Super Mario Bros: Enter Kevin Koopa

by Enterprise F

After Bowser's latest defeat, his oldest son is tired of sitting on the sidelines as innumerable Koopas die in the ongoing war and decides to end it himself. Can Mario and Luigi defeat the most dangerous of Bowser's children?

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Mario and Luigi made their way out of Princess Peach's Castle and headed towards Mushroom Mountain near the outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom in their go-karts, Mario driving the red kart, with Luigi driving the green. They needed to get there as quickly as possible before Kevin had managed to take Princess Peach beyond the borders of the Mushroom Kingdom, for they had a feeling that once Peach's kidnapper crossed into the Koopa Kingdom, that he would have an entire army supporting him. Before departing, they had taken a large assortment of power-ups and other items, such as Thunder Rages, Ice Storms, and Shooting Stars. Toadsworth had also told them that the one who had kidnapped Princess Peach was the Crown Prince of the Koopas, Kevin. He was the oldest son of Bowser and the only Koopaling that the brothers had yet to face off against in combat. Mario had noticed that Toadsworth spoke about Kevin with both respect, as well as a noticeable amount of fear as well. In fact, Toadsworth had said that Kevin was the Koopa Kingdom's version of the Super Mario Brothers.

As they drove, they thought about what to expect in the upcoming battle. They knew that Kevin would have to be brazen, and powerful, if he were willing to enter Princess Peach's Castle plainly, without any backup, and kidnap Peach while she was surrounded by guards, as well as in the presence of Toadsworth. They knew that Kevin was not like his other siblings, or even his father. Bowser and the others had always had backup waiting for them whenever they had kidnapped Peach. Kevin, however, was completely alone, and that troubled the Marios greatly. They suspected that he was confident in his ability to defeat them even with a numerical disadvantage. They figured that he had to be planning something.

As they were pondering the recent events, they heard the sounds of more karts coming up from behind. Driving behind them were four other Toads, also driving in karts. As they moved up alongside of the Mario Brothers, they gave the humans a wave, which the Marios returned. The Toads had brown caps with red, green, blue, and pink colored spots respectively. The red-spotted Toad called over to the Marios, "Well, it looks like we'll be fighting alongside you. With you fighting, and there being no other signs of Koopas, this'll be a piece of cake."

Mario was not so sure. Kevin had to be pretty confident in his abilities to be willing to risk fighting the Mario Brothers seemingly without any backup. "So, who are we gonna clobber?" the Toad with the green spots asked.

"Kevin Koopa," Luigi responded. "We're kind of going in blind here, so if you've got any information on Kevin, please tell us. We can use all the information on him we can get."

The faces of each of the four Toads went blank at the mere mention of the name of Kevin. "Uh, Kevin?" the red-spotted Toad asked. "You're gonna take on Kevin?'

"Yes," the Mario Brothers responded. "Why?"

"Because Kevin is the most powerful Koopa in history, next to Bowser the Great," the Toad with blue spots responded unsteadily. "There's a reason Bowser hasn't sent him on any missions here, yet."

"Why hasn't he?" Mario asked.

"Pride," the Toad with pink spots answered succinctly. "Bowser's scared of Kevin showing him up."

"So, what can Kevin do that Bowser and the others can't?" Luigi asked.

"Lots of things," the Toads answered in unison. "He can use all of the combat spells of the Magikoopas, can fire lightning and/or fire from his hand, he has ice spells, etcetera. He's a one-Koopa army, just like you guys. They also say that he has some form of magic that he keep secret, even from his own mentor, Kamek."

Mario and Luigi nodded. This was useful information. It appeared as if Kevin fought more like a Magikoopa than his siblings. They would not make the mistake of believing that Kevin was limited to magic, though. The other Toads then looked over at Mario and said, "Well, good luck against Kevin. You're gonna need it. We'll all be routin' for ya." Each of the four Toads then proceeded to break off from the Mario Brothers, leaving them alone as they went towards Mushroom Mountain, which was now visible in the distance. Mario quickly checked his pockets, making sure that he had a diverse array of power-ups and items. He looked over and saw his younger brother doing the same thing. They both knew that they would need everything they had in their arsenal in order to defeat the Crown Prince of the Koopas.

Meanwhile, on top of Mushroom Mountain, Kevin stood atop the mountain, looking down at the scene below him. He witnessed the four Toads who had come to support the Marios, or rather, cheer them on, break off and abandon their heroes. "Some friends," he muttered sarcastically. He looked back at Peach, who was suspended in the air, chained by magical chains, and extended his wand into the air. Immediately, the scene below them played out across a magical hologram. "So this is what your Toads are known for," Kevin mocked. "Running away when the going gets tough, leaving it to their heroes to do their own jobs for them."

