Vol. 4, Ch. 3 - Going Swimmingly.

     Daisy had watched everyone else filter out, but before she could herself reach the exit the current caught her and pulled her towards the back of the castle.  She glanced around looking for a plant or something she could grow and hold onto, but nothing met her eye.  Although not one to panic, at this point it was all she could do to keep from screaming for help.  Suddenly she felt a bump and realized the current was pulling her inside the castle plumbing.  Quickly she grabbed the edge of the pipe and held on for dear life to avoid getting sucked into the pipe.  If she went in, there'd be no coming out alive.  Time seemed to slow to a near stop as she held her grip.  Finally she couldn't hold her breath any longer, and her hands began to slip.

     It had been all of five minutes when Luigi darted back into the basement.  Visibility was next to nothing- all he could see were areas he illuminated when he threw balls of ice against the wall, and these only lasted seconds.  The current had weakened, but so had the castle- he could hear the walls groaning despite his muffled hearing.

     "Peach!" cried a Toad, spluttering and splashing towards the Princess who had just landed in the courtyard.  "We've got to get clear of the moat!  The whole castle is warping!  C'mon!"

     "I can't!" replied Peach breathlessly.  She stood up facing the castle and the gems on her dresses and crown began to glow.  "C'mon, old girl- you can take this!"  As she said this she seemed to focus on the castle, eyes closed, fists clenched.  "Don't you give up on me now!"

     Toadsworth, who had just come running up, pulled the other Toads clear.  "It's make or break now, fellows," he said.  "If anything distracts Peach now, it's all lost."

     To Luigi's surprise the torches in the basement began to glow again, giving him just enough visibility to see Daisy, who had miraculously avoided getting pulled into the main pipe and was lodged between the pipe and a slowly bending wall.  Luigi swam to the pipe, fighting the current with all of his might, which, with the aid of his penguin suit, was just enough to keep him clear.  Realizing that just pulling Daisy out would certainly cause her to be lost in the current, he instead swam above her and pulled up.  She came loose easily- too easily.  With one arm he held on to the unconscious Princess as he dashed to the window.  Suddenly his vision began to dim - oxygen shortage, he realized.  Thirty seconds left.

     Peach's gems were beginning to fade.  She looked exhausted.  "Not yet," she said weakly.  "Please not yet."

     As Luigi fought to get to the window his motions weakened and he became less and less able to focus.  He knew what he had to do but it was becoming increasingly impossible to move.  His eyes began to close, hard as he fought to keep them open.

    Toadsworth and the others watched Peach nervously.  "What's she doing, Toadsworth?" one of them asked.

    Toadsworth shook his head sadly.  "Losing, old chap.  She's losing."

     Suddenly Peach, who had bent as if carrying some great weight, suddenly bolted upright.  "That-a-girl!" she cried hopefully.  "Just a little longer!"

     Luigi's eyes blinked back open again.  He looked and saw Daisy's gems glowing- but only took a second to consider it before bolting to the surface with more energy than ever before.  The staircase...foyer...window...made it!  With a sudden rush the two spilled through the window right in front of Peach.

     "Luigi..." Peach whispered.  "Run."

     He looked at Peach, then turned around and looked at the castle, which was going to collapse any second.

     "Not leaving you a-here!" he shouted.

     "Won't have to.  I'm running as soon as you do.  Please...run."

     He didn't need to be told again.  With Daisy in his arm he dashed towards the Toads.  A split second later Peach turned around, the gems faded on both princesses, and the castle began to tumble.  Peach barely cleared the bridge before the central tower came crumbling on top of it, breaking it to the ground. 

    They all reached the Toads safely and together placed Daisy on the ground.

    "She's got a pulse!" Luigi rejoiced.

    "But she isn't breathing!" cried Toadsworth.

    All of a sudden Daisy began sputtering and coughing.  Everyone watched intently as she slowly opened her eyes.  She looked over at Toadsworth and grinned weakly.  "Gee, Pops, you sure about that?"

(Continued next week)

Vol. 4, Ch. 2 - When a Tornado is the Least of the Problems.

