Chapter Text
A Few Weeks Later
“...Oh, wow, that’s crazy, bro!” Luigi exclaimed as Mario finished yet another story, this one about the adventure he had just gone on. It certainly seemed to have gone much better than his own adventure. “You had a pretty rough time of it, didn’t you? But now that Peach is safe, I guess everyone’s okay. Really, though, how amazing is it that you saved the world again? AGAIN, bro! And say, it’s been a little while since then...are you ready for a new adventure?”
“I think so,” Mario admitted with a fond smile.
“Yeah, you the man, bro!” Luigi cheered before rubbing his head. “I wonder what everyone who traveled with you is up to? As if on cue, Mario’s Mailbox SP pinged. “Whoa, what was that , bro?!? Was that your newfangled mail gadget?”
“Looks like it!” Mario cheered happily as he pulled the device and began to read.
“ Dear Mario,
What’s up? Goombella here! I’m still here working with Professor Frankly. We beat the Shadow Queen, but there’s tons of Rogueport lore we still don’t get...so, my research with the professor goes on and on. With the info I gathered with you, we have lots of great leads now though! Mario, like I always said, every myth contains a kernel of truth. Speaking of which, know what was in the chest that the professor recovered? You’re totally not gonna believe me when I tell you! It’s...a secret! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! But I’ll tell you next time I see you. As part of my research, I did go back to many of the places we visited...and I saw everyone we traveled with, too! ”
“Where’s that?” Luigi asked as he looked over Mario’s shoulder.
“Petalburg!” Mario exclaimed as he looked over the picture that came with the next paragraph. It was of Koops and Goombella.
“ Koops is living peacefully in Petalburg with his dad and Koopie Koo. And, Mario... Guess what Koops wants to do now! He wants to become mayor of Petalburg and live there in peace! Can you imagine? Still, it might just be perfect for him, come to think of it. He's so much more of an adult now than when you left Rogueport! ...Still, I think Koopie Koo pretty much has him wrapped around her little finger! ” The email reported.
“Mayor Koops...has a nice ring to it,” Mario said with a smile as he began to read the next paragraph.
“ Flurrie's back on stage in a big way, and the crowds are totally ecstatic. And, the play she's doing right now is the story of our adventure! Yeah! It's called "Paper Mario"! I saw it twice! It was totally the best play ever! And somehow, Doopliss has joined the troupe as an actor! Who saw that coming? His transformation skills are serving him well, but it still kind of creeps me out… ” The accompanying picture was of Flurrie and Doopliss-transformed into Mario-fighting some enemies.
“Mario, isn’t that the guy who stole your name?” Luigi asked, pointing at Doopliss.
“Yeah…” Mario trailed off. Doopliss still scared him, but if he wasn’t causing problems, he could just let bygones be bygones. Shaking his head, he began to read the next paragraph.
“ Oh, and little Rocky? Yeah, he's fighting solo in the Glitz Pit! He says he's getting pretty close to a title match, even! Isn't that just ADORABLE? Oh, yeah, he's calling himself "The Great Gonzales Jr." in the ring, by the way. It's sorta silly, but kinda cute, too, don'tcha think? Oh, and... Wait, I have to get this exactly right or he'll get like, SO mad at me... He, uh, said that he could "totally take you in the ring now, so bring it!" I guess he doesn't change... Isn't that too cute? ” The next picture was of a flexing Rocky with Goombella pretending to fawn over him.
“Aw! He is cute!” Luigi gushed.
“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Mario playfully warned him as he began to read the next part of the email.
“ So as I’m sure you saw, Vivian and I agreed to go on a date. It actually went pretty well! Flurrie and Mz. Mowz managed to get us a reservation at this really nice restaurant and we got all dressed up. The food there was sooooooooooo good! We got a couple weird looks because of Vivian’s eye, but she didn’t let it bother her. She filled me in on things with her sisters too! Marilyn moved to Twilight Town and is planning to live a peaceful life with no more fighting and whenever Vivian’s around, they are planning to reconnect. Beldam on the other hand has vanished and we all have the same thing to say about that-Good riddance!” The picture this time was of Vivian and Goombella on their date. The sailor was dressed in a tuxedo with her hair down. Mario couldn’t help but notice that between the suit and her eyepatch, it almost gave her a Phantom of the Opera-like appearance. As for Goombella, she was also wearing her hair down, but was wearing a goomba sized dress. But as Mario reread that section, his eyes focused on what the other Shadow Sirens were doing.
