Part 1
King Bowser Koopa has taken over Plit. The Koopalings have been assigned to different areas to rule and judge with an iron fist. A small resistance group known as the Kingdom Fighters (KF), with their leader, Mario Mario, is trying to win back the Mushroom Kingdom from the eldest Koopaling, Ludwig von Koopa. They have to make it from their headquarters in Mushroom City to his castle on top of the faraway Bob-omb Mountain, where he has ruthless guards patrolling night and day. If they can win back the Mushroom Kingdom, the former residents of the Mushroom Kingdom may have a chance to win back Ludwig's Land from the Dark Land...
"Quickly! Haul up that tankard!" Mario shouted as he barked orders to the rest of the KF.
"Hey! Just because I'm helping you defeat those Koopa tyrants, that don't mean you can push me around!" Wario shouted back at him.
"Guys! Let's not fight! We have to load up this cargo into the truck if we want to make it past the blockade!" Toad said.
"Toad's right! We've got to get moving! If we want to plant these Bob-ombs in Ludwig's Castle, then we'll have to move quickly," Luigi said.
"Fine then! Let's move!" Mario ordered.
"Yes, Commandant!" Wario said, sarcastically.
"This is no time for slack! C'mon! Put your back into it, Wario!" Waluigi shouted.
"Hmm... How 'bout I put my fist in your face!" Wario snickered.
"That won't be necessary!" Waluigi quivered.
"So what's the plan?" Peach asked.
"Yoshi knows!" Yoshi said.
"Go ahead, Yoshi. Shoot," Mario said.
"I thought Yoshi doesn't shoot until we get to the blockade?" Yoshi asked.
"Yes, it's just a figure of speech," Mario answered.
"Oh," Yoshi said. "Mario and Luigi are supposed to drive through the blockade. When guards say 'What do you have in the back?' Wario, Waluigi, Toad, and Peach jump out and knock out guards. Then Yoshi shoot communicator so none of this is heard."
"Wow. He actually remembered it this time," Wario said.
"Yoshi doesn't forget!" Yoshi said.
"Okay! Then let's move out, team!" Mario said as they hopped in their trucks and moved out toward the blockade, where of course, the big, stupid guard asked "What's in the back?" Then they jumped out and knocked out the guards standing there. Yoshi took out a gun and shot the communicator. It went just as planned. They hopped back in and went into Ludwig's territory.
"This place is scary..." Yoshi said.
"Quit yer whining!" Wario shouted. "We just crossed over the border!"
It wasn't before long until they reached the first area of Ludwig's Land. It was the Goomba Kingdom. Nothing but Goombas wandered around the kingdom and they hated anyone passing through. Of course the KF didn't know this, because they've never been in the Goomba Kingdom.
As their truck pulled through, a Goomba guard shouted, "Hey! You guys! Get lost. We have no use for your kind here."
"But we're just passing through," Mario said.
"A troublemaker, eh? Well we'll just have to bring you in then! C'mon, boys! Arrest these guys!" A group of Goombas with spears gathered around them. Wario jumped out of the back and squished half of them. Then the other team members jumped out and started pelting the remaining Goombas with ? Blocks and kicking them in the face.
One Goomba got away and called for backup. "Help! They're bombarding us!" Then a small army of Goombas came and was able to finally arrest them. They brought them to the Goomboss Palace.
"This is where Lord Goomboss lives! He'll take care of you!" one Goomba said to Mario.
A gigantic building-sized Goomba came out. "Ah! This kind..." he shouted, with his big, gray mustache standing on end, "You have been stomping on my people for generations. Now the tables have turned! Take them to the Toad Press!" He turned to show some sort of machine that stomped on anything that went underneath it. "Does it remind you of something, Master Mario?" Goomboss said. "It should! Remember Mario Party 4? Goomba Stomp?"
Then it hit him. This was the machine used to crush Goombas! Now he was using it to crush them!
"Any last words?" Goomboss said with
recognizable delight.
Part 2: Escape From Goomba Kingdom
"Team- execute evasive maneuver Code Red!" Mario said.
Yoshi spun to the side and ate the guards. "Yummy Goomba!" Yoshi replied, happily.
"Catch them! I want those KFs alive!" Goomboss shouted to his underlings.
