HEY how's it going everyone? Hope you're all having a good week! ^.^ Last chapter Birdo mopped the floor with Shy Away, Valentina and Dodo! XD And obtained her Star thus leaving the Group with ONE more Star to find! :D This last Star seemingly being located…Of ALL places…Bowser's Castle! What will the Group find? CHAPTER 43 COMMENCE!
"WHAT! WHY WOULD THEY SEND YOU TO THAT STAR FORSAKEN CASTLE!
IT'S BEEN ABANDONED FOR 20 YEARS!
I HOPED WE'D BE ABLE TO FORGET THAT DREADFUL PLACE!"
Toadsworth was in a frantic state, several Toad guards trying desperately to calm the elderly Toad down. The group of 6 had just arrived back at the Castle not even an hour ago and had relayed the information that the last Star they had to collect was at Bowser's old castle.
"It'll be fine Toadsworth, we'll all be together." Peach assured her steward with a smile. Toadsworth turned to her, he still seemed stressed. "We've managed to conquer all of the other sites with no problem, this time will be no different." Peach finished with a nod. For a moment Toadsworth was silent, he stared at Peach for a moment before turning to look at the remaining 5 adults. All 5 of them smiled at the elderly Toad, a small smile spread across Toadsworth's face.
"I'm not doubting how capable you all are, but I must stress on being careful….All 6 of you are very important to our Kingdom…" Toadsworth stopped for a brief moment before giving a glance at Yoshi, Birdo, Luigi and Daisy. "As well as your own homelands…" Mario and Peach smiled, while Yoshi, Birdo, Luigi and Daisy gave appreciative smiles and nods.
"We'll be back Toadsworth." Mario replied nodding.
"You can count on it!" Daisy laughed, the remaining 5 laughed as well.
"We'll be back before you know it!" Yoshi spoke confidently, turning to Birdo who nodded. Toadsworth gave the group of 6 a single nod.
"I'm holding all of you to that promise." He spoke, turning to each of them, all 6 of them nodded. Without another word the group turned and headed out the Throne room. As they walked through the Castle, numerous Toad Guards wished them luck. Finally the group made it to the gates, they were surprised to see Toad and Toadette waiting for them.
"We wanted to wish all of you luck!" Toadette gasped, she seemed a bit emotional. Toad also seemed a bit uneasy.
"You've trounced that Castle a thousand times before, we know you all can do it!" Toad spoke nodding.
"Thank You Toad, Toadette." Mario thanked, the remaining group thanked them as well. Both Toads smiled at the group.
"We were about to come looking for you but the guards said that you were already on your way here." Toadette spoke up, turning to Toad.
"We have some visitors who wanted to speak with you before you left…." Toad replied, giving the group a smile. Everyone looked confused, suddenly the Toad guards standing at the gate moved aside and all 6 parents jumped as a familiar figure ran and stopped in front of them.
"Dash!" Yoshi and Birdo were the first to gasp in surprise. Dash smiled.
"US TOO! WAIT FOR US DASH!"
A familiar hyper voice chirped. All 6 parents laughed as a familiar Paratroopa flew in tugging at her older brother's arm.
"Its so good to see that you've all recovered!" Birdo laughed, her eyes seemed to be tearing slightly. Dash, Koop and Parry gave Birdo appreciative smiles.
"We wanted to see you before you headed out." Dash spoke, his voice seemed both happy, yet it held a hint of sadness.
"And to wish you lots of luck!" Parry giggled, still holding her brother's hand as she jumped up and down.
"We know you'll trump that place." Koop spoke softly, he seemed a bit overwhelmed. As Koop finished his words, the sound of several more pairs of footsteps caught the attention of the group.
"Mommy and Daddy want to wish you luck too!" Parry chirped, turning her head, as not only Karrie and Phoenix came walking towards them, but Surge and Lilli as well. After smiling brightly at the 6 adults Dash, Koop and Parry went to join their parents. Surge, Lilli, Phoenix and Karrie stopped in front of the group.
"We never got to thank you properly for what you did for our son, your majesties." Surge spoke, nodding his head respectfully, he also gave a nod to Yoshi and Birdo as well.
"Our son and daughter too." Phoenix spoke up, his voice a bit quiet, as he glanced at both Koop and Parry.
"We can't thank you enough for everything you've done." Lilli whispered, as she put her arm around Dash. Dash smiled, however his face turned a slight tint of red.
"We had to come and express our eternal gratitude." Karrie whispered, she looked down at her two children, before looking back at the group. "Thank you so very much, your majesties!" She finished, she gave a nod at Yoshi and Birdo as well, before she and Phoenix bowed their heads in respect. Surge and Lilli did the same.
