Koopa Fleet
A squad of Giga Paratroopas was scouting the area high above the Mushroom Kingdom in a V-formation. It was a pleasant day as always in the Mushroom Kingdom, with a blue sky filled with clouds, and a bright afternoon sun. The leader at the center of the formation radioed in, "Koopla here. No problems." Suddenly, some laser fire shot down one of the flanking members. "Enemy detected! Do you copy?! Emergency maneuvers!" The V did a U-turn straight back into the more cloudy area behind them, where the rest of the fleet was.
In the distance, the Sarasaland Fleet could be seen, being led by a squadron of Arwings. The rest of the ships far behind seemed to be Dreadnoughts and Cruisers flying through the air.
"Too late! Game Over!" Daisy said over the radio.
"Princess, are you sure about this?" asked the pilot of the Arwing designated as Rose 4.
"Darn skippy!" Daisy said. "All Wings, report in."
"Red 7, standing by."
"Green 11, standing by."
"Angel 20, standing by."
"Yellow 5, standing by."
Every fighter continued to report in until everyone was accounted for. "Open the wings," Central Control radioed. "Red Team, take the top. Green Team take the left. Yellow Team take the right. Blue will cover the bottom. Rose Squadron, take the center. Angel Squadron, maintain your distance, set turrets to remote, and keep it steady. All Wings, accelerate to attack speed."
The eight Arwings of Rose Squadron, Daisy's team, boosted ahead and into the outer reaches of the enemy fleet. They shot away at the fleeing Giga Paratroopa scouts and began hammering away at the first Doom Ship they encountered. It was quickly downed, but dozens of Bob-ombs were launched out of the ships behind it.
"Incoming Bob-ombs!" Daisy said, slowing down. "Rose Squadron, form on my wing." The Arwings all caught up to her and remained alongside her. "Firing first Nova Bomb volley." Each fired a single missile into the cloud of falling Bob-ombs. The series of bright explosions wiped out all of the Bob-ombs like a band of dominoes.
"Angels, we are clear for approach," Rose 2 said. He spoke too soon as, the Bill Ships launched six rather suspicious-looking Bullet Bills. Each had a platinum sheen and red eyes.
"Scans show they aren't Death Metals," Rose 4 said. "Shoot 'em down. They're trying to scare us off."
The surprisingly durable Bullet Bills took quite a bit of laser fire from each member of Rose Squadron before they finally crumbled and exploded harmlessly. By now, the fighters had gotten the Koopa Fleet's attention. Since Rose Squadron was the only one focused on simply penetrating the fleet, they passed by many enemy ships, while attempting to cause as much damage as possible. The Bill Ships, which made up most of the next layer, began to fire off Smart Bills.
"Did we get 'em yet?" a gruff, though unfamiliar voice asked over the radio.
"Not yet, sir," another voice said.
"We're getting overlap from enemy transmissions," Control said to everyone. "They can't hear us, but we can hear them. That's what they get for not encoding their signals."
"I've got a few bogeys on my tail," Daisy said, boosting into hard turns. "Must've missed those Smart Bills." Laser fire from a cloaked stealth ship took out the offending missiles. "Thanks, Angel."
"Just trying to speed things along."
Daisy saw a wing get blown off of an Arwing that got to close to a Koopa Ship. "Watch those cannons. Don't get too close to the heavier ships. Remember, we're here to clear a path."
"Roses 4 through 8," Control said. "Red Team needs some extra support. We don't need to look too suspicious in the middle."
"Roger that, Control," Rose 4 said, leading the others upward.
"Enemy fire increasing," Daisy said, barrel rolling out of laser fire and blasting along the surface of a Bullet Ship. When Smart Bills locked onto her, she bombed the surface to cripple the ship and destroy them at the same time.
"Move into the clouds," Control advised.
"You guys were way off on the enemy counts," Daisy said, sneaking by a Koopa Ship in the cloud cover. "There's like fifty Bill Ships out here. They're getting closer together too. I'm starting to see what looks like a base." There were floating platforms that led to other ships, as well as a rail system for trolleys, where sentry cannons continued to fire.
"I don't think we're going to have much more space, Control," Angel 20 said.
"Push a little further," Control said. "We need to get as close as possible."
Soon, Doomships began to put themselves in the way of Rose Squadron, but the Arwings simply flew around them, even managing to down a few on the way by.
"They've passed the first line," came a voice over an enemy transmission.
After exiting the cloud cover, Daisy saw that there was an airfield of Fire Chomps. She mowed through with her laser fire, clearing a path for the others to follow, even as the Fire Chomps flung fireballs at them.
"Guys, it looks like something new is coming up," Daisy warned. There were large Bullet Bill Blasters hovering in the air, suspended by thrusters. The strange thing was that they darted around every second or so, while firing multiple shots of regular Bullet Bills. There were many more Doomships lining the path, also firing Bullet Bills and cannons. Daisy flung another Nova Bomb into their ranks to destroy some of the Blasters.
"We're drawing too much fire," Angel 20 said.
