Super Mario Bros. Fan Fiction ❯ Question Box ❯ Chapter 1

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

A floating box with a question mark, you never know what will come out of it. A collection of Mario one-shots.

Question Box: Stage I

Box 01: Babysitting the Koopalings

Kamek's Point of View

"I am the most powerful magikoopa there is. I am the leader of the magikoopas and one of the most important members of the Koopa Troop. I was here from the beginning back when Bowser was only a baby. I've been here for many years and earned the respect and trust of all the other koopas. I am Kamek and I am not a babysitter!" I watch as the seven koopalings run around me not listening to a word I say... Why does Bowser always make me babysit? He's off somewhere training his troops for the next battle with the Mario brothers. I don't know when he'll be back but it won't be soon enough.

Ludwig hardly ever gives me trouble. He's the oldest. He spends all his time in his lab making inventions and composing symphonies. The only times he gets himself into trouble is when he tests them inside the castle no matter how many times I've told him to go outside. But he never listens, none of them do.

Lemmy keeps balancing himself on that ball. He doesn't fall but he knocks over countless objects. Iggy and Roy are complaining now. They say they can't see right. Well of course they can't, Iggy has Roy's sunglasses on and Roy has Iggy's glasses. I explain what's going on and they exchange the glasses and sunglasses, then blame me for it.

Morton sees his brothers pointing fingers at me and does the same thing even if he doesn't know what's going on. Then he starts talking about random things, he's such a chatterbox.

As I look around I notice Wendy isn't here so I decide to go find her before the most spoiled of the koopalings gets herself into trouble. I go to Wendy's room and to my surprise she is there. She is just sitting there staring at something. I take a close look at the thing she's staring at and gasp. Where did she get that? This is something I haven't see in years.

"Kamek! Kamek! Larry's poking the piranha plant again!" Morton came running and almost ran into me. As soon as my brain processes his words I run as fast as I can and leave him standing there rambling on and on about the fact that Larry was again poking the piranha plant.

I get there just in time to save the youngest koopaling from getting eaten by the ferocious piranha plant that, for some reason that's beyond me, Bowser insists on keeping in his throne room. I sigh in relief and tell little Larry how dangerous it is to go near his father's piranha plant but of course he's not listening to me.

"Morton! Give that back!" I suddenly hear Wendy scream. Morton had run off with the object I saw before. He didn't watch where he was going and bumped into Ludwig who by some miracle was not in his lab or music room today.

"Watch where you're go-" Ludwig didn't finish the sentence before his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. "Where did you get this?" He picked up the item from before. "I'm the oldest so I should keep it!"

"Daddy gave that to me!" Wendy demanded taking the item from Ludwig.

"But now it's mine!" Lemmy rolled by on his ball and took it from Wendy.

"Hey! I want it!" Iggy ran after Lemmy and soon the other koopalings joined the chase.

Thanks to Morton's big mouth everyone in the castle found out what was going on. The seven koopalings fought for the thing and wanted it for themselves. The fight got worse when they ran into Bowser's arsenal in the dungeon and started throwing bombs at each other. They're going to bring down the castle if I don't do something!

They have taken they're fight and the bombs to the throne room and so I hold my wand close and prepare to do something, anything and everything, to stop this fight before the castle is no more.

As I walk into the throne room I hear an explosion and the screams of the seven koopalings. "No!" I watch as they form a circle around the thing they have been fighting for. Now it's ruined because of the explosion. The youngest koopalings start crying and soon the others also cry, even Ludwig. I look at the thing they wanted so much and make it float to me with my wand.

The koopalings surround me. Even now they don't want anyone touching they're prized possession. I wave my wand around and the object is restored to what it used to be before the explosion. Before the fight starts again, I wave my wand once more and make copies of the item. The koopalings look very happy now as each hugs their item. Maybe they're not so bad after all.

The koopa troops that stayed in the castle are now fixing the mess the koopalings made with the bombs and hopefully everything will be restored by the time Bowser comes back. I go give them a hand with my wand so that the castle is restored faster. And to think all of this happened for a picture of the Queen of Koopas...

