Alright Chapter 4! WOO HOO! Like I promised, I'm finally starting the plot. XD Actually if I hadn't cut out the other chapters, I would have started the story on Chapter 8...yeah. So I decided to revise my story in order to keep my readers interested and move along a little faster. I'm not sure exactly how long this story is gonna be. Possibly 22 chapters, more or less. Well enough about ranting onto the story!

( Important: there is a race scene. The race course I'm using is Rainbow Road from Mario Kart Wii. I'm also using kart references to describe the kart. (cuz I'm terrible at describing cars.) That way there is no confusion)

Oh, I do not own Mario or the other Nintendo characters. Just Maria, and Luciano. (I totally wished I owned Bowser Junior! I love him. So cute. lol)

It was a glorious day. The sun was shining and puffy clouds floated through the sapphire sky.

It was a perfect for a kart race.

Through Toad Town was usually busy on such days, no one was seen walking around. Why? Because every koopa, toad and goomba was packed in stands at Rainbow Road to watch a truly epic event.

Princess Maria and Bowser Junior were racing to win the Grand Prix.

And no one would be foolish enough to miss this competition between to warring kingdoms.

--

Far above the Mushroom Planet, the glistening race course floated, awaiting its next tournament. Over the years, the competition became more intense; therefore, the colorful road was remodeled several times each more challenging then the last. Twists and turns decorated the stage, and even some of the barriers were removed to give racers an edge.

This was where the final match would begin.

Above the starting line, a large screen levitated, allowing the audiences to watch the racers' every movement. On the sidelines were two stands on opposing sides.

One for the Mushroom Kingdom.

One for the Koopa Kingdom.

Crammed together, people on both sides, squeezed and slipped their way into any available seating they could find. Finally when there was barely any room left, people jumped upon one another's shoulders just to make room and get a better view. While everyone tried to make themselves comfortable, vendors stood up and sold snacks, secretly grinning at all the cash they were making. As the each kingdom settled down, the competitors made their preparations.

Both racers stood inside the stands waiting to make their entrance, but before they came out the mechanics doubled checked their karts.

"Get a spare tire!" one koopa shouted.

"How's the air pressure value? I need more fuel!" another barked.

"Hotdog! No mustard!"

Suddenly a young boy came over to purple motorcycle which belonged to young the princess. The green clad man glanced over anything and questioned the engineers.

"Everything in order?" he asked.

"Yes Luciano, full tank of gas, new tires and all wires had been tripled checked," a toad mechanic replied.

"Excellent."

This lean, green boy was Maria's cousin. Once glance at him, and many though they were looking at Luigi, his father. But if one paid attention to his features, they would notice his unique hair and sharp eyes, traits he received from his mother, Daisy. Two years older than she, Luciano was a big brother to her. He protected his fragile cousin any way he could. Since he was an expert in car engineering, he constantly assisted Maria in her races, making sure she would win.

Luciano glanced over everything once last time before giving the thumbs up to Lakitu who then turned on his microphone to let everyone they were starting.

"Gooooooooooood day!" He rang, "Is everyone ready?!"

The crowds whooped and hollared in excitement.

"Alright then! Let me introduce our two finalists! On my right, I have the representative from the Koopa Kingdom, Prince Bowser Koopa Junior!"

Through the entrance at the bottom of the stands came Junior himself. Twelve years passed by since he met his best friend Maria. With those many years, Junior became the splitting image of his father. His hair flared a ruby red, yet a bang was flipped over and slightly covered his right eye, and to top it off, the prince's bandana which once fit around his neck, now covered his left arm.

Junior turned to his people and suddenly gave a loud triumphant roar. Looking at every person in his audience, he caught the eye of someone dear to him.

His father.

Time had affected Bowser as well, for the Great Koopa King now had grey streaks and looked as if he was on the verge of wrinkles and showing a potbelly.

The father and son meet each other eyes, and the old koopa simply smirked, showing that he wished his youngest child good luck.

Upon Junior's boast, every minion stood up and cried out, shouting their successor's name while the opposing side remained silent, not even giving the young koopa the satisfaction of a "boo!"

"Now, I give you our other racer," Lakitu continued, "She is the beloved princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. The Benevolent Maria Mario!"

Even before the young girl made the scene, her audience broke out into a chant, screaming her name. This way, she could not hear her rivals shout anything that might discourage her.

The once ignorant child had blossomed into an elegant and intelligent princess. Everyone in her kingdom agreed that she was the perfect combination of her father and her mother. She had her mother's looks, yet she barely stood five feet tall. A trait she inherited from Mario. Though the dwarf teenage still had her purple eyes, and snowy hair, she no longer looked like a child. She had filled in,and now had a face that shined of pure beauty. Normally Maria would wear a stunning amethyst dress, but today she dressed in a purple jacket, black slacks, and boots, matching her top.

