The Bowser Badlands

The Rush cycle landed on the ground, dashed up the hill, made a few quick turns and finally stopped. In front of the vehicle and its owner was Bowser's Castle. And what a contrast it was: A dark, gloomy fortress with imposing cannons mounted on the battlements. The castle was, and in many ways still is, the home of the Koopa Troop and one of King Bowser's many residences. And apparently King Bowser was home as the portcullis opened for the guest approaching.

Mega Man and Rush made their way throughout the castle, heading down the left side on the first turn that would apparently take them to the throne room. Along the way, Mega Man couldn't help but notice how uneasy Rush was towards the Bowser statues that lined the path.

Finally, they entered the throne room. It was simple: A long bridge with a throne that appeared bolted to the back wall. A switch was placed at the end of the bridge. Mega Man got off of Rush and looked around confused as to why he was led here. His unasked question was answered when King Bowser dropped down from the ceiling and gave a fearsome roar. Flames flew from his mouth.

"Mega Dork! I finally get to take you on!" Bowser gave a sinister chuckle. "Bet you weren't expecting to run into me eh?"

Mega Man's face grew dark as Bowser continued.

"You know I was talking to that Light guy right? Yeah, we had a dad-to-dad talk while you were beating up my star generals. It's a shame I didn't realize you were on your way here since I just sent him to look at the centerpiece of my amazing theme park!"

Mega Man looked towards Rush. The dog understood the significance of the look and beamed off to find Roll and the Light-bots. Mega Man turned back to Bowser. He spoke quietly and straightforward.

"Give it up Bowser. I want you to return Dr. Light. I want you to leave me and my family alone. And, most importantly, I want you to stop setting these types of examples for your son. You are sending him down a destructive road."

"No way! I'm not listening to some 'mightier-than-thou' machine that looks like an eight year old on how I should be raising my kid! Peach nags me enough about it as is…" Bowser chuckled. "Now, I don't usually bother with anyone who's not Mario or sometimes Sonic, but after hearing my son go on about you for so long, well, I just had to see if you live up to the hype. Bwahahahaha!"

"Glad to know Junior mentioned me." Mega Man responded. He unleashed a charge shot which Bowser spotdodged.

"You can shoot more than peas? That's good to know. But that shot was pathetic! You've gotta put some oomph into it! Like this!" King Bowser held his head back a bit before shooting out a giant fireball. Thinking quickly, Mega Man used Tornado Hold to leap over the blast. He landed a few feet in front of the flames which were now burning that section of the bridge. Opting for a quicker attack, Mega threw a Metal Blade at Bowser. His majesty was slower to react this time and staggered. Mega Man started making a break for it, but started backing up as he saw Bowser leap in his direction. The floor shook with his landing.

"For a giant turtle, he sure can move fast!" Mega Man thought. "How much does that shell weigh anyway?!" Mega Man quickly dodged out of the way of a Bowser shell falling, spikes-first. "On second thought, I don't want to know!"

His down aerial thwarted, Bowser grabbed Mega Man and leaped again. Flipping so the robot was directly beneath him, King Koopa body slammed the ground. Rubble fell from the roof and onto Rock as Bowser hopped a short ways away.

"Come on! Is that it?!" Bowser huffed when Mega Man did not respond. "And I was just getting started too!" Despite his complaints, Bowser was still taken aback as Mega Man unleashed a Flame Burst around him. Quickly venting his Mega Busters, Rock shot a Crash Bomb onto Koopa's face and ran for the other end of the bridge.

"Get back here and fight me, you stupid pile of bolts!" Bowser said right before the crash bomb detonated.

"Maybe later! I need to talk with your son!"

Mega Man hopped onto a button at the end of the bridge. The bridge did not collapse. Instead, the throne and the wall behind it lifted to reveal a road leading back to and above Bowser Land. Not daring to question or look back, Rock dodged a fireball and called in Rush who, once again, transformed into motorcycle mode. Mega Man hopped on and gunned down the road. Bowser glared at the retreating hero. He then pulled out his Bowser Phone.

"Frank. Tell all the Koopalings to meet me at the Arena before I play a delightful game of 'Stomp The Goomba.' Am I clear?"

