Chapter Six: Showdown
Mario wasn't quite sure who it was that Bowser had sent a Bob-omb to, but he was sure they were fine. He
saw that they were still standing. One looked vaguely like DK and the tall, blue man looked like Shadow
Man. That was strange.
"Clones," said Luigi, changing course and started towards the three. Yoshi gave a yelp at the word.
"Are you sure?" asked Mario, catching up with his brother.
"Why else would there be two?"
"Twins?"
"Mario, I thought you were smarter than that." He used the same tone as he did when he was in Master
Hand's loyalty.
"You still resent me, don't you?"
"Not in the same way, but it's still close." Mario looked behind him and saw that the two evils were still
tailing them. Bowser had a big gun that shot out Bob-ombs, while his helper had his sword extended
towards them. This wasn't going to end well.
"So, what are we going to do after they're dead?" asked Bowser stupidly, shooting another Bob-omb at
Mario, but missing terribly. He was doing it on purpose, because he didn't want to hit Peach.
"Well, it would make your marriage a bit easier to handle. On the other hand, though, every one might
retaliate. You claimed to have killed Mario, but he still showed up as a zombie."
"That is way off target."
"So is your aim."
Bowser felt that the clone knew he was missing purposely.
"First time," he muttered weakly, taking aim at DK's group. He fired, knowing the shot would be off by a
few meters. That wouldn't help their chances of escaping the blast.
"Here comes another one," said Roy, grabbing hold of DK. Marth and him did their special techniques. DK
felt as though some one was ripping his soul out. He glowed dully as they shot back a little more than
twenty feet. The Bob-omb hit and DK felt the wave of heat and smoke to hit him.
"Well, lets go welcome our friends," said DK, rubbing his smoking arm.
"Who said they were our friends?" asked Roy, watching out for Bowser's Bob-ombs.
"Fine, my friends." Donkey Kong tried to walk towards the others, who were still far off.
"Hold on, I still need to give you that information," said Marth, grabbing DK's arm. Shrugging it off DK
turned to Marth.
"That little glow move trick?"
"Um, yeah, that one. Now hold still." Marth Placed both of his hands on DK's temples. DK felt a surge of
energy flow into his brain. He suddenly realized how to perform their magnificent trick.
"Now remember, Grim told us to show, but not to tell, got it?"
"Yeah, but why?"
"He said we are the only three that are really going to need it. Oh, your friends are here." Marth pointed to
Mario, Peach, Yoshi, and Luigi.
"I thought it only took a few seconds," said DK, looking at his friends get up close.
"To us it was, but to the rest, it took about twenty minutes, which was plenty enough time for them to reach
us."
"Hello, Donkey Kong," said Peach, as their two groups combined.
"So, what are we going to do with bozo and lout back there?" said Luigi, looking back at the oncoming
evils.
"I think Roy, DK, and I will take on Marth. Yoshi, Mario, Luigi can take on Bowser. Peach, if you would be
so kind as to stand behind that boulder over there, you-" Marth was cut off by the look on Peach's face.
"I don't plan to sit this one out. Over the years I have been kidnapped more times than I can remember and
every time I had to have some one save me. Not this time," Peach continued giving Marth an evil look, but
his surprise turned into a smile.
"It was not me who suggested you do that. Be a good girl and hide over there."
"Once again, I am not going to sit back and watch others fight a fight that I can fight."
"Then prove it," said Roy, pointing his sword past her head towards Bowser. Peach turned to look at him,
but felt her heart jump into her throat.
"Not him," she muttered, looking back at Bowser.
"What?" asked Mario, looking at Bowser. The others were looking at Peach.
"I said, not him. Despite all his evil, he has not treated me with harm, cruelty, or brutality. I shall not be the
one to make him fall."
"Then you have no choice but to sit down and shut up," said Roy. Peach, looking down, walked over to the
boulder Marth indicated and hid behind it. Marth, seeing this, continued with what he was going to say.
"You will have something important happen if you sit there. If you didn't, well, you wouldn't much good to
us."
"That's nice and dandy, but I still want to fight."
"Just sit there and relax," said Marth, looking back towards his clone. "Now, we will go now and head them
off. DK, your punch good and loaded?"
"Yep," said DK, feeling he was no longer planning an important role.
"Okay, charge!" cried Marth, taking out his sword and running towards his clone. DK and Roy followed
close behind him. Mario and Luigi started charging themselves with fire, getting pumped up. Yoshi just sat
there, watching King Koopa get ever so closer.
"Why did you stop firing?" asked the clone, walking now that the others had stopped running away. Bowser
looked down at him and tried to think of an answer.
"Um, well, I thought it might best to save my big bomb for last." Bowser felt the sword's tip at his throat.
"You are not a clone, so if I were to prick this little vein, you'd die. Not instantly, though." Bowser felt
like he was going to faint, but he held his composure.
"Why would you do that?"
"I told you, I can peer into your soul. I see that your feelings for Peach are higher now than they used to
be."
"That's because I don't want her to die."
"How can you possible love some one that you know it will be impossible for you to have a serious
relationship with?"
"You're nothing but a clone, you never felt emotions. So how can you tell me what is right and wrong?"
"Because I can feel emotions. They may not be mine, but I still feel them."
