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Blaring alarms echoed through Bowser's castle as Peach, Daisy, and Pauline ran through the halls trying to find a possible exit leading out of the underground basement complex. They gasped when the frantic footsteps of a few Koopa Troops coming from down another hall that branched out from where they were standing.
"Quick! Behind the corner!" Pauline whispered.
The three girls quickly hugged the wall to avoid being seen by the enemies. Luckily, they kept running down the hall and they went unnoticed.
"That was really close!" Peach said.
"Yeah, too close!" Daisy said. "I just wish Mario and Luigi were here..."
"Me too..." Peach said. "They'd blast their way in and help us get out of here."
"You should've seen them in Birachai." Pauline said. "They pretty much wiped through Bowser's troops like they were dust in the wind!"
"I believe it." Daisy said.
The three girls fearfully peeked around the corner and looked down the hall where the Koopas originated and saw a doorway with a stairway just beyond. No other Koopas were in sight.
"Is that the exit?" Peach asked.
"It looks like it." Pauline said. "But still, I have my doubts..."
"Doubts?" Daisy asked. "What do you mean?"
"There could more Koopas on their way down here!" Pauline said.
"Well, there's no point in standing here if we're going to get caught!" Daisy replied. "I say we need to take the risk!"
"Daisy's right." Peach said. "If we want to get out of here, we have to be quick and quiet. She may be a little bossy about it, but that's just the way she is."
"I'm not bossy!" Daisy said.
"Yes you are!" Peach said. "Don't make me bring up your little incident with Luigi! Don't tell me you weren't 'bossy' when that happened!"
"When what happened?" Pauline asked.
Peach's face turned red.
"Nothing. You don't want to know." she said.
Pauline glared at the two princesses as though she herself was a queen.
"If we're going to get out of here, we also have to get along too!" Pauline said.
"SHHHH!" Peach whispered. "Someone's coming!"
"Let's go!" Daisy whispered.
The three girls ran down the hall and reached the door leading to the stairway to the floor above them. It turned out to be spiraling staircases that lead to another doorway a few spirals up. By what they could tell, the princesses and Pauline were heading into another level of intersecting hallways.
"Damn! This place is complicated!" Pauline said. "It's no wonder that prisoners held captive by Bowser have such a hard time finding their way out!"
"No kidding!" Peach said. "How big is this place anyway?"
"Big enough!" Daisy replied. "It doesn't need to be any bigger!"
Suddenly, Peach tripped and gave herself a nasty bruise on her chin. Daisy and Pauline turned around.
"Are you alright, your highness?" Pauline asked.
"I think I'll be alright." Peach said as Daisy helped her up.
"Thanks, Daisy!" Peach said. "That really hurt!"
"You're welcome." Daisy said. "You never be too careful on stairs."
"Quick! This way!" Pauline said.
"NOT SO FAST!" said an unwelcome voice. The girls turned around and saw Kamek standing in the doorway accompanied by a small army of Koopas.
"You!" Pauline said angrily.
"Well, well, well. Looks like the three prisoners decided to make a run for it! I knew you girls wouldn't be able to make it that far!" Kamek said. "You three never stood a chance!"
As the Koopas grabbed hold of their hands, the girls glared at him with ever-growing fury."
"What's the matter? Are you girls going to cry?" Kamek teased harshly. "You know how Bowser feels about that. But just wait until he gets back from Sarasaland, he's really going to be pissed at you girls for trying to escape!"
"Well, good for him!" Daisy said sarcastically. "I couldn't give a rat's ass just to care about his pet peeves!"
Kamek responded with a rapid blast of magic which knocked Daisy into a deep sleep. Peach and Pauline gasped.
"Daisy!" Peach cried. She turned to Kamek angrily. "What the hell did you do to my cousin?!"
"It'll be a while before she wakes up!" Kamek said. "Don't even try waking her up, because she won't wake for another ten hours!"
"You monster!" Peach cried. "When my kingdom is restored, the Darklands will be history, so will you, Bowser, and every last living creature that looks up to him!"
"We'll see about that!" Kamek sneered. "TROOPS! Take them back to their prison and add another locking mechanism to their door! They must not escape!"
"YES, SIR!" the troops said in unison.
I have to do something fast! Pauline thought as her wrists were held together by a couple Koopas. Mario and Luigi need my help!
After only a few moments of thinking, Pauline suddenly acted out against the oppressive Koopa army, kicking the nearest two where it counted and punching Kamek in the face. Pauline started running for her life down the hall and as fast as she could.
"YOU ROTTEN BITCH!" Kamek shouted. "COME BACK HERE!"
