A/N: One thing I would like to point out: fanfiction is partially for
owning the satisfaction of getting reviews. S'long as I get reviews, I'll
continue. Oh, and if you're one of the person that rarely reviews, than
buzz offa my stories.
The road up to Nimbus Land was indeed not an easy one. Vines hung from all over navigable clouds; the only way to go anywhere was to climb up them. Along the way, all four of them noticed that there were little bird soldiers---presumably Valentina's old troops---fluttering around patently, apparently unaware that they had no use there anymore. If they proved hostile, either Zoshi would eat them or Bowser would fry them, or if there were a bunch of the vermin all four warriors would pitch in and fight. It was comparably nominal trouble, considering the fat paratroopas bounding around on the clouds. Although it would seem likely, the paratroopas of the high skies had no loyalty to Bowser, having never sworn their allegiance to him but instead Valentina. They were the toughest fights on the clouds, though there were fewer of them than the bird soldiers.
After climbing for what felt like an eternity, Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi came to a mammoth vine dangling slowly back and forth like it had been used a lot or something. At the bottom, stuck into the surface of the cloud, was a sign reading "Up to Nimbus Land. All acceptable except ye loyal to Valentina." The last line was sensible to Bowser and Mario, because Valentine had taken over the peaceful municipality once, faking that the king and queen were ill.
"Is this that 'cloud town' you talked about?" Zoshi asked Mario, seeing the sign from a distance.
"Yes. Not only will it provide a way to Peach's castle, but it also houses a fine warrior named Mallow, prince of the place now."
"Hey, I was the one who told you to go this way!" Bowser interrupted. "We're going to MY fortress first!"
"Bowser," Mario said calmly, "do you remember when Peach fought for us?"
"Uh… Kind of."
"She possesses the greatest of healing magic I know of. If we go to the princess's castle first, and free her, then we will have another person to help. Okay?"
"Wait, wait, wait," Zoshi interrupted before Bowser could answer, "not to be arrogant of my customs, but even though Yoshi Battle Island is a martial- skilled island, we have rules against allowing princesses to fight. Don't you think it is a bit harsh to force a non-violent person like a princess to battle?"
"Like I said before," Mario said, insinuating by his tone that he was mortified by the interrupting, "the princess is capable of defending herself. She holds more magic abilities than many magikoopas."
"Now THAT'S a lot of magic," Bowser said, enjoying emphasizing his koopas.
"What does Mallow look like?" Luigi inquired all of a sudden. "Once I thought you said he looked somethin' like a frog."
"No, that's what he originally thought. He's a species of cloud people. You'd be surprised; once, when in a fight with two of Smithy's minions, one of them called him a puffball, and MAN, was he mad! Threw lightning, hail, and a bunch of other storm magic attacks at those two. I don't think anyone ever called him a puffball again… His power is enormous, just not in his outward appearance."
"Just like you," Bowser said, unwilling to pass an opportunity to affront Mario.
"Shut it."
"Speaking of power, what are we dealing with here?" Zoshi asked. "Is this Mallow guy a complete pacifist, or is he a born warrior, or what?"
"A powerful guy with a kindred heart," Mario said smoothly. "If you were wondering, he probably won't feel like fighting offhand. Dueling with an unaccustomed individual isn't what he likes to do."
"Hey, I'm anxious to go, and I'm sure we're wasting time here so… Let's climb up already!" Luigi hopped onto the side of the vine, which was relatively easy to climb, and soft so you could grab on it. Bowser jumped on next, because of his claws. Mario was next, then Zoshi, who had some difficulty since his arms were puny.
It was a long, strenuous climb upward; fortunately it was not very energy consuming. After a while a cloud became visible hundreds of feet above them, and they climbed furiously up to the top, climbing aboard a spacious, flat cloud that was Nimbus Land.
It was like and was not like how Mario had remembered it. It was still a soft-spoken, gregarious town like before, with its thorn houses and the giant castle looming in the back. But it had grown --- immensely. There were huge clumps of thorn houses which Luigi assumed to be hotels, as well as a new method of transportation, clouds (Which was actually not brand new, because lakitus used them already, but it was new to the cloud people). Roads even lined the clouds' ground, not for surface movement but for order and direction.
"This is not how you described it at home, when you were telling your adventures, Mario," Luigi stammered, trying to look at everything at once. "You said this was small; it's gigantic!"
"'Gigantic' is and understatement," Zoshi said, also looking around frantically. "Not even the training facilities on my island are this big!"
"It's bigger, but no more complex. See? Over there is the old inn." Bowser pointed to a pile of thorns with a hole obviously designed as a door. "Nothing's too different. Are we going to get to the castle, or are you two going to continue gaping at the place?"
Hearing the seriousness in Bowser's voice, Zoshi and Luigi quickly stopped gazing around.
"This way," directed Mario, "the castle's back this way." He ran off in a direction right of the way they were walking, and Bowser, Zoshi, and Luigi followed after him, panting to keep up.
Mallow's castle was further away than how close it appeared. And bigger, at that. The door seemed over fifty feet high, large even for a castle door. It was so heavy that Bowser had to ram it to get in.
A cloud person wearing armor-like apparel greeted them. Zoshi and Luigi had already seen cloud people on the roads so it was no surprise to set eyes upon what looked like a ball of fluff with limbs and clothes. "Yes?"
"I'm here to see Mallow," Mario started.
The guard looked offended slightly. "Please, sir, we do like to call King Mallow by his proper name," he said with a touch of sarcasm. "Now do you have an appointment?"
Mario stared at him in shock. "Did you say 'King'?"
"Why, of course! He has been king here for nearly two years!"
Mario thought over. Mallow was way too young to be king… But then again, he had sound judgment and a just heart, why not? Still, he was befuddled. Quickly, to escape his thought, Mario said, "May we please see King" --- Mario winced at the word, as if still surprised--- "Mallow; it is… er… urgent."
"I'm sorry, but without an appointment or qualifying authority I may not allow you to pass, sir."
'Look, will you go to 'King' Mallow and mention that Bowser and Mario want to see him?" Bowser grumbled.
The guard, with an apparent hint of restrained aggravation, said, "As you wish," then walked off down a finely decorated hall away from them
A moment later the guard returned. "You may see King Mallow," he said, bowing, then moved away from the hall passage. Instinctively the four started down it, granting instantly that if he would not guide them to Mallow then Mallow must not have been far off.
In fact, with the exception of one square room that they were forced to walk pass, the hall led straight to Mallow. They were happy to see him when they came into his presence, but Mario and Bowser could hardly recognize him. He had matured greatly in seven years, He was bigger and tougher- looking, and as well as the fact that he had a crown over his head. Immediately, though in disbelief with Mallow's appearance, Mario greeted him cordially, saying, "Hey, Mallow, how you doing?"
