Chapter 1
"Peach?" called Mario. He had been looking everywhere for her, but he just couldn't find her. "Maybe she went shopping with Daisy." However, as soon as he said this, he saw a folded piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up, and began to read the note scribbled on it. It read:
"Mario:
I have kidnapped Princess Peach. I intend to kill her – so don't even think of seeing her alive again! She is in my castle, awaiting her gruesome demise. You will never find her, for I won't tell you who I am! You'll never find me – or her! Mwahahahaha!
Sincerely, Bowser."
Mario was stunned – not just by the fact that Princess Peach had been kidnapped and was to die, but by the utter stupidity of the note he had found. He sighed, for the note meant he'd have to go find the Princess. "Luigi! Yoshi! Come! We have to go rescue Princess Peach!" yelled Mario. Luigi, Daisy, Yoshi, and Birdo scrambled into the room where Mario was.
"Doesn't Peach get tired of being kidnapped?" asked Daisy, in an annoyed tone of voice. "So Bowser's at it again?" asked Luigi, with a sigh. "I guess we'll have to go to Bowser's castle, beat the tobacco juice out of Bowser, and bring the Princess back, huh?" asked Yoshi. "Yep," replied Mario, "But since we're 3, it'll take no time at all to do that." At that moment, King Boo materialized out of nowhere, followed by many Boos. "Ha ha ha!" hissed King Boo, "I've got you now, Daisy!" with that, he lunged at Daisy, grabbed her, and vanished into thin air.
The Boos followed him after laughing eerily at a baffled and enraged Luigi. "If you want her back," taunted King Boo's voice – despite the fact that the Boo was nowhere to be seen, "Go to my mansion at midnight. There we will decide who keeps her life – and yours!" This was followed by a wild cackle, and then a dead silence. Luigi just stayed there, frozen with surprise and anger. "Got… to… save… Daisy!" he growled. "Sorry, bro, but I have to save Daisy." "Don't worry, Mario," said Yoshi, "I'll go with you!" As if on cue, Piranha Plants started sprouting from the ground and hissing and trying to intimidate Luigi, Mario, Yoshi, and Birdo. Suddenly, the ground started to rumble.
Petey Piranha exploded from under the ground and managed to trap Birdo between his jaws. "Mmm fmm mmf m!" he mumbled. "Huh?" asked Yoshi. "Mmm fmm mmf m!" repeated Petey. "Say what?"asked Yoshi. Petey looked annoyed. He spat Birdo into his leaf-arm, and turned to face Yoshi again. "I said, 'If you want her back, catch me – if you dare!'" With that, Petey popped a startled Birdo back into his mouth and disappeared under the ground again. The Piranha Plants followed him, and there was another silence.
"Tough beans, Mario," said Yoshi, "I have a girlfriend to save!" Luigi and Yoshi ran off in different directions, following their enemies. "Well that sucked," said Mario. He started thinking of some way he could defeat Bowser alone. After 36 straight hours of thinking, he decided to go and find a partner. But first, he'd sleep to make up for the day-and-a-half of thought.