Chapter 7: Winds
of Change
5:03 AM; Two
days remain; Temple of Unity
Everyone was up early and groggy from the night before. The four Podoboos, the three Boos, and Vivian all seemed to be sick.
"You guys okay?" Mario asked. "Can Boos get sick?"
"That was a Boo-omb," James Boo explained, "and quite a powerful one at that. It wasn't targeted at you, a Boo-omb would only be targetted at a spirit, and the only target could have been the Podoboos."
"We'll be fine," said Red, though he was having trouble floating. "We need to hurry to the other two temples quickly, perhaps doing them both today."
"That would be difficult enough under normal conditions," said Green, "but after that blast, there's no way we can do them both in one day!"
"So why didn't van Gore go after us?" Wario asked. "We're the ones he should be afraid of!"
"He was trying to make sure you were unable to reach the next temple," Yellow said. "But we must continue to the east, to the Wind Temple."
"I thought we were supposed to go to the south yesterday," Waluigi said. "Whatever happened to what Madame Clairvoya said?"
"I'm not sure," Luigi said. "Let's see if Gil has any information, he might know. After all, he is the professor's assistant!"
Luigi got out his GBH and called the lab. Toadsworth appeared with eyes that showed he hadn't slept at all the night before.
"Are you okay, Toadsworth?" Luigi asked. "You forget how to sleep or something?"
"How can one get sleep in a time such as this?" Toadsworth said. "The princess is missing, Gadd is being held hostage, the princess is missing, I've failed my job again, the princess is missing, an unbelievably powerful Boo is trying to destroy all of existance, and did I mention that the princess is missing?"
What else is new? Luigi thought to himself, then spoke to Toadsworth. "We'll rescue them, but we need to talk to Gil."
"The young chap is asleep right now, do you have any idea what time it is?" Toadsworth asked. "You really ought to rest up!"
Look who's talking! Luigi thought, then continued, "It's really important, we need some information off of Gadd's computer."
"Why don't I just try to find it myself? It couldn't be too difficult," Toadsworth suggested.
Just then, Gil walked by with a bowl of oatmeal, completely awake.
"What are you doing up so early?" Toadsworth asked. "A young Toad such as yourself shouldn't be up this early!"
"I'm twenty-three," Gil said. "And besides, I never sleep in. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Speaking of which, you look like you could really take that advice, especially the 'early to bed' part."
Luigi laughed and then asked Gil, "Do you have access to Gadd's files on ghost hunting?"
"Most of them, but some of them he's locked me out of," Gil said, then whispered into the microphone, "But if you need me to, I can hack into them."
"Can you tell me of anything that would weaken Madame Clairvoya's fortune telling abilities?" Luigi asked. "The fortune she gave us wasn't exactly accurate."
"Easy, any Boos allied with Titaniboo gain power as the eclipse nears," Gil explained, "and any against him are drained of their strength; don't even have to look that one up!"
"Could you tell me anything about what a Boo-omb would do to a Boo?" Luigi asked.
"Sure, I'll have the info ready in a few seconds. Mind humming the Jeopardy theme while you wait?" Gil asked. "It helps me work faster."
Wario laughed, as did Waluigi. Mario couldn't care either way, so he just smiled and shrugged. However, Luigi was fond of the show, so he hummed it anyway.
"Okay!" Gil said. "You need to work on your humming, but here's what I've got.
"According to the computer, a Boo-omb will 'weaken a Boo greatly, and they won't be able to phase through anything until the next solar eclipse. Any Boos caught in the blast should be unable to give the ghost hunter any trouble after the blast.' Looks like you're pretty lucky to have found that thing, but one last note, 'A Boo-omb, although most effective against ghosts and other such undead creatures, has the capability of knocking any living creatures unconscious, although unharmed. Caution should be taken when using a Boo-omb, as the blast area is much greater then that of a Boo Bomb.' Wow! You guys know how rare those things are? You've got to show it to me when you get back from your adventure!"
"We don't have a Boo-omb, we had one used against us," Luigi explained, "and it looks like our friends won't be able to help us after all."
"Nonsense!" James Boo said. "Even when I was alive I was a master of stealth! I haven't used my old methods in a while, but I assure you I can be just as invisible with or without being able to phase through objects!"
"Well, I can still go into the floor and through walls," Vivian said as she demonstrated. "Why didn't it hurt me?"
"You're not exactly a ghost, are you?" Mario asked.
"No, I've never been more alive then I am now," she explained.
"Like that's saying much," Wario joked. "I know how we can decide this!"
"You, know something? That's a first!" Mario mocked.
