And we're back! This was the last chapter I wrote on my own before I finally accepted TrueSapphires offer to help me. It was actually pretty go in the terms of what I could do then, minus a problem with semicolons being in places where they shouldn't.

Also, I've changed the name of Mushroom Kingdom to Toad Town to be more accurate to the later games.

Chapter 4: A Stroll Through Mushroom Way

After the castle continued to shake violently, Mario and the three Eds found themselves tumbling through the air. The only sound there had been was the sound of the wind roaring past their airs and the occasional screams, some filled with excitement and some with terror.

Ed grinned and flapped his arms, no longer focusing on the distance between himself and the ground. "I'm a chicken, guys!" he said with the utmost glee.

Eddy rolled his eyes at Ed antics. "Oh, so now he ignores the height," he muttered bitterly.

Mario looked down at the land beneath them, a certain location catching his attention as they started falling toward it. He looked back toward the Eds. "Brace yourselves, guys. Looks like we're in for a rough landing!" he said.

Eddy had a panicked expression. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

Mario said nothing as small wooden house with what appeared to be a large green pipe on top of it became closer and closer. Soon enough, the group of four found themselves falling into the pipe and landing in the actual house with an audible crash.

Everyone landed in slightly different locations. Double D was the luckiest of them all and managed to land on a bed, right next to where Mario landed. He landed next to a spare set of his current outfit, the back of his shirt having been caught on a hook. Ed landed on the floor, and Eddy found himself rotating with the ceiling fan after his shirt was caught on it.

Moments later, a creature with a white and red mushroom like cap on its head ran into the room and scooted to a stop. It opened its mouth to say something, though it paused at the sight of the Eds. It turned back to Mario with a shrug, then said, "Hey, Mario! Lots of people use something called a DOOR to go in and out of their houses." It spoke with a large amount of sarcasm. "Anyways, I came by to pick up Toadstool, since she's a bit late." The creature then walked back out of the house and closed the door behind it. Mario jumped high over Double D and landed on the floor and shook his head.

Eddy glared at it as it walked out and folded his arms. "I'd love to see him in my position right now," he said, grumbling.

Now noticing Eddy hanging, Mario smiled up at him. "So, how's it hanging, Eddy?" he asked jokingly.

Eddy glared at him. "First of all, that was lame! Second, get me down from here!" Ed reached up and pulled Eddy down from the fan with a grin on his face. Ed patted the shortest Ed on his head, much to Eddy's displeasure.

Double D couldn't help but chuckle at his friends antics as he dusted himself off, being extra sure to get every last bit of dust off of him. He then turned to Mario with a curious look on his face, "Who was that just now? The creature that talked to you?" he asked.

"That was Toad, a good friend of mine from Mushroom Castle," Mario answered. "People like him are very common in the Mushroom Kingdom."

Double D nodded. "Ah, I see! How fascinating!"

"I'll do my best to explain things about this world to you guys. I know quite a bit about it, but even I am still learning new things about it." Mario led the three Eds out of his house and into the small area that surrounded them. The area was surrounded by tall plants with one exit off to their left. Mario took a few steps down to the ground level and walked over to Toad, who was pacing around.

Toad looked up at him and stopped to face him. "Hey, I thought the princess was here with you, Mario! Where is she?" Toad asked right off the bat. Mario said nothing as he folded his arms and looked down at the ground nervously. Toad took a few steps back from him. "Mario, what's with the silent treatment?" He then sighed in a sudden realization. "It's Bowser again, isn't it? Oh no, here we go again! Mario, would you please bring her back, like you always do?"

"Uh, right. I'll get on that," Mario replied before looking over at the Eds, "C'mon, guys, we're going back."

"By the way, Mario, who are your friends here?"

Mario pointed at them respectively. "Oh, this is Ed, Eddy, and Double D."

"Okay, nice to meet you three!" Toad waved at the Eds.

"Alright, guys, lets go get the princess back!" Mario began leading the group out of the area.

"I'll wait here until you guys get back!"

