Super Mario World (Series)

by sleepfiction

After fixing a strange pipe deep below their city, plumber brothers Mario and Luigi find themselves sucked into a pipe that warps them to a strange new land: the Mushroom Kingdom! As strangers in a strange new place, Mario and Luigi quickly make themselves useful by helping those around town, also aided by the compassionate Princess Peach and pursued by the dark King Bowser.

2. 1-2: Put That In Your Pipe And Flush It

As night became day in the Mushroom Kingdom, the sun came up and peeked between the hills that were, literally, overlooking the entirety of the land.

It wasn't early morning, only about seven, with the kingdom so placed on the planet that the morning always started right on or after 7 AM. It didn't matter, as Toads all around were already starting their duties in the kingdom as early as five.

There was one, however, who wasn't up when the Toads were up- perhaps it was because he wasn't a Toad at all. Still in his bed, sleeping soundly in the bottom bunk, was Mario. Tucked in soundly with a red blanket up to his chin, the plumber snored on as the sunlight illuminated his temporary room.

Suddenly, a loud squawking woke him up. It was a sound like an alarm clock, but was more shrill, and because of this Mario jolted awake. He sat up blearily, immediately smashing his head into the bottom of the top bunk. These beds were made for Toads, and even though he was a stocky plumber, he was still taller than them.

"Ah, che palle!" Mario cursed, his hand going to his forehead to press against where he just slammed against the wooden bed frame.

Blinded with the hand touching his head, Mario used his other hand to feel out for where that squawking alarm was at. He leaned clear out of the bed to reach it, eventually finding the source and touching it.

It was smooth, kind of… hollow? It was also really big… Wait, why was it so big?

Mario finally uncovered his eyes and looked to where he was reaching out to. Beside the bed was a window, a window Mario had kept open to let the cool night breeze come in. But because he had left it open, he was facing the consequences of this action- standing there, with Mario's hand on his head, was a Toad.

The Toad squawked once more before noticing the plumber was staring directly at him.

"Oh, good morning Mario! I was sent to make sure you're awake!"

The plumber made a noise of shock as he recoiled his hand. He quickly scrambled forwards and closed the window, and the curtains right after it.

"Okay! See you later Mario!"

From where he was by the window, Mario could hear the Toad was walking away. The plumber let out a sigh, rubbing his head again as the spot was throbbing, but the pain slowly started subsiding.

The mixture of shock from the Toad just standing there, and the horror of someone seeing him in his undies, is what inspired that act of sudden aggression. He knew the Toad probably didn't mean to be weird, but… who does that?

Mario let out a sigh, putting his hands on his lower back before leaning backwards and cracking his back with a grunt.

As he was only dressed in his red polka-dot boxers, the first course of action was putting on clothes. He pulled on his undershirt, his button up shirt, and his lucky overalls after that. The socks completed the look- his boots and hat were next to his door.

Next was breakfast, as usual. Mario set forks and knives on the table, just as he did when he was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, still hearing the sound of his mama telling him which side to put each utensil on. Mario always got it mixed up.

Mario thanked the galaxy that the Mushroom Kingdom had a coffee maker. Or, at least, the kingdom's equivalent of coffee. It tasted like coffee, and Mario was happy being blissfully ignorant about where it came from.

He got the mugs out, barely able to slip his fingers into the handles (why did everything have to be so small?) and set them on the counter. He poured two cups, taking the one on the left and returning to the table.

The plumber took a sip of his coffee, grabbed his fork, and proceeded to stab the fork into the tablecloth.

Mario paused. He looked down at the fork, picking it up and looking it over, as if surprised there was nothing there- or that he did that in the first place.

He looked back at the leftover cup of coffee on the counter, still steaming hot and without an owner.

The cup was meant for Luigi, who wasn't there.

"Mama mia…" The plumber murmured.

With a long sigh, Mario set his fork and mug back on the table, moving back to start on his breakfast.

The brothers lived together back in Brooklyn, and while Mario set the table and got the coffee ready, Luigi did the cooking. Luigi was the one who got all of their mama's cooking skills. Mario got his papa's looks and a job offer for his clinic.

Mario picked up the ownerless cup, pouring it into the empty sink with a frown. Silently, staring at the dark whirlpool, he wondered where his younger brother was in the big world outside the kingdom.

Regardless, he carried on, starting on his breakfast. In the end, all he could muster was a piece of toast. His Nonnina was probably doing gymnastics in her grave seeing his lack of cooking ability.

He tossed the final piece of toast in his mouth by the time he was leaving, dressed in his full plumber outfit- the only outfit he really had while stuck here. Mario locked the door to his temporary home and stuffed the key in his plumber's tool belt.

As he turned around, he was suddenly met with a mob of Toads standing in his front lawn. Mario paused in place, quietly surprised at the sudden appearance of the minuscule citizens of Toad Town.

They were all… staring at him. It was evident they had been talking to each other before the appearance of the red plumber, and all stopped to stare at the only human in their town as soon as he made himself known.

Mario stood there awkwardly, staring back at them. He didn't exactly know what to say at first- he was taken aback at the fact they all gathered in front of his home. How long had they been here? It was pretty early in the morning…

Reality hit him. He frowned.

"Alright, alright, get outta here!" He yelled. "Have you never seen a human before?"

The exclamation from the Brooklyn native jolted the Toads out of their trance, making them all scatter in different directions to leave Mario's lawn. Soon enough, the plumber was left alone, visibly disgruntled at the notion he was Toad Town's new freakshow.

But he carried on. He had a long list of jobs today as the town's only real plumber- a literal list, courtesy of the still standoffish queen of the Mushroom Kingdom. That Chain Chomp that Mario unintentionally set semi-free caused a lot of pipe ruptures, and a lot of problems only a seasoned plumber could fix.

Mario wanted to visit the actual town plumber first. It was clear through the numerous plumbing problems that persisted through the town that this plumber, bless his heart, was clearly lacking behind very very badly. Apparently the plumber ("Plumber Toad" as said by others) was an elderly man… er, elderly Toad.

He walked through Toad Town, seeing the view of the castle in the distance. It was a beautiful sight- there weren't any castles back in the Metro Kingdom, contrary to the name. It actually wasn't much of a kingdom… As far as Mario knew, it had a cabinet as the leader, not a king or queen. The name seemed to have just stuck around, he supposed.

Across the brick streets, walking the sidewalks to avoid the various karts driven by Toads through the small town, Mario knew there were a lot of eyes on him- maybe not as many as he thought, as it seemed a lot of Toads were trying to do their own thing throughout Toad Town. He saw mushroom caps of various patterns and colors as he made his way downtown.

Eventually, the plumber came across a marketplace. There were different shop stands as the town transitioned into its (albeit small) business district. Stalls were replaced with stores and business buildings lining the walkways.

There was a building that was visibly older than the others, a giant mushroom building that was noticeably darker. Though it was supposed to be white with red spots, the whites were a dull light brown with darker brown spots all over it. This building had been here a long, long time.

Mario saw the door's sign say the business was open, so he opened the door to head inside. The first thing he noticed was the phone ringing off the hook. Actually, scratch that, the first thing he noticed was that the place smells like mildew.

Hooking a thumb under his overall strap as he walked in, Mario looked up and around at the interior of the big mushroom. The inside walls were dark as well, made of mycelium paneling that Mario could see was common around the entire kingdom- but these panels have clearly been around for a long time from the looks of their deep shade.

There was a desk a foot or two ahead. On top of it was a call bell, with a sign set up right next to it: "RING IT. ONCE."

After scanning the sign, Mario leaned to the side to look through the doorway behind the front desk, which led into darkness. His eyebrow raised, a bit confused at the whole setup in the lobby.

Mario was sent back to his youth, working in the old family plumbing business. His mother would stick a plunger on the small of his back with a bell on the end, and keep it there for a few hours, if she found out Mario wasn't present at the front desk when he was scheduled there. It was her special way of knowing where her son was, something once done by her own mother, Mario's Nonna.

He leaned back the other way to stand up straight. Mario tapped the call bell's ringer with one finger, making it ding.

Immediately after, there was barking, and a dog jumped up so its front paws were on the desk. At least… it barked like a dog. This animal had a round head- didn't have ears or any noticeable nose, but it had two black and beady eyes. Instead of a muzzle, it had large yellow lips with a large tongue hanging out. Its body was white with brown spots- that was definitely like a dog- but it had a thin tail with an orange puffball at the end- not like a dog, really. It had a black studded chest harness on, so clearly this doglike animal had an owner.

Mario stumbled back, letting out a noise of shock and surprise that was drowned out by the dog-thing's loud barking. The animal wasn't deterred by Mario's surprise, barking with a wagging tail at Mario before hopping off of the table.

The red plumber watched as the dog scurried back and through the door to the back of the building, still barking. Mario leaned over to watch the dog trot down the hall and turn to the right, going into a different room and barking in there as well.

Curiosity got the better of him- a trait that his brother cursed every time an instance like this happened. Mario couldn't leave well enough alone, it was in his nature. He knew this plumber Toad was old, and if he was old, that came with a plethora of issues. If the plumber Toad was hurt, and was unable to get help, then right now Mario would be the only person close enough to assist. He couldn't just walk away from that.

Walking through the mushroom building, into the dark hall, Mario carefully followed the barking of the pooch in that nearby room as it began to die down.

"…helloooo… Hello?"

Mario's voice was not just firm, but nonchalant, so the trespassing into the recesses of this business didn't seem like that big of a deal. He almost felt his voice quiver just a little as he worried about what he would find in this back room. If it quivered any more, he'd sound just like Luigi.

Though the constant phone ringing had been a welcomed accompanying sound as Mario traversed the darkness, it ended as soon as Mario reached the doorway in the hall, the entire building going silent as the plumber poked his head to look inside.

It was a bedroom. At least there was a bed in the middle of the room. Mario could see the form of a person in the bed, and the massive mound at the back that would be a Toad's mushroom cap. The doggish creature had its front legs on the edge of the mattress, looking at Mario with a hanging tongue and wagging tail.

