Chapter 1: A New Adventure!
"Another day, another adventure! Never gets old, eh, bro?" Luigi asked his brother, as the two walked towards the West Gate of Toad Town. Luigi was pretty average-looking, as far as humans go. Not too tall, but certainly not short, bright blue eyes, and brown hair. He did have a rather distinctive well-groomed moustache and nose, and was wearing a bright green hat and shirt with crisp denim overalls, work boots, and large cotton gloves.
"Nope. It doesn't get any better than this," Mario sighed. The man was very similar to his younger brother in appearance, though he wore red, was rather short, and didn't seem to care as much for cleanliness as his brother. His overalls were faded and scruffy, his mustache a bit more uneven. Despite this, he didn't carry himself like that. One look in his eyes, and you could see that this was a brave, loyal man who would go to the ends of the planet to accomplish his goals.
By trade, the two brothers were adventurers. They left Toad Town at least three times a week to explore the surrounding countryside. Sometimes they found little treasures, sometimes they helped people in need, and sometimes they just found new places. Money was never really a problem for them, not in the sense that they were rich, but that it was easy enough for them to support themselves with what they found while exploring.
They'd had a rather productive day today - They'd found nearly 100 coins over the day, enough to feed them for a week. Or, to buy some new building materials, Mario noted. Luigi seemed to be itching to remodel the house again.
Mario and Luigi lived in a house on a small hill just at the western border of Toad Town. It was a small house, just two rooms and a loft, including the bathroom. They'd built it themselves a couple of years back, as soon as they'd been old enough to live on their own. Since then, Luigi had been improving the house every several months. It was a nice enough place, but it could get a little lonely; he and Luigi had no family other than each other. Some Yoshis living on an island to the south had found them as babies some twenty-odd years before, and they'd been living in Toad Town, going from one foster family to the next, ever since then. They never stayed in one place long, because no matter where they stayed, strange things seemed to find them and complicate their lives. Eventually, they figured out that it was because of their abilities; from then on they did their best to at least keep their abilities under wraps so as to avoid attracting any more unwanted attention.
Mario was so lost in thought that he missed the noise of a bush they had just passed rustling. Luigi, however, didn't. He turned on the spot, and blasted the bush with a strong wind. The leaves of the bush ripped off, revealing a strange, yellow, turtle-like creature with a green shell.
"... What are you?" Luigi asked.
Mario punched him in the shoulder for being rude.
"... Oh, sorry. Um…" Luigi trailed off, seeing the creature staring at him.
"You're one of them…" The creature said. "After all these years… And me! I'm just a scout! And I found the second of the four! Oh, this is going to be promotion city!" The reptile laughed. "But if I take you out…"
Now Mario glared at the thing. He didn't care about being rude to it anymore - if he was understanding right, and he was pretty darn sure he was - this thing wanted to hurt his brother. And no one hurt his brother. The temperature near the man was rising rapidly, and, as soon as the creature moved, he jumped in front of his brother and ignited his hands.
"...two?" The creature seemed dumbfounded. "TWO?!" And with that, the creature curled up into its shell, which suddenly shot off. Even as quick as they were, the brothers couldn't react fast enough to catch it before it was out of sight.
[break]
The West Gate of Toad Town was just as it normally was. There were people walking about, talking like nothing was wrong in the world - because, to them, there wasn't anything wrong. Toad Town had always been a peaceful, neutral place. Even if bandits roamed the countryside, the town itself was safe from any threat.
Instead of immediately taking the path leading up the hill to their home, Mario made a left at the foot of the path, and knocked on the door of his and Luigi's closest neighbor, Russ T. He was the librarian at Toad Town's library, and knew practically everything about the history of the world. What was more important, though, was that he'd always been a good friend to the Mario Brothers.
It took a few minutes for Russ to come to the door, and upon seeing the Mario Brothers, he immediately welcomed them into his home and made some tea for them.
"So, what's this visit for?" Russ asked, once they were all seated.
Mario set his cup down after sipping it politely (he was more of a coffee person), and began to explain about the creature they'd met. As he described it, Russ grew pale.
"Ah… and… how did you meet this being?"
Luigi was still too busy drinking his tea to answer, so Mario told him.
"Luigi blasted the bush it was hiding in with air."
It was as though a bob-omb had decided that the Russ's head would be a good place to explode. The blue-capped Toad looked like he was about to scream. "No, no, you didn't… The Koopa didn't see your fire, did it?" He was panicking now.
"He did… What's wrong?"
Russ was shaking like a leaf. He tried and failed to start talking several times, before taking a few deep breaths. "Okay, okay… that… what you saw was a Koopa Troopa. They… they caused the near-extinction of your species, twenty-five years ago… and this is the first time they've been seen in twenty years."
"Why?" Mario asked.
Russ T sighed. "There… there was a prophecy. The late Koopa King heard that four humans, each with mastery over one of the elements, would bring an end to his kingdom. He… he sent his troops, to take out every last human on the continent… apart from you two and the princess, as far as we know. He died while storming the castle on the day of the young princess's birth… But he took her parents with him. That's all I know," Russ said. "I hoped… I hoped you wouldn't have to find out," he said quietly.
