Chapter 147: Escaping the Castle, Assaulting the Castle
The airship took off, flying in the direction of Bowser's castle.
"We will reach Bowser's castle very quickly thanks to it," Mario said.
"I'm glad that we don't have to traverse the kingdom on feet for once," Luigi said.
"Hey, Mario, Ah have a question. How would ya have dealt with that mecha if we hadn't been here?é Apple Death questioned.
"Oh. Easy. Luigi would have taken one of his Mega Mushroom Pills and turned giant. I'm sure he would have won the fight," Mario answered.
"Or I could have given a pill to Mario so he would have been the one to turn giant to fight the mecha," Luigi said.
"Or both of you," Sweetie Ghoul pointed out. "No reason to leave out the other if one turned giant."
Suddenly, there was a wave of Phantom energy, and then, jet engines appeared on the airship which suddenly became several times faster. Because of the suddenness, nobody was prepared for the sudden acceleration and they all found themselves on the floor excepted Little Ghost. Meanwhile, Phantom was standing on the ship's bow, arms crossed, smirking, wind blowing her mane, facing the direction the ship was flying at.
"We were dragging our ass here! Now, it's better! We should arrive in just a few minutes!"
The next instant, Apple Death, in ghost form, was yelling at her ear. "NEXT TIME, WARN US!!!"
Phantom just returned a grin at this.
Without surprise, Peach and the others were spotted not even one minute after escaping the cell. There were minions absolutely everywhere so it was impossible to sneak around. So they did the next best thing and ran, attacking anybody getting in their way. At first, it was no problem as there were just a few Goombas here, a couple of Koopas there, a Hammer Bro around the corner, some Dry Bones guarding this hallway. But rapidly enough, as the news of the Princess' escape spread, more and more Koopa Troops came and the group began to be overwhelmed, so they put more effort into running and less into fighting.
All the while, they had to avoid traps and obstacles such as Thwomps, fire bars, lava pits, or Piranha Plants.
They saw over a dozen Koopa Troops led by a Magikoopa come from ahead, and the group was forced to climb stairs at the left. Once at the top, they took right to avoid more Koopa Troops coming from the left, knocking out a Goomba and a Spike on the way, then found themselves face to face with a Piranha Plant spitting fireballs at them from its pipe. More Koopa Troops were coming from ahead, and the group had nowhere to go.
"We are surrounded!" Phantom Belle exclaimed in fear.
Black Apple looked at the arriving Koopa Troops, then at the one coming behind them, then at the Piranha Plant who continued to spit fireballs at them, targeting the nearest which was Shadow Speedster.
Taking a decision, she quickly jumped on the pipe, making sure to land behind the Piranha Plant, and immediately placed her forehooves on its head. She then poured energy into it.
The Piranha Plant stopped spitting fireballs, taking in the energy with what seemed to be a blissful expression. As energy entered it, it grew a bit until it was two times the size of Princess Peach (it had already been slightly bigger than her before).
After a few seconds, Black Apple stopped pouring energy, a bit out of breath. "Ya want more? Then help us!"
Without hesitation, the Piranha Plant wrapped the filly in a root and placed her on its head before it pulled itself out of the pipe and jumped down, using its roots as legs.
Shadow Speedster approached it without hesitation while the others took a bit of time. But the Koopa Troops now were almost reaching them so they had no choice but to trust that Black Apple somehow tamed the carnivorous plant.
The Piranha Plant then charged toward the Koopa Troops while taking a big breath, and it breathed flames, burning Bowser's minions and forcing them to move away, opening the path a bit. As the plant advanced, everyone followed it, remaining close. The plant continued to breathe flames, occasionally forced to use its roots to deal with the Dry Bones against which the flames were ineffective, allowing the group to escape.
But the Koopa Troops quickly recovered and began to assault the plant, starting with the Hammer Bros and the Dry Bones throwing hammers and bones at it. Black Apple resumed pouring energy into the plant, not only strengthening it but also healing it. She had to do it in small doses however to recover her own energy. Thankfully, the plant reached the end of the large enemy group and they were able to get away, the Koopa Troops immediately chasing them. The fillies still had to knock away a few enemies, and even Peach had to bounce on a few heads.
"Was that what you were secretly training yourself to do all this time?" Shadow Speedster asked to Black Apple.
"Eeyup! After ya gained yer Cutie Mark, Ah really didn't want to be left behind, so Ah doubled on mah effort ta learn and find my own thing. So Ah asked Zecora for more demanding training from her. Ah no longer wanted ta just mess around with potions and their different effects, Ah wanted something for REAL combat! And let me tell ya, she even warned me 'bout how she'll not hold back on me and stuff, but I still agreed and dang she almost made me regret with how many hours she demanded Ah practice.
