Chapter One: The Last Day of the Mushroom Kingdom

Flames flickered in Mario's eyes as he ran down the oft-traveled road to Peach's castles, explosions echoing all around him. The Toad Houses, usually so quaint and cheerful-looking, were burning, their bright-colored paint streaked with soot. A bullet bill streaked through the air, smashing into the green mushroom-shaped roof of the item shop and blowing it to bits, scattering the brown cobblestone streets with burning chunks of green-painted wood. Chaotic sounds were all around him; crying and screaming, angry shouting, violent explosions and ever-present whirring of the propellors of the airships that filled the cloudy night sky. Toad Town was burning, and, somehow, not matter how hard he tried, there was no way to stop it.

The streets, usually filled with happy-go-lucky Toads gossiping, shopping, or simply enjoying the fresh air were filled with the forces of the Koopa Troop. There was a gang of Koopa Troopas breaking down the door of a blue Toad House with a massive hole in it's roof from a stray Bob-omb, while off in a corner near the Badge shop he could see his old friend, the young Goomba named Goombella head-bonking a Hammer bro...unfortunately only one of the hundreds that were around Toad Town tonight. Mario had pulled out all of his stops. All of his friends were here...every single person who he had fought with throughout all his escapades throughout the Mushroom World. There was even a detachement of soldiers from the Beanbean Kingdom...a welcome sight to be sure, since they were vastly outnumbered. Up ahead, at the stop of the gentle incline Toad Town's main road ran through, was Peach's castle itself, which was being circled by an airship, it's flag depicting the face of it's ruler flying in the breeze. Even as another Toad House collaposed, the fire eating away at it's walls proving too much for it, Mario forced himself to carry on. Toad Town was just a town...a town full of fond memories, yes, but nothing they couldn't rebuild. The Princess, on the other hand, was a differant matter entirely.

The wind was blowing smoke from the fires in Mario's direction, burning at his eyes and obscuring his vision. The airships hovering over the city continued to fire their cannons, letting down a seeming inexhaustable hail of bullet bills that continued to destroy more and more of the town. He knew that in the plains surrounding the town, there were even more of Bowser's forces, hundreds of tanks and millions of troops. Some of his friends were leading the fight down at that front...like Yoshi, Admiral Bobbery, and Watt, to name a few. He sincerely hoped they were all right. He had too much faith in his friends to believe that a couple of Koopas would be too much to deal with...but even someone like him had to admit that they were up against a whole lot of Koopas. If he were to go to Bowser's Castle at the moment, Mario thought, he'd find the castle nearly empty. It was as if Bowser had turned out his entire army and sent it at Toad Town. Up ahead, faintly visible in the glowing light of the fires, Mario saw a Toad. He was crying for help, as Toads were prone to do. There were three Koopas advancing towards him. Quickly, Mario launched into action. He'd taken far too many detours already...really he ought to have more faith in his friends as well as his brother, who was fighting in another district of Toad Town. It didn't matter, though...he just couldn't ignore someone helpless like this Toad. If only he was strong enough to stop all of the bullet bills which were destroying the town. This was a new feeling for Mario, feeling powerless. Usually he'd been near-invincible, no matter how many enemies he was fighting or how much powerful equipment they were using. This time, though, he was having to come to terms with the fact that sometimes, even he wasn't enough.

Mario leaped through the air, flying over the brown cobblestones which were shining orange in the light of the fires, and came down hard on a Koopa, smashing him into his shell. Before the other Koopas could do anything, he had downed the one of the right with a punch in the face and sent the one on the left flying into a Toad House's gaurdan, crushing the flowers which it's owner had spent so long maintaining.

"M...Mario!" the Toad exclaimed joyfully, getting up. Mario saw that he was one of the Mushroom Retainers, thanks to the blue vest he was wearing.

"Toad!" Mario said quickly. "Where's the-a princess?" he dreaded asking the question. Had Bowser got her already?"

