It is a sunny afternoon on the open road with our favorite pasta-loving heroes and their friends. Mario, as excited as ever, sits on the bus next to Princess Peach as they look at a brochure. Princess Daisy fixes her crown and stares out the window of the other side of the bus. The shortest one of them all, Toad, is driving because he can totally see the road as long as he stands on his tip-toes. In the back of the bus, Luigi is sleeping with the adorable Polterpup wagging his tail next to him. Of course, we can't forget our guests.

In the back of the bus there is a girl named Maria. She is nineteen years old with a jumpy attitude and a smile on her face. She is the shortest of the guests, but still reaches around five feet and ten inches. She is sporting her cute shoulder cut yellow, cheetah printed shirt with black leggings, and her blonde hair wrapped around her head in a small braid while the rest stays down. Next to Maria is another female one year younger than her. This one's name is Julia, and she can't seem to keep herself still for longer than five seconds. She has long, brown hair that is tied up tightly in a ballerina bun. Her style consists of a loose, long sleeve, dark red crop top with a white tank top underneath and two white stripes horizontally cutting the sleeves, bootlegged blue jeans, and a simple five beaded bracelet. Lastly, we have Ethan; a loud, caring, bundle of very tall joy. He plays on his portable Switch in a seat diagonal from the girls. He wears a purple hooded tank top with light blue jeans and his thick, brown hair stays a mess on top of his head.

The group is heading to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and every competitor was allowed to bring a guest along. Peach was good friends with Maria, and since the brothers didn't know who to bring, the princess insisted they invite Maria's friends Julia and Ethan, who also happen to be siblings.

"I can't believe we are already heading to the Olympic Games! Time sure does go by fast." Maria continues to smile as she peeks over the back of Mario and Peach's seat, seeing they're reading the brochure.

"That's not what you said yesterday," Ethan comments without looking up from his screen. He is so close to the finish line in Mario Kart...

"Yeah, you've been saying this whole week how slowly time's gone by." Julia backs up her younger brother's claim, her hazel eyes swiveling over to blink at her friend.

"Oh, quiet you two! I don't need you all up in my case," Maria says, making the other two laugh slightly. Their joy is cut short when the bus shakes violently, almost tipping over on Ethan's side. Peach falls onto Mario and Daisy's face smashes into the window. Luigi continues on with his snoring.

Once the bus tips back over onto all of its wheels, Peach sits up and blushes slightly. "Sorry about that, Mario."

"Not-a problem, Princess." Mario straightens his hat which fell over his eyes during that whole fiasco.

The Switch slipped out of Ethan's hands, but luckily fell in the seat next to him. He sighs in relief and picks it up before glaring over his seat at the driver. "Are we there yet?!"

Julia puts her hands over her mouth when she sees the device fall, but laughs it off when she sees it's undamaged. Maria laughs at Ethan's sudden outburst while Toad looks in the rear view mirror and shouts, "Not yet!"

Toad makes sure to keep the bus steady, but doesn't see that the road turns and a tree is coming up in their path. Ethan stands up and quickly rushes into the aisle so he can try to get to the wheel. "Toad, watch the road!" Ethan makes it to the front of the bus right as Toad swerves to avoid the tree. The guest sits in the passenger seat to make sure the driver doesn't kill them on the way there. "Do you even know how to drive this thing?"

"Of course I do! I drove back then," Toad points to the game still in Ethan's hands. "Just be glad you aren't riding with Sonic."

A sharp turn in the road comes up quickly, but Ethan doesn't have enough time to take the wheel before Toad turns dramatically. Everyone stumbles once again except for Daisy, who was prepared after learning from the last few times, and continues to read. After she shakes her head to recover, Julia glances over at the orange cladded princess and asks, "What are you reading?"

"Just refreshing myself on some facts about Japan and the last Olympics they hosted. I like to know what I'm getting myself into, you know?" Daisy smiles eagerly and flips another page.

Having caught the conversation, Ethan yells from the front of the bus, "It's just the Olympics!"

"Hah! Just the Olympics he says. Don't you even try to downgrade these games." Julia huffs and stares into the aisle of the bus. She's always wanted to be in the Olympics, but she will deal with watching it for now.

Trying to change the subject, Maria asks Daisy another question. "How are you even reading that right now? Aren't you affected by motion sickness?"

"No, not really." Daisy shrugs and continues her activity.

Maria shakes her head at the princess before noticing Luigi still sleeping behind her. Polterpup turns his head to look at her, his glowing eyes loving the new attention. He spins in a circle and sits on Luigi's chest, still looking happily at Maria. She giggles at the sight and says, "Hi baby boo."

Polterpup barks and wags his tail, loving the attention of Maria, and the sound makes Luigi wake up from his nap. Julia chuckles as she sees the green plumber open his eyes for the first time this entire car ride. "Sure, that's what wakes him up."

