Hello everybody! It's been a while hasn't it? Well, truth to be told, I was wondering whether to continue with this at first. In the time that has passed since I first started this story, I think my style and ideas have changed somewhat and I wondered if I could keep this one up, especially as there are parts which, let us say, I'm not sure about, not too unusual for a writer I guess. If I started this one now, I think it would be very different. (Although I would wait until I finished the others; note to budding writers: try not to have too many projects running at once!)
But then I thought: quite a number of people like this story very much. And having done a number of chapters already, it would be a shame to have this go the way of Geuvadan's Beast; an excellent Luigi story that has unfortunately been discontinued. So having done a bit of two other stories I am working on, I finally returned to this. Thanks for believing in my story everyone, even though I am a very slow updater. (And the fact that I never make plans; the section with the Star Spirits below literally came to me as I was writing it.)
So then, I hope you like this chapter and I shall stop rambling for now. :)
Chapter 14: Beware The Dangers Ahead
Luigi hoped that his quivering wouldn't be mistaken for fear, or at least, so much fear as to render him a coward in the face of danger for his own life, for he was scared, he had to admit it, but he was scared for Peach's sake and that of the captured Toads. He was also scared that he could end up doing something that would endanger them far more than Kamek had planned, if he had planned to do anything with them at all.
Mario should be on his way, he thought, reaching out with his senses. He's a lot closer than he was last night. Maybe I can delay Kamek for just a little while longer.
"Well? Have you come to a decision?" Kamek muttered grumpily. One of the Koopatrols prodded Luigi with his spear as if this would hurry the green-capped hero up. "I haven't got all day you know. His Evilness has a plan to be getting on with."
"Do you think I'm going to rush for the likes of you?" Luigi retorted. "And anyway, what plan is this supposed to be? If it was just your usual kidnap-the-princess routine, you would have already zipped off on your broomsticks."
"Oh, please, that is such low-grade villainy, if you think I'm just going to tell you the plan," Kamek sighed. "Honestly, I didn't become Bowser's right-hand Magikoopa for nothing. Even Bowser wouldn't be that stupid. Well… I'm not that stupid anyway," he remarked seeing Luigi roll his eyes.
"Is this anything to do with King Boo?" Luigi asked. He watched Kamek for any betrayal of emotion.
"Look," Kamek sighed, adjusting his spectacles and gripping his broomstick a little more tightly. "You want to keep the princess safe, correct? And I need you in my custody. Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking, but if you just hand yourself over without fighting us, then we'll release the princess, OK? Undo the lock, Herbert," he ordered.
Peach was surprised when she was escorted out of the cage unharmed and in the presence of Bowser's Troop as well. The captured Toads were relieved to see to see that she was alright, even if they were still in a bit of a predicament themselves. Luigi would have ran towards her and keep her protected but he was still being held back by the Koopatrols.
"What is there to stop you simply capturing Peach again once you've got hold of me?" Luigi growled. "I swear if you harm her…"
Damn. Kamek hated it when heroes asked these sorts of questions. "I promise she will not be put in harm's way." He held his palms up as a sign of innocence before remembering that it would be a good idea to tuck his wand away. "Magikoopa honour."
"Do you even know the meaning of the word?" Luigi said coolly. Luigi tried to suppress signs of his pain. King Boo surely wouldn't attempt anything now would he? Not in broad daylight. But now that Kamek was here, he needed to find something out.
"So what are you planning to do with me?" Luigi said, glaring at the chief Magikoopa. "You don't usually take such an interest in me. I'm guessing that something went wrong and now you're trying to remedy that situation. You were planning to use me but King Boo got in the way, didn't he?"
"He is nothing but cowardly, sneaky scum who can't even be called alive!" Kamek hissed. "We did all the hard, back-breaking work and he thinks that he can just whip in there and render our efforts and our plans useless. No, we are not allowing this to continue any longer. But, I suppose it was not difficult to work out, was it? King Boo's little antics only brought him further to our attention and of course, the fact that he sends spies into the castle. And now he's doing what? Causing a little bit of pointless terror? He really does not see the potential you have in store."
"Am I supposed to be pleased with that?!" Luigi snapped. "That you think I have potential! You think you can just use me for whatever plans you have in mind and you think King Boo is foolish for not having the same plans?!" Luigi conjured up a fireball although Doctor Toadley uneasily noticed the black sparks leaping from the fire. Extreme emotions were more likely to open Luigi up to the Possession Poison even when he was not being controlled by another being. The Koopatrols surrounding Luigi looked at each other uneasily.
"It's always the same with you people! You always think you can just take over the world and for what purpose? You, Bowser and King Boo aren't any different from each other at all! Why don't we just end this here? Me, you and your little rag-tag bunch of minions." The fireball suddenly grew more intense, more dark. I could use this, Luigi thought, feeling the dark energy burn inside him. I'd be doing the world a favour, getting rid of evil scum like these. Then I could finish Bowser once and for all and King Boo… I'd make him less than a ghost. Luigi's eyes darkened. Little of the blue iris was left. There would be nothing left of him…
"Do anything as rash as that and I will have the princess in chains and make sure that your little fungi-topped friends pay the price," Kamek whispered icily. The Magikoopa only needed to give the order and he would be obeyed instantly.
