60 chapters… I started this almost 10 years ago now in high school. How did it come to this point?!
Siph: With any luck, you'll end it with 64 chapters.
That would be too perfect.
Disclaimer: Counting appendix chapters with ideas for I Promised that didn't make the cut, and hilarious outtakes.
Chapter 60: One Last Spell
Ludwig picked the book up and looked at it.
"You want me to chuck that thing into the lava?" Roy asked.
Ludwig held up a hand. "What was our promise those four years ago again?"
All three of them recited from memory, in unison, "I promise to protect my younger siblings, no matter the cost, no matter what happens to me."
Lemmy dismissed his ball and walked up next to Ludwig. "What are you thinking, Luddy? Is there something in there that might help?"
Ludwig waved his wand over the book and the pages flipped open to a full spell. Roy and Lemmy looked at it.
"Overflow," Roy read the name out loud. "Not sure about all the magical-ese underneath. What's it do?"
"It causes the user's inner magic to overload in their body as a boost of superpower," Ludwig explained.
"But overloading our magic would mean…" Lemmy began.
Ludwig nodded. "We would burn through our very lifeforce with all that energy."
Roy furrowed his brow, staring at the book for a few seconds before murmuring, "Whatever it takes…" He looked at Ludwig. "Can we all get it?"
Ludwig nodded. "I believe so. I'll just need your wands in contact with mine while I cast it." He looked at his brothers. "But are you both, absolutely sure you want to do this?"
An explosion from Bobbery got their attention. The three princes saw Orphan barely being kept away from Bowser Jr.
Roy and Lemmy simultaneously put their hands in. "Whatever it takes," they repeated in stereo.
Ludwig steeled his gaze and placed his hand in as well. "Whatever it takes," he concluded, then stepped back and pointed his wand. "Put the gems to mine."
Lemmy and Roy obeyed. The book of forbidden spells floated next to Ludwig as he read the instructions of the spell.
Back in the fray, Orphan shot another single bolt of lightning, this time at the bag Gonzales Jr. was tugging around. The electric shock forced him to let go of it and jump away. The Mini-Yoshi tumbled to the ground and screamed as his side touched lava. He quickly rolled away, but he was already badly burned.
Koops jumped to his side. "Are you okay?!" he asked on instinct despite knowing it was a stupid question.
The little green champion gritted his teeth, trying not to cry from the searing pain despite the flood of tears already building. "The items…" he grunted.
Koops looked up to see Goombella looking in the bag Orphan had targeted. Goombella looked at him. "Nothing but ash left!"
"No Ms. Mowz. No items." Koops looked around frantically. "Don't we have any healing left?!"
Peach called out, "I do!" She gently put down Pauline after restoring some of her health.
Orphan turned toward the two damsels. "Not for long!" He lobbed a giant fireball.
Peach gasped and reached for her parasol that wasn't there. She closed her eyes and braced herself, doing her best to shield Pauline with her body.
"PRINCESS!"
Peach opened her eyes just in time to see Toad leap into the fireball head-on, making it explode. The loyal retainer plummeted to the ground, smoking.
"TOAD!" the princess shrieked and stumbled to him.
Toad coughed. "I've had worse," he tried to downplay his current state, but he could still barely move. "You can heal me later, try to save your FP."
Peach shook her head. "I'm your princess. I'm not leaving you like this." She pulled him and Pauline into a Group Hug to continue helping them both.
Orphan huffed. "At least she's occupied." Then he turned his eyes to the remaining party.
Flurrie was active, but she was still trying to fight the wind trapping them with her own. Everyone else was either down or hurting. Those still up weren't doing much better. At this point, the party had dwindled down to the Koopalings and Mario Bros.
Orphan saw Mario and Bowser Jr. standing alone together, and he stepped over the rest of the group towards them, upping his size even more. "I'm going to enjoy crushing you both with my bare hands. Do what my idiot host could never do."
Mario stepped in front of Junior, Super Hammer at the ready. Despite the sweat dripping from beneath his cap from both the heat of the lava and the circumstances, he did not tremble, and his glare did not waver from the massive Dragon-Koopa advancing on him and the child behind him. He raised his hammer as Orphan reached out his arm.
Suddenly, a very loud sound of something shattering resounded in the clearing. Everyone froze and looked back to where the sound came from.
Shards of what used to be the three eldest Koopalings' metal cuffs and Roy's sunglasses lay strewn the ground beneath their feet, along with their still-intact wands and the book of forbidden spells. Ludwig, Lemmy, and Roy were not there. Not on the ground anyway.
They floated a few feet in the air, and looked very different. They still had their same recognizable shapes, minus the clothing they had been wearing. But their skin looked to have a blazing fire within. Ludwig's white and dark blue, Lemmy's yellow and white, and Roy's a purplish red and white. The Koopas' eyes glowed pure white.
The Koopalings on the ground stared in awe.
"Luddy?"
"Lemmy?"
"Roy?"
Orphan's gaze eyes fell on the book and his eyes widened. He glared at them. "What did you do?!"
Ludwig glared back. "We've had enough!"
With that final word, a magic shockwave erupted from him and immediately dissipated the whirling gale entrapping them all. Flurrie stopped what she was doing and finally looked down to see what had happened below her while she had been occupied.
"Oh my word!"
