Chapter 10: The Invasion Part 5: Roasted Mushrooms
09131985
R̴̡̧̡̝̱̺̬͓͉̳̭͇̰̰͂̾̏̎̎̒͌͆́͊́̏̈́̅́͘͜ͅͅR̸̢̨̧̨̝̺̮͉͇̠̖̩͙̱͍͉͎̣̦̮̠̫̳͇͍̥̤̪͈̳̰̜̩̉̾͛̈̈́̈͂͊̏̀̃̅͋̔̾̕͜͠R̶͍̫̖̝̖̲̩͈̝̙͈͍̯̊̉̇͑̎͂̽̾̈́́͗͂͌̌̏͌̅̆̈́̎̚͝͠R̴̢̡̧̡̢̧̨̫͙̳̼̱̤͚͎̱̫̫̳̠̣̯̺̳͙̬̯͎̪̣̝̲̟̬͛́͊̎̂̂̂̀͜͝ͅR̵̢̧̢̧̞͙̥̦̲͔͍̳̬̙̤̻̮͔̥͕̳̩̠͍͐R̴̡̛̛̩̤̪̞͎̫̮̠͖̹̪͍̒̀̒̊̍̋̓̉̈̎̿̋͋́̄̀̓̀̐̚͝͝R̶̡̡̢̞̺̠̩̫̼͖͈̟̜̲͕̟̺̟͚̳̰͈̪̀̀͊̄̉͛̉̏̈́́̀̽̂̃̿̇̄̎̌̚͜Ŕ̶̡̖̦̙̲̥̱̦̞̭͓̝̥͊̒̉̓̋̿̄̓̀͌̾̆̐̔́̈́̔R̴̨̡̨̯̬͎̖̫̫͎̲͎͔̦͕̗͉͇͇͖͓̮͓̗̝͎̪̱̝̮͙̓̒̎̓͗̌̇̌̈́̏̕ͅͅR̸̡̧̨̢̡̝̱̭̺̯̞͖̗̣͙̣͕̹̝̞̣͚͈͇̻̖̱͕̳̘̹̙̞̿̆̈́̿̊̈̆͌͐̒̂̌̌̈̂̐͋̈́̀̈́̈́̏̈́̇̄̈́̐̉͘̚͝͝ͅR̷̢̧̛̲̘̜̙͉̣̘͙̪̼̻̙̯͉͉̞͖̦̜͖̞̫̠̼̟͚̻̼̙̜̜͕̬̲͂̍̽͌̔̅̓̃̏̈́̀̃͒̒͑͑̈́̑̃͒͝͝ͅR̵̨̛͕͔̮̭͚̘̰̝̋̐̆̍̀͒̽̓̃͛́͋̀͊̈͊̿̐̓̾͑̚̚͝R̸̡̨̻͎̩͖͖̣̗̰͈̥̬͚̦̗̲̬̙̬͇̻̥̙͔̦̪̞͉̫̭͎̈́̏͗̈̇͛͑̓̅̏̂͜ͅI̷̢̹̤͖͙̮͈̹̝̺͚̲̜̥̩͇̹͂̌̑̑͒̐̏̔́̋̄̑̽̉͘͜ͅͅI̴̧̨̛̻͉͚̥̗̗̫̳̙͖̺͉͉͖̟͕̹̮͔̪̼̞̺̝͔̼̭͙̰̎̌̇̐͐̈̉͊̓͛̀̉́̒́́͘ͅͅI̸̭͈̦͆͐̓̔̾͂̄̓̀̄̿́̅̒͋͐͒́̌̈͛̓̿̿̑͑̄̎̀͌̋͊͐̚̕͝I̷̡̢̝͈̯̠̘̥͉̝̯͔̹̭͓̘̞̮͙̗͇̙͉͑̾͆̎͗́͌̑̆́̎̀̒̾̈͌̓̊̈̀̈́̏͆̀̾̓̇̉̎̎͘͜͠͝Ï̸̧̧̼͔̼̭̙̙̮̹̟͈̩̻͚̮̪̗͚̣̻̘̜̘̻̆̌̄̓̋́̆̓̅̀̑͑̿̈́̚͝Ì̷̢̛̟̺̲͖͉̳̜̪̣̜̯͚̥͈̞͓̦̝̬̜̯̼̙̭͈̮͔̪̦̻̉̌̑͐̊̓̀̒̐̿̾̍̓́̑͊̂̉̆͘̚̕͜͜͝Ȉ̴̳͔͇̖̍͗I̴͍̟̭̲̫͓͙̱̠͍̻͂͊̑̔̂̉̃͋̌̄̄̀͗͐̍̽̍̏̐͌̿̽͑̽͂̅͂͘̕̕͜͝͝͝Į̸̳͕̳̟͔̣̮̰̯̝̤̫̫̣͈͎̺͉̩̙̣̞̖̯̫̱͇̮̋͐̇͂̽͌̍͆̀͒̔̋͆̒̌̃͒̎̇̿̂͂͊̋̂̃̈̕͘̚͜͝ͅǏ̷̛̲͔̘̖̞̠̝̜̹̦͓̩̟̭̪̤̻̔̋̈́̂̀̀̑̓͒͐̈́̉̇̿̀͂̏̍͛͘̚͜͝͝͠͝ͅI̷̡̢̧̧̛̼̰͍̫̼͈̳̠̣̟̖̜͉̙̖̳̣͈̗̮͓͖͊̂̀͋̿͒͛̏̓̋͜͠I̷̧̢̛̛͔̗̮̭̟̜̙͎͎͍̹̮͚̦̲̥̤̲̥̯̜͙̤͇͖͇̯̞̼̦̻̹̎̔̽̃̅̇̀̈̒̓͗̿̈̀̂̄͒͑͆̿̍̃̂̎̈́̌̕͘̕͝͝͝͝͝Ị̴̡̤̻̣̺̹̮̳̩͇͔̥̯̟̺͔̪̝͙̪̠͇̼̬͓̟̣̮̂̈́̍̿̉͛͊̈́͑̐̒̃̕̚͜͝Ì̷̧̛̲̯͎̱̙̳͖̬̟̠̩̼̺̥̞͔͓̻͍͖̩̥͖͇̼̥̙̍̅͋̀̌̉̐̽̋͋͌̽̍̂̃͋̍̑̔̅̈́̓̄̾̕ͅͅĮ̸̢̢͓̦̥̯̩̪͙̦̰̣̮̝̞̺͇̯͚̇̽̓̄̓͋̏̈̉̈̋Į̷̨̺̜̭̬̖̪͉͓̮̹̦̳̭̩̩̝̺̦̦̹͎̲͙̻͚̩̠̹͎͓̰͈͈͒̃̍̊̽͒͛͌́̓̓͊͑̅̋̌͛̀͆͂