Paper Mario

by CandeeVictoria

This isn't you ordinary novelization, it's much more than that. It's in so much detail you can almost die. Hope you like it, chap 2 in a few weeks.

Prologue—A Plea From the Stars

The sun streamed out across the Mario Brothers' lawn. It was the most beautiful morning today at Toad Town. There was the most perfect wind, the right amount of sunlight (not too mention the heat was just right), and the sky was crystal clear. Parakarry, Toad Town's local mailman, popped out from the large, green tube with a letter at hand. He flew over to the mailbox and slipped the letter inside.

"Luck kids," he said, "The pink envelope tells me that letter was from Princess Peach. She must be having another party…wish one day she would invite me," he smiled a little, "What am I saying…she would never invite me if her life depended on it. I'm just a mailman…nothing important."

He smiled again to himself and jumped back into the tube. Just at that time Luigi, had awakened and sat up from his bed and stretched. He could hear his older brother, Mario snoring away up on the top bunk. He slowly got up from the bed and climbed the ladder just a little bit. Mario was still in his deep sleep, probably wouldn't wake up for another hour or so. And because of this, Luigi smiled and slid down the ladder to the wooden floor.

He saw the discolored floorboard in the middle of the bedroom floor and quietly popped it off its hinges, revealing the basement. Mario was so old, he had never realized this floorboard. Luigi jumped down the small opening to the basement and left it open a creak so some light would flow in.

He walked over to a small desk, which had his diary, lying there like it was yesterday morning the way he had left it. He opened it and took out a small quill. Then he pushed it to where the light was showing and began to write.

"The same as usual. Nothing ever happens anymore these days. Mario has been sleeping a lot though, as if he had been on another one of his little 'adventures' all day. He's sleeping now…probably won't wake for another hour. It's so boring here in Mushroom Kingdom. I hope something exciting will happen today. Not something bad…but enough to keep me awake! Just one little thing will make my day."

Luigi closed up his diary and climbed out the trapdoor. He loosely fastened the hinges and walked out of the bedroom into the kitchen. He quickly started up a kettle of water for Mario's herbal tea. Then he opened up the door and walked to the mailbox to check the mail.

"Probably won't be anything today…as always," he said but he was startled when he actually pulled out a letter, "A pink envelope…this neat, tiny handwriting! It's from Peach!"

He ran back inside. He wanted to rip open the letter and read it…perhaps something will happen for once today. Then brought his hands to the fold of the letter when he noticed who it was addressed to. Mario. Luigi sighed…he would just have to wait until Mario wakes up.

And he did shortly after that, actually. Instead of it being an hour, it was only ten minutes. He came walking out of the bedroom half asleep.

"Hey Luigi…" he sat down and began to drink his tea. Luigi held up the letter.

"Look, Mario! You've got a letter from the princess!" Mario instantly shot up, fully conscious, "I'll read it to you, ok?" Mario nodded. Luigi nodded back and slowly opened up the letter, "Ok let's see…Dear Mario, I'm having a part at my castle today. I would love if you would attend. There will be lots of delicious cakes and people from distant places there. Yours truly, Princess Toadstool. Peach," Luigi looked up from the letter with a surprised look on his face. Mario returned the same look.

"I am definitely going!" Mario shouted, "I'm gonna get ready right now, you coming?"

Luigi nodded, "I'm right behind you, big brother!" he said, smiling. And they both rushed to get ready. They slipped on their normal clothes and washed up their faces. Then, when they were all ready, they jumped walked outside and jumped into the green tube, where they would go see the princess.

As Mario and Luigi arrived, they could see there were already quite a selection of guests at the party. All from far and close. Mario's dark brown eyes gleamed as he eyed the many guests in the ballroom. He stepped along more into the room, along with Luigi. Mario turned to his little brother.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

"You should go up and see the princess," Luigi answered, "She should be waiting to see you anyhow."

"You want to come?" Mario said, about to head up the red-carpeted flight of stairs.

"Nah," Luigi said, sitting at one of the tables, "I'm gonna stand here and mingle for a while. You go up…she'll want to see you…not me," he spied some small cakes in front of him and licked his lips, "Anyway…I should be occupied here with these snacks. You go up…don't worry about me."

Mario nodded, knowing Luigi could take of himself. He walked up the stairs, entering another room, which already had more guests sitting at tables and walking about. Peach must have been expecting a lot of guests, he thought. He walked over to the sides of the room and walked up the other flight of stairs, passing one of the castle's guards at the next door.

"Ah…master Mario…" the guard said, nodding, "No doubt your looking for the princess. She went up to her private chambers."

"And where is that?" asked Mario.

"Straight through the next two doors, you'll see her," the guard replied, indicating his finger in that direction, "And please…enjoy yourself."

Mario smiled politely as he walked through the next door. He came across a long hallway, then to another door. He opened it and walked in. The princess was already standing there, looking out a large window. She heard Mario come in and turned to face him.

"Oh, I'm so glad you came!" she said, smiling her usual smile. Mario returned his smile as he closed the door and walked up to her, "I was just resting bit…greeting all them people out there can be quite a job."

Mario nodded, "I bet so."

"It's noisy here, I was just going to head up to one of the balconies," she blushed and held out her hand, "Will you come and accompany me there?"

Mario smiled and took her hand, "I'll come."

She giggled, "Glad!" she slowly began to walk towards a room on the other side of the hallway. She and Mario only took about a few steps before they felt a violent tremor under there feet. Peach let go of Mario's hand and frantically looked around.

"What's happening?" she shouted over the crackling of glass breaking from far away windows. She watched as the stones holding the castle up start to chip and fall off. One of the pillars that were holding half the ceiling up collapsed to the ground and fell inches from her feet. She backed away a little.

Mario looked up at the ceiling. The pillar had fell, that means the ceiling would too. His eyes trailed about the room and fell on a small wooden table. It wasn't big, but it would do to keep he and the Peach from getting slobbered. He grabbed her arm, "Get under the table!" he dragged her and stuffed her under the table snuggly next to him. The trembling softened and then got still.

Peach sat there, breathing hard. The ceiling hadn't fallen, thank the stars, but there was a lot of damage in the castle. She waited until Mario emerged from under the table and then grabbed his hand and felt him hoist her out. She stared at the debris.

"What was that?" she asked, "It was so violent, yet it passed by so quickly," she stroked Mario's stubby arm, "You ok? You're not hurt or anything, right?"

Mario shook his head, "Not seriously. I might get a few bumps and bruise, but nothing major that would be permanent. How about you?"

She quickly scanned herself for injuries. Mario had stuffed her under the table first, near the corner, so nothing didn't hit her, "Not at all," she looked out the large window she had been looking out before. She gasped, "Mario, look!" she pointed out the window, "It's still daytime, isn't it?"

Mario nodded, shocked by what he was seeing, "Last time I looked it was."

"But…but the stars are still out," she said. Her jaw dropped. I…I can't believe it," she squinted closer, seeing something strange in the distant space outside the window. It was a star and it seemed to be getting closer to the castle, "Mario…what's that?" she asked, terrified.

Mario squinted out the window too, also seeing the strange star coming closer. Closer…closer…until he knew what was coming towards them, "Peach! I know what that is…it's…" a small, flying ship came crashing through the window, knocking into Mario, throwing him to the ground, "…Bowser…" he muttered, tilting his head to the side, weakly. Coming through the window behind Bowser and his small flying ship was a koopa dressed in a purple cloak on a large broomstick. Mario desperately searched for Peach, to see if she had been hit. But apparently she had scooted out of the way the second she knew it was coming through the window. She was standing in front of Mario, staring at Bowser with her furious, blue eyes.

"Bowser!" she yelled, "I should have known this was your doing! What did you do to my castle?"

Bowser merely laughed at the princess loudly, "It was easy," he said, "I placed my castle under yours. Then I simply lifted my castle high in the sky…even the Star Haven isn't as high as this."

