20

Bowser angrily paced back and forth inside the large stony basement where the princesses sat and watched from inside their cage.

"I wonder what his problem is." Peach said. "He seems rather upset.

"I don't know, Peach." Daisy said. "He's probably upset because Lord Crump hasn't contacted him yet."

"He's in trouble now!" Peach said, chuckling.

"We need to get out of here, Peach!" Daisy said. "We can't sit around like this all the time!"

"Bowser will never let us out!" Peach said. "I need to walk though. My butt is getting very sore."

"I need a shower." Daisy said. "I feel really dirty."

"QUIT YOUR COMPLAINING!" Bowser shouted from down below. "I'M TOO ANGRY TO PUT UP WITH YOUR WHINING!"

Peach and Daisy kept their mouths to avoid his wrath.

A few minutes passed before a loud chime was heard throughout the room.

"Finally! A fucking transmission!" Bowser shouted, pressing the answer button. It was Lord Crump.

"What the hell have you been up to for the past few hours?!" Bowser asked. "I've been sitting here going ape shit wondering if were still alive or not! Why are you cut and bruised up?!"

"Bowser, I'm afraid I have some bad news!" Lord Crump said. "The Mario brothers have obtained the first Crystal Star!"

"WHAT?!" Bowser shouted. "YOU LOUSY SON OF A BITCH! YOU ARE NO LONGER WORTHY OF RECEIVING MY HANDSOME REWARD! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!"

"But, master!" Lord Crump cried. "They beat the living shit out of me and took all of my money! They even stole my cigars!"

"THAT'S IT! I'VE HEARD ENOUGH!" Bowser scolded. "YOU ARE TO RETURN HERE TO THE DARKLANDS FOR A CRUEL AND REGRETFUL PUNISHMENT! I EXPECTED BETTER OUT OF YOU THAN LETTING SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN! I KNEW I SHOULD'VE NEVER TRUSTED YOU!"

"But, master…"

"GOODBYE!"

Bowser immediately ended the transmission and stormed around the room in frustration. The princesses were happy.

Way to go, Mario! Peach thought.

That's right, Luigi. You show him who's boss! Daisy thought.

Another five minutes passed by and Bowser was still very angry. Then he heard the door open. He turned around and saw Kamek running towards him.

"Bowser!" he said.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Bowser shouted.

"Is this a bad time?" Kamek asked.

"Well, what do you think?!" Bowser said. "After hearing that the Mario brothers got away with one of the Crystal Stars, OF COURSE IT'S A BAD FUCKING TIME!"

"That's actually kind've what I wanted to talk to you about." Kamek said. "I just received word that one of our troops was able to spot them just not too long ago."

"Really?" Bowser asked. "Where are they?"

"He said that he saw them riding inside of a car on a cargo train that's headed for the kingdom of Sarasaland!" Kamek said. "That's where one of the six remaining stars is hidden according to those documents!"

"That means we need to send more of our troops there." Bowser said. "The troops we have around the pyramids probably won't be sufficient enough to take down the Mario Brothers. They would just blast right through them!"

"I think I know where this is going." Kamek said.

"Send two airships full of troops to Sarasaland." Bowser said. "We need to kill those brothers!"

"Yes, sir." Kamek replied.

Kamek left the room and Bowser regained his confidence. Failure was no longer an option. He looked up at the two princesses.

"I hope you two are happy right now," he said, "because tomorrow, Mario and Luigi will be dead!"

"That's what you think!" Daisy shouted.

"We'll see about that, smart mouth!" Bowser said. "You may want to reconsider what you've just said."

Bowser walked off and left the princesses dangling inside their cage as he took a small break. Peach looked at Daisy.

"I don't think Bowser is going to win this battle." Peach said. "Something tells me that Mario and Luigi will make it to the very end."

"Oh, I already know that's going to happen!" Daisy said. "They just need to pick up the pace a little."

"They'll get here soon enough." Peach sighed. "If only there was such a thing as a teleportation device!"

Whoohoo! Part 1 has now officially ended! Mario and Luigi's travels are now taking them to the desert kingdom of Sarasaland, Daisy's place of birth. The question now arises: what dangers and surprises lurk as they cross the border into this strange, foreign nation? What will Bowser do this time that's different from what he tried to do earlier? Will he confront the brothers himself or sit on the sidelines and have someone else try and kill them? These and other questions will be answered in the following chapters, so don't go away:)

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