breath20k
As long as you stay in character, everyone around you will be fooled. Even Grodus.
Cyan Quartz
Thank you!
LiamTheYoshi
To me, one of the joys is my passion for FanFiction. It's been that way for one and a half years and counting.
mariobroultimate
I don't know how Peach's perfume caused Kammy to blow her cover, but it's a good thing it didn't happen in this situation.
Mario bros fan4ever
If the signal is strong enough, then they'll receive the text.
Nataly Guardado
Permission granted. That'll show him.
...
Chapter 29: For Pigs the Bell Tolls
The time is 7:20 PM. Having gathered their four partners including Jeremy, as well as receiving a 21,990 Coin cheque from the Glitz Pit tournament, Mario and Luigi rode the blimp from Glitzville back to Rogueport.
Jeremy took a second to look at his surroundings after they reentered the west end of Rogueport. "Pretty old town, huh?"
"Yes. Rogueport was built way long ago," Mario answered.
Suddenly, Mario and Luigi's phones received a group text.
"Who is it this time?" Jeremy asked.
Mario read the text out loud, "Mario and Luigi, I've discovered something terrible. The X-Nauts... They're planning to take control of the world! It's to that end that they're searching for the Crystal Stars. I still don't know what the Crystal Stars do, but you must try to get them all. I will gather what information I can."
"It's from Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom," Luigi said. "She's been kidnapped and taken to some unknown place by these soldiers called X-Nauts. We're getting the Crystal Stars to help save her."
"So those dudes wanna rule the world?" Jeremy wondered. "That would suck!"
"I know! That's why we need to get however many Crystal Stars there are, and fast!" Mario agreed. "First off, let's put this Crystal Star in this safe place underground."
"Uh, one second, Mario. I need to change outfits really quick," Luigi butted in.
"All right-y. We'll be waiting outside the Inn."
The Mario Bros and Jeremy went east until they arrived at Rogueport's Inn. Luigi immediately ran inside to change into his trademark green and blue outfit within minutes.
Next, they went down to Toad Town Sewers and made their way to the room with the Thousand-Year Door.
"Awesome! Look at this place!" Jeremy said before spotting the Crystal Star platform. The first two Crystal Stars were situated in their respective circles. "Let's put that Crystal Star with those other two!"
"We're gonna find where the next Crystal Star is," Mario said. "To do so, you step on the pedestal and hold this yellow-orange Crystal Star in front of the Thousand-Year Door." He took out the yellow-orange Crystal Star and stepped on the pedestal.
"You might want to cover your eyes," Luigi told Jeremy.
Mario held the Crystal Star in front, turning on the cyan light display. Then, the Crystal Star floated to below the Emerald Star and the Magical Map rose out of his overalls pocket, glowing white.
Star-shaped glitter also appeared within the glow. A thin cyan circle faded in and lowered until it touched the Magical Map. The room then brightened up, causing everyone to shield their eyes.
Three seconds later, a star-shaped orb exploded outward and a bang sounded across the room with a final white flash. The room darkened to its normal state and the cyan lights disappeared along with the Crystal Star. The Magical Map dropped into Mario's hands again.
Just to the left of Rogueport was a blue clock tower with two dead trees. The tower was situated within a dark town.
"Oh, I don't like the looks of that location," Luigi said while looking at the map. "We better talk to Professor Frankly."
...
Back in Rogueport, the group entered Professor Frankly's office. Even though it was night outside, Professor Frankly was up studying some notes of his own.
"Hello, Professor," Mario greeted Professor Frankly.
"Mario! Well, well, well! I haven't seen you since last morning!" Professor Frankly returned the greeting. "And welcome back, Luigi."
"Thank you. This is our new friend Jeremy," Luigi said.
"Nice to meet you, Professor Frankly," Jeremy greeted Professor Frankly.
"You too. Now, what's the update here?"
"We were up in Glitzville getting that third Crystal Star, but we got a text from Princess Peach saying that her kidnappers are using the Crystal Stars to rule the world or something," Mario explained.
"EXCUSE ME?! The group that kidnapped Princess Peach is hell-bent on total world conquest?"
