Tatanga has returned to Sarasaland announcing his intentions to not only conquer this Kingdom but the entire world. Alarmed by this development, the King of Sarasaland has called an emergency meeting inviting representatives from the Bean Bean Kingdom to The Koopas. Princess Peach of The Mushroom Kingdom is quickly making her way to Sarasaland escorted by the Super Mario Bros.


Mario slammed the car's hood with a satisfying thud, and removed his hat to quickly brush some sweat from his forehead. "Try it now," he said to Luigi, sitting in the driver's seat of Princess Peach's antique cruiser.

"Okie dokie," Luigi replied as he turned the key, the engine roared to life as the brothers and their royal companion cheered. An unsettling metallic rumble drowned out all cries of joy as smoke crawled from underneath the hood. Luigi quickly killed the engine and leapt onto the sandy road.

Peach cautiously approached the car attempting to wave the smoke away with her handkerchief. "Well," she said. "It was worth a try."

Mario sighed as he stared at the smoking mess in front of him. When they first left The Mushroom Kingdom that morning, the cruiser had not given the trio any trouble at all. About an hour drive into the desert highway leading to Sarasaland, the cruiser started making some very concerning noises. "I am so sorry, Princess," he said.

"No worries at all," Peach replied as she tucked her handkerchief back into her pocket. "Delays like this were exactly why we left early." Lifting her skirts, Peach walked to the edge of the road's shoulder with all of her natural daintiness. She may as well had been making an entrance at a ballroom.

"Do you want to walk the rest of the way?" Mario asked.

Princess Peach smiled sweetly as she shook her head. "No, but I do have another plan to get us there." After carefully dropping her skirts back down, she made a thumbs-up sign and then held it sideways. Hitch-hiking? Mario had to admit, it was only a good idea because Peach was with them. What passing by citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom would pass off on the chance to come to their princess' aid? It would be a story worth telling their grandchildren.

Seeing that the risk of the cruiser exploding was now much lower, Luigi left the spot where he had taken cover and joined the others. "Are you sure this is safe?" Luigi asked as he wrung his hat in his hands. "Who knows who could come and pick us up."

"That's what I have you two for," Peach said with a wink.

Mario stood at the Princess' side and also stuck his thumb out as well. He peered up the road that stretched on and on until it merged into the horizon. A tumble weed, rolled across the dusty pavement. Turning his head, Mario stared down the other side of the road, but there were even less signs of life except for the occasional cactus growing near the edge. Perhaps, if they were ridiculously late for the meeting, Princess Daisy would go searching for them.

"Here comes someone!" Peach shouted.

Mario snapped his gaze back down the other direction of the road. Sure enough, a purple convertible was speeding towards them. A purple convertible that had golden spikes trimming the edge of the hood, and as it neared them, Mario could see that Bowser Junior was at the wheel. Well the driver looked a great deal like Bowser Junior, but he was far to grown up to be the prince of the koopas. Then again, it had been a while since Mario had seen him last; perhaps Junior had gone through a massive growth spurt.

Was it safe to ask him for a ride? Even Bowser had been invited to Sarasaland's meeting. As the convertible got closer, it did not slow down or show any signs of stopping. Either the driver didn't see them, or didn't care about stranded travelers. Just as he was approaching them, the driver slammed on the breaks, and did a donut on the road, throwing a cloud of sand onto the hitchhikers. The tiny grains of sand stung, Mario's unprotected face and neck.

When the dust settled, the brothers coughed and tried to clear the sand from their eyes. Mario turned to make sure Peach was alright, but she was no longer next to him.

"Mario, Luigi!"

Princess Peach leaned out the side of the passenger door of the koopa car, her yellow hair billowing behind her in the wind.

As if they had a chance of catching up on foot, Mario and Luigi sprinted across the desert road as Bowser Junior got further and further away. Just before the vehicle was out of sight, it suddenly veered off the left side of the road, and then disappeared as if it fell into a pit. But, Mario did not hear a crash.

