Hi there, and here we are for the next chapter of Mario's adventure in Hell Kingdom. However, we go back and see how the princess is doing. Let's read what she can do to escape and find something useful.
Mario in Hell Kingdom
Chapter 7: Kingdom Interlude 1
KA-BOOM! CRUNCH! WHOOSH! CRACKLE!
The Mushroom Kingdom was getting invaded by the forces of Bowser. Lots of toad citizens were running away with fear, cannonballs were raining down from the sky, enemies barging into the toad houses and wrecking stuff, and picking up all the question blocks and coins in a pile.
Up in the sky was Bowser's flying rock crater airship, along with several other airships and flying foes as well. The King of the Koopas was watching from below, feeling so delighted in overcoming the Mushroom World. Now that Mario is out of commission, he can start plundering the other kingdoms at his pleasure.
"BWA HA HA HA HA! I finally get to triumph over all the high society of the Mushroom Kingdom. And once I finish overtaking Peach's Castle, I shall march over to the other kingdoms so everyone can bow down to me, the great and honorable KING BOWSER!" he yelled in glory.
Kamek then teleported next to him to congratulate him on his victory. "Way to go, your Gruesomeness. With Mario long gone, there's no telling what the world can do without their savior now."
"Yeah, it beats the heck out of my misery for 40 years of being defeated by that pesky plumber." Then Bowser wanted to know something. "Say how's it going in trying to re-establishing the grimoire we found in those sacred grounds of Twilight Trail?"
"I'm still trying to see if I can figure out how to bring back the magic. So far I tried various spells, communicating through seances, using some concoctions, and summoning chants. None of them seem to get the right result." Kamek explained.
"Tch, figures it would be hard to do it. If I had that kind of power, I could become a greater threat to everyone and make them suffer for their disobedience." Bowser remarked.
"I suppose we should go back and check out those grounds again and see if there was something left written on the pedestals again." said Kamek.
"Fine then, once we're done taking over the princess's kingdom, we'll stop there and go back there. Tell the troops to start finding any toads hiding and take them as prisoners, double-time!" Bowser commanded.
"Yes sir, right away, sir!" Kamek saluted and teleported away.
Bowser looked down at the princess's kingdom being invaded. 'Once I've managed to get hold of all the kingdoms in the world and figure out how to bring back the magic of that book, I'll gladly cross the multiverse and invade other kingdoms at my own will. With this, I'll be able to get the attention of Princess Peach whether she likes it or not.' he conceptualized.
As he was contemplating his success, two flying figures were hiding near a wall, listening to the whole conversation the Koopa King and the wizard were discussing. Then, they flew toward the castle to rescue the princess.
In Bowser's Throne Room, Peach was still weeping in her cell. First, Mario disappeared in front of her eyes, then her kingdom got raided, and now she can't think of a way to escape her caged prison. Whatever she could do?
"Oh Mario, the thought of you getting sent somewhere out there puts me in tears. Why didn't I stop the ritual on time?!" she yelled in frustration but then went back to being depressed. "Oh how I wish someone could come and save me at this time of matter."
Then, as if destiny had called her, two flying figures came from the broken window that Starlow smashed on her way in. Both figures had ghostly bodies while their heads had different headgear; one was a white top hat with blue wisps of hair and large eyes with red irises and the other was a bridal tiara with red irises eyes in between.
"Princess Peach, are you here?" Cappy called out.
"We've come to rescue you!" Tiara shouted.
"Cappy? Tiara? Is that you?" Peach wailed.
The bonneters flew over to Peach's cell and opened the lock with their hands. The cell door opened, and Peach landed down.
"Princess!" Both caps cheered. They hugged Peach as she did the same back at them.
"By the stars, it's a miracle you two came to rescue me." said Peach very happily.
"We got word from a bonneter alerting that Bowser was coming to invade our kingdoms in a matter of months. So we decided to check what's happening and see if you were alright." Cappy informed.
Then Tiara looked around as if she were trying to find somebody. "Where is Mario?"
Peach then felt saddened. "I hate to say this, but Mario is gone from this world."
That made both spirits shocked in horror. "WHAT! What happened?!" Tiara yelled.
Then Cappy put her palmed hand in tiara's mouth to cover it. "Not so loud, sis, or you'll draw attention to some guards outside." he reminded her.
"Sorry." she apologized.
"Come on, we need to get out of here. It's not safe here. I'll tell you more along the way. But first, we need to rescue two individuals in the dungeons." Peach highlighted.
In the dungeons of the castle, Luigi and Starlow were sitting on the ground, the former touching the bars with his fingers. Starlow was trying to fly, but an enchantment marked as a Bowser emblem floated on her head. Kamek managed to put a restraining lock on her to prevent any mystical powers in usage.
"Arrrggghhh, I can't seem to channel my powers. That Magikoopa did a number on my magic." Starlow weeped.
"I don't even know how long we will be here. I'm a little worried about what Bowser is going to conquer." Luigi trembled.
