OK, fellow readers. This is the 64th chapter of this story!
Now, we're still focused on the interlude chapters. This time, we're focused on Bowser.
In this chapter, Bowser will look like he's at the end of his rope when Kammy informs him of a secret room under Rogueport that hasn't been discovered by anyone else and isn't on the map. They also will go to that area to investigate and see if they can find a Crystal Star.
Also worth noting for this chapter is that Luigi will make a cameo appearance, being revealed to be on his 'own' adventure to recover the pieces of the Marvelous Compass on his own, with his partners.
Additionally, Bowser will go through an area that is reminiscent of the castle levels in Super Mario Bros, and he and Kammy Koopa will end up in a training workout room, which has the Champ Belt of the Glitz Pit, with the Crystal Star on it.
Other stuff that'll happen includes the Rawk Hawk appearing again to confront Bowser, Bowser insults him and stomps on him when Rawk Hawk tries to attack him, and then they find out the Crystal Star on the Champ Belt is a fake after it falls and breaks apart. And a few other things will occur. How will this go for them? Read and find out now!
IN THE ROGUEPORT PLAZA:
Elsewhere, in the Rogueport Plaza, the citizens who were there, made up of Goombas, Doogans, and Little Mousers, were just going about their usual business in the square. At least until they noticed something big, frightening, and recognizable stomping his way into the Rogueport Plaza. This person was none other than Bowser. The residents reacted to fear immediately upon setting their sights on him.
"Ack! Bowser!" One of the Goombas yelled.
"Save me!" A Little Mouser squeaked in fear.
"Yoiks!" A Doogan screamed in terror.
They then fled for their lives along with everyone else who was present in the plaza. Bowser 'really' didn't care at the moment. Not only did he look exhausted. He also looked like he was at the end of his rope.
He had been hunting through the Rogueport region for days, and he still hadn't gotten possession of a single Crystal Star. Nor has he even come close to finding out where Princess Peach is being held.
On top of that, the fiasco that happened in Twilight Town left a significant impact on him, in addition to finding out that the Crystal Star that was there was also taken by Andrew. This left him both injured from the war he engaged in with Lord Crump and empty-handed with no Crystal Star in his possession. He had to wonder if his streak of bad luck would ever end.
"Grrrrmph... Hrrrgh... Bluh," Bowser caught himself before exclaiming tiredly. "I've got no Crystal Stars... I can't find Princess Peach... Twilight Town was... Well, it wasn't exactly glorious. WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"
After yelling that, he then caught himself before he continued ranting to himself. "If this keeps up, that Andrew punk will make off with everything that I claim possession of! And I'll be left empty-handed! AS USUAL!"
He could only hope that things would finally start looking up for him soon. And that maybe someone will call to give him the good news. Fortunately, the call was answered when he heard a familiar voice call out from behind him.
"Your Massiveness!" That voice belonged to Kammy Koopa who came flying down on her broom with some important news for the Koopa King.
"Oh, gee," Bowser looked at her and snorted. "What is it this time, Kammy Koopa? This better be good."
Kammy Koopa flinched a little bit by his grouchy tone. Thankfully, she was able to shake that off, seeing that what she had to tell him would perk him up in an instant.
"We did it! The Magikoopa scouts found a suspicious underground chamber!" Kammy Koopa declared. "It isn't even on any maps! Yeah! 'REALLY' suspicious! SOMETHING must be there!"
"Hmph! About time!" Bowser huffed before smirking and crossing his arms. "Well done! This is where it all turns around for me! Definitely!"
Perhaps this is what Bowser has been waiting for all along. This secret underground chamber might contain exactly what he's looking for. Either the Mushroom Kingdom Princess or one of the Crystal Stars. Knowing what his luck has been like lately, Bowser was willing to wager his bets on the latter. Kammy Koopa wasn't done yet as she continued.
"The Hammer Bros. battalion is attempting to breach the chamber at the moment..." Kammy Koopa exclaimed. "The area is impenetrable! They're scrapping tooth and nail in there!"
Bowser was feeling way too confident at the moment. After the streak of bad luck he's had, he was willing to make this all possible himself.
"No problem! Direct me there!" Bowser bellowed proudly. "I'll blast us through! I'm Bowser, baby!"
"Very well, Your Blastiness!" Kammy Koopa decided to lead him to an area underneath Rogueport. "Follow me! It's this way!"
