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Chapter 19:
~Luigi of the Pipes~
"Hold on a wind-whirled second!" Mallow yelled at the buggy
monarch as he was carried away. "What... happened?"
Watinga laughed, a pale whisper of a voice that was once alive. "You
mean this?" he said, clanking his knuckles over a metal-coated
arm.
"Uh, yeah." Mallow glanced over at Sonny, who ended up fainting
from the intensity of the stings. Hydraulico, similarily, was out for
the count. "One minute you're a really big bug, the next you're
a really big bug with a metal suit that spits bugs out the..."
"As I was saying," Watinga interrupted harshly. "This
is how I truly am supposed to be. Your painter friend demolished my
metallic armor the last time we skirmished. I was forced to abandon
it, and became the bug you easily defeated."
After you and your group left, I easily broke those pathetic binds and
left for the Easton Mountains. On my way, I noticed an odd man holding
my suit. From the story he gave me, it was salvaged and passed from
person to person until it reached here. I took my suit, no questions
asked.
"This suit will be to the benefit of myself, for Master Smith's
goal is a world of weapons."
"Yeah, so?"
"Don't you see? To a robot, the only weapons are his own kind!
Smithy doesn't intend to let organics around once he can litter the
world with his own kind! And when I carbon-bond into this suit, I'll
be all bot!"
Mallow gasped. Smithy was apparently taking his steps two at a time.
"If you're lucky," Watinga continued, "the master may
spare you. As a slave.
"Now, take them."
The bug carrying Mallow nodded and zoomed back toward the desert,
Sonny not far behind.
When they had both gone, a small sentry bug flitted up to Watinga.
"My lord," it buzzed. "Weren't there five people at this
table?"
Watinga glared at the bug, then looked back to the cloud and golfer.
His eyes lit red. "The frog and squid," he hummed. "Find
them and bring them to....
"No, I have a better idea."
"Being?"
"Find them, and follow them. They will surely try to return to
that painter. And when they do, we'll have the whole lot!"
"Yessir!" the sentry buzzed as it flitted away.
---------
Meanwhile
---------
"Hurry Grasshopper!" Frogfucius yelled back as he hopped
through the street.
"I am, I am!" Squid Guy replied. "Most of us don't
have the legs to go so fast! Come to think of it, I don't have legs
period..."
"Yes..."
"What house are Mario and Luigi in?"
"What? We cannot return to the Mario Bros. There are most likely
insects all around us, watching and waiting. If we take them to Mario,
we'll end their career rather quickly."
"I see. But what else do you expect us to do?"
"Hopefully, the bus is still intact..."
"Huh?"
"We shall wait outside of the town and pick up Mario and Luigi
when they come out."
"When?"
"I would say if, but there's no need for pessimism right at the
moment..."
"Ah."
---------
Meanwhile
---------
"It's no good," Luigi griped as he rubbed his bruised shoulder.
"That's not gonna stop me," Mario replied. He backed up
and slammed his shoulder into the door again, rendering no response
from the wooden monolith.
"Why do you suppose we're even stuck in here?"
"Same as always."
"That being...?"
"Smithy's gonna hold us up here until he can send someone to
do a more proper job of defeating us."
"You think he heard about Watinga so soon?"
"Somebody had to have locked us in here."
"A spy? But who?"
"You're the clever one, you figure it out."
"... Squid Guy."
"That's what I'm thinking." Mario rammed into the door again,
hard. "And we actually trusted him too..."
Luigi stood silent for a few seconds. "Let's see if we can find
a different way out," he spoke up, changing the subject. "The
door must be jammed up pretty good."
---------
Meanwhile
---------
"Eh heh," Goombario laughed nervously. "You don't want
to eat us, do you?"
"I reckon that the only reason Benny heah said "We's gonna
eat y'all"," Jethro replied.
"Nah," the Goomba continued. Heidi and Chibobuigi were petrified,
so it looked like this would be a one-Goom debate. "Look at me,
I'm all tongue. Same for that black 'shroom over there." To emphasize,
Goombario jutted out his thick red tongue, it ending mere centimeters
from Benny's face. "And that other one? You really don't wanna
choke on that mask of hers, do you?"
