Chapter 5 Attack on Main Street
Before the two Koopas stood a very big, very silver looking clown monster. It's wide, maniacal grin and beady yellow eyes sent shivers down Morton's spine. Whenever the monster bounced, tremors shook the Earth. Morton gulped down a lump of vomit as he fell to the ground.
"Alright!" came Lemmy's voice. He, along with Morton's siblings, exited the store, each wearing a grin. "I got all the socks I needed to get….SWEET CHEESE AND CRACKERS!"
The Koopalings' mouths gawked open when they saw the Clown monster. Their wide-as-vortex eyes stayed locked on the creature as it continued to bounce along down main street. Pedestrians bolted away at the sight of it. The carolers screamed their lungs out. Children just looked at the monster, entranced by the sight of it. It wasn't until one of the kids got squashed underfoot that Morton gathered his bearings.
"We need to stop it before it destroys the town."
"Right," said Bowser. "Kids, put your gifts to the ground and get ready to fight."
The Koopalings nodded and got into their fighting stances. The monster stopped right over a candy store. It gripped the sides of the roof and pulled it up, almost as if it was doing nothing more than pulling up weeds in a garden. The owner screamed as the monster grabbed candy by the fistful and shoved it into his gaping maw.
"Hey!" Bowser called out.
The monster turned toward the party, squinting its eyes in the process. Bowser grinned.
"Sorry, bucko, but the position of a humongous boss has already been taken." He ran forward, sucking in a breath as he did so. Fire spurted out of his mouth, scorching the monster's foot. It grabbed a hold of the infected area and bounced around. Before long, it tripped on a road sign and fell on its butt.
"Yeah!" Roy exclaimed. "Now it's time for my favorite part of the battle; the free-for-all! Larry, Wendy, gimme a boost!"
The two nodded and formed a trampoline of sorts with their hands. Roy rushed forward with his fists out. He leapt onto his brother and sister, who hoisted him high into the sky. He yelled in triumph as he went sailing toward the monster's face.
However, just before he could make a direct hit, the monster grabbed a hold of him. Roy's face turned plum purple as it tightened its grip on him. Getting back to its feet, he hurled Roy directly at a building. Luckily, Ludwig was able to fly up and catch him before he went splat.
"Oh, mama mia," Roy wheezed as Ludwig set him down on the ground.
The monster got back to its feet and glared at the party with a hideous frown. It stomped up and down, causing tremors to run through the ground once again. Morton grit his teeth and clutched the sides of his head.
"Don't just stand there, you guys!" Bowser yelled out. "Do something!"
Ludwig nodded and flew up. With his eyes glowing white and his hands covered in flames, he hurled fireballs and lightning bolts at the monster. They just ricocheted off of its silver skin as it bounced around. Buildings caught fire when hit by the flames The party members on the ground scattered, unsure of what could be done. Morton ran off to one side of the town with Junior in tow.
"This is terrible!" The Koopa Prince moaned. "Koopsmas is ruined!"
Morton rolled his eyes. They were in a life and death situation, and all Junior could think about was Koopsmas? Then again, maybe he shouldn't be surprised.
They continued to run as the monster rampaged across town. It smashed its big, meaty fist straight into buildings, causing explosions of debris to rain down. Morton coughed as dust filled the air. At one point, he lost track of Junior. Knowing that looking for him would be pointless, as he could barely see anything with the dust clogging his eyes, he continued to rush toward the edge of the town. He had never felt more relieved than when he got there. He put his hands on his knees and panted. He noticed some Stonebrim denizens running out of the town screaming. He also noticed some travelers looking to enter Stonebrim. However, once they saw the chaos unfolding, they turned right back around.
Now that Morton's heartbeat and breathing rates were slowing back down, the young Koopaling could think. What was that monster they just encountered? Perhaps Iggy would know. After all, he was well educated and well versed in the monsters of the Mushroom World. Perhaps, then, it would only make sense that he asked the green haired Koopaling what strategy the Koopa family should use to defeat it.
Morton looked back into Stonebrim. He sighed as pain shot through his skull as he sneezed. Going back into the town would be a death sentence for sure. However, it needed to be done. He turned on his heel and rushed back into the scene of dust and debris. He coughed and hacked away like there was no tomorrow. When he got to the JC Coin they had been shopping it, his entire body was caked with dust.
"Guys!" He called out. There was no sign of his family, and thankfully no sign of the monster. He heard sirens in the distance as paramedics strolled into the town. He didn't stop, however, until he felt someone grab his shoulder.
"Hey," said a voice. Morton turned and saw a paratroopa paramedic. "Do you need a mask?"
Morton nodded as the troopa handed him a face mask. Once it was on, he looked at the paratroopa with a furrowed brow. "Have you seen my family?"
The troopa sighed. "We're doing the best we can. I would suggest getting away from here while we look for them."
Morton seized up. "No! I can't! I need to look for them!"
"No, what you need to do is keep yourself safe," said the medic. "Go to the outskirts of the town. Help any civilians and travelers. That would be a big help to us right now."
With that, the medic left. Morton hesitated a little before realizing the troopa was right. It wouldn't be any help to anyone if he got himself killed. Besides, the paramedics knew what they were doing; they were trained for situations like this one. With this last thought, Morton started making his way toward the outskirts.