Maria was ready to race.

When both prince and princess and had settled into their karts, Lakitu made an important announcement.

"Since this is the final race and there are only two racers, a change will be made."

The each side muttered, wondering what could possibly be different.

"To increase the difficulty, the BoIR (Board of International Racing) has decided to make it one lap instead of three."

Both sides exploded in excitement! A sudden, but intriguing challenge. Giving their representatives hope, everyone chanted and cheered on.

Maria and Junior could only look at their people with reassurance.

Finally after the noise settled down, Lakitu finished, "That being said. Let's begin! Drivers are you ready?"

The two teenagers nodded.

With that, Lakitu summoned his light signals and hung it over the starting line.

"Racers start your engine."

With a click, the karts rumbled to life, growling to zoom away,

Lakitu flicked on his lights. Looking at both contestants, he raised his hand, holding up three fingers.

Everyone sat on the edge of their seat, holding their breath.

3.

Junior who sat in his fire-painted car glanced over at Maria who also sat nervously on her lavender motorcycle.

2.

Maria glanced at Junior.

1.

Giving him the rudest glare.

"GOOOOOOOOO!!" Lakitu hollered.

All that could be heard was the screeching off wheels and sound of engines.

Everyone jumped into another fit of amusement.

Bursting at full speed, Maria and Junior sped down starry hill only to be blasted upward onto another track, each holding their first item.

Having caught a mushroom, Junior rushed around the corner to a wobbling track only to be blown out of the way with a red shell thrown by Maria.

Passing the shifting waves, the princess raced into the figure eight point, keeping in mind the rough koopa was hot on her heels. She was about to grab another item when suddenly everything went black. Maria gripped her hand brakes and wiped away what appeared to be Blooper ink.

"Junior," she mumbled angrily, feeling the rush of his kart swiftly pass her.

With that she pushed on the gas and chased Junior down.

Almost immediately she caught sight of his kart and rushed forward into the Rainbow Cannon which shot the two across the track.

Now, neck and neck, they raced through the Star Bit Tunnel and came to the split track.

Both went left.

This was the last length of the race. They rushed through the last item and drove through another glowing tunnel.

Everyone held their breath, waiting to see their weapons.

Junior glared at the princess evilly.

He had a red shell.

The koopa kingdom began to laugh, realizing victory was near, but suddenly noticed the girl's bizarre expression.

She was grinning maliciously too.

Confused and surprised by this reaction, the koopa racer raised his shell in an attempt to throw it, but stopped and gazed in horror at Maria's item.

She held the Invincible Star.

With a wave of her hand, Maria illuminated every color of the rainbow and instantly barged her motorcycle against Junior, shoving him over the race track, and gliding across the finish line.

Princess Maria won.

Words could not describe how the Mushroom Kingdom felt. Everyone's heart brimmed with happiness and wanted to show it every way possible.

Triumphantly, the rejoicing girl stepped off her kart, only to be scooped up onto her cousin's shoulders. She merely waved her arms in pride.

After Lakitu rescued Junior from his dreadful fate, he rolled miserably across the finish line. Even though he had lost, his father and his minions clapped and cheered for him. It had been an exciting race.

"Well done," Bowser said, patting his son on his shell.

"But I lost, dad," Junior replied sorrowfully.

"Eh. Just because you lost a race, doesn't mean you can't kick her ass," He snickered.

"Excuse me..."

Both koopas turned around to see none other than Princess Maria, standing there shyly.

"What do you want?" The king sneered menacingly.

Ignoring the comment, the small girl extended her hand.

"Good job, today," She said politely, "It was a tough race."

Pondering the thought for a moment, Junior lethargically shook hands.

"Yeah. But I'll get you next time," He smirked.

"We'll see about that."

Then she walked away calmly, and continued to converse with her cousin who now questioned her sudden actions.

"Snooty bitch," Bowser cursed under his breath, and stomped away.

Junior did nothing to response, but merely opened the hand that he just shook with Maria. There was a note in it.

Meet me at Shroom Hill, 12:30 sharp.

It was Maria's handwriting.

--

"Goodnight, daddy," the cheerful princess said while kissing her father on the cheek.

Mario, in his old age, remained short and round as a meatball. Except for the wrinkles in his forehead and the grey streaks poking out of his hat, the Italian plumber had not changed.

"Nite, my little cannoli ," he replied, pulling her into a big hug, "Wonderful job today. Your mom would-a been a proud."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me, dad."