"Shut up, sewage breath!" Wario shouted. "And watch the true genius at work!"
"If you're a genius, I'd hate to see an idiot!" Waluigi joked.
Wario ignored them, and pulled out his Poltergust 3002. He attempted to suck up Vivian with it. She just stood there, but her hat was sucked into the machine.
"Her hat is a ghost!" Wario shouted. "She's not the ghost, I just saved her from the ghost, which means she owes me money!"
"You know that it can still be used like a regular vacuum cleaner, right?" Luigi asked.
Wario gave Luigi an angry glare, but didn't say anything.
"So we can't fly through walls or turn invisible? So what?" Red asked. "We still have to go to the Wind Temple immediately. Yellow, that's your job. But first, Mario, activate the Fire Statue, please."
Mario nodded, and did as Red asked. The symbol of the Firebrand glowed through Mario's glove.
"You may now call upon the Ultra Fire Drive whenever you need it," Red explained. "And with the Firebrand under your control, you should be able to power it up even more."
"The Fire Drive?" Mario said, perplexed. "I've been able to do that without the Quadramasher... Why does Luigi get a new move and I just get stuck with something I already have?"
"Maybe you should try it out in battle, you may be surprised by how different it is from the basic fire drive," Red suggested. "Just make sure no one else is near you when you use it, it isn't a very, um... friendly attack, if you know what I mean."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure Wario's the only one around before using it," Mario joked. "Are we ready to go?"
"Can't we finish up our bout from yesterday first?" Wario asked. "I mean, it was just getting good when you broke up the fight!"
"NO!" shouted everyone except Mario and Wario.
"I'll go," said Bootler, "but I insist on Lady Bow staying behind; she is in no condition to fight."
"Oh, I'll be fine," she said. "Especially with a big strong Boo like James around."
"Actually, you should all stay here and hold the fort," Green started. "With the ecclipse only a day away, the barrier might not hold any more. The evil Boos are getting too strong, and I doubt the barrier can take any more."
"What do you mean by take any more?" Luigi asked. "I don't remember the Boos attacking it."
"Did you check outside the past two nights?" Yellow asked. "I agree, we need someone to protect the temple, since we probably can't get both statues and return in one day."
"Fine, I don't mind staying," said Vivian.
"I'm not used to hiding in a friendly base," James said. "Perhaps I could find and infiltrate the Palace of Shadows."
"Underneath Rogueport, just fly straight down from the center of town," Luigi said. "Mario told me all about it."
"I can't fly through anything right now," James reminded him. "And although I can't turn invisible either, that doesn't mean they'll be able to see me."
"Oh, that's right," Luigi said. "Maybe you should just stay here, then."
"Fine," James agreed, "but I'm not to good at defending whole forts."
"Ahm come on! Defending a fort is much easier then sneaking into one!" Waluigi said.
"You're right, this will be easy!" he agreed.
"That's the spirit, James!" Bow said.
"Don't use my name! Call me 008!" he shouted. (Try typing his code name into a calculator and then turning it upside down!)
"Everyone ready?" Mario asked.
The plumbers nodded as the three Boos and the Shadow Siren waved goodbye.
"Then we're off!" said Purple.
5:37 AM; Palace of Shadows
van Gore and Boolossus were in the throne room arguing with each other over who should be second in command. Titaniboo was watching, and although he didn't mind the yelling, he was getting quite bored with the conversation. He sighed and then got an idea.
"You two, bring me my brother, and capture that Bowser creature again!" Titaniboo said. "You can each choose one of them, and you'll have until noon today to train whichever one of them you pick. Then, come back with him here, and they'll fight. Whoever wins, their coach will become my second in command!"
"And what are the rules, Your Greatness?" Boolossus asked.
"Simple, anything goes except attacking the other coach," Titaniboo said. "Having someone else attack him for you is also forbidden. However, attacking the fighter is allowed at any time, even before the match. Now, to decide who gets to have who, we'll flip a coin. Heads, and Boolossus gets my brother, otherwise van Gore does. Understood?"
The two of them nodded, and he flipped a coin. It landed on heads.
"You'll find Bowser trapped in a tree a few feet south of the ruins to his new castle," Titaniboo explained. "And you'll find my brother's picture suspended about half an inch above the lava of the Barrel Volcano, about ten miles east of there. Do not go north, that's the Hotfoot Volcano. Well, what are you two waiting for? Go and get them!"
And with that, the two of them flew off to find their new servants.
10:12 AM; Sky Land Tower
"This place brings back bad memories," Luigi said.
