And so, here we are! I apologize for having took so long to finish this chapter. Between the desire and the not desire to write AND the writers block… you know. This chapter is another novelization (Though there is some original stuff as well). Here we are about to see the events on the Koopa Cruiser and the Mario Brothers are about to meet the main villain (or at least, one of them). With out further ado, ENJOY THE STORY!

Chapter 3

Assault on the Koopa Cruiser

The skies of the Mushroom Kingdom have always been very… dreamy, to put it one way.

There was not even the smallest of sounds, causing there to be a quietness that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere. The sky was of a blue that was truly mesmerizing. There was nothing that could have destroyed this lovely spectacle.

… except a giant floating turtle.

That was the Koopa Cruiser, flying in the skies of the Mushroom Kingdom, with one clear destination: the Beanbean Kingdom.

The Cruiser was divided in different segments, with Bowser been positioned right in the main deck.

However, where we want to at look is the Cruiser main entrance, where our heroes Mario and Luigi, have been relocated.

Mario was standing against a wall as he was reading the book on the Beanbean Kingdom Russ T gave him.

Luigi was sitting on the pavement as he looked around himself, analizing the Cruiser's various parts, even touching some of them every now and then out of boredom.

Eventually, he spoke. "You know Mario, we must give credits to Bowser; this ship is very well built."

"Yeah, yeah." Mario responded to him nonchalantly. To be honest, he wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying. He was very intrigued by the book he was reading. And decided to inform his brother on what he was reading as well. "Hey Luigi, check this out! Excluding their many, MANY different types of beans, the food for which the Beanbean kingdom is most famous for are their spicy red and green peppers!"

Luigi's eyes immediately filled with panic after hearing this. "Oh no no no! Please Mario! Everything BUT peppers! You know very well my stomach can't handle them anymore after last time! Just thinking about it is making me…" Luigi could only shudder after recalling the events of that night.

Mario remembered that night as well, so he chose to drop the subject, sweat dropping while doing so. "Oh, right, right. Sorry Bro."

Their talk was interrupted as the megaphone attached to the ceiling, with Bowser's voice coming through it.

"Hey! You! Down there in the ship's belly! Mario and… what's-yer-name! Green guy!"

Luigi could only give a deadpan look after this.

"Look alive down there, will you all? We're about to arrive in the Beanbean Kingdom!"

"Finally." Mario muttered under his breath.

"So get your stuff arranged and get ready to roll. Then report to the deck. Pronto!" Bowser then ended the call.

Luigi was still with a deadpan expression. "… You think he will EVER, remember my name?"

Mario closed his book an put it in the suitcase. "Don't worry. With time, I'm sure he will." He then grabbed the suitcase. "Come on! Let's go!"

The two brothers then left their resting place and went in the next room.

Our two heroes arrived in the next area of the Koopa Cruiser: the training center. There where lots of Koopas there. They where either speaking to each other or making some exercise with the various tools, including various blocks.

The one that was training them was a… particular Hammer Bro. He was completely black, pitch black, with two very intense red eyes that really increased the intimidating factor. His shell and helmet were also pitch black. To top it all, he was wearing a black bandana around his mouth, covering it completely.

His voice was also very comanding, giving orders to the recruit like nothing. "COME ON YOU IMBECILES! WORK HARDER!"

He went torward a Green Koopa that was doing push ups, and kneeled to be face to face with him. "Come on you! Lord Bowser doesn't want quitters! TEN MORE!"

Then he went torward two koopas that were jumping on a strange block with an arrow on it that went left and right. "Faster you two! Put more agility into it! You have to jump JUST like Mario!"

The two brother looked at the scene in front of them with worried expressions. Mario was the first to speak. "… So, THIS is what a "drill sergeant" is like."

Luigi could only agree. "Yeah. No kidding."

Mario then sighed and prepared himself for what was about to happen. "… Well, we might as well talk to him." Luigi didn't like the plan. "Are you… sure it's a good idea." Mario knew the answer very well. "I'm not. Come on." Luigi could only sigh in desperation as the two approached the Koopa.

The Koopa turned around and saw the brothers approacing. However, the one he was most focused on was Mario. "Well. I will be." He left the two jumping Koopas back to their exercise and walked torward the brothers. "Look at this! If it isn't the FAMOUS Mario! I had a hunch I would have bumped into you eventually!" He then spended a few second to look at Mario head to toe. "You know, the way Lord Bowser's speaks about you, I thought you would be bigger!"

Mario decided to not let himself be intimidated by the Koopa, especially since Luigi had already failed in that regard, and spoke back to him WITH a confident look. "You are not the first person to tell me that. But appearences can be deceiving sometimes."

The Koopa simply nodded at this, not breaking his intimidating gaze. "That they are." He then looked at Luigi. "And who is this supposed to be? Your personal cheerleader?"

"CHEERLEADER!?"

Mario stopped his brother from doing anything rash. "THIS, his my dear brother Luigi."

