Part 1
Russ T. sat on a stool in his small home in Toad Town. Two dusty old suitcases lay in front of him, one veritably bulging with books, the other packed with a few clothes and a toothbrush. Not for the first time did the Toad contemplate putting the suitcases back into storage, but he didn’t let his nerves get the better of him. Nervously, he tried to get rid of some of the dust on the suitcases; he hadn’t done a very good job cleaning them.
A knock sounded on his door and Russ T, taking a deep breath, picked up his suitcases. He was promptly forced to breathe out, as he hadn’t lifted so much weight in a long time. Straining, he walked over towards the door and pushed it open with his foot, barely missing the Toad standing in the doorway. Russ T. didn’t recognize the Toad that wore a red jacket and had a blue Mushroom head; he was one of the new people who worked at the new docks built for transport to Rogueport.
“The ship is ready,” The toad
said, holding a hand to take one of Russ T’s
suitcases.
“Thank you,” the scholar replied somewhat nervously, handing the heavy case filled with books to the Toad.
“What’s in this? It’s very heavy,” the Toad asked, using both hands to hold the suitcase.
“A few books, I’d ask that you try and be careful with them.”
“We try and be careful with all passenger’s baggage, sir. Yours will be no different.”
“All right, let’s get going.”
The blue-headed Toad started walking towards the docks, Russ T. trailing in his wake. Since he carried the lighter case, Russ T’s hand was free to nervously clean his glasses even though they were already clean. As they came closer to the port the large transport ship came into view, crewmen and passengers already bustling around the deck. The Toad gestured for Russ T. to give him his other suitcase and Russ T. shook his head, knowing that he would need the clothes for the trip. He watched as the Toad loaded them onto the cargo hold and rummaged in his pocket for his boarding pass.
Gulping, Russ T. walked to where he noticed other passengers lining up to get on the boat. He had been desperately hoping that something would go wrong and the whole trip would be cancelled, but it looked like everything was going perfectly. The scholarly Toad cleaned his glasses once more, a habit he was beginning to form, and fingered the boarding pass. He hadn’t eft Toad Town for years and now was going across the sea all the way to Rogueport.
“Looking forward to the trip?” a voice came from behind him. Turning, Russ T. saw Minh T. standing right behind him.
“Hello, Minh T,” Russ greeted her. He had seen her occasionally when he went to fetch groceries. “To tell you the truth, I’m not.”
“Really? Well I am, think of all the new plants I could gather in Rogueport.”
Russ T. merely sighed.
“Why are you going if you don’t want to, Russ?”
“Well, Minh, Professor Frankly has a book I need.”
“He could mail it to you.”
“I don’t want it to get damaged, this is a very special book.”
“Is it some ancient history book that’s worth millions?”
“Its value is priceless.”
“Priceless like love or the good kind of priceless?”
Russ T. chuckled as he stepped up to show his boarding pass to a Koopa in uniform. The Koopa merely nodded and Russ T. headed up the boarding plank, his breath quickening slightly.
“Everything’s going to be all right, Russ,” he murmured to himself. “Boats don’t sink often. It probably won’t happen to you.” He suddenly realized this was similar to lines he’d read in novels, lines right before the boat would sink.
A few people on deck glanced at him but most didn’t notice the scholarly little Toad polishing his glasses as he made his way towards his cabin. From under his breath the constant murmur of "it won’t happen" could be heard as his eyes darted towards the numbers on the cabin doors. By the time he had found his cabin and set his suitcase down beneath the bed, a large horn went off and a jerk told him the boat had begun to move.
Looking out from the porthole of his cabin, Russ T. paid Toad Town one last regretful glance, wishing he had stayed with his books. A drop fell onto the glass and Russ gulped; he could see a few gray clouds that threatened a storm. Groaning, Russ fell back on his bed and closed his eyes, sleep slow in the coming.
A sharp crack of thunder startled Russ T. awake, his sheets getting tangled as he tried to sit upright. The ship was rocking violently and the sound of rain battering the craft was interrupted only by the frequent sounds of thunder. Russ T. noticed that his suitcase was sliding along the floor, the bed itself only staying still because of the nails in it.
