Super Mario Bros. Adventure Page 1

Chapter One: Peaceful times are lost...

Author: Masamune

It was a normal day, like any other in the Mushroom Kingdom. A boring one, however, for the heroic plumber, Mario. His brother, Luigi had taken off to Yoshi's Island for some vacation time with Daisy, as well as Yoshi. The princess had been occupied as of late with political duties, work that had been neglected due to Bowser's last kidnapping plot. And the mushroom retainer, Toad was swamped with work as well.

With nothing to do elsewhere, he had undertaken the bold task of fixing up the Pipe House. Which it had been needing very badly for a long time now. His head was under the sink, wrench in hand as he worked on fixing the kitchen sink. It had been leaking for some time now, which was bad for his image as a plumber extraordinaire. He was nearly finished with it when a sudden knocking was heard. He was surprised by the sound after a long day of silence, he jerked up and hit his head on the sink pipe. He proceeded to the door, while rubbing his aching head and then opened it. Standing there was one of the seven Mushroom Retainers, Toad.

"Ah! Mario, I'm glad you're here..." Toad said, busy recovering from what must of been a long run.

"Yes, this is where I usually am." Mario replied a bit glumly, "What is it?"

"You need to come to the Mushroom Castle," Toad explained.

"Why?"

Toad nodded and proceeded to tell the story...

"Several days ago, Peach was speaking to the stars through the Great Star. As you know, the Great Star is not only the royal symbol but also allows order to function in this kingdom. Peach didn't explain everything, but it seems Bowser plans to use the powers of other stars, like the Great Stars to fuel his next evil plot. Both the Chancellor and Princess Peach wanted you to come."

"Up to his old tricks again, huh?" Mario mused, "We better get going then. At the rate that shellcreep works, he could have the entire castle moved..."

The two agreed and set off. Fortunately they were merely going to the Mushroom Castle, so they could get there without the use of a pipe. A short jog through Mushroom Pass led them into the Mushroom Village. They were suddenly stopped by a mushroom holding a large bazooka.

"Halt...! Ah... oh, it's Toad... and Mario! Come on through...." The bazooka carrying mushroom replied, "Wanted to make sure that Croco doesn't come through here again..."

Mario nodded, "Keep up the good work then."

The two proceeded onwards to the castle. Mario gazed up at the tall building, a magnificent building that seemed to have been pulled out of a fairy tale. Of course, his life was just like that of the castle. A story of a valiant hero, the damsel in distress, and a fearsome monster. Of course, many times their adventures had bended these rules a great many times. But perhaps, what this danger Toad spoke of, could very well be the strangest of them all.

The guarding mushroom recognized the plumber and retainer and allowed them passage. They entered through the hall, entering the main throne room. At the moment, only the Chancellor was there. He was typical of a mushroom person, he wore a big mushroom cap. His long beard gave a look of wisdom and made him seem very important. Of course, he was an important person. After all, it was he who helped Peach rule, doing most of the work in many cases. He noticed the two right away and approached the two and greeted them.

"Ahh... thank goodness you arrived!" The chancellor exclaimed, "Toad... Peach is in her room. Would you fetch her?" Toad nodded and ran off, Mario turned to face the Chancellor. "What happened?"

"I am sure the Princess will explain the details, but I shall tell you what I know." The chancellor replied, "The Great Star is a very important part of this kingdom, in fact, it is the One Hundred and Twenty Stars combined into one star. The star itself has been attempting to warn the Princess of something. But it is difficult to understand what the star speaks of..." The chancellor's story was interrupted as Toad entered the room, followed by the princess. She was in her pink dress as usual, with the small crown on her head. Although nothing new in her fashion, it was enough for Mario.

"Mario! I'm so glad you could..." Peach began, but was cut off as the ground started rumbling. "What's going on!?" Toad ran to the nearest window to see, to which he saw something he wish he had not. A large airship overhead, bearing the insignia of the Koopa Clan. As it landed, the propellers began to sweep the area, with high winds blowing the window open. A ladder was dropped from the ship, with the first person coming off being Bowser. After halfway climbing down, he jumped down the rest of the way. He made a loud 'THUD' as he hit the ground. Following him, was his seven hideous children. One by one they reached the ground, in their own sort of fashion. Lastly, two magikoopas, male and female, departed as well, reaching the ground by magic. Out of the group, only Bowser and the male magikoopa approached the castle. Without bothering to open the door, Bowser released a breath of fire from his mouth. This destroyed most of the door, the rest which was knocked out of the way with his claws. He pushed the mushroom guards away with no trouble at all, busted through the second set of doors. Then entered the room where the group was waiting.

