A/N: Hi, everyone! Sorry this took a long time to update. School and other activities have made it difficult for me to write this chapter. I want to thank those that have reviewed the previous two chapters and everyone who favorited and followed.

Suggested Music:

(1) Cascade Kingdom (Fossil Falls) - Super Mario Odyssey OST

(2) Thanos Theme Suite - Avengers: Infinity War OST

(3) Family - Super Mario Galaxy OST

Without further ado, enjoy the show!

Our First Power Moon

Mario was screaming as loud as a banshee as the yellow bolt of electricity made its way over to the next kingdom. He zoomed across the powerlines as high speeds; he felt he was going as fast as someone he knew from the Olympic Games.

Eventually, he reached the end of the line. To which he shot into the air.

Screaming and waving his hands, the plumber fell, face-first, against the ground.

Cappy dismounted from his companion's head, wondering if he was okay.

Pulling his face from the ground, Mario was in awe to see that this kingdom had a breathtaking waterfall that roared as loud as some of the monsters he's faced in the past, and that on the top was a dinosaur skeleton. The area was mostly covered in fresh green grass and there were fossils and strange pictures of Mario and Peach in their cat suits sculpted into the cobblestones.

Mario got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. Amazed by the beautiful scenery, the plumber smiled. (1)

"Wow! What a ride!" Cappy smiled "And we made it to the Cascade Kingdom!"

"T-that's a pretty good," Mario replied, vibrating as he spoke.

"You okay, Mario?" Cappy asked.

"Y-yeah, I-I'm-a fine," Mario replied, rubbing his head. "Just having a hard time recovering from… whatever that was."

"Don't worry, you get used to it," Cappy smiled. "Now, if I remember correctly, there should be a ship we could use to chase after Bowser and our loved ones."

"Any idea where that could be?"

"It should be around here somewhere. Let's take a look."

"Okie-dokie! Let's-a go!"

Mario and Cappy began their journey by running around the grass of the kingdom. As they made their way over to a group of fossils, they saw these tiny, spiky, creatures emerge from the ground. They had huge lips and big eyes. They started limping towards the two adventurers. Mario jumped on one of them, but the spike on them hurt his foot. He screamed and jumped in pain.

Just then, he got the idea to use Cappy to take care of them.

Chucking Cappy at the spiny creatures, he finished them off with ease.

Then, the two heroes jumped on top of a rock and climbed up to an upper level. Running across the grass, they stumbled upon a sandy area with a few rocks and a Chain Chomp. As soon as they got close enough, the ball-shaped creature glared at them. Barking, it lunged at them at rapid speeds.

"Yip!" Mario shouted, as he and Cappy bounced back and saw the Chain Chomp nearly get to them. The chain it was attached to yank the creature back, as it continued patrolling his area.

"What the heck is that!?" Cappy asked, slightly afraid.

"Oh, that's-a Chain Chomp," Mario replied. "They're kind of like dogs… sort of."

Cappy raised an eyebrow, wanting to ask another question concerning the monster. But he then looked over to a tall structure that was connected to the bridge. He glanced over to the water and saw there was no pathway present. Eyeballing the structure again, he nodded and thought of an idea.

"See that structure over there?" he asked, and Mario nodded. "It's too big for us to push down by ourselves. Maybe we can use that Chain Chomp to knock it over."

Mario nodded and chucked Cappy on top of the Chain Chomp's head. He jumped inside the creature and took control of him. Looking at the rock structure, he wondered how he could knock it down. Although, it didn't take him long to figure out what he could do. Backing away from the rock, he put enough pressure on the chain. To which it yanked him into the bridge, striking it down on top of the water, creating a pathway. But that's not all that it created.

From the shattered rock emerged an object that shimmered as bright as a Power Star from the Mushroom Kingdom, except it was shaped like a crescent moon. Mario and Cappy jumped off the Chain Chomp, leaving it dazed. They approached the moon; the plumber wondered what it was, but the hat geeked out in amazement.

"No way!" Cappy exclaimed. "Could it be?"

"What the heck is that?" Mario asked. "Looks like a Power Star."

"This ain't no star," Cappy replied. "This… is a Power Moon."

