Author's Note: There will not be a chapter published next week. The next chapter will be released on April 22.
UPDATE: Sorry, but something unexpected happened, and I won't be able to publish this week. I'll release the next chapter as soon as I can, or at least by the 29th.
Mario and Luigi were in line for the blimp which took tourists to Glitzville. They had just recently departed the Excess Express, having used the three day journey to rest and recover from the rigors of the battle they had fought over the Garnet Star. They then went back to the Pianta Syndicate's headquarters and obtained two Blimp Tickets from Frankie, and were now waiting for the next chapter of their journey to begin.
"Next!" the Cheep Cheep attendant called out. As Mario and Luigi came up, he asked, "Tickets?" Mario and Luigi showed him their tickets, and he made a punch hole in them. "You're good to go. Next!"
Mario and Luigi went down the warp pipe that led to the blimp and boarded it. A few minutes later, the blimp lifted up into the air and soared towards Glitzville. When they got close, Mario and Luigi saw that Glitzville had expanded greatly since Mario had last been there. The blimp landed, and as they got off, they saw a sign advertising the annual Glitz Pit tournament, which only needed one more entrant, and the grand prize for winning the tournament: the Emerald Star!
"Well, looks like we got here just in time!" Luigi said.
"Let's go register!" Mario said. Mario and Luigi dashed inside the Glitz Pit Main Hall.
As Mario and Luigi walked through the main hall, which had been renovated since Mario was last here and was far more spacious and glamorous, there were several people whispering to each other, "Hey! Look! It's the Great Gonzales!" Mario and Luigi finally reached Jolene's office.
The guard in front of the door asked, "Here to register for the tournament?" Mario and Luigi nodded. The guard stepped to the side and said, "Go right ahead." Mario knocked on the door and opened it.
Mario and Luigi entered the room. As Jolene saw them come in, she exclaimed, "The Great Gonzales! What a surprise! What brings you back to Glitzville?"
"I'm here to register for the tournament!" Mario said.
"Well, there's only one slot left, so you came at the right time," Jolene said. "I'll register you for the tournament as the Great Gonzales. Give me a few minutes."
As Jolene entered the information into her computer, Mario said, "Glitzville has gotten a lot bigger since I last came."
"It sure has," Jolene said. "Ever since you beat Rawk Hawk and became champion, popularity for this place exploded. The Glitz Pit became so popular that we were sponsored by Irdnial Corp, one of the most successful companies in Rogueport."
"Irdnial Corp?" Mario asked. "I don't remember anything about them on my last adventure here."
"They're a robotics and manufacturing company based in Wario Land," Jolene said. "They set up a secondary headquarters here after you defeated the Shadow Queen. They're the ones who gave us the idea to create an annual elimination tournament separate from the normal ranking tournament that you participated in, and they've entered their own fighter into the tournament: Nax Roge."
"Nax Roge?" Luigi repeated.
"Yep," Jolene said. "He's a super-powered fighter that has prosthetic limbs created by Irdnial Corp. They say that his robotic arms give him the striking strength of a mammoth, and his robotic legs let him run faster than a cheetah. He's even had his brain modified with Irdnial technology to give him faster mental acuity and reflexes. He's quite possibly the most powerful person in the tournament, and betting odds currently show him as the hand-down favorite to win."
"Not anymore he isn't!" Mario confidently said.
"I wouldn't be so sure of yourself," Jolene said. "I know you're the one who defeated the Shadow Queen, but Nax is something else. You can see him in action right now if you want; he's about to begin his first round match. Want to go see?"
"Alright," Mario said. "Lead the way."
Jolene got up and led Mario and Luigi out of the room. They went out to the main hall and entered the arena from the main spectator entrance.
The Glitz Pit arena had been severely expanded from the last time Mario fought in it. While the ring itself was the same, there was much more audience seating, and the roof had been removed to allow camera Lakitus to film the battles and stream them to televisions across the Glitz Pit, allowing even people who weren't physically spectating to view the match. Above the ring, a floating box was suspended in the air, where two announcers sat. One of the announcers, a Lakitu, said, "Welcome everyone, to the premiere match of the first annual Glitz Pit tournament!" This was met by a roar of cheering and clapping from the massive crowd. "This match sees two powerhouses going at each other in the first round! Entering from the west side, it's the Unstoppable Annihilator, Nax Roge!" The crowd cheered and clapped even more as a human covered fully in blue-colored metallic armor, with the exception of a green visor on his helmet, walked onto the stage.
"And coming in from the east side, it's the one who delivered the Great Gonzales his first and only defeat, Red Iron Cleft!" A large blue-colored Cleft with red shoes walked into the arena. His brother, Green Iron Cleft, stood off to the side of the arena.
