The trio continued their way down the mountain. There were a ton of rocks in the way, but thanks to their new hammers, they got past them with ease. Aaron never held a hammer like this before, but he was getting used to it. There was a rock on fire, but miraculously they filled Mario's entire body with water, and put out the fire then whacked the rock to pieces.
How's that possible? This is a world where three dudes can glide through the air by spinning, and a draconic giant turtle got stuck then shot out of a comically large cannon. So just suspend your disbelief and go with it.
They made it to a rock that was blocking a mine entrance. They got rid of the rock and went in because Aaron said that that mineshaft was a shortcut to the base of the mountain. Inside they saw an old Beanish on a rocking chair with a dog. "Whoa there, pards!" He said, "It's been a Goomba's age since we had any strangers in these parts!"
This old Beanish is the mine carts owner. Yet, no one knew his name. Aaron always found him mysterious.
"Sir, we need to get down the mountain quick. It's urgent." "Now listen fellers, if you want to ride them rusty old carts, I won't go a-stoppin' you. But I'd advise watchin' out fer trouble." "Trouble?" the Bros asked. "Yeah, sometimes the tracks will have unexpected turns when you go on them." Aaron answered. The old man continued, "Yep. But here, I'll tell you somethin', you might just be able to find jewels by jumpin' a bit in there. And while you're hoppin' for loot, watch out! If you spot danger, just shine your light at it!"
Before Mario could ask, Aaron handed him a flashlight.
"So, erm...Tell me, boys...Care to ride in the carts?"
The trio said yes, and each got in a cart and went down the tracks.
Sure, there were a lot of twists and turns and creatures dropping from the stalactites above, but the three managed. Mario being the one with the flashlight had to shine a light to help the other two out. The light kept running out quick, but what would you expect from batteries they found randomly in the cave? On the bright side, heh, they got fifteen jewels total while on the carts.
The three made it to the end of the line and there stood the old Beanish again. He was asleep. Confused, Mario and Luigi getting out the carts exclaimed, "Huh?!" "I know." Aaron said getting out of his cart.
Getting up, the senior said, "Eh?! Hrm? Why, howdy!...Again. Well, fellers, this spot marks the last stop on the long, strange railroad of my life...But I reckon your adventure has just begun. Get to it, boys!"
They shrugged off the man's weirdness and went out of the mine.
Once they were out, they were back on the path to Beanbean Castle. In the Beanbean Outskirts, they ran into things like Sharpeas[this kingdom's version of Spinies] and Sworms[Black worms with big smiles]. Luckily, fighting with hammers made it a lot easier to fight. The finally made it to Beanbean Castle Town.
"Well guys, welcome to Beanbean Castle Tow- AAH!" Aaron was cut off by seeing most of the town wrecked! A nearby Beanish just collapsed by them. Mario went to check if he was okay. "*sighs in relief*He's okay." "What happened here?" Luigi asked. "Let's ask around. Someone has to know what happened here." Aaron said.
The trio asked around town, and to their full and empty surprise it was Cackletta and Fawful who wrecked the place. The three then hurried to Beanbean Castle.
At the entrance, they were met by two Beanish soldiers. They let Aaron pass but stopped Mario and Luigi.
"Halt! You two! Halt! You can't just waltz on in there!" "Guys, let them in! We don't have time for this!" "Aaron, the town has just been attacked! Which means the castle could be attacked at any moment!" "Do they look like attackers?!/Do we look like attackers?!" "I'm sorry you three, but Lady Lima has instructed us not to allow anyone else to enter the castle! Anyone else whatsoever!" "You got to be kidding me." The trio said. "Having said that, if you still wish to enter, you must explain your names and your motives!"
The Bros nodded at each other. Mario explained first and the soldier said surprised, "What?! You are the world-famous Mario?!" "Mhm."
Luigi explained next and the other soldier said, "What?! And you are the legendary Luigi?!" "Oh yeah."
"Uh, Luigi who?" "(to guard who asked in whispered tone) Shh! I have no idea..." Luigi fell on face and Aaron on his back after hearing that. They shortly got up after.
The other soldier asked the older Bro, "If you really are the superstar Mario from the Mushroom Kingdom, then prove it!"
Mario did one of his famous jumps which was enough to convince him.
"Th-That jump...No mistaking it!" The other soldier asked, "Th-This guy is really Mario?" "(whispered tone) Shh!...I can't be certain." It was Aaron and Mario's turn to fall. They got back up.
