Chapter 4: The Return
We last left our heroes fighting the combined form of Kracko and Huff N. Puff, called Kracko Puff thanks to the Axem Rangers’ fuse ray. Our heroes beat Kracko Puff, but got tricked by him and fell down into a pit with spikes coming toward them. Now we find our heroes flying out of the pit due to Meta Knight's ability to change his cape into a pair of wings.
Meta Knight: Mario! Get ready. I am going to throw you up, and I want you to use your Ultra Hammer and smash through the rocks so we can get through!
Mario: WHAT?! Are you crazy?
Kirby: Mario, it's our only hope!
Mario: All right. I'll do it. Meta Knight, throw me now!
Meta Knight grabbed Mario and threw him up as high as he could, and Mario grabbed his Ultra Hammer and smashed through the rocks. Our heroes made it though.
Kracko Puff: NOOOOOOOOO! I almost had you killed!
Meta Knight: You will pay dearly for what you did to us!
Meta Knight went up and slashed him. Then Kirby floated up and kicked him in the eye, then Mario finished up by using his hammer, sending Kracko Puff flying off into the distance.
Kirby: We did it! We escaped!
Meta Knight: We might have come out alive, but the Axem Rangers got away with the Star Piece.
Mario: I know. It just burns me up inside! We couldn't get the Star Piece! We might as well go and tell General Guy the bad news.
Our heroes headed back to the Mushroom Kingdom empty-handed to tell General Guy the bad news. Meanwhile, at a mysterious castle in the middle of a giant factory…
Red: Smithy, I bring you good news. We have retrieved the first Star Piece.
Red showed Smithy the light blue Star Piece.
Smithy: Good, Master Marx will be pleased with a job well done from you five. Now, get going to Yoshi's Island, your second Star Piece and Bowyor should be there. Oh, and I want you to take this Star Piece with you, it should make your breaker beam more powerful then it is now.
Red: Understood. Rangers, move out!
The Axem Rangers got on Blade and flew out of the castle.
Smithy: Master Marx! I have good news.
Then, out of thin air, Marx appeared right before Smithy.
Marx: What news do you bring me, Smithy?
Smithy: My Axem Rangers have retrieved the first Star Piece for us.
Marx: Great, so where is it?
Smithy: Oh, I gave it to the Axem Rangers so they could power up the breaker beam.
Marx: Oh.
Smithy: I will just get back to my work.
Smithy walked away, leaving Marx, who was thinking.
Marx: I wonder if Smithy had the right idea giving the Star Piece back to the Axem Rangers? We shall find out soon.
Meanwhile, our heroes had made it to the Mushroom Kingdom, and were greeted by General Guy.
General Guy: Well, how did it go, did you get the first Piece?
Mario: Well...
Mario told General Guy the whole story.
General Guy: Great, the first Star Piece now belongs to Smithy and whoever he is working for.
Mario: We couldn't do anything about it. Black got the Star while we weren't looking.
General Guy: He is one of the sneakiest. But, I also have some news myself. It seems that when a villain destroys the Star Portal, not just villains from other planets can go through, but alien beings can go through as well.
Mario: That doesn't sound good.
General Guy: No, it doesn't, but like I said before, me and my Shy Guys can take care of...
Then a Shy Guy ran in with a laptop.
Shy Guy: General Guy! We have found out that Smithy is building something right now for the Axem Rangers, thanks to our new Robo Shy Guy Video Cam! Take a look.
Shy Guy showed General Guy, Mario, Kirby, and Meta Knight the laptop and they could see Smithy working on a blue robot body and white robot body.
General Guy: Hmmmm, interesting. Keep a sharp eye on Smithy at the moment. As for you guys, go and find the closest Star Piece.
Kirby: But where do we look?
Mario took a look at the map.
Mario: It looks like Yoshi's Island is the closest.
Meta Knight: Then we must go to the docks and catch the boat to Yoshi's Island.
Our heroes ran out of the Toy Box and hurried toward the docks, but were stopped by a big strong Koopa sailor.
Koopa Sailor: Can I help you three?
Mario: We need to get to Yoshi's Island!
Koopa Sailor: Why should I let you pass without a ticket?
Kirby: We are looking for some Star Pieces.
Meta Knight: So, you must let us through.
Koopa Sailor: Well... There was a report about a falling star heading toward Yoshi's Island. All right, I guess I can let you through.
Mario: Thank you so much.
Our heroes boarded the boat and set sail. But they were not alone. Up above the boat were three Clown Copters with Bowser and Jr. in one, Lemmy and Iggy in another, and Ludwig in the last one.
Bowser: Perfect, with us following them, we will get the Star Piece right from under their noses! Bwhahahahahaha!
Bowser Jr: But what if we lose sight of Mario and his friends?
Bowser: Jr. my boy, they can't be too hard to find.
Lemmy: Yeah, just look for a red plumber, a pink puffball, and a knight with a cape.
Bowser: Yeah, what Lemmy said. But what worries me is that our castle is only protected by Dry Bones and all three Bros. I hope they do all right.
Iggy: I'm sure they'll do all right, Dad.
Bowser: I hope so Iggy, I hope so.
Meanwhile at Bowser's Castle...
Blue Dry Bones: Man Dry Bones, I am whiped out from patrolling the castle and making sure everything is in place in each and every room.
Dry Bones: I know, but all that is left is Lemmy and Iggy's room and our shift will be over and Green and Dark can takeover.
Both Dry Bones entered Lemmy and Iggy's room and looked around to make sure nothing had been stolen. The only place left to check was the closet. They opened it and saw nothing was stolen, and they left the door open.
Dry Bones: Do you think we should've shut the closet?
