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The New Threat

By Fireball

"I need your help," asked Bowser to a figure in a vast room. He was at Kastle Koopa, using a communicator to talk to him. "I'm having a problem with a kingdom and their heroes. I was hoping you will do the job. So are you up to it?" The figure stood up from the seat he was sitting in and smiled.

"I'll do it, Bowser," replied the figure. "After all, what are brothers for?"

"Excellent!" grinned Bowser. "I’ll be seeing that you'll do a good job on the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser out." And the image of himself disappeared. The figure then turned to the door.

"They think they can mess with my brother and get away with it?" asked the figure to himself. "Let's see how they can stand up to my kingdom. Mwa! Ha! Ha! Haaaa!"

***

"Ahhh!" sighed Mario. "This is the best No-Koopa month I’ve had all year."

"You said it, Mario," replied his brother Luigi. Peach nodded in agreement. They were having a picnic in the courtyard of Mushroom Castle, eating some delicious sandwiches. The sun was bright, the weather was warm, and the treaty they’d made Bowser signed would make sure nothing happened to ruin the day. But then, a Mushroomer with a blue-spotted cap ran into the courtyard. It was the chief of security, Captain Toadgo.

"Mario Brothers," yelled the captain. "We're under attack!"

"What?!" yelled the group. After leaving the princess, Toadgo led the Marios to the castle walls. There, they saw an army. They were making their way through the defenses of the Mushroom Kingdom like they were nothing.

"Who are they?" asked Luigi.

"They look like... KOOPATROL!!!" yelled Mario. It was true. The army was made up of these Koopa knights, each wielding a sword and a shield with a Podoboo emblem on it.

"But that's impossible!" exclaimed Luigi. "Bowser can't pull something like this! Even if he had enough Troopas!" The Mushroom Kingdom army made a mad dash back to the safety of the castle walls. Then, the ground began the shake. The Koopa army then stopped.

"The army has stopped," spoke Toadgo as he gripped the sword that was in his sheath. Then six giant Spinies came over the horizon of Grass Land.

"What are those things?!" yelled Luigi as he pointed at them. The creatures were in different colors, one red, blue, purple, green, orange, and black, and that one was huge. And, as the Koopatrols, they had a Podoboo emblem.

"They must be their vehicles," Mario said with his arms across his chest. As the mechs came closer, the black one's head began the open to reveal massive cannon.

"This is not good," said Toadgo. The cannon began to form a blue ball. It then grew to the size of Mushroom Castle itself. Then it was launched straight for the wall the Marios were on. It was destroyed on impact. The Mario Brothers then fell onto the rubble and were buried by it. The purple Spiny then ran straight inside the kingdom. Toadgo knew what the Koopa army wanted. The princess! He ran as fast as he could to Mushroom Castle, but was attacked by a Koopatrol. They fought long and hard, never letting the opponent have an opening. Then the purple Spiny ran straight back out of the kingdom. The Koopa army then gathered into the mechs and ran off. The Koopatrol then stopped the fight by knocking Toadgo out. He ran back in the direction he had came from.

***

"Toadgo?" asked a voice. Toadgo then opened his eyes to reveal that Mario was over him.

"Uh," groaned the captain. He had a lump the size of a melon on his head. "The princess!"

"What about her?" asked Luigi as he dusted himself off after the battle.

"She was kidnapped!" yelled Toadgo. This made the Marios look a little concerned.

"Do you know where they went, Toadgo?" asked Mario

"I don't know."

"They must’ve gone somewhere?"

"The only thing we know is that they are Koopas and their emblem is a fireball." The group then thought long and hard. Then something came up.

"I got it," declared Mario as he slammed his fist into his hand.

"What?" asked Luigi.

"E. Gadd has a tracker system we can use," explained Mario.

"Good idea, Mario!" exclaimed Luigi. Then, after leaving Toadgo, the Marios headed straight to the warp station. Then, they found the pipe E. Gadd was in, and took it.

***

"LET ME GO!!!" screamed Peach. She was in a dungeon, where two guards stood watch.

"Scream all you want, Princess," spoke a silver Koopatrol guard. "Nobody's going to be saving you anytime soon."

"Yeah," spoke a black Koopatrol. "If anybody comes here, they will be killed before they reach the gate." Then a Koopa with a red shell came into the dungeon. He had a scar on the right side of his face, and a sword with a jagged blade.

"Let the princess go, soldiers," ordered the Koopa.

"Yes, sir. Commander Sir," exclaimed the guards. They opened the cell door, and the Koopa walked in.

"The king would wish to talk to you, Princess." spoke the commander. She wanted to run as fast as she could at this moment, but she would meet the business end of the Koopa's sword if she did that. Peach then did as she was told and walked up the stairs. As they walked into the lobby of the castle, she saw a portrait of a Koopa with black hair and shell. It had gold spikes on it, and even the glare of command.

"Keep walking!" ordered the Koopa commander. Then they walked into the throne room. There sat the Koopa she saw in the picture. The hair. The shell. The glare. Everything!

"So," began the king. "This is the ruler of the treacherous Mushroom Kingdom. I'm Nightmare Koopa, the ruler of the Magma Kingdom." The princess was shocked to hear her kingdom called treacherous.

"Yes," began Peach. "You are going to pay for what you have done, Nightmare."

"I doubt that," laughed the Koopa King. "Koopro, leave us." The Koopa did as he was told. "My kingdom has been undefeated since it was created."

"But, still," began the princess, "the Mario Brothers will defeat you." This made Nightmare laugh some more.

"We shall see," laughed Nightmare. "Koopro. Take her back to her cell." Koopro then appeared beside the princess and carted her away.

"You'll never get away with this!" yelled Peach as she exited the throne room.

***

"Wow!" exclaimed Luigi as he looked at E. Gadd's house. The manor where Luigi defeated King Boo and saved Mario had been redesigned. The house looked more like somebody was really living in it. It was painted a cute yellow with a beautiful shade of pink for the roof.

"Are you sure this is where he lives?" asked Mario. The house really looked pretty girly. Luigi just walked toward the door. He rang the doorbell.

"Bing bong!” sang the doorbell. The Marios really wanted to know how the professor had got a doorbell that stupid. Then, the door opened to reveal an old man with whipped cream-shaped hair.

"Ah," spoke E. Gadd. "Mario. Luigi. Hello. I didn't expected company. Come in." The Marios entered the manor. Or what was supposed to be the manor. The building was a factory, with conveyor belts and everything. The group walked into a room with a table and a few chairs.

"So," began the professor. "What brings you here to my workshop?"

"We need a tracking device," said Mario.

"Oh! I got one that will work for you." E. Gadd then got a hand-held device with an antenna on top of it. "This tracker has a system that will find anything you want."

"Thanks!" thanked Luigi as he took it from E. Gadd. As the Marios made their way to the door, Mario turned the device on.

"Keywords please on person or location," spoke the device in a robotic voice.

"Princess Peach Toadstool," said Mario. The device then gave a layout of her location. "We need to go to Dark Land."

"Figures," sighed Luigi. "That is always Koopa territory."

"Then let’s-a go!" declared Mario. They found a pipe that would take them closer to the princess' location, and hopped in.

***

"How's the princess, Tari?" asked Nightmare to a Ninji. She wore a green army hat with a golden star, and had a gun to her side.

"She's doing well, Sire," spoke Tari. "The princess was pacing a lot in her cell. But nothing fishy."

"Good. See to it that she is in the briefing room at two o' clock."

"Yes, sir!" Tari then walked out of the throne room. Nightmare then got up from his throne. He headed towards a flag of a Podoboo and pulled it away to reveal a door. Nightmare opened it and went inside. This was the room he was in before, when he talked to Bowser.

"Open channel 2594.6," said the Koopa King. The screen then turned on to a Koopa Kingdom channel. There, a Koopa was shown on it.

"Koopa Kingdom Defense Force," said the Koopa.

"Nightmare Koopa here to talk to Bowser," said Nightmare. The Koopa then picked up a phone to get the king. Two minutes later, Bowser then came on the screen.

"Ah. Nightmare," spoke the king. "How are things?"

"I did it, Bowser," declared Nightmare. "The Mushroom Kingdom is now stripped of its ruler, the defenses were split down the middle, and we didn't even break a sweat."

"Wow! I didn't expect that. Even with the Mario Brothers and everything."

"The Whody Brothers?"

"You don't know about the Mario Brothers?" Nightmare shook his head. "They are the most notorious villains on all of Plit. They killed many of my Troopas and tried to murder the royal family."

"I don't know what you’re talking about, but I doubt they will do anything to us."

"Well let's hope so. Bowser out." The screen went black once again. Nightmare then went back to the throne room.

"Let's see how tough these Mario Brothers really are."

***

"Guh! Guh! Guh!" went a warp pipe. Mario and Luigi popped out of it.

"Where are we?” asked Luigi. They were in a forest as dark as the night itself.

"I don't know," replied Mario. He looked at the tracker. "The tracker says this is the 'Forest of Darkness’."

"Where do we go from here?" asked Luigi. Mario looked at the device. It said to go northwest and they would be at Peach's location. They walked in that direction. Then, a light was shown just yards away.

"What is that?" asked Mario as he pointed at it.

"I don't know," answered Luigi. "It looks like a fire." Then they heard a noise, straight from it. It sounded like a growl from a Chain Chomp, but that was only half of it.

"Grrrrrrr!" went the Chomp. The glow was coming from the tail of it, and it was a chain of fireballs.

"What is it, Flare?" asked a boy's voice. The Marios didn't know what that came from, but they were hoping he was the owner of the Fire Chomp.

"Whoever you are, call off the Chomp!" yelled Mario.

"Flare," ordered the voice, "guard!" Flare did what she was told. (The Chomp is a girl. Who knew?) She circled the Marios, not letting one escape. Then, a figure came into the light. Mario got a good look at the owner. He was a Koopaling. He had blue hair in a Lemmy style, fiery blue eyes that danced in the light of Flare's tail, and, this is a new one, a blue, spikeless shell. The Koopaling looked at the Marios and gave an evil smile.

"Well, well," spoke the Koopaling. "It appears we caught ourselves a couple of humans."

"Who are you?" demanded Luigi.

"I'm Fireball Koopa, prince of the Magma Kingdom, son of King Nightmare Koopa, and heir to the throne," declared the Koopaling with a glare in his eyes. "Who might you fools be?"

"We're the Mario Brothers. The heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom," said Mario with his fist in the air.

