Chapter 10:
While Sephiroth was administering the Jenova and Mako enhancements to Bowser and the other Koopas, the space taxi carrying Mario, Luigi, and their allies emerge from the portal. Upon emerging from the portal, the taxi slowed down so the group could get a view of what was in front of them and if there was any danger. Directly ahead of them was the Starship Mario, which seemed to be in a geosynchronous orbit over the blue planet Gaia. Goombario stared at the scene in awe for a few seconds. If it had been under any other circumstances he would have just stared out into space to take in the view, but right now, time was of the essence. They needed to find Sephiroth, and fast. That was likely going to be more complicated than previously imagined considering the fact that the former SOLDIER was likely down on Gaia and they would have to search an entire planet for him. The last thing the wanted was to find him with a new army of SOLDIER Koopas willing to fight alongside him.
"Does this cab have any sensors?" Goombario asked the two cabbies.
"Only the most rudimentary navigational sensors," Spitz answered. "This is a taxi cab, after all."
"Dare I ask if there's any way you would be able to find Sephiroth if he made planetfall?"
"Our sensors aren't anywhere close to that precise," the bipedal cat answered.
"Could you determine how many life-forms are on Starship Mario?" Goombario asked. "If there are a number of life-forms on the ship, it could mean that Sephiroth and the others are still on it."
"And even if they aren't, if the Koopas didn't bring any auxiliary craft, then they would have to use the Launch Star to get down to the planet," Koops added.
Mario figured that it was as good a place as any to start. He then leaned forward towards the cabbies and directed, "Dribble, drop us off at the Starship Mario. We'll see if we can find out where Sephiroth landed from there. Once you do so, though, get clear. If something goes wrong, here, you're our only ticket home."
"Righto," Spitz answered.
With that, the cab made its way to the Mario-faced starship in orbit over Gaia. The air inside the cab grew tense since the passengers knew that even if the Starship Mario was not inhabited, that they would eventually have to go down to the planet to face Sephiroth.
Meanwhile, down on the planet's surface, inside the makeshift tent summoned by Kamek, Sephiroth and the other SOLDIER Koopas carefully studied Bowser and the other subjects as they were administered the Jenova cells and Mako energy. Thick straps confined Bowser and the subjects to their beds while they underwent the procedure. So far, each of the subjects was doing well and showing no signs of having a negative reaction to the Mako exposure. The former SOLDIER continued to examine each of the subjects, ensuring their continued health. Surprisingly, all of the subjects continued to do fine. Usually, if one were going to have a negative reaction to the Mako exposure, they would be showing signs already. Sephiroth surreptitiously looked over to the SOLDIER Koopas and noticed their grins as they checked on Bowser, Bowser Jr., and the Koopalings and seeing them have no adverse reactions the Mako exposure. He was not concerned about the Jenova cells being a problem.
After a while of no change, Sephiroth looked over at Bowser and asked, "So, how do you feel?"
"I feel great!" the Koopa King exclaimed. "I already feel stronger than before!"
"Don't get too cocky," Sephiroth warned. "While you are a lot stronger and faster than before, you aren't accustomed to this power yet. This is why the SOLDIER Koopas that attacked Mario and his friends at Star Haven were beaten. They had the power to beat Mario or at least inflict losses to Mario and his allies but they lacked the training to use it effectively. Make sure you don't make their mistake. You should train before you enter into battle with strong enemies like the Marios."
"Don't worry," Bowser assured him in an uncharacteristically casual tone. "I won't do anything stupid."
Sephiroth was unconvinced but did not push the issue. He then looked over at the SOLDIER Koopas present and nodded, indicating that they should check on their comrades and superiors. The Koopas did just that and carefully examined the other subjects to make sure that there were no signs of negative reactions. Just as with Bowser, the others were showing no adverse reactions to the Mako infusions. Eventually, Sephiroth and the others removed the straps and allowed the subjects to move freely. Bowser and the others immediately stood up and began punching the air, each punch moving faster than it ever had before. He could feel the power coursing throughout his body. He could only grin. Finally, he had the power to defeat Mario, quite easily in his mind. He looked out over at his children and the others and saw them testing their physical capabilities and grinning at their newfound power.
