Mario, Peach, and Toad returned to the hospital immediately. They figured they'd start their search for Gruber there, considering Toad had found his footprints in the dirt. They followed the tracks to the outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom. The tracks disappeared at the edge of a huge lake. It was so big, they couldn't see the other side of it.

"Oh great," Toad groaned. "A dead end. What do we do now?"

"According to the map, we have to cross the lake," Peach said.

"How?" Toad asked. "We don't have a boat, and it's too big for us to swim!"

"We'll just have to make ourselves a boat," Mario said. He ran over to a field of fire flowers, and picked a bunch of them. Once he gained fire power, he used it to knock down a couple of trees, and then used his fire power again to splice those trees half.

"Go look for some vines, Toad," he said, as he worked on building a makeshift raft. "Peach, you go look for something we can paddle with."

"Right away, Mario!" Peach shouted, and she and Toad ran off to gather parts for the raft.

Meanwhile, Gruber had returned to the cave, bearing several gifts for Toadette. He brought her a bouquet of piranha plant buds, a box of gourmet chocolates, a bottle of expensive perfume, a gold necklace, a gold bracelet, and gold earrings. Toadette wanted none of it. Every time Gruber presented her with a gift, she would just push it away. All she could do was cry.

"Oh, come now, my darling dumpling!" Gruber shouted. "There must be something I could give you that would make you happy!"

"You could give me my freedom and leave me alone forever," Toadette said, sniffling. "That would make me happy."

"Ha, ha, ha!" Gruber laughed. "You have such a delightful sense of humor, my little turtle dove!"

"I'm serious! I want to go home!"

"But you are home, my dearest little daffodil. This will be our home, forever! Where you will be mine, always!"

"But I don't want to be yours! I don't want anything to do with you!"

Toadette burst into tears once more, pushing away all of Gruber's gifts. Gruber just stood there, staring at her. He didn't know what to say at this point. He just heaved a sigh, and sat down on the ground.

"Don't worry, my pet," he said. "You'll learn to love me. We'll live happily ever after, you'll see. Just you and me, forever, and ever, and ever!"

This just seemed to make Toadette cry harder. Gruber merely ignored her. He figured she would come around in time.

Meanwhile, Mario, Peach, and Toad had finally made it across the lake. At the other side was Greenwood Forest, the biggest overgrown forest in the entire Mushroom Kingdom. It was a pretty creepy place. Several trees were gnarled, and the branches looked like they were ready to reach out and grab you. Not even the birds dared to build nests here. There had been rumors about people who have gone into Greenwood Forest, but they never came out. Mario's fire power had worn off while the group was crossing the lake, so he couldn't light the forest path.

"This place gives me the creeps," Toad said.

"Me too," Peach admitted. "It's going to be tough to find Toadette in this."

"But we will," Mario said. "I'm sure of it!"

"If we don't get lost first," Toad said. "It's going to be hard to stick together in this mess!"

"We will if we stay close," Mario said.

"How that Goomba got all the way here is beyond me," Peach said. "How does he even think he can keep Toadette here? There's no food and no water, and nothing can possibly grow here, except weeds. How in the world does he expect to survive?"

"I don't know," Mario said. "I don't even want to know!"

"Me neither," Toad said. "Let's just find him and Toadette, and get outta here, okay?"

Mario and Peach agreed, and began trekking through the forest, pushing foliage out of the way, and taking great care not to trip over any above-ground tree roots. They had no intention on stopping. They weren't going to give up until they found Toadette.

Meanwhile, Gruber was getting pretty impatient for Toadette to come around to his way of thinking. It was beginning to make him edgy.

"Look," he said, sighing. "How long do you expect this courtship thing to go on?"

"As long as it takes for you to realize I'm not in love with you!" Toadette shouted. "I never was in love with you, and I never will be in love with you! Why don't you understand that?!"

"Because I know better, my cute little coconut. You love me all right. You just don't realize it yet. You and I are a perfect match! Now stop playing hard to get and give me a little kiss, hmmm?"

"No! And I'm not playing! Let me go!"

"You're not going anywhere until you learn to love me, the way I love you! I'm tired of waiting!"

"And I'm tired of you! Why can't you get it through your head that I don't even like you?! As a matter of fact, I hate you!"

Toadette picked up the bouquet of piranha plant buds, and hurled it at Gruber as hard as she could. It hit him directly in the face. Toadette decided to take this chance, and try to escape while he was dazed. Unfortunately, Gruber wasn't dazed long enough, and he jumped on her veil, which caused her to screech to an abrupt halt, and fall to the ground.

"Ow!" she shouted.

Gruber then grabbed the veil in his teeth, and dragged Toadette to the back of the cave. He was furious. Toadette saw the look on his face, and began trembling.

"I tried to be patient with you," Gruber said, trying to remain calm. "I've offered you all my love and affection, and what do I get in return? Bupkis! I am sick and tired of your constant rejections! I want you to be mine, and I want you to love me! Is that so much to ask?! I don't think so!"

