Chapter One: Mushroom Kingdom Mornings
People don't like change, whether it's as small as rearranged furniture, or as large as a loss of someone they knew once, it's all the same. But what if you didn't notice the change? What if the change never existed? What if the entire past as you knew it was built around the change? What if someone in your life, whether they are a friend of a friend, or your partner, was never supposed to be in your life? What if you yourself were a byproduct of something that was never supposed to happen? What if you weren't real? What if, what if, what if...
It was another morning in the Mushroom Kingdom. The sunrise bathed the kingdom in a warm orange glow. The many shops in the bustling Toad Town were opening, with employees stocking the shelves full of Shroom Shakes and POW Blocks. The sun itself lined up perfectly with Princess Peach's Castle. On the outskirts of Toad Town, there lies a small house, housing two brothers. The heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom...
Mario woke up as normal, bumping his head on the bunk bed, of which he shared with his brother, Luigi, who was already up making coffee for the both of them.
"Morning, bro," Luigi called out from the kitchen upon hearing Mario's daily head injury.
"Hey, Lu," Mario groggily replied, stumbling his way to the kitchen. He was the kind of guy to not function in the morning until he had a large mug of coffee. Luigi was well accustomed to his brother's quirks, however, and instinctively handed Mario a mug, which he proceeded to down in one gulp.
"Wow!" Mario exclaimed. "I'll never understand how you can make coffee this good."
"Well, it'll continue to be a secret for now. I have to be able to do at least one thing that you can't."
Mario laughed, but he was troubled by his brother's anecdote. Luigi had always seen himself inferior to his older brother, and often let his insecurities get the best of him. Mario wished Luigi was more confident, but upon remembering what happened last year, he retracted his wish.
While Mario toiled away in his head, Luigi toiled away in the kitchen. He was currently cooking a Zess Special for the two of them. Suddenly, Mario buzzed. It was his Mailbox SP. He opened it, seeing this message:
Hey Mario! I just wanted to see how you were doing this morning. I hope you're doing good. I really miss you, and I need hugs and kisses. Hopefully I'll get to see you soon!
-Vivian
Mario blushed upon seeing his new girlfriend's message. Well, they had really only confessed the other day, but he was pretty sure they were dating. Luigi, however, snapped his brother back to reality.
"Bro, are you okay? Your face is red and you haven't moved in a few minutes."
Mario paused for a moment. He needed to tell his brother about his new girlfriend, but he was nervous. What if Luigi judged him? Or hated her? No, no. Luigi doesn't really hate anybody. Mario reassured himself that Luigi would love her, and he should probably introduce them already.
"Well, um, remember Rogueport?" Mario started.
"That sketchy harbor town with the ancient demon?"
"Exactly. Well, remember Vivian?"
"That shy shadow?"
"Yeah. Well, you see, we're, um, we're..."
Mario kept stuttering. Why? He could take down endless bad guys without breaking a sweat, but telling Luigi about his new relationship was too much. The next thing Mario knew, he was red in the face and shaking profusely. Luigi, however confused at first, quickly picked up on what his brother was trying to convey.
"You two are an item?" Luigi curiously asked. Mario let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he didn't have to explain it. The red left his face as he nodded in reply.
"I thought you and Peach were an item, though," was Luigi's next thought.
"Me too, honestly. I tried asking her out several months ago, but she said that she could only ever see us as friends. Not long after, Vivian reached out to me again. We started talking, and the other day, she confessed to me. I mean, we're dating right now, but we haven't exactly... gone on an actual date yet. I actually don't think we've met in person in a couple of years."
"Well, that's amazing, bro! You gotta go see her!"
"It's not that simple," Mario replied. "They closed down almost every ship route from here to Rogueport."
"Wait," Luigi started. "Do you need me to move so you guys can live together?"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" Mario frantically spat out. "It's way too soon to be thinking about that, and besides, I could never ask you to leave here!"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"You think that's Vivian here to surprise you?" Luigi jeered. Mario rolled his eyes as he went to answer the door. His jaw dropped as he opened it. On the other side stood a purple figure. She had long flowing, cotton candy pink hair, and a red and white striped scarf. Vivian. Without hesitation, Mario hugged her with full force.