"So you’re the idiots Uncle Bowser is having trouble with. Well I don't like to upset him, so Flare! Attack!" Flare then charged at Luigi. He dodged with no problem. The Marios drew their hammers. They were ready for the next attack. Flare then breathed fire straight at Mario this time. He tried dodging it, but he was burnt to a crisp, along with his hammer.

"Hammer Attack!" yelled Luigi as he made a swing at the Chomp. But, she ate the hammer before it made contact to her body. Luigi then started punching her, but with no effect. Flare then fried him with her tail. As both Mario and Luigi were burnt and beaten, Flare then charged straight at them. Just then, Fireball stopped her.

"Stop!" ordered Fireball. "That's enough. We will leave them here to die. Hee! Hee! Hee!" Then, he hopped on top of Flare and rode off. The Mario Brothers were waiting for the Koopa prince to leave. After a good five minutes, they got up.

"That was a tough Chomp," said Luigi.

"Yeah," agreed Mario. "I don't want to go head to head against her again."

"Let's hope so. Now to the princess." The Mario Brothers continued their journey while they grabbed and ate some healing Mushrooms along the way.

***

"You did well, Fireball," spoke Nightmare to his son. "Your Chomp was well trained in disarming those fools." Fireball was standing in the throne room giving his father the information about his recent battle.

"It was nothing, Dad," said the prince. "She made sure they won't bother us anymore." Just then, a Koopatrol came bursting through the door.

"Your Majesties!" yelled the Koopatrol.

"What is it Koopatrol?" asked the Koopa King.

"A group of humans are coming to the city!" Nightmare then glared at his son.

"I thought they were dead already!" exclaimed Fireball.

"Fireball!" ordered Nightmare. "You and your siblings will finally take care of those Bros." Fireball then left the throne room with the escort of the Koopatrol. The Koopa King then left the room also. "Now to get her to do my bidding."

***

The Mario Brothers had been walking in the Forest of Darkness for an hour. Their wounds had fully healed, thanks to the Mushrooms they ate along the way. Then they saw that the forest was beginning to thin out.

"We're almost there!" exclaimed Luigi. But as they finally got out of the forest, what they saw was not what they expected. They’d expected the wasteland Dark Land should be, but it was like Grass Land, with lush, green grass and clear, blue sky. Everything was like a paradise, except for the jagged mountains that surrounded the northern side.

"Is this the right place?" asked Luigi.

"Yes," answered Mario. "This is the place the princess is located."

"But still! This is Koopa territory!" Then Luigi saw something in the distance. It looked like a giant barricade of walls. "Is that the Magma Kingdom that Fireball said he was from?"

"I'll check," Mario said as he pressed a few buttons on the device he was holding. "Yup! That's the Magma Kingdom."

"You're right, and you're trapped, Mario Brothers!" yelled a voice. The Marios looked up to see they were surrounded by Koopalings. One of them was Fireball Koopa, the Koopaling they met before. One Koopaling, a boy, was wearing a pair of shades and spiked bracelets on his wrists and ankles. He even wore a spiked collar around his neck. His blonde hair was in a Mohawk that was blown back. Also, the Koopaling's shell was a deep red, just like blood. Another one, a girl, was wearing red tennis shoes with a lightning bolt on each of them. She had her short, purple hair in a rag tag ponytail. Even her shell was the same color as her hair. Another Koopa girl looked like something from an anima cartoon. Her red hair was in a six-prong style with the tips colored yellow. She was also wearing a device on her left eye that looked like a tracking device from Dragonball Z. She also had a red shell like her brother, but this was brighter than his. Another Koopa prince looked more like the DBZ Koopaling, but his red hair
was in a style just like Fireball's. He wore iron bracelets, bore a katana in a sheaf, and had a scar on his left eye. His shell was just like his sister's red shell.

"Not more of you guys," groaned Mario.

"We are going to get rid of you once and for all," yelled the Koopaling with the sunglasses as he drew a pair of guns.

"You’re going to be cut down to size," spoke the Koopaling with the scar as he drew his katana.

"We're going to make sure you'll never mess with the Magma Kingdom," chimed in the Koopaling with the shoes as she readied herself for a charge.

"Our numbers make the odds in our favor," spoke the Koopaling with the anime hairstyle as she drew a ray gun.

"And the Koopa Clan will finally see the last of you," said Fireball as he pointed at Mario in a gun-like fashion.
The Mario Brothers didn't have their hammers, because of the Fire Chomp attack. "What's the plan?" whispered Luigi to his brother.

"We attack the Koopaling that is the biggest threat," replied Mario. Then he charged straight at Fireball!

"Pyro Wall!" yelled Fireball. A wall of fire came out of nowhere and burnt Mario. Luigi decided to wait for an attack from the others so he can counter them.

"Garrett!" ordered Fireball. "Let the plumber have it." The Koopaling with the scar then disappeared and reappeared behind the Mario Brother. He then put his katana back in his sheath. Luigi then fell down to the ground with a thud.

"That was my Stealth Slash, Human," announced Garrett. The Koopalings then looked at the defeated Brothers.

"Is that all they got, Fireball?" asked the Koopaling with the shoes.

"I don't think so, Tara," replied Fireball as he pointed at Mario. He was back on his feet. "Back for more, eh?"

"I will not lose to you Koopas!" yelled the wounded plumber.

"Oh, you will. Show him, Tara." Then she sped right towards him like a race car. A cloud then covered the scene, but the grunts and groans from Mario means he was getting beaten up pretty badly. As the dust settled, so did the Mushroom Defender.

"I hope that did it," said the Koopaling wearing the shades.

"I don't think that's enough, Rex," piped up the Koopaling with the crazy hairstyle as she checked her device. "His life signs are not low enough for him to be knocked out."

"I’ll fix that!" roared Rex. "Bullet Time!" He then fired on the fallen Mario with a frenzy of bullets. Mario was now burnt, pummeled, and shot up. "If that doesn't work, I'm going to eat a bullet. Mario then stood up to face the Koopalings once again. Then the Koopaling ate one of his bullets from his gun. Literally!

"You think that will stop a hero?" asked Mario.

"No," announced the Koopaling with the crazy hairstyle. "This will. Blast Radius!" She then shot a large, red beam straight at Mario. He dodged it perfectly by jumping very high.

"Allow me to help you, Amber," grinned Fireball. "Bolt!" A bolt of lightning from his finger then shocked Mario with full power, since he was not grounded. He fell to the ground.

"Life signs are dropping," announced Amber as she saw Mario's life signs drop rapidly. Then it stopped just as fast. "Mario is knocked out!"

"Let's finish them!" growled Rex as he loaded his guns for another attack.

"No," spoke Fireball. "They are more useful if they are alive. We'll take them to Nightmare Castle."

"For what?" asked Garrett as he picked up Luigi. His red hair was blowing in the wind.

"For business. Hmm, hmm, hmmmmm." Fireball then picked up Mario and headed straight to the walled off area that is the Magma Kingdom. His siblings then followed.

***

"Now Princess," began King Nightmare. "Let's talk." They were in one of the briefing room in the castle. The princess was being guarded by Koopro, the Magma Kingdom commander, and a Mushroomer. He was wearing a black cap with black spots on it. His vest was a deep red. The undershirt was pure black and so was his pants. Even his shoes were the same red as his vest. The princess was looking at the twisted king with a look that always means she doesn't want to talk to anybody. Just then, the same Koopatrol that had informed Nightmare about the Marios opened the doors of the briefing room.

"King Nightmare!" yelled the Koopatrol.

"What is it, Koopatrol?" asked the Koopa king.

"Your children have returned, Sire."

"And?"

"They brought a little something." This made Nightmare look at the Koopatrol with delight.

"Is that so? Koopro and Koru, let them in." The guards then opened the door The princess watched in horror as she saw the Mario Brothers, beaten and bleeding as Fireball and Garrett brought them to the table. Tara, Amber, and Rex looked at their father with a glint of pride in their eyes. "Good job, my children. You may take them to the dungeon now." The Koopalings and the Koopatrol then headed straight thought the door, along with the Marios, and Koopro and Koru shut it. Nightmare was then looking at Peach with an evil smirk. "So you see, Princess, we know how to fight, and we fight well."

"T-t-that's impossible!" yelled the princess as she cried. "M-M-Mario could never be defeated!"

"He has now. Now on to business. I want you to sign this." Nightmare then took a document out from a drawer in the table. "This will state that ownership of the Mushroom Kingdom will be the Koopa Clan's. All you need to do is sign this..."

"Not going to do it!"

"...or the Mario Brothers will be executed." The princess then gasped.

"You wouldn't!"

"I will if you keep that answer." Peach was in a pickle. She wanted her kingdom to be under her rule, not the Koopas'. But, if she didn’t sign, the wounded Marios would be killed by a Koopa's sword. "What's it going to be, Princess?" Nightmare was getting inpatient. Then Peach had her answer.

"I won't sign this!" yelled Peach. Nightmare just shrugged and motioned for the Mushroomer.

"Koru, tell the Greaper to put the Marios on death row." Koru then left the briefing room. Then the terrible king turned to the princess. "Their execution will commence in one hour."

***

"Let me out of here!" yelled Mario. He had woken up from his coma and was yelling at a Koopatrol outside his cell. Luigi was still out cold on the bed.

"Not a chance, Monkey Man!" declared the guard. He was right. The ceiling had a strange light that was sapping the Marios' abilities, the cell door looked pretty tough to take down, and guards with swords were running around the castle. "You’re better off waiting for your time here to expire."

"What do you mean, Troopa?"

"The Greaper will tell you when your treatment begins. Ha! Ha! Haaaa!" The Koopatrol laughed and went to another part of the dungeon. Mario then put two and two together. He ran up to his brother.

"Luigi!" His brother woke up and looked at him weakly.

"Wha?" asked Luigi.

"We're in big trouble. We're going to be executed." This made Luigi look at him with dread.

"What?!"

"We got to get out of here!"

"Don't count on it!" yelled a voice. The Marios turned to see a Koopa talking to them from a cell. She had long, pink hair, a gold earring, a blue shell, and blue shoes. (Yes! The Koopa's a girl. Who knew?). "That's right. I said that."

"Who are you?" asked Luigi.

"I'm Lt. Koropa of the Nightmare Elite," introduced the Koopa. The Marios were looking at a member of the army that attacked the Mushroom Kingdom before.

"You think it's impossible to get out of this cell?" asked Mario.

"Yes. The dungeon is as advanced as our weapons and vehicles."

"What makes you so sure? It looks like any cell I've seen before."

