PAPER MARIO: THE ORI GAME

Introduction: A New Technology (and Threat)

Today was a brand new day. The sun just rose and the birds sang. Inside a small house in the middle of a forest, there lived two human plumbers. One was still asleep in his bed, the other just woke up. The sleeper was Mario. Everyone knew him. Those who did not had to be living under a rock. He was sleeping comfortably in his bed until a clock placed on a table next to his bed rang. He suddenly jumped out his bed with an optimistic look on his face. Though most people would have kept sleeping despite the clock, Mario could not wait for the day to come. He gently tapped a small button on the top of the clock and it went silent. He was already suited in his blue overall and red attires for the day. It was quite ridiculous to think he slept in these last night but, like everyone else in this world, he was just a sheet of paper. Some people had to spend a fortune to get a second sheet of paper to change their attire. Nonetheless, Mario went to the kitchen where his little brother Luigi already was, reading a letter. Mario took a look at the letter. It was an invitation to Peach's Castle for tonight. They ate breakfast, made of eggs, toasts, and bacon, and left the house. Outside, a parakoopa was already working, placing a letter inside their mailbox. They waved at each other and the parakoopa left through the sky with the wings on his shell. There was no way to get to their house other than a pipe. Here, they had perfect tranquility, far away from the noise living in even a town would have brought. The brothers opened their mailbox and took a look at the letter the parakoopa put. It was a reminder of the special event that would take place tonight. Without hesitating, they both jumped into the pipe.

They travelled at an insane speed. Though it was not the speed of sound, it was still fast. They left through another pipe and found themselves at a station with many pipes and toads. The toads were waiting for the pipes to switch destinations and had their luggage with them. The plumbers left the station and were now in a city. All the buildings here were built with marble and mostly toads lived here. Some koopas and goombas also resided in the city but they were very few here. The plumbers headed north in the city, passing by all the markets on the main streets and the children playing. They arrived at a gate where some guards stood. With their spears, they barred the route to pass the gate.

"Halt! This is a restricted area! State your business!" One of the guards ordered.

Even if they knew who the plumbers were, the guards had to do their job and make sure they were not deceived. It happened one too many times where one or many malicious visitor would sneak in disguised and cause havoc inside the castle. The havoc would then spread all across the world but the plumbers were always the ones who stopped it. Though, it never happened once where someone pretended to be them. Luigi pulled the letter out of his pocket and showed it to the guards. The guards took the letter and examined it with caution. They pulled out some documents and books and searched into these to make sure the letter complied with the rules. Once they finished, they put the books and documents away and gave back the letter with a smile.

"Thank you, sirs! You may proceed. The princess will be waiting for you in the throne room." The other guard concluded.

The guards opened the gates leading to a gigantic castle far away. The plumbers carried on. They reached a stone bridge that was built right before the entrance to the castle. An old toad holding a cane was standing on the bridge and went to meet the newcomers.

"Ah! Good morning, Masters Mario and Luigi! I've been waiting for you as soon as I woke up!" The old toad greeted.

The plumbers shook the toad's hand and entered the castle together. The throne room was high up in the castle so they had to climb a few stairs until they reached the fourth floor. The throne room was a vast octagonal room painted like it was nighttime. A giant clock stood on the wall and gave the current time. It was ten in the morning, way too early for the invitation. Though, the plumbers still insisted on coming that early as they always did for all the other times they were invited. A throne was placed right in front of the clock with a princess sitting.

"Mistress Peach, your friends have arrived!" The toad announced.

The princess stood up her seat and walked to the group.

"Thank you, Toadsworth. You are dismissed for this morning. I will call you back when I need you." Peach politely said.

With that, Toadsworth left the throne room first. The others stayed for a little while and chatted about the day. Since they were very early before the event, they spent the day playing golf on a private course built behind the castle. They had been playing golf for years and they were getting better at the sport. Everyone would have expected Mario to be the best at it but Luigi beat him this time. Luigi was a fast learner compared to his big brother. Their golf game lasted a few hours so they had to find something else to do this afternoon. The event was only at 6pm after all. They took a walk in town to admire the activity. Naturally, many toads stopped to see them and some of them asked for autographs from the plumbers. After their walk, they returned to the castle just before the event.

Evening arrived. Everything was set for the night but some last-minute changes happened. Peach had to see her advisor to know of them.

"Mistress Peach, I've receive a message from Princess Daisy saying she won't be able to come to the event due to an impediment." Toadsworth first announced.

"I really wish she could come tonight. Tonight's an important night and I would've wanted her to witness it." Peach replied.

"Additionally, King Bowser has yet to confirm if he can come. I've heard rumors he felt sick and will sent a representative instead."

"I see. Is there anything else?"

"Ah yes! Birdo won't be able to come to bring entertainment under the form of music. We do have another person on that list that could fill this place but…"

"This person could also act as Bowser's representative. That way, Bowser won't have to send two persons when he could only send one. Please, prepare a "get well soon" wish card to Bowser and mention we will take his candidate as entertainer for tonight." Peach concluded.

The group went to an auditorium where many toads were already sat. Toadsworth first had to do what Peach told him before he could join them back. They went on the stages where they had a few seats ready. They each took a seat but there remained a few others. Two would have obviously been for Daisy and Bowser considering how big one of the two was. As for the last one, no one knew. Toadsworth noticed the excess chair and looked at Peach.

"Remind me, Mistress Peach. What was the event about again?" Toadsworth asked.

"Do you know of the origamis of the Rainbow Continent?" Peach asked back.

"Why yes I do! How could I forget about them? They said that Princess Ori, the daughter of Lord Igami, will be here tonight to present us a revolutionary technology that will change our lives. Do you think they will finally reveal their biggest secret?"

"I don't know. I never met one of them in person. Somehow, I have a feeling something will go wrong tonight."

"Don't say that, Mistress Peach! Bowser finally stopped with his absurd plans of taking you away! We finally made peace with the koopas! What could possibly go wrong? Who else would want to harm you?"

Peach did not say anything. She looked up to the ceiling, expecting something to happen. An earthquake happened. All the toads screamed and left their seat. They ran around, not knowing what to do. Toadsworth stood up on his chair and pulled out a megaphone from his vest.

"LISTEN UP, EVERYONE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND WALK SLOWLY TO THE BASEMENT TO THE SHELTER! THE GUARDS WILL GUIDE YOU THERE!" Toadsworth shouted through the megaphone.

He managed to calm down the toads who listened to him. While he was escorting the toads to safety, the others remained behind. Peach kept staring at the ceiling. Then, giant claws went through the wall and the ceiling. The claws torn the roof away, revealing a giant Bowser. It was not like the original one who was just a sheet of paper like everyone else. This one was three-dimensional and seemed much stronger than the real one. It roared once and all the toads panicked again. This time, Toadsworth could not do anything to calm them down. With its giant hand, the three-dimensional Bowser first took away the princess. It had her wrapped in its giant fingers rendering her unable to move.

"Help me!" The princess screamed as the monster slowly took her away.

Mario and Luigi wanted to help her but they did not notice the monster's other hand about to squash them. It was too late though. The plumbers instantly blacked out. Bowser had returned to take the princess away once again and this time he had a new and infallible way to do so. All sounds slowly died down. They could still hear the princess screaming for help but they could not do anything now.