Chakra Wizard
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Chapter 14 - My Bro's Nemesis
The crowd's enthusiasm seemed to have reached a new peak for the day as this interesting match-up proceeded towards the arena. While the pairing wasn't quite as unorthodox as it seemed, it had certainly managed to divide the allegiances of the audience more distinctly than any previous match. For every onlooker that hoped for Luigi's victory, there was another who desired for Bowser to proceed through the second round. But, for whatever reasons their decisions were such, they all shared one common factor: Mario. The crowd had all but universally accepted that the world-renown plumber and the winner of this match would meet in the semi-finals, so it only came down to whom Mario's opponent would be. There were those who preferred to see the Mario Bros. pitted against each other, while just as many yearned for him to clash with his oldest and greatest rival. Only time would tell which side would get their wish.
Watching from the balcony, Peach and Zelda were sharing their own views on the match to come, with more attention seated on Peach's opinion.
"But..., you have faith in him, don't you?"
"...Well, of course, but...Luigi's never exactly fought against Bowser on his own before. I have my doubts just like everyone else. ...And what about you?"
"Well..., there are unlimited possibilities here, I know that. And there are some things that Luigi can do better than Mario or even things that Mario can't do at all. In the end, though, Luigi's fear and clumsiness could cost him the match..., but then again, Bowser's proneness to rage could bring about the same outcome for himself."
Zelda's point was clear, but Peach still feared for Luigi's safety. Sensing this feeling, Zelda reiterated her last statement to her with greater emphasis.
"Bowser is much more likely to make a fatal mistake than Luigi. Luigi can overcome his cowardice. He's done it in the past. But, can Bowser really stop himself from doing something stupid once he's angry? Only Mario and Luigi know the answer to that question better than you."
Shutting her eyes for a moment, Peach hesitated shortly before nodding in agreement.
"You're right. He'll be fine."
Smiling at her counterpart, Zelda's eyes returned to the stadium just as Luigi and Bowser walked onto the arena.
"Will you..., Luigi?"
Below their balcony, a number of the unvictorious brawlers had also appeared to watch the match. The most conspicuous of the bunch included Wario, Falco, and Ganondorf, though Yoshi, Wolf, Meta Knight, and Captain Falcon were also present. Having little interest in the future match-ups that would result from these victories, due to no longer having part in them, their shared opinions were based upon skill or personal views, of which Wario's was the most obnoxious.
"Ah, I don't care what you think! I just wanna see that little green bug get squished by that giant Koopa!"
Insanely annoyed by his reprehensible behavior, Wolf and Falcon looked at each other before shaking their heads in irritation. Being more outgoing than these two, Falco was the one to speak out to Wario about his loathsome statements.
"C'mon man, you wanna shut up? How do you know Luigi's gonna get pummeled? He's really one of the better brawlers here, if you think about it. After all, he beat you, didn't he?"
Enraged by Falco's thrashing, Wario's spat back at him in anger.
"You're one to talk, chicken! You got beat by a monkey yesterday!"
"Hey, Diddy's a pretty good brawler, too! ...Besides, that was beginner's luck for him-"
The sound of a fist slamming against the arm of one of the seats caused both of them to look in Ganondorf's direction. While his attempt to keep a calm facade was admirable, the vein pushing against the flesh on his forehead alerted everyone of the anger coursing through it. After taking in a deep breath to allow the vein to settle back into its original position, he looked over at Wario and Falco and spoke to them in as calm a voice as he could manage.
"Sit...down."
Overcome with fear, the two did as they were told. Once they were seated, he continued.
"He's right, Wario. There is no way of knowing what will happen during this match. Luigi is a talented brawler and, the way I see it, these two are on equal terms."
Aggravated by his former ally's odd change in behavior, Wario stood back up and called him out for this.
"What's your deal all of a sudden!? Yesterday, you wouldn't have cared less about these two! What, did that little green kid make you all warm and cozy inside or somethin'!?"
Focusing his eyes on Wario without turning his head, he made sure that their eyes were locked before replying.
"You'd do well to shut your mouth and sit back down. Link did nothing but enrage me yesterday, but I will not take hold of my pride and toss it away in a fit of anger. I am nothing more than a spectator now and will give my honest views on these matches as I see fit. I want nothing more than to see Link crumble in his match to come, but I will not act as if he is incapable of winning this tournament. Now, I recommend that you dismiss your single-minded thought pattern and realize that the same applies for Luigi."
Although irritated by the length of his rant, Wario had completely forgotten about his anger and decided to sit back down and watch the match. Fixating his chin on top of his partially closed hand, Ganondorf returned his gaze to the stadium just as Luigi and Bowser took their positions.
"Now..., just how capable are you really, Luigi?"
Now waiting for the referee to begin the match, Bowser wasn't above attempting to discourage him before the match started.
"Y'know, you should be thankful that you're not your brother, Green. If you were, I wouldn't stop pummeling you even after you're unconscious."
While this didn't stop from giving him a slightly unconfident disposition, Luigi remained sure that he had what it took to defeat Bowser.
