Chapter 6: Memories of a Lost Wish
Peach’s castle basked in the afternoon glow of the golden sun above. Royal advisories were speaking of the next night’s ceremony while the castle’s workers rushed to and fro, making sure that everything was set up and prepared for the ball. Down in the kitchen, Tayce T. and her chef assistants were gleefully trying out some new recipes before the party. Princess Toadstool walked through the double doors and into the main hall, where everyone jumped from their current obligation of running really fast around the room with no real destination and took notice of her arrival. The Minister of the castle walked up to her side and greeted her warmly.
“Good afternoon, Princess. How was the tennis match?” the Minister asked.
Peach laughed. “That Toad, I can never tell if he’s being nice or if he’s really that bad…”
The Minister chuckled. “Well, Princess, I do hope you haven’t forgotten your plans to meet with Stario and Luigi today.”
“Oh my! I did forget, and I’ll be late unless…” Princess Toadstool looked at a clock. “I leave right now!”
The Minister chuckled, watching the princess run off hurriedly out the doors with Toadsworth gasping at her behavior and trotting after her, shouting useless words of proper etiquette for a princess.
~*~*~*~
Stario placed a steaming cup of coffee before Peach and one before Toadsworth before getting himself one and taking a seat at the table. They all sipped at the same time, resulting in one of those moments that’s only funny in real life and is incredibly stupid as a joke or story one has to portray, so you finish it off with some line resembling, “You had to be there” so you don’t look like a complete moron. Stario chuckled with his two friends, wiping his mustache clean from coffee.
“Well, it’s a shame that Luigi isn’t here; we’ll have to tell him about that one and follow it up with a ‘you had to be there’ line,” Stario said.
“Oh yes,” Princess Peach said, taking another sip of coffee. “But still, I’m glad he’s finally gotten a chance to go out on his own and prove himself. It’s a pity we won’t be able to see how he does in this tournament thing…”
“I’m sure Master Luigi will beat the lot of ‘em! He’s got quite the unrecognized strength, you know,” Toadsworth explained.
“I must admit, I’m feeling a bit of jealousy. I wish I could test out my strengths in a peaceful situation for once.” Stario thought for a moment, taking a drink. “Maybe I’ll take up the Dojo Master Jinx on his offer…”
“You could always test your skills out at the Toad Town dojo, can’t you?” Peach asked.
“Hmm, maybe I should look into that…” Stario considered.
“Well, sorry to inform you, Master M-Stario, but the owner of that dojo has closed shop and moved to find more challengers to heighten his skills,” Toadsworth babbled.
Stario nodded. He had gotten used to being called “M-Stario” by Toadsworth and others alike. He was happy that at least Peach and Luigi were among those who could defer between the two now. “So, what shall we do today? A game of golf, perhaps?”
“Sounds fabulous!” Toadsworth agreed.
“Uh, I dunno… I’m not really in the mood,” Princess Toadstool answered.
“Indeed! Golf is out of the question!” Toadsworth replied.
Stario rubbed his chin. “Hmm, do you have any ideas, Peach?”
Toadsworth and Peach reacted similarly to the question, but were careful to hide it. Toadsworth was stewing over the fact that Stario had called her by her first name without a Princess in front of it, and Peach was just feeling odd by it. Normally no one called her Peach aside from her father, who was senile anyway; Toad, who rarely did it; Bowser and his troops, who of course were despicable anyway; and then there was Mario. Hearing the word out of Stario’s lips made an invisible slime seep down Toadstool’s spine. She didn’t think it was the first time he had called her that, but it felt like it.
“On second thought,” Peach said nervously. “Golf would be a splendid idea…”
“Superb! A grand choice!” Toadsworth affirmed.
Stario stood up, beaming. “Great, I’ll go get my clubs and we’ll take the pipe to Toad Highlands.”
