Instability (Mario)

Chapter 49

Rosalina dashed at Pauline, Pauline blocking Rosalina's barrage of meteorites with her sword. Her sword flew as Rosalina attempted to catch the woman by surprise. Her Polari flew behind Pauline and Pauline moved her left hand, shooting it behind her as she thrusted her sword at Rosalina. Rosalina dodged at the last moment, Pauline's sword falling to the ground as Rosalina used her magic. Unfortunately, her Polari wasn't so fortunate to escape.

"P-Polari..!" Rosalina looked at the bloodstained weapon laying on the ground. "Pauline..!"

"Bring it, bitch."

Just as Rosalina went to force Pauline down to her knees, Pauline sprinted towards her. It took Rosalina by surprise, and she released her grasp on Pauline's weapon. Pauline grabbed the sword quickly and sliced through Rosalina's arm, leaving a deep cut. Rosalina cried out in pain, and a meteorite smacked Pauline in the stomach, forcing her back.

It only subdued her for a second, and she was back on the platinum blonde once again. Deflecting Pauline's attacks with her wand, she cried out once again as Pauline's sword grazed her chest. Pauline snarled, and tackled Rosalina, pinning her to the ground despite her struggles.

"This is pathetic...I expected more," Pauline snickered as Rosalina struggled underneath her, unable to free her arms in order to force Pauline off of her. Pulling magical cuffs from behind her back, Rosalina could do nothing but glare as Pauline cuffed Rosalina's wrists together, binding her magic. Opening her jacket, Pauline revealed the array of knives she wielded. "Then again, what should I expect from someone who relies too much on their magic."

"Y...you..." Rosalina cried out in pain as Pauline sliced a new cut in her arm, struggling as her arms were pinned above her head. "S-stop...!"

"As if. Now, let's see... where should we begin?"

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"Okay, we can't waste any more time," Daisy took a deep breath, looking at her teammates. "We need to destroy this. Right now!"

"Wait," Luigi held his hand out as Daisy and Toadette readied their weapons. "What... what about my brother?"

"What about him?" Toadette questioned, raising her brow.

"I won't kill him," Daisy declared, causing Toadette to look over in surprise. "I hope everyone else will follow this. But he's not going to get away unscathed, Luigi. If he comes after us.. when he comes after us...
We are going to have to defend ourselves."

"O-okay... I understand."

"On the contrary, you'll have to kill me if you want to leave this place."

Mario stepped out of the darkness, armed with only a simple spear, and nothing else. There were bags under his eyes, and he already looked so tired and defeated.

"I created a sanctuary for those with these magical powers, and this is what I get?"

"This is not a sanctuary! You have people fight to the death in here," Toadette snarled, seeking revenge for Dixie's unwarranted death. "Sanctuary would mean freedom."

"I only tried to prepare everyone to use their power," Mario replied casually. "The outside world is unforgiving of your kind. It would serve you all to know how to use your powers. Those who can't fight their way out of a simple monster battle would not live in the cruel world outside."

"You don't know that," Daisy shook her head. "You took me from my life."

"How would you have liked it to accidentally set off your powers in your old life?" Mario contradicted, raising his brow. "They would have put you into an insane asylum. Or you would have been tortured for information on how you got your powers. How would you have liked to explain that?"

"That's not the point!" Daisy readied her weapons, causing Toadette and Luigi to follow suit. "This is it, Mario. We've killed Satsuki, and-"

"...Her weakness for the toy I made destroyed her," Mario lamented, shaking his head as he postponed the upcoming battle. "She found a soft spot. I should have destroyed Saiko just as I destroyed her friends beforehand."

"You're a monster," Toadette cried out. "Stop this. Unnecessary chatter won't solve anything. Let's end this."

"I've been waiting patiently."

The three charged at the head of the prison, surprised as he blocked their hits deftly. Circling Mario, the three continued to attack him, and it wasn't long until one of them found a weak spot. He cried out as Toadette's fan slashed him in the stomach, falling to the ground. Daisy kicked him while he was on the ground, turning to face the Grand Star once again.

"We won't kill you, because then we would be just as bad as you," Daisy said. "But you can't stop us."

"Idiots..." Mario muttered from the floor. "Your weakness will destroy you."

"I doubt it," Toadette sneered. "Let's destroy this together."

"O-okay," Luigi nodded. "Sorry, brother.."

Bringing their hands together, a stream of lightning combined with earth and leaves was shot forward with Toadette's air. The star cracked slowly, before falling apart and exploding.

Everything faded to white...

Hey everyone! i hope you enjoyed the chapter.

question of the chapter: what just happened?

thanks for reading!