Antagonist

Antagonist is a horrorbrew made by Calcium and a fan made character of the Creepypasta game Mario '85. Antagonist is the main alias of Kale, a 21-year-old inspiring programmer who was taken victim after getting, playing, and data mining a physical copy of Super Mario Bros (1985). The Entity was amused by the stubbornness and determination from Kale and, after Kale uploaded the files online, took Kale and gave him the vessel of Bowser. This was done via smashing Kale's face into the tv screen; shards of glass piercing his face, neck, and chest. 
==Appearance==
As the ANTAGONIST, he appears as an exact replica of Bowser from Super Mario Bros (1985), straight down to not having the hair that other versions of bowser have, albeit with a more paranoid look; his eyes constantly darting about. Antagonist is slightly taller than MX in his false hero form. Also in this form, Antagonist cannot talk verbally, due to being a natural enemy in the game’s code, so for communication he is forced to communicate through other means; IE: body language, hand gestures, writing and leaving behind messages in the environment via his claws, etc. If one were to observe his sprite long enough, they’d notice his grin twitch towards a frown for brief moments. 
As the OPPOSER he has become aggravated enough, afraid enough, or is taking things serious enough to turn into this form. His bones crack, snap, and twist as he begins to grow to the height of 9'. His limbs, spikes, horns, claw, and teeth grow longer, and his scales and shell become darker shades. Also, his smile turns into snarl while his eyes stop darting about as he begins to focus more. Meanwhile, visible fresh scars of cuts appear around his face, neck, and on his chest where his heart would be. Antagonist does gain the ability to speak in this form, but it requires a lot of effort to do so. This makes it so he is always either yelling or whispering; every word forced and horse as if he is being strangled by an unseen force.
As the DEFIER the recently slain Antagonist begins to resurrect into this form. His body begins to quickly decay; his flesh and organs bloating then rotting rapidly before burning to ash. His spiked wristbands fall and turn to ash as well with nothing to hold them. As his flesh dissipates, his bones grow and stretch, causing him to become a towering skeletal colossus standing at 11'. Meanwhile when his eyes turn to dust, all that remains within his hollow sockets are small yellow serpentine pupils that glow a red hue, or glow blue when he uses a blue breath attack. His shell then becomes a charcoal grey. Also, in this form it is revealed that beneath the scars around his face, neck, and chest from his Opposer form are numerous cracks in the same spots and in the same patterns. Additionally, if one looks close enough, one could see the human skull of his past self within his head.
==Personality==
Need to keep going. There must be an end to this.
- Antagonist in his Opposer form trying to encourage himself after being punished by MX.
Though Antagonist's defiant nature and general stubbornness has not only remained the same, but also grown, the rest of Antagonist’s personality has become inverted. His old easily agitated anger issues have returned with a vengeance while the part of him he tried to become in his past life, a patient and calm person, has been dulled. Though his kinder side has not been erased completely, as seen with his attempts to befriend Lucas. This has, in a sense, made him more like his actual vessel Bowser. Though unlike Bowser, who is a villain, Antagonist does have a sense of justice, and of right and wrong, wishing harm only to entities like MX. However, as of right now, any kills Antagonist could have, have been by accident.
Antagonist is able to think strategically and long term. This is most seen with his more recent attempts at stopping MX or how he has used his own powers outside of facing MX. Such as using his created enemies to be scouts or to act as a lure for traps, or to aid him in combat, etc. However, Antagonist has a tendency to tunnel his vision to things he shouldn’t, which can cause things to slip past him. Antagonist is aware of this, but it’s a work in progress to overcome.
Antagonist is not a fool that trusts anything at face value anymore, especially when it comes to being in MX’s world; usually having a gut feeling when he is being tricked or used.
Meanwhile, because of Antagonist’s defiant nature, Antagonist is the only victim to actively and purposefully defy MX when right in front of him, usually attacking MX; even if it only ends with Antagonist being brutally killed and revived later.  Also, though Antagonist seems boastful and prideful on the surface like Bowser, he is in fact not that. It is Antagonist’s attempts at encouraging himself to keep going. This is especially the case when he feels afraid and or overwhelmed, with his natural instinct being to go kicking and screaming, which he hates.
When MX is not around, Antagonist can sometimes give off the feeling of being exhausted. Putting up such defiance and enduring so much pain for so long tends to wear one down. But this general impression dies quickly, as if he musters the courage to pretend that, just for a while longer, he’s fine. 