The Toad's face became creased with worry. "I...I don't know." he confessed, flincing as a bullet bill crashed into a house a few blocks away from them, blowing it to pieces with a fiery explosion. "I havn't seen her since the attack started!"

Mario nodded and dashed away from the Toad, trusting him to find a safe path out of the town himself. It seemed a bit careless, but he was too worried about the princess to think of anything else. The ground shook at Mario's feet with the force of the explosions as he continued running up the road, the castle looming before him. It was seemingly untouched, unlike the Toad Houses.

"Hey, it's Mario!" came a gruff voice from in front of him. "Get him and we'll all be promoted three ranks!" there was a large, muscular Koopa in a football uniform charging towards him, flanked by two Hammer Bros. They had come at Mario too fast for him to react. Any attempt to jump would only mean being hit by the hammers. He readied himself. If only he had brought his hammer...it was still hanging on the wall of his room, completely untouched. Nobody had expected Bowser to launch an all-out invasion today. Therefor, he was going to have to make do with his fists. This was going to be tight.

Just before the three Koopas reached him, a flash of green shot out from one of the side streets, kicking away one Hammer bro instantly before slamming a hammer into the Chargin' Chuck's face with such force not even his football helmet could protect him. The other Hammer Bro was too surprised to react. Luigi dealt him a heavy blow on the head that knocked him out cold.

"Mario!" Luigi gasped, trying to catch his breath. "This...this is-a crazy!"

"I-a know, Luigi." Mario nodded, feeling quite exhausted himself. "How are you and others doing?"

"N...not too well, Mario." Luigi admitted with a nervous quiver in his voice. Mario noticed that Luigi was all bruised up; that only filled him with more rage at Bowser for having caused all of this. "There are so many Koopas...every time we beat one, there seems to be three more! It looks like they've broken through Bombette's squad, too, since there are tanks pouring into the city by the right entrance! I think Roy's leading them, although I'm not sure."

Mario nodded grimly; he hoped the pink Bob-omb was all right. Roy Koopa...that was the last thing they needed! Until now all they'd had to deal with was weaker troops...even though the Koopalings had never been much of a problem for Mario, at least they knew how to prolong a fight, which was something Mario couldn't afford to have happen. "Go-a help her, Luigi." Mario urged, flinching as an explosion sounded a few blocks away. "If Roy's really here, you-a need to deal with him fast, before he caused any trouble!"

Luigi nodded, shooting a concerned look to Peach's Castle, which was still being circled by the airship. "Mario...the princess..."

"Will be all right!" Mario cut him off quickly. "I'll-a handle Bowser, Luigi! You-a make sure no more of his troops get inside the town, OK?"

"Allrighty, Mario." Luigi nodded, although his mustached face was still streaked with worry. He darted off down an adjacent street, holding his hammer in an offensive position as he approached a gang of Koopas and Goombas who were running down the road, having split from the main army to ransack some of the abandoned Toad Houses. Mario turned away; he knew Luigi could handle goons like them. He had a mission to do.

As Mario ran up the path, past the once-proud fountain depicting the princess' statue in the town square, with the heat of the flames around him causing sweat to drip off his skin, he reflected on the series of events which had led to this tragedy occuring. While he'd been an enemy of the Mushroom Kingdom for years, Bowser had never brought the full might of the Koopa Kingdom against them. His attacks had been small raids and outlandish, even cartoonish schemes which, sure, caused no end of trouble to the princess and her subjects, but had never brought about large-scale destruction. The largest raid up until this one Bowser had launched was his attack on the Star Festival a few years ago...and even then, his forces were far smaller than what he was deploying today. Mario thought grimly about the event that had finally driven the Koopa King over the edge. If he had known this would have happened...would he have done it? Would he have finally dared to get down on his knee on the summit of Star Hill, and give to Peach the diamond ring that he'd spent so long picking out? Would he have dared to say his vows...to move into the castle with her...to begin plans to start a family?

