Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
While CFVY and Co Head Off to Fight Mr Grizz
A force field surrounded the Observatory as it flew off high into the air.
However, none of them noticed that they were being watched from a pair of binoculars.
BGM: Team Rocket's Secret Strategy - Kanto Version (Pokemon Anime Sound Collection)
"Hmmm…" Dry Bowser pulled down the binoculars. "It seems that I am in the clear."
He jumped down, walking straight for the rocket site as he noticed a puddle of Fuzzy Ooze that Cari had missed.
"This reverts the squid kids into fuzzy abominations… but I wonder… would it work on a bag of bones like myself?" He wondered as he reached down and touched it.
Instantly, the Fuzzy Ooze reacted and climbed up his arm. However, it stopped when it reached his shoulder. The Fuzzy Ooze morphed into a gorilla arm-like gauntlet.
"Fascinating!" He said as he swiped down, creating waves of fuzzy ink in its wake that evaporated almost immediately. He smirked and used his other arm to gain another gorilla arm-like gauntlet.
"Hahahaha… my restoration seems to be going smoothly. With this Fuzzy Ooze, I will be back into my prime! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed evilly and stomped on the ground to retrieve more Ooze for his legs.
…Thankfully, there was none left.
"...Oh." Dry Bowser scratched his chin before shrugging. "Eh. Not a big deal."
He walked further along, finding another patch of Fuzzy Ooze as he decided to step on them with both feet, where he gained gorilla-like feet.
Unfortunately for him, that was the last patch of Fuzzy Ooze as Dry Bowser decided to try something out as he leapt high into the air.
"Fascinating. These gorilla legs make me leap even higher into the air!" He said as he landed on the ground to create a small crater, complete with a Fuzzy Ooze-like shockwave.
Dry Bowser let out a chuckle. "I have to hand it to that clown. He pointed me toward the right direction after he did his little errand. I wonder how he's doing… he said he was going to get some revenge, I wonder how that's going for him now that he's back in business…"
He shook his head. "I'm sure he'll be fine. In the meantime… I say it's time we head on out."
He breathed fire, opening up a fiery portal for him as he walked in, closing the portal behind him as it sizzled into nothing.
End BGM
Back at the hideout, Dry Bowser came out of the portal. "What… did you skin alive a gorilla in front of the nature brat?" Medusa asked, filing her nails.
"No. I found this Fuzzy Ooze that Dimentio told me about. There was just enough for my legs and arms."
"Great, now you can warm yourself up in the winter. Good job." Felix sarcastically said.
Dry Bowser chuckled. "Now then… let's get ready to move. It's time for a change of scenery."
"It's about time!" Felix sprang up. "Let's rock and roll!"
"Ready when you are." Locus said.
"You guys go on ahead. I don't do jumping over pits and hitting ? blocks like a moron. I'll catch up." Medusa said, continuing to file her nails.
"Lazy bitch." Felix faked a cough, earning him an annoyed look from Medusa.
"Suit yourself. Let's move out!"
World 1-1 - Lost Levels Entry Point
BGM: Bowser's Quest - World 1-1 (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)
The trio walked off ahead, where they were met with several Skeletal Goombas. A few of them looked up to stare at the malevolent king. "Join us… or die." Dry Bowser demanded as the Skeletal Goombas looked at each other before turning on him and headbonking him, but all it did was nothing as Dry Bowser crushed their bone remains as they walked off.
"Hmm…" Felix hit a few ? blocks as a Poison Mushroom came out and dropped off the ground. "That looks rotten to the core."
"And the perfect Mushroom for someone like me." Dry Bowser picked it up and ate it, where a poisonous aura surrounded him and the ground melted underneath.
"Acidic…" Locus mused as they walked along as Dry Bowser touched a Warp Pipe as it melted and warped from the acidic touch as Dry Bowser picked up the top of the pipe and threw it, destroying several Brick Blocks and several Gloombas walking around.
They jumped over a pit as a Dry Piranha Plant came out and examined the three. "You want to join my army?" Dry Bowser asked as the Piranha Plant eagerly nodded and went underground. Dry Bowser smirked and kept going as a Gloomba tried to run away, only to get shot by Felix.
Dry Bowser picked up another warp pipe and threw it, destroying another Warp Pipe that had a Putrid Piranha Plant in it as it tried to get up, only for Dry Bowser to crush it with his legs as they made their way to a flagpole, where they noticed the flag in question had a Toad head on it.
"It looks like we're not the only ones here." He mused. "Let's go."
