We're in the home stretch!
Chapter 20: Preparation
It had taken a solid day of heating, hammering, and welding, but Zion had finished his project. Not only had he wanted to get this done, in his opinion, he needed to get it done ASAP. Now he just had to make a couple special preparations.
1: Task the luma with fetching some ingredients.
2: Talk with the Toad Brigade
3: Talk with the Mario Brothers
And 4: Distract Rosalina
Tasking the lumas was quick and easy, they knew where to go to find food for everyone very well at this point. Now came the Brigade. It was early in the morning, so everyone was still milling about at the garage. Lucky for him, Mario and Luigi were there too, so he could kill two birds with one stone.
Zion stood at the garage, "Hey everyone, I need some help."
A simple statement, but it immediately got everyone's attention. They all gathered near Zion.
"What's going on, Zion?" Luigi asked.
"Yeah! How can the Toad Brigade help?" Captain Toad shouted.
Zion told them his plan, "So you can see why I need all your help to pull it off."
"Sure thing Zion, you can count on us!" Captain Toad exclaimed.
"For mama's knight, we'll do everything we can!" The lumas bounced in the air excitedly.
"We can definitely do that, right Mario?" Asked Luigi.
"Oh yeah," Mario agreed, "Everybody knows-a what they're doing, right?" There were nods and verbal confirmations among the whole group. "Alrighty, let's-a go!" with Mario's shout, the group dispersed.
Zion was thinking to himself as he walked away from the group, 'Getting steps one, two, and three all done at once was very convenient, but it was also the easiest part of the job.' He saw Rosalina standing at her usual spot in front of the holographic map, the star count showing a powerful 87. Zion was thoroughly impressed with the amount of work Mario had done. At this rate he could solely focus on improving himself and his suit for the fight against Bowser and his army.
'Enough of those thoughts for now Zion, you've got a job to do.'
"Rosalina," he called out to her, and she turned to face him. She smiled instantly upon seeing him. She met him in his approach and they embraced one another. "Are you doing anything important at the moment?"
"I'm doing what I always do. Watch and observe the galaxy as best I can for Mario, so he can be best informed where to head next," Rosalina was doing everything she could since the initial encounter with the Koopa King, and while she was definitely better now, Zion wished she'd take it easy every now and then.
"I want to take you to the secret garden, just the two of us."
Rosalina looked torn, "I would love to, but what about my duties? I can't just-"
"I spoke with Mario before coming here, he's taking a small break to rest before heading out. I suggest you use this time to do the same," Zion asserted.
Rosalina looked more sure now that she knew about Mario's break, "Alright then, lead the way my knight," she ran a finger across his armored chest in a flirtatious manner. Zions response was to scoop Rosalina into his arms princess style. "EEP!" It had the intended reaction. "Zion!"
"This is the best way to 'lead the way'," Zion took off into the air. Despite there being no danger to her welfare, Rosalina held on tightly to Zion as he flew up to the top of the observatory. He landed cleanly, but refused to put Rosalina down, and instead walked through the entrance of the garden with her.
"Ok, we're here, can you please put me down now?" Rosalina asked. Zion obliged, gently letting go of her legs so she could stand again. "Thank you. Please warn me before you do that," she put her hand over her chest, catching her breath.
Zion saw an opportunity to flirt, "What's the matter my princess? Did I take your breath away?" He said taking a mock bow. Rosalina responded by giving him a mock slap on his shoulder. "Hold on for just a moment." Zion adjusted a couple of things, and removed the armor from around his torso. "Much better," he then lied down on the ground of the garden, "Come on down and join me." He patted the ground next to him.
Rosalina smiled, and took her place beside him. "You're such a hopeless romantic sometimes Zion, but it's one of many reasons I love you." She leaned over and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. He simply smiled.
"We should be doing this more often," Zion stared into the garden's artificial sky, "something to remind us to slow down and just enjoy being together."
Rosalina was also watching the sky, "With everything going on, we should cherish every moment we have together." She moved closer to Zion, so that they were right next to each other.
The two of them enjoyed the silence and each other's company, until they eventually fell asleep.
Rosalina was the first to wake up from their garden snooze. Observing the sky, she noticed it was almost time for dinner. 'Wow, I was more tired than I realized,' She thought to herself. She began shaking her lover.
"Zion, wake up, we've overslept."
"Hnnn," Zion woke rather quickly, "have we? What time is it?' He asked while rubbing his eyes.
"It's almost 17:30."