"Your brother?" The Black Koopa looked at the two brothers for a few seconds, before chuckling out loud. "Oh, I see how it is! The "GREAT" Mario has actually found something that's too much even for him, so he needed help from his baby brother!" He chuckled again before continuing. "Then again, I shouldn't be surprised! You arrived to the point of asking Lord Bowser, your arch nemesis, for help to fix this mess!" Then he started laughing out loud. "Hahahahaha! Oh man! How the mighty have fallen! Hahahahahaha!"

It took Mario every bit of self control he had not to hit him right there. Never in his life he had met someone, excluding Bowser, that dared to talk down to him like that. And he never expected it to be a Koopa. 'It's official. I hate this guy.'

Luigi decided enough was enough and talked back to him. "Why you! WHO do you think you are to talk to us like that!?"

The Black Koopa stopped laughing, and gave them a serious glare. It's like what Luigi said offended him more than anything else. "Who am I? WHO AM I!? I, am Captain Shadoo! I'm the one in charge of the Koopa Troop main military! The one that traines them and puts them in shape to face the enemies of the Koopa Kingdom! LIKE YOU!" He made the claim clear by pointing at Mario. "I, am the one that choses the soldiers to recruit, that shapes them to be the hardened soldiers that they need to be! I am the reason why the Koopa Troop is such a big and feared fighting force! I am the one that Lord Bowser chose to lead the Koopa Troop during the first years of the Mushroom Wars! The one that achieved MANY victories for the Koopa Kingdom! And you! YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ASK ME, WHO. I. AM!?"

…

…

…

… Luigi was almost certain that, if his brother wasn't right next to him, he would have peed his pants. Contrary to Mario who, even though he was taken back by that rant, was still keeping his nerves like steel.

Shadoo calmed himself before continuing. "So. do have any other questions?"

"NO! NONE! NISBA! NADA!" Luigi screamed in panic.

After having succeeded in his main objective, scaring the heck out of at least one of them, Shadoo continued. "You two are really lucky that Lord Bowser asked me to help you two!"

Mario was surprised by what he said. "Help us? How?"

Shadoo fixed his mask/bandana before continuing. "Basically, I have been charged with teaching the two of you the various Blocks of the Beanbean Kingdom, and how to properly unlock them!"

Luigi was confused about that statement on the blocks. "Wait! The are different kinds of blocks in the Beanbean Kingdom?"

Shadoo pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. "I though you were supposed to be a professional like your brother! Everyone knows that every Kingdom has their own kind of blocks!"

Luigi was a bit embarassed by this turn of events, scratching his back. "Oh… I see. hehe… sorry." Shadoo could only sigh heavily at this.

Mario decided to take back the converstation. "Well, I think a little explanation would prove useful. Those blocks could contain very important supplies." He then looked at Harvey. "We are ready for the lesson!"

Shadoo nodded. "Alright then! Give me a second!" He then whistled to call upon his troops. "GET OVER HERE IMMEDIATELY YOU MAGGOTS!"

A group of Koopa immediately arrived at destination, having brought along a few strange blocks. They put themself in position.

Shadoo began explaining. "Alright! Let's start with the first one!" He pointed at a block with an arrow. "This, is a Bros Block! When you two run in one of this things, you have to make sure that you are positioned right next to eachother, and that you hit it when it matches your color! Here is a little example!" He then gave a signal to the two Koopa standing below it, a green and red one. They nodded and begin hitting it. They did so with a very good precision, always hitting it with their respective color.

Eventually, it run out, and the two Koopa finished things by saluting. Shadoo then went to the next block.

"Now this one, it's a Memory Block! When you jump on it, green and red will flash on it at random! You need to memorize the combination and hit it accordingly!" Another visual example arrived.

Another group of two red and green koopas hit it. Just as he explained it, the block started to flash various colors before stopping. The two Koopas, with a very good memory, hit the block accordingly before it ran out.

Now there was only one block left. "Now this one! This is a pretty tricky one! The Ping Pong Block! After you hit it, position yourselfs at different corners! The block will come after one of you! Hit it and then it will go to the other brother! Keep doing it until it rans out!"

Another two red and Green Koopas. After they hit it, they positioned themself to different corners, and the block went after the Red Koopa. He hit it and it went torward the other Koopa. They kept doing it until it stopped.

Shadoo applauded his man for a job well done. "Good work you all! Now go back to your baracks and prepare yourselfs for the landing! DISMISSED!"

The Koopas all left the area and went to the barracks, leaving only the two brothers and Shadoo. He looked back at the brother. "And that's that! Hope you memorised everything, because I won't do that again!"

The two brothers nodded at him, with Mario responding. "Yes we did! That was a very good explanation! It will really come useful!"

Luigi was still a bit intimidated, but talked to him nonetheless. "Well… thanks… I guess."

Shadoo, of course, did not change expression during the all meeting. "Alright! Now that this is out of the way, you two should better hurry and reach the deck! Lord Bowser doesn't like when someone makes him wait!"

Mario conceded the point. "Right!" He turned torward his brother. "Let's go Luigi!"

The two brother went torward the exit when…

"Wait!"

They turned around and saw Shadoo looking at them menancingly. "I want you two to know this. Next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield."

The brothers didn't say anything. They left the room silently and without looking back. They tried not to think about the words Shadoo said.

