Chapter 10: Kamek's Plot

Luigi continued his way up the winding paths of Mt. Shroom, unable to take the thoughts of Daisy and the Peach he met on the path off his mind. Whatever was happening on the mountain, Bowser Jr. was most likely involved in it, and Luigi suspected Kamek and "Peach" were too. In fact, he believed the two had some connection. As Luigi endlessly contemplated the matter, he continued his journey, running into occasional Dry Bones, Hammer Bros, and various other mountain enemies along the way. The fighting soon made Luigi notice that the enemies were gradually getting tougher as he progressed through his quest. It was only natural, for that had always been the case for him and Mario in the past.

However, just as he was approaching the halfway point up to the top, he heard the Peach voice again nearby. She reappeared sitting on a rock just up ahead. "Peach" had a smile on her face.

"We meet again, Luigi!" she greeted. "Are you sure your brother isn't in Toad Town waiting on you?"

Luigi folded his arms and eyed her suspiciously.

"I'm pretty sure," he replied.

"I think you should double check," Peach insisted in her cheery voice.

"I think I need to keep going," Luigi countered. "You're not holding me back from Daisy, Kamek!"

Peach smiled deviously and snickered.

"So you figured it out, eh?" Kamek replied, transforming from Peach to his normal self. Luigi's arms remained folded. He figured all along that it had to be Kamek in disguise.

"You weren't fooling anyone," he confirmed. "I knew that wasn't the real Peach from the start."

"Well, it doesn't matter now!" Kamek retorted. "I was merely stalling you so Bowser Jr. had time to deal with your precious princess!"

Luigi tried hard not to blush at Kamek's words, but he couldn't prevent his cheeks from turning a faint pink. Luckily for him, Kamek didn't seem to notice.

"And you were trying to trick me into thinking Mario and Peach had escaped so I would give up looking for Bowser!" Luigi added, anger burning up in his mind.

"Hoo hoo, you are a smart one. Too bad you'll soon meet your match!"

Luigi gritted his teeth as Kamek began to flee on his broom up the mountain trail. The plumber immediately took chase afterward, hoping he wouldn't be too late to rescue Daisy. He'd never forgive himself if he let a single soul fall to Bowser or his minions, especially someone as important as Daisy. She was as much a friend to him and Mario as the others were.

"Come back here and fight, you coward!" Luigi yelled as he ran.

"Look who's talking," Kamek retorted. "Catch me if you can!"

Just moments after he had begun pursuing Kamek, Luigi spotted a familiar plant growing at the edge of the trail. Its flower was colored red and yellow.

"Ah, the good old Fire Flower. Perfect!" Luigi opined happily and snatched one up as fast as he could. Its power immediately transformed him into Fire Luigi, donning him in his familiar green overalls and white shirt with a matching white cap. This power up was one of Mario and Luigi's favorites and was one of the first the two ever used.

Luigi ran as fast as he could and began throwing his trademark green fireballs at Kamek. However. Kamek, as speedy as he was, evaded every one of them. With that, Luigi knew he had to form a strategy and fast. He remembered Yoshi once telling him and Mario that he never actually fought Kamek himself, but the baddies whom he made more powerful with his magic. It then reminded Luigi that his Super Punch and other moves had become more powerful thanks to the second Battle Star.

Knowing this, Luigi then slugged the cliff wall to his left as he ran with a maximum strength Super Punch, sending pieces of rock scattering in every direction. A few of the bigger rocks struck Kamek from behind at high speeds due to the impact of Luigi's fist. A smile forming on his face, Luigi then sent another fireball in Kamek's direction and scored a hit. The Magikoopa stumbled over from the impact, but quickly scrambled back onto his broom and faced Luigi. The green-clad plumber simply stood there with his arms folded.

"Well, you certainly have some fight in you," Kamek commented. "You're not at all what Bowser made you out to be. But if you want me to eliminate you now, then so be it!"

Kamek then raised his magic staff and began firing blasts of magic at Luigi. He ran, ducked, and avoided every one of them, making it clear that Bowser had given Kamek, as well as Bowser Jr., some of the Grand Battle Star's power. It indicated that Luigi only had a matter of time before all of the star's power was drained and it would be too late to even find Bowser, let alone stop him.

To counter Kamek's attacks, Luigi threw more fireballs. However, he too, dodged whatever was thrown at him. Luigi came up with another idea regardless, and halted in his tracks, hoping his plan B would work. The next magic attack Kamek fired, Luigi attempted to knock back with a Super Punch, however it struck him anyway, causing him to fall over. Kamek cackled with joy as Luigi yelped in pain from the impact of the ground. More determined than ever, an angry Luigi scrambled to his feet and thought twice.

This time, Luigi readied another fireball, and with a super-charged fist, threw his hand right into the green blaze and created a combination attack: Super Fire Punch. Kamek's next attack was penetrated with green fire and knocked back at him as a green flamed magic blast. Now it was his turn to yelp, and Luigi merely stood there, proud of his new move. Kamek only grunted and continued to fire his magic attacks and picked up the pace \every time Luigi would strike him. Luigi himself, however, wasn't going to give up that easily.

