Time for the 31st chapter. Maybe this fanfic will end with 60 chapters. We're just over the halfway point.
I could feature the main heroes of DQ but they don't usually speak.
And yes, Mario and Donkey Kong are working together this time. This is not a Mario vs. Donkey Kong fanfic.
Chapter 31: Welcome to the Jungle
Jungle of the Giants
For this level, Jessica would travel with DK, Wario, and Mario.
If there was a party member suited for this world, it was definitely DK.
Fortunately for Donkey Kong, he proved himself to be quite helpful against fighting the enemies.
He could give Yangus a run in the strength department.
Some Giant Moths flew towards them.
These insects could use wind magic.
Specifically, Swoosh.
Our heroes had to take care not to get blown away.
To be honest, it wasn't surprising to find them in this level. This was the Jungle of the Giants, after all.
So they couldn't expect tiny enemies like slimes…unless, of course, these slimes were bigger than usual.
Unsurprisingly, fire worked well against the Giant Moths.
And they didn't even seem to try to dodge them.
They were carrying some bananas.
This made DK very happy.
But he still had a long way to go before he reclaimed all his treasures. Likewise, Wario was still searching for treasure as well.
A Half Hog showed up.
DK recognized him as one of the thieves.
He glared at him.
The Half Hog ate a banana.
"That's a pretty good banana." remarked the hog…who was hogging the bananas.
DK screeched.
"Is that a gorilla wearing a tie?" asked the Half Hog.
"That was my reaction, actually." noted Jessica.
Though in that case it was coming from a bipedal hog that wore clothes.
DK lunged towards the Half Hog.
The Half Hog let out a snort.
He attempted to whack DK with his mace.
But DK moved out of the way and pulled out his coconut gun.
He began to fire coconuts at the Half Hog.
"Ow ow ow!" exclaimed the Half Hog as he was pelted by the fruity projectiles.
He was starting to wonder if he should have stolen bananas from DK. He sure was protective of them.
Some ogres approached DK.
It seemed they recognized him as a threat.
So they decided they were going to take care of him.
"DK!" warned Mario.
DK turned around, and narrowly avoided one of the ogre's flails.
But the Half Hog hit him on the head with his mace.
"Ow!" exclaimed DK, who put his hand on his head.
Mario leapt on top of the Half Hog.
He collapsed on the ground.
For some reason, the Half Hog found it a tad unusual that Mario and DK were working together. They had butted heads more than once.
But then again, Mario went karting with Bowser sometimes. Sometimes even Bowser took a break from being evil. And so did Bowser Junior. So maybe it wasn't that unusual.
Luigi fought against the Ogres.
He whacked them with his hammer.
Wario found one was carrying a gem.
A yellow diamond.
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Wario.
Our heroes heard the sound of an elephant.
It was an Eyevory Tusk-Tusk.
DK wondered why that elephant had three eyes. He wasn't the smartest ape in the world, but he seemed to recall elephants only having two eyes.
But he could ponder that when he wasn't in danger of being trampled.
It seemed that elephant had helped the Dragonlord's minions make off with the bananas.
Jessica wished that Munchie was with her.
Maybe if she was lucky, the Eyevory Tusk-Tusk would be afraid of him. The fact that he could breathe fire and ice would make him extra scary.
But then again, she already had Alistair.
He too could use different breath attacks.
Wario punched the Eyevory Tusk-Tusk in the trunk.
The Tusk-Tusk fell on his side.
The boss of the level was a Gripevine.
Mario noted that it resembled a Piranha Plant.
But Gripevines was much more dangerous than one. Instead of fireballs they had fire breath.
The average one, anyway.
The Gripevine swung her vines at them.
DK fired coconuts at her.
But she grabbed his leg with her vine.
DK gasped.
The Gripevine then began slamming DK around.
Jessica didn't think it was a good idea to use fire while the plant was holding onto him.
Otherwise, chances are it was DK who would get burned.
Still, if she did nothing, DK would likely end up out of the fight.
And it would be a shame if he went down. His strength made him very helpful for fights.
So she decided to use her whip instead.
After all, was the Gripevine not using her vines as whips?
It felt satisfying giving that a plant of taste her own medicine.
She attacked the Gripevine, and she let go of Donkey.
Donkey Kong gave Jessica a thumbs up.
Perhaps he could share some bananas with Jessica. He wasn't as greedy as Jessica was. Though considering he had a banana hoard, maybe he was a bit gluttonous.
"You're welcome." spoke Jessica.
Donkey Kong punched the Gripevine in retaliation.
However, she decided to breath poison.
"Be careful!" exclaimed Jessica.
Wario was poisoned.
"Oh no!" exclaimed the plumber.
He could tell that he was losing health.