With a nod, the three of them went into the warp pipe.
End BGM
World 1-2: Acidic Lake
BGM: Bowser's Quest World 3-1 (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)
The trio dropped down, Dry Bowser landing on top of a Bony Beetle and crushing it. He walked up to a Warp Pipe housing a Putrid Piranha Plant and thanks to the acid, he pulled it up and threw it across, destroying a wall of brick blocks and crushing several Hyper Gloombas.
They made their first pit of the area where they would see it was filled with acid. Dry Bowser immediately went in while the mercenaries jumped across. Locus looked back at the acid. "I still feel like we made a mistake coming here."
"You worry too much. This is AWESOME!" Felix said, shooting down Acid Koopas like it was nothing more than a game to him as Dry Bowser popped out of the other side, casually chomping down on a radioactive three eyed Cheep Cheep while throwing another Warp Pipe, destroying any Piranha Plant in the path along with some acidic Buzzy Beetles.
They climbed up a few brick blocks and discovered a massive acid lake in front of them. "That's going to melt our armor. I can even feel the heat just standing here." Locus said.
"Yeah, good point… ah, but there's blocks above us. We can go through that!"
"You guys take the easy route. I'm going through the fun route." Dry Bowser dived in and swam through the acid lake.
Pause BGM
Meanwhile, up ahead…
"Phew… glad we went through the ceiling." A Toad said, wearing a New Donk City styled shirt and had sunglasses on his head.
"You said it." A Shy Guy nodded as he wore a beanie.
"I can't believe we're actually going through with this." A Koopa said, holding a backpack. "I mean, the Lost Levels is an extremely dangerous area!"
"But it's for thrill seekers too!" The Toad grinned. "Yeah, it's dangerous but that makes it fun."
"No one alive has made it through. Hell, I've heard Mario attempted this but he backed off around World Seven. Said it was too much for his mental state." The Koopa pointed out.
"Hey, if Mario can make it as long as he could, then we got a shot!" Toad grinned. "I mean, yeah, we're sitting next to an acid lake but it's not like anything is going to come out and get us. Those Cheep Cheeps down there are stupid!"
Resume BGM
At that moment, Dry Bowser climbed out and towered over the three, where they would see him standing before them.
"Sup?" He greeted.
"...I had to say something." Toad groaned.
"You must've held up that flagpole, correct?"
"Yeah, it's a token of our bravery!"
"Hmhmhmhmhm… "our"?"
"Huh?" The Toad turned around, seeing blinking white outlines of the Koopa and Shy Guy. "...Ooooh… I should catch up with them. WAIT FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He took off running as Dry Bowser smirked, picking up some acid water in his hand and drank it up before unleashing a powerful acidic fire breath.
"We can make it to the exit! We can make it to the exit!" The Shy Guy exclaimed.
The Toad caught up with them as they hurried on, but the Koopa turned his head and saw the acid fireball heading their way. "We're not gonna make it!"
"Yes, we are!" Toad declared as they dove into the Warp Pipe, the fireball following after.
Outside, a few acid Swoops flew by where the acid fire ejected out of the warp pipe as a backpack, sunglasses and a Shy Guy mask landed on the ground near it, all that remained of the three.
Back inside, Dry Bowser let out a chuckle as Felix and Locus landed on the ground. "I don't think they made it." Felix said.
"They didn't. Let's move." Dry Bowser walked off with the mercenaries behind him.
They walked through what remained of the melted Warp Pipe as they appeared on the other side, where they would see nothing but lava falls.
End BGM
World 1-3: Lava Falls
BGM: Outside Volcano (New Super Mario Bros Wii)
The trio walked up, seeing two paths laying before them. One was a path that could make someone platform over the lava falls.
And the other was a motorized mudboat to safely sail through the lava.
"How about we have a little race? The one who gets to the other side is the winner." Felix said.
Dry Bowser smirked. "Sounds good to me."
"Come on, Locus! Let's get in this boat and cream this Halloween loving dragon turtle… thing!"
"...You do realize we're going to be sitting in a boat surrounded by lava."
"Oh, quit your pessimistic bellyaching. We'll be fiiiiine!" Felix waved it off as he hopped in while Locus hesitantly walked in, mumbling "This is a bad idea" over and over again while Dry Bowser started climbing like it was nothing to him.
In fact, he jumped off a platform and started climbing up the mountain!
"Who does he think he is, a gorilla?" Felix joked.
