Super Mario Bros - The Adventure

Chapter 14: Preparations and Loss

Mushroom Kingdom - World-1

The warp tornado soared and then disappeared as soon as it showed up at the castle doors. The rest of the heroes fell to the ground and Rohan sighed. He then slammed his fist and Peach clenched onto Mario's hat. Tears came from both her and Luigi and they sobbed and cried over the loss of Mario. A tear shed from Yoshi's eye and Daisy petted his head. Rohan slammed his sword on the ground and said, "WE'VE FAILED! None of this ever would've happened if Mario and Mr. Green over here had never shown up!"

"Don't talk about my brother that way!" Luigi said, still teary-eyed.

He then tackled Rohan and the two men started fighting. Daisy ran over to them and grabbed Luigi. "Boys! STOP FIGHTING!!"

"Peach, I always believed that we could do this..." Rohan uttered. "...But when Bowser killed Mario, I now know that this is a FOOL'S ERRAND!"

"Don't say that!" Peach protested. "We still have hope! We have HEART! We have each other!"

"But we have no army! We only have a mushroom man, two super beautiful princesses, a dinosaur, a prince, and a plumber! We need a battalion to defeat Bowser or more importantly, we need to get out of this kingdom and far away as we can."

"No, we're not deserting our people!"

"What about saving our skins? I'm not wanting to risk my life to stop Bowser!" Rohan looked at Yoshi. "Come on, Yoshi. Bowser has the Power Star and killed Mario. I know an island that has a rocket ship there. The only way we can survive is to get on a boat and get to that island. Once we work that ship, we gotta get to the other side of the universe as fast as we can and maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to live full lives before that MONSTER ever gets there!"

Yoshi looked away in denial and Peach said, "Don't, Rohan! Our parents and those before us never ran from danger, and as long as we're true to ourselves, neither do we!"

"You said it!" Rohan then unbuttoned his uniform and also messed up his hair so he could look somewhat different. "It's every man for himself! I'm getting on the first boat out of here."

He then walked to the pipe and Peach said, "Fine! Go! We don't need you! I'm actually embarrassed to be your cousin!"

Rohan felt hurt and asked, "If you really do hate me...then why do I still care about you more than anything in the world? Why did I spend my life trying to help you?"

He then went down the pipe and Peach wiped a tear from her eye. Luigi sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Princess...Bowser killed my brother...I'm gonna help you." 

Peach smiled and looked at Daisy. "Get everyone at the town square for a PSA."

Toad Town Square - World-1

After getting every civilian in the town square, excluding Rohan, who was looking for a boat ticket, Peach stood up on the podium and Toad gave her the megaphone. She banged on it a few times and said, "Hello? Can everyone hear me? Great! I've...come up with some bad news. Bowser is coming...and Mario...is no longer with us...but it's not going to take one hero for us to lose hope. Prince Rohan may have abandoned us and Mario may be dead, but that's not enough to take this princess down! We have hope! We have heart! We all stand a fighting chance against that monster and his forces! No more fear! We destroy Bowser, bring his army to his knees, and make our kingdom whole once again. Who's with me?!"

The toads were silent and one said, "I'm not a fighter. I'm just a farmer."

"But that's okay!"

"We're adorable!" A toad said.

"What about our toad battalion?"

They all looked to see the toad army cowering in fear. Peach sighed and said to the elderly toad beside her, "Toadsworth...Please...You have to help."

"I'm sorry, dear..." Toadsworth replied. "I don't see a viable option but surrender."

Peach shuddered and the toad put his hand on her palm. "But there is a secret that has been dormant from you for years. Hidden within your father's portrait and within your crown."

Peach was confused but she looked at the audience and announced, "Fine! Daisy and Yoshi, get everyone evacuated and Toad and Luigi come with me. We will fight and bring Bowser to his knees."

Some of the audience clapped while some of them stood silent. The three heroes went off the podium while Daisy and Yoshi got ready to evacuate the city. Daisy clapped and spoke through the megaphone, "Alright, everyone! I need everyone to pack their things and get to the nearest boats! Pack everything!"

Back at the Castle

Luigi, Toad, and Peach walked down the castle hallways and found the portrait of Peach's father. Peach looked at the portrait and slightly leaned it sideways. She suddenly gasped as she saw a secret passage in it. The heroes climbed into the passageway and saw a giant screen with a lock on it. Luigi gasped and uttered, "Mama Mia..."

"Welcome." The screen said in an automated voice. "Do you have the key?"

"The key?" Peach asked.

Toad pulled out a harmonica and played a low key. The screen buzzed and replied, "That is not the key."

"Good try."

"Please present the key."

"What does it mean?" Luigi asked.

Peach sighed and then noticed what Toadsworth said. She then took off her crown and then saw that one of the blue jewels on it was beeping. She then pressed on it and the screen lit green and said, "Welcome, Princess Peach Toadstool. You have discovered a secret about yourself."

The screen then showed a giant painting of what appeared to be seven babies with stars next to them. The babies looked like Mario, Yoshi, Luigi, a gorilla, Peach, Rohan, and a currently unknown boy. Luigi gasped and asked, "What is this?"

"A prophecy," Peach answered. "The Seven Star Children. They are said to possess extraordinary amounts of power. Some of them even are believed to have abilities like fire, lightning, the capability of speaking to the jungle, and even one that can lead a small group of people to into something successful."

"Those babies..." Luigi looked closer. "...They look like us..."

"Is that...me?" Peach gasped as the baby next to the gorilla and Yoshi babies looked exactly like her. "I'M one of the seven star children?! This...This is unbelievable!"

"This is crazy, that's what!" Toad replied. "All this time, I've been traveling with around five of a prophecy!"

"This...With this, we can bring hope back to the Mushroom Kingdom. And we start doing that by stopping Bowser."

Luigi nodded. "For my brother!"

"For the kingdom!"

The three prepared for battle. Peach looked in her closet and smiled at what she had in it. Toad filled his backpack to the brim with Power-Ups. Luigi smiled as he practiced his fighting skills and took a bite out of a sandwich.

Toad and Luigi got ready and then saw Peach. She wasn't wearing her classic pink dress anymore; she was now wearing a skin-tight white jumpsuit with pink stripes on the sides and the brooch that was on her dress, a pink belt that defined her waist, a pink scarf tied around her neck, white-rimmed elbow-length pink gloves, pink combat boots, knee pads and shoulder pads, and her blonde hair is tied into a ponytail at the back of her head with a blue scrunchie. 

Peach adjusted her gloves and asked, "Are we ready to take down Bowser?"

"Yes." Luigi. "For Mario."

"For Mario."

The three walked down the hallway, Peach picked up a halberd axe, Luigi cracked his knuckles, and Toad pulled out his frying pan. The heartbeat of the green plumber was pretty much racing and worried for Daisy. Toad exhaled and Peach took a deep breath as this was the most important day of her life. She has been waiting for this moment since she was eight. She was finally going to avenge Mario and her parents, and get Bowser's head. The three saw Bowser's castle ship on the horizon.

Peach was also concerned for Rohan, but he could take care of himself. Mario...I hope you're watching from up there...