Big Birabuto Battle
Daisy dropped into the dark maintenance tunnel. She clicked on the flashlight on her Super Scope. It was a weapon that resembled a sleek, gray bazooka that was about the size of an assault rifle. The tunnel was narrow, but big enough for her to stand upright. She flashed the light around and took note of damp air.
"It's all clear Peach," she echoed. The pyramid rumbled slightly and Peach fell into the tunnel on her head.
"Ow!"
"I think we're going to run into the water pipes first. Like, turn on your light or whatever and follow me."
"Did you really have to give me a gun?" Peach asked, switching on the light. It was on a large black and silver ray gun.
"Lighten up, Peach. It's just for protection. You never know what might pop out."
"Piranha Plants?"
"Well, Pakkun Flowers, actually, but I'm not even talking about them. Suppose a few Spinies get in here. A few shots from these and they're totally turtle soup." After walking forward quite a distance, Daisy came to a stop at three holes in the floor. She knelt down and felt the air from each one. Suddenly, Peach ran into her and inadvertently knocked Daisy into the center hole. "Whoooaaaa!" her voice echoed.
"Oops, sorry!" Peach said, shining her light into the hole, which was a pipe. "I'll be down in a second."
"NO! Don't come down here. Seriously, this is the wrong way…Where's that stupid map? Okay, how can I make this simple? You need to go through the pipes depending on the way the air coming from them feels."
"Okay?" Peach said, not sure if she caught all that.
"The path you need to take is…uh… cold, damp, cold, hot, cold, hot, damp, cold, and hot, for sure. And try not to hurt yourself or whatever."
"What about you?"
"I'll get there. Count on it. You just focus on getting out of here. Tell you the truth, the water areas really reek! Like, Putrid Pakkun city!"
"Piranha," Peach corrected. "Be careful." Then, she wondered about Zelda.
Zelda quietly stood alongside the other soldiers as the elevator took them up to level three. They could all hear the battle outside through the walls. At her request, Zelda had been given a sword, bow, and a quiver of 30 arrows. The other soldiers, who were a mix of Nokobons, Toads, and humans, were fully equipped with fatigues, combat boots, helmets, Super Scopes, and ray guns.
"Zelda," Sheik spoke mentally. "Perhaps I would be more suitable for this task. From the look of things, it seems you'll need to be ready to dodge quite a bit."
"No, thank you," Zelda replied mentally. "There is too much to dodge, even for your skill. Nayru's Love will have to do…Besides, I feel I've been relying on you too much."
"It's the least I can offer," Sheik said hesitantly. "Especially after that incident last night."
"I drank too much," Zelda said dismissively. "It was my fault that we were both inebriated as a result."
"It is my fault for…"
"It's gonna' get nasty out there, boys," barked a Toad with white ring patterns on his black hat. "This princess isn't used to this kinda combat, so keep an eye on her. Shoot what ya can."
The elevator came to a stop and chimed, "Level Three, Southern Outer Wall." Everyone readied their guns and Zelda raised her unsheathed her sword as the doors opened. The immediate rush of smoke and ash was almost suffocating.
"Move! Move! Move!" the Toad ordered. Everyone jogged out as a Bullet Bill exploded a short distance away. Zelda followed the soldiers ahead of her while looking over the wall. The battle had intensified. The Birabuto army had been pushed back quite a bit and the Koopa army was steadily making headway. The three unusually large Doomships were playing a large factor. The sheer number of cannons and Bullet Bill Blasters were overwhelming. New threats on the field were also making a difference. The strange bolted Bob-ombs she had encountered in the Mushroom Kingdom were being catapulted closer and closer to the outer wall, quickly wearing down the base's defenses. Though one Mecha Bowser had fallen and the Mecha Koopas were crumbling into scrap metal, the remaining Mecha Bowsers were dangerously close to the wall. Burrowing Piranha Plants were ambushing soldiers from below ground and occasionally spitting fire. In fact, one green breed emerged right in front of the wall and draped its thorny vines over the wall.
