Hello, ! This is among my first stories posted on this account! And this is a story I'm working on my computer only… I have two others that are in the works that I'm doing in spare time at school and they'll be uploaded whenever I feel like it! Gosh!

Anyways, I've been seeing a lot of "Paper Mario 4" stories. So why wouldn't I make one? I love the series dearly, so I think I ought to make one, what do you think? So here we gooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Paper Mario 4

By Squid Calamari

In the deepest, darkest location on the deepest, darkest corner of Plit[1] were the Darklands. The Darklands were not a part of the Mushroom OR Beanbean Kingdom. Also, many people have discovered this place, but never returned to report the discovery. So what was the mystery about this land?

Well, to explain this further, the Darklands were these regions at the far corners of Plit that contained a rocky desert (NOT mountainous) that had dead trees all throughout it. Also, it was always dark. Why? Because it was always night and the canopy of dead trees was so thick, hardly any light could make it through. There were also unique, native creatures living there. They looked like moving scribbles. That's truly the best explanation. Also, there is a rumor that there is a group there that some of you readers would remember fondly if you've played any of the Paper Mario games (which I assume you have).

Wait, how does this tie in with the story?

You'll find out sooner or later…

At the Mario's house, all was well. Parakarry, the usual mail Paratroopa, was making his daily stop at the house.

He put in all of the Bros.' mail and proceeded to yell "MAIL CALL!" and then flew away.

The yell was always loud enough to wake up Luigi. The youngest of the pair of Bros. had always been a light sleeper. He knew it was the mail call that woke him up and so Luigi yawned and sat up on the edge of his bunk. He put his feet into his MIPS[2] sleepers and walked outside and got the mail out of the mailbox. He got the newspaper and started reading it.

The frontline read: PRINCESS PEACH TO HAVE PARTY AT CASTLE TODAY AT NOON. MARIO BROTHERS TO ATTEND THE CEREMONY.

Luigi sighed. Whenever the newspaper said that Peach was having a party, it always said that the brothers were going there, even though they have these celebrations often in a year—they don't always want to go to one.

Luigi hesitated. He didn't understand why he had to go to these stupid celebrations. I guess Peach just shouldn't get mad at people who don't go to celebrations… he thought.

"Mario, it says here that it's going to start at… four. You've got the alarm clock on the dresser; find out what time it is." Luigi commanded.

Mario slumped into his room. On the red dresser next to the bunk beds was the alarm clock that Luigi asked about. Mario looked at it. 10:23 AM. That's not too bad. That's more than enough time to get ready.

Mario came back and reported the time to Luigi.

"Wow, that's good. I gotta go out and shop for some things. I'm not sure what you should do though… Just make sure you're ready for the party!" Luigi said.

Mario decided to go back to sleep. He felt fatigued today. Yesterday was a hard day… picking up pipes, tightening them, fixing septic systems… It would make the toughest person sore. He set the alarm clock to ring so he would wake up a few hours later.

*RING RING!* *RING RING!*

The loud ringing sounds from the clock awoke Mario. He turned off the bells (it's and old-fashioned alarm clock) and read the time: 12:15 PM. Perfect. He decided to go ahead and get to Toad Town and walk around. He stretched, got out of bed, put his regular attire on, and went outside to the warp pipe that leads him to Toad Town.

The town was bustling with business. Decorations were being strung up between buildings and the food was getting prepared.

That's the perfect atmosphere for a party, Mario thought. He went around, talking to the denizens of the city.

Off on the farthest corner in the Mushroom Kingdom, at Bowser's Castle…

"Ah, yes, I see our Koopa Konvoy is back. Well, what do you have to report?" a Magikoopa asked several Koopa Troopas.

