Yes, there is an actual DDR Mario game. This will be following its story pretty closely, to the point where some of the dialogue's very close to the original (you can't improve perfection). There's some clear differences in this chapter (mostly with Lakitu and Toad), but things won't really start shaking up until later. Hopefully it's still fun anyway. so I'm glad.
This'll probably get a better title and summary eventually, don't worry.
In the land of the Mushroom Kingdom, there was a large building known as the Truffle Towers. Truffle Towers had once been home to one of the more adventurous Toads in the kingdom, who was once entrusted with caring for the mystical items known as the Music Keys. The building was actually owned by a certain Lakitu. The Lakitu had several shops throughout the kingdom, but he had been allowing Toad to rent the Towers. However, Toad had been having more and more trouble keeping up with the rent, and Lakitu had decided it wasn't worth the trouble to continue renting the place out. He kicked Toad out and became the caretaker of the Music Keys. He put little effort into that, though, knowing that Toad would take care of things if anything happened.
(Not long after he was kicked out of Truffle Towers, Toad finally came out of the closet, but that is another tale for another day.)
The point of focus today is not on the caretakers of the Towers, however, but on the Towers themselves.
Our story begins just outside, where a mysterious character in silhouette was planning their entrance into the building. They paced by the door, trying to figure out how to get in, until it occured to them to just try opening the front door. It was a stupid plan, that'd just be too easy. But it was worth a try, and they surprised to find that the doors were actually unlocked.
The character pushed the doors open and entered the building. Next, they'd have to find out where the Music Keys' location, but that turned out to be just as easy. There were only a few doors to choose them, and one had a large, neon sign above it announcing that that was the room the Music Keys were in.
"This is just too easy..." they mumbled. "It's like they're begging me to take them!"
Walking into the room confirmed that the sign was correct - this was the room the Music Keys were. Success within their reach, the mysterious person began to laugh.
"Wahahaha! At last I've found them! The Music Keys: the bearers of the power of music!" they exclaimed. "I'll release the music from the keys and use their power to flood the world with chaos!" The person walked up to the keys and picked them up, now holding all four in his arms. "And then...I'll hypnotize the rhythmless masses with my moves, and the world will belong to me!"
With another laugh, they spun around in a circle and struck a pose, reminding themself how powerful their dance moves were. Unfortunately, in the process, they also dropped three of the four Music Keys. The keys rolled away from them until they eventually fell out the window. This was...an unexpected hitch in their plans, to say the least. The character froze with surprise for a moment, before just laughing it off.
"That's fine. Even with just one Music Key, I'll have more than enough power to carry out my plans. No one will be able to stop me now!"
Meanwhile, some ways away from the Towers, the homeless (and homo) Toad saw the three Music Keys rolling away. Before he could wonder what that was about, power began to visibly surge from the fourth, strong enough that it seemed to defy science and allowed him to see this through the building. As the previous caretaker of the keys, Toad fancied himself to be an expert. He could tell right away that someone was releasing the music from the keys. He also recognized that this situation was bigger than he could handle alone.
"We gotta do something before chaos spreads," Toad told himself, already thinking. "Oh, I know! If I can get his help, there might still be hope for this world. I just hope I can get to him quick enough!"
Without another word, Toad turned around and ran as fast as his stubby little legs would take him to the one person who could help him fix this.
"Luigi! We've got a problem here!"
Toad's grating void distracted Luigi from the meal he was currently baking. Though it was a bit small, he was glad to have his own house away from his brother. It was a step towards the independence that he longed for, to step out of his brother's shadow. They'd all know his name some day, but for now, this would do.
Hearing Toad's voice, Luigi quickly turned off the oven and ran outside, making sure to remember the recipe he was using. Toad was just outside his house, out of breath. Luigi wondered what could be wrong this time. He'd seen Toad overreact over situations to Mario before, and, well... It was weird that he hadn't gone to Mario instead.