End POV

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Box 02: Underappreciated

Today was not Toad's day, but then again it never was. He was always happy go lucky little Toad, but no one knew of the hardships he had to endure. Like for example climbing out of his bed in the morning, it might be a small step for anyone else, but a giant leap for a midget like Toad.

Speaking of steps, after going through the ordeals of personal hygiene and dressing for the day, wearing of course a vest in his upper body and remembering how jealous he sometimes felt when others sported souvenir t-shirts that would have been too long for him and wouldn't fit over his head anyway; it was time to go down some stairs, oh joy.

One by one, with a swift pace, Toad conquered the stairs, he stepped all over them alright, but it gave him quite a workout, not that the exercise would make him any taller. It was the dilemma of mushrooms living in a human sized castle. "Good morning Toad."

Toad looked up at Princess Peach who was towering over him. "Good morning Princess!" Toad greeted her with his usual cheerful tone, but he regretted not being able to properly look at her face without twisting his neck backwards.

After a short conversation with the princess, Toad continued on his way to perform his daily duties. Not once did the little mushroom complain, not even when Mario accidentally stepped on his head when carelessly jumping around, though the plumber did apologize. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you."

"It's okay Mario, don't worry about it." Toad smiled on the outside, but on the inside he grumbled with frustration. Mario wasn't exactly the tallest man in the land, being shorter than both Luigi and Peach, but even so, he managed to unintentionally fail to notice Toad and step on him.

But even if he felt frustration, Toad felt no malice or anger towards the people who overlooked him, quite literally looking over him, nor for those who stepped on him, literally or metaphorically. Because he was happy go lucky Toad, even if he was underappreciated.

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Box 03: The Dilemma of Prince Charming

Bowser Koopa sat in his throne feeling rather bored. Maybe he would kidnap Princess Peach later that day. At least that would give him something to do and she was always peasant company. Or he could send Kamek off to spy on Wendy and see if she had found a new boyfriend. Then he would throw him in a pool of boiling lava and watch him melt hoping it would serve as an example for any other unworthy boys who tried to get near his little princess.

As Bowser thought of his possible recreational activities for the afternoon, the door to the thrown room was slightly opened. It was as if the one opening it had a hard time doing so. The door was rather heavy but not too heavy for an average koopa. He was surprised to find that it was none other than his oldest son Ludwig Von Koopa who came in.

The boy was a mess. His spiky blue hair was spiked messily in every direction instead of just left and right as it usually was. Bowser was tempted to ask if he had received an electric shock from a faulty invention lately. However he held the question as he noticed other things that were off besides the hair.

Ludwig had a few scratches here and there, nothing too serious but unusual none the less. One thing that caught Bowser's attention was that he held his hand over his shell as if he was afraid it would break. Of course that was impossible, or was it? Bowser watched in horror as his son approached revealing a large crack on his shell branched into smaller ones.

Snapping out of the initial surprise, Bowser quickly rushed to help his son sit in the throne. The poor boy looked as if he had consumed his last bit of energy just to get there and he would collapse soon. "Ludwig what happened to you?" If this was the work of the Mario brothers by tomorrow there would be two less plumbers in the world. "Was it Mario?" Ludwig only had to say the word and Bowser would have his entire army surrounding Mario in no time. That plumber would wish he was never born. Bowser would personally make sure of that.

Ludwig, who was too exhausted to speak, weakly shook his head.

"Was it Luigi?" Bowser then asked.

Again Ludwig shook his head.

"Yoshi? Toad? Somehow that seems very unlikely," Browser continued reviewing the possibilities.

Ludwig shook his head once more.

"Peach? No, it couldn't have been Peach."

Ludwig shook his head and having rested enough to finally catch his breath he spoke, hardly above a whisper. "Do we have glue?"

