"Good morning, Grandpa!"
"Mallow, up early again? School let out for the summer a week ago," Frogfucius said as he poured himself a cup of cricket tea and sat down at their table, one of the few pieces of furniture they had at Tadpole Pond. Mallow shrugged while eating a bowl of Sugar Mushroom cereal.
"Habit I guess. Hey, so, remember when you took me to Booster's Tower a few years ago? Can we go again? Please?"
"I think you're too old for such things. You'll be eleven in less than two months. Besides, I don't feel up to a long journey today."
"Oh…," Mallow felt his spirits dampen for a moment, but then he smiled again. "It's a beautiful day, how about a picnic? We don't have to go far."
"I'm afraid these tired old bones aren't up to a short one, either. Perhaps another day."
"Oh, well, I'll just read a book or something then," Mallow said as he tried to hide his disappointment. Tadpole Pond was nice, but Mallow really preferred to visit Rose Town or even the main town of the Mushroom Kingdom, where there were actually things to do. Where the inhabitants had arms and legs, and weren't confined to the waters of the pond.
Mallow finished his cereal and leaned back, watching the clouds go by. I know Grandpa is old, but it gets so boring here all the time. I wish I could go and do something, anything. I wish Mom and Dad would come and bring me back home.
"You know, young grasshopper, I believe today the cricket pie I ordered a few weeks ago should come in today, but I can't make the journey as often as I used to. How would you like to go in my place?"
"Really, you mean it?"
"Of course. I speak to you often about responsibility, so I should give you the opportunity to demonstrate some. Think you can do it?"
"Yes!" Mallow grinned from ear to ear, happy not only to go out but to be able to prove himself capable to his grandpa. Frogfucius smiled and handed Mallow a single Frog Coin.
"This will cover the cost of the pie, so be sure not to lose it along the way. Oh, and if you take the shortcut through the sewers, watch out for Belome. And be sure to stay out of trouble."
"I will, Grandpa. No need to worry." Mallow pocketed the coin and hopped into the water, swimming to the shore of the pond. Once on the other side he waved. "Goodbye, Grandpa!" Frogfucius smiled and waved back.
"Hurry back soon, Mallow!"
Mallow hummed to himself as he set out. A light breeze through the trees felt good on this warm day. The birds sang overhead, the clouds stayed light and puffy. It felt so perfect that Mallow decided to bypass the lower entrance to the sewers and take the path uphill instead.
Though it wasn't an especially difficult path, it was a long one, and by the time Mallow reached the top an hour later he was quite happy to sit and take a break.
"Phew, I can sorta understand why Grandpa didn't want to go himself. Still better than the pond, though. Great view, too." To the right the more populated central Mushroom Kingdom sprawled out before him. Mallow could see a distant town, an old castle, forests, even a railroad stretching to a far-off mountain.
To the left, Mallow could see locations much more familiar to him; Rose Town, Moleville, and Booster's Tower to the south, Land's End and Barrel Volcano on the western edge of the continent. Closer at hand Mallow could see the territory belonging to the evil King Bowser, including his notorious castle.
"Mario must be brave, to willingly rescue the princess there all the time. I don't think I could even cross the lava moat. I'm not that desperate to leave the pond!"
Mallow admired the view for a few more minutes before hopping back up again. "Alright, I'd better get going. I don't want to keep Grandpa waiting all-huh?"
Mallow paused and turned back towards Bowser's Keep again. Mallow thought he saw, almost sensed, that something was wrong. For a moment everything still seemed normal, but then it happened; a massive sword burst out of the clouds, taking aim at the surface below!
"H-holy-! What is that?!"
Mallow watched in horror as the sword directly struck Bowser's Keep with a powerful crash. The ground beneath his feet shook strongly enough that Mallow actually fell over. Then, something else started to fall from the sky.
They were stars, actual shooting stars. One of them, Mallow saw, looked like it fell somewhere near the town. The others fell to the west, one in the forest, two in the vicinity of Moleville and Booster's Tower. The others fell farther to the west and Mallow couldn't see where they landed. The final one crashed into Bowser's Keep. Other smaller stars began to fall in large clusters behind them as well.