Peach gritted her teeth. The Star Haven was pretty high, it was too high to see it even with the strongest telescope in Toad Town. There was no possible way her castle was higher than the Star Haven…but judging by how dark the sky was, it may slightly be true.

"What are your plans this time?" she demanded an answer. Bowser laughed again at Peach, knowing that pretty soon she wouldn't have as much spunk later on.

"My plan has already taken effect, my dear," he said in a sort of calm, sway voice, "I have kidnapped the other Star Spirits and trapped them in my spirit cards."

Peach clenched her fists so hard her nails dug in her palms, "You're a liar! You haven't kidnapped a single soul…yet."

Bowser shook his big head, smiling widely, "That, my sweet, is where you're wrong. You see, now that my castle is under yours, I am in control. For example, I could push your castle off any minute now…and let it come crashing down to Toad Town and kill all the people, including the people who happened to be inside."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh…my princess, I would and I will when the time is just right," he mentioned the koopa on the broomstick and they both started towards Peach, "Come right this way, Peach, and I will not harm you or your people."

Mario, upon hearing this, plucked up all the strength he had left in him. He swung himself up from the floor and got in front of Peach.

"Don't even touch her!" he yelled. Bowser was flustered and he stopped moving.

"Well…I wasn't expecting to see you right on cue," Bowser rolled his mad eyes and stomped on the floor, "Why is it that whenever I'm actually doing good…you arrive?"

Mario crossed his arms, "Well, you picked a bad day to put your little plan in effect. The princess was having a part today and I was just happened to get invited."

Bowser gained up on Mario, "Well I'll just have to eliminate you for now. Your no use for me at all."

Mario laughed out loud, "Ha! You know how many times you have tried to beat me? What makes you think this time you'll be better?" Bowser smirked and reached into the small flying ship, pulling out a small rod with a glimmering star at the end of it, "No…it can't be…that's…"

"The Legendary Star Rod," Bowser finished, nodding, "Yes…yes…in this wand holds the power of all the Star Spirits combined."

"No!" Mario shouted, "You stole it from them! You really did kidnap the Star Spirits. Let them go!"

Bowser's eyes glared as he brought his face close to Mario's, "Fight me…" was all he said. Mario stared coldly at him, "You heard me…fight me…fight me like the almighty Mario you are," he pushed Mario a little, "Come…don't be a weakling."

Peach brought her hands to her mouth, "Whip him, Mario! Whip him like you mean it! Just because he's stolen the Star Rod doesn't mean you can't beat him! Fight him, Mario! Fight him!"

Bowser chuckled, "Yeah…come on…like the princess said…fight me. And fight me like a man!" he gave another push to Mario.

"I'll fight you," he beamed at Bowser, pushing him back so hard he almost fell over.

"So you really wanna fight me?" he asked. Mario nodded, cracking both knuckles on his fist, ready to take him down, "Well, then…I'll a fair fight. Kammy…get rid of the princess."

The koopa on the broomstick nodded, "Sure thing, your evilness," she reached within her purple cloak and pulled out a small, wooden wand. She waved it in the air and then flicked it at the princess. A ray of sharp, yellow light shot at the princess, knocking her unconscious. Mario glared at Bowser.

"Fair fight, my butt!" Mario said, gesturing the princess, "If you want to fight me, fight me. Don't bring harm to the witnesses."

Bowser shook his head and smiles, "I did not bring harm to her. If I were to bring harm, she would be dead. At least this way she'll only suffer a very severe head ache."

Mario's eyes glared with anger, "You monster!" he charged for Bowser, but he gave the Star Rod a little flick and a blue, transparent force field was put around him. Mario charged into the field, only to bounce back and land hard on the edgy floor next to Peach.

"Go ahead…just try to break my force field," Bowser said, smirking, "If you lay even the slightest prick of the finger upon it, it will repel a powerful force, knocking you away even further than a normal one would do. And it also sends a quick poison through your veins, which will double any damage afflicted on you. So basically, I've already won."

Mario gritted his teeth. Yes, the poison worked fairly fast. He would have been able to get up and fight to the fullest if he wasn't in so much pain. But now he hadn't the slightest idea what to do. An adrenaline rush got him up to his feet.

"I won't give up!" he said. He picked up a piece of stone debris from the floor beside him. He slowly got up, "Since I can't touch you, I'll just keep my distance," he prepared to throw the large stone piece.

"It's no use against my power," Bowser said with a fearful smile. Mario listened to no such manner. He hurled it at Bowser anyway. Bowser laughed a little as the stone hit his force field, then swung back, aiming for Mario's forehead. He ducked down just in time to see it soar over his head and smash into a thousand pieces on the wall behind him.

"You're cheating," Mario said, "If you wanted it to be a fair fight, you should very well know that each opponent should have the same weapon as the other. So I have the right to demand a force field and a wand.

Bowser nodded, "Right…right…I was waiting for that," he swung his Star Rod and a small, red force field was formed around Mario, "There is your force field. Now if you want a fair fight, you must also know that if I just happened to get rid of your weapon, I am allowed to fight the way I want for the next five turns. Now happily watch me destroy your force field," he flicked the Star Rod once again and the force field dissolved away.

Mario turned red with anger, "I can't believe I went for that," he muttered, "Now he can demand anything he wants for the next five turns."

"Now for my first demand, I order you to not fight back for the next four turns," Bowser said, showing his smile full of fangs, "But by then I should already have you gone."

Mario gritted his teeth, "Not yet, Bowser," he said, "You still haven't given me the other weapon you have…the Star Rod…before I can obey your command I must have the Star Rod."

Bowser nodded, already fully aware that he was going to say that, "Very well then, Mario. You shall get your Star Rod," he flicked the Star Rod to Mario and out of thin air, an identical Star Rod appeared next to him. Mario stared at the rod before slowly taking it, "Now go ahead, use it…take your first shot."

Mario swished the rod in the air and flicked it at Bowser, fully knowing how to deal with wands. He knew the Star Rod's power is only imaginary…you can only use the kind of power with it if you only imagine it. And Mario imagined the most furious attack he could think of. He created a gigantic power ball. First glowing a small yellow at first, then a larger purple, then a large, piercing white. The ball filled the entire hallway with light. Mario hurled it at Bowser. But Bowser only sneered.

"It's no use," he said. He laughed hysterically as the ball flew towards him, hitting the barrier, and then flying back towards Mario, "Go ahead, either take the pain and die or duck and let the princess die…pick."

Mario had no time to pick. The ball hit him anyways. He flew back about five feet to the wall and slammed head first against it. He immediately blacked out, dropping the Star Rod. Then slowly falling to the ground.

"Finally! I've finally defeated my arch nemesis, Mario!" he laughed triumphantly and then stopped as he watched the princess slowly get up from her unconscious state, "Awww…look at the wittle princess waking up from her nap," he laughed again.

Peach looked around, eager to find out what happened. Judging my the way Bowser was laughing, whatever did happen wasn't good. She screamed when she saw Mario, lying on the ground, unconscious.

"Oh, no! Mario!" she screamed.

"That's right, princess, he has let you down," Bowser said sarcastically, "I have finally beaten my great and worthy opponent."

Peach clenched her fists, "You pig! You monster! You must have cheated!"

"Me? Cheat? Don't make me laugh! I would never cheat," he looked at Mario, lowering his eyebrows, "Well…looks like I should get of Mario, since he'll be no more," he raised the Star Rod and a ray of lightening came from the ceiling, hitting Mario, and sending him flying out the window. Peach ran to the crashed window, with an expression of fear upon her face.

"Mario…noooooooo!" she screamed as she watched Mario's body turn more and more into a tiny spec below her, "No…"

Bowser laughed and then turned to the koopa on the broomstick, "You take care of the rest. I'm going to go see how things are 'down under' with the Star Spirits and all."

The koopa nodded, "Yes your nastiness," she watched Bowser hop into his small, flying ship and then fly to another part of the castle, "Guards! Round up anyone you can find in the castle and lock them up in the cells! You two…take the princess to her room! Now!"

