If you can't imagine what the combat would be like, think of it in a Hyrule Warriors style of fighting (Don't own it!), with the endless amounts of enemies. And if I owned Mario, I wouldn't be on this site and we'd have a Mario/Dynasty Warriors xover game!
The group stared down at their enemies. Mario was the first to recover from the shock. "Alright," he began, the other four turned to him. "Without any arguments, Luigi and I will distract the enemy, while Serena, Toad and Toadette make their way through, avoiding combat as much as possible and get into Daisy's Castle." They all nodded, confirming their roles. "That way, you three won't be tired and you can assist Daisy in any way possible, assuming she's safe."
"And assuming we won't have to deal with some kind of general?" Toad asked nervously.
"Hopefully not." Mario said. "But it's a possibility, since there are so many minions here, someone has to be behind the reins and hopefully easy to beat."
Toad, Serena and Toadette nodded.
"Alright, everybody ready?" Mario asked
"Yeah!" Toad and Toadette said together.
"Let's do this!" Encouraged Luigi.
Serena was unsure, she had some idea on how to fight, with all the Mario games she's played, but she never thought she'd be in a conflict like this! They only had one 1-up mushroom for each of them, only to be used in an emergency. It was clear the Bros. were expecting a messy battle. "Um…yeah! I think so…" Serena said nervously.
Mario chuckled and patted Serena's head. "You'll be fine. Toad and Toadette can manage pretty well themselves. I'd say they're hero material." He said with a grim smile.
Toad and Toadette looked at the ground, hoping to avoid the awkwardness of past events. Luigi looked back down the hill and then back to the others before smiling. "Here we go!" he shouted, trying to mimic Mario while charging into battle.
Mario chuckled "Usually he's the timid one, I bet it's because Daisy's here." Mario gave the three a wink before running after his brother.
Toad, Toadette and Serena all shared looks. Mario was better now, but they couldn't stop themselves from remembering what he had done to them while under Kamek's spell. They couldn't blame him, but because of what 'Mario' had said to the siblings, the two were beginning to doubt themselves, Serena could tell. "Aright guys, let's save Daisy and be the heroes!" She said, in an effort to spur them into action.
Toad and Toadette looked at each other, before turning to Serena with a cheer and running down the hill with her to begin their trek towards Daisy's Castle.
Mario didn't like the way Toad and Toadette had reacted to his last words before heading off. The two had looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact. Mario could tell something was bothering them. It couldn't be that they were beginning to doubt themselves because of what Kamek made him say to them? He hoped not, Mario considered both Toad and Toadette as wonderful allies during his adventures. He would call them heroes any day.
Mario shook his head out of his thoughts. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand. A small hammer from a Hammer Bro sailed past his head, Mario wondered if they ever ran out of hammers, and he hoped he never got hit in the head by one.
A goomba ran up to him, in the hopes to catch him off guard. Mario kicked it and the goomba fell on its head and spun around like a top, hitting other goombas around it in the process, then Mario jumped on all of them in succession, defeating them all just like that. Mario turned around to see Luigi take care of the Hammer Bro that tried to attack the red plumber earlier.
Luigi spies a lone item block in the air, not far from him. So he makes his way over to it, jumping on a koopa troopa and kicking its shell into a hoard of enemies. When he reaches it, Luigi jumps and hits the block with his fist, and out comes an invincibility star. Wasting no time, Luigi grabs it, knowing he has little time to spare and runs into as many enemies as he can.
"Okay! Almost there now!" Toadette yelled. Her robot making quick work of the enemies around them.
Serena wondered when on earth Toadette made the robot beside her. It was like a mini mechanical Mario, and the enemy were just as scared of it as they are of the real one. Which helped a bit. Serena was too terrified to fight, she wondered if she could die in this world. If she did, did she have lives? Or was her Game Over in both worlds—this one and her home? Serena tried to not think about it, but she couldn't bring herself to fight Bowser's minions. What happened to them when they were stomped on? Did Bowser bring his minions back, or are they just constantly being created? Serena didn't want to know.
"Don't think about getting hurt!" Toad yelled at Serena, stomping on a goomba as he did so, "Just fight!"
Serena knew Toad was right…she had to! For the sake of this world! A goomba ran past Toad, Toadette and the robot, and was coming straight for her. Serena took a deep breath and shut her eyes, she jumped as the goomba reached her, landing on it in the process.
