31
Walking down into the labyrinth, Mario and Luigi illuminated themselves with a couple of the last fire flowers they had. Although they still had ten more to use up, they treated the power up like it was their last. So far, they have not been able to find a distinct pathway that lead anywhere. Instead, they have been traversing a maze of seemingly endless tunnels that at time took them in circles and even forced them to retrace their steps after reaching a dead end. The brothers were lost in the dark and were now itching for some answers.
"I wish we had a map of this place!" Mario said. "These damned passageways are too confusing!"
"Where are we exactly?" Luigi asked. "I have a feeling that we're wandering very far from the entrance."
"I wouldn't be surprised." Mario replied. "For all we know, we could be really close to the entrance, since these rocky walls look the same throughout the entire cave system!"
"I don't know bout you, but I'm not seeing anything that will lead us to either of the two remaining keys to the second Crystal Star." Luigi said. His stomach started to growl as hunger started kicking in once again. Mario could feel his stomach begging for food too.
"I'm famished!" Luigi said. "I feel as though I haven't eaten for many days! My body is aching, my throat is dry, and feet are blistered as hell!"
"I know." Mario said. "I feel your pain."
Meanwhile, Bowser and his troops were exiting the western temple with low spirits, especially the King Koopa himself. He had failed to find the Mario Brothers inside the tunnels, but he knew that they were hiding somewhere else around the large pyramids. He was determined to hunt them down and stop them from ruining his plot. The fire inside of him was raging with anger as the mid-morning sun kept beating down on him and the troops ferociously.
I'm going to get you two! Bowser thought as he popped his knuckles. You two may be elusive, but soon you will fall victim to my awesome power and the world as you know it will no longer exist. It will all be mine!
Back in the caves to the south, Mario and Luigi were beginning to lose their only source of light as the fire power started to leave their bodies. Soon, they found themselves standing in the dark with no visual references to go by. All they had were their hands to feel around. Suddenly, Mario spotted the mysterious orange glow just ahead of him down the tunnel and around the corner.
"Luigi! It's that strange light again!" Mario said, pointing down the tunnel.
"Did it follow us here?" Luigi asked.
"I'm not sure if that's the same light we saw back in the temple, but it sure looks the same to me!" Mario replied.
"Come this way." said a mysterious voice that came from the same general direction as the orange light. Mario and Luigi looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
"Did that light just say something?" Luigi asked.
"I don't know." Mario said. "But it's getting away."
The brothers ran after the light as fast they could as it got away from them faster than it did back inside the temple. Multiple times, Mario and Luigi found themselves bonking their heads on the hard rocky ceiling where it dipped lower than in other parts. Their heads hurt, but they managed to keep going despite the hardship. They reached a point where they were running down a straight path when the orange light suddenly stopped. Mario and Luigi looked down at the ground and saw a large pit in the ground.
"Jump." said the mysterious voice, which seemed to be coming from the orange light. This time, it sounded like there were two voices that were in synch. Mario and Luigi looked at each other with puzzled looks again.
"Did it just tell us to do what I think it told us to do?" Luigi asked.
"It did." Mario said. He turned his attention to the orange light. "Who are you?"
Silence.
"Can you speak?" Mario asked.
"Jump." said the voices of the orange light. "Jump across the hole."
The orange light started making a left turn, continuing down the tunnel. Mario backed up to get a running start, then jumped from the edge and landed on the other side.
"Come on, Luigi!" Mario said. "The light is getting away!"
Luigi jumped across the scary pit with ease and followed Mario around the corner to chase down the orange light. Upon reaching a right turn in the tunnel system, the brothers were suddenly attacked by a swarm of Swoopers.
"Get away!" Mario shouted as one of the blue bat creatures tried biting his arm. Luckily, he managed to shake the creature off. Luigi was having similar problems, but the Swoopers were trying to attack his legs.
"Mario! Help me!" Luigi cried as he got bitten twice in his right leg. Mario kicked the remaining Swoopers off of Luigi and watched them fearfully screech away down the tunnel.
"That ought to teach you some manners!" Mario shouted out to the vile creatures. Mario looked over at Luigi and saw him crying in pain.
"Did they bite you?" Mario asked.
Luigi pointed to his right leg and Mario gasped at the sight of blood.
