Chapter 4
For pigs the bell tolls
Mario and his friends came out of the other side of the pipe and found themselves in a strange town with dim light and a few houses. They could see some people that were similar to darkly and quite a few pigs.
"Is this Twilight town?" asked Flurrie
"This place gives me the creeps." said Bobby
"Let's find the crystal star and leave this place." said Mario
Suddenly, one of the people nearby approached them and said:
"Welcome to Twilight town. It's been so long since someone came from… outside. Have you come from far away?"
"Yes." said Koops
"Yes. Judging by your clothes, you guys must be adventurers, right?" said the resident of the town.
"Exactly." said Goombela
"This is a bad time." said the resident of the town. "No wait. You're adventurers. Maybe it's the perfect time"
"Huh? A bad time? What do you mean?" asked Mario
"Yes. tell me, tell me." said Bobby
"I don't know." said the resident of the town. "It's quite a scary story to hear. And scary to tell too."
Suddenly, the sound of a bell was heard.
"Oh no." said the resident of the town. "The bell rang again. I wonder who it will be this time."
Suddenly, in front of our friends' eyes, he transformed into a pig.
"What was that?" asked Goombela in shock
"He transformed int a pig right before our eyes." said Mario
"What the heck is going on in this weird town?" asked Bobby
Suddenly, they heard a voice behind them.
"Oh bad. Now poor Freddy turned into a pig. Not good."
They turned around and saw an old blue guy with a cane. He had a hole in his head and something was sticking out of it. He looked like an old doll.
"Who are you?" asked Mario
"I' m the mayor of this town. Some call me Dour. I'm not the sharpest fellow, but I believe you are adventurers, right?"
"Yes." said Flurrie "Can you tell us what going on here?"
"Of course." said Dour. "But this is not the place for tales. Come to my home."
Mario and his friends followed Dour in his home. When they arrived, Dour said:
"First of all, welcome to Twilight town. Well, I'd like to welcome you, but welcoming people is a good thing and it's nothing but bad here. As you may have guessed... our town has been cursed!"
"Whoa. Cursed?" said everyone at the same time
"Yes. I think this is the right word." said Dour. "You see beyond our town there is a forest and in the heart of that forest is an old building called the creepy steeple. The scary creature that lives there… It's curse ordains that every time the bell of the steeple tolls… one of us Twilighters turns into a pig."
"That's horrible." said Koops
"Yes." said Dour. "Will my beloved ones become swine? Will I too become a curly-tailed oinker? I'm so afraid I can't sleep at night. Of course, day and night are pretty similar here. If things continue the way they are going, the town will be a giant pigpen which would be bad. So, if you want my advice. Leave. Leave us before you too get piggified."
"We can't leave yet." said Mario
"Yeah. We are looking for something really important. Maybe you know about it." said Bobby. "It's a star-shaped jewel called the crystal star."
"I don't know of a crystal star, but in creepy steeple there is a red stone shaped like a star." said Dour
"Really? That must be the crystal star." said Goombela
"Um… You people aren't thinking of going to creepy steeple, are you?" said the mayor. "Brrrrr. Unthinkable."
Mario and his friends left the mayor's house and headed for the town exit. When they arrived, they saw a gate and someone guarding it. When he saw Mario and his friends, he said:
"Halt! You cannot leave town. A nasty creature lives in the forest."
"We need to get to creepy steeple to defeat that nasty creature." said Mario
"And to find the crystal star." said Koops
"If you still want to go in the forest after hearing that, you need the mayor's permission." said the gatekeeper
"Fine." said Mario. "Let's go guys."
They headed back to the mayor's house. However, on their way the bell rang again.
"The bell rang." said Koops. "Doesn't that mean…"
"Phew." said Mario. "I'm glad none of us turned into a pig."
"Yeah." said Bobby. "I was terrified for a minute there."
They went to the mayor's house. However, when thy entered they found a pig
"Oh no." said Bobby. "This pig... It's the mayor."
"What will we do now? We need his permission to pass through the gate." said Goombela
They decided to return to the gate and tell the gatekeeper what had happened. He may let them through. As they were on their way, the bell rang again.
"This story is getting on my nerves." said Goombela
"The more we stay here, the more we risk becoming pigs. Let's hurry." said Mario
They returned to the gate and found a pig instead of the gatekeeper.
"He transformed too." said Flurrie
"That's good for us." said Bobby. "Now we can get through."
They passed through the gate, passed by an old barn and entered the forest. There they faced many dangers and enemies. However, thanks to their powers and excellent teamwork, they passed through the forest and found and old and scary-looking building. It was creepy steeple.
