Chapter 72: Blind Fury

Double D's hand clenched tightly on the fire sword that now resided in his hands. With no time to waste, he immediately sprang into action with a battle cry.

Grodus revealed a huge scepter. On the tip, a glowing mechanical orb.

Double D slammed the burning sword on the scepter. There was a very loud clang, as the sword instantly went flying from his hands. Double D gasped as it soared through the air, stabbing itself into a wall. The flames vanished from the sword, transforming back to his rod.

Double D saw the madman victoriously holding his scepter.

"It's fire-proof and magnetic. Nothing fire-based or metal can break it." Grodus said. "Here, see for yourself!"

Double D's next sight was the metallic orb flying at his head. He gasped and ducked to avoid it. With a planned counterattack, he thrust his fists rapidly. Grodus used the scepter to shield himself, each fist not even denting this weapon.

The X-Naut leader swung again. Double D evaded the blow again, this time by jumping. As he jumped, responded with a drop kick. Grodus just laughed and held out the scepter.

Double D's foot came into contact with the scepter. Giving it a thrust, Grodus formed Double D off, where he landed on his feet a few meters away. Double D wasted no time by running back into battle.

"We're coming!" Eduardo Jr's voice rang out.

Grodus turned his head and saw the other 18 heroes rushing him.

With his focus diverted, Double D shouted and threw another punch…

Only to collide with a green glowing force field that surrounded Grodus.

"Did you think I would be distracted that easily?" Grodus taunted, now safe as everyone surrounded him. "Meet your ends, you meddlesome fools! You will know my power!"

Double D noticed four strange objects with eyes hovering around Grodus. 'Those devices…'

"Lightning!" Grodus shouted and bolts of lightning shot down from above, blasting at the group surrounding him and knocking them all back.

"Gah!" Eddy jumped back, having narrowly avoided being hit. "He's got magic too!?"

"And it's like the Shadow Sirens!" Goombella exclaimed.

If that was not enough, the four devices surrounding Grodus shot out with surprising speed, striking Mario, Kevin, Nazz, and Flurrie before they could even react.

"Payback time!" Lee shouted, striking at the force field but was repelled.

"We have to destroy those devices surrounding him!" Double D called out, realizing that they were protecting Grodus.

"I got it!" Mario held up the Diamond Star and used it to cast Earthquake.

The spell shattered Grodus' shield and destroyed the devices that had been projecting it. With the shield down, several moved to attack but Grodus blocked their hits with his scepter before he shoved them back. He then aimed and fired a blue laser beam at Mario, knocking him back.

"FIRE!" Double D shouted, blasting at Grodus.

The X-Nault leader grunted but was otherwise unharmed. "So you have the mettle to push me this far…But no more!"

He held up his scepter as several others tried to attack but he cast his spell. "Dodge!"

He easily dodged their attacks as two more devices appeared around him. Mario charged at him, swinging his hammer but completely missed.

"Fools! My Dodge spell allows me to easily evade your attacks." Grodus taunted. "Now it's my turn. Lightning!"

This time however, the group scattered and most managed to dodge the lightning called down from above. Mario took advantage of the pause and swung his hammer, this time striking Grodus head on.

"Argh!" Grodus grunted. "You will not stop me! Dodge!"

With the Dodge spell cast again, Grodus easily evaded the next attacks from Nazz, Sarah, Lee and Koops, while summoning two more devices.

"Allow me!" Flurrie inhaled and blew the devices away before they could project another force field.

"Fire!" Grodus pointed his scepter at Flurrie, releasing a blast of fire.

Curiously, Grodus' Fire spell created blue flames instead of the normal colored fire created by Vivian and Double D. Still, it was enough to blast Flurrie back.

"Enough!" Mario said and used the Diamond Star to cast Eathquake again.

Grodus shouted and spiraled through the air before coming to an abrupt crash. Everyone moved in, having surrounded Grodus.

