Mario Raven Episode 1 – Let the Challenge Begin!
The beauty that is James Mackenzie was standing in front of the camera. "Our first challenge has already begun! Let us see how the warriors are doing." Mario, Luigi, Rosalina, Wario, King Boo and King Bob-omb were kayaking across a loch. Rosalina pulled ahead of the others, and reached the shore. She ran across the sand and released her symbol. It was a wave. King Bob-omb and King Boo reached the shore next. King Boo hung back to pull his kayak onto shore, while King Bob-omb ran off an released his symbol which was the moon. King Boo released the cloud symbol. Mario started falling behind the others. When Luigi and Wario arrived at the shore, they hung back, securing their kayaks. That allowed Mario to catch up a little. Luigi released his tree symbol, then Wario revealed the mountain, and Mario the sun. "Mario." began Raven. "May you carry in your heart, a heat as warm as the sun. Rosalina, may you be inspired by the raw force of the wave. Wario, may the power and presence of your symbol encourage you on this quest, it is the mountain. King Boo, may your spirits rise to the highest heights, like the cloud. Luigi, stand tall, stand solidly, and may your heart be as proud as the mighty oak. King Bob-omb, your symbol has a mystical quality, may you be guided through this quest by the light of the moon. To each of you, I grant 9 lives, as you embark on this quest, represented by the 9 feathers upon your standards." he conjured the warriors standards to appear with his staff. "To those of you who were most impressive on the water, have already been rewarded with gold. Nine of these gold rings can earn you a life, but take care. But be warned, failure in a future challenge may be forfeited with a life. Lose too many, and your quest to become the ultimate champion will be over. So my friends, the quest awaits. He pointed his staff at the beach, conjuring a portal. He walked through it, followed by the warriors. As they came out the other end, they were in their symbol uniforms, and in a forest. Soon, they came across a massive spider web, spun between two trees. "In the old days, these forests were peaceful. But now, it is inhabited by many evil beings. The spider that spun this web may return at any second, so we must make haste." started Raven. "In pairs, you must race up this spider web, collecting gold rings as you go. The warrior who grabs the top ring first, gets to keep all their lives in tact, and keep the rings they collected this challenge. The warrior who comes last will have to forfeit a life. Wario. Mario. I choose you, to go first." Once both Mario and Wario were prepared at the bottom of the spider web, Raven asked "Are you ready?"
"Ready!" replied both Wario and Mario.
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" he lifted his staff and bashed it on the ground. Mario started off better than Wario, as he had a better technique. Mario was taller, and was standing in the corners of the web, whereas Wario was standing in the middle of them. Mario reached the first ring. Wario began to catch up. Mario grabbed his second ring, as Wario collected his first. Mario speedily made it to the final ring, as Wario tried to get to the second ring. Mario grabbed the last ring, and raised it above his head.
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"I'm really glad I beat Wario, because that means I've overtaken him in the leaderboard, and I'm on my way to making it to the top." said Mario, almost cockily.
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"Rosalina. Luigi. I choose you, to go next." When Rosalina and Luigi were at the bottom of the spider web, ready to climb, Raven asked "Are you ready?"
"Ready!" replied Rosalina and Luigi.
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" he raised his staff and then hit it on the floor. Rosalina had a good start, but then slipped, letting Luigi overtake her. However, she soon caught up with him. They both grabbed their first rings at the same time. Rosalina slipped AGAIN. Raven shook his head gravely. Luigi grabbed his second ring. He began to climb to the final ring, when Rosalina grabbed her second ring, and started climbing towards it as well. Rosalina thrust her arm towards the ring, but fell just short. Luigi grabbed the final ring, and raised it above his head, cheering.
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"I'm really annoyed at myself, because if I hadn't slipped I would have won and beaten Luigi." sighed Rosalina.
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"King Bob-omb. King Boo. You two will go next." King Boo and King Bob-omb got prepared at the bottom of the spider web. "Are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" he lifted his staff, before bashing it on the ground. King Boo and King Bob-omb started out pretty equally. They both gained their first rings at almost exactly the same time. Then, King Bob-omb started to pull ahead. He grabbed his second ring, and started to make his way to the final ring. King Boo also grabbed his second ring, and started to catch up with King Bob-omb. Unfortunately, it was too little too late, as King Bob-omb snatched the final ring and held it above his head.
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"I think I did quite well, for having no legs, as King Bob-omb is a very strong warrior, and would be hard to beat even with legs. The disadvantage of being legless may hinder me in further challenges." pouted King Boo.
