Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Sometime Out of the Gemite Jungle
"I still can't get over how absolutely insane that little bastard was." Felix said.
"Pot, meet kettle." Locus deadpanned.
"Hey, at least I try NOT to eat anyone. I may be insane, but I'm not a savage. MAJOR difference!"
Locus sweatdropped. "At least you admit you're insane."
"Hmm, fine time for storm clouds to roll in…" Medusa said as they continued walking.
"Storm clouds?" King Boo perked up along with Emperor Brr.
"But seriously though, what the fuck is wrong with that spaceman? I'd hate to work with him… he'd probably eat my guns while he was at it!" Felix said. "And-... geez, did it get windy all of a sudden? Not only that, but did it get dark?"
Dry Bowser looked at a sign up ahead:
"Welcome to The Coast of the Abandoned
WARNING: Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here
No, seriously, the perpetual storms here are straight up awful."
"Ah, just as I thought. The Coast of the Abandoned!" King Boo said.
"You know about this place?" Dry Bowser asked.
BGM: Just Wondering (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)
"Yes. It happened a little bit after Myra and her scientist friend came to visit. The Coast of the Abandoned was a hot spot for tourism alongside the City of Jannah, now named City of Nil. In fact, it was originally called The Coast of Miracles. Make no mistake, there weren't any miracles actually happening there, but it was enough to drive tourism. Heck, there was a warp pipe in the City of Jannah that would actually take you to this coast along with dedicated flying buses that would take you there as long as the sandstorms played nice."
"I've heard a tale of long ago, there used to be a great miracle that happened within the coast. The founder of the place drowned in the water, but… he woke up back on the beach."
"He had a 1-Up on him?" Medusa wondered.
"Perhaps. But the tale continues that he heard the sound of a melodic voice that came from the waters. He never found the one who had saved him so he could thank her properly, but he called this ordinary beach the Coast of Miracles. Ever since then, this place has been a hotspot for beachgoers. Or at least… that's how it went."
"One day, a storm appeared out of nowhere in the sky. No one had time to escape because this storm trapped everyone who was in it. Surfers, beachgoers, swimmers, families, you name it, all of them were trapped in the storm. Hurricane winds, tornadoes, tsunamis… you name it. None were spared." King Boo said. "To this day, the storm continues to pound against this once beautiful land and it never stops. Some say this place might actually be haunted as the victim's spirits could not leave as even they were trapped within the storm."
End BGM
"And we're walking right into it." Locus said.
"Bunch of pussies couldn't survive a little storm. Pah! This is gonna be a cinch to get through." Felix said.
"Hmmm… we might have to stay vigilant. In fact, there might not be a way around this storm. We just have to go through it. Let's move out." Dry Bowser said as he walked off along with everyone else.
There was another sign in front of them.
"You'll be soooorrrry!"
BGM: Battle For Storm Hill (Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat)
World 7-1: Eye of the Storm
The moment they stepped foot on the beach, they were immediately greeted by howling winds that pushed them back a bit. In fact, it was strong enough to push Acidtail back.
"No wind can contain me… but apparently this can!" Acidtail grunted.
"If it's strong enough to push away a dragon, then we're in for hell…" Dimentio said, summoning his Keyblade and stabbing the ground to use as a stake as he continued to trudge through the sand.
Lightning struck the ground near them, which was enough to lightly burn DImentio as he kept trudging along. Thunder boomed across the sky as heavy rain started to fall and dump on them.
"Oh, this is what children mean by "the sky is falling"..." Dimentio grunted as they walked along the beach.
Heavy waves crashed alongside the beach, rolling forward and striking Medusa and Dry Bowser's feet before the water receded, until it came back a little bit stronger. They would also see abandoned beach chairs, beaten down umbrellas, hot dog stands, blankets that were either holding on for dear life against some umbrellas or a lifeguard's chair that was currently on its side.
"I can see why people prefer Peach Beach or Cheep Cheep Lagoon!" Medusa grunted.
They heard the sound of moaning as they looked to see a few women crying out in agony. They would also see that they were translucent.
"So it's true… the spirits can't escape this onslaught…" Emperor Brr said.
"We might be stuck here too if we don't get the hell out of here!" Felix complained as a gigantic tidal wave rushed in and crashed against the short, striking Acidtail as it was enough to almost knock him over.