"Then the reason you don't care about love is because Master Hand is feeding his meanness into you."
"That may be, but I can not deny the fact that I belong to Master Hand."
"Then go claim your prize for him, just don't expect my help."
"Then you're going to die!" Shadow Man thrusted the sword upwards, but Bowser dodged the attack and
shot a blast of fire at him. Marth Clone jumped back, avoiding it. The two then jumped towards each other,
locking claws with blade.
Marth stopped, as he saw his clone and Bowser fighting. The others stopped as well, not sure what to make
of this event.
"Grim didn't say anything about them fighting together," said Marth, leaning on his sword. Roy did the
same, as they watch the two evils fight. DK, tired of slouching, sat down next to Marth. The three watched
the battle.
Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi were awe-struck, seeing Bowser fighting Shadow Man. Luigi looked at his
brother, his shocked expression still on him.
"That has to be one of the strangest things I have ever seen besides you, Mario." Luigi's comic comment
gave him a chuckle.
"I'll tell you what is strange though. Master Hand. He created all of this, yet, he can't simple just delete
it?"
"Some file you have to delete from the inside." Mario gave his brother a quick glance.
"I didn't know you were a computer whiz."
"What do you think I did? Write in a diary?" Mario remembered the time Bowser had stolen the Star Rod
and kidnapped Peach once again. When he was getting close to finishing the adventure he had discovered
his brother had built a secret basement and used it to write in a diary.
"Something like that." Mario turned back to where Peach was hiding. He saw blonde hair disappear behind
the boulder. Mario smiled, knowing that Peach would love to be out there fighting. She always fought at
his parties.
Bowser felt pain in his shoulder, but he ignored the blade and went straight for the holder of it. Marth
Clone jumped back, trying to avoid the claws, but it was ineffective. He was caught and was brought
towards Bowser's mouth.
"Time for a little snack," grinned Bowser, breathing in deeply. "Just have to cook it." Marth freed his
sword arm and swung at Bowser, getting him across his nose. The giant Koopa flinched, letting Marth
Clone go. This gave him enough time to recuperate and swing at Bowser's feet.
Bowser had good reflexes, even though he couldn't move very fast. He jumped up and over the swordsman
clone and went for a ground pound. Marth Clone jumped back, getting out from under the big butt.
Bowser was embedded in the ground, but with his strength, he pulled free of it. He then lunged for his new
enemy. Marth Clone continued to jump back, dodging the attacks.
Back at the castle, all the Toads were gathered in Bowser's throne room. They were talking loudly,
knowing that Bowser and Shadow man weren't there to hurt them.
"Why are we here?" asked one to the others.
"Don't know, I heard over the intercom that we were to report here," was the reply back. Mario's Toad was
quite suspicious about it all. He had been one of the original Toads to first meet Mario on his adventures
to save peach and the Mushroom Kingdom. Just like a few hours earlier, he woke up to find Mario in his
room. It was a shock, but he contained himself better than he had on the earlier adventures. He knew he had
almost caused Mario and the others their lives, but he saved them anyway.
Mario's Toad looked around, and saw that a large group of Toads had taken the liberty of cleaning out the
food crate brought in earlier. All that was left was the rotten and squashed fruit and vegetables.
"Doesn't anyone know why we're here?" called the Toad again, starting to become frantic in his search for
the answer.
"You're here because I sent for you," said a Paratroopa, walking up past Bowser's throne. behind him was a
small army of Koopas, Goombas, and Paratroopas.
"What do you want?" asked a different Toad, over the loud commotion of the others. Mario's Toad knew
something was fishy about this, and he was going to get out of it. So, he started to edge himself towards a
secret passage that only the Toad's knew about. It led straight to the castle's roof.
"Well, since you asked so nicely with a hint of fear and anger, I'll tell you why you are all here. You're
dead." With these words, the small army turned big and attacked the Toads. Mario's Toad was gone though.
"Three-to-one Bowser loses," said Marth, still watching the battle. Roy and DK looked at him.
"What makes you so sure?" asked DK, turning back to the battle.
"Because it's his clone," said Luigi. The three stared back at him. Luigi, Mario, and Yoshi had decided to
come join them, leaving Peach unaware of Bowser and Marth Clone's activities.
"So, you think your clone can beat Bowser?" asked Mario, sitting next to DK.
"I know I could, just by watching Bowser's movements. See how Bowser is taking a huge, lumbering step. I
would have gotten behind him and jabbed him in the...um...the tail, before he knew it. However, the clone is
staring just ahead of him, like he's waiting for Bowser to let out a mistake. See!"
Bowser had tripped, falling down on his stomach, giving rise to a major dilemma. Marth Clone jumped up
and went for the back of Bowser's neck. Bowser flipped over, hitting him in the face with his tail. Marth
Clone went flying for a few meters and crashed into the ground. Then, Bowser jumped forwards, back on
his stomach, and started to slide towards Marth Clone. He left a trail of broken flowers and turned over
dirt on his wake.
Marth Clone got up and threw his sword at the on-coming Koopa. Bowser tucked his arms and head into
his shell, letting the sword bounce off without a scratch. The giant Koopa kept on coming.
