Princess Peach Toadstool was tired of what her life had become. It was almost a bit fun at first, if terrifying, when she had been whisked away from her home by the vile King Bowser and had to be rescued by the unlikeliest of heroes, a humble plumber named Mario and his well-meaning but cowardly younger brother Luigi. And then she had been returned safely to her kingdom to resume her reign and had assumed that chapter of her life was behind her. But then it happened again… and again… and again… She had quickly lost track of how often it happened. Sometimes it felt like she spent more time in Bowser's various castles than her own. She even knew half the guard by name at this point. Honestly, she didn't even think Bowser was all that bad when he wasn't being a total jerkface. If he had ever actually bothered to just ask her out properly instead of jumping straight to kidnapping (well, technically it was obduction because she was an adult but she didn't care that much and nobody else seemed to, either) then she might have even considered it at some point. Probably not now, though. It had just been too long.
Still, at least the details of these adventures usually changed just enough to keep things at least somewhat interesting. Take her last kidnapping for example, when a bunch of freaky lobster men broke into the castle before Mario could rescue her and stuffed her in a sack so that they could ransom her back to her people. She had actually been willing to pay the red crustaceans almost twice as much gold as they had been asking for just for the sheer novelty of it. Unfortunately, she hadn't even had a full day to recover from that escapade before getting kidnapped again for the bijillionth time. She hadn't had a chance to see Mario, either, which was concerning since she'd been hearing rumors from some of the gossipier guards that he had somehow died. She didn't want to believe it and tried her hardest to hold out hope, which had apparently paid off now that the mustachioed plumber was seated nearby at the head of the crowded table where they were now being served. Although, something did seem a bit odd about him. She'd never know her kingdom's hero to slouch like that, nor to rest his feet up on the table. There was definitely something wrong, though more strange than that was the fact that they were all seated together in the first place.
Mario was sitting at the head of Bowser's dining room table, one where the princess had been forced to spend many surprisingly delicious dinners with the koopa king, while Peach had been shown to the chair to his left. Princess Daisy was seated next to her, followed by Luigi, Daisy, a large yellow yoshi who she didn't think she had met before, Rosalina, a man in an armored blue spacesuit, what appeared to be some sort of hamster-like creature sitting on a floating disc, and a blue-haired boy in a green jumpsuit. On the other side of the table were Bowser, his son, the two old Magikoopas that served him and several of the koopalings, while a tall blonde woman in a tanooki suit sat at the other end of the table across from Mario.
It was certainly a strange turn of events and Princess Peach found herself completely out of the loop about why they were all there and who some of these people even were. At least the food was good, even if that was the least of her concerns at the moment. She had been working her way through a mushroom steak with a side of mashed potatoes when the proceedings finally came to order.
Everyone's attention turned to Mario as he banged on the table with… actually, she couldn't see him bang the table with anything but she could definitely hear it, and the various whispered conversations that had been filling the room suddenly died down.
"Alright, alright, let's bring this meeting to order." Mario stood up and placed his hands on the edges of the table… Wait, Mario's arms shouldn't have been long enough for him to be able to do that. " We should start these negotiations by making sure that we're all on the same page. Does everyone know why we are here?"
Princess Peach saw this as her opportunity to finally learn just what was going on and quietly raised her hand before speaking. "Um, I don't. What's going on, Mario?"
Mario proceeded to stare at her blankly as if the princess had just grown a second head. Looking around, she noticed that everyone else in the room was giving her similar looks. But then Mario sighed and she turned her attention back to him.
"Ah, right, I forgot that I'm still wearing the hat." Mario shook his head and glanced up at the cap in question. "I still don't know how this thing works, or why. We're probably going to have to look into that when we get the chance. Regardless, it seems only fitting that this should be given to his last of kin. Here you go, Luigi."
Mario took off his hat and- Princess Peach nearly jumped out of her seat as some sort of big purple pterodactyl dragon… thing… handed the red cap off to Luigi, who accepted it somberly. Peach appeared to be even more out of the loop than she thought.