--

Turning off her lights, Maria snuggled into her periwinkle sheets, waiting patiently for her clock to strike midnight.

By the time, her watch read "11:55", the mischievous girl stood in her usual violet attire, quietly opening the door to her balcony.

As she creeped softly to side so that she would slip out unnoticed, a hand grabbed her from behind making her gasp loudly.

"Well, look what I found. A princess! Whatever shall I do with her?" the voice whispered.

"Junior," the princess sighed with relief, "I told you to me there! Not to pick me up!"

"Well excuuuuse me!," he snorted, keeping his voice low, "I thought you would appreciate your boyfriend picking you up. Hell of a lot easier to get there."

Maria giggled, "Junior..." and pulled him into a hug.

The couple stood there for a moment, enjoying their touch.

"Come on. Let's go," the devious kidnapper stated with a grin.

After scaling down the castle (With help from Junior, of course) they snuck across the outer courtyard and into a nearby forest where the Koopa Copter laid. Once they were out of sight, Maria climbed up onto Junior's right shoulder and sat comfortably leaning on his head, to which made Junior blush.

"Wait...Junior, this isn't the way to Shroom Hill," she said, noticing they were headed in the opposite direction.

"Who said we were going to there?"

"So that's why you picked me up. Jerk."

The koopa merely stuck out his tongue in response.

--

"Alright now no peeking," the prince gleefully stated, while covering the eyes of his girlfriend.

"Junior, I know we're at the beach."

"Who the hell told you?"

"The waves."

"Waves don't talk, Maria."

"No, I hear them."

"Oh."

After releasing his hand from her face, Junior led her to a small alcove under a cliff. There they sat enjoying the breeze of the ocean and the beautiful full moon in the sky.

"Happy Anniversary," he whispered pulling her closer.

"Same to you," she replied before closing the space between their lips.

--

"I told you not to get me a gift!," the stubborn princess protested, "You never let me get you one!"

"That's because there are only two things I want from you on special occasions," he replied,

"1. I just love having you by my side. I don't need material things."

"2. You make damn good food. So I consider your cooking a gift. Speaking of which..."

Maria simply rolled her eyes, and teleported a basket onto her lap.

Opening it, she said, "I didn't bring much. Just some Koopa buns, bottles of water, left over shroom roast... and a cake."

"Sounds good to me," he answered, taking a roll out a biting it.

"...do you remember when I first showed you my psychic powers?" the girl asked slowly.

"Of course how could I forget?" he replied, munching on his food, "It's not hard to remember a small girl bending a spoon with her mind."

"Hey Junior, can I show you something?" Maria asked quietly.

"Sure! Does it evolve cookies?"

"Not really."

"Aww...alright, I guess you can."

"Okay..."

The young child pulled out a spoon and placed it on the ground.

"Wow. A spoon. I have a ton of those at my house."

"Hold on. ...just watch."

Stretching her hand over the spoon, Maria closed her eyes, and suddenly the utensil lifted off the earth! The koopa prince stared wide eyed at what was happening. Then with a flick of her hand, the spoon curled and twisted into a worthless form and fell.

"Whoa...Maria..."

"I'm sorry if I scared y-"

"THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME! DO IT AGAIN"

"Really?" she said, her eyes gleamed with surprise.

"Yeah!I loved it!

"Believe it or not I was extremely jealous. I wanted to bend spoons too," he laughed, but switched to a serious look, "Why do you ask?"

"I have just been thinking about what other would think if I told them," she said quietly, sadness filled her voice.

Junior gently curled an arm around her, "Don't worry about what others think. You have your family and you also have me. You don't need anyone else."

The princess, in response, returned the one arm hug.

"Ok," she whispered.

Finishing off his fourth Koopa bun and half of the shroom roast, Junior pulled out a small box from his shell.

"Alright, now for my present," the prince grinned happily.

"But Junior I-"

"No but's I want you to have this. It would be an insult not to accept it."

Maria simply sighed, acknowledging defeat. Junior held the gift before her and opened it. All he heard was a gasp that escaped his girlfriend's lips.

In the box was a simple, but stunning necklace with a single star in the middle. It reminded her faintly of the item she used to defeat Junior that very afternoon.

"...t-this is beautiful..." the princess whispered, suppressing the urge to cry.

"Glad you like. Can I put it on?" he replied a twinkle sparkled in his eyes.

The princess, overcome with joy, merely nodded.

With the slip of his claws, the jewelry hugged Maria's neck.

"Oh I forget to add something else to my list of Why-you-don't-need-to-give-me-anything," the prince said softly.

"What is that?" the enthusiastic damsel inquired.

Cupping her face the eager koopa stated, "Your kisses."