"This is where that scary monster lives." said Bobby
"This place creeps me out." said Goombela. "Let's find the crystal star and leave as fast as we can, ok?"
Mario tried to open the gates of the courtyard, but it was looked with chains from the inside.
"How will we get in?" asked Koops
"I got it." said Mario. He then threw his hammer on the gate to break the chains. However, it bounced and hit Mario in the face.
"Alright. Plan B." said Bobby. He then jumped in the air and landed in the courtyard. He then removed the chains and opened the gate.
"Come on." he said. "No time to lose."
The others followed him and they all and entered creepy steeple. They wandered for a while when they found an old box.
"I wonder what's inside it." said Mario.
"Maybe it's not a good idea to open it." said Flurrie
"Yeah. It could be dangerous." said Goombela
"Don't worry." said Mario. "What can happen when you open a box?"
He opened it and immediately about 200 boos came out and starting spinning around and started cheering.
"Free at last."
"It's been so long"
"That. That can happen when you open a box." said Bobby
The boos noticed Mario and his friends. One of them came forth and said:
"Thank you for releasing us fools. In exchange… WE WILL DESTROY YOU!"
All the boos merged into one big atomic boo.
"I don't like this." said Koops
"We can do it." said Mario
They started fighting. The atomic boo was very strong, but Mario and his friends worked well together. The atomic boo tried to land on them and eat them, but he couldn't. Mario got on Bobby and they both jumped in the air and hit the atomic boo on the head.
"You don't need weapons when you have friends." said Mario
"Let's teach him a lesson about good teamwork" said Goombela
Mario and his four partners jumped in the air and all together hit the atomic boo with all their powers. Their attack was so strong, the atomic boo split up into 200 boos again and they all launched out of creepy steeple and into the forest.
"We did it." said Goombela
"Yeah. I knew we could do it." said Bobby
"I'll be more careful from now on." said Mario
They kept exploring the castle. Eventually, they found a twirly staircase and climb it up. They ended up in a room at the top of the steeple. It had a bath, a TV, a reading lamp and a fridge. As they entered, they heard a voice.
"Hey. Hang on slick."
They looked around and saw a duplighost with a birthday hat, a blue bow tie and brown shoes sitting in an armchair.
"What are you doing?" he asked. "You're interrupting my "me" time."
"We're here to stop you." said Mario
"Wait." said Goombela "That's the scary monster everyone was freaking out about? You have got to be kidding me."
"Who are you calling a monster?" said the creature. "What's your problem? Why do you want a fight? I'm busy thinking of new pranks, so get lost! But of course, you won't. There's no way you meanies are going away, right?"
He then got up, approached Mario and his friends and said:
"Fine. I turned the villagers into pigs. Big deal!"
"Big deal? Why would you do that you jerk?" asked Bobby
"Yes. We demand an explanation." said Mario
"Well…" said the creature. He then paused for a few seconds and then he went on.
"You know, they are always so depressing and boring and dimwitted. So, I thought that instead of wallowing in gloom they might as well wallow in mud. Ha ha ha ha. Now they are pigs. Get it? It's sooo cool. It's like irony or something. Yo have a problem with that?"
"Of course, we do." said Mario.
"So, prepare to pay for that." said Goombela
"Very well." Let's play slick." said the creetur and attacked Mario and his friends. They all fought together. The creature was strong, but he had a hard time fighting Mario and all his friends at the same time. His attacks were jumping in the air to land on his enemies and creating smoke to. However, his little tricks were not use for the might of Mario and his team. Eventually, he said:
"Enough! You think you're tough huh? Well, if you thought changing the villagers into pigs was impressive… Then you're gonna love this."
He did a few moves and suddenly disappeared. Then some kind of x-ray appeared above Mario and scanned him. Then the creature reappeared, but this time as shadow Mario, a shadow of Mario's body.
"How do you like them apples? That's magic people." he said. "Now you're fighting yourself. Yuk yuk yuk yuk. I'm a genius."
Even with the form of shadow Mario, he couldn't do much. He didn't have Mario's virtues. He was just a substitute and Mario and his friends defeated him.
"Huh? It cannot be. Have I been defeated?"
With these words he fainted and the crystal star came out of his pocket and landed on the ground. Mario quickly picked it up and felt its power all over him.
"This was too easy." said Bobby
"Yeah. What a pushover." said Goombela. "Anyway, we got the crystal star so let's go."
They left creepy steeple leaving shadow Mario unconscious. They returned to Twilight town where the villagers had recovered from their awful curse and were really grateful.