They continued walking alongside the beach as heavy rain battered them along with several lightning strikes that either flashed in the sky or struck the sand that nearly hit them. The wind slammed into them as it was enough to push Dry Bowser several feet away, yet he was determined to keep going as he dug deep into the sand, pressing forward as the cold rain continued to attack them.
As they got closer, they would see mushroom platforms rising out of the sea. They would ignore the weather battered mushrooms until they reached a dead end. Said dead end being water.
"Looks like we have to get on those mushrooms." Dimentio said.
"We have no choice, it seems." Medusa said.
World 7-2: At the Mercy of the Storm
Dry Bowser jumped onto the first mushroom platform, where he immediately noticed the mushroom started to bend from his weight. He jumped onto the next platform as Dimentio teleported onto the first platform, where it too started to bend and sag.
"These platforms are weather-worn! We have to be careful!" Dimentio called out.
"I'm well aware of that!" Dry Bowser said as they jumped between platforms, but Felix nearly lost his footing as he slipped, but caught himself before he slipped into the ocean below.
"Phew…" Felix sighed in relief as they continued to jump between platforms.
King Boo looked into the water, seeing overturned sail boats and surfboards littered across the ocean with several spirits sitting on the boat in a fetal position with soft moaning. "Tsk tsk…" King Boo clicked his tongue before the wind pushed him away. "Hnnngh! Hrrrrgh!"
"What's that up ahead?" Medusa wondered as they saw clouds circling around them as a funnel started to take shape over the water.
"That would be the beginning of a Water Spout." Locus said as they continued to jump between the platforms as the Water Spout made its way toward them, where once it reached them, the mushroom platforms flapped about and were nearly torn off from their stems while everyone else hung on.
Suddenly, Dimentio was thrown off the platform and slammed into the water below him. Mmmph, that sucked… He thought as he swam back to the surface where he felt something grab him.
He looked down and saw several spirits cling on to him.
"Take us with yoooouuuuu!"
Dimentio grimaced as he continued to swim up, but some other spirits clung on to him, along with some seaweed as he was pulled under.
"Take us with you! Take us with you!"
So much for the Coast of Miracles! Dimentio thought as he teleported away, finding himself back onto a Mushroom platform. "Hoo, and I thought the River Styx was disturbing…"
Harsh waves crashed against the platforms, making the mushroom platforms bend to the ocean's will as they continued to jump over the platforms with several Water Spouts beating upon them while Acidtail flew by the mushroom platforms, crashing through the Water Spouts with sheer might, the wind threatening to shove him into the water at any moment.
Yet he refused to bow down against the harsh winds, as did the rest of the Emperor's group. They pressed on as massive tidal waves struck the mushroom platforms, threatening to make them snap off and plunge them into the depths.
"Look, there's land up ahead!" Emperor Brr called out.
"Let's move it!" Dry Bowser called out, all of them noticing the Water Spouts disappearing.
"We might be at the light here!" Felix said as Locus looked down the platforms.
"...Or we might be in a bad situation." Locus said, noticing the water was receding.
Quickly.
"Hmm?" Dimentio looked down. "My my, the water seems to be retreating."
"Wait, as in the water is being pulled in?" Dry Bowser looked down to see nothing but barren sand. He looked off into the distance, seeing a massive mega tsunami heading straight for them.
"Move it, move move move!" Locus ordered as they quickly tried to get out, but the sagging and the bending of the mushroom platforms made it difficult for them to move forward.
They barely got to the last mushroom platform when the Mega Tsunami struck, pushing them off as the mushroom platforms bent against the might of the mega tsunami, all of them snapping off as they washed away. Not even Acidtail could withstand the might of the tsunami.
Strangely though, the mushroom platforms instantaneously grew back as if nothing had happened.
World 7-3: Washed Away
The tsunami slammed into a weather torn city as it crashed against the buildings, causing some to tilt while breaking some windows.
When the water receded, everyone was down on the pavement but they slowly came around. "Is everyone okay?" Dry Bowser asked.
King Boo spat out some water. "I've been worse." He said as the mercenaries got up while Medusa shook it off. She looked down to see the Psycho Piranha shaking off the water while spitting some out. She let out a soft relieved smile while Emperor Brr wrung his robes out as Acidtail got back up as if nothing happened.
"Stupid ocean!" Felix angrily shook his fist at it.
"It seems we've hit a coastal city. What is the name of the place?" Locus asked.