"What are you talking about?" Mario asked. "We stopped Roy, returned the king to normal, saved the day, and found a faster route to the spice mines of Ice Land! Not to mention we got to use the legendary Kuribo's Shoe, which I'll never forget! How can this give you bad memories?"
"Let's see, I fell from the tower as we were climbing, without Raccoon power I might add," Luigi started. "We got separated in the tunnel on our way here, you got the only Kuribo's shoe, which left me to jump over the Munchers unsuccessfully, Roy gave me a black eye, and I found out that shaking hands with the king is the same as declaring war on him! Does any of that ring a bell?"
"Actually, no," Mario said. "You sure that wasn't that nightmare that kept you up the first day we were in Ice Land?"
"Oh, yeah... never mind," Luigi laughed, but everyone else just sighed in an annoyed manner.
"I am the better one," Waluigi said.
"You want to duke this out with Quadramashers?" Luigi asked. "Or is Mr. Pipecleaner too scared?"
"And give myself a hundred bruises? Yeah right!" Waluigi laughed. "Just remember that after all of this is over, you'll be wishing you had that curse to protect you from me!"
"Any time you're ready, and did I mention that purple is very feminine?" Luigi asked.
"It is not!" Waluigi snarled. "And besides, my hat isn't purple, it's a redish blue!"
"Fine then, you're right, it's not purple," Luigi said with a mocking smile on his face.
"Did he just say Waluigi was right?" Wario asked.
"He's probably trying to time a comeback," Mario said.
"It's violet!" Luigi shouted. "Which is even worse!"
"Maybe you should stop it, Luigi, you might upset Purple," Mario suggested.
"Why would I take insult from their childish antics?" Purple asked.
"Well, he unintentionally called you feminine," Mario said. "To most guys, that's an insult."
"I'm a woman," Purple said.
"Sorry, kind of hard to tell with Podoboos," Mario said.
"Look who's insulting Purple unintentionally now," Luigi said.
"Can we just do this without you four fighting?" Red asked. "In case you forget, we still need to get up there and go to the Wind Temple."
"And after that, we still need to go to the Water Temple as well," Green reminded them.
"So let's start the asscent," Yellow said. "Watch out: although only the path to the temple, the Tower is like a trial within itself. Although you needn't worry about passing a trial like the ones in the temples, it is still very trying to climb it."
"You obviously haven't seen how much this place has changed in the last ten millenia," Mario said. "The tower isn't that hard to climb at all, especially with these!"
Mario pulled four Tanooki Suits out of his pocket, and handed one to each of his fellow plumbers. They immediately put them on.
"Now we can just fly to the top!" he said. "You four can still fly up, right?"
"If we can hover, we can fly," Purple said.
"Then here we go!" Mario shouted as the four of them flew up to the top.
It took them less than a minute to ascend the tower. They did so with ease, and no hinderance.
"That was even easier then last time," Mario said.
"So where to now?" Luigi asked. "I've always felt uncomfortable with standing on clouds, so can we please do this quickly?"
"Fine with me. The quicker, the better," Red agreed.
"Wario, stand on the very center tile of the tower," Yellow said.
"Who do you think you're bossin' around?" Wario quirked.
"Please, we don't have time for this," Green said.
"Fine, but that pharoah hat better pay off big time!" Wario snarled as he did as Yellow had said.
"Now lift up your Quadramasher, and just wait for a few seconds," Yellow said.
Wario did so, and a spiralling rainbow path that led even higher appeared.
"Oh great, as if walking on clouds wasn't enough to give me a heart attack, now I have to walk on a rainbow," Luigi said. "This is really getting annoying."
They climbed up until the air started to get thin. The path came to a dead end.
"What now?" Mario asked.
"Oh no!" Purple said. "We forgot, the Twilight Palace only appears at night!"
"The what?" Waluigi said. "I thought we were going to the Wind Temple."
"The Twilight Palace has a resting place for the four Quadramahsers," Red explained, "and when they are there, the tower raises up. Then, at the ground, a door appears to another part of the tower. That part of the tower is the Wind Temple."
"Why can't the tower appear during the day?" Luigi asked.
"As long as the sun shines on something made of twilight bricks, they temporarily cease to exist," Green explained.
"And up here, there are no clouds to block the sun, so even during a storm, the sun shines on the palace during the day."
"You need something to block the sun then..." Mario said as he pondered. "Everyone, stand back!"
He pulled out his Quadramasher, and used the Ultra Fire Drive. The attack didn't have a target, but it created a lot of smoke. A few parts of the palace could be seen, but then dissappeared as the smoke evaporated into the thin air.
