Prologue: Plotted Revenge
21st of Wendius, 8:00 AM
The day started out like any normal day for Ludwig von Koopa. Get up, take his daily I.Q. test, scheme a brilliant (or not) idea, invent it, watch it blow up for some technical reason that seems obvious, fix it, and try to beat Mario with it. It all went well up until the part where he added P12 and H5. It blew up, and this time Ludwig had really reached the end of his rope.
Ludwig: WHY CAN’T I EVER DO ANYTHING RIGHT?! Every time I make something, it blows up! If I wanted to be this much of a failure, I could have been Roy!
Roy: I heard that!
Roy came in and destroyed everything in the lab and pulverized Ludwig.
Ludwig: GRRR!!! Why me?!
Ludwig, seeking to find some peace and quiet, went to his room. After some time, he came out and looked for something to eat.
Ludwig: Don’t tell me there’s no Fire Gum left?!
Lemmy rolled in, also looking for something to eat. Upon seeing Ludwig, he decided to poke some fun at him.
Lemmy: Hey Ludwig! Any new explosions lately?
At this, Ludwig was furious and went back to his lab. Ludwig really got serious and got together everything that still was good in his lab. He thought for hours and after going though many insane ideas, finally constructed a plan.
Ludwig: They shall all pay for what they have done to me!
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Meanwhile, at Mario’s Pad:
Mario: Hey Luigi! There’s someone at the door! Will you get it?
Luigi: Sure!
Luigi opened the door to find Larry Koopa standing there.
Luigi: What are you doing here?!
Larry: I’ve come with my brothers and sister to whip you and make King Dad proud!
Luigi quickly shot some fireballs, throwing Larry back and defeating him.
Mario: The others aren’t here yet. We’d better go toward Bowser’s Castle before all of them get here!
Luigi: Yeah! If we stay we'll have to take them all at once. We can’t take all of them at the same time! We can take them out as we find them on our way.
Upon passing the Goombas, Koopas, Paratroopas, and so on, they reached the castle without finding anybody. They dicided to enter the castle, and upon passing the fire pits, Podoboos, etc., they finally found Roy. He quickly threw some hammers, and the Marios quickly dodged. They soon beat him and moved on into the next room, where they found Wendy, who threw candy rings, and so on. After defeating everyone but Lemmy and Ludwig, the Marios were in much need of some rest.
Mario: Boy Luigi! I’m bushed!
Luigi: Me *pant* too *pant*.
Lemmy: There you are!
Startled, the Mario Bothers looked around to find Lemmy with his Freeze Gun.
Mario: Before you attack, I have a *pant* question.
Lemmy: Hurry up and ask!
Mario: Why didn’t all you guys come after Larry?
Lemmy: Larry went off to beat you by himself after he eavesdropped on us and heard our plan to destroy you. He was going to say we were coming to intimidate you and claim the glory when he tells King Dad he beat you. I guess it didn’t work. But now I’m going to beat you and show you who’s boss!
Mario: One more question.
Lemmy: What?!
Mario: How did you know he was eavesdropping?
Lemmy: We can always hear him outside the door. Now, prepare to meet your maker!
Tired and confused, the brothers had
no choice but to fight. Lemmy immediately blasted his Freeze Gun at Mario.
Mario dodged, barely missing it. Mario, using his last ounce of energy,
shot some fireballs, only to be blocked by shots from Lemmy’s Freeze Gun.
Lemmy hit Mario with his freeze gun, freezing him on the ground. Luigi
acted fast and shot some fireballs at the Freeze Gun, knocking it out of
Lemmy’s
hand. Jumping weakly, he landed on
Lemmy and knocked him over. Luigi shot a few fireballs and Lemmy screamed
in pain. Using his last ounce of power, Luigi picked up the Freeze Gun
and
froze Lemmy, defeating him.
A few minutes and Pick Me Ups later, both Mario and Luigi were on their feet. After making sure they were at peak health, they set off to find Ludwig.
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21st of Wendius, 2:00 PM
Looking at his masterpiece, Ludwig smiled and thought of the revenge he would get. He was looking at his time machine. He checked all the gears and switches, sending a few objects back in time. All the happier at his success, he prepared to send himself back in time.
Ludwig: Finally, I have made something that doesn’t blow up! I shall now get control over all things that have happened! I shall go back in time, wreak havoc on my brothers and sister, the machine will duplicate itself, and I shall ride the duplicated time machine home in time for dinner. But maybe I’d better build a second, in case I press the self-destruct button accidentally or something.
