Five Gulps and it's Game Over
#19 of Vore
Five Gulps and it's Game Over by: BerserkerB
All Mario related characters © Nintendo
Berserker kept his eyes on the prize. He leaned forward in his chair, gaze glued to the television. A little more. Just a little more...and... "What game is this? It looks like fun!" The hyon's concentration shifted for a split second, and Mario fell off a cliff. The familiar jingle played, signaling he lost a life.
Berserker stared at the screen, dumbfounded, with his mouth agape. His left eye gave a sudden twitch. He spun his head and glared angrily at Epiales. "What the hell!? I was almost through with that level!"
Epiales, fluttered his pages haughtily. "Well excuse me. But what's done is done." The shadowy face on the cover smiled and floated around.
Epiales was a book, but not just any book. Apparently he - Berserker assumed it was male from the voice - was filled with magical powers of godly origins. Or so he claimed. Epiales appeared to Berserker unexpectedly last week. The vile book had sucked the poor hyon into an unknown world. Berserker was forced to play as a knight who was quickly eaten alive by a dragon.
Berserker shuddered when he remembered the feeling of being squished in the dragon's stomach. "Why are you still here? You got your laugh, so just leave already." He tried to hold back the rage in his voice, though some squeaked by. Despite the fact that Berserker had been eaten alive and digested, he somehow ended up back at home. Apparently, Eipales had chosen him as his new 'playmate,' though he did not expand on what that meant exactly. All he was told was that everything he would experience would be real, and that he may or may not come out alive in the end.
It was the 'may not' which scared Berserker the most.
"I told you before, you are my playmate. It is your ultimate fate. Now tell me more about this game, lest I decide to conjure you pain."
Berserker considered the book for a moment. He sighed in defeat and leaned back in the chair. "It's a popular series called Super Mario Bros. I'm playing a remake of the original. You go through as this plumber named Mario, and you jump on things like Goombas and Koopas, and avoid pits and Piranha plants. The goal is to get to the main boss, Bowser, and defeat him to save the princess."
Epiales nodded his shadowy face. "I see. What glee! How much fun it might be." He gave Berserker an evil grin, though the hyon missed it.
"Yeah, too bad you don't have any hands," Berserker mocked. He chuckled, thinking he had gotten something over the damned book.
The book drifted down in front of his face. "A lack of hands I do not rue. Especially now that I have you." Berserker looked at him curiously. It took the hyon a minute, but the words sank in eventually. Unfortunately, they sank in too late. Epiales opened up and sucked Berserker into a tunnel of swirling darkness.
When he regained his senses, Berserker knew he was not at home anymore. He gasped to breath, just like he had done the first time Epiales dragged him into another world. After he felt normal, well, as normal as it got after being sucked into another world by a book, he perused his surroundings. The world around him looked bright and colorful. The sky seemed unnaturally blue, the grass seemed unnaturally green, and the floating blocks seemed... Floating blocks?
A few feet away, just floating in the air like they were commonplace, were a line of cubes made from what appeared to be bricks. Berserker cautiously moved closer. Upon closer examination, he could tell that one of the blocks looked metallic. It shined an odd yellowish or gold color, with a red question mark painted on four of the sides. Berserker looked around and noticed some other peculiarities. In the distance were turtles with wings, flying through the sky like birds. Some of the hills in the distance had eyes, and large pipes laid scattered throughout the countryside. Even further in the distance, beyond a large lake, was a giant, ominous looking castle, with storm clouds that blasted lightning from time to time.
"Holy crap! I'm in the Mario game!" Berserker cried and grabbed his head with both hands. His fingers clenched onto something, and he pulled a blue cap off his head. He had not noticed it before. On the cap was a white circle, and in the circle was a blue 'B'. He looked down and realized he was wearing blue overalls. "Aaaand apparently I'm also the main character."
He had a couple of choices at this point. He could stay here; Berserker looked up at the sky, knowing Epiales was watching. Or he could play the game. It was a Mario game. He knew how to play Mario. What was the worst that could happen?
After deciding, Berserker headed on the path that led toward the castle in the distance. From his vantage point he could make out some landmarks. Down the hill was a small forest of pipes. Past that there seemed to be more floating blocks. And then there was a giant lake, with the castle just off the shore on the other side. He had an idea about what kind of enemies to expect, so nothing should take him by surpri...