"Do what you've gotta do, Angels," Daisy said.
"Bwa ha ha!" Bowser's voice laughed over all frequencies. "So, you guys finally decided to come out and play, huh? Those flying pieces of scrap won't stand a chance against me and my unstoppable fleet. The Koopa Fleet is endless. With the power of the Star Rod, I can make as many ships as I want to. It's invincible, ha ha!"
"Full of himself as usual," Geno said, standing with Peach and Zelda on a partially disabled Doom Ship as a Stealth Ship lifted off. "Ready, ladies?"
"Ready," they said, each holding onto one of his hands.
He dashed forward with them at blazing speed, easily outrunning any projectiles that had been fired at them. After reaching the tip of the Doom Ship, they leapt straight off.
"Whoa, we're really high up!" Peach said, still holding on.
"I can't even see the ground from here," Zelda said. "I hope these shoes are as good as Daisy said they were." They fell for nearly ten seconds. The wind rushed up through their hair and clothing. They had very clear view of the beauty of the Mushroom Kingdom's skies, as well as the armada before them.
"Here it comes," Geno said as they neared a platform being manned by Giga Koopas with Blasters. All three landed and bounced slightly, startling the Giga Koopas. Geno overwhelmed one Giga Koopa with a flurry of star bullets. Zelda knocked one of them clear off the platform. Peach used the Peach Bomber to the blow the remaining one away.
"That wasn't so bad," Peach said. "But where do we go next?"
Geno picked up a remote from the dispatched Giga Koopa. "They've disabled the trolley system. That may lighten up the situation for the Arwings, but we might be stuck here. Peach, can you fly us out of here?"
Peach checked with the Millennium Star, which hid under her crown in her hair. "Sorry, I can't fly that long. And the Millennium Star isn't charged up enough."
"Zelda, do you have any useful tricks?" Geno asked. "The fighters are too busy to help us right now."
"Hmm," Zelda said, looking at the rail passing by the platform. "I don't think we need a trolley." She hopped onto the rail with perfect balance. "I think we can just use the rail system itself."
"So, we should grind along the rails, eh?" Geno smirked. "Peach, are you up to it?"
"Grinding? I haven't done that since the second Mario Party," Peach said. "But if I can get a board, then I should be able to manage." Zelda responded by telekinetically ripping a section of plating off of the platform. "Wow."
"Excellent form," Geno said, jumping onto the rail in front of Zelda. Peach took the metal "board" and jumped onto the rail in front of both of them, quickly grinding down the slope.
"Whee!" Peach squealed giddily, doing quick 180º spins to pick up speed. Geno and Zelda did the same to catch up.
Once Geno was within earshot, he had to ask, "Peach, you say you learned to do this at one of Mario's parties?"
"Yep," she said, facing backward so that she could look him in the face. "Kind of by accident too. The game was to use skateboards to outrun Big Boo. There were some stairs and Thwomps in the way, so I happened to grind along a few rails to get by. And before that, we were trying to escape the collapsing floor while over a sea of lava."
"That doesn't sound like a party I'd want to got to," Zelda said. They jumped off the rail as they went over a Doom Ship and landed on the deck jogging, with Peach holding her board under her arm. All the cannons began to turn to them. "I'll take care of these."
"No, just ignore them," Geno said, continuing to run along the deck to other end of the ship. "There should be a railway somewhere behind this thing." Sure enough, they reached a railway in the air just behind the Doom Ship leading to a platform that had several cannons on it. "Now, Zelda, let's try that new trick."
"Got it," Zelda said as they jumped from the rail. Using her telekinesis, she threw Peach and Geno right at the cannons. The Peach Bomber destroyed two of the cannons at once. Geno smashed through one unharmed, and stood before the remaining cannon. As it turned toward him, he tossed his guns into the air and fired Twin Rocket Punches at it. Once the fists blew up and destroyed the cannon, a new pair of hands took their place and he caught his guns.
"Should we go up there?" Peach asked, looking up to a low-flying Bill Ship.
"It's a little too high…" Geno said, before linking into his internal radio. "Control, we need this Bill Ship to go a little lower."
"Roger that. We have your signal. Transmitting now." Soon enough, several Arwings began to assault the Bill Ship overhead. After a heavy beating, it began to sink and tilt downward. "Geno, we've plotted a path that should get you closer to the Flagship. We're uploading it into your systems now."
Geno stared blankly ahead as he downloaded the information, blinking once it was complete. "Got it." Once the Bill Ship had sunk far enough, they hopped onto the nose and ran up the outer shell, bypassing as many cannons as possible. Zelda put up a shield around herself and the others when the cannons began to spurt Bob-ombs. Near the backside of the ship, there was yet another higher platform that served as a gun deck for the Bill Ship, just out of everyone's jumping reach.
"I'll take it from here," Peach said, jumping as high as she could. Zelda grabbed onto her legs, and Geno grabbed onto Zelda's legs. Peach slowly floated higher until they were on the upper deck. Four Hammer Bros. were waiting for them. Peach blew them away with a single Psych Bomb and everyone landed. Unfortunately, the extra damage sped up the Bill Ship's descent.