The Koopas were lifting the beds they had laid in without effort, swinging them around the same way a child would a Nerf bat. They also danced, noticing that they were moving far faster than they had before. Even with their increased speed, they were still able to track their own movements and their surroundings. Several of the Koopatrols tossed their spears at the wall, the spears imbedding themselves in the walls. They would then pull out the spears and toss them at each other, testing their reactions. Each of the Koopatrols casually dodged the spears.
Meanwhile, the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. were also testing their abilities, engaging in mock battles with each other. They would fire magical blasts from their wands, that looked to be moving in slow motion, at each other, the targets managing to dodge the blasts as effortlessly as the Koopatrols had dodged their spears. Bowser Jr. also breathed fire in the direction of the Koopalings, noticing that his fireballs traveled faster now than they had before. Still, to the Koopalings, and even Bowser Jr., it seemed as if they were traveling at the same speed as before, which pleased them as they quickly realized their heightened reaction times. Bowser could only grin as he watched the others train. These enhancements were everything that had been advertised and then some.
Sephiroth watched the Koopas training and testing their abilities and gave a subtle grin. They were going to be useful for his purposes, but were no real threat to him. He was still far faster, stronger, and cognitively able than they were. After all, he was the most powerful SOLDIER ever produced by Shinra. If they were stupid enough to betray him, he would easily defeat them. However, he knew that they would not betray him. After all, they had Jenova cells inside of them and he could control the cells, as well as anyone who had the cells in them unless they had an incredibly strong mind. Still, he doubted that there would be any issues. After all, he had no intentions of directly taking over the Mushroom Kingdom or the Koopa Kingdom. He was perfectly content with Bowser being in full control on his world. Gaia was Sephiroth's target. And he could already tell that Bowser's thoughts would always be towards his own people, on his own world, and Princess Peach, who was also still on Hylia.
He soon turned to Bowser and the others and told them, "Okay, I've enhanced each of you and turned you into SOLDIER Koopas," prompting them to turn to him. "It is now time for you to learn how to make SOLDIER Koopas, yourself. Once that is done, I will take my leave of you, for I have goals on this world that I wish to accomplish, myself."
Bowser glanced back at the others and then said, "Alright, then let's get to it."
Sephiroth then went through the procedure on how to make SOLDIER Koopas. And as he explained the procedure, both Bowser and the Magikoopas took copious notes, though as the former SOLDIER went through explaining the procedure, the Koopas could not help but feel as if they already had this knowledge and were merely remembering things they had already learned, and done, long ago.
Meanwhile, up in outer space, Mario and the others were about to land on Starship Mario. As they approached, Dribble turned back to them and said, "Get ready everyone. We're about to land."
He pushed a few buttons on the cab's ceiling and decelerated as they approached the Mario-faced starship. Mario gripped his Fire Flower, though he did not let it transform him into Fire Mario. He felt as if he needed the agility afforded him by his Cape power-up, which would also come in handy once they landed on Gaia. For a moment, though, he considered transforming into Fire Mario in order to preserve his cape should he and the group enter into combat when they went out onto the starship. The others were checking their inventory to make sure that they had all the items they would need for a potentially long mission on world.
After a few seconds, the group felt the cab shake as Spitz proclaimed, "Okay everyone, we've landed."
The moment the bipedal cat cabbie made the announcement, the rear passenger doors flung open and Mario and Luigi jumped out of the cab, quickly followed by the other passengers, most of them emerging from Vivian's shadow. Mario led most of the companions to the wheel of the ship while Luigi took Goombario, Parakarry, Yoshi Kid, and Watt to the engine room to secure it and make certain that there were no hiding Koopas there. As soon as Luigi opened the door to the engine room, Goombario, Parakarry, Yoshi Kid, and Watt surged through ahead of the plumber. When they entered the room, through, they found the room devoid of enemies, only the glass display domes that held a variety of power-ups that were usable by the Mario Brothers being present along with the power core and a telescope. There were also several sensor consoles that had been installed since Mario's last adventure in space. The group quickly went over to the consoles and began to input commands, trying to ascertain where on the planet below Sephiroth and Bowser had gone.