And at the truth there was in them.

The Mario Brother reached the next area of the Koopa Cruiser.

There were various red and green Koopas all positioned in a line, standing in front of a Boomerang Bro with a camera. By looking at it, it was clear that this was the area were the soldier made their passports.

The two brothers didn't have much to do here so they tried to reach the next area, until…

"Hey, there! You two!"

The brothers turned around and saw the Boomerang Bro with the camera, looking at them. "Yeah! You two mustache dudes!"

They looked at him and got a little nervous, hoping that this wasn't another Harvey. Mario spoke. "Eh, what is it?"

The Boomerang Bro positioned himself right in front of them before speaking again. "You're about to enter the Beanbean Kingdom, so you have your passports with you, right?"

The brother then realized that, out of everything they did, they forgot to check if they had their passports with them. Luigi vocalized the situation. "Eeehh… we… don't know."

The Koopa was about to facepalm when he noticed the suitcase Mario was holding. "Well, it looks like you've got a suitcase there…" He then looked at Mario. "Tell you what: go ahead and open your suitcase, ok?"

Mario did as he was told and opened it. The Koopa started to look around it, looking for the passports. Eventually, he found them. "Why, you've got 'em right here! This are your passports!"

However, as he said that, he noticed something very wrong in the passports as he looked at them. "But… hey! There aren't any photos!"

Mario was worried about what that meant. "And… what does this mean?"

The Koopa then started to shake his head. "It means, that these won't get you into Beanbean kingdom! No sir, no way, no how!"

The two brother were horrified at this news. To think that it would have been a couple of passports to stop them from reaching the Beanbean Kingdom. The situation was almost laughable. Almost.

Mario in particular, facepalmed at this revelation. "You have got to be kidding me!"

The koopa however, was quick to reassure them. "Don't wig about it. If we take your pictures here, you should be just fine." He then added something else. "And, since the Great Bowser has called you to the deck, I'll let you two cut the line."

The brothers felt much better at this news. "Oh yes! That would be great thanks!" Luigi responded happily.

"Yes! Thank you!" Mario added.

The Boomerang Bro, after hearing their responce, grabbed his camera and pointed at the mat. "Snapping photos is easy! Just stand on that mat there. See it? Right there." He then pointed the camera at the mat. "Step on the mat once you are ready! No hurry!"

Mario chose to go first and positioned himself on the mat.

"Ok! I'm gonna take it!" The koopa said as he positioned the camera… but then he remembered something important. "Oops! I forgot to tell you…" He then explained. "Listen, when you're getting your picture taken, stand still." He also added something else. "Make whatever position you want to make, but make sure you stand still."

Mario nodded as he took position. He knew exactly what position to make. With a confident smile, he put his hands on his hips and gave a victory sign with his hand (You know, holding two fingers together).

"Okay! Here we go! Ready? Say CHEEP CHEEP!"

The camera flashed and the photo came out of it. He handed it over to Mario.

"Alright! Mr Green Stache! It's your turn now!"

Luigi chose to ignored the "once again forgotten name" topic and positioned himself on the mat.

"Okay! Choose your position!"

Luigi took a few second to decide. A position that said "don't mess with me" and "bring it on" at the same time. He found it eventually.

He took a deep breath and went in fighting position, eyes full of determination.

"Okay! Here we go! Ready? Say CHEEP CHEEP!"

The camera flashed and the photo came out of it. He handed it over to Luigi.

Mario had a few words to say. "Woah! That position was really cool Luigi!"

Luigi blushed a little as he gave him a smile and a thumbs up. "Well, what can I say? I have learned from the best!"

The Boomerang Bro interrupted the nice moment. "Okay! I've taken passports photos of both of you! Now hurry to the deck! Don't make King Bowser wait!"

Mario nodded has he opened the suitcase. He put the photos on the passports, making them complete. "Alright! Let's go!"

After dealing with that, the brother left the Boomerang Bro alone and continued to explore the area they were in.

As they were walking around, they found a block just standing there with a few boxes.

"Allow me bro!" Luigi told Mario confidently. He jumped and hit the block. The block released a normal Mushroom in return. "Sweet!" Luigi added. He then put it in the suitcase along with the others. After that, they continued to walk.

While walking, Mario noticed something. "Wait…" He then walked torward what he saw, to make sure it really was. And sure enough it was.

A Hammer Bro was standing next to some boxes, putting them in their right places. "Hmm… That goes there…. And this goes here…" The Hammer bro was saying to himself. "Working the hold isn't easy… And if you mess up, you have to start all over again."

He stopped talking with himself when he noticed Mario standing next to him. "Oh! Well I will be! Mario! We meet again!"

Mario immediately recognized him. "You are that lost Hammer Bro back at the plaza, right?"

He answered him by nodding. He was in a very good mood. "Yep! I am indeed! Thanks again for telling me which way to go back in the Mushroom Kingdom! I was kind of panicking." He then gave Mario the finger gun gesture. "But thanks to you, I was the first one to board the Koopa Cruiser! I really own you!"

