Chapter 12 Motley Bossblob

Somehow, seeing the Clown Monster was one hundred times scarier than it had been yesterday. Although, in all honesty, Morton didn't even know why that was. Maybe it was due to the fact that the strange creature now had a name (Motley Bossblob). Or perhaps it was because it was so much more creepy now that the curtain had been pulled back and its origins have been revealed.

Or maybe it was because of the dread caused by Morton knowing that he had been too late to stop it.

Whatever the reason, Morton couldn't just stand there and do nothing. There was literally a giant monster staring him right in the face, a monster that was prepared to attack the town and leave it in smoldering ruins. It was going to destroy, leaving not only Stonebrim's denizens but also Morton's family in mortal danger.

Right as he was thinking about this fearsome fact, Motley Bossblob started bouncing around. The ice cream vendor who had asked that he pay screamed in terror and ducked behind the counter. Tremors shook the earth, tremors more powerful than the ones made by a sledge brother. Even a squad of sledge brothers couldn't even hope to match the strength of Motley's earth bending quakes. What was more is that craters the size of a truck were left in the places where Motley's feet had crunched the ground.

Morton shook his head. Motley was making his way down main street. He would be at the JC Coin where his family was shopping within minutes. Scenes from the event yesterday flashed across Morton's mind. He remembered the town's air filling with dust and smoke. He remembered the people who had gotten hurt. He remembered his family in the hospital.

So, with these thoughts in mind, the young Koopaling cleared his throat and put himself right in the monster's line of sight. Once he was certain that Motley could get a full view of him, he outstretched his arms, almost as if he was trying to block Motley off from the rest of the town. Motley stopped bouncing and stared down at Morton, tilting his head in confusion.

"You leave Stonebrim alone!" Morton yelled at the top of his voice. Despite his brain squeezing fear, he was doing his best to put on as threatening a voice as possible.

Motley continued to stare for about a second before his eyes glowed extra bright. He resumed bouncing, causing shudders to run through Morton's body. His red blood cells quaked, his bones vibrated like tuning forks, and his abdomen felt like it was going to explode. He gripped his aching stomach and leaned down on the ground, doing his best to prevent himself from throwing up. The nausea didn't pass until Motley had gotten a good distance away.

Morton wiped his mouth and stared back at the giant clown monster. He was relentless. He would not stop at anything or let anyone get in his way. He could not be stopped, yet knowing that simple fact made Morton all the more determined to do so. Once again, he recalled the scene from yesterday, the scene where the sky was over clouded and his lungs had filled with dirt. Morton couldn't let that happen again; he just couldn't. So, he gripped his hand into a fist and charged after Motley Bossblob.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast he ran, Morton was just unable to catch up with Motley because of the monster's humongous stride. He bounced and bounced and bounced, almost if he were a toddler in the middle of a sugar rush. Morton put on a burst of speed right as Motley entered the town square. Screams erupted from all across the town. Carolers and children bolted away. The rest of the Koopa family stared at Motley in shock. Morton stopped when he saw them.

"Guys!" Morton called out to them. "We need to stop the monster!"

Slowly but surely, the other Koopalings put on determined faces. Morton watched as Roy ran toward Motley and began punching his feet. He punched and punched, almost as if he were throwing a tantrum at Motley's feet. Motley raised an eyebrow and kicked Roy away, almost as if he were nothing more than an ant biting his toe. Morton cringed when he heard the shattering sound that accompanied Roy crashing into the window of JC Coin.

"Owww!" Roy groaned. "Oww…"

Ludwig looked back at Roy and put on a determined face as Wendy bolted over to help the shades wearing Koopaling. As Ludwig flew up toward Motley Bossblob, his hands gripped into fists and burning with blue fire, Morton's heart skipped a beat. He remembered how Ludwig's fireballs had bounced off of Motley's silver skin and hit the buildings instead. Even thinking about this event was enough to cause him to start smelling smoke. Not wanting this to happen a second time, Morton ran forward.

"Ludwig!" he called out just as his brother was raising his burning hand. "Don't…!"

It was too late. Ludwig was already sending a barrage of fireballs right toward the monster's grinning face. They bounced off of him and landed on the buildings, causing them to catch fire. The sound of screaming filled the air as people rushed out of the burning apartments and stores.

Morton gulped. He took another step toward his family, who were still in a state of shock. "Guys, get out of Stonebrim and get back to the castle as quickly as possible!"

Morton's words seemed to bring the Koopas back down to reality, as they all bolted away. Once they were gone, Morton looked up at Ludwig. He was still flinging fireballs, for he hadn't realized that the buildings were ablaze. His entire body was now overtaken by fire as opposed to just his fists like before. Morton ran forward until he was practically right below his brother. Morton cupped his hands around his mouth.

"LUDWIG, YOU NEED TO STOP!"

Ludwig looked down at Morton a Split second after firing one last fireball. This one bounced off of Motley and went sailing right down toward Morton. Before he could react, his entire body was covered in fire. He shrieked,dropped to the ground, and rolled in order to put it out. Thankfully, he managed to do so just as Ludwig landed.

"Morton! I'm so sorry; are you alright?"

Morton let out a breath. "Yeah. I'm fine." Right as he said that, a giant shadow passed over the two of them. Ludwig looked upward, and his eyes grew wide.

"Oh no."

Morton's heart leapt into his throat as he saw that Motley's foot was right over them.

"Ludwig!" he yelled to his brother. "You need to get out of here before…."

SPLAT!