- Chapter 11 -

Ding Dong, The Witch is Back


Author's Note:

To my guest reviewer, I would really appreciate it if you didn't nag me to get the next chapter out ASAP. I do have other stories I'm working on, y'know.

Also, I've decided to introduce Banjo-Kazooie characters after all; since they appeared in Diddy Kong Racing, they are/were part of the Mario-verse back before Microsoft swiped Rare from Nintendo.


The Castle, Bowser's Skull Egg Zone

Eggman, Bowser, K. Rool, and Wily sat patiently as Krusha and Metal Sonic exited the portal, holding the struggling captive that they had been dispatched to acquire. Said captive was a teenage chipmunk with brown fur, blue eyes, and dark auburn hair, clad only in a blue high-collar vest and blue boots. It was Sonic's longtime girlfriend, Princess Sally Acorn.

"Get your hands off of me!" Sally yelled as she struggled, but Krusha and Metal were too strong for her. She glared at Eggman. "Robotnik! You let me go right now!"

Eggman laughed openly. "Why do you prisoners and heroes always try that card? You know it's not gonna work. In any event, Princess, I'd like to introduce you to our new League of Villains."

Sally looked at the four madmen. She recognized Bowser from the Olympic Games on Earth, but K. Rool and Wily were strangers to her. "What are you gonna do to me?" she demanded.

Eggman snapped his fingers, and out of the shadows stepped Shadow the Hedgehog, now a Roboticized Master himself. He had cylindrical legs that resembled a fusion between Shadow's actual legs and his air shoes, along with a Mobian muzzle reminiscent of Metal Sonic's with a black cone nose. He also had a small gray ridge beneath his red eyes. His red and and black fur had become metal armor, with silver and red protrusions on the sides of his head in place of ears.

Sally looked at Shadow Man in horror. "Shadow?" she asked. "What did you do to him?"

"He's one of our Roboticized Masters," Wily said proudly. "And soon, my impudent princess, you'll become one yourself."

Sally glared at them. "You won't win!" she yelled as Krusha and Metal Sonic dragged her to the Roboticization Chamber. "If Sonic doesn't come for me, then the other Freedom Fighters will!"

Eggman let out a devious laugh. "They'll be joining you soon enough."

Bowser typed a new destination into the portal, and it opened up, revealing the image of a tall green tower with what appeared to be a giant laser sticking out of the top window.

"And now, it's high time I meet this Gruntilda I've heard so much about," said Bowser.


Cauldron Keep, Isle O'Hags, The Mushroom World

At the very top of the Cauldron Keep, abandoned for two years, sat what was left of the evil witch Gruntilda Winkybunion, reduced to a disembodied skull with yellow eyes and a few ragged strands of hair.

"How the mighty have fallen," Grunty muttered to herself. As much as her need for vengeance against her arch-nemeses, Banjo and Kazooie, burned, it was, as of that moment, beyond her power.

"So, you must be Gruntilda."

Grunty turned as best as she could to see the hulking form of Bowser standing before her.

"And you're Bowser," she said, having heard of the Koopa king. "What's your business with me?"

"I've heard of you," Bowser replied, "and I figured we could work together to defeat our common foes." Grunty rolled her eyes.

"Well, I think I might take you up on that offer! I'll just stand up and we'll- Oh! Good heavens, look at this!" Grunty gasped in mock horror as she rolled left to right, emphasizing her disadvantage. "I'm nothing but a skull!"

Bowser lifted up the witch in one hand. "We'll figure something out." he said, before walking back into the portal.


The Castle, Bowser's Skull Egg Zone

Eggman, Wily, and K. Rool were still seated in the main room when Bowser came back through the portal, Gruntilda's skull in his hands.

Eggman looked at Grunty. "This is the great witch Gruntilda?" he asked. "A disembodied head?"

"Shut your mouth, fat man!" Grunty snapped. "I used to be so much more powerful and better-looking, until that Banjo came in and ruined everything! Curse that stupid bear to the Underwhere and back!"

K. Rool looked at her, his curiosity peaked. "Banjo?" he asked. "This Banjo, would he be a brown bear wearing a blue backpack and yellow shorts?"

Grunty looked at him, confused. "You know him?"

"He's friends with those infernal Kongs!" K. Rool exclaimed, before looking at Grunty. "Any friend of those flea-bitten monkeys is an enemy of mine, Grunty."

"Well, that's all good to know, but look at me," Grunty replied. "What exactly are you gonna do about this?!"

Eggman stroked his mustache, and then suddenly plucked one of the hairs from Grunty's skull. Grunty let out a pained yelp.

"Hmmm," Eggman said, examining the hair. "Tell me, Dr. Wily, could we use our technology to clone Gruntilda a new body?"

Wily thought for a minute, then nodded. "Normally, it would take a while, but with the difference in time-space here, it should be done in no time."

Grunty looked at them curiously. "Why would you do that for me?" she asked.

K. Rool smirked. "We villains have to look out for each other, especially when we share a common foe."

If Grunty had shoulders, she would have shrugged. "Can't argue with that."


