(A/N: Here's a story I've had in my head for a while now. This one is pretty much an AU for the opening of the video game "New Super Mario Bros." for the Nintendo DS. But I also did some revising, so it's gonna be different this time around! I'll start it now so you can find out how it goes!)
It was a pretty quiet day in Bowser's Kingdom. Not much was really going on over there, but at Bowser's castle, the Koopa King was having a chat with someone who wanted to be a new minion in his army. He was a Lakitu, and his name was Lakithunder. He had a black shell with stylized sunglasses and a black collar, was bigger than a normal Lakitu, and he rode around in a big storm cloud.
"So, tell me, what can you do? I know that normal Lakitus usually attack by simply trying to drop Spiny Eggs on Mario's head, but you look like you can do a lot more than just that." Bowser said to Lakithunder.
"Well, that's just one of the ways that I'm planning to attack Mario when I see him, but haven't you noticed that my cloud happens to be a storm cloud?" Lakithunder asked, motioning to his cloud.
It was then that Bowser realized that this Lakitu's cloud was not white and happy-looking like the clouds that he usually saw Lakitus riding around in. It was gray and angry-loooking. He said, "Oh yeah, you're right."
"Yeah! With this baby, I can easily attack that annoying little plumber with lightning strikes if I want to!" said Lakithunder.
"Really? Well, that sounds like a promising move that I want to see you pull off! Come with me!" Bowser said, motioning for the new Lakitu to follow him.
The Koopa King and would-be minion went out to the training area, where the new minions would train so they'd be able to do something to prevent Mario and his brother from rescuing the princess the next time Bowser took her. None of them were out there right now. They were busily patrolling the kingdom today.
"Okay, you see that dummy of Mario over there?" Bowser asked, pointing to a pathetic-looking dummy of the plumber lying in the middle of the training area. It looked bad from being pounded by so many minions-in-training.
"Yeah, I see it." said Lakithunder.
"Give it a lightning strike. I need to see just how powerful that move really is." said Bowser.
"Okay, Your Majesty! You're in for a real treat! Watch this!" said Lakithunder. He flew over the dummy and hit it with a lightning strike. The dummy was reduced to a little pile of ashes!
Even though it was a dummy that got destroyed, Bowser appeared to be very impressed. He knew that if the real Mario got hit, he'd be dead, too. This was exactly what he wanted to see!
"That was incredible! All right! You're in!" said Bowser with a huge grin.
"Great!" Lakithunder replied, returning Bowser's grin.
That was when they heard the sound of someone applauding behind them. The two spun around to see Bowser Jr. standing there, clapping his little hands with an excited look on his face. He must have witnessed Lakithunder's attack on the dummy.
"Jr., how long have you been standing there?" Bowser asked.
"Long enough. I saw you and a new minion heading out here, so I followed you." Jr. said.
"So, did you see what Lakithunder did to that Mario dummy?" Bowser asked. He figured that was a valid reason for Jr. to be applauding.
"You better believe I did!" Jr. replied. Then he looked at Lakithunder and said in excitement, "That was awesome, Mr. Laki... Laki..."
"Lakithunder." Lakithunder told him.
"Right. Mr. Lakithunder! I'm really impressed!" Jr. said.
"Well, thanks." Lakithunder replied, before turning to Bowser and asking, "Who's the kid?"
"My youngest son, Bowser Jr. He's also my biological son." Bowser explained. Then Bowser turned back to his son and asked him, "So what brings you out here, Jr.?"
"I was looking for you so I could talk with you about coming up with a good plan to try and get Mama Peach back from Mario. But when I saw what Mr. Lakithunder did to that dummy of Mario, I was wondering if maybe he would like to help me come up with a good plan to get Mama Peach instead." Jr. said.
"Peach? Are you referring to Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom?" Lakithunder checked.
"Yes." Jr. smiled, nodding his head.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure I heard you referring to her as your mother." Lakithunder said.