So Ludwig worked for another hour or two and finally completed the duplicate.
Ludwig: Okay, I’m ready for my revenge.
BAM!
The Mario Brothers broke down the door to Ludwig’s lab and ran up to Ludwig.
Ludwig: What are you doing here?!
Mario: We finished off your brothers and sister; we couldn’t leave it at that, could we?
Ludwig: Fine! You want a battle, you got a battle!
As the battle started, Ludwig climbed into one of his best mechas and started firing at Luigi. Luigi dodged and shot some fireballs. He watched in disbelief as the fireballs bounced harmlessly off of the mecha’s chest.
Mario: We’re in trouble now!
Ludwig: You see! Strength is no match for technology!
Just then, the mecha exploded. Ludwig was hurled to the ground. Badly hurt, Ludwig stood up and pulled out another invention.
Ludwig: Say hello to the Shrink Beam 2000! This baby is specially programmed to make plumbers the size of germs! Any last words?
Mario: Yeah. Look out!
Ludwig turned, just as Mario shot a fireball. Ludwig fell to the ground and, to Mario’s dismay, got back up. Wincing with pain, Ludwig made a break for the time machine.
Luigi: Stop him!
Both Mario and Luigi jumped at Ludwig and hit him. This hit was enough to knock Ludwig unconcious. However the Mario Bros. tripped over Ludwig, and both went flying. They landed in front of Ludwig and rolled into the time machine.
Mario: Well, that was good.
As he said this, Mario leaned on a button on the side of the time machine. Just then there was a loud beep.
Mario: Let’s get out of here!
Before the brothers could move a muscle, there was a blinding flash. The plumbers were gone.
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Chapter 1: The Confusion
21st of Wendius, 4:00 PM
Everything was blurry. Ludwig sat up, wondering why there was a blinking light on saying “Action complete.” He looked around and saw the charcoaled mecha. Then it all came back to him.
Ludwig: Oh no! That would mean... and then they could... I’ve got to stop them!
Ludwig climbed into the backup time machine, entered the coordinates, and pressed the “start” button. A beep, followed by a flash, and he was off.
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12th of Lemmius, 11:30 AM
The brothers were on the ground, dazed. Everything was a dark blur. Now everything came into view. They were sitting on the foot of a half-finished mecha, in the middle of Ludwig’s lab. On a table next to Mario, there was what looked like a gun wearing an Elizabethan collar. On it was a sign that said “Shrink Gun”. Looking around they saw plenty of beakers with labels like “HIGHLY TOXIC”, “DO NOT TOUCH” and “BEWARE! ACID!”. After getting over the wonder of the place, Mario was the first one to speak.
Mario: Wow! What happened? Where’s Ludwig?
Luigi: Maybe this will answer your question.
Luigi held up a sign that said “Out to Lunch”.
Mario: But how could Ludwig be gone just like that?
Luigi: That’s what I’m trying to figure out.
Just then there was a noise. Mario ducked, but Luigi stood there.
Luigi: Mario, It’s only one of the Koopas that work here passing by.
Mario: Uh, I knew that.
Luigi: Let’s explore this place. Maybe we can find the answer to our question.
After they had sifted through all the junk, Mario found something very interesting.
Mario: Hey Luigi! I found the newspaper!
Luigi: Hey! This says 12th of Lemmius. I thought it was Wendius!
Mario: Me too! This keeps getting weirder and weirder.
Suddenly, there was another noise. Both plumbers ducked this time. It was Lemmy Koopa.
Lemmy: I sure hope I can fix my Freeze Gun here.
Lemmy looked around searching for some Liquid Cold.
Lemmy: Ah! Here it is!
Lemmy walked toward the table Mario and Luigi were under. Much to their relief, Lemmy took a beaker from the table next to them. The brothers watched as Lemmy took apart the gun and put the Liquid Cold in a small tank. Lemmy screwed the gun back together and laughed evilly.
Lemmy: Now, time to test the new feature!
The brothers watched in awe as a blue sphere expanded at the end of the gun. When it had reached about the size of Lemmy, it plowed forward slowly. When it hit the wall, it popped like a bubble. Everything within ten yards of it suddenly was blue and had icicles hanging on it.
Lemmy: It works! Now I can stop those plumbers in their tracks for good!
Mario: (whispering) He’ll never find us!
Lemmy ran out of the lab quickly. Mario did not want to stand around.
