Chapter 10 – It's a Me, Mario...
Standing in front of the Outer Walls to Peach's Castle, Mario had never felt as out of place anywhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. These same walls that he'd passed through time and time again now seemed foreign to him. Who was he? Mario would be headed through these gates any moment now with Princess Peach, and he'd have to get out of the way... At least that's how he felt, for never had he stood where he now stood, unable to gain entrance, and arguing with the guard about his identity.
"I'll ask you again. Who are you!" the younger Toad at the wall shouted down.
The Toad are a truly interesting race(With a rather Deceptive Name). While distantly related to Goombas (Though you'll never find a Toad willing to back that up) they look nothing alike. Standing about twice as tall as the average Goomba, they have a far more "Humanoid" form, complete with Arms, Leas, Fingers, and Toes, none of which the Goomba can Brag. Another difference, their Mushroom Feature is more Cap like, and less the overall shape of their head. As the Predominate Race in the Mushroom Kingdom, they also happen to be the people of Princess Peach Toadstool, even though she isn't of the Toad herself.
He'd told them already that he was Mario, but even with Luigi arguing his case they wouldn't believe him. And who could blame them. Why would Mario be standing outside the Castle walls asking for an audience with the Guard Captain? Everyone knew Mario was probably on his way back from King Koopa's Keep, the Princess in tow, Bowser once again picking himself off the floor. Everyone knew that their Hero would NEVER return without the Princess... so who was he trying to fool?
"We've a already told you!" Luigi hollered back, "It's a me, Luigi, and my Brother Mario!" he told them for the third time.
"Listen Bub!" the guard yelled back down, "We know he's not Mario! I mean his costume's good and all, well... except for the hat, Mario's always got his hat, but yeah while you may be Luigi, unless you've been fooled, you wouldn't be arguing for his sake! So we're not about to let some wacko in, give up, and when the Real Mario shows up with the Princess, you can talk to him about why you need to come in!" he finished, pounding his Spear into the walk like some informal gavel finalizing his point.
"What will I a have to do to make a you believe me?" Mario yelled up to them, unsure whether or not he'd be able to convince them like he'd convinced his brother... while running his tattered glove through his hair idly missing his cap now that they'd brought it up.
The two guards looked at each other, and discussed in hushed voices for a few moments what he "could" possibly do to convince them. After a bit they looked back down at him, and the older toad hollered back.
"I'm sorry, but there's no way we're going to believe that if "Mario" wanted through this gate, that we would have any hope of stopping him," he stated shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, "I mean, it's not like he's not been in enough times to know this place like the back of his hand," the toad added, gesturing inside the keep wall, "And besides, if you really were Mario, you'd just jump on up here and walk right through." Looking down at Mario as if he just thought of it, and waving his hands to demonstrate he continued, "Speaking of that, why Don't you hop on up here... That would convince us. Come on then." the older guard finished smiling smugly.
"Hmph," Luigi snorted, knowing as he did about Mario's current condition, "I've a mind to show these cheeky guards, a piece a my ahhh... mind." he muttered so that only his brother could hear him. But they'd discussed it before they approached the wall, and Mario didn't want Luigi to do anything to jeopardize his reputation while Mario was feeling off. It was bad enough that Mario was out of it. It could only get worse if Luigi was ostracized as well.
Taking a deep breath, Mario nodded curtly and walked a little ways away from the wall to the chuckles of the guard and the sigh of his brother noticing as he did that there was now a small crowd beginning to gather. Turning back, he dashed towards the wall before Luigi could stop him.
"Mario, No!" Luigi shouted.
They were right. If he really wanted in, what could they do to stop him? It was after all just a wall. He'd faced off against gigantic monstrosities devised by Bowser to thwart his attempts at rescuing the Princess; Climbed towering citadels with moving platforms, and enemies throwing themselves in his path; and even the King of the Koopas was afraid to confront him in combat... Or at least he was... but he'd been beaten now, and here he was asking for help because he knew he couldn't win this time, that he wasn't able to...
*FWUMP*
His jump carried him face first into the wall...
"Mario!" Luigi shouted, his voice echoing as if across a padded hall, while running over to make sure his brother was okay as the guard started rolling in laughter atop the gate, their mirth cascading across his consciousness as everything slowed to a snail's pace...
He just lay there looking up at the rapidly darkening sky... Who am I...
Standing in the shambles of her kitchen, the soup long forgotten, with Bowser going over in detail how he'd beaten Mario for the fourth time, Kammy couldn't help but wonder what was "Really" going on here. She was also bothered by the fact that every time he told the story, Mario found himself in progressively worse shape...
"And as I threw him into the air, while bathing him in flame... " the Koopa King was saying.
"Stop," she said, "Two things I want to know, and don't exaggerate, it just makes you look silly." she informed him, ignoring the huffy look he gave her. "One, where is Mario now? And two, why are you wearing his Cap?" she asked. In none of the stories did he explain the hat, and by the look he was giving her, it was obvious why. He didn't even know he was wearing it..