~*~*~*~
Three figures roared down a sandy beach, kicking up dirt behind them as they turned with the island’s exterior to avoid the surrounding waters. Down another corner, nearly running over some local crustaceans, the three go-karts and their drivers whizzed down the long, sandy road to the goal sign. A crowd of locals were gathered at the finish line, cheering on their favorites and prepared to toss flowers and fruit at the winner. When the light-green kart roared past the finish first, the crowd jumped up with great jubilation. Yoshi slowed his vehicle to a stop before getting pummeled by various cantaloupes, watermelons, and other fruity items. Whizzing behind him to a stop, the second-place driver in a light-blue number kicked up sand at Yoshi and hopped off his kart to shake hands with the sandy, fruit-buried winner. Yoshi’s green hand popped out of the mountain of fruit and grasped the Koopa’s outstretched claw. They shook hands firmly and the Koopa hopped on his kart and drove it to a place off the track. The third place winner, another Yoshi, was bright-pink colored and cheery that she wasn’t last place. Yoshi’s sight was returned to him when a pair of pale blue hands pulled off the massive melon in front of his face.
“Great job, Yoshi!” Orchil exclaimed.
Yoshi fluttered out of his kart and shook himself. “Thanks, Orchil!”
The redheaded sprite looked behind Yoshi and smiled. “Well, I guess kart-racing just isn’t Splooshi’s thing.”
The light-blue dinosaur cried out as his go-kart spun down the sandy beach, knocking into every rock and boulder in his path, making him bounce around like a pinball. When he finally swerved over the finish line, his kart sparked and hissed before it combusted in his face, launching the Yo’ster into the air. Splooshi landed with a crashing into Yoshi’s pile of fruit. The three of them were covered in fruit juice and were now incredibly sticky.
Splooshi looked up, dazed. “Did I win?”
Yoshi and Orchil laughed. Orchil reached down and helped Splooshi onto his feet. “You had a good try, but no, you didn’t win.”
“Aw, that’s too bad…” Splooshi sniffed the air. “What smells tasty?”
“We all do, thanks to you,” Yoshi remarked.
Splooshi looked at himself. “Oh, dear! Sorry about that, guys.”
“Eh, it’s nothing a good dip in the water won’t solve,” the green dino spoke. “Come on, let’s go clean up.”
In five minutes the three friends were splashing and swimming playfully in the ocean waters off the beach of Yo’ster Island. Ever since the completion of their last adventure, the three had been the best of friends. Though Orchil’s leaving home from Flora Island was a major decision in her life, she knew it was her destiny to go out into the world. Besides, she knew she’d miss her new friends too much. Although Mallow couldn’t stay and play forever, the last they'd heard he was back at Nimbus Land.
Yoshi finished swimming first and told the others he was gonna go eat some fruit before dinner. Orchil and Splooshi decided to stay and play some more in the water. When he made sure Yoshi was gone and no one else was in sight, Splooshi removed his shoes for a torpedo-speeded swim with his webbed toes. He and Orchil had been swimming for nearly an hour when they discovered something interesting. Out fairly far into the ocean, Splooshi was swimming beneath the surface with his eyes open when he caught a glimpse of something. He swam back up and looked for Orchil.
“Hey, I think I found something down here!” Splooshi called.
Orchil swam over. “What is it?”
“I don’t know, follow me,” Splooshi said, grabbing her hand and diving under.
The pair swam into the depths and came upon a large, rather crusted-looking chest. It was black and half-buried in the sand. Splooshi looked into Orchil’s yellow eyes and they broke their hands apart and tried to dig the chest out. As they scraped the sand away and ran low on air, a rush of bubbles from below the chest rose up to the surface of the water. Once they had dug out the chest enough, they were befuddled when it rose to the surface of the water on its own. They shrugged, looking at each other, and swam up to further investigate.
When they had gotten the chest to the beach, they tried opening it several times. It was strange, there was no lock on the black box, and there wasn’t any latch on it either. It was obvious that it could open because the top part of it had a visible division between the rest of the chest. It looked like you could just push it off, but it wouldn’t budge. After fifteen minutes of this, they decided to get Yoshi for help.
“Well, this is strange,” Yoshi observed, looking over the box.
