Author's Note: Apologies on being a week late on the upload! I've just started juggling work and graduate school at the same time, so the days very much slipped away from me. Anywho, I'm excited to continue through this action-packed final challenge! We're so close to the end, all the players have to do now is survive. Let's see if Anderson lets them get that far~
Episode 8 Part 4
Toadiko: And just like that, it felt like our plan had fallen apart. If Anderson corners us here, then we're done for!
Mallow: It's a straight shot across the beach to the other side of the mountain. Maybe we can get there before Anderson notices us? Maybe?
Shy Guy: I've never been in any horror movies, but I'd like to think this is how the characters feel when the monster jumpscares them.
The trio stood right outside the villa, a couple hundred yards away from the mountain. The tree line was a hundred or so feet beyond that and was split by the mountain. The M013 plowed out of the forest on the left side of the mountain, leaving the right as their only viable escape route.
"Has he noticed us yet?" asked Mallow.
"I can't tell," said Toadiko. "And I don't want to find out."
"Do we run for it?" asked Shy Guy.
"I don't think we have a choice," said Mallow.
Despite having barely recovered from their last run, the trio took off at full speed towards the forest, spraying gravel behind them as they ran.
Mallow: We've done so much running over the past four days! But in hindsight, I guess I didn't realize how exhausted I was because of all that adrenaline.
Suddenly, the M013, which had been cruising parallel to the shore, turned, now directly facing the players.
"He definitely sees us!" said Shy Guy. He set the Super Scope on his shoulder and began charging, struggling to aim as he ran.
"I don't know if we can make it!" said Toadiko.
"Here goes nothing," said Shy Guy, releasing the trigger. The Super Scope shot a huge ball of light that whizzed off towards the M013. They watched in silence as the shot got closer and closer, all while the M013 didn't stop. The shot wobbled along its path, crackling as it whizzed closer to the machine. Until finally… it flew way over the M013's head. Anderson kept the machine going, and it the gap between it and the party was shrinking rapidly.
"I think I need to use the Volt Shroom," said Mallow.
"Are you sure?" asked Toadiko. "Remember, it's only temporary."
"I don't see any other options," said Mallow.
"You're right," said Shy Guy as he struggled to line up another shot. "There's no point in saving it if Anderson's just gonna knock us out right here."
Mallow held up the Volt Shroom, letting the rain wash any leftover dirt from the pantry. "Alright, I'm eating it!" he declared. He tossed it into his mouth. At first, nothing happened, but then he suddenly tripped and tumbled to the ground.
"Mallow!" gasped Toadiko. She ran back to his side.
"You alright dude?" asked Shy Guy, stopping and letting his charged shot fly into the distance. He looked up at the quickly approaching M013. "We gotta go quickly!"
"I feel funny," groaned Mallow. Just then, his fluffy skin faded to a deep navy color, resembling a thundercloud.
"It's the Volt Shroom!" said Toadiko. "It's working."
Mallow sat up. "I don't feel –," he began, but was interrupted as he was enveloped in a large flash. When it subsided, his hair and eyes were glowing bright yellow and electricity was dancing on his palms.
"Whoa, you look really cool," said Shy Guy.
"I feel cool!" said Mallow, hopping to his feet. He turned towards the M013 and held out a hand. "Let's see what I can do." He flicked his hand, sticking out his finger as he did so. A hefty thunderbolt arced from his finger to the sand twenty or so feet away, emerging with a ka-crack!
Toadiko and Shy Guy glanced at each other. "Neat," said Shy Guy, trying to sound unimpressed.
Mallow grinned. "Like riding a bike." He held both hands above his head, letting electricity grow and crackle. By this point, the M013 was only 50 feet away.
"You're getting real down to the wire!" said Shy Guy.
"I'm doing my best," Mallow said calmly. He then slowly swung them down to hip level before suddenly thrusting them forward. A huge thunderbolt erupted from his hands, quickly fragmenting into countless smaller sparks.
Before Anderson could even react, the entire machine was enveloped in electricity. Sparks jumped from ever bit of the metallic armor, jumping into joins, jumping onto other bits of the armor, and working their way through each and every mechanical component. The M013 twitched and fizzled and discharged bolts at random as it came to a complete stop about 20 feet away from the players. They could see Anderson pounding on the control panel, but with the speakers disabled, they couldn't hear what he was saying.