"Oh," she giggled, leaning forward.

Something stopped the moment between the two because Maria instantly placed her hand in front of her face.

"What's wrong?" Junior froze, realizing her darkened expression.

"My father's here."

"On shore?" the prince asked miserably.

"No, but he's brough half of the navy with him."

The koopa's heart began to race, knowing her father was here could only mean one thing, and it didn't have a happy outcome.

Then Junior caught a scent and recognized it instantly. He always knew that smell every since he was a child, permanently recorded into his mind.

Bowser was here too.

"I guess my dad was pissed about the race and decided to do something about it. Damn bastard," the koopa prince grunted.

"Your dad's here too?"

"Of course, who else would come to attack half of a Kingdom's navy?"

Maria was ready to cry all over again although not for the same reason.

Every since that argument at the tennis tournament, both kingdom went into a serious war.

Only five months after Peach's death, Mario decided to hold a Tennis Competition in the Peach Dome. The Mushroom King even invited Bowser, trying to prove he was ready to move on and began anew. But instead of peacemaking the ruthless tyrant exploded upon Mario blaming him for everything that had ever happened between them, including Peach's death. That had been the last straw, and both kingdoms declared a war. But unlike most wars, each side wanted to wipe away the other, leaving no survivors.

Twelve years later, both kingdoms continued to battle, leaving Bowser Junior and Maria no choice but to keep their relationship a secret.

A drop of water hit the cheek of the amthyst princess, but it dawned on her it was not raining.

"Shoot," she cursed to herself.

Wiping away the tears, a gentle claw stroked the girl's crumpled face.

"Let's go before they see us," Junior murmured.

As they walked up to the top of the hill where the koopa copter was, the couple heard paratroopas walking by.

"Dammit," the koopa whispered, "My dad has the place scanned for toadies. We can't lift off here they'll see us."

"What are we going to do?" she asked nervously.

"Come on, we'll walk through the woods to your place."

"But what about the copter?"

"I'll camouflage it. Don't worry."

With that, Romeo and Juliet rushed into Boo Woods, not even considering the possible danger that lurked within it.

--

The dark trees with ever-following eyes did not help the tense feelings Maria and Junior were already harboring. Ever so often Maria would a noise, and grip Junior's arm tighter which did not make it any better. Rumors about these spooky woods never were cheerful ones, and everything about this place gave him the creeps. But the valiant koopa stood strong never letting on to his girlfriend that he was more that jumpy.

Rustle.

"Junior, I heard something."

"Relax. It was probably just a squirrel or something."

Snap.

"...Junior, are we any closer to my place?"

The prince patted her arm, "We're about half way there. I don't know what's so scary about these woods. There are really not that bad. I think I would even build a summer home here."

Maria chuckled, even in the darkest moments her boyfriend would find some way to crack a joke.

"Boo."

The couple froze, all that could be heard was the heavy breathing of one another and the feel of their hearts pouding. Stricken with fear neither dare to move, hoping what they heard was just he wind.

"...w-was that you?" the princess asked, fretfully.

"...I thought it was you," he responded, every moment becoming more terrifying than the last.

"Die."

Junior and Maria bolted, racing across the forest floor, panic searing through their minds. They did not look back. They were NOT going to look back. Hoping that whoever that was did not follow them, the pair sprinted with all their mighty.

Thump.

Twisting her ankle upon a tree root, Maria's face smacked into the moist earth. She cried out in pain as she tried to move her foot. Junior halted in his tracks and picked her, but something stopped him.

They were surrounded by snickering Boos.

"For bitter rivals, you two look pretty lovey-dovey if you ask me," a voice hissed.

The horrified koopa back away slowly fearing the being who stood before him.

King Boo.

"What the hell do you want?! Let us alone!" Junior barked trying to hide the terror in his eyes.

"Such big words for a small boy. Why don't you run along and play with your cannons," the king said, speaking with a sibilant as he talked, "Just need a moment with Maria."

"Like hell you do. Don't even think of touching her."

"No, no, quite the contrary. I only wish to speak to her, to ask something of great importance."

"Like?"

A deadly and malicious grin spread across the ghost's pale face.

"Where is Peach's body?"

Okay! Finally Chapter 4 ended! Oh my gosh I thought this chapter would never end! I'm sorry it took so long! Actually I planned to make this chapter a little longer, but I realized I could work it into the next one. And I apologize for the short race scene, but I'm terrible when it comes to that. XD Tell me how Maria is because this is the first time you see some really interaction between Junior and other people. I don't want her to be Mary Sue. (As I have stated before) Tell me what you think. It may be awhile for Chapter 5 because I need to throughly plan it out. (I don't want it to be boring).