Oh man… I've been waiting for quite a while to get to this chapter! This, along with the next two chapters might probably be one of my favorite chapters in the story. How exactly is it my favorite? Well… You will just have to find out for yourself. That's what you're supposed to do anyways. So… How about we get started on this chapter, huh? Yes, that's what we should be doing now. So just read!
When everyone walked out of the door, they could see that they made it out of Bowser's Castle. They were standing right in front of the castle, where there were a couple of lit torches. The sky was dark, since they're up in the sky. There wasn't much around this small area except for complete silence. No one said a word. The only thing C-2 Choppor could see was a hidden yellow ? Block.
"…There's a hidden block," C-2 Choppor informed, breaking the silence.
"Oh, I see it," Chopper walked over to the block, and when he jumped under it an Ultra Shroom came out. He took it and put it away and hit the Save Block afterward.
"It feels so quiet being out here. It's creeping me out at the most." Koopla said as she looked up at the sky. "Oh well. At least the sky looks nice."
"I don't get why yer all afraid of bein' out here," Yosho said, giving a cocky look. "Sure, it's quiet, but I don't see anythin' scary here!"
Bow then appeared right in front of Yosho and gave her a scary face, causing the Yoshi to turn white as a rabbit.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Bow began to cackle as Yosho slowly got back up.
"Ha ha ha ha! Now, you were saying…" Bow smirked.
"Ya just scared me. That's all. As for this place? It ain't so scary!" Yosho frowned as he brushed the dirt off his jacket and legs.
"Guys... We should really get to going into the castle and saving Peach." Chopper suggested. "Staying here isn't going to do anything. Let's hope it's the REAL Peach this time…because, well, you know."
"We should also be careful with the guards," Bruce added. "I'm sure there are guards in Peach's Castle, in case if we made it up here."
Chopper slowly opened the door and headed through, with his friends following him from behind.
Inside of Peach's Castle-
Everyone noticed there weren't any guards in the castle. Some of them began to wonder, but they knew the answer: they were waiting for them in Bowser's Castle, but failed to catch them. That must've been the answer!
"This place is so spooky… I thought Princess Peach's Castle would be nice and colorful. I'm so scared…" Kayzee shivered.
"Relax, Kayzee. It's just dark outside. That's why it's dark in here." Parakarry assured. "Besides, there's no monster coming out to get us…besides Bowser, of course. But, he's after Chopper, not us."
"So this is Peach's Castle, huh?" Chopper said as he looked around the castle. "I thought it was supposed to look all light and stuff. Oh well… Let's check out the castle."
Chopper went up the stairs to the door and opened it to let his friends through. After they headed through, he followed them into the next hallway.
"Man, if we weren't trying to save Peach, then I would really enjoy being here…" Chopper went up the stairs to the next door in the second main room of the castle. They found a smaller hallway through the third main room and found a door awaiting them. They could even hear someone's voice through that door as well.
"It sounds like a girl's crying for help!" Kayzee gaped. "We've gotta do something!"
"And that's what we plan to do," Chopper declared as he walked into the next room. There, they saw Peach tied up and hanging from the ceiling.
"Eeeek! Somebody help me!" Peach cried.
"Don't worry, Peach! I'm coming to get you down!" Chopper ran toward Peach, who smiled. She didn't care if he was only eight. It was better to be saved than kidnapped.
Before Chopper could jump up, some dark magic fired down at Chopper, which made him jump out of the way. Bowser floated down on his Koopa Clown Car, and Maquano floated down using his dark power.
"Gwaa ha ha ha ha! If it isn't the little boy I trounced, Chopper!" Bowser cackled. "I've been waiting for you… I'm amazed that you managed to come this far. How lucky…for me. You've been a distraction for far too long, little boy! It'll be a pleasure to squash you personally! Again!"
"Help me, Chopper!" Peach cried.
"Shut up, you. I never gave you permission to speak." Maquano snapped. "You're lucky I'm not completely in charge here…"
"Hey! That's not the way to treat a princess!" Chopper cried. "Leave her alone, right now!"
Bowser jumped out of his Koopa Clown Car and landed in front of the entire group. Everyone clenched their fists and got in their fighting stances.
"It's been a while…Bowser!" C-2 Choppor stated.
"So you DID betray me!" Bowser growled. "You're going to wish you were never created, Choppor!"
"We can take you down! It's eight against one…or two!" Chopper smirked. "There's no way you can beat us!"
"Fool! You can't beat me! I'm inviiiiincible!"
"We'll see about that!" Koopla taunted.
"Gwaaaah ha ha ha! All right, Chopper! Let's see your so-called power!"
