Author's Note: Where have I been? Where? WHERE? I... honestly... cannot begin to explain my long absence. It was irresponsible and inexcusable. I am very sorry. To apologize, I am going to upload 3 chapters at once, starting with this one. It's been over a year since my last update, and I am sure many of you thought that I had given up. And for a while, that may have been true. But I am here. So is the story.
Just a brief note. Over the year, it's possible readers have lost their place where all of the characters are located. So, in an organized manner:
Double D's Party: (12)
-Double D (Leader)
-Eddy
-Plank (Dormant in Eddy's inventory)
-Sarah (Rescued from UPCO)
-Goombella
-Goombirro
-Vivian
-Mac
-Bloo
-Monkey D. Luffy
-Nami
-Midna (Rescued from UPCO)
UPCO Villains (7)
-King (Leader of UPCO)
-Keaton (2nd in Command)
-Bremen (3rd in Command)
-Beldam (High Ranking)
-Dimentio (High Ranking)
-Lord Crump (High Ranking)
-The Fisherman (High Ranking)
Mushroom Kingdom Team(7)
-Lee (Leader)
-Ed
-Johnny
-May
-Flurrie
-Bobbery
-Dr. E. Gadd
Kevin's Team (3)
-Kevin (Leader)
-Luigi
-Terrance (Mac's Brother)
Characters kidnapped by Beldam (18)
-Jimmy
-Marie
-Eddy's Brother
-Koops
-Koopie Koo
-Punio
-Petuni
-Eduardo Jr.
-Ms. Mowz
-Doopliss
-TEC
-Princess Peach
-Roronoa Zoro
-Usopp
-Sanji
-Tony Tony Chopper
-Nico Robin
-Link
Disbanded (4)
-Nazz (Hospitalized)
-Rolf (In his Old Country)
-Mario (In Brooklyn)
-Goo (Searching for Mac and Bloo)
And with that reminder out of the way, let us at least resume the story!
Chapter 38: Demented Dominion
"Argh!" Mac shouted, as he barely managed to miss being struck by the strength of the heavily armored knight. The boy dodged and rolled on the floor, landing behind the knight a few feet away. Mac took advantage of his own speed and ran to get some distance. He stopped at the base of a regal pillar to get his breath.
"Geez!" Mac shouted, looking at mysterious knight. "This knight guy is so strong!"
Mac looked back in horror as the marble wall that the knight struck with his mighty axe gave way and collapsed somewhat, leaving a dark hole.
"One swing of something like that." Mac thought. "And I'll surely…"
He did himself the liberty and slapped himself across the face. "No, Mac, those are bad thoughts. Bad Mac."
He looked back up, noticing the giant knight was back on his feet and ominously approaching.
Mac looked around in both directions. "Hm… well…" He noticed a set of stairs to his right, which led up to the giant scale-structure that rested at the far end of the room.
"Maybe he can't climb stairs in that hulking costume of his." he thought aloud.
He worriedly proceeded to the base of the stairs and up. Of course, the steep staircase was a bit too much for Mac's 8 year old legs, causing him to have to stop halfway up to retrieve his breath again. He looked back down again. The Knight man was at the bottom of the steps. He apparently was having trouble, lifting those heavily armored legs over each step and holding that leviathan's axe at the same time.
"It worked…" Mac said. "I bought myself some time."
After catching his breath, Mac continued up the stairs, at to the top. He looked on as the dangerous knight slowly approached. He had more then enough time to-
To his surprise, however, Mac watched as the giant knight suddenly tossed his Axe. It soared in the air, and struck Mac-by the lock of his hair. He stood wide-eyed as it flew overhead, slicing the top half of his hair clean off, leaving a perfect flat top.
"MY HAIR!" Mac shouted in agony.
The Axe continued to fly, embedding itself in the wall behind it along with a large chunk of Mac's hair.
The Knight was also ditching some his heavier armor, revealing another layer of light padding underneath. He also removed his big helmet, revealing yet another darkened mask over his head. As soon as the giant plates of armor clacked on the floor, he was nimbly sprinting his way upwards.
"AAAAHHHH!!" Mac shouted. He ran to his left and atop the giant scale platform, which tilted downwards slightly under his weight, muttering a loud metallic creaking sound as this happened.
The knight was quick to follow, unfortunately. He also jumped into the giant scale. Mac and the knight stood on the two different platforms of the scale, it tilting downwards in favor of the knight's hulking weight over Mac's little frame.
The knight swung a new another weapon, a sword. It was smaller, but much faster then that of the axe. Mac forced himself to dodge the first few swipes. The 5th one managed to connect. It struck him across the chest. It left a slice mark in his shirt, and clearly seemed painful. Mac clutched his chest with one hand while he continued to dodge. He jumped backwards, and grabbed the chain that held his scale's platform above the air with his other hand.