"Hm…" Grodus said, managing to get up. "I knew you would be a thorn in my side, thought I never expected you to survive this long. Luckily, I foresaw this chance event, and have come prepared!"

Double D raised an eyebrow.

"Troops!" Grodus shouted. "To arms! Reveal yourselves and show no mercy!"

Suddenly, an increasingly loud and collective battle cry could be heard. Double D looked upwards and saw a massive troops, with a quantity too large to count.

"I knew this'd be too easy!" Eddy shouted.

The troops landed in formation, surrounded the heroes who were surrounding Grodus.

"No prob." Goombella said.

Rolf cracked his knuckles.

Even Vivian, who was well enough to stand, held out her hands ready to cast a spell or two.

"CHARGE!" Grodus shouted.

The troops all shouted and rushed towards the heroes.

Double D's focus shifted from the leader to the army. In the next second, he found himself in a duel against an elite X-Naut.

The sounds of weapons clanging echoes in the room. Lasers that where fires lit up the chamber now and again, like lightning. Shouts and screaming where coming from everywhere. It had become a battle royal.

Double D managed to force the X-Naut of him. "This is a waste! We need to take out the leader!"

"Then let's go get 'em!" Eddy shouted.

Double D began to run towards Grodus.

"Wait!" Goombella shouted. "You can't hurt him, remember?"

Double D skidded to a stop. "Then who-"

Eddy stepped forwards with a smirk, giving off a mischievous laugh. "I'll handle the big guy."

As he spoke, the Medallion of Life gave a glimmer.

Double D nodded.

"Be careful!" Goombella shouted to him before he ran towards Grodus.

Double D's attention was focused back on the battle. He found an X-Naut jumping him and was forced to punch it.

"Hey, dad!" Eduardo Jr. shouted.

Double D looked to his feet to see his little Yoshi, extending out a hand.

Double D gave a smile and lifted Eduardo Jr. up to his lead level.

More X-Nauts rushed towards him, holding staffs.

Double D kicked the first one. As he lowered his body, he spun Eduardo Jr. around. The unsuspecting X-Naut gasped as they saw the little foot on a collision path towards the face.

Double D pulled his Yoshi back towards himself, then immediately thrust him back into the air. The boy then shouted and punched the X-Naut in the face. The soldier flew backwards.

The yoshi gave a battle cry as his feet came into contact with another soldier. The unsuspecting X-Naut fell backwards. Using his head like a springboard, Eduardo Jr. bounced off and did a spin in the air before being caught by Double D.

One soldier, feeling brave, ran at Double D.

The boy held out his Yoshi in front of him. Eduardo jr opened his mouth and unleashed his long tongue. The X-Naut shouted as his body became enwrapped with it. With no time to even react, Eduardo jr pulled his tongue back into his mouth, taking the soldier within it.

Another soldier gasped. "You just ate him!"

Eduardo Jr. looked disgusted. His head shook until he opened his mouth again, as the mortified X-Naut shot back out. Both of them collided, falling towards the ground.

"That was the worst thing I've ever tasted." Eduardo Jr. lisped, his little tongue hanging from his mouth.

Double D held the Yoshi closer towards him, at the ready to perform another combination move at the next enemy.

Vivian had just forced her own enemy off her. She still felt weak, giving off a sigh as she began to lower her body.

"Giving up?" Rolf asked.

"I… can't… too weak." Vivian said a few other words in between those, but they were completely incoherent.

"Then allow Rolf." Rolf grabbed Vivian and held her up. "Can Vivian-girl still cast spells?"

Vivian gave a weak nod.

The response was immediate, an X-Naut ran right at Rolf.

"You have caught Rolf in a dreadful day. X-Naut-soldier has crossed paths with the wrong son-of-a-Shepard." Rolf said.

The soldier stopped. "…what?"

Rolf quickly grabbed Vivian. Gently, but with haste, he flung her around.

"Fire!"

The simple but powerful attack she cast caught the soldier of guard, as he suddenly caught aflame.

