t had been hours since Morton had escaped from Rexebris's castle. He just hoped Rexebris hadn't noticed. He was cold without his shell, and he had no idea where he was going. Plus, he was getting tired, and he couldn't just sleep out in the open. He looked up at the stars.

'I miss you guys.', He thought.

He continued walking down the river he found. He remembered Kamek saying something about following a river some time ago. He hoped that he meant it in this situation.

Some time later, he saw a fire lit in the distance.

'Maybe the people there are nice?'

He continued walking, this time to the fire. About half an hour later, he arrived at the place where the fire was. There were a few huts that looked a bit damaged, and around the fire were some brown-scale Koopa Troopas. They all had some sort of marking on their faces, but with the low amount of light the fire gave, it was hard to tell. One of the Koopa Troopas saw Morton and his eyes widened.

"Ohyay ymay Grambi! Ayay elless-shay Koopa!" The Koopa Troopa shouted.

The rest of the Koopa Troopas turned and looked at Morton with shock.

"U-um... Hello?" He nervously said, waving a little.

Some of the Koopa Troopas looked at him with a confused look on their face.

"Is it alright if I stay here for a little?" He asked.

There was a small silence before one of the Koopa Troopas said, "Atwhay azycray anguagelay oesday ethay elless-shay Koopa eakspay?"

"Ityay ustmay ebay ayay ecretsay odecay atthay ethay Dark March eakspay!" Another Koopa Troopa shouted accusingly.

Morton had little to no idea what was going on. He could on pick out a few things from their unusual language, and it seemed like they thought he worked for the Dark March.

"No... I escaped from the Dark March." He told them.

The Koopa Troopas had no idea what he just said.

"Atwhay idday youyay ustjay aysay?" A Koopa Troopa asked.

"I said: I escaped from the Dark March." Morton replied, talking slower so the Koopa Troopas had a chance of understanding him.

They didn't have a clue of what he just said. He picked up a nearby stick and started drawing what had happened. The Koopa Troopas watched with curiosity. When he was done, the Koopa Troopas finally understood.

"Youyay ancay aystay erehay untilyay youyay areyay eadyray otay eavelay." The Koopa Troopa that first saw him said.

Morton didn't really know what he said, but he guessed it was OK for him to stay.

"Emay andyay ymay eoplepay eakspay Igpay Atinlay, osay eway oday otnay ompletelycay understandyay youryay anguagelay. Eway illway ytray ouryay estbay otay eakspay ityay, oughthay." The Koopa Troopa said.

A Koopa Troopa got a pot of some ink-like substance and drew a marking on Morton's face. The rest of the Koopa Troopas cheered.

'They sure know how to make someone feel welcome.',Morto thought.

"I d'wanna get da mail dough Kameeeeeeeeeek." Bowser whined.

Kamek gave him the 'do it' look.

"Fine." Bowser huffed, and shuffled outside. It was a crisp morning, and the rock on the ground was practically ice. He opened the mailbox and inside was an fancy pink envelope.

"Oh, Toadsworth must be getting on Peach's nerves again." He said with a smirk.

He grabbed the envelope and went inside, the wind slamming the door behind him.

"Master Bowser, I thought I told you not to slam the door." Kamek said.

"I didn't slam it, the wind did." Bowser replied.

"OK. So, is that one letter it?" Kamek asked, looking at the envelope.

"Yep."

Multiple THUD's were heard as Lemmy fell down the stairs. Bowser and Kamek looked at him.

"I think he was sleep-walking again." Bowser said with a hint of concern.

Then his circus ball bounced down the stairs and on Lemmy's head.

"Yikes." Kamek commented.

"Guards!" Bowser yelled.

Two Koopatrols scrambled over to him, leaving a trail of playing cards.

"Were you two playing cards?" Bowser asked, confused by the Koopatrols.

"Yes sir. Go Fish, to be exact." One of the Koopatrols told him.

"Suuuuuure. Could one of you two go move Lemmy out of the way? Make sure you put the ball next to him." Bowser asked, pointing to Lemmy.

"YES SIR!" The other Koopatrol said, and went to go move Lemmy.

"Do you want me to pick up these cards, sir?" The Koopatrol that stayed behind asked.

"Yes. Do that." Bowser replied.

The Koopatrol started picking up the cards frantically, but had a hard time due to his armour.

Bowser walked into the living room and sat down on hischair.

"Kamek!You gonna come in here to help me read the letter?" He yelled from his seat.

"Coming!" Kamek yelled back, then zoomed in on his broomstick.

Bowser opened the envelope and took out the letter.

"Dear... Bowser. Hey, I read a bit!" He said.

"Wow, Shroomlock. I hadn't noticed." Kamek replied sarcastically. "Come meet me in front of the castle tonight to sort out the next "kidnapping". From Peach."

"Oh OK!" Bowser said happily. "I dunno why she wants to meet me in the dark, but whatever."

This is very strange,Kamek thought. Very, very strange.

The door slammed open and Toad ran in.

"Toad, why did you-a just come in like that?" Luigi asked while eating his breakfast at the table.

