Chapter 5: Identity Crisis
"With your mirrored self," said Kamek, "we can make him take your place and wreak havoc. Even if you do escape, they won't trust you to stop a giant army that's coming into their town." Kamek then waved his magic wand and teleported Mirror Mario into the middle of Toad Town.
"Yes, now throw Mario in the dungeon!" commanded Bowser to the guards. They immediately followed orders and carried the cage into the castle.
"Kamek, go see if our fake Mario is doing the job." Kamek followed orders and teleported into Toad Town himself.
* * *
Mario had been stuck in the level one dungeon for hours. Mario was so hungry and bored out of his mind. He also was disgusted by the room around him. Growing fungus, stone bricks, and greasy bars surrounded him. Mario was satisfied that the other levels had no more room; they could've been more disgusting than here. The guard was right by Mario's cell, starting to get sleepy. He started to doze off, but then he woke up, "Must stay awake... for the boss..." Mario spotted the keys in his pocket.
Mario had an idea. He gave a big yawn right into the guard, who then started to yawn as well. Mario yawned again, even louder, and the guard yawned again, becoming even more sleepy. Then, Mario gave out the biggest yawn he could give and the guard yawned just as loud as Mario. "Good night, Mommy," said the guard, as he dozed off. The key fell right off and slid near Mario. Mario squeezed his hand through the bars and grabbed the keys. He tries seven keys before finding the right one, and got out of the cell and into the main foyer.
Mario knew there were guards roaming the place, so he tried to keep a low profile. He looked around and saw that it was safe. He walked ahead to see that it wasn't safe. Two guards were coming around the corner. Mario saw a big vase behind him, and hid inside it. "...and I told her, Well, if you're going to be that way, then I might as well leave," said a guard from the corner.
"Well, what did she do?" said the other guard.
"Pfft... You know my mom. She grabbed me and... Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"It sounded like a tap." The guard walked to the vase. Mario held his breath and tried not to make a sound. The guard came closer and pushed the vase. Behind it was some sort of bird, and it flew and attacked the guard.
"Hey! Hey! Ah! Ooh, don't touch that! A-a-ahh! Ow! Da-that’s my finger!" The guard struggled with the bird and then threw it out the window. "DAD, I hate birds."
"Yeah, we had a problem with those. They ate a picnic I rearranged a week..." The guards were gone.
It sure pays being short, thought Mario. Mario saw the entrance, with spotlights surrounding it. Mario knew that he had to move quickly, so he counted to three, prayed, and walked through. He slowly hid behind the scattered crates and cannons, trying not to get caught. He was nearly there, and thought that he could do it. However, he didn't make it. Mario slipped on a cannon ball and hit the alarm on the stone wall surrounding the castle.
The guard with the spotlight aimed the light toward Mario. He yelled, "It's Mario! Get him!"
A large number of guards rushed toward Mario and tried to attack him, but Mario jumped out of the way and ran for his life. The guards kept running and running. They tried to catch up with all of their might, but Mario was just too fast and was out of their sight shortly after.
Mario still kept running and running, but then he started jogging, and then walking, and finally stopped. Mario was very tired and hungry. He looked behind him to see that the castle was far behind him. He thought that he might've run a quarter of a mile from there.
Mario gave one last breath and said, "Whoo... I never thought I could run that fast. Maybe a little rest behind this tree would boost my energy." Mario went behind the tree and sat down. He stretched, yawned, and closed his eyes for a rest. Before he was fast asleep, a net was thrown on top of him. Mario struggled with it, but couldn't get out of it. He saw a couple of Bumpties right in front of him.
"Mario," said a Bumpty. He took out
his wallet and showed his badge, "you're under arrest for complete destruction
of our town. Joe, help me take this fat traitor to jail." Joe and the other
Bumpty grabbed the ends of the net and dragged him to their hometown not
far from here.
Chapter 6: Framed
"Look, I was framed," said Mario. "I didn't do it, you have to believe me!"
"I told you to keep quiet, anything you say can and will be upheld against the law," said the cop. As they went through the town, the villagers were right in the street and they booed at Mario and kept calling him a traitor. They threw rotten vegetables and assorted trash right at him. Mario tried persistently to explain, but the scattered food throwing and booing blocked out his voice. They wouldn't listen to him if he had the chance anyway.
Mario was taken into a courthouse, and saw even more people were booing him and shouting "Guilty!" all over the courthouse.
"Order! Order in the court!" yelled the judge, banging his gavel. The crowd did not hear the gavel and continued to yell at Mario. "Order, I say!" The judge banged his gavel again and they still didn't hear. The judge took out a loudspeaker and yelled, "I SAID ORDER!!!" The crowd suddenly stopped and turned their attention to the judge.