Berserker stopped in his tracks. Coming down the road towards him, stepping along slowly and awkwardly, sort of like a penguin, was a small, brown colored creature. A goomba. Berserker stared at the thing with amazement. It was an honest-to-goodness goomba. The small mushroom creature trotted up to him and stopped. It looked up, opened its mouth, and growled.
Berserker stifled his laughter. Then, he let it out like a bomb. He howled and slapped his knee at the pathetic sight of this thing. The goomba hopped up and down, still growling. Tears flowed from the hyon's eyes, and he nearly fell back from laughing so hard. Finally, pulled enough strength to silent his chortling. He knelt down and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Oh. My. God. This is so pathetic." The goomba was no more than a couple feet tall, and hardly more than a foot wide. Its mean gaze and tiny fangs might have been scary, but were not. "Look at you. How worthless." He reached out and poked the goomba between its eyes.
The goomba snarled and barked.
"Oh! Do you not like that? Poke! Poke! Poke!" He proceeded to taunt the little mushroom creature by poking it some more. "You goombas are so pathetic. Look at you, you're small, you've got no arms, and are as dumb as rocks." The goomba's anger rose, but Berserker kept taunting it. "What cha' going to do? Huh? You're just an easy to beat character that the developers threw in last because they needed something the players could easily beat." He closed his eyes and chuckled annoyingly at it.
CHOMP! Berserker suddenly felt a sharp pain around his hand. His eyes flared open. The little goomba had clamped its fungusy jaws around his wrist. "Hey, let go!" Berserker attempted to pull his hand out, but the goomba gave a sudden gulp, and instead the hyon's arm went lurching in. Surprised, to say the least, Berserker growled and shifted his weight back. He brought his left leg up and thrust his foot at the things face. GULP! His foot went straight down the goomba's gullet. Starting to get angrier, Berserker tried kicking it again with his right foot. The little mushroom opened its mouth just in the nick of time and swallowed the idiot hyon's other foot.
Now things were getting scary. Berserker tried his best to pull his limbs free, but the little goomba's grip around them was surprisingly strong. Its brown mouth sucked him in deeper. Berserker felt his limbs press up against the back of the goomba's body. The inside of the creature was soft and pliable, but also sticky and wet. With another slurp, the goomba enveloped Berserker's lower body, and some of his abdomen down into its odd stomach.
"I said let go!" Berserker swung his arm and landed a blow on the goomba's head. The little creature seemed to flatten, but then sprang back to normal. It looked angrier. Berserker howled "Noooo!" as the creature voraciously devoured his chest and head. His remaining arm reached out for something, anything! The goomba slurped it in like a noodle.
The little goomba's body bulged awkwardly around its white stalk. A hyon shaped bulge wiggled around, causing the little creature to sway and topple over. Finally, the hyon's movements slowed, and the goomba got to its feet and trotted off down the path.
Lives x 4
Berserker's eyes were assaulted by sunlight. He looked around in panic, his heart going a mile a minute. He was still in the Mushroom Kingdom. But why? He paced back and forth, until finally the realization set in. Multiple lives! He was playing the game, which meant he had started with 5 lives. Doing a quick count with his fingers (though why he used his fingers was anyone's guess), the hyon sighed dishearteningly at the idea that he only had four lives left. He shuddered to think what might happen when he hit zero.
He set out once again, this time with the knowledge to not underestimate the creatures here - even the goombas. Speaking of which, no sooner had he started again when he ran into the same goomba that had just eaten him moments ago. Wanting to get a bit of anger out, he leapt into the air and stomped the mushroom creature flat. "Ha! Take that!" Happy that he killed the small, pathetic creature, Berserker continued on towards the small forest of pipes he had spied earlier.
The pipe forest was not as much a forest as it was a large collection of various colored pipes, most of them green. Some of the pipes were as tall as trees, though some were only knee high. Berserker knew that he had to be careful, lest something pop out of a pipe and kill him. With his senses on high alert, he made his way between the pipes. It was not difficult, as there seemed to be a main path through the area. He had to jump a couple of pipes, which thankfully were empty. After stomping a few more goombas and leaping over some pipes, Berserker ran into another iconic creature of the Mario universe.
