Author's Notes: Hi everyone, and welcome to another one of my crazy ideas. I have to admit, writing for the Mario universe presents a special kind of challenge. The characters are well established, but the games have no real continuity between each other. It's like the Loony Tunes that way; they can be anywhere and do anything. So, I'm going to try to capitalize on that aspect of the Marioverse. This story takes place from two different dimensions. One is the sports dimension, and the other is mostly based off the Super Mario SNES game. I hope you enjoy this story, and please review if this is something you want to see so I'll know whether to continue :)

Chapter 1

Number One

It was the final lap of the Bowser Cup, named after the castle that was donated for the go-kart race by the Koopa King himself; Bowser. Mario's kart felt every bump of stone brick beneath his tires as he made a sharp turn to avoid slamming into the wall (again). He was in 4th place, with Wario on his tail and Yoshi in front of him. How he was losing to a dinosaur he didn't know, but he wasn't going to take it lying down. If he could just pull ahead and win, it would be the fifth time in a row. A new record.

Wario threw a banana peel in front of his kart, but Mario dodged it like a pro. Toad, who had been behind Wario, slipped on the peel instead. Mario put the pedal to the metal as the indoor track gave way to the lava soaked exterior of the castle moat. That was always the thing Mario hated about driving this track. It was just so hot! How could Bowser actually live in a castle like this?

Mario passed Yoshi and Peach and only had one more racer to pass before he could win. That racer was Luigi, which meant this was going to be tough. Not only was Luigi aware of every move Mario could make due to being his younger brother, but Luigi also took his victories every bit as seriously as Mario did.

Mario pressed down on the pedal and searched his pocket for any power ups he could use against Luigi. All he had was a green shell, and those things were basically useless. Sure, a skilled marksman could hit a target with one of those things, but Mario wasn't the most proficient with his aim. He was more of a jump on something sort of guy, not a throw something sort of guy.

Luigi saw Mario was holding the green shell and turned sharply to avoid Mario's throw. Mario didn't even have time to throw it, because Luigi's move distracted Mario long enough to fall off the bridge and toward the lava! Mario screamed as he held his kart's steering wheel in an iron grip, but fortunately for him Lakitu showed up just in time to save his denim-clad hide.

"Thanks, man," Mario sighed gratefully as he was lowered onto the track.

"No problem, but I think you're gonna lose," Lakitu laughed as he pointed to the finish line, which Luigi was already crossing.

Mario tried to catch up, but he still ended up in 6th place, with Toad miraculously ahead of him and Wario unsurprisingly behind him. Oh well, there went Mario's winning streak. He sighed, supposing he could live with it since Luigi won.

"Wahoo! I'm 'a Luigi, number one!" Luigi celebrated as he held his trophy aloft; his fans cheering for him.

"Congratulations, bro," Mario said sincerely as he smiled at his brother, "That's 'a gonna look nice on your trophy shelf."

"Yeah, now my poor tennis trophy can have a friend," Luigi laughed, "I'm just glad Waluigi didn't show up to this thing. He always ruins it for me. I get nervous around that guy. It's like he hates me, yet he wants to be me. It's weird."

"Don't let him get you down," Mario replied encouragingly, "Wario pulls the same stuff on me. Frankly, I think they might be evil clones or something. Maybe there was some dark pool of negativity sludge that they just 'a crawled out of."

Luigi laughed at that remark, glad to finally have a victory that his bully couldn't mess up. Mario slapped him on the back and they shared a good laugh at a game well played. Just as they were celebrating, Daisy came running up to them with Peach following behind her at a more dignified languid pace.

"Luigi!" Daisy shouted as she glomped him, making him drop his trophy on the ground.

"Ow! Daisy! I'm 'a so happy to see you, but uh, maybe stop crushing my windpipe," Luigi stammered as she held him in an iron grip.

"Luigi, that was awesome! You were totally on your game today," Daisy exclaimed excitedly, "But be warned hon, next time I'm gonna kick your green Mushroom Kingdom butt!"