Junior's Fort

"We've finished the tank, just as you asked Prince Bro-ser Junior!" One of the Monty Moles reported. Bowser Jr. hurried into the deployment room, eager to see his latest design come-to-life. He was not disappointed: The result was a heavily armed Landship which was combined with a larger size and the appearance of Bowser's Doomship. In addition to the Doomship elements (re-purposed from the Road Galleon) and the increased firepower, were two docking stations for clown cars to fix themselves onto. And lo and behold, two clown cars were already parked inside: The prince's beloved, newly rebuilt Junior Clown Car and a Gunner Car for the amiibo.

"It looks wicked!" Bowser Jr. shouted to his proud workers. "Let's see Mega Man stop this bad boy!" Bowser Jr. was so excited over his newly created death machine, he nearly bumped into his amiibo.

"Minion! You're back already?"

"You called him Mega Man."

They stared at each other. The minions found themselves in a difficult situation: wanting to leave, yet not really moving. A few began doing stuff in the background, hoping to justify their continued presence. Others started playing sappy dramatic music.

"Prince Bowsy… why do you want your dad and your friends-"

"Excuse me?"

"-Your…acquaintances to fail?"

Bowser Jr. shook his head at his amiibo.

"Don't you remember minion? We want Mega Dweeb to reach us so we can beat him up. Come on, keep up!"

"But why get your dad or the Koopalings involved at all if you want to do-"

"Because I needed more time! Mega Dweeb simply caught me off guard that one time! But this time I'll show him!"

"But why are you putting so much effort into this?" Dark Toon argued back.

"The amiibo's got a point." A Bob-Omb said quietly. "Why not just challenge him to a smash or something?"

Bowser Jr.'s face turned red and he shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Because I'm trying to prove something!" Bowsy spat out a stream of fire and, for a moment, his eyes appeared strangely reptilian. Suddenly he gripped his head and blinked. His eyes were back to normal. "Now, the rest of you! Go find something useful to do!"

Slightly miffed that their soap opera have been cut off, the Bowsy Battalion walked out into the city leaving only Junior and Dark Link. Junior turned back to the mech only for Dark Link to put a hand on his shoulder.

"We need to talk." He said bluntly.

But before anyone could say anything, a Monty Mole ran back into the room.

"Prince Bro-ser Jr.! The cameras picked up that thing the directory picked up earlier!"

Bowser Jr. hopped around giddily.

"It's him! Come on minion, we'll talk later!"

The duo raced over to the Land Galleon, ready to end this.

Finally.

"Is everything okay Roll?" Rock asked. Sounds of battle were heard on the other end of the call.

"We're doing just fine Rock!" Roll said into an earpiece. "We've got Dr. Light now and we're making our way out of the tower."

Rock smiled. Rush had gotten to them in time and so far the rescue attempt was working.

"Uh, Roll…"

"What's wrong Guts-Eep!"

"Roll! What's going on?!"

Roll did not respond. She and the rest of the Light-Bots were too busy looking at Bowser and the Koopalings who were all kooped up in the Koopa Clown Car. The Koopalings all held their wands at the ready while Bowser himself held a mike attached to the Clown Car.

"Welcome to 'Bonfire of the Fools' where I roast fools who do something wrong! Let's give a rousing applause to our latest contestants: the Light Family (sans 1 or 2)!"

The live studio audience clapped politely. Roll touched her earpiece.

"R-Rock…"

Bowser held up his mike, which began glowing, highlighting the clown face on it.

"Congratulations! That counts as 'something wrong'. You have won our grand prize: A Koopa powered beatdown!"

*Zap*

"Roll?! Roll!" Rock tried to redial, but it was clear that the connection was gone. Rush barked to tell Rock that they were approaching their destination: The roof of Bowser Jr.'s fortress in Junior Street.

Junior Street (less commonly referred to as Bowsy Boulevard) was the sizable casino counterpart to Bowser Land. It was filled with high rises and neon decorations. The decorations, such as statues of Bowsy and his father, were mostly to satisfy the prince's massive ego, although there were several that seemed to indicate the purpose of building they were near.

In stark contrast from the rest of the boulevard, the fort had a fantasy aesthetic, colorful and built to resemble a castle made of toy blocks. That was mostly where the similarities ended however. Undergrunt Gunners flew in specialized cannon clown cars around the fortress which floated in a giant basin of water. In the water were galleons, their guns trained at the bridge above, but not firing. The fortress was parked next to a ramp of some sort which led into the boulevard. A giant tower loomed in the far off distance.

Bowser Jr. himself was waiting on the roof alongside Dark Toon Link in a massive boat-like weapon. He giggled at his enemy.

