Bowsette - Beauty and Beast Pt. 04

The castle itself creaked and crashed as it began to break apart. The chunks of debris of various sizes continued to rise into the air and come together forming a huge mass above them. "What the fuck is happening?!" said Bowsette. She looked behind them and saw the long stone bridge breaking apart and falling into the lava, cutting off their only escape route. And in the distance beyond it, was that an approaching air ship?

The sky was filled with dark clouds and lightening flashed from the nearby storm. They could see the castle continue to break apart and rise up to form three separate floating masses, the largest one in the center. Bowsette blinked up as she saw the central mass take a distinct shape, huge pointed horns stuck out from each side and a toothy snout formed at the front. There were two blazing eyes of fire. It was an enormous crude stone statue of Bowser's head.

The other two floating masses appeared to take the shape of huge clawed hands. The Bowser head tilted downwards and glared at Bowsette and Mario standing on the bare stone foundation of the castle, an island in the vast lava lake. It's eyes blazed with orange-red flames and there was the glowing orb from Kamek's wand embedded in the stone between them. The toothy maw opened and let out a booming laugh.

"BWAAAA HAW HAW HAW. YOU DON'T KNOW THE POWER OF A STAR CORE WEILDED BY A MIGHTY MAGIKOOPA. NOW YOU DIE TOGETHER!!"

"Oh crap," said Mario, looking up at the stone monstrosity.

The giant stone hands flexed and clenched making a loud grinding noise. One of them flew forward toward Bowsette and Mario. They dashed out of the way as it slammed down on the ground they were standing on moments before. The impact shook the ground and made them stumble. As it raised up again, the other hand came sweeping across. Bowsette dove out of the way and Mario jumped high and kicked off of it, vaulting over.

The hand raised up in front of them threateningly and a boom could be heard behind them. The cannon fire exploded on its palm, sending stone debris flying. A glowing red spot was then exposed under the giant hand. Bowsette and Mario whipped their head around to see the airship looming over them. A figure appeared to be drifting down toward them.

The giant Bowser head opened its maw and fired a huge fireball. The airship flew forward and had enough distance to narrowly miss the enormous flaming ball. Mario watched the figure drift down toward them, it kind of looked like Bowsette. Soon she came and landed between Bowsette and Mario, holding her parasol.

"Peach!" exclaimed Mario. "You're uh...a redhead."

"It's a good look," smiled Bowsette.

"What trouble have you two gotten into now?" said Peach.

Bowsette smirked, "Oh you know, just battling my castle."

Daisy was smart enough to turn her airship and keep its distance from the monstrous stone head. The head turned back to the three standing on the platform and opened its mouth, spewing forth more huge fireballs.

"Get behind me," said Peach. She held out her parasol as the fireballs quickly closed in and were deflected as they reached her.

"Where did you get that parasol?" asked Bowsette.

"Rosalina gifted it to me for my protection." She had something slung around her shoulder. She reached for the large mallet and tossed it to Mario. "Here Mario."

Mario caught the large hammer with a wooden shaft and heavy black head. "Thanks, this will help." He looked up at the floating hand with its red glowing spot. "So this is a boss battle. This is my thing. We need to watch for the pattern. Avoid the attacks. Attack the weak spots. Repeat until it is destroyed."

"Oh, is that all," said Bowsette. "Let's get to it then."

The hand came flying up to them again. Mario quickly pulled Peach away as it came slamming down at them. He sprung forward as it raised up and swung his hammer at the glowing area. The hand pulsed red and seemed to shake as it pulled away.

The other hand flew up to Bowsette. She roared as she leaped into the air and slammed her fist into the stony palm. Chunks of stone were smashed away and a glowing red spot was exposed. The hand flexed and then slapped her away. Bowsette was sent rolling along the ground and dug her claws into the stone pavement, skidding to a halt before she fell over the edge and into the lava.

The Bowser head let out a thunderous roar and shot out more fireballs toward them. Peach dashed forward and batted them away with her powerful parasol. One of the hands came forward again. Bowsette planted her feet and opened her mouth, throwing forth a stream of scorching flame. The huge hand slowed and began to glow red. Mario leaped forward and swung his hammer into the palm. The stone hand shattered and stone rubble fell down into the lava.

"Peach, Look out!" yelled Bowsette as the other hand loomed over her.

