BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-click.
Mario stretched his arms. His body and mind wrestled as he slowly crawled out of his incredibly comfortable bed. He practically fell down the stairway as he slowly moved towards the kitchen, the scent of food driving him forward. The night before, a rain storm had caught up with him and his brother, Luigi, while they were on an evening walk. They were forced to refuge in a cave until the storm passed. By the time they were in bed, it was midnight.
Mario was in the middle of yet another stretch when he remembered what was going on today. One week ago, Princess Peach had sent a message to the brothers through their Mailbox SPs, asking for them to be her bodyguards during her upcoming party. The Bros. accepted, of course, since Peach is one of their closest friends. They would do nearly anything for her. After grabbing a red-spotted mushroom for a quick breakfast, he decided to step outside.
Right in front of him was his brother, working the clothesline as usual. He was garbed in his normal clothing: blue overalls slipped over a green shirt, a pair of brown shoes, and a green cap with an green L over a white circle emblazoned upon it to represent his name: Luigi. He greeted him with a smile and a wave. After Mario returned the gesture, Luigi asked him if their late sleep still had his grip on him. Mario said he felt fine, and that he would be ready to leave for the castle in just a minute. Luigi said that it would be best if the two of them got to Toad Town, the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom and home to princess Peach, quickly. However, Mario had other plans. He asked Luigi if they could take Mushroom Way instead. Ever since they installed a warp pipe to Toad Town, they never used Mushroom Way, despite it being one of the best trails in the entire kingdom. Luigi said that he was okay with that, but Mario would probably have to skip breakfast. Mario assured Luigi that he was okay with that; he could just binge on the food at the party to make a nice brunch.
Mario rushed back into the house. First, he changed out of his pajamas and into his normal wear - one akin to Luigi's, but his shirt and cap were red, and bore an M instead of an L. Once he was dressed, he dashed all over the home, picking up some spare objects around the house. A Raccoon Leaf that provides the user with cute ears and a bushy tail that somehow grants flight… A pair of wings, stripped from a Wing Cap that has more sensible logic in flight… a Fire Flower, cleverly placed in a pot for house emergencies… his Cape Feather… and, of course, his and his brother's hammer; hard iron cylinders with wooden sticks running through them. All of them were slipped into his overalls that, thanks to some magic from the princess, would make them hidden away in a pocket of endless space until they were called upon.
Mario met back up with Luigi, and, after he got his hammer from Mario, the two were off. There was a reason Mario was so eager to be in a hurry just to take Mushroom Way; it was a gorgeous way to get to Toad Town. It was a nicely paved pathway created from dirt wiped clean of grass granted safety from the sun thanks to the trees looming over it. It was a beautiful walk through nature, and Mario enjoyed every bit of it. From the very first time he went through it, he was absolutely sure that he was going to settle his house in the area, not only to protect possible attacks on them from effecting Toad Town (though the house was never actually attacked), but also to experience this fantastic walk.
But then, amongst the sounds of the birds and bugs, he sensed a disturbance; some strangers talking from far away. He informed his brother of the conversation he could barely hear, and Luigi noted that he could hear it as well. But as Mario was about to approach the strangers, Luigi said that he wasn't interested in pursuing them. How could they know if the strangers were friendly, or antagonistic? They could walk into a trap. Mario, however, denied that there would be much danger in investigating. The two of them were not bad with stealth at all, and if things look bad, they could always run away. With a sigh, Luigi swallowed his fears and followed Mario off the beaten path.
Eventually, within a clearing, they found a watchtower reaching decently high into the sky so they could see into Toad Town. Unfortunately, it didn't belong to the Mushroom Kingdom: a brown chestnut-like creature with two tiny stubs for feet with shoes put over them known as a goomba and yellow turtle wearing a pair of green shoes that matched the color of his shell known as a koopa inhabited the top of the tower confirmed that they were Koopa Kingdom spies, ordered around by who else than Bowser Koopa. Whether it's a festival, a holiday, or even a boring day, the scourge of the Mushroom Kingdom was always up to something. Sometimes, he wished he could go a just a little while without hearing anything about the Koopa and his army.