Meanwhile, back outside Mario and the others would run into the starship's remaining crew member. As soon as the plumber approached the wheel of the ship, he immediately saw Kamix standing there, ready to greet the "intruders". He began by firing a blast of magic towards Mario, which traveled far faster than normal Magikoopa magical blasts, indicating that he was, indeed, a SOLDIER Magikoopa. The plumber dove to the side to avoid the blast as Kooper and Koops ducked into their shells while Lakilester tossed a barrage of Spiny eggs at the SOLDIER Magikoopa. Kamix vanished an instant before the barrage of Spiny eggs would have hit him and he reappeared right behind the Lakitu, and into a massive crossfire of Mario's fireball barrage and two collisions from Kooper and Koops. The combined assault shredded his defenses and inflicted significant damage to the SOLDIER Magikoopa, burns marring his robes and even his face, while he also suffered several broken ribs. Any other Magikoopa would have fallen to such an assault, but Kamix was a SOLDIER Magikoopa and it would take more than that to kill him. He then went on the offensive once again, casting an invisibility and intangibility spell on himself. That prompted Vivian to pull everyone within reach into the shadows while Bow went over to those Vivian could not reach to make them intangible as Kamix unleashed a massive blast of lightning on the area, hoping to electrocute the heroes.
The lightning, however, did not affect either the invisible and intangible allies or those in the shadows and the group waited for Kamix to become tangible once more before continuing their attack. Kamix also had to wait for the heroes to become tangible before continuing his assault so he took the time to cast a healing spell on himself to recover from the damage he had suffered, while also casting a continuous healing spell on himself so that he would constantly heal damage taken during battle. This did not go unnoticed by Mario and his allies and they steeled themselves for when Kamix's invisibility would wear off so they could finish him off quickly before he could kill them and before his continuous healing spell would be able to heal him.
Sure enough, eventually, Kamix became tangible once more and that was when Mario and his friends emerged from the shadows and struck. Mario began the attack by unleashing a barrage of fireballs from his Fire Flower along with Lakilester unleashing a barrage of Spiny eggs on the Magikoopa. This forced Kamix to go evasive and while a few balls and eggs managed to tag him, his continuous healing spell allowed him to heal the damage inflicted. However, the attacks had done their job since he was unable to concentrate enough to cast his intangibility spell once more, and that would cost him, for while he was busy dealing with Mario and Lakilester, Vivian entered into the fray. Surreptitiously twirling her finger, she cast a Fiery Jinx on the SOLDIER Magikoopa while he was distracted by Mario and the Lakitu and his robes spontaneously burst into flames, with the Magikoopa being too slow and distracted to avoid the initial burst.
Kamix immediately teleported out of his burning robes and reappeared right behind Mario and Lakilester once more, ready to strike. This was a fatal mistake on his part since he teleported right into a Shade Fist punch by Vivian, which struck him right in the back of his head. To make matters worse for the Magikoopa, it also managed to burn him. Not only that, but Kooper and Koops also barreled into him once more with their shells, one on each side, collapsing and shattering his ribcage. Mario finished off the SOLDIER Magikoopa by brandishing his hammer and rushing him. He then brought his Ultra Hammer down onto the head of the SOLDIER Magikoopa, a loud crack being heard as the hammer smashed into Kamix's head. The blow at the very least rendered him unconscious, and likely worse. Kooper, however, made his fate certain, though, when he ducked into his shell and spun in place, generating a flame around the shell. He then plowed into the fallen Magikoopa with his Fire Shell, setting the fallen SOLDIER Magikoopa ablaze and reducing him to ashes.
Once the battle was over, Mario went over to the other allies and told them, "Okay everyone, check the rest of the ship and make contact with Luigi, too. Let's make sure that this Magikoopa was the only one here. I'll try to see where Bowser and Sephiroth landed."
"Right," the others answered as they split apart into groups of three to scan the rest of the ship to make sure that there were no other enemies hiding in any shadows or behind any corners. While the others went about scanning the ship, Mario turned to see the sign next to the ship's wheel, as well as the Launch Star to the right. Checking the sign, he saw a map of the planet below. Looking out over the lush green world before him, he could make out the three main landmasses and saw that they, indeed, matched with what he saw on the map. He saw a red crosshair marking on the map on the eastern continent. That had to be where Bowser and Sephiroth had gone. It was then that Goombella returned to the ship's wheel.
"The ship's all clear," she reported to the plumber. "It seems as if that Magikoopa was the only one onboard."
"Then it's likely that the rest of the crew is down on the planet," Mario stated. "Probably there," he added, pointing to the marking on the map.
