- SUPER MARIO -

Book II - The Delusions of a Tyrannical King

goldenwhackabump

Chapter 1 - The Return of the King

The last forty-eight hours or so had been among the most eventful and unpredictable hours of Mario's entire life. First, on the night before last, the Star Festival had taken place. The Star Festival was a miraculous event that was foretold by an ancient legend about an unconscious woman who drifts through space, surrounded by the energy of the Goddess. This woman was Rosalina - Princess of the Galaxies. According to the legend, Princess Rosalina was to arrive on Earth after a one thousand year journey through space. It was foretold that upon her arrival, the energy that was surrounding her during this journey was to rain down from the heavens in the form of vibrant, luminous stars. These fabled stars were known as the Goddess Stars.

And would you believe it? It actually happened. One of the fabled Goddess Stars had even managed to crash right into Mario during the Star Festival. And if one miracle wasn't enough, within that very same moment, the Princess of the Galaxies herself had crashed right where Mario and his friends had all gathered to celebrate that evening. It was a spectacular coincidence, one that forces you to entertain the idea of destiny.

Princess Rosalina was a rather lazy and aimless character, but she had become fast friends with Mario and the others. She appeared to suffer from amnesia, as she doesn't remember hardly anything about her past. However, it wasn't long before she would stumble upon a dark truth, which was that her awakening meant the beginning of the end for all worlds.

And, as if that night hadn't already been queer enough, the very next morning a strange, gallant fellow by the name of Link had arrived at their doorstep. He was a distinguished swordsman from the kingdom of Hyrule who traveled with a fairy, a species which was widely regarded to have gone extinct long ago.

Link was looking for someone to help him defeat Ganon, who is slowly gaining power while trapped within Princess Zelda's magic seal. He explained to Mario and his friends that he had sensed immense potential within each of them, and that he had wished to help them realize it, so that together they could put a stop to Ganon before he puts a stop to everything.

During their discussion, he had discovered that they were currently dealing with their own problems. Princess Daisy had apparently been exiled from her own kingdom, Sarasaland, by Lord Grodus, the leader of the X-Naut Army. On top of that, King Bowser and his senile servant, Kammy Koopa, were causing havoc in the Mushroom Kingdom every other day.

In the end, they had all decided to band together as allies, so that they may help each other put an end to the evils that were threatening their Kingdoms. And, just as they had made that pact, yet another outlandish event had occurred.

Mario, Link, and Princess Rosalina had been transported into a strange, otherworldly medium known as a Spirit Realm. In here, under the instruction of a mysterious voice, they completed three trials which turned out to be highly rigorous ordeals. It had turned out that they were being instructed on how to destroy Shadow Realms, which is essentially a Spirit Realm that has been distorted with great evil.

The mysterious voice had explained to them that if they were able to steal the Treasure of a Shadow Realm, which was in fact the cause of its corruption, then they would be able to return it back into a Spirit Realm again. What this meant was that, in theory, an evil person might turn back into a good person, and that during this process a Crystal Heart would be born.

Mario, Link, and Princess Rosalina decided to trust the notion that if they were able to change the hearts of their enemies and collect the Crystal Hearts, then they might stand a chance against that dark truth Rosalina had discovered.

The story continues on the following morning, back in Peach Castle.


Mario awoke with a start. Sitting upright in his bed, he was breathing heavily in a sweat. As his breathing relaxed, he took a moment to survey his surroundings. He was in his bedroom. It was an airy, spacious room. Other than a few large plants, he had only the essentials for furniture, some of which were painted red and blue. Black curtains were blocking out the morning sun.

Then, he started to remember. Mario placed a hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. Rosalina and Link, the trials, and the Thousand Year Door. It was all coming back to him in that moment. But what had happened after that? He could not remember. How did he end up sleeping in his bed?

"Was it all just a dream?" Mario thought to himself.

Someone was knocking at the door. With a soft bark of surprise, Mario directed his attention to the brown wooden door. "Come in."

The door creaked open. Princess Peach peeked her head inside, before carefully stepping into the room.

"Peach?" Mario greeted, somewhat absentmindedly.

