So sorry for the long wait! Been too busy with collage work...

Anyways, enjoy! ;)


Chapter 6: The Pump Works and Flame Pipe

The new opened area was called the Pump Works, located somewhere in Bowser's esophagus. It shows a blue background, possibly showing the bones from the cervical vertebrae, and the ground is deep pink, which could be the esophagus' muscles. As soon as the group went in, water began to fill the entire area.

"Whoa! What the-?!" Mario didn't see that coming.

In an instant, the whole area was flooded. Thankfully, they could all breathe underwater. The flooding of this area also caused a Thwomp-like bone to float up, opening the passage up ahead.

"Look! Over there!" Starlow pointed. "The wall that blocked the way! The water made it float up! Let's swim over and look!"

The trio nodded and swam up. Back outside, Bowser started to get full from drinking too much water and stepped back from the statue.

"Bloooooooorg… I feel all…sloshy." He gagged. "I think I drank too much…"

At the same time, once the group swam past the Bone Thwomp, all of the water began to drain out. This caused the Bone Thwomp to fall back down.

"…Oh, I get it. When Bowser drinks, the water flows down into his belly. But when he stops, the water level drops back down." Starlow concluded.

"Hmm… Do you think Peach or another of our friends might be up ahead?" Mario asked.

"…You may be right, mate. Let's press on and keep our eyes peeled." Donkey Kong replied.

"Of course, to do that, we're going to need Bowser's cooperation." Luigi pointed out. "HEY!" he called for Bowser.

"What?" Bowser responded.

"Can you, uh… drink some more water for us?"

"What? No! Why?"

"Uh… Um…"

"Your body's in rough shape. There's like…filth and crust! Water might wash it out?" Starlow interfered.

"What? Filth? CRUST?!" Bowser's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah!"

"And you all… You think you can fix me up in there?"

"Of course!"

"You can get my flame back?!"

"Not what we had in mind, but definitely!"

"YOU CAN MAKE ME BETTER THAN MARIO?!"

"SAY WHAT?!" Mario yelled in shock and anger.

"Oh… I take that back… Hmph." Bowser muttered at the last sentence.

"If I hear something like this from you again, I swear…" Mario muttered back, shaking his fist angrily.

"Okay! Fine! I won't anymore!" Bowser shouted. "Stupid Mario…" he thought before saying: "Anyway, since you'll help me get my fire back… It's a deal! If you're for real, I'll drink as much as you want!" he stepped forward to the statue and drank more water.

As expected, the whole Pump Works flooded again.

"Phew… THAT was close…" Luigi sighed in relief.

"No kidding…" Mario rolled his eyes, still mad about what Bowser said earlier.

"Don't be mad like that. Bowser's still not used to working together with us. Let's just hope he gets used to it sooner." Starlow hoped.

"Yeah. For now on, we should move." Donkey Kong said.


A few minutes later…

After a long time hitting floating blocks, encountering enemies like Dried Bloopers/Bubble Bloopers, and Protobatters, which could reference proteins, with Chombones as obstacles, the heroes dropped down to a ledge once Bowser stopped drinking water, where they spotted two familiar faces up ahead.

"Hey! It's Toadsworth and Toadbert!" Mario exclaimed as they rushed to them. However, the two were trapped behind a barrier.

"Oh! Masters Mario, Luigi and DK! You're hale and hearty!" Toadsworth exclaimed.

"You're actually here, by boogity!" Toadbert said.

"So you were inhaled too?" Donkey Kong asked.

"Yeah, Bowser inhaled us too. With almost the whole castle." Toadbert told.

"Golly…" Luigi's eyes widened. "So he definitely wasn't feeling well back then."

"Totally. I'm happy we met up, but not happy we're here, of course."

"After that great lout inhaled us, we awoke a bit addlepated." Toadsworth explained. "We walked hither and thither, and now we've become quite stuck!"

"We can see that." Mario said while inspecting the strange barrier.

"Hey! Where's Princess Peach and the others? Aren't they with you?" Starlow asked.

"WHAT?! The princess?! Don't tell me she was inhaled as well!" Toadsworth shouted in complete shock.

"Actually, it would make sense that she would've been inhaled too…" Toadbert threw in.

"Yes… Bowser got everyone. Ugh, we're in a real fix." Starlow groaned.

"Horrors… The princess… It rends the heart!" Toadsworth spoke while crying. "All alone within Bowser's body… On her own amid such filth… DEAR PRINCESS!"

"Whoa! Toadsworth, calm down, by boogity!" Toadbert placed a hand on Toadsworth's shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be fine. After all, she gets captured all the time and has to take care of herself alone until Mario comes to her…"

"Well, anyways, we better get Toadsworth and Toadbert out of there." Mario stated.

