12:00 AM.
"It's exactly one year ago today… The day that I let them die…"
Although Mario wasn't sure if the watch he had found in the remains of Toad Town a while back was completely accurate, something inside him told him that one year had passed since the doomsday.
"8 months ago, I wondered if I would ever find peace. After a year of wandering, I think it's safe to say that I haven't come any closer to finding that inner peace. It's the same story every day. Wake up, wander around, hunt for food, build a camp, eat, and go to sleep. Don't even get me started on the night. The same nightmare every single damn time. Yoshi suffocates to death. Toad Town burns to a crisp. Peach falls into the lava. Luigi sacrifices himself… For me! FOR ME!"
Mario punched the ground.
"WHY DID YOU DO IT, LUIGI?! YOU WERE THE ONLY PERSON I HAD LEFT!"
Mario didn't even notice that he broke his right hand. No pain would ever be able to match the pain inside him.
"How will I ever be able to forget the horrible events that happened one year ago if I relive them every night?! I need something to happen in my life! Something to put my mind at ease!"
Mario stood up.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to explore this wasteland. No more wandering around aimlessly. Things are going to change. Hopefully. Time will only tell. It doesn't matter what I find. Anything is better than this."
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Mario jumped out of his bed, which was really nothing more than a bunch of leaves and branches.
"It's okay… I just had that dream again, that's all… Come on Mario, focus. You need to rest! What time is it, anyway?"
Mario grabbed his watch.
"5:00 AM… Let's hope I don't wake up again…"
Mario sat on his bed for a while. He thought about the things he could find while exploring.
"On the other hand, what's another 4 hours of sleep? I might as well go now. It's not like I'm not going to have that dream again."
For days, Mario walked around the wasteland that was once the Mushroom Kingdom in the hopes of finding something that would change him. Days became weeks, weeks became months. For a long time, there was nothing. However, after five months, Mario found something suspicious.
"Footprints?!"
Next to a pool of water, Mario found a trail of footprints.
"Somebody's been here! Yes, finally! I've found someone! I can't believe it! But whose footprints are these?"
Mario started analyzing the footprints.
"These clearly don't belong to an animal. They have to be from someone who's wearing shoes. They don't look like the kind of shoes Toads used to wear, so it can't be a survivor of the attack on Toad Town…"
It was then that Mario realized to whom the trail of footprints belonged.
"Wait a second… These are Koopa shoes! But I killed the ruler of their kingdom, Bowser… Why would they still be around?"
Mario had a flashback of him fighting Bowser… and his son.
"Bowser Jr…. Of course! There's always a heir to the throne! All this time I've been thinking that I left Bowser's kingdom in jeopardy, but I never once even thought about his son! I need to follow the trail of footsteps. The result will probably provide me the excitement I'm looking for."
A few hours later, the trail of footprints ended in front of a hill.
"Damn it! The footprints end here! I need to search for other clues before I can go any further."
Mario heard a loud clang sound coming from behind a hill.
"What was that?!"
Mario climbed up the hill. When he was on top of the hill, he saw a huge, black castle, which was unfinished. It was surrounded by hundreds of Koopas who were building new parts of the castle or finishing other parts. Two huge statues of Bowser Jr. we're standing next to the castle doors. Mario also noticed that there were other familiar faces checking for intruders, such as Goombas and Bomb-ombs. Mario was shocked.
"I underestimated him… I wasn't expecting he would build his castle here… And why is he so heavily armed? There's isn't even anybody here anymore! Going near this place would be suicide!"
Mario had a flashback of everyone he loved dying.
"It doesn't matter. Everyone I love is dead. I might as well die at this point. Who cares if it's suicide? Besides, I told myself that anything is better than this. Even death. So I'll investigate this place. It's not like I have anything else to do."
Meanwhile, inside the castle, Bowser Jr. was sitting on his throne, enjoying his day. Kamek was feeding him candy.
"Being a king is so tiresome… All of those Koopas constantly asking to be treated with respect gets annoying after a while! Wouldn't you agree, Kamek?", Bowser Jr. asked.
"Well, err… your majesty, to be honest, you appear to be enjoying your time quite a lot.", Kamek replied.
"Kamek, how many times do I have to tell you that whenever I ask you something, you should always agree with me even if you actually don't?! Now give me some more candy!"