Thank goodness, Toadley thought with relief as the fireball suddenly flickered out and Luigi's eyes cleared. If it's affecting him even without King Boo's influence, then this is even more dangerous than we thought. These things aren't toys. And it could backfire on the likes of these villains all too easily. He looked towards the town gate where he expected Mario and his Boo companion to come through. Do I hope you have the remedy? Most certainly. And do I hope you'll be here very shortly? You better be…
"No more games, Luigi," Kamek said coldly. "Make your decision now if you want these civilians to live." The Koopatrols left Luigi and surrounded the hapless Toads instead, treating them to their most menacing grins and the business end of their recently sharpened spears. Peach objected to this harsh treatment of her subjects but she was prevented in taking another step closer. She saw Luigi moving towards Kamek.
I guess I have no choice, Luigi sighed inwardly. I can't let them do anything to these guys. They have nothing to do with this. "Leave them alone," Luigi muttered. "I'll come with you. Just… don't hurt them."
"Finally," Kamek said. Just to make sure that Luigi didn't change his mind though, he had a couple of his Magikoopa minions quickly bind Luigi via magical means much to the plumber's surprise. The Koopatrols released the Toads but Peach immediately found herself back inside the cage. She was getting quite tired of these situations. A skeleton key would be useful in these circumstances.
"You said that Peach wouldn't be harmed!" Luigi yelled, enraged.
"And she hasn't been," Kamek smirked. "What better way to keep somebody out of harm's way than by putting them in a cage. They can't get out but once it's locked, a person can't get in either. I didn't say we wouldn't be proceeding in the capturing business. Oh, come on," he said as Luigi thrashed against the bind put on him. "That had been part of the plan all along. And even though we should have had power over you, it was still part of the plan to come and collect you. And perhaps your brother too, if he was there at the time. He always does seem to put a spanner in the works."
"Stay still!" Ruby hissed as she and Baruch struggled to keep Luigi bound; his constant thrashing was threatening to break the chains placed on him. They both cried out as shockwaves were sent through them. He was using magic, strengthened by that poison. Even so, he shouldn't have been able to use it! These chains were supposed to stop anyone from using elemental magic, even Boos, and they were creatures of magic. Kamek yelled at Luigi to stop fighting and Toadley was almost inclined to agree. He did not want Luigi to start becoming dependant on the black power that the Possession Poison offered. Surely, surely, there had to be a way to counteract that…
"Somebody is going to suffer if we don't move out of here," Kamek growled. At least they had little trouble with the pathetic resistance offered to them earlier. While the Paratroopa squad provided an interesting if brief aerial battle, the Toad Brigade were essentially useless, even more so since they were at a disadvantage by only being able to fight at ground level. Had those fools even been trained? They ought to have been grateful that their lives were spared since if they were having a proper battle, then that certainly would not have been the case.
"Indeed, somebody is going to suffer…"
Luigi's blood froze. He managed to turn himself around and see the figure that was recently dominating his nightmares. He groaned. Most Boos were night-dwellers and many who went out in the day reported a significant drop in magic levels, especially if the sun was blazing away. This did not apply to all however to the likes of King Boo who belonged to the lucky minority. This was one of the aspects that had helped him become king in the first place, a very long time ago.
"YOU!" Kamek snarled.
"And what do you think you are planning to do with Luigi?" said King Boo delicately. "It isn't polite to steal that which belongs to others." King Boo flashed a mocking grin.
"Speak for yourself," Kamek grumbled. "There is no way you could have had the faintest idea about this sort of plan if you hadn't stole the details from us! And the power source! When Lord Bowser gets here…" Bowser was still some way off no thanks to Mario and his little Boo sidekick, causing all that trouble for no reason whatsoever when they could just have easily complied with Bowser's request.
"When one leaves such crucial details lying around, you cannot but expect them to be intercepted in such a manner. I do believe it was an excellent idea of mine to discover what my enemies were planning once I was freed from that dreadful painting."
"How did you get out of that painting anyway?" Luigi blurted.
King Boo turned his red eyes on Luigi making the plumber flinch. He smiled. "Ask your friend. He was very helpful in my operations. And now," he continued as Luigi thought King Boo's words over. "I do believe you were attempting to carry out your pathetic little plan."
"Ha! And I suppose you are going to try and stop us, hmm?" Kamek sneered. He was expecting Bowser to arrive in his beloved Koopa Clown Car very shortly. "Your Boos are powerless during the day. What are you going to do? Cover your faces while we face you? That is hardly the definition of threatening in my book."
"True," King Boo agreed. "Most of my Boos are not particularly strong during the day. Some are, but certainly not all. We have been working to overcome that as well as creating defences for ourselves against certain enemies. Come out now." Kamek hissed when a number of Boos suddenly materialised and gathered themselves around their monarch. "There is strength in numbers. Or did you perhaps forget that? We would be fools indeed if we allowed our weaknesses to be exposed quite that easily. I suggest you stop fighting now, Luigi," King Boo said as he watched Luigi try to free himself again. "Although I do admit you are doing quite a good job of breaking that bind. I am not sure that would have been possible without the Possession Poison. Besides, you shall need to keep your strength up."
