Mario was quiet for a few minutes as he sat on the ship's plush couch, with the craft now at a safe distance from the group of villains. Goombarry stood opposite him, and seemed quite restless. It seemed the Goomba still wanted them to attack Vel'zar, but Mario knew better. With all those villains, it would be a death sentence.

"So, who were those guys that got you all nervous?" the Goomba asked impatiently. "I'm surprised you of all people would flee from a fight."

Mario sighed.

"Look Goombarry, I don't think you understand just how dangerous these guys are." Mario said. "These aren't your average ruffians any hero can easily dispatch. I've dealt with a lot of them myself, but it was a great struggle, and I couldn't do it alone." Goombarry's eyes widened.

"I needed the aid of Luigi and even Bowser for some of them, and that was individually. Together these guys are…" Mario's voice faltered.

"What?"

"Luigi… he's had nightmares of the villains coming back and teaming up to destroy us." Mario said, pacing slightly. "I told him he was being paranoid, that the villains were dead and gone, and now…"

"They've come back." Goombarry said, much more nervously this time.

"Yes. Do you see how dangerous this is now?" Goombarry nodded.

"But, we can't just let them get away. We have to act against them before they grow stronger. Before they…" Goombarry paused. "I don't know, take over the world!"

"I'm not going to," Mario said, clenching his fist. "but I'll need to get all my friends and allies for this. Luigi, DK, Yoshi, Turbo, everyone!"

"There's a problem with that though." said Hatro, perched on the steering apparatus. "The villains did… something to the ship. Most of the Power Moons are gone, and we barely have enough energy to get to the nearest Moon Depot."

"Ugh, of course it wouldn't be that easy." Mario facepalmed. Goombarry probably would have if he had hands. The Odyssey II was far more fuel-efficient than its predecessor, but it wasn't unlimited. Power Moons weren't exactly easy to come by except in Moon Depots, where they spawned much more frequently. A portion of New Donk City was even built on a Moon Depot. That's why the plumber went to those areas on his previous Odyssey excursion, but he expected he wouldn't have to anymore.

No, don't be spoiled here, Mario thought. You're not above scouring around.

"Where, where is it?" Goombarry asked impatiently.

"In Grolia Town, in the Wooded Kingdom." Hatro said, ignoring the Goomba's rudeness.

"Ooh, that's cool. This'll be my first time in another kingdom." Mario was expecting Goombarry to complain again about the distance. Though he supposed if he had just seen desert his entire life, he would be antsy to go somewhere else too.

"Then shall we set a course?"

"Yes, Hatro," said Mario.

The cap twirled around in his steering apparatus, diverting the ship on another course. Mario didn't really understand how steering the ship worked, or locating certain destinations, but he trusted Hatro's driving ability. The ship began to make a left turn, and after a few seconds it stabilized. Mario sat down in the plush couch of the ship, relieved to be doing anything but going after Vel'zar. Mario knew he had an uphill battle. It was hard enough just fighting each villain individually, but this group would be a greater challenge than any single foe or faction.

Fawful's genius was unmatched by any but E. Gadd, and his cunning allowed him to swiftly take over two kingdoms before his master plan even finished, but his only muscle was Midbus and hypnotized minions. He was easily squashed once backed up in a corner, but now he had a lot more muscle backing him up. Mario barely escaped his last trap. What other ideas would he come up with?

As for Antasma, he was a power-hungry leech, but he was very good at it. He'd seized countless dreams and swallowed them into his twisted world. He had stolen both the Dream Stone and Dark Stone, and was very close to turning reality itself into a nightmare. If Bowser hadn't betrayed him at the last minute, he may have achieved total victory. Hopefully, something similar would happen in Vel'zar's group, with all the different villains grabbing for power.

The elder Shroob princess was exceptional in combat, but her real strength was leadership. Mario didn't know much about her, but the Shroobs were reportedly fighting better before she was sealed away, and her new allies are far more dangerous than the Shroob army. Even so, her cruelty was so great that her own people stored the shards where she was sealed in their most secure bases, far away from each other. With Vel'zar's influence, that cruelty would only increase.

Out of all the past villains, Mario feared Dimentio most of all. He knew all sorts of powerful magic, like creating his own dimension and banishing him to the Underwhere. He was toying with the party for the whole quest, and with his machinations, they were moving toward his goals. He nearly ruled all worlds, and it took the power of concentrated, unfathomable love to defeat him the first time. Who knows what he could do with all of his new allies?