Mario stepped in, given reassurance from this animal's peppy demeanor. This person, this Toad, laying on the bed was… really old.

The thick white mustache was something Mario had only seen on his Bisnonno back when he was a little kid- but the mustache was rustling, meaning that the Toad was obviously still alive. That's a relief.

To match the mustache, the thick white eyebrows that Plumber Toad had (Mario hoped this was Plumber Toad and he wasn't breaking into some poor Toad's house) covered his eyes. From the pattern of the breathing, Mario could tell he was sleeping.

Keeping his distance, Mario tried to look for anything to wake him up in a natural manner, so he wouldn't freak the old Toad out when he woke up.

On the nightstand by the bed was an alarm clock, an analog one that looked like an actual clock with bells on top of it. Mario picked it up, looking it over to try and find any way to activate the alarm. Rooting around, a back hatch eventually fell open, showing the plumber that there wasn't any batteries in it.

"Man, what's a'with this guy?" Mario grumbled.

Suddenly, the dog-thing gave the old Toad a big lick across the face. With a loud noise and a sputter, the Toad was up and sitting on the bed. Mario turned, eyebrows raised in surprise at the sudden awakening.

"Huh? Whuh?" Plumber Toad whipped his head at Mario. "Who are you?!"

It sounded more annoyed than freaked out. A nice change of pace from Brooklyn.

"Uh, I'm Mario. Mario… Mario? I was a'told by the royal family I had to be here and help you with all the plumbing problems around town."

"Huh… You don't look like a Mario."

"What do I look like?"

"…A Ricky."

Mario, utterly flabbergasted, couldn't respond before the doggish creature started barking again. It licked Plumber Toad's face, turning his attention to his pet. Suddenly, the old Toad's demeanor changed, becoming happy again.

"Poochy! There you are, boy!" He spoke. "You let this rapscallion into our home, did ya?"

Poochy barked, still happy. Plumber Toad turned, scooting to the edge of the bed and getting up. Similarly to Mario, the plumber had on overalls- luckily they were khaki so he wasn't matching.

"Alright, Ricky," Plumber Toad said. "If you're gonna help with my plumbing, I'm gonna have to know you're serious. No lallygagging or messing around. No pipe goes unwrenched around here."

Mario heard the final ring of yet another unanswered phone call at the end of that statement, letting the room get quiet again.

"First of all, you're gonna need to match my cap."

Plumber Toad pointed at his mushroom cap- white with red stripes. Mario adjusted his own cap.

"Mine kinda matches already."

"…alright, fair enough." The Toad smoothed his mustache. "What's your qualifications?"

"I've a'been in the plumbing business since I was a kid."

"You licensed?"

"In the Metro Kingdom."

"Hmph. Well, Ricky, you can help me out. But I got rules. You follow my lead. You're nothing but an apprentice out there, and I'm your teacher."

"Sure."

"If you follow my lead, we'll get through all these Toads in town in no time."

Mario had a feeling this was going to be the most interesting thing he'd do all day. He stood there quietly, watching Plumber Toad scurry around to get his things ready. It was awkward, especially since Mario was ready to go, accidentally making the guy he's supposed to be following around all day look like an amateur.

There wasn't anything the Plumber Toad would do that day that Mario hadn't seen a hundred times before. Even with the… interesting mushroom-based architecture of the town, it was clear that the plumbing was just the same as it was everywhere else in the world.

So his community service was punishing him in the sense that he'd be bored out of his mind, working jobs he'd fixed hundreds of times before but not being able to do anything about it, because it was clear that Plumber Toad only wanted to do these jobs himself.

Strapping on boots was the last thing that the short plumber needed to do. He accentuated this by shoving a heavy bag of equipment in Mario's arms, making the Italian grunt. Mario squatted slightly from the sudden shift in weight.

These tools were half their normal size for people half a human's height. Why was this bag so heavy?

"Alright, Ricky, we best get going."

Plumber Toad walked out, clearly headed to leave the building. Poochy was close behind, barking once or twice before skittering behind to follow along. Luckily, the bag Mario was carrying had a long shoulder strap, so he could put it around his body instead of using both hands to hold it.

Mario walked into the main lobby in time for Plumber Toad to open the door. On the other side was another Toad- a Toadette, from the looks of her mushroom braids. She was clearly frazzled, her eyebrows furrowed, and a hand up as she was just about to knock on the door.

"There you are!" She said. "I've been trying to call you all day! Why haven't you answered any of our calls?!"

"I haven't gotten any calls today."

There had been a still silence when the two exchanged dis-pleasantries, but the phone was just starting up against at the end of Plumber Toad's reply. However, it barely made it through a ring before it abruptly stopped. Mario turned his head to look at the phone, instead seeing a tail with a puffball at the end wagging behind the counter.

He leaned back to see what was going on. Poochy had pulled the plug for the phone clean out of the wall. The doggish creature noticed Mario, turning around and barking happily at him. After a moment, Poochy trotted out and sat himself down next to Plumber Toad.

The old Toad scratched his chin. "What can I help ya with?"

"My water isn't working at all! I've tried everything I can think of, but the most I've gotten are just a few drops of water from all my appliances! I haven't showered in a few days!"

"Yeah, I can tell." Plumber Toad replied. "You need me to come down and look it over, eh?"

"Uh, yeah!" The Toadette was exasperated.

"Alright then. C'mon Ricky, let's head on out."

Mario was the last to leave- Poochy got higher priority than he did. Plumber Toad locked the door after the Italian left, letting the others stand amongst themselves in the yard.

The Toadette was eyeing Mario suspiciously.

"Aren't you that weirdo who came into town with the princess?"

"Uh… Yeah, I would a'suppose so."

"I heard all of this plumbing stuff was your fault! Is that true?"

"Well…"

"Yeah, all his fault. Now he's stuck with me." Plumber Toad interjected, turning back around. "Don't worry, I'll whip him back into shape in no time. Now c'mon, we're wasting daylight out here!"

Surprisingly, Plumber Toad led the way. Mario took up the back, letting Toadette stay in the middle with Poochy. All along the way, the taller plumber felt the same thing he felt this morning when leaving his home: like everyone was staring at him.

He turned his head and looked at one of the toadstool homes they were passing. As he did, the curtains shuffled as a bundle of Toads hurried away from the window. Mario sighed, turning his head back.

Why was he doing this again? At least in Brooklyn the people staring at him were literal crazy people. Everyone staring at him here were normal members of this kingdom. He was the odd one out here, and it was making him want to return to his wild life out in the woods.

Well… No, he couldn't go back to that. He liked camping as much as the next guy, but doing it permanently? He'd rather that Chain Chomp from before eat him.

Besides, he had that princess helping him out- Peach. She owed him for saving her life, anyway. Once they found Luigi, her royal connections will help him get back to the Metro Kingdom. They were bound to find him with her help. She seemed really compassionate, and brave, and smart… and pretty.

"C'mon Ricky, c'mon c'mon! I thought you'd move faster with bigger legs!"

Mario blinked a few times. He was, in fact, slacking behind a little. He jogged forwards, meeting the others at the end of a walkway. This one led to another toadstool house, one with the door cracked open partially.

"Man, must be a'nice to live somewhere you can leave your door open and unlocked all a'the time…"

"What was that, Ricky?"

"I didn't say anything."

The Toadette opened the door, leading the plumbers into the front living room. Someone was there- another Toad, one who looked just as old as Plumber Toad. Well… definitely not as old.

Sitting in a recliner, the old Toad leaned up to look a bit more presentable to the others. He pressed mute on his remote, making the TV quiet down.

"Well if it isn't Toadso! I was getting worried about you, you old mushroom."

"Yeah, yeah, how's it going?" The Plumber Toad, or Toadso as Mario now knew he was named, grumbled noncommittally.

Though Plumber Toad tried to get out of the area as quick as possible, but with Toadette paused the old Toad was stopped in his tracks too. Mario followed suit. Poochy, on the other hand, was staring at the Italian with a wagging tail, wondering what he was going to do next.

"Been having trouble with our pipes, Toadso."

"Yeah, s'why we're here."

"Good! We've been having to use the hose outside to wash dishes!"

"That's Ricky's fault." Plumber Toad spoke clearly. Good to know he was into the conversation when it involved blaming Mario.

"Oh yeah! That's the tall Toad that was with the princess!"

"Hello." Mario said, a bit awkwardly.

"Huh. Look weirder up close." The sitting Toad said. After a second, he perked up like a thought came to mind. "Hey, Toadso, how's your son doing?"

"I dunno."

"Really? You haven't called him or anything?"

"Haven't talked to him since he left."

"Oh. Well, that's… kinda sad."

An awkward silence fell in the room. The lights changed as the camera showed different scenes of a Toad-based cowboy film. Mario needs to ask for a TV in his temporary home, this looked interesting.

"Well uh, dad, I gotta show these guys the sink." Toadette spoke up.

"Oh okay! Bye!"

Okay, Mario will give this kingdom one thing, it seemed Toads knew when a conversation was over.

Toadette led the plumbers to the area of interest: the sink. As if to show what the problem she already explained was, she lifted and moved around the sink's faucet lever. Holding it upwards to the max, all that came from the tap was a single drop of water.

Watching the drop land in the sink, Plumber Toad stroked his mustache in thought.

"You think there's a blockage in the sink pipe or a'something?"

"Shhhh, Ricky, shut up." The old Toad said. He paused. "It might be a blockage in the sink pipe…"

Mario sighed. Toadette stepped away from the sink.

"I'll, uh… leave you two to it." She said.

"Alright! Poochy, go play with the girl."

At his owner's command, Poochy turned around and went up to Toadette. The young woman was happy to see the dog creature come up to her, smiling and petting him.

With Toadette out of the area, but still nearby, Plumber Toad got to work. The old Toad crouched down, opening the sink's cabinet and looking at the pipes underneath. Being small, the Toad was able to crawl into the cabinet to look at the ones with the water all the way in the back.

"Ricky, give me the monkey wrench."

