Disbelief did not even begin to describe how Mario felt at that moment.
"Everything has been fine for so long. Why now?" he thought bitterly to himself.
Mario and his younger brother Luigi raced down the corridors of the cumbersome castle they knew so well. The brothers had one thing on their minds at the moment, making them distraught.
Princess Peach had been kidnapped by Bowser again.
As the duo dashed through the King's layer, they heard the familiar sound of enemies approaching. Luigi glanced quickly over to Mario who merely nodded.
"We have to get to her", he thought, "We have to get there, and end this."
Mario and Luigi sharply turned a corner, only to discover their nemesis's minions lying in wait.
The poor goombas never saw them coming.
By the time they realized they were being attacked, Mario and Luigi swiped them away with a mere punch.
A smile spread across the heros' faces, basking in the simple victory they achieved; however, their joy quickly faded for Mario and Luigi had reached the final door.
The plumbers froze for a moment unable to go on. Both knew what would happen next, yet something held them back. It was as if fear plunged a sword into their very essences and made them immobile. Finally the strange moment passed when Luigi broke the silence.
"Are you ready, bro?"
"Yes."
Each placing one hand on the wooden spiked door, the Mario Brothers slowly pushed on what they hoped would be the beginning of the end.
When their entrance was cleared, the duo stepped into a boiling battlefield. Small metallic platforms were all that kept the Mario brothers from falling into a pit of lava.
Mario and Luigi looked around the arena, realizing this fight would not be too difficult, but their reassurance melted suddenly when they noticed Princess Peach dangling a cage, merely a fall away from the sea of fire.
"Well, look who decided to drop in," a rough voice grunted.
The plumbers' attention quickly diverted to creature they knew all too well. The flaming, orange hair, the spiked shell, and those red eyes that would send shivers down your spine.
"Bowser," Luigi sneered.
Bowser paid no notice to the green-clad hero, but instead, glared ruthlessly at his brother.
"Mario," the Koopa rumbled.
"Give me back Peach, you monster!" The Italian plumber hollered, barely keeping his cool.
The King simply roared with laughter and responded with a nasty smirk, "Over my dead body!"
Luigi quickly broke in, "This is ridiculous! Mario and Peach are married now! Enough is enough! You look pathetic kidnapping a married woman, Bowser. Give it up."
The evil grin which had spread across the Koopa King's face, twisted into a snarl that even made Luigi step back. Bowser's reputation was everything to him, and being "pathetic" was not something that he would look at with pride.
"Peach was always mine," he barked, "She is mine and it will always be that way! I'm not giving her to such worthless bastards."
That had been the last straw for Mario. His hands suddenly curled into fists. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "LET'S A-GO!" , and instantly bolted for Bowser.
The Koopa King's instincts took over and at once breathed fire to stop the plumber in his tracks. With a simple roll, Mario barely dodged Bowser's flames, but still he reached for the creature's tail so that he could defeat the King once again.
Bowser knew the trick too well and swiftly jumped onto another platform and protected himself from Mario's attack.
--
Luigi looked upon his brother realizing he needed help. But just as he stepped onto another platform, something splattered onto his food. A slimy colorful goo that could only be produced by a brat of a king, Bowser Jr.
"I'm not letting you pass!" the child snickered, "Not until you defeat me!"
"Fine," Luigi muttered as he drew forth his hammer, "Let's begin."
Immediately the two charged for each other, their weapons vibrated as they made contact. Locked in a stalemate, Luigi nor Bowser Jr. were able to move, and able to help their own ally while they dueled.
--
"This is foolish," Mario told himself. The plumber could not even fathom why Bowser would kidnap Peach even though it was clearly obvious whom Peach had chosen! While Mario rolled, jumped, and dodged, his mind drifted back to all the memories he had of rescuing his love, and upon every new adventure it always remained the same: Bowser could never beat him. The red-clad hero did not understand why Bowser would try the same thing over and over again, just to be defeated the same way, and still puffed his chest out every time stating that he would "defeat" Mario.
Even though the scenarios never changed, Mario had. He longed to have a normal life and live peacefully with Peach. The Italian plumber even had a daughter now, and never wanted to explain to her why "A big scary monster took mommy away." He wanted to enjoy life to its fullest and take everything for what it was worth. Mario was ready to move on.
Upon that realization, rage overtook Mario, and with a simple kick he grounded Bowser's face to the floor.
Mario exploded, "You bastard! Admit it! YOU LOST AND THERE IS NO REMATCH! WE'RE DONE"
For Bowser, it was as if Mario ripped off his shell and stabbed him in the heart.
With that comment the Koopa stood up and roared with all his might, shaking the very platform beneath his feet. When he spoke, Mario swore he felt the lava freeze over. Even Bowser's once flaming breath turned into a blizzard.
"Never."
Then Koopa's rampage began, quickly conjuring bom-ombs from thin air, the King bombarded Mario with explosions. The plumber could barely evade the attack let alone trying to counter his nemesis.
Until he saw an opening.
Instantly Mario grabbed hold of one of he explosives and threw it right back, catching Bowser off-guard.
But Koopa's reflexes were too swift and immediately the grasped the bomb and flung it into the air.
A sudden gasp escaped from the plumber's lips. Glancing to where Mario was, Bowser stood in horror as to what he had just done.
The bom-omb was headed for Princess Peach, who could only watch in shock.
For a split second, everyone stopped, only to gaze at the events that unraveled before them.
A loud "BOOM!" was all that was heard at that moment in the castle. Smoke and dust covered the battlefield, but even through the clouds, Mario caught a glimpse of Peach falling.
There was no platform underneath to save her.
That is all it took for the little Italian plumber snap to his senses.
Mario bolted to where the Princess was diving, using every bit of energy he had left.
Time seemed to slow down, for everyone else could not move.
"I'm going to make it," he panted, "I'm going to make it!"
The plumber slide on his stomach to the edge of the platform, stretching his hand out with all his might.
Reality screeched to a halt.
Peach's fingers slipped through his hand.
No one moved, no one breathed, no one did anything, but listen to Peach's screams.
"MARIO!" she cried with all her might.
The plumber stretched out his arm even further hoping that it would somehow save the young woman from her fate. He couldn't speak, he couldn't do anything!
Mario could not save his princess.
Then she was gone, engulfed by the sea of fire.
Thump.
Luigi sunk to his knees, tears cascaded down his cheeks. Words did not even begin to describe how he felt. Disbelief and horror entangled his mind, wanting to believe that everything was just a dream.
The green-clad hero was so overcome by his sadness that he did not even notice the Koopa King and his son vanish from the arena, for they too were stricken with grief.
After an eternity, Mario stood up, his back turned from his younger brother.
Luigi gazed upon his brother and sniffled, his eyes puffy and red.
"It's over," the once-great hero replied sorrowfully.
"Princess Peach Toadstool is dead."