He had just jumped over a pipe. After he landed, he heard the sound of marching feet, several marching feet, tromping in his direction. Worried about what it might be, he hid behind the nearest pipe. The marching grew louder. Berserker peeked up from the top of the pipe and looked at what was coming.
A line of turtles, marching on two legs, headed his way. Koopas! With their green shells, and linear marching pattern, they were instantly recognizable. With a grin, Berserker jumped out from his hiding place and faced the troop of koopas. "Hey there boys. Ready to get kicked?" He loved taking out koopas with their own shells in the game, and now he had a real life chance to do it. The closest koopa to him started backing away. The hyon's evil expression told it all it wanted to know about him. With a spring in his step, Berserker hopped off the ground and smashed both his feet onto the frightened turtle.
The koopa went sliding out of its shell, just like in the game. The other koopas, at first stunned by the sudden actions of this strange feline in overalls, quickly fled in the opposite direction. Too bad for them they ran in a line. Berserker lined up the shell in his paws and sent it shooting with a solid kick. The green shell hit the ground and slid like a bullet. It hit the first koopa and knocked it away. Then it hit the next koopa, and the next, and the next. Berserker made a "bonk" sound as each koopa fell to the wayside by the careening shell. As the last koopa was smacked away, Berserker let out a hoot of triumph and threw his arms in the air.
Unfortunately, his celebration was premature. The green shell rebounded off of a pipe, and came hurtling back. Being the over-celebratory cat that he was, Berserker did not notice the incoming shell until it smashed into his feet. He flipped a few times in the air, and came crashing down on his head. He laid there for a minute, dazed beyond measure. The world swirled around him while he attempted to stand. He fumbled, and would have fallen if a pipe had not been there. He used the pipe for support, and waited for the stars around his head to go away.
"Not my...brightest m...move." He decided to wait a minute longer before moving on. While he rested against the pipe, he had the oddest sensation that something was watching him. His gaze had mostly cleared, and he looked around but saw no one. He scratched at his head, and then felt something drop onto his hand. Upon examination, it felt wet and stuck between his fingers. As he shook it off, he felt another drop plop on his head.
A deep chill ran up his spine. He looked up.
It had a big round head, that was red and covered in white dots. It's lips were puffy and white, and behind them were two rows of very sharp looking teeth. The head was attached to a long green stalk, which curved and disappeared into the pipe. Berserker knew what it was, and he knew he was dead.
The piranha plant yawned wide, giving Berserker a good look at the rows of teeth and the dark, floral gullet he was about to descend. He tried to run, but the hyon barely got his foot off the ground before the plant struck. It clamped its massive jaws around his head and shoulders. Berserker's cries for help were muffled by the piranha plant's soft exterior. His legs kicked wildly in some vain attempt to wiggle free. The piranha plant swallowed quickly, shoving the hyon's face against the back of it's bulbous head. He tried desperately to grab hold of the plant's lips, but his grip slipped away as the hungry plant sucked them inside.
The inside of the plant was oddly cool. Berserker felt his head being squeezed down the plant's gullet. The piranha plant's stalk expanded around his form, holding on to him tightly while he slowly slipped further into the darkness. The plant's walls were wet, which eased the passage downward, but stalk's embrace clasped around him like a tight fitting suit, curling around every contour.
The hungry plant lifted the rest of him up, and guzzled down its meal with several short but powerful gulps. It pursed its lips around the hyon's wiggling feet, and then slurped them into it's maw with the rest of him. It licked its lips after devouring Berserker's feet, and waited for the large mass to vanish into the pipe before it followed.
Lives x 3
"Son of a-!" Berserker scowled as he made his way through the pipe forest again. He bared his teeth at a passing koopa. The turtle ran off as fast as its little legs could carry it. He avoided the pipe from whence the piranha plant had emerged, and proceeded to hop on every single koopa that dared cross his path. Finally, he came to a clearing.
Beyond the forest of pipes lay a large expanse of land. Hovering at various heights were hundreds of the blocks of bricks. Berserker walked underneath one and stared at it. Perhaps coins would pop out if he hit it, he wondered. Although, knowing his luck a goomba would probably pop out instead. Better to get through this place before something else tried to eat him. The area looked clear. Save for the floating blocks, there was nothing else between Berserker and the lake shore. He started off in a quick sprint. So far, so good. About halfway through, however, his luck changed.
