Where There's a Will, There's a Sewer
"Woah" Luigi said in response to Mario's transformation "I guess I really am the little brother now."
Mario grinned while stomping right in the middle of the Goomba crowd. Most backed away but one brave Goomba said "We can still take him boys! Come on!"
The one who had rallied the others took a running jump and leaped at Mario with all his might. He flew in a graceful arc and landed headfirst on Mario's foot. The giant plumber howled and hopped around on one foot, almost crushing his allies.
"Hey watch it bro" Luigi shouted as he pulled Tayce T out of the way.
"Sorry! I wasn't expecting…ouch!"
The Goombas were jumping at him from all angles; head butting and biting. Meanwhile, Luigi was dealing with the Koopa who had been taunting them.
"No fancy tricks to throw at me?" the Koopa asked.
Luigi glanced at Tayce T who indicated that her pockets were empty. "Unless you think you can do something with a potato peeler."
The Koopa laughed even harder but was suddenly knocked sideways by a heavy force. He regained his bearings and looked up to see Luigi had swung his tool box at him. "So, you do know how to play."
The Koopa withdrew into his shell and the shell then hurled itself at Luigi. He jumped over it with ease but the Koopa was on his way back within seconds. This time Luigi was knocked off of his feet and he landed on the shell in a sitting position. He twirled madly as the shell carried him back across the road. The extra weight threw the Koopa off course and they smashed into the warp pipe the Bros had recently emerged from.
"Ow my poor head" Luigi groaned
"Your head?" the Koopa said as he emerged groggily from the shell "My poor entire body!"
"I thought you were protected in there."
"More like rattled around inside it; I wasn't prepared for that, you jerk."
"Hey, you attacked me."
"You hitched an uninvited ride on my back."
"Because you attacked me!"
"Well…you're ugly!"
Luigi responded by bopping the Koopa on the head with his fist. He was again stunned and quickly finished off as one of Mario's Goomba's landed on him (Luigi just barely got out of the way).
"Oh thank you both" Tayce T said in the current reprieve from enemies. "When this is all over, I'll have to cook you up a feast."
"All the more reason to help end this, eh Mario?"
"Yep" Mario nodded "Now let's get to the castle."
"Be careful Mario" Tayce T said "Those Super Mushrooms don't last forever and the effect will be broken if you're hurt badly enough."
"Thanks for the tip; I'll keep that in mind."
The brothers continued into town with most enemies (and a few panicked Toads) running at the sight of Mario. Luigi had to jog to keep up with Mario's lengthened stride but he kept pace well enough. It didn't take very long to reach the north gate which had a pair of Hammer Bros (Koopa's who use hammers as weapons) standing near it.
"Halt you…large plumber" one of the sentries commanded
"You as well, green plumber" the other one added
"I suppose there are worse names you could have used" Luigi replied
"Let us through" Mario demanded while trying his best to look like a scary giant
"You won't get very far even if you do get through" the first guard said "but we're here to make sure that you don't."
"Oh I'm getting through that gate" Mario said as he simply kicked one of the guards and he was flung to the side. He then dodged a flying hammer from the other one.
"You think you're so tough" Luigi said as he reached into his toolbox "I can use a hammer as well."
The Hammer Bro gave him a look and they both attacked at the same time. The hammers met in the air and they grappled as if they were wielding swords. They parried each other a few more times while Mario watched from above with a surprised expression.
"Wow, go Luigi!"
His hat flew off of his head and Mario turned around to see the other guard. He was cursing himself for aiming too high and already gearing up for another try.
"You knocked my hat off, jerk" Mario said as he stomped the ground next to the Hammer Bro and he was thrown a bit off balance. Mario used the moment to bend down and hit the guard in the side. He staggered into the Toad Town wall and bumped his head.
"Mommy, I want to make cookies" he said in a daze as he sat down
"Bob!" the other Hammer Bro said as he watched his friend. Luigi acted fast and smashed the guy on the head with his own hammer. The Koopa's helmet absorbed some of the shock and he swung at Luigi who jumped high into the air. The Hammer Bro fell over as his momentum carried him forward and Luigi landed on his back. The blow was hard enough to knock the breath out of him and they had their moment to run.
"Get that gate open, Mario, and let's go."
"You said it Bro!"
They were quickly running toward the castle grounds. All of Bowser's followers seemed to be concentrating their efforts on the town behind them and so they made good time. The two did begin to see some castle guards and Luigi wondered why they were just standing around. Mario simply kept charging forward and, not far from the castle gates, he slammed into an invisible wall. As if this wasn't bad enough, the barrier painfully zapped. He screamed and shrank back to normal size.
"We've been all around the castle grounds" a Toad in armor said with a grim expression "The barrier extends around the entire perimeter and so far none of our efforts have made a difference."
"This Bowser sounds really scary" Luigi stammered while beginning to shake
"Don't quit on me now bro" Mario said as he grabbed Luigi's shoulders to steady him "You were doing great back in town."
"Everything happened so fast that I forgot to be afraid. Now I've stopped to think."
"Well then help me think of a way in" Mario's eyes scanned the castle and he growled a little to see a foreign flag flying from the highest tower. It was black with a red grinning face on it; a face he assumed belonged to Browser the Koopa King.
"You heard the guards Mario; I think we've hit the end of the road. We're just plumbers after all."
"Plumbers…I think I have it!" Mario declared
"Have what?" Luigi asked in bewilderment.
"If you have a plan, please share it" the Captain of the Guard asked
"The Toad Town Tunnels!"
"Mario, that's a sewer."
"Exactly!" Mario said with a grin "Who knows sewers better than plumbers? Those tunnels connect to the castle catacombs if you know where to go."