Mario told Luigi to stay in the shrubbery while he handled the threat. He slowly and quietly approached the tower, unbeknownst to the two soldiers eating their breakfast. One he was under the tower, he got out his hammer. After investigating each of the four wooden sticks that held up the tower, he chose one that would best kill the foundation of the watchtower. He pulled his hammer back and took a deep breath, ready to strike with all his might. But then, the two goons in the watchtower began speaking.
"So… why do you think we haven't gotten any news from the castle this week?" The goomba asked.
"Beats me. I've ran this watchtower for months now, and they've never missed a beat in sending a message to us," The koopa answered.
Mario hesitated in the attack. These two were dropping information that might be useful. Why stop them now?
"Would Lord Bowser have a reason to cut us off?"
"Like heck he would ever do that. We're one of his only gateways into the enemy lines. We're his most important scouts."
The implications perplexed Mario just as much as the two watchmen. Why would Bowser cut off contact with his watchmen? The only reason he would stop interaction with them is if… he didn't need them. Could Bowser be nearby, ready to strike on yet another festivity? He made a resolve to have his guard up during the party, just in case. Deeming there to be no more useful information in the two watchmen, he swung his hammer and knocked out a piece of foundation. He turned and ran, not waiting to see the aftermath of the goomba and koopa's shrieks as the floor came out from under them. Luigi was waiting for Mario back on the trail. He signaled for the two of them to continue. It wasn't long before they had marched into Toad Town.
The conductor of the K64 train was the first to greet the Mario Bros. "Mornin'! Nice day, isn't it?" he said. Mario waved and nodded in agreement.
His greeting was quickly followed with more hellos and good mornings coming from similar-looking toads, with their mushroom-shaped heads, vests with the same color as the spots on their head, and two shoes lacking legs to accompany them, as the brothers passed them by going down the street. While the Bros. may be considered celebrities, they were treated like normal people here. The residents were too familiar with the Bros. for their presence to be a surprise.
The two were about to enter through the gigantic door dividing the rest of Toad Town from the historical district when, suddenly, something wrapped around Mario and jerked him away from his brother. He was frightened for a quick moment, until he realized the thing wrapped around his waist was a tongue, and the person who had taken ahold of him was his best friend. "Thrthise!" Yoshi exclaimed, a joyful expression on his face.
Yoshi, who identified with the same name as his species, bore a long, frog-like tongue that could tether around just about anything he wanted. As threatening as the concept of being swallowed up from a distance was, he certainly didn't look all too dangerous. His green body with a large white strip running from his large cheeks down his stomach to the underside of his flag-like tail, all held up by a pair of orange boots connected by two small legs, made for an appearance that most considered cute. On top of that, yoshis in general were pretty friendly, with a small shell that doubled as a saddle adhered to every yoshi's back so they could share their agile movement speed with others.
Luigi ran towards the two with a furious look on his face. He was not happy that he had been scared half to death by Yoshi's entrance. Yoshi slid his tongue back into his mouth, under the gigantic, ball-like object that you would only be able to tell was a snout because of the two slits for breathing near the top.
"Aww, lighten up, Luigi. I was only playing with you two," Yoshi said.
Luigi sighed and let it go.
"Anyways, what are you guys doing here so early?" Yoshi asked. "I thought the party doesn't start for another half hour."
Mario explained the situation.
"Bodyguards, huh? I should've expected that, really. Say, do you think the princess would let me join you two for a little bit? I came over here a little on the early side so I could see the rest of town, but..."
Mario knew the feeling. You'd think that, being the capital and all, Toad Town would be loaded with landmarks, but the only really interesting sites are the castle and possibly the shopping district. Yoshi hadn't really seen much of Toad Town, other than the parts that directly lead to the Warp Pipe to the Bros' pad, so he couldn't blame him for thinking there was a little more to the town. Knowing how lenient Peach usually is, Mario accepted.
The party of three passed through the door and entered the historical district. Considering that Peach's Castle resided here, only the most high-class residents were allowed to live here. After passing through their last wave of greetings, they were finally within the castle's walls.
