A/N: This is the last chapter before the final battle FINALLY begins. But first, just a quick note that Peach and Daisy's armour are partly inspired by Link's tunic-and-mail combo in The Legend of Zelda series, while their face-framing helms are a bit like Dark Ace's headgear from the Storm Hawks TV series.
Chapter 24: Noon
As the fog burned away in the midday sun, the troops assembled behind the beach, forming into ranks that coated the leeward side of the hill and spilled over into the fields beyond. The tents around the doomship were bustling as the medics made the final preparations for the battle ahead. In the sky, the four new airships spaced themselves evenly over the beach, with the wooden ones, joined by the Koopa Cruiser, concentrating themselves on the wings, beyond the scope of the forcefield, which had yet to be turned on. While Morton watched and directed proceedings from the doomship, the other seven Koopalings quickly made their way to the front of the troops, waiting along the edge of the hill as dark shapes appeared in the hazy distance. By the time Peach, her father, Daisy and the Mario Bros. joined the Koopalings, the fog was completely gone and the humans ships were black shapes upon the gleaming waters, creeping ever closer towards shore.
"T minus fifteen minutes," reported Morton, who was also keeping an eye on the humans. His comment wasn't over the general com channel, however, but was directed to his parents alone.
"Got it – we'll head to the front now," said Bowselta, struggling to keep her voice from shaking. Her helmet had a two-way radio built in; the sound that came through was only audible to herself, and she activated the microphone with her mind, much like the retractable claws of Bowser's armour.
"Shall I begin clearing a path for you?" asked Kammy, who had also got Morton's message through a headset she wore under her hat. At Bowser's insistence, she also wore a gown of mail, but only because her usual purple cloak fully concealed it, for no self-respecting Magikoopa would be caught dead supplementing their defensive charms with crude metal coverings.
"Sure, I'll be out in a minute," said Bowselta, turning away as Kammy opened the hatch and shuffled outside. Once the door was closed, she began pacing around the airlock of the doomship, her heart racing as the social anxiety she had been trying to swallow all morning came welling right back to the surface.
The only other person in the room was Bowser, who hurried to try and calm his wife. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he said, stepping forward and reaching towards Bowselta, but she just pulled away.
"Easy for you to say – you always loved mustering the troops."
"But you enjoy making ultimatums-"
"But not when half the world is watching me!" hissed Bowselta, her nostrils flared and her eyes wide in near-panic. She stopped abruptly, facing the wall as she reached up and ran her claws over her metal-framed face with a ragged sigh. Bowser shuffled up behind her as she limply dropped her arms to her side, her eyes closed as she breathed deeply through her nostrils to try and cool her nerves. Almost tentatively, Bowser reached forward with his right hand and fit his large, meaty fingers between the claws of his wife's left hand. She looked down and then met Bowser's silent gaze, smiling as she curled her fingers around his.
"I could always do it for you – I bet I could wing something awesome," said Bowser wryly. "My best lines are always ad-libbed."
Bowselta shook her head. "No, I have to do this."
"You sure?"
"Positive." Bowselta turned her head towards the door, sliding her hand out of Bowser's as she started towards it. Bowser followed a couple steps behind, but was stopped in his tracks when the Koopa Queen suddenly whirled back around, dug her claws into the mail on his upper arms and pulled him into a wholly unexpected embrace. Nevertheless, he returned it without question, resting his hands on Bowselta's spiked elbow-guards while their mouths did all the work. The teeth of the helmets complicated matters a bit as they poked into flesh and scraped across metal, but it was no matter to the Dragon-Koopas as a sudden, burning need for one another consumed their world.
For weeks, Bowser had felt it building within him – a yearning for his lover that ran deeper than lust or lonesomeness, as if a part of himself had strayed, just out of reach. When Bowselta was away from him, Bowser felt an unspeakable dread, and even when she was there, it wasn't close enough. It wasn't that their love had faltered, but rather, some unthinkable force was pulling them down separate paths, and the few stolen moments they had shared since the humans arrived hadn't been enough to bring them together again. But not this time. Even as the seconds ticked away until the final, bloody battle ahead of them, there was nothing to stop Bowser from giving Bowselta his all. No mystic mountains, no grinning audience, no Sarasalandish doors, just the two Dragon-Koopas, while the world waited outside.