It took Bowser a moment to understand why Ludwig would ask for glue at a time like this. He wanted to glue his broken shell back together. The poor boy! Who ever did this to his son would pay. "I'll have Kamek fix your shell for you," Bowser spoke in an uncharacteristically gentle voice. Then as if he had forgotten his fragile son was right next to him, he roared at the top of his lungs. "Kamek!" His voice echoed all over the castle. Ludwig closed his eyes tightly as he felt his headache grow worse.

The magikoopa rushed in following the roar of the king's voice to the throne room. He arrived precisely three point five seconds after being summoned. "Yes your high-"

"Cure him!" Bowser did not let Kamek finish before he roared an order as he pointed at his son. Yet he sounded more worried than harsh and Kamek took note of that.

The old magikoopa approached the young koopa prince and adjusted his glasses. "Oh dear..." Kamek was surprised that a strong koopa like Ludwig would end up in a state like that. The boy was not only strong but also smart. He should have been able to avoid a dangerous situation as easily as it was for him to compose one symphony after another. The young prince was quite talented. Neither his father nor his used to be babysitter ever thought that it were exactly those positive traits which got him into trouble.

"Can you heal him?" Bowser asked with slight desperation in his voice. This was his son, his oldest son, the heir to the throne of the Koopa Kingdom. He couldn't go around with a broken shell.

"I believe I can." Kamek focused his magic in the jewel at the end of his wand. He took a step back and nodded in Bowser's direction indicating for him to do the same. Then three shapes surrounded by light emerged from the wand. There was a yellow circle, a blue square and a red triangle. The magical energy floated towards Ludwig as the three figures danced around each other.

When the magic reached him, Ludwig's shell began to glow. He sat perfectly still letting the healing magic do its job. The cracks on his shell started to heal becoming smaller until they were mere scratches and then even those scratches began to fade away. His shell was left polished and in perfect conditions. Ludwig reached behind him and touched the shell's smooth surface between the spikes. "It's much better now."

Kamek looked a bit tired, that healing magic certainly took it out of him. To fix a broken shell was not an easy spell. "I'm glad you approve young prince." The old magikoopa had been the family's caretaker his entire life. He took care of Bowser ever since he was little more than an egg and then he took care of his children, so in a sense Kamek was like a grandfather to them. Satisfied that his work was done, Kamek left the throne room. He glanced at Bowser as he left. He certainly looked relieved that his son was alright.

Feeling a lot better Ludwig stood up. "Ludwig you still need to tell me who did this to you," Bowser asked again. He needed to know. He needed to teach the one who did it a very hard lesson.

Ludwig looked down and stared at his feet as if it was the first time he saw them.

"Ludwig just tell me what happened I won't be mad," Bowser insisted. He would have to use psychology if he was to get any information out of Ludwig. "Whatever it is you know I can help."

Of course Ludwig knew that by help Bowser meant he would literally destroy the problem but this particular problem could not be destroyed. Ludwig's problem was one that was better off being avoided. They were too powerful, no one could stand up to them, not even his father's armies and the Mario brothers put together.

"Ludwig," Bowser persisted, hiding his impatience quite well.

Ludwig looked up at his father. Was that a hint of red on the prince's face? "Fan girls," he grinned.

Bowser stood there for a moment, letting his son's words sink in. Fan girls... they were so dangerous and so deadly that no even the mighty Koopa King would dare to anger them. Those terrible obsessed rabid creatures were after his little boy. Unconsciously, Bowser hugged his son as if to protect him, as if one of the terrible monsters known as 'fan girls' could pop out thin air at any given moment.

"It's okay King Dad, I'll be alright," Ludwig smiled. As painful as it was, nothing could boost a young man's ego like a fan girl attack.

Bowser slowly nodded and let him go. Ludwig wasn't a little boy anymore if he was old enough for the fan girls to leave him in such a state. For his shell to be cracked like that, he must have endured severe glomping.

"I'm going to go write a song I thought of this afternoon while I was running for my life," Ludwig announced and headed to his room.