"We're grateful that you all came!" Peach chirped smiling at the 4 adults before smiling at the 3 children.
"Good luck on your quest your majesties!" Lilli whispered, as she, her husband, Phoenix and Karrie bowed their heads again.
"Thank you, all of you!" Yoshi gasped, Birdo felt her eyes tear up again. Both groups of parents smiled at each other, with one final nod, the group of 4 parents turned. Dash, Koop and Parry remained in their spots. Nothing was said, the 3 teens simply smiled, their eyes seemed a bit teary. Dash particularly glanced at Yoshi and Birdo, both of them knowing what he meant. Yoshi gave him a nod, Dash's smile grew. Finally he, Koop and Parry started to walk after their parents, their heads still turned towards the group. After one final smile, the 3 turned their heads and disappeared behind the guards. The 6 parents smiled at one another, as suddenly a warp pipe appeared out of the ground. Mario looked amongst the group.
"Is everybody ready?" He asked, smiling at each of his friends.
"Ready!" They all answered in unison. One by one they all jumped into the pipe, the pipe that would lead them to the Star of their last group member.
Yoshi and Birdo were the last to exit the pipe, immediately Yoshi felt chills run down his spine, while Birdo instantly grabbed onto Yoshi. The two shivered as they along with their group stared at the all too familiar castle that loomed in front of them.
"No matter how many times we come here…..It never gets any less creepy…" Luigi stuttered shivering as well. Mario, Peach and Daisy didn't say anything as they simply stared at the entrance.
"Let's-a-go everyone." Mario spoke firmly as he was the first to head towards the doors. Peach followed closely next to her husband, while Daisy and Luigi followed behind. Only Yoshi and Birdo stayed in their spots.
"Never thought….We'd ever have to see this place again…."
A mixture of fear, yet determination plagued Yoshi's thoughts. 20 years of peace, 20 years of happiness, only for it to lead back to here. Birdo despite not having been to Bowser's Castle, quite as often as Yoshi still felt an overwhelming intimidation. She clung onto her husband even tighter. Even though the castle was vacant, it didn't erase all the unpleasant memories that it was responsible for. However, both parents reminded themselves as to why they had come here. Yoshi let out a labored sigh and with that sigh forced his legs to move, Birdo forcing herself to move as well. As the two crossed the bridge, Birdo glanced over the edge to see the pool of lava, causing her to unintentionally cling onto her husband's arm. Finally the entire group of 6 stood in front of the doors.
"Here we go…"
Yoshi felt his wife grab his hand, as Mario pushed the doors open. Everyone tensed up as the doors opened, only for them all to relax as they saw that the room was completely empty. It certainly looked as if it had been abandoned all twenty of those years.
"Th-that wasn't so hard was it?" Luigi laughed nervously, the group continued to stand in the doorway. The remaining group of 5 couldn't help but let out nervous chuckles, both out of relief, but also at Luigi's attempt to hide that he too had been afraid when Mario had gone to open the door.
"Sure wasn't Sweetie!" Daisy laughed elbowing her husband in the shoulder. "But now let's actually get through the door!" A swift chill spread through the group as Mario and Daisy were the first to step through the door, Peach, Birdo, then finally Luigi and Yoshi following.
"Where do you think we should begin searching Mario?" Yoshi's voice echoed as the group looked around the large empty room. Everyone tensed up again as the echoing made them a bit uneasy.
"I really don't have any idea to be honest with you Buddy…." Mario chuckled slightly embarrassed as he scanned their surroundings. The castle itself was huge, they had been lucky to have found Peach's Star so quickly despite their Castle's size, however this could end up being the exact opposite in this situation, especially with all the possible traps that could still be intact. "We'll just stay together and look around…." Mario spoke slowly. Everyone nodded, Luigi and Daisy went to take a step forward, however Mario quickly stuck his arm out to stop them. "And KEEP an eye out for traps…This castle may be abandoned, but that doesn't mean all those traps just magically disappeared." Mario warned, glancing at each of his friends. Everyone nodded again, although they had all become tense. Without another word the group started their search within their enemy's old castle.
For the longest time nothing was said, everyone was either too focused on looking for clues that may direct them to the Star, or scanning the area tensely for possible traps.
"For a place that's suppose to be abandoned they sure left a lot of stuff here…." Mario's voice echoed, ending the silence and causing everyone to jump a bit. Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, both Luigi and Yoshi had noticed this anomaly long before they had started their search. Neither of them had voiced their thoughts because they had both assumed that the anomaly only pertained to the entryway of the castle. At this point however as they had explored the castle further and further it was always the same.
