Chapter 2: A Terrifying Power
The despairing citizens of Mushroom City were running around in an aimless, disorganized panic. They all had been gathered here in the central plaza this afternoon, to have some fun at the bombastic festival; a carnival event that Wario and Waluigi were managing.
However, this bombastic festival had turned out to be a rather devious plot. The screams of the citizens weren't loud enough to block out the raucous laughter of Wario and Waluigi that was being broadcasted through the giant megaphone attached to their X-Naut blimp flying up above. All of this chaos made it really hard for Mario and his friends to focus. The X-Naut blimp was also armed with a cannon that was prepared to fire at a moments notice. On top of this, Bowser was coming towards them on his clown copter. They didn't have much time to act. They needed a plan.
"I have an idea." Navi proclaimed with conviction, a fist clenched over her heart. She felt nervous as everyones eyes suddenly met her.
"What is it, Navi?" Peach inquired, with a hand.
"Out with it already!" Daisy spat, anxiously turning to see how much closer Bowser was getting.
"I-I could fly up to the blimp, unnoticed." Navi explained, directing her attention to the X-Naut blimp in the sky. Everyone else was now examining it as well. "I could sneak on board and stop them."
"Can you really stop them?" Rosalina doubted with a frown, looking down while scratching her head hopelessly.
"I'm sure I can!" Navi exclaimed with clenched fists, brimming with courage. She turned to Link. "And Link, you can defend the city from the cannon fire until I handle things up there."
Link was calmly sipping sake from his favourite green sake cup, which had Hylian symbolism etched on its sides in gold. He was sitting criss crossed on a sunny patch of grass near the abandoned cotton candy stand, only a few paces away. His eyes were closed as he enjoyed some Indigo Moon, which was a sake from Great Bay. It had an earthy, complex flavour, but a surprisingly quiet impact.
"Ahh. Indigo Moon. I'll have to remember this one." Link noted to himself, gently setting down the cup of sake on the green cup plate before him. He revealed his Soldiers Bow, which was a formidable wooden weapon with iron built into its frame. "As for the cannon, leave it to me."
"Truly? If the two of you could handle that airship, that would be simply splendid." Peach praised, her hands clasped together. "I wish to go and check if Pauline is alright. She should be in the City Hall."
"But that's in the eastern district, right?" Daisy reminded. "Isn't that exactly where Bowser is coming from right now?"
"It is true, he is in my way." Peach acknowledged, before turning to Mario. "But Mario will be coming with me, so I should be just fine."
"That's right." Mario confirmed, with a nod. "I'll handle Bowser, and then we'll go and check on Pauline."
"Well, alright." Daisy accepted. She took a moment to look around in thought. She placed a hand on her hip, raising her hand with a tilted head. "Well, if Link and Navi are going to handle that blimp business, and Mario and Peach are going to handle Bowser and Pauline, how about I take Rosalina with me back to the castle? I think it would be a good idea to check on things there. Who knows, maybe even Luigi has finally showed up?"
"That is a splendid idea, Daisy." Peach agreed, with a nod. She revealed her cellphone, and proceeded to start texting with it. "I am going to message Captain Toad to request some reinforcements. If anything happens, just text the group chat that we made earlier."
"Wait, so now we have to go all the way back to the Castle?" Rosalina groaned, looking downwards with an expression of despair. "What a pain."
"Oh, get a grip already!" Daisy growled, claiming Rosalina by the wrist. She started to run for the Northern District, and Rosalina struggled to not fall down as she ran along with her much more athletic friend.
"H-Hey!" Rosalina yelped, stumbling in her silver heels as she ran with Daisy on the cobblestone streets. "Slow down!"
"Do not forget to text one of us if you are in trouble!" Peach reminded, shouting this to them with her hands by her face. Daisy simply waved in acknowledgement with the hand that wasn't dragging Rosalina by the wrist.
"Well then, I'll be on my way. See ya!" Navi concluded, flying skywards towards the blimp with a glistening chime.
Peach and Mario were waving goodbye to Navi as she flew away. Peach, after wishing Navi good luck, directed her attention back to Mario. "Let's go, Mario."
"Mm-hm." Mario agreed, with a nod.
Just as the two of them were walking towards the eastern district, Link stopped them with a hand as they arrived at where he was seated. He was wearing a dark blue hood now. "Hold."
