Mario; Prehistoric Times
Mario continued scaling the huge wall, growing more and more tired as he climbed higher and higher. Even for a teen of his incredible physical skills, the sheer height, as well as the humidity in the air, made it extremely difficult.
"How much longer is it?" He asked himself.
Eventually, he finally reached the nest. He quickly studied it; it was about fifteen feet in diameter or so. It was made out of many small and/or broken branches, with some jutting out. The one detail that Mario noticed the most, and noticed right away, where the various bones that were scattered all over the nest. From huge bones to small bones, they were all over the place.
Resting among the bones was the object Mario was searching for: the egg. It was exactly as the card had described it. It was pale white, with red polka-dots all over it. It was about the size, and practically the shape of, a football.
"Too…easy." Mario, with a confident smile on his face, started towards the egg.
Suddenly, a massive shadow swooped over him, followed by a rush of wind, which blew Mario's hair into his face.
"Augh! What the…?" He looked up at the shadow, and nearly fainted at the sight of what it was.
A massive Pterodactyl.
The huge beast swooped down over the nest, then landed firmly in the nest, landing between Mario and the single egg.
"Oh, great!" Mario exclaimed before swallowing nervously.
The Pterodactyl slowly moved forward.
Thinking quickly, Mario grabbed a nearby bone and hurled it at the huge beast.
It simply bounced off its head.
"Oh, great!" Mario repeated.
The jock then grabbed a whole bunch of bones in his hands and started throwing them repeatedly. One by one, a bone flew at the Pterodactyl and bounced off its massive head. Then the very last bone he threw hit the eye of the creature.
Screaming and reeling in pain, the creature fell to the floor of the nest. Mario took this brief moment of opportunity and jumped over it. Before moving to the egg, he looked back at the helpless creature, then down at another, fairly sharp bone.
"Ah, what the heck?"
Mario grabbed the huge bone, and, with all his might, plunged it into the head of the Pterodactyl. Almost instantly, sparks went flying. He could see several electrical cords, and sparks and bolts of electricity randomly zapping around.
An animatronic.
"HA! Nice try, Luma!" He yelled to the sky as he picked up the egg. "But you can't stop me that easily!"
Back in the Control Tent...
"We'll just see about that." Luma chuckled.
The sadistic host then casually leaned over and presses a large, red button with read, "VOLCANO" on it.
Back at the Prehistoric set…
The moment Luma presses the button, a massive explosion instantly went off, shaking Mario right off his feet. The egg rolled alongside him. He quickly snatched it up. Looking around, it seemed as if the whole valley was shaking.
"W-w-w-w-what…i-i-i-i-i-is th-th-th-that?" He stuttered as the explosion shook him around.
Mario then looked up at the top of the volcano, and saw it instantly: the smoke tower was now darker, thicker, and hotter than ever. Looking closely, Mario could see a certain, bright orange substance dripping from the top.
Lava.
"No. Heh, heh. N-no. NO WAY! LUMA! That is NOT real lava, right? LUMA!"
Control Tent...
"What?" Luma turned to the camera. "You'd be surprised what some of those major film crews leave behind."
Luma then reached over to press a yellow button, hold it down, then press a blue button also.
Prehistoric set…
Mario's eyes widened at the sight of something else alongside the lava. Another massive explosion sent an avalanche of rocks hurtling straight towards him.
"!"
Mario, in a last-ditch effort, dove behind the huge, disabled animatronic as a shield. He proved lucky.
Most of the huge rocks hit the animatronic, either denting it hard or bouncing off of it. But one huge boulder that was easily the same size was also rolling towards it. Mario peeked over it and saw the boulder.
"WHOA!" Mario dove out of the way just as the boulder pulverized the Pterodactyl, sending pieces and gears flying all over the place. The boulder then bounced hard on the edge of the nest, and that did it.
Mario felt his balance slowly start to teeter. He looked over and saw that the nest itself was teetering on the edge. Mario's knees shook nervously, then buckled out from under him.
"Oh…"
Then the nest slowly started to fall off the edge.
"…!""
Mario held onto the side of the nest for dear life, holding on with one hand, while his other hand clutched the egg he was after.
The nest slid down the edge of the volcano like a sled on a snow-covered mountain, bouncing off rocks and bumps long the way. Surprisingly, it managed to stay in one piece.