"Is it really? That works out nicely then, let's head to the kitchen." He pushed himself up, then got to his feet. He then offered Rosalina a hand up, which she graciously accepted, and helped her to stand. "Princess, I humbly request to take you to dinner."
She smiled, "I accept your request, dear knight." Zion wasted no time getting his armor back on, and the two of them flew to the kitchen, hand in hand.
When they landed just outside the door, Zion made for the door immediately. Rosalina gave him a strange look.
"You're keeping your armor on? You usually take it off when we eat," Rosalina rationed.
"Trust me, I have a good reason to keep it on tonight. Now let's head in." He opened the door for her.
As Rosalina opened the door she was shocked to see the kitchen table set with fancy looking tableware and the lighting was down low just enough to see everything.
"What is this?" Rosalina asked, staring at the kitchen
"Rosalina and Zion, table for two I presume?" The pair were greeted with the younger Mario brother dressed in a butler suit. She could clearly tell something special was going on.
"Yes, that's us," Zion spoke up, causing Rosalina to turn to him.
"Did you plan this? Zion, what is going on?"
Zion looked at her with a smile, then to Luigi, nodding at him, then back to Rosalina. She didn't see Luigi scamper off.
"Well Rosalina, I was going to save this until later, but you're pretty smart. So I'll tell you it's most likely exactly what you think it is."
He reached into one of his armors compartments, and proceeded to put out a small box while getting down on one knee. Rosalinas eyes widened.
"I would like to ask you to marry me."
He opened the box, revealing a small metallic ring with a purple jewel adorned the head. Upon closer inspection, one could see the jewel was forged from a star bit.
Rosalina put her hands to her chest, hyperventilating. "Oh gods. Oh my gods," she began saying the same thing over and over again. Zion gave her a moment to try and regain herself.
"...well? Don't keep me waiting," he finally said, breaking her from her trance.
"Oh my stars, yes!" She fell to her knees beside him, hugging him, kissing him, tears forming and flowing freely from joy. "I love you so much, Zion. I love you so much!" She embraced him again, which he returned. "In all my years of life, I never once thought a moment like this would happen." She wiped the tears from her eyes, but more came with her smile. "I must look like such a mess right now, but I just can't stop the tears."
Zion released her from the hug, and Rosalina followed suit. He took the ring from the box. "May I?" He put down the box and held out his hand.
Rosalina gave him her left hand, which he then neatly slid the ring on. It felt a little tight on her finger, she supposed she would get used to it. She stared at the ring on her finger with delight, tears finally starting to slow.
"Did you make one for yourself?" She asked.
Zion smiled in return, "Sure did, but mine's a little different," reaching into his armors compartment, he pulled out another metallic ring. But this one had small bits of redish orange embedded into it. The ring was also looped through a metal chain. Zion put the chain around his head, where it slid down to sit comfortably around his neck. "I went with a necklace so I wouldn't risk losing it in combat. It also gives me the ability to say 'I'm keeping it close to my heart,'"
Rosalina laughed, "That was such an obvious line."
"But you loved it anyway, didn't you?"
She smiled, "I did."
Zion chuckled, "Ok guys, you can come out now." On his command, the Mario Brothers entered the kitchen, both sporting fancy suits. Luigi holding two glasses, and Mario a bottle of what looked like champagne.
"Congratulations!" They both shouted.
Rosalina smiled and looked back to Zion, "So what was the original plan?"
Zion smiled sheepishly, "I was going to romance you at dinner and pop the question after dessert, but I figured you already had an inkling what was going on."
She continued to smile, "I love you Zion,"
He gave her a quick kiss, "I love you too. Now shall we?" He said, grabbing the glasses.
Rosalina nodded, taking one of the glasses, "We shall."
Zion and Mario were currently in the Space Junk Galaxy. However, they weren't there to collect power stars. No, they were there for Zion to test his armors new ability. After much trial and error, they finally found a way to make an "emp-like" attack.
They had cut small slivers from the dragon's horn, and placed them in key spots around Zions armor. Most every joint was now sporting a small round disc, just inside the outermost layer of his armor. The only noticeable spots were two stripes of purple around his shoulder blades.
Best case scenario, the emp worked. Worst case scenario, it does nothing. The two of them were standing in an area with floating blocks. A long rope was tied to Zion in case of an emergency.
"Alright Mario, I'm gonna give it a shot," Zion said, preparing for the worst.
"Okie dokie," Mario responded.
