VII

Visions in the Dark

The warp pipe seemed to have a consciousness. As Mario and the others entered the hole, a symphony of voices swirled about them. Luigi jumped at the sudden sound of whispers in the dark.

"Wha-wha-what's that?" he said and then farted.

"Really?" said Daisy, who followed right after. It was a good thing she had her visor up.

"Uh, my back cracked."

"No it didn't," she shot back.

"Uh, that was my neck," he tried again.

"No it wasn't."

The whispers grew as they approached and a light shimmered far down inside the warp pipe. Mario strained to hear what they were saying but the words were just out of reach. Luigi's nervousness grew to a fever pitch and he let loose a loud fart cutting through his brother's concentration.

"Well, at least my visor's up so I don't have to smell all that," said Toad with a chuckle.

"Ack! It's horrible," said Luigi. The fart caught in his throat from circulating through the suit and he coughed violently.

"Atta boy," said Toad, clutching his belly from laughing. "Breathe it in. Nice and deep."

"My eyes are burning," Luigi groaned. He tried to wipe them and hit glass, forgetting the visor was up.

"Ha! You're gonna give yourself pink eye," said Toad.

Daisy covered her face with a hand and giggled, hoping her fiance wouldn't notice. In the dark, however, you pay more attention to your sense of hearing and her giggle seemed to echo off the walls.

"You too, Daisy?"

"Sorry, honey." She could hear the hurt in his voice and she meant it.

Suddenly, a gurgling noise came from the warp pipe like water rising up. The whispers grew louder and a multicolored display of light beams shot out of the pipe. He didn't know why but Mario knew that the whispers were for him. It drew him in like the opposite end of a magnet or a moth to flame.

"Hey, uh, Mario," said Toad, backing away. "I wouldn't get too close to that thing."

"It's calling out to me," Mario whispered to himself.

"What was that?" asked Toad but there came no reply. Mario inched towards the pipe as if in a trance. He grabbed the rim and as soon as he touched the cold metal, light and noise shot up from the black pit like fireworks. The rushing wind was back just like before but this time it was stronger and more sudden. Before he knew what was happening, Mario was sucked into the warp pipe.

He was traveling through space. Stars whizzed by him in streaks and flashes. He cut through multicolored nebulae that dissipated as if they were never there at all. The flashes of stars grew distant until they disappeared entirely and all went dark. He came to a floating halt in the blackest part of space: the Deep Dark.

All light dies in the Deep Dark. Mario knew this. Everyone did. You learned it in grade school. It was so black it was as if his eyes were squeezed shut in a darkened room but indeed, they were wide open. The nothing before him shook his concept of being. In the pitch black, he felt like his body had melted away and all that was left was a disembodied consciousness.

But then there came fire.

It was the engine of a mighty koopa airship. A great plume of orange flame belched from the exhaust and with its light, Mario could see that there were more ships behind it. They were all of a kind and they were legion. On the nearest ship, koopa soldiers and paratroopas, their winged counterparts, loaded giant Bullet Bills into the side cannons. The Bullet Bills' eyes were closed, not yet activated, but their mouths wore an angry grimace.

"Pestering me again, are you, Mario?" came a deep rumbling voice that echoed across space.

Mario tried to answer but couldn't speak in deep space. He touched his face and realized that his entire helmet was off. He should have been choking or freezing death but he wasn't. Instead, he felt like nothing at all and that terrified him.

"Can't you see that I'm having a merry little time, making mischief with my minions?"

Mario didn't understand. Who was this voice and how did he know his name? Why had the voice thought they'd met before? Before he could think much into it, rising up into his field of view was a massive asteroid rolling lazily in space. Atop the asteroid was a combat bunker with a training field. Even though the asteroid was far off in the distance, Mario could see every koopa training. He could see the cracks on every rock, the angry vision magnified in his mind. This was the Battlerock.

"Now, return those Stars!" said the voice. Mario was baffled by the command. He wished he could scream. He wished he could call out, "You've got the wrong guy." But the breath was caught in his lungs with no chance of escape. Flames erupted from the rest of the fleet casting enough light to illuminate a shape in the darkness. It was jet black so he couldn't see it before but now it reflected with the light from its younger siblings. It was unlike the other airships, which looked akin to wooden pirate ships. This ship was black metal. Wrought iron and massive. Giant ion cannons were mounted to the top and bottom of each wing, four in total. Each of the rear engines was the size of six airships put together. It was the flagship of the koopa armada, the Dreadnought. On the front side looking into the flight deck was a large bay window that arced across the face of it. Silhouetted in the window was the king of the koopas himself!

"I stole them first and my troops in the walls need them!" said Bowser. "Bwa ha ha!"

His laugh was low and terrible and Mario put his hands to his ears to muffle the sound. If I don't get out of here, I'll be driven mad or worse, he thought and then felt a tightness around his ankles.

Back in the cave, Toad and Daisy fell to the floor as they yanked Mario from the grip of the warp pipe. The vision before his eyes disappeared like paint dissolving into water.

"Brother! Are you okay?" Luigi rushed to his side and threw his arm around Mario's shoulders.

"What the heck were you thinking, kid?, said Toad, pushing himself to his feet. He rubbed at his sore tailbone.

"Mario?" asked Daisy alarmed at the sight of him. "Are you alright? You're pale as a ghost."

He looked cold as the blood had drained from his cheeks and lips leaving them a sickly white. His lips quivered as he spoke. "Troops in the walls. Where the stars went out. I saw it."

"Saw what?" said Daisy. "Mario! What did you see?" She grabbed his shoulders and shook him but he fell back into himself and went silent.

Suddenly, Luigi's nav cuff came alive with a static hiss.

"Is anyone out there?" came a distorted voice through the static. "This is Commander -crshh- of the Great -hss-. We -shhh- distress signal -fzzz- Odyssey. We're here to help."

Someone had heard. Someone had come! Toad pumped his fist. Daisy smiled at Luigi and a wave of relief passed over them. The signal was bad underground. Luigi adjusted the frequency on his cuff to clear it and then the voice returned for a second call and this time it was clear as crystal.

"I repeat, this is Fox McCloud. Is anyone out there?"