In the end, no matter how long it takes, Antagonist believes that there is a way to defeat MX.  However, Antagonist has begun to question some things. When was the last time he ate and drank? When was the last time he dreamt and slept? When was the last time he saw the real sun and felt it?  What did water and bread taste like? It was so long ago, and the memories are slowly slipping from his mind. And worst of all, if MX was defeated, would he ever be able to leave this hell alive? Would he still have a body waiting for him? Is he even really himself? Or is he just code? He doesn’t know, but he refuses to give up in the face of such despair.
==Biography==
Before he had become what is now known as Antagonist, Antagonist was a twenty-one-year-old guy named Kale, an aspiring young programmer. He had a taste for challenging games of all kinds and series; the feeling of doing an impossible feat being the few things giving him a sense of accomplishment in his life. His stubbornness, though a natural part of him, was also encouraged as he was taught to always hold out to the bitter end, even if he knew he would lose or fail.
Kale’s taste for challenging games and programming came from when he grew up playing on his father’s old Nintendo and computer games. Kale would also find enjoyment in online games where, in seemingly impossible situations, he would make it as difficult as possible for his opponent or even somehow snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. 
One day, Kale wanted to play the original Mario as he faintly recalled never beating it as a kid. However, his father had traded his copy of the game for another game soon after a young Kale played it and gave up. 
Kale was going to play the game via an emulator, but when he looked up the original Super Mario game online, he spotted an old copy of the game being sold at a very low price, its seller seemingly legitimate. In the end, he decided to buy it. Even if it was glitchy mess or a bootleg, it’d still be an interesting experience. And if it was a scam, he wouldn’t lose too much money.
After getting the game and hooking back up his father’s old Nintendo, Kale began playing. Meanwhile, MX was excited. This was the first victim in a while, and MX was curious how things would turn out. When MX first appeared and chased Kale, Kale surprised MX. Instead of running, Kale tried to stomp on MX. And when Kale got caught, Kale would just try again at different points to take out MX. This went on for an hour before Kale gave up, but MX was so amused he decided to leave Kale alone to see how things would develop. 
Kale, curious of the game copy he had, tried to find any secrets via multiple playthroughs, having noticed differences each run such as: changes in MX’s behavior, reaction, frequency of appearances, and some levels being noticeably harder. Kale would then eventually get a cartridge adapter and copied the files to his computer to do more digging.
MX would leave vague threats in the files to scare Kale for a laugh, but all it did was egg Kale on; being too homed in on finding the truth. Though, it would be a lie to say Kale didn’t hesitate or was confused when he heard his own name in some of the audio files, received strange emails, or found files on his computer altered. Kale rationalized that either the seller was doing an immaculate prank, there was a strange virus in the bootleg game cartridge, or both.
When Kale was almost finishing digging through the game files, he spotted a name, Lucas. However, Kale wasn’t able to inspect the file with anything he could think of using; even going so far as to try and use level editors for the game with no success. In the end Kale would upload all the files online for others to look at to help him; possibly being the first instance of MX’s game files being on the web. 
It was then MX felt Kale had done enough and decided to take real action again. As a twisted form of thanks, MX would force Kale into his world in the next playthrough. Kale would be found dead, his face having been smashed through the tv screen by an unknown force with bits of the screen in his neck, face, and chest.
As part of MX’s sick gratitude to Kale, Kale was not only given a far more durable vessel, but also given abilities to allow Kale to act the stubborn nature that MX found so entertaining. To be specific: Weapon summoning, Fire breathe, and minor level alteration. Thus, Kale took the vessel of Bowser and became Antagonist. However, MX made it so whenever Antagonist used any of the powers of his vessel, Antagonist would feel a terrible pain related to the power used that would always be fresh in his mind; preventing him from becoming used to it even if he were to expect it.
Slowly but surely, death after death by MX’s hands, Antagonist would become more and more defiant. And, like a recurring villain from a video game franchise, Antagonist would gain a new trick whenever he was brought near his breaking point but chose to continue. However, new tricks don’t mean much when he will never be able to defeat his opponent, MX.
His first new ability was when he desperately desired allies but could never find any. It was only when he was almost broken and on the edge of giving up, that his desire for aid was so strong that he felt something. One of his teeth began to itch and pulse. Out of morbid curiosity he tried to find out what it was, accidentally ripping the tooth out as it fell to the ground; turning into a goomba while the lost tooth grew back.
