Categories > Games > Mario > Complications
Chapter 23
0 ReviewsRace to the Rescue
Complications
Chapter 23: Race to the Rescue
Peach's kart ran off the bridge with enough impulse to reach the other side of the unfinished road. It landed none too gently, but the tires absorbed most of the hit and screeched as Peach kept her foot on the accelerator; and they speed away. "I do that all the time at the Royal Raceway."
"Here I thought you just didn't have time to finish it that time before the race," Bowser was experiencing Peach's adventurous side and he loved it, he loved everything about her. Bowser had caught only a glimpse of this side of her every now and then, the first time being when they teamed up against Smithy to recover Bowser's Keep.
Peach laughed, "it was done on purpose, but Toadsworth wasn't too happy about it."
They continued racing into a less transited road and approached the suburbs of Rose Town, which was quickly become a city at an amazingly speedy pace. "Help!"
Peach hit the breaks and searched for the source of the voice. The kart came to a screeching halt and the rocket's fire dissipated along with the top layer of the tires. A stream of black smoke reached towards the skies from the rocket. They had stopped in front of a building that was under construction. The voice belonged to a woman and it sounded familiar, but Peach was pretty sure it wasn't Daisy.
"Up here! This overgrown monkey won't let me go!" Peach and Bowser shielded their eyes from the sun and looked towards the top of the unfinished building. Apparently the workers were either on break or the project was paused; or perhaps the gorilla that had captured Pauline at the top of the building scared them away.
"Hold on we're coming to save you!" Peach headed towards the building, followed by Bowser. The Mushroom Princess climbed a ladder and balanced herself on the building's iron skeleton. She headed for the next ladder and one of her heels slipped off as she climbed.
"Ow!" The heel hit Bowser on the face, when he tried to follow Peach up the ladder.
Bowser picked up the pink heel and returned it to Peach who put it back on. "Bowser!"
Bowser rubbed his nose where the heel hit him. "What?" He sounded confused about why he was being scolded.
"Don't climb right behind me, you go first," Peach pointed at the ladder.
"Why? If I'm behind you I can catch you if you fall..." Peach didn't move an inch, but urged Bowser to hurry. He started climbing the wooden ladder, it hardly supported his weight but thankfully it did not break.
Peach climbed up the ladder after Bowser had reached the upper floor, or rather the upper iron bar since the actual floors had not been built in yet.
Bowser started climbing the next ladder and came to a realization half way up. "I wasn't looking!"
"Just go up," Peach urged him to move on.
"Really I wasn't! I hope I fall off this building if I was," the ladder creaked under Bowser's weight and the step he stood on broke. He lost his balance and fell off the ladder, but managed to hold on to the iron bar where Peach stood and climb up again. "I really wasn't looking!"
Though this was no time to laugh, the timing of the events was too funny and Peach giggled. "I know, I trust you, I was thinking that I could accidentally poke eyes with my heel if my foot slipped."
Peach had not even noticed that she said she trusted Bowser, it came out very naturally, but he certainly noticed it. "Then you were trying to protect me again? I really should repay you with a kiss, I owe it to you."
"Let's focus on saving Pauline, okay?" Peach and Bowser continued their climb to the top of the unfinished building.
xoxox xox xoxox
In another world known as the Spirit World, the spirit of Mercy was watching the events unfold reflected in the waters of a small pond. She laughed at Bowser's predicament and how he tried to climb up the columns on the side of the building since the ladder wouldn't support him. Mercy was amused at how Peach kept insisting that they had to hurry. The spirit of Mercy nearly fell into the pond laughing so hard. "Koopas were not meant to climb."
"Somebody isn't doing her job I see," Rainbow, in her child form, stood unnoticed behind Mercy, observing the images reflected in the pond.
"Who me?" Mercy feigned surprise at the koopaling's obvious accusation. "I'm being merciful enough, besides this is too fun to watch!"
Rainbow sat down at the edge of the pond and watched the show along with Mercy.
xoxox xox xoxox
Peach and Bowser finally made it to the top of the building where Pauline was being held captive by a gorilla who was wearing a red tie. Peach recognized the gorilla right away. "Donkey! Let Pauline go!"
