In this chapter, Lincoln and Mario are trying to get to Toad Town. However, they're not going to be able to get to Toad Town without a fight...the evil Goomba King is guarding the way there.
Fortunately, since Lily and Goombario are on their sides, they won't have to take him on alone. He's kind of...huge.
Chapter 4: Hail To The King
Shortly after they exited Goomba Village, Goombario began to tell them information about their surroundings.
Apparently, if they kept heading east, they would be able to get to Toad Town from there.
Suddenly, Lincoln noticed that there was a tree stump nearby. A hollow tree stump.
There was a small hole in the tree stump so that he could see what was inside.
As it turned out, there was a Star Piece.
"I see something shiny in there...it looks valuable." questioned Lincoln.
"That's a Star Piece...you can trade them for badges." explained Goombario.
"Awesome! But how am I going to get it?" inquired the boy.
"I guess you're just going to have to think of something." answered the Goomba.
Unfortunately, though Lincoln could look through the hole, it wasn't big enough for his hand to go through.
And when he tried flying through the hole on the top of the tree stump, he found that he was too big to go through as well.
And he couldn't simply use his fists to punch through the trees...he heard his sister Luan was secretly an activist.
"There's got to be a way to get that Star Piece somewhere..." said Lincoln.
"Don't ask me...I don't have hands." answered Goombario.
Suddenly, Lily poked Lincoln in the back.
"Huh?" asked Lincoln.
Curious, he decide to try something.
Immediately, he picked up Lily and tossed her into the hole at the top of the tree stump.
She came out a few minutes later holding the Star Piece.
"Way to go, Lily!" exclaimed Lincoln.
Lily giggled.
Curious, Lincoln noticed that there was another hollow tree stump ahead.
He decided to send Lily into that tree stump as well.
"I wonder what's in this one." said Lincoln.
He took a look in the hole.
As it turned out, there were two Goombas in the hollow tree stump.
"Uh-oh." spoke the boy.
"Did you hear? Mario and his friends are on their way to Toad Town!" exclaimed one of the Goombas.
"I'd like to see them try...the only way they're getting there is getting past the Goomba King!" shouted the other Goomba.
"For him, Beating Mario will be like taking candy from a baby!" shouted the first Goomba.
Inside the tree stump, Lily was licking a lollipop.
Suddenly, the Goombas noticed her.
"Speaking of taking candy from a baby..." said the first Goomba, getting an idea.
The first Goomba began trying to yank the lollipop away from Lily.
However, she refused to let go.
"Um, I think I might need some help here..." asked the first Goomba for assistance.
The second Goomba nodded, and attempted to join in.
However, they couldn't pry the lollipop from Lily's hands.
Suddenly, Lily began to feel queasy.
She proceeded to vomit on the two Goombas.
The Goombas screamed and cried, and they immediately bounced out of the tree stump using a trampoline.
"I want my mommy!" screamed one of the two Goombas.
"I wonder what happened to them..." questioned Lincoln.
Mario shrugged.
Lily bounced out of the tree stump a few seconds later.
"You alright, Lily? Wait, how are you getting out of the tree stumps?" questioned Lincoln.
"Boing! Boing!" exclaimed Lily.
"There's a trampoline in there? Who would have thought of it...well, we shouldn't question things that we like...like why I like Ace Savvy comics..." noted the boy.
Lily decided not to question why she liked her lollipop so much either. She just continued licking it. It was tasty and sweet.
At that very moment, more Goombas showed up.
"Two of our friends told us that you vomited on them! You're disgusting!" bellowed one of the Goombas.
"Lily, did you do that?" questioned Lincoln.
Lily let out a burp.
"For that, you're going to pay!" exclaimed a Paragoomba.
Immediately, the Goombas stacked together to form a Goomba Tower.
"Uh-oh!" exclaimed Lily. It looked like they might be in trouble. That Goomba Tower was bigger than each of them combined...though considering how small Lily and Goombario were maybe that wasn't saying that much.
