Chapter 3 - Super Pepsi Brothers
After floating in a black abyss once again, a portal opened and Frederick was thrust into the new world. He fell to the ground and landed softly. The ground was covered with luscious green grass. The sky was filled with strange clouds that had two dots for eyes and a mouth. There were green pipes sticking out of the ground and there were floating blocks with questions marks on them. Frederick got onto his feet and studied the world around him. He knew exactly where he was. He had picked to go here after all.
Spyro came out of the portal landing on his feet. The portal then closed. He took a moment to take in his surroundings before saying something. "Super Mario?" he asked. "Why here?" Frederick took the Master Remote out of his back pocket.
"It seemed like a good idea," Frederick replied. "It's a simple game with simple rules, so I figured it would be the perfect target for Howe's tyranny." He pressed the middle button on the remote and it turned into a sword. Just then a small creature started waddling towards them. It was brown and looked like a lump of crap, with two stubby feet. Its facial expression was definitely not happy.
"Goomba!" Frederick exclaimed. He charged forward and stabbed the little creature with his sword. When he pulled his sword out the creature exploded into a cloud of dust.
"Um, I think you're supposed to jump on them," Spyro put in. "After all, this is Super Mario."
"Good point," Frederick said. He pressed the middle button, turning the sword back into a remote. He then inspected a floating block just above him. It looked out-of-reach, but when he jumped he seemed to jump just a little higher. High enough so that his fist pounded the bottom of the block. The block turned brown instantly and a mushroom popped out the top. It fell to the ground just in front of Frederick. He picked it up and inspected it. It was small, small enough to fit in his hand. In fact, he could eat it in one bite. So that was what he did. After Frederick ate it he felt a sudden surge of power go through him.
Then an unexpected transformation began. Frederick's clothes suddenly changed. Instead of his jeans and jacket he was now wearing blue overalls, a red shirt, and a red cap with an "M" on it. Frederick looked down at himself and his new outfit. It was obvious that he was dressed like Mario. It seemed the items in these games had certain effects on outsiders. He wondered what a 1-Up would do to him.
"I forgot to explain that," Spyro said. "Naturally you're not from this universe, so in order to fit in the games have ways of making the "players" adapt. So in this world players will be given the attire and abilities of the Mario characters."
"Hmm…" Frederick thought aloud. "So I can be any character?"
"Yes. If you want to change what character you are use the remote. Pull up the keyboard and type in the character's name." Frederick made the keyboard appear from the remote and typed in a five letter name. Instantly his clothing changed in the blink of an eye. Now he was wearing a light green and white jumpsuit with a red saddle on his back and a tail. His shoes were orange with yellow soles. Over his head was a hood with a big nose and two long eyes.
"Yoshi?" Spyro asked. "Why?" Frederick shrugged. No doubt Yoshi was his favorite Super Mario character. He liked the dinosaur's charm as well as his abilities.
"We can talk about it later," Frederick declared. "Right now let's focus on our objective." Spyro nodded and followed Frederick as they progressed. Frederick tested his abilities as they walked. He could jump high and flutter if he kicked his legs. His tongue was able to extend to extreme lengths. And somehow he could also lay eggs, as strange as it was. Soon the two came to a forest on the outskirts of the vast plains. They went into it and followed a path that was embedded in the ground.
After a while of walking and talking about various things, Frederick and Spyro came to a big clearing. There seemed to be nothing around except for the surrounding trees and bushes. Frederick switched his remote back to a sword. He had a feeling there was going to be trouble.
"I feel that Howe is going to show us his power for the first time," Spyro said. "Let's be on our guard." As if on cue something started to come out of the ground. It was pretty big and shaped like a plant. It had a thin green stem and at the end of it was a red mouth with white spots all over it. It snapped its jaws at the two. Frederick and Spyro backed away.
"Piranha Plant…" Frederick grumbled. Those things were already a pain in the ass in the Mario games. Now facing them in real life would be a whole new experience. Frederick stepped forward and swung his sword. He cut the stem of the Piranha Plant and the head fell to the ground. It withered up and exploded into dust. Before they could celebrate they heard a sound coming from behind them. Frederick turned around and saw another Piranha Plant. He turned around again and there was another one! Turning all around Frederick and Spyro could see they were becoming surrounded.