"H-hey Mario. I see someone's glad to see me," the shadow started, starting to turn red from being in her lovers' embrace.
"Completely," was the only word Mario needed to respond with.
Luigi, not knowing what was going on, went to the door, and upon seeing the two hold each other, he grabbed his hat, and said "Well, bro, you seem busy, so I'm gonna head out for today." So he left the two, and ventured out into Toad Town, kicking off a new adventure.
Luigi stepped out into the busy landscape of Toad Town, unsure of what he would do today. He had only left to give Mario and Vivian some alone time, but now he didn't know how he would spend his day. He usually planned things to the tiniest detail. Mario, however, only acted on impulse, 'winging it' as he put it, every single time he and Luigi were thrust into chaos.
Don't worry. Just act like Mario, and everything will be fine, Luigi told himself as he made his way through the streets.
Deciding to stop at the market, Luigi wanted to surprise Mario with his favorite drink, Chuckola Cola. He also decided to pick up some Life Shrooms, just in case he ran into trouble, which he almost always did. The initial morning rush in Toad Town had died down, much to Luigi's relief. He decided to stop by Rowf's Badge Shop to see what they had in stock for today.
"Hey, Luigi! How's it going?" Rowf beamed upon seeing Luigi walk in.
"It's going great! What do you have in stock today?"
"Well, we have some classics today. Take a look for yourself."
Luigi looked around the badge shop. On the counter he saw a Multibounce, a Speedy Spin, and a Spike Shield. He wanted to be prepared for anything, so he bought the Spike Shield. However, that drained him of his last 100 coins.
It didn't matter much, as there were plenty of sights to see. Like toads. Even for a place called Toad Town, Luigi had never seen this many toads here before. In fact, they were all crowded around... something. He decided to investigate what all the fuss was about.
He moved his way through the crowd, to find a Rock Paper Wizard challenging the residents of Toad Town to Roshambo matches.
"Can anybody beat me? C'mon, give me a challenge!" boomed the Rock Paper Wizard, clearly very cocky. "You know what, I'll up the stakes! 500 COINS FOR ANYONE WHO CAN BEAT ME!
Luigi's interest was piqued. He didn't know how he could possibly beat the Wizard, but then he remembered something peculiar. One time Mario told him that if you asked somebody a question before a match of Roshambo, they had a higher chance of playing scissors. He had nothing to lose, so why not try it out?
"I'll challenge you."
Everybody looked at Luigi in relative shock, mostly because he never did anything like this. But Luigi was feeling rather brave today. He sat down at the table with the Wizard, and deciding to put his brother's theory to the test, Luigi asked a question.
"So what brings you here?"
"Traveling on business," was the Wizard's response. "I'm attending some intense Roshambo tournaments, and right now I've got some down time. All right, let's do this."
The crowd stirred around them. They were pumped.
"RO!"
Luigi was nervous. What if the Wizard didn't play scissors?
"SHAM!"
Then he calmed himself, realizing there was nothing to lose by doing this.
"BO!"
Luigi closed his eyes and played rock. The crowd was silent. Not knowing what was going on, he opened his eyes, and...
The Rock Paper Wizard had played scissors.
The crowd went absolutely wild, chanting "LUIGI!" repeatedly.
"Well, I'll be darned," was the Wizard's only words as he pulled out 500 coins out from under his table, and handed them to Luigi, who was in absolute shock from what just happened. The chanting continued, only it had died down. Actually, only one person was chanting. But he wasn't chanting. He was calling for Luigi.
"Luigi! Wait!"
It was Toad, who stopped him. Luigi could barely understand Toad's "accent" (Toad has a very scratchy voice, much scratchier than all of the other toads), but what he understood was that Bowser was just sighted at Peach's Castle. Not wanting to bother his brother, Luigi decided to take matters into his own hands and take down Bowser himself.
