Super Mario Christmas

3. So long, Santa!

The cream landed in Luigi's eye. He wiped it quickly and surveyed the room; the cake had exploded, Peach was using Mario as a human shield, and the funny little Santa toad had lost its hat and beard.

Luigi looked closer. The Santa toad wasn't a toad at all. Where Luigi thought the toad's little black eyes were sitting, two nostrils now flared. Where the red Santa hat had previously sat, a green face now glared mischievously. Where the long white beard had hung from, an exposed beige snout now protruded. Bowser Junior looked straight at Luigi, clearly tracking his thought process. He cackled as Luigi's understanding dawned.

And if that wasn't bad enough, Luigi quickly realised that Boswer Junior and exploding cake were the least of their problems. The sound of the bob-omb going off inside the cake had masked the sound of Bullet Bill who had burst through the far wall, and was at that moment torpedoing (albeit very slowly) towards their table.

"Everybody move!" Luigi yelled, hitting the deck himself.

He watched as his friends scattered, throwing themselves to the floor. A crunching sound notified him to keep his head down while Bullet Bill demolished the whole dinner table and flying splinters showered Luigi, making it impossible for him to check the safety of his friends. 

Luigi raised his head as the sound of shattering wood subsided, signifying Bullet Bill's passing. As the dust cleared, Luigi did a quick check of the damage.

A muffled grunt behind him alerted Luigi that all concerns had not yet passed.

There, running towards the hole in the far wall, was Bowser Junior (still in his Santa suit), as well as Iggy, Roy and Morton Kooper. In their arms was a struggling Santa Claus, still covered in cream and fighting the brutish form of Roy who was attempting to gag him with his own beard as they carried him.

"MARIO!" Luigi and Peach screamed together.

Luigi turned to see her pointing as well, bringing Mario's attention to the crisis.

"Great pepperoni pizza poppers, the koopalings've got Santa!" he shrieked.

Luigi quickly raced after the escaping turtles, sensing Mario hot on his heels. As they leapt through the gaping hole in the wall of the castle, they paused in surprise.

A giant ship with large propellers hovered before them, and, although this wasn't the first ship in Bowser's fleet that the Mario Brothers had encountered, it was the most impressive. It was as if the Koopalings had modified a cruise ship; row upon row of windows ran from bow to stern, and the metal's sheen was closer to perfection than the clear silver reflective surface of Metal Mario.

The Koopalings were in the process of loading Santa on board when Luigi eventually came to after a poke in the ribs from Mario. The two streaked towards the air ship as the drawbridge was being raised.

"Forget it, boys, it's too late," Peach stated quietly from behind them.

Luigi took a deep breath.

"Help! MARIO!" a deep, grunting wail called from above deck.

Luigi's focus shifted to the distraught Santa. How had they gotten him through the ship so quickly, and why had they given up on gagging him?

A menacing shadow grew behind him.

"HO! HO! HO!" roared the King of the Kooperlings. "I have taken your precious Santa, and Christmas is officially over. Toads, when you decide you'd like me to save the greatest holiday of the year, just call for Kamek. Denounce Peach, make me your new king, and, as King of the Mushroom Kingdom, I'll make sure all is right in the world once more. You will find me a just and merciful ruler, I'm sure."

Bowser's eyes flicked from Mario to Luigi and back again. He chuckled deep. Luigi could feel the hot force of his breath from where he stood. 

It was quickly replaced by the rough wind fanned at him from the ship's propellers.

With Santa leaning over the side of the ship, still restrained by Morton and Roy but arms flailing above his head maniacally, the Kooper's cruiseliner raised into the air. 

The figures on board gradually disappeared from view. All bar Bowser Junior. 

The solitary figure leered at Luigi through a port hole. The Kooper's words from Snowland returned to him. Bowser Junior had been right. None of them were laughing now. 

A hysterical chuckle bubbled within him. And another. And another. Luigi dropped to the ground unable to control it.

I guess I am still laughing now, Luigi thought, aware of the other's staring at him.
Bowser had performed so many kidnappings in the past and he never managed to defend what he took. He watched as the cruiseliner stopped over Acorn Plains, he assumed to deliver Bowser's ultimatum.

The giant mutant turtle had never succeeded in the past, nor would he this Christmas.

Luigi continued to laugh.

Another thank you to Captain_Kit for this chapter's art work.