Dry Bowser reached the top of said mountain, walking across a lava river as he noticed his new fuzzy limbs didn't melt away in the lava. He smirked as he continued to walk across the lava river, batting away a few curious Podoboos and Blaarghs as he reached the end of the mountain as he bent his knees down and launched high into the air, landing on another mountain that housed crispy orange Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps, to which Dry Bowser ate without a second thought.
He found a ? Block as he hit it, which none other than a Ztar popped out as he grabbed a hold of it. "Interesting…" He mused as he put it away and then jumped down, landing next to some fire breathing Dark Bones that he batted away without a second thought, crossing over the lava lake as plumes of fire rose up from the lava as he landed on the ground just before the mercenaries made their way to the end.
"Bah. We were off by a few seconds." Felix said. "Ah well…"
He hopped off as did Locus as they made their way to the flagpole as Dry Bowser took it for himself and then they stared at the castle in front of them.
"Let's go." Dry Bowser walked in with the duo.
World 1-4 - Dragon's Lair
The trio walked through the castle, Acid Bubbles jumping out of the acid pits as they jumped over them as Fire Bars, made entirely out of acid swung around the melted ceiling and floor.
"Is it just corridors? I feel there could be more to this." Felix said, shooting an Acid Bones in the head, watching it melt to nothing.
"I doubt it's just hallways. Perhaps there's something more." Locus said as Dry Bowser opened up a door, and they would find a massive green dragon snoozing, some acid dripping from his mouth. It looked similar to Hooktail.
End BGM
"Zzzzz… mmm…?" The dragon woke up. "...I smell flesh."
BGM: More Danger! (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)
The dragon lifted himself off the ground and roared. "I haven't seen human flesh in a long time… not ever since that plumber evaded me all those years ago!"
"What is your name?" Dry Bowser demanded.
"I am Acidtail! And I will melt you to the core if you think you can put a stop to me!"
"BWAHAHAHAHA! I am Emperor Bowser, and I think I can take you on along with my minions!"
"Is that so? Then we will see who is superior!"
"...We are fighting… a dragon…" Felix said. "We're fighting. A Dragon." His body shook with excitement as he fist pumped. "WE ARE FIGHTING A FUCKING DRAGON! LET'S FUCKING GO, BABY!"
"Don't get yourself killed." Locus warned.
"Pffft! He should be more worried about us!" Felix said.
End BGM
BGM: Hooktail Battle (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)
Corrosive Breath - Acidtail
Dry Bowser and Acidtail both breathed fire, both of which connecting which resulted in a powerful explosion that knocked both Felix and Locus off of their feet, but Felix eagerly got back up and proceeded to flank Acidtail and fired at him as did Locus who went opposite of him.
Acidtail shifted his eyes to see both of them as he smirked as he flapped his wings, causing the air around them to get hot as acid bubbles came out and headed for the mercenaries. They quickly shot at the bubbles while Dry Bowser jumped up, the Fuzzy Ooze in his hands turning into flames as he punched Acidtail in the face.
By doing so, the acid came off of Acidtail's cheek, revealing nothing but bone as the acid reformed, intriguing the emperor as he backed up and unleashed his Oblivion Fire on the dragon as an experiment.
Acidtail burnt up from the black flames… as the acid disintegrated, but reformed seconds later and dousing the flames. "Interesting…" Dry Bowser smirked.
"The acid acts like a shield!" Locus pointed out.
"Shit, this gets better all the time!" Felix laughed excitedly, throwing a Plasma Grenade at it and blowing up parts of the acid, where Felix shot at the bones, which in turn caused the dragon to hiss. "The bones are the weak spot! You just have a small window of opportunity!"
"Then we will use it to our advantage."
"I do not know what you're planning, but say goodbye! CORROSIVE BREATH!" Acidtail unleashed a powerful corrosive fire breath that was radioactively green. Dry Bowser avoided this as there was a large hole in the wall that melted off within milliseconds.
Dry Bowser's claws glowed in the Fuzzy Ooze, proceeding to mutate into whip-like fire claws as he jumped up and clawed Acidtail, as the acid evaporated as Dry Bowser delivered a powerful fire punch that sent Acidtail's head swinging, but then he came around and headbutted Dry Bowser, sending him crashing into a wall.
"Heh… I haven't had this much fun since I fought Salem! Give me everything you've got!" Dry Bowser demanded as he jumped up, conjuring up blue flames in his hands and throwing it down, but Acidtail responded as spikes came out of his head and shot at the blue fireball, causing it to disintegrate as the spikes struck Dry Bowser along with the wall.