"They just don't want to get in the way," Peach countered. Inwardly, though, she was less than pleased about the four Elite Toad Guards abandoning the Marios when they had learned who they were fighting. If she got out of this predicament, she would be certain to chastise them and demote them back a rank. "And how many Goombas desert when they hear that they're going up against Mario?" she retorted.

"None," the Koopa Prince responded plainly. "Despite the fact that our army is almost certainly going to die, they still perform their duties. Hopefully, after today, army after army of Koopas and Goombas won't be sent to die against the Mario Brothers."

"What do you mean?" Peach asked. "I thought you were waiting for your backup to take me to Bowser."

Kevin grinned. "No," he said, shaking his head. "I have no intention of presenting you to my father. I plan on giving him a much better gift."

At first, Peach was puzzled as to what the prince meant, but after a second of contemplation, her eyes went wide with realization. "No!" she blurted.

Kevin nodded. "Those Toads show me that without your heroes, you really are nothing. I mean, look at you. What did you do to resist capture? What have you done to try to escape, leaving me with no leverage on the Marios? And the worst part of it is that you aren't even a weakling like the Toads that just deserted you. I've seen you fight when you must. You can fight! Why don't you fight back when my father or brothers kidnap you? At least make it harder for them to capture you! I mean, really, a cake catches you?"

Peach was speechless before Kevin's questions and accusations. He was right. She could fight, a bit. She was not nearly as strong as either of the Marios or Bowser, though, but she had shown her abilities before. She had gone down easily far too many times. She looked down at the Koopa Prince and, after examining him and taking in what he had said, she could scarcely believe that he was related to Bowser, Bowser Jr., and the other Koopalings in any way. There was a regal nature to the prince, as well as a feeling of compassion. He was not mocking her. He really was surprised that she had not offered more resistance to his capture of her. She could tell that he had wanted her to fight back against him and not come quietly, and not just because of pride. She believed that inwardly, Kevin had difficulty following the orders of his father, and that he really did care about the Koopa Kingdom. That was why he was after the Marios, and not just delivering her to Bowser. He wanted to end the threat that the Marios posed, while still being able to follow his father's orders to the letter. She also felt as if, despite Kevin's loyalty to his father, even he had a breaking point, and that said breaking point was close. One thing she knew, though, was that despite his power, she would much rather have him as the Koopa King than Bowser. She then looked at the hologram as the Mario Brothers approached the mountain. They were coming to rescue her. She had to somehow let them know that they were walking into a trap. Kevin was far more powerful than anyone in either the Mushroom Kingdom, or the Koopa Kingdom, knew.

Kevin looked down the mountain, extending his magical sight until he spotted the two karts ascending the mountain. Looking back at Peach he told her, "They're coming. If you play your part, you'll get out of this without a problem."

Until your father comes to kidnap me again, Peach thought sarcastically. However, she defiantly told him, "Yes, I'll get out of this because the Mario Brothers will defeat you. They have access to powers you can't possibly imagine. There's no way they'll come here unprepared."

Kevin merely gave a soft chuckle. "Yes, I know. However, I've made special preparations of my own."

That statement gave Peach pause. She wondered what Kevin could be talking about when she saw him looking at his golden wand head. She then realized, with dread, that he did have a plan for dealing with the Marios. They were being led right into a trap and had no backup thanks to those cowardly Toad guards. The Koopa Prince soon dispersed the hologram and simply waited for the Mario Brothers to arrive.

The Mario Brothers drove up to the side of the mountain and once they had arrived, they disembarked from their karts and proceeded to make their way up the mountain on foot. Along the way, they encountered no resistance in the form of Koopas, which surprised them greatly. It did not take them long to reach the top of the mountain. Despite the fact that they were likely expected, they had not run into any traps, which also came as a surprise. As they reached the top, they saw Princess Peach suspended in the air bound by magical chains. They also saw a black-robed "Magikoopa" standing underneath the princess. As the Mario Brothers approached, Peach was gently lowered to the ground, where she landed right next to Kevin. As the Marios looked closer, they realized that the "Magikoopa" that they were facing was the same one they met at the end of Bowser's last kidnapping attempt against Peach. Once Peach touched down onto the ground, she called out to the Marios, "Mario, Luigi, get out of here! It's a trap!"

Kevin scowled and turned back towards Peach. Drawing out his wand, he told her, "Your usefulness here has ended." He pointed his wand at her and fired a golden beam of light from its head. The beam struck Peach and she promptly vanished into thin air.

Mario and Luigi gasped at the disappearance of Peach, fearing that she had been killed. "What did you do to her?" Mario roared in question.

"I sent her back to her castle," Kevin answered calmly. "She was merely the means to an end; that end being bringing the two of you to me."

"Why do you want us?" Luigi asked. He was beginning to wonder if Kevin had ulterior motives for wanting to face the Mario Brothers, especially since he had not brought any backup with him.