Mario: Let’s follow him! Then we can watch his stupidity first-hand!
Luigi: Didn’t you see what that gun did?! If he caught us, it would be curtains!
But it was too late. Mario was already dashing for the door.
Luigi: Wait up!
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12th of Lemmius, 11:45 AM
Mario and Luigi had trailed Lemmy to Bean Valley. Luigi was getting quite tired, but Mario was still full of energy.
Mario: Come on Luigi! Hurry up, or we’ll lose track of Lemmy.
Luigi: I’m bushed! I can’t go another step!
Mario: Fine! Why don’t you just go back to our house, and I’ll keep trailing Lemmy.
Luigi: Fine with me.
As soon as Mario was out of sight, Luigi fell asleep. Meanwhile, Mario was also starting to get tired, and so was Lemmy. Lemmy stopped to take a break, so Mario figured he ought to also.
Sometime later, Mario peeked around the corner. His eyes widened and his jaws dropped. For right in front of him he saw himself fighting with Lemmy! Thousands of questions raced through his mind in seconds. After watching the battle for a few minutes, he decided to join in. At first Mario thought it was a hologram, but after a few minutes, Mario saw his duplicate grab the Freeze Gun from Lemmy while he was getting over the pain of a fireball, and freeze Lemmy! It was then that the second Mario noticed the first standing in disbelief. The Mario that beat Lemmy was the first to speak.
Present Mario: Uh oh! A Duplighost too?
Future Mario: I’m not a Duplighost! You’re the Duplighost!
Present Mario: What?! I’m not a Duplighost either!
Future Mario: Now wait a second. If I’m not the faker, and you’re not the faker, how can myself be standing in front of me?
Present Mario: That’s what I’d like to know!
So they argued for a long time before one of them finally had the right idea.
Present Mario: Now hold it. This isn’t getting us anywhere. Now suppose that someone built a time machine, and one of us was sent back in time accidentally. That would explain how we met ourselves.
Future Mario: Of course! I remember I stepped into a metal box with Luigi, and there was a blinding flash. Ludwig must have built a time machine!
Present Mario: That must be it!
Future Mario: That would mean he could be following me as we speak!
Present Mario: We’d better get out of here.
Future Mario: We should split up so that Ludwig would get two signals if he tracked us and wouldn’t know which was which.
Present Mario: Alright. Bye!
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Ludwig found himself in his lab, standing between the legs of his currently unfinished mecha.
Ludwig: Wow! It really works! I remember when the mecha was like this! Mental note: Switch the gigaplex with the main frame. But I’d better find the Marios quick... before they can wreak havoc!
Ludwig dashed out of the lab. As soon as he stepped out he noticed prints on the floor. There was a set of ball tracks and two sets of human footprints.
Ludwig: That’s right! I remember Lemmy stole some Liquid Cold a few months ago to fix his Freeze Gun. Then Mario whooped him. But that means those pesky plumbers are following Lemmy, and they’re also going to meet themselves! I’ve got to stop them! But only King Dad can use the Koopa Kopters, and I’d never catch them on foot. Oh, yeah! I remember there were a few extra doomships; I can use one of those!
So Ludwig dashed to the back of the castle and hopped in a doomship. He had installed a tracker in this doomship. As soon as he turned the tracker on, the computer said “Tracker System Broken”. So he pulled out a pocket tracker he brought along. Unfortunately, while the main tracker could find any target, the pocket tracker was capable of finding only those things featured in pictures, which Ludwig had to feed to the machine.
Ludwig: The Marios will be where Lemmy is, so I’d better set the tracker for Lemmy because Mario and Luigi might be wearing disguises.
So Ludwig fed Lemmy’s picture into the tracker and clipped it on the side of the doomship, then started flying the doomship. Hee was still exhausted from the recent battle with Mario and Luigi, and fell asleep quickly.
Ludwig was suddenly awakended by a beeping noise. He looked down to see nothing but blue spots everywhere. Heading down, he saw that there were icicles everywhere.
Ludwig: Of course! Lemmy must have been here.
Upon landing, he pulled out his jacket and pocket tracker and began searching the place. There was a loud RRRRRRRING. Ludwig saw that his tracker was making the noise and pointing behind him. Ludwig turned around to see a big ice block with Lemmy inside.
Ludwig: I should have known that you’d get frozen.
So Ludwig pulled out one of his newest inventions, the Instant Ice Remover, and spayed it on the ice. It instantly cleared up, and Lemmy was in a daze.
