Prologue: Friend or Foe?

Blank space. Literally an abyss of whiteness. That's all what Mario saw.

He felt like there wasn't even time where he was now. He tried to gasp for air in shock,but he couldn't. In fact, he didn't even feel like he was alive anymore.

He heard a voice. A female one. It seemed very familiar. Rosalina.

„Mario." it said „Your world is destroyed. Everything and everyone. But don't worry.

You see, life never ends. It repeats itself, over and over again. But it is never the same.

Thus, you are now granted to step into your new world. Make the most out of it.

Goodbye."

Not even understanding what Rosalina just said to him, Mario already felt something. Wind.

It was playing around his mustache. Then he felt being slapped. He heard a very familiar voice shout „Come on Mario! Don't do this to me! You have to live!"

Suddenly, he felt fresh air running through his lungs felt his heart beating again. The air that ran through his lungs and the blood that ran through his veins never felt more fresh and livening before. He jumped up, whilst opening his eyes.

What he saw was his eternal love, Princess Peach standing right in front of him. She seemed as confused as he was, but joyful at the same time. They were in a valley-like area with Peach's castle standing a few feet away. What he felt was a weird form of tiredness, not easy to describe. What he tasted was a fresh breeze of air flowing into his mouth. What he heard was Peach worrisomely asking if he was okay,but what he smelled immediately woke him fully up.

That foul smell of rottenness and hatred (as well as the smell of never having showered in their entire life)-Bowser!

He jumped in front of Peach, guarding her with his hands, while Bowser was trying to get up from lying on his shell.

„Bowser! What are you doing here?!" Mario shouted.

„Could...ask you...the same thing..." Bowser gasped as he was trying to get up from his shell.

When he finally managed to get on his feet,Mario had already charged a fireball from his hands and aimed it at him.

„Hey, put that thing outta my face!" Bowser said.

„Yeah, sure! I'll just put that fireball down and let you take Peach." Mario replied.

„Mario, I have absolutely no idea what just happened, just like you.

However, if you want a beating,you can have it!"

With that sentence, Bowser charged up a fireball from his mouth and stared angrily at Mario, as Mario was staring back at him.

Peach then pushed herself between Mario and Bowser and commanded both

„Mario! Bowser! You can get back to killing each other later.

Right now, we HAVE to find out where we are and what just happened."

Listening to their collective crush, both Mario and Bowser shot their fireballs in different directions and backed away from each other.

As she was trying to pull what seemed sort of reminisscent of a squirming Luigi out of the ground, Peach asked „Boys, for what do you for remember before waking up here?"

„An explosion, blank space and a familiar voice..." Both replied instantaneously.

„Same." Peach answered.

When she had finally pulled the Luigi out of the ground, she asked it the same and it answered the same.

„So, basically we're clueless of what happened and where we are." Mario noted.

„Y...yeah..." Everyone agreed.

„Maybe, the universe exploded?" Bowser spontaneously asked.

„Bowser! Why do you always-" „He's right." A voice interrupted Peach.

That voice continued:

„Well, Bowser build his King Star at the center of the universe to rule everything,you rember?

Mario then came to stop him and save Peach, but when he smacked Bowser into the King Star, it became a supernova.

And now, putting simple astrophyisics onto this, the supernova became a black hole.

My children, the Lumas then sacrificed all of themselves to force their power into the black hole and inverted it into a new big bang.

It erased your universe and build a brand new one, whilst keeping you people.

So basically, all of you were reborn in a new universe."

„S-so it's a w-whole new world...?" Mario stuttered.

„Yes." the voice replied.

„There is not much I can do for you now." It continued „I just want you guys to take your second chance and not screw it up again.

Until we meet again, goodbye."

The voice faded.

„Oh my goodness...a whole new world?!" Mario asked himself in shock.

„Yeah." Peach answered „I don't even know what to say. I guess all we can do right now is to come together and make ourselves a new home."

„Come together?!" Bowser snapped „ME? Come together with YOU GUYS? Never!"

„But I thought you liked my presence, or am I mistaken?" Peach asked in a clever tone.

„Jasemine Toadstool," Bowser whispered in a very serious tone, as he bent down to Peach, so only she could hear him „We both know that I don't kidnap you because I have an affection for you. Not mainly."

„Yeah, there was that thing, were I..." Peach whispered back „But that doesn't matter anymore! We've just made a restart and I think, so should our relationships! I swear that I will become a better person. Maybe,we even could..."

„Of course, we can,but can we shake hands on that?" Bowser asked, now loud enough for everyone to hear.

„Sure."

And they shook hands, leaving Mario and Luigi completely clueless of what they had been talking about.

„So,if you excuse me,..." Both Peach and Bowser said at the same time „I've got to fill my people in on this." They hurried of in different directions.

Mario and Luigi spent the next quarter of an hour, looking for mushrooms, when armies of Toads and Koopas stormed up to Peach's castle and gathered in front of it.

On the front balcony stood Peach and Bowser, waving at their people.

„Right then," Peach began.

„Alright!" Bowser answered.

Shaking each other's hands, both shouted over the crowd: „We are the Star Alliance! Let's go for a greater future!"

End of the Prologue.