The Crystal Stars
In this chapter, we'll learn about one of the heroes that you may know as one of the demons that was trapped inside that black treasure chest if you've played Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
Chapter 4: The Toad
"So, let me tell you about this Toad. For one thing, he was frequently made fun of by the other Toads…mainly due to the fact that he had a really squeaky voice." stated Prof. Frankly.
"Sorry to hear that." sympathized a young Toad.
"Basically put, none of the villagers ever really treated him with respect, until one day that changed everything for the village…"
Petalburg…1000 years ago…
"Hey look, it's Squeaky!" taunted one Toad.
"Hey Shroomo! You sound just like a mouse!" taunted another Toad.
"Yeah yeah I know." Shroomo rolled his eyes.
It seemed like every day went like that. For some reason, none of the other citizens could resist making fun of him simply because of his voice. He wanted nothing more for people to stop making fun of it. It was really annoying, and yet people wouldn't stop doing it.
Personally, he wondered what was so funny about it. It wasn't like he had asked to have such a squeaky voice, he was born with it. Nonetheless, it was considered a riot among the other Toads. It was giving him quite a headache.
Anyways, he had no idea that something was big was happening but it was. By now, everybody had heard about the Shadow Queen and her minions, but she was still regarded as a myth among Petalburg, as she had yet to take action in Petal Meadows.
That was, until particular today.
The citizens of the town were relaxing, minding their own business.
Suddenly, one of the Koopas noticed that there was something in the sky.
"It's a bird!" exclaimed a Koopa.
"No! It's a plane!" exclaimed another Toad.
"Planes don't exist right now!" pointed out another Koopa.
"Oh, right." realized that same Toad.
The flying object got closer…and they realized what it was.
"IT'S ONE OF THE SHADOW QUEEN'S DRAGONS!" screamed a Toad.
"AAH!" the populace all screamed.
"That's right my little meals on wheels…now let's see here…so many of you look like you'll be appetizing…I know I'll start with you!" the dragon stated, picking up a Toad and eating him alive.
"NOOO!" the other Toads screamed.
As it turns out, this particular dragon was Hooktail, the youngest of the dragons. While she was significantly weaker than her other siblings, she was still quite a menace, capable of breathing fire and swallowing people whole, both of which she intended to do right at that particular moment.
As the citizens of the town panicked and futilely tried to outrun the dragon, Shroomo noticed what was going on. The more he saw the people panicking as various buildings around town was set on fire and the more he saw people being eaten by Hooktail, the more he thought something should be done about the Shadow Queen and her minions.
He had heard about the horrendous acts she had committed recently, and suddenly fighting spirit starting flowing inside of him.
"HEY YOU!" he screamed.
Hooktail immediately turned towards him. Due to his squeaky voice, she thought he was a cricket. "Oh, what's this? You're hardly a morsel…seeing though you're so small …but no matter! Maybe you'll do well as a light snack." she said.
And so she ate him too.
Back to Professor Frankly and his audience…
"Wait a minute!" one of the Toads exclaimed. "I thought you said he was one of the heroes that took down the Shadow Queen! How can be simply be another victim of Hooktail?"
"Yeah! This is really confusing!" agreed a young Koopa.
"I was getting to that part! Now be quiet while I continue reading the story!" exclaimed Professor Frankly.
Back to the story…
For a moment, Shroomo (along with his fellow citizens who were watching) thought he was done for.
He slowly went towards Hooktail's digestive system…where he would become food for the ferocious dragon.
But he refused to meet a fate like this…not while other people were in danger.
Angry, Shroomo started punching Hooktail's stomach.
As Hooktail was laughing as she continued causing havoc among the innocent citizens of Petalburg, she suddenly started to feel queasy.
"What's going on? I feel sick?" she thought.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, she suddenly started spitting out the villagers.
"AARGH! NO!" she exclaimed.
She kept on spitting them out and out, up until the point where every villager that had been eaten by Hooktail was freed.
This naturally included Shroomo, who was spat out of Hooktail last.
This naturally made Hooktail extremely angry, who snarled at Shroomo in rage.
"AARGH! CURSE YOU, INSIGNIFICANT INSECT! But no matter, this is a merely a minor setback in my mistress's plan. You won't be able to defeat the Shadow Queen alone, I can tell you that! She has an entire army of minions at her disposal! I don't care if you think you're a one-man army, you'll never be able to stop her!" With a satisfied grin on her face now that she had finished her speech revealing the unfortunate truth to Shroomo, she flew away towards her castle, waiting her mistress' next command.
Suddenly, the Toads and Koopas (particularly the ones that had been eaten by Hooktail) stopped making fun of Shroomo. Instead, they congratulated on him for saving them all from that dragon.
"Yay!" squealed a Toad.
"Hip hip hooray!" screeched another Toad.
"Hooray for Shroomo!" yelled a Koopa.
Suffice to say, there was no end to the gratitude that Shroomo received.
But one thing made him unhappy about what had happened. Was it true about Hooktail had said to him? If what she said was true, Shroomo would need some allies to assist him in defeating the Shadow Queen.
But who would be able to assist him? As far as he knew, nobody wanted to fight the Shadow Queen, even with some allies assisting him. The fact that she was a nearly omnipotent being of darkness made hope a very scarce thing to find.
"Um, guys, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave." Shroomo told the other citizens with a frown on his face.
"But why? We're not making fun of you anymore!" exclaimed a Toad.
"Yeah! You're our hero now!" exclaimed another Koopa.
"Yes well, I'm afraid that I'm going to need to find other people in order to defeat the Shadow Queen. I don't think I can do it alone." Shroomo explained.
"Are you nuts? The Shadow Queen will pulverize you!" warned a Toad.
"Yeah well, something has to be done about her. She's a threat to virtually all of the Mushroom Kingdom. I know you guys will miss me, but I have to leave home in order to put an end to her age of darkness. I'm not sure if I'll come back, but rest assured, I'll do my best to stop the Shadow Queen."
After parting ways with the other citizens of Petalburg, Shroomo left home to find a way to defeat the Shadow Queen, as well as find allies that were willing to assist him in this difficult task.
To Professor Frankly and his audience once again…
"Didn't you say that there were other heroes besides the Toad?" a young Boo asked.
"Why yes they were. I'll tell you about the second one now…she was a Goomba…one that lived in Boggly Woods…"
And so this chapter ends with Shroomo defending his home from an evil dragon…in the next chapter, we'll learn about another one of the heroes that helped put an end to the Shadow Queen…