̉̇̌̿̽̽̓̃̀̚͠͠͝ͅI̵̤͎̠͕̜̲̺̖̝̍͗̒͘͝͝ͅĪ̸̖̣͈̘̻̙̖̪̻͖̊͑̊͜Į̵̨͓̤̤͇͔͚͙̺̼̣͖̮̠̫̯̱̥̼͔̲̄̓̊̀̓̆̅̔͑̈́͌͆̂͗͘̚͝͝͝͠Ỉ̸̢̟̯̦͇̻͇̟͚̪̤̦͚͉̦̥̘̤̮̦̻̠̅̇̿̀̿̇͆̓̀̑͊̓̃̕͜͠͝Ï̵̧̟̜͕̜̩̣̩̺͈̗̭͙̫̦̥̭̞̭̲̹̮͍̙̤̃̃̚͜͠I̶̡̧̢̨̠͔̠̠͍̠͎̤̞͔̱̗͖͈̳͙̬͚͊͑͋̌́̔̈́͊͌̉͗̂̆͒́̎͊̌̑̚̕͠͝ͅI̷̡̨̛̅̇̒̒̔̏̿͗̃͋̑̐̍͂̈̉̉̌̍̀̈͝Ĭ̷̡̝̦̲̜͓̫̱̗̞̣̣̣̣̼̆̏̈́̉͒̊̒̀́̊̀͘Ï̷̢̨̼̩͔͈̗̮̜̥͓̙̲̱̹̟̺̝͕͉͍̮̳̊I̸̦̖̭̥͎͎͔͍͓̥̞̐͊̐̎̓̈́̈̎͂́̑͂̈̕̕͝I̶̧̢̱̯̺̱̤͔̻̰̺̱̱̪̩̮͌̅̒̔̉̐̌́́̑̀̋̔̈͐́̔̍̂͂͂̌͊̅̎͗̈͒̃̔̔͘͠͝͠I̷̡̡̙̜̰̗̫̣͕͇̥͔͇̻̮͕̞̖͇̻̺͊̐͗̄͆̈̍̏̏̄͗͌̅̓̓̓̌͒̉̌̅̋̄̐̒̒͘̕͜͝͝I̶̡̧̧̳͔̟̘͎̖̣͎̠̲̫̠̩̻̅́̐̄̊̃̄̅͋̔́̎̉̎̑̅̈́͋̇̚̚̚͝͠ͅÌ̸̢̢̢̧̡̠̭͙̜̠̱͙̘̭̗͓͉͖̌͗̈̐͗͒̉I̶̢̡̨̨̢̛̝̹͓̩̘̦̝͇̞̟͈̠̤̹͎̰̫̫̻̙͔̺̽̉̊̈͆͐̄̚̚͜͝ͅÌ̵̡͓̻͚̱̼̘̗͙̲̹͖͙̥͉̙̺̣̙̣̞̮̳̦̰̿̿̌́̕͜Į̸̧̼̱̳̞̰̠̦̬̳̜͕͚̲̼̗̝͎̹̼̺̻̮͕̬͉̭̱̰̝͍͕̌̀͂̍͒̍͐̇̇̓̚͝Í̴̡̢̢̬͉̟̥̥̟̲̘͍̯̺̟͕̳̻͚̟͕̻̘̗̝̲̰͖͕̇̀̌̓̉̾̆́̍̊̾̆͊̾̒̉̈̍̃̇̏̈́̏̏̏͝͠͝͝͠Į̵̢̡̮̳̹̱͖͈̰̦̪̣̜̰̓̓̎̾̒̈́̎͝ͅI̶̧̢̢̧̡͈̫̦̫͖̘͇̫̰͇̹͕̖̫̖̱̱̗̜̬̻̼̺̝͗͐̿͆̽̈́̽̑̕ͅỈ̶̼̥̱̮̙̫̗̖͇̱̊̀̎͂̽́̆̈́͛̈́̄̿̈́͛͗͆̃̊͛̇̈́͊́͘͜͝͝͠Į̵̢̨̛͚̺͖̞̲̩̫͇̩̖͎̥̣̮͉̞̱̗͔̩͖͖̣̤̬͙̱̖̾̉͗͗̆͛̽̾́͌͊͜͠Ỉ̴̧̧̢̛͈̘̗͔̳͙̦̝͖͔̯͕̗̪̟͖͎̦̠̳̺͔̠̺̟̫͎͓̺̟͓̰̃̿̓́̓̓͋̀̒͌̌̅́̑͝͠ͅI̷̭̰̯̒̓̐̓̌̔͌̅̈́̚̚I̵̹̮͉̞̹͕͈̣̐͗̌̈̐͛̑̏̇̂̋̿͊̄̾̉̿̈́̓̃̃̑̉͒́͐̏͘͝͠ͅÎ̶̛͙͉̙̘̫̔͗̽̏̽͛͋̎̊̿́̓͒̾̀͑́̓̌̄͆̆̽̀̋́͊̅͘̚̚͠Ḯ̵̢̡̛̛̩͎͇̘̭̺̰̝̝̪̯̙̼̟̩̙̩͎̟̇̄̉̌́̊̇̔̅̑̂͊̇̽̀͛̃̓͆͂͊̃̒̀́̀̌͛̚͠͠ͅI̶̢̯̯̭̯̲̣̯̲͚̭̗͎̮̜͈̱̮̤͚͈͓͎̤̳̳̖̗̞̤̔̍̓͑͆͆͆̉̎̏̀̈̽̊̂̓͜͜͜͝͠Ĭ̷̧̛̛̛̛̭̹̱̳̫̞͚̤̠̫̼̠̜̺̳̱͔̺̳̙̱̥͙̰̬͖̥̱̳͋͂̉̌̈̆͗͗͗̽̉́̈́̑͐͒͗͂̓͗͐̂͋̂́͗̀̉̇̚͘͝ͅP̸̨̡̛̬̩̤̟̩̩̟͔̝̠͕̬̬̲̺̩̭̤̟͊͛̋͂̽̑̀͒̈́͆̌̅̔̍́̐̅̑̀̉͆͝͝ͅ
It was a quiet day in the Mushroom Kingdom, clear skies and calm energy abound as the notorious Koopa King Bowser was nowhere to be found. Without their number one adversary to be worried about, the inhabitants of the Kingdom enjoyed the peace and quiet, with a pair in particular having a skip in their step.
