The people of Mushroom Kingdom rejoiced as the victorious Mario stepped out of the Chancellor's castle and basked in his glory. Beside him was his good friend, Prince Mallow of Nimbus land, who had helped in the recent defeat of Smithy. As the two heroes stepped out to say hello the Princess watched from them from the doorway. Though she was glad to have helped in overthrowing Smithy, she now wished that she had stayed home and let Mario take care of him. Upon her return, the Chancellor had forbidden her to leave the castle as punishment for disobeying him.
    A lone Goomba quietly mingled with the Mushroom people, hoping that they would accept him as one of them. He hated serving Bowser and escaped from the castle one night to begin a more peaceful life. Unfortunately, no town or community would take him in, and Mushroom Kingdom was his last chance at finding a new home. He felt comfortable here, and knew he was well protected by Mario. A sudden yell from a Magikoopa made him jump and quickly silenced the crowds.
    "LEEK! LEEK!!!" He cried. Approach me this instant!"
    The lone Goomba suddenly ran up to the caped wizard.
    "W-w-what is it sir?"
    "We've been looking for you for over three weeks now! where have you been anyway?"
    "W-w-well sir I thought that...maybe Bowser wouldn't mind i-i-if I, well, flew the coop. Serving under Bowser is rather hectic if you ask me."
    "What are you talking about?" the Magikoopa yelled, "You're a Goomba! you were born for one purpose only and that is to carry out Bowser's orders!"
    "B-b-but I want to do other things with my life!"
    "You don't have a life! You're a pawn on Bowser's gameboard! You do what he says and he lets you live!"
    "W-w-well I don't think that's very fair!"
    "Don't raise you're voice to me, weakling!"
    "Don't call me weakling you big bully!"
    "What are you going to do about it?"
    All of the sudden Leek jumped up into the air and gave the Magikoopa a swift kick in the face, sending the Wizard to the ground. The crowds began to laugh at the pathetic warrior, being beaten by his own troops.
    "You little runt! When King Bowser finds out about this he'll..."
    "I don't care what Bowser does anymore! I'm not going back into that castle no matter what!"
    "Then I'll take you myself!"
    The Magikoopa raised his golden wand and brought it down to the ground with tremendous force. A beam of light surrounded Leek and raised him upward. Leek struggled to escape but to no avail.
    "Sorry for the inconvenience, citizens of this fair Kingdom. I promise that next time we attempt to take over your puny world we will be a lot more polite! Hahaha!"
    The Magikoopa's remark was answered with a strong punch from Mario, who grabbed the wand and snapped it into two pieces. Leek was released and dropped to the ground.
    "You fool!" the Magikoopa yelled, "That wand is the source of my power! Now it will take days to get back to the castle!"
    "Leave this Goomba alone!" Mario yelled, "If he wants to live in Mushroom Kingdom then that's fine with me! I don't blame him for not wanting to serve Bowser, that creep!"
    "You'll pay for this Mario! Bowser will destroy you and this Kingdom you love so much! And he'll show no mercy!"
    "Get out of my sight!" said Mario.
    "Drat!"
    Magikoopa fled from the Mushroom Kingdom and began the long trek home. He and the rest of his troops had been foiled by Mario literally hundreds of times, but this time the mustached plumber had gone too far and embarrassed him in front of the entire Kingdom. He would pay for this, and the Magikoopa (whose name was Kamek) knew how. The old wizard's laughter echoed through the forest trees all night long as he trotted back to the castle.
 
Two days after the incident in Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser, the King of the Koopas, could not sleep. He was kept awake by the constant pounding of hammers outside of the castle. All of his special troops were outside in the freezing rain unsuccessfully trying to repair his castle, that was literally torn apart by Smithy and his partner Exor. He admired their dedication to their leader. He closed his eyes, and his mind flooded with images of the Giant sword crashing into his castle, sending his prize, the Princess, into a far away land and sending him, the "Mighty" King of Koopas, flying into oblivion. He had never felt so humiliated in all his life. He needed to formulate a plan. A plan that would once again make him the most feared villain in the land. But his mind was blank, he couldn't come up with not even the slightest idea.
    Kamek arrived at the castle dirty and worn-out. He had wandered through the forest for days without rest. Though his body begged him to sleep, he trudged onward.
    The two koopas guarding the front door of the great castle hardly recognized Kamek, who was caked in layers of dried mud from his journey. He was finally let through and entered the palace. Thpough Kamek was nervous about returning to the castle empty-handed, he believed that Bowser would like his idea.
    The door to Bowser's throne room creaked open and Kamek entered. Bowser sat on his throne with a glum look on his face. "King Koopa?" Kamek whispered, "I have some news to report."
    "Did you find Leek?" Bowser asked.
    "Well, um...that is to say...I mean No! No I couldn't find him."
    "It doesn't matter, one Goomba isn't going to change things around here. I should just face up to the fact that my days of kidnapping the Princess and terrorizing Mushroom Kingdom are over. I'm not the same Koopa that I used to be."
    "That's what I came to talk to you about, sir! On the way home I came up with a foolproof plan!"
    "Well, what are you waiting for?! Tell me!!!"
    "Well, I hate to bring up the subject but...remember Exor, the giant sword?"
    "Argh!!! How could I forget?"
    "Well, I distinctly remember that Exor was built from one of the strongest materials I have ever encountered. The other Magikoopas and I could completely reenergize the sword if he were excavated from the bottom of the ocean."
    "What would this accomplish? If Mario could defeat Exor once, he could defeat Exor again!"
    "True, but if we gathered every Magikoopa in existence together and we joined our powers, we could..."
    "...What's wrong? go ahead, tell me!"
    "I'm not sure, this is a Magikoopa secret. It is against our rules to tell another..."
    "Tell me or be tomorrows dinner!!!"
    "Sorry sir! Well, if we joined our powers we could summon the very first and most powerful Magikoopa, Zarr, who will give Exor the legendary Valor of Might."
    "What does this 'Valor of Might' do?"
    "It can make Exor him the most threatening weapon ever known."
    "WHAT!!!? Why haven't we ever used this Valor of might before?!"
    "It can only be used every 500,000 years. Fortunately the time is right and we can perform this sacred ritual for the good of the Castle!"
    "But why does it have to be Exor! Why can't you give ME the 'Valor of Might'?!"
    "I have chosen Exor for a special reason, sir, and that is because of the material he is made out of. It is strong and sturdy. His body can withstand the Valor of Might. If we tried this ritual on you, sir, you would be destroyed by it's awesome power."
    "But what if Exor rebels against me?"
    "Exor has already been defeated by Mario. He is dead. All we need is his strong metal body! You will be in full control of his, I mean IT'S actions!"
    "It sounds like a plan! Fine! We will begin searching for Exor's body tomorrow! This time Mario has no chance of defeating me! HAHAHAHA!!!"