CHAPTER 7: The Mystery of the Castle
Luigi could not sleep that night, rolling around back and forth, getting out of the tent to take a short walk, and then rolling around some more. He'd seen his brother, but he'd thought that there would still be some part of him in there, something that would respond. But it was all Dimentio, and Mario appeared to be gone.
Luigi was beginning to lose hope.
A cackle rose through the air and Luigi sat up in the tent. There it was again, the shrill, heart-stopping cackle of a boo, but this time, there were many of them, all sounding at once. It was an attack.
Luigi shook Timber awake, telling him to be very still and quiet. Luigi reached over and put on his backpack, which cleverly had the Poltergust hidden inside. He grabbed his flashlight also, and then stepped outside to see the many boos that surrounded his tent. Seeing his Poltergust, they scattered gracefully away.
Luigi was not fooled. He ran out a little further then spun around, vacuuming up a boo who had gotten too close. They were sneaking up on him, and every time another boo tried to do so, he would spin around and suck them up with the Poltergust. He continued on like this, getting as many as twenty boos, until Timber screamed from the tent.
"Luigi! Help!"
Distracted, Luigi was hit to the ground by a boo, his cap falling off. He left it on the ground as he ran towards the tent. But it seemed he was already too late. The boos had encircled Timber and were now carrying him out of the tent. Luigi reacted, sucking up the boos trying to make off with his friend.
He got one, but the boos carrying Timber only compensated for the loss, and continued. The boos cackled as one, as Timber cried out to Luigi, who ran faster with desperation. Rising higher and higher, Luigi found himself no longer able to suck up any more boos.
He ran after them anyways, his hair flying in the wind, and, being known for his amazing jumping ability, jumped as high up in the air as possible and tried to vacuum again. One more boo down.
He landed, ran, and jumped, repeating the process again and again, but the boos were getting higher, and Luigi was beginning to get sloppy in his jumps, as he landed straight on his back after trying his Poltergust one last time.
Pain and fear shot through him when he landed, as the last thing he saw was Timber being carried off by the boos, and they were headed towards the dark lands.
Timber was gone.
Luigi managed to pull himself together, as he ran back towards the tent, gathered his things as quickly as is humanly possible, and then ran off towards the dark lands. He would not let Dimentio win.
Your brother is so determined. Mario was again peering into the pool, the all-seeing waters.
Poor Timber…
Poor indeed. Children should not be meddling in the affairs of adults. It gets too dangerous.
You shouldn't have allowed King Boo to do this. You could have voiced your opinion on the matter.
I did not know his boos would do such a thing. Besides, you have no part in this! You are simply a host, nothing more. And soon your soul shall fade.
Mario pulled himself up from the pool and snapped his fingers, reappearing before King Bowser. "You awfulness," Mario said, bowing. "I have heard that Timber was abducted by our forces. Does this happen to be true?"
"Not now, Dimentio, I'm busy," Bowser grumbled, talking with Kammy and what looked to be a whole troop of koopas.
"I prefer Mario, great beast, and I would like some respect."
What are you…
Not now, Mario.
Bowser looked back at Mario, stunned by his response. "Fine, Mario… To answer your question, I ordered King Boo's forces to kidnap Timber. That wolf cub was getting in the way. He'll be here any minute now."
"Where?"
"The dungeons with Peach. And Mario, I have another task for you once you stop running around doing your own thing."
"Very well, Lord Bowser." Mario snapped his fingers and appeared in front of Peach's cage in the lower dungeons.
"You refused the room Lord Bowser made for you," Mario said.
Peach did not reply, only let out a, "hmph!" and crossed her arms.
"Be that way," Mario said.
Don't treat her like that.
What plumber thinks he can tell me what to do?
A cackle that came from only boos rang out in the air and Mario turned his attention towards the entrance to the dungeon, as a circle of boos brought in a frightened wolf pup who was covering his face with a yellow helmet and had his tail tucked in between his legs. Mario opened the cage door next to Peach's for the boos, and Timber was thrown inside.