"Good morning, Mario." Peach nodded, with a soft smile. She was dressed in the classic pink dress that she always wore. Satin white opera gloves covered her delicate hands; her golden jewelled crown placed upon her blonde haired head. "I am so glad to see that you are awake and well."

"Yeah..." Mario sang. He realized he was spacing out again, and he shook his head. "Sorry, I-"

"It is alright." Peach assured. "You are probably just a little confused after everything that has happened."

"Lana T. found the three of you last night during her patrol." Peach proceeded to explain. Mario was listening with much more focus now. "You were each lying there, unconscious, in the very same spots where you had disappeared."

"So it wasn't a dream..." Mario thought to himself out loud, facing downwards pensively.

Peach shook her head, and then continued to speak. "We brought each of you back into your rooms, so that you could rest. You are the last one to wake, hmhmhm."

"They're already up, huh?" Mario acknowledged, rubbing his hatless hair with a hand.

"That is right." Peach confirmed, with a nod. "We are all about to have breakfast together, as a matter of fact. I came up here in hopes that you would be awake."

"Breakfast?! Wahoo, I'm starving! Thanks, Peach!" Mario cheered, very excited now. "I'll be right down!."

/

On the first floor of Peach Castle, beyond the leftmost door was the castle dining hall, which was positively grand. Its most prominent feature was the centrepiece: a long, antique wooden table that was frequently covered by a linen white tablecloth. Even the napkins folded neatly in half and tucked beneath the white china plates were made of fine red linen. White and red were the official colours of the Mushroom Kingdom, a fact which was not neglected at this table setting. The black and white checkered tile was partially covered by a large red carpet, and the stone ceiling of the room was very high above.

Link, dressed in his usual blue champions tunic and white pants, had apparently been helping the castle chefs prepare a large breakfast for everyone. In the next room over was a seven star kitchen, which was almost always stocked full with a panoply of fresh, high quality ingredients. Cooking in this kitchen was like a field day for Link, he was utterly beside himself.

Rosalina, on the other hand, had apparently been playing video games in the Royal Lounge from the very moment she regained consciousness. Despite that her wardrobe was now full of clothes that Peach had bought for her, she still wore that same blue dress that she always had. She was playing a game about a lovely little green creature that was carrying a young infant through a colourful, dangerous world. Daisy, dressed in her usual orange dress, had to practically drag her by the ear in order to get her to join everyone for breakfast.

Peach, Daisy, Mario, Rosalina, Navi, and Toadsworth watched in mouth-watering awe as Link and the chefs brought in plates stacked with all sorts of delightful looking dishes. Nothing quite beat the pleasant aroma of freshly cooked breakfast, Mario thought. Navi on the other hand, could only think about how much longer it would be before she would receive her own hot-buttered apple. Link and the chefs had also cooked for the Toad Brigade, but as there were so many of them, they would be eating their breakfast in the mess hall downstairs.

Breakfast was buffet style. On the dining table were plates stocked full of bacon, sausages, eggs, buttered pancakes, croissants, a variety of fruits (either honeyed, plain, or with powdered sugar), golden hash-browns, and freshly glazed cinnamon rolls. On top of this, Link had prepared some speciality dishes that they were all (with the exception of Rosalina, who apparently was a fussy eater) eager to sample.

Mario wanted to try the crab omelette with rice, and upon eating it he commented that this was definitely the best omelette that he had ever eaten. Link told him that the egg was that of a wild Hylian robin, a fact which had caused Peach to reach for another dish to sample instead. Link added that cooking the rice with fresh chicken stalk, as opposed to water, was a great way to complement the sea salt of the crab.

Peach was positively delighted after taking a bite out of one of Links honey crepes. Link didn't hesitate to tell her how easy they were to make, and he insisted that the secret to a good honey-crepe was to use courser bee honey and cane sugar, as opposed to the usual store-bought varieties.

Mario had now been so focused on eating his breakfast, and previously had been so preoccupied with his thoughts on yesterdays events, that he only now just realized that Luigi had been missing.

"Hey, where's Luigi?!" Mario barked, in sudden agitation. He could think of no greater sin than to be missing such a wonderful breakfast with his friends.