Mario grabbed the object and held it in his hand; its bright yellow glow blinded him. Shielding his eyes, he stored it in his pocket. The two of them proceeded to run down the bridge until they suddenly came across something in the distance. It was a large ship shaped like Cappy's head and it had a few details on it such as a silver railing, a golden orb on the top, and part of what looked like a balloon.

The two heroes stopped and looked at the ship; it was old, muddy, and blanketed with rust.

Cappy hovered towards the ship, inspecting every part about it. "I think this is it! The ship!"

Mario scratched his head. "Seriously? This piece of garbage is our key to fighting Bowser?"

"Hey, hey! Don't say that about the Odyssey!"

"The Odyssey?"

"Yeah, that's its name."

"So, how do we turn it on? Assuming it works."

"My father told me that it runs on energy from Power Moons: that moon we just found. Speaking of which, hold it up to the Odyssey and see what happens. According to my calculations, it should jumpstart it."

The red-capped hero did as he was told and took out the Power Moon. He threw it up in the air and watched it go inside the golden globe. Just then, the number one popped up on the balloon, but nothing else happened. Mario shook his head and sighed while Cappy cocked an eyebrow.

"What did I tell you?" Mario said. "Garbage."

"Well, one Power Moon isn't going to activate it," Cappy said. "We're gonna need more if we want to get this thing working. Don't worry, Mario, we'll get our loved ones back in no time!"

"I hope so," Mario sighed.

The Bonnetor looked up and saw that it was getting dark in the Cascade Kingdom. When they arrived, it as close to sunset. The moon was starting to rise from the horizon, gleaming its bright light upon he and Mario. Yawning, Mario stretched his arms and cracked his back.

"Mama Mia," Mario said. "I'm-a getting sleepy,"

"Me too," Cappy said, yawning. "Let's set up camp. We'll look for more Power Moons in the morning." (1s)

Later that night, the two explorers have set up a small campfire and have managed to find a couple of blankets in the middle of nowhere. Sitting down and feeling the warmth of the fire brush against their faces, Mario and Cappy looked up into a starry night sky. They spent the rest of the day exploring the Cascade Kingdom, looking for Power Moons, but they have not found any, nor did they find any signs of life aside from those spikey enemies and a couple of Goombas.

Rubbing his hands together, Mario sighed and leaned back on his sleeping bag, as he gazed into the star-covered night.

Cappy lifted a few planks of wood with his hands and placed them in the firepit, watching them burn slowly.

"There," Cappy said, wiping his hands clean. He sat down on his make-shift pillow made of leaves. "That should be plenty of firewood to hold us for the night."

Mario nodded.

"So, Mario," Cappy said, pressing his hands together. "We never got a chance to know one another. Tell me about yourself. What do you do? What's your life like?"

Mario cleared his throat. "Well, my brother, Luigi, and I weren't always heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom. Back in the day, we were the best-a plumbers of New Donk City."

"New Donk City?" Cappy asked. "My parents took me and my sister there once. It was really nice."

"We were called into my ex-girlfriend, Pauline's house," Mario continued, poking the fire with a stick. "She had something stuck in her bathtub. So, Luigi and I checked it out when suddenly… we were sucked down the drain and wound up in the Mushroom Kingdom! It was-a crazy! We were greeted to all these walking mushrooms, talking dinosaurs, giant turtles, and all sorts of crazy stuff!"

Cappy's eyes widened. "Wow! I never knew the Mushroom Kingdom had so many characters!"

"You really have to see it for yourself. Anyways, Luigi and I were tasked by a Toad named Toadsworth with saving a princess named Peach. So, after traveling through eight different worlds, Luigi and I finally met her and… ha ha, boy I tell ya. She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!"

"Really?" Cappy chuckled.

"Yep! Not only was she beautiful, but she was so nice! Always taking care of her people, remembers everybody's' name, and she makes the most beautiful cakes. She thanked me for saving her and offered me and Luigi our own house. Eventually, me and Peach became really close friends until… well, I think you can infer what happened next."

The Bonnetor nodded.

"Peach and I would go on our own adventures and we would go on many dates. We also did a lot of things together like kart-racing, signing up for the Olympic games, having Mario Party. I must warn you; Mario Party gets a little competitive, and we play-a sports teams! It's-a incredible!"

Cappy rubbed his head and smiled. "Sounds like you and Peach have a close relationship."