With that, Bowser stomped off after Kammy Koopa, who was leading the way for them to get to this secret underground chamber that had been spotted by the Magikoopa scouts, to see what was hidden in there. What they didn't know was that someone could've sworn that he saw the Koopa King and his elderly advisor just now.
It was Luigi. He was visiting Rogueport temporarily before heading off to finish his quest to collect the Marvelous Compass. Sometime after Mario and Luigi had sent out the letter to Andrew to have him escort Princess Peach back to the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi obtained another letter thirty minutes later.
The letter was from Minister Crepe, the Minister of the Waffle Kingdom. Based on what he wrote down, the lovely Princess Eclair was kidnapped by the Chestnut King and the kingdom needed assistance from the great hero Mario.
Since Mario was still wanting to take a vacation from adventuring, he allowed Luigi to go on his lifelong dream of going on an adventure of his own. So far, he has collected six of the seven pieces of the Marvelous Compass, while gaining several partners along the way.
They consisted of Blooey, Jerry, Torque, Hayzee, and Screamy; the former four were a Blooper, Bob-omb, Spike Top, and Crazee Dayzee, respectively, while the latter was an unknown species who resembles a scoop of whipped cream.
At least three of them didn't think fondly of the green-clad plumber. Hayzee is the only one who likes Luigi personally, while Screamy's relationship with him is unknown since he is very vague about his intentions.
Still, Luigi has stopped off at Rogueport several times while traveling through the Waffle Kingdom. He has heard about some of the stuff that Andrew has done in the Rogueport region lately, but he never had the time to see him, since he was always on the go. Nonetheless, Luigi is glad to be on his 'own' adventure for once, where he isn't reduced to a second banana to Mario.
Currently, Luigi had a confused look as he could've sworn that he saw Bowser and Kammy Koopa nearby. Although, his focus was more on Bowser than it was on Kammy Koopa. Still sporting a puzzled expression, Luigi started talking out loud to himself.
"Huh? That's a-'strange'," Luigi scratched his head. "I could've sworn that I saw Bowser just now. Mamma Mia, that's a disaster waiting to happen."
Nonetheless, Luigi shrugged it off, feeling that it wasn't important since he hadn't seen the Koopa King in a while, especially after what had happened in the Beanbean Kingdom. Besides, he had his 'own' adventure to complete, and he was more than determined to finish it up.
"Ah well. Maybe it's-a not so important," Luigi shrugged. "Well, I guess it's back to my 'own' adventure. My partners are probably wondering where I went. I shouldn't keep them waiting."
And with that, Luigi turned around and headed back in the direction where his five partners were waiting for him. One thing was for certain, he was glad that he was getting the chance to experience the thrill of adventuring on his own for himself. He was enjoying the adventuring that Mario also got during his 'own' adventures, while Mario was willing to look after the house for one. No doubt about that...
IN AN UNKNOWN CHAMBER - UNDERNEATH ROGUEPORT:
Before he knew it, Bowser had found himself going through a dungeon of some kind that had such a heavy resemblance to the castle stages in Super Mario Bros. Kammy Koopa had flown off ahead of him, with the hope that he'd find the area that they need to plow through to find this secret room that she was informed about.
"Huh?" Bowser was confused by the setup that was ahead of him. "Why do I feel at home in this place? This place seems oddly familiar..."
Seeing that he wouldn't get anywhere just standing there, Bowser started trekking through this chamber. He had to jump over a couple of lava pits to keep his butt from being fried had he fallen into them.
Speaking of being fried, he had to dodge a couple of firebars that were rotating from a block. One of the firebars almost scorched him in the back, and his tail almost got caught on fire.
"Yowch!" Bowser felt the heat of the latest firebar that almost struck him. "Now I know what it'd be like if I were to go through my 'own' castle. Just like that mustache menace Mario has in the past."
He then found a yellow block and jumped into it, plowing through it where a piece of meat came out as a result. Feeling that he was working up an appetite, Bowser helped himself and inhaled it. Then just like before, he grew bigger, giving him a slight advantage over the X-Nauts who were nearby, trying to charge at him.
"Gra ha ha ha!" Bowser cackled before sneering. "You punks think you can take me?! Well, let's see how you like being roasted!"
With that, he unleashed a Flamethrower on all three X-Nauts, frying them up to a crisp. He then continued storming through the chamber when he saw a bunch of stone blocks in his way.
To his complete frustration, he was unable to plow through them with his weight or his Flamethrower. He then noticed the massive firebar ahead of him that was rotating around a block. With some concentration, Bowser was able to get by without being torched by the firebar.
