This story is dedicated to Chuggaaconroy on Youtube. It was his Let's Play of Super Paper Mario that inspired me to write this! He does mostly Nintendo games for his live commentary Let's Plays, but he also did Sonic Colors. If you're interested, you should check out his channel!
Heads up: this story utilizes the hypothesis that Mario and Bowser settled their differences long ago and a lot of the Mario games are just ways to entertain his kids, the Koopalings. This is mixed with my idea that the Koopalings are all children Bowser babysits with the exception of Bowser Junior, who is actually Bowser's kid.
"You know, Bro, it's been awhile since we've visited Flipside," Luigi commented one day as he did the breakfast dishes.
Mario paused in his duty of sweeping the floor. "It has been quite awhile. Perhaps we should visit there soon." The red schemed brother returned to his task, though his movements were more automatic than they were.
Luigi also continued his chore. The brothers weren't necessarily "neat freaks", but they did enjoy a clean home to return to. Entertaining Bowser's kids was a time-consuming task, but after Mario had heard Bowser's story, he didn't mind helping out his old rival. But sometimes the kids had to be put on the back burner… the events with Flipside were one such case.
"I wonder how the Count and Timpani are doing?" Luigi mused aloud after a brief span of time.
It was a question that had tugged the minds of the four heroes since the near destruction of all worlds. All believed that the two were alive together somewhere, living happily. They still wished to see them every once in awhile, but as Merlon had said, to live is to say good-bye.
But whoever said that such words were permanent?
Just then, a knock on the door sounded. Mario, who had just finished his own task, left the kitchen to answer it. The shout of "Mail!" came just as he was walking down the hallway towards the door.
Mario opened the door and took the mail from the Mail Toad, thanking the purple-colored Toad before he closed the door.
Mario automatically assorted the mail into separate piles in his fingers. In the back was himself, in the middle was Luigi, and in front was shared (it usually ended up being spam mail that the two brothers got a kick out of, seeing as it was mostly claims of selling their actual hats or some such. Falsehoods, of course, but amusing).
No letters stood out, really. Mario got letters from Bowser and Peach (Bowser was probably thanking Mario for helping to entertain his children while he babysat them and Peach was probably inviting him and Luigi to a party). He also got one from Goombella and the crew. He admitted to her that he checked his snail mail more often than his digital version, so she switched over to stay in touch.
Luigi also got a letter from Bowser. He, however, got a letter from Princess Daisy. Not to say that Peach didn't send Luigi letters or that Daisy didn't send Mario letters; they did. They just seemed to have established their… favorites, shall we say? The brothers understood this and didn't pry into each other's lives… too often. There were also some letters from the adventure Luigi had taken during Mario's fiasco with the Thousand Year Door.
Finally, in the shared pile there was, as per usual, a bunch of spam, along with a letter from Toadsworth that probably held their weekly pay. They were royal guards for Princess Peach, but they didn't stand with spears and capes like the Toads did. They were more of "in case of emergency" guards who also helped the Princess with the populous of the Kingdom. Both also received coins in their "retirement". Bowser didn't always have a kid or babysit, and the two brothers were the ones who would deal with him. After meeting his late partner, Bowser mellowed out and apologized. He was forgiven for what he had done (after all, the Princess wasn't harmed and no pressing matters other than her kidnapping had come up during those times, so it all worked out). Bowser took on babysitting after his partner passed from a disease no one or item could cure. The two brothers were, technically, the army for those days, so they were paid for their service. After Bowser quit his tyranny, the two brothers were honored as soldiers and were compensated as such.
Mario walked into the common room. Luigi sat in his chair, legs curled up beside him, reading a book. Mario passed him his mail before putting the shared stack on the table in between Luigi's chair and his own recliner. Mario took his seat and opened his letters. His predictions were dead on about what his letters contained.
Luigi, on the other hand, didn't open his mail right away. He finished a chapter, presumably, seeing as he grabbed a book mark from the drawer that the table had and placed it in the last page he had read. He read his mail, saving the letter from Daisy for last.
When he got to the letter, Mario was dozing. That's why he didn't hear his little brother gasp in surprise or see him straighten out or hunch over the letter, as if that would make the words change.
"Bro! Bro!" Luigi yelled, shocking Mario out of his dose. The letter was shoved under his moustache.
"Read it! Tell me I'm not hallucinating."
Mario took the orange paper from Luigi and read through it quickly. He didn't know why his brother was reacting so strangely to a letter (did Daisy propose? It wouldn't surprise him), but as he read throughit, he could hardly believe it himself.
Here's what the letter said:
Hey Luigi!
It's me again! Heard you saved another Princess in another land. She's not replacing me, is she?
Aw, don' worry about it darlin'. I know that no one would replace me in your eyes!
