A/N: Hey guys, just a quick heads-up that I'm going to put this story on hiatus after Issue 25 (Chapter 28). The reason for this is because I need to expand my backlog to prevent unnecessarily long delays. The story should come back in a couple months, though. In the meantime, my other stories will continue.

Also, I can't believe it's already been over a whole month since the last chapter! Sorry about the delay; I've been a little lazy, and besides, Garry's Mod isn't helping. (Neither is Baldi.)

One last note, and this goes especially to breath20k: Since I am becoming overwhelmed with the dares, I will not accept any dares from Issues 22-25 (Chapters 25-28). Any dares I do have will still be done. After Issue 25, I will do only one dare per issue/chapter. Questions will still be done, though.

animegamefanatic

oh crap. from one/two disasters to another. Mario bros prepare yourselves for your biggest challenge. the MK, its other lands, worlds, and the real world are in trouble.

I have a feeling the princess may gather several characters the group came into contact through their travels (through games, comics, and tv series) to discuss the threat while the bros prepare themselves. because Bowser is-a coming.

Bowser is-a coming indeed! We're talking impossible odds if it were just the four heroes against the countless hundreds of troops under his command. This is going to be epic.

breath20k

Looks like the invasion is coming! That's a good chapter!

Thanks!

Guest

I didn't really like Super Paper Mario. The story doesn't really get that good until you get really late into the game. Until then, you have to deal with annoying side characters, cliche tropes, and a few OOC moments (especially from Luigi).

If you do make a SPM adaptation, I recommend basing it off the Super Mario Kun version, which handled it much better. Or make some improvements of your own.

I do plan to make an SPM adaptation for SMB:TNC, especially since I've got my own ideas for it. Unfortunately, I've never read Super Mario-Kun. I'd love to, but there isn't an ongoing attempt to translate it. If you can find a popular translator besides MarioKunFanslator on DeviantArt (he hasn't updated since 2012), that would be great.

Guest

This story isn't dead yet, is it?

Oh, far from! Don't worry; this story isn't going anywhere!

I do not own anything in this fanfic except for any original content that I come up with. Mario belongs to Nintendo, which does not endorse or affiliate itself with this fanfic. Constructive criticism is allowed, but please, no flames.

And now, on to the comic!

The Invasion, Part 1: The First Wave

"Prepare for an invasion."

Mario, Luigi, and Toad were stunned. They clearly were not expecting an invasion, especially not at this time. Then again, Mario had no idea what Princess Toadstool was doing at the castle, so there were certainly unanswered questions. He would have to find time to ask them.

"An invasion? Now?" exclaimed Mario.

"At this time of night?!" added an incredulous Luigi.

"But we just encountered the Koopalings, and-"

"They might have been a diversion," Toadstool cut Toad short, as they were pressed for time.

"Uh, Princess?" Luigi started. "Why do you have some of King Koopa's minions with you?"

"It's a long story," said the princess. "Right now, I need you and Mario to watch for the invasion force." She pointed in the general direction of Castle Koopa. "It should come from about that direction. Toad, come with me. We need to evacuate the village."

"Right away, Princess!" replied Toad as he followed his princess and the defects down to the village.

As they left, Mario and Luigi headed for one of Grass Land's tallest hills for an efficient lookout.

"Wow," Luigi said as he straightened his cap. "It must have taken a lot of guts for those minions to defect to our side."

"If I'm right, there's more to it than meets the eye," speculated Mario. Changing the subject, he said, "We don't know how big the invasion force is, but there is one thing we can be sure of."

"And what's that?"

"We'll be ready for whatever Koopa throws at us."

Koopa was just seeing off the first wave of the invasion force. Things were going smoothly, and, with Mallet leading the force, nothing could go wrong.

Actually, take that last part back.

Suddenly, the Koopalings literally appeared, via Magic Whistles, in the entrance hall with Koopa, taking him by surprise.

"Gah! Where did you come from?!" he sputtered.

"Ice Land," stated Lemmy in a matter-of-fact manner.

"What?" Koopa was curious to know what his children were doing all the way out there.

"Right after supper we headed to Mario's house to capture him," explained Larry.

"And my pizza delivery ruse worked perfectly!" exclaimed Iggy.

The Koopalings went on to explain the situation in Ice Land.

