Mario sorted out his items as he stood, gazing out of the window at the endless sands below him. He could see that the ship was moving at an extreme pace, far faster than his previous vessel and likely the fastest airship in the world, yet there were no bumps or rough turns. Hatro had told him proudly that the ship could go nearly the speed of sound, and Mario believed it. The Cap Kingdom had always been known as the apex of fast aerial transportation, rivaled only by the Shroobs. Tiara had said part of the reason Bowser invaded was to get the blueprints for their ships. It's a good thing he only thought of kidnapping her and not someone who actually knew how the ships worked.

"Mario," Hatro said from his perch on the ship's highest shelf, which was apparently where the controller was. "We are nearing Aridian Village."

"Alright," Mario responded. The village was close to the eastern border, making it one of the most likely spots for the evil force to be at. Even if the evil wasn't there yet, it likely would be. Mario had never been to the village, but he knew it was not exactly well-defended, with a populace of mostly Goombas and a few Tostarenans. He had also heard a clan of bandits (including capital-B Bandits), was forming in around the same area. That poor village must be assaulted by them constantly. It might even be possible that the bandits basically own the town by now, much like the Pianta Syndicate and Rogueport. Oh, sure Rogueport had a nominal leader, but it was very clear who held the real power.

Of course, a simple clan of thugs would be easy to deal with for someone as powerful as him, but he had far bigger things to worry about.

Eventually, the city appeared in Mario's vision. Aridian was much larger than Tostarena, with dozens of full-sized buildings, some being apartments, some restaurants, some other things. Villagers bustled around the streets, and marketplaces seemed to be open.

How odd, Mario thought. Looking out of the window, he could see a lot of people walking the streets, but not any bandit activity. He couldn't even see anyone robbing the marketplace. Had the village somehow been able to scare the bandits off? Mario found that unlikely. Despite the population being higher than he expected, most of them were Goombas, and they weren't exactly the best at defending themselves. Even human children could usually beat them, and quite often did just that for outdoor games. Maybe the thieves hadn't discovered the village yet, but Mario found that hard to believe as well.

The cap-shaped craft touched down at a flat plain at the outer edge of the village. A few of the villagers got spooked, clearly not having seen such advanced technology before. The door opened, and Mario saw more villagers getting uneasy, as if an alien was going to pop out.

"I know I'm no Cappy, but I can help you if you want," Hatro said.

"No thanks," Mario responded. "You've already transported me here. I think you should have some rest." In truth, Hatro would have been useful to the plumber, but he already had countless items and a treasury's worth of coins he brought with him. Plus, Mario would have to take his beloved cap off to use Hatro, and he just couldn't do that. Mario's cap was his pride and joy, the symbol of his power and heroism. He was devastated when Bowser destroyed it a few years ago. Thank goodness Cappy fixed it. "Just hang around here until I get back."

"You got it!"

Mario began to explore the village, keeping his eyes peeled for potential criminal activity. Many of the townspeople stared at him, probably shocked to see Mario himself in a rather remote village. Tostarenans waved their maracas and danced to various radio tunes, from Pauline's upbeat grooves to Ludwig's classical ballads. No one paid them any mind, unlike in Tostarena where they often gave them money. Villagers exchanged goods in marketplaces, but unrest circled throughout the town. Up close, Mario could see the nervousness in the people's faces, the way they scuttled through the town as if a Big Bob-Omb was about to go off nearby. He didn't know whether the fear was because of bandit attacks or the evil force. For all he knew, the bandits could themselves have been repelled by the mysterious evil.

The plumber stopped walking at one of the town's restaurants. He saw a wooden sign above the door that read Chet's Grease Emporium. Mario was hungry, given he hadn't eaten since before the Mario Kart tournament, and with a name like that, the place was bound to be a high-class eating establishment. At the very least, it couldn't be worse than the Ardy's he had passed up on the way to Shooting Star Summit. They had the worst meats.

Mario opened the door and saw several tables and a bar, all completely deserted aside from the employees. There was no food on the floor or tables, probably because no one had bothered to come in the first place. The host, a Goomba who looked basically the same as all the others, was practically asleep, though he quickly snapped back up when Mario entered.

"O-oh my gosh, a customer!" he yelled. "Um, I mean, how large is your party?"

"Party of one, just me." Mario had a feeling he would not be a party of one for much longer.

"Alright then, f-follow me."

Mario walked over to the table he was led to. It was at the other end of the restaurant, with the back window at the right end and an exit door at the left. He sat down at a slightly broken wooden table. Mario wouldn't be surprised if it had splinters, but it didn't matter as he was wearing gloves and he was too durable for that to pierce through anyway. The waiter arrived almost instantly, and Mario ordered five pasta dishes.

As the plumber was scarfing down on his fourth noodle-y delight in a row, he spotted a large group of hooded figures from the window who had just passed the outer border of the town. They were like Shy Guys, but taller, with light blue cloaks and masks with mischievous faces on them. Mario rolled his eyes as recognized them right away, they were Bandits, coming to rob the town.