Orphan stumbled at both the magic blast and the intense light shining on him from his host's three oldest sons unrelenting glares. "You'll pay for this… even if I don't know how you've done this…"
Roy snorted, "You're the one who's gonna pay for —"
"No time for quipping!" Lemmy interrupted. "We're running on borrowed time now!" The tiny Koopaling flew at light speed past Orphan before anyone could blink and dove under the ground, sending another magic shockwave out from where he entered. This shockwave was cold, and replaced all the lava it touched with the original soil. Before anyone could process what he did, Lemmy burst from the ground in the same spot, this time carrying an unconscious Shadow.
"Vivian!" Flurrie floated down to her as Lemmy flew back to his brothers.
Orphan growled, "Okay, so you've made some small quick fixes. Big deal. I'm still boosted from my Eclipse."
Wordessly, the three Koopalings raised their fists straight up, and three pillars of light erupted from them into the sky. The dark shadows blanketing the sky broke into pieces like glass.
Twink saw this opportunity to shout, "Oh, great and honorable Star Spirits! Please help us!"
Orphan's eyes widened as the sunlight shone bright as it should for the time of day. He shuddered and shrank slightly as he felt his power boost draining. "No! You can't defeat me! Even with —" he was cut off as all three overloaded Koopalings kicked him in the gut. He stumbled backwards and almost fell on the others, only to be caught by the big brothers.
But then they flipped Orphan over their heads by the tail and slammed him into the ground behind them with a mighty crash.
Dazed, Orphan looked lazily up at the tricolor Koopalings bearing down on him. "So is this where you kill me? Make yourselves orphans?" he growled an attempt at a taunt.
Roy narrowed his eyes. "We did say, 'Whatever it takes.'"
Lemmy floated forward. "But I have a better idea."
Ludwig nodded, following suit. "We just needed to incapacitate your body. Besides, we used up most of our energy already."
Orphan looked from Koopa to Koopa. "What are you—?"
He was quickly answered, but it was not an answer he expected at all.
Bowser's three oldest children hugged him.
"We love ya, Pop," Roy said to Bowser.
Lemmy added, "I'm sorry you felt like you were alone in this fight against your Umbra for so long, King Dad, but you don't have to be! Just like I was never alone…"
"Father, please come back to us!" Ludwig pleaded. "Your family and your kingdom need you, and you are not the kind of Koopa to let something as lowly as this wannabe take over your body!"
Bowser's other five children ran up and joined the family hug.
"They're right, King Dad," Larry started. "We're here for you!"
"Maybe you can't fight Orphan without Mom, but you can fight him with us!" Iggy reminded him.
"You also have Kamek, Aunt Kammy, and all our troops to help you too, Daddy!" Wendy added.
"We would never give up on you, King Dad!" Morton started. "Never ever ever ever ever!"
Bowser Jr. squeezed him the tightest. "It's not my fault Mama died and it's not your fault either, Papa! We love you and want to fight Orphan together!"
Suddenly, more joined the hug. All nine Koopas looked up at the new contact to see Mario and Luigi. And Peach, having finished healing all her friends in a giant Group Hug.
Mario began, "Bowser, we've clashed more times than I even want to count. But you always shoehorn something in that lets me get the upper hand. So you owe me an explanation for that. As much as you build yourself up as grade-A final boss material and the greatest evil that ever was, I know you've been letting me win. So I will support you here and help you win!"
Luigi added, "And we can tell you're a good dad and a good king! Why else would you kids and all your minions adore and trust you so much even when you're not there?"
Peach took a deep breath. And then she finished, "Bowser. King Koopa. You've rained chaos and confusion on me and my subjects for five years now. But you never harm a hair on my head. You always hold back. And it's clear that you want someone to take care of your children. I may not agree with your actions or methods, especially where my people are involved, but I refuse to believe you are beyond our help. Please, help us help you!"
Orphan struggled against everyone's grip. "No! I won't lose! I won't lose control after getting this far!" Suddenly he gasped and whimpered.
The reflectionless black void in his eyes faded, and white sclerae with twin pools of boiling lava reappeared where they should be.
"You already have, brat!" Bowser growled.
Bowser Jr. gasped, "Papa!"
The other Koopalings cheered similarly and their hug on the returned Koopa King tightened. Bowser pushed himself up, fully healed thanks to Princess Peach's Group Hug ability once again, and wrapped his arms around his children as Mario, Luigi, and Peach stepped back. Bowser and the Koopalings openly sobbed in the embrace, and there wasn't a dry eye from any of the others either.
"You did it, Papa!" Bowser Jr. cheered. "You beat Orphan!"
Bowser shook his head. "No, Junior. We beat Orphan. Together. Just like I should have had us do all along." He let go and looked at Mario, Luigi, and Peach. They held their gaze at each other for a few seconds before Bowser finally spoke to them. "Thanks, I guess. For everything you all did today."
Mario pointed at him. "I still want that explanation."
Bowser rolled his eyes. "Ugh, fine! I'll tell you everything. But first, I want to congratulate these three boys for what they just did to Orphan! Peach might have healed us, but I can still feel that kick and that slam. Wow!" Bowser grinned and turned to Ludwig, Lemmy, and Roy, as did everyone else.
Everyone gasped.
The three oldest Koopalings were on their knees, feeling the aftermath of the Overflow spell. Their original colors had returned. But their bodies were fading in and out of existence, and their breathing was shallow.
There comes a point when the cost of victory is too great.
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