Chapter 54: Revenge of the Shape-Shifter
Chopper was more than relieved to be out of that room and away from Maquano's minions. However, at the same time, he couldn't believe what he had just done. Those guys used to give him some serious trouble when he encountered them the first time. Now? They went down quicker than before!
Thankfully, that was the last room on the third floor, and now he was taking a spiral staircase up to the next floor. Once he opened the door, he entered the first hallway of the fourth floor. While there wasn't anything of interest, there was a door nearby, along with one dead ahead.
Curiosity got to the boy as he approached the middle door. With one foot, he kicked it open into a large room with many tables. Some of these tables contained unfinished weapons, while over by the corner were a few unfinished ships.
"What is this place?" Chopper wondered, looking at the many weapons and ships. "Do those monsters make this stuff here?"
As he walked past the tables, he caught sight of another door. Chopper opened that and found a small room with a light in the center. Shining down in the center was a broken capsule.
"Huh? What's this supposed to be? Was there something inside?"
Chopper looked to see if there was anything else in the room, and to his disappointment, there wasn't. With nothing else to do, he returned to the hallway.
"I don't know if I should do something about that stuff in there... It doesn't look like it's done... But if I defeat Maquano, I wouldn't have to worry about those monsters... I think."
Regardless of that situation, Chopper made a run to the end of the hallway and headed for the door.
Stepping into the next room, Chopper was surprised to see a sudden change in scenery. While the other floors may have looked nice with the shiny floors, this one was radically different – almost in a freaky way. The floor was now covered with a scarlet carpet, and the walls were now black with stars all over. To add more, lit torches were on the walls.
"I don't like the looks of this room..." Chopper shuddered. "It's kind of creepy..."
Despite this, Chopper carried on. Along the way, he couldn't help but stare at the masks all over the walls. They were all red with closed eyes. Despite being harmless, Chopper couldn't help but tremble at them.
To make matters worse, a few Gorrys were floating around, with one being right by a small ledge Chopper jumped over. He didn't let it get a chance to make a scary face and fired a Smash Punch to take it out.
For a moment, Chopper swore he saw something pass by. He looked behind him, but found nothing. But when he faced forward, the boy yelped and jumped back at the sight of a mask. While it was shaped like the masks on the wall, this one was black with red eyes and a devilish, red grin.
The mask, named a Shadom, didn't do much to attack other than charge into Chopper. Despite its intimidating appearance, one light ball vanquished it.
Chopper saw the next door ahead, much to his surprise, but it was up on higher ground. Plus, it was being blocked by a gate. He noticed two small blocks surrounding a Spring, and guarding that was a Darkmin. A Light Vulcan Jab did it in, then he used the Spring to grab a hold of a chandelier. Despite his physical strength and weight, the chandelier appeared to go down, and it even opened the gate.
But as he let go, the chandelier was slowly rising back to the ceiling.
Understanding what to do, Chopper sped off, going up the curved floor and reaching the ledge. Just as he reached the door, the gate had closed. Aside from that, he opened the door and entered the next room.
Compared to the hallway he just ran through, this room was gigantic. Heck, he wasn't at the bottom of the roof when he stepped out of the door! All he found were four red platforms rotating clockwise. Down below was the bottom of the room, but all he found there were Fire Rods and strange, circular black portals resembling shadows.
For now, Chopper jumped onto one of the platforms and waited until he reached a singular platform. Since there was not much to run across, he took things a little slower.
Unfortunately, a Darkling had managed to knock away his Fighter ability. Thankfully, the knockback wasn't enough to make him fall off the platform. Just barely. But when he did stand back on the center of the platform, Chopper immediately wiped out the Darkling.
Thankfully, it was smooth sailing from there. After going across another platform, Chopper found a swinging chandelier going to a path leading to a door. When it got close, he grabbed onto it and swung to the other side. Afterward, he ran onward, taking out the Darkmin that was waiting by a small ledge.
The door was up on a high ledge, but there was thankfully a Spring to get up there. However, it didn't give him much height, and instead, Chopper had to grab the pole above him. After swinging around enough times, he launched up to the door and entered the next room.
Stepping out of the door led him into a small room with only two gray platforms with red lights in them ahead. However, that wasn't what caught his attention the most. Several feet away was the same black portal Chopper spotted back in the previous room.
"What is that thing?" Chopper wondered, cautiously getting closer. He noticed at a closer distance that the shadow was nothing ordinary. Heck, it looked like something was getting sucked in to it.
And then something emerged. A black, ghostly hand covered in a purple outline lunged at Chopper and grabbed his foot.
