18B - The Mighty King Bowser
"I can't believe we're almost there, Mario," Luigi said prior to reaching the top of the spiral staircase.
"I know. I'm half nervous, half determined," Mario replied. He proceeded to swap Goombario with Watt.
"Where are we right now?" Watt asked.
"We're officially going to fight Bowser for real and stop his evil wishes," Mario answered. He opened the door leading to the tower's balcony and saw the Power Platform where Peach was tied up and Bowser and Kammy were standing in the middle. There was a stone path that connected the platform to the balcony.
After taking a deep breath, Mario said in Italian, "Buona fortuna, squadra. Ne avremo bisogno. (Good luck, team. We're going to need it.)"
Without further ado, Mario, Luigi, and Watt crossed the bridge and set foot on the Power Platform before walking up to Bowser.
"Gwahahahaha! Welcome to your nightmare, Mario and Luigi!" Bowser announced. "You should just thank me because since you've been my rivals for so long, I've arranged a special arena for your defeat!" Bowser snapped his fingers, causing the bridge to break apart. At the same time, Kammy cast a spell to activate the invisible barriers so that Mario, Luigi, Watt, and Peach wouldn't escape.
"Gwahaha! Like it? You're completely trapped! How does it feel, huh?"
"We're not gonna feel anything until you fall on your stomach!" Mario replied.
"Is that so? Bleah nyeah heh hee ha heh!" Kammy laughed. "You fell right into our trap! And you call yourself a hero?! Did you think we were foolish enough to just sit back and watch as you saved the Star Spirits?"
"Yes, because you didn't have the common sense to leave the castle and stop us yourself," Luigi answered.
"I did too, Luigi!" Kammy argued. "I WAS gonna fly to the ruins, but I was distracted by learning that Princess Peach looked in King Bowser's diary!"
"Yeah! No one reads my diary!" Bowser added in.
"Anyway, I've put together a little surprise for you. A device that increases King Bowser's power more than before! He will be so powerful that not even the power of the Star Spirits can compare!"
Mario and Luigi's hearts began beating fast, knowing they could lose.
"He'll now truly be invincible thanks to my wisdom!" Kammy said before turning to Bowser. "Now, my king, are you ready to be powered up?"
"Yes! Light her up!" Bowser replied with enthusiasm. With that, Kammy casted a spell that caused the spiky spin tables to start spinning, the smoke and light display to turn on, and the face lights to glow bright orange. Seconds later, several lightning bolts shot up from underneath Bowser and mildly shocked him as the first step to powering him up.
"Uuuuaaaaahhhhh!" Bowser yelled while convulsing. He then grew ten feet taller than his normal height and glowed blue green.
"Yes! Yes! Kammy, you are awesome!" Bowser exclaimed. "I feel like I'm exploding with power! Now I'll be able to squash these cheeky plumbers!"
"Go get them, Your Evilness!" Kammy declared. Mario and Luigi shook with nervousness at the sight of Bowser's powered up form.
"I don't know about this, bro..." Mario murmured. "We might die on this one..."
"Maybe..." Luigi replied silently.
"Hey, you! Mario and Luigi! It's not going to be like before, you mustached wimps! Prepare to be beaten by the likes of me!" Bowser hollered before taking out the Star Rod and pointing it up at the sky. "Now, time to increase my power with my good old Star Rod! Here I go!" Again, Bowser cast his invincibility spell, creating a brighter light than when he used the Star Rod earlier.
Mario and Luigi were too slow to shield their eyes and were nearly blinded by the light. Seconds later, a thicker shield covered Bowser, increasing his level of invincibility.
"Should we try the Star Beam again?" Mario whispered to Luigi.
"Try it. It's the best we can do for now," Luigi replied quietly.
"Okay, Bowser... Uh..." Mario started to say.
"What's with the hesitation, Mario? Are you scared?" Bowser asked.
"No... No, I'm not..." Mario raised his fist toward Bowser to activate the Star Beam again. Bowser decided to wait until Mario's move to attack him and Luigi.
"Very well! Shoot me, if you will!" Mario waited for a few seconds before ramming his finger on the teal circle and shooting the Star Beam at Bowser's chest. Two seconds later, the beam faded away with the shield still intact.
"God no..." Mario muttered; he started to tear up, knowing he and his brother's deaths are inevitable.
"Gwahahaha! I told you so, you idiots!" Bowser roared with delight. "That weak attack doesn't affect me anymore! It's so ineffective!"
Before Mario and Luigi could do anything, Bowser shot the Star Rod at Mario, encasing him in a metal casing that fused to the ground before doing the same with Luigi. Both struggled to break free, but they obviously were frozen in place.
"Don't do it, Bowser!" Mario cried.
"Do what? Kill you?" Bowser asked. "I'm thinking about it!" Suddenly, Watt, having watched in horror at what went on so far, made the quick decision to charge Bowser.
"You'll have to get past me first!" Watt shouted. Hearing Watt's voice made Mario and Luigi panic.
"WATT! NO!" Mario and Luigi yelled.
