Super Mario Bros: The Fan-Adapted Novelization

Chapter 2-1: The Chase Begins

Within the next hour and a half, Mario and Luigi were on their way to Bowser's fortress. Unfortunately, Mario's gung-ho attitude about the whole thing could only get them so far before Luigi realized they had no idea where the fortress was, let alone whether or not they were going in the right direction at all.

"Va bene, Weegee," Mario assured his brother. "If we see any koopas, then we're heading in the right direction."

They continued walking some distance when they spotted the form of a sentient shiitake mushroom meandering along the pathway. "Maybe we can ask this goomba," Luigi offered, walking up to the little creature. "Excuse me? Did you ever catch word about a fortress being built somewhere near the Mushroom Kingdom outskirts?"

The goomba looked up and nodded. "Sure have. Big as life," he answered, tilting his head behind him. "Just have to go through the caves, find the way out of the uphill forest, swim across the giant moat, and boom. There it is. Why do you ask?"

"We got word that Princess Peach has been kidnapped and brought to that fortress–"

"The Princess?" The goomba scoffed, rolling its eyes in disdain. "Never mind. King Bowser can have her."

Mario's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"You must not have heard, boys," answered the little mushroom, a sinister grin forming on his face. "We goombas are hanging with the Koopa Troop now."

At this last snide remark, the brothers grew angry. "So you helped Peach get kidnapped?! You helped orchestrate the terror attacks?!" Luigi cried out in disbelief. He narrowed his eyes at the goomba and shook his head. "You dirty little traitors..."

"We're tired of being treated like dirt because we don't look human enough. Nobody's doing anything to defend us, so we're taking matters into our own hands by joining the only nation that wants to do away with humanity's prejudices...the Darklands."

"The royal family would never do such a thing!" Mario exclaimed angrily.

"Tell that to their little lily-livered congress," the fungus retorted. "Those pathetic little Toads are so afraid of everything that they fear anyone who isn't even remotely similar to their own kind...and it shows in their legislation. Face it; the royal family is complicit in everything that they do."

"But isn't that what electing new representatives is for?" Luigi inquired.

"Why bother? Nothing's gonna change if things continue this way...so we found someplace that will accept us for who we are, someplace that can help us show others our true colors without shame." He bared his teeth at the twins. "And you're gonna figure out firsthand what kind of damage we're capable of..."

Without another word, the goomba lunged at Luigi's ankle, attempting to sink his teeth through his overalls and puncture the flesh underneath. Fortunately, he dodged the bite at the last second, leaving the mushroom landing face-first in the ground, providing a good opportunity for Mario to strike back.

"Hey! Don't attack my bro like that!"

He delivered a hard, swift kick to the goomba's head, promptly knocking him upside down. Mario then proceeded to stomp on the creature's underside and bury his head into the ground. "That will teach you," he spat in his direction. "Dai, Luigi. There's more ground to cover ahead."

***

The brothers ventured onward still for some time, encountering three more hostile goombas along the way and quickly disposing of them the same way they did the first one. One of those three, Luigi had noticed, was coming from a pipe in the ground. "Maybe some of those pipes are shortcuts to the fortress," he suggested.

"We might want to hold that thought," Mario cautioned, as he motioned to another horde of goombas. "We've got company."

Not three, not four, but twelve of the fanged creatures eyed the brothers from afar, fangs bared and ready to strike. Accompanying them was a koopa in the middle of their march formation. "Attack!" the tortoise exclaimed.

Together, the rowdy crew charged toward the twins. "We can't just stomp on them the same way we did the last few," the green-clad brother pouted. "There's too many!"

"Not with that attitude," replied the other, an impish smirk growing on his face as a plan began forming in his head. "Maybe if we time our jumps right..."

He sprinted off toward the goombas, while Luigi helplessly followed along, at a loss for how to keep his brother from hurting himself. Once Mario was close enough, he stomped on a goomba and launched off its head to land on another one, continuing to repeat the process until he landed on the koopa's shell. Not being able to get as high of a bounce as before, he landed on the ground, just short of the remaining six goombas, who eyed Mario sinisterly.

"Oh no," Mario mumbled quietly to himself.

"Out of the way, big bro!"

Luigi, on the other hand, had an idea of his own. Seeing Mario jump onto the koopa shell, he noticed the reptile in question retreat inside. Once his brother was out of the way, he punted the shell at the goombas, scattering them all in different directions and effectively clearing the way for the brothers to continue their journey.

He turned to his brother and gave him a thumbs-up. "Just like underground," he said.

Mario nodded. "Yeah. Now let's keep going!"

"Okie dokie! Now where were we...pipe shortcuts?"

"Sì! The sooner we reach the fortress, the sooner we rescue Peach."

"And the sooner the Mushroom Kingdom recovers."

Onward the twins went, with renewed vigor.

***

Most of their walk through the grasslands was mostly uneventful as they continued trekking through more of the vast Mushroom Kingdom landscapes, until at last, they encountered a pipe that stood out in their path. "This should be a start," Luigi mused. "I wonder what's inside..."

Mario turned to him and winked before climbing to the top. "Let's find out. Ready, bro?"

The other jumped up alongside him. "Let's do it!"

They hopped in, greeting the dark, unknown depths below...