Hello everybody, and welcome to Chapter 2 of Endgame! This one has been in the workshop for a bit, and I'm happy to finally have it finished, and I really hope you enjoy. So, yeah, like before, if you have any questions, want to help me improve, or want to share your thoughts positive or negative, then just send a review.
Summary: A look at how being ruled by Bowser has affected the Mushroom Kingdom so far.
Mushroom Kingdom
Time: 11:50 AM
"It's a good time to be alive."
Bowser lay back in his armchair, smirking as he looked over all the pathetic underlings of his newest kingdom, the Mushroom Kingdom, from the top of his Doomship. Just a day ago, Bowser and his army had devastated the Mushroom Kingdom, left nearly no survivors, and took control over the land. As ridiculous as it may sound, it did happen.
Now, Bowser and his army were simply partying to celebrate their takeover of the once mighty Mushroom Kingdom, rub their victory in the surviving Mushroomer's faces, y'know, fun stuff like that.
The Koopa King looked at his watch and grumbled. The people bringing the party decorations were late, as usual.
"Worthless pieces of shit….. Why haven't I fired the lot of them?"
Down below, all of the survivors in the Mushroom Kingdom were absolutely miserable. Their new ruler, Bowser, had ensured to the best of his ability that the Mushroomers would feel the same pain he did all those years of being trounced by Mario and his friends. He was molding the Kingdom in his image, and everybody who dared to express outrage over this (or even mumbled something along the lines of "this is unfair" or "this sucks so hard") was guaranteed to get their brains blasted out, stabbed to death, forced to eat an exploding Bob-omb, or whatever gruesome torture the Sledge Bros that patrolled the streets could come up with. Right now, all the survivors (the number of which seemed to decrease every day) could do was idly sit by and mourn as all the landmarks of a formerly beautiful kingdom were destroyed/rebuilt to honor the mighty Koopa Klan.
Two people in the front row were the wounded and battered Mario Bros. Bowser had made sure of that. They watched with everyone else as their land, their kingdom, was remodeled.
"Never-a, in a thousand-a damn years-a, did I-a ever think-a Bowser would-a be able-a to overthrow-a us."
Mario let his words float along in the air for a bit. There was no response. Mario peered with a questioning glance at his brother.
Luigi was just hopelessly peering downwards at the floor, with nothing more than an occasional mumble in depression escaping him. And who could blame him? Not only had the war been lost, but he, Mario and Yoshi had lost pretty much everything they ever owned, including their house, and years of memory.
Speaking of which, Yoshi was still there with his masters, napping in front of their chairs, in spite of the ground still being damp and musty from yesterday's horrible rainstorm. Then again, if he was seen crying in front of the barbaric Sledge Bros, they probably would have shot his head off right then and there.
Mario took a deep breath, tensing every single bone in his portly body.
"Well…."
The heroic plumber took a long, hard look at the land around him. The dark, ashy, smoky, choking air screamed out in horrible, blood-curling agony. High, smoldering pieces of rubble were visible as final remnants of the landmarks that had been destroyed in yesterday's war. Seemingly endless rows of sickly, ghastly corpses, Mushroom citizens marching in single file lines cuffed to each other, and the horrifying, desperate cries of the soon-to-be-dead Mushroomers clouded the air to accompany the gut-wrenching sights of them weakly, uselessly trying to drag their bleeding and mutilated bodies across the ground before finally dying. All the while the heartless Sledge Bros kept on battering, bruising, and killing anyone they pleased. If there was a true hell on earth, this was it.
Mario slowly turned his head back to his brother and shook his head sadly.
"I've got-a nothing…..."
To Mario's great surprise, his lanky brother in green was getting up slowly and stretching. He slowly opened his mouth and raised his forefinger in questioning, but his bro shushed him.
"I'm-a going for a walk-a. If we-a have to live-a under these-a conditions now-a, I'd-a rather be in-a good shape-a than become-a a fatass like-a you." Luigi playfully shoved Mario whilst chuckling.
