Chapter 2:
It was a day much like any other day in the Mushroom Kingdom. The Toads all went about their lives with nary a care in the world despite the fact that Bowser had made repeated attempts to kidnap Princess Peach and now, his oldest son, Kevin Koopa, was now working with him fighting against Mario in combat. However, in the year since Kevin had entered the fight, Mario had been teaching Princess Peach martial arts and she was a far more formidable fighter now than she had been before. Still, Bowser had not made a move on her, or the kingdom, save for some sorties on the outskirts, in that year since Kevin had fought Mario for the first time. That battle had been embarrassing, though, with Mario having humiliated Bowser in the fight, and the plumber holding his own against Bowser's oldest son.
Today, however, was not a day of training or worrying about Bowser. Today was a far more joyous occasion for the princess, as well as the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom. Over at her castle, Princess Peach was overseeing the final preparations for Mario and Luigi's birthday party. Despite the fact that Mario was a year older than Luigi, the two of them actually shared the same birthday, something that surprised a number of people when they learned such. Workers were busy moving crates and setting up banners, signs, stages, and tables all throughout the castle and along its grounds. Among the workers were some of Mario's friends, Goombario, Goombella; two Goombas that Mario had befriended on his adventures, the pink Bob-omb Bombette, the mischievous Boo Lady Bow, the former Shadow Siren Vivian, the wind spirit Madame Flurrie, and the mouse-like Squeek Ms. Mowz. They were making the final touches to the stage and table setups. Other friends of Mario and Luigi were hard at work inside the castle, decorating it for the upcoming party. She smiled as she saw Donkey Kong working to set up a juice stand along with Diddy Kong. She was glad that they were able to attend.
Princess Peach looked over the scene and smiled, nodding in satisfaction. Everything looked great and seemed to be going well. Mario and Luigi would be so pleasantly surprised. Still, it was a small, barely noticeable token of appreciation for all of the things they had done for the Mushroom Kingdom, for without them, Bowser and the Koopa Troop would have taken over the Mushroom Kingdom long ago and everyone in it would be second-class citizens at best. Indeed, Mario and Luigi were the entirety of the Mushroom Kingdom military. While the kingdom did have an official military, they were next to useless against the forces of the Koopa Troop, something that no one inside the Mushroom Kingdom, including, indeed, especially, its own soldiers, would deny. Still, despite this, King Shroomgus was doing his best to make improvements to the Mushroom Kingdom military so that Mario, Luigi, and their friends, most of who were at this party, would not be fighting alone the next time Bowser and his minions attacked, or even better, would not have to engage Bowser the next time the Koopa King made a move against the kingdom since he would be intercepted and dealt with before ever reaching Princess Peach or anyone else in the kingdom.
As Peach was overseeing the final preparations and making sure that everything was going smoothly, Toadsworth, her loyal steward came up to her to give his report.
"Everything appears to be on schedule, milady. The stage is set and the chefs of the buffet line are already preparing their dishes. They are already preparing the meals, consisting of mostly Earth Italian dishes, particularly pizza and pasta. They are, however, also preparing other, more traditional mushroom-based dishes as we speak as well."
"How long until everything will be ready?" Peach asked.
As if on cue, a Koopa Paratroopa friend of Mario, Parakarry, came over and informed her, "The castle's all ready to go for the party. Just give the word and I'll send the invitations to Mario and Luigi."
Peach looked over at Toadsworth inquisitively, wondering if everything was ready and Parakarry should deliver the invitations, to which the elder Toad answered, "We should be ready by the time the Marios arrive. You may dispatch Parakarry to invite them now."
"Okay then, it's a go," Peach told the Koopa Paratroopa, turning to him and handing him two letters stuffed in envelopes with golden glitter sealing them, a sign that the letters were official notices from the Mushroom Kingdom's leadership.
"I'll send them right away," Parakarry answered, taking the letters and stuffing them in his pouch. "A postman's job is never done." With that, the Koopa Paratroopa departed the castle, ascended into the air and headed into town, and towards the pipe that would lead to the Marios' home.
Meanwhile, up in the reaches of outer space, far beyond the orbit of Hylia, a strange dish-like craft floated towards the planet, its thruster fuel long since having been expended, only an emergency supply allowing it to still function and seemingly send information back to its planet of origin light-years away. At first glance, one would have suspected it of being an old Earth satellite, but Earth was on the other side of the galaxy and the craft did not have any faster than light drive. Since it only had its emergency fuel supply remaining, the formerly flickering lights were dark, and had been for quite some time.
