Mario races up the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him. Luigi was ahead of him, having longer legs. Peako, Pea (The small bean that fell in the hole with them), and Lady Lima were all right behind him. He pants out as he runs, "What is Cackletta after?"

Lady Lima, who had great stamina for such an old woman, replies, "Probably the Beanstar! We at the castle are its guardians! We are meant to protect it from evil doers like that witch!"

Is it that powerful? Mario shakes his head as they finally reach the top of the stairs. The Beanstar was already gone. There was an evil cackle above their heads and Mario knew who it was before looking up. Cackletta was hovering above them in her chair as she laughs at the sorry sight below her. Peako had hidden behind Mario again in fear of the sorceress above them. "It's too late plumber bros! I already have what I came for! Besides, didn't you come to visit her majesty? How rude it is for you not to introduce yourselves to her, don't you think queenie?" There was a mighty roar as a green he-man of a queen appears and stomps towards the brothers. As she begins her attack, Cackletta flies off laughing. "I'll leave you to your little chat!"

Mario turns his gaze back to the giant Beanbean starts beating her chest. Lin comes and says, "Battle with Queen King Kong, take one!"

Mario and the gang back away as the queen approaches them. Mario starts to frantically look for an opening before throwing all caution to the wind and jumping at her. His feet connect with one hand and she shakes her fist as if in pain before sending it into Mario's stomach. Mario flew back into a wall as a loud sound erupts in the room as Peako slowly pushes the monster back with a steady note. (Musical that is.) Mario gasps for breath as he stands up. Must get rid of that stupid crown. Her head is probably the weak point. He pushes away from the walls and motions to Luigi. "Go for her head!"

Luigi who was cowering in the corner nods his head shakily and turns to the queen. Luigi pulls his hammer and jumps at her head. He knocks the impossibly pointy crown off with one swing and then jumps to safety as Mario swings his own hammer into a spot on her head, knocking her unconscious. She did manage one more punch into Mario's gut before passing out on the floor. Mario doubles over in pain as he lands. Lady Lima ran past to the queen immediately and gasps before mourning. "Oh! The poor Queen! She has been forced to swallow a Belly Belch Slug! Oh, our poor queen! What do we do?"

Mario looks her over before looking back up at Lady Lima. "Why not just get it out?"

Lady Lima morns in her sadden voice, "That is impossible! There is no known cure for such a slug. The only thing that might stand a chance in this kingdom is the fabled Chuckola Reserve. It is supposedly somewhere deep in Cucklehuck Woods."

Luigi sniggers at the name as Mario steps forward. "Well get it for you!"

Lady Lima was taken aback. She gapes before regaining senses. "B-But the forest is fraught with dangers and monsters! It is nigh impossible to find such a rare delicacy in the forest! You would either be killed or starved to death before you get what we require!"

Luigi pales greatly but Mario merely smiles and throws his fist into the air. "You seem to have forgotten who I am. I can take of this no problem! Just point me in the direction I need to go and I will get this Chuckola Reserve that you desperately need! I am Mario Mario, Plumber, Adventurer, and Hero Extraordinaire! At your service!"

Lady Lima looked overjoyed at his statement. She claps her hands as Pea pulls out a Broach and hands it to Mario. "Very well Mario, you can get the Chuckola Reserve. We will remain an try to clean up the mess Cackletta made and keep the queen from any more rampages. Please hurry back."

Mario bows then runs off with Peako dragging an unconscious Luigi after him.

"So this is Chucklehuck Woods?"

Peako nods to Mario as she gently rubs Luigi's back to calm him down. If he didn't soon, he was going to faint again. They will need him on his feet when danger comes crawling. Mario shows the broach to the guards and leads the way into the Chuckola Cola factory. Luigi was staring at the exhibits they pass and reads the info under each one. "They tell jokes to make the cola?"

Peako nods. "The more jokes, the stronger the soda. The Reserve is supposed to be the strongest of them all."

Mario leads the group through storage in the factory basement. It was getting pretty dark and hard to see. As they maneuver their way through the maze of barrels, Mario bumps into something soft before leaving the maze where it was lighter. Upon turning around, he realizes that neither Luigi nor Peako were following him. Instead there was a strange Beanbean with a striped shirt and a thieves' mask on.

"YOWOWOWOWOWOWOWO!" Mario screams. The beanbean jumps and runs off in fright as Luigi and Peako make it out of the maze on hearing Mario. Luigi helps Mario up as Peako looks around for any monsters. Mario points in the direction the strange figure went. "There is a suspicious beanbean here and he went that way. He was dressed like a thief."