Mario's face curled up in a display of mock anger He galloped after Luigi, sneering all the way. "Oh hell-a no. You're just-a jealous of my-a natural boyish good looks-a!" He chased after his brother, with both of them chuckling as they ran up the sidewalk.
At last, the party company had come, with decorations and a DJ, and the Koopa Troop's party could get started at last. The party was, to describe it simply, awesome. The Mushroomers may have hated their guts, but from what they could witness from the sidelines, they had to begrudgingly admit that the Koopa army really knew how to to party. Plenty tried to break into the action, but the break-dancing Koopas had formed a weird sort of barrier that blocked out any non-evil people from entering the party. Eventually, throwing his hands in the air with a grunt in exasperation, the final Mushroomer sat back down on the damp grass, sulking in his depression.
Indeed, their celebratory party was big. Bigger than big. Not only did it take up all of the central plaza of Toad Town, but it also spilled into several people's front and backyards and all the Doomships that Bowser had in his arsenal.
"This shit is da BOMB!" laughed a horribly drunken Koopa Troopa.
This did little to concern the Marios, who continued to rush up the street. By this point in time, Yoshi had noticed his masters had left, and was blazing through the streets like a tornado.
"Yoshi yoshi yoshi! (Mommy! Daddy! Wait up!)"
In spite of his pleas, Mario and Luigi didn't slow down, as they saw another good pal of theirs sitting on the grass.
Of course, it was Toad, who was busy raising his middle finger at the partying Koopas in contempt. The bros plopped down next to the plucky shroom, who perked up upon sighting them.
"Hey, bros, what's up?!"
"Not-a much-a," replied Luigi. "Just-a exercising all up-a in here-a. If-a there's a big revolution-a, I'd rather keep-a my good looks-a than become-a a giant tub-a of goo-a like my bro-a here."
Mario pretended to be offended. "Oh, fuck-a you!" he yelled, playfully waving his brother away. "But anyways-a, whatcha doing-a, Toad?"
Toad shrugged. "Not much, honestly. Just showing as much disrespect to these Nazis as possible without getting shot."
"Ey, man. I feel ya." Luigi cleared his throat. "But, uh, would you rather finish this conversation in my casino, before it gets remodeled into Bowser's casino or something of that nature?"
By then, Yoshi had finally caught up with the rest of the crew. He was slowly panting, trying to catch his breath. Instead of sitting down with the trio, Yoshi just fell downwards, flat on his face.
Toad paid no mind, already stretching up and nodding at the crew.
"Yeah, sure-a," agreed the Mushroom Kingdom's hero. He bent down over to Yoshi, slowly poking him. "Hey, come on-a. To Luigi's Casino-a. Hup-hup!"
Yoshi nodded and with a giant grunt and heave in effort, pushed himself up. He then eagerly bent over into a hunched stance, leaving his saddle wide open for jumping. As per usual.
Mario jumped onto his back. As per usual.
The 4 headed off towards Luigi's casino, bypassing the reckless clatter of the residents, the blood on the walls, and the corpses all around them.
Bowser's Doomship
Time: 8:50 PM
It is always a sad scene right after a big party ends, and this one was no exception. Streamers that, only hours before were being thrown up like confetti, now just lay down on chairs, the floor, and the tables, limply, uselessly, sadly, barely noticeable within the dark and empty party room. There was not a soul to be seen, apart from a few drunken stragglers, all passed out peacefully within their own sickly, collecting pools of vomit, mumbling incoherently about god knows what. Pieces of jagged, broken beer bottles, crumbs of cake, shaved ice, and other food items lay hardened on the freezing carpet, and the pungent aroma of spilled liquor permeated the room.
A lone walking figure seemed to care less. He still solemnly marched towards the door at the opposite end leading to Bowser's door, his feet slowly sagging into the ground with each step.