"I want to defeat you in battle," the Koopa Prince answered calmly. "For more than a decade, you've been a bane to Koopas. Countless coins and a staggering number of lives have been spent trying to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, a kingdom with a standing army that a squadron of Koopa Troopas with a single bazooka could conquer; that is if the Mushroom Kingdom did not have its heroes defending it at every turn. In the decade or so since you've been fighting us actively, you, your brother, and allies have killed more than a million of us: Koopas, Goombas, Clubbas, Boos, Bob-ombs, Shy Guys, etcetera. Even more have been wounded in battle! No more!" Kevin roared. "I will end it, right here, right now! No one else will die fighting you! I won't allow it!"

With that, Kevin pointed his wand at Mario and Luigi. The Mario Brothers, however, had already powered up, grabbing hold of their Fire Flowers. They both transformed into Fire Mario and Fire Luigi respectively and opened fire on Kevin. Fireballs erupted from their hands and streaked towards the Koopa Prince. The prince took the assault without even attempting to dodge, for he knew that he could weather their initial assault, and disabling the powers of the Super Mario Brothers was paramount to his plan, since he did not want to kill them, not yet. He grunted as he sustained the withering assault, burns already forming on his robes and hand, but he still held strong. He pointed his wand at the Marios and fired, a blast of golden light erupting from the wand. Mario and Luigi dodged the blast, dashing to their right and left respectively, allowing the blast to strike the ground harmlessly, or so it was thought. As the blast hit the ground, it exploded into several lines that washed over Mario, Luigi, and even Kevin. The energy lines rose high into the sky and soon spread out over the whole land, encompassing the entire mountain and at least a mile or so beyond the mountain in all directions before the lines eventually fell to the ground and promptly disappeared. The brothers then felt their fire powers vanish and, looking at themselves, found that they had reverted to their normal forms. They fished inside their pockets and gripped other power-ups and tried to transform again, only to find that they were still normal. Kevin grinned. "My spell neutralizes any and all special power-ups and items that I had managed to place into the spell."

Mario and Luigi soon revealed items that they had believed that Kevin would not have expected. They each pulled out a Thunder bolt, a small cloud with a lightning bolt and had it target the Koopa Prince. However, as they went to activate the Thunder bolt, the cloud and lightning fizzled and vanished in a puff of smoke. "I managed to gain access to some special items that you have used in past adventures as well," Kevin added.

"How?" Luigi asked.

"That's not important. What's important is that I managed to gain them and create this spell which has neutralized your superpowers and other offensive items. And now, even if you should escape the confines of this spell, I will ensure that you do not have any powers to draw upon." Kevin then pointed his wand back at the Mario Brothers, its head now red, something that the Marios were quick to notice, but could not worry about right now, and fired another beam at them, this one being a green beam. The beam split off and struck both brothers in the chest, energy arcing across their bodies. Despite the energy arcing across their bodies, the brothers felt no pain. The spell was not inflicting any damage on them. However, they did feel their power-ups and offensive items leave their pockets and fly into the air. Fire Flowers, Super Mushrooms, Raccoon Leaves, Cape Feathers, and even some Thunder Rages and Ice Storms rose into the air above them: all of the items, save for a couple Shooting Star that the Marios had brought with them. A stream of fire then erupted from Kevin's wand and the power-ups and items were immediately incinerated. Once that was finished, Kevin stared back at the brothers. "You obviously came prepared for a difficult fight," he told them, "but I was ready as well. Without your superpowers, you are not nearly as dangerous as many would have us believe. I will give you this one chance: surrender now, and I will do my utmost not to have you killed as long as you leave the Mushroom Kingdom and promise never to return to defend it again."

"Not a chance," both brothers responded harshly.

Kevin looked down at the ground. "I suspected as much," he said softly. "Then prepare for battle!" the prince cried as he charged towards the Mario Brothers.

Over at Princess Peach's Castle, Peach stood in the center of the castle and looked around. Toads were going about their daily duties, with Toadsworth giving directions. The castle still seemed to be in an uproar since her disappearance. She could see the looks of fear on the faces of the Toads and she knew that it would be a difficult task to bring along any assistance to the Mario Brothers. As she had appeared, Toadsworth jumped up in surprise. "Princess!" he cried at the sight of her. "You're back! The Marios did it! You're saved!"

"No!" she blurted. "Kevin sent me back here! The Mario Brothers were his target from the beginning! I was merely the bait!"

"But it doesn't matter now," one of her guards replied. "We've got you back. What more needs to be done?"

"You're not listening," Peach nearly yelled, in a very unladylike fashion. "Kevin's sole target is the Mario Brothers. He doesn't care about me or the rest of the kingdom. He knows that with the Marios out of the way, his father can come into the Mushroom Kingdom unopposed and lay waste. He set up a trap for the Marios. Given the cryptic hints that he told me, as well as his confidence in beating the Marios without having any sort of backup, I think that he has managed to duplicate Bowser the Great's Neutralize Special Powers spell."