Mallow looked back and forth from his smoking palms to the M013. "I-I did it! Do we win?"
"I don't think it would be start to wait and find out," said Toadiko.
Mallow nodded. "Agreed." They took off running. Mallow occasionally spun around to toss smaller lightning bolts at the M013, hitting about as often as he missed. Soon after they got too far away for Mallow to hit it, they noticed it start to shift and slowly move towards them.
"It's not over yet," said Shy Guy.
The M013 began picking up steam, and soon it was closing in on them once again. Mallow stopped to prepare another lightning bolt, but waved for his companions to keep going on. "I'll hold him off again," he said. "I'll catch up with you soon!"
Toadiko: I don't just want to leave Mallow behind like that, but I'd rather guarantee two of us get to safety than risk losing everyone.
Shy Guy: I think that's the bravest I've seen Mallow be all game.
A hundred feet of stand stood between Toadiko and Shy Guy and safety. The noises of a rumbling engine and crackling static grew louder. 75 feet. Kra-kow! Mallow fired off another bolt of lightning, but they were only able to catch a glimpse of its flash, as they had to focus on keeping their footing. 50 feet. They heard Mallow's shouts as he pelted the M013 with even more lighting. 25 feet. The sounds of the engine were completely drowned out by Mallow's raging storm. 0 feet. Shy Guy and Toadiko burst into the thicket and ducked behind a tree to catch their breath. The battle behind them had grown completely silent.
"Do you think he's okay?" asked Toadiko.
Shy Guy looked over his shoulder, but couldn't see past the trees. "I don't know. But we can't just stay here. If Anderson catches us then that whole thing would've been pointless."
"I feel bad just leaving him," said Toadiko. "But you're right."
They pushed forward, a little slower than before as they attempted to figure out which direction the fortress was in. The day's rain, even though it was mostly blocked by the canopy, had reduced the ground to a soupy mixture of roots and mud, making trudging through it a miserable affair.
After about ten minutes, they heard something: a distant rumbling and cracking. The noise started quiet, but quickly got louder and louder.
"He's here!" hissed Toadiko. "How did he track us?"
"Hold on," said Shy Guy, cupping a hand to his ear. "It doesn't sound like he's heading straight for us."
Toadiko listened carefully for a few moments. "You're right! It sounds like he's over there." She pointed to their right. "Maybe if we're quiet, we can sneak by him and get to the fortress." Shy Guy nodded, and they finally continued moving, now at a near crawl. Each splash and squelch from the mud made them cringe, as did any unexpectedly loud noise from the M013's rampage. Over time, they noticed that the direction of the noises had changed. In fact, they seemed to be coming from directly ahead of the duo.
"Why'd he change directions?" asked Shy Guy.
"Maybe he's just moving randomly and hoping he gets us," Toadiko said with a shrug. "Plus, the more of the forest he flattens, the fewer places we have to hide."
"So we just gotta hope we're lucky?" asked Shy Guy. "Not exactly a fair final game."
"I guess if we're not prepared to deal with him or run then that's considered our fault," said Toadiko.
"Yeah, you're right," Shy Guy said begrudgingly. "Then we should have a plan for when he shows up."
Toadiko stopped and fiddled with her earing as she thought. "Well the M013's pretty much a modified tank, so it's not exactly nimble. If we split up and run in opposite directions, then it'll be harder for him to track either of us down."
"I don't like the idea of being picked off one by one," said Shy Guy. His eyes carefully scanned the forest, searching for any sign of the M013. Other than the sounds of its path, which had now moved to their left, he didn't notice anything new.
"Do you have a better idea?" asked Toadiko.
"Not exactly, but I do have a theory." He held out the Super Scope. "You don't just leave something like this in a mine. The producers had to have put it there on purpose, which means there's got to be something useful it could do."
"Unless it's a red herring," said Toadiko.
Shy Guy shook his head. "Where's the fun in that? I don't think this mission was meant to have one right way to do it. We need to be creative. And if that's the case, then everything we find has to be useful somehow."
"True. Why give us an island full of tools if only a few things actually matter?" said Toadiko. "Maybe this blueprint has a clue." She pulled it out the blueprint and began to examine it. However, just as they grew silent, they noticed something else had grown much louder.