Bowser watched him go and made a metal note to increase the defenses around the castle ten fold. If Ludwig had fan girls and boys were chasing Wendy, then it wouldn't be long before the other koopalings started to attract unwanted guests. It was only a matter of time and he had no time to waste. He wouldn't let those stalkers go near his kids. Tomorrow the training of his army would be intensified in preparation for any possible fan attacks. To try to win the war he knew would be impossible, but if he could only win a few battles against them, then he would feel like he accomplished his duty as a father to protect his children.

Meanwhile, Ludwig sat in his room in, humming the melody he had created as he looked out the window. Suddenly a female sounding scream was heard followed by a loud growl and the sound of something being chewed and swallowed. Then a chain chop passed by looking quite satisfied. Ludwig watched from his window high above in one of the castle's towers. The chain chop appeared to have a blue ribbon in his mouth. Shaking his head Ludwig sighed. "Such is the dilemma of prince charming."

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Box 04: Spin Clean

Many colors, spinning water,
It is I, the fairy's daughter,
In this chaos a secret I stutter,
"Mushrooms: creatures like no others."

For I do not understand,
Why such spinning they'd be needing,
For the sake of clothing cleaning.

My small world beyond control,
Until a Toad opens the door.
I fly away, wet, fluffy, scared,
Mushrooms: creatures beyond compare.

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Box 05: Bowser's Advice for Parents

It is important to encourage children to participate in music. But if it turns out that their koopa symphonies are not the best, then wear earplugs or prepare for a large headache, but never discourage your child. Look on the bright side, you can record the song and use it to give your enemies headaches, giving them a disadvantage in battle.

It is important to teach children how to balance their diet, but you must specify that a balanced diet doesn't mean rolling around in a ball with an ice-cream bowl on their head or trying to juggles lollipops. Make sure they know the value of juggling fruits and vegetables as well. That way they'll have all the vitamins they need to help you destroy your enemies.

It is important to encourage children to participate in science, just make sure you have insurance for when their experiments blow up. Or you could send those experiments to your enemies and get them blown up. Children can learn a lot from constructing weapons.

It is important to teach children to defend themselves, as long as you specify that throwing your underlings in the lava pools is not allowed. You wouldn't want the numbers of your army to decrease, the more outnumbered your enemies are, the best chance you have to win. Also make sure to specify who the enemies are, so that your children can concentrate their strength and energy against them and not your allies.

It is important to provide children with everything they may need, but if they spend too much on things that will only clutter their closed, hide your credit cards and pretend you lost them. Make sure to call the plumbers that day, even if you don't have any broken pipes, so they may suffer the temper tantrum that will inevitably follow. It will give them a big headache and maybe even nightmares.

It is important to listen to your children. If they talk too much, wear earplugs while you continue to smile and nod as if you're listening. You should also encourage your child to tell those same stories to the plumbers when they come bother you or fix a pipe.

It is important to teach your child how to properly take care of a pet. That means no feeding bob-ombs to the chain chops. It is vital that your child understands that chain chops eat plumbers not bob-ombs.

It is very important to give your children educative activities to do while spending quality time with the family. Some of those activities could be destroying annoying plumbers and kidnapping princesses.

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Box 06: Meant to Be (LuigixDaisy, MarioxPeach)

Luigi's Point of View

When I look back into the not so distant past, I realize how much things have changed in a relatively short time. When my brother Mario and I got stranded in this unknown world we came to know first as the Mushroom Kingdom and later as home, all we wanted to do was find our way back to Brooklyn. It was quite strange how we came here after being sucked down a pipe that we shouldn't have fit into in the first place. One minute we were trying to repair a plugged up tub and the next we were here.

We rolled out of the pipe knocking several human sized turtles out of the way. That's when we saw her for the first time, a woman in a pink dress with blue eyes and long blonde hair. She was princess Peach Toadstool. Her loyal friend Toad, a mushroom boy was there also. Meeting those two people was definitely interesting. The princess was quite beautiful and Toad was, well let's just say that you don't see a kid with a mushroom on his head everyday in Brooklyn or anywhere else on Earth.