That caused the other Toads, along with Toadsworth, to gasp. "The Mario Brothers are going to a fight where they may not be able to use any of their superpowers or even items that they brought along with them."

That brought another gasp from the occupants of the castle. "Then, the Mario Brothers are doomed," one of the guards, a Toad with blue-green spots, wearing a gray cape and carrying a spear said.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," the princess countered. "I'm going to try to get them out of the trap!"

"No!" Toadsworth blurted. "You can't go! You're no match for Kevin!"

"I can't just stay here, Toadsworth," Peach contended. "Mario and Luigi need help. Who here is willing to go help them?"

The other Toads, knowing that they were about to be called upon to help Peach fight, immediately backed away and fled, feigning that they had other duties that needed to be attended to. Seeing this, Peach looked down at Toadsworth and said, "My point exactly."

"I'll go help them out," a young male voice called out from the entrance.

Peach and Toadsworth looked over and saw a young male Goomba with a blue cap on his head. Peach instantly recognized the Goomba as being Goombario, one of Mario's friends and comrades from when Bowser had stolen the Star Rod and taken her castle high into the sky. Goombario came over to Peach and asked, "Where are the Mario's now!"

"They're over on Mushroom Mountain, near the outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom," the princess answered. "However, they're fighting Kevin Koopa and it's likely that a lot of their items won't be effective. Their superpowers are also useless as long as they're on the mountain."

"Kevin?" Goombario asked.

Peach nodded.

"So he's finally come into the fight, eh?" Goombario commented. "I was wondering how long it would take." Goombario had been surprised that Kevin had not entered the war sooner. He then looked up at Peach and said, "Leave everything to me. I also heard that some of the others are coming, too, so you should stay here and tell them where I'm going."

Peach did not like having to stay behind while Mario went out to fight Kevin, especially since she knew just how dangerous an opponent the Koopa Prince really was, but in her heart, she knew that it was for the best. If she had gone, Kevin could have easily captured her and used her as leverage against Mario and Luigi. Goombario was a better fighter than she was, so she suspected that he could take care of himself and that he would be a much better ally for the brothers. As such, she responded, "Okay, brave Goomba. Go and help Mario. I'll stay here and coordinate with you and the others who come."

Goombario nodded and then rushed out the door. As he left, Peach said a silent prayer that both Goombario would get to the Marios in time, and that they would be able to defeat the Koopa Prince.

Back on Mushroom Mountain, Mario and Luigi were having a difficult fight against Kevin. Mario drew out his hammer and charged towards the prince, taking a swing at the Koopa as he drew close to his enemy. The Koopa deftly dodged the strike, causing the hammer to smash into the ground, sending up a cloud of dirt and debris. The ground in the vicinity of the hammer strike shook, but the prince did not lose his balance. Kevin then pulled back his left hand and, curling his fingers into a fist, let fly at Mario. The punch managed to catch Mario in the head, forcing the human back a few steps, but Mario's increased durability allowed him to weather the blow and get right back into the fight. As Kevin struck Mario, Luigi also took a swing with his hammer at the prince. Kevin saw the attack coming and moved to his side in order to avoid the strike. Unfortunately for him, though, Mario had quickly recovered from the punch and was already swinging his hammer right where the Koopa Prince was going to arrive after dodging Luigi's swing. Mario's hammer caught the prince right in the chest. Kevin grunted as the blow forced him to exhale the air in his lungs. He staggered backwards a few feet and, seeing this as an opportunity, the Marios pressed the attack.

Mario was the first to charge and he swung his hammer once more at Kevin, this time aiming for the Koopa's head. Kevin managed to duck beneath the blow and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luigi coming towards him, already swinging his hammer. He knew that he would be unable to avoid Luigi's strike, so he curled into his shell and used his magic to increase his defense. Luigi's hammer blow came right down on the Koopa Prince's shell and a loud whack echoed around the mountain. The prince grunted with the blow, since the force of the hammer blow shook the inside of his shell, but he suffered no damage. He emerged from his shell and pointed his wand towards the Mario Brothers. He fired a stream of fire towards them, but the Marios were able to dive underneath of it and quickly crawl out of its way before the prince swept the stream of flame downwards in an attempt to incinerate them. Mario then charged Kevin, his hammer at the ready, as Luigi jumped into the air. The Koopaling thrust out his hand and an invisible force pushed Mario backwards and to the ground. However, as Kevin had forced Mario backwards, the plumber's younger brother landed on the prince's head. Kevin gave a cry as he thrust his wand upwards as he was knocked over by Luigi's stomp. The wand managed to make contact with Luigi and sent him flying through the air. The plumber landed several yards away from Kevin, grunting as he hit the ground, but quickly rose to face the Koopa. Kevin then rose and readied himself to continue this fight. However, he knew that even without their superpowers, the Marios were still forces to be reckoned with, as the current fight was showing him firsthand. Still, despite being outnumbered, he did have a few advantages; the biggest one being that he had ranged attacks and the Marios had none that he knew of at the time.

