In this chapter, our heroes will fight Murdaw.
And yes, this chapter title is a bit darker than what I usually make.
In my defense, Mario was accused of murder in Chapter 7 of Paper Mario. He didn't do anything, of course, but it's a bit darker than what you would expect from a Mario game. Though the murder victim actually didn't die.
When it comes to dark moments in the Mario series, I think of the Shroobs from Partners in Time. Do you remember them? I don't think even the Koopa Troop is as bad as the Shroobs are.
I could feature them but I'm not sure how I would include them in this story.
Somebody who read this story noted I made a lot of chapters for this fanfic.
Chapter 46: Murdaw Mystery
Jessica bought a scourge whip.
It was a powerful whip, so it would be definitely of aid to her.
Especially since it had been purified from its curse.
It seemed appropriate that she was using that weapon, seeing as she was the scourge of the Dragonlord.
Mario bought a Glacier Hammer.
It had a chance to freeze his enemies.
So he figured it would be useful.
Angelo bought an Aurora Blade.
When they were ready, they entered the tower.
Light Blocks, Dark Tower
The tower had an ominous atmosphere, to say the very least.
It was befitting given for someone that used to work for the Archfiend Mortamor.
They saw a portrait of Murdaw on the wall.
And a portrait of Mortamor on another.
The latter the heroes found unnerving.
One could only hope that Mortamor had not returned as Murdaw had.
Luckily, there were some light blocks that illuminated the tower. So they could still see their surroundings.
There were Hypothermions roaming the tower.
As their name implied, they attacked using ice.
"For Murdaw!" exclaimed one of the Hypothermions. They were anything if not loyal to their master.
So it was a good idea to counter them with fire.
There were Fat Bats flying around as well.
It wasn't surprising, given that they had seen bats flying around the tower outside.
They were thirsty for blood.
So they had to be careful not to get bitten.
But they did not like bright lights, so light attacks worked pretty well.
Were they related to the Drackies. perhaps?
Then again, they didn't share the smiling faces.
There were Grim Keepers roaming the tower as well.
They wielded scythes, and they were proficient with them.
Additionally, they had the power to fly, which made it harder to hit them.
Murdaw was waiting for them in his throne room.
How many throne rooms did the Dragonlord's minions have?
Though they had asked that question before.
"So, you're the ones who defeated Morag, are you?" asked Murdaw. News traveled quickly around World 6, it seemed.
Our heroes nodded. They did defeat her.
She was strong but they had still won. With some help from the Wight Knight.
"You also managed to persuade her to betray the Dragonlord." spoke the Dread Fiend.
He wasn't sure how they managed to do that.
But considering how many minions had fallen to the heroes, it wasn't too surprising.
He hoped that he could stop the heroes here and now before any more minions fell.
If another general fell, it would likely wreak havoc on the army's morale.
"It's time to stop you heroes once and for all." spoke Murdaw.
Suddenly, Baramos showed up.
He cast a spell that gave Murdaw a speed boost.
"Thanks, I guess." noted the sorcerer.
Personally, he didn't think that he needed it to defeat the heroes.
But if he won faster, he wouldn't complain.
Murdaw attacked the heroes using chilly breath.
"Brrr…" spoke Bianca, who started to shiver.
"Fear the power of one of the Dread Fiends!" exclaimed Murdaw.
Murdaw had horns on the top of his head, so it was best not to try to jump on him.
Wario punched him.
Murdaw screeched.
He summoned Harmours to aid him.
They shielded Murdaw from damage.
So it looked like they needed to take them down first.
Wario transformed into Wario Man.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Wario Man.
He used his super strength to fight the Harmours.
"Woohoo!" cheered Wario.
But Murdaw used Disruptive Wave to undo Wario's transformation.
"Grrr!" exclaimed Wario.
Murdaw then fired a Frizzle.
"Mamamia!" shouted the plumber. Thankfully, his overalls did not ignite.
Angelo blew the Harmours away using Kaswoosh.
The Harmours were down for the count.
"It's so hard to find good help these days." noted the Dread Fiend.
Jessica hit Murdaw with her whip.
But he used Lullab-Eye to put her to sleep.
Angelo remembered Rhapthorne using it.
It had impaired the heroes' ability to attack and defend.
"Isn't that a powerful technique?" asked Murdaw. There was no resisting it.
"So I've noticed." answered Angelo. Perhaps it would be best if they didn't look Murdaw in the eyes.
Luigi switched out with Jessica, seeing as she was unable to battle.
He used the Poltergust to set Murdaw's cape on fire.
"Ouch! Hot hot hot!" shouted the Dread Fiend.
Bianca finished Murdaw off with a lightning spell.
"No! I've been defeated by heroes again!" exclaimed Murdaw.
It looked like he wouldn't become general after all.
He wondered if Atlas would be able to handle things.
Now that Murdaw had been defeated, Atlas was indeed their next target.
He was a strong general, so they would want to be ready for him.
Atlas was currently eating a roast turkey on a long table.
"Mmm, delicious!" exclaimed Atlas.