In the Mushroom Kingdom we found that there were more of those people with mushrooms on their heads. It appeared that the princess was one of the few who looked human. Then while we were still assimilating that this world was more than just a dream, Bowser came. He kidnapped princess Toadstool and it was up to Mario and me to rescue her and a few mushroom people that were also captured. This brought us to our first real adventure in this world. Then again, just being there was an adventure in itself.

We ventured into strange lands with snow storms, endless deserts, giants and many things that were so new to us. We visited one castle after another, finding a new mushroom people each time. They sadly told us that their dear princess was not with them and had been taken to another castle. Finally, we reached the Dark Lands were the Koopa King held the princess hostage. After a long hard battle we were able to rescue her.

By the time the celebrations of the Peach's return were over, I realized two things. First of all I noticed the special connection between Peach and my brother. They felt something for each other from the very start. It would take a while for them to be certain and later admit it, but eventually they did. Another thing I realized was that the people of this world needed us. No matter how much we missed Brooklyn, we had to stay here for them. So we made our home in this world and soon stopped missing Brooklyn, though we will always remember it.

For some time, I wondered if one day I would find that special someone like my brother did. But there was no time to search at the moment. Mario and I lived one adventure after another, keeping the Mushroom Kingdom safe. It was then that we met many new friends, like Yoshi. That dinosaur can sure eat!

Many things happened and we traveled to distant lands. One of those lands was Sarasaland. That's were I met her, princess Daisy. I too had found someone special. I knew it from the second I saw her. Suddenly what my brother had told me about Peach made complete sense, because I was feeling it for Daisy.

So there you have it, that's my story, or at least the beginning of it. Many more adventures await. To think it all started when we came here by accident. But maybe it wasn't an accident, maybe it was meant to happen, just like Mario and Peach are meant to be and I know it's the same for Daisy and me.

End POV

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Box 07: Give me a Reason (BoosterxValentina)

Booster paced around his tower balcony, wishing and hoping that another miracle would happen. The snifits formed a circle, planning and plotting ways to cheer up their leader. "Let's play with your dolls!" The first snifit cheered.

"I'm busy," Booster replied in a hopeless tone. His dream was shattering before his eyes.

"Maybe we could play a board game instead?" The second snifit suggested, though he only received a bored look as an answer.

"How about hide and seek?" Snifit number three asked.

"I don't feel like it. I just wish it would happen again." Booster was about to snap if he didn't get his wish. "Why can't a girl fall from the sky again and be my bride?"

"Dodo! Dodo! Be careful, I'm going to fall!" A female voice was heard.

"What was that?" Booster and the snifits started to run around in circles on the balcony.

"Dodo! Ah!" It was none other than Valentina who had fallen from the skies on top of Booster. "Dodo, you idiot!" She got up and dusted herself off, while Dodo landed near by and looked apologetic.

"It's a miracle!" Booster cheered and the three snifits joined in to cheer with him. Valentina was confused, but a welcoming reception in a luxurious tower was always nice to have.

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As Valentina later learned, Booster wanted to marry her, though she couldn't think of a reason why she should accept. Sure she was planning to marry Dodo when he was pretending to be Mallow, but that was different, she would gain the crown by going through with the wedding, not that they would act any differently to each other. As for Booster, he did have a nice tower, but he was no king or prince.

When Valentina asked why she should marry Booster, he whispered something in her ear. It was something that the three nosy snifits couldn't hear, and they forever wonder about it. "So we can eat wedding cake," Booster had said.

Valentina gasped, her breath caught in her throat, her heartbeats speeding up, and she immediately accepted the proposal. With her slender figure, no one would have guessed Valentina had such a cake obsession.

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Box 08: Peach Clone

Peach walked quietly, keeping an eye on every looming shadow in the dimly lit underground yellow castle. She heard some footsteps near by and hid behind a large column, until she could see if the one approaching was a friend or foe.

"I know you're there," the owner of the footsteps spoke; her voice was the same as Peach's. "I can feel you, sister."

Peach peeked out from behind the column and came face to face with a mirror image of herself. Belome could create clones of who ever he tasted, and the giant mutant dog made a clone of Peach during their last battle after licking her; but that clone was defeated and seemingly dissolved into thin air. Peach stepped out from her hiding place. "Why are you still here?"