Jokes aside, how are y'all doing? I know that adventuring takes a lot out of you and your brother. Stay safe, the both of you, yeah? Or at least come back to Peach and I alive.
I'm doing great over here! You should come visit soon. We've had a few recent additions to the Flower Kingdom! A couple named Blumiere and Timpani. Sweet people. Said that they'd been traveling for awhile now, looking for a place to be happy, and they think the Flower Kingdom's perfect! They're currently in the vacation villa, as we didn't have a house for them. They'll be there until construction is complete. You should come to see them! You can bring Peach and Bowser too, if an you want to. I know I miss seeing my favorite girl!
Hopefully see you soon,
Princess Daisy
Next to her signature was a little flower that was her insignia.
Mario read the last paragraph once again.
"You're not hallucinating. Unless we ate bad mushrooms, but I doubt that occurred," Mario spoke at last.
"We should go see them! I've been meaning to go to Daisy for a while now, but… well."
Mario nodded. The end of the worlds usually didn't fall into a schedule. This was the first time the brothers had been home for a straight month in about half a year.
"What a coincidence, eh Bro?" Luigi asked rhetorically. "I'm going to call Daisy and see if it's okay if we started heading over there. You should tell Peach and Bowser. I'm sure they'd love to see those two again. Maybe we can ask them to visit Flipside while they're waiting for the house to be built!"
"You're getting a bit ahead of yourself, Luigi. But yes, if they seem comfortable with it, we can ask."
The brothers did as Luigi said, the aforementioned one going to contact Daisy while Mario informed the others. The Mushroom Kingdom wasn't large, but it wasn't small either, so Mario took the warp pipes hidden in the brother's garage. Most of the populous believed the brothers kept various sporting equipment there, tennis rackets and golf clubs, maybe a bike or two from the go carting sessions.
They did, really. But just small things. Most of the area was taken up by different colored pipes. One was pink, on was orange, and another was the traditional green. They lead to Peach's Castle, Daisy's Castle, and Bowser's Castle, respectively. The pipes were kept quiet in case of emergency, but a few citizens knew of them just in case.
Luigi called Mario just as he exited the pink pipe that lead into a side room of Peach's Castle.
"Daisy says it's okay. She'll also keep our identities a secret for now. She doesn't know the whole story yet, I just said we knew them and she suggested we surprise them. I'm going to go find a wedding gift for them, Bro. I'll meet you by the Pipes. And before you say it, I know not to spend more than 75 coins on an object unless within reason. I'll call you if I find something that I think is good but over that price. See you later, Bro!"
Mario gave an affirmative before saying goodbye to his brother and hanging up. The Mario brothers didn't hurt for cash (one of the advantages of serving the princess and going on adventures). The rule was just a tradition since their younger days before they were Princess Peach's guards and did hurt for cash. If it was more than 75 coins, they wouldn't even consider it an option. But now they had a bit more leniency in spending habits, but they would always pass it by each other if it was over that amount out of habit and tradition.
Peach was surprised to learn that their two missing friends had settled in another friend's kingdom.
"Fate, I suppose," she mused as she left with Mario. Toadsworth had seen them departing and had nodded in understanding. He would take over the diplomatic duties until the Princess returned. Meanwhile, the two traveled by pipe to Bowser's place. The Koopa Troopas on patrol let them pass.
Bowser was taking his babysitting breaks the way he normally did: sleeping excessively. Though, Mario mused, those kids were tiring. And he and Luigi only played with them for a handful of hours. Bowser had full on days of those kids. They woke him up, ignored the yelling, and then calmly informed him of what was going on.
"Why didn't you say so? I got a wedding gift for them." Bowser pulled a small object out of a drawer near the couch he was sleeping on.
"Is that a brick from Bleck's old castle?" Peach inquired.
"Yeah. Thought it would come in handy some day. Memories, you know?" Bowser looked at an untouched box as he said that before shaking his head. "Let's get a move on!"
Peach said she didn't really know what to get the both of them, but she had knitted scarves for them in case they ran into each other one day. Timpani's was rainbow, just like her Pixl form. Blumiere's was white in color but held colored speckles throughout it. Mario thought it looked very nice and extremely warm.
They all travelled via pipe to the brother's garage. Luigi was waiting for them with a box in hand.
"I found this at the thrift store down the road. It's really durable, so even if it takes a few tumbles, it will last a long time."
Luigi took off the lid to reveal some sort of crystal. The brothers believed that every house should have at least one knick knack, and all their friends had received at least one over the years. They were pretty good at picking knick knacks that suited the receiver that also didn't get in the way. This crystal was one such example. It was large enough to be too large for jewelry but small enough that it could be placed on a shelf or in a bag. It also refracted the dim lighting oddly; it produced rainbow colors on one side, but on the other, darker shades of purple, blue, and red glittered. Luigi shut the box after Mario had looked at it and informed him that the crystal was pretty common nearby the Mushroom Kingdom, so it was only 20 coins. The heroes four descended through the Warp Pipe, finally arriving at the Flower Kingdom.
