Mario and the Koopa Conspiracy, Martin C. Featherworth [book recommendations .txt] 📗

the ground, Mario grinned with satisfaction. He laughed a bit to himself as he snuck around to the back of the stronghold.
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Just as he guessed, there had been a row of windows at the back of the castle. They were pretty high up, But it was nothing Mario couldn’t solve with a hovering block and a jump off the top of a palm tree. He broke through the glass and landed on some kind of wall that went around the inside of a darkened room.
Heat. Heat was all Mario experienced at first inside of the castle stronghold. It felt like his face was on fire. This was all due to the pool of molten lava that covered the entire floor, except for a few stone platforms sticking out of it. Glowing orange streams poured out of the mouths of fountains shaped like Bowser’s head. So vain. Bowser liked to put his face on everything. Mario had to find some way to escape the burning temperature. He stuck his head back out the window. The tropical beach’s warmth felt cool compared to Bowser’s stronghold. How and why would Bowser bear to have all his strongholds like this? Maybe in World 3, the snowy World, it would make more sense. But in sunny World 4? Why did he try so hard to be scary and intimidating? It was hot on top of the wall, and it would be hot down by the lava for sure. Oh yes…heat rises. It would still be hot down on one of the platforms, but it might not be as bad. Just as he was about to hop down onto one, a familiar spiky personality emerged from a door on the other side of the room. It was Bowser, and he was accompanied by another: a magikoopa like the one that had yelled at the minions. Mario ducked down, moving away from the beam of shining light he had created. Bowser and the magikoopa went out on a walkway together, discussing something which sounded to Mario like a disagreement. He couldn’t hear them all-too well; the sound of the boiling molten rock drowned most of it out. The magikoopa’s shrill cries were about all he heard. That, and Bowser barking the word “comic.” Comic? Why on Earth and all the Worlds would Bowser yell “comic?” The word was followed by a loud “Don’t talk back to me!” from the magikoopa, which Mario heard, loud and clear. After that, the magikoopa waved a magic staff over his head and teleported elsewhere, leaving Bowser alone in the room. Bowser grunted and hopped onto a brown circular platform made of stone. He muttered to himself in a fit and glanced around the room. Mario decided it was time.
“Bowser!” Mario shouted from his lofty perch. He stood to his feet and came into the light. The hulking spiky koopa turned to face him.
“Wha… How did you get here already?” bellowed Bowser. Mario hopped down from the wall and onto a purple brick platform suspended in the lava. He stood up and straightened his cap. Yes, it was a bit cooler down here.
“Took a shortcut.” He bounded over a flame-filled gap onto the brown stone circle where Bowser stood. Bowser took a defensive posture, holding his clawed hands out on either side of him.
“You’re going to fight me again,” he growled with outstretched claws. Mario took a breath.
“Yes,” said Mario. Without a second’s hesitation, Bowser gave a fiery snort and charged his massive scaly body towards the short mustached man. Mario dashed around Bowser to the other side of the circular platform. Bowser skidded to a halt and turned around to go for Mario, but Mario had already begun running full speed at Bowser. Bowser grunted in surprise as Mario made a long-jump right for his stomach, which was the only area of his body not covered with horns or spikes.
“Yah! Hoo! YAH!” Mario exclaimed, punching Bowser twice and ending with a kick. Bowser cried out a bit, more of shock than of pain, however. Just as Mario was going for another hit, Bowser swung his heavy fist and sent Mario flying back over to the other side of the circle. The great red-haired koopa ran over to the stunned plumber, picking him up with both of his yellow clawed hands. Mario was unable to do anything except stare in fright and mumble a low “Mamma mia…” as Bowser laughed at him. After witnessing Mario try to squirm out of his hands for a brief moment, Bowser threw him with force onto the floor headfirst. Mario groaned in pain. Bowser took a step back and leapt into the air, stomping right down onto Mario. Mario cried out loudly. Back on Earth, being crushed in that way would have killed him. Mario felt almost dead. Bowser stepped off of him, laughing at the sight.
“Ha! Are you gonna save your princess now?” he roared. Bowser held up his fist. “If I hit you one more time, you’re DEAD!”
“Muori,” Mario mumbled. He gave a dry, wheezing cough. Bowser bared his sharp teeth.
“I don’t know what you said, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t good!” Bowser stared in contempt at the injured plumber. He punched his hand. “I think I will make you lose a 1-up!” Bowser drew in a deep breath and exhaled flames toward Mario. He rolled away from the fire just in time. Bowser turned to follow him, but Mario kept dodging his fiery breath.
After a while, the great fire-breathing beast tired of spewing flames at the short man. Mario still hadn’t fully recovered. He crawled away from Bowser, who was coming to attack again. Mario drew nearer to the edge of the circular arena. Bowser ran after him. He curled up into a ball, burying his face in his knees. He could almost reach that red mushroom he had found earlier… When Bowser was only a few feet away from him, Mario sprang up backwards and landed right on Bowser’s head. Bowser flinched and roared in surprise. Mario had eaten the mushroom. Crazed, Mario placed his feet on Bowser’s neck and grabbed each of his horns. He burst out in a torrent of maniacal laughter. Bowser shook his head and reached to grab Mario, but Mario hopped off and landed behind him. Before Bowser could turn around, Mario took hold of Bowser’s tail and began to swing him around in a circle. This would have been almost impossible on Earth: Bowser must have weighed at least five-hundred pounds, and Mario was much, much smaller than him. As Mario swirled him around, he began to rise into the air. Mario was going to let go of his tail and he would fly into the lava.
