breath20k
Not that great in my opinion. You'd get the creeps upon arrival.
LiamTheYoshi
What's also good is that Mario has someone else to relate to.
mariobroultimate
But why a pig out of all animals? That's the question I've been asking myself lately.
MarioFan2867
Thank you!
Nataly Guardado
Yeah! Serves you all right for what you've done!
...
Chapter 30: Creepy Steeple
"Oh, please tell me it's not my turn to get pigged..." Jeremy murmured. He and the Mario Bros stood still, for the time being, witnessing everyone running for their lives.
After about a minute, the Twilighters stopped running, relieving Mario and friends.
"Thank fricking God!" Mario sighed. "I can just imagine what my life would be like if I was a pig. Very miserable and boring."
"Should we check on the mayor?" Jeremy asked. "I hope he's okay."
The group ran back to the mayor's house next to the brownstone Warp Pipe. Mario opened the door first only to see a light blue pig with red glowing eyes. He immediately backed out and slammed the door shut.
"Jesus Christ! He's been cursed!" Mario exclaimed.
"What are we gonna do?!" Luigi frantically asked. "We can't get out without his permission!"
"There's nothing we can do, bro," Mario said. "We'll just tell the guard he's not around."
Mario, Luigi, and Jeremy started back toward the gate only for the church bell to ring again.
"Don't move!" Mario ordered Luigi and Jeremy. But none of them got "piggified".
"Enough with the bells... Please..." Mario said under his breath.
To their surprise, right as they got to the gate; Mario, Luigi, and Jeremy saw a regular pig trotting the way they came.
"Poor guard," Jeremy said with sympathy. "But at least the path's clear. We can move forward."
"What about the shop's backroom?" Mario asked. "Let's find the key for that first."
Mario opened the gate, letting Luigi and Jeremy through first. The path they entered was known as Twilight Trail, a wide path with dead trees on either side. It wasn't long before the group noticed a wood shack to their left. Luckily, the door had no lock on it.
Luigi and Jeremy stayed outside the shack while Mario went inside. At the left end of the shack was a small treasure box containing a black key.
"That must be the shop-" Mario stopped himself, realizing what the key might actually be for. "Wait..."
Mario recalled seeing a familiar...
No. Maybe not.
"It's just the shop's backroom key," Mario said as he exited the shack.
"What did you find?" Jeremy asked.
"I found this key. Hopefully, it'll unlock the shop's backroom," Mario said.
The group made their way back to the shop where the clerk was at her station doing her job.
Mario unlocked the backroom's door and found three chests: two of them were small treasure boxes, but the third one...
Hold on...
Is that the same black chest as...?
"Hold up! Hey! Who's there? I just heard someone enter this room!" a female voice called from inside the black chest. "There's no way that people could be here! Seriously, that's just so unlikely!"
"What is that?" Jeremy asked.
"I know what you are," Mario told the chest. "You're one of those chests I saw yesterday."
"What? You've seen a chest like this before? Come on!" the female voice said.
"Don't 'Come on!' me. You're going to curse us. Or-"
"No, no, no! I'm not like those chests, I promise!" the female voice interrupted Mario. "Look at me! Tell me I'm lying."
"You are lying," Luigi answered. "We're not scared of you anymore."
"I'm not! I swear! Just get me out of here! Don't make me beg!"
"Go ahead. Beg all you want," Mario said with sarcasm. "I don't care."
"You know how ridiculous you sound right now? I'm laughing in here. Hahaha! You honestly think I'm going to curse you when I get out?" the female voice asked. "Well, I did plan on doing somethingto you, but it's not so much a curse as a-"
"Just shut up and do it already!" Mario demanded with irritation. "We're on a deadline, you know?"
"All right, then. If that's the case, find the key and open the chest," the female voice said. "I know it's around here somewhere."
"So that's what the black key is for?" Jeremy asked Mario.
"I guess so," Mario sighed. He approached the chest and unlocked it with the black key.
"Oh, joy! You're a lifesaver!" the female voice squealed. Almost instantly, the shop's lights shut off.