"Well, well... Princess Peach, what a surprise to meet YOU here, of all places." Bowser said in a cocky voice.

"What do you want?" Peach retorted, staring straight at the large turtle.

Bowser rubbed his chin in a mocking thoughtful way before answering, "I want the One Hundred and Twenty Stars... THE Great Star."

"Like we'd give it you?" Toad replied smugly.

"No, I was planning to TAKE it from you." Bowser replied, snapping his fingers. With that, the magikoopa mumbled a few magic words and waved a wand. A row of six Chargin' Chucks lined up in the room.

"Hey, I don't think the princess invited you here." Mario interrupted, stepping in front of Bowser into sight.

Bowser snarled and glared hatefully at Mario, "I should of known Lardio would be here. Why don't you be a good plumber, fix a sink and leave business to us."

"Business? You wouldn't know the meaning of the word." Mario retorted

Bowser snorted at that, "Kamek... have them get rid of him."

Kamek nodded and motioned to the six chargin' chucks. They all piled in a pyramid formation. The one on top shouted several orders, then they all jumped to the ground. Once more the lead chuck yelled something and pointed at Mario. The two beside him suddenly charged at Mario, ready to ram him. As soon as they came close enough, Mario jumped high in the air. Landing behind them as they crashed into the throne. With that, the chancellor jumped out of the way and ran out of the room. When Mario turned around, three more chucks were running full force at him. He managed a weak jump, landing on the head of one of them. From there, he jumped off again, flipped through the air and landed on the lead chuck. After causing a huge wreck, the six recovered and faced him again. One of them jumped on the shoulder of two others. The two then lifted him high in the air, throwing him towards Mario. Mario managed to avoid the bulky koopa as he slammed down on the ground. Three others were quick to grab Mario, holding him down on the ground. Bowser snickered and approached the detained plumber.

"We'll be taking the star back with us." Bowser grinned, "You! Grab the princess and chancellor. The rest of ya, get this place secure and find that Great Star!"

As the chargin' chucks started searching the castle, the chancellor peeked in the main room. He motioned to the detained Mario, then slid a fire flower over to Mario. Once the plumber saw it, he struggled in the two chucks' arms. He then flipped back behind them, then crashed the two's heads together. The two fell down dizzy, allowing him to go and grab the flower. At once his body took on a new look, his clothes and skin tone changing. He then produced a ball of fire in his hand, and tossed it at the Chargin' Chucks. After throwing a few more, he proceeded to approach the ones holding the princess. This was quickly stopped as several black beetles stepped in front of him.

"Nice try..." Bowser chuckled as he entered the room, "But I took the liberty of making sure you wouldn't get rid of all my troops."

"Mario! You have to get out of here!" Peach yelled , "Get help!"

Torn between the princess's cry for help and leaving her there, he reluctantly chose to do as she requested. Ducking the guards and jumping out through the charred door. He ran into the streets and looking around frantically for someway out. The best way to go would be to Yoshi's Island and get his brother and their Dino friend, Yoshi.

Author: lzn64

Mario glanced back at the captured royal family, then jumped into the warp pipe that led to Yoshi's Island. However, the warp pipe violently spit him out back at the castle... "Oh, man, now something's wrong with the warp pipe transportation system! The last time this happened it caused major chaos and mayhem... but now how am I supposed to get to Yoshi's Island?"

Suddenly, Mario had an idea, off to his right was a phone booth. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the only coin on hand, and inserted in the payphone. He dialed the number until the other side answered.

"Hello? Yes, Mallow, this is Mario... no, I was wondering if I could use your royal bus... thanks!"

Soon, Mario was on his way to Yoshi's Island, via the royal bus of Nimbus Land. As he got closer to the island, he could make out the shapes of several yoshis, and soon, he could pick out his brother and his best dino friend.