"Bro, I guess you owe me after this one. I'm gonna take your arch-nemesis out of this tournament for you."
"3, 2, 1, GO!"
Knowing it was wiser to let Bowser make the first move, Luigi continued to stand by to see what he would do first. After waiting for but a moment, Bowser proceeded onto the nearest platform, obviously planning to spray Luigi with fire if he attempted to go underneath him. Using this to his advantage, he leapt onto his own platform, which as he predicted, prompted Bowser to move to the highest of the three. With an opportunity to attack from below now open, he quickly jumped below the platform and used his Super Jump Punch to pass through it and hit Bowser. Somewhat surprised at having been the first to take damage, Bowser looked at his damage counter as Luigi fell back down to ground level, finding himself unable to contain his laughter when he spotted only one measly point.
"I could almost cry! Green, this is gonna be easier than I thought!"
Intending to punish him for inflicting damage to him anyways, he quickly passed through the platform and initiated his Bowser Bomb move, sending him smashing into the ground below. Fortunately for Luigi, Bowser's impulsive habits made him easily predictable, allowing him to roll out of the attack's range just in time. Taking advantage of this small window of opportunity, Luigi ran up beside him and used his Super Jump Punch once again, only this time, the effects were far more severe. Engulfing Bowser in flames, the attack sent him flying onto the nearby platform.
"There's the sweetspot!"
Extremely confused by this turn of events, Bowser returned to his feet and checked his damage counter once more.
"What!? Twenty-six!? How did that little shrimp...argh, he's gonna pay for that!"
Noticing the angle they were positioned at, Bowser immediately began breathing fire in Luigi's direction, which the plumber easily avoided by rolling beneath the platform on which he was standing. Once again in a position to counterstrike, Luigi leapt through the platform in hopes of using a kick flip to damage Bowser further. Upon regaining his footing, however, he noticed that it was completely barren. Realizing too late that he had been tricked, Luigi could only brace himself as Bowser jumped from the highest platform and used his Bowser Bomb attack to crash on top of him with great force.
Before Luigi could even reconnect with the ground, Bowser quickly grabbed ahold of him and tossed him upwards before entering his shell and initiating a rapid spin. Landing on top of the spiked shell like a ragdoll, his inability to move left him with no other choice than to take the massive amount of damage. When the assault finally came to an end, Luigi fell to the ground exhausted, only for Bowser to blanket his body with his fire breath before tossing him across the stadium until he was laying next to the arena's edge. Using what strength he had, Luigi held up his arm and looked at the damage counter on his wrist.
"Six...sixty-three."
Letting out a deep sigh, he pulled himself up and looked over to Bowser, who had returned to ground level and now walking in his direction.
"I guess he's smarter than we all thought, after all. Well, as long as I still have one life left..."
Folding his fingers back as a challenging signal to Bowser, the Koopa King increased his speed in retaliation and attempted to ram into Luigi, only for the plumber to roll past him to hit him with a spearhand, sending him flying off the stadium.
"NO! Not gonna happen!"
Quickly using a combination of a mid-air jump and his spinning move, Bowser reattached himself to the ledge, only for Luigi to casually kick at his hands, sending him back off the ledge with surprising force. Not willing to give up so easily, Bowser repeated the process, only this time, he willingly released himself from the ledge, giving him another chance to use his mid-air jump, the extra momentum allowing him to leap over the ledge and damage Luigi with his spinning move. With Luigi somewhat dazed by the unexpected counterstrike, Bowser took every moment available to him to swing his head back and send it forward with such force that Luigi soared across the entire arena and past the Blast Line, leaving him out of the stadium's reach and bringing the match to an end.
While those who desired Bowser's victory paid him their usual dues, the colliseum as a whole never seemed so quiet. The princesses remained silent in their balcony, while Peach held her hands over her nose and mouth. The brawlers who sat below them were also quiet, save for Wario, who was laughing controllably.
"Hah, hah, hah! He flew like a Cheep Cheep! Well, it serves the little shrimp ri-"
He found himself cut short as he was knocked over the wall of the seating area, Ganondorf watching as he fell into the darkness below, only going back inside once he saw him land safely on one of the hoverboards. The other brawlers spared him no thought, simply returning their eyes to the stadium as the referee confirmed the match results.
"Game! The winner is...Bowser!"
Not even waiting to see what happened next, the victor walked back inside of the colliseum as Luigi was brought back onto the stadium. As he stood back up with clear disappointment on his face, the crowd's cheers returned with even more liveliness than before. Looking around the colliseum at the thousands of spectators, many of whom had stood up from their seats, a smile reformed on his face.
"I guess I did alright."
Looking over at the princesses and the brawlers beneath them, all of whom had also stood up, he lifted his hands in the air and waved them around for everyone to see. Despite the official results of the match, he knew that he was its true winner today, jumping into the air with his fist held high to let everyone know that he realized it. At long last, Luigi ran back into the corridors, more proud of himself than ever, the audience's cheers still continuing behind him.
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