"That's where you’re wrong," declared Koropa. "The bars are made of Koopasteel, the toughest metal on all of Plit. The lights are really power regulators. They produce a beam that drains a prisoner’s powers so that can't break the bars." The Mario's looked at each other. Mario tried his famous Coin Uppercut on the bars, but they were too strong and no coins came out of his hands. Luigi looked at the lights. They looked too sci-fi to be normal light bulbs.

"How are we going to get out?" asked Mario to the formal Koopatrol. Koropa looked at the lights, then the bars, and she turned to Mario.

"The lights are not protected," spoke Koropa. "King Nightmare thinks you are not a threat to his defenses. A good whack will take them out. And the bars look weak at the hinges. After your powers are back to normal, hitting there will bring the door down."

The Mario Brothers looked at what they had: a few bits of pocket lint and a coin. "How are we going to bust that light?" asked Luigi.

"May I suggest using a plate or bowl," said the Koopa. "Oh! And if you get out with the princess, will you get me out too? I've been in here for two months for refusing to kill my brother. I want you to beat that tyrant to a pulp." Mario nodded in agreement. Koropa smiled and lay back on her bed. Then a Koopatrol with two bowls of mush came to the Marios' cell.

"Your last supper, prisoners," laughed the guard as he pushed the bowls through the flap on the door. As the Koopatrol made a leave for the stairs, Mario and Luigi dumped the mush in the toilet. Mario took his bowl and threw it at the lights. The bowl hit its mark, but the lights were still in one piece. Luigi then threw his. This time, the lights shattered in a display of sparks. Mario kicked the hinges of the cell door, hard! The door fell with a loud clang.

"We’ve got to get that Koopa king, Luigi!" yelled Mario as he ran towards the stairs. Luigi then followed. Koropa looked at them as they ran up the stairs.

"Good luck, Mario Brothers," thought the Koopa. "You'll need it."

***

"Five minutes left, Princess," spoke King Nightmare coldly. They were still in that the briefing room. The guards were playing poker while they counted the time. Peach was still not going to sign the document that was in front of her. Then a Koopatrol ran straight inside the room.

"Urgent message, Sire!" yelled the Koopatrol. Everyone looked at the guard with a cold stare. "The Marios have escaped the dungeon!"

"WHAT?!" yelled the group. Everyone except the princess was shocked.

"Get every guard you can find to stop the Marios!" ordered Nightmare. "Koopro! Koru! You’re with me." The guards came from the table and ran with the king, who had the princess over his shoulder.

"Let me go!" screamed Peach. "Let me go!" They opened a passage through the flag that was hanging beside them. As they ran thought it, the Marios came through the door. There were Koopatrols all over the floor of the hallway. Mario saw the princess as they made a turn. The Brothers ran after them.

“Those Koopas will not get away this time," said Mario to Luigi. After five minutes of running, they came to an exit from the passageway, only to see they were in a stadium. The walls were ten feet high and had a fiery design on them. There was no ceiling, so that the night sky showed its stars and moon. Eight sets of lights that surrounded the stadium lit up the battlefield. King Nightmare was in a seat in the third row with the princess in a cage hanging over the stadium. Four cables were attached to the walls of the stadium.

"Welcome, Mario Brothers, to Battle-on Stadium," announced the king with a cruel laugh. "I'm King Nightmare Koopa, ruler of the Magma Kingdom, and eldest child of Morton Senior." The Marios had heard that before. Bowser was a son of Morton Senior. They now realized how Nightmare knew about the Mushroom Kingdom and why Fireball had called Bowser his uncle. They were related to each other. The Marios' hands were clenched into fists. Then, five figures appeared out of a doorway in front of them. They were the Koopalings they’d lost to before. Fireball was smiling his evil smirk. Rex drew his guns and aimed them at the Marios. Amber drew her laser gun and did the same. Tara was ready for a charge. Garrett drew his katana and was in a fighting stance. The Marios were outnumbered and outgunned.

"What's the plan?" asked Luigi.

"The same as before," grinned Mario. Then he charged straight at Fireball.

"This again," sighed Fireball. “Pyro Wall!" A wall of flames appeared in front of Mario. But Mario changed directions and punched Rex instead. He flew off the ground and landed with a thud.

"My turn!" declared Luigi, as he was in front of Fireball. He landed a hook on the prince's face. He groaned a bit, but he was mad.

"Garrett!" yelled Fireball. His brother disappeared. Luigi knew he was using his Stealth Strike attack. Luigi jumped. Garrett reappeared behind the Brother. Luigi then gave him a ground pound. Garrett took a direct hit as he fell to the ground. He was knocked out.

"All right," whispered Rex. "Let's see you try this, pretty boy. BULLET TIME!!!" He let loose a barrage of bullets. Mario ran straight for Luigi and helped him dodge the attack.

"Is that all?" asked Amber. "Blast Radius!" She shot a ball of energy at the Marios, but they jumped it. Bad mistake. Fireball took a potshot at them with his Bolt attack. It made contact. The Marios fell onto the ground.

"Now Rex!" ordered Fireball. "Shoot them now!" Rex aimed his guns at their heads, and pulled the triggers. Only a click was heard after that.

"Grrrrrrr!" growled Rex. "I'm out of bullets!"

"I'll do it then," yelled Tara as she sped toward the Marios. She tripped and ran into a wall. Mario's foot was sticking out. And that knocked her out.

"This is not happening!" yelled Amber. "Their strength has increased since last time!"

"Then, BLAST THEM!!!" roared Fireball. Amber aimed at the Marios again with her laser gun.

"Plasma Cannon!" yelled the Koopa princess. Her gun shot a green beam at the Marios. They dodged it and gave Rex a right hook as he was reloading his gun. As the bullets fell onto the ground, so did the Koopaling.

"I'm getting tired of this!" roared Fireball. “Shadow Ball!" A ball formed in the Koopa prince's hands. Mario ran straight at him, fists flailing. But as he approached, the ball grew to the size of a car. Fireball gave a mighty grunt and hurled the ball at his opponent. It struck Mario with so much force, he flew into the tenth row of Battle-On Stadium.

"My turn!" yelled Amber. "Battle Armor: Engage!" Suddenly, she was in a high-tech suit of armor, complete with five inches of Koopasteel armor, two double-barreled plasma cannons, a tracking device like the one she wore before, and a bow with three cannons on each side.

"Not good," said Mario and Luigi. Amber smiled and aimed her cannons at them.

"FULLOUT ATTACK!!!" screamed the Koopa princess. Every gun fired, striking the Marios with deadly force. A ball of dust began to form around them. As all of Amber's ammo was gone, she stood there and looked at her handiwork. "I guess they couldn't protect themselves from my attack!" Fireball high-fived her, Nightmare smiled, the guards cheered, and the princess stared at the dust.

"Mario," whispered Peach. She then cried over the loss of her friends. Nightmare then looked at the dust. He couldn't see a thing in there.

"Fireball!" ordered the Koopa king. "Blow away that dust." Fireball then inhaled and blew a blast of wind at the cloud. As the dust blew away, they saw the truth. The Marios were not even there. Amber was shocked, Fireball was mad, the guards were dumbfounded, the princess cheered, and Nightmare was in pure rage!

"WHERE ARE THEY?!" roared the Nightmare. His question was answered when Amber was ground pounded by the Mario Brothers. They had been untouched by the attack. The Koopa princess fell to the ground like her twin. Fireball was the only Koopaling left.

"This game is over, Fireball!" yelled Mario. The prince just smiled his evil smirk.

"It has just begun, Marios," Fireball said as he rose his foot. "Earth's Grasp!" He stamped the ground with full force. A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed the Marios. It was squeezing the life out of them. Fireball laughed at the Mario Brothers. "Now for the finisher! Thunder's Fury!" A bolt of lightning came out of the night sky and zapped his foes with deadly force. The rock hand blew apart from the attack. The Marios were fried, but freed. As they got up, Luigi knew something.

"Mario?" asked Luigi.

"Yes?" asked Mario.

"I know what this Koopaling is!"

"What do you mean?"

"He used Fire, Lightning, Darkness, and Earth attacks."

"So?"

" That Fireball Koopa is an Elemental!" Mario was shocked when he heard the news. Fireball just grinned.

"Finally someone figured me out," said Fireball. "But you still haven’t seen my all! Aqua Cannon!" He inhaled and let loose a blast of water and nailed Luigi. He flew into a wall of the stadium and left a hole in it. Mario made a charge at the Koopaling while his was getting ready for another attack.

"Coin Uppercut!" yelled the plumber. His punch made contact and Fireball flew into the air. Five coins then landed at the feet of Mario. As Fireball was still in the air, he sprouted purple, bat-like wings from his shell and kept out of reach of the Marios.

"Try my Wind's Force!" yelled the Koopaling as he flapped his wings at top speed. A tornado then formed from all that flapping. It picked up the Marios and hurled them into another wall on the top of the stadium. As the twister disappeared, Fireball laughed. "You fools are no match for my elements! You are doomed to die in this futile rescue! Bwa! Ha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!" Mario got up and looked at the Koopaling. Luigi looked at him, too, then saw an opening. He ran onto one of the cables attached to the cage the princess was in. As he reached Fireball, he jumped.

"Luigi Torpedo!" yelled the plumber. He spun in a drill-like fashion and nailed the prince. Fireball's wings detached from his shell and he landed with a thud. Luigi was hanging from a cable. Fireball, battered and bruised, stood up. His smirk changed to a snarl.

"I'm down, but not out!" yelled Fireball. "Healing Light!" A beam of light then engulfed Fireball. It lasted a few seconds, but after it was done, Fireball's wounds were fully healed! The Marios looked at the Koopaling. "You see? Your efforts are wasted on a futile offense. You cannot win."

"He's got a point," said Luigi. "Fireball can block any attack that comes his way, and, even if an attack connects, he'll be able to heal the damage. He's the ultimate Koopaling."

"I'm not going to give up!" yelled Mario. "I'll find a way to defeat you!"

"Keep searching. You will never defeat me." With that, he made a charge at Mario. "Fireball BLAST!!!" He inhaled and let loose a blue fireball. Mario took the blow, and fell onto the ground. Luigi then started pounding away at Fireball. The Koopaling slashed the plumber away from him. He then tried to get the Marios away, but they kept close.