     "Kind of dark in here," remarked Daisy as she swung the ancient wooden door to the storm shelter open.  "It's a little spooky, honestly."

      "Don't make so much of it," replied Luigi.  "There's nothing spooky about a dark room with thunder and lightning raging outside when the power is out...did I just say those words out loud?"

      "Don't make so much of it," Peach said sarcastically.

      "On the plus side," said one of the Toads, "We've got a large supply of everything we need to wait as long as is necessary for the weather to calm down."

      "What about power?" asked Daisy.  "Any way to restore that?"

      "I'm afraid not, Princess," replied the Toad.  "The last electrical surge couldn't have been more poorly timed- it actually hit just as we were starting the generator, and for some reason the silly thing was charging on basic castle power.  A serious electrical overload was the result.  Not sure how that happened- it was a pretty blatant oversight.  Apologies."

      "Not your fault, Toad," Peach sighed.  "We can probably light the room well enough with our flashlights and such.  As long as we aren't overboard with it, I think we can afford to use the batteries."

      "At any rate," said Luigi, "I want a bite to eat.  Anyone else?"

      "I'm going to have to pass," Daisy replied.  "I'm not overly eager to eat canned mushrooms, so I'd rather wait a little longer to see if my self-control can outlast the tornado outside."

      "It's a-not mushrooms," began Luigi, but the deafening roar of the wind outside drowned his voice out.  Suddenly the castle seemed to lurch forward, and everyone was knocked off their feet.

      "Everyone al-" Luigi began to ask, but he was quickly interrupted by a Toad's cry.

      "The central inflow pipe has split!  Everyone!  Get upstairs NOW!"

      Instinctively Luigi pulled out his flashlight and aimed it at the basement door, which the occupants began struggling towards as quickly as they could.  As water began sloshing around his feet he calculated furiously.  The central inflow pipe brought in the vast majority of the castle's water supply- if it split, the basement would be flooded to the ceiling in less than ten seconds.  The Toads would be underwater in no more than five seconds, the Princesses and himself, seven, and even if they reached the door in time without the current blowing them all away, the water would soon make its way upstairs.  The structural damage caused by the water could make the floor collapse.  If it hit with full force, which was almost certain in these weather conditions, the castle would be structurally unstable on all floors within three minutes, and collapse completely within seven.  Evacuation was the only chance, but with the entire castle staff in the basement it would take way too long.  People would inevitably drown.  With the quick eye of a professional he located the main pipe and glanced to the end where the leak had sprung.  Nothing he could do about it- even from this distance it was obviously beyond saving.

     It took him three seconds to figure all of this. "Everyone!" he yelled.  "Swim to the door and get out of the castle!  She's not going to withstand this!"

     No one needed to be told twice.  Donning a Penguin Suit, Luigi treaded water as he watched the slow procession.  A few were having trouble holding their breath, so he swam up and down the line giving them Starmen so they could breath a few seconds.  After three minutes which seemed like hours Luigi scanned the basement with his slowly failing flashlight to see if anyone was missing, then darted through the door to the top of the water.  The first floor was six feet deep in water, and two Toads were desperately yanking at the submerged castle doors in an attempt to get them open.  As the water kept rising Luigi looked towards the shattered window.

     "That way!" he cried, as the water began bringing them level with the window.

     The window was even worse than the door had been.  In order to avoid the glass people had to go through single file.  Luigi started to repeat the power-up process, but was stopped by Peach, who by now had gathered enough Star Power to create and hold an air bubble just big enough to help anyone who had to catch their breath.  In this way everyone managed to pour out of the castle safely enough.  When only Peach and Luigi were left, though, Peach asked Luigi the worst question he'd ever heard.

      "You saw Daisy, right?"

      He glanced at her frantically.

      "We have to find her!"

      "Sorry, Peach.  They need you down there.  Ciao."  So saying he pushed Peach just to the edge of the outflow through the window, and a second later Peach had dropped gracefully into the courtyard.

