Writing Mario dialog while trying to keep his accent is tricky, but I did my best. Let me know if I should do anything differently after you give it a read.
Chapter 18: Recovering
Zion watched from a distance, it was really his only option. He didn't want to be sitting on the ground next to her, and he didn't want her to hold him up with magic. He simply remained sitting in the grass and watched as Rosalina spoke with Mario.
She had told him a story or two about the red plumber before. Whatever image Zion had in his head was nothing close to the real deal. That said, the relief Zion felt when Mario arrived with a grand star couldn't be understated. While it wasn't much, having some light return to his home did much to lift the weight in his chest.
'I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Rosalina told me he beat Bowser on multiple occasions.' He looked on as they continued to talk, 'Must be a completely different set of skills compared to me…well, here they come now.' Rosalina and Mario were making their way to the disabled warrior. He could hear what they were saying.
"There's someone important I'd like to introduce you to." He heard Rosalina saying. Zion straightened himself out to the best of his abilities.
When they came up to him, Rosalina spoke first, "Mario this is Zion, for the last year he's been acting as a knight, guarding and serving the Comet Observatory to the best of his abilities. Prior to coming here he lost an arm and leg, having them replaced with robotic prosthetics. However, your arch-nemesis destroyed them in our encounter. I'm merely grateful it didn't cost him his life."
Mario walked up to him an extended his right hand to shake, "Imma Mario, it's-a nice to meet you."
Zion grabbed and shook his hand, "Likewise, thank you for helping us. Especially with our situation being so dire."
Mario nodded, "Mh-hm, I was-a told you had a run-in with-a Bowser."
"Yeah, but as you can see, I didn't win in the end."
"Bowser may-a be big, but he can-a be real tricky and clever. The fact you-a fought him and survived means your-a strong."
Zion took a deep breath, "Thank you, hopefully I'll be able to get my suit back in action before you face him. I'm not letting him get the best of me a second time."
"Zion," Rosalina whispered. The two of them looked at each other, but she said nothing else.
"That said," Zion continued, "Until the engine room is up and running, the most I can do is fix my leg," he gestured to his missing prosthetic. "It just needs some small parts replaced and adjusted, but given how everything was engulfed in darkness before. I could barely see what I was doing, let alone use any of the tools without some power. So I'll say it again, thank you for helping us."
Mario adjusted the rim of his hat, "It's-a what hero's do, much like-a yourself." He turned to Rosalina, "Imma head to the terrace to get started, okay?"
Rosalina nodded, "Of course, thank you Mario."
He nodded in return, then turned to the terrace dome entrance before running off with an impressively long jump, "Wah-ho!" He quickly entered the dome, disappearing from sight.
"Right then," Zion said, "Rosalina, can you please help me gather some things to fix my leg?"
"...of course Zion" she replied.
Zion could tell something was off. However, he decided to wait before asking her about it. Once his leg was fixed and he could walk again, he'd ask her what was wrong.
By the end of the day, Zion could admit it without any hesitation: Mario was really damn good.
He had collected a large number of power stars already, slowly but surely improving the energy output around the observatory. It was nothing as powerful as a grand star, but every bit helped.
What he hadn't expected were the extra guests parked in the observatory garage.
The self proclaimed "Toad Brigade" were a strange bunch, but like most Toads, harmless. In fact, Zion liked the energy they brought to the observatory. It helped that they also knew their stuff about a wide variety of subjects. They were able to assist Zion by adjusting the parts he had to tweak for his leg. As such, he now had both legs functional again, and was returning the favor.
"Let me repeat myself, you NEED triple layers for the hatch, it's where the armor is the thinnest. One stray hit from something and 'foomp' you're all sucked into the vacuum of space."
"But why triple? Won't double be enough?" Asked the yellow Toad.
"It's because the hinges that move the hatch take up space, creating a small structural weak point, right Zion?" The blue Toad asked for confirmation.
"Right, space travel can be unpredictable. The more prepared your craft, the better."
The yellow Toad nodded, "Ok that makes sense. Oh, can you help me move a crate of supplies over here in a bit?"
Zion said nothing, and merely pointed to his missing arm.
"Oh, right…forget I asked," the Toad said with some embarrassment.
"Not a problem" Zion said, making sure they picked up the tone showing he wasn't angry. "Anyway, I'm clocking out for now. If you guys DO end up working through the night you should be done by morning."
