Paper Ed
Chapter 4: The Path to Toad Town
"So, where exactly are we going again, pasta-face? You said something about a star mountain?" Eddy asked, albeit in a more rude, derogatory tone.
Mario glanced at Eddy with a slightly agitated glare for his rude remark, but chose to ignore that. "Well, we're going to Shooting Star Summit. It's located in my home town, Toad Town. It shouldn't be too far from here, so let's just keep going forward."
The four protagonists had just left Goomba Village after saying their goodbyes to the Goomba family; as hard as it may have been initially for Goombario to leave his beloved home, he was also glad to fulfill his lifelong dream of accompanying Mario on one of his grand adventures. They were walking through a simple road, with grass, trees, and bushes surrounding the walkway. Oddly, there was also a public awareness sign placed in front of them, which seemed misplaced considering the remote area they were in and that they had just left the village.
"Even still, where will this take Rolf? What is the point of ascending to the top of the mountain just to see a starry view? We should fight that Bowser right now, before his power becomes too strong! Rolf demands an explanation!" Rolf proclaimed, as Mario had not clearly stated the reason why they made the decision to head to Shooting Star Summit.
Goombario shook his head. "Oh no, you don't want to fight Bowser right now. The Star Rod grants a power beyond any other imaginable!We must work hard and become stronger before we go to the castle. I'm not sure of the exact details, but even I don't think we're at that point yet where we can challenge him," he stated bluntly, much to the disappointment of Eddy and Rolf.
Eddy sighed. "Come on, I just want to leave already! Why does this have to take so long?" He whined, letting out an exasperated groan.
"It's better to be patient and wait for the right time than to jump into a situation unprepared. Trust me," Mario replied in an advising manner.
As they proceeded along the path, Eddy walked up to the large wooden sign that was placed on the road. It had an image of the Goomba that they had seen before; it was one of Bowser's foot soldiers. "Hey guys, take a look at this sign! It says... beware... of... Gombas? Oh, that said Goombas." he read slowly, clearly demonstrating his lack of linguistic ability.
The four of them ignored this warning, as they figured the Goombas were too weak to pose a challenge to them, even though Goombario was ashamed to admit it. Suddenly, a Goomba was tiptoeing slowly, appearing from behind the sign in a hiding position. It attempted to headbonk Eddy as he was having another one of his arguments with Mario.
"Take this, sucker!" the Goomba cried, leaping into the air for a surprising ambush onto the unsuspecting greedy Ed-boy. Normally, he wouldn't have been able to react in time, but Eddy turned around instantly and fell backwards a few feet, dodging the attack.
"Whoa! Heads up, guys!" he shouted, lying on the ground defenseless while the Goomba was bracing for another move. It was rather surprised that Eddy was able to dodge the attack while not even being able to notice its presence until it revealed itself.
Rolf shouted out a battle cry, running with one of his shoes and leaping straight into the air. "Rolf shall avenge you, Ed-boy!" Before he could make his attack, however, Goombario quickly finished it off with a simple headbonk from his "rock-solid" head. The impact from the young Goomba's head caused a member of his own species to recoil in pain and faint.
Goombario bowed proudly, while Eddy blew a raspberry. Mario was impressed at his strength, however, as he had always seen Goombas as small fries, compared to the other big leaguers that he had faced in the past.
"Psh, that was so easy, anyone could've done it. I'm just happy that my badge is coming in handy!" Eddy exclaimed with a smirk, acting like nothing happened as the others made a bored face towards him.
As they advanced forward, Eddy instantly spotted familiar floating blocks that were labeled with question marks in the far distance. He was running at full speed while the other were attempting to catch up with him. "Money, cash! And it's all mine!" he cried with high euphoria, slightly disturbing Mario and Goombario.
"Hey Eddy, wait up! Grr... your friend is pretty greedy, isn't he?" Goombario said with a groan, starting to get bothered by his eccentric behavior.
Rolf nodded. "Agreed, Goombario-boy. The Ed-boy here has always been like this as Rolf remembered. But that is what makes him stand out, wouldn't you say?"
The Goomba nodded, and saw that Eddy yet again was in another encounter with a Goomba, this time the Spiked variant. Before it could launch a devastating blow to his pancake-shaped forehead, Mario hammered it out of the way. Even though Eddy believed the Chill Out badge would have prevailed for him again, the plumber simply didn't want to waste time. As the other three progressed forward, Eddy was pounding the blocks for coins, and stuffed them into a makeshift wallet once his pockets were starting to get full.
"Remember guys, whenever you find any coins, make sure to give one to Uncle Eddy right here! I'll be glad to spend-err...save them for our journey!" he said with a nervous chuckle. Rolf and Goombario replied with a bored face, while Mario sheepishly grinned.
"Whatever you say I guess, Eddy..." He replied, trying to play with his greediness for a little bit, which made Eddy's eyes light up with dollar bills; a typical reaction that they already have came to expect.