"It's right here!" gasped Toadiko.
Before either of them could react, a palm crashed in front of them, missing them by only a few feet. A few mangroves were ripped from the ground as the claws of the M013 pushed through the foliage. When the trees were bent just enough that the cockpit became visible, Anderson quickly spotted the cowering players and locked eyes with them.
"Hello players! I was wondering where you two got off to!"
"Split!" screamed Toadiko. Without a second thought, the ran in different directions, moving as fast as they could, given the terrain.
Shy Guy: If Toadiko's right about that thing's turning, then I need to run in a curved path if I wanna stay away.
Shy Guy sloshed through the muddy underbrush, trying to keep as far away from the sounds of the M013 as he possibly could. Both his and the M013's paths were so erratic that he wasn't quite able to tell if it was chasing him or if he had made it to safety. This went on for what felt like an eternity until he finally felt like the engine's roars were at a safe distance.
By this point, so many paths had been cut through the forest that he was forced to hop between islands of safe, standing trees to keep hidden.
Shy Guy: If this keeps up for much longer, then he'll be able to find me just by going for the trees. I need to get to the fortress ASAP.
As he darted into another patch of trees, Shy Guy heard something rustling near him. He nearly jumped out of his skin, but managed to calm himself once he realized it was too small to have come from the M013.
"Who's there?" he called at a loud whisper.
"Shy Guy? Is that you?" A mud-coated hand reached through a bush and pried the leaves out of the way to reveal a familiar face.
"Mallow! Dude, you're okay!"
Mallow chuckled. "If you can call this okay," he said, stepping out of the bush. The Volt Shroom had long since worn off, and he had returned to his normal coloration, but he was covered in splotches of mud and looked shaken.
"What happened back there?"
"I gave it everything I had. I really did," said Mallow. "But the Volt Shroom wasn't enough to shut the thing down forever. Eventually I started to feel my power going away, so I booked it for the woods while the M013 was still stunned. And, well, I didn't see you guys, so I tried to wander kinda randomly so Anderson wouldn't follow me."
Shy Guy stared down at his feet. "Listen, I'm sorry we abandoned you like that."
Mallow shook his head. "You didn't abandon me. I told you guys to run!" He looked around at the various paths cut into the woods. "But I guess I didn't stop him for long enough, did I?"
"You bought us enough time," said Shy Guy. "If we had to deal with him out there then we'd already be toast."
"Hey, uh, where's Toadiko by the way?"
Shy Guy grimaced. "Anderson's been cutting a random path through the woods to try to find us, and he happened to run into us. We agreed that the best way to lose him was to split up, so now we're here."
"What a mess," Mallow said with a groan. "What do we even do now?"
"Worst comes to worst, we head for the fortress without her," said Shy Guy. "Like we agreed about you: there's no point for someone to sacrifice themself if the others just get attacked looking for them."
"Has worst come to worst?" asked Mallow.
"I… don't know," admitted Shy Guy. "But I'd like to find her if we can. I'm not sure if we can win without her help. She was about to look at the blueprints for any sort of weakness I could exploit with the Super Scope, but then we got attacked."
"So it sounds like we need to head to the fortress, but stay low and slow and keep our eyes out for her," said Mallow.
"Sounds like a good plan to me," said Shy Guy.
It took them a few minutes to regain their bearings, but eventually Mallow and Shy Guy set off for the fortress. They avoided the destroyed sections of the forest as much as possible, only stepping in them when quickly crossing to another section of intact forest. They got the sense that Anderson was somewhere around the base of the mountain, which was quite a way to the left of where they were. Once they were sure of this, their moves got bolder. They were willing to run a bit more, and even used the flattened sections for faster transportation.
As they got within the last two hundred feet before the forest's edge, the started running through a flattened section, only to almost immediately be greeted with a shout.
"Mallow? And Shy Guy?"
They both whirled around to face the voice coming from behind a mangrove. "Toadiko!"
Toadiko poked her head out and grinned, before waving them over to her small section of intact forest. "I wasn't sure if you all were still in," she said once they were finally safe. "I eventually decided to head for the fortress and hope I found Shy Guy on the way."
"Not me?" asked Mallow.