"Hey, Mario!" Yoshi yelled, waving his arms as he ran up to the bus.

"What's up, bro? You look worried..."

"Yeah, well, check this out..."

Mario proceeded to tell Luigi and Yoshi about Bowser's latest attempt to take over the Mushroom Kingdom...after he was done, both Yoshi and Luigi looked at him with serious looks on their faces.

"So, will you help me?" Mario asked.

"Of course I will." Luigi answered.

"And I will, too." Yoshi agreed.

So, the three heroes started back toward the bus, but before they could get there, a sinister voice growled, "I was warned that you would try to band together...Bowser ordered me to never let that happen!"

"Who's there?" Mario asked, looking around in confusion. "I know I've heard that voice somewhere before..."

Author: Yoshiman

There stood Kamek.

"You won't get away, this time!" Kamek said, and with that, he waved his magic wand.

The bus just seemed to fade into nothingness. "All the exits are blocked on this Island, except for one! See if you can find THAT! Kwahahaha!" And with that, Kamek disappeared.

Mario turned to his friends, "We need to find that exit fast!"

Yoshi said, "Hmm, I know of Kamek's trickery! If we find that exit, it will only take us to Dino land, or Sarasaland, or somewhere else!"

"We're stuck between a rock and a hard place..." Luigi mumbled.

"Mmmmm. . . rock." Yoshi said. He then lashed up a rock from the ground and ate it. Somehow it then sprouted wings.

"Mama mia! That was a blue koopa shell!" Mario said in excitement.

Meanwhile, at Bowser's keep. . .

"I told you not to play games like that with them!" Bowser yelled at the pure incompetence of the lifeform known as Kamek.

"I'm sorry master, but, they'll never find the exit! And if they do, they'll never get back to the Mushroom Kingdom!" The head magikoopa replied.

Author: lzn64

Of course, Kamek had forgotten one little detail... the yoshi's incredible ability to sprout wings when they ate a blue turtle shell. After Yoshi managed to grow himself a pair of handy dandy wings, Mario and Luigi hopped on to his back, and they took off from the island, unbeknownst to the koopas.

Now, it's a long trip from Yoshi's Island to the Mushroom Kingdom, especially riding double on the back of a yoshi, but soon the brothers had a slightly bigger problem than their own discomfort...

Although yoshis are extraordinarily smart, they have an incredibly short attention span. And so, Yoshi soon forgot exactly why he was holding a shell in his mouth and not eating it, and promptly swallowed it.

This, of course, sent the plumbers and their dino friend plummeting towards the ocean below...

Chapter Two: Mysteries of the Sea...

Author: Yoshiman

Miraculously, or probably just to keep the story going, they landed on top of a ship. Unluckily, or probably to thicken the plot, It had pirates.

"Arrr! I be Captain Shy!" Said the obviously important looking one, "Ye be tresspassin on The Shy Galleon! Boys! Take them to the Lower deck!"

Author: lzn64

Mario and his friends were then violently thrown into the the lower deck of the ship by a strange-looking crew of pirate-shyguy hybrids. Mario and Luigi sat on two large barrels, while Yoshi plopped down on the floor. Mario sighed and looked at the ceiling, in which was a small grating that allowed a bit of light in.

"Great, now how are we going to get back to the Mushroom Kingdom?" Mario asked, looking away from the ceiling and toward his companions.

"I have no idea, bro. There's a ton of pirates up there!"

"Yoshi could eat them." At this, Yoshi looked up from his daydreaming.

"Yeah, I could eat them, but we have to get out of here first."

"Right. How should be do that? Any ideas, Mario?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"

As he thought, his eyes strayed around the room, and suddenly he caught sight of an old, moldy, wooden ladder. It was laying on its side, covered with spider webs and half hidden under a pile of smelly fish.

"Well, it's worth a shot," he thought, and he walked over to the ladder. "How about we use this?" He said out loud.

"Whoa, no way. That couldn't hold Toad safely!" Luigi protested.

"Well, do you see another way?" Mario asked, pulling the ladder out.

"That's besides the point!" Luigi retorted, eyeing the ladder uneasily.

Mario and Yoshi set the ladder up, and were pleased to see that the ladder nearly reached the top of the hold. They set it up under the grating.