"It's terrible! Somebody stole the Music Keys!"
Yeah, sounded like Toad was overreacting. Or, he probably was. Luigi had no idea what those were. His confusion was clear on his face.
Toad groaned. "You know, the Music Keys! The spheres that hold the power of music! We had them locked in Truffle Towers for safekeeping, but someone broke in and took them! And they released the power of music, too!"
Now Luigi was even more confused. That didn't sound like a bad thing at all, unless you hated music. Toad didn't seem like a music hater, but if the keys were stolen, then they probably needed to find them. The stealing part at least wasn't good.
"You can hear the music if you're quiet," Toad told him, but that didn't help at all. He was already being quiet, but Toad was far too loud for him to hear anything else. "I catch myself dancing to the music sometimes... It's creepy, but also kind of fun!"
"Didn't this just-a happen? There hasn't been-a time for you to-a dance at all," Luigi pointed out.
"A lot can happen in the five minutes it takes to get to your house. You really should live closer to everyone else, like Mario does. I would've gone to him, but he's off on some other adventure. Something about a bunch of stars or something."
"I like my privacy!"
"Look, we just need to get the keys back. If you don't find them, we'll all be doing this dorky dance forever." Toad pointed at Luigi, who looked down to see that now he was dancing, too. And these dance moves weren't even good. "Oh yeah, and chaos and discord will rain down on the Mushroom Kingdom and maybe destroy us all."
"...Wha-"
"Let's go to Truffle Towers!" Toad interrupted. "I know I can count on you, Luigi."
Luigi sighed and followed Toad back to Truffle Towers. Might as well get this over with.
The pair walked for about thirty seconds before they came across an obstacle. The river that Toad had crossed to get to Luigi's house was now flooded, leaving them with no way to get across.
"We can't cross the river like this," Toad said, pointing out the obvious. "This must be because of the music's power. Now what will we... I know! There's an old rhyme about the Music Keys! 'When the keys make you shake your thing, magic things start happening'! Something magic might happen if we dance, and we might be able to cross!"
The look Luigi gave Toad was almost indescribable. Toad must've gone insane. It was the only explanation he could think of.
"Luigi, you have to dance, I'm serious! It's our only hope," Toad insisted.
Of all the adventures he could've gotten into with Mario out, it had to be this one.
Luigi began to dance, Toad joining him shortly after he started. The two danced a jig together, Luigi getting more into it the longer they danced. It helped that there was music all around them from the keys, it was easy to hear now. The two danced for about a minute until a boat suddenly rose from the water. They jumped in, too busy dancing to really question it, and continued their dance. The boat seemed to be running on the power of music; the more they danced, the closer it got to the other side of the river. Soon they had reached the other side, and happily got out onto dry land.
"Can I call you a dancing ma-" Luigi cut Toad off with an irritated look, and the duo set off without another word.
A few mishaps later, they were able to climb up a large plant, which served as a shortcut to their destination. The plant probably hadn't been there when Toad had originally set off, but no doubt it grew and was able to help them up because of the power of the music. The Towers were finally in front of them, victory seeming to be in their reach.
"Here we are! Truffle Towers!" Toad announced. "Let's get in there and settle this."
Luigi nodded and stepped up to the door. He reached out to open it, but it wouldn't budge. Even pulling with both hands and using all his strength made no difference. He gave up after a few seconds and turned back to his companion.
"It's locked," he told him. "This is-a your place, right? Don't you have the key?"
"Oh, uh, funny story..." the both hobo and homo Toad laughed. He looked again, finding it hard to continue. "See, I... I couldn't keep up with the rent, so I, um, I got kicked out. This is my landlord's place now. He's got the key."
Luigi facepalmed and sighed. "You... Okay, this-a shouldn't take too long. Let's-a just find the guy, and-"
"I have a surprise for you!"
