Chapter One: Family Reunion
Mario and friends had just come back from there adventure on Isle Delfino. Mario was wiped. "Some vacation, huh Mario?" said Luigi. They had taken a long and dangerous trip, now they were glad to be home to the Mushroom city. Luigi had prepared a coming home cake for Mario. Mario felt good about this. He told Luigi about Bowser's eighth son, Bowser Jr., and how he was framed. "Hmm, Mario, the chancelor will be glad to see you again! Come with me."
Mario followed Luigi to the capitol building. The Mushroomer was delighted to see Mario. "Welcome back, friend!" the chancellor exclaimed.
"It's good to be back, sir," Mario said.
Peach called out from behind them, "Mario saved me from Bowser again!"
"Is this true, Mario?" the chancellor gasped. "I think we should reward Mario with a hero medal!" Mario blushed. Toad's and Peach's applause could be heard more than anything.
Meanwhile in the Koopa castle, Bowser was deep in thought. 'Why, why, why!' he asked himself. He just couldn't defeat the Mario Bros! Every plan he had, failed. He just couldn't think of a good enough plan.
Lemmy Koopa walked into the room. "Hey King Dad!, what's wrong?"
"It's failure, son. Failure has your old dad."
"Come on, Dad, cheer up!" Lemmy said.
His dad sighed heavily. "I was always beaten by those Mario Bros. Not once did I win, and it was all because of stupid plans, I need a foolproof plan." Bowser sighed again.
"Come on, Dad," Lemmy said. "We can get some nice hot Koopa Kola in the kitchen."
Suddenly it hit Bowser. "Son, I have an idea!" An evil glimmer twinkled in Bowser's eyes.
Back at the Mushroom city, everyone was too busy clapping for Mario to notice a huge shadow blotting out the sun and diving straight towards them!
Chapter Two: A Mysterious Figure in the Dark
Deep in the shadows of a long alleyway lurked a figure in a dark trenchcoat with a black hat. It was a mysterious Koopa with a dark blue shell and slick black hair. He had a kind of lazer gun in his pocket and well-polished claws. His teeth were perfectly streight, almost frighteningly straight; almost everything about him was perfect. Next to him was a smaller figure. It was a Shy Guy in the same clothes as the Koopa only not as neat; he had a torn mask with a crumpled propeller and a knife in his pocket.
The two were huddled around what looked like a walky talky only smaller and with a satelite dish. The screen flashed on and a voice that sounded like leaves scraping against themselves rang out. "My apprentice, I have a new job for you, there are a group of eggs called the Shreok eggs. Every milliom years these eggs hatch, and whoever gets these eggs gets power beyond your wildest dreams. In conclusion, you must find the eggs and bring them to me. If you sucseed you shall be grately rewarded. If you fail, well... do not fail me!" the voice commanded.
"Yes sir!" the dark-haired Koopa replied. He put the walky talky/satelight dish away.
The small Shy Guy whose name was Agent Guy shuddered. "Hey boss, how are we going to find the eggs?"
"No prob, I was studying a guy who might know where these eggs are," the Koopa said. Only the Koopa wasn't going to give the eggs to his boss, he was going to keep them for himself. "So declares Slimer49'r Koopa!"
Chapter Three: Things That Go Bump in the Night
The sun was setting on Yo'ster Isle and Yoshi was enjoying a nice cold drink. The sunset was beautiful on Yo'ster Isle, the way the oranges and yellows mixed together with the reds to make a rainbow of colors: blue, violet, green, and much more. He decided to joih his friends Billy and Peter. Billy was a blue Yoshi and Peter was a Yoshi who always wore a baseball cap. They talked about stuff and girls until it was dark. Yoshi was about to leave when the three of them heard a howl from the forest. Yoshi whimpered, "Yoshi no like howls from wood." His two freinds were cowering under a chair.
Peter finally stopped shaking. "I bet you two might want to come to the forest at midnight, unless you're scared."
"You're on!" Yoshi and Billy challenged, although Yoshi was already having second thoughts about it.
