Everything was grey as Mario got off the floor. Where was he? Yes, his office... back in New York City. Leaning against a shelf was... Daisy. In front of his door were... Iggy and Wendy. "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt" - they were all saying it, Iggy, Wendy and Daisy, all in unison. They weren't letting him out, they weren't budging. He didn't feel as if he had the strength to move them, he had to get out. There was a shuffling noise in the background, in his backroom. Groggily walking there, Mario pushed the door open and a flash of white engulfed him. The last thing he heard was himself, whispering "Peach".
As he came to, Mario noticed the chandelier above him waving, swinging precariously. Then it dropped, glass and lightning flashing everywhere. Suddenly there was a giant crack in the circular roof, and that came crashing down as well as the dragon peered in looking for him. Then it jumped in. Damn, it was massive. It raised its claw to strike him down... but Daisy ran in between them and put her arms up in surrender.
"Stop! Stop it!" she begged. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just don't hurt him!" The dragon just brushed her aside though, readied its claws and made the strike... but stopped just short of Mario's face. A blast of harmless wind did hit him though. Was this a show of power? No compassion. Daisy was touching its hand. "I never should have left... I never should have left. Take me back... take me back..." Then she hugged it, with a grimace on her face... but it hugged her back. "Take me home, please?" Holding her in its hand, the dragon started to fly away... but she extended her arm out to him, and Mario tried to grab it... but he was a second too late and she was gone.
"DAISY!" screamed Mario. He had to catch up to her. Jumping out of the hole in the wall, Mario landed back on the bridge. All of the bridge's other segments were raised horizontally. The lever was broken, but he was strong enough. Mario punched the first segment, and it fell into place. So did the other one, and lightning struck. It kept striking, but the closer he got, the louder the dragon's roars got. More lightning, louder roars. Yet Mario kept running. More and more segments fell. "Come after me if you want!" Mario screamed at the dragon. "I'm not letting you take her! You hear me you flying motherfucker? I'm not going to!" Then the fog engulfed him and it all went white.
Mario just kept running though, he would not let the dragon stop him! Then the fog cleared though and he found himself and the rest of the bridge covered in snow. From the left snow was pouring in, right behind him it seemed like the blizzard was worse and he had just gotten past the worst part. "Snow? It's not that time of year," remarked Mario. Yet everything was covered in it, the rest of the bridge was padded in it. The sky was white of it, it was beautiful to look at, if not eerie. The entrance to Bowser's Castle was illuminated with yellow welcoming light. Running forth, Mario knew that this strange weather had to be just another trick of Bowser to stop him. "Daisy? Can you hear me?" he shouted. As he ascended up the first flight of stairs, there was a wavy portal in front of him.
"Get your hands off of me! Just take me back to Kamek Tower! Please!" came a voice from the portal. Then the portal got smaller, then it closed. Up the next flight of stairs no snow reached and the support beams were lined with candles. Pushing the wooden door open, Mario entered Bowser's Castle. There was a polished marble flow, the only light was from candles... everything seemed dim but not dull. The carpet in front of him was blue and lined with white stripes. There was another portal inside, in the middle of the carpet. "Please! Please!" came her voice from the portal. What was happening?
There were white double doors in front of him, pushing them open, Mario nearly fell back by what he saw. He was in a giant chamber, fully illuminated but snow was still falling in through an open roof. It was beginning to pile up by the support beams and the small steps at the back of the room. There was a frozen pool of water but right behind it: a statue of Daisy hoisting her crystal up in the sky in a position of power. There was no mistaking it for Daisy, it even had her short hair... yet Mario could not help but ask aloud, "Is that?" Then he was truly scared, as a recording came on the PA system and this was not just any recording, it was of Daisy. What was happening? "What the Hell?" was all he could say while listening to it.
"Some mend dream of money. Some dream of love. Bowser dreamed of a flood of fire. We were given Delfino Isle and we turned it into Dinohattan. Why do we deserve salvation? Kamek gave Bower a bird in the form of Gloomtail, but he was not so easy on me... he said: Prophet, I want you to train a nation of dragons."