Gazing ahead, Mario saw a floating red block with a question mark on it. It stood out from the rest of the blocks they had seen so far. He leaped under the block to check, and a badge sprouted out from above. Rolf decided he would collect it and placed this one onto his t-shirt, even though he didn't know the exact properties of the badge. It appeared to be red circle with a yellow symbol in the middle, which was the main noticeable feature about the badge.
Goombario pulled out a thin blue textbook, entitled "Tattle Log of the Mushroom World" on the cover. He quickly flipped through the pages and found the exact same badge that was in Rolf's possession.
"This is my tattle log; I hope you all find it useful! Anyway, that is the Close Call badge, Rolf," Goombario explained, "When you are at the brink of defeat, there is a chance that the enemies might miss."
Mario nodded in approval, pleased to see they had a reliable source of information with them, especially in one of their friends.
Rolf nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Goombario-boy. Rolf will be sure to make use of this badge." He thanked politely, advancing forward along the path.
Eddy observed another sign in the distance, this time with a picture of one of the "delectable treats" that Mario had mentioned and was eating earlier. "Always...eat plenty.. of... musrhooms? Oh, I meant mushrooms. They restore your... vitality." He then saw a Mushroom placed behind the sign, plainly lying on the grass.
"Hey, I'm not eating that! Who knows where that's been!" Eddy shouted in disgust. Mario didn't show much opposition towards eating random Mushrooms that were lying on the ground at random places, since he did it all the time. However, they were in perfect condition, so there was no need at any rate.
Suddenly, a loud, echoing sound of laughter startled the group, which appeared to have come from a large group. The four did not expect this, but it appeared to be a baited ambush prepared by whomever the enemy was. Mario readied his hammer, prepared to retaliate at any moment from an upcoming onslaught. Goombario looked left and right; he immediately recognized the wings and spikes that were poorly attempted to be hidden behind the trees and bushes in the background.
"We're being ambushed by a horde of Goombas!" Goombario cried out, putting away his tattle log of badges. At the same time, about five Goombas, four Paragoombas, and six Spiked Goombas emerged from the shadows, having the sudden urge to defeat Mario and his friends once and for all and make Lord Bowser very pleased.
Rolf decided he would need the assistance of his other shoe, seeing that they were severely outnumbered, even if the enemies alone were rather weak. He rolled his sleeves, sweat dripping down his face as the farmer gritted his teeth. Eddy also attempted a battle stance
as well, raising his fists for action.
"Hah! We've gotten smarter, Mario. You think we'd be that stupid to let you make us into your carpet all day? Well, we've got spikes on our heads now!" a Spiked Goomba shouted, attempting to be intimidating.
"Sorry, but I've already fought Spiked Goombas before; nothing too special," Mario stated flatly, much to his opponents' dismay. A few started to mumble amongst themselves about wanting to "flush the plumber down the drain once in for all", which made Eddy groan.
One of the Goombas cleared his throat. It was unlike the other Goombas, having a much different appearance than the rest of them. This one had a much darker tone, as well a seemingly grumpier mood and more intellectual approach to fighting. "Enough! We've launched a Goomba rebellion against you all. You've made a mockery of us for quite a while, but how do you like the power of a Gloomba?" the Gloomba said in a gruff voice. The appearance of this particular species greatly surprised Mario.
"Wait, what are you doing here? I thought you live underground!" The plumber gasped in surprise, as he started to be more cautious as to how he would approach this fight.
The Gloomba shook its head, appearing as if it expected Mario to ask that question. "Well, Bowser summoned me, and duty calls. Even if I much prefer staying away from the sunlight, I guess helping my weaker brothers take you down is an added benefit. But enough chit chat, let's go everyone!"
The group of Goombas leaped into the air, revealing themselves from behind the shadows. They launched a simultaneous attack towards the four trespassers, whom which were shocked by the sheer number of them, as well as the leader's quick attacks. Mario and Rolf easily jumped out of the way, as most of the regular Goombas collided with each other. However, Goombario was slightly more slow-footed, and Eddy didn't have very strong reaction times.
Eddy ended up jumping out of the way by the instincts bestowed to him from his badge. Unfortunately, the young Goomba ended up taking the brunt of the damage, receiving consecutive attacks from three Goombas.
"Help! Guys, I think I have a plan, but I'm kind of in a tussle right here!" he pleaded, his voice starting to become more faint as he was completely outnumbered and surrounded.
Mario felt a sudden urge to protect his greatest admirer, even if he barely knew him. He felt his heart beginning to race and adrenaline being transmitted all throughout his body. Mario readied his hammer and raced to knock the trio of Goombas out of the way, quickly defeating them. Goombario was in a wounded state of scratches and bruises, but still mustered a smile of appreciation.
The plumber sighed in relief, previously fearing that he might have reacted too late. "That was close... if I didn't come sooner, Goombario would've been seriously injured. I have to keep him by my side and protect him with more caution," he thought to himself, stating quite for a brief moment.