The knight laughed, and swiped again. This time, Mac jumped upwards, allowing the chain to protect him from the blow. A loud "CLANK" sound echoed, and sparks flew from the chain, which miraculously managed to stay unbroken. Mac's opponent seemed somewhat surprised by the blow to the chains, as the sudden flash of sparks occurred right in his face.
Mac seized the opportunity to jump upwards again. He caught the chain in his arms, and latched onto it. The boy did his best to climb the chain to gain altitude. Meanwhile, the knight, back out of his daze, looked up and watched as the boy continued to ascend to the top of the scale structure.
"You will not escape me, child." said the knight. He readied his sword, and delivered a strong blow right into the chains. As he did, a loud CHINK sound echoed, the sound of the metal chain being severed.
No sooner had he done this, the structure fell apart. With no more support, the scale platform that held up the knight plummeted to the ground. The knight let out a loud scream as his platform crashed and broke apart in a loud explosion, sending dust and metal shards everywhere.
Mac, on the other hand, was pulled upwards along with the other platform. However this was just for a moment. The second the first platform fell, the chain, now unbound to the scale, fell back down to the ground, with Mac in tow. Luckily, the 8 year old managed to land on his feet into the cloud of dust and debris.
He coughed and fanned his face in an attempt to clear out the dust.
"Whew…" Mac sighed. He took a few steps backwards the exit the range of the dust cloud, and brushed himself off.
"Is he defeated?" he thought, a look of worry having crossed over his face. "Either way, this is an ideal moment to run!"
It was then that a sword pierced through the cloud, and swiped towards Mac's head. It barely missed having instead shaven off yet another lock of Mac's hair.
"Aw c'mon!" Mac shouted in frustration, running his hands over his slowly disappearing hairdo.
The knight ran out of the cloud of dust as it dissipated approaching Mac with sword in hand. Mac jumped backwards in order to dodge the next blow, which swiped over him barley.
As Mac landed, he noted a strange object on the floor. He looked down, and saw the broken chain, which was now only about two meters long in length. There was also a large chunk of metal, a piece of broken platform still attached. He reached down and picked it up.
The knight charged again, this time with his sword behind him. He was charging himself up for a strong, surely lethal blow. Mac took the chain, and spun the end with the broken metal like a ball and chain. He tossed it forward, still holding onto the other end. The metal chunk smashed into the face of the knight, who dropped his sword and writhed in pain.
"Arhghahgs!!!" the Knight shouted incoherently, trying to stand.
He seized the opportunity, and swung the chain around again. This time, the chain wrapped itself around the knight, securely tying him up. The knight shouted in anger, trying to break free.
Mac, on the other hand, decided to end it. He ran towards the knight, shouting a battle cry. He held both hands out, and on impact, pushed the knight backwards. He gave a shout as he tilted slowly, and then crashed on his back. Upon doing so, a large piece of debris from the scale fell downwards, and landed atop the knight. More dust picked up, causing Mac to shield his face. This was only for a second, though. After this, Mac looked back, and saw the knight was gone, having been buried in rubble.
The boy sighed in relief, and dropped the chain he was holding. He was panting between breaths, and leaning forwards, his hands on his knees to help support himself. He was in pain, his shirt torn, a cut on his chest, sweat streaming over himself, his hair a torn mess: but he did it. He won. An 8 year old defeated a master knight.
"I wonder…" he panted between every few words. "…how long… this will… haunt me…"
And with that, Mac turned around, and proceeded away from the fallen rubble.
"Uuuuuugh.." echoed a voice in the now quiet room.
Mac perked up again, and turned around in horror. He noticed that the knight's right arm was protruding from the fallen metal and marble mess. It was then that he noticed that the knight was holding a small, but long, blue metal rod, clutched in his hands.
He cautiously approached the defeated one. Mac looked down to see the knight's arm, and watched as it reached towards hand, pointing the rod at him.
"Well done." said the Knight in a deep, anguished voice.
Mac tilted his head. The fallen one reached forth, and held out the rod to Mac.
"You are indeed a brave knight. Young as you are… you posses great power, and great wisdom. The makings of a legendary hero, even."
The boy was stunned. What was going on here?
"…take this." said the Knight. "In the battles ahead of you, you will need more power, and magic. This will grant you both."
Mac curiously reached out and grabbed it from the knight's grasp. He examined it: It was a long blue rod, the length of a golf club. On the top end, there was a small glowing orb floating within a glass container, and wing like decorations surrounded the orb. The long rod itself had an inscription written on it. "Dominion Rod."
"Also" said the knight, catching Mac by surprise. The boy looked down, and saw that the knight was holding the Gold Star, it still glowing in his arm. "...take this. I have no further use for it."
Mac was elated to see he had recovered the crystal star, and took it as well. The star that granted the ability "Power Up" was now within his possession. And it was was only now that he had defeated a knight, gotten a new weapon and recovered an ancient artifact, did the scope of his actions dawn upon him.