"Hey Mario! Long time no see, eh?" Mallow answered, sitting sideways in his throne. "How you been doing yerself? Any new adventures?"
"Actually, I've had quite a few, come to think of it," Mario said, trying to keep a broad smile. "Yep. Been saving Princess Peach a lot from Bowser, heh heh." Bowser grunted, but Mario ignored him. After a brief silence, the plumber spoke up again. "Say, outside I heard that you're king of Nimbus Land! Congrats, buddy! Say, however did it happen anyway?"
"Sad story," Mallow began a little gloomily, but it could not keep him from continuing to smile. "It turns out that my parent really WERE sick, something like Valentina poisoned them before she was defeated, just in case she was overcome. Five years afterwards, they died and I became king." Mallow sprouted another profuse smile. "But hey, that's old news, let's hear why you're here! You just wanted to say 'hello' after seven years' time?"
"Er… Yes, and no, you see… Do you remember Smithy?"
"The evil guy who stole Bowser's fort for a factory and that last star for Star Road?"
"Yeah. Well, he has, er, come back somehow, and created this mechanical Bowser and captured Peach. Oh, and he killed an entire island of yoshis."
"And let me guess," Mallow said with a grin, "you came here for help to fight, eh?"
"Yes, exactly!" Mario said, hopeful that Mallow was accepting their request for assistance.
"Sorry, no-can-do, Mario. Much as I want to help, my kingdom needs me, and I can't leave to help you anymore."
"Oh…" Mario said, his heart falling.
"Do you at least have that cloud bus thing?" Bowser said. "Can we borrow it? It could be very helpful."
"Oh sure," Mallow said, "you can use it. Stop by any time, okay?"
"Okay," Mario said, walking out his throne room, "see you later." Then the four warriors left.
Outside the castle, they started conversing again.
"Was that Mallow?" asked Zoshi when they closed the castle door. "He seemed a bit different than I'd imagined. He was totally confident, something I wouldn't expect from the guy YOU described, Mario."
"Well, he grown a lot," Mario replied, sounding as baffled as Zoshi. "Taking head of this now giant kingdom must have changed his personality… Maybe he just matured weirdly."
"And gained a lot of callousness…" Luigi murmured.
"Why would you say that?!"
"Think about it! He didn't really want to help us, 'cause if he did, he would definitely help! And did you see how he reacted when he told the death of his parents? It was only two years ago!"
"That just about sums it up…" Bowser said lowly.
"You aren't one to talk," Mario said, "callousness is your trademark."
"Hey, I have a heart too!" Bowser exclaimed. Mario and Luigi snickered a little behind him.
Before Bowser could get angrier, Zoshi yelled, "Is that it?" and pointed to a station with a cloud next to it. It had a wheel sticking out of it and a cloud person in the front.
"Hey, that IS it!" Bowser said. All four of them rushed forward towards it.
And it was. There was no line to get on, surprisingly, so Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi went right on, telling the driver where to fly. The bus set off, back toward Peach's castle.
It was a fast ride, though none of them could feel it. The bus was supposed to be capable of speeds exceeding that of sound. And soon enough they were flying over the valley that led to Bowser's fortress, although they were really heading for Peach's castle; it was just a convenient shortcut.
"Go over a little to the right… Yes, that's it… No, no, more so to the left, just a little…" Mario said. He continuously had to direct the driver towards Peach's castle, often annoying the driver, but nevertheless getting the four there.
Bowser and Zoshi kept talking and bragging about what they liked to do and what they did where they lived. Bowser explained how hard it was ordering koopas and plotting schemes, but Zoshi argued that lying around wasn't anything at all, and homage should only come to those who earned it. Luckily they did not erupt into a fight, because each was ticking the other off to an extent of battling, and besides, the bus was small and one might fall thousands of feet if he were to be knocked off. Luigi just peered over the bus's edge, nauseating himself to the point of heaving.
Then they all heard it. A humming sound, coming from the distance, exactly from Bowser's castle. It seemed to be heading closer to the left side of the bus, and finally, something came into view.
It was a big ship, twenty times larger than the bus, looking altogether like the Blade. There were three figures on the top, none of them were steering but instead looking down at the bus, as if they were coming to ambush, and Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi had already figured this.
Suddenly an ebony-black fireball shot directly at the ship. It seemed to home in on the driver, striking through him, piercing a hole right through his body. Like lightning, it happened before any of them knew what to do. The driver fell headfirst into the bottomless valley.
The voices of the three figures became heard over the angry thoughts of Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi. They sounded like perfectly normal koopas, though when the Blade-shaped ship came closer they found out that the three figures were not normal koopas; they were mechanical. Yes, shaped like miniature Technas, they were cackling. All three looked like smaller versions of Techna, excluding the red, green, and blue bandanas over their eyes. "Alright!" the red-masked one said to the others. "We killed the driver! Now that they're stationary, let's get the red-capped one!" The other two, wearing green and blue bandanas, yelled "Yeah!" in agreement.
"Who are you?!" Mario shouted from across. All three of the things stared at him.
"Who are we?" the green-masked one said. "Why, I'm Strike!"
"And I'm Hydraulic!" said the blue-masked one.
"I'm Turbo, the leader!" exclaimed the red-masked one. "And we arrrrre… the Technosquad!" All three did a pathetic pose, and Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi all had to suppress several snickers for sake of not being attacked.
"Well," Mario said matter-of-factly, "let me guess; you are here to kill us? Don't make me laugh."
"How dare you insult us!" Hydraulic barked. "Get him, Strike!"
Strike, with the green bandana, nodded. Then he lifted his arms, bringing them down shortly after, and a great-sized energy ball shot at Mario. Mario simply picked his arms up into an 'X', deflecting the energy ball easily. But as soon as he did a net fell over his head. When it touched him, it stuck to his skin like instant glue. Turbo, the one with the red banana, laughed evilly.
"Why, Mario, I thought you would up more of a fight!" he said as Mario struggled furiously, only attained more of a trapped state. "After all that talk Smithy said about you I'd honestly thought he revered you as a legend!"
"Aha! So you DO work for Smithy, hmm?" Bowser said slyly as he slashed at the threads of the net, while Zoshi tried to cut it open with his teeth and Luigi did likewise (Though even less successfully). "Now give us back Mario or I'll tear you to pieces!"
The Blade-ship (Which will be called Blade II from now on) came closer and closer until it was only ten feet from the flank of the bus. Strike leapt off onto the bus, bearing long claws and landing next to the net- caught Mario, picking him up by the net's head. "Au contraire, Bowser! I think I'll take a captive here back up to the ship!"