"I'm not.." he began, running his clawed hand across the top of his head where, much to his surprise, he encountered the hat. Pulling it off, he looked at it rather confused by it's presence. When had that gotten there?
"Let me see that," Kammy preempted as she took the cap from his grasp before placing it atop her head.
"Hey!" Bowser, caught off guard by his sudden anxiety over losing the hat that moments before he hadn't even known he'd been wearing, shouted halfheartedly as he conflictedly reached towards it, and instead grasped at open air.
Watching, now confused, Bowser snorted in amusement at Kammy as she attempted what looked like it was meant to be a Back Flip, but instead threw herself onto her back rapping her head rather soundly against the floor.
"Hehehehe..." the Koopa King chuckled while Kammy slowly sat up, rubbing her head where she hit it. Noticing while doing this that the hat was gone, she looked around and saw that it had landed beneath her counter. Frowning she picked it up, and looking at Bowser said in an irritated voice, "Yeah, well why don't you show me how it's done then!"
"Out Side!" she yelled, after he started shifting his weight as if he were about to jump. He'd already damaged her house enough with that first jump, and the subsequent landing. She didn't need him tearing it up anymore. And besides, if her hunch was correct she wanted plenty of room for him to actually start figuring this out. This was by far the most interesting turn of events yet. Not only had he beaten Mario without the aid of any outside force (That she knew of) but he also seemed to have gained some of Mario's signature Prowess. Something had to have happened during that fight, and she was determined to figure it out.
Standing impatiently near to the hut, Bowser gave her a questioning look as she came out the door. "Okay then, show me." she said.
Leaping far higher than a Koopa of his size should be able to, Bowser neatly turned a Somersault in the air and landed with a thundering *Fwump* in her garden amidst the Pumpkins. Figures...she thought to herself. Though now she was perturbed. She'd been sure Mario's hat was somehow the Crux of this and now she hadn't a clue what was going on... How did Bowser suddenly start bounding around like that Shroom cursed plumber and what had happened to Mario as a Result? She didn't like not knowing so much, and she also didn't like the implications. Somehow King Koopa unwittingly received some of Mario's strength. With this, it was no shocker that he had the upper hand, but why had it happened, and who was behind it. She refused to believe that it "Just Happened", and Bowser's lack of concern was starting to aggravate her. He never was one to Question things... having come from Royalty as he did, he was accustomed to having things given to him... but she'd raised him with more sense than this. His jumping around and ruining her yard was angering her too...
"All Right All Ready!" she shouted at him as he came down for the second time into her garden, destroying the rest of her Pumpkins. "I get it, you can bounce now. That's wonderful dear, but you've proven your point, so you can stop destroying my yard." she fussed at him.
A slightly mischievous grin that never boded well crossed his face as he calmly walked over to her. "So then what does this mean?" he asked, trying noticeably to keep his face serious.
Watching him suspiciously, she thought about it. If it wasn't the hat, then what was it... "Wait here." she told him as she turned to walk into her house. No sooner had she turned around than she felt Bowser's clawed hands grab her around the waist as he rocketed once more into the air.
"Put me Down you Dolt!" she shrieked at him as she threw a rather large blast of raw magical energy backwards at him, knocking her from his grasp at the top of his jump and sending her flying over her house. Summoning her broom from the porch and her wand from the mantle as she fell, she caught herself a few yards from the ground, and turned in rage at "King Koopa". Ohhh... so he's gotten "playful" all of a sudden now that he can jump. Well then, I'll set him straight real quick here she thought to herself, noticing as she did that he'd taken the hat from her when he jumped into the air.
Bowser had landed (On his feet by some miracle) on the small road leading up to her house, triumphantly donning Mario's hat as he landed. Not giving him the time to regain himself, she opened the earth beneath him and channeled a large column of flame from her wand in his direction. The fire unlike the Fire from a Fire Flower wasn't harmful to him, but it would sting enough to make her point.. or it would have if it had hit him that is. Somehow, at the moment the earth began to open beneath him, Bowser managed to throw himself backwards to where he was still on solid land, and while she shifted her aim to account for this, he leapt into the air before her flames could connect, and launched a large Fire Blast himself, which she then needed to avoid. That cocky little! She thought to herself, but then had to continue dodging as he was now pelting her with short bursts of his Natural Flame from the ground.
Dodging his blasts she was beginning to lose her temper, and the sky around her little hut began to darken with her mood. Thinks he some big shot now that he's trounced the little plumber does he? The rumble of thunder echoed her angry thoughts. Figures he can take me, ME! That last thought punctuated by the *Crack* of lightning in the clouds above them. Well then... she turned to face him, the wind billowing around her, his flames breaking before they even reached her I think it's time for "King Koopa" to remember who it was that raised him...