"Ouch! Ow! Ow! Ouch!"
Mario was constantly being lifted into the air, then falling back down every time he hit a bump.
"OUCH! Darn it! When is this thing gonna be oveEEEEEEEYYYYYYYAAAAAA!"
The nest hit a HUGE rock near the bottom, and totally flew up into the air, eventually starting to tip over.
"Oh, NO! Oh…NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Mario screamed and flailed wildly as he fell to the ground. "OOF!"
Mario hit the ground hard. The first thing he did after managing to lift himself up was check on the egg.
Still in one piece.
"Geez…this thing is as solid as a rock!" The jock exclaimed.
He then noticed a huge shadow dawning over him.
"Huh?" He then looked up and saw the overturned nest, along with the disabled Pterodactyl heading straight towards him.
"WAUGH!"
He dove out of the way as both objects slammed into the ground where he had been standing two seconds ago.
Mario stood straight up and brushed himself off. He then looked back up at the volcano.
The lava flow was barely twenty feet away.
Mario backed up quickly as he watched the lava completely consume both the nest and the animatronic. Mario then turned and ran as fast as he could, screaming.
"AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH! GET ME OUT OF HERE! WHERE IS THAT STUPID CAVE?"
Along the way, Mario could see several tall trees on fire, after presumably being hit with flaming objects shooting from the volcano's summit. He continued running nonetheless.
This time, Mario made sure to continue watching ahead of him as he ran. This choice ultimately saved him, as he skidded to a stop just inches from the Poison Ivy pit he had fallen into earlier. He could see the Bear, still inside, scratching at its face and all over its body in annoyance. It looked up at the jock and growled.
Mario continued running.
At one point, he stopped when he heard a growl from above. He looked up at a huge tree branch above him, and saw in horror that a massive Saber-Toothed Tiger was crouching above him, ready to pounce.
"Oh, crud."
The Tiger, giant fangs barred, reared back, then leapt forward, heading straight for Mario. Based on pure instinct, Mario ducked as it soared overhead, landing right in the lava.
Mario turned back to watch the Tiger, also an animatronic, fall into the lava and explode, sending more pieces of metal gears and wires flying.
"Well, that was considerably easy." Mario muttered before he turned and ran off.
By now, the lava was inching closer and closer to him. After a while more of running, he could see the familiar cave up ahead. Mario ran up to the entrance, then stopped and turned back around to look at the view.
Sure enough, it was the same exact view as the cave he had first started from, with the now-smoldering volcano in the distance and to the left, and two twin palm trees on either side of the entrance.
"Yep. This is it, alright!"
The jock then dashed into the cave, heading deeper and deeper into darkness. The cave itself grew brighter as the lava pouring in illuminated it. Thanks to the new source of light, Mario could clearly see the huge door at the end.
Back at the Film Lot…
The screaming Mario dove right through the huge door, tumbling head-over-heel as he hit the cement and rolled along the ground. He sat up slowly and shook his head. Looking over at the door, he saw it slowly swing shut and close with a THUD!
"Phew! What a nightmare."
Mario then turned and looked towards the finish line…
…
…
…
…
…
…only to see Tanooki and Wendy already there, standing next to Luma. Tanooki was noticeably soaking wet and shivering, and Wendy was helping him stand up straight.
Earlier…
Wendy; The Future
"The Time Capsule!" Wendy exclaimed. "But how am I going to get it?"
Wendy's question was answered when one of the huge guards was thrown aside by the Robot. He flew towards the glass at incredible speed, and Wendy barely had time to dodge out of the way as he smashed right through the glass case, shattering it instantly.
Wendy looked down at the guard, who moaned in pain. She shook her head.
Seriously, these interns don't get paid enough.
She then looked back up at the now-exposed Time Capsule. She slowly stepped into the case. She paused, facing the relic, before snatching it. She walked back out through the huge hole, and was instantly greeted with the Robot's voice.
"Give…me…the Time Capsule!"
It aimed its claw.
"NEVER!"
The claw at the end of its arm opened up to reveal a shaft in the arm.
"Uh-oh."
A rocket appeared in the shaft, ready to fire.
Wendy screamed at the top of her lungs before leaping out of the way as the rocket shot forward, completely obliterating the glass case.
