Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Peach returns from her peaceful stroll around the Mushroom Kingdom to find absolutely everything in utter chaos. Her toads were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. They were screaming, but the screams were all different, as were their emotions. As she ran over, she heard some toads whooping with joy, screaming in anger and starting fights in the streets of which she had to step in between, some were yelling depressing things in a dark tone, and some were completely calm, shouting just because everyone else was but still continuing about their day in a disconnected way. 

Utter. Freaking. Chaos.

She sees someone frantically trying to calm them down, someone in a white shirt and black overalls and a braid on each shoulder. 

She runs as fast as she can over to Kate, also noticing the lack of her other Brooklyn-native friends, Mario and Luigi. As she makes her way over, getting closer, she can hear things that Kate is shouting over the irrational acting toads.

Everything will be okay! 

Don’t worry, we will fix everything!

Don’t panic–PLEASE stop panicking–everything is going to be okay!

. . . and other things of the sort. Her hands are also in the air as she yells over them, trying to calm them down, although it didn’t seem to be working very well. Then she turns and sees Peach running up towards the castle, and immediately starts to jog toward her. 

“Princess!”

“Kate!” Peach calls back, picking up the pace a bit to meet Kate halfway. 

They both skid to a halt in front of each other, grabbing the other by the shoulders when they both nearly fall over their own toes. 

“What’s going on?” Peach asks loudly.

“I don’t know!” Kate yells back, because it’s the only way they can hear each other over the chaos around the castle right now. “I came outside because I heard yelling and ran up here and all this was going on!”

Some toads run past the two girls, and Peach tries to ask one of them what’s going on–

“Wait, that’s an–” Kate starts to exclaim, but Peach flinches back slightly when the toad yells at her. She looks back at Kate with a what-the-heck-was-that expression, looking for an explanation. 

“-an angry one.” Kate says in a normal voice. 

Then an older voice was shouting over everyone, trying to clear a path as it made its way over to the girls, eventually revealed to be Toadsworth.

“Toadsworth!” the girls both exclaim in unison, before Peach continues. “What’s going on here?”

“The Mario Brothers have disappeared,” Toadsworth exclaimed. “and Bowser left a note. He only said he captured Master Mario, but a thorough search confirmed that Master Luigi has gone missing as well.”

“Can I see the note?” Peach asks.

“Certainly,” Toadsworth replies, opening a neatly folded piece of paper and holding it out to him.

Gwahahaha!

You bratty mushroom losers!
This time I’ve captured Mario!!!
Who will save you now?

Gwahahaha!

-Bowser

“What?!” Kate exclaims, looking up at Toadsworth. 

 “I would suggest you’d stay here, somewhere safe, until we can figure something out or this all blows over, but I know you won’t.” Toadsworth tells Peach, looking uncertain. Not uncertain that Peach could do it, because she knows that he knows that she can, but of the situation in and of itself. It was all very strange. Why was Bowser switching up his targets now? “So I would like to gift you with this.” A younger toad shows up from behind him and hands her an umbrella. Peach looks at Toadsworth, not really sure what to do with it.

“Um, thanks?”

“An umbrella?” Kate asks, examining it. 

“Indeed. But it is no ordinary umbrella. This is Perry. If you’re ever in a pinch, just call him! I picked it up at the shop the other day, and I believe it is . . . quite interesting.”

“Thank you, Toadsworth.”

He nods. “Didn’t want you going alone.”

Peach suddenly looks confused. “Alone?” she asks. “Why would I be going alone?”

“Well, you’re not! You’ll have Perry!”

“And Kate,” Peach says, turning to her. “that is, if you–”

“Yes.” Kate looks back at her. “Mario and Luigi are like brothers to me. They’re pretty much the closest thing I’ve ever had to family. I’m going.”

“Hm.” Peach watches as Toadsworth eyes her up and down, presumably sizing her up, before he grins ever so slightly. “Very well. Will anyone else be joining you?”

Peach and Kate’s eyes meet, and they both grin.

“I have someone in mind.” Peach says.

“And who might that be?”

“We’ll head for Sarasaland tonight after we stock up on power-ups.” Peach says. “We could all use them.”

“I also don’t have any, you know,” Kate moves her hands around in front of her, making whooshing noises with her mouth. “magic, or powers, or whatever.”