"Now, for those who I haven't properly introduced myself to yet, my name is Ridley." The dragon-like creature stood up to his full height, which Peach estimated to be somewhere between Rosalina and Bowser, before giving a deep bow. "Formerly Captain Ridley of the Space Pirates and all-around heartless monster. However, coming to this planet has given me a new lease on life and allowed me to see things from an entirely new perspective. As such, I'd like to repay the favor by doing something that I've never done before and helping to make this world better than I found it."
This prompted a dark chuckle from Bowser for some reason, who then spoke up.
"Yeah, sure you do," he said sarcastically, though the princess had no idea why. She still didn't really understand what was going on. "And I'm sure you'd just love it if I told everyone here what you're even doing on our planet in the first place. What you've done…"
"Most of the people here already know." The alien, Ridley, nodded solemnly. "But, for the sake of transparency, we should probably get the sheegoth in the room out of the way. Would you care to explain, King Bowser?"
Bowser laughed darkly before taking a sip of his drink. After setting his glass back down, he turned to Peach and the others, a wicked grin on his face.
"This pirate is here because I hired him… to kill Mario… which he did."
It felt like the whole room was spinning. This purple dragon thing has killed Mario? That didn't make sense. Mario couldn't be dead, he was Mario. Peach looked around at the others, waiting for someone to point out that he was wrong. But no one did. She could see it on all of their faces. Mario really was gone, wasn't he?
"It is true." Ridley nodded. "That hat is all that is left of the man I killed, which I had taken as a trophy and intended to use to mock the people of the Mushroom Kingdom. But to my surprise, whatever magic is in that hat made it so that people mistook me for him and I ended up getting dragged into an adventure in his place. And along the way, my entire way of thinking has changed. I'd like to think that I've become a better person, even if it's far too late to make up for the sins of my past, and while I do expect to face trial for my actions, today is not that day. Also, there's now some confusion about whether or not the person I killed was actually Mario, but that's mostly irrelevant for now."
"What?" Bowser practically spat out his drink. "What do you mean, 'there's some confusion'? Did you kill Mario or not?"
"Mario is dead," Ridley confirmed. "And I killed someone who appeared to be him. But we had a brief meeting with the real Mario's spirit, who confirmed that whoever I killed wasn't him because he was already dead. However, that's all we know and he had to return to the afterlife or something before he could tell us any more than that. You're probably going to want to launch an investigation into that but that's an issue for another day. Today, we're here to talk about the future. Oh, but speaking of the future, I believe that you two have an announcement."
Ridley gestured to Daisy and Luigi, who both looked around nervously. Peach noticed Daisy place her hand reassuringly on Luigi's before they stood up to address the assorted crowd.
"Y-yes, well, you see-" Luigi stammered before Daisy suddenly half-tackled him into a hug and picked him up in her arms, which seemed to be glowing with some sort of ghostly blue aura for some reason.
"We're getting married!"
It seemed the day was just chock-full of surprising developments and revelations, and Peach felt like she'd already been through more than she could handle. But still, at least one was good news. She politely clapped along with everyone else as the happy couple sat down again.
"Congratulations, we're all very happy for you." Ridley smiled and leaned forward over the table, his hands steepled under his chin. "Now, unless anyone else has anything that they want to bring up, I think it's time that we get to business."
Peach still didn't know what they were even doing there in the first place but nodded along with everyone else. Taking his cue, Ridley straightened up again and spread his wings dramatically.
"Alright, so, as I said earlier, I am new to this planet and I'm still learning about your history and culture. But the thing that keeps coming up through our adventure so far is that there seems to be some sort of long feud between your two countries, the Mushroom Kingdom and Dark Land. It's clear that you've been caught up in some sort of vicious cycle that needs to end. That's why the Hunter and I have decided to gather you all here, to discuss why things are how they are and how you can move forward to a better future for you and your people."
Ridley motioned to the woman at the other end of the table, who was greedily guzzling a mug of what Peach hoped was just root beer.
