Chapter 22 Monster Melee

With Rosalina accompanying them, the six Koopalings went into the Kingdom to find Jasper. As they walked, Roy tried to figure out how exactly they were going to deal with the monster. Rosalina had said that it was pretty powerful, so obviously, the Koopalings couldn't just fling projectiles at it and call it a day. No, they needed to be smart. They needed to think of a decent battle strategy, especially so considering that not all the Koopalings were present this time around. They needed to come up with the most epic, most foolproof plan they could think of if they wanted to defeat Jasper.

The only issue was Roy didn't know what that was…

After about an hour of being guided by Rosalina, the Koopalings finally found Jasper's monster. It was marching around in the dirt, possibly heading to one specific town or destination. Despite how tough Roy prided himself to be, he had to admit that the sight of it made him tremble. The orange skin looked so slimy like it was covered in the worst kind of mucus. The shards of black glass sticking out of its arms looked sharp enough to impale someone, and the fangs in its mouth weren't much better. And the way the monster moved… something about its style of movement just looked wrong. Everything about this monstrous beast looked wrong. Roy supposed that made sense given who it was, but still. Looking about it wasn't that fun.

Neither was the thought of fighting it in a one-on-one battle.

"Okay," Rosalina said. She gestured for the Koopalings to gather around her. "Now, the main power source for the monster is the gem in its chest. If we want to defeat it, we need to destroy that." She looked a little sad. "Unfortunately, doing so would be the ultimate end for Jasper Starfold."

Roy exchanged looks with his siblings. On some level, he supposed he should be happy about this, considering what that Koopa has done to them. But… but somehow, now that they were allowed to end Jasper's games once and for all, he felt… wrong. Roy had no idea why this was; he had been willing to fight people who had done MUCH less (mainly the Mario brothers), and again, Jasper had committed horrific atrocities against all of the Koopalings (not to mention the Koopalings' biological mother). It was so bad that Roy felt dirty just thinking about it.

But he couldn't let that bother him now. The monster was going to destroy everything if it wasn't taken care of. So, as much as he didn't want to, he had to permanently damn his biological father to oblivion.

"Okay," he said, letting out a breath as he did. "So, what should our game plan be?"

Iggy put his hand to his chin. "Well… I think if there's anyone who has a good shot at destroying Jasper's gem is Ludwig, given his powers." He began to look just a smidge more confident. "So, I think we should have our plan heavily involve him." He looked at the other Koopalings. "The five of us will just act as a distraction so Ludwig can fly up to the gem and shoot it with electricity." He smiled. "Does that sound good?"

"It… it does," Ludwig said, sounding suspiciously uncertain. "But… we don't know for sure if electricity would do anything to that jewel."

"True." Iggy bit his lip. "But it's the only plan we have at the moment, unfortunately." He swallowed a lump. "It's our best bet, so I think we should try to stick to the plan. Do you guys agree?"

"I do," Rosalina said, even though Roy was still wrestling with his feelings. "I think it's an excellent plan." She looked at the others. "I will get the monster's attention by shooting some arcan blasts at it. Everyone else tried to attack the monster's form. If we beat it up enough, it might reach a state so weakened that it won't be able to move, and this, it won't be able to resist Ludwig's attack."

Roy sighed. He really wasn't sure if this was going to work. He was so unsure that he was almost tempted to say that he wasn't going to participate in the barrage of attacks. But… well, he didn't really have any other plans, nor did he have the time to come up with other plans either. Despite how he felt, Iggy had been right in saying that this plan was their best bet.

"Okay." Roy pulled away from the group and focused his gaze on the monster. "Let's do this."

With that, the Koopalings charged at the monster. Roy cracked his knuckles as he ran, pushing all his fear and concern to the side as he did. Once he got close enough, he yelled "HEY, JASPER!" at the top of his voice. Jasper turned toward him, and Roy leaped into the air with his fist out. His fist made direct contact with the monster's arm, causing it to shriek and pull away. Roy gathered himself together while on the ground, thankful that the attack had an impact instead of being totally useless.