"City of Miracles? No one knows for sure, but it was a hotspot for shopping." Emperor Brr shrugged as they walked around, seeing hand carts and wagons broken and abandoned as they saw a jewelry store that had seen better days.
There were a few skyscrapers, but they were unfortunately either toppled over or were about to give in to the harsh winds and rain, yet they stood proudly regardless.
They walked inside of a building to attempt to try off, but to their dismay, the roofs were either perpetually leaking or were blown off entirely, forcing them to keep going as the winds howled as thunder boomed across the sky as lightning struck a few buildings.
Soon, they found some weather beaten palm trees where they hopped off the curb and walked toward the beach once more, walking through some palm trees where they would soon come across a cliff edge. They proceeded to follow it out of curiosity… until they came across a waterfall.
End BGM
World 7-4: The Waterfall of Avarice
BGM: Mt. Coronet (Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl)
"Hmm? Hey look at that!" Dimentio pointed to something as they looked to see a flag on the ground. The flag in question was red and had a white circle in the middle. In said circle… was a red M.
"Mario's flag. Is this where he gave up?" Medusa wondered as they also noticed a makeshift shack that looked like Mario had built. They walked inside where they would see a notebook next to a makeshift bed.
"These Lost Levels are unforgiving. The Gemite Jungle was a nice resting area, but then I came into the Coast of the Abandoned and… hoo boy, this is something beyond even me. Not to mention the only way forward is by climbing the cliff.
Now, I'mma good climber, but the weather has made the climb perilous and slippery. I am ill prepared for this. Maybe one day I'll come back with better items…
The Lost Levels aren't for the faint of heart and I'm-a curious to see what's beyond this waterfall. But when I'm good and ready, I'll come back and climb this waterfall. - Mario"
"So… the only way forward is up, huh?" Felix looked up at the cliff. "Guess we better start climbing."
"Pah! This is nothing! Watch and learn, chumps!" Dry Bowser smirked as he started to climb up the cliff while the waterfall poured down.
However, the wind would send a mist over the cliff wall, making it difficult for Dry Bowser to see where he's climbing as he reached up, slipped and fell, slamming right into the ground.
"Nothing", huh?" Medusa snarked.
"Hmph! There's a mist that makes it near impossible to see where you're climbing toward." Dry Bowser said.
"This Mario might have been on to something." Locus said. "If you can't see where you're climbing, then you might as well give up."
"Up up up! That's what pussies would say… and I ain't a pussy!" Felix said as he activated the Chaos Energy from within him as he jumped up and latched onto the wall, continuing to climb.
"Ha! This is nothing! I can… I can't even see. Where the hell am I climbing toward?"
"Three. Two. One." Dry Bowser counted.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
THUD!
"Nice of you to rejoin us." Locus said.
"Quiet you!"
"Hmm…" King Boo flew around, rubbing his ghostly non-existent chin in thought as he examined the cliff wall. "I do not blame Mario for giving up, but perhaps there's something he didn't see…"
He flew through the waterfall, noticing a few windows that were behind it. "Uh-huh… a cave system… but where does it start?"
He proceeded to fly next to the wall, seeming to follow the pathway and then noticing something that caught his attention as he flew over, noticing that part of the cliff had eroded and boulders were blocking the path.
His crown glowed, proceeding to use his magic to pull away the boulders, which he would see a cave entrance that had been blocked the path.
"I'll give the plumber this. It blended in very well with the wall. No wonder he gave up." King Boo mused as he conjured up a sign and placed it in front of the cave.
"This way to the top of the waterfall!"
"Just to throw the red plumber a bone!" King Boo chuckled and then whistled to get everyone's attention.
"You mean to tell me I could have avoided a sore ass?" Felix asked.
"Yes."
Felix groaned as they went into the cave, all of them relieved to be free from the rain beating upon them as the wind howled in the cave, yet they went through the tunnels. They would come across the windows that King Boo had noticed, then they continued to go up a long winding path with a few cave entrances.
One cave was bare boned.
One cave had treasure in it to where Dimentio opened it up, containing a few diamonds. He smiled and stored them inside his pockets.
The third one let them continue on, where they found themselves just outside once more, but underneath the waterfall as it appeared to be some kind of lookout. The rain occasionally splattered them but they would continue on going inside the cave.
They walked through the tunnels with some ore occasionally poking out that held amber and sapphire as they soon came across a ramp as they walked up and found more caves.
