Chapter 40
Once again, the sky was beginning to take on an orange
hue. Soon, the stars would start shining and everything would become peaceful.
Even the Yoshies of Yoshi's
"Me?" Oshi said. "I like the gentle ones.
I'd like one I'd know would never lash out at me."
"Eh, not me," Pinky responded. "I
actually think I'd be happier with one of the more vicious ones. They're more
fun."
"...More fun?" Oshi stared at his friend as he
nodded. This lasted for a second more, and then something tan in the corner of
his eye made him snap his head towards a different direction. Lo and behold,
Jeila was walking around. "Oh my god... It's her!!"
"Stop drooling, you freak! Are you a dog, or
something?!..."
The tan Yoshi girl that was passing by was carrying
something in a basket of straw. As she wandered, she was just barely able to
catch the sight of Oshi over there being bonked on the head by his friend. She
giggled, shook her head, and walked on.
Oshi rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Not so
rough, Pink," he moaned.
The other Yoshi held his hands out and shook his head.
"You couldn't have her even if you wanted her, man," the Yo'ster
clarified. "She's with Xoshi. Didn't you know?"
Oshi suddenly looked very forlorn. "Gyah, what's
with that guy?? We're going through all this trouble to keep his house safe
from burglars, and whatnot. The least he could do is let me have my
girls!!"
"Easy now, man. She's out
there, waiting for ya. You just gotta be patient."
"Gyah..."
Jeila had entered the woods. With both hands on the
basket in front of her, she tilted her head back, gazing deeply at the
orange-tinted leaves hanging overhead. I want you back, she thought, thinking
of a man with brown scales and a shy look on his face. It's just not the
same without you...
"For the last time, you punk, I said NO!!"
Wham! "OOF!!"
Jeila's eyes widened. No sooner than when she set foot
out of the woods did she come across a rather interesting sight: a teal Yoshi
lying down on the ground, clutching at his stomach. His red-orange friend was
standing behind him looking horrified. A third, female Yoshi with red skin
stood before him with one leg up. She put her foot down and huffed. "Beat
it!!"
The red-orange Yoshi made a panic-stricken sound, not
unlike a scream. He grabbed his teal friend, hoisted him onto his saddle, and
ran off with his tail beneath his legs. Jeila looked mildly surprised. She
approached the red Yoshi. "Wow, they were in for it," she commented.
"What happened, Yoshika?"
"Ah, you know," the red Yoshi said. "He
comes up to me, starts talking about how great me and him would be... He
wouldn't take no for an answer."
"Wow," Jeila replied. "You, Yoshiki...
You all seem to have that skill."
"Ah, it's nothing." The red Yoshi scratched
the back of her head. "I could show you how to do it if you want. Could come in handy."
"Hmm... It probably would..."
In due time, the two girls were walking around in the
opening of the woods together. They were getting closer to the priest's house
and talking to each other.
"So, what boy WOULDN'T you have said no to?"
the tan Yoshi asked.
"Well, I dunno... Maybe one with
spunk. One that could actually block one of my
kicks."
Jeila laughed.
"You know, now that I think about it, that Xoshi
kid might be a good match for me..."
Jeila gasped and knit her eyebrows at the red woman.
"Come on, Jeila, you know I'm joking."
"I know, I just..."
The two girls had come within a few feet of the house.
The tan one's father didn't hesitate to poke his head out of its front door. He
seemed happy. "Ah, Jeila, my sweet! Did you get
the dark orange guts?"
"Yes, papa, I did." The girl handed her father
the jar of the orange substance from her basket.
"Ah, splendid." The man took the jar happily. Then he noticed the red Yoshi
his daughter was with. "Ah, Yoshika! Come for the
Super-Happy Tree? That must mean it's Monday!"
The red girl laughed a bit. "Yes, sir, it is."
He began to walk her through the house and through the
backdoor. "Ah, yes, and that's how you and your family stay strong,
right?"
"Yes, sir..."
Jeila stayed behind. She watched as the other two
continued heading for the Super-Happy Tree. She took a good look at her red
friend and thought about her strength. Just like Yoshiki, she mused. The
girl lifted up her right hand and looked at it. If I were strong like
that... would I be able to protect the ones I love?...
Thus, the sun continued to set on Yoshi's
Wham! "OOF!!"
One fierce punch to the gut, and Big Boo of the Eight
Spookalings was down. The pink Yoshi of the group that had done this to him,
stood back, cracked her knuckles, and scoffed. Since their last battle, her
skill had not rusted in the least. Rather, it had become sharper.
As for the other ghosts, they too were sparring with one
another. Holy Troopa was taking on Dorreen, and Princess Cherry Blossom was
taking on Capt. Spatula. The only three members of this group that weren't
honing their skills were the leader and the two Werewolves. The trio was
huddled beneath one of the trees of the swamp they were still at. Even with the
sounds of swords clashing and fists connecting, this three-some could hold an
important meeting. At last, they nodded heads and took it to the next level.
The Wereyoshi got up and yelled to the others.