"Hey guys!" They jumped. Carmen, who had been listening in, wanted to come too. Carmen was a tall graceful girl Yoshi, and Yoshi and Carmen kind of liked each other. "I couldn't help overhearing that you guys were going to the woods. Can I come too?" Carmen asked them.
Yoshi was about to say yes but Billy and Peter refused. "No way, no girls!" Carmen sadly walked away. Yoshi felt bad, but Billy and Peter were his freinds.
They waited until midnight and then Yoshi met up with his friends at the edge of the forest. "I got a flashlight," said Peter.
"Good, we're going to need it," Yoshi said. All of a sudden a creature jumped out of the bushes!
Chapter Four: Flight and Fight
The wind howled outside the capital building, howled like a wolf crying at the moon, split like a scream through the icy air like a butcher's knife. A large gust of air blew past the Marios like a whirlwind of screams and shouts. Mario, startled by the sudden noise, looked up to see his old enemy Buzzar with Peach in his talons. Buzzar was a huge dark-feathered buzzard with a menacing bald head. His beak was razor sharp, enough to strike fear into anyone's heart. His beak could rip a piece of titanium steel alloy into shreds. He had huge dinosaur-like talons that glimmered in the sun like gold in a mine.
"Yee-haw! Can't catch me ya varmints!" Buzzar snarled with a terrible grin on his face, one that could scare the devil himself. Peach flailed helplessly in Buzzar's iron grip. "No use Peachy!" Buzzar cackled wickedly.
"Help, Mario!" she cried out desperately to the red-capped plumber.
"Don't worry, Peach!" Mario reasured her. Little did Peach know that Mario was also reassuring himself.
Two dark figures stepped out of a dark allyway, a Koopa followed by a Shy Guy. They whirled around and pointed at Buzzar, threatening him. "Eh, what's this?" Buzzar loved a challenge, especially when he won.
Slimer cried out in a false heroic voice, as was his plan, "Drop the princess!"
Buzzar was amused, no one had ever faced him with such bravery. He dove at his opponent, but missed. Slimer had rolled away just in time. "Stay still you tailed freak!" Buzzar was annoyed. He shot a sharp feather at Slimer but he jumped in the air and gave a flying karate kick to the big bird's face. Mario was awed. He had never seen such talent. "Arrgh! Now you've done it!" Buzzar shrieked in pain. He grabbed Slimer with his huge talons and rose into the air.
The oxygen was thick. Buzzar was used to these conditions; Slimer, however, wasn't so lucky. "L-let me go, you overgrown chicken!" He winced. Slimer shot a mini lazer at Buzzar, scorching his feathers. Buzzar screached. And what was this? The mysterious koopa falling out of the sky! Of course Slimer had more than just a few tricks up his sleeve. Buzzar turned away, disgusted. He had lost to a common Koopa!
Back on the ground, Mario got ready. "Who are you, Koopa? What do you want?"
The Koopa just stared for a second and then answered. "I am Slimer49'r Koopa, I come in peace!"
No one had noticed Slimer slip a tiny tracking device on Buzzar. Mario was so worried about Slimer that he had forgotten about Buzzar and Peach. When Luigi said, "Look!", Buzzar appeared to be heading to Yo'ster Isle. They raced to the pier looking for a right-sized boat.
Slimer49'r was near the dock of the pier. "We are going to get so much cash for this mission!" Slimer said.
The walky talky flashed on. "Slimer, how is the mission going?" the dry raspy voice asked.
Slimer was annoyed, but kept his cool. "It's going great." Slimer put the device back into his pocket. He threw something into the water and it instantly turned into a submarine-water skimmer. Slimer let out a cackle. "Let the games begin!"
Chapter Five: A Killer in the Woods
All three Yoshi boys screamed, "Aaaaaaah!"
It was Carmen, they had been afraid of a girl. "Hey guys!" she said. They should have known something like this would happen. "Now you have to take me with you!"
Billy and Peter groaned. "Lets get this over with," said Peter. They walked into the dark forest. It was cold, like icy winds tearing up your face. The quiet was the worst part. The tiniest sound made one jump. You never knew what might jump out at you. Everyone walked cautiously, not daring to move more than a step. The howl split the eerie silence like a knife through butter. Everyone shuddered at the sound that chilled their souls.