"Well, Sergeant Magistor, we have been gone for such a long time, so we have found several spots of interest that we have marked on the map," a Koopa said. "We have found a surprising number of civilizations. We found the Machermyre Civilization, which has the same technologies as us, but has a weak military force and a high amount of wealth. They treated us with the utmost respect and they gave us this treasure chest… Which is ours, for we traveled and found it, we need it for the family. We had also found the colony of Starlington, which is part of the Sun Empire, as the citizens said. There is something about that place… I'm not sure. They have a strong military force protecting the city that we landed in, and they have a strong banking reserve. The last place we discovered was also a place to note. This place is also an unusual place. It is the Republic of Paville, an actually vast land that expands for much longer than the Mushroom Kingdom and the Beanbean Kingdom combined! There are also many variations of beings, but we had to leave soon as they became under attack by a neighboring force, of which they wouldn't tell us who. At that point we had just enough supplies to head straight back here. I wish I could give you more, but we couldn't." the Koopa said.

"Hmm… Well, we'll have to see about that treasure. Anyways, Private First Class Johnson, you are now Specialist. And all of you others, you are now Private 2s. Now, come with me to Lord Bowser. He will see if you can keep that treasure."

They walked in the back door to Bowser's Castle, and they went down a corridor that led to a series of steps that went up straight to the throne room.

"Lord Bowser, the Konvoy has returned," Magistor said.

"Ah… It has been a long time. What do you have to report?" Bowser asked.

The Koopa Konvoy told them their discoveries. They also told him about the treasure chest.

"Hmm, today is your lucky day, Koopas. I'm feeling… generous, so to speak. Go to the exchange and trade the prizes for coins and split the earnings evenly. You are dismissed, but Magistor, stay here," Bowser commanded.

After the Konvoy left, Magistor asked "What do you want, my liege?"

"Give the map to Konvoy 675-AEH. Tell them to go to the Republic and to find the attackers. Send them to the supplies closet and give them supplies for over two years. Also, go to the nursery downstairs and give them eggs. Take some nurses and also take some babies. We need to start a colony there. Magistor, you will be Governor of the Colony at Paville," Bowser said.

Magistor was speechless. "Oh… Okay, my lord. We will leave right away."

Bowser then stated: "Do not let the Mushroom Kingdom see you. We don't need any interference."

"I will do it with honor!" Magistor exclaimed.

It was now 5:20 PM at Toad Town. A huge party was going on, but the Princess requested a private talk with the Mario Bros. inside the castle—without Toadsworth.

"Now don't worry, he already knows what I'm going to tell you," Peach said. "We are going to leave in the morning to go to this new land. We sent Toadbert off to go to Goomba Village, but he went another direction—and boy, what a distance he went! He found this cute little town with all of these… like… cute people! He finally came back and said we could sail there in no time, and the citizens liked him sooooo much, he got us two houses for free there! Isn't that sweet?" Peach asked.

"Umm… Sure, but how long are we gonna stay?" Luigi implied.

"For… like… Hmm… How many? I think… 4 weeks? Yeah, that's it, 4 weeks! Can you believe it? I get to spend 4 weeks with my favorite men!" Peach exclaimed.

"Okay… Mario! We gotta go and get ready!" Luigi said.

Mario nodded. Wow, that's a long time! I wonder how the Kingdom will hold up without us for that long…

"Be at the port at 8:30 tomorrow morning! See you then!" Peach said.

"Well Mario, I guess we're going on a vacation. I just hope nothing bad happens. I just have that sinking feeling…" Luigi said.

Mario nodded in agreement. I just have a bad feeling about this whole thing too… Mario thought. I just need to relax. We're going on vacation, for Pete's sake!

Little did they know that this vacation would have more than meets their eyes…

Notes:

[1]: I've heard Plit used as what would be the planet that they were on, so I like using it.

[2]: For those of you who haven't played Super Mario 64 or its remake, MIPS is an orange rabbit that you catch two times to get two power stars. I used him so it could be bunny slippers.

Also, Magistor is NOT taking place Kamek. He was the one waiting for the Koopa Konvoy. Kamek's coming in later.

EDIT #1: 12/04/2010: I see at the beginnings where I typed "land" too much. So, I fixed it.

Again, I'm sincerely sorry for such a long opening… (see: Luigi and P.) That's two straight stories! I want reviews, but not those ones like: "Aww, you gotta change everything, stupid!" But again, I'm advancing the plot more. But I do want to know what you think: Should I call this Paper Mario or should this be non-paper? Random question, but I'm concerned about that… Oh well, I hope you liked it.

-Squid Calamari

P.S. Roll Tide Roll!