Part One
He took a long sip from his drink and stared blankly out into the darkness. This restaurant had once been full of life and vibrant people--a hot spot in the city near Bowser's Castle. At this very moment though, the darkness was over-whelming to a point of almost envelopment. As he began to take another sip to take his mind off of the racing thoughts in his head, a door in the far corner of the restaurant squeaked open.
Like a bolt of lightning had just struck, every light in the restaurant came on.
"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Slam could not help but crack a smile at all the hubbub going on in the Pizza Palace. It was a common hangout for all of his friends and him on the weekends; fair enough to say, he was a regular at this place. The memories here were endless for him: where he met his best friend, where he had his first date, where he went to celebrate his enrollment into a specialized combat academy.
Slam shook off a quick shiver as he thought about ACAHB--Advanced Combat Academy for Hammer Bros. His parents were once-famous fighters for Bowser's army who had actually survived Mario's many onslaughts, so it only made sense for them to push him into the academy. Nonetheless, he was in no mood to think about his training.
More importantly, it was his best friend's big day. Although they were now equal at the age of fifteen years, the two had known each other for almost ten years at this point.
"Congratulations on the big one-five, Beo!" Slammer shouted overly enthusiastic at his approaching friend. (The yell was hardly noticeable over the roaring chit chat of the too many people stuffed inside the small pizza place.) Beo was a big guy who stood in stark contrast to Slam's small stature. While Slam was technically a Slammer Bro--a Hammer Bro specializing in heavy equipment and hand-to-hand combat--Beo was a very intimidating and strong Hammer Bro. Although Hammer Bro's were not specifically trained with any extra skills, Slam would by no means want to get in a fight with Beo.
"How's my little Napoleon doing?" Beo answered back with his crooked smile. He was a smart guy, even as a little kid. Slam decided that the best response to this snarky comment would be an eye roll since Beo was about to be swarmed with relatives and friends alike; the two had no time to get into a witty retort that they had become so fond of. Beo realized this as well and acknowledged Slam with a head nod as he withdrew back into the crowd of people who came to his surprise birthday party.
Although he knew Beo well, he could not say the same for everyone in his immediate sight. He thought about striking up a conversation with a nearby Koopa Troopa who was adorned with a turquoise-colored shell but decided against it. The two made awkward eye contact before Slam cracked a nervous smile and slipped out a back exit to get some fresh air.
Slam had never been a big fan of Bowser, but he could appreciate the location where Bowser set up his fortress. Pizza Palace's exit led right to a ridge that overlooked a gorgeous valley. Streaks of white danced on the vibrant green, turf-like state of the valley. Warp pipes were arranged in the shape of a star at the very bottom. If it was just for decoration, the warp pipes would seem like a huge waste of resources; however, Slam's father told him that all of those pipes used to be functional until Bowser had them all filled to the brim with sand (with no explanation of why he did so of course). Slam's curiosity overran his mind as he wondered why exactly Bowser would need to fill all of those big green pipes with sand. Surely, there must have been a pretty good reason...
"Hey, what are you doing back here?" questioned an unfamiliar voice behind him. As Slam turned around, he saw a face that he was certainly not expecting.
---
The shine of the turquoise shell was almost blinding as Slam turned to face his surprise acquaintance. The Slammer Bro didn't have an immediate answer to the question being presented to him and unintentionally gave the Koopa Troopa a blank stare.
"Err oh I didn't mean to be so harsh haha," the Koopa Troopa managed to sputter out in a desperate attempt to make the situation less awkward. He swiftly walked over to Slam and took a seat right next to him--an unexpected but welcome move to Slam.
The Koopa Troopa continued, "I knew I recognized you from somewhere." Slam held his breath, earnestly hoping that the following sentence from this new friend wouldn't involve his parents or family fame in any way, shape, or form. He had already had enough of that--and the turquoise-clad fellow could tell. "Yeah, I'm a year behind you at the academy! My name is Kooler, nice to meet you!"
Slam felt a wave of relief wash over him, "oh hey, nice to meet you too!" Subconsciously, is gaze kept returning back to the pipes at the bottom of the valley; he did not mean to be rude, but his mind was on fire with excitement and wonder. Kooler noticed this but didn't immediately comment on it because he didn't want to seem like he was calling out Slam. His actions were carefully calculated and planned, which stood in stark contrast to Slam's aura of childlike wonder that he kept omitting in their conversation.