“That we know of yet.” Peach counters. Kate glares at her.

“You’re going to take Princess Daisy?” Toadsworth asks.

“Daisy would probably kill us both if we didn’t.” Kate says. “Especially since Luigi is involved.”

“She always did seem very protective of him.” Toadsworth agrees. “Very well. Stock up and leave tonight. I will take care of things here.”

“Thank you, Toadsworth.”

He nods, and then a small voice says “ Princess?”

Peach looks down and sees the smaller toad that had handed her the umbrella earlier, looking up at her with big, sad eyes. 

“I think Toad is missing as well,” the toad says. “you’ll find them, right?”

She smiles softly. “Of course we will.”

Toads of all ages and emotions are lined up outside the castle as Peach and Kate make their way out, towards the warp pipe that will take them to the castle’s old hidden garage that very few knew about. 

“My toads!” Peach addresses. “Don’t worry! We’ll save them and we’ll return safely! Until then, Toadsworth is in charge. Do not hesitate to inform him of any concerns!”

Peach and Kate turn to Toadsworth, who had walked them to the pipe. Kate and Toadsworth shake hands, and afterwards Peach and the toad go in for a hug.

“Be safe, you two.”

They all three nod, and Peach and Kate step onto the pipe, waving one last time before Peach jumps in, Kate doing the same after.

They shoot out of the pipe and roll along the ground for a second before standing up and brushing themselves off.

“You lose your backpack?” Kate asks, groaning as she stands.

“No,” Peach replies. “you?”

“Me neither.” 

“Good.”

“Yeah,” Kate agrees. “You know, I’m surprised the Kongs let you keep these. I thought karts were, like, their thing , or whatever.”

Peach laughs. “Well, Luigi seemed really interested in how they worked, and I figured it couldn’t hurt. So I talked with DK, and, well, ta-da.”

“That’s . . . not a very good explanation.”

“There’s not much to explain.”

“Right.”

“Now, I have mine.” Peach tells her, gesturing to where her bike is parked. Then she gestures to the kart customization machine-thing. “Go on, pick yours. They’re all available.”

Peach turns to start her bike, and Kate turns to choose a kart. She goes for the bikes as well, coming across a conveniently-colored black and white bike, a sign above saying Sport Bike, Slick Tires with Super Glider. 

“Nice choice.” Peach says, sitting on her bike. Kate looks at her and smiles as she grabs the helmet off of the hook on the wall. 

“Thanks.” she replies, strapping on the helmet and throwing her leg over the seat, stumbling when it wobbles a bit.

“Careful!” Peach yells while Kate manages to steady it.

“I’m okay, I’m okay.” she assures her, then starts up the bike, carefully backing up the bike, and, although it does jerk a few times, it otherwise goes smoothly.

“You ready?” Peach asks, her engine revving.

“Oh, never.” Kate answers, grinning. “Let’s go.” 

Chapter Text

“We’re gonna die.”

“We’re not gonna die, Lu.” Mario tries to assure his brother as well as convince himself as he yet again roams his eyes around his cage to try and find a way out. “I’ll get us out of here.”

“I gotta say, I did not miss this.” Luigi replies, moving his leg in and out to pop his knee. Being cramped in a cage over their own personal pool of lava in a room that was devoid of anyone except for them, and Toad in a cell on the ground, was probably not going to do wonders for his knees. “You know, sitting in a scorching metal cage over lava while slowly sweating to death.”

“I wonder if we’ll boil first.”

“I don’t know,” Luigi says. “maybe. I can’t really think straight in this forty-thousand degree room.”

“Surely it’s not forty-thousand degrees–” Mario starts to say, but is interrupted by a voice that belongs to someone he would like to throw into the lava that’s bubbling below him, waiting to eat him alive.

“So, just how are my favorite prisoners doing?” Bowser walks in, and Mario and Luigi look at each other, but never at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of acknowledgement.

“Aw, what’s the matter?” Bowser asks, obviously mocking the twins. “No one to save you this time, Greenie?”

Luigi’s mouth twitches, but neither of the brothers say anything. 

“What about you , Mario?” Bowser continues, obviously enjoying the sound of his own voice. “Are you enjoying your stay as a first-time customer?”