"Timber?" Peach asked, surprised at the little wolf's capture. "What are you doing here?"
"You know each other!" Mario said with surprise.
Timber pushed his helmet up, still shaking. "I… the castle… I ran away because the castle was destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Mario and Peach both asked.
Timber nodded. "A bomb went off."
We didn't have a bomb.
How very odd. Someone else must have made the castle explode. We must've let before it ever happened. Any traitors in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario?
None.
"Any idea of who did it, Timber?" Mario asked. Timber shook his head.
"Wait a minute," Peach said. "You didn't blow up the castle, Dimentio?"
"Of course not! Bowser was planning on having us send some troops there later on, why would we destroy something for our own plans?"
"Because you betrayed Blumiere."
Everyone seems to think that, don't they?
Because it's true, Dimentio.
Can't we put the past behind us, Mario?
Princess, I'm here, if only I could talk to you…
"That's in the past, dear princess. Now, I work with others, for I have realized my mistake of working alone. This world is spinning out of control; people are achieving nothing, living only simple lives, never amounting to anything. They appear and disappear in seconds, like sand in the wind. I will make people live for something. I will make them hope and dream. Don't you see how much better the world will be when I rule it?" Mario, finished with his speech, snapped his fingers and left.
Lost and frustrated, Luigi ran sluggishly to the dark lands. His brother, gone. Timber, gone. The Mushroom Kingdom was spiraling out of control; the castle destroyed and the princess, gone.
He needed to at least get Timber back. The little cub was too innocent to be dragged into such a mess, and Luigi felt total responsibility for what the cub had been through. His own brother had killed Timber's mother.
No, he thought. It wasn't Mario. It was Dimentio.
But it had looked like his brother. Luigi shook his head and ran faster, encountering no koopa troops or goombas or boos. And finally, near sunset, Luigi saw Bowser's castle looming in the darkness.
"Before you dispatch me, Lord Bowser," Mario said, "there is something that needs to be brought to your attention. After I left the castle with Peach, someone destroyed the castle."
"Destroyed?" Bowser asked. "What do you mean?"
"A bomb was set off. The little wolf cub we have in the dungeons has no idea whose done it, and neither does Mario."
"What?" Bowser asked.
Dimentio corrected his mistake. After all, he was the only who knew that Mario's soul could still communicate with Dimentio. "Third-person, my lord! Nothing more than that."
Bowser grunted. "This makes things worse. Kamek, prepare my clown car! I'm leaving for the Mushroom Kingdom tomorrow. Those toads need to know who their new leader is."
"Right away, King Bowser." Kamek rushed off, and Mario disappeared to his next mission.
Kammy looked at Bowser. "We need to slow Luigi down; he's getting here to fast. I want to speak to King Boo, see if we can get more of his troops to attack Luigi now that that wolf isn't with him." She turned to a koopa next to her and told him to fetch King Boo. Bowser and Kammy waited, and a while after King Boo appeared.
"You require my services?" he asked.
"Kammy and I want to send some more of your troops out."
"No! I have hardly any left to spare! Luigi has his Poltergust with him, and with that, we are useless against him. He took half the boos I sent last night."
"Send them anyway, they will slow him down, and we're no quite prepared for his arrival. Dimentio says he needs more time."
"Send your koopa troop! They will slow him down. Besides, its your turn."
"I will not! I've sacrificed more koopas than you have boos."
"I have less boos to spare."
"Enough with this!" Kammy said. "We will send out a koopa troop. Men…"
Mario appeared, his purple hue somewhat toned down from what it had been before, his blue eyes returning under yellow. He looked around him at the desert city in the heart of Sarasaland.
No, please not her. Not Princess Daisy.
It will make Luigi more driven. Even you must understand the logic behind that, right? Besides, Princess Peach needs a friend in the dungeon.
