A/N: Hey guys, sorry if updates have been slow. I still aim for twice-a-month updates, but it can be hard to stick to when I'm lazy and working on five stories at once.

Also, I have a new Sonic and Baldi story up! It's temporarily on hold because I'm creating a reference map for it, but it will be continued soon.

Hi - Will Super Mario Odyssey be the sries finale?

There is no planned finale to this story, but there will definitely be Super Mario Odyssey elements in this story! Don't expect them until Issue 336 at the earliest, though.

animegamefanatic - oh Crap! Its begun! Gather up all the troops Mario boys, its time!

But will even the Mushroom Kingdom army be enough to stop this great threat. Find out next, only on SMB:TNC! :D

breath20k - Even though I can't use the dares from now until Issue 25 (Chapter 28), this story is awesome! Can't wait to see what happens next!

Yeah, sorry about the dares. I just started to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of them.

Guest - Is Toadette going to be in this?

Definitely! Issue 169 will most likely be her earliest appearance.

Guest - You do know that the Paper Mario games take place in an other demension, right?

I know very well about this. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam confirmed it. However, I will still use the characters. Consider them as not being their paper selves; for example, a normal Grodus and a paper Grodus. It will still be until Issue 131 that characters such as Kammy and Twink will appear, though.

y - Will there be a Warioware apdaption?

Oh yes. I have big plans for WarioWare. Issue 163 may be their earliest appearance.

a - Hey, updates have been a lot slower. Is everything alright?

Yeah, everything's fine. Updates can be slower when I'm working on five stories at once. One of them is even bigger than this one.

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 2: Defend the Castle!

"Boys," Princess Toadstool 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..."

"What?!" the Mario Bros cried in unison.

Then Mario realized something. "Of course," he said. "Of course they'd go after the castle. It's mostly abandoned and unguarded!"

"Not entirely," the princess stated. "The Mushroom Parliament and their army still has control over it. They're keeping it maintained until my father is found, or until I reach the age of inheritance."

"So we won't be alone in this."

"Hopefully not," Toadstool answered Luigi's question. "You two need to get a move on. The fate of the Mushroom Kingdom depends on us!"

"What about you?" Mario asked.

"Toad and I will take care of the village," she said urgently. "Now get going!"

"Let's-a go!" Mario rallied as he and his brother ran from the village in the direction of the castle. Fortunately, there were a few ? Blocks to their left.

"Better stock up," Mario advised.

"Good idea," agreed Luigi.

The plumbers began hitting several blocks, and were delighted to find a pair of Hammer Suits in two of them. They slipped them on and walked around to make sure they fit.

"I think my shell's a lttle loose..." realized Luigi.

"Don't worry; you'll get used to it," said Mario. "Now let's go stop the invasion!"

"All right!" agreed Luigi as the two of them set off for the castle.

Fortunately, the castle was not far from the village, and, even though the castle was visible from the village, the invasion force wasn't. Another minute or two of running later the plumbers finally saw the invasion force, with the four Koopalings leading the way.

Only they weren't making any forward progress.

They appeared to be stalled a few hundred yards from the castle. They were engaged in battle with the Mushroom Parliament forces. The plumbers watched as spears and hammers flew every which way.

"Looks like the party has already started," Luigi noted.

"Forget the RSVP!" Mario exclaimed as he took Luigi's hand and ran toward the heat of the battle. "We have a kingdom to save!"

All Mario could see as he ran were the hundreds upon hundreds of individuals fighting in the distance. There were surely too many heads to count. He couldn't even spot the commanders.

"Who could be leading Koopa's forces?" Mario audibly wondered.

Luigi tapped his chin. "Probably either the Kooplings or the Koopa Pack," he answered. "Most likely the Koopalings. The Koopa Pack tend to work together alone."

They were almost there. Mario knew they had to hurry, even though they were running at top speed. If this were a video game, their P-Meter would be bursting at the seams. Unfortunately, more Toad soldiers were falling than Koopas, which was all the more reason they needed to join the fight now. Readjusting his shell, Mario braced himself for the coming brawl.

The princess knew the village would not evacuate itself.

There were still dozens of villagers to evacuate, but at least the job was halfway done. The princess yawned, then saw the defects approaching her, having just sent another villager on his way.

"Now that we have a little time to talk," Silas started, even though they really didn't, "what exactly was it you saw back at the castle? Just what is Project Koopa?"

Toadstool thought for a moment. "Well... it was a massive object underneath a tarp. It had to be a thousand feet long. It appears to be a mega weapon of some sort. Carrie says it might be called the Doomship."

Silas' and Marcis' eyes widened.

"If those rumors are true," Silas finally said, "then we are going to be in very big trouble."

"The name..." Marcus perceived that the name was awesome and terrifying at the same time. "It sounds like..." He trailed off.

Carrie looked up from the suitcase she was helping to pack. "But we don't know what the Doomship really is."

Marcus hought for a moment. "Well, judging by the name alone, it sounds like a giant ship."

"But the castle and village are about a mile inland!" stated Silas.

"True, but that won't stop a massive army from just marching frim ship to shore," replied Marcus.

"Even at a thousand feet, a ship can only hold so many troops," Silas said.

A light bulb went off in Carrie's head. "If this ship floats on water, why build it within the confines of the castle?"

