Daisy pointed to a door and said "Tatanga went through that door."

"Then let's go get him" Mario said.

"Sounds good" Peach said "I think we owe him a punch or two."

"Not this time" Luigi said "this time, we owe him a bullet or a shotgun shell or a little napalm. Right Daisy?"

"I like it" Daisy said smiling.

They walked over to the door and Mario tried to open it, but it was locked. He stepped back and kicked the door, but it didn't open.

"Let me try" Luigi said.

Mario stepped out of the way. Luigi got a running start and shoulder rammed the door. The door swung open, revealing several dozen clones.

Luigi quickly moved out of the doorway and behind the wall and said "the welcoming committee is waiting."

Daisy moved to the side of the doorway. She pointed her flamethrower into the hallway and began spraying it with flames. After fifteen seconds or so, she stopped and peeked around the corner. All of the clones were dead or had run away.

Daisy smiled and said "clear."

They began cautiously walking down the hallway. They saw a single clone duck into a side room and shut the door. Mario walked over to the door, opened it and pointed his M-60 inside. The clone inside had a bandage from its shoulder to its fingers. When Daisy saw it, she walked to the doorway and pushed the barrel of Mario's gun down.

"This one's mine" she said "I owe him something."

She stepped into the room and pointed her flamethrower at it.

"Hello Princess" the clone said "that is a nice flamethrower. No hard feelings about earlier, right?"

"Nah" Daisy said "but, I don't want to make myself a lair, so..."

She fired a burst of flames, burning the clone. She walked out and closed the door.

"What was that about?" Peach asked.

"I'll explain later" Daisy said.

Meanwhile, Tatanga was talking to a clone who had been in almost every fight and managed to survive.

"What can you tell me about the defenses the green guy organized?" Tatanga asked.

"Almost anything you want to know" the clone said "why?"

"Because I am amazed at how well they worked" Tatanga said "they were outnumbered one hundred to one several times, yet they were still able to repel our assaults. I you take two hundred other clones and take and hold Princess Peach's castle. Understand?"

"Yes sir" the clone said.

"Good" Tatanga said "base your defense on the green guy's defense of the castle when he held off our entire force, until the fake surrender. Understand?"

"Yes sir" the clone said.

"Good" Tatanga said "you are promoted to Major.

Take whatever you need out of the armory to supply your troops. I want at least three machine gun emplacements."

"Yes sir" the clone said.

"On your way" Tatanga said.

The clone left to gather its forces and weapons. A little while later, a clone staggered into the room Tatanga was in. The clone had several buckshot pellets embedded in its arm.

"They are here" it said.

Tatanga handed him a piece of paper and said "give them this message."

The clone walked back out with its hands in the air.

"I have a message for you from Tatanga" it said.

"What is it?" Peach asked.

The clone looked at the paper and read "you are so busy trying to get revenge on me that you left your homes unguarded. Princess Peach's castle now belongs to me. It is protected by a defense based on the green guy's defenses. There is a ship and a pilot waiting in the docking area if you would like to attempt to reclaim your home. Signed Tatanga."

Luigi walked over to the clone, put the barrel of his rifle to its head and said "take us to the armory. If you're gonna take my ideas, we're gonna take all ammunition we want."

The clone led them to the armory and they grabbed all the ammunition they could carry. Then they had the clone lead them to the hangar. He led them to the waiting ship. Peach stayed in the cockpit with the pilot while Mario, Luigi and Daisy searched the ship for other clones. After they searched the entire ship, they all came into the cockpit.

"Ok" Mario said "take us to Peach's castle."

"No" Luigi said "we don't want them to see us coming. The element of surprise can hold a huge advantage. Take us to the fields a few miles south of the castle. Don't fly over the castle or near it."

"Yes sir" The clone said.

The ship landed in an open field, once Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy got off, the ship flew away. They started walking toward the castle. They saw a clone with a flamethrower standing in the open at the edge of the castle grounds.

"That wasn't in your defense, Luigi" Daisy said.

"No" Luigi said "but it's gonna come in handy."

He shot the clone in the head, then he walked over and dragged it out of sight.

He looked at Daisy and said "that's a full fuel tank on the flamethrower, right?"

"Yes" Daisy said.

"So you don't need this one?" Luigi asked.

"No" Daisy said.

"Good" Luigi said smiling.

He walked closer to the castle carrying the flamethrower in one hand and his rifle in the other. The others followed him, wondering why he had the flamethrower. When they were close enough, Luigi set the flamethrower down and began looking the castle over through his scope.

"They copied my defense alright" Luigi said "I can see the sniper on top of the tower. They also added a few things. Including three machine gun nests. Luckily, they knocked a few trees down so we have cover when we get close. We just need a distraction."

"What's the distraction?" Mario asked.

"This" Luigi said as he picked up the flamethrower.

