Chapter 5-Powered Up Corruption-The Imprisoned Ones

Mario and his friends split up to ask the local Lakitu miners about the prison of the island. However, each miner gave the same response which was not as much help as they hoped they would get.

"I'm sorry but we can't tell you that…telling you that would break the law…"

"YO, we're just trying to help you all out!" Goombert snarled at one of the Lakitus, "Why do you all have to be so-"

"Being irritated is unhealthy and being unhealthy is against the law."

"…" Goombert just stared with a look of condescension in his eyes, "Well, if you wish to live like this for the rest of your natural born lives, so be it, I don't have time for this…" He walked off mumbling and eventually bumped into Mario. "Oh, hey Mario! Any luck?"

"No…" The Red Plumber sighed with a hint of frustration, "All these Lakitus keep talking about the laws of this place, I mean, who-a has the time to memorize all this nonsense? I could-a barely remember the formulas I learned back in elementary school when I was just a little bambino!"

"Speaking with exclamation points is against the law too." A Lakitu flew passed them.

"Who asked you?!" Goombert shouted at them; "Ugh, after this I'm going to need some serious aspirin…" He held his head down. "I wonder if the others had any luck…"

"Hey, I doubt it," Mario shrugged as he watched Luigi walk towards them clutching his head. "Bro…?"

"…I…have…never…met such …"Luigi huffed, "Asking for directions was a stupid idea…" He took off his hat fanning himself off. "Who was the idiot who tho-"He saw Goombert glaring at him so he zipped his mouth. Suddenly a huge explosion went off, causing the three to jump.

"Goomy! Malleo! Weegee!" Aika flew over to them, "Li blew up! She got all mad and um…went like ka-boom! Now the mean puppies are fighting her!" She started to fly back into Lina's direction, Goombert quickly followed behind with Mario and Luigi; eventually also regrouping with Koopfaheem.

"Perhaps this is our chance!" Koopfaheem panted, he wasn't exactly Mr. Athletic, "There's a 70% chance that the Chomps could lead us to our desired destination! *cough* *cough*"

"Can you stop with the gosh darn percentages?!" Goombert frowned, "I have a bad headache right now and I don't need your mathematics to pound down on my head too!"

"You're just jealous!" Koopfaheem adjusted his glasses, "You haven't seen such prestige intelligence such as this! That is probably why you are only a Tattler! Still a sprout in the 25% stage of life!"

"Hey, at least I don't spend my days locking myself up for knowledge, this knowledge is pure experience!" Goombert glared at the Koopa, "Your bookwork is nothing compared to the real deal!"

"OH SHUT UP ALREADY!" Mario yelled, "CAN'T YOU SEE LINA IS IN DANGER?! " The two stopped arguing after Mario's outburst and continued to follow Aika. Eventually they were lead to the base of the volcano. The Chain Chomps stopped there and barked at the wall causing a door to form and open, they then scurried in. "Now's our chance…!" Mario whispered, "Let'sa go…!" The group quickly ran into the door as it shut. "Ouch!" They rolled across the floor for a bit but regained composure. Mario looked up at the path ahead of them. "Mama mia…" It was full of lava and the temperature was passed the roof, "This'll be a doozy…"

"Y-yeah…" Luigi stuttered as he stared at the lava, "Just take a few steps forward…and don't look down…alright…here we go…!" The group marched forward through the caves looking for their lost friend as well as Lucky. They were ambushed quite a few times by Embers but they posed no problem thanks to the badges Mario had purchased earlier on.

"That's weird…" Goombert said to himself.

"What'sa weird?" Mario looked at his Tanoomba companion.

"Well, for starters, don't you think we would have been attacked by the guard dogs by now?" Goombert replied as they were slowly crossing a ledge, "I mean, for an Island with high maintenance security and laws, wouldn't this prison be well…more heavily guarded?"

"Maybe we are just um…lucky!" Aika flew above him, "Maybe the puppies only stay outside!"

"That could be a possibility," Koopfaheem looked down at the lava sweating, "I deduce that perhaps this lava could be the main source of security so the Chomps don't really need to do anything in here. Lava is quite the gimmick to get around after all."