Bowselta couldn't forget what awaited her beyond that hatch, but right now, Bowser was more important to her. Just as he had felt like something was missing, she had felt like she was somehow drifting away from the world. For nine years, she had lived with the knowledge that she was condemned by Officer Griggs' bullet – in the quiet of the night, she would stare into the darkness and know that eventually, it would consume her. And she suffered alone, unable to tell Bowser, and even when she finally confessed in the caves, she still felt like she was standing apart from him, and moving further away. But while Bowser had tried to reach out, Bowselta had become too used to the isolation to fight, and instead threw herself into the quest to save the world – so that he would be happy even without her.
But she couldn't do it anymore. The world would be looking to her alone to lead them, but she couldn't be alone. She needed Bowser – she needed him to be with her, to be part of her again. No more lies, no more shrouds, no more distractions. Her world was Bowser. It was the roughness of his fire-worn scales against her lips as he kissed her again and again. It was the sharpness of his teeth, the softness of his mouth and the slickness of his tongue on hers. It was the smell of his breath, and the taste – she could taste herself on Bowser's lips, between his lips. They were one again, for another moment, but Bowselta wouldn't let this one fade, and as she fervently kissed her husband she was burning it all into her mind. The smell and taste and feel – what it made her feel: the numbness in her fingers, her head spinning yet completely in tune with the world, with Bowser.
Then as soon as it had started, it was over. Bowser barely had time to return Bowselta's small smile before she had backed out of his arms and turned towards the door. Before a shred of doubt could creep back into her mind, she opened the hatch, pausing only to let her dilated pupils adjust for the noonday sun before stepping out into the crowd, strengthened by the fact that Bowser was at her side, following only a half-step behind.
Kammy had been waiting for them, and as soon as the door swung open she was alighted on her broom, leading the way along the path that she had already cleared through the crowd. She flew high enough to ensure that Bowselta had a more pleasant view than her derriere, but the Koopa Queen was unseeing as she followed the Magikoopa forward through the sea of faces. She could still feel the eyes boring into her from all sides, and she could glimpse the movement of bowing Koopas out of her peripheral vision, but she refused to pay it any mind. Instead, she cluttered her thoughts with some artificial anticipation for the exciting battle ahead, rhetoric about ensuring a better future for her children, blurred memories of the past few weeks – anything to keep herself distracted. But most of all, she thought of Bowser. Had she not been riding a wave of elation caused by her moment with him, she might not have been able to overcome the suffocating phobia she felt towards her own people, but struggling as she was, she held herself together as she marched on and on. Bowser is with me – it'll be okay, she told herself. Bowser is with me – it'll be okay.
Bowser, on the other hand, was quite enjoying himself as Koopas fell to their knees or bowed their heads as he walked by with Bowselta. The Sarasalanders and Beanish soldiers just watched stoically, but to Bowser's delight, many other species joining the Koopas – from both Dark Land and the Mushroom Kingdom. Even some Toads, afraid of angering the Koopas that surrounded them, dropped to the ground – it was a sight that Bowser had long dreamed of, as was the gathering itself, really. It took a monumental amount of self-control to keep himself from grinning like a giddy idiot as he surveyed the inestimably large crowd that, ultimately, was answering to him today. Sure, the Beanish, Mushroomian and Sarasalandish troops were still being ordered around by their respective leaders, but they would be following Bowselta's lead – and by extension, Bowser's as well.
It was finally his time.
He and his beloved wife were going to lead the liberation of their planet – and that would never be forgotten: they would never be forgotten. Bowselta would always be remembered as the descendent of Koopa, who's near-sacrifice was the miracle that made it all possible, it was Bowser who led the counter-invasion in the wake of Koopa's return. He freed his people and they cheered his name; he flew victorious across the Mushroom Kingdom and they joyously flew his flag. Forgotten was the bitter disappointment as every invasion preceding that flight ended in slaughter and shame; forgotten were the days when the love and respect shown to him by the vast number of subjects were false. Forgotten were the whispers that he was a failure for losing to the Mario Bros. time and time again, a monster for getting his children involved, a fool for kidnapping Peach, a disgrace to King Morton's name. Forgotten were all the times Bowser was forsaken by his troops – forgotten were their claims of mind-control, their cowardice, their insincere apologies to a king they hadn't hoped would return.
