[Mr. Game & Watch]

This was the section of the black market where all the sounds of the vendor owners’ calls and loud offers ceased. It was the beginning of the line of homes that pronounced themselves without care of their seediness. It was where the less fortunate of the Life Sphere ended up, the scum that no one trusted and no one bartered with.

What little sunlight there was in the sky was blocked off by the tarps that spanned from building to building, only allowing slivers of light through the scratches and holes in the aged fabrics. A few ragged Goombas roamed the streets, but otherwise there wasn’t a soul lurking the streets, everyone knew better than to let themselves be caught in this dark part of the Life Sphere.

--

Other than the two reptilian figures that entered the scene, that is. One being tall and slim, giving off more of an impression of a creature from Mobius than K Rool’s minions tend to, this one going by the name Vector. The other was chunky and stalky, more akin to the Kremling look fashioning a belt covered in pouches and a standard issue camo coloured army helmet. The two paused at the entrance to the vile area, both their gazes focused on each other immediately afterward.

“Bowser’s hideout shouldn’t be too much farther in, you’ll known it when you see it” the Kremling carried out his orders. “Thanks, brutha” Vector pointed his fist at his crocodilian brethren. The militant Kremling held an off put expression on his face, unsure of the significance of his action. Vector quickly followed it up with a regular handshake, noting his fists’ ridiculous size difference to the other’s claws.

The Kremling walked off after saluting the comparatively cartoonish crocodile, leaving Vector alone until his appointed ally showed up. K Rool, for some reason didn’t fill him in on who exactly he was working with, which on ordinary occasions would slightly put the reptile off from the case, but seeing Bowser around the Life Sphere was rarer than Vector hitting a good note when singing. The oversized turtle’s quietness was suspiciously odd given his past personality.

[Lucciola]

Mari had taken a seemly ordinary job from the board this time, walk into a seedier part of town then she was used too. And talk to some guy called Bowser, who someone wanted him to help out in some kind of conflict that had arisen around her. Despite thinking it was an easy job Mari had picked her tougher team, although her other team is faster. Rarge, Grey Bark and Nephite were much stronger in a fight, and much more intimidating. To have a nine foot tree following her, a flaming red wolf and Skeletal creature with her. As she got into the area, Mari spotted one reptile leaving while another continued on. Thinking that to be her ally in this she pressed forward.

"Are you my contact here" asked Mari as she raced forward towards Vector. Coming up shortly behind her was Rarge, Grey Bark and Nephite. It seemed looking around that the streets were empty for the most part, aside from a few of those strange brown creatures that waddle around from time to time. She looked at the cartoon like crocodile and smiled "I'm Mari and these are my friends, Rarge, Grey Bark and Nephite" introduced Mari and each monster nodded to its name in turn of each introduction.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The crocodile carelessly continued on, his head slightly bobbing back and forth as he listened to the beats of his headphones. Sure he was in a disgusting pit of crime at the moment, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy himself. Besides with the reputation that the Kremlings were getting around this side of town no one would dare across an anthropomorphized crocodile. Except for Koopas and Eggman’s drones, but Eggman at least knew who Vector was or at least Vector thinks he does.

The muffled sound of a little girl’s voice rung through his headphones unexpectedly and with that, he muted his tunes. He quickly twisted around and could hardly take an eyeful of what was revealed to him, so he had to make a double take. His under jaw fell a agape more than usual. The girl looked to be barely ten years old, what she was doing with beasts like those tailing behind her. Perhaps she was one of those newfangled Pokemon trainers the reptile had been hearing so much about, though he remembered they usually carried their monsters in capsules. It wasn’t an impossibility that she could be one though.

“Uhh… K Rool hired you? Listen, we gotta handle some big time crooks here. This isn’t really a place for children” Vector assured her politely. The crocodile had a big soft spot for kids, if he didn’t he would’ve chucked Charmy out some window by now. He could hardly let a meekly little girl accompany him on this mission, it was far too brutal and grim for Mari’’s mind. “Vector the crocodile’s the name, singing tunes and detective work is my game” he introduced himself.

