In this chapter, Mario goes off to get lost somewhere in Bowser's Castle and we watch.
...
Bowser,
You want me? Come find me.
Yours,
Mario
[Mario]
Recalling the note that I left for Bowser, tucked away, yet possible for anyone to find, I bit my lip and mentally swore at myself, cursing my name and everything I stood for. Even if he's the one who finds it, he wouldn't…he'd get it.
Would he?
Shivering the doubts away, I continued through the hall, as I crept gingerly with every step.
Navigating down the shadowy staircase just outside the door, I kept my hand against the wall as I carried on slowly. Even if there were any light coming from the windows, it was too late for any more to appear.
About a quarter of the way down, my hand pressed further into the wall and I heard a click. Frozen on the spot, I turned to look at the wall, and pushed with my hand. The wall creaked, and part of it slid open. I stepped in, blindly feeling the wall to help navigate the pitch-black room.
It was narrow, from one wall to the next, which didn't make sense, since Bowser would need more space. He would barely be able to fit through the door, but after that, there wouldn't be any—
"Oomph!"
A quick breeze and the slamming sensation of hitting the floor, I rolled onto my back and looked around quickly. Within just a minute, I had already circled the room.
But that couldn't be right. What purpose would the room have if it were just a round space between the stairs, too constricted for Bowser to fit it?
I put my hands in front of me, ready to push back up, but felt an edge against where I had tripped. It was a stair. As I felt about a bit more, I found that there were a few more. Climbing it, I reached out to feel the walls. One was stony, but the other felt different, closer to…
"A Warp Pipe?" I whispered as I felt the rim of the cold and smooth surface. Pulling myself up, I balanced myself at the top and gazed down. I wasn't looking to go far on this little trip, but I would get myself worked up over trying to come back here later.
Jumping in, I saw nothing but the dark tunnel as I went from the secret room in the stairwell to the other side. Or, what I believed to be the other side. Pulling myself from the pipe, I scanned the room, which appeared the same as the one that I had just departed from.
Dangling my legs as I scooted around the pipe's frame, I found the stairs and stepped down. Reaching ahead, I pushed the wall open, and stepped out into another hall.
It was dark and empty, with dim torches lit to offer a small help. One side offered a door, but the other was a corridor that led to more light. Sneaking forward, I paused momentarily every so often to wait for guards, but I heard no one. As I inched toward the light, I felt a little sweat drip my forehead and wiped some away from my head. Confused, I poked my head forward to find the next part of the room held a grated bridge over lava, with the last end of it leading to a black door.
A sigh escaped from my mouth. While I have a deep fascination with fire and lava, Bowser is far more obsessed with it, using it to decorate his castles time and again. Still, I couldn't argue with it, as I did find it quite alluring and stared at the fires below. Something just captivated me whenever I took the moment to watch the red, bubbling magma dance just below, as it swirled in a calm, calculated manner.
Shaking my head, I returned my attention to the bridge and took a breath in, and then exhaled. Without any Lava Bubbles to jump up at me, this should be easy to get over. However, I studied the bridge a little longer, and searched for a mechanism that would drop it open or flip it around, sending the unfortunate, unprepared soul that crossed it down for a dip.
Noticing nothing, I decided that there would only be one way to determine it. Sucking in another breath of air, I dashed across the bridge. Skidding to a halt as soon as I saw the fires vanished from beneath my feet, I turned back, exhaled, and saw that the bridge hadn't reacted.
"Normal then," I observed. Naturally, it would be. After all, if this were meant to be a secret passageway, I highly doubt that Bowser or his soldiers would want to kill themselves crossing each time. Of course, they do have spells that aid them with lava resistance, so perhaps it wouldn't be a risk. With a shrug, I turned back and opened the door that waited at the end of the room.
Inside, the chamber was lit with green torch fire, giving it a different kind of flare as it reflected the glow. Wooden bookshelves lined the walls, filled with not only books, but also various other objects, including potions and small statues. A desk with a crystal ball and empty vials sat on the far end, with a portrait of Bowser hanging up against the wall.
"What is all of this…?" I pondered aloud and strolled around. Lightly, I touched the nearest bookshelf, which was built even above Bowser's height. There were several scrolls and papers that stuck out in between the books and their bookends. Turning away, I scanned the room for a ladder. One rested against a shelf near the desk.
As I moved closer, I paused and noticed a cabinet with one door open. A silver scepter hung inside of it, missing whatever company it normally had. Tempted to take it, I decided against it, and continued to the ladder.