"Is . . . . is this the part where you say if I can't have you then nobody can?" Toadette asked, nervously.

"Oh no," Gruber said. "No, that's not it at all. I don't want to kill you, my precious pear. I am going to have you! You are going to be mine! As a matter of fact, I'm going to make you mine right now!"

With that, the love-crazed Goomba jumped on Toadette, and managed to pin her to the ground. Toadette screamed, and tried to push Gruber off her, but he would not budge. He was too heavy for her. Gruber then smiled sinisterly, and began kissing Toadette's face, aggressively.

"Ew! Yuck!" Toadette shouted, trying with all her might to push him away. "Get off of me! Stop! Stop it, please!"

"Not a chance, baby!" Gruber shouted. "I'm gonna make you mine, and you are going to love me! I will not take no for an answer!"

"No!" Toadette yelled, trying to push the Goomba off her. "Please, no! Stop it! Stop it!"

Gruber wouldn't listen to Toadette's pleas, not even when she started crying. Nothing she could do would get this creep off of her. She had to do something fast.

"Somebody help me!" she yelled. "Please help! HEEEELLLLLP!"

"Scream all you want, toots!" Gruber shouted. "Nobody's gonna hear you! Mwah-ha-ha-hah!"

Toadette moaned, and let out the loudest, shrillest, most blood curdling shriek she could muster, even though she knew it wouldn't do her any good. Nobody would have been able to hear it.

However, she was wrong. Mario, Peach, and Toad were close by the cave, and they heard the echoing shriek, and nearly jumped out of their skins.

"What was that?" Peach asked.

"It sounded like Toadette!" Toad shouted.

"It came from this way!" Mario shouted, and he started running toward the cave. "Let's go!"

Mario, Peach, and Toad reached the cave, and ran into it, following the sounds of Toadette's screams. Suddenly, the screams stopped, but Mario kept right on going, followed by Peach and Toad, who were growing more and more nervous by the second. Finally, they reached the back of the cave. They found Gruber on top of Toadette, kissing her on the mouth. As a matter of fact, it looked like he was French kissing her. Toadette was trying to scream, but her screams were muffled. She was still trying to push Gruber off.

"Oh my!" Peach gasped.

"Whoa!" Toad shouted.

"Mama mia!" Mario shouted.

The shouting got Gruber's attention. He immediately stopped kissing Toadette, and looked over. He saw Mario and his friends, and glared fiercely at them.

"Do you mind?!" he shouted. "We would like to be alone! Sheesh, can't a guy get any privacy around here?!"

"Mario!" Toadette wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Mario, please! Help me!"

"Oh shut up, already!" Gruber shouted, and he began to lick Toadette's tear tracks. "You're gonna really like this."

Gruber snickered, grabbed Toadette's sleeve in his teeth, and began pulling it downwards. This was the final straw for Mario. He immediately ran over, grabbed Gruber by the top of his head, and flung him into the wall as hard as he could.

"You leave her alone, you sick, depraved scum bucket!" he yelled.

"Ack!" Gruber shouted, once he hit the wall. He sat there for a few minutes, and watched the stars circle his head.

Toadette immediately got to her feet, and ran to Peach as fast as she could, sobbing her little heart out. She wrapped her arms around the princess's waist, and wouldn't let go. Peach managed to loosen Toadette's grip for a moment, kneeled down, and hugged her, trying to comfort her.

"Oh you poor thing!" she shouted. "There, there. Everything's going to be all right now."

"Oh no you don't!" Gruber shouted, coming to his senses (or whatever senses he had left, anyway). "Nobody's taking her from me! Nobody! She's mine! I'm not gonna give her up without a fight!"

"Okie-dokie," Mario said, cracking his knuckles. "You want a fight, you're gonna get one! You think throwing you into the wall was bad? Hah! You haven't seen anything yet, buster!"

Mario jumped into the air, and began to ground-pound Gruber, multiple times. Gruber couldn't even fight back. He had no idea what was going on! Toad then stomped up to the two of them after Mario ground-pounded the Goomba for a twelfth time.

"Mario!" he shouted.

"What?" Mario asked.

Toad didn't say anything. He just glared sharply at Mario, and pouted at him. Mario immediately nodded, got off Gruber, and stepped to the side.

"Oh, right," he said. "Sorry."

"That's better," Toad said. Then he looked at Gruber, jumped on top of him, and began stomping the living daylights out of the Goomba as hard as he could, screaming incoherently.

"Ow! Ooh! Eee! Aaah! Oh! Ow! Yow! Yah! Ack!" Gruber shouted. "I give up! I give up! Uncle! Uncle! Mercy, I say, mercy!"

"Mercy?!" Mario, Peach, and Toad shouted in unison.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Mario shouted. "You expect us to show you mercy, after you continuously stalked Toadette, harassed her, kidnapped her, and were about to have your way with her?!"

