Earth 1983
"MAAAAARIOOOOO!!!"
The distraught scream of a woman echoed out throughout the land, calling out for her hero to rescue her from the enemies clutches.
This woman wore a pink dress with a blue pearl on her chest, along with blue earrings to go along with it. Her hair was blonde in color while her eyes were a majestic blue. She wore white gloves that go up to her elbows along with a golden tiara, signifying that she was royalty.
Princess 'Peach' Toadstool tried struggling out of her capture's magical grasp, but it was for naught as the creature simply waved his wand, tightening the magical grip around the young girl.
Peach glared over to the one holding her captive, a small yellow creature wearing a blue magicians robe and hat. He had a golden wand with a red gem at the tip. His most notable feature was the comically large glasses he was wearing.
Kamek the Magikoopa wheezed as he laughed, adjusting his glasses with his free hand before slowly walking around the captured princess.
"No point in struggling, Princess Peach," Kamek informed the girl with a smirk, "My magical prowess cannot be overcome. You shall remain in my grasp for as long as I see fit."
Now it was Peach's turn to smirk, "You mean for as long as your master sees fit, right? You are his lapdog after all, aren't you Kamek?"
That actually managed to catch the Magikoopa off guard, resulting in him snarling at the cocky princess. But once he calmed down, Kamek recomposed himself and chuckled, "If you think your little tricks will save you, then think again. Not only are you my hostage, but we have literal cannons pointed at your kingdom."
As much as Peach hated to admit it, the little servant did have a point. She was currently standing on the deck of the very thing that could wipe out her kingdom in a few shots. This airship had propellers to keep it up in the air, cannons sticking out of the side of it, and the face of a Koopa with horns on the front of the ship.
Peach looked down at her kingdom in worry, her large castle glimmering in the sunlight, keeping a watchful eye over her kingdom. But Peach's worry for her subjects dissipated when she remembered that he would be coming to save her and her kingdom.
"I may not be able to escape, but Mario will save me!"
Kamek's face dropped at that, "You let me worry about the mustachioed man, he won't be saving you this time."
Peach was about to scoff and retort at that, but stopped when she saw the wooden door behind Kamek open up. The Magikoopa turned around and grinned madly as heavy thuds were heard approaching them. In the darkness was a set of fiery red eyes, followed by a sinister, deep bellowed chuckle.
Then from the darkness stepped out a massive turtle with spikes on his shell and the tip of his tail. He was yellow in color, except for his face, which was green. His hair was a fiery red, as were his eyes. He had a set of horn protruding from his head, along with a maw full of razor sharp teeth. He had spiked bracelets on his neck, arms and wrists to go along with his look.
Bowser, the King of the Koopas had finally arrived.
For the longest time, Bowser has had a massive crush on Princess Peach, some may call it obsessive, he calls it compassionate. He has kidnapped her and tried to take over the Mushroom Kingdom on multiple occasions, only to be thwarted by a mustached plumber that he has grown to loathe.
Peach rolled her eyes as Bowser marched over towards her, not the reaction he was expecting but he would roll with it.
Bowser outstretched his arms and greeted the love of his life, "Princess Peach. As beautiful as ever I see, not that I doubted that of course!"
"Seriously? This is starting to become old y'know?" Peach replied in a bored tone, causing Bowser to frown, "We both know how this goes, you cause trouble, Mario shows up and sends your spikey hide back to the Dark Lands so you can then proceed to throw a temper tantrum over how Mario humiliated you yet again."
And with that, Bowser was at a loss. Were his fights with the moustache man really that formulaic? No, surely not right? But it didn't matter to the King of the Koopas as this time would be different.
Bowser wagged his finger in front of Peach's face as he retorted, "Oh but this time will be different, I assure you my love, we will be together forever. No moustachioed third wheel will get in my way this time."
Peach stared blankly at Bowser, "You just don't know when to take a hint, don't you?"
Bowser blushed slightly as he looked away, chuckling nervously at the situation, "W-What can I say? You're worth fighting for Princess. I guess love really makes a guy come out of his shell. Heh heh heh heh.... heh."
Peach wanted to throw up right then and there.
After a brief awkward silence, Bowser moved his eyes towards Kamek and whispered, "I told you that line wouldn't work!"