"Gotcha," one said.
They charged, but Wario just jumped in the way to block their path. They bumped into him and flew backward. Luigi did a well-planted dive kick underneath the Goombas' feet. They all flew up and crashed back down.
"Let's get out of here!" Peach said.
"Seize them!" Goomboss yelled to the remaining Goombas. After a bit of a struggle they did. "So," Goomboss rambled, "you thought you could defeat me? You thought you could escape from the great Goomba Kingdom? Don't make me laugh. You sniveling KFs will be no more in Ludwig's Land."
Goomboss stuttered and looked around. "Say, where's the one with the Mushroom cap?"
"Over here!" Toad shouted as the team saw him careening through the large passageways of Goomboss Palace in their truck. He ran into the Goombas holding them hostage, and they flew and crashed into the wall.
"Great job!" Mario said to Toad.
"Yeah," Waluigi said. "I guess I owe you one." They skidded off towards the exit.
"This in not over yet!" Goomboss shouted. He started pounding on towards them from his giant throne. The earth quaked from his massive weight. "You shall be the one who is STOMPED!!!" Goomboss shouted in a fit of rage.
"Step on it!" Wario shouted in Toad's ear. They zoomed through the exit and into the streets of the nearby Goomba Village named Goomba Falls. It was named this for its giant, cascading waterfalls that surrounded the village. They rushed past the marketplace, knocking over baskets of Goomnuts and a foreign merchant selling Goombonian Steel lead works. They knocked his stand over, and to their luck it held a container of swords! As Goomboss was running down the street after them, he stepped on one and lost balance. He fell into a lake nearby and sunk to the bottom.
"Glad that's over." Luigi said, pleased.
They pulled the truck over and got out. They walked over to an old Goomba. "Hey, do you know where Lord Ludwig's Castle is from here?" Mario said on behalf of the group.
"Ah yes," he said, squinting to see the visitors. "It's north of here. Go straight north and over the mountain. Then go through the bay. That'll take you out into the forest somewhere. The Podoboo Forest, I believe it's called. Then I don't know what's beyond that. That's up to you guys to figure out."
"Thank you for that information," Mario said.
"Oh, you're quite welcome. Good day," the old Goomba said.
"Good day," Mario replied.
Mario huddled with the group. "We have to go north, guys," Mario said.
"Into Frappe Snowland?" Wario said.
"Yes, if that's what's up north," Mario replied.
"Well I know an old Sherpa that lives
in Frappe. He may be unwilling, but I think we can coax him into doing
it," Wario said, a sly look on his face.
Part 3: Aurora Mountain
The crew set off towards Frappe Snowland, looking for Wario's old Sherpa buddy, whom no one could get the name of.
"His hut should be right around here…" Wario said as he looked around the tundra underneath the mountain. "Aha! Here it is!" he shouted excitedly. Everyone rushed toward him.
He knocked on the door of the hut. The door creaked open a little bit and a voice said, "What do you want?"
"It's old Wario!" Wario chuckled.
The door swung open to reveal some sort of Snow Koopa. His shell was blue, with snow dripping off of the backside. He was wearing some sort of covering, much like Sherpas in Tibet wear here on Earth. "Why, ol' Wario! Haven't seen you in a while. What brings you here to Frappe?" he said.
"The war. But what else is new?" Wario snickered.
"I see you have brought company. Comrades?" the Koopa asked.
"Yes. We need a guide to get over Aurora," Wario said.
"Ol' Aurora Mountain? You've got to be kidding! You do realize that there are Blizzards up there, don’t you? And I'm not talking about the weather!" The Koopa scoffed.
"Well it's the only way to Lord Ludwig's Castle, you know," Wario answered slyly.
"Very well then, if you must. But this is just coz we're old buddies. I won't be doin' this on a regular basis, you know!" the Koopa scolded.
"Yes, yes," Wario said.
"Oh! And you men that are Wario's comrades! My name is Hokota. I will be your guide to the dangerous perils of Aurora Mountain. Please follow me," the Koopa said as he bounded off towards the mountain. The rest of the group swiftly followed.
"We must get to the bay before nightfall. It's mighty dangerous up here at night. Not to mention frostbite, but also dangerous Blizzard Brigades have been set up here by Ludwig," Hokota said.