"Welcome back Mega Dweeb! Or should I call you Rock?" He put a finger to his chin in thought. "Nah. I should call you 'My future second minion!'"

"Is that why you stole my parts and kidnapped my dad? Because you wanted me to be your minion?"

"Well not at first." Junior admitted. "At first, we just had your stupid parts and we were plannin' on keeping them. Then, you started gunning for me and I decided to help you get over being such a weenie. So when I'm through with you, you won't hesitate to put those sweet weapons of yours to good use! Such as serving the Koopa Army!"

Rush growled at the boys. Rock began charging his Mega Buster.

"This ends now Bowser Jr." He said.

"Fine. But let me tell you how this is gonna end: You and your dumb dog are gonna be nothing but scrap metal and I'm gonna have some new materials for my army's mechs!"

The ship's cannons fire on Mega Man who slid out of the way. Rush turned into its jet formation and allowed its owner to hop on. Mega Man began to fire on the tank, slowly wearing down the armor on it.

"His dog can fly?! Awesome!" Bowsy shouted. Dark Link looked at his owner's gushing and Bowsy pulled himself together. "I mean- Stop cheating! I'm gonna show you a true final boss!"

The vessal roared to life and drove down the ramp and into the boulevard. Bowser Jr. and Dark Link hopped into the clown cars at the stern. As soon as they did, homing Bullet Bills shot out of the side cannons and began chasing Mega Man. The Blue Bomber blasted the Bills with beams of plasma while his canine companion created compact pockets of pain for the terrible tank to endure. I would just like to take a moment and apologize for the previous sentence.

Junior and Dark Link focused on stalling their target. It won't be long until they reach

The Great Tower of Bowser Land

The war between the Koopa Clan and the Light Family was going strong as the Robot Masters fought off the Koopalings. The patriarchs of the families were supporting how ever they could: Dr. Light made on-the-field repairs while Bowser casted spells such as "Thundaga" and "STONE" with his microphone/wand.

"These guys are really takin' it Lord Bowser!" Roy reported as the battle came to a standstill. "Doesn't help that we've been taking a beatin' earlier."

"What are you guys talking about?" Lemmy asked in his naïve voice. "I'm perfectly fine."

Roy gave Lemmy a blank stare.

"Maybe because you gave him your key without a fight."

"But he asked nicely and he seemed so upset about having to fight! He looked like he could've used some cheering up!"

The Land Galleon continued shooting out Bills while its drivers tried to deflect any stray shots from the robots with well timed hammer swings. Alas, it was clear that the mech was on its way out as smoke started billowing from the insides.

"Bowsy…" Dark Toon said, worry clear in his voice.

"D-Don't worry!" Junior responded. "There's no way he could possibly destroy this mech so easily! Right?"

"Come on guys! We can win this!" Bowser shouted to his Koopalings. "Lemmy! Go to the frontlines and, for the love of Crazy Hand, don't stand in front of Beardy!"

"Why?" Lemmy asked before narrowly avoiding another Hadoken that Dr. Light was able to shoot. Bowser, Roy and Ludwig face palmed before their attention was taken by Oil Man who had just finished up tripping Larry.

"Stop! What's that all about over there?" He pointed in the direction of the approaching Land Galleon.

"Is that Mega Man flying around it?" Dr. Light asked.

"It is! Go Rock!" Roll cheered.

"But… That means…" Bowser thought to himself.

The Land Galleon was close and evidently in bad shape. Flames and explosions ate the body of the ship and it was only a matter of time before either reached the weapons stockpile. Mega Man flew in front of the tank, ready to catch the boys as they got out of the craft, but it was clear that something was terribly wrong. Bowsy and Blink were looking terrified, clearly panicking as they tried to eject the clown cars.

"Nothing's working!" Blink shouted as he tried to detach the gunner car to no avail. Bowser Jr. was slamming down on the eject button which didn't feel like co-operating.

"Come on, come on! Why won't this stupid thing-"

There was a brief explosion of light, during which the two drivers' expressions locked into terror-filled realization, before a much worse explosion rocked the area. Mega Man was only able to catch a split-second of the shouts and screams that arose before all of his sensors were knocked offline.