Blue Dry Bones: Why? We left all the other ones open.
Dry Bones: I know, but Lemmy's side of the closest has all those ice statues of him and one Mushroom-looking one that could freeze the whole castle.
Dry Bones: You have a point. Okay, let’s shut it.
Before the Dry Bones could go back and shut the door, a ray of light shot through the ceiling and hit all of the statues. Then they started to move, but the Mushroom-looking one was shaking and then burst into pieces. In its place was a weird-looking Mushroom with a black mustache and claws for hands.
Dry Bones: No, it can't be.
Blue Dry Bones: But it is.
?????: At last, I am free from that frozen prison! Plus, I have a new army! Surround those bags of bones, my new ice statue army!
The ice statues ran toward the Dry Bones and surrounded them so they had no escape.
?????: Now, tell me where Lemmy and Iggy are!
Dry Bones: Why should we?
?????: Because if you don't, I will turn you into nothing but ashes!
Blue Dry Bones: All right! Lemmy, Iggy, Ludwig, and Bowser Jr. went with King Bowser to Yoshi's Island to find a Star Piece or something like that!
?????: Hmmmmm... Bowser had another kid, did he? But what about the other four?
Dry Bones: They are here in the castle because they got in trouble for something we don't know about.
?????: Perfect. Come, my army.
The strange Mushroomer and the ice statues paid a little visit to Larry Koopa and barged down his door.
Larry: No! You’re supposed to be frozen.
?????: I got out, but now, you will become one of us once again!
He then shot a ray gun at Larry.
Larry: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
There was a big flash of light and he was gone.
?????: Hmmm, I must have teleported him back to the ship. Oh well, I will meet him there!
He then did the same with Morton, Wendy, and Roy, and they were gone as well. But what he didn't count one was that the three Bros. and all the Dry Bones would come to stop him. But he just shot the ray at them and they were gone.
?????: There, now this castle is deserted.
He pressed another button on his ray gun and he and the ice statues got lifted up by a beam of light and were beamed up by a spaceship. Then the spaceship left the castle and headed toward Yoshi's Island.
Who is this strange
Mushroom, and what does he want with the four left behind Koopalings? Find
this out in Chapter 5.
Chapter 5: The Revealing
We see our heroes getting ready to get off the boat to Yoshi's Island, when...
????: I am Aero! Now fear my head!
The strange arrow named Aero came flying toward our heroes, but Mario jumped on him and Aero fell in the water.
Mario: Hmmmm. That arrow reminds me of a familiar face, but who?
Then Yoshi and the Yoshi Leader came running franticly toward Mario, Kirby, and Meta Knight.
Yoshi: Mario! We need your help.
Kirby: What happened?
Yoshi Leader: Who are your friends, Mario?
Mario: Well, this pink puffball is Kirby, and that knight behind me is Meta Knight.
Yoshi: It's nice to see you both, but our problem is that arrows keep flying out of the deepest part of our jungle and the arrows freeze the Yoshi's when they are hit in the head.
Mario: Well, what can we do?
Yoshi Leader: We need you and your friends to go into the jungle and hunt down this mysterious person who is shooting arrows at us.
Yoshi: I'm coming too!
Mario: Are you sure about that, Yoshi?
Yoshi: Mario, you’re talking to the person who almost got himself killed just for saving you and Luigi when you were babies... twice!
Mario: Well, all right, we could have another member on our team so we have a better chance of finding the Star Pieces.
Yoshi: You’re looking for the pieces of the Star Portal?
Kirby: Yeah.
Yoshi: I saw one just the other day land somewhere in the jungle.
Meta Knight: Good, now we must get going.
Yoshi Leader: Good luck, my friends.
With that, Yoshi became a member of the party and they were off toward the jungle. But meanwhile over the Mushroom Sea, we see the same spaceship that was over Castle Koopa.
?????: Okay, all I need to do is twist this here and... Yes! I got it working!
The same Mushroomer was working on a machine with a case on top of it and a ray gun above that, and in the case were Larry, Morton, Wendy, Roy, and all the Dry Bones and Bros.
Larry: You cannot get away with this!
?????: Oh yes I can. Now, get ready to join me.
The Mushroomer pushed a button and the ray gun shot down on everyone in the case and they all started to glow. When the glow faded, the Koopalings were purple colored and their shells had turned into hard purple Mushrooms. All the Dry Bones and the three Bros. turned darker, and the Dark Bones was now completely black.
?????: Now that the transformation is complete, I want Hammer Bro, Dark Bones, and Dark Green Dry Bones to come with me.
The Mushroomer and the three he selected entered small spaceships, like the Clown Copters, and they all found Bowser and followed him to the island.
?????: FIRE AT WILL!
Everyone fired at the three Clown Copters and hit each one , and sent them down to the beach of the island.
Bowser: Wh-wh-what happened?
Ludwig: I don't know.
Then the Mushroomer and Hammer Bro, Dark Bones, and Dark Green Dry Bones surrounded them all.
Lemmy: Dad, aren't those our minions?
Bowser: Lemmy, they are.
Iggy: But they look different.
Bowser Jr: What happened to them?
Then the Mushroomer walked right up to them.
?????: Well, well, well, Lemmy, Iggy, and Ludwig. I never thought I would see you again.
Lemmy: What are you talking about?
?????: You don't remember? I was the one who you froze, I was the one you defeated so many times. You were the one who fooled my plans so many times.
Lemmy, Iggy, and Ludwig: ...
?????: Unbelievable! I am COMMANDER SHROOB!
All: WHAT?!
An old foe of the Koopalings returns for revenge. Find out what happens to the four remaining Koopalings and Bowser, and also how our heroes will do with Yoshi on their team now, in Chapter 6.