“We just found it in the water, it was buried in the sand,” Orchil explained.
“Yeah, and it floated to the surface when we dug it up,” Splooshi added.
Yoshi looked back at the two of them. “It floated to the surface?” The two nodded. “That’s weird… I wonder what’s inside.”
“It won’t budge, we’ve tried everything,” Splooshi said.
Yoshi pondered the predicament and ran his fingers over the chest. He brushed off some barnacles and found an interesting sight. He leaned in closer and dusted the rest of the seaweed off and studied the carving. The word underneath the symbol read LOKUS, but even more interesting than that was the carving of a Nimbian that was the spitting image of their friend Mallow.
Yoshi smiled to his friends and said wryly, “Well, this raises a few questions.”
~*~*~*~
“Peach? Princess are you there?”
Princess Toadstool jolted from her stunned state and back into reality. “Oh, I’m sorry… I dozed off there.”
“No worries,” Stario said. “I just wanted to thank you for a fun day as usual, and tell you I’ll see you tomorrow at the ball.”
Peach looked around her. She was standing in front of the castle doors, holding onto Stario’s hand. Her first thought was to pull back but she reconsidered that and let him hold it longer. She looked around her and felt embarrassed, the castle guards tried to look away. Toadsworth stood in the opened doorway, thinking that was long enough. Peach thanked the stars when he gave out an awkward clearing of his throat, causing Stario to let go.
“Bye, Peach!” Stario said happily.
The princess tried to muster the words, but they didn’t come out right. She suddenly felt very sick. She pulled off her glove and touched her exposed hand to her forehead, feeling how hot she was walking back into the castle. Toadsworth began mumbling something about Stario’s behavior, but Peach couldn’t make out the words. She turned to him and said she was going to bed, or at least she thought she managed to say that. The rest of the trip back to her room was a warm blur.
~*~*~*~
A shower of Stars and twinkling lights descended from a phosphorescent night sky blanketing the peaceful realm surrounding Princess Toadstool. Peach stood up in a dazed bewilderment, studying her surroundings. Her hair was not its normal glorious self; it fell limp and natural down her back. She wore not her dress but a fanciful nightgown of periwinkle that trailed far more than her usual dress. Her face was not dressed up; it was plain and in its simplicity, held an uncertain beauty even greater than the dolled-up creature she proclaimed herself in sunlight to be. All signs of her royal status were gone; she was a regular person right now. Despite her mystery, Peach couldn’t help but feel happy about the at least temporary loss of title and responsibility. No, she didn’t feel like this every time she removed her garments of royalty, but this strange place she was in now comforted her. Her bare feet felt chilled on the cool, bubbly floor. But it wasn’t a bad cold; it soothed her muscles with each step. It was like she was walking on a cloud filled with gelatin. As much as she wanted to relax and hug the soft, squishy floor and sleep forever, her real-life self demanded she find out what was up.
Princess Toadstool was well aware she was in some dream-like state, mostly because she had been having this same environment in her slumber since she was a child. It was one of her earliest, if not the earliest memory she had. Each time she fell subconscious into the realm within her mind, she discovered something new about the place, like how the sky above rippled when she walked, or how the stars were really mirrors of her greatest desires when she held them out and looked into them. It had once occurred to her that this place was very reminiscent of Star Hill, even the fluffy ground resembled the magical mountain. Her suspicions were that it mirrored Star Hill’s majesty because of the importance of her first trip to the location. Peach smiled, a warm pink glow surrounded her with her rosy cheeks burning up. She didn’t have to keep it a secret in here though; she could shout it at the top of her lungs and feel safe. Drawn by a noise, she turned her head to view the scene forming to her right. There she saw an adventure past, still going on like it was the last thing she’d ever do…
Geno walked in front of his four comrades and outstretched his arms to the brilliant sky. “This, my friends, is the fabled Star Hill. This is where the fallen stars are transformed into wishes, and the hearts of good peoples’ desires are fulfilled.”
Princess Toadstool watched herself take a step closer to Mario, grabbing his hand for comfort. She couldn’t help but smile as Bowser took notice of the event and growled under his breath.