Walking behind the desk, my eyes strayed to look at the crystal ball, which waited atop a violet cloth covering its stand. My hand was on the ladder, but I found myself unexpectedly drawn toward the table, toward the ball. Near the chair was a white and gold book titled: Divine Arts and Studies of Divination.
With a glance to check the door, I opened the book and thumbed through the pages. A few words stood out here and there, and I flipped quickly between the chapters and the table of contents, certain that nothing would remain in my mind…until I hit a chapter that piqued my curiosity: "Divination and Dreams."
Recalling my own dreams as of late, I wondered if they had any insight into them. Turning the pages to the chapter, I pulled the chair out and sat down.
"Precognition, being one of the more sensitive parts of extrasensory perception," I quietly read, "has a strong basis in dreams. There are many that have claimed to have the ability to prophetic dreams, though these are usually unfounded. However, there are possibilities for one to experience these instances and ultimately a form of déjà vu, particularly when they are in familiar locations or around familiar persons."
Skimming through the words, I searched for something that could relate to my current dreams. "Shamans and Magikoopa have been said to have carried these abilities, along with other types of fortune telling. The former are said to have latent abilities that they learn to build over time, whereas the latter study them through various scrolls and supplementary means. As such, if a dream were to have an unusual occurrence that could predict the future, it would be more likely for a Shaman to experience it. Outside of these species, few others are identified with these abilities, thus rendering the experiences void."
With a heavy sigh, I felt a mix of relief and worry. This meant that there was no real chance that my dreams were predicting the future. However, I still failed to understand what they meant, and though sporadic, they were progressively turning worse.
Turning a few pages, I stopped at certain words and began reading again. "There are claims, however, that precognition is possible for Shamans and Magikoopas to inflict upon others. Some do this as a method of torture, laying curses of false dreams within a victim to terrorize them into doing a psychic's bidding. However, there are more innocent instances, in which merely spending enough time with a Shaman could leave an aftermath of divination. Though normally brief, some instances have long term effects."
Pausing, I tried to remember the last time I had even seen a Shaman, which was ages ago. But, if a Magikoopa had cursed me, wouldn't Bowser know about it?
A wave of fear and doubt passed through my mind when I abruptly entertained the thought that my entire time with Bowser was his design to keep me here while he took over the Mushroom Kingdom. He could have ordered something like this over me. My fingers drummed along the desk as I thought. While Bowser can enjoy tormenting prisoners, I haven't known him to twist their minds, their realities, inside and out.
What if everything was an illusion?
Scratching my head, I shivered at the idea, but shook it off. If Bowser did want to torment me like that, he wouldn't be so involved in it. The emotions and sensations I've experienced around him, with him, have been so real, alive, that it would seem like an extensive bother to have kept everything up as a grand charade.
Then again…wasn't that the point of us being enemies, of his kidnappings?
Clutching my head, I groaned a bit. It was a realistic possibility. Yet, wouldn't Bowser need to rely on knowing about my feelings for him? Tearing my eyes away from the book, I wanted to look at anything else. Staring straight ahead for a moment, a soft glow returned my attention to the table.
The crystal ball was lit, with a bluish white glow.
"How is that…?" was all I could manage. Entranced by the swirling lights, I waited for something to happen.
For a while, there was only silence. Leaning closer to the ball, I listened for any slight noise, but heard nothing. My hand touched the book and I glanced away from the ball, only to hear a soft whisper. Turning my head up, I watched the room around me. No one. Casting my attention back to the crystal ball, I listened again. This time, still faint, I heard an unfamiliar voice whisper, "Sar…ill…" Confused, I waited, but heard nothing more. The ball's light faded and I blinked.
This was certainly a strange event.
Pushing back against the seat, I read over the book again, looking for something about crystal balls or fortune telling. However, I heard a cough from outside the chamber and froze.
The door opened and a Magikoopa walked in. He wore blue robes with white trimmings around the base of the cap, as well as the sleeves and bottom of the robe. In one hand, he held a golden staff. In the other was a green book. He carried a regal air about his posture, and it was fairly easy to guess that he was none other than Kamek, leader of the Magikoopa and one of Bowser's closest aides.
"Lord Bows…oh. It's only you," he murmured as he pried his face away from a book he had entered reading. I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or disappointed that it was me in the room, but it surely wasn't the reaction I had anticipated.
"Only me? That's it?" The words tumbled from my mouth as quickly as they entered my head.
"Beg pardon," he shifted his spectacles. "Would you prefer me to treat you like a prisoner?"