She shook her head, then looked back up at the Robot, which stared right back at her.
"Give it…to me!"
Wendy turned and dashed through the observation deck, running past other people; tourists, security guards, tour guides.
She dove behind a table.
The Robot lumbered through the room, swiping random people out of the way as it moved towards her.
Wendy, in a feeble attempt at self-defense, grabbed a nearby chair and hurled it at the Robot.
The Robot caught it in its claw and snapped it in half.
"Give…me…my prize!"
Wendy looked at the approaching Robot, then at a counter opposite the room. She paused for a moment, then dashed across. The Robot fired another rocket at her, but missed. She dove behind the counter, which had all kinds of things; souvenirs, bottles, a cash register. She started grabbing objects one by one and hurled them at the huge mechanical monster. One by one, they were all stopped and smashed before they could hit it.
She then reached for another object at random and tossed it. It wasn't until she threw it that she knew what it was: a bottle of water.
Once again, the Robot caught it in its claw and smashed it. However, the sudden implosion of the bottle caused the water inside to shoot in all directions. About four drops landed on the Robot. Sparks appeared on its head, and it instantly shook its head and started groaning; a deep, strange sound.
Wendy knew now that this was the trick; liquids.
She looked at another nearby water bottle and grabbed it. Pulling the lid off, she hurled it at the Robot again. This time, a great majority of it splashed on the Robot. It cringed and reeled back again, as more sparks zapped from it. This time, the Robot slowly backed off, then fell through the massive hole in the side of the building, disappearing. All of the armed guards in the vicinity jumped after it.
Wendy stayed where she was for a moment, then slowly rose from her hiding spot. She looked around the interior of the Earth Needle. It was in complete shambles. There were no more people inside; they had all been evacuated. There were pieces of rubble spread around. Tables and chairs were upturned. Posters and banners dangled from the walls by single nails. Garbage and debris were strewn about all over the floors. But at least it was over.
Or so she thought.
Wendy, Time Capsule in hand, started to walk back through the Observatory.
"Well, that was easy." She said.
Just as she was walking past a wine rack, she was suddenly thrown aside by a massive, unseen force.
"!" She screamed as she flew right through the huge hole in the side of the Observatory. She tumbled down the slanted deck, towards the edge. At the last moment, she dug her nails into the surface of the metal, and managed to grab hold of a loose wire just before she would fall off.
"AUGH!" Wendy screamed. She looked down below her, and nearly vomited when she saw how high up she was. "LUMA! THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE! LUMA!"
Her plea, of course, went unanswered.
"What the heck am I going to do?" She then looked back up towards the Observatory, and at the huge Robot that had knocked her off the edge. It stood, perched over her.
"For the last time: Give…me…the Time Capsule!"
By this point, Wendy was ready to give it to the Robot.
After all, it is just a challenge. She was about to give it up, but then she noticed something.
The impact made by the Robot's sudden landing in the Observatory once more caused the nearby wine rack to shake. Wendy saw one bottle on the very bottom of the rack fall out of its hole, and it casually rolled towards the slope.
Wendy instantly came up with an idea.
She waited. She just hung there, holding onto the wire with one hand, and clutching the Time Capsule with the other. She sat and waited, which noticeably made the Robot actually grow impatient.
"Are…you…deaf? GIVE IT TO ME!"
The wine bottle finally reached the slope, and rolled down towards her. Wendy used the wire to swing towards it and block its fall. She swung her other arm up and placed the Capsule on the slope, so that her other hand would now be free. She reached for the bottle.
"I will not ask you again: GIVE…ME…THE…TIME CAPSULE!"
"Sorry, I can't give you the Time Capsule. Would you like a drink instead?"
And with that, she popped off the lid and hurled the wine bottle at the Robot. It smashed against the metal head, sending the wine spraying all over it. It froze instantly for a moment.
Then it exploded.
The Robot's head instantly blew to pieces. The eyes, the antennae, the entire head, blown to pieces and flying all over the place. The body of the Robot stood straight up, jerking and twitching, before it slowly fell over with a groan. Wendy grabbed the Time Capsule before swinging out of the way as the Robot's decapitated body fell over, hit the slope, and slid right off the edge. Wendy watched as the huge apparatus tumbled down, down, down, and disappeared among the buildings.
She sighed.
