Darkland
Flying towards a place that is a wasteland with thunderstorms coming from the grey clouds, making it look artificial without any artificial stuff affecting it.
A wasteland is filled to the brim with nothing but brimstone and volcanic sea of lava which makes it look like actual hell.
There are no buildings as the only building near the airships is a large castle that has Bowser's head designed on it, making him either a narcissist or somebody who praised him as their king.
Watching in silence, Mario is at a loss for words after seeing a dark world that is in stark contrast to where he and his siblings came from.
Worried that Luigi and Pauline might end up with a heart attack, Mario approaches the duo while still handcuffed by a blue magical chain after being tied up earlier.
"It's going to be okay, guys. It might not be as bad as we made it out to be."
"Are you crazy!? We just encountered a monster that's going to eat us alive! How are we going to be okay!?" Pauline hisses as she hyperventilates out of fright, even hugging a scared stiff Luigi.
"True… But we won't know until we find out. Luigi, Pauline, bear with it."
"You should bear with it too! You know you're scared as much as we are!" Pauline points out which catches Mario off guard.
Pauline is right about Mario being afraid, even when he tried to pull in a brave face for his family. Mario then turns towards a wizard in blue who is chatting with a koopa in armour, only for him to see Toad being tossed into the same room as Mario, Luigi and Pauline.
"Hey! Watch the hat! Stupid turtles and their goomba friends…" Toad grumbles, struggling to pick himself up after being handcuffed like Mario, Luigi and Pauline. "Oh! Mario! Luigi! Pauline! Am I glad to see you!" Toad cheers up after seeing these people again.
"Toad? What's going on outside?" Mario asked.
"Well, Bowser is keeping Peach to himself and I'm now forced to be with you guys until we get to his castle." Toad explains which had Mario and Pauline thinking.
"Hm. Hold on, isn't Peach human like us? Doesn't that mean this Bowser guy is committing something very questionable? Because Peach is a human and this monster is a turtle dragon thing." Pauline said, realising the species both the king and the princess are.
"Now that you mention it, you're right. Toad, is this even legal?" Mario asks as he's thinking the same thing.
"Ah. Therein lies the issue. You humans have some sort of cultural sensitivity in your world, we too have our fair share of sensitivity of our own. But the difference between a koopa and an average animal is their physique and intelligence. So, for the royal marriage to give birth to a patriarch and a matriarch, the king and queen comes into fruition. In other words, yes, it's legal for Bowser to be committed to the princess." Toad concludes while staying serious.
"Princess Peach is known for rejecting marriage to the royal families, making her the most difficult woman to lay your hands on." The old wizard said while approaching the four.
"Really?" Mario and Pauline raise their heads out of curiosity.
"That's right, many princes of other kingdoms made a proposal with the Mushroom Kingdom's princess, only to be rejected countless times. If the same happens to Lord Bowser, then we're doomed to face death." The old wizard koopa explains Peach's history of how she turned down many royal families.
"And why does she do all of that?" Pauline asked.
"It has something to do with her past and why she's under pre-" The wizard halts, realising that he's explaining to a bunch who're possibly enemies to his king. "Wait a minute! Why am I telling you everything!? You three should be quiet like that green stache over there! Hmph, darn kids and their schemes!" The wizard snaps as he leaves the room, thinking that one of the trio is planning on escaping but wasn't foolish enough to fall for it.
To Mario and Pauline, this princess is impressive for keeping her kingdom alive without a single marriage.
"Peach was never the type to stay on her throne all the time. She's more adventurous and wants to experiment new things. The problem is the old man being strict with her which is why Peach is having problems. When Peach said it's her choice to be the princess, I think she's lying." Toad expresses his thoughts on what Peach does as a princess.
Mario stops after knowing the truth, seeing as he himself dismissed Peach as a selfish woman who thinks the world owes her anything.
Then the group falls as the airship stops and parks near the castle, meaning the ride is over with a wizard and 2 armoured koopas standing by the door.
"Alright, you four, get out of the airship, you'll be joining the lord's meeting when he says so! But for now, you'll be in your dungeons!" The wizard orders as both koopas are pulling Mario and Luigi whereas 2 of the armoured ones are carrying Pauline and Toad.
The group grunts while being taken out of the airship and dragged towards the castle that is so huge, even the army can fit in with their own rooms.
Welcome to Bowser's castle.
Bowser's Castle
Being the last one to be pushed into the dungeon, Mario grunts as he crashes down and is then uncuffed, causing him to rush towards the cell and grab the bars.