"ENOUGH!!!" roared the Koopa prince. He swiped at the Marios with full force. They flew into the air and hit the floor of the stadium hard. "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU FOUL HUMANS!!!" He put his hands in front of him. "ELEMENTAL DISCHARGE!!!" A giant, multicolored beam came from his hands at blinding speed. The Mario tried to dodge it, but were engulfed by the beam. Fireball kept the beam at a steady pace. The attack lasted for two minutes. As the dust settled, so did the Marios. Fireball was out of breath, but he had done it. He had got rid of the Marios. Nightmare was highly impressed. He had never seen an attack like that before. Fireball then grinned his trademarked smirk.

"I guess they were nothing but talk," said Fireball. "I believe they should be Honored, but they should be good eating for Flare. Hee! Hee! Hee!" Peach was crying again. Her tears were dripping onto the fallen Mario Brothers. Then, if you believe in miracles, the Mario stood up. After an attack like that, they should be dead. Fireball was horrified, the guards stood with their jaws dropped, Nightmare was glaring at the Marios with rage, and Peach was glad they’d survived.

"We are... not giving... up... Fireball," said Mario.

"No matter... what," chimed in Luigi.

"Th-th-th-that's impossible!" stammered Fireball. "Th-th-th-that's my most p-p-p-powerful attack."

"Now. This game... is over!" Mario made a mad charge at the Koopa prince.

"That won't work. Pyro Wall!" yelled the prince. But no wall of fire came out in front of the Mushroom Defender. Mario gave him a right hook, which sent him to the third row of the stadium. As the Koopa prince got up, Mario made another charge at him. Fireball jumped out of the way and landed back in the battlefield. "Better recover. Healing Light!" But no beam of light engulfed the wounded Koopaling. "Oh no."

"Mario Brothers' Attack!" yelled the Marios as they made their charge. Fireball was overwhelmed by the onslaught. The prince tried to escape, but they kept hammering away at him. Then Mario grabbed Fireball by the tail and started to spin him. They were going so fast, they were a blur.

"So long, Prince Fireball!" yelled Mario in triumph. He let go of the Koopaling and sent him into the second row, right under his father. Nightmare looked at his son. The prince looked up at his dad.

"Sorry, Dad," whispered Fireball. "I tried." He then lowered his head and passed out. The Marios were victorious. They’d defeated the Koopalings that were a problem before. But the battle was far from over. They still had the king to take care of.

"Nightmare!" yelled Mario. "This battle has gone far enough. Give us the princess and you'll see the last of us." The Koopa king looked at the Mario with vengeance in his eyes.

"You think I'll let you get the princess after what you have done to my children?!" roared Nightmare as he got to his feet. "I think not!" He jumped from the third row to the battlefield. The Marios were tired. They would never survive the fight. Then Koopro and Koru entered the field.

"Sire," whispered the Mushroomer.

"What?" replied the king. They whispered to each other, Koopro keeping his eye on the Brothers. Nightmare then smiled and looked at the Marios. "It seems unfair to fight a wounded opponent. Magikoopa!" A Magikoopa in black robes appeared in front of Nightmare.

"Yes sir?" asked the wizard.

"Heal their wounds." The king pointed at the Mario Brothers. The Magikoopa did as he was told and muttered a spell. A beam of light engulfed the Marios like it did Fireball. After that, the Marios were back to full health.

"Why did you do that, Nightmare?" asked Mario.

"It's only fair." With that, the final fight of the night was about to begin.

"Luigi Torpedo!" yelled Luigi as he charged at the king like before. Nightmare responded by grabbing the plumber and hurling him to the seventh row of the stadium. Mario made his charge while Nightmare was distracted.

"Plumber Pummel!" yelled Mario. He let loose a series of punches and kicks right in the Koopa's face. Nightmare was taking it well.

"Is that all?" asked the king. "Dark Slash Attack!" His claw glowed an eerie black and hit Mario with bone-crushing force. The plumber flew to the same row as Luigi. Then they jumped straight at Nightmare.

"Mario Brothers' Attack!" yelled the Marios. Nightmare looked at them with a smirk like Fireball's.

"That's more like it! Spinning Fortress!" yelled Nightmare as he retreated into his shell. It began to spin rapidly and the Mario were heading straight for it. They hit it and sent the shell flying.

"Team Coin Uppercut!" yelled the Marios as they jump at Nightmare. A shower of coins fell onto the ground as Mario and Luigi kept hitting the shell. Nightmare then came partially out of his shell.

"Dark Ground Pound," spoke the king. The Mario Brothers didn't have time to dodge it and were flattened. Nightmare got up and looked at them. "So this is the best you got, huh? Dark Flamethrower!" He inhaled and breathed a black and purple fireball at the flattened Marios. But they rolled away from the blaze. They got up, ready for the next attack.

"Luigi Torpedo!" yelled Luigi as he charged again at the merciless king. But this time, the attack made contact with Nightmare's chest, sending him reeling into the wall, which turned into rubble.

"Mario's Mega Punch!" yelled Mario as he charged into the fallen Koopa. He made a wallop of a punch to Nightmare's head, which sent him to the fifteenth row of the stadium.

"It’s time to finish this game!" roared Nightmare. "True Nightmare!" The lights from the stadium started to turn off, one by one. The Marios then began to glow red, and two figures appeared in front of them. One of them was a Koopa. The other was a Boo with a crown.

"Bowser!" yelled the shocked Mario.

"King Boo!" yelled the shocked Luigi.

"Well well," spoke Nightmare. "Your nightmares look pretty tough. I'd be shaking if I were you." The Koopa king and the figures laughed evilly. The Marios looked at them with fear.

"What are they going to do?" whispered Peach. "Those nightmares look pretty mean. But I believe the Mario Brothers are going to pull through." Then Mario thought of something as the figures started to move.

"If they are just like the real Bowser and King Boo," thought the plumber. "then they must have the same weaknesses." Then Bowser started to charge at Mario.

"Charge!" roared the tyrant. Mario dodged it and grabbed his tail. He began to spin like before. At the right speed, Mario let go. Bowser flew into the air, but landed on top of the Mushroom Defender. Luigi was busy dodging King Boo's attacks. As he evaded a fireball, Luigi turned to face his opponent. The ghost king disappeared when his eyes met Luigi's. The plumber ran in that direction with his fists flying. Then King Boo reappeared in the same position as before and bit Luigi by the shoulder. He screamed in pain but he still didn't stop fighting the ghost. Mario on the other hand was being burnt to a crisp by Bowser's Flamethrower Attack. He got up and charged as before.

"Coin Uppercut!" yelled the plumber. A shower of coin fell onto the ground as the Koopa king flew into the air. "Mario Tornado!" Mario then started spinning and hitting Bowser in a shower of fists. Meanwhile, Luigi turned the tables on the fake King Boo. He made a charge, making the Boo plan his ambush, then jumped into the air.

"Ground Pound!" yelled the wounded Luigi. He nailed the ghost king before he even tried to move. As the ghost disappeared, so did the Koopa king. Mario threw Bowser into a wall next to the disintegrating Boo. As the lights started to glow as before, Nightmare's rage was really reaching the boiling point. The Marios' nightmares had been defeated like they were only cardboard cut-outs. But the battle was reaching the juicy part. The Koopa king jumped from the fifteenth row of the stadium and landed with an earth-shaking boom. Nightmare got up and looked at the Marios with an evil glare.

"Now I'm mad!" roared the king. "It's time for my most powerful attacks! Dark Lightning Strike!" A bolt of black lightning shocked the Marios with deadly power. As the plumbers were getting fried, they came closer to the Koopa. "Try my Dark Storm!" Nightmare let loose a storm of rain and hail at the Marios, but it didn't stop them. "Now for my ultimate attack! Hyper Shadow Ball!" A ball of dark energy started to form in Nightmare's hands. The Marios then started charging at the king. They didn't want the Shadow Ball to hit them. As the ball grew bigger, the Mario Brothers got closer. As soon as they were in fighting distance, Nightmare let loose the ball. It engulfed the Marios and sent them into the wall behind them. The Marios lay on the ground. Nightmare looked at them and laughed.

"So this is the breaking point of the Mario Brothers!" laughed the Koopa king. "What a bunch of weaklings." Just then, Mario and Luigi started to get up. Nightmare was shocked. That was the most powerful attack in his arsenal. As the Marios were back on their feet, Nightmare was readying another Shadow Ball. "Let's see if they can do that again. “As the Koopa king launched the ball, Mario got a hold of Garrett's sword that was next him. He made a swing at the ball and hit it back at Nightmare. He fell to the ground after hitting another wall. (Boy! This stadium is tough.) The guards looked at each other and ran for dear life out of the stadium. A key fell from the king's shell as he met the floor, a sign that the Koopa king was down for the count. Mario picked it up and went to a keyhole in the wall, where a cable of the cage was hanging. He unlocked it and the cage lowered onto the ground and opened up by itself. The princess got out and hugged the Mushroom Defender.

"Thank you, Mario," spoke Peach, "for saving me." As they hugged, Luigi poked his brother.

"Pssst!" whispered Luigi. "Mario."

"What?" asked Mario.

"Aren't we forgetting someone?" Mario then remembered the Koopa that helped them get out of the dungeon. He then turned to the princess. "Can you wait here for a few minutes?" The princess didn't know what was going on, but nodded in agreement. Mario ran back into the passageway they took to get here.

***

"Sigh," sighed the Greaper. "The Mario's are not here." He was looking at the empty cell the Mario Brothers had been in.

"So what are you going to do about that, Spooky?" asked Koropa. The Greaper looked at her.

"I'll just kill you early. You are next after they were done and over with." As the Greaper readied his scythe, he was hit by a shield from one of the Koopatrols. The Greaper fell onto the ground and was knocked out.

"Who did that?" thought the Koopa. Her question was answered when Mario came down the stairs wielding a sword. He jammed it into the keyhole and unlocked the cell door. Koropa got out of the cell and thanked the plumber as they headed back upstairs and into the passageway in the briefing room. Meanwhile, Luigi and Peach had been waiting for Mario for five minutes. Just then, the Mushroom Defender entered the stadium. Peach looked at the Koopa he brought to her.

"Who's she?" asked the princess.

"I'm Koropa," spoke the Koopa.

"She helped us get out of the dungeon," said Luigi with a smile on his face. Peach smiled as well. She thanked Koropa and the Marios for her rescue, and they all left the stadium.

"That was one tough group of Koopas," said Mario.

"Yeah. They must be the toughest group we'll ever face in a long time."

"Let's hope they know not to mess with the Mario Brothers!" As they walked through the doorway in the walls and into the sunset, Nightmare woke up for his coma. He got up and dusted himself up.

"Those Marios..." he said, “...truly must not be underestimated. We will soon meet again. But next time, we will be the ones who will be victorious."