"Watch it!" a nearby Fly soldier said, holding Zelda back. His wings buzzed and he flew up to the plant and shot at it with his ray gun. Annoyed by the shots, the Venus Fire Trap caught the Fly in its jaws in one snap and gobbled it down. All of the soldiers stopped to fire since its vines were blocking the way. It roared and spat a massive ball of fire that blasted many soldiers clear off the wall. It shrieked at a sudden pain and found Zelda chopping the vines away. She hopped over the remaining vines as it dunked its head where she had stood, leaving an indentation in the floor.
"Vile thing!" she said under her breath. It continued to snap at her and began to chase her alongside the wall. After a few seconds of hearing it slam its vines behind her, she turned and shot her Shining Ray into its mouth. It's head exploded instantly and the vines slipped off the wall.
"Aaaaaah!" screams came as several soldiers sailed over the wall from the blast of a catapult-propelled Bob-omb. She stopped to spot the location of the catapult and took out her bow.
"Hey, kid!" a human soldier called out. "Hurry up and get outta here!"
Zelda looked back at the catapult. It was not being loaded, but it was being pushed forward. She groaned, put away her bow and ran forward. Suddenly, she saw ladders begin to appear along the side of the wall. She peeked over the side and saw Birabuto soldiers scrambling up the ladders in a panic. They were being overtaken by Giga Koopas and…
"Shamans?" Zelda gasped. They were dressed in dark-colored robes, yet still had those haunting yellow eyes as the only thing visible under their hoods. They carried no weapons, but then, they did not have to. With a Crystal spell, one Shaman broke the bones of soldiers by shattering crystals on them. Zelda went to one of the ladders to help. She grabbed onto the arm of a Nokobon who was making his way up. Giga Koopas had already dragged his compatriots off the ladder. He was just out of their reach, but they began to climb the ladder.
"Diamond Saw!" a Shaman called out. A pair of buzz saws appeared and flew away from one another. Zelda managed to pull the Nokobon halfway up the wall, but he suddenly cried out in pain. She pulled the upper-half of his body over the wall and jumped back in terror. The other half had fallen to the ground after being sliced off. Again, something was very wrong with the already upsetting image of a body that had been sliced in two. Even still, she could not place what the anomaly was that had bothered her ever since she had first arrived in the world. The wall rumbled as a line of Bullet Bills exploded into the wall. Zelda stumbled back and a Giga Koopa climbed onto the wall.
"Oh, no you don't!" Zelda said, using her Shining Ray to blast it back over the wall. When she saw other enemies beginning to climb the wall, she began to run.
"The Koopas are on the wall!" a soldier in the distance cried. When a Shaman confronted her, it summoned a Lightning Orb and flung it at her. She used her shield to bounce it elsewhere and fired another Shining Ray. The Shaman did not seem to be much affected by it and used Diamond Saw. She ducked under the spinning blades as they passed over her at the same time. She ran at the Shaman and slashed him across the chest with her sword.
"Ah!" He disappeared in a puff of smoke. Feeling somewhat tired from using so many Shining Rays, Zelda broke into a run again, slashing at enemies as she passed them. She could see the Bob-ombs flying through the air and smashing into uncomfortably close sections of the wall. A Mecha Bowser smashed into the wall, some distance down Zelda's path, and opened its doors on the sides. To Zelda's horror, two Dinolfos stepped out, armed with swords. She took out her bow and arrow and picked them off as best as she could. Suddenly she was electrocuted from behind and briefly engulfed by an electrical dome. She turned around and saw several Shamans and Giga Koopas moving toward her. She shot her arrows at the Shamans, taking them out one by one. She heard a roar from behind and about-faced in time to block a sword strike by a Dinolfos with her bow. She was surrounded and feeling somewhat helpless.
"Zelda, duck!" Daisy's voice called. She dropped to the ground and a large ball of plasma energy blasted the Dinolfos over the wall in flames. "Motor on over here!" Zelda followed the sound of her voice but could not see her anywhere. As the Shaman began to prepare more spells, she was yanked toward the Mecha Bowser by an unseen hand.
"Daisy?"
"Don't try to see me 'cause I'm, like, totally invisible. It won't last long though." As they moved along the edge of the wall and past the searching cannons of the Mecha Bowser, the cloaking device gave out and Daisy was visible. "You are so lucky I got lost…" They broke into a run past the other soldiers and enemies fighting.
"Where's Peach? Weren't you supposed to be with her?"
"Hopefully, she's where I told her to go. You are really behind, ya know that?"