"Wh-What IS that?!" Chopper shrieked, feeling the Phantom Hand pull him closer to the portal. "N-No! L-Let go of me!"
Chopper continuously shook his leg to get the Phantom Hand off, but none of that seemed to stop it from pulling him closer. Eventually he fired a light ball at the disembodied hand, causing it to let out a loud screech before exploding from the light. With it gone, the portal disappeared as well.
"Th-That was close..." Chopper stammered. "If-If there's more of them... I shouldn't get to close..."
With that issue aside for now, Chopper ran over to the two platforms. Unfortunately, there didn't appear to be a path ahead. But when he stepped on one of the platforms, they tilted depending on where he stood. The first one, for example, tilted down to the right. That was when he spotted the way below.
Understanding what to do, Chopper tilted the other platform to the right so the left side was up. Since this opened the way down, he landed below with ease.
When he fell to the ground, Chopper found a Blaster that fired its laser. Since he lacked an ability, the small hero inhaled it and gained its ability. Afterward, he ran through the small hall, which featured pillars in the background.
Eventually the room got a little more open a few feet in, and now platforms moving sideways led up to the ledge above. A Shadom tried to attack him, but one laser shot took care of it. Afterward, Chopper jumped up the platforms, reached the ledge, and ran down an incline leading to a shuttle loop. Though he kept running down a slope past the loop, the path eventually curved up. Eventually he ran up to a ledge and found a pole sticking out vertically. Down below was another Phantom Hand, while across the pole was a Darkling Wizard and a door.
Chopper immediately gulped at the sight of the dark portal below, but he focused on the pole for now and grabbed a hold of it. After swinging around enough times, he jumped off and landed by the door. The Darkling shot a fire spell, but one laser took it out no problem.
Entering the next room, Chopper spotted a pathway leading toward a wall. Despite no other way ahead, he ran until he reached the wall. There was a platform moving vertically leading up to the ledge, but he stopped when he felt the ground shake. That was when Chopper realized he was standing on a dropping platform.
Chopper reacted quickly, jumping onto the platform above him before the one below could fall to the lower path. Finally, when the platform reached the ledge, he landed on it while sighing in relief.
However, there were no time for breaks when he spotted a Phantom Hand in the distance throwing some jars his way. Chopper ducked under one of them, and while it was grabbing another, he charged up a laser and fired, destroying the enemy.
With the way clear, Chopper ran ahead and went down a small incline. A path curved upward was waiting for him, and running up that stopped his momentum after spotting some small platforms attached to chains. The third one happened to have a Fire Rod inside.
Chopper carefully made his jumps across, making sure not to land on the lower path. After all, it was filled with a few Phantom Hands and Darkmins. Luckily, he was cautious, with the last platform being the only one to give him a problem. When he was across, Chopper ran across a thin pathway and swung across a chandelier to get to the next door.
Entering the next room, Chopper found a small hallway filled with a few Fire Rods attached to the ground and ceiling. A Darkling Wizard was also in the way, and unfortunately for him, it managed to knock away his Laser and Light Hand ability with one magic attack. Thankfully, he took it down with one stomp.
After sighing in relief, Chopper looked at the Fire Rods ahead and tried to put on a determined look. He took off, making sure not to go too fast here. After all, he didn't want to get scorched by those Fire Rods.
Though it took some jumping and caution for this part, Chopper eventually got out of that hallway and found some chandeliers acting as platforms. Phantom Hands were below, so he did his best to jump on them. Unfortunately, unlike the other chandeliers, these were not as sturdy. Staying on them for longer than two seconds made them drop. So, Chopper found himself jumping from chandelier to chandelier. It didn't help that one of them had a long Fire Rod attached.
Once he was off the last one, Chopper ran onward until he found a high ledge getting in his way. This time, there were two sets of rotating platforms above him. In front of the boy, however, was a Cherriball bouncing all over the place. He decided to inhale it for the Ball ability, then he proceeded to jump up the platforms.
Upon reaching the top, Chopper found another small hallway ahead. A Darkmin was in the way, but by turning into a ball, he was able to bounce off the floor and ceiling to do some damage to the enemy. Afterward, he turned back to normal and ran through the hallway. It eventually moved down on a slope, and then Chopper was running through a loop and then up a vertical curve to the next door.
The first thing Chopper was greeted with in the next room were two Shadoms that flew off the wall and came his way. With his ball form, he bounced off them before turning back to normal. After that, he ran ahead and spotted a pit leading to a lower path. However, there was an upper path if he bounced enough times in his ball form. So, Chopper did just that, and he reached higher ground.