"Man, it sure is nice of the Princess to invite us over for tea Mario" Luigi said, the green adorned overall wearing plumber turning his head to see his older brother. Though he had to look down slightly as the taller of the two siblings, his red clad brother smiled back and nodded, the two keeping up their pace as Mario twiddled with his mustache, his white gloved hand teasing the tips of his stache.
The pair was quite the celebrity duo, having done their job to stop Bowser and his many cohorts and save the Kingdom countless times over the years. As a result they were rather close friends with the illustrious leader of the Mushroom Kingdom, the beautiful Princess Peach, who often invited them to the castle when she wasn't busy getting kidnapped. Once more the two had received their usual invitation, inviting them for afternoon tea and perhaps a spot of tennis or golf if the mood arose.
"You got that right Luigi, now let's get a move on, the Princess is waiting for us! Wahoo!~" Mario replied, picking up his pace from a brisk walk to a run, as his taller brother had to chase after him. The plumbing siblings' home was a fair distance away from Peach's Castle, but nothing beat a good jog along the grassy path to get their blood pumping to wake up in the morning. As they both ran, Marios footsteps turned into a jump, followed by a second, much higher jump, and ending in an impressive triple jump flip, showing off his outstanding acrobatic abilities in spite of his somewhat portly appearance.
"Wait up bro!" Luigi belted out as he pursued his excited older brother, the taller of the two showing his own mobility, leaping clean off the ground as his legs kicked at the air, holding his air time a fair amount longer than his brother before he landed, stumbling slightly as he did due to some shaky stones where his feet landed. "Woah! Jeez, was the road always this bumpy?"
"I don't think so bro…" Mario trailed off as he came to a stop, Luigi catching up to his spot as they surveyed the road ahead of them. The normally quiet, stone path around a grassy open plan looked like a twister had blown through it. The rocky road was cracked and split into pieces at times, parts of the terrain blown off, some areas smoldering and showing little signs of plantlife, as though they were burned to a crisp.
"Oh brother…Did we miss a Bowser invasion? This can't be good" Mario pondered, a gloved hand to his chin. Taking a moment to look at one another, the two brothers silently nodded and turned this jovial jog into a full on run, determined to put a stop to Bowser's newest plot. "You think maybe he called up some others for help this time, Luigi? This seems a bit more destructive than normal for Bowser."