"Everything was going smoothly until Toad showed up," pouted Wendy.

"You know, I'm not mad at you today," said Koopa. "At least you tried, and that's what matters."

He began pacing the floor. "Anyway, I'm glad you arrived. I want you to take over from Mallet's invasion force, which left moments ago."

"How many of us do you want to go?" asked Roy.

"You can decide amongst yourselves," said Koopa, "but three or four will do."

"Let's see," pondered Ludwig. "While I'm certainly capable enough, I'll stay here and help with whatever, if His Majesty King Dad doesn't mind."

"I don't mind, but just choose quickly," Koopa replied.

"I'll go," volunteered Roy and Wendy at the same time, but Wendy turned to Roy. "Absolutely not, Roy Koopa. How can we expect you to lead when you're all brawn and no brain?"

"I think I might want to go," pondered Larry.

"Me too," added Lemmy.

"Aren't you a bit too young to direct an army?" said Ludwig.

"Size matters not," said a matter-of-fact Koopa while looking at Morton, who stepped over with Larry and Lemmy.

As King Koopa saw that Morton would go with the others, he cleared his throat. "That took longer than I wanted, but I will send Morton, Wendy, Larry, and Lemmy to lead the first wave."

"Yes!" Morton fist-pumped. "I always wanted to lead an invasion force! I can't wait to crush, stomp, annihilate, decimate-"

"We get the idea," said the other Koopalings, clearly annoyed with Morton.

"All right, let's go!" shouted Larry.

"Hold up!" Koopa waved his hands. He stepped over to Wendy and whispered a few words in her ear. Larry was only able to catch the word "ignore".

"Okay, you're set, " announced Koopa. "Tell Mallet that he can direct the next wave. He's too good a minion to be sent out right away."

"Right, King Dad!" responded the Koopalings as all of them except for Ludwig, Roy, and Iggy headed out.

Koopa crossed his arms. Things were just getting better for him, and, if he played his cards right, Mushroom Land would be his by morning.

There would be no rest for the princess that night. She had to get the villagers out of the village before the invasion forces arrived, and she had no idea when that would be.

"Thank you so much," said one of the Toad villagers as Toadstool and Toad loaded her backpack with her belongings. Silas, Marcus, and Carrie were helping other villagers, while keeping a lookout for the invasion forces.

As the villager left, the princess turned to the defects. "Anything?" she asked.

"Nothing... yet," replied Silas.

"Good thing the boys are keeping a lookout from Grass Land," remarked the princess. "If they see anything, they'll be able to give us an early warning. Speaking of the Mario Brothers, I might as well ask for an update."

She started to leave, but looked back to the others. "Keep doing what you're doing. I'll be back in five minutes."

"Right away, Princess," the former minions responded.

If it weren't for the dire situation and the time of night, Mario would have enjoyed the view of Grass Land from the air. He and Luigi, powered by Super Leaves, were flying around Grass Land, looming for the first signs of the invasion force.

"I'm getting bored," yawned Luigi.

"Don't give up now," encouraged his brother. "If it weren't for us, the entire village could fall into jeopardy."

"Anything to report?" came the Toadstool's voice from below them.

Mario and Luigi swooped down and landed on the ground in front of the princess. "Nothing yet," he responded.

Then Mario remembered what he wanted to ask her.

"Princess," he started, "out of curiosity, what was your secret mission you said you were on earlier?"

"The secret's out now, so I might as well tell you," she said. "While you were taking care of the charity garden, I maintained contact with a minion who defected. He arranged for me to be sneaked into the castle to learn about a new secret weapon King Koopa is making. I also ended up meeting two other defects and a very clever double agent."

"Sounds exciting," remarked Luigi.

"But why all the secrecy?" Mario asked.

The princess giggled, which threw Mario and Luigi off guard. "You know, it sort of sounds silly," she said, "but the secrecy was for your own good. I didn't want you knowing ahead of time in case you were kidnapped and interrogated."

"That is thoughtful," replied Mario.

"You don't have to worry about us, Princess," reassured Luigi. "We can take care of ourselves. Right, Mario?"

"Most of the time, yes," admitted Mario. "But even the strongest of heroes needs help every once in a while."

"I couldn't agree more, Mario," said Luigi.

