Bowser's Castle, the Dark Lands
An air balloon propels to a airship, with scorching hot lava falling off the sides. Luigi, shackled up, gasps seeing a Koopa's face upfront, with lava as the eyes. He has to clutch his heart, and catch his breath. "Ok..maybe he's just misunderstood, Luigi. He won't kill you or anything.."
The murmurs of Koopas break his focus.
"He's not fat like the hero was.."
"But they look just like each other.."
"That's a bit rude."
"I know WE aren't talking rude."
Luigi just sighs at the conversation. He can agree with one Koopa. Some of this lords minions were self righteous. Others just craved the chaos. "Throw-a me a bone.." he mutters, as the ship touches down on the harsh surface. One pull of the rope and he's forced out.
"OUCH. That hurt.."
A Koopa scoffs at his complaint. "That's kinda the point.."
When the Koopa turns his back, Luigi gives him a nasty look. His shade is disrupted when they come across golden statues. All of them seem to be of the same king. All except for one. It resembles a skeleton of a big bad Koopa. Luigi can't tell what it is, but a shiver is sent down his spine.
This is horror he never thought he'd see.
Large red doors creak open. Luigi almost shrieks, seeing that famed Koopa he's been hearing about on the rise there. Bowser. He sits in his throne, unimpressed at what his minions have found. "How'd this scrub get here?"
"Found him in Boo Woods. Their king held up their end." One answers.
"I'm glad we weren't sucked into those …" Two shivers. "What do we do with him, my lord?"
Bowser rises from his throne, and heads down those stone steps. "Leave him to me." Just then, Kamek teleports behind Luigi and uses his magic to hold him in place. He sends him to Bowser, up-close and personal.
"What is your name?"
"Uh.." Luigi cringes at the kings sharp claws. Bowser could cut him into pieces at the drop of a hat. Luigi gulps, hoping his hat doesn't. "Luigi."
"I don't know if you know who I am green stache..but I'm about to collect a buncha stars and rule the world." He caresses his cheek with that sharp finger. "There's ONE problem. A humans stepped into my business with the love of my life. He has the same gross hair, the same gross cap, and looks JUST like you! Do you know him?"
"No." Instantly. "NO!"
The king looks his next prisoner up and down, but stops at his stache. "All you stache fiends look the same."
Luigi nervously chuckles. "C'mon. Not everyone with a stache is the same. I'm tellin' you I don't know him."
"Oh a tough one!" Bowser tugs on a hair, causing Luigi some physical duress.
"Ow!"
"Does that hurt?" Bowser asks, plucking the hair!
"Ouch!"
Bowser grabs the entire end of his mustache. "DO. YOU. KNOW HIM?" Luigi stammers, as the Koopa only pulls tighter, threatening to rip a chunk out! "DO YOU KNOW HIM?!"
"Yes yes yes I do, his names Mario, he's my brother, and he's the coolest guy in the world!"
"Do women find him attractive?!"
"THEY DO IF THEY HAVE GOOD TAAASTE!"
ONE RIP and Luigi's scream echoes through the Dark Lands! His minions cringe at the torture they just saw. Bowser chucks Luigi to the side like he's trash. "Throw this idiot in the dungeon!" Luigi's at a crawling pace, and the Koopas just carry him away.
Kamek clears his throat. "This Mario character is skilled with power-ups. Are you sure brute force is all that will do? Shouldn't we warn your generals?"
"Oh I don't care HOW tough he is! My generals are gonna show him who REALLY runs this world! Then I'm gonna get my hands on him and make him wish he never came here! We'll see how tough an egg he is when I KILL HIS BROTHER!"
Bob-Omb Battlefield (formerly known as the Bomb Kingdom), Mushroom Kingdom
Mario looks up the battlefield. A large canyon stands out. It's trail is wrapped around it. Standing atop it all, is a big bomb, with a white mustache, and a golden crown on his head. "Anything I need-a to know?"
"He's aligned with Bowser.." a red bomb says. "Be careful..nobody's really found a way to beat him."
"Careful? Oh Ho Ho." Mario goes running up the bridge, starting his path to the king of this domain. Yoshi jumps out of surprise. "WAIT! I'm going too!" He yells, following his friend up. After getting demoted to "pet" by a mean dinosaur, it seems he's taking his Chief's advice.
How can someone prove themselves without action?