Untangling himself from the sheets, Russ T. tried to stand and, after many unsuccessful efforts, managed to get himself balanced. Stumbling more than walking, he made his way slowly towards the porthole and, upon arriving, promptly wished he hadn't. Waves were heaving themselves against the ship, the sea seeming to do its utmost to bring them to its depths. Pushing himself away from the window, Russ T. wished he had packed something for his stomach, which had not taken kindly to the sight of the thrashing waves.
His door suddenly opened and a Toad who was barely holding onto the handle looked at Russ T. "Sir," he yelled above the din of the storm, "we will be late arriving at Lavalava Island to pick up our other passengers. We apologize for the inconvenience."
"I didn't know we were going there," Russ T. shouted back.
"Well, sir, we have other passengers there. I'd explain more but I have to tell the other passengers."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
"No need to apologize, sir." The Toad closed the door, the momentum of the boat slamming the door.
Russ T. turned to sit on his bed when his suitcase rammed the back of his foot, sending him sprawling to the ground. The tipping boat quickly sent him sliding underneath the bed, where he grabbed a leg to keep from moving. It was as he was pushing himself up that Russ T. heard a particularly loud crash, something that couldn't have come from the storm alone.
The boat suddenly became steeply angled towards the wall opposite to the porthole and Russ T's pulse quickened. His breath came in ragged gasps as he realized that the tipping was not something temporary, the crash had been the storm breaking through the ship's hull. His theory was further proved when water began to seep in through the crack beneath the doorway.
Another wave crashed through the ship,
this time coming from the porthole and heading straight for Russ T. He
gripped the bed's leg as tightly as he could with both hands and screamed
as the wave descended, bringing the darkness of unconsciousness with it.
Part 2
Russ T. bounced up and down with the bob of the waves as he clung to the piece of wreckage that had once served as his bed. Russ T. kept his eyes tightly shut, knowing if he opened them he would have to face the reality of the ruined ship. He let out the occasional small moan and, hearing nothing other than his own voice and the waves, assumed that he was the only conscious person afloat.
Taking a deep breath of the salty sea air, Russ T. slowly opened his eyes, preparing to see what had happened. It was not until that moment that the Toad realized that his glasses had miraculously stayed on his head, if somewhat bent away from his eyes. Adjusting them, he surveyed the floating shards of wood that were once the transport ship. He noticed a figure floating facedown a little distance away from, and with pink head and pigtails, it could only be Minh T.
Russ T. angled the piece of wood he was clinging to towards Minh T. and began kicking frantically, sending water flying. Going against the small waves, Russ T. reached Minh T. soon, even if he had swallowed a great deal of salt water along the way. He turned the female Toad around and checked her wrist to see if there was a pulse. He found a faint one and pulled her so she was lying on the piece of wood.
Russ T. floated for a while; he didn't know any life-saving techniques and even if he did he wouldn't have been able to perform them while floating in the water. Instead he scanned the horizon in hopes of seeing something, anything, that might indicate land. He noticed a small plume of smoke rising in the sky and, hoping it was the volcano of Lavalava Island, turned the small piece of wreckage towards the smoke.
He was not a swimmer he wasn't even in shape; spending so long with his books exactly the best exercise. After a few minutes he began to grow tired, pushing a makeshift raft with a person on it was harder than the books made it seem. Russ T. examined his options as his pace began to slacken: he could either keep going until he became exhausted and drowned or he could try to hold onto the raft and regain his strength. If he tried to hold onto the raft there was a risk of tipping it over and drowning both himself and Minh T. The scholarly Toad looked at the sky and moaned with despair.
He decided to at least try to hold onto the raft and rest for a while, when a large wave sent the raft shooting along. Minh T. almost fell off, but Russ T. managed to hold onto her with one hand and the raft with the other. He turned to see what had caused the wave and his mouth fell wide open. A large Cheep Cheep was fighting a Blooper that had the fish grasped in its tentacles.
