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Changing of the Guard

“Bwahahaha!” Bowser roared as he stomped into his castle, each footstep sending shockwaves through the floor. Slung across his shoulder was a burlap sack, and in that sack was the struggling form of Mario himself.

“Let me go! Let me out of here!” shouted the red-clad plumber, but it was no use. He had been caught off-guard - instead of his arch-nemesis targeting the princess, Bowser had gone for him.

The dragon-turtle gave an evil smirk, although Mario couldn’t see it. “Oh, just you wait…” he muttered. “I have big plans for you.”

Bowser descended down into the castle’s dungeons, where he unceremoniously dumped Mario into a filthy cell, locking the door behind him. His top Magikoopa, Kamek, chose that moment to enter the room. “My lord, it is ready,” the wizard said solemnly.

The evil king let out a sinister laugh. “Bwahaha! Excellent!” He pointed at his prisoner. “Feel free to begin with this one whenever you want.”

Mario banged on the iron bars of his prison. “Begin what on me?” he yelled to Bowser, who was already retreating back up from the dungeons. “You’ll never get away with this! My friends, they'll find me! They won’t rest until they—”

The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom suddenly found himself unable to complete his sentence - or to move at all. He was encased in a beam of odd purple light, which was emanating from Kamek’s wand. “That’s quite enough of that, thank you very much,” the wizard said, waving his staff and causing Mario’s inert body to begin levitating. “Now,” he said, holding up the wand once more, “let’s see what we can do about getting you to calm down.”

The wand began flashing a multitude of different colors, capturing Mario’s attention. “Now,” Kamek said with a barely-disguised sneer in his voice, “try to look away.” The plumber mentally scoffed- how hard could it be? However, he quickly realized that no matter how hard he tried, he was frozen in place. All he could do was look at the flashing wand.

Panic began to set into the plumber’s mind, although oddly enough, the feeling was beginning to fade. In the background, Mario could just barely make out Kamek smirking. He knew that he should have reason to worry about that, but at the same time he didn’t want to think about that. His gaze was becoming increasingly locked onto the flashing wand. So colorful… So pretty… His mind was muddying; his breaths slowing as he allowed himself to relax. Soon there was nothing left in the plumber’s mind but colors and calmness.

Kamek smiled predatorily. The great Mario was completely powerless against him, and now… he could mold him to his will. He began to speak.

“The words I say to you right now will be naught but a fleeting dream to you… you will not recall a word I will have said to you in this state.”

“However, everything I tell you in this state is your truth; the truth. It has always been your reality and will always be your reality.”

“Now, I’m about to give you a trigger. Whenever I say the phrase, ‘Retreat into the depths of the mind,’ you will instantly slip back into this state, no matter what you were doing at the moment.”

“This time, I won’t do much. I will merely plant a seed in the soil of your mind. But eventually, it will blossom, and its roots will spread throughout your brain.”

“Let’s begin.”

“You have always admired Koopas, with their yellow scales and hard shells. Secretly, you’ve even harbored thoughts of becoming one.”

“Slowly, my friend… oh-so-slowly, these dreams will become reality.”

“Now… when I snap my fingers… you will remain asleep for the next hour or so. Though you may not remember it, my words have always been true for you. Now… wake up!”

Mario awoke with a start, shaking the last vestiges of grogginess from his head. He remembered being thrown into Bowser’s dungeon, but he couldn’t recall anything after that. He shrugged it off. “Must’ve fallen asleep,” he muttered to himself. He briefly wondered when his friends would find him. Hopefully they wouldn’t cause too much collateral damage, at least not to Bowser’s Koopas. He’d always had a soft spot for the little guys, and occasionally he’d even wondered what it would be like to be one.

Enough of that, Mario thought to himself. He was confident his allies would come, and when they did, he had to be ready. So deep were his preparations that he failed to notice the small, yellow scale forming on the bottom of his right foot.

. . . - - - . . .

The next day, Mario woke up to Kamek banging on the bars of his cell. “Get up, my friend,” the wizard shouted with a sickly-sweet smile. “We’ve a long day ahead of us!” With a flick of his wand, Kamek unlocked the cell - only to immediately cuff his hands. “Lord Bowser is expecting you.”

The imprisoned plumber was led through a labyrinthine network of dim corridors, the only lighting being the occasional flickering torch. Finally, though, they reached their destination. In stark contrast to the rest of the castle, the room they arrived him was nowhere short of gargantuan. The majority of the area was filled to the brim with what seemed to be some sort of demented obstacle course. In the center of it all, of course, was the Koopa King himself.

“Ah, Mario!” Bowser greeted, wearing an evil smirk on his face. “Impressed with the scenery? I would say that I had it designed especially for you, but this is actually just where I do basic training for all my minions. And now, it’s also where you’re going to spend the majority of your time from now on.”

Mario didn’t respond, only giving Bowser a defiant glare. The king recoiled in mock outrage. “Such disobedience!” He leaned in until his snout was just touching Mario’s nose. “Don’t worry, though. We’ll fix that soon enough.”

