"What do you think they'd do to them?" Bowser asked, his voice quivering. He and Kamilia were flying high above the regions once again; however this time was much different. Bowser simply wasn't enjoying the roaring winds or the breath taking views. His thoughts and concerns were on his siblings.
"They will place them in slavery," the witch replied. "That or…" She stopped herself. She knew that it was very possible for the Toads to kill Bowser's brother and sister, but she couldn't bring herself to bear the dreadful news.
"But…we can save them, right?" the young Koopa asked, hope in his soft voice. Kamilia gave a slight smile.
"Yes…yes we can."
They arrived in the back garden of Castle Mushroom, slipping quietly into the back entrance. The sun had set and, even up close, the two looked like dark silhouettes. They moved swiftly and silently past a few sleeping guards and then, finally, found a map.
"This is the whole castle…" Bowser stated, trying to find the dungeon on the map key. Finally, a dark green star, nearly faded off the map, told them the location of the prison cells.
"Come on, Miss Kamilia!" the Koopa whispered loudly, grabbing her wrist and dashing down the dark corridors. Soon, however, he slowed down and starred at the shadows that seemed to feed off of his very fear. He was scared, not for his siblings now, but for himself. He felt horrible, fearing for his life besides theirs. There he was, constantly wanting change and adventure in his dull life, and he was afraid of the dark in a castle.
Bowser felt powerless.
Kamilia touched his small shoulder, which made him jump. She gave him a trustworthy smile.
"There is nothing to fear, child," she whispered. "You have more power inside than you realize." Somehow, this gave Bowser a boost of encouragement and, together, the two pressed onward.
"There!" Bowser exclaimed a bit too loudly. "The prison chamber!" Kamilia ran past him to open the wooden door, which was old and rotting. It was locked, but it was nothing that a little magic couldn't take care of. With a whip of her wand, Kamilia burst open the door.
The Koopa slaves within the cells were terrified at first, thinking that Toads or the King himself was violently opening the door. They relaxed, but not a lot, when they saw Bowser and the witch. One of them moved toward the cell bars and whispered, in a worried tone, "Who…Who are you? Are you here to kill one of us?"
Bowser saw the slaves and nearly cried. They were all wearing torn, filthy clothes, and their skin was stained with dried blood and dirt. One of the Koopas, an older man, even had an eye missing, with just a dark hole in its place. The young Koopa cringed and hid behind Kamilia, who attempted to comfort the slaves.
"We are here for one person, and one person alone," she started. "Brilette?"
Amongst the tired and worried slaves a young girl stepped out. She was still wearing her pink resting gown, only it was now a dark shade of maroon with rips and tears all over it. Her once tender hands were now cut and bleeding. Bowser instantly ran over to her.
"Brilette!" he cried, reaching for her swollen hands through the bars. The girl starred at Bowser in surprise.
"B…Bowser?" she asked. "But…but how? Wait…" Her eyes suddenly widened. "No! Bowser, you have to run away! You've got to save yourself!"
"What?" her brother questioned. "No, no, we've come here to rescue you!" Brilette shook her head violently.
"You don't understand. King Wart thinks you killed one of his troops and he wants to execute you! If you run away, you'll stand a chance!"
"But I'm not going to let you or Brank die…" he stopped himself and looked around, then noticed Brilette lowering her head. "Brilette…where's Brank?"
His sister replied by simply shaking her head, placing a hand over her face, and crying. Bowser narrowed his eyes, thinking about what could've possibly happened…but it didn't take too long for him to realize just why Brilette was crying.
Brank had been executed.
Bowser starred off into the night sky and thought about his older brother, who had been something of a mentor and a parent to him. He remembered always going with him when he would meet girls, buy or write news books, fish, or hike the mountains near his cottage. He thought about how he was never going to be able to see him again. He thought about the last thing he said to him:
"I'm gonna go run through the West Woods for a bit, 'kay?"
Had he known Brank's horrible and tragic destiny, he would've done and said so much more. A warm tear slid down his face. How dare the King do such a wicked thing?