As he reverted back to himself, Chopper spotted another high ledge ahead. However, the difference this time were the pillars coming in different heights. Some were to the level of a tree stump, while others were to the height of a pole. Nevertheless, Chopper jumped from pillar to pillar, making sure to dodge the Shadoms flying in his way.
Once at the ledge, Chopper ran down a small incline leading to a ramp. When he launched off of it, he landed on the main path. Chopper happened to spot a few shadows along the way, and just standing in one of them caused a chandelier from above to fall down. Luckily, he was able to dodge it.
Unfortunately, this was where the enemies were more apparent. Many masks on the walls turned to Shadoms and chased after the small hero. He had to resort to bouncing off the ground to damage them. As for the Phantom Hands? Chopper needed to be careful hitting those. He struck them once they paid no attention to him.
The last obstacle in his way were three Darkmins guarding the door. They all gave him sinister grins as a sword, club, and axe formed in their hands. Chopper dodged their swings, and with a powerful ball attack, they were history. Thus, he proceeded through the door.
Relief hit Chopper as he stepped into the next room. There was no long path he had to run through. No, it just ended several feet from him. But when Chopper looked up, he saw where the path went.
Many black spheres remained afloat above, making no movements whatsoever. Chopper gawked for a moment, but he quickly reverted back to his curious look as he jumped onto one of the spheres. It wasn't anything interesting at first, but then he discovered that he was able to run around it. Chopper took advantage of this to gain enough momentum to jump to some higher spheres.
Before he knew it, he had landed on the ledge of the next door.
"Whew... I guess I'm done with this floor. And if there's eight... That means I'm..." Chopper stopped himself as he tried to count with his fingers. "Ummmm... Well, I guess I'm getting close?"
Chopper burst through the door, coming to a halt at the fifth floor room. While it featured some similarities to the fourth, it was definitely more decorative. For starters, pictures were all over the walls, and most of them were of Maquano doing different tasks or attacking the cameraman. There were even a few golden statues of him in the hallway too. All of them had their swords pointing downward as their two hands were placed on the handle.
Since there was nothing to fear, Chopper ran without caution.
And that was what led him to losing his Ball ability.
The moment he neared one of the Maquano statues, it raised its blade and swung down once Chopper was close. He was thrown back by the hit, and the yellow star bouncing around eventually shattered.
Chopper quickly shook his head and frowned at the statue. Great, not only did it look like Maquano, but it could move as well! Well, Chopper wasn't going to have any of that. He sped past the first statue and jumped backwards as the second made its attack. When he jumped on its head, Chopper blinked in surprise when a hidden Spring led him up to a chandelier. On it were two Copy Essences of Needle and Spark. He chose to go with the latter before jumping down.
After going past one more statue, Chopper found a moving chandelier going up to an alternate route, while the main path was just ahead. This time, he went with the normal route. Taking the higher route wasn't always the best idea anyway.
There was a small step that stood in Chopper's way, but one small jump let him pass that. Next thing, there was drop that led down to a curved floor. This helped him get a little bit of speed until he ran up the small curve.
Just before he could proceed, a new figure had made its appearance. It had some similarities to a Darkmin, yet it didn't seem impish in the slightest. While the Darkmin was slightly hunched back and had pointy fingers, this enemy was standing upright and had round fingers instead. In fact, it was covered in purple armor. Revealed through its black visor on its helmet were glowing purple eyes, and sticking out from the top of its head was an antenna with a round, purple bulb. Notably, the enemy was carrying a black blaster in its hand.
When its eyes met Chopper's it immediately brandished its weapon.
"You... You're Chopper!"
"Huh? Wh-What are you?" Chopper asked. "You... You look like those..."
"Darkmins and Darklings? Yes... In fact, I was once them. But I and many others have evolved past those forms and became a Darkness. Our intelligence surpasses those lesser two, including the Tartaras. In fact, we've surpassed them as well!"
"Uh oh..." Chopper gulped.
"Uh oh is right," the Darkness nodded, pointing its blaster at the hero. It immediately fired, causing purple lasers to shoot out from its weapon. Luckily for Chopper, dodging these attacks were no issue. Since it was a ranged fighter, all he had to do was get close!
As Chopper prepared his Spark Attack, the Darkness lowered its weapon, and retracting from its wrist was a purple blade made of energy. It jabbed at Chopper, knocking him back, then one blaster shot knocked him even further. He quickly got up, and in annoyance, jumped above the Darkness. It prepared to fire, but Chopper delivered a lightning bolt that knocked it off its feet. When he landed, a Spark Attack managed to finish it off.