But even as the stars were falling Mallow could see three other objects flung out and scattered across the land. He couldn't see them clearly, but Mallow thought they looked like Mario, Princess Toadstool, and Bowser.
Mallow shivered, in spite of the warm air. "I don't know what just happened, but it looks like a disaster. I hope Mario can do something about it."
Mallow stood up, brushed himself off, and set off down the road again. He concentrated on positive thoughts in order to avoid thinking about the sword that was now a part of the landscape.
King and Queen Nimbus stood in front of the grand window that lined one side of the throne room, overlooking the land below. Queen Nimbus smiled.
"Such a lovely day. I'm sure everybody is enjoying this wonderful weather."
"No doubt about that," King Nimbus sighed and wrapped an arm around his wife. "But, I wish Mallow were here to enjoy it with us."
"I know, dear. I wish he were, too," Queen Nimbus sighed now. "We just have to tell ourselves he's enjoying it too, where ever he may be."
"Absolutely. He's probably off having a picnic, or perhaps enjoying a nice swi-by the stars!" King Nimbus exclaimed, looking up. "What is that?!" Queen Nimbus looked up too and gasped.
The great sword descended from far above, through the clouds, and down into Bowser's Keep. Even as high up as they were the shockwave rocked Nimbus Land slightly.
Upon impact they could briefly see Mario, Bowser, and Princess Toadstool all ejected from the castle at once. Moments later stars began to descend all over the land. One of them fell directly in Barrel Volcano down below.
"What in the world-"
"Your majesties! Your majesties!" Valentina burst into the throne room. "You'll never believe it. We found Prince Mallow!"
"Truly? At long last?!" King Nimbus gasped as he and his wife broke into wide smiles.
"At long last. I told him to wait just outside, come on."
The three of them rushed out of the throne room, past the antechamber, and into the room before it. There was no one there, though the door to the side room was slightly ajar.
"Ah, he must've become shy and darted in there. Go ahead, I won't interrupt."
The king and queen stepped into the room…but nobody else was there. The door slammed behind them with an ominous "click".
"Oops! I meant that Mallow's parents are in there," Valentina laughed and slapped a note on the door as Shy Away flew up beside her.
"Valentina! What is the meaning of this?" King Nimbus demanded as he pounded on the door.
"What it means? It means that I'm taking control of Nimbus Land, of course. I've planned on being queen for years. That's why I had to get rid of your brat early on."
"You-"
"Did you really think it was a coincidence he was taken after you gave him to me?"
"W-what did you do with him?!" Queen Nimbus shouted through the door.
"Why, I personally killed him of course, and then threw his body into the sea."
Valentina turned and walked back to the throne room as sobbing erupted from behind the door with Shy Away following close behind. The beautiful day had gone, replaced by a fierce thunderstorm.
"Queen Valentina you lied. You know we never found the prince anywhere."
"So what? He's dead for sure anyways. Now, did you round up the entire palace staff?"
"Yes, Queen Valentina. We threw them in the dungeon just like you said to and have completely taken their place."
"And the palace entrance?" Valentina asked as she settled down onto the throne.
"The new guards are already there."
"Fantastic. Now I want you to go down to Bean Valley and do whatever is necessary to prevent anybody from entering Nimbus Land."
"Right away, Queen Valentina," Shy Away saluted and zoomed off.
"Hmmm, I feel like something is missing. Ah, yes. Dodo!" Valentina called out, but nobody came. "Dodo!" Again, nothing. "DODO!" Finally a massive black bird came into the throne room, a royal gift from the king and queen several years back. "It's about time! I want you to go and fetch me an ice cold margarita, and step on it!"
Made it at last! Mallow thought to himself as he saw the town entrance just up ahead. But before he could take another step a large purple crocodile wearing a top hat popped out of the bushes.
"Hold it! The name's Croco, I'm the new guard here, see? I need to make sure no one suspicious enters town," the crocodile said as he approached Mallow. Mallow gulped and froze in place. He looks scary. I really hope he doesn't try to beat me up.