"THERE!" The door burst open and a dozen Toad troops came bursting in. Behind them, in his royal fashion, was King Wart, war hammer in hand. He had a frown on his face that could've frozen Keep Canyon all over again. He stood in front of Bowser, still holding hands with his sister, and the witch.
"So, you must be Bowser…and the old hag that was with him when he killed my troop!" He sneered. The slaves cowered in his presence, as he Wart was the Devil himself. Bowser was still hiding behind Kamilia, who stepped forward.
"The boy and his family don't deserve to die!" she said forcefully. Wart looked at her, humorously in disbelief.
"Oh, and why not?" he asked, sarcasm in his voice. Kamilia lowered her eyebrows and starred the King down.
"Because it was I who killed you troop."
Suddenly, the entire room was silent. The slaves starred at the witch with sudden honor and respect, thinking of her as a savior among them. The Toads looked at the witch and quietly trembled, trying to hide their fear. Brilette also glared at Kamilia, with curiosity and confusion, wondering how she got to know Bowser and why she had gotten their family into this mess. The King simply laughed.
"HA! You couldn't kill a Goomba, old gal!" he chuckled. "Alright, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself. I'm pitting you up against all twelve of these Toad troops here. If you can kill them all, I'll let you and young Bowser go."
"And my sister!" Bowser cried from behind Kamilia.
"Silence, you brat!" the King yelled, enjoying his little bet he had arranged with the witch. Kamilia simply smiled and pulled out her wand. She spotted the King's black grappling hook hanging from his belt and a smile grew on her aged face. She muttered a few words under her breath and waved her wand at the hook.
It suddenly began to twitch, making King Wart startled. The grappling hook was growing in size! Before long, it was larger than the King himself! Its tiny spikes were now like enormous teeth, and two white circles appeared on it. The grappling hook then roared! The Toads, terrified, tried to escape this gigantic horror, but their efforts of escape were in vain. The beast ate all of them within a matter of minutes. The King, along with Bowser and Brilette, starred in horror and, soon, fear. Kamilia faced Wart once again.
"I call it," she stopped and thought. "…I call it Chain Chomp! And, if you do not let us go, it will devour you as well!" The King continued starring at the Chain Chomp and then snarled.
"I can kill you both before that creature even touches me!" he cried triumphantly, wielding his war hammer. He then ran towards the two, attempting to kill them both instantly. Kamilia narrowed her eyes.
"On the outside, Wart, you are young and handsome." She waved her wand once again. "But what are you on the inside?" Magic soon consumed the King's body, making in twitch and cry out in pain. His whole body was covered in light.
"What is your true form!"
There was an explosion of color, blinding everyone in the room. When the light died down, in the King's place, there was a…monstrosity. The King had grown tremendously and, instead of a nice tan-color, his skin was a sickly shade of green. His eyes were now enormous, bulging out of the side of his head. His fingers and toes were webbed and his whole body was covered in slime and warts. He looked at his new self and cried out, his voice now sounding like a croak-like roar.
"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" he screeched, revealing sharp teeth behind his rubber lips. "LOOK AT ME NOW! I AM…A MONSTER!"
"You were always a monster, Wart." Kamilia stated. "I just gave you claws." The creature starred at the witch, snarling, saliva pouring from his lips.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"
At that moment, a barking sound came from seemingly nowhere as the Chain Chomp attacked the horrific King. He screeched out again, deafening the slaves. Kamilia grabbed Bowser's wrist.
"Come, Bowser," she said. "We've done all we can do here."
"But…But Brilette!" he cried out. "We've got to save her!" The witch shook her head quickly.
"I have little magic left, my child." She said, apologetically. "But we will return one day, when you are strong enough."
"But…Kamilia, I'm strong enough now!" Bowser whimpered. "BRILETTE!"
"Bowser!"
"I'll come back for you, Brilette, I promise!"
The young Koopa and his sister starred into each others fear-filled eyes, then Bowser was pulled out of the castle. Upon mounting the broom once again, more tears built up inside of the young Koopa. He was going to see Brilette again. He was sure of it.
With Wart a monster, Toads to scared to return to the dungeon, and Brank gone, the mysterious and powerful witch takes Bowser to the West Woods. e will not see his sister for years...
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