Rock's sensors came back online shortly after. He found Dr. Light, Roll, Rush and Auto looking down at him. Rush gave his owner an affectionate face lick, to which Rock giggled and gave a hug.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay Mega Man." Dr. Light said. "You've even managed to recover the Super Adaptor parts from Rush! I've reinstalled them, seeing as how you may need them soon…"

Rock beamed at his family, slightly confused by Dr. Light's last statement. Then, the previous events of the night hit him and the relieved smile quickly turned to a worried frown. He turned over to Koopa Clan. It was pandemonium: koopas, goombas, magikoopas and other creatures spilled out the tower en mass, the Koopalings either shocked or in hysterics. Bowser himself kept a stoic, angry glare that was made even more vicious by the shrunken pupils in his somewhat twitchy eyes. He was entirely focused on something over to the left.

Dread filled Rock as he turned to the left. He was greeted with the burning wreckage of the Land Galleon, most parts rendered unrecognizable by the explosion. Suddenly, Rock's memory component began playing the clip of Bowser Jr. and Toon Link attempting to escape, right up until the realization of what was about to happen dawned on them.

Rock began running to the debris. He had wanted to defeat Junior but he didn't mean to…

*THWACK*

A boxing glove caught Rock clean in the robot gut. Snide laughter was heard from the rubble.

"Aw, Mega Loser was scared that he actually killed me."

Bowser Jr. and Dark Link flew above their target in their clown cars. Whether it was via improved shielding or they managed to activate the ejection mechanism (or, you know, do that thing Bowsy does whenever he uses "Abandon Ship!") the brats had escaped their apparent demise and were looking to finish the fight. Mega Man readied his buster, but Bowsy had other plans. Gesturing to himself with two fingers, the koopa prince and his cohort flew up to the first balcony of the Great Tower. Mega Man grit his teeth and summoned Rush to follow.

The balcony was right below the clouds, lit up primarily by the giant neon Bowser logo. Rain began falling as Mega Man landed there and approached Bowser Jr., wary of Dark Toon Link's absence.

"You just had to cheat and destroy my awesome tank, didn't you Mega Man?" Bowser Jr. muttered under his breath a little bit. "Do you know how mad Dad'll be with me when he sees his old kart destroyed?! Looks like I'll just have to finish you with my clown car!"

To that end, the Junior Clown Car activated its' boxing gloves and began flying in Mega Man's direction. Mega Man readied his buster to counterattack, only for Dark Toon Link to attack him. Mega Man shielded the attack, only to get grabbed by the car's claw. Finally, he charged up a Mega Buster shot, only for Dark Toon to bite off his left hand.

"Hehehe! Not looking so high and mighty now, are you Rock?!" Bowsy shouted amidst Mega Man's agonized screaming. "Now let's see what we can do about that dumb personality of yours!" Bowser Jr. pulled out a hammer from inside his car and was moments away from attempting to break open Mega Man's cranium unit when the Mega Man held up his remaining hand.

"Hold on!"

Bowser Jr., the Junior Clown Car and Blink all held on (less so Blink who was munching on one last bolt) and allowed the robot boy to escape the hold. Mega Man simply said four words:

"We need to talk."

Bowser Jr. grew furious at those words and was about to launch into a rant about how he was perfectly fine thank you very much and Mega Dweeb over here is in no position to talk with him: The Great Demon Prince Koopa, when something fell from the sky and blew the combatants to opposite sides. The dust settled to reveal the original Koopa Clown Car, with eight angry koopas inside.

"Hey Rainbow Warrior Miracle Battle Knuckle Mighty Rockman Kid! We didn't finish our fight earlier!"

Bowser and the Koopalings glared at their prey as the clown car began hovering off the ground again. Bowsy was shocked to find his father and… acquaintances there.

"P-papa! I thought you and the Koopalings were fighting off the old guy and his robots!"

"Bah! We both know that Santa and his sack of toys are nothing compared to this bad boy!" Bowser affectionately patted the car with his clawed hand. "In fact, they ran off once I started slamming all over the place! The same can't be said for our buddy Mega Fail here."

Mega Man held out his remaining buster in self-defense, but seeing as he is still one arm short (and the missing arm being his left one no less) there really wasn't much he could do. Rush seemed to notice this and teleported back to the lab to find a spare arm and possibly an E-Tank.

"You see blue boy, at first I was on board with the idea of making you an addition to Koopa Clan. Maybe even dish out a bit of irony to Big Beard too. But when I saw that landship blow up and thought that Junior was… Well, all bets were off then."

"But I…"

Bowser Jr. and Dark Toon Link watched silently.

"Shut it! So now, I'm gonna finish you! Leaving as little of you as I can without offing you! Even better if I can keep you as a head."