They were shaking more violently than ever until they saw footsteps leading to an old house. Peter smiled. "I bet whatever made those noises is in there."
The rest looked at him. "Dude, what if we don't wan't to find out what made that noise?" Billy asked.
"What, are you scared?" Peter teased.
"No way!" the rest said.
They went into the house only to find it empty. They were about to leave when a pair of red eyes shined in the dark. "Aaaaaah!" they all screamed and ran out of the forest as fast as possible.
"What was that thing?!" Billy asked.
"I don't know, but I don't wan't to find out!" Peter replied. They all went to bed.
Yoshi woke up the next morning, sweating. He was completely unaware of last night's events. He got out of bed to see his friends. "Why you guys here?" Yoshi asked.
"The cheiftain Yoshi is holding a town meeting, something to do with last night."
Yoshi remembered then. He went with his friends just in time to hear the Yoshi leader. "Fellow Yoshis, there is a murderer among us!" the leader shouted. They gasped to see a dead Yoshi body laying on the ground.
Chapter Six: Polar Trouble
Far within Dark Land, inside the Koopa Castle, Bowser had a smile that could wake the dead spread across his mouth. Lemmy Koopa backed away. You see, Bowser had come up with a plan to finally rid himself of those pesky Mario Bros once and for all. Lemmy Koopa was scared beyond belief, scared liked a rat being cornered by a cat, like a helpless jackalope surrounded by wolves. "Dad, are you okay?"
Bowser just smiled, almost a lifeless smile. "Oh, more than okay, son, more than okay." Bowser stood up and walked towards Lemmy. "You see, son, deep in the Barrel Volcano, there is a flaming bird called the Shreok. Every one million years, the bird comes out of the volcano, and whoever has his eggs at the time will get anything their hearts desire." Bowser grinned devilishly. "It's been one million years since the last time the bird rose from the depths of the volcano."
"Wow Dad!" Lemmy was amazed at his father's new plan. He ran upstairs to tell Ludwig, his older brother about it. "Ludwig! Dad has a plan!" Lemmy told Ludwig about his dads plan.
"Nonsense, everyone knows that is just a myth!" Ludwig retorted. "Does Father actually believe in that story?" Ludwig asked quizzically.
"I guess so," Lemmy replied to his older brother.
Ludwig sighed., "I guess we'll just have to go along with it."
Meanwhile Bowser was outside having his troops make a ship. If it had not been in an evil place maybe It might actually look pretty. Finally after days of work the ship was done. They took it to the dock and set sail for Yoshi's Island until Ludwig shouted, "Iceburg!" Bowser tried to steer away but they crashed. All they could do was watch their ship get devoured by the water.
Chapter Seven: Underwater Greeting
Over the great Vista Sea the icy waves rushed upon themselves like seels racing for food. They crashed and roared upon the shores like a huge blender without the cap on. Lightning flashed in the dark sky like a thick blanket of smog, covering the air.
The Koopas' ship had hit a huge iceburg towering above the water like a skyscraper, swallowing anything unlucky enough to come near it. The ship was sinking fast into the cold water. "Roy, I never got to tell you, I used your punching glove to unclog my toilet!" Lemmy said.
"You what?!" Roy asked.
The sea was rising higher and higher now. It went over their necks and than consumed them like a huge monster.
Under the deep blue water, Bowser felt strange. Is this what it feels like to die? he asked himself. But still he felt weird, like this wasn't supposed to happen. Bowser cautiously took a breath. He was astonished that he could breathe!
Bowser gasped as he saw a magnificent sight, a huge coral palace! The sun shimmered off the magnicent ruby structure. Carved emerald windows sparkeled like the sun. Huge towers rose up swirling like cotton candy in a machine. The breathtaking base of the crystal fortress was covered in all sorts of coral. His kids, having passed out when the ship went out, regained consciousness to see the amazing sight.