"What is this ball of electricity?" Bowser asked. "Buzz off!" He casted a spell that caused a lightning bolt to shoot from the ground and shock Watt.
"GGYYYAAAAAHHH!" Watt screamed with agony while being overloaded with the bolt's intense power. Five seconds later, she exploded, sending small electric volts all over the place. Her blue pacifier dropped on the ground before Bowser picked it up and tossed it off the platform.
Mario and Luigi sobbed at the death of Watt; she was one of their closest partners during the whole adventure.
Meanwhile, Peach watched in terror as the battle began to commence.
"No! Mario! Luigi!" Peach yelled before Kammy flew in front of her.
"What did I say about saying their names?" Kammy questioned with irritation. "Your speaking-" Suddenly, Kammy was hit by an unknown object and knocked her off her broomstick.
The ropes holding Peach to the pole loosened up and dropped to the ground, confusing her. "What's going on?"
"It's me, Princess Peach!" a familiar voice called out just as Kammy got back on her broomstick. It was Twink that knocked her off the broomstick; he flew in front of Peach, exciting her at his return.
"Twink! I'm so glad you're okay!" Peach squealed.
"You insolent little Star Kid! How dare you!" Kammy exclaimed while flying in front of Peach and Twink. "If you think you can fight me, you're too young to do so!"
"I... I... I'm not afraid of you!" Twink uttered with hesitation.
"Be careful, Twink!" Peach said while Twink charged Kammy and hit her face, but it didn't do any damage.
"Nyeah heh hoo hah... Did I just feel a breeze? Was that really your attack?" Kammy asked before formulating a Yellow Block above his head and dropping it on Twink, knocking him to the ground. Peach got scared for a moment before Twink got back up.
"Please, Twink... You can do it..." Peach prayed silently. Twink decided to charge Kammy again. This time, he hurt her like she was hit by a small stone.
"Ow! Why you little whippersnapper!" Kammy grunted. "So, you can fight a little..." Kammy made another Yellow Block and dropped it on Twink. It only caused him to fall until he was a foot above the ground.
Peach prayed again, hoping Twink will try harder. Twink charged Kammy a third time, which hurt her a bit more.
"Yeeow! What's going on?!" Kammy demanded. "Why does it seem like this Star Kid's getting stronger?!" She tried her Yellow Block attack again, but it didn't affect Twink this time.
"No... It can't be... I'm losing already!" Kammy said with despair. Peach prayed for Twink's bravery again, and he charged Kammy one more time, knocking her off her broomstick and over the invisible barriers. Peach and Twink looked through the barrier and watched Kammy fall to her death. At the same time, the broomstick became limp and turned gray.
"What do we do now, Twink? We have to help Mario and Luigi!" Peach said.
"Well, you praying for me to defeat Kammy... You're making wishes to give me more power!" Twink answered. "You should make another wish! This time wish to give more power to the Star Spirits! Think of the Mushroom Kingdom, the Star Road, Mario and Luigi... Make a wish to the Stars, thinking of all those things! If your wish is strong enough, it will reach the Star Spirits and give them strength!"
"Okay... I'll try..." Peach replied.
"Good! I'll go and tell the Star Spirits right now!" Twink immediately flew off to the Star Road, but before Peach could make her wish, she was suddenly encased in a metal casing that bonded with the ground.
Just earlier, Bowser was watching with glee as Mario and Luigi struggled with fear, crying about their doom.
"Bwahahaha! What's the matter, Mario and Luigi? You feeling a bit under the weather? Huh?" Bowser taunted. "You should just give up now that I literally beat you to the ground! Actually, I want you to do something for me. But give me one second first."
Bowser turned to Peach, who was about to make her wish and put her in the metal casing.
"No! I can't move! Mario! Luigi!" Peach screamed.
"Man, you're so annoying, Princess Peach," Bowser said before using the Star Rod to spawn a piece of duct tape over her mouth. She couldn't speak a word and could only watch what was about to happen.
"All right. That's more like it," Bowser sighed before turning to the Mario Bros. "Now, back to what I was saying. You know this Star Rod is the most powerful thing in the world you can ever imagine, and I've told you that a zillion times. But me saying it again right now means that I swear it's REALLY powerful. So, I have just come up with a big wish, and I wanna leave it to you to help me out."
"I'm giving you two options here," Bowser continued. "You can grant my wish to rule the whole world and make everyone my slaves including you two and Princess Peach. Or, if you decide to stand your ground, I will send Princess Peach off this Power Platform, leaving her to fall to her death. I've said this before: I do not believe in third options; therefore, this situation is a black-and-white kind. I'm allowing you to make the decision and that's the only thing I want to hear out of your mouths. So, what will it be? Grant my wish or kill Princess Peach? It's one or the other."
Hearing Bowser's sadistic offer made Mario and Luigi squirm more and cry harder than before; they didn't want to choose either choice.
"Come on, guys. I'm on a tight schedule," Bowser said while tapping his foot. He began to grow impatient with Mario and Luigi not saying anything. "Okay. I'm not asking you again, Mario Bros. This is your last chance. Decide now, or I will decide for you."