But Kamek just gave his master a thumbs up and replied, "You're doing greAAAAAeeeet." But in his head, he knew that Bowser was fumbling the bag.... hard.
Coughing awkwardly, Bowser recomposed himself and continued, "A-Anyway, now that we're here in the sky above the clouds. I wanted to ask," he leant forward and got right in Peach's face, "Princess Peach, will you marry me?"
Peach yawned.
Bowser did a double take.
Kamek pinched the bridge of his nose.
The Princess took notice of the surprised yet hurt look on the Koopa's face, "Oh I'm sorry, you were just boring me considering this is like the three hundredth time you've asked me that insane question."
Bowser looked genuinely shocked, "Really? Three hundred?"
Peach nodded slowly.
Bowser was beginning to sweat nervously, "W-Well has your answer changed at all since the last time I asked you?" He asked hopefully.
She shook her head.
The King of the Koopas growled in frustration, "Well you might want to reconsider. Y'know considering I have literal guns pointing at your front yard." He threatened with a lowly growl, actually managing to look slightly intimidating.
Peach looked down at the ground, this monster did have a valid point. With a heavy sigh, Princess Peach was about to answer Bowser's question again, except this time she was cut off by a large explosion originating from down below in the Mushroom Kingdom.
With his eyes wide, Bowser stomped over to the edge of the ship and peered down below, "WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE?! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF PROPOSING TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE HERE?!" He yelled with a ferocious roar before gasping loudly.
Curious as to what was going on, Kamek brought himself and Peach over next to Bowser and looked down below. The sight down there made Peach grin like crazy.
Bowser's forces, which were made up of tiny yellow turtles, small brown creatures with stubby legs, actual living balls and chains, were currently getting their butts handed to them.
The Koopa Troopas were being tossed around inside of their shells like projectiles.
The Goombas were being stomped on like they were nothing.
And the Chain Chomps were being spun around by their chains before being hurled off into the sky.
Who was causing such destruction?
The answer. A giant gorilla.
This gorilla was actually known as a Kong, and this one wore a red tie that had the letters DK stitched into it.
Donkey Kong puffed out his chest before beating it with his fists, laughing proudly as he gazed upon the incoming forces of Bowser's minions. Chuckling deeply, DK cracked his knuckles before stomping his foot onto the ground.
"Oh ho ho, ok, now this is gonna be fun." Donkey Kong said with a smile before charging forward towards the amassing forces of Bowser's kingdom.
Behind him, a mustached man wearing blue overalls, white gloves, a green shirt, and a green hat with the letter L stitched into it was running away from a trio of Goombas scurrying their way towards him, screaming like a girl.
Luigi picked up the pace as he continued to run away, "M-M-M-MAMA MIA!!! JUST HOW MANY OF THESE THINGS ARE THERE?!" He screamed fearfully as he continued to run away.
Donkey Kong, who was currently busy swatting away multiple Koopas with his gigantic arm, turned to look at his ally and grinned at the sight, "Aw come on, Luigi, you're scared of those guys? Seriously?! Meanwhile I'm over here having the time of my life!"
The Kong then leapt into the air and smashed his fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent all of the Koopa Troopas back into their shells. He then picked up two of the shells and hurled them forward, both projectiles bouncing off of multiple Goombas in the process.
"AW YEAH!!!" Donkey Kong roared with excitement, pounding on his chest some more, "WHO WANTS SOME MORE?!"
As the battle continued to rage on down in the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach, with the smuggest look on her face, turned to Bowser and taunted in a sing-song voice, "I told you~" She then stuck her tongue out like a child.
Wiping his hand down his face, Bowser muttered, "Good grief." Before walking away from the edge of the ship grumpily. But he suddenly stopped when he realized something. Or rather the absence of a certain someone. "Wait a minute!" He shouted before charging back over and peering down below, looking out for any sign of him. Bowser growled "Where is he?!"
"Looking for me?"
Everyone's heads snapped towards the sudden voice, some faces were filled with glee, while most were filled with dread and anger. There, standing aboard his ship, was Bowser's most hated enemy. The mustached man in blue overalls, wearing white gloves, a red shirt, and finally, a red cap with the letter of his first name on it.
