Disclaimer: Paper Mario and all its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, but I own all original characters.

Sorry for the long wait—real life comes first after all. This will be a short chapter, but I hope to update the story regularly from now on.

Chapter 1 Interlude Part 1

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…"

There was no other sound inside the house except the worried frettings of a middle-aged Goomba woman, walking around in circles, and looking, for all the world, as though her world had come crashing down. Goompapa sighed, and stood up from his chair, where he had been reading the paper.

"Dear, if you keep up that worrying, you'll have a heart attack. And you know we're out of Life Shrooms…"

"I just can't help it!" exclaimed Goomama. "My little Goombario is out in the world all alone—what if he's hungry? What if he's hurt? What if he forgot to wear a sweater and came down with a cold?"

"Always a worrier, aren't you dear?" a soft voice chided gently, as two aged Goombas and a man walked into the house. Goomama stopped pacing and glared at the man, who shrunk back slightly.

"Why didn't you go instead?!" she exclaimed, running towards him. "Why didn't you at least go with him?! Don't you even care about anything that could happen to him?!" Mario winced and gulped nervously.

"Now, now," said Gooma. "Blaming Mario isn't going to bring our little Goomnut back any sooner."

"That's right," agreed Goompa. "Besides—Goombario's a strong Goomba. This is a rare opportunity for him, and I don't blame him for seizing it." He scowled. "I only wish I didn't have this blasted lower back pain, or I'd be out there with him."

Gooma chuckled. "That's just what we need to help a boy—a boy in an old man's body."

Goomama sighed helplessly. "I—I just want him to come home safe. If he does—I'd squeeze him and hold him and never let him go."

"I think he'd rather go on another dangerous quest," remarked Goompapa, with a smirk that quickly turned into a cough at his wife's glare.

"HELLLLOOOOOOO?!"

Everyone in the house jumped at the sound of a voice, quickly followed by the entrance of a Goomba. The Goomba was dressed in a suit and tie, with a miner's helmet adorning her head, and a long ponytail of blond hair coming out from the helmet. At the sight of Mario, the Goomba jumped and ran over to him.

"MARIO! Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, it's been, like, FOREVER!" Mario's eyes widened in recognition, and he suddenly smiled, opening his mouth in greeting. "Man, you have NO idea how much I've wanted to see you! I get on the boat to Toad Town, and it takes me, like, fifteen minutes to find your house, only to find you're totally not there! Then I run all the way here—and oh man, it's AWESOME to see you again!"

"Is she a friend of yours Mario?" inquired Goombaria, who had just entered and wore an expression of tiring dizziness—evidently she'd been talking to the newcomer for a while.

The Goomba turned around. "Oh sorry, that was totally rude of me. My name's Goombella, and I'm an archaeology assistant to Professor Frankly. Yeah, Mario and me go way back—we went on a quest to find a legendary treasure, which was TOTALLY nuts—

"Frankly?" Goompa interrupted. "I haven't seen him in years. How's the old crackpot doing?"

"Oh, he's fine," replied Goombella, not seeming to mind the interruption at all. "In fact, it's kinda 'cause of him that I came to see Mario, and—hey, what's going on? Why aren't you back in Toad Town? Luigi said you were only heading over to Goomba Village for dinner."

Mario sighed, and began opening his mouth…

-------

One fade to black later…

"Wow," said Goombella in response to the events of the previous day. "Just—wow. Looks like you can never avoid adventure, huh Mario?" Suddenly she jumped. "Wait—did you say he was going to Goomiam? THAT Goomiam?"

"That's right," replied Goompa. "I'm surprised you know about it missy—the legend's been around since my Great-Goompa's time."

"I know about it cause THAT'S what I wanted to show Mario!" Taking off her pack, she zipped it open and rummaged through it. "Let's see—heart-shaped stone, weird screw ball…thing…'Ye olde teaching scroll for ye olde Great Aether'—what the heck—ah, here it is!" She pulled out an object from the pack and handed it to Mario. "Take a look."

Mario stared at it, as did the other Goombas. It was a strange, grey, almost metallic looking crystal that held an odd, dull shimmer. Words were written on it—indecipherable words.

Predicting their questions, Goombella said, "Those words are written in an ancient language I've never seen before—not even the Professor's ever seen the language before. He was freaking out, all locked up in his room for three days, going through all his books to find something—eventually, I had to have Zess T make something for him and force it down his throat. But eventually, he found the language in some moldy old book that seemed to mention that Goomiam place like it was fact." She cleared her throat, and said, from complete recitation, "To useth the all-seeing crystal-eye, insert into ye olde power machine and lookae into ye olde lens."

"Huh." Goompapa blinked. "I wonder what that means."

Goombella shrugged. "Sounds to me like that fancy-pants old style of talking. Doesn't even make sense—'ye olde' translates to 'your old.' What the heck does that even mean? 'I have an old Mushroom?' That just sounds stup-" She stopped, noticing that everyone else was staring at her, and her cheeks reddened with embarrassment. "Oh…you meant the message. Right…um, well color me clueless…"

BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!