A Gigantes warned him of the heroes' approach.
"What? Why haven't you taken care of them yet?" asked the orange cyclops.
"Ask Morag and Murdaw." answered the Gigantes. They had both lost to our heroes.
Meanwhile, in the Gwarhar Caverns…
King Bob-Omb summoned Bob-Ombs to aid him.
It didn't come as a surprise. Being a king had its perks.
Alena admitted being a princess had its perks as well. Though it had gotten in the way of her martial artist training at first.
The heroes wondered if the Bob-Ombs considered him to be a just ruler.
Since the Bob-Ombs exploded, our heroes remembered to keep their distance.
That seemed to be the best way to fight them.
"I wonder how we should fight the king." pondered Alena out loud.
Did he have a weakness they could use?
"I'd like to see you try to pick me up and toss me around!" exclaimed the explosive monarch.
"Maybe we should try that." noted Ashlynn.
Alena volunteered, since she had the most physical strength among the party members.
This worked rather well.
"Ow!" exclaimed the king.
Perhaps the heroes were stronger than they thought.
He summoned Lethal Bob-Ombs.
It was on the fence as to why they were more aggressive than regular Bob-Ombs. Were they having a bad day?
Whatever reason, it would be best if they found a way to get them to chill out.
Nera decided to use ice magic on them.
This worked surprisingly well.
Alena picked King Bob-Omb up and tossed him again.
This time, he summoned Bulky Bob-Ombs.
It seemed he was going for a bigger explosion this time.
But this gave Alena another idea.
She picked up a Bulky Bob-Omb and tossed it at the king.
This caused him to collapse on the ground.
Who would have thought his own followers could be used against him?
"You bested me!" exclaimed King Bob-Omb.
Our heroes nodded.
"I suppose that means you're entitled to a prize." noted the king.
"It's what we're here for, yes." answered Alena. Though given that he was a minion of Bowser, it was likely they would have fought against him, anyways.
King Bob-Omb handed them the red pearl.
"Is it just me, or does King Bob-Omb look a bit like Pacman?" asked Ruff.
"He kind of does. Pac-Man doesn't have a mustache though." noted Ashlynn.
Now that King Bob-Omb had been defeated, it was time to fight Robo-Bowser. After that, they would be done with the cavern.
It seemed that he was based off the robotic Bowser from Super Mario Sunshine. Mario had his work cut out taking down the robot.
In order to get to it, they had to go through an underwater cavern.
There were Cheep Chomps waiting for them.
"Look at those Cheep Cheeps! They're huge!" exclaimed Ruff. He didn't know that they could grow to such a size.
It was surprising how big some fish could be.
"Some Cheep Cheeps can grow to enormous sizes." noted Captain Toad. He had encountered a few of these abnormally large Cheep Cheeps when he went treasure diving.
He had to be careful not to draw their attention.
Otherwise, it might be the end of his adventuring career. Unless he found a way to escape. Maybe if he lit a fire he could escape the Cheep Cheep's mouth?
Anyways, the heroes had to be careful not to get swallowed.
Otherwise they would take damage.
And the big fish would heal, which would prolong the fight.
Luckily, Captain Toads had bombs that he could put in their mouths.
"I don't think I should have swallowed that." noted a Cheep Chomp before a bomb exploded.
That had been too spicy for his tastes.
The Cheep Chomps were accompanied by regular Cheep Cheeps.
But they weren't as threatening by comparison. They could not swallow them whole, after all.
There were also Torpedo Ted Cannons.
It seemed that the Koopa Troop had redesigned some Bullet Bill Cannons so they worked underwater.
It certainly made reaching Mecha Bowser more complicated.
The robotic Bowser was waiting for them in a Koopa workshop.
"HEROES DETECTED. INITIATING FIGHTING SEQUENCE…" spoke Robo Bowser.
Like the real thing, it could breathe fire.
It was certainly better than the copy that the Koopa Bros. had made. That copy could have been way better.
The Koopa Bros. had designed that copy to scare Mario away…and failed. To be honest, a Baby Boo was probably scarier than that robot.
Captain Toad summoned the Moai.
Now seemed as good of a time to use his services as any.
"How can I help?" asked the Moai.
"We need you to take on a giant robot." noted Captain Toad.
"A giant robot, you say?" questioned the being of stone.
He had never encountered one of them before.
But he figured destroying the evil robot would be a good way to prove that he was a hero and not a monster.
"OK, count me in!" exclaimed the moai.
The Moai fired projectiles at Robo-Bowser.
It did some damage.
The robotic Bowser now had some dents.
Robo-Bowser fired Bullet Bills from its mouth.
Our heroes scrambled to avoid them.
Luckily, our heroes already had experience with them.
So they knew it was safe to jump on them.
Robo-Bowser then leapt in the air.
It created a shockwave.
Ruff was hit by the shockwave.
"Oof!" exclaimed Ruff.
He was stunned for a second.
The Moai fired a few more projectiles.
It then disappeared.
"It was nice seeing you again!" exclaimed the Moai.