"I'll go first." Mario said, but before he could start up the ladder, Yoshi stopped him.

"No, way. The second you reached the top, those pirates would skewer you. I'll go first, I can eat them. I'll hold 'em off while you and Luigi climb up."

"All right!" Mario said, relieved. "C'mon, Luigi, help me hold the ladder."

Mario and Luigi held the ladder, while Yoshi slowly climbed up the old ladder. It squeaked alarmingly, but surprisingly enough, it held. Yoshi lifted the grating, and soon the sounds of a Yoshi eating and some very surprised pirates drifted down. Mario and Luigi climbed up, and they reached the top just in time to see Yoshi eat the captain.

"Great, now all we have to do is get this ship to the Mushroom Kingdom!" Mario said, taking the wheel.

"Um, Mario?" Luigi asked uneasily.

"What?"

"Which way is the Mushroom Kingdom, exactly?"

"Well...I don't exactly know..."

"Great."

"So, how are we gonna get home?" Yoshi asked, looking from Mario to Luigi with a concerned expression on his face. "I don't like this ship. It smells bad."

"Maybe we should look for a map." Mario suggested.

So, the trio began scouring the ship for a map of the Mushroom Sea....

Author: Ditto McCloaker

The Mario Brothers scoured the Shy Galleon from stem to stern, and, as the moon rose high in the sky, they admitted there was nothing aboard that could lead them home. That night, as the calm sea air wafted in the still night sky, Mario remained firmly planted at the wheel, the dancing yellow glare of a single dusty old lantern swinging with the movement of the ship, illuminated the inside of the cabin. With each noisy swing, Mario felt his grit and hope passing away under the monontony. Loyal Yoshi, containing his concern for the sake of his friends, had curled up in a nearby haystack and tried to sleep, leaving muttered instructions that he would take over whenever Mario got tired. Luigi remained on the deck of the ship, leaning over the rail, contemplating dreamily the placid breath of the ocean, and the starry night sky. It was a times like these that the similarities between the problems of gritty Earth and the carefree Mushroom World showed. Even in this wonderland of plenty and of beauty, one tended to forget the uneven hand fate tended to deal.

Suddenly, something reflected in Luigi's green eye. With a start he suddenly opened his eyes from a slight slumber to become suddenly aware of something out on the moonless ocean. With some vague question about how long he had been asleep, Luigi ran down the deck to the mainbrace to gain a better vantage point of the inexplicable glow on the horizon. As he squinted to make out detail, something akin to a chill pierced his heart. At first, he chalked it up to the eerie silence of the night, and the and being alone on the large, musty deck of an old-fashioned galleon, playing tricks with his sleep addled imagination, but, no, to his anxious recognition, he realized that the form gradually gliding alongside the Shy Galleon was wrapped within an ethereal gray light, as though it carried with it the pale, deathly mists of the grave. As the massive, skeletal frame of that ghostly Clipper made it's way ever closer, it seemed, to Luigi, he felt a chain of fear and panic choke his throat. With the energy of a stricken madman, he ran, wordlessly, toward the cabin clear on the far side of the ship, and slammed open the door.

Inside, he saw the dark form of his brother Mario slumped heavily over the wheel, deep in slumber, the swinging lamp above having long ceased to provide light. Mario's gloved hand still clutched firmly the device's spokes. Yoshi also lay in an unmoving heap on the straw, and the slight whistle of their snores was the only sound, aside from the beating in his own chest, which reached Luigi's ears.

Still barely able to conjure forth audible speech, Luigi began to furiously shake his brother, whose eyes opened with a painful slowness. As his brother slowly came to recognize him, Luigi inadvertently cast his eyes out the window and saw the windows of the unearthly vessel aligned almost perfectly with that of the Shy, and with a renewed shock of terror, Luigi's limbs all but lost their power, nearly allowing the drowsy Mario to slump to the floor. By this point, however, Mario had nearly returned to the world of wakefullness, and he looked with concern into his brother's panic-stricken green eyes, whose gaze he found himself unable to maintain for more than a moment.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted, "What's-a the matter? You looka so pale..." Luigi, however, his eyes transfixed on the terrible ghastly vessel out the window behind Mario, was rendered incapable of utilizing even the most basic motor abilities, and, despite his urgent wish, was unable to so much as lift his arm to direct Mario's attention, as the horrible shadow enshrouded faces of the immaterial crew drew forth from the darkness...

