Chapter Forty-Six: Princess Peach
Congrats, everyone, we've finally reached 300 reviews! This is a milestone I never thought that I'd reach when I first started to right this story, so I've very grateful for all the positive feedback I've gotten. Please look forward to the story's future! And yes...it will be completed. It's just not my number one priority and so I often don't have time to work on it. I'll still try to get at least one chapter out every week, though.
While the sky was still blue and the day was still clear, a thunderstorm seemed to rage over the centre of the Blooper Sea. Warships on both sides exchanged ferocious bullet bill fire, with ships scrumming to their damage and bursting into flames, sinking through the air towards the ocean. Already the sea was littered with blasted wrecks, the surviving crew members scrambling around on them hoping that the fight would end soon so they could be rescued. Unfortunately, it did not appear as if that would happen soon. Both sides had the numbers to fight a prolonged battle. This fight could go on for days...perhaps even weeks.
In the midst of all that chaos, with Bullet Bills flying left and rest, a golden light suddenly shone forth, like a star which fell down to earth. The light stretched across the ocean, reflecting off the cannons and off the bridge windows, dying the ocean a brilliant shade of orange...and then it faded.
There, between the two fleets of heavily-armed battleships, was a platform that seemed to be made of golden light. Hovering above that platform, within a golden bubble, was a tall, blonde woman, dressed in a pink dress adorned with a blue jewel. A person which most in the world believed to be dead had returned to life.
Cobal slugged an enemy Paratroopa, causing the invader to collapse to the deck. Already the deck of the airship was littered with the bodies of both friend and enemy. Most seemed to just be unconscious, thankfully, but others...Cobal gulped. All-out war was much worse than the jaunts to Bowser's Castle the Mario brothers had done in the past.
"Hey...uh, guys..." came K Rool's gravelly voice. "Any one of you know what that means?" he pointed towards the glowing platform. Cobal had been aware of the light, but thanks to his shades he'd ignored it. It was probably just the sun; why bother about that when a Paragoomba was trying to headbutt you with a head that seemed to be made of iron?
Strike casually blasted away a Paragoomba duo with a burst of flame and joined K Rool near the edge of the ship. "It's some kind of girl." he said, loudly so that he could be heard over the sounds of the cannons.
"T...that's not just a girl!" Peasley exclaimed, getting up. He'd suffered a nasty collision with a Paratroopa's shell while trying to defend an injured Toad from a Fly Guy. "That's Princess Peach!"
Princess Peach? The legendary ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, who had been both wise and kind, the one true love of Mario's, who had vanished without a trace on the day her newlywed husband had died? Cobal ran to join K Rool, squinting his eyes to try to get a look at the princess. The cannons seemed to be slowing down. Likely everyone on both sides was watching, wondering if this was some sort of illusion...
Peasley was the first to speak. "We can't leave her like this!" he exclaimed. "It would violate my honour as the prince of the Beanbean Kingdom if I left a defenceless princess in the middle of a war zone! Worse, if we don't make a move soon, Larry will!"
"What's so great about her?" K Rool asked, scratching his head. "She's just some girl in a pink dress. Not a single claw or muscle on her."
"K Rool." Strike said sternly. "Princess Peach is the symbol of hope and peace for the entire Mushroom Kingdom. If we save her...the effects will be global. It will change the entire war."
"Kay, let's stop talking, guys." Cobal said, putting his foot on the guardrail and looking at Strike. "Strike, we got any form of air transport?"
"There's always Clown Cars in the hold." Strike replied, still fixed on Princess Peach.
"Great." Cobal smirked. "We got a princess to save."
This had to be a dream. Luigi felt frozen in time, unable to tear his eyes away from the woman who was in the middle of the air, shining with a divine golden light. Was this Princess Peach? Was this one of Larry's tricks? For all he knew, Princess Peach was simply a magical construct that would explode the second somebody got close to it. But...what if it really was her?
Luigi hated charging in. He preferred to assess the situation and come up with a good strategy. But there was no time for that now. He needed to save Princess Peach. If she fell into the hands of either one of the Koopa armies...
It was then that Luigi remembered where he was. He was on the bridge of Bowser Jr's flagship, surrounded by Koopas on all sides.
"I...it's really her..." came Bowser Jr's voice. Luigi turned around to see the Koopa prince walking to the front of the bridge, his eyes wide.