Captain Toad gasps at the sudden action, while Peach remains neutral. "I hope they don't mess it up, Princess.."
"We may have just met, but they are our best chance."
"..yeah I can't take it." Captain Toad runs into the battlefield, leaving Peach to circle the cannon. She picks a Tulip from the ground, and stands in front of the Red Bombs.
"Don't worry. We'll take it from here." Peach gives the bombs a warm smile. "I hope your kingdom finds peace."
A red bomb closes its eyes. "Me too.."
The second Mario makes it up that bridge, he's greeted by a Chain Chomp that could swallow him whole.
"ARF! ARF!"
He has to dive past the Chomp. Yoshi slides by, reuniting with him. They don't exchange any words. Mario makes a long jump, taking a quick shortcut to a gate. A couple Black Bombs are incoming.
"Let's-a blow this!"
Yoshi swallows one bomb and shoots it at the gate.
BOOM!
A couple bars get blown up. Mario lifts one and looks for the throw. BUT IT BLOWS UP! Mario gets knocked into a doozy, stumbling around like a drunk man. "Where-a it go?" Another Black Bomb looks for a sneak up, but Yoshi swallows that too. One more shot..
BOOM!
That explosion knocks Yoshi RIGHT out! A dazed Mario weakly throws a bomb at that gate. BOOM, third time IS the charm! Mario grabs Yoshi's arm and drags him through the new opening. "YOSHI! WAKEY WAKEY!"
Yoshi groans. "Hnnnn.."
"Hold-a on tight."
There's a few black boulders rolling back and forth. Mario takes his time, waiting for an opening after each roll. He carries Yoshi to the end. Mario has to adjust his cap. "Oomf.."
"MARIO!"
He turns around to see Captain Toad running up. "WAIT FOR—" A BOULDER CREAMS HIM! He's stick like glue. Drug across the dirt, get some air, repeat. Mario mutters to himself, leaving Yoshi there to go back in. He drags Tor off that boulder, and carries him too.
"T-thanks..how many coins do you want?"
"No-a money."
Mario, even though he looks annoyed as all hell, brings another colleague to the next stop. They can hear the rumbling getting closer. No, TWO. Wait, THREE. Mario shakes the life back into Toad. "I've-a got to carry a dinosaur. You going to run on your own?"
Toad salutes him. "You got it, Mario!" He takes off ahead.
"NO I was asking! You don't-a have to do everything I say…" Mario's words fall on deaf ears. He helps Yoshi up, but before they can keep moving, a mob of Red Bomb Ombs start charging up there!
"FOR DEMOCRACY!"
"FOR OUR FREEDOM!"
Their charge is cut off by another boulder smearing them! They get flung off the mountain like rubber bands. A few Red Bombs stood behind, and share the same look as Mario: utter exhaustion. "Why would they go in like that?" One asks. "At least wait.."
"THIS is why none of us can get up there..." Another adds.
"The king—no. DICTATOR is REALLY strong."
"It starts with common sense. I love my buddies but why would he just let us walk in?" That first one asks again.
Mario decides to take it slower. He exits their conversation, and peaks across the corner for any oncoming traffic. A black boulders rolling in, so he hugs the wall with what's basically a dinosaur plush. NO DAMAGE. Mario keeps up that pattern, occasionally stopping at the walls to recoup his strength.
Pulling a dinosaur is hard.
Eventually, that "King" is at a close view. Mario and Yoshi have to stop when they hear a certain Toad yelling up there.
"You're nothing but a big bully! Open up cause you're about to get a—AAAHHHHH!"
Toad comes flying down, hands on his headlight. He hands on his head..but it bounces him onto his feet. He's trying to catch his breath. "Hey guys..big bomb up there, huh?"
"Are you-a alright?"
"I'll be fine.." Toad pauses. "Poor if I get head problems.." Toad sees Yoshi and it finally clicks to him. "Oh my god, Yoshi's dead!"
"SHHHH…he's just out of it. Bomb blew up in his mouth."
"How does that NOT kill someone?" Toad asks.
"I don't-a know, nothing makes sense here. We just-a go with it and make him go poof." Mario leans Yoshi by the wall, and points Toad there too. "Stay here. I'LL-a show him who's boss." Mario walks up, ignoring Toad's warnings.
King Bomb Omb's already staring at him. That Power Star behind him adds to the aura of an untouchable bomb. "You and your friends made quite the chatter. Entertaining to hear."
