DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Mario series, which is trademarked by Nintendo. All characters (with the exception of OCs are created and owned by Nintendo, and I do not claim any ownership over them or the Mario series. The story I tell here is my own invention, and it is not purported or believed to be part of Nintendo's Mario canon. This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official story line. There is no financial gain from writing this story, as I'm doing this for entertainment purposes. I'd like to thank Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo for creating the Mario series, as without them, this story would not exist.


Chapter 1: Only a Matter of Time

Mario sighed. Bowser just never learned. He was in Bowser's castle again, along with his brother Luigi, and of course Princess Peach who was dangling from the ceiling in a cage suspended by a cable. Bowser sneered at the two mustached plumbers.

"It won't be like last time Super Stupid Bros!" Mario barely kept from rolling his eyes. Whatever Bowser had planned for the pair of plumbers, Mario was quite certain that it would turn out to be EXACTLY like last time.

"How many times do we have to teach you Bowser?" Mario shouted. "When are you ever going to just give up?" "Yeah y-y-you tell him Mario!" cried the man beside him nervously. "W-w-we aren't afraid of you!"

Mario glanced over at his brother. Unlike Mario, Luigi greatly lacked in self-confidence when it came to hero work. He was more than capable of saving the day. Mario knew that his younger brother was very strong and powerful. It was no matter of strength, but he doubted himself too much. What had their father always told them growing up?

"You can never do anything but fail if you go in doubting yourself. If you have no self-confidence, you will have no victory." But Mario resisted the urge to remind his little brother of this. They could not afford any distractions.

Mario closed his eyes and ran straight at Bowser while Luigi jumped high into the air, ricochet off the stone ceiling and along with his older counterpart, collided with Bowser's head.

"GWAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!" Bowser roared. "WHY YOU LITTLE!"

WHAM! Mario and Luigi had sprung back up almost immediately after their last attack and had kicked the King of the Koopas in the chest sending him flying backwards against the wall, leaving a large crater in the stone.

"That's it!" Bowser shouted as he saw the plumbers running towards him once more. "Now I'm REALLY MAD!" Bowser glared at the brothers concentrating hard. He had to end this soon or else Mario and Luigi would once again defeat him, once again steal the Princess, and once again wreck his evil plans.

King Bowser waited until the brothers got close enough. He had worked hard towards achieving his most recent villainous scheme, and he wasn't about to be thwarted by two measly plumbers. Fortunately for the brothers, Mario saw the look in Bowser's eye and knew what his adversary was planning. He nudged Luigi and both of them jumped out of the way in opposite directions as Bowser opened his snout, releasing a blast of red-hot flames.

Seizing the moment, Mario snuck up behind Bowser, grabbed him by his spiky tail and started spinning the Koopa King in circles. This was a trick he'd been using for many years. It was difficult, but if executed perfectly in the right circumstances, it could very well end the battle. Mario had done this so many times that it was no longer hard for him to do. As long as he could manage to pull this off without a dirty trick from Bowser or interference from his minions, he should be fine. As Mario continued to swing the king around like a lasso, Luigi covered him; protecting him from incoming minions attempting to protect their leader from harm.

Mario could see Luigi out of the corner of his eye kicking, punching and fending off Koopatrols and Hammer Bros. Bowser usually ordered the minions to stay behind and let him fight Mario himself. Finally, just when he thought that his arms would break off and when Bowser thought he was going to puke, Mario released Bowser's tail and sent the Koopa King flying. With the speed of a Bullet Bill, Bowser shot down the vast corridor and smashed head-first into the stone wall opposite and slid, unconscious to the ground.

"Well that was easy," the two brothers said in unison.

"Mario! Luigi!" Cried a soft voice. The two brothers looked up to see Peach suspended about 10 feet above them in a cage. The brothers had expected nothing less from Bowser.

For someone with such an infatuation with the princess, he sure puts her into some pretty dangerous places, Luigi thought.

"Hmm, I wonder. Hey Luigi, how do you suppose we can get the princess down?

"Well, Bowser was tall enough to simply attach the cage to this cable." Peach provided. "So there should be a way to detach it if you can reach the top of my cage."

"Ooh! This looks like a job for Luigi" said Luigi.

Hmm. Luigi is a superb jumper and would have no trouble reaching the princess, thought Mario. Still..."HEY WAIT! STOP!" Mario finished the last part of his thought aloud. But it was too late, for Luigi had already sprung high into the air and had managed to reach the cage. Unfortunately, Luigi hadn't taken any consideration that he would still need to safely get the princess down after detaching the cage. Now he was holding on as tightly as he could with the cage swinging like a pendulum. "Oh, God!" Mario cried. He knew that Luigi would survive the landing with hardly a scratch, but what about Peach?

In desperation, Mario looked around for something like a mattress. However, Drat! This is a throne room. There's no need for a mattress here. And besides, thought Mario, Koopas don't even use them. Suddenly, he heard a creaking sound. He turned around to see the cage split free from the cable and crash to the floor with Princess Peach and his brother.

"Are you two okay?" Asked Mario.

"Oh yes. I'm quite alright Mario" Said Princess Peach. She was a little shook, but otherwise okay.