All of a sudden Zoshi lunged forward, shooting his tongue out at Strike. Unfortunately he had already jumped an extraordinary height back up to the ship, Mario with him. "Catch the Technosquad if you can!" Turbo yelled from a distance as the Blade II moved away, while Strike went into the interior of the ship, carrying the net Mario was encased in. Of course, Bowser, Zoshi, and, Luigi realized it was a lure, but Mario's vitality to the team was invaluable, so Luigi tried steering the bus, which worked, and they chased after the Blade II.
"Hey, I think they're following us!" Hydraulic pointed backwards behind the rear of the ship, and sure enough, the bus was on their tail sharply.
"You're right," Turbo said. "Excellent. I will take care of them from here. Go to the hull and start the hyperjets; we may be able to ram into them hard enough to knock 'em off."
"Yes," Hydraulic said, running off to the ship's front. Turbo turned back around to the bus. It was only twenty feet away now. As he opened his mouth, an energy ball of deep red formed, shooting off at Luigi. He didn't look too aware, so he made an easy target; but Luigi dodged it anyway.
Cursing aloud, he shot more fireballs, all missing. Giving up on Luigi, he shot fireballs at Bowser, a more open target, but to no avail. Then, all of a sudden, Luigi and Bowser jumped up from the bus toward the ship. Both landed on its side, clinging on for dear life. Turbo fired more and more, but his accuracy had decreased. Then Zoshi shot his tongue out, the end sticking to the Blade II's side, and he climbed up with the other two. Eventually they made it to the top with him.
Lucky for Turbo, Hydraulic had already sensed them coming and was there at the rear to fight. The two metal fighters engaged the three warriors and battle.
Bowser immediately charged at Turbo, claws bore and mouth open, ready for fire breath. Turbo, however, made the first move, a red energy ball that sped at Bowser faster than he could blink. But the koopa king had already thought ahead, and in a split-second he had enclosed himself in his shell, spinning around rapidly. The energy ball merely ricocheted off him. Withdrawing from his shell, Bowser took a deep breath, then spewed out a flurry of flames at Turbo.
Unfavorably for Bowser, Turbo's name was not to be taken lightly. He was even faster than Techna when he and Bowser fought each other the second time. It a moment for Bowser to find where Turbo was, and when he did, it was for the worst. Turbo had his shell facing Bowser, and the red crystals were radiating wildly. Lasers shot out of the crystals, all homing in on then center of Bowser. When they met an enormous fulmination surrounded Bowser, knocking him to the ground. He stood up in seconds, shaking his head, only dazed. Turbo was staring straight at him, having turned back around.
Gasping desperately, Bowser coughed, "Where did you hide Mario?"
"Don't worry---you'll get to see him one last time before you die."
In anger, Bowser broke into a run, directly at Turbo. He sidestepped, and Bowser stumbled to keep on the Blade II, having stopped so near its edge. Suddenly a gush of water struck him from behind, knocking him over the ship's side. He shouted---almost screamed---as he fell down into the blackness below.
Hydraulic walked up to the side of Turbo, who was staring over the side of the ship. "Good work. No way he will survive."
"Yeah," Hydraulic said. "I saw you beating him up after I pounded the green mustached guy; Luigi, I think. Smithy referred to him 'a brother of Mario; both are plumbers.' Heh, he was practically AFRAID of my water guns!"
Turbo and Hydraulic laughed menacingly together. "Get that yoshi creature," Turbo ordered Hydraulic. "I will dispel of Mario."
"Looking for me?" A voice from behind said. Turbo and Hydraulic swerved around instantaneously only to see Zoshi. But it was too late; Zoshi had already shot his tongue out, which hit Hydraulic in the face, He fell down, sliding easily off the ship, almost exactly where Bowser had. "One down, two to go!"
"Yeah!" said a voice from behind; it was Luigi. "We have you outnumbered! Now where did you put my brother?!"
Turbo grinned, trying to keep his cool, but losing it. Hesitating, he looked around, then caught sight of the big mechanical head (Like on the original Blade in the fight with the Axem Rangers). Quickly, Turbo shouted, "Think fast!" and darted toward the head, activating it with a switch. Zoshi and Luigi had barely turned around when the two vertical slits like lips opened and a huge beam of light shot from the mouth of the head. It burned Luigi and Zoshi until they could not stand anymore. After the blast cleared, they were black as ashes, charred from the beam.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have one more to take care of," turbo said as he walked past Zoshi and Luigi. He entered a door on the ship, walking down a short stairway, and into a room that appeared to be the core of the ship. "Has Mario said anything yet?" he grimly asked Strike, the green- bandana-wearing Technosquad member. Strike was punching Mario in the gut to motivate him to tell where he had hidden the key to Peach's castle (Apparently they'd been watching him talk in Marrymore or outside her castle originally). Mario was tied to a support column in the ship, all limbs tied behind him, and was steadfast to not talk.
"Nope, I can't get anything out of this guy. Either he's a masochist or stubborn, but he won't talk at all." Strike kneed Mario in his stomach again. Mario winced, gasped for air, then hung lower on the ropes. "Should we just kill him?"
"See if he has any powerful substances with him; Smithy wanted something like that, one reason why he sent that Techna machine to follow them was to see if they had any powerful objects amongst themselves."
"Sure," Strike said, then went back to beating on Mario.
Before he even got out of the room, Turbo heard footsteps from above. In a flash there were Zoshi and Luigi, in battle stances, facing them.
Immediately Strike turned around, and Turbo and he fought Luigi and Zoshi. Instantly Luigi fired a small fireball and split the ropes off of Mario, who jumped in the fray with them. The Mario bros. released two giant red and green fireballs while Zoshi jumped in the air. Concentrating entirely on the fireballs, Turbo and Strike did not see Zoshi coming, and he kicked both of them in the head without their knowing. The fireballs came not detained by the two mechanical Technosquad fighters, exploding on them without aversion.
"Whew! Thanks Luigi, that was close! They kept asking me all these questions, like about if I had any power stars, and didn't answer, so they started punching and kicking and kneeing---"
"Relax," Zoshi said, "you got out, right? So stop talking so fast."
"Hey, what's that?" Luigi pointed to a shining orb, red in color, levitating between a big cylinder support column. "What's that shining thing?"
"Hmmm…" Zoshi pondered. "That looks like what they use in hospitals on Yoshi Battle Island. It has healing and fueling purposes."
"Did you say it has 'healing' purposes? We could use this to revive us!"
