Sarasaland Empire

It was a long trip from karts to get to a boat across the sea, to using a boat all the way to Sarasaland, which means their journey is a success.

Standing under the morning blue sky, the atmosphere is more eastern as there's different houses that look Japanese, Arabic, Indian and Portuguese like it's a diverse set of towns and cities in a well-known desert empire.

"Woah…" Peach gasped as it was her first time being in Sarasaland.

"Wow…" Luigi too is surprised.

"That was awesome…" Toad is also excited to see the country in real life.

"Amazing…" Mario is seeing something far more advanced than the kingdom Peach was in.

"Do they have connections with the Kongs?" Luigi asked.

"I don't know, but this is something I longed for my kingdom to become." Peach sighs while daydreaming about the Mushroom Kingdom's future.

"Hm? So what is it about our jobs again?" Mario asked, leading Luigi and Toad to look at Peach.

"Well, a friend of mine is waiting for you at her palace. Toad and I will be dealing with our own affairs. Also, we're going to learn about other cultures like we did with the Kong Village." Peach answered.

"Ah. Then good luck, Peach, Toad." Mario waves with a positive smile.

"Hehe. You too, Mario and Luigi." Peach giggles and then waves after letting Mario and Luigi have their time together at the empire.

Finally, the Mario bros are alone again, just like how they are in the cells yesterday.

To Mario, he's going to take some responsibility, considering that he's the eldest of the twins.

"Alright, Luigi, let's say hello to those people and go to the palace." Mario said.

"Okay. Maybe they have something good over there." Luigi thought as if he's hungry.

"Huh? But you already had breakfast." Mario sighed.

"I know, but you eat more than I do and yet you're more agile than I am." Luigi points out without complaining.

"Come on. You think I'm the type of guy that'll- oof!" Mario abruptly stops after hitting the back of a woman.

"Ow! Huh?" Luigi is looking at a woman that dresses as a belly dancer, who was in front of a little masked creature that is a shy guy.

"Huh? Watch where you're going."

"Oh! Sorry, ma'am!" Mario apologises while tugging his cap and walks past.

"S- Sorry." Luigi did the same and followed Mario.

To the brothers, they're at an Indian side of the city after seeing markets handled by a goomba, shy guys and humans, giving Mario and Luigi the impression that these humans are different to those from their world, yet look like they're from their world.

It's shocking that Peach was isolated, even after knowing Mario and Luigi, who're also humans.

As the duo approaches a goomba, Mario is giving him a dirty look as the goomba stops calling for sales.

"Dude, what are you looking at? Do you want any apples or are you trying to distract me?" The goomba asked.

"No. I just thought you were associated with Bowser." Mario said.

"What!? You mean that guy who didn't pay me enough!? Bah! I don't want to talk about that monster!" The goomba spat out of contempt.

"What?" The Mario bros halt after hearing what the goomba just said.

"I mean, my so-called friends have shunned me because I refused to support Bowser's need for marrying a princess, I mean, don't you think he's a creep?"

"To be honest, he does come across as a creepy stalker when it comes down to Peach." Luigi agreed.

"So, you're not one of the koopa army?" Mario asks.

"Duh? I used to be, but now my life has changed after I lived in Sarasaland. Now I'm a businessman."

"Oh. Then sorry about suspecting you to be Bowser's minion." Mario can see why he's wrong about this goomba.

"Eh, no problem, man. I get that a lot because of our kind being a part of the koopa army." The goomba accepts Mario's apology.

"Also, how did you stack all the apples for this market?" Luigi asks, thinking about what method a goomba does without arms.

"Easy. I don't." The goomba answered.

"What?" The Mario bros halt at the same time.

"Unlike you humans, we goombas have either assistance or techniques to pick an item up with our feet, mouths and our heads, and my move was the former. It's obvious that we don't have arms." The goomba explained.

"Well, thanks, but we don't need anything. See ya." Mario waves as he and Luigi are starting to leave.

"Hold on. Have you guys heard of an ongoing rumour?"

"What rumour?" Mario asks after stopping.

The goomba clears his throat as he begins the rumour. "Rumour has it that the old emperor is dead. They say it wasn't sickness, nor an accident, but it was murder."

"Eep!" Luigi shrieks while hiding behind Mario.

"That's right, it takes place a few days before Princess Daisy's takeover. They say a child has killed the emperor out of cold blood and is still out there somewhere."

"I- Is it real?" Luigi shivers as he clings onto his brother.

"Who knows. It's a popular rumour to this day and the last they heard from the emperor is by the day of Princess Daisy's takeover." The goomba answers, not knowing if it's all true or not.

"If it's just a rumour, then I bet it's some sick joke in order to manipulate other people." Mario's suspicion shifts from a goomba to some secrets behind Sarasaland.

"I'm not sure about that, Mario. Maybe it's all true." Luigi gulps.

