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Chapter 1
Peaceful Times are lost...
-Editor-
It was a normal day, like
any other in the Mushroom Kingdom. A boring one, however,
for the heroic plumber, Mario. His brother, Luigi had
taken off to Yoshi's Island for some vacation time with
Daisy, as well as Yoshi. The princess had been occupied
as of late with political duties, work that had been
neglected due to Bowser's last kidnapping plot. And the
mushroom retainer, Toad was swamped with work as well.
With nothing to do
elsewhere, he had undertaken the bold task of fixing up
the Pipe House. Which it had been needing very badly for
a long time now. His head was under the sink, wrench in
hand as he worked on fixing the kitchen sink. It had been
leaking for some time now, which was bad for his image as
a plumber extraordinaire. He was nearly finished with it
when a sudden knocking was heard. He was surprised by the
sound after a long day of silence, he jerked up and hit
his head on the sink pipe. He proceeded to the door,
while rubbing his aching head and then opened it.
Standing there was one of the seven Mushroom Retainers,
Toad.
"Ah! Mario, I'm glad
you're here..." Toad said, busy recovering from what
must of been a long run.
"Yes, this is where
I usually am." Mario replied a bit glumly, "What
is it?"
"You need to come to
the Mushroom Castle," Toad explained.
"Why?"
Toad nodded and proceeded
to tell the story...
"Several days ago,
Peach was speaking to the stars through the Great Star.
As you know, the Great Star is not only the royal symbol
but also allows order to function in this kingdom. Peach
didn't explain everything, but it seems Bowser plans to
use the powers of other stars, like the Great Stars to
fuel his next evil plot. Both the Chancellor and Princess
Peach wanted you to come."
"Up to his old
tricks again, huh?" Mario mused, "We better get
going then. At the rate that shellcreep works, he could
have the entire castle moved..."
The two agreed and set
off. Fortunately they were merely going to the Mushroom
Castle, so they could get there without the use of a pipe.
A short jog through Mushroom Pass led them into the
Mushroom Village. They were suddenly stopped by a
mushroom holding a large bazooka.
"Halt...! Ah... oh,
it's Toad... and Mario! Come on through...." The
bazooka carrying mushroom replied, "Wanted to make
sure that Croco doesn't come through here again..."
Mario nodded, "Keep
up the good work then."
The two proceeded onwards
to the castle. Mario gazed up at the tall building, a
magnificent building that seemed to have been pulled out
of a fairy tale. Of course, his life was just like that
of the castle. A story of a valiant hero, the damsel in
distress, and a fearsome monster. Of course, many times
their adventures had bended these rules a great many
times. But perhaps, what this danger Toad spoke of, could
very well be the strangest of them all.
The guarding mushroom
recognized the plumber and retainer and allowed them
passage. They entered through the hall, entering the main
throne room. At the moment, only the Chancellor was there.
He was typical of a mushroom person, he wore a big
mushroom cap. His long beard gave a look of wisdom and
made him seem very important. Of course, he was an
important person. After all, it was he who helped Peach
rule, doing most of the work in many cases. He noticed
the two right away and approached the two and greeted
them.
"Ahh... thank
goodness you arrived!" The chancellor exclaimed,
"Toad... Peach is in her room. Would you fetch her?"
Toad nodded and ran off, Mario turned to face the
Chancellor. "What happened?"
"I am sure the
Princess will explain the details, but I shall tell you
what I know." The chancellor replied, "The
Great Star is a very important part of this kingdom, in
fact, it is the One Hundred and Twenty Stars combined
into one star. The star itself has been attempting to
warn the Princess of something. But it is difficult to
understand what the star speaks of..."
The chancellor's story
was interrupted as Toad entered the room, followed by the
princess. She was in her pink dress as usual, with the
small crown on her head. Although nothing new in her
fashion, it was enough for Mario.
"Mario! I'm so glad
you could..." Peach began, but was cut off as the
ground started rumbling. "What's going on!?"
Toad ran to the nearest
window to see, to which he saw something he wish he had
not. A large airship overhead, bearing the insignia of
the Koopa Clan. As it landed, the propellers began to
sweep the area, with high winds blowing the window open.
A ladder was dropped from the ship, with the first person
coming off being Bowser. After halfway climbing down, he
jumped down the rest of the way. He made a loud 'THUD' as
he hit the ground. Following him, was his seven hideous
children. One by one they reached the ground, in their
own sort of fashion. Lastly, two magikoopas, male and
female, departed as well, reaching the ground by magic.
Out of the group, only
Bowser and the male magikoopa approached the castle.
Without bothering to open the door, Bowser released a
breath of fire from his mouth. This destroyed most of the
door, the rest which was knocked out of the way with his
claws. He pushed the mushroom guards away with no trouble
at all, busted through the second set of doors. Then
entered the room where the group was waiting.
"Well, well...
Princess Peach, what a surprise to meet YOU here, of all
places." Bowser said in a cocky voice.
"What do you want?"
Peach retorted, staring straight at the large turtle.
Bowser rubbed his chin in
a mocking thoughtful way before answering, "I want
the One Hundred and Twenty Stars... THE Great Star."
"Like we'd give it
you?" Toad replied smugly.
"No, I was planning
to TAKE it from you." Bowser replied, snapping his
fingers. With that, the magikoopa mumbled a few magic
words and waved a wand. A row of six Chargin' Chucks
lined up in the room.
"Hey, I don't think
the princess invited you here." Mario interrupted,
stepping in front of Bowser into sight.
Bowser snarled and glared
hatefully at Mario, "I should of known Lardio would
be here. Why don't you be a good plumber, fix a sink and
leave business to us."
"Business? You
wouldn't know the meaning of the word." Mario
retorted
Bowser snorted at that,
"Kamek... have them get rid of him."