Upon detecting the planet in the distance, and sensing that it had life on it, a short burst of air was released from one of the thrusters, the air crystallizing as it froze upon exposure to space. The craft banked softly one degree, which would allow it to enter Hylia's atmosphere at an angle so that it would not crash and shatter upon impact with the atmosphere, but also not glance off of the atmosphere, either.
The craft went unseen, for Hylia did not have an extensive space program, the only starships having once belonged to Bowser in his quest to take over the universe, though most of them had been destroyed when Mario had fought him. Had there been sensors in space, or someone watching from the surface, there would have been a sense of foreboding at the approach of the craft, for there was something beginning to stir onboard it, something evil. It was not yet awake but it would not be long before it was.
Back on the surface of the planet, Parakarry emerged from the pipe that led to Mario's house in the hills outside of Toad Town. The area was secluded and there was little activity there. Parakarry had been to the house several times to deliver mail, as well as being with Mario when he came home to visit his brother, Luigi, and check his own mail during various adventures. The Koopa Paratroopa approached Mario's house, a modest house made of wood with a sign that said "Mario" over the doorway.
He passed their blue mailbox since these invitations were too important to simply leave in the mail. He went up the few steps leading to the door and knocked. After a few seconds, the door opened and revealed a short, overweight man dressed in a red shirt, blue overalls, and wearing a red cap with an M on it.
"Hey Parakarry," Mario said upon seeing his old friend from an adventure before. "What brings you here? I thought that mail didn't come until later."
Parakarry then smiled and answered, "I came to inform you and your brother that Princess Peach cordially invites you both to her castle at your earliest convenience."
Mario's eyes lit up at the mention of the invitation. Luigi, having heard Mario talking to Parakarry rose and came up behind Mario. When he heard about the invitation, he cast a curious glance at Parakarry. While having over both of the Mario Brothers was not uncommon for Peach, she did not oftentimes specifically wish for both of the brothers to show up 'at their earliest convenience'. He gave a knowing smile as he figured that Peach and the others had set up a surprise party for the brothers, for today was, indeed, their birthday.
"Tell her we'll be there as soon as possible," Mario answered.
Parakarry nodded and went back through the warp pipe while Mario and Luigi went inside to change into some cleaner clothing. Once they were ready, the made their way out the door and headed towards the warp pipe down the walkway and jumped in.
Meanwhile, far above the Mushroom Kingdom, the mysterious craft that had come into Hylia's planetary system entered the planet's atmosphere. Flames erupted around the craft as the friction with the atmosphere superheated the hull, causing it to catch fire. The presence onboard began to stir, being jostled from its sleep but not fully awakening just yet.
On the ground below, citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom, Beanbean Kingdom, and even the Koopa Kingdom saw a massive fireball streak across the sky despite it being in the middle of the day. Onlookers would stare at the fireball as it streaked across the sky, smaller fireballs sometimes breaking off from the larger one, indicating to some that the fireball was a either a craft or a meteor of some sort. Eventually, the fireball would crash into the ground in a remote and virtually uninhabited area of the Koopa Kingdom, a massive cloud of dust being thrown up by the impact of the alien probe. However, the crash did not go unnoticed.
Not too far from the scene of the crash, a Magikoopa had witnessed the fireball streak across the sky and noticed that it was coming in at an angle that would cause it to crash somewhere inside the Koopa Kingdom. Wanting to make sure that it did not crash in an inhabited area, the Magikoopa followed the fireball, using his magic sight to identify it as some sort of alien craft. He could not identify any occupants onboard, and given its relative size, it indicated that it could only hold a handful of occupants at the absolute most. Given that he could not sense anyone onboard, he figured that it was likely deserted. Still, he took precautions and steeled himself for a potential battle as he followed the craft. If nothing else, the craft could provide samples of technology that could assist King Bowser in defeating the Mario Brothers and taking over the Mushroom Kingdom, and maybe even the world if the technology was advanced enough and could be reverse engineered or replicated.