"Dunno. We haven't seen him since yesterday." Daisy informed, followed by a mouthful of honeyed fruit.

"After we had finished at the mall yesterday, he split up with us." Peach added, with a hand.

"Said he had something else he wanted to do, but didn't tell us." Daisy continued, now seeming rather irritated. "Said that it was important, apparently."

"Ohh, okay." Mario sang, starting to relax a bit. "If he says it's something important, then I trust he really means it."

"Even so, it is quite odd for Luigi to be gone for so long." Toadsworth objected, who had also decided to sample the crab omelette with rice. "Quite odd indeed."

"I'm sure Luigi will be back soon." Mario assured with a warm smile, returning to his food.

There was a brief period of silence as everyone continued to eat. Peach tried to get Rosalina to try more of the food, as she was only eating pancakes and cinnamon rolls. Rosalina put up a fuss, refusing to try anything more. Daisy snickered, and kindly reminded Peach that she was not her mother.

"So." Peach started, breaking the pleasant silence. "Mario, Link, Princess Rosalina... care to share what happened yesterday with all of us?"

"Mm!" Daisy sang, her eyes widening upon remembrance. She had totally forgotten all about their strange disappearance. Her mouth was too full to speak, but it could at least be discerned from the look on her face that she was interested in hearing all about it.

"Yeah, fill us in!" Navi sang, flying before the face of Link in glee. "What happened?"

"Don't leave us in suspense any longer, Master Mario!" Toadsworth demanded, in good cheer. "Pipe up, I say!"

Link had then proceeded to explain the series of events to everyone. It can not be said that a perfect retelling was told, but judging by the expressions on their faces, they seemed to have grasped the main picture well enough. Link told them all about the trials, the strange boyish voice that was guiding them (which Rosalina insisted was a girls voice), and Mario didn't spare a detail whenever the topic would switch to any of the fight scenes - be it against the Stone Talus or the Guardians. He would chime in about his special attacks, which apparently Navi was the most excited about.

When Link had finally arrived on the subject of the Spirit Vessels, he had to do his best to speak precisely enough so that everyone would still be able to follow. This exercise was made even more difficult by Mario and Rosalina, who would both constantly interrupt him in order to gloat about certain parts of racing down the mountain side on their Spirit Vessels during their escape. Toadsworth had the hardest time following along, by a significant margin.

Finally, Link explained to them everything that took place in the strange, enigmatic room where the Thousand Year Door was located. He talked about the Spirit Realms, the Shadow Realms, and explained to them the function of the Treasure. Everyone was completely engrossed by his explanation, a task which Mario and Rosalina happily left for Link entirely. The hardest part of the explanation was describing what they had learned about what was beyond the Thousand Year Door.

Link did his best to explain to everyone the realm of what's Beyond Good and Evil. It was at this point where Toadsworth had decided to give up following along altogether, opting to have a spot of tea upstairs instead. Although his explanation wasn't perfect, judging by the grim expressions on everyones faces, he figured that he had done a well enough job. Everyone was in horrified silence upon learning about this impending destruction, and Rosalina took this opportunity to explain what she had read in the Library the night before last; which was something that she had been meaning to do before they had disappeared into the portals.

Link ended the explanation on a positive note. He talked about the Crystal Hearts, and how they might be obtained through the destruction of the Shadow Realms. Mario finally chimed in to mention how they were gonna use the Crystal Hearts to open the Thousand Year door, and defeat the demon that lies Beyond before it gets too powerful to handle.

After the explanation had concluded, there was a long silence. The discussion was so long, that by the time they had finished it the table had be completely cleared off by the kitchen staff.

"This is... a lot to take in." Peach had finally managed to speak. She had an expression of downcast despair.

"I just can't believe Rosalina's awakening has weakened the seal on this great demon." Daisy frowned. She also had a similar expression of downcast despair. "I never would have imagined that something so serious was happening."

"But it's okay!" Navi encouraged with an expression of determination, her fists clenched with hope.

"What?" Rosalina softly barked. "What's okay?"