"Alright, everyone, get over here! We decided we
may have a plan!"
Obediently, the other ghosts calmed down, sheathed their
weapons, and started floating towards the designated area. Once all nine were
gathered, King Boo got it started.
"Alright, everyone," he said. "We've put
a great deal of thought into it by now, and we've managed to figure one thing
out: if we want our world to be freed from the Melon Bugs and their master,
Tondariya, we'll have to get as serious as possible... Unfortunately, we can't
do it alone..."
The others began to murmur worriedly. King Boo
understood how they felt, but he wasn't done yet.
"We decided if we want to pull this off, there's
only one person we can go to: Drubba..."
The others gasped. They definitely hadn't been ready for
this. "That man?" Cherry Blossom spoke up. "But didn't we kick
him out of the kingdom for having such unorthodox solutions for
everything?"
"Yes, we did," King Boo replied. "We
never did like doing anything by means of the Twelve Gods of Chaos... But, as
much as we'd hate to admit it, that man always knew
what he was talking about. Who knows... Maybe we can
get something out of him..."
The other ghosts began to murmur amongst themselves
uncertainly again. It was quite the difficult decision for them to make. While
they were discussing it, though, they were also being spied on. Behind the
bushes yards away from them was a very strange quartet: Razeil and the Three
Boombateers...
"I don't get it," Razule said. "What's up
with those guys? What's their cheesecake?"
"Don't you know, son?" Razeil responded.
"They're the Spookalings. They've got monkeys grinding ropes into
checkerboards. They've got to get their backs cracked by one King Turnip. A big
ship full of bananas and tarantulas, if you ask me..."
"Ah, I see..."
Goomba Prince was dead confused again. "Uhh...
Translation?" he said to Ren.
"These ghosts are known as the Spookalings,"
the Raven explained. "They work for a powerful being known as King Turnip.
He mysteriously disappeared a long time ago, but they feel they can bring him
back somehow. They feel he's the only one that can face Tondariya, but in order
to bring him back, they need to gather a great amount of spiritual energy. The
question is how."
Goomba Prince stared blankly at the Raven. "All
that from that?" he said. "How do you do it?"
"Eh, you pick up on it."
"Huh. I don't think I could EVER pick up on
it..."
The Spookalings were still very anxious. All of them
were talking rather loudly. Finally, King Boo put a stop to it.
"Guys, guys!!" he called, quieting them down.
"We've all been through some pretty rough times. We've fought enemies and
hardships plenty of times, but our family and friends are still out
there..." The other Spookalings knew perfectly well what he was talking
about, Yoshiki, Jax, and Capt. Spatula especially. "I know even King
Carrot, my father, is fighting alongside us in all this. The point is, we can't let any of them down. We have to do anything it
takes in order to set things right, even if it means teaming up with someone
like Drubba..." King Boo's face became very serious. His fins curled into
fists and he raised his voice. "So, who's with me?!" he exclaimed.
"Are we gonna go out there and fight for our King Turnip, or are we gonna
let something as dumb as an old enemy get in our way?! Come on, answer
me!!"
The Spookalings cheered. They were going to do this.
They pumped their arms and raised their weapons. Once they did so, though,
their four spies started getting restless.
"Okay, guys," Razule said quietly. "On my
signal..."
The ghosts were standing and floating defiantly. They
faced forward with their crowned leader taking the front. "Alright,
guys!" he called. "Now let's do this! HEAD FOR
DRUBBA!!"
"YYEEAAAHHH!!!"
King Boo swung his right fin forward energetically.
"FORWARD!!"
The others followed his example. They swung their arms
and weapons forth and yelled out. "YE-"
King Boo suddenly became very puzzled. That last cry was
nowhere near as enthused as the first. He turned around and inquired about
this. "What's wrong with you guys?" he said. "Come on, put some
more-"
The head ghost stopped. He got a good look at the four
of Holy Troopa, Dorreen, Capt. Spatula, and Cherry Blossom. They were looking
at their hands, flipping them back and forth in confusion.
"What the?" King Boo uttered. "Your weapons..."
"OVER THERE!!" Capt. Spatula screamed,
pointing menacingly at the Three Boombateers and Razeil. Ren was holding Cherry
Blossom's staff, Razule had Dorreen's parasol, Goomba Prince had Spatula's
sword, and Razeil had Holy Troopa's bow'n'arrow. All four of them looked giddy.
"We got'em!!" Razule squealed. "The weapons!!"
"Time to go!" Razeil announced. In the blink of an eye, the
four intruders had sped off, leaving only dissipating clouds of dust in their
wake. The nine ghosts had all become extremely ticked.
"Drubba can wait," King Boo snarled. "AFTER THEM!!!"
In a flash, the ghouls were off, stampeding and flying
through the many trees of the
King Boo, Jax, Yoshiki... All three of them were
especially infuriated. They had families to fight for. Parents, children, and
siblings alike; they were counting on them. For this, those four nuisances were
dead. However, in a sense, they were alone...