"It's too thin up here, I can't keep the flames going long," Mario explained. "There's no way I'd be able to create a large enough flame to last until we got the Quadramashers in and then got out. Actually, I'm not even sure I could make one large enough to last until we get inside!"
"I've got an idea!" Luigi said, "I'll try charging up enough electricity with the Thunderhand to make a thunderstorm, and that'll block the sun!"
"No, the clouds would gather below us, and the thunderstorm would simply make it harder for us to climb down the tower," Mario said. "What about you four, can you make a large flame together or something, like the Shadow Podoboos made the Fryguy?"
"If we were at full strength, perhaps," Red said, "but certainly not in our current condition."
"That's it!" Wario said. "I've got a great idea!"
"There's a first!" Waluigi laughed. "Not that we've got anything better to do, so tell us, and then we can all point and laugh at you!"
"You want to kiss the dirt?" Wario asked. "It would probably kill you from this height!"
"Just tell us your idea," Green said.
"We could burn these pictures," Wario said as he pulled out the picture of the Podoboo that he had captured in the Earth Temple.
"The problem isn't kindlin, we need more oxygen," Mario said.
"Wait, he might actually be on to something," Yellow said. "Spectral flames don't require oxygen to burn, but they still create smoke."
"Well, let's hope they can burn long enough to do this," Mario said as the others handed him their pictures. He placed them on the path, and put the one from his pocket with them. He only used a small amount of energy to light them, and they lit up brightly.
"Hurry, we'll make sure the flames stay lit. Just enter, and you'll see four slots in the wall," Purple explained. "Just put the Quadramashers in all of them at the same time, and turn them ninety degrees clockwise. The tower will then be at the height of the rainbow path, and you'll be able to enter the Wind Temple."
The four of them ran in, and already they saw the palace beginning to fade again. They saw the wall, and did as Purple had said. The roof of the palace had already disappeared, and the walls were fading fast. They turned the hammers, and heard the rumble of the tower raising up. They tried to run towards the exit, but the floor had faded between them, and even together, the Mario Bros. couldn't make the jump, much less Waluigi, and especially not Wario.
"This doesn't look good," Mario said. "We're getting less and less ground to stand on every second."
"I'm too rich to die!" Wario cried.
"If I'm going down, at least I know that Green Bean won't outlive me!" Waluigi said. "But I'd rather survive. Somebody do something quick!"
"Okay," Luigi said, and then he sat down and started to suck his thumb.
"Not that!" Mario said, as they were forced to stand together on a single tile. It disappeared, and they began to fall.
"At this rate, we'll reach the ground in about forty seconds," Luigi said. "Too bad we don't have the Feathers, otherwise we could just use the capes to float down!"
"Wait a minute!" Mario said, "What were we thinking? We're wearing Tanooki Suits!"
The four of them then started flapping their tails so that they fell gently to the ground below.
10:54 AM; Wind Temple entrance
The door showed a tornado as the symbol where the mountain and volcano had been on the other temples. The four Podoboos took a few minutes to fly down low enough for the plumbers to see.
"You must prepare yourself for the trial of wits," Red said. "You won't need weapons other than the Quadramasher needed to open the door... I hope."
"So what should we expect?" Waluigi asked. "Or can you not tell us for some obscure and ridiculous reason?"
"You can expect to have to use your head, and don't take anything for exactly what it means," Green said.
"And the less sense something makes, the more important it usually is," Purple added.
"When you're ready, Wario, you may open the door," Yellow concluded.
"Time to show this temple who's boss!" Wario said as he slammed the Quadramasher into the slot on the door, and then removed it. The door opened, and revealed a long hallway with a door at the end. Other than that, it had plenty of torches on each side, and was relatively empty. The four of them went through the hall, and realized that the door had a message engraved into it. The message was in a language unfamiliar to any of them but Yellow. Luigi gave everyone a worried look as Yellow proceeded to read it.
"It's in Quatrorian," Yellow said. "That's the language that I spoke all my life. This sure brings back memories, but we haven't any time for me to reminisce. It says:
"To the heroes who wish to work as one, we present you this trial. At each of these doors, you must read a riddle. Each of you must solve one riddle, and never are you allowed to speak with one another after this first door. This door is to be solved by all four of you, and then it will open. We wish you luck in the future, and may you never need to use the power found in this sacred temple.
"Then there is a second paragraph, this seems to be the riddle itself... ha! You should have no trouble with this one! The riddle reads,
"I have a nose
and yet no head,
I have two
wings, heavy as lead,
Despite my
wings, feathers I lack,
Although no
legs, I've a tail in back,
Put it together,
and I can fly,
Can you tell
me, what am I?