Russ T. frantically kicked his legs, exhaustion forgotten in his panic. The two behemoths were slowly drifting towards him in their struggle. The Cheep Cheep was dragging the Blooper along as it tried frantically and vainly to escape from the deadly tentacles that were closing around its body. Another wave sent Russ T. flying through the water as the two massive creatures fell beneath the water.
With the disappearance of the two, Russ T. began to slow his kicks, once again realizing the plight he was in. He could still see the thin plume of smoke in the sky; the waves from the Cheep Cheep and Blooper had sent him closer to where it was coming from. Russ T's legs stopped kicking and he clung uselessly to the piece of driftwood, his breath coming in slow gasps.
The water around him stirred restlessly and Russ T. looked down with dread as a shadow rose up. Before he was entirely sure what was happening he was sitting atop the head of a Cheep Cheep. Minh T. was knocked off the raft and was precariously cradled between a tentacle and where it joined the Blooper's body. The Cheep Cheep had wriggled itself partly out of the Blooper's grasp and was biting ferociously at its larger foe. Russ T. clung onto the Blooper for dear life as the creature rocked back and forth with its struggle with the large fish.
From the corner of his eye Russ T. saw the form of Minh T. falling from her perch and his mouth opened in a wordless shout. His hands, sweaty from fear and wet from the sea, could not maintain a grip on the Blooper's slippery skin for any longer, and Russ T. fell. If anyone had been there to see it they would have thought Russ T's fall a heroic dive, a noble man risking life and limb to rescue a damsel in distress. This illusion would, of course, be shattered by the time Russ T. hit the water. Landing next to the floating form of Minh T, he splashed wildly, attempting to both breathe and spit out salt water simultaneously.
A large tentacle came crashing down near Russ T, hitting Minh T. square on the back and sending her into the water. Breathing deeply, Russ T. dived down after her, his descent helped by another Blooper tentacle smacking him on the rump. He managed to catch up to Minh T. and grab the unconscious Toad by the scruff of her dress, and began kicking upwards. It was slow going and Russ T. could feel every breath of air he was being denied by the cruel waters of the sea. When he finally managed to surface he was met with a large splash of water as the Cheep Cheep's tail beat furiously.
Using one arm and his tired legs, Russ T. tried to swim away, but between the flailing tail and Blooper tentacles it was slow going. Suddenly Russ T. saw the Cheep Cheep's teeth sink into the Blooper and the massive squid began to fall. The Cheep Cheep easily escaped from the limp tentacles and swam away, leaving the Blooper looming over Russ T. Swimming frantically, the scholarly Toad and his unconscious burden attempted to flee from the toppling behemoth as a shower of crimson liquid cascaded down upon them.
A massive wave spawned from where the Blooper met the water's surface, and Russ T, who had barely managed to escape being caught between the two, was shot forward. The pillar of smoke he had thought unreachable was speeding closer and closer, the massive volcano and thick jungles of Lavalava Island soon coming into view. Russ T. laughed excitedly, overjoyed that he might make it safely to land. The wave managed to wash him up on the shores of the island, a walk away from the Yoshi Village.
Hope lending his muscles strength, Russ T. managed to drag Minh T. near the Yoshi Village. The inhabitants saw him and rushed out, Russ T. opening his mouth to ask for help. Before the words could reach his lips his adrenaline finally came to its end and he fell face first into the sand.
By the time his eyes opened again he was lying on a pallet on the ground, Minh T. and a concerned-looking Yoshi hovering over him. He found everything to be blurry and realized with a start that his glasses must have fallen off. Despite his poor vision he could make out the Yoshi who stood by his pallet, she was green and looked quite old. Her face held more than a few wrinkles and in her hand she held a cup with a foul-looking brew in it.
"Russ, you're awake!" Minh T. almost shouted with excitement.
"Of course I am. What happened?" Russ T trailed off, memory returning to him.
"We're not sure," the elderly Yoshi said. "We found you washed up on the beach after that terrible storm."
