Author's note: I added Luigi to this episode just so I can make it a little more interesting, but keep in mind that this does not change the fact that he's not in the actual game of Super Mario 64. Also, the total number of stars is 75 instead of 120 because I'm excluding the stars for 100 coins in the regular worlds (15), red coins (15), and secrets in the castle (15), since there was a possibility that people would get confused.

Saturday, July 12, 1997, 2:00 PM

With 45 power stars in hand, the N Team used the second key they got from Bowser in the Fire Sea to unlock the doors to the top floor, where the last six courses were waiting.

"All right, team. We're basically following the same strategy we did for the courses in the basement. Here's the way it goes: we split up into four teams of two for the first four courses, and then go all together for the final two courses - including the third battle with Bowser!" Lana said to the team.

"You all should already have the pocket guides for the remaining six worlds, which are Snowman's Land; Wet-Dry World; Tall, Tall Mountain; Tiny-Huge Island; Tick Tock Clock; and Rainbow Ride." Rick said.

"Way cool, Rick! So, who's going where?" Stacey asked.

"Well, since I'm wearing a water-proof suit, and Wet-Dry World sounds like a water place, I'll go there. I'd like for Luigi to come with me." Samus said.

"Stacey and I can go to the Tall, Tall Mountain." Rick said.

"I'll go to Tiny-Huge Island with Mario." Lana said.

"And I guess that leaves me and Mike to go to Snowman's Land." Kevin said.

"Good luck, you two." Rick said to the two.

Everyone laughed.

"Okay, team, let's do it!" Lana said to everyone.

With that, everyone went to their assigned worlds in an attempt to get the remaining power stars.

At Snowman's Land, Kevin had already gotten the first star from the Snowman's big head while Mike was facing off against the Chill Bully, who was holding the second star. After the Chill Bully was defeated, Kevin and Mike met each other again at Chill Bully's platform. Knowing that they know how to handle with ice, they sat down to take a break.

"Yo, Keene! Did ya get the first star?" Mike asked Kevin.

"Sure did, and I hear you beat the Chill Bully to get the second star." Kevin said.

"You better believe it! Nothing can stop me, not even the cold weather here!" Mike shouted.

"Well, our next star is in that ice maze over there." Kevin said, pointing at the giant ice cube with a power star inside.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get it!" Mike said. "Hey, Keene! Race ya to the ice cube!"

Kevin quickly got up, but Mike had already taken off and was a few feet ahead of Kevin.

"Hey, wait! Wait up! You started before me! Wait, hold it, Mike!"

Samus and Luigi had jumped into the lower section of the Wet-Dry World picture, and as a result, there was hardly any water at the place. They had made it to the highest part of the level, all while retreiving the first power star, which was lying atop some arrow blocks.

"Huh? I thought we were going to see some water here!" Samus said in disbelief.

"It's also somewhat strange that this place looks like an abandoned city." Luigi said. "Say, what's this thing do?"

Luigi was referring to the rainbow-colored semi-transparent crystal he was standing next to. He touched it, and then the two saw water filling up the whole place. The water filled up from ground level all the way to the two heroes' feet.

"Well, there's the water you were looking for." Luigi said.

"Now how did that just happen, smarty?" Samus exaggerated.

"It must have been this switch." Luigi said, pointing at the crystal. "I've seen five of these throughout this city. I guess depending upon which switch you press, the water either fills up or drains itself at a different level. That's my best guess."

"Well, no matter, because there's the first star!" Samus said, pointing to the lone power star that was hovering above some wooden platforms. But she was too preoccupied with that to notice that danger was wheeling towards her from behind.

"Samus, look out!" Luigi shouted.

Samus leapt out of the way, thinking it was for no reason, but when she turned around, it was none other than Chuck Chuckya.

"That's Chuck Chuckya, one of Bowser's strongest troops. He can throw even the heaviest objects around with just one arm." Luigi said.

Ignoring Luigi's gossip, Samus just blasted Chuck away with one shot from her blaster.

