The next day at noon, the Toad Brigade from the Galaxy games met in Toad Town square. The only difference was that Toad wore a blue vest instead of a red one, but it wasn't that big of a change.

"OK guys, it's Smash season again, but like usual, we've been left out!" said Toad.

"And...?" asked Purple.

"We're gonna go to Smash Island and show those guys what we Toads can really do!" said Yellow Toad enthusiastically.

"How will we get there?" asked Blue Toad, whose brother hadn't quite explained everything.

"A ship leaves every week for the island. Usually, it's for visitors, but during this season, only Smashers go," said Toad. "But we can disguise ourselves as regular mushrooms!"

"But what are we gonna do? We can't cut our heads off!" said Green Toad.

"Our bodies can be in ? boxes, while our heads stick out. If a guard asks why our spots are colored and the rest is white, we can say we're going Super Mario Bros. 3 style." said Yellow Toad. "Luigi hasn't left yet; Mario left before him. He's excited that we're gonna try to get in, so he'll be bringing us. If you're wondering where they sell ? boxes with a place for the head, the Halloween store still has some."

"We have until next Tuesday when the next boat leaves," explained Toad. "Luigi's gonna help carry our stuff, but try to pack light. We don't wanna cause him too much trouble." added Yellow Toad.

All the Toads agreed to do so. They left, excited to see each other next week.

"OK, here's the store," said Yellow Toad. He and his brother walked in to find ten boxes left. "Good," said Blue. "More than what we need." Each costume was five coins, so they paid 25 coins for the whole group. They dropped two off at Green and Purple's house and one at Toad's house.

"What should we bring?" asked Green Toad to his brother, Purple Toad.

"I'm bringing my 3DS, some clothes, another pair of shoes, and things like toothpaste and brushes." he replied.

"I'll bring the same things," said Green. "What 3DS games are you bringing?"

"Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon."

"Cool. I'll bring Mario Kart 7," said Green.

"I wonder what this has to do with anything?" asked Purple Toad, breaking the fourth wall.

Tuesday soon came, and all the Toads dropped by Mario and Luigi's house. He brought a suitcase and was surprised that five Toads' items took up only half the space. It was convenient, but the Toads themselves had to travel outside the baggage.

Luigi drove up to the docks, and the Toads got into their costumes. Their feet stuck out, but no one really paid any attention.

A Koopa-Troopa guard stood at the gangway.
"State your business," he said.

"I'm on my way to Smash Island," replied Luigi.

"Why do you have Mushrooms?" asked the Koopa.

"It's for Mario; he forgot to bring them when he left."

"Why do they have colored spots and white caps?"

"He likes the Super Mario Bros. 3 ones."

"Why do they have feet?"

"My brother has a weird mind," said a flustered Luigi. "They follow whoever is leading them. Some smart mushrooms, they are."

"Good enough. Welcome aboard."

"How do we walk without him noticing our feet are moving?" asked Green Toad.

"Toads did it in Super Mario 64," replied Toad. "We should be able to do it again."

"What did we do?" asked Purple.

"Watch."

Toad shuffled behind Luigi...without moving his feet. He was followed by Yellow, Blue, Green, then Purple.

Luigi arrived at his cabin. It was fairly spacey, especially for a boat. The ship was pretty empty since most of the Smashers had already left.

"Where will we all sleep?" asked Luigi.

"You take the bed," said Blue. "We Toads can take the floor."

"We can?" Yellow asked. His brother shot a look at him. "Er...we can!"

An hour or so later, the ship was off. The trip took about three days with no stops, so there was plenty of time to prepare and explore.

"Hey, look," said Purple Toad. "This door connects to the next cabin."

He opened it, and the next room was empty. So was the next.

"Wow, we can have three rooms!" exclaimed Toad.

"What about Green and Purple stay in one room, me and Yellow, and Toad stays with Luigi? It's even, then," suggested Blue. All the Toads and Luigi agreed.

"OK, but we have to keep our stuff in this room," said Purple. "If someone cleans the next two cabins and finds a Toad's belongings, we're doomed. Here, we can keep everything in the suitcase."

"And try not to make too much of a mess," said Luigi. "Keep suspicion levels at a minimum."

"Hey, I'm gonna hit the gym," said Toad. "If we're gonna prove to be useful, we'd better train to be useful."

"We'll go too," said Green Toad. A disappointed Purple Toad put his 3DS away.

"I'm gonna check out the service desk," said Luigi. "I'm gonna ask for more room cards so you guys can have some."

"We'll stay here and settle in," said Yellow. "Toads, if you need to come back, just knock." Everyone then went their separate ways.

"Hey, a treadmill," said Toad.

"Wait! What if someone sees us?" asked Purple.

"We can hide. We're not too big, so it should be easy."

Toad started the treadmill and set it to a fairly quick speed. He began running, and after two minutes said:

"Too slow."

He cranked it up to the maximum and ran with ease. His brown shoes clicked and clacked on the whirring conveyor belt so fast that they were a blur.

"Hey, Green," said Purple Toad, "Bet you can't do this." He grabbed a twenty pound weight and lifted it up.

"That's nothing!" laughed his brother. Green pulled a forty and held it in front of Purple's face.

"Need I remind you who's the bigger brother?" Purple asked rhetorically. He gripped a bar with weights sixty pounds each and slowly lifted it off the ground.

"Showoff."

Luigi was passing by and looked through the gym window to find Toad's feet moving in a brown blurry circle and Green and Purple trying to outdo each other.

"Ha! Watch this; 140 altogether!"

"160 pounds! In your face, bro!"