"We need to find more green mushrooms." Mario said. "It won't be long before your wounds become infected."
"I need a doctor!" Luigi said. "I'm not going to survive if it turns out I have the Swooper disease!"
"I think you'll be fine." Mario said. "The chances of contracting a Swooper disease are very rare."
"I just hope you're right about that," Luigi said, "because I don't want to be the one to blame for Bowser being able to take over the world if it happens."
"It's not going to happen!" Mario said. "My god, Luigi! Be a little more optimistic, would ya?"
Luigi said nothing. The orange light was waiting for them at the end of the hallway, beckoning them to follow it.
"Come this way." said the two voices.
"Who are you?" Mario asked again as he and Luigi approached the mysterious light. "Are you more than one entity?"
"We are both two separate entities, but with a deep connection." said the voices. "We are here to help you, dear Mario and dear Luigi, on your quest for revenge against the evil dictator. There isn't much time before the world as we know it comes to a dramatic end, unless of course, you two prevail in your efforts."
"How do you know our names?" Luigi asked.
"Let's just say that we've known about you since the day you two were born." the two voices said.
"Do you two mind revealing yourselves to us?" Mario asked. "I really want to know who you guys are."
"It depends on whether or not your emotions can handle it." said the two voices of the light. "It may or may not come as a pleasant surprise to you."
"Please reveal yourselves!" Luigi said. "We're dying to know."
"If you insist..."
The orange light started to morph into two glowing human-like figures. As their features began to take shape, the brothers saw that one of them was a man and the other was a woman. They both looked strangely familiar to the brothers. As they studied the two entities, it became obvious, yet shocking, as to who they were.
"Are you two who I think you are?" Mario asked in a surprised tone. "Or am I just seeing things?"
"You would be right." said the woman. "I'm your mother."
"Mama?" Mario said, his eyes starting to water. "Papa? Is that really you?!"
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't know my own twin sons!" the man said.
Luigi was crying and so was Mario as they struggled to take in the sight of their deceased parents. It was simply too much for them to handle. They both embraced each other in an effort to calm themselves down, but it only seemed to strengthen their sadness.
"Boys, please stop sobbing!" Papa said. "Heroes aren't supposed to wade in their own tears! I know that your mother and I weren't able to be with you two growing up, but that's no reason to stop you two from your quest!"
"Why did you two have to go?!" Luigi sobbed. "Why did you have to kill yourself, papa?! Oh mama! I didn't mean to kill you when you bore me! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
"Shhhh." Mama said. "It's alright, son."
"No it's not!" Luigi cried. "It's my fault that you died!"
"They've been feeding you lies, son!" Papa said. "I never committed suicide."
"What?" Mario asked, slightly confused. "But..."
"I didn't die why giving birth to you two either." Mama said.
"You mean everything we know about you two isn't true?" Luigi asked. "But, why? Why would everyone else lie to us about that?"
"That's because no one wanted you two to know the truth about us." Papa said."They feared that you two would feel ashamed of us for what happened."
"What happened?" Mario asked, still sobbing.
"It's a long story." Mama said. "But I think you two deserve to know the truth."
"It all started the day you two were born." Papa said. "After the stork had taken both of you two for immediate care and was on its way to our house to return you guys to us, we were shocked to hear that a group of Bowser's flying wizard assassins attacked you guys. The only reason we knew was because you two didn't arrive at our doorstep according to schedule and the news arrive at our doorstep the next day. I immediately set out to search for you two, but by the time I reached Yoshi's Island and reached Bowser's outpost at the center of the island, I was not able to find any signs of you two. I thought that you two were dead. Enraged at Bowser's evil deed, I wanted to get my revenge on the evil dictator. I wanted to kill him once and for all. But my intentions ended in vain as soon as I stepped foot into the Darklands, when Koopas Patrols gunned me down with Bullet Bill weapons. After they killed me, they took my body and threw it into a pool of lava."
The brothers suddenly had flashbacks of what Toadsworth had told them back in Rogueport: 'The last person to ever try and beat Bowser got thrown into a pool of lava. That was almost twenty years ago!' It was starting to come together and both brothers became angry.
"THAT DAMED KOOPA KING!" Luigi shouted. "How could we have been so stupid, Mario?! It was him this whole time!"
"What happened to you, mama?" Mario asked. "What made you die?"