"Never been better." Grinned Luigi sheepishly. Mario heaved a sigh of relief. But his relief faded at the sound of a loud groan from the end of the hall. The three of them turned and saw that Bowser was beginning to come to. There wasn't much time. They had to get out of here before Bowser regained consciousness.

"We need to leave." Said Princess Peach worriedly. She knew that Bowser would never hurt her (not intentionally at least) but she also knew that the tyrant Koopa would be infuriated upon waking up, and she did not want to be around to witness his rage. So together with Mario and Luigi at her side, they raced out of the throne room, though the various halls (all adorned with highly conceited portraits and statues of the castle's current master) and out the front gate.

As soon as the trio exited the Castle's front doors, they heard a massive ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR! It seemed that Bowser had finally woken up, and judging by the volume and intensity of the roar, they correctly guessed that he wasn't happy.

Mario and Luigi were already pretty worn out from the long journey, and Luigi wasn't anticipating the adventure home. Luigi thought with a sigh about their upcoming journey home through deserts, ice mountains, ghost houses, forests, meadows, and even an ocean.

"This is going to be a long trip," he thought aloud. Even the princess looked reluctant. The Nimbi Desert was her least favorite part while Luigi highly disliked venturing into ghost houses. The only one who didn't look weary at the prospect of making the long journey once more was Mario. On the contrary, he looked determined and ready for more action. That's Mario, She thought. He never backs down from a challenge. In truth, Mario actually was slightly apprehensive about the home journey. He had braved this path forwards and backward so many times, he was sure that he could do it. But he had to admit to himself that he was tired and needed rest. But they all knew that rest on the front door-step of an angry Bowser was not an option, so Mario was determined to do what needed to be done.

But just then Luigi shouted, "Look there!" Mario turned towards him and saw him and Peach looking up at the sky. Glancing up, he saw a Mushroom Chopper, a bright red helicopter with white polka-dots on the side. It was heading straight for them. They were saved.

"Am I too late?" Asked Toadarius, the pilot of the chopper as he landed the craft.

Relief washed over her. "You made perfect timing Toadarius." the princess exclaimed. Seeing a familiar face of one of her mushroom people was an assurance to her that all was still well in the Mushroom Kingdom. She was about to go home, back to everyone.

"Glad I could make it," he grinned. "C'mon get inside, and we'll be off.

"With pleasure," grinned Peach as she and the two brothers the chopper and set off for home, thinking now only of the celebration they would have when they arrived back at Mushroom Castle

Meanwhile, Bowser was messaging his head as Koopa doctors tended to his wounds. He was furious. There was steam coming out of his nostrils. This greatly feared the Koopas who knew that Bowser had a temper of fire and could easily roast them alive if he let his temper explode. Bowser was infuriated at being bested yet again by the Mario Bros. It was honestly humiliating for him to be bested by two measly plumbers. Why can't I beat them? What is it about those two that make them so indestructible?

Bowser grudgingly allowed the Koopa doctors to continue their examinations as he knew that they wouldn't leave him alone until they were certain that he had suffered no serious injury. After they had finished their final questions of "Are you sure your alright your stubbornness?" Bowser had finally had enough.

He stood up and growled, "Leave me in peace. I need to go and think about what my next plan is." So without another word, Bowser left the throne room and set off for his private chambers, leaving his minions alone to clean up the carnage of the battle. None of them noticed the figure hiding away in the corner, just below the ceiling.

"Hmm. That was interesting." mumbled the figure in a very raspy voice. "I wonder, ought I to execute the plan now?" He looked down on the Koopa servants, working to restore the throne room to its former glory. Even if any of them happened to look up, they wouldn't notice him, for he had chosen to remain invisible. He was quite used to it. For years this being and all of his best servants had spied on the Koopa Castle, Or. Shall I say, MY castle? he thought.

"Your Majesty." whispered a second, smaller figure. "The plan may not have gone exactly the way that you wanted, he said in a deep voice, but now seems like as good a time as ever to take action. My soldiers are all in position. Shall you be making your big move tonight?" The first, larger figure stroked his chin with his short, stubby arm. He closed his eyes. It was apparent to his servant that he was in deep thought, so he remained silent. His master meditated on this for nearly five minutes as he pondered his next move.

"Finally he opened his eyes and said "No. I don't think so. Not tonight at least." He knew that this would be disappointing to his brethren. It had definitely been disappointing to him. They had been planning this for several years. Every time Mario and occasionally Luigi showed up to fight Bowser, they would prepare themselves to act in a moment's notice. "Bowser is still very strong my friend. He may not be able powerful enough to fight me for very long, but he may have just enough time to warn the magikoopas. Aside from that, it would be unwise to attempt anything unless at least one of the Mario Bros are eliminated. They pose an even bigger threat than the magikoopas. One false move and my plan will not succeed."

He looked over at his servant. He seemed slightly crestfallen but still understanding. "I understand my lord. I will send a message to the rest of them that the time is not yet right and that we shall wait a bit longer."

"Very good then." Said his master in his usual raspy voice. As his servant turned to leave, he resumed the contemplation of his strategy. Just a little while longer. He thought, with a wicked grin on his face, as he softly chuckled to himself. Only a matter of time.

To be continued...


So, how did I do? This was my very first fan fiction submission, so there's always room for improvement. Therefore, your feedback and reviews are very valuable and appreciated. I have a big story planned out. I hope to submit chapter two soon.