"All I can remember is that I was woken up by lightning, and then this wave, and then nothing," Minh T. supplied.
"Oh. Well, what happened was..." And Russ T. proceeded to recount the tale, trying to make himself seem as unheroic as possible. By the time he was finished Minh T. was looking at him, her eyes filled with respect and wonder.
"Wow, Russ," was all the young Toad could say.
"I'm not a hero or anything," Russ T. asserted once more. "I just didn't want any more people to be lost to the storm. I did what I had to and the only reason we're alive is by chance, nothing I did helped."
"The Yoshi Village chief wants to speak to you, Mr. Russ," the elderly Yoshi told Russ T.
"Oh? Why?" Russ T. asked nervously.
"He didn't say," the Yoshi replied, "but he wanted to see you and Ms. Minh."
"All right." Russ T. pushed himself off the pallet and found to his surprise that he could stand easily. "Let's go."
Russ T. walked out of the small hut he had been in with Minh following closely behind. He noticed the Yoshi Village was a little emptier than he would have expected and many of the Yoshis were looking at him. He walked towards the rock where the Village Chief was seated and cleared his throat.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked politely.
"Ah yes, I did. From the fact that you washed up on shore I can only assume that something happened to the transport ship."
"Yes, sir," Russ T. replied. "Destroyed, sir."
"That's quite a blow indeed," the chief murmured.
"What do you mean, sir?" Minh T. asked.
"Stop with all this 'sir' nonsense. I'm just a Yoshi, like any other."
"Sorry," Russ T. responded.
"No need to apologize. I cannot blame the messenger for the bad news they bring."
"Another ship will come," Russ T. told the chief.
"Not soon enough, I fear. For lately the jungle has been... active... Many of the Piranha Plants that usually reside within the volcano have swarmed our jungles, even Raphael the Raven was forced to take shelter in our village."
"That sounds bad," Russ T. commented.
"Very bad. Something stirred up the Piranha Plants badly and they are becoming more aggressive than we've ever seen. Men and women who went into the jungle for a bit of fruit never returned. We tried to send men to investigate what has happened but none have returned and we fear the worst."
"Oh my..." Minh T. breathed.
"When this happened we attempted to build a ship to sail away but the Piranhas have driven us back very far. We cannot get lumber for our craft and the cove where we kept the boat itself is overrun. I fear they will press into the village if they are not stopped soon. This transport ship would have been our chance at escape."
Russ T. was petrified; he had escaped a watery grave only to end up in a Piranha Plant's belly. This was why he did not instantly register Minh T.'s next statement. "We can help you," was what she said. "Russ T. saved me from a giant Cheep Cheep and a giant Blooper. I'm certain he can deal with what has the Piranha Plants all riled up."
"He really would risk himself for us?" the village chief asked, stunned.
"Of course he would," Minh T. answered. "I'll even go with him to help."
It was then that what was about to happen dawned on Russ T. and he saw that he was too late to stop it. "Would you really help us?" the Yoshi asked Russ T. hopefully.
"Well I... I mean that... you can't
stop the boulder once it's pushed," he murmured to himself. "I'll do what
I can." There was more than a hint of
regret in his voice but the Yoshi and
Minh T. either chose to ignore it or didn't hear it.
"Well we could probably get going today," Minh T. suggested.
"No," the chief replied, "you must sleep for at least one night while we get some supplies ready."
"That's very kind of you," Minh T. replied.
"You may sleep in the infirmary," the Yoshi replied, indicating the building Russ T. had come from. "And once again, I must thank you. If you succeed we will be greatly indebted to you."
"Don't worry about it," Russ T.
said weakly as he turned to go back to the infirmary.
He lay his head on the pillow of the
pallet he'd had before and closed his eyes, wishing desperately he would
awake to find it all a dream...
Part 3
Russ T. stood with a bag of food slung across his back and a stick in one hand. Minh T. was similarly equipped except that instead of fruit she carried a few water bags and a map of the island. The Yoshis had been able to find a pair of glasses from one of the men who had gone missing. They weren't exactly Russ T's prescription but they were better than nothing.