"Good afternoon, Weegee. 'Bout time you joined the party," Daisy comments while her cheeks slightly turn pink.

"Are we-a there yet?" Luigi sits up and looks out the window, but is a bit disappointed when he sees open field.

"We are approaching the halfway point, so our hotel can't be too far away." Mario looks at the map attached to the ripped brochure that was tangled in his fingers during the almost crash.

"I hope everyone likes it." Peach smiles and folds her hands in front of her chest, brushing a few strands of blonde hair behind her shoulder.

"And I hope you don't mean that sarcastically." Maria pipes up from her seat to respond to the princess.

Peach laughs and looks behind her to spot the other blonde. "Not this time!"

A few more minutes of silence pass by the car, much to Daisy's delight as she is able to finish her book. Right as she closes it, Polterpup jumps over Luigi's lap and starts barking out the window. Julia lifts her head and tries to look out the window where the dog ghost is staring out of. "What is it, boy?"

"Probably passed a squirrel again." Ethan sighs, not lifting his eyes from the screen. He calculates the end result in his head and uses a mushroom to boost his speed, making a shortcut and passing the finish line with first place in hand. "Yes! And that's how you win in Mario Kart!"

"Woah, wait. What's that?" Julia's eyes widen and she hurries over to Ethan's abandoned seat to get a better view. There is a very tall, golden building reaching up to the sky like a skyscraper. There looks to be at least twelve floors and a field around it as far as her eyes can see. Everyone stops what they're doing and gazes out their own windows, catching sight of the gleaming building with its golden glow resonating in the dripping sunset.

"That's our stop!" Peach cheers and claps her hands a few times by her head.

"Hold on, you're saying that's our hotel... in the middle of nowhere?" Ethan finally turns off his game and puts it in his case, satisfied with his ending results. He too looks out the windshield, but scratches his head when he sees no other civilization nearby. "Hotels are supposed to be stationed near cities, right? Why else would they get business."

"It's a resort. The perfect stop on our way to Tokyo!" Peach's excited demeanor keeps Ethan from pressing the matter. He knows she tried hard to find a spot for them to rest, so he might as well be grateful.

"私は興奮しています!~" (I'm excited!) Maria says as she gazes upon the huge resort.

Confused, Ethan looks back at her and raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Ignore her. It's a Japanese phase." Julia waves off the subject, telling her brother to not worry about it.

"I-it's not a phase!" Maria's face turns bright red and she plays with the collar of her cheetah shirt. "I'm learning for a career!"

"Alright, alright! You do you." Julia laughs and sits back in her seat to relax as the bus makes its way up to the front doors of the hotel.

Once the bus stops, Toad opens the lower compartment and grabs all of Princess Peach's luggage. Everyone else grabs their own and they walk up the stairs into the golden doors, which are engraved very elegantly they might add. Luigi stops to stare in awe at the interior. "Wowie zowie!"

Mario and Peach walk together to the front desk so they can check in with the clerk. Surprisingly, they have no trouble with their reservations and get the keys to the rooms very quickly. Julia sets down her giant suitcase, still carrying her electronics bag, and hurries across the white marble floor to gaze at a beautiful flowing fountain. She gasps when she sees how the water dances out of different sprouts. The LED lights switch on right as she is about to leave, making the water turn different colors. She figures they turn on in the evening when the sun starts to touch the horizon.

Maria and Daisy walk along the right side, looking at all of the beautiful plants that are growing in places against the walls. Maria thinks some of them might be fake, but then notices the windows that let in sunlight for them. Right as she passes another row, a very small sprinkler system turns on and gives the plants some water. This makes her switch her views and she concludes the flowers and leaves just look so vibrant they seem to be fake, when they're really just well taken care of.

Ethan sees that Toad almost drops a suitcase on the marble floor and reaches out to catch it. He lets out a breath when he looks down and realizes how close it was to smashing against the floor. He places it on its wheels gently as to not chip the delicate flooring, and follows the gold and white path up to the desk with Peach and Mario. He finds a suitcase carrier on the side and starts loading up everything. Luigi gets over his shock and stares at the high ceiling, noticing the humongous crystal chandelier, and follows right behind Ethan with Polterpup at his side.

Peach pockets her own key and hands everyone else theirs. When she gets to Maria, she orders, "Alright, everyone! Don't lose your keys. And that's mainly directed at you."

"What? I don't lose stuff!" Maria crosses her arms with a lot of difficulty, remembering there's bags in her arms as well.

"Right, because you've never lost one important thing, ever." Mario raises his eyebrows at the blonde and gives Peach a slight smile.

"What's with everyone bullying me today? Luigi, back me up here!" Maria turns around to see Luigi still in a daze as he looks at the white stainless pillars lined with gold around the corners of the walls.

"Huh?" Luigi looks back down to eye level and stares confusingly at Mario and Maria. Daisy giggles and pats his head a bit too roughly.

"This is so beautiful. I could just sit here and listen to the water fountain all evening." Julia sighs and reaches over to touch the pond of water, but someone taps her shoulder and makes her turn around.

It's a steward, she can tell by his attire. He has a red and gold uniform on with a matching hat and white pants. He nervously taps his white gloved fingers together before scratching the back of his masked head. "May I take your bag, ma'am?"

Julia looks down at her electronics bag that is looped over her shoulder and then smiles at the hotel steward. "Oh, no thank you. I'd prefer to carry this up on my own."

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a bunch of gold coins, handing them to the steward. Before she left, she converted some money to gold coins so she could buy some things from the Olympic Games, but she knows how difficult jobs like this can be without proper tips. The steward, shocked, takes the money and flimsily puts the coins into his front pocket. Julia adds to the conversation, "What's with the mask?"

The man pauses for a good second, becoming very on edge. He looks down a bit and explains, "Happy Halloween?"

"No way. You're right! I totally forgot it was Halloween today." Julia widens her eyes and slaps her palm onto her forehead. She asks in a joking manner, "Mind if I borrow a costume?"

The steward seems surprised once again, not realizing Julia was just kidding around. He points his thumb over to the closet and suggests, "You can wear a uniform if you want."

"Woah, really? Okay!" She stands up from the fountain and walks into the closet, shutting the door behind her.

Peach, finally able to observe the designs around her, beams in excitement. "I can't wait to see what this place has to offer! I heard the owner of this establishment worked very hard to make this place as wonderful as possible for our arrival."

"Who's the owner?" Ethan asks, leaning on the luggage carrier as the steward helps Toad load up everything.

"I'm not quite sure about that." Peach for the first time frowns as she tries to think of the name on the brochure she read. For some reason, she can't recall anything.

"What do you mean you aren't quite sure?" Maria asks with a bit of worry laced into her voice. She finds it odd how this place isn't surrounded by anything and yet it's so nice, as if it was able to uphold as much business it needed to stay so rich-looking. Unfortunately, she is unable to ask any more questions on the matter because the luggage tower starts to tumble out of the carrier. "Woah!" She catches some of the strays and helps the steward put everything back into place more securely.

Mario finishes looking around the main floor and heads to the elevator where mostly everyone else is waiting. "Ah, I'm-a hungry after that long ride! Let's-a go to the dining area."

"That's a good idea. Let's - wait, where's Julia?" Right after Daisy asks her question, the missing girl steps out of the closet now in a full stewardess outfit. Her white pants and gloves go along nicely with her red and gold top. Her hat covers her bun and matches the outfit with a golden tassel hanging from the back.

"Did you get a job here or something?" Ethan asks with a bit of humor in his tone.

Julia quickly puts her old clothes into her suitcase and laughs at her brother's comment. "No, Stewy here told me I can wear one for Halloween!"

When she nudges him in the arm in a playful manner, the steward flinches and tries to regain his composure by straightening his black bow tie. "U-uh... you all still want to go to the dining hall?"

Maria rolls her eyes at her friend's playfulness and nods at the poor employee. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"It's on the second floor. Follow me." The steward lets out a breath when he gets away from the crowd and leads them up the stairs. As he escorts them, other employees rush in to gather their luggage and place them by their respective rooms.

The dining hall is magnificent, but it's not the lavish carpets or golden trimmed table cloths that catch everyone's attention. On the mahogany center table surrounded by red plushed chairs and shining silverware is a massive cake coated in navy blue frosting and makeshift starbits. Thinking everyone is still next to her, Julia walks up to the cake and asks breathlessly, "What is this!?"

"Happy birthday, Julia!" Everyone's voice rings throughout the hall, making the girl turn around and gaze at all her friends holding out presents for her.

"You guys..."

"Planned this? Yep!" Maria hops over to the shocked girl and slings her arms over her shoulders. "I told them your birthday was right before the Olympics began, so we wanted to do something special."

"I can't believe you! This is so sweet of you all. You didn't have to do this for me." Julia tries not to tear up as she squeezes her friend in a hug.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself. Your birthday isn't for three days, sis." Ethan smirks and walks over to her, looking at the cake. "I only thought it was a good idea for this cake! It looks awesome!"

"Jerk!" Julia lightly punches her brother in the arm and turns to the layered sheet cake. "But, it does look mouth watering."

"Then let's-a dig in!" Mario exclaims and raises a fork. Without even bothering to cut himself a slice, he takes a hearty scoop and stuffs his face with the sweetness.

