Chapter 3 Birthday Kidnapping

Not one second was wasted on Mario's end. He began running back into the castle, determined to get to the Princess before Bowser did. The screams of the frighten Toads echoed in his ears, screechy and shrill as ever. He began to sweat, and his breathing became more labored the farther he got into the Castle. He made sure to peak his head through every single door, hoping that he would find Peach on the other side.

"Bwa ha ha!"

That laugh from Bowser sent chills down Mario's spine. There would never be a time where he would consider that noise pleasant. It grasped hold of the heart with an icy hand, caressing it with a chilliness that not even the touch of Jack Frost could replicate. Mario put on a burst of speed when he heard it, for he knew that if it was audible right now, that more than likely meant that Bowser had made landfall in the castle itself.

So, he continued running. As he did, he repeated a prayer on loop in his head. Please let me get there in time. Please don't let Bowser kidnap Peach! Not today; I will do anything necessary to prevent this! OH, PLEASE DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!

Unfortunately, as frequent and as desperate as those prayers were, he would come to discover they were in vain when he got to the throne room. He stopped and gawked as Bowser stood in the middle of the room with a struggling and kicking Peach strapped over his right shoulder. The sight of this caused the chills Mario had felt while Bowser was laughing to return.

"Bowser, put her down!" he yelled at the top of his very frightened voice.

Bowser just chuckled. "Oh, but Mario! Don't you know? Today is Princess Peach's birthday!" He grinned. "And I have selected the perfect present for her! And I won't let anyone, least of all you, get in the way of me showing it to her!"

Mario grit his teeth. Oh, Mama Mia. Bowser wasn't going to make things easy, was he? Of course he wasn't; he never did. With steam practically shooting out of his nose, Mario charged toward the Koopa King like an angry bull. He ran at top speed, keeping his eyes on the birthday girl. Unfortunately, when he was halfway there, a chain fell down from up above, through a hole that Mario just noticed had been smashed into the ceiling (*sigh* why did Bowser feel the need to do that every time? Repairs were so darn expensive!).

Bowser grinned another menacing grin at Mario as he grabbed hold of the chain. "Well, I'm off, Mario! Say goodbye to your Princess, because this will be the last time you see her for a while!"

Mario grit his teeth even tighter as his heart rate picked up. "NO!" In a last ditch effort, he lunged toward Bowser and Peach. Unfortunately, he didn't make it, both because he was too far away and because Bowser was already being pulled back up into his airship. This just left Mario on the ground, frightened, angry, and sad.

As the sound of the airship propellers turning combined with the screaming Toads outside, Mario shook his head. Then, in a fit of rage, he banged his fist down on the floor. He did this once, then twice, then three times. Each time his fist made contact with the marble floor was more impactful than the last.

Once he was done with that, Mario hung his head and shed a few tears. He knew this would happen right from the start. Why did Bowser have to be so evil? Why did the Koopa race take great pleasure in making life absolutely, one hundred percent miserable for Mario and the other Mushroomers? Couldn't they have one day… ONE FLIPPING DAY where Bowser took a good hard look at himself and decided that he needed to rethink his life choices.

Behind him, Mario heard the sound of footsteps running into the room. He didn't even need to look to know that it was Luigi.

"What happened?" Luigi asked as he approached his older brother. The question was, of course, rhetorical. Luigi already knew what had happened. How could he not when it was obvious to anyone with half a brain in their head?

Mario frowned the Mother of all Frowns as he stood up. He faced Luigi, seeing for the first time how frightened his brother looked. Mario didn't blame him; no matter how many times Bowser kidnapped Peach, and no matter how many times the brothers went on their rescue missions to save her, the experience didn't get any easier. Every time, the brothers felt scared beyond belief. Every time, Mario felt angry enough to punch Bowser into the next week. Every time, Mario felt guilty, thinking that there was something he could've done to prevent such an atrocious tragedy from taking place.

"So…" Luigi looked nervous, if the way his body was squirming was any indication. "We should probably go after them, right?"

Mario sighed. "Is that even a question at this point?" He adjusted his cap and made his way toward the front door. Luigi followed him like a shadow, not even daring to deviate from the path. Once they got outside, they saw the scene of the discombobulated Toads. They still ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. They still were panicking so much that they had no idea which way was up anymore.

So, Mario decided to step up to the podium once again. "Okay, okay! Everyone, please calm down!" That task would probably be damn near impossible for Toads, as they were very skittish and easily frightened. Regardless, Mario wasn't going to leave to go on his rescue mission until every single one of them felt better.

"Please, everyone! Stop panicking and listen to me!"

Eventually (and to Mario's relief), the Toads did manage to calm down. They all stopped running around, staring at Mario with intense, hopeful expressions. Mario cleared his throat, ready to address the Toads in the same way he had done nearly countless times before.

"Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser." Man. Even though he had been worried about this all day, actually having to say those words out loud still made him feel sick. He once again wondered if there was anything that he could have done to prevent this. Maybe if he stuck closer to Peach. Maybe if he had actually gotten better security for the castle, like a magical spell or something…

He shook his head. No point in thinking about what he should've done in the past. He needed to focus on what he could do in the here and now.