Mario acknowledged the statement with a nod as he and the Eds walked off.

It took a short amount of time to get back to Vista Hill, the jagged, rocky hill right outside of Bowser's Keep. The only ones who spoke much were Double D, who asked questions about the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario, who answered those questions. The rest of the way was filled with only the sound of the footsteps of the group. The stopped right in front of the bridge and remained that way for several moments in silence.

Eventually, Double D decided to break the silence. "Do you really believe that the princess is still inside, Mario?" he asked. "After all, the four of us were all sent out of the castle after that incredible quake struck."

Mario gave him an unsure glace, "Honestly, I don't really know," he replied, but then shook his head. "But this is the only lead we have. It's at least worth a try." With that, Mario stepped onto the stone bridge and began walking forward. The three Eds all followed, though Ed stopped and stared upwards when they were about halfway across the bridge.

"What's up with you?" Eddy asked. Ed simply pointed up towards the top of the castle. The others looked up and gasped at what they saw. A large sword with a face had lodged itself into the keep and was staring down at them menacingly.

"Halt!" the sword said to them. "Who goes there?! Trespassers!"

"T-trespassers!?" Double D stammered, completely flabergasted at how a sword was talking to them.

"This castle now belongs to us, the 'Smithy Gang'. It's our first step towards taking over this world!" Its voice rang out and echoed all around them, making the Eds shutter at its sound. "And if it weren't for nosey characters like you four, we'd practically own this world! So let's see you deal with this!" The sword's eyes suddenly narrowed as it began rapidly moving its jaw up and down. The ground around them began shaking harshly. The stones on the bridge began crumbling in front of them, alarming all of them. They took off running for the other side back to Vista Hill as fast as their legs could carry them.

Eddy screeched. "Run for it!" he said as he ran ahead of everyone.

Double D shouted as well. "Abort! ABORT!" he said.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! SPARE THEM FROM EVIL TIM!" Ed said as he grabbed a lagging behind Double D and carried him over his head. Mario shouted nothing as he scooted to a stop just before the bridge fell beneath him. The sword in the castle gave them an evil smirk as its jaw stopped moving.

"I wonder if we could..." Mario said as he crouched down to look at the valley bellow them. He sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "No, it's too jagged down there to try and get across that way."

"Couldn't you just jump over there?" Eddy asked.

Once again, Mario shook his head in a solemn manner. "I can jump very high, as well as decently far, but no. A jump that distance is impossible for even me." He growled in frustration and kicked a rock down into the valley below.

"What do we do now?" Ed asked as he watched the rock fall.

"We go back and tell Toad what happened." As the others turned to head back to Mario's home, Mario sent one last glare toward the castle's direction, then joined them in the trek back.

"That was quick," Toad said as they walked into the house. "Did you forget something? Where's the princess?"

Double D faced the Toad. "The bridge into Bowser's Keep has been demolished. At this point in time, we have no way to access it," he said miserably.

Toad gasped. "The bridge is out?!" He folded his arms and looked out the window with a scowl aimed towards the direction of Bowser's Keep. "Just great. We must inform the Chancellor of the Mushroom Kingdom at once! Let's go, Mario!" Toad ran out of the room and followed a dirt road away from the area.

"Well, let's-a-go, then!" Mario said after a moment of silence.

"Go? Go where?" Eddy asked with a confused look on his face.

"The Chancellor is at Mushroom Castle, which is in Toad Town. It isn't too far from here, but we'll have to go through Mushroom Way to get there." Mario headed for the door. The Eds swiftly began trailing behind him.

"That's a lot of mushrooms!" Ed said in an intrigued tone.

Mario laughed. "Yes, I suppose it is, Ed."

Just as the group was about to exit the area, Toad rushed at them and bumped into Mario. "Oof!" he said as he collided with the plumber. "Oh, sorry Mario, but I came back to tell you that Mushroom Way is swarming with monsters! I brought some items for you and your friends just in case things get rough over there." Toad handed each member of the group.

