Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story.

BGM: Petal Meadows (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

The trio hopped out of the Warp Pipe, where Sora would close his eyes and take in the fresh clean air. "Ah… take it in. Fresh clean air compared to the stench in the sewers and Rogueport."

"I will admit, it's nicer here than in that dump." Luigi said.

"Ah, it wasn't so bad." Mario said with a shrug.

"…Bro, that town is in the middle of a gang war and on top of that, I got pickpocketed."

"Good point, but compare it to the times we go into the Koopa Kingdom."

"Yeah, but have Bowser's Minions ever pickpocketed someone before?"

"As far as I know… no."

"Exactly! At least they have the decency not to pickpocket anyone!"

"Ooookaaaay, let's go." Sora said as they started walking ahead, the three of them spotting some weird pedestal-statue things in the middle of the field.

"Not sure what those are for, but… looks interesting." Luigi said.

"Right. Now then, I'm pretty sure the Crystal Star is this-"

Suddenly, there was a loud roar that interrupted Mario. "Wha?!"

Pause BGM

BGM: A Dragon in the Sky (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Holy moly!" Sora exclaimed. "Look at that!" He said, as they saw a dragon flying overhead.

"Is… is that a dragon?!" Luigi paled as the dragon would fly into the castle in the distance.

"So… you think we're gonna have to fight that?" Sora asked.

"I have a pretty good feeling, yes." Mario nodded.

"Well then… let's find a way to get to that castle!" Sora said with Mario nodding with his usual trademarked thumbs up.

"Let's-a go!" Mario exclaimed.

"Oh… oh dear… I just remembered I need to uh… go… button my… uh… under… wear… yeah… go on without me, this is gonna take a while!" Luigi said as he tried to take off, but Mario grabbed his arm.

End BGM

Resume Petal Meadows BGM

"Come on, Weeg… that was a pretty poor excuse, even for you." He said as he dragged his brother away.

"You said I needed a better excuse than "left the oven on"! Give me a break!"

Sora rubbed the back of his head. "Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine." He said with a shrug before catching up with the bros as they walked through Petal Meadows, where the three of them would effortlessly take out a Goomba, Paragoomba and a Spiky Goomba, though Sora would notice that the Mario Bros would take out the former two by jumping on them.

"That kinda looks painful." Sora said, wincing a bit.

"You get used to it." Mario responded as they continued on where they went into the next area, where Sora would witness the Mario Bros' jumping capabilities as they effortlessly jump over the river.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed. "You guys have some impressive jumps!"

"We're not called the Super Mario Bros for nothing!" Luigi said proudly as Sora backed up and then got a running start as he leaped across the river where a Nibbles would jump out and try to bite him, but missed him by a few inches as Sora landed near the bros.

"Nice jump!" Mario complimented.

"Eh, it was nothin'." Sora chuckled as they walked into a town.

End BGM

BGM: Petalburg (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Ah, hello there! Welcome to Petalburg!" A Koopa greeted. "…Well, I would give you a warm welcome but uh… we're kinda under a lot of stress at the moment."

"Why's that?" Mario asked.

"Oh, you know, just the fact that a giant dragon decided to make itself at home here and kept gobbling us up one by one. No matter how many times we send a party to destroy the monster known as Hooktail, none of them have come back alive!"

"Hooktail? You mean that big ol' dragon that flew over us earlier?" Sora asked.

"Wha?! You met Hooktail and it didn't gobble you up?! You are very very VERY lucky!"

"Well, we can put a stop to this dragon!" Mario grinned. "Nothing that we can't handle!"

Luigi sweatdropped. "I was afraid you'd say that…"

"You're going to be fighting Hooktail?! Ooooh… unthinkable…" The Koopa shuddered.

"Best thing we can do is stock up." Mario said as he wandered toward the item shop while Luigi and Sora followed, the duo casually looking around and seeing the townsfolk going about their day.

"Hmm, for a town living under fear of Hooktail, they sure don't seem to mind it." Sora said.

"Eh, better to live blissfully unaware that you'll be the next meal." Luigi shrugged, where they would notice a small Toad looking down in the dumps.

