"Did you see what the Koopalings did?"
It was after the race, and the Mario bros were trying to find an alternate mode of transport while their toad mechanics worked on the car.
Their conversation was interrupted, however, by the scores as they flashed onto a giant screen outside the pit:
Bowser Beasts | 5
King Koopalings | 4
Mighty Meteors | 3
Nitro Dinos | 2
Mario Bros | 1
Garlic and Eggplant | 0
Turbocharged Shrooms | 0
Double DK | 0
Power Princesses | 0
Super Shells | 0
"Well, if it wasn't for Bowser, we'd have taken the five points."
"Just proves you can't get all teams to race cleanly." Both brothers were still fuming at the weapon and also the stupidity of the race officials.
"Who cares about some stupid coolant? We'd be happy to pay anyway."
"Hell, I wouldn't even surprised if those two officials are being paid by Bowser behind our backs."
"And who puts a hole at the bottom of their kart anyway!"
Suddenly, the engine roared to life. Toadbert had managed to fix their kart.
"Let's get out of here."
The second race, Moo Moo Meadows, came shortly afterwards, except this time it was Mario's turn to drive. The brothers had devoted the only rest day to training Luigi at the items. Most items weren't a problem, but when it came to non-homing ones, Luigi wasn't so proficient.
The Mario brothers, by following their GPS, came to a very narrow, unsealed farm road which ran up a steep hill. There was no sign of civilisation anywhere.
"You sure this is the place?"
"Well, if the GPS says so..."
After going up the road for a fair amount of time, they caught sight of a large track which must be the course, and a building which must be the pits – although they looked suspiciously like horse stables.
A Shy Guy ran up to greet them. Unlike the normal robes Shy Guys wear, this one had an extremely dirty shirt, battered pants and equally filthy boots – signalling he was, no doubt, a farmer.
"Welcome, Mario brothers, welcome. This is Moo Moo Meadows. Not quite what you expected, of course, but to me this is paradise. Anyway, maybe I should not detain you any longer and let you hurry along – after all, you're late."
Bypassing a run-down farmhouse with a mushroom-inspired roof, they came to the pits, which was unsurprisingly, horse stables. Toadbert and Toadofsky (who rode in a comfortable trailer towed to the kart) ran down and inspected the area.
"Yuck! How the heck are we meant to service the kart in this place!", Toadbert said angrily. "And obviously those are horse droppings."
He pointed to a pile of brown goo.
"And it pongs!", Toadofsky agreed.
Princess Peach and Princess Daisy, who had the pit/stable next to them, came over for a quick discussion. They were, too, appalled by the conditions.
"Not quite the pits we're used to, huh? You're one is actually a bit better, our one was used to stack hay. The ground is littered with it!"
"At least it doesn't have droppings", said Toadbert, pointing to the pile.
At that, the princesses left.
Two monty moles – farm hands, no doubt, complete with work pants and cowboy boots, showed the racers to the track. The Mario brothers were starting in fifth, due to their poor performance last time. Luigi was item handler and sat behind Mario.
The Lakitu had apparently flied all this way, just to start off the race, utilised his signal. There was no spectators – just a handful of news reporters, one if which Luigi recognised as the crew of InterKingdom News, Channel 173, which humiliated him last year.
Red. On your parks.
Yellow. Get set.
Green. GO!
Whilst Luigi was a great racer, Mario was in a whole different league. He nailed the rocket start perfectly.
"Damn! I can't see!" For the racers in front of them were kicking up dust from their wheels.
"Well, we've just got to improvise, then. Look, the Nitro Dinos are already challenging the second-placed Koopalings!"
Just as last time, they shunted them back, although luckily not with so much force.
Soon, it came to the first row of item boxes. Bowser had a green shell which he threw, the Koopalings also disposed of their item, the bob-omb (not daring to use it against their so-called 'teammates'). The third then belonged to the Nitro Dinos, which got a blooper, inflicting absolutely no damage.
It was then a tight turn, which all navigated comfortably. Mario noticed the Mighty Meteors (Rosalina and Lubba, the latter who was driving this time) inching up on them, and swerved, forcing them backwards.
