"...So, you are what Rhodes Island calls an 'Elite Operator'? " Olivia inquired as the group walked out of the clearing.
"Yep, we are the best of the best of Rhodes. The pathway to becoming an Elite isn't for the faint of heart, though."
"Ah, I understand. It just feels kinda weird why a medical organization like yourself needs such powerful individuals."
"It's very necessary." Amiya jumped in. "Curing Oripathy isn't our only goal. There are certain plagues in our land that can't be cured with medical treatments."
"I never heard of weaponry curing illness, but since you guys are the medical experts, I can trust what you say. Good thing such individuals like yourselves aren't working for my brother!" She laughed.
The group ran into a wooden sign that read: "KEEP OUT! Unless you want to stay here forever." It literally read to the party.
"Yeah yeah, they made me from of Grandsappy's branches. Reduce, reuse, and recycle, I guess."
"Wow, that's pretty messed up if you trees think about it." Blaze told the sentiment sign.
"Don't worry about it miss, those Toads usually ask for our permission first, but I heard they just hacked down Grandsappy while he was in his prime. Jerks." It responded.
Speaking of Toads, on of the mushroom headed creatures was stuck in a bush. Mario yanked the Toad out, but he was still crumpled up. The plumber struck the Toad thrice, and it miraculously unfolded itself.
"I'm flat again!" It cheered.
"What did you do to Grandsappy?" Blaze threatened the Toad with her chainsaw.
"Eek! You must be one of those Rhodes Island guys the Princess hired. W-Well, I didn't even do it, it was the Toad who lives in the big cabin at our Barbeque. I was being folded up by those origami solders at the time."
"Your alibi, huh?" Blaze got closer, causing the Toad to squeak. "Hahaha, calm down buddy, I was just messing with you."
"Whew, thought I was done for..." The Toad sighed. "Those Folded Soldiers have been folding us Toads up left and right, miss! This is clearly a first degree case of Toad abuse! Plus, those creeps have these weird horned soldiers that really freak me out. You guys seem like professionals, so you should become able to handle them, right?"
The Rhodes Island operators started to whisper with each other. Mario assumed they had history with those strange demons.
"Horned soldiers? Did by any chance these soldiers wear green vests and black masks?" Amiya inquired.
"Yes! They make the Shy Guys look like chumps!" The Toad started to panic. "Ah! I just retraumatized myself!"
The toad sprinted away, screaming his fungus cap off like a madman.
"What's going on here?" Olivia questioned the group's reactions. "I know my brother said those horned soldiers are the best of the best, but why do you look so concerned?"
"There are many Sarkaz mercenary groups from were we come from, but there is only 1 group that wears such attire" Amiya responded. "The Demon Reagent. They've started civil wars and infiltrated governments for their own twisted ends."
"Oh dear..." Olivia gulped. "I see no reason why Olly needs such dangerous minions. The Folded Soldiers should have satisfied his needs..."
"We don't have enough intel to figure out his goals, but the mere sight of those green pricks is bad news." Blaze sighed. "Man, I really thought this contract would've been easy. Most of you lot haven't even heard of Origium Arts."
Rhodes Island finally realized how things roll in the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser usually doesn't put up much of a fight; it's always some bigger baddie behind the curtain. It must've been frustrating for the Operators, but this was nothing new for Mario.
The more immediate issue was the folded Toads scattered around. All it took was one hammer swing to turn them back to normal, but it was unknown why Olly hadn't created Folded Soldiers from them. Sure, they were pretty much useless in combat, but so was the low tier baddies populating his army.
"I could really go for some food right now." Blaze's stomach growled.
"You can have some of our BBQ!" A recently freed Toad responded. "Cooked from only the finest charcoal available in this forest."
"Hold up, you do know those trees are sentinent, right?" Blaze responded.
"Of course. All wood from Toad's BBQ is harvested with permission from the trees. It's cause of the cycle of life or whatever."
"Ok..." Blaze decided to just wait until they returned back to their landship for a meal.
The party freed any Toads in distress at the Foodeatery, then set off for Toad Town. On the way, Folded Goombas were attempting to transform regular Goombas into more of their kind. Along with them were some of the "Sarkaz" mercenaries the Rhodes Island Operators warned about.
"Frresh paper alert..." They spoke in unison before jumping the party.
The group was once more thrust into one of these bizarre Ring Battles. This time, the Goombas were in a position ripe for sliding the panels vertically instead of horizontally. Mario lined up all the Goombas, and took them out with a jump attack.
"Perfect! You are a natural at Ring Battles, Mario!" Olivia praised the plumber, but then noticed the Sarkaz Swordsmen joining the fight. "Oh no, here comes the horned soldiers! I don't think jump attacks will be very effective"
"Heh, then I guess it's time for some REAL firepower!" Blaze revved up her chainsaw. The Sarkaz moved in to attack before she could, landing cheap strikes on the Feline.
"Looks like it will take Blaze some time to prepare her attacks." Olivia observed. "She could use some healing, but we don't have much items with us."
"Hey! Over here!" The voice of a familar Toad rang out from the stadium. "We will support you from the audience to help you defeat those Origami creeps! There's just one condition, we charge a modest fee for any applause!"
"Heh, at least you guys aren't pretending to be an actual audience." Blaze chuckled lightly.
Mario paid the Toads in coins (They thought the Terrans' LMD was Monopoly money) and they responded appropriately, battering the mercenaries with various while tossing in some health. Blaze unleashed her attack, sending firey shockwaves that wiped out the enemies.
With the Sarkaz about of the way, the group chatted with the formerly captive Goombas.
