Mario & Luigi: Superstar Hearts

Ch 4

Luigi finally caught up to Mario, grabbing him teasingly. Mario laughed, messing up Luigi's hair. The two arrived at the Hammer Bros' house. The Hammer Bros' were working on the Hoohoo Block that fell down the waterfall.

Sledge commented, "Hmph! Boy, did you two arrive at exactly the right time! Just now a Hoohoo Block fell down the waterfall!"

Mario stated, "So that's what happened during the fight."

Hammer asked, "You two ready to receive the hammers?"

Luigi answered, "Are we ever!"

With that, the Hammer Bros gave Mario and Luigi brand new hammers. The brothers smiled at each other. They knew that they can take out that rock now. So they headed that way. Once they got there, Mario smashed it.

Mario teased, "Mario Smash."

Luigi groaned, "Really?"

To that, the red clad plumber nodded. They headed down the path, unsure of where it would lead. It wasn't long before they ran into some train tracks.

The old miner (Ford) saw them, "Whoa there, pards! It's been a Goomba's age since we had any strangers in these parts! Now listen, fellers: if you want to ride in them rusty old carts, I won't go a-stoppin' you."

Mario asked, "How so, sir?"

Ford explained, "No one knows where those rails lead..."

Luigi answered, "Makes sense. Guess we will have to be careful."

Mario got into the mine cart and Luigi got into the other. They rode down the tracks and it wasn't long before they got to the end of them. It took the brothers a while but they finally got to Bean Bean Castle Town. Everything was a wreck.

Luigi stammered, "W - what in the world...?"

Mario stated, "Let's look around."

That's what they did. The brothers had learned that Cackletta and Fawful had attacked the town while the troops were in Hoohoo Village looking for the prince.

Mario huffed, "This is awful! We have to find Queen Been!"

Luigi shivered, "R - right!"

They headed forward. Eventually they came across the castle.

One of the guards (Izzy) said, "Halt! You there! Halt!  You can't just waltz on in here! The town was just attacked! Which means the castle could be attacked at any moment!"

Mario pointed out, "We know, Fawful told us that he and Cackletta are coming here to attack the Queen!"

Izzy huffed, "Well sorry but Lady Lima has instructed us not to let anyone in the castle! Anyone whatsoever!"

Luigi brought out the rose that Peasley gave him, "Not even for this?"

The other guard (Mike) shouted, "Prince Peasley's rose! Are you friends of the prince?"

Mario looked at his brother teasingly, "In more ways than one!"

Luigi blushed out of embarrassment, "Will you stop that!"

Mike told them, "In any case, we better let these guys inside. They can help."

With that, Izzy and Mike stepped to the side. Mario and Luigi headed in. They found a kid asleep in a bed.

"Well! Master Mario! Master Luigi!" That's when Lady Lima came up to them. She commented, "I am Lady Lima, highest of the ladies at court. The gatekeepers told me of you."

Mario stated, "You don't know how glad we are to see you!"

Luigi added, "Yeah, Fawful was saying that he was coming here with Cackletta."

Lady Lima nodded, "Yes, I know. The town is in ruins so Mike and Izzy are doing their best."

Mario commented, "We need to see the queen."

Lady Lima asked, "The queen? I cannot allow a suspicious pair such as you to meet the queen!"

Luigi protested, "We have to, it is important!"

Lady Lima pointed out, "I know but I am one of her longest-serving lady at court. I must act in the interest of her royal safety!"

Mario told her, "That's why we are here! To protect her! Please, you got to let us see her!"

Luigi replied, "We are here to protect her!"

Lady Lima brought out a strange device. The next thing the brothers knew was they were falling through a pit.

"Hear my words! If you two are the Manfredi brothers, you must prove it by repairing the castle's plumbing!"

Mario groaned, "You've got to be kidding me!"

Luigi added, "Yeah, we hadn't done any plumbing since we got here!"

But their protests fell on deaf ears.

...

-Flashback-

"Oh, you two are going to be Papa's helpers one day! I can just feel it!"

Mario blushed out of embarrassment as he and Luigi had just helped their father with a difficult task.

"We only did our best, Papa." Mario pointed out.

Their father pointed out, "That's all you can do mi figlio."

Luigi sniffled, "At least this job doesn't deal with ghosts, Papa."

Their father laughed, "Of course not. You just have to help Papa with whatever he needs."

"Boys! Lunch is ready!" Their mom called.

Their father stated, "But first, let's help Papa get some lunch!"

To that, both Mario and Luigi laughed. They all headed out to have some lunch, smiling and laughing.

-End of Flashback-

...

Mario looked at that event with a soft smile, "It's funny. Papa's advice can be used here too, you know?"

Luigi nodded, "Si, it could. But who would've thought that plumbing got us here in the first place?"

Mario mused, "Not me..."

Luigi shook his head, "C'mon, let's see what we can remember."

With that, they headed to get to work.

...

I still remember that day when we first arrived here a few years ago. We had taken over the company, Manfredi and Sons. Papa and Mama had died when we were 15. They had gone out for a drive in the middle of a terrible rainstorm. I had been looking out for Luigi ever since. Sure our cousins, Wario and Waluigi picked on us a lot but we were more favored with our customers than they were. They were just jealous.

Anyways, we were doing what we had enjoyed for a long time, plumbing. That's how we connected, that's how everything connected. I wasn't expecting to find a mysterious pipe that day. Or where it brought us to. As long as Luigi was with me, I didn't care. We were outsiders at first, until one day, where Bowser kidnapped Peach for the first time.

We had gone and saved the day. That's how we became Superstars. Well, more me than Luigi. Luigi has always told me that he was okay with that. As long as I was happy. And I was. I had him, our new home, and a new life. Though I do wonder what happened to our customers that loved us so. Did they miss us? Did they know we were gone? It was a mystery, even to this day.

And you know, I was okay with that. Sure I missed home but the Mushroom Kingdom was our home now.

...

"Malleo?"

Mario turned, seeing Luigi. Mario had drifted off while they were plumbing. Mario just shook his head. Luigi shrugged, just getting back to work.

...

Wishmaker1028: This was a bit of a backstory mixed in with a flashback. If anyone's wondering, this is a prequel to the Heart Series. That's why Mario isn't with Peach or why I haven't mentioned Violet yet. It hasn't happened yet. But for now, please read and review! And always think outside of the box!