Kevin then backed away and summoned his broomstick. A traditional witch's broom appeared beneath the Koopa Prince and he gripped its front with his left had as he raised his wand into the sky. After mounting the broom, he quickly ascended and an unnatural blue flame appeared above the head of the wand. Kevin pointed the wand down at the Marios and a stream of blue fire was unleashed upon them. The Marios split up in order to force Kevin to divide his attention between the two of them. However, much as with Bowser's blue flame when they faced him when he had taken Princess Peach's Castle years ago in the Bowser in the Sky course, the blue fire divided into three flames that hopped across the ground. The difference here, though, was the fact that the blue flames were homing in on each of the brothers. Mario dove out of the way of one of the flames as the other two bore down on him. He managed to dance away from them for the time being, but he was too distracted by the flames to focus on the Koopa Prince who was hovering above the two brothers. Kevin glanced over at Luigi and, seeing that the younger of the Mario Brothers was having his own problems dodging the flames and preparing a counterattack, he focused his attention on Mario. He pointed his wand down on the older human and a bolt of lightning emerged from it. The lightning bolt struck Mario in the chest and he gave a cry as electricity arced across his body. He then fell to one knee as the blue flames converged on him. The plumber gave another cry as he was hit by the flames and he ran around, his backside on fire. The flames were extinguished as quickly as Kevin had summoned them, for he did not want Mario to be killed. Mario then lay there, seemingly unconscious as Kevin went to deal with Luigi. During that time, Mario got out a Deluxe Feast that Tayce T. had made for him two days ago and promptly began to eat it. He knew that he would have no chance against Kevin if he did not have his full health. He only hoped that Luigi would be able to manage until he was finished his meal.

While Mario was busy healing himself, Kevin had turned his attention to Luigi. The plumber was having difficulty dodging the blue homing flames that had erupted from the massive fire attack that Kevin had unleashed against the two brothers. He constantly weaved and danced out of the way of the homing flames, barely managing to avoid taking a hit. Kevin put an end to his evasiveness by firing a lightning bolt from his wand, just as he had done with Luigi's older brother. The bolt of lightning struck the human in the chest and he was paralyzed by the attack, in addition to being noticeably hurt. The blue flames then converged on the green and blue clad plumber and exploded upon converging on him. Since he was paralyzed, though, Luigi was unable to run around as Mario had when the flames had struck him. Kevin, knowing that he could not afford to kill the human, extinguished the flames before they were fatal.

After a while, Luigi was able to move once more and he pulled out an Ultra Shroom Shake in order to restore the health that he had lost in Kevin's assault. The prince saw him take out his Ultra Shroom Shake and was about to fire his wand at the item to destroy it when suddenly, out of nowhere, a rain of yellow stars fell upon him from the sky. The stars landed all around him, but those that failed to hit him did not inflict any damage to the mountain. The prince raised his arms over his head as he endured the assault, looking down at the healed Mario, utilizing a Shooting Star item. While the Shooting Star item did not inflict much damage to Kevin, it did manage to get through his increased defenses. In addition, the barrage of stars that was raining down on him struck his broomstick and shattered its front end. The stick soon spun out of control, much like a helicopter that was missing its rear rotor. Soon, more stars were converging on the stick and Kevin was forced to abandon it as the stars shattered the stick. The prince fell through the air, still under attack from the stars, and hit the ground hard, grunting as he hit. He had sustained moderate damage in the attack, all told, but it was nothing that a quick healing spell would not fix, which it did. The prince then focused back on the Marios once more as they began to approach him. Despite the loss of his broomstick and the fact that the Marios had healed from the recent exchange, Kevin had a feeling that they were coming down to the end of the battle. Mario had revealed his Shooting Star and it had only inflicted minor damage to the Koopa Prince, damage that he had just healed. Kevin could not help but smile. He had them. He did not need his broomstick to defeat them. Chances were that they had used up their last healing items and probably their only ranged attack items that had not been programmed into the Neutralize Special Powers spell. And he had yet to reveal his true skills to the Mario Brothers.

The Mario Brothers then charged Kevin as one, while Kevin merely stood in one place, preparing himself for the attack. The Marios drew out their hammers and proceeded to swing at him. Kevin dodged their swings and jumped backwards, displaying far more agility than he had earlier in the fight, which surprised the two human heroes. The Koopaling drew out his wand once more and he fired a blast of blue lightning, which branched off into two bolts. The bolts struck the gray heads of the hammers that the Marios wielded and the hammers were disintegrated. The Marios let go of the handles so that they would not be disintegrated in the process. The brothers grimaced. Kevin had just been toying with them earlier. Now he was serious, and they had a feeling that he was far more powerful than even Toadsworth had warned.

