Author's Note: Alright, everybody! Now, we're on the express way to the final showdown! We're nearing the end of the Dream, and we're on the final Ark! Well… here we go!


Chapter 51: Stairway to Heaven, Rocket to Bowser


Enter Pax:


"All hail the conquering heroes!" I called out as we reached the star town, holding up the Star Card.

"They're here!" the small Stars cried, circling us. "The Revered Star Spirits, they're all here!"

"Can we see them?" one Ninja asked, eyes a bit wider at the sight of the card. With a nod, I pulled out all seven cards and threw them into the air.

"Star Cards, ACTIVATE!" I cried. In seven flashes of light, the seven Star Spirits were floating there.

"Finally!" Muskular said with a grin, looking himself over. "Nice to be out of that little cardboard prison!"

"Well guys," I grinned up at them, "I saved you all. Does that mean we can take down Bowser now?"

"Yes," Eldstar nodded. "But first, we must get to his castle, which is-"

"In outer space," I finished with a nod. "Yeah, I know."

"But there is hope, young one," the Star with the fatherly mustache-Kalmar-said, patting me on the shoulder. "With the seven of us here at full power, we can create a portal to our world."

"And from there," the pink Star Spirit-Misstar-said, "a ship that can take you to Bowser's castle."

"Stand here," Eldstar said, nodding to a spot in front of him. My friends and I stood there as instructed, and the seven Star Spirits surrounded us.

"Here we go…" I said, putting an arm around Bombette. "The final battle."

"Let's teach that over-sized Koopa a lesson," Bombette nodded in agreement, leaning in toward me. Bow was visibly shaking with rage behind me, but I didn't see it. The seven Star Spirits began circling around us so fast, it appeared as if they were one rainbow-colored line around us.

"Good luck, Mario!" a little star said with a wave.

"Say hi to Twink for me!" another said.

"Give Bowser an extra punch or two for me," a Ninja said with a nod. Suddenly, light shined down from the heavens and shined down on us. I looked up at the sky, and I said one thing that I just couldn't resist saying:

"Beam us up, Scotty!"

With that, we were shot up into the sky, along with the Star Spirits.


Enter Coron:


I managed to sit up, shaking the excess water out of my ears. We were standing in a freezing puddle of water near where the snowman once was.

"It's Splash Mountain all over again… only colder," George said, wringing out his jacket.

"If that's what Global Warming does, I don't like it one bit," Iuka said, standing up and shivering.

Saying nothing, I stood up and flexed my claws, imagining them around the scrawny neck of that old Goomba…

It was about then I noticed a large energy spike to the east, around the mountain. Standing erect, I spun on the spot and ran to the energy spike.

"Coron, where are you going?" Iuka asked, running to catch up to me. I ignored her, however: I was getting excited. The energy spike was so close, I KNEW I was closing in on the Dream Keeper. This horrible nightmare (no pun intended) could finally be over and I could leave this God-Damned dream.

I was only stopped in my sprint by what looked like a large monster floating in front of me in my path, but this hesitation lasted only a moment.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" I barked, jumping up and slashing straight through it. It broke apart into hundreds of tiny Stars, which flew away in fear from me. I didn't care. I chased by them when I reached a snow covered town. I stopped to feel around where the energy spike was. As I was searching, George and Iuka caught up to me.

"Geeze, you run fast," George panted. "The least you could have done is given us a lift."

"Bite me," I snarled, closing in on the exact spot which the energy spike came from. I could see clearly it shot straight up into the sky.

"Well, you don't look all that tasty, but if you say so…" George said, opening his mouth and acting like he was about to bite me. I probably would have ripped his jaw out of his head before shoving a claw through his skull if a poison dart didn't miss my head by mere inches.

"What…?" I turned to the source of the dart. Three Ninjas jumped out of the shadows and at us. Roaring, I flexed my hands into fists and pounded on the two coming at the sides. There was a loud crack as every single one of their ribs cracked as well as they being launched into houses, which shuddered at the force of their impact. The third Ninja I took care of by back flipping and slicing to ribbons with my clawed foot.

"COME ON!" I screamed, in near hysterics now, my claws at ready. "HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT, YOU WORTHLESS SCUM! I CAN TAKE YOU ALL ON!"

"Coron…" Iuka started, looking genuinely worried about my state of mind. I didn't care, though. I would have sliced her to bits, too, if she got in my way.

"Iuka, this isn't the time," George said, putting a hand on her shoulder and forcing her back.

