Game Jumpers: Paper Mario 64

by Kooper Shellington

Join your favorite SSU Crew as they jump into various video games! The SSU Crew decides to jump into the world of Paper Mario, a land made completely of paper! Can the crew make it through the story of Paper Mario in their own unique ways? How will the original plot react with the inclusion of the teens? Read and find out! Rated T for minor language.

3. Storming Koopa Bros Fortress!

Welcome all to another installment of Game Jumpers: Paper Mario 64! Last chapter saw our merry band of heroes heading to Shooting Star Summit where they met their savior, Eldstar, along with the rest of the Star Spirits. It's there that they learn that Bowser has not only captured Peach, but the Spirits themselves, preventing them from countering Bowser's power. Eldstar and the others then inform Mario and Kimani that they need the help of all seven Star Spirits if Mario and the party want even a shot at Bowser. With the remainder of their power waning, the Spirits faze away, leaving the group with questions and concerns. After some planning, they head back to Toad Town, being stopped by a spunky Star Kid named Twink, who's been working close at hand with Princess Peach. With his assistance, the party gains access to Action Commands, and they even learn that Princess Peach is fine and even the whereabouts of Jordan! The gang quickly enters Toad Town, where they're informed that a mystical wizard named Merlon is looking for them. Once they meet Merlon, he gives them insight through his fortunes, which points them to two locations. Koopa Village, where they have to get assistance from a Blue Shelled Koopa along with one of Kimani's lost pals and Koopa Bros. Fortress, where the first of the seven Star Spirits are being held captive. Their path is quickly stopped by some shifty Toads, who are revealed to be the Koopa Bros. in disguise! With the way clear and their resolve bright, the party pushes towards the Koopa Bros. Fortress, eager to start their quest in gathering the 7 Star Spirits!

---

Chapter 3: Storming Koopa Bro's Fortress!

Pleasant Path

Mario and the gang arrived in Pleasant Path, the path leading to the fortress. The name would have been accurate if it wasn't for the Koopas patrolling around.

"Oh yeah! I'm eager to hit something right now!" Kimani exclaimed as he and Firebrand dashed forward. Mario raised an arm to stop him but it fell on blind eyes as Kimani attacked the Koopa, earning the First Strike and entering battle. Once they entered, Kimani attacked him but he was surprised when he did no damage. A clanking sound rang out and a small star appeared from where Kimani hit him. Mario and Goombario caught up as Firebrand tried his luck, only to do the same with his two swipes.

"So, uh... He's not taking damage..." Kimani deadpanned, getting bonked by the Koopa's Shell Shot then dogpiled by a Goomba that was passing by. Goombario snickered as he Tattled on him afterwards.

"Heh. No wonder you didn't. This is a Koopa Troopa. Everybody knows Koopa Troopas. They're Bowser's followers. Max HP: 4, Attack Power: 1, Defense Power: 1. Their shells are hard. If you can flip 'em over, their defense power will fall to 0 and it will become much easier for you to defeat 'em. You can flip 'em with a POW Block or a Jump attack. Kimani's strike attacks won't flip them, however," Goombario lectured. Kimani growled in return as Mario hopped on him. The first jump did no damage but flipped him while the second jump did one damage to him. The Koopa struggled to get up but failed, allowing Kimani to dash up and Strike him. While he did that, the Goomba attacked Mario, but he blocked the hit. Kimani messed up the second command, leaving the Koopa with 1 HP. Firebrand Swiped him off the face of the planet, however. The Goomba came after Kimani this time but he was Countered for his troubles, getting punted away for 1. Goombario followed up this time, ending the battle. The gang continued along, running into a party of 2 Paragoombas but they didn't last long before the party's onslaught.

The group continued along, idly chatting with one another. Mario bumped the block they passed, earning some coins for the party. Kimani spotted another Badge Block, but it was being gatekept by a team of a Paragoomba and a Spike Goomba.

"Hey! Get out the way!" Kimani yelled, punting the Goomba in the face, earning the First Strike. He smacked the Goomba again when the battle actually started, taking out the Spike Goomba. Firebrand looked up at the flying one, inhaled, and fired a Fireball at the Paragoomba, incinerating him and winning the battle for them. Mario clapped for Firebrand, who bowed while Kimani just crossed his arms and snorted, a slight grin on his face. Mario walked up and smacked the Badge Block, earning a badge with a swirl on it. Goombario identified it as the Dizzy Badge. Kimani spotted a Smash Shard in his color as well, snagging it and smashing it into his chest. He glowed for a moment before it died down.

"What did you get this time?" Goombario asked. Kimani thought about it for a moment.

"Uh.. seems like I got Second Chance back,"

"Second Chance?"

"Basically, I have a chance of surviving should I run out of health. Uh, oh. It works differently here. Should I run out of health, I'll automatically survive with 1. It's not a chance anymore," Kimani explained, glancing at his status sheet. Firebrand could see it but Mario and Goombario had no idea what he was looking at so intensely.

"Ooh, that's handy!" Goombario said as Mario bonked another block, earning another Fright Jar. They entered the next area where a ? block and Koopa were immediately seen. Mario, being a fan of being prepared, went for the ? Block. Kimani, being a fan of wanton violence, immediately attacked the Koopa with a Power Strike, dealing 2 due to his defense. He followed up with another strike, which was enough to take him out. It did cost him 4 FP but it was worth it in Kimani's eyes. He didn't spot the second one so Firebrand spent more of Kimani's FP to Fireball the other one. He only did 1 damage however. The Koopa went for Kimani's legs, who still couldn't get the timing down, so he got smacked in the ankle for 1, leaving him with 9. Mario entered the battle, stomping on him for 1. Goombario finished it with a perfect Headbonk, earning more Star Points for the team. They continued along but they were stopped by a lack of passage across a gap. Down below was water. Mario was confident in his swimming but he was more concerned about the jump that he couldn't make. He sourly wished he laid off the pasta years ago. He eyed Kimani, who was far away from the gap as possible. Mario gained a question mark before he raised his arm in question.

"Oh, uh... I can't float. Body's too dense or whatever the doctor told me," Kimani told him.

"Oh, that's a real thing. Your bones are denser than your lungs and general body buoyancy. You drink a lot of milk?" Goombario asked.

"Tons. But yeah, I'm not a fan of water for that reason," He finished. Mario nodded, respecting his feelings. Mario suggested that they looked for a way to all pass, causing the group to nod in return. The only thing of interest was a tree. Mario walked over and slammed his hammer on it, causing a switch to land next to where Kimani was. Kimani raised an eyebrow before he kicked the switch, causing a bridge to get built.

"Huh. Convenient," Kimani said, moving over and tapping the bridge with his foot to test it. Mario offered to take the first step, which he did so. It made no moves of falling apart. Mario ushered them over, which they did so. Walking over, they saw a Brick Block. Mario smacked it, causing a Spiky Goomba to Headbonk him for 2 damage. Another one joined moments after. Mario rubbed his head with a grumble before he attacked him with his hammer, destroying it. Goombario couldn't do anything this turn but an idea popped up.

"Hmm... you know. Maybe we don't have to keep our switches between us, Mario. Me and Firebrand could swap places if we need to,"

"Hmm. That's a good idea. Might save someone from some unnecessary damage," Firebrand commented.

"Yep! Try it out, Mario! Hit the R button!" Goombario told him. Mario raised an eyebrow but thought of the letter "R", causing Firebrand and Goombario to swap positions.

"Hey, it worked! Let me take care of him, Mario," Firebrand said. Mario ushered toward the enemy, allowing him to Swipe him, ending the battle. Once it ended, the partners went back to their respective leaders.

"Nice idea, Goombario!" Kimani told the Goomba child, causing him to beam in response.

"Thanks! Kimani, you can do this as well on your turn. Just hit the R button and I'll come running! Just make sure Firebrand hasn't attacked yet or else I won't be able to. Same with you, Mario," He told them. The two nodded before they continued along. They took care of a Goomba and Spiked Goomba, climbed up a small hill, snatched a Sleepy Sheep from behind a fence then used said sheep on the next enemy party consisting of a Koopa, Paragoomba, and Spiked Goomba, making the fight a cakewalk.

They entered the next area where one of the hills with eyes were staring extra hard at the group. Kimani approached it, watching as it spun to keep him in sight. Confused, (and a bit freaked out) he started to run around it. The strange thing about this is that music started playing and hearts started falling from it. Mario quizzingly walked up to one and touched it, healing 1 HP. He blinked before he snagged more until his health was full. he then took Kimani's place as he did the same. With the two heroes fully healed, they stopped, which in turn stopped the music. They shared a look but said nothing about it as they continued along. Firebrand slithered towards a sign.

"Hmm. Koopa Village is down these stairs," He told everyone, causing them to nod and change course. Heading down the stairs, they walked under a bridge, around the bend, and saw three brick blocks sitting there. Mario hammered them, but surprisingly, they respawned. Confused, he tried again, only for the same thing to happen. While he did that, Kimani spotted a Honey Syrup back on the high ground, hidden behind an Eye Hill as he called them. He didn't want to climb back up there so he eyed Firebrand.

"What?"

"If I give you a boost, could you grab that item?" Kimani asked, pointing at said item. Firebrand looked up and saw it.

"No! Just go get it!"

"I am no longer asking. HYAH!" Kimani bluntly said, snagging Firebrand and hurling him like a javelin. Despite the forcefulness and the fact that Firebrand had squirmed a bit before launch. Kimani was able to perfectly toss him to the correct spot. Firebrand landed on his feet, a bit surprised by the lack of pain.

"...Oh," He simply said. He turned back around and glared at Kimani, who was admiring his handiwork.

"I'll have your head for that!" He yelled, hurling the item at Kimani, who got blinded by the sun and was, therefore, whacked in the head by the item. Kimani grumbled before he picked the Honey Syrup up. He waited until Firebrand leaped back down, landing softly on Kimani's shoulder before walking over to Mario, who had finally figured out the puzzle, being rewarded with a blue shard and a red badge with a speaker. When he placed it on his hammer, he slammed it down, causing it to make a different noise. Mario found it charming, so he kept it while Kimani kept the shard for safekeeping. They entered the next entrance after that, being greeted by...

---

Koopa Village

...Koopa Village, which was the home of... well, various Koopas. One of them came up to the group.

"Can it be...? Are you Mario? Welcome to Koopa Village! I wish we could really welcome you, but we're in big trouble," The Koopa started before a sheepish look appeared on his face. Kimani crossed his arms in interest while Mario raised an arm, asking him about the trouble. The Koopa sighed before moving slightly to the side, allowing the group to peek into the village.

"Can't you see what kind of madness is going on? This village is in an uproar because of the Fuzzies!" He exclaimed. The group could see various black... uh, fuzzy creatures bouncing around. Some had shells in their hands, which were the property of various Koopas, who were chasing them but they weren't fast enough.

"You...do know what Fuzzies are like, don't you, Mario?" He asked. Mario nodded, remembering the one time Luigi found one in their garbage one night. His poor brother almost passed out from fear and Mario had to chase it away with a broom.

"Mean guys. They're really naughty," The Koopa huffed. As he said that, a Fuzzy started prowling towards him from the back. Kimani and Firebrand saw it but they didn't say anything as they wanted to see what would happen. Once he got close enough, the Fuzzy pounced on him, knocking him out of his shell and gunning away, leaving the Koopa in his undershirt and boxers. Kimani and Firebrand stiffed laughter while Goombario and Mario sweatdropped.

"Oh, no! Stupid Fuzzy! Get back here with my shell!" He exclaimed, chasing after him but he was nowhere close to being fast enough. As punishment for their laughter, Mario demanded they help get the shell back. The two sweatdropped from the hardened stare Mario was giving them, which caused them to spring into action, darting after the Fuzzy with loud battle cries. Kimani dove for it once he was close enough, but he was avoided, causing him to faceplant on the ground. The Fuzzy landed on his back, laughing at him. As he did that, Firebrand slinked toward them like a cat. A mischievous glint sat in his eyes as he sprung towards him, claws outstretched. The Fuzzy saw this attack at the last moment, jumping out of the way. This caused Firebrand to dig his claws into Kimani's back by accident.