"…Good luck, hero." Though Mac couldn't see it, he could sense the Knight smiling underneath the rubble.
With that, there was a sudden POOF!! The Knight form broke apart into a cloud of black smoke, startling Mac. The smoke flew upwards, and vanished. The Knight was then no more, and the room fell completely silent.
The 8 year old frowned, and held the rod in one arm: the star in another. He won the battle, and defeated the knight. Then why did he feel guilty?
A sharp pain suddenly surged through Mac. He let out a shout, and reached down to his chest, which had still shown the marks of a previous blow. It was a painful reminder that he still had work to do.
Dimentio floated downwards towards Goombella, Goombirro, and Bloo, the three of them watching. He landed right in front of them, and slowly approached At the same time, three backed away. Goombella noticed something strange about this one. He was different. Unlike the other foes she's encountered, she could sense a feeling of darkness and twisted emotions. She knew that he was nobody to mess with.
"Ladies, Gentlemen. Blob." He smiled.
Bloo groaned and gritted his teeth.
"Don't get so touchy." Said Dimentio. "Jokes are just jovial jubilations, like a jester dancing foolishly for all the king's men."
"What?" asked Goombirro.
Dimentio smiled. "Why, you three probably don't know too much about it, do you? I can see you have a lot to learn about it."
"What -are- you blabbing in about?" Bloo asked.
Dimentio smiled and bowed. "Let's begin, shall we?"
A sudden, green glowing was emanating from the masked magician. Goombella gasped, and Goombirro boldly stood in front of her in protection.
The green glowing spread across the room, as if a giant green wave had crashed over them. In moments, the entire chamber was lit aglow green. The three stunned heroes look on.
"Ok…" Bloo said. "What was the purpose of that?"
Dimentio hovered overhead. "Welcome, young heroes, to my own Dimension! Dimension D!"
"Dimension D?" asked Goombella. "What in the world?"
Dimentio smiled. "Dimension D. My own created world. But you three may call it your tomb."
Goombella, Goombirro, and Bloo all held serious expressions.
"You see, my attacks in here are all increased in power. About 256 times, to be exact."
He walked dangerously close to Goombirro.
"An exhale of breath would be like gale force winds. A flick of my finger to the back of your head would send you flying like a rocket." He floated upwards, the sound of his voice turning into maniacal shouting. "My fists decimate! My kicks obliterate! And my grand finale! You three probably wouldn't live to see it happen!"
"You're insane!" Bloo replied, Goombella and Goombirro nodding along with his statement.
"Fine." Dimentio said. "Enough talk!"
He suddenly teleported away. The three gasped and looked around, searching the mysterious man.
"Where'd he go?" Bloo asked.
"Right here, friends!" taunted Dimentio. They turned and saw Dimentio has reappeared right behind Goombirro. Before anybody could react, Dimentio rose his arm and slapped Goombirro across the back of the head. He let out a shout and flew forwards across the room, slamming into the rock wall behind him.
"GOOMBIRRO!" Goombella shouted.
Bloo fell on his "knees". "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! He was soooooooo young!"
"Stop it!" Goombella shouted at Bloo. "This is no time for jokes."
Bloo smiled. "There's never a wrong time for jokes! They keep ya happy and spirited in dark times!"
Goombella looked back at Bloo. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't-"
Dimentio smirked. "If I were you, I'd be paying attention."
It was too late to dodge or block. Goombella was suddenly sent flying as well. She shouted as she soared all the way to the ceiling, smashed against it, and fell all the way back down, landing on her helmet with a loud crashing sound.
Dimentio still held the same posture: his still-smoking index finger in a poking position. He pulled it to his face and blew out the smoke.
Bloo stood alone now, a new fear slowly growing around him.
"So, Mr. Blue man." Dimentio said. "Just you and me now. Two jesters locked in a duel to the death, like a cat and dog in a chamber of doom."
Bloo chuckled. "Which one of us is the cat and which is the-"
"That was a metaphor, blue man."
"I KNEW THAT!" Bloo shouted defensively.
Dimentio wove his index finger. "Hey, hey, no need to raise your voice. We're both gentlemen here."
Bloo closed his eyes. "I'm not gentle! I'm 100% blue manly perfection. No gentleness in this bod, baby."
Dimentio laughed. "Well, let's just see, shall we?" He floated right into Bloo's face, and pointed at him. Bloo gulped, and backed away somewhat.
"Now, now, let's-AAAAAAAAAHH!!"
Dimentio was interrupted as Goombella jumped at Dimentio and bit him right in the finger.
"PAIN!!!!" Dimentio exclaimed, flailing his arms in an attempt to get Goombella off him.
Goombirro was also on his feet again, and jumped forth, landing a strong head bonk atop the magician's head. He shouted and flew backwards. It was then that Goombella and Goombirro both let go, landing at Bloo's side.