"I got an ominous letter from Bowser! And it mentions Mario!" Toad shouted, waving his arms about.

"Of course it mentions him." Luigi mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Does it-a say anything about a 'green 'stache'?"

Toad looked at the letter briefly, then looked up again and said, "Nope."

"Dang."

"SO WHERE IS MARIOOOOOOOOOOO?" Toad asked, well, like a Toad.

"He's-a in his room. Sleeping." Luigi replied somewhat angrily.

Mario walked in, still in his PJ's. He mumbled, "I was, until he-a woke me up."

"Oh. Um. Morning, Mario." Toad said.

"What does the letter say?" Mario asked.

Toad cleared his throat and read, "Dear Toad, I'm going to kidnap the princess again! Meet me in front of the castle tonight with Mario if you know what's good for you. MWAHAHAHA, Bowser."

The Mario Bros. stopped what they were doing and looked at Toad with confusion.

"Well that's what it says!" Toad said, pointing at the letter.

"Let me have a look." Mario practically ordered, turning the letter in Toad's hand so he could read it. He quickly read it under his breath.

"It seems legit... But why would Bowser send the letter to you?" He asked.

"Yeah, it doesseem pretty strange." Luigi added.

"I don't know!" Toad replied. "But we should probably go, just in case..."

"Okie dokie then." Mario said.

"You should bring the letter with you two, just to make sure it was-a him." Luigi said.

Toad nodded and said enthusiastically, "Will do!"

"OK, now that we've-a sorted out the letter, can you get out of our house now Toad?" Mario asked angrily.

"U-uh, Y-yes, Mario!" Toad quickly stammered, then ran out of the house just as fast as he came in.

A huge pile of paper slammed onto the dinner table, sending half of the pile flying.

"Sorry, Princess!" The Toad that was carrying the pile of paper said.

"It's OK!" Peach replied. She yawned and reached for the top of the pile and grabbed an envelope. She always had a ton of mail in the morning, and today was no exception.

"Let's see what we've got here." She said as she opened the envelope. She pulled out a piece of paper and read it.

"Oh great, ANOTHER power bill." She complained, rolling her eyes. She put it to the side, starting a pile. She went through all the other letters and envelopes, most of them being some sort of bill or invitation to do something somewhere. After about half an hour's "work" of looking at and sorting mail, she came across a envelope with a sticker of Bowser's emblem as a stamp. Even though it wasn't actuallya stamp, the Koopas that sorted the mail let it pass. Maybe even happily. Or through fear. No-one but them knew. Just as she was about to open it, Toadsworth came in.

"Good morning, Princess!" He waved.

"Morning!" Peach waved back. She waited until he went into another room before opening the envelope. She pulled out the letter and read it.

PEACH.

MEET ME OUTSYD THE CASLTE TOONIGHT.

BOWSER.

She looked at Bowser's writing.

'Wow, Bowser's really improved. Which is strange. He'd never practice his handwriting. Unless Kamek made him,'She thought. 'I'll take this with me, just to see what's going on.'

She folded up the letter neatly and slipped it in her pocket. She had a strangely bad feeling about tonight.

"M-Mario, are you surethat we're gonna be safe?" Toad stammered, hiding behind Mario's leg.

"Yes,we're-a going to be fine." Mario replied.

"There's really no reason to worry, Toad." Peach explained. "Besides, aren't you used to me being kidnapped now?"

"Um, yes- no- sorta?" Toad blabbered.

"Mmm-hmm." Mario nodded sarcastically.

The three heard heavy footsteps coming towards them.

"B-B-B-B-B-BOWSER!" Toad shrieked.

Bowser walked over to them and said to Toad, "You don't need to shout so loud. Sheesh!"

Then everyone just stood in an awkward silence. After sometime, Mario asked, "So, uh, Bowser. When are you going to kidnap the princess?"

Bowser raised an eyebrow and looked at Mario, confused.

"You didsay that you were going to kidnap me tonight right here." Peach added, waving the letter.

"Let me see that letter." Bowser said, half-stomping over to Peach and grabbing the letter out of her hand. He scowled as he skimmed over the letter.

"This isn't even my handwriting!" He yelled.

"It's not?!" Toad yelled from behind Mario's leg.

"Wait. Would that mean..." Mario thought aloud.

"Mean what? C'mon, Mario! Spill!" Bowser shouted at him.

"This whole meeting was a set-up?" Mario finished.

"A set-up?" Toad questioned. "Why would anyone want us to meet in the same place? To get a photo of us?"

A mysterious green swirl appeared in the sky, outshining the stars and the moon. Peach was the only one to notice this, as the others were too busy talking about why someone would make them meet in the same place. The swirl got bigger and starting acting like a black hole, except it looked like it was spitting something out instead of pulling something in. The swirl opened up a portal, and out came four green Lumas. There were four of them, three males and one female. Out of the males, there was a dull green Luma, a lime green Luma and a mint green Luma, as well a emerald Luma, which was the female.

"Guys." Peach said.

No reply. Still too busy talking.

"GUYS."

Still not reply.

"GUYS."

Mario, Toad and Bowser looked at Peach.