"You guys are the chosen Three! You'll gather the Crystal Hearts and put a stop to all of this before it's too late!" Navi continued, both fists clenched by her face now. "I just know you will!"

"Hahaha!" Link laughed, boisterously. "Well said, Navi!"

"There's no way I'm letting everyone down, that's for sure!" Mario grinned, his fists pounded together. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe!"

"I guess I'll help too..." Rosalina lazily chimed, finger on her chin in thought.

"But it is not just you three, right?" Peach interjected, with a hand. "What about the light figure? You know, the mysterious, guiding voice?"

"Apparently he's looking for a vessel to inhabit as we speak." Link explained. "Although we can't be sure."

"He'll definitely be with us soon!" Mario encouraged, completely optimistic. "We're a team! There's no way he's gonna let us down. Not after all of that trial business."

"A fair point." Link agreed, with a nod.

"I just hope the vessel isn't something that shatters the illusion." Rosalina frowned, seeming quite depressed all of a sudden. "I hope she picks something feminine, like a sailboat."

"Erm... I suspect that is not what they mean by vessel, Princess." Peach clarified, a comedic sweat drop behind her head.

"Eh?! Really?!" Rosalina gasped, rather surprised.

"Anyway," Daisy sang, returning to the subject. "Don't you guys think that you're on your own for this. You Three may be the ones handling all of that Shadow Realm business, but we've got your backs out here in the real world!"

"Absolutely!" Peach concurred, rather excited herself. "We shall support all of you one hundred percent!"

"Thank you, truly." Link smiled, with a nod. "We're going to need all of the help that we can get."

They continued to chat for a little while longer. Eventually the topic had drifted back towards Peach and Daisys trip to the mall yesterday. Peach's eyes lit up as she recalled the cell phones that she had purchased, and she requested if they could now take their discussion over to the Royal Lounge so that she could give everybody their new phones.

/

Within the Royal Lounge, Peach and Daisy were helping Mario, Link, and Rosalina set up their new phones. Daisy was utterly baffled by the amount of troubleshooting that Link had required. He would laugh loudly each time he surrendered the phone over to Daisy ("Give me that" - she would snap at him) who would then guide him back onto the right track before begrudgingly returning his phone. Peach seemed to be guiding Mario and Rosalina through the process well enough. However, her patience was tested at times by how annoyed Rosalina would get during certain steps, declaring countlessly how this whole thing was such a pain.

Eventually they were exchanging cell phone numbers, customizing their wallpapers, and downloading all sorts of applications. They killed the entire morning buried in their phones, learning how to use them properly and setting them up just the way they wanted. During this time, Peach had also managed to convince everyone to attend the Bombastic Festival that was occurring later this afternoon in the central plaza of Mushroom City, which was in fact the same place they were at during the Star Festival. Daisy and Rosalina had initially declined the idea, but eventually they begrudgingly agreed to go. Mario and his friends spent the remainder of the early afternoon conversing and getting prepared to go to the city.

/

Luigi was in despair. Since last night, he had been handcuffed around a pole which he had his back against. His only sources of stimulation had been the handful of times where either Wario or Waluigi had entered the room in order to give him some food or take him to the washroom. Even though Luigi had managed to sleep for a little bit, these last 16 hours or so had felt like an eternity.

He was in the some sort of aircraft. There was a complicated display up front beyond two large brown chairs in the cockpit. Through the front window, he could see that this aircraft was being kept inside of a rather large hangar. Luigi had been handcuffed to a pole located in the rear of the aircraft. He was positioned near a large amount of wooden crates which had DANGER! EXPLOSIVE! stamped in red on their sides, which only made him even more uneasy. He was hoping that Mario and the others would find him soon. The despair within him had resurfaced upon hearing Wario and Waluigi laughing outside of the airship.

"Wah hah hah!" Wario laughed, smacking his belly twice before forming a W with three raised fingers. "WARIO!"

"YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!" Waluigi cried in a nasally voice, as he hurled his hands up to the right, then to the left; finally concluding with a clenched fist. "WALUIGI!"

Luigi then brought himself to a stand, tilting his head a bit so that he could see the two of them through one of the side windows on the airship. He proceeded to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Things are going exactly according to plan, Wario." Waluigi grinned, rubbing his twiggy moustache.

