. Most of them were shocked to see that. None of them were expecting Bowser to turn into this monstrous form.
"Mamma Mia! He's even-a bigger than last time!" Mario exclaimed.
"Wait, 'last time'? He already looked like that before?" Tails asked.
"It's a long-a story." The plumber replied.
At this moment, Eggman hoped onto his Egg Mobile. He flied up in the air until he was at the same level as Giga Bowser's head.
"Alright, Bowser. Or should I say 'Giga Bowser'. Have some fun with our guests!" the mad scientist exclaimed with glee.
"I couldn't agree more with you on that, Eggman." Giga Bowser said, smirking sinisterly.
The giant dragon raised his arms and roared loudly, forcing the heroes to cover their ears at that.
"This guy would be banned from a library right away!" Amy exclaimed.
"Not really the time to joke, Amy!" Rouge exclaimed.
"I wasn't trying to make a joke!"
Without wasting much time, Mario, still in his raccoon form, flied towards the villain. The latter noticed his archenemy and immediately swapped him away like a fly.
"Don't even think about it, plumber!" the giant dragon snapped.
The red plumber landed next to the rest of the heroes, losing his raccoon form. Soon after, Giga Bowser lifted his left foot and gave a mighty stomp on the floor, making the sound of a thunder. This stomp was so powerful, it caused the floor to be separated into several platforms by the lava underneath. The heroes were forced to get separated as they tried to avoid falling into the lava. Mario and Sonic were on one platform. Luigi, Rouge, Wario, and Amy were sharing the same platform. Tails, Knuckles, and Peach were also sharing the same platform. Donkey Kong, Shadow, and Yoshi shared another platform. The lava started to spread beyond the current area all of them were.
All of sudden, the seven Star Emeralds appeared on shorter platforms. All of them were powerless at the moment due to Bowser getting their powers. Mario couldn't believe what was happening.
"It can't-a be! We're-a losing-a to the bad guys!" the plumber exclaimed. "There's-a no way we can-a beat them with those-a powerless emeralds!"
Hearing what Mario just said, Tails' eyes widened. It seemed like he got an idea.
"We can still use them, guys!" the fox exclaimed at once.
"Really? How?" Luigi asked.
"Sonic, do you remember that time when you've beaten Perfect Chaos?" Tails asked his best friend.
"Sure, I do. How could I forget such an awesome fight?" Sonic rhetorically asked, smirking.
"Well, if I remember correctly, Chaos only absorbed the negative energy of the emeralds. You were able to get the positive one."
"So, you mean..."
"I think Bowser only absorbed the negative energy as well. So, there's still a chance the emeralds have some positive energy." Tails concluded.
"You think we can beat him like that?" Sonic asked.
"I'm-a not too sure about it." Mario said, worried. "I have-a no idea who Perfect Chaos was, but I doubt he was as powerful as Giga Bowser now."
"Come on, bro! I'm-a sure you can beat him!" Luigi exclaimed.
"I have no doubt you can beat him, Mario!" Yoshi exclaimed.
"No matter how powerful Bowser is, you always find a way to beat him somehow." DK said.
"Trust us, Mario. You can do it." Peach said.
"Just do something to get us out of-a this-a mess already!" Wario exclaimed in annoyance.
"You can do it as well, Sonic!" Tails exclaimed.
"I don't say it that often, but you always come on top, Sonic." Knuckles said.
"You already know how I feel about it, Sonic. You always win and you will do it again!" Amy cheered.
"I've seen you taking down the Finalhazard and Metal Overlord. That Giga Bowser should be no different." Rouge said.
"Being your rival, I am certain you will get the victory." Shadow said.
All of sudden, the seven Star Emeralds were shining brightly, much to the heroes' surprise. They looked as the emeralds started to float in the air. Soon enough, all seven emeralds surrounded Mario and Sonic. They span around the two heroes extremely fast until both heroes changed in terms of appearances. Sonic had golden yellow fur and red eyes. Unlike previous times where he had such an appearance, he also had a yellow cape on his back. As for Mario, his hat, his shirt, and his overalls became golden yellow as well. Just like Sonic at this moment, the plumber had a yellow cape on his back. They had become Super Mario and Super Sonic. The two of them smirked at each other.