"Right, the name's Samus Aran, intergalactic bounty hunter," she said enthusiastically as she set down her mug. "We'd be here all day if I told y'all my full story, so I'll just keep it simple. I was raised to be the ultimate warrior and champion of universal peace. I've made it my stock and stade to defend the universe at large from threats beyond what you could imagine. I've traveled to countless worlds, righting wrongs and stopping evil. I've seen the worst that our reality has to offer, horrors beyond what you could imagine, and I've tackled them head-on. I've been to worlds ravaged and scarred by bloody war and I can tell you that it ain't pretty. This is a nice, peaceful planet that you've got here but if y'all don't get your act together then it's not always going to stay that way."
"First, we need to learn more about the situation here and why things are the way they are," Ridley said. "We're going to hear both of your stories, starting with Princess Peach. Now, Princess, how would you describe the diplomatic situation between your kingdom and Dark Land, as well as your relationship with King Bowser."
Princess Peach just sat there, staring blankly at everyone as she tried to process what was happening. Mario was dead and now aliens, one of whom admitted to being his would-be killer, had come to force them to… negotiate? Wait, what were they even negotiating? A ceasefire? We're they even technically at war? The more she thought about it, the more confused she was. But since everyone seemed to expect her to talk, she figured that she might as well try to sort out her feelings aloud.
"I… don't know?" She said finally. "I just… I try to be a good princess and rule the toads fairly, but it seems like practical every week Bowser comes in with a new scheme and causes trouble. Usually, he ends up kidnapping me or something but honestly, I never know what to expect with him these days. I'm just so tired of it."
"So, you would say that Darkland are the aggressors in this war and that you wish for peace?" Ridley asked, and Peach nodded in confirmation. "What about you, King Bowser? What's your side of the story?"
"What's my side of the story?" Bowser repeated angrily. "Why should I tell you?"
"Because one way or another, this conflict is going to be resolved by the time we all leave this room," Samus replied. "If you don't cooperate or try to defend yourself, then we'll probably end up leaving your fate and the fate of your lands and followers, purely up to the Princess' discretion. I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound like the best-case scenario for your country."
"Bah, what does it even matter at this point." Bowser sighed and sat back in his chair with a disgruntled huff, and, for the first time, Peach realized just how battered and bruised he was. His horns were chipped, his shell was scuffed and there was just something about the way he was carrying himself… he just looked so defeated. "It's not like I was ever a good king, anyway. Darkland would probably be better off without me."
The room was quiet for a while, an oppressive silence pressing down on them. Junior ended up being the one to break it.
"Don't say that, Dad!" The young koopa prince tugged at his father's arm. "You're the best king in the whole world!"
"No, son, I'm not." Bowser picked up Junior and set him down on his lap. He hesitated, as if unsure of what to say, before continuing. This was a side of the king that Peach wasn't used to seeing. "I've spent my entire reign just squandering our people's resources for personal gain. It's just been one failed conquest after another, and I have nothing to show for it. What have I actually done for this country other than constantly running it into the ground? …I've become my father…"
Bowser sighed and looked longingly out one of the tall open windows lining the far wall. Peach could only tell that it was day because she'd spent enough time here to notice the faint light filtering through the constant cover of thick black clouds.
"They call this place Dark Land because the sun never shines its light on us. Do you think a kingdom really would have been built here, under these conditions?" Bowser turned to Princess Peach, an earnestness in his gaze that she hadn't seen from him in a long time, as well as pain. "This land had another name when I was growing up, the Lava Kingdom. I don't have very many memories of what it was like back then since I spent most of my childhood in a remote castle out in Dinosaur Land, but I do remember the sky. It was this vivid blue, not quite the same shade that it has over in your kingdom. And the mountains were covered in lush green grass."
"Ah, that takes me back," Kamek said wistfully from a few seats down. "The rivers of flowing lava would often cause the grass and trees and what have you to catch fire and burn away, but the dead plants would fertilize the soil and ensure that whatever grew in its place would grow twice as vibrant. Why, I remember this one farm the lads and I would always hang out at after charm school-"
Bowser cleared his throat and the old magikoopa clammed up quickly.