Eddy looked at it with a less than impressed expression. "How's a mushroom supposed to help us? What are we supposed to do, make a pizza?" he asked with a sarcastic tone. Toad gave a puzzled look at Eddy's question.

"They're, uh, not from around here," Mario said with a nervous laugh.

Toad didn't seem entirely convinced, but decided not to press the matter. "Well," he said, "the mushrooms here will heal your injuries if you get hurt. Anyways, Mario, I'll meet you up at Toad Town. The Chancellor must hear the news about the princess as once!" With that said, Toad quickly ran off once more back in the direction of Mushroom Way.

"Alright, let's-a-go!" Mario pointed forward and ran in the same direction as Toad had. The Eds followed after him, doing there best to keep up behind him.

The path known as Mushroom Way had many tall plants surrounding the dirt path, making it difficult to see exactly where the path was going. The path itself, however, was easy enough to follow. Small brown creatures and Koopas with wings were scuttling about as the group of four reached the entrance.

Ed's face gained a look of excitement when he saw the brown mushroom like creatures waddling near him. "Oh! More mushrooms!" he said, then tried to pounce onto one of them.

Mario grabbed hold of the collar of Eds jacket using both of his hands and held the largest Ed back the best he could. "Hang on, Ed!" he said. "Those aren't the kind of mushrooms you want to eat."

Ed stopped moving when he heard this and looked back at Mario. "They aren't?"

Mario shook his head. "No. These are Goombas." Just as that was said, a few of the Goombas near them took notice of their presence and charged towards them. Double D backed up in fear as the approached. "They're mostly harmless, but don't let your guard down because of it." Mario punched one of the Goombas running toward him, catching it by surprise and sending it to the ground.

Ed once again put a determined look on his face and aimed it towards one of the Goombas. He couched down and kicked his foot back multiple times in preparation, then ran forwards with his head out first. Seeing this, the Goomba abruptly stopped and began running in the opposite with a look of terror on its face. Ed let out a cry in response and started running even faster to catch up to it. He soon was right behind the terrified Goomba, then rammed its head into its back. The Goomba was sent flying into the air and landed a good distance away with a thud. Ed got into his original stance once more to try and attack gain, but the Goomba saw this and ran away faster than Ed could prepare. Ed grinned at the sight as he turned back. "Look! I used my head!" he said.

Eddy groaned at the pun. He was up toward the front with Mario, looking closely at his moves. He had no weapon, but decided to try and replicate Mario's style. Seeing a Goomba charging towards him, he sent his fist flying forward. When it connected, the creature went to the ground with a thud as Eddy grinned. The grin faded quickly when he saw how Double D was doing.

Double D was backed into a corner with his hands up in a defensive way. "Please, can't we be peaceful about this?!" he asked in a fearful tone. He received his answer in the form of the Goomba lunging at him. He shut his eyes, prepared for the worst. Seconds later, he was surprised that there had been no impact. He opened his eyes and was surprised to find Mario standing in front of him with his fist still out. The Goomba that had lunged towards him was no running away in the opposite direction.

Mario then turned to face Double D as he let out a sigh. "Look, I get that you aren't a fan of fighting, Double D. I really do get it," he said. "But seeing as you guys are stuck here, a world where there are creature much more dangerous then the one's you're used to, you at least need to defend yourself." Mario looked down at the ground and noticed a stick. He bent down to pick it up and handed it the middle sized Ed. "You don't have to start a fight, but at least use this to defend yourself. Think you can live with that?"

Double D glanced down at the stick Mario was holding and sighed. "I suppose." He took the stick from Mario's gloved hands. Eddy looked around the now clear area. A peculiar sight caught his attention: a wooden chest with a question mark on it floating in the air. He immediately ran over to it and began jumping in the air.

Seeing this display, Mario had to let out a laugh. "That's not how it works, Eddy," he said said in between laughs.

Eddy gave him a confused look. "Huh?" he asked.