Kevin soon proved their suppositions right as he charged towards the brothers with blinding speed. The Marios were barely able to react as he appeared in front of them and with a punch and a swipe of his wand, sent them flying in opposite directions. Kevin pursued Mario as he flew and reappeared behind him just as Mario flipped and managed to land on his feet. Sensing an attack from behind, Mario raised his left arm and managed to deflect Kevin's punch and dodge his subsequent wand swipe. However, Kevin was not finished. The wand head glowed and Mario quickly dove to the side as a blast of ice emerged from the head, creating a long sheet of ice on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, the Koopa Prince saw Luigi recover and charge towards him at superhuman speeds. Luigi leapt towards the Koopaling performing a flying side kick. Kevin dodged the attack and Luigi sailed past him. But the prince soon found himself moving into a Flame Fist from Mario. Mario's fiery punch connected with Kevin's torso and the prince was sent staggering back a few feet. Not only that, but Luigi was quick to recover and this time, he did not leave his feet as he attacked the prince. Luigi rushed towards the prince and attempted to perform a karate chop to the teenager's neck. Kevin raised his hand to block the strike, but the blue and green clad plumber continued to go on the offensive with another chop, which Kevin managed to dodge by swaying to the side. Luigi launched a third attack, but the prince managed to catch Luigi's hand this time. The Koopa then curled his fingers into a fist and drove it into the abdomen of Luigi. Luigi gave a grunt as the fist forced the air out of his lungs and took him off his feet. The younger Mario Brother was sent flying through the air.

Kevin was about to launch another attack when Mario joined in to support his younger brother. Interposing himself between the Koopaling and his brother, Mario blocked Kevin's next punch and then proceeded to go on the attack. The plumber unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks towards Bowser's eldest son, but the prince was able to deflect or evade each of the attacks. The prince retaliated with his own flurry of attacks, but Mario was able to parry or block them as well. However, Kevin's attacks were still faster and managed to strike closer to home, and as such, he was forcing Mario back with his flurry. Just then, the prince performed a side kick which caught Mario in the chest and sent him staggering backwards. Luigi was coming to support his brother when Kevin shoved out his hand and sent the two brothers flying backwards. They landed a few yards away, but were quick to rise and face the prince once again. Kevin quickly whipped out his wand and yelled, "It ends now, Mario Brothers!"

Kevin was about to fire a blast from his wand when he was attacked from behind. A Goomba with a blue cap jumped and barreled into the Koopa Prince from behind, causing the Koopa to stagger forward, knocking his wand off target. The wand fired two rings that sailed far to the left of the Marios, struck a rock and surrounded it as if the rings had been lariats. The Koopa Prince quickly recovered, though, and turned to face his ambusher. Seeing that his attacker was a Goomba, he grimaced. Being taken off guard by a Goomba. I'll never live this down. Looking at the Goomba a little more closely, he realized that the Goomba was Goombario, a comrade of Mario from when his father had taken the Star Rod. An idea then entered Kevin's mind. He knew that he could likely defeat the Marios in combat, but it would not have been without cost. However, with a hostage, he could force the Marios to surrender to him and a battle that might still be in doubt could become a clear victory in his favor. He grimaced at the prospect, though. He was winning the fight so far, and he had never liked using such underhanded tactics like hostage taking. However, he knew that while he was winning against Mario and Luigi, he might have trouble later on if Goombario supported them and made it a three-on-one battle. Two-on-one fights were difficult enough; a three-on-one fight would be almost impossible, especially if the fighters were all relatively even. As such, he knew that he had little choice, especially with the prospect of more of Mario's allies coming to aid him in the battle. He had to end the fight now. To that end, he pointed his wand towards Goombario and fired an energy ring. The Goombas attempted to dodge the blast, but Kevin used his magic to suspend the smaller Goomba, making him an easy target for the capture ring. The ring broke as it hit Goombario and the string then wrapped around the Goomba, reforming a ring. Kevin then levitated the Goomba into his hands and turned to face the Mario Brothers, who were fast approaching him.

When Mario and Luigi saw Goombario being held in Kevin's grasp, they stopped in their tracks. Kevin glared at them and called, "Surrender now or Goombario dies!" He abhorred having to use such tactics, but he felt as if he had little choice if he wanted to take down the Mario Brothers. While he knew that he could kill them easily enough under these conditions, he still wanted to at the very least obey the letter of his father's orders, if not the spirit. In order to do that, he could not kill the Marios.

"Wait!" Mario called out, holding out his hands.

"You know my demands," Kevin reiterated. "Surrender!" As if to accentuate his point, the prince tightened his grip on the Goomba, causing Goombario to grunt in pain.