It was not long before the others came to the ship's wheel to report to Mario, Luigi and his party among them. "We found strong energy readings on all three continents on that planet," the younger Mario Brother reported.
"The heaviest was found on the northern continent but the other two also have strong energy readings in various locations," Goombario added.
"Were any of the readings at that location?" Mario asked, pointing to the map to the wheel's left.
Luigi and his party took a quick look at the map and looked back at each other and nodded knowingly. "Oh yes," they answered in unison."
"Then that's where Sephiroth and Bowser went," Mario concluded. "Get ready everyone," he called. "We're about to go into the fight of our lives."
The others made final checks to make sure that they had everything they would need for the upcoming battle. Mario then turned to Goombario and Ms. Mowz and told them, "Ms. Mowz, I'd like the you to remain here and coordinate with us on the ground. If something goes wrong in this next battle, we will need as much help in navigating this world as possible, especially if we end up having to split up into teams on world. Also, I'd like Goombario to stay with her for security in case any hostile forces come through that portal and try to retake the ship. Should anything like that happen report it immediately."
"You sure you want that portal to stay open?" Goombella asked. "We've got Dribble and Spitz for transport and possibly even for additional security and I don't like the idea of any Koopa reinforcements coming through."
"That's a good point," Mario answered. He then went over to a console to the right of the wheel and input a series of commands. He tried to bring up the portal controls but the console did not respond. He input another series of commands to try to bring up portal controls once more but once again, nothing happened. Ms. Mowz looked over Mario's shoulder and, noticing something was wrong, asked, "What's wrong?"
"I can't bring up portal controls," the plumber answered.
"That Magikoopa must have cast a spell on the controls," Vivian said, coming up next to Mario and Ms. Mowz. The two then turned to her. "I'm sensing magic surrounding that console," she explained. "Unfortunately, I don't know any counterspells that would be able to give us control."
"Wouldn't killing that Magikoopa cause the spell to dissipate?" Goombario asked.
"Not if it wasn't the Magikoopa that cast it," Vivian answered.
Mario then turned to Ms. Mowz and Goombario and told them, "You two keep watch here and alert us as to any reinforcements that may come through that portal."
"Got it," the two new Starship Mario stewards answered.
With that, the rest of the party made their final checks on their equipment. Luigi then took off his backpack and reached inside, producing a device that looked like a cross between a smartphone and a satellite phone. He then handed everyone a device. "I found these satellite smartphones in the Engine Room," he explained. "We can use these to communicate with each other, using the Starship Mario as the satellite transmitter. They can also be used to store maps and also come with GPS systems. Just connect it to that sign there," he said, pointing to the map next to Mario.
"Thanks," Mario said, accepting the phone. He then plugged it into the map and waited a few seconds for the map to be downloaded onto the phone. After a few seconds, there was a chime, indicating that the map had been downloaded. It was not long before the rest of the party did the same. Once they had downloaded all the necessary information, they stuffed their phones into their pockets and proceeded to make their way towards the Launch Star.
Before heading down to the planet, though, Mario dialed Dribble and Spitz on his phone and, after a few rings, he got an answer from Spitz. "This is Diamond Taxi, how may we help you?"
"Spitz, it's me, Mario. Listen, can you two stay close to the Starship Mario and also help provide some security while my party's down on the planet's surface? We'll throw in some extra payment, too, if necessary. But make sure you don't take any unnecessary risks. If this goes completely sideways, you'll be our only ticket home."
"No problem," the bipedal cat answered.
"Thanks," Mario replied before hanging up the phone. Once he was ready, he proceeded to make his way over to the Launch Star.
"It appears as if the Launch Star has already been programmed to take you to the place Bowser and Sephiroth went," Ms. Mowz reported.
Excellent, Mario thought. They would reach Sephiroth quickly and, hopefully, even gain the element of surprise for this attack. "Get ready everyone," the plumber told the others as he stepped towards the Launch Star. He the gripped his Fire Flower tightly and spun around to make sure his Cape was not having any issues and could be used to attack if needed. When he saw that everything was good to go, he jumped into the Launch Star and spun around once before being launched from the star straight down to Gaia's surface. He was then followed by Luigi and then the rest of the party save for Goombario and Ms. Mowz.
