Armor Pry

With a mighty swipe, Bowser raked his claws against the creature’s skin. Such efforts produced nothing by sparks. He tried again. And again. When all attempts failed, he breathed flames onto it. And when that did nothing, he began to petulantly kick at the exoskeleton.

“This isn’t working,” said Sheik. “We might consider retreat so we can come up with a plan.”

“No way,” Bowser growled. “I ain’t running away from an overgrown houseplant. I’ve got more brass than that.”

Bowser scratched at the surface of the creature again, until his claws found purchase in the gaps between the armor.

Very slowly, with straining muscles, he managed to start peeling back the armor, revealing the green strings of flesh underneath.

The entire room, all extensions of this creature, began to vibrate in panic. Instead of pulling them one at a time, it began to grab people from their pods a dozen at a time and bring them into the main body.

“Bowser, stop!” Sheik yelled.

“If I can’t kill you from out here,” he grunted. “I’ll find somewhere I can and kill you there!”

Bowser had opened the creature up enough to stick his hand through. Upon doing so, however, like Sheik’s knife in the pod, it sucked him in.

Bowser yelped, in both surprise and in pain, as his arm was yanked. He didn’t have a moment to brace himself, and even Sheik was not expecting the level to which the creature was willing to further tear itself open to pull Bowser’s entire mass into its body.

- Chapter 42