Croco circled around Mallow before walking back, bumping into him along the way. "You pass inspection. I'll allow ya into town."
"Phew, I'm gla-" Mallow stopped when he caught a glint of green in one of Croco's claws. "You-! That's my Frog Coin! Give it back, you thief!"
"Hah, just try and catch me, kid," Croco laughed and took off running into town, Mallow chasing after him.
"Stop! Thief! Come back here!" Mallow yelled as he followed the crook around bushes and behind houses. "Come back here!" When Croco hopped down a ledge with ease, however, Mallow tripped on a rock and fell down it instead. By the time he got back to his feet Croco was out of sight.
"Oh no! I lost that thieving reptile! Now I'll never get Grandpa's Coin back." Mallow's face crumpled as his eyes began to rapidly tear up. "N-no, I can't cry. B-big boys don't cry," he sniffled. "But what am I g-gonna do? I let Grandpa dooooown!" Mallow burst into tears and the sunny day immediately clouded over as rain began to pour down. Grandpa will never, ever forgive me for this! And that horrible sword came down, and I couldn't do anything fun today either! And-
"Hey, kid, are you alright?" Mallow opened his eyes and a mustachioed man in a red cap and shirt stood before him, wet from Mallow's rain.
"G-gee, mister, you're soaking wet. I'm sorry, give me a moment," Mallow brushed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, concentrating on the sunny weather from earlier. The rain stopped as quickly as it started and the sun was shining as brightly as it was before.
The man looked astonished, causing Mallow to blush slightly and shrug. "I don't know how I do it. I'm really sorry about all that rain, but I feel better now after a good cry," Mallow paused for a moment. "But, I got so carried away I kinda sorta forgot why I was crying in the first place." I wish I wasn't such a crybaby.
The man groaned and facefaulted. Seeing him face down like that reminded Mallow of the incident that had just happened.
"Now I remember! The mean old croc stopped me right outside of town and took my Frog Coin. I tried to get it back, but he's just way too fast."
While Mallow was talking the man got up and dusted himself off. But before he had a chance to speak to Mallow a nearby toad woman called out to him.
"Hey, Mario! Let me see that jump you use on that mean old Bowser."
"You mean this little hop?" the man asked as he leapt high into the air. The toad woman grinned.
"Wow! He really doesn't stand a chance against that."
"Oh my gosh! You're the Mario? I know all about you! You've got more jump than a whole box of frogs."
Mario smiled. "Thanks kid. So what's your name?"
"I'm Mallow, from Tadpole Pond. I'm a frog, but my jump is absolutely shameful."
"Huh, you don't look anything like…. Well, Mallow, a lot of folks here have been burglarized by that croc, too. I thought you chased after him quite well, so what do you say about helping me catch that thief?
"Really, you mean it? Are you sure you're not too busy?" Mallow asked, thinking about the sword the struck Bowser's Keep.
"I'm never too busy if someone needs my help. So how about it?"
"You bet! I won't let you down, I promise!"
Mario smiled. "First let's get a few items, and then we'll chase down that croc."
"Good idea," Mallow agreed as they walked into the local shop. The shopkeeper looked up and smiled when he recognized Mallow.
"Well, if it isn't young Mallow. I was wondering when you'd get here," said the shopkeeper. Mallow shifted slightly.
"Oh, um, you see-"
"Don't worry; it's all ready to go. Just give me a moment to fetch it."
"Listen, the thing is, well, the Coin, um, got stolen," Mallow blushed slightly, still feeling ashamed at what happened.
"Oh dear, it looks like we won't be able to trade now. Such a shame, old Frogfucius will be so disappointed."
"It'll be okay, Mario and I are going to stop the thief together."
"Well, if Mario is on the job, you'll get that Coin back in a jiffy," the shopkeeper said as he nodded as he turned to Mario. "So, what can I get you?"
"I'd like three Mushrooms and two Honey Syrups, please."