"Nice distraction." Goombirro said to the blue one.
He looked clueless at first, but then folded his arms and smiled. "It was all a part of the plan!"
Goombella groaned.
"Ok…" Dimentio said. "I suppose it's time to get serious."
He disappeared again, the room fell silent.
"Keep a sharp eye out."
The three small heroes stood at one another's backs, and looked around the room carefully. At first, there was nothing but silence. But then, a sudden flicker of light.
"THERE!" shouted Bloo, pointing upwards. The three looked up, and jumps in three different directions to avoid being struck by Dimentio when he flew down and attempted to smack them.
The three landed a few feet away, and looked back at Dimentio. He was already preparing his next attack. He placed his hands together, both of which started glowing. Then, in a sudden burst of energy, he shot a large, glowing sphere at the trio, careening towards them like a bullet.
Goombella tilted her head downwards and allowed her helmet to block the attack. She was forced backwards until the friction between her feet and the floor caused her to halt.
"You three are impressive." Dimentio said. "But enough tomfoolery!" He floated into the air, the speed of which he moved accelerated. He prepared the attack again.
Goombella got back to her friends. "This won't work. We need to do something quickly, or we're going to be defeated fast."
"C'mon, Goombella!" Bloo shouted. "I'm always hearing talk of you being the smart one. If we're going to get out of this, then do what you were born to do! THIIIIINK!!!"
"I'll try." Goombella said, her gaze transfixed at the demented jester.
"C'mon, we'll keep her distracted!" Goombirro said. "Bloo, come with me."
"Uh, ok…" said Bloo, sounding a bit uneasy.
Goombella watched as the two small ones charged towards Dimentio.
"Oh, how careless." Dimentio remarked. He snapped his fingers, and instantly, the two were surrounded by a cube of glowing, yet clear magic. They were lifted off, into the air, to their surprise. He laughed and spun his fingers around, and instantly, the two were tossed backwards, flying over Goombella and into the barrier of Dimentio's oddly green dimension.
With a blasting sound, the two hit the barrier, and bounced back slamming on the ground a few feet away from Goombella. She looked down at them at first, a bit shocked, then back at Dimentio, who flew back down. Both of the boys were injured, and at first unable to get up, having been dazed as well.
Dimentio sighed, a frown appearing on his theatrical face. "How disappointing." he remarked. "This is far too easy. Nobody likes to see a show if everything is one sided... well, perhaps except for those fans of those TV shows where that one guy has the power of a god and spends most of the show screaming while powering up until-"
Goombella stared, one eye risen.
Dimentio chuckled. "Don't give me that expression. For every ounce of drama, comedy is needed as well. If you break that balance people will either think the show's too angsty or too funny without any plot."
His attention once again focused to the situation. Looking back down upon Goombella, he smiled. "So, young girl, what say you? Given this situation, what course of action will you take?"
She frowned at first. In the large amount of time she had to think, she hadn't been able to form a plan or strategy yet. And unless something where to come up soon, they would surely lose.
"Ok..." Goombella said. "I surrender."
At first she had expected to hear Goombirro and Bloo to shout in protest, but still having been knocked out, they gave no reaction.
"...really? In the face of danger and out of bravery, you give up?" Dimentio asked. "...ugh, how dull. How pathetic. What a boring ending... very well, I will not harm you further. But you will give me your crystal star. The three of you, plus our two female captives will be forced to join our ranks in UPCO."
Sensing what was going on, Midna and Sarah, still tied up, were shouting at Goombella, their cries however unheard behind the green barrier.
Goombella approached Dimentio. As she did, she sighed, and looked up upon him, giving him a pathetic expression. He floated back down to the ground, and shrugged. "Yes, what's with that face?" he asked.
"I'm just... practicing." she said.
"For what, dear woman?" asked Dimentio, curiously.
"For seeing how you'll react when I do this." she said. Goombella jumped forth, and attempted to attack Dimentio, biting the collar of his puffy shirt. He growled in frustration, and kicked her off.
"Hah! Did you honestly think you could hurt me through cowardly tricks-ARGH!" he came to a shocking revelation, when upon looking at her, she saw that she held the Sapphire Star in her mouth, having stolen it from his person.
"...she pretended to attack me in order to steal it?" he asked himself.
With it still in her mouth, she closed her eyes, and concentrated. The star started to glow a bright blue. She was tapping into it's power.
"No! I won't give you to opportunity!" he said, charging forward rashly. However, he was blocked by Bloo and Goombirro, a bit roughed up and injured a bit, but still conscious.
"Forget it, pretty boy." Bloo said, as the two held him off.
Goombella, having successfully tapped into the star's power, started to glow as well. Using the power of the star, she called forth "Sweat Feast". Her body began to become surrounded by icons of her face, as well as Goombirro's and Bloo's. As she focused on them, each icon popped into a shimmering cloud of magic bits. Each time this happened, either Bloo, Goombella, or Goombirro continued to glow brightly, their injuries starting to dissapear.
