-Chapter 18-
Downfall of the Frog King
Wart's Castle
The group faced down Robirdo.
"Behold the mighty Robirdo!" Wart declared. "Gaze upon its mechanical might and TREMBLE like the weak, pathetic schoolgirls you are!"
He laughed maniacally.
"Whoa, that's big," Imajin let out.
"Anybody got a giant screwdriver to take this thing apart?" Toad asked.
Robirdo glared at them before launching a giant egg from its mouth. The group scrambled to avoid it, Mario rolling to his feet before making a beeline to the restrained Tiana.
"Are you alright?" he asked, starting to undo her bindings.
"Don't worry about me!" Tiana cried. "You've gotta stop the Dream Machine!"
"Silence!" Wart roared, spewing bubbles of magic energy at them.
"Uh-oh!" Mario dove down as Wart glared.
"There's nothing you can do to stop me now!" the evil frog declared. "Subcon is mine! And when the machine is fully charged, the real world will be too!"
"Not on my watch, you fat toad!" Mario shot back.
Wart's eye twitched. "Perhaps a demonstration of my full power is in order."
He stared at Mario before raising his hand and snapping his fingers. Mario raised an eyebrow.
"What was–?" he began before collapsing in pain.
"Mario!" Luigi cried.
"My leg…" Mario let out. "It… it's busted!"
"Indeed," Wart replied. "I just turned all the bones in your leg into cookies. Imagine if I had done that to your ribs. Or your spine?" He grinned evilly. "Or your skull?"
Mario glared up at him.
"Now do you see my power? Through the power of the Dream Machine, I am all-powerful. Here, I make the rules. Here, I make the threats. Here, I... am... God. "
Wart flourished, unleashing a wave of energy that caused all kinds of distortions to the world around him. Gravity reversed on certain objects and people, causing them to float. The floor suddenly turned to butter. A school of fish suddenly swam by.
"Robirdo! Finish off the others while I deal with this red pest!"
Robirdo just beeped in response. As it loomed over the others, Wart approached Mario, yanking him up by the overall straps.
"This must be a joke," he mused. "Tiana actually believed a clown like you could defeat someone like me?"
"Buddy, I've beaten guys who were way scarier than you," Mario shot back. "You know Bowser, the Koopa king? He was twice the evil overlord you are."
"What is a king to a god?"
"And what's a god… to a non-believer? I've never put much stock in religion anyway."
Wart scowled before throwing him to the ground. Even then, Mario continued to taunt him. "So you got bored and decided to become a king, take over the world. What, couldn't get a princess to kiss you so you could become a prince? Can't say I blame her."
Wart spewed bubbles at Mario, which exploded around him. "Mock me, will you?!"
"Yeah, pretty much."
Wart fumed with anger. "Then perish!"
He aimed a hand at Mario, enveloping him with an aura of dream energy. "Let's see you flap that lip when I turn your entire body into cookies and crush you into powder!"
He snapped his fingers, Mario bracing himself... but nothing happened. Wart blinked, the aura around Mario fading.
"Huh?" Wart snapped his fingers a few more times, getting the same result. "What's going on!? Why isn't it working!?"
"Yoohoo! Waaarrtyyyy!"
Wart turned around to see Birdo had freed Tiana, the fairy fiddling with the knobs and dials on the Dream Machine.
"Birdo!? What do you think you're doing!?"
"The name is Birdie!" Birdo shot back. "And I'm fixing my mistake!"
Tiana glared at him defiantly as she finished her work.
"The Dream Machine gave you your power, Wart…" She slammed her tiny fist on a red button. "And now it'll take it back!"
The machine began making all manner of noises, Robirdo sparking and sputtering.
"What have you done?!" Wart demanded.
"Turned your dream into a nightmare."
Suddenly, something shot out of the Dream Machine. Wart slowly backed up as Birdo picked it up.
"Oh, Warty... would you like to try some…" She shoved it in his face, " Broccoli?! "
Wart's pupils shrank. "Oh no… No! Not the broccoli! Anything but that!"