He pulled out a Refreshing Herb, but the Gripevine swatted him.
"Mamamia!" exclaimed Wario.
Mario helped Wario to his feet.
And of course, he gave him an Antidotal Herb.
The Gripevine prepared to breathe fire.
"What kind of plant breathes fire?" questioned Wario.
"A Piranha Plant?" asked Mario. It was confusing, to be sure. But that was just how things had a tendency to work in the Mario World.
Luckily, he found that FLUDD worked well against fire breathing enemies.
Though it did seem a bit unusual using it against a plant.
It had worked well against Petey Piranha, however, so maybe it wasn't too surprising.
Donkey Kong punched the Gripevine, and she collapsed.
Donkey Kong was proving himself to be a loyal companion.
It was lucky they had him on their side.
DK pulled the flagpole.
Luckily, it could support his weight.
Otherwise, they might not be able to complete the level.
They could see that the boss of the tower was Orochi.
It seemed a hydra was guarding the way forward.
It looked like they would have to prepare for that fight…when they came to it.
They seemed to recall Baramos mentioning him.
Well, whenever they were ready, they would fight the hydra.
OST: New Super Mario Bros Wii: Bowser Jr. Boss Music
It didn't take the heroes long to realize how icy the Woohoo Hooniversity Basement was.
"Brr, it's cold here!" exclaimed Ruff.
He began to shiver.
It certainly was colder than it was above.
If he had known that it was this chilly in the Woohoo Hooniversity basement, he decidedly would have worn a coat.
What had happened to the heater?
There were Ice Snifits down in the basement, reflecting how cold it was.
"I thought you would be at Joke's End." questioned Alena.
"We still are. We just figured the basement here would be a good alternative." explained an Ice Snifit.
Bowser Jr. was waiting for them right below where the auditorium was.
"There you are! I was waiting for you!" exclaimed Bowser Jr.
He was glad that they had decided not to keep him waiting.
Though he supposed they had leftover minions to deal with.
Our heroes prepared to fight the heir to the throne.
Bowser Jr. spat out fireballs at our heroes.
His flame breath wasn't as potent as his father's, but it was still something that our heroes should be concerned about.
Ashlynn got hit by one of the fireballs.
"I guess I got a taste of my own medicine this time." noted Ashlynn.
It would be best not to let their guard down. Bowser Junior might be cute but he was a good fighter. He was heir to the throne of the Koopa Kingdom, after all.
Alena punched Bowser Jr. in the nose.
"Ow!" exclaimed Bowser Junior. He didn't know princesses could have such strong muscles. Though to be fair, he heard that Princess Peach wasn't always a distressed damsel. It depended on the situation, though it usually involved his dad.
He clawed at her in retaliation.
"Are you not going to tuck into your shell?" asked Ruff.
That was what the Koopalings did.
"That's not my style." answered Bowser Junior. Though as with all the Koopas, he too had a shell.
Ashlynn hit him with a fireball.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Bowser Junior. It seemed he wasn't the only one that wielded fire.
He decided to board his Klown Kopter.
Perhaps taking to the air would give him an advantage.
It was worth a try.
The Klown Kopter began to hover.
"It would be nice to have one of those." noted Ruff.
"It looks a bit goofy for my tastes." stated Kiryl.
Bowser Junior decided to toss Mechakoopas at them.
It seemed our heroes hadn't seen the last of them after defeating Iggy.
"Say hello to my little friends!" exclaimed Bowser Junior.
"Hello?" greeted Ruff.
The Mechakoopas shot fireballs from their mouths.
It was similar to being attacked by Bowser Jr. himself.
But since the Mechakoopas could split up, they could attack from multiple directions.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Peasley. He sure hoped the Mechakoopas didn't burn his hair. It sure wouldn't smell good. And people loved his hair.
"Why would Bowser Jr. play with these?" asked Ashlynn. Wouldn't that result in him being burned? She might be a magician but she knew better than to play with fire.
As they had noted earlier, Mechakoopas did not seem like a good idea for a toy. She knew from experience that they were dangerous.
Though perhaps Bowser's opinion of what would make a good toy for his son was different from theirs.
Alena got the idea of tossing the Mechakoopas right back at Bowser Junior.
It seemed the best way to attack him now that he had taken to the air. Though magic could also work.
"Ow!" exclaimed Bowser Jr. as he was hit by a Mechakoopa.
Perhaps he should reconsider using them against the heroes.
Bowser had tried that, but they proved to be a hindrance rather than helpful.
So he decided to try Bob-Ombs instead.
Our heroes had less time to toss them at Bowser Jr., since they could explode.
Still, they got a few shots in.
"Aaah!" exclaimed Bowser Jr.
He now had black soot on his face.
He rubbed it off.