"Shoot," muttered Marth Clone, taking the full blow of Bowser's sliding tackle. He went flying towards the
real Marth's group.
"Move it!" he cried, as they got out of the way. Marth Clone landed, leaving a crater that matched his
outline.
Bowser, after getting out of his shell, walked over to Marth Clone's sword and picked it up. He then went
over to the clone and shoved it straight through its heart, letting out a stream of purple blood.
"Dead as a doornail," said Bowser turning to Mario and the others.
"Bowser, he's a clone, he doesn't have any organs!" cried Luigi. Bowser, hearing this a little too late, felt
that his shell had been penetrated by Marth Clone's sword.
"I should have known to aim for the cracks in your shell, before I through my sword," said Marth Clone's
voice, except, this time, it sounded raspy and had a hollow echo. His eyes were glowing blue, full of anger,
pain, and power.
The cloned pulled his sword free and let Bowser drop to the ground. He kicked the Koopa, sending him
flipping as if he was as light as a balloon. Bowser landed with a grunt, but didn't make a sound or move
after that. Marth Clone walked over to him, twiddling his sword around and around. With a big, upward
swing, he knocked Bowser towards the boulder that Peach was at. He landed hard, cracking the boulder,
and landing on the other side of it. Marth Clone turned to Marth.
"Ready to fight, brother?" he asked, pointing his sword at the real copy. Marth smiled.
"The question is, are you ready to die?" In a flash, he disappeared and reappeared behind Marth Clone. He
was met with a quick jab, hilt to jaw, sending him back.
"That little trick worked on those three bums you killed, but they will not work on me. I already know that
you and Roy know how to teleport like that."
"Stupid internal vidlinks," said Roy, looking to see if Marth was all right.
"Get up," said Marth Clone, bring his sword down, next to Marth's foot. In a quick motion, Marth
disappeared. The clone turned back but didn't see him. Marth's sword was the only thing to appear out of
nowhere.
"Let's see who tricks who this time," said Marth, pulling his sword out of Marth Clone's neck. The clone's
eyes glowed even more. He swung as hard as he could, but only managed to slice air. Marth brought his
sword down on the clone's shoulder, slicing into it, but the clone pulled free and brought his sword back.
The point went in, but didn't go deep. Marth pulled free and went for the clone's head this time, but
missed. Marth Clone slash at Marth's hand, slicing it. Marth had to switch to his other hand. He growled,
slashing at the Shadow Man, but kept missing.
"You not that could with the wrong hand?" mocked the clone, swing back at the original. Metal hit metal,
causing sparks and noise. Marth Clone, seeing Marth backing up, swung at him, catching him on the flat
side of the blade. Marth was knocked out and sent rolling.
"No!" cried Roy, jumping at Marth, but was hit with the hilt at the back of his neck. He went crashing down,
like Marth.
"It seems these two masterful warriors have been brought down. Anyone else want a try?" The clone stared
at the other with glowing blue eyes.
"Bring it on!" cried both Mario and Luigi, charging the clone. With a quick slash, both were sent back.
Marth Clone followed them to their landing area and slashed at them again. Luigi took the hit harder,
losing consciousness when he landed.
"Remind me never to make a clone's eyes glow blue," said DK to Yoshi. The dinosaur wasn't listening, he
was charging the clone.
Mario's Toad was shock to see that there was already a large group of Toads on the roof.
"How did you all know to come here?" he asked, knowing the answer was obvious. With several crates of
food and wastes lying around, they had been hiding.
"About a month ago, we decided to hide out here. We knew that no one could find us here except other
Toads. What's all the noise?" said one of the worn-out looking Toads, obviously the oldest of them all
Toads.
"The other Toads are being killed. I knew something was going to happen, but I didn't know what. Now, all
of them are dying."
As he finished speaking, a small group of Toads ran through the secret passage, followed by the
Paratroopa and his army. They cornered Mario's Toad and the others, preparing to kill them with spears,
shells, and ground pounds.
Peach looked at the giant, bleeding Koopa, who was being to cough up blood. She put a hand on him, but
withdrew it.
"You still fear me?" he asked, coughing up a large amount with the effort of talking.
"Not as much, but why were you fighting with the clone?" she asked, putting her hand back on him. She
didn't feel as though he was going to terrorize anyone anymore.
"Bob-omb gun." The words were uttered so low that Peach didn't hear it.
"What?" The reply caused Bowser to cough up some more blood as he repeated his words more clearly.
"Where is it?"
"On the field...hurry...under trigger is...is a button...not blue, but...but red...press...run..." Bowser relaxed so
much that where Peach's hand was lightly skin, was only touching air. Bowser was dead.
"Poor beast," she said, stepping back from King Koopa and looked out behind the boulder. She saw the gun
way out there, but it was far from where Mario and Yoshi were fighting. She started careful for the gun.
She didn't notice the bright light from behind the boulder.
-Bowser?- Bowser opened his eyes, not feeling anymore pain.
"What's going on?" he asked, trying to look around. He couldn't, he could only see straight ahead into
darkness.
-You were about to die, so I'm saving you.- The voice echoed from nowhere.
"Who are you?" A figure appeared before him and it was that of a kid.
-My name is Grim Reaper, not the real one, of course.-
"Then why do you take that name if you do not own it?"