Spiral Mountain, Isle O' Hags, The Mushroom World

A large airplane with a pink body, white underside and red on the tips of its engines touched down in the open quarry on the far right of Spiral Mountain. The Toad Express opened up its hatch doors, and a staircase popped out, down which descended Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Toad, DK, Diddy, Sonic, Tails, Mega Man, and Rush. Peach and Toad had insisted on coming along to help, and Mario couldn't talk them out of it.

Mario raised the Game Boy Horror. "According to the radar, there's a Power Star somewhere here on the Isle O'Hags." he said.

"I already called ahead to let Banjo and Kazooie know we're coming," Diddy said. "They said they'd help."

"Yeah, Banjo and we Kongs go way back," DK said. "We haven't really talked in a while, though."

"Hey, DK and Diddy!"

A Southern-accented voice reached the group's ears, and they turned to see a heavyset anthropomorphic bear with blue eyes, flesh-colored hands, feet, midsection, and muscle, and a bulbous black nose, dressed in a blue backpack and skintight yellow shorts and black belt with a shark-tooth pendant around his neck, running towards them. It was none other than Banjo.

"He-hey, Banjo!" Diddy declared excitedly, running at his old friend and high-fiving him. At that moment, Banjo's backpack opened up, and out popped a large bird with green eyes, a yellow bird, and feathers that were mostly red, with yellow on the tips of her wings, tail, and belly. Banjo's longtime best friend and sidekick, Kazooie.

"Long time no see, Monkey Boy," Kazooie said. Diddy smiled at her.

Sonic turned to DK. "Kazooie doesn't seem too friendly," he said to the tie-wearing Kong.

"Don't let it get to you," DK replied. "She's actually quite nice once you get to know her."

"Hey!" Kazooie said suddenly. "If you're gonna diss me, Spike Ball, diss me to my face!"

Sonic looked at her, annoyed. "Who's dissing whom, you overgrown chicken?"

"Sonic, c'mon," Tails said, embarrassed, as Banjo, Kazooie, and Diddy approached them.

"Chicken?" Kazooie said, offended. "Don't you know a red-crested breegull when you see one, you blue pincushion?"

"Kazooie!" Banjo said reproachfully. Kazooie looked at him, and let out a tired sigh. "Sorry, Sonic."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "You know who I am?"

Banjo nodded, holding out a hand, which Sonic shook. "Of course we do," he said. "Everyone in the Mushroom World knows about you and your friends from that Mobius place. We saw you compete in the Olympic Games on TV."

"Well, you haven't met me yet," Mega Man said, offering Banjo his hand, which Banjo shook. "My name's Rock Light, or Mega Man, whichever you prefer. This is Rush." Rush barked in response.

Banjo smiled at them, and looked at Peach, bowing politely. "Princess Peach," he said. "It's an honor to meet you."

"The honor's all mine, Banjo," Peach replied, smiling.

With that, Banjo jerked his head back, signaling for the group to come with him. "C'mon. We'll talk more at my house."

Mario nodded, and the group followed Banjo to his house.


The Castle, Bowser's Skull Egg Zone

Grunty sat impatiently, looking at the figure in the fluid-filled tank before her. The figure in question was an exact copy of Grunty's old body, green-skinned with a prominent chin and nose and black hair, clothed in a black cloak and witch's hat, a scarf and socks with an alternating pink-and-purple stripe pattern, and a pair of black Mary Jane shoes with red straps; Eggman and Wily had arranged for some of Grunty's minions, the Gruntlings, who remained loyal to her after all this time, to retrieve an extra set of clothes from her old lair to put on the body so they wouldn't have to see the sloppy mess underneath.

Eggman and Wily walked up to her at that moment, and Grunty turned to them.

"C'mon docs, time I lack. When do I get my body back?" she demanded. Eggman winced.

"Honestly, your rhymes are very irritating," he said.

Grunty rolled her eyes. "I've been told that."

"The body is finished," Wily said. "We just need to transfer your brainwaves into it, and you'll be good as new."

Grunty grinned. "Let's do it, then," she said. "I'll never underestimate the wonders of technology again."

Eggman picked up Grunty's skull and set it on a slot right next to the tank, proceeding to place a makeshift crown with multiple wires attached to it on her head. With that, he pressed a few buttons on the computer linked to the tank, and the wires lit up.

"Cerebral transfer commencing," a computerized voice said. As it went on, Grunty's pupils and irises shrank away into nothingness, while the body in the tank started to move. "Transfer complete."

Inside the tank, Gruntilda's eyes snapped wide open, and Eggman promptly pressed a button on the tank, draining the fluid out of it. The tank opened, and Grunty stepped out, flexing her hands and fingers.

"It's been so long since I had a body," she said happily, before releasing controlled bursts of magic from her palms. An evil grin spread across her green lips.

"Watch your backs, Banjo and Kazooie..." Gruntilda declared, clenching her fists as Eggman and Wily looked on.

"...'cause Grunty's back in the flesh!"

With that, Grunty spread her arms out wide, threw her head back, and let out an evil cackle. After a few moments, Eggman and Wily joined in.


Author's Note:

So yeah, this fic takes place two years after Banjo-Tooie and four years after Banjo-Kazooie, in an alternate timeline from Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

We'll be getting some real action from the heroes next chapter.

Please R&R. Until next time!