The two brothers landed on the opposite side of the pipe. The scenery around them had trees, which looked like coconut trees, but smaller. In front of them lay a long winding path that split to the left and the right, at the middle, and went deeper into the trees.

"OK" said Luigi. "Now we need a referee to make sure were each timed fairly."

"Whatever" said Mario

Luigi took a short flute from his back pocket and blew a few notes on it.

"He should be here any minute now."

"Who should be here?" asked Mario confused.

"Oh, a friend" said Luigi with a smile.

Mario turned around at a loud rustling sound coming from a small bush behind them. A small figure jumped out of the bush. The figure looked like a ball of root with a blue flower on its head and two short legs on the bottom of it.

"I'm here!" said the little thing while running up beside Luigi's right leg.

"Is this your friend?" Mario asked.

"Yes, this is Blue, he'll help time us." Luigi looked down to where Blue was standing and bent down. "Blue, we need you to get on a high up cliff and time my brother and I on how long it takes us to stomp ten goombas."

"Alrighty, I can do that" said Blue

enthusiastically.

Blue scurried into the forest and no sooner had he went in, then he re-appeared on a ledge above Mario and Luigi.

"Ok you guys, I'm ready!" said Blue.

Luigi turned to his brother and said, "Now, I'll go second, which gives you the honor and prestige of going first, and remember, the goal is to stomp ten goombas as fast as you can. Blue will time us from up on the ledge."

"This will be all too easy." said Mario coolly while getting down into position like he was about to run a marathon race. "Just say when to go."

"You ready Blue?" Luigi asked, looking up to where Blue was standing.

"Ready and waiting" Blue yelled back.

"Go!" Luigi yelled at the top of his lungs.

Mario dashed straight off down the path and then took the right path into the woods. No sooner had Mario gone into the woods, then he spied two goombas side by side ahead of him. Mario immediately squatted down and like a spring, shot straight up and towards one of the two goombas. Mario squashed the goomba to the left and when the other one saw Mario, it tried to turn and run away, but Mario was already going towards it and then with a thud, the goomba was stomped flat.

"Easy" Mario said with a smirk and a glint of confidence in his eyes. Mario raced towards his next target.

"How many has he stomped now Blue?" Luigi asked.

"Two" Blue replied dryly.

"Two already!? How in the world did he stomp two goombas already!? Dang!"

Luigi was kicking the ground and complaining his brother had all the luck when Blue said, "Five now"

"Momamia!" Luigi yelled angrily, scaring a few birds out of the trees near them.

"He-he, sounds like Luigi knows I've hit five, but man, this is harder than I thought, my legs are getting tired from all the running and jumping." Mario was running towards another goomba when he felt something grab his leg and then fell flat on his face, knocking him out. The thing that grabbed him, pulled him into thew bushes and they were gone.

"Luigi, Luigi!" Blue had begun yelling frantically.

"What is it Blue? Luigi asked curiously.

"Mario disappeared, I don't see him anymore!" Blue yelled, while jumping up and down.

"Whaaa! How could that happen, I thought you were watching him?" Luigi's voice had a hint of fear in it. "Do you remember where you saw him last when he disappeared?"

"Yeah, I saw him fall and then it was like his body just vanished."

"Fall? The vanish? What the heck is going on?" Luigi pondered to himself. "Take me to the spot where he disappeared last Blue, please."

"Ok" Blue replied sympathetically. He knew Luigi was concerned for his brother and wanted to help any way he could.

Blue jumped down from the ledge and landed beside Luigi. He ran past him and called to Luigi, "Comon, follow me Luigi" Blue lead Luigi down the straight path, then took the same right path Mario had taken and passed the two squished goombas on their way. They continued forward till Blue stopped and looked down.

"What is it Blue? There something there?" Luigi walked up beside Blue and looked down to where Blue was looking. "That looks like the impression of a face in the ground." Luigi remembered Blue said he saw his brother fall and came to the conclusion that this was his brother's face, after all, it had a mustache, and only Mario and Luigi himself had one in all the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Look Luigi, the face is smeared across the ground to the bushes over there." said Blue, while looking to where the smear trail led.

"Forget the contest Blue, it looks like my brother may have been captured, and were going to find him, lets follow the smear lines through the bush and see where they lead us."

"Good idea" replied Blue, following closely behind Luigi's footsteps.