Hey. So I'm not normally the biggest fan of doing these bits at the beginning of chapters, but I suppose I will. I have no good explanation for why I haven't posted anything in forever, so all I can do is apologize. This is merely an updated version of this first chapter, with the other 2 coming shortly. After that new chapters will be coming out at a hopefully semi-consistent rate.`

Hi. My name is Carl, Carl the Hammer Brother. I should probably go into more detail. We look sort of like turtles, but we're yellow and stand on two feet. We have a weird helmet that I think honestly looks kinda off, but we're given it at birth and told not to remove it. Someone I knew did and MAN did his hair look ugly.

Oh, sorry, off track.

I live in a place known as Bowser City with my mother and father. There they run a popular deli that I'm forced to work at. Alright forced might not be the best word... I love working there, don't get me wrong but, it feels like a bit of a dead end. I love my parents but I don't want to be 50 years old, stuck running some deli because I can't get a job elsewhere. They claim most of their fame was because of me, and that they rarely had any business before I showed up. I don't buy it. I mean, my job is just working the counter out front. Boring really, just pounding and slicing meat, putting it in a bag, and giving it to hungry people. My true forte is with my hammers though. Naturally I'm talented with them, being a Hammer Brother and all, it's in our DNA; but neither my mother or father can use them as well as I can. They're both mostly identical to me aside from a beard on my father and their more... shriveled appearance. My parents are the sweetest people in the world, they really are.

Anyways, I don't like to tell them, but my real dream is to join Bowser's Army. Bowser City is of course right in front of his castle, and the only land in his Kingdom that isn't taken up by his Castle or its courtyard. He's kind of our King, however he mostly takes care of business outside of the public eye.

Sorry, I'm getting off topic again.

Where was I? Oh yeah, so even though my job is rather boring I have my hammer skills to entertain me, and my friends to keep me company. Well, I really only have two friends.

The first is a Flutter named Violet. Flutter's are a sub-species of Wigglers, which are these long orange and yellow caterpillars, with boots and a flower on their head. Flutter's are similar but have white wings with blue circles on them. She's super nice and, alongside my other friend Ted, wants to join Bowser's Army just about as much as I do.

Ted is a Spiny, a small quadruped turtle that's 70% shell and 30% a yellowish orange body. His shell is bright red with white spikes and a thick white brim that extends slightly over his face. I promise it's less creepy in person.

All 3 of us have something... odd about us, as well as a reason why we're not allowed into the Army. My oddity is less severe, just a birthmark on my right hand. My mother swears up and down that it resembles a hammer, but I think it just looks like a pickaxe... or a blob. As for my reason for not entering the Army... I'll admit that I'm just too scared to do it. Violet's wings are different than that of other Flutters; being light blue with purple flowers on them. Come to think of it that's probably why she's named Violet. Bowser denied her application because well, Wigglers and Flutters are a grey area. Most live in the Mushroom Kingdom, however there are some, like her parents, that defected. So while there are a ton of Wigglers that live in both kingdoms, she is still considered a defect, which are automatically not allowed in his Military. Ted meanwhile has a weakspot on his back. His dad's a Spiny like he is, however his mother is a Mandibug. Mandibugs are these purple beetles with big pincers on the front of their face. The bad thing about them is the giant unprotected target on their back. Ted is missing one of his spikes in the center of his shell, replaced by one of the targets. It's small but it means that someone could stomp on him pretty easily.

So yeah, we're all strange misfits. Introductions aside, our story begins in Bowser City, not to be confused with Neo Bowser City by the way. Hammer Street, appropriately named for us, is where the deli is located. We run the shop out of the first floor while we live directly above it. This is a usual day, lunch rush had just started so naturally I was sitting at the counter doing my usual routine. Ted has nothing going on so he usually comes by around when we open up. He's obsessed with coming up with a battle strategy that will get him into the Army; claims that's what's holding him back. Violet is a mail woman, so she's busy until about 12:00. It was noon so of course Ted was drawing out a new tactic and Violet had just arrived. I tossed her usual order at her as she sat down. She opened it up and took a bite, leaning over to get a look at Ted's drawing.

"Ugh, you're getting crumbs all over my paper!" Ted growled. He has a low grumbly voice, suited for a General, while Violet's is a real girly girl voice.

"Om-nom-sorry Ted-nom." She replied, eating quickly.

Ted looked up in disgust, staring her in the eyes.

"And chew with your mouth closed."

Violet swallowed her bite before letting out a soft giggle.

"So, what are you working on?"

"My latest and greatest plan!" He replied with a rare sense of excitement.

