Chapter 8: Mario's Found
(Sacred Square)
Kirby, Link, Sonic, Ty, and Shantae were climbing these ancient looking ruins.
Sonic- Can't believe that happened to us! Damn!
Ty- And I still can't believe Bowser's Team is agreeing to work with us on this, mates.
Link- Well, the reason they agreed to this is because they want to find their leader, Bowser, just as much as we want to find the leader of out team, the Mario Brothers. And these Friend Hearts that Kirby is able to create with whatever dormant power inside of him is the only thing we know of that can undo Jamba Heart possessing our minds.
Shantae- I sure do hope Mario and Luigi are alright.
Kirby- I'm sure they're just fine. You know, asides from wreaking havoc under the influence of the Jamba Heart. And according to the info Tiff and Tuff were able to gather for us, fireball were seen in this area. That could mean Mario, Luigi, and/or Bowser are hiding out in these ruins.
Sonic- I could just sweep the area with my speed, Kirby.
Kirby- True, but after what happened with you guys earlier, I insist we stick together. And I'm sure Mario would've preferred that even before we all got separated when the Jamba Hearts fell from the sky.
Then Kirby and the others continued their way up the ruined structure in search of Mario and Luigi. But little did they know, a mysterious figure was stalking them from the shadows. His appearance was mostly covered in shadows, but this stalker seemed to have a cape that could glide as if it had wings.
(Later in another part of Sacred Square)
Kirby, Link, Sonic, Ty, and Shantae reached the base of this tall tower in this pile of ruins.
Ty- Say Kirby, mate, Popstar sure has a lot of ruins in this one spot. Who made them, anyway?
Kirby- I'm not sure. I'm not an archeologist. That's something for Mr. Curio back in Cappy Town.
Link- I'm beginning to think these ruins might not be what we're led to believe.
Kirby- What makes you say that?
Link- I've been to several ruins of forgotten civilizations during my adventures against Ganondorf. These look nothing like houses or a city. This feels more like a prison if anything.
Shantae- It could have been a prison of some kind long ago. It does seem empty enough for that.
Then Sonic quickly pushed Shantae to the ground.
Shantae- Hey! What was that…
Before Shantae could finish, a swirling red and green fireball struck where Shantae was standing before Sonic pushed her out of the way.
Sonic- That answer your question, Shantae?
Kirby- Where did that come from?!
Link- Not sure, but it looked like that combination fireball Mario and Luigi picked up from Marco and Loewy.
Ty- I think it came from up there, mate.
Ty points up the large tower they were standing next to. When they looked up, they saw red and green fireball shooting from all over the place from the very top of the tower. There were also streams of flames, similar to Bowser's flame breath seen there.
Sonic- Ok, I think we found Mario and Luigi.
Link- It's too high up to confirm if it's really them, but the Mario Brothers are the only ones I know with those abilities.
Shantae- And how are we going to get up there? That tower is so tall, we can't see the roof.
Kirby- Warp Star!
Then Kirby's Warp Star rushed from the sky and landed near where they were standing.
Ty- Good idea, only we all can't fit on the Warp Star, mate.
Sonic- You have mentioned that only three or four people can ride that thing at a time.
Kirby- Let me think…there has to be something…
Kimberly's voice (in Kirby's head)- Upgrade the Warp Star…
Kirby- What the…?!
Then Kirby felt that power inside of him that created the Friend Hearts reacting when the Warp Star got close.
Kirby- Guess I can work the Warp Star too. Here goes nothing…
Then a bright light shined from Kirby as the Warp Star suddenly changed. It was now the Friend Star. It appeared to be larger than the Warp Star, had wings on both of its sides, and a large rainbow tail that looked like it could carry seven people. Link, Sonic, Ty, and Shantae were impressed by this at first…until they noticed Kirby dropping to the ground from exhaustion.
Sonic- Kirby!
Sonic and Shantae helped Kirby up and they could see he was struggling to keep himself standing.
Link- Kirby, we need to talk about something. I know this power you got inside of you has been helpful in purifying those under the Jamba Heart's influence and is capable of many more tricks…but it's obvious that it's also taking a huge tole on you!
Ty- Like how the Sacred Bunyip power drains me when I decide to activate it.
Shantae- Or when I use my mother's Eye of Merlin.
Sonic- And we're starting to worry this could be bad for you. And don't think we hadn't noticed you almost fainting after you finished purifying all of us.
Kirby- I'm fine…I'm sure…Palutena and Viridi can…
Palutena (telepathically to Kirby)- Actually Kirby, even our powers can only restore your energy so many times.
Viridi (telepathically to Kirby)- Yeah, I'm already feeling sleepy with all the times we gave you an energy boost. Dark Pit, another coffee! (GULP)
Palutena (telepathically to Kirby)- The point it, try to conserve that power more. Because I think you'll want to save what's left of it for Mario and Luigi.
Viridi (telepathically to Kirby)- But here's a tomato for you, Kirby. That should give your energy back just as much.
(At the top of the tower)
Kirby was riding the Friend Star to fly to top. At the same time, Link, Sonic, Ty, and Shantae were riding on that rainbow tail on the back of the Friend Star. Once they got high enough, they saw their suspicions were correct. On the roof of that tower were Fire Mario and Fire Luigi. Only there were battling against Bowser. And all three had a dark aura surrounding their bodies, indicating they're also under the Jamba Heart's spell like the others were.