"You'll be staying here until further notice, human. Enjoy." A koopa troopa chuckles while placing his key on a table and leaves the group in a cold, cramped and uncomfortable room.
The only lights there are lamps with flies buzzing over the stone wall and the floor is not even levelled to begin with, making this place look like a prison, even an average prison is paradise compared to this dungeon.
Kicking a loose stone, Mario can tell that this place is getting increasingly boring the longer he stays.
"That old wizard is Kamek." Toad said while sitting on a bed that is flat.
"Kamek?" Mario turns towards Toad in front of him.
"Yeah. He's been Bowser's loyal servant and his caretaker ever since he was a baby, since this old man told me." Toad explains.
"So why is Kamek calling him lord and his army calling him the king, knowing there's no queen?" Mario sits down, which hurts his butt, asking about Bowser himself.
"Dunno, but he has eight kids."
"Eight!? What!?" Mario halts after hearing how many children Bowser has.
"I know, right? Maybe he had a woman who laid a lot of eggs… Freaky people you might say." Toad chuckles while not telling Mario the details of how koopa biology works.
"Yeah… Wow, I don't want to picture that in my head." Mario shakes his head out of disgust and then looks back towards Toad. "But why princess of all people?"
"Because she's the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, even though she has no fiancé, she will end up having Bowser as her first lover." Toad explains with worry.
"Is that a bad thing?" Mario asked, thinking it's normal for royals to marry each other.
"If I tell you, will you believe me?" Toad asked.
"I mean… I don't believe much, so I guess." Mario admits and accepts Toad's answer to hear the outcome.
"It's not."
"Hm? How can you tell?" Mario asks out of confusion.
Toad then stands off the bed and then approaches Mario and places his hands on Mario's shoulder.
"Bowser is a tyrant, he will use us toads as slaves and make sure that Peach is his forever. He may care for his army, but he will not only use us as his second hand army that will be disposed of, but will enslave you humans until Pauline is next alongside Peach." Toad explains the fears of what'll happen.
"My sister!?" Mario gasped in shock after hearing what Toad just said earlier.
"Yeah. You and your brother are going to be stuck as his butlers until you grow old. Anyone who opposes Bowser is doomed to face nothing but torture."
Mario lowers his head and then squeezes his fists out of anger, knowing that no one messes with his family and gets away with it.
"If that's true, then we're finished." Luigi called through another cell, realising that he and his older siblings are going to suffer fate worse than death.
"Luigi… So that means I'll be Bowser's second wife… Stuck with him and live under an oppressive world…" Pauline laughs bitterly, realising it's the end of their road as if Bowser has become their destination.
"No." Mario said while picking himself up and standing in front of Luigi and Pauline's cell.
"Mario?" Luigi, Pauline and Toad are surprised to see Mario refusing to back down.
"No. If we give up now, then we won't be able to discover something new, we won't be visiting new friends and we won't be able to go back home. Luigi, Pauline, I can't be the only one standing up for all of us, so if anything!" Mario hastily picks out a spanner and hits the dried stone wall in order to make spaces for him, Luigi and Pauline. "You should stand up as well!"
Even when it's impossible to save themselves, Mario is still doing the best he could to break through and see Luigi and Pauline again.
Luigi then pulls out his screwdriver and hits the wall just like Mario as the Mario bros are never going to lose each other to Bowser's army.
To Pauline, her little brothers are doing their all to protect her and those around them, seeing as she herself raised them fine yet she's not strong enough to go past her limits like Mario and Luigi does.
Toad is seeing the true potential in guarding the princess from anyone who's about to get her, leading him to walk forward slowly.
Until a door opens, alerting Toad to stop Mario and Luigi from trying to break the walls.
"Guys! They're coming!" Toad yelps, stopping Mario and Luigi from trying to break through.
Afterwards, a goomba, 2 koopas and Kamek arrived as Kamek cuffs the prisoners again with his magic by waving his wand.
"Come with us. Lord Bowser is making an announcement and you four will introduce yourselves to him." Kamek orders and drags Mario, Luigi, Pauline and Toad out of their cells as the four grunt and follow the goomba as Kamek follows behind.
The group nods as they're thinking of a plan without Kamek knowing.
At a party with a heavy metal song playing called 'Bowser's Fury,' with koopas playing a metal band, Bowser's army are celebrating with some food, drinks and dancing with all the army cheering 'Bowser' while they chant.
