2005 September 14th

Mushroom Kingdom

Panting in the middle of nowhere, Mario, Luigi and Pauline have found themselves in a world where a so-called cosplayer is living, leading the trio to sit by a mushroom.

"It can talk… How did it understand our language?" Mario asked.

"How should I know? If Peach was around, she'd be answering where we are and who she is." Luigi said.

Luigi then raises his head up and looks at Pauline, knowing how equally scared she was as well as Luigi himself, even Mario is overwhelmed.

"So… Camping, you say?" Luigi asks.

"I said we'll camp somewhere, when there is NO ONE around!" Pauline let out a heavy sigh while trying to breathe.

"Ugh… Mama mia… Bro, do you have any ideas?"

Mario stands straight up as he stops panting, turning around as he looks serious this time.

"We'll go with your plan. Let's find princess and ask her how we got here, where is this place, what are these people."

"Uh, we went in by the sewers yesterday, you weirdo." Said Pauline, pointing out what happened earlier.

"I know, but what kind of teleportation we took to get into this world." Said Mario.

"I think it's gotta be the unusual looking pipes." Luigi had a thought that they entered this place because of the very things he and Mario tampered with.

"Hmm… You do have a point. Mario, what do you think?" Pauline asked.

"I think so too. If anything, princess must've gone through one of those pipes." Mario agreed. "Let's-a-go. Maybe someone familiar to us will eventually help us get out of this Mushroom Kingdom thingy."

Finally, the trio are starting to walk together through the fields while avoiding anything unusual in this fantastical world.

But they're not only surrounded by mushrooms, but unusual turtles, brown armless mushroom creatures and eyeless plants that bite.

This gives the trio the creeps as Mario is guarding both Luigi and Pauline and pulls out his spanner like a weapon.

"Stay behind me, guys… These guys look like they're trouble." Mario whispers.

"How can you tell?" Pauline hisses.

"That one says it all." Luigi whispers while he points at an eyeless plant from the pipes that's been biting. "That one is mean looking" Luigi then points at a brown armless mushroom creature.

"Okay, you make a good point, but there's no telling if they bite or not." Pauline said.

"I don't know. But for now, we must sneak past and find our way out." Mario leads the way as he, Luigi and Pauline are hiding behind the mushrooms in order to not get caught.

The language the creatures are speaking are very foreign which is like how animals are difficult to understand. But the turtle's strange babbling and the mushroom creature's strange squeak are communicating as if they understand each other.

Under the blue sky with less clouds, Mario is leading the way out, not knowing which way he is going.

Then, a sign that says 'Mushroom Kingdom' to the left and 'Grasslands' to the right, leading the trio to stare at the signs while thinking what to do next.

"Hm. Now what? We're introduced to the world that is called on the left side, so why is it called Mushroom Kingdom when it's literally just a kingdom." Pauline asked, confused about the term between the world itself and the kingdom they're near.

"Good question. Maybe this Kinosen kid just had a flawed view on what Mushroom Kingdom was." Said Mario.

"But where does it lead us back to our homes?" Pauline asked another question.

"I'm not sure. But the one with mushrooms on its head must be from the kingdom." Mario assumed.

"So maybe Grasslands is where we were earlier? There isn't a third sign." Luigi points out.

"Huh? Then what is this place called?" Pauline is just as surprised as Mario after seeing no third sign.

"Maybe we stumbled into a confidential zone." Mario turns to his behind as he's curious to know why.

"Oh, that's because the sign is old. You're in the mushroom forest." A familiar voice called, causing Mario, Luigi and Pauline to halt as they're starting to sweat bullets out of fear.

As the trio turns around with fear lurking behind them, the trio yelps as they jump backwards and land on their backsides at the same time, leading Mario to pull out his spanner out of his overalls again while Luigi and Pauline hide behind him.

"Woah! Easy, guys! I'm not your enemy!" A different yet strange mushroom creature waves his arms without any hostility.

"Who are you? How did you understand our language?" Mario grunts while guarding his siblings from any danger.