      "Okay, Luigi." he said, steeling himself.  "You've got a princess to rescue.  Now's not the time to get cold feet- why, she's not even in another castle!"  So saying he glanced through the window at the heavens for just a second.  Then he plunged into the water and towards the basement.

Continued next week.

Vol. 4, Ch. 1 - Weather You Like It or Not.

     "Is it baseball season yet?" asked Luigi, staring out the window with Princesses Peach and Daisy.  Thunder roared outside as the rain pelted the castle with a show of unusual force.

     "Not yet, L," replied Daisy.

     "L?"

     "Not cool with that nickname?"

     "Well, I can live with it if I have to." he smiled.  "Again, though, I repeat, is it baseball season yet?"

     "Afraid not," replied a Toad standing nearby.  "The weather is rather prohibitive of baseball starting anytime soon."

     "Why not just play on an indoor court?" asked Daisy.

     "Because," replied Peach dryly, "There was a power outage two days ago that took out the generators that kept the ice machine in Peach Dome running, and as a result the whole place is being repaired for flood damage."

     "Well, couldn't we play somewhere else?" asked Luigi.

     "Like where?  The only other indoor venue is Bowser's castle, and I have some objections to playing there."

     They sat in silence for a moment, then jumped as a gale began rattling the windows on the castle.

     "Toad," began Peach, "We're officially on tornado watch.  Please take the appropriate steps."

     "Of course, Princess."

     "Tornado watch?" asked Daisy.  "Since when does the Mushroom Kingdom have tornadoes?"

     "Not for a very long time, Daisy...but I have a feeling that-"

     She was interrupted by the crash of broken glass.

     "Look out!" cried Luigi, jumping in front of the Princesses.  The lights went out and it was pitch black for a moment before Luigi pulled out his flashlight.

     "Everyone alright?" he asked, shining it around.  The stained glass window over the castle entrance had shattered into thousands of pieces, but no one had been hit by the glass.

     "We're okay," replied Daisy.  "Right, Peach?  Peach?"

     "Right here!  Everything's fine, I just...had to catch my breath.  Whew!  Mario and Yoshi must be really glad to be out of town right now!"

     "Well since they went to visit a tropical island, I'm inclined to agree," replied Daisy.

     "This storm doesn't seem like it's going to let up, Princesses.  Perhaps we should head to the storm shelter in the basement."

     "I would advise this, Princess," began a Toad.  "The Wind-O-Measure reports wind speeds in excess of 180 yoshipaces per second.

     "What about this mess?"

     "Nothing we can do about that right now, Peach," said Daisy.  "Besides, if another window blows we could be in trouble.  C'mon, we better get moving.  We're plenty well-stocked down there.  Let's move."

     "Alright," said Peach reluctantly.  "Have everyone in the castle come to the shelter downstairs, Toad."

     "Will do, Princess."

     "Well...seems like we've got quite a long night in front of us," Peach remarked as the Toad walked away.

     "If it helps, I brought a card game," said Daisy.

     "Yeah," said Luigi.  I don't know if the lighting will be good for playing it, though.

     "...Right."

     "Sorry."

     "Well there's no point in me getting stormy about it, right?" Daisy smiled.

     "Shelter now, puns after." Peach grinned.  "We've got a lot to-"

     Her words were drowned out by another blast of wind.

Vol. 3, Ch. 7 - Daisy! Daisy!

     "Remember", said the Professor to the now invisible trio, "Your invisibility will only last a few hours.  By that time you need to have figured out how to...oh, forget it.  You know what to do."
     "Thank you, Professor," replied Peach.  "See you soon."

     "Great...just great!" Yoshi complained to himself.  "Daisy's locked up, I'm trapped, and Bowser's probably gloating gleefully all over Sarasaland!  Why on earth did I come here?  She probably would have been fine in a few hours- now we're both in trouble!"

     "I wouldn't say it's as bad as all that," said a familiar Italian voice.

     "Luigi!"

     "Shh....I don't need everyone to know I'm here.  I'm about to let you out, then I'm a-going to jump on your back.  You won't be able to see me, okay?"