"Ha! They sure are, Waluigi." Wario nodded, with a grin. "People are already lined up to get in. These losers must never have anything fun to do around here."

"We open the gates in thirty minutes." Waluigi proclaimed, hardly able to contain his excitement. He patted the doors of the airship, which surprised Luigi into a stiff stance. "Then! THEN, we execute the plan, and Grodus will be absolutely sure to promote me!"

(Plan? I don't like the sounds of that. Just what exactly are they planning to do?) Luigi thought, with narrowed eyes.

Wario was too preoccupied with "digging for gold", as it were, to think about promotions. Waluigi slapped his hands onto his shoulders, looking deeply into Wario's eyes.

"Hah?" Wario barked, meeting Waluigi's eyes.

"Wario... we can't fail, understand?" Waluigi stressed. He started shaking him profusely, which caused the retrieved booger to fly astray. "We mustn't fail! We mustn't!"

"Wah-wah-wah- okay, OKAY, I got it!" Wario eased, slapping his hands away. "Chill out, already."

"*sigh* I apologize." Waluigi frowned, turning away. "I get... caught up in things."

"Whatever, just chill out, or else you might goof it all up. HAHA!" Wario roared, apparently amused by the thought.

"What's so funny?" Waluigi sneered, turning back to him. They started to leave. The sounds of their voices increasingly grew distant. "I'll chill out, but you better take this seriously, got it?"

"Whatever..." Wario groaned.

Alone once again, Luigi slid back down to a sit with a frown upon his face. "Darn! If only I could tell Mario and the others about this!"

/

Our story now shifts over to the Kingdom of Sarasaland, to a rather peculiar room filled with darkness. Within this darkness were five white pillars with flat tops, upon which three rather awkward characters were standing. The pillars were close together but varied in height, which happened to serve as a ranking system for those who stood upon them. The higher the pillar, the higher the rank. The lowest and the highest pillars were currently unoccupied.

The fourth highest pillar was occupied by a brawny bald man with muscular arms and a ginger beard. He wore a black and red muscle shirt and spiky fingerless gloves, as well as a matching kilt. He was big and burly. His two hands were like garbage bin lids. He spoke in an accent that was unmistakably Scottish. His name was O'Chunks.

The third highest pillar was occupied by a seemingly delicate, olive-skinned little girl with her dark green hair in pigtails. She had big purple eyes and wore violet lipstick that made her lips sparkle. She wore a yellow sundress with a white polka dot pattern, and she also wore a red bowtie. Her arms and legs were like twigs, and her hands and feet were rather small, like that of a child. This young lady was Mimi.

On the second highest pillar was a surly looking fellow by the name of Lord Crump. He wore a purple viking helmet on his head and round spectacles on his face, which was otherwise completely smothered in darkness. He wore a strange suit that was reminiscent of what would be worn by your typical Saturday morning cartoon villain, which featured skin tight purple pants and black pointed shoes. The torso section was black with a large white X, which signified that he was a member of the X-Naut army.

This was true. In fact, Lord Crump was the Commander of the X-Naut Army's Elite Force, a force which both Mimi and O'Chunks were also a part of. From the perspective of the entire X-Naut army, Lord Crump was the second most powerful, second only to Lord Grodus himself.

"Blimey! Me Crump Lordship sire, what in tarnation do you got us lollygaggin' round 'ere now fer?" O'Chunks complained, rattling his raised fists in protest.

"Golly O'Chunks, a little respect and patience for Lord Crumpie would be like, totally appropriate!" Mimi silenced, looking down at him from the higher pillar.

"EH? Patience? Listen lass, I've been waitin' 'ere fer yeh fer the last ferty minutes! Holdin' in a mean brew all the while, might I add." O'Chunks countered. "I couldn't leave either since I didn't know when yeh'd show up!"

"EW! That's like, totally too much info!" Mimi recoiled in disgust. "Where's your sense of like, propriety? I outrank you, you know!"

"Guys. Shut up. It's fine. It's good." Lord Crump silenced, his voice very deep. Though harsh in his speech, Crump rarely ever got riled up. "Let's just get this over with."