"Princess!" called Toad from the village. "One of the villagers needs your help, and the others are busy!"

"Coming!"

Before leaving, Toadstool turned back to Mario. "Keep watching for Koopa's invasion force. We can't afford to let it sneak in unnoticed."

"Yes, Princess."

As Toadstool went back down the hill, Mario resumed his watch for the invasion. This would be a looooong night...

It wasn't long before the villager had his belonging packed into a blanket and was sent on his way. Fortunately, the village was nearly empty, and Toadstool had assigned them a place to go.

Even with the village clearing out, there were still plenty of villagers to go. The princess would not give up.

She had just sent off another villager when she heard the frantic voice of Luigi.

"Princess!" he exclaimed as Luigi ran down the hill toward her. "They're coming!"

Mario was right on his heels. "Hundreds of them!"

Toadstool tried not to show any fear she had. She knew she and the Mario Bros. could take on a few enemies on previous missions, like back at Cramalot or Rotundaland. But this was a different matter entirely. This was a full-scale invasion.

Then the words of her father's letter came to mind:

"I don't know if I will see you again, but I want you to be brave, Princess. Be brave for me. Be brave for the Mushroom Kingdom."

She felt strengthened by these words. They gave her the courage to handle whatever came her way. Even though neither she nor the plumbers had items with them, Grass Land was right outside the village. There were plenty of ? Blocks holding things that could be used against the invasion force.

Except for one thing.

The invasion force wasn't headed for the village.

This she didn't expect.

"What's with them?" questioned Mario.

"I have no idea..." said Luigi.

Then realization and horror struck Toadstool.

"Boys," she started, her voice starting to quaver. "They're not heading into the village. No, they're after a far more vulnerable target."

She looked back at the invasion force as they were now getting further away.

"My castle..."

Next time: Mario vs. the invasion!

A/N: Yes, you may have noticed that I didn't go all out with my next time thing there. I was starting to run out of ideas, and besides, I wanted to go for more of an IDW approach (I really dig the new Sonic comic, BTW).

Line

"Hey, paisanos," said Mario, "it's time for Ask the Mario Characters! Where you, the readers, get to send us questions, and we'll answer them and act them-"

"If we feel like it," everyone else echoed.

"Uh..." Mallet stuttered. "From what I read in the brochure before I got here, we're supposed to say something funny before we start, right?"

"Not necessarily," Toadstool answered. "And I'd rather you not, since you're one of our enemies."

"Double agent," he corrected.

"Is everyone ready?" Mario asked. Everyone else cheered.

"Let's-a go! Our first question is for me, Luigi, Toad, and the princess: What are your best moments from each arc, starting from the beginning? You first, Princess."

"Mine was Project Koopa," she answered. "I just love a good infiltration mission - a stark contrast to most of my game appearances."

"That rescue mission in Cracking the Koopa Code was awesome!" exclaimed Toad.

"Uh..." pondered Luigi. "Is it okay if I said As You Love It is my favorite?"

"Why?" Koopa said with a strange grin on his face. "It is because you're fanboying Bill Spearshaker?"

Several of the villains laughed, causing Luigi to blush.

"Okay," Mario announced, "Mine was The Koopalings."

"Really?" Toadstool was interested.

"Yeah. There was just something really thrilling about battling the Koopalings to rescue the princess."

"I thought you thought we were annoying," Wendy stated.

"Oh, you are. Just not all the time," Mario replied.

"We're not trying to be annoying," Iggy amended.

"Yeah. We just want to be big and mean like King Dad," Roy added.

"Next question is for Marcus and Silas: What are your favorite hobbies?"

"That's a tough one..." thought Silas.

"You know..." Marcus sighed. "We never did much in the way of games or hobbies. We, like all the other minions, were made to be extremely loyal to King Koopa."

"But whenever we got a chance, we'd sneak in a game of marbles. One time a minion snuck in a deck of cards for us," Silas said.

"That's so sad..." Toadstool said.

"But you're free now," Mario was optimistic. "You get to experience freedom away from King Koopa."

"That's true," Marcus said. "But right now we've got an invasion to deal with!"

"I bet our old boss and Mallet are going to be pret-ty mad with us," Silas imagined.

"Might as well wrap this up and prepare!" announced Mario. "Tune in next time as we take on Koopa's forces!"