Long chapters are back in business, just in time for the Bowser Games! Ahahaha! You thought all of those vicious Mario party mini-games, those evil Bowser ones, were just mere games, did you?! Well…uh, I guess you were right, they pretty much are. But! There's more to them than just a way to ruin a party! So, find out more below, in the chapter that follows! Clear some time to read this one and enjoy!
...
A small black ball of fuzz, aptly known as a Fuzzy, giggled as it bounced down the stairs and slipped into a dimly lit hallway. It hopped over to a studded, wooden door, and knocked it open. A series of cells waited inside, with seven Goombas crammed inside of one, three Koopas in another, and the last containing one Hammer Bro. and two Fire Bros.
"Hehehe, meork," the Fuzzy cackled. "Look at you sorry chumps!"
"Can it, fuzz ball," snapped Sledge the Hammer Bro.
"Now, now, that's no way to treat a messenger with the juiciest gossip," snickered the Fuzzy.
"Wh-What gossip?" quivered Bill the blue-shelled Koopa.
"Oh please," huffed the red-shelled Koopa, Ren, "he's just messing with us."
"Then why risk coming down here, where he could share our sentencing?" questioned Garen, the green-shelled Koopa.
"What's the story, then, fuzz?" asked Sledge.
"Meork! So now you want to know?" pestered the Fuzzy. "It'll cost you."
"How about your life?" offered Pyre, one of the Fire Bros.
"My life?!" came the Fuzzy's surprised response.
"You do realize we can call a guard down here and get you into the Games with us, or worse," clarified Sledge. "So, yes, your life."
"That's nasty of you, meork!" cried the Fuzzy.
"Tough," murmured Pyro, the other Fire Bro.
"Fine," gave in the Fuzzy. "There's word going around the castle about a rebellion, and some people want to get you out of the Games!"
"Get us out?" asked one of the Goombas.
"Who would be that crazy?" inquired another Goomba.
"Not me, but it's funny to talk about," bounced the Fuzzy. "Oh, and it turns out that Bowser's been in love with Mario the whole time!"
"He what?" asked Garen.
"See? Messing with us," declared Ren.
"No I'm not, honest!" protested the Fuzzy. "The whole castle is up in arms over it! A lot of folks are looking to challenge Bowser's rule and overthrow him, while other people are still unsure or defending him."
"Bowser in love with Mario? Is that your best joke of the day?" rang out another Goomba.
"I may like a good joke, meork, but I don't like the idea of being stuck with you sorry bums!" admitted the Fuzzy. "There's no way I'd risk lying about this!"
A Boo suddenly floated in through the walls, and looked around at the prisoners. She then caught eye of the Fuzzy and laughed.
"Ohohoho!" the Boo chuckled. "So you came to tell them after all!"
"Tell us what?" asked Bill.
"About the castle revolution," laughed the Boo. "Bowser's gone mad and revealed himself to be in love with Mario!"
The thirteen prisoners dropped their mouths open simultaneously as the Boo and the Fuzzy laughed.
"Meork, we should go," giggled the Fuzzy. "I want to see who's crazy enough to go against Bowser!"
"Wait!" called Sledge. "Tell whoever you can to not come down here for us. We don't need to be rescued."
"What?!" wailed Bill.
"Sledge, you're insane!" yelled Ren.
"Can you do it or not?" asked Sledge to the Boo and the Fuzzy.
"Oho, if you'd like, certainly," cackled the Boo. "We've nothing better to do, what with all of the protests underway."
"Speak for yourself, meork!" hissed the Fuzzy. "There's a lot more that I can do than work over this!"
The two continued to bicker as they made their way back out of the dungeon. The Goombas erratically bounced around in their cell while the Koopas glared at Sledge.
"Just what were you thinking?" demanded Ren.
"Someone could have rescued us!" cried Bill.
"At the very least, we wouldn't be in here any more," noted Garen.
"Don't any of you understand? If anyone tries to get us, we'll have a massive war break out amongst our troops," explained Sledge.
"Uh, yeah, I think that's the point," quipped Pyre.
"Exactly, and that's bad," affirmed Sledge.
"Come again?" questioned Garen.
"We're at war with Princess Peach and her Toads," informed Sledge. "If we divide ourselves over support for Bowser, we'll be easy pickings for them."
"Couldn't we just get the fight over with quickly?" asked Bill. "We don't need to have it last long, just to get Bowser out of the way."
"No, there are other people that still like Bowser," realized a Goomba. "Sledge is right. We're going to divide ourselves in the middle of a war and that will lead to Peach defeating all of us."
"But we can't just go through with this!" countered Pyro. "If we die from the Games, then there will be a cry for blood on our behalf!"
"Exactly," added in Ren. "One way or another, we're going to have a civil war slip out amongst our people!"
"So we can't let a rebellion happen, but we're doomed if we compete in the Bowser Games," reviewed another Goomba.
Sledge shifted the helmet on his head around and thought for a minute. "Not necessarily," he murmured.
Meanwhile, Bowser slammed his door open and walked outside into the hall. Kamek stood by, waiting for him.
"Good morning, sire," the Magikoopa bowed.
"Save it," snapped Bowser. He brushed a claw through his fiery hair. "How bad is it?"
"A good number of rumblings about a full scale revolution are underway," assessed Kamek. "Lots of troops realize that today will determine the fates of those thirteen prisoners and want to stop it."
"So," murmured Bowser. "I stop that, I'm a coward and prove my ineptitude as a king, while also admitting that I was wrong to have imprisoned them and to spare Mario." He paused and sighed. "If I continue with the games, I go against the wishes of my people, or some, at least, but carry out my punishment against the prisoners, which will reinforce my will." Bowser scratched his chin and shook his head. "Either way, I'm wrong and the result is a rebellion."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, not everyone is against your will," noted Kamek.