Mario and Luigi looked over at each other and then judged the distance between them and Kevin. Given the Koopa's demonstrated speed and reaction time, they judged that they would be unable to cross the distance and save Goombario before Kevin crushed him, or did something else that resulted in their friend's likely death. "I'm waiting," Kevin called out in warning.

Mario then stepped forward a couple of steps, taking great care so as to not be appearing to be preparing an attack. He then called, "Kevin, if we surrender, what guarantee do we have that you won't kill Goombario?"

"You have my word," Kevin answered, bowing before the brothers, making sure to keep from lowering his eyes towards them, "that if you surrender, I will not harm Goombario in any way, or any other allies that may be coming to help you. But you know what will happen if you don't surrender." Kevin then held up Goombario once more to reiterate his threat.

The Marios looked over at Goombario with melancholy expressions on their faces. They said, "Sorry," as they stepped forward and bowed before Kevin. The brothers then knelt before the prince and told him, "We surrender."

Kevin replied, "I accept your surrender." He then pointed his wand at the two of them and fired a series of magic rings. The rings struck them and wrapped around the brothers, binding their hands and legs. Once they were bound, Kevin told them, "And now to hold up my end of the bargain."

The prince then released Goombario with a wave of his wand. With that wave, the magic ring that bound Goombario vanished. Goombario then did his best to try to help the Marios before Kevin fired another spell at him, levitating him into the air. The prince then told the Goomba, "The levitation spell will wear off once I leave with the Mario Brothers." He then turned to face the Mario Brothers and told them, "It's time. Today, you will be taken before my father. He will decide your ultimate fate." With that, the Koopa Prince and the Mario Brothers vanished.

Goombario then fell to the ground. As he did so, several other allies of the Mario Brothers, most notably Kooper, a Koopa with a blue shell and a red handkerchief tied around his neck; Bombette, a pink Bob-omb with a yellow fuse, and a gray wind-up switch; and Bow, a greenish Boo with a pair of bows tied to her came onto the scene and found Goombario grunting. "What happened?" Kooper asked.

"Where's Mario?" Bombette finished.

"Kevin got 'em," Goombario answered, grunting in pain and humiliation, barely able to blink back tears. "And I'm the reason! I tried to help them, but Kevin captured me and they surrendered so he wouldn't kill me," the Goomba explained.

"I highly doubt that," Bow said, trying to comfort him. "You must have done your best against the most powerful fighter in the Koopa Kingdom.

"A lot of good that did," Goombario mumbled.

"Don't get so down," Bombette told him. "Right now, we have to get back to the castle and plan our next move. We won't abandon the Marios. They wouldn't abandon us if the situation were reversed."

"Yeah," Kooper agreed. "Bowser's not gonna like the fact that his oldest son did on his first try what he couldn't in ten whole years. Even if Kevin tries to get Bowser to kill them, chances are that good ol' Bowser will have the executions be public. That gives us some time to organize a rescue attempt."

"There has to be some people that Peach knows," Bow offered.

"And we've also got Parakarry, Watt, Sushie, and Lakilester to help us," Bombette said. "Along with anyone else that Peach calls over, we should be able to storm Bowser's new castle and save the Mario Brothers. They've been saving the Mushroom Kingdom for a long time, now it's our turn," she proclaimed.

"Right," the others agreed, nodding. The group then made their way down the mountain and rushed back to Princess Peach's Castle so they could gather the rest of Mario's allies and plan a rescue attempt.

Meanwhile, back at Bowser's Castle, Bowser had just gotten out of recovery and was going to meet his children. Bowser entered the large band room and found Ludwig directing a symphony consisting of Wendy and Roy on lead vocals, Lemmy on drums, Iggy on bass, with Larry and Morton playing trumpet and electric guitar respectively. Morton was also close to another microphone as well. Bowser Jr. was standing next to Morton and was another of the backup singers. The door soon opened and Bowser was standing on the other side and proceeded to enter the room. His abdomen was still covered in bandages and he still had a cast on his left arm. As the Koopa King entered the room, the Koopalings looked over at the door and when they saw him enter, they yelled, "King Dad!"

"Daddy!" Wendy squealed as she rushed over to her father and gave him a hug. Bowser grunted as she barreled into him and nearly knocked him over onto his back. Bowser managed to recover, though and gave a wide grin at the sight of his children. He noticed that Kevin was missing but did not think too much of it. His oldest son had always been the black sheep of the family and he was sure that Kevin was likely studying or preparing for his next mission in his quarters.

He then stared over at Ludwig and asked, "So, what are you kids doing with yourselves in here?"

"We're preparing a special performance, just for you, on your birthday," Ludwig and Wendy answered in unison.

Bowser's eyes shined at the mention of his birthday. "So you all remembered!"

The others nodded. "We sure did, Dad," Roy replied.

Wendy then went over to Bowser and told him, "Now just sit back and relax while we put on our performance."