The chaotic and often violent love triangle between Mario, Bowser, and Peach was commen knowledge to everyone in the two kingdoms, but Mario had often thought Bowser had never quite taken his rival's attraction to the princess seriously. He didn't blame him; there had been times, years ago, when he had considered the possibility that he and the princess would be better off just being friends (getting rejected on the moon sure didn't help). But well, he'd rescued her again and again, and both of their feelings grew and grew, until, before long, there they were at the alter. At that glorious moment, Mario had thought things could only go upwards from there. He'd forgotten about one crucial detail, though. Bowser.

Mario and Peach had been so caught up in post-wedding bliss that they hadn't given the Koopa King a thought. There had been times, Mario now realized, where Luigi had tried to bring up the subject, but he'd always ignored his brother, and Luigi had been so happy for the couple that he didn't have the heart to bring the unpleasant subject up too often. Mario had been married for one month now. It had been three days since they had returned from their honeymoon. They had been working on rearranging furniture to better suit the private appartments of Peach's castle to married life along with Mario's own personal tastes, when, at roughly five o'clock, the airships had appeared. Of course Bowser had taken this horribly. His one goal in life had been snatched away from him; why hadn't he thought of this before? There were thousands of airships, stretching from one end of the sky to another. The Mushroom Plains were swamped with troops and huge tanks and Banzai Bill Blasters. What followed was a rapid summoning of nearly every ally Mario had ever met...and the beginning of the darkest, most destructive battle that had ever been fought on the once-peaceful streets of Toad Town.

Peach's Castle was only a few feet away from Mario now, the propellors of the airship filling his ears. The castle, usually a shining beacon of happyness and safety for all the people of the mushroom kingdom was shrouded in shadow thanks to the dark, cloudy night, and the flames cast an orange glow with dancing shadows upon the white brick walls. The brown doors, emblazoned with the image of a mushroom, were bolted shut; although he knew there was no way they would hold against Bowser's forces, even if they had been barricaded. He could only hope that the princess, Toadsworth, and the rest of the castle's inhabitants had managed to escape through the warp pipes in the castle's basement...although who knew where they'd end up after that. He didn't have time to think about that right now, though. Turning around so that his back face that castle, Mario crouched down before flipping around, preforming a backwards somersault so that he'd get enough distance to grab onto the handrail of the castle balcony. Effortlessly pulling himself up, Mario wasted no time leaping onto the frame of the huge, stained-glass window depicting Princess Peach, and from there leaping onto the roof. He landed firmly on the smooth red tiles.

Now above all of Toad Town, Mario, for the first time since he'd gone down to fight, glimpsed the hopelessness of their situation. The rolling plains that surrounded the town were swamped by Bowser's army. Mario could scarecly see any of his own troops. More then half of the brightly-colored Toad Houses were on fire, lighting up the night with a flickering orange glow. Bullet Bills were streaking down from the air, blasting into houses with no clear intent other then to destroy, reducing the homes of countless Toads who Mario knew by name to piles of burning rubble. The Koopa Troop was just starting to enter the city, having broken through the wall of defenders who were giving it their all for the princess' sake, spilling onto the streets. It was only in a few spots as of yet, but at the rate things were going, it seemed like the kind of thing that would only get worse with time. All while the fighting was going down on the ground, hundreds of airships hovered in the sky, letting loose the relentless hail of bullet bills with no resistance aside from the occasional hit-and-run from somebody with flight capabilities like Parakarry or Lakilester. Mario narrowed his eyes, tightening his white-gloved hand into a fist. He, and only he could end this fight right now. He turned to the airship which had been circuling the castle.

The airship had stopped and was now hovering in place a few few away from Mario, so close to the castle's roof Mario could nearly touch the bottom of the hull without even a jump. While it was the average size of all the airships in Bowser's fleet, up close like this it looked completely massive to Mario, despite him having faced the flying vessels countless times before. The gigantic stone Bowser figurehead loomed over him, it's face carved in a perpetual snarl. Just above the figurehead, at the very front of the desk, Mario glimpsed the koopa responsible for all of this chaos. "Bowser." he said, in a serious voice quite uncharictaristic for him. While he'd always had more of a friendly rivalry with the Koopa King as opposed to actually hating him, right now, with the noise of the explosions in Toad Town viberating in his ears, there was nothing he wanted to do more then grab Bowser by the tail and throw him as hard as he could right into one of his own airships.