"Pretty good, huh?", Mario said with a grin. It was perfectly executed.
"Yup. But you've gotta get me some items, cause I'm just sitting over here!" He threw up his hands, further conveying the message.
"Got it."
With that, Mario saw the Nitro Dinos turn a bit too widely and he gunned it. Their driver, Birdo (as Yoshi drove last time) saw what was happening and pushed them. Mario pushed back. But then Mario smartly braked a tiny bit – just enough not to lose ground – and the Nitro Dinos turned off the track, surprised at what happened. Once again, perfectly executed.
"You're a great driver, bro!"
"I didn't win twenty Mario Kart tournaments for nothing, heh!"
There was no item boxes for quite some time after that, so it was driving skill alone that determined the Mario brothers' fate. Racing just behind the Koopalings, the Turbocharged Shrooms (Toad and Toadette) and the Mighty Meteors were doing the same, no-one daring to overtake. It was a strange feeling.
Bowser and Bowser Jr. continued to speed ahead. Their tactic was working, and they were immensely proud.
"I can see the cup within our reach now!", said Jr., who was driving this time.
"Don't get too cocky, son. We still have to race, the Koopalings might slip up again."
"Oh, yeah. Like letting the Mario bros get through."
"Yeah. Like that. Anyway, there's a line of item boxes coming up."
As Bowser Jr. got the first (mushroom, which propelled them further ahead), the Koopalings went for the second. The Mario brothers, Turbocharged Shrooms and Mighty Meteors went for the third – but due to his sheer expertise, it was Mario who got it. Triple red shells.
Everyone else was racing way too close and so the Meteors, Shrooms and Koopalings were out of it before Luigi had time to react. "Yes!", they screamed together, punching their fists in the air. They had broken Bowser's first line of defence.
As the second lap ended and the third and final one started, the Mario brothers were looking way better. They've since dodged two green shells and even a red one, and, thanks to a golden mushroom, the Koopas were just in front.
Bowser Jr. had a tantrum. This was happening all over again. "Dad, ready the weapon. Those pesky plumbers aren't getting through us!"
And with that, the red trigger was being held again. The extendable blade went out of the hole that supposedly housed coolant.
"Bro, there is still a row of item boxes to go. Let's wait for them first, we don't want to gamble with their nasty weapon again", said Luigi, looking at his map.
As the row of item boxes loomed ahead, the two big Koopas got a banana, which they threw at nothing in particular. While the Mario brothers got...triple green shells.
"Ready, set, fire!", Mario commanded, as Luigi pressed the launch button. The first one veered slightly off to the left.
"Don't worry, bro! Keep your cool!", was Mario's response, as it was now the home straight. The unsealed, rocky road of Moo Moo Meadows further complicated Luigi's target.
He pressed the launch button. The green shell hit...
...
...nothing. This time, it was off to the right.
"That's all right! You've still got one more!"
The finish line inched ever-so-nearer.
Luigi fired his last shell. This one didn't look like missing at all...
...
...but it did. The Bowsers lazily crossed the line in first place.
"NO!" Luigi screamed as they got a second.
Afterwards, it was the Koopalings (who had shoved their racing rivals out of the way), followed by the Mighty Meteors, the Turbocharged Shrooms, Double DK (Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong), Power Princesses, Nitro Dinos, Garlic and Eggplant and finally the Super Shells (Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa).
As Luigi punched the wheel in sheer disgust, Lakitu announced the scores. They were as follows:
Bowser Beasts | 10
King Koopalings | 7
Mario Bros | 5
Mighty Meteors | 5
Nitro Dinos | 2
Turbocharged Shrooms | 1
Double DK | 0
Power Princesses | 0
Garlic and Eggplant | 0
Super Shells | 0
The Bowsers' dirty tricks had worked. They were still in first place, and, this time, they didn't have to utilise their weapon either.
As a dejected Luigi walked back to the pits, Mario left the other celebrating racers and joined his brother.
"You still upset over your shells?"
"Yup. Seriously, the last shell was so close!"
"But the Koopas dodged yet. That's too bad. Do not let it affect your driving next time. After all, now we must get serious. We're here to win."
NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON