Super Mario Bros. Z: "Negative Zone"

[The Crow]

Wrote this as my entry into the Creation Glory contest during this past month's spinoff festival. It somehow won, so I feel confident enough to keep it going and seeing it to the end. Currently have this planned as only a miniseries. Inspired by one of the first fan projects I ever watched like ten-some years ago that had me so hyped as a 13-year old, here's my own lil take on the SMBZ story. Took some of my own liberties making this in order to make it at least somewhat my own, I didn't want to take too much from Alvin Earthworm's original series. Those familiar will notice it quickly. I'm sure the dedicated DBZ fans will know what I'm basing this off of. And no, it's not animated or anything, straight up written out, so I doubt it'll be as good action-wise. Hope everything else turns out good, tho.

 

 

Part 1: The Krèm De La Krėm

Our story opens up to Donkey Kong Island, the sprawling tropical island home to the Kong family, and the site of yet another treacherous scheme by some of their old rivals. We dive deeper into the confines of Kongo Jungle to Barrel Cannon Canyon, where a gorup of fledgling Kremlings are seen trying to smuggle the entirety of Donkey Kong's banana hoard back to their temporary base of operations, Very Gnawty's former lair, by way of the locally placed barrel cannons. The heist team consisted of five Krmelings in total, four males and only one female. Their apparent leader stalls their transportation for a moment to address his minions.

General Klump: Lady and gentlemen of the newly reconstructed Kremling Army, it is my utmost duty, as your newly minted five star general, that I-

Kludge: Excuse me, newly minted five stars? The only reason you have those four extra stars is cuz there's no one else above you anymore to truly earn em to ya!

General Klump: Yes, that may be, but it takes a truly capable and strategic military mind to reorganize and rebuild what was left of King K. Rool's reign. So I did the only thing his majesty would have done if he were here, and that would be to shower me with reverence and admiration for a job well done!

Kalypso: A job well done? This is barely even a quarter of the hoard you managed to take the first time, Sergeant! And you call this a Kremling "Army"? This is literally the size  of what a Kremling "Krew" would be, while the Kremling Krew that came before completely outnumbered us 10 to 1.

General Klump: ENOUGH UNDERMINING! I was going to shower you all with equal amounts of reverence and admiration, but now it seems very apparent just what kind of soldiers I have at my disposal! It's a lack of faith like this that led to King K. Rool leaving us all high and dry like that, so you can be sure that I will make sure to wring some faith back into you! Maybe once that faith gets restored, his highness will come back to us. But until that day inevitably arrives, y'all best put your faith in me! That's a direct order!

Krusha: Long live General Klump!

A Kremling, Kopter, suddenly descended down Right in the middle of all their bickering to bring them a grave update on their situation.

Kopter: General, I just caught of visual of the Kongs mounting their retaliation! They're about 50 clicks away from our current position and they're gaining on us at breakneck speeds. What's your recommended course of action, sir?

Kopter begins clicking his mouth nervously as the others raise their concerns.

Kludge: This is what we get for just sending in Very Gnawty as a diversion. He gets beat way too easily! 

Kalypso: I say we just salvage however much we can pocket and hightail it outta here. A small take like this is nothing worth sticking around to get beat up over! Then we can all regroup, perhaps increase our numbers a smidge, and come back at them with more force.

General Klump: Madam Kalypso, with all due respect, I didn't bring us all out here to just take whatever we can carry in our pockets, especially when I don't even have pockets! We're gonna take back everything that we took, even if it means that we have to stick to our guns and fight for what is rightfully ours to take, until the last Kremling falls!

Kalypso: Why are we doing this? Why are putting our lives on the line all for a bunch of bananas? I mean, if they were all the golden ones, sure, I'd be the first in line to take em, but  these are just the regular bananas you can get at a store or from a tree on an island full of them. Why these bananas in particular?!

General Klump: It's all what the king wanted! And what the king wanted, he got it! All except for these elusive morsels. It was his life's work, to take these bananas away from the Kongs, as well as the life's work of the king that came before him and so on and so forth. As Kremlings, it is OUR life's work to serve the king! It's in our programming. Any Kremling who strays away from our design has no right to call him or herself a Kremling should they ever refuse.

Krusha wipes off his face.

Krusha: Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?

Kludge: We derive from crocodiles, we can't make tears!

Kalypso had already taken what she could and barreled out of there while she could, leaving the other four to fend for themselves.

General Klump: COWARD! 

Right as Kopter nervously clicks his mouth for the 50th time, a rhinoceros comes charging through the thick jungle brush at them at full force. All four of them manage to jump out of the way, but the rhino knocks their cart full of bananas away and keeps guard over it.

General Klump: Kopter, you said they were 50 klicks away!

Kopter: I did say they were 50 clicks away! Didn't you hear me giving you all the countdown?

General Klump: I thought you meant kilometers, boy!