"Such as?" Bowser inquired.
Kamek tapped his wand against his hand. "I believe the Bob-ombs are still on your side, in terms of whole factions. Most Moles, Beetles, and Rexes still favor your viewpoint. All aquatic forces are still struggling with their recent loses, so they're out of the picture." He adjusted his spectacles. "I believe that I can conjure some reanimated troops for our side as well. And if the Piranhas stay fed, they're loyal."
"Is that it?" questioned Bowser. "What about the other groups?"
"Uh…let's see," Kamek rolled his wand around. "My Magikoopas should fall in line, but are questioning my authority, with dissenters claiming that I'm too close to you. Fuzzy and Boo troops could care less about loyalty and enjoy the idea of fighting between the others, rallying behind any argument they can, regardless of sides. All of the other Koopa relations are very harshly divided, as are the Goombas, the Shy Guys, and the Lakitus. Spikes, Snifits, and Swoopers are confused and generally remain quiet."
Bowser punched the nearest wall. "That's ridiculous!"
Kamek shrugged. "Well, sire, you should be pleased that no troops have united a whole faction against you."
"Well isn't that a relief?" deadpanned Bowser. "Smaller troops favor me while larger groups are split on the idea of rebelling. But, I have the bombs, so how soothing."
"Actually, I would agree to that, boy," laughed Kamek. "You do realize that you still have the Koopalings and your son united with you? Having them and retaining the Bob-ombs is a strong start."
"My own species is against me," Bowser asserted. "Koopas, Hammer Bros., Paratroopas, Fire Bros., Boomerang and Ice, all against me? Can you imagine them deciding to revolt?"
"They haven't yet," Kamek mumbled.
"Yet. So, they could," observed Bowser.
"…Theoretically," relented Kamek.
The Koopa King slid his hand over his face. "Fantastic," he muttered.
Junior walked out of his room. "So, what will you do, Papa?"
"…Go forward as planned," decided Bowser. "Junior, tell the Koopalings to fetch the prisoners and bring them to the arena. Kamek, send the announcement through the Castle, and warn the dissenters with death should they intervene."
"Sire, are you certain—?"
"Yes."
"Very well," nodded Kamek. "I'll send you an escort to meet you downstairs."
"Escort?" Bowser protested. "I don't need—"
"Oh, yes you do," Kamek insisted and whacked Bowser's arm with his wand. "I'm not dealing with a possible group that tries to murder you before you get there."
Before Bowser could argue it further, Kamek shuffled across the hall and exited through the stairwell. Junior exchanged a glance with his father.
"Um…are you sure you want to bring him?" asked Junior. "I could do it."
"No, I want him with me," murmur Bowser. "Even if he hates me right now."
"He won't forever," beamed Junior. "If I can't, he can't."
Bowser chuckled, "I hope you're right, son."
He reached down and hugged the prince before Junior hurried off to find the Koopalings. With a heavy sigh, he trudged over to Mario's door and knocked it open. Inside the dark bedroom, the red and blue clad plumber glared at Bowser, his wrists and legs bound to the bed.
"If you promise to play nice with me, I won't tie you up," offered Bowser. Mario only narrowed his glare in response. "Suit yourself."
Slowly, he pulled out a rope and wrapped it around Mario's body, only cutting loose one leg at a time and dodged each kick. Bowser did the same for Mario's arms, also evading the punches the plumber fired out.
After tying and tightening the knots, Bowser sat next to him on the bed and sighed. "I'm actually not a big fan of this, honestly," he tugged at Mario's binds. Bowser waited another minute and tapped at his knees before he hopped back up, lifted Mario over his shoulder, and exited the room.
Silently, Bowser carried Mario through the hallway. He raised his eyebrows at Mario's stillness, but continued down a few steps and pressed the stone panel. It opened to the black room with the matching pipe in the middle. Bowser climbed atop the Warp Pipe and scooted down it, keeping Mario near him.
They traveled through the dark tunnel and subsequently emerged on the other side. Bowser repositioned Mario pat him gently on the back.
"Last chance," he whispered. "Sure you want me to carry you around like this?" Again, Mario refused to answer, and Bowser shrugged. "As long as you're here, this is fine by me."
As they walked from the pipe and stairwell, a purple-shelled Koopa approached them. Her face was stoic, with her ruby eyes fixated on her King and his prisoner.
"Greetings, Lord Bowser," Koopella bowed.
"You?" Bowser blinked. "Aren't the Koopas against me?"
"Some, not all, sire," she corrected.
"Huh. Right," muttered Bowser. More clearly, he asked, "So, how's training?"
"Going well," Koopella raised her arms and showed off her black studded armbands.
"Congratulations," nodded Bowser. "Keep it up."
"Will do, sire," she pledged.
They stepped forward and moved to the larger, red studded door. A black Rex with white wings eagerly hopped forward, and softly grinned at the company.
"Hellooo…" began Nix as he attempted to run his hand across Bowser's arm.
"Not now," Bowser snapped and Nix retracted his hand.
"…Oookay then," the Rex finished as the Koopa King walked past him, and slowly followed the group inside.
The quartet walked through another hall, which was dimmer than the one they left. Another door waited at the end, and Koopella opened it.
As they walked in, a crowd of Bowser's army was gathered in a circular series of stands and bleachers set around a circular platform, which dangled from chains over a bed of magma. Kamek stood up from a decorated booth not too far from the pathway that Bowser and the others had entered. He stepped forward and held his wand under his chin.
