Chapter 12: Yoshi Park
The ship arrived on the island and the four adventurers hopped off faster than you can blink.
"Finally!" Fox shouted, "I never liked boat travel anyway."
Link guessed that Fox liked sailing as much as he liked flying. But now wasn't the time to ask questions.
"Alright, Mario brothers, which way to the volcano?" Link asked.
Mario and Luigi screwed up their faces and snapped their fingers.
"It's right in the center of the island. However, we gotta go through the jungle first." Mario and Luigi said at the exact same time.
Fox turned to Link and commented, "Wow. That's some talent. I couldn't do that with Falco in a hundred years."
They were about halfway to the volcano when Fox stepped on something hard. He looked down and saw a kind of dart next to a large footprint similar to the Redeye track back on Sauria.
"Fox? What's that?" Link asked. Mario and Luigi were just as puzzled.
"I know what it is. It's what's inside that stumps me." Fox answered. He then opened up a small device on his wrist and put the dart inside.
"I'm sending the results to Slippy. He'll tell us what's inside this baby." Fox told them.
There was a rustle in the bush and they whirled around. They were about to run when a red Yoshi ran out of the bush, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"Hey! A local!" Mario said as he raised a hand.
"TALK LATER! RUN NOW!!!!" The Yoshi said as it ran past them. They looked at him for a while, but then turned around to see a blue dinosaur. It was tall enough to look Link in the eye and had sharp claws and teeth. There was even a row of spines going down its back. It was a kind of raptor, but nothing like Fox had seen.
Link whipped out his sword and shot lightning at the raptor. However, the raptor was smarter than he looked and ducked. It then began a series of birdlike calls. Then it struck Fox.
"He's calling for backup." He said under his breath.
Just then, without warning another raptor leapt at Link only to miss by a mile. Link raised his sword, but the Yoshi stopped him.
"What are you doing?! Those things are TRYING TO KILL US!!" Link exclaimed.
"I don't know what they are. But they used to be Yoshis" The little red dude said.
Mario and Luigi's mouths hung open for a second too long. A raptor opened its mouth and out came a long, red tongue. It caught Mario on the hand and began drawing him closer.
"MAMA MIA!!!" Mario shouted as he struggled against the raptor's chameleon-like tongue.
Just when the raptor was about to have Mario for breakfast, something roared and crashed out of the undergrowth. It tackled the raptor and smashed the dinosaur's head into the ground. The thing had a huge, bulky body, a spiked shell, horns on its head, and flaming red hair. For a moment, Link thought it was a dinosaur. But it then spoke in a growling voice similar to Vector's but far deeper.
"What are YOU guys doing here?" The thing asked. Mario cocked an eyebrow and scratched his head.
"Bowser? You're here too?" Mario asked.
The other raptor began to growl and Bowser simply said, "We can talk later."
Just when the raptor leapt at them, something long and red came out of nowhere and snatched it. It screeched as it was dragged away. When it had disappeared into the undergrowth, there was a sickening CRUNCH and the screeching stopped.
"We gotta get outta here if we want to see another day!" Luigi shouted as they took off. Strangely, the red Yoshi had followed them. Link turned around and began talking.
"Who are you and why aren't you like those guys?" He asked. The Yoshi sighed and took a seat.
"First off, my name is Rock. And second, THIS. Some dinosaur dude came here and began pelting the others with darts that turned them into monsters. I'm the only survivor." He explained.
Just then, Fox's sensor went off and the results came back in. Fox studied it and his jaw dropped.
"What is it, fleabag?" Bowser asked.
"It's the results. According to Slippy, the stuff in the darts is various dinosaur DNA. Most of it is from the largest carnivores in prehistory. Slippy says he even found a bit of pterosaur and crocodile in there." Fox answered.
Mario and Luigi seated themselves on a tree root. They were about to drift off to slumber-ville when something wet came down on them.
"Luigi? Is it raining?" Mario asked. Luigi shook his head and then they slowly...looked...up.
The 'tree root' they were sitting on was actually the toe of a dinosaur. It was no doubt a Yoshi, but it looked more like one of those tyrannosaurs on King Kong. In its mouth was the same raptor that tried leaping at them. We'll call it Y-rex for short.
The Y-rex tilted its head back and swallowed what was left of the raptor. After that, it roared and began to stomp toward our heroes.
"Bowser, can't you take that thing on?!" Luigi shouted.
"I'm not THAT BIG!" Bowser shouted over the snapping jaws.
Just then, a big red tongue as thick as a python burst out of the Y-rex's mouth and caught Rock. The little thing fit right into the mouth and the Y-rex swallowed it whole.
Fox rapidly typed a message and sent it to Slippy.
"HOW COULD YOU BE WRITING AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!" Bowser roared.
"I've just sent Slippy a message to send in an antidote to these Yoshis." Fox shouted.
When the Y-rex finished swallowing Rock, it was still hungry and five servings wouldn't hurt at all.
Link and the others would either reach the volcano or die trying.
