Mario and Luigi sat in the Care Bears' cloudcar as they drove them through the sky. At first they had been surrounded by all white clouds but then they gave way to dark gray kind and as they looked down they could see how the landscape changed as well from the lush vallies of the Mushroom Kingdom to dense dark forests to a long expansive wasteland.

As the time went by Mario calmed down from the shock he'd had of seeing Princess Peach snatched by the evil wizard No-Heart in his nightmare come true and he began to wonder what No-Heart could possibly throw in his way of rescuing her when it seemed like all the other villains he'd rescued the princess from had thrown everything possible at him.

"Like I'd said, No-Heart isn't gonna be like anything you've ever faced before," said Tender-Heart Bear, almost as if sensing his thoughts. "With him there comes the true danger of losing yourself."

"How can you lose yourself?" asked Mario curiously.

"You must go through the Swamps of Sadness, the Desert of Shattered Hopes, the Forest of Misfortune, and the Valley of Deep Despair, and if you give in to them there will be no way out," said the Care Bear solemnly.

Mario was silent. As the leading Care Bear drove the cloudmobile downward. Very far off in the distance he could see a very small spectacle of a dark castle which he assumed must be No-Heart's. Then the castle disappeared behind tall mountains and thick trees as they landed far away from it.

They were now in a desolate wasteland and as they disembarked their feet made a squishy noise as they stood on the muddy ground.

"So, this is where we begin?" asked Luigi.

"Mario, do you want to rescue the princess?" asked Tender-Heart.

"Of course," said Mario promptly.

"Easy answer," returned the Care Bear figuratively. "Put some thought behind it, the thoughts will connect you to the princess and she'll receive you better. You see, No-Heart has her under a spell and when you find her she might not recognize you but if you love her as she loves you you will reach through to her. As you go through your journey think of her and the times you've had with each other. Remember your past journeys to rescue her and why you fell in love with her. Remember, should you need us for any reason at all you just call and we will come."

"Thank you very much, Care Bears," said Mario.

Then they watched as the Care Bears got into their cloudcars and flew off into the sky again.

Mario noticed they were standing in a mushy, muddy swamp and he saw dozens of rocks scattered around them and instantly he got an idea.

"Come, Luigi," he called to his brother. "Let's cross the swamp playing hop scotch on these rocks."

So they hopped onto the closest rocks they saw and continued hopping from one to another as went further into the swamp.

Mario thought about what the Care Bears had said about thinking of Peach and why he wanted to rescue her. If his memories had to reach out to her then he decided to start at the beginning and he thought of when he and Luigi had rescued her for the very first time and when they had first found their way into the Mushroom Kingdom.

Mario and Luigi were wading through the murky waters of the underground sewers of Brooklyn on a call to investigate for alligators after reports of sightings in the city. So far they found nothing but a few rats, some leeches here and there, and lots and lots of sludge.

"Aw, Mario, we haven't found any gators all day!" Luigi was complaining. "Can't we go back up now? It must be past lunchtime now."

"A plumber's gotta do what a plumber's gotta do, Luigi," Mario called over his shoulder. "Come on, where's your sense of adventure, eh?"

"I left it above Brooklyn," Luigi replied dryly.

Mario chuckled as they trudged on. He was never one to give up on something, though he wasn't sure why he had asked Luigi where his sense of adventure was but he just had an unexplainable feeling in his gut that he was destined to come down here for some reason and there was an unknown purpose moving him towards it.

Shortly afterward they heard something from ahead of them and turning towards it they saw a creature their size which looked like cross between a turtle and an alligator. They watched it drop down from one of the pipes around them. It had sharp teeth, horns, and claws, a long spiky tail and a spiked shell on its back.

"Wh-what is that... creature?" asked Luigi fearfully.

"I don't know, little brother," said Mario.

Just then, more of the creatures began dropping out from the pipes and made to attack them. Mario and Luigi were seemingly defenseless against these monsters, but Mario knew he had to do something and so he did the only thing he could think of, he jumped.

He jumped and came down on the first one's head and flipped it over, kicking it in the middle. Luigi quickly joined and the brothers were able dispatch the monster reptiles using this technique.

When they finished off the the last of them, they ventured deeper into the sewer system to find the source of the monsters and get rid of them. Then when they had seemingly gone as deep as they could, Mario heard it.

"Help me!" a young female voice called from nowhere.

Mario gasped and looked around. "Luigi, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked brother.

"Listen," he said.

Then he heard it again. "Help me! Help me!"

"It's coming from down here!" Mario hurried in the direction the cry for help was leading him with Luigi following him.

"Help me! Help!" The voice was so soft, so desperate, so sweet, and he followed until he reached a big green pipe laying at the edge of the sewer. The voice was heard to be coming directly from within it.

"You're right," said Luigi. "Now what do we do?"

"We go in and finds out who needs us," Mario replied briskly as he knelt down and crawled into the pipe.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Luigi exclaimed, following his big brother.

