The fighters stood around the field, each of them silent. The first to speak was Toadsworth. "Well, Mario has passed. But his sacrifice has stopped a great evil." Luigi stooped down to pick up Mallow's hat. "Thanks to him, our lives can return to peace once-"

"Weegee?" The voice seemed to be coming from the alien's eyewear. "Weeeeegee?"

"What the hell is that?" The group approached him curiously.

"Guywho'sasstrongasaPiranhaBeansayswhat?" Silence. "That usually gets to him. I think he's dead, Bowser."

"Big shocker!" A new voice now. "Nobody cares. We're ten times stronger than him anyway. We'll go to Earth, find the Crystal Stars, and kill everyone, and we'll be there within a year or so. Depending on filler, of course."

"Anything else we need to go over, Bowser?"

"No, that's about it." Silence once again, before Toadsworth spoke the obvious.

"Well. Fu-"

Meanwhile, miles away in one of Yoshi's wastelands, Yoshi had landed alongside Mallow and was already getting started with him. "Alright, you little cloud...marshmallow...frog...human...Sprite...

thing. I saw what you did to that Sprite back there. That kind of power can be useful." Mallow looked up at him from the pool of water he was sitting in.

"W-What do you mean?"

"I'm going to make you my pupil. And then I'll use YOU for my conquest to take over the world!"

"B-But where's my daddy?"

"Hate to tell you, kid, but your dad's dead! Actually I kind of like saying that. Haha, your dad's dead!" Mallow rushed away, crying furiously. "Dammit. This is why I hang out in wastelands."

In another dimension, there was currently a gigantic traffic jam in front of a large building. An announcer spoke through a bullhorn on the side of the path. "Hello, and welcome to the Overthere Check-in Station. Please, no cutting in line. If you are caught cutting in line, you will be sent straight to the Underwhere." Inside the building, Mario and the Elder stood before a huge being.

"And so, we need Mario here to get to King Lubba's for his masterful training, King Grambi." The huge master of the Overthere gestured to them with his pencil.

"Give me one good reason I should allow this."

"Because if you don't, that line is going to increase by SIX BILLION!" Grambi stroked his beard.

"Six billion? I'm supposed to be intimidated by six billion? Please. I can judge six billion souls faster than you take a piss, old man."

"You know, I am the Guardian of Earth. Could I please get a little more respect here?" Grambi huffed.

"Big deal. I'm the closest thing to a God in this show. Until you get to the Celestials, that is. Then I'll become horribly insignificant. I do have a desk, though. It's made of Chuckleroot. Chuckleroot."

"Uh, anyway...can we please-"

"SILENCE!" Everyone stepped back in fear and awe. "Chuckleroot."

"Um...sir?" Grambi jerked back from his reverie.

"Wha-what? Uh, sure. Whatever. He can go to King Lubba's. But he'll have to run on WIGGLER WAY." Cue dramatic music. Mario chimed in for the first time in this conversation.

"Sounds fun."

"Prepare to be surprised." Mario nodded.

"Alright, I'm off." As he rushed past the deity's foot, he stopped. "Oh, by the way, did you see a guy named Weegee come through here? He has a spiky mustache and a tail." Grambi set down his register.

"Oh, yeah. I remember that guy. I put him in my patented Grambi-Lock!"

"And it worked?"

"#^%$ NO! He kicked me in the balls and ran away! Now I don't know where he is." A long way away, the exact location unknown, Weegee stood smugly grinning.

"He didn't keep his eye on the birdie." Mario stared blankly for a second before resuming.

"Huh. Well, bye!" As he rushed away, Grambi called over his shoulder.

"See you next time you die." A pause. "Chuckleroot."

Back at Yoshe House, Toadsworth was a bit curious. "So, Luigi, how did Peach take the news?" Luigi stood before them with a bit of shame on his face, remembering what he'd had to do.

Back at Mario House, Luigi had sat down at the dinner table, warily bringing up the subject. "So, Luigi. What did you need to talk about?"

"So, Peach. Hypothetically, what would you do if you were told that your husband was dead and your son was kidnapped by his worst enemy?" There was an eerie lack of pause to the answer.

"I'd castrate the messenger in his sleep with a rusty carving knife."

"Oh. Well...It's a good thing I'm not telling you that!" He burst into nervous laughter, followed closely by Peach, who finished it by asking a precarious question.

"Ah, would you like to spend the night?" He gulped.

"Against my better judgement." Later that night, Luigi and Kent C. Koopa lay on the floor, with the huge Koopa snoring in his goofy fashion when suddenly a very sharp metallic sound rang through the house, followed by Peach's voice. Mere moments later, a car sped along the mountain road away from Mario House at speeds not designed for that model.

"Relatively well." Daisy had her own question.

"So, are you going to go gather the other Z Warriors and go train with the Elder?"

"The who Warriors?"

"The Z Warriors." It was at this point that a mysterious optical device akin to Weegee's appeared on Daisy's face out of nowhere. "You, Mario, DK, Waluigi, Diddy, that's what we always call you guys."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever-"

"LUIGIIIII!" They looked out the front window to see Peach driving up in a hydroplane. Luigi changed his tune rather quickly.

"Well, I'm off to gather the Z Warriors, bye!" And he was gone screaming again.

Back in the wastelands, Yoshi and Mallow had just gotten started understanding each other. "Listen up, runt. Today we're going to start your intense training under me."

"But wait...wouldn't that cause horrible muscle degeneration for somebody my age, crippling me for years to come?" Yoshi took a breath.

"You're a wordy little bastard, aren't you?"

"My mom wants me to become an ortho-"

"NEEEEERD!"

"Wh-What?" Yoshi took advantage of the brief silence.

"Anyway, I figured to unleash your power, I have to put you in immense physical danger. So I'm gonna throw you at that mountain." He glanced toward a rock formation behind Mallow.

"Actually, that looks more like a platEEEEAAAAAAAAAA!" Yoshi had leapt forward and flung the boy at the structure. As he neared it, the new trainer began counting down.

"Any second now...Here it comes...Aaaaand" Splat. "Eeeuugh..." Mallow burst into tears once again as Yoshi started toward him. "This is gonna be a loooooooong training session."

Back in the Overthere, Mario stood before the giant stone face of a Wiggler, a Nimbi giving him the introduction. "Alright, Mr. Muscle Man. Here you are at Wiggler Way. Now, you might wanna pack a lunch 'cause it's gonna be a long run. Naw, I'm just joking, you're not gonna be eating nothing." Mario stepped onto the front of the bridge and looked as far as he could down it.

"Wow. That looks like it's gonna take me a while."

"Now be careful. You don't wanna fall off and get a Game Over." The Nimbi grinned. "That's just Endgame humor, but seriously, do not fall off or you will go to the Underwhere."

"Has anyone ever run the whole thing before?"

"Well, there was one lady."

"Who was she?" The Nimbi flipped through an old registry.

"I believe her name was..."

"MRS. MIMI!" Back on the Lookout, The Elder had a few instructions to give.

"Yes, Elder?"

"I just received word that we have a new batch of trainees coming. Make sure you take good care of them." Mimi simply began to laugh. And laugh. And laugh.

Back at the Check In Station, Grambi was still at it. "And not just any Chuckleroot, but Chuckleroot from the Planet of Good Egg, where the trees are 300 feet tall and breathe FIRE! From these trees this desk was forged 2000 years ago, using ancient blood rituals of the Tribe of Darkness! Not only does this make my desk nigh indestructible, but it can bend the fabric of the universe itself! Also, its a very fine material. Very expensive." The Elder blinked.

"Ooooookay..."

"Mahogany.