A voice inside Truffle Towers interrupted the conversation. Luigi could've sworn he heard that voice before, but he couldn't place it at that moment. He didn't have much time to think about that, though. A bomb flew out of one of the building's windows and blew up next to them, blasting them away from the place. The stranger then jumped out of the Towers and began dancing in front of the front doors.
"I, Waluigi, claim this Music Key in the name of...um...Waluigi!" they shouted. Indeed, it was Waluigi. No one could mistake that purple hat or his mustache. "With this key, I'll be the best dancer in the world! Wahahaha!"
Luigi seriously doubted that. Not even music had enough power to make Waluigi that good. But he didn't have much time to think about that, either. As soon as Waluigi finished, he hit the ground, landing in front of some sort of...item shop.
Toad, who had landed a few feet away, jumped up when he saw where they were. "Oh, this place! This is my landlord's shop. He's probably in here right now. Come on!"
They found a Lakitu inside, who only appeared to be selling three items. This didn't seem to be a smart business move, but he didn't really want to judge.
"Welcome to Cloud 9," Lakitu welcomed them with a smile. "Feel free to browse!" Luigi was ready to do just that, but Toad's next words stopped him.
"Hey, Lakitu...you've got the key to Truffle Towers over in that corner, right?"
"I sure do! It's a beaut, isn't it?" Lakitu's attitude changed as soon as he realized who was asking about the key. "But it's not for sale, not to you." He then turned to Luigi, smile back on his face. "But as for this young man, I'll let him borrow it if he does me a favor. I have a nice garden behind this shop, but a group of punk Koopa kids keep playing around in it, acting like it's their playground! You can have the key if you get rid of them."
Punk Koopa kids? That sounded familiar.
Luigi nodded and immediately ran out back, to find...a different group of Koopa kids than he was expecting. These were just ordinary Koopa Troopas. But they were still making a mess of the place- jumping around the carrots, kicking up dirt, and causing trouble. Why Lakitu wasn't out here right now trying to chase them out was a mystery to Luigi, but there was one thing he knew. This was a problem...that could only be solved through the power of dance.
By now, Luigi was much more accustomed to the music around them, and dancing along to it had gotten a lot easier. Running into the middle of the garden and broke into a dance was less awkward than before, and he found himself starting to really appreciate the power of music. The more he got into his dance, the more powerful the music got, and soon the Koopa kids were dancing with him. It wasn't getting rid of them at all (in fact, they seemed much more likely to stay now), but Luigi wasn't bothered by this. He trusted the music.
As soon as the dance ended, the Koopa kids just...vanished. No one knew where they went, though no one really seemed to mind, either.
"Your moves were killer, Luigi!" Lakitu grinned as he floated out back to check out the unpopulated garden. "Those shells will think twice next time they try messing with my carrots!"
"Uh, right..." Luigi didn't want to point out that they only disappeared after the dance ended. His dancing might not have done anything at all.
Lakitu handed Luigi a giant key. "Anyway, like I promised. Here's the key to Truffle Towers! Just make sure you bring it back when you're done, alright? And don't let that Toad touch the key, either. He still owes me."
"You did it! Let's go to Truffle Towers. Now." Toad, not wanting to stay any longer, grabbed Luigi by the arm and dragged him away before he could respond. And the two were back on their way to Truffle Towers.
And Truffle Towers wasn't that far off. By jumping on some of Lakitu's carrots, Luigi was able to get himself and Toad there almost immediately. Sure, Lakitu didn't seem thrilled that someone was jumping on his carrots again. It saved time though, and time was everything in this situation. Now back at Truffle Towers, the two used the key to open the door.
"You have to do everything you can to get the Music Key back from Waluigi," Toad told him as they went inside.
It was good to know that Toad was going to try his best to help him get it back.
Waluigi wasn't far from the door, standing in front of a large staircase. He was making erratic movements, which were...probably supposed to be some kind of dance. Thankfully, he stopped as Luigi and Toad approached him.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, glaring at them both. "This is a private dance party!"