          “Argh! Don’t throw me into the lava!” Bowser cried in protest. Mario stopped whirling him around, but he didn’t let go of his tail.
          “Why shouldn’t I? You stole my girl again,” said Mario. Bowser scoffed a little.
          “She’s not your girl. I bet she doesn’t even like you,” Bowser mocked. Mario’s stomach dropped. What had he said? “She’s the princess, and you’re just a duh-brained thwomp-head plumber who gorges on cake when he’s sad.” Mario’s fury burned even stronger. He dismissed his original though and began to spin Bowser again.
          “FOR MAKER’S SAKE, STOP IT!” Bowser roared. “If you I die, they’ll move her to another castle!” Mario halted once more.
          “Are you serious? How can I even trust you?” Bowser let out a sigh.
          “I don’t know how I could make you trust me, but…”
          “Then I’ll kill you.”
          “NO! DON’T DO IT! Do you want to start the whole thing again?” Bowser grunted. “Do you want to go to every castle in every World when she’s right here, right now?”
          “I guess I don’t.” Mario said in a calmer tone.
          “Then let me go!” Bowser demanded, pounding his fist on the ground. Mario scowled at him and let go of his tail. Bowser stomped away and stood up straight. Mario glowered at him as he turned around. Mario closed his eyes and sighed.
          “I cannot even begin to describe just how much I hate you,” he said. “Please remind me why I didn’t kill you?”
          “’Cause you want the princess back!” Bowser barked with impatience.
          “Oh really? So you’re just going to give her back?” Mario was unconvinced.
          “I didn’t even need to kidnap her this time!”
          “You didn’t need to kidnap her? Then why would you?”
          Bowser growled angrily, “REASONS!” Mario gave him a harsh death-stare. “It was…someone else’s idea this time. If I wouldn’t have kidnapped her, I’d have been in trouble.”
          “Trouble, huh? Is there someone higher than the Koopa King?” Mario laughed.
          “LISTEN!” Bowser yelled, almost making the ground shake. “I don’t need the princess, and I don’t want…someone…to know I’m telling you this…” Bowser said with a scanning glance around the room. Mario’s expression remained disdainful. He folded his arms.
“Is that ‘someone’ by any chance the magikoopa?” Mario interrogated in a lower voice. A wave of shock came over Bowser’s dragon-like face.
“You heard us?” Bowser demanded. Mario, hearing a note of fear in Bowser’s voice, smirked a bit. Bowser continued to show the emotion on his face until Mario answered.
“No,” he replied honestly. “I didn’t hear you, but I saw you.” Bowser’s expression returned to the angered one it was before. “Ah, that’s right. I heard one thing,” Mario said in his Italian accent. “I heard you say the word ‘comic.’ Why did you say ‘comic?’” Bowser showed him a sharp-toothed smile.
“Comic? Like, a drawing, comic?” Mario stared at him. “I didn’t say that!”
“Then what did you…”
“Kamek. K-A-M-E-K, Kamek!” Bowser snickered. “That’s his name!” Mario continued with a wordless gaze. “You don’t know who he is?” Bowser asked as if he could not believe Mario’s reaction.
“Sounds awfully familiar, but that’s all.” Mario looked away at a chain hanging from the ceiling, then back at Bowser. He began to speak but was interrupted mid-sentence. “So tell me, why…”
“Mario! Hey, Mario!” called Luigi’s echoing nasal voice. Both Bowser and Mario looked up to the ledge at the top of the wall. There Luigi stood in the light. Why did he come here? He called down again. “Whoo, it’s steamy in here! What are ya doing, Mario?”
“Come down here, Luigi!” Mario called back to his brother.
“What? Sorry bro, can’t hear you!” Luigi jumped off onto the purple stone platform and then onto the brown one where Bowser stood next to Mario.
“Really? Why did he come?” Bowser growled to Mario with an edge of extra hostility.
“Probably to help me kill you,” Mario stated matter-of-factly. Luigi nodded.
“Why don’t you and your stupid little brother just go die in a deep, dark pit and never crawl out again?” Bowser groaned.
“Well… Someone’s being whiny,” Luigi said with a frown. Bowser turned to Luigi.
“If there were any ghosts in here, you’d run away crying!” Luigi almost fainted.
“HEY! You stop making fun of my brother!” Mario shouted at Bowser. Mario looked at his brother in green. “That’s for me to do.” Luigi shrugged. Bowser let out an aggravated growl.
“Just take her! Take Peach and leave! I can’t put up with this right now!” Bowser jumped the gap from the stone circle to the walkway and stormed off.
“Wait! Where is…” Luigi began. Bowser slammed the door behind him. “…she.”
“Do you think he’d tell us anyway?” Mario asked