8

The archeological dig was very quiet…too quiet. The brothers were starting to become aware of this and became suspicious. All around them, they could see only the surrounding trees and the recently excavated holes that the Koopas had made. It was very desolate…yet at the same time it was not.

"I do not like this place at all." Luigi said. "It gives me the creeps!"

"Just be lucky we're no where haunted!" Mario said.

Luigi shivered at this thought and could only hope that nothing like that would happen in their quest. The only thing that would scare him even more is Bowser; his red eyes and horrible grin have kept him awake ever since it invaded his dreams and he feared seeing it again. But he and Mario both knew that they had to face him sooner or later. It was for the sake of the two princesses and the Mushroom Kingdom.

Lord Crump was now entering the archeological dig. It was when he reached the gate when he heard two moaning voices coming from nearby. He looked and saw two wounded Koopas.

"Lord Crump." one of them said. "I thought you'd never come!"

"What happened to you guys?" he asked.

"It was the Mario Brothers!" said the other Koopa. "They attacked us from out of nowhere and then kicked us into this tree!"

"Where did they go?" Crump asked.

"They probably wandered into the dig site." said the first Koopa. "I'm pretty sure of it."

"Don't you guys need any help?" Lord Crump asked.

"No! GO!" said the second Koopa shouted. "Don't let them get away!"

Good advice! Lord Crump thought as he ran down the hill towards the front gate. He looked through the chain linking and saw Mario and Luigi walking towards the large gaping hole at the center of the site. He smiled.

"I have you bastards now!" he said. "Soon, you will pay for your misdeeds and vandalizing actions! You will suffer a slow and painful death!"

The two Goombas that assisted Lord Crump in their hunt finally caught up.

"Where were you guys?!" he asked them.

"We aren't that fast you know!" one of them said panting. "You could've gone slower!"

"Yes, but look!" Crump said, pointing through the gate at the two brothers in the distance. The Goombas were surprised.

"It's them!" said the other Goomba. "What are you going to do?"

"Call in for extra support!" he said, taking out his small communicator.

Mario and Luigi suddenly heard rustling in the bushes as they followed a dirt trail down to the large ravine. They heard the noise again a few seconds later.

"What was that?" Luigi asked.

The brothers stopped and looked around.

"I don't know." Mario whispered.

They heard it again, but this time it came from behind them. The brothers turned around, but once again saw nothing. Mario was getting frustrated.

"Okay, this isn't funny!" he yelled. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

The rustling was now coming from all around them and the brothers became terrified. They screamed when they saw five green-shelled Koopas surrounding them with metal pipes in their hands.

SHIT! Luigi thought. They caught us!

"There you guys are!" said one of them.

"RUN!" Mario shouted.

"Don't let them get away!" said another Koopa.

The two brothers ran past the Koopas and down the trail towards the ravine as fast as they were able to. But the Koopas were starting to gain on them.

"KEEP RUNNING, LUIGI!" Mario shouted.

The Koopas were laughing behind them.

"You can run but you can't hide!" one of them shouted. "Getting tired yet?!"

Mario and Luigi were starting to get tired as they neared two small portable buildings and what appeared to be tarp lying across an empty flat of dirt. They ran over it and suddenly fell and tripped as the tarp gave way to a small concealed hole beneath them. It was a trap. The brothers got back on their feet and quickly climbed back out of the hole, but the Koopas had already reached the brothers and knocked them back down. Mario landed on top of Luigi with all his weight, but Luigi just pushed him aside.

"Finally! We have you two captured!" said a sixth Koopa, who sported a red shell on his back. He looked down at the two brothers with an evil grin. "We've been waiting for you!"

The two brothers glared at the Koopa.

"Why do you want us dead?!" Mario asked.

"Bowser's orders!" said the red-shelled Koopa. "He doesn't need anyone trying to stop him from taking over the world! That includes you two!"

All six Koopas nodded their heads in agreement. Mario and Luigi continued to glare at them.

"What's the matter?" the red-shelled Koopa asked sarcastically.

"Let us out!" Luigi shouted.

"I'm afraid I can't do that!" said the red-shelled Koopa. "That would ruin the whole purpose of trapping you in the hole!"

Mario took out a couple of fire flowers from the rucksack and handed one to Luigi.

"What are you doing with those?!" the Koopa asked.

"Let us out and we'll show you!" Mario said.

"I don't have time for this nonsense!" said the red Koopa. "Besides, I'm not dumb enough to let you two escape again!"

WHOOSH!

"AHH! MY FACE! IT'S BURNING!" the red Koopa shouted as flopped around on the ground. Mario and Luigi jumped out of the hole with fire in their hands and brightly colored clothing again.

"What the hell just happened?!" one of the green Koopas shouted with a terrified tone. Mario and Luigi turned toward him with a mean stare.

"GET THEM!" said the red Koopa. "DON'T STAND THERE LIKE AN IDIOT! KILL THEM BEFORE THEY GET AWAY!"

The five green Koopas charged at Mario and Luigi with their metal pipes. Luigi jumped out of the way by performing a sideways somersault. Mario threw a fireball at one of the green Koopas and hit him in the chest.

"Mario! Look out!" Luigi shouted as a Koopa came from behind him. Mario turned around as the Koopa swung his metal pipe. Luigi threw a fireball at him before he was able to knock Mario unconscious.

"Get them!" one of the surviving green Koopas shouted. Two of them grabbed Luigi by the arms, but all Luigi had to do was touch them with his hands to get away. He held them for a few seconds before he threw the two Koopas to the ground as they screamed at the intense pain.

"A little help over here!" Mario called out as the three remaining Koopas went after him. However, he was quick to throw three fireballs at each of them before the Koopas could attack. The Koopas quickly fell to the ground.

"Never mind!" Mario shouted.

"What?! IMPOSSIBLE!" the red-shelled Koopa shouted. He tried to get up, but the last thing he could see was red and green fire as it slammed into his already burnt face.

Mario and Luigi ran away from the battle scene and quickly made their way down to the giant ravine as the Koopas continued squealing in pain in the dirt.

Lord Crump shuffled his way down through the dig site and found the army of Koopas on the ground and burnt to crisps. He was outraged.

"FOOLS!" he shouted at the red-shelled Koopas. "The Mario Brothers have outsmarted you! And now they escape…"

"You could've arrived sooner!" the Koopa shouted back.

"Wait up!" shouted the two Goombas as they arrived at the scene. They could not believe their own eyes.

"What the hell happened?!" one of them asked.

"Well, apparently the Mario Brothers managed to defeat the small Koopa army we sent out." Lord Crump said, turning over to the red-shelled Koopa. "Isn't that, right?"

"They were throwing fire at us!" he shouted. "All we had were metal pipes."

Lord Crump became frustrated.

"Bowser's going to be so pissed off when he hears about this!" he said. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves!"

"I hate to say it," said the red-shelled Koopa, "but I think you're on your own now."

Lord Crump did not say a word. He simply walked away and never had the urge to look back. He was too mad to do anything else. He simply wanted the brothers dead before they could get to the Crystal Star. So he went alone, knowing that it was probably the only way that it could be done.