“Well, I’m certainly not leaving you a five-star review.” Mario retorts, shooting daggers at Bowser with his eyes.

“Ah, that got a rise out of you.” Bowser laughs evilly. “And here I thought I was gonna have to torture your brother.”

Mario jumps up immediately, grabbing the bars of his cage and shaking them angrily, causing the cage to swing slightly. “ Don’t you freaking dare.” he says angrily through gritted teeth.

“What do you want?” Luigi’s voice sounds from behind him and Mario turns around, expression immediately morphing from anger to fear and confusion as he looks at his brother, who looks uncertain. 

“To talk.” Bowser replies simply, as if he were there to propose something at a business meeting.

“About what?” Mario spits at Bowser in return.

“Well, that’s the good part.” Bowser replies. “There’s no subject.”

“So, what is this supposed to be then? ‘Something worse than torture’?”

Bowser and Mario stare at each other for a minute, before the turtle-dragon snaps and Kamek the wizard materializes beside him. The wizard looks at Bowser, who Mario can see is gesturing his head ever so slightly, and then Mario’s cage lowers towards the lava. He turned to face Luigi, so at least they’d face death together , but Luigi wasn’t in the cage. 

He was with Bowser, something blue growing around him, making him hover over the ground and rendering him unable to move.

Mario’s cage stops lowering before it even hits the lava.

“Hey!” he screams, shaking the bars of his prison again. “ HEY!”

“Aw, poor baby gonna cry?” Bowser asks Mario mockingly.

Mario slams a fist against the cage. “Don’t you dare touch him, you hear me? Don’t even think about it!”

“And what are you gonna do?”

“I won’t just hang around , I can tell you that much!”

Bowser chuckles. “Now that’s a good one.” he says, his pointer finger– claw? - at nothing in particular as his hand (?) moves up and down. Then his claw–the actual sharp part–comes into contact with Luigi’s chin. “I could kill him, you know.” he moves quickly, causing Luigi to jump and flinch despite being unable to do anything if Bowser were to try and hurt him.

“Bowser, I swear if you hurt him then us getting out will be the least of your worries!”

Bowser just laughs, then Mario’s cage is suddenly yanked back upwards and Luigi is being moved along through the air as Bowser and Kamek leave.

“ NO!” Mario screams at the top of his lungs, the word long and drug out and desperate. “IF YOU HURT HIM I SWEAR I WILL GRAB YOU BY YOUR TAIL AND LAUNCH YOU INTO THIS LAVA!”

He receives no reply.

At least, until the screaming starts. And he knows immediately that it’s coming from his little brother.

His little brother, who should never ever be in a situation to be screaming like that.

“ No.” Mario whispers, a tear falling out of his eye before he can stop it. Then he screams. Loudly. Angrily. “ NO!” he starts messing with the lock on his cage door, trying and failing to get it to open. He shakes the cage, rams his shoulder into it, does everything he can think of to do.

None of it works. 

He’s stuck. 

He’s stuck and Luigi’s probably being tortured somewhere in the castle, Toad is stuck in a cell and Mario’s dangling helplessly over lava in a hot metal cage.

He takes his hat off and studies it, tracing the red M on the front, just as he had when he and Peach talked in the middle of that fireflower field. 

That seemed like such a long time ago now. Or maybe it never happened, and this was all just a really long nightmare.

But Mario knew that was just wishful thinking. This isn’t a nightmare. Well, it is , but it’s not one he can wake up from, not one he could just pinch himself awake, or wake up to Luigi pouring cold water over his face.

He was living it.

“The princess will save us.” he hears Toad say from his cell, but he can’t find it in him to reply. What was he supposed to say to that? What could he say to that?

So he simply lays on his side and brings his knees up to his chest, holding his hat as tightly in his arms as he can and holding onto it for dear life as he clutched it to his chest, and he cried.

Luigi’s screams continued to ring out around the castle, echoing in Mario’s ears as a reminder that he’d failed to keep his brother safe like he’d sworn to do from the second they were in the same hospital room and able to see each other.

As long as we’re together, everything’s gonna be okay.

He hadn’t meant to lie.

“It’s all gonna be okay!”

“HOW IS THIS GONNA BE OKAY?!”

“I’m telling you! Nothing can hurt us as long as we’re together!”

Mario passed out to his brother’s fading screams.