“Good riddance indeed,” He agreed with the email. He wasn’t normally a vindictive person, but he was also an older brother and couldn’t picture doing what Beldam did to Vivian to Luigi. Casting another look at his younger brother, he kept reading.
“ Vivian and Bobbery go out to sea pretty much every day now with Cortez. I think both of them are just happy to have their own ship. Heck, I was lucky to keep Vivian on the shore for our date! I ran into them on Keelhaul Key by accident the other day, which was nice. Bobbery was so happy, I thought he was going to blow up on me for a second there. Vivian also mentioned that the two of them will always be happy to take you and Peach anywhere! Oh, and I almost forgot! Everyone Keelhaul Key is well, and they say hello. ” Mario raised an eyebrow at this picture. All three were smiling at the camera, but Bobbery almost seemed to be nudging Goombella closer to his daughter. With a smile, he read the next paragraph.
“ Mz. Mowz is still running the Badge Shop in Rogueport, so she’s happy. She comes over to Frankly’s sometimes to visit...but, as usual, as soon as she sets foot outside the shop, she turns into a badge ninja. She said just the other day that she had found some super-rare badge, actually. That’s our globe-trotting, mystery-making, flirting, little badge thief, huh? ” This time, the photo was of Mz. Mowz and Goombella blowing kisses into the camera.
“Man bro! You can befriend anyone, can’t you?!?” Luigi exclaimed, still in awe at all the different people Mario had managed to win over.
“Just my special touch,” Mario joked.
“ Oh, yeah... In my travels, I heard a rumor that Lord Crump and Grodus were both still alive. I guess that makes them pretty tenacious baddies, doesn't it, Mario? I heard they are trying to cause trouble again, but since Grodus is just a head now, they can’t really do much. ” The picture this time was of Crump’s head angrily jumping up and down. Both brothers struggled to bite back snickers upon seeing this.
“Glad to know they can’t really do much,” Mario said once he managed to stifle his laughter. Bowser was persistent so he didn’t need another threat constantly tormenting him and trying to kidnap Peach.
“ Speaking of miracle survivals... Guess whose favorite computer is still computing? He says he really wants to see you and Peach again! ” No picture, but Mario knew exactly who it was.
“TEC...I’ll have to tell Peach,” Mario noted with a fond smile. The princess had been extremely worried about the supercomputer that had kept her company and sane on the X-Naut base, so hearing he was okay was sure to bring a smile to Peach’s face.
“Well, I'm totally rambling at this point, so I guess I'd better wrap it up... I just wanna say, even though things got tough, I'm grateful for our time together. And... There is one thing that kind of weighed on me and I never got to express to you. See, I...Well... Maybe that's best kept a secret. I also guess it doesn't really matter in the long run. So, please say hi to Peach for me, OK? 'Til we meet again!
Your friend, Goombella. ”
“Hey! That’s awesome, bro!” Luigi exclaimed. He was so happy for his bro. “ Sounds like everyone’s doing great over there!”
“Yeah,” Mario agreed. “I really miss them all.” Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
“Huh? Someone here?” Luigi asked. There was another knock. “Come in!” Toadsworth and Peach then entered.
“Excuse me, sirs!” Toadsworth greeted the brothers.
“Hello, Mario. Hello, Luigi,” Peach greeted with a curtsy. The brothers merely tipped their hats.
“Please allow me to apologize for coming unannounced but…” Toadworth’s eyes lit up. “I was cleaning out the storeroom in the castle the other day, and...I found something rather amazing!”
“Yes, Toadsworth found a treasure map! And I’m sure it will lead to REAL treasure this time! I just know it!” Peach declared excitedly. “So, Mario! You’d love to look for treasure, isn’t that right? The boat’s waiting for you!” With that, Peach and Toadsowrth left, with Mario grinning behind them. Maybe this time, he could relax for once.
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