"Hm? What is it, Link?" Peach inquired.
Link said nothing, digging into his pockets. Then, what he revealed caused both Peach and Mario to gasp mildly in alarm. In his fingerless gloved hand, was a glass bottle. Peach could hardly believe what was inside of the bottle. It was a pink Goddess Star, shining brilliantly within the glass container. Even within the confines of the bottle, it was overwhelmingly radiant. Mario had then remembered what Link had said about this back in the trials.
{"As she crashed down into our world, that energy left her in the form of Goddess Stars. If you touch one, you acquire its contained power." Mario concluded. "Is that right?"
"Close enough." Rosalina granted.
"Oh, is that so? As a matter of fact, I think I know just exactly what you are talking about..." Link informed, lightly pounding a fist on his bare palm in understanding.
"Oh really?" Mario inquired, not skeptical at all.
"I just so happened to have found one lying about during my journey to the castle." Link explained.}
"It's a Goddess Star." Link informed, offering the bottle containing it to her with an extended hand.
"Are you... sure? I mean, I can just have this?" Peach asked hesitantly. She felt rather nervous.
"I have no use for it." Link assured. "Besides, I could sense Bowser before he even arrived. Something tells me he's not quite the same Bowser who has been troubling you before."
"What do you mean, exactly?" Peach inquired, having not accepted the bottle just yet.
"He's strong. You might just need this." Link warned, nodding at the bottle he was offering with a somewhat grave expression. "Take it. If you need its power, smash the bottle."
Peach was hesitant for a moment, but eventually she took a deep breath. Her face was more determined once she had concluded her exhale. "Well alright."
With that, she claimed the bottle which contained a pink Goddess Star. She hardly paid it any attention before shoving it into her pockets.
"Let's go, Mario." Peach ordered, with a nod. "We have to go and check on Miss Pauline!"
"You just leave Bowser to me, Peach." Mario assured, cracking his gloved knuckles.
Then, there was suddenly a loud bang. Peach, Link, and Mario looked up to the skies with a gasp as they heard the shriek of cannon fire.
"Go!" Link barked, and he was gone before Mario and Peach had turned to see the deserted grass patch where he had been sitting. They turned forward to see he was sprinting at a very fast rate, Soldiers Bow clasped in his right hand.
/
Upon hearing the bang, Daisy stopped running and looked up to the sky. Rosalina took this moment to break free from her grasp. The footfalls of fleeing citizens filled the shaded streets.
"They've started firing!" Daisy spat, her teeth clenched in anger. She faced forward once again, placing her faith in the others. "Come on!"
With haste, Rosalina and Daisy continued their trek back to Peach Castle.
/
Link was running quite fast, racing black lines accompanying his movement to illustrate how fast he was running. He leapt through the air with a whoosh, Mario and Peach watching in awe as he soared a fair distance through the air before landing on the front hood of an abandoned taxi, which actually happen to be quite bouncy here in the Mushroom Kingdom.
With a great leap into the air, time appeared to be in slow motion as Link readied a bomb arrow in his bow. He clenched his teeth and aimed carefully towards the incoming cannonball. At the right moment, he released his bomb arrow and time returned to its normal rate.
The explosion of the intercepted cannonball happened to occur at the same time that Link had landed back on the cobblestone. He landed in a crouch, with a single hand against the ground. His clothes were whipping about from the force of the blast up above. Still crouched, his figure went out of focus as the viewpoint zoomed out to catch Peach and Mario in the rear, who had watched the awe-inspiring maneuver right until the end. They faced each other as Link stood tall once again.
"This way." Peach ordered, running towards the Eastern District. Mario followed her with determination.
/
Upon hearing the sound of an explosion, Navi looked down below to see that the fiery mass was far enough above the city, thanks to Link's efforts. She faced forward again with a smirk of determination, nearing the X-Naut blimp that Wario and Waluigi were operating.
"That's the way, Master Link!" Navi praised, then flying forward faster with a burst.
From a distance, she appeared like a tiny twinkle of light as she flew towards the blimp, eventually disappearing altogether as she boarded it via some sort of clever opening within the canopy.