Mario pulled the tool bag around to his front, opening it up and retrieving what was asked for. He leaned down and placed it in the small outstretched hand Plumber Toad was sticking out from under the sink.

"Now gimme the flashlight."

That one was harder to find. It was much smaller, made for Toads, but he got it to his fellow plumber just as quick as he did the wrench.

"Now stop making all that noise! I gotta concentrate."

The Italian rolled his eyes and sighed. He stood back, hearing that the old Toad was starting to undo some coupling nuts down below.

He wondered about what the Toadette's father said. Not just about Plumber Toad actually having a name, but the thing about his son. Mario didn't want to get into the horrifying implications about the reproduction of Toads, but he was interested in the reaction that Toadso- no, too weird, he's Plumber Toad- had when his son was brought up.

Plumber Toad made it a thing to never answer his phone, even when he's literally the only plumber in town. Did that have to do with his son?

There was a soft ding from under the sink. Mario heard some rustling and knocking from inside the wall- it seemed that Plumber Toad was looking at the water pipes.

"It's dry as a bone in here!" He said, still deep in the cabinet.

Mario's eyebrows furrowed. If there wasn't any water in the pipe connecting directly to the sink, then the problem was somewhere else in the system. He wondered where the pipe led to, thinking about where the sink pipe turns in the wall.

Trailing his eyes to the mycelium planks to the side of the sink's counter, Mario tried to follow where the pipe could lead, but came across something strange first. One of the wall panels looked different than the other. It was darker, maybe a bit burnt around the edges. You wouldn't notice it unless you really looked.

"…Hey Toadette, how long has this plank looked a'like this?" He asked.

Toadette looked up from playing with Poochy to look at the plank. She squinted her eyes, having to really give it a gander to find out what he meant.

"Huh. I never noticed that before." She said. "I don't know how long it's looked like that."

"Can I take it out of the wall?"

"Sure, should be easy. Toad houses are made for easy assembly and disassembly."

Mario pressed his white-gloved hands against the plank, trying to slip his fingers between the planks. It was harder, since his fingers were much larger than a Toad's, but he was able to push the plank upwards to get it out of the bottom part of the wall.

As he did, Plumber Toad was shuffling out of the wall. His mustache bristled at the sight of what Mario was doing.

"Ricky! What're you doing?!" He sputtered. "You're supposed to be doing what I tell ya! Stop embarrassing yourself and apologize… to…"

Ignoring what the old Toad was saying, Mario managed to slide the panel out of the wall. After he did, it showed exactly what the issue was- the pipe that connected to the sink was there, connected to an elbow coupling that turned the pipe down to the basement.

The horizontal PVC pipe, the one leading to the sink directly, was warped and twisted out of shape. It started right after the elbow coupling, and the pipe twisted back to normal only about half a foot after.

Mario and Plumber Toad leaned in, looking over the pipe curiously.

"That's a'weird." The Italian said.

"Must be what's blocking the water!"

"How're we gonna replace it?"

"Cut off the warped part and fix it with a replacement."

"You got a'pipes on you?"

"Well I was the lead tenor in the old Toad Choir."

They both stood back up again. Plumber Toad pulled the tool bag away from Mario and started to look through it. Mario turned to Toadette.

"Would you be able to turn off a'the water to the house?" He asked.

"Oh sure! Hang on just a sec."

Toadette left and went downstairs to turn off the water. As she did, Plumber Toad pulled out a small box and showed Mario what was inside. The top half of the box held two dropper bottles, while the bottom half held what seemed to be a lot of white toothpicks.

"Hold this, Ricky."

The old Toad gave Mario one of the toothpicks. He pulled out a dropper bottle next, putting the box aside. Mario could see that the dropper bottle had a label that had a big mushroom on it- one with a wide, yellow-with-red-dots mushroom cap. Mario didn't read the label in time, but he did see the word "MEGA" on the bottom.

Plumber Toad used the dropper to drip a bit of the mystery liquid down onto the white toothpick in Mario's hand. Suddenly, the "toothpick" grew to a full-sized PVC pipe in his hands.

"Whoa." He murmured.

"Let's get this pipe replaced and call this job done."

Using a tube cutter, they removed the warped out pipe and unscrewed it from the elbow coupling. Mario cut the new pipe himself, screwing it back into the elbow and using at temporary coupling to join the old and new pipes.

They called down to Toadette to start up the water again. However, when they tried to use the sink again, there was still no water. Mario lifted his cap to scratch his head. Plumber Toad was aggravated.

"Now what's the issue?"

"Lemme take a look."

Mario went to the pipe. He undid the coupling, already seeing there wasn't any water passing through. He turned the pipe around- not taking the new pipe out from the elbow. He peeked inside.

After turning the pipe, a semi-familiar sound came out. The sound of water approaching.

The Italian moved his face away in time for something to launch out of the pipe, followed by liquid right behind it. Mario quickly put his palm against the water to block it.

"Hey, hey, turn off the water!" Plumber Toad yelled to Toad.

After a second, the water behind the pipe died down. With a cup offered by Plumber Toad, he let the water in the pipe stream out there instead of the floor. Both of them saw the water come out- it wasn't clear, that's for sure. It was brown.

As Plumber Toad put the pipe back together with the coupling, Mario got some paper towels to clean up the floor from the water that shot out. He wiped up the spilled water, leading him to the object that was spat out just a moment before.

It was a flower. It was semi-wilted, mostly because of the water, but Mario could identify it. It looked like a tulip, with red-orange outer petals, leading to yellow pedals further in with a white pistil.

"Looks like a Fire Flower was blocking the pipe!" Plumber Toad was there suddenly, looking around the Italian to see what Mario was holding.

"A what?"

"A Fire Flower! They're magic flowers that make things hotter. I dunno how it got into the pipes, but it looks like it was caught in the elbow joint and made the water that passed through super hot. You must've loosened it out when you turned that pipe."

"Huh. That's a'interesting."

A flower that make things hotter magically? Mario's seen a lot of crazy stuff, but nothing like this. Then again, the mushrooms here apparently give people super-strength, so this isn't way too far-fetched. Mario slipped the flower into his overalls' pocket.

Toadette came back upstairs.

"Is the pipe all fixed?"

"Yeah, it is. But we got bigger problems." Plumber Toad held the brown water filled cup out towards Toadette.

"Ewww. Why's it look like that?"

"I'm not too sure. I got a hunch, but I'll need more confirmation."

"Well… at least the water's fixed. Guess that's good enough. How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing, missy. It's on the house. I'm not gonna accept payment if there's still an issue."

"Plus they've been waiting a'days for service…" Mario grumbled.

"Well… If you're sure. Thanks for your help, Plumber Toad. You too, Martha."

"Mario."

"Yeah, whatever."

Mario got all the supplies back into the tool box. He started out, followed by Plumber Toad, who was getting Poochy to follow.

"Thanks again, guys!"

"Nice to see ya, Toadso!" Toadette's dad said as they left. "Oh, if you hear from your son, tell him I said hi!"

"Yeah yeah whatever. Go!"

Plumber Toad shoved Mario out of the door and got Poochy out before firmly closing it behind him, intent on getting to the next house. That, or getting out of there before anything else was said about his son.

---

From afar, on the northern hill in Toad Town, someone was watching Mario and Plumber Toad leave that house. The princess was sitting at a desk she had by the window, quietly spying on the Italian plumber. She hadn't been doing it long, only for a minute or two.

It had only been a day, so the excitement and interest in the plumber was still fresh in Peach's mind. She wanted to invite him over and talk to him, at length, about what it was like in this "Metro Kingdom" he came from.

What was Brooklyn? What was spaghetti? Were there more people who looked like both Mario and Peach? Did Peach come from there? What was the strange, hand-heavy language Mario spoke sometimes?

Though she know that they made a deal. They find Luigi, then Peach gets all her answers. The only issues were that she didn't know what Luigi looked like, and that she had no idea where those strange green pipes lead to.

There's one in the woods, but also one in her castle? And there was one in the sewers in the Metro Kingdom. Was there one in the sewers below Toad Town? Why would they even be there?

Everything she tried to find out about the pipes led nowhere. Maybe it was because they had a specific name, but Peach couldn't find a single thing about these warping pipelines. There had to be someone out there that could give her the answers she wanted.

Her door opened. Peach turned around in her chair, seeing her mother stepping in. The princess, internally, was disappointed. She was hoping for someone that could actually give her answers.

"Good day, Peach." Chanterelle said.

"Hello mother."

The queen stepped further into the room, closing the door. "How are you doing?"

"Doing pretty well. Thinking about my next baking project."

"Are you?"

"What else would I be thinking about?"

"I have an idea."

Peach could feel her mother walk up behind her. The queen was looking out the window like her daughter was just a few moments ago, down at Mario walking down the brick streets of Toad Town.

Chanterelle let out a soft sigh. "It's good to see he's already getting to work. I was beginning to think no plumbing in town would get fixed with Plumber Toad taking an unannounced sabbatical."

"His name is Toadso, mother."

"Yes, of course. I'm just so used to him being called Plumber Toad." The queen hummed. "Well, I sure hope that Mario fellow will be done soon. The sooner he's finished, the sooner he can be escorted out of the kingdom."

The princess frowned. She turned in her chair to face her mother directly.

"Why do you dislike him? He just got here."

"He'll bring us nothing but trouble, Peach."

"Yeah, I get that. That's all you say when it comes to Mario. Every one of your sentences since yesterday have been punctuated with that at the end in place of a period." Peach replied. "You just met him and you've made up your mind about him!"

"You just met him too. It seems like neither of us know him." Chanterelle replied. "Visitors from the outside are very individualistic. They only care for themselves, only do what interests them. People like that wouldn't put their lives on the line like Toads do. Not even for an animal."

Peach sighed, her lips pursing. After a moment of contemplation, she continued.

"He's the first non-Toad person to be in the Mushroom Kingdom since… forever, probably. Isn't that the least bit exciting?"