"Maybe it's doesn't float on water," speculated Silas. "Maybe it's an airship."

"Whatever it is," Toadstool said as she considered this possibility, "we need to be prepared whatever Koopa throws our way."

One hammer took out a few Goombas.

Another crushed the helmet of a Hammer Bro.

The Mario Brothers were unstoppable as they hurled hammers every which way, taking out minions left and right. However,, it seemed that every mkinion they defeated was replaced by a new arrival."

Just then Mario caught sight of Larry Koopa in the distance. "You're right," he said. "The Koopalings are leading this force."

"I think they're coming, Mario," warned his brother as they eyed the reptilian commanders pushing their way through the somewhat disorganized ranks.

"Let's see what they want," said Mario.

At last the Koopalings made it to the plumbers.

"Fancy meeting you here, boys," Wendy said.

"Of cource, we knew you'd come. Of course, you couldn't resist, because that building over there belongs to the princess, who happens to-"

He stopped when the other Koopalings glared at him.

"Hey, where are the other three? I thought this was going to be a full-tem effort."

"Oh, it is," Wendy answered Mario. "But the others are back at the castle building your worst nightmare."

"We know," responded Luigi, which triggered rage within the only female Koopaling.

"What?!" she shrieked, spewing malice so thick Mario could have mistaken it for marinara sauce. "Who told you that?!"

As Mario jerked his thumb back toward the village, Morton joined in. "Yeah! Who told you that we're gonna crush this kingdom with a weapon so big you could see it from-"

"Zip it, Morton!" ordered Larry.

"Enough of this! Get them!" ordered Wendy. The throngs began to press in toward the Mario Brothers, who resumed their fighting.

"So the princess told you," Wendy surmised. "Well, she's in for a surprise when the second wave arrives!"

"I bet you can't b in two places at once!" teased Lemmy.

"Uh, hello? Aren't you forgetting there are two of us?" retorted Luigi.

"The princess can handle herswlf," said Mario. As much as he wanted to see Wendy's priceless reaction if he told her about the defects, he decided not to.

"Really? Well, we'll just see about that!"

The Project Koopa room has never been busier than it was now. It was abuzz with activity as the other three Koopalings, the Koopa Pack, and even King Koopa himself watched as several minions were removing the tarp from the project. Underneath was an airship of massive proportions.

"Hoo yeah! Look at the size of that thing!" exclaimed Iggy.

"Yeah, isn't it the best?" added Koopa. "It's the first one the Koopa Kingdom has ever seen. A pity my father never thought of this."

Deciding not to question about Koopa's father, Roy asked, "Just how powerful is this Doomship?"

"More powerful than anyone in the Mushroom Kingdom will ever know. Adjustable rocket engines, Rocky Wrench ports, countless dozens of cannons - this will get the job done faster than you can say Koopa's Believe it Or Else!"

As several other minions were entering the airship to initiate flight-checking procedures, Ludwig followed them. He had said earlier that he had wanted to add a special potion to the engine to boost its speed.

Rubbing his hands together with villainous glee, Koopa snickered. "Mario is going down by the time the sun goes up. This will be his closing curtain."

It was now four in the morning. Stifling a yawn, Toadstool turned to her trusted aide. "Toad, let's take a break. I think we deserved it."

"You said it, Princess!"

"Silas, you and the others keep working. We'll just be taking a fifteen-minute break."

"Okay," responded the Shy Guy.

The princess and Toad headed to a nearby bench and sat down. They had been working steadily for hours, and the town was mostly evacuated.

"I hope Mario's doing all right," she said.

"We know him. He'll send that army packing faster than you can say-"

"Linguini?" she guessed.

"I would have said "ravioli"... but linguini works well too."

Just then the princess became aware of a figure nearby. She looked up, and saw that it was the old man she saw from earlier!

"Princess Toadstool," he spoke. "May I speak with you in private?"

Next time: The second wave!

A/N: The Doomship is almost ready for launch... Also, originally, the Koopalings were originally going to have their old names in this story. Don't worry; the name change will be explained in a later chapter.

R.I.P. Stefan Karl Stefansson. You will always be number one.

"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! Dares will return Issue 26!"

"I dare you not to ask us weird questions!" Koopa joked.

"It's not me; it's the readers," Mario said. "breath20k asks a question to Mallet today: If you could make one wish, what will it be?"

"That is a most intriguing question," Mallet mused. "What is my wish?"

"Wish for more wishes!" whispered Koopa.

"Koopa," scolded Toadstool.

"Well," he thought. "If I had one wish, it would be to visit the cosmos and see Rosalina."

Suddenly he was teleported out of the room.

"W-what happened?" McKoopa exclaimed.

"I think his wish just came true," Luigi pondered.

At the Comet Observatory, Rosalina was reading her storybook to the Lumas for the 182nd time when Mallet suddenly appeared in the room.

"Wh-who are you?" Rosalina was not usually one to lose her cool, but she did.

"My wish just came true," he said. "Hi, Rosie."

Back at the Q&D room, Mario was concluding his session.

"I think the Boos teleported Mallet out of here," Lemmy said.

"Nonsense," Larry stated. "It had to be the work of the X-Nauts!"

"Well, whatever it is," Mario speculated, "It's probably the Broodals. Or the Shroobs. Or even Smithy's gang. Oh well. Until next time, everybody, do the Mario!"