After getting past that, he stumbled upon another yellow block. And on top of the yellow block was an X-Naut Ph.D. And it was throwing some beakers of hazardous chemicals at the Koopa King. Bowser, with an annoyed look on his face, wasn't in the mood for anymore of these freaks, especially after what had happened in Twilight Town.
So without thinking, he jumped and plowed into the yellow block, knocking the X-Naut Ph.D. off where he was then struck by a firebar, getting his tushy on fire. The X-Naut PhD ran until he was careened into a stone block, where he was then unconscious.
Bowser, meanwhile had already grabbed the piece of meat that came from the block and inhaled it. He then became an invisible giant again.
"Aw yeah! Now this is MORE like it!" Bowser bellowed proudly. "Now let's plow through this chamber and to that secret room that Kammy was referring to!"
From there, Bowser plowed through any block that came his way, along with any other X-Nauts that tried to stop him. And the best part was, he was unable to fall into any of the lava pits since he was a giant.
After a few more moments of plowing through everything that crossed his path, Bowser ended up catching up to Kammy Koopa, who had been waiting for him near a pathway that led into the secret room that they were looking for. And in front of her was that same flag pole that Bowser rammed through the past two times.
"Your Massiveness! Over here, quickly!" Kammy Koopa called out to him as Bowser approached her. "The secret room we're looking for is beyond this pathway! Let's investigate!"
"All right! Now we're talking!" Bowser howled. "Let's see what kind of rare valuables could be in here! Maybe we can find a Crystal Star this time! Gra ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
With that, Bowser plowed through the flag pole, and the walkway and left a giant hole in its wake, with Kammy Koopa following him. The Koopa King could only hope that they could find something significant in this secret room, like one of the Crystal Stars. He would find out about it in a moment...
IN THE SECRET ROOM:
The secret room, in question, was revealed to be a gym of some kind, complete with some weights, a treadmill, and a couple of punching bags to boot.
Bowser and Kammy Koopa made their way into the gym, with Kammy Koopa taking a break from her broom while Bowser shrank back down to normal size, much to Bowser's disappointment.
Still, it was fun while it lasted, and Kammy Koopa was impressed by the demolition that the Koopa King had caused while getting through that chamber.
"Incredible, Lord Bowser!" Kammy Koopa beamed in a way that an old lady would. "Nothing stood in your way! You couldn't be more super!"
"Puh-lease! No problem!" Bowser brushed it off as he turned to face her, feeling rather overconfident at the moment. "I felt right at home! Especially since that chamber reminded me of my castle! But...where are we now?"
"Hmmm..." Kammy Koopa stepped forward as she caught sight of something that was hanging up on the wall. "Gracious me! Looooook! Lord Bowser! On the wall! Behind you!"
Kammy Koopa pointed to the wall as Bowser turned around and saw what she was pointing at. On the wall were a couple of pictures, three of them featuring the Rawk Hawk in the Glitz Pit. The smallest one was a picture of Jolene. The big picture in the center was a picture taken when Rawk Hawk became the champion when Grubba was in charge, in which the picture showed Rawk Hawk and Grubba in the Glitz Pit ring.
But it was underneath the picture that Kammy Koopa was focused on. She was pointing to the Champ's Belt. And on the Champ's Belt was the Crystal Star, or rather, it was a replication of the Gold Star.
Nonetheless, once Bowswer took notice of it, he felt his mood brighten up as he had finally found a Crystal Star, and could claim it for himself.
"Hello! Could it be? Aw, YEAH!" Bowser was 'really' overjoyed as he boomed. "A Crystal Star! Advantage, Bowser!"
Bowser and Kammy Koopa approached the Champ's Belt and stared at it for a couple of moments or so.
"Mweh heh heh heh!" Kammy Koopa cackled before she declared. "At last, we've found one! And now we'll make it ours!"
Bowser watched in delight as Kammy Koopa approached the belt. She was about to take the Crystal Star off of the belt and allow Bowser to claim it. Unfortunately, before she could even touch it, a masculine voice was heard shouting from behind them.
"Freeze, chumps!" A familiar wrestler's voice shouted, getting both Bowser and Kammy Koopa to turn around.
Bowser was rather annoyed. Who was trying to stand in his way from making off with the Crystal Star? Was whoever this guy is trying to oppose him from making off with the Crystal Star that he found fair and square? Needless to say, Bowser demanded an answer from this stranger.