Upon reaching Peach's Castle, Luigi walked through the grand hallways until he reached the throne room. In there was Bowser, standing before Princess Peach. Before making a scene, Luigi decided to wait and eavesdrop.
"Why are you trying to kidnap me this time?" Peach asked, bored of this same routine by now.
"No, that's not why I'm here," Bowser replied, already getting annoyed. "I've been thinking, and... well, to be frank, this kidnapping thing never works out for me. I lose valuable troops, and I get my ass kicked by those plumbers. It's too exhausting, and besides, I always end up having to work with you guys anyways, so... I want to establish a truce. Between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom."
"Well, Bowser, I'm glad to hear a change of heart."
Bowser did not like the implication that he was a good guy now.
"You get me straight, no heart is changing! All that changes is the hostility to my presence in your kingdom, and having each other as allies from now on."
"Okay then, Bowser Koopa. Then we shall formally establish a permanent truce between the Mushroom and Koopa Kingdoms," Peach announced. "I'll arrange Toadsworth and Kamek to meet to finalize the paperwork." She looked at Bowser, almost like she was going to say something else.
"You okay, Peach?" Bowser asked, noticing the princess' expression.
"Well, um, I've also been doing some thinking, and I think I-"
Suddenly, a mysteriously familiar voice called out from somewhere nearby.
"Well then, I guess I'll have to deal with Rookie as well as the princess."
"Who said that?" questioned Peach, not recognizing the voice.
"I'm the one who will take over the Mushroom Kingdom," the voice jeered.
"NOBODY DOES THAT AROUND HERE, NOT EVEN ME! AND DON'T CALL ME 'ROOKIE,' EITHER!" the Koopa King boomed.
Luigi, knowing he had to do something, figured he might need backup. He didn't want to bother Mario and Vivian on their date, but he didn't have much else of a choice. He took out his Dual Scream, and wrote an email to Mario. Sent.
Okay then, Luigi. You can do this, the green plumber told himself.
"COME OUT AND SHOW YOURSELF, COWARD!" the Koopa King roared.
Luigi, deciding it was finally time to act, emerged into the throne room. Bowser, not realizing it was only the younger Mario Brother, started spewing flames at him. After realizing who it was, he stopped and looked annoyedly at Luigi.
"Jeez, warn somebody before you come out! There's an intruder around!"
"Well, I know that, which is why I'm here!" Luigi yelled back.
"I guess it's time to reveal myself, see?" the mysterious voice echoed throughout the castle.
Suddenly, the figure walked into the room. He had a gray hat with a tuft of hair sticking out of it, a purple mask, a dark blue and purple striped sweater, and baggy black pants. He looked up at everyone in the room with a devious smile on his face.
"I'm the infamous Shadow Thief, Popple!"
Luigi recognized Popple. He and Mario had to deal with this guy a while back, in the Beanbean Kingdom. He was an amateur thief who continuously failed to steal anything. Luigi thought the thief would be no challenge at all, and so he leaped into battle.
Luigi leapt into the air, he landed on the Shadow Thief's head. Popple recoiled, stepping back. He was clearly in pain.
"Well, oof, ugh, you're tougher than you look," the thief huffed. "Guess I'll just have to use this, see!?"
He pulled something out of his pocket, and while Luigi couldn't get a clear view of it, it looked like a wand. Popple raised the wand, and before Luigi knew it, lightning struck him, sending him flying back into the wall. Bowser then decided to finally step in, roaring and releasing a fierce flame from the back of his throat.
However, it did nothing. The Shadow Thief stood after the flames were gone, smirking. He had a rainbow glow to him, as if he had a Power Star, but it was different. Then Bowser stopped, finally getting a good look at Popple's wand.
"That's the damn Star Rod!" the Koopa King roared.
Mario had told Luigi about the Star Rod. It was used in Star Haven to grant wishes, and Bowser himself had stolen it once to kidnap Peach. Whoever held it had... endless amounts of power.