"Belome's cloning abilities improved. The perfect Peach clone will take your place; you're nothing but another copy now." The clone giggled, as if she found the entire situation oddly amusing, and ran away.

"I'm the real Peach, my friends will know the truth!" The real Peach chased after the clone, but lost sight of her. Peach stopped and looked around for the clone. She was in a large room full of golden Belome statues.

The clone threw a bomb from behind one of the statues, but Peach quickly dodged it. How could that clone copy her strongest attack? Peach had seen her clones using basic healing spells during her battle with Belome alongside Mario, Bowser, Mallow and Geno, but they had never used bombs. The bomb collided with one of the many golden Belome statues and blew it apart, pieces flying everywhere. "All I have to do is win and I'll take your place."

The clone was really asking for it and Peach was certainly not a pushover. She was the original and she could continue being the only real Peach. "It's your last chance, give up peacefully and I'll let you go. I'll even welcome you into the Mushroom Kingdom; you can find a new identity, your own identity."

"I already have an identity, I'm Princess Peach Toadstool!" The clone got another bomb ready to attack.

"No, I am," the real Peach readied her bomb attack as well; the original was far more powerful. Instead of just one bomb, a rain of bombs came, destroying the room along with the clone. Peach ran out of the room as it caved in. "I can't go back that way now," she sighed, perhaps she overdid it. She would just have to take another route back to the Mushroom Kingdom until the shortcut to Monstro Town through Belome's Temple was fixed. But for now she would look forward to her visit.

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Box 09: Musical Genius

"No, no, no! That is not the melody I'm searching for!" Toadofsky shook his head, holding the mushroom, eyes tightly closed. "Try it again; I need to find some inspiration!"

The frog that was assisting Toadofsky got back into position. When someone dived into the musical pool, the sound that came was not just the splash of the water, a clear musical note rung out depending on where the dive occurred. Toadofsky had a very peculiar way of composing songs using the musical pool of Tadpole Pond, with the help of a few tadpoles and a good jumper. Mario himself had helped with one of Toadofsky's most famous melodies.

The tadpoles dove into the musical pool and once the frog gave the signal by standing at a circular rock at one end of the pool, with Toadofsky watching from the other, the tadpole that would create the first note emerged from the water and started to swim up and down the pool. The frog observed the tadpole, listening to the soft sounds of the water as it moved. Then the frog jumped and was caught by the tadpole.

The operation was repeated with all the tadpoles, jumping from one to another until the frog reached the last one. The frog jumped to the edge of the musical pool next to Toadofsky. "Let's try again," the mushroom composer waved his conductor's baton, and one by one the tadpoles dove into the musical pond. At first Toadofsky's expression was pleased, his smile increasing with each note, until the last tadpole dove and Toadofsky cringed.

"I almost have it! Almost!" Toadofsky sung his head from side to side as if trying to shake the melody out of the deepest corners of his mind. "One more time!"

Once again the frog got into position and the tadpoles started swimming, stopping where the frog jumped on them. It was pretty obvious that only the last note was unsatisfactory for Toadofsky, but the process had to be started from the beginning, even if only the final note would change, the composer would have it no other way.

The frog stopped at the second to last tadpole. The poor tadpole endured the weight without complains as frog took some time to think. He didn't want to hop around anymore; he was tired and wanted to visit the Frog Coin Emporium.

While the frog was still lost in thought about that last note, Ludwig emerged from a pipe, forgotten under the musical pool; such was the consequence of taking the wrong warp pipe. With some difficulty, he made it to the surface and grabbed the first thing he saw to stay afloat, the last tadpole. The frog jumped to the side of the pool in surprise and Ludwig let the tadpole go to get out of the pool.

One by one, the tag poles dived creating a pleasant melody, the last one diving where Ludwig had pulled it down when he emerged. "That's it!" Toadofsky cheered. "You are a musical genius!"

