Chapter 22: The Lords of Boo Mansion ~ The chanting and great cheers of the crowd grow immensily loud as Mario made his way through the door and into the Glitz Pit. They were calling his name, and cheering for his victory. Mario walked proudly with Yosh by his side, gazing into the blinding abyss of bright spotlights and flashing cameras. He smiled with confidence at the audience, though he could make out none of them by sight. Their great cheers were so loud and scattered that they gave Mario's heart a start and began his flow of adrenalin. He made his way through the crowd, walking towards the immense brick stage in front of him. He bounded on the heavy steps, making his way up to the platform where the light died a little (though not very much) and he could see Ms. Jolene standing in the center of the large square stage, the enormous plasma screen behind her showing a large image of Mario for all to see.
"Here he is everyone!" she cried out into her microphone, pausing for the crowd to die down. "The Grrreat Gonzales!"
The crowd became even louder than before, which couldn't have been good for anyone's ears considering how loud they were previously. Mario waved a hand smiling as he listened to their great chants of:
"GONZALES! GONZALES! GONZALES!" The cameras were going crazy. 'There certainly seemed to be more people here than before', Mario thought to himself. 'Perhaps I'm truly developing some just fans that will see me through!' Mario liked that thought, and decided to stick with it for now, not thinking about who his opponents were. The heat was ceratinly more fierce on the stage now than it had been before.
Yosh jumped up and down, openly accepting his audience's applause, for here and there was the occasional sign that read; "GO YOSH!" or perhaps even, "GULP 'EM UP!" which was clearly aimed at Yosh considering Mario lacked the ability to "gulp". Yosh's fans were mainly of the younger crowd, most likely thinking that Mario's little sidekick was cute. As long as Yosh did not know this, everything would be okay! Cause, if he did know that people thought he was cute, they might just be his next meal.
Mario had soaked in enough of the fame just as Ms. Jolene raised her microphone to her bright red lips and said;
"And now, the opponents of the Great Gonzales." It had suddenly hit Mario who he was up against. The opponents that Yosh couldn't get by, and the most struggled-against fighters in Glitz Pit! "The Trecherous Five, the Lords of the Boo Mansion, The Ghosts From Broadway, The Band of Boos!!!"
There were cheers and jeers from the crowd as the lights slowly began to turn dim. Mario quickly (and naturally) turned to Yosh.
"Yosh," Mario whispered. Yosh turned to look at Mario. "You've already fought these guys, do you know any hints to get us through?"
To Mario's disappointment Yosh shook his head. "These guys are really tricky Mario, and I let them get the best of me. They use fear and intimidation as their main weapon!" Mario assumed that sounded just like a Boo to do. "Just don't let them get to you, and keep your eyes alert."
Mario nodded as his stomach churned anxiously, waiting for the arrival of what may be the most tricky opponent so far. He would have loved to be completely confident about them at that very moment, simply say to himself that he has made it this far, and they're bound to be easy, but he certainly didn't want to get cocky.
Mario suddenly noticed that the lights had been shut off, along with the large plasma screen, and his surroundings now had a cool look to them. Except for the occasional flash of a camera, it was very dark.
"What's going on?" whispered Mario, though Yosh did not reply, instead he put his finger to his lips and pointed forward. Mario looked to see that he was facing the opposing door where the enemy would normally come out from. Ms. Jolene could be seen rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms.
Mario stared at the door, waiting for it to open, revealing five boos that were sure to have cruel looks on their faces and tricks up their sleeves. But then, Mario suddenly heard the audience gasp. Mario saw nothing, and was unaware of the reason for their sign of surprise. Yosh tugged on Mario's sleeve. Mario looked down at him to see that his head was raised, looking towards the ceiling. Mario looked up as well to see a rather odd sight. A glossy, dark blue piano was hovering above their heads. Mario step backwards, assuming that it would fall on them. It did not, however, it remianed floating.
Silence filled the room as the audience watched anxiously and Mario's heart skipped a beat. Then, the piano started playing. It was a cold, eerie tune, that brought shivers up Mario's spine. As he looked up to the front of the piano, he saw that there was no one playing it. He looked back towards Ms. Jolene to find that although she was watching the piano, she had no look of surprise on her face, and had her arms crossed as though impatient. Mario looked up again just in time to see a boo appear hovering next to the piano. Actually, he was the one playing the piano, he was simply invisible.