"Anyway...What business would the famous Mario and Lui-uh...other guy have in this castle?"
"Oh, screw you! You said his name not too long ago!" Aaron brushed it off then the trio explained the entire situation. Luckily, the guards understood.
"What do they want?" "No clue..." The Bros fell to the floor.
I could be wrong, you know.
"...Enough! Regardless of all that nonsense, you may not enter! Now begone!"
Luigi then remembered something. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the rose Prince Peasley gave them in the last chapter. "How about now?"
"Prince Peasley's Rose! Aaron, they're friends with the prince?" "Yes sir." "(to other guard) Umm, listen, I think maybe we ought to let these guys inside!" "Umm...Okay. Taking into account that rose and your wacky story, we can allow you to enter!" "That was one wacky story! Woo!"
The soldiers finally moved and the three continued inside.
They looked around the castle then stumbled across Lady Lima's assistant on the floor.
"Well! Aaron! Master Mario! And Master Luigi! The trio turned to see the kingdom's goodwill ambassador: Lady Lima. She approached the and said, "The gatekeepers told me of you. (to Aaron) Are they indeed the Mario and Luigi of fame? The superstars?" "Show her guys."
The brothers did some moves, and Lady Lima examined them with care.
"...Yes. I can't deny that such jumping is the hallmark of the Mario and Luigi of legend..."
The trio then started to tell Lady Lima about the situation. Yet, Lady Lima couldn't understand them.
"...Pardon me? What are you trying to tell me? Oh, do speak up!"
Well, she got what she asked for. In louder and more frantic tones, the trio explained the situation. The paused due to Lady Lima saying, "Oh! Such ruckus! Speak in softer voices!"
"Lady Lima, we need to see the queen and tell her about this."
She turned then continued, "Aaron, as you saw, the town is in ruins, and the castle is under strict guard. At a time like this I cannot allow a suspicious pair as these two to meet the queen! As the queen's longest-serving lady at court, I must act in the interest of her royal safety!"
Lady Lima pulled out a remote of some kind.
"What are you-WHOA!"
She pressed the button and the three went falling through a trapdoor in the floor.
The landed in the Beanbean Castle Sewer, Aaron on his back and the Bros on their faces.
"Lady Lima, what gives?!"
She replied from above, "If those two are indeed the true Mario Bros, they must prove it by repairing the castle's plumbing! If they are able to completely fix it, then you may meet Queen Bean!"
Before Aaron could ask where he fell in the picture, the trapdoor closed.
The trio got back on their feet and reluctantly got to work.
The plumbing job wasn't really much of a big deal, they just had to hammer some plugs into the pipes to stop the water coming out of the holes in them. There were a couple of things they had to deal with like Spinies and Super Flies, which were just Fighter Flies with the colors swapped around. They had to turn some of the valves by doing the Spin Jump.
"Last one!" Luigi said, hammering in the last plug. Oddly, two gates nearby opened. When the bigger gate was open, Lady Lima and her assistant came out. At first the trio thought she was there to thank them for finishing, but to their surprise, she said, "Oh, thank the stars! You've saved me! You heroic souls! (to Aaron) C-Could these be the Mario Bros from the Mushroom Kingdom? What are they doing in a place like this?"
The trio looked at each other confused. Mario said, "You don't remember dropping us down here? You told us to fix the plumbing."
"I don't recall. Hmm...Most perplexing..." "Well, why are you down here?" Luigi asked.
"Why, we were attacked by Cackletta and her fiends and have been stuck here ever since." This confused the trio even more.
Lady Lima's assistant said, "Hmm. Perhaps the 'Lady Lima' you encountered was..."
Meanwhile, back in the castle...
The Lady Lima from earlier is seen approaching a forcefield protecting a green bean-ish shining star. The forcefield went away and 'Lady Lima' cackled then said, "Foolish men! You have completely and pathetically fallen into my trap! Repairing the plumbing is the key to disabling the Beanstar security system!"
That's got to be the weirdest, most specific, and cleverly designed security system ever made. How is it cleverly designed? Ask yourself this: Who on earth would think to check the plumbing to disable a security system?
Back to the story, Fawful appeared and said to 'Lady Lima', "Cackletta! It is the hurrying time! We must take the Beanstar and fastly run away from this place!"
Surprisingly, this Lady Lima was actually Cackletta in disguise! When she was back in her normal form, she cackled then said, "At last...At long, long last...I have in my possession both the Beanstar and Peach's voice!"
Back underground...