"Good idea!" Looking across to the shining orb, Zoshi slowly walked to it, gingerly touching it and picking it up with his hands.
Instantly every cell of his body felt renewed, and all his wounds, scars, and cuts from recently were removed. Obviously having seen the effect of the orb, Mario said, "Here! Give it to me!" Zoshi tossed him the orb, and when Mario caught it, he felt the revitalization Zoshi had. Then Mario gave Luigi the orb, and all three were physically replenished again.
"Now that we're better, let's take care of---" Mario looked around. "Hey! Where are Turbo and Strike?!"
The other two looked. Indeed, both of their enemies had vanished. They all ran up to the top deck only to see both of them hovering off. In seconds they were gone completely.
"Darn it, they got away!" Zoshi yelled. "We should have destroyed them when we had the chance!"
"Cool it," Mario said. "They're weak and beaten; neither Turbo or Strike is likely to get back without running out of fuel."
"You're right." After a brief moment with absolute silence from all of them, Zoshi said, "Where's Bowser?"
The two plumbers perked their heads up. "I don't know…" Mario stammered.
Then Luigi's eyes dimmed. "I-… I think he fell overboard…"
Zoshi and Mario looked like they had been struck by lightning. Abruptly after another short silent time period, Mario ordered loudly, "Well don't just stand there! Someone try to pilot this thing down! We need to find him!"
All three of them scrambled around to find the piloting room, so frantically that it was almost chaotic.
~Bowser~
…I lay there still, unable to move. The fall was excruciating, and it was not the first time it had happened recently. It took a while for me to open my eyes, and even when I did, I don't know if I was fully conscious. My memory was foggy to no end.
Hydraulic. He was the one who knocked me off the ship. Grrr, I hope he dies. But not much I could do here. Yep, probably paralyzed. I only hoped Mario, Luigi, and Zoshi (Though I would rather have done it myself) would take care of those three… things.
Technosquad. Stupid name, stupid poses, strong fighters. Heck, they were altogether near as tough as Techna, I think. 'Course, I didn't really even fight Strike… Oh well.
In a few moments I came to. The bottom of the seemingly eternal valley was actually sort of placid. It was a hilly meadow, with all the dark clouds surrounding my fortress and the ones under where we flew. Not a sound plagued the sky. For a minute or so, that is.
Something overhead caught my eye. I stared up to see something blue streaking down to the ground. It landed with a drawn out "BOOM!" that echoed throughout the valley, creating a crater ten feet deep. Not long after I came over the initial shock and walked to it, some blue and battered up leapt out of the crater and landed right next to me. It took me a second to tell, but it was Hydraulic, no doubt.
"Hydraulic!" I barked, "how did you survive that fall?!"
"I have the same question on mind. I thought I killed you! Then your little yoshi friend knocked me over the side, and now I'm here, knowing you're still alive!"
"In this case," I said more confidently, "since I know my friends couldn't have destroyed you, I take it into my personal responsibility to ensure that you perish."
"You couldn't if you tried!"
"Watch me!" And with one quick leap I was my height in the air, and I fell like a rock onto Hydraulic. His reflexes were definitely impaired, because he didn't even look up, like he was malfunctioning. I fell on him flat to the ground, and, seeing no possible way Hydraulic might live, I stood back up again, staring down at a squashed form of Hydraulic.
"Don't mess with the best," I said with a grin.
"I have yet to," came a familiar voice from below. I gazed down instantly to see Hydraulic perfectly revitalized and in full shape, even repaired from the gargantuan fall.
"But--- how---"
"Combat model androids have complete revival systems. I can never die!"
As hard as I tried to smirk and think up some way to combat this unknown power, I found myself hesitating. Hydraulic stepped towards me as I slowly proceeded backwards; he had both hands raised together above his head where a blue energy ball was forming. He brought his hands down at me, the energy ball shooting from him towards me at incomprehensible speed.
Involuntarily I swung my arm at the shot. My claws collided with the blast's surface, knocking it back at Hydraulic. Since he was only feet from me and, as a machine, he lacked reflexes, he was unable to defend against the attack and was struck with it directly. The energy ball exploded upon impact.
Possibly he was bluffing when he said he was able to automatically repair his body, and I KNOW he was bluffing when he said he couldn't die, but somehow I had destroyed Hydraulic. There he lay, on the grass, broken into hundreds of small pieces. After the initial shock and relief subsided, I crushed his head (Which was somehow still in one piece) to make sure he couldn't regenerate in some odd way and spat at his remains, saying, "And good riddance."
Adrenaline must have hit, 'cause later all the pain that had died down during the battle with that water-squirting weirdo Hydraulic came back again, in tenfold. Every part of my body hurt multiple times more than when I first came conscious again, though I hadn't gotten hurt in the battle at all.
I hoped (For about the third time) that Mario, Luigi, and Zoshi had done their part, because I sure had. This pain had better have been worth it.
It was then that I heard from behind me something hovering lower to the ground, like steam rolling against the land. I turned around to see the Blade II landing. Uh oh. Turbo and Strike were probably steering, and I knew couldn't handle two of those thing, especially not in this state. But, to my utter surprise, once it landed, Mario and Luigi hopped out and walked over to me, appearing to be smiling.
"Hey, what happened?!" I asked as they approached.
"I had the same question on mind," said Mario. "How did you survive the fall? It was a mile down!"
"Err… I don't really know. Well, how did you get to pilot the ship? You had to have beaten the Technosquad guys to do that!"
"Well… not exactly. They escaped after all three of us got 'em pretty bad! Zoshi knocked Hydraulic over the side."
"Yeah," I said, sighing deeply, "I know. But I destroyed him; his remain are over there."
I pointed to a heap of metal left of me. Mario and Luigi looked to the side, Luigi saying, "Wow, you DID destroy him. Completely annihilated him. We shoulda done the same with Turbo and Strike, but we were all healing ourselves with this."
Luigi reached in his pockets and took out a shining orb, gleaming crimson red, so bright that I shielded his eyes for a moment. "What is it?"
"Found it near the core of the Blade II. Zoshi thinks it's from a hospital on his island, but then how would it get here? I say it's the gem of power from the volcano, the one Techna stole."
"Don't you think he would have used it already?"
"It doesn't matter. Just touch it and it will heal you a hundred percent. Go on; you must have broken bones after that fall."
I nodded, tapping the gem cautiously, instinctively because it was very odd. Immediately I felt every sore muscle in me heal and my bones mend instantly. All of my cuts and wounds disappeared off my skin. "Amazing." I looked back up at the Blade II, which was now beginning to hover slightly. "Hey, are we going, or what?"
