(Geez, life can cost ya, huh? :P Anyway, see previous chapters for most disclaimers. The next chapters HOPEFULLY will come out quicker than these did, and that should end this story. Enjoy!)
CHAPTER 9: THE MYSTERIOUS FIGURE
Twists and turns
That's what Wario, Peach, Geno and Bowser had to endure as they followed the shrouded figure through the depths of the Forest Maze. They journey seemed to go on forever, and every time they seemed to finish their trek, the figure would find a new path to go down. Finally, after about the 10th or 15th turn...one of the heroes snapped.
"THAT'S IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Bowser nearly roared out in anger, almost breathing out fire as well. "If I have to go down one more damn path, I'm gonna take my claws and drive them hard into someone's chest!"
With speed that was surprising for someone for his size, Bowser lunged at the slim figure and grabbed him by his neck, also hoisting him up off the ground. "Who are you" the former Koopa King growled in an evil questioning tone. In an instant, Geno and Peach were starting to rush over to rescue the shrouded figure. However, before they could get too close, Wario put his large body between Bowser and the other two.
"Wario, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Geno asked, getting his finger gun ready.
"I'm trying to find out who this person is. Unfortunately, Bowser's way came first, but as long as we find out..."
"B...but he'll kill that guy!" Peach said worriedly...just as Bowser slashed at the figure's face. The mask that this person wore was shredded a bit, revealing a bit of his face.
And when Wario saw the little bit of the face of this person, his expression seemed to change. "Bowser, put him down. NOW!"
Everyone was shocked at the quick change in disposition on Wario. Bowser, who was probably the most shocked of them all, slowly put the figure down. Wario quickly went over to the figure, holding him in his arms just in case, and went to remove the mask. His suspicions were confirmed as the figure smiled at Wario, then fainted. "Waluigi..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As another tree was blasted away, Pauline started fuming at this recent failure. Usually, with the strategy that she had planned out, the person or peoples that they were after would have either been captured or, in a more likely move, killed. "How the hell could we let ourselves be tricked by a pathetic smoke bomb?"
"I told you that you under-estimated them Pauline." Skull Knight said smugly.
"Shove it, bone brain." She turned to Kamek after this. "How deep do you think they are in here?"
"It's hard to tell" he began as he studied a primitive map of the Forest Maze "Depending on certain paths, they could be anywhere from here to here." he finished, pointing to two very distant points. This only added to Pauline's anger, which caused her to blast a Metal Koopa Troopa into oblivion. After taking a few breaths, she looked to a group of human-looking soldiers...half of them zombies and the other half of them robots.
"You troops, take all the paths and find them. Bring them back alive if you can, but it isn't necessary. Report when you find them though. If not..." She let this part of her statement be answered by blasting another tree into nothingness. The group of soldiers nodded and each of them followed the different paths that they could follow, murderous intentions in their mind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How is he?"
Peach looked up to Wario, who had just broken up a fight between Geno and Bowser about the incident that just happened. She looked down to the figure in a jumpsuit similar to the one she was wearing. "Well, he seems to be all right. However, I can't be totally sure until he wakes up."
This started to depress Wario. As he sat down next to Peach, he sighed and looked at his brother. "Amazing that he's doing so well for someone who is dead."
"Yeah...I heard about that incident. How did he survive?"
"I...had...help."
Both Peach and Wario were surprised to hear the sleeping figure talk. Peach let go of the lanky brother of Wario and let him get to his feet. After a bit, Waluigi looked to his brother and smirked. "Didn't know dead men could do so well, did you?"
Wario also smiled, standing up to hug his brother. "How did you survive anyway? I thought that Luigi and his troops totally destroyed Kitchen Island and my castle there!"
"Well, it's interesting..."
Waluigi's story was abruptly interrupted as he saw Geno and Bowser stop their arguing as they backed up, looking all around. "What is it?" Peach asked as she started to stand up.
"Someone or something is coming." Bowser stated.
"And they have hostile intentions." Geno added, getting his finger gun at ready. Wario and Waluigi looked at each other, and the thinner of the two made a motion with his head as he started to run.