One cave held a treasure chest, but on close inspection from Dry Bowser, it turned out to be a Mimic and chomped down on him. He simply gave it a "really?" look before burning it alive. He walked out with a small chuckle.
The second cave contained a small lake with Cheep Cheeps swimming inside.
The third cave seemed to be a prop room filled with entertainment. Masks, costumes, the works. "My my, this seems to be a spectacle…" Dimentio mused.
The fourth cave was the correct one as they continued through, going down a few ramps as some Swoops hung from the ceiling, until they found one cave entrance. They walked through it only to discover a ladder.
They climbed up out of curiosity until they reached the top, finding themselves still in the cave, but also having some ledges to climb through, with some ladders just in case if they needed them.
Several ledges climbed later, they walked up a winding path where they were met with a river on said path. They climbed up… and soon found themselves at the top of the waterfall outside.
"Bother… I liked that little reprieve that we had." Dimentio said.
"It was nice while it lasted." King Boo said.
At that moment, they heard a howling that caught their attention… and it wasn't a howl from the wind.
End BGM
They slowly turned to see the source of the howling. They noticed that it was a single Reznor. However, this looked different. This Reznor was black with red lightning bolt shaped horns, electric blue eyes and a mane that was made entirely by storm clouds.
"That's a peculiar Reznor." Medusa mused.
"Indeed." Dry Bowser said. "Judging by the looks of this, it may be the source of this storm. I could be wrong, though."
The Reznor let out a very loud shrill cry, kicking back its front paw with a snarl.
"Seems to be territorial." Locus said.
Dry Bowser smirked, doing a "come at me" gesture. "Then let's make the most of it."
BGM: Eye of the Storm (Kingdom Hearts III)
Old Stormhorn - Renzstorm
The Renzstorm kicked back its foot and then charged at the group as did Dry Bowser, both of them slamming into each other as the horns pierced through his ribcage as the Renzstorm swung its head to throw Dry Bowser away.
The horns glowed brightly as it unleashed Thundaza on Dry Bowser, striking him as he let out a grunt as it let out an Aeroza. Dry Bowser jumped out of the way and breathed fire as Renzstorm did the same thing.
Dimentio teleported behind the Renzstorm, slashing it up in the air as Medusa fired lasers from her snake heads, but the Renzstorm avoided and proceeded to fly around on storm clouds, unleashing Thundaza on them all as Medusa put the Psycho Piranha on the ground, where it grew in size and proceeded to smack it with its vines.
Locus and Felix meanwhile flanked the Renzstorm to try and shoot it down, but Renzstorm avoided this and unleashed Waterza, splashing them away as Renzstorm hopped off of his clouds and proceeded to charge at Emperor Brr, but he wrapped himself in ice to block the attack, but to his surprise, the horns pierced through his ice shield, forcing Emperor Brr to jump back and throw sharp snowflakes at him.
Renzstorm howled, manipulating the rain around him as it went around his feet as he started to glide across the water to charge an attack, ramming straight to Dry Bowser but he caught a hold of it, being pushed back as he picked up the Reznor and threw him down, breathing fire at him as the Reznor cried before it shot him with a point blank Thundaza attack to knock him back as King Boo fired electricity at him to push him back.
Renzstorm kicked back its foot as it charged again, only for Dimentio to snap his fingers as it was trapped in a box, but Renzstorm used its horns to shatter the boxes before Dimentio could properly make it explode as he charged at Dimentio, but he disappeared as he reappeared above him as Dimentio spun his keyblade as light beams surrounded his Keyblade before he threw his Keyblade down, unleashing a Light Beam Sawblade attack that cut through the Reznor, but it didn't seem to faze it as he jumped up, calling upon storm clouds and charging at Dimentio, but he teleported away as he resummoned his Keyblade.
Medusa and the Psycho Piranha used shadowy vines to grab onto the Renzstorm and pulled it down while Acidtail emerged from the top of the cliff and breathed his acidic flames at Renzstorm. It let out a pained screech as it broke free and charged at Dry Bowser.
Dry Bowser smirked, forming fuzzy goo claws as he swung down at the same time as the Renzstorm clashed against him, both of them struggling to gain the upper hand…
SNAP!
…Until the might of Dry Bowser was enough to snap the horn off of Renzstorm, as it let out a pained cry as Dry Bowser punched it in the face until he swiped it several times before he kicked it away before unleashing his Oblivion Fire to strike the Renzstorm, causing it to cry out in agony.