"Treat me…isn't that what I am to you?"
"Anyone else might imagine such," he mused, "but considering that you're waltzing about in fine Koopa clothing late at night, I'd imagine otherwise." My mouth dropped open and he let out a quick laugh. "If you'd imagine that I would be completely naïve to my king's actions, you're dreadfully mistaken."
"B…But you weren't there!" I protested. "…Were you?"
In a lowered, hushed voice, he clarified, "I can be in many places and you would never know."
Curiosity getting the better of me, I had to ask, "…Are you in my head?"
"I am now," he chuckled as he walked over to the desk. Getting a closer look, I noticed a small Bowser pin on his robe.
"That's creepy and disturbing," I informed him, wondering if he knew that.
"There are far worse things in the world," Kamek shook his head. "What are you doing over here, anyway?"
"Um…reading," I admitted, though I wasn't sure if I wanted Kamek to know exactly what I had been researching.
"Ah, yes, I don't imagine they gave you any books for your cell," Kamek cackled.
"I'm glad you're enjoying the idea of it," I muttered.
"You're one to talk," he sneered. "Bowser's showing you quite the time here at the castle, and doing his best to keep you happy, while still trying to prove to everyone else that you're his little prisoner."
My face grew warm with embarrassment, but remembering what I had been thinking about, I questioned him again, "Aren't I his prisoner?"
"What, do you think he's putting on a stage scale show for you?" Kamek mocked me, but stopped and thought for a moment. "Hmm. In a way, I suppose he is giving you a grand performance."
"By that, you mean…?" I inquired, with my voice wavering between worry and frustration.
He bit his lip and gave me a sideways look. "Didn't I just make it clear that you two are doing a horrid job of keeping your little secret from me?" Looking at the table, he eyed the book in front me. "Divination?"
"Yes," I answered, a bit offensively. "I learned Magikoopa actually curse people with it."
"Oh, and yet, the Shamans are clearly more innocent, yes?" he countered. He shook his head. "Wait, what have you been reading from there exactly?"
"This and that," I tried to evade him from prying further.
"Curses of fortune are first discussed in the dream chapter," Kamek recalled and thwarted my efforts. "Having nightmares?"
"Possibly," I snapped. "Know anything?"
Scratching his chin, he thought for a minute. "Why would I? You think I cursed you?"
"It would make sense."
Kamek shook his head. "Unless King Bowser ordered me to cast it, I wouldn't bother to curse you," he explained. "And I would most certainly know if he had another Magikoopa perform the same upon you."
"If there's no curse, why are they happening?" I asked, with a layer of disbelief tangled in my aggravation.
"You do realize that nightmares are still natural incidents, yes?"
"Well…yes," I relented. "But these feel…different, even from normal nightmares."
Even through his spectacles, I could tell he was staring long and hard at me after I uttered those words. "Perhaps…you have a lot on your mind, lately," he offered. "You were recently kidnapped, and now you're orchestrating an affair with your captor and nemesis, all while your life and the fate of the kingdom hang in the balance."
"I…suppose…" I trailed off before I could go further. He did know a lot.
A knock came from the door and we turned our attention to a red robed Magikoopa waiting by the open door. "Um, M-Master Kamek, sir," he stuttered, "Y-You're, uh, needed wuh-with…i-is th-that Mario?"
"Yes…" Kamek murmured, and closed the divination book. "I'm not quite sure how he got here. And yet, I'm not quite sure how you got here either."
"T-They told m-me upstairs th-that you'd b-be here," the Magikoopa continued.
"Hmm." Kamek placed his book on the table and patted his scepter against his free palm. "Who, exactly?"
"I, uh…I don't kn-know the name…s-sir?"
Shifting my focus back and forth, I watched Kamek studied the quivering Magikoopa. "Tell me, youngster, are you a new recruit?" he asked carefully.
"Y-Yes," the Magikoopa answered nervously. "P-Please sir, I d-didn't mean to intrude on any-anything. I even t-told them I wasn't su-supposed to be d-down here."
"Clearly," he huffed. "Well then, I'll find my way. You will…escort Mario back to his, ah, room."
"Y-Yes…sir!"
Magikoopa turned to walk away, but a glint caught my eye. "Wait, that Bowser Brooch…"
Kamek sighed, at the end of his patience. "What about it?"
"I've seen that before, on one of the soldiers. What's it for?"
He thought quietly to himself. "Hopefully, you won't need to find out." And if I had any more questions on the matter, he would not answer them.
