Bowser's Inside Story

## **Plot**

Bowser's castle is discovered to be in a complete downfall from its prime. The walls begin to deteriorate, his former minions losing themselves over who should command them, saying they are unable to think on their own. Bowser sits in his former throne in complete sorrow and guilt. The Elite Trio comes in to see how he is doing but they are only greeted by Bowser ordering them to leave on their own terms, with him unfit to rule a kingdom any longer. Suddenly a hooded figure walks in and collapses on the ground. He begs Bowser eats a strange item he brought with him so that he will become instantly better. A nearby Kamek acknowledges how odd it would work if another stranger eats something for a complete stranger to feel better. Bowser eats the mushroom reluctantly but still full of guilt does it anyway. Suddenly, Bowser begins to feel queasy and begins to suck in everything around him, turning everything mini-sized before it is engulfed. Kamek confronts the figure before it reveals itself to be Fawful and that what Bowser ate was a vacuum shroom, a dangerous item that allows one to consume everything around them.

Back at the kingdom, there is revealed to be a mysterious illness spreading that does not affect humans but affects toads. Dubbed the 'Blorbs', it is a horrible disease that causes a toad's body to implode and become abnormally round and large, unable to walk or eat. The team is at Dr. Toadley's clinic wondering what the cure could be. He mentions that there may be only one cure that could solve the illness called Star Cures. He adds that they are extremely rare to find and are made up of pieces found around the island. Mario insists they don't have enough information on where exactly they are to which Toadley replies that he could do nothing more than show them the general regions by a crystal ball. Such areas would be Plack Beach near the southern coast. The second is Brrr Peak in Sky Territory while the last one is located in the Soulless Graveyards in the Lowlands. The team sprints off to find the pieces of the cure, desperate to stop the spread.

Bowser unfortunately barges in and swallows everything he sees, leading the entire group to become trapped inside his body. Luckily, Squirt and Richard are able to escape before being gulped and decide to find the pieces themselves in order to save the kingdom. Mario awakens to find himself in a dump landfill-like region in Bowser's body. He flees and luckily finds Luigi who is also confused on what just happened. The bros figure out they have been gulped inside Bowser's body and must find a way out all the while tracking where Peach and Toadsworth have gone as well.

Fawful monologues to his lieutenant on how he envies the lives of those who live a life full of joy and glee. Kora asks if he enjoys his life much better, implying something beyond what everyone else knows. He ignores the question and leaves in a quick fashion, leaving Kora to fend off in her dimension which is under attack and in war.

Meanwhile Peach is fighting off amoebas while Toadsworth tries breaking a mold barrier trapping the pair. She fights them off until succumbing to her being exhausted and collapses near Toadsworth. They begin to talk with each other about how much mess they have been over together and what Peach's mom would think of her. Toadsworth assures her that she would be the proudest mother in the whole world if she saw the woman Peach was. Toadsworth also apologizes again for underestimating Peach's courage and not letting her explore the world more in her adolescent years. They embrace a hug and Mario and Luigi make their way toward them, finding an escape by burning the barrier. They acknowledge that Bowser hasn't been making any noise or movement, leading them to believe he may be asleep. Turns out they are right as Bowser is unconscious in some undisclosed location.

Squirt and Richard continue finding the cure pieces in Plack Beach. They begin talking about why they think each other's single parents abandoned them. Richard tells Squirt it is most likely because it is easy for them, they can just come and go as much as they please, doesn't matter to them if they had kids. Before Squirt could inquire another question, tooth-like creatures ambush them both and the duo fight them off. They are victorious in their efforts and beat the odd creatures. They find that one of them was actually carrying a cure and once Squirt touches the cure, it transports the duo to the soulless graveyards.

Bowser reawakens to pure confusion and is shocked to learn that he is at the Mushroom Kingdom. Immediately feeling out of place, he attempts to leave the kingdom but Fawful arrives in dramatic fashion and reveals he is the one who dragged him there and is also the person who sold him the vacuum shroom. Bowser becomes furious and attempts to burn him but is mysteriously unable to. Bowser then takes time to look at his surroundings to see the blorbed toads and wonders what is going on. Shockingly, Fawful also reveals that he is also behind the mysterious illness and planned on having Bowser eat the vacuum shroom in order to eat Mario and the gang so they are unable to find the star cures. Bowser becomes even more shocked to learn that he ate the group. He becomes even angrier and once again tries to fire breath at Fawful but is met with the same outcome. He denies giving up and climbs towards Fawful who flies away with his headgear but Bowser leaps onto it, causing him to jolt in his flying. They begin brawling once Fawful's headgear becomes damaged.

Squirt and Richard are already at the soulless graveyards and find that the cure is buried beneath a giant stone. Squirt insists that he is able to grab it but becomes extremely clumsy and loses his balance, almost getting crushed by the stone. Richard stops the stone, allowing Squirt to sprint away with the cure. They are both transported to Mount Brrr. Richard berates for not being more careful when on missions. Squirt argues that he has proven time and time again that he is courageous and worthy for going on them. Richard retaliates this by saying that just because someone is courageous, does not mean they are invincible to everything around them. After the argument, they make their way up to the top of Brrr Peak but are unable to traverse in a quick fashion due to the harsh, inclement, cold weather.

Mario and the gang continue to try and find their way out of Bowser's body. They then wonder how they were able to be shrunken down to such a small size. Suddenly, a large flat creature attacks the team. Mario attacks it with his firepower but it is immune to fire, becoming more and more resilient with each attack. Peach takes note of its bouncy exterior. Luigi suggests they should try bouncing off its back to see how high they would jump, perhaps even jumping out of Bowser. Mario tries this and successfully humps high enough to reach Bowser's airways leading to his mouth. Luigi tries and also succeeds. Peach allows Toadsworth to go first but he refuses to leave before her, she insists she will be fine but is then taken by the creature's tongue but not before Toadsworth uses his cane to stop it.

Squirt and Richard see the star cure but Squirt trips due to the slippery ledges, Richard catches him just before he could fall. Richard is left with trying to save Squirt or lose their climbing progress and the final star cure. Mario and Luigi are left helpless as the fall is too grand to go back down and save Peach, Toadsworth struggles to keep his cane from breaking. Bowser begins faltering to Fawful. Suddenly, Mario and Luigi combine their inner energy once more and channel it throughout their friends. Mario's energy channels to Toadsworth while Luigi channels towards Richard and Bowser. Bowser is able to gain the upper hand in beating out Fawful which knocks him unconscious. Richard is able to gain enough strength to heave Squirt over the ledge, gaining the cure in the process. Toadsworth pulls the cane and knocks the creature's tongue free of Peach which in turn badly injures the creature who sprints away but not without collapsing, presumably dying. Bowser regains his fire breath as it turns out the creature was blocking his fire tube, causing him to be unable to breathe fire. Bowser then begins to feel queasy and the effects of the vacuum shroom begin to wear off, causing the group to be whisked out of his body. Squirt and Richard return to much fanfare and the star cures are spread throughout the kingdom, immediately curing those affected. Bowser becomes filled with guilt but is relatively disgusted that he had Mario inside of him. Mario insists they could put the past behind them and move on but Bowser isn't so quick on the matter, mentioning that he is doing completely fine on his own before leaving. Fawful is revealed to have fled at an unknown time, further making the group curious about who he is.