Chapter 17 Delicious Poison

Mario took a seat at the dinner table. The kids bounced up and down in their own seats, a sight that made Mario smile. Sure, the fact that their parents were telling them to settle down did ruin the sight a little bit, but only a little bit. The type of excitement that only little kids could express was adorable. It was so innocent, so pure, so contagious. Adam and Gabby Goldleaf brought out emotions in Mario that he never thought he'd feel. As someone who never had any intentions of having kids, he could say that this display provided a good argument against his original plan.

As he was thinking this, Michael came out of the kitchen with a dish in his hands. Mario studied the dish as it was put in the middle of the table. He had to admit that it looked appetizing; it was some type of casserole, and it had a golden-brown crust over the top that reminded him of apple pie crust. The smell was also amazing, and Mario could confidently say that he had never smelled anything quite like it. It filled him with delight. Sure, he had no idea what the dish in question was, but that didn't matter. It was beautiful; gorgeous. Anyone would be thrilled to eat it.

"Okay!" Michael exclaimed. He turned toward Mario. "Mr. Mario, since you're our guest this evening, I will serve you first." The kids's face noticeably fell, but they thankfully didn't complain as Mario handed over his plate so that Michael could put some of the casserole on it. Mario smiled and thanked him as he handed the plate back. He smiled as he stuck his fork in, and his joy only grew stronger as he chewed on the first bite. Oh, Mama Mia, this was incredible! This was buttery and crunchy, all while having a flavor that made Mario's taste buds dance. He smiled, taking extra time to appreciate this dish. He didn't even care that it was koopas who had cooked it. Once he swallowed, he happily stuck his fork in the casserole again, eager to try another bite.

At least, he was eager until he saw something weird. Why… what was that purple thing in the dish? Whatever it was, it had the brightest purple color that Mario had seen in recent memory. He made a face, his mind trying to figure out what this could possibly be. His mind came up blank, so he turned to Michael.

"Hey Michael?" he asked. Michael lifted his head. "What is the purple stuff in the casserole?"

Michael blinked before laughing. "Oh, those are just poison mushrooms!"

Mario's eyes grew wide as he dropped the fork. He bolted to his feet, his breathing speeding up. "P… Poison mushrooms?!" He put his hands to his stomach, the purest form of panic filling him. "You… you… you…"

"Mr. Mario, are you okay?" Adam asked with a furrowed brow.

Tears sprouted in Mario's eyes, partially because of his panic and stress but just as much made out of the sheer, unadulterated feeling of betrayal. He looked at Michael, feeling stuck between the emotions of fear and anger.

"You're trying to kill me!" He shuddered, his whole body shaking. "Oh man, you're actually trying to kill me!"

"What? No Mario; we aren't trying to kill you!" said Opal.

Mario's shaking got worse. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted koopas!" He made his way to the door, prepared to run away. He wanted to get as far away from here as possible. Considering that he had eaten something with poison mushrooms in it, he wasn't entirely sure how much time he had. However, he was going to use the time wisely…

"Mario, wait!" Michael called out.

Mario, despite his instincts, stopped. He turned back to the Goldleafs, sweating up a storm as he did. He didn't know why he was even giving them part of the precious time he had left as Michael came over and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Mario, there's nothing to worry about. We didn't poison you; you're not going to die."

Bile rose in Mario's throat. "But… but you fed me poison mushrooms!"

Michael laughed, inspiring some annoyed and downright shocked emotions in the plumber. His shock only grew stronger as Michael looked him in the eye. "Mario, that doesn't mean anything!" Right as Mario was really starting to hate this koopa, he explained. "Koopas can't use power-ups! None of the mushrooms, flowers, stars, or leaves that grow in the Mushroom Kingdom have the same effects on Koopas that they do on Toads or humans. So, eating poison mushrooms is completely safe for us!" He laughed. "On top of that, they just so happen to be delicious!"

Mario raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe that?"

Michael gestured to his family. "Mario, I fed you the same dish that I fed to the rest of my family." Adam and Gabby raised their forks with poison mushroom chunks on them as Michael said that. "Do you really think I would serve my family something that would poison them?"

Slowly, Mario stopped shaking. His breathing slowed down, and he started to relax. Sure, he wasn't one hundred percent sure if he trusted Michael, but he was close to one hundred percent. He was about ninety-six percent sure this koopa was telling the truth. After all, he was right about the fact that Koopas couldn't use power-ups; that Mario knew for a fact. And since poison mushrooms technically counted as power-ups…

Mario reluctantly took a seat back down at the table. He slowly pulled his chair closer to the table, feeling the eyes of every one of the Goldleafs on him. He looked at the dish, feeling afraid but also willing to see if this was the truth. He hesitated, holding his hand over his fork.

"It's okay, Mario," Opal said with a soothing voice.

Mario slowly nodded and picked up the fork. Slowly, he picked up a poison mushroom chunk. He sniffed it before, slowly but surely, he put it in his mouth. He chewed, all while the Goldleafs continued to look at him. The flavor slowly washed over his tongue, and he had to say… Michael had been right. Poison mushrooms were delicious. They had a sort of nutty, raspberry-like flavor. None of the other power-ups could hope to compete with this flavor, mostly because… well, power-ups tasted atrocious as a general rule. Trying to consume super mushrooms was like eating a dirty washcloth. Fire flowers tasted like gasoline, and ice flowers? Oh, the less said about ice flowers, the better. Mario didn't even want to get started on super-stars either.

So, he was pleasantly surprised. He chewed the poison mushroom, appreciating this flavor that was unlike any power-up… nay, any mushroom that Mario had ever eaten. He swallowed it, waiting for a few seconds to see if he was going to die or get sick. He waited for a minute and a half, all while the Goldleafs couldn't take their eyes off of him. When that minute and a half passed, he blinked. He put one hand to his throat and the other to his stomach. He wasn't throwing up, let alone dead. So…

"How do you feel, Mario?" Michael asked.