They crawled through the long pipe which seemed to grow larger the further they went and then they saw a light far ahead of them and hurried towards it. Larger and larger the hole before them grew and they ran ahead and then suddenly found themselves tumbling out of the pipe and into a strange new world.

Observing their surroundings they rows of bright flowers and big polka-dot mushrooms spread out in every direction and high above them they saw brick platforms and clusters of metal boxes hanging mysteriously suspended from the sky.

"Mario," said Luigi. "I've a feeling we ain't in Brooklyn no more."

Then suddenly one of the mushrooms seemed to pick itself up with arms and legs growing out of it and a small head peeked out from underneath the large mushroom cap. It ran towards them exclaiming "You've come! You've come! Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom! I am Toadworth, the King's Royal Retainer. Come with me to the Palace."

So they followed the three-foot tall mushroom-like being to the palace where the King explained to them about the prophesy of two heros who were born in the Mushroom Kingdom and raised outside of it would return to save the Royal family and then he told them about his daughter, Princess Peach, had just been kidnapped by the wicked King Bowser of the Koopas.

"Mario!" Luigi's voice broke him from his memory track. "There are no more rocks!"

Mario looked around and could see no more rocks ahead for them to jump on, there was nothing but a mushy swamp as far as they could see before them.

With a sigh of resignation he stepped off of the rock he was on and into the mushy, murky swamp. His shoes sunk in halfway and made a sloshing sound.

"What were you thinking about?" asked Luigi and they trudged along.

"I was remembering when we first rescued Peach. You remember, don't you, bro?"

"Oh yeah!" said Luigi. "It's good to remember."

Mario and Luigi had just reached Bowser's castle after a long and arduous journey. High above them they saw a glowing blue and white star.

"Well, we've made it this far, my brother," said Mario, focusing all his attention on the star. "Now all I have to do is jump up there and capture the starman and become Super Mario!"

Luigi looked up at the distance between them and the star. "Isn't it kinda far to reach?"

"Not when there is the two of us!" Mario declared. He took hold of his brother's hand and counted "One, two, three!" and together they made a tremendous jump and landed onto a stone terrace of the castle far above the ground.

"Wahoo!" Mario yelled in ecstasy as they made another long jump upward and he caught the powerful starman and instantly felt the power of invincibility flow through him and giving him the strength of ten Marios.

With Luigi close beside him he leapt through a window of Bowser's castle and fought off many koopa troopas on each level as they raced towards the dungeon where the princess was being held captive. Then finally on the last level they encounter none other than King Bowser himself. He looked just like the monsters they had met with in the sewers and he was three times bigger.

"Well, you may have outmatched my troops, but you will never outmatch me!" he said snarling.

"Why do you hold the princess a prisoner for? asked Mario. "What did she ever do to you?"

"I just want her at my side so we can rule the Mushroom Kingdom together," replied Bowser. "We will rule all of the toadstools and goombas. We will rule the sea surrounding it with my laser sharks. My koopas will command all of the shy guys and glum reapers who will otherwise be at my mercy."

"Mamma mia! You are a wicked, evil, conniving monster!"

"Well, I appreciate your compliment," said Bowser. "Now if you have any last words-"

"Hah-yah!"

The final battle began between Bowser and Mario. Bowser was considerably bigger than Mario but the starman had made him equally as strong and swift. He dodged Bowser's blows one after the other and threw him off over and over and just as it became evident that Bowser was going to get rough Mario caught him by the tail, spun him around till he was dizzy, and threw him out of the window.

"Whew! I'm glad that is over with!" exclaimed Mario as he wiped his brow.

"Now all we have to do is free the princess!" said Luigi.

"Right you are, let's go!" exclaimed Mario.

They quickly found the door to the dungeon and pulled the lever on the side of the strong iron door and it slid down and they stepped inside.

Then he instantly set his eyes on whom he knew must be the princess Peach. She looked very young, probably only sixteen or seventeen. She wore a long pink satin dress and a gold locket on a chain around her neck. She had long blonde hair that grew past her shoulders, and he focused mainly on her face with its soft peach-tinted skin and light red lips and bright blue eyes like his own. His heart felt warmed when he realized he thought she was the most beautiful and charming girl he had ever seen.

"Hello, princess," he said removing his red hat. "I am Mario and this is my brother, Luigi. We hope you are alright."

"I am now that you two are here," replied the princess. ""You must be the heros of legend who've come from the world outside to defeat Bowser. Is he really gone?"

"He will not be bothering you any time soon," Mario assured her smiling. "It wasn't easy, but believe me, I am glad to have saved you."

The princess smiled as she approached them. "Thank you. I give to you my gratitude," she said, and gave him a gentle kiss on his right cheek.

He smiled and blushed with pleasure as he felt her sweet kiss and he knew that from this moment on he would dedicate his life to the princess and would always be there for her when she was trouble.