Sighing in relief, Chopper proceeded onward, spotting a pole at a diagonal. There was a path he could take ahead, but there was also another route up a ledge with the use of the pole. He grabbed it, swung himself enough times, then launched up to the ledge. There, Chopper was greeted with a long incline going to another ramp. He took this and was launched over a path filled with chandeliers and a few small pits.
As soon as Chopper landed, the door awaited him. With a smile, he opened it to the next room.
Unfortunately, his face instantly fell the second he saw long Fire Rods in this room. They sat on unreachable platforms, and they were even able to touch the floor! While there were only three around, they were not slow.
Chopper acted cautious, running past the first Fire Rod. To his luck, there was a bit of a gap between where the fire would touch, so he had some free space in between two of them to get past the next one. To make matters worse, a Shadom was floating around, but Chopper didn't need to move to get it to come over. Once it was close, a spark shield took it out. Afterward, he proceeded ahead, going past the last two Fire Rods.
While running, Chopper spotted a high route containing some footholds sticking out from the walls. However, he didn't have much time to stop when he ended up running down a slope. Eventually it curved up a little, then he ran through a loop. The path then curved down again, and Chopper was speeding off once more.
While he ran, a few Maquano Statues tried to swing their swords. Sadly, not even that was able to land a hit on the speeding hero.
Chopper's run was eventually stopped by a tall incline he ran off. As he landed, lasers immediately came his way. Thankfully, with his size, ducking as flat as a pancake made the projectiles go over him.
The Darkness firing also had a plan up its sleeves. It pulled another trigger, and suddenly a plasma grenade fired from its gun. Only this time, it exploded upon hitting the ground. Chopper was blown back by the explosion, but he regained his footing and charged at the Darkness. It drew its wrist blade and lunged, but Chopper put up a spark shield that gave it a nasty shock. Finally, a stomp did away with the enemy.
With that out of the way, Chopper found a half circular platform with bright lights on it moving up and down. It appeared to be attached to chains up on the ceiling.
When the platform came down, Chopper hitched a ride on it and reached the ledge above. He was ready to sigh in relief, but then he found some gaps ahead of him. Dropping down from said gaps were purple bombs that exploded into the pits below. Though falling was not recommended, there were some footholds to climb back out.
It turned out the ones throwing the bombs were Darknesses. Chopper would've gone up to attack, but the platforms they stood on were too thick for his electric attacks to go through. Plus, they were unreachable for him. So instead, he resorted to jumping over each gap carefully.
Once across the gaps, Chopper could finally celebrate when he found a small staircase leading to the next door. Cheerfully, he jumped up each step and opened the door into the next room.
Another small staircase awaited Chopper as he closed the door behind him. This time, at the top, a fire geyser connected to the wall was present. But unlike the other ones he had seen, this one spouted black fire. It was even shooting it on the stairs – even though they were unaffected by it.
Regardless of that, Chopper reached the top when the fire stopped, and then he was stopped by a gate. A switch happened to be just above it, whether it was coincidental or not. But that didn't matter to Chopper! Once he hit it, he was already moving.
Chopper spotted a small bridge past the small hallway, and spinning vertically around it were a group of black flames with purple eyes. These Dark Flames didn't seem to pay attention to Chopper, and even when he attacked them, they were unaffected. Perhaps they were just a mere obstacle?
Even though they spun around, they did leave the bridge open for a brief moment. Taking advantage of this, Chopper carefully went across the further the Dark Flames moved below the bridge. Once he was past that, he found a gap with more black spheres. Down below, two Phantom Hands were present.
"I...don't want to fall down there..." Chopper gulped, shuddering at the dark portals below.
Taking cues from the fourth floor, Chopper jumped on the first sphere and began to run around it enough times before jumping onto another. He could take the main path ahead, while there appeared to be another one above. Considering the Phantom Hands below, Chopper chose to play it safe and make his way across.
As he landed, a Bulley had surprised Chopper and performed a suplex on him. His Spark ability had been knocked away upon hitting the ground, but as he got up, the hero glared at the Bulley. It charged once more, but he stomped on it to make it lose its footing. While stunned, Chopper inhaled it to get the Suplex ability.
Chopper jumped over a fire geyser and spotted two Darknesses waiting for him. One was equipped with a jetpack bursting with purple flames, while the other carried two blasters, kind of like a Platinum Knight. Both fired, and Chopper started dodging. He didn't give the first Darkness a chance and grabbed it. With all his might, Chopper jumped in the air and slammed it on the other Darkness, taking them both out at the same time.