Author: lzn64

Mario looked at Luigi's face in utter confusion for a moment, then followed his panic-stricken gaze to the window. He looked out in uneasy anticipation, and soon caught site of the ghostly ship that had so terrified his brother. He, too, was gripped by the cold hand of fear, but not so much as his brother.

"I'm the leader here, I have to stay calm!" He thought, tearing his gaze away from the window. By that time, Luigi had recovered himself enought to function normally, though not without a significant tremor. He turned toward his brother, a question on his lips, but to his surprise, Mario was nowhere to be seen. Yoshi, however, was in plain sight, and was waking up.

"What's going on?" He asked blearily, rubbing his eyes.

"Look out the window," Luigi retorted, a slight tremor in his voice.

"Okay! Are we home?" Yoshi asked excitedly, bounding to the window. His spunk didn't fade, even as he caught sight of the ghost ship. "What's that?" He asked, a confused expression on his face.

"I don't exactly know..."

"Oh. So I guess Mario went to go find out, right?" Yoshi asked brightly, not affected by the ship's presence in the least.

"Mario!" Luigi exclaimed, heading toward the door. "I don't know where he went." Yoshi followed him toward the door, and looked at him in confusion when he faltered at the threshold.

"What's wrong, Luigi? It's just a door. Here, I'll open it." Yoshi said, oblivious to Luigi's terror. He stepped out onto the main deck, and turned to face Luigi. "C'mon, let's go find Mario," He said, a determined expression on his face.

"Uh...you go ahead. Someone needs to steer the ship!" Luigi said, casting one more fearful look toward the foggy ocean, in which the object of his terror was floating nearby. He retreated in the small room, and slammed the door. Yoshi shrugged and started his search. He didn't have to search long, as he soon caught sight of his plumber friend standing in the crow's nest.

"Mario! Hey, whatcha doin' up there?" Yoshi yelled, but his voice didn't quite reach that high. So he decided to climb up there with him. In a short while, Yoshi had managed to climb the mast and get to the crow's nest.

"Hey, Mario! What are you doing?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm trying to see who's on that ship..."

Indeed, Mario stood there holding a spyglass, which had been left behind by the Shy Guy crew. He was concentrating very hard on trying to see the crew of the strange ship, but the crew seemed to fade out of existence just as he got them into focus.

"I don't think there is anyone on the ship," Yoshi declared, squinting into the fog.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because there's obviously no one steering it."

"What?" Mario asked, removing the spyglass from his eye. He turned toward his dinosaur friend, concern in his eyes. "How do you know?"

"Because the ship is heading right toward us, and if anyone was steering it wouldn't be doing that," Yoshi said brightly, oblivious to what that meant.

"Who's steering our ship?" Mario asked, fighting down panic.

"Luigi, of course. He's the only other one here." Yoshi said amiably, picking up the spyglass, which Mario had dropped. As he fixed the small scope to his eye, he was surprised by a sudden yank on his arm. Mario pulled him down the mast, toward the captian's quarters, where Luigi was frantically trying to steer out of the path of the ghost ship. As Mario yanked him out of the way, the spyglass fell from his hands, and tumbled into the icy waters below. Mario and Yoshi burst through the door of the room, just as the ghost ship rammed into them. The boat groaned dangerously, then spun wildly as the ghost ship bored forward. Mario and his friends were thrown against the wall of the room, then rolled forward again as the ship rocked.

Mario managed to catch the wheel as he stumbled past, and used it to pull himself up to his feet. He gripped the wheel tightly, and managed to keep his feet as the ship bucked and tossed. He made his way slowly toward the door, and had managed to get his hand on the knob, when suddenly the ship stopped its wild movement, and was suspended in sudded calm. Luigi and Yoshi used this period to latch onto something solid to keep them from being tossed around if and when the boat rammed them again, and Mario used it to race out the door toward the safety railing on the ship. He soon caught a glimpse of the ship, readying itself for yet another attack.

As the ghost ship neared the Mario's ship, he readied himself for his most impressive jump ever. As the ghost ship rammed into them, he launched himself, and as the boat continued forward, he landed on deck. The ghost boat was completely silent, but the sounds of his own boat's agony as it was rammed into were painfully clear.

