Unbridled Hatred
Welcome back to another installment in Strikers Road Climb and I hope you had a great thanksgiving and are currently enjoying your time off school. In this chapter Mario and Bowser go at it once again with Bowser trying to avenged his lose to Mario in what's sure to be a fun chapter to read.
I always say this but I do not own Mario or Super Mario Strikers all rights go to Nintendo and Next Level Games
Week five was here and Strikers was still skyrocketing in popularity. It seemed like people couldn't get enough of the full contact sport. Though many supported different captains they all could agree on that the sport brought them together.
Week five kicks off with Bowser visiting Mario then following in primetime with DK playing Peach at Crater Field.
Mario and Bowser were set to do battle once again as they play arguably their most important game of the season.
Mario could lock up the number one seed achieving home field advantage for the knockout rounds if he could manage to get past Bowser here today.
Bowser with the victory could tie Mario in the standing with a four and one record. The Koopa king would still be behind the red plumber because of goal differential. But if Donkey Kong could pull the upset versus Mario next week and Bowser winning against Peach he, not Mario would have home field advantage in the playoffs.
Both teams were lined up just waiting for the arrival of their captain. The decided location for the showdown is none other than Pipeline Central.
Built in honor of Mario and Luigi. The completely concrete field sat on top of a skyscraper in the massive Mushroom City. So high in the air it made it quite hard to sometimes breathe for the twenty thousand people the arena can hold and the players.
Mario visited the stadium earlier in the week. He was astonished by the freshly renovated building restoring the old girl to her beauty. Mario shed a few tears letting it sink in and even hugged the purple Toad who brought him there.
A light drizzle covered the field along with a fog surrounding the stadium. People were still walking in finding their seats with game attire, signs, and food. Even the Shy Guy with the comically large red foam finger came to watch the game once again near Kingston's goal.
Being Mario's homefield Mario was the home team on the left half. Bowser occupied the right half of the field as the hated away team.
"So this is our home field?" Dean asked, inquiring about the all concrete pitch.
"Yep" Kenny answered before speaking again;
"Pipeline Central is another old field we used to use in the old Strikers game. It was the official stadium of the Flower Cup"
"Did you guys win the Flower Cup?" Henry asked, wanting to know.
"No, Waluigi somehow won but I'm pretty sure he cheated" Kenny replied.
"From what I heard of him it's probably true" Dean chimed in knowing that the lanky purple rival of Luigi was a shady character.
The three friends shared a laugh together before being rudely interrupted.
"Do you idiots ever shut up?"
The three shelled friends turned their heads to where the voice came from. They determined the voice belonged to was none other than Boo.
Boo had a sly smile on his face as he spoke;
"It baffles me how you chumps are winning games"
Henry was quickly angered by the offhand remark and threw his own jab back at the paranormal one.
"Well it baffles me how someone who's dead can even play Strikers"
"Um, Henry?"
"What!" Henry quickly said back to Kenny who grabbed his attention.
Kenny said nothing and just pointed to the left of Henry.
Henry turned and saw Dean with a straight face with narrowed eyes staring daggers at the Hammer Bro.
"Oops, ...my bad buddy" Henry said nervously taking back the offensive comment. Dean said it was fine and after a short handshake the both of them were surprised by someone's' sudden appearance.
Bowser crashed in and with full gusto he roared a mighty roar while displaying his ferocious fire breath. His reception was less than welcoming. Heavy boos poured in from the Mushroom City residents. Some who used to be Koopa Kingdom citizens who defected to Peach's domain.
Bowser wasn't affected by the sour crowd even throwing his own barbs at the not so positive legion of spectators. Bowser then turned his focus on the three sidekicks of the portly plumber eyeing them.
"You three have betrayed not only me but the entire Koopa Kingdom by playing for the sworn enemy of the state" Bowser declared, speaking about Mario.
"You three are traitors and will be severely punished" Bowser threatened making his way to the red sidekicks.
Kenny, Henry and Dean took a step back but stood their ground as Bowser slowly approached them. Just as Bowser took his first step across the midfield line someone came in the nick of time and blocked the king of the Koopa Kingdoms' path to the Fireballs sidekicks.
"Step-a back Bowser"
Mario stood up with a grim expression directing his anger to the koopa king. The stadium erupted with cheers at the arrival of the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Bowser was unfazed but did stop his march forward. Even with a three and one record Bowser still had a bad taste in his mouth losing to his most hated nemesis.