Ludwig was still a little out of breath from coming out of the warp pipe under water. He nearly drowned and was still feeling a little light headed from it. "Music?"

"Yes, you found the final note I've been searching for!" Toadofsky was literally jumping with joy. "What is your name? I must know!"

"Ludwig Von Koopa."

After hearing Ludwig's name, Toadofsky became even more excited. "I knew you looked familiar, I knew it! I love your symphonies!"

Ludwig then realized that he was standing in front of the one and only Toadofsky. "I greatly enjoy your symphonies as well, they are most inspirational!"

Toadofsky and Ludwig continued talking about music, while the frog and tadpoles slipped away unnoticed for a well deserved rest.

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Box 10: Defeated

"I'm going to be snifit number five! You just wait, I'll be snifit five for sure!" A snifit dressed in blue hopped from one rock to another along Booster Cliff. He stopped at the end of the thin cliff and observed a pipe he was sure wasn't there before. Wendy came out of the pipe and the snifit stared of her. "A koopa!" He pointed at the koopa princess.

"Way to state the obvious! Like where am I?" Wendy was pretty sure she was not supposed to have come out in that place. The ground and scenery were similar to that of Moleville, but she was pretty sure this was some place else, possibly close to Moleville.

"This is Booster Cliff, it's a place were snfits come to train and earn their numbers. I will become snifit number five after I defeat you!" The snifit proudly declared.

"Out of my way!" Wendy pushed the annoying snifit away. The snifit lost his balance and went tumbling down the cliff, while Wendy returned to the pipe.

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Box 11: The End of an Era

Bowser followed Kamek to the main conference room of the Koopa Castle, dragging his feet in an obvious sign that he didn't want to be there. "It's not so bad," Kamek tried to cheer him up from his gloomy mood. "The conference will be over soon and you can have a quiet afternoon." The six little koopalings were with their grandfather Morton and wouldn't be back until later that day. Finally, there would be some peace and quiet around the Koopa Castle, even if it was just for a little while.

"I hate these meetings," Bowser complained. "Why can't Clawdia go? She never refused to go in my place before" The queen had been acting a little strangely lately. She was participating less and less when it came to ruling the Koopa Kingdom, as if she wanted Bowser to get used to doing it alone and doing it properly, unlike the recklessness he called ruling before she became queen.

"Maybe she was tired today," Kamek had a bad feeling about it, but he wouldn't mention it until he was certain.

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In the royal chambers, a koopa lady brushed her multicolor hair. It was dark blue, light blue, blond and green. Once the rainbow was brushed to her liking, she walked out of her room, heading for the room of her youngest son.

Clawdia's first six children were spending the day with their grandpa Morton, Bowser's father, and wouldn't be back until later. The Koopa Castle was certainly quiet without them. She entered her son's room and walked towards the crib. In it, there was an egg. She gently touched the egg's smooth surface to make sure it was still warm. That wasn't really a problem in the Koopa Castle with all the lava around it.

"Are you napping Larry?" She whispered. "Alright, mommy is going for a little walk. I'll be back soon." She covered the egg with a blanket and quietly left the room, gently closing the door on her way out.

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While Bowser was at the conference room listening to the monotonous speech of a goomba about goomba rights, Kamek snuck away. The magikoopa could see that Bowser was about to fall asleep from boredom, but someone else could wake him up when the goomba's tedious speech was over. Kamek yawned as he left the conference room and retreated to his room to rest. He couldn't get rid of the feeling that something bad would happen to the queen soon. But it was ridiculous, such a prediction would make no sense.

Those babies that he predicted would cause disaster to the Koopa Kingdom in the future had been vanished to a realm called Earth. Surely they would never find a way to return. The Mushroom Kingdom had been quiet and peaceful, ripe for the conquering, if not for the fact that queen Clawdia opposed the war and she always found a way to get what she wanted. But it didn't matter, even without conquering the Mushroom Kingdom; the Koopa Kingdom was still the most powerful of all. If things stayed as they currently were, everything would work out great. Then why did Kamek have such a strong feeling that things would take a turn for the worse?

xoxox xox xoxox

Clawdia had left the castle grounds, taking a little walk on the near by area of Dark Land. She didn't walk too far from the Koopa Castle, but just far enough for all the sounds coming from it to become distant noises. The skies were dark but clear, without a single cloud in them. As she stood there, she thought she should be happy, but she wasn't. 'What is this feeling?' She thought, it made no sense, but she felt as if her time was growing short.

