Chapter 6
How Bowser had even found his way into this place was the very least of Mario's concerns as his wrecked kart crossed the finish line. He had tried to warn Vanellope, but she couldn't hear him- and now it was too late. Now she had been kidnapped by Bowser, who was surely plotting some scheme to take over the world of Sugar Rush. And it was entirely his fault. He shouldn't have treated her so rashly, should have protected her. Now she was gone, and the rest of this game was going down with her. There was only one thing to do- find her before Bowser could complete his schemes, whatever they were.
"He had to have gone-a this way!" shouted Mario, and he took off at high speed down the racetrack.
"Mario! Wait for me!" shouted Toad, running after Mario as fast as his stubby legs would carry him.
"Hey! Where are you going? You won the race!" Candlehead called out to him, waving his trophy in her hands, but Mario and Toad were already out of sight.
"Mario...?" she asked. "Oh well, I could use a nice, shiny trophy…"
…
Sitting in the throne room of his newly acquired Candy Castle, Bowser was feeling particularly bitter, and he couldn't for the life of him understand why. His master plan, after all, had gone off to a surprisingly good start. He had rigged the pipes within the Koopa Kingdom to send Mario here, before he himself showed up to have him captured. If only it weren't for that crash landing… but hadn't it turned out to be a good omen after all? Hadn't it? It was because of it, he supposed, that he found the one he'd been searching for as quickly as he had, buttered her up with ease, and then stolen her. All he needed to do now was find Mario, and everything would be moving in accordance with the plan.
And yet something didn't feel quite right. Maybe, he supposed, it was the uncannily jovial atmosphere of this saccharine world. Maybe it was the lack of minions, other than the usual Kamek and that ignoramus Boom Boom, to help secure his newfound rule. Maybe it was the infuriating, ceaseless screams of his prisoner coming from behind him. Or perhaps, he thought, it was a combination of all three. And if such was the case, why not eradicate all three problems at once?
"Quiet back there!" he barked at the prisoner, as she continued to wail from within the bars of her glitch-proof cage.
"Lemme go!" Vanellope shrieked. "Get me outta here!"
"You're not going anywhere, Princess," roared Bowser, "so you better get used to the idea!" Bowser slammed his huge fist on a button on the throne, and activated the castle's PA system. "Kamek!" he bellowed.
A moment later, Bowser's diminutive magician-for-hire arrived on his broomstick. "Yes, Boss!"
Bowser ignored his affirmation. "I can't stand this place," he sneered. "It needs more of my image, if you get my drift. Take your broom, haul your bad self outside and go make this place MINE!"
"You got it, Boss!" said Kamek, mounting his broomstick and taking off through the nearest open window.
Bowser grimaced. "Will those idiot minions ever learn not to call me 'Boss'?" For a moment, he stood frozen, gazing out at the world that was to be his. Then, once more, he turned to his helpless prisoner.
"You really should have trusted Mario, Princess. He's the only one who's quite as powerful as you are. And he's the only one who can save you now!"
"That's not true," she spat at him. "Ralph will come to save me!"
"Ralph? You don't mean… Wreck-it Ralph?!" Bowser chuckled, reminiscing on one of his fellow "bad guys". "That imbecile who got tired of wrecking his own world, and decided to very nearly wreck the entire arcade for a change? Well, I hate to burst your bubble, Princess, but I think you'll find we are quite well protected from him. Or, at least, we will be, once I have secured this castle."
"This is MY castle!" Vanellope bawled. "You can't have it!"
"Is that so?" mocked Bowser. "Well guess what, kid? Now it's MY castle!"
Bowser threw his scaly head back and let out a monstrous laugh, as his new abode was slowly being transformed in his image.
…
Mario had given up pursuing Bowser only a long time after he had lost a trace of their path. Even if he could spot them, no way could he catch them on foot. It was over. He had failed; Bowser had won. Dejected, Mario had begun to retrace his steps back to the finish line, when Toad hit him head-on in a panic. "Something's happening to the Castle on the hill!" he shrieked.
"Wha-?" began Mario, but Toad was dragging him up one of the candy trees. "See for yourself! See for yourself! Look! Look!"
Mario did so, and to his horror, Toad was right. The former abode of Vanellope Von Schweetz had become enshrouded in a tornado.
"Well, at least-a we know where Bowser is…" Mario broke off. Something high above the tornado had caught his eye: Kamek was charging a powerful spell.
"Not-a good!" murmured Mario. "We gotta move!"
Mario and Toad took off running- just as Kamek unleashed a powerful surge of magic. Like a tidal wave, the magic spread all across the game, bathing everything in Bowser's malicious image. Frantically, the two of them ran with no destination other than anywhere not bathed in black magic. Suddenly, Mario spotted a tunnel high atop Waffle Cone Mountain. It was the portal to Game Central Station.
By the time the duo reached the portal, the entirety of the game below was enshrouded in thick, dark fog. Mario knew it was only a matter of time before the whole game would get encased in black magic. Unfortunately, technical difficulties had tampered with their escape routes. "The train!" he yelped. "It's-a broken!"
"Whatdowedo! Whatdowedo!" Toad was running in circles.
In his time, Mario had thrown a lot of parties, and as such he always had a supply of game-changing items on hand. He whipped out a Blast Cannon, knowing full well that only one of them could use it. Someone would be sacrificing himself.
"Toad! Get to Game-a Central, and find-a Fix-it Felix! He's the only one who can stop-a this now!" Mario ordered. Toad obeyed without hesitation. He jumped in, blasted off for Game Central, and could only watch as Mario was swallowed up by the blackness.