Chapter 2: It's Funny How I Can Make a Joke About Nintendo Punking Luaisy Fans, Only For Them To Hand Out a Ship Tease in the Next Game I Write a Story About.

Mario and Toad trudged onwards until they they made it to the heart of the desert where the Bask Ruins were said to lie.

Toad let out a heavy huff and chugged a bottle of water he had. After the water had completely been drinken, Toad wiped his lips off and chucked the bottle onto the ground. "WHOOOO!" he shouted in exasperation. "Let's do this!"

Mario just gave a slightly worried, but happy sigh as the two took another step onto the sand. That's when a Dry Bones pointed a tennis racket right at them.

"Halt!" he ordered, slamming the butt of his racket into the sand. Also, yes; that is what it's called. The Dry Bones twirled the racket around before throwing it into the air and catching it. "Beyond here lies the Bask Ruins, a place of prosperity. You two have no reason to be here."

Toad puffed his cheeks out in frustration. "No reason?" he huffed. "No reason?! But we need to investigate these ruins for clues regarding the theft of this legendary racket, so why can't you let us through?"

Mario just let out a sigh as he placed a hand on the mushroom retainer's head. "Toad, allow me," he simply stated. Mario then proceeded to clear his throat, doing his best to put on a smile. "Hello, there, kind sir. My name is Mario, and-"

"Wait, Mario?" The Dry Bones interrupted. "As in THE Mario?"

Mario just gave a nervous laugh. "The one and only!"

Life sparkled in the Dry Bones eyes, or at least, as much life as a dead person could have. He put a hand to his cheek and let out a heartfelt sigh."Ah, Mario… A name that spans thousands of legends. Stories tell of you having a stellar jump. Please do so if you may."

Letting out a sigh, the plumber leaped into the air, doing a small backflip. Soon enough, he landed on the ground as soon as he had entered the sky, performing a small pose shortly after his feet touched the ground.

The Dry Bones smiled a bit. "Fascinating. The rumors are true." He then shook himself out of his stupor and cleared his throat. "I mean… world-renowned hero or not, you still are forbidden to enter unless you display superb skills when it comes to the sport that is tennis." He pointed his racket at the two heroes, displaying a stern glare at them. "Prove yourselves and I'll let you pass."

Toad couldn't help but sigh. "I guess we have no other choice, huh? I can't help but feel this is going to be a theme on our journey." He turned towards Mario and gave him a determined look. "Okay then, Mario! Let's show this old geezer what for!"

The Dry Bones shot Toad an angry look, but didn't say anything. He just led Mario to the tennis court, Toad following behind them. Soon enough, the Dry Bones and Mario were on opposing sides of the court.

The Dry Bones bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Prince Steven III, but you may just call me Steven, as that is easier to say and remember. Like your… mushroom friend alluded to, I certainly have seen better days, but that doesn't mean I can still put up a good fight." He stopped himself there and took a deep breath. "Forgive my ramblings, plumber of olde and yore. I have been telling you my life story when I should instead be teaching you the basics. Do realize I have faith in you."

Mario shot Steven a puzzling look. "I already know how to play, thank you. We can just start the match right now, if you want."

"Quiet, fatso," Steven immediately responded, shooting the plumber a glare. "I'm teaching you the basics, whether you like it or not. It's only fair, considering that I have more experience than you, and I don't just mean because I'm way older than you. You see, from a young age, tennis was forced upon me, and…"

Steven kept talking on and on, leaving Mario to just stand there uncomfortably. He wasn't sure if he should interrupt the undead prince or not, leaving him in a awkward silence of sorts.

Toad walked up to Mario and whispered in his ear. "Yo, should we ditch this old guy and sneak in?"

Mario thought for a minute before giving an uncertain nod. They went began to creep past Steven, hoping he wouldn't notice them. The very second they past him, he turned around almost instantly. "HEY!" he bellowed. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Mario and Toad fearfully turned around at the sound of his rage. Steven shot them a horrifying glare. "If you NOBODIES want to get in the temple, you have to counterattack my balls and show me what for!"

The two heroes stared blankly at the prince before Toad started violently laughing, leading Mario to whack him on the head.

Eventually, the tutorial- err, the training resumed, leaving Toad to just sit down next to the Lakitu referee and take another sip of water from a spare bottle he brought. He was almost about to fall asleep until the Lakitu told him the match was starting for real, leading to the mushroom retainer to hop up on his feet and watch in excitement.

Though feeling tense, Mario knew he had to press on. He tossed the ball high into the air and served it with a satisfying whack. Steven quickly returned it with a slice, leaving Mario to slide to the side to return it, almost losing his balance in the process. The ball reamined airborne for several returns, but eventually, Mario was able to mess Steven up by performing a well-timed lob shot, giving the him the point.

Okay, look. I'm not actually sure if you're actually able to pull that off before the Temple of Bask. I'm too lazy to check, and this one video online didn't show it, so we're gonna do another ass pull again, I guess.

Actually, nevermind. I checked. You can.

Huh.

Almost as soon as it started, the game was about to end. All Mario had to do was score another point. The whole arena was shrouded in suspense and tension.

As a single drop of sweat down the plumber's head, he readied himself to serve the ball once more. He flung it high into the air and he served with with a satisfying whack. Steven quickly returned it with a slice, but that wasn't enough to stop Mario, who quickly countered with a basic shot.

The rally surprisingly continued for quite a while, but it had to end eventually. With a glimmer in his eyes, Mario concentrated all his focus on the ball and hit it with a lob. Steven tried to run over to get it, but he was off by just a bit, giving Mario the point.

"Game, set, and match!" the Lakitu cried out. "The winner is Mario, the server!" Toad began to cheer as he ran over to give the plumber a high five, leaving Steven speechless.

"I… lost?" Steven eventually stammered almost silently. Mario and Toad looked at him in confusion. "I lost…?" Steven remained silent until he dropped his racket and clutched his head tight and began to shake rapidly. "No, no, NO! This can't be possible! How am, I, the prince of tennis, supposed to lose to mere peasants? I spent all my mortal life training for moments like these, only for it all to come crashing down and SHATTER! My hard-as-diamond pride… shattered within an instant! I thought diamonds were supposed to be unbreakable! What will the gods think of me now? Will they stop animating my corpse, leaving to be in a eternal state of nothingness where I can't even cry for help? All because I lost some stupid match? Will the universe now collapse in on itself because of this? That can't be true! I won't have it! I WON'T LET IT HAPPEN!"

Steven caught his breath and panted rapidly. Mario and Toad just looked at each other with concern before facing Steven again.

"Dude, calm down. It's just a game." Toad bluntly stated.

Steven looked at Toad before letting out a couple, slightly insane laughs. "Heh, heh, heh… I see what's going on here… You want to destroy the temple, is that it?"

Toad was floored by this. "What?! We never said-"

Steven just chuckled. "I know you're lying. You're already corrupted by power. Anyone like that deserves to... DIE FOR THE KING!"

Toad had enough with this. He went over and smacked Steven clean across the face. The Dry Bones looked at Toad, disgusted. "How dare you touch my with those filthy- Ahem… Excuse me for my outburst. You have shown me that you have stupendous skills in tennis." He walked over to the entrance of the temple and bowed. "You may enter."

Toad huffed. "Finally! We get to go inside! There's gotta be a hint in here somewhere! Let's go, Mario!"

Mario just gave a hesitant nod, still a bit flustered by Steven's sudden outburst.

As they walked in, Toad whispered to Mario again. "What a nutjob."

Mario just nodded as the doors magically closed behind them.