Back on the planet, Sephiroth was finishing going over with Bowser and the others how to create more SOLDIER Koopas. "Make certain you have the right combination of Jenova cells and Mako injected," he admonished. "Also, choose your strongest warriors to become SOLDIER Koopas. They'll be the ones most likely to survive the enhancement. You should be able to extract Jenova cells from your own bodies since your own bodies will be generating them. However, you'll probably want some sources of Mako in order to ensure you have enough to enhance more of your army, for while your bodies can now generate Mako to an extent, you'll want more if you intend to enhance your entire army."
"So where do we go to get more Mako?" Bowser asked.
"While I was alive on this planet in the past, there were a number of Mako reactors built by the Shinra Corporation, seven of them being in that ruined city overthere," Sephiroth answered, pointing to the overgrown remains of Midgar. "However, the drawing of Mako from the planet by these reactors was harming the planet and the process was stopped. In addition, due to the Meteorfall event, the flow of the Lifestream changed, rendering the Mako reactors unable to draw Mako energy from the planet."
"So is there any other way to get more Mako?" Kamek asked.
"There may be some Mako left in the remains of these reactors. There is also Materia, which is merely crystallized Mako."
"But I want the Materia to be used to give my non-magical troops magic attacks," Bowser contested.
"I might be able to help with that, but in the meantime, there are some Materia caves located all around the world, some of which have produced Huge Materia, along with some Mako springs," Sephiroth suggested. "There is a nearby city that may have some maps that could guide you to these Materia Caves or even Mako springs. One such spring I know for certain is in Mount Nibel just outside of the city of Nibelheim on the western continent. You could send some Magikoopas to the nearby town of Kalm to get the maps."
"What?" Bowser roared. "We're on the eastern continent! Why'd you tell us to come to this ruined city if these Mako reactors were already offline by the time you left this planet centuries ago?"
"Because I thought they would still have some residual Mako," the former SOLDIER answered. His gaze then narrowed on the Koopa King. "If you are concerned about me having merely used you to get back to this planet, know that my goal is on the Northern continent, not here. I have no enmity with you and once we are finished here, I will take my leave if you wish. Is there anything else you need from me?"
Bowser gave a growl and shook his head.
"Then this is where we depart," Sephiroth stated. "I hope we don't have to meet again, though I must thank you for the assistance you have given me."
Sephiroth then bowed and turned to depart. As he did so, though, a Magikoopa rushed over to Bowser and cried, "Lord Bowser, we've just detected over a dozen blips coming on us fast. A cursory scan indicates that there are two humans among them."
"Mario," Bowser answered in a tone that the Magikoopa could not tell if it was one of frustration or eager anticipation. Bowser, himself, had mixed feelings about Mario's presence, too. On one hand, he had just gotten his enhancements and while he wanted to test them out, he did not want to make the same mistakes that most of the first batch of SOLDIER Koopas had when they engaged Mario before learning the ins and outs of his powers. On the other hand, though, this provided him quite the opportunity to get rid of Mario and his friends once and for all, a task that would be much easier with Sephiroth around. And he knew that Sephiroth would want Mario dead since Mario had already fought him and was likely coming for him.
"Hey Sephiroth," Bowser began. "About that assistance thing. Perhaps you could assist us now in taking down that plumber once and for all."
"You should have the necessary numbers to beat Mario and his allies or at least slow them down," Sephiroth answered plainly. "I can't afford to get bogged down fighting them. Besides, you need training in order to use your powers effectively, especially against someone like Mario. And given the fact that the Lifestream's flow is different, the number of monsters that you can use for training may be reduced."
"All the more reason for us to beat him now and for you to help," Bowser contested. "Besides, what if he sends some allies to follow you, or if he and his brother follow you and you have no support?"
The former SOLDIER considered the scenario and found that Bowser had a point. Despite the fact that Mario was coming into this battle as prepared as he could be, this would also be the best chance for him to destroy the plumber and his allies and ensure that all further resistance to his goals was gone.
"Very well," the former SOLDIER answered. "I'll help you against Mario this time. But if things start to look bad, don't hesitate to retreat, for I will. After all, I have my own goals on this planet and they don't involve Mario or his allies."