Even if I wanted to ask Kamek anything else, an approaching sound of stomping would have stopped me. In the doorway behind the Magikoopa appeared Bowser himself.
"What's going on?!" he thundered. The red robed Magikoopa sped from the door and crashed into a bookshelf, causing a stack of books to spill on top of him and a heavy sigh from Kamek. Glaring from the Magikoopa to Kamek and I, Bowser growled, "Mario, what are you even doing here?!" He then pointed to the elder Magikoopa, and commanded, "Kamek! Explain!"
"I was bringing a book back here," Kamek calmly answered. "Your…guest…must have stumbled his way across the way here." He exchanged a glance with me before turning to the Magikoopa that rose from the pile of books. "That youngster was sent for me, and I instructed him to bring Mario back to his room. Which," he cleared his throat, "he was just getting to, correct?"
"Y-Yes, sir," the Magikoopa bounced up, "absolutely, sir!"
"Forget that," Bowser ordered. "I'm here now, I might as well bring Mario back up myself! You! Go take Kamek back upstairs yourself!"
The red robed Magikoopa shivered, "I…I…"
"That's a direct order from your king, youngster," Kamek hissed as he walked over. "That means you get to it. Now go on ahead and wait for me across the bridge."
"R-Right away, sir!" he ran to the door and bowed to Bowser. "A-Apologies, milord!" He tripped over his robe and hit the floor, but quickly recovered, jumped up, and ran off. I walked over to the door as Kamek was on his way out, but Bowser blocked his path.
"Where the hell did you get that one?" he angrily asked.
"I don't hire all of them," Kamek answered, still level headed. "Just like you don't hire every single soldier."
"No, but I can replace them if need be," Bowser snarled. "No matter how high ranked they are."
"Boy, you would never replace me," Kamek proclaimed, and then slinked away. Bowser grumbled quietly to himself before he turned his attention to me, as I felt a smile appear.
"What?"
"'Boy?' You let him call you that?"
"Yeah, he practically raised me," Bowser fumbled with his words. "So…bah! What do you care, anyway?!"
"I think it's cute," I teased, and laughed, as his cheeks flushed red.
"What do you know about cute, anyway?!" he snapped.
Grinning, I started, "Well, I do think that you are, so—"
"Don't start," Bowser sourly interrupted.
"You did ask," I teased.
"I did. Which brings me to another question," he began, and held up a small piece of paper.
"Oh, that." Uh-oh.
"'You want me? Come find me.'" Grinding my teeth as he replayed my words, my daggers, I could have thought of a thousand things to say; yet everything failed me. "'Yours, Mario.'"
"Ah…uh," was what came out of my mouth. "S…Sorry?"
"You damned well better be," huffed Bowser. "Want you? Find you? Yours? Could you have possibly been anymore obvious?"
…What?
"Don't give me that blank stare," growled Bowser. "Mario, you are biggest—"
"Moron, yeah, got that much," I replied quickly. "But you're not…mad?"
"Why would I be?" he inquired. Suddenly he eyebrows shot up. "Was that a break-up note?"
"What? No!" I exclaimed. "That, you were—"
"You left a note for me and made it so anyone could read it," Bowser explained to me as much as he did to himself. "You read it without context, it spins anyway the reader interprets it. That was it, right?"
Flabbergasted, I nodded. "Ok, you're the brawn and the brains in the relationship."
He laughed. "I'm tough and smart, but considering you beat me on a regular basis, I think you've got me beat on one of those."
"Or I'm just lucky," I chuckled while scratching the back of my head.
"Nah," he shook his head. "That would be too often, and luck can't be that good for you. Or, that bad for me," he chuckled at the end.
"Well, you do lose a lot," I taunted. He nudged me back and I laughed.
"If I was that unlucky, I don't think we would have happened," he grunted, and pulled me back toward him. Bowser rubbed my shoulder and I rested against him, patting his belly. "How'd you end up down here, anyway?"
"Uh…went exploring?" I sheepishly admitted and he glared at me. "Where is here, anyway?"
"Kamek's Study," Bowser answered. "It's meant to be for myself and Junior, but he uses the room more often than I do, and I can't remember when I took my kid down here last."
"Ah, ok, that explains…everything," I motioned my arms around and he laughed. "So, did you tell him about…us? Because he knew about the date…and probably anything else."
"Did he?" Bowser pondered. "Huh. He is a smart old coot."
"Guess so."
"Well, if you're done…exploring," Bowser mocked, "why don't we get back upstairs?"
"Um, sure," I agreed. "But…how far down are we, anyway?"
