I haven't been on in a while. Again. Man, do I even have any reviewers left? XD

So, I've decided to get back into the swing of writing fanfiction, I'm gonna do a 100 writing prompt challenge. And what better fandom to do it with than the one I started out with, Super Mario!

And I'm just gonna go ahead and call the whole "Mushroom Planet" Plit like they do on Lemmy's Land, cause that was the first fanfiction site I was on. It makes things easier.

Beginnings

Mario watched as the gigantic turtle (at least, he thought it was a turtle) fell into the boiling lava. It struggled, but finally, with a scream, he saw its muzzle disappear beneath the deadly liquid.

He shuddered. As a plumber with little to no business in New York, he had never seen anything quite as gruesome as that fight with the turtle-thing. It had been at least twice his height (but that was not saying much, as Mario wasn't very tall) with claws and slimy scales, and spikes all over his shell. Mario was surprised he and his brother had been able to defeat him. He'd gotten a few good swipes in, though; Mario's overalls hung on one strap and the 'M' on his had was slashed in half.

"Jesus Christ..." Mario jumped. He had almost forgotten Luigi standing beside him.

Luigi and he were alike, but at the same time very different. They looked almost identical, and were about a year and a half apart, so they often got mistaken for twins. Mario had grown a moustache when he was about 18, and Luigi had followed. As part of a gimmick they were working on for their plumbing business, they both wore overalls and gloves. Mario preferred red to Luigi's green, but they still looked very similar. And, they both wore the same hat in different colors, each with their first initial sewn into the front.

But, Luigi was different. He'd always been meeker, less outspoken as Mario, who blurted out whatever was on his mind. Luigi always thought before he spoke. He regressed into routines and only did what he knew was safe. But, always the follower of his older brother, he had followed Mario down the gaping pipe that lead to this strange, turtle and mushroom filled world.

"That was... like... the scariest thing I've ever seen..." Luigi said, eyes wide, still staring at the churning lava. He took off his hat and mopped his face with it. "Who knew things like that even existed...?"

"Yeah," Mario agreed, surprised when his voice shook. It had just hit him at that moment, but he was scared. He had no clue where they were, or why that monster had attacked him.

He looked around. The room they were in was large, so large that he couldn't see the ceiling, just darkness and embers from the churning lava below floating and disappearing. The hot lava near their feet swirled and bubbled, threatening to swallow them both like it had the monster.

"We should find a way out," Mario said, trying to see past the impenetrable darkness above. The lake of fire was impossible to cross to leave the way they'd come.

"Hey," Luigi spoke up, "there's a door here."

Mario whirled around. Sure enough, there was a door that almost blended in with the wall. Luigi yanked on the door handle. "It's stuck."

Mario furrowed his brow in frustration. How were they supposed to find a way out? Why would that creature lead them there, only to trap them? There had to be some sort of objective.

"Alright, stand back." Mario took what little runway space he had without falling into the lava, and kicked the door down. As the wood of the door splintered and fell into the opposite room, he head someone scream a long, high-pitched scream.

He gaped at the difference of this new room. It was small, well-lit and a bit cozy-looking. There was tacky pink wallpaper stuck up on the walls, a ratty gray carpet covering the floor and a lumpy cot in the far corner. On the cot was a scared girl.

She was wearing a poofy, ridiculously big white and red ball gown, paired with white elbow-length gloves. Her hair, dark red, looked as if it was usually impeccably styled, but was flat and uncared for. She was obviously the one who had screamed.

"Who are you?" Her voice was high-pitched. "Did Toad send you to get me?"

Mario didn't know who or what Toad was supposed to be, but at the moment he didn't care. The girl in front of him looked very malnourished. "What's your name?" he asked.

She looked surprised, almost insulted. "Me? Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom."

He almost burst out laughing, until he realized she was serious. "Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Mushroom Kingdom, yes." The girl called Toadstool played with a strand of her hair. Bright pink blush had creeped onto her cheeks. "I guess they didn't send you then."

"No, I dunno who you're talking about. I'm Mario, from Brooklyn, New York?" She had to know where that was. But all he got was a look of confusion from her.

"New York?" Toadstool repeated.

"It doesn't matter. We'll get you back home."

"We?"

"Oh." He turned. Luigi had been hovering in the doorway. "Luigi' c'mere."

Luigi walked forward to the two. He stuck out his hand to the Princess and said, "Hello, my name is Luigi." Toadstool smiled and shook his hand.

"Where is Bowser?" she asked looking around them through the door.

"Who?" Luigi asked, looking in the same direction. "That monster we fought?"

"Probably. He's big, and green, with a spiked shell," Toadstool explained.

"That's him." Mario was surprised that that monster had a name. "Don't worry about him, he fell into the lava."

Toadstool sighed. "He'll come back. He always does." She looked so distraught and scared.

Mario felt an unnatural surge of anger. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "Not this time."

Mario gritted his teeth. What was this place? How often did this happen? And how could he find a way out?

"Where are we?" Luigi asked.

"Bowser's Castle," she answered.

"I think he means, what planet?" Mario supplied. He felt anxiety that he had been pushing down forcing its way back up.

"You mean Plit?" She said it like it should have been obvious. All Mario could think of was how this wasn't the quick plumbing job he'd been expecting.