Chapter 17

A Chagrin Mistake

The Koopa Keep was dark and gloomy, with cool, stone, walls and endless rows of statues. Even though nothing physical changed, something tugged at Luigi's mind. The scenery stayed the same until they reached…

"Fire pit," announced Mallow, viewing the red molten rock that glowed dimly beneath the moving stone platforms.

"I can never get used to these," said Luigi, jumping effortlessly to the first platform, which made his companions uncertain about his comment. The lightweight plumber watched the rhythm of the shifting platforms before jumping to the next one. He passed the pit in less than a minute.

"Ok, your turn!" he called back to them, and Geno stepped forward.

"I just hope Gus doesn't get his doll back in charred remains," he muttered, studying the pattern more carefully than Luigi. It took longer, but then he, too, was on the other side. He sighed in relief while Mallow was scared.

"I don't wanna burn," he whined, peering over at the lava. "I'm afraid."

"Mallow," Geno said calmly, "you'll be fine. Don't cry, you can do it."

"You think so?"

"I know so," he replied encouragingly. "Now, just watch the pattern and jump at the right time."

"Oh, okay," the Prince, said nervously. "I'll do it."

Luigi and Geno held their breath, watching the puffball leap from floating stone to stone.

"Hey, this is easy," he exclaimed, about half way through the lave pit.

"Mallow, please don't get cocky now," Geno said quietly, so only Luigi could hear. The Prince was jumping more boldly – and carelessly – and the spectators could only gape at the many times Mallow almost lost his balance. Luigi watched Mallow jump across three platforms in a row without watching the pattern change.

"Mallow! Stop!"

Luigi called too late, the Prince was already in mid-leap; he had misjudged the distance between the stone and the stable floor. Quick to react, Geno dived toward the edge and reached over, grabbing Mallow's hand. Luigi joined him, and the two pulled the shaken boy to safely.

"I'm sorry for my pert actions," he managed to say, realizing his possible fate.

"We understand," said Geno, a little firm in his speech, "but don't repeat an action like that again."

Ashamed, Mallow nodded humbly, and the wooden doll smiled.

"We better get going if we want to find Toadstool. Bowser is probably waiting just outside these doors."

The tug in the back of the plumber's mind got stronger, and then he realized what was bugging him.

"Bowser always has his goons swarming the castle, but I have yet to see one."

Geno and Mallow looked at each other and nodded.

"The first time we came here," said Mallow, "we were attacked right when we entered the Keep."

"Do you think Bowser has set a trap for us?"

"I don't know, Geno," said Luigi. "We better watch our every step."

"Right," they agreed, before starting off.

The halls of the castle were silent, no clanking noises of the armored guards, no muffled footsteps or the hushed whispers of last-minute ambush plans. Where was everyone? The dead quiet made their soft footsteps sound like heavy treads. The narrow windows cast soft moonlight strips on the cold floor and it was eerie dark within the stone, walls. Forming a flaming fist, Luigi grabbed an unlit torch, a good hint that the castle was vacant, and clamped his palm on the top. A few moments later he kindled the torch, the small blaze lit up the area around them.

"Good thinking," said Mallow, "I just hope it doesn't signal the bad guys we're here."

"This Keep appears pretty empty to me," said Luigi. "Let's continue for a little while, I could be wrong."

As they twisted and turned through the maze-like castle, Geno gradually began to feel weaker. He didn't notice it as first, but soon every footstep took more effort than the last, and he wondered if it had anything to do with the Star Road.

"Geno, are you OK?"

"A little tired, Prince Mallow, that's all."

"Whoa," said Mallow, bothered, "don't start calling me Prince. I hate it, and I don't see how Toadstool can handle being called Princess."

"Maybe," suggested Geno, "because Toadstool had grown up with the title."

"Also, I grew up in Tadpole Pond, and never through I could be royalty… Tadpole… Please. I knew I wasn't really an amphibian all along."