"YEOW!" Kimani yelped, springing up in pain as Firebrand stayed attached to his back. He reached back and yanked Firebrand off, turning to him afterward. Firebrand sheepishly grinned before he slithered up until he was resting on Kimani's shoulders.

"My fault. They're faster than I anticipated..."

"Well, blast them then!" Kimani heckled, pointing at the Fuzzy. Firebrand facepalmed before he spat a fireball at the Fuzzy. It hit him, causing him to drop the shell. The Koopa dashed over with speeds that would have been convenient before he hopped into the shell.

"Oh! My shell! Thank you so much!" He cheered, handing them a Koopa Leaf as thanks. The two shared looks before shrugging. Kimani turned to Mario.

"You two go ahead and find Kooper. We'll take care of the Fuzzies! BONZAI!" Kimani told Mario, yelling that afterward as he took off with Firebrand spitting fire at anything that remotely looked circular. Mario simply smiled at his gumption while Goombario sweatdropped. Mario and Goombario trudged after them, looking around for any blue shells. A blue-shelled roof caught his attention, but after going inside, he saw two Cherry Bombs and a normal Koopa relaxing in a lawn chair. The inside of his house looked like a beach and even the floor was sand. He even had a coconut tree inside.

"Sup dude. Did you come to vibe away from the pandemonium outside?" The Koopa coolly said. Mario was instantly put at ease while Goombario noticed the room got chillier.

"Uh, no... dood?" Goombario said weirdly. Mario added that they were looking for a blue-shelled Koopa. The Koopa nodded.

"Ah, Koop dude? He's in the green house down the path. A seriously bodacious dude he is,"

"Oh. Thanks... dood!"

"Of course, little dude. Stay wavy! You too, M!" He told them as they exited. Outside, they saw the Koopas in this general area with their shells. They also saw various Fuzzies on fire.

"O-oh wow... They sure are effective, eh?" Goombario asked. Mario simply nodded, a sweatdrop on the back of his head. He feared going into the next area and sure enough, their reign of terror was still in motion. Firebrand just finished torching a Fuzzy while Kimani gulped down the Honey Syrup to regain the FP Firebrand ravaged. Once they finished barbecuing the last visible Fuzzy, they joined back with Mario, a satisfied expression on their faces.

"Welp, the village is clear for now," Kimani told them.

"If any more show up, you'll have to take care of them. I ended up burning through all of Pint's FP," Firebrand added on, causing Kimani to sweatdrop.

"Well... Good on ya? We ended up finding Kooper's whereabouts. He's in a green house." Goombario told them. Kimani looked to his left where a green house was currently bouncing up and down.

"You mean this house with a lot of commotion?" He mentioned. The group looked as well.

"Guess so," Goombario muttered. Mario took the lead and opened the door, but before he could come completely in, a Koopa wearing a red bandana and a band-aid on his left cheek came out before he shut the door.

"I'm kind of busy right now!" He loudly told the group, a frown plastered on his face. Mario apologized for trying to barge in. Kooper nodded before he looked over Mario once more, an exclamation mark appearing over his head.

"What!? Wait... Could it be...?! Aren't you Mario!?"

"The one and only. I'm Kimani, this is Firebrand and that's Goombario," Kimani introduced. Kooper waved to them, a smile on his face before he turned back to Mario.

"You are! My name's Kooper! Oh, I'm so psyched to meet you! Us meeting here has gotta be fate or something. I need a huge favor... I hope you'll help me out,"

"Well, we need your help in the future, so sure. Lay it on us," Firebrand told him. Mario nodded in agreement.

"This wild Fuzzy took my shell, which, next to my life, is the most important thing I have. I can't go out without my shell, period. Way too embarrassing,"

"But you're outsi-" Kimani started, only to get nudged by Mario.

"The problem is, the Fuzzies are too fast for me to catch alone. So if you don't mind, can you help me get my shell back? I'm begging you!" He finished, placing his hands together and dropping to his knees. Mario quickly made Kooper stand up. He couldn't stomach people begging him. It always made him feel bad. Besides, even if Kooper wasn't needed, Mario wouldn't hesitate to help someone in need.

"Hey, Mario. It looks like he's in a bad way. We ought to help him out," Goombario commented. Mario quickly raised his arm, explaining that they would be more than happy to help. Kooper smiled and thanked the group before he placed his shoulder against the door.

"The Fuzzy that took my shell is just inside my house. I'll guard the door while you grab him like: Whump!" Kooper explained, punching one of his hands into his free one at the end. The group nodded before Kooper cracked the door open enough for the gang to go in. Jumping on Kooper's hammock was the Fuzzy. Mario counted down from three before the entire group lunged for the Fuzzy. Like Kimani's previous attempt, the Fuzzy had no problem avoiding the attack and bounced out the back door. The dogpiled heroes all groaned in harmony before they unpiled and looked at the open back door.

"He could have warned us about the COMPLETELY OPEN DOOR THERE!" Kimani yelled, turning towards the front door with that one. Mario simply patted him on the arm before he raised his other arm.

"...Grrr... Yeah, fine. Let's follow him," Kimani grunted, turning and running out the door with the others following him. They all ran down the path but a Fuzzy jumped from one of the trees, landing the First Strike on Mario. The Fuzzy bit him for 1 HP, which wasn't terrible but Mario saw a heart with a one inside float above the Fuzzy for a moment. Mario brought this to the group's attention, letting Goombario go first.

"Ah, good eye Mario. This is a Fuzzy. Why do Fuzzies always jump up and down? They need to chill out! Max HP is 3, Attack Power is 1 and Defense Power is 0. The problem with Fuzzies is their quickness. It's really tough to time their attacks. If they latch on to you, watch out! They'll absorb your HP... Hmm, it also seems like they'll get an extra attack if they bite you. They can only get it once, however,"

"So if we don't guard them, they attack twice?" Kimani asked as Mario jumped on the Fuzzy twice, bringing it to one HP. The Fuzzy jumped on Mario and started leeching him again. Mario tried to time his block but the attack was delayed, which threw Mario off. He got bit once then again, taking 2 damage overall. The Fuzzy healed to full health as well.

"Alright, he's annoying," Kimani deadpanned as he attacked the Fuzzy. He got a perfect on his commands, which ended the Fuzzy.

"Mario, you ok?" Goombario asked. Mario eyed his 7 units of health and sighed before he nodded. The party continued along, spotting a badge and Blue Smash Shard on a high log. No one on the team could reach it, and Firebrand forbade Kimani from throwing him ever again, so they were forced to pass. 2 more Fuzzies attacked the group, which was able to deal some damage to the team. Mario got bit twice again and Kimani suffered some damage as well, leaving Mario with 5 and Kimani with 8. Mario checked their items and split their last Mushroom, healing the team to full while Kimani bit into 2 Koopa Leafs he earned, bringing his FP back to 6. They entered the next area where they saw the Fuzzy dip into one of 4 trees lined up. The gang ran up to the tree where the Fuzzy slid down from a thread. He was just out of reach for the group.

"Meeeooork! Meork! Come get it if you can! Nyeah, nyeah!" The Fuzzy taunted. He then slid back up where he started jumping between the four trees. Out of nowhere, 3 more Fuzzies joined him. The addition threw off Firebrand while Kimani blinked at the wrong moment. Mario and Goombario were on top of it as Mario whacked the leftmost tree, causing the Fuzzy to fall out of it. He caught himself with a thread.

"Meee-ooh? Not bad, chump! But that was just a warm-up!" The Fuzzy growled before he went back into the tree. He, along with the other Fuzzies, started jumping again, albeit faster. Mario sneezed at one point, which startled Firebrand and Goombario. Kimani was able to stay focused this time and roundhoused the third tree from the left, causing the Fuzzy to fall again. He barely caught himself this time.

"York!? Meeoork? You got me twice!? Must've been luck! Now I'm serious!" He threatened, sliding back into the tree. The Fuzzies went insane this time, becoming a blur. Kimani and Mario lost them in the first 3 hops, Firebrand's eyes turned into swirls after the 6th jump and Goombario was able to keep up until the last 2 jumps. The gang shared looks.

"Well, I'm garbage at this..." Firebrand deadpanned, shaking his head and bringing his eyes back to normal.

"Me and Mario completely blanked out at the beginning..." Kimani said with equal disappointment as Mario facepalmed. Goombario was doing mental gymnastics. After he was done, he walked up to the right-most tree, tapping it. Mario trusted him and bonked the tree, causing the Fuzzy to fall out completely.

"Meeeeooooooh, noooo! I give! Uncle! Here, take the stupid shell!" The Fuzzy said, hurling the shell at Mario. He caught it effortlessly.

"Now will you stop yanking everyone's shells?" Kimani asked, his fist glowing just in case. The Fuzzy sweatdropped.

"You're too tough for me. I won't be bad anymore, I promise... Maybe...

"Grrr..." Kimani growled as his fist glowed brighter, causing the Fuzzy to screech.

"Ok! I'll be good! Here, I'll even give you this!" The Fuzzy told him before he whistled. From one of the trees flew a rather plump teenager. His hands and feet were bound by threads and his mouth was covered. He landed on the ground with a harsh thud, causing him to grunt in pain. Kimani and Mario immediately recognized him.

"Jordan!?" Kimani exclaimed, running up to him and working on getting him loose. Firebrand sped the process up by moving his head near the threads, allowing his mohawk to burn through them. Jordan stood up, rubbing his hands in discomfort.

"Grah... That sucked..." He muttered, eying the group. Kimani leaned on him.

"Yeah, well. Now you're safe. Have you seen the others?"

"...No. I landed in the middle of the town, was rescued by some blue-shelled turtle-"

"Koopa," Kimani and Goombario corrected. He gave them both a pointed look, which made them shrink slightly before he sighed.

"...Koopa, then everyone got attacked by these... Uh, fuzzy things. I tried to help them, but I lost almost all of my powers, and Typhoon isn't responding, so I got tied up and was stuck in that tree for a while," Jordan finished explaining.

"Damn. Well, Mario is helping me find the others. In return, we gotta help him defeat Bowser,"

"Well, I don't see how much help I'm going to be without my strength..."

"Hmm. Mario, do me a favor. Let Jordan join our party," Kimani told him. Mario shrugged, doing so. He had no reason not to.

"Jordan has joined the party! With his massive size and durability, Jordan is an unbreakable bulwark. He can Smash enemies with his hammer. His field ability allows him to guard, preventing him from getting hit by first strikes. While guarding, he can act like a platform for his friends or Mario, allowing them to hit airborne foes or increase their jumping attacks if they jump off of him. It might even help in other ways! His battle ability is his better defense. Should he time it, which is easier for him, he can guard up to 3 points of damage! His drawback is his lack of Attack Action Commands, meaning his damage is on the lower side."

Once Jordan joined the party, the group saw that he naturally had 20 HP. The strange thing was the fact that Mario's pendant glowed before Jordan glowed as well. He was given a free level-up, and his pocket started glowing. Jordan reached into it and pulled out his pendant. He tapped it, causing a water drop to fall from it. It unfolded into Typhoon in his Viking clothes. Like Firebrand, Typhoon looked the same with the exception of his eyes, which were simple lines. His body followed the general rule of the others since he was a human.

"Ugh... my head..." He groaned. Mario and Goombario were completely lost in the situation.

"So...Uh, who is this?" Goombario asked. Kimani and Firebrand sweatdropped.

"Right. Remember what I told you earlier about our pendants? Typhoon here is Jordan's," He simply said. Goombario nodded, walking up to Typhoon.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Typhoon," He greeted. Typhoon looked down at the Goomba before he looked at Kimani.

"Why is a talking mushroom in front of me?"

"Be nice, Ty," Jordan told him. Typhoon sweatdropped in response. Mario asked Typhoon if he was also helping the team, to which he shrugged.

"Well, I guess? I'm out of the loop so whatever Jordan's doing, I'm a part of it,"

"Typhoon has joined the party! With his insane strength, Typhoon can Slam the ground and damage all enemies on the ground. The damage goes down by 1 per enemy, however. He can also make a wave wash over the enemies, which not only deals damage but also shuffles them! His field ability allows him to challenge nearby foes to combat. The challenge makes them stronger but the coin and item rewards for winning are doubled! Star points are unaffected, sadly..."

