👻Happy Halloween! 👻
Chapter Thirty-Four
Peach's eyes widened and she pulled away from him. "Wait! Not that kind of kiss! I only meant..."
"The deal has been made, Princess Toadstool! Pinky promise! Remember? Gwa ha ha!" Bowser threw his head back and laughed arrogantly. He kept a hold of Peach's hand and laid his other claw on her lower back, forcing her to stay where she was. Peach could hear alarm bells start ringing in her head.
"King Bowser Koopa... What are you...?" the princess stammered anxiously. He dipped his head down so that his eyes were level with hers.
Her alarm bells were going wild now. She tried to pull away from him, but his hands only tightened around her and pulled her closer the more she fought. He was too strong. A sense of panic took over as she fought his grip.
"I love you."
The princess stopped dead. "What?" The question escaped her mouth before she knew she had opened it.
"I would give up half... maybe even my whole kingdom to hear those words from your lips," the King muttered gently.
Peach was stunned. Was this... was he being serious? The angry, prideful, conceited, infuriatingly stubborn Koopa King was confessing to her?! But he hated her! He ravaged her kingdom, took her away from home, and ruined all of her plans.
"King Bowser Koopa, I..." Peach began but he cut her off.
"Call me Bowser. Please, Princess," he said with a slight wince and Peach's jaw threatened to drop and unhinge from her face. Bowser watched her expression and gave her a timid smile. This expression didn't fit him. He had to be acting. Even his demeanor had completely changed. He almost looked... vulnerable.
King Bowser, the monster, was vulnerable.
Shocking. That's what it was. How long had he had these feelings? Peach had never been sure he had any feelings at all. He was always rude, teasing, and prideful. Then again, she had to admit that he had improved since the first time she had met him. Granted, he always went out of his way to provoke her and try to get her to 'loosen up' and 'get mushroom out of her ass', but he didn't threaten her anymore. She had even heard him say 'thank you' to one of the servants last week. Could that change be because...?
"You can't... You don't mean that," Peach stated, trying to appear confident but the sound of her voice sounded very uncertain. He tilted his head closer and studied her for a moment.
"What would you have me do to prove it?"
The princess turned her head away from him in an attempt to find something else to look at. "Nothing. You're not my type anyhow." ...That came out colder than she had intended. The words had definitely sounded a lot less bitchy in her head.
Bowser flinched and averted his eyes from her face. For a moment, Peach could have sworn she had seen a sad and hurt expression cross his features, but it didn't last long. His gentle grip on her hardened and his eyes grew a dangerous bright red.
"Then I guess I'll just have to take you against your will!" Bowser growled angrily. "Kamek!"
*pop*
The blue-robed and wrinkly old Magikoopa materialized almost immediately. "Yes, your Boisterousness?"
"Get out your book and turn Peach's dress white. It's about time I had a Queen for my Kingdom!" Bowser stated, dragging Peach forward towards the chapel altar.
"No! Let me go, King Koopa! Unhand me!" Peach yelled in fear as she tried to fight his hold on her. "You can't just force me to..."
"Of course I can! I can do and have anything I want! And mmmmm, Princess Peach..." he turned to her, scraping his eyes up and down her figure. "I want your beauty, and your kingdom more than anything in the world."
The hungry look in the King's eyes was frightening. To think that she had pitied him for even a moment. That she had actually wondered whether he had any proper feeling at all. How could she have forgotten who or what he was?
"Hold still, Princess," Kamek smiled excitedly as he flicked his wand and sent a burst of magical shapes in her direction. She tried to duck out of the way, but Bowser held her still. The moment the shapes made contact with her, the pink color almost seemed to bleed out of her dress. In a matter of seconds, her whole outfit had been changed white and a veil appeared in her hair. "Ah... and to top it off..." Kamek drew his wand again and gave a lazy swish. Peach cringed as a bouquet of piranha flowers bloomed in her hands.
"Kamek. Are we ready?" Bowser asked impatiently.
"I still need to find the book for Koopalic wedding vows. It hasn't been used in years..." Kamek stated anxiously. A moment passed where Kamek went silent and looked as if he wanted to speak but Bowser cut him off.
"Well?! Go find the book!" Bowser yelled angrily. Kamek hesitated for a second and then disappeared. The Koopa King growled a few insults under his breath and then turned his attention back to Peach. As soon as his eyes found her, his anger ebbed and a smile spread across his face as he looked at her in her make-shift wedding dress. Peach frowned at him and turned her head away defiantly.