He threw it as close to the machine gun nests as he could, then he took aim and shot the fuel tank, causing it to explode.

"Now" Luigi said.

They all ran forward and dove behind one of the logs.

"You probably need to take out the sniper first" Daisy said "he poses more of an immediate threat than the machine gunners."

"Good call" Luigi said "let's just hope he didn't spot us."

Luigi sat up and put his elbow on the log to steady his rifle. He took aim and began to squeeze the trigger. He fired and the sniper fell off of the tower. Another clone sniper fired at him from a top floor window. He missed, but the bullet hit the log sending splinters and woodchips flying everywhere. A large chip hit Luigi in the forehead. He quickly ducked behind the log and covered the wound with his hand as blood started running down his forehead. Daisy crawled over to him, took his hat off and pulled his hand away from his forehead.

"It's not too bad" she said.

She tore a strip off of the bottom of her shirt and tied it around his head tightly, covering the wound and stopping the bleeding.

She put his hat back on his head and said "that should do it for now."

"Thanks" Luigi said.

"You're welcome" Daisy said.

Mario pointed his M-60 at the window that the shot came from and pulled the trigger, peppering the window. The clone fell out of the window.

"Nice shooting, bro" Luigi said.

"Thanks" Mario said smiling.

Luigi peeked over the log, looked the castle over.

He laid back the log and said "ok, if they copied my defense, we know there are at least two light machine guns on the middle floor. I don't know if they put a heavy machine gun in the bottom window since there are three out front. We've killed two snipers, but there could be more hidden in the windows. Honestly, I'm not quite sure of anything about the defense this time since they have so many clones. I do know the main weakness behind the defense though, luckily they didn't figure it out."

"What is it?" Mario asked.

Luigi smiled slightly and said "there are no windows on the ground floor in the back of the castle, right?"

"Right" Mario said "so?"

"So" Luigi said "if we can get to the back of the castle and stay against the wall, we will be under their range of fire. The only way they can fire on us would be to lean out the window and expose themselves to our fire. Once we get around back, we break the door open and clear the room with the flamethrower. Once we do that, they'll probably come running; so we shut the back door and wedge it shut, then dig in to defend that room. Once we kill the clones who rush us, we move through and clear one room at a time. Luckily, we know that castle a lot better than they do. Does that sound like a plan?"

"Sounds good to me" Daisy said.

"Sounds good to me too" Mario said "but, how do we get past the machine guns to get around the castle."

"Yeah" Luigi said "I haven't figured that part out yet."

"What are the nests made of?" Peach asked.

"They're made of sticks and logs" Luigi said "it looks like they threw them together quickly. The flamethrower can easily burn them down, I think we're close enough. But, since they know we're here now, Daisy can't lean over the log and burn them without getting her head shot off."

"So we just need a distraction" Daisy said.

"I've got an idea" Peach said."

"What is it?" Luigi asked.

"You'll see" Peach said "get ready Daisy, you will know when to make your move."

"Ok" Daisy said.

Peach suddenly stood up and began running toward another log. All three machine guns fired on her. She dove behind a log as Daisy sat up and began spraying the nests with flames, destroying them and killing the gunners.

"Peach, are you ok?!" Mario called.

"A bullet scraped my leg" she said.

"I'll go check on her" Daisy said "cover me."

"Ok" Luigi said "wait until I say go, ok?"

"No problem" Daisy said as she took her flamethrower off.

"Take care of the second floor bro" Luigi said.

"You got it" Mario said.

He began firing at the windows on the second floor, while Luigi fired on the top floor windows.

"Go!" Luigi said.

Daisy ran and dove behind the log beside Peach.

She checked the wound on Peach's leg and said "you're ok. Do you want a bandage?"

"No, that's ok" Peach said "I don't think I need one."

"Ok" Daisy said "then let's get back over to Mario and Luigi."

"Ok" Peach said.

Daisy turned to the brothers and said "alright boys, give us some cover fire. We're coming back."

"No problem" Mario said.

He and Luigi began firing at the windows again. Peach and Daisy ran back to them and ducked behind the log. Daisy strapped her flamethrower back on.

Mario looked at Peach and said "are you crazy? You could have been killed!"

"I know" Peach said "but, I knew they wouldn't be expecting that so they wouldn't be ready."

Mario smiled slightly.

He kissed Peach and said "that was very brave of you. Just don't do it again."

"Ok" Peach said.

"Alright" Luigi said "time to get around back."

"Don't we need a distraction?" Peach asked.

"No!" Mario said.

"I wasn't asking you" Peach said.

"He's right Peach" Luigi said "we don't need one, we'll just fire on the windows like we did to cover you and Daisy. They should duck to avoid the fire, when they do we make a run for it."

"Ok" Mario said.