The other announcer, a Snifit, asked, "Before the match begins, would they like to say anything to each other?"
Red Iron Cleft shouted at Nax, "You are about to be in a world of pain!"
Nax smirked and said, "We shall see."
The referee, a Fire Bro, counted to three, and then said, "Let the match begin!"
Nax and Red Cleft charged towards each other. They met in the middle of the ring, and Red Cleft attempted to slam his spike into Nax. Nax sidestepped the attack and kicked Red Cleft upwards into the air. Nax then jumped up after him and slammed his hands into Red Cleft, meteor smashing him into the ground. Nax landed a good distance away from Red Cleft and pointed his arm out at him. A missile launcher suddenly protruded up from his armor, and a missile was fired towards Red Cleft! The missile exploded onto the Iron Cleft, flipping him over.
"Brother!" Green Cleft shouted from the sidelines. "You can do it!" Spurred on by his brother, Red Cleft got up and began to charge at Nax. Before he could react, though, Nax was suddenly behind him! Nax did a charged punch at Red Cleft's back, knocking Red Cleft into the roof. A hookshot then extended from Nax's arm and grabbed the Red Cleft, pulling him back into the arena. Nax then thrust his arm down, smashing the Red Cleft into the ground!
"No! Brother!" Green Cleft shouted. "That's it! I don't care if this is breaking the rules or not!" The Green Cleft jumped up into the arena and started to charge at Nax! The referee leapt at him in an attempt to stop him, but Green Cleft knocked him away with a body slam. The referee quickly got up and breathed several fireballs at Green Cleft, but they all were effortlessly absorbed by Green Cleft's iron body. Green Cleft then body slammed the referee again, knocking him out.
Green Cleft turned to face Nax, but Nax was already in front of him and delivered a punch to Green Cleft. Red Cleft charged at Nax, but Nax kicked him away with ease and proceeded to deliver a flurry of punches to Green Cleft. Nax then uppercut Green Cleft into the air and pointed his arm up at him. A rocket launcher then came out of Nax's armor, and two small rockets were fired at Green Cleft! The rockets hit their target and exploded, sending small chunks of iron flying off the Cleft's body and causing Green Cleft to fall to the ground unconscious.
Red Cleft charged at Nax again. The rocket launcher retreated back into Nax's armor, and out of his other arm, a minigun came up. The minigun began firing bullets at Red Cleft at an amazingly fast rate. Red Cleft tanked through the bullets as best he could until he reached Nax and prepared to smash his spike into him, but Nax sidestepped the attack and quickly planted a small device on Red Cleft. Nax leapt away and then pushed a button on his armor. Red Cleft then exploded!
"Oh! And Nax wins the match!" the Lakitu announcer said. "It seems that he pinned an explosive device onto Red Cleft, and that was what ended it all!" The audience cheered and clapped, and Nax silently left the arena.
A few minutes later, Mario and Luigi were back in Jolene's office. "Now you know what you're up against," Jolene said.
Luigi said, "I don't think the Armored Harriers even got a single hit in against Nax…"
"With the Crystal Stars on my side, I should be able to take him on," Mario said.
"Well, if both you and Nax win all of your matches, you'll face each other in the semifinals," Jolene said. "You'd better prepare for your first round match right now, though."
"Who's it against?" Mario asked.
"I think you know him," Jolene said. "Tubba Blubba is your first round opponent."
"Tubba Blubba?" Mario repeated. "Well, as long as he still has his heart inside him, he should be pretty easy."
"You can head over to the locker rooms to prepare," Jolene said. "The match is in one hour. Good luck." Mario and Luigi nodded and left the office.
An hour later, Mario and Luigi were outside of the doors leading to the arena, preparing to enter it. Inside the arena, the stands were filled with people, and the Lakitu announcer said, "Welcome all to the second battle in the first annual Glitz Pit tournament! This battle is shaping up to be even more exciting than the last one, as it marks the return of the one, the only…GREAT GONZALES!"
Just outside the arena, a security guard next to Mario and Luigi heard a beeping on his radio, and said, "Time for you to enter the arena."
Mario and Luigi opened the doors and stepped inside the arena. The crowd erupted into cheering as the Great Gonzales stepped back into the arena. Mario jumped up onto the stage as Luigi went onto the sidelines to spectate. The Snifit announcer said, "And our second combatant this time, the cousin of Grubba, give it up for Tubba Blubba!"
A huge blue Clubba jumped onto the arena floor. He exclaimed, "Mario! It's been a while."