Bowser did as he was directed and as soon as he was sitting back in his chair, the lights went out, save for a series of spotlights that shined on stage, focusing in on his children. It was then that the Koopalings began to sing a song that Bowser suspected was of a genre that Earth humans called heavy metal. He could not even begin to decipher the words that Wendy, Roy, Morton, and Bowser Jr. were singing; and he did not care. He just enjoyed seeing them dance and sing for him. The song lasted for over five minutes and while the guards could barely take the racket, for they considered the Koopalings' playing and singing to be torture, rather than music, they dared not flee the scene for fear of hurting the children's feelings and getting their father angry at them. As such, the guards had to tough it out until the end of the song.

After the five minutes had past, the song mercifully, for the guards, came to an end. After the song, Bowser applauded his children and called, "Encore, encore," bringing expressions of dread to the faces of the guards.

Before Bowser's children could begin the song anew, there came a knock at the door. Bowser grumbled at the sound of the knocking. He tried to ignore it, but the knocking persisted. Eventually, he rose and roared, "Enter!"

The door opened and a large box, easily capable of holding two of the Koopalings was moved into the room by a field of magical energy. Behind the box came Kevin, the Crown Prince of the Koopas. He breathed heavily as he entered. "Father," he said, genuflecting before Bowser, "I've been looking all over the castle for you."

"Well you've found me," Bowser replied gruffly. "You're late. Your siblings just put on a great performance. Where were you?"

"Getting your early birthday present," Kevin answered reverently, bowing before his father. "I think I managed to find something that fit you. I hope you like it."

Bowser looked down at the large box and asked, "What's inside?"

Kevin grinned as he took out his wand and sent out a stream of magic towards the top of the box. The top immediately came off and the sides of the box fell to the ground. Bowser's eyes went wide in shock as he saw the Mario Brothers appear in the confines of the box, golden rings of magic binding their arms, legs, and torsos. "Happy Birthday, Father," Kevin said with a smile. "I present to you the Super Mario Brothers, alive and relatively unharmed. They are yours to do with as you please," the prince said with a note of satisfaction, bowing before his father.

Bowser, the Koopalings, and the guards stared in amazement at the sight before them. "You captured them?" he asked, barely able to conceive of his son being able to accomplish such a feat on his own.

Kevin nodded. "It required a lot of preparation, and a good deal of luck, but yes, I managed to capture the Mario Brothers for you. Do you have any orders regarding what you want to have done to them? You can kill them now and end their threat forever," he offered. "Without them, Peach will be yours for the taking." Kevin could not help but smile smugly at that last statement. While Bowser's infatuation with Peach had merely started out as a marriage that would grant some legitimacy to his takeover of the Mushroom Kingdom, it had bloomed into all out lust for the princess. And now, he had the opportunity to take out his only competition once and for all. Bowser then looked down at his son and a mixture of pride and great fear entered his heart. He suddenly realized that Kevin had done what neither he, nor his other soldiers, including his other children, had been able to do in the last ten years. His oldest son had managed to defeat the Mario Brothers, and he knew that word of Kevin's feat would quickly reach the masses, if it had not already, and that scared him greatly. Kevin was very popular among the citizenry of the Koopa Kingdom and he was well known for his power. Now that he had shown himself to be able to defeat the Super Mario Brothers in combat, Bowser now feared that if Kevin wanted the throne, he could easily take it. The army would almost certainly support him if it came down to a fight. And if Kevin could defeat the Marios, then he could surely defeat his own father, who had only once beaten Mario, and not long after that battle, had nearly died at the hands of Mario. He needed to kill the Mario Brothers, yes, but he wanted to do it on his terms.

After considering what to do, he told Kevin, "Take them to the dungeon and lock them up. I want them taken to the deepest dungeon cell."

Kevin's eyes widened in surprise. "Father, you wish for them to be locked in the same room? Why not just…?"

"Yes! Now do it!" his father roared. "We don't have space for two prisoners to be placed in separate cells, so put them in the deepest cell for now. I'll consider how to execute them later. Right now, I want to listen to my other children sing again!" Suppressed groans could be heard coming from the guards and even Kamek.

Kevin could not help but scowl. Here he had captured the Mario Brothers so as to present them to his father for him to kill. But instead of killing them outright, his father was ordering him to take them to a dungeon while his allies would almost certainly be planning a rescue attempt. Still, he would not disobey his father, and thus, he replied, "Understood, Father." He then gripped his wand and levitated the Super Mario Brothers into the air and took them away to be locked in the deepest and darkest dungeon in the castle. He made certain to tell the Captain of the Guard in the dungeon to triple the normal guard for prisoners sent to the deepest dungeon cell. Kevin would not take any chances. He would not risk letting the Marios escape and disgrace his father even more than they already had. This was the kingdom's chance to get rid of one of its greatest enemies, and he would do everything he could to ensure that the Super Mario Brothers would die, once and for all.