-As Shakespeare once said through Juliet, 'What is in a name? It is neither foot nor hand nor any other
part,' or so it goes, anyway. Names are not important, except to identify something that you know that uses
that name.-
"Now I'm getting a headache." Bowser tried to grab his head, but he couldn't.
-Are you ready to go back?-
"I thought the Grim Reaper was suppose to take me to the underworld, or something."
-Like I said, I'm using it as name, not as though I was him. You know what, I think I need to get another
name. What about Game Robber, or Grand Rebellion, or something else along those lines?-
"How about your real name?"
-That, I will not let you have, because if Maxwell Hauteur, that arrogant fool, finds out about me, he'll
destroy what little chance ya'll have at defeat him.-
"Who's Maxwell?"
-Master Hand. Now, I want you to do me a favor, Bowser.-
"What?"
-I would like you to give Peach her realm back. Also, I would like it if you went and saved all of them.-
"I told Peach about the button to release Bullet Bill. It is suppose to lock-on to Marth and kill him."
-Yeah, but Peach and the others won't be able to get out in time. So, take this Star Man that I failed to give
to Marth and Roy. Use it to save them all.-
"How?"
"Just use it," finished Grim, disappearing. Bowser came to, feeling fully refreshed and glowing.
"Yo!" cried Yoshi, being brought down by the sword. Mario tried to avoid the same fate, but he messed up.
He was brought down like the others. It was only DK that was left. He wasn't going to be much use,
because he was froze with fear.
Peach had made it to the Bob-omb gun and had found the button. She pressed it and hoped for the best.
"Okay, you stinking little Toads. It's time to die!" said the Paratroopa. Mario's Toad was in front, but he
was helpless like the others. Suddenly, the castle began to shake tremendously. In a loud clap, a giant
Bullet Bill burst through the castle roof where all of Bowser's minions stood. The Toads were further
away, so none of them were harmed.
"Bye, bye," said Mario's Toad, seeing the Paratroopas, Koopas, and Goombas die before him. All that
remained was the lead Paratroopa and a giant hole.
"Well, well, well," said the very old Toad, as the Toads gathered around the last minion. The scream was
louder than a Bullet Bill hitting a Bob-omb.
"Afraid?" asked Marth Clone, stepping in front of DK. DK was shivering all over. Besides Peach, he was
the only one left to fight, but he was petrified with fear. He couldn't beat the clone. Then, in the distance, a
loud rumble sounded off in the distance. Shadow Man stopped to look back. This was DK's chance, he did
his punch, knocking Marth Clone forward and dropping his sword.
"Yah!" cried DK, slamming his fists into Marth Clone, sending him into the dirt, stuck. He then grabbed
the sword and shoved it right through the clone's neck.
"You think that will kill me? You're just buying yourself some time. DK knew he was right. Just then, in a
sparkling flash, Bowser appeared, grabbing the clone and taking off.
"Get the others and run. The Bullet Bill is tracking Marth here, so the explosion will be grand!" he called,
running with speed he could not have had. DK did what he was told and grabbed hold of Mario, Luigi,
Marth and Roy by their clothing and started to take off in the opposite direction as Bowser. Peach, who
wasn't sure what was happening, ran over and picked up Yoshi with a little resistance from gravity. She
followed DK, hoping that Bowser was doing the right thing.
Over head, a giant Bullet Bill streaked meters away, heading towards Marth Clone and Bowser.
"Having fun?" asked Bowser to Marth Clone, as he ran away from death.
"You know I'm going to kill you," he replied, trying to grab the sword lodged into his neck. Bowser
prevented him from doing so. The clone also tried to glare at him, but the sword prevented him from doing
even that. The light on Bowser was starting to fade, so he knew he wouldn't be able to save himself. In this
moment of self-sacrifice, his grip loosened and Marth pulled the sword straight through his neck and
sliced upward at Bowser's throat. The Star Man saved him from death, but the last bit of shielding
dissolved at the blow. Bowser was powerless.
Luck would have it, though, that a small rock, smoothed and rounded was in the clone's path. He slipped
dropping the sword again. Bowser grabbed the sword and swung at Marth Clone. He dodged it, jumping
back. He then made a charge at Bowser. Bowser knew he wouldn't win if he went hand-to-hand again. With
one quick movement he brought the sword around the back of Marth and through him and into himself.
"What in the world?" asked Marth Clone, unable to move, because of the bear hug he was receiving from
the giant Koopa. Plus, the sword that was going through them both was keeping him at bay, as well.
"I figured if we stayed together, we wouldn't be such a burden on Peach anymore. Goodbye, enemy." With
this final words, Bowser watched the Bullet Bill strike close to them. He only remembered white after
this.
Peach and DK, still moving the others, saw that explosion was spectacular. DK looked at Peach and
smiled.
"Well, for such an evil beast, he sure knows how to kill himself with style."
"He didn't kill himself for himself, Donkey Kong. He saved us from Shadow Man. He's gone." Peach
started to cry, now, letting Yoshi fall to the ground. He let off a little 'yo,' but that was it. Bowser was
dead.
--------------------------------------
"The change," said the bodiless voice, which chuckled in the darkness around Ness's frozen body.