Mario was quite glad of having successfully helped him. After all, that's what heroes are for, right? "You don't own me anything. It was my pleasure!"

The Hammer Bro didn't agree with him and started shaking his head. "Nonsense! You deserve something." He then suddendly snapped his finger. "I got it!" He reached for his pockets. "Here! Let me give you this…" He then handed Mario a Life Shroom of all things.

Mario was really taken back by this gesture. "Whoa! I… don't know what to say! Thank you!" The Hammer Bro gave him a thumbs up. "No problem! It's nice to be nice! Oh, and while we are at it, have this as well!"

He then handed Mario something else. It was some sort of blue album with a yellow S on it. "According to the book "Beanbean Vacations", it's always important to save the progress of your travels with an album. Use it like a journal to chronicle your adventure."

Mario took the album happily. "I will keep that in mind! Thank you!"

"Don't mention it!" He then stayed silent for a few seconds before continuing. "Oh and… Mike. My name is Mike."

Mario was surprised that the Hammer Bro decided to give him is real name. Everytime he fought a member of the koopa Troop he only called them by what they were like "Goomba" and "Koopa". For him to tell his real name… that was a true showing of trust if I've ever seen one.

Mario nodded at this information. "Okay then. Thanks Mike. See you around."

The brother then left Mike back to his business. After they were out of ear shot, Luigi had something to say. "… And just like that, I didn't exist for that all conversation." Mario simply chuckled at this. "Come on bro. It's not like that." He told his brother as the two left the area and went torward the next.

The two brothers were silently walking in the insides of the Koopa Cruiser. There was nothing to stop the silence. Not a drop of water, not a bust of wind, nothing. The brothers were completely stuck in their thoughts. It isn't weird, of course. Many people use the gift of silence to properly formulate their thoughts and to think back at some of those moments that happened which you didn't give the proper attention before.

Mario in particular had a lot in his minds. To be more precise, it was something his brother said.

'Well hey, I told myself that since I'm not coming, I might as well say goodbye to you before you go!'

'No thanks. I think my brother will handle himself just fine.'

Mario knows Luigi better than anybody else, been his brother and all, and yet what he said still managed to really surprise him.

He knew just how much Luigi hated been in his brother shadow, always been the one others forget about because they have all their focus on Mario. If there was one thing Luigi wanted more than anything is been recognized and respected.

And yet, when the opportunity arrived, Luigi refused to go with Mario, choosing to stay behind instead. Only reason why he was there in the first place was because of Bowser.

The question in the end was simple: why did Luigi choose not to come?

Mario could have let the all thing go. But he wouldn't be doing his role as his brother if he did.

So, taking a deep breath, he decided that it was time to confront him. "Luigi, can we stop? I need to talk to you."

Luigi complied and stopped in his tracks. "Eh, sure. What do you want to talk about?" Mario crossed his arm and closed his eyes. "There is… something… that has been bothering me for a while now." This made Luigi a little worried. "Mario, is there something wrong?"

Mario took another deep breath and just went with it. "I'm just curious Luigi; why didn't you want to come with me?" Luigi was a little confused by this question and tried to answer it the best way he could. "Well, maybe because I have a lot to do back home. Buying the grochery; cleaning the house, doing the garden; you know, the usual stuff."

Mario knew that wasn't the all picture and he continued. "Okay. Yes, I get that but, didn't you consider that I might have needed your help?"

Luigi gave him an annoyed look at that. "Oh please. You didn't need my help Mario. I can count to two hands the number of times you managed to save Peach by yourself."

"Yes it's true, but…"

"But what?"

Mario took a deep breath. There is no going back now. "Look. Let's cut to the chase. It's no secret that out of the two of us, I'm the one that always gets the most recognition."

Luigi still wasn't sure that this discussion was about. "Eehh, yes Mario. I think it's pretty obvious that you are more popular than me. So?"

Mario continued, taking another deep breath. "So… why didn't you want to take this chance? If you came with me voluntarily, the others would have started to notice you! You would have started to make a reputation for yourself. So… why didn't you?"

Luigi simply stared at his brother after that. The silence was really killing Mario. He would have done anything to make it stop. Thankfully, Luigi spoke again after awhile, crossing his arms. "Okay. For starters, I still came with you. Although, not of my own volution. Second, if I have to be honest… I don't really care about it."

Now THAT took Mario by surprise. "You… don't care?"

Luigi continued his explanation. "Well, yeah! I mean to be honest, it was something that bothered me at first. But then after giving it much thought, I realized that it wasn't really important. That I should't really care if I'm popular or no." He then stopped for a second and looked at the ground. "And if I REALLY want to be honest with you, I guess I also… well… made peace with it."

Now Mario was the one confused. "Peace with it? With what?"

Luigi then sighed and looked back at his brother. "That I'm never going to be like you. That I will never be popular like you. And I'm fine with that. I'm fine with just been "the brother of the popular Mario". Really, I am. I mean, it's…"

He then gave Mario a bittersweet smile. However, it was the "bitter" part that was more visible.

"… It's not like someone like me could ever be popular in the first place."