"It doesn't even look like they took anything with them at all…"
Unbeknownst to the other, the exact same thought ran through both Yoshi and Luigi's minds. Why would Bowser and his troops leave everything here? It didn't make any sense. Silence plagued the group again before something caught Mario, Luigi and Yoshi's eye.
"Now that definitely wasn't here the last time…." Mario spoke, as up ahead a long line of Bowser statues ran down the large room, however those weren't the anomaly Mario had been speaking of, a statue double the size of the others sat in the center. Just staring at it made Yoshi, Luigi and even Birdo shiver, at its menacing stare.
"That thing is creepy…" Luigi gasped shivering again. The group gathered in a circle.
"Are you sure that wasn't there before Mario?" Daisy asked. "It has been quite a while since you or anyone has been here…"
"I'm positive!" Mario responded nodding. "Those small statues used to shoot lasers, eventually they ran out of power due to be overused….That larger statue was never there…"
"VERY good Mario!"
All 6 of the group felt their hearts stop, their bodies tensed up as a voice not from their group laughed from behind them. Turning not by choice but from instinct all 6 friends turned around. All of them letting out gasps of shock and fear.
"So you all FINALLY got here BWA HA HA HA!"
Yoshi let out a squeak, his eyes shrank in terror. Birdo clung onto her husband, her eyes matching his. Luigi like Yoshi let out a squeak, but also began to tremble. Daisy tried to hide her fear by glaring furiously. Peach made no attempt to hide her fear, she covered her mouth, her body trembling uncontrollably. Out of habit Mario immediately placed himself in front of his wife, glaring at the ferocious monster that grinned maliciously at them.
"B…B-Bowser…."
Yoshi didn't dare speak his name out loud, even if he could muster up the courage for just this moment, his voice didn't seem to be working at the moment. Only weak squeaks escaped his throat, he felt his wife cling onto him even tighter. Luckily or unluckily for him Mario took care of that issue for him.
"BOWSER!"
Mario snarled angrily as he took an aggressive step towards his greatest enemy. At the sound of the name Yoshi felt his body involuntarily flinch. Almost instantly a loud laugh erupted into the room.
"AFRAID to hear my name Yoshi?!"
Yoshi quickly looked up, his body twitched a bit as his eyes locked with Bowser's.
"Is the pathetic Gween DONKEY afraid of a simple word?!" Bowser cackled pointing at Yoshi's face. Mario looked beyond angry and opened his mouth, probably to yell at Bowser, however a huge rush of courage took over Yoshi.
"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER BOWSER!"
Yoshi roared, no amount of fear present in his voice. There was silence for only a mere few seconds before Bowser chuckled at Yoshi's attempt to intimidate him.
"Oh I've been taking VERY good care of her!" Bowser sneered at Yoshi, a whimper escaped Birdo's throat. If there was anything that could have increased her anxiety of her daughter's well-being….That statement was exactly it. Before Yoshi could even respond, Bowser cut him off. "But I'm not here to talk to you OR about your spawn….." Yoshi clenched his teeth furiously at Bowser's words about his daughter, but it went unnoticed as a grin spread across Bowser's face as he turned his attention to Mario. "You may have thought that you had gotten rid of me once and for all Mario….
"But you thought wrong!"
YES! Surprise appearances by Dash, Koop and Parry! ^.^ (We EVEN get to see their parents! *Technically we heard from Dash's Mother Lilli earlier in the story but that was only a brief moment* This time we got to hear from both Dash's parents *Surge and Lilli* While also getting to "see" Koop and Parry's parents *Phoenix and Karrie ^.^ * ) Originally I didn't intend on having this surprise appearance by Dash and the others…But yeah they've been neglected for most of the story and I felt they needed to make another appearance, plus we didn't really hear what became of them *Dash, Koop and Parry at least* after recovering from their comas. Obviously all 3 of them are doing fine! ^.^ (Just anxious to see their friends back home safely).
DANG things are getting aggressive here! Looks like Bowser still has a bone to pick with Mario (and Yoshi it seems). What does Bowser have planned for Mario and the others? See you all next Chapter!
Mario related Material Property of Nintendo
Story and FC Characters (meaning Shelly, Dash, Ilario, Angela, Azalea, Koop, Parry, Surge, Lilli, Karrie and Phoenix) Property of MCGoldYoshi (aka ME! ^.^ )