Chapter 55: The Finale Part 3
Peach is alive! Bowser thought, shocked and relieved at the same, yet her condition…
Blood stained her clothing and skin, and she was covered in bruises and cuts. One of her ankles looked horribly swollen and wrapped in an improvised bandage. She was weak and needed Mario to carry her.
Bowser clutched his teeth, suppressing a growl.
Mario did that to her when he was under Forgeron's mind-control! But how did he return to normal? Did our fighting with Forgeron break the spell somehow? Wait! If Mario's free, what about my own troops?
"Bowser!" The skinny plumber ran up to him.
Toad and Mallow grudgingly agreed to be decoys while the plan unfolded; Toad demanded a raise. This gave the group time to prepare, and Forgeron was confident that no attack would work against him and decided to give his opponents false hope.
"What?" the Koopa King grumbled back, still determined to pound the putrid Lord into the ground and regain his pride.
"We have to attack Forgeron from beneath; his shield doesn't protect him there. Can you perform Crusher?"
Below…? Bowser glanced at floor at Forgeron's feet, and he realized there was indeed an opening. Anger surfaced quickly. Bowser seized Luigi's shirt and pulled him close.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he demanded furiously. The green hero struggled and Bowser roughly let him go.
"It wasn't my idea!" Luigi retorted. "Peach was the one who recognized Forgeron's weak point."
"PEACH DID?"Bowser's eyes grew wide in astonishment. Have we underestimated her? No one ever thought of attacking Forgeron from below…
"Think you can do it?" Luigi asked, "Peach and Geno need you. They're already in position."
Bowser wanted to ask what those two were preparing for, but there was no point in wasting more precious time.
Here it goes…
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Meanwhile…
"Gah!" Toad yelped as he barely missed another lightning attack. The assault forced him to dive to the floor. What was taking the others so long? Forgeron paused then muttered an incarnation and tapped his crude staff on the floor. A black liquid oozed from the tip in Toad's direction. It seemed to seep through the stone surface, and the retainer leaped up and began to retreat. A dark cord lashed out of the strange pool and grabbed around Toad's stubby ankle. The mushroom kicked madly, trying to break free, but another strand wrapped about his wrist.
Mallow rushed to Toad's aid attempting to brush the attack off, but more cords thrashed and clung to him. They both realized they were being pulled toward the source!
The Nimbus Prince concentrated his magic, and ice began to appear, covering the cords then making its way down to the pool. Ice shattered as Mallow jerked his arm loose. He managed to freeze the attack with Snowy, and pulled Toad free who was shivering violently.
"G-g-good one," Toad stuttered, then sneezed. "C-couldn't pi-pick a w-warmer a-a-tt-tack?"
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"Crusher!" Bowser snarled, snapping his sharp fingers. He did not care whether Forgeron acknowledged him or not. Forgeron was too strong to fight honorably with, and the Lord was focused on Toad and Mallow.
The Star temple trembled yet again, its ancient foundations groaned as it weakened. Forgeron twisted his face into a smile. His force field was up, and nothing could penetrate it!
A large pillar of stone shot up from the surface. The ghastly grin disappeared as the boulder grazed his mechanical side, tearing off artificial parts of his body. The decomposed arm covered in the metal frame was ripped from the elbow joint, and the tubes connected from the machinery to his back and head snapped. He toppled, his brittle body cracked, and what was left of his flesh hung in strands from his arm. His robe was shredded on one side.
The sudden attack caused the force field to drop, and Forgeron cursed under his breath.
Bowser gave a smug smirk. Crusher may have only grazed the target, but Bowser managed to rip off one of Forgeron's limbs. Now it was up to Peach and Geno…
Peach positioned her weight on her good leg and Mario supported her, his hands holding her waist. Hands spread out she wasted no time in conjuring her attack. A tiny blue balloon appeared above her, and quickly grew. A white X hovered inside, spinning slowly, as the balloon expanded. Despite Mute's harmless appearance, everyone knew this was the one chance to destroy Forgeron once and for all.