"Run, Pauline! Run!" Peach shouted.
"SHUT UP!" Kamek said, knocking her out with rapid magic as well. Both Peach and Daisy were in a deep sleep in which they would not be awake for another ten hours. Kamek turned towards the Koopas. "Take these two back to the prison. I'll take care of the third on my own!"
Pauline fled down another branching hallway that took her to another exiting doorway. She ran up the stairs and down another small hallway which lead into a large foyer with two large staircases leading to more rooms upstairs. There were large double doors that lead outside and away from the castle. She knew right away that she had found the exit.
"Finally! Now I can get out of here!" she said.
Suddenly, Pauline was greeted by a bright aura of light, which quickly disappeared. She looked again and saw that it was replaced by Kamek, who was now completely outraged and ready to take her back into captivity.
"Hold it right there, missy!" Kamek shouted.
"You think I'm gonna listen to you?!" Pauline asked. "In your dreams!"
"Well, that's not a polite thing for a lady to say!" Kamek said.
"It's also not polite for a man to keep a lady captive against her own will," Pauline said, "especially if they're of royal decent! Now move along! I have places to go!"
Kamek responded by shooting magic at Pauline with his wand. Pauline managed to dodge it and maintain her footing. He tried shooting magic again, but he was not getting any luckier.
"Why won't you get hit?!" Kamek shouted at her in a frustrating tone.
"Because I have cat-like reflexes!" Pauline said. "Got a problem with that?!"
Kamek hoot a huge blast of magic at her, but Pauline still managed to avoid getting hit and hurt by it. Kamek was now flushed with pure hatred.
"You're making me weak!" he shouted.
"No, you're doing it to yourself!" Pauline shouted.
As Kamek started to make another move, Pauline suddenly kicked him in the head, sending him to the ground and causing him to drop his magic wand just out of his reach. Pauline picked it up and pointed it at Kamek.
"Looking for this?" she asked Kamek.
"Don't even think about waving that wand!" Kamek shouted. "You don't know what you're doing with it!"
"Of course I know what I'm doing with it!" Pauline replied. "I'm using it against you!"
"I'M WARNING YOU!" Kamek said. "DON'T WAVE THAT WAND AT ME!"
"One..." Pauline said.
"DON'T DO IT!" Kamek yelled.
"Two..."
"I MEAN IT!"
"Three!"
"YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR IGNORANCE!"
Pauline waved the wand at Kamek, sending a wave of magic towards the Koopa. Then in a flash of light, Kamek disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. Pauline breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she would not have to deal with him any longer, though she was confused as to where Kamek could have disappeared to and how she managed to use the right spell on him.
Oh well, at least he's out of the way! Pauline thought, remembering that the princesses were still in trouble. Now I need to get back to the princesses!
Pauline started making her way back, but started hearing Koopa footsteps coming from all around her. She decided against it and started making her way towards the front door. She was better off leaving the castle then dealing with an army of Koopas with a wand she does not know how to use, yet somehow she forced Kamek to disappear. The Mario Brothers needed her help, Pauline knew; she just needed to find them, wherever they may be.
Meanwhile, Kamek emerged into a different place and found himself buried in snow as he struggled to free himself from an upside-down position with his head pointing towards the ground. As soon as he could see again, he looked around and saw snow, pine trees, and mountains as far as the eye could see. The air was incredibly cold and the wind only made things worse. But the worst part was that Pauline had taken his wand and made him weaker than ever before.
"She used my long-distance teleportation spell!" Kamek said as struggled to keep himself warm. "Where the hell did she send me?!"
Kamek frantically searched for his communication device and found it in the right pocket of his magic robe, which was covered with snow. He sent a distress signal to Bowser and waited for him to respond...
WOW! The plot is starting to thicken again!
Pauline is now fleeing Bowser's castle after fighting her way past Koopa Troops and blasting Kamek to different region of the world under miraculous circumstances. However, she leaves behind Peach and Daisy who are now under a sleep spell that will keep them asleep for the next ten hours. Luckily, Pauline is determined to find the Mario Brothers and help them in their quest.
However, Pauline has to escape Bowser's Kingdom alive. To do that, she has to make it past every one of Bowser's heavily guarded checkpoints without getting noticed by the Koopa Army. Not only that, be she has to do it barefoot. Will Pauline hold up to the volcanic terrain and make it out of Bowser's Kingdom in one piece? More importantly, does she have what it takes to find the Mario Brothers and lead them to the princesses?
Now there are two adventures taking place at the same time! I will be busy preparing the next chapter, so keep you eyes open for it! Until then, I'll see you guys later! :)
saturn95