The second came when he desperately was hoping for a more effective tool against MX and spotted the Axe. Life after life he tried to rip out the axe from the ground, but each time he couldn’t. It was only when he was near another breaking point that he at last managed to rip it out and use it in place of his hammers; though he'd fine it would be more painful to summon the axe compared to the hammer.
His most recent ability, his Defier form, came from a confrontation with MX where Antagonist managed to cut the bridge over the lava pit while on the other side; forcing MX to fall into it. Antagonist thought he won, but a furious MX leapt out, ripped Antagonist apart and threw Antagonist’s remains into the same lava pit.
MX was so frustrated, humiliated, and furious at what Antagonist did, that MX decided he would no longer revive the defiant victim. But, after so many deaths, and his will not only unbroken but also inspired with how he enraged MX, Antagonist would slowly crawl out of the lava pit in a newer form, his Defier form. From then on, the two would be in a stalemate, MX unable to truly kill Antagonist, and Antagonist unable to truly defeat MX.
==Role in Mario '85==
EVEN IF WINNING IS IMPOSSIBLE, I’LL DO TO YOU WHAT YOU DID TO US; I’LL MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL!
- Antagonist shouting at MX during one of Antagonist's many pointless fights.
Antagonist has only been kept around by MX for three reasons:
# As a twisted form of thanks to Antagonist for what he did, even if it was unintentional.
# to have a toy that can take a hit and actually fight back a little. Especially since it sometimes gets old for MX to fix his toys so soon, with said toys having no way of really struggling. 
# To have Antagonist be like a fine wine. He took and kept Antagonist for so long because Antagonist was so blatantly stubborn, and therefore MX hopes that when Antagonist finally gives up, it will be all the sweeter after all the futile struggling Antagonist has done.
As for the general plot of the story, he could be seen more as a penitent anti-hero or a supporting character if a player were to ally with him. Also, if given the chance, Antagonist would try to stop MX from luring other players into the world.
Antagonist would try to work with the player. He would appear randomly; jumping up and down, moving back and forth slightly, standing still, writing on the environment or leave behind messages, and or using hand gestures while not doing anything else as an attempt to seem friendly. If the player gets close and waits for him, he’ll try and communicate that they work together. The player won’t suffer collision damage from Antagonist while he is like this and the player can try to communicate a yes or no, in which case Antagonist won’t mind. Either way he’ll leave the player.
But if one were to ignore Antagonist during his attempts to ally with them, Antagonist would slowly get more frustrated before losing his temper, becoming hostile and transforming to his Opposer form; trying to stop the player from running away, even using his projectiles and moving as fast as the player while shouting:
*"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"
*"WAIT!"
*"STOP!"
*"DAMMIT!"
If he were to kill the player, he would look frustrated and shout one of the following: 
*"NO!"
*"DAMMIT!"
*"SHOULD'VE LISTENED!"
* "I TOLD YA!"
*"YOU MADE ME!"
However, if they were to ally with Antagonist, Antagonist would try to help their new ally whenever they could. Levels where Antagonist would aid in chases would initially be harder, but easier during chases due to the same level alterations. During chases by MX, If able to intervene, Antagonist would also appear and turn into his Opposer form while shouting:
*“THIS WAY!”
While this happens Antagonist would then rush towards MX and try to hold him off while shouting, “GO,” or, “RUN,” or “GO ALREADY!”
If the player were to stay long enough and watch the battle, Antagonist would eventually get defeated, causing it to be revealed to be a fake bowser or, in rarer cases, be the real Antagonist before turning into his Defier Form to fend off MX for a while longer. He will begin to try and hype himself and push himself to keep fighting via stating some of the following:
* "I AIN'T BREAKING YET!"
*"I'LL KILL YOU!"
* "I WON'T LOSE TO YOU!"
*" I AIN'T GOING DOWN YET!"
*"NOT THIS TIME!"
* "I REFUSE!"
*"NOPE!"
*"NO! YOU! DON'T!"
*"DAMMIT!"
However, sooner or later MX will win and continue chasing, whether it be after throwing Antagonist into a pit or actually managing to slip past Antagonist while he’s temporarily down.
In summary: Antagonist, despite his good intentions, will make things generally harder one way or another. If you side with him, levels will get hard instantly but easier during chases due to his level alterations, and you will possibly be forced into unwinnable confrontations with MX. However, if you ignore him, you will have to deal with Antagonist’s attempts at trying to get you to join him. This is not to say he would appear often.