"All hail your king, Lord Bowser!" announced the Magikoopa as he rode his broom around.
Cheering and booing sounded from across the ring, as Bowser made his way to his box seating.
"Hooray, Lord Bowser!"
"Rotten king!"
"He's no leader!"
"Greatest around!"
"Is that Mario bound up?"
"How disgusting!"
"Not like Peach had it better."
"They're so cute together!"
"This will be so exciting!"
The Koopa King marched into his box with the escort, and walked in front of two black thrones as a white winged and shelled Paratroopa flew up to the box and flapped to stay level with it.
"Hello your majesty," chirped the Paratroopa.
"Feather Duster?" gaped Bowser.
"Actually, sir—"
"What are you even doing here?" the king interrupted.
"Oh, well, Kamek sent me to keep an eye on you while we're in here," explained the Paratroopa. He turned to the Koopa and Rex with Bowser. "Um…are you too here for that too?"
"Affirmative," nodded Koopella.
"Affirm…? Relax, darling," purred Nix, who received a threatening glare in response. He smirked and turned back to the Paratroopa. "Answer's yes for me as well, cutie."
"Neat," nodded the Paratroopa as he flew above them. "Guess you two can handle the sides, while I take care of the skies." He chuckled as he flew another two feet up.
Nix watched as the Paratroopa flew up and licked his lips. Koopella punched him hard in the arm.
"What?" he complained. "He is cute."
"You're like that with everyone," growled Koopella.
"Not true," defended Nix. "But between him, yourself, and our…well," his face lit up with a blush, "our fine specimen of a king, I can see how one might think that."
"I'm standing right here," sounded Bowser.
"I know," purred Nix, to which Koopella punched him again. "Ouch. Baby, don't hit so hard. I like it rough, but—"
"Stop," she hissed. "You're revolting."
"Ooh, venomous words," Nix clutched his chest. "But, as the lady commands, I shall desist." He eyed Bowser and toothily grinned. "For now."
The Rex made his way to the right side of the box, and stepped aside as Junior made his way across the stands. Eying the bound Mario, the Koopa Prince frowned as he stepped beside his father. Koopella bowed to them and made her way to the left side of the box.
"They're all set," Junior whispered to Bowser.
"Good," the king sighed and sat down on his throne. He gently placed Mario down on the empty side and Junior sat in the smaller throne on the right. Aloud, Bowser called out, "Bring out the prisoners!"
With a loud clang, everyone watched as a large metal platform rose up near the central one. On it were the seven Koopalings, their Clown Cars, and the thirteen prisoners, with the latter still bound by chains.
Some audience members jeered their displeasure:
"Free them!"
"They don't deserve this!"
"Injustice!"
Whereas others voiced their approval:
"Fry them!"
"Serves those traitors right!"
"Give us a show!"
Mimicking Kamek's gesture, Larry lifted a wand underneath his chin and announced, "Welcome, everyone, to the Bowser Games!" Cheers and jeers sounded from the crowd. "Today's event will feature the thirteen prisoners you see here, facing charges of treason against the Koopa King himself!" The uproars continued. "Being a fair and sporting leader, however, Bowser has decided to offer them a chance to compete for their lives, and sentenced them here. With a week passed since their sentencing, it is officially time for their trials to unfold!"
The Koopalings released four of the Goombas from their shackles and kicked them onto the platform, which swayed even from the slightest movement.
"Our first four players will be Jumpy, Grumpy, Happy, and Sleepy!" called out Larry. "They'll be taking a Magmagical Journey across the stones on the lava river below!"
Kamek waved his wand and the circular platform unchained from the bleachers around it, dropping the four down below. Several stones waited in front of them as they looked to one another and shivered.
"Wait, which Goomba is which?" Junior asked Bowser, as they pulled out binoculars.
"You can distinguish them by their eye colors and expressions," Bowser explained. "Happy has hazel eyes and smiles a lot, Grumpy has amber eyes and scowls, Jumpy bounces around with violet eyes, and Sleepy yawns and has droopy gray eyes."
Junior blinked and turned to his father. "How do you even know that?" Even Mario raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"They've been in cells for a week," informed Bowser. "I had to have reports about them at some point. Not knowing them would be a little lazy and tactless, don't you think?"
"Well…I guess," shrugged Junior and they went back to watching the event below.
Below, the four Goombas lined up at the edge of the platform and readied to jump forward. A cannonball whizzed out and crashed in the magma before them. Roy chuckled in his Junior Clown Car on the right side, while Morton flew his to the left.
"Oh, I should have mentioned this," laughed Larry. "Roy and Morton will be firing cannonballs as the four cross." Audience members either joined in on the laughter or started screaming out obscenities. "Their goal is to reach the ending marker, down over yonder," Larry continued and pointed a distance away, where a platform with a goal line waited for them. "You can begin whenever you're ready—go. Oh whoops, better get a move on!"
Nervously, the four Goombas exchanged glances with one another. Jumpy leapt forward first, and bounced on a stone to the left side. Happy jumped forward next, following Jumpy. Grumpy readied to go after them, but hesitated and noticed Sleepy yawn. Growling, he dashed over, rammed Sleepy forward onto a stone on the right side, and leapt after him.
"Well, well, they're off!" narrated Larry. "Roy, Morton, fire at will!"
Morton slammed the front of his Junior Clown Car, readying the cannon as the four Goombas continued to jump along their paths. He fired a shot out, aiming to knock Jumpy from the sky as he jumped forward again. The violet eyed Goomba spun around to watch the cannonball whiz past him and landed on a longer stone platform. Roy mimicked Morton's motion, aiming and firing as Grumpy nailed Sleepy to the same platform that Jumpy reached. Luckily, the tired Goomba crashed against the platform as the cannonball hit the edge and fell into the magma below.