"But it's not very good at defending itself." Samus said.

"Oh. I see." Luigi replied.

Samus and Luigi then crossed the wooden platforms to catch the second power star. They pulled out their pocket guides to see where their next star was located.

"Our next star says: Secrets in the Shallows & Sky." Luigi said.

"Let me guess. Five secret locations will get us a power star, right?" Samus asked Luigi.

"I bet you're right." Luigi said.

So the two went running and swimming through the rest of the world, looking for these five secret locations.

At Tall, Tall Mountain, Stacey was hanging on to Rick with a grip that seemed to last forever. She was letting Rick do most of the work. Of course, they were both blasting every Goomba out of sight with their weapons. They already had one star, and now they were going for the second one, which the pocket guides described as: Mystery of the Monkey Cage. Upon reaching the log bridge, they met a monkey named Ukkiki.

"Awww, that's a cute monkey!" Stacey said.

"Probably cute enough to lead us to our next star." Rick said.

"What?! You mean we have to blast the cute little thing?!" Stacey asked.

"No, no, no. Don't worry about that. If we catch him, he'll take us to the next star. That's what I meant." Rick said. "Now, keep it quiet while I grab it."

Rick snuck right up to the monkey and made a leaping dive, making a successful grab. Rick was holding it by the neck to ensure it wouldn't escape.

"Ackk! Let...go. You're...choking...me." Ukkiki said, trying to speak under its breath.

Rick let it go.

"Okay, Ukkiki, here's the deal. Be a nice monkey to me and my friend and give us your star, or this may not become a pleasant meeting." Rick said with his Super Scope aimed at Ukkiki.

"Okay, okay, you win." Ukkiki said.

He ran to the side of the cliff they were standing on and pulled a hidden switch. The power star came out and fell to the platform behind the foot of the waterfall.

"Like, thanks a lot, Mr. Ukkiki." Stacey said.

After that, though, Ukkiki was charging towards Rick. Ukkiki successfully knocked the Super Scope out of Rick's hands. It flew towards the waterfall.

"Hey! My weapon!" Rick shouted.

"That pesky monkey! I should've known it liked to play dirty tricks!" Stacey said.

"Not to mention rotten tricks, too." Rick added.

He tried to catch Ukkiki again, but he escaped from their sight. Rick's Super Scope finally landed in an unflowing section of the waterfall.

"Good thing my Super Scope is waterproof." Rick said.

"Like, that's a totally smart thing for a weapon to have." Stacey said.

"Okay, we're going to jump to the bottom of the waterfall to get my weapon and, of course, the power star." Rick said.

"Are you totally crazy?! I don't want to jump down there!" Stacey exclaimed.

"Just hang on to me, okay? We won't get hurt just by getting wet, will we? Let's do it! On the count of three, we jump. Sounds good to you?" Rick asked Stacey.

"That's totally fine with me, I think." Stacey said.

"1,...2,...3!" Rick counted.

On three, the two made a big jump from the cliff to the waterfall. Stacey caught the power star, and when the two hit the water, Rick recovered his Super Scope. He test-fired it at an oncoming Goomba, and it worked, since the Goomba vanished.

"Well, it still works!" Rick said.

"Totally cool! Can we do it again?" Stacey asked Rick.

Rick just stared at her.

"Like, I was just kidding!" Stacey said.

"Sure you were." Rick said.

When the two got out of the river and dried themselves off, they climbed back to the top of the mountain to get the rest of the power stars.

At Tiny-Huge Island, Mario and Lana had already gotten three stars. One was from Koopa the Quick when Mario beat him in a rematch of their race from Bob-Omb Battlefield. The two had been very tiny throughout the journey, so all the enemies they'd encountered had been immense in size. They were standing next to a big pipe, one of many they had seen on the island.

"The fourth star reads: Five Itty-Bitty Secrets." Mario said.

"Now, that could be tough. So far, there's nothing itty-bitty about this place." Lana said.