The figure slowly opened his lord's door.
Fortunately, Bowser was there….. busy french-kissing a nearly-naked, busty Shy Girl stripper lying in his lap. It was all the figure could do not to facepalm.
"What the hell do you want, Kamek? What have I told you about barging in when a stripper's lying half-naked on my lap?" Miraculously, Bowser had actually bothered to look at the figure (who was indeed Kamek).
Kamek sighed. "Lord Bowser, you have full rulership of the Mushroom Kingdom, and the first thing you do is hire a stripper to fuck you left and right?... But that's besides the point."
Bowser's top magikoopa paused mid-sentence, carefully thinking about how to speak around someone like Bowser. Carefully, he continued.
"...So, you say this Power-Star esque object that you jammed into your chest…. You just found it buried in the ground, just like that?"
"Yes, just like that. I absorbed it's energy, became powerful as hell, got a badass scar on my chest, and became the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom 'cause I'm awesome. Okay, conversation's over."
Bowser resumed kissing the Shy Gal, now also clutching her ass with his free hand, clearly not giving Kamek a second thought.
Kamek sighed, shaking his head. He was tempted to end the conversation right there, but he still had his doubts and worries.
"Okay," Kamek bravely resumed. "I don't think stars just, well, end up in the ground just like that. Something might be wrong. It's just a hunch, but…. I feel it would be wise if I sent that star to our scientists to determine it's origin-"
"Proud to serve you, o mighty and strong one…" moaned Stripper (which was the actual name of the Shy Gal), now lying aside Bowser.
"Bah, it's nothing you need to thank me for," replied the Koopa King. He lazily rose up, yawning and stretching his arms. "Matter of fact, I should be the one thanking you."
A sly grin formed at the corner of Bowser's lips. "If you still insist on thanking me, though, you can do it by pulling off your top and-"
"ENNNNNOOOOOOOOUGGGGH!" screamed Kamek at the top of his lungs, the volume so high that the glass window shattered into hundreds of pieces.
To put it lightly, Bowser and Stripper were astonished that someone of Kamek's stature could produce such a loud noise. They stood, mouths agape, for a solid 10 seconds. For those same 10 seconds, Kamek stood still, breathing slowly to regain his speaking voice.
"Well," resumed Kamek, in a normal speaking voice this time, "As I was SAYING, I will take this right now and send it to our-"
"Like hell you will!" interrupted Bowser, who then leaped across the room with surprising speed for one of his girth, pinning Kamek to the floor with one beefy fist before the latter could so much as gasp in shock.
"Now, listen here, lackey! It was that star fragment that helped me overthrow the Mushroomers, and I sure as fuck am not going to give it up just for you to do your nerdy science on it!
Pausing mid-sentence, Bowser slammed his foot down on the ground to emphasize his point. "THIS IS MY STAR! Understand, you goddamn magikoopa?!"
Unfortunately, the earthquake caused by aforementioned foot-stomping was powerful enough to send the star fragment hurtling through the air with a WOOSH. As if that wasn't unlucky enough, Bowser and Kamek got the pleasure of seeing the fragment finally descend… right out the window.
"...NOOOOOOO!" the two of them both yelled, simultaneously chasing after the star fragment.
It seemed impossible, but with a final mighty grunt, the Koopa King's feet lifted off from the ground, and like a heat-seeking missile locked onto it's target, he streaked in a flawless diving grab and recovered the artifact of mystical power.
"YEAH, BABY!" Bowser gloated, showboating and fist-pumping to celebrate having recovered the source of his power. He turned to Kamek, and shot him a quick glare that was able to perfectly convey his message.
"...Yeah, yeah, I'm going," sighed Kamek, the downtrodden magikoopa turning around and walking out of Bowser's room.
It's too bad Bowser didn't think to look down out the window. If he did, he would have noticed that he only grabbed half of the shard. The other half was falling down to Earth….