Time went by as Luigi moved quickly to keep from getting hit by Kamek's magic attacks again. As quickly as his hands would move, Luigi performed Super Fire Punch whenever he could, and the noticeably powerful move thankfully was able to cause a decent amount of damage. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Kamek to begin weakening. His magic attacks became significantly slower, though he continued to fire them quickly. As soon as Luigi delivered another Super Fire Punch, Kamek collapsed to the ground. Luigi merely stood there and panted from running about for so long.

"You've gotten much stronger than before…" Kamek commented between breaths. "But don't think this is the end! We'll meet again!"

With that, he flew off towards the top of the mountain on his broom.

Luigi stood there a bit longer to catch his breath before continuing. Just as he was about to keep going, he spotted a cave entrance up the path ahead. It was directly beneath the mountain summit, which rose high above it. Luigi quickly traversed the rest of the path and entered the deep, dark cave, hoping he would find some trace of Daisy or the next Battle Star inside. His only hope was to figure out what Kamek was scheming with Bowser Jr. and then make his escape with Daisy and the star.

The rocky cave, known as Shroom Cavern, was very dimly lit. Luigi could barely see inside among the few torches lining the walls of the cave and carefully listened for any voices near or far. Goombas, Paragoombas with wings, and several other enemies populated the cavern tunnels while a chilly breeze blew in the opposite direction of Luigi's walking. Holding onto his hat, Luigi fended off any enemies that attempted to attack him, and continued listening for any voices and keeping an eye out for clues.

Sometime later, after wandering through numerous tunnels trailing upward, Luigi found himself in front of a fork in the path. He simply stood there and eyed each one, unsure of which path to take. Suddenly, he heard a shout echo from the left path. He opened his ears and recognized the voice right away: Daisy. More voices appeared as Luigi raced down the path and soon enough, he recognized them as Kamek and Bowser Jr. He found them in an underground chamber right underneath the mountain summit mere moments later. Knowing he had to keep from being seen, Luigi ducked behind a nearby rock and listened to the conversation.

"I can't believe you let yourself lose to him!" Bowser Jr. shouted. "I told you he wasn't simply another Mario! We've got to take him seriously!"

"I know, but I won't lose next time," Kamek replied. "I'm only just getting started."

"You leave Luigi out of this!" Daisy yelled in an angry tone. "Neither of you will ever beat him!"

Luigi spotted her locked up in a cell behind Bowser Jr. Bowser Jr. then turned around and smiled deviously at her. Luigi watched them with great curiosity.

"So the little princess thinks her clad-green plumber will come to the rescue, eh?" he taunted. Daisy tried hard to prevent it, but her cheeks turned a rosy pink. Bowser Jr. didn't seem to care at all.

"Exactly! You know he'll be here!" an angry Daisy replied.

"And that's why we have a little surprise planned for his arrival," Kamek added. Daisy grimaced and gritted her teeth.

"Oooh, you both are so busted when I get out of here!" Daisy retorted.

Kamek and Bowser Jr. simply laughed as they walked to the other end of the chamber and continued to converse. Luigi quietly crept towards Daisy's cell and ducked behind every rock he came to so as not to be seen. A few feet away from Daisy, he quietly tapped against the rock he was hiding behind.

"Luigi!" Daisy whispered happily when she heard the tapping and then took note of the colors of Luigi's clothes. "Hey, you've got one of those Fire Flowers, don't you?"

Luigi motioned her to be quiet as he tip toed up to the lock on her cell, trying to figure out how to open it. Daisy kept eyeing Bowser Jr. and Kamek, hoping they wouldn't spot Luigi.

"Yeah, but not so loud, alright? I don't want to get caught," Luigi warned.

"Did Toadsworth and the others tell you I was here?" Daisy inquired.

"Yeah, thankfully they were able to give me enough clues to find you," Luigi replied, tinkering at the lock. "Okay, I have an idea on how to bust you out of here, but it may take some time."

Daisy merely nodded curiously. With that, Luigi created a green fireball and held it below the lock, hoping to heat it up and burn it off. Daisy watched with fascination.

"Ah, your fireballs are green! Figures, since that's your color. Mario's are normal though, if I remember right."

"Yeah, but listen. Kamek is plotting something with Bowser Jr.," Luigi explained. "Something that involves us. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to find out."

Daisy nodded and agreed that they were indeed up to something. Still working on the lock, Luigi concentrated with the green fireball and soon the lock started to slowly melt. In just minutes, it dripped off the cell door and onto the floor. It made a blobbing sound as it hit. However, Kamek heard it and saw Daisy following Luigi out of the cell. He quietly floated up to them unnoticed.

"Going somewhere?" he inquired rhetorically.

Luigi stopped in his tracks, followed by Daisy. Bowser Jr. stood behind Kamek with his arms folded. Just standing there, Luigi had to think fast of a way to escape.