Mario wasn't quite sure who it was that Bowser had sent a Bob-omb to, but he was sure they were fine. He
saw that they were still standing. One looked vaguely like DK and the tall, blue man looked like Shadow
Man. That was strange.
"Clones," said Luigi, changing course and started towards the three. Yoshi gave a yelp at the word.
"Are you sure?" asked Mario, catching up with his brother.
"Why else would there be two?"
"Twins?"
"Mario, I thought you were smarter than that." He used the same tone as he did when he was in Master
Hand's loyalty.
"You still resent me, don't you?"
"Not in the same way, but it's still close." Mario looked behind him and saw that the two evils were still
tailing them. Bowser had a big gun that shot out Bob-ombs, while his helper had his sword extended
towards them. This wasn't going to end well.
"So, what are we going to do after they're dead?" asked Bowser stupidly, shooting another Bob-omb at
Mario, but missing terribly. He was doing it on purpose, because he didn't want to hit Peach.
"Well, it would make your marriage a bit easier to handle. On the other hand, though, every one might
retaliate. You claimed to have killed Mario, but he still showed up as a zombie."
"That is way off target."
"So is your aim."
Bowser felt that the clone knew he was missing purposely.
"First time," he muttered weakly, taking aim at DK's group. He fired, knowing the shot would be off by a
few meters. That wouldn't help their chances of escaping the blast.
"Here comes another one," said Roy, grabbing hold of DK. Marth and him did their special techniques. DK
felt as though some one was ripping his soul out. He glowed dully as they shot back a little more than
twenty feet. The Bob-omb hit and DK felt the wave of heat and smoke to hit him.
"Well, lets go welcome our friends," said DK, rubbing his smoking arm.
"Who said they were our friends?" asked Roy, watching out for Bowser's Bob-ombs.
"Fine, my friends." Donkey Kong tried to walk towards the others, who were still far off.
"Hold on, I still need to give you that information," said Marth, grabbing DK's arm. Shrugging it off DK
turned to Marth.
"That little glow move trick?"
"Um, yeah, that one. Now hold still." Marth Placed both of his hands on DK's temples. DK felt a surge of
energy flow into his brain. He suddenly realized how to perform their magnificent trick.
"Now remember, Grim told us to show, but not to tell, got it?"
"Yeah, but why?"
"He said we are the only three that are really going to need it. Oh, your friends are here." Marth pointed to
Mario, Peach, Yoshi, and Luigi.
"I thought it only took a few seconds," said DK, looking at his friends get up close.
"To us it was, but to the rest, it took about twenty minutes, which was plenty enough time for them to reach
us."
"Hello, Donkey Kong," said Peach, as their two groups combined.
"So, what are we going to do with bozo and lout back there?" said Luigi, looking back at the oncoming
evils.
"I think Roy, DK, and I will take on Marth. Yoshi, Mario, Luigi can take on Bowser. Peach, if you would be
so kind as to stand behind that boulder over there, you-" Marth was cut off by the look on Peach's face.
"I don't plan to sit this one out. Over the years I have been kidnapped more times than I can remember and
every time I had to have some one save me. Not this time," Peach continued giving Marth an evil look, but
his surprise turned into a smile.
"It was not me who suggested you do that. Be a good girl and hide over there."
"Once again, I am not going to sit back and watch others fight a fight that I can fight."
"Then prove it," said Roy, pointing his sword past her head towards Bowser. Peach turned to look at him,
but felt her heart jump into her throat.
"Not him," she muttered, looking back at Bowser.
"What?" asked Mario, looking at Bowser. The others were looking at Peach.
"I said, not him. Despite all his evil, he has not treated me with harm, cruelty, or brutality. I shall not be the
one to make him fall."
"Then you have no choice but to sit down and shut up," said Roy. Peach, looking down, walked over to the
boulder Marth indicated and hid behind it. Marth, seeing this, continued with what he was going to say.
"You will have something important happen if you sit there. If you didn't, well, you wouldn't much good to
us."
"That's nice and dandy, but I still want to fight."
"Just sit there and relax," said Marth, looking back towards his clone. "Now, we will go now and head them
off. DK, your punch good and loaded?"
"Yep," said DK, feeling he was no longer planning an important role.
"Okay, charge!" cried Marth, taking out his sword and running towards his clone. DK and Roy followed
close behind him. Mario and Luigi started charging themselves with fire, getting pumped up. Yoshi just sat
there, watching King Koopa get ever so closer.
"Why did you stop firing?" asked the clone, walking now that the others had stopped running away. Bowser
looked down at him and tried to think of an answer.
"Um, well, I thought it might best to save my big bomb for last." Bowser felt the sword's tip at his throat.
"You are not a clone, so if I were to prick this little vein, you'd die. Not instantly, though." Bowser felt
like he was going to faint, but he held his composure.
"Why would you do that?"
"I told you, I can peer into your soul. I see that your feelings for Peach are higher now than they used to
be."
"That's because I don't want her to die."
"How can you possible love some one that you know it will be impossible for you to have a serious
relationship with?"
"You're nothing but a clone, you never felt emotions. So how can you tell me what is right and wrong?"
"Because I can feel emotions. They may not be mine, but I still feel them."
