The Time for Toad is Now
BY JESSE NGUYEN
Chapter One: The Toad is introduced
"Princess Peach!" a random Toad yelled as he ran as fast as he could to the castle throne. Just one random Toad. If you go to Mushroom Kingdom, you'll see that they are everywhere. Little people with blue vest, white pants, brown shoes, and a red spotted mushroom for a head. They mostly serve Princess Peach Toadstool, or for the Mushroom Kingdom. They help out Mario on his adventures, doing the best they can with their small stature. Most of them seem happy, but others want to do more. They want to defend to castle, they want to save the Princess. Today is one Toad's chance for more. Princess Peach was worried already, you could tell by the face she made.
"What's wrong?" She asked the now sweating Toad.
"Luigi...taken...by...Koopa...Bros.," said Toad, almost about to pass out from running.
"Mario!" Princess Peach yelled just as he pass the doorway.
"What's the problem?" Mario asked as he jumped in. Toad looked at him with envy. Toad kept his eyes wide open, letting sweat drip into them, allowing it to burn his eyes.
"Toad here said that Luigi was kidnapped by the Koopa Bros.," Princess Peach explained.
"Hmm...I would think Luigi could handle them with the Thunder Hand, then again I needed help from Kooper to defeat them." Mario said with his usual Italian accent. "Where did you see this?" He said, looking at Toad.
"In front of Koopa Village." He finally caught his breath. "Kooper tried to stop them, but he couldn't do it alone."
"Hmm...I'll head to their lair then," Mario said with a subtle excitment tone. Toad looked at the ground as Mario headed towards the exit.
"Wait Mario, maybe Toad should go with you." Peach said. Toad was surprised, his mouth was wide open.
"Hmm...I have been working with partners for a while. Sure, come on Toad." Mario said as he looked at Toad.
"Okay, but let me get some items first," Toad said before he ran like lighting to his house. "I can't wait for this adventure!" Toad thought as he packed many mushrooms and syrups. He ran outside and slamed into Mario. Toad was speaking nonsense as he looked at the sky.
"Are you okay?" Mario said as he helped him up.
Toad shooked the dizziness away,"Yea, I'm okay. I packed some supplies, just in case."
"Good idea," Mario said with a wink. Toad had a bright smile, he was so happy. "Here, take this," Mario said as he handed Toad a small shield.
"Huh?" Toad said confused.
"Just in case, plus, it makes a good weapon." Mario said. Toad was already practicing hitting and defending with it.
"This is great!" Toad said with extreme excitement.
"By the way, whats your name? I know you guys go by more than just 'Toad'," Mario asked.
"Huh? Oh, my name is Ben." Toad said.
"Well, Ben, lets go rescue my brother!" Mario said as he leaped high into the air. "Yea!" Ben said as he jumped as high as he could.
Chapter 2: Just a few Roadblocks
"It's not to far to the Koopa Bros. lair," Mario said, pointing to the east.
"Won't they be expecting you?" Ben the Toad said with concern.
"Hmm... good point. Maybe we should wait for some nightfall," Mario said, stroking his chin. "
"Okay, I'll train with my shield then," Ben said.
"Okay, meet me here at 6:30," Mario said.
"Sure, I'll be here right on the dot!" Ben said with excitement. He ran off to his house, ready to train himself with the art of the shield. "Hmm..." Ben thought as he studied his shield. He put it over his head and looked at the wall. He stood up, held the shield over his head, bent over, and charged towards the wall as fast as he could. He hit the wall, full force, and bounced back about 10 feet before rolling to a sit position. He realized something--it didn't hurt. He trained himself in four different attacks till 6:30--head on charge, shield toss, forearm shield hit, and the overhead two-handed smash. Ben was waiting for Mario to arrive at the meeting point after he had trained for 3 hours. He wasn't tried though, he was excited.
"Are you ready?" Mario asked.
"Oh yea!" Ben said with a lot of excitement.
"Lets go then," Mario said as he started walking. Ben followed behind him, holding his shield at an attack position.
"So how long do you think till we get there?" Ben asked.
"Not to long, maybe 25 minutes if we get there uninterrupted," Mario said, keeping a steady look out for enemies. Mario stopped Ben suddenly.
"Whats wrong?" Ben asked confused.
"Goombas," Mario answered. "King Goomba and his kids to be exacted."
"We can take them," Ben said, about to charge into battle. Mario stopped him.
"Not if we just rush in, lets sneak up on them and take one out so there is only one for each of us," Mario said as he gestured his plan. Ben nodded.
