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Mario and Luigi climbed up the pyramid and found its entrance. As they entered, they were once again treated to a dark tunnel that ran downward to a central room. The light of the sun was shining directly inside the pyramid, which made it easier for the brothers to see. They reached the central room and were dismayed at what they saw. Looking around, there was nothing of interest spotted anywhere. The room was desolate.

"Well, this is just disappointing!" Mario said. "There's nothing inside this pyramid!"

"It almost looks as though it was cleaned out." Luigi said. "If that's the case, I wonder what used to be in here."

"We'll never know." Mario said. "I think we've reached a dead end."

Luigi kneeled to the ground and felt a tear come to his eye. He tried to hide it from his brother, but Mario somehow managed to get a glimpse of it before he had the chance to hide it.

"What's wrong, Luigi?" Mario asked.

"Nothing...I'm fine." Luigi said, trying to hide his inner sadness.

"Something's wrong, Luigi. Tell your brother what's wrong so he can make you fell better!" Mario said. "What is it that's bothering you so much?"

"I'm just really stressed out Mario!" Luigi sobbed. "I haven't been able to concentrate on the journey as well as I should. I just worry about the princesses and Pauline!"

"I'm worried too!" Mario said. "In fact, I'm just as worried as you right now. But we have to focus on finding the two remaining keys to get the second Crystal Star. We have to stop the very thing that killed our foster parents and tried tearing us apart when we were infants. We have to get our revenge on Bowser!"

"I just want all of this to be over!" Luigi cried. "I'm scared! I don't want to fear for my own life anymore!"

By this point, Mario was almost to tears himself. He knew it was because neither of them has received enough sleep, but also because he shared the same feelings as Luigi. Still, Mario fought back the tears as he tried to help his brother.

"Everything's going to be alright, Luigi." Mario said in a comforting big brother tone. "As long as we stick together, we should be fine."

Luigi started to calm down as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He stood back up and started making his way back outside. Mario followed.

"So where else are we going to look?" Luigi asked. "We've pretty much searched everywhere."

"We still haven't searched through the labyrinths that are located to the south." Mario said. "I think we should start looking there and see what we can find."

"That sounds like a good idea." Luigi said. "We should hurry before it gets any hotter outside."

The weather outside was already becoming unbearable as the brothers stepped back out in the bright sunshine and started making their way down the eastern pyramid. The rays were beaming down on them like light that had been focused through a magnifying lens. The golden tips of the pyramids only added to the trouble, for their reflected light was just bright as the sun itself so much as to roast the brothers from both directions. Luigi pulled out the canteen of water and took a nice quenching drink. He handed it to Mario, who finished the remaining half.

"It's too hot out here!" Luigi said, wiping the sweat that was dripping from his forehead. "I want to dive back into the water just to cool off."

"There should be an oasis over by where we're going." Mario said. "Hopefully we can find some more water over there."

"I think my skin is starting to burn again." Luigi said. "It hurts."

"We're both red." Mario said. "Look."

"I know." Luigi said. "My eyes are dried out too."

"Same here." Mario replied. "They're probably all red too."

Luigi didn't say anything, for he was too exhausted to say anything. His feet were blistered and roasting on the hot and sandy ground which seemed to radiate its own heat. The hot air was playing tricks on his eyes as the deceitful mirages tormented both Mario and Luigi's thirst.

"How much longer until we get there?" Luigi asked.

"We're almost there." Mario replied. "Do you see the palm trees up ahead?"

Luigi nodded.

"That's where we need to go." Mario said. "The entrance to the southern labyrinth is just below those small overlooking cliffs."

"Let's hurry and get under those shady palms!" Luigi said. "This heat is going to kill me!"

A minute passed before Mario and Luigi finally started climbing down the short wall of rocks to the oasis below. Beyond the palm trees was the river that they both swam in earlier, which continued further east into the middle of the desert beyond towering sand dunes. At the center of the thick collection of palm trees was a small pond with papyrus plants standing along its banks. Looking back towards the cliffs, the brothers saw a cave entrance that lead down into a labyrinth below. Luigi was surprised when Mario suddenly dashed behind a palm tree and hid himself among the plants.

"What's the rush?" Luigi asked. "Do you have to take a dump or something?"

"Yeah, I'll be with you in a minute!" Mario called out.

"What are you going to wipe with?" Luigi teased.

"Oh shit..."

Luigi started laughing hysterically at his brother as he struggled to find a solution to his hilarious dilemma... that is, until his own stomach suddenly began to churn. He suddenly had the rush to go too.

Looking around swiftly, Luigi quickly spotted and ran behind a tree, pulling off the straps of his overalls and stooping down before relieving himself. As he defecated in the sand, he immediately began to suspect that it was the sandwich he had yesterday, but he realized that the true culprit was dehydration. Still, he felt relieved, yet stuck at the same time as he looked for something, if anything, to wipe himself with. The smell of his own feces was starting to get to him as well.

"Maybe I shouldn't have laughed at you so soon." Luigi called out to Mario.

"Well, it's better to let it out than keep it in." Mario replied from behind the other tree. "Just use the plants around you to clean yourself. Be careful not to get it on your hands."

Luigi pulled a couple of plants from the ground and rolled them up into small pads before wiping himself with them. After he finished, he joined Mario over by the pond.

"Feel better?" Mario asked.

"Yeah." Luigi said.

"Me too." Mario replied. "Why don't we fill the canteen before we proceed into the cave?"

"Good idea." Luigi said, taking out the empty water container. After the container was full, Luigi closed the lid and started drinking from the pond with his hands. Mario did the same. After they hydrated themselves, the brothers walked over to the cave.

"Let's see what we can find here." Mario said as he led the way into the cool and dark downward-sloping tunnel. Once again, the brothers found themselves in uncharted territory.

Mario and Luigi are now about to search the southern underground labyrinth for the other two keys, mostly the southern key since the eastern pyramid had nothing inside. The heat of the day is starting to take its toll on Mario and Luigi as they struggle to keep themselves hydrated and alive.

I'm not exactly sure what was going through my mind when I decided to give the brothers diarrhea, but I thought that it would be hilarious! After all, what's a good adventure/suspense story without a little humor? (If this is not your type of humor, you can chew me out later! But, this will be the only time something like this will happen in the story, I promise).

I'll probably have the next chapter in very soon. I'll be introducing a new element of the story that will ultimately have a profound influence on everything else that goes on, but I'm not going to say what it is, so keep your eyes open! I shall see all of you again soon :)

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