Toad was talking to himself on the treadmill.

"Is this the fastest it can go? Gramps can power walk through the mall at this rate."

Luigi's jaw almost dropped to the ground. Bowser had a hard time with a hundred pounds of weights, yet the "weak" ones were besting him and other Smashers. Toad was running at maximum speed and didn't break a sweat. In fact, at the same time, he was texting Toadette. He then saw the man in green staring at them through the window. He quickly put his phone away and continued running.

Luigi went in to give them room cards, then returned to the cabin to find a note.

Dear Luigi, Toad, Green, or Purple:

Blue Toad and I have gone off to explore the ship. We know the best places to hide; we'll tell you when we all meet back here.

-Yellow Toad

Meanwhile, the Toad Bros. were wandering around the nearly deserted cruise ship. The restaurant looked decent enough, there was an outdoor pool (with dead bugs in it. Yuck.), and there was a small meeting room for Smashers only. Then again, only Smashers were on the ship.

"Or, will be Smashers," thought Yellow Toad.

The meeting for this trip was at 5:00 this evening, so Yellow Toad texted everyone to meet back in the cabin. After everyone was rounded up, Yellow began.

"Luigi, did you know you have a Smashers meeting?"

There was a knock.

"Uh oh. Hide!" whispered Blue Toad. He rushed into the next room, followed by the other Toads.

"Try to hear what they're saying," said Purple. Toad leaned next to the door and strained to hear the conversation Luigi was having.

"Mr. Luigi, there is a Smashers meeting at 5:00 P.M. Care to join us?" asked a voice.

"Sure, I'll be there," he replied.

"Good day then, sir."

"OK, guys, you can come back," said Luigi.

"Who was that?" asked Green.

"Just some guy asking me if I was gonna go to the meeting Yellow was talking about."

"Are we going?" asked Toad.

"I don't know if that's safe. There will be others there, I think," Luigi replied uneasily.

"I have an idea! Luigi, do you have a flower of some sort?" Purple said.

"Uh...I think there's a flower shop on board."

"Can you get us some?"
"Sure, but what for?" Luigi asked.

"Less talking, more doing!" replied the purple mushroom.

"Does it matter what kind I get?" he asked again.

"Preferably with a yellow center and red petals. Oh, and the petals should have white spots in the center."

"Okay then. Stay low, you guys," said Luigi as he left.

"What are you gonna do with a flower?" asked Green Toad.

"I'm gonna make it a Power Flower. If done right, we can be made invisible."

"Oh yeah, we can also walk through walls!" said Toad.

"Exactly."

"How will you turn a normal flower into a Power Flower?" asked Yellow Toad.

"I have ways."
Soon, Luigi returned with the correct flowers. Purple Toad began his work.

"Ahem...oh flower of power: pleaseturnintoapowerflowerorelseweareallcompletely screwedandalsohelpusbeabletobecomesmasherseventhou ghthatreallyisn'tyourprobelmbutanywayspleasebeoneo fthoseinvicibleonesandnotametaloneandohyeahandwe'l ltellyouwhentostopokaygoodthanksokaybuhbye!"
Everyone looked at him.
"Seriously?"

Purple Toad touched it and became invisible.

"Yeah, seriously!"

He let the other Toads become invisible, and it was off to the meeting room. There were only two others there: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Luigi quietly took a seat next to the big ape. The Toads stood next to the walls, unnoticed.

A Goomba with big glasses stood up front, preparing the meeting.

"OK, Smashers, welcome aboard! In a few days, you will be competing in the Smash games. Any questions? About anything at all?"
Luigi raised his hand.

"Uh...why aren't any Toads involved?"

The Goomba stared at him.

"You know...just wondering..."

"Are you kidding me? Toads? TOADS?! They're the weakest of the weak! Smallest of the small! If they were to compete in these games, then they would cease to exist!" yelled the Goomba. "If anything, a Propeller Mushroom would have a better chance of surviving. At least it knows when to fly away! I'D have a better chance of being in the games! The only thing they're good for is a shield!"
The Toads were hurt, to say the least.

"I really wanna stomp on him..." whispered Yellow Toad.

"Shhh!" said Blue Toad.

"They're not that weak," Luigi replied. "In fact, I think they're stronger than Bowser!"

"Luigi, I thought Mario was the one with the Mushrooms, not you!" laughed the Goomba. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong burst into monkey laughter. Whatever that sounds like.

The rest of the meeting stated the various arenas, recommended fighting techniques, and a bunch of stuff the Toads didn't really need to care about.

"That was awful!" said Toad.

"To think we're that powerless is insulting! How dare he say that!" fumed Green Toad.

"Guys, don't make too much commotion," sighed Luigi. "I know that Goomba was pretty rude, but we don't wanna risk getting caught."

"If anyone does find us, we can show him what we are," mumbled Yellow Toad.

"Just try to let it go, everyone," said Purple Toad.

"Not like there's anything else we can do," added Blue.

Everyone trudged back to their cabins (Luigi snuck some food for the Toads) and went to sleep. Each room had a sofa, so one Toad slept on the bed while the other slept there. Luigi slept on the bed, while Toad took the couch.

"Luigi?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Do we really have a chance of being Smashers?"

"Well, I saw Green, Purple, and you at the gym, and what you three were doing really surprised me. To be honest, you guys not being considered is crazy. I think the problem is that everyone looks at who you are from the outside."
"I didn't ask for a pep talk, Luigi," said Toad.

"Anyways, point is, I think you guys have a lot of potential and a decent chance. That is, if anyone is willing to look past the 'cute mushroom' aspect," Luigi replied.