“But as you can plainly see, since the rupture in Star Road caused by Smithy and his gang, the Star Hill has been open to the creatures of the world, and is now overrun with evil.” Geno brought his arms down and turned back to his friends. “I only hope Smithy’s soldiers have yet to make it to this blessed soil.”
The group of five rejoined under the lead of Mario, as the mustachioed man marched forward, scaling the precious paradise in search of their prize: the fourth Star Piece of Star Road. After climbing another level, the group split into two. Geno and Bowser went to oversee the western side of the plateau, while Mario, Mallow, and Peach traveled over to the eastern side. Princess Toadstool walked gracefully away from her two friends, when something called out to her. The sounds of Mallow whining about some wish he had made were drowned as a voice whispered into her ears. The voice was familiar; it was at once comforting and saddening to her ears. Bending down to look at a tiny Starlette wedged into the blue terrain, she focused her gaze at its face. The image of herself hugging and crying into the arms of her late mother’s brought the princess to tears. This was her wish, she remembered making it every night since her mother had passed away so long ago. It seemed it had finally been answered, and now there was no way to make it come true. Peach wiped her face dry and cursed herself, how could she be so selfish at a dire time like this, when the entire world is at stake? Her desires didn’t need fulfilling, she needed to help in the fight against evil so the wishes and hopes of the good people of the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as the rest of the planet, could be saved.
Peach turned around to see Mario nodding sympathetically towards Mallow as they left the vicinity of the Starlette they had been overlooking. She smiled and felt better watching them carry on unscathed and just as courageous as ever. Turning back to her wish, she saw something surprising. The image of her and her mother rejoined started dissipating and the Starlette’s shape began to waver. Peach gasped in her confusion when the star collapsed on itself in a bright light, and the desire of rejoining with her mother was deferred. The Starlette’s glow formed the shape of Mario before it finally vanished into the night. Peach smiled at herself. She was stunned by her own truth; standing up, she looked at Mario and felt safe, protected. She smiled and joined her hands together in front of her chest and walked ahead to catch up with Mario and Mallow.
Princess Toadstool watched as herself and her memory disappeared into the shadows. She had the same shocked smile on her face, which was beaming red. She closed her eyes and let her tears drip down to the floor below.
“That was the night my deepest wish had changed forever… that was the night I truly discovered that I only want to be with him forever… the night I realized I loved Mario…”
Peach opened her eyes and rubbed the tears away. She sniffed and sighed when she sensed something behind her. She turned and observed a glowing light slowly building before her. It was very comforting; she developed a strong desire to possess it. She reached out her arm and touched the building light with her finger. The second she felt the jolt given by the glow the light exploded into a bright flash and she was enveloped in a blinding, golden glow that brought her back to her bed, and to the real world. Princess Toadstool sat up in her bed and cried, finally accepting the truth.
Chapter 7: Don’t Anger the Natives
Jade zipped up her camouflage blouse. Marching ahead of the squadron with two elite Koopatrols on either side of her, she felt very comfortable in her leading position, despite being in control of a land operation for the first time. However, she wasn’t comfortable with the temperature. It seemed the deeper into the jungle they went, the more the temperature dropped. The admiral was no expert, but she figured that the interior parts of the island that were densely covered by trees would, if anything, get warmer. She didn’t pay the detail too much attention, though; her thoughts were focused on scaling the upcoming mountain. It wasn’t terribly tall, but it was certainly the biggest mountain she’d ever climbed in her life. It also appeared very steep, which would make guiding the army upa difficult task. A butterfly with wings of orange and yellow flapped into view and landed on Jade’s brown hair. She stopped and waved it away.
“You know, I hear that’s a sign of good luck, Admiral,” the Koopatrol to her right commented.
“Well, let’s hope you’re right. It might be trouble getting over this mountain,” Jade replied.
A trotting came from the back of the line, kicking up dust behind flat feet. “Admiral! Admiral!” Jade turned around to find her position being called by a young Goomba, just a child of its species. The Koopa thought this was no place for the infant, but figured now was not the best time to speak up on the matter. “There’s someone watching us!”