What was happening? Above the statue was the caption, in neon letters: 'Our Lady Daisy - Kamek Speed Thy Judgment'. What kind of trick was this? What did Bowser hope to achieve? As he walked up the stairs and behind the statue, Mario heard Daisy's voice again... but from the distance. "What is this place? What are you planning on doing to me?" she asked... someone. Running, Mario pushed open another set of white double doors. "Please! I don't understand!" she wailed and started to scream. Mario was stopped in his tracks. Looking curiously at him was a man in white robes, with a pointy white hat extending to his back. This man's eyes were covered with giant shiny glasses and the rest of his face with white makeup. Daisy continued to scream and Mario ran on past that jester looking... Magikoopa, somehow the name felt familiar to him. "Please! Please! No, no, no, no! Just tell me what I did! Please!" They were torturing her! Mario ran past another Magikoopa who was struggling on a wheelchair. What kind of a place was this? Another Magikoopa was on the ground, holding its head and then there was one more looking around, a light coming out of its glasses. Suddenly, it set its sights on Mario and screamed out loud and for a second, Mario thought he heard a loud explosion and it was as if all the light in the room got sucked out.
One of the other Magikoopas screamed out, another yelled for the girl to stop screaming, but they all charged at Mario. Letting out a circular wave of fire around him, Mario quickly incapacitated them all. "Please! Please! Just tell me what I did! Please... please! No! No!" Daisy kept on screaming and it was all because of him, because he couldn't grab on when she told him to. "Please! Please, just let me go! I'll be your weapon! I'll be... I'll be your weapon. Please." The screams were coming from the rehabilitation center, but it was locked.
"Dammit!" Mario yelled, he needed to find a way in. Right next to it was an intercom, for the warden! He hit and quickly said out, "Listen, I want to see the girl!" In response he got a maddening howl from the intercom. "Who were those... doesn't matter, I've got to get to the warden's office." The sign on the door told him the warden's office was on the third floor, right behind him was an elevator. As he got in it, he heard Daisy talking to someone.
"Please, just let me go back to my tower."
"It's too late for that, child," said the man. "Bowser gave you a lovely home and you chose to destroy it."
"He is a murderer!"
Getting in the elevator, Mario found... a voxophone. This would give him answers, there was no label on it. Who was it from? He turned it on and it was from... Daisy?
"I suppose the Siphon is some sort of leash. Yes, Bowser put it on me, but when the time came neither did I remove it myself. What would happen if I took off the leash and found I was as obedient as ever?"
That gave no answers. Feeling angry, Mario threw it to the ground and the power broke it. Ascending, when Mario got out he crossed a small bridge and found another maddened Magikoopa at the door. Then Daisy's voice came on the PA system again:
"Like Bowser, I could see all that would be, might be and cannot be."
There were more maddened Magikoopas in the room, dazed and confused - lunatics. Then that one... special one noticed him and all went to Hell as they all tried to attack him. These men were clearly not right in the head and Mario did not want to hurt them, but they would not stop him. There was another portal nearby, Mario looked into it and heard Bowser with Daisy, but saw nothing.
"Would you like to pray with me?"
"They're hurting me! Just let me go!"
"We're going to cure you."
"I'm not sick!"
"Your spirit is. All I want is for you to live up to your potential."
Then the portal closed. Taking a turn right, Mario found himself going down another hallway. Everything about this castle was horrible. It was ruined, in disarray, beyond repair. Was this supposed to be a hospital for the mentally ill? If it was, it had failed... spectacularly. There was another portal there. There was that voice he heard with Daisy before in this one.
"I'm Dr. Crygor Daisy, I'll be taking care of you."
"Get away."
"Defiant, even after all this time. Mario left you here. You need to give up on him."
"He will come."
Walking into what he thought was probably a psychiatric care ward, Mario noticed part of the wall was just ripped off and snow was billowing in. The beds were damaged and the sheets were so wet they seemed like they could spill apart. There were more Magikoopas in there, and two that were looking around. As soon as one noticed him, Mario hid behind a crumbling support beam. He had no desire to fight them. The Magikoopa looked at the beam for a second, and then looked away. It did not scream. Sneaking past it, Mario found himself at the feet of yet another portal. It was a conversation between Dr. Crygor and Doopliss it seemed.
"The specimen needs to be destroyed Doopliss! We couldn't even hold her in the tower and now Bowser..."
"Destroy her? Destroy the Lamb? He needs her to ensure the future of his heir."
"If we modify the procedure, we could. It would be safer for everyone, it would seem an accident."
Walking past it, Mario noticed in front of him a set of twin stairs heading up somewhere. Another open ceiling and snow kept falling in, it was cold here. Were the ceilings always open? Snow likely could have played a part to the ruination of this place. Bad design choice? There were two hallways blocked by rubble, but Mario noticed a portal at the end of one. He knew he would not like what he heard, but he went anyways and found a conversation between Doopliss and Daisy.
