After having exitted Goomba Village he had been walking with a purpose towards his destination. If he remembered correctly, he'd just have to go back to Toad Town and then go past the princess's castle to make it to Shooting Star Summit. He had to wonder though what exactly the spirit exactly wanted to tell him. How peculiar, but he had to go there as they kept answers that could potentially help guide him. A clue of where to go is always necessary in a quest, and this isn't any different. His mind stayed focused on that as he traveled, battling here and there with each random encounter.
"Hey hey! Hold it right there! You! Yeah you, suspicious guy! Don't move!" he heard a rowdy and somewhat scratchy voice call out, disrupting his train of thought. Mario eyes widened and he indeed halted as two figures approached. One red, and the other blue. The red one spoke up once more with a proud smirk on his face, "Aha, you're Mario! I knew it. You can't go past here, Mr. Big Shot. It's a direct order from the Goomba King. That's right! I'm sorry, but the only way by is through the Goomba Bros. That's me, Red Goomba, and my brother, Blue Goomba. Let's get him, Blue Goomba!" The blue one nodded, sharing a similar expression though his voice greatly differed, his being extremely raspy and softer, "Oh yeah! Let's do it, my red brother!"
They went to engage in battle and the plumber braced for what was about to come. They were goombas, so it shouldn't be too difficult but the different coloring was something to be worried about. Most goombas were plain and were mostly brown and muddy but these two shown off vibrant colors. Perhaps this meant they were stronger or higher up in rank than the usual minions? They should still have the same moveset though. Dash and hit with the head- hard. The plumber prepared his hammer and sprinted over, giving a big old whack to the blue one first. He seemed a bit weaker and easier to take out. In response, the blue one shrieked, "Mario! How'd you like some of this?" He picked up a foot off the ground with a scowl on his face. Mario shut his eyes, waiting for the attack.
Except it never happened. Sure, he heard battle cries- but he didn't feel a thing. Slowly, he opened an eye to see someone new. Their back was turned, but from what he could tell they had a messy mop of brown hair and wore mostly black. A spy, perhaps? Opening both of his eyes, he saw the two brothers retreat with incredible speed. This he was certainly not expecting today. A rather odd change to the system, but he was grateful nevertheless. He directed his attention back to the mystery person in front of him. He still had yet to see the other move. It was as if he was a colored statue. It was rather unnerving. After a while, the plumber grew nervous with the silence and cautiously walked up to the other, poking them on the shoulder. They spun around abruptly, forcing Mario to stumble backwards. Looking at him, he was able to notice more about him. He was relatively tan with dirt smudges and some odd dark red stain on his face in various places. His eyes were an ice cold blue, his eyebrows furrowed. His hair was still the messy brown mop it was, but the bangs seemed to be a bit more tidy than the back. He was rather short and wore a black hoodie with some white lettering on it. It was impossible to read though as most of the letters had fallen off but he could take a pretty good guess at what it was supposed to say. Most likely either his name or who he worked for- and with the few pieces of it left it didn't take that much to figure out. Bowser. It seemed like it was just a switcheroo for who he had to fight now. Wonderful. Two guards turned to one. He was going to roll his eyes until he noticed one thing-
His teeth. They were sticking out like all the others but there was something different. He didn't have fangs. No, they were rounded bumps that made him look a whole lot less threatening and a whole lot more dorky. There couldn't have been many like him out there. No, there couldn't. It had to be this guy. "Hey! You're that Mario guy, ain't ya'?" he suddenly stated. It wasn't a question- he could tell. "Alright, don't sweat it! I'm just here to carry out something that those two couldn't. Don't worry, it'll be quick, trust me on it!" he grinned as he spoke. Mario raised an eyebrow. This didn't sound like it was going to be good. "I see you got a hammer there! A reeeaal helpful one, if you ask me. You're pretty lucky, you know," the goomba said as if he was trying to delay something. Though this time, there was something about his voice. Yes, it had a ring of irritation when he said 'hammer.' Though he could've sworn there was something different. "A little old though. It seems more suited to fixing a gate or something, you know? Maybe a veranda?" He put a finger on his chin and looked as if he had to think that one out, as he paced around in a circle around the hero. "Nevertheless, where are you headed? I assume you're going to Shooting Star Summit as there's not really much to see in Toad Town."