"Blizzard Brigades?" Luigi asked.
"Oh, yes! They are small strike-force units consisting of mainly Blizzards. They patrol at night, because they figure nobody would be stupid enough to come here in the day," Hokota answered.
"Why would it be stupid?" Peach asked.
"Because special Freezy Tweesters might blow you off the side of the mountain. They're more active during the day," Hokota answered.
"Then why are we here during the day?!" Waluigi shouted.
"There's no need to yell," Hokota said as he turned to Wario. "Who's this idiot?"
"That's my brother," Wario said.
"Oh! Oops," Hokota said as he turned back to Waluigi. "We are here because you have a better chance of avoiding a Freezy Tweester than fighting off a Blizzard Brigade," Hokota answered.
"Yoshi can fight off any enemy! Yoshi is strong!" Yoshi said.
"Yes, but that can prove to be a disadvantage. You see, the only way to defeat Blizzards is-"
Hokota was cut off when a giant Freezy Tweester emerged in front of them. "Team! Evacuate area!" Mario barked.
They all scattered in different directions. Hokota was running, but the snow had caught him. The Tweester was inbound. Danger was imminent. Hokota flew up into the Tweester. He was shot out and hit a snow bank. The Tweester dissolved.
"We've got to get out of here! There could be more of them near here!" Toad shouted.
"No! Not without Hokota!" Wario said, rushing to his friend. The team was shocked to see Wario show any care for any lifeform other than himself. They didn't know how, when, or why they were friends, but they were. He hauled Hokota onto his back. "We have to move!" Wario said.
So there they were- stranded on Aurora
Mountain, without a guide, and it was almost nightfall…
Part 4: Night on Aurora
"So what are we going to do? It's nearing nightfall, and your dumb Koopa has passed out!" yelled Waluigi.
"Oh shut up!" Wario barked back.
"Guys, guys! Let's not fight!" Toad said, trying to be the peacemaker.
"Toad's right," Mario said. "If we want to defeat this Blizzard Brigade, we need a plan of attack."
"I say we wake Hokota up," Luigi said, being the voice of reason.
"Huh?" Yoshi mumbled.
"Yeah, Hokota said he knew how to defeat the Blizzards. Remember? He was telling us about that before he was knocked out," Luigi answered.
"Oh!" Yoshi said.
"Yeah!" Wario said with a slightly noticeable bit of concern in his eye. "We have to wake him up! Yoshi! Dump some water on him!"
"No!" Peach gasped. "That will cause frostbite!"
"Then, uh…Yoshi! Lick him!" Wario said.
"Does Yoshi get to eat him?" Yoshi asked.
"No, just wake him up," Wario said.
"Oh- okay." Yoshi sighed. He did so and Hokota managed to wake.
"Whu-?" Hokota gasped. "What- What time is it?!"
"It's nightfall," Luigi said. "We need you to help fight off the Blizzard Brigade."
"Oh my, yes! To defeat a Blizzard you must melt it!" Hokota informed the crew.
"That's it?!" Waluigi yelled. "That's the big secret?! I thought you were gonna say go climb the mountain and find some sort of toxin to defeat them, but MELT THEM?! I mean, really!"
"Um, Waluigi- I think you're overreacting," Toad reasoned.
"I know when I'm overreacting, so shut it!" Waluigi screamed. It was appearing to the team that the war had made Waluigi start to lose his mind.
The team left and set up a camp. When Wario was sitting down, roasting a Goomnut, Mario approached him. "Wario…" Mario started, "Waluigi is becoming too much of a threat. We must abandon him."
"What?! My own brother?! You can't be serious!" Wario gasped.
"We won't abandon him here on the mountain. We're going to wait 'til tomorrow. Hokota told us that there is a village near the base of the mountain, overlooking Borealis Bay," Mario explained.
"So that was the bay the old Goomba was talking about?" Wario asked. Mario nodded. Wario thought about this. Even though it was hard to admit it, he wanted to leave Waluigi, too. He was going insane from these harsh conditions. The only thing that made him shudder was what if the others started becoming like him? What if they started losing it too? Could there be a mutiny? Wario shook off the idea. He had to focus on the mission that took place currently- getting over the mountain and to the village.