Slowly but surely, Mario smiled. Licking his lips, he took another bite of the casserole. He grinned while eating it, his spirits rising a considerable degree.

"This is incredible!" he said once he swallowed. He dabbed his face with his napkin before chuckling. "Why is it that the one power-up I can't use normally is the one that tastes the best?"

Opal laughed. "I guess fate just has a sense of humor."

Mario snorted. "Yeah, a twisted sense of humor." He took another bite. "This is tasty! I can say that I've never eaten anything like it!" He swallowed and pointed his fork at Michael. "You, dear sir, are an amazing cook."

"Thank you!" Michael said with a laugh. "I don't usually get to cook because I'm working most of the time. But I do enjoy it whenever I try it!"

Mario chuckled. "I can relate to that." He took another bite. Then another, and then another. He was like a starving wolf as he wolfed down the rest of this amazing dish. Seriously, this was beyond words! This was probably the single best thing that he experienced after getting turned into a koopa! He had never tried this dish before, and logically, he knew he probably never would again. As such, he savored each bite. Even though he ate quickly, he still took all the time needed to appreciate this experience.

It was almost sad when he finished. At least, until he asked Michael if he could have seconds. Michael eagerly said he could, so Mario got some more of this scrumptious casserole. Somehow, he enjoyed the second helping even more than the first (probably had something to do with the lack of fear that he was going to die). He hadn't enjoyed a dish this much since his grandmother's homemade lasagna! Sure, this casserole would never top the lasagna, but… well, it was still good. Possibly the second-best dish he had ever eaten.

He was actually disappointed when the whole casserole was completely gone. After all, with a dish like that, disappointment over it being gone was inevitable. But even with that said, Mario patted his belly and leaned back in his chair, feeling a whole new type of satisfaction. "Oh yeah." He sighed while smiling. "That hit the spot."

"Well," Michael said as he came and took Mario's dish from him. "I hope you still have room for dessert." His eyes glittered as he looked at his family. "I got us some brimstone pie!"

"Ooh!" Gabby exclaimed. "I love brimstone pie!"

"Me too!" said Adam. He bounced up and down in his chair again. "I want a BIG piece. I'm talking as big as Gabby's head big!"

"Hey!" Gabby said. Michael scolded his kid, causing Adam to sink into his chair and hang his head. Thankfully, his good mood and smile returned to him as he made his way over to the kitchen. That could be said about the whole Goldleaf family; they all had this excitement in their eyes.

An excitement that, to be frank, Mario couldn't replicate. This was mostly because he was beyond confused. He looked over at Opal. "What's brimstone pie?"

Opal beamed. "It's one of the Koopa Kingdom's greatest desserts." She chuckled. "I think you'll enjoy it."

Mario frowned. That didn't exactly answer his question, but… eh, maybe Opal was just keeping him in the dark because she wanted to surprise Mario when he tried this dessert. Understandable, but still. Mario had no idea what he was about to eat, and as such couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

At least, until Michael came out with the pie. Now, at first, when Mario saw it, his nose wrinkled. The crust was black. COMPLETELY black. Was it supposed to look like that? Was a feature of brimstone pie a crust that looked like it had been in the oven for over three hours too long? Mario didn't know, but… well, this didn't look very appetizing. At least, based on its first impression.

As Michael cut the pieces, however, Mario's anxiety over having to eat this concotion lessened a little bit. It looked like there was some chocolate in the pie, as well as some red liquid that kind of resembled lava. When Mario asked, Michael said it was a type of hot sauce unique to the Koopa Kingdom. Okay, that was a little strange, but you know what? Mario was going to try this pie, if for no other reason than to satisfy his growing curiosity. He gladly took the plate from Michael and took a bite of the pie. When he did…

"Woah." He smiled. "This is pretty good!" He took another bite. The chocolate and the hot sauce in the pie complemented each other pretty well. Which was crazy, as Mario NEVER would've thought to pair two dish components like this together. Sure, he was aware of the existence of spicy chocolate, but he never tried it out of fear. Now, he actually did want to try this. He ate the pie gratefully, enjoying everything that gave it its flavor. Even the crust was pretty good; it was actually a chocolate crust! Sure, it did have a bit of a burned flavor, but it wasn't overwhelming. It actually gave the dish a unique flavor, one that Mario could say that he appreciated.

When he finished, he wiped his mouth with his napkin yet again before looking back at Michael. "Well… I have to say, I'm impressed."

"Thanks, Mario. I'm glad you feel that way." Michael chuckled. "You are our honored guest; we want to feed you only the best."

"You succeeded." It was then that Mario yawned. It was a big one too; his mouth stretched as far as it could, and it lasted for about twenty seconds in total. "Oh, Mama Mia." He snickered. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," said Opal. "It is getting late." She herself yawned, which in turn got the twins to yawn. "I think we should turn in." Her eyes sparkled. "You can sleep in our guest bedroom, Mario. We want you to be well rested for when we teach you how to fight tomorrow."

Mario's soul danced when he heard that. "Thanks, Opal." He grinned. "I appreciate it."

AN: Hey guys, I just wanted to clarify something. You might be wondering why Koopas can't use power-ups in this story when they clearly can in the Mario Movie. Well, this story takes place in the universe of my Super Koopalings fanfiction series, and Koopas can't use power-ups native to the Mushroom Kingdom in that series. This is this way because I started writing Super Koopalings before the Mario Movie was released. As such, I decided to keep that rule in place even after the movie for consistency's sake in my series.

Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! :D