"That's it," Yellow said.
"A nose, but yet no head?" Wario asked. "Is this a true story?"
"It's a riddle, you airhead!" Mario said. "Let's see, all birds have feathers, so it can't be a bird."
"Maybe it's a bat," Luigi said.
"No, bats have legs and a head," Waluigi said.
"You're an airplane!" Wario shouted.
"Is that your idea of an insult?" Waluigi asked. "If you really want to mess with Mario's head, call him short or something, don't just call him random objects!"
The door opened, and Wario laughed.
"Come on, you numbskulls," Wario said. "I've got a trial to pass!"
The path that opened was shorter, and looked identical to the last one, with the exception of the hall's length. Upon closer inspenction, however, the plain stone tile pattern was broken with a small circle directly in front of the blank door.
"So, who's first?" Yellow asked. "You'll have to stand here until the other three go on ahead."
"I'll go first," Luigi said. "I've never been too good with riddles, so I'll take the easy one."
"Okay, step on the circular tile," Yellow instructed.
A light surrounded Luigi after he did so, and an inscription made of pure light appeared on the door.
"I can't read it," Luigi said, although no one could hear him but Yellow.
"They can't hear you, Luigi," Yellow explained. "Can you hear me?"
"Yeah, can you?" Luigi asked.
"Yes, here's the riddle," Yellow said as he read it aloud. "Oh, wow! This one is almost as old as me! What walks by four legs in the morning, two during the noon, and three in the evening?"
"I know this one! That's the riddle of the Sphinx!" Luigi said. "And back in high school Mario told me that taking mythology would never pay off! The answer is man, who crawls on his hands as a child, walks on two legs as a man, and uses a cane when stricken by age."
The door opened, but the circle of light was still surrounding Luigi, and he couldn't get out.
"Why is it the circle still here?" Luigi asked.
"Yellow did say that we would have to stay there until the trial is complete," Mario reminded him.
"I wanna go next!" Wario shouted. "Outta the way, losers!" Wario ran up to the next hallway, which looked exactly the same as the last one (with no exceptions this time). "Read it to me!" Wario shouted, not even on the circular tile yet.
"You have to step on the tile first," Yellow sighed.
Wario did so, and shouted, "Well? What are you waiting for?"
Yellow grumbled in Quatrorian, and then looked at the door to read the riddle. "It goes something like this:
"Valuable I
am, that you know,
Try to scratch
me, you'll fail to do so,
Rare it is
for one to find me,
What am I,
can you see?
"That's it, and you should be able to get this one with ease, knowing your one-track mind!" Yellow quipped.
"It's money!" Wario shouted. The torches on the left side of the hallway went dark.
"No! Be careful, you only get three guesses!" Yellow warned him.
"Well, gold is hard, and rare, so gold!" Wario shouted.
The rest of the torches in his hallway went out. Mario and Waluigi were complaining about how easy the riddle was, but Wario could only see their mouths moving.
"Think! You need to think!" Yellow shouted.
"Diamonds?" Wario said with a worried voice. The door opened.
"I'll take the next one," Mario said. "Can you handle the last one?"
"No problem!" Waluigi said. "Just remember, you and your brother owe me!"
Mario stepped onto the tile, and awaited Yellow's translation.
"This one is a bit trickier then the last three," Yellow warned, "but here it is:
"Who am I,
I that am invisible to your eye,
'Cept when
the moon blocks the rest of me from the sky,
To look at
me at any time, a bad idea it would be,
You ask me,
'Who am I?' You tell me!
"That is how the inscription reads," Yellow said, "and I'm not sure what the answer is myself..."
"Hmm... interesting," Mario said. "Why do I have a feeling the answer is close by? Are you a star?"
Nothing happened.
"Odd, it should have either opened the door if correct, or blown out half the torches in this hallway if not," Yellow said in a very perplexed manner.
"Unless it isn't correct, but still true," Mario said, then thought for a few more moments before he said. "It's the sun, part of it anyways. You are the Coronasphere! Visible to the naked eye only during a total solar eclipse. This proves once and for all that taking astronomy instead of joining Luigi in mythology was a better choice."
Yellow laughed, and decided that he wouldn't tell the Mario Bros. of what the other had said.
The door opened up, revealing a much larger door at the end of the final hallway, which got larger until it actually reached the door. Before the circular tile were a few stairs, three to be exact, that raised the floor a bit. Waluigi ran towards the door and stepped on the circular tile. "Here goes nothing," he said.
"I still can't beleive I didn't get that last one," Yellow said. "It was so obvious!"