Luigi's Casino was still very full, perhaps in spite of the Kingdom's recent…. Troubles. The noises of scrappers slamming down cards, the addictive noises of the slot machines and the sounds of beverages being prepared remained just as prevalent as any other day, as were the frequent blinking lights. The person hiding in the corner from the armed thugs looking for his lunch money, the guy passed out in his seventh cup of beer, and that one big spender in the corner who seemed to win every thinking game he challenged people too (whether by cheating or not everyone still debated), alongside others, were still present in the area. It was almost as if nothing had happened… almost.
The normally perky Toad waitress now strutted up with a defeated pose as she went up to take the crew's order.
"Hey….." Her voice seemed to trail off into the distance, with an eternity passing before she spoke again. "We decided to make everything on the house today to give people at least one thing to smile about. I-I h-hope that's okay with you, Luigi?"
Her grief was poorly disguised by a cheesy smile. Luigi sighed and slowly nodded. He just couldn't say no to her.
"Now that's what I'm talking about, bitch. I'll have all the liquor I can stomach," grinned Toad.
"Okay-a, I'll take-a some of the seafood-a."
"Er, yeah, same-a as him," Luigi mumbled to the ground. The waitress nodded and dashed off with their orders.
Mario cast a questioning glance at Luigi. Normally, he didn't order so quickly, and he always ordered the hot fudge sundae.
"Got-a something on your-a mind again-a, bro?" Mario questioned with genuine concern. He busted Luigi's chops often-brothers are supposed to do that-but he could tell this was different.
Luigi straightened himself up. "Well….. I've-a been thinking. Bowser's already our ruler-a, right?"
Murmurs of "yeah" and "don't remind me" were heard at not only their table, but from a few onlookers who had blown their tokens and decided to drop in on the conversation.
"That's-a already awesome for-a him-a, but I-a know him. We've been-a fighting him-a since birth-a. Even before-a we fell down that-a drain in Brooklyn-a and returned here-a, we knew him-a all too well. Do you really-a think he's just-a gonna lie down-a and say "Yup, all satisfied" just like that?"
Murmurs of "shit, he's got a point" and "oh, no" were audible.
"He's got some sort of-a master agenda planned-a, knowing him-a. This is probably-a just the tip-a of the iceberg-a. I'll bet right-a now, he's already-a thinking of what he's-a gonna do next-a, and this will be nothing-a. So yeah-a, I can't really enjoy-a myself now."
Everyone nodded with total understanding. Mario looked down slowly at the floor, realizing his bro was right.
...He hated when that happened.
"I never thought the day would come so soon…"
Merlon, one of the resident wizards of the Mushroom Kingdom, was now lying on a lawn chair in his front yard, taking a moment to reflect on everything that had happened in the last couple of hours in the Mushroom Kingdom.
"Let's see…. Bowser and his army stormed into the Mushroom Kingdom in the middle of the night, and for some reason, were much more powerful than normal. Bowser killed the Mushroom King, and now he's our ruler, and he's making our lives hell," Merlon muttered to no one in particular, perfectly summing up the events.
Right above him, meanwhile, the star fragment spiraled downwards, faster and faster, until it finally bonked Merlon on his head, eliciting a grunt in pain.
"I TOLD you ruffians, I wasn-"
Suddenly, all words failed the sage. He just stood there, gawking in shock, eyes firmly glued to the star fragment, jaw dropped, unable to say anything except an occasional gasp in shock.
Because, you see, this was more than just a star fragment. This didn't just come from any old Power Star. If his hunches were correct, soon, a Mushroom Kingdom ruled by Bowser would be the least of the kingdom's (hell, the least of the universe's) troubles.
"No….."
The old sage shook his head sadly. There was no sense waiting. He whipped out his cell phone, opened up to his contacts, and speed-dialed the one hero that could save them now.
The conversation Mario, Luigi, and Toad had been having was still going strong.