"We might want to avoid provoking the Goombas in the future..." suggested Lincoln.
Mario asked Goombario what they should do.
"Maybe we should find a way to knock them all down..." advised Goombario.
Immediately, the Goomba Tower charged towards the four of them, careful to keep balance so that the tower didn't end up toppling over. Fortunately for them, they were rather good at it.
Quickly, Mario pulled out his hammer.
As soon as the Goomba Tower was close enough, Mario swung the hammer at the Goomba Tower.
Immediately, the five Goombas were scattered in different directions.
"What happened?" asked the Goomba who was on top of the tower.
"Beats me." answered the Goomba at the bottom of the tower. At least he didn't have to carry the other Goombas anymore.
Suddenly, Lily whacked one of the Goombas on the head with her rattle, giggling as she did so.
"Ow!" exclaimed the Goomba. That really hurt.
In fact, he wasn't feeling too well.
Immediately, he became dizzy.
"Hmm...for a baby your sister seems to be a bit strong." noted Goombario.
"She sure is...wait, did I tell you about my family?" asked Lincoln Loud.
"Well, I heard that you have ten sisters..." answered the Goomba boy.
"I see." nodded the middle child of the Loud House.
Goombario headbonked yet another Goomba.
"Wait, if you're a Goomba then shouldn't you be on OUR side?" questioned the Goomba as he was attacked.
"You're assuming that all Goombas work for Bowser." answered Goombario.
"Oh." comprehended Bowser's flunky.
Mario jumped on another Goomba while Lincoln gave another a punch.
Eventually, all of the Goombas burst into Star Points. They had won.
"We better warn the Goomba King!" exclaimed the leader of the Goombas.
Immediately, the Goombas ran to do just that.
Suddenly, Lincoln leveled up.
Immediately, three different blocks appeared.
"Should I choose HP, FP, or BP? I'm not even sure what those are..." answered Lincoln.
"HP determines how much damage you can take before you get KOed...FP determines how many times you can use your extraordinary abilities before you have to recharge them somehow...BP determines how many badges you can hold..." explained Goombario.
"I think I get it..." nodded the boy.
Immediately, he chose HP. He didn't want to get beaten up.
Mario wondered when he was going to level up as well. Surely it would be soon, right?
"What's this about a Goomba King?" questioned Lincoln.
"He's the leader of the Goombas underneath Bowser's command...I don't think that he's a strong opponent, but we'll probably have to face him sooner or later." answered Goombario.
Lily pulled out her rattle. She was ready.
Quickly, Mario noticed a fortress out in the distance. Perhaps that was where the Goomba King was hiding.
However, as they approached the fortress, it became apparent that it was guarded.
"Hey! Keep away from the Goomba King's Castle!" exclaimed a Goomba that was dubiously colored red.
Since he was a lowly minion he probably wasn't holding any Star Spirits...but they should probably defeat him anyway. Since Toad Town was nearby he would probably be a threat to the Toads living there.
"But we need to get to Toad Town..." pointed out Goombario.
"Well, you probably wouldn't want to go there anyway...in case you haven't heard the news, Peach's Castle was lifted out of the sky and into outer space! So you won't be able to visit the princess if that's what you're wondering..." answered Blue Goomba.
"That's a disappointment..." remarked Lincoln.
"Well, if you insist on fighting us, then so be it!" exclaimed Red Goomba.
Immediately, the two of them began to attack the four of them.
Lily started by tossing toy blocks at the two Goombas.
"Ow!" exclaimed the Red Goomba.
"That hurt!" shouted the Blue Goomba.
Lily giggled.
Suddenly, the Red Goomba took Lily's blanket.
"Maybe the Goomba King will like a present..." remarked the Red Goomba.
Lily began to cry.
This did not amuse Lincoln.