"But I assure you all," he said, his voice carrying an unwavering determination. "That I will not let Bowser win in this little game of his. Luigi and I will make our way to the Koopa Kingdom. We will stomp on goombas, and fly with tanooki leaves. We will not stop, even for one single second, until our Princess is safe at home once again. And I can assure you that when she is, we will continue on with the celebrations, just like we had planned."

The Toads cheered as Mario stepped away from the podium. Despite how negatively he felt, Mario actually managed to smile when he heard this. Of course, it was a small smile, as he recognized that there was a lot riding on him actually being successful. The Toads were counting on him, as was the Princess. And sure, that had been the case during every other kidnapping mission he had gone on. Even still, he wasn't made of stone. He felt the pressure in this scenario. He knew that he couldn't fail.

So, he took a deep breath before turning toward Luigi. "Come on, Lou. Let's go to our house so we can get some supplies."

Luigi nodded. The two of them walked through the crowd, with the Toads parting like the Red Sea. Mario saw a lot of them smiling at him, and he could even hear some of them wishing him good luck. He could do this, they said. He could beat Bowser up good. He could rescue the Princess without lifting a finger.

If only it were that easy.

…

Mario grumbled as he stuffed a backpack full of various supplies. Food, water, and power ups were the most important, so that was what went in. The heavier and more stuffed the backpack got, the more Mario's worry grew. He wasn't necessarily worried about himself though. Sure, there was pretty much a guarantee that he would receive some injuries while on this trek, as that happened on pretty much every journey that he went on. However, those he could deal with. There were one-up mushrooms and medicines that would be able to him. So, that wasn't too big of a deal in his mind.

No, what caused him to worry was thinking about what Bowser was forcing Peach to endure. In all his time rescuing Peach from Bowser's clutches, he still had no idea what exactly happened while the two of them were alone in Bowser's Castle. Peach had assured him on multiple occasions that nothing too serious had happened to her, but even still, Mario was always frightened. After all, just because Bowser hadn't done something last time didn't mean that he wasn't going to do anything this time.

Mario shuddered thinking about that, realizing that leaving earlier would probably help with his sanity. So, he zipped up his backpack and flung it onto his back. He made his way over to Luigi's room, feeling a little pleased to see his brother zipping up his own bag.

"Ready?" Mario asked.

Luigi grinned as he put the bag on his back. "As I'll ever be."

Mario nodded, and together, the two of them were off. Like pretty much every other time, Mario felt a gloom settle into his soul as he closed the door to his house. Sure, he was confident that he would return, but even still…. Well, the worst happening was always a possibility. Even if it wasn't, the thought of not being able to sleep in his own comfy bed still made him uncomfortable.

Regardless, he still closed the door and followed down the same, well worn path. He and Luigi didn't do too much talking for the first hour or so of the journey. That's what they would've done if this was one of their first few rescue missions. Back then, the excitement that came from being able to do something good for the people of the Mushroom Kingdom was so strong that the brothers couldn't help but be giddy when they went to save Peach. Now though, that excitement had worn off. Now that these rescue missions were a regular occurrence, Mario couldn't help but feel a little irritated while on them. As such, he very seldom spoke at this point.

At least, that's what it was usually like for him. After they had completed the first leg of their journey, and were almost ready to come across the sandy dunes of World 2, Mario couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh. Luigi turned toward him, displaying curiosity as Mario decided to finally speak.

"I hate Bowser. I hate him so much."

"Oh come on," Luigi said. "You don't hate him."

"I do, actually!" Mario shook his head. "And I'm starting to hate all koopas. They think they're entitled to Peach for no legitimate reason. They think they are the best people in the world when in reality, they are the most evil. They think…!"

"Mario, stop!" Luigi interrupted. He looked at his older brother with a certain type of sterness. "Stop it right now! Not all koopas are like that! And I can guarantee you that there are probably some Toads who are just as bad as these koopas that you have your ire directed towards."

Mario's shoulders slumped. "Maybe…" he shook his head. "Still though. If I had a choice, I would make sure that Bowser and his family aren't invited to any Mario Kart races or Mario Party events ever again. It's just more trouble than it's worth trying to make peace with them."

Luigi wrinkled his brow. "Oy ve. If only Mama and Papa could hear you being this racist; they'd probably both have heart attacks."

Mario's heart sank as he sighed. "Probably." He paused for a minute. "Still, after all this grief… can I really be blamed for thinking in this way?"

Luigi paused for a moment, doing his best to form an answer to that question. "Well… um…" his facial features noticeably drooped. "I… I guess not…"

Mario nodded. "Yeah." He took in a deep breath as he resumed walking. "And let me tell you Luigi, Bowser is going to be in for a world of pain when we come across him."

Even though Luigi had validated Mario's viewpoint, he still looked noticeably cross as he followed after him. "Those thoughts are going to get you in trouble on day, Mario. I guarantee it."

Mario paused for a moment, thinking about this. "Maybe…" he sniffed. "But let's not focus on that. We have a princess to save."

Luigi let out a forlorn sigh. "Okay…"