Mega Man looked around anxiously. If Rush doesn't get back soon….

Bowser continued. "And that's not all! You know that place you live? Monstermegapolis or whatever it was? I'm gonna go back there. And I'm gonna conquer it! And I'm not just talking a simple takeover. Oh no! Your city- heck, COUNTRY- is gonna get a taste of what happens to my captured regions."

Bowser gestured to the badlands, with their rivers of lava, active volcanos, chains and the occasional war cannon firing. "See that? That's what it'll all look like."

Rock's systems heated up with rage as he imagined his home turned into a literal hell on earth. Still, Bowser Sr. went on.

"Finally, if that doctor guy still slips away somehow, I will break you into pieces so tiny that they won't be able to tell where you began and where you ended."

The Koopalings stared at Bowser in stunned silence.

"Lord Bowz, what the hell?" Roy asked.

"I daresay your tirade against our intruder transformed into something much more sadistic in tone." Motron pointed out.

Bowser glared at them rather defensively.

"Hey! 'Great Demon King Koopa' remember? I'm a cool guy, fun at parties, but when I'm enraged or on the clock, I go full-on tyrant." Bowser picked up his mike again before turned his attention back to Mega Man who was now visibly shaking. "But would you look at that! We're almost out of time! Mega Wimp, do you have any final words?"

"You're a monster!"

"Thanks for that obvious statement Rock." The Koopalings all held up their wands, allowing their magic to flow into Bowser's microphone. Bowser held it in Rock's direction. "I'm sorry Mega Man, but you're off the air!"

Bowser aimed the wand and prepared to fire, but was thwarted by his clown car suddenly toppling over. Mega Man looked towards Bowser Jr. and Toon Link, the former having just used clown cannon to incapacitate his father's craft. To their credit, both boys were shocked that Junior actually went through with it. However, the koopa prince's eyes locked onto Mega Man and grew cold. Just from the stare, Mega Man recognized that Bowser Jr. blamed him for making him do that. Junior flew further up the great tower, past the clouds while ignoring the shouts of his amiibo, his… acquaintances and his father.

Mega Man wasn't ready to stop just yet though. He had gone too far to let it all end like this. Mega Man summoned Rush and went straight for the Super Adaptor transformation without bothering to reattach the arm first. The result was a red armor Mega Man with rocket fists and a jetpack, to the awe of the Koopa Troop.

"He has obtained an air propulsion device!" Morton shouted.

"Sweet." Roy said.

"Get back here Bowser Jr.!" Mega Man said as he and Rush tapped into the power of the newly upgraded Super Adapter. The Koopa Troop watched, seething with annoyance as Mega Man and Rush rocketed above the clouds after the Junior Clown Car.

"He got away Lord Bowser." Ludwig sighed. "He's going to confront Bowsy up there. We won't be able to keep up with them, all of us in this."

"Are we gonna wait back at the castle?" Lemmy asked.

"No." Bowser looked up, watching the clouds despite the sheets of rain falling into his special eyes. "There is another way." With that, Bowser held up the belt he received from Junior. The Koopalings gasped in shock.

"Lord Bowser, you can't be serious!" Wendy yelled out. Bowser remained with a steely gaze.

"My son needs me." Bowser slammed the belt onto his chest before pointing to the ground. Black Lightning erupted from the tips of his claws and struck the Bowser Mobile, turning it into scrap. Then, shockingly, the scrap pieces began floating towards the Koopa Clown Car…

The Skies surrounding and above the Great Tower

Bowser Jr. coasted through the air, tapping his fingers impatiently on the rim of his vehicle.

"Where is he?" The boy questioned. "Come on Mega Man, this is the showdown! My finest hour! I know you'll reach me somehow…"

A flying fist striking his vessel told him that he was correct.

The clown car turned around to glare at its enemy who threw the attack: The Super Adapter equipped Mega Man. "There you are Rock! I was wondering if you went home crying because you couldn't reach me!""

Mega Man stared down the youth. "This is the end Bowser Jr. There is nowhere else to run. With my upgraded adapter I can catch you no matter how fast you fly!"

Despite this revelation, Bowser Jr.'s smirk didn't go away.

"Look around you Rock! This is the grand finale! Papa told me that the most important part of a final battle is to have an awesome backdrop for the showdown. You may be able to keep up with me, but that simply makes it even more satisfying as I crush you to pieces!"