Mario talked with Goombarry about various things, anything to take his mind off the situation as the ship flew across the land.

Eventually, the ground began to change. As the ship flew further and further the sands began to fade in Mario's view, replaced by grass and bushes. Goombarry was propped right up against the window, in awe of seeing greenery for the first time in his life. Soon, the grass turned greener and the bushes were accompanied by the occasional tree.

"Mario, Mario, are these real trees?"

"Haha yes Goombarry, these trees are real. Fresh from the soil."

"Oh wow, this is unbelievable."

"Just wait until we get to the Wooded Kingdom."

After a few more minutes, the sand was completely gone, and a sea of green became visible in the distance. The harsh desert was no more.

"Mario," Goombarry asked in awe. "Is that…"

"The Wooded Kingdom."

As the ship approached, the sheer size of the trees became more apparent. These were not just ordinary trees, but natural skyscrapers in their own right. They started abruptly, towering far over the trees in the immediate vicinity. Some of them even approached 1,000 feet tall, and they weren't hollow or thin. They were as bulky as trees could be, and thick enough that the cap craft wouldn't be able to navigate. Not all the kingdom was so thickly wooded, but the outer ring was, and served as a nice border to the surrounding countries.

"W-w-wha…"

"I know Goombarry. I was amazed when I first came here too." Mario couldn't blame Goombarry for his awe. He hadn't even seen trees before and now the biggest trees in the world stood right in front of him.

"How is this… even possible?"

"They say a nature god blessed this kingdom with the trees to use as protection." Mario said, leaning toward Goombarry's direction. The Goomba had so much more to see, and from this encounter here, Mario could tell he'd enjoy it.

The ship rose up, over the treetops. The plumber could mostly just see green, although there were some wooden structures built on the top layer, connected by bridges to avoid falling into the woods below. Various denizens, mostly Spear Guys, buzzed around trading.

Several minutes later, the trees dissipated again, down to a more normal size, and Mario could even see the ground in some places, including a village of wooden buildings.

"There it is, Grolia Town," Hatro said.

"Alright then, Hatro, time to drop the ship." The Odyssey II began to descend. As it got closer, Mario could see the denizens were mostly Koopas. Their heads turned upward as the craft neared the ground. Eventually, the craft landed in an open patch of grass outside the main village without any flowers. Mario didn't want to disturb this beautiful nature after all.

When the craft touched down, Goombarry was out before Mario even got to standing up. He was looking down at the ground as he walked around, clearly never having touched grass before. "Mario, I can't believe this is happening. The beauty of this place, it's…"

"Exquisite." Mario responded from the ship.

Truly it was, it was a small and humble place, but the quaintness had its own beauty. The buildings of the village were small wooden structures with little open windows. A lot like the Toad houses in small towns in the Mushroom Kingdom. A few large fruit trees decorated the ground, though unlike the ones at the border, their presence wasn't quite so overbearing. Some Koopa children were playing by a spring, throwing water at each other, while a red-shelled adult was watching from the shade of a tree. A great lake shined with the sun's light. Several Power Moons floated about. A secluded and comfortable area with all the water and energy they needed. Some would call it paradise.

"Mario, I could just stay here forever." Goombarry said.

"We got a job to do though. I hope the locals won't mind missing a few moons."

"We will need 8 Power Moons to get to the Mushroom Kingdom. I would recommend getting at least 30 so we can have a steady power supply." Hatro said.

"If we can find that many in a short time, we'll go for that." Mario then turned toward Goombarry. "Come on friend, let's-a do this!"

The duo set off for the Power Moons.

Kooplin was ecstatic.

From high above the sky, he had seen the unmistakable silvery sheen of the Odyssey II. Normal Cap Kingdom ships weren't like this, it was a special one awarded to the man Kooplin always wanted to see, Mario. Ever since he heard of his relative Koops joining Mario on one of his adventures, Kooplin had always searched to do something similar. Long nights were spent dreaming about a moment like this happening, with Mario letting him come on an adventure, and teaching him the ways of being a hero. Now all he had to do was ask, and nothing would stop him now.

"Don't get any funny ideas there, shell-less loser."