Rolf and Eddy backed up next to the two, as the remaining Goombas waited in anticipation for their next move. During this time, Goombario was lying on the ground, however still surmised a plan to defeat their enemy and relayed it to the healthy fighters. "We can still win, guys. Our attack pattern must be organized in order to succeed, however. Mario should take out all the Spiked Goombas; they are very threatening but Mario has the evasive skills to dodge even three of them at once! Rolf can deal with the Paragoombas easily, as we've seen already," Goombario began.
Eddy held his hands around his waist. "Okay... so what am I gonna do, kid? Huh? Spill it!" He screeched in an impatient tone, much to the annoyance of the others.
"Be patient, Ed-boy! This Mushroom has words of wisdom that must be shared to us," Rolf hushed, actively paying attention to the intelligent Goomba's strategy.
The Gloomba whistled, signaling the next wave of their squad to launch their headbonk attacks. He also eyed Mario, seeing him as the most dangerous threat, as well as someone essential to take out due to his hostile relationship to his ruler, Bowser. "It's smart that you guys are talking over there, but we're not waiting for ya. Go, Goombas! Attack with all of your might!" he shouted, shouting a fierce, bloodthirsty battle cry; the twelve Goombas launched themselves forward at the unprepared heroes.
Mario and Rolf turned around while Goombario was trying to finish his explanation to Eddy, who much often didn't comprehend nor care for drawn-out lectures. "Listen, Eddy. Your job is to take out the leader. I'll have to warn you, his kind shouldn't be here, and he is at least three times as strong as an ordinary Goomba! Just give him your best moves. I'll take out the plain ol' Goombas and then back you up if you need help," Goombario finished, lifting himself off the ground.
"Sounds like a plan to me. Time to show them what I can do," Eddy replied with a confident smirk.
"Looks like he's changed his motivations about battling. That's good; I'm glad we've finally been able to convince him." Goombario noticed, who couldn't help but crack a genuine smile as he turned to face the remaining Goomba squad.
"By the might of Rolf's ancestors, we shall attack!" Rolf screamed, lunging himself towards the enemy army. Mario followed shortly behind him, leading in with his hammer. Immediately, Rolf struck two Paragoombas down with his shoe, reverting them back into normal Goombas.
On the other hand, Mario saw that his feet were about be crushed by a Spiked Goomba's spiked helmet. With quick instinct, he turned his body to land safely on top of a regular Goomba, and then swinging his hammer down on its spiked variant as well. The other Goombas attempted then tried to attack Goombario out of desperate effort, but he swiftly avoided their attacks and replied with one of his own. On impact, he instantly defeated one of them with a devastating blow from his head. A loud sound could be heard on contact, which impressed Mario and Rolf greatly.
"Rolf admires your strength, he-who-lacks-two-limbs," He commented in awe, his mouth agape. But then, his face turned into a confident, proud grin.
"But Rolf is better, and he shall show you!" Rolf shouted. With his two shoes in hand, he turned towards the remaining Paragoomba and Goombas that were still relatively healthy. As they were about to strike onto Mario, Rolf leaped into the air and caught the Paragoomba on the back of its head with his mouth, landing acrobatically. He then turned his attention to the last stand of the Goombas, who were revolting in a mixture of fright and disgust. This even caught the attention of the Gloomba leader.
"How barbaric! What a filthy creature, he is," the Gloomba growled, realizing that his numbers were starting to dwindle down. He then turned towards Mario, deciding he needed to enter the battle as well. While Mario was recovering stamina from the numerous dodge moves that he performed, the Gloomba struck him with a quick, powerful blow, knocking him down unsuspectingly. The attack greatly shocked the plumber, causing him to feel more pain than if it had attacked him regularly.
"Oh... mama-mia..." Mario moaned in the midst of heavy panting, falling onto the ground after complete exhaustion of the little vitality that he had left. The Gloomba stood up proudly, apparently feeling accomplished for taking out the Mushroom Kingdom's greatest hero, as well as Bowser's arch-nemesis.
"Well, well, well! Bowser must promote me now! For I have defeated the oh-so-great Mario! I guess he isn't so great after all..." the Gloomba boasted, closing his eyes and blowing a raspberry at the fallen plumber immaturely.
A hand suddenly grabbed him from behind and knocked the Gloomba down to the ground, pinning him down. Eddy was standing on top of him with his arms crossed. He had a confident attitude, choosing to bravely have a face-down with a strong opponent. "You've got some nerve, attacking a man while his back is turned. But you're dealing with me right now: I'm your opponent! Fight me like the tough guy you are!" Eddy taunted, leaping off of him so that the Gloomba could retaliate.
Meanwhile, Goombario and Rolf took care of the rest of the Goombas, who were all lying down unconscious on the ground. Normally, they would be obligated to help Eddy, but Goombario suggested that Eddy fought alone in order to prove himself. After such a hectic brawl, he felt they deserved a rest anyway.
"Good job Rolf. Now, let Eddy take care of this guy." Goombario stated with an optimistic smile, lying next to Mario on the grass while taking a rest.