A weird fish creature swam up to them smiling warmly. "Welcome to the city of Aquamantanus!" The creature was about the size of a human. He had long fins like shredded paper on his arms and legs. He had dark blue scales that seemed kind of like emeralds. The one standing before them wore what looked like a dark blue T-shirt, and blue jeans. He also had a short fin on his head.
"How old are you, son?" Bowser asked. They were suprised to know that he was only 9 and already as tall as an adult human. "I am confused, how can we breathe right now?" Bowser asked.
"It is the secret of Aquamantanus," the fish creature said. "My name is Rouo-Aqua!" he replied.
Bowser studied him for a few seconds and then asked, "We need a new boat to get to the surface and continue our journey."
Rouo-Aqua smiled."You can eat and rest here, until your boat is ready." He spread his hands out wide in a gesture of kindness. "Well, I am the tourguide!" Rouo-Aqua swam off, followed by Bowser and his kids.
"This is the first stop," Rouo-Aqua said. They gasped in awe as they saw the fantastic sight of coral fields. The coral rose up like tall towers. Aquamantarian children laughed and played in the brightly colored reef. The coral had a mixture of many different colors. A swirling aroma of light and color mixed with the great water around them.
They heard a trumpeting sound and Rouo-Aqua turned. "Oh, the king!" he said. "We musn't keep him waiting!" He swam towards the palace and, at the sight of the king, bowed deeply. "Do the same," Rouo said.
Bowser and his kids also bowed to the ancient king. "Ah, guests!" the king said. "We need to get ready, Rouo!" The king turned to Bowser and asked, "Are you hungry?" Bowser nodded and gasped when he saw a huge table with a large silver platter.
They sat down, amazed. Every kind of food imaginable was there. After they stuffed themselves, they went to the bedroom, where of course there were water beds.
Everyone fell asleep except Lemmy Koopa. He needed a glass of water. As he walked down the hall he called out, "Hey can I-" He stopped. The king was talking to Rouo.
"So are they ready?" the king asked.
Rouo grinned. "They took the bait just like I said."
What are they talking about? Lemmy thought.
"Yes, they are perfect for the sacrifice," the king said.
Lemmy gasped a little too loud. "The Koopa child! He knows!" the king gasped. "Security! Find the rainbow-haired one and bring him to me, alive!"
Lemmy hid under a chair as the green booted solders passed. They were in a lot of trouble!
Chapter Eight: The Killer Strikes Back
All was quiet on Yoshi's Island. No one moved, breathed, or spoke. You could hear the beating of someone's heart in their chest. You could hear their lungs filling up, then letting out. The dead Yo'ster lay on the ground, crumpled and tatered limbs crushed. The body almost looked as though it had been melted away.
The cheiftain spoke loudly and clearly. "It is a great tragedy today to see this. Undoubtedly there is a killer in the woods. This poor child walked into the woods last night and..." He broke out in tears. "The Forest Is off limits to all Yo'sters!" he said sternly. "No one goes in."
Yoshi gulped. He had seen the mad red eyes of the killer, seen them stare through him like he wasn't there. An icy fatal stare, like a bullet to the heart. What would they do? Where would they go? Nowhere. Nowhere to go. They would just have to pray they would be okay.
Billy looked shaken, but Peter was always brave, really brave. "We have to stop the killer!" Peter said.
Yoshi gasped. "Are you crazy?!" He frowned. "You'll get us all killed!"
Peter looked at him. "Well a lot more people are going to die if we don't help."
Yoshi sighed. "I give up."
Peter grinned. "Awesome!"
They waited until nightfall and went into the dark woods. Owls hooted and flapped their wings, swooping down on unsuspecting prey. They felt like they were being watched. They found the house from the night before and went in. The floorboards creaked and an old clock chimed midnight. They saw a room downstairs. Suddenly the door slamed shut. "AAAAA!" They jumped. Red eyes appeared and purple lights waved in the darkness. The killer had struck again, and this time they wouldn't live to tell the tail.