With Jordan caught up, he grabbed more HP, bringing it up to 25. Kimani gave him the Smash Shards he kept for him, which Jordan immediately used.

"Oh, well. I got my Stand Strong passive back, which automatically gives me a defense of 1, it says... Then I got my Defensive Shout back, which allows me to raise everyone's defense by 2 for 3 turns," He explained. Mario nodded his head in approval. Jordan's abilities would be extremely handy in the long run. Goombario gave him and Typhoon a small crash course about Action Commands while the group exited the area. As they moved towards the left, Kooper sprinted in from the left, stopping the group. He wheezed for a second before he pulled out an inhaler. He puffed it quickly before he placed it back... wherever he got it.

"Mario! There you are! I realized I have to take a stand against these Fuzzies! If I can't get my own shell, I'll lose my reputation! I don't even care that I have no shell on! I'm gonna show these Fuzzies what's what!" Kooper strongly told them. He then started shadowboxing for a moment before he uttered a battle cry, running past them. Typhoon stopped him with one of his large hands, however.

"Relax Turtle. Those Fuzzies won't be a problem anymore," He told him, hoisting him up by his leg.

"Yeah, we already got the shell back," Goombario added as Mario flashed the shell in question. Kooper's eyes turned into stars as he wiggled out of Typhoon's grasp and jumped into the shell. Mario held the vibrating shell with concerned eyes before Kooper's head, arms and legs popped out of it. Mario jumped back in surprise as Kooper started dancing with happiness.

"Oh, yes! Yes! This is my shell, all right! Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! Got my shell back! Uh-huh! You're the greatest, Mario! I owe you big time!" Kooper exclaimed.

"You owe us big time," Kimani told him with Goombario and Firebrand nodding.

"Right... Thanks, dude!"

"Regardless, good to hear you're happy," Goombario answered. Kooper nodded before a question mark appeared over his head.

"Say, Mario... I have an idea... Do you happen to know Professor Kolorado?"

"Professor who?" Jordan and Kimani said simultaneously. Goombario sighed.

"Naturally he's a Koopa who's a professor of archaeology. He's also known as an explorer," Goombario explained. Kimani and Jordan stuck their tongues out at him while Mario nodded in understanding.

"Right! Well, I live next to him. I've been admiring Professor Kolorado ever since I was in my egg! Nothing would make me happier than traveling the world, solving mysteries like he does!"

"...When you were in your egg?" Firebrand pondered. Mario patted the dragon on the shoulder, telling him not to worry too much about the logic behind it. Kooper then shifted his weight a bit, sliding his foot on the ground while his hands were behind his back.

"So... Do you think.. Could I... Please take me with you, Mario! I'll help! C'mon, lemme go!" He started before he slid in front of Mario on his knees, pleading again. Huffing, Mario raised him up again before bluntly telling him to stop begging and groveling to him. Kooper nodded before asking one more time.

"What do you think, Mario?" Kimani asked. Goombario looked sour for some reason but Kimani didn't notice him. Mario looked at his ever-growing party, feeling a smirk appear on his face. He gave Kooper a vigorous nod, causing Kooper to break out in song and dance again.

Oh, yes! Yes! I'm on my way! I swear, I, Kooper, will follow you anywhere, even to the ends of the earth!" Kooper cheered, causing everyone to snort in response.

"Kooper has joined the party! This hyperactive Koopa can hit far-away switches or enemies! In battle, he attacks single grounded targets with his Shell Toss or plows through all ground enemies with his Power Shell!"

"Oh wait... What about battling? We can't have both of us helping Mario," Kooper brought up.

"Well... We can always take turns. Just let us know when you want to swap, Mario. It'll take a turn to do so in battle, however..." Goombario explained.

"Fair enough. Can I hang out with the dude in the jacket outside of battle? He's got a nice vibe,"

"Nice? That's funny..." Jordan heckled. He got elbowed in the stomach seconds after, earning a grunt from him.

"Yeah, sure. I don't mind," Kimani told him. Kooper shrugged before he started following Kimani. The group started moving towards Kooper's house but a loud "MEORK" interrupted them as 4 Fuzzies bounced in front of them.

"I changed my mind, sucker! How about a fight?!" The lead Fuzzy exclaimed before they started attacking the group. In battle, Kooper went off to the side while Jordan stood to the right of Kimani with Typhoon idling behind him.

"Well, this is new..." Jordan said.

"Ah, you'll get used to it," Kimani said as Mario leaped and struck the lead Fuzzy twice. Goombario followed up with his own Headbonk, taking out the first one. The three Fuzzies divebombed Mario, who was completely unprepared and got bit 6 times, tanking his health to 4 and placing him in danger. Goombario ran up to the downed Mario, checking on him while Kimani started attacking the first one. He blotched the command however and hit him only once.

"Son of a! I'm so bad at timing that!" Kimani growled. Firebrand messed his command up as well, leaving the next Fuzzy with 1 Hp. They repeated their dogpile attack but Kimani paid close attention and did a swift helicopter kick to repel them again. The first Fuzzy perished while the other two just took a point of damage.

"Alright, let's try this," Jordan muttered, walking up and bringing his hammer behind him. After a moment, he brought it down on the 3rd Fuzzy, flattening it and defeating him. Typhoon simply raised his hand before he slammed it on the ground, causing a mini earthquake that struck the last Fuzzy for 2 damage.

"Woah! That guy is strong!" Kooper said from the sidelines. The Fuzzy tried to bite Jordan, but his natural toughness was too much for him, so he failed to do any damage.

"Ok, Jordan's overpowered..." Kimani deadpanned, causing Jordan to smirk. Mario almost agreed with him as he stood up and glared at the lone fuzzy. Feeling a bit petty, he brought his hammer out before he charged up a swing. Once the meter in his head lit up, he hurled the hammer at the Fuzzy, striking him in the face and defeating him. Everyone did their win animations, including Jordan twirling his hammer before placing it on his shoulder and flashing a thumbs up while Typhoon pounded his chest twice with his right hand before throwing his left hand in the air with a loud roar.

"Hmm. Alright, I'm starting to get it," Jordan said, squeezing his hand. Typhoon nodded as well.

"A bit unorthodox, but I like it! Let's get moving! I want to fight some more!" He exclaimed.

"Oh no... another battle-hungry party member..." Goombario moaned. Kimani and Firebrand sweatdropped from this. Mario simply laughed at this before they continued along. The group spotted the badge and shard again, but they couldn't reach it still. Kooper stepped up.

"Oh! Follow me, dude!" Kooper instructed Kimani. He raised an eyebrow but did so as Kooper leaped onto a short stump, then a higher one parallel to the one holding the badge. Kooper turned to Kimani once he jumped beside him.

"Ok! Give me a kick, Dude!"

"Uh, you can call me Kimani," Kimani told him.

"What? No, that's lame! We gotta give you a nickname!"

"Ok, that's just a bit hurtful..."

"A good friend of ours calls him Pint!" Jordan shouted from below. Kimani shot him a pointed glare, but Kooper nodded.

"Hey, that's not bad! Kick me, Pint!" Kooper repeated, tucking into his shell. Kimani, in a fit of frustration, punted Kooper towards the badge. Kooper flew towards the badge and shard, snagging it before he spun back to Kimani.

"Woah! Nice kick, bro! If you ever need me to grab or hit anything from a far distance, just kick me and I'll do it for you!"

"I'll keep that in mind... and if you must call me by a nickname, KT or Mani will do just fine," Kimani growled at him.

"Mani?"

"Old band name. They couldn't say my name properly," He explained, handing Mario the HP Badge (as Goombario identified). Mario thought about it before he pointed to Kimani. Kimani blinked before he shrugged, placing the badge on his chest while Jordan used his shard, gaining his Cyclone back. The badge brought Kimani's HP up to 15. Once they entered Kooper's house, Kooper quickly darted towards his nightstand and grabbed two more inhalers before he stuffed them into his shell.

"...What? I have asthma..." He said to the looks.

"Is it serious?" Jordan asked.

"Nah, if anything, I just get short of breath. I haven't had a serious attack in years!"

"Good to know. We wouldn't want to tote around a dead body," Kimani deadpanned, earning a few laughs from everyone while Kooper snorted. Mario himself chuckled at the banter before they exited the house. Outside, everything looked peaceful due to Kimani and Firebrand's previous rampage.

"Ah, glad to see everything's back to normal," Kooper sighed.

"Yep. All thanks to us," Firebrand mentioned, causing everyone, minus Kimani, Jordan, Typhoon, and Kooper, to sweatdrop. Kimani noticed a worm wearing a purple hat standing in the corner.

"Hmm... You guys go ahead. We'll catch up," Kimani mentioned, walking towards him with Kooper and Firebrand in tow. Kooper suggested that Mario and the rest see the Mayor for a reward for clearing the village. Mario nodded before Kooper pointed out his house, which was the red one in the corner. While Mario and Goombario walked towards the Mayor's house, Typhoon brought Jordan's attention to a Star Piece sitting atop a floating brick block. Jordan eyed it, then noticed a blue cube near it. Curious, he walked over and gave it a shove. Due to his strength, it quickly rolled over. Grinning, Jordan moved it so it was under the block before jumping on it and smacking it, breaking it and causing the Star Piece to fall into his awaiting hand.

"...Oh, that's not a Smash Shard..." Jordan muttered.

"No, but it looks important," Typhoon added, spotting Kimani, Kooper, and Firebrand being whisked away by the worm. He blinked at this, but as fast as they disappeared, they reappeared. The worm then gave them a Star Piece before he disappeared. Mario and Goombario exited the Mayor's house at this point, causing the three groups to reconvene in front of Kooper's house.

"Well... how were everyone's adventures?" Goombario joked.

"Me and Ty found this," Jordan started, holding out the shard. Mario nodded, taking it from him before he explained that they had no idea what they were, but were collecting them just in case. Kimani gave Mario his as well, bluntly stating that "some weird guy asked them a question about Goombario's family and gave them a shard,"

"Eh? Like what?" Goombario warily asked.

"Your sister's name,"

"...That's concerning..." He muttered. Mario had to agree. It was rather... strange, but he shook his head and told the group about the Mayor's gratitude and the fact he wanted him to do a few favors for him.

"Like what?" Typhoon asked.

"First, give him a Sleepy Sheep, which we did. He gave us a coin," Goombario answered, sounding a bit disappointed towards the end. Mario then mentioned his second favor, which involved Kolorodo. Kooper perked his head up at this.

"Oh cool! Follow me, I'll lead the way!" Kooper mentioned, sprinting ahead. The group jogged after him before they ended in front of a house with a yellow roof. Kooper knocked on the door before he opened it, spotting a Koopa wearing a pink shell. She was currently dusting some vases before she looked up.

"Ah, Kooper! It's always a pleasure to see you, Dear," Kolorodo's Wife exclaimed.

"Hi, Ms. Rodo! How's everything going!?"

"As good as they can, I suppose. My sporadic husband ran out of the house this morning, screaming something about the 'discovery of a lifetime,'"

"Sorry to interrupt, ma'am, but the Mayor was asking about a book of Koopa Legends?" Goombario butted in. Kolorodo's Wife looked down before she went over to a shelf.

"Oh, these men and their books... Let's see... Turtledove put it... uh..." She muttered, searching the shelves.

"I'm getting the feeling she's agitated with Kolorodo?" Kimani whispered to the group. He was bonked by Goombario and Jordan and nudged by Mario simultaneously. Kolorodo's Wife finally grabbed the book and handed it to Mario.

"Here you are, Dear! One book of Koopa Legends!" Kolorodo's Wife exclaimed. Mario thanked her for the book before he ushered his team out the door.

"Talk to you later, Ms. Rodo!" Kooper exclaimed before he closed the door. They waltzed back over to the Mayor's house, gave him the book, and received another coin and a Silver Credit. After exiting the house, the group stood there and planned their next course of action.