"Well, I…"
"Hold that thought." Daisy charged the Super Scope and shot the Mecha Bowser in the mouth after it had turned to look at them. It gulped down the plasma shot and its head exploded, causing the whole thing to fall back, crushing some of the enemies behind it. "Now, just keep moving." As they ran forward, Daisy let the Super Scope continuously fire small, yet penetrating plasma shots. Even the Giga Koopas were having trouble just moving while the shots pounded into them. It ran out of shots just as they reached their destination.
"Okay," Daisy said, pressing the elevator button. "This is it." The doors opened and a broken cable could be seen. "Aw, man!"
Zelda frowned and hopped into the shaft. Daisy could see sparks fly as Zelda slowed her descent with her sword.
Daisy saw a Banzai Bill slowly flying straight for the wall from far away in the distance. She looked down into the shaft and yelled, "Tell Sheik its totally okay if he wants to look up my dress. I don't have anything else to lose right now." She looked back outside once more and thought she saw a falling star. But since the Banzai Bill was so close, she hopped into the shaft.
Peach slogged through the knee-deep water of a large, dark pipe. Fortunately for her, there had been Pakkun Flowers that pointed her in the right direction. She was more or less soaked since she had had to swim through one of the earlier pipes. She was mostly dreading the cold and hot areas she would be going to. The previous cold areas had been frigid and full of ice. The hot areas seemed as if they would cause her to burst into flames from touching the metal walls and flooring. As she walked through the water, she noticed the temperature dropping, yet she saw no other pipes. She stopped and flashed her light around. There were icicles hanging straight ahead. She frowned and continued to walk through the increasingly cold water, even as the pyramid began to rumble more violently.
Slowly, the water became shallower, yet the air got colder. She was already shivering, especially since she was wearing clothing made for the desert. As the water level became below her ankles, she heard a peculiar noise echo behind her. She turned and could see the shadows of small, shelled creatures crawling along the ceiling. She quickened her pace.
"Yaaaaah!" she yelped as she slipped and fell. The slight slope forward slid her down a hill and into a pipe with a red glow emitting from it. The narrow pipe grew warmer as she slid further down. Eventually, she came out onto a grated platform. What little water that had been coming out of the pipe was trickling into a pool of boiling water down below. She was somewhat relieved when she saw that the grated platform led all the way across the room to an actual door marked Maintenance-Lab.
She walked calmly to the door until a giant Piranha Plant smashed through the ceiling and through the grated floor. Its weight was enough to bend the grating inward so that Peach tripped and slid into the hole. She gripped onto the grating before she fell into the boiling water with the Piranha Plant, which was now more like a steamed vegetable. Her gun, however, fell out of her hand and into the water. She pulled herself up and climbed back to the pipe. A trio of Giga Parakoopas with demonic wings flew into the room and spotted her. She was completely vulnerable hanging onto the grating. The Giga Parakoopas retracted into their shells and Peach closed her eyes as they flew at her. There was a familiar popping sound and the sound of Giga Koopas crying out in pain below. Peach opened her eyes as she was picked up and flown to the door.
"Mario?" she asked her savior.
"Actually, it's me, Luigi," he replied. He had on his familiar yellow cape. He dropped her off at the door. "Looks like we got here in the nick of time."
"How did you get here?" Peach asked as they entered the door.
"He caught a ride with me," Geno said, leaning against the inner doorway. "I…agh!"
Peach had suddenly grasped him in a hug. "I'm so glad to see you! I was almost afraid you didn't make it!"
"Okay, that's enough," he chuckled. "It just so happens that wood floats in water, but I had to do a lot of swimming. I made a few calls and made sure you and Zelda were okay. I also got into contact with Luigi elsewhere in Sarasaland."
"We'd better get out of here," Luigi said, pushing them through the door. "This place could fall apart any second." They walked into the lab and found it in bad shape. Many of the platforms were hanging by a wire or otherwise unstable. The ball of energy in the center seemed to be stabilizing on an image, though it blinked on and off occasionally.
"Where are Daisy and Zelda?" Peach asked worriedly.
They heard a small explosion on the other side of the room and saw Zelda and Daisy walk out of the elevator shaft. They waved and easily walked to the center platform. While Zelda waited there, staring into the portal, Daisy hopped across a few platforms onto another large one.