"Where are we going now?" Bowser asked annoyed.
All Waluigi said in reply was Home Base as they continued to run.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pauline was happy now. She watched on her scanning device as Wario and his crew were now running in fear from her troops. "It is only a matter of time now."
Skull Knight, who stood closely behind her, chuckled again. "You sure of yourself this time? I mean, they HAVE foiled you at every turn."
Her reply this time was a quick laser blast to Skull Knight. Though it didn't kill the undead warrior, it sent his body parts scattered apart a bit. The Knight quickly reformed and smirked. "Same old Pauline."
"For your information Knight, there is no way that this plan could be foiled. All paths of the Forest Maze are blocked off by our troops. No matter which way those rebels go, they'll be caught."
Knight just smirked again at this. Kamek, however, seemed to be a bit worried. "Uh, what if they know of underground paths."
"Yeah right, the Forest Maze has been abandoned for the past 2 years. Who would have an underground path that we don't know about?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, where is this 'Home Base' of yours?"
Waluigi looked back to Geno as he kept running. "Not much further. We should be at the spot very shortly."
"You better not be bluffing, or you're gonna get abrupt throat surgery!" Bowser added.
Bowser was surprised, however, when both Peach and Wario told him to shut up at the same time. He decided to do so, only because he wanted to live through this to get his revenge. Eventually, they reached a dark area of the Forest Maze with five paths. Of course, Waluigi stopped here.
"We're here." he said as the rest of the group slowed down. They all looked around at where they had arrived, and were confused.
"I don't get it bro...where are we?"
"The entrance to home base."
"But why here?" Peach added in.
"Because no one would expect it here."
"ThAt'S wHaT yOu ThInK!"
The 5 "heroes" were shocked to hear a new voice. From one of the paths came a grotesque looking figure. His clothing was torn and hanging off his body, as was some of his skin. In his hand he carried a large and deadly looking scythe, dripping with a certain red substance that made Peach look queasy upon seeing. The group tried to run down another path, but found that all five paths were filled with either creatures that looked like this or were humanoid in shape and made completely of metal. Each of them had their own weapon at ready, and looked ready to take the group of who they considered rebels out for good. The first one they found stepped forward and raised a communicator.
"MiStReSs PaUlInE...wE'vE gOt ThEm SuRrOuNdEd."
"Excellent." A familiar female voice over the communicator stated evilly. "Bring them to me at once. And try to keep them alive."
"UnDeRsToOd..."
As the troops of Pauline moved in, Wario, Bowser, and Geno got into battle stances. Peach watched on worriedly at what was happening, and noticed something strange: Waluigi didn't seem at all worried. He was just standing there, smiling...and starting to laugh. Light chuckling at first, but after a bit it turned into maniacal laughter that nearly filled the entire Forrest Maze. Each of the "heroes"...as well as the forces of Luigi...looked at Waluigi with confused looks on their faces.
"Hey slim, this ain't a time for laughter." Bowser said bitterly, glaring his teeth angrily. Waluigi didn't seem to notice Bowser that much as his laughter died down.
"Come on...you honestly didn't think it would be THAT easy, did you?"
After Waluigi finished his sentence, he dropped another smoke pellet on the ground and grabbed the group. After stamping his foot, they fell through a hole in the ground that wasn't there before, just as the metallic soldiers fired their weapons, causing the smoke to burst into flames. After a long drop, followed by a twisting slide, the group found themselves in an interesting looking grove. All around, there were many mushroom people and even various monsters that at one time were under Bowser's rule. Some were practicing fighting moves, others were working on some small equipment, while others still were monitoring things on some small computers. Everyone in the group that Wario had put together looked in awe at this place. Waluigi just looked to them and smiled.
"Brother, Princess...good friends" he began, taking a deep breath as he outstretched his arm to the place that they were at "Welcome to Home Base."
___________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 10: PLANS AND PERILS
"Pauline, your report."
Pauline stood in fear upon hearing Luigi's voice come over her communicator. She didn't like to tell Luigi of the failures on missions under her command, because they usually meant that she would be getting a beating by Luigi's hand later. She looked over to Skull Knight and Kamek, but both of them seemed to be ignoring her. She sighed and started to talk into her communicator.