"Ok, so are we finally ready to head out?" Kimani said, a tad bit impatient. Mario did note that they spent a reasonable amount of time here. His thoughts trailed to Peach and the rest of Kimani and Jordan's friends. He told everyone to head over to the entrance while he stopped by the store to resupply. Everyone nodded before Mario darted off towards the store. Everyone gathered at the entrance and after a minute of waiting, saw Mario sprint to the group. He flashed them a thumbs-up.

"What'd you get?" Jordan asked. Mario told them Mushrooms and Honey Syrups mainly with the occasional odd item here and there. Everyone nodded before heading out of the village, eager to start their quest.

---

Pleasant Path

After exiting the village, the gang of heroes and partners backtracked up the stairs until they reached the Eye Hills again. The crew was ready to head to the right but Kimani told the team to wait a moment as he, Kooper, and Firebrand darted off to the left. The group stood there for a moment in confusion before they came back after a few minutes. In Kimani's hands was a Star Piece.

"I remember seeing it on our way here and since we have Kooper... Why not?" He explained, chucking it to Mario, who added it to his collection. Mario flashed him a thumbs-up as they went across the wooden bridge this time, being greeted by a new area. Mario stopped momentarily, snagging the 5 coins nearby while Jordan and Kimani's group dashed ahead, getting started on the Spike Goomba. He was joined by a Koopa afterward. Once Firebrand swiped the Spike Goomba off the map, Kimani got hit in the ankle by the Koopa.

"Gah! Why my ankle?!" He whined. Jordan snickered at him as he Smashed the Koopa, dealing 1 damage but flipping it over. Typhoon finished him off with his own Slam attack, winning the battle.

Back with Mario, he ended up getting ambushed by a Koopa. Kooper was nearby when this happened, so he joined Mario's battle as he jumped on him, flipping him and dealing one damage. Kooper shot himself towards the Koopa, dealing two damage. The Koopa tried to get up, but he couldn't, allowing Mario to end him with one final jump. Mario tipped his hat to Kooper for assistance before joining the group. They were staring at an out-of-reach block.

"I can't jump that high..." Kimani deadpanned, looking up. Mario sneakily rubbed his nose before he got a running start. He leaped high into the air—or at least higher than Kimani did—and missed the block, landing face-first on the ground.

"Uh... was that on purpose?" Kooper asked, confused. Mario got up and frowned at both himself and the comment.

"Well, now what? I want that item!"

"Maybe Jordan can give one of us a boost?" Firebrand asked.

"..Oh, right. My field ability," Jordan started before he summoned his shield. He then raised it over his head. Kimani tested this by leaping onto his shield. It held him just fine and Jordan showed no signs of struggling. Kimani then jumped up and smacked the block, allowing the Thunder Rage to fall into Mario's awaiting gloves.

"Thanks, Big Guy," Kimani thanked, earning a nod in return. The group continued right, seeing a far-off switch. Kimani wasted no time in punting Kooper over, allowing him to smack the block and causing a bridge to appear over the nearby gap. Kooper spun back and ushered towards the bridge, allowing them to cross over... before they immediately got attacked by a flying Koopa.

"Ok, they fly now?" Jordan muttered, rubbing his head from the kick he received. Goombario nodded.

"Yep, This is a Paratroopa. No surprise here-Paratroopas are Koopa Troopas with wings. Max HP: 4, Attack Power: 2, Defense Power: 1. When you jump on 'em or use a POW Block, their wings fall off and they become normal Koopa Troopas. It's easy to beat 'em once they're normal Koopa Troopas. Give 'em another Jump attack! They think they're pretty cool because they wear sunglasses, but they're not that tough... Although, being in the air gives them a bit more attack power," Goombario told them. Mario jumped on the first one afterward, dewinging him. The now Koopa and Paratroopa attacked Mario but he was able to guard against their attacks. He still took one damage, however. Kimani couldn't do anything about the flying one so he attacked the first Koopa, but his hits weren't good enough to break through his guard.

"Shit. Shoulda used Power Strike... My fault..." Kimani said after a moment of thought. Firebrand snickered before he swapped with Goombario, allowing him to Headbonk the Koopa twice, dealing 1 damage and flipping him over. The Paratroopa came after Kimani but he nailed his command, knocking away the flying menace with a swift knuckle. It didn't do any damage, but it still dewinged him.

"Heh, my turn now," Jordan said, Smashing the Koopa. The hit did 1 damage and flipped him over. Typhoon followed up as well, but he messed his command up, only doing 1. It was still enough to defeat the first one. The Koopa tried to attack Jordan but without his flight, he was too sturdy for him to damage.

"Sheesh, Jordan is solid!" Goombario explained as Mario took his turn. He used Power Jump and dealt 2 damage, knocking him over. Goombario followed up afterward, ending the battle. The gang also leveled up, causing everyone to do their victory poses.

"Woo! Feeling great!" Kimani exclaimed, upping his HP this time, bringing it to 15 naturally. The badge allowed him to have 20 overall. Jordan eyed his low FP and decided to boost that this time, bringing it to 10, while Mario didn't feel confident to go further with his low HP, so he upped it to 15. Firebrand and Typhoon glowed a bit as well before they died down.

"Ooh, I feel tingly. I think we can use Fire Form again, Pint," Firebrand told him.

"Thank god. Might help me out since I'm still getting used to timing this Counter..."

"Speaking of which, I can use Liquify again. I can use it to disable an opponent from the battle temporarily," Typhoon told him.

"Hmm? That's not how it usually works..." Jordan muttered.

"Different universe, remember?" Kimani lowly whispered, causing Jordan to ahh in response. Mario gave them a weird look but moved on as he eyed two floating brick blocks. His adventuring senses went off again as he walked in the middle of them and jumped up, gaining a Fire Flower from a hidden block.

"How do you keep doing that?" Kimani asked. Mario simply tapped his head, explaining that he got a tingle in his head every now and then. He called it his "Adventure Senses", causing Kimani to snort in response as they entered the next area. Immediately, Kimani punched a tree nearby, causing a star piece to fall out and land in his hands. When Mario deflected Kimani's previous question back at him, Kimani tapped his head and jokingly said "Adventure Senses," earning a laugh from him. He quickly mentioned he saw it resting in the branches afterward, causing Mario to nod as they continued. The group was almost assaulted by a Koopa but Jordan was able to shield them from the attack, preventing the gang from suffering a first strike. Once they entered battle, they saw that it was a Koopa, a Paratroopa, and two Spiked Goombas that challenged them.

"Yikes, that's quite a lineup they got!" Kooper exclaimed. Mario wiggled his finger, informing him that they weren't such pushovers either. Mario demonstrated that by Power Jumping onto the Koopa, dealing 2 damage to it, and flipping it. Kooper smirked before he revved up and smacked into him, defeating it. Mario clenched his teeth as the enemies came after him. Mario was able to block all the hits, but he still took three damage from everything, lowering his health to 11. Kimani went next, opting to let Firebrand flow back into his controller and set him on fire.

"Haha! Try and hit me now, dorks!" Kimani exclaimed, running up to a Goomba and punching it in the face, dealing 2 damage due to the extra firepower... literally. When he was attacked, he countered the Paratroopa, dealing one damage and dewinging him, but he missed the command for the Spiked Goomba, taking 2 damage. The Goomba took one in return, however. Jordan simply Smashed the last Goomba, KOing him and winning the battle for them. With the way clear. the group continued along until they saw a Heart Block.

"Hmm? What's this?" Jordan asked, looking at the block. Kimani scooted past him and hit it, healing him fully.

"Heart Block. Basically heals you, but usually, that means we're going to go through something rough," Kimani summarised. Jordan sighed as he hit it, feeling his health and energy return. Mario did so as well before the group continued along. Mario noticed a crack in a wall, but he didn't have anything on him to break it, so he ignored it as they kept walking. When they entered the next area, Mario smacked the Save Block, saving their progress before they approached the door. Before they could open it, the door flew open, scattering everyone. Green Ninjakoopa came out and eyed the downed group.

"Whoa! Mario! What the...! Oh, we're in a world of hurt! Mario's here already! I gotta tell the leader! Red Kooooooopaaaa!" Green Ninjakoopa exclaimed, rushing back inside and slamming the door close.

"...Did anyone get the number to that jackass?" Kimani slurred out, pinned under Jordan. Everyone got up and got their bearings.

"Well, so much for stealth. They know we're here now. They probably locked the doors too..." Goombario muttered. Mario walked up to the door and easily pushed it open.

"Or not. Thank you, universe for making our enemies dumb," Kimani thanked, earning snickers from everyone. Mario rolled his eyes as they walked inside.

---

Koopa Bros Fortress

Once the group went inside, they instantly noticed a makeshift pond in the middle of the room. Other than that, there was a pathway that circled around it. Sharing looks, they started along the path, meeting a Koopa Troopa. Mario jumped on it, beginning the battle with him flipped over. From out of nowhere, a new enemy joined them.

"Oh, hold on guys! That's a Bob-Omb! Bob-Ombs are pretty temperamental, and they get steaming mad when you damage 'em. Max HP: 3, Attack Power: 2, Defense Power: 2. You'd better not jump on 'em when they're angry or they'll blow up in your face. In fact, stay away entirely. Attack 'em from a distance with items like Hammers. Or you could send in other things, like shells. If they attack when angry, they'll charge in and explode. So you'd better take care of them before they blow! Their shells make them pretty tough, so you really gotta put strength behind your attacks to hurt them. I'm serious, guys! Should they get the chance, they'll rush us and blow everyone up for 6 damage!" Goombario told everyone, eying the black bomb creature as Mario Power Stomped the Koopa, getting rid of it.

"Wait, everyone?! That's illegal!" Kooper exclaimed.

"Yeah, but when they're angry, the slightest hit will blow them up, so we can have someone trigger him before safely detonating him,"

"Got it!" Kimani exclaimed as the Bob-Omb rushed Mario and rammed him. He wasn't paying attention and got damaged for 2 as a result. Kimani Power Struck the Bob-Omb, dealing 1 damage to it and causing the fuse on it to start. The Bob-Omb glowed red as a result.

"Cover your eyes!" Firebrand exclaimed, shooting a fireball at the bomb, causing it to explode instantly. Everyone covered their eyes as the wind blew in their faces. Once it died down, they looked at the large soot circle that remained.

"OK, so I'm scared of those enemies..." Jordan deadpanned. Everyone agreed as Mario scooped up the key the Koopa dropped before he unlocked the door. When they entered the room, they saw two groups of Bob-Ombs. Typhoon looked at Firebrand and then at the bombs before an idea popped up.

"Say, mushroom? Does fire make them explode instantly?" Typhoon asked.

"Uh...yes, actually. Why?" Goombario mentioned, asking that last question. Typhoon just grunted.

"Firebrand, be ready to use a Fireball," He said before he roared at the groups, angering them and causing them to enter battle. Everyone looked at the 4 Bob-Ombs, all with fume clouds around their heads.

"Uh, Ty? What did you do?" Kimani asked as he eyed the furious Bob-Ombs.

"Challenged them to a fight. Their stats get doubled pretty much but they drop extra rewards,"

"ARE YOU NUTS!?"

"Uh, yeah. Right now, they have 6 HP, 4 attack, and 4 defense... Which means that explosion should they be angry will do... 12 damage..." Goombario bleakly said. Kooper almost fainted from the thought and whipped out his inhaler while everyone else sweatdropped.

"Just have Firebrand take your turn, Goombario, and we should hopefully be okay," Jordan said. Goombario nodded as he swapped places with Firebrand. Mario gave him a thumbs-up as he let Firebrand go first.

"Here goes nothing..." Firebrand muttered, inhaling deeply. He then spat a Fireball at the front one. When the fireball connected, it caused it to explode. The explosion then drove the next one to explode, which made a chain reaction to the other two. Everyone covered their ears and eyes as the bombs went off. Once it died down, everyone eyed the generous amount of coins, hearts, and 3 Honey Syrups on the ground. They still got the same amount of star points, however.