Birdo stepped forward. "Come on, one bite won't kill ya!" She threw the broccoli at Wart, which beaned him in the face, leaving a sizable red mark that smoked.
"It burns!" Wart shrieked. "IT BURNS!"
He reeled back, clutching his face, only to bump into something. He turned around to see Mario standing tall, brandishing a wooden hammer. He chuckled nervously.
"And now, it's time for one of my favorite carnival games," Mario said. "Flip A Little Froggy On A Lilypad."
Wart blinked, suddenly finding himself on a wooden catapult. Mario raised his hammer over his head.
"No!" the frog exclaimed. "You can't treat me this way! I am the ruler of Subcon! I am GOD!"
Mario brought the hammer down with all of his might, launching Wart through the ceiling and into the air, screaming all the while. They watched as he crashed down with a loud boom, leaving a crater.
"Not my god," Mario scoffed.
Everyone just stared at Mario.
"It… it's over," Lina realized.
"Wart has been defeated," Amani mused.
"Anyone else think that was a little anticlimactic?" Toad asked.
Hassan shrugged. "Well, not every battle can be one worth retelling."
"Guys!" They turned to see Tiana over by a door. "Over here."
They followed her to the door. Tiana opened up to reveal a room, in which a large jar blocked with a cork sat.
"Is that what I think it is?" Mario asked.
Tiana nodded. "The rest of the Subconians are trapped inside."
"Not for long." Mario jumped onto the cork and began pulling. Luigi jumped up to help him, and then Toad and Peach, the four forming a human chain. Eventually, the cork hoisted the white flag and popped out, causing them to fall backward. A moment passed before a swarm of fairies burst out of the jar, cheering happily.
"The Subconians!" Imajin exclaimed.
"They're free!" Tiana cheered.
Finally, a bigger fairy with long, light brown hair and a mustache emerged, dressed like a classic king, complete with a poofy crown.
"Ohh, I say…" he groaned. "It was getting awfully stuffy in there."
"King Reginald!" Tiana bowed, Mario and friends following suit.
"Tiana!" Reginald greeted. "You've done it! Smashing job, dear." He turned to Mario and the others. "We can't thank you enough for your aid. All of Subcon owes you a great debt."
"Just doing what we can to help, Your Majesty," Mario replied.
"Well, you've certainly helped." Reginald turned to the Keepers. "Ah, Keeper Hassan. It's been a long time."
"Indeed it has, Your Majesty," Hassan replied.
"Tell me, how are things in the waking world? Not too unpleasant, I hope."
"Well, there are still those pesky Koopas digging up all our ancient cultural sites and ruins, but they've been growing less and less frequent since Bowser's game ended."
Reginald smiled. "Jolly good. That man was the cause of many a nightmare. We nearly blew out the machine trying to undo the damage he caused." He clapped his hands. "Now then, I believe this is cause for celebration!"
-X-
Sometime later, Team Mario and the Keepers were gathered on a balcony before King Reginald, Tiana slipping medals of honor around their necks. Down below, the Subconians cheered them on while simultaneously mosh-pitting a battered, semi-conscious Wart into a cell.
"Well Bro, looks like we saved the world again," Luigi mused.
"Yeah…" Mario mused.
"You don't seem too happy about it," Peach noted.
"It's not that, Princess," Mario replied. "I–"
"Mario!"
Mario turned to see Imajin and his family waiting for them.
"Go ahead, son," Reginald assured. "Don't let us keep you."
Mario nodded, the group bowing before meeting up with the Keepers.
"Thank you all for your help," Peach told them.
"Eh, we didn't do much of anything," Imajin replied. "This was all you guys."
"Well, with that out of the way, how do we get back home?" Toad asked,
"Simple," Hassan replied. "You just have to wake up."
They exchanged looks at that.
"Wake up?" Luigi questioned. "But we were awake when we found the door near Toad Town."
"Wake up," Amani replied, her voice sounding different.
"Huh?" Mario blinked. "Amani, did your voice change?"
"WAKE UP!"
Toad Town
Mario snapped awake, finding himself in the Bros.' new house in Toad Town.