"So you finally decide to show up" Bowser rhetorically asked not letting Mario say a word back before speaking again;
"I plan on returning the favor and handing you a humiliating defeat just like you did to me"
"I-a doubt it Bowser, this will-a be a repeat performance like-a last game" Mario declared vowing a another victory.
Bowser gritted his teeth but a whistle was blown telling the two captains to stop stalling and began the match. Both reluctantly obliged and gave each other one final glare before walking to their respective team.
The league gave the sides two minutes to prepare for any last minute adjustments and talks with their team. Done with preparations both teams lined up now ready to do battle in the sky.
Mario and Bowser man the front as strikers, Kenny and Boo were holding the left field, Henry and Monty Mole as right midfielders, both Dry Bones from both teams stayed in the back and finally Kingston and Bowser's yellow armored Kritter set shop in goal.
With that all set and the crowd getting more and more anxious with every second a loud whistle was blown kicking off the first game of week five in Fire Cup play.
Mario touched the ball first dodging a Bowser slide tackle leading with his metal claws at the last possible moment. Mario passed the ball back feeling the looming threat of Bowser on his tail.
Kenny snagged the ball running trying to cross the half field line. Bowser and Boo quickly gave chase surrounding the Koopa. Kenny called Henry giving him a heads up lobbing the ball in his direction.
The metal sphere crossed the field with ease from Kenny's great pass. Henry waited in the area the steel ball would land but Bowser's Dry Bones came in great speed knocking Henry down. Henry tumbled in the electric fence much earlier than he would have liked.
The yellow armored Dry Bones intercepted the ball and ran deep into Mario's territory. He was soon met by Dean who cornered him along the electric fence and both stopped waiting for the other to make a move.
The yellow dressed Dry Bones tried to escape running trying to evade Dean. Dean however reacted fast and checked the Dry Bones into the voltage fence. Dean recovered the ball and passed the ball to Kingston to reset the game.
Mario had the steel ball around midfield. He soon encountered Monty Mole in his way. Mario remembered the cheap shot and fully intended to get the rodent back.
Mario threw three blue shells freezing Monty Mole solid in place. Mario passed the ball off then immediately checked Monty Mole breaking him from his icy cocoon in a almost identical way the gopher did to Mario in their week two encounter.
Boo had the ball speeding along the left sideline turning transparent at a whim if danger was remotely close. Boo passed the ball to Bowser's Dry Bones near midfield.
Dry Bones was attacked by Mario knocking him down to the hard semi wet concrete ground. Mario stole the ball and entered Bowser's side of the field with no resistance.
Mario ran straight at goal dribbling the ball in front of him. Bowser's Kritter was the last line of defense and stepped forward ready to meet the red plumber. However the yellow goalie took too many steps forward and was standing outside his goal box.
Mario noticed how far out the goalkeeper was out and chipped the ball. The Kritter was caught off guard and tried to back up as fast as he could but he tripped over his own foot and fell to the ground. The ball made its way into the net crossing the goal line scoring.
Mario ran with his hands up doing a flip then sliding on his knees with the cheers of the people fully behind him.
Mario got up and saw Bowser walking back his way. Mario flashed a smug smirk at his longtime enemy rubbing it in early. Bowser puffed white steam out his nostrils clearly heated and fuming.
Mario regrouped with his team making his way to his side. A few words were exchanged by the four but nothing special. Everyone got back in place to resume with three minutes and thirty seven seconds left in the game.
Bowser kickoff passing the ball back to his Dry Bones. Dry Bones stayed behind Monty Mole for protection. Henry tried to get around Monty but Monty's better range of attack proved to be the deciding factor as he knocked Henry back into the electric fence.
With Henry handled no one was near the ball for Mario's team leaving Dry Bones all alone.
Bowser's Dry Bones started charging his shot building up power in the ball. He kicked the metal ball sending his shocker shot at high speeds.
Kingston was zapped, unable to move when made contact with the high voltage weapon.
The white hue ball came soaring back to Dry Bones waiting to send the ball back while Kingston was unable to do anything. He was then rammed on his side by Kenny crashing on the hard pavement as Kenny stole the ball and hurried off.
Bowser had the ball on his side of the field. It was still one to zero and about a minute had passed since the second kickoff. Bowser was getting frustrated. Mario was besting him and his team leading to his miff mood and decided to take action into his own hands.