"Can I at least go an' use deh washroom der first yer honorship?" O'Chunks whined, struggling in place and failing to hold back a small fart. "I can't take much more o' dis!"

"This will be brief." Lord Crump assured, apparently unmoved by the request. "Now that Wario and Waluigi are gone and have nearly completed their mission, I figured it would be the best time to provide you both with the "full" details of our plan."

"Eh? What details? I reckon' yeh told us everytin' already, didn't yeh?" O'Chunks thought, scratching his head in perplexity.

"Ugh!" Mimi cried, plugging her nose in disgust. "Golly O'Chunks, that's just about the worse fart I've ever smelt! Can he be demoted even further, Lord Crumpie? Pleeeeease? Oh, can he be fired?!"

"Eh?! Fired?!" O'Chunks cried, suddenly quite frazzled. "Yeh dun need to do that, yer lordship sire! Please! PLEASE, mate?! Tell me it's gunna be okay! Tink' of the missus and the children!"

"Golly, maybe you should have thought about that before you farted near your superiors!" Mimi sneered, grinning deviously at his distress. She loved little more in the world than teasing and tormenting O'Chunks. "Now you'll have to go and find some other work!"

"Oh-ho-ho..." O'Chunks sobbed, wiping his tears. "It'll be back to deh shipyard fer me... I ain't cut out fer this life."

"Guys. Shut up for a sec. It's fine." Lord Crump silenced, very familiar with Mimi's relentless teasing and how gullible O'Chunks was. "Let me just explain this to you real quick."

Everything faded to black to signify a time lapse. Then the scene returned, both Mimi and O'Chunks rather puzzled from what they had just heard.

"WHUT!" O'Chunks cried, stomping his foot five times. "Yer gonna have to run that all by me again der' boss, 'cuz that all made aboot as much sense as a beef n' broccoli sandwich!"

"Yay! I just love the sound of us having a new ally!" Mimi cheered, animated sunflowers around her gleeful head. "And it's a woman, too! This place is seriously lacking in the female department."

"That... is true." Lord Crump agreed, remaining serious. "But don't you be spouting all of this around like it's no big deal. It's paramount that Wario and Waluigi do not find out about this."

"An' uhh... what's gunna happen to those lads, yer Lordshipness?" O'Chunks ventured to ask, rubbing the back of his head in concern. "I didn't really catch that part o' deh plan."

"It doesn't concern either of you what happens to them." Lord Crump declined. "All that matters is that Lord Grodus has his commands executed properly."

"Poor Wario and Waluigi." Mimi sighed. She immediately regained her composure, the camera zooming in close to her face. "Oh well! BIG SMILES!"

"That is all. Take your leave." Lord Crump dismissed, turning his back to them.

"Hey, after we take control of the Mushroom Kingdom, I totally want my own mansion!" Mimi requested, giving a baby face and sparkling eyes afterwards. "Pleeeeease, Lord Crumpie? You'll put in the good word for me, right?"

"But you already have a mansion here, in Sarasaland." Lord Crump reminded.

"But I want two mansions!" Mimi demanded, with a pout.

"No."

"Aww, come on, pleeeease?"

"No."

"But it's always so hot in this Kingdom, I hate it."

"No."

"But-"

"Er... alrighty den. Welp, I better scoot like a catfish in a dog pound! CHUNKS AWAY!" O'Chunks concluded.

With that, he clenched his fists and farted so hard that a stream of gas propelled him skyward and out of frame.

"Ugh! I HATE that exit of his! He should be demoted into the dirt!" Mimi complained in great anger, plugging her nose. She then twirled and gave her superior a complacent, doll-eyed smile. With a wink, a heart gleamed from her head in affection. "Like, nighty-night Lord Crumpie!"

Mimi then jumped off of the pillar, but from this perspective it could not be seen how far down she went. Now alone, Lord Crump turned and faced the other direction. He was deep in contemplative thought and did not really acknowledge the exits of his subordinates.

"Yes... All that matters is that the commands of Lord Grodus are properly executed..." He spoke out loud. "For the X-Naut Army shall soon have dominion over the entire world... Buh! Buh huh huh huh!"

