Princess Peach's Castle Courtyard, 9:00 A.M.
The warp pipe raised from the ground a good distance away from the castle. When Luigi and then Mario jumped out of the entrance pipe, the castle in its entirety was visible all at once.
"Well, let's-a not keep the Princess waiting." Mario said sarcastically, as soon as they landed. Luigi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Mario, you're here, are you not?" Luigi said, hoping to keep this outing as pleasant as possible.
"Yeah, I'm here. 'Dear Luigi'... Hmph! I'm the big brother! I'm Mario Mario! What've you got that I don't?!" Mario ranted angrily at his younger, taller brother. Luigi was just happy that Wario and Waluigi hadn't made it here yet; he knew Wario would have let Mario have it.
"That's a question for Peach, wouldn't you say?" Luigi said, as he began walking towards the castle. Mario followed, not wanting to fall behind in at least ONE way today. "A question she refuses to answer. She refuses to tell the truth where you can hear it, because she knows it'll hurt your feelings." Mario said, as though that were in fact the truth.
Indeed, that was Mario's truth, to the absolute least. "It's-a called tact and civility, Mario. Even if it's what we're all thinking, it doesn't always need to be said." Luigi said with sagacity. Mario couldn't know just how much the Ace of the Mario Family was practicing what he was preaching. Mario also had no idea how often Luigi wished Wario would take that very piece of advice, either.
"Maybe you should have the tact and civility to stop cockblocking me when I'm around the Princess." Mario shot back. Luigi wondered why Mario turned every conversation concerning Peach into a confrontation and argument.
"Wario and Waluigi aren't too far behind us, if you remember." Luigi said. At the mention of Wario, Mario faltered for just a moment, but it was the moment that told Luigi everything he needed to know. "I would like for my time with Peach to remain as pleasant as possible, for as long as possible." Luigi continued as he walked ahead of Mario, across the moat and directly in front of the door. He did not raise his voice, let alone actually emphasize the words 'my time with Peach'.
But 'my time with Peach' was pretty much all Mario heard, so much so that this may as well have been all Luigi actually said. Mario's fists glowed with pure Fire Energy as he was about to deck Luigi in the back of the head as hard as his 5'5", 210 pound frame would allow.
But before Mario could follow up on that sneak attack, a spark of Mental Energy flashed through both Bros.' minds. All proceedings had stopped upon that spark flickering away.
"What… In the…" Mario said, looking around. Luigi, however, continued staring just above the door.
The sound of coalescing mists was what rerouted Mario's attention to the same point Luigi was looking at. However, if there was anything at the top of the door, it evaporated as quickly as mist would. Mario wondered if Luigi had seen whatever it was that had flickered for just a second in their minds.
"Welcome!" A deep, dark voice sounded in their heads just as Mario was about to say something about the occurrence. Mario's fists lit with Fire Energy again, ready to punch what he could not yet see. Luigi, however, did not make any move whatsoever.
"No one is home! Now go away and don't come back!" The voice continued. Luigi narrowed his eyes, but Mario was quicker on the draw.
"Well?! Show yourself and make us!" Mario called out, taking his fighting stance. A few seconds passed by, and nothing happened. Luigi shrugged. "That was a-weird. Now I'm glad you tagged along." Luigi calmly said. Mario smirked, his cockiness returning at Luigi's words.
"Oh, of-a course you'd be. Glad that the real men like me are here to do the dirty work, so you can whisk the Princess away to safety?" Mario said, proud of himself for having 'figured out' Luigi's ulterior motive. Before he knew what he was doing, Luigi loosed a chuckle at Mario's bluster.
"You got me, Mario. Only took you a couple of years." Luigi said, no longer able to hide his sarcasm. At this, Mario pushed past Luigi. "You're-a cruising for a-bruisin', Luigi. But right now, I'll settle for showing Peach just what I've got that you don't." Mario said, swaggering boldly through the front entrance. Luigi had just barely followed Mario onto the castlegrounds, when the Bros. heard the voice sound off in their heads yet again.
"You were warned!"
That was the last thing Luigi and Mario heard before powerful footsteps rattled the area around them. The odd mist Mario thought he noticed just moments before had returned, but he'd recognize those two silhouettes anywhere, anytime. "Mario, we…" Luigi started, but Mario jumped ahead of him. "You just sit back, little bro." Mario said, as he built up some fire into his hands.
However, he was too late on the draw. For just as quickly as Mario got into his fighting stance, Bowser had built up enough power to launch a solid beam of fire from his mouth, sending Mario flying and clearing the mist away to reveal himself and that the other figure beside him was none other than Tatanga.
Bowser leapt after Mario, and so Tatanga ran to engage Luigi. Luigi diverted the alien's first punch, and used the altered trajectory of that punch to roll off of his back. Tatanga seemed to anticipate that, as he turned around using a roundhouse kick as a guide. Luigi was forced to actually block that kick and then the next one that followed. Now with some distance, Tatanga seized the opportunity to try and catch Luigi with a Force Push.
As this was happening Bowser picked Mario up, pulling him into a punch and then axehandle before punting him even further away. Luigi, for his part, had only barely sidestepped Tatanga's Force Push trajectory and Green Missiled right into Tatanga's forehead and nose. It was a particularly powerful misfire, and the purple alien's nose burst like a rotten tomato.
Mario had caught Bowser's next punch, and held it there as Bowser struggled to continue his advance. "Since when do you run with the likes of Tatanga? Big bad turtley needs help kidnapping a helpless damsel?!" Mario taunted. Bowser said… absolutely nothing in response to this? Mario didn't think about it too much, as he smashed Bowser in the face with a Jump Punch.
Tatanga only barely recovered from the explosive Green Missile he had just received, his nose turned sideways from the impact as his senses were still scrambled. "Tatanga doesn't feel so good…" He said in a daze. "Tatanga is gonna feel so much worse." Luigi said, as he promptly suplexed the purple alien on his head, then tossed him into the air before jumping after him and ending the fight with a vertical chop to the back of the head. Tatanga's nose likely scrambled even more upon slamming into the ground facefirst.
"You want to be Tatanga's butt-buddy now?" Mario said, punctuating those words with solid punches. "I am sick-" Mario continued to wale on the Great Koopa as he ranted. "-of everyone cockblocking me!" The final Super Jump Punch landed with the very distinctive 'KREENG!' sound, and Bowser was sent sliding on his back a good distance away. Landing right near Luigi and Tatanga's concluded battle, as a matter of fact.
"That's it? Bowser calls that his A-game?" Mario said with a chuckle. As a matter of fact, Mario actually thought about what he just said, especially in light of the fact that Bowser… didn't really use any techniques beyond brute force and fire breath. In fact, Mario noted that once Bowser lost the offensive, he didn't seem to know how to regain it.
"And Tatanga didn't seem particularly strategic here, beyond his combat savvy." Luigi noted. Mario shrugged. "The Princess will be happy to know I and I alone handled these two before they could set foot in her inner sanctum. See what-a happens when you follow my lead, Luigi?" Mario preened.
Luigi wondered if Mario listened to himself as he talked. He might have said something if his C-Ring hadn't pinged. "Wario and Waluigi's Warp Pipes have appeared. Let's go." Luigi said, as he walked away from Mario.
The eldest of Jumpman's sons glowered at Luigi ignoring his taunts, before following along to the front door of the castle.