Bowsette: A New Life
Chapter 20
A New Threat
Time seemed frozen for the two as Bowsette leaned in to kiss Mario. She still didn't understand why she was doing this, but right now she didn't care. Mario's thoughts mirror the Koopa Queen's, he was confused but it was obvious Bowsette was into him despite her denials. "My Queen!" A Koopa Troopa attendant yelled.
"Wah!" Mario shouted in surprise in sync with Bowsette. "Wha… what?!" Bowsette growls irritably. "What's so important?!" The Koopa Troopa steps back in fear. "Um… Right! The fort is under attack my Queen." Bowsette looks at the Koopa Troopa incredulously. "Under attack? Who would have the guts to attack here? Especially now?" Mario steps off the table. "Well…" Mario tries to interject and Bowsette grunts. "Besides you."
A faint banging noise can be heard echoing down into the dungeons. "I'm not sure your highness, but they're trying to break the main doors down. They're also trying to do the same on the roof." Bowsette and Mario looked at each other. "Let's-a go!" Mario exclaimed and rushed up the stairs. "Wait up you fat meatball!" Bowsette yells, she's hot on the plumber's heels.
Massive explosions rock the fort. "Sounds like Bob-ombs." Bowsette noted. "Of course you'd know-a what exploding Bob-ombs sounded like." Mario quips. "You don't? And how many times have you fought the things?" Bowsette shot back. "Point taken. What do we-a do?" Mario asked. "Good question." Bowsette reaches one of the tiny windows by the front of the fort.
"Mario, look!" Outside, there's dozens of Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and other types of Bowsette's minions. "What are they doing?!" Bowsette growls. "Look-a at them, they don't look right." Mario noted. It was true, they were colored mostly black and purple, but their eyes were what was most notable. All of them had pinkish and unnatural looking pupils, with a permanent expression of absolute fury on their faces.
"Look! They're coming from…" Mario didn't need to say further. The dark clouds were in the sky again, but now the pink lightning wasn't just jumping from cloud to cloud, it was also occasionally hitting the ground. As soon as the lightning struck the ground, a pink cloud poofed into the air and another enemy appeared in its place as the pink cloud dissipated.
"Dammit… this is bad. We need to fight them off somehow, but this fort doesn't have any real offensive weaponry." Bowsette lamented. "Only those stupid fireworks we would shoot off whenever we took back the fort." Bowsette spits. "Ugh. Should've installed some Bullet Bill cannons…" Mario sighed. "We better get-a ready to take them on ourselves then."
Almost immediately as Mario says this, the enemy Bob-ombs finally manage to breach the front door. Mario takes a moment to throw off his suit jacket and put back on his trademark hat. "All of you stop! I am your Queen and I command you!" Bowsette yelled, but the enemy didn't stop, they didn't even show any sign of having heard her. "No luck. Ready-a or not, here they come!" The enemy minions rush at the two as the guards are quickly overwhelmed.
"You DARE to attack me!?" Bowsette growled. She takes a deep breath and prepares herself. "BRRRAAAGH!" Bowsette breathes a stream of fire at the door, cutting off the minions for a moment. "Bowsette! The Bob-o…" Mario tries to warn but it's too late. The flames make a dozen enemy Bob-ombs all go off at once, throwing the two back and collapsing the entrance.
Mario gets off the floor first and reaches out a hand to the Koopa Queen. Bowsette blushes as she takes Mario's hand and gets to her feet. "Well, that's fortunate, but now the only way out is through the roof, and they're attacking up there too." Bowsette noted. "I guess we'll just-a have to break through!" Mario responded. "I like the way you think. Come on!" The two rush up to the roof. "No…" Bowsette said quietly in horror.
As they reach the roof, before them is a battlefield. Dark Lakitu things are tossing Dark Spineys all over the roof. The few guards up here are fighting a valiant but ultimately losing battle, but that's not what draws Bowsette's attention. "Kamek! Cover me Mario!" Mario fights off the baddies as Bowsette runs up to the old Magikoopa lying motionless on the ground. "Kamek please! Open your eyes!" Bowsette grabs him and tries to shake the Koopa awake.