"Thank you. We cannot express our gratitude." said the mayor
"It was nothing." said Goombela
"Yeah. We should be going now." said Koops
"Not yet." said Mario. "let's stay a while longer to enjoy our fame."
Mario started talking to the villagers about himself and his adventures. His friends were a little confused.
"Don't you think he's acting a little weird?" asked Goombela
"Yes. He usually doesn't like fame and rewards." said Koops
"I wonder what had changed." said Flurrie
"Something is not right." said Bobby
Mario's friends were right. Something was not right. This appeared to be the end of this part of the story, but it wasn't. back in creepy steeple shadow Mario came round. He looked around and seemed confused. He quickly got up and left the room. Soon, he reached the main entrance and left creepy steeple. Meanwhile, let's go back to twilight town where something important is going on. If Mario wasn't talking to the villagers and his friends weren't busy keeping an eye on him, they would have noticed the shadow sirens were in town preparing their attack.
"Mwee hee hee hee. This time we'll defeat Mario and get the map." said Beldam. "With this superbombomb we cannot possibly fail."
"Guhhh." said Marilyn
"Vivian. Hand over that glorious superbombomb." said Beldam
"Huh?" said Vivian in confusion
"Vivian. Does that "Huh?" mean what I think it does?" said Beldam
"I… I don't have it." said Vivian. "You were holding it just too seconds ago. You said it was too important to trust me with it."
"You terrible liar." said Beldam. "Stop making up stories to cover your mistakes. If I don't have it, then obviously you have and obviously you lost it. Or are you implying that I lost it, you lousy little worm?"
"No... No. Of course not Beldam." said Vivian in fear
"Well now that you lost it, there isn't much we can do." said Beldam. "You're such an idiot. Anyway, I'm sure you must have dropped it somewhere around here. You can look for it while me and Marilyn go and enjoy a well-earned siesta. And you know what will happen if you don't find it, don't you?"
"I... I get punished." said Vivian
"That's right." said Beldam. "Let's go Marilyn. Leave this idiot to her chore."
"Guh-guh." said Marilyn and they both disappeared in the shadows.
Meanwhile, shadow Mario had arrived in the barn outside town. He was about to enter town when he heard a voice saying: "Hey, what's' up slick?"
He looked around and suddenly Mario appeared in front of him and said:
"So, you're Mario, right?" said Mario. "Such a perfect name. And I adore this body. Now I can jump really high. And you're famous around here. People revere me now. I just love being you. In fact, it's so perfect it, I don't think I ever want to stop."
"I don't understand." said shadow Mario
You still don't get it?" said Mario. "I have the power to transform myself into any form. However, to really be someone I need the two things that make each person unique. His name and body. And that's what I took from you, so you turn into a shadow and can't use your name."
"it's not fair." said Shadow Mario. "Give me back my body."
In case you still haven't figure it out, Mario is the creature in disguise and shadow Mario is the real Mario without his body.
"That's not gonna happen." said Mario. "I have your name and body and now I'll erase you for good. However, I'll give you one chance. If you can guess my name, I'll give you back your body. I'd love to see you try."
Shadow Mario thought and said:
"Thief."
"Wrong, wrong, wrong." said Mario. "What kind of parents would name their child like that. Now prepare to be erased."
Mario and shadow Mario fought. However, due to the magic of the creature it was impossible for shadow Mario to do any damage to the fake Mario. Eventually, Shadow Mario was forced to ran away.
"Awwwwww. That's not fun." said Mario
Shadow entered Twilight town. However, he received a frosty reception. Everyone thought he was the monster who had cursed them and they weren't very friendly. He thought that maybe his partners could recognize him, but he couldn't find them. However, he found Vivian looking for the superbombomb. She looked depressed and shadow Mario took pity on her. He recognized her from before, but he couldn't ignore her.
"Sniff, sniff. What I'll do?" she said
"What going on?" asked shadow Mario. "Why are you so sad?"
"I lost something really important and if I don't find my sister will punish me again." she replied. "But it's just not here."
Mario started looking and eventually he found the superbombomb and gave it to Vivian.
"You found it? Thank you. Now I won't get punished." said Vivian
Suddenly, she looked at the superbombomb and shouted:
"Oh Noooo!"
"What is it?" asked shadow Mario
"it's broken." said Vivian. "it's must have broken when my sister dropped it. What I'll do now? I guess I'm meant to be punished for life."
"Don't worry. Let me fix it." said shadow Mario
"Don't bother trying. It's busted." said Vivian "And my sisters will be back any minute now. However, I appreciate your help. Thank you."
"My pleasure." said shadow Mario
"Wait. What's your name? Won't you tell me?" said Vivian
"I… I don't have a name." said Mario. "Someone stole it from me."
