Bowser had finally done it. The mushroom kingdom lay in ruin. Peach's castle was no more than a pile of burning rubble. The mushroom people had fought valiantly but to no avail. They had all been slaughtered and their corpses were littered across the fields. Luigi had been the first one killed. The whole gang had been enjoying one of Peach's cakes when the surprise attack started. And by a rare twist of fate, the green clad plumber was struck directly by one of the cannonballs in the first volley. The rest had managed to escape the castle in time. They were met by the koopa kings crack troops at the front entranceway. Blue and yellow toad were taken down by a barrage of machine gun fire as soon they showed any sign of resisting. Yoshi, who was waiting for Mario outside to begin with, was tied up, muzzled, and beaten to death already. This left just Mario and Peach. By this time the elite mushroom army was already out in force, engaging Bowsers ground troops. The battle raged all around them and Mario rushed the crack commandos, dodging machine gun fire in the process. Mario easily dispatched the gunners just as Bowsers gunships released another volley that collided with the castle. Flaming debris fell near the front doors. Mario had ran back to save peach, but it was too late. She had been hit with the falling stones already, half burying the fragile princess in hundreds of pounds of bricks. A small stream of blood had flowed out the corner of her mouth and snaked its way under her chin. Mario had held her hand and gazed into her misty eyes as she passed on. Mario had sat there in shocked silence for a few minutes. By this time the mushroom air fleet had engaged Bowsers. When it was all said and done, Bowsers flagship was the only one left. Mario snapped out of his trance and replaced his sadness for anger. He ran to one of the less damaged gunships burning on the ground. Bowsers ship turned around to flee when Mario reached the cannon. Luckily the cannon was loaded and ready to fire. The smooth lead ball collided with the tail end do the flagship and it had gone down in a ball of fire. There was no way Bowser could have survived. Seeing the tyrannical leaders ship crash demoralized the remainder of the koopa and goomba army. They turned to the wilderness in hopes of a simpler more peaceful life. Mario sat alone in utter silence taking in the carnage around him. Tears streaming down his face, he wandered back to where Peach's lifeless body lay. He found a pistol on one of the machine gunners belts. Everything else was out of ammo, even the pistol was down to one round. He sat beside his slain princess and took her hand again. It was still slightly warm. He leaned down and kissed her lips one last time. The handgun shook unsteadily in his hand and clattered against his teeth. There was nothing left to live for. The kingdom was beyond repair. His brother, pet, and lover were all dead. And Bowser too fell in battle, so he didn't even have revenge to live for. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to build up his courage. A lone shot rang out against the silence and faded to nothing. Mario opened his eyes. He was in the field just outside princess Peach's castle. Frantically he looked around, had this all been a dream? Mushroom people lay dead everywhere he looked. He turned his gaze, horrified, towards the castle entrance. There, not thirty feet away from him twas his own corpse, leaking blood into the cracks of the fancy brick work, still holding Peach's hand. What had...! DAMN THAT GREEN MUSHROOM! Mario cursed to himself, once he realized what happened. With no options left he sat on a pile of bricks and waited for time to run out.