In this chapter, Alena's team will fight Morton!
If they win, Wendy is up next.
Why am I using the Super Mario Bros 3. pattern, you ask? The original Superstar Saga used the Super Mario World pattern.
So I figured why not?
If I told you that already let me know.
Chapter 19: A Morton of Fun
Larry's Torpedo Castle
"Isn't Larry in the Beanbean Kingdom-a?" asked Mario. He wasn't sure when he would be back.
How did you know that?
"He was in this-a fanfic not too long ago!" exclaimed the plumber. He had been on Hoohoo Mountain, to be precise. It seemed that he wanted to enjoy the view. There was a telescope he could use, after all.
How many times do you think this fanfic will break the fourth wall?
Mario shrugged. He didn't know the answer. But he imagined that it wouldn't be the last.
Gracos' Torpedo Castle
There were Chainines roaming the castle walls.
"Bark bark bark!" exclaimed a Chainine.
"I remember them." noted Jessica. She had encountered them early in her previous adventure.
Their speciality was impairing their foes' ability to fight.
They provided decent support for their comrades for that reason.
"We win our fights nine times out of ten!" exclaimed a Chainine.
"That's a pretty good track record." noted Jade. Though she usually won the fights she participated in herself.
Our heroes heard the sound of stomping.
"What was that?" asked Jessica. Whatever it was, it was loud.
It was a Green Dragon.
"Oh a-no!" exclaimed Mario. This monster was rather big. Of course, Dragon Quest wouldn't be Dragon Quest without dragons, would it? Though the creators could have named it Slime Quest given the abundance of slimes.
This dragon looked hungry.
Green dragons were rather strong compared to other enemies around them. And bigger too.
She probably wasn't as strong as Gracos herself though. Otherwise she would be a general herself.
The dragon proceeded to breathe fire on them. It seemed appropriate considering there were Burners in the original castle.
"Ouchies!" exclaimed Mario. It reminded him of Bowser's flames. They were potent, that was for sure. Though this dragon wasn't quite as strong as Bowser was.
To make matters worse, they couldn't dodge the flames while chained.
Jessica took down one of the Chainines with her whip.
"You've been a bad doggy." noted Jessica. If only they could be more like Luigi's Polterpup.
"Those-a Chainines reminded of Chain Chomps." noted Mario. Though at the same time, they were the exact opposite. They were the chainers, not the chained.
He decided to use his FLUDD to counter the dragon's flames.
He then used Firehand to begin melting the Chainine's chains.
"Oh no!" exclaimed the Chainine. It looked like Mario found a counter to their strategy.
There were Seasaurs in the castle as well.
One of them let out a roar.
It was surprising how big monsters could be.
The Seasaur took a bite out of Angelo.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Angelo.
The Seasaurs attacked with icy breath.
Luckily, Mario could use Firehand to thaw our heroes if they needed it.
He used his hammer to attack the Seasaurs.
There were also torpedo cannons as well.
It would be best to dodge those torpedos if they can.
They needed to keep their HP up for the boss fight.
Jade got hit by one.
"Aah!" exclaimed Jade.
She was alright, thank goodness.
In the parts of the castle that were submerged in water, there were Wild Boarfish swimming about.
One let out a snort.
They were poisonous, so it was best to use Antidotal Herbs when needed.
Jade had learned a Thunder Punch technique she could use to fight them. She learned it from watching Luigi's Thunderhand in action.
Gracos was waiting for the heroes in her throne room.
There was a waterfall behind the throne, as well as two statues of mermen beside it.
"I'm starting to see why the Dragonlord sees you as a threat." noted the queen of the sea. They had defeated two generals before her, after all.
Not a serious threat, but a threat nonetheless.
It looked as if she was going to need to do more than set up torpedo cannons around the castle.
So she was going to fight them herself.
Gracos psyched herself up.
It looked as if she was about to use a big attack.
Sure enough, she launched a tidal wave at our heroes.
"That's-a lot of water!" exclaimed Mario. And that was coming from someone that used FLUDD.
"Whoa!" shouted Angelo.
It seemed Gracos was a strong opponent. Fitting for the finale of World 3.
Gracos stabbed Mario with her trident.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Mario.
That trident was pointy.
And it could be used for short-range and long-range attacks.
It was a versatile weapon, that was for sure.
Jade kicked Gracos in the chest.
She was sent backwards a few feet.
"Attacking me, are we? Allow me to stop you!" exclaimed Gracos.
She summoned a whirlpool and made Jade dizzy.