"Mario." Bowser hissed, snorting steam from his nostrals. He gripped the handrail of the airship so hard that the wood spiltered between his claws. "You're going to regret all of this."

"No, you're-a going to regret it!" Mario shouted loudly so as to be heard over the sounds of the propellors. "Bowser, I-a get that you're upset. I know you-a love the princess! But that doesn't mean-"

"You don't know a thing about me!" Bowser roared, breathing fire into the air. Without warning he leaped off the airship, landing right in front of Mario and cracking the tiles beneath his feet. Mario leaped back in surprise. Bowser's eyes shone menacingly as he advanced towards Mario, looking as if he was about to strike at any moment. Mario readied himself. Bowser looked like a caged animal; short-tempered and completely unpredictable. He did not need to be on the receiving end of a fireball right now. "Do you know how long I've loved her, Mario?" he roared, raising his fist into the air. "Do you know how much effort I've put into getting her to love me!"

"Well, maybe if you hadn't have-a kidnapped her, things might have be-a different!" Mario couldn't resist shouting back at him. That only served to infuriate Bowser even more.

"You're so smug, Mario!" he roared. "You think you're the one who's going to have the happy ending, do you? WRONG!" he braced himself, getting into a fighting stance. Mario hurriedly did the same. "I'm going to crush you, Mario! I'm going to crush you and your whole pathetic kingdom! Then Peach'll finally see that I'm the better guy! She'll finally respect me!" he looked down at Mario, pure hate in his crimson eyes. "And I'll finally get the chance to do what I've been waiting to do for years...Mario." he growled deeply and menacingly. For a moment, the two enemies locked eyes, stairing at each other while the thunder-like rumble of explosions sounded below them. Then, Bowser broke the stand-off.

The Koopa King leaped towards Mario, smashing down on the spot the plumber had been standing on, Mario only just managing to dart away as the tiles splintered under the force of Bowser's powerful fist. Instantly Bowser rushed to Mario, pulling his fist back for a punch, which Mario promptly ducked under. Bowser, advanced, throwing punch after punch with surprising speed considering his weighty body, forcing Mario to leap over and slide under them to avoid being hit with a bone-crushing smash. Without warning Bowser opened his mouth and breathed a massive fireball just as Mario finished back-flipping over one of his fists. The red-hot fire shone in Mario's eyes as it zoomed towards him. His battle-hardened reflexes kicking in, Mario managed to leap back up as soon as his feet touched the ground, leaping over the fireball as he felt the heat on his skin. With a roar of anger, Bowser aimed another fireball at the airborne Mario, only for Mario to twist out of the way at the last second and land cleanly on Bowser's head. He slammed his feet down as hard as he could on the green scales between the Koopa King's two horns before vaulting off as Bowser retreated into his shell. He noted with relief that he hadn't taken a single hit yet, aside from the slight burning on his skin from the near miss with the fireball.

Like a super-powered top, Bowser's shell began to spin and it shot towards Mario, forcing him into a run. The spiked shell kicked up the castle's red tiles on it's destructive path towards Mario, as it drew closer and ever closer to the plumber, who was running around the castle's central tower trying to escape. However, Mario had fought Bowser too many times to think he could outrun his attack. Rather, he turned around to face the shell, which was moving towards him with the force of a speeding train. He jumped over it and let it spin underneath him, landing safely in the shallow trench the shell had carved in the castle's red rooftop. Bowser leaped out of his shell and tried to slice Mario with his claws, but Mario ducked under before leaping up with an uppercut, striking Bowser on the jaw and making him stagger back. Not for the first time that night, Mario wished he had brought his hammer; now would have been the perfect time to get in an extra-powerful slam. Unfortunately, he'd have to make do with what he had. Mario jumped up and drove his foot into Bowser's face with a powerful kick, effortlessly moving into a heavy punch between his eyes. Bowser grunted in pain; but Mario knew from experience that it would take more then that to bring him down. Suddenly he felt the crushing grip of Bowser's claws tighten around his body.