Mario rolls his sleeves up. "Put them up."
"Ho Ho! Careful, boy. I'm the baddest Bomb of them all. The lord of all blasting matter! The king of ka-booms worldwide!" The king strokes his bushy stache. "I've earned the right to scale this mountain. You're a simple peasant. Street trash as they say."
Mario looks like he's about to explode. Nothing annoys a working man more than classism. "Your mustache makes me jealous. Shame I'm-a gonna tear it off."
The king's eyes widen. "Hands off! My hair game is the best of the best, you have no right to besmirch it!" Mario takes off his cap. The king's enraged seeing a full head of hair. A full head that he doesn't have.
"NOW YOU MUST PERISH."
Mario looks for a strong frontal attack, but his arm almost cracks from the impact! The king laughs in his face, and flicks Mario back to square one. The king whistles, and a dozen black bombs walk up the mountains with their stubby legs.
"Bombs away!" He shouts, hurling his loyal soldiers at Mario. He hops off the first one, setting its fuse off. A couple come in from the side—
BOOM!
Mario gets sent to his left!
BOOM!
Mario gets sent to his right! He has a look of dread as a bomb sneaks up beneath him.
HSSSSSSSS…
.
.
.
BOOM!
Mario gets sent up! King Bomb grabs his crown, and introduces it to Mario's chin! Mario rolls off the mountain, but finds a safe landing on the trail. "Hmm-hmm-hmm. Treacherous human can't find my weak point."
"My king…" a black bomb starts. "You shouldn't mention that."
"Nonsense! I never said WHERE.."
"But then they'll start looking—"
The king turns his back to them. "Have I let you down before?"
..
"Bombs?"
He turns to see a Yoshi in the place of his minions. He's got a mouthful! A few spits later and he feels the hit of his own kind!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A cloud of smoke is left in his place. Yoshi pants after the effort he had to put in. He saved their day, and now he can really stick it to—Nevermind, King Bomb-Omb walks out of the smoke unscathed. "My my. How could an adorable PET like you be so hostile?"
Yoshi GROWLS for the first time, and takes to the air. He sees a sweet target on the King's head, and comes ground-pounding down. The landing is NOT cushy! Yoshi's rear gets blasted by a cruel Metal.
"ACK!"
The Bomb grabs Yoshi by his tail, and dangles him in the air. "
He flicks the dinosaur into a charging Toad! Two down with one move. The King chuckles at this lowly competition, but stops when Mario's white gloves are back in his sight. His overalls have been stenched in black stains, but Mario just grits his teeth and pushes on.
"Ah. You are too stubborn for your own good."
"What's-a that over there?"
The gullible king titans around to see Peach next to the Power Star! "How dare you deceive me?! You are little bugs and I won't—"
Mario LIFTS the big bomb, and throws him on his ass! A couple cracks start to form. Peach covers her mouth. "MARIO! Keep doing what you're doing!" Mario gives her a nod, and lifts the bomb again!
"I take back everything i—"
SLAM!
"AGH! Ok ok, we surrender! We surrender!"
SLAM!
Mario turns the king to the edge of the mountain. "You can take the star, I don't care!"
"We aren't the ones to-a worry about." Mario throws him all the way down into a mob of Red Bombs! Their friendly expressions with the Mushroom Kingdom folk are gone. They want VENGEANCE for what the kings done. As they close in, Mario wipes his gloves clean and gets the full view of their second star.
Just five more to go. If they can get three, they have majority.
Peach leads the way as they head down the trail. After copious amounts of wall hugging, they finally reach the bottom. The pains of that fight are kicking in. Mario with his hand. Yoshi with his tail. Captain Toad's everything.
"..Can we go somewhere that doesn't kill us?" Toad asks.
Mario shakes his wrist. "Everywhere is-a problem. We don't got-a choice."
"Mario's..partially right." Peach admits. "He's familiar with where we'll go next. You aren't. Be sure not to offend—"
"THE KONGS?!"
"Don't be alarmed. The Council of Kongs are more open to collaboration." Peach informs. "You have Mario to thank for it. Strange that it happens NOW..I've been trying to work with them for years and Cranky always put his feet down."
"That's-a long one.."
As the Mushroom Kingdom reps walk, or better yet, limp away from the battlefield, Red Bombs work together to carry King Bomb Omb away. Some follow, letting out chants of victory, all thanks to the Mushroom Kingdom.