"What are you going to do with him?!" Peach shrieked from the bars of her cage. Doctor Toadley wished that he had trained as an escapologist for situations such as this or at least, situations that certainly required a method of escaping.
"Come, come. What do you think?" said King Boo, wearing his most pleasant of smiles. "First, my enemies shall be vanquished using a power that they were far too short-sighted to provide proper security for. Then, of course, I shall be rid of someone who has been an enemy to Boos for many years. And from then… we shall see how things develop from there, hmm?"
"If you think you can use me for whatever plots you have in mind, then you've got another thing coming!" Luigi hissed, sounding braver than he felt. I need to be stronger this time. I can't let him take control of me again.
"Oh, really?" King Boo raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you shall do what I say. Not willingly perhaps, but nevertheless, you shall do as I say."
"You're going to kill him if you keep doing this!" Doctor Toadley shouted as Luigi began to scream and writhe with pain. It felt even worse than last time, a terrible burning sensation spread throughout his entire body and everything in front of Luigi seemed to turn to shadows. And yet a voice in the back of his mind was telling him that this pain would simply vanish if he lay back and accepted the king's commands. "Do you want him dead? No, you do not! What use would he be then?"
"Oh, I assure you, he shall not die. I shall make sure of that," King Boo whispered, his eyes glowing a bloodier red than before. "And don't you know, doctor? Those under the affliction of Possession Poison cannot actually die, not even if it was asked of them." It was almost too easy. Even if the Toads weren't subdued, they would have been no problem, he had his back-up Boos to deal with the Magikoopas should they try to attack at this moment in the proceedings and his old enemy Mario, would hopefully meet an old, ghostly friend of his in the forest; a ghost who was not in fact a Boo, a ghost that Luigi had dealt with before in an old, dilapidated mansion. "Soon, our plans will come to fruition…" he hissed, directing his words towards Kamek and his Magikoopas, all of whom had been quite taken aback.
Peach desperately made a plea to the stars, hoping that they could send any sort of help at all. Then she noticed a familiar figure charging towards them all.
"GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER OR I WILL KILL YOU!"
"Mario! You simply must slow down! As much as I am aware of your impatience, you cannot keep running ahead of us. You could get lost and that would most definitely slow us down."
Mario sighed and brought himself to a halt. If Forever Forest had to choose a time in which to confuse its travellers even more than normal, then it surely could have had the courtesy to do so on any other day than this. Was it dark magic unleashed by the likes of King Boo? Or had some sinister environment affecting creature moved into the woods and forced it go into defence-mode? They had not yet found the reason out and Mario was getting more frustrated by the minute.
"Why does everything in this place have eyes, man?" Stanley shuddered as a set of eyes flashed at him for a moment from a dark spot before disappearing. "Why does everything in this kingdom have eyes? Even the hills have eyes! It's freaking me out!" Tubba Blubba was inclined to agree as he could see even more eyes than the Boos at ground level could.
That would be an interesting topic to research, Booigi thought as he wandered along the dark paths with the rest of the group. He found himself following Lady Bow particularly closely. Anybody else might have told themselves or others that they simply wished to keep a close eye on this fair lady and protect her from any malignant forces that could suddenly make themselves known although truth be told, Booigi already knew that she easily handle any situation by herself and that he was sticking close by for his own protection. He could quite easily admit to himself that he was a coward by any species' reckoning but as far as Boos were concerned, this was a grave crime. He just hoped that they would not bump into King Boo once they reached the other side as he could just see himself cowering upon the ground and making a fool of himself.
"I hope I'm not the only one who keeps hearing strange noises," Tubba Blubba whispered nervously. It didn't seem right to raise one's voice any louder than a whisper in these woods. "And I certainly hope that that there aren't any ghosts in these woods either, no offence to you guys."
"None taken," said Herbert solemnly. "There aren't any ghosts in these woods apart from us. And that ghastly, dead hand on your shoulder probably isn't real either." He cackled as Tubba Blubba flung himself into the air and Booigi zipped through Mario causing the plumber to shiver violently. There was a resounding crash once Tubba Blubba landed heavily back on the ground. "Ah, you always do provoke the most excellent of responses," Herbert added, seeming quite pleased with himself.
"That's enough of that," said Bow sharply. "I don't want anybody being separated in these woods or it will take forever and a day to find them again." Herbert gave a slight grin as an apology, the corners of his mouth having turned up ever so slightly. "Drat, this forest does so get on my nerves at times. You would not be able to tell if it was day simply by looking upwards and around you if we didn't have any time-pieces."
"This forest was planted by your ancestors, Lady Bow, as a means of protecting their inhabitants and indeed themselves, from wandering peoples and enemies," Bootler intoned in his usual role as a historical guide. "Though ancient, the charms imposed upon the trees and indeed, the very flowers, have kept their strength until this very day, and were first initiated by Jambooree the Very Peculiar who first came into existence in the year-"
"Yes, yes, I know all that," Lady Bow sighed. There was probably no need for history books with Bootler around. He very likely predated most of them. "Though why is the forest acting strangely now? It has never failed us before."