"Yes! Just like that!" Toadette urged, "Just keep the eye shutting and deep inhaling to a minimum, okay?"
Serena nodded and she continued. Occasionally, she couldn't help but apologise to the enemy as she ended their Game.
"Whose side are you on?" Toadette asked, growing annoyed of Serena's constant apologies to the enemy. She weaved under the hammer of a hammer bro before jumping on it.
"Th-This one!" Serena replied, trying hard to not think of Bowser's options.
"Then be more certain about it!" Toadette yelled. Bowser's minions finally broke the Mario bot, and the three made it to the main entrance of the castle. "We made it!" Toadette said, now calm and casual, as if their conversation never happened.
"Do we just head in?" Toad asked, staring at the doors of the castle.
Toadette pushed on the doors with force, Serena and Toad turned to face the enemies trying to barricade them at the door. The doors gave way and Toadette fell forwards with a face plant. "I think it's open guys…" Toadette mumbled.
Serena giggled as she and Toad ran inside, hauling Toadette with them along the way. Then the two shut the doors tight and locked them, leaving the Goombas and the other enemies to try and get their way in.
Serena, Toad and Toadette sighed with relief. The main entrance was empty, but the large circular room had an upstairs and a downstairs, the floor, walls and ceiling being nice orange/yellow colours to go with the desert atmosphere outside. It would almost be peaceful, if it weren't for the enemy on the other side of the door.
"I thought I was done with yellow…" Toad mumbled
"What now?" Serena asked Toadette, ignoring Toad's remark.
"Hmm…definitely upstairs, but let us take a breather. Let's each use one of our regular mushrooms." Toadette replied. And they each pulled a mushroom from their packs, eating one.
Serena felt like a rush of energy was coming back to her, almost as if she had had a cup of coffee.
After a few minutes, the trio began their trek up the stairs, Toadette first, then Toad and then Serena at the rear, towards Daisy's throne room.
As they were climbing, Serena looked out one of the many windows of Daisy's Castle, only to see Mario throw a giant wrecking ball with a terrified Luigi holding onto it. The ball crashes into a large amount of minions, instantly destroying them all. Luigi and Mario high-five soon after, both shouting "Oh yeah!" before continuing to battle on their own. Serena laughed upon witnessing one of their many Bros. Attacks before Toad grabs her hand and continues running towards Daisy's throne room. Serena began to focus on her task, they needed to see if Daisy was okay. But staring out that window was definitely worth it.
When Toad and Serena reached the top, Toadette was waiting for them. "What took you two so long?" She asked with minor annoyance.
"Watching one of their Bros. Attacks." Toad said simply. Toadette smirked.
"Those Bros. Attacks are amazing, don't you think?" She asked, very enthused.
"Oh yes!" Serena said in awe. "They're so amazing in this world!"
"In this world? Have you seen them before?" Toadette asked, any enthusiasm gone was replaced with suspicion.
"Uh—No! Not at all, let's get going, shall we?" Serena asked, laughing uneasily. She headed toward the doors of the throne room and pushed them open, stepping in with a loud "Princess? You in here?"
The siblings looked at each other with similar looks of uncertainty towards the otherworldly Toadette ahead of them. They shrug before following her into the room.
Tables and chairs acted as barricades in various parts of the room. When Serena walked in and called out, Toads wielding spears and swords stepped out, relaxing when they spot Toad and Toadette.
"Help has arrived!" One of them shouted.
Another ran out onto the balcony and gasped, running back inside with a huge grin. "Mario and the Green One! They're here too!"
"Never fear!" Toadette said with a smug grin. "You'll all be okay now, your rescue team is here!" several of the toads cheered. "Now, where's Princess Daisy?"
Toad and Serena face palmed. "At least she got to the point…" Serena mumbled.
"I'm right here! Now let's kick some butt!" Daisy jumped out from behind one of the tables, not at all worried about dirtying her regular yellow dress. Her tanned coloured hair was frazzled, and not in its usual state. The Flower Princess looked weary in general. Whether she was eager to get out of the castle and fight or be rescued, wasn't entirely clear with Serena. But she guessed the former.
"But Princess!" A toad with a spear shouted, "It's too dangerous, we can't allow you to go on the front lines!"