THE END

Description
The New Threat

By Fireball

"I need your help," asked Bowser to a figure in a vast room. He was at Kastle Koopa, using a communicator to talk to him. "I'm having a problem with a kingdom and their heroes. I was hoping you will do the job. So are you up to it?" The figure stood up from the seat he was sitting in and smiled.

"I'll do it, Bowser," replied the figure. "After all, what are brothers for?"

"Excellent!" grinned Bowser. "I’ll be seeing that you'll do a good job on the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser out." And the image of himself disappeared. The figure then turned to the door.

"They think they can mess with my brother and get away with it?" asked the figure to himself. "Let's see how they can stand up to my kingdom. Mwa! Ha! Ha! Haaaa!"

***

"Ahhh!" sighed Mario. "This is the best No-Koopa month I’ve had all year."

"You said it, Mario," replied his brother Luigi. Peach nodded in agreement. They were having a picnic in the courtyard of Mushroom Castle, eating some delicious sandwiches. The sun was bright, the weather was warm, and the treaty they’d made Bowser signed would make sure nothing happened to ruin the day. But then, a Mushroomer with a blue-spotted cap ran into the courtyard. It was the chief of security, Captain Toadgo.

"Mario Brothers," yelled the captain. "We're under attack!"

"What?!" yelled the group. After leaving the princess, Toadgo led the Marios to the castle walls. There, they saw an army. They were making their way through the defenses of the Mushroom Kingdom like they were nothing.

"Who are they?" asked Luigi.

"They look like... KOOPATROL!!!" yelled Mario. It was true. The army was made up of these Koopa knights, each wielding a sword and a shield with a Podoboo emblem on it.

"But that's impossible!" exclaimed Luigi. "Bowser can't pull something like this! Even if he had enough Troopas!" The Mushroom Kingdom army made a mad dash back to the safety of the castle walls. Then, the ground began the shake. The Koopa army then stopped.

"The army has stopped," spoke Toadgo as he gripped the sword that was in his sheath. Then six giant Spinies came over the horizon of Grass Land.

"What are those things?!" yelled Luigi as he pointed at them. The creatures were in different colors, one red, blue, purple, green, orange, and black, and that one was huge. And, as the Koopatrols, they had a Podoboo emblem.

"They must be their vehicles," Mario said with his arms across his chest. As the mechs came closer, the black one's head began the open to reveal massive cannon.

"This is not good," said Toadgo. The cannon began to form a blue ball. It then grew to the size of Mushroom Castle itself. Then it was launched straight for the wall the Marios were on. It was destroyed on impact. The Mario Brothers then fell onto the rubble and were buried by it. The purple Spiny then ran straight inside the kingdom. Toadgo knew what the Koopa army wanted. The princess! He ran as fast as he could to Mushroom Castle, but was attacked by a Koopatrol. They fought long and hard, never letting the opponent have an opening. Then the purple Spiny ran straight back out of the kingdom. The Koopa army then gathered into the mechs and ran off. The Koopatrol then stopped the fight by knocking Toadgo out. He ran back in the direction he had came from.

***

"Toadgo?" asked a voice. Toadgo then opened his eyes to reveal that Mario was over him.

"Uh," groaned the captain. He had a lump the size of a melon on his head. "The princess!"

"What about her?" asked Luigi as he dusted himself off after the battle.

"She was kidnapped!" yelled Toadgo. This made the Marios look a little concerned.

"Do you know where they went, Toadgo?" asked Mario

"I don't know."

"They must’ve gone somewhere?"

"The only thing we know is that they are Koopas and their emblem is a fireball." The group then thought long and hard. Then something came up.

"I got it," declared Mario as he slammed his fist into his hand.

"What?" asked Luigi.

"E. Gadd has a tracker system we can use," explained Mario.

"Good idea, Mario!" exclaimed Luigi. Then, after leaving Toadgo, the Marios headed straight to the warp station. Then, they found the pipe E. Gadd was in, and took it.

***

"LET ME GO!!!" screamed Peach. She was in a dungeon, where two guards stood watch.

"Scream all you want, Princess," spoke a silver Koopatrol guard. "Nobody's going to be saving you anytime soon."

"Yeah," spoke a black Koopatrol. "If anybody comes here, they will be killed before they reach the gate." Then a Koopa with a red shell came into the dungeon. He had a scar on the right side of his face, and a sword with a jagged blade.

"Let the princess go, soldiers," ordered the Koopa.

"Yes, sir. Commander Sir," exclaimed the guards. They opened the cell door, and the Koopa walked in.

"The king would wish to talk to you, Princess." spoke the commander. She wanted to run as fast as she could at this moment, but she would meet the business end of the Koopa's sword if she did that. Peach then did as she was told and walked up the stairs. As they walked into the lobby of the castle, she saw a portrait of a Koopa with black hair and shell. It had gold spikes on it, and even the glare of command.

"Keep walking!" ordered the Koopa commander. Then they walked into the throne room. There sat the Koopa she saw in the picture. The hair. The shell. The glare. Everything!

"So," began the king. "This is the ruler of the treacherous Mushroom Kingdom. I'm Nightmare Koopa, the ruler of the Magma Kingdom." The princess was shocked to hear her kingdom called treacherous.

"Yes," began Peach. "You are going to pay for what you have done, Nightmare."

"I doubt that," laughed the Koopa King. "Koopro, leave us." The Koopa did as he was told. "My kingdom has been undefeated since it was created."

"But, still," began the princess, "the Mario Brothers will defeat you." This made Nightmare laugh some more.

"We shall see," laughed Nightmare. "Koopro. Take her back to her cell." Koopro then appeared beside the princess and carted her away.

"You'll never get away with this!" yelled Peach as she exited the throne room.

***

"Wow!" exclaimed Luigi as he looked at E. Gadd's house. The manor where Luigi defeated King Boo and saved Mario had been redesigned. The house looked more like somebody was really living in it. It was painted a cute yellow with a beautiful shade of pink for the roof.

"Are you sure this is where he lives?" asked Mario. The house really looked pretty girly. Luigi just walked toward the door. He rang the doorbell.

"Bing bong!” sang the doorbell. The Marios really wanted to know how the professor had got a doorbell that stupid. Then, the door opened to reveal an old man with whipped cream-shaped hair.

"Ah," spoke E. Gadd. "Mario. Luigi. Hello. I didn't expected company. Come in." The Marios entered the manor. Or what was supposed to be the manor. The building was a factory, with conveyor belts and everything. The group walked into a room with a table and a few chairs.

"So," began the professor. "What brings you here to my workshop?"

"We need a tracking device," said Mario.

"Oh! I got one that will work for you." E. Gadd then got a hand-held device with an antenna on top of it. "This tracker has a system that will find anything you want."

"Thanks!" thanked Luigi as he took it from E. Gadd. As the Marios made their way to the door, Mario turned the device on.

"Keywords please on person or location," spoke the device in a robotic voice.

"Princess Peach Toadstool," said Mario. The device then gave a layout of her location. "We need to go to Dark Land."

"Figures," sighed Luigi. "That is always Koopa territory."

"Then let’s-a go!" declared Mario. They found a pipe that would take them closer to the princess' location, and hopped in.

***

"How's the princess, Tari?" asked Nightmare to a Ninji. She wore a green army hat with a golden star, and had a gun to her side.

"She's doing well, Sire," spoke Tari. "The princess was pacing a lot in her cell. But nothing fishy."

"Good. See to it that she is in the briefing room at two o' clock."

"Yes, sir!" Tari then walked out of the throne room. Nightmare then got up from his throne. He headed towards a flag of a Podoboo and pulled it away to reveal a door. Nightmare opened it and went inside. This was the room he was in before, when he talked to Bowser.

"Open channel 2594.6," said the Koopa King. The screen then turned on to a Koopa Kingdom channel. There, a Koopa was shown on it.

"Koopa Kingdom Defense Force," said the Koopa.

"Nightmare Koopa here to talk to Bowser," said Nightmare. The Koopa then picked up a phone to get the king. Two minutes later, Bowser then came on the screen.

"Ah. Nightmare," spoke the king. "How are things?"

"I did it, Bowser," declared Nightmare. "The Mushroom Kingdom is now stripped of its ruler, the defenses were split down the middle, and we didn't even break a sweat."

"Wow! I didn't expect that. Even with the Mario Brothers and everything."

"The Whody Brothers?"

"You don't know about the Mario Brothers?" Nightmare shook his head. "They are the most notorious villains on all of Plit. They killed many of my Troopas and tried to murder the royal family."

"I don't know what you’re talking about, but I doubt they will do anything to us."

"Well let's hope so. Bowser out." The screen went black once again. Nightmare then went back to the throne room.

"Let's see how tough these Mario Brothers really are."

***

"Guh! Guh! Guh!" went a warp pipe. Mario and Luigi popped out of it.

"Where are we?” asked Luigi. They were in a forest as dark as the night itself.

"I don't know," replied Mario. He looked at the tracker. "The tracker says this is the 'Forest of Darkness’."

"Where do we go from here?" asked Luigi. Mario looked at the device. It said to go northwest and they would be at Peach's location. They walked in that direction. Then, a light was shown just yards away.

"What is that?" asked Mario as he pointed at it.

"I don't know," answered Luigi. "It looks like a fire." Then they heard a noise, straight from it. It sounded like a growl from a Chain Chomp, but that was only half of it.

"Grrrrrrr!" went the Chomp. The glow was coming from the tail of it, and it was a chain of fireballs.

"What is it, Flare?" asked a boy's voice. The Marios didn't know what that came from, but they were hoping he was the owner of the Fire Chomp.

"Whoever you are, call off the Chomp!" yelled Mario.

"Flare," ordered the voice, "guard!" Flare did what she was told. (The Chomp is a girl. Who knew?) She circled the Marios, not letting one escape. Then, a figure came into the light. Mario got a good look at the owner. He was a Koopaling. He had blue hair in a Lemmy style, fiery blue eyes that danced in the light of Flare's tail, and, this is a new one, a blue, spikeless shell. The Koopaling looked at the Marios and gave an evil smile.

"Well, well," spoke the Koopaling. "It appears we caught ourselves a couple of humans."

"Who are you?" demanded Luigi.

"I'm Fireball Koopa, prince of the Magma Kingdom, son of King Nightmare Koopa, and heir to the throne," declared the Koopaling with a glare in his eyes. "Who might you fools be?"

"We're the Mario Brothers. The heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom," said Mario with his fist in the air.