Rolf sat his with legs-crossed, beginning to meditate. "Rolf shall work on his concentration, yes? It was an exciting duel, nevertheless. He will now, as you say, take five?" he replied in his foreign accent, attempting to use a common English phrase to sound more "hip." The Goomba nodded in approval.
"Grr... you may have defeated my brothers, but once I'm done with you, your friends are next!" the Gloomba said with no hesitation in his voice, appearing arrogant about his abilities. Eddy still remained in a cool phase, not affected at all by his harsh words.
"Puh-lease... the way this is gonna go, you'll be heading downtown crying to your boss in about ten seconds flat!" Eddy replied, countering the Goomba's threats with a more clever insult.
Eddy and the Gloomba were having a staredown; each trying to anticipate the other's next movement. They waited patiently, hoping to have the opportunity to parry his opponent due to recklessness. However, both of them also had pride on the line, so defeat was not an option.
After a minute-long stare, the Gloomba became tired of waiting and made the first move. It launched itself with a quick step, knocking down the unprepared Eddy. He quickly got up before the Gloomba could continue and retaliated with a quick jab to the face. Again, the Gloomba repeated the same move as before; this time, Eddy wasn't caught off guard and leaned to the left, which sent the Gloomba crashing and rolling on the ground.
"Grr... you're pretty good... for a small fry..." the Gloomba admitted with gritted teeth.
Eddy smirked and folded his arms. "Well, you're gonna learn the hard way that you Goombies are the smallest fries. I learn all my moves from my brother, and I'm gonna use them to turn you guys into hash-browns!"
Goombario groaned at the bad pun, while Rolf clapped his hands. "Impressive, Ed-boy! But why are they talking about collecting potatoes, Goombario?"
Goombario rolled his eyes. "Who knows... Eddy just has to trash talk when battling, I guess. At least he's winning."
The Gloomba chose to ignore this comment and tried another headbonk attack, which Eddy dodged again with a backflip. Staring face-to-face with the astonished dark Goomba, he grabbed hold of it and smashed the creature with a knee. He then spun placed a hand on the Gloomba and spun it around, causing it to lose balance. In that instant, Eddy ran at the Gloomba with all of his fight that he could possibly muster, and connected a powerful forward jab straight into the face, causing it to fly out of the distance. He then noticed an item it dropped on the ground; a large red flower with green petals.
"That's very helpful; it's a Fire Flower. When used, it burns all enemies in battle by firing a barrage of fire bullets. You just need to plan it into the ground," Goombario stated, as Eddy shrugged and claimed the object.
After the duel was concluded, Mario suddenly came back on his feet and dusted himself off, greatly shocking the three. They expected the plumber to still be unconscious after taking a severe beating. He patted Eddy on the shoulder with a proud smile. "Nice job, Eddy. I'm glad that you've chosen to help us! Your skills are very impressive."
Goombario gaped. "Wait, what? Mario? Why are you still up? I mean, I want that to happen, but you know... just curious..." he stuttered, unsure of whether to feel perplexed or thrilled. Goombario decided to choose the latter and just waited to hear Mario's explanation.
Rolf took a closer inspection at Mario's condition, and then began to laugh. "Oh ho ho! Fool-hardy Mario has fooled us all, yes? He was not injured, but pretending to be asleep like my cousin when he visits Rolf's home and irritates Nana."
Eddy was still confused by Rolf's explanation. "So... what you're saying is... I don't get it."
"You might not like this Eddy, but I pretended to be defeated in order to force you into a decision. Deep down I knew that you had the will to fight, but you needed more of a reason to." Mario explained, continuing forward along the path.
"You know I really hate that, right?" Eddy replied angrily, scowling at Mario for his witty yet conniving deception. They saw a ledge that led high in the air, which presumably was the path to arrive. It looked extremely difficult to climb because of the steep slope; however, there seemed to be a spring of sorts right next to the elevation.
"Great. How are we supposed to get up now?" Eddy complained, collapsing onto the ground comedically after such a long period of walking, at least to him.
Rolf shook his head. "It's simple, Ed-boy! We must hop onto the spring and it will carry us across, yes?"
Goombario nodded. "Rolf is correct. That's a springboard; as the name suggests, it was invented and placed there by certain workers throughout the Mushroom Kingdom to make it a more convenient choice than climbing. Just land normally on it and the springboard will carry you across."
Before they could head across, two large figures confronted them. They appeared to be ordinarily huge Goombas blocking the path. One of them was red in tone, while the other was blue. Both of them carried mean, threatening expressions. "Halt! Who goes there? Oh, well if it isn't Mario and some nobodies that he brought along... well it's now our time to shine!" the Red Goomba taunted, leaping off the cliff to impede movement. The Blue Goomba came down with him shortly after.
"We're anything but nobodies, you fatheads! I ought to beat you guys up for insulting the great Eddy McR-" Mario interrupted Eddy's retort, covering his big mouth with a glove while the latter was still trying to continue with his statement.
The Blue Goomba laughed, not losing his composure at all by Eddy's threat. "We're known as the Notorious Goomba Brothers. I'm Blue Goomba, and this is my older brother Red Goomba."