Kamek nodded and motioned
to the six chargin' chucks. They all piled in a pyramid
formation. The one on top shouted several orders, then
they all jumped to the ground. Once more the lead chuck
yelled something and pointed at Mario. The two beside him
suddenly charged at Mario, ready to ram him. As soon as
they came close enough, Mario jumped high in the air.
Landing behind them as they crashed into the throne. With
that, the chancellor jumped out of the way and ran out of
the room. When Mario turned around, three more chucks
were running full force at him. He managed a weak jump,
landing on the head of one of them. From there, he jumped
off again, flipped through the air and landed on the lead
chuck. After causing a huge wreck, the six recovered and
faced him again.
One of them jumped on the
shoulder of two others. The two then lifted him high in
the air, throwing him towards Mario. Mario managed to
avoid the bulky koopa as he slammed down on the ground.
Three others were quick to grab Mario, holding him down
on the ground. Bowser snickered and approached the
detained plumber.
"We'll be taking the
star back with us." Bowser grinned, "You! Grab
the princess and chancellor. The rest of ya, get this
place secure and find that Great Star!"
As the chargin' chucks
started searching the castle, the chancellor peeked in
the main room. He motioned to the detained Mario, then
slid a fire flower over to Mario. Once the plumber saw
it, he struggled in the two chucks' arms. He then flipped
back behind them, then crashed the two's heads together.
The two fell down dizzy, allowing him to go and grab the
flower. At once his body took on a new look, his clothes
and skin tone changing. He then produced a ball of fire
in his hand, and tossed it at the Chargin' Chucks. After
throwing a few more, he proceeded to approach the ones
holding the princess. This was quickly stopped as several
black beetles stepped in front of him.
"Nice try..."
Bowser chuckled as he entered the room, "But I took
the liberty of making sure you wouldn't get rid of all my
troops."
"Mario! You have to
get out of here!" Peach yelled , "Get help!"
Torn between the
princess's cry for help and leaving her there, he
reluctantly chose to do as she requested. Ducking the
guards and jumping out through the charred door. He ran
into the streets and looking around frantically for
someway out. The best way to go would be to Yoshi's
Island and get his brother and their Dino friend, Yoshi.
-lzn64-
Mario glanced back at the captured
royal family, then jumped into the warp pipe that led to
Yoshi's Island. However, the warp pipe violently spit him
out back at the castle... "Oh, man, now something's
wrong with the warp pipe transportation system! The last
time this happened it caused major chaos and mayhem...
but now how am I supposed to get to Yoshi's Island?"
Suddenly, Mario had an idea, off to
his right was a phone booth. He reached in his pocket and
pulled out the only coin on hand, and inserted in the
payphone. He dialed the number until the other side
answered.
"Hello? Yes, Mallow, this is
Mario... no, I was wondering if I could use your royal
bus... thanks!"
Soon, Mario was on his way to Yoshi's
Island, via the royal bus of Nimbus Land. As he got
closer to the island, he could make out the shapes of
several yoshis, and soon, he could pick out his brother
and his best dino friend.
"Hey, Mario!" Yoshi yelled,
waving his arms as he ran up to the bus.
"What's up, bro? You look worried..."
"Yeah, well, check this out..."
Mario proceeded to tell Luigi and
Yoshi about Bowser's latest attempt to take over the
Mushroom Kingdom...after he was done, both Yoshi and
Luigi looked at him with serious looks on their faces.
"So, will you help me?"
Mario asked.
"Of course I will." Luigi
answered.
"And I will, too." Yoshi
agreed.
So, the three heroes started back
toward the bus, but before they could get there, a
sinister voice growled,
"I was warned that you would try
to band together...Bowser ordered me to never let that
happen!"
"Who's there?" Mario asked,
looking around in confusion. "I know I've heard that
voice somewhere before..."
-Yoshiman-
There stood Kamek.
"You won't get away, this time!"
Kamek said, and with that, he waved his magic wand.
The bus just seemed to fade into
nothingness. "All the exits are blocked on this
Island, except for one! See if you can find THAT!
Kwahahaha!" And with that, Kamek disappeared.
Mario turned to his friends, "We
need to find that exit fast!"
Yoshi said, "Hmm, I know of
Kamek's trickery! If we find that exit, it will only take
us to Dino land, or Sarasaland, or somewhere else!"
"We're stuck between a rock and a
hard place..." Luigi mumbled.
"Mmmmm. . . rock." Yoshi
said. He then lashed up a rock from the ground and ate it.
Somehow it then sprouted wings.
"Mama mia! That was a blue koopa
shell!" Mario said in excitement.
Meanwhile, at Bowser's keep. . .
"I told you not to play games
like that with them!" Bowser yelled at the pure
incompetence of the lifeform known as Kamek.
"I'm sorry master, but, they'll
never find the exit! And if they do, they'll never get
back to the Mushroom Kingdom!" The head magikoopa
replied.
-lzn64-
Of course, Kamek had forgotten one
little detail... the yoshi's incredible ability to sprout
wings when they ate a blue turtle shell. After Yoshi
managed to grow himself a pair of handy dandy wings,
Mario and Luigi hopped on to his back, and they took off
from the island, unbeknownst to the koopas.
Now, it's a long trip from Yoshi's
Island to the Mushroom Kingdom, especially riding double
on the back of a yoshi, but soon the brothers had a
slightly bigger problem than their own discomfort...
Although yoshis are extraordinarily
smart, they have an incredibly short attention span. And
so, Yoshi soon forgot exactly why he was holding a shell
in his mouth and not eating it, and promptly swallowed it.
This, of course, sent the
plumbers and their dino friend plummeting towards the
ocean below...
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