"I'm afraid so," Luigi sighed. "That's why they want the legendary treasure so badly."
"Hrmm... This doesn't bode well," Professor Frankly stated. "The situation has gotten far more serious than I thought! Let me bring you up to speed. I've been researching just what this treasure could be. One book I came across held to what I thought was a preposterous theory. This book claimed that the 'treasure' was, in actuality, the great cataclysm. The very cataclysm that, a thousand years ago, sank that town underground!"
"Whoa! A cataclysm?" Jeremy asked. "How is it that those jerks think the power of it will help them rule the world?"
"I can't say for sure what they will do or why, but we must consider the possibility," Professor Frankly answered. "Now that things have come to this, we mustn't let them near the legendary treasure. That's all that matters. Because if they do get it, then once again, this town... No... Wait..."
"What's wrong, Professor?" Mario asked.
"It's that... THE ENTIRE WORLD WILL BE DESTROYED!" Professor Frankly shouted, startling everyone.
"What?! The whole world will be destroyed?!" Mario, Luigi, and Jeremy asked in unison.
"Yes... It will..."
Mario took out the Magical Map. "Will you tell us what this clock tower on the map is? I think that's where the next Crystal Star is."
Professor Frankly took the Magical Map and looked at it closely. "According to the map, it appears the next Crystal Star is in Twilight Town."
"What's Twilight Town like?" Luigi asked.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know much about the place, myself. Only rumors. I have heard that, as the name implies, it's perpetually dim and eerie there."
"Oh n-no..." Luigi shivered with fear. "Please tell m-me there aren't a-any ghosts th-there..."
"We don't know that yet, Luigi," Mario said.
"Ibáñez is afraid of ghosts?" Jeremy questioned.
"It's his biggest fear."
Meanwhile, Professor Frankly thought of something else and went to grab a book from his bookshelf. He skimmed through a couple of pages and found the info he thought about. "Aha! There appears to be a pipe to Twilight Town somewhere here in Rogueport. I do believe it's somewhere underneath the west part of town."
"Easy," Mario remarked.
"And just before you go, let me tell you about the Star Spell you just obtained," Professor Frankly. "The Gold Star, as it's called, temporarily ups your strength and defense. To use the spell, called Power Lift, flex your arms and shout, 'Supapow Boom!'"
Mario and friends chuckled at the chant's name.
"The spell costs three Star Power units, and since you have four each, use it wisely."
"Okey-dokey," Mario replied. "I guess we're on our way."
"Good luck, guys," Professor Frankly told the group as they left the office.
"I don't think we need to go down the Warp Pipe right there." Mario pointed to the green Warp Pipe that led to the initial part of Rogueport Sewers. "There might be a secret passage on the west end."
Mario led Luigi and Jeremy back to the west end of Rogueport; however, there was no Warp Pipe in the vicinity.
"How about beneath the grating?" Luigi asked, pointing to a sewer grating in the middle of the area.
"Good idea, Luigi!" Mario said. He removed the grating and hopped down the hole with Luigi and Jeremy following him. They landed on a platform with a green door on the right and a Stone Block blocking an open doorway in front.
"In here," Mario said before entering the room to his right. Inside was a brownstone Warp Pipe.
"Hmm. That's a weird-looking pipe," Jeremy remarked. "But I guess it should take us to Twilight Town. Let's go."
Mario and friends entered the Warp Pipe to go to Twilight Town; a trip that would take less than a minute.
...
It's now 7:34 PM. The Mario Bros exited the Warp Pipe, finding themselves in a dark creepy-themed town with dilapidated houses all around. On top of that, a giant yellowish-white moon lit up the twilight sky. Also, there were leafless dead trees with noir-looking Crows perched on the branches.
Again, Luigi started shaking while gazing at his surroundings.
"Ugh, this place gives me the creeps," Jeremy said.
"M-me too..." Luigi stammered. "But... I d-don't..."
"It's okay, bro," Mario reassured Luigi.
"Is this T-Twilight Town...?"
"Hey..." a distant voice called out.
Mario held Luigi's hand while the group approached a Twilighter standing in front.