Really? Interrupting during my meal? Mario quickly got up from his seat and raced over to the exit door.

"Ahem," the waiter said. Mario froze for a moment in awkwardness, then raced back, took out a 500-coin and slapped it on the table.

"Whatever is left, you can keep it as a tip." The order was only 96 coins. "Just make sure to box it up for when I get back."

With that, Mario opened the door, and now he could see that that group of Bandits was only one part of a much larger raiding pack. Everywhere he looked, he could see a group of Bandits stealing something. There were hundreds of them, and those were just the ones Mario could see. While fighting even that many wouldn't be hard for him, he couldn't be everywhere at once.

He ran out towards a group of Bandits who were ransacking a marketplace. Five of them quickly turned toward him. One had a red-and-white hood and fireballs trailing from its fist; clearly that one was using a Fire Flower. As Mario advanced further, the red one launched a bouncing fireball. Mario leaped over it as naturally as breathing despite all the pasta he ate right before, and touched down right next to the Bandit. He could have landed on it but that would have killed it regardless of how much he held back. Mario quickly pushed it back by striking it with his palm, knocking it into the air and out cold. The others all tried attacking him at once, but Mario simply spun around and knocked them all out.

Mario looked to his right and saw about twenty Bandits about to attack a Goomba. He knew most Goombas could not beat a Bandit, let alone this many. Mario ran over to assist, but they were pretty far away, and he could see a few Bandits already charging in at the Goomba. Mario hoped they wouldn't beat him up too bad before he could intervene.

Suddenly, the Goomba, with faster speed than any Goomba he'd ever seen, twirled around and kicked one of the Bandits in the face. The Bandit flew up and skidded several feet, clearly knocked out from the blow. A bunch of them then came at him at once, but a red energy wave shot out from the Goomba in all directions, defeating all the Bandits nearby and shattering a few windows.

Mario was almost at his location, though did he even need to be there. The Goomba seemed to be handling things fine on his own, which was not a sentence Mario expected to ever apply. When the Goomba looked in his direction, he started tensing up and gathering scarlet energy around his body. The plumber had cleared out all the Bandits behind him, so the Goomba must have thought he was an enemy. The Goomba, surrounded by the energy, rocketed toward Mario in a manner not unlike Luigi's Green Missile technique. Mario sidestepped to the right, causing the Goomba to fly past him and land a few meters away.

"Woah woah buddy, I'm here to help you." Mario said as the Goomba turned toward him. Now that see could see the Goomba up close, he noticed he looked different from most others. His eyebrows were shorter, more like those of Goombario. He had a headband with flame patterns on it and a small V-shaped goatee not quite fully going down his head. He had the cocky expression of a young, powerful warrior who had yet to face any truly hard battles.

"I don't need any help!" the Goomba arrogantly replied.

"Hey, hey let's be rational here. There's a good two hundred of these guys attacking…"

"I said I don't need your help!" the Goomba unleashed a twirling kick at Mario, red energy trailing his foot. Mario tilted far down and to the right to avoid the attack. The hero did not need this while trying to fend off the village. Again, the Goomba launched himself toward Mario, but the plumber somersaulted away, kicking a nearby Bandit in the way.

"I've been defending this village for years now. I don't need some human coming in and stealing the show!" Mario was a bit alarmed. A Goomba defending a village that was right near a clan of criminals was unheard of. The Goomba unleashed another spin kick, an even faster one which Mario barely avoided. Then again, with his level of fighting skill…

The Goomba yelled and unleashed another 360-degree energy wave, more intense and vibrant than the first one. The walls of nearby buildings crumbled, and Mario could feel a sting. The attack had knocked him back several yards, but already the Goomba was closing in for a follow-up Headbonk.

Alright, that's enough. This Goomba wants a fight, I'll bring him one. Mario adjusted his pose and countered the Goomba's Headbonk with a well-timed punch. The Goomba's strength was no match for Mario's as he was launched higher than any of the buildings until he landed in a wheelbarrow, cracking it in two. The Goomba was certainly down after that attack, and now that he was dealt with, Mario could get back to fighting the bandits…

Until a large scream echoed from the wheelbarrow, shattering it into tiny pieces. The Goomba was somehow still standing, only moderately injured. How could a Goomba be this strong? The only other Goombas he had known that could take an attack of that magnitude were Goomboss, Goombella, and Goombario, and the latter two only could because of their training from him and their magical upgrades.

"I WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!" The Goomba's body was now glowing red, and his eyes flickered with rage. Clearly, he had never been pushed to this level before, and he may have thought no one in the world could do so. To have someone overpowering him like this was a humbling reminder that he wasn't invincible, and some took this lesson more poorly than others.

With the speed of a car, the Goomba bolted toward Mario, surrounded by more of the energy than ever before. Mario knew this attack would be a big one, but he was used to avoiding these types of attacks. When the Goomba was a few buildings away, Mario expertly leapt into the air. The Goomba looked up at Mario, but he was going too fast to change his course or what was about to happen.