"Pretty far, actually," Bowser noted. "The pipe makes it feel a lot shorter though."
Nodding, we walked out of the chamber and he closed the door. Taking my hand, he guided me back across the bridge, taking his time to the pipe room. He dragged me around a bit, and we took a moment to gaze at the lava. His tail brushed past my legs and he winked at me before we walked off again. I rubbed his hand as he gently pulled me along, looking back every so often and grinning. Happily, I returned his smile, though felt a pang hit my stomach. How did I start thinking this was just a trick?
We made it to the room, but as he pushed it open, I stalled, staring at the door that I hadn't taken.
"I'm really glad you didn't take that one," he sighed.
"Why?" I questioned.
"You might have gotten hurt," he responded and nudged me to the Warp Pipe. I wanted to know more, but I realized that I had my fill for today.
Warping back to the stairs, Bowser scooped me up and carried me back to the top.
"This feels a bit awkward," I muttered as he grabbed the door.
"Aw, why?" he whined. "Carrying you is fun!"
"For you, maybe," I moaned.
Bowser laughed, "Well then, that's your punishment for leaving! Next time you do it, I'm carrying you around the whole castle."
"You wouldn't dare," I challenged and folded my arms.
"Watch me," he grinned and opened the door. He stepped forward but came to a halt not too far in. Looking over, I found out why.
"Papa?" Junior stood at the other end of the hall, his hand on the door to his room, but his attention directly on us. "What…what are you doing…with Mario?"
Looking back to Bowser, I watched as his eyes widened and he glanced down to me.
[Meanwhile]
The red robed Magikoopa led Kamek to the group of other Magikoopa that were clamoring over a spilled cauldron in the courtyard.
"Thank you, that will be all," Kamek waved off the red Magikoopa. "You'd better get back to practicing…well, everything you can."
"Y-Yes sir!" the Magikoopa bowed and ran off. Kamek shook his head and walked toward the group.
Sprinting around a corner, the red robed Magikoopa ducked into a closet and shut it behind himself.
"Finally," he exhaled, and pulled out a light blue umbrella. Waving it about, a slight sparkle of dust was cast from it and whirled around the Magikoopa. When it cleared, a Red Toad poked around the room and grabbed a small electronic device.
"Hello? It's me," the Toad whispered. "I've got confirmation that Mario is alive. Repeat, he is alive. The Sneaky Parasol helped me find him. Respond during a later hour and I'll get back to you when I can."
Hiding the device again, the Toad sat down. He placed his hand on the Sneaky Parasol, and waited until he heard someone walk by. Creaking the door just enough to point the tip of the umbrella out, he shot a spell from it and was transformed into a green robed Magikoopa, and shut the door quietly.
"Green?!" he hissed. "Oh well, that's why I grabbed this." Pulling out a trunk, he opened it and pulled out a red robe. Exchanging it for the green one, he closed it and slid it away.
Stashing the parasol away, the…Magikoopa stepped outside and walked away.
...
For a minute, the chapter almost ended with nothing terrible happening! Almost.
Part of me was tempted to go the Beauty and the Beast route and have Bowser present Mario with a library all his own, because he knows how much of a book geek Mario is and wants him to be a happy prisoner. Um...Belle is still one of the best Disney Princesses, ok?
Anyway, Kamek was just inevitable, especially after I included Yoshi in the last chapter. (They're sort of enemies, right?) Besides, who better to know about the relationship before it's exposed than the guy who raised Bowser since infancy? Apparently, white trimmings on his cap and sleeves are meant to distinguish him from other Magikoopa, but I want to take that one step further down the road. We'll coat him in stars, give him wings and a broom, toss on some flames too, maybe add spikes and shoulder guards, and then he'll be perfect! ...I'm joking.
Oh, Red Toad had to show up too, so he's got his own little mission going on. I was going to have him expose himself to Mario, but after adding Kamek, I decided to hold off on that. Besides, that left more time for Bowser and Mario fluff, which was totally needed. Don't give me that look, you like it. After all, why else would you be following this story? Plot? Please.
What's that? Bowser getting caught by Junior? Oops, look at the time, that's going to have to wait. Why? Because we need to draw out just how awkward that must be. By next chapter, that long of a pause is going to be SUPER awkward. Ya get it? Super, like Super Mario? ...I can't tell jokes, I'm sorry. However, I can say thank you for reading, because it's just so nice of you and I appreciate it so. Also, I think I might have hit almost 50,000 words, so hooray, long story! Hope it's still enjoyable.