"You too." spoke Alena.
It seemed that summon had a time limit.
Additionally, their summon would need to recharge before being used again.
Robo-Bowser let out a roar.
Kiryl was knocked off his feet.
It also summoned some Mechakoopas.
"More robots?" questioned Maya.
"Looks that way." answered Meena.
Peasley zapped the robot with his Thunderhand.
That seemed to be effective. Enough electricity would make a robot short out, after all.
Captain Toad tossed a Bob-Omb into Robo-Bowser's open mouth.
It exploded.
Steam came out of the robotic Koopa.
It seemed they were wearing the robot down.
Perhaps our heroes would win this fight. Though they didn't remember the last tome they had lost a fight.
However, Rocky Wrenches came to repair the robot.
Our heroes quickly responded by attacking the mechanics.
No point in making the fighter longer than it needed to be.
Luckily, they did not succeed in repairing the robot for the most part.
Our heroes had done well in preventing repairs.
Robo-Bowser breathed fire once again.
But Kiryl blocked it with his shield.
Alena tossed some Mechakoopas at the robot.
It had worked against the actual Bowser in Super Mario World.
So it was worth a shot.
As it turned out, this did damage the robot.
Perhaps it should refrain from summoning more Mechakoopas.
Robo Bowser fired more Bullet Bills.
But Alena jumped on them, reaching the robot's head.
She then pounded the robot's head with her fists.
At this point, the robot had taken critical damage.
"CALCULATING CHANCES OF DEFEATING HEROES…PROBABILITY: MINIMAL…" said the robot.
The robot Bowser exploded.
Luckily, our heroes weren't near it when it did. Alena jumped off in time.
They could see its parts scattered throughout the workshop.
And they saw the green pearl among them.
As it turned out, the pearl was being used to power the robot.
Since they had finished the fetch quest, our heroes returned to the Jellyfish Sisters.
They would be pleased to know that the team had managed to claim the pearls.
Gigi and Merri were indeed extremely grateful to the heroes for their help.
"Thank you so much!" exclaimed Gigi and Merri. Now they knew why everyone in the Beanbean Kingdom thought so highly of them.
It looked like their dreams had come true.
As a reward, they taught Alena and Peasley how to use Fire Bros. and Thunder Bros.
Though they questioned using Firebrand and Thunderhand on their own comrades.
Our heroes used the chairs to return aboveground.
They had done enough fighting for a while.
Afterwards, they were told that the jellyfish resort had closed.
This was because Gigi and Merri had ended up falling asleep.
They could still buy weapons and armor though.
They didn't want to inconvenience the heroes by not letting them buy weapons and armor.
Since they had helped the Jellyfish Sisters, they got a discount.
Our heroes decided to rest up as well. They had fought two bosses in a row, so now seemed like a good time.
They were planning to fight Lemmy Koopa, after all.
And they hadn't forgotten part of the reason why they wished to fight him.
So they decided to take a rest.
Captain Toad dreamed about finding treasure.
He always loved it when that happened.
Alena dreamed about working out in the gym.
She enjoyed a good workout.
Luckily, this adventure was a good workout for her.
She was glad that she had gotten another chance to go on an adventure after the first one.
Though perhaps Bowser wouldn't have as many forms as Psaro the Manslayer did. Seven forms was a bit much if you asked her.
Kiryl dreamed of Alena hugging him.
Ashlynn dreamed about fighting Mortamor. Her companions were with her. It felt so satisfying taking down such a terrifying villain. And it was fortunate that they didn't lose hope like most of the residents of his realm had.
That battle had been quite a day.
It was a good thing his lair was big enough to fit their wagon.
Otherwise they might not have beaten him.
Incidentally, she got the feeling that someone had defeated Murdaw recently.
She wondered how the rest of her companions were doing.
They were probably looking for her.
She could only hope she got reunited with them.
Nera dreamed about defeating Grandmaster Nimzo.
He had caused enough suffering as it was. So it was great that they defeated him.
Maya dreamed about performing on stage.
People were cheering for her.
They enjoyed her bikini.
Personally she thought she looked good in it.
Though perhaps it wasn't well-suited for combat.
Armor was just as important in a fight as weapons were.
Meena was dreaming about giving her sister a hug.
She was very affectionate.
Ruff dreamt about the Big Bad Wolf.
Meanwhile, Lemmy heard that King Bob-Omb and Robo-Bowser had fallen.
How did the heroes defeat two bosses at such a rapid pace?
That was no small feat, even for them.
He wondered if they would find a way to breach his fortress.
It actually seemed possible after our heroes managed to defeat those two.
Well, he would be ready for those heroes when they showed up.
For now, he would be playing games with his minions.
Three bosses in one chapter…what is this fanfic coming to?
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed these boss fights.
I had fun writing them.
What did you think?
As a side note, I think I might feature Jamirus and Dhuran in the future.
What do you think of that idea?
I'm going to keep writing chapters to see if I get a review for this fanfic.
Who knows? Maybe one of the fanfic's followers will give it a review!