Peach attempted to climb over the ridge of the window, to jump. But before she even got the chance to, she felt two pairs of strong hands encircle each of her arms and drag her the other way. The struggled to get loose, but it was no use to, they were much stronger. When they finally got her into the next hallway, she no longer struggled to get free. She walked with them, as if they were at part with her strength.

The Seven Star Spirits gleamed over Mario's tattered body. They were all so disappointed that he had fallen from Bowser, yet happy to see he was still breathing. The oldest of the seven, Eldestar, and the youngest, Mamar, both flew down to Mario.

"He's been injured pretty badly," said Mamar, "But I think he'll recover."

Eldestar nodded, "Yes…he will, if he is properly taken care of. This is the village of the Goombas, the friendly Goombas, that is. They will surely know him therefore care for him."

Eldestar and Mamar flew back up to join the other five.

"But how will they find him?" asked another one of the Star Spirits, Misstar, a little frightened and conceited.

"Now, now, everyone, don't panic," said Eldestar, trying to soothe the other six, "If they don't find him we'll give him the strength to move on and live. Come on, guys, we must give Mario every ounce of power we have left in us."

The other six stars nodded and extended their arms down to him, each muttering a spell to themselves. Soon light strayed from their hands and wrapped around Mario, filling him with power. But still, he did not awaken, he probably wouldn't for a while. Eldestar nodded.

"That is about all we can do for now," he said, "Until he's ready…then he shall come."

The other six agreed with Eldestar. He was right…Mario wasn't ready yet. He would have to learn to be ready with his next biggest adventure. And this was the place where he would learn…yes, he would learn right here in Goomba Village.

A young Goomba by the name of Goombaria was happily playing on the veranda with her little doll. She heard a loud thump from far away. She figured it would be nothing, but it scared her so much, she dropped her doll off the veranda and watched it fall down into the deep forest.

"What was that?" she asked herself. She ran back into the house, ran down the stairs, and then reentered the outside on the front lawn. Her older brother, Goombario, was practicing training moves with his grandfather, Goompa, and was paying no mind to her. She shrugged and ran to the left, past the resting inn and into the small woods.

"I could have swore it came from here," she looked around and saw something lying motionless on the ground, "Huh? What is that?" she ran over to it. It was a person, a man, to be more precise. But he was lying face down on the ground. With her little strength, she managed to push him over on his back so she could examine him, "That funny mustache, that red hat, these familiar overalls…it can be no more, no less, than the one and only Mario!" she tried to shake him awake, "Come on, Mario…up and at 'em. He won't wake up. Help! Somebody! Dad…Goompa…Goombarioooo!"

She ran back towards Goomba Village, where her small family were running out of their house, trying to see why she was yelling, "What's the matter, Goombaria?" asked Goombario.

She stopped in front of him and out of breath she said, "It's him…Mario…he's…lying over there…in the woods…get dad and Goompa…quickly!"

Her father was already out of the house, "Are you telling the truth, Goombaria…I mean, this ain't no joke, correct?"

Goombaria shook her head, "No…this isn't a joke. I think he's hurt we need to help him."

Her father stuck his head back into the house, "Hey, Goompa, you need to come out here. Goombaria says she's seen Mario in the woods. We need to go check it out."

Goompa was out within a flash, "The famous Mario?" he asked. Goombaria nodded, wiping sweat from her small face, "Well no kidding! We need to go help him, come on, Goombario, you're helping us too."

Goombario nodded and followed Goompa and his dad to the woods, with Goombaria dragging along. They saw Mario on the floor, right had Goombaria left him and quickly jumped into action. They all pick him up and carried him to the rest inn, where one of the Toads from Toad Town was sleeping on his small chair. They placed Mario on the bed next to him and then shook him awake.

"What…I'm up! I'm up!" he said, flailing his small arms. He noticed the four Goombas before him, "What seems to be the problem?" he noticed Mario sleeping on the bed, "Holy stars! It's Mario!"

"Yes," said Goompa, nodding, "It is. Goombaria found him the woods and came running to find us. We carried him here…he looks badly hurt."

The Toad nodded his big, mushroomy-shaped head, "Yes…I can see. He looks like he'll be having some bruises near his chest and all. I'll take care of him, don't worry you guys. He'll be awake in no time."

"Mario? Can you hear me, Mario?" Mario looked around the room he was in but couldn't see anything. All he could see was pitch-blackness. He couldn't move anything let alone feel his body. He felt numb all over and his head felt like someone had hit it.

"Who are you?" he managed to say.

"I am Eldestar…one of the Seven Star Spirits," Eldestar? It can't be Eldestar. There was no possible way, "Yes, Mario…I know it is hard to believe. I have seen you fallen from Bowser, your greatest opponent. But that still doesn't make you weaker than him. He has kidnapped me and the other Star Spirits and trapped us in his evil spirit cards. Mario, my strength draws nigh and I must leave you. I need you to come to the Shooting Star Summit…only there we can talk. I'll be waiting for you, Mario."

Mario's eyes shot open as he finally felt his body return to him. He found himself lying down on a soft bed. Judging by the banner of a toad next to the door across from him, he was in one of the many resting inns in Mushroom Kingdom. He sat up from the bed and looked around. The inn's owner should be in here. He got up from the bed, seeing he was still wearing his normal clothes and looked around some more.

"Well, you've finally awakened," said a voice that seemed to be coming from outside the house. Mario looked out the window and saw the resting innkeeper looking back at him and waving. The innkeeper walked inside, "You've been asleep for almost four whole days now. You've had everyone worried sick about you."

Mario looked at the toad, puzzled, "Where am I?"

"Oh, here…this is Goomba Village," the toad explained, "A young Goomba by the name of Goombaria found you lying in the woods not far from here. You're lucky to be alive, for whatever reason you were there in the first place. You have suffered many scrapes and bruises, but nothing too serious."

Mario nodded, then remembering Eldestar talking to him, "Wait a minute…did you happen to see Eldestar walk out of here maybe a minute ago?"

"Ha!" the toad laughed out loud, "Eldestar…the Star Spirit?" Mario nodded and the toad laughed again, "My stars! I think you hit your head maybe a little too hard there. I was standing right there near the door and saw not a single soul walk in let alone out," Mario put on a confused face upon hearing this and the toad saw how serious he was being, "Or…or it could have been a message from the Star Spirits telling you something."

"He told me to come to the Shooting Star Summit."

The toad nodded, "Maybe it was a message. The Shooting Star Summit is east from the Princess Toadstool's castle. It's only about a short walk from here, if you leave now you can get there by sundown…wouldn't make much of a distance. The Shooting Star Summit stays dark both day and night. But you should go see the other Goombas and thank them for their kindness. Because after all it was they that had brought you here."

Mario nodded, smiling, "Guess I'll be seeing you then," he said, proceeding out the door. The day was so hot, haze covered everything, making Mario dizzy. He walked down the porch steps and walked over to the next house, where all the other Goombas lived. There were three Goombas out on their front lawn. One looked about five years old, another looking about eleven years, and the other looking grown. The youngest Goomba, which so happened to be a girl, caught a glimpse of Mario and pointed to him, smiling.

"Dad…Goombario…look! Mario woke up!" she ran over to Mario and offered her hand for a shake, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Mario, sir," Mario reluctantly shook her hand. The other Goomba who looked eleven years old walked over to them.

"Golly, I'm glad your up," he said, patting Mario on the back, "I was beginning to worry."

"Now, now, kids," said the other Goomba, standing around, "Don't crowd him…it's hot enough already."

"Yes papa," said the younger Goomba, backing away from Mario, "My name's Goombaria, by the way. I was the one who found you…yep, that was me. And I called daddy and Goompa and Goombario to come and get you!"

The other Goomba nodded, "An' my name's Goombario. Nice to meet ya, Mario."