"So you’re the idiots Uncle Bowser is having trouble with. Well I don't like to upset him, so Flare! Attack!" Flare then charged at Luigi. He dodged with no problem. The Marios drew their hammers. They were ready for the next attack. Flare then breathed fire straight at Mario this time. He tried dodging it, but he was burnt to a crisp, along with his hammer.

"Hammer Attack!" yelled Luigi as he made a swing at the Chomp. But, she ate the hammer before it made contact to her body. Luigi then started punching her, but with no effect. Flare then fried him with her tail. As both Mario and Luigi were burnt and beaten, Flare then charged straight at them. Just then, Fireball stopped her.

"Stop!" ordered Fireball. "That's enough. We will leave them here to die. Hee! Hee! Hee!" Then, he hopped on top of Flare and rode off. The Mario Brothers were waiting for the Koopa prince to leave. After a good five minutes, they got up.

"That was a tough Chomp," said Luigi.

"Yeah," agreed Mario. "I don't want to go head to head against her again."

"Let's hope so. Now to the princess." The Mario Brothers continued their journey while they grabbed and ate some healing Mushrooms along the way.

***

"You did well, Fireball," spoke Nightmare to his son. "Your Chomp was well trained in disarming those fools." Fireball was standing in the throne room giving his father the information about his recent battle.

"It was nothing, Dad," said the prince. "She made sure they won't bother us anymore." Just then, a Koopatrol came bursting through the door.

"Your Majesties!" yelled the Koopatrol.

"What is it Koopatrol?" asked the Koopa King.

"A group of humans are coming to the city!" Nightmare then glared at his son.

"I thought they were dead already!" exclaimed Fireball.

"Fireball!" ordered Nightmare. "You and your siblings will finally take care of those Bros." Fireball then left the throne room with the escort of the Koopatrol. The Koopa King then left the room also. "Now to get her to do my bidding."

***

The Mario Brothers had been walking in the Forest of Darkness for an hour. Their wounds had fully healed, thanks to the Mushrooms they ate along the way. Then they saw that the forest was beginning to thin out.

"We're almost there!" exclaimed Luigi. But as they finally got out of the forest, what they saw was not what they expected. They’d expected the wasteland Dark Land should be, but it was like Grass Land, with lush, green grass and clear, blue sky. Everything was like a paradise, except for the jagged mountains that surrounded the northern side.

"Is this the right place?" asked Luigi.

"Yes," answered Mario. "This is the place the princess is located."

"But still! This is Koopa territory!" Then Luigi saw something in the distance. It looked like a giant barricade of walls. "Is that the Magma Kingdom that Fireball said he was from?"

"I'll check," Mario said as he pressed a few buttons on the device he was holding. "Yup! That's the Magma Kingdom."

"You're right, and you're trapped, Mario Brothers!" yelled a voice. The Marios looked up to see they were surrounded by Koopalings. One of them was Fireball Koopa, the Koopaling they met before. One Koopaling, a boy, was wearing a pair of shades and spiked bracelets on his wrists and ankles. He even wore a spiked collar around his neck. His blonde hair was in a Mohawk that was blown back. Also, the Koopaling's shell was a deep red, just like blood. Another one, a girl, was wearing red tennis shoes with a lightning bolt on each of them. She had her short, purple hair in a rag tag ponytail. Even her shell was the same color as her hair. Another Koopa girl looked like something from an anima cartoon. Her red hair was in a six-prong style with the tips colored yellow. She was also wearing a device on her left eye that looked like a tracking device from Dragonball Z. She also had a red shell like her brother, but this was brighter than his. Another Koopa prince looked more like the DBZ Koopaling, but his red hair
was in a style just like Fireball's. He wore iron bracelets, bore a katana in a sheaf, and had a scar on his left eye. His shell was just like his sister's red shell.

"Not more of you guys," groaned Mario.

"We are going to get rid of you once and for all," yelled the Koopaling with the sunglasses as he drew a pair of guns.

"You’re going to be cut down to size," spoke the Koopaling with the scar as he drew his katana.

"We're going to make sure you'll never mess with the Magma Kingdom," chimed in the Koopaling with the shoes as she readied herself for a charge.

"Our numbers make the odds in our favor," spoke the Koopaling with the anime hairstyle as she drew a ray gun.

"And the Koopa Clan will finally see the last of you," said Fireball as he pointed at Mario in a gun-like fashion.
The Mario Brothers didn't have their hammers, because of the Fire Chomp attack. "What's the plan?" whispered Luigi to his brother.

"We attack the Koopaling that is the biggest threat," replied Mario. Then he charged straight at Fireball!

"Pyro Wall!" yelled Fireball. A wall of fire came out of nowhere and burnt Mario. Luigi decided to wait for an attack from the others so he can counter them.

"Garrett!" ordered Fireball. "Let the plumber have it." The Koopaling with the scar then disappeared and reappeared behind the Mario Brother. He then put his katana back in his sheath. Luigi then fell down to the ground with a thud.

"That was my Stealth Slash, Human," announced Garrett. The Koopalings then looked at the defeated Brothers.

"Is that all they got, Fireball?" asked the Koopaling with the shoes.

"I don't think so, Tara," replied Fireball as he pointed at Mario. He was back on his feet. "Back for more, eh?"

"I will not lose to you Koopas!" yelled the wounded plumber.

"Oh, you will. Show him, Tara." Then she sped right towards him like a race car. A cloud then covered the scene, but the grunts and groans from Mario means he was getting beaten up pretty badly. As the dust settled, so did the Mushroom Defender.

"I hope that did it," said the Koopaling wearing the shades.

"I don't think that's enough, Rex," piped up the Koopaling with the crazy hairstyle as she checked her device. "His life signs are not low enough for him to be knocked out."

"I’ll fix that!" roared Rex. "Bullet Time!" He then fired on the fallen Mario with a frenzy of bullets. Mario was now burnt, pummeled, and shot up. "If that doesn't work, I'm going to eat a bullet. Mario then stood up to face the Koopalings once again. Then the Koopaling ate one of his bullets from his gun. Literally!

"You think that will stop a hero?" asked Mario.

"No," announced the Koopaling with the crazy hairstyle. "This will. Blast Radius!" She then shot a large, red beam straight at Mario. He dodged it perfectly by jumping very high.

"Allow me to help you, Amber," grinned Fireball. "Bolt!" A bolt of lightning from his finger then shocked Mario with full power, since he was not grounded. He fell to the ground.

"Life signs are dropping," announced Amber as she saw Mario's life signs drop rapidly. Then it stopped just as fast. "Mario is knocked out!"

"Let's finish them!" growled Rex as he loaded his guns for another attack.

"No," spoke Fireball. "They are more useful if they are alive. We'll take them to Nightmare Castle."

"For what?" asked Garrett as he picked up Luigi. His red hair was blowing in the wind.

"For business. Hmm, hmm, hmmmmm." Fireball then picked up Mario and headed straight to the walled off area that is the Magma Kingdom. His siblings then followed.

***

"Now Princess," began King Nightmare. "Let's talk." They were in one of the briefing room in the castle. The princess was being guarded by Koopro, the Magma Kingdom commander, and a Mushroomer. He was wearing a black cap with black spots on it. His vest was a deep red. The undershirt was pure black and so was his pants. Even his shoes were the same red as his vest. The princess was looking at the twisted king with a look that always means she doesn't want to talk to anybody. Just then, the same Koopatrol that had informed Nightmare about the Marios opened the doors of the briefing room.

"King Nightmare!" yelled the Koopatrol.

"What is it, Koopatrol?" asked the Koopa king.

"Your children have returned, Sire."

"And?"

"They brought a little something." This made Nightmare look at the Koopatrol with delight.

"Is that so? Koopro and Koru, let them in." The guards then opened the door The princess watched in horror as she saw the Mario Brothers, beaten and bleeding as Fireball and Garrett brought them to the table. Tara, Amber, and Rex looked at their father with a glint of pride in their eyes. "Good job, my children. You may take them to the dungeon now." The Koopalings and the Koopatrol then headed straight thought the door, along with the Marios, and Koopro and Koru shut it. Nightmare was then looking at Peach with an evil smirk. "So you see, Princess, we know how to fight, and we fight well."

"T-t-that's impossible!" yelled the princess as she cried. "M-M-Mario could never be defeated!"

"He has now. Now on to business. I want you to sign this." Nightmare then took a document out from a drawer in the table. "This will state that ownership of the Mushroom Kingdom will be the Koopa Clan's. All you need to do is sign this..."

"Not going to do it!"

"...or the Mario Brothers will be executed." The princess then gasped.

"You wouldn't!"

"I will if you keep that answer." Peach was in a pickle. She wanted her kingdom to be under her rule, not the Koopas'. But, if she didn’t sign, the wounded Marios would be killed by a Koopa's sword. "What's it going to be, Princess?" Nightmare was getting inpatient. Then Peach had her answer.

"I won't sign this!" yelled Peach. Nightmare just shrugged and motioned for the Mushroomer.

"Koru, tell the Greaper to put the Marios on death row." Koru then left the briefing room. Then the terrible king turned to the princess. "Their execution will commence in one hour."

***

"Let me out of here!" yelled Mario. He had woken up from his coma and was yelling at a Koopatrol outside his cell. Luigi was still out cold on the bed.

"Not a chance, Monkey Man!" declared the guard. He was right. The ceiling had a strange light that was sapping the Marios' abilities, the cell door looked pretty tough to take down, and guards with swords were running around the castle. "You’re better off waiting for your time here to expire."

"What do you mean, Troopa?"

"The Greaper will tell you when your treatment begins. Ha! Ha! Haaaa!" The Koopatrol laughed and went to another part of the dungeon. Mario then put two and two together. He ran up to his brother.

"Luigi!" His brother woke up and looked at him weakly.

"Wha?" asked Luigi.

"We're in big trouble. We're going to be executed." This made Luigi look at him with dread.

"What?!"

"We got to get out of here!"

"Don't count on it!" yelled a voice. The Marios turned to see a Koopa talking to them from a cell. She had long, pink hair, a gold earring, a blue shell, and blue shoes. (Yes! The Koopa's a girl. Who knew?). "That's right. I said that."

"Who are you?" asked Luigi.

"I'm Lt. Koropa of the Nightmare Elite," introduced the Koopa. The Marios were looking at a member of the army that attacked the Mushroom Kingdom before.

"You think it's impossible to get out of this cell?" asked Mario.

"Yes. The dungeon is as advanced as our weapons and vehicles."

"What makes you so sure? It looks like any cell I've seen before."