"He's right." Toad said, Daisy pouted, "We can't allow you to take reckless measures! What if you get hurt?"
Daisy sighed. "Fine" she relented. "But only because Mario and Luigi are here."
The trio and the other toads sighed with relief. Serena ran out onto the balcony overlooking the desert battlefield. Mario and Luigi seemed to have done a number on the enemy, with only very few goombas remaining. Serena watched as they retreated, and she smiled at their victory.
The others joined Serena at the balcony and cheered. They spotted the Bros sitting back to back in the desert sand, breathing heavily.
"They did it!" Daisy's toads cheered "We're saved"
Mario and Luigi look up to see their friends with Daisy. The brothers give them a thumbs up before restoring their fatigue with a mushroom.
Daisy turned to her toads, "Alright, I want you to begin finding the evacuated toads and start returning this castle to its former glory. Okay?"
They all nodded with a resounding "Yes Ma'am!" before running off to do their assigned tasks.
"Hmm…" Toadette started, lost in thought. "Wasn't there supposed to be a general of sorts?"
"Right here!" shouted a voice. Everyone looked around, Mario and Luigi jumped up with fists at the ready, looking for the source of the voice.
A large Koopa in a flying clown car flies toward the balcony. The Koopa looks at the group on the balcony, completely ignoring the brothers on the ground. He gives a smile showing off his teeth, including the one beaver-like tooth at the front. His signature tufts of blue hair moving with the wind. His green head and yellow body giving away the tell-tale sign of a koopa.
Toad and Toadette moved to stand in front of Daisy, their arms spread out in a protective manner. The young koopa laughed at their action. "Really? This is all I'm up against? What a laugh! Hahaha!" he sneered. He looked to Serena with a smirk. "So, this is the one Lord Bowser was talking about…"
Serena stepped forward, approaching the railing of the balcony. "What do want with me, Ludwig Von Koopa?" Serena asked, glaring at the koopa before her.
Mario didn't like the way the scene was unfolding. He hadn't expected Ludwig to turn up, and Luigi wouldn't let him scale the Castle to get to the others. All he could do was stand there and wait. He didn't like it one bit, especially since he was getting ignored.
Ludwig eyed Serena, impressed that she recognised him. "Hmph, Kamek told me you were smart, but I didn't know you knew my name." he said with grudging respect.
"Well…I just know my stuff." Serena said simply, crossing her arms.
Ludwig moved closer to Serena, and spoke lowly so no-one else could hear him over the clown car. "Made your choice yet? Your buddies haven't had a taste of our true power yet! They'll be imprisoned in no time." He sneered.
Serena shook her head. "I can't join you! And I won't!" she persisted.
"Can't huh? Are you too goody-goody with them now to betray them?"
"I won't betray them! No matter what, I'm on the good side!"
"Really now? You've still got a few days, Shorty!" Ludwig mocked.
"Don't call me 'Shorty'!" Serena yelled. The others were taken aback by Serena's sudden outburst, Ludwig, however, smirked at her response.
"Sore spot, huh?" joked Ludwig. "You're so short, I can hardly see you!"
Serena glared at Ludwig, refusing to retaliate. "You're one to talk, 'Your Uselessness.'" Serena said, giving one of Bowser's many comical titles to the young koopa.
Ludwig fumed, refusing to give in. He relented and flew towards Daisy. Toad and Toadette tried to protect her, but Ludwig flew right by and snatched Daisy's crown right off her head.
The group on the balcony gasped. Luigi ran into the Castle, trying to get to the top as quick as possible. "I'll be needing this." Ludwig said. He began to fly off, looking at Serena. "Farewell, Shorty!" he sneered.
"That's it!" Serena yelled, running after Ludwig. Toad and Toadette called out to her, Daisy watching the scene with shock. Serena ignored the calls and jumped onto the balcony railing, and then jumped towards the Clown Car. She gripped onto the edge and climbed in, much to Ludwig's surprise, and she punched him in the nose. Ludwig and Serena yelled out in pain, Ludwig holding his nose and Serena holding her injured hand in the other one.
Before anyone could do anything, Toad rushed forward, jumping off the balcony railing. Only for Toad to just fall short. Toadette cried out, Luigi had just reached the top and gasped at the scene. Mario was underneath the Clown Car, ready to catch Toad. That was when Serena leaned over the side and caught one of Toad's hands, his feet narrowly missing the rotating propeller keeping the Clown Car in the air.