All Bowser remembered were the soldiers who had never wavered in their loyalty, and he let himself believe that all the Koopas fighting for him this day were just as supportive. He thought he had finally emerged from Morton's shadow – that by freeing his people and leading a war far greater than any other battle before it, he would be remembered. Every time he had led an invasion in the past, he had told himself that it would be the one – that it would end in the success he had long dreamt of; this war was no exception, but victory would be so much sweeter. Swept up by the heady whirlwind of success and anticipation, he convinced himself that by the end of the day, he would have secured his position as the greatest Koopa King to go down in history.
He didn't consider that the Koopalings, the Marios, Peach, Daisy, even Wario and Waluigi and anyone else who rode into town on the heels of retreating humans had been met with equal appreciation from the liberated peoples. He didn't look ahead to when the Koopas would surely be asked to return to their kingdom, and how that would remind the Koopan people so vividly of the countless times they crawled back across the border after Bowser's own desperate invasions ended in painful failure. He didn't consider that when was said and done, he might just be considered as one of the many leaders who led the invasion, that the only one who would be raised above the rest would be Bowselta, her bloodline, and her glowing blue rock. He didn't think his time in the sun would be over as soon as the war was won – he didn't want to think about it.
Soon they reached the top of the hill and the crowd dropped behind as Bowselta took her place upon a rocky outcropping. Bowser stopped short, still in front of the troops, whose lines stretched out along the crest of the hill, going almost the entire length of the beach, which gave way to rocky hills that ended in low cliffs at the water's edge. He looked from side to side, still drinking in the sight of so many soldiers at the command of the Koopas – including Mario and co. The red plumber was standing to Bowser's right with Peach and her father, who was perched atop Yoshi; to Bowser's left were Daisy and Luigi, and Wario and Waluigi stood further along the front.
Like the Dragon-Koopas, the humans wore personalized coats of armour for the final battle. Mario and Luigi's white gloves and brown shoes were replaced by metal gauntlets and combat boots, and Luigi also sported green metal plates and guards that were not unlike his Strikers gear save for the crest of Sarasaland emblazoned upon them. Mario didn't have the future of a kingdom's royalty resting on his shoulders, and forwent any plating, instead just wearing a red mail coat beneath a pair of plain bluejean overalls. Both were confident enough in their skills and rapport with the protective Star Spirits to wear their signature caps over proper headgear. Their gumption suited Bowser just fine – maybe he'd get lucky and find himself rid of more than one human pest problem before the day was over.
Peach and Daisy's helms were quite similar to the Koopas', with metal rims running along their foreheads and framing their face, but with their hair flowing free; there was no forcefields protected the exposed parts, however, and Bowser hoped Peach's faith in the Stars was not misplaced. The rest of her was covered, however – her and Daisy's necks, arms and legs were bound in black, magically bulletproof cloth, and they also wore breastplates from which gowns of mail hung down to their knees, tightened by belts at the waist and covered in pink and yellow fabric, respectively. Like Luigi, Daisy has the Sarasaland crest displayed on most solid pieces of metal, while Peach had her iconic blue gem imbedded in the front of her chest piece. Bowser couldn't help but draw a parallel to how Bowselta was displaying her blue charm in her armour, and wondered if perhaps that was intentional. His wife never forgot his passing fixation on Peach, and he wouldn't put it past her to one-up Peach when it came to decorating the one outfit she ever wore…
But it didn't really matter – Bowselta was the only one for Bowser, and he shrugged off the observation as just another trivial point and shifted his focus to Peach's father. King Toadstool was getting pretty old (for a human); his moustache and small, pointed beard had long ago faded from black to white, and Bowser suspected he was bald underneath the black, jewel-studded mushroom cap he wore out of deference to his Toad subjects. Like the Marios, he kept his usual headgear, but his armour was much more straightforward, with metal plates covering his rotund body and his limbs, connecting to combat boots and gauntlets like those worn by the Marios. As well as the Mushroom insignia painted across his chest, he also wore a long dark blue cape over the back of his armour.