"Sir..." she began, trying to think of something that would keep her out of trouble. "Uh, we have cornered Wario and his gang into the Forrest Maze. We're gonna flush them out of hiding right now."
For the longest time, the communicator was silent. Kamek and Skull Knight both noticed...and waited. After a bit, Luigi's voice came up.
"Understood. Make it quickly Pauline. I am sick of waiting. And make sure you destroy that figure that joined up with them. Out."
Pauline internally sighed at this as her communicator went dead. She was safe for now...but she knew that she had to hurry. Quickly she turned to her two leading subordinates for this mission. "Kamek, I need you to do something and fast..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home Base.
It seemed so strange to Wario to see that his brother had somewhat the same idea about overthrowing Luigi. But it was true...Wario's brother Waluigi had made his own rebellion. And it was evident that Waluigi was the leader by the way all the troops stopped what they were doing to welcome him back to Home Base. As this was going on, Peach, Geno, and Bowser all spread out and looked around the place that Waluigi seemed to call home. Wario, on the other hand, stayed near his brother and watched the amazingly good reception that he was getting. After about a minute of gaining adulation, Waluigi sent the troops off to go back to their business.
All of the troops except one, that is. And this one made Wario's blood boil when he saw her. "Captain Syrup..."
Waluigi barely had time to stop his brother's bull-rush at the female pirate. He knew of Wario and Syrup's sordid past, and had hoped that something like this wouldn't have happened. The two rivals stared each other down for the longest time, an unnerving silence filling the air around them. Everyone in the area stopped and stared down the two, standing there just looking at each other bitterly. After a bit, however, a surprising thing happened as, from nowhere, Syrup extended her hand out to Wario, smiling slightly.
"Hello again Wario. Nice to see you."
Wario was taken aback at this turn of events. Usually, when he had met Captain Syrup face to face, some sort of conflict would occur between them. This was totally different from what Wario was used to, so he only could extend his hand out to return the handshake back. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the two hotshot fighters made peace in this time, and Waluigi was the happiest of them all. "Surprised bro?" he asked Wario.
"You could say that..." Wario replied, still confused by the sign of friendship that Captain Syrup was showing to him. "I mean..."
"Times change, big guy." Syrup interrupted as she broke the handshake, then turned to Waluigi. "Sir, there's been no further contact from Agent D, and Agent Y states that she was..."
"I know hon." Waluigi stated, putting his index and middle finger on her lips. "I've found out what really happened."
The two continued to talk for a while, but Wario didn't seem to be too interested in the conversation. He wandered around, looking at the various other proceedings that were going on in this place. In an area that looked like a makeshift medical facility, Peach was starting to help the other doctors. Over in another corner, Bowser was watching the soldiers practice hand-to-hand combat techniques, while in yet another Geno was practicing shooting along with other fighters. All this made Wario sigh a bit, which was quickly noticed by Peach and Waluigi as he walked off towards an open field.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Commander Kamek Sir!"
Kamek looked around for the soldier that was reporting to him. Ever since Pauline gave him the most recent order, he had been on edge. Hell, he had been on edge ever since Luigi revived him two years ago. It's not very often that you die before seeing one of your plans work out, then get revived to see it. Now he only had to get rid of Bowser, which he tried to about a year ago, and he'd be ready for anything. Eventually, he found the soldier that had called him and saw that he, along with about 8 others, were waiting with very large and dangerous looking guns in their hands. "Yes, yes, what is it that you want?"
"Sir, we're ready to proceed with operating SB."
"Very good." Kamek replied. "Go ahead and start everything up. When you're finished, give me the sign."
"Understood sir!" the soldier finished as he saluted and went off with the rest of his troops. Kamek smiled as he stroked his magic wand and watched on. Soon his problem would be gone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey Wario, what's wrong?"
Wario looked behind him to see who was talking to him. To the least of his surprise, Peach was the one that was talking to him. "Why do I even bother?"
"Huh?"
Wario didn't even bother to turn as he talked, the starlit night sky giving a light illumination to the hill that Wario was standing on. "Why did I even bother to come out to do this job? Was it really worth it?"
