The Hatching of the Shreok 3
Master of Puppets

By Slimer49'r

Chapter Eighteen: Confessions

MARIO

"WHAT?" I asked in utter confusion. She had a stern, solemn look in her eyes and something told me this was not a lie. "You... You're Princess Eclair? My brother saved you?" I said. She nodded.

The night sky was still, and the air was soundless as if they were too eager, to find what the girl had to say. She sighed. "Let me tell you..."

~

Thunder roared and crashed as Luigi trudged through the muddy grass to Hatesong Tower. There was fear in his heart, but bravery came forth from within. His brown boots squelched in the mud and rain came down from the side. His partners were by his side, ready for whatever hardships that they were to face.

Torque cursed. "Luigi... This battle will be harder then anything else we've ever encountered. Be careful. We'll all be here with you." Everyone in turn, nodded.

Luigi pushed open the large wooden doors of the structure to see the sight inside. In a large throne on the end of the room sat a hideous beast. He was about 15 feet tall and was covered in sharp spikes and rough scales. His skin was green and pulsating, and his eyes were mere slits. His fangs dripped with molten saliva that incinerated the floor before them.

Luigi filled with anger. He rushed forward but someone stopped him. "STOP!" In front of him, stood a tall, female Koopa. She was wearing a long, white dress with black stripes around the middle. She had long, shiny black hair that looked like sweet licorice. Her eyes were an emerald shade of green, and her skin was a beautiful shade of yellow. She also wore a silver tiara of great beauty. His face turned red, and sweat dripped from his brow. She was beautiful. The only other time he had felt like this, was when he first had met Daisy.

He gasped. "Princess Lucy Eclair?" he asked in awe.

She nodded. "Do not harm the Chestnut King. For I truly love him. He was once my boyfriend, a handsome Koopa at that, but then he... turned him into this beast," she said.

Luigi was curious. "Who is this, 'he'?"

"That, would be me, you foolish man." Out of the shadows came a dark, icy man. He was a Mushroomer, and he looked about middleaged. Brown spots were on his Mushroom cap, and his eyes glinted with evil.

"Crepe!" Luigi growled. "What are you doing here?"

The Mushroomer laughed evilly. "Why, I'm here to steal the magical Compass Pieces. And you have them."

Luigi spat, and entered a fighting stance. Crepe stepped forward and put his hand on Luigi's chest, electrocuting the plumber as smoke rose from his body and he fell to the ground. Blood dripped from his chest as he bled heavily. His partners and Princess Eclair rushed to his side. Crepe laughed as the Compass Pieces levitated over to him, and he touched them.

There was a blinding flash of light, followed by a surge of electricity. All of a sudden, Crepe began to grow. His arms became large and sinewy. Spikes ripped from his back, making a sick popping sound, like the rearranging of bones. A long tail burst from his hindquarters and large fangs grew in from his mouth. Large bat wings sprouted from the despicable Mushroom man. His glowing red eyes turned and locked on Luigi, who was still gasping on the ground. As Eclair cried, no one noticed her tiara glowing with the same blinding light as before. The light slowly left her and formed around Luigi.

Luigi rose from the ground in an aura of light, his wounds completely healed. He roared and threw himself upon Crepe. They tumbled, fighting with all their might. Neither side would give in. Lugi backflipped and hit Crepe in the face with his hammer. Crepe roared and slashed at Luigi, missing him narrowly.

Meanwhile, Torque turned to the rest of them. "Well, what are we waitin' for, mates?" The rest of Luigi's partners charged at the massive beast. Torque whirled around, slamming into the beast's stomach. Blooey squirted ink in his face and he stumbled back. Jerry blew up in his face. Hazee sung his sweet lullabye, making him fall over. Cranberry focused his psychic powers, sending him into a wall. Crepe woke up, and with rage and fury, barreled into them all, knocking most down.

Luigi still stood, defying the Mushroomer's wrath, and when the evil butler looked into Luigi's eyes, he was frightened intensely, for it was a look of calmness. Luigi ran forward as Crepe breathed a long breath of fire that scorched the ground. Before he could see anything, Luigi slammed down on him with his hammer. The creature hit the ground with a large crash and was bleeding badly. The creature turned around and rose into the sky, coming down to crush him in a flurry of talons and fangs. Luigi turned around on his heel and smashed into the beast's head with his hammer, splattering blood all over the floor and painting the walls red.

The beast lay there on the ground, panting. With all his might, he stood up and tried to bring the heroic plumber down with his feral claw. Luigi spun his hammer around and stabbed Crepe through the heart. Blood dripped from the fatal wound, and Luigi turned his head disgustedly before pulling out his hammer, leaving the creature to fall to the ground in a bloody pool. Luigi turned and Princess Eclair rushed over and hugged him. A deep gurgling voice came from the thought dead beast.

"Heh... Very good, Warrior... Before I leave, though..." The eyes of the Chestnut King grew wide and he toppled over, unmoving. "So much for your precious lover..."