/

Back in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and his friends were in Mushroom City on this sunny afternoon. They were enjoying the Bombastic Festival, which to Daisys surprise, was actually quite a lot of fun. The event was packed and the temperature was just right. This pleased Daisy, as there was little that she hated more than waiting in line for amusement park rides during hot weather. It was peculiar that Daisy hated the heat, considering she was the Princess of Sarasaland; a kingdom notorious for its hot weather.

Mario was apparently an expert at bob-omb toss. He was quite good at making sure his bob-ombs didn't become lunch for the piranha plants that were guarding the hoops, which each varied in point value in a hierarchical way. Peach clapped happily with each swish, and she was both pleased and shocked when Mario, upon winning, had surrendered the grand prize to her; the Geno doll.

Link, Rosalina, and Daisy decided to play the bumper boats. Daisy was quite competitive with this one, smashing into everyone as hard as she could. She played no easier against the children than how she played against the adults. Link seemed to find the whole event hilarious. It didn't matter if he hit someone or if he got hit, he would laugh just as hard upon each occasion. Navi initially had tried to direct him tacitly, but after the second time Link had crashed into a wall and laughed at himself for doing so, she realized that it was a fools errand. Rosalina had a muck of time, she couldn't seem to get used to the controls of the boat (she swore afterwards that she had got a faulty one) and so she spent the entire duration of the game getting bumped around by other people while she was stuck stationary. When the blooper had arrived (which happened once a round) it happened to propel to the surface right beside her, drenching her in an unexpected lake shower.

After some time, they had all gathered near the food stands and were enjoying some cotton candy and popcorn. Daisy was actually in pretty high spirits, as this had turned out to be much more fun than she had initially anticipated. Rosalina, who was nearly dry now, had still wished that she had stayed back at the Castle and played video games.

"Look at what Mario won for me, everyone!" Peach announced, raising the Geno doll. "It was the grand prize of the Piranha Toss game!"

"Wow, that thing looks super rare." Daisy awed. "I've never seen anything like that."

"I think it's ugly." Rosalina announced, smiling sheepishly.

"Hmm..." Link thought to himself, scratching his chin. "Now where have I seen that style of wood work before..."

"Oh! Perhaps you recognize the artist, Link?" Peach inquired, her head tilted in curiosity.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Link nodded. "Although the name eludes me at the moment... Toad... something... I can't remember."

"Oh, a Toad made this, you say?" Peach gathered, a finger on her chin in thought. "Interesting."

"At any rate, it looks like you managed to bag a rare one!" Navi exclaimed, flying happily in place. "Nice going, Mario!"

Mario adjusted his cap and smiled with pride. Suddenly, the sky got dark. The voices of the crowds died down to a low murmur. Link directed his attention skyward, his eyes widening.

"Look! Up there!" Link exclaimed, pointing skyward.

It was an eerie sight. A massive blimp was soaring overhead. The ship was black, but there was the X-Naut symbol displayed on its sides in red. The X-Naut symbol was a red X inside of a red circle, with two round circles on the centre of the X. The circles represented the round spectacles that the X-Naut troops wore. Daisy gasped and covered her mouth with both hands in horror, stepping backwards.

"X-Nauts?!" She exclaimed in a near whisper.

The sight alone had made Mario furious. He clenched his fists and his form burst into flames, which alarmed Peach. His body was burning with flames of vengeance as he stood in a fighting stance.

"No Mario, you can not! There are too many people here, you might hurt them!" Peach warned.

"R-Right." Mario agreed, extinguishing the flames. "What do we do?"

"That's Grodus's mark, right?" Link started, his tone serious. "Have they come for Daisy?"

Daisy emit a small, frail cry of worry. Her eyes were glistening as she was on the verge of tears. Peach and Mario rushed to her sides, comforting her. She started to sob. She felt ashamed as Peach softly rubbed her back.

"Don't worry. I won't let them take you." Mario assured, then directing his attention to the blimp with a mean glare. "Not a chance."