The craft continued its descent, crossing over several inhabited towns as it streaked towards the remote area of the Koopa Kingdom. The Magikoopa followed it as closely as possible, putting his broomstick into overdrive while also teleporting in order to keep up with the falling craft. He wanted to make sure that the craft did not fall on an inhabited area, and if it fell either on an in inhabited area or close to one, he wanted to make sure that no one came to investigate before he and any other members of the Magikoopa Corps had a chance to do so and make sure that nothing dangerous, or valuable, remained. He also did not want word of any potential advanced technology to leak and have the Marios and/or the Mushroom Kingdom be alerted to any Koopa find.
Not too far away, he heard a massive boom, along with a flash. Knowing that that was the site of the crash, the Magikoopa rocketed over to the scene, the Magikoopa being careful that he was not followed, and that he was not being tracked or listened in on by anyone from the Mushroom Kingdom.
Over at the crash scene, the remains of the mysterious craft that had crashed lay strewn across the rocky landscape ending in a mangled metallic craft, a large furrow in the ground and the wreckage strewn about the craft a testament to its crash. Smoke rose from the mangled and bent craft as metal littered the area around the crash site. Had anyone been onboard the craft, the crash would most certainly have killed them. Fortunately, for the surrounding area and anyone curious enough to come check on the craft, there was no radiation leak, for the craft had run on a mysterious liquid fuel that, while poisonous if ingested or injected, would not be hazardous if no one came into contact with it, which no one would, for the fuel had been expended in slowing down the craft so that it would crash land, rather than shatter upon impact. Still, it was not enough to save the computers onboard, which were shaken practically to pieces in the crash, those that had not been crushed when the craft hit the ground. Either way, the probe was no longer functional and there would not be much for anyone to salvage.
Not too far away, the Magikoopa that had been tracking the craft rode his broomstick, using his magic to ensure that the crash site was both safe and unoccupied. Upon seeing that it was safe, and that there was no one present, he descended to the ground, hopping off his broomstick once he was merely a couple feet off the ground. Touching down softly, the Magikoopa then cautiously made his way over towards the crashed probe. He did not want to be caught off guard by any defenses that the probe may have had that were still active.
Gazing at the probe, he figured that it would barely have been able to fit a single human-sized person onboard, given the size of the central cylinder, so he used his magic to try to ascertain whether or not the probe was either occupied, or had been. For a fleeting moment he thought that he might have sensed something but that feeling quickly vanished. Shaking off the feeling, he went over to a panel on the side of the craft, wondering if it was a hatch to the craft.
Meanwhile, onboard the craft, the mysterious presence had since fully awakened, though it was still disoriented due to both the crash as well as the fact that it had been asleep for centuries. Extending its own senses as far as it felt it safely could, it sensed that it was in an uninhabited area. After a few seconds, though, it sensed the approach of the Magikoopa. It then waited as the Magikoopa approached so it could ascertain whether or not the Magikoopa would be a good host for it until it could get its true body back.
Outside the craft, the Magikoopa fiddled with the side panel, trying to open the craft so he could examine its interior and see if there was anything that was salvageable. Eventually, he pulled out his wand to use his magic to try to open the panel, and hopefully the hatch, as gently as possible, not wanting to damage anything inside if he could help it. A beam of energy issued forth from the wand, quickly making contact with the panel before arcing around it, as if it were a hand that was grabbing the panel. The panel then vibrated as the Magikoopa directed the magical beam to try to open the panel. Eventually, the panel slid back and revealed the interior of the probe. The Magikoopa then leaned forward to take a look inside the craft.
As soon as the panel had opened, the presence became fully alert as it was finally able to get a good scan of the Magikoopa. It could feel that the Magikoopa was not all that strong physically, but it did have decent magical capabilities, which would prove useful for the presence in its attempt to get a stronger body. Either way, there was no one else that was close so the presence had to make do with the Magikoopa. It focused on the Magikoopa as the Koopa poked his head into the craft and glanced around appraisingly.
"Hmm," the Magikoopa murmured as he took a look at the inner walls and seeming computer systems. "The tech doesn't look all that advanced," he noted, looking over the interior of the craft appraisingly. He had been among the Magikoopas assigned to one of Bowser's dreadnoughts during Bowser's attempt to conquer the universe, an attempt that had been thwarted by the Mario Brothers. His eyes were then drawn to the desiccated remains of what had almost certainly once been a person lying onboard the craft. "What have we here?" the Magikoopa wondered aloud, his eyes going wide at the find.