This time, Mario and Luigi stood still, anticipating what was about to happen next. For Jeremy, however, he was confused.
A chest cursing us? What does that mean?
"WHEEHEE! FOOLS!" the female voice yelled very loud. Mario and Luigi flinched a small bit but weren't scared at all. Jeremy slammed his hands over his ears, letting out a startled scream.
Then, a bright yellow evil face appeared above the open chest. Again, Mario and Luigi weren't fazed, but Jeremy got scared a bit more and fell on his butt.
Whoa! What is that thing?!
"What were you expecting? Did you think a lovely lady would pop out or something?" the female voice asked.
The Mario Bros didn't answer and stared at the face with blank faces.
"I'll take that as a yes. Now I'm going to hit you with the king of curses, the cursiest curse ever! Fear my terrible power!"
Luigi chuckled at the sound of the line, but Mario didn't react at all.
"GOBBLY-COBBLY-FOOOOOOO!"
Four ear-piercing white flashes sounded, which made everyone cover their ears.
"Wheeheeheeheehee! Now you're cursed, losers! Savor your suffering!"
The evil face disappeared and the room lit up again. Everyone uncovered their ears.
"I-is it over...?" Jeremy stammered.
"You're fine, Jeremy," Luigi reassured Jeremy. "It's like a haunted house attraction."
"Yeah, right," Mario commented. He had a frown on his face. "A 'haunted house attraction'."
Just then, Luigi noticed Mario's gloves had turned a pale red color with a transparent fireball on the top of each. "Would you look at that? Your fire powers just got upgraded!" he said with glee.
"They did," Mario agreed in a mellow tone of voice after looking at his gloves. "Let's just get the other items and leave."
"What's wrong, bro?" Luigi asked. "Do you not like your powers?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm good." Inside, Mario thought to himself, I don't know what I'm gonna do if I see another one of those black chests...
Luigi proceeded to open the two treasure boxes containing an Ice Flower and a Cloud Nine powerup.
"What powerups are they?" Jeremy asked.
"This blue flower lets me or Mario throw ice balls to freeze any enemy instantly and this cloud turns me or Mario into a cloud. That way, we'll avoid detection easily," Luigi explained.
"Very cool, dude! I like it!"
Without further ado, Mario and friends left the shop and resumed walking down Twilight Trail. Along the way were Hyper Paragoombas and Hyper Spiked Goombas, enemies that the Mario Bros remembered battling in Gusty Gulch four years prior.
To defeat those rare types of Goombas, Mario decided to test his fireball attack. To his shock, he released a large fireball the size of a Zorb ball. Not only did it burn the Goombas to ashes, but it also set some of the ground on fire. He stomped on the flames to smother them.
"You gotta be more careful throwing fire like that," Jeremy told Mario.
"I didn't expect it to be thatbig," Mario said.
A few minutes later, the group reached a brown-leaved tree in the middle of the path. Mario tried to push it down to no avail.
"How do we move that tree?" Luigi asked.
Mario thought it over before coming up with an idea. "I got it." He swapped Jeremy with Flurrie. "Flurrie, could you blow this tree down?"
"With pleasure, Mario!" Flurrie answered. She blew on the tree with such force that it flew far out, exposing a green Warp Pipe. Mario swapped her with Jeremy again and went down the pipe first with Luigi and Jeremy following him.
Upon exiting the other end of the Warp Pipe, the group found themselves in a more wooded area. The sky had darkened a bit, making it look more like it's night out. Luigi felt uncomfortable as he walked down the trail with Mario and Jeremy, but he wasn't as scared as when he trekked through Forever Forest.
Mario and friends encountered several Hyper Clefts and Crazee Dayzees roaming about, which were tough to battle initially. At one point, Mario used his Red Timebomb to blow up a group of three Hyper Clefts into green sand.
They continued down Twilight Trail for about ten minutes until they finally noticed a tall church with a light blue circular window in the middle. There was no gate or fence blocking the entrance, meaning anyone could access the church at any time.
Mario swapped Jeremy for Goombella to learn about what the church is.