So long-story short, one day she began talkin 'bout how Earth Ponies got this untapped magical potential due to their closeness to the earth, nature and life compared to the other ponies, and that because almost all Earth Ponies ain’t interested in tha' arcane and that stuff almost never they discover it and then she guided through some exercises, meditation sessions, those kind of things and before long… Ta-da! Ah got this…"Geomantic" magic as she called it within me, helped a lot by mah energy. She says Ah'm still a bit of a novice in it, but Ah say it’s still pretty good."
"Awesome! Now I'm the one who'll have to keep up somehow!"
"Ya've yer machine and yer huge racing skills."
"Yeah, bur for fighting, I have nothing but my hooves and my energy balls. But you know what, I think that I know how I can improve my ability to fight."
"Ah can't wait ta see what ya've in mind."
The fillies and the princess continued to run. More enemy groups came but the plant dealt with them like the first one, and they were able to continue their escape, following Peach's directions.
The princess knew a good part of this castle like the back of her hand. Considering how many times she was kept prisoner here, that shouldn't be a surprise.
Phantom removed the jet engines to make the airship slow down as they approached Bowser's castle. When they got close, the Koopa Troops posted on the walls saw that the airship was transporting Mario and his allies and began to fire at it with the cannons, sending many Bullet Bills.
Phantom, Apple Death, and Little Ghost worked together to stop the Bullet Bills as well as the few flying enemies present and destroy the cannons, allowing Mario to land the airship not far of the castle. Everyone then jumped from the ship and entered the castle, fighting their way through some guards.
Peach wasn't the only one who knew the castle so well. After having raided it hundreds of time, finding the right path was muscle memory for Mario and Luigi, and even Apple Death's CMC were starting to know where to go without needing to follow the brothers. The only change was the placement of some traps and obstacles.
"So, do we first kick Bowser's butt and then save the prisoners, or do we first save the prisoners and then kick Bowser's butt?" Phantom asked.
"Depends of if we encounter Bowser before we reach wherever the prisoners are kept, which depends. Sometimes, Peach is kept in a simple cell. Other times, at the top of a tower. Other times, in a room made for her. It depends of Bowser's mood," Mario answered.
"So we randomly explore the castle until we either find the prisoners or find Bowser," Sweetie Ghoul said.
"If we're unlucky, it can take a while. As you saw, the castle is really big," Little Ghost said.
They continued to search the castle, not knowing that the prisoners weren't prisoners anymore.
The arrival of Mario's group into the castle was a huge relief for Peach's group. The number of Koopa Troops going after them diminished a lot, giving them more space to breathe. When they heard the guards shout that Mario was here, everyone's moral was also boosted.
That was until they found themselves face to face with a very angry Bowser upon entering a large, well-decorated room.
"I turn my back five seconds and already I got reports that you escaped. I suppose you pest equines are the cause of that. Peach never escaped by herself."
"Ponies, always ready to make a villain's life complicated one way or another," Shadow Speedster said.
"Next time, don't kidnap us!" Phantom Bloom shouted.
Bowser growled, then cracked his knuckles. "It doesn't matter. Your friends are here. I don't need you anymore. So I will take pleasure to turn your bodies into meat paste. You ponies have been a thorn in my side for too long."
"Hum... Can we defeat him?" Phantom Belle asked.
"We've no choice but ta try," Black Apple said before she sent the Piranha Plant to attack Bowser.
But before the plant could even approach, Bowser breathed fire at it, forcing it to retreat. Black Apple poured energy into it, making it grow vines that it sent to whip Bowser, but the Koopa King quickly caught them and pulled on them, bringing the plant to him. Before he could do anything bad however, Peach came, jumped, and kicked him on the cheek, so the plant ended up simply crashing on him, unseating Black Apple. The plant used the occasion to wrap its vines and roots around Bowser before it breathed fire on his face. Despite this, Bowser teared the vines and roots apart, dropping the plant from him. He then caught the plant by the stem and was ready to tear the head off too before he was stopped by an energy ball from both Black Apple and Shadow Speedster, one on the face and one on the hand holding the plant, making him release it.
The plant was quickly dragged away by Phantom Belle and Phantom Bloom, and Black Apple came to heal it with her energy. Meanwhile, Shadow Speedster continued to send energy balls and Peach jumped on Bowser's head whenever she had the occasion. But Bowser quickly breathed a fireball at Shadow Speedster who barely leaped out of the way. Then, he managed to catch Peach in one of her attempts to jump on him and he held her under his arm.
"Let me go, you brute!"
Bowser didn't pay her attention and sent more fireballs at the ponies who moved around to avoid them, excepted Black Apple who was back on the plant's head so it was the plant who was moving to avoid the fireballs. Bowser eventually stopped sending fireballs and instead jumped to send shockwaves, forcing the ponies and the plant to jump. He also threw hammers with the arm not holding Peach, one of which managed to hit Phantom Belle while she was jumping, giving her a concussion. Black Apple quickly made the Piranha Plant hold her so she wasn't hit by a shockwave.