/
Mario was running towards the Eastern District of Mushroom City with Peach, who was still carrying the Geno doll. As they had anticipated, it wasn't long before Bowser had arrived, positioned nearly above them. He jumped out of his clown copter from up above, and Mario was in a fighting stance as he watched Bowser during his descent. Peach was standing at a safe distance while holding the Geno doll in her arms.
Bowser landed with a real thud. Dust, dirt, and bits of debris from the cobblestone that he had just crushed went flying up all around him as he remained in a squat. He rose as the dirt settled, and before he even had the chance to speak a word, he could see that Mario was already charging towards him.
"Joining up with the X-Nauts?" Mario cursed, racing black lines accompanying him as he sprinted towards Bowser. He leapt up into the air, Bowser's eyes slowly following him as he rose higher and higher. Mario had a fist charged back as he prepared to punch Bowser directly in his face. "That's real low, even for you!"
This was predictable, Bowser thought. He quickly punched as hard as he could, right at where Mario was heading. However, Mario wasn't as predictable as Bowser had anticipated. At precisely the right moment, Mario launched some flames from the soles of his boots, which caused him to tumble forward higher into the air. Bowsers punch had completely missed Mario, and now he was wide open.
While in midair, Mario allowed himself to roll until he was just above Bowser. He then tucked himself inwards, which caused him to roll at a faster rate and descend. He extended a leg, and before Bowser could even react Mario had landed a flaming heel drop attack directly onto the crown of his head. Bowser's eyes turned towards each other as his face squashed partially, his clenched teeth nearly cracking from the strength of the attack. Mario performed a backflip, landing before Bowser with a single white gloved hand against the damaged cobblestone.
"Ooog..." Bowser groaned, stumbling aimlessly with stars dancing around his dizzy head.
Mario proceeded to sprint right for the disoriented Bowser. "Here I come! Fire..."
Bowser shook his head, doing his best to hasten the return of his senses. But it was already too late.
"PUNCH!" Mario cried, with his flaming, extended fist sinking into the soft underbelly of the Koopa King.
"U-Urgh!" Bowser wheezed, his eyes widening as his head inched forward while Mario's fist sank deeper.
Then, Bowser was launched backwards into a nearby building at a great velocity. Smoke and the sounds of shattered glass accompanied his loud impact. Peach watched in awe as Mario stood tall, standing heroically as he stared into the heavy smoke. It was silly of her to have taken the Goddess Star from Link, she thought. Bowser was simply no match for Mario.
The smoke had started to die down, which revealed Bowsers rising silhouette. The smoke had dissipated in time for Mario and Peach to see Bowser shaking his head.
"Ergh... yup. As expected, you're as strong as ever." Bowser groaned, a hand on his head. He then swiped an arm with a grin, leaning forward with a clenched fist. It was as if nothing had happened at all. "But that's about all the damage I'm gonna let you do, Mario!"
Mario didn't care for his games. He had a serious expression on his face. "Why did you join the X-Nauts? I mean, we're not allies or anything, but I would never expect that even you would sink that low."
"Bwahaha..." Bowser weakly laughed, dusting some debris off of his shoulder. He shook like a wet dog, removing the reminder of it from his shell.
"Answer me!" Mario demanded, tightening his fists.
"My, you're awfully pushy, aren't you?" Bowser sang, in mild irritation. "Bah! You know damn well that I, Bowser, the King of the Koopas, ain't ever gonna bow my head to anybody!"
"Then why do you have the X-Naut mark on your clown copter?" Mario challenged.
"Mind your own damn business, how about that?" Bowser countered, appearing to be rather angry. This appearance dissolved when he suddenly burst into spontaneous laughter. "Bwahahaha!"
Peach gasped mildly as she suddenly felt her cell-phone vibrate within her pockets.
"Psh! It doesn't matter. 'Cause I'm gonna kick your ass either way." Mario challenged, cracking his knuckles before dropping to a fighting stance. "You're in our way!"
"Going to see the mayor, huh?" Bowser barked, apparently unfazed by his incoming challenger. "Bwahahaha! I wouldn't bother with that, if I were you."
Peach wondered what exactly Bowser had meant by that. Since a fight was about to break out between Mario and Bowser, she had decided to not let her guard down by checking her phone. On its display screen within her pocket, read the following notification.
Captain Toad: "WARNING! DO NOT APPROACH THE CASTLE! WE ARE UNDER HEAVY ASSAULT! WE CANNOT SEND REINFORCEMENTS!"
