The Mushroom Kingdom Wars

Chapter 33

The air in Peach's Castle was thick with tension, but none radiated it more intensely than Donkey Kong. He stormed through the grand halls, his fists clenched tight, the muscles in his arms trembling as he barely held back the rage boiling inside him. His home, the Kong Kingdom, was in ruins, and the man who stood before him—Dr. Light—was the object of his fury.

“You shouldn’t have pulled me out of there!” Donkey Kong roared, slamming his fists into the stone wall, leaving deep cracks. His voice echoed through the castle, full of fury and pain. “My people needed me! I could’ve saved them! You should have left me there to fight!”

Dr. Light, normally calm under pressure, stood firm, though he carried a look of deep concern. He met Donkey Kong’s wild gaze, his voice steady but filled with sympathy. “Many of your people escaped, Donkey Kong,” he said, his tone soft but resolute. “But you… you would have been killed if I hadn’t teleported you away.”

Donkey Kong’s chest heaved, his breath ragged as he tried to push away the truth. He didn’t want to admit it, but deep down he knew Dr. Light was right. He had seen the devastation firsthand—Ganondorf’s forces were overwhelming, more powerful than anything he had ever faced. But that didn’t ease the agony of knowing his kingdom was destroyed, his people scattered, and his home left in ashes.

He turned away, fists clenched, a raw, painful roar echoing in his chest. His mind flashed back to the devastation—the fires consuming the trees, his people’s cries fading in the chaos, the weight of his failure pressing on his shoulders. He slammed his fist into the wall again, cracking stone as the images consumed him.

“Fine,” he growled, his voice quieter now, though no less determined. “But I’m not done. We need to save what’s left. I’ll make sure Ganondorf pays for what he’s done.” The fury in his tone remained, but it had found a sharper focus.

Dr. Light nodded, sensing that Donkey Kong’s fury had found a new purpose. “We will. But we need you here. The battle isn’t over yet.”

Across the room, Zelda knelt beside Link, her heart heavy as the Hylian healer worked desperately to keep him alive. The weight of her responsibilities threatened to crush her. Could she really lead them? Could she even save Link, their greatest hero? Her hands trembled as she brushed the hair from his forehead.

“Please, just hold on, Link,” she whispered, her voice cracking under the strain. “We need you. I need you… I can’t do this without you.”

The healer looked up, his face filled with regret. “We’re doing everything we can, Princess,” he said solemnly. “But without fairies to aid him, his only hope is a resurrection chamber in Hyrule.”

Zelda’s eyes widened in fear. “A resurrection chamber? But Hyrule has fallen, and we can’t risk sending anyone there now!” Her voice shook with desperation as she looked to the others for answers.

In the center of the room, Mega Man had been contemplating the upgraded Robot Masters. He stepped forward, the urgency in his movements drawing everyone’s attention. “Sorry to interrupt, but we have a bigger problem right now. I just encountered the upgraded Robot Masters. They’re indestructible and devastating. If we don’t figure out how to fight them, we’ll lose everything.”

Knuckles, his hands balled into fists, looked ready to fight anything that came his way. “We’ve dealt with strong machines before,” he said, his voice rough. “I can punch my way through anything!”

Tails shook his head, his brow furrowed in concern. “This is different, Knuckles. These machines aren’t just strong—they’re designed to withstand everything we throw at them. We need a strategy, something that goes beyond brute force.”