"It's finally over."
Wendy looked back up at the Observatory, where by now, one of the guards was standing at the edge.
"Nice work there, young lady." He commented. "Now if you will please give us back the Time Capsule."
Wendy looked at the prized item in her hand, then back at the guards. The Robot was fairly hard to beat, but how would the guards be?
Just then, the banner which read, "Centennial Day, 4013" floated down to her and was snagged on the wire's end. She looked at it, and got another idea.
"Miss? The Time Capsule please?"
She tucked said item under her arm, then grabbed a huge fistful of one end of the banner in her hand, hooking two fingers through one of the holes in the corner, then reached to grab the other end.
"What are you…?"
She unhooked the other end, then hooked her other fingers through the holes in that end.
Wendy looked back up at the guard with a smug grin on her face. "Sorry."
The guard realized what she was doing.
"STOP HER!"
She then leapt off the edge of the building just as the guard jumped down onto the slope to grab her. Holding the banner like a parachute, she slowly drifted down over the city. And not just straight down; at an angle, heading towards the outskirts of the Moon City.
The guard behind her reached out towards the banner to snatch it, but it flew just beyond his reach, and he slid right off the edge.
"!"
Control Tent…
Luma watched the intern's death on the screen, cringing as he watched the final moment. "Ouch. Well, there goes another intern. Ah, but whatever. Those guys are a dime a dozen."
Back at the Moon City set…
Wendy calmly drifted down across the City, landing, ironically, right in front of the building she had first come from, with the floating billboard advertising the "Quadron Productions' Hoverpack 500" next to it.
Wendy grinned again as she casually walked through the door, then all the way to the huge door at the back of the house that she had entered through.
When Wendy walked through the huge door, she found herself back at the Film Lot.
"Wow. Never thought I'd be glad to see this place ever again."
She looked farther down the huge hall and saw the finish line, with the familiar host standing there, waiting.
There was no one else there.
"Wow! Really? The first one there? Cool!"
Wendy instantly dashed right up to the finish line and presented the Time Capsule to Luma.
"Well done, Wendy. Well done. But you do realize there's no Invincibility, right?"
"Yeah, I know. But it's just the knowledge that you got here first; isn't that good, too?"
"I wouldn't know; I've never lost anything. I always get what I want." Luma then snatched the Capsule from Wendy.
I'm sure. Wendy thought sourly.
Tanooki Mario; Pirate Times
Tanooki stood and watched as the two pirates, Davis and Mitchell, carried the chest towards the crane, ready to lift it away.
"I have to get it before they can take it to safety!" He declared.
He quickly ran up to one of the large barrels and ducked behind it, watching their every move.
Amongst all the gunfire, the screams, the clashing of swords, and the curses, the two pirates set the small chest down in front of the crane. Mitchell, the other pirate, grabbed the lever for the winch at the base of the crane and started turning it, lowering the hook at the end of the rope.
The hook lowered closer and closer to the chest.
Looking around frantically, Tanooki found a huge dagger lying on the ground. He slowly bent over to pick it up.
"Ha, ha! That chest will be safer than Davy Jones's Locker once we get it out of here, aye?" Mitchell asked his partner.
Davis, the cranky one from below deck, nodded approvingly. "Aye. Once we get it out of here."
Tanooki then made his move.
The dagger raised high, he brought it down on Mitchell.
"AAAAIIIIIEEEEEE!" The pirate screamed unnaturally high-pitched as the dagger plunged through…
…
…
…his shirt sleeve, pinning him against the mast behind him. "YOW!"
He tried pulling away, but the dagger was pinned good, and the shirt sleeve was too tough, and it was too high up for him to reach.
"Davis! Davis, get that little barnacle!"
Davis turned to Tanooki, and recognized him instantly.
"YOU!"
"Uh-oh."
The pirate then pulled out a cutlass and brandished it menacingly.
"Crap."
Tanooki dove as the pirate took a powerful swing overhead. Tanooki sank to the deck, and scooted back. He bumped up against something. Looking behind him, he saw that it was a barrel, with many swords and weapons sticking out the top. Without thinking, he grabbed one of the cutlasses and held it defensively.
The pirate chuckled. "Heh, heh. So, this twerp thinks he can swashbuckle, huh? Well, we'll just have to see about that!" He raised his sword again.