"... So that's what those horned freaks are called?" One of the Goombas said. "Man, and we are stuck with our lame names. Does 'Goomba' inspire fear and misery?"
"We're taking an L on this one guys; we got rescued by Mario and his weird animal buddies." The Goomba shook his head. "Maybe we should set aside our differences and fight the greater evil. I formally declare a truce until we unfold our comrades and defeat those Sarkaz! Move out troops! Let's fight their folds with stacks of pain!"
The Goombas marched off. They may be weak, but they are the most disciplined troops of Bowser's Army.
Mario and the R.I. Operators finally arrive at Toad Town. The place was just as barren as when Luigi first drove Mario to the township.
"Poor Toads... I believe they've all been folded and stored inside the buildings." Amiya surveyed the area.
"I think your right, but look at all these giant holes!" Olivia pointed out. "This has to be my brother's doing..."
She heard the Sounds of somebody eating sloppily. Olivia saw a giant Goomba, made out of paper mache, devouring a house. It left behind the not-bottomless pits seen earlier in the forest.
"Is it just me, or is that creature way to large to be real? It doesn't look like any origami or paper creatures I've seen before..."
"So this most be that King Olly's big guns. These giant goombas has must be responsible for the damage here!" Blaze spoke.
"I think the seal on its back is powering it somehow, so aim for it! Didn't know my brother was such a narcissist, though." Olivia sighed.
The Feline revved up her saw, and cut the seal in half. The Macho Goomba turned around and tried to trample her, but Blaze easily evaded the simple attack. She leaped into the air and sawed the entire thing in half, exploding into confetti.
"Hmm, I really thought that creature would put up a better fight..." She scratched her chin.
"There is likely more of those macho goombas throughout Toad Town. The best option would be to split up to cover more ground." Amiya suggested.
And so, Mario, Amiya, and Blaze each went their separate ways, freeing Toads and destroying the Paper Macho Goombas. They met back up at Peach's Castle, except there was just one problem. The drawbridge was destroyed.
"Now how are we going to get to Peach's Castle? It's not like we can just jump in an underground tube and travel through it..."
"Olivia, the warp pipe is right next to us." Amiya interupted Olivia.
Everyone jumped in the green pipe, but instead of bringing them across the moat, it spat them out on the other side of town.
"Oh come on!" Blaze complained. "Who designs plumbing systems like this? And it made me feel all dizzy too..."
And that was the reason why Mario quit plumbing. The Mushroom Kingdom's sewage is a literally pipe maze.
Speaking of sewage, the only other route to the castle was through the dank tunnels. A Shy Guy told the group he left his sewer hook in a red building close to the docks. Inside was a lone Spike who was more interested in snacks than the hook.
Mario knocked down the shelf, revealing a Thousand-Fold Arms panel. Ripping away a fake wall, the party enters a storage room with the treasured sewer hook. No snacks were found for the hungry Spike, unfortunately.
Mario ripped the sewer grate off. Thankfully, the smell wasn't too overpowering, but it's still a sewer, mind you. It was somewhat funny for Mario seeing the girls gagging over the rancid odor of Toad waste. Once he switched the lights on, there wasn't an once of you-know-what to be seen. Strange...
After that unpleasant experience, Mario and the Operators successfully reached the castle. The damage wasn't too bad, the main walls still intact with a small amount of rubble left behind. However, Luigi's kart was laying on a gate, thrown by all the chaos. He had to be close.
"Look Mario, your brother's hat!" Olivia pointed to the unmistakable cap.
Mario picked up the cap, with a hint of solemness in his eyes.
"I hope your brother is alright, Mario." Amiya spoke, placing her hand on Mario. She unintentionally read his memories, and saw all of the adventures Mario's brother tagged on with, even if he was an utter coward.
"Help me..."
Mario heard the voice coming from one of the remaining walls. Luigi somehow got stuck suspiciously similar to how Olivia was imprisoned. He quickly used the Thousand Fold Arms to release his brother from this inbetween place. He came out crumpled, but it was nothing a few swings from a hammer could fix.
"Whew! That's-a more like it." He celebrated, hugging his brother. "What's with all these girls, though?"
"I'm Amiya, and my partner over here is Blaze." Amiya started. "We are part of the company the princess hired as private security, but I'll be honest; we failed spectacularly."
"Don't sweat about it, that Bowser Koopa is smarter than he looks. I think he even sent a Shy Guy to trap me in that inbetween-demensions place. But not a regular Shy Guy. It was... thick and edgy..." Luigi's memory started to fade. "Then he said something about-a coming back for me later! And..." That was all he could remember."
"At least you weren't turned into a Folded Soldier." Olivia sighed in relief. "They don't work for Bowser, they work for my brother!"
"Mama mia, Bowser isn't behind this for once?" Luigi saw what happened to the rest of the castle and started to panic. "What happened to the rest of the castle? And where is Princess Peach?"
"Well, my brother kidnapped both, but we are on the way to put a stop to his plans."
Luigi slumped in shame. "Looks like you will be going on another adventure without-a Luigi, huh?"
"Luigi..."
"No need to say anything bro. You are always saving me... so I want to do something nice for you for a change. Remember how we got locked in? The castle is still likely locked, so I will find the key for you! I'm happy to see you again, but I still gotta find that key so you can defeat Olivia's brother. Let's a go!"
Luigi sprinted off, forgetting about his cap. He raced back to his trusty kart, but somebody had already turned it over for him. A blue haired woman with both angelic wings and demonic horns was leaning on vehicle casually
"Sup. I go by Mostima." She introduced herself.