"I do admit, it's interesting seeing how members of the Metro Kingdom look nowadays…"

"So you've seen them before?"

"Perhaps in a book or two. Peach, I would rather you not get involved in whatever that fellow brings to our kingdom. I want you to stay safe. Okay?"

"…alright, mother."

"Very good. Now, will you be joining us for lunch?"

"No, I think I'm going to occupy myself with an activity. Do something outside of my room."

"Well, it will sure be nice to see you out and about. I just hope you don't get entangled in another dangerous peril created by that Mario fellow."

"Not like you'd notice."

"What was that dear?"

"I said I'll steer clear of him."

"Good. I'll have Toadsworth at your door if you need assistance. I'll see you later, dear."

"Goodbye, mother."

With that, the queen was gone.

Classic trick of Peach's mother. Toadsworth wasn't there to assist, he was there to act as an informant. Chanterelle had been doing that ever since Peach was a little girl, to make sure she didn't get into any trouble.

But the trouble she got into the day before was some of the best she's ever gotten into. It was exciting, thrilling! She used magic from her legs, she fought against that Chain Chomp with super-strength she got from those mushrooms, and met a very fascinating and very striking Italian plumber.

Peach watched Mario and Plumber Toad enter another house from her window. She wanted to keep a close eye on him, to see what he would do. Mario didn't act any different than a Toad did, but his entire day seemed to have fun misadventures follow close behind.

She wanted to know Mario better. But she had to get in closer. Maybe do one of those things she saw in movies, where she "coincidentally" is somewhere the duo is, so Peach can ease her way into a conversation.

It wasn't that the princess wouldn't keep her end of the bargain- though she had no idea where to start, she was determined to find Mario's brother- it was that the fact she knew nothing about this guy was killing her. She needed an in. How could she start?

A certain thought crossed her mind looking over the vast lawn the castle had around it. She perked up, getting an idea. Peach left her desk, striding over to the table and opening the door.

As promised, Toadsworth was there. He turned, his cane clicking against the floor.

"Your majesty," He nodded. "May I help you?"

"Send the Toads out to get my Sunday bag. I want to go golfing."

---

They were coming up on house number four here.

The dread had set in for Mario when they were leaving the second house. For who knows how long, Plumber Toad had been neglecting the plumbing issues of the town. Now, thanks to the quakes caused by the Chain Chomp (and Mario too, but that's not important) there are plumbing issues for everyone in town.

For the last two houses, the plumbing issues were minor. Leaky pipes and a constantly running toilet. During which, Plumber Toad studied the water coming out of the faucets. They were dark, just like the first house.

Plumber Toad wasn't telling Mario what his hunch was, but Mario himself was starting to get a bit of an idea. He didn't get why the old Toad was being so flippant.

Maybe it was because of the son thing. The last two houses both asked about the old Toad's son too, and it seemed to make him more and more uncomfortable. Then the more uncomfortable he was, the more crabby he acted towards Mario. It was a vicious cycle.

As they walked to the fourth house, Poochy was trotting along happily. He pranced around the slow moving Plumber Toad and the Italian following him. At least when faced with Plumbaggeddon, the dog… thing was here to keep the two cheerful.

Even Plumber Toad was happy to see Poochy acting like this. Whenever Poochy would do a quick spin or jump around, he would say "good boy" in what Mario could only assume was his happy voice.

"Good boy. You're such a good boy, Poochy." He said. "You always make me smile. I'm always happy to see such a good boy in the morning. You don't talk back or argue, or leave the house for good."

Oh boy, the Plumber Toad was starting to get deep. He wasn't even hiding it now- or if he was, he didn't know he was doing it so poorly. Did this tie back to his son?

"Why would Poochy leave a'the house for good?"

"Huh? Oh, uh… I dunno." Plumber Toad shrugged.

"…is this about that son I've been a'hearing all about today?"

At the mention of his son, Plumber Toad looked over his shoulder to Mario, giving him the evil eye. He sneered, his mustache tilting before he turned back around to keep walking about in silence.

"That's my business, Ricky. Not yours."

"It a'becomes my business when it makes you more and a'more angry when it's mentioned. You take a'that out on me."

After a moment of silence, the old Toad grumbled. "Sorry. You don't deserve all that."

He watched Poochy trot around them again. Plumber Toad sighed.

"My son left about a month ago. Went down to Rose Town. We didn't exactly leave one another on the best of terms."

"What went a'wrong?"

"He doesn't want to be a plumber. He wants to be a kart mechanic."

"Oh. You think that's a'dumb or something?"

"I don't think it's dumb. I've seen him make a bunch of model karts, he's good at it. Really good."

"Then what's the issue?"

"…I don't have an issue with it. I just… thought we'd be doing plumbing together." Plumber Toad grumbled. "I'm old. I mean look at me. I wanted my son to go into plumbing like I did. But when he told me he wanted to go to Rose Town to start working in a mechanic shop, I dunno, I just… I didn't wanna accept it."

"So when he left, a'you were angry with him."

"Yeah, and I'm sure he knows it."

"Why don't a'you tell him you don't mind it?"

"I don't wanna leave Toad Town without a plumber!"

"…so you'd a'rather just not do any of the work and lay around a'moping about it?"

Plumber Toad didn't respond.

"You shouldn't a'destroy your relationship over a dumb a'disagreement. That's not a'what family is about. You need to talk it out with your son." Mario said to him. "You should accept what you did and a'talk it through. Maybe apologize? So you can a'finally have peace of mind and not feel overwhelming guilt all day. Or uh… at least that's a'what I heard happens."

The old Toad still didn't say anything. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, making Mario stop too. Part of him was getting ready for Plumber Toad to turn around and be nasty with him for Mario digging into his personal business. Mario couldn't help it, that's a trait he gets from his mama.

Instead, Plumber Toad looked at the house they were in front of. "We're here."

Looks like the conversation was over.

The two plumbers walked up the walkway to the front steps. Plumber Toad was the one who knocked on the door, staying silent after the short conversation they had. Mario stayed back on the walkway, watching the old Toad.

The door opened. There was an elderly Toadette, using a walker to step out into the doorway. She squinted her eyes to look at Plumber Toad.

"Toadso, is that you?" She asked. She looked past him. "Who's this with you? Where's your son at?"

Plumber Toad groaned, annoyed. "I've heard enough of people talking about my son all day! Do you have an issue with your plumbing or not?"

"Excuse me? Don't talk to me like that! You're the one who's been gone for weeks!"

Mario began to tune out the conversation as the pair started bickering. Great, now Plumber Toad was going to be extra crabby here. He hoped quietly that it was just another small issue and they'd be in and out really quick.

With the conversation in the background, Mario heard something gently pat as it landed in the lawn nearby. Poochy heard it too, perking up and starting to bark, hopping into the green lawn. Mario watched the dog creature hop into the grass towards the source of the sound, soon sniffing around to find what landed there.

Once it was found, Poochy brought the object to Mario. It was a golf ball. Pink, with a crown icon on it. Mario wondered who was golfing nearby- a small part of him wondered if he could find anyone to golf with him, he liked golfing.

But that wasn't the most interesting part about what was happening. Looking back at the area the golf ball landed, it was much greener than the lawn surrounding it. It was an irregularly shaped patch of vibrant green grass surrounded by standard, dull green. Mario raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Uh… excuse me. Excuse me, a'miss? HEY!"

Mario yelling made the two Toads stop arguing. They both turned to him.

"Is there usually a spot in the lawn that's a'much greener than the others?"

Plumber Toad and the old Toadette looked where Mario was gesturing. When she saw the vibrant patch of grass, the old Toadette's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"No! It's supposed to be deep moss shade grass. It's not supposed to be that bright!"

"Right." Mario pocketed the golf ball. "I think I know what's a'going on in Toad Town. Those quakes made by that Chain Chomp for the last a'few weeks have knocked the pipes loose, but also rattled them enough so that they've become either fully or partially a'submerged into the ground, leaking out there. This also means the sewage line, and since it's a'coming up into the ground…"

"It's like a fertilizer! It's what's making her grass greener!" Plumber Toad finished. He didn't sound annoyed, but rather that he was excitedly getting the same idea. "That was what my hunch was! But the water looks far too dirty to be mixed with sewage water. Maybe dirt got into the pipe?"

"Maybe. Especially since the sewage is a'leaking up into the ground. I don't think we could dig into the lawn to see if that's a'the case…"

"We don't need to! There's a massive drainage and sewage system underneath the town, with all the sewage and water pipes there. We can just head in and see what the issue is!"

"That's great! Well then, letsa go!"

"What about my issue?" The elderly Toadette asked.

"Miss, when we get the water looking clear, we'll come back and fix your issue." Plumber Toad told her. "Don't worry! We'll be in and out, lickedy split! C'mon Ricky, let's head on down!"

Plumber Toad shuffled down the walkway, now with new purpose. Mario quickly followed, both pursued by the happy Poochy- only partially disappointed that Mario wasn't going to throw the ball to play fetch with it.

---

On the castle grounds, overlooking Toad Town, Peach held a hand over her eyes to look down into the city. In her distraction, she accidentally hit a ball way off course from the makeshift golf course in her lawn, instead knocking it all the way to the suburbs.

She was in her golf wear- pink polo, soft pink skirt, pink cleats and a ponytail- playing the part of someone who really just wanted to play golf that day. Only golf. She didn't want to do anything else.

With her club still over her shoulder, she adjusted the small Sunday club bag she had over her other shoulder before returning to the tee. Toadsworth was nearby, sitting in the golf kart they had on hand.

"I'm sure that would have been a hole in one if your path was correct, my princess."

"Thanks, Toadsworth."

Peach was normally very good at golf. The only reason it was knocked so far off course was because she was using this opportunity to spy on Mario and see what he was doing. She had been looking far too much, however, and that was the price she paid.

All things considered, she was having a pretty good time. Golf was much better than croquet. Peach barely understood how that was supposed to be played. Even her parents had to concede that they didn't get it either.