And there it was. The claim that confirmed what Mario was fearing from the start. The claim that he wished with all of himself that it wouldn't be true. But unfortunately, sometimes reality can be really disappointing. When we ask it to give us something we want, most of the times it doesn't happen. And for those times that it happens, the thing that it gives us isn't good news. And the truth is, while we may say that we want it, subconsciously we are hoping for the exact opposite.

Mario of course, like any brother, tried to stop Luigi's train of thoughts. "Luigi! You… you can't-" However, before he could finish, Luigi stopped him. "Mario, listen can we… can we just drop this all thing? I don't want to talk about it. And besides, don't you think we have bigger problems right now? Like, I don't know, recovering Princess Peach's voice? There will be another time for this, okay?"

In truth, Mario would have done anything except drop this. But Luigi was correct. It definitely wasn't the right time for psicoanalisis.

"… sigh… okay. Fine."

Luigi nodded and smiled at the response. "Thank you." He then looked at the road in front of them. "Come on. Let's reach the deck before Bowser bursts into flames."

Mario simply nodded as the two brother continued their walk torward the deck.

Did Mario find what he wanted to discover? Oh, he certainly did. But it was something he really wished it wasn't true.

Luigi didn't have a good opinion of himself.

After a few minutes of walking, the Mario Brothers reached the next zone of the Koopa Cruiser: the Cargo Hold. This is were the Koopa Troop stored the various cargos, like Mushrooms, clown cars, coins and sometimes Goombas.

As they were walking, Mario tried to warn his brother. "Luigi, we better be careful! There is a lot of very delicate stuff in here, so try not to touch anything!"

Luigi however was alittle offended by that statement. "Oh come on Mario! Try to have a little fate in me! I'm not some clumsy idiot that destroys everything that he-" Of course, right after he said that, he ended up bumping in one of the barrels. The barrel lost balance and ended up rolling against one of the railings, shattering in pieces.

The two brothers could only stare at the all thing dumbfounded, then after a few second, Mario slowly moved his head torward Luigi, giving him a serious deadpan look. Luigi could only scrutch his head and laugh in embarassment at the all thing. "… hehehe… sorry."

AND it was not over yet, as immediately afterwards, a Green Koopa arrived on the scene and could only look in horror at what remained of the barrel. "HEY! Look what you have done you imbeciles! You two are REALLY lucky that barrel was empty, otherwise you were going to pay for what was inside it with your own pockets!"

Mario immediately tried to defuse the situation. "Look, we are sorry, okay? We promise that this is not going to happen again!" The Koopa calmed himself but still looked at the angrily. "You better! Trust me, you don't want to break the Great Bowser's cargo! It's important stuff!"

Now it was Luigi's turn to speak. "We won't promise. But listen, since you are here, could you tell us were the deck is?" The Koopa eyed them for a few seconds. "… the deck?" He then pointed torward the road the brothers were taking. "The deck's just up ahead." He then looked back at them. "You better not slow Lord Bowser down."

Mario took note of this. "We won't. And thanks for the direction."

The brothers waved at the Koopa and directed theirself torward the pointed direction.

"… So, about that thing I was telling you-"

"NOT A WORD, OKAY? NOT. ONE. WORD!"

"… Oookay."

The brothers continued their walk, all the while been very careful to not touch anything.

Their walk however was interrupted again as they found a barrel blocking their way. Luigi was not happy about this. "…Great. Another barrel." Mario went in front of it. "Don't worry, I will deal with this. I mean, unless you think that your "powers of clumsyness" can break this as well?" He ended the speech with a smile.

Luigi was not amused. "… ha ha."

Mario tried to grab the barrel, but before he could, the barrel started to move, confusing him. "Eh?" The barrel kept shacking for a while until, surprisingly enough, it broke by itself, a Goomba coming out of it.

Wasting no seconds, the Goomba jumped torward Luigi and took a huge chomp at his arm. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"LUIGI!" Without skipping a beat, Mario grabbed the Goomba and pulled him with all the strength he had, ending his determined chomp on his brother's arm.

Then, to finish thing off, he kicked the Goomba as hard as he could and sended him flying in one of the other boxes. After that, he wiped a bit of sweat from his head. "Phew. That was close. Are you okay Luigi?"

Luigi could only keep holding his very hurting and chomped arm. "No! I am NOT okay! My arm REALLY hurts right now!"

Mario thankfully had a solution for that. "Don't worry. I've got quite a few Mushrooms in the suitcase. Hold on." Mario opened the suitcase and searched in it for a few seconds, eventually taking a mushroom out of it.

"Okay. Hold still."

Luigi did just that as he showed him his injured arm. Mario then put the mushroom on it. After a few seconds of silence, the mushroom disappeared and Luigi's arm became like new, free of any wounds. He moved his arm around a bit before giving a pleased smile. "Phew. Now that's better!" He looked at his brother. "Thanks Mario! I will try to be more careful next time!"

Mario nodded. After that, he closed the suitcase and the two brother continued their walk.

Unfortunately, something else was about to come up.

"COME HERE, YOU!"

Out of nowhere, a Goomba arrived at light speed, with a Green Koopa on his tale. The two minions stopped and entered in a stare down. The Koopa tried to corner it, but the Goomba was to fast and managed to evade him.