Capt. Spatula narrowed her eyes as she glided through
the leaves and the bushes. Do what you will, she thought grimly. If it gets me my money... I'm all for it...
On the deck of a ship docked
near a forest made of paint, three men similar to Hammer Bros., save for their
white and blue outfits, were shuffling their feet in rhythmic patterns and in
perfect unison. They were practically all of the same
mind. Suddenly, in the midst of their dance, they spun around and began to
vocalize.
We are the Sailor Bros.!
Men of the ocean breeze
We live like kings
As we ride upon the seas
When danger comes our way
We just leap into the fray
And we bring it to its knees
There's just no stopping us
'Cause we drink and fight and cuss
We do as we please!
We are the Sailor Bros.!
We are better than you!
We-
"No, no, no! You guys got it all wrong!!"
The Sailor Bros. all stopped and looked at their fussy
choreographer, a Koopa Troopa with a blue shell riding aboard the Koopa Cruise.
Behind him, sitting down and leaning his back against one of the outer walls of
the ship was a man with a red shell. He glanced uninterestedly at the scene
before him and he continued trying to solve the Rubik's Cube in his hands.
"It's left, right, right, left, spin, and right. How many times do I have to tell you?!"
The dancers weren't without their retorts, though.
"I told you, I've got a fear of things that turn
left!"
"Well, I would be able to not screw up if
this guy here didn't have this huge hairy mole on the back of his head..."
"What did you just say?!"
The Koopa with the Rubik's Cube sighed as his peers
continued to argue amongst themselves. In time, their leader finally got sick
of it and just said, "Whatever!! Let's just go on our break already."
The others were fine by it. Soon enough, the Sailor
Bros. had gone their separate ways. The blue-shelled Koopa Troopa exasperatedly
waltzed up to the more relaxed red-shelled one. "Musical coming along
nicely?" the seated one asked.
"It's tiresome," he replied. "But we'll
get it right. I swear to god, we will."
"Mm."
The blue one said nothing. A second later, he brought
something else up. "So, uh, what do you think the others are doing?"
"What... Kamek and them?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you know," the red-shelled one said as he succeeded in
turning one side of his cube white. "Bowser's probably whining about
something, Helga's probably reading a book, and Gorroh's probably working on
his memoirs. Nothing special."
"I see," the blue one replied. Then he said, "What's the
deal with those memoirs, anyway?"
"I'm not sure myself. I heard they're His Majesty's
recordings of the greatest adventure he ever had. The time he fought during the
War of the Shy Gang."
"What was he after?" the blue one asked.
"The same thing they were ALL after: the Tondariya
Pieces. Well, either that, or they were trying to destroy them, who knows.
Anyway, Gorroh wanted them. Rumor has it, they all possess great power. This is
because they're all, well, parts of Tondariya. There's her magic, her speed,
her aim, her dexterity, her agility, her strength, and her stamina. For a
while, they were all over the place. Gorroh looked everywhere for them. Then he
found out they were in one place: Vedgia, land of the Vedgian people. The final
battle took place there, at its capital.
"Everyone was there. The Shy Gang, the Super
Mushroom League, the Demonic Jesters... Even a bunch of space aliens showed up.
It was quite the battle. Gorroh fought his hardest. He wanted those pieces SO
badly... But then..."
The red one let it hang for a second. In the background,
the Sailor Bros. were pointing fingers at each other and yelling something.
Pretty soon, they were beating their fists against each other's heads. The blue
Koopa Troopa paid it no mind. He asked, "What happened?"
"Well," the red one said. This time, the red
side of his Rubik's Cube had become solved. "You know what forbidden
techniques are, don't you?"
"I've heard of'em."
"Well, I heard they're these elemental attacks
people can do but twice during their lifetimes. Whenever they use them,
miraculous or even scary things happen. When the final battle came around, it
came to an end once someone used one such technique. The explosion was made of
gold fire, or something. A star-elemental one, most likely.
Everyone was either killed or... something else. Gorroh was flung far away.
Whatever the case, he had this person that used the forbidden technique to
thank.
"The fool," the red Koopa Troopa muttered as
he got the green side of his cube. "If he tries that a second time, he'll
die."
The blue Koopa Troopa nodded. Behind him, the Sailor
Bros. were all covered in bruises and steaming bumps on their heads. They were
being carried off by the White Magikoopas of the ship and their stretchers. The
red turtle with the cube continued.
"Anyway, whatever it was, Gorroh apparently thought
it was worth talking about, so... That's his memoirs." He commenced
spinning the layers of the cube around some more, this time attempting to get
the orange side. "As for those other people, the Super Mushroom League and
the Demonic Jesters... They're probably ramming their faces into a bunch of
trees right now, for all I care..."
"Hm," the blue Koopa Troopa grunted. He
watched as his red companion fiddled with his cube some more until he solved
the orange side. That was four down. "Where'd ya get that thing,
anyway?"
"I found it."
"Hm..."