Peach sighed as Wario started to put himself down. "Wario, you're helping everyone."
"Am I Princess?" he said bitterly as he turned around to face her. "Am I REALLY helping anyone? All I'm doing is finding a bunch of small trinkets and gathering together a few lost souls. How is that supposed to be helping anyone?"
"Boy, you like to get down on yourself, don't you bro?"
Both Peach and Wario looked over to the new voice that joined into the conversation, which to neither of their surprise was Waluigi. He stood watching, looking slightly less twisted and sinister and more heroic, at least that's what Wario saw. "Bro, think about it: Compared to what you've done, what possible difference have I made in the grand scale of things?"
"What difference?" Waluigi stated with slight amazement in his voice "Hell, you've made all the difference!"
"Huh?" Wario was slightly confused at Waluigi's last comment. Peach walked closer to Wario.
"Wario, for the longest time everyone in this world has given up on hoping that someday, something would happen to end all the suffering that was going on. Everyone was content with letting Luigi run their lives with sheer, brutal force."
"But ever since you started your quest bro," Waluigi interjected "things have changed greatly. Everyone here thinks you're a hero."
"And," Peach continued "you're a great inspiration."
Wario sighed slightly as he looked back up to the starlit night sky. "Have I really done that much?"
"I know I wouldn't have put up with you for this long if you didn't seem to be doing something good" a new voice came behind him. Everyone turned around to see Geno, Bowser, and Captain Syrup all coming up the hill to meet up with the group.
"Yeah" Bowser added in. "Anyone with enough balls to stand up to me's gotta be doing something good."
Eyes turned to Syrup after this. The former pirate captain took a deep breath as she prepared to speak. "I hate to admit it...but I respect you Wario."
Wario didn't know what to make of all this. All these people, allies now, some former enemies, were saying that Wario was actually doing something good for everyone. After a bit, however, he started to smile at this, happy about what he heard.
A Goomba running up towards the group like he was on fire, however, interrupted that. "Waluigi sir, urgent news from Agent Y!"
Everyone gulped at this as Waluigi stepped towards the Goomba. "What is it Private?"
"Sir, Luigi's Forces are performing an S and B Operation out there!"
"What's an S and B Operation?" Peach questioned. Waluigi didn't even turn around as he mentioned what it was.
"Slash and Burn...they're burning down the Forrest Maze."
___________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 11: TRIAL BY FIRE
For the first time in the longest time, Kamek actually was smiling.
Very rarely since Luigi's takeover had an event that truly brought a sense of joy had come to Kamek, but seeing the Forrest Maze slowly turn into a blazing mass was one of those events. He added to his jubilation by waving his wand at a nearby tree that had thus far been isolated from the carnage all around, and started laughing as the poor pile of bark and leaves was set ablaze. He would have continued on with this mass destruction had not his communicator beeped.
"Hello, Kamek's Pyromaniac Service!" Kamek said in a giddy voice. His giddiness quickly died down when he heard the voice on the other line.
"KAMEK! Quit playing and rejoin the battalion." Pauline shouted over the communicator. "Phase 2 of the plan is ready."
"Understood" he said, and after turning his communicator off disappointedly announced to his minions to fall back. He had had his fun, but now it was time for business.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"EVERYONE, CONDITION ORANGE!"
The order by Waluigi spread throughout the base faster than the fire that was burning in the forest. All around, people were quickly getting into uniform and rushing around like madmen. Wario was amazed at how quickly and efficiently everyone was moving upon the order being given, and quickly he found that he and his group were soon getting into the action themselves. Peach was helping gathering buckets of water for Bowser to carry, Geno was getting the fire hoses ready, and Wario soon found himself helping out by loading up the makeshift fire truck that had been built. Soon everyone was out and rushing towards the maze itself, hoping they were going to be able to stop what was going on.
"Hey skinny" Bowser began as they drove towards the burning realm of the Forrest Maze "What makes you think that you have the tools to stop this?"