Donkey Kong made protest noises, as if saying that he would not let her go.
Pauline continued to struggle against the gorilla but it didn't work. She had stopped at the top of the unfinished building to get a better view of things, and rest her tail for a moment; then the gorilla captured her. She was certain she had seen that gorilla before, maybe it was even the same one who captured her years ago; but this time Mario wasn't there to save her. "You know this gorilla?"
"His name is Donkey Kong," Peach explained. "He sometimes comes to play spots with us. Usually he's pretty reasonable; I guess he just likes you too much to understand he has to let you go."
"Too bad because I don't like monkeys, not even as pets. You'd think that with these new powers I would be immune to being kidnapped," Pauline wagged her tail and felt herself start to float, but Donkey's arm around her waist prevented her from taking off.
"No one is immune to kidnapping, trust me," Peach glanced at Bowser.
"Don't worry; I'll always be here to rescue you every time Mario kidnaps you." There was simply no way to convince Bowser it was actually the other way around.
Peach decided to leave Bowser to his fantasy and try to reason with Donkey. "Donkey, you have to let Pauline go. If you really like her you won't hold her prisoner like this. If you let her go then she might visit you on her own free will and be your friend."
Donkey Kong shook his head and tried to communicate that he would not let Pauline go. But actions spoke louder than words, so with his free arm he lifted a barrel and threw it.
Peach ducked on time, but Bowser didn't, and the barrel shattered after hitting him. Needless to say the Koopa King was furious, his glare was deadly and there were sparks coming from his mouth. He did look kind of funny with that piece of wood stuck on one of his horns, but he was too threatening to inspire laughter. Bowser took a deep breath, ready to barbecue the ape.
"Bowser!" Peach stood between Bowser and Donkey, who still wouldn't let Pauline go. "You can't breathe fire on Pauline and Donkey!"
Bowser swallowed his own fireball and only smoke came from his mouth. "Right... Pauline..." Bowser wasn't happy about holding back, but he couldn't say no to Peach.
"Don't hurt Donkey either; I'm sure we can get him to calm down... This is just like you and me..." Peach hoped the comparison would make Bowser forgive Donkey.
But Bowser didn't think there was room for any comparison. "A monkey and a raccoon girl? But you're not a raccoon and I am not a monkey."
"That's not what I meant, Donkey is kidnapping Pauline, just like you kidnap me," Peach tried to explain.
"That's completely different," Bowser was still convinced he was rescuing Peach, she was better off with him anyway.
"I see the basic concept," Pauline reflected. "There is a one sided crush and a kidnapping as a result of it, except it might not be one sided for you after all... Besides the entire koopa and human thing seems to be generally okay in this world. I suppose that instead of dating within the species, the general rule should be /if it talks, it's okay to date it./"
Donkey protested to this, as if trying to say he could talk, but all Pauline, Peach and Bowser could hear were monkey sounds.
Peach considered the concept. "I suppose coherent speech would be a good place to draw the line."
"Peach and I are meant for each other, we're in love and we're married, that's everything anyone needs to know," Bowser nodded to himself.
A loud crash was heard, followed right away by an explosion. Several karts had a massive accident in the road bellow, but it looked like the drivers had retreated into their shells on time and came out of it unharmed. Peach's modified pink kart was in pieces among the wreckage. Even after cooling off a little, the rocket could not take the impact of another kart without exploding.
The koopalings argued among themselves; with the loudest voice being Wendy's and the one with the fastest speech was Morton. Ludwig slipped away from the group after spotting his father, Peach, Pauline and Donkey on top of the building under construction.
Ludwig made his way to the top of the building. Peach was trying to reason with Donkey, Pauline was squirming and trying to slip away from the gorilla, and Bowser was expressing what could be described as a monologue about his eternal love for Peach.
Peach sighed; she was starting to feel frustrated with Donkey. She was sure he understood her words, even if she could not understand him. Ludwig had just arrived and he was good at talking to people... well he was good at speaking elaborately and confusing people, but even so, Peach held on to the faint ray of hope that Ludwig would be able to help her reason with Donkey. "Ludwig could you help me talk Donkey into letting Pauline go?"
