I don't really have a good excuse for why this wasn't posted months ago. I already have the next chapter ready so I'll post that before too long. On another note, I got a notice whe I posted a separate story for the lemons that explicit sexual content isn't allowed? I'm fairly certain I've read stories that were pure smut before. Regardless, I don't want the work I put into them to go to waste, so maybe I'll post them on Wattpad or something.
Chapter 17: Defeat
I'll get us home.
I'll get us home.
I'll get us home.
I'll get us home.
I'll get us…
"Home…" Rosalina had been repeating the same sentence the entire journey back to the observatory. She knew it wasn't going to be good when she got back. While carrying her injured lover, she had mentally prepared herself for the worst when they returned. However, the truth was more horrible than she could have imagined.
The beacon had been reduced to practically nothing, providing no power to the observatory, which had gone dark.
Rosalina continued forward; she was exhausted, and had to land soon.
Even in the darkness, she knew where she was going. She and Zion landed in the small garden clearing next to the garage. Upon finally landing and placing Zion on the ground, she collapsed next to him, utterly exhausted both mentally and physically.
"Zion…are you…" Rosalina struggled to ask through heavy breathing.
"Hurt?...yeah…dying? No… don't think so." He managed to say, still trying to catch his breath.
He tilted his head forward and managed to get his helmet off with one hand. His face was absolutely drenched in sweat and some spots of blood from being thrashed around in his suit.
Before they could continue, multiple luma flew over to them. They bombarded the duo with too many questions all at once. She didn't answer them as she was still trying to catch her breath.
Zion tried reaching out to her, but was quickly reminded of his missing appendage. He instead began undoing the latches and mechanisms to remove his suit. When they were finally all off, he peeled off the chest portion of his suit, revealing a very bloody chest.
"Zion!" Rosalina took notice instantly. Still exhausted, she was quick to get onto her knees in an attempt to aid Zion. The luma were restless, but quieted down when they noticed Rosalina in distress.
"I think…it looks worse than it is," Zion tore his shirt open, easily done courtesy of the holes Bowser put in them. The holes and gouges in his chest from the claws didn't go life threateningly deep, but they were bleeding, and showed no signs of slowing if left alone. "Ok, it's pretty bad."
"How can you react so calmly to this?! Do you not feel these wounds?!" Rosalina shouted frustrated.
"I'm not sure. Adrenaline maybe? Shock? Blood loss? I just feel numb overall."
Rosalina looked at a nearby luma, "First aid kit, hurry! Someone else fetch some towels, and some blankets!" The lumas flew off while others took their place.
"Mama, your back looks badly hurt too."
She couldn't see it, but it certainly felt bad. Like knives were pressing into her back. Adrenaline had dulled it at first, but now she had been trying to ignore it to focus Zion.
"First we stop Zions bleeding, then we'll worry about my back."
"Rosalina, let me see your back," Zion spoke up.
"Not right now, we need to focus on-"
"Rosalina," he interrupted, "let me see your back." He insisted.
Rosalina sighed, turning around so he could see what damage was done.
"I can tell from a glance that you've got major burns. Maybe even third degree burns. How are you not screaming in pain right now?" He asked. She took a second before responding.
"Same as you, I suppose. Adrenaline? Shock? Numbness? Nevermind that for now." She said as the luma returned with the kit. The others were not far behind.
Rosalina wasted no time compressing and dressing Zion's wounds. If it weren't for the severity of everything, she'd mention the feeling of deja vu.
She worked in silence. It took a few minutes, but eventually Zions wounds were sufficiently patched.
"I need you to remove the remains of my arm." Zion said with some regret. Rosalina looked at the wreckage that had become Zion's mechanical left arm. It stopped at the bicep, and what remained looked like scrap metal.
Rosalina had to hold back tears. "What do you need me to do?"
"Put one hand here, and the other here," he said, pointing to two locations near his shoulder. "When I say now, just pull as hard as you can." Rosalina watched as he took a scrap of his shirt, rolled it up to the best of his ability, and stuffed it in his mouth. He then placed his right hand between his left shoulder and armpit, depressing a small release button. "Now." He said, his voice muffled.
Rosalina pulled with all her might, and the remains of his arm disconnected from his shoulder. Zion bit down on the shirt and yelled into it. After a second or two, he spit out the shirt piece.
"That still hurts like hell, doesn't matter how many times I go through it." Zion turned to face Rosalina, he took the mechanical scrap from her and placed it on the ground. "Now turn around, and let me take care of your back.
Rosalina's eyes were damp, she was doing her best not to cry. She hated seeing Zion in pain under normal circumstances, but given how bad things currently were it was hard not to feel worse. "Very well." She turned around and sat on the ground.
Like before, Zion and Rosalina were quiet while he applied a cooling ointment and gauze to her back. Eventually, while he was still working on her back, Rosalina addressed the lumas that had been watching them.
"Everyone, please listen." Rosalina's voice was soft, but every luma listened when she spoke. "The Comet Observatory is no longer safe." She paused between each sentence. "There is no power, plus Zion and I are injured. If you wish to remain here, that is fine. However, I urge all of you. Please, flee. Find somewhere safe and remain there. Until the time comes, when our home is restored." Rosalina was straining her voice, and trying not to cry. Several luma took her advice and flew off, others lingered for a bit before leaving them, while a few chose to simply move to another area of the darkened observatory.