"She's healing them!" Dimentio thought. "As long as she taps into it's power, they will continue to heal!!"
Without another moment's notice, Bloo delivered a punch right to Dimentio's face. There was a loud crunch sound, as both Dimentio and Bloo writhed in pain.
"YEOWCH!" Bloo shouted, grasping his hand. "What is this guy's face made out of, stone?!"
"Don't lose your focus, Blooregaurd!" Goombirro said. He jumped forth, and slammed his head into Dimentio's face. Dimentio, rather surprised and in pain, flew backwards, and slammed into his barrier. Both Goombirro and Bloo looked on, as their bruises, cuts, and injuries continued to fade away.
"Good work, Goombella!" Goombirro shouted.
She, being focused on her work, was unable to answer back.
"Now." Bloo said. "While the iron is hot!"
Both Bloo and Goombirro rushed forth. Goombirro was first, and jumped into the air, landing atop Dimentio's head with a loud thud. As he got off, Bloo jumped ahead, and grabbed him by the collar.
"What say YOU, huh?" Bloo asked, mockingly.
"Heh..." Dimentio said, a pained laugh. "How dare you make fun of me? You've gone and made me angry-hurk!"
He stopped himself, clearly in more pain then he expected.
Bloo laughed, a bit gloatingly, still clutching Dimentio's collar. "Please, what can you possibly do to any of us now? How'd you put it... we've turned the tables, or we've turned YOUR tables!"
Dimentio became angry. "I swear, Blooregaurd Kazoo. I'll make you suffer when the tides turn once again-"
Bloo punched Dimentio in the face once more, and just like that, he flew backwards. As he crashed into his green barrier, it shattered, falling apart like glass shards, which splattered all over the ground. Dimentio lay quiet, not saying anything more, on his belly facing down. The room fell silent for a brief moment, until...
"Phew!" shouted Midna. "I guess that guy was just all talk. Go figure."
"Yeah, yeah, riveting." Sarah replied. "Thanks for saving us..." she said this part with a hint of regret, blushing angrily.
"It was nothing!" replied Bloo, as his injuries finished healing. "I'm a knight in shining blue armor! Now kneel before me and make me your king!"
"Indeed..." Goombirro added, unimpressed and embarrassed somewhat by Bloo's display, his injuries also fading away.
Goombella sighed, the star falling from her mouth. She stopped glowing, and the star did too eventually. Though her wounds had also recovered, she was mentally exhausted, panting a bit, eyes half shut.
"Baby- oh baby, you're worn out..." Goombirro noted, approaching her and reaching her side. As the two stood together, Bloo looked on with disgust, as he claimed the Sapphire Star.
"Eeeew, gross..." Bloo remarked, tongue sticking out.
"You just don't know what it's like to be in love yet." Goombirro said, sneering back at him.
"You two are in love?" Bloo asked, eyebrow risen. "But I thought that Eddy was the one who... wait a minute, what do I care?" he said, shaking his head.
"Oh yeah, by the way..." Sarah called from the above platform. "We'd really appreciate it if you'd untie us."
Bloo nodded. "Looks like once again, it's up to super Bloo to save the day!" he ran forth to free them, shouting a confident "WOOOOOSH" battle cry.
The fast-running footsteps of Beldam in Link's body could be heard as she transversed down the dark marble halls. As she opened another door, she found herself in the darkest room she had seen yet. A hallway, made entirely out of ancient stone. In the distance, she could see massive blades swinging from the ceiling like clock pendulums, and surrounding the platform the room lead into, deep dark abysses that dropped down as far as the eye could see.
"Drat!" she shouted in Link's voice. "I traveled down the wrong path."
"Indeed you have, Beldam."
She turned around, and to her surprise, saw Vivian, who had finally caught up to her within the halls. Beldam groaned. "Well I guess I couldn't get away from you after all. Maybe I shouldn't have expected too, you're so darned persistent."
Vivian looked on, frowning, and adjusting her witch's hat. In her intense glare, she said nothing, merely looking on.
Beldam smirked, and a rather nasty smirk at that, showing Link's pearly whites, and a nasty blue glow which came from her eyes. "This ought to be fun, huh?"
Vivian again said nothing. She finished adjusting her hat, and held her gloved hands out, posted with fingers towards the ceiling, poised for an attack.
Beldam, ever at the ready, withdrew the Master Sword, which gave a dark glow from it. Sparks flew from it as well, as her energy surged throughout it.
Vivian charged forth, hands spinning in front of her. As she thrust them forth, they shot fireballs out and towards Beldam. "FIRE!" Vivian called.