Phantom Bloom grabbed one of the hammers on the ground, spun with it to gain momentum, and threw it back at Bowser, hitting him on the chest, which didn't do much. Then she immediately had to jump while running to avoid both a shockwave and a hammer. Phantom Belle recovered from her concussion, and Black Apple had an idea that she shared with her. While hesitant, she agreed. So Black Apple made the plant to Phantom Belle at Bowser, horn pointed toward him. Phantom Belle crashed on his head, and while her horn couldn't pierce his scales, it still managed to stagger him, making him drop Peach. But as Phantom Belle landed, Bowser immediately went to claw her. Peach, seeing this, leaped and caught Phantom Belle in passing, the two thus barely avoiding the claws. Bowser was stopped from attacking again by the Piranha Plant's vines whiping him, and Peach used the occasion to run away with Phantom Belle in her arms. She also used her powers to heal her from the hit she got on her head from the hammer while she was at it.
Bowser suddenly inhaled deeply, forming a powerful vortex that caught Black Apple and her plant. Unprepared for something like that, Black Apple found herself flying toward Bowser's mouth, ready to be eaten.
Phantom suddenly teleported beside Bowser and slashed him with her sword, stopping him. Apple Death then flew in and caught Black Apple. Bowser was then hit on the skull by an egg thrown from Yoshi from behind, followed by Mario coming, jumping, and bashing him with his hammer. As soon as he landed, Mario jumped away to avoid a counter attack, and he was joined by Luigi who had his hammer ready. Little Ghost then arrived with a dozen Koopa shells levitating around her, and she sent them at Bowser one by one, hitting him with all of them.
Bowser recovered from the onslaught and glared at Mario.
"Mario, you and company are finally here. Uh, I don't see the white one with the horn and the wings."
"Oh, Sweetie Void isn't here. You barely missed her when you invaded Toad Town earlier," Little Ghost said.
"That's a shame. I hoped to kill every birds with a single stone."
"What? You really think you can kill her?" Shadow Speedster asked, boasting for her friend.
"Now, I know that I can, thanks to this power that I received from a new friend I made. Watch!"
Suddenly, Bowser was engulfed in a purple aura of darkness. As the heroes watched in awe and horror, Bowser began to grow, doubling in size. His limbs became longer and less bulky, his fangs and claws and even the shell spikes sharper, his snout less rounded, his horns larger and longer, his hair spikier, and his feet larger. His eyes turned bloodshot, and his skin overall turned darker. When he finished transforming, the aura disappeared, but darkness energy could be seen escaping his hands and his mouth.
"PREPARE FOR YOUR DOOM, HEROES!!!"
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So, Bowser transformed in Ganon?
This is going to be the same Piranha Plant from SSBU isn't it?
11645999
Giga Bowser.
static.miraheze.org/atrociousgameplaywiki/thumb/a/a7/GigaMelee-1-.png/800px-GigaMelee-1-.png
11646036
More or less, yes.
11646110
Ok, thanks
Who instead found herself either on the other side of it or well behind the airship depending on how much physics you want to apply to her. Because she wasn't prepared for it either.
I've described it as her summer home before, and the punchline is that even I'm not sure it's actually a joke.
One might think to ask why that is, and I'm not sure it's lack of ability.
11646107
In fairness, it does seem a little tricky incorporating her into the story at this point.
11646107
Plenty of things you could do for them in this story. They are high school girls (though Sunset is technically aged down to that of one). They have been exposed to a lot of strange magical mayhem. In fact, I can imagine one particular universe from the SSBU lineup where they could naturally get a power up.
11646279
Which one?
11646314
When you think about it, the alter egos for Sunset and Sci-Twi could be interpreted as 'Shadows' that have yet to be tamed.
There's really only one universe in the SSBU lineup that pits high school kids against monsters and that is the Persona series.
11646332
I see. Something to remember.
11646361
I'm not gonna get annoying with it, mostly because I acknowledge that you are a human being with a life outside this website, but also partially because Joker is in Smash Ultimate, and we're pretty early into Melee.
Also, food for thought regarding Pokemon for anyone here or in the fic wanting to properly study them and evolution.
Just take the info and add the context of Pokemon being willing to go through it, and some of them even enjoying it.
EDIT: for preliminary reference, prepare for a crash course in Epigenetics.
not sure if you still need ideas for Team Attacks (Essentially the "Bros Moves" with a contextually broader naming scheme) But i got some more.
Throwing mooks and furniture at each other. By that I mean one person picks up a piece of furniture and another grabs some poor shmuck and they throw the two together. Literally.
Similar to the last one, but more often seen in media, here in the United States at least, and the reason I am making this comment, have one person throw a massive projectile and have someone else drag the enemy into and through it.
11648578
Thanks.
11648578
Or the classic "meeting of the minds" (literally knocking two foes' heads together) but with friends working together.
11651148
this legitimately gives me the mental image of Phantom and Sweetie Void doing that like in a High Five kind of manner.
EDIT: As of the time of this edit, I just had a slightly funnier and much cooler idea for the "Meeting of the minds" things that I remember seeing at least a version of, just kicking two guy so they end up headbutting each other.