"Grraggh! Who's there?" Bowser bellowed his demand as he and Kammy looked at the person who said that.
The person in question was none other, than the Rawk Hawk. In the flesh. And it turns out that Bowser and Kammy had just entered his gym, where his Champ's Belt was.
"Harharharharharharhar! Don't tell me you don't know the famous Rawk Hawk!" Rawk Hawk laughed haughtily before turning his attention to the readers who were reading this chapter. "You little punk-weasel! 'You' forgot these muscles? You forgot this hugeness?"
Rawk Hawk then turned his attention back to Bowser before he then admitted. "Don't ask me how, but you cleared my Secret Training Facility! Not too shabby! I even imported some super-freaks to up the difficulty level... You're good!"
Rawk Hawk then shakes his head to make sure that Bowser doesn't let this get to his head and thinks that he's better than he is.
"'Course, good don't count for squat in this biz, babe!" Rawk Hawk then told him sharply. "My champ's belt is...mine!"
What Rawk Hawk just revealed is that the secret chamber that Bowser went through that was eerily similar to one of his castles was 'basically' a Secret Training Facility that the Rawk Hawk set up for newcoming challengers.
How he was able to make it look just like one of the Koopa King's castles was anyone's guess. But either way, it was meant to be a challenge. And the super-freaks that he imported in question were likely the X-Naut Ph.D. that Bowser crossed paths with earlier, seeing that he has plowed through the regular X-Nauts before.
As impressed as the Rawk Hawk was that Bowser cleared through his Secret Training Facility, he wasn't going to let him make off with the Champ's Belt, which was rightfully his.
Bowser snorted before stomping over to see the Rawk Hawk for himself, with Kammy Koopa trailing behind him. Bowser thought that this was some kind of joke. So he decided to have some fun with making fun of the famous wrestler himself.
"Gra ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, look!" Bowser cackled before taunting the Rawk Hawk in such an immature manner. "What an adorable little weakling! Hi, fella!"
The Rawk Hawk had to check his ears to see if he misheard him. He didn't just hear him say that. Did Bowser just call him, the Feral Nuclear Reactor a.k.a the Rawk Hawk himself, a weakling? Surely he should know who he's dealing with, right? If he didn't, then the Rawk Hawk would have to lay it down on him, right here and now.
"Weak... Wait, WHAT?" Rawk Hawk yelled angrily, before asking him. "Well, tell me something: you ever see a weakling... DO THIS?!"
Rawk Hawk then proceeded to unleash his Slide Kick on the Koopa King. The only problem with that was that he didn't count on Bowser jumping up and unleashing his Stomp attack on the Rawk Hawk, flattening him to the point where he looked like a pancake.
The Rawk Hawk was successful with dishing out his Slide Kick on Kammy Koopa before he was flattened, however, as Kammy Koopa was sent flying into the wall behind her. She then fell in pain, not helped by her old age.
"Pain," Rawk Hawk uttered weakly upon being stomped on like that.
"Ouch," Kammy Koopa groaned, as she didn't like the fact that she was just kicked into the wall behind her.
Bowser didn't seem to care about what happened to Kammy Koopa. He was taking in too much joy upon seeing the Rawk Hawk himself having been squashed and flattened, to the point where it looked like he was taking a nap. The Koopa King couldn't help but laugh at his current predicament.
"Gra ha ha ha ha! Aww! Now you're sleeping!" Bowser laughed and taunted him. "I KNEW you were a weakling!"
Unfortunately, the joke would be on him. Due to the pressure that the wall had endured from Kammy Koopa being kicked into it, the Crystal Star on the Champ's Belt had been shaking from the minor impact. And in a matter of seconds, the Crystal Star fell off and then shattered into two pieces.
Bowser heard the sound of glass shattering behind him, which got him to turn around and suddenly, his joyous mood had vanished abruptly as he was shocked by what had happened to the Crystal Star.
"Whoa! The Crystal Star!" Bowser yelled in horror at what just happened.
This got Kammy Koopa to get up and see the damage for herself.
"Hmmm?" Kammy saw the broken Crystal Star for herself, and she panicked as a result. "Eeek! It split in two! Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!"
Moments later, her panic suddenly vanished as she picked up the pieces and realized something. They didn't feel like what a Crystal Star is supposed to feel like.
Rather, it was just some cheap glass that resembled one of the Crystal Stars. This was something that Bowser needed to know about immediately.
