The Marios escaped back into the building after letting the heat die down. They took the elevator back to the second floor and kicked in a hotel room door. The room was empty, so they opened the window and quickly went down the fire exit. They scattered and went through the parking lot to Wario and Waluigi's car. Luigi felt a chill.
"Wait, we don't have the keys! The valet took them!"
"Crap, and we can't go back into the casino!" Mario remembered as well. Waluigi, who was already in the car, noticed something relieving, but at the same time, spooky.
"The keys are in the ignition." He reached out and touched them to see if he was just seeing things. The familiar set of keys were placed into the ignition, ready for takeoff. Mario didn't believe what he was hearing.
"The keys are back in the car?" He wasn't mad at all, but he certainly was puzzled. There was some silence, but after the pause, the four got into the car and drove out of the parking lot quickly and quietly. On the ride home, something that was in the back of Mario's mind suddenly jumped to the front.
"Uhh… Wario?" Mario spoke up and broke the silence.
Wario sighed. "What?"
"How did you guys get out of the jail cell?"
"Oh, yeah, we never told you." Waluigi came in. "These two guys in masks came in. They had keys on them. They opened the door, told us to leave quick, and got out of there."
"What did they look like?" Mario further questioned.
"They had all black clothes on. One of the guys looked like a walking egg. Only fatter. Like a little kid. The other was like Luigi. But he clanked when he walked. Like he was made of plastic."
Luigi searched for even the vaguest explanation. "Were they Ninjis?"
"No!" Wario yelled. "They were just… guys." he repeated. Mario bit his lip and scratched the back of Wario's seat, obviously concentrating on thought. Luigi got his attention and gave him an interrogative look and hand motion. Mario just shook his head quickly. Mario knew something. But at the same time he was clueless. Close to midnight, they pulled in behind the bar. They went upstairs, and Waluigi called the castle. Mario and Luigi went to the TV room and collapsed. Niether one of them took the couch.
It felt like five minutes later. Except the sun was up and rising fast. Mario and Luigi each felt something slimy and hard hit their face, shocking them and sending them out of their skin. They were hands with morning sweat on them.
"Get up, we've gotta go over to the hotel the next city over." Waluigi's unbearable breath hit Luigi's face like a blow dryer. Mario rubbed his eyes.
"What hotel? Why?" Wario sipped a beer at ten in the morning.
"We're picking up your teeny-bopper girlfriends and the peanut terd. Get in the car." Wario stepped not over Mario, but right on his stomach.
On the way to the hotel, Mario asked what they were doing going to get Peach, Daisy, and Toad.
"They think they have some sort of info on these flowers and crap. They don't though. They said they wanted to talk to US about it." once again, Wario simplified how much of an idiot everybody but himself was.
The Marios parked the car and walked into the hotel. A bellhop approached them as if on cue.
"Are you four Mario Mario, Luigi Mario, Wario Mario, and Walui-"
"Yeah, that's us, kid." Waluigi cut him off curtly. He trembled and directed the four.
"Right this way, sirs." They rode the elevator to a high floor, to an obviously classy level. The bellhop knocked on the door, and left to the ground floor. A redhead in a yellow T-shirt and sweatpants answered the door. After she studied who was at her room, she stuck her tongue out, and followed that with a grin. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Luigi screaming. Luigi bounced her and then placed her on the ground.
"Hey, Daisy! We sure missed you." said Mario. Luigi would have been the one to say it, but Luigi's mouth was a bit occupied at the moment. Wario was already tired from the long walk from the car to the elevator. He didn't hesitate to invite himself in and eat something.
"Aaagh!" came a high pitched voice from in the next room.
"Ah, crap!" Daisy broke away from Luigi. "Come on in, guys."
The rest of the Marios piled in, and waited in the living room. Mario and Luigi sat nervously on the couch, while Waluigi twiddled his thumbs laying across a loveseat. Waluigi closed his eyes and shook his head as he heard Peach and Daisy yelling at Wario about something. It was obvious Wario did that a lot while Waluigi waited for him. Wario gimped out of the kitchen wiping his face, followed by Daisy and Peach.
"Why do you ALWAYS have to be like that? Can't you just once have manners?" Peach flailed. In heavy contrast, Wario threw the last bite of a pie into his mouth. Peach rolled her eyes and flopped down between Mario and Luigi.
"I'm glad you're having an okay day so far." Mario said to each, who was staring into space. She turned and kissed Mario on the nose.
"Sorry about all that. I need to tell you why I called you guys over today."
"Well, you better," Wario was licking cream off of his gloves. "It isn't even ten yet, and I'm in some stupid hotel listening to you."
"It's not even ten and you're in MY room!" a new voice joined in. A short guy in a bathrobe came in. It was Toad.
"Hey there, terd." Waluigi was still lying down with his hat over his eyes. Toad bopped him on his hooking nose.
"I told you to stop calling me that."
"Whatever, terd." Waluigi got up and started to stretch. "So what is it you people want anyway?"