"I see this is quite the predicament, I will strive to accomplish Pauline's freedom from her captor." Ludwig wondered how he should explain things in simple words that a gorilla would understand. But he realized that Pauline was very uncomfortable and would most likely appreciate it if he would hurry up. "I do believe that such an eccentric union very well crosses the lines of what one may feel comfortable with. I believe that you should allow Pauline to be free. Perchance she might even chose to become your acquaintance should you not restrict her liberty. I am sure that you will find that such a pair is exceptionally irreconcilable, and it is best if you seek a living being with a greater proximity to your species and way of life with whom to share your existence."
Ludwig's speech continued and Bowser paused his monologue of Peach adoration because Ludwig was making him lose track of what he was saying, and he was running out of adjectives to describe his love for Peach. Pauline stopped struggling and simply stared at Ludwig, while Peach occasionally nodded in agreement. Ludwig's advice continued and his words became more elaborate as he used his extensive vocabulary in the most creative ways.
Donkey yelled in protest and released Pauline. The gorilla ran away holding his head, leaving everyone else perplexed. Although, it was hard to determine if they were surprised about Donkey Kong's sudden retreat, or if they were simply confused by Ludwig's speech.
"Thanks!" Pauline finally managed to say.
"You are most welcome," Ludwig had a feeling that he accomplished more of giving Donkey a headache than he did of reasoning with him; but as long as the main purpose was accomplished, such small details were not important.
"Sorry for the delay, everyone. I didn't think that landing on top of this building would get me into that much trouble. I guess I should have known; deja vu..." The situation was too similar to the past, and it sent Pauline in an emotional roller coaster. She remembered her time with Mario in the past and the day she was rescued for the first time. Pauline had told herself that even if she was reunited with Mario again, those days together had ended and were never to return.
"Don't worry, let's just concentrate in catching up with Daisy," Peach started heading down the building.
Peach, Ludwig and Bowser climbed all the way down to the road, and Pauline flew down. "Shut up!" Bowser yelled, and immediately silenced the bickering koopalings. They continued on their way moving as a group. They were much slower on foot, but even with the delay, they might still make it in time to intercept that giant frog's path if he was held up at the Forest Maze.
However, when they reached Rose Town, it was already too late. The locals informed Peach that a large frog carrying princess Daisy had passed through town being chased by the Mario brothers, were heading towards the pipes near Tad Pole Pond; and the group rushed in pursuit.
Once again, Peach, Pauline, Bowser and the koopalings arrived too late. But judging by the foot prints left in the swap area near the pipes, it was easy to find out where they had went. One by one Peach, Pauline, Bowser, Ludwig, Lemmy, Iggy, Roy, Wendy, Morton, Larry and Bowser Jr. jumped into the pipe that would take them to Wart's Water Park.
The group came out of the pipes at the expected destination. The main attraction of the water park consisted of a large pool full of ocean animals, surrounded by stadium style seats. Mario and Luigi were occupied fighting a giant squid, while Wart still held Daisy captive and croaked in a strange version of an evil laugh.
"Go play," Bowser knew that to the koopalings that would translate to /tare this place apart/, and it didn't take long for them to do it.
"My water park! Stop this at once or the princess is shark food!" Wart blew a whistle and a large shark jumped out of the pool like a dolphin. "Take a good look! No one can defeat my super shark!"
The shark approached the edge of the pool where Bowser and Peach were. "I think the shark looks a little cold."
Bowser caught Peach's hint and was happy to comply. "We can't have that. I'll have to warm up Mr. Shark before he catches a cold." Bowser took a deep breath and blew fire at the shark. The flames sent the shark retreating into the pool.
"We're done here too," Mario announced. The squid was knocked out with his tentacles tangled up.
"This can't be happening, my precious water park! I'm ruined!" Wart knew he had no escape. "Fine take her, but this isn't over I'll have my revenge!" Wart fled, leaving Daisy and the ruins of his water park behind.
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own the Mario games and characters. This was based on the first "Donkey Kong" game where you played as "Jumpman" (Mario) to rescue Pauline. I played it years ago on a console that was much older than me.