Another gap had appeared ahead, only instead of spheres, there were vertical poles instead. There was one at the bottom pointing horizontally, but that was probably there to just get back up. Again, two Phantom Hands were down there, eager for Chopper to jump down.
Chopper gulped as he looked down, but he focused on the poles before him. He jumped forward and grabbed the first one, spinning immediately in the process. With enough speed, Chopper jumped onto a diagonal one, and finally he launched himself onto the next path. It ended up leading to a curved wall going up to the ceiling. A lone platform was just below, sporting a single Spring.
Once he ran up the ceiling, Chopper immediately jumped onto the platform to go up to the ledge above him, then he proceeded through the door.
The first thing Chopper was greeted with was a vertical conveyor belt. However, unlike the others he saw, this one had a single chain, and attached to it were a few half circle platforms he saw before. They weren't as big, but there was enough room to land on it.
Just as he was about to jump on the closest platform, a Phantom Hand had surprised the boy and grabbed his foot.
"Eep!" Chopper shrieked, feeling the enemy pull him closer to his demise. He would've tried to run, but with only one foot, there was no was he could flee like this. "Pl-Please let go of me!"
Despite his pleas, the Phantom Hand kept pulling him closer to the portal. No amount of shrieks from a little boy would stop it from leading him to his demise.
The closer Chopper got to the portal, the less hopeful he started to feel.
But then something caught his eye. A Shadom had spotted him and was flying his way. Remembering that his ability could throw projectiles, Chopper opened his mouth and inhaled. However, this time, he caught the mask in his hands before it could go in his mouth.
With his sights set on the Phantom Hand, he threw the Shadom, causing it to release its grip on his foot. While it was stunned, Chopper jumped up and performed a downward kick that destroyed both the hand and the portal.
Relief was the first thing Chopper felt when the Phantom Hand was gone. More so than the other times. With that, he resumed his travels through Maquano's Castle and jumped onto the platform above. As he got to the top of the conveyor belt, he noticed an upreel handle going to an alternate route.
Considering the danger he ran into before, Chopper grabbed the handle and was reeled up to the upper path. He found some hammers in the background slamming onto the ground before him, but it took about three seconds for it to rise up. Chopper took advantage of this and ran past them right after they hit the ground.
What was nice after passing those hammers was the dash panel before him. Stepping onto it sped Chopper up, but only for about two seconds when he fell off the edge of the path. But that was all right. There was a Spring aiming in the opposite direction, so he used that to run in that direction. A path that was curving on the wall and going downward awaited him at the end of the path. Running down that led him to a ramp he launched off. This brought him to the main path, where a small, vertical curve put his speed to a halt.
A small hallway with a low ceiling awaited Chopper as he ran forward. Small pillars were seen along the way, but unlike the ones in the background, two Dark Flames were present on each. They spun in a horizontal fashion this time, going behind the pillar and in front of it each second. Because of this, Chopper had to take his time passing this hallway.
At the end, Chopper ran down an incline and went up a small curve. Another gate awaited him, and the switch was in the same position as before. He hit it to open the gate, then he found some platforms to go up. They were mostly stationary, so he had no problem jumping up them.
Once Chopper jumped up a few platforms, a staircase was not too far ahead. He could already see the door from where he stood. But first, he needed to cross this gap with moving platforms. Thankfully, all of that was pretty simple.
When Chopper landed by the stairs, a Shadom and two Darknesses awaited him. Chopper grabbed the Shadom first and threw it at the first Darkness, taking it out. Then, after jumping up the stairs, he grabbed the last Darkness and flipped backwards to smash the enemy onto the ground. With it gone, Chopper entered the door.
Unlike the other rooms, this was more of a breather, since not only was it small, but it contained a piece of pizza on the ground. Chopper didn't care in the slightest and ate it to recover his health, then he ran over to the door ahead. Three Copy Essences were available, them being Cutter, Stone, and Tornado. For now, he decided to grab Cutter.
With that, Chopper proceeded through the door.
The room he stepped in was a lot similar to the room where he fought the six minions. However, this one had the same look as the rooms on the fourth and fifth floor. Not only that, but many pictures were in the background. Most of them were portraits of Maquano.
"Chopper..."
Chopper perked up to the sound of the voice when he looked ahead. Waiting by the door was Morzard, who was giving him the biggest glare he had seen from him.
"It's...you..." Chopper trailed.
"It's been a while since we've last met," Morzard recalled. "And I haven't forgotten what you did to Shanine..."
"But I didn't mean to do that... It... It wasn't me!"
"At this point, I don't care. I said I'd make you pay for what you did, and that's what I plan to do!"