"What's wrong, little guy?" Sora asked.

"Oh… my friends keep teasing me about someone that I like." He sighed. "I just wanna, you know, be happy but they won't let me."

"Well, don't let anyone else bug ya about that. Like whatever you wanna like. Not the end of the world if you like someone and no one else does." Luigi pointed out.

The little Toad's eyes sparkled. "Yeah! Yeah, you're right!" He said as he pulled out a phone and startex texting.

"Hey boneheads! I'm going to give you several reasons why Byleth is hot and why she AND Fire Emblem: Three Houses deserves to be in Smash Bros!"

"Heheh, that's the way to go!" Sora grinned.

Why do I feel like I just unwittingly incited a flame war? Luigi thought as he and Sora walked inside the item shop.

"So how much do a few POW Blocks cost?" Mario asked.

"Kecleon Kec!"

"Five coins a pop? That's a steal!" Mario said, taking a few POW Blocks. "Thank you!"

"Kecly!"

"Uh, Luigi? You okay?" Sora asked.

"Um… yeah… something about this guy is giving me the willies…" Luigi gulped as they walked out.

"It was just a chameleon." Sora pointed out.

"JUST a chameleon?! No no no no! I've heard stories of these guys demolishing anyone who steals from them!"

"…Uh-huh… a chameleon."

"I don't want to be a statistic!" Luigi exclaimed. "I think I heard that the Wario Bros were the only lucky ones who got away from stealing from one of those guys! And… maybe even Nabbit but other than that… NO!"

"He's not wrong. Those guys are quite powerful." Mario said as they walked off.

"…Ooookaaaaaay, whatever you say." Sora shrugged as they walked through the town until they came across the edge of town.

"Whoa now! You can't go past here." The Koopa said. "There's a big ugly monster back there in Shhwonk Fortress and I'd rather not let anyone get destroyed by that thing!"

"…Oh well, we tried." Luigi said as he walked away, but Mario grabbed his arm. "…Crud."

"So, there has to be a way around it, right?" Mario asked.

"Well, you'll have to get the mayor's permission."

"Then let's go to the mayor's house!" Mario said, dragging Luigi away. "…Where's the house, by the way?"

"Pink house, can't miss it!"

"Thanks!" Sora said as they made their way to the Mayor's house, and Mario knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Mayor Kroop said as they walked in.

"Heya!" Mario waved.

"Hmm? Who are you folk? Are you here to rob me?"

All three of them stopped dead in their tracks. "Huh?" All three of them blinked.

"Who goes and robs an old man's home! Here, take my money! Go play some of that there Fortnite that you kids like to play!"

"Fortnite?" Sora quietly mouthed.

"No no no no! We're not here to rob you! We need to ask you something!" Luigi said.

"Yeah, we're good guys!" Mario nodded.

"Hmm? Ooooh, my bad… sorry, I'm getting on in years… anyway, the name's Mayor Kroop. What can I do for ya?"

"We were wondering about going into Shhwonk Fortress. There might be something there that'll help us with Hooktail." Sora explained.

"Hooktail, you say! Why, you have to be out of your gourd if you even think about facing that nasty monster, but then again… if you defeat that beast, we can live in peace and rebuild! There are two keys in Shhwonk Fortress that are necessary to go to Hooktail Castle. Perhaps you can get those if you don't mind the monsters."

"We can take 'em!" Mario declared.

"Ah, I like the sound of that! …By the way, what are your names?"

"I'm-a Mario, and this is my bro Luigi! This other guy is our new friend, Sora."

"Heya!"

"Ah… Murphy, Luggy and Roxas."

"Murphy?!"

"LUGGY?!"

"Roxas?! …Why do I suddenly feel nostalgic?" Sora sweatdropped.

"No no no no! It's Mario, Luigi and Sora!" Mario said.

"Ah, Murphy, Luggy and Roxas… such nice names."

"I… don't think we're gonna get anywhere." Luigi sweatdropped.

"Alright, so you want to go fight Hooktail? Go to Shhwonk Fortress, claim your prize, defeat the monster, destroy Hooktail and be back by supper time! …Wait, do I have that backwards?"