"Say, Lana, we've been running past these pipes all over the island. Where do you suppose they go?" Mario asked Lana.

"I'm not sure; maybe some giant underground cave with even bigger enemies?" Lana guessed.

Just then, two giant Goombas nearby were charging toward them.

"I think now is the time we found out!" Mario said to Lana.

The two jumped into the pipe without hesitation, just as the Goombas had gotten to where they were standing. When the two emerged from the pipe, they saw the exact same scenery as before, except that the mountain wasn't as big as it was in the other place.

"Huh? I don't get it. That pipe didn't take us anywhere, because everything looks the same." Lana said.

Mario then looked down to see the same two Goombas that were charging at them before they hit the pipe, except that they weren't extremely huge; they were extremely tiny.

"Hey, Lana, look!" Mario said to Lana, pointing down at the Goombas.

When Lana looked down, she gasped at the sight.

"What happened to the Goombas? They just shrunk!" Lana said in amazement.

The two then just kicked the Goombas off of the island. Mario suddenly came up with something.

"I know what's going on, Lana!" Mario said.

"What's that?" Lana asked.

"I've been thinking about the name of this course, which is Tiny-Huge Island. We took the rightmost picture back at the castle, and it took a long time to get there, right? Plus almost everyone we've encountered were giants, right? Well, I think that picture shrunk us, and when we took these pipes, it changed our size. Now we're the ones who are giants!" Mario explained.

"Really? So the pipes can make us tiny or huge, right?" Lana asked Mario.

"That's right." Mario replied.

"And now we're big, which means we're the ones towering over our enemies, right?" Lana asked Mario.

"Exactly. And you know what? Since we're now big, I bet we can find those itty-bitty secrets the guide mentioned now!" Mario said.

"Hey, good point! Let's go for it!" Lana said.

So Mario and Lana ventured through the rest of the island to get the fourth and fifth power stars.

After a long time, everyone returned from their worlds and met in front of the stairs leading to Peach's clock room, which was where the final two courses awaited the N Team. The N Team now had 65 of the 75 stars needed to face off against Bowser.

"Me and Keene raced the heck out of each other in the Snowman's Land!" Mike said to everyone.

"Did you have to tell them that?!" Kevin asked Mike.

"I had to!" Mike said.

Everyone laughed.

"Well, I'm sure you two had fun there." Lana said.

"Luigi and I were able to swim through the Wet-Dry World and get the five stars!" Samus said.

"Actually, she did all the swimming. She has more breath than I do." Luigi added.

Everyone laughed again.

"I kept Stacey out of danger in the Tall, Tall Mountain." Rick said.

"Though I did have some major fun in that totally wicked slide!" Stacey added.

"Me and Lana reached monumental heights on Tiny-Huge Island. Didn't we, Lana?" Mario asked Lana.

"Uhhh,...I guess you could say that." Lana said.

Everyone just laughed.

"Other than for that Wiggler, it was easy going for both of us." Lana then added.

"That star door up there will lead us to the final two courses." Rick said, pointing to the star door waiting up the stairs.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Lana said to the team.

So the team went up the stairs and entered the star door.

In the next room, there was a giant clock in the center of the room, along with two open windows at the sides. The two stairs led up to Peach's throne room, but the star door wouldn't open until the N Team had all 75 stars. They were 10 away from battling Bowser and rescuing Princess Peach. Before Lana could set up the teams, Rick gave some advice for the Tick Tock Clock course.

"In Tick Tock Clock, the gears move at different speeds depending upon where the minute hand is. It freezes as soon as we enter the face itself. The gears stop when the clock is at 12 o'clock, and they move at 3 o'clock. Enter at 6 and 9 o'clock, and the gears will go faster than you can think."

"Thanks for the advice, Rick. You've really been a big help to us." Mario acknowledged.

"Well, thank you, Mario. It's all part of being on the N Team!" Rick said.

"All right. We'll split into two teams of four to take on the last two worlds. I will let Mario and Luigi set up the teams." Lana said.