Tanooki managed to scramble to his feet just as Davis brought the sword down again.
Tanooki raised the sword to parry the attack, blocking the pirate's blade. Davis snarled, then struck from the side. Tanooki dodged and swung at him, tearing a hole in his shirt.
"ARGH!"
He swung again, this time knocking Tanooki backwards.
Off to the side, a battle cry yelled.
Tanooki glanced briefly in that direction, and saw Captain Cornelius draw his cutlass, and Colonel Walker drew his bayonet. They, too, started fighting.
Tanooki turned his attention back to Davis. He tried to swing his sword, but Davis jumped over the blade, then brought his blade down. Likewise, Mark simply jumped over it as it passed over him.
After a couple minutes of continuous fighting, it was clear to Tanooki that this was an extremely impossible fight for either of them. Tanooki was surprised that he had lasted this long.
With one final swing, he blocked another blow and sent Davis's sword arm reeling to the side; a brief window of opportunity. He charged forward and slammed into Davis, sending him reeling backward and crashing into a pile of crates.
"Oof!" Davis grunted as the crates fell on top of him, one landing right on his head, covering it like a mask. "Oi! Get this bloody thing off o' me head! HEY!"
Tanooki ran past him and reached for the chest…
…
…only to find it gone.
"WHAT? How!"
He looked up and saw that it had been hooked up to the crane, and was being lifted over the deck.
He looked over at the winch, and saw none other than Captain Cornelius himself at the lever, cranking it casually. Speared on his cutlass was Colonel Walker's hat. Tanooki looked past him, and sure enough, saw all of the remaining soldiers rounded up and held at gunpoint by the pirates.
"Nice try, squirt! But British agent or not, ye won't get yer filthy hands on MY chest anytime soon! The treasures within are far too great to-."
"CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN!" One pirate yelled.
Captain Walker stopped speaking and turned to face the approaching pirate. "What is it, Johnson?"
"We may have defeated the British scumbags, but we've got another problem."
"What might that be?"
"THE KRAKEN!"
"THE KRAKEN?" The captain responded incredulously.
Sure enough, a massive red tentacle suddenly rose up over the deck, towering above the pirates.
"AYE! 'TIS THE FEARED DEVIL HIMSELF!" Captain Cornelius cried.
"Everybody, abandon ship! 'Tis every man for himself!" Another yelled.
The pirates and the soldiers panicked and ran around, screaming wildly. Many jumped overboard, while others simply fell to the deck in fear. The captain himself abandoned the crane to run off. The chest stopped its journey in midair, hanging suspended nearly fifty feet up.
Tanooki looked up desperately.
"What am I gonna do?"
He looked over at the rope that snaked up all the way along the crane, leading up to the chest itself. The idea popped into his head, and it would not go away.
"Uh-uh. No way. I can't possibly…"
One of the tentacles slammed down onto the deck, just inches from Tanooki. Splinters of wood went flying. When the huge appendage pulled away, Tanooki could hear the sound of water rushing into the ship.
"Time to start climbing."
With that, Tanooki grabbed onto the rope and started scampering up it as fast as he could.
Halfway up, Tanooki held on for dear life as the ship was slammed again by the monster, lurching to one side. One hand fell loose, and he dangled from the rope as the ship was about to capsize.
He eventually regained his grip and continued climbing.
When he finally reached the point where the rope went from vertical to horizontal, he started inching slowly across the rope, like a set of monkey-bars at a playground. Only the stakes were higher here.
Below him, one of the tentacles swooped below, barely scraping the bottom of his feet.
"Yipe!" Tanooki whimpered as the slimy, almost real-looking appendage brushed under him. He continued moving.
When he finally reached the hook, he was relieved to gain a grip on something more firm. He held onto one handle of the chest with one hand, and the other handle with his other hand.
"Good! I've got the chest. Now what do I…"
He looked below him, and his sentence was immediately cut off.
"CRAP! How am I gonna get down? I have to get down!"
Then the ship rocked again, and he felt his stomach gurgling.
"Oof! Ogh, gross! No! Please! Not here! Not now!"
The tentacle that was still under him was now brushing his legs.
"No." He whimpered.
It started to wrap around him.
"NO!"