Bowser threw red shells targeting the red team knocking Mario and two of his sidekicks down. Bowser ran unopposed with the ball passed Mario's nonexistent defense. Only Henry was left standing as none of the homing shells targeted him.
Bowser jogged not fearing the Hammer Bro at all. Henry ran to Bowser showing no hesitation running with a full head of steam.
Bowser waited for Henry to get closer and hid under his shell chuckling lowly. Under his shell Bowser expected to hear a cry of pain often earned from someone making contact with his sharp pointy spikes on his shell. But he didn't hear a shriek of agony he secretly loved hearing and popped his head from under his sturdy exterior.
Henry was standing above Bowser with a hammer in hand with an iron grip. Henry had learned from his previous encounter with Bowser and when he secluded himself under his shell he was impenetrable from attacks and could hurt you if you got close. So Henry backed off and waited for the king to reveal himself in a compromising situation.
Henry smashed his hammer on the top of Bowser's head with everything the boastful one had.
Bowser struck out his tongue with bulging eyes that almost popped out of his head. His arms and legs were stretched all the way aimed up finishing the over exaggerated scene.
Bowser started seeing stars after the blunt force on his head leaving him dazed. Henry took the ball and smacked the metal sphere out of Fireballs' territory back over to Bowser's side.
Henry ran along following the ball laughing at the expense of the king of the Koopas as Bowser raised his head in annoyance as a little bump raised on his head.
Both sides showed extreme brutality to one another expressing their feelings. Illegal attacks were not uncommon usually resulting in a one way trip into the electric fence.
The officials however had a difficult time tracking all the penalties having a hard time following the action. Both teams never realized they had items in their inventory and just continued to check each other. The refs just gave up trying to follow along and let the two bitter rival teams go at it.
Kenny was chasing the ball after it became free. Boo also gave chase closely behind Kenny in the race. Kenny was ahead but Boo traveled at a faster rate gaining ground on the Koopa. Both were neck and neck almost to the ball sitting on the field.
Three bob-ombs dropped from the sky. They started flashing red as their fuse went down signaling they were ready to blow.
Kenny and Boo were blasted off in the sky by the unexpected explosive. Carbon spread in the air and flowed through the wind despite the light shower. The black ash attached to Kenny and Boo leaving soot on their faces and gear alike.
Kingston had the ball after rolling it way to him and scooped the ball in his metal gloves. He had not had a lot of action this game.
Three saves and one was with his face from Bowser's Dry Bones skillshot but other than that it was a fairly uneventful day for him. He saw Dean wipe open in front of him and threw the ball to his defensive friend.
Dean passed the ball to Mario who was upfield in Bowser's half of the field.
Mario took the ball dribbling around dodging and weaving his way past Bowser and his sidekicks then lobbed the ball to his right.
Henry was who the pass was intended for and was perfectly set up for the powerful Hammer Bro. Henry jumped and kicked the ball from the right sideline sending the volley at Bowser's goal.
Bowser's Kritter was ready and caught the volley with little effort. The ball being barely charged helped the goalie with the not so powerful shot even by Henry's standards.
The game continued as both teams pushed their weight around on each other offensively. Each side had turns of taking multiple attempts on goal only for the other to counter them and press on to attack.
Mario had the ball once again leading a charge. Bowser put a stop to the attack by checking with a lot of force sending the plumber to the ground with the hard hit.
The crowd did not like this one bit and booed Bowser with loud boos and jeers.
Bowser unfazed took the ball upfield and took a shot on goal. Kingston swatted the ball that tried getting over his head.
The ball rolled back on to the pitch finding its way to Monty Mole. Monty saw the ball rolling his way and booted the steel sphere sending it back to Kingston.
Kingston dove to his left blocking the shot but was not able to catch the slippery ball wet from the rainy conditions letting the ball rebound out on the field once again.
Bowser took a second shot this time closer than his last shot from before. Kingston, having little time to react put his hands in front of his face blocking the steel ball.
The ball flew high in the air hardly visible because of the fog. The ball came down Bowser's way. Bowser got ready for an ill-conceived third shot on target in the last fifteen seconds but was cut off by Dean sprinting in and toppling the ruler of the Koopa Kingdom in the electric fence ending Kingston's brick wall like performance.
Items were still used as Mario and his team used blue shells freezing the competition in their tracks. Bowser responds by calling in a Chain Chomp as a counter.