"To be honest, I had no idea if you'd even made it into the forest," said Toadiko. "Plus, I had something to tell Shy Guy."
"You found a weakness?" he asked.
"Yup!" she said, smiling proudly as she pulled out the blueprints. "It turns out that the windshield is super thin. It's not even as thick as a car window! I'm sure a well-placed shot could shatter it, no problem."
"That's not exactly a winning move," said Mallow.
"That's true, but giving Anderson a face full of glass would certainly help us get away if he finds us again," said Toadiko.
"That sounds a little dangerous for him," said Mallow.
"And this isn't dangerous?" Shy Guy said, pointing the carnage around them.
Toadiko nodded in agreement. "The way I see it is, if the point of the mission is to defeat him by any means necessary, then he's prepared to take some hits. Remember, our Life Shrooms came from the cockpit. He probably has more up there."
Shy Guy grinned wickedly at her last comment. "You know, he probably doesn't have an infinite stash though. If we break the windshield and I attack him directly, then eventually he'll have to surrender."
"Would that count as a victory?" asked Toadiko.
"The M013 can't function without him, so I don't see why not," said Mallow.
Toadiko mulled over the plan for a bit. "I like it, but I don't think we should rely purely on Shy Guy being able to shoot into a narrow window, especially since he'll probably have to do so many times for that to work. It's a good backup plan, but we need something stronger."
"Sounds good to me," said Shy Guy. "Hopefully the ballista will be enough on its own though."
With their plans set, the trio continued towards the forest's edge. As they got within fifty or so feet of it, they heard a familiar rumbling heading their way.
"Not again!" said Toadiko.
"How far is it to the fortress from the forest?" asked Mallow.
"Pretty close, but not so close that we can just outrun him," said Shy Guy. "Especially if we want him in a place where we can hit him with the ballista.
"Then we gotta break the windshield," said Toadiko. "What's our plan?"
Shy Guy mounted the Super Scope on his shoulder and began charging. "We need to split his attention, so I have time to get a clean shot. We shouldn't run, but if we can split up just enough to distract him, then this might work."
Staying in the forest, they each stood about twenty feet apart as the rumbling got louder and louder. Shy Guy was in the middle, but a bit farther back, while Toadiko was to his left and Mallow was to his right.
Toadiko: Right before Anderson was upon us, I had a horrifying realization: if Anderson sees Shy Guy charging that shot, then he's never going to let him hit the windshield. I had to distract him.
"Oh no, it's Anderson!" Toadiko shrieked at the top of her lungs. Her allies both gave her looks that were equal parts horrified and confused. The M013 suddenly stopped, turned, and resumed its march forward, now heading directly for Toadiko.
"In the flesh and in the metal!" said Anderson, looming over Toadiko as he ripped trees down around her.
Toadiko: Okay he's distracted, but now I realize I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!
Mallow: How am I supposed to help when he's facing Toadiko? I'm so far over here that I'm basically useless!
"Toadiko, what are you doing?" cried Mallow.
Anderson's gaze suddenly shifted to him. "Trying to save your friend there, Mallow?" The M013 turned towards him, and a claw quickly scooped a tree out of the ground and held it right above him. "You gave me a lot of trouble with that Volt Shroom. Guess I'll knock you out first."
Mallow felt all the blood drain from his face as the massive mangrove loomed over his head. He finally snapped to his senses as Anderson began to swing it down towards him. He started running diagonally away from the M013 as fast as he possibly could.
Mallow: I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna dieeeeee!
The tree landed with a crash that shook the whole area. Splinters and branches flew everywhere as half the tree exploded on impact. Mallow only narrowly managed to avoid a direct hit, but was caught in the resulting spray of dirt, which sent him tumbling back fifteen feet into one of the flattened strips. As the searing pain cleared from his head, he fumbled near his pocket, feeling for the Life Shroom.
Mallow: Still there. I'm still in this!
Meanwhile, Anderson was fidgeting with the controls a bit, trying to get the M013's claw out from under the dirt and wood. From his spot in the undergrowth, Shy Guy grinned.
Shy Guy: Finally, the perfect shot.
With a blinding burst, the Super Scope fired its charged shot. Anderson only got a chance to hear the crackle and pew sound before he noticed the huge ball of light heading straight for him.
"Wait, no!"