"Yes, it was a paradise compared to what it is now." Bowser agreed. "But then my father, King Kerog, decided that we needed more. He set out to conquer the surrounding kingdoms and annex them into our lands, but in order to back his ambitions he required an industrialized army. Factories were built, forests were cut down… It wasn't too bad at first, but things were never enough for him. He always had to have more. Eventually, it reached the point where my older brother felt that he had to step in and put an end to it himself. He challenged Father for the throne and they met atop the highest volcano for their duel. Not even I know for sure what happened that day, but it was the day that the volcano erupted, and Dark Land was born. I never saw either of them again."
Peach couldn't stop herself from gasping, and many of the others reacted similarly. She had no idea, even after all of this time.
"I had been crowned king in their absence by the end of the week." Bowser turned to the gathered koopalings at the other end of the table. "I'm one fell swoop I was left with a broken kingdom to rebuild and seven orphaned nieces and nephews to raise as my own. I'd like to think that I did do a good job of ruling in those early years, or at least as good as I could under the circumstances, but we needed resources, the kids needed a mother and I needed a partner. I hatched a plan to solve all of those at once but I guess I must have lost track of things along the way."
"I didn't know any of that," it took Peach a moment to realize that she was the one who had spoken up. "You never said anything."
"It wasn't exactly something that I wanted to bring up," Bowser growled. "And… I think I'd forgotten as well."
"Well, I think we're getting somewhere here." The purple alien, Ridley, sat up and glanced around the room. "So, it sounds like the Mushroom Kingdom has abundant resources but is clearly susceptible to attack, especially with their hero now gone. Meanwhile, Dark La- er, the Lava Kingdom has a pollution issue and limited resources but a strong military presence. Feudal politics may not be my specialty, but I think the solution that benefits everyone here should be obvious."
Peach looked to Bowser and the two locked eyes for a moment, reading each other. In that moment, the princess made her decision. The past would take time to heal and any peace they brokered here would be hard won, but if this is what it would take for a better future for both their nations, then she would gladly sign a trade negotiation-
"I propose a political marriage."
Time seemed to stand still as everyone turned to Ridley in stunned silence, except for Samus who had burst out in laughter. Bowser soon followed suit. Princess Peach, for her part, had managed to turn even redder than her namesake as she suddenly took a keen interest in the glass of fruity tonic in front of her.
"What?" Rosalina asked flatly.
"Oh man, I can't believe you actually went through with that." Samus doubled over, slamming her fist down on the table. "I wish I had a camera."
"Okay, let me explain." Ridley held out his hands reassuringly. "You see, Luigi asked me to be the best man in his wedding before we got here but I had no idea what that meant so I spent the trip researching the topic of marriage. In my research, I learned that royals from different kingdoms often marry into each other to merge their kingdoms together. It seems to me like we could just do that here. If King Bowser and Princess Peach just get married, then you can all combine into one great big Mushlava Kingdom! Lavashroom Kingdom? Darkshroom Land!"
"That was… priceless…" Bowser wheezed as he wiped a tear from his eye. "I haven't had a good laugh like that for a long time. So, Princess, you ready to finally say yes?"
"I think you may need to continue your research." Rosalina buried her face in her hands. "They may hold marriages purely out of political pragmatism in some worlds but they're generally held for love."
"I have heard the word but do not understand the concept," Ridley replied flatly.
"Maybe you should have her teach you!" Samus continued laughing.
Princess Peach set down her now-empty glass and began to massage her aching temples while a koopa waiter swapped it out for a fresh one. There was just so much to take in, she was starting to wish the alien lobsters had taken her with them.
"On a more serious note," Bowser began, "I'd be fine with drafting up some trade agreement. Honestly, this is still better than anything I could have hoped for-"
"You know what, screw it. We might as well." Peach slammed down another empty glass, then waggled a finger back and forth between herself and Bowser. "You, me, let's get hitched. It's not like any of it even matters at this point."
Bowser stared back at the princess, his mouth hanging open. Everyone else seemed just as surprised by her sudden outburst.
"Does this mean that Peach is gonna be my momma after all?" Junior asked curiously.
"Are you… drunk?" Bowser asked at last.
"Possibly," Peach admitted. "I don't know what that would even feel like."