"Ok, so we're never doing that again without a vote," Kimani deadpanned. Mario nodded vigorously as he collected the items, money, and hearts, which healed everyone to full. Typhoon simply grumbled to himself as they continued to the next room. They opened the door and saw Green Ninjakoopa leaning inside some bars.

"Ha! Let's see the great Mario get any farther now!" He cackled. Mario, being the gentleman he was, simply cleared his throat, catching his attention.

"Yeeek! Mario!" He screeched.

"What's up?" Kimani smugly asked.

"You, uh... Don't try any... You'll still never find your way through this fortress!" He exclaimed. He then eyed the nearby Koopa and sic'ed him on the group while he took off running. The battle consisted of a Koopa Troopa and another Bob-Omb, which made everyone flinch in response. Mario borrowed Firebrand again, allowing him to blow up the Bob-Omb and damage the Koopa Troopa for 1. Mario leaped and assaulted the Koopa for another point of damage. Since he couldn't do anything, Kimani was free to Strike him, defeating it. Kimani and Jordan ran towards the other Koopa while Mario followed him. However, he got a feeling in the back of his neck, causing him to turn around and spot a hole in the nearby cell. Mario eyed the group, who after agreeing to it, allowed Typhoon to rile up the group consisting of a Koopa and 3 Bob-Ombs. Mario and Goombario sweatdropped as they went through the hole, finding not only a badge but also a Blue Smash Shard. Mario equipped the Power Bounce to his shoes before he exited the hole. He decided to spectate the battle between the souped-up Koopa and the others. Since Kimani and Firebrand had already used their turns to blow up the Bob-Ombs, they watched as the Koopa darted toward Kimani. It was faster than he could keep track of, so Kimani got whacked in the stomach for 2 damage, knocking him down to 18. While Kimani wheezed in pain, Jordan bonked him with his hammer, but surprisingly, it didn't knock him over. Typhoon followed up with his own attack, but the same thing happened.

"Oh, that's bad," Firebrand muttered, watching the Koopa shoot forward and smack Jordan in the head, dealing one damage.

"Well, if we can't flip him, then we'll just assault him!" Kimani yelled, using his Power Strike. He whacked him in the face with his fist before he followed up with a kick to his side, dealing 2 total damage to him. It did cost him 6 FP, leaving him with 3. Firebrand simply guarded, allowing the Koopa to attack Kimani again. He was able to Counter, however, knocking him away. Jordan considered his options, but he had nothing, so he simply dug into their inventory and threw Kimani a Honey Syrup, bringing his FP back up to 8. Typhoon guarded as well and watched as the Koopa attacked Jordan again, but he blocked it.

"Fire, give me a bit of a boost!" Kimani exclaimed, allowing Firebrand to activate his Fire Form. With the extra attack power, Kimani's Power Strikes were able to take out the Koopa. Everyone sighed in relief as Mario gave them a round of applause.

"And where were you?" Kimani exclaimed. Mario sweatdropped before he pointed to his badge. He then tossed Jordan's Shard to him. Kimani glared at him for a bit longer, which caused Mario's sweatdrop to grow. He eventually snorted and told him he was joking. Mario's mustache twitched before he swatted Kimani with his hat, earning a laugh from him. Jordan used his Shard, causing him to glow.

"Huh? Why'd you start glowin'?" Kooper pondered.

"Powered up. I got something called Guardian Angel... oh, it's my shield ability. I can place a shield around someone and take the damage for them," Jordan explained.

"Oh. You should use this health badge then. It'll serve you better than anyone else," Kimani said, pulling the badge off and handing it to Jordan. Jordan shrugged, equipping the badge and raising his health to 30. Kimani's dropped back down to 15 as a result, but his badge points were back to full. Mario looked at his current badges before he pulled off the Power Stomp Badge and offered it to Kimani. Kimani thought about it before he nodded, taking it and putting it on his sneakers. They entered the next room, facing the same composition. Everyone immediately glared at Typhoon, stopping him before he could challenge the group. After an uneventful fight, a blue ! switch fell from the sky. Everyone shared looks before Kooper kicked it, causing some stairs nearby to lower. Everyone went down the stairs, and Mario decided to head to the left. Once everyone walked into the room, the entrance and exit both jumped until they were out of reach.

"Oh... Well, that's something you don't see every day..." Goombario muttered.

"I think Kolorodo mentioned something about this once. It's called a Fight Room. We gotta clear the enemies out before we can leave," Kooper explained, looking through a small notepad he pulled from his shell. He also took a quick hit from his inhaler while he was at it.

"Three groups? Let's divide and conquer!" Kimani exclaimed. Mario nodded, seeing the reasoning behind it. Mario offered to take the Paratroopas since Kimani and Jordan couldn't hit them without spending FP or items. Kimani went after the party consisting of a Paratroopa and a Koopa while Jordan cracked his knuckles and went after the 2 Koopas.

Starting with Mario, he was able to land a First Strike on the Paratroopa, knocking it down. Once the battle began, Mario went after the other Paratroopa, also knocking him down. Kooper had stayed with Mario, so he was free to rev up before he plowed through both Koopas, leaving them with 3 HP. After blocking the two hits, he begrudgingly glanced at his empty FP, making a mental note to improve it with his next level up before he simply hopped on the Koopa twice, dealing 1 damage and flipping it over. Kooper finished it off with a Shell Shot. Mario gave him a thumbs up, which caused him to get clonked upside the head by the other Koopa, knocking him down to 13 HP. Mario got revenge, knocking him down and draining 1 HP from it. Kooper finished it off, causing them to perform their win animations, which involved Kooper breakdancing and spinning on his shell.

With Kimani, he blotted his First Strike, which caused him and Firebrand to start their battle on even ground.

"Well, shit," Kimani deadpanned.

"Try that Power Stomp Badge," Firebrand offered. Kimani nodded, smacking his badge and lighting it up.

"Uh, let's see... Mario's command for it is..." Kimani muttered, leaping towards the Paratroopa. He mentally pressed A before hitting him, dealing 2 damage and dewinging it.

"Hey, not bad, Pint,"

"While it cost FP, at least I have an answer for flying enemies now..."

"Can you do that double attack like you do with Power Strike?"

"Maybe? I'll try it next time," Kimani answered, countering the incoming attacks. Kimani went for another Power Stomp, dealing another 2 damage. He took a gamble and attempted to strike again, which he was able to do at the cost of another 2 FP. The attack ended up defeating the Koopa. Firebrand spent the last of his FP in order to incinerate the last Koopa.

"Heh, just wait until I get my hands on more badges!" Kimani exclaimed, gulping down two Honey Syrups from the party's inventory, bringing it back to 10.

With Jordan, he was able to assault the Koopa with a First Strike, flipping it. Once the battle began, Jordan Smashed the Koopa with his hammer, dealing 2 damage. Typhoon followed up with a powerful punch to the ground, causing a mini-quake to hit the two Koopas. As a result, the front one was defeated, but the second one was flipped over with no damage. Jordan and Typhoon made quick work of him afterward. With the enemies taken care of, the doors dropped back down, allowing them to continue.

"Everyone OK?" Kimani asked once everyone got back together. Everyone nodded.

"Yep, no problems here. Let's keep moving!" Kooper exclaimed, rushing forward. Mario smirked at his enthusiasm before he followed, asking Kimani and Jordan about their badges.

"Our badges? This Power Stomp is pretty good. I can even use it again during an attack, but it uses more FP, so same as my Power Strike," Kimani explained.

"And with 30 HP, don't be afraid of asking me to block some hits. I'd rather take the damage than you guys," Jordan added. Mario thanked both of them before he went into the next room, seeing Kooper playing jump rope with a Fire Bar. After he leaped over it 10 times, it disappeared into a shower of coins. He did the same thing with the other one, earning the party a total of 30 coins. He then nabbed the key sitting at the end and ran back over to the group.

"Sorry, I got excited. First adventure and whatnot," Kooper sheepishly told them. Mario nodded in forgiveness before taking the key and returning to the room with the stairs. They went back up the stairs, and Mario remembered seeing a door with a lock. He used the key on said door, unlocking it and granting them access to the next room. The room was tall, hexagonal-shaped, with a path that slowly slinked upwards. Mario eyed a nearby door, and after walking over, he peeked inside it, seeing outside. He held a finger up to his friends before ducking out momentarily. He returned seconds later, explaining that a Save Block was outside. The group nodded before they started walking up the path. Once they reached the end, they saw a door on one side and a question block on the other side. Kimani and Jordan walked up to the block while Mario opted to inspect the room. Once he went inside, he immediately got attacked by a Paratroopa and 2 Bob-Ombs. While Mario dealt with that mini heart attack, Kimani had smacked the block. No item came out, which confused the group.

"So, where's our item?" Kooper asked, walking over until he was right under the block. Jordan and Typhoon followed suit. Once they were under the block, the floor opened up, causing the group to fall with loud yells. Yellow Ninjakoopa appeared, snickering.

"Bah ha ha ha ha! Loser! Serves you right! You fell for it!" He taunted. When someone tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around to see a charred and unamused Mario with 4 HP left, glaring at him. Goombario was behind him with soot covering his hat.

"Who fell for what?" Goombario asked. Yellow simply shrieked before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Mario sighed before he scarfed down 2 mushrooms, gaining 10 HP back. He then shook off the soot before he eyed the hole under the block.

"It seems like our friends fell for a trap. Judging from where we are now, I think I know where they landed! C'mon, Mario!" Goombario exclaimed, rushing back down. Mario nodded before he followed Goombario.

---

With the others, they had landed in a pained pile within a cell filled with different-colored bombs. The bombs looked at the group with different expressions.

"Oh, my aching everything..." Jordan moaned. The group stood up and looked at the others.

"Oh, what was that?" A pink Bob-Omb asked as she walked up to the group. Her fuse looked like a singular braid.

"Just us falling for A STUPID TRAP; HOLY SHIT, I'M DUMB!" Kimani raged, standing up and hollering at the top of his lungs. Everyone sweatdropped as he ranted and paced around the cell.

"Anyway... sorry for literally dropping in,"

"It's no problem. Who are you guys?"

"I'm Jordan. This is Typhoon, Firebrand, Kooper, and the angry one over there," He pointed at Kimani, who was still ranting, "Is Kimani,"

"My name's Bombette. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a Bob-omb. Pleased to meet you!" The Bob-Omb, known as Bombette introduced.

"Nice to meet you. So, any reason you're locked up?"

"Oh, Because I'm a menace!" She cheerfully said, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look at her.

"Excuse me?" Kimani asked, walking back over.

"At least to these guys... Those uncouth Koopa Bros.! I was just one of many Bob-ombs working here. But those Koopa Bros... Once Bowser took over, they started working us into the ground!" She started ranting.

"Oh, well, that makes more sense," Kooper muttered.

"I couldn't take it anymore, so I exploded next to them. Yeah, that was a mistake. The Koopa Bros. didn't like it. So they locked me in here. And then they locked up the rest of the Bob-ombs because they thought they might rise up. You know, a Bob-omb rebellion! What do you think about that? ...Oh, sorry... It's a long story, I know," Bombette finished.

"No need to apologize. Sounds pretty scuffed. We're here to beat up the Koopa Bros. actually. You know, big quest and whatnot," Kimani muttered, waving his hand off at the end. Bombette nodded in response.

"Well, do you think you could help spring us from this place or what? Pretty please? If you help us... I promise I'll return the favor,"

"A 'scratch your back, you scratch our' type of deal? I'm game! Welcome to the team!" Kimani pondered before he nodded. Bombette jumped a few times in happiness.

"Bombette joined the party! This confident Bob-Omb is capable of exploding, which can break weakened walls! In combat, Bombette can attack foes with her Body Slam or blow them up with her Bomb attack!"

"Who keeps saying that?" Jordan asked, picking his ear.

"No idea, but as it said, welcome to the party, Bombette!" Kimani answered.

"Oh, how nice! We'll be good friends from now on, I can feel it!"

"So... How do we get out of here?" Kooper muttered. Bombette giggled before she walked over to a crack.

"Oh, gee, I almost forgot! I haven't even told you about what I can do. Silly me! My specialty is exploding. Check this out,"

"What is she talking about? That random voice told us what she's good at..." Jordan whispered to everyone else.