Kamek took that moment to join the conversation. “Indeed we shall, my lord. Before we begin, however, I would like for our prisoner to retreat into the depths of the mind.”

Mario instantly went slack-jawed, his mind turning into nothing but a blurring mosaic of flashing colors.

“I want to you to remember one thing, my friend: you must never defy the king. Anytime Bowser gives you an order, you must immediately do what he says.”

“Of course, you probably won’t like it at first. But try as you might, you won’t be able to help yourself. Who knows? Maybe eventually, you’ll find that there’s something enjoyable about it all.”

“Speaking of enjoyable, you probably won’t find this obstacle course very fun. But you will try your hardest on it, no matter what.”

“And slowly, oh-so-slowly, you’ll begin to see what it’s like to be one of Bowser’s troops… both in body and in mind.”

“Now… wake up!”

Mario blinked. What was he doing? He took notice of Bowser and Kamek in front of him, and suddenly he remembered.

“Well, what are you waiting for, Mario?” Bowser exclaimed. “Go and get your butt onto that obstacle course!”

Mario grumbled, but he found himself jogging towards the first part of the course. If he was going to be their prisoner, he might as well go along with what they told him… it wasn’t like he had any other choice.

The challenge was absolutely grueling, but Mario took it on to the best of his ability. He had to be ready if he ever was to escape, and not to mention, he was not going to be embarrassed in front of his arch-rival. Speaking of which, he and Kamek were just standing there, watching him. It was infuriating, which just made the plumber even more motivated to finish the course.

The only time he paused was in order to scratch at a rather persistent itch on the bottom of his right foot.

After an indiscernible amount of time, Kamek decided to return Mario to his cell - a gesture which he was begrudgingly thankful for. He could swear that he could feel himself thinning out, especially in his arms and legs, and he had never been so sore in his life.

Although… oddly enough, it felt like the opposite was happening to Mario’s feet - instead of that strange slimming sensation, it seemed as though they were almost thickening. The plumber, however, attributed it to the itch he’d been feeling earlier - sometime during the day, it had somehow spread to his left foot. It would probably go away in the morning, Mario reasoned before falling into a deep slumber.

. . . - - - . . .

As the plumber slept, the changes continued throughout his body. One centimeter at a time, Mario’s skin was being converted into hard, yellow scales. His second and third toes merged together, as did his two littlest toes. His feet both became flatter and thicker, although they still fit comfortably in his shoes. As if satisfied with their work, the scales moved on, consuming everything in their path…

All the while, Mario snored away, unaware.

. . . - - - . . .

The following morning, Mario formulated a plan. If I play along with whatever Bowser’s trying to accomplish, then I’ll surely gain his trust eventually, he thought. Once that happens, I’ll make a break for it. He scratched at his leg absentmindedly. The itch from the day before had moved up - his shins were affected, but his feet had never felt better. He briefly considered rolling up his pant leg to see what was causing the itch, but before he could, Bowser stomped into the dungeon.

“Up and at ‘em, soldier!” Bowser commanded, prompting Mario to rise up immediately. “It’s back to the gym with you!” He opened the door. “Now get moving!”

“Yes, sir!” Mario said automatically in return. If there was any time to put his plan into action, it was then.

After navigating the labyrinthine halls once more, Mario arrived at the course. This time, Kamek was there, waiting for him. “Ah, right on time,” the Magikoopa commented. “Now, today, I’ve put a special enchantment on the course, so you might experience some… effects while you’re on it. Not only that, but I’ve decided that from now on, I’m going to put on footage of Bowser doing the course… to motivate you.” He drew Mario’s attention to a large monitor on the wall. “Now, get to it!”

Mario complied instantly, jumping up to challenge the first part of the course. Internally, he scoffed at Kamek’s idea. He’d beaten Bowser a thousand times, so if anything, he should do better than the Koopa King! This would be a piece of cake.

Six painful hours later, and Mario was beginning to reconsider his previous assessment. He was tired beyond belief, but Bowser in the footage just kept on going, showing no signs of exhaustion. Deep down, the plumber felt a twinge of admiration for the dragon-turtle. The way he handled the course was so ferocious, and yet so… elegant! Meanwhile, Mario’s muscles were throbbing painfully at the thought of going on. Regardless, the plumber grit his teeth and continued.

Although it went unnoticed by him, Mario’s muscles slowly began to calm themselves. However, some of them did a lot more than that. In his arms and legs, the muscles began to compact, becoming denser and denser. His skin soon followed, making his appendages much thinner - but no less powerful. On Mario’s legs, the scales began moving twice as fast, eventually covering his entire lower half in sunny yellow.

On the ground, Kamek watched as his experiment bore fruit. Mario’s mind was shifting; it was unknowingly allowing itself to change allegiances. He grinned. Soon the changes would be complete, and the plumber would be none the wiser. It was only a matter of time.

. . . - - - . . .

The scales eagerly ate up Mario’s skin, slowly but surely changing him into something else entirely. Across the front of his torso, a pale yellow carapace began to replace his human attributes. On his back, the skin pushed outward, hardening and turning a rich green. At the same time, his spine slowly began to extend downward, the scales eagerly following until a full tail was present.

