Chapter 3
-The Deadly Brotherhood-
It seemed as if the colossal avian statue before them was meant to attack trespassers, but it never moved. A giant, blue orb was kept tightly on its clawed humanoid hands, which gave goosebumps to Mario on his way to the dark golden interiors of the Temple of Chozodia. He could not wrap his head around the similar statues that they went by.
"Who are these people?", asked Mario while pressing the speakers' button on his space suit. He was trailing behind the other three.
"They, sir Mario, were the Chozo", said Link while attaching the Master Sword and its sheath to a magnet on the back of his green suit. "These legendary people were once very prolific and so knowledgeable that they even crossed galactic distances to preserve their legacies. I 'met' them when I first saw some of their cultural imprints on the Gerudo's Spirit Temple".
"Gerudo?", repeated Mario.
"Dark-skinned and beautiful people from the harshest desert of my homeland, Planet Farore. I miss them…".
"Hmmm… Had a girl waiting for you over there or something?".
"Ha, ha, ha! I once had someone over there. That should be a tale for another day".
"Ah, you are that kind of popular among women… Fair enough,", said Mario before turning his head to Fox McCloud, "Fox, I need to speak to you".
"We will have plenty of time to talk while we wait for her arrival", said Fox as he pressed on his walk toward a cavernous space half a mile away from them.
"Her? Why are we really doing this in the first place?", asked Mario as he leapt from behind Link and reached all the way to Fox's right side.
"Her name is Samus Aran, professional Bounty Hunter of the Galactic Federation. It is almost certain that she will always return to this place both on her birthdays and on her surrogate father's birthdays".
"Surrogate father? What, did she just live among bird-people?"
"Yes, she did. You will see her father's statue very soon".
"How do you know all of this?".
"Mario, I am an old fox. Our good friend over here, Gee Double U, is the best one at performing reconnaissance missions and intel. Never underestimate his skills as a conversationalist and as a fighter".
Mario looked back at Mr. Game & Watch, who was playing a videogame on a clam-shaped, white and orange device. He obviously did not look as the conversationalist type. However, Mario was not in the mood to contradict Fox's claims.
"Does she know about us?", inquired Mario.
"No, but she will…", answered Fox while smiling from behind his fish-bowl-shaped helmet.
They walked for the next 10 minutes without saying a word. The only sounds that echoed all over the temple were the electronic ones from Mr. Game & Watch's box.
Once they entered the cavernous nave, Mario saw more colossal bird-people statues around them. He was terrified by their sight and remembered the time when his brother Luigi inherited a mysterious haunted mansion in the middle of the Forever Forest. The many laughs he had at his brother's expense were now silenced; justice was always served on cold plates.
"Alright. Here we are, folks. I will answer all your questions and may also repeat myself when Miss Aran arrives", said Fox while looking at his companions.
"Well, what in the world is going on with my brother? Why am I part of all of this?", asked Mario right away.
"As I said before, your brother is the current leader of a group known as the Deadly Brotherhood. Their team members have been picked from distant galaxies and have been subduing a thousand worlds ever since. We do not know why they do it, but we know the how, the when, and the where".
"I need a lot more proof to put my brother on my blacklist. He is one of the most adorable persons I have ever come across, and his loyalty to the Mushroom Kingdom is second to none. I have dealt with his demons in the past, and none of them involved conquering other races".
"Well, Mr. Mario, I am afraid to inform you that The Green Thunder is now on the Galactic Federation's Wanted List", interjected Mr. Game & Watch. "And if Samus Aran ever laid eyes on him, she will certainly capture and process him as a criminal".
"You are just making things harder here. Who says that I would not turn on you for the sake of my brother?", said Mario with the frown he gives to his enemies.
"You would not do that if you knew that Luigi was the one that sent Princess Toadstool to King Koopa in the first place", bolted back Mr. Game & Watch.
Mario's eyes were left wide open. Link also seemed shocked by the reveal.
"What did you just say?", asked the plumber as he materialized both mallets on his hands.
"There is no need to fight, right now,", said Fox, "Show him the footage, Gee Double U".
The black bidimensional being opened the orange box and pressed a few buttons on it. From the clam-shaped artifact came out a huge holographic image that showed King Koopa surrounded by a team of six individuals. The Green Thunder was among them.
"Wait, Ganondorf?! I thought he was sealed within the Twilight Realm!", ejaculated Link, who seemed as shocked as Mario was.
"Listen to the footage, first. We will have time to discuss it", said Fox. "Play it, Gee Double U".
Mr. Game & Watch played the scene and left the orange box on the middle of the circle formed by his comrades.
The image continued to show Bowser sitting on his large throne. In front of him was the Green Thunder with newly made black attires, followed on the right by a tall red-haired and green skinned man dressed with black armor. On the left of both men was a red-capped young lad of about 17 years old, which happened to be playing with a strange red and white ball while the others were talking. Further to the left were another three beings that could be best described in the following order: a blue avian humanoid with a gun eerily similar to Fox's weapon, a small human kid of about 7 years old who wore a red cap and had a shirt with alternating red and yellow stripes, and a round armored creature who wore a dark blue cape and was always swinging his large, distorted golden sword.
"What brings you in front of the king of all?", asked King Koopa while sneering to the green-capped man.
"We come in the name of Ultra Hands. He demands his tithes or else your planet will be ravaged once again", croaked the green-capped man with a lot of malice in his voice.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Green Thunder, you really are outperforming yourself. Stop this nonsense and crawl back to your brother's hut", continued King Koopa while looking at the young man with the red and white ball bouncing on his hand.