"That'll be 32 Coins," said the shopkeeper as he set them out on the counter. Mario handed over the Coins and pocked the items. "Good luck you two."
"We'll be back in no time," Mallow promised as they headed out of the shop. As they walked towards the edge of town one of the nearby toads stopped them.
"Mario, I just saw that no good Croco! He zoomed past here a few moments ago."
"He's the one that stole my Frog Coin! Why didn't you stop him?"
"Because I left my bazooka at home, kid, sheesh," the toad rolled his eyes as he spoke. This time Mario and Mallow facefaulted together.
"Stop! Thief!" someone cried out as they stood up.
"Ha! You losers'll never catch me! A snail could outrun you morons!" Croco shouted over his shoulder as he dashed by out of town.
"That's hiiim! Hurry, let's get him!" Mallow exclaimed as they ran after Croco. Within minutes they found him behind a bush rummaging through a large sack.
"Look," Mallow pointed at the bag. "I bet he put everything in there. Let's get him!"
"Are you seriously tryin' to tail me?" Croco laughed at them. "Go home to your mommies before you get hurt," he said as he slung the bag over his shoulder and ran away.
"Oh no, it looks like the road is full of monsters," Mallow said as he noticed goombas and spinies all over the place. "They weren't here when I first came to town…."
Mario turned to Mallow with a serious look on his face. "Have you ever done any fighting before?" he asked Mallow. Mallow nodded.
"Yeah, a little."
"Great, then you watch my back and I'll watch yours, okay?"
"Okay!"
As they headed down the road a couple of goombas jumped out in front of them and bared their teeth. "No one gets by without our permission!"
"How's this for permission?" Mario whipped out a hammer and smacked one of the goombas with it while Mallow punched the other. The one that got hammered was knocked out, while the other ran away in tears.
Setting off again, they soon found Croco around a bend, going through his bag of stolen goods. As they approached Croco slung it back over his shoulder.
"You're a couple of persistent buggers, but I'm a hundred miles ahead of ya!" he said as he took off running again.
"I don't care how fast he is, I'm not going to give up," Mallow said as they dispatched a group of spinies that had charged them.
"He's not as fast as he thinks," said Mario as fought with a new enemy, a k-9. As they cleared the path of monsters they saw Croco up ahead. This time Croco looked panicked when he saw them coming.
"Dead end, and they just won't give up. I'll just have to hide!" Croco said as he dove into some bushes.
"He can't hide in there forever. Come on, let's sneak up on him," Mario whispered to Mallow.
Though he ran before they reached the bush, Mario and Mallow successfully tiptoed up behind him around a different bush and tapped him on the shoulder. Croco leapt up and whipped around, a stunned look on his face.
"Ha! Your eyes are much faster than your feet! At your rate it'll take ya a hundred years to catch me!" Croco laughed as he dove into another bush.
"He can't keep it up forever, Mallow. Let's try again."
Mallow nodded and they repeated the maneuver again to tiptoe up to Croco and tap his shoulder a second time.
"That was the fasted hundred years of my life!" Mallow said laughing. Mario laughed too, and Croco growled nervously.
"Yeah, well, at your rate it'll still take ya another fifty years to catch me!" Croco shouted as he dove into yet another bush.
"Come on, we'll get him for sure this time," Mallow said as they tried again. This time when they tapped Croco on the shoulder his jaw dropped when he saw them.
"You again?!"
"Us again, I'd have to say we're pretty fast for being over a hundred and fifty years old," Mario said, smirking. Croco snarled and bared his fangs.
"Yeah, well it's still gonna take ya-"
Thunder cracked nearby as Mallow darted to his other side, blocking his escape route. "Give back my Coin right now!" he shouted at Croco.
"…Alright, you got me fair and square. I'll give back everything I took," he told the duo as he took a few steps away, rummaging through his sack. "Ha, suckers!" said Croco as he suddenly chucked a bomb at Mallow and Mario. Luckily they dodged it just in time.
"You'll regret that," Mario said as he whipped out his hammer and charged at Croco. Croco swiftly dodged the hammer and took a swipe at Mario, injuring him slightly.