Chapter Nine: The Abduction
Wzzzzzzzzz! Mario and Luigi made their way through the bright water, their speed bike sparkling miraculously in the sun. The tall mountains almost looked like clouds of cotton candy, endlessly floating above the blue sky with stars spread across its surface like playing cards on a table.
"Wow, what a nice day, Mario!" Luigi said. It was true, the sun was out, the birds were singing, fish were splashing in the ocean, and there was a breeze coming their way.
"Yes, but I hope we're not too late," Mario said grimly.
As the brothers continued watching in awe, the breeze got stronger. Luigi looked up and gasped. A dark cloud was covering the sky, choking it to death. A huge ship, something that looked like a fin, cruised along beside them. Blade-like water skimmers flanked the side of the ship. What could only be a giant fish tail skimmed the water, like a vulture looking for prey. The top opened up and what looked like a fish man stepped out. "By the orders of the Aquamantarian king, you must come with us!" he bellowed.
The Mario Bros. looked at each other. "They don't sound friendly!" Luigi said.
Mario agreed. No way am I gong to let some Aquam-whatever they are take him away! he thought. They were outta there!
The ship sent out two pods to capture them. One came up alongside them. Mario quickly shot a fireball in the Aquamantarian's face. "Arrgh!" he screeched.
"Fire torpedoes!" yelled the captain.
The pods retreated and a missle shot into the water. A shower of smoke covered the Marios as the missle hit them. They turned around and the ship was gone. "Well whatever that was supposed to do, it didn't wor-" Mario fell silent. Mario and Luigi slumped unconscious.
Chapter Ten: Trapped
Yoshi slowly opened his eyes. Looking around, he saw he was in a tall shack with walls surrounding him, with a door with a skull imbroidered in it. There were two figures lying beside him not moving. "Where am I?" he thought. Then suddenly he remembered, shivering. It all came back so fast, like the crack of a whip. The death, the eyes staring through them as hard and cold as ice. Peter and Billy were sleeping next to him snoring loudly.
He gently woke his friends. "Whoa, it feels like I have been run over by a bus," Peter murmered.
Yoshi looked his friends in the eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Peter thought about this and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, everything seems to be intact."
Yoshi rose from his position and opened the door. The three stepped back, a look of sheer terror struck across their faces like a large bolt of lightning. They were definitely not on Yoshi's Island anymore, let alone the woods.
Layed out before them was a hideous sight. The dead ground was covered with cracked earth, scattered across the remains of whatever this place was; there was obviously no water anywhere. Gnarled crooked trees hunched over menacingly, as if whispering a secret to one another. The sky was like a huge black hole swallowing everything in its path. The large green sun burned toxicly in the sky. Where were they?
Peter whistled loudly. "Where is this place?" he asked.
Yoshi gulped and replied, "I don't know."
Billy broke in finally. "Well we can't just stay here, we gotta find away out!" He was right, they had more chance of being sitting ducks in the cabin for whatever was out there waiting for them in the dark.
"Okay," Yoshi said. "Here's what we do, first we get out and look for food and supplies."
They walked outside, immediately feeling a chilly breeze, one that chilled them to the bone. Yoshi shivered. "Are you sure we should be out here?" he asked.
"O-fff cou-rsse," Billy said. They had not been wearing jackets and were very cold even though the place looked like a dessert.
They looked around for any sign of life. Yoshi was looking in the distance when something caught his eye. He turned around and looked. In the distance there was a large spring. "Guys!" Yoshi shouted. "Look over there!" His friends both saw it and they all quickly ran towards it.
As soon as they got there it was gone."Huh?" Yoshi was confused. He'd seen it, he knew he had.
"Just a mirage I guess, dude," Peter said. They heard a crumbling noise and looked down. The ground was cracking underneath them. They tried to run, but it was too late. They fell down and down, screaming all the way.
Chapter Eleven: Fishy Ritual
Bowser roared as he was roughly pushed into a cage. The Aquamantarians had betrayed them! One of the soldiers laughed as Bowser witnessed his son Lemmy being dragged by his hair, the soldier obviously being the general as no one questioned him. "Eh, why don't we let the rainbow-haired one have the honorable cage!" the general scoffed. "After all, he's the one who found out. I almost feel sorry for the little miscreant."