Suddenly, Donkey Kong came out of the jungle swinging, landing a drop kick onto Krusha. The force of the kick sends him flying into Rambi the rhinoceros, who gores him back towards Donkey's direction. Donkey then catches Krusha with a Gorilla Grab and head butts the Kremling commando right into the ground, firmly planting him in the dirt all the way up to his shoulders.

Krusha: General, I've been butted and I can't get up!

General Klump: Krusha!!

Donkey Kong: The Kremlings? And I thought this really was all the Gnawtys' doing!

Kludge: Just try and do that to me!

A beam of light suddenly shines down from the sky over Kludge, carrying him away from the fight and up into the air against his will.

Kludge: No! The fight isn't over, IT DIDN'T EVEN BEGIIIIIN-

Diddy Kong somersaults from behind the cover of the nearby trees and throws a banana at General Klump, who ducks it in time.

General Klump: Ha! Miss- OW!

The banana boomeranged back and struck Klump in the back of the head, stunning him.

Diddy: Come on, DK! That would be an insult to Gnawties everywhere.

Klump leaves himself open long enough for DK to barrel roll into him, sending the general flying, but he's caught in midair by Kopter, saving the general from suffering further damage.

Donkey: You know Diddy, this is exactly the kind of pre workout warm up I need if I want to grow strong enough to wipe the floor with that plumber the next time our series decides to cross over.

Diddy: The lack of focus on our series compared to his has really got us goin' soft!

General Klump: W-What? You're tellin' me that you, the champion and savior of Kong Island, has lost to plumber? Of all people?!

General Klump has himself a hearty laugh at DK's expense.

General Klump: A PLUMBER! You can't possibly write something that rich! What, did you two have a dispute over a clogged toilet from eating all those bananas?!

Donkey Kong: Well if a plumber can accomplish that much, what does that say about you, your king, and your entire crew?

Klump quickly shuts his mouth and let's his anger set in.

General Klump: How dare you, you damn dirty ape?! You can speak ill of me and my people all you want

Krusha: YEAH- uh, what?

General Klump: But don't you dare slander the good name of King K. Rool! Through my endeavors, he will be back and he will be back on top! Unhand me!

Klump breaks away from the grip of Kopter's clawed feet.

General Klump: I'll take ya on!

Klump sizes up DK, trying to find find a sweet spot to sink his teeth into, but he suddenly shifts his attention towards Diddy and charges at him instead. Startled, DK looks to intervene, but Kopter decides to intervene on Klump's behalf, keeping the king of swing busy while Klump catches Diddy by surprise. Diddy frantically responds by jumping up and onto Klump's head, but Klump's helmet shields him from the brunt of the blow, instead causing Diddy to ricochet into the air. Klump manages to grab the young kong by the tail before he could get too high and pulls Diddy right into a left hook. Klump then slams Diddy to the ground by the tail and smashes his boot against Diddy's body. The general applies extreme pressure against the young ape's body all while still holding his tail. Klump begins to yank it upwards, trying to tear it right off.

General Klump: You know, this reminds me of another time that I fought a damn dirty ape! Funky, I think it was. And he sure smelled funky too! I think he might actually be one of them skunk apes you hear so much about in the glades!

Krusha: You can do it, Klump! Rip his freakin' tail off!

Endearing great pain, Diddy cries out to his uncle and mentor.

Diddy: Auughh! DK!!

Kopter takes the propeller off of his helmet and throws it at DK like a shuriken. DK manages to dodge it only to be met with more resistance from Kopter, who comes at him brandishing propeller blades in each hand like dual swords. Donkey manages to dodge a few slashes, then he begins fighting them off with his bare hands. Kopter jumps into the air and tries bringing his right blade down on DK vertically, but DK catches it in his hand and refuses to let go. Kopter now takes his left blade and takes it to DK's midsection horizontally, but the ape manages catch that too. With both blades firmly in his hands and with Kopter also refusing to disarm himself, DK proceeds to head butt the Kremling into submission.

The scene turns over to Kalypso, who is still on the course that the barrel cannons are taking her. She is brought to an abrupt halt mid-flight when she gets caught in the air by three birds, a jay, a hawk and a crow respectively.

Kalypso: What the- Get off me!

Her attackers pull away at her limbs in opposite directions, violently stretching her out before diving bombing her down onto the ground below, the force of which causing a slight crate to form below from the impact. A large, imposing figure wearing a hat then lands right on top of her from the tree tops with all of their weight. Kalypso let's out a yelp as the figure grabs her by the snout and pulls her face in.

???: I believe you have some things that belong to me.

Kalypso let's out a shriek as we return to DK, who claps his hands over Kopter's head with great force. Shockwaves are sent all throughout his body as he looks to be collapsing from within. Kopter drops to the ground motionless. Meanwhile, Diddy pulls out his peanut popgun and surprises General Klump with a shot right in the face. Klump screams in pain, being forced to grab his face as he staggers away .