Mario smiled, "I really like to chat and all, but I'm pretty much in a rush. I need to get back to Toad Town right away."

"We understand," said Goombario, "Go over there and see dad. He just fixed the fence."

"I'll walk you over," said Goombaria, wrapping her small arms around Mario's long one. She and Mario walked over to the other Goomba who was near the fence that was leading to the forest. The Goomba turned around and faced them.

"So, I heard you've awakened."

"Yes," Mario said softly.

"That's nice."

"He need to get to Toad Town, dad," said Goombaria, letting go of his arm.

"Well, you can go right now," said the Goomba, "I just got finished fixing the fence so you can go. It should open now. Took me five months to fix it. As you see, there's a large wall surrounding the entire Village of Goomba. I've decided we should make a small opening in the wall so we can get out and gather mushrooms here and there. So that's what inspired me to…" his eyes trailed upwards to there sky, as he saw something flying towards them, "What…what's that?"

The three whirled around to see what it was. Mario's eyes widened as he noticed what was coming. It was the same koopa he had seen with Bowser on the broomstick. The koopa flew around the four and then came to a halt beside them.

"Well look who's back from the dead," she said, staring at Mario, "Do you ever know when it's time to die?"

Mario crossed his arms, "Apparently, no. Even if I did I'd still be standing here, knowing it's not the right time to die because there's innocent people I have to protect them from you."

The koopa rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't be bad mouthing me, Mario. Haven't you already seen that we've already won?"

Goombaria glared at the flying koopa, "Daddy, what is that weird flying thing. It's ugly."

The koopa turned her stare from Mario to Goombaria, "First off, little brat, I am not weird. I am the most beautiful koopa with the most beautiful name, Kammy Koopa."

Mario laughed, "So it's Kammy Koopa, isn't it? Figures a stupid koopa would have a stupid name."

"Shut up, you weasel before I leave and fail to tell you the message from Bowser."

"I have no problem with that."

"Well I'm telling you anyway!" Kammy Koopa screamed, "He says if you would like to save your precious princess again, then you shall come and fight King Bowser up at his castle. If you win…you get the princess and her castle back. You lose, we get rid of you once and for all and we claim Mushroom Kingdom."

"Well tell your little king I will be up there within a matter of hours."

"Just try, Mario. Because there's no way you can climb these large walls surrounding this village," she waved her wand in the air and a large block formed and slammed on top of the fence, smashing it into small pieces and covering it completely, "And since this fence is now blocked, that's the only way you can escape. Goodbye, Mario," within another of her hideous cackles, she flew on her broomstick high, back to where Bowser and the princess was."

Goombario shook his head, "Bummer…we got to fix this fence again."

His father was not worried about the fence, "Mario, what was that strange creature talking about? The way she was so sly talking about the princess…Mario, what happened to her?"

"Well…" Mario put a nervous face, "Bowser sort of…kidnapped her…again."

He shook his head, "Not again!" he looked at the fence, "Then we have to go and get you out of here. Go into our house, on the veranda. Ask Goompa for his hammer so we can smash this block here."

Mario nodded and ran into the house he was instructed to go to. He past a few Goombas in the house, he smiled and greeted them, when he finally reached the door to the veranda. He knocked on the door. No answer. So he shrugged, opened the door, and quickly stepped onto the veranda…only it wasn't a veranda anymore. It was pure, thin air. The veranda had fallen!

Mario felt the as if the air had just tugged him down. He fell about two stories before landing like a giant lump on the hard, grassy ground. He rubbed his back, knowing now he would get more bruises and looked around. He was in a forest, he could see.

"Owww…" he heard a voice behind him say. He turned around to see Goompa, lying on the ground, under a pile of wooden boards. Mario could only see his head from out of the piles, "Hey, you, there. Can you help me out of these…I've been lying here for at least an hour.

"Yes, sir," Mario said as he got up and ran over to him. He pushed all the boards aside from him and then helped the Goomba to his feet.

"Oh…thank you," said the Goomba as he retained his balance, "I was fixing the veranda and the whole thing just collapsed. Good thing I survived."

Mario smiled, "The Goomba at the fence said for me to get a hammer from you. I came out here and saw nothing!"

The Goomba laughed, "Ha! Stepped right out into thin air, didn't you? Classical!" he held out his small hand, "I'm Goompa, the eldest of the Goombas in this village. And you're Mario, right?"

Mario nodded, "Is there any way we can get back up?" he looked around, "This doesn't seem like an ideal of a back yard. This is a forest. I can't even see the house because all the trees are so thick."

"We built our house on a cliff high above these woods," explained Goompa, "My son and I built a veranda over the forest for the children so they can overlook the view. They seem to like it."

Mario nodded once more, "Any way we can get back up?" he asked again.

"Oh, right," said Goompa quickly, "We'll have to go around this forest about a mile before we meet right back up at the beginning of the Goomba Village at the fence. Right this way," he led Mario a couple of yards through the forest before he became upon a large, yellow block in front of the rest of the way out. There was no way they can past it without grabbing a harness and climbing the whole way up then propelling down, "Dang it! If only I still had my hammer with me! I dropped it when the veranda collapsed."

Mario looked around, "So it must be here," he said, "Somewhere around here. Look in the bushes around here. We'll be sure to find it some…" his voice trailed off as he saw Goompa, his eyes trailing about the forest, "What is it, Goompa?"

"This isn't a regular forest," he said, "This is Junior Troopa's playgrounds."

"Who's Junior Troopa?"

"Never mind that…let's find the hammer quick!"

Mario nodded as he ran to a bush, shaking it and poking around the small openings to see if there's anything he could find close to a hammer. He looked over at Goompa, who was doing just the same. Mario ran to another bush that seemed a little more shallower than the others. He plunged his hand down the middle of the bush and felt something hard and wooden brush against his rough fingers. He felt a handle! The hammer! He pulled it out and held it in front of Goompa.

"I found it!" he said. Goompa nodded.

"Good! Now use it to smash that block…hurry!"

"Not so fast!" said a voice from above. Mario and Goompa looked up to see two, black eyes glaring at them. It was a small koopa, not any older than five. He was a nice, sunny yellow color and his body was still blanketed in his soft egg. The small koopa jumped from the branch he was standing on and landed in front of them, the block behind him, "How dare you come and fool around in my playground."

Goompa scrambled behind Mario, "It's Junior Troopa!" he said. But Mario merely laughed.

"He looks harmless," he said. Now it was Junior Troopa's turn to laugh.

"Harmless! Ha! You make me laugh!" he said, "Tell if this is harmless," he crouched slightly and charged at Mario, ramming into him, knocking him down to the side. Mario's dark eyes widened as he rubbed his side.

"Guess you're not harmless," he said, "But that doesn't I can't beat you."

"Just try," Junior Troopa said, "Come on! Bring it!" Mario only stood there, "Aww…is little Mawwio scared? Gonna cry to his mommy," he laughed hideously, "Go on, Mario. Go crwy to your wittle mommy. Heh!"

Mario swung his foot under the small kid, tripping him, "Just because you're a kid you're still a koopa, and I will be forced to exterminate you."

"Then fight me!"

Mario gripped the handle of Goompa's hammer…he was ready to swing it, "I don't want to hurt you."

"I can take your puny attacks. Come on! Give me your best shot."

Mario looked at Goompa, who shrugged, "He said attack him…give him the best shot you've got," he said, winking, "Now…his weak spots, I see, are his head and side. With the proper amount of strength at his side, you can knock his over. Younger koopas such as these have a hard time getting up when they're on the ground. Yet at the same time it takes quite some force to knock them down. Go on, do it."

Mario gripped the handle on his hammer and swung it back. He swung it sideways, making impact with Junior Troopa, knocking him ten feet away from them, but landing on his feet. Mario took advantage of this and started hammering the block in front of him. He made a few cracks before kicking it hard, smashing it into pieces. He grabbed Goompa by his hand and dragged him further into the forest.