Princess Daisy was waiting for them there. Mario and Luigi bowed while Princess Peach and Bowser inclined their heads.
"Aw, y'all know you don't have to stick to formalities! We're all friends here," Daisy exclaimed, dragging all of them into a hug.
"So what got your overall straps all twisted when you read those names, Luigi?" Daisy asked as she led them all through her castle.
Luigi explained what had happened, each of the others inserting their own additions when Luigi stumbled or was absent for the events.
"Oh wow! What a coincidence they ended up here, huh?" That was Daisy's reaction after they had finished their story. They were all sipping some tea the princesses made now, having navigated Daisy's castle.
Peach laughed. "Nothing short of amazing."
Daisy looked at a clock located above the door to the room. "I invited them here… they should know where to go, and if not, the guards know them. They should arrive soon."
As if on cue, there were three knocks on the door. The couple strolled in shortly afterwards, but they looked quite a bit different from when the crew had last seen them.
The Count still had his monocle and his ivory clothing. However, he was more humanoid than the heroes recalled. His skin was still purple-blue in color and his eyes had changed to blue. His cane was ever present.
The lady who linked arms with him was unfamiliar but unmistakable. She wore a green tunic with brown pants, and her mass of hair was done into a fancy bun. A butterfly pin held some bangs from her face. Her dark coloring in her skin and eyes was a different kind of dark from her husband's own.
They weren't in pristine condition. There were a few dirt stains on their pants, along with some tears here and there on their shirts. But they didn't appear to be injured or discouraged.
All of this was observed by Mario and Co. in the brief few seconds it took for Blumiere to say "Hello Princess Daisy! Why did you-" Before Timpani lightly slapped his arm, bringing attention to the other occupants in the room before running over to them herself.
"Mario! Luigi! Princess Peach! Bowser! What are you doing here?" She exclaimed as she hugged all of them.
"Aw, shucks! Don't tell me you thought I was a recluse? The Mushroom Kingdom is my next door neighbor! Didn't I speak of that?" Daisy inquired, laughing as she saw the group struggle to breathe.
Count Blumiere tilted his hat over his eyes. "Perhaps. But we were exhausted after our trek here, so it may have slipped by."
"Oh well. They're here now!" Daisy cheered before she herself was captured in one of Timpani's hugs.
"Was she always this cuddly?" Bowser asked the Count as he recovered his breath.
Blumiere just smirked, leaving the question unanswered.
"How'd you guys know we were here?" Timpani asked after she was done hugging Daisy.
"Daisy and I exchange letters fairly often when we're not adventuring." Luigi nodded at Daisy. "Her most recent one addressed you two by name."
"It's not often we have newcomers to these kingdoms! We're pretty remote here." Daisy defended.
It was true. Both the Mushroom and Flower kingdoms were located on an island in the southern end of an archipelago. They were a bit farther away and didn't have much in the way of tourism except for the Star Festival once a century. So any people who arrived were generally coming for permanent residence.
"You'd think more people would come see the saviors of the worlds…" Timpani remarked, taking an empty seat. The Count took one next to her, their hands linked over the small gap between them. Daisy served them some tea after they settled in.
Mario and the others laughed.
"We do get visitors frequently for that purpose…" Peach remarked, giggling.
"But our house is pretty remote… most residents know how to get to it, but if you're not familiar with the landscape, it's difficult to navigate."
"That's the truth," Blumiere muttered.
"Not to forget these two are hardly ever home! I'm afraid I've got some blame in that," Bowser stated.
"It's no problem Bowser. You know we love helping to entertain those kids," Luigi said, Mario adding his own agreement.
Both Timpani and the Count seemed confused.
"I have a kid of my own; Bowser Junior. But I babysit for some of my subjects who are needed elsewhere a lot of the time. So I watch over seven very energetic kids. These four come over and play a game with them to entertain them. Classic 'kidnapped princess and daring heroes to rescue her' deal," Bowser informed. Noticing the looks, he added "Wendy came up with the idea, and the boys liked it."
"Aw, that's really sweet," Timpani cooed. The Count just seemed uncomfortable.
Mario didn't know why the Count looked that way, but he changed the subject anyway.
"So what happened to you two?"
Timpani and Blumiere looked at each other.
"Well," the former Count Bleck began, "when the Pure Hearts purified the Chaos Heart, I suppose they granted our wishes as well."
"A world where we could be happy together," his wife elaborated. "Though, admittedly… they were a bit rough on the landing."