"You heard right." Jr. said.
"You really think she's your mommy?" Lakithunder asked.
"I don't think she's my Mama. She really is my Mama! Just ask Papa!" Jr. said.
Lakithunder gave Bowser a weird look and asked in a whisper, "Did you put that crazy idea in his head?"
"Kinda..." Bowser whispered back sheepishly, noticing the way Lakithunder looked at him and hating it.
"Well, forgive me for saying this, but I think that was a stupid move on your part! He looks nothing like her! Why did you put an idea like that in his head?" Lakithunder asked.
"It's a long and very complicated story that you probably wouldn't understand. If it makes you feel any better, I did come clean and tell him the truth a while back." Bowser said.
"Well, that obviously didn't do any good, since he's still referring to her as his mommy, when we know that she isn't." Lakithunder said.
"Yeah, that's the problem. He said he knew what I was going to say, but in spite of that, he didn't lose the mind-set. It's stuck. I don't think he really believed me when I told him the truth." Bowser said.
"So rather than try to set him straight, you're just going to let him continue calling the princess his mom even though it's not true?" Lakithunder asked.
"Hey, have you ever been a single parent? It's not easy! Peach would be a perfect mother for him! And I really want him grow up with a mother and father around! My own parents died when I was just a toddler!" Bowser said.
"Did his real mom die?" Lakithunder asked.
"Yes. But I can't tell him that. There's no way he would ever understand." Bowser said.
"But what if someone else who knows tells him the truth or finds a way to prove it to him? Wouldn't you rather have him hear it from you, instead of someone else?" Lakithunder asked.
"Well, yes, but... wait, why are we even discussing this? Just... go with him and see if you can't work out some great plan to get Mario away from Peach, okay?" Bowser said.
"As you wish." Lakithunder said, bowing before making his way after Jr., who had walked back into the castle.
"Oh, and I hope you're not going to use this as an excuse to set him straight." Bowser warned.
"I wasn't gonna do that. He's your kid, not mine." said Lakithunder, even though his real plan was to ask Jr. if he was absolutely certain that Peach was his mother. That might convince Bowser to set him straight.
A few days later, Bowser Jr. and Lakithunder made their way into the Mushroom Kingdom, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of Mario and Princess Peach.
"Perhaps they're in Peach's castle." Lakithunder said.
"Oh, not on a day like this one. I'm sure Mama Peach would think it was too beautiful to spend indoors." Jr. said.
"Then perhaps they're in her castle's courtyard." Lakithunder said.
"Nah. Mama Peach is probably out somewhere, spending time with Mario, even though he's a complete moron that she's not supposed to love." Jr. said.
It took a while, but they eventually found Mario and Peach sitting on a bench in a park, talking to each other very quietly.
"There they are!" Jr. said, pointing them out.
"So we found them, but you should know that there's no way the two of us can go over and attack them like you might want! This park is a public place; there would be too many witnesses! We need a plan!" said Lakithunder.
"Okay, there's a bush right behind them. I'll hide in there and listen to their conversation. With luck, they might say where they're going, and then I can tell you where we need to go!" Jr. said.
"So what do I get to do?" Lakithunder asked.
"You'll be my eye in the sky until further notice!" Jr. said, producing a walkie-talkie from seemingly nowhere and handing it to Lakithunder.
"That's a pretty good idea." said Lakithunder as he accepted the walkie-talkie. So he quickly flew over the couple while Jr. dove into the bush.
"I'm really happy to be spending this day with you, Mario. Being with you is always enough to make me happy." Peach told her plumber beau.
"I feel the same way, Princess. You make me just as happy as I do you." Mario replied, smiling brightly at the woman he loved.
"Gross." Jr. thought, making a sick face. He really hated hearing Mario and Peach talk to each other like that. In his mind, Peach was supposed to say lovey-dovey things like that to his papa. Well, that could be remedied very easily.