"Come back here and fight me, you wench!" they heard Junior Troopa's squealer voice say, "Coooome baaack!"

Mario laughed, "Guess we won't be seeing him around here soon," he said. He proceeded with Goompa.

"Careful around these parts, Mario," Goompa said, "There's evil Goombas that follow King Bowser around here. Keep a sharp, sharp eye out for them."

Mario stopped walking to look at Goompa in the eye, "How do you know all this stuff?" he asked, "I mean…you know almost everything about everything. How is that?"

Goompa smiled, wrinkling his small face, "It's a family tradition. I'm currently trying to teach statistics in battle to Goombario. He learns very quick."

"If it weren't for you…I probably would have never beaten Junior Troopa…the little brat."

Goomba laughed but then lost his smile when he saw a Goomba with wings lunge towards Mario, "Whoa! Mario! Look out!" Mario saw the Goomba and flung out of the way, at the same time, swinging Goompa's hammer behind him, hitting the Goomba square in the back, sending him fly, "You're quick…quicker than you look."

"Let's just get out of here, please," Mario said, "I need to get to the Shooting Star Summit as fast as possible. Let's not waste time."

Goompa nodded as he guided Mario through the forest. He knew everything about the forest, including all the plants, enemies, and sights. They got lost only twice, but found their way quickly, such the skill of luck. Only at noon they reached the fence in Goomba Village, with the block in front of it.

"You got the hammer…smash it!" Goompa said. Mario nodded as he raised the hammer and started making cracks in the block. When there was a large enough crack, he kicked it in half, as he did with the block that was blocking the way to Junior Troopa's playgrounds. He removed the halves of the block and hurled it like a rock further into the woods. It made a big sound.

The door to the Goomba family's house swung open and Goombario, his father, and Goombaria streamed out. Goombario's eyes lit up.

"You're alive!" he said, "I thought for sure you two were goners. Pa said for me to go and look for on the veranda 'cause you were taking to long to get the hammer. When I opened the door to veranda…there was nothing there!"

Mario smiled, "Stepped right out into thin air," he said, "The veranda collapsed but Goompa and I managed to survive."

Goombario's father peered at the fence, "Good, you've destroyed the fence. Now we can fix it once again. Mario, I can't thank you enough for your kindness."

Mario nodded, "The pleasure is all mine," he shook the Goomba's small hand, "I have to get going now."

Goompa started to walk inside the house, "I gotta go in now," he said over his shoulder, "Goobyes make this Goomba a little weepy. He walked inside. But then he ran back out, popping his head out the door, "And Mario, you can keep the hammer, as a goodbye present," Mario smiled as he watched Goompa walk back in. Goombario and his dad came to join Mario.

"I guess you really have to go," Goombario said, "Well…at least I got to meet the great Mario."

His father shook his head once more, "It was a pleasure meeting you…and thank you for destroying the block."

Mario smiled, then stared at the unhappy face on Goombario. He came up with an idea, "You know…you're Goompa was saying he teaches you statistics about battle…and I really do need someone who can tell me things…maybe help me in battle? I mean…if it's okay with your father."

Goombario's eyes went wide, "Really? Oh, dad…you have to let me go! I mean…this is the greatest Mario! He's asking me to come with him to the Shooting Star Summit! Please, dad, you must let me go."

His dad only stood there, thinking, "Well…I guess you have learned quite enough…you can go."

"Yes!"

Goombaria came running up to Mario, "I wanna come too! Daddy…can't I go too? I wanna come with Mario and Goombario!"

Her father shook his head, "You're too young. Goombario's a man now."

"No he isn't," she said, "He's only fourteen years old! He's not a full grown man!"

"But he knows more than you," her father picked up his daughter, "Don't worry, Goombaria. One day you'll get your chance."

Goombaria squiggled out of her father's grasp. She landed on the soft grass, "It's not fair…not fair at all! Why does Goombario get all the fun?!" she stormed into the house.

Goombario rolled his eyes, "She'll get over it," he adjusted his blue cap, "Well…let's get going to the Shooting Star Summit," he waved to his dad, "See ya in a while, dad."

His dad waved back, "You take care of yourself. Behave for Mario!" he waved until he could see his son no more.

Mario sighed, bored from just walking countless miles in this dreaded forest. He could see only small rays of light streaming from the thick leaves of the trees overhanging above his head. He took of his red cap and shook the sweat from it and then dried it with his red shirt. He checked to make sure all the sweat was gone before he slipped it back on.

He looked over at Goombario. He had his head focused to the ground. At any time he looked like he would collapse from boredom as well. Right now he probably would have been better off back at Goomba Village with his annoying younger sister.

"Tell me something, Mario," he said, "Are all your adventures this boring?"

Mario kicked a small rock, "Most of them," he said, "Some are a little bit more exciting. Others are just as these. Even some are worse than this."

Goombario's eyes went wide, "Geez…really? Then I'm glad I'm in this situation."

Mario smiled, "You should be," he said. He focused his eyes on the ground and spotted something red and round pushing up from the dirt ground, "Hey…a mushroom!"

Goombario peered at the mushroom. Then he stopped Mario from touching it, "Don't touch it! It's a trick! It's a Goomba in disguise!"

Mario took the hammer and whacked the mushroom sideways, making it yank out of the ground. The mushroom fell lifelessly to the ground at Goompa's feet. It dissolved into a small Goomba with three spikes on his head. He opened up his mouth to start speaking trash but Mario again whacked it sideways, sending it flying somewhere further away.

Mario's eyes widened with shock, "Geez, Goombario…how could you tell?" he put the hammer in his belt pouch.

"The eyes," Goombario replied, "You look at the eyes and then you can tell. The eyes of a normal mushroom is rounded…like this one," he picked up a mushroom and handed it to Mario, who took a quick glance at it and then popped it in his mouth.

"And-ff what ff the difffrff between the uffer kindsf ff mushroomsf?" asked Mario, his mouth full of the mushroom.

"What did you say?" Goombario said, not understanding at all what Mario had said. Mario finished chewing the mushroom and slowly swallowed it.

"I said…and what is the diffrence between the other kind of mushrooms?"

"Oh," he said, "You can tell a Goomba's in disguise by the pointed eyes stare at you. Normal mushrooms have rounded eyes that look only the way it's facing."

Mario nodded, "I've made a really good decision bringing you along with me," he said, "I would have eaten the mushroom without a second thought."

Goombario smiled as they continued walking down the path in the forest, at some point talking about the change of scenery. They could tell they were getting close to Toad Town because it was becoming more colorful. Mario guessed they would be there in an hour if not half before they reached it.

"I've never been to Toad Town," Goombario said suddenly, "What's it like?"

Mario gazed up at the sky, thinking about his home, "It's beautiful there. You'll love it like nothing else. It's so colorful there. There's a fishing greil where you can go fishing for free, just pay for the rods. There's the dojo, where you fight for membership cards. Then there's Club 64. Oh…that place is the best. The princess and I went there last, we were just sitting there, dancing, having a good old time. We were in our own little world, with our own song playing. Only she and I existed in this world. We danced, not know anyone was watching us at all. We didn't have a clue whatsoever. And then the lights dimmed and…"

Goombario cleared his throat, bored at the story, "I asked about Toad Town not your dance."

Mario blushed…what had he been saying that entire time? He was just rambling on about crazy things, not knowing it.

"Sorry…I dooze off into thing like that," he said. Goombario rolled his eyes.

"It's better I not ask any longer," he said, "It must upset you to think about the princess. If just thinking about her makes you ramble on like that, then it's better not to think of her. Let's just think about how we're gonna seek guidance from the seven Star Spirits."

Mario thought for a minute. Bowser had said he had kidnapped the Star Spirits. But it was impossible to even come close to them…unless he had a power stronger than their own, which would be more than impossible. Nevertheless the Star Rod only matched up to their power…it didn't overcome them. Unless Bowser took the Star Spirits one by one.

There was a rustle in the bushes in front of them. Goombario jumped back, frightened, "Mario…what was that?"