Ludwig: Where did the Marios go?!
Lemmy just fell over.
Ludwig: Ugh! Little brothers! Now I know how Mario feels every time he’s on an adventure.
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Chapter 2: Luigi’s Imprisonment
12th of Lemmius, 2:00 PM
Luigi woke up wondering where he was. He looked around and, remembering what Mario said, headed for home. When he got to Bowser’s Castle (it was between Bean Valley and his house), he saw what he thought was goo. As he got closer, he saw that it was human, and it looked just like him! The human looked surprised too. They both stood there staring at each other for a long time before one spoke up.
Present Luigi: If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were me!
Future Luigi: Oh no! I heard Mario talk about these things! You’re a Dupl, um, Duplig...
Present Luigi: I’m not a Duplighost!
Future Luigi: Yeah, that’s it! Duplighost! Hey! If you’re not a Duplighost, how can you be standing in front of me?
Present Luigi: Maybe because you’re the Duplighost!
Future Luigi: What?! I’m not a Duplighost!
Present Luigi: If you’re not a Duplighost, then this must be a dream!
Future Luigi: Now hold it. Let’s just say you are a Duplighost. I know you aren’t, but just pretend. Now if you’re a Duplighost, you haven’t attacked me, so you must be a friendly one. So I’m going to help you.
Present Luigi: Just remember, I’m not a Duplighost.
Future Luigi: Yeah. Now, why are you here?
Present Luigi: To whip Bowser on my own.
Future Luigi: Alright! I’m definitely helping you! What’s the plan?
5 minutes later...
Present Luigi was in the first room in the castle. He called to the Future Luigi to come this way. Both Luigis ducked down the corridor, but not before the Future Luigi had put a mark on the wall. They hid in the shadows and waited...
It was not long before they heard a noise. It was Bowser. They watched and snickered as he took the other way, because he saw the mark and thought that Mario was down that way. The two Luigis quietly followed him. After walking for a long time, Bowser finally stopped.
Bowser: I knew it! A trick! I’d better get back before Mario wrecks the castle!
Present Luigi: (quietly) Get in the shadow! This is where I beat Bowser myself!
Bowser: Luigi! So you’ve come! Did big brother make little baby go?
Present Luigi: You don’t scare me!
Bowser: Oh no? Well you’re gonna be scared and fried when I’m done with you!
With that Bowser took a deep breath, ready to blow fire. Present Luigi quickly backflipped over him. Present Luigi grabbed his tail and threw him to the end of the hall. Bowser got up, and this time succeded in blowing fire, although he badly missed. Present Luigi threw some fireballs, but they did not hurt Bowser much because they hit his shell. Bowser turned around and quickly did a hand swipe. He succeeded in knocking Present Luigi unconscious. Bowser laughed evilly and carried Present Luigi off.
Future Luigi: Oh no! I’ve got to help him, but I can’t let Bowser see me. This’ll be tricky.
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12th of Lemmius, 5:00 PM
Future Mario had been walking for hours, and he was now quite tired.
(Future) Mario: If I don’t rest I think I’ll faint! I don’t care if Ludwig catches me; I need to rest.
So Mario sat down and instantly fell asleep. Little did he know that Ludwig was not far behind.
Mario was awakened by a loud noise. He sat up and, after getting his wits about him, he noticed a black object in the distance. Instantly he hid behind a rock. After a few minutes he peeked back, and saw that the black object was a doomship heading straight for him!
Mario: Oh no! It’s Ludwig! I’ll bet he has a tracker in there. Good thing I brought this Frog Suit with me!
Mario slipped on his spare Frog Suit and started hopping away quickly. Luckily, the tracker did not recognize Mario in the Frog Suit, and passed by him.
Mario: Whew! That was a close one!
Meanwhile, in the doomship:
Ludwig: Shoot! I still can’t believe I almost had Mario! Oh well, at least the tracker will find him.
He quickly got bored, and fell asleep again. The beeping of the pocket tracker waked him. He stared in disbelief at the readouts.
Ludwig: What! Ten minutes ago? ... Out of nowhere? That can’t be right! There are no fortresses around here. Wait a second... Computer! Show the recording of ten minutes ago!
After watching for a few seconds, Ludwig’s hunch was confirmed.
Ludwig: I knew it! An extra Frog Suit, eh? Well Mario won’t get away that easy!
Ludwig set the pocket tracker to find Mario again, and used ultraviolet scanning.