"*sniffle* M-Mario..." Daisy softly spoke, doing her best to stop crying. She had managed to, smiling at him toothlessly with glossy eyes. "I-I'm okay. Thank you."

"Umm... I think something's happening with that blimp..." Rosalina slowly informed, pointing to the sky.

Then, a large cannon lowered from what appeared to be the interior of the blimp. It's cannon was aimed at the central region of Mushroom City, where the bombastic festival was taking place. They were all examining the two figures who were laughing hysterically within the cockpit of the blimp. It was none other than Wario and Waluigi, the managers of this event.

"It's them!" Daisy exclaimed. "I knew there was something sketchy about those two! They're part of the X-Naut Army!"

"They used the carnival as bait to lure everyone into one spot." Link explained in a serious tone. "Cowards."

"That's the X-Naut army for you." Daisy cursed through clenched teeth, her eyes trembling with anger. "Cowards, every last one of them!"

"Those two are part of the X-Naut army?" Peach softly contemplated, frowning deeply. "Unbelievable... This carnival was a terrorist plot?"

"This is not your fault." Mario assured, gently claiming Peach by the hand.

Peach was looking downwards, her eyes blank and filled with despair. After a short pause, she faced everyone with an expression of alarm. Mario released her, stepping back. "Where is Pauline?! We need to find her, she might be in serious trouble!"

/

Meanwhile, within the Mayors Office, Pauline was looking out through the glass window from the eleventh story of the city hall building. She was dressed in her red suit, her brown, flowing hair reaching her waist. Her eyes were pensive as she stared out through the window and down at Mushroom City, the large X-Naut blimp taking up the majority of the skyline view.

"Say the word." The shadowy figure spoke in an evil, menacing voice. Their clothed arm slithered out from beneath their cape as they offered something. A black armband with the X-Naut symbol in red was wrapped around their revealed arm. In their gloved hand was a glass container of sorts, almost like an incubator. Within it was a glimmering spectacle, a Goddess Star. It was a brilliant gold in colour.

Pauline did not face them. She continued to stare out the window, her eyes concealed in shadow from her red hat. Her teeth clenched as the voice continued to speak.

"Say the word. And the Goddess Star will be all yours."

/

"Oh, come now everyone!" Waluigi's voice cried from the massive megaphone, which was propped on top of the blimp. It rotated in place, bouncing as he spoke into a device that was connected to it. "It's called the BOMBASTIC festival, don't act like we didn't give you a hint!"

Wario snatched the device from Waluigi. "Now we're gonna blow this damn place to the ground!"

And with that, Wario let out a huge fart into the device, which broadcasted loud enough for the entire city to hear. Many people puckered their faces in disgust, some plugged their ears, and some even gagged.

"This is too disgraceful." An old Toad sighed in despair, his three grandchildren crying around him.

Everyone proceeded to flee for their lives as Wario and Waluigi howled into the megaphone with raucous laughter. Mario and his friends could imagine that they were prepared to fire the cannon down at everyone at any moment.

"What do we do?" Mario barked, distressed that he wasn't able to just easily use his Goddess Star abilities.

"We need a plan." Link stated, remarkably remaining calm.

"Link is right." Peach agreed, her emotions stable as well. "As long as that cannon is up there, everyone here is in serious danger."

"Well yeah, but what exactly do you suppose we do?" Daisy snapped, leaning with her fists against her hips.

"What a pain..." Rosalina sighed, wishing they could just give up.

Navi was looking up at the blimp with trembling eyes. She gulped. Then, she took a deep breath. "I... might have an idea."

Then, as if things weren't already grim enough, the familiar sound of helicopter blades could be heard coming from the opposite direction. Peach turned her head slowly, and in the reflection of her blue eyes, approaching them in their clown copter, was quite possibly her worst nightmare.

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" Bowser laughed, flaming vengeance in his eyes as he flew towards them in his clown copter. He had a bandage on his nose from his last scrap with Mario. "Guess who's back?!"

But it wasn't Bowser, or his clown copter, that surprised everyone the most. Instead, it was something that was emblazoned onto his clown copter. Mario and his friends were in absolute disbelief as they saw, in red, the X-Naut logo displayed on Bowsers clown copter.