"You don't spend a year and a half of preparing a rebellion without having the proper tools for the job." Waluigi replied as he drove the makeshift vehicle towards the fire site. Peach and Geno were hanging on in the back, while Wario sat next to his brother, looking determined. They drove on for the longest time at extremely high speeds, hoping that they would get to the area of the fire before the whole forest was burned down.
The sight that they saw quickly shattered their hope. All around, in every tree and bush, flames danced a mystical ballet, destroying all it touched. Animals were quickly trying to flee from the site of the scorching, some with relative success, but many escaping just barely, and more being set ablaze. Everyone in the truck (except for Bowser, who had done similar things to subordinates of his before) looked on in shock at what they saw.
"How could someone once so good turn to this?" Peach wondered again, just like she had done many times in Luigi's dungeon. While the burning had a detrimental affect to Peach's psyche, it seemed to help fuel Wario, who quickly (which was a very surprising sight, to say the least) leaped out of the truck and ran into the forest, an intent on finding and beating the people that caused this into oblivion.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elsewhere in the forest, the people that Wario was looking for were waiting patiently, stroking large guns in preparation.
"Pauline, uh...are you sure this will work?" Kamek questioned, worried about the possibilities of what would happen if this plan failed like the previous few before it sorta did. Pauline looked at him confidently.
"Of course this plan will work." Pauline stated boldly, preparing her arm blaster for war. "There is no chance of us failing this time. Today, Wario and his friends will be no more than a distant memory. A blot in the history books that could forever be forgotten."
Kamek looked at Pauline, new found respect in his eyes. Pauline had always seemed so violent and almost machine like in the way that she acted that he felt that she had no passion in her heart. Now, with her comments just then, he realized a new side of Luigi's second-in-command...a side that made him feel proud to be on the side of Luigi and his army. "Understood. When do we make the move?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The fight with the flames wasn't going that well for Wario's group, as the flames continued to spread despite all their efforts to quench them. It seemed that every flame that the group put out caused 2 more to pop up in their place. And with Wario on the search for the people who started the fire, and Peach in mental anguish at what she has seen, things hadn't been going any easier. Waluigi, Bowser, Syrup, and Geno continued to try to stop the fire, however, in some hope that they could save what was left of the Forest Maze.
"WALUIGI! WE NEED MORE WATER!" Syrup yelled over the sounds of rushing water.
"WE'RE USING UP OUR WHOLE SUPPLY NOW!" he replied. Worry quickly set in among the group at this comment, for if this was all the water they had and it had minimal effect, how did anyone expect to stop the flames from destroying them. Geno and Bowser looked to each other, and this gave Geno an idea.
"BOWSER, CAN YOU DIG UNDERGROUND?" Geno questioned, hope in his thoughts as he asked.
"OF COURSE I CAN? WHY?" Bowser replied, being as gruff as ever.
"CAUSE IF I'M RIGHT, THERE MAY BE A WAY TO STOP THE FLAMES..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wario continued to search through the forest, looking for some sign of where the group that started the fire was. He had a good hunch which group of Luigi's Troops were behind this, and if he was right, he wasn't gonna just stand back and wait for them to get to him. He was gonna end this, once and for all, one way or another.
Unfortunately, he didn't think about the fact that they would have guns and other such weapons, which started explosions all around him. Wario was quickly surrounded by a new group of flames, of which he wouldn't be able to escape from without the risk of great personal injury. He was resigned to the fact that Luigi's minions trapped him in the flames. He stood there, waiting for whom he expected to show up.
And as if on cue, Pauline, Kamek, Skull Knight, and a whole horde of other soldiers soon came up, weapons drawn and ready on Wario.
"So Wario..." Pauline began, her blaster fully charged "it seems that it all comes to an end now."
"You gave us a good fight, but it's all over, fat boy." Kamek added.
Wario just glared at all three main warriors. He could try to fight them, but the chances of him surviving hand to hand combat with them in the grouping that they had were slim to none. He decided to be content with the fact that he had at least tried to make a difference in this whole weird world...
That is, until a beep came up on Pauline's communicator. Pauline pressed the activation button, and heard the voice of Luigi come over the device.
"Pauline, cease your attack and return to the castle at once. There has been a change of plans."