He held up a picture of him in front of a red variant of Toad, a mushroom-human hybrid creature. In the drawing Ted was jumping up in the air towards the Toad, his shell facing forwards.

"Hmmm. One problem there." Violet commented.

"Yes, what is it?" He replied.

She fluttered up out of her chair and towards the small turtle until she was hovering over him. She gently placed her hand on the larget target on Ted's back, causing him to wince in slight pain.

"That."

"GAAAAHHHHHH!" He shouted.

He proceeded to throw the piece of paper in the air, before spinning violently, shredding it into pieces. The deli was fairly crowded, so now everyone was staring at him intently. I handed someone a sandwich before chiming in.

"Why don't you just do that?"

Ted looked at me in disbelief before sighing, a frown returning to his face.

"How would I get the enemy above me?"

"I don't know, think of something." I responded, waving goodbye to a customer who was leaving.

"I was hoping I'd finally have something to show this Bowser Day." He sighed in anguish.

Ah, Bowser Day. Once every other week Bowser rides through town in his Bowser Mobile, this giant purple car covered in spikes. It's mostly to check on how the city is doing, however people are allowed to stand out on the side of the road and wave him down. Though if he pulls over you should usually have a question or concern, a lot of people just shake his hand and thank him for running our land as wonderfully as he does. You would think he'd be mad but he's actually really nice, thanking people and saying "Hi" to the children that pass him by.

Anyways today was one of them, signaled by the noticeably large tires screeching on the road just then. The crowd of hungry customers abandoned the store to flood onto the sidewalks, watching the powerful monarch drive on by.

I wasn't allowed to leave the counter and Ted was too embarrassed, so only Violet went out to see him. She apologized before flying away as fast as her pretty wings could. I could see only through a minuscule gap out the window, where I watched Bowser pull over. However he stopped the car and stepped out, something he never usually did. All of a sudden Violet busted through the doors and began whisper-yelling.

"he's coming! quick!" Before sitting back down at her table, cowering. I looked at her in confusion until yet again someone smashed the doors open. It was him. It was Bowser. I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. Bowser, KING Bowser, was in my small town deli. He took a few massive steps towards the counter, looking around. Then he turned to me, with an enormous smile covering his face.

"Bwa ha ha! Well hello there!" He roared.

A crowd soon surrounded the shop, cameras from people and news stations alike.

"H-h-hi t-there L-Lord Bo-Bowser." I stuttered.

He's my hero, my IDOL! Truly worthy of the title King.

"Don't worry kid, lighten up! I'm here for a sandwich!"

"R-really?"

"Of course! Kamek told me this place was really good, so I had to check it out."

How could we have forgotten Kamek's visit so soon? It was yet another honorable visit. Kamek has been Bowser's right hand man for as long as I can remember. A powerful dark magic user who had raised Bowser from birth. He had spent centuries perfecting the dark arts. But, back to now. I was absolutely stunned. I squeaked a little as he observed our menu options.

"I'll have a roast beef sub on a white roll, with olives, mustard, and lettuce please."

"Y-yes sir!" I said in slight confidence.

My parents came out of the back of the store to see the commotion, when they were greeted by Bowser. They shuffled over and my mother shook his hand. As I started to pound the roast beef with my hammers, they began a conversation. I was too nervous and paying too much attention to what I was doing to hear what they were saying. I happened to observe Violet and Ted, paralyzed with fear in their little corner. My mother was chatting Bowser's ear off about just how proud she was, and how her dream had come true, blah blah blah.

He laughed and smiled, firmly shaking my dad's hand until his colossal head turned to watch me. I'll admit I was purposefully showing off a little. I mean, I was in the presence of royalty after all. I juggled my hammers delicately, allowing them to fall and smash the meat with extreme precision. I twirled around, lining up the ingredients needed for the ultimate sandwich I was about to prepare. I began sweating into my hairnet as I carefully laid the assortment of toppings onto the bun. When I was finished I grabbed a bag, slid the meal inside, and bestowed it to Bowser, the slightest hint of a nervous smile creeping along my face. He thanked me and gave suitable payment to my mother, as well as placing a tip in my jar, before unwrapping his lunch. His eyes widened after only the first bite, growing larger and more impressed with each continuing chomp. Finally he swallowed the last bite, smiling and nodding as he did so.

"Wow! Kamek was right, this sub is impeccable! Y'know kid, you're pretty good with those hammers. Ever thought of using them in combat?" He didn't give me time to process anything he said, let alone respond, before handing me a purple piece of paper.

"Usually we don't let too many people in around this time, as we're pretty full, but we're allowing one person to join before we close admissions."