"Then the reason you don't care about love is because Master Hand is feeding his meanness into you."
"That may be, but I can not deny the fact that I belong to Master Hand."
"Then go claim your prize for him, just don't expect my help."
"Then you're going to die!" Shadow Man thrusted the sword upwards, but Bowser dodged the attack and
shot a blast of fire at him. Marth Clone jumped back, avoiding it. The two then jumped towards each other,
locking claws with blade.
Marth stopped, as he saw his clone and Bowser fighting. The others stopped as well, not sure what to make
of this event.
"Grim didn't say anything about them fighting together," said Marth, leaning on his sword. Roy did the
same, as they watch the two evils fight. DK, tired of slouching, sat down next to Marth. The three watched
the battle.
Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi were awe-struck, seeing Bowser fighting Shadow Man. Luigi looked at his
brother, his shocked expression still on him.
"That has to be one of the strangest things I have ever seen besides you, Mario." Luigi's comic comment
gave him a chuckle.
"I'll tell you what is strange though. Master Hand. He created all of this, yet, he can't simple just delete
it?"
"Some file you have to delete from the inside." Mario gave his brother a quick glance.
"I didn't know you were a computer whiz."
"What do you think I did? Write in a diary?" Mario remembered the time Bowser had stolen the Star Rod
and kidnapped Peach once again. When he was getting close to finishing the adventure he had discovered
his brother had built a secret basement and used it to write in a diary.
"Something like that." Mario turned back to where Peach was hiding. He saw blonde hair disappear behind
the boulder. Mario smiled, knowing that Peach would love to be out there fighting. She always fought at
his parties.
Bowser felt pain in his shoulder, but he ignored the blade and went straight for the holder of it. Marth
Clone jumped back, trying to avoid the claws, but it was ineffective. He was caught and was brought
towards Bowser's mouth.
"Time for a little snack," grinned Bowser, breathing in deeply. "Just have to cook it." Marth freed his
sword arm and swung at Bowser, getting him across his nose. The giant Koopa flinched, letting Marth
Clone go. This gave him enough time to recuperate and swing at Bowser's feet.
Bowser had good reflexes, even though he couldn't move very fast. He jumped up and over the swordsman
clone and went for a ground pound. Marth Clone jumped back, getting out from under the big butt.
Bowser was embedded in the ground, but with his strength, he pulled free of it. He then lunged for his new
enemy. Marth Clone continued to jump back, dodging the attacks.
Back at the castle, all the Toads were gathered in Bowser's throne room. They were talking loudly,
knowing that Bowser and Shadow man weren't there to hurt them.
"Why are we here?" asked one to the others.
"Don't know, I heard over the intercom that we were to report here," was the reply back. Mario's Toad was
quite suspicious about it all. He had been one of the original Toads to first meet Mario on his adventures
to save peach and the Mushroom Kingdom. Just like a few hours earlier, he woke up to find Mario in his
room. It was a shock, but he contained himself better than he had on the earlier adventures. He knew he had
almost caused Mario and the others their lives, but he saved them anyway.
Mario's Toad looked around, and saw that a large group of Toads had taken the liberty of cleaning out the
food crate brought in earlier. All that was left was the rotten and squashed fruit and vegetables.
"Doesn't anyone know why we're here?" called the Toad again, starting to become frantic in his search for
the answer.
"You're here because I sent for you," said a Paratroopa, walking up past Bowser's throne. behind him was a
small army of Koopas, Goombas, and Paratroopas.
"What do you want?" asked a different Toad, over the loud commotion of the others. Mario's Toad knew
something was fishy about this, and he was going to get out of it. So, he started to edge himself towards a
secret passage that only the Toad's knew about. It led straight to the castle's roof.
"Well, since you asked so nicely with a hint of fear and anger, I'll tell you why you are all here. You're
dead." With these words, the small army turned big and attacked the Toads. Mario's Toad was gone though.
"Three-to-one Bowser loses," said Marth, still watching the battle. Roy and DK looked at him.
"What makes you so sure?" asked DK, turning back to the battle.
"Because it's his clone," said Luigi. The three stared back at him. Luigi, Mario, and Yoshi had decided to
come join them, leaving Peach unaware of Bowser and Marth Clone's activities.
"So, you think your clone can beat Bowser?" asked Mario, sitting next to DK.
"I know I could, just by watching Bowser's movements. See how Bowser is taking a huge, lumbering step. I
would have gotten behind him and jabbed him in the...um...the tail, before he knew it. However, the clone is
staring just ahead of him, like he's waiting for Bowser to let out a mistake. See!"
Bowser had tripped, falling down on his stomach, giving rise to a major dilemma. Marth Clone jumped up
and went for the back of Bowser's neck. Bowser flipped over, hitting him in the face with his tail. Marth
Clone went flying for a few meters and crashed into the ground. Then, Bowser jumped forwards, back on
his stomach, and started to slide towards Marth Clone. He left a trail of broken flowers and turned over
dirt on his wake.
Marth Clone got up and threw his sword at the on-coming Koopa. Bowser tucked his arms and head into
his shell, letting the sword bounce off without a scratch. The giant Koopa kept on coming.