"That thing that can grant all desires: the Beanstar. We have always remained at this castle, acting as guardians, protecting the Beanstar and keeping it out of evil hands." Lady Lima finished explaining. The assistant said, "There's no doubt about it! Cackletta must be after the Beanstar! Oh no!"
"Guys, we need to go get the Beanstar! Now! C'mon!"
The trio went to the other gate, which was the staircase exit out of here, and hurried to get the Beanstar.
When they reached the top of the stairs, the Beanstar was nowhere to be found. "We're too late!" Luigi said.
"Eeyah ha ha ha!"
The cackling was coming from the witch herself who appeared from above with Fawful at her side. The trio took battle stances.
The witch started, "The Beanstar and Princess Peach's voice are already mine!" "Once we awaken the Beanstar with Peach's voice, this world will be Cackletta's snack cake!" Fawful said.
"Say Mario Boys," Cackletta started, "you haven't bothered to pay a visit to your host, Queen Bean. I thought you had better manners! Wouldn't you agree, Queen Bean?"
They heard giggling and turned to see a giant enraged figure land beside them. That figure's actually-
"Queen Bean!" Aaron said, "(to Cackletta and Fawful) What did you do to the queen?!"
Yeah, this isn't what Queen Bean normally looks like. Her usual appearance is a Beanish with an, *ahem*, obese figure, purple hair, an orange dress, and a gold crown on her head. Her attire and hair are the same, but the only thing different about her now is that she's a lot taller, has a muscular build, bigger feet and her eyes are completely red.
"Perhaps the four of you can sit down over tea to discuss the finer points of foreign policy." She said before cackling. She and Fawful then flew off on their flying devices, leaving the trio to deal with the hulking queen.
Play the Battle Theme 'Come on, Again! DX' here.
The queen charged up her fists and slammed them into the ground, making a huge shockwave. Luckily the trio were able to jump over it in time. She then got closer and slammed her fists into the trio, but they were able to use their hammers and counterattack them.
"We need to do something about those arms!" Mario said. They agreed, and they did the Super Splash move on her left arm. With it being hurt and weakened, she lowered it back to her side.
She still did the shockwave move, but it was just faster and less powerful as before.
Now for the other arm, they did the Bounce move on it. That arm was also weakened then put to her side. With both her arms weakened, the trio thought this would be easier. Only to be proven wrong when Queen Bean started coughing up oversized beans at the three of them.
They did the Super Splash move again, but this time on her head. This made her crown fall off her head.
The Bros noticed Aaron thinking about something. The boy wearing black then got an idea and whispered it into the brothers' ears. What was the idea? Aaron had an idea for a new attack. It's an upgrade of the Bounce move.
"Let's-a go!"
Like the Bounce move, Luigi and Aaron jumped on Mario, but unlike it, they all jumped back and landed in reverse order, upside-down. Luigi, being on the bottom, boosted the three of them forward and in the air. Each of them somersaulted then one-by-one landed and stomped on Queen Bean's head!
They called this move the Super Bounce move.
That one move managed to defeat the queen!
Cut the music!
The now defeated queen, fell to the floor. At the same time, Lady Lima came into the room.
"Oh, no!" She said, seeing Queen Bean's state, "Cackletta forced Queen Bean to eat a Belly Belch worm! That's what turned her into THIS! Our fair kingdom is doomed! Doomed! How will we ever return Queen Bean to normal?"
"Don't worry Lady Lima. We're the Mario Bros! We'll do something about it!" Mario said as he and Luigi did a pose.
"What can you possibly mean? You speak the impossible!" What she said made the Bros fall to the floor.
"Well," Aaron started as the Bros got back up, "you can't really cough up a Belly Belch worm. There is one way, but it isn't exactly easy."
"What is it?" Luigi asked.
"There's something called the Chuckola Reserve, it's a legendary soda made in Chucklehuck Woods where Chuckola Cola's made. It should be enough to get the queen to spit out the Belly Belch." "Well, what are we waiting for?" Mario said, "Let's go to Chucklehuck Woods and get the reserve."
Lady Lima said, "Well, if you're going to make such bold proclamations, I suppose I have no choice but to rely on you. (goes to Mario) Take this Beanbean Brooch and head southeast from the castle toward Chateau de Chucklehuck. If you find the Chuckola Reserve hidden deep in Chucklehuck Woods, our queen may yet recover!"
She gave Mario the brooch and with that, the three went out of the castle and to Chucklehuck Woods to get the reserve and save the queen.