"Perhaps we should head back to the castle since it's getting close to noon." Peach suggested.
"Oh yeah. It'll soon be time for lunch. Let's-a do lunch." Mario said. He and Peach stood up and began leaving the park.
"Hey, Jr. I can see them leaving. Did they happen to say where they're going?" asked Lakithunder.
"Yup. They said that they're making their way to Mama Peach's castle." said Jr.
"They're going to her castle?" Lakithunder asked.
"Yeah. And now I've got a great idea. How about, before they get there, you strike the castle with lightning? Seeing that should be enough to make Mario leave my Mama's side long enough for me to take her back!" Jr. said.
"Now there's an idea!" said Lakithunder.
"Oh, and make sure you duck down inside that cloud of yours. We don't want Mario and Mama Peach to see you, do we?" Jr. asked.
"Right. I'll do that when we get close." Lakithunder promised.
Jr. was doing his best to keep quiet as he followed Mario and Peach to the castle, and Lakithunder flew along over him, trying hard to look inconspicuous.
Before long, Lakithunder saw the castle coming into view.
"Hey, kid, I can see the castle. When do I strike it?" Lakithunder asked.
"Wait for me to give you the signal." Jr. said, hiding in the bushes near where Mario and Peach were.
When Mario and Peach were nearing the castle, looking at it from a distance, Jr. said into the walkie-talkie, "Go for it!"
Lakithunder ducked down inside of his cloud and quickly appeared over Peach's castle. Then he started striking the castle with lightning.
(A/N: A friend of mine pointed out that the cloud over Peach's castle looked a lot like the one that Lakithunder travels in, and since he uses lightning strikes to attack when you fight him, and that's what attacked Peach's castle in the game's opening, he may be the one behind it!)
The Toads who lived and worked in the castle were so terrified by what was happening, they came running out of the castle in a complete panic! And they weren't the only ones who were in shock! Mario and Peach couldn't believe that this had happened!
"Oh no! My castle is under attack, and the poor Toads are so scared!" Peach cried, horrified at the scene that she was witnessing and feeling worried about the Toads.
"Come on, Peach! Let's-a go see what's going on and make sure that everyone is all right!" Mario said as he picked up the princess in his big, strong arms and started carrying her to the castle.
Jr.'s jaw hit the ground when he saw what Mario had done! That was so not part of the plan! Mario wasn't supposed to take Peach to the castle with him! He was supposed to leave her standing there by herself so he could take her back to his papa!
Because Jr. didn't plan on Mario being smart enough to take Peach with him, and he had no back-up plans in mind, he did the only thing he could think of, which was...
"You idiot! You put Mama Peach down right now!" Jr. yelled at Mario as he leaped out of the bush and ran after him.
At the sound of his voice, Mario stopped dead in his tracks, and Peach's eyes widened in shock. They both heard that voice before, and they knew of only one person who ever referred to Peach as "Mama Peach".
Mario slowly turned around, and sure enough, he and Peach saw the youngest of Bowser's children standing there, looking at them like a starving hyena!
"Bowser Jr.?!" Mario and Peach exclaimed in shock, holding onto each other. What in the world was he doing here? Then again, they thought it seemed awfully convenient that he would appear right after that storm cloud caused the lightning strikes over the castle, so they figured that he must have been responsible for the attack.
"Put. My. Mama. Down!" Jr. demanded, slowly and dangerously.
"I'm not his mother, Mario, and you know it. Please don't put me down." Peach whispered to Mario in a worried voice, hugging him out of fear.
Mario tightened his hold on Peach as she hugged him. No way was he about to give in to Bowser Jr.'s demand! Did that kid think Mario was born yesterday? The plumber was smarter than this! He knew that if he set Peach down, Jr. would immediately take her away and run off with her, and if anything, he wasn't about to let that happen again! This sort of thing had happened one too many times at Isle Delfino and the Beanbean Kingdom, and he learned from those times.