“What? Watching us?” Jade was skeptical.
“Follow me! Follow me!” the Goomba repeated itself.
The other soldiers in the group were divided on their opinions. Half of them were annoyed, wishing they could get this trek over with, the other half concerned and curious. The Goomba led the shell-bound female almost the whole way to the back of the line to show her a large, exotic flower.
“Please tell me this isn’t what you wanted to show me,” Jade said angrily.
“No, no, this is it,” the Goomba explained. “You can see it watching…”
Admiral Jade studied the flower. Its petals were a shimmering cold-blue color and looked sharp as a blade. The iris of the plant was filled with intriguing, yet overly upsetting gray pollen. The brown-haired turtle stood up tall and glared at the fungus-based lifeform before returning to the point. The Goomba grimaced with blaring red cheeks as the other baddies passed him and sneered with shrewd calls. Finally, when the last of his fellow troops walked by, he swallowed his pride and scurried after the pack. The gray pollen in the center of the iris split away in a vertical cut and a red eye observed the movement of the squad. The flower moved mechanically and fixated its purple pupil in the path of the intruders…
~*~*~*~
On the other side of the island, the King of the Koopas was slowly leading his legions through thick, dry foliage that roughed up his scales when he passed through it. Worse yet, he'd had to abandon his vehicle and walk. A number of times already he had gone into an outrageous fit and lay waste to the nearby plant life with his fiery wrath. His rage was building once again, especially since the Terrapin guard next to him had been singing the Bette Midler musical: Rochelle, Rochelle for the past twenty minutes. Just as his temper brimmed on the limit, a different fire appeared through the bushes to the right and plopped right before the giant turtle monster. Bowser turned his head curiously and leaned down to the ground and sniffed the fumes given off by the fireball. The pyre looked up with its beady eyes and at first was terrified, but managed to overcome its terror and speak confidently and with courtesy.
“Hello there, my name is Embert T. Podoboo!”
“Hi Embert, I’m King Koopa, and I’m gonna crush you for halting my operation. Have a nice afterlife!”
Embert saw the massive three-toed foot of doom loom over him when an electronic whir sounded. Bowser retracted his pudgy pounder and looked around curiously.
“What’s that noise?”
His troops didn’t give any answers; they were just as confused. They looked around and were finally answered when a robotic egg-shaped object fired from the jungle ahead and knocked down the Koopa squadron like a bowling ball through pins. As Bowser climbed to his feet and snarled, the egg-shaped thing returned in front of him. It leapt up in the air and in an aura of red forks of electricity morphed into an armored biped. The robot warrior was armed to the teeth with advanced weaponry and top-of-the-line shields. Frankly stated, the ‘bot before them looked tough: tough enough to take them all out. Of course, no one was stupid enough to say that or smart enough to run. Bowser roared.
“GWAR! What’s with you people today? All these crazies showing up in my path! Get lost, I’m searching this island for its imminent power source!”
The robot looked up through its helmeted head and through a blue visor stared into the Koopa King’s eyes. Bowser squinted and could see there was a pair of eyes beyond the helmet’s visors. Familiar eyes.
The robotic warrior spoke mechanically with a tinny voice. “You are trespassing on our territory. Now you will succumb to the consequence.”
Bowser yanked a string of wax from his ear and snorted piggishly. “Yeah, what’s that?”
The robot’s armor blared with lights as its weapons powered up. “Termination.”
~*~*~*~
Slamming out of his laboratory, the green-suited Shy Guy ran with great speed down the hall, a pace not fit for a man of science. His lab coat trailed behind him like large wings or a cape. Turning corners incredibly accurately and smoothly, Clever Guy jumped over a pair of Goombas, balanced on the adjacent wall, and projected himself forward down the hall, ending with a rolling somersault maneuver that he leapt forth from and landed on a set of stairs. Nearly reaching the deck of the surfaced sub, Clever Guy passed by an open door. The red Podoboo Torch R. Chambers poked his hot head out and noticed Clever Guy’s urgent behavior. Sensing trouble, the spark of flames hopped afterward.