The remaining Yoshis had come to see him off and Russ T. could not help but look into the sad array of faces. The old, the young, the lame, all those unable to venture into the forest to fight the Piranha menace were there. A few had tears of hope in their eyes and Russ T. was once again made conscious of the fact that if he failed their lives were all forfeit. Gulping, he turned around and took the first step out of the village, Minh T. following in his wake. The Yoshis sent up a half-hearted cheer, only those who weren't resigned to their doom bothering to do so.
Russ T. had hoped that he might have moved somewhat stealthily but the dense foliage was constantly rustling, especially when he was forced to move branches out of the way with his stick. Russ T. had noticed Minh T. using her stick as a walking staff and emulated her. He also noted that she would occasionally bend over and pick up an odd-looking plant and place it within the bag she had slung across her shoulder. She was also sucking on a bleeding thumb from when a small vicious plant had bitten her.
Russ T. pushed a particularly large leaf out of his way and quickly shoved it back in place, backing up. Minh T. looked at him curiously and he indicated for her to look beyond the leaf, which she promptly did. Her mouth opened in a silent 'O' as she saw a cluster of ten Piranha Plants that were guarding a mass of tangled, thorny vines. Minh T. could see a few Piranha Plant heads popping up in the vines and even spotted a flash of color that she assumed was a Yoshi.
"What was that?" she asked Russ T, putting the leaf back.
"I'm not sure. I think it might be some large Piranha Plant, the vines were moving."
"They were?"
"Yes."
"Do you think that might be the cause of the Piranha Plants' behavior?"
"I think so. If it were a large Piranha Plant it might be trying to take the island for itself and the plants."
"So what do we do, Russ?"
"I'm not sure. How do you even kill a plant?"
"Well there's fire, but that would likely take the whole island with it. We can't starve it; its roots are probably deep enough to find sustanance and water to last for decades. The only things I can think of are to remove its head or take out the roots."
"Taking out the roots is almost impossible. But we don't have anything sharp enough to clip the head and I doubt we could bludgeon it to death with these sticks."
"Doesn't look there's much we can do."
"Hmm... Piranha Plants are vicious, right, Minh?"
"Very vicious."
"What if we used that to our advantage?"
"How do you mean?"
"Well we can't get through the vine that connects to the head, but a Piranha's jaws can."
"I think that if the larger plant is controlling them he won't let them get that close."
"Do you really think he could keep a horde of Piranha Plants from their supper?"
"He might not be able to."
"Exactly."
"But Russ, you'd never make it out alive. Even if you managed to get rid of the controlling plant the rest would take you down in a second. That's very noble of you."
Russ T.'s mouth opened and then he froze. It had suddenly hit the Toad that he had been suggesting that he might do something dangerous, nay suicidal, for others. Russ T. shook his head and rubbed his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand and gulped. He wasn't a hero, just a scholar, here because he didn't want to die.
"What was that, Russ?" Minh T. asked.
"What? Did I say something?"
"You murmured something and I heard the words 'hero' and 'not'."
"Oh, well, just a slip of the tongue. Voiced by thoughts out loud by accident."
"Oh, I've done that before. Well, Russ, are you ready to execute your plan?"
"My plan? What? I don't think-" Before Russ T. could say that he had had a change of heart about the plan Minh T. pushed him through the leaves and threw a rock at one of the plants.
As the stone connected the ten in the clearing before the tangle of vines turned towards Russ T. and their mouths curled upwards. With a snap of their jaws they went into the ground and resurfaced just in front of Russ T, biting down. The scholarly Toad began to run blindly, his back stinging from where he had just avoided being bitten.