The red Koopa Troopa had just gotten started on the
yellow side when he and his blue partner started hearing a commotion. All over
the ship, there seemed to be troops all gasping and yelling about something
excitedly. When the two turtles listened a bit more closely, they seemed to be
getting all worked up over... a flying Yoshi...
"What's this about a flying Yoshi?" the blue
one asked.
"Eh-"
Suddenly, the two tortoises looked up. Finally, they
could see what was flying. Sailing right over their heads without any wings or
anything was indeed a Yoshi of some sort. Strangely enough, he appeared to be
made out of gold and various precious gems...
"What is that?!" the blue one blurted.
"I-"
Then something else flew overhead. This time, it
appeared to be two female Magikoopas flying around on broomsticks. If anything
caught the red Koopa Troopa's attention more than the strange Yoshi did, this
was it. His eyes bugged out and his fingers tightened around the cube he was
holding. The blue Koopa Troopa was surprised by this.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Those two," the red one uttered.
"They... Kamek dealt with them a while ago. They're enemies!!"
"Crap," the blue one said. "And they're
headed for the mansion!!"
The red one tossed his cube aside and jumped up.
"Let's go."
"Right!..."
Far away from the Koopas' ship, the Kroshi was
descending through the air. His bare feet slammed onto the grassy floor of the
Clattagin Woods and he leapt through the air once more in another tremendous
leap. He refused to slow down even slightly.
Power is nearby, he thought. I can FEEL it...
Behind him, the two witches, Kammelina and Kammeo, were
still trying desperately to catch up with this deranged Yoshi, a task that was
proving to be quite difficult. Kammelina most certainly was trying her hardest,
but in this instant, she felt someone was lagging.
"Kammeo!!" she yelled to her sister.
"Hurry it up! In case you've forgotten, this is serious!!"
"I know, sister, it's just... Somehow, I get the
feeling we're being followed!"
"What?! Don't give me that! Just pick up the pace
already!!"
"Fine..."
What Kammelina didn't know was that they were indeed
being followed. Beneath them running amidst the trees of the Clattagin Woods
were a few Koopa Troopas, their sights being set on a couple of witches flying
away from them. They were pretty steady in doing this, at least until one of them
suddenly quit the race. The one in the lead ran back to check up on his
comrade.
"Oi, are you okay?" the blue Koopa Troopa
asked. His red-shelled companion was checking out something he had managed to
stumble upon. It was a big cup-like machine with a propeller on the bottom and
a clown's face painted on the front. Both Koopas seemed to be quite intrigued
with it. "What is it?"
"This?" the red one replied as he rubbed his
chin, staring at it. "My find of the day..."
"Swampic's Swamp...
Haven't been here in a while..."
The Six Swoompires were still in the process of turning
their home, the
While the others continued to turn stones and check even
the smallest of spaces, two of the Swoompires remained out of everyone's way,
taking a break. They stood near the trees surrounding the swamp and watched
their companions work. The one who had just spoken then took another huge bite
out of a dead hawk he had been munching on and started chewing.
"This isn't as good as that squirrel I had a little
while ago," Swine grumbled. His leader, Duke Swuke, just remained standing
firmly with his arms folded.
"Gorge yourself if you must, Swine," the tall
Swoompire said, "but never put your appetite before your duty."
"Che," Swine scoffed. "Like you're one to
talk..." Duke Swuke shifted his eyes towards his partner warningly. Swine
merely ignored the look and bit off the hawk's head. "Say, Swuke," he
piped up. "What if it turns out Swoompster's not here?"
"Then we look elsewhere."
"Yeah, but what if it turns out we can't get him
back no matter what we do?"
The duke paused for a second. "Then we find a new
Swoompster."
"Hmm..." The hefty Swoompire peeled a large
strip of skin of the hawk's corpse and sucked it into his mouth like spaghetti.
"Where we gonna get a guy like that?"
"Wherever greedy people go, we will find
them..."
The two Swoompires looked onward. They could see Swan
and Swoosh arguing with each other once more, but that was normal. They also
saw the gigantic Swampic lumbering up to the crotchety Sward. The behemoth
stood erectly for one moment, then hung his head. Sward extended a hand and
patted him on one of his muscular forearms. It was all the old man could do,
especially considering the vast difference in height between the two. In time,
they had joined up with Swan and Swoosh, and the four Swoompires were walking
up to the remaining two.
"Well?" Duke Swuke demanded.
"He's not here either," Swan stated. The duke
tilted his head downward ever so slightly. Swan went on. "I don't get
it," she said. "What could drive him away from us? What could drive
him away from this beauty?" The woman placed one hand on her slanted hip
and the other behind her head, suggestively. With his shoulders drooped a
little, Swoosh slowly turned his head towards the woman. Swan ignored this and
continued on about Swomopster. "What does he want?"
"Orbs," Duke Swuke elicited. He spun around on
his heel, twirling his cape a bit in the process. "We continue our
search..."