Bursting into the dim, pre-morning glow, Clever Guy called out to every soldier on deck to prepare for battle, telling all that a surrounding opposition was approaching quickly. Torch was shocked at the news and peeked over the side of the boat, scanning for any signs of the enemies. There was nothing to see, but Torch believed Clever Guy was certain in his claim. He was the only one, unfortunately. At his wit’s end, the green-robed Shyster had had enough and pulled two metallic soles from his white lab coat and placed them on the bottom of his brown shoes, where they stuck in place securely. Torch looked bewildered as Clever Guy leapt from the deck of the ship and into the water, only there wasn’t a splash. The pyrosphere squinted to see the frighteningly intelligent creature actually running on the surface of the water towards the flagship.
~*~*~*~
“I can tell Vermik will betray us again,” Kamek said firmly.
“You’re probably right, but with everything that’s happened, the best place for him is under our watch, right?” Kammy asked.
The two Magikoopa kin sat in the room of the latter, not facing each other. Kammy was on her bed, cross-legged with her fingers to her temples, trying to focus her mind’s eye. The blue-garbed turtle was pacing back and forth at the foot of his cousin’s mattress, fretting about Vermik and the presence they both felt. Ludwig the Piranha Plant watched the pacing Kamek from atop an adjacent chiffarobe. Kamek seemed indifferent to its presence as its bulbous head followed him back and forth as he paced.
“Arrgh, this was a mistake. Why did I ever open my big mouth to Bowser? I should have made sure I knew what I was talking about. An uncharted island, it could be ANYTHING.” Kamek looked at his cousin’s back; her shell was like a hump in her violet gown. “Are you even listening to me?”
“Shut up, you twit, I’m trying to concentrate on that force we’re so worried about. Maybe if you’re concerned you’ll do the same,” Kammy snorted.
Kamek flicked his tongue out at his rivaling blood but decided to stay silent. Closing his eyes and breathing in, he immediately got a vision. He cried out, “It’s HERE! It’s HERE!”
Kammy turned around chaotically to her relation when the door burst open. The pair of Magi extended their wands side by side, aiming them straight in Clever Guy’s face.
“Cute,” Clever Guy smiled. “But I’m not the one you need worry about. We’re surrounded by submerged vessels; they’re trapping us in the bay.” Kamek and Kammy looked to each other, possibly exchanging thoughts mentally. Clever Guy grew impatient of this incredibly quickly. “Come on!”
~*~*~*~
The remaining soldiers were finally rushing to their posts for battle when the first hit occurred. It was on the submarine. Barely visible ships, shadows under the surface, sliced through the water like sharks and fired their superior weapons. The Koopa machine guns and mortar cannons started pumping after the first bright flash of fire. Before the first magazine rounds were finished, a second explosion finished the Koopa sub. Clever Guy cursed to himself as the shattered craft sunk into the depths; there went all his work. They watched as a large, dome-shaped craft surfaced from the waters. Many of the survivors that had jumped off the sinking vessel were gathered on the craft’s dome. Mystifyingly, the dome regressed into the craft itself and an opening peeled away like a mouth in the center. Those caught on the ship slid down the inverse dome and were swallowed up by the ship. Clever Guy couldn’t tell, but he thought he saw a red fireball. As soon as all the survivors were captured, the craft’s dome popped back into place, and disappeared beneath the waves. Kamek, Kammy, and Clever Guy scanned the water, looking for the ships to return. The soldiers on the remaining ships were firing wildly had they not left their battle stations in cowardice by this point. Then they saw it. Like they were magnetically pulled, five crafts swam towards the Devastator and began firing. Kammy looked to her cousin.
“Kamek, the children!”
Kamek cursed. “Come, we’ve got to rescue them!”