"I was murdered as well." she said. "It happened while your father was searching for you two, though it wasn't because of a group of Koopas. Instead, I was killed by group of gang members that terrorizing the streets of Toad Town at the time. They broke into the house and pinned me to the ground where I was raped and then killed by getting stabbed to death."
The brothers continued sobbing. They were unable to comprehend or respond to the horrible details that were presented to them. They felt betrayed by everyone else, but at the same time, they could not blame them for making up lies about their parents. It would have been way too much for them to handle as children, when were already have a difficult time in life. Still, they felt a deep sense of betrayal. Even now, it was too much to take in.
"I wish you guys were still alive!" Luigi said. "We miss you! All our lives, we've been lost. We've been pushed around by our evil cousins and everyone else during our school years! We had to live through one of Bowser's invasions and witness the death of our foster parents! We were forced to work at an early age just to keep ourselves alive! We've seen too much tragedy!"
"But all of that is going to change shortly." Mama said. "You two are destined to do great things. I know this for a fact!"
"You really think so?" Mario asked, wiping his tears away.
"We know so, son." Papa said. "You two are willing to risk your lives to save two princesses from two separate kingdoms! Believe me, we've seen everything that's been going on and I couldn't be any more proud of what you guys have done! You two together have made much more progress than I could've ever conceived of accomplishing in my entire life! You two need to save the world from the darkness that threatens to engulf it. Everyone is depending on you guys right now! "
"Don't worry, papa." Luigi said more enthusiastically. "We don't plan on letting anyone down!"
"Good." Papa replied. "Now show the world what you two are capable of!"
"Before we must leave," Mama said, "there's something you two probably need to reach the next Crystal Star."
She reached out her hand and revealed to the brothers another key to the four key holes inside the central pyramid. The brothers immediately cheered up.
"Where did you find this?" Mario asked in a surprised tone.
"It was inside the eastern pyramid." Mama said. "I apologize for giving you bad luck in there, but I couldn't risk you two getting cornered by Bowser's troops. They've already discovered that you two managed to find a way out of that temple. The last key is still buried somewhere within these tunnels. Just follow this tunnel and you should be able to find it in no time."
"Thank you." Luigi said. "We love you two with all our hearts!"
"We love you too." Papa said. "We wish you two the best of luck on the rest of your endeavors. Remember, we'll always be watching over you two, even in times of hardship. You two will always be in our hearts. "
"You two will always be in our hearts." Mario said. "You always have been."
Mama and Papa smiled. They waved goodbye as their spirits started to disappear into thin air. Mario and Luigi suddenly noticed something strange about themselves. They observed their wounds only to find that they were disappearing too.
"They're healing us, Luigi!" Mario said. "Thank you, mama! Thank you, papa!"
"Thank you!" Luigi shouted.
"Your welcome!" they both shouted as they finally disappeared. "Good luck!"
Mario and Luigi stood in the dark tunnel and smiled, knowing that their parents were still looking after them; even if they were not physically there for them their whole lives. Their anger towards Bowser was now higher than ever before now that they knew the truth about their parents.
"Let's hurry and find that last key so we can open that door!" Mario said. "The next time Bowser tries to lay a finger on us, he is going to get it big time!"
"I was just about to say that!" Luigi said. "I'm right behind you, bro!"
They lit another fire flower and continued down the tunnel as fast as they could in search of the last key.
What an amazing turn of events! The orange light that the brothers were following turned out to be the spirits of their own parents! They now know the truth behind their untimely deaths and Bowser seems to be responsible for both incidents, which of course makes the brothers even more angry at the evil King Koopa. They also know from their parents that Bowser has discovered their secret exit route from the western temple which was the reason why the brothers never found the other key in the eastern pyramid, because the parents were afraid that Mario and Luigi would get cornered. The brothers are also proud to know that their mama and papa are proud of everything that they've done so far in their lives (especially throughout the adventure) and that they're always watching over them from above.
The brothers now have three of the four keys needed to open the secret door inside the central pyramid to gain access to the next Crystal Star. The final key, according to mama, will be found in no time as the brothers are already on the right path.
This is my longest chapter to date! It will only be a short time before Volume 2 is finally complete! As always, I will see all of you in the next chapter. Remember, feel free to leave a review :)
saturn95