"Well . . . ." Gruber said, meekly.

"Not a chance, buster!" Toad shouted. "Wait'll I get my hands on you!"

"Peach, Toadette," Mario said, calmly. "Would you two mind leaving us alone? What is about to happen should not be seen by ladies."

"Of course, Mario," Peach said. Toadette merely sniffled, and nodded her head.

Peach carried Toadette out of the cave and into the forest, because Toadette was too shaken up to walk. Once they were outside, Toadette began crying again. Peach took out her handkerchief, and handed it to her.

"It's okay, Toadette," she said. "Mario will take care of that awful Goomba. Did he hurt you?"

"N-no," Toadette said, shakily. "But . . . . but I was so scared!"

Peach nodded, hugged Toadette, and began rubbing her back, letting her cry into her shoulder. She didn't know what else she could do. Not even Bowser had tried what Gruber had attempted! Suddenly, the girls began to hear loud pounding, smashing, crashing, and breaking noises, as well as Gruber screaming and yelling. They both cringed at each noise. They could only assume Mario was giving Gruber's clock a thorough cleaning. Finally, Mario emerged from the cave, carrying an extremely pulverized Gruber by the top of his head. He had been beaten to a pulp, and then some!

"Oh my!" Peach shouted, upon seeing the state the Goomba was in. "You really gave it to him, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Mario said. "I didn't know Toad had it in him!"

Toad came out of the cave next, brushing the dust off his hands, and looking very triumphant.

"I didn't even have to lay a finger on him," Mario said. "Toad did all the fighting. I've never seen anything like it in my life!"

"He won't be bothering you again, Toadette," Toad said. "Not unless he wants another beat down!"

"Th-thanks, Toad," Toadette said, sniffling.

"We'd better get back to the Mushroom Kingdom," Peach said. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Toadette, but I strongly suggest you let Dr. Toadley look at you, just in case."

"O-okay," Toadette said, a little nervously. "I-I'll go see Dr. Toadley."

"Atta girl," Mario said, and then he turned to Gruber. "Tell us how to get out of here! It's obvious you know where you're going!"

"Okay, okay," Gruber growled. "There's a warp pipe about a mile from here. I found it when you and your stupid brother chased me away from the palace. The warp pipe I hid in lead directly to this place."

"All right," Mario said. "You tell us where to go, and you better lead us to that pipe, or else you're gonna be mushroom mush!"

Gruber growled, but he led our heroes in the correct direction, anyway. It was about all he could do. He definitely didn't want Toad to clobber him again, and he certainly didn't want Mario to clean his clock, either! Once the group found the pipe (which was covered in moss and weeds), they went through it, and wound up back in the Mushroom Kingdom.

"What are we going to do with me now?" Gruber asked. "Toss me in jail and throw away the key?"

"No, I think that would be too good for you," Mario said. "I think you deserve something a bit more severe, like . . . . . the Forbidden Pipe!"

A crash of thunder was heard, and a flash of lightning appeared from out nowhere. Toad, Toadette, Peach, and Gruber gasped at the mere mention of the Forbidden Pipe.

"No!" Gruber shouted. "Not the Forbidden Pipe! Anything but that! I didn't do anything bad enough to deserve that!"

"Are you kidding?!" Toad shouted. "Princess, read off the charges!"

"Stalking, harassment, trespassing, theft, kidnapping, assault, possession of an illegal substance, and attempted murder," Peach said. "Yes, I think the Forbidden Pipe is a very appropriate punishment for you."

"Attempted murder?" Gruber asked. "I wasn't trying to kill her!"

"No, but you tried to kill my brother!" Mario shouted. "You're going down that pipe!"

Mario popped down another warp pipe, leading directly to a place known as the Wastelands. The only thing in this area was a large, glowing warp pipe. There were several flies circling it, attracted to the horrible stench that came from it. It also made strange gurgling noises, and glowing green slime dripped down the sides. This was the Forbidden Pipe. The top of the pipe was sealed with a lid that could only be opened with a wrench (though the slime sometimes oozed out from it, anyway). No one knew where it lead to. No one was brave (or stupid) enough to find out! Mario plopped Gruber down on the ground, took out one of his wrenches, and unscrewed the lid. Then he picked up Gruber, and held him at the opening of the pipe.

"Can't we talk this over?" he asked.

"No," Mario said, simply.

"Look, man! It wasn't my fault! She wanted me to do it! She asked me to do it! She . . . . she seduced me! I'm just an innocent little Goomba! She's the one who did it! She made me do it!"

"Uh huh. Sure she did. That's why she was screaming in utter terror while you were kissing her and trying to take off her dress."

"Wait! Wait, I'm too young to go into the Forbidden Pipe!"

"You should have thought of that before you decided to become a perverted stalker! Bye-bye!"

"Nooooooooooooo!"

Mario dropped Gruber down the pipe, put the lid back on, and sealed it shut. He was certain this was the last the Mushroom Kingdom would ever see of Gruber.