With that, the authoritative Swoompire left. Swine was
the first to follow his example, then Swoosh. Swan, on
the other hand, was still standing there. She had an eyebrow raised at her
leader and his two loyal subordinates. The next thing she knew, she could feel
someone's hand placing itself calmly on her left forearm. She looked down and
grimaced.
"Hands off me, you prune," she snapped,
swatting Sward's hand away. The elderly Swoompire shrugged his shoulders and
walked ahead on his cane.
"As you wish..."
Swan shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. She began
to leave the swamp as well. This left the hulking Swampic. He slowly walked up
to where the others had been and turned around, getting one last look at his
murky domain. People had been here, but none of which were the right one. The
giant Swoompire heaved a raspy sigh and continued walking. Another unsuccessful
outcome for the Six Swoompires...
In the middle of the
Clattagin Woods somewhere, a very dubious group of eight was still marching
through. They seemed to be in high enough spirits. Each of them were talking amongst themselves as they went on with this
search of theirs. Groove Guy and Groovum were in the back, Jester, Night Guy,
and Taffy Kong were right in from of them, Rudy and Har-Harlequin were in front
of them, and walking ahead of all the others was Katunk. All of them had
different things on their minds.
"Eh, let's see here," Groove Guy said as he
scratched his head and looked around. "I spy with my little eye
something... blue."
His partner, Groovum, looked up. "Is it the
sky?"
"BINGO!!" The two 8-Bits began to hop up and
down and cheer excitedly. Finally, they calmed down and Groovum took his turn.
"Okay, okay. I spy with my little eye... something
green."
Groove Guy looked beneath them. "Grass?"
"BINGO!!" The two guys began to cheer again.
"Okay, okay, my turn! Umm..."
In front of them, the suave Taffy Kong seemed to have a
more serious look on his face. He kept looking around,
keeping his eyes peeled by the second, but he couldn't find what he was looking
for. "I spy... women..."
Jester, right next to him, gave him a condescending
look. "Do those eyes work?" he said. "There's one right in front
of you."
"HOT women," Taffy Kong elaborated.
"What's it matter?" Night Guy commented.
"They all look the same to me."
"And it is exactly that that will become your
downfall," Taffy Kong replied.
Jester and Night Guy looked at him. "What?"
they said.
"Think about it," Taffy Kong said.
"Sooner or later, you're gonna have to get yourself a woman. If it doesn't
matter which one it is, then you may as well say it doesn't matter whether you
live or not."
Night Guy rolled his eyes up. "You thinkin' those
dirty thoughts again?"
"I'm thinking about life, you idiot," the
orangutan corrected. "To every man, it is imperative to maintain the
family name. You can't do that unless you're with the right woman."
Night Guy was suddenly staring at his simian partner. He
seemed to have become greatly intrigued. Jester was less impressed, though.
"You're only talking nonsense," he said.
"All you want to do with these women is act like a fool around them."
Night Guy looked as though he had been snapped out of a
trance. Taffy Kong, on the other hand, was being defensive. "Trust me,
Jester," he said, "you'll understand one day." Both Jester and
Night Guy stared at the man. Between the two, Jester was the one still being
more skeptical. "Anyway, just think about it," the monkey added.
The three clowns became quiet after that. They continued
walking, although, behind them, they could faintly hear someone saying
something about spying something gold...
In front of the three, Har-Harlequin was moving
steadily, but her superior was lagging behind a bit. He looked out of it.
"Come on, Rudy, quit slacking off!!" she nagged.
"Have a heart, Har-Harlequin!" Rudy pleaded,
panting at the same time. "I'm doing the best I can!"
"Hmph. You'd be able to do
better if you weren't so fat."
"Come now, that's so blunt of you," Rudy
complained.
Har-Harlequin ignored his protest. She gestured in front
of her. "Look at Katunk, Rudy. Even HE'S doing better than you. His friend
just left him, and yet his resolve is still running strong. Why can't you be a
bit more like him?"
Rudy stared at their spiky friend and started thinking.
The thought had never crossed his mind, but Katunk really was doing quite well
for one in his situation. He took a moment to appreciate the inspiring will of
this person. Then the head clown began to wince in pain. His feet were still
killing him.
"Even so," the man said, "I really wish
I'd have brought the Clown Copter along."
Har-Harlequin looked at him cock-eyed. "Why didn't
you?"
"I, uh, I forgot it."
"WHAT?!"
SHOOM. In an instant, everything came to a halt for the evil clowns.
They each became still and silent as something landed right before them, or
rather right in front of Katunk. It was a menacing-looking Yoshi with gold skin
and accessories of all kinds.
"Is it that thing?" Groovum asked his
companion, pointing to the newcomer. Before he could answer, though, the
strange Yoshi reared back one of his lustrous clawed feet and swung towards the
defenseless Katunk's face. Instinctively, the Red Nose clenched his eyes shut,
preparing for the inevitable. WHAM!! The kick hit something, yet the spiky
clown remained unharmed. He popped one eye open and saw that the attack had
been blocked by one of Rudy's gigantic floating fists.