"See ya later!" Sora said, pushing the Bros out and closing the door.

"Alright, to-a Shhwonk Fortress!" Mario declared as they ran toward the gate.

"You got permission? Alright, don't say I didn't warn ya." He said as he opened up the gate.

"Um… excuse me!" A voice said as the trio turned around to see a Koopa approaching them. "Um, listen… uh… my name's Koops and… um… uh… well… oh… oh, just forget it! Ignore me!" He said as he took off running.

"Ooof, social anxiety… I know how that feels." Luigi said.

"Give him time. He'll come through." Mario said as they walked through Shhwonk Fortress.

End BGM

After knocking out some Koopas, the trio walked into the first fortress where they saw two Bald Clefts sitting on pedestals. Luigi looked at one and side stepped a bit, noticing the eyes are following him. "Okay, the eyes follow you. That's creepy!"

"Huh, no way through…" Sora mused, looking through the doorway. "Hmmm…"

"Maybe we oughta pound it." Mario said. "Or better yet, melt it!" He said, activating his Fire Brand.

"Or how about finding someone with metal bending powers?" Luigi guessed, leaning on the pillar… which was enough to awaken the Bald Clefts. "Wah! Okay, they're moving now!"

Mario pulled out a POW Block. "I don't think our hammers will do anything… soooo, let's-a go!" He said, throwing down the POW Block, which not only destroyed the Bald Clefts but it was enough to knock Sora and Luigi down.

"Mmph… next time, can you warn a guy?" Luigi groaned as the gate opened up.

"Whoa… they weren't kidding with the POW." Sora chuckled as they took off to the next fortress, where they were greeted by Bristles on the pedestals.

"Hmm…" Mario rubbed his chin in thought. "Those spikes on their sides definitely scream "danger", so I imagine hammering is out of the question. Fire isn't the answer either."

"How about electricity?" Luigi suggested.

"Probably not. They're metal."

"Ooooh, good idea."

"POW Block?" Sora suggested.

"Just what I was thinking!" Mario nodded as Sora touched one of the pedestals as the Bristles jumped off.

"Mmph! Creepy…" Luigi sweatdropped, and then he and Sora jumped right as Mario threw the POW Block to destroy the Bristles.

"Too easy!" Mario said, as they walked through and when they went into the next Fortress… they saw a Thwomp.

"Uh… what's this?" Sora asked.

"A Thwomp… I don't trust this." Luigi said as Mario walked over to it.

"WHO DARES ENTER THIS FORTRESS!" The Thwomp suddenly yelled.

"Wah!" Mario yelped in surprise while Luigi hid behind Sora.

"You three! You dare enter this fortress… well, if you wish to continue on, then you'll have to defeat me! If you can't defeat me… then you'll be here for eternity!"

"E-eternity?! Oh boy…" Luigi gulped.

"Sure. We can handle it." Mario said.

"Excellent… LET THE GAMES BEGIN!" The Thwomp yelled as they were enveloped in a bright light… before they found themselves on a game show.

"Huh?!" Sora said in shock.

"Wwwwelcome… to the 65th Super Fun Quirk Quiz! For this main event, we're gonna do something a bit different! Brush up your musical genius folks, because we're going to do a music quiz for this one! Ten questions! Get most of them right and you'll win a prize. Get most of them wrong and you'll be regretting it! Mwahahaha! Do you wish to play?"

"Well, not like we have much choice…" Luigi sighed.

"Yes." Mario nodded.

"Terrific! Now then… for the very first question!" He exclaimed as the three got ready. "This iconic theme is known the world over! What is the name of this song?"

BGM: Main Theme (Tetris 99)

"Oooh, I know this one!" Mario exclaimed.

"So do I!" Luigi nodded.

"Oooh, this is really catchy." Sora said, closing his eyes and nodding his head to the beat.

"Answer please! Is it A: Tetris, B: Pac-Man, C: Final Fantasy or D: Touhou?"

"Tetris!" Both Bros said in unison.

"Hang on, let me listen to more of this song." Sora said. "…Oh, uh… what they said!"