"But could the Lakitus just fly above the lava?" Goombert glided over a gap in the ground, "Or do their clouds just evaporate into a less dense substance? Those clouds are alive too…"

"Best not-a to think about it," Mario smiled nervously, "Those things disappear a lot quicker when a Lakitu isn't on them…so…maybe they're locked up real tight like we were when we were at the Thieves' Hideout back at The Scorched Sands."

"True," Goombert nodded, "But I guess Lina is able to hold her own, she's a strong willed girl…" He smiled to himself.

"Yeah," Luigi agreed, "Hey! I see-a stairs just down that hall!"

"Good eye, Luigi!" Mario high-fived his bro, "Let'sa go-" The door leading to the stairway closed shut, as well as the door behind the group, "Well, this is-a fine how do you do." Mario placed his hands on his hips looking down while tapping his foot, "Alright, who are we going to fight?" A bubbling sound could be heard followed by growling. "Oh no don't tell me…" FWOOOOOSH! Suddenly, a gigantic fiery red Chain Chomp leapt out of the lava confronting the heroes; it was accompanied by quite a few Embers.

"MAMA MIA!" Luigi jumped in surprise. "IT'SA HUGE!"

"And it's making everything too hooooot…." Aika drooped on top of Luigi's hat, "It's making me diiizzy…" Luigi took off his hat and patted the Love Bubble reassuringly.

"Aw, don't worry, we'll take this thing down," Luigi looked up, "But…how…?"

"Hey, Goombert, didja tattle the monster yet?" Mario pulled out his hammer ready for battle.

"Yup," Goombert began, "Well this is a Flame Chomp, its attack power is considerably high as well as its defense, I recommend using those snowmen we stocked up on. The snowmen may melt, however, it could even out the playing field because you know…get rid of the things gimmick."

"I gotcha," Mario grinned while pulling out the item, "Okay, snowy do your trick!" The item released a ginormous snowman that immediately melted due to the extreme temperature, but the outcome was quite useful. It unconfined a burst of cool water that doused the Flame Chomp's helpers. It even cooled down the Flame Chomp itself. "Alright gang! Let's attack!" Everyone used their signature attacks against the Flame Chomp but those attacks barely made a dent in its HP. "Um…Goombert this isn't working!"

"Didn'tcha just hear what I said earlier?!" Goombert scowled, "The thing's defense is considerably high so of course our attacks wouldn't work-" Koopfaheem ran over to the Flame Chomp and used a Mr. Softener! "…Well that works too…" Goombert sighed.

"Now'sa our chance!" Mario leapt up and slammed the Flame Chomp with his hammer while Luigi ran in to support. Aika did her signature sky dive attack while Goombert smacked the Chomp around with his tail. Koopfaheem finished the job off with a shell attack. After the Flame Chomp's health was completely depleted it yelped and ran out of the volcano; the defeat caused the doors to open once more. "Let'sa go." The Red Plumber began to lead his friends down the stairs. They eventually made their way into a pretty narrow hallway, there was a huge door at the side but it refused to budge.

"There seems to be a crack in the door…" Goombert stared through it, "I don't really see anything passed it though, but, if you listen closely you can hear…motorized vehicles? That's new…anyways; maybe when we find Lina, we could ask her to blow up the door."

"Yeah," Mario nodded, "I guess we have-a no choice but to ignore that then. I honestly get bothered by-a ignoring unknown areas, because an adventure wouldn't feel complete without checking everything out-"

"We'll check it out later," Goombert interrupted, "Let's look for Lina."

"Okay, Okay sheesh," Mario sighed as he moved forward. "Heh, he's just like me when I worry about the Princess…this kid actually has a heart…haha." The Plumber thought to himself chuckling. Eventually the group made it to the 'basement' of the Volcano Prison.

"Seems a lot cooler down here than the floors prior," Goombert glanced at the huge room before them, there were plenty of doors spread out against the walls. "This must be where the prisoners are held."

"Hm…but where could Lina and Lucky be…?" Mario scratched his head, "Hey Lina if you're there shoot out a flare-"

"Mario is that you old boy?"

