I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Company was visiting for the last two weeks, and with most of my time spent with them, and most of my free time spent binging The Owl House season 2, I didn't really have much time to work on this. But oh well, at least it's finally here.
StarlitDuck: Hi! Thanks for the feedback on the chapter. I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed it, even if, looking back, I agree that I had some parts move too quickly. As for Mario's deepest, darkest fears being revealed in the dream; definitely, I actually wrote that part by thinking of what Mario would truly be afraid of. Thanks for reviewing!
Special thanks to StarlitDuck for reviewing, and to Xenyis for following and favouriting.
Now, on with the chapter!
Chapter 2: Mission
Mario and Luigi entered the castle where they were greeted by Yvan the blue toad(1), a cynical toad who had helped them on many of their adventures. He and his brother, Wolley, worked at the castle.
"Yvan" Mario greeted. "We haven't seen you for a while; how are you?"
"Same old, same old" Yvan shrugged. "You know, basic toad duties."
"It's been so long since we had an adventure together" Mario said.
Yvan huffed; "Yeah, I know, I haven't gotten into any of the games recently, barely anyone even remembers my name!"
Still huffing, Yvan led them down a hallway and up several flights of stairs to Peach's personal chambers. There they saw Wolley the yellow toad(1) carrying a platter of tea toward Peach's room.
"Wolley!" Mario exclaimed, excited to see another of his and Luigi's old friends. "How have you been."
Wolley, Yvan's brother, had also helped the Mario brothers on several of their quests to defeat Bowser.
Wolley turned towards the brothers. "I've been great!" he said with a grin. "Princess Peach wanted me to bring up some tea for you two when you came by. Come on in!"
Wolley turned and, balancing the tea in one hand, knocked on the door. While he did this, Yvan glanced at the Mario Brothers, standing beside him, and frowned.
"Luigi" he said, "is your… shirt on backwards."
Luigi sighed and turned to glare at Mario, who sheepishly looked away.
A moment passed, and then the door swung open revealing Princess Peach, wearing her usual pink dress with her long blonde hair falling down her back.
The Princess smiled. "Hello Mario, Luigi."
Mario removed his hat and swept into an overly formal bow. Luigi clumsily followed his example.
"Hello Princess, you look beautiful today" Mario greeted.
Peach smiled and blushed slightly.
Yvan rolled his eyes. "Princess, you had something important to tell the Bros., I believe" he huffed, somewhat impatient.
Peach shot him a stern glance, and Yvan nodded hurriedly.
"No - no rush or anything" He hastily added.
Peach turned her attention back to her guests. "It's good to see you both" she greeted warmly.
"It's good to see you too" Mario said, pulling out of his bow, with Luigi awkwardly following. "So, what's the trouble."
"It's a bit of weird thing" Peach frowned. "Please, have a seat."
The Mario Brothers and the Princess walked over to some large, pink chairs in the corner of the spacious room and sat down. Wolley followed behind and handed each of them in turn a cup of tea. He then handed one to his brother, and kept the last for himself.
"So" Peach began, once they were all seated, "A few nights ago, I got word of a strange attack to a town far to the south, where all of the town's stars were stolen. Supposedly, the attackers were a bunch of shadows."
Mario looked surprised. "Why didn't you call us sooner" He asked.
"Well, honestly, I wasn't sure if I could believe the story or not. The sources that delivered the news didn't seem exactly reliable, and though we sent some Lakitus down to look, we haven't received any information back yet. Also," she paused, looking somewhat sheepish, "I know some of Bowser's minions occupy that town, and I thought he may just be setting up another kidnapping attempt."
"Alright, makes sense" Mario relented.
"Last night, however, things changed" Peach continued. "We received word that a town in Rock Candy Mines(2) was attacked by shadow creatures, and had their stars stolen as well. One attack could be fake, but two similar events within a few nights of each other…"
"Most likely not a coincidence" Mario nodded. He thought for a moment. "And unfortunately, probably something a little more serious than just Bowser being Bowser as well. This seems a bit too complex for him."