"Wow... That church is so creepy," Goombella remarked. "Speaking of which, this is Creepy Steeple. No wonder that adjective is part of the church's name. Seeing it in the moonlight makes my skin crawl."
"Us too," Luigi agreed.
"At least the Moon provides a little light, you know?" Goombella continued. "But still, it looks like a ghost could pop out at any minute. If I was all alone and you guys weren't around, I'd run away immediately."
"H-hold on..." Luigi started to shiver with fear again. "Did you j-just say 'g-ghosts'?"
"I did. Huge possibility."
Mario swapped Goombella with Jeremy, who became creeped out at the sight of Creepy Steeple.
"Oh my God... That church... It..." Jeremy murmured.
"I know, kid," Mario said. "It looks scary, but I've been in places like this before."
"Can w-we just...g-get the Crystal S-Star and get out o-of here...?" Luigi stammered. Mario held his hand.
"Easy, Luigi," Mario coaxed Luigi. "We'll be in and out. I promise."
Luigi took a deep breath and looked at the entrance. "Okay... Let's-a go..."
With that, Mario and friends entered Creepy Steeple through its two gray front doors. The first area they entered was a long and wide hallway with a giant stained glass window and two upper paths comprising the second floor.
"Look how big this place is," Mario gasped.
"Yeah... V-very big..." Luigi said. He was paranoid about Boos popping out at any time.
To the left and right were two wood doors with a star-shaped statue dead ahead.
"Our friends have all been taken away... So lonely..." a ghostly voice called out.
Luigi screamed and cowered down on the floor. "I'm n-not helping...a-any Boos...! N-never...!"
"You don't have to. I'll help whatever Boos we come across. If they're nice," Mario said.
Luigi slowly stood up and gazed at both doors. No one was standing in front of either door.
"What's with the statue?" Jeremy asked.
Mario approached the statue and believed there might be a secret underneath. He pushed the statue out of the way, revealing a deep hole. "I knew it. A secret passage. Come on."
Mario leaped down the hole and found himself in a small room with a yellow and blue trampoline in the center. Luigi hesitated to jump down, so Jeremy held his hand as both rejoined Mario.
"You're doing fine, Ibáñez," Jeremy said. "Now that I think about it, Creepy Steeple's probably just a haunted house. It's not that dangerous."
"Are you s-sure...?"
"Yeah."
Meanwhile, Mario noticed a piece of loose drywall on the top wall and pulled it down, revealing an open doorway. It was so dark on the other end that it needed to be lit up. He opened his right palm, spawning a small fireball in his hand.
It turned out that Mario entered another passage, which he walked through alone to a small treasure box at the end. Inside were ten Coins that he took for himself.
"Anything else in here?" Jeremy asked after Mario exited the dark passage. The fireball in Mario's hand dissipated instantly.
"Nope. Back to the foyer."
Mario and friends bounced on the trampoline back into the foyer only to encounter a Boo right in front. Luigi shrieked again and hid behind the star-shaped statue.
"Are you going to be mean to me?" the Boo asked.
"Uh... No," Mario replied. "We're just here to explore."
"Promise?"
"Yeah."
"Very well." The Boo started to fade away, but suddenly reappeared in a bigger form and screamed, "BAAAAHHHHHHH!"
That jumpscare was enough for Mario and Jeremy to run back into the statue. The good thing was that they didn't hit their heads upon impact.
"I kinda knew that Boo wasn't to be trusted..." Mario panted. He went up to Luigi to check on him. His face was sweaty and he clutched his stomach with one hand.
"Do you need to puke?" Mario asked Luigi.
"No... I don't feel too nauseous..." Luigi groaned.
"All right-y."
"So, what's behind those doors?" Jeremy questioned.
"We'll go see. Let's try the right one first," Mario replied.
The group went out the right door and down an outside walkway. Luckily, there weren't any enemies walking or flying around. At the end of the walkway was a Red Exclamation Point Switch, which Mario hit with his hammer.
A deep rumbling sounded for about five seconds. No one knew what it was.
After going back inside the foyer, the group found a white key on the ground. Mario stowed it in his overalls pocket and led Luigi and Jeremy out the left door. They went down another walkway, which had another Red Exclamation Point Switch at the end.