"Nobody steals from my sister!" bellowed Lincoln. Admittedly, he had tossed Lily's blanket in the trash can once...but he thought that she had outgrown it at that point and didn't need it anymore.
Immediately, he punched the Red Goomba in the face.
"Ow! My beautiful face!" exclaimed the Red Goomba.
"Quit bullying my older brother!" demanded the Blue Goomba.
In retaliation, he headbonked Lincoln.
"Ow! I'm probably going to have a headache later..." remarked Lincoln. He was starting to lose HP.
This time, it was Mario's turn to attack.
Immediately, he hammered the Blue Goomba.
"Ow! I was under the impression that he would jump on top of me..." questioned the Blue Goomba.
Mario noted that was what he did...about half the time.
In retaliation, the Red Goomba hit Mario on the nose.
"Oof!" exclaimed Mario.
However, at this point, the Red Goomba and the Blue Goomba were both starting to feel tired.
"You sure we're not...over our heads?" asked the Red Goomba.
"I don't think...the Goomba King...would like it...if we let Mario in..." remarked the Blue Goomba.
"True..." nodded the red Goomba.
Suddenly, Goombario pulled out a Fire Flower.
"What the-" exclaimed the two Goombas.
Immediately, the two Goombas were pelted with fireballs.
Both Goombas decided to retreat. They could not beat Mario and Lincoln by themselves.
"Let's get out of here!" bellowed the Red Goomba.
"I'm with you, brother!" exclaimed the Blue Goomba.
The two of them decided to retreat.
In the process, they dropped the blanket that they had stolen from Lily.
"Blankey!" cheered Lily, picking up her precious belonging.
"Looks like I showed them who's boss!" exclaimed Goombario.
Mario gave Goombario the thumbs up.
"I still think that we need to take on their king though..." noted Lincoln.
Lily nodded. Could they handle him?
They decided to find out.
Immediately, the Goombas Bros. went to report to their leader about the bad news.
"Help us, Goomba King!" bellowed the Red Goomba.
"Mario and his friends beat us up!" exclaimed the Blue Goomba.
"What? Mario's here? I thought he was stuck in Goomba Village behind an enormous yellow block..." questioned the Goomba King.
"Well, apparently, he managed to find a way to break it." explained the Red Goomba.
"I guess we better give him a warm welcome..." answered the Goomba King.
"Speaking of warm, his Goomba sidekick hit us with a Fire Flower." noted the Blue Goomba.
The Goomba King sighed. His minions had clearly bitten off more than they could chew.
At that very moment, Mario and Lincoln showed up.
The Red Goomba and Blue Goomba gasped in shock.
"It's him! It's Mario!" bellowed the Blue Goomba.
"What do we do?" inquired the Red Goomba.
"What else? Get ready to fight!" exclaimed the Goomba King.
"But we're still tired after our last battle with Mario..." explained the Blue Goomba.
"Then I guess I'll have to deal with them myself..." answered the king.
"Count on us then...I guess." said the Red Goomba.
Immediately, the Goomba King stomped out of his castle.
"That must be the Goomba King!" exclaimed Goombario.
"There's no doubt about it." nodded Lincoln.
Lily began to shiver in fear.
"So, Mario, I see that you've bene trouncing Goombas lately...well, now you'll have to deal with me, the King of the Goombas! You're going straight in the castle moat!" exclaimed the Goomba King.
"You do realize that I can fly, right?" asked Lincoln.
"In that case, you're going to the dungeon!" bellowed the king.
"Awww..." said the young boy.
Immediately, the Goomba King began to attack the four of them along with the three Goombas.
"What should we do? This guy is huge!" exclaimed Lincoln.
Mario added that not only was the Goomba King huge, but he did not come alone. His two henchmen were with him...though admittedly they were still worn out from their previous encounter.
"Well, I suppose you could try jumping on top of them..." suggested Goombario.
Mario noted that was good advice. That always seemed to do the trick against the Goombas...though admittedly he was up against a HUGE Goomba.