     "You mean-"

     "No time for questions.  We need to find Daisy.  Bowser wants to start a fight.  We're trying to avoid one."

     "Gotcha.  Oh!  That's much less cramped.  Thank you."

     "Ala-ways a pleasure.  Peach and Mario are searching the upstairs dungeon.  We'll head downstairs."

     Yoshi nodded and they began their search.  It didn't take long to reach the door to the dungeon, but the key was nowhere in sight.

     "This is no good," Luigi said.  "How are we supposed to get in to the dungeon if the guard took the key?"

     "Perhaps you don't need to get in at all!" said Daisy from the other side of the door.

     "So you are in there!  Thank goodness we found you!"

     "Good to hear you too, Yoshi.  Don't blame yourself, by the way...I know you were, and it's not your fault.  We were both a little careless.  Uh, Luigi, you're a little hard to see"

     "You can say that aga-" began Yoshi.

     "But not here!" Luigi interrupted, as the steps of a Koopa Kid sounded louder and louder on the stair and it's complaining voice became louder and louder.

      "'Check the dungeon', he said!  'I'm sure I heard something', he said!  Bah!  There's nothing to see he-yeow!  How did you-"

     He didn't get to finish the sentence as Yoshi snagged him with his tongue, but the noise from inside Yoshi's mouth was still formidable.

    "It won't take long for them to send some troops after him," said Daisy.  If we're going to get out we've gotta do it now."

     "We'll have to drop the subtle approach, then.  Stand clear, Princess.  Yoshi...now!"

     "They've found someone!  Or been found!" cried Peach as she and Mario both heard the sound of heavy clanging and Goombas rushing downstairs.  The duo hurried after them and found Yoshi standing beside a severely damaged yet still intact door surrounded by Goombas.

     "Not a moment to lose, Mario!"

     "Yahoo!"

     If the noise didn't frighten the Goombas, than the invisible attacks from Cat Mario and Peach certainly did.  In the midst of the confusion Yoshi and Luigi wrenched the door free, and as Daisy came out, Yoshi spat the Koopa Kid in.  They made their retreat as the Goombas scrambled to reorganize, and by the time things had quieted down, they were on the castle courtyard dashing to the nearest Warp Pipe.

     "I must be dreaming," said Daisy.  "First I'm invisible, now my friends are!  Is this ever going to stop?"

     "Sure it is!" said Peach, becoming visible as she said it.  "There wasn't much longer to wait at all, apparently.  Let's finish talking about it when we reach my house though, okay?"

     Twenty minutes later they were back in Peach's foyer.  Mario and Luigi relaxed with pasta while Yoshi munched a fruit salad and the two Princesses enjoyed some coffee.  The Professor looked on disapprovingly- "It was supposed to last much longer!" he kept muttering.

     "So that's the story, then?" asked Luigi after Daisy had finished recounting the day's events from her perspective.

     "Pretty much, yeah." replied Daisy.

     "Not exactly something that happens all the time."

     "Thank goodness for that!  All because I got bored!  For heaven's sake, if you ever catch me even starting, don't, under any circumstances, let me say "I wish something would ha-"

     "Stop!" cried out Yoshi in mock desperation, and they all broke down laughing.

     "Of course," added Peach, "Bowser's probably infuriated."

     "Yes." replied Mario with a nod.

     "You don't sound worried."

     "No."

     "Come now, Mario!  Doesn't any of this stuff ever bother you?  You sometimes act like it's all just a game!"

     "You do seem pretty unconcerned.  Almost like you know everything will work out every time," remarked Daisy.

     "Well," said Luigi, "He does have a pretty solid precedent.  Eh, Bro?"

     Mario took off his hat and smiled.  "Thank you so much for playing my game."

     An hour later, everyone had gone to the courtyard for a stroll, but Mario and Yoshi stayed behind.

     "Mario?"

     "Yes?"

     "You never answered the question.  How come you always seem so calm?  I know you care about what happens, but you never seem to be concerned until something actually does?  Why?"