"You're not eating, Daisy? Is something the matter?"
"I'm not hungry."
"You have to eat sooner or later, if you hold out for Mario you will starve to death. Come now..."
What were these portals implying? Were the messages Daisy was opening for him, telling him what would happen in the future? What was happening? Mario ran up the set of stairs and another Daisy message played on the PA.
"What did Kamek receive in return for his gifts? Mario and his wrench? Luigi and Rool? Humanity wrote a bad check, and I was the only way to settle all accounts. For what is Delfino Isle, if not a different warship for a different time?"
As he proceeded down his path, there was once more another portal. This time a conversation between Doopliss and Bowser.
"The child is ready, Doopliss. It's time."
"King Koopa, even if we can cure her. What makes you think she'll do what you ask?"
"She has two problems, Doopliss. One is the condition that you and your scientists will cure her of, the other affliction is of a spiritual nature."
"What affliction is that?"
"Hope."
In the next room, there were several busts, wigs and mannequins all strewn around. There were Shy Guy masks, Bowser masks and the Magikoopa glasses. As expected, there was another portal, this one detailing a conversation between Crygor and Daisy.
"Your surgery is tomorrow, Daisy. You better eat. You still expect Mario to burst in and rescue you? Don't you see? It's been six months!"
Six months? What? No. That was impossible. How long was he on that damn bridge for? There was another voxophone by his feet. Would this one make him angry as well? He played it, it was Daisy.
"Our minds are festering with sin. Some are so blighted they will never find redemption. The mind will be pulled up from the roots. Bowser Secondus is without fault, without blame - and without choice. For what is the value of will when the spirit is found wanting?"
Bowser Secondus? Sin? The Daisy he knew would never give up on redemption. She would never start to value the ideals of Bowser over free will! Never! This voxophone he did not smash on the ground, no, he crushed it in his hands. He moved on a little bit, but there, by a bust of Bowser was one more voxophone. He knew this one would make him angry too, but he had to hear it. He hit play and stepped back, he didn't need to break this one too.
"Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt. But in the end he is the one who will have to pay down all our accounts, won't he? Where does his guilt start... and mine end?"
What was she talking about, did he not rescue her? When was he? How long did it take him to cross the bridge? He looked at his hands, he was the same age. Why was she talking as if years or months or whatever had passed. Was time moving faster than he was? Walking, slowly, into the next room, Mario saw more and more busts but in this one a projector was playing against a screen. The PA started to play again, Daisy's voice was so haunting.
"A man once promised me he would free me of my chains but in the end he abandoned me to serve his own selfish needs. In some ways, I thank him. He showed me exactly how much faith our species deserved. Kamek put his faith in Koopas once, too. It seemed that we have something in common: disappointment. I did not always love Bowser. In truth, I ran from his embrace. I even denied the right to train Bowser Secondus. I followed a man who seemed to be everything Bowser was not. That man was the Plumber and when Gloomtail came for me, he was nowhere to be found."
As he looked around the room, Mario realized that this was some sort of indoctrination room. Bowser must have prepared this room to try and indoctrinate, or it was where he did indoctrinate, Daisy. What the hell kind of experiments did he run in this building? There was another voxophone, Mario hit play.
"As days pass, I believe less in God and more in Iggy and Wendy. My powers shrivel as my regrets blossom. All of this because Bowser failed me. By the time I realized how far I'd gone, it was too late to stop it. There is still one chance at redemption - for both of us."
He was at least six months into the future. Something with Daisy's powers must have sent him at least six months in the future, or maybe even more. The portals were telling him how Daisy became the way she had... Bowser's pawn. The PA, who she was now, her new public personality as Bowser's weapon. The voxophones her true feelings. He had failed her. He could still save her, he had to.
There was another hole in the wall, jumping through it Mario saw the sign for the Warden's office. Things started to look much more clean and kept up around here, this area was well furbished it seemed. There were more twin stairs, likely the ones that led to the office. Some lights still flickered, but there was not even a scratch on some walls. The benches were all neat and the lockers all ordered. Were the Magikoopas too scared to come up here? Walking up the staircase, Mario made his way to a set of security cameras. There was no guard here, just a bunch of black and white live video feeds keeping eyes on the Magikoopas. Maybe if they had actual guards... there was the switch though, to open the room to where that Dr. Crygor and Doopliss held Daisy. On the chair in front of the feeds was another voxophone.