He immediately used his magic to scan the body, wanting to be careful not to damage it and lose any potential genetic material. He did not know why, but he had a feeling that the body was important and that either Bowser or Kamek would have a use for it. As such, he then cast a spell to create a telekinetic levitation field around the body, along with a force field that would block out all heat and matter so that the body could be maintained inside a vacuum. While he did not know what use Kamek or Bowser would have for the body, he did know that they would have use for it.
Once everything was ready and he was about to depart, he heard a chime coming from his wand. The Magikoopa took out the wand and activated it, the face of Kamek appearing on the crystal head.
"Magikoopa Korry, King Bowser requires the presence of all Magikoopa Corps field commanders. Report back to the castle at once."
"Yes, sir," came Korry's answer. "I'll be there as quickly as possible." He then paused before adding, "And sir, if you have some time, I would like to talk with either you or King Bowser alone. I found something strange at the crash site and I think you two should take a look."
"Bowser wants to speak with us immediately upon your return. Once the meeting is over, we can talk."
"I copy, Master," Korry answered and he then deactivated the wand. A dark gleam then entered his eye. "Sorry," he muttered. "But this is too important an opportunity to pass up." He then summoned his broomstick, mounted it, and flew away, but not in the direction of Bowser's Castle. No, he had a secret hideout with study where he could study magic and make contact with his true master. As he flew, he carefully carried the alien body behind him, making sure that it did not suffer any damage as he headed towards his secret hideout. If this body did contain something important, he wanted to make sure that it arrived intact. And if it was everything he thought it could be, then things would most certainly change, not only for the Koopa Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom, but for the whole world.
Meanwhile, back inside the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi emerged from the warp pipe near the entrance of Toad Town from Goomba Road. Parakarry hurried ahead, almost as if he wanted to get to Princess Peach's Castle before the Mario Brothers. They walked past the library and headed down the street until they came to an intersection. To their left was the path that led through a large set of blue double doors with a star on them at the center. Through the door was a path that led to Princess Peach's Castle. As they walked through the town, the Marios noticed that the town was quiet, far too quiet for midday. Whereas normally, the streets would be bustling with activity, so far, the streets seemed deserted.
Mario went up to the door to the Shroom Grocery, an item shop that sold various items, including mushrooms and attack items, but a sign said that it was closed for the holiday. Mario raised his eyebrows in curiosity. Today was no holiday. It should have been a normal day at work. He shrugged and began to continue on the walk. However, it was his and Luigi's birthday. He began to wonder if everyone was about to throw a surprise party for the two of them. He would not put it past Peach, Toadsworth, Toad, or any of his previous traveling companions from past adventures.
As for Luigi, he made his way up a series of steps on the side of the building next to the grocery store towards the dojo. Mario had gotten a diploma and black belt several years back from the dojo during the crisis where Bowser attacked the Mushroom Kingdom aided by the Star Rod, which was now safely back in Star Haven. Mario had fought and defeated the dojo's Master three times. It was even said that the Master was stronger than Bowser, himself. Luigi had scarcely believed Mario when he had told him of the Master's strength, relative to Bowser, but he knew that Mario was not one for boasting, so he accepted Mario's assessment of the Master's strength. As it was, he checked the door, but it, too, said that the dojo was closed for the holiday, and that the Master and his students were celebrating just outside of Princess Peach's castle. The same prospects of a surprise party being thrown for him and Mario did not enter his mind, but he would not have dismissed the possibility, either.
The two brothers continued down the path, taking cursory glances at other buildings, each one showing no signs of activity. He walked past Merlon's house, a house with a spinning top located just before an intersection where the road leading to the left led to the two large star doors that led to Princess Peach's Castle, and saw no signs of activity in it. As such, the two made their way past and then turned to their left, continuing up the path and through the large star door. When they reached the door, they pushed it open and proceeded on through, following the path to Princess Peach's Castle.
The brothers followed the path until they came to the outer courtyard of Peach's castle. There seemed to be little activity outside the castle, despite the fact that it was midday. The birds were chirping but there seemed to be no sounds emanating from the workers that should have been milling about. Luigi began to suspect that Princess Peach and the Kingdom were about to throw them a surprise party. Looking over at Mario, he saw that his older brother was thinking along the same lines. They smiled. They had not asked for a party, or anything celebrating their birthdays. Mario and Luigi had already gotten each other presents for the celebration, but if the Kingdom wanted to throw a party for them, they had no problem with it.
