Hi faithful readers! Sorry it took forever to get this chapter up, I've been fairly busy over the last few days. Anyways, in today's chapter we will see what happens to Mario and we will also meet Mario's first partner. Please enjoy and remember to read and review!


After falling for just a few seconds, Mario landed in front of what used to be the veranda. Piles of wood were strewn around everywhere by the side of the cliff where both Mario and the veranda landed. After lying around in pain for a few seconds, Mario stood up. Luckily for Mario, there was a path right next to where he landed, so as logic dictates, he began to follow the path. He had just started down the path when he saw Goompa walking toward him.

"Oh…my back. Oh, it's you Mario!" exclaimed Goompa. He began to tell the tale of why he was here. "I remember a great crashing noise and then the veranda collapsed and I fell. Did you fall too?"

Mario nodded and replied, "Yes, I stepped out the door right into thin air."

"Just stepped out the door into thin air, did you?" asked Goompa. "Well, we're both OK. Problem is, we can't get home because of that block that's in the way." Goompa motioned for Mario to follow him to the giant yellow block in the middle of the path, the same kind that Kammy Koopa used the block Mario's path back at the Goomba house.

"This block shouldn't be here," stated Goompa in an obvious fashion. "Well, this will be a problem."

"But what about your hammer?" Mario questioned.

"A hammer? Oh, of course!" Goompa exclaimed. "Now where did it go? I was using it to fix the veranda, so it must be around here somewhere. It must have fallen somewhere over there in those bushes." Goompa motioned for Mario to follow him to the clump of bushes.

When the duo reached the clump of bushes, Goompa explained to Mario that the hammer was wooden and was in one of those bushes. Mario nodded and began to search random bushes. After about 20 minutes of bush searching, he finally found the hammer inside a bush that was way off to the side.

"Perfect!" Goompa exclaimed in a joyous fashion. "You'll be able to break yellow blocks and attack enemies with that hammer. We should be able to break that block in our path! Also, if you hit trees with the hammer, sometimes stuff might fall out."

Mario just nodded after taking in all of that information. He decided to test out the hammer by hitting a nearby tree. By the grace of the stars, when he hit it, a little doll that was shaped like Princess Peach fell out.

"Oh, that's the doll that Goombaria lost! I bet that if you give it back to her, she'd be overjoyed!" stated Goompa. Goompa motioned for Mario to follow him back to the block. Everything was just fine until a whiny voice shouted, "Hey! Who are you guys? This is my playground, idiots!" After that temper tantrum, he proceeded to shove Goompa out of the way and began to walk towards Mario.

It turned out the whiny voice belonged to a baby Koopa that was still in its eggshell. He continued to whine, "Nobody sets foot in here without my permission! Nobody! Prepare to start crying at the feet of Master Jr. Troopa!" Jr. Troopa yelled.

Meanwhile, Mario had a very hard time taking him seriously, to the point where he had to stifle massive amounts of laughter. This only infuriated Jr. Troopa even more. "You think this is funny fat man! I was gonna be kinda nice, but forget it! You've made me mad now!" Jr. Troopa then proceeded to charge at Mario, initiating the battle.

"Mario, this is Jr. Troopa," stated Goompa. "He's the boss of the neighborhood gang, the Troopa Gang. A bit of a bully, obviously. He's more bark than bite. You can beat him easily. Just boost yourself and don't take any lip. I'll be cheering from the sidelines because of my bad back. Otherwise, I'd teach this punk a lesson!"

After Goompa's uncharacteristic outburst, Mario set to work. He decided to try out Goompa's hammer on Jr. Troopa, so he brought it down a Jr. Troopa for a hit right on the head. It was fairly painful to say the least.

"Ow… where'd you learn to fight like that," moaned Jr. Troopa. He fought through the aching pain in his head and went in to jump on Mario. However, right before he landed in Mario, Mario swung his hammer at Jr. Troopa and hit him in midair, knocking him back slightly. Jr. Troopa got right back up. Seconds later, Mario leaped straight into the air and landed square on Jr. Troopa.

"Mario, you've almost got him! Keep it up!" Goompa encouraged.

Jr. Troopa was on the ropes and he knew it. The only way he would stand a chance was with his special attack. Jr. Troopa ran at full speed ramming into Mario. Mario didn't want to admit it, but that attack hurt a little bit.

"Yeah, how do you like the taste of my special attack, full power!" Jr. Troopa said in a mocking tone. Mario was sick of playing around. He smashed his hammer down and Jr. Troopa one last time. Jr. Troopa had enough.

"Shoot! I was winning too!" Jr. Troopa whined. "I'll be back Mario! I mean it!" Jr. Troopa stormed off down the path, angry at his loss.

"Anyways, we should probably go and break that block," said Goompa. Mario agreed and smashed the giant yellow block into pieces with his new hammer. However, before they set off, Mario picked up an unused Fire Flower off the side of the path. The duo then proceeded to follow the path through the wooded area without trouble until they saw some rather mean-looking Goombas.

"Heads up Mario! I see bad Goombas ahead! They're loyal to Bowser, so if they see you, they'll attack without hesitation," warned Goompa. Mario nodded and bonked the first Goomba he saw with the hammer. The Goomba moaned something about Mario being a "cheap shot" before he fainted. As Mario and Goompa continued to follow the path, they also came upon flying Goombas known as Paragoombas. Mario jumped on each Paragoomba successfully and they each fainted as well. Just before the duo reached the gate back to the house, however, they came across a Goomba with a spike on its head.

