Chapter 4:

~Ditto McCloaker~

The Mario Bros. and the Princesses discussed the matter further, beneath the shade of the thick palm trees, which contrasted with the pagodas and bamboo trees of Chai Town, totally unaware that the object of their conversation was around the other side of the fortress-like structure of the Sarasaland Academy.

Stalking down the halls, a figure in grey robes passed by suits of armor and paintings of pastoral scenes which lined the halls of the Academy. His thin form slouched past classrooms filled with students from around the world, far from the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland. He entered the door to a large office with the words "Prof. Smith: Headmaster" on the glass. He slammed the door, which earned a deep bellow from the person within.

Outside, three small, young students came around the corner and were passing. One was a small figure draped in green robes, with a large white mask, with three small holes for the eyes and mouth. A red bow was tied to the tip of the Shygal's hood. Her companion was a young Goomba, distinct from other Goombas by his large, blue hat with the letter 'G' on the brim. On the Shygal's other side was another mushroom, but this one slightly different. It was a Chibobo, Sarasaland's own version of Goombas. It was a smaller black mushroom, with a white stalk and a slightly different face. On it's head was a white cap, with the letter 'C' on the brim.

"Dont' worry, Heidi" said the Goomba to the Shygal. "Everyone's nervous around this place when they first come here. I'll show you around." he said, trying to sound heroic.

"We'll show you the ropes!" added the Chibobo.

"Oh... why, thank you... uh... what were your names again?"

The Goomba and the Chibobo both stopped, and looked a little surprised. They were each used to people making fun of their names, but not forgetting them. But then, not many people in Sarasaland seemed to know much about the people they were named after anyway.

"I'm Goombario." said the Goomba, with pride.

"Oh... okay... 'Goombario.'" Heidi said, slowly.

"And I'm... Chibobuigi!" said the Chibobo.

As the threesome passed the door to the Headmaster's office, the booming sound of the voices caught their attention. They looked at each other, and stood by the door to listen.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT, YOU BRAINLESS BANDIT! REFER TO ME AS... 'MR. SMITH!'"

"Sorry, boss!" came the reply.

"SO... TELL ME THE NEWS." came the reply, in a deep, bellowing voice.

"The Mario Bros. have arrived, with Princess Peach. They have met with Princess Daisy."

"WHAT?! MARIO?!"

"...and his brother, Luigi."

"HE HAS A BROTHER?!" came the reply, in a roar like the blast of a furnace. "IS HE A THREAT?"

"WHAAAT?!" came the gasp of Chibobuigi. "Is HE A THREAT?! How can they SAY that?! He's JUST AS GOOD, if not BETTER, than Mario!"

Goombario gave him an angry glance, as he often did when they got into this argurment, but Heidi shushed them, and the three now slightly worried students listened even closer.

"Well," said the lackey, "Don't know. He might be. Frankly, not many Sarasalanders seem to have heard of him."

The boss growled for him to continue.

"Croco has managed to stir up the Pionpi. He's got all of Chai Land's support. They want him to have access to the castle."

"EXCELLENT. THAT FOOL MAY ACTUALLY BE HANDY TO ME AFTER ALL..."

"So, what do we do next?"

"PRINCESS MAPLE AND PRINCESS PLUM SHOULD BE ARRIVING SOON, FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE KINGDOMS, TO SPEAK AT THE ACADEMY... THEY MUST BE KIDNAPPED AS WELL."

"And Peach and Daisy?"

"YOU WILL TAKE THE OTHER BANDITS AND CROCO AND RAID THAT CASTLE, AND THEY WILL BE KIDNAPPED AT THE SAME TIME. OF COURSE, CROCO AND YOU AND THE OTHER BANDITS WILL LOOT THE PLACE, AND TO THE PIONPI, IT WILL LOOK LIKE PEACH AND DAISY FLED WITH SARASALAND'S TREASURE!"

"Excellent plan, boss. Shame Croco doesn't know who he's really working for."

"IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT LEATHER BREATH NOT KNOW WHO I AM... LIKELY, WE WERE NOT FRIENDS LAST TIME..."

"Heh heh... yeah, S- er... that is... 'Headmaster Smith.' But... what about the Mario Bros.?"

The rustling sound of an object being extricated from a pile of junk came through the door...

"TAKE THIS."

"A shield?" said the lackey.

"IT IS A SPECIAL SHIELD, I FORGED. IT HAS THE ABILITY TO CREATE PORTALS, ON A SMALLER SCALE THAN MY LAST... ENDEAVOR. USE IT WHEN THE MARIOS SHOW UP, AND TRANSPORT THEM TO THE FARTHEST AND MOST DISTANT PARTS OF SARASALAND!!! HA HA HA!!!"

"How do I work it?" asked the lackey.

"I WILL TELL YOU LATER. JUST KEEP IT WITH YOU FOR NOW. REMEMBER, IT WILL BE USED TONIGHT TO SEND THOSE PESTERING MARIOS, AND ANYONE WHO TRIES TO HELP THEM... OVER THE RAINBOW...! HA HA HA...!"

