Mushroom Kingdom Anew - Book 1

Chapter Twenty

Xavier's limp form flew into the remaining debris of the Kindom's ruined state. Ace tried to exit the tower, screaming for the teenager to get up. Vincent acted fast, sending a blazing fireball towards the top of the Tower, the stone crumbling and blocking Ace from exiting to help. Sneering at the hero, the King made his way over to Xavier, who was gasping for air on his hands and knees.

"And so he falls..." Vincent began, a malicious grin painted on his face. He then bellowed out a laugh, a horrible, dark, hate-filled laugh that sent an uncomfortable chill down Xavier's spine. Calming down, his red eyes trained on the shambles that Xavier had become. "Pathetic." He kicked Xavier in the stomach, to which the teen couched and hacked, his breathing only getting heavier.

"Did you hear me, 'Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom?! I said pathetic!" He kicked Xavier's chin, sending the teen into the debris once more. He yelped in pain, but it didn't matter. Vincent limped over to the teenager, kicking him repeatedly in the stomach. "Pathetic! Pathetic! Pathetic! PATHETIC!"

The King wound up for one final punch, but this time Xavier stopped it. Huffing, puffing, and entire body shaking, his scarred hands grabbed Vincent's scaly fist, stopping it mere inches from his face. The Koopa smirked. "Oh, so you do have some energy left."

"I made a promise..." Xavier breathed. He started to get to his feet, Vincent surprised he still had that much energy. The teenager tossed the King's fist aside, his scarred hands clenching and unclenching. Vincent glared at the valiant hero, the look in his eye bothering him. He struck Xavier in the gut, to which he reeled. But he didn't fall.

"What the-" He began, but he stopped mid-sentence. Xavier started to shake with emotions, the shadow covering his eyes lifting to show off a courageous spirit. "I intend to keep it, too! You're gonna fall!"

He jumped forwards, lurching in the air with his right leg coming around. Everything happened in slow motion. Vincent took a clawed left hand and brought it in an arc, heading right towards Xavier. Both their attacks began to home in on each other, and both fighters could only see red. This was it. The final attack of the final battle. When their attacks made impact, everything went white, and everything suddenly stopped...

---

The distinct sounds of worried mumbling filled Xavier's ears as he slowly came to, his green eyes fluttering to life. He was in the castle's infirmary, several doctorate Toads wandering around and fiddling with machines. He squinted, the bright LED lights above him hurting his eyes. He groaned quietly, but it was loud enough for all the doctors to turn their heads to look at him. He suddenly felt... embarrassed. One made his way over to the disheveled teenager, a patient smile on his face.

"Good afternoon sir. Do you remember what happened?" He asked. Xavier shook his head slowly, to which the doctor chuckled. "It's alright, I'm sure you have quite a number of questions. They'll all be answered in due time." He turned to another doctor and nodded at him. That doctor went to open the door to the small room, to which Terry and Ace barreled into impatiently. They ran over to Xavier's bedside, tears in their eyes and worry in their tones.

"Xav! Xav, we were so worried! Are you alright, speak to me!" Terry whined, leaning a little too close for comfort. She looked pretty beat up, a bandage around her forehead covering her right eye. Her face, mainly the cheek area, was purple-ish and bruised but didn't look terrible. Her right arm was in a cast, and by her stature, it appeared her ribs were probably bandaged too. Her new black and green striped t-shirt suited her well, complimenting the navy blue jeans she wore. However, she wasn't wearing glasses anymore, most likely because they were broken in their skirmish with Vincent. But overall, she looked to be a mix of refurbished and beaten to all hell.