“Why am I here? Why am I here?” Larry Koopa asked himself for the twentieth time as he lay motionless on top of a pile of rocks. He remembered so vividly the past two hours when he thought he would be rich, possessing types of treasure. Now he lay there, treasureless. Unable to pull himself off the walk, he allowed his mind to relive his tail...
The town of Aroopa...
“Come now if you wanna get rich! Come now!”
Larry stirred on his bed in the inn’s
second floor. He had come to this town because Bowser had yelled at him,
telling him that he was too young to do many things, and he had responded
by telling him that he could live anywhere he chose with very little money
for as long a time as he wanted. Bowser had dared him to stay in a very
poor town with a very limited amount of money. This town was very far away
from Castle Koopa, and many people didn’t even know the royal family. Larry
didn’t care much. He was going to show everybody how well he could take
care of himself. He was sleepy but he couldn’t sleep. Part of the reason
was because of the morning sunlight through the curtain less window, but
most of all it was because of that idiot outside that
was screaming with a megaphone something
about going over there to get rich.
“Come now! Treasure doesn’t wait you know?!”
Larry’s eyes opened at the sound of the word treasure. “I could sure use some treasure,” he said to nobody in particular as he opened the door and descended the flight of stairs to the inn’s lobby, if it could even be called a lobby. The lobby floor was unpolished wood and the walls were made of the same, as were the ceiling and the counter and… well, everything. It wasn’t decent. Larry stepped out. Sure enough, the Koopa with the megaphone was there screaming.
“COME NOW!!!”
“Come now where?!” Larry screamed at the Koopa.
“Oh, hi!”
“What were you saying about treasure?”
“It’s a super all-out bonanza in which people can go for inside the Aroopa mines to look for treasure for the very first time! There's a chance you could get lost, but who cares?! Its still fun!” the Koopa replied enthusiastically for no reason in particular.
“Count me in!” said Larry, enthusiastic for a very definite reason in particular.
“Just go inside, you don’t even have to mine for treasure, it’s just lying on the floor.”
“Yes, I know Aroopa’s famous mines’ treasures,” said Larry as he made his way towards the mine entrance. He knew very well what he was going to do. Not only would he look for treasure, but he would steal from other people inside.
The mines were very dark except for a few rays of sunlight that passed through tiny fissures on the rocky ceiling. Larry only had to walk for five minutes before he spotted a chunk of platinum. “Fine, my luck is unbeatable!” he mused, grabbing the chunk. After one hour, his backpack was heavy with treasure. He was not satisfied, though, as he saw another Koopa with a lot of treasure passing by. His mind on the treasure, he quickly hid behind a stalagmite.
As the Koopa put his backpack down to
grab another piece, Larry jumped for the prize and ran at top speed
towards an unknown part of the cave.
It was a good ten seconds before the Koopa realized his treasure had
been stolen. He ran to catch Larry,
screaming, “Hey!!! Get back here!!!” It looked as if the Koopa would catch
up because of Larry’s tough burden, until Larry ran through a tough passage
that was chock full of obstacles. The Koopa stumbled many, many times,
but not Larry. Larry is especially good at running through obstacles without
stumbling for a very strange reason.
Although he had lost the Koopa, Larry was still running really fast. There was almost no light and no sound except for Larry’s steps and his breath. He kept running even when his feet felt the floor soften, he kept running even when the floor seemed to crack before him…
“AAAHHH!!!” CRASH!!!
And that is how Larry had ended up in his dire predicament, as his mind finally returned to the present. “Unngh…” Larry didn’t know where his treasure was. He was also too tired to move. Why hadn’t he stopped? Why? Why?
Larry opened his eyes, it seemed he
had dozed off. He was still tired but lifted himself up from the
uncomfortable pile of rocks. He walked
a bit, and he seemed to be ok, relatively speaking. The bruises and
cuts weren’t severe. He continued walking
through a narrow tunnel. This part of the cave was below the
mines, but it was very strange, because
there was actually a little bit more light here. At the end of the tunnel
there was a wide cavern. It was pretty normal except for the pool at the
middle. The pool was a strange blue-green color that was created by the
many blue-green crystals around the pool. These crystals were Aroocyan,
a found in the mines only by mining. It emanated a mysterious calm light.