Mario shook his head, mouth agape, "I have no clue."

"Well then go see!"

Mario gulped, for the first time since he had gotten on the road, scared. He slowly approached the bushes and with a shaking hand, he pushed them aside. Two large Goombas, one blue one red, jumped out. Mario screamed with sudden surprise.

"Look it here, brother," said the blue Goomba to the red, "We got ourselves some trespassers here."

The red Goomba cackled, "Looks like the legendary, famous Mario," the two Goombas began to circle him, smiling.

"Yes…yes…" said the blue, "He looks like an innocent old man, but I can tell who he really is on the inside. He's a coward."

Mario's eyebrows were knitted, "I am not a coward."

The red laughed, "Such a fool…trying to act tough."

Goombario came and pushed red, "Leave him alone!"

Mario pushed blue, "I have got no time to pick off with you. Why don't you two just scram."

The red and blue Goombas just stood there, shocked someone had the nerve to push them. The red stood up, "We're on orders by the Goomba King to not let anyone pass. If you want to get through, you'll have to fight us first."

Mario rolled his, knowing this was no problem. He raised his hammer above his head, ready to smash them. But Goombario stopped him.

"We have to play by the rules of a fight, Mario," he said, "You do know the rules of fight, don't you?"

Mario looked at Goombario, hammer still above his head, "No I don't. I've never even heard of them before. I didn't have to use those rules on Junior Troopa."

"That's because neither of you knew about them. You have to play by the rules or you lose."

Mario lowered the hammer, "Teach me."

Goombario cleared his throat, "You only get one attack per person. You convert into teams, each person on the team takes their attack at each turn. You're allowed to be outnumbered. Also, an attack can be tattle, which is one person telling how to defeat only one opponent from the other team. And that's pretty much it."

The blue spoke up, "You forgot that each player also gets any request they want before each battle."

Goombario rolled his eyes, "Yes, Mario. And each player gets a request."

The red smiled, "Then lets get started. My request is we go first."

He nodded to the blue who said, "And my request is you cannot use the same attack twice in a row."

Goombario nodded, "Requests excepted. Mario, your turn."

"Um…I request…that I get a one minute break if I shed anywhere, any amount of blood."

"And I request that I get to use tattle and an attack of my choice on the first turn," Goombario chimes in afterwards.

The red smiled, "We accept your requests. Now lets start. I'll go first," they arranged themselves into rows, "My ring opponent will be Mario."

Goombario smiled, "And mine will be blue!"

"Don't interrupt," the red said, "I'll use head bonk as my first attack," he ran over to Mario and jumped high in the air. He flipped upside down and landed head first, jamming into Mario's head. Mario rubbed his head as the pain scorched through. Goombario smiled.

"You couldn't head bonk anyone if you tried. My head bonk is better."

The blue stood up, "I'll use tattle," he said, "On Mario…let's see…Mario arms is very stubby and he runs fairly well. He can't block that good on lower terms quick enough and he can't reach up high. If you want a good attacking space, aim for his head and chest area and his ankles."

Mario ginned, knowing he was very wrong indeed. Sure his arms are small and he couldn't block high or block low in time, but they had forgotten one thing. His body was very flexible. He could do back flips fast enough so they couldn't get his head, in time also his feet would attack their face when he did the flip. And he could jump high enough as four feet. If they attacked his ankles, he could jump and use that as a block instead. The blue's tattle attack was all wrong.

Goombario nudged Mario, "You attack next."

Mario smiled as he took up his hammer. He walked over to red and raised it high above his head. He brought it down, his arms swinging over like a wheel, then hitting him right in the head. The red Goomba hardly flinched. Then Mario found out why. His head was as hard as rock. Any normal opponent would have died right there, by how hard Mario had hit him. But because of his head, that didn't happen. Mario walked back to his row.

Goombario stood in front of Mario, "My turn! Remember my request. I get to use tattle and an attack of my choice," the red and blue Goomba nodded, telling him to move on, "Now for my tattle attack I'd like to use it for blue. But note this counts for both of you. Let's see…their heads are very hard, you may want to go for their legs and chest…there you can get straight attacks. Now for my second attack I shall use my special head bonk," he turned to Mario, "Don't ever try this unless you have a VERY hard head," Goombario ran over to the blue Goomba, ready at any cost to pick up speed, then he jumped in the air, like the red had done to Mario, then banged his head into his skull. The blue Goomba cried out.

"Owww…this kid does have a hard head."

Goombario smiled, "It runs in the family."

The red took mark, "My turn! I'm going to use kick," he ran to Mario and attempted to kick his ankles, but Mario, in a flash, did a back flip and his two feet impacted with the red Goomba's jaw. The red stumbled back, "My…my lip is bleeding. Fool, that's not part of the rules!"

Mario put on a mean face, "What do you mean it's not part of the rules?"

Goombario thought for a second and then realized the problem, "I forgot to mention. You can't attack the other player when they're attacking!"

"And what happens if I do?"

"Well…um…you…uhhh…" he smiled innocently, "You get…disqualified."

Mario rolled his eyes, "Thanks a lot, Goombario. Hope you have fun fighting these two," Mario walked to a nice patch of grass and sat there, waiting for Goombario to attack. He knew quite well that he couldn't defeat them. The red Goomba came up to Goombario and kicked him so hard, he fell to the ground.

"Ha!" shouted the red.

"No!" Mario screamed out loud, "Goombario! Stop lying around…think of me! Think of the princess! Don't stop fighting!" just as Mario said the word 'fighting' a strange, purple glow formed around his small body. Everyone noticed it at once. Mario looked down at his body, thinking it was infected.

"No…it cannot be…" said the blue.

"He's…he's been touched by the Star Spirits…he has their power within them," said the red. He tugged at the blue, "Time to recuperate…get a bigger team, Blue! Get the Goomba King!" and the two Goombas flew from Mario and Goombario, leaving them there. Mario's glow dissolved.

"What was that?" Mario asked.

Goombario cleared his throat as he got up, rubbing himself, "First off, tell me if you've ever been touched by any of the Star Spirits."

Mario shook his head, "I've never even seen them in person."

"You don't have to see them in person," he said, "The Star Spirits can choose to touch you when you're half conscious, too, you know. That purplish glow wasn't just a glow of power. It's the Star Spirits' power. They want something from you…that's why they've chosen to show the glow now, when we were in trouble. Not to mention your eyes had this weird glare…I knew it wasn't normal."

"Can that happen again?"

Goombario shook his head, "No…they can show a sign of their power only once. Now they'll express it in other ways."

"Like what?"

"Anything…anything can happen with them."

Mario nodded and then looked at the path ahead of him, "Looks like the only thing left to do is move on, then," Goombario nodded and they began to walk ahead.

"Not far from here, there's gonna be the bridge. The bridge will leave us back into Toad Town."

Red and Blue ran from the spot where they had fought Mario and his friend. Who was this person that was traveling with them anyway? Well, they had no time for that! Bah! They had to find safety!

They finally reached the Goomba King's castle. They ran up to the door and endlessly pounded on it.

"What brings you here?" came a deep voice.

Blue stopped banging, "We've come to bring you news."

The door swung open and the two Goombas swaddled in. They ran up the long flight of stairs up to the balcony, where a huge Goomba stood. The Goomba King.

"What news do you bring?" he asked the two.

"Oh, your highness," said Red, "Mario has been touched by the Star Spirits!"

"It's true, your highness," said Blue, "He started glowing purple and his eyes had a strange glare to it."

The Goomba King laughed, "And you came wallowing to me because you thought I could help you with this pathetic problem of yours?" the two Goombas nodded and the Goomba King smiled, "I love it!"

Mario reached a huge castle. Goombario shook his head, knowing this was all wrong.

"There's supposed to be a bridge right here," he said, "Something's wrong."

Mario put his one finger to his lips, "Shh…listen…" the two listen to the conversation going on above them, in a balcony, perhaps.