Chapter 23: Race to the Rescue
Peach's kart ran off the bridge with enough impulse to reach the other side of the unfinished road. It landed none too gently, but the tires absorbed most of the hit and screeched as Peach kept her foot on the accelerator; and they speed away. "I do that all the time at the Royal Raceway."
"Here I thought you just didn't have time to finish it that time before the race," Bowser was experiencing Peach's adventurous side and he loved it, he loved everything about her. Bowser had caught only a glimpse of this side of her every now and then, the first time being when they teamed up against Smithy to recover Bowser's Keep.
Peach laughed, "it was done on purpose, but Toadsworth wasn't too happy about it."
They continued racing into a less transited road and approached the suburbs of Rose Town, which was quickly become a city at an amazingly speedy pace. "Help!"
Peach hit the breaks and searched for the source of the voice. The kart came to a screeching halt and the rocket's fire dissipated along with the top layer of the tires. A stream of black smoke reached towards the skies from the rocket. They had stopped in front of a building that was under construction. The voice belonged to a woman and it sounded familiar, but Peach was pretty sure it wasn't Daisy.
"Up here! This overgrown monkey won't let me go!" Peach and Bowser shielded their eyes from the sun and looked towards the top of the unfinished building. Apparently the workers were either on break or the project was paused; or perhaps the gorilla that had captured Pauline at the top of the building scared them away.
"Hold on we're coming to save you!" Peach headed towards the building, followed by Bowser. The Mushroom Princess climbed a ladder and balanced herself on the building's iron skeleton. She headed for the next ladder and one of her heels slipped off as she climbed.
"Ow!" The heel hit Bowser on the face, when he tried to follow Peach up the ladder.
Bowser picked up the pink heel and returned it to Peach who put it back on. "Bowser!"
Bowser rubbed his nose where the heel hit him. "What?" He sounded confused about why he was being scolded.
"Don't climb right behind me, you go first," Peach pointed at the ladder.
"Why? If I'm behind you I can catch you if you fall..." Peach didn't move an inch, but urged Bowser to hurry. He started climbing the wooden ladder, it hardly supported his weight but thankfully it did not break.
Peach climbed up the ladder after Bowser had reached the upper floor, or rather the upper iron bar since the actual floors had not been built in yet.
Bowser started climbing the next ladder and came to a realization half way up. "I wasn't looking!"
"Just go up," Peach urged him to move on.
"Really I wasn't! I hope I fall off this building if I was," the ladder creaked under Bowser's weight and the step he stood on broke. He lost his balance and fell off the ladder, but managed to hold on to the iron bar where Peach stood and climb up again. "I really wasn't looking!"
Though this was no time to laugh, the timing of the events was too funny and Peach giggled. "I know, I trust you, I was thinking that I could accidentally poke eyes with my heel if my foot slipped."
Peach had not even noticed that she said she trusted Bowser, it came out very naturally, but he certainly noticed it. "Then you were trying to protect me again? I really should repay you with a kiss, I owe it to you."
"Let's focus on saving Pauline, okay?" Peach and Bowser continued their climb to the top of the unfinished building.
xoxox xox xoxox
In another world known as the Spirit World, the spirit of Mercy was watching the events unfold reflected in the waters of a small pond. She laughed at Bowser's predicament and how he tried to climb up the columns on the side of the building since the ladder wouldn't support him. Mercy was amused at how Peach kept insisting that they had to hurry. The spirit of Mercy nearly fell into the pond laughing so hard. "Koopas were not meant to climb."
"Somebody isn't doing her job I see," Rainbow, in her child form, stood unnoticed behind Mercy, observing the images reflected in the pond.
"Who me?" Mercy feigned surprise at the koopaling's obvious accusation. "I'm being merciful enough, besides this is too fun to watch!"
Rainbow sat down at the edge of the pond and watched the show along with Mercy.
xoxox xox xoxox
Peach and Bowser finally made it to the top of the building where Pauline was being held captive by a gorilla who was wearing a red tie. Peach recognized the gorilla right away. "Donkey! Let Pauline go!"