"Watch and learn." Mario strutted over to the box. He pushed Eddy aside, then jumped up into the air with his hand out. As soon as he hit the box, a gold coin fell out, which Eddy made a dive for almost immediately. The process was repeated until the box was empty. "Those," Mario said, pointing at the coins Eddy was holding, "are Coins. They're the currency used just about everywhere in this world. There are two kinds, smaller Coins worth one, and bigger ones worth ten."

Eddy looked at the five coins in his hand and inspected them thoroughly. "So, that means we've got five coins, right?" Mario nodded in response, which Eddy grinned and stuffed the coins into his pocket.

Ed grinned up at the chest and began jumping in a similar fashion to how Mario had. However, unlike Mario, he was hitting the chest with his head. "Am I doing it right, guys?" he asked happily.

Double D sighed. "Ed, please stop before you hurt yourself," he said.

"What's he gonna do? Give himself further brain damage?" Eddy asked, a touch of sarcasm in his voice. "C'mon, Lumpy! That thing's empty."

"HELP ME!" a voice said, catching everoyne's attention. Running over to where the sound was, Mario and the Eds discovered that it had been Toad who had called out in fear, as he was currently surrounded by Goombas.

"Get away from him, deformed mushrooms of the night!" Ed said, then rammed his head into one of the two Goombas. Mario and Eddy ran over to the second Goomba with their fists up. Said Goomba backed away from them, but then noticed Double D standing away from the fight. In a quick motion, the Goomba ran around Eddy's legs after dodging a punch, then lumped up at Double D, alarming the boy. Double D raised his stick shakily and hit the Goomba right before it hit him, cringing as he did so.

Toad let out a breath of relief. "My life was flashing before my eyes for a second there," he said. Toad then reached into his pocket and pulled out a darkly tinted jar full of a liquid. "Have this in return." Before anybody could say anything else, Toad ran off into the next part of the area.

"What does this do, Mario?" Double D asked, pointing at the jar.

"This is a Honey Syrup," Mario answered. "It restores energy, similar to mushrooms, but its a different kind of energy." Seeing the Eds confused looks, he decided to elaborate. "Some people in this world are capable of using, well... Magic is the best way to describe it I suppose. Some are better with it than others, but it drains a certain kind of energy that's required to use it. This has the ability to help the process of regaining that energy." Mario slipped the jar into his pocket as Eddy took notice of another floating chest. Once he was done collecting the coins from it, the group continued forward.

The next area was filled with rocky hills and Goombas walking around. One of the Goombas was sitting atop of a flower that was spinning.

"Spinning in circles!" Ed said, catching the attention of all the Goombas in the area.

Mario looked over at the other two Eds. "Is he always this... Erm..." he said, not being able to find the eight words while not sounding rude.

"Stupid?" Eddy said bluntly. "Yeah." As Mario let out a small groan at Eddy's answer, Eddy rushed forward and pushed the Goomba off the flower. "Alright slowpokes, I made things easier. Do something before it gets up!" Eddy hopped onto the flower and used it to assist him in jumping onto one of the platforms, specifically, one with another mystery chest. He hit it, then held his hands out, expecting coins to fall. He was instead surprised by a flower of multiple colors gently falling into his hands. "A flower? What the heck am I supposed to do with a flower?" Eddy hopped down to the others. They had already taken care of the Goombas.

Mario gave him an intrigued look. "What's that, Eddy?"

Eddy shrugged. "You tell me." He thrust the flower closer to the plumber, who then took it from his hands.

"Hm... Oh, I know what this is! This is what they use to make those Honey Syrups. And I've heard that in its natural form, it can increase you're capacity for that energy I was talking about, Mario let his fingers fall around the flower, crushing it. An orange wisp then emerged and flew into Mario's body.

"MARIO! HELP ME!" Toad screamed. Looking over toward the sound of his voice, the group saw that Toad was being carried by a Sky Troopa that was floating around. Mario quickly jumped into the air and stomped on the flying Koopa, making it drop Toad as it receded into its shell in fright. Toad sighed in relief once again. "Boy that was a close call!" He then handed Mario a small object before running off once again.