Bootler appeared troubled. "I am ashamed to say that I do not rightly know, my lady. Perhaps it is sensing that King Boo wishes to attack our dear home next once he has finished terrorising Toad Town and its castle and is setting up its defences of higher-level bewilderment charms in preparation for that likely event. Or something even more terrible than that, a creature that is resistant to its confusion tactics and revels in darkness like ourselves, but also revels in fear and despair…"
"And that is something which I seriously do not have time for!" Mario snapped. He had a fireball lit to provide a small amount of light, illuminating his worried face. "Something's going to happen to my brother. In fact, it could well be happening now. I can sense it."
"How can you sense each other?" Booigi asked, confused. "Is that another one of your powers?"
"In a way," Mario muttered. "It can get disturbed by a presence of highly powerful dark magic though. Despite that, it's a useful skill to have, considering the things that we've been through and the things we're probably going to go through in the future. Because… you all might think I'm some superhero who can overcome anything and everything even if I'm blindfolded or something ridiculous but to be honest… I wouldn't be able to go through most of these things without knowing that Luigi is backing me, whether he's with me or at home. And of course, I have my friends too," he smiled. "I really couldn't do these things entirely on my own."
King Boo was convinced that the Mario Brothers surely could not be invincible and Booigi supposed that he was indeed correct. If the brothers were separated and alone, then they were formidable certainly, but definitely not invincible. Working together though, backed up by each other, Booigi could tell that they would be the strongest team in the world, protecting and looking out for each other, their bonds heightening each other's powers in the midst of terrible battles to stop villainy in its tracks and save the world. King Boo likely despised this because of how it had been used against him but Booigi could not help but admire Mario and Luigi even more for that.
"But of course, my dear Mario," Bow cried. "I was quite worried that you would have forgotten about me then. And your other friends too I suppose. Now, let us hurry through this forest before the sun sets again. Bootler, are you quite sure you can carry all of that? Do help him with that load would you Mr Blubba? You are much more used to carrying heavy loads after all."
"I would not if I were you," said Bootler as he relinquished his backpack to the towering Clubba. Tubba Blubba could barely lift the weight and fell forwards once he did manage to pick it up.
"What do you have in there?" Lady Bow sighed wearily as Bootler lifted the backpack again with barely a hint of effort. Stanley was once again impressed by the ancient butler and would have asked for his autograph in honour of his awesome status had he not already had an autograph from him.
"Oh, the usual requirements, my lady," said Bootler. "Some badges you picked up from your little quest last time, some health-restoring items for the journey, some offensive and defensive items in case we are caught in a battle and most importantly, the tea equipment."
"Yes, well, perhaps we can take tea after we have sorted Mario's problem out…"
"Are you using magic to make that lighter?" asked Booigi warily.
"Why, yes, young one, indeed I am. Perhaps I could give you some lessons in magic, hmm, since you say you are rather lacking, with Lady Bow's permission of course."
"We'll see," said Bow. "Now, hopefully, we are not too far from-"
"Shh!"
"Did you just 'shh' me, Mario?!" Bow cried indignantly.
"Yes I did, Bow. I definitely heard something then, something that doesn't normally exist in these woods. I need you all to be very careful."
The group were silent for the time being, the only sound being from the light breath of wind that chilled the back of their necks, at least until they told Herbert to stop messing about. Boo Woods was even more silent if that was possible, as if it too was listening in for the slightest hint of danger.
"It could be nothing," Bob said nervously. "Or maybe it's just an animal or something. Haha, are you trying to scare us Boos, Mario? Um, what is everyone staring at?" he whispered as everybody's eyes suddenly widened and Tubba Blubba took one massive step back. A sudden chill lingered in the air, one that penetrated to their very bones. Mario and Tubba Blubba's breath formed fog patches and everybody began to shiver. There in the woods, seemed to collect an orb of darkness that could not be touched without making the victim scream out loud over the sudden flashback of dark memories.
"It's… behind me, isn't it?" said Bob. He slowly turned around and screamed as a purple hand lunged forward to grab him, missing the Boo by inches. He rushed over to Lady Bow's protection and quivered. Herbert wouldn't have admitted it but even he was scared. Nevertheless, it was another addition to Herbert's scare tactics list.
The ghostly creature inched itself forward in the light or whatever could be classed as light in the perpetually dark Boo Woods. Lightning inexplicably struck the ground before it followed by an almighty rumble of thunder. It did not flinch. Its blank, glowing eyes roved over everybody but more on the two more… alive beings currently in the vicinity, Mario and Tubba Blubba. And out of those two, one of those carried a significantly greater proportion, and indeed, more powerful life force than the other…
"Wh-what is it?" Booigi stuttered. His mind yelled at him to flee but somehow, he appeared locked in place. That was probably a good thing though so that Booigi did not appear to be a coward in front of the others.