"Really? Well don't worry. I guess it happens from time to time." said Vivian. She suddenly realized what shadow Mario had said and she said:
"Wait. Your name was stolen. That doesn't happen from time to time."
Mario explained her his story, but he skipped the part with the crystal star so that she wouldn't understand he's Mario.
"Gee whiz." said Vivian after shadow Mario was done. "You have way worse problems than I do. And all this time you were worried about me?
"Of course." said shadow Mario. "I couldn't ignore a poor soul."
"That's… so kind." said Vivian and then she added. "I've made up my mind. I' m coming with you. I'll help you get back your name and body. And your friends."
"But what about your problems?" asked shadow Mario
"Don't worry about me" said Vivian. "I'm not sure want to be with my sisters anymore anyway. Besides I need to repay your earlier kindness. It's the right thing to do."
With these words she kissed him on the cheek and said: "Hmm Hmm Hmm. So here we go."
"Okay." said shadow Mario. "So, what shall we do?"
"First we need to figure out that creature's name" said Vivian. "Now how do we get that kind of information?"
They both thought for a while and then Vivian said: "I got it. You know, birds pretend to be innocent when people are around, but in fact they are very well informed with all that eavesdropping."
"Really? So, what shall we do?" asked shadow Mario
"Using my powers, I can hide both of us in the shadows. In this way, we can hear their conversations without them knowing and get the information we need." said Vivian
And so, Mario and Vivian started searching for birds. They found two birds on a tree talking.
"Now's our chance." said Vivian. "Grab my hand."
Mario did so and they both vanished in the shadows.
"So, the Mario that everyone here loves and is receiving praise from the mayor is the bad guy, right?" said the one bird
"Of course." replied the other. "And no one has any idea. Humans are so dump. It's obvious that he's an impostor."
"The only way to defeat him it to learn his name."
"Yes. He's a duplighost. The less the people who know his name, the stronger his magic powers are. However, if someone tells him his real name, his magic will stop working.
"I heard the only pour soul that knows his name is locked under creepy steeple."
"Interesting. I wonder how all this will end."
Mario and Vivian had heard enough. They came out of the shadows and left.
"We heard all that." said Vivian. "If we go under creepy steeple, we can learn his real name."
"Yes." said shadow Mario. "If we go and battle him right now, we won't be able to do any damage because of his unstoppable magic. If we tell him his name, he'll lose his powers and then we can easily defeat him."
They left town to go to creep steeple. However, as they passed by the old barn Mario appeared and blocked their way.
"I've been waiting for you." he said. "I could have done this back in town, but it wouldn't look very good, would it?
"So, this is the guy who stole your name and body? He looks kind of familiar to me." said Vivian
"Alright. Stop the chatter." said Mario. "One chance Mr. nobody. "Guess my name correctly and you'll get your name and body back. Otherwise you'll get stomped."
"Copycat." said shadow Mario
"Wrong. Now you'll get stomped." said Mario
As shadow Mario had said, he and Vivian couldn't do any damage because of the creature's magic, so they ran away.
"Come back here you cowards." shouted Mario, but in vain.
Soon, Mario and Vivian arrived at creepy steeple. There they saw a well in the courtyard. Thinking it could be the way under creepy steeple they entered it. Soon, they discovered the well didn't have water in it. In fact, it had a passage.
"We are close." said shadow Mario
They entered the passage and found themselves in a small room. There they saw a parrot.
"This s the guy who knows the creature's name?" asked shadow Mario
"Maybe. Let' find out." said Vivian
They tried to talk to him, but all he said was: "pretty bird. Pretty bird.
"Alright. Plan B." said shadow Mario
Vivian hid both of them in the shadows. A few seconds later, they heard the parrot saying:
"Skrawk? What happened to these two weirdos who were just here? Aw whatever. It was nice to have some company. I'm so lonely. This guy is cruel. I mean, no matter how important it is that no one knows his real name… Locking me up in here just because I know it and leaving me unfed… That's no way to treat a parrot. I really want a cracker. Doopliss, you're a big meanie. When's feeding time, huh?"
After hearing that, shadow Mario and Vivian came out of the shadows much to the parrot's shock.
"Shrawwwwwwk? Um... pretty bird. Pretty bird." he said, but it was too late.
"Hmm hmmm Hmm. We heard you little birdie." said Vivian. "Come on. Let's go and get your name and body back from that creep."
"Yes. And we'll teach him a lesson or two while we're at it" said shadow Mario. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."
"No, thank you." said Vivian. "You are such a kind person, I had to help you."
They returned to the old barn outside Twilight town and found Doopliss there again, but this time they were ready for him.