Mario remained in a deep sleep as his body changed right in front of him.

. . . - - - . . .

When Mario awoke, the first thought he had was that his back was killing him. It felt like someone had put a giant weight on it. However, once again, he didn’t get much time to think about it before Bowser came down to his cell once more.

Mario looked at his old rival with newfound respect. And so when they repeated their words from the morning prior, if Mario was just a tad more genuine than before, he turned a blind eye. Or perhaps he just didn't notice at all.

In the obstacle room, the large screen was already playing footage of Bowser doing the course. This time, however, he wasn’t alone. Several Koopatrols - elite Koopa guards - trailed behind their king, each of them just as capable as he was. Kamek approached Mario as he entered. “Seeing as you have apparently failed to live up to the standards set by our king,” he said, “I have decided to give you another motivating influence. Hopefully you can at least match an ordinary Koopatrol in skill.”

Mario sighed, but at the same time, he actually agreed with what the wizard was saying. He did want to be better, and oddly enough, he was beginning to compare himself to Bowser in some respects. Not only that… but he was beginning to idolize him, which thoroughly sickened the part of him that wasn’t enthralled by the turtle’s capabilities. But, he reasoned, this was actually a blessing in disguise. The more real his feelings seemed to be, the easier it would be to escape. He decided to ignore the portion of him that didn’t want to escape.

Unfortunately for him, those feelings were becoming stronger than ever - enveloping his mind as the scales enveloped his body. As Mario turned his attention to the footage on the screen, his arms were slimming even more, preparing themselves for the onslaught of scales. Over the course of the day, the humanity was slowly leeched out of him. His third and fourth fingers merged, leaving him a finger short on each hand. His nails were converted to claws, until his fingers appeared sharp.

Meanwhile, his back was undergoing even more changes. The rich green material began to crack, until it was not one solid piece, but rather several large, hexagonal segments. His back pushed out even more, until Mario's overalls could barely hold it in. If Mario was paying attention at that moment, he would have felt his transformed torso completely detach itself from his body, until it was a full-fledged shell. Now, his only human features remained in his face.

Mario, of course, didn’t notice any of this, as focused as he was on the obstacle course. Nor did he notice as his thoughts of rebellion began to fade from his mind, being replaced by a desire to be just as capable as any one of Bowser’s troops. It was as if his brain was completely fogged over as he ascended higher and higher on the course.

The only thing that was able to cut through the haze was Bowser himself. “Soldier,” he called out, “get down here!”

"Yes, sir!" Mario replied without a trace of deception or hesitation in his voice. Mentally, he briefly frowned. Wasn’t Bowser his enemy? But he dismissed those thoughts as Bowser spoke up once more.

“You've done well today, soldier.” The trainee frowned once more as the scales crept up his neck, thinning it before moving onto his face. Why wasn’t he being called by his actual name? Come to think of it, what was his name?

“You’ve really improved since you first arrived here.” Wait, when had he arrived at the castle? He could barely recall what he had even been doing before he’d began his training. As he stroked his chin thoughtfully, his face slowly began to morph. His mustache fell out one hair at a time, leaving a clean-shaven, scaled face. His mouth slowly became a beak, and his nose slowly sunk into his skin, leaving nothing but nostrils. As his hair drifted to the ground in brown clumps, his eyes shifted upwards, knocking off his hat.

“That’s why I’m offering you an official position in my army.” Immediately, the Koopa’s brain felt a wide variety of emotions. Although extraordinary pride and joy was at the forefront of his mind, he couldn’t help but feel confused. He could have sworn that he fought for the Mushroom Kingdom… but that was just silly, he decided. For as long as he could remember, he had idolized the Koopa King’s army. To be a part of it was the greatest honor one like him could possibly receive.

He grinned as his eyes changed from a warm blue to a striking yellow. “I accept, milord.” As he bowed down before his king, his old clothes finally ripped, falling off of his body in shreds of fabric. The Koopa didn’t even notice as he got up from his position.

Bowser also grinned, but for a different reason. “Excellent. We’ll make it official tomorrow morning. For now, allow me to show you to your new quarters.”

. . . - - - . . .

The Koopa stood in front of Bowser's throne, his king looming over him. Around him flitted several lesser attendants. Finally, his moment came. A Goomba approached him carrying a velvet pillow, and on that pillow laid several shiny pieces of armor. The Koopa felt a brief twinge of doubt at what he was doing. He couldn’t even remember his name.

It’s Ma- That’s not important right now.

He put on the boots, enjoying the feeling of cold, hard iron on his scales.

What’s Wait- important…

The gloves came next, swallowing his hands whole.

…is serving the Stop- king.

His body armor arrived after that, coming over his shell perfectly. He caught a glimpse of the spikes that decorated the back, and smiled viciously.

NO-

Finally, he put the helmet over his head, casting a shadow over his eyes and banishing all doubt from his mind. The Koopatrol dropped to one knee as Bowser stood before him.

“Long live the king.”