"Shoot," muttered Marth Clone, taking the full blow of Bowser's sliding tackle. He went flying towards the
real Marth's group.
"Move it!" he cried, as they got out of the way. Marth Clone landed, leaving a crater that matched his
outline.
Bowser, after getting out of his shell, walked over to Marth Clone's sword and picked it up. He then went
over to the clone and shoved it straight through its heart, letting out a stream of purple blood.
"Dead as a doornail," said Bowser turning to Mario and the others.
"Bowser, he's a clone, he doesn't have any organs!" cried Luigi. Bowser, hearing this a little too late, felt
that his shell had been penetrated by Marth Clone's sword.
"I should have known to aim for the cracks in your shell, before I through my sword," said Marth Clone's
voice, except, this time, it sounded raspy and had a hollow echo. His eyes were glowing blue, full of anger,
pain, and power.
The cloned pulled his sword free and let Bowser drop to the ground. He kicked the Koopa, sending him
flipping as if he was as light as a balloon. Bowser landed with a grunt, but didn't make a sound or move
after that. Marth Clone walked over to him, twiddling his sword around and around. With a big, upward
swing, he knocked Bowser towards the boulder that Peach was at. He landed hard, cracking the boulder,
and landing on the other side of it. Marth Clone turned to Marth.
"Ready to fight, brother?" he asked, pointing his sword at the real copy. Marth smiled.
"The question is, are you ready to die?" In a flash, he disappeared and reappeared behind Marth Clone. He
was met with a quick jab, hilt to jaw, sending him back.
"That little trick worked on those three bums you killed, but they will not work on me. I already know that
you and Roy know how to teleport like that."
"Stupid internal vidlinks," said Roy, looking to see if Marth was all right.
"Get up," said Marth Clone, bring his sword down, next to Marth's foot. In a quick motion, Marth
disappeared. The clone turned back but didn't see him. Marth's sword was the only thing to appear out of
nowhere.
"Let's see who tricks who this time," said Marth, pulling his sword out of Marth Clone's neck. The clone's
eyes glowed even more. He swung as hard as he could, but only managed to slice air. Marth brought his
sword down on the clone's shoulder, slicing into it, but the clone pulled free and brought his sword back.
The point went in, but didn't go deep. Marth pulled free and went for the clone's head this time, but
missed. Marth Clone slash at Marth's hand, slicing it. Marth had to switch to his other hand. He growled,
slashing at the Shadow Man, but kept missing.
"You not that could with the wrong hand?" mocked the clone, swing back at the original. Metal hit metal,
causing sparks and noise. Marth Clone, seeing Marth backing up, swung at him, catching him on the flat
side of the blade. Marth was knocked out and sent rolling.
"No!" cried Roy, jumping at Marth, but was hit with the hilt at the back of his neck. He went crashing down,
like Marth.
"It seems these two masterful warriors have been brought down. Anyone else want a try?" The clone stared
at the other with glowing blue eyes.
"Bring it on!" cried both Mario and Luigi, charging the clone. With a quick slash, both were sent back.
Marth Clone followed them to their landing area and slashed at them again. Luigi took the hit harder,
losing consciousness when he landed.
"Remind me never to make a clone's eyes glow blue," said DK to Yoshi. The dinosaur wasn't listening, he
was charging the clone.
Mario's Toad was shock to see that there was already a large group of Toads on the roof.
"How did you all know to come here?" he asked, knowing the answer was obvious. With several crates of
food and wastes lying around, they had been hiding.
"About a month ago, we decided to hide out here. We knew that no one could find us here except other
Toads. What's all the noise?" said one of the worn-out looking Toads, obviously the oldest of them all
Toads.
"The other Toads are being killed. I knew something was going to happen, but I didn't know what. Now, all
of them are dying."
As he finished speaking, a small group of Toads ran through the secret passage, followed by the
Paratroopa and his army. They cornered Mario's Toad and the others, preparing to kill them with spears,
shells, and ground pounds.
Peach looked at the giant, bleeding Koopa, who was being to cough up blood. She put a hand on him, but
withdrew it.
"You still fear me?" he asked, coughing up a large amount with the effort of talking.
"Not as much, but why were you fighting with the clone?" she asked, putting her hand back on him. She
didn't feel as though he was going to terrorize anyone anymore.
"Bob-omb gun." The words were uttered so low that Peach didn't hear it.
"What?" The reply caused Bowser to cough up some more blood as he repeated his words more clearly.
"Where is it?"
"On the field...hurry...under trigger is...is a button...not blue, but...but red...press...run..." Bowser relaxed so
much that where Peach's hand was lightly skin, was only touching air. Bowser was dead.
"Poor beast," she said, stepping back from King Koopa and looked out behind the boulder. She saw the gun
way out there, but it was far from where Mario and Yoshi were fighting. She started careful for the gun.
She didn't notice the bright light from behind the boulder.
-Bowser?- Bowser opened his eyes, not feeling anymore pain.
"What's going on?" he asked, trying to look around. He couldn't, he could only see straight ahead into
darkness.
-You were about to die, so I'm saving you.- The voice echoed from nowhere.
"Who are you?" A figure appeared before him and it was that of a kid.
-My name is Grim Reaper, not the real one, of course.-
"Then why do you take that name if you do not own it?"