"It has," Mario said. "How are things at Gusty Gulch?"
"Oh, you know. Ever since you beat me, I've been living with the Boos peacefully. I entered this tournament to refine my fighting skills, and now it's time for me to get revenge on you!"
"Don't bet on it!" Mario said, taking up a fighting stance.
The new referee, a Sledge Bro, counted to three, and then said, "Fight!"
Mario rushed at Tubba Blubba with his hammer drawn. He jumped up and slammed his hammer down onto Tubba Blubba, but Tubba parried the attack with one arm and grabbed Mario with the other. Tubba threw Mario down onto the ground and then attempted to stomp him with his foot, but Mario rolled out of the way and shot a stream of fireballs at Tubba from his hand. Tubba roared in pain as the fireballs burned his skin. He jumped up into the air and did a ground pound onto Mario's position; Mario just barely rolled out of the way, causing a huge crack to form in the arena floor. Mario did a spin jump on Tubba's head, then bounced up and did a ground pound before jumping a short distance away. As he jumped to the ground, Mario shot another stream of fireballs at Tubba, and when he landed, he quickly shot at Tubba again with his hammer out. Tubba swiped at Mario with his arm, but Mario jumped to the side to dodge and then used his hammer to deliver a painful uppercut to Tubba's jaw, causing the oversized Clubba to stagger back in pain.
Tubba then clasped his hands together and slammed his arms down onto the arena floor, sending shockwaves emanating out from it! Mario jumped over the shockwaves, but Tubba ground pounded Mario's position, causing Mario to roll away directly into a shockwave. Tubba then charged at Mario. Mario wasn't able to move quickly enough, and Tubba grabbed him, held him in the air, and punched him repeatedly before slamming him into the floor and stomping him. He then threw Mario into the walls of the Glitz Pit, outside the arena floor.
Mario got up and jumped back into the ring with his hammer drawn. He smashed his hammerhead onto Tubba's noggin, causing Tubba to stumble back a bit. Mario then swung his hammer at Tubba multiple times, knocking the huge Clubba back a bit with each blow, before charging up for two seconds and delivering a huge blow to Tubba, sending him falling down and skidding across the arena floor. Tubba got up and quickly jumped at Mario, attempting to ground pound his opponent. Mario quickly dived out of the way and then threw a flurry of fireballs at Tubba. The fireballs seared Tubba's skin as they contacted with him, but he tanked through the pain and charged at Mario. Tubba grabbed Mario and threw him up into the air, before leaping up into the air himself and preparing to do a meteor smash.
Mario realized that a charged meteor smash from someone with as much mass as Tubba Blubba was almost sure to be a knockout blow, so Mario quickly put up his hammer and prepared to block the attack. Tubba slammed his fists down onto Mario, but Mario blocked the smash with his hammerhead. They fell back onto the arena floor, kicking up a small patch of dust, and continued struggling against each other, Tubba attempting to lay a knockout punch while Mario poured all his force into holding his opponent's attack at bay. Mario then dodged to the side and pulled his hammer back quickly, causing Tubba to fly forward with his full mass onto the arena floor. Mario then smashed his hammer into Tubba's face with enough force to knock Tubba backwards up into the air. Mario then jumped above Tubba and used his hammer to deliver a charged meteor smash, sending Tubba flying down and creating a large explosion as he impacted the ground. When the dust cleared, Tubba Blubba was unconscious.
"The Great Gonzales is the winner!" the Sledge Bro referee announced. The crowd broke into applause and cheering as Luigi jumped up to the ring and stood next to Mario, who was waving to the crowd after making his triumphant return to the Glitz Pit.
A few minutes later, Mario and Luigi were in Jolene's office. "Congratulations, Mr. Mario," she said. "Here's your prize money." She took out a sack of 125 blue coins and handed them to Mario.
Luigi said to his brother, "That wasn't too bad, was it?" Mario shook his head.
"It's only going to get harder from here," Jolene warned. "From what I understand, Tubba Blubba didn't have any real experience fighting beyond when he fought you at Gusty Gulch. His only real fight before then was when he battled you, and you easily won that."
"Who's my next opponent?" Mario asked.
"You know him," Jolene said. "Rawk Hawk will be your round two opponent, and he's desperate to get revenge after losing his title to you. He's been training hard ever since you left Rogueport, and if you're not careful, he could end up actually winning."
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," Mario said. "When's the match?"
"Tomorrow at noon," Jolene said. "There's a new Toad House inn here in Glitzville; you can stay there until the match. Good luck."
"Thanks!" Mario said. He and Luigi left Jolene's office, prepared to face their next challenge.