The giant animal was menacing and feral. A danger to society many fear the wild chain ball creature often hearing the stories of the ravenous beast. The Strikers League loved the idea of a terrifying weapon that could as easily make any player tremble in their cleats as turning the tide of the game.
The colossal unchained Chain Chomp landed on who had the ball who was unfortunately Henry as the turtle's painful afternoon just kept adding on.
The untamed brute soon gave chase to Mario and the rest of his sidekicks, chomping his sharp shark like teeth and leaving a trail in the concrete surface that would need some good repairs after the game.
Mario and Kenny were the next to be caught by the aggressive Chain Chomp. Mario had it particularly bad as the Chain Chomp gobbled him up and spat him out face first in the high voltage barrier.
Dean knew he was next and ran for his undead life. Dean was able to outpace the massive ball monster dodging the unruly one's bites.
Dean ran straight to Bowser with the Chain Chomp hot on his heel. Bowser was puzzled.
Why was Mario's sidekick coming his way?
But he was thrilled at the idea of crushing his disloyal minion. Dean however ran past him completely ignoring Bowser.
Bowser was now even more puzzled at the red armored skeleton until he turned around and it was too late.
The dark blue Chain Chomp was still giving chase after Dean and during the chase it chomped Bowser its user in its destructive path. Dean continuously taunted the Chain Chomp which in turn only made it more angry in its pursuit of Dean.
Dean did the same trick once again making the clueless animal take down Monty Mole and Boo. Dean was getting tired from the non stop sprinting but persevered and went on keeping the unpredictable animal at bay.
The navy blue metal creature looked to have lost interest and turned around and left the field. It fell off the ledge and landed in the streets of Mushroom City to ruin somebody else's day. The Strikers owners were not looking forward to the impending lawsuits.
The field was all torn up with massive craters with debris and rubble all over the pitch. Battlefield was a more appropriate name as that's what the arena had served as. Bombs and shells thrown almost the entire game, Bananas littered the field and the once light drizzle turned more harsh.
Kenny had the purple glowing ball going around many obstacles in his way. Kenny charged the ball near the left sideline and charged the ball. Kenny then passed the ball down deciding to set up his fellow Fireball teammate.
Henry was the planned target of the pretty through ball. The yellow hued ball rolled to Henry and he did what he did best and used his hammer smashing the steel ball at goal with the mighty shot.
The ball aimed for the top left corner for the goal. The yellow armored goalie dived with his arms stretched all the way and block the pure white glowing ball with his hands.
The fully powered metal ball rebounded back on the field and rolled away from goal. Kenny was still near the left sideline and saw the dangerously charged ball coming his way. Knowing the Kritter would still be getting to his feet Kenny gave a swift kick of the ball sending the glowing white ball back.
The preoccupied Kritter was still on the ground when he heard a clang sound. The completely charged ball came back his way and he was utterly unprepared. He tried getting back on his feet but he did it too fast he fell on his own weight on his back.
The steel ball hit off the right goalpost bouncing in the goal. The sirens in the stadiums were blasted to full volume and pyro were set off from the outside of the electric fence.
Kenny was the center of attention from the crowd showering the Koopa in cheers chanting his name. Kenny liked the admiration but kept it respectful and modest waving to the crowd.
Kenny then was caught by Mario who got to him first.
"Way to-a go Kenny! We're on to five wins and-a zero losses" Mario said proudly declaring an early win as he had promised at the start of the game.
"You know it boss! We're officially the team to beat"
Henry was the one who uttered those words walking his way to Mario and Kenny with Dean behind him.
"We are too good" Henry commented very boastfully and flexed his arms
The rest laughed at Henry's over the topness and walked together back to the left half of the field all why focusing on Kenny. Henry slugged Kenny in the arm in a playful way that didn't hurt at all telling the Koopa good job on the rebound.
The crowd knew they were leaving happy. Only seven seconds remained on the clock putting the outcome of the game pretty predictable.
Bowser reluctantly kicked the ball off with a scowl the whole time. The last few seconds were uneventful when the clock hit zero and the game was over.
Mario had won a hard hitting showdown where chances of offense were limited and goals even more scarce. The field that was their canvas showing the intensity of the battle. All ripped up at first glance you might have thought some type of war came to town.
Both captains didn't let their teams go meet with the other but it wasn't needed as the sidekicks had no intention of chumming it up with each other. Both left through opposite exit tunnels with different ways of saying goodbye to the many in the stands.
Mario and team waved and high-fived their fans' hands. Bowser and company ignored the pestering crowd walking into the shadows not saying a word or showing their faces.