So she was here with Toadsworth, who was keeping a careful eye on her, and would surely tell the queen if the princess went off to do something dangerous. It wasn't that Toadsworth was a gossip- he just couldn't keep a secret.

It didn't help that, at that moment, Peach spotted Mario and Plumber Toad scurrying out of town. From the look of it, the older plumber was saying something as they walked away from the house they were just in. They were walking in the direction of the closest city border- the one near the southern river, where the runoff was sent to.

They must be going underground, to the drainage and sewage system. There was something going on down there… and Peach had a feeling something more was going to happen. Maybe Mario knew more about those weird green pipes, since he was a plumber and all. Maybe Plumber Toad did! It was ironic- just yesterday she was doing everything to get away from pipes, now she was thinking of a way to get closer to some.

But alas, the princess knew that wherever Mario went, exciting stuff was bound to follow. Everything was exciting when it involved him- he was the only person who looked like her in this entire kingdom! Plus him not having a shrill voice like most Toads was a nice bonus.

Speaking of Toads with better voices, Toadsworth was the current barrier between her and doing something much more interesting. So her current objective was to, somehow, get away from him. Or… Get him away from her.

Peach didn't want to hurt him, or freak him out or anything like that. Toadsworth was a valued member of the royal court, and has been around since long before Peach was a baby. Most importantly: he didn't do anything to warrant anything really bad.

Distracting him was the best course of action. That way, he wouldn't go looking for the princess while she wandered off from the golf course. But what was enough for him to get out of the area?

He's watching the princess under the order of the king and queen. Maybe…

"Hey, Toadsworth." She said as he set up another ball on the tee. "You remember that bakery downtown that my father likes so much?"

"Hm? Well, yes, I suppose I do. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking of getting some cronuts from there for the guards in the castle, since they always make a bunch of them! I'd pay for them myself… Or I guess my parents would pay for them."

Sitting back down in the golf kart with a sigh, Toadsworth stroked his mustache and furrowed his brow at the suggestion, processing what was asked.

"Oh, what a splendid idea, your majesty! That will surely increase morale! The incident with that dreadful Chain Chomp yesterday made quite a few of them squeamish. When will you leave to retrieve them?"

"Well, that's the thing." Peach leaned on her putter. "I was thinking we could coordinate with it! I want it to be a surprise thing for them, like a party! You know how much I like decorating. How about I get a room ready and you get the cronuts?"

"Hm… I'm not sure, my princess. It may be much more efficient to allow me to dictate the decorating. I could have the servants do it."

"Toadsworth, c'mon! You know all the Toads in town will flock around me the second I go into town. Especially because we can't bring any guardstoads to keep up the surprise! What if something bad happened?"

She felt bad about guilting a Toad who was so close to her, but her little investigation wouldn't take as long as it would for him to get these five-or-six-dozen cronuts. Besides, she was her mother's daughter after all.

"I suppose you're right…"

"And, you can get one of those mini carrot cakes…" Peach sing-songed. "They make them fresh everyday…"

Toadsworth perked up, mustache twitching. His one weakness: cake. Carrot cake specifically- Peach knew it was his favorite because it was one of her favorites as well.

"Well… Perhaps it isn't the worst idea. It would help to, as you said, coordinate."

"Great! You're the best, Toadsworth!" Peach stuck her club back into her Sunday bag. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a hot pink credit card, handing it to him. "Here, take my card. Buy as many cronuts you think the guards would like, plus a cake for yourself. And maybe some éclairs for my father, you know he loves those."

"Yes, very well! Pip pip!"

The old Toad took the card and climbed into the kart. Clearly excited at the aspect of getting carrot cake, he pressed his cane down into the accelerator. The golf kart lurched forwards, driving off.

"Tally ho!"

That kart disappeared over the peak of the hill, heading down to Toad Town.

Noticing a gardener Toad nearby, Peach got his attention with an "excuse me" and gestured for him to come closer with a finger. She leaned in when he was closer.

"Could you please find the head servant and tell them to get the ballroom ready for a fairly large gathering?" She said softly. "Tell them to make sure it's kept secret from the guards if possible! Let them know I requested it if the guards attempt to argue."

"Yes, princess!"

"Thank you!"

Peach stood back up, waving goodbye with a smile as the gardener quickly waddled back to the castle. Once he got to the walkway to the steps, she looked around. There weren't any other gardeners or worker Toads in sight. Perfect.

Her hand still on her Sunday bag, Peach quickly scurried off down the lawn and into the streets, heading the same direction that Mario was headed. She could finish that game of golf later. There was adventure to be had!

---

"You know, my Zizi Luciana had a bit of a falling out a'with my mama a while back. My mama says it's because her sister was pretentious, but I think she's just a'being hardheaded."

"Hmph."

As they were slowly moving down an incline around a protruding drainage pipe, Mario was trying to press Plumber Toad about his son.

The issue was bugging the Italian, for reasons he didn't feel so inclined to explain at the time. Maybe it was the Italian genes in him that made him so nosy. In fact, it seemed that it bothered Mario much more than it did the Plumber Toad himself.

At least it helped to pass the time. The drainage pipe led down to a river for runoff, and inside this massive man-sized pipe is exactly where Mario and Plumber Toad needed to head into. A small trail of water was leading into the darkness of the drainage pipe, splitting the duo. However, Poochy was happily standing between them, waiting at the entrance.

The drainage pipe and sewer area was blocked with bars, and a barred door- almost like the door to a jail cell. Plumber Toad reached into the bag he was having Mario carry, pulling out a ring of keys. He grabbed one of the older keys on the ring, unlocking the door to the sewers and opening it up. Before Mario could step in, the old Toad slipped in first, with Poochy behind. Mario quickly followed, the door staying slightly ajar.

Plumber Toad already had his flashlight on him, clicking it on and shining it into the massive pipe. Mario followed along, staying close as it got really dark. From the light available to him, Mario could see that there were a bunch of pipes running above him, leading towards Toad Town.

"The pipes carrying all that water for the town come through these pipes." The old Toad said, as if reading Mario's mind. "They got something like this down where you're from, Ricky?"

"Sure looks a'similar." Mario responded, still looking around. He turned his body, starting to walk backwards. "I haven't seen much a'this up close. Where I'm a'from, the plumbers only do normal house calls."

"Then who takes cares of the pipes underground then?"

"Usually the cities a'we live in. They have a department meant to take care of it."

"Huh. Wish we did that here…" Plumber Toad grumbled.

Though he worked as a plumber for a significant amount of time in his life, Mario hadn't been in a sewer system like this too many times. It was especially foreign since he was stuck in a completely different place.

This only made the fact it looked like something that could be made in Brooklyn even more interesting. Sure, the Toads looked kind of human, but everything about the society was different than the Metro Kingdom… except the plumbing. How weird.

Mario suddenly felt something hitting the back of his legs. He stopped, turning around quickly. Plumber Toad had stopped, and Mario looked to see what he stopped for.

He had to shield his face from the sudden intake of light. His eyebrows raised as he got a clear view of what he was looking at.

This pipe led to a massive drainage area. In front of them was a massive cylindrical room, illuminated by a massive grate far up above. Though only blocked a little by a catwalk up above, the light still wasn't enough to show Mario where the bottom of the room was. Looking down, it led into much more darkness, and pipes down below. There were a few pipes connected right below their feet, leading further down into the black.

"Mama mia…" He murmured. "I haven't seen anything like a'this before…"

"Really? I've been down here dozens of times." Plumber Toad shrugged. "C'mon Ricky, let's go."

Mario's head snapped up when he heard a loud creak ahead. There was a bridge stretching out over this pit, a metal one, that had seen better days. It must've been here just as long as the pipes, from the amount of rust on it. Plumber Toad walked across it without a care in the world- Poochy followed happily.

"Okie dokie…"

Though hesitant from the danger that this could pose, Mario followed regardless. The metal bridge gently shook under his feet with every footstep. He hoped that was because he was a stout plumber and not because of instability.

As he got to the other side, he stopped next to Plumber Toad, who was still and looking down the pipe.

"Ya hear that?"

Even Poochy knew to keep quiet during that. Mario leaned a side of his head towards the darkened tunnel. After a second, he heard something: drip.

"Water."

"Bingo. Let's go further."

There wasn't any water on the ground until they got further in. It wasn't a lot of water, but it made a nice path for the two of them to follow. It took a small walk, but soon the flashlight caught a drop of water landing in a puddle. Plumber Toad moved the light up to shine on the source.

Unlike the pipes from the part of the system they walked through earlier, these pipes above them were really messed up. The concrete was cracked and busted above them, and something managed to bend the pipes all kinds of shapes- the source of the dripping water was a pipe curved upwards into the dirt.

They were able to see the water dripping down was a deep color, much like the shade of water that was coming out of the faucets in Toad Town. They found the source of their issue.

"Well I'll be. I was right!" Plumber Toad said. "The pipes are all bent outta shape! The dirt's leaking into the water system! What could've made them look like this? Or even break that thick concrete?"

"Uh… a'yeah, I wonder."

Mario tugged his shirt collar nervously. The Chain Chomp, with all it's seismic strength, definitely did this. He wasn't directly reponsible, but Plumber Toad didn't have to know about his involvement.

"This is gonna take weeks to fix! Wish we could just move the pipes back and give it a temporary fix."

"…Well, I don't a'want to get your hopes up, but I think I can a'manage that. Hold this."

The Italian took off the toolbag, swinging it over and giving it to Plumber Toad. The old Toad, not expecting it, grunted as he grabbed onto his bag.

He walked over to where the water was dripping down. Mario still had the power of the Super Mushroom running through his body (he was lucky hitting his head that morning didn't shrink him down) and with that, he could use it in his legs. Mario leapt upwards, jumping twice as high than a normal human, reaching upwards and grabbing onto the pipes in the cieling.

Holding onto a pipe with one hand, Mario touched the concrete cieling with his other hand for leverage. He pulled the pipe down with a grunt, his strength allowing him to slowly bend the pipes back into shape. As he did, the dripping stopped.