The Koopa then decided to calm down and take a breath. "Hahhh… Hooffff… Haarfff… It's too quick! I can't catch it… And I have to get ready for Beanbean immigration…" He then realized that someone was behind him and turned around. "Oh! It's Mario and… Mr. Greenie! Can you two help me out?" Luigi groaned internally. "I'll even teach you something important about how to use someone's attacks against them! No charge!"

The Mario Brothers looked at each other before Mario gave him an answer. "Sure. Why not." The Koopa snapped his fingers. "Excellent! Alright, follow me!" The brothers followed him were two Goombas, including the one from before, were standing.

The Koopa started explaining. "Alright, so, here is the thing: depending on how you time your jumps, you might not only dodge, but counterattack as well!" He then raised a finger. "The thing is, though… There are some attacks, like Bowser's flames, that you can't counter. Did you get all that?" The brothers nodded.

"Alright! You can practice with this Goombas! Practice up!" He then left the brothers alone to deal with them.

Mario was the first to start, calling one of the Goombas. "Hey, shorthy! Over here!" The Goomba, furious, charged at Mario. Timing things right, and with the proper reflexes, he jumped at the right time, landing right on the Goomba, stopping his attack and knocking him unconscious.

Now it was Luigi's turn. This time, the Goomba charged at him without provocation. He was really nervous about it, worried that he might miss and make a full out of himself again like before. However, Luigi managed to prove himself wrong, and landed on the Goomba as well.

With both the Goombas unconscious, the Koopa from before came back. "Well, I will be! Excellent work you two!" He grabbed the two Goombas and carried them torward a switch. He pressed the switch and two barrels fell on them, locking them inside. The Koopa cleaned some sweat from his forehead. "Hoo, thanks! Now I'm all ready!" He then pointed at some stairs. "If you are looking for the deck, it's right on top of those stairs!"

The Mario brother nodded and Mario answered him. "Great! Thanks for the new moves!"

The two brothers then said goodbye to him, and went torward the stairs, hoping to FINALLY reach the deck.

The two brothers reached the next part of the Cargo Hold and the final area before reaching the deck. There were more boxes of Cargo there, and various Koopas were moving them around.

One particular Koopa was using some sort of Crane. Luigi was curious about it. "What is that?" The Koopa heard him and answered. "This my friend, is the Pinch Crane. We use it to move the Cargo with much less difficulty." He then added something else. "I like to call it mister Pinch. … Don't ask me why."

Mario was a bit confused by that last bit. "I… see." The two brother decide to leave the Koopa alone. Instead, they went torward a Hammer Bro that had just finished moving a big box. "Phew. This was the last one."

Mario chose to inquire. "Is everything okay?" The Hammer Bro looked at him with an annoyed expression. "No! I'm not okay! I'm REALLY mad right now!" He then pointed at the moved cargo. "Some idiot thought it was a BRILLIANT IDEA to place the cargo all over the entrance to the deck! I have been here ALL DAY to clear the road of all the cargo!"

Mario winced after hearing this. "Man, sound rough." The Hammer Bro nodded. "Tell me about! I swear, once I find out who was responsible for this, I will give them a HUGE peace of my mind!" He then calmed himself and looked back at them. "Anyway, if you want to reach the deck, go right ahead. The way is clear."

"We will! Thanks!"

The two brother then, wasting anymore time, went up the stairs, hoping that this was finally it.

After who know show long, the Mario brothers had finally reached the deck.

It was pretty big, everything considered. There was lot of empty space, big enough to hold an entire platoon of man.

The blue sky was truly enchanting, been capable to sooth even the most stressed of people.

Unfortunatly, Bowser was not one of those people.

Saying that he was a little mad would be an understatment. "FINALLY! WHAT TOOK YOU IDIOTS SO LONG?! DID YOU DECIDE TO TAKE A NAP WHILE COMING HERE?!" Mario was having none of it. "Well, excuse me! But it's not our fault if this thing is so huge!"

"WHATEVER!" Bowser then calmed himself. "Anyway! Since you two are finally here…" He then pointed at Luigi. "You! Green stache! Make yourseld useful and take this binocular! You will be our lookout!" Bowser shoved the binocular in Luigi's arm against his protest. "Wha- Hey! You can't force me to do this! And my name is LUIGI!"

"WHAT-EV-ER!" Luigi at this point could only sigh in defeat. He took the binocular and went torward the railing of the deck.

A few minutes passed after that. Minutes that were spent in complete silence. Bowser was standing in the center of the deck with his arms crossed. Mario was against one of the railing, writing on the album Mike gave him. Finally, Luigi was also against the railing, having officialy become the "unvoluntary lookout".

Eventually, the silence was broken as a koopa arrived to inform Bowser. "Your Rancidness! We will soon pass over the border between the Mushroom and Beanbean Kingdoms."

"Hmm! Nice work! You can go back belowdecks. Now." Bowser replied. The Koopa did as he was told and left. Everyhting was going exactly according to plans.

But unfortunatly, things are never easy.