"Bogmire," Bootler said softly. That name rang a bell for Mario. "Nobody knows much about it, no, even I have little information about it. All I know is that it represents fear and despair and is an entity of darkness." Bogmire gave a nod of confirmation, as if pleased that that much was known about it and sneaked forward.
"Luigi battled this ghost once," Mario said, suddenly remembering. "In the mansion with that Poltergust 3000. He told me later that he never ever wanted to fight the likes of that again. It just reminded him of so many dark things…" Mario thought for a moment and then lit a fireball. If they were going to defeat this entity, since it was hardly going to let them go without a challenge, then surely light and heat would be helpful in some way and if not, then at least it was still a comfort in these dark woods.
Bogmire raised its ectoplasm arms and before anyone knew what was happening, a number of objects shrouded by a black aura unearthed themselves from the ground and soon, a swift breeze blew away the inky blackness revealing their true nature to the onlookers: gravestones. There were seven in all, each looking instantly worn so that its spidery writing could barely be read, all cold and damp to the touch, even where the moss had begun to creep over the grey stone.
Wait, seven in all? But there were eight beings in the party…
"Where's mine?" Mario whispered, seeing that his was not numbered amongst the others. Bogmire's eyes flashed red and Mario suddenly found himself struggling to stay upright.
The king of ghosts wishes to dispose of you personally. Telepathy? Certainly, no-one else seemed to hear its words and all were currently flicking their gazes between Mario and Bogmire, not knowing what else to do. Your bones shall only suitable for the grave-worms. Your mind shall be ripped asunder so that you cannot even beg for mercy before you meet your death. Your name shall be distorted, spat upon, disgraced, and cursed for all eternity, so that even the lowliest creature knows not to whisper your name for fear of what it may do to them. You shall be reduced to less than nothing and even then, the part of you that still exists will forever be placed under the king of ghosts' control so you can witness what darkness is then wrought by your very own brother's hands…
"Over my dead body!" Mario howled. It was not, he reflected afterwards, the wisest thing to say, especially as Bogmire gave a light chuckle that paralysed everyone with terror. Stanley did not even notice until much later that he had wet himself. Mario forced himself upright. "You think King Boo is going to succeed? I think you're wrong. Whatever happens to me and my bro, we will both fight until the very end and nothing that either of you are going to do will stop that."
Bogmire hissed. Its arms were lowered and in the dim light, nobody noticed little black patches moving underneath each member of the group. Booigi felt very uneasy and not just because of the purple spectre threatening them either. He floated a little way upwards.
How brave, it sneered, this time forcing everybody to listen to its words. But how long shall you remain brave for? And how long… will you resist this?
At its words, the black patches instantly revealed themselves to be carbon-copies of their creator and with their ghastly hands, grabbed each member of the group with the intention of dragging them underneath the earth. They all struggled and cried out but Booigi had been too high up for the mini-Bogmire to grab. Booigi zipped further out of reach and gasped with terror. All his friends could do was struggle and try to stop themselves from being sucked into the dark depths of the earth. Bogmire looked up lazily and narrowed its eyes. You'll be next after these have been dealt with.
Booigi desperately tried to think. What could he do? He had practically nothing. Even Tubba Blubba probably had more power than him. What use was his only skill of turning himself and others invisible?
Wait… turning others invisible…
"If we cannot destroy it directly then we must attempt to strip it of its dark energy so that perhaps, there is a chance of reverting it back to the normal star that it should be."
The Star Spirits had gathered again as well as Starlow since as far as things were concerned, she was practically an expert on Dark Stars. Of course, the only reason for this was because no other Star Sprite had actually fought a Dark Star and even the Star Spirits had only had to subdue lesser Dark Stars before.
"Our panic was clouding our judgement," Eldstar continued. "Have we not dealt with such things before? We must attempt to drain the Dark Star of its energy in the hope that it will resume its status as a Power Star."
"How are we supposed to do that?!" Starlow cried. "It's a lot more powerful than anything we've come across before. That one Fawful had before was about my size; this one towers even above all of you! And besides," she said in quieter tones, "won't this have similar consequences to destroying it in the first place?"
"It shouldn't do so," said Skolar thoughtfully. "If it's not destroyed, then it can't destroy its creator. Making it into a Power Star again would be akin to its never having turned in the first place. But it is difficult," he muttered. "Very difficult. It would require a lot of energy. It's not as if it could even be transferred to another universe or something since it would only start to wreak chaos there and the fact that it would still exist… Who knows what could happen in that time? It could turn even more powerful and corrupt and Luigi would still be connected to it…"
"OK, OK! I get that. So we need a lot of energy. Are we all going to chip in and do that? I suppose it will need a lot of pure, light energy or something like that. We'll need all of the Star Sprites then won't we?"
"We'll need quite a bit of strength," Muskular mused. "But, if I remember rightly, there is a very specific object that we need…"
"Right! So what is it? It's going to have to be in the vault for situations such as this, right?"
"Actually," Mamar sighed. "It isn't. It's called the Aura Stone and it is deep within the Shadow Pits."
