Chapter Sixteen:

Donkey Kong Arrives

Peach and Mario stood upon the beach with the others, looking up at the full moon as it cast a heavenly glow over the tranquil blue ocean ahead, dancing across the dark sky with the many stars that twinkled gorgeously. The princess savored this view, and the moon was as pretty as her eyes, even the stars seemed to reflect within her gaze.

Fuji City had been very glamorous, even in the night, and the beach looked quite lovely to a point where Peach felt tempted to take a swim in the sparkling waters of the ocean, had it not been for the fact that the cold days were coming.

"Oh, gosh." Peach said aloud, "This city is so beautiful, and it's bigger than Mushroom City when we host the Mario Kart tournaments, maybe we should visit here more often."

"Not as-a beautiful as you are, Peach." Mario remarked with a sweet smile, nearly surprising the human princess.

Peach blushed, and turned to her hero with happiness in her heart. "Thank you, Mario." She told the plumber.

"If we're done taking in the view of the sea, can we discuss the weapon now?" Luigi asked.

"I bet the weapon is tasty-looking." Yoshi commented excitedly.

"WHAT?!" Luigi exclaimed.

The princess raised her hand. "Allow me to elaborate..." She said, "The weapon we are speaking about is more powerful than the Power Stars, and it is so powerful, not even a Mega Mushroom would be a match for it. The professor named it 'Super Sushi'."

Everyone stood with wide-eyed surprise, and they took in what the princess had just divulged, and nobody noticed that Hal and Jeff were hiding behind a nearby rock as they listened in.

"Super Sushi?" The two minions whispered.

"Excuse me, Princess, but what is so special about this 'Super Sushi'?" Toadsworth inquired.

"It is powerful enough to make whomever eats it grow in strength and size." Peach explained.

"No way!" Luigi exclaimed, "It doubles their size and strength..." He began to imagine a giant-sized Mario standing over the city, "You mean... they'll grow to a monstrous size?"

"Yup." Mario replied, "And that Super Sushi is the only weapon that will let me stomp on Bowser and his army along with his own castle. But despite the super size and super strength, it can make for great spaghetti sauce."

"Wow..." Yoshi remarked, "I thought when you eat this Super Sushi, you'll grow to the size of a giant and become stronger than God himself."

"I know, Yoshi." The red-clad plumber nodded, "But to me, being big and strong is... kinda awkward, so I prefer to just eat the Super Sushi, and I can hardly wait."

Luigi glared at his big brother with annoyance. "Seriously?! Is that all you can think about?" He asked.

"Yes, Luigi. I'm just looking forward to eating it, that's all." Mario said quickly.

'Man, when it comes to food, Mario has a one-track mind.' Luigi thought, feeling exasperated, 'I just hope he doesn't eat too much of it. And I also hope that the sushi doesn't actually turn my big bro into a mindless monster.'

Just then, the group heard a holler, and they looked up just as someone came swooping in on a jetpack. The newcomer came closer, and everyone recognized who it was as he came closer to their location.

"It's-a Diddy Kong!" Luigi exclaimed.

"By boogity, isn't that one of the fellas from Kong Island?" Toadbert asked.

"Yup." Yoshi nodded.

Diddy flew above them, and he waved happily, taking his hand off the handle of his jetpack so he could use his hand. "Howdy there, guys. It's been a while!" He said with glee.

Seconds later, the jetpack vibrated and blew apart, causing Diddy to fall to the ground. Luckily, the sand wasn't rough enough and neither was the fall. Even then, Mario and the others were worried for their old pal's safety.

"I-I'm okay, it's happened to me before..." Diddy told them.

Mario walked up with his brother and the rest of the group. "Hey, Diddy." The pudgy plumber quipped, "Did you come to Fuji City straight from Kong Island?"

Diddy smiled. "I'm not the only one who came here." He told Mario.

And moments later, everyone heard a holler and their gaze turned towards the horizon, spotting someone racing across the ocean on what looked like a boat. Mario recognized the outline of Donkey Kong in an instant and, as DK came closer, the big monkey's ride turned out to be some sort of dolphin.

The dolphin leaped high out of the water, and did a flip in mid-air, throwing the tie-wearing gorilla, along with someone else, towards dry land. The dolphin dove back into the water and, moments later, Donkey Kong made his landing before he hooted and beat his chest in a proud gorilla-style manner.

"I never thought you'd be invited to Fuji City, Donkey Kong!" Mario exclaimed, "Did you exchange your bananas for money?"

"No." DK replied firmly, "I came here to tell you about something huge! Actually, if we're more precise, the message is from the guy next to me..."

"Hi, Mario Bros." Dante the Koopa stepped forward with a flashy wink, "Did you catch DK's surfing?"

Mario's eyes widened. "A Koopa!" He exclaimed. Despite seeing friendly Koopas in the past, most Koopas still meant trouble for Mario and a good number of them were still in the service of Bowser. After his last Koopa battle, the intrepid Italian was alert and the sight of this Koopa made him very uneasy.

He charged past Diddy, ready to take on the perceived threat. Mario leaped forward and he punched the Koopa, trying to hit him in the face, but Dante leaped out of the way and landed right behind the plumber. Mario turned around and leaped towards Dante with a raised fist, he threw another punch, only for the Koopa to block his attack with an open hand.

"Did you come here to cause trouble for that bastard King Bowser?" Mario demanded.

Dante pushed back against Mario's punch. "You're making a mistake here." He told the plumber, "Yes, I'm a Koopa, but I am not your enemy. I live in Koopa Village, and I'm Kooper's best friend."

"You know Kooper?" Mario brightened up, "Oh yeah, he helped me collect the Star Sprites and save Peach from Bowser ages ago. Mama mia, I'm-a so sorry."

"Apology accepted, Mario." Dante shook the plumber's hand, and the two of them started over, ready to move forward without misunderstandings and further hostility...