"How can we help you?" Mario asked.
"It's been a long time since anyone's come from...outside," the Twilighter said. "You've come from far away?"
"Yes. Very far."
Luigi nodded his head in agreement, unable to say anything. I hope this isn't as bad as Forever Forest...
"Yeah, those clothes of yours..." the Twilighter studied the Mario Bros' appearances. "I'm pretty sure you guys must be...adventurers!"
"That's who we are," Jeremy said. "This is Mario and Luigi, or as I like to call them, González and Ibáñez."
"Nice to meet you guys," the Twilighter said. "I would shake your hands, but this is a bad time to arrive."
"What do you mean, 'bad time to arrive'?" Mario asked.
"Oh, God... I have no clue... It's a scary tale to hear. And scary to tell too." Before the Twilighter could say more, a church bell sounded from out of nowhere, frightening him. "Oh no! The bell rang again!"
"What's the matter?" Jeremy questioned.
"This is so awful... Who could it be now?" Suddenly, the Twilighter exploded in a purple cloud of smoke, revealing himself as a pig with glowing red eyes.
The group shrieked upon seeing the pig; Luigi started backing up toward the Warp Pipe. Mario grabbed his overall straps before he could jump into the pipe.
"Luigi! We just got here!" Mario said. "Don't run off!"
"I-I don't wanna be h-here...!" Luigi cried. He was shaking even more than earlier. "I don't wanna t-turn into a-a pig...!"
"I know, bro. But just pull yourself together," Mario said. "You'll be fine."
"Oh, badness... Now poor Jimbo got turned into a pig... Not good," an elderly voice said from behind Jeremy. He turned and saw a blue elder with bushy eyebrows that covered his eyes and a big mustache that concealed his mouth.
"Guys! Someone's here!" Jeremy told Mario and Luigi.
Mario walked Luigi forward as Jeremy greeted the elder first, "Who are you, sir?"
"I'm the mayor of this poor town. Some call me Dour. I'm not exactly the sharpest fellow, but I do believe you're adventurers, right?"
"Yes, sir," Mario answered.
"This isn't the place for the telling of tales, sadly," Dour said. "Come. Come to my home."
The Mario Bros and Jeremy walked with Dour to his house located just north of the pipe. Luigi covered his eyes as there were other pigs walking around town.
Inside Dour's home was a single room with a bed, small kitchen, and living area.
"Have a seat, please." Dour pointed to the kitchen table that had four seats. Everyone sat down before he started his tale. "As you may have guessed...our town has been cursed."
I knew it... Luigi thought.
"Cursed?" Mario asked.
"Yes, of course," Dour answered. "You see... Beyond town is a forest, and in its heart is an ancient building, the Creepy Steeple. The dark creature who lives there... Its curse ordains that when the steeple bell rings... One of the Twilighters living here in the village...becomes a pig."
"Will my loved ones become swine? Will I, too, become a curly-tailed oinker? I'm so worried, I can't sleep at night. Of course, night and day are pretty similar here... Hence why it's called Twilight Town..." Dour continued. "If this keeps up...well...the village will be one giant pigpen...which would be bad. My advice to you: leave us! Leave before you, too, get...piggified!"
Luigi scooted his chair back, wanting to run out, but Mario stopped him from standing up.
"Not going to happen, Mr. Dour," Jeremy said. "We're looking for something really important."
"It's a star-shaped gem called a Crystal Star," Mario chimed in. "You heard of it before?"
"Uh... I don't know about any Crystal Star thing... But in Creepy Steeple...there's a glittery red stone shaped like a star..."
"A ruby in the shape of a Crystal Star!" Mario exclaimed. "That's gotta be it!"
"Uh... You people... You aren't thinking of going to Creepy Steeple, are you?!" Dour asked in a scared tone of voice.
"You want us to leave the town, so that's where we're going," Mario said.
"Oh, unthinkable... You might not make it..."
"That's true, sir. But we'll be fine. No way we're gonna turn into pigs," Mario said.
"Okay, then... Good luck out there..."
Mario and friends exited Dour's house to explore Twilight Town. Luigi had calmed down a bit but was still creeped out by the pigs.