Kirby- There they are. Now we just need them to hold still so I can return them to normal.
Sonic- I've got this! Shantae…
Then Sonic curls into a ball as he jumps into the air. Shantae catches Sonic with her hair and throws Sonic like a dodgeball. Sonic manages to ram Fire Mario, Fire Luigi, and Bowser and knock them to the ground. But before Fire Luigi could get up, Shantae jumped off the Friend Star, transformed into Spider Shantae, and pinned Fire Luigi to the ground with her webs. Fire Luigi struggled to get free, but he was good and stuck.
Spider Shantae- And now to get Mario too!
Spider Shantae shot some webs towards Fire Mario as well, but Fire Mario drew Marco's sword, used a fireball to give the sword a fire boost, and burned away Spider Shantae's web with a flaming swing of Marco's sword.
Spider Shantae- Shit! I forgot that Marco gave Mario his unique sword…
Spider Shantae changed back to normal Shantae as Fire Mario made another flaming swing with Marco's sword, but this time at her. Luckily, Link jumped off the Friend Star and blocked with the Master Sword. But then Bowser got back up and attempted to attack with his flame breath. Luckily, Kirby and Ty jump in between them and Kirby inhaled Bowser's fire, turning him into Fire Kirby.
Fire Kirby- POYO!
Ty- Don't worry about Bowser! Kirby and I will deal with him while you handle Mario!
Then Link managed to swing the Master Sword and push Fire Mario back a bit from him and Shantae. But then Fire Mario rushed at Link again with another flaming swing from Marco's sword. Link blocked with the Master Sword again, but he was struggling to hold Fire Mario back.
Link- Still hard to believe…that sword wielded by his ancestor could rival the powers of the gods within the Master Sword…
But then Fire Mario felt a finger gently tap his shoulder. When Fire Mario turned around, he was Sonic standing directly behind him.
Sonic- I hope you didn't forget about little old me.
Before Fire Mario could react, Sonic kicked Marco's sword out of Fire Mario's hand and into the air. Fire Mario shot a fireball at Sonic, but he quickly rushed out of the way. Then Fire Mario jumped into the air in an attempt to get his ancestor's sword before it hit the ground. However, a mechanical claw with a chain attached to it grabbed onto Fire Mario's leg. When he looked down, he saw that Link used his Clawshot to grab hold of Fire Mario's leg. Then Link yanked Fire Mario to the ground next to where Fire Luigi was webbed to the ground. And before Fire Mario could get back up, Shantae turned back into Spider Shantae and webbed Fire Mario to the ground as well.
Spider Shantae- That takes care of the Mario Brothers.
Link- Now we just have to deal with big and ugly over here.
Meanwhile, Fire Kirby and Bowser each spat out a stream of fire that collided and neither was giving in. But little did Bowser realize that Ty got in close behind him and grabbed hold of his tail. Then Ty activated the Sacred Spiritual Bunyip power to give himself a strength boost as he tossed Bowser into the air Super Mario 64 style.
Ty- So long there, mate!
Then Sonic used his spin dash to dash off of a rock like a ram and launch himself higher than Bowser. Then Sonic kicked Bowser in the head and knocked him back to the ground near where Fire Mario and Fire Luigi were. After Bowser crash landed, Fire Kirby managed to create another friend heart and tossed it at Fire Mario, Fire Luigi, and Bowser. The three of them were engulfed in a bright pink light, but Fire Kirby changed back to normal Kirby and almost fainted before the light faded. Luckily, Link and Shantae caught Kirby before he collapsed.
Kirby- Sorry about that…guess this really is taking its toll on me…
Then the light faded and Fire Mario, Fire Luigi, and Bowser appeared to be back to normal.
Fire Luigi- What's going on? And why am I strapped to the floor by a spider's web?
Fire Mario- I don't know. Last thing I remember was us celebrating Kirby's birthday and these strange crystals shaped like hearts fell from the sky.
Then Fire Mario saw Marco's sword sticking out of the ground nearby where he was lying and that the blade part was on fire.
Fire Mario- Was I in a fight or something? Why else would I have given Marco's sword a fire boost?
Fire Luigi- Uh…can you guys get us out of this? Please.
Then Shantae snapped her fingers and a tiny little flame quickly burnt the spider webbing without harming either of them. Then Bowser got up while holding his head.
Bowser- Great day in the morning…what happened?! And why does my head hurt so bad?
Then Bowser notices Fire Mario and the others.
Bowser- Mario?! What's going on here?! This isn't DeDeDe's castle! How did I end up here?!
Then Fire Mario picked up Marco's sword, put it back in its sheath, and turned to face Kirby.
Fire Mario- Indeed…could you please explain what happened after that incident which interrupted your birthday party?
Before Kirby could answer, a sword suddenly dropped from above and almost hit Kirby, Link, and Shantae.
Shantae- Yikes! That was close!
Link- Who threw that?
Mysterious voice- I did!
Fire Mario, Fire Luigi, Link, Kirby, Sonic, Ty, Shantae, and Bowser looked up and saw Meta Knight standing on a high ledge on the tower. However, he had a dark aura around his body.
Meta Knight- Now take up that sword…and face me, Kirby!