22
Bowser watched as a second airship touched down onto the desert plain just over half a mile away. The sky was getting slightly brighter as the light of the morning sun started to break the darkness. Now that the brothers were out of the way for the time being, he could back to finding the other Crystal Stars. There was still one problem: the brothers were still in possession of the Diamond Star.
"Those damned brothers!" Bowser said to himself as he watched the second airship come to a halt. "They may have gotten this far, but I'm certain that this will be as far as they'll ever go!"
As Bowser continued walking back over to the 'base', he was quick to notice three Koopas running towards him. They began yelling out his name.
"Bowser! Bowser!" one of them shouted as all three approached him tiredly. "There's no sign of the brothers anywhere inside any of the pyramids!"
"Wanna know why?" Bowser asked. "That's because they're trapped inside the western temple with no way out!"
"Wait...you trapped them inside the temple?!" another Koopa said. "They have the Diamond Star!"
"I realize that!" Bowser said. "That's why we wait until they die inside the temple to retrieve it."
"Ah I see."
"Have any of you heard from Kamek since he took in that strange woman?" Bowser asked.
"Only once." said the third Koopa. "However, he did seem rather upset when he had to leave. He wanted to help you capture the Mario Brothers."
"Yeah, I know." Bowser said. "But I didn't want to risk having that woman help the Mario Brothers get their way! She had to be captured!"
"We understand sir." said the first Koopa. "But aren't you going to do something more about the Mario Brothers? What if they manage to escape somehow?"
"They can't escape!" Bowser said. "The temple has virtually no other tunnels that lead outside other than the entrance. There's no way the brothers can get out, especially with all of the heavy boulders that are blocking the entrance right now."
"Are you sure?" asked the second Koopa.
"I'M PRETTY DAMNED SURE THAT THEY AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE SOON!" Bowser yelled. "No more questions! My brain is killing me right now! Come on, let's head back to the camp."
Bowser and the three Koopas walked the remaining half mile and entered the campsite where a whole new wave of Koopa reinforcements was waiting for Bowser's commands. Most of the reinforcements were red-shelled Koopas, but there were also a few green-shelled Koopas in the mix. They all saluted to Bowser as he approached them with his usual mean glare.
"Good morning, troops!" Bowser said. "Let me start with our current situation. The Mario Brothers have been temporarily trapped inside the large temple west of these three large pyramids. They still have the Diamond Star with them, which of course is something that we need to carry out our evil operation in less than two weeks."
"What do you suggest we do to retrieve it?" one of the red-shelled Koopas asked.
"I'm getting there!" Bowser said. "However, there is another issue that we need to talk about while you guys are still here. The Ruby Star is still buried somewhere below this pyramid complex. So far, no one has had any success finding it. The only clue that we have are four large keyholes inside the large pyramid that seem to open a hidden door somewhere in the central chamber, which I believe houses another room that contains the star."
"Where are you getting all this information?" one of the Koopas asked.
"I found out from various sources, chiefly from the documents that I recently managed to steal from Rogueport from a professor at the University of Goom. Do you remember?"
"Now I remember!" the Koopa replied.
"Good, because what I want half you guys to do is find me those four keys." Bowser said. "They're all scattered throughout this complex, so look everywhere! The rest of you will help me dig up the wreckage at the front entrance of the temple and help steal the Diamond Star from the Mario Brothers! We need that star! Am I right?!"
"YES SIR!" the army shouted.
"Good! Let's get to work!" Bowser shouted back.
After he divided the army into two groups, Bowser and his group of men started heading towards the temple in the west. The stars of the night were beginning to disappear as the sky became brighter along the eastern horizon, which displayed brilliant shades of bright pink and orange through dust that was situated high in the atmosphere. The tips of the pyramids were also starting to catch and reflect the primitive light. Small clouds of dust were also developing as light winds started kicking up much of the loose sand that covered the ground.
"It's going to be another hot one here in Sarasaland today!" Bowser said.
"We know." said one of the Koopas. "I checked the readings from our geostationary satellite above Sarasaland and the meteorologists both at our Castle and here in Sarasaland are predicting that today will be the hottest day on record, especially for this time of year."
"Really?" Bowser said. "How hot did they say it will get?"
"It's supposed to get over one hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit..." the Koopa replied. "I hope we stay cool when the heat wave comes."
"Me too!" Bowser said. "I never thought it was going to be that hot! DAMN! I FORGOT MY SUNSCREEN!"
Just then, Bowser received a call on his radio device. He pressed the button to speak.
"This is Bowser speaking!" he said.
"Bowser! This is Kamek! I have an urgent message for you!" Kamek said at the other end of the line in a panicked voice. "You're not going to like it!"
"WHAT IS IT?!" Bowser yelled. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED THIS TIME?!"
"It's that woman that helped the Mario Brothers out of Birachai!" Kamek said. "She picked the lock of the cage and so she and the princesses have escaped!"
"THEY WHAT?!" Bowser said, becoming more flustered than ever before. "HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?! WHERE WERE THE OTHER GUARDS WHEN THIS HAPPENED?!"
"They were asleep, sir!" Kamek replied.
"WAKE THEM UP DAMN IT!" Bowser shouted. "PUT THE WHOLE CASTLE ON ALERT! YOU CAN'T LET THEM ESCAPE! THEY ARE A VALUABLE ASSET TO OUR PLOT! GO FIND THEM! FIND THEM NOW!"
Bowser paused for a moment before continuing his rant.
"AND LOCK THAT OTHER WOMAN UP VERY GOOD IN A DIFFERENT SPOT! I DON'T WANT HER ESCAPING AGAIN EITHER! YOU DON'T WANT ME GOING BACK THERE TO PUNISH YOU WITH MY FIERY BREATH IF THAT HAPPENS!"
"Yes, sir." Kamek replied.
SOMEONE IS REALLY GOING TO GET IT THIS TIME! he thought. I'M FUCKING SICK OF ALL THESE NEGATIVE DISTRACTIONS!
Bowser turned the radio off furiously as he and half of the newly arrive Koopa squad approached the temple. He could not wait to get his hands on the Diamond Star and finally finish off the Mario Brothers. But at the same time, he could not help but think that Mario and Luigi were somehow one step ahead of him...
Bowser has just learned that the princesses and Pauline have managed to escape from their imprisonment (obviously not the best news to hear, especially when trying to confront another issue!). Despite this, he continues with the Koopa squad to the temple to find the trapped brothers and steal the Diamond Star from them, even though he said he would wait until they die from starvation (most likely because of the limited time frame). Still, Bowser is stressed from the recent turn of events, and the coming heatwave isn't going to make things much easier.
In the next chapter, we will get back to the Mario Brothers as they continue traversing the underground tunnels beneath the temple. They may be in for another interesting surprise... stay tuned!
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