He forced thoughts of his brother and his friend out of his mind, and concentrated instead on finding the captain of this ghost ship. He was unchallenged as he made his way toward the cabin, but as he opened the door, he was yanked inside, and the door was slammed behind him.

He stumbled, and nearly fell, but caught himself just in time. He then turned to face the ghostly ship above them...

Chapter Three: The Great Beyond

Author: Masamune

"A... ghost ship..." Luigi said in astonishment.

"The boat is stuck now." Mario frowned, "The Ghost Ship is holding us here... we'll have to get in and move it."

"Ok, let's head in!" Yoshi said, with a strange level of excitement.

"Not so fast." Luigi interrupted, "Someon will have to head the Phantom Ship. One of us will have to take over this ship... and then another to stand guard in case something happens."

"Ok... I'll go in the ship." Mario volunteered, "And Luigi better take this boat since he has the most experience. And Yoshi..."

"Guards the ship." Yoshi interrupted glumly, "Yeah, I know.""

"Good. I'm going in." Mario replied, heading towards the ghost ship, climbing over the debris it had spread.

"Good luck!" Luigi exclaimed, as Mario climbed in the ship.

Author: Masamune

The ship was much larger than Mario had anticipated. Since the rudder of the ship was broken, he had togo below decks to the very back of the ship. But he had not realized it consisted of two decks below the very top. And to top it all off, it had been arranged in some sort of maze like structure. After entering another room, he suddenly heard a loud THUD behind him. Quickly spinning around, he saw a large stone thwomp blocking the doorway. It had a very angry face and a ghoulish air to it.

"STATE YOUR IDENTITY." The thwomp demanded.

"Mario..." The red clad plumber answered uneasily, "I need to get out."

"NO. I CANNOT ALLOW YOU EXIT." The thwomp yelled, "THE BOSS HAS FORBID EXIT."

Frowning, Mario looked at the thwomp quizically. "What boss?"

"UNABLE TO REVEAL THAT INFORMATION..." The thwomp answered, "BUT... MAYBE... I COULD LET YOU THROUGH IF YOU DO ME A FAVOR."

He almost chuckled, villains were so typical at times, "Well, what do you want?"

"WELL... I don't want anyone to hear me..." The thwomp replied, "I accidentally left my autographed photo of Lady Bow in the Backroom... If you get it, I'll allow you to go by."

Mario agreed and went further into the ship, it seemed everybody he knew was famous. But it had been ages since anyone ever wanted his autograph. He shrugged and went on, entering into the next room. Inside it was pitch black, he could not even see his hand in front of his face. With a bit of hesitation he proceeded. Everything had become much more spookier and Mario could feel chills running down his spine. He suddenly felt a cold chill on his shoulder, as if something had touched him. Twisting around quickly, he saw the ghostly figure of a eerie. A dino-ghost with a serious expression and hollow eyes. Behind him he heard creaking, when he turned to see he saw a skeletal koopa... a dry bones. A mist filled the room, as a small glint of light appeared from above and allowed the mist to be seen.

When it stopped and the mist fell to the ground, Mario fround himself in a graveyard. Although it looked like it went on for miles, the area was surrounded by a fence and the areas where the doors were had now become metal gates. Graves had sprung up from everywhere, in front of each one was a ghostly figure. He counted them quickly, coming up with only twelve graves in the area. Although it seemed stupid, Mario tried to talk to each one. But none would make any reply, having nothing else to do, he went on into the next room. It was back to the wooden interior of a ship. More importantly, it was where the rudder could be accesed at in emergencies.

Forced into a position that kept it stuck in the ship Luigi was currently on, Mario began moving it the other way. With some difficulty, he managed to force it to the other side. Looking around the room, he spied a 'Bow' picture lying on the ground. He picked it up and headed out of the room, reentering the graveyard. He walked halfway in, when suddenly a large tombstone popped up from the door he was at. He shuddered fearfully and went on to the next door, which was shut off as the thwomp from before slammed in front of the door.

"HAHAHA! YOU FOOL. I CAN NOT BELEIVE YOU FELL FOR THE PICTURE TRICK." The thwomp cackled gleefully.