Again, Mario activated the switch, causing the place to rumble for a short time. This time, a stairway leading to the left upper path had spawned. He wondered if there was a locked door upstairs, which the white key could potentially open.
Mario was right. As soon as he, Luigi, and Jeremy climbed the stairway, they found a locked door with a white lock on the handle. He immediately unlocked the door and found himself in a small room with a red and yellow trampoline in the center.
"How much further are we from the Crystal Star?" Jeremy asked.
"Not too far," Mario answered. "Maybe one more puzzle." He hopped on the trampoline, catapulting himself into a living room lounge. Luigi and Jeremy also leaped into the lounge.
The lounge had a shower stall and a large mirror on the upper left corner, and an elongated sofa and TV set on the far right.
To the group's surprise, a Duplighost wearing a blue party hat with red stars and a blue bowtie on his chest sat on the sofa watching TV.
"Who is that guy?" Jeremy whispered.
"It's... It looks like...one of those...ghosts in this one palace...back then..." Mario hesitated. He started to feel anxious, reflecting on when he encountered tens of Duplighosts at Crystal Palace.
Just then, the Duplighost eyeballed Mario and Jeremy having their private conversation and interjected, "Hey! Hang on there, Slick!"
Mario jumped back a bit, not expecting the Duplighost to speak up.
"What are you and your chums doing, interrupting my 'me time'?"
"Uh... We didn't mean to..." Mario explained.
"Hold on. Are you the dark creature the mayor was talking about?" Luigi asked.
"Excuse me? Who're you calling a dark creature? What's your problem? Why do you need to pick a fight? I'm busy thinking up new pranks and stuff!"
"Such as what? You turning the villagers into pigs?" Jeremy questioned.
"No! I'm not telling you what I'm plotting! It's not easy either!" the Duplighost exclaimed. "Now get outta here!"
"Not until we get answers!" Mario retorted, angered that the Duplighost could be lying. "Now tell us you turned those people into pigs!"
"All right, then, Slick. Yes. I turned the villagers into pigs. Big deal," the Duplighost admitted.
Mario sighed with relief. "Thank you. But why, though?"
"Well, you know, they're all so depressing and boring and dimwitted all the time... So instead of wallowing in gloom, I figured they might as well wallow in mud! Ha!"
"You screwup!" Mario muttered under his breath, his anger rising again.
"Now they're pigs, get it?" the Duplighost continued. "Isn't that just so perfect? It's like irony or something."
"Do you realize it's the opposite of what you think?" Luigi asked. "How would you feel if you were a pig?"
"Ooh! Looks like you have a huge problem with that!" the Duplighost boasted before turning to Mario. "Well, why don't we play a little game, Slick?"
"If that's the way you want it, fine! We'll teach you something!" Mario answered.
With that, Mario and friends engaged in battle with the Duplighost. For the Duplighost, the only attack he could do was charge forward headfirst. For Mario, Luigi, and Jeremy; not a problem for them.
In succession, Luigi drill-kicked the Duplighost to the back end of the lounge while Mario batted him with his hammer. Jeremy stood by in case either Mario Bro needed backup.
After four turns, the Duplighost said, "So, you think you're a couple of heavies, huh? Well then, my dear friends...if you thought changing folks into pigs was impressive...then you're gonna love this!"
"Don't tell me you're gonna make an impostor out of me," Mario said.
The Duplighost's eyes flashed red and he disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.
"Okay... What just happened...?" Mario wondered out loud. Before Luigi or Jeremy could answer, he glowed a bright green for a few seconds and the glow exploded outward. Then, an identical version of him emerged from the floor.
You gotta be kidding me! Mario immediately flashed back to the Isle Delfino adventure when he saw Shadow Mario for the first time from his jail cell.
*TWO YEARS AGO*
The statue finished rising and a strange man glared at Peach. He wore a cap with the letter "M" on it, had a big round nose, a mustache, and wore a shirt with overalls. He was also completely blue, appearing to be made out of graffiti. He also wielded what appeared to be a giant paintbrush, which must be what made all the graffiti.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Mario exclaimed. "Is that who framed us?!"