Chopper frowned as Morzard drew his glowing wand.
"I'm not going to underestimate you this time, Chopper. I will use every ounce of my magic to destroy you and avenge Shanine. By the time this fight is finished, it will be you who will be in pieces."
Before Chopper could attempt to run for the door, Morzard fired purple magic at it, creating a barrier. He then cast another one on the door behind Chopper.
"These barriers will ensure that neither of us can escape this room until one of us is dead."
"Wh-What?!" Chopper gasped.
"Now that we've got that out of the way... Let's put an end to this!" Morzard shouted, firing another magic projectile Chopper's way.
Mid-boss: Morzard, Master of Disguise
With the loss of Shanine, revenge is all Morzard desires. His magic and shape-shifting skills have improved drastically. Perhaps he really is the master of shape-shifting and wizardry...
Chopper was able to duck underneath the purple magic attack, which disintegrated when it hit the barrier behind him. However, as he stood up, Morzard waved his wand in a circle and summoned more purple magic. Four balls of magic materialized around him, and they all flew his way.
Dodging two of them was easy, but upon landing, Chopper was struck by the last two, making him tumble back to the door behind.
Even while Chopper was dazed, Morzard still made his move. With his wand aimed at him, it began to flash a bright purple. As Chopper got back up, he noticed a purple beam coming his way. Had he not jumped over it the last second, Chopper sure as heck knew it would had done some serious damage to him.
While smoke emitted from Morzard's wand, Chopper landed and put on a serious look.
"OK... If you want me to beat you... Then I'm going to do just that!" Chopper declared, removing his blade from his cap and throwing it at Morzard. The wizard cringed from the hit, and when Chopper caught the spinning blade, he threw it again. Morzard was prepared for the next throw, using his magic to create a purple shield.
Chopper frowned as he caught his blade, while Morzard smirked when he put down his shield. He raised his wand and fired multiple purple spells to the sky. At first, nothing happened, but then they began to rain down. Due to this, Chopper was constantly dodging.
"I realized now that angering you was not a smart idea..." Morzard remarked while Chopper jumped backwards. "I'll play it smart and eliminate you before that happens."
"Well you're in the way of me beating Maquano!" Chopper cried as his two feet made contact with Morzard's head. When he landed, Chopper performed his Final Cutter, swinging his blade at him twice before finishing with him jumping in the air and then coming down with a larger slash. This was enough to knock Morzard to the wall.
Grunting, Morzard stood back up and fired more purple spells. For Chopper, this was easy for him to dodge, and next thing, he delivered an axe kick to the wizard.
Morzard growled angrily, but then his attention was brought to the pictures in the background. With an idea in his mind, he jumped over to the pictures and used his magic to surround them in a purple glow. At that moment, they detached from the wall and flew over to Chopper.
After waving his wand to form the pictures in a circle, Morzard pointed it at Chopper, causing the pictures to come his way.
"It doesn't matter if you dodge these!" Morzard roared. "They'll still follow you!"
This was proven correct when the pictures continued to follow Chopper after he dodged them. So instead, he drew his blade and threw it at the incoming pictures. All of them were sliced in half, and upon hitting the ground, exploded into dust.
Morzard returned to the foreground, eyes narrowed at Chopper. He decided to put his transformation skills to use and shape-shifted into a sword. In an instant, Morzard approached Chopper and proceeded to swing like crazy. To his dismay, none of his attacks managed to hit the speedy hero.
However, he did find an opening as Chopper landed and sighed in relief. Morzard took advantage of this and landed a hit on the boy, knocking his Cutter ability away.
"Now that I've weakened your offense, defeating you should be easy," Morzard declared, going in for a jab.
But Chopper did not stand down. He took one small jump backwards, and with his mouth wide open, began to inhale. Morzard was caught in the strong current, but not even that was enough to get him sucked in. Eventually Chopper gave up, and while Morzard was off guard, leaped forward and landed a fast kick. One moment later, he was thrown onto the wall.
A puff of smoke appeared around Morzard, and when it cleared, he was back to normal. Morzard shook off the damage he just received and fired a cyclone spell. Chopper ended up inhaling it, gaining the Tornado ability in the process.
"A new ability? Well I know how to stop something like that..." Morzard conjured up another spell and fired a strong wind current. Chopper was immediately blown to the wall due to his light weight, but it didn't stop him from spinning in a tornado. And since the wind didn't affect the tornado, he was already coming toward Morzard.
Before he had a chance to stop his magic and dodge, Morzard was struck by the tornado a few times. While it didn't throw him back, he did feel significantly weaker with the way he was panting.