"It's about what you guys found at the casino last night." Daisy walked around a bit. "When you called the Chancellor, he sent a team over. They cracked the place open and the flower operation was found. All them men got out, but they caught one.
"Did Mouser get away?" Luigi asked excitedly.
"Mouser's the first one that got out, of course." Daisy knew this only from instinct. "The guy they caught and questioned wasn't even supposed to know of the operation. He wasn't working on it at all. We were lucky."
"Who was the guy?" Mario inquired.
"Oh, I think it was some troopa." Peach chimed. "He was a blackjack dealer, and he snooped around a lot. When Mouser fired him, he gave them everything they needed to know."
"And do you guys know what THAT means?" Daisy said as she pressed Wario's nose in. "We're going to Blooper Island."
"Wait a second, why Blooper? What in the name of anything does that stupid beach have to do with the flowers? Besides, we were only supposed to find things out, and we got done early."
"Oh, please!" Daisy sighed. "You wanted to gamble, and you did just that. Mario and Luigi found everything out. You two talk like you're trying to keep them out of a job."
"Well, we kept them out of the obituaries, it's the least we can do."
"…What?" Peach sounded concerned. Toad spoke up again. He had left and gotten fully dressed in his usual outfit before anyone noticed he was gone.
"Never mind that now. The point is, we're going to blooper to attack the farm and factory. It turns out they're growing them on Blooper and prepping them in dirty places like Flarch. Speaking of which, the casino's already running again, and Goomba got off scott-free. But at least it's just a casino now."
"I don't mean to be stupid," Wario said irritably, "but who exactly does "we" include, and why are "we" going on this idiotic mission? Doesn't Mushroom have it's own organization meant for this?"
"WE are going." Daisy made a hand motion indicating everyone in the room. "Myself, Peach, Toad, Mario, Luigi, Waluigi, and you."
Wario recapped. "Two plumbers from Brooklyn. Two more idiot plumbers from Brooklyn. Two ditzy princesses from Mushroom and Sarassaland. And finally, the seventh wheel. A little terd who's supposed to be sitting behind a desk at the castle. Sure, that sounds much better than the people actually hired for the job."
"Look, fatty," Toad shot back, "we're doing this because we don't want to put anyone else at risk. Besides, Mouser, Goomba, and I don't even wanna know who else is behind this. So I just don't feel safe unless I see for myself what this is."
"Hey, stupid cousins," Wario searched for agreement, "don't you have any objection to this suicide mission?"
"Well, we've gotta stop all this bullcrap, so let's go do it." Luigi said determinedly.
"No way, no way, NO WAY!" Waluigi kicked the air. "There's no way I'm going to Blooper."
"Wait, we don't have the keys! The valet took them!"
"Crap, and we can't go back into the casino!" Mario remembered as well. Waluigi, who was already in the car, noticed something relieving, but at the same time, spooky.
"The keys are in the ignition." He reached out and touched them to see if he was just seeing things. The familiar set of keys were placed into the ignition, ready for takeoff. Mario didn't believe what he was hearing.
"The keys are back in the car?" He wasn't mad at all, but he certainly was puzzled. There was some silence, but after the pause, the four got into the car and drove out of the parking lot quickly and quietly. On the ride home, something that was in the back of Mario's mind suddenly jumped to the front.
"Uhh… Wario?" Mario spoke up and broke the silence.
Wario sighed. "What?"
"How did you guys get out of the jail cell?"
"Oh, yeah, we never told you." Waluigi came in. "These two guys in masks came in. They had keys on them. They opened the door, told us to leave quick, and got out of there."
"What did they look like?" Mario further questioned.
"They had all black clothes on. One of the guys looked like a walking egg. Only fatter. Like a little kid. The other was like Luigi. But he clanked when he walked. Like he was made of plastic."
Luigi searched for even the vaguest explanation. "Were they Ninjis?"
"No!" Wario yelled. "They were just… guys." he repeated. Mario bit his lip and scratched the back of Wario's seat, obviously concentrating on thought. Luigi got his attention and gave him an interrogative look and hand motion. Mario just shook his head quickly. Mario knew something. But at the same time he was clueless. Close to midnight, they pulled in behind the bar. They went upstairs, and Waluigi called the castle. Mario and Luigi went to the TV room and collapsed. Niether one of them took the couch.
It felt like five minutes later. Except the sun was up and rising fast. Mario and Luigi each felt something slimy and hard hit their face, shocking them and sending them out of their skin. They were hands with morning sweat on them.
"Get up, we've gotta go over to the hotel the next city over." Waluigi's unbearable breath hit Luigi's face like a blow dryer. Mario rubbed his eyes.
"What hotel? Why?" Wario sipped a beer at ten in the morning.
"We're picking up your teeny-bopper girlfriends and the peanut terd. Get in the car." Wario stepped not over Mario, but right on his stomach.
On the way to the hotel, Mario asked what they were doing going to get Peach, Daisy, and Toad.