They approached the white bridge that crossed the castle moat and looked around, still hearing nothing. Peach and the others were doing a good job hiding their presence inside the castle. Had this been any other day, Mario would have suspected that something was wrong. And even though it was his and Luigi's birthday, they did not discount the possibility of something happening. After all, this would be a good time for Bowser to spring a trap. As such, though, they crossed the bridge and approached the door that led to the castle's interior. Once they reached the doors, Mario gripped the knob of one of the doors and turned it. Pulling it back, he opened it and proceed on through, followed closely by Luigi.
When they stepped inside the castle, they looked around the main hall and saw that it was furnished as if for a party but there was no one there. Mario gave a knowing smile and stepped out towards the main hallway, Luigi staying back for a bit. The moment Mario stepped out, the entire court and all of Mario's friends that were present cried, "Surprise!" This prompted a gasp from Luigi, but Mario merely smiled. The court then sang the two brothers "Happy Birthday", with Peach leading them in the song.
Once the song was over, Peach went over to Mario and said, "Happy birthday, Mario." She then kissed him on the cheek. By this time, Luigi had since recovered from his initial shock, despite almost expecting a surprise party, and he joined his older brother. When she saw him, Peach looked over at the younger of the two brothers and bowed, saying, "And happy birthday to you, too, Luigi."
"Thank you, Princess," Luigi answered, giving a slight bow.
The two brothers then proceeded to mingle with the rest of the guests before the main feast would begin. Mario quickly found his partners and traveling companions from previous adventures Goombario, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, who was grinning when he saw the plumber, Lady Bow, Watt, Sushie, Lakilester. They soon got to talking about how things had gone since Bowser had stolen the Star Rod and they had to go retrieve it, beat Bowser, and save the Mushroom Kingdom. So far, their lives had been rather mundane save for that time a year ago when Kevin Koopa came onto the scene and had captured the Marios, forcing them to try to save them, only for most of them to be captured in the process and the entire group having to escape.
As they were talking, more of Mario's previous traveling companions had joined them. These had fought alongside Mario in Rogueport against Sir Grodus and the Shadow Queen. They included Goombella, Koops, Madame Flurrie, Yoshi Kid, Vivian, Admiral Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz. When they came to join the fun, Mario and the others were quick to let them enter their group. Ever since their adventures, Mario had kept in contact with them and was eager to hear all about what they were doing with their lives.
Goombella told him about all of the adventures she had gone on as Professor Frankly's assistant, as well as how even though she had now graduated from the University of Goom, she was still working as the professor's assistant and was hoping to get a teaching position at the university soon, with the professor putting in a good word for her. As for Koops, he had since married his girlfriend Koopie Koo and was now the mayor of Petalburg. Madame Flurrie was a world-famous actress and had continued to star in movies since her last adventure with Mario, her last one being a blockbuster called "Paper Mario and the Ancient Kingdom", a movie where she and Mario explore and ancient kingdom but have to fend off Bowser and his minions since they wanted the treasure in order to beat Mario and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Next came Yoshi Kid, who was now the Glitz Pit Champion and had a one hundred match winning streak against the previous champ, Rawk Hawk. The two have since developed a noticeable rivalry, though it was mostly only on Rawk Hawk's end since he had the losing streak to Yoshi, who just shrugged it off. There were, however, some newcomers to the Glitz Pit that he was looking forward to fighting once he got back after the party. As for the Shadow Siren, Vivian, she had since gotten away from her sisters and had taken up residence at the Boo's Mansion and has become close friends with Lady Bow. After that came Admiral Bobbery, who was sailing the high seas with Cortez, the skeletal pirate spirit. Finally, came Ms. Mowz, the former cat burglar who was now a full-time badge huntress who ran her badge shop in Rogueport. She would still occasionally go back to her old trade, but that was only to retrieve stolen items and return them to their rightful owners. All in all, all of Mario's traveling companions had been doing quite well when they were not being called to defend the Mushroom Kingdom against any of Bowser's incursions, which were becoming more rare in recent months.
As for Luigi, he simply watched as Mario caught up with his traveling companions and partners from his previous adventures. Luigi had gone on some solo adventures of his own, even rescuing Mario on occasion. He soon heard a yip from behind and he saw the Polterpup, a ghost dog that he had encountered during his adventure in Evershade Valley when the Dark Moon had been broken into four pieces by King Boo. The ghost dog leapt into his arms, Luigi catching him with ease, and the plumber embraced his pet before putting him back down and allowing him to play all around the ground floor.