"I... I reckon not," Benny stammered. "But we's could
always take that there mask off, right Pa?"
"Oh ho!" Goombario exclaimed. "You can try, but it's
a well-known fact that only a Shy Gal herself can take a mask off."
"Hey Ma," Benny said. "You's a shy gal, right?"
"I reckon I could be," Ethel replied.
"Not that kind of Shy Gal..." the Goomba said monotonously.
"Either way, we wouldn't be much "grub" for you guys.
We're still too young."
"I reckon that makes sense," Jethro said slowly. "Still,
it been a long time since I got mah family a good meal. Y'all just gonna
have to do."
"Wait wait wait!" Goombario hollered. "I know a place
where you can get a meal twice as good as us!"
"Do tell."
"It's hard to explain. I'd be happy to actually show you though.
Of course, you'd have to let me out of this web."
"Hmm... I reckon you's too small to run off. Course, we's gonna
have to hold yer other two friends fer insurance. What do ya say, Ma?"
"Sounds fine ta me, Pa," Ethel answered to Jethro.
"Right then. Ethel heah's gonna stay with yer two friends while
you show me n' Benny where the grub is."
Goombario nodded as Benny untied him. He had hoped to trick the spiders
into releasing Chibobuigi and Heidi too, so they could run for it. Now,
though, he had to find some kind of food for the spiders.
"I hope I'm not digging my own grave," he muttered silently.
~Jagger~
Meanwhile in the Nokobon Village on the Southern shore of Sarashaland
away from the events in Chai City a festival takes place. It is a time
of celebration for the Nokobon, for it the holy day of Nokobona.
Hundreds of black shelled Turtleoids fill the streets as fireworks
erupt in the sky above.
One very diginified looking Nokobon makes his way to a podieum. "Happy
Nokobona to you all," the mayor of Nokobon Village announced as
the other Nokobon quieted to listen to his speach, "and welcome
to the tenth annual Nokobon Village celebration of Nokobo-"
When suddenly he was cut off by the sound of a horde of Bandits rushing
through the streets. Cries such as Hail Smithy! rang out as the burned
the Nokobon's homes.
"Why are you doing this!?" the mayor cried in disbelief.
"Because we can," one Sankit answered, as he flung a knife
that miched the mayor's head by a centimeter.
The choas continued; the now peaceful Nokobon being beaten by petty
theives when suddenly out of the chaos arose a Nokobon ready to fight,
he cried out, "Leave my city at once or taste the wrath of Nokobono!"
"What is this?" a Bandit laughed. But his laughed was silenced
as his feet were knocked out form under him by a spinning black shell.
Nokobono lashed out, knocking one Sackits teeth out with a jab, "Ow!"
Nokobono said, for his hand throbbed in pain from the wound, and in
his moment of distraction a Bandit bopped him over the haed leaving
him unconsious.
"Smithy will be interested in this 'hero'," a Sackit said.
"Yes," a Bandit agreed, "let us take him to his lair."
~Luigi of the Pipes~
"So, how much further is it to that there grub you been promisin'
boy?" Jethro asked.
"Uhh... it's not far, not far at all..." Goombario sighed.
Chibobuigi probably would know where a meal for a spider could be found
in Sarasaland. Too bad the role of scared by spiders hadn't been switched
between the two 'shrooms.
"Alright-y then. Benny, come on up heah and help get this youngin'
over the rocks."
Benny didn't respond.
"Benny," Jethro said, anger tinting his voice. "Ah
said get on up heah." The large spider glanced back and saw the
other glancing down over the clifftop edge. Jethro grunted, then yelled
at the other, "Abendigo Judas Kumo, when I give an order to one
of mah kin, I expect it tah be heard! Now get'cher furry behind over
heah and help this varmint out!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry Pa," Benny said sheepishly. "I guess
I was so caught up in havin' a nice meal, I lost mah wits."
"Yeah? I guess you can avoid a punishin' then. Just don't let
it happen again, ya heah?"