"H-Hold on Toad!" Serena gasped.
"I-I'm trying!" He cried out.
Ludwig laughed and pushed a button in the vehicle, and out from both sides sprouted a giant fist shaped into a boxing glove attached to extendable bars that connect it to the flying vehicle. Toad was wrenched from Serena's grasp as one of the fists came out from the side he was holding onto, and was forced to hang onto the glove for dear life as it sprung out.
"Toad!" Serena and Toadette cried out, their eyes wide with horror. Luigi and Daisy watched the scene unfold with equal amount of shock, knowing she's unable to do anything, Daisy watches as Luigi holds onto Toadette to stop her from doing something drastic. Mario stayed with the vehicle on foot, waiting to catch his friend.
Serena lunged for Ludwig who moved out of the way, making Serena hit a button, which retracted the fists and caused Toad to let go, beginning his plummet to the waiting arms of Mario.
Mario caught Toad without a problem. After checking for injuries, and seeing that Toad is fine, he set his friend down and the two begin to run after the moving Clown Car, with Serena and Ludwig still fighting, the two evading each other's punches. Serena managed to snatch Daisy's crown off of the koopa, and before she could cheer for her small victory, Ludwig pushed her against the side of the vehicle, with Serena's hat falling off her head and towards the ground. The force of the push making it wobble slightly. Serena kept a firm grip on the crown as she held it out of Ludwig's reach. "Give it back!" Ludwig demanded, "Lord Bowser needs that to help him conquer the universe!"
"Like hell he does!" Serena shouted.
"It's true!" Ludwig yelled. "He needs particular items across the worlds in this universe to become the ultimate ruler! You could help him achieve that goal!"
"Why did you just tell me your evil plan?" Serena asked
"Because—I don't know! Just hurry up and side with the winners!"
"No!" Serena let go of the crown, it too tumbled to the ground, as far as Serena knew, Toad was safe. She thought she saw Mario catch him. But she wasn't sure.
Ludwig gave a furious shout and swiped at Serena's head with one his clawed hands as hard as he could, cutting into her forehead. Serena screamed in pain upon contact as blood began to gush down her head. Ludwig chuckling wickedly before punching Serena and pushing her over the side of the vehicle.
Toadette, Luigi and Daisy watched in horror as Serena tumbled from the clown car, unconscious. Ludwig laughed as he sped off in his flying vehicle, forgetting about his failed mission. Toad stopped in his tracks, holding Serena's hat and Daisy's crown, as he too, watched her fall. Too terrified to move. Mario sped up, knowing he had to catch Serena before she hit the ground. Everything seemed to slow down for Mario as he neared Serena and as she neared the ground. Mario jumped, catching Serena, only for him to tumble to the ground and for Serena to roll a metre away from the red hero.
"Toad!" Mario shouted. "Give Serena a 1-up! Hurry!"
Toad was shaken out of his stupor, and ran towards Serena. Mario grunted and stood up, clutching his left arm as Toad ran past. Luigi, Toadette and Daisy had ran out of the castle as fast as possible while Serena was falling, now trying to get to the others as they ran through the sand. There were so many questions that they needed to ask based on what had transpired.
Toad skidded to a halt beside Serena, dropping her hat and Daisy's crown. He looked at her and almost threw up, Toad knew head wounds tended to bleed a lot, but Serena's face was almost covered by her own blood. With haste, he opened his bag and pulled out his only 1-up mushroom. Knowing what he had to do, Toad put the mushroom to where Serena's heart is, and her body absorbed it. The bleeding stopped abruptly and the claw marks were only visible scars. Serena sighed in content, now in a peaceful sleep instead of her unconscious state. Toad sighed with relief and sat down on the sand as everyone else caught up. Mario's injured arm in a sling that Toadette had procured from her bag.
"Will she be alright?" Mario asked, genuinely concerned. Toad nodded and Mario sighed with relief.
"What happened up there?" Toadette asked.
"They fought and argued, that's all I saw." Mario replied.
"When I see that Ludwig again I'll give him what he deserves!" Luigi vowed.
"Oh please," Daisy said, giggling at Luigi's comment. "She's much braver than you'll ever be!" She said playfully. Luigi blushed and Daisy laughed.