"Greetings Luigi," the plumber soon heard the familiar voice of Professor Elvin Gadd call from behind. Turning around, Luigi saw the aging scientist and ghost researcher. "Happy birthday," the professor finished.
"Thanks, Professor," Luigi answered. The two then got to talking about the last year or so. Professor E. Gadd's research in Evershade Valley was going smoothly with the ghosts behaving normally. He had discovered quite a bit about said ghosts and who and what they were during life. He chuckled when Luigi told him that he still had not gotten over his fear of ghosts, the professor noting that Luigi kept a Polterpup as a pet and had befriended the ghosts in Evershade Valley. Luigi had to give a bashful chuckle as he had to admit that the professor was, indeed, correct. The two then continued to talk about various things.
Back at Mario, he was quickly joined by an unexpected friend and sometimes rival, Donkey Kong. The large ape rushed towards him and proclaimed, "Happy birthday Mario!"
"Donkey Kong!" Mario almost gasped in surprise, not expecting the ape to have been invited to the party, even though he had been invited to other parties that he, Luigi, and others had either hosted or been invited to. "I must say, I'm surprised to see you here."
"I was a little surprised to be invited when I learned that this was a surprise party," Donkey Kong answered. "Still, I'm not one to turn down a party."
"And you're most welcome to be here," Mario answered. "So, how is everything going?"
"Great," Donkey Kong answered. He then regaled Mario with stories of how he and his friends had taken back Donkey Kong Isle from the Snowmads and how he had later met a Pokémon League Champion codenamed Leaf but whose true name was Mia and how he, Diddy, Leaf, a bounty hunter named Captain Douglas Jay Falcon, and another Pokémon Trainer named Ash had taken down a trio of evil Pokémon called Malamar as well as an organization that had kidnapped a Celebi and was about to kill it. He also told Mario that he and the others had actually averted a much greater disaster in taking down a man named Lysandre, though news reports indicated that Lysandre and his henchmen had been released due to there not being enough evidence of his own culpability, the boss claiming that he and his cohorts were under the control of the Malamars. So far, though, there had been no further incidents involving Lysandre so Donkey and his friends hoped that the threat he had posed was over. As he had spoken, Mario wondered if the Mia he mentioned was the same Mia that was the daughter of his cousin, Delia.
Once Donkey Kong was finished, Mario went on to tell him about his own recent adventures, particularly the one where he traveled the world, and later to the moon, to rescue Peach and keep Bowser from forcibly marrying her. He later told Donkey Kong about his encounter with Bowser's oldest son, Kevin Koopa, the Koopa Prince that may well have been stronger than his father and was certainly far more dangerous. Donkey Kong had shuddered at the mention of Kevin Koopa, for he had heard the stories about the oldest of Bowser's children. Still, both he and Mario noted that there was an air of nobility and honor in the Koopa Prince that was not present in any of the other members of the Koopa Royal Family.
Meanwhile, Princess Peach was standing on top of the mezzanine, smiling as she saw Mario and Luigi conversing with their friends, and even a friendly rival or two. She was pleased to see Mario and Donkey Kong talking on friendly terms, for they had once been rivals when Mario had made the Mini Mario motorized figurine, with Donkey Kong making a miniaturized figurine in his own image, too. The two had since patched things up and were now on friendly terms, as evidenced by their conversing with one another.
After a few minutes, Toadsworth came up to Peach and looked out over the mezzanine railing at the hallway below, taking in the guests talking with one another. "This is a wonderful party you've organized, Princess," the elder Toad told her.
"It is the guests and the Mario Brothers that are making it great," Peach answered. "All I did was tell what stalls to set up and choose the selection of food for the feast."
"Still, you have done a remarkable job, Princess," Toadsworth reiterated. "You should go down and mingle with the guests."
"I will, soon," Peach answered. "I just want to make sure that everything else is running smoothly before I go down to mingle. This just seems like too good a time for Bowser to show up and ruin everything."
"We've greatly improved our security since Kevin Koopa entered the fight," Toadsworth assured her. "Even if Bowser does get past our early warning systems, we'll still have enough of a warning to prepare a defense should he come."
"I know," Peach answered. "Maybe I'm being a little paranoid, but I just don't want anything to go wrong for Mario and Luigi. I want them to be able to celebrate their birthday in peace."