"I believe you," Luigi chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "When are more of your subjects from Sarasaland gonna show up to these events?"

"Hey, you're lucky I showed up," Daisy pointed out, "Sarasaland and the Koopa Kingdom haven't been on the best terms lately. I mean, the Mushroom Kingdom sends their best warrior to defend us from that alien attack and Bowser sides with the stupid aliens? What are my people supposed to think?"

"That it's wise to hedge your bets?" A new voice asked playfully.

The group turned around to see Bowser and his son Bowser Jr. sauntering up to them, the picture of father and son swagger.

"Hey, Bowser!" Mario greeted him jovially, "We were just 'a talking about your idiotic political policies."

"Hey, at least I don't pay my staff in cake," Bowser snorted with a smirk, "How the pit are you, Peach? I feel like it's been ages since we've seen each other. Mario says you two are engaged. Shame I had to hear it from him."

"Shh!" Peach frantically shushed the giant turtle monster, "Not so loud! Mario and I haven't made the announcement to the kingdom yet. What if Toad overhears you? You know what a gossip he is."

Mario softly chuckled, knowing very well that Toad was a bigger danger to the kingdom's secret intelligence than any spy could ever hope to be. Toadette could keep a secret, but that was mostly due to lack of interest in what anyone else was doing.

"Hey Dad! Hey Dad! Hey Dad!" Bowser Jr. hopped up and down to get Bowser's attention, "Tell them about the thing! Tell 'em!"

"What thing?" Mario asked curiously.

"Oh brother, it's nothing guys," Bowser replied, seeming almost sheepish as he spoke, "It's just a scientific project I funded."

"Just a science project?" Bowser Jr. asked incredulously, "Dad, this is the coolest thing our kingdom has ever been a part of! Can I tell 'em? Huh? Can I?"

Mario chuckled at how energetic the young Koopaling was. He wondered if he and Luigi were ever that easily excited. Probably. He remembered hopping up and down like that when his mama cooked for them. She made the best spaghetii, and ravioli stuffed with mushrooms and topped with fire flower sauce. Man, he was hungry. Losing a kart race could really take it out of a man.

"Bowser, what is this 'coolest thing ever' already?" Peach asked impatiently, "Oh wait, let me guess. You finally found a way to fix the leak in your twelfth castle."

"Ha ha, very funny," Bowser replied sarcastically, "No, actually. I hired Prof. E. Gadd to work on a little project known as...the infinite warp pipe."

"Uh...warp pipes already exist," Luigi replied, less than impressed.

Bowser facepalmed before continuing his explanation.

"No, Luigi. The infinite warp pipe. It doesn't just go in two directions. It can take you anywhere you want to go on the entire planet, and beyond. With the push of a button you can warp to World 1, World 4, World 8, Sarasaland, or even outer space! You see, that's why I needed the aliens on my side; so they would share their secrets with me. Now that E. Gadd has reverse-engineered their technology, we can invade their planet and ensure our world is never compromised again! It's perfect!"

"That sounds awfully violent," Peach replied apprehensively, "The Mushroom Kingdom will defend itself, but we will not be the aggressors in some sort of revenge plot."

"We will," Daisy replied nonchalantly, "If this is for real, then you can count us in. That being said, I'm still mad at you."

"Is she always this intense?" Bowser whispered to Mario.

"Yes," Mario confirmed, "And never go to Sarasaland. Those people are crazy. I mean sphinxes and angry mutants and everything."

"Gotcha," Bowser nodded in understanding.

"Can we show them now, Dad?" Bowser Jr. asked eagerly.

"I don't see why not," Bowser shrugged, "You guys wanna check out the infinite warp pipe?"

"But the ceremony!" Luigi whined.

"We got 'a bigger problems," Mario said as he pointed ahead of them, "I think Wario wants 'a to talk to us."

"Go, go, go!" Luigi exclaimed as he started running ahead of everyone.

With a few snickers and a couple shrugs, the group of friends decided to follow Luigi's lead and drive to see Bowser's new project. Mario couldn't help but ponder the fact that this was the second lead Luigi had managed to have in one day.