"And the answer is… A! Tetris! That one was easy, but it'll be a whole lot harder from here on out!"

End BGM

"Now then, question number two: These new kids on the block took the world by storm with their number one hit single several years ago! Take a listen!"

BGM: Calamari Inkantation (Splatoon)

"Oooh. Another catchy one!" Sora said.

"Oh, what was the name of this one…" Luigi said.

"It's on the tip of my tongue." Mario rubbed his chin.

"Answer please! Is it A: Bomb Rush Blush, B: Calamari Inkantation, C: Splattack!, or D: Tidal Rush"

"Hang on, I want to listen to this some more!" Sora said.

"Oh! Now I remember. Calamari Inkantation!" Mario said.

"Yeah, what he said!" Luigi agreed.

"I'm going with what these two are saying." Sora said, nearly dancing to the beat.

"And the correct answer is… Calamari Inkantation! Quite catchy… but the questions are gonna get a whole lot fresher- I mean harder!"

End BGM

"I feel fresh for some reason." Sora said.

"Question three: In the very infamous song the DK Rap, the song indicates that Chunky Kong is what kind of guy? Is it A: Heck of a guy, B: One cool mamma jamma, C: Lovable goofball or D: One hell of a guy."

"D!" Both bros said.

"Uh… lovable goofball." Sora said.

"Let's take a listen!"

BGM: DK Rap (Donkey Kong 64) (Start at 2:43)

"He may move slow, he can't jump high, but this Kong's one hell of a guy!"

End BGM

"Correct! Just a friendly warning, if most of you get in right, then you get the point. If most of you get It wrong, then you don't get a point at all. Now then… Next question! This song is from a sleeper hit game… which is honestly kind of unfortunate. Here is one of the songs that you tend to hear the most often from this!"

BGM: Emergency (Astral Chain)

"Uh… what…?" Sora tilted his head.

"Mmm… where exactly is this from?" Mario wondered.

"I feel pumped just listening to this! …Why haven't I heard it before?" Luigi asked.

"Answers please! Is it A: Legend of Zelda, B: Astral Chain, C: A Hat in Time or D: Dragon Quest?"

"Um… Legend of Zelda?" Sora shrugged.

"Hat in Time!" Luigi said.

"Dragon Quest." Mario guessed.

"Ooooh, the correct answer you're looking for is Astral Chain! I can just hear the author groaning from this… anyway, next question!"

End BGM

"Question five: This song is from an iconic movie! Let's see if you can guess where this is from. Roll the clip!"

BGM: I'll Make a Man Outta You (Mulan) (Start at 1:32)

"Oooh, I know this one!" Sora exclaimed.

"Sounds… familiar…" Luigi mused. "Where have I heard it again?"

"Uh… shoot, I haven't seen a lot of movies, honestly." Mario scratched his head.

"Answers please! Is it A: Mulan… and I mean the GOOD Mulan! B: Aladdin, C: Wreck it Ralph or D: Final Fantasy?"

"A! Mulan!" Sora said.

"Eh… did I hear it in Wreck it Ralph…?" Luigi wondered.

"Final Fantasy. Sounds like it belongs there." Mario said.

"Ooooh! The answer you were looking for was Mulan!"

"Oh come on, guys!" Sora groaned.

"Oh, right… my bad." Luigi blushed.

End BGM

"Three correct guesses, two wrongs… it's anyone's game! Now, on to the next question. Question six! This hip new song got a remix and everyone lost their minds when they heard this song. Take a listen!"

BGM: Megalovania (Super Smash Bros Ultimate) (Start at 0:07)

"…Why do I feel like I'm gonna have a bad time?" Sora wondered.

"Shoot, uh… sounds familiar." Luigi said.

Mario closed his eyes. "Oooh, it's on the tip of my tongue."

"Answers please! Is it A: Megalovania from Undertale, B: Your Contract Has Expired from A Hat in Time, C: Steel Thy Shovel from Shovel Knight or D: Last Battle from Cave Story?"

"Um… Cave Story?" Sora guessed.

"Shovel Knight! …Wait… no… uh… can I get a redo?" Luigi asked.

"Mmm… A Hat in Time?" Mario guessed.