"And they will," Toadsworth told her. "I have already heard from our forward positions that there is nothing to report. Relax, Princess, and have fun."
"You're right, Toadsworth," Princess Peach eventually said, a sigh of relief issuing forth. "I will." And with that, Princess Peach went down to the main hall to join the others in conversation.
Meanwhile, deep inside the Koopa Kingdom, Korry flew towards his secret study. Normally, he would have expected this area of the kingdom to be bustling with activity since this was a patrol route for Magikoopas, but with Bowser having called in all of the Magikoopas for a meeting at his castle, the area was virtually uninhabited, which was exactly what Korry wanted. The fewer people that knew about what he was planning, the better.
Korry continued on his way, carrying the alien body behind him, hoping that it would be useful to his ultimate goal, and by extension, to his master. He made his way towards a small, nondescript building in the distance and landed just before its door. Despite the door being made merely of wood, it had enchantments over it that made it stronger than tank armor: enchantments that only he could break. Once he landed, he dismounted his broomstick and drew out his wand. With a single swish, the crystal head of his wand glowed and an energy field appeared over the door to the building for an instant before disappearing. The door then opened to grant Korry entry, all the while, the alien body remained in stasis behind him, levitating several feet off the ground.
Korry entered the building, the first room being sparsely furnished, only a single table with two chairs, a bookcase with relatively few books, and a television adorning this room. This was all a ruse, though. What really mattered was in the basement of this building. Korry quickly went over to a corridor that led to the kitchen. To the right was a door that led down to the basement. The Magikoopa opened the door and proceeded to make his way down the stairs, the body floating behind him.
The basement was much more furnished than the living room. It had several bookcases that were full of books. There were two workbenches near a wall and two tables covered with papers and manuscripts. There was also a stand with a crystal ball near a black cauldron. Korry almost immediately went over to the black cauldron, levitating the alien body behind him. Once the body was brought to the cauldron, Korry looked over at it and said, "Okay, let's see what secrets you're hiding." With that, he got to work trying to revive the body.
Meanwhile, back in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi were celebrating their birthday at Peach's Castle, catching up with old friends and seeing how they were doing. The Marios were enjoying their time at the party, talking with their friends and comrades from previous adventures. Mario was not usually one for small talk so he mostly listened, talking relatively little about his own exploits in the year or so since Kevin Koopa had entered into the battle against the Mushroom Kingdom. He had listened as all of his previous traveling companions that were present told him about what they had been doing since going on their adventures with Mario.
After Mario's previous traveling companions had talked, Donkey Kong injected himself into the conversation, talking about his exploits in the last year or so. Mario had already heard about how he, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon, a girl codenamed Leaf, and a boy named Ash had stopped an evil organization from kidnapping a Pokémon named Celebi and had also either set back or stopped their plans before they had gotten off the ground. Ever since then, Donkey Kong and the others had kept in contact with Captain Falcon and Leaf, fighting against the false Federation during the Galactic Federation Civil War. Diddy then spoke about how just before the incident in the incident on Mount Coronet that began the Galactic Federation Civil War, they had fought off an invasion of Donkey Kong Island by a group of invaders called the Snowmads, defeating their leader, Lord Fredrik in a difficult battle.
After a while, a chime sounded and Princess Peach stepped out onto the mezzanine overlooking the main hallway. She then looked back and stepped aside as Toadsworth, Toad, and Toadette pushed out a huge cart. On the top of the cart was a massive multi-layer birthday cake with vanilla icing. Written in red, green, and blue frosting were the words "Happy Birthday Super Mario Brothers", with numerous sparkling candles surrounding the message, as well as figurines of Mario and Luigi positioned near the candles. The moment the cake was wheeled out, everyone present gathered around the two brothers and cried out in celebration, "Happy birthday!" Peach then led the group in song, singing, "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Mario and Luigi. Happy birthday to you. And many more," Peach added as the song finished.
Once the song was finished, Peach signaled for the ice cream to come out, too. Once the ice cream cart was wheeled out, the Marios looked in and saw all types of flavors on display. Peach then went to slice the cake and present the first two slices to Mario and Luigi. The brothers took the rather large slices and also took two scoops of ice cream as well for each of them. Once Mario and Luigi were served, the rest of the guests formed a line so they could get some cake and ice cream as well. While the others got their cake and ice cream, the two plumbers went over to a table to wait for their friends so they could enjoy the cake and ice cream together.