It was strange that the crystals were protruding from the floor surrounding the pool. Larry didn’t give it a thought as the pool reminded him of how thirsty he was. He ran and dipped his head in the water. He didn’t bother to check if it was poison, and fortunately for him, it wasn’t. He had lost his backpack and worse, lost himself, so he grabbed only one of the crystals and took it with him. The crystal was twelve inches tall and two and a half inches wide. Larry continued through the tunnel at the other end of the cavern. As he turned around a corner, he saw an exit with a huge light at the end of the tunnel. Thinking he was home free, he ran for the exit.
As Larry exited the caves, the splendor
of the afternoon sun blinded him. He opened his eyes a bit to look around
and saw he was on a vast plain. As he looked behind him, he saw high above,
behind impenetrable
mountains, the town of Aroopa. Yes,
the little town was on top of the mountains, and by falling through that
hole in the cave, he had reached ground
level. He looked not behind towards the town of Aroopa, but
forward.
“Ah, I don’t care! I’ll just find another inn.” Larry looked forward and saw a small port town at the seashore, less than one kilometer away. He started walking right away. When he reached the town, he saw a big sign that read “Welcome to Boolanh” in fancy letters. There were many Koopas, but most of all, there were Koopa Troopas from an unknown army. “Oh well, might as well find an inn,” he told himself.
Larry went inside the big building that had a sign in front with "INN" written on it. When he entered, he was greeted by an old Goomba on the counter. “Hello, sonny! Need a room for the night?” he asked cheerfully.
“Yes, I do. I hope-”
Suddenly, a swarm of armed Koopa Troopas entered the room and grabbed Larry.
“Du-wah! What’s happening here?! I’m
not a criminal you bunch of- OOF!” Larry started, getting cut off by
the gun that was forcefully put against
his chest. “Heh, heh… *gulp* I’ll go peacefully…”
Larry was "escorted" to a huge platform that looked like a landing pad.
“Um, why so faraway from civilization?” Larry asked nervously.
One of the Koopa Troopas pressed a button
on a remote control and the platform descended underground.
Another platform closed above them
just above their heads. Larry saw a huge hi-tech factory-like place. He
was :escorted" to a place where there was a huge red rug and at the end,
there was a throne. Larry lifted his head slowly to see who sat on the
throne. “Wart!” he said, reacting to his uncle.
“Yes, it is I!” the toad replied proudly.
“But, I thought you were in Sub-con!”
“Yes, I was, but I finally came here!”
“Why did you make me come here?”
“Now that I have this whole army at my disposal, and I have YOU captured, Bowser will surrender to me! Bwahaha!!!”
“B-b-but… but… It’s not possible! No! You can’t do this to us!”
“Oh yeah? Watch me!”
“But why?”
“I thought you would know! Ok, maybe
not. Bowser was the one that mutated me into this horrible thing! Just
for the throne!!!"
“Really?”
“Do I look like a liar?!”
“Yes.”
“SEND HIM TO HIS CELL!!!”
BAM!!!
“Ungh!!!” Larry fell on the floor unconscious as the Koopa Troopa that had just hit him with the gun retreated to his position.
***
When Larry opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a kind of cell. The walls were pure titanium, and the place was actually really clean. “Aw, man, I need to get out of here,” he said to himself. Then he remembered a cheap way to get out of a cell, which he learned from a Super Nintendo game.
“Ow! My stomach! OW!!! MY TUMMY!!! MY BELLY BUTTON!!!”
A guard came in and examined him, only
to get bashed on the head by Larry's elbow. The guard collapsed.
Larry laughed. “Idiot! Don’t you know
frogs don’t have belly buttons?” he told the guard. “Whoops, I shouldn’t
have said that.”
Larry carefully made his way out of
his cell and closed the door. He tiptoed through the vast hi-tech
corridors, making sure the guards would
not see him. “Aw, how do I get out of this place? And how can I contact
King Dad? He didn’t let me keep my wand either.”