Clever Guy didn’t acknowledge the Magikoopas as they fled to the Devastator’s aid on their broomsticks. He was looking down at his hands before him, calculating in his head the possibilities presented to him. His work was trashed; the Koopas were most-certainly defeated. He considered the fact that the enemy did take prisoners, so perhaps he’d be able to manage a hostile takeover like he’d been plotting with the Koopa Troop. Their advanced combat weapons did spark his interest. An explosion brought Clever Guy back to reality. He looked to see a large portion of the Devastator aflame. Clever Guy looked onto the island, back to the battle, and made his decision. He would run.
Chapter 8: The Birth of Nitro
With a loud clang, a metallic squink, and a galahmp, Genius Guy was finished. He looked up with a soot-covered face of satisfaction and tossed his oversized wrench behind him blindly, resulting in a loud crashing noise and the shriek of a demonic feline. Genius Guy clasped his hands together and narrowed his eyes.
“King gear! I’m finished!” Genius Guy proclaimed.
“What is it?” asked Clyde, in a very Norm Macdonald voice. Clyde was a brain-shaped parasite alien known as a Metroid, whom at the moment was sucking at Genius Guy’s skull.
“Pipe down, you, you’re a sub-character of GBT only known by the really hardcore fans, you don’t get dialogue,” Genius Guy shushed.
“Aw, well I thought since, you know, all the others were gone, it could be my turn to shine,” Clyde explained, oddly emphasizing "shine" at the end of his sentence.
“No, be quiet,” Genius Guy commanded.
The Shyster wiped himself of soot and held his creation above him. It resembled a Goomba, only it had no eyebrows and its eyes were blank. The top of its head was missing and replaced with a metallic dome that has a fuse on it. Sticking out of the creature’s rear end was a key dial reminiscent of most Bob-ombs. Genius Guy set the experiment down on a pedestal and placed a glass dome over its body, locking it within. He stepped back, placed goggles over his spectacled eyes, and pulled a lever. A vast amount of green electricity shot into the odd Goomba and energy was gathered. Green lights blasted on the metallic dome of the creation where two green 0’s were placed for pupils in its blank eyes.
Genius Guy cackled maniacally. “It’s alive! It’s ALIVE!!!”
The Shy Guy pushed the lever back and the electricity died down. When it was safe, he pulled the glass casing from the pedestal and properly greeted the cybernetic halfbot into the living realm.
“Greetings there, my lovely little creation! I am Genius Guy, your creator!” Genius Guy welcomed.
The odd, green-eyed creature looked around and, panic-stricken, said, “WHAT?”
“I made you, you’re a halfbot. You were once a living creature, but now you’re a cyborg half-breed I like to call a Goom-boom. You’re part Goomba, part Bob-omb,” Genius Guy summarized.
The “Goom-boom” twitched nervously and shook with a volatile quality. “AGG! That’s… AGG!”
“Don’t worry about it, I just needed some company to be with while everyone was on this permanent hiatus. Not that Lucy’s not great company, I just like to talk to people sometimes,” Genius Guy tried to explain.
“Oh yeah, and I’m just nothing, am I not?” Clyde asked.
“I said, quiet you!” Genius Guy shouted.
The Goom-boom shifted his eyes back and forth as a green pyre appeared at the top of his fuse. “AGG!” He blew up.
Genius Guy and Clyde were soot-covered after the green tinted explosion. The Shyper crossed his fingers, waiting for the result. In a flash of green, tiny dots of the same color joined together at ground zero to reform the creation.
“Well smack my statue and call me Tanooki, it worked!” Genius Guy exclaimed.
“Urrg… What worked?” the Goom-boom said confusedly.
“All of my previous prototypes at the Goom-boom concoction have failed miserably, never being able to recompose like real Bob-ombs. They would usually just end up in a splattered goop of Goomba guts and spare nuts and bolts,” Genius Guy answered.
“AGG!”
“Yes, that too.” Genius Guy wrote something on his notepad. “Lessee, being my successful one, you deserve a real name besides your Prototype number, which by the way is 64.”
“37?!”
“No, 64,” Genius Guy replied.
“AGG!” A second green-smoked explosion occurred.