The boo was as pale as the moon as Mario and Yosh looked up at him, only able to see his round body along with his two short, white arms which were gently tapping the piano keys. The eerie song traveled through the Glitz Pit, echoing off the walls and causing stomachs to churn anxiously.
Suddenly, the song of the piano became a lot catchier, though still quite eerie. This called a few members of the audience to laugh nervously, or whisper to one another. Then, there came an anonymous snapping sound to follow the song's beat. The murmur of the audience became louder as Mario stared in front of him, for that is where the snapping sound was originating from. And indeed, as he stared the mysterious snaps became revealed. Four boos slowly appeared in front of Mario. They were in perfect file, each side by side. There faces were hidden to Mario and Yosh, for in their right hands they all held a top hat. Their top hat was held up in front of their faces, the brim of the hat facing them. They all seemed very simontaneous, and well rehersed. Each top hat was a different color, from right to left the first was a deep blue. It was mysterious, and still. Next there was green. It looked less-serious than the blue, and rather playful. Then there was plum. A mysterious color, that seemed rather magical in a way. The last in their row was the deep color of red. It seemed a rich, and elegant color, with good taste.
The audience became arroused by the sudden appearance of the four boos and began whispering to their neighbors, and shouting out comments (that were most likely rude, though Mario couldn't make them out). The boos continued to float there and snap as the piano continued it's repeated, catchy, yet eerie tune. It was clear that they were waiting for the crowd to calm down once more, and as soon as it was finally quiet in the Glitz Pit, the piano played a new note. The boos suddenly twirled, and began a sort of intimidating dance as the song of the boo pianist became more catchy, and rich with more notes. But even still, the song had a strange eerie feel to it.
"Oooohhh," was the reply of the crowd as the boos began to flips, turns, swings, and many elegant and graceful dancing moves. It really was quite an amazing thing to watch.
"Don't let it get to you..." muttered Yosh out of the corner of his mouth as the boos continued to dance. It was amazing that the whole time they did this, they continued to keep their faces hidden from Mario under their top hats.
Finally, the pianist played his last note and the boos all floated down and made a proper bow, their hats held up in the air, and their faces looking towards the ground. The audience applaud politely, feeling a bit more proper after watching such a performance.
"And with that," said Ms. Jolene quietly into her microphone, "May the match begin!"
Almost as quickly as the gong rang out, the boos acted. The suddenly looked up at Mario and Yosh, giving them wide, grim smiles, and showing their pointed teeth and black eyes. They popped on their top hats in unison and instantly began flying all around the stage, going in many directions and laughing all the while in their cackling voices.
The pianist had suddenly broke into another song on his piano, this one sounding more dastardly and pronounced than the last. Mario was shocked at the sudden change in atmosphere, and wasn't sure what he should do. He saw Yosh next to him, getting into a fighter's stance and diving at one of the boos which was busy flying in loops near the stage, criss crossing with his other boo friends. Yosh tackled the floor with a loud thud as the boos began to laugh.
Mario tried to keep an eye on one of the boos, but they were simply too fast, and he kept getting them mixed up with a different boo. Suddenly, the boo in the green top hat shot out at Mario, flying straight into him with a cackling laugh. Mario felt suddenly weak, and almost sick. He clutched his stomach, feeling as though it was completely empty and about to fall out.
His mind was suddenly filled with depression, and a great loss in hope. Why was he even trying to fight these boos? He was simply worthless all together, and there was no use trying to do anything. Mario was about to sit down on the ground feeling no hope at all, when he suddenly heard Yosh yell:
"Gonzales!" Mario felt for a brief moment that there was still hope, and he realized another thing also. His head felt strangely uncomfortable, as if something was missing. He didn't feel his comfortable, cushiony 'M' cap which he was always used to wearing, instead he felt a rather uncomfortable, cold thing that was replacing it. It was stiff, and felt empty on Mario's head. He lifted up his arms and took hold of the brim of whatever was on his head. He threw it off, sending it to the ground, only to find that he had been wearing a green top hat, the boo's hat.
Mario reached for his head only to feel his hair. He gazed into the tornado of boos, digging his fingers into his ears to drown out the fast-paced piano music. Then he saw him. The boo that stole his red cap!
