Sorry for the wait. But I got a brand new, partly never before seen chapter here for you wonderful people! Go ahead and enjoy!

Chapter 8

Grinding Levels

"You beat a member of your arcade's Big 4?!" Sarah exclaimed as they walked out of X-Button High.

"Yeah, but it took like 2 tries and I wouldn't call it a flawless victory."

"It takes most people like 25 tries and by that time they call for backup! Do you know what this means?!"

"No, but I assume you're gonna tell me." Ray deadpanned.

"You can enter the Code League!" Sarah beamed.

"Code League?" Ray asked kind of intrigued.

"The Code League consists of a series of tournaments that are used to rank a Codemaster's skill level. When Xander challenged you last month, you were at the lowest rank. There's a Normal and Masters Rank Tournament. You have to finish in the top 4 of the Normal to enter the Masters Tournament where they crown the Number 1 Codemaster!" Sarah explained as they came to the corner where they separate.

"Sounds awesome! When's the next tournament?"

"They have them every 3 months, so 2 months from now." Sarah replied as she sent the flier to Ray's gauntlet.

"Looks like I've got some training to do with Ralph."

"Training or making out?" Sarah teased with a smirk.

"Mostly training!" Ray replied with a blush.

"Training your mouths is more like it..."

"Whatever!" Ray waved Sarah off as he ran to work. Hopefully, he'd be on time.

"Ralphy! I'm home!" Ray shouted as he entered the house.

"I'm not that old to deserve that reference am I?" Ralph inquired as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Don't feel bad, Ralph. You're my relic." Ray replied as he pecked Ralph on the cheek.

"So what's on the agenda for today?"

"There's a Codemaster's Tournament in 2 months and I need a sparring partner."

"You know I have nothing better to do than to spend time with you."

"You're the best."

"I know." Ralph replied smugly.

Ray smacked his boyfriend upside the head and dragged him outside by his collar to start a training montage.

Ray stopped the montage short when he felt he wasn't improving. "Now that were a thing, I'm not really bringing my A-game... I mean last time we sparred, I hadn't merged with your code yet."

"I'm not going full tilt either..." Ralph huffed and sat on the pile of bricks that was beginning to build up again.

"Is there anywhere else I can train?"

Ralph was struck with an idea.

"Are you ok with going to a Mario game? I think I know someone that can help."

"Is it..."

"Bowser! How's my favorite turtle?" Ralph greeted the king as they entered his throne room.

"Ralph! You still look great as always."

"Eyes above the belt, bro. That is mine." Ray growled obsessively. He smacked Ralph's ass as a reminder.

"True true. Sorry. How can I help you?"

Ralph got on one knee to keep up appearances. "King Koopa, we request a training session with your majesty."

"We can cut the formalities. These are my personal guards. No need for any of this." Bowser stood to his feet and lifted Ralph off the ground. "So you want a fight, do you?"

"I need a challenge. Can you dish that out?" Ray was blunt and to the point.

"Of course. I have a room I fight codemasters in all the time. With the right settings, we should be able to go at it for hours in there."

"Why do you fight codemasters 'all the time?'"

"They come and challenge me. This game is on a public code server, so I get the usual arrogant newbies that think they're hot shit." Bowser looked a little put off. "I would usually just use their ignorance of the code against them. They don't know fights work differently here than on the other side of the screen."

"I got a crash course in that my first day."

"But from what I heard, you did great."

Ray looked over the giant bondage turtle for the first time since his fight with him a week ago. He looked a lot more ripped and muscular than his in game counterpart.

"You look a lot different than when we fought. Did the league nerf your power?"

"Oh, you noticed?" Bowser blushed. "Yeah, they did. I've been training my body so I'm stronger outside of normal gameplay. During, my power is the default and that's when they recruited me."

"So, you could probably kick my ass now."

"We'll just have to see." Bowser pushed open a huge set of double doors that led to a huge arena.

"We'll start with your basic weapon. Then I'll assess what you need to work on and we'll go from there." Bowser opened a panel in the wall and switched his shell for a black t-shirt.

"Won't I hurt you?"

The koopa king chuckled. "I set the room to training mode. You'll feel the pain of battle, but your body will be unharmed. Now armor up. I'm here to train you, not sit around and chat."

"Wreck the code!" Ray pulled his katana from its sheath.

"Now come at me with the intent to kill. Anything less is an insult."

Ray grinned and dashed at Bowser. The turtle sped around him and tripped him up, forcing Ray to roll into a defensive stance. The codemaster was impressed with his opponent's speed. Obviously, this was a different person than the guy that stormed Fix-it Felix Jr..

"Don't give your opponent the chance to counter. You left yourself wide open in your delivery. Try shifting your sword's position a bit to block low strikes."