"MARIO!!!" Everyone aboard the ship shouted as the plumber tipped his cap downward.
Mario smiled at the princess before stating, "It's-a-me!"
Bowser snarled, bearing his fangs as Mario pulled out a small red and yellow flower with beady eyes out from his back pocket.
The King of the Koopas felt a burning sensation in his chest, his raw hatred for Mario literally burning up inside of him. Puffs of smoke erupted from the sides of his mouth as his eyes lit up dangerously. He wouldn't let him ruin everything again. He wouldn't lose to him ever again. Never again.
Mario smirked at his nemesis as he brushed his finger tips along the anthers of the Fire Flower. This caused a swirl of flames to circle around Mario's arm, soon consuming the rest of his body in flames. Immediately after that, the fire around Mario exploded outward, revealing the same plumber, except his shirt and hat were now white while his overalls were white.
Bowser had had enough, feeling the burning sensation rise up his throat, he released a burst of flames from his mouth, directed right at Mario.
The hero felt the same burning sensation, only it was in his hands instead of his core. He released a burst of flames directly at the incoming fire attack. The two attacks collided, resulting in a massive explosion of flames. Bowser staggered back as Mario jumped into the air.
"Let's-a-Go!" Mario shouted before aiming his right foot downward, changing his trajectory to move down towards Bowser. Before his nemesis could recover, Mario delivered a nasty kick to the side of Bowser's head, sending the Koopa tumbling across the brig of the airship.
Landing on his feet, Mario turned to Kamek and hurled a fire ball at the Magikoopa. The impact sent Kamek flying right off of the ship, freeing Princess Peach in the process.
Now free, Peach quickly ran towards Mario and engulfed him in a tight bear hug, "I'm so glad you're here!" She exclaimed before letting go, "Could've been here a tiny bit sooner though." She joked as she slugged his shoulder.
"Sorry, traffic was rough, I'd be happy to make it up to you." Mario replied with a sly smirk.
Peach giggled, "I'd like that."
As Mario and Peach both laughed, they were blissfully unaware that Bowser was slowly getting back up onto his feet. Gazing at the sight before him with pure hurt and rage, his eyes lit up like a fiery inferno as he commanded, "FIRE THE BULLET BILLS AND DESTROY THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM!!!"
Both Mario and Peach's eyes shot open at the command, their fear further elevated as six shots fired from the airship's cannons. Turning around, both of them saw six black rockets with white arms and eyes flew down towards Peach's castle.
Mario wasted no time in picking up Princess Peach bridal style and rushing right to the edge of the airship. Then to both Peach and Bowser's shock, Mario jumped right off the airship.
Peach screamed as she dug her face into Mario's shoulder.
Bowser screamed as he darted over to the side of the airship.
Mario smirked before quickly reaching for his back pocket and pulling out the other Power Up that he brought with him. A brown leaf with beady eyes missing its top right side.
Mario crushed the Super Leaf in his hand, suddenly engulfing him in a puff of smoke. Princess Peach smirked, so that's what his plan was. Once the smoke disappeared, Mario was seen wearing a Tanooki suit with a victorious smirk on his face.
Tanooki Mario spun his tail before he rocketed into the sky with Peach firmly in his grasp. He looked down to see the Bullet Bills making their way towards Peach's castle, he had to make his move now. He dashed downward to intercept the Bullet Bills trajectory so he could get them to focus on him.
"Hey, It's-a-me," Tanooki Mario shouted, causing all of the Bullet Bills to look at him, "You want me, come and get me!" He taunted before flying upward, knowing full well that the Bullet Bills were currently following him. Now that his plan was in action, Mario flew directly towards Bowser's airship.
Peach looked into Mario's eyes, "You sure this is gonna work?"
The plumber shrugged nonchalantly, "Eh, could go either way."
"...I like those odds." Peach replied after a moment of silence.
Mario set his sights towards the airship, noticing that Bowser was slowly backing away from the edge of the ship. Smiling, Mario quickly nose dived downward just as he was about to collide with the airships. All of the Bullet Bills eyes shot open before exploding right into Bowser's airship.
