8

Princess Peach and Princess Daisy found were pacing around the inside the cage just to get some blood flowing through their bodies. Their movement has been restricted for the past three and a half days and the only thing that they have done was sit and eat and play tick-tack-toe with their fingernails, which were desperate need of cleaning. They were depressed over the fact that the train Mario and Luigi were riding in had been blown up by Bowser's airships. It was uncertain if they were still alive.

"I hope they made it out safe!" Peach said.

"I couldn't agree more." Daisy said. "I hate to say it, but I think they weren't so lucky this time."

"How could you say such a thing?!" Peach said. "That's not very optimistic at all!"

"There's a good chance that they were probably sleeping and had no way to escape." Daisy said. "However, I believe that there's a chance that they were awake just in time to escape the disaster."

"I choose to believe the latter scenario!" Peach said. "You should too!"

"Don't worry, Peach." Daisy said. "I haven't given up hope."

Suddenly, the giant door opened and Bowser was seen storming into the room with Lord Crump being dragged by the ear with his hideous claws. He was obviously not happy at all with his job performance. The princesses simply watched the events unfold.

"THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT SOMEONE LIKE YOU COULD FAIL SOMEONE LIKE ME!" Bowser shouted. "WHY DID YOU EVEN JOIN MY REBELLION IF YOU'RE NOT AS PERFECT AS YOU SAID YOU WERE IN YOUR RESUME?!"

"But, sir! It wasn't my fault!" Lord Crump cried. "It's those damn brothers! I would've been able to get away with the star had it not been for their tremendous athletic abilities! I wasn't able to outrun them!"

"YOU MAKE ME SICK!" Bowser said, taking a deep breath. Then, he unleashed a deadly wind of fire that set Lord Crump aflame and screaming in agony for his very life. The princesses could only watch in horror. Both of them covered their eyes to hide the horrible sight before them. The fiery Crump made a mad, screaming dash to a nearby fire hydrant and sprayed the cold fluid all over him to put the flames out. He was covered with third-degree burns.

"PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU! DON'T BURN ME AGAIN!" Lord Crump shouted.

"LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU, CHUMP!" Bowser said. "NEVER FAIL ME AGAIN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?! YOU'RE LUCKY I DIDN'T KILL YOU TODAY."

"Yes, I understand, master. OW!" Lord Crump. "Forgive me."

"Just get out of here!" Bowser said. "Go on, I have business to attend to."

"Yes, master." Lord Crump replied as he left the room.

Bowser looked up at the two princesses, who were still horrified by what had just happened. Bowser chuckled.

"That, princesses, is what happens when no one listens to me or doesn't follow my orders." Bowser said. "Is that a fair enough warning?!"

"I…I guess." Peach said. "It scares me!"

"Don't be scared princess!" Bowser said. "You have nothing to be afraid of."

"We're afraid of you!" Daisy said. "Stop threatening and torturing us with your violent methods of punishment to your subjects!"

"You might as well get used to it then." Bowser said. "You're gonna be here for a while, you know."

"Unfortunately…" Peach uttered.

"What was that?!" Bowser said.

"Nothing, I didn't say anything!" Peach said.

Suddenly, Kamek flew into the room on his broomstick and rushed towards Bowser.

"Bowser, turn the TV on, quick!" Kamek said. "This is important!"

"Why?! I'm not in the mood for watching television!" Bowser said.

"But it's important! It's about the Mario brothers!"

"WHAT?!"

Bowser quickly turned the giant monitor to television mode and flipped to the channel Kamek told him to turn to. It was a Sarasalandian channel.

"Our top story at this hour is about the two young men that were reported missing three days ago in the event of Bowser's unexpected appearance to the funeral of King Toadstool, the famed ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. It turns out that nineteen-year-old Mario Mario and his identical brother, nineteen-year-old Luigi Mario, are still alive! There had been rumors of their whereabouts coming from the town of Petalburg and their journey to save the missing princesses Peach and Daisy since the day before. Today, the rumors were confirmed after the two brothers were able to rescue a train full of innocent civilians that were on their way into the kingdom.

"After their heroic deed, the Mario brothers met up with King Richard and revealed their epic adventure to the public and received a golden power star as a reward for their rescue operation. The brothers also revealed the details surrounding Bowser's newest evil plan on taking over the world using the seven Crystals Stars used by the dreaded Shadow Queen almost a millennium ago. They also revealed that they plan on stopping this evil uprising by getting a hold of the stars before Bowser, a deed that directly relates to a strange and encouraging oracle from the mysterious Book of Prophecies, a work that was created by Mushroom Kingdom priests centuries ago that foretold every single major historical event since their time. Could Mario and Luigi be the two heroes mentioned in the Book of Prophecies? With one star found so far and six to go, it looks like they might be the heroes that the world has been looking for.

"In response to these new revelations, Sarasaland, the Mushroom Kingdom, and other allies have been on high alert for any of Bowser's multiple Koopa armies. However, with the Mushroom Kingdom's capital burnt and raided upon, it will be hard for Mushroom Kingdomers to seek refuge from harsh economic plunges since the death of their king and the disappearance of Princess Peach and Princess Daisy. If the Mushroom Kingdom's economy collapses, it will most certainly cause a chain reaction to take place and other kingdoms will fall behind it.

"The whole world is now in a state of panic as stocks plunge to all-time lows, and their only hope rests on these two brothers, the future heroes of the world."

Bowser switched the television off and became furious.

"THOSE DAMNED BROTHERS!" Bowser shouted, throwing the remote onto the ground. "THEY JUST DON'T SEEM TO DIE!"

"Take it easy, master." Kamek said. "I'm sure there's a way we can corner them while they're still wandering about."

"WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THEY ARE NOW!" Bowser shouted.

Suddenly, Lord Crump entered the room again.

"What is it this time?!" Bowser said.

"Sir, I just received information from one of our secret soldiers that the Mario brothers in the town of Birachai in Sarasaland!" Lord Crump said. "It's a small border town along the Chai and Birabuto provinces."

"Excellent work!" Bowser said. "You now have my forgiveness! I'll order some of my troops to storm the town, but in the meantime why don't we get you to one of our doctors?"

"That would be good, master," Lord Crump said, "although, I'm still mad at you for what you did to me."

"I'm so sorry about that." Bowser said, almost as if he was never angry in the first place. "I was having one of my insane episodes."

"Well, let's get to work!" Kamek said.

The three goons walked out of the room. The princesses could only imagine why Bowser would have such strange and bizarre behavior. The only thing they could do was keep on pacing in the limited space they had, like a wild animal locked inside a zoo. There was no way out, and they knew it... If only Mario and Luigi would rescue them...