Is it really the Twilighters that get turned into pigs? Luigi wondered. I still think I'm gonna turn into one.
Most of the houses in Twilight Town were residences of the Twilighters with an Inn and a local shop in the area.
Just then, faint crying was heard from the shop.
"We better help who's crying," Mario said. He, Luigi, and Jeremy entered the shop only to see a depressed Twilighter clerk laying her head on the checkout counter.
"Ma'am? Are you okay?" Mario asked.
The clerk raised her head and saw Mario approaching the counter. "Um... I'm sorry. We're not open," she said.
"We're not here to shop. We just heard you crying from outside. Why?"
"I don't want to say this..." the clerk murmured. "But... My husband..." She started to cry even more. "My husband...t-turned into a p-pig! You h-hear me?! A pig!"
Mario felt sorry for the clerk and held her hand. "Hey. Easy, ma'am."
The clerk took a deep breath and started to tell the story about her husband. "Yesterday... My husband... He...went out to the woods to collect herbs... But...I didn't see him come back! All I saw was a DOWNRIGHT PIG TROTTING INTO TOWN! You know what made it worse?! We got in a fight before he left, and I had the last word, calling him a chauvinist pig! Now look! He's now what I didn't mean to call him!"
"I'm so sorry... I know you didn't mean it..." Mario said with sympathy.
"It h-happens all the t-time!" the clerk continued. "We fight...a-and we fight...a-and nobody wins i-in the end! Yes...we do m-make up, but it d-doesn't change what h-happened back then!"
"I know. But you know your husband has a sweet side, right? He's not always the bad guy."
"You're right... H-he does have a g-good side... I remember him cooking my f-favorite food on my b-birthday... And even when th-there are rude customers i-in our shop...he would g-give them the b-benefit of the doubt and e-escort them out in a f-friendly way..."
Mario eyeballed a tissue box next to the register and handed it to the clerk for her to blow her nose.
"He's just got so many wonderful things going for him. But I wish he wouldn't have been drinking all the beer from the alcohol fridge. I tried to tell him about getting drunk, but he doesn't care. And I could really do without him rummaging through the till behind my back. What does he even want the money for?"
"My husband claims that the way I try to reason with him is offensive and jumps down my throat immediately! Look who's talking!" the clerk ranted. "I'll admit, I did call him horrible names when I finally broke. Like, I called him a hypocrite and a psychopath. But I never meant it! He's the love of my life, of all the people!"
"I understand, ma'am," Mario coaxed the clerk. "I know what it's like to fight with a loved one. I have a lovely girlfriend who I love so much, and she and I do get in fights at times. Rest assured, though, it never went as far as it has been for you and your husband. Did I drown my sorrows constantly? Did I steal from her savings to buy what I want? Absolutely not. I'm not and will neverbe that kind of person. Especially if I was your husband."
"Thank you so much, sir..." the clerk thanked Mario. "That's so selfless of you to say that..." The clerk stopped to think for a second. "Say, will you please do me a favor?"
"I'll do anything," Mario replied.
"Could you figure out some way to restore my husband to normal? I'll do whatever I can to help. You can even take anything in the backroom that might help."
"Don't worry, ma'am. We'll get your husband back. I promise," Mario said with a smile. He beckoned Luigi and Jeremy to exit the shop with him.
"That was so sad," Jeremy remarked. "I'll be honest, I almost cried when the lady was talking about her husband."
"Me too," Luigi agreed.
Mario noticed a wood gate dead ahead with a Twilighter guarding it. "That must be the entrance to the forest."
The Mario Bros and Jeremy walked up to the gate only for the Twilighter to hold his hand out.
"Sorry, misters. I can't let you go through," the Twilighter said. "A nasty monster lives in the woods past here. I'm serious. That's what somebody said. If you still want to go through even after hearing that, you need the mayor's permission."
"Figured," Mario sighed. "We'll be right back."
Just as the group turned around to go back to Dour's house, the church bell rang again, causing all the Twilighters to scream with fear. Someone was bound to be turned into a pig, but who would it be?