Mario and Luigi hurried to the side of the road where the car vanished. By the time they stopped, Mario leaned forward trying to catch his breath. His lungs felt as strained as an overfilled balloon, but he soon forgot his own fatigue when he noticed what the kidnapper had escaped into. A pit about, the size of a manhole on the city streets, sat about a yard away from the road. This would not be unusual at all, if the pit was not filled with swirling yellow and magenta stripes. This reminded Mario of an adventure he had with his and his brother's baby selves. A time portal? How far back into the past would this one go?

Mario lifted his head from the time portal. Luigi was no longer wearing his hat, anxiously twisting it in his hands. "How about, I um stay and uh watch the car while you go and save Peach?" he asked.

Used to his brother needing a little push to join in an adventure Mario shook his head as he grasped Luigi's hand, despite his protest and jumped into the time portal. Soon the brothers were completely surrounded by the magenta and yellow lights, it was like slipping down the zaniest slide ever, until they were tossed onto a paved street. The time portal quickly closed behind them.

Mario jumped to his feet and took a moment to brush the dust from his overalls before taking a look at where the portal had led them. Toad Town… or at least, what reminded Mario of Toad Town. The large mushroom houses were in their usual shapes and sizes, but were all painted black, gray, and dark purple. The roads were still tar, but in place of grass was dark gray gravel set in beds raised slightly above the road.

Otherwise, the sun shined brightly in the blue sky and a gentle breeze prevented the air from becoming too hot. Mario swallowed thinking an overcast sky and heavy rain would fit the depressing architecture better.

Luigi gulped nervously behind him. "Was this once Toad Town?"

Mario shook his head as he stepped from the pavement and onto the sidewalk, Luigi following on his heels. The older twin paused and stared at the nearest mushroom house. A stone pathway led from the sidewalk to an oval shaped front door. On either side of the door were two round windows. Empty flower boxes were placed underneath each window. From where he stood Mario could also see the blinds inside were pulled tightly shut.

Curious, Mario followed the sidewalk until he reached the end of the block. All the houses were just as shuttered up. Why to keep the curtains and windows shut on such a clear day? Because no one was home? Or someone was home, but they did not want to risk anyone looking in. Even as a very young child, Mario could not remember a time when all the houses were same three colors and the streets completely empty.

He thought of the bully who ran off with Peach earlier. The kidnapper greatly resembled Bowser Jr, only much too old.

"Luigi," Mario exclaimed as he quickly turned around to share his realization.

Luigi jumped several feet in the air. "What?" He looked widely around, up, down, behind him.

"Nothing, you have to fight," Mario replied. "I think I know where we are now."

Luigi nodded, "And that is?"

Mario gestured to the purple, and grey, environment, "I think this will be Toad Town."

Eyes wide, Luigi's skin turned almost as green as his hat. "You, you mean, this is what will happen if we don't bring the Princess to Sarasaland."

"Well, I would not say that was what triggered everything just yet." Mario replied. They had only been in this area for a half hour at most. Perhaps the unique city planning had some other, less nefarious, cause. Maybe Waluigi got elected mayor and gave tax breaks to anyone who painted their house in his two favorite colors.

"Well," Luigi said. "If this is the future, maybe we could head to our house and find our future selves." He shrugged. "They might be able to help us out."

There was no way to be certain that the brothers were still living in Toad Town this far in the future, but it surely would not hurt to search for their house. Assuming it was painted identically to all the other houses, it might be difficult to spot. However, if the brothers' future selves lived there, they would recognize it by the smell of cooking spaghetti seeping through the walls.

"Then we'll try that," Mario said. It was not exactly clear where they were, but if they continued down a few more blocks they could pass some familiar landmarks and reorientate themselves.


After walking by hundreds of identical houses, Mario wondered if they were going in circles, until they stopped at a house where three young toads, dressed in matching purple hats with gray spots and black vest, were playing hopscotch on the sidewalk. Proof that Toad Town was still inhabited. The children must have heard the brothers coming as they immediately stopped their game and froze.

Mario smiled kindly and waved. "Hello," he said. "We are just passing through."

The Toad closest to them shook and held the white chalk behind her back. "We just wanted to play a short game," she blurted out speaking so fast her words seemed to blend together. "We were going to clean it up as soon as we were done, honest." Her companions nodded their heads in agreement.