"Gah, help!" Spyro suddenly shouted. Frederick turned around and saw that Spyro had been chomped on by one of the plants. It picked him up in its mouth and then swallowed him. Frederick was about to kill the plant with his sword, but he was afraid he'd accidentally kill Spyro inside. With Piranha Plants surrounding him Frederick couldn't see a way out. And when he killed one more seemed to spring up in its place. Then he got an idea.
Frederick quickly reverted the sword back to a remote. He typed in the name of an item and soon it appeared in his hand. It was an ice blue flower with two beady eyes. An Ice Flower. He took a bite out of it and a cold chill went through his body. Yoshis don't throw fire or ice balls from their hands. They spit it from their mouths. So Frederick opened his mouth and unleashed a cold blast of ice on the Piranha Plants. They froze solid and no others rose up to take their place. He finished freezing all of the plants, including the one that ate Spyro.
Frederick walked over to the plant that had Spyro in it. He kicked it with his foot and the plant ice sculpture shattered. Spyro fell to the ground, all in one piece.
"Ouch," he said as he got back on all fours. "Thanks Frederick." Frederick nodded and looked around at all the frozen plants. No doubt they were sent by Howe. But was that really the best he could send?
"Howe is toying with us," Frederick stated. "He sent some weak monsters because he knew we would still have a hard time fighting them."
"It doesn't seem like him to do that," Spyro put in. "Howe has always attacked with full force. And why should he fear us, even now?"
"I don't know, but I suggest we keep moving." Frederick and Spyro continued on their way through the forest. Soon the trees began to become distant and the land drastically changed. Now the ground was dull and stone-like, and the air hot and humid. The sky became dark and the atmosphere felt unpleasant. Lava pits and streams were becoming a common sight.
"This is the last level in Super Mario," Frederick said. "So Bowser's Castle shouldn't be far. That's where Howe is, I think." They came to a big fissure with lava down below. The fissure had a rope bridge spanning across it. At the other end of the bridge was Bowser's Castle.
Before either of them said anything they could see a figure approach. It was another kid from Frederick's school. He was about the same height as him, and wore khaki shorts with a plain T-shirt and red jacket over it. His hair was dark blonde and cut in almost a bowl fashion. He look vaguely familiar to Frederick and it took him a moment to figure out who it was.
"Duncan?" Frederick asked as the kid approached. He nodded.
"Yes, it's me," Duncan said. "I never expected to see you or Spyro here. How did you get here and where did that costume come from?" Frederick spent the next minute explaining how he was chosen as the new Game Master and how he was going on an adventure to defeat Howe. Duncan was from Frederick's school. He sometimes hung out with him and his gang but he had his own group of friends. Frederick didn't remember seeing Duncan get sucked into the black hole Howe created, so he was confused as to why he was here. Duncan explained that he had been sent by Howe later along with some others. He said that soon once Frederick traveled to different games he'd start meeting up with more of his friends.
"One more thing Frederick…" Duncan said as he finished up. Frederick came closer and wondered what he had to say. Before he could find out Duncan punched him right in the face. Frederick staggered backwards and fell over. Spyro growled and prepared to tackle Duncan. But Duncan took a 45 caliber pistol from his back pocket and aimed it at Spyro. The young dragon whimpered and took a cautious step back.
"Hah!" Duncan laughed. "A dragon known for his bravery, cowering before me. Howe will be most pleased when you are dead." Before Duncan could pull the trigger he was suddenly tackled to the ground. Frederick had jumped on him and wrestled the gun from his hand. They fought for a good few minutes, taking punches and swearing. Finally Duncan gave up and suddenly vanished. Frederick cursed and got up to his feet.
"I should have known that scumbag was working for Howe," Frederick said. He brushed himself off and looked down at Spyro. Spyro nodded and still looked a bit shaken up. Frederick knelt down besides him.
"What's the matter?" Frederick asked. Spyro came a bit closer to him.
"G-guns," Spyro stuttered. "I don't like them, and… I'm also afraid of them." Frederick looked confused, but eventually he understood. Spyro was still young and certainly had some fears. Frederick then got an idea. Something he always wanted to do.
"Come here," Frederick said. He held his arms out wide. Spyro looked at him with uncertainty but he knew what Frederick wanted. He stepped forward and sat down in front of Frederick, leaning into him. Frederick wrapped his arms around the dragon and pulled him close. They shared the hug for a couple minutes.
"Thanks," Spyro said. "I guess I owe you now that you saved my life twice."