"My name is Mister L, leader of the Deadly Brotherhood, and I have no siblings", said the green-capped man while igniting his white-gloved fists with spooky green flames.
"You cannot fool me underneath that new black mask and robes of yours, Luigi. Your act ends now".
Mr. L gave a barrage of punches to the beast's gut, then stopped to let the creature breathe.
"Darn you... Missster L...", said King Koopa before coughing a few small flames.
"Since you seem to have no payment, I will have to tell my overlord about it. He is not as forgiving as I am", said Mr. L while toning down the green flames on his gloves.
"Wait! What kind of payment does he require? I have sacred treasures all over my kingdom".
"You can only give him that which you love the most, and he will leave you be until the next cycle".
"What?! That is unacceptable! Let me speak to him!".
"Those were his orders, King Koopa,", interrupted the red-haired man with a deep and chilling voice,"I just came out from a world of despair. If the great master Ultra Hands can remove me from it, he will most certainly make it worse".
"What in blazes? Who are you, and you, and you three over there?", asked King Koopa before coughing again.
"We are the ones that will make you pay every time we visit. You can call me Ganondorf", said the red-haired man. "This young man here goes by the name 'Trainer', the kid over there is Ness, the bird-man is Falco, and the armored fellow goes by the name 'Meta Knight'".
"Aha, ha, ha! Remember their names and faces, because you will see at least one of them every three years", said Mr. L while laughing.
"T-Trainer, Falco, Ness, Meta... Meta...", said King Koopa as he looked at each of them.
"Meta Knight", replied the armored being in a strong, but mechanical voice.
"Meta Knight, and Ganon...dorf".
"You can also call me Ganon if the long form is too hard for your lizard brain".
"Understood, Ganon".
"You know, I think that I should let it slide this time; since you were able to remember our names. We brought you a gift from afar", said Mr. L while turning to the young man called Trainer.
Trainer stopped bouncing the red and white ball, then pressed a small button in the middle of it. The ball opened itself like a clam's shell, and a white light emanated from its interior. A young, blonde woman that was dressed in pink robes appeared in front of King Koopa.
"Peach!", said the amazed King Koopa.
"Oh, Bowser!", said Princess Toadstool as she went straight into his arms.
"What is happening?", asked King Koopa.
"We will let you have your most prized possession for the span of three years,", said Mr. L while sneering,"However, you will have to give her back if any of us appears before you, again".
"This is madness! I will tell Jumpman about this".
"If you ever attempt to spill the beans to that dumb plumber, I will personally see your transition into becoming a giant Dry Bones. Did you got that, Bowser?", said Mr. L while approaching King Koopa with another flamed fist.
The terrified King Koopa lifted his free arm in front of Princess Toadstool, then asked: "W-What happened to you, Mister L?".
"Nothing that you should know about. Bring us that woman when we come back, and your kingdom will prosper", replied Mr. L while waving at the others.
All six members of the Deadly Brotherhood retreated and disappeared in the shadows, only leaving small traces of purple smoke as they abandoned their scenario.
Shocked by what they just saw, Mario and Link fixed their eyes on their own feet. Mr. Game & Watch turned the device off and wandered around the perimeter, checking for something that Mario had no way to guess about.
"This holotape was filmed with help from the inside,", said Fox, "We cannot reveal who is our double agent, but we can assure you that said person is trustworthy".
Mario looked at him with hope. If his brother was said agent, then there must be a good reason for this ordeal to take place. However, he could not piece together how his brother could have survived the fall into the lava pit and become a nefarious henchman at the same time. What if this was a ruse?
"Since when did my brother become the leader of the Deadly Brotherhood?", asked Mario to Fox.
"I really thought Ganondorf was safely secured in the Twilight Realm...", said Link aloud while looking at Mr. Game & Watch's activities.
"About five years ago", said Fox.
Mario's skin turned ghostly pale. How was it possible that two Luigis were alive at the same time? He knew for a fact that his own brother and him were fixing Fawful's damages to the Mushroom Kingdom up until a few months ago.
"That is impossible. Luigi and I were working together on rebuilding Toadstool Palace and King Koopa's Castle", asserted Mario.
"That's right, you two were on your own galaxy. However, this one... this one came almost as soon as Karuta did".
"Karuta?!", said Link and Mario at the same time.
"Also known as Ultra Hands. He is the one responsible for the perpetual chaos on planet Farore", continued Fox.
"But I saw-", interrupted Link.
"Yes, you saw 'Trainer' damaging Hyrule with his mighty beasts,", said Fox, "However, he is nothing more than a bishop in Karuta's game of chess".
"He was the distraction", concluded the amazed Link.
"Correct. Karuta wanted Ganondorf on his roster ever since he touched the Triforce for the first time".
"The Triforce?", inquired Mario with a confused look on his face.
Fox and Link paused for an instant before they exchanged looks. Link 'asked' with his eyebrows, Fox approved by tilting his head toward Jumpman.
The swordsman took a deep breath and unsheathed the Master Sword from his back. A golden trio of triangles glowed on the base of the blade.
"Our Holy Triforce is a divine object of unimaginable power... It was created by the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore; right before they departed to the Distant Nebula. Anyone who touches it shall have its greatest desire fulfilled. However, as a result of those actions, Hyrule will physically reflect those desires".
"Only Hyrule?", asked Jumpman Mario.
"Only Hyrule,", answered Mr. Game & Watch, "She's here...".