Red Goomba continued. "The Goomba King has passed down orders directly from Lord Bowser himself, and we're not here just to disappoint him. This is the end of the road for you, Mario!"
Mario grinned sheepishly and held up his hands, trying to appear desperate. "Hey, I'm sure we can talk this out! Here, you can take this Mushroom and then we'll be on our way..."
Red Goomba growled. "That's pretty pathetic coming from you! Come on my Blue brother, let's show them what we're made of!"
The four "trespassers" recoiled backwards, narrowly dodging their sudden strike. Rolf made an observation about them as they attempted to attack. "We should target the Blue Goomba! He is younger, and therefore weaker. In the Old Country, we judge one's strength and wisdom by their age- the youngest one will always be inferior!"
Goombario nodded and made the first move, landing a blow onto the Blue Goomba. "Take that! Good idea Rolf; let's keep this up!"
The Blue Goomba quickly recovered and then recognized a familiar face. "Well, if I didn't know any better, it's that shrimp again from Goomba Academy! Goombario, my old friend... we used to pick on you so much because all you would do was study. Looks like you've gotten stronger, huh?"
Mario looked surprised and turned to Goombario. "You mean you know these guys? How did they end up being criminals?"
Goombario turned to Mario and whispered, "Yeah, I know them. They've been working for Bowser recently, but never in school were they evil! I'm surprised how much the two have been influenced."
He then gave the Goomba Brothers a menacing stare, or at least he tried. "Hey, you two! I'm gonna show you that studying does pay off! Because of my knowledge, I've gained more power than you could ever imagine!"
Red Goomba laughed. "Hah! Knowledge is for the weak. Why waste time reading a book when you could be working out? I mean, we're bigger than you, and that says something!"
Eddy intervened. "Yeah; my checkup says that you've been eating far too many Mushrooms!"
The Goomba Brothers stomped the ground in anger and leaped towards Eddy. Fortunately, the short Ed-boy ducked, and they ended up hitting Rolf instead. Even though it wasn't their intended target, the two large Goombas began to pummel the downed Rolf with some head bonks.
Mario decided he needed to turn the tables, and activated the power of his badge: Power Jump. His shoes began to glow in a teal color, as he aimed straight for Blue Goomba, who had his back turned. With all of his might, as well as the enhanced strength of his boots, Blue Goomba was sent flying backwards with a powerful stomp from the plumber.
"No! Blue Goomba! Grr... don't think I've forgotten about you, Mario..." Red Goomba growled, staring at the plumber with animosity.
"Who you should not be forgetting... is ROLF! Hiyaa!" Rolf cried, pulling out both of his shoes and whacking the Red Goomba with them repeatedly after catching Rolf off guard.
Blue Goomba stood up again, although it was clear that he was near defeat. The two Goombas decided to scheme onto Rolf, attempting to take him down once and for all. However, for some reason, both of them missed their attacks even when he was standing still! Rolf's body was glowing a light orange color, which quickly faded away after the Goombas landed on the ground.
"Rolf shall consume a Mushroom!" Rolf announced, snacking on the mysterious treat. Immediately, he felt his tongue being overwhelmed by an awesome taste, and his body was slowly recovering from wounds.
"This reminds Rolf of his family's seven-course dinner meal, yes?" Seeing that Eddy was still hiding behind Mario even after all of his big talk, the son of the shepherd leaped into the air and struck down Red Goomba once again, inflicting even more damage.
Goombario looked at Mario, and they both decided to end the fight with one final move. "I've got a plan, Mario! If we combine our powers, we'll take 'em out real fast!"
Mario stared at him intently, nodding. "I'm all ears, friend. I trust you.."
After hearing Mario call him a friend, Goombario suddenly felt overjoyed. He never thought in his lifetime that he would not only meet with his role model, but also be able to fight alongside him and gain his trust. "Sure thing!" Goombario then whispered a few sentences into Mario's ear, as Eddy and Rolf watched them from the sidelines.
"What do you think they're planning, Ed-boy?" Rolf asked, staring at the weakened, less-confident Goomba Bros.
Eddy, magically pulling out a bag of popcorn, replied, "I dunno, but it better be good!"
Mario and Goombario turned to face the two nefarious Goomba bullies after discussing their strategy. During this time, they also intended to come up with a strategy; albeit, without someone as intellectual as Goombario on their side, the plan most likely wouldn't be as well-thought out.
"Let's a-go!" Mario announced, as Goombario braced himself by remaining stationary. The plumber then suddenly swung his hammer straight at his Goomba partner, launching him into the air with high velocity. The Goomba Bros. could only watch in horror as a small, high-speeding Goomba bullet was being sent flying in their direction. With all of his force of will, Goombario adjusted his altitude and found himself crashing directly into Blue Goomba, knocking him down.
"Avenge me, Red Goomba..." the Blue Goomba moaned in pain, falling down to the ground.