"Great" Luigi groaned, "Another villain. Why are there so many evil people here?!"
"Any idea what these shadows could be" Wolley interjected.
"Well, as my bro said, there are a lot of evil people here, so they could really be anything" Mario shrugged. "But, whatever it is, we'll get the job done and figure it out. Come on Luigi, let's get to Rock Candy Mines to investigate!"
Peach hurriedly stood up after them as they turned to leave.
"Mario, I'm coming with you!" She called.
"You are?" Luigi said in surprise.
"Yes."
"Does Toadsworth know" Yvan asked.
"No" Peach smiled. "You can tell him once I'm gone."
As the Mario Bros. And Peach departed from the castle, the Toad Bros. stood at the gates and watched them until they faded from view. Once they were out of sight, Yvan turned to Wolley.
"You know, I've been thinking about these dark shadow things" Yvan began; "Seem pretty strong, don't you think?"
"I guess" Wolley said casually.
"And pretty dangerous, right?"
"Possibly."
"And if they are that dangerous, the Brothers and the Princess are going to need all the help they can get, right?"
"Yeah, I guess they - hey, wait a minute!" Wolley turned and looked his brother straight in the eyes. "You're saying that we should leave the castle and follow them, aren't you."
"Well, I technically hadn't said it yet" Yvan said. He hurried on; "The thing is though, rumours say that these things have apparently been spotted all over the Mushroom Kingdom. If there really are that many of them, then the Mario Brothers and the Princess won't be able to fight off them all."
"So, you're saying that we should follow behind and help them if they get attacked?"
"Exactly!"
Wolley was silent for a moment, then he smiled. "Your just looking for a reason to get to go on an adventure with the Bros. again, aren't you?"
"Yeah, kind of" Yvan said sheepishly.
Wolley pondered this for a moment longer. Truth be told, he two had been itching to go on another adventure, as it had been so long since their last one with the Bros. Besides, Yvan had brought up some fair points about the dangers that may await the other heroes. And the longer he sat here thinking about it, the farther ahead the others would get…
"Okay" Wolley finally relented, "I'm in."
Yvan made a sound similar to that of Mario's "Yahoos" and began hurriedly walking down the steps. He suddenly stopped.
"Wolley," he said, "What are we going to tell Toadsworth? He's not going to be happy to find out that the Princess left, and that we left as well."
"I'll leave him a note" Wolley said thoughtfully. "But, I won't tell him the dangerous bits, you know. No need to get him all worked up over nothing."
So, a few minutes latter, after Wolley left a hastily written note that said something along the lines of "Out on an errand…? Be back soon", the Toad brothers set off after their friends. They were off on a new adventure, and their spirits were high. Unbeknownst to them, a cluster of shadowy figures stood in the bushes, watching as they went.
"Hey, who do you think those guys are" A small, female koopa, asked, peering after the toads.
"Toad Brothers" a goomba responded. "Used to go on adventures with the Bros. all the time."
"Yeah but, like, what are their names" the koopa asked.
The goomba shrugged in annoyance. "They're toads, so if I were to guess, probably something like 'Toad' and 'Toad'."
"Our interest is not in them" a tall, Fuzzy Wiggler(3) said dramatically. "Our job is to get the Mario Brothers and the Princess."
"Really, I thought the Boss said something about children?" The koopa said. "Guess I wasn't listening properly…"
"Shocker there," the goomba griped.
"Quiet, both of you" the wiggler snapped. "We set out now."
The green wiggler marched dramatically out of the bushes, with the koopa following eagerly behind. Sighing in annoyance, the goomba trudged after them.
(1): Yvan and Wolley were the names created by a fan vote at IGN for the Blue Toad and Yellow Toad in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Their names are just navy and yellow spelled backwards. The article about it can be found here: articles/2009/06/15/introducing-yvan-wolley
(2): Rock Candy Mines is the sixth world in New Super Mario Bros. U.
(3): A Fuzzy Wiggler is a type of Wiggler found exclusively in Yoshi's Story. They are fuzzy, green Wigglers with mushrooms on their heads, and they turn purple when stomped on.
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