"Yeah, but the thing is, this barrier looks tough. I doubt even a hammer or Donkey Kong's punch would dent it…" Starlow told.

"Guys! Over here!" Luigi called out from the left side. "I can see something through this gap!" he directs to a very tight and narrow gap on the ground.

"Looks like the gap's too narrow for your body size. You'll never get through…" Starlow said.

"Not if I do this!" Luigi took out his hammer and whacked it at Mario, shrinking him down enough to fit into the gap, leaving Starlow astonished.

"Oh yeah! I remember seeing this in a movie!" Donkey Kong exclaimed.

"You mean the movie of our adventure at the Beanbean Kingdom? Awesome!" Luigi exclaimed in joy.

With Mini Mario, he took out his hammer and hit the Nubbin at the end. Eventually, the barrier disappears, allowing Toadsworth and Toadbert to walk out free.

"Huzzah! Sweet freedom! Masters! My deepest thanks!" Toadsworth thanked. "I daresay Master Mario and co. will now seek the princess, Master Yoshi and Master Wario, hm?"

"That's right!" the group nodded.

"Marvelous. Simply marvelous! Everyone, especially the princess, must be made safe at all costs!"

"Speaking of which… We should tell you, as we made our way here, we spotted a huge, flat bug by some sort of door." Toadbert told them.

"It was wretched, to be sure! I shudder to think of it, but if it attacked the princess…"

"No! It didn't! I swear to you, Toadsworth! As we were still wandering, I took a look back and noticed that it was going after one of Mario's friends!"

"Wait, one of our friends is here?! Where?!" Donkey Kong asked in desperation.

"As I said, it was next to a door located at the very end of this area, if I'm not mistaken." Toadbert answered.

"Righto! With that large, foul bug in the sure hands of Masters Mario, Luigi and DK, we shall be off!" Toadsworth said. "I believe it would behoove us all if I were to find the other Toads and glean what I can."

"Good luck out there!" Toadbert waved as he and Toadsworth left, heading back to Toad Square.

"Well, we should head off and search for a door somewhere!" Donkey Kong spoke.

They moved on. After dealing with more obstacles and enemies on the way, they eventually found something called a Stingler, which is a sparking object that could be used somewhere. How about the door?

Speaking of which, the heroes found the door, which oddly enough, has DNA around it with a hole in the middle. Thinking the Stingler might fit perfectly; the group inserts it into the hole. Eventually, the Stingler electrifies the DNA, causing it to glow and the door opens. The group heads inside.


They immediately found themselves filled with many areas to choose from right in front of their eyes. Since they promised Bowser that they'll bring back his fire, they went to the area on the right.

The area they went was called the Flame Pipe, most likely located somewhere in Bowser's lungs. The background shows what might be the pulmonary alveolus and their capillaries. The ground is mostly composed of the lung's tissue and we could even see the cells.

They began to follow the pipe's trail so that they could see what its problem was this entire time. Once they reached the end, they could see some sort of bug that was standing over the pipe. To their amusement, some flames came out of the pipe, lifting the bug up, but it slammed back on it.

"Wait, is that bug blocking Bowser's flame pipe?" Mario asked.

"…Of course! No wonder he can't spit fire!" Donkey Kong confirmed.

"What's this kind of bug, anyway?" Luigi wondered as he approaches the bug. It was then that the bug stuck its long tongue out, frightening Luigi. "CRIPES! Its tongue is as long as Yoshi's!" he flinched before backing off.

"Oh boy. I've seen these bugs. They live in Dimble Wood. I believe they're called Scutlets." Starlow said. "Bowser must have inhaled it with whatever else he ate. But to have gotten this big… What's it been eating?"

All of a sudden, the Scutlet stuck its tongue out again, and latched it at Starlow!

"EEEYERP!" Starlow screamed as she was eaten.

"STARLOW!" Mario and Donkey Kong shouted. They were about to fight the Scutlet, until they realized that Luigi had ran away.

"Hey, Luigi! Stop monkeying over there! Let's take down that Scutlet!" Mario called out.

"NO! THAT TONGUE IS FREAKING ME OUT!" Luigi cried out.

"Oh, brother…" Mario rolled his eyes. He goes in front of Luigi, brought out his hammer and hits the ground to catch his attention, but that caused him to flinch in startle:

"GAH! OKAY, I'M GOING!"

Luigi ran towards the Scutlet, who was still sticking its tongue out. However, he ran too far ahead and he ended up getting licked…on his crotch.