"Please don't tell the cops on us," the shortest toad child begged.

Mario put his hands up. "Why would we tell the police about children playing?" The toads stared at Mario as if he just asked them to teach a chain chop how to write. "Is fun not allowed?" he added more as a joke to ease the tension.

The toad girl kicked a pebble with her dark gray shoe. "It might as well be," she said in a low voice.

Before Mario could inquire further, a high-pitched siren sounded. The toads' eyes widened as they dropped the chalk and all scurried inside. "Please don't tell them you saw us!" the toad girl begged before she slammed the door behind her.

Mario stared at the door before turning around to face the street. Another toad, also dressed in purple and black, although his outfit looked much more like a uniform with a jacket secured with silver buttons, pulled a small cruiser with an open top over onto the side of the road. He turned off the siren and stepped out onto the sidewalk clasping a notepad and pencil in his hands.

He stopped about arms-length from Mario and pointed to the hopscotch course with his pencil. "Did you do this?" he asked.

Mario did not want to throw the kids under the bus just for being kids. However, he also did not want to get arrested in the future either. "Paratroopas," he said. "Two of them, one was blue the other green. They were just drawing here, but flew away as soon as they saw us." Luigi nodded in agreement to this story.

"Hmmm," the officer mumbled as he scribbled this onto his pad. He lifted his head and scanned the brothers over. His eyes had this odd almost dizzy look to them. A small twinge of fear squeezed Mario's chest. He had seen that look before. The first time Tatanga came to Sarasaland, he had hypnotized the citizens, and they all had the exact same look in their eyes as this toad.

The office snapped his notebook shut, pulling Mario's focus back into the present. "Neither of you have chalk on your clothes," the toad said. "I cannot prove either of you did it, but, as a reminder, sidewalk chalk ruins the aesthetic of the city and is strictly forbidden." He pinched the discarded chalk stick and slid it into a plastic bag.

Mario and Luigi both let out a breath as the officer headed back to the cruiser. "Wait a minute," the officer said as he stepped back from the door to his car. He turned around and slowly approached the brothers again. "Why aren't you two dressed to code?"

Mario looked to Luigi, whose expression was just as baffled as his own, before he looked back to the officer. "We are new to town," he replied.

The officer nodded. "Okay," he said, but his tone was completely unconvinced, as if he were speaking to a child with their hand in a cookie jar. "So, when you applied for a travel permit, they did not provide you with the correct clothing."

Mario shook his head, "Nope." He took a few steps away from the officer.

"Uh, huh," the officer tapped his pencil against his notepad. "Could you show me your travel permits?"

Mario made a show of digging through his pockets. "Just a moment," he pulled the pockets inside-out as a few coins clanked onto the sidewalk. "Well, I must have left it at the hotel."

The officer pulled a walkie talkie from his belt. "I have two suspicious characters who are also breaking dress code, please send back up."

Back up? If they were to be arrested, would they get hypnotized and turned into minions of Tatanga too? "Luigi," Mario said in Italian. "Run and start his car while I distract him."

Luigi nodded. "What did you write about us?" Mario asked snatching the notebook from the officer.

"Excuse me?" the toad said as he reached for the notebook. Mario held it above his head, out of reach. Even though the officer had wanted to arrest them for breaking "dress code" Mario felt a lot like a school bully, and he did not like it.

"It is very rude to write things about other people and not tell them," he said. Luigi ran around the two and jumped into the car. Mario tossed the notebook over his shoulder and onto the gravel.

"You are definitely going to spend the night in the slammer," the officer said as he pushed past Mario to retrieve his notebook. Mario did not stay to see if he got it or not. He ran to his brother and jumped inside the cruiser. It was not built to hold two people. Mario was forced to sit behind the seat as Luigi steered.

The wind blew pass his face. It felt good to finally be moving quickly again even if he was not sure where they were going other than away from the cop. They sped on, undisturbed, until sirens sounded behind them. Careful not to lose his balance, Mario looked over his shoulder. A large gray van with purple lights was gaining on them. He swallowed. This must be the backup the officer had asked for.