"Oh, great," Starlow grumbled. "And what is it doing in there? I understand if things have to be made but if things already exist, why do we have to go to horribly dangerous places and risk dying in the process just to get one measly item that could have been stored elsewhere, where it is easy to get, if something terrible is going to happen? Who even puts those objects there in the first place?!"
"Well, much of the time, their power will not be activated if they are not stored within the right place," Klevar answered, looking up from his book. "So, unfortunately, they cannot be stored in an easy to reach place. And of course, if they were kept in such a place, it would be easy for criminals to steal them for their own nefarious purposes."
"I don't see how that can be used for a nefarious purpose…" Starlow muttered under her breath.
"Who knows how the minds of villains work?" Misstar opined. "But Starlow," she said, seeing the Star Sprite's grim look of determination. "Are you considering going after this fabled object yourself? It may be too much for you and we Star Spirits must remain up here to keep a check on this Dark Star as well as attend to our other duties, those that cannot remain neglected for long."
"Well, I'll just have to find someone to help me, won't I?" said Starlow. She already knew that asking Mario and Luigi would be out of the question considering the dire situation that the brothers had found themselves in. But she was confident that she could find a couple of companions to help her on her quest. There had to be a few other heroes about right? She hoped so, since pretty much all of the Star Sprites up here were downright useless (apart from herself, of course).
Actually, now that she thought about it, there was at least one Star Sprite who had proven himself worthy and competent in her eyes. He had taken it upon himself to fix the Star Road when that was once destroyed after all…
"So where are these Shadow Pits?" she asked. She was itching to get going. It would do her some good to go down to the earth again.
Klevar gave her the directions and location and along with everybody, wished her the best of luck. Starlow zipped off before anyone could dare say anything to change her mind. And even if the Star Spirits suddenly declared that it was far too dangerous for her to go, she would have gone anyway and damn the consequences because the consequences of not going would be so much worse.
"We need more Star Sprites like her," Muskular mused quietly to himself once the yellow Star Sprite vanished from sight.
"Indeed…" Eldstar murmured as he went to check upon the condition of the Dark Star. There had not been a rumble for the past five hours or so. It was not exuding much power at the moment. In fact, it was still asleep.
For now…
Bogmire was enjoying this spectacle. It was all the more atmospheric considering that it had begun to lash it down and lightning occasionally streaked across the sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance. It would be so good to have some new souls to torment in the underworld, especially the one belonging to the red-clothed plumber, whom it remembered seeing fleeing a number of Boos in an old, abandoned mansion. Bogmire had no intentions whatsoever of handing Mario over to King Boo, it would be like trading away a chest full of gold coins for a Dried Shroom. The plumber was at its mercy now anyway (and Bogmire rather lacked in mercy). Why wait? Besides, Bogmire would be doing King Boo a favour; why let your enemies remain in the land of living when one could kill them straight away?
Mario was struggling harder than the rest though this was not due to lack of effort on the others' part. He tried to conjure up his Firebrand, hoping that the sudden onslaught of fire and light would burn the grim spectres into letting go but it still clung on viciously.
Bogmire looked on with interest. This was far more delicious than being sucked up into a vacuum cleaner for goodness sake! It had learned from that lesson although it realised that it could have employed the same tactics as last time since these intruders did not have the means of defeating it. So focussed was Bogmire on relishing Mario's imminent demise that it did not notice the remaining member of the party turn one of its friends invisible, surprising the underground spectre into letting go, for it seemed as if it no longer had anything to hold on to.
"You get the others freed," Lady Bow hissed. "That spirit has made a despicable stain upon my honour and only I shall decide when my time upon the earth is up!"
Bogmire emitted an ear-splitting screech when Lady Bow blasted her strongest spell against the purple phantom. Booigi set about freeing the others with no time to waste since his fellow Boos had by now nearly been dragged under and had been unable to use the simplest Boo spell in their arsenal to free themselves. Tubba Blubba had uprooted a particularly large tree with the intention of bashing it against in the ground in the hope that the shockwaves would startle the black Bogmire into releasing its grip. He was the hardest to free not only due to his bulk but the fact that two phantoms had grabbed him on account of his size.
"Upon my word as a butler, I shall see you destroyed, foul fiend, for daring lay even a single wisp upon my fair Lady Bow!" Bootler cried before launching himself against Bogmire. If Bogmire was the sort of creature that screamed with terror, it would have done so for Bootler was acting like a thing possessed, flicking through his many illusory transformations whilst wailing on the spirits with such a force that would have woken up the inhabitants of an entire cemetery. Even Bow was startled. Chimera, Manticore, Gorgon, and many creatures inhabiting only the deepest parts of the Pit of 100 Trials: Bootler knew his monsters. There was a reason Herbert looked up to him.
Mario was the last to be released and even when temporarily rendered invisible, the stubborn black Bogmire refused to let go, not falling for the same trick that had got the others. However, with Tubba Blubba helping out, Mario was simply yanked out of the ground with startling force. The black Bogmires blinked with surprise and they either dissipated or sank themselves into the ground out of sight.