Mario walked out into the alleyway behind all the houses, making his way crossing streets and buildings without notice. It was then that he reached the castle where Princess Daisy lived. The darkness of the night hid his purple glow and accented his yellow eyes as he approached the castle gates.
Two guards were on duty, and Dimentio decided to take the easy way in. The guards looked tense, as if they knew Mario was no longer safe. He snapped his fingers, guessed, and then found himself in one of the hallways of the castle lit by candles along the walls.
Have you been here before Mario?
I won't answer that.
You have, haven't you? Dimentio prodded Mario's memory. You liar! You have.
I never said I hadn't!! How dare you invade my thoughts.
With the memory of the castle layout at Dimentio's disposal, he walked down the hallway and opened the third door on the right and walked into Daisy's bedroom.
What is this?
She's not here!
Did you know she wouldn't be here?
…Yes.
Where is she?! Tell me now, Mario.
I don't know.
Yes, you do, now tell me where she is …Oh, she's in the Mushroom Kingdom! How could I have been so stupid. Shame on me. Well, it looks like we'll be going there.
We can find out who set the bomb off…
Yes, that too. My, Mario, you sure are warming up to me, aren't you?
Mario had no response. He couldn't deny that he'd been somewhat helpful to the demented jester, but what else was he supposed to do?
They teleported to the Mushroom Kingdom just outside where the castle should have been. Mario looked at it in despair. The castle was now a pile of rubble, the moat cut off and overflowing with water from a blockage of rubble. Toads were everywhere, covering the news and assessing the damage.
"I'm here with Channel 5 news and tonight our top story continues to be the collapse of the castle here in Toad Town. We're here with Toadsworth, an eye witness to the tragic scene of Mario's possession and Princess Peach's kidnapping. Toadsworth, can you describe what happened?"
"Well, I was talking to the Princess about relocating, because of Mario's possession. The castle was no longer safe, but she wanted to stay. There was a strange wolf pup in the building at that time, although Peach seemed to know him. Suddenly Mario ran in, and there was a purple glow all around him and his eyes were bright yellow. Next thing I knew Mario had ran over to where Peach was and they disappeared.
"Shortly afterwards, the building began to collapse. I ran out just in the nick of time."
The reporter took her microphone away from Toadsworth. "As you can see it is a very tragic story. Later tonight we will have a special report from Merlon, who claims to have spoken with Luigi just an hour before his departure, and knows much about possessive attacks. Kent, back to you."
"And we're off!"
"Thank the stars!" the reporter said. "Leroy, did you get any information of a missing wolf cub?"
"Fang Kingdom hasn't reported any missing cubs."
"I think he's linked to that bombing, and I want to know why. Fang Kingdom is behind it for sure."
"Princess Daisy has arrived!" a toad yelled, as a taxi pulled up to the devastating scene.
Mario's eyes narrowed as Princess Daisy stepped out of the taxi and stared in shock at the ruined castle.
Mario's soul knew that Dimentio would kidnap the princess. It was almost inevitable. It was inevitable.
Don't be so gloomy, plumber! You won't have to suffer this much more. Once everyone you love is out of the way, then you soul will be free to dissipate into nothingness!
What?
Oh, poor Mario has no idea what will happen to him! How terribly sad. Once the world as you know it is destroyed, I will take over your body and your soul will dry up like a raisin in the sun. Once all you love is gone, everything is mine.
But I love everything about this world. You can't take away the world.
But I can change it just enough to make your head spin! And spin it will. No longer wishing to be there, Mario snapped his fingers and returned to the dark lands, in Bowser's throne room.
Bowser looked around him. "Where's Princess Daisy?!" he demanded.
"Oh, sire," Mario said, almost teasingly. "Princess Daisy is in the Mushroom Kingdom! I was thinking that you could announce your reign as king over the land and claim Princess Daisy also. What do you think?"
Bowser laughed. "I like the way you think, Mario. Tomorrow, the Mushroom Kingdom will finally be mine!"