"Placed us about five feet of the ground of the beach to the south. It had plenty of resources, though, so we were fine while I recovered. When did you learn that stomping on people was that effective?"
All five got a dark look in their eyes. "Better for us to know. You'll inevitably find out, living here. But for now, let's just focus on you two," Peach finally spoke.
The two nodded. "Anyway. We stayed there for about a month- it had a nice atmosphere, there, but eventually, we got tired of the area. We wandered around the island quite a bit, but as you said, it's disorienting to people who haven't lived here for awhile. We eventually stumbled across a nice… Toad, I believe?" Timpani said. Everyone nodded.
"He showed us the way to your castle, Daisy. And when we informed you we wished to live here, you got the construction started right away. Thank you."
"Aw shucks, it's no problem honey! As we've said, it's not too often folks come down here without wanting to live here, and even those types are scarce. The residents needed somethin' to do around here anyway. They were happy to help out!"
"Still, it was no small favor. Thank you, Princess Daisy!" Timpani exclaimed.
"Aw, you're makin' me blush, sugar!" Daisy returned.
"And that concludes our tale. What about you, heroes?"
Mario and Luigi nearly snorted their tea. "Ah, if we had a coin every time we were called that!" Luigi laughed.
"In all seriousness, we took a break. For about a week. Then some other folks were trying to destroy the world," Mario started,
"Kidnap me," Peach continued,
"Try to take over my domain," Bowser added,
"The same people who tried to kidnap my girl over there tried me next!" Daisy tacked on,
"And another princess was also in danger of being kidnapped. Mario was busy with the world destroyers, so after I helped Daisy, I left to go help her," Luigi finished.
"It's been our first real break since you two disappeared. We've just been taking care of more domestic issues, like housecleaning," Mario informed.
Blumiere whistled. "You don't get a lot of slack, do you?"
"Not until some other stomper comes around," Daisy laughed. Luigi had said those same words to her some time ago when she asked the same question.
"Mario and I talked about going to visit Flipside again. It's been awhile since we've visited," Luigi mentioned.
Timpani looked confused. "How would you get there?"
Mario withdrew the candy cane colored pipe card from his overall pocket. "Merlon never took it back. We planned on surprising him, one day. Not like we would have much of a choice… we don't know his address or if he has an email!"
"Merlee or Merlovelee would probably tell him," Blumiere said.
"True enough," Luigi shrugged.
Silence reigned as everyone finished their tea.
What? It was really freaking good tea!
"Would you two want to come with us?" Peach inquired.
The spouses looked at each other.
"Maybe later," Timpani said.
"Oh goodness! We're not leaving right now! Toadsworth would have a heart attack, bless his soul." Peach said.
"Bowser Junior would kill me. That little tyke feels so much responsibility."
"Toadsworth would have a second heart attack if he couldn't find us while the princess was missing! The old chap does panic quite a bit…" Mario finished.
Daisy shrugged. "The citizens here would be worried. But I've left with little warning in my childhood a lot, so they've taken to looking for notes before freaking out."
"Ah," Timpani said, "I would enjoy visiting Merlon again. What about you?"
"I would like to apologize for my transgressions… personally," Blumiere agreed.
Timpani nodded. "Just tell us when you're going!"
"We will!" was the unanimous agreement.
More hours were spent in friendship, exchanging tales of adventure and humor alike. Eventually, though, they all had to depart.
As Timpani and Blumiere walked back to their temporary residence (clear directions from Daisy still in their minds), Timpani spoke.
"It would be nice to see Flipside again. I wonder if Mimi and O'Chunks are there as well?"
"I suppose we'll find out, won't we, darling?" Blumiere replied.
Timpani chuckled. "Indeed."
As they reached the villa, Timpani reached up and turned Blumiere's face towards her own.
"I know you feel guilty about what you did. Merlon will understand, however. And you also helped fix the mistakes you made. So don't you worry too much about going there, alright?" Her dark eyes bore into his now glowing orange ones that matched the setting sun.
"My dear, as long as you are by my side, I can do anything."
Timpani leaned forward and kissed him. "That's the one I married," she murmured.
Well, all's well that ends well, isn't it? And who decided that good-byes are permanent?
The End.
A/N: So recently I've been on a bit of a Let's Play kick… and by that I mean I've watched at least 15 Let's Plays/ Walkthroughs by the Youtuber Chuggaaconroy. The most recent one was Super Paper Mario and was really the only one I actually cried in the end that I felt I could actually write about. Majora's Mask was in there but that game creeps me out so much the only thing I can write are conspiracies that have already been written. So, yes, the largest surprise of the game that wasn't really a surprise was Count Bleck/Blumiere and Tippi/Timpani. And holy cow did I love that. But I also felt that they should see their friends again. Happy endings are awesome. Tying up loose ends is even better. And hey! I got to include Daisy too!