"That'swhy we were made to meet here." She said somewhat angrily, pointing at the Lumas that had just come through the portal.

The other three looked in the direction Peach pointed in.

"That can't be right." Bowser said. "Why would the Lumas want mehere? I thought they're still scared to death of me."

The Lumas just looked at him with confusion.

"I don't recall seeing you." The female Luma said.

"MAYBE HE'S THAT MONSTER ALL THE OTHERS WENT ON ABOUT!" The dull green Luma said loudly.

"You don't have to be so loud Crocodile." A mint green Luma said to the dull green Luma, Crocodile.

"Are you lost?" Peach asked.

"No. Nowhere near it." A lime Luma said proudly, puffing up his chest and putting his stubby little hands on his 'hips'.

The mint green Luma said, "We're here to tell you somethi-"

He was cut short by Crocodile, who shouted, "I'M CROCODILE!"

"Wow Crocodile, for once you came up with a good idea!" The lime Luma said with a hint of sarcasm. "Guys, and... girl, we're going to introduce ourselves!"

"I've already done that!" Crocodile said in his usual loud voice.

"No star." The mint green Luma said.

The lime green Luma said, "I'm Lime! The leader of this group!" He put one of his hands on his chest.

The mint Luma said in a bored tone, "Yeah, hi, I'm Mint."

"I'M CROCO- wait. I've already introduced myself." Crocodile said.

The female Luma enthusiastically said, "And I'm Emerald!"

"Nice to meet you!" Toad said. "I'm Toad! Toad Toad! Not to be confused with Toad. You know, that blue guy."

"Soooooo what's "the thing" that you were going to tell us? AND WHY DID YOU MAKE US MEET OUT HERE IN THE DARK?" Bowser asked rather angrily.

Emerald said, "We brought you here because..." She took a deep breath in and babbled, "YoufouraretheNewHeroesandyouneedtogoandsavetheworldfromanevilKoopakingcalledRexebrisbutfirstyouneedtodefeattheWillbenderandbefriendhimandconvincehimtogowithyoutohelpyoudefeatRexebrisbutbeforethatyouneedtogogettheguythatRexebriskidnappedtobeheirtohisarmy'sthronebutheescapedsomewheredon'taskmesoooooooo YA andthenyouhavetotakehimbacktowhereheactuallylives."

Mario, Toad (who'd come out from behind Mario's leg at this point), Bowser and Peach stared at her blankly.

"Soooo whatdid you-a say?" Mario asked.

'Knew I shouldn't of said that all so fast,'thought Emerald. "Let me say that slower. You four are the New Heroes. You need to go and save the Mushroom World from an evil Koopa king called Rexebris. But first, you need to defeat and befriend the Willbender and convince him to come with you so he can help you defeat Rexebris. But before that,you need to find the koopa that Rexebris kidnapped to be heir to his army's throne and return him to where he actually lives."

"So here's what you have to do in order: 1. Find the koopa that Rexebris kidnapped and return him to his proper home. 2. Defeat the Willbender in battle and brefriend him. Don't forget to convince him to come with you. And 3. Defeat Rexebris." Lime listed.

"Anything else?" Toad asked.

"Yeah, actually." Mint replied. "We all have this weird Luma-ry bond with you guys. Lime told me why, but I don't remember."

Lime facepalmed.

"It's going to be a long journey. I suggest you tell someone you'll be gone for quite a while." Emerald suggested. "Although don't tell them it's because you're off to save the world. It's supposed to be our secret."

"Just as well I-a brought my phone!" Mario said, holding up a Super ShySung Galaxy S6. "I can tell Luigi now!"

He wrote a text to Luigi that said: hey weegee, goin on a holiday w/ peach, will b back in a few days.

He soon got a reply that said: am i going 2? :D

Mario replied: no.

He then got a reply that was simply: :( c u latr then.

"I'll have to go and actuallytell Toadsworth I'll be gone. I think I'll use the holiday excuse." Peach said.

"Same. I'll have to go back and tell Kamek I'll be gone." Bowser added. "I'd text him, but the keyboard is too small and my texts look more alphabet soup and then Auto Correct does weird things and the text make no sense."

"And I won't need to tell anyone!" Toad said. "The princess is coming and no-one really cares... They all care about that blue guy."

"OK, now that you've sorted out how ya gonna tell someone that you'll be gone, can we, y'know, sort out when we're gonna leave? Or where we're going to even meet?" Mint asked.

"How about we meet here?" Peach suggested.

"Early in the morning! Realearly in the morning! Like, 3 in the morning!" Toad added.

"YEAH! OK! LET'S GO THEN!" Crocodile shouted.

"Okayyyyyy, 3 in the gosh darned morning it is." Mint said.

"YEAH!" Crocodile shouted.

"3 in the morning? I'll never remember to get up then!" Bowser exclaimed. "Unless I get Kamek to wake up then... Yeah, that works."

"So, we'll all meet here at 3 AM and leave when everyone's here. Agreed?" Emerald asked.

"Agreed." Everyone else said in unison.

"Until then!" Lime said, opening the portal that the Lumas came through and leaving with his peers.