"Yep!" Mario nodded happily. But his smile quickly turned into a frown. Lowering his head in guilt, he sighed. "But sadly, Peach and I don't get to spend a lot of time together these days. Bowser's been going nuts with his attacks lately. Couple months ago, he kidnapped a bunch of fairies as a power source for his kingdom. And before that, he kidnapped Peach for the millionth time! And earlier today… earlier… he… he…"

"He what?"

Reaching into his pocket, Mario pulled out the wedding ring he was going to give to Peach. "He proposed to her right before I could."

Cappy gasped.

Mario nodded. "Luigi helped me plan out my proposal. Why? Because I was-a nervous. This was the first time I've ever proposed to somebody before. I mean, Pauline and I thought about, but we decided we weren't ready yet. Peach and I are like two peas in a pod. Sure, we'd have an argument once or twice, but… we were always there for each other… I wanted to be closer to her, but Bowser had to come and screw everything up!" He slammed his fists against the grass. "I know Bowser does this normally, but he's gone too far this time!"

Cappy was silent. He felt awful that a monstrous turtle kidnapped his friend's soon-to-be wife. Tapping his hands together, he imagined how Peach must be feeling right now.

Mario opened his eyes and saw that his new companion was in distraught.

"Mama Mia," he said. "I'm-a so sorry, Cappy. I was hoping I'd make my backstory a little happier before it went dark."

"No, that's all right," Cappy said. "Just hearing that turtle's name again makes me remember when he attacked my kingdom."

"Yeah, you never went into detail about that," Mario said. "If you don't-a mind, could you tell me what happened?"

Cappy sighed, closing his eyes. "It was peaceful day in the Cap Kingdom… when all of a sudden," (2)

~Flashback

Fire.

Flames.

Ashes.

The Cap Kingdom was under attack by the Koopa Empire.

All over the arable land, Bullet Bills dropped from large battleships and exploded when they touched the ground. As they blew up into pieces, dozens of Bonnetors were running for their lives. Some of them gathered alongside their families and retreated to their hat-shaped ships, hoping to strike back against the intruder's forces.

King Bowser, who was walking across the land with Junior and the seven Koopalings by his side, noticed that some of the hats were fleeing like rats from a sinking ship. Adjusting his large, white and purple tuxedo, he ordered his battleships to shoot down the hats.

Falling one by one, the ships landed on the ground so that no one could escape. Luckily, there were no civilian casualties, as the Bonnetors retreated before their homes burnt to ash.

Sitting in Bowser's clutches was Tiara: Princess of Bonneton. She had just been captured by the Koopalings after trying to save her kingdom. Approaching her, Bowser sneered as he grabbed the Bonnetor with his hand. Holding her tight, he laughed as he analyzed her characteristics.

"You'd make a perfect crown for my wife," he grinned. "That gold one she has now is so dingy."

"But I thought you said it looked nice on her," Ludwig replied.

"Shut up, Ludwig," Bowser snarled.

Before he could take her hostage, he was suddenly stopped by a voice. "Let her go, tyrant!"

It was an elder.

Turning around, Bowser saw that an old gentleman was making his stand. He was an older fellow; a white-colored top hat with a bushy mustache and thick eyebrows. His ghost-like body was thicker than other Bonnetors and his eyes were green. He huffed at the turtle's attempt at taking his daughter.

"What do we have here?" Bowser asked.

"Just some old fart, Dad," Junior replied, twirling his paint brush. "I'll take care of him!"

Bowser placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Hold on, son… allow me,"

Coming near the beret, Bowser walked around him and began talking.

Cappy was hiding behind a bush, watching the beret stare at the turtle. "Dad," the Bonnetor whispered.

"Who do you think you are coming up to me like this?" Bowser asked. His tone was blunt.

"I'm the king of this kingdom: King Beret," the mustached-hat answered. "And how dare you come over here and threaten me!? I could have you arrested!"

"Doesn't look you have many forces to do so," Bowser said, gesturing the unconscious soldiers and broken battleships. "You're probably wondering why I'm here. You see, I'm putting together a wedding, but I need a secret weapon to defeat a certain foe who'll get in my way! I've studied your kind, your highness, you and your people are extremely gifted."

"Then, why are you taking my daughter!?" King Beret snarled, shaking his stubby hand.

"Isn't it obvious, you old idiot? I need a new crown for my soon-to-be wife, and your daughter is perfect for the role!"