"Ah, Masters Mario and Luigi! And Master Yoshi, as well! Welcome!" Toadsworth said as they entered. "The princess has been waiting. Come, I will escort you to the Toad Brigade." Toadsworth turned and began walking up the stairs, with Mario, Luigi and Yoshi following behind. After making their way up two floors, they finally reached the door into the throne room.
Mario and the gang said hi to each of the members in the Toad Brigade, who were just in front of the door. The team consisted of Captain Toad, a red toad with a vest and a headlamp wrapped around his head, Toadbert, a blue toad with glasses, a purple and green toad that Mario never caught the names of because they always refer to themselves as Mailtoad and Banktoad, and a yellow one who was always either absent-minded or asleep. It was an odd group of royal guards, but Mario supposed they at least do the job.
"Now then," Toadsworth interjected, "the princess asked me to bring you to her throne room when you arrived. She's not in the greatest mood today, so please show her the politeness and respect you would show any other princess." Mario thought that sounded a bit odd, but didn't question it.
Toadsworth opened the door and the gang walked in. The group assumed two orderly lines - Mario, Luigi, and Captain Toad in the front, Yoshi and the rest of the crew in the back - and bowed before their fair princess.
Peach turned towards Toadsworth with a frustrated look on her face. "Please tell me you did not tell them the whole 'Peach is in a bad mood' thing-"
"Princess, we HAVE to show some form of formality around civilians!" Toadsworth argued.
"These aren't civilians, Toadsworth, they're my friends. And my friends should be allowed to act casually around me, regardless of my social status!"
"There's just no pleasing you..." He grumbled while walking away.
"Anyway... welcome, all of you. I'm so glad you could come and assist me during this party." Peach stood up from her throne and approached the back row.
"Toadbert, you and... the Yellow one... will be guarding the door to the throne room. I highly doubt anyone will try to reach the throne room, but we'd best protect it, just in case."
"Can do!" Toadbert replied, grabbing Yellow by the hand and dashing back to the door.
"Mailtoad and... Banktoad...? You'll be guarding the door into the district. All you have to do is make sure no one shady tries to get into the district without showing their identification first."
"On it!" Both of them said simultaneously.
"Next, you'll... Oh! Yoshi! What a surprise!" Peach exclaimed. "Did the Bros. invite you to come along?"
"Yes," Yoshi replied. "Is... is that alright with you, princess?"
"Of course!" Peach answered. "The more, the merrier. In fact, I have a special job, just for you!"
"Really?" Yoshi's eyes seemed to sparkle.
"Really. Usually, our food pantry is well managed, but on occasion, some rodents find their way in and eat some of the food prepared. Might I ask you to 'survey' the pantry?" Peach winked for clarification.
"Yes, ma'am!" Yoshi saluted before heading back down the hall. He wasn't stupid; he knew that there had never actually been rodents in the food pantry. She was offering him a snack before the party really began. It seemed that Toadsworth got the message, too, because he saw him roll his eyes as he left the room.
Peach moved on. "Captain Toad, you and Luigi will guard the doors into the castle. Be sure that everyone who enters shows an invitation to the festivities."
"Luigi, I'd also like to ask for you to escort any commoner who is disturbing the peace outside off the premises," Peach continued. "Oh, and can you relay that message to Yoshi once he is done 'surveying' the pantry?"
Luigi nodded, and the two headed out.
"Mario, you'll be my personal bodyguard. Considering your popularity, you might have to meet and greet with me, as well," Peach said. Mario knew the lingo around here: Peach really meant that she and Mario were going to hang out together the whole time.
The gang helped set up some final preparations, and in the blink of an eye, the foyer was filled with people, both friends and strangers alike. Tons upon tons of people were welcomed and greeted. Some individuals were even meeting Mario for the first time, shockingly. All the while, Mario and his princess chatted nearly any time they were able to.
"My, all this greeting is tuckering me out…" Peach finally said, after an hour of chatting. "Why don't we take a break for a little bit?"
The two asked one of the castle servants to bring them some food, and then went up back into the throne room. The two sat at the upper veranda behind the throne overlooking all of Toad Town as the two engaged in their delectable meals.
"Isn't this such a nice view? It's a wonder we haven't done this together yet."