Tattle: Here it is, Chopper! You lost to Bowser before, but it's time to get back at him! Max HP: 50, Attack Power: 6. Defense Power: 1. His claw can poison you, and he can even burn you with his punch and flames! But, if he tries to use that Star Rod, you still have that Star Beam to take him down! Go on, Chopper! Take this Koopa King down!
"All right, I'll show you my power!" Chopper used his Power Bounce on Bowser and stomped on him seven times.
"This is for getting rid of my friends, Kin—No, you evil Koopa!" C-2 Choppor shot a blast at Bowser who seemed rather surprised to see the damage he took from him.
"Well, I never underestimated your power, Choppor!" Bowser gaped. "As one of my best minions, you are a rather tough fighter... Especially against me!"
Bowser stomped toward Chopper and used his Koopa Claw on him. Luckily, Chopper was able to guard the attack.
"Hmmm… Let's see if you like cold breath instead of hot breath!" Chopper shot an ice ball at Bowser, and it felt pretty cold to him, but not enough to freeze him. Parakarry got in his shell and used his Shell Shot on Bowser. They were getting him down pretty fast now. He was halfway done with, too!
"All right, enough of that!" Bowser roared as he raised the Star Rod. "Now witness the power of this fully operational Star Rod!"
"Oh no… If he uses that, then Chopper will be done for!" Peach gulped.
"Yes, use that Star Rod, Bowser," Maquano grinned. "He doesn't stand a chance now. Heh heh heh…"
Bowser began to use the Star Rod's power, and when he was surrounded by a rainbow glow, he was invulnerable to all attacks.
"This is where it ends, Chopper!" Bowser cackled. "Ready to give up?"
"I knew you would use that thing. Too bad for you, I got a little something of my own!" Chopper smirked. "Time to use the Star Beam!"
Chopper summoned all seven Star Spirits, and they surrounded Bowser. A light beam hit Bowser, and his invincibility was taken away.
"What the…OW! What in the world was that?!" Bowser gaped as he looked around. "What happened to my rainbow glow that helped me become invulnerable to all attacks?!"
"Bowser… He just got rid of the Star Rod's power." Maquano informed.
"Goooah? He got rid of the power of that stupid Star Rod?!"
"Ha! Now we got you! Take this!" Kayzee cried as he gave Bowser a punch to the nose. The evil Koopa King held his nose in pain while he roared at the group.
"Graaaargh! You cheap little…coward! This fight's just beginning!" Bowser stomped his way to Chopper and was ready to punch him. Luckily, Chopper guarded his attack so he wouldn't get burnt. He walked over to the Koopa King afterward and attacked him with his hammer, and then Yosho fluttered over to use his Ground Pound on him.
Bowser breathed out fire on Chopper, taking 8 out of him. When Chopper shot a fireball at Bowser, it left him with only 10 HP. Koopla got in her shell and attacked Bowser afterward.
While Bowser stomped his way to Chopper, Chopper thought of something. He quickly put the Lucky Day Badge on while fighting, and when Bowser tried to punch him, he ended up missing.
"Gwargh!" Bowser stomped his foot in anger as Chopper took off the Lucky Day Badge, smirking.
"How come you put that on before he attacked you?" Bow asked.
"I just wanted to see what would happen. Basically, just for some good old humor." Chopper replied as he took out his hammer and used his D-Down Pound to finish him off. The battle gave Chopper 39 Star Points and also leveled up. He chose FP this time, so now he had 45 FP.
Bowser stomped his foot in anger again after being beaten. "Gosh, you're not bad! How'd you get so strong? Still, you're just an annoyance. That was like a warm-up for me."
Bowser got on his Koopa Clown Car and grabbed Peach.
"No! Chopper! Please come help me!" Peach cried.
"All right, Maquano, let's get out of here!" Bowser suggested. He looked at Chopper before flying off.
"You go on, Bowser. I haven't had my chance to have a little fun." Maquano said as he floated down and drew his sword. "This should be fun, fighting against my nemesis!"
"Oh man… Maquano wants to battle too…" Chopper groaned.
"All right, go on ahead! Works for me!" Bowser grinned. "But, if you make it Chopper, follow me if you wanna save Princess Peach! I'm going to watch this fight!"
Chopper became Sword Chopper and held his sword tight. "All right, since you have your own sword to fight us, I might as well use my own to fight back."
"A sword fight?" Bruce gaped. "This could get ugly..."
"It's been a while since we had our battle," Maquano grinned. "Now the time has come at long last! This is the end!"