Beldam held up her hylian shield, which deflected the blows, each exploding around her, creating large clouds of fire. Sparks flew about, lighting up the room quickly like lightning. Vivian paused to look forward at first. From out of the fire cloud, Beldam shot forth, sword-first.
"Ice Cutter!" Vivian heard the call and ducked backwards, the first three slashes just missing her overhead. The sword struck into a pillar the fourth time, and caused it to freeze over, until it snapped loudly. A section of the ceiling fell forth, knocking over a pendulum blade, which landed on the floor with a loud "CLANG!"
Vivian seized this opportunity, and shouted "Flame-Blade!" as she grasped the large pendulum blade. The blade heated up instantly, glowing red from the heat, sizzling loudly, as smaller embers fell from it.
Beldam watched, insanely amused, before rushing forth. "Ice Cutter!"
Vivian blocked with her own blade, the ice and fire weapons making a loud bursting sound with each contract, as bits of fire and chunks of ice fell off.
KA-BOOM!!!
Vivian held up her defense as Beldam struck three more times, each time the blades cancelled one another out.
"Fire-Cutter!" Vivian cried, swinging her blade at Beldam. It screeched as it sliced through the air, striking the frozen Master Sword. Beldam was forced backwards. She appeared to fall off the side of the platform, when she grabbed one of the swinging blades that hung from the ceiling, and grasped hold of it. Standing on the tip of the blade, Beldam looked down, as Vivian jumped forth, and attempted to strike her with the blade a second time. Beldam deflected the blow a second time, causing both of them to fall back down to the ground. Beldam, now panting, looked at her non-sister.
"This won't do." Beldam said, between pants. "I'll have to switch vessels."
Vivian looked perplexed. "You'll what?"
Beldam looked at the fire mage, before looking back down to her Medallion of Life that hung from her neck.
"This truly is a very great relic." Beldam said. "I can use it to collect many people. And use them. Don't you recall, Vivian? I kidnapped a large amount of people in my adventure. And I call summon them whenever I want as well, using this. One could say all of their souls are stored in this relic, like a memory card."
Vivian looked on, her blade still glowing red.
"Link isn't the only body I can inhabit. I didn't tell anyone this, but I can take over the body of anyone I've... collected." Beldam said, a terrible smirk on Link's face. "In fact, including Link here, I have a catalog of... 18 people I can inhabit. I'll show you."
Vivian had heard enough. She charged forth, blade at the ready, as she jumped up and swung it down. "I won't give you the chance!"
Beldam grasped the medallion in her arms, and a flash occurred. In an instant, Beldam's figure changed form, and where Link once stood, now stood little Jimmy.
"Oooh, please!" Beldam taunted in Jimmy's innocent voice. "Don't hurt me!"
"HYAH!" Vivian called, swinging the blade down upon Beldam. In Jimmy's voice, she cried out, a large cut on her body, as her now smaller body flew across the room and landed on the ground, mere feet from the edge of the platform.
Vivian grunted, and adjusted her hat, which had come slightly off center in the process.
Beldam slowly got up, making the best "Puppy dog face" that she could pull off with Jimmy's body. "Owie... that hurt, you big bully... How could you, Vivian?"
Vivian smirked. "Don't mess with me. It only makes me angrier about all of the things you have done... sister."
Beldam looked shocked. "How? She seems... much different then before. How did she get so confident as she is now?"
However, she groaned. "Ok, I see these tactics won't work here. Time to get serious."
Again, Beldam grasped her medallion, and with a flash, her body changed. Now, stood Koopie Koo, Koop's girlfriend, giving Vivian a pretty nasty expression. "Muuuuch better." Beldam said. "Now, shall we resume?" A pretty nasty expression crossed her new koopa face.
Mac raced through the halls, panting heavily. He had placed the crystal star and his new dominion rod in his rucksack, though the rod was quite long as the end stuck out, like a sheathed sword.
"C'mon, now." Mac said. "Where is everyone? I need to rejoin the others."
He was stopped by the sounds of explosions. He looked down at his feet, and noticed the ground was shaking, just a bit.
"Aha!" he said, with a sudden realization. "They must be below here!" With that, he raced on, towards a set of stairs.
Vivian was surprised by Beldam's newfound speed. The new Koopa body of hers allowed for much more graceful movement. As she approached the fire witch, Beldam preformed a front-flip, and as she landed on her arms, Beldam used a break-dancing movement to kick Vivian's fire-blade, with incredible force. Vivian was forced to let go, as it flew from her grasp, and down into the bottomless pit. Now unarmed, Vivian gasped, only to be face to face with Koopie Koo.
"Frozen Shell!!"
Beldam retreated into her shell, which turned to ice. As it struck Vivian with a direct hit, part of her froze entirely. She shrieked in pain, as her chest and lower body became encased in ice as a result of the impact. Beldam's shell bounced off, and began to skid on the platform, as if a puck on ice, making a circle and doubling back.