Genius Guy wiped the acid from his eyes and smiled as his creation reformed into a whole. “I think I’ll call you Nitro.”
~*~*~*~
Changling looked ahead of him. He would soon reach the Donut Plains of Dinosaur Land; in fact, he’d be there within the hour. The red-robed Magikoopa sat down on the boat and let the wind do the work for a while, giving him time to think about what he’d do when he arrived. He smiled, thinking about how it was less than a year ago that he and the Team of Terror had lay waste to the area in the Mecha Yoshi. If only they had been more careful, they'd had a really good chance at domination that time. The Yoshis of the tropical paradise had really gotten to work and rebuilt their homes in a short amount of time. Changling considered the fact that he might be known over there for the terrible crimes, but it didn’t worry him. The Magikoopa’s namesake was being incognito, for crying out loud in a bucket. He decided he’d blend in as a Yoshi himself and start asking questions, maybe about the Mecha Yoshi incident, or maybe if they had seen Chef Torte. It was a very confusing time for him, but he knew there was no going back now.
~*~*~*~
On the other side of the ocean, the Apprentice was strong-willingly setting forth to the Mushroom Kingdom. His determination was to reach the mainland in two or three days and hightail it back to Marrymore in search of employment. Who knows? Maybe he could get his old job back. Of course, even if he did, it wouldn’t be the same without Chef Torte. Apprentice held the capital letters demanding PAN OF PAIN in his grasp firmly. He would use it well, hoping the spirit of his former master would watch over him in his trials. Of course, it most likely was an accident, but for a brief moment Apprentice thought it may have been a punishment from the chef missing-in-action when the PAN OF PAIN’s laser cannon fired into the ship’s deck and started a fire. Apprentice sighed, grabbed his things, and plunged overboard with a floatation device rubber ducky. He rolled his eyes at his luck when the ship sunk below the surface and dorsal fins of the friendly locals appeared, speeding towards him. Apprentice placed his face in his hands as the sharks circled him, and a nearby Goonie flew onto his head, relieved itself, and continued flying.
~*~*~*~
It was breakfast time and Genius Guy had the table set up in the Main Chamber. There he sat with the rejects of the Team of Terror, occupying the seats and poking at their microwaved gelatinous burritos Genius Guy had prepared.
In the classic Norm Macdonald chortle, Clyde retracted one of his feeding tentacles that had been examining the food before him and said, “Well G.G., I gotta say, this stinks.”
“I’m sorry, guys, but it’s all I’ve got. I was never the cook here,” the Shyster explained.
Lucy Fur opened her infernal eyes and with a split tongue, pulled in the breakfast burrito before her in one swift motion.
The Goom-boom Nitro examined the piece of food before him. “AGG!”
“Fine! If you two don’t want to eat yours I’ll go upstairs and see if Soshi wants any,” Genius Guy said, snatching the two plates from Clyde and Nitro.
Clyde commented to Nitro, “Better him than us, eh? Probably die eating that.”
Nitro wept dryly, feeling the hunger in the pit of his stomach. “AGG!”
“You don’t say much, do ya?” Clyde mentioned. Nitro didn’t respond. “Yeah… and… I’m gonna go find some brain matter to absorb…”
Nitro exploded again as Clyde left the room heading for the lobby. Lucy snarled and vomited a corrosive, half-digested burrito that ate through the table and then the floor.
“Soshi! Soshi-so! Dragon boy!” Genius Guy called, popping his head up onto the Tower’s top. He found the dragon, lying placidly on the edge of the battlements.
The Shy Guy walked forward, still holding the burritos. When he reached his comrade it was very apparent that Soshi was dead. Genius Guy set down the food and adjusted his glasses, checking the absent pulse of the cold beast. He sighed and shook his head. A light bulb appeared over his head and delight swelled into his face.
Genius Guy returned to the laboratory, hauling the corpse of his friend in by the tail.
“See? What’d I tell you?” Clyde declared in his annoying voice.
The Shyster ignored the comment and started work on his newest project.