"Damn," was all that Wesley had to say about the enormous cavern his team had just entered.
"Congratulations!" a voice echoed throughout the cavern, "Team Mushroom, you have advanced to World 1-2! You are now in the lead position in the game. You are now given the team name "Mario and Luigi!" If you manage to stay in first place throughout the course of the game, you will be able to maintain this title. If not, it will be given to the current winners. Good luck!"
With that, a cheerful shout came from the top of the cavern, "Hey, John!"
John turned around to look, and he saw the clown that he had met the previous day, "Hey, Olli, right?"
"Yup. Fancy meeting you here."
"How did you get here so fast? I thought Wesley's breath blew everyone pretty far away."
"Most everyone. Look at this," he held up a cape, "This is my emblem. It makes me invisible for a little while, and nothing can touch me. Pretty high-tech… Now, listen. I seem to have lost my partner, Bo. I've looked everywhere, but I can't find him. Would it be alright if I traveled with you guys until I find him?"
The team agreed, and the five of them walked off into the darkness of the cave to explore its mysteries.
"I agree completely, sir. The rules clearly stated that only four people could be on a team. Should we disqualify them?" one programmer asked.
"No… not disqualify them," the boss was deep in thought, "Maybe just separate them. I saw a few things that could help us separate John and Will from the rest of them. I'll go ahead and discuss it with them now."
With the click of a few buttons, small headphones emerged from Will and John's glasses.
"Do not speak or respond in any way to what I am about to say. Only listen and nod your head for yes or shake for no. Now, I want you two, Will and John, to form your own team separate from Wesley and Robert. Will you do that?" Both shook their heads, "What if I offer to upgrade you two to make it easier for you to advance. You see, I believe that Wesley and Robert have an unfair advantage, and I want to prevent that. Will you please comply?"
They shook their heads once again, "Will, I observed you earlier, and I noticed that you expressed your deepest desires to Robert, and he rejected you."
John looked up at his brother, confused, "What desires?"
"Forget it."
"And John," the boss continued, "Are you not tired of Wesley always getting the best chances? Of him always being the leader of the group?"
John took a moment to think, and then nodded.
"I just want the game to be fair, so if you'll please form a separate group. As soon as your friends look away, hide and find your own way. Can you do that?"
The brothers nodded.
The boss went back to work, making John and Will's headphones disappear, "See, wasn't that easier than disqualifying them?"
His coworkers all nodded their heads as they worked on their own assignments. The boss prompted all lighting in the cave to disappear momentarily so that his new anti-Mario and anti-Luigi could escape.
"Hmm. Anti-Mario. That's not a very original name. How could we make that more creative?" the boss thought, "Ah, I know! Wariu is Japanese for "bad," so we can name them Wariu-Mario and Wariu-Luigi. Still too long... Maybe Wario and WaLuigi would be better. Yes, that fits nicely…"
Rosalina and Luma had begun building a house on the small rocky planet they first visited. It turned out that the Luma was quite a builder.
"How do you get all of this done so fast?" Rosalina asked.
"It's my job. I can transform things," the Luma explained.
Suddenly, Rosalina heard a crackling noise from nearby.
"What's that?" she inquired.
"What? I don't hear anything."
"Never mind," she tried to ignore it, but she heard it again. She followed the noise until she located its source: a sparkling egg.
What is it? she wondered. She soon realized that the crackling noise was a result of something hatching out of the egg. Once it emerged, she could see that it was a Luma. It looked up at her with enormous, bright eyes, and flew out of its shell.
"Mama?" it giggled.
It then began to circle around her and chant, "Mama! Mama!" Rosalina had never felt more complete and full of hope. Just because she lost her mother didn't mean that these Lumas had to live without a mother of their own.
"Yes," Rosalina laughed and gently nuzzled the Luma, "I am your mother."