"Aw, come on, Peach..." Bowser said almost tenderly. "Our Kingdoms will be unified and peace will finally resume. It is a win-win situation!"
The princess stared pointedly at the wall, careful not to look at the altar or the King standing with her next to it.
"I'll treat you with all of the love and respect in the world! I can give you anything - be anything! No one can make you happier than me... I know it," he continued, trying to catch her eye again. "Maybe we can even... be a family..."
"...ssssssssssssssss..."
Both of them turned their heads toward the front of the chapel as stone bars fell over and blocked all of the doors of the room. The altar candles blew out, but their light had been replaced by the eerie glow of the golden painting.
"...deeeefilerrrrsss..."
*SHLICK...*
A large transparent golden blob dropped out of the painting and plopped onto the floor. "How dare you bring such filth into this castle..."
Bowser's hopeful expression broke into a malicious grin as he took his battle stance and pulled Peach to his side protectively. "Well, I didn't invite you so..."
The golden blob shivered with anger and began to take shape. A large Koopa snout and long strands of weightless hair began to sprout from its head. Clawed feet and hands came next, but the tail remained a ghostly whisp. "Insolent child! I will not allow my castle to be polluted any further!" Queen Stefani yelled furiously.
"Says the radioactive Wiggler fart! Gwa ha!" Bowser smiled impishly and popped a mushroom into his mouth.
*BudalaBudalaBudala!*
Peach stumbled back as Bowser grew twice his size. The black-stoned chairs made loud scraping noises as they were pushed aside by Bowser's hulking figure. "By the way, great great great great... great?... Grandma, this is MY castle!" he roared at the golden woman.
"We'll see about that," Queen Stefani stated with an evil grin. Her blood red eyes watched Bowser disdainfully as he opened his mouth and let out a long breath of fire. When he ran out of breath, he shut his mouth and growled. The ghostly figure stood completely unaffected by his attack. The walls and furniture of the room looked untouched by the scorching flames as well.
"Kah! Kah! Kah! You have no power that will work against me, Polluted one," the Queen laughed maniacally. Bowser growled at her and brought his fists down where she stood. The room shook and the golden candles on the altar clinked together. Peach stepped away and used on the stone columns to steady herself.
The King frowned to himself and lifted his hands. Stefani wasn't there. The golden glow of the woman had vanished and the room became pitch black.
A scream came from somewhere behind him.
Bowser squeezed his eyes shut and scowled. "You hurt her and I'll make you beg to go to hell," Bowser snarled, turning his head towards the glowing strands of light that had entangled themselves around a frightened princess.
"A dirty being such as yourself can't hope to touch something as close to perfection as me," the woman said casually, allowing her hair to wrap around the rest of the princess's body like a coil of snakes.
"Bowser!" Peach cried as the hair began to tighten around her and encase her body completely.
"But don't worry too much. This filthy little whore will soon be purified and I'll teach you your place! I refuse to let my offspring defile our family's name!"
As she spoke, Bowser's rage flared and he bounded forward on all fours. With a quick swipe of his claws, he slashed through the ghostly queen and burned the ground where she stood. Seeing that physical attacks had no effect on her, Bowser pulled an old wand out of his shell and muttered a spell. Several red circles shot out of his wand and went straight through his target.
"Kaaaah! Kah! Kah! How disappointing. A powerless and useless king... Maybe I should just dispose of you and raise your offspring the way they ought!"
As she spoke, Bowser ran forward and took a hold of Peach. In a desperate attempt to save her, he tried to pull her away from the bundles of hair. The moment he touched her, the scales on his hands grew hot. He groaned but put all of his strength into pulling the princess away. Despite Bowser's efforts, the hair tightened around her body and several loose strands lashed out at him. A snarl exuded from his lips as one of the strands pierced his right shoulder and a second whipped him across his armored chest. The blow pushed him back enough to break his grip on Peach.
"Let her go!" Bowser roared furiously as he grabbed Peach's figure again. The smell of burning skin filled the air as he tried to pull her cocooned body away from the tendrils of hair. He grimaced as he felt his claws burn. There had to be something he could use. Some kind of old magic that would harm a spirit.
Bowser looked all around the room, searching desperately for anything that could... There it was. The font of holy water. In a split second, he let go of Peach and ran for the back of the chapel where the holy water was being held in a large bowl by the entrance doors.
*WHIP!*
The world around him turned into stars and he fell forward onto the ground.