"Ah, nothing like 100 gold coins to stand in one place, huh kids?" King Goomba said.
"I'm bored," whined B. Goomba Kid.
"I'm tired," whined R. Goomba Kid.
"Shup up you two, I hear something," King said while looking around.
Just then, Ben jumped out of bush and yelled, "Come get me you stupid Goomba goons!" King Goomba started chasing Ben while his kids followed. Mario jumped from behind the Goomba Kids and performed an Ultra Fire Attack faster than you could have said Eric Robertson. B. Goomba jumped to the side and R. Goomba screamed loudly and started running around like crazy as he was hit with all the flames.
"My son!" King Goomba screamed as soon as he saw his son collapsed on the ground, burned to a crisp.
"Super Flying Shield!" Ben yelled as he threw his shield right at King Goomba with full force. King Goomba turned around just in time to get a shield in the fore head. The shield bounce to the ground as King Goomba fell down, causing a small earthquake. King Goomba was grunting and moaning, not sure what was going on.
B. Goomba started crying, "Please don't hurt me!"
Mario picked up Ben's shield and handed it to him, "Good work," he said.
"Thanks. You too," Ben said as he took his shield.
"Lets try to get some info from these guys," Mario said.
Ch.3- A Dark Moon Rises In The Mushroom Kingdom Tonight
Ben and Mario walked up to the still crying B. Goomba.
"What do you know about Luigi's capture?" Mario asked him with a strait tone. B. Goomba's crying slowly changed into a laugh. Mario was confused. Ben was too busy cleaning his shield to worry. Just then, everyone was flying. It seems a meteor has just hit Mushroom Kingdom. Ben was sent the farest, he landed in a tree. Mario and the Goomba Family were laying about 7 feet from each other, and about 30 feet from Ben. Ben fell out of the tree and stood up with dizziness. Ben felt a few quakes. Thump...thump....thump. His whole body started to shake. The fear had overtaken his body, he could not move an inch. What could cause this? What could cause a Toad who has just taken out King Goomba to just stop being brave and start peeing his pants? Bowser. Yes, it was the most vile person to ever set foot in Mushroom Kingdom. Everyone takes notice when this monster arrives. Mario takes full notice. Not this time though. Mario was too busy being knocked out. Bowser made his usual sinister laughter, which put more fear into Ben. Bowser picked up Mario with one hand, still laughing.
"Now no one can stop me this time! Right, Kamek?" Bowser said with much confidence.
"Yes, master Bowser," Kamek replied.
"Now then," Bowser said as he was climbing into his Koopa Flyer, "lets get this 'hero' to the cell before he wakes up." Bowser flew away, with Kamek nipping at his heels. Ben was still stunned.
Ben fell over and looked at the sky. He couldn't believe what just happened. Mario, the ordinary plumber who became a hero over and over again, was finally defeated. He didn't know what to do, who would? Ben stared right into space. The sky was dark, but the moon was even darker. He finally got up to his knees.
"I must tell the Princess," He thought as he got up. He noticed something on the ground. Mario's Firebrand glove, laying on top of his shield. He picked it up and looked at it. Then he remembered, Mario had been in this situation before, and who helped him? Geno, Mallow, Watt, Parakarry, Bombette, and many more. Did they back down? No, and Ben wasn't about to either. He put on the glove and picked up his shield. He raised them both into the air and closed his eyes. He knows now that he must reassemble the team, and save Mario. But first, a nap, Ben thought as he passed out.
Ch.4- Family Reunion
"Is he dead?" asked the small Koopa poking at Ben with a stick.
"No stupid, hes still breathing," said the bigger Koopa. Both the Koopas screamed and ran away as Ben gasped and shooked the dizziness from his head. He stood up and swaggered a little, trying to balance his body and thoughts.
"Mar....." Ben said drunkly, punch-drunk that is. "Ugh. What happened? Oh yeah." Ben stood up and started walking towards Koopa Village. He had to think of a plan while on his journey. "I guess I should start at the Koopa Bros. Castle and save Luigi, if he is really there. Who to take with me though? I guess this is a stealth mission, so two would probably be the best." Ben said to himself as he walked.
"Dang it...dang it...dang it...dang it..." Kooper repeated over and over as he was fiddling with a puzzle he couldn't get right. He dropped the puzzle as Ben walked past. "Dude, are you okay?" Kooper said rising.
"Oh, Kooper, I'm glad you're here. You have to come help me save Luigi!" Ben yelled as he saw Kooper.