However, Renzstorm was determined as it charged again, not caring that it was on fire as everyone around him avoided the flames as it kept charging as it breathed fire to try and burn them, but Dimentio put up Reflega spells to make it bounce back as Reznor snarled and charged at Dry Bowser once more.
"You're quite the powerful foe… but this is the end for you!" He said as they both clashed again, until Dry Bowser climbed over him as he tried to buck off the emperor but Dry Bowser wrapped his hands around his head and proceeded to twist as hard and quick as he could, snapping the Reznor's neck as it fell limp to the ground.
Dry Bowser hopped off as the Oblivion Fire burned the rest of its remains until nothing was left.
End BGM
At that moment, the rain ceased and the wind stopped blowing. In fact, the clouds started to part.
BGM: On the Beach at Dusk (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky)
They would see the clouds disappearing as they were met by a gorgeous sunset. They would walk toward the edge and see the ocean calming.
The waves splashing against the beach were gentle, and inviting. The sound of the waterfall was the only thing they heard as a gentle breeze went through them. A rainbow formed over the horizon.
But what caught their attention was the spirits floating up toward the sky, letting out cheers while young children laughed and giggled as they flew up to the heavens above. A few spirits looked down and waved at them in gratitude.
Dry Bowser said nothing, sitting down at the edge and admiring the view. A small smile formed in his face as he watched the sun set alongside the spirits departing from their stormy prison. A few surfing ghosts grabbed their surfboards and surfed for one final time until they had their fill, then they flew off.
Medusa chuckled. "I never thought we'd free these folks."
"Apparently, we did." Dry Bowser said as gentle waves crashed against the shore and the mushroom platforms.
One by one, they walked away from the sunset, though Dry Bowser stopped to look at the horn as he picked it up. He scratched his chin in thought and put it away for now as they would find a lab off into the distance. And once they found the lab, they found that it, too, suffered damage from the perpetual storm, yet the notes on the table seemed to be untouched.
"Let's see here…" Locus picked up the first note.
"The Coast of Miracles. Holy cow, this place is gorgeous! In fact, it's home to several Reznor that are very playful. One is bigger than the rest. It must be the alpha Reznor. Regardless, even he is very docile and a bit playful too.
During my lab experiments here, I've noticed that the Alpha Reznor's horn broke off during a play session. I decided to see if I can upgrade this to something that would make it stand out. It started off small, but then I decided to… shall we say… go a bit further.
That wasn't enough to satisfy me. I threw in a Ztar in the experimentation to see what it could do. Lo and behold, it interacted with the horn and to my surprise, it releases a lot of elemental magic! Yeah, a Reznor with magic!
Upon my research, I found out that it can actually control the weather somehow. A Reznor with weather manipulation? Can you SEE the potential with this! This could be a massive discovery, oh man, placing this on that Reznor will be such a treat!
That said, the Ztar also made this horn incredibly long and sharp like a sword. I ought to be careful in case the Reznor tries to initiate a playful hug. - V."
"Fascinating…" Dry Bowser mused, looking at the horn in question as Felix looked into the second note.
"Sometimes she's back to her old self, sometimes she's a bit crazy. Some days are better than others, some days are… okay. Surely, she'd learn from her mistake from the Zuteregeon, right?
Unfortunately, she hasn't. She was hell bent on this experiment and it… well, it caused a massive rainstorm to happen. This is what happens when you play god… apparently she doesn't listen to my concerns. What's happened to her?
Regardless, I ought to at least try to take off that horn and just replace it myself tonight. The Reznor's friends are looking miserable in this rain. It's the least I can do, right?"
Come on, Vi… you're better than this… - Myra"
"Vi?" King Boo rubbed his chin. "Vi… Vi… agh, it's on the tip of my tongue too!"
"Seems like this Vi girl was way too overambitious." Locus said.
"As is all scientists." Dimentio said. "Apparently Myra wasn't successful in taking away that horn."
"Let's move." Dry Bowser said as they walked out… where unbeknownst to them, a black claw like appendage with a red center emerged from the ground and stared at them, opening and closing viciously with some venom dripping from its fang-like hands.
The claw went back underground, undetected by the villains.
It seems like something had spotted them... but what?
Ibuki: Ooooh, intrigue!
Deadpool: Wonder if Mario could have handled the Renzstorm? Probably, probably not... who knows!