Super Mario Bros.

Chapter 7

The sun slowly rose towards the sky, forcibly shoving the night away and shining its brilliant rays on the land. The sunlight brightly shined on the Mario Brothers' tent, casting a white glow on the silky outer frame. Mario opened his eyes in a sluggish manner, slowly sitting up from his bed. He rubbed his eyes and got off the sleeping bag, walking outside. Yoshi was laying belly-first on his log-bed, snoring up a storm. The campfire had died out a long time ago, evidenced by a barely visible, small wisp of steam that was beginning to thin out. Mario walked towards a stream, cupping his hands and drank its fresh water.

"Well, well, well, Lookie here! Its that chump Pop's been ranting about." A brownish-red Koopaling said. He was fat with beady little eyes and and had a bald, silver head, save for a tiny string of hair. Mario gasped as six more Koopalings surrounded Morton.

"Where's the skinny dork and the wimpy lizard?" Wendy asked, pointing her wand at Mario's face. Mario gulped as he backed up into a tree.

"Say, why don't we trash him and then go trash his friends?" Iggy suggested, cackling in a maniacal manner.

"Hey, guys, lets-a be rational about this! We can get along, right?" Mario pleaded. But his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"NO!" The Koopalings all shouted, charging their wands. Mario closed his eyes, awaiting his doom. Right before the Koopalings attacked, Yoshi wrapped his tongue around them and pulled all seven Koopalings inside his mouth and swallowed. Yoshi immediately farted out seven large eggs, which had identical colors to the Koopalings. Mario opened his eyes, seeing Yoshi standing there, smiling and wagging his tail.

"Yoshi! You came right in time!" Mario exclaimed, high fiving the dinosaur. Mario and Yoshi rushed back to the campsite, grabbing their stuff. Mario shook Luigi awake.

"Luigi, wake up!" Mario loudly bolted. Luigi lifted his head sat up tiredly.

"What? What is it, brother...?" Luigi murmured.

"We gotta get-a going! I just got attacked by little turtle monsters." Mario replied, walking out of the tent after grabbing his hat.

"Mamma mia..." Luigi groaned as he took off after Mario and Yoshi.

***

The trio had been trekking for the whole day, walking past mountains, ice-filled lands, caverns and such. It was 5:30 in the afternoon, and Mario was getting exhausted. The Mario brothers and Yoshi decided to rest for a while, sitting on a few black, sooty rocks. A small spark floated past Mario, catching his attention. Mario followed the spark, and looked to the far left where something bigger caught his eyes: Bowser's castle. Yoshi and Luigi saw it too, and all three widened their eyes.

"We made it! Weegee, we made it!!" Mario gleefully exclaimed. Luigi smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

"I admit, we did come a long way." Luigi said.

"Now, lets-a go save-" Mario started, but Luigi pulled back Mario by his suspenders.

"Mario, are you crazy?! You can't just walk up there with all those minions inside! We need a plan!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah. You're right." Mario replied. He rubbed his chin in deep thought, trying to come up with a plan. Unbeknownst to the trio, a giant skeletal dragon approached them from behind, its mouth drooling with saliva. Yoshi turned around, his eyes bulging out of their sockets and jaws agape. He began to frantically poke Mario on the shoulder in panic.

"Hey, what's the matter Yoshi?" Mario asked, turning around. The second he took notice of the monster, his jaws dropped to the ground.

"Luigi... Luigi... LUIGI."

"What is it, MarioooOOOOOOOOOOHHHH MY GOD!!!" Luigi screamed, pushing Mario and Yoshi out of the way as the dragon snapped its jaws at them.

"RUN! AGAIN!!" Mario screamed. The trio ran in a frenzy as the giant dragon chased after them.

"WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A DRAGON?! WHY CAN'T IT BE A GIANT ADORABLE BUNNY RABBIT?!" Luigi screamed. The dragon swatted the trio with its claw, sending them flying into the ground. Before Mario could get up and escape, the dragon pinned him down with its clawed paw.

"You wouldn't want to eat me, dragon! I taste terrible! Like, really bad. Have you ever tried stale coffee? I taste ten times worse!" Mario exclaimed, but the dragon ignored his bluff and opened its jaws to swallow him whole. Luigi grabbed hold of the dragon's tail, tugging at it with all his might. The dragon turned its head and scoffed at his efforts, swinging its tail as it tossed Luigi around like a ragdoll.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Luigi screamed. The dragon swung his tail with excessive force, launching Luigi into the castle's front door. Right as the dragon turned back to Mario, it felt a large rock smack into its bony face. The dragon turned towards a terrified Yoshi holding several rocks in his hand. Yoshi simply smiled before screaming and running off, prompting the dragon to chase him. Mario took advantage of the distraction and ran off, heading for the drawbridge. The dragon caught Mario in the corner of its eye and whipped around to chase the plumber down, hungrily snapping its jaws at Mario. Yoshi headed towards the drawbridge as well, noticing a axe standing upright at the end of the bridge. Yoshi grabbed hold of the axe, pulling it with all his might until it bent backwards with a sharp clicking sound. Right as the dragon was about to devour Mario, the drawbridge opened up under it. The poor beast fell inside the moat, plummeting into the lava below. Mario slowed down, dusting himself off.

"Well, that was oddly convenient." Mario said. He turned towards the castle doors, tipping his cap forward.

"Alright, boys. Let's go." Mario said, running into the castle alongside Yoshi and Luigi.

***

Peach sat in a damp, slightly cramped dungeon cell located in the towers of the castle. She stood on the balcony, looking out on the horizon. A tear fell down Peach's cheek, as if she began to believe there would be no way out of this predicament. Suddenly Bowser walked inside the room, smiling from horn to horn as he took hold of Peach's hand.

"Ahh, what a beautiful night for conquering the Mushroom Kingdom, eh?" Bowser said, practically gloating about his soon-to-be victory. Peach roughly pushed Bowser's clawed hand off away, glaring at him.

"Are you happy, Bowser? Destroying my kingdom, harming my subjects? You think ruling the Mushroom Kingdom will satisfy your deplorable needs?" Peach growled. Bowser chuckled.

"Yes, my dear princess. Once we are married, I will rightfully become king of Mushroom Kingdom, and you'll be my beloved queen! Wouldn't that be nice?" Bowser replied. Peach scoffed.

"I'd rather be sitting in a cold, empty cage than be your queen. You're a despicable, no-good, ugly beast who has no mercy or kindness in his heart!" Peach said, with anger in her tone. Two Koopas entered the room and took hold of Peach's arms.

"If that's what you want, then so be it. Take her away!" Bowser commanded. The koopas dragged a screaming, struggling Princess Peach towards another room, where a giant cage was held.

"YOU'LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS, BOWSER!! YOU HEAR ME? NEVER!!!" Peach screamed. Bowser just smiled.

"I already have." Bowser replied to himself.