"You fiend, I will never let you take my daughter! Even if I breathe my last, as a father, I will do everything I can to protect my daughter!"

King Beret then did something Bowser didn't expect to see; the floating hat suddenly shot out a pair of mechanical arms with two boxing gloves attached to them. Bowser's eyes shot out of his sockets; did that hat just pop out giant arms?

King Beret stormed over to the giant turtle and started beating his chest like a professional boxer.

Morton and Roy were about to assist their dad, but Ludwig stopped them both.

"Don't… let him have his fun." He said. Both Koopalings halted.

Bashing and thrashing against Bowser, King Beret fired an uppercut up his chin. The fancy-suited turtle flew backward before he landed on his shell. Getting back up, he found himself amazed yet amused that a Bonnetor had mechanical arms meant for combat. He wiped his mouth and got back up.

King Beret fired another punch, but Bowser caught it this time.

Gulping, King Beret was punched in the face. He held his eyes with his hands, as Bowser attacked him.

Cappy closed his eyes and covered them with his hands, though he did keep one eye open. Shockingly, his father was losing. Bowser punched King Beret three times before smacking him with his knee. King Beret huffed and puffed, as he tried to gather the strength to fight back. Picking the weakened king off the ground, Bowser held him up for all to see.

Civilians gasped as they witnessed the defeat of their king. Tiara's eyes watered, as she cuddled her hands into her face. Cappy cowered behind the bush. Bowser smirked, as he slammed the king into the black/white ground.

King Beret was defeated; he was knocked unconscious.

Bowser grabbed the king's left arm and lifted him up again. "I like you."

King Beret opened one of his eyes and groaned.

"If you want your daughter to remain safe, then you should become part of my army," he told the wounded king. "I'm in the market for a new hat and you look like you're good at throwing at a certain pesky plumber."

King Beret glanced at his people; all of them were scared. He thought that if he fought back, he would just make the fear inside his people much worse. He blinked slowly, feeling pain as he did so, and he looked up into the turtle's red/orange eyes. His mustache drooped as well as his eyes. He finally gave his response to the turtle, as he saw his only son hiding behind a bush.

"I… accept,"

"Seriously?" Bowser asked, shocked. "Okay."

Bowser grabbed the hat and walked back to his airship with the Koopalings. They all boarded, and the doors closed. Cappy gasped at the top of his lungs and rushed to save his family. But before he got to the ship, it lifted off the ground and began to take off with the others. Looking up at the speeding ship, Cappy snarled in anger and gave chase.

"Don't worry, Dad, Tiara!" Cappy said; a tear dropped from his eye. "I'm coming to save you!" (2s)

~Present Day (3)

Mario was flabbergasted when he heard that entire story. A proud father, who ruled over a kingdom he's never heard of before, fought bravely to save his children. Saddened that the king surrendered himself just to save his daughter, Mario sighed and noticed that Cappy had some salty tears pouring down his cheeks.

"I… felt so useless," Cappy cried softly, as he wiped his eyes. "I-I just sat there in t-that bush, w-watching it all go down… I d-didn't know what to do… It's my fault my father and sister got captured… h-how could I have been so stupid?"

Cappy wasn't stupid. Mario knew he was scared. But like what he taught Luigi; fear can always be conquered. Mario smiled and pulled the Bonnetor in a warm hug. Wrapping his arms around the hat, Mario gave a small motivational talk.

"Listen, Cappy," he began. "You're not-a useless. You were-a scared, so it makes sense. Fear took control of your body… but if there's one thing I taught my brother, Luigi… it's that you always find the time to face your fears. He's still afraid of ghosts and other things, but when the situation is-a dire, he knows when to step up and be a hero… that's what I love most about Luigi. He'll always be there no matter how scared he is."

Cappy released himself from Mario's hug and wiped his eyes; he sniffed. "What's your point, exactly?"

"My-a point is… I know you're scared of Bowser, but you were brave enough to follow his airship to the Mushroom Kingdom. Sure, my downfall took you a few steps back, but now you've got a partner to help you out!" Mario smiled, pointing at himself. "And I'm-a gonna do everything I can to help you get your family back!"

Wiping his eyes for the last time, Cappy found himself smiling. He did make a new friend during his pursuit and that friend wanted to help. And the Bonnetor himself wanted to do the same for his companion. He flew around the plumber and gave him a high-five.