It was wrapping around his legs and his torso. It felt so slimy, so real, so disgusting. The ship was now bobbing more wildly than a cork in the water, swaying side-to-side, rising up and down blindly.
All of this finally overpowered Tanooki's willpower, and he vomited. The hot, stinky substance sprayed all over the tentacle arm, splattering over it.
The tentacle froze in place instantly as it was covered in vomit.
Then the vomit got to its circuits. It started zapping and frying and twitching as the vomit burned it. It let go of Tanooki and started flapping around wildly, bashing into the nearby mast repeatedly. Finally, it shut down.
The massive, mechanical arm slowly fell from the air dramatically, heading straight for the deck. Tanooki braced for impact.
The tentacle slammed right into the deck, leaving yet another deep gouge in the wood, sending splinters of wood and debris flying. Only this time, it crushed something else besides barrels and crates and other loose objects.
It also crushed the winch.
Without the winch, the crane was completely loose. The rope instantly started spinning wildly, and the hook, the chest, and Tanooki, all dropped straight to the deck. At the last second, Tanooki climbed up on top of the chest, so that it would take a majority of the impact. His plan succeeded.
When he hit the deck, the chest slammed into the deck, knocking him right off of it. He rolled off and rolled along the deck for a moment, and stopped barely three feet from where he landed.
He was barely harmed.
Still in shock, Tanooki sat up straight and looked at the chest where it sat, too. It also seemed to sustain no damage.
A half-hearted smirk on his face, Tanooki wobbled to his feet and stumbled towards the chest, grabbing it, unhooking it from the crane, then slowly turning and heading towards the hole in the deck that led to the hold, the prized chest in hand.
Suddenly, he heard a pirate yell, "The ship be sinkin'! The ship be sinkin'! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"
Turning to look behind him, Tanooki saw many of the men, pirates and soldiers alike, diving into the water. He could see the bow of the ship noticeably dipping towards the ocean, and the sound of rushing water increased.
With no time to lose, Tanooki turned and jumped into the square hole.
Tanooki instantly landed in ankle-high water when he hit the floor. Tanooki was jolted briefly, as the water was very cold. But he ignored it and started wading through the hall.
As he walked along, the water was slowly rising higher and higher, eventually becoming knee-high. He raised the chest above his head and continued.
Just as he reached the massive cabin at the end, he might as well have been in Antarctica. The water was up to his stomach, and it was chilling. He burst through the door and waded around. A lot of the loose items and pieces of furniture in the cabin were floating around. Several of the large, elegant windows in the back wall were broken, and water flooded through them.
He turned to the left, and could easily see the huge door that he had come from. The water was now up to his chest and rising.
Tanooki waded through as fast as he could, but the water slowed him down. He reached the door, and felt around under the water for the doorknob. The water was up to his neck.
At the last moment, Tanooki grabbed the doorknob, turned it as hard as he could, then pushed his body against the door, letting his weight throw it open.
Tanooki instantly burst through the doorway, followed by a stream of water. He rolled along the cement, soaking wet and freezing. He looked behind him, and saw how the huge door was able to automatically close behind him, pushing against the force of the rushing water and slam shut.
Tanooki shook his head, still stunned from the whole thing. He turned towards the finish line, and saw Luma and a shocked Wendy looking at him.
"Tanooki! Are you OK?"
"I…I think so."
He slowly got to his feet, and staggered towards the finish line. When he reached it, he stood before the two of them, soaking wet and shaking.
"H-h-…hi." He smiled, then collapsed, the treasure chest flying from his arms and bouncing up to Luma's feet. The host picked it up.
"Thank you for bringing this back. I'll need it, along with all the other items from today."
"Why's that?" Wendy asked as she helped Tanooki to his feet.
"You'll see." Luma grinned. "You'll all see."
Just then, Mario appeared, bursting from another door in the hallway. In his hands was a giant egg with red polka-dots on it. He looked at the three of them, namely Tanooki, with a puzzled look on his face. He approached them, stepped over the finish line, and handed the egg to Luma.
Wendy expected him to start rambling on and on about how he lost to them, but instead, he simply looked at Tanooki, still clearly confused. He pointed a finger at Tanooki, then, turning to Wendy, he started to ask, "What…?"
Tanooki shook her head. "He'll tell us all about it later."