"RAWR!"

Jasper's roar shook the whole world. It started running towards Roy, who panicked as he realized he now had a good chance of getting trampled. Thankfully, from a few yards to the left, Wendy hurled some of her magic rings at him. They hit him in the jaw, pushing him back. As he stumbled, he held his hand to his mouth, letting out what sounded like the most pitiful whimpers a monster could make. Roy grinned, already appreciating how much the Koopalings as a whole were making progress in the fight.

"HEY DIPSHIT!" Wendy yelled. She hurled more rings at Jasper's face, angering him even more. He let out the loudest roar yet before charging at Wendy, putting the angriest bull in the world to shame. Unfortunately for him, Rosalina waved her wand at him, and what looked like a magical rope shot out of the tip. It coiled around Jasper's body, and when he tried to run, the rope did a pretty good job of holding him back. Roy watched Rosalina as she grunted, exerting all her strength to hold the monster in place.

"LUDWIG, NOW!" Iggy shouted.

Ludwig zipped towards Jasper, his eyes entirely focused on the gem. He closed his eyes, and electric bolts circled around his arms. His eyes glowed white when he opened them, making it look like he meant business. He raised his hand, about to shock the gem…

When Jasper freed his hand from the rope and batted Ludwig out of the sky. He went sailing to the ground, hitting it with a THUMP! Roy gasped as Ludwig tried to get up, and Lemmy rushed over to Ludwig with concern in every one of his features.

"Ludwig…" Lemmy said. "Are you…?"

The monster let out another roar before leaping into the air. Roy watched, transfixed, as it rose higher and higher. It was so big that it blocked out the sun, so big that it looked like some sort of satellite. When it landed, the entire ground shook. Chunks of the ground even shot up, creating spiky paths of death. Roy barely got out of the way in time to dodge it, and some of the other Koopalings, unfortunately, got pushed back by it. Roy was particularly concerned about Morton, who landed on his shell and let out a series of pained grunts.

"RAWR!"

Spittle went flying out of the monster's mouth as it roared. To Roy's shock, he saw it reach up to the black gem on its chest, squeezing it with all its might. A red glow could be seen through its fingers, and the same red glow engulfed its hands. Before anyone knew what was happening, it started hurling red arcane blasts everywhere. They filled the air, raining down on everyone while they were still trying to recover. Roy tried to roll out of their way, but it was like trying to dodge raindrops. A few hit him square on the head, causing some of the worst pain he had ever experienced in his life. Seriously. As a koopa who had been hit by fireballs and dunked in lava, he could legitimately say that he would've preferred that type of pain over getting hit by the arcane blasts. His whole head screamed in pain, the wounds inflicted stinging worse than any other sensation. At this time, Roy remembered hearing once that giving birth was the worst, most painful experience anyone could ever go through. While he didn't doubt that, he now felt as though that statement needed to be revised. Giving birth was the worst type of pain one could experience AFTER getting hit by these arcane blasts.

Fortunately, the monster eventually stopped firing arcane blasts. Grunting and still trying to battle the pain, Roy rose to his feet. He noticed his other siblings were groaning and/or wincing as they tried to recover. Seeing this made him hurt internally as well as externally. He looked at the monster, surveying its handiwork with a smug grin. That sight, coupled with the fact that everyone present was dealing with deadly wounds, filled Roy with rage. His heart pounded in his ears, he felt bile rise to his throat. That monster… Jasper Starfold had been a monster before he had transformed and gotten this power, but now?

Without much thought, Roy rose to his feet and charged. His heart still pounding and his vision going red, he readied his fist. This monster needed to pay for everything, everything that it… or rather, he had done throughout his miserable life. All of Roy's hesitance when it came to fighting Jasper disappeared. Now, all he felt was a desire to make this monster suffer. He was going to do this, and he was going to do this right.