"Yes Pa..."
Goombario, however, paid little attention to the events the spiders
portrayed. He'd remembered something. Birabuto Desert was home to Flys
and Bunbuns. And since spiders eat flies...
---------
Meanwhile
---------
"And the testing of the second Teleport Shield was a definate
success. Thus we can infer that the new factory is good to go,"
the latest Bandit murmured.
"WHERE IS THIS NEW FACTORY AGAIN?" Smithy asked.
"It's in a blocked-off region of those nearby mountains. No one
has been there in ages, from what I was told."
"EXCELLENT. CONTINUE..."
"Now that the factory is approved, we shall begin with your Lieutenants..."
"NO," Smithy sighed. "NO. BEGIN CONSTRUCTION OF THE
BLADE II."
"Yes sir." The Bandit pulled out a pen and scribbled a quick
note on his clipboard.
"ANY MORE NEWS I SHOULD BE AWARE OF?"
"Just one thing sir. Some of our Bandits and Sackits attacked
"Nokobon Village" in your name. A protestor attacked them,
and they now wish to present him to you."
Smithy sighed. Such trivialities wouldn't normally be his work. But
then.... "BRING HIM TO ME."
"Yes sir."
---------
Meanwhile
---------
Pon moaned. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he surrendered
the castle, what would happen? Princess Daisy might get disappointed
with him, but that was a fairly common thing anyway. If he didn't, would
things really change though? Croco and his goonies were already treating
the place like it was their home away from home. And when the Mario
brothers defeated Smithy, his decision wouldn't have meant anything
in the long run. He hoped...
The robot, Boomer, had pointed to the case of surrendering peacefully
quite calmly, which Pon couldn't help but admire. If the Pionpi played
his cards well, he might even be able to get Boomer on his side. Not
likely though...
A knock rang on the window outside Pon's room. The pionpi whipped
around and caught sight of a fluttering of feathers. The creature had
seemingly bumped right into his window. How thoughtless. Never the less,
Pon went to the window and opened it, then looked down at the ground
far below. A Koopa, no, a Paratroopa was sprawled on the ground. Unlike
normal Paratroopas though, this one had a large brown bag and aviator's
goggles.
"Who... who put that window there?" the Paratroopa muttered.
"What?" Pon asked. The window had always been there....
"Ah, nevermind." The Paratroopa got to his feet and fluttered
up to eye level. "The name's Parakarry. And I've got a package
for one 'Pi Pon P.'. Straight from the Mushroom Kingdom."
"That's me. But why didn't you just send this over to Batadon
AirMail?"
"They're out now. Geez, I thought everyone knew that. Especially
since I somehow remembered...
"Anyway, my boss sent me over here to take up a temporary job until
BAM is back. So if you'll just take your package and sign here, I'll
be on my way."
"Alright..." Pon took the large brown box offered to him
and set it down, then grabbed a pen and scribbled his name on the Paratroopa's
clipboard. "Try to leave without being seen, though..."
"Why's that?"
"Just because."
"Oookay..." Parakarry fluttered away. Pon walked back to
the package and picked it up. It wasn't very heavy, considering its
size. Who in the Mushroom Kingdom would be sending him something though?
A drip of sweat ran close to Pon's eye, irritating him. He wiped it
away, wondering why he would be sweating in the first place. The only
way to answer that question would be to open the box up. Nervously,
he began to pull the masking tape up...
~Masamune~
After his request for the 'rebel', Smithy occupied himself by mentally
reminding himself of his position...
Currently his most useful soldiers consisted simply of Booster II
and that Watinga. Croco and his band of thieves was useful to a certain
extent, he would soon have to dump the dead weight when the factory
was at maximum efficiency. He produced a map and looked it over. Most
of south-eastern Sarasaland was in his power. All of Chai Kingdom, Nokobon
village and the southern portion of Easton Mountains. The northern section
still remained to be taken...
His thoughts were interrupted as the bandit returned, the rebel in
tow.
"WELL..." Smithy began, "IS THIS THE TROUBLEMAKER?"