The battle began with Bowser Jr. launching a steely at Mega Man. The Blue Bomber staffed out of the way to avoid getting hit by the cannonball and countered with another rocket fist. Unfortunately, the koopa became wise to the tactic and barrel-rolled his way out of dodge. Then he rushed in, apparently attempting to ram Rock with his vessel. Mega Man prepared for the impact, only to be caught off-guard by the boxing gloves that quickly caught him in a jab, but he managed to escape before Junior could land the finishing blow. Using the lag at the end of the attack, Mega Man shot off several Ice Slashers at the koopa prince. Junior's fire breath managed to melt all of them, but this distracted him from a bum-rushing Mega Man who got a Slash Claw on him. Growling deeply, Bowser Jr. activated his dome shield and began firing small spiked balls and fireballs haphazardly. Mega Man was forced to use Slash Claw to parry them all. Once the last ball was reflected and fell to the ground, the robot looked around the firework filled sky. The Junior Clown Car was nowhere in sight.

"Where…"

"Try this on for size Rockman!"

Rock barely had time to process the figure in the clouds before the Junior Clown Car slammed hard into him, knocking him into the tower. Poor Rush began whining. Mega Man grabbed the car and began trying to pry it off of him.

"Aw, is wittle wock stuck?" Junior teased from inside his machine. Rock finally pried the brat off of him and attempted to punch his lights out. This was harder accomplished than said since Bowser Jr. was in a particularly boxy mood, with the clown car's arms mimicking the driver's movements. Blows were exchanged, countered, all up until a wrecked Rock attempted to slash a battered Bowsy with the Flame Sword only to be countered by the Magic Paintbrush. Bowser Jr. eventually broke off and flew far above his father's tower. Due to the improved flight capabilities of Rush Adapter, Mega Man was able to easily keep pace. It was there, at the highest point in the Koopa Kingdom, that the two combatants began preparing their attacks.

"I will not allow a future of more evil. This needs to end." Mega Man computed as he charged up his Mega Buster. It would not be until sometime after the fight that the gravity of that sentence would sink in.

"I finally found someone who thinks of me as a threat! I can't mess up after coming so far!" Bowser Jr. thought as he screwed up his face to prepare his fire breath at a level far beyond his previous attempts. They locked eyes, determined and furious.

They fired at the same time.

…

The sky was quiet (discounting the constant fireworks that were continuously going off) as the fighters fell to the ground. On one end were two heavily damaged robots, on the other, a decrepit prince and his trashed vehicle. Shockingly, neither of the two boys were trophies and even more staggeringly, they both got up. They themselves seemed stunned by this revelation as they gave their opponent a glare that bordered on madness.

"BOWSY!"

"ROCK!"

"SHOWTIME!"

The owner of the third voice flew in from clouds. It was King Bowser, decked out in a purple, more fearsome version of his "Yoshi's Safari" armor, now with a jet pack for mobility.

"Super Fighting Koopa," Bowser sang, "Bowser Man!"

Rush began whining. Bowser pointed his hand busters at Mega Man.

"Fighting to stomp… Losers!"

Rock couldn't tell what happened after that. One minute he was watching King Koopa charge his hand busters, the next he was falling off the tower. The last sight he saw before his system failed was the greenish morning sky of the badlands.

The studio was silent as everyone in the audience digested the details of that last fight.

"You mean I killstole from my own son?!" Bowser realized. "Yeesh. Sorry about that boy. I'll try and keep that in mind next time you find somebody to plot against. Still, not even people from outside the Mushroom Kingdom can take me out! Pretty sweet aye?"

Neither Rock nor Bowsy responded. In fact, judging by the looks on their faces, they both seemed to reliving a rather painful memory that had occurred after the fight. Mega Man gave Bowser Jr. a meaningful look and while Bowsy did begin to turn in the robot boy's direction, he instead averted his eyes.

"Ah, the joys of hearing about two MORTALS fight to the death. It does my black cold heart good to hear that tale." Grima said.

"I wasn't in it so I couldn't care less." Zanza muttered in the background.

"It doesn't matter Zanza. All that matters is that everything is wrapped up quite nicely."

"Actually, after the fight I woke up near Bowsy-" Bowser Jr. jabbed Rock in the chest.

"And now, I have two new vassals!"

Rock and Bowser Jr. looked at Grima.

"What…" Rock began asking before the doors burst open.

"Rock! Bowsy!" Princess Peach ran into the studio and held both boys in a choke-hold, flooding the studio with tears. "Oh Rock! I'm sorry you had to go through all that! If only the other smashers and I had learned about all this earlier!"