While Croco was busy with Mario, Mallow ran up to his other side and successfully punched Croco in the face. Croco was distracted just long enough for Mario to fling some fireballs directly onto Croco's tail.
"YEOUCH!" Croco yelped and stamped out the small fire on his tail. "Why you…you'll pay for that!" Croco leapt at Mario and attacked him again.
"Mario! I gotta do something. Wait, I know! I just hope this works, I'm still not very good at it…," Mallow started to concentrate. A small, but very dark cloud quickly formed right over Croco and unleashed several lightning bolts directly onto him.
"This kid can call down the sky?!" Croco let out another yelp. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…."
"You should've thought of that before you started stealing," Mario said as he whacked Croco in the gut with his hammer.
While Croco tried to catch his breath from the hammer attack Mallow managed to punch him in the face again. "Gimmie back my Coin, or we'll belt you some more!"
"I'll pay back in spades for that, kid!" Croco growled and managed to claw Mallow's head before dumping the entire contents of his bag at their feet. "Go on, take your dumb coin!" Croco tore off to the west, away from the town.
"We did it Mario! We got everything back! Woohoo! Yeah!" Mallow jumped for joy. Mario smiled.
"I couldn't have done it without you, Mallow. Thank you."
"Aw, I didn't think I did much. Are you hurt bad?" Mallow asked as they gathered up all the stolen goods, including Mallow's Frog Coin.
"Just a little, I'll be alright. How about you?"
"Oh, we'll be fine in a moment. This is something I learned recently, hold on," Mallow concentrated again. This time a small white cloud formed and a gentle rain began. Every single drop of rain made them feel a little better, until they were as good as new.
"That's amazing, Mallow. I've never met anyone with control over the weather," Mario said as they started the walk back to town. It was a much more peaceful walk now that all the enemies had gone.
"I don't know how I do it. It's something I've done my whole life. But I've only gotten a real handle on it within the last year or so."
"What about the rest of your family? Do they have these powers too?"
"I dunno. I only know Grandpa. My parents left me in his care when I was a baby," Mallow explained.
"Did he ever tell you why?"
"He said it was too dangerous where they lived because of Bowser, so they took me to Tadpole Pond where it's safer. I love Grandpa but, I really hope they come back soon. I miss them a lot."
"Ah, I'm sure they will."
As they stepped back into town the duo was stopped in their tracks by what they witnessed. Everywhere Mallow looked he could see shy guys hopping around on swords as if they were pogo sticks, chasing the toads.
"Stay away! Stop! Heeeelp!" the toad who told them about Croco screamed while one of the shy guys hopped after him.
"Why would I do that? Bouncing is fun, and we can't stand anyone who doesn't bounce."
"How about you bounce on this?" said Mario as he jumped on its head. The thing quickly fled in tears. Mario then turned his attention to the toad. "What happened? We weren't even gone an hour!"
"These bullies came right after you left. This isn't even all of the 'shysters', most of them invaded inside the princess' castle with their boss. The nerve!"
"Mallow," Mario turned to Mallow. "There are an awful lot of these things. I could really use your help to rid Mushroom Kingdom of them. What do you say?"
"You can count on me, Mario," Mallow nodded with a sense of determination.
Heading deeper into town, Mallow took on the shysters on the left side of the road. My thunderbolt seems really effective Mallow thought as he fried an entire group in one shot. As he worked his way to the princess' castle Mallow heard cries for help coming from one inside a house.
"I'm coming!" he said as he ran in. Inside an entire family was cornered by a group of shysters. The mother saw Mallow and called out to him.
"Help us! Please!"
"I'll do my best," Mallow said while he charged up a fresh attack. Carefully releasing it on the shysters and not the family the whole group fled out the door. As the last one bounced out Mario came downstairs with the family's other son.
"Thank you for saving us. We can't thank you or your friend enough," the father toad said, which caused Mallow to blush slightly.
"It was no trouble at all," Mario replied as the mother handed him two Honey Syrups. Mario handed one of them to Mallow on their way out. "Here, drink up. You'll feel refreshed."