He thanked us for the meal before exiting to face the roaring crowd. Once he was out of sight, Ted, Violet, and my parents huddled around me to see what the flyer said.

"Welcome one and all to BOWSER TOURNAMENT!"

"A tournament hosted by Lord Bowser himself, along with the other Head Generals of Bowser's Army! Prince Bowser Jr., The Dark Sorcerer Kamek, His Darling Wife Kamella, Mr. Cool Himself Lakilester, and The Fearsome King Bomb-Omb will all be there to observe as 8 hand-picked applicants duke it out! Whoever wins the Finals will get the opportunity to join Bowser's Army!"

Underneath the dark, bold, italicized, text was a picture of a Goomba and a Koopa posing under a rather large trophy. We all silently looked at each other, still slightly in shock, until Ted began literally jumping for joy.

"This is it! This is our chance! This is MY chance!" He kept jumping and running around the empty deli as people started to shuffle back in. Eventually he halted mid-circle and looked up at us.

"Well?" He asked.

"Well what?" I responded.

"We'd better get training! Where do you think Axel is?"

"No, we shouldn't interrupt Axel while he's working." Violet chimed in.

"Plus I have to work too." I added.

"Oh Axel doesn't really care about his job, he says so all the time. Now come on!"

After this my mother and father put their hands on my back.

"Son-" My father began.

"We know that this is what you want to do. And even though it's dangerous-"

"-and a lot of people will be sad to see you go." My sweet mother interrupted.

"-if you think this is what you need to do then we support it." He continued.

I looked over at my small, fragile mother who looked happier than the day I told her I'd start working for her.

"Thanks, Mom, Dad. Alright, let's go get Axel. Violet, you've been out-voted." I quickly jumped up and high-fived Ted, who needed to stand on a stool to reach my hand. We rushed out the door, Violet letting out a quick sigh before flying out after. We ran down the streets of Bro Town, still hearing a commotion coming from wherever Bowser had made it to. We raced on over to Paratroopa Park where Axel was emptying garbage cans.

"Hey Axel!" I yelled, running up to him.

Axel was a Black Yoshi, who was about 60, with the grittiest voice imaginable. He used to be the Chief of Police in the city, however quit due to an injury. Now he resides as a sort of a janitor, cleaning up the streets of Bowser City.

"Ah! My 3 greatest friends!" He said in his low, grizzly voice.

"Hey, how's the knee?" Violet asked, out of breath from how fast she had to fly to get to us.

"Oh same as usual. So what brings you kids here? Carl, shouldn't you be working at the deli? I was thinking about grabbing a bite on my break..."

"Nope, too important! Bowser-huff- came to our-huff-"

"You really need to get in better shape." Ted mocked.

"Bowser what now?" Axel continued.

"He came to the deli!" I said as I finally found my breath again.

"You don't say! Well that's incredible! What'd he get?"

"Roast beef on white, olives, mustard, and lettuce; not the point."

"Why are these the things you remember?" Violet interrupted.

I rolled my eyes before going on with the conversation.

"Regardless, he gave me this flyer once he saw me with my hammers."

I began to hand Axel the flyer before he pushed my hand away.

"No need, I've already seen it. Who do you think hung them up all around town?" Axel explained in a sarcastic manner.

"Oh, right. Anyways, we wanted to see if you'd help us train?"

"Oof, I don't know. Old Horace has really been acting up lately." As he said this he sat down on a nearby bench, rubbing his aching knee.

"Oh we know about Horace, but can you at least teach us like, some moves or something?" Ted added, inserting himself into the conversation.

"Well, you can start by cleaning off this fountain." He threw a dirty rag at Violet who dodged in disgust.

"I will, but only because we're friends." Violet said, picking up the disgusting towel with the least amount of fingers as possible.

"But you all have very different fighting styles, with varying weaknesses and, and..." He thought for a moment.

"Fine..." He sighed. Not in a grumpy way, but a sigh of defeat.

"It's only a week away, but here's what I can do. I could give each of you 2 days of training before all of us meet one last time the next. That sound good?" Axel asked, taking the rag from Violet. (Much to her relief.)

We nodded, starstruck expressions plastered on our faces.

"Good. Now I'll start will Violet, then Ted, and then Carl to finish up, y'hear?"

"Oh thank you!" I exclaimed.

"No problem, now you get back to work. Violet, I'll see you tomorrow for day one of training." Axel said with kind a smile.

"Thanks again, Axel!" Violet remarked, floating away with us.

We returned to the deli, conversing about the days that would follow and all the training we would be participating in. My friends went home while I finished my shift.

