Chapter 6: Showdown Amidst the Steel and Flame

Mario's ears perked up suddenly as he heard another barrel rolling towards him. Lifting the hammer high above his head, he slammed the weapon down hard on the oncoming barrel, causing the would to splinter and break. Gasoline splashed out everywhere, soaking the beams. Mario charged forward as he saw another barrel heading for him. He swung his hammer sideways, knocking the barrel off of the structure completely. He neared the ladder leading up to the third story. He threw the hammer upwards with great force, knocking a barrel directly above him out of the way. Mario scrambled up the ladder, catching the hammer as he approached the top of the ladder.

The beam above him rumbled as Donkey Kong leapt up and down on it, screaming. Suddenly, another barrel was dispatched, hitting the beam that Mario was on and bouncing towards him. Mario, undeterred, somersaulted underneath of it, and ran ahead as he heard the barrel break open behind him. He made a mad dash for the final ladder, and climbed it as quickly as he could.

Donkey Kong, upon seeing Mario's head appear, growled in frustration as he grabbed the last of the gasoline-filled barrels. He lobbed it under-handed, and it rolled towards the opposite end of the beam quickly. Mario leapt onto the beam, and then jumped once more, landing on the barrel. With a third and final jump, he leapt towards the beast, rearing his hammer back. Donkey Kong likewise pulled back one of his massive fists. Pauline let out a scream as the two struck each other at the same time, Mario flying backwards from the impact of Donkey Kong's fist. Pain coursing through his head, Mario struggled to his feet. He couldn't close his mouth properly; his jaw was broken. Donkey Kong massaged the spot where Mario had hit him, and the two looked onwards at each other scornfully.

An ambulance had arrived by now for Mr. Spike, who was now awake and cursing.

"Bah, I need a smoke," he finally declared as he brandished a cigar and a match. After lighting the cigar, he absent mindedly cast the match aside, much to everyone's chagrin.

"Eh? What're all a' ya yellin' about?" He turned to the construction site. his still-lit match had landed in the spilled oil, setting it aflame. The fire rapidly consumed all of the oil, and found a second course in the form of the gasoline that coated the building. Within a few moments, the entire structure was aflame, concealing the small forms of Donkey Kong, Pauline, and Mario above. Mr. Spike pulled at his hair.

"This is gonna cost me a fortune."

Sweat began to form on the two combatants, but neither was about to try and escape the flaming structure. Not until the other was defeated. Mario lowered his head slightly, his arms dangling at his sides, one hand gripping the hammer tightly.

"Give me back my girlfriend." And thus the battle between man and ape began.

Donkey Kong charged towards Mario, and threw his fist violently fowards. Mario ducked and rolled underneath of the massive fist, understanding that if he received one more blow, he wouldn't be getting back up. He turned and swung the mallet at Donkey Kong's side, but the creature's tank-like physique allowed him to brush the blow off. The beast turned and attempt to punch Mario once more, and missed by only an inch or so.

The continued to exchange blows in this manner for a few moments, until Mario began to tire, realizing that he had no chance of lasting against the creature's superior stanima. Panting, he ducked under a hook punch as sweat dripped off his brow. Just as he was about to resign to his loss, an idea struck him. He stood upright, and swung his wooden mallet in a wide arc. It flew through the surrounding flames for a moment, catching fire itself. Donkey Kong leapt back to avoid the strike, but the mallet still made contact with his tie, catching it on fire. The ape, frightened by the flame, frantically patted his tie until it died down. He sighed in relief, but then his ears caught a loud yelling. He looked up to see Mario leaping at him, swinging his mallet downward. There was no time to move away. The mallet came down upon Donkey Kong's head with crushing force. The beast stumbled forward, and finally fell. Mario stood over his defeated foe, panting. He turned to Pauline and smiled.

"We'd better get out of here." Pauline, who'd been huddled in the corner, watching the fight with fear, nodded her head and climbed to her feet. The two approached the ladder, and Mario began to help the woman down, both being extremely wary of the flames that engulfed the building. The two were stopped suddenly by a terrible pounding, and turned to see Donkey Kong, awake once more and more enraged than ever. He leapt upwards and slammed down right in front of the two, creating a terrible shaking that rattled the ladder loose. He grabbed Pauline violently and roared. Mario lifted his hammer to swing at the monster, but he was knocking away too quickly, landing painfully on the story below.

"MARIO!" Pauline screamed as Donkey Kong beat his chest victoriously.

Mario lay in a heap below them. He had failed. He was going to die. The flames all around him set in a little closer. He felt something at his fingertips. His hammer. His hammer had fallen with him. Not that it would do him any good now. Sweat dripped off by the gallon as he cringed at the flames licking parts of his skin. The beam he lay on was so hot. Hot, and...

"Hey... this piece of the beam... it's loose," Mario stated half-consciously to himself. "That monkey must have cracked the beams with all his jumping around..." an idea filled his head, but did he have enough energy left to do it? It didn't matter. He decided that he would anyway, regardless of whether or not he could. Mustering all that was left of his strenght, he got to his feet, lifted his hammer into the air, and swung it downwards on the cracked portion of beam, causing it to fracture completely. A small piece of the beam fell to the story below, severing it. Looking ahead, he saw a second crack in the beam. Half-conscious, he limped towards it slowly and repeated the process. His memory of the rest of the night was lost.

At the top of the building, Donkey Kong continued to beat his chest, as Pauline wept for her boyfriend's apparent death. The two were both jostled by a sudden rumble. The entire building began to shake. Then, all of a sudden, a large section of the beam began to fall. Donkey Kong, in his surprise, lost his grip on Pauline, who just barely managed to grab onto a small piece of the beam which managed to stay in place. She peaked over the edge as she watched Donkey Kong, as well as about seven or eight beams, fall to the ground. She heard fire engines off in the distance, and decided that it would be best to stay put.

The strange, diminutive man in a robe looked on from a hill, far away, the flaming building standing out against the night sky.

"When the time comes to stand up and defend what you love, few rise to the challenge. Few are brave enough to sacrifice themselves to The Flame in order to ensure that others will live. Brave, selfless, resiliant. These are the traits of a Warrior of the Star." A breeze picked up, blowing the small man's robe. Spores flew out from underneath of it into the wind. He grinned.

"He's perfect."