Tattle: I don't really know much on this villain, but I'm sure you do. His name's Maquano, right? Is he the evil Demon Knight that is one of your greatest enemies? Yeah, that's what you said. Max HP: 80, Attack Power: 8, Defense Power: 2. He can use his sword to fight against you, and he'll even use some dark magic. He's got some other powerful attacks that can deal 10 damage to you! Man, he seems a lot tougher than Bowser! No wonder he wanted Bowser to go steal the Star Rod… He wanted more power for himself.
"Yeah, Staris's third form didn't exactly beat you, but I gave him a chance. But, once you're up against me, it'll be over for you. You may have beaten Bowser, but I'm far more dangerous."
"Yeah, you are. But, I'm still going to kick you butt!" Chopper taunted. "I beat you three times before, and I'm sure I can do it again!"
Chopper began to start off with his Power Jab attack, which was similar to the Power Bounce. He began to jab multiple times at Maquano and stopped after the eighth time. C-2 Choppor aimed his gun at Maquano and shot a yellow blast at him. This didn't exactly make Maquano give up, though.
"Impressive… But let's see how you deal with this!" Maquano swung his sword once, and dark lightning came down on Chopper. He was able to guard the attack, luckily.
"Man, this evil knight has a lot more defense than Bowser! How did he become so tough anyway?" Kayzee asked.
"Well… He's always been like this, unfortunately." Chopper said as he swung at Maquano with his D-Down Slash. Bruce walked toward Maquano and blew up in front of him. He quickly shook himself from the explosion, wiping the soot off his cape.
"I hope this isn't my new cape… Because then it would surely be ruined." Maquano growled. "I ESPECIALLY hope this one is not the one Bob blew his nose on - even if he doesn't HAVE a nose!"
The Demon Knight quickly swung his sword at Chopper, which he failed to guard. Thankfully, his Sword ability didn't come off him, to his relief. Chopper managed to use Power Jab on Maquano again and managed to hit him eight times like before.
Yosho laid an egg and threw it at Maquano. He hit him directly in the head, but he didn't become dizzy from it. From what they could see, he was halfway finished.
Maquano swung his sword, and a dark Sword Beam came flying toward Chopper. He was able to guard the attack, but it ended up doing 9 damage. Chopper swung his sword at Maquano, and then C-2 Choppor fired a blast at Maquano, leaving him with 30 HP.
"Hmmm… I guess I can do this to help me." Maquano raised his arms up used some dark power to raise both his Attack and Defense by 3, so his Attack was now 11, and his Defense was now 5.
"Oh, boy… This is pretty bad." Chopper gulped. "We gotta attack him with attacks that don't affect defense."
Chopper began to think about how he should attack, and he decided to go with D-Down Slash. He swung at Maquano, ignoring his defense. C-2 Choppor aimed at Maquano and shot a blast at him. They were getting him down pretty fast.
Maquano jumped toward Chopper and began to swing down at him. Chopper held his sword up, hoping to block the attack. This attack could do up to 12 damage, but since his attack is boosted, it could do 14. But, Chopper was able to only take 3 damage from the attack thanks to him blocking it. He then attacked with his sword, and it only seemed to do 1 damage
"Dang it! I forgot to use an attack that ignores defense!" Chopper groaned as Kayzee flew toward Maquano and punched him. She also did 1 damage. But, Maquano's Attack and Defense boost wore off, to their surprise.
"My Attack and Defense boost wore off... Great. But I still have the upper hand!" Maquano quickly swung his sword at Chopper, who failed to guard the attack. It also left his HP low.
"Oh boy… I need some help. I'll call Misstar." Chopper summoned Misstar, and she came down and kissed Chopper, making him recover 20 HP. Bow fumed a tiny bit, but not a whole lot. "OK, though being kissed by a star…is odd, but at least I recovered HP."
C-2 Choppor aimed at Maquano, and shot a blast at him. Maquano was almost defeated now, but he wasn't going to go down just yet.
"Not so fast! This isn't over yet!" Maquano used his dark powers to make him recover 30 HP. "Well... Now it looks like I have 40 HP left!"
"Oh… You…" Chopper growled as he used his D-Down Slash on Maquano, and then Kayzee attacked Maquano after that, leaving him with only 30 HP.
"Heh heh heh… There's no way I would let you beat me so easily. I was prepared for this battle, you know!" Maquano grinned as he swung down at Chopper with his sword. However, Chopper tried to block Maquano's attack. He only took 4 damage in the end.
Chopper used his D-Down Slash on Maquano again, which was definitely a good idea, and then Koopla got in her shell and attacked Maquano. However, little did they know the Demon Knight was grinning.
"I still have one more attack I would like to show you!" Maquano used some dark magic to boost his Attack up. It seems like he had a devastating attack coming…
"Oh, boy… That's not good." Chopper gulped as he used his Power Jab on Maquano and he hit him eleven times.