"I don't have any more candy with me, your majesty."
"THEN GET SOME MORE FROM THE BASEMENT! And bring my binoculars with you too, while you're at it!"
"I'm on it, your majesty…"
Ever since Bowser Jr. became king, the only thing he did was eat, complain and give orders. He had done nothing for his kingdom, yet he expected everyone to honor him like a god. Nobody was allowed to say anything bad about him. In fact, if you were caught saying something bad about him, you were executed no less than a few hours later. Nobody in the kingdom had any personal belongings, since Bowser Jr. took everything for himself. His reasoning for this was that anything in his kingdom were his belongings, and not anyone else's. Some even went as far as to say that Kamek would make for a better king than him. Kamek, like everyone else, had zero respect for Bowser Jr. After a while, Kamek arrived at the basement, where he saw huge piles of candy lying on the floor everywhere.
"He doesn't deserve any of this."
With one of his spells, Kamek teleported the candy out of existence to punish Bowser Jr.. He took the elevator to Bowser Jr.'s room, where he grabbed his binoculars, after which he went back to the throne room.
"Your majesty, I regret to inform you that we're out of candy.", Kamek said.
"WHAT?! THERE'S NO MORE CANDY?! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! THAT'S AN ORDER!"
"Your majesty, please calm down. We'll get you some more candy soon, be patient."
"Did you at least get my binoculars from my room?"
"Yes, your majesty."
"Well, you tried your best. You get 5 minutes off as a reward."
"I thank you for your unrivaled kindness, your majesty." Kamek couldn't help but to say it with a slight sarcastic tone.
Kamek walked out of the throne room to get a drink in his 5-minute break. Bowser Jr. grabbed his binoculars to check if the Koopas working outside were doing a good job. He also looked around to see if there were any intruders outside the castle.
"Wait a minute… Is that who I think it is?!"
Bowser Jr. noticed Mario standing on the hill outside the castle. Kamek could hear Bowser Jr. screaming Mario's name from a few floors away. He ran towards the throne room to see what was going on.
"Are you okay, your majesty?", Kamek asked.
"IT'S MARIO! MARIO IS OUTSIDE THE CASTLE!"
"What?!"
Kamek grabbed the binoculars to check if Bowser Jr. wasn't just pulling a prank on him. However, he too saw Mario sitting on the hill.
"My god, it is Mario! What is he doing here?! And how exactly did he find the castle?!"
"I'm going to kill him!", Bowser Jr. yelled.
"Junior, don't be stupid! Mario is way past your le…"
Before Kamek was able to finish his sentence, Bowser Jr. ran out of the throne room with the intent to end Mario's life.
Meanwhile, Mario was still sitting on the hill outside of the castle.
"It's probably better if I wait until nighttime. There's a big chance most of the guards will be sleeping by then."
Suddenly, Mario heard a voice calling for him.
"MARIO!"
Bowser Jr. jumped in the air and tried to kick Mario, but Mario dodged his attack and counterattacked with a chop to his neck. Bowser Jr. fell to the ground.
"Hello, Bowser Jr.. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"MURDERER!"
Bowser Jr. tried punching Mario a few times, but he was able to block them all effortlessly. Mario intercepted Bowser Jr.'s punches and kicked him in the stomach, after which he threw him into the ground.
"You've got some serious guts attacking me head-on like that, kiddo."
Bowser Jr. got up.
"That's king Bowser Jr. to you, Mario!", Bowser Jr. angrily said.
Mario ignored him.
"What do you want from me, Junior?"
"What do you think?! I'm going to kill you because you murdered my father!"
"There's a reason why I was able to kill your father in the first place. What makes you think you're stronger than him?"
"SHUT UP!"
Bowser Jr. tried to kick Mario a second time, but he missed and fell on his face. Mario laughed.
"Why do you even bother?", Mario asked. "What will you accomplish by killing me? I'm not posing any threat to your kingdom, so it would only be fair if you just left me alone. Besides, killing me isn't going to magically bring your father back to life."
Bowser Jr. started laughing maniacally. Mario was slightly creeped out.
"What's so funny?", Mario asked.
"What if I told you Kamek has found a way for me to go back in time?"
Bowser Jr. started laughing again. Mario couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"What did you say?!"