Rosalina; Wild, Wild West
Rosalina was still hiding in the door to a cellar, in an alleyway, watching as Black Bart and Sheriff Mills made their standoff.
The guns were drawn, the bullets went flying, and it was louder than ever. Rosalina covered her ears at the sound of it. The bullets ricocheted off of everything in the vicinity, yet neither man was injured, as both were dodging the bullets with incredible reflexes. Rosalina realized that this could take a while.
Now's my chance. She realized. I have to think of something.
She glanced around, studying her surroundings. She didn't see anything immediately that could help her. She slowly crawled out from the cellar, and sneaked around behind the building she was next to, a bank.
When she sneaked around the other side of the building, she peeked around from behind the far corner, and watched the scene from a safe distance. She put her hand up to grab the wall of the building, to steady herself. Instead, she felt something fairly soft in her hands. When she looked down at it, she saw that it was a rolled-up lasso, hung on a single nail on the wall. She slowly tightened her grip, then yanked it off the wall.
Looking at it, she got an idea.
A few minutes later...
Rosalina stood once again at the mouth of the alley she had been hiding in a while ago. She stood with the lasso ready. She knew that she had only one shot at this, and that she had to do it quickly. She eyed the holster on the left side of his waist; the one with the bottle inside.
She let the loop end of the lasso drop out of her hand, then started twirling it above her head.
OK…here…it…GOES.
She tossed the lasso. It flew through the air, heading straight for her target. Rosalina closed her eyes just before it made contact. She couldn't bare to watch.
After a moment, she felt it hook on something. She prepared to tighten it.
"HEY!"
She opened her eyes, and was horrified by what she saw. She had not lassoed the holster; she had lassoed Bart himself!
"YIKES!"
She instantly dove for cover in the cellar door as Black Bart fired several wild shots into the alley. Rosalina covered her ears as the bullets ricocheted off the walls. When it was all over, she lifted one ear as she heard some muffled conversation.
"…little wench thinks she can…"
"…Hey! Bart! Losin' yer concentration?"
"I'll defeat you yet, Mills!"
Soon, the gunshots resumed, and Rosalina dared to peek out from her hiding spot. The lasso was no longer on the outlaw, but was instead on the ground, quite a ways away from him. He was now focused on the Sheriff, but he occasionally glanced in her direction every now and then in between shots and dodges.
Rosalina glanced to the side and cursed herself for being too stupid.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She shook her head. "OK, I've got to think of something else."
Her mind raced for a while, thinking about what to do next.
As she thought, she would occasionally glance at the man on the horse. Eventually, she glanced at him for the fourth time while strategizing, and saw something.
When she looked past the outlaw, she saw a building behind him with a fenced-off area next to it. In this area, she saw several horses, panicking and racing around as the gunshots continued.
Horses?
She knew that if there were horses, it had to be a stable. And if there were horses, there had to be food for the horses, which meant…
That's it!
Rosalina got another idea. She slowly climbed out of the cellar yet again, and sneaked around the back of the bank. This time, however, she went further through the town, sneaking behind other buildings to avoid being seen by Black Bart.
After sneaking far away enough, she crossed the street, keeping her eye on the distant Black Bart. Once on the other side of the street, she moved behind the buildings on that side of the street until she reached the stable. She paused for a moment at the entrance, then slipped inside.
Inside the stable, she saw stalls lining the walls, most containing horses. All of the horses were panicked and stomping around, nostrils practically flaring. She ignored the agitated horses and walked through the stable, scanning the walls and the floor for what she was looking for. It wasn't until she reached the back wall of the stable when she found it. A small, wooden, rectangular container, filled with carrots.
"Perfect."
She snatched one of the largest carrots, then exited the stable.
Back on the street, the standoff was still going, but apparently nearing its end. Sheriff Mills was clutching at his arm in pain, apparently after being hit. He continued firing at Bart nonetheless. Rosalina knew she had to act fast.
Standing behind a small outhouse, she slowly held out her hand with the carrot in it. She then started clicking her tongue as loudly as she could. While Black Bart didn't hear her, his horse did.
The steed slowly turned its head to face her.
She smiled briefly, then held the carrot out, shaking it to show that she wanted the horse to pay attention to it. It apparently got the message.
The mighty horse instantly dashed towards her. It moved so quickly, Bart was thrown off his horse.