Mario tossed Jade a Refreshing Herb.
"Thanks!" exclaimed the martial artist.
She hit Gracos with Thunder Punch.
"Oww!" exclaimed the sea monster. Gracos and electricity did not mix. It was rather unfortunate for her that the heroes could use her weakness.
"Nice one!" cheered Jessica.
"It has come to my attention that I might need help. Luckily I'm not too prideful to summon allies." noted Gracos.
She summoned a Riptide to assist her.
"What is thy bidding, mistress?" asked Riptide.
"Take care of business for me, will you?" questioned Gracos.
The Riptide nodded.
He charged towards the heroes with his claws.
But Angelo blocked it with his sword.
However, Gracos blasted Angelo with her trident.
He fainted on the ground. That one had been a critical hit.
"That serves you right for trying to dethrone me!" exclaimed Gracos.
Jessica tossed him a 1-Up Mushroom.
"Thanks for telling me how much you love me!" thanked Angelo.
"You're welcome. You can flirt with me in moderation." noted Jessica.
In return, Angelo cast Oomph on Jessica. He figured that she would appreciate a boost to her attack.
This allowed her to hit Gracos with her whip extra hard.
"Ow ouch!" exclaimed Gracos. That attack really stung.
She cast a healing rain spell to heal some MP.
But Angelo hit her with his sword.
Mario leapt on the Riptide.
He spun around like a tornado and tried to hit the heroes in retaliation.
But our heroes moved out of the way and he crashed into a wall.
She summoned a Seasaur this time.
She breathed fire breath on our heroes.
But Mario countered with FLUDD.
He then leapt on top of the Seasaur's head, making her collapse.
"Why is it so hard to find good help these days?" asked Gracos.
"It's not hard for me." noted Jessica.
Jade finished off Gracos with another Thunder Punch.
Gracos fell to the ground.
Once again, the heroes had managed to prevail over a general.
Their hard work was paying off.
"How did I lose? I'm the ruler of the ocean! Though to be fair I'm not as strong as the Dragonlord." noted Gracos.
None of the generals were as strong as he was. He was in charge of the army for a reason. After all, who else could transform into a giant dragon?
Still, it was impressive that the heroes managed to take her down.
Our heroes exited the castle afterwards.
They got another letter from the Dragonlord.
"So, you defeated Gracos, haven't you? Very impressive. I'll have Krystalinda take care of you next." read the letter. She was a powerful spellcaster so she should be able to keep our heroes on their toes.
"Krystalinda?" asked Jade.
She remembered her. She had caused trouble in a frosty village once.
But hadn't she become a good guy? It seemed that her icy heart had been thawed.
It was odd that she had turned evil once again.
Perhaps she should investigate the matter.
Once she had reached World 4, of course.
In order to reach World 4, they needed to climb a giant beanstalk.
Was there a giant waiting for them at the top?
It would be preferable if they found a golden goose instead.
At the Giggleho Cave…
Morton launched a fireball from his wand at the heroes.
But they ducked over it.
Peasley slashed Morton with his blade.
"Ouch! That blade hurt!" exclaimed the Koopa. And he was fast with it, too.
In retaliation, he punched him in the face.
Peasley was knocked backwards a few feet.
It seemed Morton had strong muscles. Perhaps he didn't need a wand to fight.
Though with that wand, he could attack at both close-range and long-range.
Kiryl hit him with his spear.
"Ow! Pointy!" exclaimed Morton.
Morton summoned Bob-Ombs for assistance. He was outnumbered four to one, so maybe this would even the odds.
"Take care of heroes!" exclaimed the Koopaling.
"We're going to blow you away! Literally!" exclaimed a Bob-Omb.
"We better get ready to defend." noted Nera.
A group of Bob-Ombs could make quite a boom.
Luckily, they managed to defend themselves in time.
With one exception.
"Aaarghhh!" exclaimed Kiryl.
"Oh no! Kiryl, are you OK?" asked Alena.
"I think so." nodded Kiryl.
He cast Midheal on himself, just to be on the safe side.
"That's a relief." noted the girl with muscle. If they lost their healer, then they would be in a lot of trouble.
Morton leapt into the air.
"What is he planning?" asked Alena.
"I have a bad feeling." answered Peasley.
Peasley was right to trust his instinct, because at that very moment Morton descended and created a shockwave as soon as he landed.
The prince managed to dodge in time.
But the girls were hit.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Nera.
"Oof!" shouted Alena.
Morton summoned some Beanies to assist them.
