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Chapter 9:
The Mysterious 8 Bits
-Masamune-
The mushrooms all felt hopeless and abandoned without
the princess. Toad attempted to raise their spirits, but
it could not be done. They saw little hope now, the
princess was gone, the land flooded, and their sole hope,
Mario had vanished without a trace. So what were they to
do, in fact, what could they do?
The waters surrounded the castle, and were slowly
rising. And unfortunately Mushrooms aren't extremely
skilled swimmers, in fact very few actually can swim. So
it was possible that they would all die as soon as the
water rose above the roof they stood upon. Finally Toad
bellowed out a commanding tone.
"Alright! Listen people, if we want to survive,
we have to beleive and work together!" Toad shouted,
causing the mushrooms to all give him complete attention.
"Gather all the rubble, and start putting it
together, we should have enough time to built enough
rafts that we can all stand on, or hold on to"
The mushrooms may be small, but they were very fast
and strong despite their size and set about dilengently
on to the task. By the time he casle was now completely
filled with water, they had constructed five large rafts.
And they continued, when the water had forced the
mushrooms on to their new rafts, they construsted more
atop them. When the water finally left the entire castle
underwater, everyone of them was safely aboard a raft
made of all sorts of rubble floating in the water.
Despite the fact that the mushrooms were all safe
now, Toad till worried deeply about Mario, and most of
all Princess Peach.
-Ditto McCloaker-
While in Sub-Con...
Mario and Luigi jumped and bounced up the none-too-treacherous
path towards the giant tent. Neither one immediately
reached for the flap, however. The mutant Snifit's
refusal to discuss what had become of Yoshi ahd instilled
within them a vague apprehension. A silent question
passed between the brothers.
Was he okay?
It was Mario who finally gathered enough courage to
open the tent flap. Together they both looked inside...
Without warning, Mario was hit in the face with
something red, wet, and warm. It immediately attatched
itself to his face, and he could feel it pulling at his
mustache. With a powerful jerk, he was yanked off his
feet and could feel himself being dragged at a fantastic
velocity across the floor. He felt his head being sucked
up to his shoulders into some kind of gaping opening, and
it was oppressively hot and wet inside. He wanted to
scream, but he immediatly bit his lip to block out the
horrible odor. It was like dog's breath, except ten times
worse. He opened his eyes and was horrified to observe
his heart-surgery red surroundings, and a black, gaping
hole a few inches before his face.
For an instant, Mario got the sensation that he was
about to be sucked into this vortex, but suddenly, he
felt a wall of powerful air blowing against his face, and
he was immediately expelled forcefully backwards through
the air, where he hit the side of the tent and fell to
the floor.
He lay there dazed for a moment or two, then looked
up from the floor. Above him he saw his brother Luigi
looking down on him. His face looked funny, but Mario
quickly realized that his brother was trying to stifle a
fit of laughter. Mario shook his head and pulled himself
up. He glared across the room to see their green dinosaur
friend propped up on a pile of pillows, vigorously wiping
at his snout and spitting into a corner, as though to rid
himself of a horrible flavor in his mouth. Finally, Yoshi
looked up and stared petulantly at Mario. It took him a
moment, but Mario instantly figured out what happened.
Finally he said, with a dawning of realization across his
face...
"EEEEWWW!"
Luigi helpfully handed his brother an oily hanky from
his back pocket, and Mario began to furiously wipe the
dinosaur spit off his face.
"Now I-a know how a Shyguy must-a feel!" he
grumbled when he finally gave up. He handed the old rag
back to Luigi, who quickly gestured for him to keep it.
Suddenly, Yoshi's attention was turned behind the
Bros. and he began to growl menacingly. The Bros. turned
to look. A few of the mutant Snifits were peeking in at
the flap, hesitating to come in. Mario quickly walked
over to Yoshi and put his arm around him.
"It's a-OK, Yoshi. They're-a friends. They want-a
to help-a. There's no need-a to eat-a them."
Yoshi thought for a moment, then relented his
growling. With a sigh of relief, a few mutants
hesitatingly entered. Yoshi made no move, but he kept a
firm eye on them.
"Thank you for calming him. He reacted the same
way when he woke up and saw us." The leader eyed
Yoshi warily.
"We were debating whether or not to just do away
with him."
Yoshi growled, but Mario once again calmed him.
Luigi, always the diplomatic one, turned and addressed
the Head Mutant.
"Now that all-a settled, can we get-a down to-a
the business? You-a claim Wart is-a on-a the loose again.
What are-a we going-a to do?"
The mutants went into a huddle and debated amongst
themselves for awhile. Finally, they broke, and the Head
Mutant again came forward.
"We, the remaining members of the 8-Bit Society
were about to hold a special meeting to discuss what to
do. Your presence is considered to be an enormous
advantage to us. Therefore, we have decreed that you will
participate. However," he added firmly, "The
proceedings of the Grand Exalted Mystic Loyal Order of
the Brotherhood of the Nobles of the Shrine of the 8-Bit
Society are sacred and are cloaked in secrecy. Therefore,
you will not be allowed to see what goes on."
He thrust three bundles toward the bros. Upon
unfolding them, they found two ordinary Shyguy robes, a
red one and a green one. Another one, shaped more like a
Tweeter, colored dark blue, was thrust upon Yoshi. With
the robes, the bros were each assigned white Shyguy
masks, with the eyes taped over. Yoshi recieved a Tweeter
mask, which fit his oddly shaped face, and the eyes were
again taped over. The three were left in private to don
their robes, and were then carefully led out of the tent
and in various directions, until they heard a key fitted
into a lock and a giant door opening. Inside were dozens
of unusual voices, which immediately shut up as they all
entered. A voice at their side cautioned them to remain
silent during the proceedings unless directly addressed.
Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi were blindly led toward some
seats, and they became aware that they were sitting at
some huge banquet table. They said little, and they heard
some mumblings coming from around them that no doubt
concerned them. This was all quelled, however, as they
heard the voice of the leader, as he addressed the
congregation.
"And now, we shall invoke the Song of the 8-Bits!"
An impressive number of widely varied voices joined
together as the room was filled with the strange,
enigmatic lyrics...
Who robs villains of their sleep?
Who probes the subconcious deep?
8-Biiiiits! 8-Biiiiits!
Who keeps monsters out of your
room?
Who warns you of impending doom?
8-Biiiiits! 8-Biiiiits!
Who keeps watch
while the whole world lies?
Who puts the sand in
your eyes?
8-Biiiiits! 8-Biiiits!
Who rules over REM mode?
Who puts Cobrats in the dreams of
Toad? *diabolical snicker*
8-Biiiiiits! 8-Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiits!
At last, as the strange ballad drew to it's bizarre
close, the voice of the Leader again formally addressed
the crowd.
"Since ancient times, we sacred shamen, known to
the outer world as "Shyguys," have been the
keepers of wisdom and seekers of mystic knowledge.
Long ago, a group of 8 exalted Shyguys uncovered the
entrance to the World of Dreams, and devoted themselves
to guard over the sleep of the world. For generations,
their descendants carried on this great responsibility.
Under our secret watch, people have achieved peaceful
rest, and their minds were free to forge great
civilizations. Today, we continue that work. And now, the
present gathering of the Grand Exalted Mystic Loyal Order
of the Brotherhood of the Nobles of the Shrine of the 8-Bit
Society shall now come to order. Gentlemen, we shall now
remove our masks."
Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi sat silently as they heard
the rustling of everyone else in the hall removing their
masks. The same thought occurred to each of them, and
Mario leaned over to his brother and whispered:
"I wonder what all those Shyguys look like
underneath those masks."
The voice of the leader again spoke up.
"And now, the first order of business. What is
to be done about the menace of Wart? Today, we have with
us a trio of legendary heroes who have faced Wart in the
past. With their hope, perhaps we can overcome his evil.
The floor is now open to suggestions..."
The room was silent for a minute. Then, suddenly, a
voice piped up from far down the table. The room quieted
as it spoke up.
"I believe I have a plan."
"YES?" demanded the voice of the leader.
"Perhaps, we could sneak them into Wart's palace."
the young voice said conspiritorily.
"But how?" demanded several perplexed
voices.
"You see..."
~lzn64~
"...it's all very simple," The younger
member of the 8 bits said, revelling in knowing something
his elders didn't. "Wart's castle is situated in the
very heart of the tundra, yet he and his followers
somehow stay alive."
"Obviously," The head of the 8 bits said
impatiently.
"Well, since the cold is enough to kill anybody,
dictator or no, they must have some sort of heating
system."
"So?" The leader challenged, crossing his
arms. "That's irrelevant." Mario and Luigi,
however, had already realized what the kid was driving
at, though, and were both thinking furiously about how it
could be done. The leader of the 8 bits, however, did not
catch on so quickly, and had to have it explained to him.
"The Mario Brothers are plumbers, sir, and a
heating system usually uses pipes." The youngster
said quickly, his moment over.
"I see what you are driving at, and I must
admit, I had completely forgotten that detail. However,
there is the problem of getting there. We used the
emergency escape tunnels to rescue them, but the small
portion of tunnels that we have mapped out only lead to
the dungeon."
"And the dungeon was definitely not heated,"
one of the two other members who had been there the night
of the rescue related. "It was as cold down there is
it was on the outside."
The idea was debated by the elders, until a
compromise was reached. They would make their way to the
dungeons, through the tunnels, and once there, the lesser
members of the 8 bits, and the trio of heroes, would don
their costumes and enter the castle. That way, if they
were seen, they would not be seen as a threat, unless one
of the smarter variations of the inhabitants of Sub-Con
saw them. After locating the heating vents, which should
be done as quickly as possible, the company would climb
inside and follow them to the main heating source.
"And then they'll simply shut it off," The
leader of the 8 bits finished, and the rest of the elders
relaxed a bit.
"It seems to easy..." One of the more
pessimistic ones muttered.
"And that's the beauty of it," Insisted
another. "Mario and Luigi should know enough about
pipes to shut of a ventilation system."
"And a primitive one, at that," a female
voice pronounced, smiling.
Of course, Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi couldn't see that
smile, with their eyes taped over. All three were a bit
dissapointed that they were missing such a great chance,
but they knew that they were probably being watched very
carefully, to make sure they didn't peek. And all three
were rather scared of the price to pay for peeking.
They listened in silence through the entire meeting,
as the plan was created and refined. When the final draft
was complete, the imposing club leader turned to Mario
and Luigi, at last, and asked them if they thought they
could do it.
Although Mario felt a bit apprehensive, he knew that
he could not say no, and make the hours of compiling the
plan nothing but wasted time. He nodded, knowing
instinctively that he should not speak, and also that his
brother was doing the same. This was to be their biggest
plumbing job since their infamous attempt at the sewers
of Manhattan, all those years ago...
"Once again," Mario mused to himself,
"the fate of a world depends on mine and my
brother's plumbing skill!"
And so, the preparations were made for the first
attack on Wart's impervious palace of ice...
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