Geno raised his arms, performing Geno Boost on the balloon. The X spun faster in response. Despite the doll's help, Peach strained to keep Mute afloat.
Just a little more, the Princess thought. I have to increase Mute's power as much I can! It's the only chance we have -
"Peach!"
Peach would have collapsed if Mario had not grabbed her. He knelt down, holding the princess in his arms. Breathing heavily, eyes closed, she managed to utter an apology.
"I'm sorry…"
Luigi grabbed the balloon by the string– with Peach exhausted, he had to deliver the attack personally, and fast.
Forgeron fought to stand up, and leaned on his staff. He had forgotten how fragile his body was, how decayed it was…
Luigi faced Forgeron, staring into the glowing orb in the socket that flickered red. Electrical sparks flew from the damaged machinery.
"I'll make you pay!" Forgeron screamed, clutching his staff. However Luigi acted first. He released Mute, and the balloon ascended. It burst, releasing the seal from inside and dived toward the Lord. Forgeron tried to raise the shield but it was too late. Mute attached itself to his jaw, inhibiting his magic.
What happened next was horrifying to watch.
Cut off from his magic, Forgeron's prolonged life finally came to a halt. His staff fell from his grip as his festered hand crumbled, turning into dust. The traces of his flesh dripped from his body. Bones cracked and fell in pieces, and the entire structure of his disfigured existence finally caved in, leaving only a pile of dust, fabric, and his skull. The seal peeled off and vanished. The orb in the socket flashed a bright angry red before dying. An eerie and hollow wind followed, sweeping away his remains.
Toad was the first to speak.
"It's over," he whispered, which turned into a shout. "It's over! We did it!"
Luigi pivoted and faced the group; a weary smile appeared on his face.
Shouts of triumph and congratulations echoed as everyone complimented each other. Despite the victory, thought King Bowser, some questions were still unanswered…
"King Bowser!"
Bowser glanced up as two Magikoopas scrambled forward, their wands glowing from a recent incarnation, which was most likely teleportation.
"Sir! My wickedness!" one greeted. "We're happy to see you again!"
"Silence," Bowser ordered, hiding any feelings of relief. "Where are the rest of my troops? And the Sky Castle?"
"Not far from here, sir! We're not sure what happened. We just woke up, and everyone was in the Sky Castle. We're assuming Forgeron put a sleeping spell on us. We used our magic to track your location and teleported as quickly as we could!"
"When Forgeron lost his connection to the Star Road," Geno mused, "he lost immense power so it would be difficult to brainwash and maintain control over hundreds of troops. It would be easier to put Bowser's troops to sleep and only use Mario against us instead."
"Was I that big of a threat?" Mario questioned curiously.
"YES!" the rest chorused loudly.
Luigi gave a friendly punch to Mario's shoulder. "You're a handful, bro. I'm glad you're on our side."
"I hear something," Toad stated before Mario could reply. The group fell silent and indeed they heard something – the sound of an aircraft!
They glanced up and noticed a large helicopter with two rotors flying toward Iron Mountain. As it neared, they could distinguish the emblem of Sarasaland painted on the side.
"Daisy?" Luigi blurted out. "But how did she know we'd be here?"
"We had an encounter," Toad explained, recalling the conversation back at the palace, "she must've remembered the story we told her. I think Iron Mountain was mentioned. This is excellent! I don't think Bowser would let us hitch a ride on his Sky Castle anyway!"
"I'd leave you behind, moldy spore," the Koopa hissed at the fungus. "Feh. I'm done here. Magikoopas, teleport us back to Sky Castle!"
"Right!" the pair replied then vanished along with Bowser. Bowser secretly didn't want to leave the injured Princess, but he was no longer needed and he had to reorganize his army.
Please get better soon, Princess…
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Kittykatstar says: Yes! Only two-three chapters to go! The battle is over, and gotta tie it all up! (i.e. Pauline…)