"YAAH!"

When he got to the monster's arm, he began punching. Punch after punch, slash after slash, scratch after scratch. Tearing into this beast's hideous orange skin and causing it to bleed was one of the most exhilarating, satisfying Roy had done in recent memory. He didn't even care how this looked on his part, how deranged it was probably making him appear. He just didn't care anymore; he wanted Jasper to pay. He wouldn't stop until he did.

"I HATE YOU!" Roy yelled at the top of his voice, still digging his claws into the monster's arm. "I HATE YOU SO MUCH! I HATE YOU, HATE YOU, HATE YOU…!"

Before he could finish, he felt a powerful gripping sensation surround his body. He gasped as Jasper lifted him into the air, struggling against his monstrous hold. Jasper held him just a few inches away from his face, looking at him with the most irritated expression his eyeless face could muster. It was excruciating, having to be so close to this monster's ugly mug. Roy still struggled against it, hoping he could get free. He needed to get free! He wouldn't stop until…

CHOMP!

…

Everyone present either gasped or shrieked when Roy got devoured by Jasper. Even Rosalina was shocked; she stared at the beast with her terror skyrocketing. Gripping her wand extra hard, she tried to wrap her mind around what exactly had happened. Jasper just ate Roy! He swallowed him whole, his own son! How… how could…

"ROY!" Iggy yelled. He stepped toward Jasper, who licked his black lips in the most satisfied way. Veins bulged in his forehead as he gripped his hands into fists. "Oh, I will definitely not stand for this!"

Without saying much more, he reached into his hammerspace and pulled out three bob-ombs. With heat in his eyes, he lit the fuse of one with a match he had also pulled from his hammerspace and chucked it at Jasper. It exploded with a BOOM!, causing Jasper to shriek like an injured dog. It stumbled backward as Iggy readied another bob-omb. Rushing forward, he flung that bob-omb at Jasper too. The monster's shriek was even more ear-bleeding than the last one, and it stumbled back again. It almost looked like it was about to collapse onto the ground.

"YOU DO NOT EAT MY BROTHER!" Iggy, the ire in his voice palpable. He readied another bob-omb, throwing it directly at Jasper's face. The monster stumbled again, and this time, it fell to the ground. It held its hand to its face, rubbing what looked to be the biggest, blackest bruise in the history of the world.

Iggy let out a breath and turned toward his oldest brother. "LUDWIG! GET THE GEM NOW!"

Ludwig nodded without much need for hesitation. He rose into the air, the electric bolts around his arms returning. He glared at Jasper, the expression probably the most hateful expression Rosalina had ever seen on the face of a Koopa. He took a deep breath, raised an arm, and shot an electric bolt at the black gem. He yelled as he did, sounding both determined and fierce.

"YAAH!" As he yelled, the monster writhed in pain. Rosalina smiled, knowing that the gem was bound to break. After all, what or who could survive being shot by electricity…

"GRRRAW!"

The monster rose to its feet. Both Rosalina and Ludwig gasped when they saw the gem. Aside from one little crack in its surface, it still remained intact. Steam shot out of the enraged monster's nostrils, and it shot its arm toward Ludwig. It grabbed him and then stuffed the Koopaling in its mouth like it had done to Roy just a few minutes prior.

"NO!" Rosalina screamed. She stood up, panic filling her. Oh, this was terrible! Two out of the six Koopalings had been eaten! Sadness and shock filled Rosalina's body, and the remaining Koopalings looked like they shared the exact same mood. Her legs felt wobbly, and it felt as though the entire world was spinning. She collapsed, holding herself in a sitting position because of her very weak, trembling arm. Her breathing rate also transitioned into hyperventilation. How were they supposed to defeat Jasper? How were they supposed to rescue Roy and Ludwig? It didn't seem possible. It didn't seem…

BOOM!