Mallow gulped one down and smiled. "You're right. And it tastes good, too."
"It looks like we got all the ones out here. Ready to take on the castle?"
"You bet," Mallow said as they headed up the stairs to the castle doors. Just inside the entrance was a shyster chasing Toad around. A well-timed hammer attack from Mario took care of it.
"Phew, thanks Mario. That was really scary. Everyone else took cover in the princess' bedroom, but I kinda got left behind."
"We'll get you there safely, don't worry," Mario told Toad as he led them up the stairs to the bedroom. At the top of the stairs a pair of shysters blocked access to the room.
"Not so fast," one of them said as the group approached.
"Look as these losers, they can't even bounce! We ought to bounce on their heads!" the other one laughed and hopped towards Mallow.
"At least I'm not a bully like you guys," Mallow said as he gave the shyster a good punch. Ouch, I didn't know shy guys were so solid. The shyster wobbled and lost balance, falling down the stairs. The other shyster fell after it a few seconds later.
"Come on, everyone should be inside," Toad said as he lead them into the bedroom. The other Mushroom Retainers gathered around him.
"Looks like we're saved by Mario again. We can't thank him enough," said one.
"It's a good thing he came when he did."
"Wait a sec, I thought the Chancellor was with you," a third toad said.
"No, I thought he was with you guys. Oh my gosh, he must still be in the throne room with the big guy!" Toad wailed. "Mario, you gotta save him!"
"Don't worry, just leave it to Mallow and me," Mario told the toads. Mallow nodded vigorously.
"Good luck, we're counting on you!" Toad called after them as they headed back down the stairs.
"Mario, do you really think we can do it?" Mallow asked as he shook a little. "Their leader sounds really big and scary."
"You can do it," Mario patted his shoulder. "Think of him as just another bad guy. The throne room is just through these doors, are you ready?"
Mallow gulped, took a deep breath, and nodded. Mario slowly pushed open one of the doors and together they crept in quietly. But I sure don't feel ready! I wanna go home!
All over the throne room shysters were leaping everywhere, but the creature that was presiding over them wasn't a shy guy, it wasn't even anything Mallow had a name for. It was round and red with small horns and mean eyes. And it was on top of the second-largest sword Mallow had even seen.
"So where do ya suppose everyone went?" one of the shysters asked. "We hardly had a chance to play."
"Who cares," said a second one. "We have a new home!"
"We can bounce all day long! And nobody's here to stand in our way,"
"Yippie! Let's bounce the days away!"
All of the shysters started to laugh, until they saw Mario and Mallow step forward.
"This isn't your castle. Give it back to the toads and go back to where you came from," Mario demanded.
"Look at this, they can't even bounce, buncha losers," a fifth one said as it hopped up to one side.
"Why don't we bounce on their heads?" the sixth suggested as it hopped to their other side. They leapt at Mallow and Mario at the same moment. They ducked, however, and the two shysters harmlessly collided in midair and fell to the side. While the rest of the shysters started to jump in an agitated fashion, their leader leapt high into the air before landing with a powerful crash.
"Listen up gang," their boss spoke at last. "These guys want to put an end to our party. We can't let that happen now, can we?"
"No way, Lord Mack!" the shysters all called back. At once they all leapt towards Mario and Mallow.
"Mallow, you take care of the shysters, I'll work on Mack!" Mario called out to Mallow as he charged towards Mack with his hammer ready.
"Right!" Mallow started to concentrate. Just as he unleashed his thunderbolt on the shysters a fresh group came into the throne room.
"Oh no! Lord Mack is in trouble! We can't let them beat Mack the Knife!" one of the shysters yelled and they began bouncing towards Mallow.
"Mack the Knife?!" Mallow exclaimed as he charged up another attack. "How can something that large possibly be a knife?" Even as he zapped the second group with thunderbolt a third group came through the door and headed straight for Mallow.
"Oh come on!" Mallow unleashed a thunderbolt on the third group and waited, but no more shysters came into the throne room. Mallow turned and ran to Mario. "Mario, do you need any help?"
