21
Back in Bowser's Castle, Peach and Daisy were sound asleep when Kamek entered the stony room. Enraged for not being able to assist Bowser in capturing in the Mario Brothers, he now had to deal with the uncooperative princesses on his own. Not only that, but he also had to deal with another feisty prisoner, which he was carrying in a bag on his broomstick. She was captured right as Bowser neared the Sarasalandian pyramids and was ordered by Bowser to use his long-distance teleportation spell to return her back to the castle, even though Kamek could only use the spell on average once every three days. The reason being was that it required a lot of energy to use and it weakened him to the point of almost having no magic at all. Therefore, he was unable to easily help Bowser locate the Mario Brothers, despite his amazing magic abilities.
"Anyone who helps the Mario Brothers escape from their fate is punished by imprisonment!" Kamek shouted to the new prisoner, who was trying to wrestle her way out of the large body bag.
"LET ME GO YOU FUCKING JERK!" the woman shouted.
"I don't think that will be necessary!" Kamek replied.
Peach was suddenly awake when she heard the commotion happen, but she made it look as though she were still asleep. She heard the cage door open and felt a hard thump on the bottom of the cage where the new prisoner was laying face down. The door closed and Kamek's evil laughter was heard echoing through the large room.
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" said the woman. But Kamek just ignored her and left the room. Peach opened her eyes and sat up to see the new prisoner. She had dark brown hair, pale skin, and was wearing a red dress. The woman turned and saw Peach wake up and was frightened.
"There, there. Take it easy!" Peach said. "We know how you feel."
The woman studied Peach for just a moment and quickly recognized who she was.
"A...are you Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom?" she asked in a shaky tone.
"Yes." Peach said. "How did you know?"
"I recognize you from the media and from Mario's description." said the woman. "I also recognize Princess Daisy behind you."
"Wait a second..." Peach asked. "You know a man by the name of Mario?! Say, you don't happen to be referring to the Mario who has a brother named Luigi and are both trying to the save the world are you?"
"Yes I am actually." said the woman. "I'm the one who helped him and Luigi escape from Bowser's invasion in Birachai just a few hours ago."
"You helped them escape?!" Peach asked. "YOU'RE AMAZING! Might I ask what your name is?"
"Yes." said the woman. "My name is Pauline."
"Nice to meet you." Peach said, shaking her hand. "I think I've see you before. Didn't we used to attend the same school in Toad Town at one point?"
"I don't recall." Pauline said. "As far as I remember, there weren't any other girls that had your name."
"I was actually under a different name at the time, but only when I was in school." Peach said. "Do you remember a girl by the name of Penelope?"
"Now that I think about it she did look a lot like...Wait...you were Penelope?" Pauline asked.
"Yes, indeed." Peach said. "Do you also remember Delia? That was Daisy!"
"You're kidding!" Pauline said.
"I'm not kidding." Peach replied.
Suddenly, Daisy started to wake up from her sleep.
"Peach? What's going on?" she asked. Then she saw Pauline.
"Daisy, do you remember Pauline from school a few years ago?" Peach asked.
"Pauline?" Daisy asked. "How on Earth did you end up here?!"
"She was captured after she helped Mario and Luigi escape from Bowser's invasion of Birachai in Sarasaland just a few hours ago!" Peach said.
"You saved Mario and Luigi?!" Daisy asked in disbelief. "I don't know what to say! All I can say is thank heavens they're still alive!"
"I'm happy too." Pauline said. "After all, Mario saved me twice in the past. First from a giant crazed ape who likes to throw barrels and then just yesterday he and Luigi saved me from a burning train wreck!"
"We saw that on Bowser's television monitor." Daisy said. "He was really pissed when he found out that Mario and Luigi were still alive and decided to attack Birachai!"
"Good." Pauline replied. "That rotten satanic figure deserves it!"
The three girls laughed.
"So, where in the world are we?" Pauline asked.
"We're inside Bowser's Castle in the Darklands." Peach said.
"What?!" Pauline said. "It seems as though I was in Sarasaland not too long ago!"
"It's Kamek's magic." Daisy said.
"Kamek? Is he the strange-looking Koopa that was riding the broomstick and had me thrown in this cage?" Pauline asked.
"Yep." Daisy said. "He's Bowser's assistant."
"I would've guessed."
The three girls sat in silence for a few moments. Then, Pauline started looking around the cage.
"How are we going to get out of here?" Pauline asked.
"There's no way we can escape!" Peach said. "Bowser has the cage locked up pretty good."
"Let me take a look at the lock." Pauline said. "I have an idea."
Pauline stood up and went over to the locked door and examined the lock for a few moments. Then, she shook her head.
"Well, I guess Bowser does have this gate locked pretty well." Pauline said. "But not that good!"
"What are you talking about?" Daisy asked.
Pauline said nothing as she pulled from her pocket what looked like a tiny hair pin. Peach and Daisy watched anxiously as she inserted the hair pin into the keyhole to pick it. Suddenly, there was a loud CLICK!
"What did you do?" Peach asked.
Pauline answered her question by opening the cage door. Peach and Daisy's jaws dropped.
"How did you do that?!" Daisy asked.
"I'll tell you later." Pauline asked. "Come on, let's get out of here and see if we can find a way out! I'm not guaranteeing that we'll make it out, but it's worth a shot."
"What about Mario and Luigi?" Peach asked. "They still think we're trapped!"
"If we do get out of here, we'll find a way to reach them." Pauline asked. "They're still in Sarasaland right now searching for one of the Crystal Stars. I'm sure you two already know about Bowser's evil intentions, right?"
"It's hard to not know about it." Daisy said. "Especially after being trapped here for four days!"
"I see." Pauline replied. "Come on, let's get out of here."
Slowly and quietly, the three girls climbed out of the cage and made their way to floor and started running softly towards the door leading out of the room. Their hearts started racing out of control as they started walking across a bridge dangling over a river of lava. They could not help but fear for their lives as the thought of trying to escape from the grasp of an evil dictator infested their minds.
"I'm so scared!" Peach said.
"Me too, Peach." Daisy said.
"Don't worry; we're almost to the other side." Pauline said to them as she lead the way.
After the girls made it to the other side and through another doorway, they reached another hallway with many doors leading to many different areas of the underground complex. They were clearly lost and had no idea where they going. With no Koopas roaming the hall, there was constant anticipatory tension, making Peach, Daisy, and Pauline absolutely terrified at the thought of what could happen next.
Whoa! Looks like Pauline is much smarter than she looks! After reuniting with 'Penelope' and 'Delia' (Peach and Daisy), they all managed to escape from their cage with the help of Pauline's hair pin (apparently, she has too much time on her hands for her to know how to escape from a locked room!). Now, they are confronted with an even bigger challenge: finding the exit! Sounds simple, right?
How long can the three girls go without being noticed by any Koopa Troops? Will they be able to make it out, or will they find themselves imprisoned again?
By the way, in case I haven't mentioned this already (unless you already picked up on it), the lava bridge is a classic reference to the boss battles from the original Super Mario Bros. game where Mario breaks down the bridge with an ax to defeat each boss battle with Bowser at the end of each of the eight world.
Anyway, I will see you again when I update! Things are starting to get a little bit more interesting :)
saturn95