Huh, this guy seemed to be creating small talk. This was an odd encounter to say the least. Then something hit him. This guys voice- he had heard it before! He know he did. It was the same as that voice inside his head! It was one and the same. Though along with this conclusion also came a hit to the head. Backing up, Mario rubbed his head and saw the other land on their feet. It seemed as if he had initiated a fight at last. This didn't look like it was going to be pretty. Mario took his hammer and dashed over, swinging it upward to hit the other in the chin- to which he was successful. It didn't seem like the other experienced pain for too long though as they had already started to attack, landing on the man's head once more then bouncing off and onto the ground. Turning around, he noticed the other was rubbing his chin. To this, he smiled knowing he actually did some damage at least equal to the goomba's headbonks. Perhaps it'd do some good to do something similar now? He ended up running once more but jumped up high into the sky, his feet stomping on his opponent's head before he flipped off and landed onto the ground. The other was starting to grow annoyed. He then started reciting something. "It's Mario! He's here to save Princess Peach, who was kidnapped by Bowser. He has a max of 10 HP right now and 5 FP. He's got an attack power of 1 and a defense of 0. Despite this, he's pretty well known for being able to beat all sorts of people, so I'd stay on guard!" he concluded. It was almost as if he scanned him. It was odd, how he just seemed to be able to recite this stuff. Then his eyes widened. He definitely knew who this was at this point. He had to get this over with for sure now. He doubted that the other would listen to him just in the middle of a battle. With a new goal in mind, Mario rolled up his sleeves and rushed over hopping up a bit to which the goomba sidestepped. Right before he landed with a miss, the plumber took out the hammer and swung it to the side, hitting the boy. He didn't like to use such a tactic so often, but the quicker this could get done, the better. It seemed like his enemy was improving and learning how to dodge anyway. The minion got up on his feet with a heavy grunt after being knocked away and grinded his teeth before he went back to headbonk him with success. He wasn't going to be through just yet. Mario frowned and ran over towards the other once more, jumping into the sky once more. The goomba moved forward to avoid this which caused a grin to appear on the plumber's lips. He landed on the grassy ground and turned around, launching a hand out towards the boy and with a swift movement grabbing the hood and pulling it over his eyes. "Agh hey! Let go!" the boy squirmed in his grab and Mario obeyed the command, letting go of the hood, letting the goomba have vision once more. Not before Mario took his hammer and swinging forward and slightly upward at the boy's back, sending him off a good distance.
The boy laid there for a good while groaning as the red-clad hero walked up to him and crouched down, offering out a hand. The goomba scoffed at this, rolling his eyes and slowly got up himself, rubbing his back. Then he saw something shoved into his face. It was blue. He lowered it and looked at Mario as if asking about it. Mario once more shoved it towards him with a gentle smile on his face. He hesitated and stared at it before he accepted the item. He looked at it to see that it was a blue cap. He raised an eyebrow at this. Why was he being given a blue cap? Why was Mario giving it to him? The guy he just challenged. He analyzed it closer and then he realized- he knew this cap. His eyes widened and felt something caught at his throat, whipping his head back up to face Mario. The mustached man simply nodded at him before giving a thumbs up and a wink, showing off a bit of teeth.
Mustering up some courage, he asked, "Wh.. How did you get this?" He felt as if he was going to cry just looking at the hat in his hands. It was a regular old hat but merely seeing it reminded him of many things. His family, the life he left behind, and most importantly his decision. He was given a shake of the head as a response which just made him even more curious. "Di..Did you see Goombaria? Is she okay? Why'd she give you this? Co.. Come on, please. Please talk to me, Mario! Please! I beg of you!" he shouted out, his mind getting flooded with so many conflicting thoughts. To his disappointment, the man nodded his head, giving a sort of sympathetic smile. He rubbed his eyes and bit his lip, looking away for a bit as he clenched the hat tightly. He turned around, showing only his back to the plumber. He started walking away, but then stopped. "...Th.. Thanks. I owe you one, Mario. I owe you one!" There was something in the back of his mind wanting to tell the hero to wait, but he held back. Instead, he said, "..Good luck. You've got a princess to save." With that, he ran off. Mario stood there, blinking for a few moments before he continued onward with a smile on his face.
He hoped that kid did well in life.