The princess shrieked and ran over to the unbreathing creature. Luigi hung his head in sorrow as the moon disappeared behind the clouds...

~~~

I gasped, scratching my brown hair and fixing my red hat upon my head. "Wow," I said. "Just, wow." She nodded. "That was a horrible tragedy." I frowned and put my arms on her shoulders. "Why did you leave your kingdom?"

She sighed and looked downwards. "It's just, I was tired of being a princess. I wanted to know what it was like to just be a normal girl! You know? So, I disguised myself and snuck here, the Mushroom Kingdom."

I nodded. "You know that you have to go back now, right?" I asked.

She sighed, sadly. A bush rustled behind us, and I looked. The bush remained still.

Then, a small creature that was unrecognizable in the dark stepped out. It raised a small weapon, and an orb of energy shot at the ground before us. I grit my teeth. "I don't suppose he's one of your people come to bring you back?" I said. When she shook her head I readied my hammer.

I rushed forward, hammer raised at the surprised little creature. But then, it was my turn to be surprised as the small creature leaped high into the air and shot several more small energy orbs. I blocked with my hammer and the orbs hit it, electricity spouting from its wounds. I was curious, and I raised my hammer, creating an orb of light that illuminated the playing field. The creature shrieked, revealing its shiny, metal body. It was a robot.

We ran, over to a small slope with a boat leading off into a swamp. We took the boat and started paddling...

Chapter Nineteen: The Golden Fang

BOW

I was lost in a world of darkness. That was all that was visible. Darkness. The infinite void that lay beyond me was perplexing and confusing. I felt an icy chill run down my back as a shadow rose up behind me. I turned to see nothing there. My breath was slow and raspy. In this place of darkness I could not breathe. I looked at everything around me. I also noticed that there was a small glow on my left. It soon got brighter until I had to turn around to see what it was. The large Golden Fang given to me by the angel was there. I reached out, and touched it. I reeled back. Instantly, a thousand visions ripped into my brain, almost tearing me apart.

I screamed in pain as so many things blurred past my eyes. In that brief moment, I saw destruction, pain, chaos. My heart pounded, and then the blood rushed to my head as I found myself upside down. I opened my eyes and I was in that vast desert again. I closed my eyes away, too frightened to look. In my head I saw those visions before much more clearly. Boo children were lying in the street, dead. Corpses rotting, blood sprayed out against the fertile soil. Buildings burning to rubble. And then there was laughing; laughing, and a flash of icy blue eyes. Purple hair swirled over the demonic head of an evil Boo.

Plotting so much treachery against her people... I opened my eyes, disgusted at it. But even with my eyes open, I could not wipe away the hideous cruel smile and haunting eyes of the queen. She was my ancestor. That I could not believe. She was so different than me, so tainted by evil. I picked my seemingly heavy body off the ground. I looked before me and saw a large temple. It was not the queen's, though, for it was much larger. It stood as high as a people's rebellion. It was beautiful, crafted with gold and silver material, and featured a large square opening. It drew me in, and I couldn't resist its charm.

I floated over to the temple, taking in every detail. The light of the sun gleamed off its shiny structure majestically. I walked inside the doorway and saw a room that was surprisingly large. There were large statues inside and a magnificent ceiling that was decorated with paintings of love and war. It was very detailed, and probably crafted by an artist. I floated into the next room to see what was inside. There was a large hole in the middle and a door on the other side. I floated over, and walked through. Inside the only thing present was a large, ornate chest.

I went over and brushed some of the dust off. Then I took the lid, and pulled upwards, releasing the chest. Inside was nothing. Absolutely nothing. [Credit goes to Wanopio. You rock, dude.] I stood there, perplexed. Then, I saw something. A giant hand in front of my face. I shrieked, only to find I was awake, and it was Slimer's hand.

He jumped back, frightened by my shriek, and stared. "You okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me up. For a second I thought I noticed something about the boy's face. Then I thought it to be nothing, and hovered forward, leading the two strange friends of mine into the woods.

The woods were dark and foreboding, and gave off a sense of fear to most. I, though, was not scared, for I had been here many times. The soil was sticky and wet from long periods of rain. We walked along the dirt, always looking cautiously around. The mansion that belonged to my father rose above us with glory and fame. I went up the rickety stairs and entered the main hall. Boos were floating around everywhere, and one stopped and gasped. "Princess Bow, you're back!" he said.

I smiled. "Yes. I was just making some new friends." I waved him off, then I went up the stairs to the next floor. I pushed open the wooden doors.

There was a very nervous Boo in the next room, wearing an emerald-decorated crown and a cape. It swung indecisively in the air. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked to the point of death. A long, red gash on his cheek showed signs of battle. He turned to us, and my father, King Boo, smiled.

He came across the room and embraced me, as fathers often did after not seeing their child for quite some time. "Bow. Where have you been all this time?" he asked.