Goombario, Chibobuigi, and Heidi looked at each other in fear. The Headmaster of Sarasaland Academy, who had just arrived a few months ago... a villain plotting to kidnap all the Princesses around and take over the world?! And out to harm...

"Mario...?" said Goombario.
"Luigi...?" said Chibobuigi.
"...and the Princesses?" said Heidi. "We MUST find them and warn them!" she said.

However, they had all spoken too loudly, and at that moment, the door swung open, and the Gray Bandit emerged. Strapped to his back was a shield, with a hideous face emblazoned on it. It was colorful. Apparently, the portal generator that had been mentioned. Unlike Shyguys, Bandit's masks reflect their expression.

The Bandit's mask twisted into a sardonic grin.

"Well, look what we have here... a few spies outside of Headmaster Smith's door! I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate that, kids! I'm afraid you'll have to spend some time in... DETENTION...!"

He grabbed Goombario and Chibobuigi, but was then unable to grab Heidi. He paused to throw them into the mysterious Headmaster's Office before slamming the door and pursuing the small Shygal. She scurried away, with the Gray Bandit close behind...

She had to reach the door, and find the Mario Bros. and the Princesses to warn them... Behind her, the taller Gray Bandit's footsteps were getting closer...

~Meanwhile...~

In a recently-dug tunnel beneath the Sarasalnd castle...

"Okay, now, accordin' to this map I put together, Daisy's bedroom should be right over our heads...!" grunted Croco. "If'n we start diggin' now, we should pop up in her room right around midnight, as she is laying her pretty head down on the pillow to sleep. After we grab her, the treasure rooms will be all our, I GAR-ON-TEEE~!"

He laughed, but the Bandits with him just slouched in corner, resting on their picks and shovels.

"Well?!" cried the outraged Croco. "What are you gator patties waitin' on? A crawfish fry? Get to diggin'!"

The other Bandits twisted their hooded heads to look at him, and their masked faces reflected hardened sneers of discontent.

"Why don't YOU dig a while, bayou breath?" sneered one.

"Yeah! We been diggin' this tunnel for a week. You done nothin' but goin' topside to give a speech or two. YOU do something!"

Croco grumbled... "Insubordinates... fine... their half of the treasure might just be a little smaller than MY half..." he chuckled under his breath.

~Luigi of the Pipes~

Goombario and Chibobuigi looked at the shaded figure of the academy's headmaster. Due to the fact that they, or anybody in the school, had never seen the headmaster behind his shroud, they would have never guessed he was a sub-ordinate to Bowser or Tatanga. Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was another diabolical titan striving to gain world conquest. The thought was frightening. They had actually LEARNED under this guy, someone who wanted to destroy what their namesakes had worked so hard to help make.
"SO...," the Headmaster bellowed, "YOU BOYS THOUGHT YOU COULD ACTUALLY GET AWAY AND RUIN MY DASTARDLY PLANS, DID YOU?"

"W-well..." Chibobuigi stuttered, "we weren't exactly going to..... what I mean is..... we wanted to, but..... errr....

"Dude," Goombario, the braver and more experienced of the duo, cut in, "do you HAVE to talk all loud and booming like that?"

"WELL..... UHH..... IT'S MY SPEECH AND I'LL SAY IT AS I WANT TO! BUT BACK TO WHAT WE WERE DISCUSSING... YOU CANNOT STOP MY SINISTER PLANS, NOR CAN ANY OF THOSE MEDDLING OUTSIDERS! SOON, ALL THE PRINCESSES WORLD-WIDE WILL BE MY PETTY SERVANTS, AND ALL OPPOSITION WILL BE APPREHENDED... OR DEAD." The Headmaster said the words in such a way that the young Goombas cringed, instantly thinking of Mario and Luigi as no more. "AND AS FOR YOU BOYS, YOU KNOW TOO MUCH. SO WE WILL DISCUSS YOUR PERMANENT DETENTION..."

Chibobuigi gulped nervously, but Goombario looked back at the headmaster in defiance. "What, are you gonna hold us back in school every day for the rest of our lives? Go ahead and try! My mom's gonna hear about it!" Chibobuigi tried to cover Goombario's mouth, but found that hard to do without hands.

"THAT WASN'T EXACTLY WHAT I HAD IN MIND," the Headmaster cackled...

~Golem~

Elsewhere, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy had moved towards the back of the accademy as they had talked things over. Luigi glanced inside the window of the back door and, looking down, saw a sort of wrong green shy guy rushing down the hall, with another not quite shy guy in brown chasing it. Luigi had now zoned out of the conversation, and tried to open the door. It was locked. He tried and tried but couldn't open it. Mario looked at him while Peach and Daisy talked without noticing the other two.
"What are you doing?" Mario whispered.

"Look..." Luigi said with a small voice as well.

Mario peered in the window and saw a frantic green shy guy jumping up and down to be seen in the window. Meanwhile, a bandit had followed it. By accident, when the bandit caught up seconds later, the shy guy bounced off its head. Mario looked to Luigi and they both bent their arms, raised their left arms, lowered their right, and charged into the door. As Peach and Daisy stared at Mario and Luigi with no idea what they were doing, the brothers finally barged in. The shy guy scurried away while the bandit, not quite back on his feet yet, got bonked by the door.

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