*PRESENT DAY*
"How do you like them apples? Now that's magic, people!" the Mario impostor boasted. His voice sounded identical to the real Mario's voice. "Now you're fighting yourself! Ha! I'm such a genius!"
"Good thing he doesn't have a paintbrush," Luigi whispered to Mario. "We should defeat him easily."
"I hope so," Mario quietly replied.
The Mario impostor lunged toward Mario in an attempt to slide kick him. Mario dodged out of the way before Luigi grabbed the impostor's right ankle. Mario stepped aside so that Luigi wouldn't accidentally hit him.
Then, Luigi swung the impostor around three times and threw him to the lounge's back wall again. The impact was enough to defeat the impostor.
"Hold on... Wha... Wha... Huh...? You beat me...?" The impostor went unconscious, his head drooping to the floor. Then, a deep red star gem rose from the impostor's body and floated toward the group.
"The Crystal Star!" Luigi exclaimed happily. "We did it again!" He high-fived Mario, who smiled proudly and stowed the Crystal Star in his overalls pocket. But the Crystal Star didn't grant the Mario Bros the next Star Spell just yet.
"Wait a second..." Jeremy said. "That was it? We just took down a wimp quickly?"
"I guess so," Mario answered. "But who gives? We got the fourth Crystal Star, so let's get out of here."
"Yeah. I don't want any more Boos confronting us," Luigi agreed. He jumped down the hole to the second level with Mario and Jeremy following him.
Right as everyone left the impostor alone, his body glowed green; the glow was enough to make his eyes open slowly. Then, he fell unconscious again.
...
"Oh my God..."
What sounded like a deep mid-Atlantic accented voice echoed all around. Then, he saw his eyes open; his vision slightly blurry. It took him a second to see he was still in the lounge.
He felt the urge to push himself on his feet and started to press his hands on the ground. Just then, he saw that his right hand looked a little strange.
What is on my glove...?
He rubbed his eyes with his left hand to see more clearly. His right hand appeared to be bare but was completely white in contrast to his regular skin color.
Huh? How did my hand get painted white?
He looked around for his right glove only to see his left hand with the same appearance.
Okay...
He decided to ignore the matter and managed to push himself up.
I know my gloves are here somewhere.
He walked around the lounge to find his gloves but found nothing. Just then, he felt a breeze rush through his hair, making him think his cap was missing.
My cap's gone too?
He tried to find his cap too, but it was nowhere to be found either.
"Well, this sucks."
He stopped himself, having heard the deep mid-Atlantic voice come out his mouth.
Wait. Why is my voice deep?
He thought it over and decided to try out something.
"Hello! It's-a me, M-"
Suddenly, he felt a sharp electrical pain through his body and trembled violently as if he was electrocuted. In the process, he let out an agonized scream.
The episode only lasted for one second. He grabbed his head with both hands.
"What just haphphened?"
Again, he stood in shock, having heard himself speak again.
What did I say?
"'What just haphphened?'" He started to get anxious. "'Haphphened'. 'Haphphened'!"
He eventually realized something else was wrong.
"Why can't I say the letter 'phee'?" Again, he repeated what he thought should be the right pronunciation. "'Phee'! 'PHEE'!"
His rage rose even more. What made it worse was that no one else was with him.
"Where's Luigi and Jeremy?!"
He looked down the hole leading to the second level and belted out, "Luigi! Jeremy! Come back here! I need your-"
Just then, he eyeballed what appeared to be a person in the mirror next to the shower. He approached the mirror and stood in front of it.
The reflection depicted a tall, skinny man with the same white hands, a red long-sleeved polo shirt, blue jeans with a brown belt, a scraggly black mustache, and short brown hair. He wore brown-colored penny loafers as well.
He looked down and noticed his clothes and hands again. He resembled the same reflection. Looking back at the mirror, the realization set in quickly.
He remembered himself as the real Mario but had a completely different appearance and voice. Worst of all, he couldn't say the letter "P" and got electrocuted when he tried to say his name.
Could the Duplighost have cursed him? What did it do to him?
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"