"Maybe he took notes from the Shroobs, bro? They certainly weren't interested in holding back when they showed up here." Luigi shivered at that thought, not wanting to have to relive that incident with the alien invaders, and all the wacky events that unfolded in the duo's quest to stop the Shroobs' invasion. "Though I suppose even Bowser wasn't exactly happy with their approach to trying to take over either, they attacked him too after all."
"True! Then again he's tried taking over the universe, and that didn't really work either, so maybe he's just trying something new?" Mario quipped, the two still rather lighthearted about the whole ordeal, having grown used to Bowser's attempts to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom to the point where even mid-crisis they could make jokes about it. "Oh! Up here, we'll be able to see the Castle from atop the hill!" The Italian added, racing his brother to the top to get a view of what all was going on.
"Oh yeah bro, let's do it!" Luigi replied, sprinting up to the top and sliding across the dirt to the top of the hill to see the castle in the distance, coming to a stop right beside Mario.
"Oh my…" Mario's voice trailed off, his eyes wide as bowling balls, just as his brothers were, the two slack jawed at what they were seeing. In the distance, the beautiful Castle that Princess Peach called home, had been set ablaze, trails of fire raging across the normally serene red and white structure, some of the exterior pillars having collapsed from the flames. The surrounding village of Toads wasn't much better, the normally lively and colorful toad houses showing serious signs of damage, fires raging across several buildings, some having already fallen in on themselves. The multi-colored Toad residents of the village were scattered, many screaming in terror as they fled for their lives from the invaders wreaking havoc on their homes.
Luigi took a step forward past his brother, hand on the red plumber's shoulder as both of them tried to find their voices. Neither was prepared for the sheer destruction they were seeing, Bowser's forces while evil were never this…vicious. Mario grabbed his brother's hand on his shoulder as the two moved forward, slowly progressing towards the Toad village as they finally managed to get a view of the invaders.
These were no Goombas or Koopas that they knew. These invaders were far more menacing, towering, metal clad, bug like creatures with jawlike claws, that appeared capable of firing energy blasts from them, as many of them blasted the ground around the Toads, sending many of the much smaller, sphere-headed Mushroom inhabitants flying from the ensuing explosions. It wasn't just a small number of these alien invaders either, there were dozens of them, swarming the area as they emerged from a number of heavy-armored metal ships, descending upon the village as even more ships hovered around Peach's Castle, energy turrets aiming around it and occasionally launching volleys down on the inhabitants. All the while, a menacing shadow of some large creature was visible within the smoke coming from Peach's Castle
"What…is happening here…" Mario finally said, baffled and horrified at what he was seeing. The normally fearless hero of the Mushroom Kingdom was shaken by the absolute mayhem on full display before him and Luigi, and it took his brother shaking his shoulders to get him to finally look away from it.
"Mario, focus on me." Luigi said, locking eyes with his big brother. Normally the much more timid of the two, Luigi's time ghost hunting had done wonders for making him have to tackle his fears head on, but seeing his normally stoic and heroic brother freeze up, it was not normal. And yet, he knew that feeling all too well, and he knew how he could help. "Peach is still inside I bet, and she needs our help. Whoever these guys are, they aren't Bowser. This invasion isn't the same as the Koopas marching in and declaring they're in charge now, this is much worse. It's scary, very scary. But you got me, and I got you. We got each other's backs, and we can do this, right?"
"...You're right. I've got you bro" Mario said, nodding as he seemed to find some peace of mind, his brother's reassurance letting the plumber remember he isn't alone. The red clad plumber took a moment to shake off the fear from himself, his green adorned brother imitating the action to get himself warmed up, as the two nodded at one another once again before turning their attention back to the Toad Village. "Let's a go!"
Hearing his brother's famous phrase, Luigi smiled and gave his own accompanying "Okie dokey!" Before the two charged headlong into the village, intent to put a stop to this alien threat right here and now. The dynamic duo darted daringly through the blazing buildings, ducking and jumping under and over the burning wreckage before they crossed paths with the alien invaders.