"Weren't all of you there?!" Rock asked, er, gurgled. Or whatever the robot equivalent of gurgling is.

"And Bowsy, how could you do something like that?! Don't you have anything to say for yourself?!"

Bowser Jr. made an obscure gang sign. Peach gasped and dropped the youngsters into the rough waters, somehow not losing her footing or stability herself.

"Oh dear. Your father has been more of a negative influence then I thought. And I thought quite a lot."

"Excuse me?" Bowser swam over to where Peach was and pulled a plug that was covering a drainage hole placed conveniently in the center of the room. The water flowed out, taking everyone except the hosts and guests outside, screaming curses and promises of vengeance as they vanished. "You are a liar Toadstool! I am an excellent parent! Just because my son almost died and is competing in a violent fighting tournament, doesn't mean that my parenting skills lousy."

Peach gave Bowser her best "are you serious?" look. But before she could get into an extended critique about Bowser's ability to raise a child, Rock and Bowsy stood up. Their eyelids were drooped. Grima laughed manically.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted I now have these two fools under my control! And now I shall demonstrate! Rockman! Koopa Junia! Eliminate these two amusing pests."

"Yes Lord Grima."

Mega Man materialized his armor while Bowser Jr. pulled out his paintbrush and raised his mask. Peach and Bowser nervously backed away from the vassals until they were backed against a wall.

"Okay Peachy," Bowser said. "I know things look bad now, but surely I'll think of something and we can finally go back to my castle."

"Why did you allow Junior and Rock to go on this show?"

"I thought I could trust Grima."

"A giant former fell-dragon that destroyed everything in an alternate timeline? Seriously?!"

"Well excuse me princess! I think you would have done the same thing!"

As soon as Bowser said the words "Excuse me princess" Grima's hold over the two broke. For a moment, they were still… then they broke into a dust cloud of fighting, screaming and general anger. The royals were unaware of what to make of this. Bowser crossed his arms and chuckled.

"See what I mean? I told you I'd think of something." Bowser wiped his hands, picked up the pouting princess and sauntered out of the studio. Grima watched them leave before glancing at the clock.

"My word! We're just about out of time! Tomorrow, we interview Mr. Resetti about the consequences of resetting and the depths to which he will sink to prevent it! Tune in next time."

"I know I will!" Bowser proudly announced.

"Did you seriously run back in to say that? Really?"

"Peach, I swear!"

"It's not fair…"

Rock's eyes shot open as his audio receptors picked up Bowser Jr.'s whining, meaning he has rebooted. The first thing he noticed was that he was floating in an unmodified Gunner car, denoted by its red rim and cannon in lieu of a face. He looked to the side to see the Junior Clown Car floated alongside, its face mimicking its owner's of disappointment. He briefly wondered if they were alone, but saw Bowser celebrating with the Koopalings on the Great Tower's balcony. The amiibo was nowhere to be seen.

"I was supposed to beat you!" Bowsy whined further. "Dad was gonna be so proud of me when you were nothing but a trophy!"

Mega Man silently sat on the rim of the clown car. His face was completely stoic.

"Bowsy-"

"Shut up Mega Man! Just stuff what you're gonna say and go whine to stupid Ness and his stupid gang of friends! And my name is Bowser Ju-"

"Bowsy." Rock started again. He sounded extremely weary. "I have fought against Dr. Wily's forces at least sixteen times now, maybe more. I have cornered Wily everytime, only for him to escape. I even captured Wily only for him to escape a couple weeks after. And there is a big difference between me and Mario, Sonic or Pac Man.

"I do not enjoy my work.

"Mario, Sonic and Pac Man usually see their battles as fun adventures they undertake from time to time and have the time of their lives. I am constantly sent after a mad man who sends robots (sometimes innocent robots) to cause widespread destruction. He is constantly toying with my mind. And every time he escapes, he does something even worse than before. And when I got invited into the smash tournament? When I got to meet my successors? I learned all about how he ruined the chance for peace that Dr. Light was dreaming of and instead caused destruction that he could only previously have dreamed of! And you know the worst part? The part that terrifies me?! I think back to that one night, after he escaped jail and had I known then what I know now, I definitely would have-"

Rock's voice cut out from the sheer anguish that he was feeling. Bowser Jr. was stunned. He never saw Rock as human as everyone else did until now. The robot boy looked back at Junior with sad pleading eyes and spoke.