Shock filled Rosalina, strong enough to make her lift her head. She saw a barrage of what looked like sonic blasts barreling toward the monster, who shrieked as they hit its back. Rosaline gawked, neither she nor the Koopalings fully knowing what was going on. It was only once the monster got out of the way when she saw…

"LARRY?" She and the other Koopalings exclaimed in unison as the youngest Koopaling floated in the air.

Larry wore the most determined look, placing his hands on his hips. "It's time to finish this!" He flew toward the monster at lightning-fast speeds. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN, JASPER! RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

Rosalina's heart welled with both confusion and joy. Was… was this really happening? The last time she had seen Larry, he had been so despondent! And now he was actually fighting against the monster with them? It… it was a miracle! Rosalina would never have expected that, and yet, it was actually happening! She actually felt proud of Larry, someone who she had very little connection with prior to everything! Seriously, this was incredible!

With the determination in his face refusing to fade, Larry shot more sonic blasts at Jasper. Jasper winced as a few of them hit him, but he still tried to take down Larry. He made a grab for him, but Larry was quick enough to dodge. He readied more red arcane blasts, but Larry maneuvered around them with careful precision. All the while, he kept his focus solely on the gem, glaring at it with such an amazing, intense heat.

"This ends now, Jasper!" He aimed his sonic cannon. "It's time I be the hero everyone wants me to be!"

An ultra-large sonic blast built up within his cannon. It charged at an alarming rate, making itself the most intense, effective blast that any weapon could ever hope to produce. Before Jasper even had a chance to react or make a grab for his son, Larry shot the blast at him. It looked to be the size of a truck, and it hit Jasper square in the chest. He shrieked and stumbled backward, and Rosalina was beyond thrilled to see more cracks forming on the surface of the gem.

"Larry, you're doing it!" Rosalina was so excited that she rose into the air. "Keep going!"

Larry nodded and charged yet another sonic blast. Once again, Jasper didn't have time to react before this one hit his gem again. More cracks formed in its surface, and a little shard even broke off of it and fell to the ground. Jasper let out a pained roar, titling his head up to the heavens as if asking God himself for relief.

"WOOHOO, LARRY!" Lemmy yelled from down on the ground. "YEAH, YOU GOT THIS!"

"GIVE IT TO HIM GOOD, BUDDY!" Morton called out.

Larry took a deep breath. He charged yet another sonic blast, this one so big and bright that Rosalina had to shield her eyes. It grew bigger and bigger, resembling a bright blue star. Her excitement built up right along with it, all while Jasper looked absolutely terrified. He charged at Larry, looking ready to grab hold of him and swallow him whole too…

When Larry let the blast go. He screamed at the top of his voice as he did, sounding ultra excited. When this sonic blast hit Jasper's gem, it shattered into a million pieces. As they rained down to the ground, Jasper shrieked the worst shriek yet. To Rosalina's amazement, she saw parts of Jasper's body fading away into nothingness. First his feet and hands, then his arms and legs. His torso and chest faded, and when they did, Roy and Ludwig fell out of him. Ludwig grabbed Roy by the hand, and they both flew out of the way. Aside from some goop covering them, they both looked relatively fine. So fine that they landed on the ground and watched, amazed, as Larry hovered above Jasper's disappearing form. More and more of this monster's body faded away until…

Nothing. He was now completely gone, banished from the world as well as any potential afterlife. On some level, this fact saddened Rosalina. However, this sadness didn't even compare to the pride she felt in Larry. It was strong enough to compete with the pride of a mother, and it only grew stronger as he floated back toward the ground. Once he landed, both she and the Koopalings gathered around the young man.

"Larry!" Iggy exclaimed, the excitement clearly evident in his tone. "You did it! You beat Jasper!"

Larry stood still, looking at the place where Jasper used to be. "Yeah." A little grin grew on his face. "I did it."

AN: Don't go away! There's one chapter after this, so stay tuned! :D