"The gem worked. C'mon, let's go!" Then Luigi and Mario raced to the Blade II as I followed. It took off at high speed and soon we were back en route to Peach's castle.
The road up to Nimbus Land was indeed not an easy one. Vines hung from all over navigable clouds; the only way to go anywhere was to climb up them. Along the way, all four of them noticed that there were little bird soldiers---presumably Valentina's old troops---fluttering around patently, apparently unaware that they had no use there anymore. If they proved hostile, either Zoshi would eat them or Bowser would fry them, or if there were a bunch of the vermin all four warriors would pitch in and fight. It was comparably nominal trouble, considering the fat paratroopas bounding around on the clouds. Although it would seem likely, the paratroopas of the high skies had no loyalty to Bowser, having never sworn their allegiance to him but instead Valentina. They were the toughest fights on the clouds, though there were fewer of them than the bird soldiers.
After climbing for what felt like an eternity, Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi came to a mammoth vine dangling slowly back and forth like it had been used a lot or something. At the bottom, stuck into the surface of the cloud, was a sign reading "Up to Nimbus Land. All acceptable except ye loyal to Valentina." The last line was sensible to Bowser and Mario, because Valentine had taken over the peaceful municipality once, faking that the king and queen were ill.
"Is this that 'cloud town' you talked about?" Zoshi asked Mario, seeing the sign from a distance.
"Yes. Not only will it provide a way to Peach's castle, but it also houses a fine warrior named Mallow, prince of the place now."
"Hey, I was the one who told you to go this way!" Bowser interrupted. "We're going to MY fortress first!"
"Bowser," Mario said calmly, "do you remember when Peach fought for us?"
"Uh… Kind of."
"She possesses the greatest of healing magic I know of. If we go to the princess's castle first, and free her, then we will have another person to help. Okay?"
"Wait, wait, wait," Zoshi interrupted before Bowser could answer, "not to be arrogant of my customs, but even though Yoshi Battle Island is a martial- skilled island, we have rules against allowing princesses to fight. Don't you think it is a bit harsh to force a non-violent person like a princess to battle?"
"Like I said before," Mario said, insinuating by his tone that he was mortified by the interrupting, "the princess is capable of defending herself. She holds more magic abilities than many magikoopas."
"Now THAT'S a lot of magic," Bowser said, enjoying emphasizing his koopas.
"What does Mallow look like?" Luigi inquired all of a sudden. "Once I thought you said he looked somethin' like a frog."
"No, that's what he originally thought. He's a species of cloud people. You'd be surprised; once, when in a fight with two of Smithy's minions, one of them called him a puffball, and MAN, was he mad! Threw lightning, hail, and a bunch of other storm magic attacks at those two. I don't think anyone ever called him a puffball again… His power is enormous, just not in his outward appearance."
"Just like you," Bowser said, unwilling to pass an opportunity to affront Mario.
"Shut it."
"Speaking of power, what are we dealing with here?" Zoshi asked. "Is this Mallow guy a complete pacifist, or is he a born warrior, or what?"
"A powerful guy with a kindred heart," Mario said smoothly. "If you were wondering, he probably won't feel like fighting offhand. Dueling with an unaccustomed individual isn't what he likes to do."
"Hey, I'm anxious to go, and I'm sure we're wasting time here so… Let's climb up already!" Luigi hopped onto the side of the vine, which was relatively easy to climb, and soft so you could grab on it. Bowser jumped on next, because of his claws. Mario was next, then Zoshi, who had some difficulty since his arms were puny.
It was a long, strenuous climb upward; fortunately it was not very energy consuming. After a while a cloud became visible hundreds of feet above them, and they climbed furiously up to the top, climbing aboard a spacious, flat cloud that was Nimbus Land.
It was like and was not like how Mario had remembered it. It was still a soft-spoken, gregarious town like before, with its thorn houses and the giant castle looming in the back. But it had grown --- immensely. There were huge clumps of thorn houses which Luigi assumed to be hotels, as well as a new method of transportation, clouds (Which was actually not brand new, because lakitus used them already, but it was new to the cloud people). Roads even lined the clouds' ground, not for surface movement but for order and direction.
"This is not how you described it at home, when you were telling your adventures, Mario," Luigi stammered, trying to look at everything at once. "You said this was small; it's gigantic!"
"'Gigantic' is and understatement," Zoshi said, also looking around frantically. "Not even the training facilities on my island are this big!"
"It's bigger, but no more complex. See? Over there is the old inn." Bowser pointed to a pile of thorns with a hole obviously designed as a door. "Nothing's too different. Are we going to get to the castle, or are you two going to continue gaping at the place?"
Hearing the seriousness in Bowser's voice, Zoshi and Luigi quickly stopped gazing around.
"This way," directed Mario, "the castle's back this way." He ran off in a direction right of the way they were walking, and Bowser, Zoshi, and Luigi followed after him, panting to keep up.
Mallow's castle was further away than how close it appeared. And bigger, at that. The door seemed over fifty feet high, large even for a castle door. It was so heavy that Bowser had to ram it to get in.
A cloud person wearing armor-like apparel greeted them. Zoshi and Luigi had already seen cloud people on the roads so it was no surprise to set eyes upon what looked like a ball of fluff with limbs and clothes. "Yes?"
"I'm here to see Mallow," Mario started.
The guard looked offended slightly. "Please, sir, we do like to call King Mallow by his proper name," he said with a touch of sarcasm. "Now do you have an appointment?"
Mario stared at him in shock. "Did you say 'King'?"
"Why, of course! He has been king here for nearly two years!"
Mario thought over. Mallow was way too young to be king… But then again, he had sound judgment and a just heart, why not? Still, he was befuddled. Quickly, to escape his thought, Mario said, "May we please see King" --- Mario winced at the word, as if still surprised--- "Mallow; it is… er… urgent."
"I'm sorry, but without an appointment or qualifying authority I may not allow you to pass, sir."
'Look, will you go to 'King' Mallow and mention that Bowser and Mario want to see him?" Bowser grumbled.
The guard, with an apparent hint of restrained aggravation, said, "As you wish," then walked off down a finely decorated hall away from them
A moment later the guard returned. "You may see King Mallow," he said, bowing, then moved away from the hall passage. Instinctively the four started down it, granting instantly that if he would not guide them to Mallow then Mallow must not have been far off.
In fact, with the exception of one square room that they were forced to walk pass, the hall led straight to Mallow. They were happy to see him when they came into his presence, but Mario and Bowser could hardly recognize him. He had matured greatly in seven years, He was bigger and tougher- looking, and as well as the fact that he had a crown over his head. Immediately, though in disbelief with Mallow's appearance, Mario greeted him cordially, saying, "Hey, Mallow, how you doing?"