"N-no! My little brother! You little weasel...now you'll truly feel the wrath of the Goomba Bros!" the Red Goomba cried, still attempting to appear tough on the outside.
However, Mario and Goombario were not yet finished with their attack. Goombario was still floating in midair, spinning himself around in circles in order to maintain height. After he reached a certain distance from the ground, Mario ran up towards the Goomba and stepped off his head, propelling him forward. Then, lunging himself straight at their final opponent, Mario lifted his hammer into the air and swung it down with all of his force, combined with the acceleration from the liftoff. This sent Red Goomba crashing into his brother. They slowly got back up and began running away- the Goombas were actually wailing in shame on their retreat, mentioning something about a "Goomba King."
"Hah! Big, wimpy Goombas? Pathetic! I bet this Goomba King they're talking about doesn't even exist. What idiots..." Eddy taunted, seeing that the battle had finally reached conclusion.
"At least we're done with all the fighting..." Mario groaned with a sigh, finally having an intermission between their next battle.
Rolf, however, applauded Mario and Goombario for their incredible combination attack. "Bravo, you two! Rolf has never seen such great teamwork in two people who have just introduced themselves to each other! Don't you agree, Eddy?"
Eddy typically blew a raspberry in response. "Pft! I could've thought of that move too, if you ask me. Don't like a bunch of hot shots just 'cause you impressed me..." Eddy mumbled, but then gasped when he suddenly caught himself admitting his admiration of their attack.
Goombario lightly laughed. "What was that, Eddy? I'm glad we impressed you. It's a tricky move to pull off, but I'm glad it worked."
Mario nodded in agreement. "I think an appropriate name for that move would be "Hammerhead Attack", perfected and used only by yours truly. In all honesty, I believe that Goombario is the only Goomba alive who can withstand my hammer and jump attack at the same time!"
Goombario closed his eyes smugly as the four progressed forward, leaping onto the Springboard and continuing along the path to Toad Town. Eddy ran up to yet another sign, that appeared to have not an item nor enemy behind it. "You should eat plenty of Mushrooms; they're good for you. How obvious- these signs are useless, Mario." Eddy griped, spinning the sign around in annoyance. He continued walking forward, not noticing a Goomba lunging towards him.
"Eddy-boy! Behind you!" Rolf exclaimed, pointing towards the simple Mushroom-like creature. Eddy didn't have much time to react, but still managed to duck out of the way. He then ran up to the Goomba that was still lying on the ground and kicked it like a football, sending it out of the distance.
"Good riddance. You scared me, Rolf; I thought it was actually something worth noticing..." Eddy boasted, flexing his arms. Mario and Goombario gave him a bored face as they continued even further. After what seemed like an endless period of walking and fighting, they finally reached an end point. In front of them was a large gray fortress of sorts, appearing very ominous and intimidating.
"Ooo, it's a castle! Should we go inside? It sounds kinda scaarry..." Eddy mocked, taking a step forward towards the fortress.
Rolf suddenly picked the Ed-boy up. "Are you sure, Ed-boy? If you are more frightened than Sarah-girl when cousin Bastion asks to kiss her under the membrane of a yak, then Rolf shall transport you inside with Bobo!"
Eddy slapped his forehead and sighed, seeing that Rolf still did not understand modern sarcasm. "Rolf, put me down. I'm fine..."
Mario stared at the fortress while reflecting on his past life. "Just like old times... this time though, I have people alongside me."
Suddenly, the sky began to turn from clear blue to being shrouded by gray clouds in a matter of an instant. The sun could barely be seen in the distance; the fortress around them appearing to encompass the four in a blanket of darkness. Mario readied his hammer, while Goombario prepared himself with his Tattle Log in arms. Eddy then leaped back onto Rolf's arms again, who laughed heartily at Eddy's evident cowardice.
"Look up there! It's the Goomba Bros! And uh... The Goomba King?" Goombario read from his tattle log, surprised to see such an imposing-looking enemy stand in front of them.
Goombario referred to the top of the castle, for which the Goomba Bros. appeared out of with another figure. Alongside them was a giant Goomba, so massive that even the former dwarfed to his stature. The Goomba's most noteworthy traits were large, rolling eyes, red and white pants, and a monarch's crown.
"So, you've made it this far, Mario and his tagalongs... I'm impressed. Unfortunately for you, this is as far as you go. Under the direct orders of King Bowser, my subordinates and I shall defeat you!" The Goomba King spoke in a loud, booming voice.
"Yeah right? Losing to two wimps and a big clown? Puh-lease! Double D could take you on with one hand tied behind his back!" Eddy boasted, folding his arms and staring at the Goomba King directly with a defiant smile.
The Goomba King stomped the ground and leaped from the tower; the Goomba Bros. following shortly after. Apparently, they were infuriated by Eddy's arrogant behavior. "How dare you say such a thing, you repulsive little child! I will personally teach you a lesson to not pick fights with the strong!" The King shouted, charging straight for Eddy.
Eddy attempted to keep his cool and simply dodged out of the way. Rolf was prepared to counter attack, while Mario turned towards Goombario for any helpful advice.