The hallway is that of a dark lair with lava waterfalls and a massive circle along with stairs is black and was covered by red carpet with Bowser's face planted on it and a chandelier is still an average one.
With Mario, Luigi, Toad and Pauline being forced to watch the party as they're stuck handcuffed, at least they're whispering without anyone knowing as the four nod.
On the throne is the very monster that took them in as his prisoners and the one they feared the most, King Bowser Koopa.
"Hahahaha! My fellow army! Koopas! Goombas! Spinys! We have finally succeeded! Soon, the Mushroom Kingdom will be ours after years of being sworn enemies! Soon, we'll enter the Mushroom Kingdom!"
"YEAH!" Bowser's army yelled.
"But first! I'll marry the princess and rule the kingdom!" Bowser yells as he raises his fist.
"YEAH!"
"Finally! Once the whole kingdom is at peace, there will be no more oppression for us koopas anymore! We will cultivate the world right onto our hands! DARKLAND WILL RISE AT LAST!" Bowser calls with his fist raise again.
"ALL HAIL BOWSER! ALL HAIL BOWSER!" The army chants as they've been waiting for the moment of being free from the chains of hatred.
"And during our honeymoon, we'll visit the outside world and stay there for a while when we get back."
Bowser chuckles and then looks to his side, seeing as 3 humans and a toad is what gives him the impression that these humans are new to this world.
"And we have our guests! Starting with this bushy faced little man in red."
"This bushy faced little man has a name, you know. It's Mario." Mario growls after being teased with the moustache that Bowser rubs his fingers on.
"Ah, Mario, so that's your name. And I see these two are your family members. How interesting." Bowser laughs and then lets go of Mario, only for Luigi to be next in line of teasing. "What about you, green stache?"
"L- Luigi…" Luigi stutters as he's looking at the definition of fear with his own two eyes. "You're not going to eat me, are you?"
"Eat you? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
As Bowser hollers out with laughter, his army laughs out loud as well after being amused by Luigi's question.
"No way. But if that's what you want…" Licking his lips, Bowser is prepared to have Luigi as his meal.
"No wait! I didn't mean to! I- It's just a misunderstanding, that's all!" Luigi exclaimed while trying to move away from Bowser out of fright.
As Bowser drops Luigi, he then looks into Pauline's eyes with a grin.
"Um… Hi?" Pauline nervously looks back with fear crawling onto her.
"Hello, madam. May I have your name?"
"It's Pauline, sir." Pauline introduces before she gulps. "If you dare hurt my brothers…"
"Oh relax, I won't do any harm to them. I was thinking if I can make you humans a part of my kingdom." Bowser said with a calm yet menacing tone.
"Which is?" Pauline asks as she's curious.
"Work for me. I'll make you live the happiest life you ever had, but on one condition." Bowser raises his finger with a condition requirement.
"Huh?" Pauline looks at Bowser as she's waiting for what Bowser himself is saying.
"You and your brothers will take me, Peach and my army to your world, guide us and finally recommend any hobbies for us to have." Bowser said calmly.
"And if I don't?" Pauline asks.
"Ohohoho… You'll see." Bowser laughs, knowing he's not messing around as he leaves Pauline and approaches Toad.
With Pauline falling to her knees, Mario and Luigi catch her before Pauline herself collapses out of shock.
"It's gonna be okay, Pauline." Said Mario.
"Yeah. At least Bowser won't do anything to us." Luigi is also relieved that Bowser is being harmless to his 'guests.'
"Yeah… But what's going to happen if this monster finds out about the pipes. We're already done for." Pauline points out.
"Oh no…" Mario and Luigi forgot about the incident earlier, meaning Bowser will kill or enslave all of them if he finds out about the pipes to the other world.
As Toad introduces himself, Bowser is underwhelmed as it's not as intriguing as Mario, Luigi and Pauline, leading Bowser to turn towards his army.
"Everyone! I welcome these guests as part of my Koopa Kingdom! Tonight, we will continue our party! Kamek, uncuff these guests!"
"What? B- But, my lord!" Before Kamek protests, Bowser growls as he pierces a glare at Kamek, his loyal servant.
"Do it." Bowser's tone sounded very much like a beast as he ordered Kamek to free Mario and his group.
As Kamek moans, he releases Mario, Luigi, Pauline and Toad as they're now one of Bowser's team.
With a horde of koopa army cheers, they surround Mario and his group as they welcome the four to their team.
Will the plan work, considering they're free and Bowser is less what Toad described him to be and more of being a reluctantly nice man.
Is Toad telling the truth or is he wrong?