"Right, Mallow." Geno said in a raillery tone. "I believe you."

Luigi listened with interest. It was confusing since he never adventured with them before, and Mario didn't always go into full detail about his ventures and experiences, but the conversation helped him understand the two more and what they were like. Suddenly a door slammed somewhere ahead of them, and the trio jumped in surprise.

"Wh-what was that?" stuttered Mallow. "Could it be Bowser?"

"I don't know," said Luigi. "Should we see who it is?"

"I just hope it isn't a trap," said Geno and the others nodded. They hurried down the hallway, searching for the possible source of the sound. The hallway ended with one single wooden door and they stood before it nervously.

"Shall we open it?" pondered Geno. "Whoever is in there must have some valuable information."

"Or a huge army waiting for us," warned Mallow. "We should be prepared."

Turning the doorknob hesitatingly, Luigi pushed the door open and peered inside. With light from the torch he could see the room contained many furniture pieces, a desk, sets of chairs, a table and bookshelves. The fireplace was empty, and the room was covered in a dark green carpet instead of the usual red.

"I don't see anyone," said the plumber, setting the torch in a bracket against the wall. "But there isn't another door in the room so if anyone was in it we would have seen them leaving."

"I must be some sort of study area," remarked Mallow, as the three entered the furnished room.

"Well, the Princess is obviously not here," said Geno, feeling slightly drained. "We better check another location in the castle."

"If you do that," a female voice cackled behind them, "you'll never find the Princess."

Standing there, beside the door, was a Koopa clad in purple. She wore glasses and had short silver hair, her wand poking out of her robe pocket.

"Who is that ugly turtle," asked Mallow, and Luigi shrugged.

"Ugly!?" repeated the Magikoopa angrily. "I happen to be a beautiful Koopa with a beautiful name: Kammy Koopa!"

"Where is Peach?" demanded Luigi. "What have you done with her?"

"I'm sorry, Luigi," she sneered, "but the Princess is in another castle."

"What!?" they all cried in unison, and Kammy gloated at their astounded and chagrin expressions.

"It's true," she continued. "Right now, Peach, her servant, and that clod-clearing problem-producing plumber are in the Sky Castle as we speak, heading toward Iron Mountain."

Luigi's brain froze, he couldn't think but only wonder how he could've been tricked. That's why there were no guards. Koopa held them captive in the Sky Castle all along, but what was Kammy doing here by herself?

Kammy seemed to read his mind since she said, "If you're wondering why I'm here all alone, it's because I wanted to be the one to break the news to you. King Koopa knew you would try the Keep and I wanted to laugh at your mortified faces. Oh, and if you are curious to what my evil King is doing, you can just forget it. He's involved in a scheme you three could never even dream off."

"You don't know it either," said Mallow, which cut her laugh short. She leered at him furiously.

"I know more than you think," she said defensively, dripping with scorn. "You probably don't even have a clue to what happened to Mario."

"What do you mean?" questioned Geno. "You just told us that he is also held captive."

"Oh he is held captive all right," she answered smugly. "But not like the Princess."

"Tell me what exactly happened to my brother," said Luigi curtly.

"Tsk, tsk," she said, shaking her withered head. "Control your temper, I already told you more than I should have, you should be thankful that I was so generous to you ungrateful meddlesome simpletons. It's best just to leave the castle now before it's too late."

"Too late?" said Mallow fearfully. "Too late for what?"

"She's bluffing," said Geno obstinately. "She is just trying to scare us."

"And it's working," Mallow muttered to himself.

An evil gleam twinkled in Kammy's eyes when Geno said she was attempting to deceive them.

Oh now wrong they are, she thought, they'll see.

"I'm not listening to this crazy Koopa anymore," declared Luigi. "Let's go!"

Shocked by Luigi's sudden insolence, Geno and Mallow followed him wordlessly, and Kammy glared despitefully at their departing backs.

"The odds are against you," she whispered cruelly. "We've already won."