Once everyone arrived at Bowser's summer castle everyone started chatting and walking around the lava gardens. The sky was purple with smog and haze, which made the orange light of the castle windows shine even brighter. Peach, Luigi, and Bowser Jr. walked to the golf course while Mario and Bowser went inside, laughing and talking all the way about old times.

"I can't believe it took you this long to propose to Peach," Bowser guffawed, "You guys have been dating for, what? Six years?"

"Seven," Mario corrected, "And you know how it is. She's a princess, and when we first met I was just a plumber. I wanted to make 'a something of myself before I approached her."

"Apparently it worked," Bowser remarked, "You know she and I were betrothed when we were teenagers?"

"No, Peach never told me that," Mario replied, "I am grateful you introduced us, but why would you hook me up with 'a your fiancée?"

"Because she didn't want to marry me, and I knew it wouldn't work out," Bowser shrugged, "Our families just wanted a political alliance between the two kingdoms so my father wouldn't burn the Mushroom Kingdom to the ground. He died pretty young though, and I have no interest in barbecuing Peach's domain. I mean, I'm not some kind of monster."

"Indeed not," Mario nodded, "So, when are you going to find 'a that special someone?"

"As far as I'm concerned Bowser Jr. is all I need," Bowser replied fondly, "He's a handful I'll admit, but he's a good kid. I just hope I'm raising him right. It's a big responsibility, being the future ruler of the Koopa Kingdom."

"Ah, he'll be fine!" Mario dismissed his concerns with a wave, "BJ is still young. All boys need to get that rambunctious energy out of their system. Once he's a little older he'll be okay."

"I sure hope so," Bowser replied, "Oh! In here! Right behind this door is the device that will change warp travel forever."

Bowser then, with an almost manic grin, opened the big bolt-trimmed door; revealing a large silver pipe with a computer terminal attached. There were blinking lights all along the computer console, and the top of the pipe intermittently spat gold sparkles from it's spout. Mario could practically feel the vibration of the device just from walking into the room, and Bowser looked expectantly at his friend for feedback.

"Well, didn't I tell you? Isn't it something?" Bowser asked excitedly.

"It's 'a...something, alright," Mario replied noncommittally, "Um, how does it work?"

"It's very easy to use," Bowser told him as he went over to the computer, "On this screen here you type in which world you want to visit, and then you hop onto the warp pipe. No activation buttons or anything! Just type, and warp. Easy."

"I've never understood your fascination with technology," Mario commented, "I've 'a always prefered the natural way of dealing with problems. Then again, that might just be because I haven't had the best experiences with Prof. Gadd. Luigi likes him for some reason, but I cannot imagine why."

"They're both nerds?" Bowser posited.

"You're one to talk, Mr. Computer Pipe," Mario ribbed.

"Come on. Just try it once. We don't have to go far," Bowser prodded.

"What's 'a the point in that?" Mario asked challengingly, "If 'a we want to test it, then let's test it. We should go to Sarasaland."

"And commit a war crime?" Bowser asked wryly.

"Oops. I forgot about Daisy," Mario replied sheepishly, "Okay then, not that. But maybe...Yoshi Island?"

"Now you're talking!" Bowser replied gamely, "I'll inform my envoy to pick us up at Yoshi Island in an hour. My Koopa Troopas are afraid of this invention for some reason. No courage in them at all. I don't know why I hired them."

"Because they work cheap?" Mario joked.

"Hey, we can't all charge by the hour, wrench monkey," Bowser jabbed.

"Ooh, that's 'a below the belt, paisano!" Mario exclaimed as he lightly punched Bowser's arm.

Bowser laughed, barely even feeling it through his scaly skin, and went over to the computer to tap out the coordinates to Yoshi Island. He then invited Mario to join him in the infinite warp pipe for a test run. What he didn't realize was that he put a dot in the wrong place when typing out the code, and where he and Mario were going was a place that no one in their world had ever seen before.

"Here we go!" Mario cheered as he jumped into the hazardous warp pipe; Bowser right behind him.