/
Rosalina and Daisy had finally reached the golden gates which served as the border of Mushroom City. They entered through the gates, stepping onto the long and winding dirt path that was commonly referred to as Castle Road.
"There, we made it out of the city." said Daisy. She was suddenly much less tense.
"Finally." Rosalina sang, taking a moment to catch her breath.
"Don't get too comfortable." Daisy reminded, smirking at her. "We still gotta go all the way through Castle Road. And I'm not gonna carry you this time around, got it?"
With that, Daisy proceeded to delicately run towards Peach Castle, holding her dress up with her two white gloved hands.
"What a pain." Rosalina sighed, with a slump. She eventually proceeded to run as well, lagging behind Daisy as usual.
/
Luigi had a hopeless expression on his face as he sat there with his hands tied behind the pole which he had his back against. Apparently, Wario and Waluigi were highly aggravated about something.
"Grrrr, what's going on? Why aren't any of the cannonballs striking the city?" Waluigi cursed, slamming his fist hard on the display.
"Hey, watch it!" Wario cursed, operating the cannon from his seat. "Don't go mucking anything up, you idiot!"
"Idiot? IDIOT?!" Waluigi shrieked, wailing his lanky arms about. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAN'T EVEN HIT A DAMN CITY!"
"I'm trying, but..." Wario paused a moment, squinting his eyes. "There's some hooded guy in a blue shirt who keeps shooting these bombs up at the cannonballs."
(Guy in a blue shirt...) Luigi thought, with his eyes narrowed. His eyes suddenly widened in realization. His face was absolutely beaming. (Link?!)
"What?! Give me those!" Waluigi spat, aggressively claiming a pair of binoculars from somewhere which Luigi could not see.
Waluigi proceeded to examine the city below through a pair of binoculars. Indeed, standing tall upon one of the buildings was Link, a man that Waluigi did not recognize.
"He's drinking a cup of tea?! The fool." Waluigi cursed, lowering the binoculars. "Wario. Fire somewhere over there. Somewhere he can't reach in time."
"Most of the people have already escaped from the central plaza, you know." Wario informed, with obvious irritation.
"I don't CARE, just shoot it! Blow the damn city to the ground!" Waluigi screamed, stomping his foot and swinging his arms down to his sides in great anger.
Luigi had to make sure he wasn't caught looking so gleeful, but it was hard to stop smiling. He discovered that his friends were currently in Mushroom City, fighting back against this devious plot that Wario and Waluigi had put into action. On top of this, even more good news was on the way.
Luigi heard a glistening sound up within a ventilation shaft on the left. Wario and Waluigi were too preoccupied with arguing to hear it.
"Hmm?" Luigi softly barked, directed his attention to a small vent to his left. His eyes widened as Navi entered his field of vision. "Navi?!"
Navi rested her tiny fingers against the small bars of the vent. She took a moment to survey the room, watching as Wario and Waluigi argued hotly. She then directed her attention to the right, and saw a familiar, beaming face handcuffed to a pole. She couldn't believe it.
"Luigi?!" Navi gasped.
/
Mario continued to charge towards Bowser, when suddenly, Bowser's entire form shun with a very bright light. Being cautious, Mario jumped back a great distance. Mario and Peach shielded their eyes from this intense light with an arm, peeking just enough through squinting eyes to see that Bowser was transforming.
But what Bowser had transformed into, they had no words for. The light faded, revealing quite possibly the most ugly, menacing creature that they had ever seen. Had they have not seen Bowser transform, they might not have even realized it was him at first glance.
The creature had brown scaly skin, rather than the usual yellow-orange colour Bowser had. The claws on his feet and hands were at least ten times larger, and looked as though they could cut through steel as if it were paper. The spikes on his braces, collar, and dark green shell were also larger; and far more pointy. Its gnarled teeth and horns were far larger than Bowser's, and his usual red hair was tall and wild, like a raging fire.
Mario and Peach had widened eyes. The expressions on their faces revealed a mix of fear and awe. They shielded themselves with an arm as he let out a supersonic, ear piercing roar that shook the world. Then, the creature had begun to speak to them with a voice that was much more deep and menacing than Bowsers. "Behold, the power of my Goddess Star..."
"GIGA BOWSER!"