"Got it," Bowser answered. He then turned to the rest of his forces and bellowed, "Get ready everyone. We're about to be testing our new powers. Kids," he called, turning to his children, "you're with me in the front. We'll be the primary fighters since we had power even before the enhancements, can take a beating, and have access to ranged attacks. Hammer Bros., you'll be supporting us since you can attack at medium range with your hammers. Magikoopas will be in back, surrounded by the others. The rest of you, stay behind us but protect the Magikoopas at all costs. If things go badly, they're gonna be our best tickets out of this fight. That makes them the most important soldiers we've got at the moment."
"Roger," most of the Koopas exclaimed in unison. Sephiroth then stood back to let the Koopas take point.
"Wait," one of the Magikoopas blurted. "Shouldn't we try to get out of this battle and train before engaging the Mario Brothers and their friends? Even with out powers and numbers advantage, they still have powers and items that can negate our advantages. We're faster than they are moving in a straight line so we should be able to flee an impending battle without them being able to catch up. We could even head west and get some more Mako and/or Materia for later on and give the rest of our forces some desperately needed ranged attacks. The last thing we need right now is to take severe casualties fighting them."
Bowser considered the Magikoopa's concern. While the Magikoopa did have a point in that they could flee the battle and engage Mario at a later point, there was a part of him that could not help but feel the need to test his powers against his nemesis. As such, he answered, "No, we will fight Mario right now. If things go poorly, we'll retreat. But until then, we have an opportunity to really take it to Mario and thin out his numbers, possibly even killing him and/or his brother. Besides, we've got Sephiroth with us right now and he's already taken Mario to the brink once, and that was when he was much weaker than he is now. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. I won't waste it."
In the end, the Magikoopa did not make any further arguments and fell in line with the other Magikoopas. Still, looking at a few others, he could tell that they had the same concerns as him, though after a few seconds, their faces became stern and they focused on the battle that was about to be at hand. Not only that, but all of the Magikoopa's concerns began to ease as he looked back at Sephiroth standing in the rear, and his courage began to grow, almost as if the gaze of the human former SOLDIER was giving him the courage and will to fight. He began to feel the need to test his powers and battle Mario and was beginning to relish the prospect of fighting Mario. All the while, Kamek watched the proceeding and a part of him began to grow concerned at how quickly the Magikoopa, and the others, were changing their attitudes towards fighting Mario despite the lack of training in the use of their newly acquired powers. Still, he did not dare voice any objections to his king's plan. However, he began to take precautions and prepared a series of spells to ensure that if things went badly for them, he would be able to get the Koopas out of trouble without Mario being able to follow them.
As for Bowser, he stood ready and looked into the distance. It was not long before he spotted the dozen plus spots approaching him from the sky. Mere seconds later, they seemed to grow in size and he was able to make out Mario, Luigi, and their allies at a much farther distance than he previously would have been able to before. He glanced back at Sephiroth, who was now holding a ōdachi in his left hand. The former SOLDIER was ready for battle. Bowser could only grin in anticipation. This time, Mario would fall.
Not too far away, Mario and the others were fast approaching the Koopas. Looking down, he saw that Bowser was entering a battle formation and preparing to intercept them, with Sephiroth standing to the side, but still able to either support Bowser or enter the battle, himself. He grunted. The Koopa King had detected their approach and looked to be eager to engage them in battle; a battle that would distract them from their real target: Sephiroth. Seeing that Sephiroth was standing to the side and could flee the battle quickly if needed. The plumber steeled himself and turned back to the others, saying, "Get ready everyone. We're about to enter the fight of our lives and our enemy knows we're coming."
"Right," the others responded.
As the group neared Bowser's formation, though, the Koopas took the initiative with the Magikoopas opened fire on the incoming Mario Brothers and their allies, along with the Hammer Bros. tossing their hammers at the oncoming plumbers and their allies forcing Mario and the others to go evasive. As the allies went evasive, Mario counterattacked by unleashing a barrage of fireballs on the Hammer Bros. and Magikoopas, viewing them as the greatest threats aside from Bowser, his family, and Sephiroth. The fireballs scored direct hits on the Magikoopas and Hammer Bros., managing to incinerate two Magikoopas and one Hammer Bro., though all three took multiple fireballs before falling. Just before touching down, Luigi also added his own weight to Mario's fire, tossing a barrage of hammers a the Hammer Bros., showing them that he was a better Hammer Bro than the real deal, despite their Mako and Jenova enhancements. He managed to take down two Hammer Bros., though their increased defenses meant that they took two hammers to defeat rather than the usual one that had been sufficient before.