"What about this riddle, what does it say?" Waluigi asked. "Come on, you and the other Podoboos kept complaining about how slow we were goin', so come on!"
"I don't even have the faintest idea what this one means," Yellow said, "but here it goes:
"Take a number,
and add a letter for my name to be complete,
Take this
new letter, count the times it appears in defeat,
Use the letter
that matches that number to savor,
Add a dark
fruit that begins with the letter for flavor,
Put me in
the over, don't let me fry,
Now put me
in your mouth, tell me, what am I?
"Who do they think this team is made of, Albert Einstien, Thomas Alva Edison, Benjamin Franklin, and Leonardo da Vinci?" Yellow asked with a shout. "This is impossible!"
"Well, at least I have two brains to figure this out," Waluigi said.
"Even if I could help you, I haven't a clue what it means!" Yellow said.
"I wasn't talking about your brain! I think that I got Wario's brain before I was born, and that's why he's so stupid," Waluigi joked.
"This isn't the time to joke around!" Yellow shouted. "You have to figure out the answer to an impossible riddle! And you only get three guesses!"
"This will be a piece of cake!" Waluigi said.
Half of the lanterns went out.
"Hey! That wasn't
my answer!" Waluigi shouted. "Wait a minute, cake, that's it! You're a
blueberry pie!"
The rest of the
torches went out.
"Wait, not blue, you're a blackberry pie!" Waluigi said with his fingers crossed.
The lights surrounding the tiles disappeared, all the torches lit back up, and the door opened to reveal a shaft of steam rushing upwards.
Mario ran up to the door, then Wario, and lastly Luigi.
"Wario, step into the airshaft and it will take you to the shrine of the statue," Yellow said. "But be careful, I've a feeling that another ghost may be protecting it."
Wario ignored the warning and stepped into the shaft. He floated there for a few seconds, until the air finally blasted him up.
"I don't understand," Yellow said. "How was the answer blackberry pie?"
"The number I started with was the greek letter pi, which is a number in English. Add a letter, the letter 'e' to be exact, and it spelled out 'pie'," Waluigi said, "The letter 'e' appears twice in defeat, and the letter that matches the number 'two' is the second letter in the alphabet, 'b'. A dark fruit that started with that letter 'b' is blackberry. Put them together, and you get blackberry pie!"
11:55 AM; Palace of Shadows: Throne Room
Bowser and King Boo were both worried, they knew each was a formidable foe. Boolossus and van Gore just smiled, each of them certain they had the stronger fighter.
"You two have five minutes to give any last weapons or advice to your fighter," Titaniboo said. "You won't be able to do anything but watch once it strikes noon!"
Boolossus gave King Boo a ? Block, and King Boo looked inside of it without revealing the item. The previous ruler of ghosts smiled sinisterly as he held the box closely.
Vincent simply took out his canvas and painted a ? Block, which he gave to his representative as well.
"So why are we here again?" Bowser asked.
"These two are both very powerful, and they both want to be my second in command," Titaniboo explained. "Whichever one of you two wins not only gets themselves off my torture list, but also makes their coach second in command. But, the fight won't be whoever gives up first loses, and seeing as my brother is one of the combatants, I can't very well ask you to fight to the death. So, the rules of the match are simple: make sure you inflict as much pain and torment on your opponent as possible. Now, my two judges will fly into you, and when you've had enough pain to lose, that judge will fly out of you and do with you as he pleases! And the judge will make you wish that your opponent was still beating you up! You have one minute left for any other stupid questions or preperations as of... now!"
van Gore quickly painted three more pictures. Two of them were spectral shields, one of which he kept for himself while the other he gave one to Titaniboo. Then he gave a camcorder to Bowser, and whispered something into Bowser's ear.
"Stop everything! No more preparations allowed!" Titaniboo said. "But before this battle begins, tell me, van Gore, why are you giving this to me?"
"Zee answer eez quite simple, my mastair!" Van Gore said. "Knowing zee past of Bowsair, he haz proven heemself to be disloyal. With zee weapons I gave to heem, I thought we might need some protection."
"I have no need for this pathetic excuse of protection!" Titaniboo said. "Boolossus, here, you can use it, but not for my brother! Van Gore may be right, Bowser will probably try to attack one or both of you two."
"We thank you, Master!" Boolossus said.
"And what have I told you about that?" Titaniboo shouted. "Unless you want to fight me, you will either separate or refer to yourself as a single entity!"
"Forgive u- um, forgive me, Master," Boolossus said.
"Judges!" Titaniboo shouted, and then two ordinary Boos appeared and flew into Bowser and King Boo.