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"Mario, Luigi, King Bob-omb. All three of you gained three rings. Wario, Rosalina, King Boo. You three were overcome by the speed of your fellow warriors. For this, I must take a life from each of you." said Raven, while the camera filmed the warriors standards gaining rings, and losing lives. The warriors followed Raven out of the forest and to a hillside. Here, there was a golden cage with different coloured skulls in it. "King Bob-omb. You lead this group, with 9 lives and 5 rings, so you and a fellow warrior will attempt this challenge. Luigi. Mario. You two are in joint second, each with 9 lives and 3 rings." he took a rock out of his pocket, and put it in one of his hands. He put his hands behind his back, swapped the rock from hand to hand a few times, and showed Mario 2 fists. "Pick a hand, young warrior." Mario pointed to Raven's right hand. Raven opened his fist, to reveal nothing. He opened his left hand, which had the rock inside it. "Luigi. You will face this challenge, along side King Bob-omb. You must pull out sticks from the cage, allowing the skulls to fall to the ground. King Bob-omb, your skull is gold. Luigi, yours is silver. Once you have touched a stick, you cannot let go. You must take it in turns, to pull out the sticks. If your skull touches the floor, you will gain a ring, and will have to step back and let your companion take the rest of the turns to get their skull to the ground. But be warned, if you move a stick, and a red skull touches the ground, you will lose a precious life. Are you ready?"
"Ready!" Luigi and King Bob-omb called back.
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" Raven did the iconic staff bash.
"You go first." said King Bob-omb.
"Okay." replied Luigi. He took his time walking round the cage, before he finally picked a stick. He pulled it out cautiously. None of the skulls moved. He gave a sigh of relief. King Bob-omb shrugged. He picked a stick and carelessly yanked it out. A red skull fell towards the bottom, but landed on another stick. King Bob-omb's skull fell a small way as well. Raven shook his head disapprovingly. Luigi looked very worried, when the red skull almost hit the ground. He took his time and chose another stick, that had the same effect as the first – none. King Bob-omb pulled out the stick that was holding up his skull. When the skull fell, it knocked the red skull of it's stick, and the skull claimed King Bob-omb. Raven shook his head again. Luigi seemed very worried. He kept taking out sticks that weren't holding anything up for quite a while, until there was only a few sticks left, which would make it easier for any of the skulls to fall. Luigi slowly pulled out the stick that was holding up his skull, and let the skull slide down it to the ground. He then pulled the whole stick out, and cheered because he had won. Raven nodded, with a smile on his face. "King Bob-omb. You knocked a red skull of it's stick as you were careless. I shall return you to this quest a life lighter." the camera showed Raven pointing his staff, and King Bob-omb appearing. It then showed a feather being hit by a blast from Raven's staff, and disappearing from King Bob-omb's standard. "Luigi. You showed precision and level-headedness. For this, I award you a ring." the camera showed a ring appearing on Luigi's standard.
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"I'm really happy I won that challenge and King Bob-omb lost a life, as that means I'm in first place, even if just one ring ahead of Mario." said Luigi, beaming.
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The warriors followed Raven to a short cut field. There were demons stood there, and there were small platforms dotted around, rings in holders, and a platform at the other side of the field. "Here, is Demon Causeway. In teams of three, you must use planks to navigate across the platforms. You must use a hook to collect rings. If you touch the ground, drop a ring, or touch a demon, you will lose a life. Wario, Luigi, King Bob-omb. You will work together. Rosalina, Mario, King Boo. You will be a team." When both teams were ready, Raven asked "Are you ready?"
"READY!" replied all the warriors.
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" he smashed his staff onto the ground. Both teams set out equally. Rosalina, Mario and King Boo started to pull ahead. Rosalina grabbed the hook, and carefully but swiftly collected their first ring. Luigi, King Bob-omb and Wario were taking their time swapping around, so that King Bob-omb could get the ring with the hook. Unfortunately, he was too hasty and knocked the ring onto the ground. The demon looked up and claimed King Bob-omb. Raven shook his head, and Luigi looked down towards the hook on the ground. "Can you get the hook?" he asked. Wario nodded and grabbed it. He handed it to Luigi, and they carried on. By now, the other team were already at their second ring. Rosalina hooked it. She tripped and took a few small steps forward, but just managed to regain her balance. Luigi and Wario were making up for King Bob-omb's falter. Luigi leaned out, and grabbed a ring. Mario put down a plank, and he and King Boo walked across it. Then he put another one down that Rosalina walked across, getting another ring. King Boo placed down the final plank, and let Rosalina and Mario cross, before he crossed too. Luigi and Wario sighed in defeat, as Luigi put down the hook because he was trying to get the final ring. "Luigi, Wario. As you failed to keep up with your fellow warriors, you must lose a precious life. King Bob-omb. I shall return you to this quest, but a life lighter. Rosalina, Mario, King Boo. As you were swift, and collected all the rings, you will get 1 ring each."