"Thank you," said the judge. "Mario Mario, you have been accused of destroying thousands of houses around the northern Mushroom Kingdom, injuring millions of residents, setting fires, and destroying monumental landmarks. We have undeniable proof that it was you. What you have done is the most horrible and destructive crime ever committed in the history of the Mushroom Kingdom. Now that we have you in our grasp, we immediately give you a life-long sentence in our very secure prison! Any last words before you will never see the light of day again?"
"I didn't do it! You have to believe me! Cross my heart and hope to die!" said Mario.
"Oh, you'll die all right; rotting in prison!"
"Why did you even bring me here? I thought I was going to have a case or something!"
"The mayor requested that I be in charge of your punishment, so you had to know. Plus, we wanted to humiliate you in front of the whole town. Throw assorted garbage at him and take him away!"
The villagers did so, throwing the most rank and filthiest garbage they had found in their trashcans. They kept yelling "Traitor!" again and again. Before he left the courthouse, a banana peel smacked into his face.
* * *
"And I thought the jail on Delfino Island was bad," said Mario. Now he knew he couldn't stop the army. In a matter of minutes, the army would destroy everything and let Bowser control the kingdom in the way he wanted. Now that Mario didn't have anything to escape from, it looked like the kingdom was doomed. Suddenly, the door to his cell was opened. It was a guard.
"Mario, I have came for you," said the guard.
"I guess a lifetime sentence wasn't
enough for the mayor. Fine, do what you want with me. I give up." Mario
held out his hands, waiting to be handcuffed.
Chapter 7: Escape
Mario had his handcuffs fastened on his wrists and his shackles fastened on. The guard pushed Mario out of his cell and into the hall. Mario couldn't believe that not only his life would end, but the lives of others would be enslaved by the Koopas' rule forever.
As Mario kept walking through the hall, he was suddenly pushed inside a closet and the guard made Mario's mouth shut. The guard kept telling Mario to be quiet.
"Wha...?" Mario was shushed. "What is going on here?"
"I'm going to help you escape," said the guard. The guard took off his hat and put on his glasses to reveal that he was Mr. Mason.
"Mr. Mason? What are you doing here?"
"I heard that you were given a life-long sentence here. My hometown is only a mere two miles away. It's not so hard by bike."
"How did you get in here?"
"Well, my jitisu class was going to come in handy someday. I knocked out a guard and stole his clothing. When I was talking with the other guards I heard about your cell. So, I found you here."
"What am I going to do? Nobody will believe me about this..."
"About what?"
"Bowser, he's going to use the mirror to build a whole army of reflections to take over the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Oh, no. So he has the mirror. You have to get it back, Mario. It's the only way to send the reflections back. Just remember, you have to point the mirror at another mirror in order for it to work." Mr. Mason gave him an extra set of clothes and the diary. "I got it off another guard," Mr. Mason said, referring to the clothing. "Wear it and find your way out. I have to go."
"All right, I will get that mirror back."
"DADspeed, Mario." Mr. Merit left the closet.
Mario dressed quickly and left the closet. He walked casually and whistleed a tune as he walked down the hallway. He started to sweat as some of the guards talked about how funny-looking that guy ws and if they had ever met him before. Mario kept walking ahead, getting closer to the exit, until he was stopped by a large guard's big belly.
"Hey," said the fat guard. "What are you doing?"
"Uh, guarding?" replied Mario.
"I know you're guarding, but why are you going this way? You're not supposed to leave the building!"
"Uh, of course. I'll go the way you want me to go... because I have to go that way, the way you want me... to go. Heh heh."
Mario fled, leaving a cloud of smoke facing the fat guard. Mario had to find an exit that wasn't blocked by a guard. Then, he saw a men's room right by him. Mario opened the bathroom door and found a window, a really small window that led outside.
''Oh," said Mario, "I really hope I can fit in that..."
Mario tried to jump for the window, but it was too high to reach. Mario tried to find something to stand on. He tried standing on a garbage can, but he slipped after the first try. He tried the pile of garbage in the garbage can, but Mario just sank in it. Mario had to think really hard about this one. After much thought, he decided that f he could do a wall jump from a stall, then he might reach it. Mario did so and got a hold on the window. He punched the glass, hoping that nobody would hear. He slid himself into the window, but then couldn't budge.
"Uh oh, I think I'm stuck."
Mario grunted and moved with all his might. He sucked his gut in and slipped right out with full force, hitting the alarm button that was placed on the stone wall surrounding the prison.
"Oh no! Not again!"