The shot burst against the windshield, shattering it in an instant. The entirety of the cockpit was pelted with glass, rain, and errant sparks of energy from the shot, sending Anderson flying back out of his seat.
Shy Paused for a moment to admire his work, but Toadiko wasted no such time. "Run!" she screamed. Her voice snapped the other two into action. They ran for the forest's edge, vaulting over roots and fallen trees, kicking up mud, and barely managing to stay on their feet. They saw the ruined fortress as soon as they broke past the tree line.
Right as they reached the door, Shy Guy skidded to a stop. "Hold on, we might need to change our plans a bit."
"What do you mean?" snapped Toadiko. "We're at the fortress!"
"Yeah, but if I can shoot the treads with that ballista then this whole journey has been pointless," he said. "We need to keep him a good way away from the fortress."
"'We' meaning Mallow and I?" asked Toadiko.
"I really hate to ask this, but it's the only way it's going to work."
Toadiko sighed. "What do you say Mallow? Think we can keep him busy one more time?"
Mallow rubbed a growing bruise on the back of his head. "To be honest, even almost being hit hurt really bad. I'm not sure how much more I could take. But on the other hand, I don't want this bruise to be pointless. Let's give it a shot!"
"I owe you guys," said Shy Guy.
"Repay us by hitting this monster," Toadiko said with a wink.
"I'll do what I can," said Shy Guy. "Run in here as soon as I fire." He quickly explained how to get up to the roof before plunging into the depths of the fortress.
With Shy Guy gone, Mallow and Toadiko slowly stepped towards the center of the field.
Toadiko: For just a brief moment, I was able to enjoy the serenity of the rain. What felt cold and hostile just this morning now feels calming, at least compared to everything else here.
"I guess we should stand apart again," said Mallow. "Not that I want to be alone right now."
"I… I want to say something comforting, but I don't really want to be alone either," said Toadiko. "We have to, but it doesn't feel right leaving myself out there as a sitting duck."
"If it makes you feel any better, he's clearly more mad at me," Mallow said with a chuckle.
"I don't know if it does," admitted Toadiko.
There was a brief awkward silence, only filled by the rain and the distant rumblings of the M013. They eventually turned away from each other and marched across the muddy field until they were about 40 feet apart. After another minute of standing in tense silence, they heard two noises. First, a whistle from the rooftop, confirming that Shy Guy was in place. Second, the sound of trees crashing into mud as the M013 burst out of the forest.
Atop the fortress, Shy Guy knelt down behind the ballista, trying his best to stay hidden. "Please don't fail me," he whispered to himself.
"I figured you all would be heading to the fortress," said Anderson. "When designing this mission, I knew that last mission's starting locations would be oh so tempting."
Mallow: Hang on, what did he just say?
"Shy Guy's in there looking for weapons, isn't he?" asked Anderson.
Shy Guy: Sounds like he doesn't see me, but I need to be incredibly stealthy.
When the two players on the ground said nothing, he gave them a sinister guffaw. "No matter! It won't be much use if he's the only one left!" He plunged one of the M013's claws into the earth and pulled up a huge clump of dirt and rocks. He pivoted the machine to face Mallow, who began to slowly back away.
Without warning, rather than chuck the hunk of earth towards Mallow, Anderson threw it backwards, right towards Toadiko. She let out a yelp and scrambled backwards as fast as she could. She avoided the rocks, but a dense clump of dirt still managed to slam right into her stomach, knowing the wind out of her and sending her sliding back a few feet in the mud.
Shy Guy stood up and started adjusting the ballista.
Shy Guy: I don't care if he notices me. I can't let this go on.
Toadiko shakily got to her feet. "Is that all you got, Anderson? I've put up with eight episodes of your tricks. Do you think some soil will be what ends me?"
Anderson rolled his eyes. "Cute," he replied curtly. He promptly pivoted the M013 towards her and, rather than pick up more dirt, began driving forward.
"Don't you dare!" screamed Shy Guy, yanking the ballista's lever. The steel bolt whizzed through the air, cutting through the wind and rain with ease. But the M013 was still moving, inching farther and farther from Shy Guy's perfect aim. The players stood in silence as they waited for their plan to live or die.