Pauline seemed shocked at this, as did Wario and everyone else in the area. "But sir" Pauline began "we have Wario at our mercy."
"I don't care about that overgrown piece of filth right now." Luigi stated. "He is of no concern to us."
"Um...right..." was all Pauline could say after hearing this. She looked at Wario with disgust. "You've lucked out this time, Wario, but next time we meet, I shall make sure your body becomes suitable for Lord Luigi's trophy room!"
Before Wario could reply, the whole group vanished in a flash from Kamek's wand, and the fire around Wario was gone too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They had done it...but just barely.
Thanks to some quick thinking by Geno and some power work by Bowser, the fire that engulfed the Forest Maze had been extinguished. The hole in the middle of the ground that led to the underground water supply was a small price to pay for the victory. The large price, however, was the close to complete annihilation of the cover for Home Base. Waluigi, Syrup, Bowser, and Geno all surveyed what was left of the Forest Maze, which now consisted of only a handful of unscathed trees and lots of smoldering ones. Peach was starting to come out of the shock of what she saw, and stood up to wander around the scene for a bit. "It's...all gone..." she stated as she approached a burned tree...
"I can't believe that it's all gone..." Syrup said. She had seen some things before like this, but never in the happening.
"We've gotta be strong." Bowser said, brushing the dirt off of his massive body. "We can't be intimidated by something like this. That's what Luigi wants."
"He's right. We have bigger problems..."
Everyone turned to a nearby path, seeing Wario come in, his clothing slightly burned. "Geez bro, what happened to you?" Waluigi asked.
"Had a little run-in with Pauline's flame-blaster. I'm lucky Luigi had other plans for them."
Geno looked curiously at Wario when he said this. "Other plans? What do you mean by "other plans"?"
"I'm not sure...but he even told Pauline to let me go."
Everyone seemed to be surprised at this. "This can't be good..." Waluigi began. "We need to get to my spare base and think of a plan. There's nothing left here for us..."
Before anyone could say anything more, Peach yelled out "HEY GUYS!" as she stood by the tree that she was looking at. She reached into the tree, and pulled out a glowing object...everyone recognized it as a Star Piece.
Out of tragedy came a slight victory...and this victory made them forget about the strange decision by Luigi for the time being.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 12: EVIL'S VICTORY
Pauline, Kamek, and Skull Knight all entered Luigi's throne room, a look of confusion in their faces about Luigi's recent statement. Luigi was waiting for them there, holding a glass with some type of red liquid in it. The three minions approached their master and went down on one knee before him.
"Ah, my friends" Luigi began, a tone of happiness in his voice "I'm glad you could make it."
"Lord Luigi" Kamek began, a bit of trembling in his voice "may I ask why you called us here, sire?"
"Yes of course. I shouldn't keep my loyal fighters in the dark." As he finished saying this, the dark lord stood up from his throne, his long cape flowing behind him and his eyes flashing red. "My friends, we no longer have anything to worry about with Wario and his small scale rebellion. We now have an edge over our portly little friend."
"What sort of edge, sire?" Skull Knight questioned. Luigi pulled something out from a box directly behind his throne.
"THIS edge!"
All three soldiers gasped at what they saw.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"No! It can't be!"
Inside Luigi's mind, the good essence of the hero was stunned at what he saw. The hope that Luigi held dear...that he kept in his heart so he wouldn't totally succumb to the darkness that filled his heart, started to fade away with the glimmering object in his body's hands. The dark essence that he was fighting seemed to grow larger than before at Luigi's surprise. Luigi knew what this would mean...if he didn't fight, he would be engulfed in the darkness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some time after Luigi showing his soldiers his new secret, the dark lord ordered a huge ceremony to take place. All of Luigi's soldiers were in attendance, Skull Knight standing before them with some accessories attached to his skeletal frame. High above them, on a balcony, Kamek and Pauline stood, with a blood red curtain behind them. Skull Knight looked up bitterly at the attention that Kamek and Pauline were getting compared to himself, ESPECIALLY Pauline.