"You think you can go under the barrier?" the captain asked
"It's worth a try" Mario said as he turned back to town
"We're coming too" the captain said "We must get inside and protect the princess."
Mario replied "Two people have a better chance of sneaking undetected than an army does."
"All the same, it's our duty!"
"Well I can't say no to the Captain of the Guard; just try to keep up!"
He made a dash back to town and Luigi had to sprint to catch up. "Wait a minute Mario!"
"There's no time to wait a minute."
The Mario Bros ran back into Toad Town and right past the two Hammer Bros who engaged the Castle guards in battle. Mario and Luigi ran down Main Street weaving in and out of battles. Behind them the guards dealt quickly with the Hammer Bros but were further delayed by the plights of Toad Town citizens. Bowser's followers were now being beaten back by soldier and civilians working together.
Soon the Mario Bros came to a single warp pipe tucked into an obscure part of town with a sign marking it as "Private." They ignored this sign and were soon in the tunnels beneath the town. The grungy stone walls were dimly illuminated by lanterns and slimy water dripped from the ceiling. Luigi gasped and covered his nose.
"I always forget how it smells down here."
"Well maybe that means that we won't find any enemies here." Mario then set off down a side tunnel following the correct route by memory.
"There goes that idea" Luigi said pointing to a couple of Goomba's exploring the tunnels "Of course they're here; no noses."
"What are you guys doing here?" a Goomba asked the bros
"We could ask you the same question" Mario said
"We're scoping this place out for King Bowser."
"That's all I needed to hear" Mario said jumping on the Goomba's head "Come on Luigi"
Luigi jumped over the second Goomba as he charged forward. He landed on the head of the first one who keeled over unconscious. The second Goomba ran back to help his friend and the Mario Bros just kept running.
"Oh no" Luigi said as he pointed to a block floating in the air as they came to a crossroads in the wet tunnels "Another transformed person."
"Maybe…" Mario said slowly as he examined the block "This looks more like a Super Block."
"A what?"
"You know what a Super Block is. They're supposed to appear to help the Mushroom Kingdom in times of need or something like that."
"Oh yeah, something like that is a great explanation."
"Well let's test it" Mario said as he jumped up and punched the underside of the block. A super mushroom emerged and fell into his hands. "Cool! We better save this for later."
"Hey, you got to eat the last one" Luigi said "I want this one!"
"Ok here you go, just stop whining."
Luigi pocketed the shroom and they continued their journey. There were a few places where the entrances to new areas were quite low and others where bricks had fallen from the ceiling but they crawled and climbed appropriately and made good progress. They had just climbed over a large block when they spied a couple of Koopas ahead of them.
"There they are" one of the turtles said to the other "Those are the guys we're supposed to be looking for."
"These…plumbers...beat up our buddies?" the other asked in confusion
"That's the word among the troops and I'm not letting them get away with it!"
He ran at the Mario Bros with his arms flailing. Luigi put his long legs to use once again and jumped on the Koopa's head. The turtle collapsed to the ground and quickly withdrew into his shell to avoid more pain. The other Koopa was also charging forward but Luigi had an idea. He kicked the first Koopa, still in his shell, and the shell rocketed over the damp floor. The running Koopa was tripped by the projectile, landed on his head, and rolled to the side in pain. Luigi grinned but his smile slipped as the spinning shell hit the wall ahead of them and bounced back.
"Ok, I did not see that coming" Luigi said as the bothers avoided the shell but were then tripped up as it reflected off of the block behind them.
"That guy will have a huge headache when he finally stops" Mario said as they stood up, dodged the shell, and took a left at the fork ahead of them.
The brothers ran into a few more enemy Goombas and Koopas but by sticking to the shadows they were able to sneak past. During one such maneuver, they backed into the shadows of some large pipes as a patrol of Koopa's marched past. Luigi felt something tap his shoulder and he turned to have his nose practically touching a large grinning plant. It was a red pod on a strong stem that extended from one of the pipes. The pod seemed to be grinning and then split open to reveal two rows of sharp teeth.
Luigi screamed and backed away as it snapped at him. The Koopas ran back toward the commotion but halted at the sight of the hungry plant. "Piranha Plants" the leader said as more evil vegetation popped out of the pipes "be careful boys."
His words were instantly confirmed as a particularly large plant opened its mouth and spat fire at them. The Koopas fled but the Mario Bros needed to keep going forward.
"What do we do Mario?"
"We've run into these before" Mario said "but I will admit these seem particularly nasty."
Two of the plants shot forward and almost chomped them. The brothers jumped back and Mario bumped a block he hadn't noticed in the shadows. Instead of a mushroom, from this one blossomed a large flower with bright red petals. Mario curiously touched it and felt a warm energy fill him. The flower shriveled while Mario took on a slight red glow and his fingers felt hot.
"Woah Mario, what happened to you?"
"Let's find out" he replied as he pointed his warm finger at the Piranha Plants. A ball of fire erupted from his finger and the plants were ignited. He fired a few more for good measure and soon the path was clear.
"Amazing!" Mario exclaimed "That'll certainly make things easier."
"Then let's boogie" Luigi said, silently vowing to keep a sharp eye out for one of those flowers.
They soon came to a wide space with platforms moving upwards like an elevator. "This should be the way to the castle" Mario said
"Then let's go" Luigi said with a flying leap onto the platforms. Mario landed on the one below him and they were carried rapidly upwards into another set of tunnels. Ahead of them was a warp pipe which they knew connected to the castle catacombs.
"Stay strong Princess" Mario said "We're on our way!"