Just as he was approaching a door, a waiter opened it and hit Larry on the nose. “Ow. Ungh.” The waiter passed right by him, walking briskly without noticing him, and Larry followed. Soon the waiter had lead Larry to Wart’s chamber. When the waiter entered and closed the door, a small piece of meat fell out of the meal for Wart. Larry grabbed it and ate it quickly. “Well, it’s better than nothing… I prefer a nice vegetable though.”
Larry had just finished saying this when there was an ear-splitting roar, then the sound of breaking glass, then Wart’s screams. “YOU DARE PLACE A PIECE OF CARROT ON MY MEAL?! ROAR!!!
There was another sound of breaking glass and then the door opened suddenly as the waiter ran away screaming. “It was an accident!!!”
The door slammed against Larry’s nose. “OW! Ungh…”
Then Wart opened the door again and it slammed Larry’s nose. “Prepare the cannon! Hurry up you fools!” Wart barked orders at his minions.
Larry’s nose hurt, but he wasn’t about
to scream. He slowly and carefully entered Wart’s chambers now that
the toad wasn’t there. Inside, the
walls were made of the same material as the rest of the place: titanium.
The
floor was also polished but there was
a red rug leading to Wart’s throne. On the right of the throne there
was a smoking pipe. Larry recognized
it as a pipe that blew bubbles instead of smoke. Further to the right there
was a metallic door. Larry turned the knob, half expecting it to be locked.
It wasn’t. He entered and found a very small room. At the end there was
a platform that surely acted as an elevator. Larry stood on it and pulled
the lever to the right. The platform went up as Larry had expected. It
stopped on a ramp high above the factory. Larry walked a bit and down below,
he saw Wart sitting on a weird-looking chair with some controls. Larry
ducked and watched, careful not to be caught.
“Let’s see… Guatnol is too peaceful,”
started Wart. “Let’s see just how long that peace lasts. Bwahaha!
Commence Mecha-Plasma Cannon! Bwahaha!”
“Push and hold the red button, sir,” one of the guards told Wart.
“Huh? Which?” Wart asked stupidly.
“This one.” The guard pointed at the only red button on the controls, which was at the middle and was three times larger than the rest of the buttons.
“Oh.” Wart pressed and held the red button. As he held it, a tremor shook the factory a bit. Immediately a huge screen appeared in front of them showing a small town close to some mountains.
“Release the button, sir,”aAnother of Wart’s cronies said.
Wart released the button and in seconds a huge bolt of yellow-green energy hit the town with all its force. In an instant nothing was left but a massive crater in its place. Larry’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He was so surprised that he actually wasn’t thinking of stealth.
Wart raised his head high and let out a laugh. “GWAHAHA!!!” But as he opened his eyes his head was still raised, and that moment was when he saw Larry on the ramp above. “It’s Bowser’s kid!!! GET HIM!!!” he shouted at the guards.
Wart had barely finished when gunshots nearly hit Larry’s feet. This caused Larry to retreat some steps and almost fall off the other side of the ramp.
“No, idiots! I want him alive!” Wart yelled at his goons.
Way below, even lower than where Wart was, Larry saw the door where he had entered the factory. His heart pounding, he dashed to the platform elevator and descended to Wart’s chambers. While descending, he saw the guards running towards this very room, and Larry knew they would be there in seconds. He looked around frantically and saw a metallic door to the left of the throne. He quickly entered and looked around. It was only some kind of cramped warehouse. There were many crates stacked carelessly on top of each other. He knew he wasn’t safe here. Up on the wall, he saw an air duct, and knew he would be able to fit through there. Larry climbed one of the crates as he heard the guards enter Wart’s chamber. He quickly climbed crate after crate until he was in front of the air duct. He pulled at the grille and wassurprised at how easily it came loose.
Larry entered the duct and put the grille back just as the guards entered the room. He exhaled an uneasy breath of relief. “Not here. Go check the other room. Move it!” one of them ordered.