"Begin!" Titanboo said.
Bowser immediately did his Fire Storm attack (where he breathes fire into the air in Super Mario 64, but only in the third fight against him). King Boo instantly turned invisible and phased through the flames as they fell. After the flames burnt out, King Boo summoned his Bowser bot.
"Hey! That's an infringment of copyright!" Bowser shouted. "Time to show you what a real Koopa can do!"
Bowser opened up his ? Block to reveal a Super Mushroom. Bowser ate it, and turned into Giga Bowser.
With one hit of his Blizzard Spin (smash down attack), Billion Bowser broke Bowser Bot. (Say that five times fast!)
"You still can't hit me, you fool!" King Boo said.
Giga Bowser used his Dark Smash (smash forward attack) and the dark energy made King Boo vulnerable.
King Boo laughed and said, "That all you have? Try this on for size!"
King Boo opened up his ? Block to reveal a Blue Spiny Shell. He threw it at Giga Bowser, creating a blinding flash of destruction. When everyone could see again, Bowser was still standing, but barely able to stand. Also, he was no longer in his Giga form. Bowser growled and then gave his own laugh as he pulled the camcorder from inside of his shell. King Boo was sucked into it, and then the judge from King Boo flew out of the camcorder.
"Never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually feeling sorry for your brother," the judge said to Titaniboo. "No ghost should have to go through that!"
"Sounds like my type of victory!" Titaniboo laughed, then snatched the camcorder out of Bowser's hands. "Van Gore, explain what this thing does!"
Just then, from the front entrance to the throne room, Gadd came in, lab coat torn and dusty, with a battered up Poltergust 3002.
"You call that guy a prison guard? He was so scared of me he gave me the keys!" Gadd said, then he turned and pointed to van Gore. "Now, you of all ghosts are especially going down! No one steals my inventions!"
Gadd flipped the switch and started to suck up van Gore.
"Boolossus, stop the prisoner at once!" Titaniboo shouted. "Vincent, explain yourself!"
"Zees weapon I gave to Bowsair eez something I saw when I was torturing zee preesonairs!" van Gore said as Boolossus ignored the battle.
"Interesting," Titaniboo said. "Boolossus! I told you to stop the prisoner!"
"Oh, fine! Just when things were getting good!" Boolossus sighed as they (Oh great, now Boolossus has me doing it!] broke the Poltergust 3002.
"You ghouls are fools if you think I'll let you get me that easily," Gadd said as he revealed his Banshee Bath Robe under his lab coat. "A good genuis always has a backup plan!"
Gadd started to walk through the walls in an attempt to escape, when Titaniboo stepped in and grabbed the professor.
"Interesting," Titaniboo said as he held the camcorder. "It seems my servants actually fear you... Explain to me what this device does."
"Simple," Gadd said. "You take a picture of a ghost, and they get put into whatever tape is in the recorder at the time."
"And just what movie did you put in it?" Titaniboo asked.
"Respect your elders!" Gadd shouted, then remembered Titaniboo's age. "Oh, never mind the elders part. You know, you'd probably get a lot more cooperation if you said please."
"How's this? Please don't make me kill you!" Titaniboo shouted.
"Not exactly what I meant, but I seem to be in no position to argue," Gadd sighed. "It's not one movie on the tape though, it's three."
"Just answer my question, what are the movies?" Titaniboo said with the jewel on his headdress glowing.
"Ghostbusters, Ghostbuster 2, and Ghostbusters 3," Gadd said with a meek laugh.
Titaniboo laughed, then smiled with a sinister look in his eye, and said, "For someone who hates ghosts so much, you sure have a good sense of humor."
"I don't hate ghosts," Gad said. "I hate evil ghosts."
"Well then, I'm sure that I can fix that!" Titaniboo said as his jewel glowed brightly. "And this time, I'm going to make sure this minion is loyal!"
A flash of lightning stuck Gadd, and he fell to the ground. When Gadd got up, he looked around with a confused look, and said, "What just happened, Master?"
"I was making you my second in command when my brother tried to betray me," Titaniboo said. "He hit you instead, and van Gore's pet here stopped him."
"Really? What a magnificent specimen," Gadd said as he poked and studied Bowser. "Master, if I may, I'd take this specimen into my lab for study?"
"What did you call me?" Bowser growled. "You're nothing without your machines, old man! Don't think that I can't take you on!"
Gadd pulled out Bowser's tongue and punched the Koopa King, then said, "You care to repeat that, youngin'?"
"No shir!" Bowser said with difficulty. "I'm ma shpeckiman, got ith."