Bowser bellowed, "What do you want?" He gave the general a stern look. "Whatever it is, leave my kids out of it!"
The general wasn't one to take orders from a creature all tied up. "Silence!"
Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi had just woken up and were looking around, and were suprised to see that they were tightly bound by long cords encircling them like a pair of Boa Constrictors ready to strike. No matter how hard they tried they could not free themselves from the deadly ropes just wating to get a bite.
Mario and Luigi remembered it all, all so real. Now where were they, in heaven? Two tall Aquamantarian men stood over Mario and Luigi, guarding them. "Well, well, well, looky what we have here, two little men," one said, looking evil. "Tell me boys, do you scare easily?"
Mario answered bravely, "No."
The Aquamantarian looked at them for a minute and then scoffed. "Oh, that's going to change soon," he said mysteriously.
Mario answered back, "We will!" He slowly charged a ball of pyro in his palm. Then Mario got a jolt of electricity from the living wire that was his bonds.
The soldier just smiled. "Foolish." He dragged them out into the main hall where they got a huge suprise. Bowser and his kids were there! The soldier threw the two into their cages. The Aquamantarian King cleared his throat and spoke. "Every year we must complete the ritual of sacrifice with 11 beings, you 11 will do nicely." Bowser gasped. The soldiers brought them to the roof. "Let the sacrifice begin!" the king shouted.
Millons of cheers came from young Aquamantarian people. Dancers stepped up. "Okewi Oniah, Hanah, Oloh, Waniei, Oicahuh, Okewi Okewi, Halah, Halah, Halah!" The fearsom chant continued. The ground shook, the water bubbled franticly. "Halah, Halah, Halah!" A gigantic fish rose out of the ground. Three bulging compound eyes covered its head. It had long fins on ether side of its grotesque body. The mouth was lined with huge hideous teeth and a symbol of the devil was tatooed on its disfigured head. Two long tenticles hung down from its back.
The fish swam slowly towards Mario, gaping mouth open. The plumber grimmaced. At the last second he turned, making the fish cut his bonds. He rushed quickly and untied his brother. The king panicked. "Aquantan, don't let them get away!"
Mario jumped on a hover bike and shot Bowser and his crildrens' bonds. Bowser also jumped on a bike. Bowser snarled. "This is the last time we work together." Unfortunately, the fish was closing up behind them, ready to strike...
Chapter Twelve: Hot Date on Barrel Volcano
The sound of lightly flapping wings awakened Peach. She looked around and cried out. She was high above the ground. The thick clouds looked almost marshmallowy. The bright sun was in her face, beaming down at her. Two large claws grabbed her tightly.
Buzzar squawked, "I cant believe I was bested by a Koopa... Oh, you're awake!" Peach struggled but she couldn't get free of Buzzar's Iron Grip. He had her right where he wanted her in his claws. "Let's just say you're going to babysit," he said.
"Let me go, you stupid bird!" Peach flailed wildly.
Buzzar flapped steadily and slowly like a huge glistening machine in a factory. He dropped Peach onto his nest. Peach landed below, using her hands to break her fall. Overhead Buzzar circled the nest.
Peach quietly snuck to the edge of the nest and started to climb down. Undetected, she saw an odd small creature about the size of a football. It had long feelers on its head and red spots on its chest. "Do you think you could help me, little fella?" Peach asked the small creature. He nodded. Peach followed the creature to a large boulder. "Oh, that's no help at all. I can't fit under a boulder," she said. The creature looked like it would cry and then ran off.
"Wait!" she said. It was too late. She gasped when she saw a pack of wolves surround her.
Chapter Thirteen: The Underground Cave
The huge gaping mouth was coming closer,
ever so closer, the large disfigured beast's teeth dripping hungry drool.
The mammoth head was lurched foward, straining itself to reach the prize
within its grasp.
Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and his eight
kids were on hoverboats just barely making it ahead of the ferocious beast.
The eleven were on shining pods. On each pod was a back fin and two individual
thrusters on each wing.