Mario swung his legs up to press his boots onto the inverted surface. Still holding on with one hand, Mario looked around at Plumber Toad, his other hand reaching out.

For the first time that day, Plumber Toad had an expression other than idle grumpiness- it was surprise and awe. His mustache was tilted down as his mouth hung open, his eyes wide as he stared at Mario up on the cieling. Mario still held his hand out.

"Toss me up one a'those pipe couplings." The upside-down plumber said.

It took the old Toad a moment, but he soon snapped out of his trance. As he got the blue coupling from the bag, Poochy barked happily at Mario, happy that his human friend was suddenly up on the cieling.

The face on Plumber Toad was amused when he got the coupling out, tossing it up to Mario. The Italian caught it first try, and stuck it in his mouth to get it open.

Where he was from, Mario was raised with the ideology that they needed to get the job done, not matter what. It was the entire reason he was up on the cieling, with a metal coupling stuck in his mouth. Funny enough, this was far from the worst work he's had to do in order to finish a job.

He opened the coupling and got it around the pipe. Once he screwed it back on, he looked back down at Plumber Toad.

"That should be a good fix a'for now. We'll have to come a'back down and fix it another day. Maybe when all the smaller issues are a'fixed in town."

"So they'll have clean water in town, I gotcha."

"Now, lemme just…"

Still inverted, Mario grabbed the other pipes that were bent out of shape. He pushed and pulled, using all his enhanced strength to get the pipes back in line. Though the concrete wasn't fixed up above, the pipes were soon (mostly) straightened out and uniform like they once was.

Once the pipes were to his liking, Mario let out a long sigh. He dropped his feet down, then let go, hitting the small puddle below. With some dirt still on his overalls, Mario dusted himself off. When he looked back up, he saw the much happier Plumber Toad.

"Great job, Ricky! Never had any other plumber around here take initiative like that!"

"Heh, well, I was a'raised to go the extra mile in my work."

"That definitely shows! I guess I judged you wrong when I first met ya. You're alright, Ricky! You're alright!"

"Uh… Thanks."

In the silence after that, Mario heard something behind him. This wouldn't be a problem if he was facing away from the darkness of the pipe leading away from the massive drainage area, but that was not the case. In the dark unknown of the pipe heading away from the light, there was noise.

The Italian turned around, looking directly into the dark.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Plumber Toad asked. His eyebrows furrowed as he stood in silence. "…huh. Yeah, I hear that. What is that?"

This wasn't dripping, like it was before. This was different. It sounded like… footsteps.

Mario slowly backed up, standing next to Plumber Toad as they both quietly peered into the shadow ahead of them. The footsteps were getting louder.

Suddenly, Poochy started barking, startling Mario and Plumber Toad. They turned around at what Poochy was looking at, seeing a silhouette behind them. They both let out less-than-dignified noises in shock and fear at the sudden guest behind them.

The silhouette stepped forwards, becoming more recognizable. It was the princess.

"…Peach?" Mario asked through heavy breath, eyes squinting.

"Your majesty?"

"Uh… Hi." Peach said, a bit awkwardly. When Poochy came up to greet her, she smiled. "Oh, hi! Hello cutie!"

She crouched down to rub Poochy's head.

"Peach, a'what are you doing here?" Mario asked, moving closer to her.

"Uh… Well, I was just in… the neighborhood…"

"Peach, a'this is an underground drainage system."

"I know, I was realizing that as I was speaking." Peach stood up again. "I was kind of… interested in what you were doing. And I wasn't really busy, so, I thought I'd just come and see what you were up to."

"You followed me?"

"Well, by definition, yes."

"…have you gotten any leads on where a'my brother is yet?"

"…No. I haven't found anything significant. I've been studying all morning."

"Ah. Alright." Mario sighed, his shoulders slouching. "Well, next time you wanna follow me around, at least tell me first. You nearly a'gave me a heart attack walking up to us."

"Well I wasn't going to stay on that bridge!"

"Ricky, those footsteps weren't from her."

"What?"

"Ricky?"

After Peach's incredulous question, silence fell between them all. Everyone, even Peach and Poochy, looked into the darkness of the pipe. The footsteps were near, and they were loud enough for all of them to hear.

These drainage pipes were connected to many, many different systems underneath the surface of the Mushroom Kingdom. Most of the drainage pipes, or at least all the major ones, led to the same area: the ocean.

The Mushroom Kingdom had big, wide open runoff pipes that drained out into the ocean that was right below them. They didn't have any real worry about invaders in the kingdom- the worst that could be thrown their way was from Isle Delfino, which was a few miles south of the kingdom's shore, and technically counted as a municipality under the Mushroom Kingdom's government. That was just a resort island though.

What the kingdom didn't expect, however, was that the drainage pipes would become invaded by a kingdom all monarchs in the world would like to forget: the Dark Lands.

Stepping out from the shadow, barely seen in the shade, was what appeared to be a turtle standing on his hind legs. It had a green shell, a similarly colored green helmet, and shoes on.

Plumber Toad squinted his eyes to look closer.

"Is that… a Koopa?" He spoke.

"Koopa?" Mario asked, confused.

The Koopa- a Hammer Bro, to be exact- wasn't looking at either of the men. He was looking at the princess. Spotting the tiara on her head, he held up the makeshift hammer in his hand and pointed it at her.

"There's the princess!" He said. "Get her for the king, bros!"

More footsteps suddenly joined him. Above him, over each shoulder, two Koopas flew in quickly. They were wearing capes, which bewildered Mario, capes that were flickering gold and red in the remnants of light around them. Three red Koopas- Koopa Troopas- ran in ahead of the Hammer Bro towards the group.

Taken by surprise, it took the group a second to run away. But by the time they were running towards the old metal bridge, the two caped turtles- Super Koopas- landed down to trap them in that area. The trio and their meddling dog skidded to a stop.

"What are those things?" Peach asked.

"Bad news. We won't be able to get outta here while the flying ones are around." Plumber Toad said. He put his hand on Poochy's head as the dog creature cowered close to him.

Peach turned to Mario. "Don't you have that big hammer from yesterday?"

"Yeah, at a'home! I don't carry it around all a'the time, Peach!"

"Don't you have anything you can use? Something in the tool bag?"

Mario hummed nervously as he pat around his overalls. The Koopa Troopas were getting closer- luckily their short legs meant they were running slower than normal.

The Italian reached into his overall pocket after feeling a lump there. He pulled out the still semi-wilted Fire Flower from there.

"A Fire Flower?! Where did you get that?"

"It was a'blocking a pipe earlier. Why?" He asked Peach.

"I've seen Guard Toads use that before! It works like the Super Mushroom, it gives you a kind of power-up!"

"What, you mean I have to eat it? Ugh…"

As Mario shuddered, he crushed the fire flower in his hand. As he did, flames flickered between his fingers, illuminating the area. The flames passed over his arms, overalls, down his stomach and over his feet. Mario felt an updraft of warm air as the flames passed over his head and hat, creating a small puff of flame in front of his cap as it finished.

His overalls were now red. His collared shirt underneath, and his cap, were now a stark white. Flames continued to flicker on his palms.

"Wowie zowie…" Mario remarked quietly. He hoped Peach didn't hear him say that- Luigi was rubbing off on him, it seemed.

"Wowie zowie!" Peach immediately said loudly. "Go get 'em, Mario!"

The fiery Italian didn't need to be told twice. He rushed forwards, fireballs forming in his hand as he did. He reeled back, holding it like a baseball as he intended to throw it right at one of the advancing Koopa Troopas.

Then a hammer hit him in the face.

Mario's hat almost flew off, the man falling backwards and landing hard on his back. The colors flickered from his clothes, much like the flames, and suddenly he was back to his normal, average, super Mario. The Hammer Bro grinned, flipping another hammer in his hand from a job well done.

The Italian groaned in pain and annoyance. "Oh, come on!"

Still on the ground, Mario opened his eyes, to see one of the Koopa Troopas standing over him. Mario nearly got up, but was beaten to the punch by Peach. The princess, armed with the heaviest golf club she had from her Sunday bag, swung it into the face of the Koopa.

She was a little peeved. Not just because they were being invaded, but because her desire for a little adventure in the day led her to a most horrifying conclusion: Mario did lead her into trouble. The queen was technically right.

Another Koopa Troopa tried to grab her, and Peach swung the club again, knocking them away. Peach really hate having to do this- she was ruining her best golf club!

Suddenly, a rush of wind came in behind her. One of the Super Koopas latched onto Peach's back, grabbing wrapping his arms around her to keep them at her sides.

Mario was already back on his feet, and now that he was there, he jumped in to assist. The plumber grabbed onto the flapping red-and-yellow cape from the Super Koopa, yanking both it and its owner off of Peach. Mario spun around, throwing the Super Koopa into the convex wall of the concrete pipe.

After crashing into the wall, the cape disappeared from the turtle's back. He fell downwards, toppling onto his back in front of Peach. The princess got her club ready again, gently tapping it into the side of the Koopa's shell. The ex-Super Koopa looked up at Peach with wide eyes.

"FORE!"

Peach swung the club, hitting the turtle as hard as she could. The turtle retracted into his shell, it spinning and sliding around the inside of the pipe. It traveled around the wall, over the ceiling and did a full cycle around the inside of the pipe. As the shell got upright again, it was lined up perfectly to knock over the three Koopa Troopas that were staying back from the violent princess.

"Nice swing." Mario said.

"Thank you." Princess Peach did a small bow.

They were both distracted by something odd appearing in front of them- a feather. It was a white feather with an orange tip. There weren't any birds around here, and neither of them had hair matching that color, so it was a strange sight to see.

Mario reached out as if to catch the feather. When he did, as soon as it touched his palm, it disappeared. A puff of smoke appeared from his back, a golden cape just like the ones the Koopas wore now on his back.

"Another power-up!" Peach said with a smile.

There was a cry behind them- the other Super Koopa landed, now intending to attack the man that harmed his friend. Mario quickly turned, and as he did, the cape swung around him as well.