Ka-thunk! The bolt pierced a perfect hole in the machine's treads, lodging itself somewhere in between them. The M013 made a horrendous grinding and creaking noise as Anderson tried to advance towards Toadiko, and a bit of smoke began leaking out from under it.
As soon as they saw the hole, Toadiko and Mallow made a beeline towards the fortress.
"What the!" Anderson gasped, talking a moment to process what had just happened. His eyes immediately fixated on the roof. "Shy Guy!" he called. "I should've known you'd get your hands on that thing!"
"It's over, Anderson!" Shy Guy called back. "We won!"
Anderson let out another well-practice evil cackle. "You think one shot was enough to finish this beauty off? If it were that easy, it wouldn't be a worthy final mission, would it?" Much to Shy Guy's horror, the M013 began to advance towards the fortress. It now moved at a snail's pace and creaked horribly, but it was still in action. "Now then, about that ballista!" The M013, whose arms were still in perfect shape, scooped up two more chunks of earth and prepared to lob them at Shy Guy.
Thinking fast, Shy Guy picked up the Super Scope and began bombarding Anderson with a litany of uncharged shots. Sparks flew as a few of them made their way into the cockpit, missing Anderson's head by only a few inches. The host was forced to drop the dirt and shield himself with the M013's arms.
After another minute of bombarding the M013, Shy Guy was joined by Toadiko and Mallow. "Bad news," he said, firing off a few more shots. "That thing can still move, and Anderson's not giving up."
Mallow and Toadiko's faces immediately fell. "So this was all for nothing?" asked Toadiko.
"Not at all," said Shy Guy. "He moves super slowly now, and if I can keep shooting at the cockpit with the Super Scope, I can keep him from attacking."
Toadiko flipped open the blueprints. "You know, I bet if you punctured the treads a few more times, he wouldn't be able to move at all!"
Shy Guy peppered Anderson with a few more shots. "That could work, but I don't see any more bolts around here."
"We'll look for some," Toadiko said immediately. "Can you keep this up?"
"Unless Anderson has some new tricks up his sleeve," said Shy Guy. "Get looking. I'll keep the stalemate going!"
Toadiko and Mallow nodded before turning around and running back into the fortress.
"At this rate, all we're going to do is survive," said Toadiko. "Don't get me wrong, it's an admirable goal, but it's still a loss. We need a big finishing blow."
"Actually, I had an idea about that," Mallow said as they rounded a corner. "Remember when Anderson said he expected us to be here?"
"Yes, he said he thought we'd revisit our starting locations from the dossier mission." The realization hit Toadiko the moment she finished the sentence. "We haven't been to yours! You were at the top of the mountain, right?"
"Yup! And from what I remember, there was a bunch of construction equipment up there."
The peeked into a small room and began scouring it for bolts. "Do you mean 'construction equipment' in the same way the M013 is 'mining equipment'?"
"If only," Mallow said with a giggle. "Just regular stuff. I think the biggest thing I saw was an excavator." Once they were sure there was nothing in there, they returned to the hallway and began checking the next room.
"You know, judging by the blueprints, the M013 is probably pretty top-heavy. If we got something as big as an excavator to roll down the mountain and slam into it, that might just be enough to knock it over and render it useless."
"That's what I was thinking, minus the top-heavy stuff," said Mallow. "But I'm worried – what if we miss? It would be really hard to aim from way up there."
"This is going to sound crazy," began Toadiko.
"We're way past crazy already," said Mallow.
"Right. Then I'll just say it. You could get in and steer. Since you're so floaty, you should be able to jump out safely before it gets too dangerous."
"Never mind, that's completely insane!"
"Well – wait! I found a few bolts!" said Toadiko, holding them up victoriously. "Let's run them back to Shy Guy and see what he thinks of the plan."
Shy Guy and Anderson's struggle had devolved into mind games, with each person yielding just long enough for the other to let his guard down, before attempting a major assault, which always failed.
Shy Guy: This was getting frustrating. I felt safe enough, but if something didn't change soon, then we'd lose out to the time limit.
That change came in the form of Mallow and Toadiko, who deposited three more ballista bolts at his feet. "Heck yeah!" he said, quickly loading one in. "Toadiko, you keep him busy with the Super Scope while I prepare to shoot."
"Me?" Toadiko said, nervously picking up the weapon.