He was perched atop Yoshi, who had come to the Mushroom Kingdom for the wedding and hadn't left before the invasion started. He had been fighting alongside Mario and Luigi before their capture as well as after the liberation, although credit was not given to the old dino nearly as much as his human friends. He was certainly given a starring role this time, although there hadn't been time to make the Mushroom King's steed any fancy armour beyond a rudimentary helmet. It was somewhat similar to Koopa helmets, with the head and snout fully covered, without anything obstructing the mouth or restricting the movement of the lower jaw, but there was no forcefield spanning the empty space before Yoshi's eyes. However, like Mario, the veteran warrior Yoshi optimistically felt that the plain coat of mail wrapped around his neck and draped down his sides would be more enough anyway.
Looking further down the line of soldiers, Bowser could pick out the nearest Koopalings, who were stationed at equal intervals along the front. He knew Wario and Waluigi were also somewhere on the front line, but he figured they were near one of the edges since he couldn't pick them out at all. He knew the Beanish general had chosen to be positioned at the West edge of the beach to help make sure no humans tried to skirt around the main battlefield, rather than join the other leaders in the center, in front of the doomship.
Bowselta didn't look around, her eyes fixed on the ships before her. The massive Nimitz class aircraft carrier was still far out, but the two Wasp class amphibious assault ships were buzzing with helicopter rotors and had already begun deploying their troops. Humans in countless amphibious tank-like assault vehicles were approaching the shore with the nine Runnymede class landing craft, while the seven Arleigh Burke class destroyers remained in formation around the larger ships. They would all have to be dealt with quickly, before too many birds were in the air – even as Bowselta watched, the first of the helicopters took to the sky. Then Morton finally signaled: "Okay Mom, the camera's are rolling – knock 'em dead! Figuratively, I mean – unless they don't listen, of course, which is probably what's gonna happen, but-"
Bowselta cut off her radio, and closed her eyes, blocking out the sight of the humans and the camera-wielding Lakitus hovering around the peripheries of her vision. She took a deep breath and then snapped her eyes open. "Humans of Earth – I'll make this brief!" she began, her voice strong and unwavering, as she stared across the waters, her eyes flashing. "We outnumber you, our technology matches your own, and the Mystic Meteor grants us powers that far outstrips the advantage once granted to you by your toxic weaponry. If you fight us, you will lose – but if you call off your attack, we will happily free every prisoner we have taken and send you all back through the portal. And then, with the Mystic Meteor, we shall close it behind you – to ensure no one crosses between our worlds for any reason ever again…"
This statement sent mutterings of surprise through the ranks, and even Bowser and Kammy shared a surprised glance: the prospect of sealing the portal was news to them – evidentially, Bowselta was still holding out on some of the information Koopa had given her. But Bowselta didn't pause to let this revelation sink it: the boats and the helicopters were making their final approach and jets were roaring off of the aircraft carrier in the distance, soon to join them. Her timing would be close, but Bowselta was determined to finish her speech. Barring the execution, it was her public debut, after all, and she was going to end it on her own terms.
"…We have no intention of following you through and invading Earth – anyone who told you otherwise is either misinformed, or a liar. They have gathered you here today, not to defend your world, but to conquer ours, and we will never let that happen. So, I give you one last chance: turn your ships around and go home in peace. The choice is yours – surrender, or be destroyed."
As if in response, one of the F-18s that had past over the helicopters fired a missile, aiming to destroy the leader of the Mushroom World resistance on live-television, but Morton's timing was better, for he had already tripped the switch to activate the forcefield. A wave of green flashed through the air above the army; blossoming out from the doomship, it blanketed the beach, its sparking tendrils reaching towards the remote energy panels. The missile hit the forcefield almost as soon as it had been launched, and the F-18 that fired it fared no better, pulling up too late and clipping the sparking green energy, flipping and exploding against the forcefield. Illuminated by the fires above her, Bowselta only had one more thing to say: "ATTACK!"