Mario had dropped his hat when he slipped out. He tried to go fetch it, but it was too late. A spotlight had lit on Mario, revealing his identity.
"It's the traitor! Get him!"
Thousands and thousands of guards rushed Mario, armed with nightsticks and handcuffs. Mario knew he had no time to take them all down, so he ran as fast as he could. Thankfully, Mario's speed was far too much for the semi-sluggish speed of a Bumpty.
More guards came around the bend as Mario walked into a door on the surrounding wall, leading him upstairs. At the top of the wall, a guard shot a cannonball at Mario, who jumped at the last moment. He saw all the guards at the front gate, shooting at him. Mario avoided countless bullets as he landed on a sign that bore the prison's name. He ran right on a Bumpty's head and jumped with full force at another, giving him a chance to escape. The guards still intended to follow Mario, no matter what. Mario kept running as the guards got in their police cars. One car managed to reach Mario, and the driver decided he would run him over.
"You are mine, Mario Mario..."
Chapter 8: Backtrack
Mario tripped on a rock and fell, thinking that his life was over for good, but with a stroke of luck, Mario realized he was out of the car's path by mere inches. Mario quickly got up and continued to run until he lost them. The cops decided to put on a big search for the "traitor" in the outskirts of the town.
Mario was safe for now, but he knew that he would have to stop this somehow. He had to think... What could stop a large, ruthless army? He knew that he couldn't do it, he'd practically need a monster to pull this off.
A monster... thought Mario. That's it! I can use the monster from the caverns. It was so powerful that I broke a lot of sweat to take him down. I'm sure that the diary has something to put it back together and tame him.
Mario went through the diary and tried to find an entry on how to tame and fix the beast. It didn't take long for something to catch his eye.
Log: Day 29 of the Caverns
Well, I have finally finished making the secret caverns to this place. However, I know that I cannot protect this place forever, so I was thinking of making a protector of some sort: a guardian. But, it'll take some strict research for me to come up with something like this...
Mario went through more of the pages.
Log: Day 40 of the Caverns
Finally, I have created the guardian. Its immense power will make sure that the mirror is protected at all costs. I have gained the power from the secret black crystals in the deep parts of the cavern. Apparently, they turned black from the reflections of already deceased people. This can make the guardian alive if I melt it into pure energy. I have to be careful not to use too much heat or I'll melt the whole crystal. He can follow some simple commands like a dog, but only if he trusts someone really well.
I also put in a spell to make sure that the guardian is immortal. I really don't have time to build another one...
"Looks like I found the information I need," said Mario. "I have to get back to Crystal Caverns and fast, before the police catch me again!"
Mario ran to the Caverns, making sure that no cops were in his sight.
* * *
Arriving at the secret passage, Mario used his Fire Flower to illuminate the place and see where he was going. While searching, he studied the diary carefully so he would know where he was going. Looking at the book carefully with every step, Mario didn't notice that someone was in front of him. He bumped right into that someone and fell. Upon looking up, he saw there was a big group of Frost Piranhas in his way. Mario quickly got up and was ready to fight. With fire on his side, he could take them no problem!
Mario jumped up high in the air and melted the icy stalagtites from above. The stalagtites fell and crushed some of the Frost Piranhas. The remaining Frost Piranhas responded with their icy breath aimed at Mario. Mario quickly grabbed onto a stalagtite and the breath missed him. Mario dropped down and ran toward them.
The plants tried again and aimed carefully, but Mario saw the breath and ducked; the breath missed the plumber by mere inches. Mario got up, jumped, and kicked one of the enemies right in the noggin. He jumped and kicked another. Then another. He kept going until he was behind the Frost Piranhas.
The Frost Piranhas turned around and spat out ice crystals. Mario dodged them with a wall jump. During that time, he made a big fireball and threw it right at the army of deadly plants. The plants were seriously injured from the burn of the fireball and couldn't get up. Mario ran from them in a hurry to find the black crystals.
Not long after this, Mario tripped on something and broke his ankle. Looking at what he'd tripped on, he found a black crystal. He looked around to find even more black crystals surrounding Mario. Mario got up though he was bothered by the pain in his ankle. He used his strength to break a large piece of the black crystal and heated it to the perfect temperature, like the book instructed. Now he had a great ball of energy in his hands. It looked exactly like the guardian's. Mario knows he'd have to be careful with it, as it could break just like the original one from the guardian.
Walking carefully and ignoring the pain from his ankle. Mario found the rock he had sat on last time and sat on it again. The passageway opened and Mario ran to the wall, leaning to see the inside of the room. It looked like nothing was there. Mario took another peek and saw the top half of the guardian with his mouth really wide open...