Once he was done, Rosalina turned around and hugged him, before they both lay down on the ground, their exhaustion catching up to them, and sleep overtaking them both. Whether one of them or the lumas had moved it, the blanket found its way onto the duo.
Neither were sure how much time had passed while they slept. When they both awoke, they merely looked at each other, the worry evident in both of their eyes.
"Rosalina, I'm sorry." Zion broke the silence.
"No, please don't apologize Zion. It's not your fault this happened."
"But it was my job to protect our home, to protect you! And I failed." He sounded more angry than sad. He attempted to stand up, but his right leg made a grinding noise and wouldn't bend, making it stuck in an awkward position. "Great, the leg is broken too. Can't fight, can't stand, can't do a damn thing!" He punched the ground and sat up, frustrated, before looking out into space.
Zion took a deep breath before speaking again, "What do we do now, Rosalina?"
"...I…don't know…" was her answer.
The lumas that had stayed began to stir, making their way towards the pair. Rosalina looked around at them.
"All of you, the observatory is no longer safe. I implore all of you to search the universe for somewhere safe to hide until power has been restored." Rosalina said, her voice shaking, but serious.
It took over an hour, but eventually, most of the luma dispersed, leaving the darkened observatory. Only a scant few were determined to remain, but left Rosalina and Zion alone. The two of them held onto each other. In this desperate moment, they both knew they were each other's only lifelines.
Rosalina began crying in despair, with Zion himself shedding tears as well.
"My suit is in ruin, my leg is busted, and I'm missing a Goddamn arm." Rosalina said nothing in reply. "Right now, I'm broken and useless."
Rosalina squeezed him tight, "As long as we are together, you will never be useless to me."
"...I asked you before, but I'll ask again. What do we do now?"
"...For now, your job is to recover from those wounds…"
"And yourself?"
"...I'll do what I do best. Keep watch. But instead of the many galaxies, I'll be watching the monster that took the power stars. That's all I can do…"
The two weeks that followed had been extremely difficult. Without power, Zion wasn't able to fix his suit, which left him unable to do much of anything.
The only saving grace was that his golden fire flower had regrown as normal and, thanks to careful adjustments, was able to just barely power their kitchen appliances. But just barely, the flower still timed out after about an hour. This meant meals were very sparse. Food was usually simple fruits or vegetables brought to them by the luma staying in the observatory who ventured out to find whatever sustenance they could.
While Zion was feeling depressed at needing to rely on Rosalina and the lumas for even the most basic needs again, Rosalina would monitor Bowser's movements every second she could. She had even stopped sleeping again in order to keep her eyes on him.
Any free time Zion had was dedicated to reading, as there was nothing else he COULD do. He couldn't train without his suit, he couldn't repair the suit without power, and he couldn't attempt to reclaim a power star without his suit.
He couldn't even walk since a few parts of his prosthetic leg were broken. The broken parts would be easy to make and replace if, again, they had power.
"This isn't living, it's surviving, and just barely," Zion said, looking into the emptiness of space. The garden outside the terrace is where he spent his time. Even in the darkness, he could feel the grass beneath him. It was his only solace. 'I had always braced myself for a sudden and abrupt death, dying on the battlefield. All this sitting and stagnating is…horrid…' He turned to look at Rosalina, standing at the edge of the landing platform. He sighed.
When they spoke to each other, it was often quick and to the point. It felt like the dire situation they were in had put a pause on their relationship. Not that he blamed her, of course not. In fact, he felt it was the right decision.
'We can't continue on like this. We need to somehow restore the power before anything else. Once that's done, we can talk and plan our next moves. Both against Bowser, and our relationship…I know we're still together, but it feels like I don't see her anymore. I feel like I miss her. Neither of us are feeling ourselves…I don't know what to do…I can't believe I lost…that damn monster…I had a home with the woman I love, and he ruined it…' Zion made a fist with his hand, 'He'll pay, now that I know what he's capable of I can try to plan around that. I'll end that son of a bitch if it's the last thing I do.'
"...!"
"Huh?" Zion was broken from his thoughts when he heard Rosalina say something, but he couldn't make out what it was. He also had missed the obvious fact that she had started glowing.
"... … … …"
She was definitely talking. Was she talking to herself? He still couldn't hear what she was saying so it was possible.
'This is the first time she's done this, something must be going on,' Zion thought. He waited and watched for a few minutes, until…
"YES!" Rosalina shouted loudly. This was quickly followed up by her flying over to Zion, engulfing him in a hug, and kissing his face all over.
"Not that I don't love what you're doing, but what happened?" Zion asked.
Rosalina gave him a large smile, "We're getting the best help this galaxy can offer. He's already on his way with a grand star he reclaimed from Bowser."
Zion was stunned, but felt exhilarated, "That's amazing! Who is he?"
Rosalina wiped away a small tear of happiness.
"Mario is on his way."
That's right folks, if you didn't pick up on it before, we're about to dive headfirst into Mario Galaxy proper. It wouldn't do for me to write a story without our heroic plumber now would it? Don't worry, I'm not gonna focus on Mario getting the stats, go replay the game if you want that, haha. That said, our warrior from another universe finally meets the big M himself, next chapter!