"That's where you’re wrong," declared Koropa. "The bars are made of Koopasteel, the toughest metal on all of Plit. The lights are really power regulators. They produce a beam that drains a prisoner’s powers so that can't break the bars." The Mario's looked at each other. Mario tried his famous Coin Uppercut on the bars, but they were too strong and no coins came out of his hands. Luigi looked at the lights. They looked too sci-fi to be normal light bulbs.

"How are we going to get out?" asked Mario to the formal Koopatrol. Koropa looked at the lights, then the bars, and she turned to Mario.

"The lights are not protected," spoke Koropa. "King Nightmare thinks you are not a threat to his defenses. A good whack will take them out. And the bars look weak at the hinges. After your powers are back to normal, hitting there will bring the door down."

The Mario Brothers looked at what they had: a few bits of pocket lint and a coin. "How are we going to bust that light?" asked Luigi.

"May I suggest using a plate or bowl," said the Koopa. "Oh! And if you get out with the princess, will you get me out too? I've been in here for two months for refusing to kill my brother. I want you to beat that tyrant to a pulp." Mario nodded in agreement. Koropa smiled and lay back on her bed. Then a Koopatrol with two bowls of mush came to the Marios' cell.

"Your last supper, prisoners," laughed the guard as he pushed the bowls through the flap on the door. As the Koopatrol made a leave for the stairs, Mario and Luigi dumped the mush in the toilet. Mario took his bowl and threw it at the lights. The bowl hit its mark, but the lights were still in one piece. Luigi then threw his. This time, the lights shattered in a display of sparks. Mario kicked the hinges of the cell door, hard! The door fell with a loud clang.

"We’ve got to get that Koopa king, Luigi!" yelled Mario as he ran towards the stairs. Luigi then followed. Koropa looked at them as they ran up the stairs.

"Good luck, Mario Brothers," thought the Koopa. "You'll need it."

***

"Five minutes left, Princess," spoke King Nightmare coldly. They were still in that the briefing room. The guards were playing poker while they counted the time. Peach was still not going to sign the document that was in front of her. Then a Koopatrol ran straight inside the room.

"Urgent message, Sire!" yelled the Koopatrol. Everyone looked at the guard with a cold stare. "The Marios have escaped the dungeon!"

"WHAT?!" yelled the group. Everyone except the princess was shocked.

"Get every guard you can find to stop the Marios!" ordered Nightmare. "Koopro! Koru! You’re with me." The guards came from the table and ran with the king, who had the princess over his shoulder.

"Let me go!" screamed Peach. "Let me go!" They opened a passage through the flag that was hanging beside them. As they ran thought it, the Marios came through the door. There were Koopatrols all over the floor of the hallway. Mario saw the princess as they made a turn. The Brothers ran after them.

“Those Koopas will not get away this time," said Mario to Luigi. After five minutes of running, they came to an exit from the passageway, only to see they were in a stadium. The walls were ten feet high and had a fiery design on them. There was no ceiling, so that the night sky showed its stars and moon. Eight sets of lights that surrounded the stadium lit up the battlefield. King Nightmare was in a seat in the third row with the princess in a cage hanging over the stadium. Four cables were attached to the walls of the stadium.

"Welcome, Mario Brothers, to Battle-on Stadium," announced the king with a cruel laugh. "I'm King Nightmare Koopa, ruler of the Magma Kingdom, and eldest child of Morton Senior." The Marios had heard that before. Bowser was a son of Morton Senior. They now realized how Nightmare knew about the Mushroom Kingdom and why Fireball had called Bowser his uncle. They were related to each other. The Marios' hands were clenched into fists. Then, five figures appeared out of a doorway in front of them. They were the Koopalings they’d lost to before. Fireball was smiling his evil smirk. Rex drew his guns and aimed them at the Marios. Amber drew her laser gun and did the same. Tara was ready for a charge. Garrett drew his katana and was in a fighting stance. The Marios were outnumbered and outgunned.

"What's the plan?" asked Luigi.

"The same as before," grinned Mario. Then he charged straight at Fireball.

"This again," sighed Fireball. “Pyro Wall!" A wall of flames appeared in front of Mario. But Mario changed directions and punched Rex instead. He flew off the ground and landed with a thud.

"My turn!" declared Luigi, as he was in front of Fireball. He landed a hook on the prince's face. He groaned a bit, but he was mad.

"Garrett!" yelled Fireball. His brother disappeared. Luigi knew he was using his Stealth Strike attack. Luigi jumped. Garrett reappeared behind the Brother. Luigi then gave him a ground pound. Garrett took a direct hit as he fell to the ground. He was knocked out.

"All right," whispered Rex. "Let's see you try this, pretty boy. BULLET TIME!!!" He let loose a barrage of bullets. Mario ran straight for Luigi and helped him dodge the attack.

"Is that all?" asked Amber. "Blast Radius!" She shot a ball of energy at the Marios, but they jumped it. Bad mistake. Fireball took a potshot at them with his Bolt attack. It made contact. The Marios fell onto the ground.

"Now Rex!" ordered Fireball. "Shoot them now!" Rex aimed his guns at their heads, and pulled the triggers. Only a click was heard after that.

"Grrrrrrr!" growled Rex. "I'm out of bullets!"

"I'll do it then," yelled Tara as she sped toward the Marios. She tripped and ran into a wall. Mario's foot was sticking out. And that knocked her out.

"This is not happening!" yelled Amber. "Their strength has increased since last time!"

"Then, BLAST THEM!!!" roared Fireball. Amber aimed at the Marios again with her laser gun.

"Plasma Cannon!" yelled the Koopa princess. Her gun shot a green beam at the Marios. They dodged it and gave Rex a right hook as he was reloading his gun. As the bullets fell onto the ground, so did the Koopaling.

"I'm getting tired of this!" roared Fireball. “Shadow Ball!" A ball formed in the Koopa prince's hands. Mario ran straight at him, fists flailing. But as he approached, the ball grew to the size of a car. Fireball gave a mighty grunt and hurled the ball at his opponent. It struck Mario with so much force, he flew into the tenth row of Battle-On Stadium.

"My turn!" yelled Amber. "Battle Armor: Engage!" Suddenly, she was in a high-tech suit of armor, complete with five inches of Koopasteel armor, two double-barreled plasma cannons, a tracking device like the one she wore before, and a bow with three cannons on each side.

"Not good," said Mario and Luigi. Amber smiled and aimed her cannons at them.

"FULLOUT ATTACK!!!" screamed the Koopa princess. Every gun fired, striking the Marios with deadly force. A ball of dust began to form around them. As all of Amber's ammo was gone, she stood there and looked at her handiwork. "I guess they couldn't protect themselves from my attack!" Fireball high-fived her, Nightmare smiled, the guards cheered, and the princess stared at the dust.

"Mario," whispered Peach. She then cried over the loss of her friends. Nightmare then looked at the dust. He couldn't see a thing in there.

"Fireball!" ordered the Koopa king. "Blow away that dust." Fireball then inhaled and blew a blast of wind at the cloud. As the dust blew away, they saw the truth. The Marios were not even there. Amber was shocked, Fireball was mad, the guards were dumbfounded, the princess cheered, and Nightmare was in pure rage!

"WHERE ARE THEY?!" roared the Nightmare. His question was answered when Amber was ground pounded by the Mario Brothers. They had been untouched by the attack. The Koopa princess fell to the ground like her twin. Fireball was the only Koopaling left.

"This game is over, Fireball!" yelled Mario. The prince just smiled his evil smirk.

"It has just begun, Marios," Fireball said as he rose his foot. "Earth's Grasp!" He stamped the ground with full force. A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed the Marios. It was squeezing the life out of them. Fireball laughed at the Mario Brothers. "Now for the finisher! Thunder's Fury!" A bolt of lightning came out of the night sky and zapped his foes with deadly force. The rock hand blew apart from the attack. The Marios were fried, but freed. As they got up, Luigi knew something.

"Mario?" asked Luigi.

"Yes?" asked Mario.

"I know what this Koopaling is!"

"What do you mean?"

"He used Fire, Lightning, Darkness, and Earth attacks."

"So?"

" That Fireball Koopa is an Elemental!" Mario was shocked when he heard the news. Fireball just grinned.

"Finally someone figured me out," said Fireball. "But you still haven’t seen my all! Aqua Cannon!" He inhaled and let loose a blast of water and nailed Luigi. He flew into a wall of the stadium and left a hole in it. Mario made a charge at the Koopaling while his was getting ready for another attack.

"Coin Uppercut!" yelled the plumber. His punch made contact and Fireball flew into the air. Five coins then landed at the feet of Mario. As Fireball was still in the air, he sprouted purple, bat-like wings from his shell and kept out of reach of the Marios.

"Try my Wind's Force!" yelled the Koopaling as he flapped his wings at top speed. A tornado then formed from all that flapping. It picked up the Marios and hurled them into another wall on the top of the stadium. As the twister disappeared, Fireball laughed. "You fools are no match for my elements! You are doomed to die in this futile rescue! Bwa! Ha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!" Mario got up and looked at the Koopaling. Luigi looked at him, too, then saw an opening. He ran onto one of the cables attached to the cage the princess was in. As he reached Fireball, he jumped.

"Luigi Torpedo!" yelled the plumber. He spun in a drill-like fashion and nailed the prince. Fireball's wings detached from his shell and he landed with a thud. Luigi was hanging from a cable. Fireball, battered and bruised, stood up. His smirk changed to a snarl.

"I'm down, but not out!" yelled Fireball. "Healing Light!" A beam of light then engulfed Fireball. It lasted a few seconds, but after it was done, Fireball's wounds were fully healed! The Marios looked at the Koopaling. "You see? Your efforts are wasted on a futile offense. You cannot win."

"He's got a point," said Luigi. "Fireball can block any attack that comes his way, and, even if an attack connects, he'll be able to heal the damage. He's the ultimate Koopaling."

"I'm not going to give up!" yelled Mario. "I'll find a way to defeat you!"

"Keep searching. You will never defeat me." With that, he made a charge at Mario. "Fireball BLAST!!!" He inhaled and let loose a blue fireball. Mario took the blow, and fell onto the ground. Luigi then started pounding away at Fireball. The Koopaling slashed the plumber away from him. He then tried to get the Marios away, but they kept close.