A hammer dropped in front of him, nearly missing him by inches. The hyon screeched to a halt and looked around. He did not see a soul. Carefully, he took a step forward. Another hammer soared at his head. He had to duck to avoid it. He spun around like a top. Still he saw no one around. He put two and two together, and looked up. While keeping his gaze upward, he proceeded on. There! Something jumped from one block to another. As it jumped, it let loose a black hammer. Berserker jumped backward, and the hammer thunked onto the ground.
A hammer bro! Berserker knew how annoying these guys were. Given a height advantage, a hammer bro could keep chucking hammers with little worry of reprisal. Best to fight on even ground.
Berserker got a running start, and jumped on to the nearest floating block. Now he could see his opponent properly. The hammer bro was a koopa, but bigger than the average koopa. He wore a small helmet and was somewhat plump for a turtle. In his hands he held two hammers. Berserker growled and readied himself. The hammer bro reared back his arm and let loose one of the hammers. It came at the hyon fast. Using the jumping skills gifted to him by being in a Mario game, Berserker leapt to his left, hopping over a small gap and onto another block. He glanced down quickly. This fight was going to be impossible if he fell.
The hammer bro threw the other hammer. Berserker hopped forward, and the immediately jumped as fast as he could at the plump koopa. The hammer bro jumped backwards, landing safely on another block just as Berserker's feet hit where he had been. Berserker began a long game of dodging the hammers while simultaneously trying to close the gap between he and his foe. Every time he got close enough to attack, the hammer bro would leap away. Sometimes he tossed a couple of hammers as he dodged, forcing Berserker to hop out of the way with split second timing.
It was going on for too long. "Damn that turtle," Berserker huffed. He was growing exhausted from all this jumping. How the hell does Mario keep it up? He was starting to run out of ideas. He had tried jumping around randomly, strategically, and even tried an all-out charge. What else could he do, try hitting the guy from underneath? He let his thoughts distract him for too long. The hammer was nearly upon him by the time his body reacted. Instead of dodging, he reflexively held up his arms in defense. Somehow, someway, he timed that perfectly.
The hammer's shaft whacked his upheld arms. The tool caused barely any damage, and fell to his feet. A sudden idea! Berserker ducked and whisked the hammer. With determination in his eyes, he made another charge at the koopa. The hammer bro tossed a hammer. Berserker leaped forward and it missed him. The koopa threw another, and again it missed. The hyon jumped at the koopa, who, like before, jumped backward to another block. Only this time, he did not land safely. While his foe was in mid-jump, Berserker flung the hammer clutched tightly in his paws as hard as he could. The black tool spun through the air, and collided with the koopa's face. The force from the blow sent him a little too far, and he dropped to the ground like a Thwhomp.
"Hell yeah!" Berserker let out a cry of victory. He jumped down from the block and leaned over his fallen foe. "Looks like the hammer bro got hammered!" He taunted the dazed koopa before rearing back and laughing. "Nothing can stop me now!"
So busy was he with his gloating that he did not notice the creature sneaking up behind him. So busy was he with his laughing that he did not hear the whoosh of a falling hammer. So busy was he being an idiot that he went from laughing in triumph to falling over unconscious. Not much of a victory.
By the time he woke up, Berserker realized something was far from normal. His arms were pinned to his sides, and he could barely move his legs. A wetness surrounded his lower body and belly, and his feet seemed to be pushing against something soft and squishy. It was not until the daze left him that he found out what was happening.
With a turn of his head, the hyon saw the problem. A hammer bro had his turtly jaws clamped greedily around his body. The koopa gave him a look that said "You're mine now." Berserker heard laughter and turned his gaze to find another hammer bro standing in front of him. Of course! It was hammer bros. Plural. Berserker mentally slapped himself for forgetting that these guys usually came in twos.
The hammer bro before him laughed and taunted him. From the bruise on his face it was clear that this was the guy Berserker had just taken down. Which meant that the one guzzling him down like an afternoon snack must be his brother. Berserker's body dropped as the plump koopa slurped him down further. He could feel the turtle creature's saliva soaking into his overalls.