"I think her fuse is a bit short..." Kimani deadpanned back. Kooper jabbed both of them in the sides as Bombette continued.

"So, if there are any cracks in the wall, I can probably break it," She finished, igniting her fuse. Kimani and the others yelled before they scrambled away as she blew up the wall, leaving a hole in it. The group was about to comment on Bombette's whereabouts, but she fell from the sky, perfectly fine.

"See that? You see what I bring to the party!?" She exclaimed, proud of her work. Kimani erupted from the safety huddle.

"Wait a damn minute. If you could do that this whole time, why wait until now!?" Kimani exclaimed. Bombette stood there for a moment before she sweatdropped.

"Well, I... I guess I never thought about doing that before ...I was so mad, I just blew up over and over in one place! Tee hee! OK, that was a little silly!" She sheepishly said. All eyes fell on Kimani, who didn't take too kindly to the looks.

"What!?" He yelled.

"Sounds like something you'd do," Jordan heckled. Kimani simply whacked him in the head before he gruffly asked if they could finally leave. Bombette nodded before she thanked the group for their help. The gang hit the Heart Block first before they went out the hole... and was immediately stopped by a team consisting of a Koopa and 2 Bob-Ombs.

"What's all this noise?! In case you Bob-ombs forgot, exploding is prohibited inside the fortress except in emergencies!" The Koopa exclaimed.

"Pipe down, Shell for brains! In case you haven't noticed, we're going on strike!" Bombette exclaimed.

"You heard the lady! Get bent!" Kimani piggybacked. The enemies sweatdropped before they entered combat with the group. In order to give Bombette a chance at combat, Firebrand allowed her to take his spot.

"You familiar with battling, Bombette?" Kimani asked.

"Yeah! I'll show you!" She exclaimed, watching Kimani use Power Stomp to defeat the Koopa in front of him. She then stepped forward.

"My moves involve filling up a bar in different ways. For instance," She started, igniting her fuse, "For my Bomb attack, I have to mash A until my bar is full!"

"...Do that then," Kimani said, still not sure what "A" was in this context. Bombette walked forward until she was right next to the other Bob-Omb before she exploded, causing them to explode as well. She landed behind Kimani afterward. With the battle won, they celebrated with Bombette simply hopping twice before swinging her braid in celebration. Once the enemies were dealt with, Mario and Goombario appeared. Kimani immediately rounded on them for ditching them, causing Jordan to sigh as he picked up Kimani and held him in the air as he ranted.

"You're fine. He's just upset we fell into a trap..." Jordan translated. Mario nodded, apologizing for getting separated. He then asked who the Bob-Omb was.

"Oh, my name is Bombette, tee hee! You must be Mario! I'm a huge fan of your work!" Bombette greeted. Mario waved while Goombario nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Bombette. I'm guessing you're helping us," Goombario asked.

"Yep! Any enemy of the Koopa Bros is a friend of mine!"

"Awesome!"

"Phew... I needed that rant. We can go now," Kimani said after calming down. Everyone sweatdropped before everyone hit the conveniently placed Heart Block nearby before they went through the door. The stairs were still lowered from earlier so the gang simply hopped up the stairs. Mario recalled seeing a key in the left room inside a cell but he had no direct way of reaching it. He did recall a crack, however. He decided to bring it up to the group, causing an exclamation point to appear over Bombette's head.

"Well, it's a good thing you met me! Let me at it, Mario!" Bombette exclaimed, following Mario through the room. Once Bombette saw the crack, she uttered a war cry before she sprinted into the crack and exploded, creating a hole. She landed next to Mario afterward. Mario blinked twice before he shrugged and picked up the key.

"That's what I bring to the table! Did I do good?" Bombette asked. Mario flashed her a thumbs-up and a warm smile, causing her to giggle. Goombario gagged and asked to follow Jordan, who snickered and nodded. Bombette simply giggled again as the party exited the room and continued right until they were back in the hexagonal room again. Kimani glared at the top floor as they continued right until they got to another crack. Bombette opened the way, which led to a chest outside. Mario opened it and got both a red Smash Shard as well as a Refund Badge. Kimani used his Shard while Mario equipped the badge, seeing as how he used items more than anyone else.

"What'd you get?" Jordan asked.

"Dragon Uppercut? Nice! I can hit flying enemies now!" Kimani fist-pumped. He then offered Mario his Power Jump badge back. Mario shook his head, pointing to Jordan. Jordan shrugged, taking the badge and putting it on, fully draining his BP while Kimani got all of his back. Mario had just finished placing the badge on his shirt before they went back inside.

"Alright, so... where now?" Kooper asked. Mario pointed up, causing most of the group to sigh loudly as they trudged up the pathway. Again, Kimani hatefully glared at the hole, causing Mario and Jordan to drag him through the door to the left. Once they reached the locked door, Mario pulled the key out and unlocked it, bringing them to the same room as before, but they were on top of the cells. Across from them were two red switches, which had huge gaps in between them.

"Well, no way we're jumping those..." Jordan deadpanned. Kimani cleared his throat as he kicked Kooper over towards the button, allowing him to hit the switch and cause some stone platforms to fill in the gaps... as well as cause a stone wall to jet out over the middle cell. Everyone walked over to the wall and glared at it in disappointment.

"Shit," Kimani muttered.

"No problem, Dudes and Dudette! Just kick me back over to the switch!" Kooper exclaimed. Kimani did just that, causing the wall to go back into... well, the other wall. Everyone took a big step forward before Kimani repeated the motion on the other switch, causing the same thing to happen. Once everyone got next to the last column, Kimani fired Kooper one last time and made the wall disappear, granting them access to the stairs. The group climbed up and went through the door, which revealed another room. This one had some stairs that were hung up and a Koopa Troopa guarding the switch for it. Before they fought, Firebrand and Typhoon disappeared into Kimani and Jordan's amulets.

"You guys ok?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah, but we thought we'd give the others some time to shine," Firebrand said.

"It's not fair to leave them out of the fights. I'm happy to sit out occasionally if it means the new recruits have some time to get their hands dirty," Typhoon piggybacked.

"Alright, I'm ok with that! Kooper, you're on my team then!" Kimani exclaimed. Kooper fist-pumped before he went behind Kimani.

"Jordan, I'll hang with you if you don't mind," Goombario asked. Jordan shrugged, not caring one way or the other.

"Awesome! We all get a chance to shine! Let's show 'em, boys!" Bombette cheered as they entered combat. Once they were set, Mario started the fight with a simple hop, dealing one damage to the Koopa in front. Bombette followed up with a Body Slam, draining two and leaving it with one HP left. Mario clenched his hands before he blocked the incoming attacks, successfully taking no damage.

"Go ahead, Kooper. Give them a taste of your Power Shell!" Kimani exclaimed. Kooper let out a hyped yell as he tucked into his shell. Kimani gave him a bit of a boost with a kick, sending him crashing through everyone. He didn't damage the two Bob-Ombs in the back, but he took out the first Koopa and did one damage to the next Koopa. Kimani cracked his knuckles before he ran up to the Koopa.

"Time to test this out! Dragon Uppercut!" Kimani yelled again, performing a strong uppercut that launched both the Koopa and Kimani in the air for 4 damage. Kimani mentally pressed A at the height of the hit, causing him to flip and axe-kick the Koopa down towards the Bob-Omb, which dealt 1 damage to the Bob-Omb, ticking it off.

"Uh.. Kiman—" Jordan started before Kimani raised a finger. Just then, the frustrated Bob-Omb rushed forward and went to tackle Kimani. Since he was paying extra attention, he did a deft flip, repelling the Bob-Omb away from them and causing it to explode safely in the air. He even Countered the second one. Mario rapidly clapped for Kimani while Bombette and Kooper cheered loudly. Kimani simply bowed as Jordan's team went next.

"Bombette, you know the plan," Jordan said, allowing her to go before him. She nodded before she ignited her fuse and walked up to the lone Bob-Omb. Once she exploded and took it out, the gang did their win animations and collected their prize money, flowers (Kimani took all of them due to draining a whole 12 FP with his previous attacks), and Koopa Leaf. After the party celebrated for a few more seconds, they continued along. Mario bonked the switch, lowering the stairs and allowing them to rush down them. Another cracked wall fell to Bombette's might and Kimani ran inside to snag the key. Everyone ran back upstairs, unlocked the door to the left, and entered the entrance with the pool. A lone switch greeted them. Everyone shared looks before Jordan walked over and gave it a whack with his hammer, causing the room to rumble. Everyone peeked downwards, seeing some stairs rise up from the water, carrying the two Koopa Shells that were sitting there. Once the stairs rose to their level, the Koopa jumped out of their shells, clearly freaked out, and rushed through the door.

"Huh, alright. Up we go... again," Goombario said. Bombette and Kooper chuckled at this before they started heading up.

"So, I know you mentioned you guys have a vendetta against the Koopa Bros. Might I ask why?" Bombette asked, breaking the silence. Mario raised a hand, explaining their quest to not only rescue Peach and stop Bowser but also find Kimani and Jordan's friends.

"Aww, that's so sweet! Is she your girlfriend?" Bombette asked. Mario slyly twitched his mustache, causing everyone, minus Bombette, to gag behind them. Mario gave them a flat look, causing everyone to snicker in response. Once they got to the top, they saw two options. One was a door to the right, while further up, in front of a cyan hammer badge, was a red Bob-Omb, who glared at the party dangerously.

"What the hell is that?" Kimani asked as they entered battle with Jordan and Goombario starting, revealing that there was two of them. Goombario looked at him for a minute, using his Tattle ability before he gasped.

"Oh Goomnuts! That's a Cherry Bob-Omb!" Goombario exclaimed.

"A who?"

"Cherry Bob-Ombs are advanced Bob-Ombs in the Koopa Army. These shiny red jerks have some extra firepower locked away inside. They somehow found a way to pack twice the firepower into those tiny bodies of theirs. Technology, amirite?"

"The stats would be nice..."

"Sorry... HP is 8, attack is... 4!? AND THEY HAVE TWO DEFENSE!?"

"THAT'S ILLEGAL!"

"Hold on, there's more! So you guys know how the normal Bob-Ombs can run at us and explode for 6 damage to everyone? These little menaces will explode a single team for 12 damage!" Goombario exclaimed, his head deep in a book he pulled out of nowhere. Everyone looked at the dangerous bomb with worried expressions. Mario clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. He pointed at the bombs before he acted like he was shooting fire out of his mouth.

"Right. Jordan, just guard this turn and I'll have Firebrand finish them. Strong or not, they're still bombs," Kimani translated. Jordan threw up his guard but the first Cherry Bob-Omb did something no one was expecting. He lit his fuse before he sprinted towards Jordan. Jordan yelped behind his shield as the bomb exploded violently, sending Jordan and Bombette into the air. They landed on the ground afterward with a loud and pained thud. Bombette was injured for 2 turns while Jordan, despite his defense, took 9 damage out of his 30. The second Bob-Omb lit his fuse as well but he didn't charge at Jordan, opting to stand there and dare anyone to attack him.

"Oooh, that wasn't good..." Jordan moaned on the ground.

"Good thing he attacked the one with 30 HP..." Kimani deadpanned, sending Kooper after the bomb, which still exploded once Kooper made contact with it. The gang did their win animations but instead of the cheerful expressions they usually had on, they had worried ones and a sweatdrop on their faces. Mario passed him a Mushroom, granting him 5 HP back, placing him at 26 HP.

"OK, so buffed enemies I can deal with, but new variations are something that scares me," Goombario yelled, rapidly flipping through his book. Mario placed a hand on his head, ensuring him that they could handle whatever was thrown at them. Goombario nodded before he put the book away and handed Mario the Smash Charge badge. After some talking, Kimani reclaimed the Power Stomp Badge while Jordan clipped the Smash Charge Badge to his chain next to his HP Plus Badge. The group then went to the right door and walked outside, being greeted by a long outdoor corridor. The group walked out a bit before a far door opened up, revealing Red Ninjakoopa. He gave the group a long look before he grunted and pointed at them.