With the Koopa's arms outstretched to grab the plumber, the cape wrapped around the turtle's arm when he quickly turned. Mario and Peach were surprised at this- when the Italian tried tugging the cape to get it off, he found it wasn't budging.

Mario quickly turned his body, pulling the Super Koopa off the ground. Peach ducked in time for the spinning Mario to fling the Super Koopa away. The caped turtle was tossed back further into the pipe, away from the group.

After a second, Mario stopped spinning. This power-up he got did more than just give him a fancy cape- it made him lighter, more airy. Probably why he was able to spin around so easily.

He stopped, feeling a hand grip his arm as Peach got him steady. Once he gathered his bearings, Mario saw that the end of the pipe was wide open now. He grabbed Peach's arm back.

"The bridge is free! Grab Plumber Toad and a'get him outta here!" He said.

"What? What about you?"

"I can a'handle these guys, they're after you anyway. I'll a'catch up. Go!"

Peach paused for a moment, but did as requested. She rushed away, meeting the happy barking Poochy and grabbing onto Plumber Toad's hand.

"Come on, Mister Toadso! Let's get you and your pooch out of here!"

Plumber Toad was apparently in some kind of trance for a moment. He snapped out of it to look up at the princess, his eyebrows raised.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Let's go!"

Poochy ran ahead of the pair as they started rushing away from the darkness and towards the metal bridge. Peach looked back at Mario one last time before really booking it, still holding onto the old Toad.

They got to the rusted metal bridge. As they did, Poochy jumped onto it ahead of them, turning around to look at them with an open mouth and hanging tongue. Unfortunately, when he did, the bridge made a loud creaking noise that none of them had heard before.

"Poochy!"

Peach and Plumber Toad stopped in their tracks. Poochy's mouth was closed- he was clearly really freaked out from his owner yelling his name. The metal bridge was wobbly under him.

"Oh no."

"Alright, Poochy. Stay where you are, boy." Plumber Toad spoke slowly. "Don't move, alright? Don't move a muscle."

Back behind them, Mario was facing against the trio of Koopa Troopas charging at him. A swipe from one of the turtles was blocked by the cape as Mario brought it up to shield him. He swung his draped arm back around to push the turtle away.

Ducking under another swipe from the turtle, Mario lunghed forwards and pushed him back, his super-strength sending him tumbling backwards.

Mario jumped upwards, only made easier with the addition of the cape feather, and landed both feet on top of one of the other Koopa Troopas. As he landed down, the force of the stomp knocked the turtle cleaned out of his shell, showing his tanktop and heart-patterned underwear.

The caped Italian hopped off the shell away from the Koopa, and quickly spun his body around, knocking the cape into the shell and propelling it into the no-shelled Koopa. The propulsion of the shell carried the Koopa away.

That last Koopa was coming in hot, and Mario wanted to try something he did earlier. He whipped his cape around, wrapping it around the ankle of the last Koopa Troopa standing. Mario grabbed the cape and yanked it as hard as he could, swinging the Koopa around him.

He flung the turtle into the Koopa Troopa he had pushed earlier, knocking them into each other and knocking them out of their shells as they landed.

Mario quickly blocked an incoming hammer with the cape. This was clearly a duo effort, as when he put the cape down, he was tackled by the torpedoing Super Koopa. The flying turtle lifted Mario from the ground, slamming him into one of the sides of the inner tube before they corrected to the center of the massive pipe.

Both of them flew over Peach and Plumber Toad, making them look up. As they soared across the massive open drainage area, Mario got control again.

The Italian spun his body again, both flinging the Super Koopa off him and hitting him upwards with the cape. The caped turtle rocketed up, slamming into the catwalk up above with a loud crash. The cape disappeared, a feather fluttering down now nearby. The catwalk was rattled, with some pieces of the platform hanging down.

Knocked out, the ex-Super Koopa fell down and crashed into the rickety metal bridge. This was enough to destroy the bridge itself, as well as break it in half. The turtle disappeared into the darkness down below, the cape feather fluttering after him. He'd probably get it later and use it to climb his way out.

However, upon breaking the metal bridge in half, the end of the bridge holding Poochy was propelled into the air like it was the end of a seesaw. The dog creature was hurtled into the air, flipping around before reaching the same level as the catwalk. Poochy's chest harness was snagged on a hanging edge of the catwalk, dangling the pet over the now bridge-less deep pit below.

"Poochy, no!" Plumber Toad yelled. The dog, with no stable ground, started wriggling around in fear and confusion.

"Ugh, I hate it when my mom is right." Peach murmured, looking down into the pit. She was jostled by Plumber Toad.

"We gotta do something, Poochy's gonna fall!"

"I don't think there's a way to get up there, Mister Toadso!"

"Please! Poochy's in danger, I can't let him fall! I can't lose him too!"

Of all the emotions Plumber Toad's shown today, distraught was certainly the most alarming emotion from the otherwise grumpy and subdued old Toad. Peach almost spoke, but watched a hammer fly between them and fall into the pit.

The Hammer Bro, the only one left standing, was closing in. Peach grabbed her club with both hands, walking back and holding it up like it was a bat.

"C'mon, throw another one!" She said. "I'm killer at baseball too, and I'm not afraid of a turtle who got into somebody's construction tools."

"Poochy…" Plumber Toad cried, watching his dog up above.

On the other side of the ravine, Mario was picking himself up from his rough landing. Luckily it wasn't hard enough for him to lose the cape, but it still disoriented him. He got up, seeing Peach and Plumber Toad on the other side of the gap.

He saw the Hammer Bro getting closer to the pair. However, he also saw Plumber Toad looking up, and followed his eyes to see Poochy dangling over the gap.

"Oh no, Poochy…!" Mario murmured.

With enough speed, he could clear this gap to get the Hammer Bro. However, if he did, Poochy could easily fall into the seemingly bottomless pit that was between them. The dog(?) was strange to Mario, but it was still Plumber Toad's pet. Most importantly, he was completely innocent in this situation. Mario couldn't walk away from this.

As he stood there and watched, the silence around him gave way to him hearing something soft in the distance: a spraying noise. Water. He quickly got to the edge of the pipe, looking down.

A big pipe, big enough for a human, was one of the pipes that turned into the concrete under the edge to run under him. There was a piece where the pipes connected down below that was busted slightly from the bridge collapse, which gave way to clean water to spray out in a small mist. It was blocked from reaching the rest of the pipe with a closed valve.

He had an idea. A bad idea, that meant more work for him later, but it would probably work. He had to act fast.

Mario slipped over the edge, grabbing onto the elbow of the pipe, having enough space to dangle between the vertical pipe and the concrete. He lifted his legs, pressing his boots into the thick pipe. He grunted deeply as he pressed with all his might. He ignored the pressure in his legs and the stinging in his heart from ruining good plumbing, and popped the pipe from its elbow, tilting it outwards and up into the air.

Climbing back up, Mario lifted himself into the pipe, fitting in snugly. He grabbed the cape and swung it down, it extending out slightly and wrapping around the valve. With a swift tug upwards, he opened the pipe.

Quickly shoving his arm back into the pipe, he felt water suddenly rise around him. Only a few streams sprayed out around him, but the portly plumber was effectively blocking the flow of water.

Not a moment too soon, either. The studded harness tore, freeing Poochy from the catwalk and sending him down to the depths below.

"No!" Plumber Toad yelled.

Like a flower stuck in a pipe, the water pressure was enough to launch Mario upwards and into the air across the gap. He was tilted almost perfectly, able to grab onto Poochy in midair a bit awkwardly, flipping forwards after the interception.

On the downwards swing, the cape wrapped around Mario's ankle. The upwards air from Mario falling downwards caught the cape, puffing it up like a makeshift parachute.

Mario and Poochy made it to the ground of the other side peacefully. After landing, Poochy wriggled from Mario's grasp, barking and running around to his owner. Plumber Toad happily grabbed his dog as he leapt up.

"Thank goodness!" He said. "You're safe! Toador, you're okay! I'm so happy you're okay!"

Peach helped Mario to his feet. The Hammer Bro was only a few yards ahead of them. Behind them, a sudden thud got their attention.

Plumber Toad dropped the tool bag. He reached into it, getting the small container with the shrunken pipes in it. The old Toad pulled out the Mega Mushroom elixir, and picked up one of the discarded hammers from the Hammer Bro. The old Toad flicked off the top of the elixir and poured it onto the hammer.

With the power of a hundred baseball pitchers, Plumber Toad threw the shifting hammer towards the Hammer Bro, as it went down the pipe, it grew much larger than the pipes did. The Hammer Bro barely turned in time before it hit him in the back, pinning the shell down and sending the Bro hurtling from it.

Embarrassed, and only in his drawers, the Hammer Bro got up and started scrambling away.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

All the Koopas started to run away. From behind them, the Super Koopa that fell had his cape back again, and flew past the group and around the enlarged hammer, joining the others to head back down the pipe to parts unknown.

It was quiet again. Mario sighed and turned.

"…Everyone okay?" He asked.

"Yes!" Plumber Toad replied. "Ricky… Thank you. For saving Poochy."

"No problem. Though I thought I heard you a'call him Toador a second ago."

Plumber Toad froze. His face suddenly got red. He returned to his dog, ignoring the statement entirely.

The Italian chuckled a bit but turned to Peach next.

"You alright?"

"Oh, me? Well… I'm fine. Upset my golf clubs might be scuffed, but okay."

"Right. So much a'for 'in the neighborhood' eh?"

"Yeah…" Peach said sheepishly. "I'm… Sorry if I'm weirding you out. I didn't mean to be following you… well, I did, but not in a weird way. I just haven't seen anyone like you around here before, you know?"

"I get it, I get it. Us non-mushroom guys a'gotta stick together." Mario gently elbowed her. "It's a'fine."

"I sure hope so! Otherwise I probably would've never gotten over this." She replied. "…but let's never speak about this. Especially to my mother."

Mario chuckled. "Agreed."

With nothing more to say for now, they turned to where Plumber Toad was. The old Toad was on his back now, Poochy over him and licking his face happily, with Plumber Toad laughing as his dog attacked him with love.