"See, with this thing, I can do whatever I want! Just look at me now!" Popple screeched, raising the Star Rod.
Suddenly, his body changed. He grew taller, with newly defined muscles, making him look like an experienced bodybuilder. To show off his strength, he slapped Bowser, sending him flying towards Luigi. Luckily, he was able to jump out of the way before Bowser crushed him.
Mario and Vivian were still in each other's embraces for a few minutes before Mario finally invited her in. He pulled up a chair in the kitchen for her and started making a cup of Koopa Tea for her.
"Thanks, Mario, but you don't have to do this," was all Vivian said about Mario's chivalry.
"No, no, you are a guest, and my girlfriend. Consider yourself royalty."
He sat down with her, and they started talking.
"So how did you get here?" Mario questioned. "Didn't they close all commercial transport here?"
"Yeah," Vivian replied. "Buuuuut I may or may not have hitched a ride on a cargo ship."
"Vivian!"
"Oh, nobody noticed. Besides, I really wanted to see you."
They both blushed at this comment. Thinking about things, Mario realized that he needed to truly clarify their relationship.
"Hey, Viv?"
"Mhm?"
"Are we dating?"
"Well, I love you a lot."
"I love you too."
"Then I think the answer's obvious, Mario."
The shadow smiled, and Mario smiled back. They gazed into each others' eyes for a brief moment, before Mario snapped back out of it with an important question.
"So how long are you gonna stay here?"
"Well, about that..." Vivian stammered "You see, um, I know it's probably too soon, but... can I live here for a little bit? Things are getting stale at Twilight Town, and besides, I never really felt welcome there. I figured that out of everywhere I could go, I wanted to be here, with you. So, um, what do you say?"
"Well, I'll have to talk with Luigi about it. I'll also have to find you a bed, and then..." Mario started rambling about the logistics of Vivian moving in.
"Wait, wait," Vivian interrupted. "First of all, you don't need to go all out for me. I promise that I'll fit right in. Second, who said I needed a separate bed?"
Vivian was simply referring to the couch as to not take up space or waste Mario's money, but he interpreted it a little differently, thinking that the shadow wanted to sleep in the same bed as him. His face instantly went beet red, and Vivian, realizing what Mario thought she was saying, also went red. It was like this for a few minutes, Mario now thinking about what would happen if they had to share a bunk with his younger brother, and Vivian thinking about warm cuddles with Mario in the night. This silence was finally broken when Mario said "Let's talk about this later, okay?"
Vivian nodded, and Mario suggested watching a movie, which she happily agreed with. Mario looked in the DVD cabinet and frowned. There were about five to seven movies in there, by no fault of his own, because Luigi's friend, Professor Gadd, kept borrowing their movies only to never return them. He decided on the newest Zip Toad action flick, It's Not Over Until It's Over, and put the DVD in the player.
Mario and Vivian sat down on the couch together. However, they were on opposite sides of the couch, due to the whole living together debacle. The plumber tried to take his mind off things, but his thoughts always drifted back to Vivian. He really wanted to live with her, but he also didn't want to kick Luigi out. Sure, he was perfectly willing to move out, and even volunteered to, but Mario couldn't live with himself if he allowed that to happen.
Meanwhile, Vivian was berating herself on the other side of the couch.
No, no! Why would you ask that so soon!? Of course he doesn't want to be with you! Beldam was right, nobody will ever love you! But... but Mario's the first person to ever be nice to me. I love him so much... but does he really love me? What if he's lying so I won't be sad? Or maybe I just startled him, but how do I know? I better make sure, then...
Vivian scooted over to Mario, and, out of pure impulse, kissed him. It was very brief, and after realizing what she was doing, she pulled away, going red again. After coming out of his daze, Mario only had one question.
"Why'd you stop?"
What followed was a few minutes of passionate kissing, and then the couple finally settled down into some cuddling. They fell asleep in each other's arms, and while it would have lasted hours, it was cut short by Mario vibrating.