"OHMERCIFULHEAVENSI'MONFIRE!" The soldier shouted, running in circles and the flames began to consume him.

Grodus looked ready to escape. He began to run but heard loud footsteps behind him. He turned around to face his pursuer.

"…seriously." Eddy said. "I think you need to wear a mask or something, that's face of yours…"

"I have had it with your mouth!" Grodus shouted. "You and those others are meddling with something that doesn't concern you!"

Eddy laughed. "…yeah, and what will you do about it?"

"You certainly are a stubborn fool." Grodus said, holding out his scepter.

"So, I've been told. Ready to lose to a stubborn fool?" Eddy asked.

"You have asked for this!" Grodus held the scepter in a position where it would be ready to strike.

Eddy looked down at the medallion that hung from his neck. He held it with his left hand, stroking his hand over its metal surface. As he did, it gave a little glow.

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Eddy said. "I always wanted to do this!"

He looked at Grodus, who would strike at any moment.

The medallion began to glow yellow.

"What's this?" Grodus asked.

Eddy gave a roguish expression as he cast his spell:

"Lighting!"

Suddenly, Eddy felt power surging through his entire body. Sparks began to form on his fingertip as his medallion began to glow brighter and brighter. His eyes, now glowing yellow, opened wider and wider. All of this power he felt was concentrated at his finger.

So much power that he was unable to contain. He gave a shout as all of this energy became unleashed. A huge electric line shot from his hands, sparks flying everywhere. The light reflected on Grodus's body, illuminating his surprised reaction.

With no time to even breathe, the lightning struck Grodus at perfect range in his forehead. He shouted and flew backwards.

The medallion was still glowing brightly, though his eyes returned to normal.

"What is this power?" Grodus asked. "How can you do that?"

"Easy." Eddy pointed to the evil man again. "Like this! Lightning!"

Grodus managed to jump before the lightning attack struck him again. Landing on his feet, he held the scepter.

"Darn it." Eddy said. "I can't believe I missed."

"You should recall you are not the only one with electricity!" Grodus said.

"Hm?" Eddy looked at Grodus. "Well, duh. Aren't you cybernetic?"

Out of the blue, sparks began to appear on the end of the scepter.

"What?" Eddy asked. "This won't end well."

Suddenly, a perfect line of electricity shot from the scepter, like an X-Naut laser. It managed to hit Eddy's shirt. He held his stomach as he fell to his knees. In pain, he shouted out.

"Eddy?" Ed asked. "…uh, buddy? Is Eddy okay?"

Eddy didn't respond.

Suddenly, Ed's expression changed again. His eyes now narrower, with much more seriousness in his tone. Double D gasped and turned his head, looking to where Eddy rested. His body now in a fetal position on the floor, holding his wound.

"Eddy!" Double D shouted.

Eduardo Jr. looked over as well. "Dude, what happened?"

They looked and saw Goombella screaming as she ran towards him. As she passed, Double D spotted small tears in her eyes, flowing onto the floor as she ran. She watched as Grodus held the scepter to Eddy's head. He gave a weak grunt as he felt it close by.

Goombella stopped, her mouth wide open.

"Anyone comes any closer and this loud-mouth gets vaporized!" Grodus shouted.

All of the battle came to halt.

"Troops! March formation!" Grodus shouted.

They all came towards their leader. Forming a line in front of Eddy, they all remained firm.

"Arm yourselves." Grodus said.

"You little weasel!" Lee shouted, though for Eddy's sake, she didn't leave her spot.

Double D felt sweat dropping down his face, Goombella was frozen stiff, scared to near death.

The soldiers all simultaneously held out their laser guns. Each and every one of them pointed towards the heroes.

"Fire when ready." Grodus said.

Laser began to fly through the air... One by one, they all took the hits of the lasers. Screaming, they fell down to the floor. A little bit of smoke coming from their bodies.

"Targets immobilized." The soldiers stated.

"Good." Grodus picked up the unmoving body of Eddy's. "We shall take this one down with us, for insurance. Leave the others here."