"Thank you, Lana. Okay, I'll be heading for Tick Tock Clock. I would like for Rick, Kevin, and Samus to come with me." Mario said.

"And I'll take on the Rainbow Ride world, with some help from Lana, Stacey, and Mike." Luigi said.

"Then it's settled. Rick has already given us the pocket guides for both worlds. Everyone ready?" Lana asked everyone.

"Ready!" everyone else said.

"Then let's do it, team!" Lana said.

And with that, the quest for the final 10 stars began.

After a while, the N Team returned in front of Tick Tock Clock. They had gotten the final 10 stars, and they now had all 75 stars back from Bowser.

"All right, team! We got all the stars!" Lana said.

"Totally cool! So, like, what's next, Rick?" Stacey asked Rick.

"Now that we've recovered every single star stolen from the castle, the star door up there is now open to all of us. That's normally Peach's throne room, but up the stairs is the hole that will take us to Bowser!" Rick said to the team.

"Okay, everyone's coming with us!" Lana said to the team.

"Look out, Bowser! The N Team is coming to town!" Kevin said.

Everyone laughed.

When the team reached the top of the stairs after going through the star door, they jumped in the hole that was there as they prepared themselves for the final battle with Bowser.

The N Team was taking its time navigating through all the platforms and enemies that lurked within the purple sky, Bowser's new home. When it all paid off, they jumped into the lone pipe, and once they landed from their trip, the scene was the same for the platform: nothing there, except for a light rumbling sound could be heard.

"Here we go, gang." Kevin said to everyone.

When Bowser appeared, however, he was almost rainbow-colored.

"Whoa, has he been, like, swimming in paint?" Stacey asked to Rick.

"It's the power of the stars that did this to him. How it happened, since we got all 75 stars, is beyond me." Rick said.

"Yeah, you insects better believe it! I used the power of the stars to turn myself into the one, the only, Ultimate Bowser! And now that I have the most power in the world, I will finally be able to get rid of all of you, and Princess Peach will at long last be mine! Bwahahahaha!" Bowser said to the team.

"Hey, Bowser, action speaks louder than words! Give us your best shot!" Lana said.

With that, the battle was on. While Bowser was attacking the N Team with his flame breath, Mario ran behind Bowser, and, as always, picked him by the tail and aimed for the bomb hovering outside of the platform. This time, though, he missed. When Bowser jumped back onto the platform, a piece of it broke off. Plus, shockwaves were heading straight for the N Team, but they successfully jumped over them.

"Oh, I forgot to tell all of you. Bowser can break this platform apart with his brute strength." Rick said to the team.

"That's no problem for me. Keep distracting him, and I'll make another throw." Mario said.

With that, the N Team got back to work running around Bowser, shooting their weapons at him, which of course had no effect. Mario grabbed Bowser and swung for the bomb again, and this time he made a perfect connect. But, to the N Team's shock, Bowser got right back up.

"Looks like he wants to put up a good fight this time." Kevin said.

"With the increased power, it now takes three hits for Bowser to be defeated." Rick said.

"Three, huh? Well, let's keep going!" Lana ordered to the team.

They got back to work distracting Bowser. All the while, Mario managed to get behind Bowser and grab his tail again. He threw him towards another bomb, and it was another direct hit. Bowser got back up.

"Quite impressive, N Team. But wait 'til you see what other tricks I have!" Bowser said.

With that, Bowser raised his hands in the air and let out a loud roar. Suddenly, the platform started breaking apart, and the N Team had to make a quick jump to escape the piece they were standing on. Stacey wasn't fast enough, and she found herself hanging on to the edge for her life.

"Kevin! Somebody, like, help me!!!" Stacey screamed.

Kevin ran over and helped Stacey up. By the time the destruction was over, the platform was shaped like a star, with the bombs even farther off from the edges.

"It's going to be harder trying to swing ourselves to victory." Rick said.