Desperate to save his remaining lives, Berserker huffed, grunted, and tried to wiggle his way out of the koopa's gripping gullet. He managed to move a couple of inches, but suddenly he felt something wallop his head. The other hammer bro had smacked him with a hammer. The shock pushed Berserker back, making his struggles futile.
Happily, the hammer bro eating him began to take quicker gulps. Powerful muscles dragged the hyon down the slick chamber. Berserker cried out, and received a light bonk on the head for it.
"Cut it out!" Berserker yelled. The hammer bro giggled at him and bonked his head again. The blows were weak, but the weight of the hammer still hurt. Not only that, but each bump to the head forced him down the koopa's throat a little faster. Gulp. Bonk! Gulp. Bonk! After a short time, Berserker wished he'd get to the koopa's stomach so his torment would end.
Thankfully, it was. The hammer bro swung down one last time, but harder. His brother swallowed hard just as the hammer met Berserker's noggin. The hyon shot down the rest of the way in a second's time. The koopa's stomach gave him little room, despite the turtle being chunky. As he felt the world go dark, Berserker realized why these koopas were fatter than usual. The ate big meals.
Lives x 2
A cool breeze brushed past him. The moving air pushed gently at the surface of the water, causing tiny waves that barely made a splash against the sand. The sand was warm against his aching feet. He knelt down beside the water, cupped the cool liquid between his hands, and splashed its soothing sensation all over his face.
Berserker's face was bruised, badly. This time, instead of wasting his time fighting, he decided to run through the area as fast as possible. It went fine, until the second hammer bro showed up and pelted a few hammers directly into his face. Still, he had made it. He looked on, his sights set on the huge castle in the distance. Thunder rumbled and lighting blasted the earth around the great stone structure.
Bowser lay in wait. Once he beat that giant koopa's ass, Berserker would be able to go home. Just this lake was left to cross.
Before diving right in, Berserker contemplated his next moves. Should he try swimming underneath the water? He wondered if the rules of the game allowed him infinite breath, like in the older Mario games. Perhaps it would be better to stay near the surface. He pondered it for another minute, and then decided that, if he could hold his breath forever, he would swim under the water.
He took a few steps back, shifted his feet in the sand, and took off running. Just before reaching the water's edge, he jumped as high as his legs would allow - which was actually quite high - and cannonballed his descent into the water.
Moments before he hit the water, a giant cheep-cheep popped up right below him. The giant red fish spread its big, puffy lips, revealing a large, dark cavern into its body. Berserker dropped past the lips, went right past the gums, and plopped into the fish's stomach. The big fish clamped its massive jaws shut, and dived underwater, taking its meal with it.
Lives x 1
A lone goomba made his way up the hill. He had done so a few times before, but he had no recollection of it. He stopped, looked around, and pondered. He was sure something was supposed to happen. He waited for a bit, then turned around and headed back down the hill.
"Outta my way!" The goomba barely had time to turn before it was knocked away by a shining mass speeding down the path. Berserker had had enough. He was down to his last life and was tired of being eaten by every creature he seemed to encounter. He clutched tightly onto the star in his hand. It's shining power gave him invulnerability, speed, and the means to knock through everything in his way. And that's precisely what he did.
Berserker let out a war cry as he smashed through the pipe forest. He charged through the metal pipes like a cannonball. Even the massive pipes fell to his invulnerable fury. He zoomed through the clearing with the floating blocks. The hammer bros had not even a chance to ready their hammers. Berserker did not even let the water slow him down. He charged the lake at full speed. His feet feet carried him over the water's surface, though how that worked was anyone's guess. The giant cheep-cheep popped up to eat him once again. The power infused hyon brought his fist back, and without losing momentum, socked the big bass right in the lips.
Finally, he was here. The castle's entrance grew closer as he charged onward. The star's power was nearly depleted. He ran over the stone bridge, knocking away goombas, koopas, and a few bullet bills. He stopped in front of the giant wooden doors, lifted his leg up, and kicked the massive doors open. His star power faded a moment later.
"Alright Bowser, where is she?!" Berserker stepped inside, ignoring the fiery traps, flowing lava, and the ominous, towering statues of the proud king of koopas.
