Chapter 1
- The fall of the Green Thunder-
Bowser's Castle was crumbling on its foundations for the umpteenth time, but Jumpman and Green Thunder were not afraid of the shortcomings. They kept swinging their mallets and stomping the myriad of koopas that flooded the Throne Room, until there was only one left standing.
"This is the last time we meet, Mario Brothers…", roared the colossal Bowser as he approached the plumbers with bloodshot eyes.
"If only it were true, King Koopa", answered Green Thunder while twisting his jade cap back to frontal position, revealing a large 'L' on it.
"Give us back the princess, and no harm will come to you", said the red-capped Jumpman while lowering his heavy mallet to the floor.
"I am so sorry to break it down to you, but Princess Toadstool is in another castle, and I am here to feast on your failures", chuckled Bowser.
Locked in position were the three warriors, then the battle commenced. Both mallets hit the horns of the fiendish beast and swirled back into the hands of the heroes. The large monster grabbed the protruding bones on its head and howled in agony, swinging his tail around while hitting everything on its path. Jumpman bounced on time, but Green Thunder did not. The intense hit made the flailing brother travel about a dozen meters away from Jumpman and King Koopa, then fall into the lava pit while unconscious.
"Noooo!", yelled the shocked Jumpman.
His younger brother, the only one that knew him best, was gone.
Jumpman turned to the hurt monster with tears on his bright blue eyes, grabbed the remaining mallet on the floor, and performed the most acrobatically-intense barrage of attacks that the world had ever seen. Mallets torpedoed a few of the hardened scales of Bowser and jutted them out of their respective places. Flaming kicks disabled one of Bowser's clawed hands, and fire fists pummeled the villain until the giant lizard lay belly up on the floor. Rage, despair, and deep sadness clouded the plumber's vision.
"Wait, Jumpman! Don't do this!", yelled the numbed Bowser, "I can give you the princess back. Just give me another chance!".
"I… I gave you all the chances you needed to turn a new leaf. Yet, you reveled in bad acts".
"I am in dire need of Princess Toadstool, Jumpman. She is the only one that can save the Koopa Kingdom from being destroyed. Please, help us".
"Lies, Bowser! Lies! All your life has been nothing but a constant stream of lies!", said Jumpman while raising both mallets on top of King Koopa's wide-opened eyes.
"Stop, Mario! Leave him alone! He is not the enemy!", shouted a deep male voice far behind the plumber.
Jumpman turned his head and saw two figures near the lava pit. The faint light of the molten rocks barely lit them, but he could make out the somewhat canine physiognomy of the taller one and the infantile proportions of the second person.
"My name is Fox McCloud, and this is my friend, Mr. Game and Watch", said the tall figure.
"I have no business with performers, right now. Leave us", spit back Jumpman as he slowly lowered the mallets once more.
"This concerns your brother, Mario. He is now wreaking havoc in distant worlds".
"My brother just fell into the lava pit behind you…. You have the wrong person", declared Jumpman as some of his tears reached his puffy moustache.
"I beg to differ, Mario. The Green Thunder is very much alive and evil. He is the leader of a group called the Deadly Brotherhood".
"If you ever say his name again, I will make sure you do not come back from that lava pit", said Mario.
"I will spell it as many times as necessary, Jumpman Mario. This concerns all of us".
"You had your chance!", roared Jumpman while quickly turning toward Fox McCloud.
"It doesn't have to be this way! Gee Double U, on your left!", yelled Fox as he leaped in the direction of Mario.
One of the mallets swiveled near the kiddish figure's head, yet it missed the mark by a few inches. The black bidimensional humanoid generated flat hammers of his own and threw them back toward the mallets and the plumber. Mario jumped on top of the paper-like black hammers and delivered a combination of fiery kicks in the air to hit Fox's gunned arm. However, he was not the fastest one.
Fox darted forward in mid-air and hit the plumber's chest with his metallic knee, cutting the air out of Mario. The red plumber slammed to the cobbled floor with his back, eyes wide open and devoid of the fleeting light of consciousness.
"Darn you, Mario, making things harder than they should be", said Fox while facing Bowser, "You there, see that the princess is taken care of, because I won't be here again when Jumpman comes back. You have been warned,".
"Who are you to boss me around, little fox? I am King Bowser, leader of the mighty koopas!", yelled the flailing Bowser while trying to get back on his feet.
"Yeah, yeah, we heard it before. Stop babbling and get on your feet. We are leaving".
Fox dragged Mario closer to Mr. Game & Watch, then pressed a few buttons on his gun before saying:
"Arwing, energize".
A beam of light surrounded them and they disappeared with it.