"They think they have some sort of info on these flowers and crap. They don't though. They said they wanted to talk to US about it." once again, Wario simplified how much of an idiot everybody but himself was.
The Marios parked the car and walked into the hotel. A bellhop approached them as if on cue.
"Are you four Mario Mario, Luigi Mario, Wario Mario, and Walui-"
"Yeah, that's us, kid." Waluigi cut him off curtly. He trembled and directed the four.
"Right this way, sirs." They rode the elevator to a high floor, to an obviously classy level. The bellhop knocked on the door, and left to the ground floor. A redhead in a yellow T-shirt and sweatpants answered the door. After she studied who was at her room, she stuck her tongue out, and followed that with a grin. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Luigi screaming. Luigi bounced her and then placed her on the ground.
"Hey, Daisy! We sure missed you." said Mario. Luigi would have been the one to say it, but Luigi's mouth was a bit occupied at the moment. Wario was already tired from the long walk from the car to the elevator. He didn't hesitate to invite himself in and eat something.
"Aaagh!" came a high pitched voice from in the next room.
"Ah, crap!" Daisy broke away from Luigi. "Come on in, guys."
The rest of the Marios piled in, and waited in the living room. Mario and Luigi sat nervously on the couch, while Waluigi twiddled his thumbs laying across a loveseat. Waluigi closed his eyes and shook his head as he heard Peach and Daisy yelling at Wario about something. It was obvious Wario did that a lot while Waluigi waited for him. Wario gimped out of the kitchen wiping his face, followed by Daisy and Peach.
"Why do you ALWAYS have to be like that? Can't you just once have manners?" Peach flailed. In heavy contrast, Wario threw the last bite of a pie into his mouth. Peach rolled her eyes and flopped down between Mario and Luigi.
"I'm glad you're having an okay day so far." Mario said to each, who was staring into space. She turned and kissed Mario on the nose.
"Sorry about all that. I need to tell you why I called you guys over today."
"Well, you better," Wario was licking cream off of his gloves. "It isn't even ten yet, and I'm in some stupid hotel listening to you."
"It's not even ten and you're in MY room!" a new voice joined in. A short guy in a bathrobe came in. It was Toad.
"Hey there, terd." Waluigi was still lying down with his hat over his eyes. Toad bopped him on his hooking nose.
"I told you to stop calling me that."
"Whatever, terd." Waluigi got up and started to stretch. "So what is it you people want anyway?"
"It's about what you guys found at the casino last night." Daisy walked around a bit. "When you called the Chancellor, he sent a team over. They cracked the place open and the flower operation was found. All them men got out, but they caught one.
"Did Mouser get away?" Luigi asked excitedly.
"Mouser's the first one that got out, of course." Daisy knew this only from instinct. "The guy they caught and questioned wasn't even supposed to know of the operation. He wasn't working on it at all. We were lucky."
"Who was the guy?" Mario inquired.
"Oh, I think it was some troopa." Peach chimed. "He was a blackjack dealer, and he snooped around a lot. When Mouser fired him, he gave them everything they needed to know."
"And do you guys know what THAT means?" Daisy said as she pressed Wario's nose in. "We're going to Blooper Island."
"Wait a second, why Blooper? What in the name of anything does that stupid beach have to do with the flowers? Besides, we were only supposed to find things out, and we got done early."
"Oh, please!" Daisy sighed. "You wanted to gamble, and you did just that. Mario and Luigi found everything out. You two talk like you're trying to keep them out of a job."
"Well, we kept them out of the obituaries, it's the least we can do."
"…What?" Peach sounded concerned. Toad spoke up again. He had left and gotten fully dressed in his usual outfit before anyone noticed he was gone.
"Never mind that now. The point is, we're going to blooper to attack the farm and factory. It turns out they're growing them on Blooper and prepping them in dirty places like Flarch. Speaking of which, the casino's already running again, and Goomba got off scott-free. But at least it's just a casino now."
"I don't mean to be stupid," Wario said irritably, "but who exactly does "we" include, and why are "we" going on this idiotic mission? Doesn't Mushroom have it's own organization meant for this?"
"WE are going." Daisy made a hand motion indicating everyone in the room. "Myself, Peach, Toad, Mario, Luigi, Waluigi, and you."
Wario recapped. "Two plumbers from Brooklyn. Two more idiot plumbers from Brooklyn. Two ditzy princesses from Mushroom and Sarassaland. And finally, the seventh wheel. A little terd who's supposed to be sitting behind a desk at the castle. Sure, that sounds much better than the people actually hired for the job."
"Look, fatty," Toad shot back, "we're doing this because we don't want to put anyone else at risk. Besides, Mouser, Goomba, and I don't even wanna know who else is behind this. So I just don't feel safe unless I see for myself what this is."
"Hey, stupid cousins," Wario searched for agreement, "don't you have any objection to this suicide mission?"
"Well, we've gotta stop all this bullcrap, so let's go do it." Luigi said determinedly.
"No way, no way, NO WAY!" Waluigi kicked the air. "There's no way I'm going to Blooper."