Chapter 8: A Team Comparison

(At Mario's house)

Mario, Luigi, Marco, Loewy, and Starlow arrived at Mario and Luigi's house.

Mario- Feels good to be back home after what we went through.

Loewy- I can't believe your house is the same as mine and Marco's.

Luigi- Guess that's another coincidence.

Mario- Anyway, let's get something to eat and regain our strength before we resume rescuing the princesses. I'll see if we still have any pasta left.

Marco- Pasta?! Oh thank goodness you still have pasta in this time period!

Loewy- As you can see, Marco really loves pasta.

Luigi- So does Mario.

Then Marco noticed a framed picture hanging on the wall and approached it.

Starlow- Something wrong, Marco?

Marco- This painting over here…

Luigi- That's a photograph, not a painting.

Marco- Uh…what…?

Starlow- I don't think cameras existed back then and Marco and Loewy would have no idea what photography is.

Marco- Anyway, the people you're with in this…uh…pho-toe-graf…who are they?

Mario and Luigi looked and saw Marco was looking at a group photo and Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, Kirby, Ash, Sonic, Ty, Pit, and Shantae.

Mario- Oh! Well, like you, I too had to form a team in order to stand up against Tabuu. He was too much for me and Luigi to handle on our own. And that's a picture of me with the members of my team.

Marco- Funny about that…because they actually resemble a few others I know from my time. My team, actually.

Luigi- What…

Starlow- Are you serious?

Marco points to Yoshi in the picture.

Marco- That green Yoshi right there…he actually resembles our friend, Ihsoy, back on Yoshi Island.

Mario- That's Yoshi, a friend of ours and the leader of the Yoshi's on Yoshi Island.

Loewy- Isn't Ihsoy the leader of the Yoshi's in our time?

Marco- Yeah, I believe he is.

Then Marco points at Donkey Kong in the picture.

Marco- And that large muscular gorilla…

Mario- You mean Donkey Kong? He's the ruler of the Kong's on Kongo Jungle and has the most physical strength out of everyone else on my team.

Marco- He reminds me a lot of a gorilla Loewy and I know named King Kong, who was also the ruler of the Kong's in my time. King Kong didn't have much going on upstairs, but he had a good heart and his strength was a great asset for us in many battles.

Then Marco points towards Link in the picture.

Marco- And if I'm not mistaken, that's a Hylian swordsman equipped with the Master Sword on his back.

Mario- That's Link, but how did you know he was a Hylian and that he had the Master Sword?

Marco- Loewy and I know a Hylian who calls himself Wolf who also wields the Master Sword in our time. Except Wolf wears the pelt of a gray wolf instead of a green tunic.

Then Marco points at Kirby in the picture.

Marco- And that's a Star Warrior from the planet Popstar, correct?

Mario- That's Kirby, and yes, he's a Star Warrior from Popstar.

Luigi- Odd that you'd know about beings from other planets or know that life not from Earth exists.

Marco- A Star Warrior crashed in the Mushroom Kingdom once. Her name was Kimberly and she actually looks very similar to the Star Warrior on your team.

Then Marco points at Ash in the picture.

Marco- And that's a Poke'mon Trainer from the Kanto region.

Mario- Ash Ketchum, a Poke'mon Trainer from Pallet Town, yes.

Marco- He actually reminds me of Calmly, a Poke'mon Trainer and a young prince of Kanto. He even has a Pikachu on his shoulder like Calmly usually does.

Then Marco points at Sonic in the picture.

Marco- And that blue hedgehog…

Mario- That's Sonic. And believe it or not, he has a speed unlike no other.

Marco- Oh, I can believe that. Our friend, Chaos the Hedgehog was the same way in having speed you had to see to believe. But Chaos was white instead of blue. Also, Chaos was actually a former god that was framed for a crime he didn't commit. However, Loewy and I helped Chaos prove he framed. But Chaos turned down the offer to return among the gods, because he made some new friends during his life as a mortal and he didn't want to leave them after all the did for him. Like that little fox boy, Kyuubi, or that female hedgehog named Rainbow.

Loewy- But the Lord of the Universe placed Chaos' full god powers into those seven colorful stones in case Chaos needed his powers again.

Luigi- Sounds like those seven Chaos Emeralds Sonic uses to transform into Super Sonic.

Marco- That would be something if they are the same jewels that contain Chaos' power. That would mean your friend actually harnessing the powers of a god into himself if he transforms like Chaos does.

Then Marco points at Ty in the picture.

Marco- And that Tasmanian tiger with the boomerang…

Mario- That's Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. He's the smartest member in my team and he's also skilled with a boomerang.

Marco- So was Simba the Tasmanian Tiger from my time. Simba was gray instead of orange, but that was because his fur got burnt a bit when he was child, but Simba also had a scar covering his right eye.

Loewy- Simba also smoked, but that was because he was dealing with the grief over the death of his brother, but he did stop smoking eventually.

Marco- He was also a brilliant strategist and his plans have helped us overcome many dangers.

Then Marco points at Pit in the picture.

Marco- And that's an angel from Skyworld and servant of the goddess, Palutena.

Mario- That's Pit, captain of Palutena's army of Skyworld. You knew Palutena?

Marco- I knew her captain back in my time, Icarus, who was also an angel. And that angel looks very much like Icarus.

Then Marco points towards Shantae in the picture.

Marco- And I believe that's a Guardian Genie from Sequin Land.

Mario- That's Shantae, and yes, she's the Guardian Genie of a place called Scuttle Town. But Shantae is actually a half genie.

Loewy- Half?

Luigi- She's half genie, half human.

Marco- But she actually has a strong resemblance to our friend, Azra, who was the Guardian Genie of Scuttle Town in our time. And the resemblance is so much alike, I'd almost swear she was Azra's daughter.

Loewy- Azra did always say she wanted to have a child to pass her magic onto.

Marco- And the members of your team seem so similar to the members of mine…I wonder…

Mario- Well, I would like to see your team. From what I've heard from both Kyrin and Tabuu, they all sounded like they were brave and strong heroes.

Marco- Sorry, but I don't have anything to show you what they look like except for my words. But you are right. They were the greatest companions I could've asked for and it was an honor fight by their side.

Suddenly, Goombario and Magolor rushed through the door.

Goombario- Mario's! I'm glad we caught you! We got info for you.

Mario- Is something wrong?

Magolor- No, nothing like that. We have the whereabouts of Princess Peach and Princess Amethyst. A couple of Toads claim they saw Bowser Jr. and another Koopa child who looked like Slicor going towards Bowser's villa in Mount Brrr. The Toads also said they saw the princesses being brought there while they were caged and that Bowser Jr. was holding onto a strange book.

Starlow- Must be the time book we need to send you guys back to your time. This is great! Now we can rescue the princesses and get that book back all at once!

Luigi- How are we supposed to get to Mount Brrr? It's not exactly a short walk from Toad Town.

Mario- Magolor, think we can borrow the Lor Star Cutter?

Magolor- No way! Sorry Mario, but the Lor Star Cutter is too personal to me to just let you borrow like that. If you really need a means of transportation, you still have the Shooting Star.

Loewy- The Shooting Star traveled through time as well?

Mario- Actually, Kyrin gave it to me and Luigi. I can't believe I almost forgot about that airship. Hope it's still parked in the backyard after all this chaos.

Mario and Marco (at the same time)- I'm driving…

Then Mario and Marco looked at each other after they said the same thing at the same time.