Grodus turned towards the alter. He propped Eddy over his left shoulder and pushed the throne away. Behind it was a pathway leading into complete darkness.

"No…" Goombella said weakly, her limp body beging to shake as she tried to get to her feet. "Eddy… the princess and the other one… the world."

Double D suddenly began to growl. Goombella weakly turned her head to look at him. As she looked, she saw his forehead glowing.

'What the?' She thought. 'How in the world is he doing that? What's going on?'

Double D lifted his head to show his face.

His eyes now glowing bright red as he growled again. "You 're going to pay for this!"

The troops ceased marching. Grodus turned his head. "What's this?"

Double D's entire body began to glow red. His exposed hair flew all about, his shirt whipping against his body, which was full of energy. The others, fallen aside him, all began to stir as they watched him.

'He should be down.' Grodus thought. 'How… The hero…'

Though his arms and legs were still limp, his body began to move in an upright position. As he did, his eyes narrowed and glowed even brighter. The sound of the pulsating energy could be heard. His body began to lift off the floor and into the air. As he lifted, his facial expression was changing. His teeth gritting tightly with an almost evil expression.

Grodus, feeling intimidated, gasped. "Troops, open fire!"

All of the lasers began to fire rapidly. They all hit Double D, but none of them even phased him. The flashes of the lasers quickly faded away.

"What is this?" Grodus held out his own scepter, ready to defend himself.

"Double… D." Vivian and Eduardo Jr. said weakly.

Rolf and Ed growled at themselves. Both of them realized that his power was rapidly reaching a dangerous point.

As Double D hovered above them all, his hands began to shake. He growled even louder, and they formed into fists. His legs, not responding, shook as well. It looked as though his entire body was filled with blind rage.

Suddenly, around him, a small cyclone of flames appeared. Dancing lights and sparks encircled him as he gave out a shout.

'Fire… it's appearing around him before he cast a spell.' Vivian thought.

'For this to come to pass, he must be filled with complete anger.' Rolf thought, gripping the floor.

"Dad…" Eduardo Jr. thought.

"Brace yourselves!" Mario shouted.

The heroes gasped and all stayed low.

The flames reflected off Grodus's glasses. "…Troops! This is a waste! Retreat for the Shadow Queen's crypt!"

All of them began to rush into the dark passage.

Double D shouted again; his voice now distorted. "INCINERATE!"

Every bit of flames that surrounded him erupted. An enormous amount of fire shot in all directions. All of the unfortunate soldiers who didn't escape were hit instantly. The flames continued down the passageway, taking out all of the soldiers.

Grodus, in the middle of descending a staircase. He turned around and saw the wave of fire taking out the troops behind him. He held out his scepter as a last resort to protect himself. Though he wasn't burned by the flames, he began to fly down the remainder of the staircase.

He gave a loud shout as his large body crashed through a red door at the base of the stairs.

Marie looked at the door. She saw it burst open abruptly. She gave a surprised shout as Grodus flew in screaming. He hit the red carpet on the floor, coming to an immediate halt. Eddy's smaller body, unable to take the inertia of the landing, broke free of Grodus. He spiraled across the chamber until he smashed into a wall.

His apparently limp body landed in a sitting position, leaning against the cold stone wall. His arms and legs fell limp in his position, how a doll would look if sitting. His head turned to the side. As it tilted, the medallion broke off his neck and came to a rolling stop on the ground at his feet.

Marie saw Eddy lying there. His body only a few feet away and horizontally symmetrical to a coffin that stood at the end of the chamber.

"Eddy?" Marie asked. "They have…come at last."

The team of heroes was in complete shock. They all looked upwards and saw Double D, still glowing.

"…my word." Bobbery said.

Jimmy, feeling scared, grasped Sarah and held her. She looked so scared herself, doing the same exact thing with Jimmy.

Kevin and Nazz, though not as scared, still intimidated, stood right beside each other.

