Warning: Soooo rusty! Be nice… or something…

Chapter 54 finale part 2

"Peach, are you okay?"

"Yea…" a small voice whimpered in reply. Her slender arms were wrapped about Mario's neck, and her face rested against him, eyes closed. "I'm a bit exhausted… that's all."

"And your ankle?"

"It feels much better, thank you."

Mario glanced down. Exquisite eyes of sapphire gazed back, causing him to blush and look away. Guilt still ate away at him. Possessed or not, he was the one that caused her harm, and he vowed to atone.

He realized that the path of stairs ended and before them stood a wooden door. It was once painted in vivid and lively images in honor of the Stars, but time, the cruel mistress, caused the picture to fade.

Mario heard shouts from the other side, and he instantly recognized one…

Luigi! Hold on!

"Peach, I – I'll put you down here. You stay here while I'll handle this Forgeron with the others."

"What?" she protested, and suddenly struggled in his grip. "N-no, I'll help too! I can still fight!"

She pushed away, and Mario quickly knelt down and gently let her go. With a trembling hand against the stone wall, she carefully stood up, but winced when she moved her broken limb. Mario tried to support her, however she raised a hand to stop him. Frustrated by her stubbornness he seized her wrist.

"Don't –" she begun, but Mario cut her off.

"Listen to me," he retorted. "You're injured! You can't even walk! You – you'll just slow us down! Don't do anything foolish. You're the Princess, and your people need you. If anything happened to you I…" he fell silent, and let go of her wrist. "I -"

Sobbing, Peach collapsed in his arms before he could finish, and he knelt down. Hugging her close, he stroked her hair as her weeping lessened.

"Mario, I'm sorry… I've always been a burden to you," she cried. "I want to help… You're always there for me yet I haven't been there for you. And I want to be with you – don't leave me here while you're risking your life."

She wants to be with me…? Mario's face grew hot. Does she… She that mean…

Mario pushed the possible thought aside – now wasn't the time. His brother needed help, and Peach wasn't going to change her mind.

She got her stubbornness from me, he mused dryly.

"Fine, you win," Mario said, and helped her up. "But… please don't do anything reckless."

"Luigi, watch out!"

"AH!"

A sudden blast knocked Luigi aside like a rag doll and his body skidded on the floor. Grunting, Luigi slowly stood up. He was covered in scratches and bruises from the assault, and his plan to distract Forgeron to create an opening for a major attack failed.

If only we had Mario and Peach on our side… his face paled. Peach… I hope she's still alive…

Beaten and losing hope, Luigi watched the battle before him. Forgeron was toying with them – attacking with magical spells that deliberately missed, and that force field was impregnable!

Behind him he heard a creak, and he whipped around, wondering if Forgeron recruited more flunkies. Each tower that surrounded the battlefield had a door, and one was in the process of opening. He positioned in a fighting stance, waiting for the new enemy to appear.

Luigi thought he was hallucinating when he saw Mario; carrying an injured Peach, appear before him. Knowing that Mario was under a spell, he attacked first, and Mario yelped in surprise as he barely dodged Luigi's attack.

"Mamma mia! Don't you recognize your own brother?"

Luigi froze, too shocked to react properly. Incredible joy overwhelmed him, and he fought back tears.

"Mario… You're you!" Luigi uttered. "I… How… And Peach! I'm glad to you're alive! I thought that Mario might've…"

If Mario were not holding Peach, Luigi would've hugged his beloved brother.

Save it for later… Luigi reminded himself.

"How's the situation?" Mario asked, although a quick glance showed it was obvious they were losing the battle against Forgeron.

"It's hopeless… Forgeron has his shield up prevent any long-range magical attacks, and we can't attack him directly or –"

"Does the shield protect him from below?" Peach questioned so softly, Luigi wasn't sure if she spoke at all.

"What? Below?"

"The shield… is there an opening from below?"

"The force field is dome-shaped," Luigi, answered, still unsure what she was getting at. And her preoccupied and vague stare off in the distance did not help. The green plumber glanced in Mario's direction confusingly, but all Mario returned was a perplexed shrug.

"Mario… Luigi… there's still a chance," Peach whispered. "If Bowser uses his Crusher ability, it might give us a chance to deliver a major blow. Crusher attacks from the ground and –," her idea trailed off when she noticed the brothers' baffled expressions. "What?"

"It just might work," Mario agreed. "We should use it now!"

"No," Luigi objected firmly. "That may throw Forgeron off, yes. However one attack won't finish him off easily. If Forgeron's magical barrier vanishes – even for a moment – we must be ready with a real powerful blow. If only we can find a way to nullify his magic!"

Peach thought for a moment, but before she could speak, the others finally noticed them.

"M-Mario! Peach! They're back!" Mallow shouted happily, which caused the battle to cease briefly.

"The spell was terminated?" Lord Forgeron spat in disbelief, "Impossible! No more games!"

"Look out!" Luigi shouted, as the Lord raised his staff. A violent bolt of lightning shot out and struck the tower, causing the ancient temple to tremble. The tower crumbled and a large portion broke from the top. Mario leaped out of the way effortlessly while Peach clung to him, and Luigi followed. They both landed safely, although Luigi took a tumble – Luigi still envied Mario's acrobatics.

"We have to do this quickly," Luigi said, recovering from the fall. "If only we could get rid of the shield permanently."

"I can nullify magic," suggested Peach. "However… I don't think it's powerful enough to stop Forgeron's magic... but I can still try."

"No," Mario argued. "You're exhausted – you admitted it yourself! – And I won't allow you to overexert yourself!"

Peach looked at him meekly. "But…"

"I said I won't allow it!"

"Do we have any other option?" Luigi pointed out, furious with Mario's stubborn behaviour. "You may be destroying our only chance to save not only us, but the entire world! I know you're concerned for her, but we need her magic now! Do you truly care for her? Well her life will be cut short if we don't do something!"

Luigi turned to Peach and continued. "Will you at least try, Princess?"

She nodded, while Mario glared at Luigi despondently. "I – I'll do my best. However, I can't successfully attack with Mute if his shield prevents any magic from entering… If you have Bowser perform his Crusher, I might have a chance…"

"Geno Boost," Mario added. "Peach, we know Geno can give us a boost when we attack physically, but what if he can supercharge Mute? Luigi – tell everyone to get ready, I'll stay with Peach and support her."

"Please do," Luigi replied. "I'll tell the others. We better do this soon because none of us can keep this up for long."

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KKS says: Wow, I can't believe I got around to this! After that horrible encounter with a mean creative writing teacher that destroyed every pride I had as a fan fic writer... I gotta get back on my feet. Besides, unfinished stuff haunts me.