"This won't be easy." Luigi thought to himself. "Of course he's going to try to get her back for his father!"
Bowser Jr towered over Luigi, and his footsteps seemed to shake the floor. "I want-" he began to order his crew, but Luigi interrupted him.
"Bowser Jr..." he began, his heart beating, "You can't do this..."
Bowser Jr suddenly roared, with so much force that it seemed to Luigi that he was being hit by a strong gale of wind. "Do you understand, Luigi?" Bowser Jr exclaimed. "Do you know what my father's been going through?"
"I...I know!" Luigi replied, trying to sound sympathetic. The eyes of all the crew were on him; both they and Junior could strike at any moment. "B...but...the Princess doesn't belong to him, Junior! She belongs back in her kingdom, back with the people who love her!"
"I LOVE HER!" Bowser Jr roared, before, without warning, grabbing Luigi in one of his clawed hands and hurling him across the bridge. Luigi hit the back wall and felt the wood splinter around him, as his head throbbed with pain.
Koops stepped forward. In the silence that had filled the skies since the appearance of the golden light, Gonzales could hear every step of his feet. Koops did not look angry or intimidating in any way. He simply looked...sad.
"S...so it really is true!" Goombella exclaimed in shock, taking a step back. "He...he really went over to their side!"
"What's all this about, Koops!?" Gonzales exclaimed, stepping forward until there was less than a foot between him and the Koopa. Koops had been one of Mario's best allies; a Koopa who had overcome his fear and become a force to be reckoned with. Gonzales remembered watching him as a young kid, shell-slamming his opponents in the Glitz Pit...he'd been somebody he'd looked up to! "This isn't like you!"
Koops' eyes were downcast. "I'm sorry, Gonzales." he said. "But...well..." he looked upwards and faced them all with a sad smile. "That's just the way life is, isn't it?"
"Y...you-" Gonzales started, but before he could finish his sentence, Koops immediately retracted into his shell and launched himself at him. Koops' shell struck Gonzales hard in the chest, forcing him down before he could make a single move. Gonzales fell hard on his back. Koops' shell shot over him, crashing into Flurry before rebounding into Ms. Mowz with a clash. Koops ducked back out of his shell just as Goombella leapt into the air, attempting a headbonk...a move which was quickly sidestepped by Koops, who darted back into his shell and crashed into the Goomba before spinning towards Vivian. Vivian ducked into the shadows to evade Koops' attack, appearing behind him as he once again left his shell. His entire body in pain, Gonzales watched Vivian charge up fire in her first, preparing to deliver a decisive strike. "Come on, girl...you can do it..." Gonzales urged.
Koops' hand lashed out, grabbing Vivian's arm and preventing her from landing the punch. He then spun around and delivered a solid blow to her face, downing the Shadow Siren. Gonzales closed his eyes sighed. He had to get up. He had to. Koops had gotten so much more powerful than they had...but shouldn't they still be able to beat him together?
Gonzales opened his eyes and began to force his body to rise, but before he could even get up, pain flashed through his body as Koops stepped on his hand, crushing his fingers underneath the sole of his shoe.
"I'm sorry, Gonzales." Koops said emotionlessly. "But you just can't win."
The radiant, golden light that surrounded Princess Peach seemed to shine in Larry's eyes. As if memorized, he left his command seat and strode to the front of the bridge until he was right up to the massive window. "Princess Peach..." he said, his smile growing. "This battle's starting to get tasty." New schemes were running through Larry Koopa's mind as he gazed at the faint, angelic silhouette of the woman he had spent his entire youth trying to capture. His father was still obsessed with her, that was a well-known fact. This could be the end of the war. If he captured Princess Peach and offered his dad a trade, the throne for the princess, likely Emperor Bowser would accept. Ludwig would get his throne, and he'd get recognition as the man who brought down the Koopa Empire and ushered in a new era. He'd be able to do anything he wanted.
"Captain, you're in charge." Larry said to a blue-robed Shy Guy. "I'm gonna go get the princess."
"B...but your highness!" the captain protested. "Alone? You could be killed!"
Larry laughed and patted the Shy Guy on his head. "Yah know, I don't think so." he chuckled. "It ain't easy to kill a guy like me. Dad survived falling into a star, for goodness sake. And I'm a whole lot more resourceful then Dad."
