CVGWJames

I wouldn't constitute this as a cliffhanger.

LiamTheYoshi

I know. You wouldn't want to see the bad version of that scene.

mariobroultimate

Sooner or later, Koops will gain the courage to speak up.

…

Chapter 8: Shhwonk Fortress

Having left Petalburg, Mario, Luigi, and Goombella were dead set on going to Shhwonk Fortress. Along the way, they fought several Red Paratroopas and Galoombas. Because Galoombas could not be defeated with a single stomp, they were thrown away after being flipped over.

In addition, there was a Yellow Question Mark Block containing a POW Block; it was colored red with a central black band and the word "POW" on it. Mario kept the POW Block for himself.

Eventually, they arrived at a medium-sized castle with an open doorway in front. There was a sign above the doorway that read, "Shhwonk Fortress".

"This is Shhwonk Fortress," Goombella said. "If I remember correctly from this book I read earlier, whenever the villagers were confronted with a monster, they'd hide in this fortress. I guess there's a little bit of history everywhere you look, right?"

"But aren't there monsters in the fortress too?" Luigi asked.

"That's possible, but I think the chances of that are slim."

Mario, Luigi, and Goombella entered Shhwonk Fortress and saw a Thwomp bust on the back end of the main room. Its eyes were closed.

"Um… Is there even a Warp Pipe here?" Mario wondered as he looked around. "There's nothing in this room but the statue."

"I'm gonna ask the Thwomp," Luigi said, eyeballing the Thwomp bust.

"Wait- What?!" Mario asked with disbelief. "You're really gonna talk to an inanimate object? Statues don't speak!"

"Let's just try."

Luigi walked up to the bust and gazed at its face. "Hey. Can you help us with something?"

The Thwomp didn't move or say anything.

"Hello?" Luigi knocked on the side of the Thwomp. "Can you at least open your eyes? Are you alive or what?"

Suddenly, something slammed behind the group. They quickly turned to see the doorway blocked off by a wood door.

"Oh no…" Goombella murmured.

Luigi looked at the Thwomp bust again; its eyes were still closed. "What are you doing?" he asked the Thwomp. "Why did you shut the door behind us?"

"Luigi, he's not gonna respond to you no matter how nice you are," Mario angrily sighed.

"Bro, give him a chance," Luigi giggled. "There's no way he'll float above us and-"

Suddenly, the Thwomp opened its eyes and the podium thrusted forward a bit, scaring everyone.

"HE MOVED!" "JEEZUMS!" Mario and Luigi yelled.

Seconds later, two Bald Clefts, two Bristles, and four Clefts dropped from the ceiling. They then formed a large square around the group.

"I guess it's the other way around!" Goombella exclaimed. "Next time, hide outside the fortress!"

"Wait! I have an idea," Luigi said. "Bro, give me your POW Block."

"What's the idea?" Mario asked after giving Luigi the POW Block.

"You'll see. Give me a boost first."

Mario's eyes widened, realizing the attack needed to destroy the enemy square. He held his palms toward the ceiling, allowing Luigi to leap onto Mario while holding the POW Block.

Luigi jumped again and Mario leaped up to grab Luigi's ankles. Goombella prepared to leap off the ground at the right time. The Mario Bros were inches away from the ceiling when they dove head-first; Luigi held the POW Block in front.

All at once, the Mario Bros hit the ground and Goombella jumped to avoid the massive impact. The addition of the POW Block caused a shockwave that literally crumbled all the enemies into dust; the Thwomp bust stayed intact.

"That was an awesome attack!" Goombella remarked.

"Thank you. That was the Bounce Bros. attack, which basically involves us jumping very high and diving head-first to immobilize ground-based enemies," Mario explained.

"And the POW Block upped the ante," Luigi added in. "Good thing we had it with us."

Just then, the Thwomp bust slid back slowly toward the wall and a green Warp Pipe emerged in front. Mario, Luigi, and Goombella immediately went down the Warp Pipe to see what was underneath the fortress.

The next area resembled a sewer with ankle-deep water, bluish-gray brick walls, and two doorways on the front and back ends.

"Looks to me that there are two Stone Keys," Mario pointed out. "And one should be straight ahead with the other one behind us."

Mario led Goombella and Luigi down the front hall, which had a line of eight Coins along the ground; Luigi collected the Coins for himself. At the end of the hall was a small room with a treasure chest atop a flat podium. Mario opened the chest and found a Sun Stone, a sun-shined gem with a red center and a yellow ring around it.

"This is so easy," Mario said with a smirk as he picked up the Sun Stone. "I don't understand-"

"M-Mario…!" Luigi stammered.

Mario turned to see Luigi with a scared look on his face. "What's wrong, bro?"

"Behind you…!"

Mario looked behind him but didn't see anything. "Luigi, you're just paranoid tha-"

Suddenly, Mario barely saw black fur peeking from below his shoulder.

"Meeeeork!"

A Fuzzy hopped onto Mario's neck, intending to suck his blood.

"WAAAAAAAAHHH!" Mario ran around the room, screaming his head off.

"Hold still, Mario!" Goombella said. She waited until the Fuzzy was in her sight and headbonked it off Mario. Mario fell on his stomach and grabbed the back of his neck in pain.

"Ow…!" Mario cried. "My neck hurts…!"

"Move your hand," Luigi told Mario. Mario uncovered his neck, revealing a splotch of blood oozing out of a bite mark. "Oh, God. That Fuzzy really got you."

Luigi splashed some of the groundwater on Mario's neck and rubbed it to relieve some of the pain. Mario stood up afterward.

"We should run immediately after getting the other Stone Key," Luigi advised Mario, who nodded in agreement.

The group proceeded down the hallway back into the main area and started down the back hall. Again, there were eight Coins in a line, but Mario picked them up this time. At the end of the hall was another treasure chest; Luigi opened it and took out a Moon Stone, which was a white-yellow crescent-shaped gem.

Suddenly, ten Fuzzies dropped from the ceiling, having detected the chest being opened.

"RUN!" Mario and Luigi yelled. They and Goombella fled down the hall with the Fuzzies chasing them. Upon reaching the main room, ten more Fuzzies blocked the front hall, stopping the group in their tracks. On top of that, the Warp Pipe was sealed with a grate.

"We're t-trapped!" Mario exclaimed with fear. "Those Fuzzies are gonna k-kill us!"

"Meeeeeeeeeeeork!"

Mario and friends looked up and saw a Gold Fuzzy drop from the ceiling. It approached them with an angry look on its face.

"Hey, you suspicious types! This is our place. And coming in here is rude, rude, rude!" the Gold Fuzzy chided.

"We're s-sorry!" Luigi apologized. "We just wanted-"

"Shut it, sucker!" the Gold Fuzzy interrupted Luigi. "If you want a warm welcome, too bad! Now I lunch on your head!"

The Gold Fuzzy lunged for Mario's face, but Mario punched it away, making the Fuzzies hop and hiss.

"There's o-only one way t-to defeat them!" Luigi said with a shaky voice. He took a quick glance at the Fuzzies and cupped his hands to charge a ball of electricity, beginning to execute the Thunder Bros. attack.

Mario held his hands toward the ceiling and threw Luigi in the air. He and Goombella jumped right as Luigi tossed the electric ball at the ground; the ball knocked out all the Fuzzies.

Mario sighed with relief, laying his hand on his neck. It was still sore from the bite earlier.

"Does it still hurt?" Luigi asked.

"Kind of, but I'll be fine," Mario replied.

The grate covering the Warp Pipe fell on the ground, letting the group go back up to the fortress.