"Wait... Hold the phone!" Kammy Koopa then informed him of what she discovered. "My mighty Lord Bowser! This is just glass! It's a flimflam! A fake!"
Bowser got out of his shocked state as he furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't believe it. He didn't WANT to believe it. Did Kammy just say that the Crystal Star that they THOUGHT they found was a fake this whole time? Does this mean that they were just about to make off with a phony Crystal Star instead of one of the real deals? Bowser was getting into a bad mood again, and it showed by his tone of voice.
"Wh-WHAT?!" Bowser roared furiously, flames almost leaking out of his maw. "Speak English!"
The Rawk Hawk couldn't help but overhear their discussion about the Crystal Star that Andrew claimed already. Despite feeling weak from the stomp attack that Bowser unleashed on him, he decided to give them the answer to who has the real Crystal Star.
"You...ow...want the real one?" Rawk Hawk moaned. "The Prevailing...urk...Presto...has it... Oh, my aching hair..."
Rawk Hawk coughed a bit before uttering to them in agony. "Feel...the...Rawk..."
Rawk Hawk was then knocked out cold as soon as he finished.
By contrast, Bowser was so furious, that it looked like he could burn the gym down with one single Flamethrower from his mouth. He didn't know who this Presto was, or why he would want to get the Crystal Stars, but it was 'obviously' linked to Andrew himself.
"I don't know anybody named Presto!" Bowser snarled. "Stop speaking in riddles, you chicken nugget!"
Bowser was completely unaware that the Prevailing Presto was the stage name that Andrew was given and was referred to during his tenure in the Glitz Pit. Even after he long retired from the Glitz Pit upon gaining the real Gold Star, the fighters and fans of the Glitz Pit hold him in high regard, and in the case of Rawk Hawk, having 'actually' gained some levels of respect for the muscular man.
Seeing that the Rawk Hawk was out cold, Bowser realized that he was getting nowhere with this and that he was given the short end of the stick again. When will the failures end?
"CRUD! Who do I have to flatten to get a Crystal Star?!" Bowser roared violently. "Who?! WHOOOO?!"
With that, Bowser stomped on the floor again in a brash and violent manner upon realizing that they were unsuccessful in getting a Crystal Star. Rawk Hawk remained unconscious while Kammy Koopa watched him throw his usual hissy fit.
After a few moments, the elderly Magikoopa felt that maybe it was best for them to take their search elsewhere, with the luck that they'll claim a Crystal Star this time.
"Ahem! Your Stompiness!" Kammy Koopa got his attention. "Perhaps we should take our search elsewhere. And maybe we'll claim a real Crystal Star for sure."
"Hmph!" Bowser huffed and glared at her before turning around and storming out of the gym and secret chamber, stomping viciously 'all the way', with Kammy Koopa getting on her broom and following him out of the area and back up to Rogueport.
They would be in for a massive surprise when they find out that Andrew has collected almost all of the Crystal Stars, with only one more to go. And they would find out about this when it was too late, once he was successful with claiming the final Crystal Star. They would find this out for themselves before long. That was a given...
END OF CHAPTER 64...
Yeah! That's it for this chapter! This one was also short compared to the bulk of Chapter 6. But well, it's another Bowser-focused chapter, so it's to be expected. Still, I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter too.
Now, this chapter was rather comedic, especially coming after the previous chapter and how intense that one was. Still, I think it balances this story out pretty well.
Lastly, the secret chamber that resembles the castle levels of Super Mario Bros. was altered to make the flag near the pathway that leads to the gym set up like that to make the transition more believable. I hope that makes sense.
Anyway, the next chapter will focus on Andrew and his friends again. In that chapter, it shows the eight heroes get back to Rogueport Station on the Excess Express after showing what they had done in Poshley Heights and on the Excess Express.
Andrew will also get an incomplete e-mail from Princess Peach, revealing exactly where she's located, it says that they need her something to resurrect the demon's spirit, and it comes off as her e-mail being cut off.
Other stuff that'll occur include Andrew finding some important good underneath Rogueport, thanks to Ms. Mowz, going to the Thousand-Year Door which Ms. Mowz sees for the first time after her thoughts are shown, and they see where the location of the final Crystal Star. And a few other things will occur. How will this go for them? Find out next time, readers!
For now, only if you like, you can leave a review and tell me what you thought of it overall.
Aside from that, I have nothing else to say. So until next time, I do hope you'll take care of yourselves. And on that note, thank you once again for reading, everyone!