The Princess raised her parasol over her head as the hand slammed down. It suddenly came to a halt. Peach fell to one knee and strained to hold the parasol above her. Bowsette ran over to her and sprang off the ground, she threw her fist up in a rising uppercut, slamming into the glowing red weak point. The giant hand burst apart and stone debris rained. Bowsette crouched under Peach's parasol as the thousands of heavy chunks hit the hard pavement.

The enormous Bowser head roared again. Lightening flashed in the dark clouds behind it. "LITTLE PESTS! YOU CAN NOT STOP THE KOOPAS FROM FULFILLING OUR DESTINY!"

Bowsette stood, facing the stone monster defiantly, "I am the Queen. I decide the Koopa's destiny!!"

"YOU WILL DIE!!" It's flaming eyes blazed even brighter.

Mario came up behind her, "That's the star core between its eyes. We need to destroy it."

"But it's from a star temple," said Peach. "They were here long before us."

"It's the only way," said Bowsette. "We have to stop Kamek."

Peach nodded solemnly. "You're right. But be careful, we don't know what will happen when it's destroyed."

The Bowser head flew down in front of them, floating above the glowing lava. It opened its huge toothy maw and a glowing ball of orange light grew brighter as it charged its attack. Peach stepped forward, facing the threatening stone monstrosity.

"Peach, be careful," called Mario.

"Be ready to take this thing down," she replied, her face illuminated by the orange light.

A bright blazing fireball shot forward, it was almost the size of Giga-Bowser. Peach stood her ground and thrust her parasol forward as it reached her. The fireball instantly reversed its course and shot straight back at the Bowser head. The head let out a loud screech as the fireball struck it hard. It shook wildly and dropped to the lava, splashing down on the surface.

Bowsette and Mario were running forward, leaping over piles of wood and stone rubble. They reached the end of their island platform and Mario was first to leap across the churning lava. He came down on the huge stone snout and ran forward toward the blazing eyes. Raising his hammer up high, he swung downwards with all his might and struck the glowing sphere embedded in the stone. Cracks instantly formed on the outer surface. He quickly backed out of the way as Bowsette came down, roaring loudly as her fist slammed down onto the sphere. The cracks covering the orb glowed brightly and there came a loud rumbling as the stone head shook violently.

"I...I think we should get out of here NOW!" said Mario.

"Oh yeah!" agreed Bowsette. They stumbled as the stone head continued to shake and the rumbling got louder. They looked up to see Daisy's airship fly overhead. A rope was hanging over the side of the deck, swaying at the ship flew on. Bowsette ran along the shuddering stone snout and leaped into the air. Her hand snatched at the hanging rope and held on tightly. Mario was leaping behind her over the lava, she reached out and caught his hand. The two of them hung from the rope as the ship sailed through the air.

"Peach, take my hand," called Mario. Peach watched as they drifted closer. She ran across and jumped on top of a pile of stone rubble and leaped into the air. Mario grabbed her hand and all three were hanging from the rope as the airship flew away from the giant stone head.

"It's going to explode!" called Bowsette, gripping the rope tightly as she held the weight of both Mario and Peach. The rumbling behind them turned into a high pitched whine and the huge stone head began to break apart, being pulled into the glowing orb. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" cried out Kamek as the form of Bowser's head was steadily disappearing into the sphere.

"No, it's imploding!" called Peach beneath them. The stone debris on the platform slid back, being sucked toward the collapsing star core. A wave of lava rose up from the lake below and the glowing hot liquid swirled in the air as it was pulled in. Then the three of them could feel the pull as the rope they hung from moved to a horizontal position. The airship slowed down, creaking loudly as the force strong gravitational force pulled on it.

Bowsette grit her teeth and growled as she held on tightly to Mario's hand. Mario gripped Peach's hand tight feeling the strain as the dying star core was pulling at them, trying to claim them forever. The stone Bowser's head was completely gone, the rest of the debris from the castle was being pulled in. The lava lurched and rose in swirling waves as it too was pulled into the singularity.

And then with a bright blue flash, the broken orb quickly shrunk down and disappeared from existence. The airship suddenly lurched forward. It felt like the trio had suddenly been released from the seizing grasp and the rope swung down again. The lava splashed back down into the lake as it rippled and churned.

The airship continued on, away from the place where Bowser's Castle used to reside. It took a bunch of Daisy's men to pull up the rope until Bowsette climbed up onto the deck and pulled up Mario and Peach. The three of them sat down on the deck, catching their breath.