Mario and team walked in their personal locker room with their assigned lockers for the five of them. While getting their stuff packed they discussed what they would all be doing as it was still early in the afternoon.
"I'll-a be watching the game tonight" Mario informed, wanting to watch and pick up on any details he could use against Donkey Kong next week.
"Wanna-a join me Kenny?"
"Sure, What about you guys? You interested?" Kenny asked the rest of the team.
"Nah I'm fine, we don't need to study our opponents to gain an edge. They need to study us." Henry countered back not seeing why they should sit around watching film.
"I'm just glad we finally didn't play late at night. Should feel good to enjoy the rest of the day" Dean added thankful for not having to go bed exhausted while putting on his grey boots.
"Don't worry about it Dean, your body will get used to the rough nature of Strikers one day" Kingston told his boney friend zipping up his bag in the process.
Mario placed his red cap on his head and threw his bag over his shoulder ready to leave and enjoy the rest of the day. The rest of team Fireballs followed along and left their home stadium to rest up.
Back home Mario waited by the microwave as a consistent popping sound filled the kitchen. The microwave started beeping and Mario opened the small oven and pulled out the brown bag and opened the bag revealing the contents inside.
Popcorn was stuffed in the brown pouch buttery and coated in a perfect shade of yellow. Mario poured the snack in a big bowl letting the well known movie food favorite fall. Mario grabbed the bowl and walked his way to the living room and sat on a large red couch and placed the piping hot treat one his coffee table.
"I-a miss anything?" Mario asked before taking a sip of his ice cold beverage.
"No you're just in time. They're about to start" Kenny answered, reaching out for a popcorn kernel and casually throwing it in his mouth.
On Mario's TV displayed the primetime game of Peach taking on DK in their second encounter of the season. Peach was aiming for another win to continue in her chase of qualifying for the knockout rounds as Donkey Kong was looking for A WIN.
It was the final ninety seconds of the game with both teams tied at three all. Peach was playing out of her mind. She had contributed in every goal from either scoring or assisting.
Donkey Kong also was playing with heart. Down two goals DK managed to get a two goal Megastrike to tie the game heading into the final stretch of the surprisingly entertaining game.
The large loud crowd in attendance at Crater Field could be heard from miles away that's how loud they were. Peach kicked the ball off in what's sure to be the most stressful minute and a half for the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Mario and Kenny kept their eyes on the screen. If they were normal people they would be on the edge of their seats giddy with excitement.
Kenny then notices something unorthodox about DK's formation and playstyle.
"Hey Mario?"
"Yes" Mario replied acknowledging Kenny that he had his attention.
"Donkey Kong always presses his team forward to the midfield line, almost the entire game he leaves his goal without much protection. He is very vulnerable and a solid counterattack could expose DK for overcommitting offensively" Kenny pointed out observing the game displayed on the TV.
Mario turned and looked closely and was shocked at what he saw. Kenny was right seeing how much space Donkey Kong left exposed behind him.
"Good eye Kenny..." Mario complemented his trusty sidekick before continuing to speak.
"We are-a sure going to-a find a way to use that to our-a advantage"
They went on and watched the game till the end. Peach crossed the ball from the sideline and her pink Shy Guy sidekick leaped for the ball. With a diving header Shy Guy scored late in the last fifteen seconds sealing the game.
Peach added a win to her side adding hope in her fight to make the playoffs. DK dropped once again claiming a zero and five win loss record. Even with many counting the ape out early. DK was now officially eliminated and there was no way he could make the knockout round.
Next week would sure be one to remember Mario thought.
His game with DK wasn't the main topic floating in his mind. He secured the first seed and would be playing home in the knockout round. The only undecided factor was whom he would be facing in the win or go home match.
Peach or Bowser faced in a pivotal primetime game and the whole world would have their eyes on them.
But one plumber would definitely be invested in the match, winner takes all Mario thought.
Winner takes all
Author's Notes
With that we are finished with another chapter in what's sure to be long running story. Hopefully you guys are still enjoying the story and will continue to follow along as I drop new and hopefully better chapters as I improve as a writer.
Next time Mario goes against a demoralized DK squad but the main topic on everybody's mind is who will win in Bowser vs Peach primetime encounter and get into the knockout round where who ever wins has the opportunity of challenging for the Fire Cup? Come back next time to find out.
Like always stay out of trouble and see you next time