Road to Smash Brothers: The Mushroom Story
Author's Note: be warned; minor "Super Mario RPG" and "Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2"references are present.
Episode I: A Plumber's Promise
The morning sun brightened the mushroom land with rays of light and welcomed its inhabitants to a brand new day. Even though the sun was still hiding behind the highlands, it sparkled like a hundred super stars. The field of fire flowers glimmered brightly as the sun continued to shine. The blanket of the previous night had already unfolded. The leaves of the mushroom trees rustled as if they were dancing to the tune of the whistling birds. Rays of light shone upon the capital of the land – The Mushroom Kingdom.
The mushroom people were going about performing their usual daily routines; the children were playing outside, the elderly people were sprinkling the plants, and the castle guards were chatting animatedly. Unexpectedly, a human was suddenly walking among them. Some of the mushrooms stopped their activities and diverted their attention to him. Despite the tension in the air, he continued to casually stroll toward the royal castle. He gave each mushroom a friendly wave and a smile rather than greeting all of them simultaneously. That was the kind of person he was; making each individual feel special was his middle name.
The guards instantly let him in when he reached the wooden doors of the castle, for they recognized him in a flash. Super Mario was a man who needed no introduction. He donned his usual outfit; blue overalls, a red shirt, white gloves, brown shoes, and most importantly, his red baseball-like cap with the letter 'M' printed on the center. Entering the main hallway, the Italian plumber astonishingly observed his surroundings. The red silk carpet he walked on was neat, the marble walls were like mirrors, and the two marble pillars in the center of the room were trademarks to the design of the castle. Mario never grew tired from the castle's work of art.
Mario stopped for a moment when he reached the steel-gold doors of the throne room. He started to admire his reflection on the doors, combing his black, bushy mustache with his gloved fingers. He shook off his playfulness and pushed the doors open, a metallic creaky sound echoing throughout the castle in the process.
The design of the throne room was just as amazing as the main hallway. Mario was of course flabbergasted once again. It had the same basic structure of the hallway yet seemed less spacious due to the overwhelming amount of decorations and furniture present. Wooden table of various shapes and sizes were scattered about. Each table had a variety of bottles and cups on top of it, and some of these cups looked like antiques used for decoration and nothing more. In the center of the room was the golden throne which was cushioned with red pillows (the same tone of red the silk carpets had). It shone like a glimmering star as rays of sunlight seeped through the huge windows occupying the walls, bouncing off the golden surface and scattering light throughout the room. Mario was momentarily blinded when he examined the throne from afar, causing him to raise his hand and partially cover his eyes. Looking away from the light to the other side of the room, he noticed a woman next to one of the windows, her back to him. Mario let his hand down to observe her more clearly. She was tightly holding part of the huge blood-red curtain decorating the window as she continued gazing through the glass, lost in thought. Mario cleared his throat in attempt to gain her attention, and fortunately he did with flying colors. Gasping in response, she turned to face him...
..and what an angelic site she was. Her azure eyes glimmered like the blue pearl which embellished the chest area of her pink dress. Her long blonde hair seemed to change color as sunlight reflected on it. Her rosy cheeks trademarked her adorable, creamy-white face. She did not wear her crown that day, and in Mario's mind that made her even more beautiful than she actually was.
"Good day, your highness," Mario addressed her, slightly bowing and tipping his hat to her. It was a rare occurrence to actually see Mario's short brown hair in all its glory.
"Oh, Mario; you don't have to be so formal, you know," she giggled jokingly.
Mario nodded playfully and walked towards her, keeping eye-contact with her. Once he got close enough to place his hand upon hers, he put on a serious expression. It was time to give her the bad news.
"Well, Peach," he started. "I came here to bid you farewell."
"Why do you have to leave, Mario? What if Bowser kidnaps me again?"
"I'm surprised you even remember that big sea turtle," Mario jested. "You're not trying to change my mind about leaving, are you?" Mario gave her that 'I-know-what-you're-planning' look. He didn't need to tilt his index finger back and forth to scold her.
Peach's eyes started to sparkle. It seemed that she was holding her tears back. Immediately she faced the ground to hide her emotions. "I'm going to miss you," she said sadly. "What if...you don't come back?"
Mario felt sorry for her. Nevertheless, he had to leave and nothing was going to change his mind. Bending down to look at her face—while she was still staring at the floor—he started to speak in a soft tone, "I promise that I'll be back. That Super Smash Silly Name Tournament will be a sintch to win. Count on it." Peach was still sulking, but Mario continued to speak, raising his voice a little. "Back in Brooklyn when I was fixing toilets, I used to have an old saying to reassure my clients' bathroom safety. It used to go like this; 'A plumber's promise works like his plunger; always sticking to it.' It's not much, but fits this moment perfectly." He gave the princess a warm smile. She then giggled at his comment and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest.
"I promise..." Mario whispered in her ear.
"Psst! Princess!"
Peach was startled. The voice slashed through her daydreaming. The echoing voice of Mario's whispers slipped away from her mind. She looked around frantically until she came face-to-face with the person who had awakened her.
"Sorry, Sarah. I wasn't following you," she said emotionlessly.
Sarah was the princess's personal bodyguard. She wore a green silk robe, a green pointy hat, and had a Sword-Breaker—a blade with comb teeth on one side and a normal sharp edge on the other—sheathed behind her back. Her cute Emerald-green eyes matched the hue of her hair.
"You miss him, don't you?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah, I sure do," she nodded.
"I think we'll talk about...umm...what we were talking about later. Is that a good idea?"
"Thank you, Sarah. I'm going for a walk in the garden. Inform me if my father returns," she said as she stood up from the chair.
"As you wish, your highness," she bowed in respect.
I wish you were here, Mario. Please come back soon. She thought about him with every step she took to the garden, praying for his safe return...