"MAMMA MIA!" Luigi suddendly screamed as he stumbled on the ground.

Mario was the first to worry. "Huh?! Luigi, are you okay? What did you see?" He was then followed by Bowser. "Eh? What's with all the hoopla?"

"IT'S… IT'S-! WHOOA!" Luigi couldn't finish his sentence.

Out of nowhere, a green ball of electricity came torwards the Cruiser and hit the deck, startling everyone on it. The impact also caused Bowser to stumble and fall on the ground.

"RAWR! WHAT NOW!" Bowser yelled.

The group went closer to the front to see what shot them.

It was then that the shooter… or rather shooters revealed themself.

One of them was flying with a jet-like rocking chair. The other was using some sort of Headgear.

"Eeeyah ha ha ha ha!" The perpetrator cackled with the most unsetting laugh there was. "Who would have thought you'd catch up to the Great Cakletta in even a hundred million years?"

"C-C-Cackletta?" Luigi wondered, completely terrified of the two people standing in front of him.

Bowser however already figured out who they were. "YOU! You are the fiend who stole Peach's voice! How dare you pull off such a cool evil plan?"

"NOT THE POINT BOWSER!" Mario screamed at him.

The witch was not worried by that claim. In fact, she seemed amused more than anything. "Eeeya ha ha ha! Oh, I dare!"

Mario was not happy to hear this. "So… you ARE the one who stole Peach's voice!" He then put himself in fighting position.

Luigi decided to steel himself and confront the witch as well. "You moster! Do you really think you can just steal her voice and get away with it?!"

This ended up making the witch even more amused. "I do think! AND I WILL!" Soon, her little fellow with the odd helmet flew beside her. "And now I'm going straight back to the Beanbean Kingdom so my next plan can take root! I have no time to chat with the likes of you!" She then turned to her henchmen. "Fawful! Take care of this!"

And with that, she flew away torward the Beanbean Kingdom, to enact the next part of her plan.

"GWAAAARRR! HOLD IT!"

Now it was the turn of the minion to speak. "Eeeyah ha ha ha ha!" He chortled. "I am the great Cackletta's most best pupil, who is named Fawful! I am here, laughing at you! If you are giving us the chase just to get your silly princess's voice, the you are idiots of foolishness! Princess Peach's sweet voice will soon be the bread that makes the sandwich of Cackletta's desires! And this battle shall be the delicious mustard on that bread! The mustard of your doom!"

Bowser was left really confused by that phrase. "I, WHAT?!"

He wasn't confused for long however as Fawful launched a blast at Bowser, sending him away.

"BOWSER!" The Mario Brothers went to help him, but he was already unconscious.

They turned around to fight him, only to find out that he wasn't in the front anymore.

"Eeeeh… Mario? Where did he go?"

"I… don't know."

Our heroes didn't have to wonder for long. Fawful was infact sneaking behind, floating all the while. And after he got close enough to them, he let out another laugh, startling the two of them.

"Eeeyah ha ha ha ha!"

"AAAAAHHH" Both the brothers screamed.

Wasting no time, the brothers went into fighting position.

"NEXT IS THE TURN OF YOU!" Fawful declared as he charged his Headgear.

(To enjoy the read more, I suggest listening to "Popple The Shadow Thief, Popple Battle" from the remake while reading this next part. Enjoy!)

"FINK-RATS!" After shouting that, his Headgear released another blast. He shot it torward Luigi.

"OH CRUD!" Luigi was not fast enough to dodge it and he was hit, knocking him on the ground.

"LUIGI!"

Fawful could only laugh at what he was witnessing. Unfortunatly for him, he didn't notice Mario charging at him. He jumped and hit Fawful, landing right on his Headgear.

"ACK!"

Fawful looked back at Mario, who was smirking at him, making Fawful furious. "YOU… DISGUSTING… FINK-RAT!"

Fawful shot another blast, at Mario this time. Mario dodged it and jumped on the Headgear again

"AAH!"

Luigi managed to get up and witnessed Mario fighting Fawful by himself.

"Out of my way, FINK-RAT!" Fawful focused his blasts at Mario, who now was too busy dodging to attack. Luigi decided to take this chance and, while Fawful was distracted, he landed a solid jump on the Headgear.

"ACK!"

Luigi went torward Mario. The two brothers where now both completely focused on Fawful.

Fawful was not happy about this. "Oh! I see! So this is the farm I've got myself into! Because this is a farm alright! A FARM OF FINK-RATS!"

He then laughed. "Have you readiness for THIS?!"

Fawful this time shot two blasts, at both Mario and Luigi. The brother both jumped at the right time and dodged them.

Luigi then landed another hit on him. Followed by Mario.

Fawful shook is head to get himself back on track. He eyed the two brothers. "Oh alright then! Let's see if your smelly jumps can save you from my shark of DOOM!"

He then shot two more at them. After they dodged them, he immediately followed with two more, and two more again.

The brothers dodged them carefully and both landed another hit on him.

"WRAAAA!"

Now Fawful was truly furious, if he already wasn't before, and gave the brothers a furious glare. "ALRIGHT! ENOUGH WITH THIS GAME FOR RATS! IT'S TIME TO PLAY LIKE CATS!"