==Powers and Abilities==
*Enemy Creator - Antagonist has the ability to create any enemy from the original Super Mario Bros, including fake Bowsers, via ripping his teeth out and using the code from his vessel, who is an enemy in the game. However, the more powerful the enemy, the longer it takes for the tooth to grow into an enemy and for said tooth to regrow. These enemies follow Antagonist’s commands and are fully loyal to him and lacking fear due to being artificial intelligence. Also, the more enemies created at once causes the process in general to take longer. This process is painful for Antagonist to do and is why any conventional enemies might appear in the world.
*Paused Aging - Antagonist is permanently 21 due to inhabiting the pixelated form of Bowser.
*Fire Breathing - Due to inhabiting the vessel of Bowser, Antagonist is able to spew out fiery projectiles from his mouth. This acts like Bowser’s normal attack of the same kind, however Antagonist will actually aim for his target and when it makes contact with MX, it actually pushes MX back a little and makes MX feel a slight pinching sensation. When in his Defier form, he can cause the flames within him to become hotter, turning the red flames into burning blue fires. It requires more effort and is more painful, but its effects become improved, it also causes his eyes to temporarily become blue.
*Weapon Summoning - Another benefit of inhabiting Bowser’s form, Antagonist is able to conjure hammers to throw at his opponents. These hammers behave similarly to his original game counterpart and affect MX just like his fire projectiles do. Also, Antagonist will actually aim with them, and he sometimes will throw them directly, use them as a melee weapon, or do an underhand throw. He can also summon axes in place of hammers, which hurt more to make and are not in the original game as projectiles. They are larger in size and seem to have slightly more effect against MX then the hammers. Antagonist can choose to have the axe be able to cut the bridge and destroy blocks.
*Semi-improved Traversal - In his base form, Antagonist is slower than the player and cannot jump as far, making traversal take longer for him. However, in his Opposer form he finally is able to catch up in speed and gains the ability to spin his shell, making him almost as good at traversal as a player and is able to use it as an attack.
*Superhuman Strength - Though able to get close to MX in physical strength, Antagonist is not the strongest and MX will always overpower him in a test of might in the end. However, Antagonist is still able to easily destroy anything physical within the game, living or not. When in his Opposer and Defier, this trait of his improves even more.
*Level-Alteration - Antagonist has the ability to alter levels, but he can’t change the level layout completely and it can only be minor changes such as blocks or a moving platform being added, this was due to how Bowser in the original game sometimes had slightly different boss rooms. This can’t be done when a player or MX are close by.
*Supernatural Invulnerability - The final benefit of taking Bowser’s form is that Antagonist is actually able to be immune to most forms of damage, albeit save from fire balls and lava, and is actually able to consistently take blows from MX.  Also, while in his Defier form, Antagonist becomes immune to lava and fire and cannot be killed by anything, not even things that would normally defeat Dry Bowser in other games. Instead, when “killed” Defier simply falls apart before reforming like a Dry Bones enemy. However, this doesn’t mean much when you can’t do any meaningful harm to your opponent.
*Shapeshifting - Antagonist is able to shape shift between his forms, but he has no outright control over what form he is in. The form he is in is instinctual.
==Relationships==
===Lucas===
I don’t know if Lucas is their real name, but that Luigi guy… if he can keep going, then so can I.
 - Antagonist trying to encourage himself. 
Antagonist was first made aware of Lucas when Kale found him in the files. However, Antagonist’s first actual encounter with Lucas involved a paranoid Antagonist defending himself while Lucas beat him like one would for a normal bowser boss fight; sending him down into the lava pit. After that agonizing death, Antagonist would eventually piece together that this Luigi was another victim like himself, and that maybe said Luigi was the Lucas he found mentioned. From then on, he tried to befriend Lucas at many points. However, despite his attempts so far, Lucas has not allowed Antagonist to be heard out.
Antagonist has found this frustrating and initially tried using projectiles and the like to try and force Lucas to listen. However, he has grown to calm down and understand that maybe Lucas has good reason not to trust anyone and that attacking someone isn’t a good way to communicate. Now he merely tries to get Lucas’s attention, but no longer does he try to force his attention.
Antagonist has found out, through observation and encounters with MX, that Lucas has been tortured by MX far longer than Antagonist has. This has made Lucas a beacon of inspiration to Antagonist to keep going.
Many times, when Antagonist is near his breaking point, he would remind himself that if Lucas could keep going for so long, then so could he. If Antagonist were to know the age of Lucas and how long specifically Lucas has been tortured, it would inspire him even more, being inspired that someone so much younger than him could put up such resolve. This has frustrated MX greatly in trying to break Antagonist but at the same time has given MX a tool to use against Antagonist. 