"Follow me," Geno said, running further toward the back. There was a rail just within reach that led to a nearby Doom Ship. An Arwing flew by and blew away the cannons, leaving the three heroes a clear path. As soon as the trio landed on the bow of the ship, Giga Paratroopas swooped out of the air to give them trouble. Geno used his Geno Beam. Zelda used her Shining Ray. And Peach used another Psych Bomb. Once the Giga Paratroopas had been suitably dispatched, Geno quickly led them toward the back of the ship. Instead of looking for a rail, they went into one of the hatches and walked down an incline to the underside of the ship.
There was yet another Doom Ship under this one. Geno fired a few shots down to get its attention. After drawing several Bullet Bills and cannonballs toward the ship, the three jumped down to the next Doom Ship, leaving the previous one to be shot down by the aforementioned projectiles.
Unexpectedly, a nearby Arwing burst into flames and exploded into the side of the Doom Ship, splitting the whole thing in half. "Grab on!" Peach exclaimed. They took hold of her and she began to float.
"How long can you keep this up?" Zelda asked.
"All day if I don't move," Peach said.
"But we're just sitting ducks like this," Geno frowned.
"Help is on the way," Daisy said over the radio. Her Arwing flew just below them and stopped in midair. "I can give you a little ride." They dropped down, with one princess on each ring and the robotic doll standing on the canopy. "Now, I can't do too many maneuvers, so you guys will have to cover me."
"I've never seen so many vessels," Zelda said, marveling at the seemingly endless number of ships. "Are we even close to the Flagship."
"Hold that thought," Geno said, seeing several Smart Bills lock onto their position. A beam of light shot out of him and into the air. In a second, a rainbow of beams rained down from the sky, taking out the missiles and damaging all the ships around them.
"Rose Leader," Control said. "We know you're a little busy, but Red Team needs support. There's a Paratroopa Ship giving them some serious trouble."
"Hold on, guys!" she said, boosting upward.
"Not so fast!" Zelda screamed, clinging to the wing. After going through a particularly large cloud, they saw a mini-war going on around a single Paratroopa Ship. Daisy immediately swerved out of the way of several stray Bullet Bills. Daisy fired a bomb at the head of the ship, but it only succeeded in clearing away the smaller cannons.
"That things tough!" Daisy said. She swerved again as a Mezzo Bomb detonated in midair. "I can't get close! We can't do much from here."
"Any weaknesses?" Geno asked.
"The engines are kinda exposed in the back of the upper deck, but no one can get near it. Too much fire power!"
"Maybe we can help?" Peach suggested.
"Nah," Daisy said. "You'd get shot up ten times over before even reaching it, even if I managed to drop you off."
"I have an idea!" Zelda said. "Peach, use the Shining Star to energize me."
"Okay," Peach nodded. She summoned the Shining Star and powered her up.
Zelda's Triforce glowed brightly and everything around them froze in place. "Okay, Daisy. Drop us off right in front of the engine. You'll be stuck like everything else as soon as I let go, but you should be fine."
"Here we go," Daisy said, seeing the Shining Star beginning to fade. She skimmed over the shell of the Paratroopa Ship, seeing the numerous Blasters along the surface. Once they were over an opening in the shell, Peach, Geno, and Zelda, all holding hands, jumped down. Passing by much closer Blasters, they ducked into the enclosed, dark area where the generator was. Just before they could do anything, time restarted and the Blasters detected them and attempted to fire at them, only damaging the outer walls of the enclosure because of the bad angle.
Unfortunately, an alarm went off and the floor began to carry the three back outside like a conveyor belt. It got so fast that only Geno was able to move forward on foot. Peach floated and picked up Zelda. Geno charged himself up, grabbed Peach's hand, and actually began to cause smoke to rise from the increasingly fast floor. After getting within arm's reach, he saw a large red button on the generator that said, "Self-Destruct Button." A sign scribbled on the wall read, "Do Not Press."
"I hope there's a timer on this thing," Geno said, punching the button.
There was an immediate gigantic boom as the Paratroopa Ship flew to pieces. The ship was so large, the chunks of debris were guaranteed to cause severe damage to anything beneath it.
"Good timing with that shield, Zelda," Geno said as they flew through the air from force of the explosion. "I just hope Peach can give us a lift. How about it?"
Peach, now boardless, heard a whisper from the Millennium Star and smiled. "I can top that." She took her friends' hands and began to glow with holy power. "Cosmic…Control!" Her hair flared and they were off zooming through the sky at speeds that not even Geno could match on the ground. Everything around them was a blur. They even passed through enemy ships and explosions almost as if they weren't there. The distant sounds of explosions and the holes they had left in various vessels told otherwise.
"That way!" Geno shouted over the rushing wind. "Towards those dark clouds!" It was a giant cluster of clouds where the Koopa Flagship was. The closer they got, the thicker the black clouds seemed to be, and the more fortress-like the ships seemed to be.