"Are you guys all right?" asked Daisy.

Peach nodded, "Thank you, Daisy. You really came through for us."

"That was intense," said Daisy, smiling down at them.

"We need to get back to the battle right away."

"Already on it, Peach."

Bowsette got up and looked back over the railing at the great lava lake. There was just a bare island in the center. Her castle was gone, as though it had just been wiped from existence.

Mario came up and put his arm around her, "I'm sorry about the castle, Honey."

She turned to him, "It's okay, I got you back. That's what's important." Then she heard a groaning and her eyes widened as she looked further down the deck. "Junior!" She rushed over and threw her arms around her son.

Mario walked up behind them, "Oh, Lakitu must have brought him here."

Bowser Junior was just waking up and looked groggy. "Mommy?"

"Yeah, I'm here," said Bowsette, hugging him tightly, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Wh...what happened?"

"A whole lotta trouble, but I dealt with it."

"I think I dreamed that I was the King...but I don't really remember."

"That's okay, Hon," she said, looking down at him and sniffing. It was a tremendous relief. The boy didn't remember what had happened to him. He wouldn't be traumatized by it.

He looked around, "Are we on a airship? It's not a Koopa ship."

"Yeah, it's Princess Daisy's ship. Want to have a look around? Just don't cause any trouble."

"Yeah, cool!" he said, hopping up and running off.

Bowsette turned and smiled at Mario. She saw Peach standing by the railing, looking over the side. She approached the Princess, "Thank you Peach, again. I couldn't have done this without you."

Peach smiled back, "I'm just glad the two of you are alright. Now we need to stop the fighting."

Bowsette nodded, "Yes."

+++++

The battle of Domdoom continued on the great plateau. Airships fired overhead and scattered skirmishes were happening all over the battlefield. The five Kooplings stood in a circle with their shells to each other, firing their wands out at the surrounding enemy forces. Luigi had been hit and lost his fire-flower ability but still fought on, tossing shells about at the enemies. Many Toads, Yoshis, Koopas and Goombas lay dead on the battlefield.

The Blue Bouquet flew in over the cliff and came to stop, hovering as close to the ground as it could. Bowsette stood on the deck, scowling as she surveyed the senseless devastation. Daisy came up to her and handed her a cone-shaped object. Bowsette looked at it curiously.

"It's called a megaphone," she said. "So you will be heard."

Bowsette put the object up to her mouth, "STOP!!" she yelled, and many heads turned and looked up at her. "King Bowser has been defeated. Kamek is gone. I, Queen Bowsette and my husband, King Mario, reclaim our throne. We command you to lay down your arms and stop fighting."

The noise of battle died down for a moment. Many heads were turned toward the ship and a curious murmuring broke out.

Peach stepped up and took the megaphone. "Mushroom Kingdom, stand down. We are calling a cease-fire with the Koopa Kingdom."

One of the nearby Koopa-Troopas called out, "But...we sided with Bowser. Do you expect us to lay down our arms just so you can execute us all for treason?"

Bowsette looked over at Mario and then let out a deep breath. She held the megaphone up again. "In the spirit of peace, King Mario and I will forgive the Koopa army. So long as you lay down your arms right now and serve us."

There was more murmuring below as the surviving Koopas all looked to one another. Then one of the Koopa-troopas dropped his spear. Slowly, more of them began to do the same. The Toads dropped their weapons as well. They all looked battered and exhausted, but relieved that it was over. The heavily damaged airships above disengaged from each other. There would be no clear victory here today, but the war was over.

Bowsette turned to Peach on the deck of the Blue Bouquet, "We did it."

Peach smiled back, "Yes, it's over."

Bowsette was feeling elated, she stepped forward and threw her arms around Peach. Acting on impulse, she brought her face down and pressed her lips against Peach's own pink lips. The Princess's eyes widened with surprise, but she didn't pull away. She found herself kissing back, feeling Bowsette's hot mouth pressed into hers. Their tongues rolled over each other. She found herself warming up, enjoying the intimacy with the Koopa Queen.

Mario, Daisy and several others stared at them with their mouths agape. When they finally pulled away, they looked deep into each other's blue eyes. "Oh...Bowsette..." Peach said softly.

Bowsette held Peach in her arms and looked over at Mario, who was still staring with a bewildered look on his face. She smirked, "Come here, Mario."