"Guys, hurry over here!" she called. Peach chose to float directly to her. Luigi flew. Geno made sure-footed jumps across the dangerous platforms. The last one he hopped off of snapped and fell into the abyss. "Hi, Luigi!" Daisy said suddenly with a beaming smile.
"Uh, hi Daisy," Luigi said nervously. He always felt uncomfortable whenever she made a smile like that. Doing it at a critical time like this was distressing.
"Is the portal ready?" Peach asked.
"I'm not sure," Daisy said. "I don't think it's supposed to blink like that."
"It's probably still stabilizing," Geno said. Suddenly, half of the center platform broke off and fell into the abyss. The portal warped and bent and looked as if it was breaking up. Geno leapt onto the center platform and took out his arm cannon.
"What are you doing?" Zelda asked, still startled by the partial collapse of the platform.
"I'm certain that was the power supply," he said, charging his beam. It fired directly into the portal, which began to stabilize again. "This should be enough to get you home."
"What about the others?" Zelda asked.
"It's impossible to reset the portal at this point," he said under gritted teeth.
Zelda became alarmed and turned to the others. "Everyone, please come with me to Hyrule! It's your only chance to escape!"
"One at a time!" Geno said, straining to maintain the beam. "The platform is not safe enough to hold everyone. But please, hurry!"
"Peach, you're first," Daisy said, taking Luigi's arm. "Me and Luigi will go together, right Weegie?"
"Uh, sure," he said as she yanked him closer. More Giga Parakoopas swooped into the room and flew straight for them. "Better hurry, though. We've got company." He crouched and charged up his energy. When one of the monsters got close enough, he rocketed toward it, thoroughly knocking it out and into the abyss. He stopped in midair and attempted to hold off the other monsters. For the first time, Zelda and Shiek had seen the Giga Koopas actually being fended off well. It was as if this man had done this sort of thing many times before. He bounced on many of them consecutively, clipping their wings and ensuring their demise. He spun them around by their tails and tossed them into each other. For the first time, Zelda and Shiek could actually see some semblance of fear in the mutants, fear of this awkward, nervous, easily terrified man.
Peach jumped and floated to the center platform. The platform leaned a bit from her added weight, so she quickly stepped over to the portal with Zelda. Stone from the ceiling smashed into the edge of the platform, breaking it off. More parts of the ceiling began to fall as the pyramid continued to rumble. Luigi was forced to fly Daisy off the platform, which was smashed by more stones. The mutants who had not been sent into the abyss by the either the green Mario Brother or falling pieces of the ceiling, decided to make a quick getaway before it was too late.
"Thanks for saving me, Weegie," Daisy cooed.
"Heh, sure thing," Luigi chuckled nervously. The center platform was beginning to bend and more pieces were falling off.
"What are you waiting for!" Geno yelled.
"What about you all?" Peach asked worriedly.
"Don't worry about us, Peach!" Daisy shouted. "Zelda'll take care of ya! Now, get the lead out!"
"Are you ready?" Zelda asked, holding out her hand. Peach hesitantly nodded and glanced to her friends once more as they stepped into the portal.
"Now, you two!" Geno yelled to Luigi and Daisy. "Hurry before…Aaaaaaah!" Before they could get there, Geno and the platform completely collapsed into the abyss.
"Oooh," Luigi moaned as his flight was giving way. "This looks bad."
"Well…at least we go out with…with…" Daisy struggled to find the right words as the gravity of the situation sank in, both figuratively and literally. They finally touched down on small remnant of a pillar, but it was obvious the entire pyramid above them was crumbling. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she smiled and said, "…At least I get to be with my favorite plumber."
"Oh…" Luigi said, finally understanding as she hugged him and closed her eyes while the ceiling completely caved in.
Note: This is the end of Unlikely Allies. Thank you for sticking around this far. I know this ending seems kind of sudden, but the next part is in the Zelda section of this site. If you'd like to keep up with the story, check there or under my pen name. Stay on the lookout for Princess to Princess: Sage Revival. And I'd just like to thank Nintendo for making this easy by giving me so many underdeveloped characters and mini-plots to work with. And readers, if you're worried about me totally abandoning the Marioverse...don't worry, the parallelism will remain.