My name is Peach Toadstool and, as of last week, I am the high queen of the Mushroom Kingdom. My castle and Toad Town have been destroyed. People need to know what happened, urgently. Any still near the castle need to run as far away from there as possible. I still don't really know what they are. You can't get rid of them. We burned the village and that still didn't stop them. They're blood burns through everything; you can't kill them. They were strong enough to take down King Koopa; you can't fight them. If you see one you can only run. If you are caught by one, you can only pray for a quick end.
I remember vividly what happened that morning and it will forever be burned into my mind. I was sitting next to my father… oh daddy. He was talking to a noble about promoting economic growth within the Goomba Reservations when Bowser Koopa crashed through the front door with an army of Koopa Troopas like he did every tuesday. Guards began to surround my father and I and began to get us to the panic room. Bowser threw a large egg on the floor and then something flew out of the egg and attacked my father. He was sent flying back and the creature wrapped itself around my father's head and immobilized him.
One of the guards shouted, "protect the princess," as more guards surrounded me and some went to my father's aid. Then I heard a scream from, what sounded like, one of the Koopa Troopas. It wasn't a battle cry or a cry in pain; if you heard it, you would have heard a scream that pleaded for mercy. A crack, another crack, and a wet sounding crack was heard before a loud screech of an animal I had not heard before. Everyone in the room was screaming except for the guards who surrounded me. I heard someone say, "what is that thing" and another say, "I thought these things just knocked you out" and then another, "kill it kill it." Then, I saw it. Through the guards I saw a small red blur zip by. One of the guards pulled a hidden lever next to a statue, revealing the hidden maintenance tunnels (which also acted as the royal escape rout), within the castle and the door automatically closed the way behind us.
I still heard more screams and wet crackings, though muffled by the walls. The guards guided me through the maintenance tunnels to the central maintenance room in the very middle of the castle. It was there we met up with Mario and Luigi who were working some valves.
"Princess, you okay," said Mario once he saw me. "Yes, I'm fine. What is it you two are doing there?" I asked. "Bowser's got us surrounded, we've got nowhere to run." Said Luigi, "So we're filling the place with gas. Coward will leave once we threaten to blow the place," continued Mario. I was about to speak in protest but I paused, stood quiet, and listened to the hiss of the gas and could just make out the periotic clangs within the pipes caused by change in pressure. I then realized everyone was waiting for my order so I finally spoke, "make the threat, but why actually fill the castle with gas? Seems like an unnecessary risk." Mario giggled and said, "mama always told me to never make empty threats. This is Bowser, I've beat him a thousand times and I'll beat him a thousand and one times."
Just then a screech. Louder and higher pitched than any animal I had heard before. Everyone stood silent and frozen; except for Luigi who was shaking in his boots. Mario broke the silence by saying, "that's not Bowser." Then there was a loud crash and Bowser's voice echoed through the tunnels, "No, but this is." Every footstep he made shook the ground and got louder so we knew he was getting closer.
"Hold this position, prepare to fight." I told everyone. The Toad guards positioned themselves at every point in the central maintenance room. Mario and Luigi stayed in the center with me and I used magic to create a barrier around us. Bowser came from the same Tunnel I was escorted from. "I don't know what those things are but they're running havoc all over the castle. If I'd known they'd be this effective, I would've infected more of my men." Bowser laughed when he said this before being tackled by something. Bowser shot a fireball and it screamed with the same screech I heard before. It was at this point I got a better view of the thing. It was as big as Bowser, pitch black except for its teeth, a long head, and an extending mouth. Its mouth moved in a kind of like a piranha plant coming out of its pipe. It was bleeding green blood from the place where Bowser shot his fireball. The thing had Bowser pinned and he was visibly struggling. The blood eventually dripped onto Bowser and as it did, it steamed; the blood was acid, it was burning him.
At this point, I started to use my magic to try and pull the thing off Bowser. Bowser started screaming. He shot another fireball at the creature. It screamed but did not change its position so it just kept bleeding on Bowser. This was the last fireball he shot before he could only scream. I tried as hard as I could to save him I swear it was just too strong, even for my magic. The creature started using its inner mouth to take small but quick bites out of Bowser's head. Mario and Luigi started shooting their own fireballs which made the creature jump off of bowser and ran away. Mario ran up to Bowser, who was limp. Mario put his hand on Bowser,s throat. He then said, "he's got a heartbeat, it's faint, but he is still alive, just passed out." Everyone turned to me. "I don't want to leave him here. No one deserves this, not even him. But we have to get out of here," I told them. The toads surrounded me. Mario had my front, Luigi had my back.
We snuck out through a secret back exit and that's when we found my father's corpse. He had a large hole in his body as though something had shot right out of him. Not through him but out of him. Something was inside of him and somehow forced its way out. We stopped for a moment to mourn the sight and then went around to see if we could access the train. That's when I saw the flames. A Toad ran up to us and cried, "Princess, thank god you're alive! We didn't know how to stop them Princess; fire was the only thing that kept them away. Toad Town is gone. The only thing we could do was burn the village. So many have died already." I stopped him there and told him, "we need to get to the train." He stopped me, "these things move faster than that train, we'd never make it." Luigi then added, "I can keep them distracted long enough for you to get away." "Luigi don't," Mario interrupted. "Mario, there are only two people here who can shoot fire, the only thing which phases these creatures." "I can't lose you Luigi, I told ma I'd keep you safe." "This is bigger than us Mario. You have more influence in these lands, you're a more experienced and more skilled fighter, you'd do a better job of protecting the toads and the Queen. The kingdom is at stake Mario."
And then the two cried and hugged and told each other they loved each other. I'd never seen Mario cry before. I thanked Luigi for his service to the kingdom and I knighted him then and there. Luigi helped us get to the train. And as the train left I saw him fighting those creatures. When he was out of sight I heard a boom. He set off the natural gas he had helped fill into the castle. I didn't see Luigi die but I can only assume nobody could have survived that. Luigi is a hero to us all and one of the bravest men I have ever met.
On the train, the surviving Toads rode in the first two cars but left the last one for Mario and me. I'd never seen Mario so serious before. When the times got tough, Mario was always the beacon of hope but I guess all hope was lost. He told me to come here to Isle Delfino. He said the Toads and I would be safest here. We dropped him off at the Lost Woods. I haven't seen him since.
End of Chapter 1