Almost immediately after the initial exchange, the group touched down close to the enemy formation. Mario and Luigi quickly spotted the silver-haired Sephiroth and glanced at each other for a split second before nodding.
"Luigi and I are taking on Sephiroth," Mario declared. "The rest of you keep Bowser and the others off of us. We have to stop Sephiroth here and now! That's our main priority."
"What if you need help?" Goombella asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Mario answered. "Right now, the best thing you and the others can do is to keep Bowser and his forces from interfering in our fight against Sephiroth." He paused before continuing. "Don't worry. We've got the Star Spirits. We're not going into this fight alone or blind."
Goombella nodded as she then went back. The Mario Brothers then proceeded to charge towards Sephiroth. As they did so, Goombella called back to the rest of the allies, "Okay everyone, here's the plan. We're gonna engage Bowser and his forces while Mario and Luigi deal with Sephiroth. We've gotta keep Bowser from being able to reinforce Sephiroth."
"Will Gonzales and Luigi be able to take on Sephiroth alone?" Yoshi Kid asked, worried for his friend against an enemy like Sephiroth.
"Hopefully," Goombella answered quietly, her voice growing quieter as she did not bother to hide the fact that she did not know what the outcome of that fight would be. With that, though, the group headed over to engage Bowser and his forces.
Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi charged towards the former SOLDIER as quickly as they could. Two Magikoopas attempted to intercept him only to fall to a barrage of fireballs and hammers. When they reached the silver-haired fighter, Mario gripped his Fire Flower tightly while Luigi gripped a hammer in one hand to use as a close combat weapon while preparing to use the other as a projectile. Sephiroth, meanwhile, could only grin confidently at the two plumbers lined up before him.
"So you followed me all the way to Gaia," he said nonchalantly. "And you brought some friends as well."
"It ends here Sephiroth," the older Mario Brother declared.
"Yes, it does," Sephiroth answered as he charged the Mario Brothers.
Meanwhile, not too far away from the battle, three red leonine creatures were running through the green fields of the eastern continent towards the ruins of Midgar. The larger one ran at the head of two cubs. Nanaki, also known as Red XIII during the Meteorfall crisis by Professor Hojo, Sephiroth's father, ran the path he had run every month he had come to check up on this part of the world. For the more than five hundred years since the Meteorfall crisis, the world had been at peace, the only three incidents marring that peace had been two returns of Sephiroth and the Deepground Conflict. Ever since Sephiroth's final defeat, there had been no crisis requiring Nanaki's attention, or the attention of any other adventurers. While some monsters still roamed the fields of Gaia, their numbers had greatly dwindled since people stopped using Mako energy.
It did not take long for the three to reach a hill that overlooked the ruins of Midgar. As they reached the hill, Nanaki gave a loud roar that was echoed by the two cubs accompanying him. After the roar, the sound of children laughing echoed out over the landscape and the group looked to see a small village to the west where children were playing and laughing some more. Soon, however, they heard a new sound that they had not heard in the last five hundred years. Explosions and clangs rang out in the distance coming from the direction of Midgar's ruins. Nanaki focused his attention towards the ruins and could hear more sounds of fighting and could barely make out some figures engaging in combat, though he could not see any identifying characteristics of the figures. Many looked to be alien, though. Had it not been for the clangs, he would have chalked it up to monsters but upon looking out over the field, he soon saw a figure with a long sword engaging two others with smaller weapons. The long sword looked familiar, though Nanaki had not seen it in over five hundred years. It looked like Sephiroth's sword, though there was no way the former SOLDIER could still be alive, or have revived after so long. However, Nanaki was not going to take any chances.
"You two stay here," he directed the two cubs.
"Where are you going Papa?" one of the cubs asked.
"To investigate that fight in the distance," came Nanaki's answer. "I hope it's nothing. It probably is, but I don't want to take any chances. If I'm not back within ten minutes, you head on home as quickly as possible and alert everyone that there's an issue near Midgar."
"But what if you're in trouble?" the second cub asked worriedly.
"Don't worry," Nanaki assured them. "I can handle myself. Just make certain that you alert the others and don't come after me. If I'm in over my head, I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Okay," the two leonine beings said in unison. Then, without another word, Nanaki charged towards Midgar as quickly as his legs could carry him, praying that Sephiroth had not somehow returned to the land of the living.