"I'm not sure if you're supposed to know this, but we've seen a few videos of you out in the field, your precision and tact is pristine--top-notch if I'm being honest. The academy has me ranked near the top of my class and all of us are miles away from your level. Not that I'm trying to suck up to you-"
Slam's ears perked up and he forced a smile as soon as Kooler mentioned his work in the field. "Oh trust me, I appreciate the feedback." Slam had been hand-picked to fight in a couple of small scuffles in Bowser's front line. Most recruits were incredibly scared to partake in such an experience, but he had been trained to deal with much tougher opponents. A few Fighting Toads were effortless to take care of. Regardless of difficulty, Slam felt very ambivalent over the entire experience and it was something that he did not care to think about. Fighting the Toads almost seemed... wrong. It's not like he could confide in anyone about this; any talk of it would be treason and who knows what Bowser would do to him and his family.
Slam turned his attention to Kooler who had begun to gaze off into the distance after several moments of silence. "I'm so sorry, usually I'm not so spacey during a conversation," Slam began, "but I don't get many chances to look at this beautiful valley."
"Ahh, so we finally found his weakness," Kooler said as he cracked a foolish grin. "And those pipes are certainly captivating as well, I remember hearing about them for the first time."
They both looked at each other when the topic of the warp pipes came up. Slam liked the kid; he seemed like a nice guy who shared some of his similar interests. "I've got a few theories myself about what's in there," Slam commented as they both continued sitting carelessly on the ridge.
A large thud in the ground interrupted the flow of the conversation, like a peaceful river suddenly turning into a waterfall. Quickly, Slam slide and spun over to where some foreign object had hit the ground. Reaching a foot into the ground, he pulled out a hammer with the insignia of the Mushroom Kingdom Army embedded on it. Just as he looked up from examination of the hammer, he saw another one raining down right on his position. Instinctually, he swung the hammer in his hand quickly and made contact with the new weapon coming at him--sending it flying away. He looked at Kooler, who seemed like he was in shock.
"We need to go," Slam ordered, "now."
---
The two busted through the door with the intent of escape evident on their faces. Slam attempted to warn everyone in the pizzeria to clear out, but his warning was rudely interrupted by the sounds of hammers crashing against the back wall where both Koopas had originated from. Regardless of whether the party-goers heard Slam or not, they all realized that something terrible was occurring and that they needed to evacuate immediately.
Unfortunately for the attackers, the majority of Beo's friends were trained in military combat. After the restaurant was vacated, Slam, Beo, and all of the other fighters assembled a frontline across the street from the building they previously occupied. Mysteriously, the onslaught of blunt objects seemed to stop nearly as soon as everyone made it outside.
"It's a trap," Slam said to no one in particular. "They want us to go back inside." He knew that no one knew who exactly he was talking about when he said 'they,' but at this point he didn't really care. The training that had pushed his physical and emotion limits was exposing itself instinctually and not a single person in the crowd was going to question him at this point.
Except for Beo. "What are we lookin' at, bud?" Beo asked earnestly. At the time of the question, several scenarios were zipping through Slam's mind. Therefore, as an answer, he took a hold of the hammer that he grabbed moments before being hit, making sure the Mushroom Kingdom Army insignia was obnoxiously obvious. After being taken aback, Beo shot a glance at Slam, "What now?"
"I say we go in," a voice piped up nearby. Still focused, the voice didn't register in Slam's mind as everyone else turned toward the idea's owner--Kooler. Slowly, the crowd rose in agreement.
Typical, thought Slam. Those involved in Bowser's Reign were not likely to back off of a challenge. He found it particularly odd that Kooler would be the one to suggest this plan of attack though; the turquoise ally seemed much more analytical and careful than his headstrong strategy would suggest. To be fair, everyone's adrenaline was rushing at this point. While Slam was lost in thought, the crowd's slow rise to agreement soon became a roar and then a battle cry. Everything seemed to happen so fast after the crowd began to riot.
Slam was pushed forward and through the restaurant's doors as one of the leaders of the rebellion--albeit very against the plan in the first place. As always, Beo would be the trusty ally flanking on his right, with Kooler flanking any enemies on the left.
"It's an ambush," Slam yelled back as he charged into the positioned Mushroom Kingdom Army; he was up for a challenge. However, to his grave disappointment, he did not make it halfway across to his waiting enemies before everything went black.