"Alrighty, night Zion!" The other Toads and nearby lumas all shouted something similar to him.
He waved at them as he headed towards the woman standing alone near a map that was created to help Mario keep track of the galaxies he was visiting.
Zion walked up to Rosalina who was looking out into the distance, but turned to look at him as he approached.
"Looks like he's been busy, wonder where he gets all that energy?" Zion used his head to gesture towards the map.
Rosalina also turned to face the map, "Yes, his progress has been very fast and efficient. I believe we're very close to locating another grand star. I can feel its energy around a portion of the galaxy, but can't pinpoint it."
"Mmm, well if there's one thing I have the upmost confidence in, it's your ability to scour the universe for things of importance," he said proudly.
"Thank you Zion," She said in reply.
Zion took a deep breath, "What's wrong Rosalina? You've seemed worried since Mario and I talked. What's going on?"
Rosalina looked at Zion before turning her gaze downward, "I'm worried…" she paused, but Zion said nothing, allowing her time to finish her. "I'm worried about you."
'Ok, not the answer I expected.'
"How so?" He asked.
"...when we fought Bowser we both barely managed to escape with our lives. The fact is we only escaped due to sheer luck. If and when you manage to fix your suit, I don't want you to fight Bowser again, please let Mario handle him." Her request was reasonable from her point of view. However…
"You expect me to just sit back and let Mario handle everything? Nothing against him, but it just doesn't sit right with me to hang back and do nothing, especially where Bowser is concerned. I'll figure out how to get my suit up and running again, then I'll help Mario by collecting nearby power stars, then I'll help him deal with Bowser." Zion didn't seem to agree.
"I don't mind if you help collect power stars, I trust you'll be alright finding any that are nearby. However, I won't allow you to fight Bowser."
"Won't allow? Rosalina I'm sorry, but you can't make this decision for me. I swore to protect our home. I may have failed in that mission, but I can damn well get some payback on the monster that ruined it."
"I don't care about that, I care about you!" She shouted at him.
"..." He said nothing.
"You promised me that if you fought for us, you wouldn't die trying to protect me. You came close to that when we lost against Bowser. What if next time he crushes your right arm, or your left leg? What if he bites your neck or tears a hole in you that I can't fix?" Rosalina was getting riled up. "No. No no no no no… I love you Zion. I love you so much. Can't you see that the mere thought of losing you is tearing me apart?"
Zion felt guilty. 'I'm letting my pride as a soldier and desire for payback take over. I don't want to worry her, but…damn it, it's so hard to let go of my desire for revenge.'
Zion closed his eyes while inhaling through his nose, then exhaling out his mouth. "Alright, seeing as I'm still down an arm and a suit, I can't do anything at the moment." He used his hand to stroke her cheek, which she leaned into. "For now, I promise to solely focus on getting myself back into fighting action. I still want to fight Bowser myself, but I promise you I won't go behind your back and try fighting him without your approval. Sound reasonable?"
Rosalina looked at him with a soft smile, "Yes, that is acceptable." She leaned in to give him a hug and a kiss, "I love you, Zion."
He hugged her back with his sole arm, "I love you too Rosalina." They stayed in each other's embrace for a solid minute. "Anyway, I'm off to bed for now. It sucks that the bedroom is out of commission, but at least the floor outside the library is soft."
She nodded, "I agree. Hopefully OUR bedroom will be functional again soon. I could go for a good night of sleep."
Zion really liked the emphasis she placed on the word "our".
"Our bedroom in our home. Our cozy little observatory among the stars, huh?" He looked off into space. "We've been through a lot haven't we?" He asked aloud.
"That we have, and there's no one else I'd choose to experience it all with," Rosalina said with sincerity.
"...I'm gonna head to bed now, Rosalina. Goodnight princess, I love you." Zion said softly.
"Goodnight my knight, I love you too," she said in turn, as they separated and Zion headed towards the library area.
The conversation left them both feeling content, but also exhausted from the many events that occurred that day. However, their last exchange implanted a thought in Zions head. One that filled him with resolve, but also posed a dilemma.
'I don't know how or when, but I'm gonna ask her to marry me.'
Awww, I hope that warmed everyone's hearts just a bit. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. Again, please let me know if I should do something different with Mario's dialog. I'd like to keep it as is, but if it's too janky to read then I'll change it.