General Klump: YOU MISERABLE! DIRTY LITTLE!

Diddy monkey flips onto Klump and quickly goes to town, pummeling his head with everything he's got.

Donkey Kong: Diddy, clear away!

After Diddy pummels Klump away and heads off to a safe distance, DK throws a TNT barrel at the Kremling general, detonating on impact. The blast sends Klump flying off into the distance, landing somewhere in the vicinity of the Jungle Japes. DK and Diddy congratulate each other on a banana hoard recovery well done.

They proceed to secure the cart full of bananas behind Rambi for him to pull on the return trip back home. Just a couple seconds into their trek, they are all laid siege upon by a barrage of bullet seeds. The sharp, piercing pain sends Rambi into a frenzy as Diddy and DK both try to regain control of the situation. The same three birds who attacked Kalypso circled around the trio overhead like a flock of vultures. The jay and hawk comes swooping down and they both grab DK by his arms and pull him up with them into the air. Diddy pulls out his popgun and jet pack to provide some aerial support, but the raven drops an explosive egg right on top of him right as he took began to take off and it continues to keep him grounded by popping off more rounds bullet seed.

The jay and hawk pull away at DK now, who's superior strength is making it hard for them to really stretch him out. He finally wrestles away from their clutches and engages both of them in midair. He lands a couple of hits but gravity gets the better of his strategy and he begins to plummet to the ground. The jay and hawk both keep their distance, taking time to calculate and nail some well placed Pecks midair. DK continues to resist them, but the hawk catches him by surprise with a fire blast out of nowhere, burning DK. This allows the jay to Drill Peck Donkey Kong right into a cliff side before the hawk chucks itself at him as well with a Drill Peck of its own, driving Donkey even further into the cliff. Meanwhile, Rambi charges in to assist Diddy with the raven, but the bird easily avoids the rhino's advances, but this distraction gives Diddy the opportunity to get one shot with his peanut popgun in that sends the raven spiraling down. The jay swoops in and freezes Rambi in place with multiple ice blasts.

Diddy: Rambi!

Diddy fires up his jetpack to engage the jay, but the hawk downs him with a fire blast from behind, instantly destroying his jetpack and sending Diddy crashing to the dirt defeated.

The raven recuperates and looks to deal the the finishing blow to Diddy with a well placed eggsplosive, but Donkey Kong comes barreling in at all three of them with a Spinning Kong, successfully fighting the, all off of Diddy.

Donkey Kong: How about picking on somebody your own size!

Raven: Well, he is more our size.

Hawk: A lot more than you are, at least.

Donkey Kong: My point still stands!

They all lunge at DK with Acrobatics. DK engages all three of them at once, blow for blow at breakneck speeds. A poisonous mushroom is suddenly thrown into the mix from out of nowhere and it lands on DK, who begins to power down and shrink from its effects. The raven then changes things up with a Wing Attack, landing it on DK. The jay and hawk lay in some hits of their own, taking the wind right out the island protector before the jay sends DK flying with a Gust. The hawk charges up and focuses its energy before hitting DK full force with a Brave Bird maneuver that sends him straight into a rock formation in the Monkey Mountains. The three birds swarm around, sizing DK up for one final move. Donkey regains consciousness long enough to notice the hat-wearing figure from earlier looming over and directing the birds from a nearby mountain top.

Donkey Kong: ...I'll find you...

The three birds charge up their respective fire ball, ice ball and bullet seed before firing away at Donkey Kong simultaneously. The resulting explosion takes a huge chunk out of the mountain that DK was smacked in. Smoke, frost and debris begin to envelope the mountains. The silhouetted figure removes their hat and presses it against their chest, as if paying their respects. They then take a moment to disrespectfully spit in the direction where Donkey fell.

???: At last, the pretenders have fallen. And now, only the originals remain.

The scene returns back to an unconscious Diddy Kong, who is stirring around in the dirt he was left in. A figure emerges from the nearby jungle brush and slowly makes their way over to him.

General Klump: Y-You...you foiled my-my plan. Per...haps now, King K. Rool will finally be satisfied...with this...

Klump pulls out a combat knife and takes it to Diddy's tail, but he gets knocked out could from behind. Klump collapses to the ground revealing that it was Cranky Kong who made the save, cracking the general in the head with his walking stick. Cranky checks up on Diddy before surveying the damage done at Monkey Mountain.

Cranky Kong: Can't say that I really can't believe what I see. You kids these days are too soft! A couple of two bit "heroes" such as yourselves would never last two minutes in a REAL 8-bit game. But those birds, they seemed oddly familiar...and that hatted fella...Mario couldn't possibly have the guts to mount such a vicious, underhanded assault on my territory without provocation? He wouldn't!

Cranky's usual fourth wall-breaking crankiness becomes overcome in a veil of genuine dread.

Cranky: No. It can't be...

[Rebel the Wolfgirl]

No wonder this won. Pretty nice.