"This was all I wanted," Frederick replied, holding Spyro near and dear to him. He wanted so badly to hug one of his favorite video game characters. This moment for him was a dream come true. Frederick let go of Spyro and stood back up, remembering he still had a mission. Him and Spyro began to cross the rope bridge.
Once on the other side of the fissure the castle doors mysteriously opened. They were as if inviting Frederick and Spyro inside. They took it as a sign that Howe knew they were coming for him. Inside the castle it was dark except for some dimly lit torches. The hallway looked just as it did in the Super Mario games; stone walls complete with the red carpet. The air felt dry and like it lacked enough oxygen. Soon at the end of the hallway was the doors to the main chamber. They were these big red doors that signified you were about to fight the boss. Frederick pushed open the doors and stepped into the main chamber.
It was a big room that looked just like the hallways. In the center of the room was a big throne meant to seat Bowser. But instead of Bowser sitting there it was Howe himself.
"Very good Yoshi Boy," Howe taunted. "I knew you and your pet dragon would make it here in one piece."
"Enough talk, Howe," Frederick snapped. "Your Pepsi-drinking days are over! It's high time I sent your fat ass back to where it came from." Howe laughed an evil, hardy laugh. Frederick turned his remote into a sword, preparing for battle. Spyro's nostrils flared and smoke emitted from them.
"Get them!" Howe yelled out. Out from the shadows swarms of Goombas and Koopa-Troopas came to annihilate Frederick and Spyro. The two immediately went to work, slashing the enemies and burning them. Frederick elegantly jabbed and slashed the enemies, while Spyro breathed beautiful columns of flame at them. Howe sat on the throne, watching the battle unfold. It seemed Frederick and Spyro had the upper hand. They were gracefully and easily defeating every opponent that came towards them. Soon the swarms started to diminish.
"Dammit!" Howe pouted, hitting the side of his throne with his fist. That fist was also the hand that was holding his Pepsi, so some of the Pepsi spilled out of the can. "No, my Pepsi!" He got off the throne quickly and on all fours, lapping up the Pepsi off the floor. In the midst of the fighting Frederick and Spyro burst into laughter.
Howe looked up and gave them a look of embarrassment. He got up off the floor and polished off the rest of the soda in the can. From the look of the ongoing battle he knew Frederick and Spyro would win. "Get them, Bowser!" Howe screamed.
Suddenly the ground began to shake. Loud footsteps were heard from some unknown creature approaching. From the darkness a large creature emerged. It was none other than Bowser. He looked just like he did in the Super Mario games, only a little bigger. His eyes were glowing red which indicated he was under Howe's control. Bowser let out a loud, intimidating roar. It made Frederick clamp his hands to his ears. Then Bowser began a slow approach to annihilate him and Spyro.
Frederick readied his sword and Spyro charged some fire in his mouth. Then something unexpected happened. A sudden blur of yellow and purple zoomed out and hit Bowser in the face. Bowser fell backwards and hit the floor. The blur continued to hit Bowser all over until he exploded into dust. Then the blur slowed down until it formed the shape of a man. It was Wario! Well, he looked like Wario. He was dressed in purple overalls and yellow shirt and cap, but he wasn't short and fat like Wario. Instead he was tall and medium weighted, with long brown hair and acne all over his face. Frederick's eyes lit up as he knew who it was. It was David!
Howe yelped and ran off into the shadows. David ran after him and didn't come back for a couple minutes. Then David came out of the shadows with nothing. Howe had gotten away.
"Fat ass," David muttered. He then went up to Frederick and Spyro. "Salutations Yoshi and Spyro. I see you are in need of assistance." Frederick smiled and shook David's hand.
"It's great to see you," Frederick said. "You showed up just in time."
"I did, but too bad Howe got away. That's means we'll have to track him down in the next game." Frederick took the next moment to explain to David the whole Game Master theorem, and the mission that was on hand. David seemed to understand and told Frederick how he ended up in the Super Mario world. David woke up in a field and got a clove of garlic from a block which turned him into Wario.
"How many games do you think Howe has already hit?" Spyro asked. "He hasn't hit my world yet."
"We don't know," David replied. "We just got here. Once we advance through some of the games we'll get a better understanding of what Howe has influence over." Frederick typed in the name of another video game he knew into the remote. Then a portal to that game opened.
"Let's waste no time," Frederick said. "We must go after Howe wherever he is." Spyro and David agreed. The two of them followed Frederick into the portal.