The entire house shook, and all inside shook and fell to the ground. The very earth itself seemed to have come alive in an enormous roar…

And suddenly, all was quiet again.

"What the heck…was THAT?" groaned Goombella, as she and Mario rose first. Slowly, the Goomba family followed suit.

Goompa grunted in pain as he attempted to steady his shaking body with his cane. "It sounded…like that one time. Y'know…when me and Goombario were walking and found Goom."

"Does that mean…there's ANOTHER one of those freaky ships?" Goombaria's eyes widened in horror. "You---you think we're being invaded?"

Mario pointed to Goombella and opened his mouth. The Goomba nodded. "Yeah…we'd better go check it out. You should all probably wait here." The two dashed out before anyone could argue and Goombella quickly looked around. "Right…sounds like it came from the east." Mario nodded and they quickly set out for Goomba Road.

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On setting foot on the road, the first thing the two spotted was an enormous wreck. It appeared to be a small sailboat made of metallic green bricks, and portholes on the side. On seeing movement, Mario grabbed Goombella and dashed behind a tree. Two forms were crawling from the wreckage.

"Good." One grunted in annoyance. "This is good. This is great. It's not enough we've lost the power crystal for the security device. No, now Lady Leviagoom will seriously wreck us for not showing up at the appointed time. All because we had to CRASH." The figures appeared to be Goombas, but they wore a strange kind of armor that covered them from head to face. "I TOLD you that meteors always have the rightaway, but did you listen? NOOOOOO."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" snapped the second one. "You were the one who insisted we take the 'shortcut' through BeanBean Belt. I wanted to take the Syrup Way, but no, you're all 'hey, this way's a shortcut, let's go that way.'"

"Are you saying this is MY fault?!" shouted the first Goomba.

"At least I ain't saying you're fat!" retorted the second. "Which, coincidentally, YOU ARE!"

"YEAH?! Well at least I don't collect Pretty Princess Zelda dolls and crud like that!"

The second gasped. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK! ZELDA DESERVES YOUR RESPECT!!"

"RESPECT THIS!!!"

And the first Goomba assaulted the second with a head butt, which he quickly returned. Soon the two were immersed in a thick cloud of smoke. A few minutes later, the smoke cleared, and two unconscious Goombas lay across from each other.

"…Ooooookaaaaay." Goombella marched over to the ship. "Well…at least these guys won't be causing us any trouble." The Goomba walked over to the small open door that the two had crawled from—and gasped. "Mario…you've gotta see this."

Mario walked over to his companion and his mouth fell open in surprise as well. The inside of the strange ship was made of crystal—metallic looking crystal. The way they shone around the various strange machines (which also appeared to be made of crystal) made the whole place look dull, lifeless, and artificial.

Mario walked inside and looked around, noting all the strange, foreign looking machines that surrounded him. He stopped in front of one—a small, box-shaped machine. It held a strange apparatus that looked like metallic binoculars, and displayed a big red button on its front. Curiosity overtaking him, Mario pressed the button, and with a HISSSSS, the front slid open to reveal an empty space, with a strange engraving that appeared to be for storing something.

"Totally weird," Goombella remarked. "I've never seen high-tech doodads like this—not even with the X-Nauts."

Mario suddenly jumped and he turned towards Goombella with an excited look in his eyes. Goombella blinked, then her eyes widened. "You think…that weird crystal thing goes in here?" Mario nodded. "Well…those two did say something about a crystal—and a device." She took the crystal from out of her pack. "Guess it can't hurt to try."

Mario took the crystal and carefully inserted it into the device into the space. Suddenly, the front HISSSSSSSED back over and the machine began humming. The lens-shaped apparatus moved over to the two and suddenly emitted a blinding light that swept over them—as though it were scanning.

"Goombaness confirmed. Owner of Goombaness may use security device. Use optical display and move around as needed," a strange metallic voice boomed.

"Goombaness…meaning me?" inquired Goombella. "Huh. Guess I'll look." She pressed her eyes into the lens.

"WHOAH!"

Mario opened his mouth in inquiry. Goombella tore her eyes away from the sight. "Mario—I can see something through here! It's not part of the ship—I don't know where it is." She looked back into the lens.

-------

The room Goombella was seeing was made of crystal, like the ship, but it was far grander, and less metallic looking. The room appeared to be a part of a place, but it held an enormous colosseum-looking strucure, with seats that housed many Goombas—Goombas who were very fat and dressed in very fine robes. They were all looking down at the middle, were three Goombas stood, looking very nervous. Two of them were large Goombas who wore the same strange armor as the Goombas from the ship, but the other was a small Goomba dressed in an extravagant green-furred robe, and had a comically long and thin mustache that swept the ground. They were looking at something, but Goombella could not turn the device anymore—and so she could not see where the deep, booming voice that suddenly belted forth, came from.

"I desire many thing Goomfrey," it announced. "I desire to know where the Compass Gem's current location is. I also desire to know why it is not currently here, why you have not retrieved it—and why you, and these two soldiers, were found at the bottom of a ditch, your ship destroyed, and clutching a pebble wrapped in cloth."