The rest of the evening is filled with opening presents and eating cake, but it doesn't last long because a half hour later, it starts to get dark. The gang wanted to get here a bit earlier so they could enjoy their time, but a certain driver couldn't tell west from east. Sadly, they have to end their day and head up to their rooms.

"I'm-a exhausted." Luigi yawns and stretches his arms over his head while Polterpup nudges him forward.

Maria leads the way to the elevator, but Mario taps her shoulder and holds up her key. Blushing in embarrassment, the blonde takes her room key and heads back to the top of the stairs of the second floor. When she gets there, she stops because she spots a mysterious woman talking aggressively, but rather quietly, with some of the staff. One of the employees looks up and sees the guests, yelping and running off when he realizes Maria has seen him.

Watching as they run away, the mysterious woman turns and smiles at the guests. She has fancy sunglasses on and wears a white dress that hugs her body. Her blue hair is almost as tall as her, sticking up so high that Ethan swears it's going to hit the tip of the chandelier. Her makeup is heavily apparent when she smiles and says, "Oh good evening, everyone! I hope you all had fun."

The travelers all smile and Peach closes her eyes while tilting her head. "Lots of fun, thank you!"

"Are-a you the owner of this establishment?" Mario asks as she walks up the stairs to greet them.

"Why, yes I am. I'm very glad you were all able to accept my invitation. We've worked hard to make your stay as excellent as possible. Of course, nothing less for the runners of the Toadstool Kingdom! My name is Hellen Gravely, and it's wonderful to meet you all," the woman responds with a slight bow at her name introduction.

"N-nice to meet you as well." Luigi feels the need to shake her hand to finish a proper greeting, but she turns to Maria as she asks the next question.

"Our bags are already in our rooms, I take it?"

"Of course. Our prestigious staff members have taken care of that for you. You are all VIP members after all. Now, I'll be taking you to your sleeping quarters. You must be exhausted from traveling!" Hellen presses the button on the side of the elevator, making the doors open instantly. The group piles in with Polterpup and the three invited non-Olympic participants in the back. It doesn't take long to reach floor five.

The elevator dings and Hellen steps out, slowly walking down the hall. Ethan walks between Julia and Maria and grabs their shoulders. "I don't trust her."

Keeping a whisper, Julia rubs her thumbs over her gloved fingers nervously and responds, "Me neither."

"Rude. Why not?" Maria lowers her eyebrows into almost a scowling motion to glare at the two siblings.

"Who wears sunglasses at night time... indoors?!" Ethan's voice picks up volume just a bit, but manages to keep it contained.

"Maybe she has an eye infection or something." Maria tries to shrug off the matter and find a reason for the odd fashion choice.

"Eugh that's gross," Julia comments, but despite her quiet tone, Hellen turns her head slightly and lets out an annoyed grunt. "Abort conversation."

When they get to the first room, Hellen stops and gestures further down the hall. "Your keys will identify which room numbers you have. The princesses and plumbers are on the left while the rest of you are on the right. Have a good night!"

"Good-a night!" Mario waves as Hellen turns and heads back to the elevator.

Daisy looks at her schedule and then faces the group. "We will all meet downstairs at 7:30, alright?"

"8:00?" Maria asks, making Daisy almost yell at her.

Before the princess in orange can retort, Peach sighs and nods. "8:00 is fine. Good night, everyone!"

As everyone closes their doors to their rooms, Julia takes Maria and Ethan's hands and asks, "I'm not the only one who thinks something fishy is going on, right?"

"Of course I do! In our time of need, we are suddenly invited to a hotel no one has heard of, and on top of that, we are labeled VIPs?" Ethan pulls out his key dramatically and walks over to his room that him and Julia are going to share.

"Exactly. And it's in the middle of nowhere. This has to be a trap." Julia worriedly looks at Maria, which makes the blonde break down and nod.

"Okay, okay, I see your point."

"Well, what? You think Bowser is behind it?" Ethan scratches the back of his head and Maria walks forward a bit before turning around to face them.

"Maybe? I doubt it, though. The Olympic Games are in just a few days," Maria points out. "If Mario doesn't show up, Nintendo will never allow the games to continue."

"Yeah, and it's not just him." Ethan sighs in thought and leans on the wall slightly. "Peach and Luigi are part of it. Even the toads are helping with the setup and behind the scenes activities. The games would be losing a lot of its contestants and staff."

"Then who would try to pull a stunt like this?" Julia crosses her arms in frustration, thinking maybe her mind is making this up. "Or are we just overthinking this?"

"I don't know who would want to get Mario out of the picture." Ethan keeps trying to think, but gives up after a few moments.

Maria lets out a small gasp when her eyes peer over Julia's shoulder. "Guys, don't turn around."

Julia and Ethan become alert, but do as the blonde says. Little do they know that behind them at the end of the hallway is the one who led them to their rooms, staring at them as if daring them to make the wrong move.