"No!" Vivian shouted, seeing it return. Vivian attempted to move away, but her frozen body refused this command. Again Vivian was struck, this time in the right arm, which froze solid. Vivian cried out in anguish. And once again, the ice shell bounced off, and slid in a circle, coming back towards Vivian mercilessly. It struck her once again, this time freezing all but Vivian's head, which gave out a loud, painful scream.
"Ha ha!" Beldam shouted, as her shell bounced off. She came back out, and spun on the ground until she posed in a kneeling position. Beldam got back up, and shook off a few shards of ice from her shell. "That worked better then expected."
Vivian grunted, her teeth gritting, as she tried to break free from her frozen status. All in vain however, as the searing pain distracted Vivian from being able to use her fire power. Beldam approached, and grabbed Vivian.
"Now look at you, how fragile you are." Beldam said, smirking Koopie's smirk. She reached for a frozen strand of Vivian's pink hair, and snapped it right off. Vivian gasped in horror as Beldam held the broken off piece, and crushed it in her arm. "I'll do this to the rest of your body."
Vivian grunted, again trying to break free. "Why are you telling me this?!"
Beldam backed up for a moment, preparing her attack. "Because, dear Vivian... with this final blow, you wouldn't even have known what hit you. And I want you to know what happened to your in your final moments..." Koopie looked down. "Of course, death isn't so bad. Maybe if you're lucky, you'll find your own relic and use it to posses another. Until then... farewell."
Vivian shouted as Beldam rose her fist, preparing to punch right through the ice. Then, with a swift blow, the deadly attack raced forth, ever closer, UNTIL-
"Ka-CHING!!!"
Vivian closed her eyes and awaited her fate...
"...what?!" Beldam shouted suddenly.
Vivian opened her eyes and gasped. Before her, stood an 8 year old boy, who had blocked the blow using an ancient blue rod.
"How in the-?!" Beldam repeated, astounded.
Mac looked back towards Vivian. "Are you ok?"
"Mac! How did you-"
"Don't worry about it now!" Mac shouted. "Here, quickly!"
The boy, still holding onto the rod in his right hand, reached forth and grasped the gold Crystal Star in the other.
Beldam and Vivian gasped. Beldam, in particular, stared with a hunger towards the star.
"Boy! Give that back to me!" Beldam shouted.
Mac clutched the star, and tapped into it's power up technique. As he did, he placed focus upon Vivian, and shouted with all his might. Vivian began to glow bright yellow, as newfound power suddenly surged into her. In an instant, she burst forth from her icy prison, panting and gasping.
"No!" Beldam cried, and attempted to stop Mac. She punched him right in the face. Mac cried out, and flew backwards, hugging the star to keep himself from losing it. His dominion rod was released, and clanged along beside him as he landed on the ground. Mac watched, after landing on his back, as the rod passed beside him, and nearly fell off the platform. He frantically got up and threw himself forward in order to catch it. However, in all of his misplaced footing, Mac failed to stop his own inertia. He let go of the star as he lost his balance, and quietly slipped over the side of the platform and into the black abyss below.
"MAC!" Vivian cried out.
There was no response, as Mac seemingly vanished. For ten seconds, she waited quietly, before turning back to Beldam, eyes teary by now.
"MAAAAAAC!!!"
The impact of this event slowly sunk over her. Mac had slipped away... quietly... calmly... he had sacrificed himself...
"Struck a nerve, did I?" Beldam asked. "Just be grateful. That little kid thought your life was meaningful enough to sacrifice himself over. At least he had the decency to leave the crystal star behind before plunging to his death-"
"INCINERATE!!!"
The air around Beldam seemed to have exploded suddenly. She screamed a loud cry which echoed in the large expansive hallway: that is before being drowned out by the deafening sounds of explosions. Vivian stood nearby, panting heavily, teeth gritted in frustration. She waited for the clouds of fire and ash to subside before looking on at her work. Koopie Koo's body, now charred completely black, lay on the ground. It twitched, as Beldam let out a painful moan. She was grasping her medallion of life in one hand, her movements slow as a zombie, clearly in excruciating pain.
"How..." Beldam asked, a cloud of smoke rising from her mouth... "How could you...?"
Vivian looked on, silently.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" Beldam shouted. "AGAIN!!"
Beldam writhed in pain, and rolled onto her stomach.
"I supported you... from the day you were born. We worked together, you, me, and Marilynn... we were a FAMILY! How could you have DONE THIS TO US?! Because of you... because of you, and your betrayal, everything we stood for fell! I died... Marilynn DIED-"
"Don't." Vivian said. "You didn't care for her either. You cared for nobody, but yourself. Don't you DARE try to make me feel guilty."
The two looked at one another, both angry and in pain. Neither said anything to one another for a while.
"I see it now." Beldam said. "How strong you have grown. It's..."
Vivian awaited as Beldam formed her words.