"Don't worry, Peach. I'm not stupido. I don't plan on putting you down. That kid is going to have to kill me if he wants me to put you down. But even if he does, he still won't be able to pry you from my arms, for I'll be holding you in a death grip." Mario whispered into Peach's ear, to assure her that he would not let her be taken from him.
"Don't say things like that, Mario. I love you too much. My life wouldn't be worth living if you were no longer in it." Peach said, hiding her face in Mario's shoulder.
"I don't intend to die, Peach. I intend to make sure that you're a happy princess." Mario promised, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, too quick for Jr. to catch.
"And you're really good at that!" Peach said.
"Are you deaf, Mario, or are you just plain stupid?! I told you to drop her, now do it! And be quick about it!" Jr. yelled at the plumber.
"I'm not deaf, nor am I stupid. What you need to do is learn to rephrase your sentences, kiddo. You see, you told me to drop your mom. This lovely lady isn't your mom. She is the princess." Mario replied.
Peach quietly giggled at Mario's reply. He could be so silly at times, and if there's one thing Mario knew, it was the fact that a princess appreciates a man who can make her laugh. Mario never failed to cheer her up whenever she felt bad and needed a good laugh.
"You do realize that while she may be the princess, she's also my Mama Peach, and there is nothing that you can do to change that fact. But she'll soon be the Queen of the Koopas before you know it." Jr. said, not thinking what Mario said was funny because he hated Mario for being the guy who won the heart of the princess.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Peach thought, feeling angry. She was so sick and tired of hearing these pathetic lies from Jr., and enough was enough! Now she was going to have the matter out with him!
Mario felt the way Peach tensed with anger in his arms. He knew that she was mad, and he didn't blame her. Even he felt like throwing up when Jr. referred to her as his mother.
"How many times am I going to have to tell you that I'm not your mother, Jr.?! How long is it going to take before this fact finally registers in your brain?!" Peach angrily started as she leaped out of Mario's arms.
Jr. was very surprised when he saw how angry Peach was with him. He was so stunned, he failed to notice that she had jumped out of Mario's arms, which would've given him the perfect opportunity to snatch her up and run away with her.
Even Mario was surprised by his girlfriend's reaction. He never saw Peach get that angry before, and he knew that he would hate to be in Jr.'s place right now. But when he realized that the princess had jumped out of his arms, he quickly reached for her delicate hand and gripped it tightly. He didn't want Jr. to realize that he wasn't holding her, for he would immediately grab her and run off with her.
"If you believe that I really am your mother, then you would treat me with respect! By that, I mean that you wouldn't add my name to the 'Mama' title! Everyone knows that children aren't supposed to add their parents' real names to the title they're given!" Peach yelled.
"She's right, you know. Luigi and I simply called our parents 'Mama' and 'Papa'. We never once added their real names to their parental titles when we addressed them. We knew what their real names were, of course, but they told us that we were not allowed to call them by their real names, for it would be disrespectful to them. So we never once called them by their real names." Mario said to Jr.
"Well, my older siblings all call Papa 'King Dad', and guess what? He never seems to complain about it, the way you always do when I call you 'Mama Peach'." Jr. said to the princess.
"And do you know why your father doesn't complain about it? I'll tell you why! Because they don't use his real name in the title, and they're adopted! So please stop using my name if you're going to call me 'Mama'!" Peach demanded.
"No way! I like using your name, and Papa said I could do it. He said that you'll get used to your new title in time, so you'd better start getting used to it now, Mama Peach!" Jr. said.
"Mario, next time you see Bowser, please do something to make him tell Jr. to stop calling me 'Mama', or to quit adding my name to the 'Mama' title, because I'm sick and tired of it!" Peach whispered to Mario.
"I don't blame you, my princess. I'm rather sick of hearing it myself." Mario whispered back.