"Fine... Maybe I can make things a little more interesting." Morzard smirked, surrounding himself in another puff of smoke. Chopper prepared for the worst, but instead, he found a complete replica of Zapper standing before him.
Chopper found himself gawking as Morzard swooped down for an attack. Just touching him electrocuted the hero as he was thrown back a few feet. Next, Morzard summoned lightning bolts from his spines.
"That form isn't going to help you!" Chopper declared, clenching his fists while glaring at Morzard. "I beat that thing before, and I'll do it again!"
Chopper whirled into another tornado and began to strike Morzard a few times. As he landed, Morzard flew above him and attempted to zap him. However, Chopper had other plans, and with a small tornado fired up, Morzard was knocked to the ceiling. Another puff of smoke came, and Morzard was back to normal when he hit the floor.
"You annoying...!" Morzard hissed as he stood up. "Take this!"
Swinging his wand, three balls of purple magic materialized and fired Chopper's way. He dodged them with ease. However, unlike the spells he performed earlier, these bounced off the walls. One was unfortunate to hit Chopper and knock him forward. Morzard was about to smirk, but seeing Chopper get up only made him groan.
"Hmph... So you're really tougher than last time. That must explain how you beat Kutora..."
Chopper made no vocal response and looked down at the floor with a somber look.
Seeing that expression made Morzard step back and focus back on the fight. When the three balls were gone, he used his magic to lift himself off the ground. With Morzard surrounded in a purple glow, he flew over to the left corner and fired spells rapidly in the opposite corner. Chopper quickly dodged them by running to the same side as Morzard, then he turned into a tornado to go up to the wizard and hit him.
As Morzard hit the ground, another puff of smoke appeared, and the form of Shanine leaped out of it.
"This is for Shanine," Morzard said, spinning like a drill at Chopper. Once he was tumbling back, the wizard sprinted up to him and swung his tail blade. Upon hitting the wall, Chopper's Tornado ability was gone. "If I have to make you die to the one you destroyed, then it should make Shanine proud."
Chopper quickly got off the wall and panted, while Morzard fired spikes from his tail. When he saw them coming, Chopper inhaled them and gained the Needle ability. At first, Morzard double-took. Next thing he knew, a spiked ball had hurled himself at him.
Morzard quickly stood up from the hit and began to roll up in a ball as well. Both clashed, but only Morzard had been flung back.
While he was still on the wall, Chopper ran up to Morzard and delivered a drop kick. With that, Morzard turned back into himself upon landing.
"Ungh... No, this isn't right..." Morzard panted. "I shouldn't be losing like this! After all the effort I put to impress Maquano... It can't end like this!"
Chopper got out of his spiked ball form and landed on the ground. "Ummm... Then maybe you can get rid of that thing in the way of the door?"
"No. It only goes down when one of us falls. And if I have to fall at this point... Then I must throw everything I've got." Morzard looked up at Chopper with a glare. "And don't throw any more apologies my way. You don't relate to my suffering in the slightest."
"But I-"
"It won't save you in the slightest, especially with what I have planned. I might not have the ability to shape-shift into Maquano... But this form will work just fine."
More smoke surrounded Morzard, and when it cleared, Chopper gasped at the sight of his new form.
"Yes... Kutora's form will do nicely." Morzard said, holding a purple laser sword in his hand. "I may not be able to hold onto that rainbow blade of his, but this one works just as well!"
Before Chopper could make any moves, Morzard dashed toward him and bashed him with his shield. Following up with that was a sword swing that knocked away his Needle ability.
Chopper stumbled back from the hit, unable to concentrate with Morzard's new form. Just the sight of him made him shake in uneasiness.
But he immediately blinked for a moment. No, this was not the real Kutora. This was just Morzard trying to look like him. That purple blade was enough proof. Plus, the real one wasn't so...fake.
Chopper clenched his fists and started inhaling. Morzard came to a stop and attempted to get away, but his blade slipped out of his hands and into Chopper's mouth. With the Sword ability in hand, Chopper rushed toward him and performed an uppercut swing, followed by an overhead one.
Morzard blinked in awe and swung...only to realize he had no weapon. As a result, Chopper landed one last sword swing that immediately turned the wizard back to normal. But before he could hit the ground, he fired one last magic attack that knocked away Chopper's Sword ability.
Both had fallen on the floor in exhaustion, and a moment later, they were both up.
"You have been a pain on my side ever since I first met you in Colossal Jungle..." Morzard hissed, firing a purple spell Chopper's way. He easily countered this with his Inhale, and then the antennae boy spat it back at Morzard, who blocked it with a shield. "First you humiliate me twice, then you destroy the only person who respected me... And now I'm nearly losing."