In Mario's case, he's also nervous, but doesn't want to accept until he gets some evidence.

Then Mario sighs.

"Thanks for the information, goomba. But we're here to find the palace."

"Oh! It's right over there." The goomba answers, showing Mario and Luigi where the palace is at and then turns towards the plumbers. "Also, I'm Gomez. If you need anything, just ask."

Gomez, the goomba, is a lot different than other goombas as if he's just an outcast.

Finally, Mario and Luigi pull their caps as they leave.

"Thanks, Gomez. We'll let you know if anything happens." Mario calls while walking with Luigi.

"No problem. See you soon!" Gomez hops while wishing the Mario bros luck.

In the end, Gomez is pleased to make friends with his 'meant to be enemies.'

But if the rumours are true, then the culprit is somewhere near, or inside, the empire palace.

Daisy's Palace

Marching towards the entrance, Mario and Luigi stop as they come across a couple of shy guys that are carrying spears, guarding the palace from any intruder.

"Hey. We're here to see the princess of Sarasaland." Mario said while trying to convince both shy guys that they're not intruders.

"Really? Well, fatty, the princess is in another castle, so scram!" One shy guy snaps while pointing his spear directly towards Mario.

"Geez, you don't have to be rude…" Mario mutters out of disappointment.

"Listen, we're here for a job. She really does need us." Luigi pleads.

"Likewise? Tell me the birthday of our princess? The older one." Said the other shy guy while waiting for the answer.

To Mario and Luigi's shock, they don't know what date the princess is born at.

All they want is to see the princess and that's it.

"It's okay." A deep voice of a man's voice called.

"Hm?" Mario and Luigi move their heads up, only to see a human man that is wearing a hooded suit like some sort of a royal assassin guard.

"Oh, Goro." Both shy guys bow.

"Let them in. They're the associates of Princess Peach." A hooded man, Goro, orders while looking at Mario and Luigi, despite the bros not knowing why he barely covers his eyes behind the hood.

"Yessir." Both shy guys accepted, open the door to the palace as Mario and Luigi gasps. "Be happy that you're able to visit the princesses." One shy guy said.

"Thank you, uh…" Before Luigi gets the name, Goro places his own hand to his chest.

"Just call me Goro. So you're Mario and Luigi, the outsiders our princess has been waiting for."

"Yeah. How did you know?" Mario tilts his head and squints his eyes after being called.

"I'll let her explain. Right now, you two are going to see her." Goro said.

"Um… Okay." Luigi accepts.

Afterwards the Mario bros follow Goro while thanking both shy guys and then walk inside the main hall that is the palace.

With Mario and Luigi in awe about the palace that is larger than before, Mario can see some rooms being larger than the Mushroom Kingdom's castle.

"I'll let you boys have your time. I got some work to do. Any questions?" Goro asked.

"Yeah. Who are these little robed guys in masks?" Luigi is curious to know.

"These are shy guys. The masks they wear are to cover their shyness, but they're not shy when wearing it. The two you saw are my assistants." Goro explained.

"Oh. I see. Anyway, thanks for letting us in." Mario raises his cap as a thank you.

"Hm. It's not a problem. I'm only doing my job after all." Goro then leaves the duo to have a bit of a tour inside the palace, giving Mario the opportunity to check where the princess is at, unless she's in the throne room.

"Let's-a split up." Mario suggested.

"What? Why?" Luigi asked.

"Because the princess may or may not be in the throne room and I'm not waiting for a job she wants me to do." Mario had a feeling that she's somewhere in this palace.

"Oh. Okay. I'll let you know if I see her." Luigi nods.

"Sweet. Later, bro." Mario chuckles and leaves as he starts his search for the princess.

"Later." Luigi waves back.

Now Luigi's all alone.

Since this palace is the size of a labyrinth, Luigi will have to be careful of other things that are inside.

This had Luigi sighing, thinking that he's about to fall into different traps.

Finally, Luigi walks through different corridors as they're not only massive, but different as well, making Luigi himself uncomfortable with what this place reminded him of.

"Gee… Why does this place feel like an RPG dungeon? It's so huge." Luigi mutters while walking through a massive bridge with a huge waterfall next to him. "Is she rich or what?"

Luigi is unsure if all this is paid for and created by the princess herself.

In an empty hallway with pillars like a temple, Luigi is walking up the stairs while getting a view of the countries that Sarasaland has managed to cultivate. He can even see the city of Sarasaland.

Gulping, Luigi is on the higher floor, despite being safe with massive floors.

In a different hall, there's walls and doors as Luigi is relieved after a long walk through the palace.

What catches Luigi's attention is the sound coming from a door which is some sort of a personal gym, giving Luigi the vibe that someone is exercising in this said room.

"Okay… You can do it, Luigi. Maybe this person knows where the princess is at."