"Yes..." The bandit replied.
Under Smithy's beard a grin formed, "GOOD... LEAVE HIM TO THE
RUINS FOR SCAVENGING..."
"You won't get away with this!" The nokobon exclaimed.
"I ALREADY HAVE."
With that, the turtle was dragged out of the room. Smithy chuckled
and turned his seat around. The ruins... how fortunate he was. When
Mario defeated Tatanga, the mother ship had been left to rust. With
the technology and parts, the New Factory was coming along nicely. When
the Blade II was created, nothing could stop him.
He set his two arms down on the armrests of his seat, triggering the
mechanism. The seat rushed him into the basement of the academy. He
walked in, where his head engineer was waiting.
"Sir! Expected I not see you!" The engineer exclaimed in
broken speech. Smithy had not wasted complete vocal patterns on his
greatest engineer, he replaced them with a creative mind to rival even
his own.
"YES... HAVE YOU FINISHED WITH OUR 'GUEST'?" Smithy asked.
"Finished is he!" The engineer exclaimed, "Cybernetic
attachments... normal is he! And clone of metal finished!"
"PERFECT... HAVE HIM TAKEN OUT OF STASIS."
"Out will he come!" The engineer replied, walking over to
the controls... A blue tube was lowered. Inside was a frog, dressed
in a fine robe. On his head was technical looking crown. The liquid
was drained from the tube, then the tube was removed from around the
frog, who collapsed.
The frog awoke and glanced around, "Ughhh.... what, I'm done?"
"YES... YOU ARE FINISHED WART." Smithy replied, "YOU
ARE AT FULL HEALTH... WITH SOME CYBERNETIC EXTRAS..."
Wart looked up wth a strange glance, "What sort of extras?"
The engineer beamed at this, "Having are you wide variety of
extras! I have strengthened you weakened digestive system! Increased
strength you are having. Also compatability for Machine Mutant, yes!"
"Who!?" Wart replied.
Smithy chuckled in the sinister way only he could, "A FULLY CYBERNETIC
COPY OF YOU... ANY ATTACK OR MAGIC YOU POSSESS, IT CAN MIRROR THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY. MACHINE MUTANT... OR CODENAME: MAMU IS THE MOST ADVANCED
ROBOTICS I HAVE CREATED."
"Yes..." Agreed the engineer, "Doubling with you will
it, also it is being able to fuse with implants in you! Careful should
you being, tested it is not. Backfire possible."
Wart however, was to fascinated with 'Mamu' behind the glass to listen.
He looked back at Smithy and the engineer and snickered, "When
do I get to try this bad boy out?"
"JUST WHAT I LIEK TO HEAR..." Smithy replied, "I WILL
SEND YOU ON A LITTLE TEST RUN... TO MUDA BAY. A FEW 'PESTS' NEED TO
BE DISPOSED OF."
The frog smiled evilly as he rubbed his hand on the glass, "I
can't wait...."
~Jagger~
"The ruins," Nokobono thought, "my people were enslabed
by this man and forced to fight a war we had no part in. Now, I find
myself enslaved by another tyrant, who's possibly worse than the last
one."
Nokobono looked around him, Nokobons everywhere, in chains. "Better
get back to work," he thought as began rummaging through the alein
technology around him, "these guys have already got in for me as
it is." As the young Nokobon was searching he found something,
something that ould help free his people.
~Back in Factory 2~
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T CAPTURE THE CHIBIBO VILLAGE!!!"
Smithy yelled at a Bandit.
"Well...sir...the fact of the matter is..-"
"THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT YOU ARE A FOOL!"
"But sir we were out numbered."
"THEY'RE FUNGUS! HOW HARD CAN THE BE DEFEAT."
"You'd be sur-"
"SILENCE!" Smithy said as he brought down his hammer on
the wimpering bandit. "THE CHIBIBOS ARE MORE CUNNING THAN I IMAGINED.
WART, GO FORTH AND CAPTURE ME THE CHIBIBO VILLAGE!"
"Yes sir," Wart responded, "I shall leave at once."
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