Suddenly, Double D ceased glowing. His eyes closed, and his entire body fell limp. Now, the legendary hero began his headfirst decent for the floor.

"NO!" Vivian shouted.

Using what power she had left, she rushed and caught Double D.

He looked very weak. That last attack had used up most of his energy.

"Double D…" Goombella sighed, on the floor, crying. "…do you realize what you did?"

Double D slowly nodded.

"…Double D. Grodus had Eddy with him when you struck… you just…" Goombella stopped herself and gave out a sob.

"No…" Lee said. "No way, Eddy's got to be okay!"

"Goombella…" Double D said weakly as Vivian held him in his arms. "…I'm… sorry."

With that, his own body fell limp. His eyes barley open.

"Dad!" Eduardo Jr. shouted, staring fearfully at his weak body.

"…Eduardo Jr." Double D said, even quieter. "I want you to help the others… …beat this demon."

"Oh no you don't!" Eduardo Jr. shouted. "Stay with us!"

"Double D…" Vivian slowly began to cry.

"…save this world… do it." Double D said, breathing even weaker. "So many are counting on you…"

They all looked down.

"Tell them all…" Double D sighed. "…that I'm sorry that I failed."

With that, his eyes closed.

There was silence in the chamber.

Vivian, Eduardo Jr., Goombella and Lee where all sobbing.

"…this can't be happening." Bobbery sighed.

Koops looked down. "…we can't escape the truth."

"This is… the worst thing that ever happen to me." Nazz jumped into Kevin's arms.

"It will be okay." Kevin stated, eyes closed.

"…we still aren't done just yet." Rolf said. "We have a mission to fulfill."

Grodus got to his feet. Walking past Eddy, he limped over and reached from behind the coffin. Peach, bound and gagged, began to try, and free herself. Though the evil man was too strong for her to break free.

He gave an angry grunt as he slammed her on the ground a few feet from the coffin. She gasped and ceased shaking.

A large crack was on his head now, his cybernetic helmet beeping softly. His scepter gave a weak glow.

As of now, the only light were hundreds of candles burning in a circle around the coffin.

Grodus slowly held the scepter upwards. "Oh mighty queen, the time has come…"

"No…" Marie and Peach said.

Grodus lowered the scepter and continued his chant.

"From the depths of the shadow, from the evil realm,"

"From thy evil incantation, weakling overwhelmed."

"Arise from the depths, make it plaster,"

"That thy Shadow Queen shall arise to serve her new MASTER!"

With that last word, he swung the scepter until it pointed at the coffin.

With that, there was a sudden flash.

"STOP!" Rolf shouted.

Grodus turned his head, as did Marie and Peach.

"PRINCESS!" Mario shouted.

"Mario." Peach said weakly.

"…Double D?" Marie asked.

She spotted Vivian and Eduardo Jr. holding his wilting form.

"You are too late!" Grodus said.

The hundreds of candles that surrounded the coffin all blew out. The room was pitched into darkness. The group let out a scared yelp.

"What's happening?" Jimmy asked.

"…dear…" Ms. Mowz managed to speak.

Suddenly, the chamber began to light up again. Only now, the candle burned a dark purple. This disturbing glow seemed to pierce through their souls, like evil itself. They would have preferred pitch back over this.

In the evil glow, Goombella looked and saw Eddy, sitting against the wall without any movements. Though she was too scared to move, or even speak to him. She could barely even breathe.

The others felt the same way. It was suffocating how eerie the dark candlelight alone was.

Suddenly, the coffin began to move. They all froze, petrified as they saw the lid slowly creaking. The top was moving aside, very slowly. It kept moving until it fell to the stone ground.

A horrible foul cloud of black began to seep in from the coffin's open lid. This dark matter began to flood the room like fog would. As it did, some of it began to slowly spiral above the coffin's edge.

"…yes. YES!" Grodus shouted insanely.

From the depths of the coffin, a dark figure could be seen, stirring.

'We… are too late.' Rolf thought. 'All of our efforts… and we couldn't make it. The world is…'