Bowser panicked. "DAD, we're not going to make it!"
Mario looked over to the terrified Koopa. "Who's Dad?" Mario asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Dad is our 'god', like yours."
Mario hesitated and then said, "Um, sure."
Meanwhile the fish was gaining on them. It roared in frustration and contined the chase. "RAAGHH!!!" it bellowed. Rocks tumbled at this tremendous bellow. Around the bend was a long tunnel. They motored into the tunnel followed by the gargantuan fish. The wall of the cave rushed by them as if fleeing from the mighty beast itself. Bowser turned, looking straight into the face of the horrific creature. His kids whimpered in the back seat.
As they came out of the long tunnel, the fish was stuck. They cried out victory and congratulated themselves. Mario shot missles at the long tunnel to assure their victory.
"Well, let's never work together again."
Mario liked the sound of this. "I need to get to Yoshi's Island in time," he said grimly as he hovered up to the surface.
Suddenly a loud roar was heard and the walls of the tunnel split open! Mario and Bowser raced for freedom. The fish wasn't about to give up his meal just yet. With a snap of his jaws it sent Mario and Luigi flying toward a cave. Seeing his opportunity, Bowser made it to the surface. "I'm free, I'm-"
SNAP! The fish had swollowed Bowser. Mario and Luigi landed in an underground cave. Maro wondered if Bowser would be okay. "Bro, look at this!" Luigi said.
Mario gasped as he saw a golden sword in a hilt. A manuscript said "Only one who is pure of heart can pull the sword from the sheath."
Mario smiled. "Great, I could use one of these!"
Luigi wasn't so sure. "I don't kn-"
It was to late, Mario had pulled the sword from the sheath. The ground shook. "Bro, we're in trouble now." Luigi shuddered as the walls moved back.
Chapter Fourteen: Burt the Guardian
Peach backed up as a pack of angry wolves surrounded her. They had nightmarish teeth and evil red eyes gleamed in their bulbous heads as they bobbed up and down. One who was obviously the leader jumped at her.
"Roaar!" Something as fast as lightning struck the wolf and drove him back. The wolf got up, snarling. It leapt on the creature and scratched it ravenously.
"No!" Peach yelled as she leapt upon
the wolf in an anguished attempt to protect the small creature. Many more
footballshaped creatures divebombed the wolf, injuring it badly. As a sign
to flee, the others
scampered. "Thanks!" Peach said greatfully.
Peach remembered the small creature she met before.
The one with glasses and striped overalls spoke. "Welcome to the tribe of the Bashful!" he said. Peach tried it on.
"Look! It is our guardian now!" one said. A large Bashful with warm welcoming eyes stood over them. "Oh guardian! All the trees have wilted!" Peach looked up in horror to see a huge split in time in the air.
Chapter Fifteen: The Hatching of The Shreok
Down and down they fell, to the bottom of the huge gaping chasm. As Yoshi and his friends fell on the cold ground below them, they found they had not forgotten their flashlights.
They looked up at the hole they had fallen through and glimpsed the hideous green sky. Peter shivered. "How are we going to get out of this pit, it must be 2000 ft up!" Yoshi looked at this and took this in. He was amazed to see on either side of the crevace was a large crooked stone.
All of a sudden, a rumbling sound echoed from below! A bony, scrawny, skeletal hand reached out of the ground. Yoshi screamed. "AAhh! What is that?!"
The hideous abomination rose out of
the ground, unmoved by any sound or movement. It stalked toward them, arms
outstretched in a horrified position. Its chin hung loosely on its crooked
jaw, and it had one
empty eye socket in its zombie-like
head. It was a Terrapin, a little taller than Yoshi. It lurched forward
toward them, inching ever closer.
More of the beasts rose from the ground, and their mouths opened in a raspy tone. "The hatching... The hatching of the Shreok..." they chanted and came closer.
Yoshi gulped. "It's been nice knowing you guys." Yoshi backed up against the wall as they closed in.
