A New Purr-spective (Mario Bros AU)

A Familiar Start With an Unusual Turn

"Bwahahaha! Give up, Mario. You'll never beat me with my new powers!"
Bowser laughed, his usual smug tone in his voice as he stared Mario down, the plumber wincing from his new injury as he leaned slightly on his knee. Mario scowled at the koopa, glancing to where Princess Peach was currently being held in a cage. When was Bowser going to learn?

"I'm-a just getting started. Let the Princess go!" Mario retorted, forcing himself to stand up properly again, despite the pain he felt being much sharper than his normal injuries from the koopa King. His priority was rescuing Peach, who was watching him worriedly from her cage. Bowser just laughed again at his defiance. "Now why would I do that, when I have both of you exactly where I want you?" He asked with his gruff voice, not exactly expecting an answer. His clawed hand started glowing with energy. He was up to something again.

Mario narrowed his gaze, huffing as he shifted a little into a fighting stance again. "Guess we're doing this the hard way..." he muttered to himself with a sigh as Bowser continued to charge something. Mario stood for a moment before rushing in, Peach calling out worriedly to him. She could feel something bad was going to happen, she just didn't know what. As Mario started getting close, he flinched and stumbled as a burst of pain shot through him from his injury, but he kept moving, managing to dodge Kamek's shots that were supposed to slow him down and give Bowser time for his plan. As Mario got close, he skidded out of the way of one of Kamek's attack, being forced to stop so he didn't fall over as he panted and leaned heavily on his knees, his body aching from pain. This was weird. Sure, Mario had trouble with Bowser sometimes, but he couldn't recall ever having this much trouble just getting up to him (outside of that fight over Cap Kingdom of course, but that one was a particularly tricky one with how little space he'd had). As he was trying to catch his breath, he heard Bowser laugh again, this one a bit more serious. "Well, it's been fun. But now it's time we finally end this charade. Goodnight, Mario." Mario barely had time to force his head up as Bowser shot a blinding ball of energy in his direction, causing his eyes to widen. He braced himself, unable to move out of the way, as Peach yelled out for him fearfully.

Before the blast could hit him however, Mario heard quick footfalls from the side. He was suddenly shoved out of the way, hitting the ground roughly with a groan of pain, but that wasn't what got Mario's attention. No, it was the higher pitched scream that came from where he had been stood just a moment ago. He knew that scream. Mario's eyes shot wide open as he snapped his gaze towards the spot he had been standing, his pupils becoming pinpricks as he saw his brother writhing in pain, surrounded by the energy blast Bowser had shot as it held him suspended in the air. Adrenaline kicked in as Mario rushed to his feet, trying to run over to his brother, to pull him free or something.
"L-Luigi-!" Mario tried to call out, Luigi's face twisted in pure pain as his limbs struggled to move against the energy, all twisted in concerning angles, but as Mario got close, the blast expanded exponentially. It hit Mario quickly, the force knocking him backwards and into a walk with a harsh crack sound, the light blinding everyone in the room as Mario was knocked away and slumped against the wall in a daze.

"MARIO! LUIGI!" Peach yelled desperately to the bros, scared for them both. Mario was trying to focus his gaze, attempting to push himself up while dazed as he tried to spot his brother in the mess of rubble the blast had caused, but he couldn't stand up, just falling back against the wall as blood dripped from his head a little. Mario's vision soon grew fuzzier before he passed out against that wall, only able to mutter one thing in a pained and worried voice.
"L-Lu..."
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Well, here's to the start of another story! Maybe this time I'll finish one (but I probably won't) either way, I hope you enjoy whatever this ends up being, and however far I get with this or any other story, I do hope they were entertaining to read in some way. (Even if it's the so bad it's good kind).

Have a great day/night guys, gals and non-binary pals! I'll see you next update. (Hopefully)
~Lucky