Prologue: A Future Threat

Captain Syrup sat on a long couch, flipping through the channels on the television. She cast a sidelong glance to the door that led to the bathroom. "Ashley, does it honestly take you that long to change your clothes?"

"I'm not sure about this. I feel like a Capcom character!"

Captain Syrup rolled her eyes. She stood up and walked up to the door. She smirked as she leaned against the wall. "Oh, come on, Capcom happens to have made a great deal of popular characters."

Ashley opened the door. She was wearing a dress that fit as snugly on her curves as Captain Syrup's, but it billowed out slightly around her legs. A belt of rat skulls and red pearls wrapped around her narrow waist. A pair of bat earrings hung from her ears. She kept her orange, feathery tiara and massive pigtails.

The witch placed her hands on her hips. "Have you even looked in a mirror? Honestly, Maple, if it weren't for our faces and clothes, we'd look the same."

Captain Syrup laughed. "Then I guess it's a good thing we don't have the same face." She winked at Ashley. "Besides, I told you I was going to give you curves, and I gave you curves."

Ashley blushed. "It's just that I'm not used to this."

Captain Syrup shrugged. "And that's why we did it progressively." She cupped Ashley beneath her chin and forced the witch into a locked stare. "Face it, Ashley. You're eighteen. You're a young woman. It's no sin for you to flaunt a little."

Ashley rubbed the back of her head, her blush deepening. "I guess, but it's not like I just grew like most girls."

Captain Syrup let go of Ashley's chin and turned away. "Well, if you're saying that you want me to change you back to how you were when you were fifteen, I suppose I could." She frowned, furrowing her brow. "Except that I already let Denpuu go and have no idea where he went."

Ashley blew at a loose strand of hair. "Good riddance. I never really approved of genie magic."

Captain Syrup walked back to the couch and flopped on it. "Well, what can I say? We're richer than any one person needs to be, we live on a private island, and we're retired. What on earth would I need a genie f-"

A bright flash blasted in the middle of the room.

Captain Syrup sat up and shielded her eyes. "What the heck, Ashley! Did you leave one of your potions out?"

Ashley shook her head, using her arms to completely cover her face. "Why on earth would I make a light-making potion? I can put up with sunlight now, but adding more light to an island is idiotic!"
The white flash quickly changed to black and swirled into a pillar. It shrunk down into a human shape that was shrouded by a navy-blue cape and had a massive head of blond hair in the shape of a star.

Ashley and Captain Syrup uncovered their eyes and looked at who had decided to intrude upon their apartment. The pirate's jaw dropped, and the witch prepared herself for a fight.

Star-Krossed shook his head before opening his one visible eye. He blinked blankly a couple times. "Where is my grandfather?"

Captain Syrup and Ashley simultaneously raised their eyebrows. "What?"

Star-Krossed separated his giant shadowy hand into two hands and pulled on two of the higher points of his star-shaped hair. "Where is Waluigi? It's urgent!"

---

Waluigi, Alboort, Red, Ashley, and Captain Syrup all sat in couches and armchairs in Waluigi's living room. The whole gang was staring at the strange cosmic being known as Star-Krossed.

Star-Krossed raised his massive shadowy hand to take hold of his chin. "All right. So I have been able to make it in time."

Waluigi raised an eyebrow. "In time? In time for what?"

Star-Krossed pointed a dark finger at Waluigi. "You and your gang will need to save the world!"

Waluigi shared awkward glances with the other members of his gang of thieves. He turned back to Star-Krossed and shook his head. "Look, Star-Krossed, we're retired here. I think you need to go looking for Mario and Luigi. They do this world saving stuff all the time."

Star-Krossed shook his head. "Mario and Luigi have been kidnapped. That's why you need to save them, and the world."

"Uh-huh." Captain Syrup wove her fingers together and rested her chin on them. "And how would you know this?"

Star-Krossed smiled. "Ah! Of course. I guess it was ridiculous of me to not to remind you that I come from the future."

Alboort adjusted his glasses. "And how did you come to this time, then?"

Star-Krossed's smile grew. "As a Galaxy Eater, I happen to be part black hole. My black hole configuration allows me to transcend time." He winced and made an odd gesture with his hand. "Well, it gets a little tricky to get a specific time, of course, but not impossible."

Red jumped up. "Cool! Can I travel through time with you?"