Kooplin crashed back to reality as he was painfully reminded of his affliction. For as long as he could remember his shell had been gone, scattered to dust. He had asked Kooron, the mayor, about when he had it, but the mayor dodged the conversation each time. On top of that, he was very small, barely bigger than a child Koopa. Most of the people in Grolia were kind and considerate, but there were always bullies, bullies like Horton.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, shrimpy." Horton said. He was a large red-shelled Koopa with a gruff face and a tall shock of black hair flat at the peak. It was the ugliest hairstyle Kooplin had ever seen.

"Yes yes, I hear you." Kooplin said with great disinterest.

"You better not think you can join Mario, you're too pathetic to do anything, loser."

"Ah yes," Kooplin replied sarcastically. "and you're soooo popular." Kooplin began to walk away, toward the village center to be more visible to Mario.

"Hey, where do you think you're going, tiny?" Kooplin was just stunned at the delusions of this guy. Did Horton really think he was liked? Barely anyone could stand him.

"Going to see Mario." He said without stopping his stride. "Unless you think you can stop me."

"Oh, I'll show you." Horton said as he curled into his shell. Kooplin quickly turned around and saw Horton's shell spinning around.

"Here we go." Kooplin muttered to himself.

The larger Koopa launched out a Shell Toss attack, barreling toward Kooplin. Ordinarily a shell spinning towards you would be a terrifying sight if you had lost your own shell, but Kooplin was unimpressed. He easily sidestepped the attack, causing Horton to pop out and reorient himself. Horton began to spin again, throwing another Shell Toss attack out. Kooplin jumped over the move with no effort.

"Hey no fair." Horton whined. "Stand still and let me get you."

"Oh because it's so fair to fight a Koopa without a shell."

"Arrgh." Horton grunted, spinning in his shell again. The big bully came in with another attack that Kooplin easily avoided, then another, and another. Kooplin had been bullied like this many times before, the painful memories of having a shell slammed into his bare skin echoing many times in his memory. He had learned long ago there was no way to beat the shelled Koopas in a test of strength, so instead he went for speed.

"You done yet?" he said dryly.

"AAAAGGH!" Horton yelled, his face contorting even uglier than it already was. "I'm gonna beat you senseless!"

"Hurting a small defenseless Koopa without a shell?" Kooplin said. "That'll totally get you favors with the village."

"I don't care about that." Horton swiped his arm in frustration. "I just want to drill into your tiny skull that you'll never be enough for Mario. You may as well just give up now. Mario will never accept you."

"Oh yes I will."

The plumber had been watching the fight the whole time. As soon as he began searching for Moons, he had heard the sound of the scrap and prepared to intervene. He was ready to come to the small Koopa's defense, but then he noticed he was dodging the attacks of the bigger one, with such speed and effortlessness it seemed almost unnatural, though not quite to the same degree as Mario himself. If he had a shell, he'd be a terror despite his small size. Definitely a much better partner than the weird-haired brute he was facing. Mario and Goombarry had been hiding in a bush until now, waiting to see the little Koopa's potential.

"Mario, you sure you wanna take a Koopa without a shell?" Goombarry asked. Oh, he still had much to learn.

"I took a Bob-omb without a fuse."

"Hmm"

The duo stared at the Koopas for a few seconds. The large Koopa looked ready to attack them.

"Wow, is it really you?" the Koopa said finally.

"Indeed."

"What?" the larger Koopa said. "Why would you pick this loser to tag along?"

"Maybe because I was beating you even without a shell? Just a guess."

"Uurgh."

"How did he lose his shell anyway?" Goombarry asked.

"Oh my gods Goombarry, you can't just ask people why they're shell-less."

"Oh it's alright. Do you know how Koopa biology works?" the small Koopa asked in response.

"Look I don't know any of that stuff, I've been in a small desert town with barely any Koopas all my life!" Goombarry said hostilely, to Mario's annoyance.

"That does explain your lack of tact." the small Koopa said to Goombarry. "Anyway, Koopas are not born like many other species, from a mother and a father."

"What?" Goombarry said.

"You see, when latent magic seeps into certain crystals underground, we Koopas spring from them." the Koopa explained. "Each crystal begets only one Koopa, and when we die, the crystal will regenerate us over a period of time, our bodies at full health and our memories unchanged." Goombarry looked puzzled, while the large Koopa looked annoyed.

"So wait," Goombarry said, turning toward Mario. "That's why Bowser and his minions keep coming back when you beat 'em."

"Yes, but if our crystal is broken, our shell goes with it, and if we die again, we die for good."