"So," said Toad, slamming his fifth cup of beer down on the counter with a resounding slam, "what do you suggest that we-"
Without warning, a loud, noisy playing of DJ Khaled's "I'm the One" blared out, causing everyone in the casino to turn up from whatever they were doing prior and wonder who was being so careless as to let their ringtone go off in public.
"Who did-a that?!" questioned Mario.
…..Mario's expression changed from confusion to realization and embarrassment as he suddenly remembered that it was his ringtone. His face suddenly became fire-hose red as he scavenged in his wallet.
"...Realization, huh?" snickered Luigi.
"Oh, shut the hell-a up."
Mario flicked open his cell phone and answered the call.
"It's-a me, Mario!... Oh hey-a, Merlon….. Wait, Merlon? What the… look-a, if this is about-a that time-a I dropped-a your toothbrush-a in the toilet and just put it back on the counter, then I swear I was going to tell you!"
"...Wait, what?"
"...Uh… I didn't say-a anything. Carry on-a."
"Okay…. Well, look, I'd imagine that now, this would be the last thing that anyone in the Kingdom, let alone you, would want to hear right about now, but…."
Merlon had assumed correctly. The mustachioed plumber suddenly went quiet, silently dreading as he contemplated all the possible answers to the question he was about to ask.
"...Like what-a?"
The old sage silently shuddered, loath to admit he had no idea how to answer this question. He too began contemplating how he should say it. Finally, heavy-hearted, Merlon chose to just break the news.
"Well…." Merlon's voice was shuddering, barely a whisper, gentle as a summer breeze.
Although Luigi, Yoshi and Toad couldn't hear anything Merlon was saying (nor did they even know who Mario was talking to), the expressions on Mario's face and his responses told much of the story for them. They stood close, staring with rapt attention.
"Oh my-a… oh my-a….…" All the color had long since been drained from the plumber's face.
Merlon sighed. "I wish that I didn't have to tell you all this, but as our hero, you had to be alerted. If you have any friends with you wherever you are, bring them all to my house. I'll brief them all there."
"Will do. Bye."
Mario slammed his cell shut. Luigi, Yoshi and Toad were still glancing at their friend with an unwavering gaze, waiting for him to brief them.
Mario glanced at his curious friends, eyes welling with sorrow. He had to tell them, but how could he do it without breaking their spirits further?
He ultimately decided to leave out a few parts for the time being.
"Come to Merlon's-a house now-a. All of us-a."
Luigi's eyes widened. "M-m-merlon's-a house? Did he-a find out about-a the time-a you-"
"NO-A, it's not about-a that!" yelled Mario, quickly shushing his bro. "Just… follow me-a. All of you."
With that, the stoic plumber turned around and solemnly marched out the door to the casino.
Toad and Luigi shared a quick, uneasy glance. Although they were two very different people, they could tell that they both were thinking the exact same thing.
Whatever had happened, it was not good.
At that very same time, Bowser was busy in his office, pondering a very important question.
What now?
"Hmmmm….." grumbled the stressed Koopa King.
He took a long, sweeping look along the room. "Well….. Whatever move I make next, it'll have to be carefully planned. One false move, and we'll be back to Square one. No, not even that. We'd be worse off than we were before," he slowly mumbled to himself.
Bowser stood up from his throne. "I'll sleep on it. For now, I gotta write a lengthy speech to give to these pathetic shrooms tomorrow morning. See you some other time, Stripper."
Finally, the Koopa King slammed the door behind him.
After his mighty, lumbering footsteps were no longer audible, there was an uncomfortable silence. Stripper cast a glance at the…. Screen?
"Errrrr…." She paused, putting her hand on her breast as she considered her words.
"Well…. Looks like I'm the last one here….. So, I guess it's up to me to end this chapter." She timidly waved at the reader. "So, uh, bye… see you some other time!" She continued waving as the sound faded.
TO BE CONTINUED...