Someone who isn't cheering is Kamek, who floats above thanks to his golden wand. With a sigh, he turns right back around. "The boss is gonna LOVE this.."
Bowser's Castle, Dark Lands
.
.
.
"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING!"
Bowser stomps around again, shaking the entire castle. "I've gotta do it myself, don't I?!"
"You could always—"
"NO!" Bowser huffs and puffs, more enraged than ever. "I don't wanna make my minions feel bad but when THIS happens..GRRRH! I guess I'm the bad guy for wanting to GET STUFF DONE!"
"Do..YOU have any ideas, my ugliness?"
"YEAH, I DO. Moronio's gonna LOVE this trip down memory lane!" Bowser's deranged smile can only be bad news..
Prison close to the Mushroom Kingdom
A skinny man, with a chin that could cut diamonds in, takes stand-up comedy to an audience of convicts. He gives his slim stache a twirl, hyping himself up. "Waluigi gonna kill it…" he gives them a snicker, and raises that mic. What banger of a joke can he say to spread joy in the crowd?
"How about airline food?"
"BOOOOO!"
A couple tomato's smack him in the head, making him collapses. That gets the crowd laughing at him. Waluigi walks back to his table, head down. He takes a seat right next to WARIO. "These people don't know comedy.."
"I don't know what standup you watched. But that joke doesn't work anymore."
"What does? Miss, miss, miss, that's Waluigi's standup career." He slams his fist on the table. "I'm trying to reform here! But screw it. I'll just go back to crime..
"They say the funniest joke is you." Wario takes a bite of soggy beans. "Once we get outta this dump, we'll see who laugh."
CRASH!
The roof comes down, debris crushing some of the convicts! Wario and Waluigi's sight gets interrupted by all the smog going around. Wario has to cough a chunk out. "What the hell? Wario didn't call for backup."
Bowser flies down, inside his iconic Clown Car. "You white stache?"
Wario crosses his arms. "What about it?"
"I can fix our Mario problem."
"Red?" Wario uncrosses those arms. "Oh i'm listening."
The orange smile makes Waluigi chuckle. "What a nice smile for a boss' car."
"..WHO are you?" Bowser asks.
"Waluigi!"
"Is this your minion?" Ouch, Bowser. It puts a sad frown on Waluigi.
"Yeahs!"
Bowser steps forward, revealing room in the back. "Get in. Don't mind the spikes."
The criminals take his advice, squeezing in the back as much they can. Wario's fat belly is dangerously close to those prickly spikes. Waluigi's just able to move freely, and leans to Wario's ear. "Are you gonna let him talk to me like that?"
"He was gonna leave you if I didn't.." Wario whispers back. "Did you wanna get stuck back there?
"..You know what, that is fair."
"What are you two whispering about? I'm not deaf." Bowser says, steering his car away from that hellhole. "You're not trying to pull a fast one on me, are ya?"
"NO. We were talking business." Waluigi says.
"What business, 'stache?"
"You ever hear of coin?" Wario asks.
"I haven't, but it sounds stupid. When I take over the world you'll have all the coins for can ask for." Bowser rants. "The hell's your plan with it anyway?"
"We're gonna do the three p's: plan, prepare, produce." Waluigi explains.
"NOT AT YOUR KINGDOM." Wario adds. "If you can spare a few islands, we'll be getting rich quick."
Bowser nods, and just leaves it alone. On the outside.
"Who cares about the coins? You crooks are just pawns in ol' Koopa's Kingdom. You will NEVER get the chance to rip off my people." Bowser vents to himself. "You got SOME NERVE asking me to share! I'm not sparing jack, but after I crush those brothers, you'll beg for me to spare your lives!"
He looks really angry. So angry that the crooks can pick up on it.
"..this isn't gonna last." Waluigi whispers.
"No no..we'll make it last. We'll grab all the coins we can and ditch this stupid war." Wario whispers back. "Just gotta wait for the right moment. Wahaha.."
Bowser might be the most anti-human king in this new world. The Mushroom Kingdom better find the rest of these stars before this crooked crew does. If they can't, this world will lose all its value. If Bowser really has his way?
All the freedom will go with it.
The Mushroom and Koopa Kingdoms are tied in the race. What will happen to the last 3 Power Stars? What will come from the Wario/Waluigi partnership? How about the Council of Kongs?
Find out as the story continues :)