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"I'm really glad our team won, because I haven't lost a life yet, so now I'm beating Luigi." cheered Mario.
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The warriors followed Raven to a loch. He gestured towards golden logs suspended above it. "Our quest leads us to water. You must traverse these logs, in attempt to collect gold rings. However, if you fall into the water, or finish the challenge without a gold ring, you will lose a life. Mario. You are leading this band of intrepid warriors, so I choose you to go first." Mario got to the start of the challenge. "Are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" again, he bashed his staff on the ground. Mario started off quickly, but lost his footing. He landed on his stomach on one of the logs. The warriors cringed. Luckily, he managed to get up again, but continued more cautiously. He sat on the log, and collected the ring in the water. Then he stood up and carried on. He tried to get the high ring, but couldn't quite reach. He continued on, and got to the end of the course. He leapt, and grabbed the suspended ring. When he was in the lake, he held up his 2 rings and grinned. The wave symbol was shown, and then Rosalina was at the start of the course. "Are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" (Followed by a staff bash) Rosalina speedily made her way to the bottom ring. She seemed indecisive on whether to get it, but eventually decided to crouch down and get it. The log barely wobbled as she crouched to grab the ring. Everybody thought she was going to fall in, but she didn't. Rosalina stood up again and continued on her way. She grabbed the high ring, and made it to the end of the course with no trouble. Then she made a giant leap, and grabbed the final ring. When she bobbed up from the surface of the water, she was beaming. The tree symbol was shown, before the camera showed Luigi at the start of the course. "Are you ready?" asked Raven, for the third time this challenge.
"Ready!"
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" he banged his staff on the ground. Luigi started off much slower than either of the other 2 warriors. This method seemed to be paying off, however. He avoided the ring in the water, and went straight to the one above his head. He continued on to the end of the course, and managed to get the final ring. He grinned. The mountain symbol was shown, before Wario was at the start of the course. "Are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" he tapped his staff on the ground. Wario stood on the first log, but it started swinging a lot more than he expected to. He jumped on to the next log, but lost his footing and fell. Raven shook his head gravely. The cloud symbol was shown on the screen. Then King Boo was at the start of the course. "Are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" he bashed his staff on the ground. King Boo got off to a good start. He ignored the ring in the water, but grabbed the one above his head. He jumped to the end of the course, but unfortunately dropped his ring. If he wanted to keep his lives in tact, he would have to get the final ring. He leapt, and thankfully grabbed the last ring. The moon symbol was shown on the screen. King Bob-omb was at the start of the course. "Are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then, let the challenge... Begin!" Raven hit the base of his staff on the ground. King Bob-omb started too fast, and almost fell. Luckily, he grabbed on to the rope. He sat on the log, and tried to get the ring in the water. He leaned too far out, and fell into the water. Raven shook his head. "King Bob-omb, Wario. Both of you fell into the loch, and therefore must lose a life." A feather from each of their standards was hit by a magic blast, and disappeared. "King Boo, Luigi, Mario, Rosalina. Each of you gathered gold, and keep your lives in tact." gold rings appeared on their standards.
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"I'm really happy, because I got 3 rings in Golden Stairway, and that brings me closer to Mario, and in front of Luigi." grinned Rosalina.
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"Mario. You lead this band, and have not yet lost a life. Can you continue this?" asked Raven.
"I think I can continue to lead, and eventually become the ultimate champion." replied Mario.
"Wario. You are last, and are in danger of facing Way of the Warrior?"
"I think I can win some of the challenges, and manage to not have to face Way of the Warrior." Raven turned to face the camera. "How will these warriors fare, in the rest of this week? Find out next time, on Mario Raven!" he pointed his staff towards the camera, and shot a beam of golden light at it, ending the episode.
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So! What did you think? I'm doubting that any of you have ever watched Raven before, but Series 7 is on Youtube if you want to check it out... So... Yeah! See ya!
Akka :D