Suddenly, Lincoln noticed that Lily was missing.
"Wait, where's Lily?" questioned Lincoln. "Don't tell me I lost her again!"
"Hahahahaha!" laughed Lily.
Lincoln turned around, and noticed that Lily was shaking a nearby tree.
"What is she doing?" asked Lincoln.
"Well, it's a Goomnut tree...it tends to grow around this area..." answered Goombario.
Suddenly, several Goomnuts began to fall off the tree.
One of them fell on top of the Goomba King.
"Ow! What the-" exclaimed the Goomba King.
Two of them fell on top of the Goomba Bros.
They passed out on the floor.
"My minions! Darn you!" bellowed the king of the Goombas.
"Way to go, Lily!" exclaimed Lincoln.
"I'm going to send you to my playpen of doom!" screamed the Goomba King.
Immediately, he charged towards Lily.
However, Lily pulled out a bottle of milk and used it to squirt milk into the king's eyes.
"My eyes! I'm blind!" screamed the Goomba King.
Instead of charging into Lily, he charged into the Goomnut Tree instead.
"Ow!" exclaimed the Goomba King as more Goomnuts fell on top of him.
At this point, the Goomba King realized that he was fighting a losing battle.
"Um, I could use a little help here..." said the king.
Suddenly, several Goombas appeared to assist the Goomba King. Lincoln noted that since he joined Mario on his journey that the difficulty level of the game had been altered.
However, the heroes would not go down so easily.
Immediately, Mario jumped from Goomba to Goomba.
As he did so, the Goombas all collapsed to the ground.
"I will not be defeated! I shall remain strong!" exclaimed the Goomba King.
Suddenly, Lily approached him wearing a squirrel costume.
She entered the Goomba King's pants.
"I've got a squirrel in my pants!" screamed the king.
Frantically, he began to run around uncontrollably.
Eventually, he fell into the chasm where the bridge to Toad Town previously was.
"Aahhhhh!" screamed the Goomba King.
Fortunately for Lily, she leapt out of the Goomba King's pants before she fell too.
The Goomba King hit several different rocks before hitting the bottom.
"Impossible! I'm a king! I cannot lose...not to an infant!" exclaimed the king.
Immediately, the Goomba King gave up his Star Points.
Mario leveled up.
"Woohoo!" exclaimed Mario.
He decided to spend it on FP so that he could use more powerful jumping abilities.
Lily also leveled up as well, oddly enough.
As a reward for leveling up, she got a pacifier.
Immediately, she began to suck on it.
A few seconds later, the Red Goomba and Blue Goomba woke up and pulled out a rope so that the Goomba King could get back up.
The three went back inside the castle.
"I cannot believe that I lost!" exclaimed the king.
"At least Mario doesn't know about the secret switch..." remarked the Blue Goomba.
Suddenly, Lily spotted the secret switch in the bushes.
"Huh?" asked Lily.
She decided to hit it with the rattle.
"Nooooooo!" screamed the Goomba King.
Immediately, the Goomba King and his two cohorts were sent flying.
Also, his castle turned into a bridge.
"I guess we can get to Toad Town now..." noted Goombario.
Mario leapt into the air in excitement.
Immediately, the four of them crossed the bridge so that they could get to town.
Unbeknownst to them, Kamek and Kammy were watching.
"I guess we should tell Bowser what happened..." answered Kammy.
"Huh. I guess kings really don't rule forever." remarked Kamek. It was a good thing that Bowser had a successor to his throne in the form of his son, Bowser Jr.
Quickly, the two of them flied towards Peach's Castle.
And the Goomba King is down! Isn't that a relief. However, Kammy Koopa is aware that Mario and Lincoln are heading back to Toad Town, so they're going to prepare accordingly.
Our heroes will be facing more challenging opponents shortly. You didn't think that they would be fighting only Goombas, did you?