"It's always my favorite part of the adventure." Super Sonic said, grinning before looking at the super plumber. "Ready, Mario?"
"Ready, Sonic!" Super Mario replied to the super hedgehog, before they nodded to each other.
Both heroes didn't waste time as they flied in the air. At the same time, both Giga Bowser and Eggman noticed the heroes coming towards them.
"Oh, great." Eggman sarcastically said. "Sonic has turned into Super Sonic. I've seen it too many times. Anyway, may I suggest you get rid of these two idiots?" he politely asked to the giant reptile.
"No need to even suggest it, Eggman." Giga Bowser said, smirking.
As the heroes were flying towards him, the giant dragon aimed at them with his fire breath. Super Mario and Super Sonic avoided the attack. All of sudden, a ramp made of rock appeared in front of them. The heroes went on that ramp to get further in the air. As they leapt in the air, the plumber and the hedgehog arrived right next to Giga Bowser's face and hit him hard enough. This had the effect of having the giant reptile fall on his back, shaking the lava underneath around. Seeing that, Eggman remained calm.
"Making him fall on his back won't stop us." He said before smirking. "It's gonna take you a while before you defeat us!"
The giant dragon stood back up. He then inhaled deeply before releasing an intense fire breath. Super Mario and Super Sonic took this time to split up and fly all around the place to avoid the fire. A few flying stunts later, both heroes reunited and went back towards the ramp of rock. Soon after, they flied near Giga Bowser and threw fireballs at him. Unfortunately, the giant dragon was standing still.
"You idiots!" the giant reptile exclaimed in amusement. "Do you really think someone like me, someone who can breathe fire without trouble, would be hurt by your miserable fireballs? No way! You two, on the other hand, won't resist to my powerful abilities!"
As soon as he stopped talking, Giga Bowser inhaled deeply again and breathed one huge wave of fire. The plumber and the hedgehog had to fly backwards to avoid getting roasted. Several seconds later, both heroes reunited again.
"We need something other than fire to beat him." Super Sonic said.
Super Mario pondered for a moment before snapping his fingers.
"Next time we come-a near his head, hit him with your cape." The plumber said.
"My cape?" the hedgehog asked, puzzled as he looked at his cape. "How is that going to work?"
"You'll-a see soon enough."
Without wasting time, Super Sonic followed his friend and went back on the ramp of rock. Leaping in the air, the two of them rushed towards Giga Bowser. They immediately took hold of their cape and swung it on the giant reptile's face. Surprisingly, it seemed to have done a lot of damage as the huge monster fell on his back. Eggman couldn't believe his eyes.
"WHAT!?" the mad scientist exclaimed in disbelief. "How the heck did they do that!?"
"No need to scream like that, Eggman!" Giga Bowser exclaimed in annoyance as he stood back up. "I can still hear you from here!"
Meanwhile, Super Mario and Super Sonic were flying above and went towards Giga Bowser's face. However, the giant reptile hit them with his hands.
"You don't stand a chance against us!" Eggman exclaimed enthusiastically.
"You may have hit my face, but I won't let you do that again!" Giga Bowser exclaimed.
"I wish they could just shut up right now." The hedgehog said in annoyance before turning his head towards the plumber. "I suggest we split up to attack that big lizard."
"Good idea." The latter nodded. "Let's-a go!"
Super Sonic flied towards the right side of Giga Bowser, while Super Mario flied towards the left side. They both gave several hits on the giant dragon's arms. After a while, the huge monster had enough and decided to punch the two of them. Both heroes landed on a platform. They didn't waste time as they stood back up and went back in the air. The two heroes thought about what strategy they could do this time.
"We tried hitting his arms, his face... What part of his body could we try on this time?" Super Sonic wondered out loud.
"His-a tail might be a weakness." Super Mario said.
"Okay. Let's try that."
The heroes flied above the giant reptile's head. They then headed towards his tail. Super Mario and Super Sonic hit the tail several times. Suddenly, the tail shook around and hit both heroes, sending them flying away. The two of them stopped at some point in the air.
"Let's try his chest. I don't think we've hit him at that spot." Super Sonic suggested.
"Okay then." Super Mario nodded.
The plumber and the hedgehog went higher in the air. Then, they flied towards the giant dragon. At this moment, Giga Bowser was breathing fire again. The two heroes dodged the fire while they kept going towards the powerful villain. Soon enough, they reached his chest and hit it hard enough. The giant reptile yelled in pain at that.