"What I've done... cannot be undone... I cannot stop... what I've put in motion. Perhaps... I can keep it from ever starting. He was my first hope, and now he is my last."
Mario pulled the switch and all the feeds turned to static, but the one feed showed the door opening. Yet he was sure that the door opened. He had to get there and stop Crygor and Doopliss! There was another elevator back at the end of this level, that would have to take him down. Turning around, Mario was face to face with a Magikoopa. Had it followed him there? It screamed, it felt dark and Mario was paralyzed like a bomb was about to go off if he moved. The others would come soon, but Mario could not move, so he listened to the PA announcement. It would make him angry.
"I am here to finish Bowser's work! As he baptized me with water I will baptize the mammal world below with fire! Prepare for the coming of Kamek. Are worth saving if we will not save ourselves? There will be no salvation until fire floods the cities and covers the plains. Once this world has been born again, a million others await their turn. Baptisim is the rebirth of the spirit, but sometimes the mind gets in the way. If the mind will not yield, then you must subject the mind to every version of itself. Either the mind will yield, or be reduced to a blank."
Slowly regaining his courage, Mario punched it in the face before the others could swarm him. Looking down at the balcony, though, they were coming. They no longer feared this place. Heading for the elevator, Mario barely made it before them and hit the switch as they banged on the walls after him. Crumpling to the side, he noticed a voxophone by him and hit play.
"Tomorrow, the leash comes off because all this has to end. Even if I destroy the Siphon, will I be strong enough to see all those portals and open whichever I choose? If I bring him here, who is to say he will be any match for any of the monsters I have created?"
Mario sobbed and for the first time in a long time he had cried. He was crying. How long? How long did Daisy wait before finally giving in to become Bowser's bullet? As the elevator came to a stop outside the open door, Mario wiped away his tears and got up. He had to do this fast now, he had already delayed long enough. Mario ran, he ran like he had never run before. It was time to rescue Daisy. Running through the hospital wards, the cots, the indoctrination rooms and everything - he ran. It seemed like a second, even the Magikoopas marveled at his speed.
As soon as he was back on the ground floor, the screaming of Daisy came back to his ears. Maybe, maybe everything above was ripped from different points in time? Maybe their torture was causing her to distort the time of the castle? It seemed possible. After all, maybe everything above was from a time where he did not rescue here. Maybe that was all from a future where turned back! Running through the room, Mario nearly dropped to his feet. No. All of that screaming... all of that, was just coming from another portal? Another tear in space. Behind it... were Iggy and Wendy. "What?" he asked them.
"Why do you ask what?" asked Iggy.
"When the delicious question is when?" asked Wendy.
"Lives. Lived. Will live."
"Dies. Died. Will die."
The lights kept flickering and in the flickering of the lights, the ghosts disappeared. Entering the next room, Mario noticed howling and screaming, from the Magikoopas, coming from a door adjacent to him. Next to him though was a staircase, and at the top of it... a woman. There was ice on the stairs, and Mario nearly slipped getting up, but he was finally there. There to rescue her.
"As you can see, Mario," she said, her voice hoarse and ragged. "The lunatics are running the asylum. They don't even listen to me anymore." She was standing on a balcony, the light causing her to look like a silhouette. What was wrong with her voice? "All I can do is watch as what I set into motion slides into its terminal stage. It took all I had left in me, just to bring you here." What was she talking about?
"Daisy! I don't understand," Mario told the darkened figure he knew to be the princess. "I heard you screaming, I was... I was coming to get you! Are we?" He had no idea what to say, but she did.
"Here," she said, calmly. "Take my hand." Reaching forward, she bent over and grabbed his hand and helped pull him up to the balcony. When he saw what she was watching though, he nearly fell back down. New York City, under attack from Delfino Isle. The city was burning, volleys of flame and power being shunted to Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was destroying perhaps one of the most recognizable cities in the world and with relative ease. "The return of the king will sit down the throne and return the glory of the old world, drown in flames the glory of the new world," she sighed. "Say what you will about Bowser, but he predicted your return to New York accurately." That hit Mario like a hammer, he had returned to New York and now it was burning, because of him? He was the king? Then Mario looked at Daisy and for the second time, he nearly fell over again. She was around eighty years old? How far into the future had he come? What had happened? He felt his eyes well up in tears. "It wasn't the torture that broke me," she explained. "It wasn't the indoctrination. It was time. Time rots everything, Mario. Even hope."