"This is the end for you slick. This time you won't ran away. You'll be erased once and for all. But first amuse me with one more guess. It's so funny watching you futilely trying to guess my name. So, give me your best shot.
"You name is Doopliss." said Mario
"W… What did you just say? It can't be." shouted Doopliss in shock. "NO NO NO NO NO! WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY? HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW?
He panicked and ran away.
"We did it." said shadow Mario. "Now that we said his name, he lost his magic powers."
"Now's our chance to get your name and body back." said Vivian. "Where do you think he went?"
"He probably went to hide in creepy steeple." said shadow Mario. "After him."
They returned to creepy steeple and climbed all the way to the top floor in the room where Mario and his friends had fought Doopliss in the first place. There they found him.
"You again." he said. "You are pretty stubborn to follow me all the way up here."
"This ends now." said shadow Mario
"Fine. If this is what you want." said Doopliss. He then turned around and said: "Alright kids. Prepare for a fight. Woo- hoo. It's a me.
Shadow Mario then noticed that all his partners were there fighting with Doopliss who they thought was Mario.
"Sure thing Mario." said Goombela. "We're right her with you."
"This creep couldn't take us on his own so he teamed up with a shadow siren." said Koops
"Whatever he does we won't let him harm our Mario." said Flurrie
"Yes. Prepare to taste the pain Gonzales -style shadow guy." said Bobby
"very well my loyal ones." said Doopliss. "How dare this nameless nobody challenge the great Mario?"
"Mario?!" said Vivian in shock. "The guy who stole your name and body is Mario? That means... You're Mario?"
"Um… Yeah actually." said shadow Mario. "I knew you wouldn't' help me if you knew who I was, so…
"I can't believe this." said Vivian. "This whole time I was helping Mario. I feel like an idiot."
"What's going on? Fight with your girlfriend? Well, don't expect sympathy from us." said Doopliss
Mario and his partners attacked shadow Mario. Vivian who now knew he was Mario abandoned him and she was about to leave the room.
"Your friends ditch you because you don't have the charisma of me. Super Mario.
However, Vivian hesitated to leave when she saw Mario was having a hard time dealing with everyone and he probably couldn't make it. She thought for a few moments and said:
"I'm sorry sis. This Mario is the only person who's ever been kind to me."
She then threw a fireball and hit Doopliss.
"Mario, I'm fighting by your side from now on." she said
"Really?" asked shadow Mario
"Yes. I've made my choice and I'm not turning back." said Vivian
"Thank you." Said shadow Mario
Together they fought. They only attacked Doopliss and were careful not to hurt Mario's friends. In the end Doopliss was defeated.
No! Why? How? It is not fair." he said before he fainted
"Eeek. Mario." said Goombela
"Mario has been defeated." said Koops
"I can't believe this." said Bobby
However, as Doopliss feel on the ground and the crystal star fell out of his pocket, he lost Mario's body and returned to his original form.
"Huh?" said all of Mario's partners at once.
Then shadow Mario got back his body and turned back into Mario.
Doopliss got up and saw he was surrounded. He shouted:
"Rats! You killjoys!"
He then jumped out of the window.
"What? He ran away." said Goombela "Wait. What the heck is going on here? That wasn't the real Mario?"
"Did we get hoodwinked?" asked Koops
"How could I mistake my dear Mario for someone else. Oh, silly Flurrie." said Flurrie
"So, who is this girl?" asked Bobby. "isn't she one of the shadow sirens you guys mentioned? Why would Mario team up with one of those creeps?"
"Well… I.." said Vivian
"Don't worry guys." said Mario "She's on our side. She helped get my name and body back from that creep."
"Oh. Thank you for sticking up for me Mario." said Vivian
"Well, I guess thanks to her you came out of this safe and sound, so no sweat." said Bobby
"Yeah. You're a nice girl." said Goombela
"Mario. I'm sorry about before." said Vivian. "I'd love to travel with you if you have me.
"Of course." said Mario. "You're in with us."
"Thank you." said Vivian. She then picked up the crystal star and said: "This is for you."
Mario took the crystal star and it gave him more energy than the previous three.
Mario defeated the scourge that had cursed Twilight town and then stole his body and name and acquired the ruby star, the fourth crystal star. That means his quest to collect all seven crystal stars will be done in no time. With his new friend Vivian Mario heads towards his next adventure. However, what about Beldam and Marilynn who will wonder where their sister is? And what about Doopliss? Perhaps this won't be the last Mario and his friends will see of him.
So, I'm done with chapter 4. Next will be interlude 4. Please write reviews to let me know what you think of my work.