Larry quickly removed the grille when
all the guards left but then put it back. Maybe he was safer inside the
air duct. He crawled through the air duct even though he didn’t know where
it would lead him. He reached a
grille below him and saw below
the place where Wart had sat to cruelly destroy that town. Larry shook
his head in disappointment and continued crawling onward.
When Larry was about to pass another
grille below him, the old thing gave away and sent him plummeting downwards.
He managed to grab onto one of the railings of a ramp but five seconds
later he couldn’t manage his own weight because of how hard he had fell
and let go. He continued falling and managed to
grab onto a wire. The wire snapped
and he fell to the floor with a thud. He had many bruises and was hurting
all over, but this was not enough to
stop him from running his fastest when one of the guards spotted him.
Larry stopped on the platform that looked like a landing pad and remembered that the guards had hit a remote control to make it go up. Larry said some words not fit for print. “Argh! What now, what now, what now, what now, what now?!” The guards suddenly filed into the room where Larry was. “YEARGH!” Larry screamed as guards surrounded him. Then his vision focused. It was only his nervousness. In front of him came only one guard. Larry’s look of fear turned into a look of determination.
As the guard came up to him to hit him, Larry jumped at the guard and lifted the Aroocyan crystal in his hand. Larry drove it into the guard’s chest and the guard dropped his gun to the floor. The guard retaliated by forcefully punching Larry in the stomach. Larry’s vision blurred for roughly two seconds, then he kicked the guard forcefully in the face. The guard toppled backward and let his remote control fall. The Koopaling grabbed the remote and pressed the button. The platform began to ascend like the Koopa Kid and the guard had expected. Larry grabbed the guard’s gun and used it to hit the gun’s previous owner’s head. The guard fainted. “*pant pant wheeze*” Larry was very tired, and as the platform reached solid ground he jumped off the platform and stopped to pant some more. He watched in horror as the platform descended once again, proof that they were coming to get him.
“Must… get… away!!!” He hadn’t finished
saying this before he was running away with all his might. He
reached the main area of the pier town
in mere seconds and was still running at high speed through the town. He
continued running when he had left the town towards the crater that Wart
had left with his cannon. His legs hurt more than they ever had before,
and his lungs were about to burst. His heart was begging him to stop but
he cut no slack. He continued running. One minute later, he stumbled on
the ground from exhaustion. He pulled himself up with his arms but finally
gave up to exhaustion. Three extremely short
minutes later he yelped when he saw
the guards coming towards him in the distance.
“Those guys either don’t know when to give up, or they get really good pay. Or maybe not.” He painfully got up to continue running. Though his body ached, he was never going to let them capture him. Never. With the three minutes of rest he had gotten Larry used a quick burst of energy to rush with great speed even closer to the crater. It was the only landmark he could see and therefore the one that he was heading to. He had seen that there might be a place to hide behind the place where the town once stood. Thirty seconds after his burst of speed he was tired again. “What’s happening? Why don’t they shoot me? … They want me alive… NEVER!!!”
Larry was about to go inside the crater, when suddenly, he saw a yellow-green mass of electrical energy rise from the ground. In seconds, the mass took the form of a Koopa, but its skin was still the electrical yellow-green surges. It shot a bolt of yellow-green energy at Larry, who barely dodged it. “Oh my DAD! What is that thing?” The creature (let’s call it creature) continued trying to zap Larry until Larry was so exhausted that he just lay on the floor.
Fortunately for Larry, the guards that were trying to capture him arrived on the scene. “What is that?! Shoot it!” one of them cried. They all started shooting the creature but the bullets just passed right through. The creature turned its attention towards the guards and zapped them instead of the fallen Koopaling. Larry quickly used this opportunity to run towards the mountains. Although his vision was getting blurry, it at times focused enough for him to see an opening in the mountain’s foot.. He continued running and looked back quickly. The creature had finished most of the guards off. Larry then arrived in front of the cave. He entered. Inside, it was like what a normal cave should be. Dark, damp, gloomy, etc. It was just perfect for Larry’s exhaustion. He laid down on a wall and immediately fell asleep.