The Evils Within

Chapter 9

Mr. L hopped the large concrete wall into Peach's courtyard, careful to avoid the large mass of flowers scattered about. He made his way towards the pink gate that separated the castle from the garden, cautiously slipping through it to cause as little noise as possible.

The warp room, a room full of warp pipes, was across the hall from the outside gate, and Mr. L's first stop. He walked slowly through the hall, taking a quick peek into open doorways to make sure it was clear.

One room, in particular, actually stopped him in his tracks. Of all the rooms, this one wasn't empty. Taking a peek in the room, he saw Peach, Dreambert, Mario, and Luigi sitting around a small table discussing something.

"Something is out there. I don't know what it is, but if it was smart enough to leave the dream world, it could potentially pose a threat," Dreambert continued his explanation of something Mr. L didn't hear the beginning.

He knew that they were talking about him, however, but that just meant he needed to be extra careful. He quickly stepped across the doorway, nearly losing his balance with the large step.

The next door down was the room he was looking for. In it, were pipes scattered all over the place. All with their own color pallet and label. In front of him, four pipes stood out. A yellow-orange one labeled 'Sarasaland', a white-green one labeled 'Beanbean Kingdom', a gray-orange one labeled 'Pi'illo Island', and a black-red one labeled 'Bowser's Castle - Remove when possible'.

This last one, however, was different from the others. This one was blocked off by some sort of cover, presumably to keep anything from entering or exiting. Mr. L simply slid off the cover and jumped in, ready for part one of his plan.

Mr. L stuck his head out of the warp pipe, the warm air from the lava brushing against his skin. It was difficult to breathe here, on account of the heat. Climbing out of the pipe, he tripped over the edge, sending him face-first into the hot asphalt, and sending a stinging sensation through his face. He picked himself up and looked around.

Bowser's castle stood alone on its own island, a moat of lava surrounding it. A much larger island surrounded the castle, a metallic bridge connecting them.

Mr. L ran to the bridge into Bowser's castle. The soles of his shoes pounded hard against the bridge, the metallic sounds echoing throughout the kingdom, alerting all sorts of enemies, including King Bowser himself.

A magikoopa, emerging from the side of the castle, charged towards Mr. L on its broomstick. It pointed its wand towards him, shooting two blue balls of pure energy. Mr. L jumped over the first one, then the second before jumping once more. This time, over the magikoopa, snatching its wand in the process. Upon landing, he pointed the wand towards it, launching another ball of energy to the broomstick, causing the magikoopa to crash into the bridge, all without looking back.

Mr. L now stood in front of the gates to Bowser's castle. He gave it a light push. Locked. He glanced at the magic wand that he held, getting an idea. He pointed the wand to the middle of the gates, where he figured the lock mechanism would be and charged it up. Looking away from the imminent blast, Mr. L sent the ball of energy not only through the gate but through the room that accompanied it.

Mr. L pushed the door again. This time, it opened right up. With a smile, he snapped the wand in half over his knee and threw it off the island into the lava.

~~~~~

Bowser sat in his throne that sat adjacent to the front gate. Now alerted by an unknown presence, he sat ready to attack, a small entourage of his minions ready to assist. A blue ball shot through the gate and across the room, narrowly missing the king's throne and leaving a singed mark in the wall. This only ticked Bowser off, his claws beginning to dig into the armrests of his chair.

The gates open just a tad before opening completely, revealing a single Mario brother in rather unusual attire. Now, Bowser was just confused.

"Green-stache?" Bowser loosed the grip he had on the throne and sighed in relief, "For a second there, I thought I should be worried." As Bowser talked, Mr. L slowly walked closer to him.

Bowser immediately crossed his arms. "I have not kidnapped Peach in about two weeks. What do you want with me?" He asked, growing rather impatient.

"I'm not here about the whereabouts of the princess, I actually have a proposal for you," Mr. L responded, now at the foot of the throne.

Bowser raised an eyebrow.

"I challenge you to a duel!" Mr. L exclaimed, pointing towards the Koopa king, a confident smile on his face for extra 'flair'.

Bowser broke out into laughter, a couple of his minions joining in. "What is this, the middle ages? Why would I possibly do that?" He asked, struggling to keep a straight face.

"I figured you'd ask, that's why I propose a wager," Mr. L now crossed his arms, "If you win, I can guarantee you a takeover of the Mushroom Kingdom."

This caught Bowser's attention. All it took was a fight with the wimpiest of the Mario duo and the Kingdom he wished to overthrow was his. It sounded almost too good to be true.

"...but," Mr. L continued, "If I win, I get your kingdom."

There was the catch.

Bowser looked away from Mr. L, not showing any concern in his eye, but he felt it. He didn't want to admit it, but he definitely felt some concern. "As if. Like I would ever fork over my kingdom to someone of the likes of you."

"What's the matter? Don't think you could take on little ol' me?" Mr. L taunted, knowing full well Bowser doesn't make the right decisions when he's angry.

Bowser took offense to that statement. "Of course I could! I can snap you like a damn twig!" Steam emitted from his nostrils as he exhaled in anger.

"Then what's the harm of a little battle?"

"Alright, it's on! You. Me. Battle. Koopa Stadium. Winner gets the loser's kingdom!" Bowser was having none of this. He was ready to pummel this cocky little bastard into the ground.

Mr. L simply smiled for little did Bowser know, he had a trick up his sleeve. It was all coming together.