"He must have-a grabbed me while I was attacking!" Mario realized in horror as Bowser drew back his arm and hurled him. Mario went flying, faceplanting on the roof and bounching across the red tiles, with each fall feeling as if it broke a new bone. Mario lay on the roof, surrounded by splintered tiles; but he only allowed himself a second of rest. This pain was nothing compared to what Bowser was inflicting on Toad Town. He jumped to his feet, his eyes quickly noticing the shadow that had fallen across him. With a spike of fear he leaped back as Bowser slammed down on his former location with such force Mario was surprised he didn't break through the roof. The force of Bowser's fall sent a shockwave towards Mario that hit him just as his feet touched the ground. Instantly, Mario felt as if he'd just been punched in the chest, even though he couldn't see any visable attack. He went flying through the air, digging his fingers into the ground to slow his flight. Bowser was charging another fireball; if he couldn't regain control of himself right here, he was going to end up taking a direct hit. As the fireball careened towards him, Mario managed to stop his unwanted flight and began to run towards the glowing fireball, vaulting over to it to land next to Bowser and hit him with a string of punches. Bowser spun around, attempting to smack Mario with his heavy tail. Mario saw it coming and jumped over it, watching as the tail smashed out a series of bricks from the central tower. With surprising reflex, Bowser darted around and flung his fist at Mario, who flung his body back so that the attack past just over him, nearly striking his large nose.

What followed was a furious exchange of physical attacks; slow and powerful ones from Bowser, and fast but weaker ones from Mario. Mario darted around the Koopa King, getting in a few punches and kicks, while Bowser moved like a tank, sending punches Mario's way with the force of a cannonball. Bowser held up his fist and ignited it with fire, sparking surprise from Mario. The plumber leaped back as Bowser drove it into the ground like a meteor, generating a small explosion that scortched the pure white bricks. With a roar of rage, Bowser drew air into his lungs as an area somewhere within his mouth glowed brightly, almost as if he had swallowed the sun. Shielding his eyes from the light swirling within his enemy's jaws, Mario grit his teeth. This was Bowser's most powerful attack; a continuous beam of fire that destroyed everything in his path. If he was going to avoid it, he better start picking up speed. An image of the Princess flashed through Mario's mind as he rushed towards Bowser and the glowing light, which was by now so bright it was blinding and so hot he could feel it even though Bowser had not yet let loose the fire. Princess Peach was counting on him...Luigi was counting on him...the entire kingdom was counting on him! He had to win this! Bowser leaned down, bracing himself for the attack's recoil. Just as he roared, Mario put all the energy he had built up in his run towards a huge jump. The night lit up as the entire roof of Peach's castle was bathed in fire which shot from Bowser's mouth with such force that it chipped away at the castle's solid brick walls. Sweat dripped from Mario's skin as he angled himself towards Bowser's head. The King of the Koopas had built up so much fire now that there was no way he could dodge without abrupting cutting off the flow; something that Mario, judging from his trip down to Bowser's Flame Pipe a few years back, did not think would be a very good idea. He brought his feet down hard on Bowser's head, causing the fire to sputter and die out and Bowser's entire body to shake. With a wild cry, Bowser whipped around, flinging Mario from his head. For just a brief moment, Mario was disoriented. Unfortunately, that was just enough time for Bowser to land a direct punch on Mario's chest.

Mario felt as if all the air had been suddenly forced out of his body. For a moment, he caught a glimpse of Bowser's red eyes, glittering in fury. Then he was sent flying out like a rocket, clear off the castle roof. The pain was too great for Mario to focus, and the next thing he knew, he had slammed into the ground. His entire body felt as if it had been pelted with rocks, and he was sure he had broken at least three bones. His chest area was especially harmed: taking Bowser's punch like that had been like letting a bullet bill hit him head-on. Mario forced himself to open his eyes. This was Bowser he was fighting! Dozens of more powerful enemies then the Koopa King had gone down underneath his boots before; he hadn't gotten his reputation as the Mushroom Kingdom's greatest hero by giving up.

