-AUTHOR'S NOTES-

This is my first official fanfic, based on a fangame idea I conceived a month ago. Hope you guys enjoy it.

And yes, it is a Mario + CV fanfic. It just won't be obvious until later.

(Most recent revision (not including new chapters) was Dec. 4, 2010, where parts of Blocks 2, 3, and 4 were edited to improve clarity.)

-BLOCK 1: Down the Drain-

For a long time, Bowser has kept to the pattern of kidnapping Princess Peach over and over again, followed by the Mario Brothers coming to save her. It had become a routine so normal that Bowser was inexplicably invited to the various go-karting cups the kingdom held from time to time. Many would wonder why the Mushroom Kingdom officials haven't put some effort into making the nation's defenses more effective.

Currently, it seems that Bowser has finally learned his lesson, as it has been some time since his last attack.

So it appeared... until this fateful night, where a power unknown to the Mario Brothers would rear its ugly, unholy head...

We now move on to Mario's Pad, a house quite separated from the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom. It isn't the most luxurious of houses, but it is quite cozy.

Off in the distance, a mushroom retainer runs towards the house, with a distressed look on his face.

"Seems like another uneventful night," Mario said.

Luigi responded, "I wonder if Bowser's finally learned his lesson?"

"Not likely," Mario replied.

The brothers both hear a loud knocking at their door.

"Now who could that be?" Mario thought as he opened the door.

"Mario! We have a problem here! The castle is under attack!" Toad said.

"Oh, no! We gotta get there quick!" Mario said. "Luigi, are you coming?"

"Yeah. We should probably go through the sewers. It'll make getting there much faster."

"Good idea. Let's-a go!"

But before leaving, Mario suddenly had the inexplicable thought of taking a golden locket with him. The locket contained a picture of him and the princess, taken after her previous rescue.

And so, Toad and the Mario Bros. entered the pipe to the sewers. Huh. Having an underground level as the first stage is kind of unusual.

Not much had changed since it was visited during the events of Paper Mario. It was still very wet, dark, absurdly spacious, and teeming with various underground enemies. The monsters, however, failed to pose much of a threat to our trio.

Shortly after entry, the group was ambushed by a few pesky Koopa Paratroopas and Goombas. The first strike was upon Luigi, looking back just a little too late and having a shell fly right into his face.

"OOF!" Luigi yelled as he lost his footing and fell onto the ground.

"Didn't expect us coming, did ya?" said the smug Paratroopa. "Unfortunately for you, your progress ends here under orders from Lord Bowser!"

"How about I just clip off your wings?" Mario said as he jumped at the fiend.

"ACK!" The Paratroopa cried as he was stomped, thus losing his wings. Mario followed that with another bounce, forcing the nuisance into its shell. Mario then kicked the shell, taking out one of the Goombas who were for some reason standing there like idiots. The shell then fell into a nearby pit.

The remaining two Goombas charged at Luigi, but he, being recovered from the last blow, stomped both of them with ease. Toad, however, was being harassed by the other two Koopas, who were apparently much more skilled at dodging than the last. Seeing a ? block nearby, he smashed it and, strangely enough, found a vegetable come out of it. Having picked it up, he felt he had gained the ability to conjure vegetables as throwing items.

He quickly put this to use, throwing two of them to hit one of the Koopas, then three to hit the other. Both were incapacitated upon being hit.

"Well, that was an interesting power-up," Toad said. He tried to do it again, but failed. "Huh? Could I have used it up so quickly?"

The anthropomorphic fungus then saw that there were more ? Blocks, and then subsequently hit them. Out of the first came a small heart, which strangely seemed to give him a single use of his new ability. The next block contained a larger heart, which seemed to have an effect equivalent to 5 small hearts.

"Well, this is weird," Toad said. The Mario Brothers, having cleaned up the other monsters, joined him.

"Strange. I wonder what's in the other blocks?" Mario asked before hitting one. Out of it came the iconic Fire Flower, which Toad oddly could not use (though Mario and Luigi could).

"Well, this is intriguing," Mario said to himself. "Oh well, moving on!"

Mario then took the Fire Flower for himself. Luigi managed to find a Hammer in another ? Block, which again Toad could not use. As the only plumber without a sub-weapon, he took it for himself.

After experimenting a bit more, the trio came to what was the pipe to Toad Town. However, a strange familiar foe had blocked the entrance.

"My, did someone bring me a fungal treat?" said the four-eyed monstrosity with a tongue comparable to a fire hose. "Oh, but you shouldn't have!"

"Belome!" Mario exclaimed.

"Haven't I seen you before? Well, no matter. I gladly accept your offering."

"That thing wants to EAT ME?" Toad shouted. "Well, eat THIS, four eyes!"

Toad then threw a vegetable at Belome's face, thus starting the first boss battle.

BOSS 1: PERPETUALLY HUNGRY BEAST: BELOME

"Ack! Such bitter vegetables!" Belome shouted, reeling from the botanical barrage. This was soon followed by a stomp from both of the bros.

Quickly recovering, the monster caught Mario in his tongue and dragged him into his mouth, much to Luigi's horror.

"Nooo! MARIO!" Luigi despairingly shouted, jump kicking Belome right between the eyes. The blow forced him to spit Mario out.

"There we are!" Belome said smugly, generating a clone of Mario from... uh, let's not go into detail there.

"WHA? Which Mario is Mario?" Luigi said in surprise. The question was answered when the clone promptly jumped at him.

"All enemies of Belome must be stopped!" said the clone before being attacked by the original Mario. Luigi and Toad continued to pummel the beast with sub-weapons while Mario dealt with his clone.

"There can only be one Mario!" shouted the clone.

"Well, if you insist..." Mario responded as he lobbed a fireball, setting the clone's pants on fire. The clone quickly jumped into a nearby stream of water, dousing himself. He then jumped back into the frey, soaking wet and slightly smelly.

"You smell like crap," Mario noted. "Are you sure you want to continue this?"

"You'll pay for that!" The clone exclaimed as he threw a punch, which Mario dodged. Mario then countered by grappling his legs. He swung him around in circles until he got a good enough speed, then tossed him at the wall. The impact knocked him out immediately, and the clone's body disappeared in a puff of smoke shortly after landing.

"Well, I guess I'm the one Mario. Poor thing."

Meanwhile, the mighty Belome was suffering from an onslaught of hammers and vegetables. As Mario got back to the rest of the party, he finally gave up fighting, deciding that the oversized mushroom wasn't worth it.

"Even if you defeat me, you STILL won't beat me!" Belome said as he fled, hopping away into the water.

"He bit off more than he could chew," Toad said.

"Glad that's over. What happened to the clone?" Luigi asked.

"I threw him at a brick wall, and he disappeared in a puff of smoke," Mario replied. "Can't say I don't feel sorry for him, though. Anyway, moving on..."

That being said, the trio entered the pipe that would take them to Toad Town.