Whatever It Takes |Super Mario Bros. Movie AU|

Prologue

The city was engulfed in dust. Almost nothing from the fight could be seen, not from afar or from where the heroes were standing just above the remains of the now shattered fortress. It was a strange sense of calm after a hellstorm of punching and chasing and fire-breathing. It finally gave everyone a chance to breathe, to take in their victory over the merciless Koopa King that lied defeated in what was left of his ship.

Finally the dust began to clear, and the twin brothers were still standing tall over their enemy, slowly coming down from the rush of adrenaline. The effects of the Super Star had worn off, but luckily the major injuries remained healed thanks to its power. Well...for the most part.

Mario felt a hand briefly touch his shoulder, which was revealed to be Princess Peach coming up behind him with a blue mushroom in hand. Toad and Donkey Kong weren't far behind and joined the group as they all stared down at the turtle who just suffered the biggest beating of his life.

Bowser, who surprisingly wasn't unconscious after that final blow, looked up at the princess with an embarrassed grin. "Peaches..." He laughed, "Listen, this is not the way I pictured it, but give me one more chance."

Peach, however, cringed in disgust. She couldn't believe she came so close to actually marrying someone so cruel, yet so pathetic. "Ew! No!" She then stuffed the mushroom into his mouth, which immediately shrunk his entire figure by three sizes. Toad went over to the tiny creature and picked him up, securing him in a glass jar he fortunately had handy.

"Ha! He got the blue mushroom!" Laughed Donkey Kong.

"Eh, see? Told ya I'd get you a pet turtle." Mario grinned at the princess, who couldn't help but laugh at his joke.

"Not bad, mustache." She said with a small smirk, which made the guy in red blush just the tiniest bit. Nobody seemed to notice, and good thing too. Otherwise he'd suffer a major teasing from DK and his brother. Peach then turned around to sing the other twin's praises, "And Luigi? You're so brave!"

Luigi seemed surprised, but did his best to play it cool and simply chuckled. "Heh, thanks. It's..kinda my thing!" He put his fists to his hips. Mario patted his shoulder, smiling widely at his brother's newfound confidence.

"Ah! My boys!" Cried a familiar voice coming over to join the scene. When the brothers looked, they saw it was none other than their mother climbing over the rubble to rush towards them with open arms, followed by their father who was cheering excitedly. "My heroes!!"

The mother hugged them close, showering their faces with kisses. For a second it seemed like the woman was on the verge of tears. Whether it was from pride or relief, they couldn't tell. But either way they happily accepted her affection. Being away from her for so long made them miss being smothered by her. Even Mario, who normally tried to avoid that in public.

The father was grinning widely, his eyes lit up in a way they had never seen before. He grabbed the elder son by his shoulders, "Mario! You were amazing!"

Mario was nearly frozen. He couldn't remember the last time his father ever said anything like that to him. And considering the last conversation they had before this whole adventure, it was incredibly satisfying to finally hear he did something his family could be proud of. "Thanks, Dad..." He said in awe. The little brother folded his hands at his face and smiled softly at their exchange, knowing how long Mario had been waiting for this moment.

Suddenly the family, along with Peach and Toad, were all scooped up by the strong arms of the talking ape. "Bring it in!" He exclaimed as he held them in a bone-crushing hug. Then the sounds of approaching applause distracted him, and he put them down before any of them could lose any circulation.