Together, the pair enjoyed watching a Toad and his pooch.

---

After a long day of fixing the issues on one street, Mario was finally back in his temporary home by sunset.

Plumber Toad had been relatively quiet while he and Mario returned to the houses they were just in, acting as if they hadn't encountered those weird turtle people (Koopas?) and the old Toad actually… praised a lot of work Mario did. The last house the Italian did all on his own.

The water was clean and fixed for now. Mario would have to go back down and fix those water pipes permanently sometime, though. Probably build a new bridge, too. He can't rely on the cape feather like he did getting the Toad, pooch and princess back home.

Speaking of, as he was getting ready to relax for the night, Mario wondered what he would do with the cape. He hung up his hat on a hat rack by the door. He reached over his shoulder to the cape, tugging a bit before trying to yank it off.

It disappeared in a puff of smoke, and all that was left in Mario's hand was the orange-tipped feather. After a second, he shrugged and put it on the flat top of the hat rack for later.

There was a knock at the door right next to the rack. Mario wished he didn't take off his hat so soon, but whatever. He opened the door.

Plumber Toad was there, with Poochy sitting right next to him. The old Toad was carrying a bag on his back- not the tool bag, but a real bag.

"Plumber Toad. Poochy." Mario nodded to them. "I didn't a'forget anything at work did I?"

"No, no. I, uh…" Plumber Toad scratched the side of his head. "Well, I've been kinda lost in thought today after what happened underground. Sorry I didn't really help much at the last house before we called it a day."

"Oh, no, it's a'fine. I like a'doing plumbing work, I didn't mind it."

"Yeah, well… You've really given me a lot to think about today. Stuff I haven't really considered in… gosh, a long time."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I, uh… I called my son. For the first time in years tonight."

"You did?" Mario's eyebrows went up. "What did you a'talk about?"

"Nothing important, just… Well, we talked about a lotta stuff. But the point is…" It was clear it was hard for him to talk about it. "I've been stuck here all my life, and I've been plumbing since I could hold a plunger. I even let Toador leave because I was so stubborn… I shouldn't have been, but I was. I guess it was mostly because I didn't want to leave the town with no competent plumber… or maybe I was just scared, I dunno."

Mario watched him, his eyebrows still raised in interest. With no further cue, Plumber Toad cleared his throat.

"I'm gonna sell my house and go to Rose Town to live with Toador." He said. "It's time I settled down. Finally learn what my son really likes to do, instead of just… hiding from him up here."

"You're gonna leave? What about not a'wanting to leave the town without a good plumber?"

"Well, they got one now. They got you."

The statement hung in the air. After a moment, Plumber Toad stuck his hand out, offering it to Mario to shake.

"I hand over the plumbing job to you." He said. "Thank you for changing my mind about my son. Mario."

After a second, Mario smiled a bit. He reached out and shook the Toad's hand.

"Thank you a'for your help, Toadso."

Toadso let go and stepped back. Poochy barked, and almost like he actually said something, the old Toad perked up.

"Oh! Before I get outta here, I gotta give you this for the job!"

The old Toad pulled the bag around his front, opening it up and rummaging through it. After a moment, he pulled out his final gift to Mario- the landline phone from his shop. He handed it over to Mario, who reluctantly took it with a confused look.

"Well, that's all I gotta say. I'll see ya around."

Toadso turned around and left without another word, and before Mario could form a sentence to articulate how he was feeling about being handed a phone. Poochy watched Mario for a second, as if saying goodbye, before the dog turned around to follow his owner away.

Slowly, Mario stepped back into his home and closed the door with his foot. He set the landline down on the small table set up opposite the hat rack.

Well, only a day in and he's the only plumber in town. In a town full of plumbing issues. Issues that he, Mario, created himself. What a proverbial slinky of problems happening in the plumber's life right now.

He went to the couch near the front foyer and slumped down, his head falling onto the back cushion on the couch. Great. This was supposed to be easy. But, of course, he got himself involved in someone's personal life.

It was going to be a real hassle to get everything in town done on his own. Though, once he found Luigi, he wouldn't be on his own anymore.

Mario let out a sigh. He hoped his brother was alright. More importantly, he hopes his brother wasn't angry with him. They didn't exactly have the nicest parting before they got sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom, and Italians can hold a grudge like no other.

But hey, if Toadso can make up with his son, maybe there was hope for them after all.

---

Peach managed to slip away from the small get together with the final cronut on a plate.

Her plan worked exactly as she hoped. She got back to the castle from her little adventure in time for her to change and finish decorating before Toadsworth came back with all the baked goods. It was like Peach had never left, and no one was the wiser of where she had been.

That evening, they held a small party for the guards for all their help protecting the royal family. It was a nice little shindig, it made her parents happy, and Peach knew it helped the family look better in the eyes of the Toads.

While her parents were distracted with the éclairs that Toadsworth brought back to the castle, Peach managed to sneak off from the party. She passed a few servants and exchanged pleasantries, but they didn't stop her.

Walking down the stairs, down to the underbelly of the castle, Peach reached the room she was in the day before- the room with the pipes. She poked her head in to look around, not seeing much with how dim it was, and walked in anyway.

After a second, a pair of large eyes opened and looked down at her. With a few barks, the Chain Chomp was awake, and lunged at her. However, it hit some metal bars before it could reach her. The Guard Toads that day had constructed a cell made of these pipes to keep the Chomp contained. It didn't matter, though, as its eponymous chain was pinned into the floor.

"Shhh!" Peach shushed the giant metal beast. "I don't want my parents knowing I'm down here!"

The music being played upstairs was probably loud enough for the party to ignore the barking. Either way, Peach wanted to act fast.

She took the cronut from the plate and tossed it into the cell. It landed in front of the Chomp, the metal beast looking down at it suspiciously. It leaned its body over, grabbing the small food in the corner of its mouth and eating it.

As it chomped on its food, Peach watched it curiously. Even though it was trying to kill her, her parents and the Toads just yesterday, now that it was secured she could admit that it looked pretty cool. She wondered how it got the x-shaped scar on its head.

While the beast was eating, turned downwards, Peach slowly reached into the cell. She put her hand on the smooth metal surface that was the Chomp's head, almost to pet it.

The Chain Chomp immediately noticed, skittering back and barking a few times defensively. Peach's hand recoiled.

"Okay, not ready for pets just yet." She said. "It's fine, you're fine."

As if processing her words, the Chomp continued to open-mouth chew its food while staring at Peach with a suspicious glance. The princess folded her hands in front of her dress, still interested in the large creature.

Suddenly, the moment was interrupted with a deep twang somewhere behind her. Peach turned- even the Chomp was interested in what was going on, stopping its chewing to try and look at the source of the noise.

Peach stayed perfectly still, not wanting to make a noise if it was an intruder or someone out to hurt her. She wondered if those magic legs of hers could give her a running start if someone was going to give chase. Then again, she didn't exactly know how they work.

Another twang. This didn't sound like someone in the room, though. It sounded like something was coming in through a pipe.

Ting-ting TWANG!

She found the source of the pipe: it was coming from that green pipe in the corner of the room.

Ting-ting-ting-ting TWANG… Ting-ting ting TWANG

It was getting louder. After a second, with a hollow THUNK, something popped out of the green pipe. The room wasn't dark enough for her not to recognize what it was- it was a bottle. One made of dark glass.

As it arced out of the pipe, it appeared to be covered in some kind of… glitter? It was glimmering a purplish color, and Peach could swear that a triangle, a square and a circle popped out of the pipe with the bottle before immediately disappearing.

The bottle landed on the ground, bouncing once before rolling to a stop. Peach's eyebrows furrowed. The princess cautiously walked towards it, as if she expected it to explode. She didn't know what other dangers could come from that pipe, after all.

She picked up the bottle. It was made of a black glass, and in the dim light from the hall, Peach could see that the glass was brilliantly iridescent, making colors of green, blue and purple swirl with the shifting light.

Peach could feel something rattle in there. There was a cork sticking out from the top of the bottle, and with a bit of that Super Mushroom strength of hers, she pried it out. Tilting the bottle upside-down yielded her prize, a rolled up piece of gray parchment.

She unraveled it to see what was on it.

To Whom It May Concern,

Hello. I'm writing this in hopes it reaches Princess Toadstool, of the Mushroom Kingdom. I had received a piece of paper with her name on it recently, and I'm interested in knowing about the world outside of my kingdom.

I hope this letter finds you. I also hope my forwardness in learning more about you does not scare you off. I've felt so isolated and alone for years that I will do whatever it takes to find someone I can make a connection with… I hope you can help me out of my shell.

If you have reached this, your majesty, and you wish to write a letter back, simply drop it back into the Warp Pipe. Most things dropped in there reach my kingdom anyways.

With warm regards,

King Bowser Koopa

"Koopa…" Peach murmured. That's what Toadso said earlier about those turtle people.

Peach knew what it was like to feel alone. She had looked different than the Toads her entire life. Maybe it was ironic for her to act like she felt alone with all these subjects at her beck and call, but she felt so isolated due to her different appearance. She still remembered how small she felt when, as a baby, the Toads would look at her in confusion and even fear. It took a long time for her to be truly accepted.

She looked up at the green pipe. It was called a Warp Pipe, apparently. That was something new. Something she didn't have to pry out of her mother.

What else did this "Bowser" guy know about? Would he have all the answers that Peach was looking for? And he was a king… that meant he wasn't from the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario said that the Metro Kingdom didn't have a monarchy anymore… that means this King Koopa was from somewhere entirely different. Somewhere entirely new!

She called back to what her mother said earlier. Visitors only bring trouble. She didn't exactly know who Bowser was, and he knew her. Or at least her name. This could bring a lot of trouble to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Or it could give Peach exactly what she was looking for.

One thing was for sure: her parents weren't going to know about this.

Peach rolled the letter up and put it back in the black bottle. Tucking it under her arm, she turned and left the room, heading upstairs with intent to write a letter back.