Rosalina waved her wand over the Princess' drink and then her head. "No, she doesn't appear to be."
"I just… don't really care anymore," Princess Peach said. "I kind of always assumed that I'd end up with Mario but… if he's gone… I don't know that I even liked him like that to begin with, but… I guess now I'll never know… I forgot where I was going with that. Oh, right! I was going to say that we might as well give it a chance. After everything we've been through, we might as well, you know?"
"Um, right…" Bowser looked at her warily. "I, uh, never thought that I'd get this far. Are you sure that you're not drunk?"
"I'm not sure of anything, anymore!" Peach declared, standing up. "But I do want to make one thing clear going into this. I'm the queen, whatever I say, goes. You don't do anything that I don't want you to."
"Of course," Bowser nodded along. "Whatever you want."
"Fine, then as long as that's clear, let's do this properly." Princess Peach sighed and began to walk around the table. She snapped her fingers and quickly a hastily-made bouquet of piranha plans was handed to her, which she held out as she knelt in front of Bowser, who had just stood up from his own seat. "King Bowser of Dark Land, will you marry me?"
"Um, shouldn't I be the one asking?" Bowser looked down at her, unsure.
"No," she snapped back.
"Then, yes!" Bowser said, taking the bouquet from her. "I will marry you."
"Did that… did that just… did that really just happen?" Daisy wondered aloud.
The others continued talking but Peach tuned them out. She found herself doing something that she never thought that she would ever do voluntarily and kissed Bowser. It was awkward but less unpleasant than she would have expected. She was pretty sure that this was a mistake but it was her mistake to make. For now, she was just going to try and live in the moment. After all, there was no telling what day could be her last. You never knew when bad news would come.
Samus chuckled as she sat back in her chair. She was definitely glad that he had come on this trip, she'd had a lot of fun experiences on this planet. She'd also been locked away in a prison camp but she chose to focus on the positives for now. She was pulled out of her musings by a message alert from her helmet and automatically attempted to accept the call, only to end up poking herself in the ear through the furry hood of her current outfit. She really needed to get out of that stupid power-up, or whatever they called it. She had tried simply taking the costume off but had discovered that it was somehow stuck onto her. So, it seemed that she was going to have to try plan b.
"Hey, kid, can you do me a favor?" She asked her young ward, Joey Apronika.
"Yeah, sure. What is it?" The boy replied eagerly.
"I need you to punch me," Samus told him, holding her arms loosely to the side and motioning towards her center of mass.
"What?" Joey tilted his head, looking back up at her.
"I need to get out of this stupid fur suit so that I can take a call," she explained. "Hit me so that I can change back to my power suit."
"If you say so…" Joey wound back his right fist and slugged her in the gut harder than he needed to. That boy really needed to learn his strength.
Samus pulled herself out of the wreckage of a wall and gave Joey a thumbs down as she walked out into the hallway. Thankfully, the tanuki suit had taken the full brunt of the hit as it dissipated, and her reconstituted armor had shielded her from her sudden collision with the masonry. She noticed as she looked down at her armor that it seemed to design seemed to have changed, having grown bulkier and more mechanical-looking again. She was pleasantly surprised to realize that interacting with the power-up must have somehow kick-started her power suit's regenerative abilities, meaning that it hopefully wouldn't be too much longer before it was restored to its original design. Although she did note that the yellow plating had somehow turned white. She wasn't sure what that was about but had other things on her mind as she was finally able to accept the transmission.
Samus froze. A chill ran up her spine. That should have been impossible. She had wiped them all out, she was sure of it. But there the organism was, caught as clear as day in hi-res footage. She had to leave, now. Well, not right then. She still needed to take Joey home, plus she was Armstrong and Diesel's ride home as well. But once they were safe, she needed to find the spacial coordinates embedded in the video file. She had never heard of planet ZDR but somehow the name alone seemed to fill her with dread.
Doing good, Ridley decided, felt good. He cracked his knuckles and stretched as he stood up from his chair, a content smile on his face.
"Let's see, that's one princess saved and nobody killed along the way," Ridley said as he walked over to where Rosalina was gazing out of a window. "I didn't end up making it by nightfall, but two out of three isn't bad."