The wall melted but Dry Bowser shrugged it off as he had an idea as he raised his fist and punched his right shoulder.
Crack!
Dry Bowser looked at his now dislocated right arm as he jumped toward him as Acidtail breathed corrosive acid in him, but Dry Bowser threw his dislocated right fist into Acidtail, which resulted in a shockwave that managed to blow the acid off of Acidtail and knocked his bony head completely off of his body.
"You dislocated your shoulder. Doesn't that hurt?" Locus asked.
"With all due respect… compared to losing my flesh, THAT was the equivalent of a child hitting me with a toy hammer."
"Yeah, boss! That's how ya do it!" Felix fist pumped while Locus sweatdropped.
The dragon's body walked over to its head and picked it up, where acid reformed on its head. "You fool! As long as I have access to acid, I will forever be the immortal acid dragon!"
"Hahahaha! I haven't had this much fun in a long time." Dry Bowser chuckled. "I've seen enough. How about you join my undead army where we will eventually destroy the Mushroom Kingdom and bring back the Koopa Kingdom back to its former glory."
Acidtail smirked. "You earned my respect as a respectable fighter. I will follow your lead."
End BGM
A dark portal opened up as they turned to see Medusa walking in. "I see you've upgraded." She said.
"Who is this?" Acidtail demanded.
"Ah, right, introductions. Medusa, this is Acidtail. Acidtail, this is Medusa, the former queen of the Underworld."
"Charmed to meet you. What do you mean by "former"?"
Medusa hissed. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Now then, let's see what this castle holds." Dry Bowser walked off, where he discovered a lab that was untouched. "Hmm?" He wondered as he walked through.
"A lab?" Locus wondered.
"I do not think that plumber went into this lab. He went around my lair after he saw me." Acidtail said from the other room.
"Let's see what we can uncover here." Dry Bowser immediately saw some notes.
"If you are reading this, then you are absolutely insane that you have attempted the Lost Levels. Then again, I'm one to talk given how I plan on making labs all throughout this place. In here, I discovered possibilities of what I could do. I found some old dragon bones lying around outside of the castle, I dragged them in and did some experiments. That's when I uncovered something incredible. Acid that can manipulate the undead. I didn't think it was possible, but apparently, it is!
What infuriates me is that this is not on the Periodic Table. This is a grand discovery, why did no one put this on the table? …Oh, wait, Lost Levels. Duh. Anywho, I've decided to dub this specific acid: Zuteregeon. Apparently, all it takes is to take some ordinary sulfuric acid and shove a Ztar into it. It turns into a gooey green substance that can not only reanimate the dead, but it can melt anything within milliseconds. I… might have used it on myself. Unfortunately, I lost my left hand before I could even blink. The good news is that I was able to recreate my hand through science! …Don't ask.
Funny thing about the Ztar… they are corrupted Power Stars. Due to this scientific breakthrough, I wanted to know what corrupts a Power Star. The answer is simple. Fuse it to a Rotten Mushroom or put it next to some otherworldly energy outside of this world. Don't ask me how I know. There are plenty of Ztars out there… who knows, it might just make a good party gift! Might ruin a friendship or two… who knows.
But I digress. The Ztar is a curious thing and its negative energy is enough to give you drastic powers should you absorb its negative energy. It won't kill you, but by golly, it'll make you wish you were dead. Luckily, it only lasts for forty eight hours until the effects wear off. By that point, you should be good to eating food once more. I recommend ice cream first… your throat is gonna be absolutely sore for a while.
But anyway, the transformation on this bag of bones should be fully operational soon. I wonder what I should call this beautiful transformation? Zuteregeontail? No… Hooktail? No. Gloomtail? Bah… Bonetail? I mean, it could work but… oh wait, Acidtail. That's simple, yet fearsome! Even better is that the acid acts like a shield so that it will never be harmed. It is the immortal dragon… and whoever deems worthy to this creature will hold ungodly power… let those who are opposed to you pray for mercy… for there will be no god to save them. - V."
"Who's V?" Felix wondered.
"I don't know, but I'm intrigued." Dry Bowser replied. "Perhaps we ought to find more of this guy's labs. I'm already highly intrigued. Let's go. We've got more labs to uncover… I want to know more of this V character."
Shout out to Yoshi for coming up with this glorious idea!
Ibuki: Oooooh... that's interesting...
Deadpool: Who's V? I dunno, but he sounds cool to me!