They opened fire on the windows, then ran around the castle and stood against the walls.

"Let's get inside" Peach said.

Mario walked to the back door and got ready to kick it open, while Daisy stood ready with the flamethrower. Mario kicked the door open and jumped out of the way. As soon as he cleared the doorway, Daisy raised her flamethrower and looked inside, but the room was empty. She cautiously walked in and checked the room.

"I don't see anybody" Daisy said.

The others walked in. Suddenly a clone with a knife ran out of the shadows. It ran over to Daisy and swung the knife at her, cutting her left arm. Luigi pointed his rifle toward the clone and pulled the trigger. He heard a click, he stepped forward and smacked the clone in the face with the stock of his rifle as hard as he could. The clone stumbled back and fell. Peach turned her shotgun toward it and fired, killing it. Luigi turned his attention to Daisy's arm. He looked the wound over then he put his hand on it and applied pressure to slow the bleeding.

"How bad is it?" Daisy asked.

"It's a little deep" Luigi said "but, you'll be ok. We just need to bandage it."

He ripped off the bottom half of his left sleeve and tied it around her arm tightly, covering the wound.

"Is that too tight?" Luigi asked.

"No, it's ok" she said "thanks."

"You're welcome" Luigi said.

"We need to hurry up and clear the castle" Mario said "before you two rip your shirts to pieces for bandages."

"Funny" Luigi said as he reloaded his rifle.

"Well, let's get going" Peach said.

"I can't believe they haven't charged us yet" Luigi said "they had to have heard Peach's shotgun."

"Maybe they've learned" Daisy said "if they copied your defense, that means they've learned from it. They might have learned that attacking us in a room with one way in and one way out is suicide. Think about it, we've probably killed close to a thousand clones and all they've managed to do is wound us a few times. If it were the other way around, wouldn't you be hesitant to attack?"

"When you put it that way, yes I would" Luigi said "that must be their plan."

"What?" Mario asked.

"They want to make us attack them" Luigi said "when we dig in and play the defensive side, we can beat their superior numbers. Which means, if they copy my defenses and dig in, they still have superior numbers, more weapons and more firepower. This time, they also have the high ground, cover and the ability to destroy Peach's castle."

He looked at Peach and said "Peach, this is your home, you grew up here, you've spent your whole life here and still live here. We've already shot out most of the windows on the front. I'll leave it up to you if we attack or not."

Peach smiled slightly and said "It's a no brainer. If I have to choose between the possibility of losing my castle or the possibility of losing Daisy, the castle loses. Let's hit them hard with everything we've got."

"Ok" Luigi said "here's what we're gonna do: Peach, you're up front. You know the castle better than any of us and the shotgun is good for up close work. Mario I want you right behind her, she's the leader you're the heavy hitter. Peach picks which rooms to hit first, you help clear them. Daisy, you stay in the back If anybody tries to attack us from behind, burn 'em. I'll kinda move around and help whoever needs it. Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me" Peach said.

She walked over to the door and opened it.

She looked out and immediately slammed it, turned around and said "they're, uh…they're here."

"What?" Mario asked.

"The clones are waiting right outside the door" Peach said.

"Step aside" Mario said.

Peach moved out of the way and Mario began spraying the door with his M-60. Once the bullets had torn the door apart, Mario stopped and Daisy stepped up and sprayed flames into the hallway.

"Well" Peach said "they tried to ambush us, but it didn't quite work."

Mario patted Luigi's back and said "they tried to copy Luigi, but there's no substitute for the real thing."

"Thanks bro" Luigi said "let's go."

"I'll go first." Mario said.

He stepped into the hallway and looked around.

"All clear" he said "let's get these jerks out of here. You're up front Peach."

Peach walked down the hallway and the others followed in the order Luigi had told them. They checked every room, but didn't find any clones anywhere.

"What's going on?" Mario asked "where are they?"

"I don't know" Luigi said.

When they reached the main hall, they found the clones all standing together.

The clone in front stepped forward and said "please do not shoot. We are not willing to die for Tatanga's love lust."

Peach lowered her shotgun and said "get out of my castle, now!"

One of the clones drew a pistol and fired, hitting Mario in his left thy. Luigi raised his rifle and fired, killing the clone.

"NOW!" the lead clone said.

The clones raised their weapons and began firing. Mario and Peach dove behind a couch and Peach started to bandage Mario's leg. Daisy turned a table on its side and ducked behind it. Luigi dove behind a chair and began returning fire.

"Daisy, stay down until I give the word!" Luigi yelled.

"Got it" Daisy replied.

When Peach finished bandaging Mario's leg, they began firing too.

Once most of the clones were wounded or dead, Luigi ducked behind the chair and yelled "Daisy! NOW!"