"I'm getting tired of all this!" Giga Bowser yelled in annoyance.
The giant reptile took a large chunk of rock, held it above his head, and threw it at the heroes. The two of them yelped in alarm as they avoided getting crushed by the huge rock. Giga Bowser grabbed another chunk of rock, held it high, and threw it at the heroes again. Super Mario and Super Sonic dodged the huge rock for the second time. The two heroes looked as the giant dragon grabbed a third chunk of rock. The plumber and the hedgehog then smirked as they looked at each other.
"Are you thinking-a what I'm-a thinking?" the plumber asked the hedgehog.
"It seems like it." The latter replied.
They nodded at each other. After Giga Bowser threw them the third chunk, which they avoided, the two heroes waited for him to grab a fourth chunk of rock. As soon as the giant reptile grabbed a fourth one and held it above his head, the plumber and the hedgehog immediately flied towards his hands. Super Mario went towards his left hand, while Super Sonic went towards his right one. The two heroes kept hitting the hands as much as they could. After a while, Giga Bowser was getting tired of having them hurting his hands.
"Hey! Knock it off, you two!" the giant dragon yelled at them.
Giga Bowser tried to hit them with his hands. However, as he did so, he let go of the large chunk of rock he was holding, which then fell on his head.
POW!
Suddenly, the giant reptile roared painfully as he received the rock on his head. Soon after that, Giga Bowser fell on his back, causing the ground to shake violently. Smokes covered the area as it happened.
After the smoke disappeared, Bowser had gone back to his original form. The lava also disappeared, allowing the heroes to freely walk around the area. The dragon stood up, groaning from what happened.
"Ugh... I think I have a headache now." Bowser said, slightly complaining. "I hate that plumber. And now, I'm starting to hate that hedgehog!"
Eggman then arrived next to the dragon, riding his Egg Mobile.
"You imbecile!" the mad scientist exclaimed in annoyance. "How could you have let them won against you?!"
"Oh, like YOU would have done much better in my place!" the dragon snapped at his associate.
They then heard someone coughing and turned their head around. To their shock, Super Mario and Super Sonic were floating next to them. The two heroes were smirking at the villains.
"Well... I think it's time to go." Eggman said as he was about to leave with his flying vehicle.
Before he could go any further, Super Mario went right in front of him, stopping him from leaving.
"If you don't-a mind..." the plumber said to the hedgehog.
"Eh, sure. Go ahead." The latter replied, winking.
The plumber looked at the Egg Mobile and noticed a big red button with the word 'self-destruct' on it. Taking a leap, Super Mario did a Homing Attack and hit the button. A 10-seconds timer appeared on the Egg Mobile.
"WHAT!? How did you manage to make a Homing Attack!?" Eggman asked in shock.
"Seeing-a Sonic doing that during our fights, plus-a the power of-a the emeralds, may have-a contributed to that." Super Mario said, grinning.
BOOM!
The Egg Mobile exploded, sending the mad scientist as far away into the sky.
"I hate you both!" Eggman yelled as he disappeared in the distance.
Bowser looked at Super Sonic and seemed nervous. He was thinking about what the hedgehog was going to do to him.
"You wouldn't hurt me, would you? I mean, you've already defeated me at this point, so there's no point continuing to hurt me." The dragon nervously said. "Wouldn't you agree?"
Super Sonic stroke his chin as he looked at Bowser. He seemed to be thinking about something in particular.
"Mario, would you mind giving me a tip there?" the hedgehog asked the plumber.
The latter whispered something in Super Sonic's ear. The hedgehog smirked before giving a thumbs up to Super Mario. Super Sonic went behind Bowser and grabbed his tail. With all his strength, the hedgehog lifted the dragon in the air and started swinging him around. He swung as fast as he could before throwing Bowser in the air.
"Not again!" the dragon yelled. "You will all pay for this!"
Just like the mad scientist before him, Bowser disappeared in the sky, much to the relief of the heroes...
End of chapter.
The heroes won, the villains are defeated, and there's only one chapter left to go.
I'm glad about what I've done with this final battle. It may not be perfect, but it's the best I could come up with.
Read and review!