"These are my friends, Father," I said. My two comrades waved at the rather large Boo in front of them. He greeted them unusually cheerfully and shook their hands.

"You all can sleep here for the night," he said, arranging rooms for the guests.

As we walked out, Slimer groaned. "Oh, great. We get to spend the night in a haunted freakin' house." I snarled and hit him. "WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS HITTING ME?!" he asked angrily.

"This is my house, don't like it? SLEEP OUTSIDE!!!"

The slightly terrified Koopa backed off. I walked over to where the rooms were, and they followed me in. "Good night," I muttered sourly and then drifted off into subconciousness.

Chapter Twenty: Shades of Evil

WARIO

The salty air of the arena filled my senses, and I breathed in the fresh air. Shouts and cries were heard from many a wailing fan in the bleachers. Waluigi was standing in the center, just standing there. This was weird. If it was a simple game show, why were we in an arena?

Out from a large gate came the enormous Boo that we had encountered before. He was frowning. Over his massive shoulder he carried an even more massive axe. It shone in the sunlight and was pointed at Waluigi, who shivered in fear. I tugged on the robes of the host. He looked at me with an wistful stare. "Why does he have a weapon?" I asked.

The host only looked at me and smiled. "Because they will fight to the death."

A squeak came from my mouth. "Excuse me?" I started, but he was gone. I cursed under my breath and wondered what was going on.

~

CLANG!!! Waluigi jumped back as the gargantuan Boo swung his mighty weapon at him, just missing him and hitting the ground. He growled, my brother whimpering. There was another swing of the axe, and Waluigi was knocked backwards from the full force of the shockwave. The powerful specter laughed heartily and leaned forward. "Morgo told you. He likes you." The Boo swung his blade forward, hitting Waluigi in the head with the flat of the blade and knocking him out. I rushed in to take his place. The Boo frowned. "Perhaps you will be more of a challenge?"

I grinned. "Maybe."

The Boo shot his axe forwards, but I jumped over it, and delivered a swift punch to his gut. He grinned with pleasure. This creature loved the thrill of battle, steel upon steel, or perhaps, flesh on flesh.

He charged like a bull, knocking into me and sending me back several yards. I got up, and dodged around, watching his every move, as he watched mine. He swung his blade under me, and I jumped on it and kicked him in the face. I ran forward and threw a hard, quick punch at him, but the Boo, tired of being pummeled, went intangible. I saw quickly that he was behind me, and I elbowed him in the face, angering him greatly. The large Boo was not so easily beaten. He leapt into the air before coming down and striking the ground with his axe. The ground split and crackled, and rocks sprung from the ground viciously as a wave-like motion split across the ground. This had happened many times before, and I instinctively jumped over it before making several swift kicks to his face.

Incredibly angered now, he swung his axe viciously, trying to gut me like a tuna. I dodged and backflipped, feeling quite agile for a person of my weight. I slammed him in the face with my fist, leaving blood trickling from his lip. In his rage he had forgotten to block. He hovered, panting for several moments, and I took advantage of this and punched him several more times. He growled and ran behind a large pillar. He ripped it from the ground and tossed it at me. With great strength I punched it in half, only to have him come upon me again. He slashed the air in front of my face, trying to get a decent hit in. I dodged him again and again, as the Boo got more and more furious.

The Boo flipped out and started hammering the ground repeatedly, over and over in a very scary similarity to Mario and "hammer time". The crazed Boo rushed me, drilling into the ground as I hopped back farther and farther. When we reached the end of the wall I jumped on it, then backflipped off the Boo's head. I had finally tired of this game and slammed my fist roughly into the Boo's stomach and knocked him out.

The crowd cheered wildly as the Boo was lying on the ground. I dragged my unconscious brother with me to our room.

~

I sat in my room and sighed. All of this was so confusing. The dreams, the contest, everything. I looked at my unconscious brother, who was lying on the ground. I got up, and decided to take a walk.

I went outside and walked into the main arena. The sky looked dark and uninviting. I cringed away from it and kept walking, past the aging pillars that looked as if they would fall at any moment. I walked into the dark hallways and sighed. At that moment I heard footsteps, and saw two faintly glowing dots in the distance. "Who's there?" I asked. As the figure came closer I could see it was only the Yoshi, Eliza.

"Peace, Champion. I saw how bravely you fought out there. I thought it only fitting to congratulate you."

I eyed her suspiciously. "How so?" I asked.

She stood there in the darkness, smiling eerily. "This," she said. And before I could even begin to wonder what she was talking about, she grabbed my shoulders and clamped her lips in mine, giving me a long kiss. When she finally released I found myself almost ready to fall over.

I frowned. "Why?" I asked.

Her eyes gleamed almost evily in the moonlight, and she licked the air, coyly. "Cause I'm a dirty, dirty girl..."

I stepped back, a little disturbed. "Er... I have to go now," I said, taking one last look at her before rushing off back to my room.

The Yo'ster grinned, and in the moonlight, you could see something sharp, metallic, and shiny protruding from her back pocket.

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