"Do you have business with us, stranger?" the
head clown asked, a cold tone glossing over his voice.
"I just need one or two things," the Kroshi
sneered. "After that, I'll be on my way..." He ripped his foot out of
the giant clown's fist, reared back, and fired another kick. WHAM!! Rudy
blocked that one as well.
"Does it involve Katunk?" Rudy inquired, a great scowl upon his face.
"It involves the spiky guy," the Kroshi
replied.
"I see..." Rudy thrust the dastardly Yoshi's
foot off his fist, throwing him back. He jammed an index finger in his face.
"GET HIM!!"
The evil clowns were upon the man almost
instantaneously. Groove Guy and Groovum tried tackling him and Night Guy tried
lunging at him with a knife, but the Yoshi's reflexes were surprisingly sharp.
Aiming for Night Guy first, he slammed his left fist into his gut, winding him
and sending the knife flying. The golden assailant caught the weapon with his
other hand and made a clean sweeping movement with it. SHING!! The two 8-Bits
of the group took it with their masks and flew backwards.
Just like that, three of them were down, but it didn't
stop there. With no hesitation, the Kroshi fired the knife behind him. CHING!
It bounced off of one of Jester's razor-sharp cards. This surprised the clown
for a second, but now wasn't the time. He withdrew four more cards just as the
Yoshi turned for him. He flung them at his enemy like ninja stars, but the
crafty foe deftly flipped over them. Jester wasn't worried, though, for a
barrel was coming at this guy from the side. CRASH!! Stopping his spinning by
flinging his arms and legs out, the devious Yoshi was able to break apart the
barrel with a kick. Now Jester and Taffy Kong were shocked. The Kroshi landed
on his hands, spun his legs around, and slammed one foot in Jester's face. Only
a few were left now.
Both Taffy Kong and Har-Harlequin glared at their
formidable opponent. The Kroshi thought little of it. His two adversaries got
their attacks going. In the next second, coming right at the golden Yoshi was a
stampede of rolling barrels, and flying right above them were chakrams of fire
hoops. When the Kroshi saw this, he scoffed and front-flipped
onto the forthcoming barrels. He bounced off one and flipped straight
through one of the hoops with impeccable timing. When he came down, he passed
through another one that nearly cleaved him, and jumped off another barrel.
Both Taffy Kong and Har-Harlequin's jaws dropped. A fatal
mistake. WHAM!! The perilous Yoshi slammed one heel right into the
forehead of the orangutan of the group, knocking him backwards. He didn't get
back up. The Kroshi landed on the grass and turned towards the last one, the
witch of the group. Har-Harlequin snarled and continued her assault.
This time, she was thrusting her palms out at the enemy.
With very loud screeching noises, each one would launch a blazing mass of
colorful sparks, not unlike fireworks. Each one made loud popping and exploding
sounds when they missed their target and hit the ground. No matter what, the
Kroshi could dodge it. He merely flipped forward, landed on his side, and
rolled all the way up to the vicious Har-Harlequin. When she realized she had
been firing at hardly anything, it was too late. BAMM!! The Kroshi rocketed
himself off the ground with his hands and socked the woman square in the jaw
with his foot. Cursing with her last breath, she fell to the ground limply as
so many others did. Now there was only one left.
Rudy scowled fiercely once it was just him and this
mysterious new enemy. "You fiend," the giant clown seethed. "How dare you do this to my friends?!"
"Friends are for the weak," the Kroshi retorted. "Now
step aside. You're blocking my prey."
Rudy glared mercilessly into the Kroshi's eyes. He and
his friends had only been walking innocently through these woods when this
maniacal man suddenly showed up and began to attack. They tried their best, but
not even that was enough. Now it was up to their fearless leader. Rudy assumed
a fighting stance and focused solely on this dangerous villain. He decided if
he couldn't strike this man down, then their struggle would have been in vain.
The Kroshi stared back at his humungous opponent.
Judging by the stance he was in and the look in his eyes, he was going to put
all of it into one attack. The golden Yoshi laughed and got into an equally
threatening position of his own.
Katunk watched all this anxiously. It was quite the
sight for these two incredibly strong people to be locking eyes with each
other, fists clenched in the middle of this unique forest. Surrounding them was
a set of unconscious bodies. The spiky creature could tell that, in the next
second, one more was going to be added to their number. They had but an instant
left...
For my friends...
For power...
ZING!! Instantaneously, the two fighters flew right past
each other. Katunk barely even saw what had happened. Now they were in opposite
locations. Their backs were turned towards each other. They stared piercingly
as their bodies remained still as rocks. Then, finally, it happened: one of
them grunted in pain and keeled over. Katunk was shocked; Rudy had collapsed
onto his front with his pain-stricken face turned to one side. The Kroshi had
won.
"Don't ever," the Kroshi panted, "disrupt
my quest for power..."
Rudy cursed to himself. Even when he had all his
determination backing him up, he was still no match for this monstrous person.
Now he was striding over to the one evil clown that stood standing: Katunk.