Donkey Kong made protest noises, as if saying that he would not let her go.
Pauline continued to struggle against the gorilla but it didn't work. She had stopped at the top of the unfinished building to get a better view of things, and rest her tail for a moment; then the gorilla captured her. She was certain she had seen that gorilla before, maybe it was even the same one who captured her years ago; but this time Mario wasn't there to save her. "You know this gorilla?"
"His name is Donkey Kong," Peach explained. "He sometimes comes to play spots with us. Usually he's pretty reasonable; I guess he just likes you too much to understand he has to let you go."
"Too bad because I don't like monkeys, not even as pets. You'd think that with these new powers I would be immune to being kidnapped," Pauline wagged her tail and felt herself start to float, but Donkey's arm around her waist prevented her from taking off.
"No one is immune to kidnapping, trust me," Peach glanced at Bowser.
"Don't worry; I'll always be here to rescue you every time Mario kidnaps you." There was simply no way to convince Bowser it was actually the other way around.
Peach decided to leave Bowser to his fantasy and try to reason with Donkey. "Donkey, you have to let Pauline go. If you really like her you won't hold her prisoner like this. If you let her go then she might visit you on her own free will and be your friend."
Donkey Kong shook his head and tried to communicate that he would not let Pauline go. But actions spoke louder than words, so with his free arm he lifted a barrel and threw it.
Peach ducked on time, but Bowser didn't, and the barrel shattered after hitting him. Needless to say the Koopa King was furious, his glare was deadly and there were sparks coming from his mouth. He did look kind of funny with that piece of wood stuck on one of his horns, but he was too threatening to inspire laughter. Bowser took a deep breath, ready to barbecue the ape.
"Bowser!" Peach stood between Bowser and Donkey, who still wouldn't let Pauline go. "You can't breathe fire on Pauline and Donkey!"
Bowser swallowed his own fireball and only smoke came from his mouth. "Right... Pauline..." Bowser wasn't happy about holding back, but he couldn't say no to Peach.
"Don't hurt Donkey either; I'm sure we can get him to calm down... This is just like you and me..." Peach hoped the comparison would make Bowser forgive Donkey.
But Bowser didn't think there was room for any comparison. "A monkey and a raccoon girl? But you're not a raccoon and I am not a monkey."
"That's not what I meant, Donkey is kidnapping Pauline, just like you kidnap me," Peach tried to explain.
"That's completely different," Bowser was still convinced he was rescuing Peach, she was better off with him anyway.
"I see the basic concept," Pauline reflected. "There is a one sided crush and a kidnapping as a result of it, except it might not be one sided for you after all... Besides the entire koopa and human thing seems to be generally okay in this world. I suppose that instead of dating within the species, the general rule should be /if it talks, it's okay to date it./"
Donkey protested to this, as if trying to say he could talk, but all Pauline, Peach and Bowser could hear were monkey sounds.
Peach considered the concept. "I suppose coherent speech would be a good place to draw the line."
"Peach and I are meant for each other, we're in love and we're married, that's everything anyone needs to know," Bowser nodded to himself.
A loud crash was heard, followed right away by an explosion. Several karts had a massive accident in the road bellow, but it looked like the drivers had retreated into their shells on time and came out of it unharmed. Peach's modified pink kart was in pieces among the wreckage. Even after cooling off a little, the rocket could not take the impact of another kart without exploding.
The koopalings argued among themselves; with the loudest voice being Wendy's and the one with the fastest speech was Morton. Ludwig slipped away from the group after spotting his father, Peach, Pauline and Donkey on top of the building under construction.
Ludwig made his way to the top of the building. Peach was trying to reason with Donkey, Pauline was squirming and trying to slip away from the gorilla, and Bowser was expressing what could be described as a monologue about his eternal love for Peach.
Peach sighed; she was starting to feel frustrated with Donkey. She was sure he understood her words, even if she could not understand him. Ludwig had just arrived and he was good at talking to people... well he was good at speaking elaborately and confusing people, but even so, Peach held on to the faint ray of hope that Ludwig would be able to help her reason with Donkey. "Ludwig could you help me talk Donkey into letting Pauline go?"