After that, his Headgear started to glow, like it was charging.

"I don't like this bro!" A panicked Luigi said to Mario.

"I don't like this either!"

Fawful then gave them one last glare before… "NOW! TRY TO DODGE… THIS!"

Then, it was chaos. A HUGE wave of blasts came from the headgear and launched itself torward the Mario brother.

After that, the two brother started to dodge like crazy, trying their best to avoid every single one of them.

"AAAAAAAH! MARIO! DO SOMETHING!" Luigi screamed at his brother as he continued to dodge the blasts without misssing a bit.

Mario was also having troble, jumping left and right like his brother to avoid them.

Then, in the middle of it all, he had an idea.

He smirked, took an opportunity to charge, and before anyone could notice...

"YYYAAAAAAHAAAAA!"

Spin Jump.

Mario completely flew over the coming blasts and reached Fawful, shocking him completely. "WHAAAT!? THE FINK-RAT CAN FLY!?"

Before saying anything else, Mario hit the Headgear with his Spin Jump, giving it massive damage.

"ACK!"

After that, the blasts stopped coming, giving both the brothers a chance to take a breath.

There were also fumes coming from the Headgear, disturbing Fawful. "Eh!? Wait! What is-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the Headgear exploded, landing Fawful on the ground. Fawful was utterly shicked by this turn of events. "MY HEADGEAR!" He then turned to the brothers. "YOU FILTHY FILTHY FILTHY FINK-RATS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT TAKES TO BUILD ONE OF DOES!?"

Mario answered him by jumping on his head. "ARGH!"

Fawful at this point had no choice but to play his final card. "NOW IS WHEN I RAM YOU!"

Fawful down right charged at the brothers with is all body.

First, he charged Luigi. "WOOA!" Luigi dodged Fawful at the last second, out of his way.

Then it was Mario. Unfortunatly for Fawful, Mario had a little technique that he learned recently.

With a well time jumped, Mario hit Fawful right in the middle of his charge. "ARCK!"

This caused Fawful to become dizzie. Mario took this chance to finish him the same way he finished his fight with Bowser.

He jumped on his head, delivered another one, and finished things with a ground pound.

"Urk…"

This was too much for Fawful as he fell on the ground, ending the fight.

Luigi took a deep breath as he finally sat down. "Pheww. We did it bro."

Mario used his hat to fan himself. "Yeah. That we did."

Little did they know however that it wasn't over. While they were trying to collect their bearings, they heard Fawful groaning on the ground. "Uhnnrgh… How could fink-rats like you beat such an awful nasty as me?"

He then got up and started laughing, no worse for wear. "NO MATTER!" He then turned around. "HEADGEAR!"

In that instant, another Headgear, which looked identical to the last one, appeared out of nowhere and landed on his head.

"What the heck!?" Luigi said shocked.

"Didn't I destroy that thing!?" Mario also said shocked.

Fawful laughed at that and said to them teasingly. "Did you honestly think I'd just make only one Headgear, fink-rats?" He then started to float again.

"I HAVE FURY!"

"You have what!?" Luigi exclaimed, still very weirded out by Fawful "curious" way of talking.

Fawful then looked at them and snarled. "Bah! Now is when the talking stops! I do not have time to stop and smell foul roses such as you!" He then looked at the Cruiser. "One fell swoop is the way I will deal with you fink-rats!"

"I do not like the sound of that." Mario said as he started to get worried.

And he was right to be worried. Fawful flew above them and started to shoot even more blasts. However, this time, he was shooting them right at the Koopa Cruiser, damaging it more and more.

Luigi figured out what he was doing. "WAIT! HE IS ACTUALLY-"

He couldn't finish the sentence as the Koopa Cruiser was soon engulfed in multiple explosions. Fawful could only laugh at the destruction he caused.

"Eeeyah ha ha ha ha!"

After that, he flew away, proud of the job well done.

"Hey! Come back here you coward!" Mario screamed at him.

The explosions kept going and going, continuing to damage the Cruiser. "Not good! Mario! The ship is gonna blow!" Luigi screamed, completelly scared.

Eventually, the all Cruise exploded and started to fall down.

"HOLD ON TO SOMETHING LUIGI! WHE ARE GOING TO FALL!"

Then, as the ship continued to fall, another explosion arrived, this time on the main deck, sending the two brother flying.

The brothers continued to fly (or fall), away and away…

Right in the Stardust Fields. The first destination of their adventure.

AAAAANNNNNDDD IIIIIITTTT'SSSSSSS DDDOOOOOONNNNEEEE! Phew. I must say, this chapter took longer that I would have ever immagined, guess it's because I added quite a bit of original stuff. But it's not important. The important thing is, I finally finished it. Next time, our heroes are finally going to meet eachother and there will be the first part of the Stardust Fields. Once again, no Omake, but I promise, they will come back next chapter. I'm also implementing something a few other Fanfic Creator have done: suggesting a type of music to listen during a read to make the experience more real. Hope you are going to like it. And that's all. As always, comments are appreciated, and for now… SEE YOU NEXT TIME!