The koopa king, who seemed to be busy instructing his minions, turned at the mention of his name. "Who dares yell at me in that tone!?" His gruff voice boomed and echoed against the stone walls. He stepped forward, and then looked down at the approaching hyon. "Who are you?"
"I'm Berserker. I've been through hell just trying to get here! I'm in no mood to play with you!" The brave hyon stepped right up to the hulking koopa king, stood as tall as he could, and pointed his finger right at Bowser's face. "Just give me the damn princess so I can go home!"
Bowser looked down at him with a mixture of confusion and fury. Berserker slowly realized just how close he was to Bowser, as well as just how big the koopa king really was. Bowser snorted; two puffs of smoke escaped his nostrils. "I don't know who you think you are, buddy, but for your information the princess isn't here."
Berserker opened his mouth to retort, stopped in mid-breath, and lost his bravado. "What do you mean she isn't here?"
"We're renovating the dungeon, so I had her moved to my summer castle." He leaned down, and Berserker felt a chill grip him when he saw the koopa king's toothy grin. "So sorry, but your princess is in another castle."
Berserker instantly let loose a nervous chuckle. He felt sweat run down his head, and he clasped one of Bowser's big hands in apology. "Really sorry about this. Hope I wasn't interrupting anything. I'll just be going now."
A firm grip on his shoulder pinned the hyon's position. Bowser's hand was nearly the size of the hyon's head, and it covered half his arm. "Since you're here, why not stay a while?" His claws pinched at Berserker's skin. "You seem tired."
"No, no. I'm fine."
"Ah. Well how 'bout now?" Bowser hoisted Berserker up like a doll. He brought the hyon over his head, and slammed him down into the stone floor. "How's that feel?" he laughed.
Berserker pulled his face out of the stone. "Is that all you got?" he said in a dizzy voice. He managed to free his body from the ground. An imprint of his form remained behind. "Why, no wonder Mario whoops your butt. You woose!" The various blows he had received throughout the game must have damaged something.
Bowser roared and bellowed a stream of fire from his mouth. The flames washed over the hyon, charring him black like an overcooked steak. He blinked a couple of times, then fell to the floor.
Bowser picked the smoking hyon off the floor. "You're an idiot, you know that?"
The hyon coughed out a puff of smoke. "Yeah, I know."
He figured what was coming next. Bowser licked his lips and looked at the hyon with deep, hungry eyes. "Mmm, I like 'em rare." He opened his big scaly jaws and stuffed Berserker in without a second thought. The koopa king's mouth was hot and humid. The smell of something burning assaulted Berserker's nose, and it made him gag.
Bowser let did not swallow just yet. He took his time to savor the meal. His thick tongue shoved Berserker around, pushing the hyon all around. His face squished up against the inside of the koopa king's mouth. Saliva drenched him. Berserker had a little fight left, and he tried to kick and claw at the assaulting tongue. Too bad the tongue was stronger. It knocked him around silly. Boy how he wished the big palooka would get it over with.
After what seemed like ten minutes of being batted around, Berserker finally felt something tug at his body. His face was violently squished against the back of Bowser's throat. More hot, smelly breath washed over him before the koopa's gullet did its thing. With Bowser, it was all about power. His gulps were no exception. One gulp pulled Berserker's entire body down the dark tunnel. Powerful muscles enveloped him in a tight hold. The odd sounds of being slurped down the koopa king's gullet echoed all around him. He slid down at a steady pace, worming his way to the last stomach of the game.
Bowser's belly was hardly any roomier. It had a little more room than some of the previous stomachs he had occupied, but it still stank and squeezed his body into ball. Berserker waited for the game to end and for him to return home. He felt a rumble around him as Bowser gave his full belly a happy pat.
Any second now.
The chamber began to fill with liquid. The koopa king's stomach acid burned his skin as it filled the fleshy prison.
Game over... Right?
It was not until he felt the acid reach his face that Berserker realized he was going to have to feel the digestion before the game would end. "Son of a bi-" he yelled just before the stomach acids enveloped his head.
Bowser enjoyed the thrashing his meal started to give. He licked the remaining flavor from his lips and sighed contently. Suddenly, he let out a belch that shook the whole room. He spat up a burned and acid soaked blue hat. A goomba trotted by, jumped and flattened it, and walked away.
Game Over