"Mallow already got to use the Volt Shroom, so it's your turn to attack him."
Toadiko looked from the Super Scope, to Shy Guy, to the M013 before sighing. "Alright, I'll do my best." She rapidly tapped the trigger, but kept flinching at the kickback, sending shots flying off into the distance. "Sorry, it's been a while since I had to use one of these."
"Keep trying. I'm almost ready," said Shy Guy. He slowly adjusted his aim until he was satisfied. Another loud ka-thunk rang out at the second bolt pierced the M013's treads.
"That's enough!" roared Anderson. With Toadiko still getting a hang of aiming, he was able to scoop up a massive chunk of dirt and lob it at the fortress.
"Hit the deck!" screamed Mallow. The trio threw themselves to the floor as the hunk of earth flew over their heads, narrowly missing them and the ballista.
Shy Guy snatched the Super Scope from Toadiko and fired a barrage of small shots towards the cockpit, forcing Anderson to cover himself once again. "Okay guys, do we have an endgame here?"
"Actually, we were just talking about that," said Mallow. He and Toadiko explained their discussion to Shy Guy, who paused only to fire the Super Scope and load and aim the ballista.
"Not to be cliché, but that sounds just crazy enough to work," said Shy Guy. He fired another bolt, which tore yet another hole in the M013's treads. "And a couple more bolts should keep him from being able to move at all."
"What about the whole aiming issue?" asked Mallow.
"I think I'm gonna have to agree with Toadiko here," Shy Guy said after a moment. "I know it sounds insane, but this whole thing is beyond insane. And if we miss, then this whole day of madness will have been all for nothing."
Mallow gulped nervously. "I can try."
Shy Guy gave him a quick pat on the back before firing a few more Super Scope shots. "I'll keep Anderson busy. Toadiko, what are you gonna do?"
"I'll go up there with him. I may not be able to ride down, but I can help push that excavator to the edge, and I can help line it up."
Mallow smiled weakly. "Thanks Toadiko."
"You can thank me too when this is all over," Shy Guy said with a wry smile as he loaded another ballista bolt. "Now get going!"
With Shy Guy's Super Scope fire raining in, Anderson was forced to keep himself covered for most of the time. Hoping to sneak by unnoticed, Mallow and Toadiko wait for a moment when he was covered and crept as quietly as they could, trying to take a somewhat wide circle around the M013, but not so wide that they were left in the open for too long. As they passed beside the hulking machine, Mallow peered nervously up at the cockpit. He noticed that there was a sizable gap between the arms and the broken windshield, leaving ample visibility from the sides.
And Anderson Blooper was looking right at them.
"He sees us!" gasped Mallow. "Run!"
Right then, thinking the duo had passed the M013 safely, Shy Guy decided to pause his fire and prepare another ballista bolt.
As soon as he heard the end of the barrage, Anderson let out a loud "Aha!" and immediately plunged the M013's claws into the ground. Toadiko and Mallow were already sprinting, but he was prepared for that at this point. He flung the mounds at them sideways, dispersing them into two wide waves of earth. They were unavoidable.
Both players were catapulted into the air and sprayed with small rocks. Shy Guy, realizing his mistake, returned to his Super Scope barrage, but the damage was already done. They soared towards the forest, flipping end over end like ragdolls. Mallow hit the ground, bouncing through the mud until he came skidding to a stop against the roots of a fallen mangrove. Toadiko was not so lucky.
"Oof!" Toadiko slammed back-first into a palm tree, her whole body bending backwards upon impact. She slowly slid down the trunk until she landed in a heap on the ground. There was a brief moment where Toadiko felt like her whole body had shattered, but the feeling quickly faded and she soon got to her feet, ready to keep going.
But then she realized why she felt so much better. Floating above her head was the ghostly image of her Life Shroom. Toadiko was defeated.
Author's Note: I should clarify what exactly happened to Toadiko, since the alternative doesn't quite feel in line with Mario. The impact with the tree didn't outright end her game, so to speak, but it was powerful enough to knock her out in one hit, which was enough to trigger the Life Shroom.
Princess Toady: Glad you've enjoyed the challenge so far! Like I said last part, this is an idea I've had since the veeery beginning, and I'm thrilled to finally see it come to fruition after all these years.