Daisy stood up and began spraying the clones with flames. Once all the clones were dead, Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy stood up. Luigi saw one clone alive and hiding behind the bodies of three other dead clones. He walked over, grabbed the clone by the throat, picked it up and threw it into the center of the room. Peach walked over and pointed her shotgun at its head.

"Not yet" Luigi said.

He walked over to the clone and asked "do you want to live?"

"Yes sir" the clone said.

"Then here's what's gonna happen" Luigi said "you're gonna get on your radio and tell Tatanga that you captured Daisy and killed us. Then you're going to tell him to come to the castle. If it all goes smooth, we'll let you live. If you try to warn him or anything like that, we will-"

"I'll burn you" Daisy interrupted "I'll take my flamethrower, start at your feet and slowly move up your body until you're nothing but ash. Do you understand me?"

"Yes ma'am" The clone said.

"Good" Daisy said "now get your radio and do what he told you to do."

The clone quickly grabbed its radio and said "Tatanga."

"Yes?" Tatanga said "what is your status?"

"The mission was a success" The clone said "we have killed the plumbers and the pink princess."

"Excellent" Tatanga said "and what about Princess Daisy?"

"She has been captured and disarmed" the clone said "we have her locked in a bedroom and are awaiting your arrival."

"Outstanding" Tatanga said "I will be there within the hour."

The clone looked at Luigi and said "what now, sir?"

"Give me your radio" Luigi said.

The clone held its radio out toward Luigi. He grabbed it and put it in his pocket.

Luigi turned to Peach and asked "can you and Daisy take him and lock him in a room?"

"Sure" Peach said "come on Daze."

They dragged the clone away and locked it in a broom closet.

"What are we gonna do when Tatanga gets here?" Mario asked.

"I've got an idea that will insure that he will never pull this stunt again" Luigi said "I'll explain when the girls get back."

"Ok" Mario said.

When Peach and Daisy came back, Luigi called them all together and said "ok, when he walks into the castle, I'm gonna shoot him in the leg. Mario, you and me are gonna guard the exits. Peach, you keep you shotgun pointed at him so he won't move. Daisy, you can knock him out anyway you want to. Then we take him to prison. Sound good?"

"I like it" Daisy said smiling.

"Sounds like a plan" Peach said.

"Sounds good" Mario said "but, what if he brings clones with him?"

"You've got that big ol' M-60" Luigi said "take care of 'em."

"Can do" Mario said smiling.

They all hid and waited for Tatanga to get there. About forty five minutes later, Tatanga walked in with ten clones. Luigi shot Tatanga in his right knee. Tatanga yelled in pain and fell to one knee. When he did, Mario stood up and mowed the clones down. Then he ran to the front door and stood in front of it with his M-60 pointed at Tatanga. Luigi stood in front of the doorway that led to the hallway with his rifle pointed at Tatanga.

Peach walked out of her hiding place and pointed her shotgun at Tatanga and said "don't move a muscle."

"Ok" Tatanga said.

Daisy walked over to Tatanga, carrying a short rope. She walked around behind Tatanga and put the rope around his neck and pulled it tight.

"Doesn't feel good, does it" She asked.

Tatanga slowly lost consciousness. When he passed out, Daisy used the rope to tie Tatanga's hands behind his back. Mario and Luigi walked over to Tatanga and began dragging him out, toward the Mushroom Kingdom prison. They dragged him inside and threw him down in front of the guards.

"What, uh…what are the charges?" One of the guards asked.

Peach stepped forward and said "kidnapping, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering. Do I need to continue?"

"No Princess" the guard said "what would you like us to do with him?"

"Lock him in the most secure cell you have" Peach said "and post a twenty-four hour watch."

"Yes Princess" The guard said.

Several guards came over and dragged Tatanga away.

"Now what?" Mario asked.

"Now" Daisy said "we go get the clone in the closet to give the order for any remaining clones to gather the dead and wounded then return to the ships and fly away."

"Sounds good" Luigi said.

Later that night, Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy were all having dinner at Luigi's mansion.

"It's good to know Tatanga won't be bothering us anymore" Peach said "but, what are we gonna do if he breaks out of jail?"

"Well" Luigi said "I'm done playing mister nice guy with him. If he breaks out and I see him first, I'm gonna put a bullet through his right eye socket; and maybe one through the left eye too, just for fun."

"If I see him first" Mario said "I'll fill him so full of holes when the wind blows through him, he'll whistle."

"I'll burn him to a crisp" Daisy said "what would you do, Peach?"

"I guess I would put a few shells in his stomach" Peach said "I think he would do better to stay in jail."

"Yup" Mario said "is there more lasagna?"

"Yes Mario, there's more lasagna" Peach said smiling "it's in the kitchen."

"Ok" he said "I'll go get it."

"Same old Mario" Luigi said smiling "he was shot less than twelve hours ago, but food is still all he thinks about."