"Do what you like, just make sure you invent more torture devices," Titaniboo laughed as Gadd walked off, with Bowser still being dragged by his tongue.
"Zees eez an outrage!" van Gore shouted. "Bowsair won, and zerefore, I am to be your second een command!"
"Shut up, you fool!" Titaniboo shouted. "The only reason Bowser won was because of the professor's torture device, which I'm hoping he'll make a lot more of. Besides, if you really want me to listen to you, then please, try to force me to do so. I'm sure my brother wouldn't mind company. Now, unless you're foolish enough to try to attack me, go and wait outside the Wind Temple. I have a feeling the plumbers should be finishing up there. And take Boolossus with you, he hasn't been doing anything useful.
12:05 PM; Wind Temple inner sanctum
Wario was in a large circular room, just like the first two, except for the fact that the symbol on the floor was a tornado. Wario picked it up and the earth started to shake.
"What's going on?" Wario asked. He ran back to the shaft and fell down face-first. When he got up, the earth was still shaking.
"What'd you do this time?" Mario asked.
"Nothing, I just pulled out the statue," Wario snarled. "It was probably your fault, fire starter!"
"Let's get out of here now!" Yellow said. "The temple is sinking back into the ground where it belongs!"
"You could've warned us about that before we entered the temple!" Luigi said.
"Less talking, more running!" Waluigi said as he was the first to run off.
The others soon followed. When they were in the first hallway, they were ambushed by Boolossus.
"Hello Luigi, remember us?" he asked.
"Tried to forget, but yeah," Luigi said. "Ready for me to put you on ice again?"
"You can't defeat us with ice again, there's no ice elementals here," Boolossus reminded him. "How do you expect to stop us now?"
"We'll find a way... I hope," Luigi sighed.
"We haven't got time for this," Yellow said. "And how dare you come into this temple, it's forbidden!"
"Ooh, the big bad Podoboo is threatening us, whatever shall we do?" Boolossus asked sarcastically. "Put a sock in it, hot head! Hey, why are you helping these four anyway?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but my friends outside and I are the four who originally sealed Titaniboo away," Yellow said,."Honestly, I'd think that his second in command would know at least a quarter of what he does, but your head is as empty as it looks!"
"Actually, we're not his-" Boolossus almost told them about Gadd, then paused and said, "We mean we're not as stupid as we look!"
"Ha! Is that supposed to be a comeback?" Wario asked. "We'll beat you up in no time!"
"Look who's talking, bones for brains!" Boolossus said. "Hey, is it just me, or is it getting bright in here?"
"Thunderhand!" Luigi shouted as a bolt of lightning stunned Boolossus.
"I've got an idea," Waluigi said. "Wario, put each hand to the side of your head and stand still!"
"What are you doing?" Wario asked as he got into position.
Waluigi climbed into one of the holes formed by Wario's arms and signaled to Luigi to do the same, then he said, "You could call it a double Bros. Attack."
Luigi climbed in, and everyone but Waluigi was still confused.
"Mario, hit your brother and I with the Quadramasher charged up, understand?" Waluigi asked.
"Okie-dokie! I get it now!" Mario said as he prepared to hit his brother. "Green Missile... fire!"
Luigi flew head first into Boolossus. (Green Missile is the forward B attack in Super Smash Bros. Melee.)
Mario recharged the Quadramasher and shouted, "Purple Missile... fire!"
The same thing happened to Waluigi. Boolossus shattered into the fifteen Boos that formed him.
"You still can't stop us!" Boolossus said in unison. "We can still reform easily."
When they tried
to do so, they succeeded, but little did Boolossus notice that shattering
him was only a distraction.
"Glad we got out of there in time," Mario said as the door to the temple finished sinking back into the dust from whence it came.
"Yeah, that was too close!" Luigi said.
"I agree!" Wario said. "I was afraid I'd never get to see my precious gold again!"
"Let's hurry up and go to the Water Temple," Purple said. "We haven't got much time."
"I agree, vecauze your time eez up!" said van Gore as he appeared from the shadows. "And say hello to an old friend, the Anceent Black Jew-wel of Greed!"
Vincent van Gore revealed a canvas from behind him, and started to paint.
"The what?" Mario asked. "This has to be something you fought, Wario."
"What gave it away?" Wario asked. "I never told anyone about that adventure."
"The word 'greed' is in the name, that has your name written all over it!" Mario said.
"I'll zee you untalented swines later, I am certain of eet!" van Gore said as he disappeared.
"Brace yourselves, everyone!" Wario said as the Ancient Black Jewel of Greed came to life.