"Wait... You had no friends?" Chopper gawked, dodging another one of Morzard's spells.
"No, not at all. No one looked up to me, nor did they show respect. In fact, the only reason why I even joined Maquano was to get that respect. Too bad that didn't work out so well. But when I had Shanine with me, I actually felt happy...until you ruined it."
"Oh... Well... I don't have any friends. Well, I had one, but..."
"Yeah, one."
"Well... He's gone, along with my mommy, daddy, and all the people on my planet. Maquano did all of that to me."
Morzard blinked in surprise to that. "Then... I guess we relate more than I thought. Still, the difference here is that I'm no hero. You may think otherwise, but I've made my decision to destroy you."
Chopper frowned as Morzard fired more spells his way. He dodged to the side, only for more to come in that direction. Firing them back didn't seem to do much, since Morzard just put up a barrier to stop them.
"You know, Chopper... If you hadn't destroyed Shanine, I would've been a little more considerate of you. Maybe I would've even spared you. But no, you lost your chance at that. Once you're gone, my nightmare will be over!"
Chopper gasped at his comment, causing him to be left open for an attack. Morzard took advantage of this by turning into a hammer and flattening him. Once he unflattened, Chopper started to pant.
"Ow... I... I really need to end this..." Chopper wheezed, dodging the next hammer swing. He kicked Morzard like he did when he was a sword and knocked him back at the wall. Though he was back to normal, Morzard didn't give up just yet. He flew above and let his wand flash purple. Recognizing the attack, Chopper ran out of the way when a large, purple beam fired out and hit the ground.
Morzard growled in annoyance and proceeded to fire spells above and let them rain down. Chopper dodged most of them, but at least one of them hit the boy. The wizard smirked and decided to charge down at him. Unfortunately, this ended up backfiring when Chopper stomped on his head, forcing him back onto the floor.
"AARRGHHH!" Morzard roared, firing spells from his wand like a machine gun. Chopper found himself running across the walls to dodge each hit, but they just kept on coming. "I will not STOP until you are down!"
Chopper managed to get up close to Morzard and stomp on him, but that wasn't enough to make him flinch. He quickly moved out of the way just as the magic attacks were getting near. As he landed, an idea struck Chopper's head.
"I... I guess I have no other choice..." Chopper trailed. With his mouth open, he started to inhale all of the spells Morzard fired.
Noticing this, Morzard immediately stopped firing and put up a shield.
"The same strategy as before? You can't be serious!" Morzard scoffed.
Chopper spat out the projectiles, making them form a sparkling star. Morzard smirked at this and prepared to attack again.
...Only for the star to break through the barrier.
"What?"
The attack hit him, knocking the wizard on his back. The last thing he heard before falling was the sound of an object shattering.
Chopper approached him, but flinched when Morzard slowly got up, but he couldn't keep his balance and was on his hands and feet.
"You... You win..." Morzard sighed, noticing his broken wand beside him. "I don't stand a chance against you. Finish me."
Chopper looked at the wizard with sympathy, but he immediately shook his head.
"No."
"What?!" Morzard gawked, immediately raising his head to look at him. "After what you've done to Shanine... You refuse to do the same to me?"
"Well... You don't seem like one who's really evil. I don't like hurting those who are good."
"Good? But I'm not good in the slightest."
"Yeah... But I'm not going to finish you. Maybe you can leave Maquano? You won't have to worry about him once I beat him!"
Morzard closed his eyes and chuckled. "I appreciate your help... But that's impossible now. With the barrier I put up, one of our lives are linked to it. If you're not going to finish me, then I guess I have no other choice..."
"Choice? What do you mean?" Chopper questioned.
Morzard slowly stood up, and with one small spell conjured in his hands, he absorbed it into himself. With this, his entire body was given a purple tint.
"I never planned on using this spell... But I guess now is the perfect opportunity."
Chopper gasped as he got into a fighting stance when Morzard looked up at him. However, no sign of anger was in the wizard's eyes.
"Chopper... There's one last thing I want to tell you."
"You do? Wh-What is it?" Chopper wondered.
"...I forgive you."
With that, Morzard turned around and dashed for the door ahead. A bright light enveloped the room afterward, blinding Chopper.
When the light was gone, Chopper lowered his hands from his eyes and looked at the door. No barrier was in sight. Chopper wondered where Morzard went, but then he got his answer on the floor.
Lying right by the door was a familiar-looking gray hat emitting smoke.