The other graves then came alive, with little ghoulish creatures popping up. On one was a Boo Guy, a shyguy like ghost. Another was a Ghost Goomba, then the Dry Bones returned. Followed was a Greaper with sickle-like hands, then a Fishbone lying on the dirt lifelessly, another was a tiny Thwimp. Then there was a mushroom like Zombie, a Boo with a sinister grin, the grim Eerie from before at another grave. Another was a Big Boo, also a Spark, a electrical ball of energy and lastly a Bony Beetle with spikes sprouting from it's back. Including Thwomp that made...

"Thirteen of them..." Mario said, after counting.

"Yes..." A sinister voice cackled, "My thirteeen undead fiends... And the end to your meaningless existence." Mario quickly turned around, spying a magikoopa standing in front of the largest grave. Only different in the fact it was dressed in black clothing, with little white rims on the hat and robe. He was much more bony looking and sinister then any other magikoopa Mario had ever seen. By now, some strange ghoulish creatures Mario remembered as 'Lost Souls' now were encircling the room, chanting some sort of ancient tongue.

"I am the Necrokoopa... Creator of the Thirteen Fiends you see..." The creature cackled, "And now... using the power of Necros, the thirteen fiends and the lost souls surrounding us... you shall meet your fate..."

Author: Ditto McCloaker

With a determined glint of defiant heroism in his eye, the outnumbered Mario balled up his fists and stood, hopelessly, surrounded by the thirteen fiends and deadly koopa.

It was no use. As a heavy gray cloud slid over the moon, like a grim hand putting out the lights, the sounds of a doomed plumber echoed through the night. When it was over, the whole ship seemed to vanish with it's shifty lookout, the moonlight, and, had anyone been around to hear it, a maniacal scream pierced the moonless midnight landscape.

The next day, the glaring sun beat down on Luigi and Yoshi, who had awoken, miraculously, clinging to a few loose planks that remained of their ship. After a few hours of hopeless searching, they finally bowed their heads and bid a tearful farewell to their lifelong friend. And thus, in this disheartened state, they sat on their loose boards, too racked with shock and dispair to even attempt to paddle to find land.

The day passed like an empty, hopeless dream, and, finally, the sun again bid farewell over the horizon as the ominous moon again arose over the faintly rolling ocean, an unwitting reminder of the horror that had accompanied it's previous visit. Not a word had passed between the two during that day, as they each sat, wrapped up in their own mournful thoughts. As the moon reached it's highest point around midnight, both Luigi and Yoshi were surprised to hear a voice seeming to come at them from the ocean.

"It's... it'ssss.... " A myserious voice called.

"Yoshi!" Luigi exclaimed, squinting his eyes and looking around in the darkness, "Did-a you hear something?"

"No, Luigi. There is nothing there. " Yoshi answered.

"It'ssss... It'sssssss..... " The mysterious voice echoed again.

A cold chill of fear trickled down Yoshi's spine, as the unearthly voice registered within his own brain.

"It's a..." It called again.

Suddenly, a round shape materialized from nothingness before them, a disembodied spirit with no apparent gravitational pull downward, floating tranquilly above the dark purple waters.

"Agh! A GHOST!" Yoshi and Luigi screamed in unision.

"It's-a me! MARIO!" A voice yelled out.

And sure enough, as their light-starved eyes adjusted enough to the glow to peer through the bluish white haze that surrounded the apparition, they realized to their shock that it indeed did have big blue eyes, a large nose, and a mustache.

"M-Mario?!?" Luigi questioned fearfully.

Author: Masamune

"In the flesh." Mario answered, after realizing what he said gave a slight grin, "Sort of."

"What happened?" Luigi asked awe-struck, "If the ghosts didn't get you, the chilly waters would have!"

"Well, that's just the thing." Mario replied with a nervous chuckle, "They did get me. I'm not sure how... but somehow they didn't kill me. Just forced me out of my body."

Yoshi had never liked ghosts, for one he could not eat them, secondly they were creepy, "So are you just going to uh... stay a ghost or something?"

"No... I have to rejoin my body. Which is somewhere down.... there." Mario explained, finishing the statement as he looked down at the murky waters, "I tried looking for it myself earlier, but it was impossible."