"Luigi," he shouted. "They are on to us."

"You drive Mario!" Luigi shouted. "I have an idea."

Tightly gripping the side of the car, Mario swung himself to the side the same time Luigi did. He landed safely in the driver's seat and Luigi on the trunk. He gripped the wheel with both hands and pushed the accelerator as far down as it would go.

"Eat this!" Luigi said. Sparing a look in the side-view mirrors, Mario watched Luigi chuck two banana peels onto the road. The van did not have time to swerve out of the way. As soon as its front tires ran over the peels, it spun out. The brothers cheered.

"Where did you find those?" Mario asked.

"In the glove compartment," Luigi replied. "I think they were that guy's lunch, Mario, look up!"

Mario glanced upward and stifled a groan. A disk-shaped UFO, not unlike the one Mario recalled Tatanga piloting when they last fought, flew above them. Mario swallowed. "Any other projectiles?" he asked.

Luigi searched through his pockets. "No," he answered not even trying to hide the panic from his voice. Well that figured. Mario forced himself to focus on what was ahead of him. There was not anywhere else for them to go, but forward.

They were approaching the city limits, the gray of the sidewalks transitioning to brown grass. The road stretched onwards through the plains. To his right, Mario saw a cliff that gave way to a canyon filled with a forest of mushrooms larger than houses. If he were to continue to follow the road, they would stay out in the open, but the mushrooms would provide cover. "Brace yourself!" Mario shouted as he turned the steering wheel hard to the right.

They quickly lost traction as the cruiser tried to move over the unleveled grass until they drove off the cliff and onto the mushroom tops. The mushrooms were the bouncing kind and tossed the vehicle back into the air. That was probably a good thing, but Mario could not steer while the car was airborne. He could not keep this up forever.

"Abandon ship!" Mario shouted.

The brothers leapt as the car fell and crashed into the side of a mushroom's trunk sized stem. Mario's fall was cushioned by the elastic mushroom top. He bounced in place a few times before he finally stopped moving.

"Mario!" Luigi cried.

Mario sat up. His stomach dropped to his toes. Luigi was held midair by a hook looped through his overall straps. Slowly he was pulled into a black and purple UFO. Inside the UFO's domed shape cockpit, Mario saw the grim face of the officer whose cruiser they stole. Before Luigi could be hauled completely into the trap door on the bottom of the UFO Mario was back on his feet.

"I'm coming Luigi!"

Mario jumped across the mushroom tops as he hurried after his brother. He gained speed and distance with each leap, like he was sprinting across a path of colorful trampolines. Until he overshot a blue mushroom and fell down into the forest of the stems. The ground came up quickly, and all he could do was swallow and prepare himself for how much it would hurt when he landed.

A net caught his fall. A very sticky net that clung to his clothes like glue that sticks to everything except whatever you were trying to paste together.

Caught in a scuttlebug's web. Awesome. Moving around only entangled him more. Mario held still and tried to think. He needed to save Peach from Future Bowser Junior. To save her, he needed to get Luigi back from the brainwashed cops. And, before he could think of a plan to sneak in and get his twin, he needed to free himself from the web. Mario tried to look above him to see if there was anything he could use to cut himself free with, like a sharp stick or rock, was caught as well. However, he immediately wished hadn't looked up.

An enormous bug with purple and yellow stripes, and bright red suction cups for feet was making its way from the top of the web down towards him. It was fiercest looking scuttlebug Mario had ever laid eyes on. He gulped. Perhaps, this was rock bottom and the day could not get any worse.


Author's Note:

Hello, thank you so much for reading.

This is a plot bunny that has been bouncing around my head for a while now. I have been a long-time fan of the Mario and Luigi series. (Rest in Peace AlphaDream.) I envisioned this fic, not exactly as a video game, but a story that would not be out of place in a Mario RPG so this will not get much darker than other games with "dark" moments like Thousand Year Door or Partners in Time. My vision for Days of Future Pasta is an overall fun romp with a whole lot of heart. The Current Plan is to update Bi-monthly or every-other-week.

Have a great day, and I will be back in the next chapter.