Opening the door, Luigi is starting to pull a brave face like his brother usually does, but it's personal.

When he sets foot in this room, he stops.

This gymnasium is fairly tidy with those bikes, treadmills and exercise balls that are placed alongside with the dumbbell weights and other tools.

Picking up one of the hand grips, Luigi is testing to see if his grip is stronger, but the sound caught his attention.

The sound is coming from a girl who was punching a large bag as well as side stepping as fast as she could.

In Luigi's eyes, he can see the woman who is able to punch as hard as the bag swings.

Luigi can see a girl who appears to have a tan-like skin, dark orange hair that makes it look brown and her clothing looks like an average human wears at the gym, giving her flexibility on her shoulders, arms, stomach and legs.

Now Luigi can see this girl, despite knowing her eyes are menacing looking as people described what a delinquent looks, he can see his ideal girl in real life.

'Finally! A tomboy I've been searching for!' Luigi's thought races as it crashes down to his heart.

Little did he know that he's walking while watching this woman swing her fist as fast as she could as sweat visibly poured down from her face, arms, stomach and legs.

Then, he yelped as he caught his leg onto a dumbbell as he crashed down.

"Ow!"

"Hm? Who's there?" The woman asks after stopping her punching session and catches the bag.

"Eep!" Hastily, Luigi opens the door and slams it close without the woman noticing his presence.

Little did Luigi know that he's now in a locker room, causing him to panic.

"Aah! This is bad! This is bad!" Luigi quietly prays while waiting for the woman to continue her exercises.

But unfortunately, that's not the case.

"Azalea? Is that you? If not, then Goro, shouldn't you be on your duty?" A woman called.

Luigi shrieks as he's doomed to be caught by a woman he just saw.

Before Luigi is thinking, he quickly jumps into the locker and hides while avoiding contact, only for Luigi to realise he made a big mistake.

The woman has arrived as Luigi can see through the lockers.

"Odd. Must be my imagination. Oh right, I forgot, the outsiders." The woman said and then opened her own locker while taking off her sports gear.

That also includes her underwear.

This made Luigi gasp as he could see everything.

Yes, Luigi can see everything from this woman and her bending down made things worse.

Luigi is quick to cover himself as he feels weird by his overalls.

She's humming while pulling out a fresh pair of underwear, but before doing that, she's in need of a shower.

Luigi is relieved that he's safe, but is not getting out until she's gone.

Before he relaxes, a phone is ringing which makes the Super Mario Bros theme song, alerting Luigi to answer.

This catches the woman's attention as she's covering herself with a towel as well as soaking the floor by following the sound.

"What!?" Luigi hisses through the phone.

[Hey, Luigi, have you ever noticed that this palace is bigger than we thought?] Mario's voice called.

"Yeah. And?"

[I'm willing to bet that she's the richest princess of this world.] Mario had a feeling about this place.

"Hello?" A woman called.

"N- No one's here! Please leave a message!" Luigi shrieked after hanging up on the phone.

"Now look, whoever you are, I know you're here to see me like a pervert, so there's nothing you can do to escape." The woman cracks her knuckles, making Luigi gulp for his life.

Before Luigi takes a deep breath, he crashes out of the locker.

What's worse, he was unaware that his finger slipped on the towel, causing the woman to yelp.

Now Luigi is out which had him quickly pick himself up and hold a towel to give it back.

"S- Sorry- ah!" Luigi shrieks again, but this time, he slips on a wet floor as he collapses on his big nose.

The woman stops as she can see a moustache man that is clumsy, yet respectable as he's trying to apologise.

But to Luigi, he sees it all, making his face turn strawberry red.

With the woman squatting down, before Luigi looks downwards, he ends up headbutting the floor to avoid gazing at a woman's body.

"H- Hi…" Luigi nervously chuckles as his mind is screaming for mercy.

The woman wasn't embarrassed nor afraid, but was actually comfortable as her smile is showing some positivity to someone she sees as a cutie.

"Hi, I'm Daisy." Daisy introduces herself, despite being completely naked in front of Luigi.

While Daisy raises her hand, Luigi's heart is punching his chest so hard as well as speeding itself like a submachine gun.

Before Luigi grabs her hand with his glove covered hand, Luigi returns the towel and then zooms out of the locker room while screaming, "I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING!"

He would've said "I don't know you," or, "We don't know each other," or "You didn't see me."

Daisy is surprised to see someone embarrassed and was able to see her in her personal gym room, giving the impression that a cute boy like Luigi is actually attracted to someone like her and was embarrassed by the results.

"What a strange guy. A cute one as well. He seems to be my type." Daisy chuckles, knowing that it feels like love at first sight.

As Daisy receives a towel back, she can tell that Luigi is fixated on her before the locker incident.

Finally, Daisy is going back to take a shower after encountering a man that she just met, and a cute one as well.

Maybe they'll get to know each other another time.