"Yeah, this guy is no pushover like Croco," Mario said as he dodged a fireball.
"So the shrimp is gonna take me on too, is he?" Mack laughed and started to spit fireballs towards Mallow.
Mallow ducked and tried to dodge the fireballs, but he tripped and one hit him directly on the head. "Ouch!"
"Come on Mallow, try to attack him," Mario called as he jumped on Mack's head in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to stop spitting fireballs.
"I can't, it's too hard to dodge and concentrate at the same time," Mallow called back, dodging a fresh wave of fireballs.
"You have to, everyone is counting on us!"
Mallow looked up at Mack, remembering the frightened Mushroom Retainers, the terrified townsfolk, and the mocking laugh of the shysters. A fresh wave of determination waved over him and Mallow began to carefully concentrate while avoiding the fireballs. Slowly a dark cloud began to build and then finally unleashed a thunderbolt on Mack, stunning.
"I think we just about got him. Can you do it one more time?" Mario asked him.
"I can try."
"Do whatever you can manage and I'll take care of the rest."
"Alright," Mallow said as he started to concentrate again just as Mack started to spit fireballs again. Another fireball struck Mallow in the head but he managed to charge a few seconds longer before unleashing another thunderbolt on Mack. Mario took this time to first smack Mack with his hammer before jumping on his head.
"N-n-no! HOW COULD I LOSE TO SUCH LOSERS?!" Mack screamed before exploding at last.
"Yes!" Mallow cheered. "You beat Mack, Mario!"
"We beat Mack," Mario corrected him and patted his back. "I told you that you could do it."
Mallow smiled, but before he could say anything a large, light blue star suddenly appeared from behind the throne. As he watched it circled around them several times before falling into Mario's hands.
"H-hey, our injuries are gone," Mallow realized. "What kind of star is this?"
"Oh, this is not good!" something behind them moaned. Mallow turned; it was the two shysters that tried to attack them before the fight had really started.
"The puffy and mustachioed ones are strong!" the other one whimpered.
"Come on, we gotta warn the boss!" The two shysters turned and bounced as fast as they could out of the throne room before the duo could lift a finger.
"The boss? Mack was just somebody's underling?!" Mallow gasped.
"That's what it sounded like."
"A-are they gone?" an elderly toad whimpered as he climbed out from under the throne. He looked around and sighed. "Gracious, Mario to the rescue again," the toad said as he stood up and straightened out his robe. "But, just who were those-"
"Chancellor!" Toad ran into the room with the rest of the Mushroom Retainers. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
"I thought those monsters got you for sure,"
"Mario was right; he really did get rid of those bad guys!"
The toads assembled into their usual spot while the Chancellor paced in front of the throne. Once they had finished getting into position he started to speak again.
"This has been a terrible day. First the princess gets abducted, then Mario can't rescue her, then those things invaded our fair kingdom. It's almost too much to bear! I wish I knew what our next move was…."
I wish I knew, too. If only Grandpa were here, then he'd-wait! "Excuse me, sirs," Mallow stepped forward and all the toads jumped slightly. Really, they didn't notice me before? "How about we ask my Grandpa? He knows everything."
"Ah, excuse me, but who are you?" the Chancellor asked. Mallow bowed to him.
"My name is Mallow, sir. I'm from Tadpole Pond. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Mario is this true?" the Chancellor looked to Mario.
"Sure. Not only did Mallow help me take on Mack and the shysters, he also helped me confront a local thief and recover all the items he'd stolen."
"It sounds like you are quite skilled for a young one. Any friend of Mario is always welcome here in Mushroom Kingdom," the Chancellor smiled and turned back to Mario. "As I was saying, we still need your help Mario. If Bowser's castle cannot be reached at this time, perhaps it won't hurt to accompany Mallow to see his grandfather."
"Then it's settled. Come on Mallow; lead the way to Tadpole Pond."
"Grandpa can definitely help, I just know it," Mallow said as they made their way back out of the castle. "Just let me finish my errand and then I'll be good to go."