"Goombario, does this guy have any weakness! He sure looks tough..." Mario asked, admitting his slight doubt towards their chances of defeating such an intimidating opponent.
Goombario closed his book after a few more seconds of reading. "Well, my Tattle Log doesn't have information about the Goomba King, just like the Goomba Bros. He originally was an ordinary Goomba until Bowser used the Star Rod to empower him. I don't think he's too powerful, to be honest. But don't you think we should target the Goomba Bros. first? We just fought with them moments ago; they must be pretty worn out!"
Mario smiled in response, feeling a bit more reassured. "I agree; good thinking. Everyone, target the Goomba Bros!"
Rolf, however, was steps ahead of him. He lunged straight forward at the Goomba Bros. recklessly, raising his shoe to strike them down. However, they were protected by the Goomba King, who struck the farmer with his foot, causing him to fly back into a Goomnut tree in the distance. A Goomnut fell from the tree and landed on Rolf's head, causing him to fall flat on the ground.
"Get up, Rolf! What'd I pay you for, anyway?" Eddy cried, urging the struggling Rolf to get back onto his feet. The Goomba Bros. then attempted to strike Eddy with a headbonk attack, which he swiftly dodged even without the aid of Chill Out and replied with a punch to Red Goomba's face, causing him to recoil in pain from minor damage.
Mario was gazing at Rolf and the tree that he was lying next to prior to rejoining the fight. The tree appeared to possess abnormally large Goomnuts, powerful enough to severely injure enemies if made contact as seen with Rolf. He then made an observation about the fragility of the tree, and more specifically the Goomnuts that were on it.
"If the trees were hit a certain angle, then we can possibly turn the tables of this fight!" Mario realized, breaking away from his thoughts to turn towards the actual battle at hand.
Elsewhere, Goombario was focusing on the major boss of the Goombas. Bravely, he leaped into the air and landed straight on the Goomba King's forehead with his headbonk, causing the royal Goomba to stumble backwards and cry out in pain.
"Argh! You'll pay for that at the expense of your friends, little Goomba!" The Goomba King said as he recovered himself from the attack. Looking at Mario, who was still preoccupied with conceiving a possible strategy to defeat him, the King charged straight at the plumber and kicked him several feet away.
Mario quickly recovered himself, but was still slightly fazed from the blow. "Guys... aim for... the tree...the Goomnut will land on their heads with a powerful, concentrated strike!"
Rolf obliged to his statement, heading directly towards the tree. He then collided his shoe with the trunk, causing the tree to begin shaking. As the Goomba King and his subordinates looked on with confusion, a Goomnut suddenly started flying towards their direction at high speeds; first, it bashed the leader on the head, and subsequently bouncing onto the Goomba Bros. Even though the Goomba King survived, the Goomba Bros. collapsed onto the ground in defeat.
"Avenge us, Goomba King..." They stated in unison, moaning in pain.
The Goomba King remained confident, appearing to have a trick up his sleeve. "Hah! If you can manipulate the tree and use it as a cheap trick, then I can, too!" He then stomped the ground with all of his might, causing an earth tremor in the ground. Eddy and Goombario began to wobble and walk away. However, Mario and Rolf were not so fortunate, and a Goomnut fell towards their side and hit both of them square in the head. Both of them lied on the ground, dazed by the sudden force from the tree.
"Aha! It's over, you fools! One more of those, and I surely will claim victory of this battle!" the Goomba King proclaimed, looking on at the two standing fighters, Eddy and Goombario.
Eddy turned towards his smaller friend. "So, uh... who's making the first move? Go right ahead, Goombario!" He asked with uncertainty, not sure that he would live up to his words before the battle began.
Goombario smirked, however, and decided to play with Eddy's emotions. "Come on Eddy, you have a Fire Flower. If you can't even win with that, then I don't think they'll be any chance of you finding your friends again!"
This statement apparently worked on Eddy, as he snatched the Fire Flower from Mario's pockets. He then planted it into the ground, and the flower immediately sprouted, with black dots appearing similar to eyes onto the petals.
"Hey! Circus freak! How would you like some of this?" Eddy asked, as he directed the Fire Flower like a cannon, and began firing towards the Goomba King's face. Large meteors of fire were shot in rapid succession, wearing out the King's endurance with their intense velocity.
"Argh! You little pest!" He then tried to kick Eddy, however, due his frustration, missed completely. The Goomba King then watched in horror as a certain rose with a fearsome scowl.
"You have made a mockery of Rolf, you large mushroom! Rolf would like to cook you in some stew, but for now, he must teach you the lessons of a proper duel!" Rolf prepared both of his shoes in his hands, and then suddenly grabbed one of Mario's shoes with his mouth.
"Hey! What are you doing with my shoe? Oh well... it's Rolf... he can go ahead and do that." Mario sighed, prepared to relax onto the ground.
"Are you prepared to take... the almighty three-shoe beating?" Rolf asked, causing the Goomba King to shake in fear.