"ENOUGH!!!" roared the Koopa prince. He swiped at the Marios with full force. They flew into the air and hit the floor of the stadium hard. "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU FOUL HUMANS!!!" He put his hands in front of him. "ELEMENTAL DISCHARGE!!!" A giant, multicolored beam came from his hands at blinding speed. The Mario tried to dodge it, but were engulfed by the beam. Fireball kept the beam at a steady pace. The attack lasted for two minutes. As the dust settled, so did the Marios. Fireball was out of breath, but he had done it. He had got rid of the Marios. Nightmare was highly impressed. He had never seen an attack like that before. Fireball then grinned his trademarked smirk.

"I guess they were nothing but talk," said Fireball. "I believe they should be Honored, but they should be good eating for Flare. Hee! Hee! Hee!" Peach was crying again. Her tears were dripping onto the fallen Mario Brothers. Then, if you believe in miracles, the Mario stood up. After an attack like that, they should be dead. Fireball was horrified, the guards stood with their jaws dropped, Nightmare was glaring at the Marios with rage, and Peach was glad they’d survived.

"We are... not giving... up... Fireball," said Mario.

"No matter... what," chimed in Luigi.

"Th-th-th-that's impossible!" stammered Fireball. "Th-th-th-that's my most p-p-p-powerful attack."

"Now. This game... is over!" Mario made a mad charge at the Koopa prince.

"That won't work. Pyro Wall!" yelled the prince. But no wall of fire came out in front of the Mushroom Defender. Mario gave him a right hook, which sent him to the third row of the stadium. As the Koopa prince got up, Mario made another charge at him. Fireball jumped out of the way and landed back in the battlefield. "Better recover. Healing Light!" But no beam of light engulfed the wounded Koopaling. "Oh no."

"Mario Brothers' Attack!" yelled the Marios as they made their charge. Fireball was overwhelmed by the onslaught. The prince tried to escape, but they kept hammering away at him. Then Mario grabbed Fireball by the tail and started to spin him. They were going so fast, they were a blur.

"So long, Prince Fireball!" yelled Mario in triumph. He let go of the Koopaling and sent him into the second row, right under his father. Nightmare looked at his son. The prince looked up at his dad.

"Sorry, Dad," whispered Fireball. "I tried." He then lowered his head and passed out. The Marios were victorious. They’d defeated the Koopalings that were a problem before. But the battle was far from over. They still had the king to take care of.

"Nightmare!" yelled Mario. "This battle has gone far enough. Give us the princess and you'll see the last of us." The Koopa king looked at the Mario with vengeance in his eyes.

"You think I'll let you get the princess after what you have done to my children?!" roared Nightmare as he got to his feet. "I think not!" He jumped from the third row to the battlefield. The Marios were tired. They would never survive the fight. Then Koopro and Koru entered the field.

"Sire," whispered the Mushroomer.

"What?" replied the king. They whispered to each other, Koopro keeping his eye on the Brothers. Nightmare then smiled and looked at the Marios. "It seems unfair to fight a wounded opponent. Magikoopa!" A Magikoopa in black robes appeared in front of Nightmare.

"Yes sir?" asked the wizard.

"Heal their wounds." The king pointed at the Mario Brothers. The Magikoopa did as he was told and muttered a spell. A beam of light engulfed the Marios like it did Fireball. After that, the Marios were back to full health.

"Why did you do that, Nightmare?" asked Mario.

"It's only fair." With that, the final fight of the night was about to begin.

"Luigi Torpedo!" yelled Luigi as he charged at the king like before. Nightmare responded by grabbing the plumber and hurling him to the seventh row of the stadium. Mario made his charge while Nightmare was distracted.

"Plumber Pummel!" yelled Mario. He let loose a series of punches and kicks right in the Koopa's face. Nightmare was taking it well.

"Is that all?" asked the king. "Dark Slash Attack!" His claw glowed an eerie black and hit Mario with bone-crushing force. The plumber flew to the same row as Luigi. Then they jumped straight at Nightmare.

"Mario Brothers' Attack!" yelled the Marios. Nightmare looked at them with a smirk like Fireball's.

"That's more like it! Spinning Fortress!" yelled Nightmare as he retreated into his shell. It began to spin rapidly and the Mario were heading straight for it. They hit it and sent the shell flying.

"Team Coin Uppercut!" yelled the Marios as they jump at Nightmare. A shower of coins fell onto the ground as Mario and Luigi kept hitting the shell. Nightmare then came partially out of his shell.

"Dark Ground Pound," spoke the king. The Mario Brothers didn't have time to dodge it and were flattened. Nightmare got up and looked at them. "So this is the best you got, huh? Dark Flamethrower!" He inhaled and breathed a black and purple fireball at the flattened Marios. But they rolled away from the blaze. They got up, ready for the next attack.

"Luigi Torpedo!" yelled Luigi as he charged again at the merciless king. But this time, the attack made contact with Nightmare's chest, sending him reeling into the wall, which turned into rubble.

"Mario's Mega Punch!" yelled Mario as he charged into the fallen Koopa. He made a wallop of a punch to Nightmare's head, which sent him to the fifteenth row of the stadium.

"It’s time to finish this game!" roared Nightmare. "True Nightmare!" The lights from the stadium started to turn off, one by one. The Marios then began to glow red, and two figures appeared in front of them. One of them was a Koopa. The other was a Boo with a crown.

"Bowser!" yelled the shocked Mario.

"King Boo!" yelled the shocked Luigi.

"Well well," spoke Nightmare. "Your nightmares look pretty tough. I'd be shaking if I were you." The Koopa king and the figures laughed evilly. The Marios looked at them with fear.

"What are they going to do?" whispered Peach. "Those nightmares look pretty mean. But I believe the Mario Brothers are going to pull through." Then Mario thought of something as the figures started to move.

"If they are just like the real Bowser and King Boo," thought the plumber. "then they must have the same weaknesses." Then Bowser started to charge at Mario.

"Charge!" roared the tyrant. Mario dodged it and grabbed his tail. He began to spin like before. At the right speed, Mario let go. Bowser flew into the air, but landed on top of the Mushroom Defender. Luigi was busy dodging King Boo's attacks. As he evaded a fireball, Luigi turned to face his opponent. The ghost king disappeared when his eyes met Luigi's. The plumber ran in that direction with his fists flying. Then King Boo reappeared in the same position as before and bit Luigi by the shoulder. He screamed in pain but he still didn't stop fighting the ghost. Mario on the other hand was being burnt to a crisp by Bowser's Flamethrower Attack. He got up and charged as before.

"Coin Uppercut!" yelled the plumber. A shower of coin fell onto the ground as the Koopa king flew into the air. "Mario Tornado!" Mario then started spinning and hitting Bowser in a shower of fists. Meanwhile, Luigi turned the tables on the fake King Boo. He made a charge, making the Boo plan his ambush, then jumped into the air.

"Ground Pound!" yelled the wounded Luigi. He nailed the ghost king before he even tried to move. As the ghost disappeared, so did the Koopa king. Mario threw Bowser into a wall next to the disintegrating Boo. As the lights started to glow as before, Nightmare's rage was really reaching the boiling point. The Marios' nightmares had been defeated like they were only cardboard cut-outs. But the battle was reaching the juicy part. The Koopa king jumped from the fifteenth row of the stadium and landed with an earth-shaking boom. Nightmare got up and looked at the Marios with an evil glare.

"Now I'm mad!" roared the king. "It's time for my most powerful attacks! Dark Lightning Strike!" A bolt of black lightning shocked the Marios with deadly power. As the plumbers were getting fried, they came closer to the Koopa. "Try my Dark Storm!" Nightmare let loose a storm of rain and hail at the Marios, but it didn't stop them. "Now for my ultimate attack! Hyper Shadow Ball!" A ball of dark energy started to form in Nightmare's hands. The Marios then started charging at the king. They didn't want the Shadow Ball to hit them. As the ball grew bigger, the Mario Brothers got closer. As soon as they were in fighting distance, Nightmare let loose the ball. It engulfed the Marios and sent them into the wall behind them. The Marios lay on the ground. Nightmare looked at them and laughed.

"So this is the breaking point of the Mario Brothers!" laughed the Koopa king. "What a bunch of weaklings." Just then, Mario and Luigi started to get up. Nightmare was shocked. That was the most powerful attack in his arsenal. As the Marios were back on their feet, Nightmare was readying another Shadow Ball. "Let's see if they can do that again. “As the Koopa king launched the ball, Mario got a hold of Garrett's sword that was next him. He made a swing at the ball and hit it back at Nightmare. He fell to the ground after hitting another wall. (Boy! This stadium is tough.) The guards looked at each other and ran for dear life out of the stadium. A key fell from the king's shell as he met the floor, a sign that the Koopa king was down for the count. Mario picked it up and went to a keyhole in the wall, where a cable of the cage was hanging. He unlocked it and the cage lowered onto the ground and opened up by itself. The princess got out and hugged the Mushroom Defender.

"Thank you, Mario," spoke Peach, "for saving me." As they hugged, Luigi poked his brother.

"Pssst!" whispered Luigi. "Mario."

"What?" asked Mario.

"Aren't we forgetting someone?" Mario then remembered the Koopa that helped them get out of the dungeon. He then turned to the princess. "Can you wait here for a few minutes?" The princess didn't know what was going on, but nodded in agreement. Mario ran back into the passageway they took to get here.

***

"Sigh," sighed the Greaper. "The Mario's are not here." He was looking at the empty cell the Mario Brothers had been in.

"So what are you going to do about that, Spooky?" asked Koropa. The Greaper looked at her.

"I'll just kill you early. You are next after they were done and over with." As the Greaper readied his scythe, he was hit by a shield from one of the Koopatrols. The Greaper fell onto the ground and was knocked out.

"Who did that?" thought the Koopa. Her question was answered when Mario came down the stairs wielding a sword. He jammed it into the keyhole and unlocked the cell door. Koropa got out of the cell and thanked the plumber as they headed back upstairs and into the passageway in the briefing room. Meanwhile, Luigi and Peach had been waiting for Mario for five minutes. Just then, the Mushroom Defender entered the stadium. Peach looked at the Koopa he brought to her.

"Who's she?" asked the princess.

"I'm Koropa," spoke the Koopa.

"She helped us get out of the dungeon," said Luigi with a smile on his face. Peach smiled as well. She thanked Koropa and the Marios for her rescue, and they all left the stadium.

"That was one tough group of Koopas," said Mario.

"Yeah. They must be the toughest group we'll ever face in a long time."

"Let's hope they know not to mess with the Mario Brothers!" As they walked through the doorway in the walls and into the sunset, Nightmare woke up for his coma. He got up and dusted himself up.

"Those Marios..." he said, “...truly must not be underestimated. We will soon meet again. But next time, we will be the ones who will be victorious."

THE END