"I see this is quite the predicament, I will strive to accomplish Pauline's freedom from her captor." Ludwig wondered how he should explain things in simple words that a gorilla would understand. But he realized that Pauline was very uncomfortable and would most likely appreciate it if he would hurry up. "I do believe that such an eccentric union very well crosses the lines of what one may feel comfortable with. I believe that you should allow Pauline to be free. Perchance she might even chose to become your acquaintance should you not restrict her liberty. I am sure that you will find that such a pair is exceptionally irreconcilable, and it is best if you seek a living being with a greater proximity to your species and way of life with whom to share your existence."
Ludwig's speech continued and Bowser paused his monologue of Peach adoration because Ludwig was making him lose track of what he was saying, and he was running out of adjectives to describe his love for Peach. Pauline stopped struggling and simply stared at Ludwig, while Peach occasionally nodded in agreement. Ludwig's advice continued and his words became more elaborate as he used his extensive vocabulary in the most creative ways.
Donkey yelled in protest and released Pauline. The gorilla ran away holding his head, leaving everyone else perplexed. Although, it was hard to determine if they were surprised about Donkey Kong's sudden retreat, or if they were simply confused by Ludwig's speech.
"Thanks!" Pauline finally managed to say.
"You are most welcome," Ludwig had a feeling that he accomplished more of giving Donkey a headache than he did of reasoning with him; but as long as the main purpose was accomplished, such small details were not important.
"Sorry for the delay, everyone. I didn't think that landing on top of this building would get me into that much trouble. I guess I should have known; deja vu..." The situation was too similar to the past, and it sent Pauline in an emotional roller coaster. She remembered her time with Mario in the past and the day she was rescued for the first time. Pauline had told herself that even if she was reunited with Mario again, those days together had ended and were never to return.
"Don't worry, let's just concentrate in catching up with Daisy," Peach started heading down the building.
Peach, Ludwig and Bowser climbed all the way down to the road, and Pauline flew down. "Shut up!" Bowser yelled, and immediately silenced the bickering koopalings. They continued on their way moving as a group. They were much slower on foot, but even with the delay, they might still make it in time to intercept that giant frog's path if he was held up at the Forest Maze.
However, when they reached Rose Town, it was already too late. The locals informed Peach that a large frog carrying princess Daisy had passed through town being chased by the Mario brothers, were heading towards the pipes near Tad Pole Pond; and the group rushed in pursuit.
Once again, Peach, Pauline, Bowser and the koopalings arrived too late. But judging by the foot prints left in the swap area near the pipes, it was easy to find out where they had went. One by one Peach, Pauline, Bowser, Ludwig, Lemmy, Iggy, Roy, Wendy, Morton, Larry and Bowser Jr. jumped into the pipe that would take them to Wart's Water Park.
The group came out of the pipes at the expected destination. The main attraction of the water park consisted of a large pool full of ocean animals, surrounded by stadium style seats. Mario and Luigi were occupied fighting a giant squid, while Wart still held Daisy captive and croaked in a strange version of an evil laugh.
"Go play," Bowser knew that to the koopalings that would translate to /tare this place apart/, and it didn't take long for them to do it.
"My water park! Stop this at once or the princess is shark food!" Wart blew a whistle and a large shark jumped out of the pool like a dolphin. "Take a good look! No one can defeat my super shark!"
The shark approached the edge of the pool where Bowser and Peach were. "I think the shark looks a little cold."
Bowser caught Peach's hint and was happy to comply. "We can't have that. I'll have to warm up Mr. Shark before he catches a cold." Bowser took a deep breath and blew fire at the shark. The flames sent the shark retreating into the pool.
"We're done here too," Mario announced. The squid was knocked out with his tentacles tangled up.
"This can't be happening, my precious water park! I'm ruined!" Wart knew he had no escape. "Fine take her, but this isn't over I'll have my revenge!" Wart fled, leaving Daisy and the ruins of his water park behind.
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own the Mario games and characters. This was based on the first "Donkey Kong" game where you played as "Jumpman" (Mario) to rescue Pauline. I played it years ago on a console that was much older than me.
Log in to rate and review this story