These thoughts quickly cleared out of his head, however, when the curtain rustled a bit. Out stepped Luigi, wearing his armor proudly, the evil glint in his eyes somehow more pronounced than usual. But few people noticed these things. What they DID notice, however, was what Luigi had around his neck...
...it was one of the Star Pieces, glowing brightly.
"Citizens and soldiers of my empire" Luigi began, standing proudly as he held the star piece before them. "Today is a great day for the empire!"
A loud and approving cheer came from the masses, including Skull Knight. Luigi abruptly cut them off, wanting to tell them more....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the prison, Daisy and Toad were being forced to watch Luigi's speech, along with all the other prisoners. Daisy and Toad both seemed to take the news that they were seeing from Luigi himself hard.
"I can't believe this..." Toad said...utter shock in his voice. "All of the hard work Wario and his crew went through, ended with this..."
"We can't give up hope yet." Daisy stated, a bit of sadness in her voice as well. "I'm sure that they'll think of something. Something HAS to give."
"I hope you're right Daisy..."
Daisy smiled to Toad. "And besides, our secret informant is nearby. He's bound to give some helpful information.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Behind the curtain that Luigi stood in front of while giving his speech, disguised as one of Luigi's Giant Koopa Troopa bodyguards, was Yoshi. For the past 5 hours, Yoshi had to do a job he totally despised...guarding Luigi from any harm. Now he had to stand behind this curtain and listen up close to every single word that the former hero was saying. 'I have to do this...' Yoshi thought as Luigi kept gloating about his acquisition of the Star Piece. 'For the greater good, I must do this.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...so my people," Luigi continued, proud of his achievement "the time has come for us to finally end all attempts at rebellion!"
The people listening in person to Luigi's speech cheered again, and after a while, Luigi cut them off again, to continue his speech.
"Soon there will be a great battle in front of this castle...a battle to end all battles! My troops be ready...Skull Knight will lead you to victory on the front, and Kamek will be in the battle as well!"
Pauline looked confused as to why she wasn't mentioned with the warriors that would be taking part in the battle, but before she could ask, Luigi spoke up again.
"And to give you another symbol besides myself to look up to during the battle, let me introduce you to your new queen!"
Pauline was totally surprised at this statement, and even more surprised when Luigi pulled a crown out from seemingly nowhere. "People, meet your new queen and my new bride, Pauline!"
This statement, along with the crown being put on her head, filled Pauline with great joy. Luigi smiled, as now his evenings wouldn't be so lonely. Neither of them noticed, however, the utter hateful look that grew on Skull Knight's face...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some time after Luigi finished his speech to his army, Yoshi found himself waiting outside of Luigi and now Pauline's bedroom door, where a "Do Not Disturb" sign was hung on the door. Yoshi wasn't in the least bit interested in what was going on behind these closed doors. He just needed to get the word out somehow of Luigi's most recent plan. However, he couldn't really do anything while he was incognito and guarding the "King and Queen". Luckily for him, however, his replacement came in shortly after Yoshi thought and Yoshi quickly went to a secluded area to try to contact his allies on the outside.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Damnit, why does SHE have to get such a promotion?"
In the training room, Skull Knight was cursing the making of Pauline into the new queen of Luigi's empire. For a nobody in his mine to get such a boost of power was just appalling to the undead soldier. As he started to destroy holographic images with his demonic sword, he continued to get angry about Pauline becoming queen. "How could an insignificant piss-ant like her become more powerful?"
"What, did YOU want to become queen?"
Skull Knight got REALLY angry just then and threw his sword at the simulator controls. He then turned to the entryway of the room, where Kamek was standing, smirking at his comment. Skull Knight was not amused in the least.
"What the hell do you want?" Knight asked bitterly, pulling his sword from the demolished control panel.
"What, can't allies in a grand battle discuss things face to face without getting questioned about them?" Kamek asked as he leaned on his magic wand.
"Around me, no." Skull Knight replied, holding his sword up threateningly to Kamek. The old Magikoopa didn't seem intimidated, however, as he just pushed down Knight's sword with his wand.
"In case you have forgotten, I was the one who created you. And if anything bad happens to me...well I can't be held responsible for what happens to you."
