Chapter 5: Journey to the Center of the Island

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            Kamek stared down at the Yoshies who stood in front of his castle doors

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Kamek stared down at the Yoshies who stood in front of his castle doors. He couldn't believe they'd lasted this long yet again! Even after he'd used his magic on the creatures of this island, they'd still managed to both survive, and evade capture! His minions have been scouring the island, and yet the Yoshies have walked right to his doorstep!!!

Kamek shut his eyes tight, forcing himself to remain calm. Last time he let himself get angry like this he destroyed his own castle.

It's fine, he decided. They would just come right to him, and then...

No, he had a better idea.

He looked back at the young King Bowser who rested in his tiny throne. He picked up the child and began making his way down the tower.

Let them come, he thought. They won't stand a chance. Not this time.

___

Mario knelt at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the castle. It looked to still be partially under construction, so it was probably only half as tall as it would end up being. At the door of the castle however, a herd of Yoshies began moving in. With them was the child, safe for now.

Getting up, Mario started down the cliffs, keeping out of sight. By the time he made it down, the Yoshies had already entered the castle.

Mario followed after them, sneaking in as the door slammed shut.

___

The Yoshies started for the stairs leading up, but baby Mario stopped them. He pointed another direction, leading them into a low ceilinged chamber with several doors lining the walls. They all looked exactly the same; wooden doors with rusted copper pipes framing them, winding up to the ceiling and down through the floor. In the center of the room was a pit, but it was too dark to see just how far it went.

It was clearly a maintenance room of some kind, with each door leading to the inner-workings of some important part of another room somewhere else in the tower. But baby Mario didn't lead them to any of the doors, and instead pointed at the pit before them.

The Yoshies froze, not knowing whether or not they should jump, or try to find another way.

___

Mario ducked into the maintenance room, hiding behind the pipes as the Yoshies stepped closer to the pit. He looked around, wondering what he could do to help. The child obviously knew to go down, but that was too far to fall.

He worked his way around the room, staying hidden in the shadows. He made it to the small access panel, looking over the switches. He found one labeled "Stairs," but before he could flip it, the Yoshi holding the child had already begun his descent.

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