"I will admit that you did a better job than I was expecting." She sighed. "Things certainly got out of hand by the end, though."
"Which was in no way my fault and we made it through every challenge, anyway." Ridley looked out at the dark morning sky. "It feels weird to help people, but I think I like it. So, what's next for you?"
"First, I'll be returning to the Comet Observatory to see how my kids have been doing without me," Rosalina replied. "After that, I'm not sure. Maybe research a way to clear out these ash clouds. I also need to see if I can find any leads into Mario's death. What about you? You're a free… whatever you are, now."
"That depends on what you consider to be free. I may not have a powerful space witch lording her magic over me but now I have the worst jailor of them all: my own conscience." Ridley chuckled. "I figured that I'd head back to the Mushroom Kingdom with the others and turn myself in. Whatever happens after that, happens."
"This has certainly been a wild ride." Rosalina shook her head, but a thin smile crossed her lips. "I've lived through countless universes but this may very well be the strangest so far, thanks to you. I look forward to seeing what the future brings. It's time for me to get going. Farewell, Ridley. Give the others my regards."
"See you."
With that, Rosalina jumped out through the window and flew up into the sky. Ridley watched her leave, then turned back once she was out of sight. He was pretty sure that he had made another friend but he wasn't entirely sure where he actually stood with the witch. He didn't have time to dwell on that, however, as he spotted Samus marching up to him.
"Somethin's come up," the bounty hunter said, and Ridley noted a hint of concern in her voice. "I just wanted to say that I'm glad we were finally able to bury the hatchet, more or less, and I wish you well with your new life. I will be back to check in on you, though. Make sure that you stay in line. Also, I got invited to both weddings, so there's that as well."
"Good luck out there, Hunter." Ridley nodded. "Do you need help with whatever it is?"
Samus seemed to seriously consider the offer, which gave Ridley pause. But finally, she shook her head.
"No, too risky," she said. "I've seen them assimilate your clone's corpse, which means that they could do the same to you."
"Wait, what?"
"It'd take too long to explain. I'll tell you next time we meet." Samus nodded curtly and turned, walking out of the room.
Ridley, now very confused, decided to walk over to where Roshi was standing alone.
"What's up?" He asked the yellow Yoshi.
"Huh, oh, hi." Roshi turned to him. "I just, uh, don't really know anyone here."
"Understandable." Ridley nodded. "But you know, the only way to change that is to talk to people."
"I know, but…"
"Yeah, I've never been much of a social skree myself," Ridley said. "So, what are your plans after this? Going back home to that island?"
"Huh, I hadn't thought about it." Roshi scratched his chin in contemplation. "I never really got along all that well with the other villagers. Do you think I could move to the Mushroom Kingdom with you?"
Ridley shrugged. "I don't know, it's not up to me. I've only spent one night there and I'm probably going to be spending the rest of my time in a dungeon or something. Maybe ask Luigi?"
"Ask-a me what?" The plumber in question walked over to them as if on cue.
"Oh, I was just wondering if I could move to the Mushroom Kingdom with you guys," Roshi explained. "If that would be alright."
"Sure, a-why not?" Luigi said happily. "You can-a stay at my place for now."
"Isn't that house a bit small for three people?" Ridley asked. "Um, assuming you let me stay with you if I don't get arrested."
"It'll be fine," Luigi assured him. "Besides, I'm-a thinking about cleaning out-a my other place now that I'm getting married."
"You have another home?" Ridley asked quizzically.
"I-a won a mansion in a contest a while back, on top of a hill on-a the outskirts of town," Luigi explained. "Well, sort of. It-a turned out to-a be part of a scheme by King Boo, but I-a still have the mansion and I think I-a cleared all the ghosts out. I-a could use a hand clearing it out, though, if you-a wouldn't mind."
"If I'm available." Ridley nodded.
"I guess," Roshi said nervously. "You did say that you got the ghosts out, right?"
"Pretty sure. At-a least most of them, anyway." Luigi confirmed. "But if I-a missed any, then we can-a call the professor for help."