"These baddies want to join Koopa Troop. So I accept them!" exclaimed Morton.
Luckily, they were weak.
They were faster than a common Goomba, however.
Alena kicked a Beanie towards Morton.
It hit him on the head.
"Ow!" exclaimed Morton.
He launched stalactites from the ceiling in retaliation.
Peasley was hit.
"Ow! My head!" shouted Peasley.
Kiryl cast Buff on him.
Hopefully it would help protect him from damage.
Morton launched another fireball, but he blocked it.
Nera cast a spell that froze Morton solid.
She then violently shattered it.
"Aarghhh!" exclaimed the Koopaling.
He fell on the ground.
"I lose? How Morton lose?" asked Morton.
The Beanies fled in terror.
Then again, the heroes had already defeated one of the Koopalings. So maybe it wasn't too big of a surprise.
"We did it!" exclaimed Nera.
That was certainly something to be proud of.
At the Dragonlord's Castle…
The Dragonlord sat on his throne, plotting his next course of action.
"It appears that my generals are having difficulty taking care of the heroes." noted the Dragonlord. He was a bit surprised that the heroes hadn't fallen yet.
Three of them had fallen. With Gracos being the latest.
He decided that it was time to take some action. If left unchecked, more generals could fall to the heroes.
"Luckily, I know someone who would be willing to take care of things." spoke the sorcerer.
If the generals couldn't stop him, maybe he could.
He summoned Hargon.
Hargon was the Dragonlord's enforcer.
"You called, master?" asked Hargon.
"How would you like to do a favor for me?" questioned the Dragonlord.
"Yes, master!" exclaimed the fellow magician. He was eager to serve the lord of the dragons. He always wanted to be on his good side.
"There are a group of heroes who are interfering with my invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom. They're defeating my generals and are making things more difficult for me." noted the dragon.
If they defeated all seven of the generals, the invasion could fail.
And he did not want that.
"You want me to take care of things, boss?" asked Hargon. He had heard about the heroes that were hindering the invasion. The monsters were starting to wonder if they could take them on.
"Of course. If Krystalinda fails, it'll be your job to handle them." noted the Dragonlord. He wanted to make sure that the heroes' quest was challenging.
He could do the job himself…but he figured that would make things too easy. And he did want a challenge.
Fortunately, Hargon had an airship that he could use to fight the heroes.
And yes, there were monsters onboard that airship.
If the airship's defenses failed, he himself had a talent for combat.
So it looked good. Or should he say evil?
"Off to Frosted Glacier I go." said Hargon.
Luckily, he did not mind the cold.
At Queen Bean's castle…
"Well done, my son!" exclaimed Queen Bean. Peasley and his team had successfully averted a crisis.
Now the Beanbean Castle townies could rest easy.
But the mission was not complete.
Bowser was still out there.
And so were five of the Koopalings.
Alena decided to ask the Beanstar of the next Koopaling's whereabouts. Taking down the Koopalings seemed to weaken the army.
"She's in Chucklehuck Woods." noted the Beanstar. "She wishes to try out the Chuckola Reserve."
When you drank Chuckola, you often felt like laughing. Hence the name.
Incidentally, jokes went a long way in the brewing process. The better the jokes, the better the taste. Of course, people who made bad jokes typically found themselves in Joke's End.
"That sounds tasty." spoke Alena. It would be nice to have a drink after a long day of battling. And she had done plenty of battling.
"That it is. But I think you have more in mind than delicious beverages, do you not?" asked the Beanstar.
"Yes, we do." nodded Peasley.
"Luckily the Chucklehuck Woods aren't far from here." noted the star.
At the Chucklehuck Woods…
"Larry and Morton have been defeated? How did they lose?" asked Wendy. She thought they would be able to handle things. But they both failed.
She was under the impression the heroes would have been dealt with by now. But the heroes were proving to be troublesome.
And yet, they were still at large.
Well, she wasn't going to lose if she could help it.
Her magic rings seemed to serve her well against the Mario Brothers.
So perhaps they would serve her well against the heroes of the Beanbean Kingdom as well.
She wasn't going to lose to them.
Morton and Gracos have been defeated!
It's off to World 4 next!
That would be Frosted Glacier. Hence me choosing Krystalinda as the general. She seemed a popular monster in The Dark Prince so…
As for Alena's team, they'll be going to Chucklehuck Woods.
And yes, I'm featuring Hargon in this fanfic as well.
I thought he and the Dragonlord looked a lot alike so I figured why not?