"Huh?" Mario ran to one of the cells and peaked in, "Kolorado? What-a are you doing here?" Luigi walked over to where Mario was.

"He probably was looking for treasure again," Luigi laughed, "I remember what you told me about him…he does stupid things for that stuff."

"Shush…" Mario covered Luigi's mouth, "ANYWAYS, what-a happened to you Kolorado?"

"A-hem…well, Mario, this is quite a long tale," Kolorado began, "After we said our farewells, I decided to head off to a place I deemed worthy of holding treasure. I heard rumors in town about this accursed place and how it holds a unique treasure."

"You mean the crystals?" Mario tilted a brow, "But…those-a are quite common here. How is that a treasure?"

"No, not the crystals exactly," The explorer continued, "This Island is named Fire Blossom Island for a reason, there is a crystal unlike any other crystal here, and it is shaped like a blossom that has fiery properties. It is most intriguing-" The cell door suddenly opened.

"Intriguing indeed," Koopfaheem walked over and joined the conversation. "What are these properties you speak of?"

"Hm…?" Kolorado looked at the other Koopa, "Mario, is this your friend?"

"Yeah," Mario introduced his Koopa partner, "This is Koopfaheem, we met up at the Clock Tower back at Maremelodia, he's quite the scientist."

"Hm! I see!" Kolorado held out his hand for a handshake, Koopfaheem shook his hand, "It's quite an honor to meet another scientist! The properties I speak of is that it act like a fire flower, however, it remains infinite!"

"Sounds-a like a good weapon!" Luigi's eyes sparkled, "We could really use something like-a that when we're on the ropes…"

"Hehe, look at Goomy and Li!" Aika was giggling, "Looks like they're kissing-"

"Aika, I think-a they're just hugging…" Mario shrugged, "But that's none of our business…oh! What about-a Lucky? We promised his Mama that we'd bring him back to her." The Plumber looked through the other cells which were filled with other Lakitus, he eventually found Lucky. "Hey-a Lucky! We are here to get'cha out of here!"

"It's about time!" Lucky flew out of his cell, "I'm just about sick-a of this place, it's crampin' my style, you dig?"

"…I dig, I guess." Mario shrugged, "Well, everyone now we only have the page to look for, we should retrace our steps back to that huge door with the crack in it."

"Crack in a door, you say?" Lina's eyes gleamed, "I'm your girl for that!" She was ecstatic, "Lead me to it, this place deserves to be damaged!"

"That's my girl…" Goombert smiled, Lina looked back at him and smiled back which caused the Tanoomba to get flustered. "U-Uh, so, shall we make our way back, this place's heat is making me feel weird."

"Yeah, let'sa go," Mario leapt to the stairway and signaled everyone to head up.

"I'll tag along with you guys," Lucky followed the group, "Y'all seem like a dope group, that's cool. I can use some action!"

"I don't like this guy," Goombert whispered, trying to avoid eye contact with the Lakitu.

"Me neither," Koopfaheem whispered back, "He seems…not smart. I cannot use another term for that would be rude…"

"Eh…maybe if we ignore his vocabulary, he might actually be of use." Goombert shrugged.

"Perhaps…" Koopfaheem had a worried look on his face. Everyone finally made it to the gigantic door.

"Ah! I smell treasure right behind this door!" Kolorado peeked through the crack, "Quickly! Blast this door open posthaste!"

"BE PATIENT AND MOVE ASIDE!" Lina yelled, Kolorado leapt away from the door. "Alright, time to…kabooooom!" Lina shattered the door open with a huge explosion.

"Heh…she's one dynamite gal…" Goombert stared with goo-goo eyes.

"Ooooooh," Luigi saw what was going on, "I see how it is. Heh heh heh…"

"S-shut up, Luigi," Goombert looked the other way.

"Hm," Mario looked at those two then at the door, "Is…is that a race track…? That's a lot of Chain Chomps and Embers…." The group made their way into the next room, greeted by a large crowd cheering for peculiar characters racing around on the track below. The karts seemed to be powered by the crystals that the Lakitus were mining for.

"ThEre aRe iNtrUders iN herE…"