"I was coming," Mario barely managed to get out.
"Gloomtail," she explained. "He always stops you."
"Yes," Mario agreed. "But I would find a way."
"No," she shook her head. "It's too late for me. I brought you here for your sake. Yours and hers. Here." She handed him a card, the tears flowed freely from his eyes as he took it. As he saw the destruction of New York City, all because he came back.
"What is this?"
"It's for her," she told him. "She'll know how to read it."
"What does it say?"
"It's advice."
"Advice on what?"
"How not to become me."
Older Daisy waved her arms and white light surrounded Mario, but he saw glimpses. Glimpses of what occurred, what would occur if he did not rescue Daisy. Glimpses of the dragon Gloomtail stopping him every time he got close, Luigi becoming as bloodthirsty and powerful as Rool and a glimpse of... Peach? Was she happy?
As the world equalized, Mario found himself in a room with two sofas, music playing and sunlight glowing. Mario looked at the phonograph, it was resting atop a small cupboard. Nothing seemed broken, Bowser's Castle seemed to be in... tip top condition. Was he back, back to his own time? Mario turned around, the balcony where the older Daisy was standing was restored. No snow. He turned around, the floor was nicely carpeted, the lights were illuminating and welcoming. "I'm back," grinned Mario and he walked down the steps. He doubted Bowser's Castle really changed its design that much, the operating theatre would be not far. Rushing for the operating theatre, Mario began to run. Then he heard Daisy's screams, the same ones he heard from the portal in the future... the same ones from when they were operating on her. "Daisy!" yelled Mario and he kicked the double doors in front of him down.
Doopliss and Dr. Crygor were in the operating room with her. "You two upstairs!" Doopliss ordered two orderlies. "If she gets ornery, shock her!" They were torturing her to prep her for their operation. "She opens one portal and there will be no regrets!"
"Bowser!" roared Mario. "What are you doing to her? Let her be!"
"Mario!" came the surprised response. Heading down the stairs, the plumber headed off to the side and followed the machines' wires into a side room that let him up to an observation deck. "What's the expression, day late and a dollar short?" Taking one glance at Daisy, Mario saw her thrashing around. There was still time. Two orderlies awaited him, they were downed by fire.
"Can't we give her something to quiet her down?" asked Dr. Crygor.
"No, Bowser says half the procedure is pain," denied Doopliss.
"When the body cries out, the spirit listens," agreed Crygor.
"Do you hear that screaming, Mario?" taunted Bowser. "You led her to temptation and that is the sound of your interference!"
Continuing to follow the wires, Mario fought and took down more orderlies. Then there he found it, the generator. a scientist was at one. Throwing the man the away, Mario pulled the lever's generator. The lights in the theatre flashed.
"She is not your weapon!" Mario roared.
"He's shut down one of the generators," panicked Crygor.
"Maybe not today," agreed Bowser. "Trust me when I tell you, she will be!"
"We are not shutting down a generator!" cried Doopliss.
Mario was already following the second set of wires, more and more orderlies tried to stop him. Without powers like his, though, they were nothing but cannon fodder design to slow him down. There was no way that they were stopping him. They were not able to stop him, and Mario quickly turned off the other generator. He looked through the window at the operating theatre.
"He's shut down the other generator," whimpered Crygor.
"Oh, no, not again," sighed Doopliss.
Mario looked at Daisy, she had gotten up but the crystal was not there, but then it was. She had summoned it. A massive portal opened up and sucked in Doopliss, Crygor and the operating equipment. The damage to the theatre was significant, but she was safe. "Daisy, I'll be right there!" he shouted. Heading back down to the Operating Theatre, Mario helped raise her from the operating chair. She was wearing a corset, they had removed the dress... and there was a pump attached to her spine. Grabbing it, Mario pulled it out. She gasped, convulsed for a second but then equalized. Walking over, she grabbed her dress and fitted it on over the corset. Passing her the card from the future, all Mario could say was, "I think someone wanted you to have this."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Just read it."
She read for a second and then spoke. "Your dream of New York City burning... happens," she said. "It's me... I'm the one who..."
"She gave me a way past Gloomtail," Mario told her. "We can find an airship and we can get out of here."
"Mario..."
"Dinohattan Daisy, it's your home! They're your people."
"We're not leaving."