[Lucciola]

The toonified crocodile turned around in a shocking response, it always annoyed her when people didn't take her seriously because she was a young girl. She was twelve years old going thirteen and had been around the world, more times then she could count. She got in annoyed stance by putting her hands on her hips, then pointed at the funky crocodile "Look here Vector, I may only be twelve years old. But I'm a world champion where I come from, and have dealt with my share of nasty criminals before. And if they're as bad as you say, my monster friends here will make short work of them. So please give me the credit and respect I deserve" informed Mari in a heat and annoyed tone.

Meanwhile Grey Bark's eyes glowed red and stared at Vector, and Nephite started circling Vector with its own eyes glowing on and off. But Rarge was sticking next to Mari but his flame was flickering high above it, Mari looked around at her monsters. Who were empathising with their master and Mari shook her head "That's enough you guys, he's on our side here. So no need to scare him anymore then you already have, sorry Mr Vector but they're very protective of me" added Mari. After those words Nephite backed off and returned to Mari's side while Rarge and Grey Bark settle down "Shall we keep going then" commented Mari in a girlish tone hoping to avoid making Vector run, cause many got scared of her monsters when they did that.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

It wasn’t that Vector didn’t take the girl seriously, it was more so that he worried of her safety. Regardless of her incredibly obedient guard ‘dogs’ she was nothing more than a small girl that could be seriously injured if Bowser was to fight back at them. Vector couldn’t really argue though, Charmy had been subjected to much worse than this in the past, but Vector knew that Charmy would be safe for the most part since he could hold his own in a fight… mostly. Either way, her pets weren’t going to make it an easy wager. Besides, he couldn’t handle Bowser on his own.

Vector took a stance as the creatures circled him like a pack of wolves ready to attack their meal. Vector knew better than to show weakness around an animal because if they were anything like wolves they would capitalize on such a mistake. Though, once Mari called them off, Vector rejoined the conversation. He stroked his elongated chin as his eyes narrowed back onto the pink haired girl. “Well, I suppose if they’re that protective… Ah, fine then. Come on, Bowser’s dugout shouldn’t be too far off” he replied as he continued through the straight forward alleyway.

“Don’t take anything personal, I just can’t stand the sight of seeing kids your age getting hurt. I suppose we’ll need all the help we can get, regardless of age” the crocodile shrugged

[Lucciola]

The funky croc took a serious stance when her monsters, made their seriousness and strength known to the reptile. After being called off, Nephite and Rarge would still keep an eye on the croc. They've been back stabbed by friends in the past, at least friends of Mari and they didn't need any more worries for their master and friend Mari. "Lets go then, mister funky crocodile" commented Mari as Vector started moving down the alleyway towards their goal.

Then he started his reason for disputing her usefulness, which mostly related to not wanting to see kids her age get hurt. She continued alongside Vector while Grey Bark brung up the rear and Rarge had moved a head to keep an eye on things while Nephite moved alongside Mari. "Not to worry Mr Vector, I'm pretty fast and agile. So if something comes my way, I can just avoid it. And my friends here will make sure I'm okay other wise" added Mari wi a smile.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Vector could understand the little girl’s reasoning very simply. She had reliable defences and she had experience on a battlefield of some sort, at least that what she seemed to be hinting at. Surely the crocodile should have confidence that everything was going to be just fine. On ordinary circumstances that would be the case, but Bowser had gone so quiet recently it was hard to tell what to expect out of the overgrown snapping turtle. He could be peaceful or he could be merely biding his time waiting for the right moment to strike. The reptile had never inspired any form of patience, so him showing it now was puzzling.

“Alright then. Let’s go find us a spikey shelled turtle” the crocodile’s tone radiated jive, only to mask the anxiety he felt of the whole situation. Having his Chaotix crew might’ve been a smarter move on his part, but K Rool was very insistent on his terms.