"H-Hey! That t-tickles!" Luigi stuttered before stepping back and shielding his crotch while blushing in embarrassment. Unknown to him, Mario and Donkey Kong were at the back trying to hold their laughs.

"Alright, now that Luigi is with us, l-let's just beat that bug!" Donkey Kong said between his laughter.

The Scutlet latches its tongue at Mario, but he jumped over it and also stomped it. Donkey Kong did a Jumping Headbutt at the Scutlet, followed up by the brothers' stomping.

The Scutlet did another tongue latch this time at Luigi, who didn't had time to jump over, and he ended up being grabbed by it, with the Scutlet throwing him at Mario.

"Ugh!" Mario groaned from the impact as both brothers fell on the ground.

"Sorry…" Luigi apologized.

"Hey! That's not a nice thing to do!" Donkey Kong hissed and managed to grab the Scutlet's tongue before it retreated into its mouth, and thanks to his strong arms, Donkey Kong tied the tongue into a knot, causing the Scutlet to wince in pain. "There. Now it won't attack us with its tongue anymore." He spoke.

"Great work! This could be our chance to finish it!" Mario grinned.

That is, until the Scutlet rose into the air by the flames from the pipe, and was right above the heroes.

"BUG INCOMING!" Luigi shouted when the Scutlet began to fall towards them.

They quickly moved out of the way before the Scutlet could crush them. The Scutlet retreated over the pipe.

"All right, now we have a chance!" Mario pulls out a Fire Flower from his pocket. "Fire Flower!"

Mario and Luigi absorbed the Fire Flower, becoming Fire Mario and Fire Luigi. The fire brothers shot as many fireballs as they could at the Scutlet until it explodes.

With that, once the Scutlet exploded, two people came out from it. One was Starlow, and the other one…was Yoshi!

"Hoo boy! Shouldn't have let my guard down…" Starlow sweatdropped. "I owe you guys one!"

"Oof…" Yoshi groaned as he gets up. "Boy, that was scary…"

"Yoshi!" Donkey Kong exclaimed as he went to Yoshi. "So you were eaten by that Scutlet too, mate?"

"Oh! You're all okay!" Yoshi chirped upon seeing his friends. "Yes, once I was inhaled by Bowser, I walked around until some bug came in and ate me. I owe you too for saving me!"

"You're welcome!" Mario smiled.

Just then, the flames came out from the pipe, and because nothing was blocking it, they were able to reach the upper pipe. At the same time, Bowser suddenly opened his mouth and the flames came out from it, burning the dry trees at his front.

"Whoa, what happened? My flame is back!" Bowser spoke. Back inside, the heroes watched the pipes reconnecting.

"You had a bug problem! You sucked one up, and it plugged your flame pipe!" Starlow told him.

"What?! Really?!" Bowser questioned.

"We already took care of it! Calm down, will you?" Mario said.

"GWAHAHAHA!" Bowser laughed in glory. "Not too shabby! Not sure why this came in my mind, but I might make you honorary minions once I finally beat Mario!"

"Yeah… Not gonna happen." Mario spoke in a cold tone.

"Hmph! Well, forget I offered. No one needs to know. Say, what's your name anyway, other person?" Bowser asked Starlow.

"Uh…my name?" Starlow questioned.

"Yeah. Your name. Give me it."

"Uh… Ummmm… My name is… Uh… CHIPPY!" Starlow answered, causing Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Donkey Kong to face-fault. "What?"

"Chippy? Weird name…" Bowser replied.

"Yeah, a little weird… Look, it doesn't matter."

"Speak for yourself…" Yoshi muttered.

"Wait, hang on! Am I hearing Dino Boy's voice now?" Bowser asked once he heard Yoshi's voice from inside him.

"…Doh."

"We…uh, just saved him from that bug who was blocking your flame pipe. That's all!" Luigi said.

"Well, whatever. The only thing that matters is Captain Flame is back, baby! He's got a fiery temper, but MAN is he a fun dude!" Bowser smirked, breathing more fire from his mouth.

"Yoshi, have you seen Princess Peach?" Starlow asked.

"The princess? No, I haven't seen her. Sorry." Yoshi shook his head.

"*sigh* well, looks like Princess Peach isn't around here, huh? Nothing we can do… I guess we might as well let Bowser do his thing. Maybe he'll create some more changes in his body environment." Starlow said.

"Probably." Mario nodded. "Come on, let's head back to Toad Square."

The group nodded and left the Flame Pipe area, while Bowser went out of Plack Beach and into Dimble Wood.

To be continued…


Toadsworth, Toadbert and Yoshi are safe and sound! But what about the rest? Stay tuned for the next chapter! Please review.