Clawdia sat down on the ground, staring up at the skies. A young paratroopa flew by, creating shapes as she danced in the skies. She spun around cheerfully in the air as she headed to the Koopa Castle. It was an era of peace. The war against the Mushroom Kingdom had been stopped, or at least postponed, and everyone could continue enjoying their lives in peace. If only it could last forever, but Clawdia had a feeling that it wouldn't.

She sighed and looked into the distance. Dark Land's territories stretched as far as the eye could see. She felt nostalgic, as if she knew that soon she would leave her home, never to return. She stood up, 'if I am to leave this world then I will make the best of what little time I have left.' Even if it made no sense, she knew her time was short. The end was near for her and with it would come the end of an era.

She didn't question her fate, she felt it was inevitable. Destiny was not giving her a warning to avoid her sealed fate, it was telling her to prepare herself for what was to come. She didn't know why, where or how, but she knew her life would inevitably end.

Clawdia decided not to give it any more thought and headed back to the Koopa Castle. She would spend as much time as possible with Bowser, Ludwig, Roy, Lemmy, Iggy, Wendy and Morton Jr. She hoped she would still be around to see her little Larry when he hatched. Until then, she would not be afraid and she would not be sad. She would be remembered as being happy until her end came.

When she returned to the Koopa Castle, Clawdia found that Kamek was waiting for her. Surely Bowser was still trapped in the boring royal meeting, but he would just have to get used to it. It was his duty as king. "Queen Clawdia, are you alright?" Kamek concerned.

At that moment, the Koopa Queen knew that Kamek must know of what was to come. "You felt it too... It's inevitable, isn't it?"

Kamek nodded sadly. "The prophecy was unclear. It came with no visions or dreams, only a feeling that the end was to come. I do not know what to do, but I assure you, your highness, I will do anything in my power to stop it."

"It cannot be helped," Clawdia knew it was true. "Kamek, please don't tell Bowser or anyone else about this. It would be useless to make them worry over something that cannot be stopped. I don't want to be remembered in sadness, please, promise me that you won't tell anyone."

Kamek knew that this was very important to her and he respected her wishes. "You have my word, queen Clawdia."

"Thank you Kamek," she smiled peacefully.

xoxox xox xoxox

Clawdia went to check up on Larry again. The egg would hatch soon, very soon, perhaps soon enough for her to see her youngest child, if only for a short time. Clawdia wished with all her heart that she could stay in that world, but she knew deep down that there was nothing that could be done. Not all the magic of the magikoopas could stop her inevitable fate, but she would not live thinking of what was to come. She would live every day in the present, as if it was her last.

xoxox xox xoxox

In the royal gardens of the Mushroom Kingdom princess Peach Toadstool was with her father. "Father, I feel an unfamiliar sadness. It's strange, but I feel like something bad is to happen and it will only get worse. It makes no sense, we are at peace, why do I feel this?"

The king looked thoughtful. "Prophecies don't always make sense right away." He remembered the brothers from long ago. They were only babies then and so was Peach. Kamek and the Koopa Troop had managed to throw them into another world, the realm of Earth. The prophecies told that when a war broke out and heroes were needed, they would find a way to return, maybe the time was near.

End of Stage I

Disclaimer, I don't own Super Mario. Box 02 is for Wayoshi. It was based on the fact that you can have Mario stand on Toad in the games and Toad doesn't even complain. Box 02 has a little reference to the first Shrek movie, a quote from Donkey. Box 04 is about a fairy trapped in a washing machine and it was written for Snow's "Spinning Poetry" challenge. Box 06 was requested by Tanuki826. Box 08 is based on Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.