Later, they heard footsteps coming from the stairs. The two checked out, and they saw Peach with two bonnetors coming their way.
"Peach! Oh, thank goodness you've arrived!" said Starlow.
"Cappy? Tiara? Have you come to our aid?" Luigi asked.
"That's right, Luigi!" Tiara shouted.
"Sis, I told you to keep your voice down." Cappy reminded her.
They approached the cell door, unlocked it, and opened. Luigi and Starlow came out relieved.
"Thank you, your majesty. We don't know what we could've done inside." Starlow replied.
"Anytime." Then Peach noticed the Bowser emblem floating on top of her head. "Oh dear, Bowser really did put a restraining lock on you."
"Yeah, and I hate it." Starlow sighed in disgust.
"So, what do we do next?" Luigi implored.
"We need to find the grimoire and inspect its origin. It's gotta be in Bowser's private quarters in the castle." Peach instructed.
"I can't believe Mario is gone from our world." said Tiara, feeling distressed.
"Oh, princess, you're not gonna believe this, but when my sis and I came to rescue you, we overheard Bowser and Kamek's conversation about the origin of the grimoire." Cappy revealed.
That made everyone wonder in anticipation.
"Really? Where?" asked Peach.
"They said it was found in the sacred grounds of Twilight Trail. Are you familiar with that place?" Cappy pondered.
"Yes, It was one of the areas Mario ventured into when he was collecting the Crystal Stars." Peach remembered.
"Yeah, he told me that place was scary." Luigi stammered in fright.
"Agreed, so let's go find grimoire and find out more about its origin." Peach adjured. Luigi picked up Starlow, and everyone left the dungeons.
The team made their way through the halls of Bowser's Castle. Lots of Koopatrols, Hammer Bros, Koopa Troopas, and Magikoopas were walking around. They made sure to stay in the shadows to not get caught. After a few stealths and undercover, they managed to reach an unusual room that had an ingenious design. Pretty much, it was Bowser's private quarters.
As they opened the door, there was a king-sized bed, portraits of Bowser in various costumes, trophies from kart races, and, of course, several figures and portraits of Princess Peach. However, in the middle of the bed was, in fact, the grimoire! The group marched inside and quickly took a gander at the huge book. It was red with golden borders with a large red gem on the center of its spine. The front cover is emblazoned with a moon encircling a pastel goth apple, along with four stars that resemble upside down crosses.
"Now let's see here. The book has got to have some kind of clues of where the magic came from." said Peach.
As she opened the book, pretty much the book had no words written, just like Kamek said.
"Oh great, now how do we manage to figure out the grimoire?" Luigi asked rhetorically.
Then, the grimoire started to vibrate and glowed a little, as if it felt magical powers nearby.
"Hey, what's going on with the book?" Cappy perceived.
"It looks like it's reaching my magic resource." Starlow remarked.
"Maybe you should get closer to Peach, Starlow." Tiara gestured.
Luigi brought up Starlow close to Peach and the grimoire. The book started to glow more and more until it started to levitate, and a faint aura surrounded the group. In mere moments, the grimoire opened, and yellow sparkles came out, surrounding Starlow, and restored her magic. The Bowser icon disappeared in a mist.
"Who has awakened my eternal rest?" spoke a faint voice out of nowhere.
"Huh, who said that? Is it a ghost?" Luigi trembled as everyone looked everywhere in the room.
"It was me, the grimoire that all of you are looking at." said the book.
Everyone looked back at the grimoire, looking a little confused and shocked.
"You talk?! Books don't talk!" Starlow startled.
"Perhaps not in your world, my flying star sprite. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Celeste, an ancient grimoire created by former master Lucifer Morningstar. I come from another realm, not from the Mushroom Kingdom." said Celeste.
"Where did you come from?" Peach investigated.
"I come from a place called Hell, not the hell where evil people's souls are sent for eternal suffering. This specific Hell is where Sinners once became people until their hour of end. Once they're condemned to Hell, their appearance is based on an aspect of the life they had." Celeste explains.
"Interesting." said Starlow.
Then Cappy and Tiara join in on the conversation.
"Um, excuse me, Ms. Celeste, but what brings you here in our world?" Tiara questioned.
"And how did Bowser and Kamek find you in those sacred grounds of Twilight Trail?" Cappy added.
"I shall tell you then. A long time ago, when Lucifer and her love, Lilith were casted down in the dark pits of hell, They decided to create a world of their own by fabricating me and using the knowledge of the magical arts of the Morningstars. However, when Heaven's council heard about Lucifer and Lilith's progress, they sent various exorcists to annihilate sinners and figure out how the two were managing all the advancement. Because of desperate times, Lucifer sent me to another world for the safety of his family. If anybody gets their hands on me, then doomsday would approach us all. This is why I remained hidden in the sacred grounds of Twilight Trail until the Koopa King and his wizard lackey found me." Celeste finished narrating.