Mario told her he thought that this was the best party she's ever thrown.
"Yeah, things have been really going well. Though I don't think I could ever top your parties." The two shared a laugh. "Hopefully, Bowser doesn't ruin the moment."
Mario was reminded of the watchtower and the two guards. Did Bowser have something up his sleeve today? Maybe I was wrong, he tried to reassure himself. Maybe Bowser is just taking a break, so he's ignoring the guards. Maybe -
"PRINCESS!"
The sudden shout of Toadbert from across the hall broke Mario's wishful thinking. The two both hopped up and hurried to meet him.
"It's Yellow, by boogity! He had vision in his dream! Everyone in the castle is in-"
The sudden sounds of yelling and screaming confirmed Toadbert's words. Something was going on in the foyer.
The three came out to an awful sight. Everyone was running in a terrible panic. The door downstairs had been sealed off by a black steel grate.
Peach watched over the confusion and asked, "Where did that grate come fro-"
Suddenly, a black steel panel appeared over top of someone in the crowd. Steel bars seemed to form and grow out of nothing, making a clank sound as the bars fused with the plates, completing the cage. The entire room went silent except for the poor Toad trapped inside. And then, as quickly as it had appeared, the cage shrunk into nothingness, taking the Toad with it.
Everyone in the room tried to take cover, but to no avail. The black cages continued to appear and take away more toads, yoshis, goombas, koopas, and anyone else that could be trapped.
"Oh, heavens…" Peach said, shocked to the core. "This is- ah!"
Mario and Toadbert jumped back as a cage claimed Peach's freedom.
"Mario, get out of here! Don't let them t-"
And, in a flash, she was gone, banished to wherever these cages went to. Mario stood in utter terror. In a mere minute, this party had went from a fun experience to the fruition of yet another kidnapping of the princess. His mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts of failure and frustration.
"By boogity, Mario, snap out of it!" Mario's Toad companion brought him back to reality. "You heard the princess! Try jumping out of the veranda! I'll see if I can save anyone else."
Mario nodded before rushing back into the throne room. He was about halfway across the throne room when he saw him. Bowser was the last barrier between his doom and his freedom. He had assumed that this was, indeed, his enemy's attack; this just confirmed it. The hero readied his hammer and continued his momentum as he rushed Bowser.
His rival winded up for a punch. Mario saw this and dodged to the right, and then whacked Bowser's arm with his hammer. He shouted in pain, but curiously didn't say anything. Bowser threw another punch at his stomach, which sent Mario to the ground. Bowser picked him up by the throat and started strangling him.
Mario struggled to break out of his near impenetrable grip. Once that proved fruitless, Mario realized what he needed to do. He pulled back his leg, and swung.
Bowser dropped his rival to clutch the body region the hero just slammed. Mario took this opportunity to catch his breath and pick up his hammer. Then, Mario made a break for wall, jumped, and pushed himself off the wall, aiming his hammer swing straight for Bowser's head.
Suddenly, his own head was struck with incredible force. It was that moment that Mario realized that Bowser was faking his pain. He was in a shell; he couldn't hit him through it. He had set up that entire sequence just so he could get a free hit on the hero. Bowser never plays this dirty. Mario also realized that, in just two punches, Mario was already too weak to even stand. What had his enemy done to get the better of him this time? He wasn't sure…
Mario landed on his back, rapidly fading from consciousness. His enemy stood before him, easily able to finally slay him. But, then… he left. Mario, confused, raised his head to see Bowser, but he couldn't see him at all. It was as if he was never there. Unable to bear the pain anymore, he collapsed.
He laid there for what felt like an eternity, until he heard a pair of voices shouting his name. Even though they sounded like they were miles away, he could still recognize Luigi and Yoshi's voices. Suddenly, a loud sound even his near-death feeling couldn't silence ran through his eardrums.
Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.
As the torturous sounds continued, he felt himself be lifted into the air, and then the rushing of the wind as his friend carried him. The sounds of the pounding of their shoes ceased as the rushing wind changed direction. Mario finally lost his grip on his consciousness, making him lose what little grip he had on his friend, and he fell, and fell, and fell. All the while, that deafening, unforgettable noise consumed him.
Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank...
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Mario stretched his arms. His body and mind wrestled as he slowly crawled out of his incredibly comfortable bed. He tried to turn off his alarm, but couldn't find it anywhere. He was about to turn for the stairs when reality hit him like a truck.
This wasn't his peaceful home. This was Toadley Clinic, and he was being saved from death at the hands of Bowser.
He heard footsteps approach him. His favorite green dinosaur popped out from behind the curtains. He turned at where Mario was supposed to be and nearly did a double take.
"Oh, heavens!" he cried out, before embracing his friend with the greatest hug he could possibly give. "This weird grate showed up in front of the castle doors, and then we heard screaming, so we started freaking out, but then it went away, so we went up and found you on the floor in the throne room, but then this cage started forming around the castle, so we jumped out of the veranda and I…" Yoshi took a long breath. "I dropped you. When we landed, I thought I had killed you. We rushed you here to Toadley Clinic, but I thought that they wouldn't be able to wake you. I'm so, so, sorr-"
Mario tightened the hug. He told his friend to dry his tears. It wasn't his fault that he was so badly beaten, or he just so happened to go unconscious in free fall. It was Bowser's… wasn't it?
"I thought it may have been him…" Yoshi suddenly tightened the embrace, presenting one of his few moments of anger to Mario. "He's going to pay for what he's done."
"Master Mario!" Toadsworth called out. "Good heavens, you scared all of us half to death." Mario broke his embrace with Yoshi to greet Toadsworth with a wave and Luigi with a much shorter hug. "I have to say, you've recovered incredibly fast. Last we saw of you, you looked nearly dead, but, aside from that bruise on your face, you look in top condition. I suppose Yoshi has told you his side of the story?" Mario nodded.
"Good, then I don't need to explain what happened to the castle. Though, you probably should see it for yourself anyways. Yoshi, could you be a gentleman and bring Mario over to the site while Luigi and I check him out of here?"
Yoshi offered his shell, but Mario declined. He felt perfectly fine now; he could walk there. The two left the clinic and rounded the bend out of the shopping district, putting the two back on the original path they had taken just two hours ago. However, this wasn't the same happy Toad Town they had just seen. An aura of sorrow, dread, and fear consumed the town and its inhabitants. No one greeted him; they just breathed sighs of relief. This made Mario very concerned about the state of the castle. Turns out, it was for good reason. The two opened the historical district doors and confirmed those concerns.
Peach's Castle was gone.
The young princess awoke on the cold, hard ground. She found herself in an incredibly stuffy room blocked behind some bars, similar to the ones that had just taken her away.
"Helloooo? Anyone?" Peach shouted. No reply greeted her. With nothing to do, she laid upon the floor and tried to fall back asleep. Maybe it's just a nightmare, she thought. If I lay here long enough, I'll wake up in a warm bed at home and-
Suddenly, the door from across the room opened, and a koopa, clad with a blue shell and a blue bandana around his head, entered.
"Good morning, Princess Peach."
Peach suddenly stood up and grabbed on to the bars, looking no better than an average criminal. "You!" She began. "You're with Bowser, aren't you? What have you done with those poor civilians you picked up before me? Why would you ever do something so dir-"
"Calm down, Princess," The Koopa interrupted. "It's against protocall for me to answer any of your questions. I'm sorry."
Peach sat down in annoyance. She'd been baffled for the past two minutes and no one has given her any solace. What was she going to do now? It was at that moment Peach noticed two boxes within one of his arms. She could see the titles on both; Mario Party and Pit of 100 Trials.
Peach was shocked. Those were her two favorite board games! How could he have known?
"Noticed the boxes, eh? Yeah, I brought them with me for guard duty because I thought you might be bored. Are these fine with you?"
"Oh, um… I guess we could pass the time with them..." Peach said. She knew there wasn't much else to do; she couldn't escape because she doesn't know how this place was structured; she couldn't coax a way to escape out of someone, since she was being assigned specific guards; and she had no one to rely on to send messages to Mario. The only thing she really could do was wait for her hero.
"Good to hear. Now, which one should we play first?"