It was around then every single ninja in the village began running at me. I roared an earth-shattering roar as I jumped into the air, avoiding two ninjas that ran close for Melee. Ninja stars were tossed at me in mid-air, but I caught them as they were coming to me, spun, and shot them back. As I landed on the ground, I sliced through three Ninjas near me as quickly and easily as slicing a hot knife through butter. After that, I ran through the crowd of Ninjas, slicing blindly. I caught a few trying to jump away and crushed them under my grip. In less than two minutes, they all lay slain at my feet.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" I bellowed, turning my head to the air. I looked into the sky, knowing full well that's where the Dream Keeper was. I jumped into the air high, VERY high, then fell to the ground and met it with (quite literally) an earth-shattering punch. The force of this launched me as high and as fast as a rocket.

"CORON!" Iuka cried after me. Her voice made me regret one thing and one thing only…

Not slaughtering her along with the rest of those damn ninjas.


Enter Pax:


…I'm sorry, I'm still taken aback by Coron's section. I mean, I know he was bad, but that's just freakin' EVIL! I mean, seriously! But… I digress.

Anywho, one cliché beam-up later, we found ourselves in a floating town surrounded by night sky. Tiny Star Children were floating around, talking, etc. They all dropped what they were doing, however, when they saw us appear.

"THE STAR SPIRITS!" one cried joyfully, as if they were a lost little child who just found his mother. "THEY'RE BACK, THEY'RE BACK!"

"It's so great to see you again," Mamar said softly, smiling at them.

"Hey, ya miss us?" Muskular asked with a grin, allowing a few Star Children to circle close to him.

"Now now," Eldstar said, holding up his hands. "While I know you are all excited, this is not yet the time to celebrate. Mario here still must take on Bowser. Come along, Mario."

Eldstar led the way to an ancient-looking temple, glowing with an ancient power. The Star Children followed us, wide-eyed with appreciation. The Star Spirits weren't the only ones they looked at, though.

"Wow, nice hat!" one said to Goombario.

"I like your shell!" one said to Kooper.

"You're pretty!" one said to Bombette. When I replied this was very true, she blushed, and Bow turned red.

"Cool wings!" one said to Parakarry.

"You're pretty, too!" one said to Bow. This seemed to calm her down.

"Wanna play with us sometime?" one asked Watt. It replied, yes, it would be thrilled, but it would have to ask it's mommy first.

"I bet you're a really good swimmer!" one said to Sushi.

"You look really cool!" one said to Lakilester. This caught him by surprise, but he managed to force out a "Thank you".

"Awesome mustache!" quite a few said to me.

"Yeah, well, you know," I said, stroking the bushy thing on my face. "Chicks dig the 'stache."

We eventually made our way inside the ancient temple. Sitting in the center was what looked like a large chariot, big enough to fit all eight of us. It was blue with yellow stars painted on.

"The chariot of the stars," Eldstar said. "With this, you can sneak into Bowser's Castle without his knowing."

"Sneak attack," I nodded as I stepped in and took the controls. "Smart."

The controls for the chariot looked suspiciously like an old N64 controller.

"M-Mario, are you sure you can control this?" the Star with the book-Klevar-asked.

"Relax, I've played Star Fox 64," I said with a dismissive wave. "Just whatever you do, don't tell me to do a barrel roll."

"…" Everyone stared at me in silence.

"…ignore what I just said," I said, getting back in position. "Well, everyone ready?"

"Hold on," Eldstar said. "First, we must grant you what we promised."

The Star Spirits charged up their power and released it at once. In a flash of light, a single card with a picture of all seven Star Spirits on it appeared and fell in my hand.

"Hold this card out with our seven other cards surrounding it to activate the Star Beam," Eldstar said. "This power is the only thing that can negate the power of the Star Rod."

"Got it," I nodded, pocketing the new card. "Well, guess we better get going. Return to the Star Cards."

In seven flashes of light, the seven Star Spirits returned to their cards (Muskular with a groan).

"Alright, let's do this!" I said, gripping the controller in both hands. "Everyone ready?"

"I've been ready!" Goombario said.

"Let's finish this thing!" Kooper said.

"Bowser's gonna pay!" Bombette said.

"We're gonna deliver some pain to him!" Parakarry said. "…okay, I should REALLY stop trying to make jokes…"

"That Koopa won't know what hit him!" Bow said, preparing her fans.

"Let's stop this bad man!" Watt said.

"Bowser's not getting away for his foul actions!" Sushi said.

"For Lakilulu!" cried out Lakilester.

With that, I pushed down on the A button. The chariot began floating in the air. With a tilt of the control stick forward, we were shooting off through space.

This is it… I thought. This is the end!


Author's Note: Only four more chapters left until this story's over! I'm getting REALLY excited, personally! Until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!