"Well, well, well! Mario! I wouldn't have bet you'd make it this far," He started. Kimani stepped forward.

"Yeah? Well, your subpar defenses made it easy!" Kimani shot back.

"Pfft... Don't get smug, pal! You just caught us off guard! Trust me, we'll mop the floor with you if we get serious! We're as cool as they come!"

"As cool as the front side of a pillow, maybe..." Jordan muttered, causing the group to snicker in response. Red somehow heard the comment and growled before he told his brothers to open fire on the group, causing Green, Yellow, and Black to appear behind some Bullet Bill Launchers. They then started to fire at the group just as Red went back inside. Goombario glanced at the bombshells as they crashed into the door they had just come from.

"Goombario?"

"Yep, I'm on it. This is a Bullet Bill, a kamikaze attacker. If you don't beat Bullet Bills quickly, they'll slam into you and explode. Max HP: 2, Attack Power: 5, Defense Power: 0. I'm serious, Mario. These guys will really make us pay if they manage to hit us! We have to beat 'em before they get the chance to strike us," Goombario told everyone. Everyone quickly ran to a small crevice that wasn't in the line of fire before they noticed a rock near the bottom. Bombette offered her services in eviscerating the rock, which was hiding a Maple Syrup. Mario was already full on items so he allowed Kimani to use it in order to restore the rest of his FP. Once they climbed back up, the gang barreled towards the cannons. Kimani was in the lead with Kooper whirling behind while Goombario and Bombette were skittering along due to their short legs. Jordan and Mario pulled up the rear, wheezing and/or silently grumbling about their pasta intake. Kimani had almost reached the launchers but he got First Struck by a round. When the battle began, he got hit by the front one, dealing 5 damage and putting him at 10 HP.

"Ok... That hurt..." Kimani coughed, shaking himself to get rid of the soot.

"No defense? I can take them out, Mani!" Kooper exclaimed. Kimani ushered forward, allowing Kooper to Power Shell through the last two, defeating them and allowing the group to move forward. The Launchers tried to hit them with one more sneaky round but Jordan was prepared for it and blocked it with his shield. They still entered battle again but due to Jordan, they were on even ground. Jordan made quick work of the group by using his Cyclone, plowing through them, and winning the battle. Jordan then picked up Kimani and hurled him at the Bullet Bill Launchers, allowing him to give the party a First Strike. When they entered battle, Kimani tried to Strike the Launcher but his attack bounced off with a clanking sound and a star.

"Alright, so they have defense..." Kimani deadpanned, rubbing his hand. Kooper tried to Shell Shot them but his attack didn't dent them as well. They even shot out more Bullet Bills.

"Sheesh, those things are solid!" Kooper followed up.

"Let's see what we got... This is a Bill Blaster. Bill Blasters are the cannons that shoot out Bullet Bills. Max HP: 6, Attack Power: 0, Defense Power: 2. They won't attack us directly, but they'll keep shooting out Bullet Bills as long as they can. It's efficient to attack 'em all at once, but you can also beat 'em one at a time. It goes without saying, but metal is pretty hard to dent, so we'll have to put a bit of elbow grease in our attacks if we want to hurt it... Now If only I had elbows..." Goombario Tattled. Jordan Cycloned again, erasing the Bullet Bills but doing nothing to the Bill Blasters. They didn't fire more Bills this time around, so Mario was clear to do... nothing since Kimani had his Power Stomp Badge, and he didn't have any way to deal damage. He searched through his items, spotting a Thunder Rage. He looked at it for a moment before he gritted his teeth and used it on the frontmost Bill Blaster, piercing his defense and dealing the full 5 damage. Bombette followed up with Bomb, dealing 3 damage and ending the first Bill Launcher. The Bill Blasters fired another round of Bullet Bills, causing Kooper to burn through more of their FP to deal with the Bullet Bills. Kimani considered his options before he went with another Dragon Uppercut, dealing 3 damage to the Blaster and sending it skyward. Kimani followed up with a Dragon's Decent, dealing another 3 to the same Blaster and even did 1 to the last Blaster when he knocked it into the last one.

"Alright, I'm officially out of FP..." Kimani muttered as the Bills stayed silent. Jordan had Bombette take over for Goombario, taking care of the second one with another Bomb. The last one spat out another Bullet Bill, which Mario took care of while Bombette circled around again with another Bomb. It was silent again, allowing Kimani to gulp down another Maple Syrup and allow Bombette to blow up the last one, winning the battle for them. The amount of points they got allowed them to level up, causing everyone to spin and cheer afterward. Like Mario promised himself, he upped his FP this time around, bringing it up to 10. Kimani did the same, as he noticed his rather expensive moves, bringing it to 20 while Jordan opted for more BP, giving him 6. The level-up even filled their HP and FP for free.

"Well, it's a good thing we leveled up because thanks to someone, we're out of Maple Syrups..." Jordan deadpanned. Kimani started whistling, causing Mario to snicker and inform him that it was no worries. They could always restock on items, and as long as they were being used, it was never a waste.

"Yeah, what he said!" Kimani exclaimed. Jordan put him in a headlock as Mario noticed another pathway heading down. He left them alone to fight while he explored. He saw a Save Block and Heart Block, causing Mario to blow air in frustration. He hit the Save Block before he went back up and saw that Kimani (somehow) had Jordan's neck in a stranglehold with his feet while Jordan was tightly gripping Kimani's neck. Mario slammed his hammer on the ground, stopping the two. Kimani coughed lightly while Jordan rubbed his throat.

"What? That's how we usually act with each other," Kimani responded to Mario's glare-o-death.

"Yeah. You have a brother, don't you?" Jordan asked. Mario thought about it. It was true that he and Luigi used to roughhouse on occasion but that was usually light punches to the arm if anything. Still, he didn't detect any hostile feelings from the two so he quickly apologized to the two for his minor outburst before they continued towards the door. Mario placed a gloved hand on the door before he looked back at the party.

"What's the hold-up? If you're wondering if we're ready, I'm more than pumped!" Kimani exclaimed. Firebrand appeared as did Typhoon.

"Yep. You can count on us to back you guys up," Typhoon piggybacked.

"You already know I'm always happy to fight the Koopa Bros!" Bombette added on.

"And Goombario and I already agreed to follow you to the ends of the earth!" Kooper finished, with Goombario nodding. Mario smiled, grateful for meeting friends as wonderful as them. He turned back around, nodding before he pushed the door open and led his team inside.

---

The Koopa Bros' Fortress- Final Room

The gang walked inside before they saw Red and Black talking. Red noticed the group and quickly ran off-screen, quickly yelling at Black to join them. What followed next was a mess of noises, complaining and various sound effects going off. After a reassuring question from Red, the group rolled in an ugly Bowser costume. Kimani, Firebrand, Kooper, and Bombette almost busted a gut with how hard they laughed while the others just shuttered at the poor craftsmanship of the costume.

"Gah ha ha ha! I've been waiting for you, Mario! Bwa ha ha ha har! The strongest! And the coolest! Behold the glory that is the great Evil King Bowser! It's time for me to beat these foolish ideas out of you! Saving Peach? Please! Watch this and weep!" 'Bowser' taunted before the gang entered battle. 'Bowser' rolled up to Kimani, who was still laughing, and brought his fist down on him doing...

"OW! WHY DID THAT DO 5!?" Kimani whined, holding his head in pain. Everyone stopped laughing and/or grimacing before they got serious. With the battle finally underway, Kimani opted to swap Kooper with Goombario simply to hear his stats.

"This is... Bowser...? But he looks kind of...lame. I mean, he's lame anyway, but... Max HP: 15, Attack Power: 5, Defense Power: 1. Does Bowser really look like this? I always imagined him looking, well, a lot scarier... Despite the horrendous craftsmanship, it's still pretty strong. That fist h"

"Trust me, the real one isn't that scary looking either. I'd call this an improvement..." Kimani said, starting the battle off with a Power Punch, dealing 2 damage. He followed up with another kick, dealing another 2 before he got swiped at again. This time, he Countered the hit, not wanting to get hit again. Mario went next, growling when he realized the defense prevented him from using Power Bounce. He opted to simply hammer the creation, draining one from it. When Bombette followed with a Bomb attack, the shoddy suit of armor was already at 6. The Bowser rolled over and bonked Mario in the head for 4 since he guarded, allowing Jordan and Kooper to deal a total of 2 damage to it. When 'Bowser' went after Jordan, he was able to guard as well, getting hit for 2 damage instead of 5. Kimani finished the armor with one more set of Power Strikes, causing the armor to fall apart.

"No! That costume was perfect! Bowser loved it!" Yellow yelled as they landed on the ground.

"Ready to give up?" Kimani heckled.

"Never! Get ready scrubs because here comes the Koopa Bros!" Red shot back before they leaped on each other's backs until they formed a tower with Red on the top and Black on the bottom.

"Ok, Mario! Have a taste of this! The Koopa Bros. special move: Super Spinning Strike!" Red exclaimed, causing the group to spin through everyone, dealing 8 damage. Kimani was in danger with 2 HP left, Mario had 3 while Jordan was still fine with 20 HP.

"MEDIC!"

"You guys ok!? That was pretty rough! The Koopa Bros. have formed a tall Koopa tower! Max HP: ?, Attack Power: ?, Defense Power: ? I'm not sure about this... They do a spinning attack with the whole gang piled high atop one another. Hit 'em with a Hammer or something to make 'em unstable! After that, any attack should knock 'em down! If you use an explosion, you can make 'em fall down at once! If you flip 'em over, the battle will nearly be ours! Beat 'em one by one!" Goombario told everyone.

"I'm on it! Power Strike!" Kimani exclaimed, punching Yellow in the face. He did no damage, but he made the tower wobble.

"Whooooaa... We're going over!" Red exclaimed. Kimani spent more FP to follow up, knocking them over and causing them to land on their backs. All of the Koopa Bros shook for a moment but Green was the only one to stand up. Mario went next, reaching into his pocket and bringing out a Super Mushroom, munching it, and bringing his HP back up to 13. Goombario tattled again, targeting Green.

"Alright, let's get started! This is Green Ninjakoopa. He looks exactly the same as a normal Koopa Troopa. Max HP: 5, Attack Power: 2, Defense Power: 1. Green's the most agile of the group so his attacks are blazing fast! So fast, we can't Guard or Counter his attacks! He'll even dodge our first attack every turn! Bait him to dodge with a weak attack then hit him with the real thing afterward!" Goombario told them. As Goombario told him, Green disappeared and struck Mario in the face before he could even blink, dealing 2 damage to him and putting him at 11 HP. Jordan was next and he had Goombario Tattle Red, who was next in line.

"This is Red Ninjakoopa. He's the Koopa Bros. leader. Max HP: 7, Attack Power: 4, Defence Power: 1. Red's a natural at attacking! Not only is his attack higher than others but if you don't block his first attack, he'll follow up with another strike! Defense is the name of the game when fighting Red. Keep your guard up and you'll stop him from dealing a lot of damage!" Goombario told them. Jordan wanted to attack them, but he glanced at Kimani afterward.

"Heal up next turn. I got your back!" Jordan told him, using Guardian Angel on Kimani. At this point, all the Koopas got back to their feet, and Green struck Jordan with a swift attack for 1 damage, putting him at 19. Kimani continued the chain of Tattles while he munched on a Mushroom, gaining 5 back and placing him at 7 HP.

"Up next is Yellow Ninjakoopa. Yellow reminds me of curry. Isn't that a weird thing to think of in the middle of a battle? Max HP: 6, Attack Power: 1, Defense Power: 1. Yellow is physically the weakest, but don't count him out! Yellow's shell is charged with electricity, causing him to deal 1 damage to anyone that directly hits him! He can even heal someone for 2 HP! Mario, if push comes to shove, you might have to take a hit to flip him!" Goombario exclaimed. Green struck Kimani's shield, causing Jordan to take 2 in Kimani's stead which dropped his health to 17 HP. Red darted towards Kimani but he was ready for him and Countered him, knocking him away. Yellow patted Red on the shoulder, healing him for 2 while Black made a pose, buffing his defense by 1.