"It disgusts me-infuriates me-pains me to see you take something like that as acceptable behavior. You still have a chance to change. Please. Do not grow up like your father. You will not win. Just as, no matter how fed up I got, I always won, you will always lose. You know how badly tonight could have ended for you."

Rock offered a hand.

Junior was silent and motionless. He slowly began to reach for Rock's hand. Sadly, he had a change of heart and pulled back.

"Yeah right! So I have a change of heart, go to all those losers who hate me, make myself look pathetic and go right back to being ignored? Ha! No thanks Mega Dweeb! But nice try! For a second I thought you cared! Glad to know you're a liar!"

Mega Man grew tense. He was losing Junior. He had to speak wisely.

"But you'll have friends there…"

Big mistake.

Bowsy turned on Mega Man and interrupted with a borderline roar.

"I don't need friends! As long as I have Papa, my minion and my battalion, friends don't mean nothing to me! And don't even bring up those seven traitors! As soon as Dad conquers the world, I'm moving my house and my city somewhere SUPER faraway from them!"

"Just because Bowser didn't take you kart racing?!"

"It's not just the kart racing!" Junior took out his Magic paintbrush and furiously drew something on the wall. "People don't support me because they like me! Nobody likes me! Everyone loves them! Everyone takes them seriously! But me?! 'It's just Bowsy, nothing to worry about! Bowsy is worthless compared to them!' They didn't need to steal my paintbrush! They didn't need to steal my clown car! They didn't need to steal everything that made me me!"

Bowser Jr. shrieked at one of the windows on the tower. He succeeded in shattering completely. He fell silent.

"I-I thought I got in be-because I had potential. Because they saw in me what D-dad did. T-that I was worthy of being a f-fighter. BUT NO! I'M NOW TIED TO THEM!" Junior stopped and took a deep breath. "Go home Rock. Only two people in this stinking tourney care about me and neither of them are related to any of those losers you hang out with."

"But…"

"I said go."

Mega Man sadly began to fly the gunner car away from the prince. He made one last ditch effort to appeal to him though.

"Well, just so you know, I do think you have potential of some sort. That's what I'm afraid of. Also, you're wrong." Rock gave a welcoming smile. "There is someone in the tourney who cares about you."

Bowsy gave Rock a confused look followed up by a venomous one once realization set in. With the last attempt falling flat, Rock gave a dejected wave before flying off to the Badland woods to find somewhere to ditch the car. As soon as Rock vanished from view. Bowsy flew into the tower and began bawling on the floor. That stupid robot. Tricking him into revealing all that. Junior's tears were momentarily halted when he felt someone tussle his hair. He looked up to find Dark Toon Link, who had been watching as per instructed from one of the neighboring windows. Junior grabbed his tunic and continued crying into it.

We need to talk, The amiibo thought. Not now obviously. The prince was in no mood to say anything more than what was already said. As things were, the only course of action was to move him back to his bedroom and help with breakdown recovery. So Blink pulled Prince Junior to his feet and they walked to the elevator. Junior never let go of the amiibo during this time.

Almost 20 pages altogether...

But it's over.

...Kinda.

I have two alternate endings to this arc in place of the epilogue, both cut due to relying on older versions of the plotline. I'm not sure where to put them (if I should put them somewhere at all) and I'm tempted to make a bonus mini-chapter. Otherwise, I may simply put them up on deviantART (the first good use of my deviantART account).

Either way, the chaos and calamity continue next time in "Like A Cat Out of Hell" where, well...

"Gentlemen." Bowser turned to the rest of the Legion of Doom. "I think we may need pay Straight Boy and Punching Bag a little visit in the future." With that, the meeting adjourned. The three Melee vets stayed behind, thinking about how Roy, General of Lycia and representative of Pherae, is going to be entering the fourth cycle.

Featuring DLC Fighters and recycled plot points from Adventure Mode!

...Of course that's all assuming I don't do a story arc based on Mario Maker first. Here's something in case I don't actually do that:

"Stop slacking!" Bowser yelled at a few more goombas as they hurried to attach the Time Skimmer to the repaired Timulator. "If that machine isn't strong enough to teleport the entire castle, you'll have to sit though twelve more tutorials!" A few weaker minded minions shrieked and pushed harder.

Final note: I do not intend for the Koopalings to come off as antagonistic towards Junior. It's moreso his paranoia that's fueling his anger.

See you next chapter!

Not so same Bowser time

Probably same Bowser place