As the two continued down the unappealing alley, they met even less faces along the way. The place was a ghost town, eerie winds sweeping at their feet completing the mood. It wasn’t until a couple Hammer Bros poked their heads out from atop the roofs to scout out the two that they ever saw a new face. They weren’t there for long though, if Vector had blinked he would’ve missed them completely. His eyes dilated back down toward his companion. “Be ready for anything” he whispered through his glove.

As their approach became nearer, their scenery was becoming more akin to a place Bowser would’ve decorated. Statues depicting the Koopa’s face were hardly scarce, in fact some of them even looked as though they were recovered from the Mushroom Kingdom ruins not too far outside the life sphere. A large gate, like most of the tyrant’s castles, was becoming much clearer to the two. The area did not have a very homey feel, let’s just go with that.

[Lucciola]

Mari followed along after Vector, making certain she kept he eyes peeled for anybody. Which was a saying she never understood nor wanted too, as it was scary sounding enough without finding out what it meant. She'd just barely caught the two Hammer Bros like Vector but merely a fast movement then their real images, meanwhile both Rarge and Nephite had caught them in their vision. Declining to give chase for Mari's safety, as the targeted place seemed not far away as a gate and accompanying statues appeared.

"This guy needs a better decorator" joked Mari as she looked at the statutes and gate. The gate was flashy and all but not her still and just screamed old school but that didn't matter right now. "Well then Mr Vector, shall we go into this inviting place" commented Mari with an obvious hint of sarcasm. While her monster came back to her position and waited for the next move, Rarge and Nephite kept a nose and eye out for any incoming trouble.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Vector glanced at the statues momentarily as his petit partner commented on the Koopa King’s sense of style. “Or he needs a more imaginative sculptor. I’m sure this isn’t his own handy work, if you’ve ever seen the talons on this guy you’d know why” he quipped back as he continued to pace through the columns of the marble tyrant’s doubles. He was cautious, almost expecting one of them to jump out at him. They were very close to the size of the real thing and were quite detailed so it didn’t seem out of place. Besides it would be a clever tactic over the normal lackeys as his guards.

As Vector drew close to the blocky gate that separated them from the innards of Bowser’s establishment, the Hammer Bros from earlier revealed themselves over the roof of the building once more. This time though they stood their ground, both with a stoic scowl. “Whoa, that’s close enough there, snout face. Kremlings are prohibited from seeing the boss!” one of them shouted. “Yeah, how’s about we teach the both of them a lesson!” the other one acknowledged his twin. “YO YO!” they both shouted together as they slammed their hammers against the battlements in front of them. Alongside with the sound of their hammers clicking against something, what seemed to be sewer drains at both corners of the streets opened wide and unleashed two Chomplets.

Items Held: None

Enemy Reward: Unknown

Current HP %: 0

The miniature Chain Chomps crept into the streets in a manner that was similar to wolves ready to pounce except they lacked any legs. Their attention first went toward Vector since they were bred to attack Kremlings, but they quickly diverted toward their rival canine like beings. They didn’t take action quite yet, but they threatened the group with their clanking teeth as though they were ready to charge.

Vectors eyes bugged out, but his pupils grew smaller than natural. “Whaaa?! I’m no Kremling! We just wanna talk that’s all!” the crocodile tried to reason.

“Really, is that why you brought so much muscle?!” one of the Koopas pointed toward Mari’s attack squad. “Its hammer time!” they both shouted together as they began to toss their signature weapons down at the group.

Vector hopped away from the gate and fled to regroup with his mission partner. Separating themselves in such a conflict would be counterproductive. Besides, he hardly wanted to take on the teeth of the creatures. It was about the only time that Vector felt outmatched in pure jaw strength.