*Blurrr Blurrr Blurrr*
Bowser felt his body shrink and something warm run down the back of his neck. With a grunt, he lifted himself from the ground and began running for the font again.
"Kah! Kah! Kah! Don't you understand, little Koopa? Your time is up!" the golden ghost laughed and sent more strands of hair after Bowser. He dodged most of the attacks, but some of them whipped at him, injuring him as he ran. With a hiss, Bowser ignored the pain and grabbed the basin filled with holy water. He gave a victorious whoop when he grabbed it in his claws.
*Whip!*
Before he could react, two more strands of hair wrapped themselves around his legs and pulled him off the ground. Though he held onto the bowl of holy water, a bunch of it spilled on the floor.
"I see you have a strong grip. Let's see how long you can hold onto your precious water," Queen Stefani cackled and clapped her hands excitedly.
The hair around Bowser's ankles shook him upside down as he held onto the bowl like his life depended on it. Back and forth, up and down. Most of the water had been spilled, but he still hung onto the basin. The Queen shook him harder and then threw him against the columns. Finally, the bowl shattered and Bowser went limp in her grasp.
"Awwww... Poor dear. Did your toy break?" she mocked him with a vicious smile. "Come and see Gammy Stefani. She'll fix everything. Kah! Kah!" With a swoop of her hand, her hair hung an unconscious Bowser in front of her. She stood behind him and studied his wounds for a moment with a look of disgust on her face. "Your blood is red. It seems you are no longer a pureblood."
"Mphhhmm," Bowser groaned quietly. The Queen made a quick hand gesture to her hair and it turned him to face her.
*ssssssspppppttttt*
A stream of water burst from Bowser's mouth and doused her face and upper body.
"AHHHHHhhhhhhhHHHHhhhh!" Stefani shrieked as her transparent form writhed in pain. The hair around Bowser's legs loosened and he fell to the floor. "YOU... WICKED CHILD!" she screamed as she shielded her face with her hands - but the damage was done. The hair on her head had begun to melt and drip along with her face and shoulders. The strands of long hair that had been untouched fell off of her melting head and laid motionless on the floor. However, none of the hair disappeared. Peach, though freed from direct contact with the Queen, was still tightly cocooned in golden hair.
"My face... My beautiful, perfect face..." the golden ghost mourned, attempting to reform her snout with her melted hands. Bowser stood and watched her as he reached into his shell, pulled out another mushroom, and popped it into his mouth.
*BudalaBudalaBudala!*
Queen Stefani flinched at the sound of Bowser growing bigger and stopped trying to remold her face. Instead, she glared at him with burning red eyes and a slanted scowl. "May the Stars witness your purification this day..." she gurgled between her melted lips. With a clap of her hands, a bright golden glow began to emanate from the portrait she had come from. Bowser frowned as smaller ghosts tumbled out of the frame. There were Yoshis, Shyguys, Koopas, and a couple of Goombas, each as golden as Queen Stefani herself.
"All of my castle servants that fell through the enchanted paintings," Bowser muttered to himself and dragged his hand down his face. "You killed them and turned them gold so you could use them as your puppets... Peach..." His hand fell to his side and he looked over at the golden cocoon where Peach had been imprisoned. Something inside him plummeted and made him feel sick. How long did she have?
"Kill him!" the Queen screeched. Bowser retreated into his spiked shell and spun his way to the other side of the room. Just as he was about to pass Peach, he stuck his claw out and pulled her into his shell. The ghosts streaked after him like a swarm of fat yellow hornets. From one side to another, they chased him stupidly around the room.
"Spread yourselves out and capture him, you half-witted changlings!" Queen Stefani seethed angrily as the group made another pass around the room. All of the ghosts stopped abruptly and began fanning out. Bowser's shell slowed and slid into an uninhabited corner near the front of the room.
"Peach?" Bowser pulled at the golden hair that was wrapped securely around the princess. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll find a way to get you out of there. Just... give me a minute." He looked out of his shell and grimaced. The nearest ghost was a rather large Goomba who was charging in his direction. Bowser kept most of his body inside his shell but used his arms and legs to scuttled across the floor and dodge the waddling Goomba. However, the moment he had escaped the Goomba, he almost bumped into a Yoshi.
Quickly, Bowser scrambled along the floor on all fours and made his way to the font where he had spilled half a basin's worth of holy water. The Yoshi threw a long golden tongue after him. The Koopa King avoided the attack but was soon within range of a few other ghosts as he scrambled through the room.