Happy and Grumpy jumped forward and met the other two on the platform. Together, the group moved onward and leapt to another longer stone slab, narrowly evading cannon fire from Morton and Roy.
"Hey, we're doing really well!" cheered Happy.
"Yep, almost there!" bounced Jumpy.
"Good…" yawned Sleepy.
"How can you sleep at a time like this?!" snapped Grumpy.
In spite of that, Grumpy slammed into Sleepy and knocked him forward to the left stone. Happy and Jumpy leapt to the right side as Grumpy chased after Sleepy once more. A cannonball from Roy fired out and crashed on the platform Jumpy and Happy stood on, sending them flying forward to the next one.
"Huh," muttered Roy. "Didn't think that'd happen."
Grumpy panted as the stone beneath him began to crumble and slide toward the magma. Sleepy stretched and slid back as Grumpy bonked him forward again, narrowly able to jump away from both the sinking stone and cannon fire from Morton.
"Lucky…" growled Morton.
The quartet raced toward the final platform and jumped to it before Roy and Morton could retaliate. Recovering from their jumps, they stumbled forward and ran across the goal line.
"Oh, look at that," Larry observed, though lethargic about it. "Guess those four Goombas made it safely over, somehow." Some of the audience clapped, while others booed. "No matter," continued Larry, regaining his energy. "Time for the next challenge!"
As the four Goombas walked forward to approach a craggy wall before them, Kamek flew overhead and cast a spell. Magic dust rained over the Goombas as they briefly disappeared, reappearing back on the raised metal platform in the center. In their place stood Bill, Garen, and the Fire Bros. The four gazed up at the wall before them, which now had a tall fence in its place and open air on the opposite side, revealing the volcanoes in the distance.
"Next up, the Funderwall!" cackled Larry. "This one is for Bill, Garen, Pyre, and Pyro!"
"Wait," Junior turned to his father again. "Those Fire Bros. look identical."
"If you look carefully, they each have burn marks on their shells," pointed out Bowser. "Pyre has a star shape burn and lighter brown eyes. Pyro has a crown shape burn and darker brown eyes."
"Wow, you're right, Papa," observed Junior as he checked through the binoculars.
"These four," Larry continued his announcement, "will scale this wall and make their way to the flag markers at the top." He pointed up to red and black flags with Bowser's insignia on them. "They'll need to avoid traps set along the way to get there."
The Koopas and Fire Bros. looked up the wall, gazing at the spiked orbs that rotated in place on the fence.
"Begin when you're ready!" called Larry to the contestants.
"Shouldn't you tell us about the Koopalings first?" questioned Garen.
"What's that?" asked Larry. "Can't hear you over the rumbling rocks."
Underneath the quartet, their base stone platform began to sink into the magma. Quickly, they latched onto the fence and watched as the rock sunk.
"He should have told us about that too," groaned Bill.
"Ooh, I spit or throw fireballs at them if I could," snarled Pyro.
"That's what they'd want, so they could punish us further," rationalized Pyre. "Come on, let's climb."
Carefully, the four made their way up the wall. Once they were two feet up, they moved in a single file to steer clear of the spike traps.
About a quarter of the way up, Larry's voice boomed out, "Iggy! Lemmy! They were asking for you. Why not fire up the party?"
Giggling, the two Koopalings flew their Junior Clown Cars around the opposite side of the wall and leveled their crafts with the four climbers.
"Uh…they're here to make this harder, r-right?" inquired Bill.
"Unfortunately," answered Garen. "As if climbing and holding onto this wall wasn't hard enough."
Propping up a gray hose-like device on their Clown Cars, Lemmy and Iggy shot out streams of fire and moved their crafts near the competitors, attempting to burn them off of the wall, but missing.
"Well, that's kind of a cruel and demented twist," murmured Pyre.
"They're using fire against us?!" cried Pyro. "That's a load of crap!"
Quickening their pace, the quartet hurried their ascent, evading both fire and spiked orbs. Half way along the wall, Iggy and Lemmy tried to change up their tactics, shooting one flamethrower stream at a time on different sides, hoping to catch one or more of the four off guard.
"Come on, burn already!" moaned Lemmy.
"No thanks, we're fine," calmly responded Garen as he climbed down to evade the wisp of fire.
"Just hold still for a minute," growled Iggy.
"That's the exact opposite of what we should do!" wailed Bill.
Still with a quarter of the wall remaining, the climbers continued their pace, and slipped between the decreasing openings between fire streams and spiked traps. Lemmy began to wildly fire his stream about, burning the fence at random spots to the point where he missed the contestants completely. Iggy, however, used this to try isolating each of the four, trying to trap them between the orbs and fire blasts from either his brother or himself. Pyre scrambled quickly across the fence once Iggy locked him between his brother's flame trail and a row of spiked traps.
"Gotcha now, you pest," manically laughed Iggy.
Just as the flamethrower's stream neared Pyre, however, the Fire Bro. managed to reach an opening and climbed up. Iggy snarled in annoyance as Pyre regrouped with his team and the four reached the flags.
"Ha!" cheered Pyro. "We made it!"
"Guess they fizzled out," chuckled Pyre.
"Aw, no way," grumbled Lemmy. "We should have gotten at least one of them."
"And, check it out, the four competitors made it," deadpanned Larry across the arena. Some members of the audience clapped and cheered louder, while others tried to stomp and hiss out their applause.