"Ooooh! All incorrect guesses. It's Megalovania from Undertale!"

Both Bros facepalmed. "Right… duh…" Both of them groaned.

"It's evenly tied! Mwhahaha! Anyway, next question!"

End BGM

"Question Seven: This iconic soundtrack is something that you can hum anywhere… even in a bathroom if you so desire! Take a listen!"

BGM: Halo Theme (Halo)

"Oooh… I can see why you can hum such a track…" Sora said.

"Mmm… interesting…" Mario mused.

"Huh… mystifying!"

"Dah dah daaaaaaaaah dah dah dah daaaah…" Sora sang. "…Oh! Sorry…"

"Answers please! Is it A: Assassin's Creed, B: Dishonored, C: Grand Theft Auto or D: Halo?"

"I'm gonna go with Halo… it sounds like it fits there." Sora said.

"What Sora said." Luigi said.

"Yeah, I'm with these guys."

"Aaaand you are correeect! Everyone knows this theme! …I'm surprised you three figured it out. Oh well! Next question!"

End BGM

"Question eight! Sonic the Hedgehog has had many great themes in his life… can you name this particular song?"

BGM: Solaris Phase 2 (Sonic '06) (Start at 0:29)

"Ooooh! This sounds epic!" Sora said.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, bro?" Mario asked.

"Oh yeah!" Luigi nodded.

"Answers please! Is it A: His World, B: Live and Learn, C: Open Your Heart, D: Endless Possibilities, E: Reach for the Stars or F: None of the above."

"Endless Possibilities!" Sora said.

"While it is technically His World… this is just an instrumental version of it, so it's none of the above!" Mario declared.

"Yeah, what he said!" Luigi agreed.

"AND YOU ARE CORRECT! Though I could trick you with that one…" He grumbled. "Alright, next question!"

End BGM

"Question nine! In some other timeline other than this, a group of individuals came here and brought themselves a theme song. Take a listen to this!"

BGM: Main Theme (Fairy Tail)

"…Why does this sound very nostalgic all of a sudden?" Luigi asked.

"Right? It sounds so familiar… like we've met those people before." Mario agreed.

"Huh? This doesn't sound like anything I've heard." Sora said.

"Answers please! Is it A: Sgt Frog, B: Fairy Tail, C: Akame Ga Kill or D: Assassination Classroom?"

"Somehow… I'm going with Fairy Tail!" Mario said.

"Yeah!" Luigi nodded.

"Eh… Akame Ga Kill?" Sora shrugged.

"And the answer is… Fairy Tail! In another timeline, you two have met these rambunctious dysfunctional people!"

"Nice!" Mario said, high fiving Luigi.

"Final question!"

End BGM

"This iconic character got a new game recently and people from around the world are loving every second of it. Take a listen!"

BGM: Ten Players Remaining! (Pac-Man 99)

"Whoa! What the heck?!" Sora exclaimed in surprise.

"Uh… whoa… I don't remember this at all." Luigi said.

"Mmm… sounds familiar, but…" Mario folded his arms.

"Answers please! Is it A: Mega Man, B: Shantae, C: Pac-Man, or D: Yoshi?"

"Sounds nothing like my pal…" Mario said. "Mmm, Mega Man?"

"Mega Man, by the sound of it."

"Uh… I dunno, Pac-Man?" Sora shrugged.

"One of you got it right, but most of you didn't! It's Pac-Man!"

"Wait, I was right?!" Sora said in surprise.

"Oh wow!" Both bros exclaimed.

End BGM

"And with that… with a stunning 7 correct answers and three wrong answers… you win!" The Thwomp exclaimed as everything went back to normal. "Hmph! I was hoping to trick you with some hard ones yet you managed to pull it off." He moved back to reveal a Warp Pipe. "HMMPH!"

"…Okay, that was eventful, I suppose." Sora shrugged as they hopped into the Warp Pipe.

I was gonna throw in the rest of Shhwonk Fortress, but I felt like this was a good stopping point.

I also was going to throw in a song from Batman: Arkham Knight but I couldn't find the song I was looking for, unfortunately.