As he ran, leapt, rolled, and did a series of acrobatic exercises to avoid the ten snapping jaws, Russ T. realized how flawed his plan was. Assuming he got into the mass of thorny vines and assuming he found the one connected directly to the head, assuming it was only one, he still had no idea of how to cut it. He would either have to nimbly dodge a Piranha's jaws while somehow keeping himself pressed against the vine, or he would have to get bitten entirely in half and hope the Piranha Plant would also break the vine. All this under the assumption that the controlling plant couldn't control a group of Piranha Plants in a frenzy, assuming they were being led by a Piranha Plant. Russ T. let out a wail of despair that would have done a banshee proud.
Russ T. managed to turn himself towards the pile of writhing vines and dove into them. His skin was quickly dotted with crimson streaks as the thorns clawed at the unfortunate Toad. The original ten Piranha Plants were popping up through the vines and more seemed to have joined them. The ground was no longer safe and Russ T, bleeding from many thorn and bite wounds, was forced to climb through the vines above him to stand on the writhing mass.
Fewer Piranha Plants came at him now, only the occasional one surfacing through the thorns, but Russ T. was in terrible shape. His skin was more red that anything else, deep cuts from the thorns covered his body, and his feet bled profusely from walking across the spiky terrain. The only blessing was that with the amount of thorns continually being stuck into his body it would have been almost impossible for Russ T. to fall to the ground without losing a limb.
Suddenly a Piranha Plant came up and caught Russ T's leg in its jaws. Screaming with pain, the little Toad beat futilely on the Piranha Plant's head with his hands, his staff having been lost in the forest of vines. Slowly the Piranha Plant let his leg go and drew back its head, Russ T. staring at his bloody leg. Not even aware that he was doing it, the Toad ripped a piece of his tattered shirt off and wrapped it around, creating a very poor makeshift bandage. It was then he turned to stand and saw why the Piranha Plant had retreated.
A Piranha Plant head, with a mouth large enough to easily swallow something half again as tall as a tree and wide enough for a house. The massive maw was twisted upwards in a horrible, bloodstained smile that assured the demise of the small Toad. Russ T. looked behind him to find at least two score Piranha Plants waiting eagerly, mouths salivating. The large head opened its mouth and, to Russ T's great surprise, words came out.
"Hello, little Toad," the voice started. "I did not expect your kind on this island."
Russ T. could say nothing.
"No matter. You shall soon join all the Yoshis."
The mouth began approaching Russ T. and within a split second he saw his options and chose one. He could have either been torn apart by many Piranha Plants or eaten quickly by one. Tears streaming down his face, Russ T. ran towards the mouth and leapt past the bloody teeth down the huge throat. Had he been listening he would have heard a sound of surprise from the Piranha Plant's belly and a shriek from the jungle.
Russ T. held his eyes shut and awaited the crushing feeling of the esophagus or the burning acids of the stomach, but he was met with something quite different. It reminded him of the time one of his mother's pots had fallen from the top shelf right onto his head. He opened his eyes cautiously and gasped, and not just because of the fact he had just landed head first onto a metal floor.
The floor and the walls were covered with metal, small screens placed at regular intervals on the wall flickered with pictures. There seemed to be a few pieces of complicated machinery that Russ T. couldn't even begin to puzzle out. But perhaps the most shocking thing of all was the figure that was standing staring at Russ T With his regal cloak and ice crown, it could be none other than the feared Crystal King.
"What? How? You!" Russ T. spluttered as he pushed himself up.
"I guess your lack of coherence is understandable. You did just receive an impressive blow to the head and you are bleeding quite badly."
"You... you're Crystal King! How are you here? Mario defeated you! Why are you here? What's going on?"
"Calm down, my scholarly friend. One question at a time, please."
"Mario defeated you, how are you here?"
"The great Crystal King is not so easily beaten. He may have won our encounter but I managed to escape."
"Why here? Your element is ice, if I remember correctly."
"Exactly, who would look for me here?"
"But why?"
"Simple, the Piranha Plants."
"What?"
"You see, Piranha Plants are perfect soldiers, almost mindless machines of destruction. Just point them in the right direction and victory is almost too easy. They served me well on Shiver Mountain and I had intended to conquer that pathetic village near my castle but Mario stopped me. If not for him I would have been able to continue my plans to establish an empire to match Bowser's. I intend to take this island begin my plans anew, this time without failure."