"…and you came wallowing to me because you think I can help you with this pathetic problem of yours?…I love it!…we'll get started the second Mario get here…"

Mario snickered, "I'm already here!" he saw three heads of Goombas appear over the ledge of a balcony, their eyes staring at him. Two of them were the pathetic losers he had fought earlier, Red and Blue, and the other one was a quite large Goomba. The Goomba King, he concluded.

"Well, well, Mario. Didn't expect to see you come so soon," said the Goomba King, "Ready for a real good ass whooping?"

Mario smiled, "Ready when you are."

The Goomba King and Red and Blue jumped down from the balcony, landing in front of them with a large bump.

"First," said the Goomba King, "The requests are still from the last battle…I get mine. If someone looses his balance, you get disqualified."

"Don't forget," said Goombario, "I get to use tattle and an attack of my choice on the first turn!"

The Goomba King nodded, "Yes, I'm well aware of that," he said, "For my first attack, I'd like to use Honeycomb," the Goomba King reached up at the tree branch above him and yanked off a large honeycomb from it. He hurled it at Mario, but he merely stepped out of the way, avoiding the attack.

"We're going next," said Goombario, "Remember, if a team is out numbered for the first you guys can only attack once," the three Goombas sighed, knowing he was right, "Now for tattle…Mario, we know the tattles for Red and Blue, but for the Goomba King we do not. His body size has makes his brain weaker by how many times he has to use it everyday to move around. A weaker brain means a weaker skull. So his head won't be as hard as the others. Your best bet is aiming for his head," Mario nodded, "Now I'd like to use head bonk…on the king!" he ran over to the Goomba King and head bonked him. The king rubbed his head in pain.

Mario stood up, "My turn!" he took out his hammer and gripped it tightly. Then he thought for a second, there was no way he could hit the top of the Goomba King's head. And it would be useless to hit Red and Blue, since they were already weak as it was. The ring leader was the Goomba King. If got him, he got the entire team. But if only there was a way that he could attack all three of them at once. He spotted the honeycomb tree.

"Mario…you still there?" Goombario said. He waved his hand in front of Mario's face, "What's your attack?"

Mario smiled…there was a way he can attack them all at once, "I'm going to use my way of the Honeycomb attack," he ran up to the trunk of the tree and swung his hammer hard against it. The tree shook so hard, a large honeycomb fell from it's branch, hitting the Goomba King on his head, then bouncing off and hitting Blue in the head, then bouncing off and hitting Red in the head. Red and Blue immediately lost their balance. Mario pointed at the two, "Disqualified!"

The two Goombas shrugged and walked away…let the Goomba King handle this one. They walked further into the woods, away from the fight. Then they sat down and started to talk.

"He'll win…he's huge," said Blue. Red nodded.

Mario smiled, "A little smarter than I look, aren't?" he laughed a little. The Goomba King clenched his teeth, also his fists. Now he was the one being out numbered.

"You'll never defeat me let alone get the chance to disqualify me," he shouted, "I'll use Honeycomb once again," he took a smaller honeycomb from the tree this time and hurled it faster than before. It hit Mario square in the chest. But he managed to keep himself balanced, he couldn't let Goombario go alone on this one.

"You'll have to do more than that to get me down," he said, "I'm gonna use my hammer," he slipped out his hammer. Then he saw something Goombario hadn't before. The Goomba King's ankles were short and stubby. If he could just hit the ankles at the right place, with the proper amount of strength, he could make the Goomba King lose his balance. That means all three opponents…he could win!

Mario ran up to the Goomba King, raising his hammer high but at a slight angle to the right. He stood right next to him, side by side, then swung the hammer sideways, hitting the Goomba King's ankle at the back. Then he dragged the hammer a little outwards, making him fall onto his back. Mario leaned over his face.

"I believe you are disqualified, mate," he said, winking and laughing at the same time. The Goomba King stumbled up, pushing Mario aside.

"Goombas, back in the castle!" he shouted as he ran back into his castle. Not too long afterwards, Red and Blue followed him in, shutting the doors behind them.

Goombario shuffled the dirt aside, "But we still need the bridge!"

Mario crept up to the door of the castle and listened to the conversation that was going on inside.

("Blue, where did you put that switch…are you sure Mario won't find it?")

("Relax, King Goomba, I hid it outside in the grass.")

("IN THE GRASS!!!")

("Shhh…if we're quite about it maybe Mario will just walk away…")

A sly grin crossed Mario's lips. He searched around until he found a tall stalk of grass not far from him. He ran over to the grass and reached inside. He slid his fingers around the grass until he felt something round and smooth under it. A switch! He took out his hammer and lifted it high above his head. The door to the castle opened and Mario turned his head to the Goomba King.

"Listen, Mario…" said the Goomba King, "It was a good fight and all, but…if you happen to find a large, blue switch somewhere…don't push it! It'll cause destruction for us all! So if you happen to come across it…hey! What are you gonna do with that hammer?" Mario smiled evilly as he gripped the hammer tightly and turned his gaze back to the patch of tall grass, "No, Mario, don't!"

Mario swung the hammer over his head, smashing it into the switch. He felt the switch go down and a tremendous tremor started to break. The Goomba King ran away from his castle, followed by Red and Blue. Mario watched as the castle slowly turned to debris of ashes and stones on the ground.

"Look, Mario…the bridge!" Mario squinted far beyond where the castle was and saw that, behind the large patches of gray smoke, was a long, rickety bridge.

"We can get to Toad Town now!" Mario and Goombario climbed over the helpless debris to get to the bridge.

Little did they suspect…someone was watching them. Flying over her short, wooden broomstick, watching them, was the sneaky Kammy Koopa. She grimaced at the pleasant sight that Mario had defeated King Goomba and was now one step closer to finding Bowser. She rolled her red eyes and tilted the broom up, flying upwards towards the dark sky. She flew back up to where Bowser was.

As she got to the door, she jumped off her broom and opened it. She ran inside, bypassing the guards in the dimly lit ballroom and ran into the secret chambers, where she saw Bowser standing there. He shot Kammy Koopa a look.

"Well?" he asked, Kammy Koopa threw herself at his feet.

"Oh your patheticness…Mario has defeated the Goomba King and is headed towards Toad Town as we speak."

Bowser banged his fist against on the hard, wooden table next to him, "That's not possible! The Goomba King was huge!"

"Yes, I know that well," Kammy Koopa said, looking up from his feet, "But due to a stupid request he made, Mario was able to defeat him more quicker than we thought. Who knows what he'll be doing back in Toad Town."

Bowser nodded, "Well, he's one step closer to getting to me, but there are still plenty of steps more. I've got the best in line to deal with him next. Who have you hired?"

Kammy Koopa stood up from the ground, "Yes, your nastiness. I'll bring them in right now."

Bowser stopped her, "Wait, Kammy…you sure you've hired the right people? I mean, if you screw this up and hire the wrong people…I'll…"

"King Bowser…you worry too much…" said a voice from outside the door. The door swung open and four koopas streamed in. They all had bandanas of different colors on their small heads. One green, one yellow, one red, one black. The one wearing the red bandana approached the king.

"We are the ones Miss Kammy hired," he said, "The Koopa Brothers!" they all did a lame, striking position. Bowser leaned over closer to Kammy Koopa.

"Kammy…are you sure these kids can handle this job?" he said, meaning to whisper, but the Red Koopa heard anyway.

"Awwshaw, Bowser," he said, "You're such a worry-wart. You've left this opportunity to a group of high professionals."

"Yeah…high…" Bowser muttered, "Well, if you're such high professionals, then show me your moves."

"Not all our moves," said Koopa Red, "Just our one special move. The one that will break down Mario, all in one," Bowser nodded, telling him to proceed. Koopa Red turned to the other koopas, "Koopa Brothers…just as we practiced. Show the grateful Bowser our special move."