"No! S-stay back! I give up!" the Goomba King pleaded. Unfortunately for him, Rolf began to spank him from all sides with three shoes in possession, whacking him hard in a comical fashion. Eddy, Mario, and Goombario looked on with a smile, seeing that the battle was finally over.
"Retreat, Goomba Bros!" The three of them promptly entered the fortress and shut the door, which seemed locked. Rolf was trying to bash through the door, while the others witnessed nine oddly colored orbs lying on the ground. Three of them were red, three were yellow, and the rest were orange.
"Say... aren't those the Badge Candies that Old Man Goompa was talking about, Mario? But I thought there was supposed to be three, since ya know, we've got me, you, and Rolf." Eddy pondered, holding one in his hands.
Goombario immediately recognized these particular. "These are Power Candies... my grandpa didn't mention them, but there are three types of them. We have red Heart Candies, yellow Flower Candies, and orange Badge Candies. Once you eat one of them, you will notice a small increase in strength depending on the one you chose. After you pick one, the other two will vanish into thin air. Or so I heard. And by the way Eddy, there's four of us..."
Eddy decided to select the Badge Candy. On the other hand, Mario opted for the Flower Candy. After dragging Rolf back and Goombario having to re-explain this process to him, he chose to eat the Heart Candy.
"Now... where are we supposed to go?" Mario pondered, seeing that there was no way into the fortress just through brute force alone.
Eddy decided to eavesdrop on the Goomba King and his followers, placing his ear beside the door.
"Say, Red Goomba where did you hide that Blue Switch?"
"Uh, in the bush south from here!"
"You idiot! Mario and his crew will surely find it now!"
"Don't blame me, you were the one who was assigned to hide it, Blue Goomba! I just had to hide it last minute..."
After hearing their whispering, Eddy giggled and spread the information to his friends. Mario went over to a nearby bush and found the corresponding blue switch and gave it a solid whack with his hammer.
Just then, the Goomba King reappeared on the top of his fortress again. "Hey Mario, great fight and all, but I must warn you: if you see a Blue Switch around here, please don't press it. It's very dangerous. It will, uh... blow up the area! Say, how about I just let you pass through the fortress..." the Goomba explained, appearing worried. Mario turned away, Rolf was whistling, and Eddy was snickering behind his back. However, Goombario went up and told him straightforward. "We pressed it already. Bad luck for you guys." He stated simply, smiling slightly.
The Goomba King widened his eyes and began panicking. "What? No!"
The four looked on as the castle suddenly began to fall apart, making them fall back slightly. First, the roof blew off straight from the fortress, and then the windows began shattering as well. Finally, the top of the fortress blew off, revealing the Goomba King and the Goomba Bros clinging onto him in fear as they stood on top of a gray spring of sorts. The spring then launched them into the air, sending them flying away into the distance, their screams quickly becoming inaudible. Then, the spring landed back onto the ground, appearing as a convenient bridge from the fortress to the path continuing along to Toad Town.
"Hey guys, there is a bridge here! Let's get out of this barf-fest!" Eddy exclaimed as he lead the way, while the others followed afterwards.
Mario looked towards Goombario, who seemed awfully quiet and sad. "What's wrong? We've defeated our enemies. Is there something the matter?"
Goombario replied, "I'm just disappointed that the Goomba Bros. had to be with him, too. They were once Goombas I knew not as enemies, but simply comrades, despite our difference in ideals. It's a shame that Bowser misled them on the path to evil; their insecurities caused them to begin working for Bowser under the premise that they would get their wishes granted again. I don't believe they deserved that," Goombario mumbled.
Mario tried to cheer him up with a smile and pat on the head. "You will see them again, Goombario. I promise they didn't... well, you know. Bowser will pay for all of the crimes that he's committed- I will make sure of it. We need to keep going though,"
Goombario's frown disappeared, as he turned towards Eddy and Rolf, who were fighting over a blue Mushroom that they had found. Rolf easily won, easily pushing Eddy to the side while holding the item straight in the air so that he couldn't reach it. "What is this? Are these some sort of sour variants of a Mushroom?" he asked.
"Oh, that's a Super Mushroom. It tastes much better than an ordinary Mushroom, and it's healthier for you too! We ought to save it." Goombario replied.
Eddy made a bored face. "Whatever. I guess you can call that a good luck charm or something. I mean, so far, can this get any easier?" He asked with overconfidence in his tone, as the four continued along the path.
Unknown to the heroes, Kammy Koopa was watching over them in the distance. She monitored their progress throughout the entire path, and then began flying towards Bowser's Castle and watching all she needed to know...
To be Continued...
End of Chapter
A/N: Past memories, battles, and bad jokes, oh my! Again, sorry for the delay on this chapter. But now that some stuff has been taken care of, I will continue to update more frequently. If you're curious, the characters' stats, badges, and items will all be in my profile. You don't need to see it of course; it's just for my continuity purposes. By the way, there aren't supposed to be Gloombas or a Goomba horde in the game.