"Hey Mario! Long time no see, eh?" Mallow answered, sitting sideways in his throne. "How you been doing yerself? Any new adventures?"
"Actually, I've had quite a few, come to think of it," Mario said, trying to keep a broad smile. "Yep. Been saving Princess Peach a lot from Bowser, heh heh." Bowser grunted, but Mario ignored him. After a brief silence, the plumber spoke up again. "Say, outside I heard that you're king of Nimbus Land! Congrats, buddy! Say, however did it happen anyway?"
"Sad story," Mallow began a little gloomily, but it could not keep him from continuing to smile. "It turns out that my parent really WERE sick, something like Valentina poisoned them before she was defeated, just in case she was overcome. Five years afterwards, they died and I became king." Mallow sprouted another profuse smile. "But hey, that's old news, let's hear why you're here! You just wanted to say 'hello' after seven years' time?"
"Er… Yes, and no, you see… Do you remember Smithy?"
"The evil guy who stole Bowser's fort for a factory and that last star for Star Road?"
"Yeah. Well, he has, er, come back somehow, and created this mechanical Bowser and captured Peach. Oh, and he killed an entire island of yoshis."
"And let me guess," Mallow said with a grin, "you came here for help to fight, eh?"
"Yes, exactly!" Mario said, hopeful that Mallow was accepting their request for assistance.
"Sorry, no-can-do, Mario. Much as I want to help, my kingdom needs me, and I can't leave to help you anymore."
"Oh…" Mario said, his heart falling.
"Do you at least have that cloud bus thing?" Bowser said. "Can we borrow it? It could be very helpful."
"Oh sure," Mallow said, "you can use it. Stop by any time, okay?"
"Okay," Mario said, walking out his throne room, "see you later." Then the four warriors left.
Outside the castle, they started conversing again.
"Was that Mallow?" asked Zoshi when they closed the castle door. "He seemed a bit different than I'd imagined. He was totally confident, something I wouldn't expect from the guy YOU described, Mario."
"Well, he grown a lot," Mario replied, sounding as baffled as Zoshi. "Taking head of this now giant kingdom must have changed his personality… Maybe he just matured weirdly."
"And gained a lot of callousness…" Luigi murmured.
"Why would you say that?!"
"Think about it! He didn't really want to help us, 'cause if he did, he would definitely help! And did you see how he reacted when he told the death of his parents? It was only two years ago!"
"That just about sums it up…" Bowser said lowly.
"You aren't one to talk," Mario said, "callousness is your trademark."
"Hey, I have a heart too!" Bowser exclaimed. Mario and Luigi snickered a little behind him.
Before Bowser could get angrier, Zoshi yelled, "Is that it?" and pointed to a station with a cloud next to it. It had a wheel sticking out of it and a cloud person in the front.
"Hey, that IS it!" Bowser said. All four of them rushed forward towards it.
And it was. There was no line to get on, surprisingly, so Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi went right on, telling the driver where to fly. The bus set off, back toward Peach's castle.
It was a fast ride, though none of them could feel it. The bus was supposed to be capable of speeds exceeding that of sound. And soon enough they were flying over the valley that led to Bowser's fortress, although they were really heading for Peach's castle; it was just a convenient shortcut.
"Go over a little to the right… Yes, that's it… No, no, more so to the left, just a little…" Mario said. He continuously had to direct the driver towards Peach's castle, often annoying the driver, but nevertheless getting the four there.
Bowser and Zoshi kept talking and bragging about what they liked to do and what they did where they lived. Bowser explained how hard it was ordering koopas and plotting schemes, but Zoshi argued that lying around wasn't anything at all, and homage should only come to those who earned it. Luckily they did not erupt into a fight, because each was ticking the other off to an extent of battling, and besides, the bus was small and one might fall thousands of feet if he were to be knocked off. Luigi just peered over the bus's edge, nauseating himself to the point of heaving.
Then they all heard it. A humming sound, coming from the distance, exactly from Bowser's castle. It seemed to be heading closer to the left side of the bus, and finally, something came into view.
It was a big ship, twenty times larger than the bus, looking altogether like the Blade. There were three figures on the top, none of them were steering but instead looking down at the bus, as if they were coming to ambush, and Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi had already figured this.
Suddenly an ebony-black fireball shot directly at the ship. It seemed to home in on the driver, striking through him, piercing a hole right through his body. Like lightning, it happened before any of them knew what to do. The driver fell headfirst into the bottomless valley.
The voices of the three figures became heard over the angry thoughts of Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi. They sounded like perfectly normal koopas, though when the Blade-shaped ship came closer they found out that the three figures were not normal koopas; they were mechanical. Yes, shaped like miniature Technas, they were cackling. All three looked like smaller versions of Techna, excluding the red, green, and blue bandanas over their eyes. "Alright!" the red-masked one said to the others. "We killed the driver! Now that they're stationary, let's get the red-capped one!" The other two, wearing green and blue bandanas, yelled "Yeah!" in agreement.
"Who are you?!" Mario shouted from across. All three of the things stared at him.
"Who are we?" the green-masked one said. "Why, I'm Strike!"
"And I'm Hydraulic!" said the blue-masked one.
"I'm Turbo, the leader!" exclaimed the red-masked one. "And we arrrrre… the Technosquad!" All three did a pathetic pose, and Bowser, Zoshi, Mario, and Luigi all had to suppress several snickers for sake of not being attacked.
"Well," Mario said matter-of-factly, "let me guess; you are here to kill us? Don't make me laugh."
"How dare you insult us!" Hydraulic barked. "Get him, Strike!"
Strike, with the green bandana, nodded. Then he lifted his arms, bringing them down shortly after, and a great-sized energy ball shot at Mario. Mario simply picked his arms up into an 'X', deflecting the energy ball easily. But as soon as he did a net fell over his head. When it touched him, it stuck to his skin like instant glue. Turbo, the one with the red banana, laughed evilly.
"Why, Mario, I thought you would up more of a fight!" he said as Mario struggled furiously, only attained more of a trapped state. "After all that talk Smithy said about you I'd honestly thought he revered you as a legend!"
"Aha! So you DO work for Smithy, hmm?" Bowser said slyly as he slashed at the threads of the net, while Zoshi tried to cut it open with his teeth and Luigi did likewise (Though even less successfully). "Now give us back Mario or I'll tear you to pieces!"
The Blade-ship (Which will be called Blade II from now on) came closer and closer until it was only ten feet from the flank of the bus. Strike leapt off onto the bus, bearing long claws and landing next to the net- caught Mario, picking him up by the net's head. "Au contraire, Bowser! I think I'll take a captive here back up to the ship!"