Getting the drop on the aliens, who had not yet detected their presence, the bros quite literally dropped in, stomping down on some of them with their boots, using their body weight to send several of the bugs into the dirt. Once they landed on the ground itself, they put their fists to work, the bros back to back as they called out when either of them had an alien about to strike, to warn the brother blind to the incoming blow. Having years of practice to rely on, the two were able to seamlessly call out and avoid both the attacks they could and couldn't see, their own fists and feet flying to knock the aliens off of their feet and away from them, as they easily cleaned the crowd around them.
"Phew…To think I was worried" Mario said, smirking as the confidence was back on his face, making his brother chuckle as he stepped away from Mario's back.
"You know bro, it says a lot when I had to be the big brother for this" Luigi quipped, making both bros laugh at their brief role reversal. Taking only a moment to focus back on their main mission, the two turning their heads toward Peach's Castle. There still stood a plethora of invaders on the ground between them and the Castle, but that wasn't going to stop them. "Still, I can't say I've ever seen bad guys like these before…If they are aliens, they're definitely not the Shroobs."
"Whoever they are, they're not welcome here, that's for sure!" Mario replied, taking a moment to crack his knuckles, giving a mustachioed smile to his brother. "Let's give these guys a good old fashioned Mushroom Kingdom welcome, bro!"
"You bet Mario!" Luigi agreed as the charged at the incoming aliens. The duo's experience working in tandem added up as both bros seamlessly smashed their way through, using one another to vault over the aliens to strike them from multiple directions.
The invaders themselves were clearly not prepared for the bombastic movement the plumbers had mastered, their attempts to swipe with their claws or fire beams of energy easily avoided by the dynamic duo. As far as they could tell, these red and green warriors outmatched them despite their numbers advantage, as the patrol team was overwhelmed and sent flying one by one, unable to keep up with their attacks, the head of the group feeling a strong impact of Mario's boot to his cranium as he's slammed into the ground.
"Well, they don't seem to be putting up as much of a fight as we may have thought bro" Mario smirked, dusting his gloves and adjusting his red cap. "What say you and I head for the castle and ta-"
"SCRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
A thunderous roar rang out from the Castle, cutting off Mario as the bros gazed up in that direction. The hazy smoke billowing out above the castle was starting to clear, as the silhouette inside grew larger, before breaching the smoke and appearing in the twos vision.
It was a massive creature, reminiscent of the Ruined Dragon Mario had fought when chasing Bowser across the world. This dragon however, was a much scrawnier beast, its body more slender yet still muscular, ribcage showing against its purple skin, razor sharp talons present at the ends of its front and back claws. A pair of smaller wings flapped occasionally to keep the beast airborne. Its pterodactyl-like head glared down at the two plumbers, a pair of sickly yellow eyes staring at them as its tongue lay with its rows of shark teeth, the creature's mouth agape. To top it all off, a long, boney tail snaked around behind the dragon, ending in a knife's edge of a tip.
The beast glared menacingly at the two, its tail flicking back as the tip stabbed into the roofing of the castle, digging into the central tower's red roof and dragging along it, tearing apart the bricking like it was paper. The dragon slowly descended before the two, rising up slightly before slamming its claws into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that blew out around it. Even now that it was on the same terrain as the two the dragon towered over them, well over fifteen feet tall as it let out another earth-shaking roar.
"SCRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
Both brothers held fast, though had to cover their ears so they wouldn't bleed from the creatures roar. "Well, I suppose you're the one leading this invasion." Mario deduced, locking eyes with the towering dragon. "You're a lot scrawnier than Bowser…But much bigger. Guess that balances out, but you aren't welcome here!"
"Yeah, pick on some plumbers closer to your size!" Luigi added as both brothers turned their heads to one another. They silently nodded in agreement as they focused their attention on the dragon, his tail snaking around behind him like a cobra waiting to strike. "Ready bro?",
"Mmhmm Luigi. Let's A Go!" Mario cried out.
"Okie Dokey!" Luigi added as they both charged.