Chapter 3: The Kidnapping

Part 1: The message that wasn't delivered

The two brothers were having their lunch, lasagna and chips with peach salsa, enjoying the break from work and rescues.

Luigi was just telling Mario, "I am so glad that we don't have to rescue Pea-", when Mr. Toad ran into the Mario brothers' house. The poor little toadstool gasped, out of breath from the tenth sprint that month from the castle to the little cottage.

Luigi, annoyed at the little toadstool for interrupting his and Mario's lunch for the tenth time that month, snapped, "What now!"

Mr. Toad, Toad for short, managed to gasp out, "The castle has been attacked! Peach has been kidnapped by-" Mario jumped up. "Not again!" he shouted. "Peach has been kidnapped! Hasn't Bowser sworn to NOT kidnap the princess! This is insane!"

I hadn't been able to relax in so long, he thought.

Luigi and Mario ran out the door past Toad, who had been trying to tell them something quite different. Seriously, he thought. They could have let me finish. I hope they don't blame me when it all goes sideways.

For it was NOT Bowser who had kidnapped Peach this time, but rather, a figure in a cloak created from the fabric of the night sky.

Part 2: Bowser and Luigi vanish

Bowser was planning the tenth attack of the month when the Mario brothers barged into his private lair, shouting, "Where is she! Where's the princess!"

Bowser was confused, for it was as though the brothers knew he was planning the attack. He indignantly retorted, "Geez, guys! At first, you guys were entertaining, but now, you are so ANNOYING. Now, you are actually arriving TOO EARLY. I'm only planning to kidnap her. Peach should still be at the castle, right?"

The brothers shot confused looks at each other, then Mario said, "But…Peach has gone missing. We thought you had her."

Right then, all three of them knew something was not right. Bowser eventually said, "Well, if I don't have Peach, and you guys don't have Peach, where is my (to-be) wife?"

Right then, a clap of thunder burst over their heads, startling them enough that Bowser, who was drinking a bottle of Arctic water, choked. A phlegmy voice rang out. "She is not in this world, for Count Bleck has her!"

Bowser shouted, "Count who?", for he wasn't sure that he heard it right, for Bleck sounded like someone was clearing his throat.

The dark figure appeared, of whom Toad had been trying to warn the brothers about earlier, and said, "It is Count Bleck, the perpetrator of this act, and the one who shall destroy this world, and all worlds!"

Right then, a flash sounded, revealing Peach; she was trapped in a transparent blue case-like shell. Both Bowser and Mario started towards her, but she faded.

The brothers finally knew what was going on, and Luigi started to jump on the dark figure, but was repelled away. Bowser suddenly was encased in a box of light, then disappeared.

"Finally", shouted the crazy person, "I, Count Bleck, shall finally fulfill the Dark Prognosticus!"

Luigi, in a desperate act, tried to attack the man who had single-handedly defeated Bowser. But Count Bleck snapped his fingers, and a black hole formed around Luigi's figure. Mario tried to pull him out, but lost his grip, and Luigi seemed no more, swallowed by the black hole.

Mario attacked the figure, determined to avenge his brother and Peach, his love, but was encased in a box of light. He attacked the walls, trying to break free, but was enveloped in a never-ending blaze. As all went black, Mario saw the Count make all of the Koopa-King's men disappear.

He tried to stand, but fell onto the cold, hard stone floor; he was sprawled on the floor, covered in grade three burns that made Bowser's fiery breath feel like soothing ocean air in comparison, then all went blank with searing pain, then all went dark.

Part 3: Peach

When Peach regained consciousness, she found herself in a dark corridor. At first, she didn't remember what happened, but then she recalled what happened mere hours ago.

"My castle was attacked again, but instead of it being Bowser, it was a dark figure. However, the figure seemed to have the same goal: he tried to take me away amidst the chaos, but I had resisted. A light box encased me right then, and a fire so intense that it felt cold made my body black-out", Peach told herself, trying to find a clue as to how to get out.

Right then, two Koopas came from the other side of the corridor, determined looks upon their faces. Peach prepared herself to fight, but they spoke instead. "I'm Private Koopa, and this is Lieutenant Koopa. We don't really know what to do, but since our boss likes you, we discussed it and decided to help you escape."

Peach was relieved. "Thanks. Now let's go find out how to get out. Where did you come in?"

Private Koopa reported that "We came in through the door at the end of the hallway. However, we don't know how we came into the castle, for a person called Count Bleck captured our boss and the army. The rest of the army was hypnotized, but we escaped. I don't recommend trying to talk to anyone except for us, for everyone else was either hypnotized or they were sworn into the Count's army."

Peach was disheartened, but she forced herself to face the situation; it would be unwise to shut down now. "Okay, I think we need to search all of the doors until we find a way out."

The two Koopas agreed, and they set off. For days, they searched rooms and avoided the guards. In one room, she found a card with her name and picture on it. Creepy, Peach thought, but she kept it.

Finally, they reached a door that seemed different. The company went through, and found themselves on a long open ledge that stretched for miles, going across a night sky and with the ground out of sight in the clouds. The two Koopa soldiers scouted ahead, refusing to lead the princess into a trap.

Peach started to follow them, but a voice heavy with authority rang out. "'kay, stop right there now, 'kay?"

The owner of that voice was a woman who looked beautiful, with a cute blue-and-pink dress with pink hair to match. However, her hair was in a tight bun, and she wore orange glasses with opaque white lens; this seems wrong, Peach thought, but couldn't figure out why. The woman's skin was not simply tinted blue with cold, but rather looked as though she was suffocating; her skin was the hue of a Bloom-berry.

The Koopas came back, and when they saw the woman, they looked furious. "Go, Peach! Go! This woman is a hypnotist! Go, and save yourself!" Lieutenant Koopa tried to attack the woman, but hypnotized guards appeared and held him back. Private Koopa tried to get him free, but was entrapped as well.

The woman walked up, "These are the escaped ones, right. Now, this will not hurt a bit, unless you struggle. So hold still, 'kay." The woman cocked her glasses. While Peach didn't see her eyes, the frightened Koopas did, and they were immediately transformed into spike-studded collared, black sunglasses wearing Koopa guards.

Peach tried to jump off the ledge and glide with her parasol, but was grabbed by the two Koopa guards. The woman cocked her glasses, and Peach saw a white flash, then her mind started going foggy.

She murmured, "No…No"

The woman was surprised, and she remarked, "No one has ever resisted before, but you won't for long." She grabbed Peach's chin and forced her to look into her eyes. Her eyes were ever-changing rainbow pools, and Peach's eyes became transfixed. "Sleep" said the woman, her voice penetrating Peach's mind. "Sleep"

At first, Peach tried to block it, but couldn't. She tried to stay awake, but her eyes fought her, and closed. Her mind was a kaleidoscope of color, then it all went black as night.