Chapter 2
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Six months later…The beautiful sunny day that blessed the Mushroom Kingdom one that fateful day was only a cruel guise for what was going to take place. If anyone knew of what was to come, they could have spared the kingdom of the agony it was about to endure, but sadly, not even Merlon, the town fortuneteller, saw this coming.
Our story begins in Toad Town, the Mushroom Kingdom capital and the home of the one and only Mario. But the story doesn't start with him. Instead, we turn our attention to everyone's favorite green dinosaur, Yoshi, who was just entering the town through the main gates. Unlike the video games, Yoshi wasn't always the happy-go-lucky dino we've come to know and love. True, he always seemed to be in a good mood and he didn't have a lot to worry about, but he had matured quite a bit since the days of Yoshi Story. What people don't seem to realize is that Yoshi is even older then Mario! After all, Mario was only a baby when Yoshi saved his butt from Kamek.
But this doesn't mean that Yoshi is an old-timer. In fact, the opposite is true. Yoshis and Birdos age a bit differently then most people. Think dog years backwards. Although Yoshi has been alive for quite sometime, biologically he's only about 16 or 17.
But despite the changes he's gone through, he's still kind and caring, and everybody liked him. Many of the Toads waved to him as he walked by, with Yoshi returning the greetings. That day, Yoshis reason for visit was to help Mario and Luigi fix their roof. During the phone call, Mario said that he needed someone with a strong back, which secretly annoyed Yoshi. Don't get him wrong, Yoshi was always willing to help a friend, but the only reason Yoshi had a strong back in the first place was because Mario always felt it was necessary to ride him during their adventures.
Yoshi sighed, "He'd better thank me for this," he thought to himself. The only way to get to Mario's house was to ride a Warp Pipe in the town plaza. Warp Pipes were the main transport system in the Mushroom Kingdom. They were fast and easy to use. All Yoshi had to do was jump down it, which he did, and about a minute later, he popped up right in Mario and Luigi's front yard. As he brushed himself off, he noticed that Mario and Luigi were already on the roof. "Ah, Yoshi, there you are. Come on up. This shouldn't a-take too long," Mario called down. "I'm coming," Yoshi responded, rolling his eyes.
To make a long story short, it did take a long time. The sun was starting to set by the time the roof was completely fixed, and Yoshi was exhausted. As Yoshi sat on the front porch, wiping the sweat from his brow, Mario, whom was still on the roof, opened the cooler and took out some sodas. After giving one to Luigi, he said, "Here Yoshi, catch," and tossed a can over the side of the roof, not really looking where he was throwing. Sadly when Yoshi heard this, he reacted too slowly, and the soda can conked him on the head. "Gee, thanks," he said sarcastically, rubbing the new bump on his head. Yoshi reluctantly picked up the can and started drinking it as he thought, "Still no thank you. That figures." Yoshi's relationship with Mario was starting to become more of a one-sided friendship. Mario just didn't seem to notice what he was doing to poor Yoshi. Sometimes Mario would unknowingly mistreat Yoshi and make him feel more like a pet rather then a friend. Most of the time, Yoshi would go to Mario's house feeling like a million coins and leave feeling depressed and unappreciated.
Unfortunately, today was no different. Yoshi ended up doing most of the work that day, under the unforgiving sun, and was rewarded with a brand new headache. "I wonder if DK is doing anything tomorrow," he said quietly to himself, since he didn't plan on coming back to Mario's house the next day.
Mario put the last of his tools away and pumped down onto the porch. He took a seat on the rail next to Yoshi and took another sip from his soda. "Not-a bad for a hard days work, huh Yoshi," Mario asked. Yoshi sighed. "Yeah, I guess," was what he said, but what he meant was, "Easy for you to say, fat man!" Mario sensed a hint of sadness in Yoshis voice and asked, "Is everything alright Yoshi? You've been looking a bit down in the dumps recently," then, trying to guess what was upsetting Yoshi, Mario asked, "Are things going ok with you and Birdo?"
Birdo is Yoshis girlfriend. She's a very sweet and caring girl (and a good kisser, Yoshi would like to add), and she and Yoshi got along extremely well. Everyone thought they were a very cute couple. Birdo was pretty much the reason Yoshi got up in the morning. Whenever one of them was feeling lonely or sad (Yoshi now more often then Birdo), it didn't take the other long to get him/her back on his/her feet.
It was a good guess on Mario's part, but he was still once again clueless. Yoshi just sighed again, "No, there's nothing wrong."
Mario was still concerned, but before he could question it further, Luigi cried down from the roof, "Mario, get up here quick! I think you should see this!" Without skipping a beat, Mario sprang back onto the roof and joined his brother, who was looking through a spyglass. He handed it to Mario who peered through it. He wasn't even looking through it for a second until he spoke in a shocked voice, "Oh…my…God!"
Through the spyglass, Mario saw a huge army on the horizon, consisting of at least ten thousand soldiers, and they were headed right for them! Koopas, Bob-ombs, X-Nauts, Boos, Ghosts, Piranha Plants, and a bunch of other creatures, stood at the ready, like a black cloud on the horizon. "This cannot be good," Luigi said bluntly, "What do ya think they want?" Mario pondered this for a brief moment, until he came to a shocking conclusion, "I know what it is." He quickly hopped down to the porch, spun Yoshi around and looked him straight in the eye. "Listen to me Yoshi, because this is extremely important. There's a huge army approaching from the north…," "WHAT!?" This caught Yoshi completely off guard. "Listen! I need you to do something very important for me. While we protect the city, I need you to go to Shooting Star Summit, get to Star Haven, and make sure that nobody, absolutely nobody, gets their hands on the Star Rod! Understand?" Yoshi nodded, "Yeah, I get it, but what does…," "Just do it! C'mon Luigi, we have to warn the princess." As fast as lightning, the Mario brothers sprang into action and disappeared down the pipe, leaving Yoshi alone.
Yoshi thought about what had just happened. "Mario sure seemed worried. Are those goons after the Star Rod? Well, after seeing what Bowser could do with it, I can't let anyone else get a hold of it. I'd better get moving." With that, Yoshi ran to the pipe, but just as he was about to jump down it, he thought to himself, "I sure hope Birdo's okay…"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Author's Notes: Yeesh! That took a while to write. Sorry for the delay, and sorry if the ending seemed a bit rushed. Anyway, for those of you who don't know, the Star Rod has the ability to grant wishes, and Bowser managed to get a hold of it in Paper Mario and caused a lot of damage. Let's hope Yoshi makes it in time.