This infuriated Skull Knight even more. Unfortunately, Kamek was right...if something happened to Kamek, there was the chance that something would happen to himself that could be very detrimental. Skull Knight pulled his sword away from the Magikoopa and seethed his sword. "You had to remind me of that, didn't you?"
"Self-preservation." Kamek replied. "Which is exactly why I am here right now...to preserve both of our lives during and after the upcoming battle."
This intrigued Skull Knight. "You're going behind Luigi's back?"
"Not exactly. We're still going to work on Luigi, but we're going against his plans on our not surviving."
"What do you mean 'not surviving'? How could we possibly be destroyed?"
Kamek sighed. "Knight, why do you think Luigi is sending us directly on the front line in the first place?"
Skull Knight was about to answer...but a thought stopped him. Luigi, however powerful he was or would become, was very distrusting and paranoid about his subordinates. "I see your point. What do you suggest?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some distance away, at Home Base, the group was quickly getting a plan ready to try to help re-furbish the Forrest Maze. Hundreds of workers started gathering equipment and supplies as they prepared to go out to work. In the meantime, a conference was going on with Wario, Waluigi, Peach, Geno, Bowser, and Captain Syrup.
"So, they know where we are." Waluigi began, stroking his mustache. Bowser stood up angrily, pounding his massive fists onto the table that they were all sitting at.
"What the hell are we supposed to do now? I thought you said that this place was secretive!" the massive Koopa bellowed. Captain Syrup looked angrily at him, ready for bloodshed.
"Well if it wasn't for us having to have to save your butts out there, we WOULD still be a secluded place!"
The bickering went on, and partially Geno and Waluigi joined in. Wario continued to stay silent through this whole thing, seemingly thinking about something. Peach seemed to notice this, and she turned back to the group.
"WOULD YOU ALL PLEASE SHUT UP!"
That sudden outburst from the former princess surprised everyone enough that silence quickly filled the room. Everyone except Wario, who was still thinking about something or another, turned to Peach, who had a look of determination on her face.
"Look, this arguing amongst ourselves is completely pointless! We need to work together here! In case you've all forgotten, we have a dictator to overthrow and a star piece to collect!"
The shock from Peach's sudden outburst still had everyone silent and agape. Which is why when the next voice came up, it surprised everyone.
"That is, to assume, that something hasn't happened to stop our quest..."
Wario stood up after what he said, looking at the group. "Remember, Luigi pulled his troops away even when he heard that they had me. He wouldn't do that unless he had a plan."
Geno nodded. "That's right...why would Luigi let go the one that's threatening him?"
Everyone thought for a while, but no one could come up with a reasonable answer to Geno's inquiry. That is, until a figure entered the room. Waluigi and Pauline recognized him right away, as did Peach.
"YOSHI!"
"Hi everyone." the green dinosaur said. "I have some news. Luigi has the last Star Piece, and is challenging you to a war."
Everyone was taken aback at this...and Wario just stood...thinking some more.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"But Lord Luigi" Pauline began, posing for her master in the black bodysuit that Luigi had told her to wear "why are you so intent on fighting Wario in a war."
Luigi stood up while watching her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "It's very simple, my queen. Wario knows now that I have the last Star Piece, now that that agent friend of his Yoshi has left for their hideout. If I know the measure of a hero, no matter how new or reluctant they are, is that they will never back down from a challenge. Wario will come here, and once he's here, he will be killed by my hands."
Pauline smiled happily at her master's plan. Now that she was no longer just one of Luigi's soldiers, she could hear more of his masterful ideas. She leaned her head on Luigi's chest, just to the right of the Black Crystal. "Oh Lord Luigi, you have the greatest ideas."
"I know." Luigi said, a demonic smile on his face. "I know."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You see Luigi, you are no match for my power now.
Luigi's good essence looked up at the now growing dark energy that represented the influence of the Black Crystal on Luigi. The power it now had over Luigi was getting tough to fight, and the Good Essence's power was slowly getting weaker as well. Nevertheless, it stood ready.
"You may be more powerful than me, you may have more influence than me, but somehow, someway, you will be defeated."
The laughter of the dark essence made the good essence shiver in fear.