"As expected, you humans are easily hostile towards us toads." A white toad with red spots sighed.

"Toads? As in toadstools?"

"That's right, short man in red! I am Toad! Strange name, I know, but I am Princess Peach's loyal partner!" Toad introduces himself proudly.

Silence, the trio are staring at Toad with hostile looks, knowing he may or may not attack.

"Haah… Listen, I'm not going to hurt you three. I'm not like these guys you see." Toad explains.

"Huh? Are you sure?" Luigi asks before getting his head pushed down by Pauline.

"I don't believe you. You might be those monsters that bite." Pauline hisses at Toad while hiding behind Mario.

"Come on, lady in white pyjamas and red gown, what makes you think that? Unless I'm a chain chomp, then I'll bite." Toad teases the trio by pretending to bite in the air.

"See what I mean!? You freaks are the same!" Pauline snapped.

"Man, why're you humans so weird? None of us are the same." Toad shakes his head with disappointment after leaving a bad impression to those outsiders.

"Really now. Hey, at least you're not as threatening as those mean looking guys back there." Luigi said with a positive tone.

"Luigi!?" Pauline exclaimed.

"I know, Pauline, but if we trust him for once, then he'll help us get back to our world." Luigi said.

"Surely you can't trust this thing! Mario, tell him!" Pauline went to her hands and knees as Mario turned his head.

"I know, Pauline. But Luigi's right, if we trust that creature, the chances are that we'll be able to make it back quickly." Mario concludes while standing up.

"At least the green guy understands. C'mon, lady, we'll help you get back home, okay?" Toad said.

Pauline groans as she feels defeated, knowing that her little brothers are being too trusting towards the little creature that is Toad.

"Fine… Do whatever you want." Pauline mutters.

"Sweet! Now let's go to the Mushroom Kingdom. I'll introduce my friends to you guys."

"Thank you, Toad." Luigi pulls his cap down while thanking Toad.

Mario then places his hand onto Luigi's shoulder.

"Luigi, I need to borrow your medallion."

"Huh? Why?" Luigi asks, confused about why Mario needed it.

"If they see you with it, then they'll go after you. It's for the best that I'll keep hold of it." Mario explains his reason.

Before Luigi pulls the medallion out of his neck, Toad gasps as he dashes towards the trio with surprise.

"That mark! You, green guy, what's your name!?" Toad asks with a surprised reaction.

"Um… Luigi." Luigi revealed his name which surprised Toad.

"Luigi, huh? Did the princess tell you what this is?"

"Yeah. I think it was something to do with some immortal people she said to me earlier." Luigi points out.

"That's right. It belonged to the oldest civilization and must've been involved with one of them." Toad points at Luigi, thinking about what happened to him in his childhood.

"Me?" Luigi points at himself with surprise.

"Surely you must be mistaken for someone else." Pauline said while blocking Luigi from Toad.

"I'm not sure myself, but knowing where that medallion came from, Luigi had some involvement with these people." Toad admitted and then turned towards Mario and Pauline. "What about you, man in red, stubborn lady in white pyjamas and red gown, what're your names?" Toad asked confidently.

"Mario." Mario introduces himself by pulling his cap.

"I'm Pauline. So what you're saying is that we're stuck with you until we find our way out?" Pauline asks as her tone is getting calmer.

"Yep. But there's nothing to worry about. As long as we're here, you're safe with us." Toad laughs.

"See, Pauline, there's nothing to worry about." Luigi said with a positive expression.

"I get you, but we need to stay cautious. Looks can be deceiving, you know, and I'm certain that he may or may not be a liar." Mario said while keeping himself on guard.

As Luigi hands Mario the medallion with Mario putting it in his pocket, he, Luigi and Pauline are nodding together and follow Toad towards the Mushroom Kingdom.

The path is clearer with the trio looking around their surroundings, seeing as the world is so unusual, even Mario himself is as nervous as Luigi and Pauline.