Ridley's trial was held the next day, in the throne room of Peach's castle. A few citizens had come to watch the proceedings but it was still mostly empty. Most residents of the Mushroom Kingdom were too preoccupied with the royal wedding announcement to pay attention to some random alien getting arrested. His friends were there to support him, though, which was all that mattered to Ridley.
"I find the defendant guilty," Princess Peach proclaimed from atop her throne, "of the attempted murder of Mario Mario Jr. However, as your intended victim was already dead and with no evidence to verify the deed, I cannot justify charging you with anything else. Furthermore, the other various charges you've accused yourself of are both unverifiable and well outside the jurisdiction of my authority, and will be dismissed accordingly. Under ordinary circumstances, I would sentence you to life in the dungeons. However, in light of the great service you have provided to the kingdom, your sentence will be reduced to 1,000 hours of community service."
Ridley stood quietly in the center of the courtroom, more than a little stunned. He had been expecting to receive at least a little jail time for murder but he wasn't about to complain. The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by a group of his closest friends, all congratulating him on the results.
"Way to go!" Roshi patted him on the back. "I knew you weren't guilty."
"I am guilty of pretty much every crime known to civilization." Ridley corrected him. "But I guess I'll be working on trying to figure out how to make up for that on my own terms. I'm curious as to what kind of service they want me to do, though."
"I-a think I-a have an idea about that." Luigi held out a familiar red cap. Ridley was about to object that he shouldn't be able to keep Mario's old hat. Not after everything that he had done, or at least thought that he had. But then he noticed the big red 'R' in the center of the white spot on the front, where there should have been an 'M'. "Welcome to Super Mario Bros. Plumbing."
Ridley accepted the new hat reluctantly, not really sure what to say. His eyes seemed to be leaking for some reason as he placed it on his head. Finally, he smiled a mischievous grin. "More like Super Ridley Bros."
"No." Luigi shook his head, laughing.
It was the dawn of a new era for the Mushroom Kingdom. But for Ridley and the others, their adventure had only just begun.
GAME OVER
SEE YOU NEXT MISSION
Coming soon in the Super Ridley verse:
Dread Reckoning
Samus thought that she'd eliminated the threat of the X Parasites from the universe. She was wrong. She thought that Ridley would be the only old foe from her past to return. She was wrong. Now she's stranded on the uncharted planet ZDR for her toughest mission yet, alongside the most unlikely of allies, the SA-X.
Symphony of Luigi
Wedding bells can be heard throughout the Mushroom Kingdom as Luigi prepares for his big day. But when he stumbles upon an old grimoire, our hapless hero finds himself whisked away to a dark forest outside of an ancient castle, where he finds himself caught in the middle of the battle between a legacy of hunters and creatures of the night. Will Luigi be able to defeat Dracula and escape Castlevania in time for his wedding or will Princess Daisy find herself his widow before she can even be his wife?
Super Ridley Bros. 2: Subcon Nightmare
Purple, Green, Yellow, Blue,
Four heroes, standing true,
Must save the world by morning's dew,
Or the dream king's wrath, they soon will rue.
Author's Note: …I'm not used to actually finishing stories. I started this silly little thing back in 2018, inspired by Ridley's fighter announcement video for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and thanks to my abysmal update schedule it's taken me over 5 years to finish it. But here we are, at last.
I've had ups and downs over the years and I feel like I've grown a lot as a writer in that time. As such, when I look back on the early chapters, I mostly just feel unsatisfied with the quality. I've been thinking about going back and doing a full rewrite of the story called Super Ridley Bros. Deluxe but I won't be getting to that anytime soon as I want to focus on moving forward, not back. For now, I'll be focusing on the sequels that I've already announced, plus my other fics. I should have the first chapters of Dread Reckoning and SoL out soon (probably about a month, if I can keep up with my current update schedule), so keep an eye out for them!
Also, a reminder that I now have a Discord server, complete with a channel just for discussing Super Ridley Bros. I just discovered that the link I had posted in my bio expired quite some time ago, so PM me for a proper invite if you want to join to talk about stuff or get notifications for when I update.