Kamek flew by on his broom and cast another spell. The Fire Bros. and the Koopas disappeared under the magic dust as a long, metallic platform fired out from the top of the fence, making its way back to the center of the arena. Near the flags, three Goombas and a Koopa abruptly appeared.
"Ah, time now for the Funstacle Course!" announced Larry. "Watch as Ren, Baldy, Wheezy, and Doc try to run across this bridge as Wendy, Ludwig, and I follow them along and fry them to bits!" The young Koopaling laughed along with the outcry from part of the audience, while others applauded him.
"He's enjoying this too much," snarled Ren.
Back at the box, Junior studied the four contestants. "Ok, wait, I think I got this one," he murmured. "Wheezy coughs a lot and has green eyes. Doc has brown eyes and has glasses on his head. And…Baldy has blue eyes, but doesn't have eyebrows?"
"Very good, son," congratulated Bowser.
"Bowser!" cried a voice.
The Koopa King and Prince turned to see a Lakitu float in front of their box, with a Spiny Egg in his hand. Koopella and Nix rushed back inside the box and stood in front of the royal family.
"This madness needs to stop!" demanded the Lakitu. "You're not fit to be our king and you have no right to punish these people!"
Annoyed, Bowser opened his mouth to retort, but gaped as a white flash knocked the Lakitu from his cloud.
"Feather Duster!" was all that came from Bowser's mouth, as the Paratroopa swooped down, grabbed the Lakitu, and flew back up near the box.
"Hey! L-Let me go!" wailed the Lakitu.
"No can do," laughed the Paratroopa. "You threatened our king's life! That means you'll be brought to the dungeons." He signaled and waved to the metal platform. Morton noticed and rode over to the box. "Here you are, enforcer, sir!"
Morton toothily grinned as the Paratroopa handed the shivering Lakitu over. He flew off and away from the arena.
"Nice work," congratulated Koopella.
"Yes, good show," agreed Nix.
"Aw, thanks guys!" the Paratroopa chuckled and lightly blushed. "You all right, Lord Bowser?"
"Um…yes, I'm fine," Bowser muttered and blankly blinked.
"Good!" the Paratroopa nodded. "Well, back to our posts!"
He flew up and away once again. Nix and Koopella checked on Bowser, Junior, and Mario once more before they walked back to guard their sides of the seats. Bowser scratched his head, blinked, shrugged, and picked up his binoculars to watch as the three Koopalings rode their Junior Clown Cars behind the four runners.
"Are the Koopalings ready?" rang out Larry's voice.
"Of course, brother dear," laughed Wendy.
"This should be a quick performance," boasted Ludwig.
"Wait, shouldn't they ask us if we're ready?" Baldy whispered to his companions.
"Go!" shouted Larry and the Clown Cars floated forward, forcing the four prisoners to flee from the approaching Koopalings, who opened their buzz saws to force the four along the metal platform. Ahead, Thwomps floated in the air in an arranged pattern.
"Ok, we should probably go about this carefully," analyzed Doc as the group ran closer to the Thwomp field. "If we plan out our path—"
"Screw that, just run it!" yelled Ren.
The red-shelled Koopa raced forward to the front edge of the platform, narrowly able to move past a Thwomp that crashed down on the metal bridge. Baldy ran after him, evading another falling Thwomp near the back platform edge.
"Well…I suppose that works," mumbled Doc. He readied to chase them, but faltered as Wheezy stopped and had a coughing fit.
"Just…go…ahead," Wheezy sputtered, and nervously glanced back at the Koopalings as they approached.
Doc hurried back and carefully nudged Wheezy along, finding openings along the bridge that allowed the two to navigate through the falling Thwomps. They met up with Baldy and Ren past the Thwomps and watched a gap in the bridge, with three platforms that quickly raised and fell in place.
"Time it right, then jump," advised Doc.
Carefully, the four took turns jumping from the bridge and onto the first platform.
"At least the Koopalings won't be able to follow us," grumbled Ren as he wobbled himself steady.
"Uh…don't be so sure of that," cautioned Baldy.
Back near the Thwomps, the Koopalings flew their cars over the falling blocks and began to approach the four competitors on their platforms. Panicked, the prisoners jumped to the next platform together, and quickly again to the third.
"Yikes!" Baldy cried out, slipping near the edge of the platform.
Ren ran over and pushed him back to the middle before the bounce knocked either of them overboard. The three Goombas and the Koopa readied themselves once more and leapt to the other end of the bridge.
"Can we…breathe now?" panted Wheezy.
"Not yet," warned Doc, and the four turned back to watch the Koopalings float over the platforms that they had crossed.
Onward, the runners raced forward, coming to a narrow portion of the platform. They lined up and ran across, moving quickly across the thinned area of the bridge. Midway through, the four jumped across another gap in the bridge, and ran across the last part of the narrow pathway. Once they made it through, the platform expanded again, and they were able to spread out again.
"Hey, the Koopalings stopped a little ways back," noticed Baldy.
"Baldy, eyes front," murmured Doc.
The blue-eyed Goomba turned around to find spiked bars rolling toward the group. Ren ran forward and jumped over the first one, with the Goombas following his lead. They darted again, and leapt over the slower moving second bar, and then jumped straight up as the third one sped up and crashed in it. Recovering, the four ran and leapt over two more spiked bars, which rolled off after the others.
"Is it…over?" gasped Wheezy.
"Almost, just keep going," rallied Ren.
"Where do you think you're going?" taunted Wendy as the Koopalings flew back near the four prisoners.
"Time for the finale," chuckled Ludwig, as the trio lined up and readied their Clown Cars' cannons.