"Understood." Ray picked himself up and ran towards Bowser again, but this time he slid his sword right next to his right thigh.

Bowser dashed around him once more and swiped at his chest, but was blocked by the blade and sent reeling by a side slash.

"Good. I can feel you improving! I'd expect nothing less from my pupil."

This cycle continued for a few minutes before the koopa called a ceasefire.

The next day, Ray showed up again after work with Ralph in tow.

"What are we working on today?"

"I noticed you had trouble keeping up with me last time. You need speed training."

"I can boost my speed." Ray reached for his card box but was stopped by a clawed hand.
"You won't always have access to your code cards. You need to heighten your natural speed. Some league members can run right over you if you're too slow." Bowser pointed at himself. "I can outrun you and I'm twice you're weight."

"So you're gonna weigh me down?" Ray questioned the king.

"Something like that."

Suddenly, Ray felt heavier and could barely move. Bowser didn't looked phased by the change in atmosphere. "I pushed the gravity in the room to 6x normal. I'll boost it even more when you get used to this. I got the tech from Dr. Brief."

"I can't feel my legs."

"That means it's working. Now run a few laps around the arena."

Ray was exhausted by the time he got used to the gravity.

"We'll pick up here tomorrow. Rest your body tonight." Bowser had Ralph carry the unresponsive teenager back to the arcade.

Over the next few weeks, Ray kept training with Bowser in the arena. He had made it all the way up to 50x normal gravity when the koopa king finally stopped him.

"It's been almost a month and you've come quite a long way."

"Thanks, sensei. It's all thanks to you."

"Sensei? I like it!" Bowser chucked.

"I've grown to have the utmost respect for you. You're a fun guy to be around when you're not pounding me into the dirt and a great trainer. You could probably tear your Smash Bros counterpart to shreds."

The spiky-wristed turtle blushed. "Damn. Put a guy on the spot, why don't you. I actually sub for him on the off-season."

"How high does the gravity go in here?"

"I've only actually set it to 50x. I was hoping you'd try 100 with me."

"Bring it..."

Bowser adjusted the settings and gave it time to boot up. They both wobbled and crashed to the floor next to each other, flat on their faces.

They stayed still for a few seconds until Ray started giggling. Then Bowser started chuckling. Then they both were full out bawling with laughter

"You ok, Bowser?"

They both flipped into their backs.

"I'm fine, but I can't move without using my full strength."

"Me too... you think we should turn it down?"

Bowser shook his head an inch of the ground. "Let's push past this..."

Ray and his teacher both stood up, still shaking from the difficulty spike. The grins on their faces were a mutual understanding between them.

"You know, lately, whenever the gravity goes back to normal, I get scared I'll float away." Ray admitted.

"I felt that way the first time I trained in here. Now, it's just a passing feeling." Suddenly, the gravity reverted to normal. "I did not do that."

"I did." The codemaster from the Bazaar phased through a dark portal in the wall. "I'm here to bring back the turtle and reclaim his Dark Virus card from your person."

"You're not taking him or that card, Shade." Ray stood between the two, already decked out in his armor.

"You're not in my league." Shade activated his armor, but it was just an aura of darkness around his cloak.

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Bowser slipped a card into Ray's hand. "You've earned this. Time to merge."

"Code Fusion! King Bowser!" Bowser faded into code and uploaded onto Ray's body. His arms were lined with spikes and his scarf became blood red. His gloves were transformed into scaly claws.

Shade summoned a wave of darkness to crash against Ray, knocking him back a few inches. Ray chuckled and shrugged the attack off, sending a few spikes in Shade's direction. This caught the dark codemaster off guard, blasting him into the wall.

One of the spikes pierced his left arm, causing static around the wound. He pulled it out and tossed it to the side. "Your little fusion trick can only do so much."

"Then let me show you what my sensei has taught me." Ray sprang up to the ceiling and began to spin. "Whirling Fortress!" He descended, his spikes all focused on a single point.

Shade smirked and threw another wave at Ray that was shredded up like confetti. He was overwhelmed by the force that was spiraling down on him and it crushed his aura shield and coded out his armor.

Ray deactivated his armor and Bowser reappeared next to him.

"Nice work."

"Thanks, Senpai."

"God, you're such a weeb..." Shade choked out and stood on uneven footing. "You caught me off guard. I promise not to underestimate you again."

Shade turned away, but threw his shadow under Ray to slide the Virus card into his hand.

"No, stop!" But Ray was too late and the portal was gone.

"Ray... we should call it a day."

The codemaster nodded and walked to the door, not looking back at his hollow victory.

New Chapter and added scenes never before seen in the original! Like it? Leave a follow and Review!