"If you could control your magic, how come you didn't stop Kamek from finishing the ritual?" said Luigi, very crossed.
"When they opened the book, I thought my master had come back to retrieve me, but it wasn't. Consequently, I obeyed the ritual code and didn't realize the mistake I made to send your brother to Hell." Celeste grimaced. "Regardless, I had to cancel my magic so the two don't end up using me for evil deeds."
Then Peach stepped up and decided to ask a favor toward Celeste. "If I may, do you think you can tell us if Mario is all right?"
"I could, but I can't show you the full image of him. Only on the last point he stepped through, though." Celeste started to glow blue, and then a portal-like image appeared in front of them, and they saw a tall building.
"'Hazbin Hotel'? What kind of name is that?" Luigi was puzzled.
"Why does that building have a sailing ship and a carousel on them? A hotel shouldn't have those kinds of things attached." said Cappy.
"Yeah, It makes me feel odd." Tiara added.
"Is this where Mario was last seen?" asked Peach.
"Yes, Mario was seen here and entered this building." Celeste informed.
"Is there a way you could send us there?" asked Starlow.
"Sadly, I can only take one of you. My powers have already been used a lot." Celeste shuttered.
Everyone looked at each other in deciding who shall go and help Mario. Peach wanted to go, but who is going to take care of any toads when Bowser has already taken them prisoners? Luigi hesitated because he didn't even know what this hotel would introduce. Starlow would go, but she needs somebody to accompany her since she doesn't have any fighting skills. Tiara didn't want to go for the danger that could lurk there. And then for Cappy…
"I'll go." he declared.
"Are you sure Cappy?" said Peach.
"Big bro, please don't go there. You don't know what kind of monsters await there." said Tiara in displeasure.
"Don't worry, sis, I still have my adventuring experience back then when we had to rescue you and the princess." Cappy recalled.
"Well, in that case, do you need anything for your journey?" Starlow suggested.
"I can give you one of my mushrooms. It was for me and my bro as soon as we saved Peach, but you can have them." Luigi pulled out his mushrooms and gave them to Cappy.
"You should also take some Fire Flowers in case of an assault." Peach adjoined as she summoned some by Starlow's magic.
Cappy stored them inside his cap and then went up to the grimoire. "I'm ready."
"Very well, I will send you to the place your friend is." Celeste spoke.
She opened the pages, a sparkly aura ignited, and a portal opened. An unknown force began to bring Cappy into the portal. He looked back at everyone one last time.
"I'll find him and tell you guys are fine. I will be back." he said.
"Goodbye." Everyone clamored.
"Come back soon, big brother!" Tiara yelled.
The force started to drag him quickly, and then he disappeared into the void. The portal closed, and the grimoire stopped glowing.
"Hah, that's all there is to it." said Celeste.
By the time they were done, heavy footsteps were heard. It got louder and louder, and it was almost approaching the door.
"Oh no, someone's coming. Quick everyone, hide under the bed!" Peach whispered loudly.
Luigi, Starlow, and Tiara went under the bed, Peach was about to go down until she made one last question at the grimoire.
"Just for quick measure, how long will you try to restrain on using your magic for Bowser?" she asked.
"I don't know, but if Bowser manages to find a ritual that'll let him use my magic whenever he wants, then I won't be able to stop him. You gotta go to the sacred grounds and find a way to destroy that code before he finds out." Celeste directed.
"I'll find a way." Peach went under the bed, and the grimoire laid flat as it was when they entered. The doors opened, and it was Bowser, who had come back to get the book and fly over to Twilight Trail.
"Ahh, there you are. You and I are gonna go on a pleasure cruise in search of an enchantment that'll grant me the ability to use your magic again." Bowser grinned with pleasure. Then, a slight drop of sprinkles fell down from the pages.
"Huh? Where did that come from?" Bowser opened the book and looked at the pages, still showing blank with no letters. "Hmm, did someone go inside my room?" he snared in anger.
"Your Gruffness, your Gruffness! The princess and the prisoners have escaped their prison cells!" A Koopatrol came up to him and alerted.
"WHAT! Search the perimeter of the castle and find them!" Bowser roared with anger. He and the guard left the room, leaving the group to come out of their hiding spots.
"So what shall we do next, princess?" Luigi begged.
"Well first things first, we need to head out to the sacred grounds of Twilight Trail and destroy the enchantment words so Bowser doesn't try to get unlimited magic from the book. Come on, we need to find some power-ups that'll get us out here." Peach guided them.
She was determined to stop Bowser no matter what if it meant to prevent him from getting extremely powerful than the last time he used various ancient relics.
There we go. We've reached the end of this chapter. I'm taking a break from this story, for now. The next chapter will be a great one in which our hero, Mario, is going to meet the Overlords of Hell. You can still check out my other stories I have in my account. Anyway, thank you all for reading this, and stay tuned. Leave your reviews for any open ideas for this fiction!