Holy shit, I'm not dead! Man, that was one long absence. But now I'm baaack.

Yes, I'm starting a new story. But I've been itching to write as of late, so here goes nothing.

All characters come from the wonderful minds that work at Nintendo.

The sky was blue that day, with the occasional cloud. A light wind blew fallen leaves around, which crunched when stepped on. Though nobody could hear it. The town was bustling, more so than usual. People bought more than their budgets allowed, yelled across the town square to their friends, and lugged heavy bags home, almost dead on their feet.

None of this concerned three friends, however. They were sitting in a secluded area on the castle grounds, talking about anything that came to mind, laughing and drinking tea. They were Mario, Luigi, and Peach.

"Nice day today," Luigi commented, smiling to a cloud, which smiled back. He had since gotten used to this, though it shocked him ten years ago when he first arrived here.

"I know, it's so warm for October." Princess Peach sipped her tea and looked around. "The Halloween Festival is coming up soon. What are you going to dress up as?"

Mario smiled mischievously. "Something scary. Y'know, like Dracula or a corpse."

"I'm going as a Yoshi," Luigi said, shrugging. "Scary isn't really my thing. What are you going to be?"

"I'm dressing as a witch," she replied. "Toadsworth will be following me around, though, so it might not be that fun."

"How could a party be no fun?" Mario asked, smiling. "Me and Luigi are going to pull some killer pranks, right? That'll be amusing."

"What? Pranks?" Luigi's expression changed to one of confusion.

Peach laughed. "It's going to be fun anyway. I should be going, there's going to be a whole load of preparation I have to be involved in." She frowned at all the work she had to do. "Oh well, I suppose it comes with my status. I'll see you guys at the festival."

Mario and Luigi walked home feeling relaxed and happy. Little did they know this was probably the only relaxed and happy moment left in their lives.

"I have a good feeling about this one."

"You always have a good feeling about these attacks."

"This time I know it."

"You always say that."

Bowser couldn't help but know that Kamak spoke the truth.

Many, many people had done him wrong in his life. But the top two people, the ones that stood out the most, were the two Mario brothers. No, just the older one. Mario. Oh, how that name brought up terrible memories, right from birth, and up to his, most likely, untimely death. All he wanted was happiness. And with happiness came the Mushroom Kingdom. Thousands flocked to its beautiful scenery, charming architecture, and clean air. Everything his own kingdom did not have. It was a wasteland, barren and fruitless, dusty. The citizens might have been skeletons, they were so starved. People begged on the street, fighting for a last breath of smokey air. And what did his family do to help it? Nothing! They just sat in their castle, perhaps the most depressing building in the whole of Dark Land. Made entirely of granite, torches lit the place, and lava pooled in the corners. Forgotten souls rotted in the dungeons, with barely any light to even see themselves wasting away.

The Mushroom Kingdom took all the resources, attracted the tourists, and had mined almost all the oil from Dark Land. He sought vengeance. He was going to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom and everyone in it. One by one. He would finally win, finally be the one to come out on top.

"Yes, but this time I mean it."

I am very, very sorry for the leangth of this chapter, but I couldn't think of another way to end it.

Cheerio.

~Azo