"Why?"
"You saw what he turns me into."
"You're going to kill him?"
"Is this where you start moralizing?"
"I'm not going to let you kill him."
"What are you going to do to stop me?"
"Not a damn thing."
"His zeppelin's outside. Let's go."
"When did you learn that."
"I've been here for a while."
"How long?"
"Doesn't matter."
Piling into an elevator at the far end of the room, for the first time Mario really noticed how beautiful Bowser's Castle was. Not like the nightmarish house of horrors it would become in the future, Bowser's Castle truly was a work of art. Glorious architecture, magnificent paintings and beautiful statues. It was a shame really, that it was the nesting place of such evil. Even this elevator was glorious, red walls plated with gold. Magnificent, but villainous. Man, that sucked.
"This doesn't make any sense," said Daisy and she pointed to the card. "Everything here is a cipher that I understand, except for this symbol. It's a cage. Did she say anything about it?"
"No."
Peeking on to the rooftops, they noticed that this room was now in disarray. Wind gusting in to it, Mario and Daisy ran out and exited and she pointed it out for him: Bowser's Flagship. A giant and mighty vessel. "Oh Mario," said Bowser, where was his voice coming from. "You struggle against prophecy, like a stone loosed from a string. How thrilling the launch, how breathtaking the apex and how dreadful the descent... as gravity drags you to the inevitable." Scouring the rooftops, they got a view of all of Delfino Isle right there. Above they could see the beautiful homes, shops and plazas built for the Koopas and then below Twilight Town and the Creepy Steeple for the Kremlings and Toads. The land of Piantas it was indeed. "Look at all this," implored Bowser. "I built all this for you to lead. What has Mario ever done for you? To him you are but a means to an end."
The flagship was flying away, but a smaller airship detached full of troopers to try and stop them. Docking next to an already stationed airship, Mario easily took them down and boarded their ship.
"Do you think we can redeem what we've done?"
"Redeem? I don't see much use in that."
"Mario... are you afraid of God?"
"No, I'm afraid of you."
For a second it was like she had no idea how to respond to that, so as they flew, they did in silence.
"There it is, fly us under the flagship and we'll make our way up to him."
"Or, we can just fly to Dinohattan."
"Drop me off if you want to, this isn't your problem, Mario."
"No, I'm not abandoning you." Pulling the lever, he and Daisy began their ascent to the flagship and to destiny. As they neared, Daisy pointed out the cables all around the flagship.
"Look at Mario, child," thundered Bowser's voice. "There's something about him that you just can't put your finger on. Soon you'll understand the shadow I am and the man he is."
Walking through the Hold of the airship, Mario could hear the troopers above him. They needed to get to the next level fast if they wanted to avoid the fight. There were several pods on the cables, if they could clear them then they could get to the next deck. There were about ten troopers guarding the cables' panel, all armed with nasty looking weapons. He had to take them by surprise. Jumping on one and smashing him down, Mario took the next two beside him with fireballs, punched the fourth and then ducked. They were firing at him now, thankfully Daisy opened a portal beneath him and soon he was behind them and then they were all down.
Mario pulled the lever, grabbed Daisy and rode the cables to the next deck."I have seen the seeds of fire that will prepare the Sodom below for the coming of Kamek," Bowser spat fire through the PA. "It will not be I who rides up that hill. That job... falls to Secondus. His responsibility, falls to you, Daisy." What came next felt like it was out of a video game, as he traversed the barracks, more Koopas came out. Either Mario would stomp on them or fell them with fire. "On one side of our Lamb stands the Plumber," said Bowser. "On the other stand the remnants of the heretical Shy Squad. Which one of you men will not gladly go to his reward to see her safely to her destiny? Rejoice! Rejoice! Death has no sting!" Soon they were at the next panel and ready to clear the next set of cables. In the distance, Mario could see... Shy Guys... approaching in airships of their own. He had already decimated the Koopa Troopa's main forces, now he would have to either get to Bowser fast or fight off the skeleton of another small army. The cables were clearing too slowly, the Shy Guys were boarding. Most of them Mario was able to knock off while they were boarding, some of them he had to stomp when they neared though. They had already boarded the third deck, the cables were clear. Bringing Daisy up to the third deck, Mario shot a giant fireball at their airship, downing have of the Shy Guys right there. The other half were stunned and started firing randomly, not noticing Mario drop behind them and use a gust of flame to push them off right then and there. That problem was solved but he was sure there were more Shy Guys coming.