The plumber landed directly on his charging opponent with his famous stomp attack. Boucing off of the Goomba's head, Mario saw the energy dissipate and his eyes go glassy.

"I…won't… lose… here," the Goomba squeaked out just before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Mario landed, his face relaxing a bit. That fight gave him a lot more trouble than he expected, but it was not even close to the difficulty of some great battles he had fought in the past. Despite the four pastas he ate, he was not even breathing heavily. That Goomba still had a lot to work on. Of course, the battle wasn't truly over as the bandits were still ransacking the village, and he just knocked out its main defender.

Mario swept through the town, plowing through scores of criminals and recovering the items stolen. The bandits were no match for him, no matter what items they used or what numbers they attacked in. At one point, a Bandit attacked him with a machete, but he caught it and crushed the metal in his hand. The Bandit quickly surrendered after that.

Eventually, Mario had dealt with every criminal attacking the city, and the rest of them all ran away. Mario knew that unfortunately, some of the thieves would get away with stolen goods. He could chase them all down and check each one, but that would take far too long. He wished the Goomba would have helped him defend the village, rather than waste his time fighting him for his ego.

"Hey, you there,"

Speak of Bonechill. The Goomba was back. Mario turned and faced his direction, preparing for another fight.

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry for getting all aggressive at you. I can get pretty uncool during fights, and I thought you were trying to steal my spotlight." The Goomba seemed genuinely sorry as he shifted his foot. "I had always thought I was the greatest, only unappreciated because I was a Goomba, but you showed me…" the Goomba seemed to struggle to get out this part, "I'm not the best after all." The Goomba's dejected expression suddenly turned to pleading. "You beat me so bad; you have to be like... the ultimate fighter. So maybe, you could teach me a few things, show me how to reach such a high level." Mario was pleasantly surprised. The Goomba's wish to get stronger was greater than his arrogance, and he could show humility if he found it would help him.

"So, you want to be… my partner?"

"Yes, please!" he begged. "With your training, I can prove that Goombas aren't useless. Maybe I can be… the strongest fighter ever!"

"Well…" Mario said awkwardly, not wanting to crush this Goomba's dreams. "You have a long way to go before you're a real powerhouse. The road will be hard and dangerous, and you… may not succeed in the end." Mario said delicately.

"I have to succeed, it's my calling! I have to show a Goomba can be truly great." He seemed absolutely convinced that he would succeed in this objective. Mario hoped he wouldn't throw himself into a situation he couldn't handle because of this.

"Look, as strong as you become, you'll never be more powerful than the gods." Mario said. "Those who claim to be tend not to have very happy endings."

"Yeah, I guess," the Goomba said a bit sullenly. "But I can be the strongest mortal! I know it!" he said as he perked right back up again.

"Say, what's your name anyway?"

"Goombarry"

"Neat. Mine is Mario." Goombarry's eyes began to widen even more.

"Wait a minute, are you… the Mario?" Mario was surprised he hadn't figured it out already.

"The princess-saver?"

"Yeah."

"Sure am. It's-a-me, Mario!" He yelled out his signature greeting.

"Did you… did you really break into Koopa Kingdom castles singlehandedly?"

"I did indeed." Mario said proudly.

"Oh man, I thought all of that stuff was a myth, or at least overstated," he gushed as Mario cocked his head. "But with your power, I believe it now."

"Well, I assume you haven't left this remote area much, as it is well-documented in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Yeah, I haven't really been anywhere. I want to, but I have to protect my village from those stupid bandits." Goombarry kicked a rock sadly.

"How about we take the fight to them?" Mario asked. "Do you know where their hideout is?"

"Oh yes! The place is loaded with defenses, and even I was—um…"

"Afraid of going there?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "But with your help, we could storm that place easy. We can take them all out and then I won't have to worry about Aridian getting attacked anymore."

"Then you'll come with me?"

"Then I'll come with you."

"Excellent!" Mario exclaimed. "But before that, there's one thing I need to do."

Back at Chet's Grease Emporium, Mario gorged on his fifth pasta dish. Goombarry had ordered too, and was sitting across the table, eating a steak with insides as red as Goombarry himself got during the fight. He had told the waiter to make it "as rare as they will let it out of the kitchen." It was a bit weird to Mario, but it was not for him to get onto others' eating habits. He just ate and enjoyed his own meal.

Floating high above the town, an invisible force was watching. He was just sent to scan the area, though of course he would still cause a little mischief, or murder; same thing in his book. He was not expecting to hit the jackpot and find Mario himself in this very dimension. He had been told of multiple of his allies' defeats at his hands, much like his own. Now he had another chance to mess with him and take revenge. A saner person would have cared about how Mario could be a threat.

Dimentio, however, was anything but sane.

"Ahahaha! The curtain unfolds once more, and the show resumes."

Yep, on this adventure there'll be partners like in Paper Mario 1, 2, and 6. Looks like Goombarry is the first of them. Hope you guys are excited to see the others!