Mario was lying in the road before the castle gates. The entire roof of the castle was ablaze now, thanks to Bowser's firey attack. The Koopa King stood at the edge of the roof, silhouetted in the fire, staring down at him. "Well, would you look at that, Mario." he spat. "I finally beat you."

In spite of his injuries, Mario smirked. "Not today, Bowser!" he said optomistically, rising to his feet. Who cared if he had three broken bones; his legs still worked! As long as he could still preform his signature Super Jump, he could definitely beat Bowser! Pain like this was nearly an every-day occurrence for Mario, even though he still hadn't gotten used to it. "If you-a think something like this will-a beat me, you're even more stupid then I thought! Just wait one second...I'm-a coming right back up!"

Mario thought he detected a glimmer of worry in Bowser's shadowed face, although he couldn't quite tell. Regardless, Bowser scoffed. "Look around you, Mario!" he exclaimed, gesturing with his clawed hand. "It's over! You here me? It's OVER!"

Following Bowser's direction, Mario swept his gaze over the burning Toad Town. Peach's Castle was surrounded by the forces of the Koopa Troop. Bowser's minions clogged the streets, each one of them staring at him with hungry eyes. He caught the familiar faces of Bowser Jr and the Koopalings among them, along with several of the Koopa Troop's generals like Goomboss and Tutankoopa. Any of his friends and allies that he saw were tied up and surrounded by powerful minions. They all looked bruised, scratched, and warn out, as if they couldn't even lift a finger in their own defence anymore. He saw no signs of fighting anywhere within the seemingly-endless ranks of Bowser's army.

"They must have broken through!" Mario realized with horror, as he swept his gaze over several of his defeated allies: Yoshi, Koops, Flurry, Goombario... "That must mean..." his gaze became frantic as he looked for the one green-colored figure who he cared about above all the others. "Luigi!" he shouted audibley.

"Right up here, you little whipper-snapper!" laughed a crazed, aged voice. Mario's eyes instantly flicked to the source of the noise. There, on the top of a blue Toad House which was one of the few not touched by the fire, was Luigi, immobilized by a glowing magical light which surrounded him. Floating before him on an enchanted purple mop was a very short, old Magikoopa dressed in dark purple robes. Facing Luigi were several Bill Blasters that had been set up in the streets...some of them mounted on tanks.

"Mariooooo!" Luigi cried out, his face a mask of terror.

"All it takes is one little order from his foulness and green 'stache here is a pile of ashes." Kammy Koopa gloated as she continued pointing her wand at Mario. "You might want to consider giving up, huh?"

Bowser laughed from his position on the roof, as the Koopalings snickered from their places within the army. Mario ignored them. He was too busy plotting the distance between him and Kammy.

"Don't you see, Mario?" Bowser shouted. "We have you trapped here! Give up and maybe I'll be merciful. All it takes is one word and I blow Greenie there sky-high!"

Mario turned back to Bowser's place atop the burning castle, flashing him a confidant smile. "Do you really think that'll work, Bowser?" he grinned. "No...I'm-a going to save Luigi...and then I'm-a going to beat you!" without another word, Mario leaped through the air. He payed no attention to the legions of Koopas he was soaring over, no attention to the cannons positioned around the conquered down, and certainly no attention to the furious shout Bowser gave from the castle. His boots slammed into Kammy, knocking the frail Koopa off her broom and breaking the spell. With a cry of relief, Luigi leaped off the Toad House roof, heading in the direction away from the castle. "Oh yeah!" Mario exclaimed gleefully, twisting around in the air. That was when he noticed the fifty bullet bills, fresh out of the fifty cannons that had been pointed at the blue Toad House, streaking towards him with killer intent in their slanted white eyes.