The door to engineering was closed off with a giant metal door, Mario kicked it down. This would take them to the upper part of the third deck. Bowser started talking again. "I may be the one who strikes you down, Mario, but you've always had a knack for self destruction. Who is to say you won't beat me to the punch?" Mario looked at Daisy, almost begging her to let him handle it alone. There it was then, the final cable, they could ride it to the top, to Bowser. As they rode through the air, Bowser continued to talk. "You come to wipe your slate clean, Plumber - but time will walk backwards before you find redemption. Some sins cannot be forgiven."
Bowser's cabin was guarded by another metal door, Mario gently opened it this time. They entered a medium sized circular door, in the middle was the statue and underneath it a glowing multicoloured stone. Like the siphon back at Dinohattan...
"This is Kamek Tower," Daisy identified the statue. "Underneath it... a siphon?"
"I saw this there," Mario said. "Whenever you did something, I think the machine generated a response."
"Yes, I'll be right with you," came Bowser's voice through the intercom, interrupting them. The door behind the statue hissed as it depressurized, Daisy walked ahead to it.
"Stand back, I'm ending this," Mario told her.
"Mario, no, this is between me and him."
"You are walking into a trap."
The door opened and she walked in.
"I need to do this."
Inside was a small wooden path to a fountain, on the sides a garden and above them a mural of... family. Behind the fountain stood King Koopa, very much human in form. For how long though?
"Come here child," beckoned Bowser, extending his hand to bring her closer to him. "Well come on, I won't bite." Mario cautiously walked behind Daisy, ready to blast a fireball at any given moment. "My oh my, how long it has been."
"Tell me, the truth this time, what am I?" she asked, dredging up memories from the conversation so long ago. He grabbed her hand and brought into the water of the fountain.
"Look at you child, you're a mess." The same words - the exact same words - he used back then!
"Let go of her!" warned Mario.
"Like I said back then, Daisy, everything I've done," explained Bowser. "I've done to keep you safe."
"Safe from what?"
"The return of the king will sit down the throne and drown in flames the glory of the new world," recited Bowser. It was his favorite mantra. Mario stared at his silver haired rival with nothing but hatred. "There was one thing Kamek told me that I did not tell you last time: 'Beware the Plumber, for it was he who wronged Peach all those years ago'." What the hell? How did this monster know anything about Peach!
"What?" asked Daisy, but Bowser's attention was on him now.
"Mario once again I've played the fool," chuckled Bowser. "Once again I sent mighty armies to stop you, I rained fire down from above! I did all of that to keep you from her... when all I needed was to once again tell her the truth!" He turned to Daisy and gripped her arm. Mario's blood began to boil. "It's always been between him, Peach and your neck. Ask him what happened to Peach!" Mario started to inch forward, he had to stop this before Bowser transformed. "Ask Mario!"
"Let go of me," said Daisy and she started to struggle, but he saw Bowser's hand. Scaly and reptilian, he was going to transform!
Just like all those years ago, Mario grabbed Bowser by the neck and yelled at him. "Peach was my responsibility but I didn't abandon her!" He smashed Bowser's neck on the fountain to a magnificent crack. He saw the transformation going more to the arms of the Prophet. "Tell me, was it worth it? Huh? Did you get what you wanted? Tell me! Tell me!" He offered Bowser a brief reprieve.
"For... Secondus... goodbye... shadow," choked Bowser.
"Nothing is finished!" roared Mario and he dumped Bowser's head in the water. "For nine years you lock her up in that tower! You bring up Peach and you put it on me!"
"Mario, stop it!" yelled Peach, and he did, but by that time, hopefully Bowser was done breathing. "You killed him," she gasped. "What did he mean? Who's Peach?"
"It's irrelevant," said Mario, or at least to his knowledge it was. "I... I... that was so long ago, in Brooklyn. I don't know."
"Your eyes, are desperate," observed Daisy.
"Daisy, I swear to you," begged Mario. "I have no idea how Peach is connected to you."
"You do. You just can't remember it."
"No," Mario shook his head. "I'll prove it to you. We'll do what we said first time, we'll destroy the siphon." She looked at him, unconvinced. "The answer's behind one of your portals, you just have to open it."
"Destroy the siphon?" Daisy asked with incredulity. "How are we going to do that? It's an entire tower, Mario. How are we going to do that."
"I don't know," Mario admitted. "But I'll think of something on the way."