Mario slowly stepped forward. Bowsette gently turned Peach around to face him, "Now you two kiss." They both looked at her questioningly. "Come on, you both love each other."

Mario looked into Peach's eyes, "Do you...?" She put her hand behind his head and leaned in to press her lips into his. His hairy moustache tickled her nose as they both closed their eyes and passionately kissed one another. Bowsette smiled as she watched them. They finally pulled apart and Mario whispered, "Mama mia..." under his breath.

Bowsette put her arms around them, pulling them to her. She planted her lips on Mario's and gave him a quick kiss. She then looked into his eyes and then into Peach's, "I love you both."

"I love you both, too," said Mario.

Peach swallowed and blushed, and then said, "Me too."

The three of them hugged each other tightly and pressed their foreheads together, Bowsette was careful not to stick either of them with her horns.

Back in the Mushroom Kingdom, deep in the mushroom forest, the 1up Temple suddenly began to pulse with green light. Its long towers shimmered and hummed. A thick beam of bright green light suddenly shot up from the highest central pillar, rising high up into the blue sky.

New floating blocks then start to randomly materialize in the Mushroom Kingdom, and then all the other connected Kingdoms. Back in the Koopa Kingdom, on the great plateau of Mount Domdoom, the recouping soldiers gasped as they saw the yellow blocks suddenly appear. They floated above the ground in long ordered rows. And more and more of them materialized above them.

Bowsette heard the commotion and looked up. She let go of Mario and Peach and turned to see the field of yellow blocks appear over the field. "What is going on?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Peach as she looked on. "There are hundreds of them."

On the ground, Luigi stepped forward and eyed off one of the floating question mark blocks close to him. "Oh well, here goes," he said and jumped into the air and hit it. The block turned brown and a green and white mushroom rose out of the top of it. Luigi watched as it slid over the block and fell to the ground. It continued to slide along the ground until it reached the body of a fallen Koopa-troopa. The mushroom disappeared and then the Koopa soldier then sat up. He was alive.

"Extra lives!" called out Luigi.

Peach looked down from the airship. "They're...they're fabled 1up mushrooms! Thank the stars, it's a miracle!" She picked up the megaphone, "Collect as many as you can, use them to bring your fallen comrades back to life." The soldiers on the battlefield did as she said, striking the blocks and taking them to the dead bodies to return them to life. The revived soldiers looked a little confused as they sat up again, but looked perfectly fine.

Back in the Ghost House, King Boo cried out in frustration, "Oh come on, this is bullshit!" He had received such an influx of new boos into his domain in one day, but now they were all leaving en masse. He could only watch on as one by one they floated into the circles of light and returned to the living.

+++++

It was a day of public celebration in the Mushroom Kingdom. Toads lined the streets waving small MK flags and flags depicting the Princess's crown. Koopas and Goombas were there too, now welcome in the kingdom. Princess Peach's castle was buzzing with activity as workers rushed around preparing for the big event.

Mario was in his bedroom in Peach's Castle getting ready. He was wearing his white tuxedo pants and a white button-up vest. He picked up his red bow tie when he heard a knock on the door.

"Eh, who is it?" he called out.

Peach opened the door and stuck her head in. The red dye had been washed out and her hair was its usual sunny yellow again. "Hello Mario."

"Peach...ah, I shouldn't be seeing you."

She slipped into the room. She was wearing a fluffy pink dressing gown. "I need to talk to you about something."

Mario frowned, "Oh no...don't tell me you're having second thoughts."

She shook her head, "No, I...I just need to be honest with you if we are to do this."

"Okay...about what?"

Peach looked down, "You have never seen me without my crown."

Mario thought for a moment, "...I guess not."

Peach took a deep breath and worked up her courage. She then raised her arm and took off her crown. She quickly shrunk down and morphed into a Toad, with a large red-spotted mushroom head. Mario gasped loudly and recoiled in surprise, "Wha...?!" The Toad looked at him shyly and he pointed to the crown in her hand. "Th...That's a super crown, like the one Bowsette wore!"

"Yes," said Toad-Peach looking at him.

"I had no idea," said Mario, regaining his composure. "But... I guess it makes sense. The Toads are your people."

Toad-Peach nodded and then put the crown back on her head. She quickly transformed into the taller blonde Princess again. "But this is who I truly am." She looked at Mario seriously. "I needed to be honest with you. Does this change anything?"