That night I didn't sleep a wink. Even though I wouldn't be training for another 5 days, I was still excited regardless. The next day Ted showed up, but for the first time in awhile he didn't have some crazy strategy to try out.

"As good as Axel is, I think you're giving him too much credit. He's not going to magically make you an ultimate fighter in 2 days. He's probably just going to teach us a few basic strategies before sending us to die in the Lion's Den." I informed him, smiling to a customer who was walking out.

"I guess you might be right, but I still trust him. He was head of the BCPD for 30 years. Shit he's even friends with Bowser!"

"That doesn't mean he's ever been a Hammer Brother before. Or a Spiny, or a Flutter. He was good because of HIS strengths. He could eat criminals, he could flutter jump, and all sorts of other things. He probably knows little to nothing about how a Hammer Brother works."

"You're being negative again, Carl. Relax, he's going to train us as much as he can so we can do our best."

"You're right, it's not like we're going to win anyways." I moped, avoiding eye contact.

Ted gave me a foul look when I added that last part, however chose not to say anything; opting to instead just continue to nibble on a piece of free ham I gave him. That day passed and at almost 5 in the afternoon Violet proved me dead wrong. She walked (for the first time I'd ever seen) into the building, exhausted and absolutely drenched with sweat. She was covered in dirt and looked purely weak.

"How was it? What'd he teach you?" Ted asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

"He taught me... all sorts of things." She began, slumping into a chair.

"I had no idea a Flutter could even do things like that. Although I suppose I've never really thought about it before..."

"Like?" I questioned, sitting in a stool to rest before the dinner rush.

"It's not like I would tell you. We'll be fighting against each other, you know."

"Ugh, fine." Ted sighed, getting up.

Violet joined him and they left for the night. The next 3 days were similar, with Violet and Ted coming here more tired than they'd ever been in their lives. Naturally, I was nervous when it was finally my turn to exit the deli on my first day of practice. The streets felt infinite in their length as I twisted and turned the darkened streets of the city. I returned to Para Park where I had met with Axel just a few days earlier. The overhead sun was beating down on me as I saw the black outline of my dear friend sitting atop his signature bench.

"Hey there kid, you ready?" He questioned, noticing me standing next to him.

"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I replied, sitting down beside the old man.

"Y'know, don't tell them other two, but I see the most potential in you." He commented, tossing out chunks of stale bread for some nearby birds to feast on.

"R-really?" I stammered.

"Really. You act like you've never seen yourself use those hammers before."

As he said this I looked down at the worn-out looking hammers I was using and carefully inspected them.

"You've got to give yourself more, no, ANY credit kid. You're good at what you do, and you're going to be of great service to Lord Bowser."

"I guess so."

He looked at me with deep concern.

"Say it."

"What? No, I-you already... did for me."

"We're not going to start unless you say it."

"*sigh* I'm good at what I do, and I'm going to be of service to Lord Bowser."

"Good! See was that so hard?"

"No..."

"Now come on, I'm going to show you 3 different ways to can use those hammers of yours."

"3? There's no way there's 3."

"I swear on my life. Now the first thing you can do is the obvious one, just throw them at your opponent. With enough power and accuracy you can really do a number to your enemy with a nice solid throw." He explained.

"I see."

"Here, try throwing one of those at that stack of boxes over there." The man instructed.

He pointed towards a tower of cardboard boxes he had set up to the right of the fountain. I did as I was told and as the hammer spiraled through the air, the sharp end of it sliced a hole right in the center of the top box. I stood there in awe as the tower toppled to the ground.

"See? Not just good for meat. Now, for the second thing you can do."

The rest of the day was similar. He taught me how to stab an enemy in the head which was.. disturbing to the watermelon he used to demonstrate. Finally he taught me how and where to smack people with the flat side of the hammer head. By the end I was just as exhausted as my friends before me. I trudged home drained of power, yet a deep passion burning within my heart. That may have been the urge to vomit, however.

After Ted and Violet made the same "witty" jokes I had made at their expense, I went to sleep at the early time of six in the afternoon. The sleep I received was pure heaven, and I was perfectly ready for more by twelve o'clock noon the following day.

Today Axel taught me about agility.

"Agility is the most important skill to people like us. I need to be speedy otherwise my opponents would predict my every move. They'd not only be able to crack the eggs I threw at them, but they'd also be able to crack me. Well, and my skull." I giggled in response.

What followed was more intense training in the art of combat, specifically defense. Defending myself, dodging attacks, counterattacking, the whole nine yards. By the end I was completely ready for the tournament.