"And finally, this is Black Ninjakoopa. Black is pretty fashionable... Max HP: 10, Attack Power: 3, Defense Power: 2. Black is jacked! He's a bit of a dunce, but he's physically the strongest Koopa. His defense is 2 naturally, but he can buff it to 3 should he choose to. He even has the most HP out of them all and his attacks will hit everyone. We're going to have to hit him really hard if we want to budge him! Reminder that flipping him will drop his defense by 1, which will help," Goombario finished. Mario adjusted his hat before he leaped at Red, performing his Power Bounce. He was able to get 5 jumps before he blotched the command, dealing 5 damage to Red. Red struggled to get up but he couldn't. Green whacked Mario for 2 while Yellow healed Red for 2, while Black shot forward and collided with Mario's guard, dealing another 2 damage, leaving him at 9. Kimani mistimed his counter while Jordan guarded, leaving Kimani with 4 HP. Kimani went next, swinging at Green. He avoided the hit but Kimani smirked and snapped his fingers, causing Bombette to jump over him with her fuse lit. She exploded, dealing 4 damage to Green and leaving him with 1. The wave of attacks came again and after getting hit by Red, Black, and Green (he countered Red at least), Kimani was down to 1 HP due to his Second Chance kicking in, placing him in Peril. Yellow healed Red once more, putting him at 3. Black's cleaving attack left Mario at 7 while Jordan's guard prevented him from taking any damage.

"You ok, Bro?" Jordan asked.

"Hah... I've been better... don't worry about me, however. Take out Green while we have the chance..." Kimani grunted out, kneeling in pain and exhaustion. Jordan nodded before he decided to Cyclone, dealing 1 damage to Red and Yellow and causing Green to waste his dodge. Kooper finished him with a Power Shell and did another point of damage, leaving Red with 2 and Yellow with 4 HP left. Black was untouched but his defense buff ran out, dropping it back to 2. Green had been taken out however, giving the group some breathing room at least. Red pointed at the group before they stacked up again and used their Super Spinning Attack, clobbering the group yet again. Mario guarded, taking 5 instead and leaving him in Danger with 2 HP while Jordan also guarded and took 3, leaving him at 14 HP. Kimani however...

"Ah.. this sucks..." Kimani muttered, staggering before he fell on his back as stars circled his head. Mario looked extremely guilty before he turned and glared at the remaining Koopas. Mario pointed at them, sending Bombette to Bomb their tower, knocking them over on their backs. This allowed Mario to jump on Red with his Power Bounce, ending him as well. Mario gritted his teeth as Black whirled towards him but his Close Call badge glowed, causing Black to miss him. Jordan tried to guard a bit too early, causing him to get hit in the ankle for 2 damage, leaving him with 12 HP.

"Sheesh, we're doing rough for our first boss battle..." Jordan muttered, shielding Mario and letting Kooper Shell Shot Yellow for 1 damage, putting him at 3. Yellow healed Black while Black tried to clobber the two of them again, causing Jordan to take 3 for Mario, leaving him at 9 HP. Mario thanked him for the assist as he let Bombette use the last of his FP to bomb Yellow off the map. Mario then jumped on Black twice, dealing no damage but flipping him over. Black tried to get to his feet, but he couldn't, so Jordan and Kooper attacked him for 2. Black wasn't able to get up after that and even when he did, Mario was quick to knock him back over, causing the battle to finally end after a few more rounds of attacking. Once the battle ended, Mario and Jordan charged forward for one last attack, sending the Koopa Bros off the sides with a loud yell. When they hit the ground, a small amount of light appeared in front of them before it turned into a card with Eldstar's face on it. Kimani woke up afterward, albeit with 1 HP left.

"Oog... my head... Did we win?" Kimani gurgled out.

"Yep. No thanks to you," Jordan joked as Mario grabbed the card. As the card circled around Mario, Kimani leaped at Jordan with murder in his eyes while Jordan yelled and held his shield in defense. Once Eldstar was free and Mario was holding him above his head in victory, Kimani was seen crashing into Jordan's shield while he was cowering behind it. Firebrand was next to Typhoon, cackling while Typhoon had a sweatdrop on his face. Kooper was too busy being hyped for Mario, as was Bombette, while Goombario was simply looking at the background antics with a sweatdrop on the back of his head.

END OF CHAPTER 1!

And so Mario and friends beat the Koopa Bros. at their fortress and rescued the first Star Spirit.

Still, six Star Spirits remain imprisoned, and they must save them as quickly as they can.

The future of the Mushroom Kingdom, Star Haven and, of course, Princess Peach…

...lies in the hands of Mario… and his new friends.

Their adventure has just begun.

File saved!

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Notable changes from the original game:

-Fuzzies are a bit more dangerous! (Can attack again if not guarded)

-The Fuzzy Leader has more than Kooper's Shell! He also releases Jordan, who joins Mario's party!

-Being in the air gives Paratroopas a bit more power! (+1 Attack)

-Bob-Ombs are now as scary as actual bombs! (+1 Defense, Explode attack now does 6 damage to every party leader)

-Mario doesn't fall for Yellow's trap, but the others do, causing them to recruit Bombette in his stead!

-Huh? A new enemy? (Cherry Bob-Ombs: HP: 8, Attack: 4, Defense: 2. Cherry Bob-Ombs can ignite and attack in the same turn. Their explosions only target a single party leader, but they'll do 12 and injure their partner.)

-Bullet Bills are packed with a bit more gunpowder! (+3 attack)

-Bill Blasters are durable threats now! (+2HP, +1 Defence)

-Mecha-Bowser is not to be laughed at anymore! (+5 HP, +4 Attack)

-The Koopa Bros have some new tricks up their sleeves!

-Green has the speed of a true ninja! (+1 Attack, will dodge the first attack every turn, attacks can't be blocked or countered)

-Red's an expert at attacking! (+2 HP, +3 Attack, Will strike again if the first attack isn't blocked)

-Yellow is now a team player! He's also charged up... Literally! (+1 HP, will heal a brother every turn for 2 HP, has a permanent Volt Shroom status effect)

-Black's a whole unit now! (+5 HP, +2 Attack, +1 Defense, Can buff his defense by 1, his attacks will hit all party leaders)

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Current Party Overview:

Mario:

Starting Stats: 10 HP, 5 FP, 3 BP

Current Stats: 15 HP, 10 FP, 6 BP (Level 4)

Equipped Badges: Close Call (1), Hammer Throw (2), Power Bounce (2), Refund (1), Sound FX 1, Power Stomp (1)

Main Partners: Bombette

Items: Fire Flower, Pow Block x2, Fright Jar

Current Star Pieces: 9

Current Badges: Power Stomp (1), Hammer Throw (2), Close Call (1), Dizzy Spin, Refund (1), Sound FX 1, Power Bounce (2), Smash Charge (1)

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Kimani:

Area of Expertise: Grounded Combat, Single Target Damage, Countering

Starting Stats: 10 HP, 10 FP, 3 BP

Current Stats: 15 HP, 20 FP, 3 BP (Level 4)

Equipped Badges: Power Stomp (1), First Attack (1)

Main Battle Partners: Firebrand, Kooper

Battle Talent: Stronger Attack Action Commands (can input one more action command, dealing more hits/damage) but stricter timing on ALL Action Commands.

Field Actions: Can strike enemies in the field with his fist, allowing him to perform his action commands for Strike early. (Basically, his first strikes have the potential to do 3 damage should he time the commands right) He can also help Mario break Super Blocks on the field.

FP Moves:

Strike: (0 FP) Strikes a foe with a punch or kick. Pressing the A button with correct timing allows up to 2 follow-ups. Pow: 1 (up to 3). Style: Timed. Can hit Top-Spike enemies, can't target flying enemies

Power Strike: (2 FP) Strikes a foe with a stronger punch or kick. Can press A at the right time to execute another Power Strike but will cost an additional 2 FP. Pow: 3, Style: Timed: Can hit Top-Spiky enemies, can't target flying enemies

Focus Blast: (3 FP) Charges up a devastating blast of energy. Gets stronger with each turn spent charging. Maxes at 12 damage. Pow: 3, (1 turn) 6, (2 turns) 12 (3 turns)

Dragon Uppercut: (5 FP) Launches a devastating uppercut that launches foes into others! Pressing A at the correct time allows Kimani to follow up with a Dragon's Descent, spiking the enemy back down for extra damage! DU: Pow: 5 (Enemy projectile pow: 3), Style: Timed, Can hit flying and Spiky enemies. DD: Pow: 5 (Enemy projectile pow: 3)

Passives:

Counter: Can't guard normally but can Counter attacks. Has stricter timing than the normal guard but will null ALL damage and damage the attacker.

Second Chance: Will survive a singular fatal hit with 1 HP. Will be available to use again once 10 HP is reached.

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Firebrand:

Area of Focus: Versatile, Ice Enemies, Single Target Damage

Field Actions: Can spend 1 FP to launch a fireball. Fireballs will ignite flammable sources and can First Strike enemies at a distance.

FP Moves:

Swipe: Lashes out with a quick claw swipe. Pressing the A button at the right time launches another swipe. Pow: 1 (2), Style: Timed, Can't target flying enemies. Can hit Spiky Enemies.

Fireball: (2 FP) Launches a fireball at an opponent. Can hit all enemies. Deals double damage to Icy enemies but will heal Fiery enemies. Pow: 3, Style: Charge

Fire Form: (5 FP) Firebrand disappears into Kimani's amulet, allowing Kimani to flare up. Kimani's attacks deal fire damage for the duration and enemies will take 1 damage from hitting him physically. After 3 turns, Kimani will take 1 point of damage after every turn until he uses the Cool Off ability.

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Jordan:

Area of Expertise: Defense and Damage Mitigation

Starting Stats: 20 HP, 5 FP, 3 BP

Current Stats: 25 (30) HP, 10 FP, 6 BP (Level 4)

Equipped Badges: HP Plus (2), Smash Charge (1)

Main Battle Partners: Typhoon, Goombario

Battle Talent: Guard Action Command is more forgiving and will block up to 3 points of damage. Doesn't have any Attack Action Commands outside of Smash, however.

Field Talent: Can raise his shield, preventing foes from first striking him. He also turns into a platform during this stance. This allows his friends to reach high switches and enemies. Mario can perform an Enhanced Spin Jump from this position in order to break weak floor panels. (Once Mario acquires the Super Boots)

FP Moves:

Smash: Bonks foes with a downward swing. Pow: 1(2) Style: Charge, Can flip enemies. Can't target flying enemies

Defensive Shout: (5 FP) Unleash a rousing roar that increases everyone's defense by 2 for 3 turns. This stacks with Jordan's Stand Strong passive and enhanced guard.

Cyclone: (2 FP) Jordan spins forward with his hammer outstretched, plowing through all grounded enemies. Pow: 2, Style: None, Can't hit flying enemies.

Guardian Angel : (2 FP) Dedicates a turn blocking attacks for the next party member. Will take full damage from attacks, however. Guarded characters can guard, reducing the amount of damage Jordan takes.

Passives:

Stand Strong: Gains a defense of 1, which automatically reduces damage by one. Doesn't stack with his Action Command, however.

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Typhoon:

Area of Expertise: Area of Effect, Ground Enemies, Ceiling Enemies, Displacement

Field Ability: Typhoon lets out a roar, taunting enemies towards them. Any enemy that attacks at this time will be twice as strong but they'll give twice the amount of Coins, Hearts, Flowers, and items upon defeat. Star Points aren't affected.

Slam: Hits the ground with a powerful swing of his hammer. The shockwave will damage all grounded foes. Deals less damage per enemy. Pow: 2, (To front enemy) decreases by 1 with each enemy. Can't target flying enemies. Will flip flippable enemies. Can hit enemies on the ceiling.

Disrupting Wave (2 FP): Summons a wave of water to wash over foes. Will shuffle the enemy formation. Pow: 2, can't target flying foes. Deals double damage to Fiery enemies.

Liquify (3 FP): Drag a foe to the depths of the ocean, temporarily taking them out of the battle! Typhoon will also be unavailable for the time being as well.