     Mario shrugged.  "It's not that I don't care, Yoshi.  I'm just not worried.  I see so many people who worry all the time, but I've realized that if I talk little and worry less, things usually work out.  Besides," he smiled, "I have a few friends who hear me talk a little more, right?"

     Yoshi glanced affectionately at the plumber.  "Yeah, you're right.  Still, it's nice to hear you say it.  Let's go outside, huh?"

     "Okey-dokey."

A new story will begin this week.

Vol. 3, Ch. 6 - Disaster Reverted.

    Bowser Jr. was a little disappointed to see the Mario Bros. standing where he'd expected to find the princess.

     "What gives, Luigi?  Why're you here?  Shouldn't you be at home doing something productive?"

     "If you must know, BJ, I've been enjoying the view," replied Luigi placidly.

     "No point in playing games!  Where's the Princess?"

     By this time Peach and the Professor had both hidden in different areas of the castle.  The Toad Brigade was armed and ready - waiting on Mario's orders.  Only he hoped he wouldn't have to give any.

     "Your guess is as good as mine," Luigi continued.

     "I could launch a full-scale castle invasion."

     Mario chuckled a little at hearing this, much to Bowser Jr.'s chagrin.

     "Whaddaya laughing at?" he demanded.

     "You've lost the element of surprise!" Luigi said.  "Think about it.  We know you're here and prepared for an onslaught.  Both Mario Bros. are already here.  Half the Koopa Troop is held up at the bridge.  Where is your advantage?"

      Bowser Jr. paused, a little uncertain, then made eye contact with Mario, who wore an expression of extreme determination.  This wouldn't be an easy fight for the Koopa Troop even if they won.  His musing was interrupted, however, by the sound of a familiar airship.

      "Hi, Dad!"

      Mario, meanwhile, had been calculating.  The Toad Brigade was skilled, but it could only keep Bowser's troops back for so long.  The Princess would need to clear the castle or else remain hidden in order to avoid capture.  Although she was invisible, she wouldn't be forever.  The best thing was to get her out of there as soon as possible.  He shook his head at Luigi, who nodded back and sauntered casually away to find the Princess.  One of many nice things about having a younger brother was his ability to understand him.  Peach would be safe.  Now all Mario had to handle was damage control.

     Bowser Jr. was also planning.  "Dad?  I know you wanted to kidnap Peach and all, but we weren't really counting on Mario being here.  I think maybe you should change your approach.  Why not just tell him you have Daisy and Yoshi?"

     "It wouldn't matter to him.  We need Peach to really get Mario's attention."

     "I don't think so...at any rate, can't we at least try it my way?"

     "Alright, son.  I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.  If it fails we'll storm the castle."

     So saying he turned to face his nemesis once again.  "Mario! GWAHAHAHA!  You've been such a staunch defender of the Mushroom Kingdom for years on end.  Truly outstanding heroics, and it's not the only kingdom you've defended!  For all of that I'm sure I join all the citizens of Sarasaland when I say 'Thank you, Mario! But our princess is in another castle!'"

     So saying he whipped out a photograph of Daisy and Yoshi in his dungeon and hurled it in Mario's direction.

     "Mama-Mia."  Mario shook his head.

     "That's it, Dad.  He'll come."

     "Fall back!"

     As the Koopa Troop moved away Mario stared at the photograph.

     "They're gone?" asked Luigi and Peach, who hadn't yet left the castle when they saw Bowser leaving.  Mario showed them the picture.

     "We can't just leave her, Mario!" cried Luigi.  "We have to get her out!"

     "He knows that, Luigi.  He just can't believe Bowser went all this way to pick a fight.  Well, I have a pretty large collection of Super Bells left in my closet.  Shall we play a game?"

     "Princess, you're still invisible!" cried the Professor.  "You can't go on any adventures!"

     "Of course I can.  I am the Princess.  Furthermore I'm not letting my friend rot in a dungeon.  Invisibility is our advantage.  We'll all go invisible.  What say you, Mario Bros?

     The duo exchanged just a brief glance, Mario questioning, Luigi confirming.

     "Let's a-go!"