"Oh right!" Toad said suddenly, everyone looking down at him. He picked up Daisy's crown and approached her, getting on one knee and presenting it to her. "Here you go Princess! Serena got it back for you!"
Daisy smiled at Toad and gratefully took it from him, placing it back on its rightful place, her head. "Thank you Toad." Then she looked at the sleeping Serena. "Serena huh? Interesting name for a Toadette."
"She's not exactly a Toadette…per say." Toadette said, and began to fill in the details for Daisy, telling her about Serena's arrival and such.
"Oh." Daisy said, suddenly turning to the Bros, "So you guys were late because Mario had a mind control problem?" she asked in annoyance.
Mario rubbed the back of his head bashfully, avoiding eye contact with Daisy. "Uh...yeah…pretty much…"
"At least we got here…?" Luigi reasoned shyly.
"That's not good enough!" Daisy yelled, Mario and Luigi backed away.
Toad and Toadette looked at each other and sighed with a smile, listening to Daisy abuse the Bros verbally. Then Daisy apologised, which they hastily accepted and Daisy gave Luigi a big hug, thanked him and called him "Brave" to which Luigi was furiously blushing from, Mario was laughing at Luigi's reaction. All the while, Toadette was trying to give Peach a report.
"So, that's what happened." Toadette finished, Peach clasped her hands together against her chest.
"Oh my, is everyone okay?" Peach asked.
Toadette nodded and held up the Comm. D. and Peach could see Daisy, Mario and Luigi laughing and joking around.
"Mario!" Peach called out. The three stopped laughing and noticed Peach as a hologram. The Bros walked up, Mario taking the device from Toadette as Daisy stared in awe.
"Princess." Mario greeted, Luigi waved.
"Hey Peachie!" Daisy said, "Everything is all good! Your little Serena is sleeping peacefully." Serena began to thrash in her sleep, indicating she was having a nightmare. "Well…she was, it seems she's having a bad dream."
"Oh my." Peach said.
"We'll return with Serena soon." Mario assured her. "We're not fighting Bowser's forces till Serena's able to fight."
"That might be an issue." Peach said slowly.
"What?" Toad asked, "Why?"
"Now that Sarasaland is safe for the time being, you five need to get to Yoshi's Island as soon as possible to assess the damage." Peach stated.
Mario cursed silently. How could he forget?
"We'll have to take her with us. We're lucky she doesn't need medical attention. The 1-up did it for us" Luigi said.
"Not necessarily" Daisy said. "I'll take her to get bandages to protect her head, disinfect the wound and I'll put stuff in her bag to fight of headaches and fevers in case she gets worse."
"Thank you Daisy." Peach said.
Daisy shrugged. "It's the least I can do. Bye!" She went over to Serena and picked her up gently before heading back to her castle, taking Serena's hat with her.
"Alright Princess. We'll catch up to Daisy and we'll let you know when we get to Yoshi's Island." Toadette said.
Peach nodded. "Alright, farewell, and be safe!" the Comm. D. turned off.
"Alright. Let's head back and eat. We should restock our rations and supplies at Toad Town, since we have to go back that way, only as soon as Serena can walk." Toadette advised.
Everyone agreed and they headed back to Daisy's castle, thinking of the state of Yoshi's Island and wondering how their dino friends were.
PREVIEW:
"Just how did you know about Ludwig?" Toadette badgered Serena, "He isn't from your world! And how did you know Peach and I when you first met us?"
Luigi, Toad and Mario gasped at this revelation. Serena knew who they were? Just who is she?
Serena strained, holding her head in pain. She did not like where this conversation was going at all. "I can't tell you. It's way too complicated to explain" she moaned, obviously in pain.
"Nothing is too complicated for me!" Toadette retorted.
"Toadette!" Daisy scolded, "You're making Serena stress, leave her be, I'm sure she has her reasons!"
"Come on, Sis! Leave her be!" Toad said, taking Daisy's side.
"Now that you think about it…that quiet conversation Serena and Ludwig had was very suspicious." Mario thought aloud.
Now Serena was scared, what would happen if they found out that Bowser wants her to betray them?
Tension runs high in the next Chapter, I'll update as soon as I can, no guarantees though. Please Review!
Magyk-Foal 1 out!