If Lucas and Antagonist were to finally team up, Antagonist would try to repay the favor and be a beacon of inspiration and hope to Lucas while helping him as much as he could. And, if needed, Antagonist would gladly give himself up so Lucas could be free, because to Antagonist, Lucas deserves it far more than he does. 
===MX===
No… NO! YOU CAN’T TRICK ME! THERE’S NO WAY HE’D BREAK! NOT NOW!
 - Antagonist when MX tried to trick Antagonist into thinking Lucas had given up.
Antagonist is uncertain as to what MX is, initially believing him to be a bad dream, then, sentient code, but now Antagonist believes MX is a demonic spirit of some kind. However, if given the chance, Antagonist will find out as much as he can on MX; looking for something he can use against MX. Antagonist has become paranoid due to MX checking on him often due to his defiant nature and has seen many of MX’s torture and killing methods, many having been learned by first-hand experience. 
At first MX was very amused and entertained by Antagonist, as if Antagonist was a child trying to start a fight. The freedoms Antagonist had in the first place were initially allowed by MX because of the primary reasons he brought in Antagonist. However, MX has regretted this as, due to the freedoms given, Antagonist has been able to keep his abilities and life due to becoming unkillable and gaining minor control in MX’s world. 
MX believes that if Antagonist’s will would ever break, then Antagonist could finally be erased once and for all. MX has tried to break Antagonist’s will through many different attempts and methods, such as trying to imprison Antagonist or making everything seem pointless, but with no success.
MX now has begun to do mental warfare on Antagonist, such as trying to make Antagonist believe Lucas has finally given up and torturing Antagonist with the fact that Antagonist gave MX more victims, since Kale had uploaded the files online. It’s not working yet, but MX believes he is on the right track to be free of the now annoying gnat in his eyes.
Though recently MX has begun to contemplate keeping Antagonist. This is because If Antagonists were to become a beacon of hope for others, then wouldn’t it make the despair of his victims all the sweeter. Besides, though annoying, Antagonist isn’t a real threat, and is comparable to a mosquito.
===Other Victims===
I'm sorry...
- The only thing Antagonist could whisper when being blamed by a victim.
Any other victim who’d know of Antagonist would probably either see him as a source of hope, a fool, or even hate him. 
A source of hope because of the foothold he’s gained in relation towards MX.A fool for how pointless his struggle is. However, the most likely of all of them, would be hate of some kind depending on the victim. After all, in a sense, if Antagonist had never uploaded the files online, then perhaps the more recent victims would never have been dragged in MX's world in the first place.
Perhaps part of the reason Antagonist tries so hard is because he wants to make up for having uploaded those files all those years ago. A shame he will always fail in the end though.
==Trivia==
*Artwork of Antagonist was done by @heyimduffy
*Antagonist trying to work with Lucas was partially inspired by the “I HATE YOU” creepypasta
*The idea of a victim having some form of resistance and buying others time came from the game Dead by Daylight.
*The idea of Antagonist throwing bones in his Defier form was cut out so that the character is not bloated with things he could do. (Even if he is still bloated a bit)
*The idea of using teeth to summon enemies was based on the old myth of a planted dragon tooth creating armies.
* It is unknown when Antagonist caused the files to be shared throughout the Internet.
*Antagonist was killed in the early 2000s however he no longer remembers when he died specifically or how long he's been in MX's world.
*Antagonist will never be able to defeat MX on his own. It would take someone else to beat MX, if it is even possible.
* If MX were to ever be defeated, or if victims were to escape, and Antagonist was of that world's canon, it would involve Antagonist sacrificing himself in some way to make sure it happens. I personally cannot see an ending where Antagonist returns to the real world. If somehow Antagonist were to survive a final confrontation with MX, Antagonist would be left behind in what remains of MX’s world, wandering the empty space forever, like with the game OFF if the Judge wins.
*The first game Antagonist ever played was Age of Empires 2.
==Gallery==
File:Antagonist .webp|Antagonist
File:Opposer.webp|Opposer
File:Defier.webp|Defier
File:Antagonist forms (Compressed).png|Forms (Compressed)
Category:Characters
Category:SMB1-Based
Category:MX Like
Category:Bowser-based
Category:Victim
Category:Haunted
Category:Giant
Category:Male
Category:Koopa