Peako's thoughts: Is he talking about Popple? What would he be doing here?

The trio head off after the figure in hopes of finding an explanation. As they got close, they hear a voice that seems to be raging and cursing his miserable luck.

Peako's thoughts: Yep, that's Popple.

Mario sees the bean first and taps his shoulder. "Hello?"

"ACK!" Popple jumps into the air and turns to look at who poked him. His eyes became a malicious glare here. "Who are you? WHO are YOU? I am Popple, master theif!"

Mario opens his mouth to speak but gets interrupted by Popple. "Quiet! I'm talking, see? When I talk you listen, see? Now shut yer trap and listen! I came to look for the reserve. The legendary Chuckola Cola Reserve! Finding something as rare and valuable as that would surely challenge my talents, see? Something like that is bound to fetch a high price, see?"

Peako stomps the ground in anger. "That's not FAIR! We need that reserve! It is for anyone that finds it first and no one has ever gone far enough into the forest to find it before. It's too dangerous."

Popple looks Peako up and down before speaking. "Well if it isn't Peako. Came to do another mission for the queen or are you still on the run? I can handle danger, see? I'll be fine, see? With my new partner, I'll be able to find that reserve no problem. ROOKIE!"

A giant, familiar, spiky-shelled, koopa appears. He had a blue mask around his eyes, but there was no mistake who he was. "BOWSER?" Mario and Luigi shout in shock.

Popple didn't seem to hear them as he talks to the koopa. "Rookie! These two hair lips and their girl are trying get to the reserve before us. We will just have to make sure they go no further."

Rookie nods, "Right Boss," but then he turns to look at the two brothers and hesitates. "What is it Rookie?"

"I feel like I have seen those two men somewhere before. As I look at them, I suddenly feel the need to crush them. Do I know them?"

Popple irritably shouts, "It doesn't matter if, where, when, or how you met them! All that matters is that they are in our way, and we must crush them! Now stop reminiscing the past and GET THEM!"

"Yes Boss!"

Mario and Luigi dodge to the side as a hammer lands where they were standing only seconds before. Peako jumps over Popple as the bean tries to tackle her. She smirks and sings as she put Rookie in a trance. Mario saw Popple try to steal from Luigi and hits him with a hammer. Popple rubs his head and grabs the hammer that Rookie threw before hitting him with it. "Get out of La La Land and Get Them!"

Rookie growls as he looks at the Bros. before shout. "I feel so angry I could just…"

Suddenly he blows fire at the heroes. Mario and Luigi jump while Peako dives to the ground. Popple thought this was his chance and tries to smash the poor scribe girl with the hammer her was holding. Mario sees this and quickly signals to Luigi. As they perform Bounce Bros., a sudden change in moves gets the two spinning so that Mario curls into a ball and smacks Popple in the face. Popple flies backwards and skids across the floor into a bunch of barrels. Luigi was also curled into a ball but instead was sent flying into Rookie's face. Rookie fell over and hits the ground hard.

Mario, who had landed first, helps Peako up as Luigi lands next to them. Popple wriggles out of the pile of splinted wood and chuckola fruit. He looks at the scene in front as Mario and Luigi were ready for a round two while Rookie was on the ground and out of strength. He growls, "Despicable! Who took you in when you were lost in Stardust Fields? Who took care of you when you couldn't remember anything? You disgust me Rookie!"

Rookie steadies himself to his feet. "I am so ashamed."

Popple turns his burning glare to the trio and smirks. "Still, this changes nothing! We will find that reserve before you! You will not stop us! We'll get to it first, see? Good Luck!"

The two ran out of their as Rookie and knocks over a barrel to block their path. Once they were gone, Mario passes out the healing shrooms and looks back at the barrel. "Well, at least we now know what happened to Bowser."

Luigi nods. "We'll have to find some way to get his memory back once we find the chance."

Mario nods as he looks to Peako. "He was with us when we were in Stardust Fields. Last we saw him, he was blasted out of a cannon. He may be our enemy but he needs help. Once this is all over, we have to get him back home so we can get his memory back."

Peako looks at him and then smiles knowingly before nodding. "You are an odd hero, Mario. Despite how many times that Bowser has tried to defeat you and kidnap the princess, you always make sure everyone comes out alive and well in the end. Not many heroes show such compassion to their enemies. You are rare gem, Mario. A true hero."

Mario blushes at this as Luigi pats him on the back encouragingly. Mario takes one last look at the barrel. "Let's rest her for a moment. Then we'll keep going"

Hang in there, Bowser! We'll get Peach's voice back and your memory.