Zion flew off the platform while each of them held one end of the rope. Once he was a few yards away, he charged the emp. The joints and points on his back glowed purple with energy. After four seconds of charging a burst of electricity burst forth from Zion. A wave of electricity could be seen moving in all directions from Zions location. Despite their best efforts, Mario did end up getting a bit shocked from the attack. When the electric attack ceased, Zion shouted out.
"Hey Mario, my suit shut down. Can you help reel me back in?" He shouted as he began pulling on his end of the rope. He could thankfully still move even if the armorn was unpowered, it was just really heavy. Mario nodded and began pulling in Zion. It took them a full minute to get Zion back to the platform, and the second they did…
"Of course, NOW it decides to work," Zion complained.
"At least it's-a working, right?"
"Yeah, big blessing there. I'd have been in deep trouble if our testing was wrong and my suit got fried." Mario nodded and pat Zion on the back, which he had to jump to do. "Alright, the test was successful, let's head back."
…
The trip back was quiet and uneventful. Both Zion and Mario flew straight to the landing platform of the observatory. Zion removed his helmet as he strode closer to his starry lover.
"Hey Rosalina, we're back. The test worked out pretty well, and…what's going on?" Rosalina seemed serious, looking between Zion and Mario.
"I've found Bowsers base, at the center of the universe…"
'No wonder she's so serious' Thought Zion
"Are you certain?" He asked to make sure.
Rosalina nodded, "I'm certain. He's a danger to the entire universe and must be stopped at all cost."
Zion looked at both Mario and Rosalina, "When should we head out?"
Mario closed his eyes and audibly hummed, "Tomorrow morning, that-a way we can wrap up any unfinished business, as well as get-a good night's rest. Bowser knows-a I'm here. He won't do anything rash until he fights-a me one last time."
The trio looked among each other.
Rosalina spoke first, "Alright then, we depart tomorrow. Zion, do you have anything left to test with your armor?"
Zion nodded, "I'm going to upload the data from the emp test and look it over. Shouldn't take more than an hour, maybe an hour and a half."
"Very well, I shall do some last minute tests on my end as well. Please let me know when you are done."
The group went their separate ways. Mario went to relax and catch up with Luigi, Zion was checking over his armor, and Rosalina…
"They caught us off guard before. This time we're ready. I'll have to thank Zion for the inspiration."
Night had come and gone too quickly, it seemed. The day had finally come to take the fight directly to Bowser. Everyone had gathered on the lower level, planning on where they should be in case of an emergency.
"Zion, I have a request," Rosalina said to Zion as they were getting ready.
"Sure, what do you need?"
Rosalina took a deep breath, "I want you to fight alongside Mario and stop Bowser."
While it was definitely what Zion wanted, he was uncertain, "Are you sure? While I'd love to take him down, I'd much rather prioritize protecting you."
Rosalina stepped over and hugged him, "I know, and I appreciate your desire to protect me, but stopping Bowser is priority one." She let him go from the hug, "Besides, once we get going, you'll see that I'm more than capable of handling myself," she said with a coy smile.
Zion shook his head and laughed, "Alright, I'll do as you command." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, "I love you."
She leaned over and kissed him on the lips, "I love you too. You focus on coming back in one piece, I'll make sure you have a home to come back to." They embraced once more before separating. "Alright, is everyone ready? We're heading to the center of the universe," There were various affirmations from the group, Mario himself giving his signature 'Let's-a go!' "All right, then. Off we go!"
Rosalina flew to the upper levels of the observatory. She clenched her fist before relaxing it, then lifted her wand into the air, releasing a pulse of magic. It traveled upwards a ways before popping and quickly forming a protective shield around the observatory. The whole structure began to spin rapidly as it reoriented. Zion guessed it had something to do with her magic, but he was still amazed no one was jostled or got sick during the spinning.
The whole structure began to hum with energy, before launching off like a rocket. Zion could only imagine the speed at which they were traveling. Light speed travel wasn't unheard of in his universe, but it took a lot to get working. He could picture the engineers of his universe having a fit at the ease of which the observatory journeyed through space.
Zion looked ahead, and could see what looked like a floating castle, surrounded by airships that he knew were from Bowser's army. He put on his helmet, "Time to take this bastard down."
This chapter took way too long to write. Writer's block hit hard with this one. Thankfully, I know where the story is going, and we're almost at the finish line. Thanks for bearing with me and my inconsistent upload schedule, but the next chapter should be out soon, and it's most likely the second to last chapter!