Mario was surprised and perhaps a little disappointed to find that there was little he could do to aid Bow and Bootler since they already had the terrible phantom down to its critical point. Bogmire snarled and howled and before the two Boos could throw out another round of Boo magic, it departed into the blackness of the woods, to a place where there was neither sunlight nor moonlight, perhaps for good.
"I do believe that is the most fun I have had for at least a century!" Bootler declared as he dusted himself and Lady Bow down of the muck they had accumulated. "Why, this reminds me of a certain incident dating from at least 290 years ago when I was trekking the countryside with Combooter the Technical…"
"Are we all alright?" Bow asked urgently.
"I th-think so," Stanley stuttered. "Do you all realise that close that was?! We nearly passed on, we were nearly no more. We almost ceased to be, almost expired and gone to meet the Star Spirits. We were practically stiff and bereft of life and probably not resting in peace! We should have been pushing up daisies and become a part of history. We were nearly off the twig, almost kicked the bucket, shuffled off our not-so-mortal coil, nearly ran down the curtain and joined the invisible realm. WE WERE NEARLY EX-BOOS! And ex-human and Clubba," he added as an afterthought.
"Are you quite finished now?" Bow asked sweetly. Stanley gasped for breath and nodded.
"At least there haven't been any lasting effects," Bob moaned. "I never thought something like that was going to happen to us in a million years."
Herbert said nothing. The experience had been terrifying, sure, but now he had lots of excellent ideas for scaring people and his fellow Boos.
"Come, we must get going again!" Bow announced. "We shall have to thank you later, Booigi, when we are not in mortal peril or any other sort of peril." She motioned for everybody else to follow her and took the next winding forest path.
Perhaps he was not quite so useless after all. He might not have been able to learn much about Booish magic but the simple trick of invisibility was proving to be quite a wonderful asset indeed. Booigi glowed with pride as he considered this and that he had saved somebody's life more than once simply by rendering them invisible. He was sure that Mario was very grateful for this assistance too but at the moment, he was busy concentrating on reaching his brother. Once or twice, Mario winced with pain.
"Are you hurt?" the little Boo asked seeing Mario's grimace.
"No," he muttered. "But Luigi is. That King Boo must be doing something to him now. And believe you me, when I get there, he is going to pay…"
Booigi noticed that the paths were getting easier to follow now and were far less tangled than they were before meeting with that terrible phantom Bogmire. How odd that a ghost should have such an effect on these woods. Mario more or less knew where he was going now and everybody was finding it difficult to keep up with him.
"Wait for me, guys!" Tubba Blubba puffed, hindered somewhat by his overly-large frame. "I'm not exactly speedy, you now!"
A scream suddenly cut through the air startling the crows hidden in the treetops to take off. Mario was as pale as a Boo for a brief moment before launching himself into a furious dash across the now-straight path. Even Bow fell behind with the rest of them and she knew from their last enjoyable little adventure that the portly plumber was surprisingly fast. Mario soon disappeared from their sight with only a red fireball to illuminate his way.
"I'd be worried if I was King Boo," Bow smirked. "He might not be but that's because he doesn't know Mario like I do."
They were nearly at the exit now and Booigi could just about see Mario burst through the final obstacle with burning hands to support him. Everybody heard what he yelled though as he undoubtedly faced the king of all Boos.
"GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER OR I WILL KILL YOU!"
Mario was not known for being an angry sort of person, generally taking a relaxed attitude to life no matter what it threw at him. Perhaps problems that irritated the general populace to no end had little effect on him precisely because of the dangers he had faced over the years even despite he and his brother's relative youth. But if it was something that concerned his brother… well, that was a different matter entirely.
If Peach had seen her beloved plumber angry before, then she could not recall it. The intense look of fury that Mario was giving King Boo now was frightening, as well as the blazing fires erupting from both hands that could surely scorch a person at fifty paces. Mario quickly regained his breath and stepped forward closing the gap between himself and King Boo.
Speaking of King Boo, he was outraged. What did it take to slow one measly human down? Did he have to do everything by himself? One, as they say, could simply not get the staff these days.
"Mario, what a pleasant surprise," he said icily. Mario spoke just as icily in his reply.
"Let my brother go now."
"Mario…" Luigi said weakly. He had been temporarily released while King Boo was surprised by the plumber's sudden appearance. "How…?"
"I had help," Mario said just as his companions arrived, gasping for breath and looking very much worn out but as soon as Lady Bow spotted King Boo, she gave her most disapproving glare and floated over to Mario's side.
"I am quite glad that we got here on time," she said quietly. "But you," she said directing her speech at King Boo. "You give Boos a terrible name. Many of us are quite happy living in peace and not going out to seek trouble. Not all of us want world domination you know, even if you consider it to be for the good of our species. But that's only an excuse that you have trotted out for goodness knows how long. You have always been too ambitious for your own good, King Boo, and I only use that title since you have no name I can call you by, other than, let us say, coward."
She's right, Booigi thought. He doesn't have a name really. Funny how I've never noticed that before. It was quite sad really, the idea of going through life without ever having a proper name to go by.
"Traitors," King Boo hissed. "You allow yourselves to remain in this pathetic existence because you are scared to revolt for the good of your fellow beings. You willingly let yourselves be led by this lowlife rabble," he said indicating the trussed-up Toads and the caged Peach. "I am ashamed of you. You fail the Boo cause."