All of a sudden Zoshi lunged forward, shooting his tongue out at Strike. Unfortunately he had already jumped an extraordinary height back up to the ship, Mario with him. "Catch the Technosquad if you can!" Turbo yelled from a distance as the Blade II moved away, while Strike went into the interior of the ship, carrying the net Mario was encased in. Of course, Bowser, Zoshi, and, Luigi realized it was a lure, but Mario's vitality to the team was invaluable, so Luigi tried steering the bus, which worked, and they chased after the Blade II.
"Hey, I think they're following us!" Hydraulic pointed backwards behind the rear of the ship, and sure enough, the bus was on their tail sharply.
"You're right," Turbo said. "Excellent. I will take care of them from here. Go to the hull and start the hyperjets; we may be able to ram into them hard enough to knock 'em off."
"Yes," Hydraulic said, running off to the ship's front. Turbo turned back around to the bus. It was only twenty feet away now. As he opened his mouth, an energy ball of deep red formed, shooting off at Luigi. He didn't look too aware, so he made an easy target; but Luigi dodged it anyway.
Cursing aloud, he shot more fireballs, all missing. Giving up on Luigi, he shot fireballs at Bowser, a more open target, but to no avail. Then, all of a sudden, Luigi and Bowser jumped up from the bus toward the ship. Both landed on its side, clinging on for dear life. Turbo fired more and more, but his accuracy had decreased. Then Zoshi shot his tongue out, the end sticking to the Blade II's side, and he climbed up with the other two. Eventually they made it to the top with him.
Lucky for Turbo, Hydraulic had already sensed them coming and was there at the rear to fight. The two metal fighters engaged the three warriors and battle.
Bowser immediately charged at Turbo, claws bore and mouth open, ready for fire breath. Turbo, however, made the first move, a red energy ball that sped at Bowser faster than he could blink. But the koopa king had already thought ahead, and in a split-second he had enclosed himself in his shell, spinning around rapidly. The energy ball merely ricocheted off him. Withdrawing from his shell, Bowser took a deep breath, then spewed out a flurry of flames at Turbo.
Unfavorably for Bowser, Turbo's name was not to be taken lightly. He was even faster than Techna when he and Bowser fought each other the second time. It a moment for Bowser to find where Turbo was, and when he did, it was for the worst. Turbo had his shell facing Bowser, and the red crystals were radiating wildly. Lasers shot out of the crystals, all homing in on then center of Bowser. When they met an enormous fulmination surrounded Bowser, knocking him to the ground. He stood up in seconds, shaking his head, only dazed. Turbo was staring straight at him, having turned back around.
Gasping desperately, Bowser coughed, "Where did you hide Mario?"
"Don't worry---you'll get to see him one last time before you die."
In anger, Bowser broke into a run, directly at Turbo. He sidestepped, and Bowser stumbled to keep on the Blade II, having stopped so near its edge. Suddenly a gush of water struck him from behind, knocking him over the ship's side. He shouted---almost screamed---as he fell down into the blackness below.
Hydraulic walked up to the side of Turbo, who was staring over the side of the ship. "Good work. No way he will survive."
"Yeah," Hydraulic said. "I saw you beating him up after I pounded the green mustached guy; Luigi, I think. Smithy referred to him 'a brother of Mario; both are plumbers.' Heh, he was practically AFRAID of my water guns!"
Turbo and Hydraulic laughed menacingly together. "Get that yoshi creature," Turbo ordered Hydraulic. "I will dispel of Mario."
"Looking for me?" A voice from behind said. Turbo and Hydraulic swerved around instantaneously only to see Zoshi. But it was too late; Zoshi had already shot his tongue out, which hit Hydraulic in the face, He fell down, sliding easily off the ship, almost exactly where Bowser had. "One down, two to go!"
"Yeah!" said a voice from behind; it was Luigi. "We have you outnumbered! Now where did you put my brother?!"
Turbo grinned, trying to keep his cool, but losing it. Hesitating, he looked around, then caught sight of the big mechanical head (Like on the original Blade in the fight with the Axem Rangers). Quickly, Turbo shouted, "Think fast!" and darted toward the head, activating it with a switch. Zoshi and Luigi had barely turned around when the two vertical slits like lips opened and a huge beam of light shot from the mouth of the head. It burned Luigi and Zoshi until they could not stand anymore. After the blast cleared, they were black as ashes, charred from the beam.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have one more to take care of," turbo said as he walked past Zoshi and Luigi. He entered a door on the ship, walking down a short stairway, and into a room that appeared to be the core of the ship. "Has Mario said anything yet?" he grimly asked Strike, the green- bandana-wearing Technosquad member. Strike was punching Mario in the gut to motivate him to tell where he had hidden the key to Peach's castle (Apparently they'd been watching him talk in Marrymore or outside her castle originally). Mario was tied to a support column in the ship, all limbs tied behind him, and was steadfast to not talk.
"Nope, I can't get anything out of this guy. Either he's a masochist or stubborn, but he won't talk at all." Strike kneed Mario in his stomach again. Mario winced, gasped for air, then hung lower on the ropes. "Should we just kill him?"
"See if he has any powerful substances with him; Smithy wanted something like that, one reason why he sent that Techna machine to follow them was to see if they had any powerful objects amongst themselves."
"Sure," Strike said, then went back to beating on Mario.
Before he even got out of the room, Turbo heard footsteps from above. In a flash there were Zoshi and Luigi, in battle stances, facing them.
Immediately Strike turned around, and Turbo and he fought Luigi and Zoshi. Instantly Luigi fired a small fireball and split the ropes off of Mario, who jumped in the fray with them. The Mario bros. released two giant red and green fireballs while Zoshi jumped in the air. Concentrating entirely on the fireballs, Turbo and Strike did not see Zoshi coming, and he kicked both of them in the head without their knowing. The fireballs came not detained by the two mechanical Technosquad fighters, exploding on them without aversion.
"Whew! Thanks Luigi, that was close! They kept asking me all these questions, like about if I had any power stars, and didn't answer, so they started punching and kicking and kneeing---"
"Relax," Zoshi said, "you got out, right? So stop talking so fast."
"Hey, what's that?" Luigi pointed to a shining orb, red in color, levitating between a big cylinder support column. "What's that shining thing?"
"Hmmm…" Zoshi pondered. "That looks like what they use in hospitals on Yoshi Battle Island. It has healing and fueling purposes."
"Did you say it has 'healing' purposes? We could use this to revive us!"
"Good idea!" Looking across to the shining orb, Zoshi slowly walked to it, gingerly touching it and picking it up with his hands.