"Is that... your email?" Vivian questioned, clearly annoyed that cuddle time was interrupted.
Mario checked his email, to see a message from Luigi:
Hey, bro! I went out to Toad Town, and I bought you some Chuckola Cola, your favorite! I also got a Spike Shield so I can put my jump to good use! You'll never believe what happened next. I beat a Rock Paper Wizard! That theory of yours with scissors was right, so now we have an extra 500 coins! Also, Bowser signed a treaty with the princess, so I guess he's on our side permanently now. But now a mysterious figure is attacking the castle! He seems familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. He's trying to take over the kingdom, and I'll try to take care of it, but I might need some backup. Oh yeah, this is Luigi, by the way!
"Hey, Vivian?"
"Yes?"
"Wanna go on another adventure?"
"If it's with you, definitely."
"Then let's-a go," Mario started, getting up. "Luigi needs us."
"What's going on?" Vivian asked, before proceeding to also get up and glide to his side.
"I'll tell you on the way."
Mario grabbed his hat, and stepped outside.
"There's a warp pipe right to Peach's Castle in our yard, luckily for us."
Then a thought crept across Mario's mind. Luigi said somebody was trying to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, so clearly they were a threat. What if Vivian got hurt? Or worse? Of course, she was very capable, and could take care of herself, but still, he didn't want to risk it.
"Wait right here. I just want to make sure the pipe works real quick."
Mario jumped through the pipe, and instead of seeing a monstrous foe or a world-ending catastrophe...
He got kicked out and ejected from the system. It took him a moment to catch his bearings, but then he hopped back up.
"Well, the pipe doesn't seem to be working. I guess we're taking the long way." Mario started, taking Vivian's hand and started for Toad Town.
"So what's going on?" Vivian questioned as they rushed through the town.
"There's a new threat around, and he's currently at the castle."
"Oh no, how do we stop him?"
"We'll figure it out, we always do," Mario said confidently, flashing a smile at Vivian, who blushed. "Also, Bowser's in a treaty with the Mushroom Kingdom now."
"Really?"
"Yep, he's our permanent ally now."
Eventually they were stopped by a pretty large crowd. Not knowing what to do, Mario started to push through the crowd before Vivian pulled him back.
"What are you doing?"
"Um, shadows, remember?" Vivian said, a little snarkier than usual.
Oh, right, Mario thought to himself. She can use the shadows.
Vivian held Mario and dropped down into the shadows. There, she could move anywhere, at her own pace. She quickly made her way past the crowd all the way to the castle itself, eventually reaching the throne room.
"All right, you think this is a good place to resurface?" Vivian asked Mario.
"Seems good. Let's do this."
With that, they resurfaced into the middle of an intense battle.
Across the room, Mario saw his brother in a battle stance, and Bowser slumped up against the wall next to him. On the other side stood a muscular figure, clearly the one who put the Koopa King against that wall.
"Is that-" he started, recognizing the petty thief.
Popple simply groaned upon seeing the two.
"Ugh, there's MORE of you? It's time to finish things, see?"
He raised the Star Rod, but before he could do anything...
Mario, Vivian, and Bowser were gone.
"Huh? Where'd they go? Eh, I didn't need them anyway," was the Shadow Thief s response. Then he turned to Luigi, who was facing him in a fierce fighting stance. "Well, there's still you."
He raised the Star Rod, sending a second, stronger bolt of lightning down on the green plumber, who collapsed. Luigi was... gone. His game was over. Popple approached him with a tinge of disappointment on his face.
"Aw, dead already? Well, your rotting corpse will go great in the dungeon," the thief proclaimed, raising the Star Rod and teleporting the body away, deep into the castle.
"You..." Peach started, having borne witness to all of Popple's evil. "YOU ARE A MONSTER!"
"No, my queen," the Shadow Thief spat back coldly, before starting upon the princess. "I am the king."
He raised the Star Rod again, for devastating results.
"Ugh... oh... what happened?"