Star-Krossed laughed. "Only if you don't mind getting squashed to about the size of a period on a written page of text."

Red placed a thoughtful finger on his chin. "Oh. No, no, I wouldn't like that much at all."

Waluigi raised his hands. "Wait. Wait. Wait! If you're from the future, then how can we be sure this kidnapping stuff is going to happen? If we warn the Goody-Two-Shoes Mario Brothers, they could simply avert the disaster." He picked up a remote. "I mean, it's not like this all is happening right now." He pressed the button.

As the television screen sprung to life, a Blue Pianta could be seen sitting at a news desk. "Terrible news, I'm afraid. Recent reports from Peach's Castle have just testified that the world famous heroes, Mario and Luigi, along with Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, and microgame tycoon Wario have all been kidnapped. No evidence has been given except an unusual note that was signed with the stamp of a bat instead of a signature. The Pianta Police Force is making its way to Peach's Castle for further investigation."

Waluigi slapped a hand over his face as he turned off the television. "Okay, so the usual heroes got kidnapped." He uncovered his face and waved his arms frantically. "What does that have to do with us?! Why can't you just get Yoshi or Donkey Kong to go save them? Heck, you probably could even go out into space and find Geno, if you needed to!"

Star-Krossed shook his head and pointed at Waluigi. "You must be the one to go save them, for that is how it has been recorded in history. If someone else were to save Lu... I mean Mario and the others, you could change the entire course of history!"

Waluigi crossed his arms. "Recorded in history? What, are we going to get a movie deal out of this or something?"

Star-Krossed frowned solemnly. "Please, grandfather, this is important to the future. Not just their future, but yours, too."

Ashley sighed. "It has been forever since we had a real job."

Captain Syrup nodded. "I never realized how boring the lap of luxury could get until I was in it."

Alboort looked at Waluigi and pushed up his glasses. "Besides, we could always charge Mario and the others for the labor of saving them."

Waluigi took hold of his chin. "Let's see, fame, increased fortune, and I guess that this whole visit from the future means that we're guaranteed for success." He chewed on his tongue for a moment. "Oh, fine, I guess we'll do it."

"Fantastic!" Star-Krossed turned and rushed towards the door. "Follow me, I know just where Mario is being kept!"

The whole gang jumped to their feet. "Wait! We still need to get packed for the trip!!!"

---

Okay, before anyone comes jumping down my throat, I want to make one thing clear. I can very much see Waluigi as being the sort of character who would break the fourth wall, let alone his entire "franchise". Well, I guess what I mean to say is fifth wall. You see, the fourth wall refers to the characters making reference to their audience, like speaking directly to the screen or something. You know, like when a character acts as though they're trying to interact with the camera and whatnot. The fifth wall usually refers to characters breaching the boundaries of fictional universes. Examples of this would be the Super Smash Bro series, or Pixar using items from different movies as props in other movies. Now, I don't want anyone snarking at me for doing this. If 9-Volt can be a Nintendo fanatic whilst being a Nintendo character, I think I'm allowed the leisure to break the fifth wall a couple of times.

Okay, enough ranting about that. Now, let's actually talk about the first fifth wall joke I used. You see, Capcom switches between partnerships with Playstation and Nintendo. However, the female portrayal often stays constant. As long as they are at least sixteen years old, they can usually fill out a decent-sized bra with no difficulty whatsoever, and they are notoriously hippy. I mean, there's even this this one chick called Chun-Li who, if she wasn't careful, could end up hip-checking an eighteen wheeler off of the highway and over three states. The best examples would be in Street Fighters, Soul Caliber, Darkstalkers, Phoenix Wright, and this lesser known game called Shantae. Of course, because Waluigi is part of the Mario franchise, I don't get a lot of room to say this could be a possible game if I make a lot of risque jokes, even if Waluigi would seem like the type to approve of such jokes. You know, have to keep the E to E 10+ rating, even if I did rate this story T.

Okay, why have Waluigi play the part of an actual protagonist rather than an anti-hero? One, he needs the publicity. Two, because there have been no jobs for Team Waluigi within nearly three years, it is probably safe to assume that Mario and Luigi have been saving the world for a while. So, if the guys who usually save the world are captured, someone needs to save them as well.

Okay, enough with the author's notes right now before I get too crazy.

Please enjoy and review.