Mario continued to make circles around Bowser while the team kept him busy by shooting at him. Bowser then shot balls of fire into the air, and the N Team scattered all over the platform to avoid getting burned. When Lana jumped, she went from one flame to another. As she screamed in pain, the N Team gathered around her to check on their leader.

"Lana, you okay?" Kevin asked.

Lana could barely speak: "I...I'm...fine. Hust...defeat...Bow...ser."

"Mario, take care of Lana for us. I want a piece of that overgrown Koopa." Kevin said to Mario.

"Right!" Mario replied.

"Kevin, are you nuts or something?!" Samus asked Kevin.

"You don't stand a chance against him!" Mike said.

"I may be the lowest key member of the team, but I still want to prove I can save the world!" Kevin said to everyone.

"Go for it, Kevy!" Stacey said.

"Yeah, Kevin. I believe in you! Take Bowser down!" Rick said.

"Thanks, guys." Kevin said to Rick and Stacey.

Everyone on the team except for Kevin was consoling Lana. Kevin stood face-to-face with Bowser for a moment, until he charged behind Bowser and grabbed his tail. When Bowser was on target for the bomb, Kevin released him with full force, hoping that he would crash into the bomb to win the game. He did.

"For you, Lana." Kevin said silently.

The rest of the N Team, with Mario and Luigi carrying Lana on their shoulders, gathered around Bowser, who was lying flat on his back.

"Awesome, Kevin! I don't think I would've pulled that off on my own!" Mike said.

"Yeah, Kevy! You were soooooo heroic!" Stacey said.

"Hey, it was no problem at all." Kevin said.

Bowser then gave his final words: "This can't be! I thought I had it all this time! I can't stand losing to you nitwits!!!"

"Better believe it, Bowser! The N Team can make anything happen!" Rick said.

"Whether it's in the sky or in space, nobody beats us!" Samus said.

"Arrrrrrgh, my power has failed me. Now I see peace returning to the Mushroom Kingdom. Just you wait, N Team! One of these days, I will have my day, but until then, I'll see you all again real soon." Bowser said.

With those last words, Bowser vanished, and a large power star came from the sky, hovering in the middle of the platform.

"That star's probably our ticket home!" Samus said.

"All right, team! Let's go!" Rick said.

The entire N Team, including the injured Lana, touched the power star and were engulfed in bright light.

The N Team reappeared outside of Peach's Castle, with Princess Peach, Toad, and the other mushroom retainers standing in front of them. Lana awoke also, wondering why she was being held onto by Mario and Luigi.

"Hey, I can walk, you two!" Lana said.

"Oh, we're sorry Lana." both Mario and Luigi said.

"Hey, Lana, good to see you've recovered!" Kevin said to her.

"Yes, it's good to be healthy again." Lana replied.

The N Team then approached Princess Peach.

"Peach, how are you feeling?" Lana asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, thanks to all of you, of course. The power of the stars has been restored to the castle." Peach said.

"And because of that, the painting worlds have been sealed. They can never be opened again, not even if Bowser retries the same thing." Toad added.

"That's great. We certainly wouldn't want to go through all of that again." Kevin said.

"I would have!" Samus declared.

Everyone stared at her.

"I'm only kidding, guys!" Samus said, laughing as she was speaking.

Everyone else laughed, too.

"Hey, I've baked a cake for everyone. Would you all like to have some?" Peach asked everyone.

"Oh, I'll have some!" Mario said.

"Me, too!" Luigi added.

"I think we all deserve some cake for that exhausting battle." Lana said.

"Okay, then, follow me to the castle!" Peach said.

When everyone got inside the castle, a big party was thrown first to celebrate the defeat of Bowser. In addition to Mario getting a special kiss from Peach, everyone had their cake. After everyone was full, the celebration was moved to outside, and once that was over, the N Team was waved good-bye by Peach, Mario, and Luigi as they warped back to their home in Megaland. Even after they warped, everyone had to wonder if Bowser had been defeated for good. Only time would tell...

GAME OVER