The green-robed General Guy dashed through the gilded halls of the Imperial Citadel, past glowering golden Bowser statues and stained-glass windows of volcanic landscapes, his boots nearly slipping on the red carpet. The emperor...he had to reach the emperor. Guy nearly collided with a Dry Bones servant in his frantic rush to the throne room, and, unlike usual, didn't even bother to apologize. This was more important than simple politeness. This concerned the fate of the entire Koopa Empire!
After the defeat of the Metro Kingdom army and the final achievement of world dominance, General Guy had been assigned to lead a special, elite divison who's sole purpose was locating Princess Peach. It was a dismal, mostly hopeless job, and spending so much time in the Imperial Citadel made it difficult to hang out with his fellow Elite Trio members. Princess Peach was clearly dead...it was a fact he had thought he'd known since the beginning. She'd been collateral damage; a stray Bob-omb or Bullet Bill, exploding at a precise enough angle to completely eradicate the princess' body and leave no remains. Everybody else in the division seemed to know it, too, and consider it an awful waste of time. Why use the empire's resources to try and find a dead princess when Fire Flower was still out there, raiding military bases and attacking civilians.
Then this had happened. While preforming yet another routine scan of the Evershade Valley, following some dubious rumour of a woman in pink who'd taken up residence near Gloomy Manor, Guy had gotten a call from Bowser Jr's lead adjutant, General Spiker, who had told him the news. Princess Peach was back...and somehow, she was right in the middle of the two armies.
Bowser had to know. The thing Guy was worried about was what Bowser would do once he found out. The Koopa Emperor had gotten even more unpredictable as of late. For all he knew, Bowser would even drop dead from shock. The throne room...one corridor to the left, and then straight down until you reached the big door...
Crash! Guy slammed against something hard, scaly, and not-to-pleasant smelling.
"What you doing, running around here like a screaming Toad? This is my castle!"
"M...my lord." Guy said, instantly kneeling right in the middle of the corridor. Bowser towered over him...still intimidating despite how much of a shadow of his old self he was.
Bowser placed his hands upon his hips. "Well?" he asked. "You going to explain yourself, or what?"
Guy bowed his head, as Bowser's fiery red eyes stared right into him. "Emperor Bowser." he whispered. "We...we've found her."
"Speak up, I can't hear you." Bowser groaned in an exhausted voice.
Guy leapt up, looking his monarch in the eye. "EMPEROR BOWSER!" he shouted. "WE'VE FOUND PRINCESS PEACH!"
Bowser seemed still for a moment, as if he'd been transformed into a statue like one of the dozens that lined the corridor. His eyes darted around wildly, as if he was having trouble processing the information. One of his hands tightened into a fist. Then, out of nowhere, Bowser roared.
"GWA HA HA HA HA!" he exclaimed, causing the extraordinarily tense General Guy to leap back in fright. "Princess Peach...Peach..." he breathed fire into the air like an erupting volcano, increasing the room's temperature by several degrees... "She's going to be happy to see me...finally, I'll have my empress!"
Bowser began to stomp closer to Guy, who edged back. "Where is she?" the emperor growled. "WHERE IS SHE?" without warning, Bowser descended into a fit of coughing, his coughs letting out sparks that flitted to the ground and sizzled into nothingness. "Even the news of the princess can't cure Emperor Bowser's deteriorating health", Guy thought sadly.
"She...she's in some kind of magic barrier, right in the war zone between our forces and Ludwig's." Guy explained in a more calm voice. "In the Blooper Sea."
"Guy." Bowser growled, leaning down so he was at the Shy Guy's eye level. "You are going to do exactly what I say. Gather the entire Elite Force. Empty Koopa Central, I really don't care. I specifically want the Koopa Dominance in the air within ten minutes!"
"B...but my lord..." Guy protested, knowing how difficult all these orders would be to carry out. "At least leave the Koopa Dominance behind. The final engine tests on your personal flagship have not yet been complete, you know."
"DO YOU GIVE THE ORDERS, OR DO I?" Bowser yelled, making Guy leap back as flames burst from his mouth. "You heard it, now do it! I've spent years lounging on my throne moping! It's time for the King of Awesome to burst back into the game!"