"Those mean brown mushrooms are called goombas. They may be peaceful, but they're threatening to bite. The turtles you see are koopa troopas and the plants out of the pipes are piranha plants. They're dangerous, so don't interact with them." Toad warned.

With the trio nodding, the fields are peaceful as the breeze is cooling them down as they walk together.

Before they continue, the 4 halt, encountering a familiar one in a pink dress, Princess Peach Toadstool.

"P- Princess! Your majesty! I found these people in a forest and they wanted to go back home." Toad bows as Mario, Luigi and Pauline gasps with surprise.

"Really? Hm, I hope those strange-" Peach cuts herself off, witnessing the people that are right in front of her after yesterday. "Wha!? Pauline!? Luigi!? Shortstack!?"

"Long time no see, princess." Mario places his hand on his hip while looking at Peach coldly.

"Wait… Oh! So you guys know each other! I was right the first time!" Toad can see why the trio mentioned Peach earlier.

Pauline finally stormed towards Peach and yanked her dress top while glaring into her eyes.

"Take us back right now!" Pauline growled.

"Wait! Hold on!? What's gotten into you all of a sudden!?" Peach exclaimed.

"We're stuck in your world and now your little friend over here is trying to help us get out!" Pauline shouts as Mario and Luigi pull Pauline back away from Peach.

"Apparently, we messed up." Luigi admitted.

"Huh?" Peach raises her eyebrow out of curiosity, thinking what made them mess up.

"Let's just say you left this house without telling us, we entered the sewers and we unintentionally damaged the pipes, flooding us to your world and now here we are." Mario explained.

"You did WHAT!?" Peach explodes with shock and anger. "You mean none of us can go back to your world!?"

"Wait, what?" The trio stops after hearing about not going back.

"You destroyed our only way to the outside world! That means I can't do more research on your world!" Peach is devastated, knowing her plan is no longer in use anymore.

This leads the trio to drop down on their knees at the same time, dreading the very thing that they completely vandalised.

"Oh mama mia…" Mario and Luigi said at the same time.

"That means we'll be stuck here forever…" Pauline gasped.

"Yeah. You doomed yourselves. But hey, at least Peach isn't the only human in this kingdom!" Toad tries to stay positive, but Pauline drops her head down to the ground.

"AAAAAAARGH! WE'RE DOOMED!" Pauline yells out of dread.

"I guess there's no need for a search party this time. Hahaha…" Laughing before losing his mind, Mario knows what he did was all his fault.

"No! Not like this!" Luigi pants out of fright, realising that there's no going back.

Peach can see the fears behind those humans which led her to realise that she accidentally led Mario and his siblings to their uncertain doom, knowing Mario is not the only one at fault.

Lowering her head, Peach knew she made another mistake.

"Looks like they're gonna have to get used to it, princess." Toad said with a serious expression.

"Yeah…" Peach agreed.

With Peach taking a few steps forward, she clears her throat and pat Mario's head, Luigi's nose and Pauline's shoulder, only to calm them down.

"It's unfortunate that we won't be able to visit Brooklyn again, but the least I can do is to give you guys a tour." Peach said while keeping her cool.

"I guess we have no other choice… Luigi, Pauline, let's face reality and spend the rest of our lives here. We can start anew. We'll still be plumbers, Luigi, and Pauline can find a new job." Mario said while lifting Luigi and Pauline up.

"Bro…" Luigi can see that Mario is never giving up when the situation is dire.

"You never fail to impress me, little bro. Alright, but we need to learn the culture of this Mushroom Kingdom." Pauline too accepts the fact that they're now stuck as Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants.

"Good. Now we're on good terms for now." Mario laughs and then turns around towards Peach with a confident look on his face. "Princess, lead the way."

"Actually, I'll lead the way!" A voice of an old man called in a similar language to humans and toads.

"Huh?" The group stops as Peach and Toad gasps in shock.

"Everyone, ru- GAH!" Peach yells as a magical blue rope caught onto not just Peach, but Mario, Luigi, Pauline and Toad.