"Y-your M-Majesty, I can explain!" blustered the small Goomba in a deep voice. "I-I was brutally attacked by a vicious rebel, and when I recovered from my great injury, he had already fooled these two USELESS buffoons into giving him the Gem!"

"Vicious rebel?" repeated one of the Goomba soldiers in a high voice. "Gooardy, does he mean that little kid, who took his clothes?"

THWACK! The other had kicked him in the shin for this comment. But the other Goombas had heard them, and they began to laugh uproariously.

"A vicious rebel, eh Goomfrey?" laughed one scornfully. "What's next, being swindled by babies?"

"Now, now, Goomzel," chided another mockingly. "Perhaps it was one of those child prodigy cases. Then again, I doubt it would take a prodigy to outwit Sir Goomfrey." This caused another wave of laughter, and Goomfrey's face turned crimson with embarrassed rage.

"Enough." The voice boomed forth a single word, but at its utterance, everyone fell silent. "Perhaps I am slow…but I fail to see any humor in this situation. The most important artifact in the entire kingdom—the key to finding our rightful power—stolen by unworthy filth. And you all laugh." The voice was eerily calm, but anger seeped through it with such venom that many of the Goombas began shuddering. "Please…enlighten me on what is humorous."

"Your Majesty!"

"Boss!"

All the Goombas turned towards the two voices that suddenly came forth. From dashing footsteps, Goombella surmised them to be newcomers, but the lens would not move any further, and so, she could not see their appearance.

"Goominton…Goopone," the voice boomed. "What is the meaning of this interruption?"

"A thousand pardons, Your Majesty," began the first voice in a polite and refined manner. "We have just received word from our spies in Shellshire—where we had long suspected a Star Gem to be in hiding. It would appear—that someone has taken it."

At this, the Goombas gasped and began talking, shouting questions, but they were instantly silenced by the deep voice's loud "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"It is as I have said, Your Majesty," replied the voice, somehow not shaken by the anger in the deep voice. "Moreover, I would be willing to wager that this person or persons is after the other Star Gems as well."

"Who is this person?" demanded the deep voice. "Who dares to defy Goomog?"

"Dat's da ting, boss," said the second voice, in a rough growl. "We ain't sure who da displeasers is. All's we got is their descriptions—dere's two Goombas, both wearin' funny hats, and a Koopa from da place nearby."

"That must be them, Your Majesty!" burst forth Goomfrey suddenly. "The rebel who attacked me and the MONSTROUS brat who DARED to insult my facial hair, and who RUTHLESSLY deceived me!!!"

"I see." At the voice's returning its attention to him, Goomfrey became nervous again. "Then…these terrorists possess the Compass Gem. In other words, your sheer incompetence has brought my goal—the goal of the entire kingdom, the goal to reclaim the Star Stones which are rightfully ours—into jeopardy."

"Y-Your M-Majesty," whimpered Goomfrey. "P-please…give me another chance! Allow me to reclaim the Gem and teach this upstart a lesson!"

There was a pause.

"I shall." Goomfrey looked up in disbelief. "Idiotic as you are, you three are still of use to me. You shall head to the mines and relieve command from Belezagoom. We are certain there is a Star Gem there, which means our enemies are likely to go there as well."

"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!" shouted Goomfrey joyfully. "You will NOT regret this, Your Majesty!" Turning to the two soldiers, he barked, "Well? You heard him! GET MOVING!!" He charged out the exit, followed by the two, who looked at each other uncertainly.

"And tonight was Goompasta," groaned the higher-voiced one.

"Shut up, Gooaurel," snapped the other one in a whisper. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we get done with this crud."

As the three exited, the voice boomed forth again. "As for the rest of you—as of now, finding the Star Gems takes top priority. Forget any other issues you have—focus all your attention on finding these—these worms, these maggots who dare to stand against us. Find them and crush them for thinking they can defy us. Until they are crushed, and the Star Gems recovered, your petty affairs are inconsequential. So I decree." All the Goombas bowed, their clear displeasure overcome by the fear the voice invoked in them. "Now leave."

In a matter of minutes, the stadium was empty. Goombella thought the owner of the deep voice was gone as well and was about to stop looking, when a sound made her focus her attention again.

"So—the time of the 'hero' has come, has it?" The voice laughed—it sounded a laugh full of dark malice and scorn. "Let him come. Let the foolish Goomba try his might against a God. Let him come—so that I may destroy him."

And all was black.

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"Jeepers."

Goombella tore her eyes from the lens, shaking with a mixture of fear and awe. She turned towards Mario, who looked at her questioningly.

"I'll tell you later," she promised. "Goombario has an E-mailer, right?" Mario nodded. "We've got to tell him—tell him what he's up against."

Mario nodded and took the crystal from the machine, its glimmer gone. The two left and headed back to Goomba Village.

Leaving the source of their unease all alone…

Remember to Read and Review! Hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly—no promises, though. The next few chapters will be really fun, so look forward to it!