As the airship began to explode and descend to the ground below, Bowser let out a mighty roar into the sky, fire spraying from his maw, before the ship crashed onto the ground. Pieces of wood fell from the sky, adding onto the blazing rubble that was Bowser's mighty airship.
All of Bowser's forces slowly gathered around the remains of the airship as Mario and Peach landed in front of it. Setting Peach down, Mario glanced at the inferno before him, knowing that this wasn't over just yet. He then turned to Peach and asked, "Are you alright?"
Peach sighed before replying, "Yes, thank you for saving me.... Again."
Both of them shared a laugh as Donkey Kong and Luigi walked up to them. Mario turned and nodded to DK, to which the Kong responded with a nod of his own. Though they weren't exactly friends, more rivals than anything, Donkey Kong wasn't going to stand by and let Bowser do what he wants.
Even though he really doesn't like Mario.
Mario set his sights on his brother, "You alright, Lu?"
The cowardly brother nodded, "Yeah, but I'm just glad that this whole thing is over with for now."
Why'd he have to go and say that?
As if tempting fate, Bowser's hand shot out of the destroyed airship before slowly rising out of the burning rubble. As Bowser emerged, everyone took note of how red his eyes truly were.
He was angry.
Angrier than ever before.
It was understandable considering he'd been losing to Mario for near decades.
The King of the Koopas let out a mighty and ferocious roar, "MAAAAAARRRRRIIIIOOOO!!!!" He then set his sights down to his enemies as his forces backed away fearfully. They had seen Bowser angry before.
But not like this.
The Koopa launched himself into the air before descending downwards and slamming his fist into the ground. The resulting impact created a fiery crack in the ground that led right to Mario.
Quickly pushing Peach out of the way, Mario then darted upwards as a stream of lava shot up from where he was previously standing. Looking down at the lava with wide eyes, Mario was almost hit by the fireball that was directed at him. If it hadn't been for Peach screaming for him to "watch out", he would've been toast.
Bowser slowly stomped towards his most hated enemy, not taking his sight off of him for even a second, "For decades I have lost to you. Time and time again you've ruined everything. My dream. My destiny! My love. Now you will suffer for all the times you've thwarted me, thrown me, dunked me in lava. Today you die, plumber boy!" The Koopa King then looked upwards and screamed, "KAMEK! SUMMON THE MEGA MUSHROOM!!!"
Suddenly appearing in a puff of sparkles, Kamek, who was now riding a broom, waved his wand and summoned a very large yellow mushroom with red spots and beady eyes.
The Mega Mushroom fell from the sky and into Bowser's open hand. He laughed maliciously as Mario and the others stared at him open mouthed. The Koopa shrugged, "You use Power Ups to help you all the time! I figured I could do the same!" He then shoved the Mega Mushroom into his awaiting maw.
After he swallowed the Mega Mushroom, Bowser began to grow bigger, but it wasn't just his size that was increasing. It was everything. His spike grew longer and sharper, his horns became more demonic like, his nails became like daggers, and his muzzle grew longer. His eyes became slits while his overall color grew paler as he grew to the size of Peach's castle.
Bowser was now the terrifying Giga Bowser!
The Koopa Kaiju let out a roar that shook the heavens before setting his sights on Mario. He let out a sinister chuckle, this was gonna be fun. He fired a boulder sized fireball from his gaping maw, aimed to kill the flying plumber before him. But before the fireball reached its target, it split apart into hundreds of flaming pieces, each raining down onto the Mushroom Kingdom.
As DK and Luigi ran Princess Peach inside her castle for her own safety, Mario dashed forward toward Bowser. He wasn't going to let the mad tyrant get away with this. The sky turned from the majestic blue it was known for to a dark and sickening black as the smoke puffing out from Bowser's maw polluted the sky.
Reeling back his fist, Mario was closing in on his target.
But it wouldn't matter anyway.
Giga Bowser raised his hand and backhanded the poor hero right into the wall of Peach's castle, creating an indent where he impacted the wall. Mario's Tanooki suit vanished in a puff of smoke, since one hit is all that's needed to remove the effects of the Power Ups.
Now Mario was vulnerable.