"So, your crystal was shattered somehow?" Goombarry asked.

"Very intelligent observation." the Koopa said dryly. Goombarry began to step toward the Koopa, but Mario put his arm in the way.

"If you don't mind me asking," Mario said while holding back Goombarry. "What was it like before? What crystal was it?"

"I don't know. I was a baby when it was destroyed, and the elder didn't tell me anything about it. He always dodged my questions when I asked." Mario was a bit puzzled about that, but he didn't want to intrude on the village's privacy or make things more awkward with the elder.

"Well," Mario said, not wishing to bring up the subject again. "I think you'd be a great help uncovering Power Moons for us, and then you can help us defeat Vel'zar too."

"Vel'zar?"

"We'll tell you on the way."

"No. No. No, no-no-no-no-no-no, NO!" the big Koopa yelled. "This was supposed to be for me! I'm the one worthy of Mario, not this loser!" Suddenly, the large Koopa got into his shell and sped toward the smaller one, faster than any of the previous times. In one swift motion, the plumber drew his hammer, leapt in front, and swung the hammer so strongly, the Koopa went flying far out of the village. Hopefully that bully would learn his lesson one day.

"What is your name anyway?" Mario said as if nothing happened. The fight was so effortless he didn't even need to take a pause.

"I'm Kooplin, and I'm ready to do this."

"Fantastic," Mario said, though he could tell Goombarry was less-than-pleased. "Let's-a-go hunting for Moons."

The trio set off, Mario enjoying the new company he was having now. He could tell things wouldn't be pretty between Goombarry and Kooplin, with the former's rashness and the latter's sarcasm, but he'd figure it out. Maybe they would even be among his favorite partners.

Inside the lush VIP room of the Evershine Casino, the villains sat in their chairs, reeling from their failure.

"Well, well, well, Fawful." Vel'zar said, causing the Beanish boy's nerves to jump. He did not want to incite the anger of his new master. "I see you have failed me with this little casino plan attempt. Now what do you have to say for yourself?"

"W-well, you see," Fawful cowered. "It was of the most improbability that the fink-rat would…"

"You really thought he wouldn't try to sneak around first? "I told you this wouldn't work!" a villain said in a weaselly voice. He was a tall, lanky human with a black cap, glasses, and an O-shaped beard and mustache. He had a black jacket and white shirt with an extremely loose tie.

"Quiet Doug." Vel'zar said. "That is over and done with now. I will punish Fawful later." Several people began to quake as the room seemed to grow darker, most of all Fawful. "We must pursue this annoyance and put an end to his pathetic resistance."

"Do not underestimate him." the elder Shroob princess said. "He and his brother destroyed my empire, and chances are they have only grown stronger."

"Master," A bipedal, humanoid wolf said as he stood up. He was as large as Bowser and covered with black fur in everywhere except his chest and stomach. His nose was pink and constantly twitched, and his eyes glowed red. He had sharp silver claws not like a regular wolf's, more like human fingernails. He had this intensity about him that spooked even some of his comrades, not even counting the fact he could beat most of them in combat. "I have caught on to our foe's scent. I can track him from across the world. Send me to dispatch him."

"Excellent work Wolfgang. You may take Fawful's craft." The villains could tell Fawful wanted to say something, but held back to avoid angering Vel'zar.

Without another word, Wolfgang exited the room.

"Send me as well. I will lure Mario into a trap." a blonde human in a green shirt and jeans said, his voice seeming to change as he said it from a man's voice to a woman's to a kid's. His name was Cyrus, and he had the power to change his voice to anything he heard. He had picked up thousands of voices from his previous life. He figured he would be useful.

"Well, if you really want to help," Vel'zar said. "Go get us some Shroom Steaks and water." Cyrus wondered how an energy thing could eat.

"But…"

"You really think your voice-changing will be useful? You're lucky Vel'zar didn't just strike you down when he found out that's what you had," said Doug. Everyone else began to laugh, aside from Fawful who was still too scared. Even Vel'zar seemed to have a chuckle. "Now make sure mine is rare. Chop-chop."

Cyrus grumbled as he walked away.

"That foolish Mario thinks he can escape us?" Vel'zar said to the other villains. "Well, we will show him what true fear is." The villains started to nod. "The ones beaten by him before will take your revenge. Then, under my leadership, this world will be ours."

The villains collectively laughed.