This time, he launched a giant cannonball from the Klown Kopter.
Our heroes ran to avoid it.
Eventually, it rolled out of the university.
Ashlynn then hit Bowser Jr. with a fireball.
At this point, Bowser Junior could not fight anymore.
He had lost his stamina.
Bowser Jr. was not happy that he lost.
At all.
He began to cry.
"Wahhh! I'm telling Daddy!" exclaimed the sobbing Bowser Jr.
He was rooting for his father to win, that was for sure. Whether directly or indirectly.
"Hey, you're the one who picked a fight with us." pointed out Alena. If he didn't want to get hurt, he shouldn't pick fight with others.
He flew away on his Klown Kopter.
Ironically enough, the Klown Kopter now had a frowny face on it as well.
"I guess we'll be seeing him again…once he's finished throwing a temper tantrum." noted Kiryl.
Ashlynn nodded.
"If he weren't one of the bad guys, maybe I could play with him." noted Ruff. Turtles and wolves were two very different species though.
Headmaster Wu Hoo was nothing but grateful towards the heroes for saving the school.
And so were the scholars.
"Thank you for saving my school!" exclaimed Wu Hoo.
They would be welcome to study at that school any time.
Though something told him that they had places to go.
"You're welcome!" answered Alena.
They were about to search for the next Koopaling, when they heard a message from the royal guards.
Apparently, Koopas had been spotted in Oho Oasis.
The locals there could be in trouble. Supposedly, they came in two different colors.
Well, more colors than that. But orange and blue primarily.
It looked like searching for the Koopalings would have to wait.
Alena checked the map.
"How do we get there?" asked Alena. It didn't seem like they could get there on foot, as opposed to the other locations they had visited.
"You can get there through the seafloor." explained Lady Lima.
"The seafloor?" questioned the martial artist.
"How are we going to do that?" asked Ruff. To his knowledge, none of the party members were fish.
"We found out the water was breathable." noted Queen Bean.
It was video game logic, apparently.
Or fanfic logic, as the case may be.
Or maybe Nintendo logic?
"Alright then." said Ashlynn.
It looked like they would be going across the sea.
Or under the sea, as the case may be.
Their search led them to a yellow pipe.
"Here we go!" exclaimed Alena.
At Bowser's castle…
OST: Angry Bowser (Paper Mario)
Bowser Jr. returned to his father.
He was currently in his throne room.
And yes, he was happy he was making his first appearance in this fanfic. In his opinion, it had taken long enough.
Though Bowser did not spend as much time in there as the Dragonlord did in his. He didn't like to miss out on the action.
"I'm sorry, dad! I couldn't beat them!" apologized Bowser Junior. They were simply too strong. No wonder the Koopalings were having a hard time against them.
He was so upset about failing his father.
Bowser put his hand on Bowser Jr's shoulder.
"There there…" spoke Bowser.
Bowser Jr. pulled out a tissue and blew his nose on it.
"Perhaps I should deal with these heroes myself." noted Bowser. He didn't want to sit on his throne all day doing nothing. Though he did note the Koopalings all wanted a chance to fight the heroes. And there were three of them left.
Maybe he should wait his turn.
"Actually, I was thinking of doing that myself." answered Kamek. These heroes really were proving to be problematic.
"Come again?" asked the Koopa King.
"I have some spells I would like to try out on them." noted the Magikoopa. Perhaps he could turn them into Goombas. They wouldn't stand a chance against the Koopa King that way.
For some reason he got the feeling someone was copying him back in the Mushroom Kingdom. Was it a Duplighost?
"You have my permission." spoke Bowser. Anything that would get rid of the heroes that troubled him would be welcome.
Kamek nodded and flew out of the castle on his broomstick.
A nearby Koopa decided to examine his surroundings.
Among the Bowser statues, he could see that there was lava all over the place.
"Why does this castle have so much lava?" questioned a Koopa Troopa. That didn't seem safe to him.
It sure didn't keep Mario out, that was for sure.
And Bowser had fallen in that lava more than once.
Maybe he should consider finding a new residence. A castle filled with lava couldn't be safe…unless, of course, you were a Podoboo.
He could ask Bowser about why he put so much lava in his castle, but Bowser wanted him to stand guard in case the heroes waltzed in. So perhaps he shouldn't go to the throne room.
Bowser wondered when the heroes would be defeated already.
They were getting on his nerves.
But perhaps Kamek could handle things.
After all, did he not have years of experience with magic?
He decided to wait things out.
The heroes would fall, one way or another.
Bowser Jr. has been defeated, but he'll be back.
And so will Hargon, unfortunately.
But at least Bowser won't be fighting the heroes personally.
They might not be ready to handle him.
Though you probably know that Bowser was the first boss in Superstar Saga.