With a series of bangs, the Koopalings fired out cannonballs at the contestants. The four jumped over the whizzing line of shots and raced forward. Annoyed, Ludwig and Larry blasted their shots together, but the Goombas and Koopa ran to the middle, away from the next blasts.
"How dare you!" screeched Wendy.
She and Ludwig fired shots, to which Ren leapt over as the Goombas ran up and evaded them. With a growl, Larry and Wendy fired their shots together next, with the Goombas jumping up to dodge the cannonballs while Ren dashed down to dodge. Once more, the Koopalings fired their shots together, but the runners leapt over the cannonballs once again. Everyone looked ahead and noticed that the goal line was just inches ahead of them. Hastily, Ren shoved the Goombas across the line and the four fell forward, off the bridge. They crashed back onto the central platform, where their fellow prisoners waited for them.
"Unbelievable!" shouted Larry. "We actually…failed."
A roar of applause and joyful cries sounded from around the arena. Kamek flew back near the group and waved his wand, casting dust over the bridge, which folded back into the wall. With a rumble, the fenced wall collapsed back down to the ground, leaving only the craggy wall in its place. The stones below them sank into the magma river.
"What now, Papa?" asked Junior.
"Hold on, son," Bowser patted the prince.
"Twelve prisoners have managed survive their challenges!" narrated Larry. "However, we still have just one more prisoner remaining." He glowered at Sledge as the Hammer Bro. stepped forward. Slowly, the audience's excitement died down.
"I'm ready whenever you are," Sledge announced and folded his arms.
"Oh, we've already exhausted ourselves," confessed Larry. "You, however, will have quite the challenge ahead of yourself." He rocketed his Clown Car forward and rammed Sledge off the platform, down to the magma below.
"Sledge!" yelled Bill.
"What do you think you're doing?!" bellowed Ren.
Kamek whipped his wand and Sledge's descent slowed until he landed softly on a mechanical raft below, which floated in place on the magma river.
"For the final game," Larry continued, "we decided to combine the usual challenges left for an individual into one greater set-up. So, enjoy now, the Treasure Tunnel Whirl Finale!"
Silence remained as Larry's large grin slowly faded.
"Explain it," hissed Ludwig.
"Right!" called out Larry. "First, Sledge must line up and match three slot wheels." A heavy slot machine dropped down on the raft behind Sledge on cue. The Hammer Bro. stumbled back as he glanced up at the device. "Once he matches three key icons, the slots will be replaced with sixteen Mechakoopas, one of which has swallowed a key. Once the prisoner finds that key, it will open one of five treasure chests, which will need to be opened in a specific order to unlock the door to freedom!" Larry pointed a lone door at the end of the river, which only appeared to lead toward the craggy wall at the end. "If he succeeds, then the explosives won't go off at the end."
"Explosives?!" coughed Sledge.
"Should Sledge reach the end of the river without the correct key, the explosives will go off and blast him to bits," laughed Larry. "…Oh, and his friends will still face the penalty of death for his failure."
"What?!" cried out Bill and Ren together.
"Ready? Go!" Larry called and Sledge stumbled as the raft surged forward.
"Not good," he muttered as he dashed up to the slot machine.
Three large buttons waited before him, each to line up a picture on the slot reel. Sledge mashed the first one in, and glanced back to see a key icon appear on the slot's screen. He grinned and ran to the second one, hitting the button again. It stopped the slot, but as Sledge looked back, he only saw a red Bowser insignia.
"Damn," he growled and watched the slot carefully. Timing it, he punched the button again.
This time, a key icon appeared on the middle slot and Sledge hurried to the last slot's button. He glanced back and watched the reel spin quickly. Unable to spot the key icon, Sledge hit the button. The slot stopped on a green Bowser emblem. Sledge nipped his tongue and watched the reel spin rapidly again, looking for the golden key icon. He hit the button again, but frowned as a blue Bowser insignia showed up instead.
"Not looking too good," assessed Garen from above as the raft neared the half way.
Once more, Sledge jammed the button and nervously turned back. The slot reel slowed and landed on a key icon. He pumped his fist as the slot machine fell apart, with a golden key floating in its place.
Suddenly, a Mechakoopa leapt up and swallowed the key. Sledge blinked and gazed around the raft; sixteen Mechakoopas lined up around the raft. They hopped around in a circle and Sledge lost track of the one that swallowed the key. Quickly, he jumped up and stomped down on the first one, which burst to pieces. Tightening his fists, Sledge ran forward again and bounced around several Mechakoopas, each one exploding, but no key found. He destroyed about half when they whipped out a fire stream, causing the Hammer Bro. to fumble and falter backwards.
"Come on, Sledge!" shouted Pyro.
"You can do this!" cheered Pyre.
After the fire died down, Sledge leapt and stomped down on another three Mechakoopas. As the last one burst, a key flew out and the Hammer Bro. snatched it from the air.
"Gotcha!" he grinned.
With a puff of magic smoke above him, Sledge ran back as five treasure chests slammed down onto the raft. He looked up and noticed it approaching the end of the river. Sledge darted forward and twisted the key in the nearest chest, which failed to open. He ran to the box across from it, which also failed to open.
"Come on, work with me!" he yelled.
The Hammer Bro. ran at the chest above, which opened to reveal a second key. He ran to the middle chest, which failed to open. Sledge turned to go for the box past it, but ran back to the first box instead. He tried the key and the chest opened, revealing the next key.
"He's cutting it close," announced Larry as the raft approached the ending platform.