"This attack could be pretty bad. I'll just make you invisible, and everything will all be better." Bow assured as she used her Outta Sight ability to make Chopper invisible. She also made the other partners invisible as well.
Maquano raised his sword up and swung it at Chopper. There was a huge amount of dark energy coming at him. But in the end, he didn't get hurt. Bow made everyone visible, and she wasted up a turn for herself. But, C-2 Choppor went first and he shot a yellow blast at Maquano.
"All right, time to end this!" Chopper declared as he ran toward Maquano and jumped in the air. With one final slash, Maquano was defeated.
"Arrgh! You little...!" Maquano knelt in defeat while Chopper got rewarded with 37 Star Points. He removed his ability afterward and smirked at Maquano.
"Well! Looks like you got beat again!" Chopper smirked. "So, how does it feel to get beaten by an eight year old?"
"Considering you're no ordinary eight year old, I'm not too surprised," Maquano got himself up, and he recovered all the damage done to him. "So you HAVE gotten stronger ever since Bowser beat you… Nevertheless, there's still no way you can save this Mushroom Kingdom!"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Bowser's been using up that Star Rod for a long time, and I even told him what would happen if he used that Star Rod too much. He's going to eventually drain the power out of it, but that's not a bad thing for me! Heh heh… That power will be given to me, and Staris will also have that power. But I'm making sure the Star Rod's power mostly goes to me! There's no chance you could possibly save the Mushroom Kingdom and the Stars!"
"I don't believe you. There's still a chance to save the Stars."
"Fine, don't listen to me. Don't say I warned you though. But when the power's completely drained, the Star Rod's Power Stars will be scattered around different areas of the Mushroom Kingdom. Luckily, there still are minions Bowser has that will take those Power Stars, so don't think your whole quest is over so soon, Chopper!"
Chopper stood in silence while Maquano levitated off the ground and out the window.
"You can follow me if you still think you can stop Bowser and I…and save that princess you came here for." Maquano said as he flew away.
"Do you think those things Maquano said are true?" Bow asked. "Is Bowser actually draining the power from the Star Rod and making its power scatter in different places in the Mushroom Kingdom?"
"Don't believe him. He always tries to say things like that just to fool me." Chopper stated. "What we SHOULD be doing now is getting to the roof! Let's go!"
But before they went, they went to the first main room of Peach's Castle, and to the room to the right, in the cabinet, a Toad was hiding in there. The Toad was worried that Chopper was a bad guy, but he told him he wasn't and he understood. He allowed him to sleep in the bed to heal, and he did just that. After that nap, they went back to the room where they fought Bowser and Maquano and headed on through the door to go up some stairs that led up to the roof.
"Follow me if you dare!" Bowser cackled as he held Peach close to him, who began to cry while he flew up on his Koopa Clown Car. Maquano followed him by flying up. They went into the door leading to a small tower. Inside, there were stairs circling around and going higher up in the tower. They could see the last Save Block in the castle, and for this chapter.
"We just gotta climb up these stairs, and we'll be ready to take Bowser on…and maybe Maquano!" Chopper declared after hitting the Save Block. They began to go up the circular staircase in the small room, which had a gray ground and gray tall, skinny pillars. They went through the door once they reached the top.
Once they came out of the door, they saw how high up they were. They're probably at the highest area of Peach's Castle. They could see a skinny bridge that led up to a floating platform with te Koopa Clown face on it. They could also see Bowser, Maquano, Kammy, and Camikon on the platform. Peach was also on there, tied up. Chopper carefully crossed the bridge and got on the platform. Everyone else was relieved that they made it on there.
"Gwaaa ha ha ha ha! Welcome to your nightmare!" Bowser cackled as he stood beside a green ! button. "You should thank me, Chopper. Since you have what it takes to stand up against me, I've arranged a special arena for you to defeat!"
"There's no possible way you can escape from this battle, Chopper," Maquano grinned as he sheathed his sword. "Go ahead, hit it, Bowser."
Bowser stomped on the switch, and the bridge collapsed. "Gwaa ha ha! Like it? You're completely trapped! How does it feel, huh?"
"Oh, man… This is not good at all." Chopper gulped.
I wonder if we should believe Maquano's warning. It COULD be true...but let's not get our hopes up. Bowser REALLY isn't done yet. That was a warm-up. Yes, it was good for Chopper to level up before the battle against Maquano, since he's a big threat.
I'd say the Maquano battle was probably one of my favorites in Chapter 8, but the next fight is still up there too. It does have a lot, that's for sure. :)