"But how do you control the plants?"
"The same way I controlled them on Shiver Mountain, chemicals. By inserting chemicals into the earth I can make them susceptible to my control. Unfortunately my power over the Piranha Plants on Shiver Mountain was greater as they were of an icy nature like myself, here I can only force the Piranha Plants to obey my giant Piranha Plant. They see it as a leader, and using it, I shall manipulate them into my bidding."
"But how did you get this giant mechanical plant and the chemicals?"
"As the guardian of the last Star Spirit Bowser gave me surprising access to his scientists. I had them whip up the chemical for me and when I was forced to escape from Mario I took some with me. As for this machine I had it built as a plan B, a good strategist plans for the worst."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Why? Because even if you somehow escape me you won't find the exits. Even if you do find the exits before you die of blood loss the Piranha Plants outside will tear you to bits."
"How-" Russ T's question was bitten off by the sound of metal being bent. "What's that?" he asked in a panic.
"The Piranha Plants." Crystal King looked at the screens worriedly. "Your appearance must have made me forget to put today's chemicals in the soil."
"So?"
"They're attacking."
"Oh my. But why is my appearance important?"
"Your appearance meant a ship, and I couldn't allow the Yoshis to escape."
"Oh." Suddenly a loud crash and a Piranha Plant's head appeared from the floor.
"They've burst through!" Russ T. shouted.
"Curse you!" Crystal King shouted at him. "I will not have my work ruined by the likes of you!"
A blast of ice came from the Crystal King and the Piranha Plant was frozen.
Turning, the ice king began to fiddle with the machinery, twisting knobs, pulling levers, pressing buttons. Whenever a Piranha Plant would surface he would freeze it as Russ T. sat quivering in a corner. Holes had formed in the metallic room from where Piranha Plants had burst in and Russ T. could see the vines outside being lowered to the ground. He assumed that must have been how the Crystal King was placing the chemicals in the ground.
Russ T. swallowed and took his courage in both hands as he turned towards the back of the frantic king. He ran up and with all his strength tackled Crystal King away from the machines. They flew through one of the many holes within the mechanical Piranha Plant and within seconds were surrounded by Piranha Plants. Crystal King threw Russ T. to the ground and looked around.
"You've ruined everything. If I cannot have the satisfaction of killing you with my own hands I will have to settle on the knowledge that you were torn limb from limb by my Piranha Plants." With that, Crystal King summoned four floating orbs of ice that he grabbed onto as they carried him into the sky.
"Oh my," Russ T. whispered as the Piranha Plants around him began to move closer.
He closed his eyes tightly and balled himself up, ready for the end, when he heard a loud thwack. When he opened his eyes he saw a Piranha Plant lying down and Minh T. holding a large stick in her hands. She was covered with scrapes, though not as many as Russ T, and shaking. Behind her stood a few Yoshis, each bleeding and each holding a branch or a root. The Yoshis went forward and brought their stick down upon the Piranha Plants, most of them taking bites but nothing deadly.
"Wh-what's going on?" Russ T. asked.
"When you were eaten I tried to run and help you but I got caught in the thorns," Minh T. began. "I saw a lot of the Piranha Plants disappear beneath the ground and I managed to pull myself free. I kept going through the thorns and I met up with these Yoshis, each trapped by the vines."
"Oh."
"Thank you," a yellow Yoshi said, stepping forward. "If it wasn't for you two we would never have escaped the vines. And never defeated the large..." The Yoshi hesitated at what to call the mechanical Piranha Plant. "Well we never would have defeated the Piranha menace."
"What will happen now?" Minh T. asked.
"The Piranha Plants will return to their natural habitat and we'll dispose of this machine," the Yoshi answered.
"What about a boat?" Russ T. managed to croak out.
"We're building one, we'd be happy to let you use it. It's the least we can do," the Yoshi replied.
Russ T. was about to thank him when the extensive loss of blood finally caught up to him and he fell facefirst into the dirt once more.