Sledge ran up past the opened chest and turned the key into the next treasure box. It opened and revealed another key. He moved to the middle chest, but paused and ran back to the further box. Twisting the key around, it opened and revealed the final key. The mechanical raft began to slow as it neared the base platform.
"Crap," grunted Sledge as he slipped. Recovering, he ran to the middle treasure chest as the raft hit the end of the line. He turned the key and opened the final chest, revealing a larger golden key inside.
"Did…did he make it?" asked Garen.
Scooping the key up, Sledge madly ran at the door near the craggy wall. He slammed the key in and twisted it as the explosives began to go off. The audience gasped and watched the fireworks blast around the magma river below.
However, a glow appeared in the middle of the central metal platform, in the shape of a door. It opened and Sledge tumbled through it. In a puff of magic dust, the door dissipated, leaving the final prisoner back with his companions and the six Koopalings. The crowd sat quietly in their bleachers.
"Huh," grunted Larry. "Uh…well, I guess that's it. Congratulations to the thirteen rotten traitors; you all managed to live."
An eruption of screams rang out from the audience while the twelve other contestants ran into Sledge, crowding around him and grabbing him. Bowser stood up and watched as Morton flew back in to join the Koopalings, who sourly watched their former prisoners celebrate. Kamek flew his broom back over to Bowser and sighed.
"Prepare yourself, sire," he whispered. "Their wrath has just begun." Bowser quietly nodded and glanced back to Mario and Junior, both who appeared worried.
Breaking away from his companions, Sledge jumped forward and snatched Larry's wand away from him. He tapped it and held it under his mouth, ignoring the Koopalings as they demanded its return. The others guarded the Hammer Bro. as he faced the royal box.
"Lord Bowser," he called out. "Surprise, surprise!" Sledge grinned as Bowser grit his teeth and clawed at the edge of his box.
"Ungrateful whelp," spat Kamek and raised his wand to ready an argument.
Koopella and Nix closed back into the box. "Give us the orders, sirs, we'll take care of things," offered Koopella.
"On behalf of my fellow convicts, I wanted to thank you," Sledge continued. "It was you who gave us this sentencing." He paused and listened to the audience's roars of delight at his words.
"Listen here!" snapped Kamek.
"No, no, you listen," Sledge interrupted. "Our great and mighty Koopa King has recently been the subject of harsh scrutiny." He waited for the crowds to quiet down once again.
"If you think, even for a minute, that I'll let you finish those words," Kamek ranted again, "you have another—"
"It's in your best interest," Sledge cut in again. "Quite honestly, Bowser shouldn't need a puppet to voice his thoughts or enforce his will."
Kamek opened his mouth to retort, but Bowser raised his hand to silence the Magikoopa.
"What point are you trying to make?" Bowser called out.
"I thought I already made it," shrugged Sledge. "To thank you, sire. You gave us the chance to fight for our lives rather than sentence us directly to death."
Gasps sounded around the arena as Sledge bowed down. Bowser's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open a bit. Momentarily, the other twelve competitors turned and bowed down as well, causing the audience to murmur and bicker amongst themselves.
"People question your rule in spite of such mercy, Lord Bowser," Sledge pressed on as he rose up again. "It's a shame. I don't know why a heavy bias clouds the judgment of many, but you are our king, the one who has built up our forces that we have so far. You've united countless of mistreated and shunned individuals, who were feared or rejected from the so-called righteous Mushroom Kingdom." He pivoted around and faced the audience again. "Many of you claimed that we were being mistreated here, but King Bowser's judgment was more fair and in our favor than anyone realized. As for injustice, don't cast your hatred and disgust toward our king, whom we still very much need." Darkly, he carried on, "Turn that hatred back toward the true enemy, the one who rules the kingdom that banished us and left so many of us to die in the wilds. Unleash your anger at the one that refuses to amend the decades of wrongs against us, the one who, unlike our king, is closed minded to revolutionary changes. The real enemy is the same, as we've always known her to be. It's Princess Peach. Not Bowser, who guides us against her oppression. Not Mario, who blindly serves her without understanding the truth. Our enemy is Peach."
For a while, the crowd remained silent. Suddenly, a clap began from a single Koopa Troopa. Two more joined her, and a Shy Guy began right after. Slowly, the audience grew into a chorus of applause and cheers. A chant rang out, "Bowser! Bowser!" as they continued their uproar. The Koopa King felt his mouth drop open, but no words came out. He looked to Kamek, who mirrored his reaction, and then to Junior, who smiled brightly. Blinking, Bowser stepped forward again and waved to the crowd, who cheered loudly as he did so. With a confused chuckle, he turned back and picked up Mario.
"S-Sire, what now?" asked Kamek as Bowser began to walk away, his escort following him.
"Now? Now, I think of a way to reward those thirteen lunatics," laughed Bowser. "They just put me back into the good graces of my people."
"That's a load of crap!" shouted a nearby voice.
Bowser and the others turned to find a Spike, a Fuzzy, two Boos, and a Shy Guy running over to the box, with spears in their arms. Koopella rushed back and slid into her shell as she slammed into the three on the ground while Kamek blasted the Boos away with a spell.
"What was that about good graces?" snapped Kamek.
"Well, the majority is in favor," muttered Bowser as he took Junior by the hand, repositioned Mario, and followed Nix away from the box seats. Koopella hurried after them while Kamek called the Koopalings over to assist with detaining the latest dissenters.
"Those were the coolest Bowser Games ever!" cheered Junior and he beamed at his father. "And the prisoners even liked you after all that too! You're the best, Papa!"
"If you claim it so, Junior," laughed Bowser as the escorts guided them back inside the halls of the castle's lower levels.