[Lucciola]

Vector made his own retort on Mari's comments about the decor, and then it seemed they had company in the guise of two turtles with hammers and bad football armour. They made some claim about Kremilin's being not allowed, which Mari didn't really know what it meant outside of Russia's old secret service. It seemed they were intent on causing trouble as they slammed their hammers down, and opened a gate that let out a couple of strange creatures with no legs. Who seemed intent on Vector at first then looked back at Rarge and Nephite, most likely because they seemed the most intimidating to the funny little beasts.

Then Vector tried to talk the turtles down from their assault stating he wasn't a Kremilin, which made sense to Mari cause he didn't even sound Russian. Then they made a comment about bringing muscle and Mari sighed "They're not fighters you silly turtles, they're racers. We're just here to talk, but if you really want to cause trouble. We will defend ourselves" informed Mari. She then nodded to both Rarge and Nephite who made their moves at the same time, while Rarge started up the flames on its back with Searing Flame then lunged at the little chomps.

While Nephite attempted to use use glare at one of the chomps and weather that worked or not, Nephite would attempt to scale the wall in an effort to meet up with the hammer bros. if he gets up the wall then he'll attempt another couple of glares. Otherwise he'll disassemble and fall to the ground only to reassemble on the ground, while Grey Bark stood in front of Mari and Vector batting away the various hammers that were being thrown. Mari turned to Vector "Any ideas Vector, my monster should be able to fight these guys off. But weren't we here on a mission of peaceful talk, I'm hoping we can go back to that if at all possible" asked Mari.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The way that Mari’s ‘hounds’ were quick to take action against the chain chomps made Vector feel a bit more secure about the entire procedure. In fact, he might not even have to throw any punches for them to succeed. Though, it was more so the time for thought now. The pink haired girl was right, they had to get back on track with the mission and he needed to figure out a way to get them out of this mess using as little brute force as possible because once they’ve proven themselves to be hostile the mission was as good as over. He had to think peacefully. He began to stroke the underside of his snout as he pondered with his music still softly blasting into his ears.

“I have a feeling these two aren’t the brains of the operation, we’ll need to get in contact with someone here that’ll listen to reason, perhaps higher in rank. Hrm, I do have a walkie talkie on me, maybe I can find a channel that someone on the inside would be broadcasting through” the crocodile thought aloud to his partner as he looked down at the device he had in hand. “Keep them distracted, I’ll see what I can do” he answered as he began to fiddle with his walkie talkie. Nothing more than static came through the speaker end for a good while, but Vector was intent on finding something. Bowser and his kooplings were never known for their knowledge in tech or programming so it was a good guess that they didn’t know how to encrypt their signals.

Items Held: None

Enemy Reward: Unknown

Current HP %: 20

The Chomplets still kept their distance since they were already outnumbered, but soon enough Mari’s race monsters capitalized on their mistake and charged straight for them. The one known as Rarge tackled one of the Chain Chomp pups which scorched the beast’s metallic hide and set it ablaze much like how it looks when having a fever. The Chomp’s skin began to heat up and even left a trail of lava-like goo in its wake. It feverishly barked at its opponent and charged at it relentlessly and aimed to chomp at the beast’s leg.

The other however was stunned by Nephite’s glare and rendered it completely useless for the time being since it was so focused on its target. It was frozen in mid-bark so it would be easily known when it became active once more.

The Hammer Bros may have been busy tossing their infinite supply of blunt weapons at Grey Bark with no avail, but they were still able to catch sight of the skeletal creature as it attempted to scale the wall. “Yo, you see what that thing did to the Chomplet?” the one questioned his twin. “Yup, let’s take it down bro!” the other one answered as they threw a new barrage at the fleshless monstrosity.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The battle soon came to a screeching halt as a roar from the Koopa King himself rumbled the arena. It came from the inside of the keep, but it still sounded as clear as day from where they all were standing. The hammer bros released their weapons with a worried complexion and as for the Chomplets they retreated with their tails between their legs. The great gate swung open and a tiny koopa kid came out nervously. “Bowser would like an audience with the crocodile.”