Instantly every cell of his body felt renewed, and all his wounds, scars, and cuts from recently were removed. Obviously having seen the effect of the orb, Mario said, "Here! Give it to me!" Zoshi tossed him the orb, and when Mario caught it, he felt the revitalization Zoshi had. Then Mario gave Luigi the orb, and all three were physically replenished again.
"Now that we're better, let's take care of---" Mario looked around. "Hey! Where are Turbo and Strike?!"
The other two looked. Indeed, both of their enemies had vanished. They all ran up to the top deck only to see both of them hovering off. In seconds they were gone completely.
"Darn it, they got away!" Zoshi yelled. "We should have destroyed them when we had the chance!"
"Cool it," Mario said. "They're weak and beaten; neither Turbo or Strike is likely to get back without running out of fuel."
"You're right." After a brief moment with absolute silence from all of them, Zoshi said, "Where's Bowser?"
The two plumbers perked their heads up. "I don't know…" Mario stammered.
Then Luigi's eyes dimmed. "I-… I think he fell overboard…"
Zoshi and Mario looked like they had been struck by lightning. Abruptly after another short silent time period, Mario ordered loudly, "Well don't just stand there! Someone try to pilot this thing down! We need to find him!"
All three of them scrambled around to find the piloting room, so frantically that it was almost chaotic.
~Bowser~
…I lay there still, unable to move. The fall was excruciating, and it was not the first time it had happened recently. It took a while for me to open my eyes, and even when I did, I don't know if I was fully conscious. My memory was foggy to no end.
Hydraulic. He was the one who knocked me off the ship. Grrr, I hope he dies. But not much I could do here. Yep, probably paralyzed. I only hoped Mario, Luigi, and Zoshi (Though I would rather have done it myself) would take care of those three… things.
Technosquad. Stupid name, stupid poses, strong fighters. Heck, they were altogether near as tough as Techna, I think. 'Course, I didn't really even fight Strike… Oh well.
In a few moments I came to. The bottom of the seemingly eternal valley was actually sort of placid. It was a hilly meadow, with all the dark clouds surrounding my fortress and the ones under where we flew. Not a sound plagued the sky. For a minute or so, that is.
Something overhead caught my eye. I stared up to see something blue streaking down to the ground. It landed with a drawn out "BOOM!" that echoed throughout the valley, creating a crater ten feet deep. Not long after I came over the initial shock and walked to it, some blue and battered up leapt out of the crater and landed right next to me. It took me a second to tell, but it was Hydraulic, no doubt.
"Hydraulic!" I barked, "how did you survive that fall?!"
"I have the same question on mind. I thought I killed you! Then your little yoshi friend knocked me over the side, and now I'm here, knowing you're still alive!"
"In this case," I said more confidently, "since I know my friends couldn't have destroyed you, I take it into my personal responsibility to ensure that you perish."
"You couldn't if you tried!"
"Watch me!" And with one quick leap I was my height in the air, and I fell like a rock onto Hydraulic. His reflexes were definitely impaired, because he didn't even look up, like he was malfunctioning. I fell on him flat to the ground, and, seeing no possible way Hydraulic might live, I stood back up again, staring down at a squashed form of Hydraulic.
"Don't mess with the best," I said with a grin.
"I have yet to," came a familiar voice from below. I gazed down instantly to see Hydraulic perfectly revitalized and in full shape, even repaired from the gargantuan fall.
"But--- how---"
"Combat model androids have complete revival systems. I can never die!"
As hard as I tried to smirk and think up some way to combat this unknown power, I found myself hesitating. Hydraulic stepped towards me as I slowly proceeded backwards; he had both hands raised together above his head where a blue energy ball was forming. He brought his hands down at me, the energy ball shooting from him towards me at incomprehensible speed.
Involuntarily I swung my arm at the shot. My claws collided with the blast's surface, knocking it back at Hydraulic. Since he was only feet from me and, as a machine, he lacked reflexes, he was unable to defend against the attack and was struck with it directly. The energy ball exploded upon impact.
Possibly he was bluffing when he said he was able to automatically repair his body, and I KNOW he was bluffing when he said he couldn't die, but somehow I had destroyed Hydraulic. There he lay, on the grass, broken into hundreds of small pieces. After the initial shock and relief subsided, I crushed his head (Which was somehow still in one piece) to make sure he couldn't regenerate in some odd way and spat at his remains, saying, "And good riddance."
Adrenaline must have hit, 'cause later all the pain that had died down during the battle with that water-squirting weirdo Hydraulic came back again, in tenfold. Every part of my body hurt multiple times more than when I first came conscious again, though I hadn't gotten hurt in the battle at all.
I hoped (For about the third time) that Mario, Luigi, and Zoshi had done their part, because I sure had. This pain had better have been worth it.
It was then that I heard from behind me something hovering lower to the ground, like steam rolling against the land. I turned around to see the Blade II landing. Uh oh. Turbo and Strike were probably steering, and I knew couldn't handle two of those thing, especially not in this state. But, to my utter surprise, once it landed, Mario and Luigi hopped out and walked over to me, appearing to be smiling.
"Hey, what happened?!" I asked as they approached.
"I had the same question on mind," said Mario. "How did you survive the fall? It was a mile down!"
"Err… I don't really know. Well, how did you get to pilot the ship? You had to have beaten the Technosquad guys to do that!"
"Well… not exactly. They escaped after all three of us got 'em pretty bad! Zoshi knocked Hydraulic over the side."
"Yeah," I said, sighing deeply, "I know. But I destroyed him; his remain are over there."
I pointed to a heap of metal left of me. Mario and Luigi looked to the side, Luigi saying, "Wow, you DID destroy him. Completely annihilated him. We shoulda done the same with Turbo and Strike, but we were all healing ourselves with this."
Luigi reached in his pockets and took out a shining orb, gleaming crimson red, so bright that I shielded his eyes for a moment. "What is it?"
"Found it near the core of the Blade II. Zoshi thinks it's from a hospital on his island, but then how would it get here? I say it's the gem of power from the volcano, the one Techna stole."
"Don't you think he would have used it already?"
"It doesn't matter. Just touch it and it will heal you a hundred percent. Go on; you must have broken bones after that fall."
I nodded, tapping the gem cautiously, instinctively because it was very odd. Immediately I felt every sore muscle in me heal and my bones mend instantly. All of my cuts and wounds disappeared off my skin. "Amazing." I looked back up at the Blade II, which was now beginning to hover slightly. "Hey, are we going, or what?"
"The gem worked. C'mon, let's go!" Then Luigi and Mario raced to the Blade II as I followed. It took off at high speed and soon we were back en route to Peach's castle.
