Prologue: The King's Secret.
The King has a secret. This particular secret was about a deed that the King had done in the past. At the time he thought that it was the right thing to do. His deed came with consequences. The King was angered when he found out and sought the one who caused it. However, once he found out that the consequences was nearly impossible to reverse, the King went back to his Kingdom knowing that he'd just have to live with it. The years went on and the secret continued to eat at him and eat at him but the King held his tongue and didn't reveal it to anyone. Then the King grew ill and knew that his time was short. So from his death bed he called in his most trusted advisor.
"Toadsworth, " The King said barely able to speak, "Great to see you old friend."
Toadsworth had just entered the Kings chambers. Now Toadsworth wasn't a normal person. He was being that was known as Toads. Not the frog-like creature as some may think. But a Toad was similar to a person half the size of an average adult. But that wasn't all, for growing on the top of there heads was a mushroom that could be mistaken as a large polka-dotted hat.
"You called Your Majesty?" Toadsworth said as he walk over to the side of the Kings bed.
The King nodded.
"What is it that you need?" Toadsworth asked keeping his sense of formality.
"I'm dying, Toadsworth, " The King said.
"Don't think that way sir, " Toadsworth said, "Soon you'll be back and healthier than ever."
"I'm afraid not, " The King said his tone low, "I can feel it. I don't have much time left."
"Then I'll go fetch the doctor, " Toadsworth said.
"It'll be of no use, " the King replied.
"Then, what will you have me do sir, " Toadsworth asked his voice cracked a little.
"I need to tell you something, " The King said, "Something that you must swear to me that you'll never tell anyone."
Toadsworth nodded tears welling up.
"I will swear sir, " Toadsworth said.
"Then come here and I'll whisper it into your ear."
Toadsworth walked to the King and allowed him to whisper in his ear. Toadsworth eye widened a little as he heard.
"Surly not sir, " Toadsworth said.
"I'm afraid that it's true, " The King said, "All of it. Now please, go fetch my daughter. For I'd like to see her one last time."
and with that Toadsworth nodded and left the room.
Chapter 1 The Warp Pipe
Brooklyn, New York
There exists in Brooklyn, New York a restaurant. This restaurant was of the best quality of restaurants and you had to make reservations months in advance, just to get into such a fine establishment. The name of the restaurants was The Tempest. Now the Tempest was a place of beauty from it's walls it was built with to the tables the guests would dine at. The main room wasn't the only area with a fantastic view. The kitchen's, though rarely seen by the guests, were pleasing to the eye as it was to the nose as the delicious aroma of the food being prepaid could be smelled. The restrooms were no different. The stalls and toilets were a fine stainless steel as they kept off any unwanted stains as well as kept a fine look to them. Also inside were excellent sinks made of the same stainless steel but also provided a automated pour so one didn't have to worry about contaminating their hands as they messed with turning on and off the flow. Inside each of the bathrooms was a man or a women, there to offer things like towels for those who wish to dry their hands, or breath mints for those who have bad breath.
Yes, in all the Tempest was a very fine restaurants. That is, until today. There was a problem inside the Tempest but it wasn't in the dinning area or the kitchen. No, it was in the restrooms. The faucets wouldn't turn off, the toilets were overflowing, water was every where. The owner was notified as quickly as possible and he in turn, turned over the problem to his head of house cleaning. The head of house cleaning knew exactly what to do in a situation like this as he used a phone to call the best plumbing agency in town or so it was advertised.
"What do you mean you can't come fix it?" The head of house cleaning said into the phone.
"We just can't afford the man power at the moment," The person on the other side of the line replied, "all our plumbers are busy with other clients in New York City."
"Ok then, " The Head of house cleaning said as he hung up the phone.
Surely there were others just as good as the Scapelies. So he pulled out a phone book and began to look through the listing. As he went through them one particular company caught his eye.
"Mario Brother's Plumbing, We fix it better and faster than the leading Plumbing company."
The add looked good enough for the head of house cleaning and he was running out of options to be able to get the restrooms fixed. So he dialed the number. The other line picked up on the second ring.
"Mario Brother's Plumbing, " Said a man's voice on the other end of the line, "This is Mario how may I help you?"
"Yes, this is Evan Carlton, head of the house cleaning at the Tempest," He told him, "We've got a serious problem on our hands and we are in need of your services."
"We'll be right over Mr. Carlton," Mario replied.
"Thank you, " Mr. Carlton said and hung up.
Not long after the call a light blue van pulled up in front of the Tempest. On the side of the van was the Mario Bothers Plumbing's name and logo. Mr. Carlton was all ready outside waiting on the them and upon seeing them he walked over to the van. Out of the van stepped out two men that looked as if they were in their early twenties. They both had matching outfits of plain colored shirts and suspenders. Across their waist was a tool belt filled with different plumbing tools. On their heads were a ball cap each with the initial of the first name in the center. The difference between the two was besides the letters on their cap was that one's shirt and hat's primary color was green while the other chose the red color. The plumber in red also was a little round in the stomach area and he supported a decent sized mustache. The other though slim was slightly taller than the other and his mustache was slightly shorter.