"You heard me. Kamek keeps saying that he can't use the spell yet because I might die, but I'm willing to take that chance. In fact, I'm going to ask him to send me back right now!"
Mario grabbed Bowser Jr.
"TELL ME MORE!"
"I'd rather die."
Bowser Jr. kicked Mario in his stomach. He promptly let Bowser Jr. go, after which he ran away. Mario ran after him.
"COME BACK HERE!"
"GUARDS!"
Mario was attacked by a huge group of Koopas. Mario tried to defend himself, but there were too many of them. Mario blacked out.
When Mario regained consciousness, he was inside a cold prison cell. Mario started to panic. One of the guards noticed him.
"Finally, you're awake. Kamek wants to speak with you."
The Koopa opened the cell door. He handcuffed Mario, after which he brought him to the throne room. When they arrived there, Mario saw Kamek sitting on Bowser Jr.'s throne.
"Hello, Mario.", Kamek said. "Guard! Remove his handcuffs!"
"Yes, sir.", the guard replied.
As soon as Mario's handcuffs were removed, he knocked the guard out. The other guards wanted to attack him, but Kamek quickly intercepted.
"Stop. I told you I didn't want Mario to get hurt."
"Please excuse us, sir.", one of the guards said.
The guards took a step back.
"Kamek. Is what Bowser Jr. told me true? You know, about you being able to send people back in time?", Mario asked.
"That's why I wanted to speak with you, actually. Yes, it's true. I can send people back in time."
Mario was shocked to hear that Bowser Jr. wasn't lying.
"So what Bowser Jr. said was actually true… That means… Maybe, just maybe, I can convince Kamek to send me back in time so that I can undo the doomsday!"
"Let me guess. You want me to send you back in time so that you get your loved ones back?"
Mario was surprised.
"Can you read my mind, or something?"
"No, it's a fairly easy conclusion to draw. Sure. I'll send you back in time."
"You actually want to?! But why?! Aren't you supposed to be on Bowser Jr.'s side?"
"Allow me to explain. Bowser Jr. is a terrible king. He's done nothing for the betterment of his kingdom. It seems that all he does is take advantage of his kingly status. That's why I'm helping you. So that I can teach him a lesson."
Kamek orders the guards to leave the throne room. He brought Mario to a small chamber with a chair in it.
"This is it, Mario. The time travel chamber."
"I don't want to offend you, but it really doesn't look that special."
"I don't need any fancy equipment to send people back in time. All I need is my wand and some energy. Please take a seat."
Mario sat down.
"There's something that's still not entirely clear to me.", Mario said.
"What's that?"
"You've already sent Bowser Jr. back in time, right?"
"That's correct."
"So then how is it possible nothing has changed?"
"That's not how time traveling works. At least, not the way I do it. See, when I sent Bowser Jr. back in time, I didn't just send him to the point he wanted to. Instead, I created a second timeline. That's where I sent him. I did this to prevent making a mess of the current timeline."
It was silent for a few seconds.
"Before I send you back in time, I have to tell you that I haven't tested this spell thoroughly yet. It's possible that the usage of this spell can have catastrophic results on your health. It's also possible that the spell doesn't work and will instead teleport you out of existence. Do you still wish to continue?", Kamek said.
"Yes. I'm willing to take that risk."
"Also, I need to tell you that I haven't recovered enough energy to be able to create a third timeline, so I'm going to have to send you to the second timeline, the same one I sent Bowser Jr. to. Is that okay with you?"
"Yes."
"Alright. We're all set, then."
"Kamek. Before you send me back in time, I just wanted to thank you. Ever since the doomsday happened, I've dreamed of being able to undo it, and you have made that dream a reality."
"I already told you, I'm doing this to teach Bowser Jr. a lesson.", Kamek said. "All I need you to do is specify the exact moment you want me to send you."
"I want you to send me to the moment I woke up on the day of the wedding."
"Okay then. Are you ready?"
"I'm ready."
Kamek pointed his wand at Mario.
"TEMPUS ITINERANTUR!"
Kamek fired a beam at Mario. Mario could feel the power flowing through his body. Suddenly, his body started shaking violently. He heard a loud beeping noise coming from somewhere. The beeping noise stopped.
FLASH!
To be continued in chapter 2!