Vector’s head swung into the direction of one of the many sons of Bowser. He stuffed the walkie talkie back into wherever it was that he stored his collection of items and signaled his partner to wait where she was. Vector didn’t want to keep the Koopa King waiting for too long since from what he could tell he wasn’t in a good mood. He followed the Koopa inside. The crocodile did not fear his fate, if Bowser wanted to add him to his trophy collection he would have let his hounds tear him to pieces right in his courtyard. Perhaps he wanted to keep his actions secretive, but the saurian would have been jumped as soon as he crossed the gate.

For the most part, this was one of Bowser’s more subtle and simpler lairs. No giant spinning bars of fire, no lava, but there was tons of gray stone brick everywhere. He supposed that the tyrant couldn’t call a place home without that design element. The corridors that the Koopa led his fellow reptile through were mostly dark. He supposed it made sense, Bowser probably didn’t want some outsider knowing about the operations going on within his hideout so they dimmed the lights. It was a clever move considering it was the mind of a great detective they were dealing with, but he wasn’t nearly renowned enough for them to know that about him.

Vector’s Koopa caretaker finally ceased his movements in a pitch black room. It wasn’t much different than the past few rooms they had passed through considering that he couldn’t see much detail than the floor below him and the spiny shelled turtle in front. A singular light from overhead buzzed as it illuminated the room for the crocodile to see.

Bowser’s eyes were honed in on him, seated in his throne with a casual sort of flare. He didn’t look happy, but the brows on the turtle made it near impossible for the creature to look anything other than livid. Vector closed his jaw and readjusted his headphones so that his ears were visible. He folded his arms and tried within all his might to avoid having a weak stance. The snapping turtle would no doubt capitalize on any weakness that Vector displayed.

The Koopa kid fled to Bowser’s side as the behemoth slammed his fist against the arm of his chair. The mighty king growled at his assistant. “King Bowser wants to know what you and that girl are doing here”

“K Rool says you’re a coward, I wanted to see it for myself” Vector spoke confidently. He wanted to play with the creature’s inherent anger issues to twist the conversation into his favour.

The overgrown Koopa shot him a death glare then grumbled into his translator’s ear. “He says that he’s merely biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike.”

It seemed very unlike Bowser to play his cards smart, in fact it was surprising to see that his gang was the least violent of the three. There was something on the line for him perhaps, a battle he could not afford to lose maybe? “Huh, is that right? I never thought I’d see the day that Bowser tried to play smart. What makes you think that this’ll earn the respect of the criminals of the Life Sphere?”

The Koopa growled into his son’s ear once more. “He says this isn’t about the respect of those low lives.”

Vector was intrigued by the statement. “Oh yeah? What’s this about then? Showing off just how yellow your belly truly is?”

The Koopa King stomped off his throne and caused tiny tremors as he peered down upon the thinly lime reptile. His eyes seared with passion and aggression. “Retribution” the creature bellowed in the face of the shorter detective. “Eggman and K Rool are idiots. Let them kill each other. My prize is undoing the mistake and wiping the Starvia off the face of this planet. This might be the only time I agree with Mario, we build our army and take the fight to them before they finish making theirs.”

Undoing the mistake? Right. Vector remember reading somewhere that Bowser was one of the heads in the Subspace Embassy and what eventually led to the spread of the Starvia virus and creation of Li. Could it be that Bowser was finally taking responsibility for something? If anything the fall of the kingdom he so craved to rule was affecting his actions. “Then why not try to tip the balance into your favour? Maybe you don’t need to take the fight to them just yet, but instead plant the seeds to assure victory” the crocodile offered. Even though the gang wars were nothing he supported, he was sort of getting behind what Bowser had to offer. They all wanted to end the disease, but the Koopa King wanted it on a personal level.

Bowser grinned back at Vector. “I’m listening.”