"I can't take much more of this, because we know that I'm not Jr.'s mother, I never was his mother, and I'm never going to be his mother! I don't want to be his mother! Not now, not ever!" Peach said, sounding unhappy.
"I know, Peach. Everyone knows that." Mario said.
"Everyone but Jr." Peach reminded him.
"Don't worry, sweetie. I'll put a stop to that." Mario promised Peach in a whisper as he picked her up again and gave her a loving kiss on the lips, which she quickly responded to. That kiss soon turned into a make-out session between Mario and his princess.
Jr. began to act like he was throwing up when he saw Mario and Peach kissing, and it wasn't just because Peach was kissing with Mario instead of his papa. The reason is because he, like other kids his age, thought that the sight of adults making out was rather sickening. He unfortunately caused Mario and Peach to stop kissing, and they were both looking at him with annoyance.
"Please make him stop doing that." Peach whispered to Mario, very annoyed.
"Jr., if you think the sight of adults making out is gross, then you should be happy that Peach isn't your mama, because I know your dad would do this sort of thing with her all day if she really was." Mario said.
Peach made a sick face when Mario said that, and he whispered, "I'm sorry, Peach, but we both know he would, and Jr. should know that." Then he turned to Jr. and added, "And it's-a something you're gonna have to learn to get used to when your dad finally finds someone who loves him that isn't Peach. He'll want to make out with her, and he might have some words to say to you if he hears you complaining about it."
"It's only gross when you're the one who's kissing with Mama Peach! Now do the right thing for once in your life and put her down! You're getting on my last nerve!" Jr. yelled at Mario.
Mario didn't dare put his princess down, for he knew that doing so would put her life in danger. He wasn't going to do that to her. Setting her down for even one second would give Jr. the opportunity to snatch her up and run away with her! What could he do?
That's when Luigi came running up to the group. He was out of breath and looking really concerned.
"Mario! Why.. is... Jr. here... and what's... going on... at... Peach's castle?!" Luigi asked in concern while panting, trying to catch his breath. He had just seen the attack on Peach's castle on the news and quickly hurried over there to find out what was going on and hoping that he and Mario could do something to help out with the trouble.
"Luigi!" Mario thought as he looked at his panting younger brother. A big smile spread across the older plumber's face as he realized that he now had some help, so this was his chance to save Peach and set things right.
"Luigi! Oh, I'm so glad you're here, bro! You're just the man I wanted to see!" Mario exclaimed in happiness.
"You are? I am? What do you mean?" Luigi asked, a little surprised, having finally caught his breath.
"I need your help. Hold out your arms." Mario said.
Luigi looked a little confused at this request, but he knew better than to ask questions. He simply did as his big brother asked, and was very surprised when Mario handed Peach to him. Peach also looked a little surprised to find herself in Luigi's arms, but she knew that Mario had a good reason for handing her to Luigi.
Once Peach was safe in the arms of her boyfriend's brother, Mario began whispering instructions to Luigi, "Take Peach to your mansion, and when you get there, call the professor. Ask him to please come to the castle and help us get rid of that big storm cloud overhead. I'll come to your mansion to take Peach home after the cloud is gone and if the castle doesn't look bad on the inside."
"Okie-dokie. You can count on me, Mario." Luigi replied with a big smile. He wanted to salute his brother, but he couldn't do that when his arms were full. The younger plumber looked at Peach in his arms and said, "Let's-a go, Princess!" And then he ran off, carrying Peach to safety.
"Thank you, Luigi. It's a very good thing that you showed up when you did. Jr. was telling Mario to put me down, but he wasn't going to do that. Not when he knew too well what would happen if he did." Peach replied as Luigi carried her away to the safety of his mansion.
"He's smarter than the villains like to think he is, Peach. And while Mario may not have been within the top 100 of our graduating class, I really think that he deserved to be, since he has proven that he learned from his mistakes." Luigi replied.
