Fox McClean and the Case of the Kidnapped Heroes

Disclaimer: I don't own Nintendo, SSBB, the characters, or ravioli depicted in this story. And I know that this isn't Fox's real name! (But just for clarification, it is pronounced Muh-clean.)

1

Once upon a time, in a temple far away, Mario and Princess Peach went on a picnic. They were just settling down to eat, when a green knight came jumping down from the roof.

"Halt!" he said. "Why have you come to this place?"

"Oh, we were invited to a picnic here! Are you the host?" Peach asked.

"No. I am Link, and I'm watching over this castle. You must leave."

"Mama mia," said Mario. "You've-a got to be kidding me! We just want to eat our ravioli lunch. Can't-a we stay?"

"I'm afraid not. We're on double guard today, watching out for any possible enemies. And I don't have my sword, so I'm not taking any chances."

Suddenly, a giant cage fell out of the sky and trapped Mario, Peach, and Link.

"Great galloping Goombas! What's going on?" Peach screamed.

"Don't-a worry!" Mario said. "I'll-a just break the cage with my super fireballs!" Mario shot a fireball at the cage. But, it reflected back and hit Link in the head.

"Ouch! How does a plumber shoot fireballs anyway?" Link asked as he rubbed his head.

"With-a my hands!"

"Guys," said Peach, "this is foolish. We've got to get out of here, so we need to work together. That usually works in TV shows."

"Okay," Mario said. "Here's-a what we're-a going to do. Link, you're-a going to fire an arrow, while I shoot out a fireball. They'll combine, and then the cage will explode."

"Great idea!" Link took out his bow and released an arrow. Mario shot out a fireball. And they exploded! Unfortunately, the explosion was puny enough not to destroy the cage, that would have been too easy. It did, however manage to knock out those inside of the cage.

A couple of hours later, word of the incident reached the Smasher's Agency located in Delfino Plaza.

"Look, I don't care that the city needs to be cleaned," Luigi, the secretary, was telling the mayor on the phone, "We fight crime, not slime." He hung up the phone. "Hmm…" he said to himself, "That could be our new slogan!"

Just then, the Ice Climbers burst through the front doors. "Luigi!" Popo said.

"We," said Nana.

"Just," said Popo.

"Heard," said Nana.

"Awful," said Popo.

"News!" said Nana.

"Guys, we already told you, you need to stay at least 200 feet away from the property at all times. You guys are just too annoying for us to handle. Especially after the time you froze Meta Knight." Luigi pushed a red button, and the Ice Climbers were dropped into a pothole in the floor.

"Whee!" they cried.

Then, Yoshi wandered in. "Hi, Luigi! I was just walking by and wanted to say, sorry about your brother. He always fed and petted me, and I hope you all rescue him."

"Huh, what?"

Yoshi looked surprised. "You didn't hear? Mario, Peach, and some green person were kidnapped from the Temple today!"

"What's that?" Falco walked out of his office. His blue feathers were combed back and he looked as smug as always. "You don't say? I think that this is a job for the Agency. Don't even call it in, Luigi. I'll see to it personally."

"Well, that's nice, Falco," Luigi admitted. "But since it's so personal to me, I'd rather have Fox do the job. He's never failed a mission before in his life, and you… well… the thing with Young Link…"

"I told him that milk was rotten, but he didn't listen! It's not my fault that he was hospitalized!"

"Even so," said a smooth voice, "Failure is failure." Fox McClean walked into the lobby. "Hello, Yoshi. I see you're orange today."

"Yep! Pineapple does weird things to my complexion. I'm going to go eat a melon." He left the building.

"Fox," Falco growled, "May I remind you that you don't even have a partner? You can't possibly pull this off alone!"

"I'll find someone to take Pikachu's spot. Just wait."

"Wait!" Luigi exclaimed. "I've got a genius idea! You can both do the job! That way, two of our most brilliant minds would be on the case."

"Hold on, Luigi," Falco told him. "I think that a secretary shouldn't tell us what to do. Let me think… Wait, I've got it! We'll both try and find Mario!"

"Mama mia," Luigi sighed.

"Okay, that sounds fun." Fox agreed. For me, that is.

"Then let's go!" Falco said as he sprinted out the door. "We'll find him first, Foxy!"

"I'll find a partner and get right on that, Luigi," Fox assured. He walked back into his office.

The Ice Climbers were back when Luigi turned around. "That was fun! Do it again!"

"Good grief." Luigi rolled his eyes.