"If the Boo cause is about wrecking others' lives, causing terror not just for mortals but for other Boos too, then I am quite happy to fail it," Bow hissed back. "Yes, we are aware of the actions you take, ones that you think are somehow good for the future. We've taken in quite a few Boos who originally belonged to communities brought under your rule. We've even had some come from your community itself. Were you aware of that? It seems to me that many disagree with your policies and that you only seek power for its own sake."
King Boo chose not to respond to her and instead turned his cruel, red gaze onto the now quivering Booigi. "And you. I gave you a comfortable home, fed you, kept you warm, even let you be educated by our very best, even if you proved yourself entirely useless at magic. Now you side with the enemy and this is how you repay me?"
Luigi's eyes widened at this sudden revelation since this Boo hardly seemed to be a cohort of King Boo's. And in all honesty, he wasn't, not really. From the short time that Luigi had known him, the Boo did not seem to have a malicious streak in him whatsoever, even if he tried. Booigi tried to draw himself up now and attempted to speak, even if somewhat squeaky.
"You were the one who sent me out in the first place and I didn't even think at the time that I was meant to be a spy! Or did you just want to get rid of me because I don't fit your idea of a Boo? You say you took me in but you've always hated me for it and had me punished for little reason. You've never even said why you took me in, in the first place!"
"You resemble your parents in many ways, you know," King Boo said. "A cowardly mortal-lover with no appreciation for the rich history of his species and with ideas of having friendships with the Toads, the Koopas, perhaps even the Magikoopas for all I know or care." Mario only just noticed Kamek and his companions, sat quite still on their broomsticks. For their own sakes, they better keep that way. "You truly want the truth? Your old clan got into a little bit of trouble for breaking our laws and they had to be executed, as simple as that. We did not execute the children; that would have been most distasteful. They were young enough to understand better ways and my fellow cohorts and I split them up so that we would share the burden. I, of course, ended up with the trickiest one of the lot and I am quite disappointed in myself for not having made a significant impact on you. After all I did for the others too, even providing the executioner. But, I suppose we cannot always have things our own way.
"I shall take my leave now," said King Boo gathering all his Boos towards him. "I have accomplished what I set out to do I suppose, for you realise," he said to the Magikoopas, "that you have no chance of taking control now. I see it would be foolish to take Mario on now as well. But I do not have to fight of course. I shall let another do that for me. Farewell, Mario Brothers."
King Boo seemingly disappeared before Mario had the chance to release a burning inferno upon him and the flames only hit empty air instead.
"That was undoubtedly interesting," Kamek muttered. He then heard the sound of a propeller quite close by. "Ah. My Lord Bowser. I am afraid that you are too late."
"WHAT?!" Bowser growled as he pulled up in his Koopa Clown Car. "That King Boo is always running away from a fight. Upon my word as a Koopa King, I will get my claws on him! But, hey," he said cheering up and eyeing the occupied cage. "At least my fair Peach is ready for collecting."
"Bowser," Mario sighed. "Will you ever give up? Luigi, are you alright for a battle?"
Luigi had managed to pick himself up and let electricity surround his palms. "Now that you're here, bro, I'm ready for anything."
"Now, really!" said Doctor Toadley heatedly. "Do I think that he is in no condition to fight? Yes, yes I do think- oh, never mind…" he trailed off seeing the brothers already throwing themselves into the fray against Bowser, Kamek and their allies. Lady Bow lent her assistance to Mario and Luigi as well. "I suppose we are getting a battle after all. Hey, if you are just going to float there, will you at least free us? Was your mission successful? I hope so," he whispered as Booigi went over to untie the knots.
"Not completely," Booigi admitted. "Things… happened. But I got a little of it back." He showed Toadley what he had collected and the doctor gave a sigh.
"Is this less than I hoped for? Yes, yes it is. But can I do something with this? Most certainly. I can work out the ingredients that make this up but somebody shall have to go out and collect them, you know."
"I thought so," said Booigi as he watched Herbert and Bootler scaring the Koopatrols silly if they hadn't been stomped on by Tubba Blubba. Stanley and Bob were flying themselves at some of the airborne Magikoopas and Peach had already been transported out of her cage. She, Toadley and Booigi went to free the other Toads.
"So this is Booigi?" Peach queried. The Boo in question blushed quite pink. "I see you have travelled a long way with Mario if you came from King Boo's mansion. Is he right though if he says that you are now working for the enemy?"
"Er, y-yes, your Highness," Booigi stammered. "He's right because with what he has just told me, there's no way I'm going back there." He kept his focus on the knots whilst telling himself not to cry. I'll help these people any way I can. I'll do what Mother, Father and Teresa did. I'll help these people and help others too. That will make me a true Boo. I'm not like King Boo and I never will be. I've already shown that haven't !?
Yeah… I'll be a true Boo in my own way.
I'm glad I returned to this; I'm quite attached to that little Boo after all. :) Did anyone recognise the shout-out I gave to Stanley by the way?