"Why haven't we heard of this before?" Luigi asked, while pouring himself his fourth cup of tea.
"... Most of it happened in secret," Russ said. "Only three people in Toad Town know anything about it beyond the final battle. Me, the Princess's steward Toadsworth, and the fortune-teller, Merlon. He's the one who told us… to protect you three."
"Oh…" Mario said.
"Come on," Russ said, getting up. "We need to go see him."
"But my-"
"Luigi, you've had seven cups of tea in as many minutes," Russ said. "And this is pretty important, don't you think?"
"... Right," Luigi said, putting down his teacup and following Mario and Russ out the door.
[break]
They didn't spend much time at Merlon's house. The strange robed man took one look at them, and seemed to know exactly why they were there.
A few minutes later, Mario realized where they were heading, and became excited. All his life, he'd heard about the castle… Stared at it from his window, whenever he'd gotten the chance, and fantasized about how it must be like a maze inside, about all the hidden nooks and crannies he could find by exploring it.
It seemed that he might get the chance… Or maybe not. He wasn't sure what, exactly, was going to happen here.
The door was answered by a rather old-looking Toad with a brown cap, white moustache, and purple waistcoat.
"I say! Merlon, my boy, to what do I owe this pleas… Oh," he said, noticing Russ and the bros. "It's… business. Come along, then… I'll fetch the princess." He led them into a large lobby, with walls painted to look like the hills surrounding Toad Town, and a checker-tiled floor with a sun emblem in the center of the room. He walked up the stairs, and entered one of the many doors in the room. Moments later, he came out, accompanied by the princess.
Mario had seen pictures of Princess Peach - her subjects simply adored her, and some artists made their entire careers off of selling pictures of her. The real princess was just as pretty… But it became pretty clear within a few seconds that she acted nothing like the 'proper princess' she looked like. She immediately grabbed onto the railing by her room, and swung over it to the bottom floor, leaving Toadsworth behind.
Peach walked over to the Mario Brothers surprisingly steadily and quickly, considering that she was obviously wearing high heels. "Hello," she said pleasantly to the Mario Brothers and Merlon. "It's nice to see you again, Merlon. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"
"These are the Mario Brothers. They're the only other humans we know of in the Mushroom King-"
"Are they here so I can pick one to marry?"
"No-"
"Good. Go on."
"Well… It's time I told you something," Merlon said. "You are aware of the battle between your parents and Morton Koopa?"
"Wasn't that a power struggle? I don't see what that has anything to do with these two."
"Well… No. Twenty-six years ago, I met with Morton. He wanted me to tell his future, you see. I foretold that four humans of the Mushroom Kingdom, masters of their respective elements, would bring great change to the Koopa Kingdom, and a new age would begin. He took that to mean that four people would end his kingdom… And ran a crusade against humanity."
"The next five years were filled with terror for all humans," Merlon continued. "No one knew what was going on. People would just disappear, with no explanation. Sometimes they'd go on vacation, and never return. Most just disappeared overnight, without even a trace of their house remaining. Some caught on, and fled to the south - more willing to face an unknown they could control than one they couldn't. In the end, only the royal family remained in the Mushroom Kingdom."
"You know what happened that day… Your father and Morton fought, a long and hard battle. In the end, there was no winner. Neither lived to tell the tale…"
"That was my birthday," Peach said.
"Yes, it was. You were born later that day, but your mother… She was gravely injured by the battle. It's a miracle you survived. For a time, we believed you were the last."
"Until you found about us, right?" Luigi asked.
"Yes. Soon after the birth of the princess, we found out that two young boys were abandoned on Yoshi's Island. No one knows where you came from, but it's clear that all three of you are humans mentioned in the prophecy. At only twenty years old, Mario has mastered the element of fire."
Mario demonstrated by igniting his hands.
"Luigi, air."
Luigi spun on the spot, creating a small tornado.
"And Princess Peach, water."
Peach held out her hand, and the air grew dryer as water pooled above Peach's hands.
"There's only one more to find… The master of earth. I know not who or where this person lives… But, perhaps, the Star Spirits may know. Princess, I believe you've conversed with them before?"
Peach nodded, and motioned for the Bros to follow her out the door.
Mario and Luigi glanced at each other. For a moment, it almost seemed like they were having a silent conversation. But the moment passed, and they ran after the Princess with confidence.
[end chapter 1]
jakeroo123: Alright! It's time for a new story! This one is a bit different than my others... In that, well, it's a collaborative effort! I'm writing this with my sister. Here's what she has to say.
elisheva: Okay, I'm pretty excited about this story because it features Peach, aka one of my favorite characters anywhere in Mario canon. I don't really have much to say yet, but I may in upcoming chapters.
j: Anyway, this is an AU story, with quite a bit of inspiration from Avatar: The Last Airbender. There are eight elements in this world, the four "classical" ones: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth; along with Thunder, Ice, Life, and Darkness. All the species have the ability to use elemental powers, but only humans can truly master their element. Different species have different kinds of magic they excel at. The lands beyond the Mushroom Kingdom either don't exist or haven't been discovered.