Giga Bowser's bellowed laughter echoed throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. The massive tyrant was now on stomping his way to the castle, leaving massive footprints where he stamped. The populace, who were little people with mushrooms on their heads wearing vests called Toads, were running in fear as Giga Bowser marched to the castle.
"You really thought you could stop me? You worthless, weak little nothing?!" Giga Bowser taunted as he drew closer to Mario, who was groaning in pain.
Looking into the monster's eyes, Mario smirked, "Kinda, yeah. I mean, I basically stop you on a daily basis, Bowser." If there was one thing Bowser hated about Mario, it was that he knew how to press his buttons, "Let's face it, Bowser. You haven't been a threat to me in a looong time. To be honest, you kinda bore me."
Now he had done it.
Giga Bowser roared right in Mario's face before reeling back his fist, "BORING?! I'LL SHOW YOU BORING, MOUSTACHE!!!"
The kaiju pushed his fist forward in hopes of crushing his life long nemesis. But to his annoyance, Mario leapt off of the wall and ran up his arm as he impacted the wall of the castle. Bowser saw this and brought his other hand down on his arm in hopes of destroying Mario for good. But once again, the plumber jumped into the air and ran up his other arm.
But before Mario could make his move, Bowser leapt into the air and tucked himself inside of his shell, causing Mario to fall through the air. As the hero fell towards the ground, Bowser spun around inside of his shell and dashed forward, landing a direct hit onto Mario, which sent him flying right through the roof of the castle.
Princess Peach and the others heard a loud crash from the upper floors of the castle. It had to be Mario, he needed help, not even he could stop Bowser alone this time.
"Princess!!!" A loud, scratchy voice shouted from the top of the stairs in the main lobby of the castle.
At the top of the stairs, standing in front of the door with a star on it, was a little Mushroom man with beady eyes wearing a blue vest.
Toad scurried down the stairs at an alarming pace with a worried look on his features, "Princess, Mario's getting slaughtered out there!" The little Toad shouted, clearly worried for the well being of his best friend, "We've gotta do something! He's gonna get killed out there!"
It was then that Donkey Kong interjected, "How? How are we supposed to stand a chance against a massive kaiju turtle that could stomp on us like insects?!"
Luigi then looked up at the ceiling, worry written in his body language. Mario was the only family he had left, and he wouldn't lose him, not now, not ever. He stroked his moustache in thought, every Power Up has one weakness, the user needs to take damage just once for the Power Up to be rendered useless. The same could be said for Bowser, but what Power Up is powerful enough to deal that kind of damage?
"Wait... That's it!" Luigi thought to himself as he snapped his fingers, gaining everyone's attention.
Peach looked at the plumber confusedly, "Luigi?" She asked, wondering what had him so happy in a time like this.
Luigi turned to face his friends with a smile on his face, "I know how to save Mario and stop Bowser!" Now he had everyone's attention, "We just need to head to the very top of the castle." He then set his sights on the princess, "You still have it?"
Peach's eyes widened when she realized what he was getting at. With a knowing smile, Peach nodded before leading everyone up the stairs.
Mario groaned as he pushed the broken pieces of the wall off of him, coughing heavily due to the residue from the smoke in the air. The red plumber rolled his shoulder as Giga Bowser made himself known outside the castle walls.
"Oh Maarriiiooooo~" Bowser called out in a sing song voice, the sheer loudness of his voice caused the ground to shake. "I know you're still alive in there. Why don't we settle this face to face? Mano a Mano. Turtle to plumber. Man to Monster."
When he received no response, Bowser simply roared into the sky, letting loose a breath of flames that lit up the sky.
"COWARD!!! COME OUT AND FIGHT!!!" But then Bowser smiled gleefully, "...Or are you too scared?"
No response.
"Mwahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Just like I thought. The big, brave hero is too scared to face me!!! Come out and die like a man!!!"
But at that moment, something caught Bowser's eye. A small speck of red that was flying through the air towards him. He smiled before grabbing the tiny hero in his grasp.
"GOTCHA, PUNK!!!" Giga Bowser shouted before hurling Mario to the roof of the castle.
Mario flew through the air before tumbling to a stop on the roof of the castle. The red plumber tried to push himself back onto his feet, but he just couldn't muster the strength to do so. He hated to admit it, but Bowser had him beat this time. But it was just like everyone says, he just didn't know when to quit.