"Don't let him get to that water!" the Queen commanded as she floated above the altar. All of the ghosts near the water hovered around it protectively while the ghosts surrounding Bowser began to chase after him.
"Hold on, Peach... This is going to be a little rough," Bowser muttered, securing the stiff princess under his arm. Taking a deep breath, Bowser brought his extremities back into his shell and let out a large burst of fire. His shell spun rapidly and his flames filled the room. The sudden explosion of light stunned the ghosts and left them in a state of confusion. Using this to his advantage, Bowser drove his shell towards the back of the room where he could see a puddle of water shimmering on the floor.
Relief spread through Bowser's chest and relaxed a some of the rising tension in his body. He slowed his shell's spin and reached a hand out to make a grab for the water.
"Budum!"
A golden tongue intercepted Bowser and left a searing pain on the back of his hand. The Kings's relief disappeared instantly. Retracting his hand, Bowser grabbed Peach and quickly threw her out of his shell just as a group of ghosts ambushed him from all sides. Bowser let out a roar of pain as his attackers rammed into his back, burning his skin on contact.
*Blurrr Blurrr Blurrr*
Bowser shrunk to his normal size and fell onto his face in with a grunt. Taking another deep breath, he breathed out another stream of fire. The flames weren't as bright as his last outburst, but it stunned the ghosts long enough for him to crawl forward and wet his claw in the holy water. Just as another group of golden ghosts bore down on him, Bowser balled up his fists and punched a Koopa ghost in the face.
*BAM!*
Bowser's scaly fist connected and sent the ghost flying. All of the ghosts surrounding Bowser stopped to watch the Koopa soar through the air and crash into the floor near the foot of Queen Stefani's altar. The left side of the ghost's face had been melted and completely disfigured by Bowser's blow.
All of the ghosts in the room hesitated and watched Bowser with wary expressions.
"...W-what are you waiting for?! Get him!" the Queen ordered nervously. Bowser wet both of his claws and took his battle stance just as a wave of ghosts flew at him. He slashed the air wildly and felt his claws cut through the ghosts effortlessly. A savage smile spread across Bowser's face as the room filled with shrieks of pain. One after another, Bowser tore through the ghosts with increased vigor, tearing through them mercilessly. Several long minutes passed before Bowser realized that the ghosts kept coming back. No matter how melted they were, they continued to ambush him from all sides. Most of them were barely recognizable. Even the Yoshis were hard to tell apart from the Goombas.
"Damn it," Bowser growled as he punched through another bunch of ghosts. His puddle of holy water was almost gone and his breath was becoming ragged. As he scraped his claws against the damp floor, he noticed a few of the ghosts sneak away from the majority of the group and make their way towards Peach's body which was lying only a few feet away. Bowser quickly clawed his way through the surrounding ghosts and positioned himself over Peach protectively.
"Why do you insist on protecting those weaker than you - lesser than you?" Queen Stefani ranted furiously. "Your blood should have been pure, but you tainted it for some slut! Do you have no SHAME? You could have been a god! You could have been worshipped above the stars!" She floated from the altar and scowled at Bowser as he slashed through the golden ghosts and kept them from getting too close to Peach's imprisoned figure.
"And yet, I have already lived longer than you did," Bowser snarled defiantly as he continued to fend off the unrecognizable ghosts. "Crazy ass people like you are the reason why my Kingdom is still a mess!"
Bowser's muscles were beginning to shake from stress and his claws were drying. There was no more water and no sign that the ghosts were going to stop coming. Time was running out and Peach was still wrapped in a cocoon of golden hair... She was probably already...
"YOUR kingdom?! Only the worthy can claim the throne! You can't even get a human woman to take you! Moaning and pleading after her like a BEGGAR!" Stefani yelled in anger.
"I can have and do anything I damn well please!" Bowser roared. "And after she marries me, I will have our children PISS ON YOUR GRAVE!" As his last words left his mouth, he felt his claws grow hot. His eyes widened and his anger turned into desperation as he tried to slash at the ghosts. His hands burned as they went straight through them. The holy water had dried. He was out of time.
The Queen gave a shriek of pure rage, "YOU CALL YOURSELF A KING?! PITIFUL, IMPURE-LOVING FREAK!" She flew forward and smacked Bowser across the face as the rest of the ghosts lashed him from all sides. Before he knew it, Bowser found himself on his hands and knees, covering Peach with his own body. The ghosts' attacks went straight through his shell and burned his skin. He cried out in pain and tucked his face under his arms as he laid over the princess, willing himself to stay upright.
"I'm sorry, Peach."