The spiky being stood shivering and covered in a veil of
his own cold sweat as this maniacal assailant strode up to him. Mercilessly,
the Yoshi looked down upon him. The clown fearfully clenched his eyes shut and
thought of his recently departed friend as this new enemy reared another leg
back. The whole time, all Rudy could do was clench his teeth and prepare
himself for the worst.
Katunk, he thought, forgive me...
Unbeknownst to anyone, this entire scene had been
watched carefully by a certain female Magikoopa. Once again, she watched as
these evil clowns struggled to get through yet another dilemma. She shook her
brown-haired head in pity, knowing full well what was going to happen.
"The Koopas' competition," she said quietly,
"is losing its edge..."
BOOM...
Back on Yoshi's
"So, how did today's session with the Super-Happy
Tree go, Yoshika dear?" the father asked.
"Well, I told her all my problems, like I always
do, but I'm still not getting anything," the girl replied.
"Give it time, dear. Soon, like Jeila, Xoshi, and
I, you'll be able to hear her voice like music in the air!"
"Hmm," Yoshika responded. She looked worrisome
at first, then speculative. "I wonder what he's doing right now?"
"Who, Xoshi?"
"Yeah."
"Who can say?" the priest commented. "The last anyone saw
him, he and his friends were boarding that ship with that Yoshi."
"I know."
"They're probably at
"You think so?" Yoshika asked.
"I'm sure of it," the father exclaimed.
"I'm telling you, there's no one in this world quite like a Yoshi..."
Yoshika didn't say anything. I'm not sure about that
one, she thought.
"...Something on your mind?" the holy man
asked.
"No, not really," Yoshika
stated. "I just wish I could hear the
tree's voice."
"It'll happen, don't worry..."
As the two neared the house, Yoshika contemplated
further to herself. I trust my sister, she thought. The people she
went with said they wanted to purify the world...
All was silent in the Clattagin Woods. The Kroshi
had done the unspeakable. Lying before him was the motionless body of Katunk of
the evil clowns. Blood seeped out of a dire wound in the creature's forehead,
but the Kroshi wasn't done. He knelt down, grabbed the body's vibrant red
shoes, and slipped them off, revealing his shiny feet. Strangely enough, once
he did this, SHINK! The spikes vanished from Katunk's body, rendering it as
nothing more than a smooth, silver ball with a face and a pair of feet.
The Kroshi slipped the footwear onto his own feet.
SHING!! The spikes had reappeared. This time, they were on the Kroshi. Now his
elbows, his shoulders, his knuckles, his tail... All of them had the same
solid, deadly spikes that Katunk once had. They even tipped the ruby ones on
the back of his neck, further complimenting his new intimidating appearance.
The Kroshi looked at these new developments and tried them out. He jabbed and
slashed at the air in front of him with his claws and his elbows. He finished
the movements with a spin on his heel, sending his lethal tail swishing around.
He smirked to himself, knowing full well what kind of damage he'd now be able
to do against future enemies.
The Kroshi's work was done. He excitedly mumbled
something to himself about going somewhere. Then, just as he had done earlier,
he left the scene simply by rocketing off the ground using his overwhelmingly
strong legs. He left the evil clowns behind, bounding further and further into
the woods. This, he did, and a fallen Rudy shut his eyes tightly, gnashed his
teeth, and pounded the ground with a sturdy fist...
"Poor souls," the Magikoopa above whispered.
"They didn't even have the chance..."
A while later, the Magikoopa found herself far away from
the scene of the crime. She was uncertain as to what she'd encounter next, but
it definitely wasn't the two other female Magikoopas heading towards her.
Mildly surprised by their appearance, she stopped in midair and waited
patiently for them to get close enough. They could tell this wasn't going to go
entirely well, but they flew on nonetheless.
"Well, well, well," the mysterious Magikoopa
said once the three were together. "Kammelina and Kammeo.
Haven't seen you two in a while."
"Likewise, Kammitha," Kammelina answered.
"So?" the third Magikoopa said. "How goes
it with you? Still suckling at Veyran's teat?"
"A deserter like you would never understand,"
Kammelina retorted. "You should know Kammitha, it
was quite arrogant of you to think you could survive on your own."
"No, it was rather enlightened of me. A couple of
babies like you would never understand."
"B... Babies?!"
Kammeo fumed. Kammelina held a hand in front of her face.
"Don't pay any attention to her, Kammeo," her
elder sister advised. "She's just trying to get your goat."
"Right, right," Kammitha belittled. "So,
what brings you here? Business with the Koopas? Business with the clowns?"
"Business with the Kroshi," Kammelina clarified.
"That gold thing that just
bounded off?" Kammitha responded. The
other two sisters looked shocked.
"G... Gold thing?!"
Kammelina stammered. "Quick, sister, you must tell us! Where did it
go?"
Kammitha smirked and tapped her upper lip with her wand.
"Well, I could tell you, but, what's in it for me?"