"Was… was all that just a dream?" he put a hand to his chest, feeling something. "Huh?" He reached down his shirt, pulling out the medal Tiana had given him. "No… it couldn't be."
"Mail call for Mario! Priority mail call for Mario!"
Mario opened the door at that. Parakarry handed him an envelope.
"There you are!" Parakarry remarked. "I've been trying to get ahold of you for five minutes."
"Sorry about that, Parakarry," Mario replied. "The move burned me out and I crashed hard."
"Fair enough. Anyway, here's your letter. Seems you got some fan mail."
"Fan mail, huh?"
"Well, as far as I know, you've never been to the Dry Dry Outpost, so you can't know anyone there."
Mario blinked, seeing the return address was indeed from the Dry Dry Desert.
"Thank you, Parakarry. Have a nice day."
"You too. See ya!" Parakarry flew off at that.
Mario sat down at the table, opened the envelope, and read the letter:
" Dear Mario, with any luck, this letter should have arrived shortly after you and the others woke up. If not, we apologize in advance for the delay. Our kingdom's postal service is somewhat...underdeveloped. As for why you're receiving this letter, well, it's not uncommon for dreamers to think that their visits to Subcon are just that...dreams. So, we thought it might be nice to send you proof of your adventure there. Just in case the medal didn't come back with you. Anyway, if you ever have a chance to go traveling, stop by Dry Dry Desert. We think you and the others would like it here, and we'd love to have a chance to meet with you in the waking world when it isn't in danger. But for now, take a moment to enjoy your new home and get some well-earned rest and relaxation. Pleasant dreams, Keeper Hassan and family. P.S.: Birdie says hello and thank you for everything you've done. "
Mario set the envelope down, processing everything.
"So it was real. Wonder what crazy adventure this world is gonna throw at me next."
Dry Dry Desert
In the middle of the Sand Kingdom's Dry Dry Desert, a group of Koopa archeologists was in the middle of an excavation. As they dug, one of them hit something.
"What the…?" he tapped it again, getting a clunking sound. "I got a hit! Quick, get the Professor!"
A Koopa ran off to the tent, where an older Koopa with a mustache was carefully examining a golden lamp.
"Professor Kolorado!"
The professor dropped the lamp.
"Good Grambi!" he quickly caught it, sighing before turning to the Koopa. "Can you please not barge in like that?!"
"Sorry sir, but we found something!"
"Did you now?" Kolorado stood up and followed him to the dig site, where the others were busy unearthing what they had found.
"Careful… easy now… slowly…" The Koopas dropped a heavy chest on the ground… and on one guy's toe. "Ow! My foot!"
He hopped up and down in pain as Kolorado approached the chest.
"Fascinating," he mused. "This doesn't appear to be a Pyraput artifact."
"Should we open it?" one of the Koopas asked. "It's locked."
"No worries," Kolorado replied. "I have a key."
Kolorado reached into his pocket, pulling out a Skeleton Key. He inserted it into the lock, turning the key. "Alright, Schlüssel. Work your magic."
"Ja, Herr Doktor," the key replied in a German accent before glowing, causing the lock to instantly open.
"Alright, let's see what we've found."
The Koopas lifted the lid off the chest, allowing them to look inside.
"Oh my…" Kolorado let out.
"Whoa…"
"I don't believe it!"
"It's in perfect condition!"
"It looks like it could be from a completely undiscovered civilization!" Kolorado exclaimed.
"It looks… super creepy," one Koopa winced.
Sure enough, the object in the chest was a mask. A grinning, red and white mask…
Author's Note:
Well, that was a bit anticlimactic. Oh well. In the words of Mai of Avatar: The Last Airbender fame, victory is boring.
Next chapter, Bowser and the Koopa Troop return in time for Super Mario Bros. 3!
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Reginald - Bill Rogers (King Rhoam in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Brock from Pokémon season 9 onwards, Meleoron and Majitan in Hunter x Hunter 2011, Urien in Street Fighter V)
* Kolorado - Tim Curry (Nigel Thornberry in The Wild Thornberrys, Wadsworth in Clue, Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island, Hexxus in FernGully, Anton Sevarius in Gargoyles)
Please R&R. Until next time!