"Give us back the Music Key!" Toad shouted.
Ah, yes. Thank you, Toad. That was very helpful. Luigi was glad to know he had his back.
"You think I'd give it up that easily? Wahaha!" Waluigi laughed. "If you want it back, you'll have to face me...in a dance-off! I'll only give it back if you defeat me, but we know that'll never happen! Waha!"
The dance-off was...in a word, it was hot. Probably because of all the bombs around and the podobos that danced with them. Nobody really knew where they came from, but no one was really going to question it at this point. Luigi's dance moves were truly a sight to behold. If only we could see them now. As for Waluigi's dance moves...well, he tried at least, and that's what mattered.
Only Waluigi was really surprised when Luigi won the dance-off. Everyone else knew exactly how this would play out. Luigi and Toad grabbed the Music Key while Waluigi was distracted over his loss and rushed outside. The duo celebrated for a moment, rejoicing in their victory, until the small homo Toad spoke up.
"Oh, uh, Luigi... I don't know how to tell you this, but...this is just the beginning of the adventure. There's four Music Keys total. We only have one, and I'm not really sure where the rest are."
Luigi paused in his celebration, his face completely blank. He stood still for a moment, until this completely registered. He grabbed Toad by his blue vest. "What are you-a talking about?!"
"Well, you see, um, there's four Music Keys! They've, uh, been in Truffle Towers for awhile to, you know, keep them safe!" Toad stammered. "I used to live there to keep an eye on them, but uh, I couldn't pay rent, and Lakitu kept raising it, and I, um, got kicked out." He paused to take a deep breath. "The other three aren't here. I saw the music get released from them as well, so they must be out there somewhere! The Music Keys all scatter when they're used. They could be anywhere. But we have to get them back, to restore order to the Mushroom Kingdom!"
"...You've-a got to be kidding me."
"Please, Luigi! You're our only help, everyone's depending on you."
The keys had never been his responsibility. They only were now because Mario was busy on some other adventure. And he had to admit, this was a bit ridiculous. Getting one key had been enough trouble, and there were still three more to go. Luigi wasn't sure much more he could take, he'd danced himself to exhaustion already.
But then again, this was his big chance. No one in the Mushroom Kingdom really knew his name or much about him (he was surprised Toad knew of him this well). The only claim to fame he really had was being Mario's brother. Well, and the time he used a compass to travel several continents and save a princess (but if Mario didn't believe that story, no one would). This was finally his chance to do something. Save the kingdom, get his name out there, become famous like his brother. A chance like this wasn't likely to come again any time soon.
Besides, he'd already experienced the power of music for himself. And that power had just been from the stray music; surely the keys were even stronger. With power like that, there was no telling what he could do...
Like getting a bigger house. The one he had now was barely big enough for him.
Luigi nodded. This was definitely the right choice. He could finally do some good for the world.
"Great! Well, I've already got the SS Brass ready to go whenever you're ready! We'll find the Music Keys in no time!"
Luigi was not prepared for the sight that was waiting for him.
Above the two of them was what appeared to be a giant airship. It was flying in the air, but seemed to lack anything that could be used to make it fly. Instead of engines, it had brass instruments, and it looked like it ran on the power of music. The abilities music held in the Mushroom Kingdom would never cease to amaze him.
The two jumped onto the ship, brought down the sail, and flew off into the next area of the Mushroom Kingdom: World 2. (Someone really wasn't good with names.)
Some notes:
-The "homo Toad" thing is sort of a running gag. I accidentally called Toad homo instead of a hobo at two in the morning trying to talk about this game. I'm not going to stop, either. Toad is gay and I will continue pointing it out without actually doing anything about it.
-I know Toad probably doesn't actually live in Truffle Towers. I don't care. The game certainly made me think he did.
-I'm aware this is really bad.