"You're right. He should've been in the top 100, considering all he's done, with a little help from you, of course." Peach smiled.
"Wow, Mario! You're even dumber than I thought! When I told you to put Mama Peach down, I didn't mean that I wanted you to hand her off to your stupid brother and have him run off with her like the coward he is!" Jr. exclaimed in fury.
"Hey! You listen to me! Nobody, but nobody, calls Luigi stupid, or a coward in front of me and gets away with it!" Mario yelled back, very angry. He really hated it when people insulted his brother because they were twins, two halves of a whole. If you insulted one of them, you ended up insulting both of them.
But he was really glad that Luigi wasn't here right now. If he heard Bowser Jr. call him those things, it would only take him back to their school days, when he was being picked on by the other kids for all sorts of reasons. And when those memories came back to him, poor Luigi would fade away for sure.
"Oh, is that so? Well, guess what?! I'm going to keep it up, and there's nothing you can do to stop me from saying what I want about him!" Jr. said.
"You wanna bet?" Mario asked, cracking his knuckles.
"Your brother is a stupid, stupid, stupid dummy, and a little 'fraidy-cat who really sucks, like you!" Jr. said. He kind of sang the taunt, just to be annoying as heck, figuring that Mario couldn't think of a good enough way to make him cut the crap.
That did it. Mario knew that he didn't need to stand here and listen to that annoying kid say untrue things about him and Luigi like that. He'd heard more than enough from this little brat who caused so much trouble for him and Peach on Isle Delfino.
"Well, Jr., if it's-a trouble you want to be in, then I'll gladly punish you for it!" Mario decided as Jr. continued to insult the Super Mario Bros., going so far as to call them the 'Stupid Mario Bros.' And when Jr. said that, he stopped his taunting long enough to say, "Ooh, that was a really good one! I'll have to remember to tell it to Papa!"
Mario wasn't about to let Bowser learn any more taunts to use against him and Luigi. He decided to end this problem by doing exactly what Princess Daisy would do to make Jr. shut up if she was the one hearing this. It was also the same thing he wanted to do to a certain king of Boos, who thought it was really funny to trap him in a painting and lie to Luigi about winning a mansion.
POW!
Mario socked Bowser Jr. right in the kisser as hard as he could, putting his annoying taunting to an end!
"OWWWWWW!" Jr. cried out in pain as he brought his hands to his mouth and staggered back a couple of feet. He had no idea that Mario could pack a really painful punch! Why didn't his papa ever warn him about that?!
"I warned you, Jr., but you were the one who chose not to listen to me, and as a result, you were forced to suffer the consequences, which weren't so easily misconstrued! Let that be a lesson to you from now on: next time someone tells you to shut your pie-hole, you'll be sure to do it while you still have the chance and keep the insults to yourself, so nobody else will have to hear them. You'll be safe if you say them inside your mind." Mario replied.
"You... you're a big meanie! You can't talk to me like that!" Jr. yelled, trying not to look so hurt.
"And you think it's-a perfectly fine for kids your age to mouth off to adults the way that you do me?! To treat a woman like Peach with the utmost disrespect?! I don't think so! You really need to think twice before you speak to others!" Mario replied.
"That's it! I've had about all I can take from you! I'm telling Papa on you, you big bully!" Jr. whined.
"Go ahead and tell him!" Mario said, not at all worried about what Bowser might say when he found out what happened to his son.
"You're going to be sorry when he about hears this! I guarantee it!" Jr. declared as he turned and ran in the direction of Bowser's castle.
"Oh sure, I'll be sorry... in a parallel universe where bad ideas really work!" Mario thought as he shrugged and made his way over to Peach's castle to try and calm the Toads while they waited for Professor E. Gadd to arrive and see if he could do something about the storm cloud that showed up out of nowhere and attacked the castle with lightning.
And so ends Chapter 1. What's gonna happen next? You're just going to have to stay tuned if you want to find out the answer to that!