He slowly rose to his feet as Bowser rose up as well, clearly towering the castle in size, his shadow looming over the wounded hero.
"I have you now, Mario!!!" Bowser's voice boomed as he drew in a breath, his maw lighting up as he prepared to finish this, "Any last words before you become cooked Italian?"
"MARIO!!!" The voice of Princess Peach caught both of their attention. When Mario turned, he saw that Peach, Toad, Luigi, and Donkey Kong were standing in front of the door that led to the rooftop. But what caught Mario and Bowser's eyes was the Power Up that Peach was holding in her hand.
It was a yellow, glowing star with beady eyes.
The Super Star radiated in Peach's hand.
With widened eyes, Bowser roared as Mario took off in a sprint. Peach saw this and threw the Super Star like a frisbee towards her hero. But just as Mario was about to punch the star to gain its power, both he and the Super Star were engulfed in flames.
Bowser continued to breathe fire to make sure that the job was done. When nothing but fire remained, he drew in a breath as he began to laugh victoriously.
"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! I've finally done it! AND NOW NO ONE CAN STOP ME!!!!"
"Don't be so sure!" A familiar Italian voice shouted from the flames, gaining Bowser's attention. From within the flames, a rainbow colored Mario stepped forward, no signs of harm anywhere on his body.
Mario smiled at Bowser's shocked expression, he was gonna enjoy this.
His stupor worn off, Bowser let out a roar before firing a fireball from his mouth. But that didn't faze his adversary as he simply backhanded the projectile away with ease. Giga Bowser actually took a step back before throwing a punch... Only for it to be stopped by Mario's tiny hand.
Now it was time to end this for good.
Mario leapt into the air before shooting downward. Giga Bowser let loose a stream of fire, but Mario just flew through it like it was nothing. Bowser put in more power but it was for naught as his foe suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Mario then delivered a mighty jab to Giga Bowser's snout, which surprisingly, sent the monster flying through the air. As Bowser soared through the air, his form shrunk once. Then twice. Then three times before he was reverted back into his normal form.
But that wasn't the end of it as Mario suddenly appeared behind Bowser.
Grabbing his tail, Mario spun the Koopa around in circles several times.
"So long-a-Bowser!" Mario shouted before throwing the Koopa down towards the ground. Bowser screamed as he fell several thousand feet towards the ground. Once he hit the ground, Bowser created a giant crater where he landed. Groaning in pain, Bowser tried getting back up, only for Mario to Ground Pound right on his chest, making the crater larger in the process.
Once the dust settled, Mario jumped off of Bowser as said Koopa groaned in pain. The Super Star left his body and fell on the ground. The red Italian turned to the beaten Koopa and got in one final jab before leaving the crater, "Sorry Bowser, but it looks like your princess is in another castle."
As Mario climbed out of the crater, Peach and the rest of his friends rushed over to help him onto his feet. Luigi suddenly tackled his brother in a bone crushing hug.
"Woah Lu, I'm okay, I'm okay!" Mario reassured his little bro as he returned the hug.
Luigi pulled away from the hug, "I'm just glad that you're okay."
The big brother gave the little brother a smug smirk, "I had the whole thing handled. No reason to doubt me right?"
DK scoffed at that, "I coulda had that handled just as fast." The Kong muttered under his breath while Princess Peach walked over and leaned down to kiss the Italian on the cheek. Mario blushed as he looked away, embarrassed by the public display of affection.
But the mood shifted to sinister territory as a portal suddenly opened above the crater. Looking up fearfully, Mario and the others saw that not only was Bowser being pulled in, but the Super Star as well. Confused, Mario walked to the edge of the crater and gazed up at the Interdimensional Rift.
But a sudden shout caused the hero to turn around.
What he saw shocked him as all of his friends were being pulled into the air as well.
One by one, Luigi, Toad, Donkey Kong, and Princess Peach were all pulled into the Rift. Peach and Luigi screamed his name as they were sucked into the portal. Shaking away his shock, Super Mario dashed forward towards the edge of the crater and jumped into the air.
And just in time too, because as soon as he jumped into the Rift, it closed. As did his only way home to the Mushroom Kingdom.