A New Hero [A Mario Fanfiction]

Act 1, Chapter 4

Ryan POV

I woke up in the hotel and got ready for the day. As I finished brushing my teeth I noticed that Daisy was up. She smiled at me and asked "So, what are you going to do today?"

"I never got to challenge anyone to beach volleyball yet," I replied, winking at her.

She picked up the hint. "I want to be on a team with you!"

I chuckled as I got my swim trunks on and grabbed a spare set of clothes.

"Let's wait for the others though."

I liked that idea, so I started writing a note that Daisy and I were going to be down at the beach. As we were leaving, I stuck the note on Peach's room door.

We left the hotel and walked to the beach. It was a beautiful day. I smiled, soaking in the sunshine as we strolled over. Once we got there, I set up a volleyball net that I was carrying, marked off the boundaries for the court, and read over the rules for volleyball.

As soon as I finished reading the rules, Mario and the others walked up to where we were.

"What are you reading?" Luigi asked.

"Oh," I responded, closing the book and looking at everyone. "I was just looking at what I need to know to challenge you two to a round of beach volleyball!"

"Just you? Against us?"

Just then, Daisy walked over to us. "Nope," she answered confidently.

Mario looked at Luigi. "How about you stop making comments like that?"

Luigi nodded in defeat and took a side. Mario joined him, with myself and Daisy occupying the other side.

Since I had read the rules, I announced the conditions of the game. "First to seven wins," I stated.

Everybody agreed to the rules, and we got started.

About fifteen minutes later, the score was 6-5 in favor of the brothers. It was my serve, and I let it fly over the net to the back boundary of the brothers' side. Mario received it and passed it to Luigi, attempting to move it to the net. Luigi bumped it over to Mario, who was trying for a spike to end the game. I figured that Mario would be desperate at this point, so I knew he would try for a spike. I jumped up just as Mario wound up for the spike. I raised my arms and blocked the spike, sending the ball back to their side, where it immediately hit the sand before either of the brothers realized what happened.

I looked over at where Peach and Rosalina were, and they were keeping score with some giant numbered panels that Rosalina had prepared. Peach was keeping track of the brothers' score, and Rosalina was managing our score.

"Six all," Rosalina shouted.

"Match point!" she and Peach yelled at the same time.

I moved toward the net and let Daisy serve. She launched it to the same spot that I had, but Luigi received the serve. He passed it to Mario, who bumped it up for a spike from Luigi. Daisy jumped up to block it, but Luigi got it past her. I dove forward to save the ball and hit it up for Daisy. I looked at her, and we both smiled knowing we were thinking the same thing. I did a handstand, launching myself in the air as Daisy bumped the ball up to me. I wound up for the spike, flipped myself upright and chose my target: the back corner where Mario and Luigi weren't. I slammed the ball, using my angular momentum to give it some extra speed. The ball sailed past Mario and Luigi, moving too fast for them to stop it before it hit the back corner of the court, just inside the boundaries of the field.

"Ryan and Daisy win!" Rosalina shouted.

I offered a high-five, but before I could react, Daisy had run over and hugged me.