"This is a Spiked Goomba. Don't jump on the spike, or you'll get hurt," stated Goompa. Mario just groaned at how obvious that statement was and just hit the Goomba with his hammer, defeating it. As the Spiked Goomba fainted, it muttered something about how Bowser said the spike would "protect him from everything." Mario just couldn't believe how stupid the Goombas/Bowser was for believing it.

Eventually, Mario and Goompa reached the house again. After Goompa unlocked the gate, Mario and Goompa were reunited with Goombario and Goombaria.

"Never worry kids, here I am. Thanks to young Mario here, I made it back alright," said Goompa to Goombario and Goombaria.

Both of the Goomba kids were obviously relieved to hear that. "Goompa, I was very, very worried about you!" exclaimed Goombaria. "Really worried!"

"Sorry kids, I didn't mean to make you fret. You just take it easy now, I'm back safe and sound," said Goompa. He then turned his attention to Mario. "Now, before I forget, I've decided to give you something Mario. Wait here for a moment." Goompa then proceeded to go inside of the house.

"Hey, that looks like the doll that Goombaria lost!" Goombario noticed, looking at the doll that Mario had found in the woods behind the Goomba family's home. "Goombaria's been looking all over for that doll. Would you give it back to her?"

Mario nodded and handed the doll to Goombaria, who was overjoyed. "It's my dolly! Dolly, dolly! You're back! Thank you so much!" Goombaria exclaimed. "I'm so happy. My sweet dolly, don't you ever get lost again!" Goombaria then checked her pockets and pulled out a shiny, diamond shaped object. "Here's a present from me! Look at the pretty glitter!" Goombaria said before giving the shiny object to Mario. When Mario was done admiring it, Goombaria also gave Mario a little peck on the cheek. Mario blushed from embarrassment after that.

"You always seem to beat up your enemies," noticed Goombario. "Do you work out?"

Before Mario could answer, Goombario continued speaking. "I study self-defense by reading books by the masters and listening to Dad and Goompa. I also exercise everyday so I can be strong like you! It's starting to show, too! I'm getting big muscles!"

"Yeah, Goombario's head is as heard as a rock now!" Goombaria said in an almost fangirl-like tone. "When he does his headbonk move it really, really hurts!"

"Oh be quiet Goombaria! You're embarrassing me. Of course, it is true…"

However, before Goombaria could come up with a comeback, Goompa was back. "Sorry to have kept you waiting Mario," Goompa apologized.

"It's okay Goompa," said Goombario. "We're just rapping with Mario."

"Rapping, huh? Sorry. I wanted to give you this, Mario." Goompa then handed Mario a green, boot shaped pin.

"This is called a badge," explained Goompa. "If you wear this, you'll be able to do a Power Jump, which will increase the power of your jump attack. However, you can only wear a limited number of badges. You'll know when you've reached the limit because you won't be able to pin the badge on yourself. I imagine that as you rescue the Star Spirits, you'll be able to wear more badges."

"Alright, but how do I do a Power Jump?" Mario asked.

"Oh, that's easy. Just focus and jump with as hard as you can. This will drain some energy from you, so try and use it sparingly, OK?"

"Got it."

"Adventure… you're so lucky!" Goombario said in a slightly jealous tone. "Princess-rescuing is so cool. I really want to be an adventurer one day."

"Me too!" Goombaria chimed in.

"Oh, here's an idea!" Goompa blurted out. "Goombario, perhaps the timing is perfect. You are no longer a child, and evil times are upon us. I'm sure Mario will agree… you should accompany him on his journey."

At that point, Goombario looked like he was about ready to jump for joy. He then burst out, "What! Really! May I go Goompa! May I really go! Mario, you won't regret this!"

"I'm sure I won't." replied the plumber. "What can you do?"

"Well, not to brag, but I have a really nasty headbonk! Plus, I can tell you about pretty much everything you need to know about a place, person, or enemy!"

"Mario," Goompa began. "I'm sure Goombario will prove to be a worthy companion. Now if you'll excuse me it's time for my nap. I know it's only 4 P.M, but good-byes make this old Goomba get weepy." Goompa then walked back into the house.

"Alright, so should we head out?" Mario asked.

"Wait a second," replied Goombario. "You look tired. Maybe we should rest in the Toad House before we leave."

"Good idea. Once we've rested, we can leave."

"Just wait a second young man!" boomed a female voice. A Goomba that looked like she was in her mid-40's walked up to Goombario. "Goombario…" she began. "Make sure you wear your sweater when it's cold outside! And remember to eat breakfast everyday! And…"

About 45 minutes later, Goombario's mother finally stopped nagging Goombario. All he could really say to all of that was, "Yes mom…" Now that the nagging was finally over, the duo of Mario and Goombario headed over to the Toad House to rest.

The next day, Mario and Goombario woke up at around 8 A.M. After a quick breakfast, they smashed the bloc k that was blocking the gate and set off on a new adventure down Goomba Road…


So that's it for today! Next time we will see what happens on Goomba Road. Please remember to review, because those of you that do will get a free cookie!

PS - Sorry that the ending was kind of lame. Oh well, I guess it didn't turn out too bad.