The group made their way back to the stairwell Warp Pipe, and was transported back to the upper levels of the castle. Junior ran back to his room, with Koopella hurrying after him. Bowser marched back to Mario's room and opened the door.
"Give me a few minutes," he mumbled to Nix.
"As you command, milord Bowser," bowed the Rex as he turned to stand guard at the door.
Bowser shut the door behind him and placed Mario back onto the bed.
"You could not possibly remain quiet after that," assessed Bowser as he placed Mario back onto the bed.
Still holding a glare, Mario shook his head. "Fine, you win," he snapped. "But that speech back there? That was completely insane and brutally misguided!"
"Oh, you think so?" challenged Bowser.
"Peach isn't an oppressor!" defended Mario. "Your people are absolutely out of their minds if they can go from rallying against you to uniting against her!"
"Maybe they are a bit crazy," agreed Bowser. "But they're not lying about being cast out from the Mushroom Kingdom. Why do you think I have so many different troops in my army, so many different species in my kingdom?" He paused and studied Mario's face as the plumber eyed him back. "They're outcasts. We're outcasts. Rulers before Peach banned them for a variety of reasons from living within the Mushroom Kingdom. If your princess was the benevolent ruler she's claimed to be, they would have been welcomed back ages ago."
"That's a lie!" barked Mario.
"No, it's not," murmured Bowser. "Or haven't you learned that there are secrets being kept from you, hidden or lost within Peach's Castle?"
Mario opened his mouth to argue, but couldn't find the words. Bowser shook his head as he cut open Mario's ropes and quickly tied him back to the bedposts. This time, the plumber put up no resistance.
"I don't think she's evil, at least not anymore than myself," admitted Bowser. "She has shown tolerance to some Koopas and Goombas, and let them live freely within the safer regions of her kingdom. But collectively, they're still kept out and isolated, away from the Toads, away from the kingdom."
"She is not evil, period," refuted Mario.
Instead of arguing it further, Bowser simply finished tying Mario back into place. He leaned over the plumber and gently stroked his cheek, which Mario turned away from.
"Don't. I'm still mad at you," grumbled Mario.
"So I see," sighed Bowser. "What does it take?"
He waited, but Mario refused to answer him.
"If you want to go back to your creed of silence, that's fine," whispered Bowser. "But I'm not giving up, even if you want to."
Again, he waited, but Mario still wouldn't even look at him.
"Hate me, then," relented Bowser. "Maybe we shouldn't be in love, maybe this is just too much on top of everything else." He took in a deep breath and exhaled. "But I still love you, and I'm not letting it end here. Not yet."
Slowly, Mario turned his head back toward Bowser, and the two stared quietly into one another's eyes.
...
What have I done? They're still not back together! …Oh, and Peach is an oppressor, pass it on.
But yeah, those were the Bowser Games! Shockingly, I didn't kill any of the players off, even though we all know someone should have gotten nailed in one of those games. (Seriously, how often can all four players actually clear those things together?! …Because my friends and I suck at it, so I don't actually know.) If you don't happen to know, I used each of the Bowser mini-games from Mario Party 7, which had awful names, but seemed pretty enjoyable and had a nice cohesive theme. It may sound weird when reading it, but hey, I tried. (In fact, I should wear a t-shirt with "I tried" printed on it, and wear it every single time I post a chapter.)
If you're confused about the stance of Bowser's troops, there is in fact still dissent among them, and they're not sure about their approval of Bowser's recent decision making. However, with his prisoners vouching for him, it's kind of hard to go against him…oh, and he does have supporters still. If I had to split it into even percentages, I'd put roughly 70% in favor of Bowser, and 30% against. Not perfect, but much better than the beginning of the chapter, which was probably the opposite. Unrelated: shout-outs for the random original characters that I forced back in, yeah! …I mean, besides the prisoners; they're ok, I guess. But hey, the other three…! Yeah? No? Ok, I'll go back to my corner.
So, what's with the nonsense about Peach's apparently hostile treatment of Bowser's forces? Well, if you think about it, Bowser has a huge…no, I mean, a HUGE number of henchmen. He can literally pick and choose who he's going to send after Mario and friends from game to game. And somehow, Peach never seems to have enough support to keep her safe in her castle. With that in mind, I tried (ohoho) to place that as a bias that Peach's kingdom has against a good number of species that never seem to show up as friendlier folks, in a vain effort to expand history and lore into a shipping story. Yeah. I went there. (Like a boss! …Oh crap, no, wait, don't stomp me! Eep!) But really, why are there no friendly Rexes or Beetles? Those guys are so cool. When are they going to pop up in a sports or party or racing game? Huh? Mario: Shell Surfers. Let's get hashtags going and make it a thing! (Lolno, 64 tried.)
Anyway, that's all for now. But since she came up, what are Peach and friends up to? (What's that? Conquest? Oppressors! …I'm joking. Please don't kill me, Peach fans, I love her too.) And, for the love of shipping stories everywhere, will Mario ever forgive Bowser? Will they ever be a mushy couple again? Can I just stop adding subplots to a story that's never going to answer them?! Hahaha…no. I apologize in advance for the inevitable disappointment, but I will break myself over avoiding it, so that. If you believe in life after love…wait, no, that's a terrible song right now. NO, STAHP. They wuv each other, honest. All right, I'm off to go cry myself to sleep. Comments and criticisms welcome, and I love to see reviews and messages, so don't be shy. (I know a lot of you aren't; my last few chapters have gotten lots of noise, and I get so excited over it! Aaahh, gush, gush, love, gush. Hugs for every one of you folks.) Thank you once again for reading!