Chapter Sixteen: The Code of the Sword
Mario and Luigi were backed up against the cold stone wall of the temple. The icy coldness of the temple ran up their spines and sent a chill through their bodies. The ground shook and rocked like an earthquake, chunks of rock chiseling and cracking filled the air, and a noise like a hum of energy came slightly after.
Large boulders fell to the earth, splitting it in two. The mad humming comtinued like an awful screeching siren. The two brothers fell to their knees at the mangled sound. They crumpled to the ground, lay there, tattered and torn, fighting the awful sound that seemed to come from nowhere.
A low growl silently issued from the spastic ground, and a hideous emaciated figure rose from the ground. It spoke in a dry and raspy voice. "Youuuu, have pullen the sword frommm... the roc-k..." the figure rasped.
Mario was puzzled. Why would this happen? We are not evil! he thought to himself. But then he remembered he had helped Bowser! The figure groaned and bony hands reached from the ground. There were millions of the bony creatures! How could they take them all on? Mario gestured. "Look, we couldn't've just left Bowser back there! We don't want to fight you, but if we have to we will!" The creature ignored him and swung at him with a heavy mace. Mario ducked but the blow caught Luigi in the side and he collapsed. Mario gasped as Luigi fell to the ground.
Mario charged the creature and it dropped its weapon. Mario picked it up and swung it around, destroying all the bony hands. Mario wiped sweat from his brow, and paused. He shook his brother. "Huh? What's going on?" Luigi muttered.
Mario pointed past them at the horde of zombies. "I need help, I can't do this alone Luigi!" Luigi agreed. Both of them started crushing zombie after zombie.
The one who had spoke before held the sword in his dead hands. Mario blocked it with the mace and came up swiftly. The apparition flung the mace away and closed in on Mario. "Rest-In Pieces." With that he brought the blade down on Mario.
Chapter Seventeen: Island Appocolypse
Peach gasped as she looked into the sky and saw the large rip in space. Something was wrong. The Bashfuls were panicking. "The Shreok! It senses something!" Burt the Bashful gasped. "Something is after its eggs!"
Peach was curious. "Who is The Shreok?"
The Bashful tribe looked at Peach as if she was crazy. Burt spoke. "The Shreok is a huge flaming bird that nests deep within the Barrel Volcano."
Peach asked, "What will hapen after the eggs are found?"
The Bashfuls shook their heads sadly. "He will get what ever he wants."
Peach put her hands to her face. "That's horrible!"
The sky darkened and the clouds blocked out the sun. The rip was swelling like a giant water balloon slowly filling. The Bashfuls spoke amongst themselves. "Come, we must take you to the village."
The tribe and Peach went into the village of the Yoshis. All the Yoshis were cowering in fear at what was happening. The village leader had no idea what was going on. "What is this?" he asked.
A deep voice called out from behind. "I suppose I can answer that."
Meanwhile, Slimer was in his hoverbike, on the Vista Sea. He laughed maniacally to himself. He could see Yoshi's Island in the distance. Agent Guy asked Slimer, "Are we there yet?" Slimer bonked his apprentince on the head with a mallot. Well, it won't be long now, he thought to himself.
Back at Yoshi's Island, the source of the voice was none other than Raphael the Raven himself. "It is a Koopa by the name of Slimer49'r. He has come to steal the eggs from the Shreok, a giant flaming bird with eggs of magical power."
All of a sudden Buzzar came down from his nest. "Hey, you!" he called down. He reared with his talons and lunged.
"Leave her," Raphael spit back.
Chapter Eighteen: The Murderer Strikes Again
The skeletons stalked toward them ever closer. Yoshi and his friends backed against the wall. To their surprise the skeletons stoped. "Look down..." Sure enough, there was a large rip in the stony ground. "Your island is in danger." There were dark storm clouds below.
"So, this is how it is." A young Yoshi in his teens came through a secret door. "You see, I'm the one who started this 'murder' thing. I made everyone believe that there was a murder so I could lure you here. Ever since you were little you were a nuisance, always causing trouble for King Bowser. So I lured you here."
He grinned, his scaly Yoshi body streaked with fur. His teeth grew and his hands turned into paws. There was a full moon out.