"Kamek...I thought we were bound in friendship," Bowser spoke quietly, "of course, a ruler cannot have friends."
"Bowser..."
"Silence. Only friends can call me Bowser. You, on the other hand, will address me as King Koopa. Now, only for our cherished history, I now bestow upon you a single chance-run."
"What?!"
"You heard me. If I ever see you again, you will be swiftly destroyed."
As quickly as he arrived, the master of dark arts exited.
Mario Mario, Luigi Mario, and Toadshipp were on the final step of their trying journey. They lingered by the castle door, resting in preparation of their final battle. Luigi played relaxing tunes on his dying Walkman, soothing the tired trio.
/You came to take us-all things go, all things go/
/To recreate us-all things grow, all things grow/
/We had our mindset-all things know, all things know/
/You had to find it-all things go, all things go/
"We're going to have to go in sooner or later," Mario broke the sad truth.
"All things go," Luigi replied, evoking a chuckle from the other two.
The crew stood, dusted themselves off, and started gearing up. Mario had, in a pouch, a mushroom and a fire flower. Luigi carried a large knapsack, which was filled with mushrooms. Toad led them through the gray castle doors.
As soon as they stepped inside the 25-story castle, they knew it was a suicide mission. An enormous stone fell from the ceiling right in front of them with an enraged look on it's...face. Two Bullet Bills flew in from opposite sides, making the Mario Bros. jump while Toad ducked, when they finally noticed an army of Goombas marching forward.
"Wait!" Toad shouted, and pointed the Super Mario Bros. to a caped Koopa. Mario leaped, landed on the shell, and tore off the cape to become a great flying machine. He flew down and grabbed Luigi and Toad, causing Luigi to drop his knapsack. Luigi almost passed out from the amazement of flying, but Toad slapped him enough for him to change his mind.
It was quite a sight to see. Mario and his yellow cape soared through the air, up and up, getting closer to Bowser, all the while taking his pals Toad and Luigi for the ride. Bullet Bills homed in repeatedly but only managed to destroy themselves. Suddenly, Toad noticed Mario's cape began blinking out of existence.
"Mario! Land! Land!"
"What?" Mario shouted over the roaring wind.
"LAND!"
Mario's cape ceased to exist, and the three closed their eyes and shrieked. Luckily, they had just entered a new floor, and the fall only hurt so much. Mario scoped the surroundings. They were on floor 23, but it seemed empty enough. There was a Goomba heading towards them from the other side of the room, but it's small feet proved it would be a while before it was close. Mario offered Toad the only mushroom between the three of them, but Toad declined, so he passed it to Luigi.
"You! You!" The Mario squad finally noticed a Koopa garbed in blue, who was nearing them.
"You are the reason for the end of the King and I's friendship! You!" The blue Koopa pulled from his cloak a glowing staff as anger grew on his face. "No, no, now, I will make amends to him...by destroying you all!"
The staff glowed brighter and brighter until Mario gobbled down a Fire Flower and used the heat to flick the weapon out of the Koopa's hand.
"Fools!" The Koopa in blue rolled, grabbed the staff, zapped the spare Goomba, and flew out a nearby window. "You have yet to suffer the wrath of Kame-e-e-k!"
/I made a lot of mistakes, I made a lot of mistakes, I made a lot of mistakes/
The three survived one more floor and made it to the empty floor of floor 25, the very top. The room was bare except for an enormous doorway. The Mario Bros. and Toad entered, and found the horrifying scene of their likely death. A half of room before dropping down to a massive lava pit covered only by a small bridge that led to another half of the room, which contained a large red button and, in the air, a cage holding Princess Peach. And, an enormous Koopa about 15 feet in height.
"There are," Bowser uttered, "no strings on me."