"So if we find your body down there, you'll be ok?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah, I hope anyways." Mario said, smiling weakly.

"We'll do it!" Yoshi exclaimed.

"Great... oh yeah, one problem. I only have on hour left."

Author: lzn64

Luigi and Yoshi looked at each other in surprise.

"One hour? It's gonna take us longer than that to search this whole area, Mario!" Luigi exclaimed, staring at his brother, or what remained of him, incredulously.

"I'm not the one that makes the rules, Luigi." Mario commented, hovering a few inches above the water. "I barely managed the sunlight yesterday, if I get anymore of it I'll be seperated... permanently."

"Well, we're wasting time!" Yoshi observed, and with that, he dove under the waves. Luigi took one final look at his brother, shrugged, and followed suit.

Luigi and Yoshi split up, with Luigi searching the nearby coral and Yoshi plundering the many caves and air pockets in the underwater cliffs. Luigi had to come up for air more frequently than his dino pal, and each time he surfaced, Mario was there, floating, with an eager expression on his ghostly face.

15 minutes pass...

Yoshi dove under once again, and was soon enveloped in darkness. Luigi caught his breath, and followed him. The cliffs had been explored as throughly as possible, so they were now searching together. They diligently searched the sea floor, but to no avail. Suddenly, a weak tremor passed through the ocean floor. Yoshi looked up in surprise, succeeded in banging his head, and managed to turn to face Luigi just as a stronger tremor ripped through the coral. The sand on the ocean floor was lifted into the water, and swirled around the two heroes, blinding them. They were helplessly clawing their way to the surface, blinded and choking, when suddenly, they broke the surface. Gasping for air, they watched wearily as the waves churned. The water swirled around a central point, and from that point, a figure emerged.

Luigi and Yoshi gasped in fright, and cringed against the driftwood, as the shark-like pirate looked around menacingly. The pirate caught sight of them, if looks could kill, our heroes would have been dead on the spot. He pointed toward them, and a platoon of his gooneys emerged from the sea, and pointed their spears menacingly.

"Wait!" Mario yelled, hovering between the pirate and his friends. "Johnny! Jonathan Johnny Jones, don't you remember me?" Mario asked.

"Well, if it ain't me matey, the great Super Mario!" Johnny roared. He laughed rather heartlessly as he realized that Mario wasn't exactly...human. Much to the relief of Yoshi and Luigi, though, he called off his crew.

Mario then took up the laborious task of explaining their situation. After that was complete, roughly 45 minutes of their hour was used up.

"So, will you help us find his body?" Luigi asked, as he prepared to dive under again.

"Of course we will! Won't we, mateys?" Johnny bellowed. He was answered by a chorus of various ways to say "Yes" in pirate lingo. Johnny and his crew dove under the waves, with only 15 minutes remaining...

Author: Yoshi Boy

Luigi, Yoshi, and Johnny searched carefully, but quickly for Mario's body. After five minutes passed, there was still no sign of it. When Yoshi began to loose hope for his friend, he rested on a large seaweed-covered rock, while the others continued to search. After five more minutes Yoshi decided to just go back up When he said to himself "This rock feels awfully soft..." He wiped the seaweed off it and to his surprise, the rock was Mario's body. With less than 3 minutes left, he took it to Luigi, and Johnny. They felt relieved, but just hoped that 3 minutes was enough time to get to the surface...

Author: Yoshiman

3 minutes. . .

Yoshi started kicking. It was a really good thing that the body was underwater, otherwise he couldn't lift it at all.

He rose past the coral reef, it all had a grim eerie feeling to it, the deep bluish tint to all that lay below.

2 minutes. . .

Yoshi, realizing there was not enough time, yelled for Luigi, luckily only a few yards away.

Luigi and Yoshi both shot up towards the surface.

1 minute.

Only three more feet.

Thirty seconds.

they both reached the top of the waves, they headed for the makeshift raft and ploped the body on the wood.

"Hurry, Mario!" Luigi said.

Yoshi had the oddest feeling around him. . .

ten seconds. . .

Mario reposessed the body

Three. . .

Two. . .

One. . .

Mario lay still.

Luigi took his hat and placed it over his chest.

Then there was movement.

Luigi got a closer look.

Mario's eyes opened.