The two shared a laugh before they got ready for bed.

"Thank you, Mario… I needed that," Cappy smiled. He closed his eyes and went to sleep. "Good night."

"Buona notte, mi amico," Mario smiled. He closed his eyes and went to bed. (3s)

The next morning, Mario felt something breathing down his face.

"Peach, will you stop-a breathing in my face?" he moaned, as he turned around in his sleep. "It's-a disgusting."

Unlike him, Cappy was awake and he was petrified. He rushed behind Mario and shook his body. "Mario!... Mario, come on, wake up!... Wake up, we got trouble!"

"No, Madre. I don't want to go to school today." Mario replied with a smile.

Cappy rubbed his hands and shouted. "GET UP!"

"Mama Mia!" Mario shouted, as he shot himself on his feet. He rubbed his overalls and looked at the hat. "What's-a matter with you?"

Cappy grabbed Mario's face and pointed him in the direction he was looking at; the latter gasped and took a few steps back.

Standing in front of the two explorers was an army of Toads dressed as cavemen. They were mushrooms with various-colored spots on their heads. But every single one of them (even the females) had beards. For attire, they wore cheetah skin and skulls for hats. Not only did they have bushy beards, but that had messy, wickedly curled, hair. For weapons, they were all armed with spears.

Backing up, Mario and Cappy held their hands up in peace.

"Uh… good morning," Mario gave an awkward smile. "Can we help you fellas?"

The cavemen whispered to each other, as they walked closer to the heroes.

From their tone, it was clear that they were angry. Walking towards the duo, they raised their spears and pointed them at the heroes. Mario grabbed Cappy and placed him on his head, ready for a fight. But before he could do anything, he heard a voice come from the cliff above him.

"I'm-a Luigi, number-a one!"

Mario raised an eyebrow before he smiled. "I know that-a voice!"

Out of the blue; the green plumber named Luigi hopped down with his Poltergust 5000 on his back. He raised the vacuum and pressed a button on his back. A huge gust of air sucked four of the Cave-Toads inside, and Luigi shot them back into their friends. They all went down like bowling pins after being hit by a bowling ball. He turned to his brother with a warm smile.

"Mario!" he called.

"Luigi!" the red-capped plumber ran up and fist-bumped his brother. "Mio fratello! Come stai?"

"Sto bene, Mario!" Luigi replied. "Come stai?"

"Eh, my day could be better," Mario responded. He was about to tell Luigi the story of Peach's capture, but a spear flew against the wall behind them. Both brothers gasped, as they realized the cavemen they knocked down got back up. Mario and Luigi glanced at each other before they exchanged smirks.

Mario tightened his hat and Luigi raised his Poltergust 5000.

The cavemen raised their spears and made a weird battle cry with their mouths. They raced towards the duo.

The Super Mario Brothers lunged into battle. Both shouted, "LET'S-A GO!"

END OF CHAPTER 3

Luigi have invited himself to the party. He and Mario are gonna show those Cave-Toads who's boss! But why are the natives of the Cascade Kingdom attacking them? Were they sent by someone to do this? If so... who? A lot went down in this chapter in terms of character development. We got to hear pieces of Mario's story as well as how Cappy's family got captured. Luigi will tag-along for the ride, as he hopes to help both his brother and the Bonnetor. Find out as out heroes duke it out with the natives in...

"Chapter 4: Caveman Rumble!"

POST-A/N:

Mario's explanation as to how he and Luigi got to the Mushroom Kingdom is a callback to the intro of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. I know some people hate that show for how stupid it is and believe me, it IS stupid. But I still find some joy in it. It's a guilty pleasure like Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

As much as I love Super Mario Odyssey, I feel that Luigi should have been a unlockable character to play as like how he was in Super Mario Galaxy, 3D Land, and couple of other games that allowed you to unlock/play as him. I thought that if you get a certain amount of Power Moons, you would unlock him, but sadly, that is not the case. Ah, well. At least Balloon World's pretty fun and the fact that Luigi looks pretty good in a bow-tie.

Yes, I did make an OC for this story in the form of King Beret. I figured I would give Bowser's hat an origin story. It's probably not true, but hey, I just wanted to express imagination. ;)

As always, tell me what you liked and what needs to be improved. I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time!

~SD321 (SpiderDom321)