"What the heck!?" Mario grunts.

Above the group are a horde of turtles and a wizard holding his wand, laughing in the faces of 4 humans and a toad.

It feels as if they're surrounded by a bunch of intruders or cops from this world.

"Hm? Three more humans? Ain't that your lucky day, my lord." A blue cloaked wizard said proudly.

"Lord?" Mario, Luigi and Pauline look at each other with confusion.

"Oh no! It's him!" Toad gasped in fear of a presence that was nearby.

Then BANG!

Behind a brown fog of smoke, is a large figure that is standing in front of a group of 5, growling like he's a literal definition of a monster.

His fiery eyes are piercing through the souls of those he comes across, letting out a heavy sigh and raising his massive body as fire comes out of his mouth as he breathes.

"WHAT IS THAT!?" Luigi and Pauline yelled out in shock, even Mario was terrified to see what he just witnessed.

"B- Bowser…" Peach gasps in horror as her heart beats a lot harder, even though it's too much for her to handle.

"No way… Why now…" Toad too is frightened to see what he just saw.

His yellow scaly body is far more inhumane than it already is, his spiky shell is something not to touch, his collars and choker is what makes him more of an animal and his horns indicate him to be a devil and his hair and eyebrows match his fiery eyes.

He's what the wizard described him as; Lord Bowser Koopa.

Heavy footsteps are approaching Mario and his group, a large turtle such as Bowser leans down as he makes a soft growl.

"Hello, princess." Bowser speaks in a very deep and menacing tone.

"Wh- Why're you here?" Peach is struggling to say something as the presence of a monster is stepping on her shadow.

"Oh nothing much. I was thinking if you could come with us, my queen." Bowser raises his claws, only for Peach to shriek and slowly take a few steps backwards, knowing she can't move her arms.

"Queen?" Mario, Luigi and Pauline said out of confusion.

"Tch… I knew this old man was a fool…" Toad grunts, lowering his head out of anger.

"That's right, humans, Princess Peach Toadstool will soon be my wife and then Mushroom Kingdom will be at peace and we'll have our honeymoon in your world." Bowser laughed as he told his plans to those he met.

To his surprise, he feels like there's something familiar to Mario and Luigi despite only meeting them for the first time.

"Oh? A couple of moustachioed men and a beautiful woman who's not my type. Interesting." Bowser is now fixated on more humans in his presence as he turns to his tail and grabs Peach by his arm. "Take them all with us! We're going to celebrate our engagement with the princess together!"

"Yeah! All hail King Bowser! All hail King Bowser!" All his army of koopas and goombas cheer as they're finally heading to their large flying boat as a wizard pulls those chained ones towards the boat.

"Come, humans and mushroom! We mustn't disappoint our lord!" A wizard in blue orders as he finally puts Mario, Luigi, Pauline and Toad into an airship.

As the airship finally takes off, Mario, Luigi and Pauline are at a state that they're now helpless as fear strikes again on them.

But Mario is still keeping his cool after realising that all this is just a fever nightmare.

What kind of world Mario, Luigi and Pauline stumbled onto? Where are they this time?

Standing behind the leaving airships is the one who introduced himself to Mario and his siblings, watching the struggle of those who're misfortunate to see the monster that was never told.

"Haah… How pitiful. You know, princess, you really need to pray sometime, otherwise you'll be married off to the royal king and you'll never be able to create your ideal world." Kinosen walks as he stands in a place where the koopa army invaded, hits the block with a question mark symbol with his unusual staff, which releases a red mushroom and catches it and then eats it while watching.

"Mario, you have the potential to reveal your true self. Don't go and hide who you really are. You and I both know you're trying to act brave for others, but yourself. Open the shell for the princess and see how she really feels."

Kinosen pulls a smirk, knowing behind Mario is a coward that's trying to avoid heavier consequences as well as hiding the fact that he's not as purely nice as he made himself out to be, nor a bigger jerk that he shows himself as.

He's human like his family and friends.

"Mario, make your decision. Follow your path."