Kamek gradually is stirred from his slumber. "My Queen… look out!" Kamek raises his wand and makes a magic barrier just in time to block a blast of magic at her back. Bowsette turns and sees a Dark Magikoopa fling magic her way. "Grrr… this is annoying!" Holding Kamek in her arms Bowsette fires a barrage of fireballs at the attacker. The Magikoopa dodges the fire and is driven off. "Behind you Mistress!"
As Bowsette turns a massive Koopa Copter rises over the edge of the roof. This one is colored dark purple and lacks the classic smiley face on the front or any design at all, only a hole for firing out projectiles. Bullet Bills blast out of the hole, forcing Bowsette to dodge but then she gets an idea. She takes a page from the plumber's book and hops on top of one Bullet Bill only to use it as a springboard to jump to the next, and then the next. Finally, Bowsette hops off one final Bill to ram her body into the Koopa Copter full force, pushing it back and it emits smoke.
A massive, clawed hand grabs the edge of the top of the Copter and then another. A familiar yet different growl emits from the Copter and the occupant slowly pulls themselves up. The massive horned head, dragon-like face, spiked shell… "Okay. What the fuck?" Bowsette simply gaped. 'That's… me?' Aside from the darker black/purple coloration and pink pupils it was just as she remembered herself… before.
Meanwhile, Mario tried his best to fight off the ever-increasing hordes of baddies. Luckily the pink lightning doesn't seem to be striking much here, but the swarms of Spiney being constantly thrown by the Dark Lakitu are proving quite an annoyance. Mario readied his hammer and batted some Spiney aside, threw fireballs at others, and jumped on the Lakitu whenever they got close enough. Sometimes he would manage to knock a Spiney into a Lakitu and take it out of the fight. Still, it was an uphill battle.
The Dark Bowser didn't hesitate to attack and spit a stream of fireballs, but not at Bowsette and Kamek. "Mario look out!" Bowsette shouts but Mario is too busy to notice. Reacting without thought, Bowsette runs up and puts herself between the fireballs and the plumber. The fireballs can't hurt Bowsette, but she looks at her scorched back and back at the thing that wore her former face. "You ruined my best dress." Bowsette said very quietly, the voice dripping with menace.
Mario stares open mouthed at the woman who just saved him. "Listen here you… whatever the Underwhere you are!" Bowsette's mouth fills with flame and some puffs out with her every word. "If ANYONE is going to kill that plumber, it's going to be me! Now…" Bowsette growls. "GET OUT OF MY FORTRESS!" Bowsette roars and rapidly fires a stream of fireballs striking down scores of Lakitu. One hits the propeller of the dark Bowser's Copter, and it careens away.
Despite this, more and more minions keep appearing from the lightning bolts. Bowsette looks around and sighs. Kamek was unconscious again in her arms. "Not a good place for a last stand. Come on." Bowsette heads to her own Koopa Copter and hops in. Mario follows right behind her. The thing is roomy despite being a bit smaller compared to when Bowsette was Bowser. "Hang on!" Bowsette sets Kamek down on the floor of the Copter and takes the controls.
'You can't run.' Bowsette hears a familiar mocking voice in her head. 'I'm always here… I'm in every last dark corner of your mind… I won't fade…' Bowsette shakes her head. 'Who the Underwhere are you?' Bowsette thought. She looks back at Mario as the Copter heads in the direction of her castle, leaving the things far behind. 'Kill him.' Bowsette shakes her head. 'Kill him! He's always in the way of your plans! Roast him alive!' Bowsette breathes heavily as she tries to ignore the voice. "No, I don't wanna kill him." Mario looks at Bowsette oddly. "Did you-a say something?"
"Nothing." Bowsette growls. "Really? I was-a sure you said…" Bowsette cut him off with a roar. "I. said. NOTHING." Mario knew better than to press the issue after seeing the look of fury in her eyes. Everything was quiet as the two continued to fly on.
Author's Note: I've been writing quite a bit lately, so I'll be releasing chapters 3 at a time for the foreseeable future. I'll slow down if I start running out.