"Slow down! What happened to you?" Kooper asked as he tried to calm down Ben. Ben told Kooper the whole story, not stopping for one second. "Hmmm..." Kooper pondered. "Well then, I guess we should go get Bombette and go."
"You're coming with me?" Ben asked, shocked.
"Of course. Luigi's my friend, I have to help him." Kooper said. "Now lets stop wasting time and save Luigi."
"Okay!" Ben said, jumping in the air. "We gotta go to Koopa Village and get Bombette first."
"Of course. Lets go," Kooper said as they started walking towards Koopa Village. It didn't take very long to get there. They arrived at Bombette's house and knocked on the door. Bombette opened the door with a cheerful smile.
"Hello Kooper, is everything okay?" Bombette asked.
"Acutally, we need to hurry, don't worry, Ben here will explain on the way." Kooper said as he grabbed Bombette's fuse and ran.
"But I....Ahhhhh!" Bombette screamed as they ran. Ben ran as fast as he could, barely keeping up with Kooper's speed.
"I guess this is the start of my adventure. Hooray!" Ben thought with a huge smile.
Ch.5- An Explosive Entrance!
Ben, Kooper, and Bombette were now passing where Bowser landed. Kooper noticed the huge hole in the ground and Ben, who was looking at the ground with sadness.
"Its okay, Mario will come back, he always does," Kooper said with confidence.
"Yeah, Mario can not be defeated!" Bombette said with excitment. Ben raised his head.
"You guys are right. Mario will come back and defeat Bowser!" Ben said. "So...I guess we will be there soon."
"Yeah, but don't worry, the Koopas at Koopa Bros. Castle are stupid," Kooper said, looking at his watch. "We should be there in...10 minutes."
"Huh? Isn't it farther?" Ben said, confused.
"Not with our shortcut," Bombette said, smiling. Bombette walked over to a wall, closed her eyes, and lit her fuse. Kooper pushed Ben into the bushes and dived into them, landing on top of Ben. Bombette exploded with a huge force, sending her upward and leaving the wall open, revealing a warp pipe. Warp pipes are green pipes that stick out of the ground and when you enter them, you'll emerge from a warp pipe in a different place. Ben and Kooper stood up, looking at the mess and the smiling Bombette in the middle.
"Well, that is an entrance if you ask me," Ben said, smiling.
"Yes it is, and now we should stop talking and start saving Luigi," Kooper said, grabing Ben's hand and Bombette's fuse and jumping into the warp pipe.
Ch.6- Out of the Shadow
Luigi is now lying in a cell. He wakes up dizzy, looking around. He shakes the dizziness away and looks out the only opening. He steps back as he see that he is up in the air. About 10 stories in the air that is. Luigi looked down again and saw that he was at the top of the Koopa Bros. Castle.
"Feeding time!" a random Paratroopa said as he threw a pot a beef stew on the ground. Luigi was pushed aside as other beings came and licked the ground.
"You gotta be quick to get the food," a Toad said as he held a cupfull of stew to Luigi.
"Um, thanks," Luigi said as he took the cup and ate the stew in it. "So I guess I'm at the Koopa Bros. Castle, huh?" He asked the Toad.
"Yep, they have gone drunk with power I think," the Toad answered.
"Well, don't worry, we will be out of here in...6 minutes," Luigi said, cracking his fingers.
"I think the stew may have given you food poisoning," the Toad said.
"Just watch," Luigi said, going to the bars. "Hey you, you suck eggs!" he said to the Paratroopa.
"What?! That it, you are going down you green bastard!" the Paratroopa said walking to the door and unlocking it. "Ha, now what?" he said, bringing out a nightstick. Well, Luigi wasn't going to take this lying down. In fact Luigi would end up showing off to the other prisioners. When the Paratroopa flew towards him, Luigi charged up his Thunderhand, which the Koopas didn't find. Right when the Paratroopa was in front of him, Luigi pulled a double-fisted grand slam thunder smash attack. Bam! Direct hit! The Paratroopa flew towards the wall at hundred miles and hour, with only the wall to stop him. Luigi walked over to the knocked out Paratroopa.
"Too easy," he said, holding his chin. The prisoners cheered and ran out of the cell with full force.
"They'll be caught in a minute," the Toad that gave Luigi the stew said.
"Yep. Oh well, I'm sure Mario will save them later," Luigi said. "Now let's get out of here."
"Yes, lets. Oh here, I'll give you these mushrooms, just in case," the Toad said, handing the mushrooms to Luigi.
"Thanks, now lets go," Luigi said, putting the Toad on his back and running out the cell door.