Kammelina stared seriously at her sister's cocky face,
but only for a few seconds. She turned to her younger sister for help. She
looked at her with tight lips and raised eyebrows. Kammeo shrugged and lipped a
few words. Kammelina silently said, "No." Kammeo tilted her head at
her elder sibling and held her hands out very condescendingly. Kammelina grit
her teeth. Then the two turned back towards the third sibling.
"We'll give you these," Kammelina said at
last. Both she and Kammeo brandished a number of bottles. "They're Red
Essences. When you drink them, you gain an unbelievable amount of power, but
only momentarily. Surely they'll aid you on your quest."
Kammitha looked at these bottles and raised an eyebrow
at her sisters. "Are you sure? That sounds pretty crazy to me."
"We know. We witnessed their capabilities ourselves
and have been questioning it to this day. We were hoping we'd be able to keep
them for ourselves, but we'll give them to you if you tell us where the Kroshi
went."
Kammitha looked at these bottles her sisters were
holding and rubbed her chin. Finally, she made her decision. "It's a
deal." Kammelina and Kammeo were relieved. They happily handed the Red
Essences over to the other Magikoopa. She stowed them away and got on with the
much-needed information. "I heard him," she said. "He said he
was going first to the
"The
Kammeo nodded and began to head off in one direction on her
broomstick. Kammelina was about to turn and follow her example, but she stopped
herself. She faced Kammitha one more time and nodded. "Thank you."
Then she was off.
Kammitha watched for a moment as her disagreeable
sisters flew off without her. She laughed to herself and began to head off as
well.
I know how it is, she thought. Some of us need
gods... Others don't...
In the middle of one particular neck of the
"Heh heh. I've always wanted one of these," Ren boasted as he
swung his staff forward repeatedly.
"I am a king once again!!" Goomba Prince
crowed, holding the sword high above him, dramatically.
"I am an elf!!" Razeil gloated, dancing around
with the bow'n'arrow he had received.
Razule giddily opened and closed his new parasol. "Ye-heh-hesss. With these, once we take on our enemies,
they'll be plums rotting on the ground!!"
"Ye... Yeah," Goomba Prince replied.
"Speaking of which, those gobble-dee-gooks oughtta
be there by now," Razule exclaimed. "Dad, you
comin'?"
"Alas, Razule, my boy, my place is here in the forest. It was a
carnival with you guys, and I hope you get your jelly beans, but I must stay
here."
Razule suddenly looked very regretful. Goomba Prince
looked at him concernedly. "Awww... So this is it, dad? The
cell's mitosis?" Razule asked.
"Now, now, Razule, you can always visit! My mud
puddle is your mud puddle!"
"Awww, dad..."
The two Raven-like creatures moved towards each other.
Goomba Prince looked disgusted by what they did next, but Ren seemed unphased:
first, Ren lifted up one foot and his father licked it. Then his son did the
same with him. Goomba Prince rolled his eyes back and stuck his tongue out. Ren
just shook his head.
In a moment's notice, Razeil was parting with the group.
His son and his two companions were walking away from him and waving goodbye.
"See ya, Mr. Razeil! It was fun being with
you!" Ren called out.
"Please! Don't go 'bugging' more people!!"
Goomba Prince said. Razeil just laughed and shook his bow'n'arrow over his head
in a victorious gesture. With that, the two parties were going their separate
ways once again.
"My old man's quite the backscratcher, eh?"
Razule said.
"He's got moxy, that's for sure," Ren shared.
"I, uh," Goomba Prince stammered.
"Yeah..."
"Well, we can save the whales for later,"
Razule elicited. "Right now, we gotta fly!"
"What do you-" The Goomba couldn't finish it.
Like a cannonball, his leader was running off, faster than anything. Ren had
already begun chasing after him, equally fast, more or less. When the prince
saw this, he grumbled and sped after them...
The Boombateers may have left the area, but 15 people
were walking towards it. Some of them were talking about greedy people, and the
others were talking about thieves.
"That little idiot would always run away,"
Swan griped.
"Those guys are gonna pay," Princess Cherry
Blossom swore. Then, very suddenly, the two groups emerged from the trees, came
out into the open, and their eyes fell on each other. "Ah," said the
princess.
"Oh," said Swan.
"Hey, sorry to bother ya, but have you seen four
annoying little guys somewhere around here?" King Boo asked.
"Elsewhere," Duke Swuke exclaimed, "but
not here..."
"...Oh."
"Yeah, and
have you seen this little guy in a tuxedo?" Swoosh asked. "Obsessed
with spheres and stuff?"
"No such person," King Boo replied.
"Sheist." Swoosh kicked at the ground.
"Well," King Boo spoke up, "we'll give
you a call once we see something."
"Our sentiments exactly,"
Swuke stated. The two groups nodded to one another and they split up,
returning to their searches. For both, the day was going to be quite long. In
the meantime, the two leaders were busy speculating to themselves.
The duke furled his brow as he pressed onward. In this forest...
King Boo fluttered his eyes upward as he floated along. ...There's
no telling what you'll bump into...
And the sky above the