"...infuriatingly impressive. ...and even so..." Beldam coughed out more smoke pathetically. "...you can't win..."
At that moment, Beldam clutched harder upon her Medallion of Life.
"No!" Vivian shouted in her mind. "I won't be able to win if Beldam can keep switching out forms. I have to stop this!"
Vivian raced forth, shouting a battle cry. As she did, she watched as a flash consumed the charred body of Koopie Koo. The flash soon cleared moments later.
Vivian was unable to see who it was she changed to, for a moment later she was stopped. A hand suddenly sprouted from the ground, and grabbed Vivian's purple tail, stopping her still. Vivian looked down to see this, and then back at Beldam. She noticed that standing there was a tall, slender feminine body, with black hair and a long purple dress.
"My..." Beldam said, in Nico Robin's voice. "How elegant. I must say that I like this body."
Unlike Beldam's other forms, Vivian noticed a subtle, calm expression in this body. A pirate archeologist with a dark disposition, tall and powerful and intimidating. Beldam seemed eerily comfortable.
"Flam-"
"Seis Fleur!"
Six more arms sprouted from Vivian's body, all of which were controlled by Beldam. One of these arms covered Vivian's mouth, impairing her speech, while the other arms wrapped around her, immobilizing the fire mage entirely.
"HRPH!" Vivian shouted, her voice muffled.
"Shhhhh..." Beldam whispered ominously.
Beldam approached Robin, her arms in a folded pose that held the attack together.
"Farewell, Vivian. This time, do me a favor and die." Beldam stated.
"HURK!!" Vivian shouted in protest.
"Clutch."
As Beldam called out her attack, the arms that had wrapped around Vivian twisted and tightened, and with a loud, single, sickening "CRUNCH", Vivian's body went limp. Her eyes closed, mouth shut underneath Beldam's grasp, and she went completely silent. Beldam closed her eyes, and sighed, a bit in relief. Then, she released her grasp slowly, allowing her two normal arms to to fall to her sides as the sprouted limbs vanished around Vivian.
The fire mage fall to the floor with a thud, staying silent. Beldam in her new form towered over Vivian, and brushed herself off. "Sorry, Vivian." she said in Robin's voice, without an ounce of sincerity. "Consider us even."
Beldam looked over Vivian, and for the first time, in a moment of realization, she realized what she had done. Beldam... never felt happier in her life. A dark smirk covered Robin's face, which turned into a demonic grin.
"Ha ha ha..." she laughed, a distorted mix between Robin's and Beldam's voice. "Ha ha ha ha ha!! "MWA HA HA HA HA..."
Beldam fell silent. Behind her, she could feel a bizarre presence. One that shouldn't have been there. Beldam quickly turned around.
Towering above her, rising slowly from the dark abyss, was a large golem statue, made of ancient stone, with hylian text inscribed all over it. Where it's heart would be was a large gaping hole, and within that hole was a sphere of light. In one giant hand, it help Mac, who was holding the Dominion Rod out in front of him, which was also glowing. The rock statue itself looked down upon Beldam with it's mighty gaze.
"WHAT?!" Beldam asked, upon looking at it. "What is-?!"
"HURAAAAAGH!" Mac shouted a battle cry, pointing the dominion rod towards Beldam. The statue responded to Mac's command, roaring the same cry, and with it's free hand, threw a large strong punch. It flew right towards Beldam, and connected with Robin's body. She was sent flying instantly, and crashed into the wall behind her, before falling down and landing on the platform.
Beldam groaned in Robin's voice, breathing slowly, then looked up towards the ceiling. Then, her senses beginning to fade, she turned her head to look towards Vivian's fallen body. Beldam gasped once more, before closing her eyes and following Vivian's lead, going still. The room was enveloped in silence.
Mac, who had been standing on the statue's hand, motioned for it to lower him down to the platform. The boy then waved the rod once, canceling the spell it had placed on the statue. It went silent as well as the controlling orb returned to the rod, which deactivated. Mac leaned on the rod, panting heavily. He looked up, at the fallen Vivian and and Beldam. He approached Beldam first, and reached for her medallion of life.
Without letting it fall off of Robin's neck, Mac clutched the medallion. It suddenly glowed, and responded to him.
"It's time you let everyone go." Mac said, between exhausted breaths. At that moment, the whole medallion began to glow bright blue. 17 blue orbs emerged from it's metal structure, and spiraled around the room, landing on the platform. Each glowing blue orb then slowly, but surely, morphed into 18 different figures. Each looked damaged, but alive, as they looked upon one another. One such figure stepped forward, looking at himself with astonishment. Then, with an incredulous voice, Eduardo Jr. asked...
"We're... free?"
Author's Note: And thus this chapter comes to a conclusion. I ended up wrapping most of these fights up sooner then I thought, but ah well. Onto the final fight of the story arc!