***
In the morning the team woke, glad that no Blizzards had come during the night. Wario walked over to Mario and whispered, "So are we doing it today?" Mario nodded, trying to be inconspicuous. If Waluigi got word of this, he might try to start a mutiny against the two, although the rest would probably agree with Mario and Wario. Put into these conditions, Mario and Wario had nearly put aside all rivalry and acted like actual people instead of arguing rivals.
As they walked down the side of the mountain many things went through Wario's head. He thought about Waluigi. He felt very sorry for him. It wasn't his fault. It was the fault of the war, and of those Koopas. Wario despised Koopas so much now, that the rest of the team was actually shocked to see that his old Sherpa friend was a Koopa. Wario looked out in the distance. He could see the bay and the town next to it.
"What's this place called?" Luigi asked Mario.
"The bay is called Borealis Bay and that town is called Snowpalm Village. I heard that there are many nice fisherman and merchants that are actually part of the underground resistance," Mario replied.
"Underground resistance?" Hokota asked.
"Yes," Mario said, "the underground
resistance is a chain of people who provide homes and food for resistance
fighter teams, like us. We are actually supposed to meet our contact north
of here, at Glargg Canyon. It's just north of the Podoboo Forest. After
there, we storm Ludwig's castle!"
Part 5: Borealis Bay
The team managed to make it down the mountain. They went immediately to a shop in Snowpalm Village. "May I help you?" the shopkeeper asked, as he polished a jar filled with Beezly Honey. He was a short Toad with a large belly and a thick white beard. He put the jar down and as he did so, Yoshi was eyeing it.
"The black ram," Mario whispered to him.
"Oh, so you're those guys? My name is Grate. I have beds in the back with shells, and you can feel free to take any food in my store," the shopkeeper said, quietly.
"Yippee!" Yoshi cried as he grabbed the jar and started licking the inside.
Grate chuckled. "Him too?" Grate asked, pointing at Hokota.
"Well," Hokota said, "I got in it this far, so why not go all the way?"
"That's it!" Wario laughed. "Stick with the ol' team!"
Waluigi sneered at them both with a menacing look in the eye. The war had twisted his view of things. His mind betrayed him. His thoughts were depictions of examples set by the ruthless Koopa tyrants. He got jealous. Jealous of Hokota. Jealous because Wario thought more of him than he ever did of Waluigi, his own brother. He was plotting. Plotting something menacing…
***
It was nightfall. All were in their cots in the back room of Grate's shop, except for one- Waluigi. Waluigi snuck up behind Hokota, his mind running wild with anger, hostility, and utter chaos. But then a bit of his old self showed through. What are you doing, you fool?! it said. Think! Don't let your environment control you! You would never hurt anyone, physically, anyway. Don't do it! It's a mistake! Then Waluigi slunk down. That bit of his old self told him that there was a new self, which meant he was going crazy! He pounded the thought out of his head. He had been overreacting before on Aurora. He was losing it. Then he decided that this madness must stop!
***
The next morning everyone sat on their cots eating various foodstuffs from Grate's shop that they deemed as breakfast. Wario whispered to Mario, "I don't feel right about this. Maybe that was just a flook."
"Trust me, it's for the best," Mario said. "Oh, Waluigi!" Waluigi spun around on his cot on the far side of the room. "I've got something for you to do," Mario said, chewing a fruit as he talked.
"What is it?" Waluigi asked.
"I need you to go to the hotel on the other side of town. There you must stay for the night. You need to look out for some undercover spies for Ludwig there. Good luck," Mario said.
He knew he was telling a half-truth. There probably were spies there, but that was irrelevant to their mission. Waluigi walked out.
"Team!" Mario called. "Now we must go to the Podoboo Forest."
"But what about Waluigi?" Toad asked.
"He's on a very important mission," Mario replied.
"Why does he get an important mission? Mario? I'm your brother!" Luigi yelled.
"I don't think this is right," Peach said.
"Trust me! I need you guys in the Podoboo Forest," Mario said.
"Well, okay..." Peach said.
Yoshi, Hokota and Wario just watched as the rest of the team talked. "Uh, guys!" Hokota said. "Shouldn't we get going now?" Everyone turned and saw the three sitting there while the rest were talking. They realized they were wasting time. It was time to move out.