Bowser's dark eyes gleamed as he watched the Koopa Brothers perform their special move, "Ooh…oh, yes, I see…that will bring Mario down before I know it…yes…yes…do it. Get that Mario out of my flames and back to hell where he belongs!"

The Koopa Brothers stopped their move and Koopa Black turned to Bowser, "We won't let you down, we promise."

Bowser smiled, "Okay," then he thought of something, "Wait a minute…who is watching the Star Spirit while you're here?"

The Koopa Brothers were startled, "Well…no one, your highness."

Bowser's eye flamed, "YOU IDIOTS! YOU LEFT THE STUPID STAR SPIRIT IN THERE UNPROTECTED?!"

"Sorry, king Bowser," said Koopa Red, "We'll get back over there in a jiffy!" and the four Koopa Brothers were gone.

Mario reached the entrance to Toad Town. He smiled, seeing that everything was just the way he remembered it. He saw everyone running about, doing their daily businesses. They all seemed so normal to Mario, just the way he liked it. He looked over at Goombario, who's eyes were gleaming with excitement.

"So this is your Toad Town?" he asked Mario. He nodded.

"Yep," he replied, "This is my hometown. You'll love it here."

Goombario nodded, but pondered at the empty sky, "But…where's the castle?" Mario frowned, "I've read in a book before that the princess Toadstool's castle is so big, you can see it even at the entrance to Toad Town."

"There is no castle," Mario said angrily, "Not anymore."

He started further into Toad Town. Goombario shrugged and decided to follow. He enjoyed the sites of Toad Town, it looked so big and busy, nothing like Goomba Village. Only his family lived there and an inn, and that wasn't much. Plus it was always very quiet and simple.

"A spinning roof?" he asked, pointing to a small, circular hut with its large blue roof rotating menacingly, "Never have I've seen one."

Mario laughed, recognizing the hut, "That's Merlin's hut. He's the town's psychic. He predicts everyone's future for just 5 coins, no tax either."

Goombario nodded in interest, "I see…and that?" he pointed to two, large double doors that seem to lead to a hidden house.

Mario lost his smile, "That's the entrance to the castle," he mumbled, "The Shooting Star Summit is west from the castle and about a mile down, so we're almost there," he headed towards the large double doors.

Very slowly, they climbed the steep hill past the 'earth-moved' ruins that used to be Toad Town Palace until they reached a small mountain. They noticed the sky was beginning to thicken at the level they were in, it seemed like night outside. Stars were shooting across the skies above them. At the tip top of the mountain, the moon shone down an ominous blue and light seemed to stretch from the mountain and up to the stars.

Mario shielded his eyes from the unusually bright moonlight shinning down, "That's it, we just have to climb this mountain and we'll be there."

Goombario shoved a little dirt aside from the ground, "You think it'll be safe? I mean, I almost fell down just that hill we climbed, no telling what will happen on a mountain."

Mario turned around angrily, "You wanna save the princess and the Star Spirits or not?" he said in a loud voice. Without even getting his response, he whirled back around and boarded the mountain, climbing it.

Goombario shrugged and climbed too.

"Whoa!" he shouted at sudden and Mario's head snapped behind him so fast he nearly got a whiplash to see Goombario dodge just in time to avoid being hit by a…falling star? He looked up and saw another star plummeting towards him. He feebly stepped out of the way, dodging it and laughed to himself.

"Now I see why they call it the Shooting Star Summit," he said and he continued to climb the mountain. Goombario shakily followed.

"Will it hurt if we get hit by one?" he asked.

"Probably not," he said, "We'll have to see and find out when we get hit," and as if on cue, a small star slammed Mario right in his chest. He flew back and landed on his back with a loud thump sound. Goombario gasped ran to him, kneeling down on the ground.

"Did it hurt?"

Mario smiled and let out a huge laugh, "Are you kidding? That felt great! I felt like the Seven Star Spirits themselves have touched me! Whew! That was awesome!"

He struggled back up to his feet and continued his way up, with a cautious Goombario following him. It took them only about ten minutes tops to get to the top of the mountain.

"Wow…" Goombario mutter to himself as he looked at the large, shrine-like land before him. Seven small stars, all different colors, formed a circle around the moonlight sucking from the ground.

"I'm glad you have come, Mario," a voice arose from out of nowhere. The Seven Star Spirits began to blur into focus until they were visible. Eldestar spoke, "You are the only one we can trust to undergo this task."

Mario nodded, "Yes…Elde…" his voice trailed off upon seeing the Seven Star Spirits begin to blur then pop back to life.

"We are holograms," Muskular said, reading Mario's mind, "Our real bodies are trapped in scattered places around Mushroom Kingdom. You must find them."

One of the female spirits, Misstar, spoke next, "Bowser sealed us in evil trance cards and handed us down to seven of his most difficult bosses and advisors. The first card holds Eldestar in Goomba Fortress."

Mario nodded, "Goomba Fortress," he repeated to himself, "Where are the others?"

"That we can't say," Mamar, the other female spirit, said, "You have to gather clues yourself."

"By myself?" Mario said, "How can I do that? They can be anywhere in Mushroom Kingdom."

Eldestar laughed merrily, "Ho! That won't be a problem for you, I'm sure you'll have plenty of help. Look, you already have a new friend," he pointed towards Goombario.

"But the only person who could really help me is Princess Peach and she's…"

"We know, and we're trying to help that. Once you collect all seven of us, we can help you get to where she is so you can defeat Bowser and claim yourself a hero once again," Mario looked down, "Now, boy, don't be so glum looking. You've been through tougher things than this. Why, you've been through paintings, world-traveling, and even paint adventures, now who else have done that?"

Mario shrugged, "My brother."

Eldestar rolled his eyes, "Regardless, you can do this, you can win. All you need is just a little, tiny bit of help…and you got it. It's that simple, Mario. You can do this.

The Seven Star Spirits blurred for a short five seconds and dissolved back to life, "Here is where our strength goes weak and we leave you to look for the cards. Good luck, Mario. May you have all the good luck."

And the Star Spirits popped invisible. Goombario walked up so he was next to Mario and looked up to him, "Mario…do you really think the princess is alright? I'm…I'm really worried about her."

Peach solemnly paced her room, her head down, her hands squeezing together hard. Her face was red from crying so much.

"What am I to do?" she asked herself, "Everyone's locked away…there's nothing I can do to help anyone. Not even…Mario. I don't even know if he's alive."

There was a tap she heard. Her head sprung up as she listened again for the tap. It came from the balcony. She turned to her window and saw a small yellow star tapping at the balcony window. She walked over and slowly opened it, letting him in.

"Ah, Princess Peach!" the star said, "I've finally got to you."

Peach stared at the star, pondering, "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Twink," the little star said with a smile, "I'm one of the star kids from Star Haven. I've come to help you."

"Really?" Peach jumped in happiness, "Can you…can you fly me away from here? I need to find Mario, I need to see if he's alive!"

Twink looked down with a sad face, "I don't think I can."

Peach smiled in hope, "It's ok…maybe…can you take the Star Rod away from King Bowser?"

He shook his head, "No, I can't. I believe only the Seven Star Spirits can do something like that. I'm really sorry."

Peach patted him, "It's ok, Twink. I'm not mad, really," she thought for a moment, "Hmm…oh! Maybe can you find Mario and tell him something for me?"

Twink's face gleamed with a bright smile, "Yeah, that's easy. I can do that! What should I tell him?"

Peach smiled, "Tell him…that I'm fine and not to worry about me."

"Right away, princess!" he turned to fly out the window.

"Wait!" she said, "Can you…bring him this too?" she reached within her pocket and pulled out a star shaped pendant. Twink flew over and took it from her.

"It's the Lucky Star, isn't it?" he giggled.

Peach nodded, "Yes, can you bring it to him and tell him my message?"

Twink nodded as well, "I will, I'll be back as soon as I can," and with that, he flew out the balcony window. Peach just stood there, her sense of worry taking over again.

"Mario…I hope you are ok…"