The two plumbers walked up to Mr. Carlton.
"Mario Brothers' Plumbing at your service," Said the plumber in red, "I'm Mario and this is my younger brother Luigi."
Luigi tipped his hat.
"I'm Mr. Carlton, " Mr. Carlton told them, "We spoke on the phone."
"I remember, " Mario replied, "So tell us where's the problem?"
"In the main bathrooms," Mr. Carlton said, "Come I'll show you."
Mr. Carlton lead the two brothers to the Restroom areas. He then opened the door to the men's room and doing so caused some water to seep out.
"We've know idea what the problem is," Mr. Carlton said.
"Don't worry," Mario told him, "We'll have it fixed."
"Please do," Mr. Carlton said.
So the Mario Brothers set off to work and in no time at all the sinks and toilet's all stopped flooding. When they finished they went up to Mr. Carlton.
"All done," Mario said.
"Did you find out what was wrong?" Mr. Carlton asked.
"Mainly, faulty plumbing," Mario told him, "Something was flushed and got stuck where all the toilet's and sinks connect. Thus causing the spillage."
"Oh," Mr. Carlton said as he pulled out a checkbook and pen, "Now how much do We oh you?"
Mario pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Mr. Carlton.
"That much?" He said, "It's not all that bad."
"Great service and cheep prices," Mario said, "That's our motto."
"I see, " Mr. Carlton wrote out the check and handed it to Mario, "Here you are and thank you."
"No problem," Mario said, "Just remember the next time you've got a problem come see us."
"we might just do that," Mr. Carlton said.
So the two brothers left the Tempest and got into their van. Once inside they left. Instead of heading back to their home they went to the bank where they cashed the check and put the money into their bank account. Once they had done that they headed home.
Now unlike what most thought, the Mario brothers were actually struggling to survive thanks to their competitor, the Scapelies. Both Mario and Luigi were excellent Plumbers but the majority of the people are drawn to the Scapelies due to their modern tools and equipment. But the two brothers do get enough work to eat off of because some get tired of the Scapelies' higher prices.
Due to Mario and Luigi's financial problems they no longer live in their own house. However, they had found an old abandoned subway station and they converted it into a suitable living place.
The two brothers arrived at their home as they parked the van inside. Once they were inside they got out of the van. Each of them placed their tool belt on a peg by the door as they headed to the main living area.
"Didn't I tell you Luigi?" Mario said, "Those clowns may have fancy equipment but their skills aren't very good."
Luigi gave a nod as he had a seat on the couch.
"True," Luigi said, "I'm just looking forward to our house again."
"This place isn't that bad," Mario said as he sat down on another couch, "We've got a whole lot more room than are old place, that's for sure."
Just then a rumbling began to occur from below them.
"Yeah and allot of trains from the new train line too," Luigi said.
"I never said it didn't have kinks," Mario said, "But for now it's home."
The two brothers sat back in their seats as the rumbling continued to occur.
"Must be a long train," Luigi remarked.
The rumbling continued.
"Must be," Mario agreed.
Suddenly the rumbling grew in intensity.
"Ummm, Mario?" Luigi asked, "Is it just me or is it getting worse?"
"You know I think it is," Mario said.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake and the walls.
"That's no train," Luigi said his voice shaking, "That's an Earthquake."
"Quick outside," Mario said as they jumped to their feet. The two brothers ran for the entrance as the earthquake continued. As they reached the door each brother grabbed their tool belt for they were not about to loose their tools. It was this decision that saved their life's as a split second it took for them to grab their tools than the ceiling towards the entrance caved in on them.
"We're trapped," Luigi said as he panicked.
"Pull yourself together," Mario replied as he grabbed Luigi and headed back to the living area. They could try and use the train tracks to get out. As they ran the ceiling continued to fall down in places but the brothers finally made it to the living area which was right beside the tracks. But suddenly sections of ceiling fell almost right into place as they fell on either side of the train track.
"Now we're really trapped," Luigi said.
Then in the center of the tracks opened up to a pit. Not long after that then the earthquake faded.
"What do we do?" Luigi asked. But Mario seemed a bit preoccupied as he seemed to be staring at the pit made by the earthquake.
"Luigi come look at this," Mario said as he walked over to the pit. Luigi sighed as he to went over to the pit. What he saw was strange. For in the center of the pit was a large green pipe, big enough for a person to fit through.
"Where do you think it leads too?" Luigi asked.
"Only one way to find out," Mario said as he got down into the pit. He then pulled out a glow stick. He bent it to activate the glow then he tossed it down the pipe. Luigi came up to Mario as he leaned over to watch the glow stick fall. As they watched the glow stick just seemed to have vanished.
"Did the glow stick fade?" Luigi asked.
Mario shrugged. That's when Luigi's grip on the pipe slipped as he fell head first into the pipe.
"AHHH!"
Luigi said but Mario managed to grab his feet before he fell past him. But a strange tug seemed to pull Luigi farther in as suddenly, Mario was pulled in too as they both fell down into the strange green pipe.
Chapter 2