Mario sat up. What was the last thing he could remember? Was that... Popple? He was huge, though, and extremely buff. It was... surreal to say the least. Wait. Where was Vivian? Mario started freaking out. He hopped up quickly, with horrifying thoughts and panic swarming through his head, and started frantically searching for his special shadow.
Looking around, he was in a large glass dome. It stood around fifty feet in height, with a diameter much larger than that. Mario started to recognize this place. Star Haven. In books, it had beautiful stained glass star patterns stretching across the entire dome, but here that glass was shattered. It looked... abandoned. Ruined. Looking beyond the dome itself, a starry night sky awaited, stretching across the infinite cosmos.
Then he saw Vivian. She was still unconscious, laying several feet away. Mario rushed by her side, collapsing on the floor next to her. He sighed in relief, noticing that she was still breathing.
"Hello, Mario," a comfortingly familiar voice called.
Mario turned around to see Eldstar, one of the seven Star Spirits, the guardians and protectors of wishes.
"Sorry to bring you here without warning, but the matter at hand is urgent," the mustachioed star stated. "Here, I shall summon the other one here."
At once, Bowser appeared, looking bewildered as to the situation, and Vivian slowly fluttered her eyes open. Mario saw it as angelic, and almost kissed her before snapping back into the reality of the situation.
"M-Mario?" Vivian questioned, feeling a little weak.
"It's okay Viv, just listen," was the red plumber's response.
"As you all know, the thief Popple now has a hold on the Star Rod," Eldstar started. "With this level of power, an infinite degree of it, he can, and will, cause chaos. We Star Spirits are currently using the last of our collective power to prevent you three from being affected by his wishes."
"W-what does that mean?" Vivian stuttered, still trying to get a grip on the situation.
"Although we no longer have the power to grant wishes, we still have the power to see all of the ones being made. Popple is currently... brainwashing the entire Mushroom Kingdom, more or less."
"How is he doing that?" Mario questioned.
"He's rewriting the past so that he becomes the king and hero of the Mushroom Kingdom," the Star Spirit explained.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?" the Koopa King roared, smoke spilling from his nostrils.
"Calm down, Bowser," Eldstar said calmly. "The past has been altered, but in cases like this, it has been shown that extreme bouts of emotion can possibly revert people's memories, but the most effective way to fix this would be the Star Rod itself."
"Well then," Mario said. "We should go get it back, then!" He stopped for a moment, realizing that something was missing. No, someone. Then the plumber noticed that his younger brother was absent from the meeting. "Wait, where's Luigi?"
Eldstar looked back at Mario with pain in his eyes. He didn't want to trouble him at a time like this, but he had to break the news somehow. "Popple has... done something horrible."
Mario knew what the Star Spirit meant, but he didn't want to come to terms with something like that. No, no, no, it couldn't be true. "You don't mean..." he choked out, holding back tears.
Eldstar nodded slowly. "Yes, his game is over."
Bowser, not typically not one for emotion, simply turned away and walked off, claiming that he needed to process this for a bit. Vivian started tearing up, but Mario? He fell to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Vivian wrapped the grief stricken plumber in her embrace, and that's where they stayed.
It could have been hours. Or minutes. Either way, when Bowser came back, he looked tenderly down at Mario.
"Look, we've been enemies for the longest time. But now, I'm your permanent ally. We will find a way to get Greenie back, and we will take back what is ours." The Koopa King reached out his hand. "So are you with me?"
Mario looked up, tears in his eyes. Luigi was right, and Bowser was now their ally. Bowser was also right in the idea that they would get Luigi back, and that they would fix things. They always did. He grabbed Bowser's hand to help him stand, bringing up Vivian with him.
"Yeah. Let's do this." He turned to the Star Spirit. "We should probably be heading back."
"Okay then," the Star Spirit replied. "But I will warn you. The Mushroom Kingdom you will come back to is not the same as the one you just saw this morning."
With that final message, Eldstar sent them on their way.
Well, first Chapter done. This is it. It's not the best, but it's good enough. Be prepared for Chapter Two, coming very soon.