The Eds and Mario quickly followed behind him into the next part of the path. "This is the homestretch, guys," Mario said. "Toad Town should be just up ahead after this."

"Yay! Mushrooms for Ed!" Ed said at the news. A red creature with spikes on its back suddenly approached them.

"Mario, what exactly is that?" Double D asked with his stick raised in front of him.

"Spikies," Mario answered. "As long as you don't jump on them or touch their spikes, they won't hurt you too badly." Mario punched the Spikie away from him. The group ran forward to the end of the path, only to find their path blocked. Toad was being held by one of two large Koopas wearing armor and holding hammers. "Hammer Brothers." Mario answered Double D's question before he could even ask it. The two brothers did it appear to be in a good mood.

One of the two scowled at him. "Hey! You lookin' at me? My hammer and I don't like you!" it said, snarling at them.

Toad gave them a panicked expression as he struggled to get out of the Hammer Bros firm grasp. ""Be careful! This guy's definitely got a mean streak!" he said. Mario paid no mind to his warning and raised his fists in preparation to fight.

The Hammer Brothers then gave them all a furious expression. "Now ya got my hammer angry! You shouldn't have done that!" The hammer brother threw Toad away from him as he spoke, no longer caring about his prisoner.

The two brothers split up. One of them went towards Ed and swung its hammer down at him. Ed narrowly managed to duck out of the way, then tackled the Koopa to the ground. Noticing this, Eddy ran over to where it was and let his fist connect with the Hammer Brothers face. The Hammer Brother then stood up, slightly dazed, but no less angry. It swung its hammer down again, though it never hit the ground or and Ed and Eddy had each attacked the Hammer Brother at the same time using the same method they had before. The Hammer Brother fell to the ground again, then got up and ran away, leaving behind some coins. Eddy practically lunged at the ground to grab them.

The second Hammer Bro looked even more furious. "You're gonna regret that! Valor up!" A blue glow surrounded it before fading once more. Eddy gave it a cocky smile before he sent another punch at it. He let out a surprised yelp when the found that it had done little to no damage to it. The Hammer Bro smirked at him before shoving him aside.

"It seems this Valor Up has increased the Hammer Brothers defenses!" Double D said. He let out a cry of surprise when he was lifted off of the ground.

"You're a smart one, aren't you?" The Hammer Bro. asked, squeezing him tight. It was impossible for Double D to move, and it was becoming difficult for him to breath.

"Get away from him!" Ed said, leaping at the Hammer Bro in a powerful tackle. It fell onto its back.

As it struggled to get up, Double D sent a grateful look to his large friend. "Thank you, Ed," he said.

Ed saluted to him. "No problem, civilian!"

"Alright, now let's finish this!" Mario said, then jumped into the air. He landed onto the Hammer Bros stomach. Afterwards, it too stood up and dashed away, dropping its hammer and helmet in the process. Everyone let out a breath of relief as soon as the fight was done. "You done getting yourself into trouble, Toad?" Mario asked, though his tone was more lighthearted than angry.

Toad gave him a sheepish grin. "I guess I was moving so fast that I wasn't watching where I was going." he said. "Hey, look at that! That hammer has the Hammer Brother insignia on it!"

Mario looked down at it and picked it up. "Hm... It's got a good weight to it." He raised it up and down, then shrugged. "Eh, why not? It may come in handy."

"They dropped this, too." Toad picked up the helmet.

Ed raised his hand high into the air. "Oh! Can I have it? Please!" he asked. He grinned and put it happily on his head when it was handed to him.

Toad looked at the dirt path in front of them. "Well, Toad Town is just up ahead. I'll meet you guys at Mushroom Castle." Toad ran off once again, though at a slower pace this time.

"Toad's right. Let's-a-go to Mushroom Castle!" Mario said, then led the Eds out of Mushroom Way.

Ah, another revision bites the dust.