-As Shakespeare once said through Juliet, 'What is in a name? It is neither foot nor hand nor any other
part,' or so it goes, anyway. Names are not important, except to identify something that you know that uses
that name.-
"Now I'm getting a headache." Bowser tried to grab his head, but he couldn't.
-Are you ready to go back?-
"I thought the Grim Reaper was suppose to take me to the underworld, or something."
-Like I said, I'm using it as name, not as though I was him. You know what, I think I need to get another
name. What about Game Robber, or Grand Rebellion, or something else along those lines?-
"How about your real name?"
-That, I will not let you have, because if Maxwell Hauteur, that arrogant fool, finds out about me, he'll
destroy what little chance ya'll have at defeat him.-
"Who's Maxwell?"
-Master Hand. Now, I want you to do me a favor, Bowser.-
"What?"
-I would like you to give Peach her realm back. Also, I would like it if you went and saved all of them.-
"I told Peach about the button to release Bullet Bill. It is suppose to lock-on to Marth and kill him."
-Yeah, but Peach and the others won't be able to get out in time. So, take this Star Man that I failed to give
to Marth and Roy. Use it to save them all.-
"How?"
"Just use it," finished Grim, disappearing. Bowser came to, feeling fully refreshed and glowing.
"Yo!" cried Yoshi, being brought down by the sword. Mario tried to avoid the same fate, but he messed up.
He was brought down like the others. It was only DK that was left. He wasn't going to be much use,
because he was froze with fear.
Peach had made it to the Bob-omb gun and had found the button. She pressed it and hoped for the best.
"Okay, you stinking little Toads. It's time to die!" said the Paratroopa. Mario's Toad was in front, but he
was helpless like the others. Suddenly, the castle began to shake tremendously. In a loud clap, a giant
Bullet Bill burst through the castle roof where all of Bowser's minions stood. The Toads were further
away, so none of them were harmed.
"Bye, bye," said Mario's Toad, seeing the Paratroopas, Koopas, and Goombas die before him. All that
remained was the lead Paratroopa and a giant hole.
"Well, well, well," said the very old Toad, as the Toads gathered around the last minion. The scream was
louder than a Bullet Bill hitting a Bob-omb.
"Afraid?" asked Marth Clone, stepping in front of DK. DK was shivering all over. Besides Peach, he was
the only one left to fight, but he was petrified with fear. He couldn't beat the clone. Then, in the distance, a
loud rumble sounded off in the distance. Shadow Man stopped to look back. This was DK's chance, he did
his punch, knocking Marth Clone forward and dropping his sword.
"Yah!" cried DK, slamming his fists into Marth Clone, sending him into the dirt, stuck. He then grabbed
the sword and shoved it right through the clone's neck.
"You think that will kill me? You're just buying yourself some time. DK knew he was right. Just then, in a
sparkling flash, Bowser appeared, grabbing the clone and taking off.
"Get the others and run. The Bullet Bill is tracking Marth here, so the explosion will be grand!" he called,
running with speed he could not have had. DK did what he was told and grabbed hold of Mario, Luigi,
Marth and Roy by their clothing and started to take off in the opposite direction as Bowser. Peach, who
wasn't sure what was happening, ran over and picked up Yoshi with a little resistance from gravity. She
followed DK, hoping that Bowser was doing the right thing.
Over head, a giant Bullet Bill streaked meters away, heading towards Marth Clone and Bowser.
"Having fun?" asked Bowser to Marth Clone, as he ran away from death.
"You know I'm going to kill you," he replied, trying to grab the sword lodged into his neck. Bowser
prevented him from doing so. The clone also tried to glare at him, but the sword prevented him from doing
even that. The light on Bowser was starting to fade, so he knew he wouldn't be able to save himself. In this
moment of self-sacrifice, his grip loosened and Marth pulled the sword straight through his neck and
sliced upward at Bowser's throat. The Star Man saved him from death, but the last bit of shielding
dissolved at the blow. Bowser was powerless.
Luck would have it, though, that a small rock, smoothed and rounded was in the clone's path. He slipped
dropping the sword again. Bowser grabbed the sword and swung at Marth Clone. He dodged it, jumping
back. He then made a charge at Bowser. Bowser knew he wouldn't win if he went hand-to-hand again. With
one quick movement he brought the sword around the back of Marth and through him and into himself.
"What in the world?" asked Marth Clone, unable to move, because of the bear hug he was receiving from
the giant Koopa. Plus, the sword that was going through them both was keeping him at bay, as well.
"I figured if we stayed together, we wouldn't be such a burden on Peach anymore. Goodbye, enemy." With
this final words, Bowser watched the Bullet Bill strike close to them. He only remembered white after
this.
Peach and DK, still moving the others, saw that explosion was spectacular. DK looked at Peach and
smiled.
"Well, for such an evil beast, he sure knows how to kill himself with style."
"He didn't kill himself for himself, Donkey Kong. He saved us from Shadow Man. He's gone." Peach
started to cry, now, letting Yoshi fall to the ground. He let off a little 'yo,' but that was it. Bowser was
dead.
--------------------------------------
"The change," said the bodiless voice, which chuckled in the darkness around Ness's frozen body.