"WHOA!" He screamed as he fell off and hit the dirt. "Oof! Ow!"
Rosalina tossed the carrot aside, diverting the horse from her, before turning to Bart, still on the ground, reeling in pain. She saw that her plan had worked. The sudden impact from when he hit the ground caused the milk bottle to fall out of its holster. Since the ground was dirt, it wasn't seriously damaged when it hit the ground. It had rolled away from him a good ten feet before it stopped, hitting a small rock.
Rosalina, without thinking, made a mad dash for the bottle, quickly snatching it up off the ground and continuing to run.
Black Bart saw her, and yelled after her.
"HEY! Get back here with that Bottle of Perfect Milk!" He reached for his pistol, only for the Sheriff to step on his hand.
"Don't move, Bart."
Bart did not attempt to flee. Instead he yelled orders to his men. "Men! MEN! Stop that little girl! She's got our prize!"
All of the members of his posse noticed, and quickly gave chase.
Rosalina continued running as fast as she could when she heard them chasing him.
"Hey!"
"Stop!"
"Get back here!"
"You ain't goin' nowhere, young missy!"
Rosalina then saw the remains of the Milk Bar, having been demolished by the bandits. But that wasn't what she was looking for. Across the street from where the Milk Bar once stood, was the regular bar. That was her destination.
She dashed towards it, leapt onto the porch, and burst through the doorway. She ran past several startled patrons and the bartender, who recognized her instantly.
"You! What are you doin' here?"
She didn't answer him, instead simply ran past him, and towards the staircase at the far wall.
Several bandits burst through the door and took aim with their rifles.
"We warned ya, girl! Now die!"
She ducked just as one man fired. The bullet soared overhead and hit a portrait over her. The glass shattered, and it fell to the floor, smashing again. It tumbled down the stairs.
Geez. They sure go the extra mile to scare us. She thought. … Well, they do a pretty good job.
She burst through the door at the top of the stairs, and was back at the safety of the Film Lot. The first thing she noticed right away was Pauline, standing across the hallway from her. He stood just outside his door, a silver briefcase in hand.
He looked at her, then at the Milk Bottle in her hand, then to the side, where the finish line was.
Luma, Madison, (a still-soaking) Tanooki, Mario, and Wendy all stood.
They were only one left.
Earlier…
Madison; Medieval Times
The Wizard took aim with his wand.
"Oh, crap." Madison muttered.
She dove aside just as a beam of electricity shot from the tip of the wand. It shot past her and struck the wall, creating a small explosion, sending a few rocks flying, and creating a crater in the cave wall.
Madison turned to the Wizard.
"No intruder leaves here…alive." He declared before aiming again.
Madison dodged again, and the bolt of lightning destroyed a nearby shelf, sending all kinds of things flying. Madison didn't want to think about it, and instead turned to the next shelf.
Grabbing one of the skulls on it, she hurled it at the Wizard, only for him to zap it with his wand, shattering it to pieces. Madison turned and grabbed a bottle of a gold-colored dust. She also hurled it, and it was zapped as well, creating a small explosion of gold and sparks.
Madison started dashing around in circles around the Wizard's layer. She didn't know what to do. Coming up with random ideas on the spot, she decided to charge.
She dashed at the Wizard as fast as she could, dodging his blasts of lightning. Even as she drew incredibly close, he did not seem fazed. It wasn't until she approached that he instantly leapt straight up, sending Madison running past him and into a shelf, sending objects tumbling.
He was now suspended in midair, firing at her from above. Madison did not bother to look for the suspension cable or whatever it was that held him up there, and just continued dodging his blasts.
Eventually, she tripped on a rock as she ran around. It was actually fortunate that this happened; she fell and barely missed another bolt of lightning. She skidded across the ground, hitting yet another shelf. She braced for impact as it fell, sending all kinds of liquids all over her. She did not think about what it was that covered her. Instead, she shook her head wildly, as if to shake it off.
After shaking her head, she looked off to the side, and saw a large, jagged dagger on the floor. She looked at it, then back up at the Wizard. This time, she could barely see the cable that held him up. She got an idea.
She scrambled to her feet, picking up the dagger first, before she made her move.
Dodging another blast, she reared back with the dagger in hand. She took a moment before she struck, knowing that she would not have another chance, and that she didn't really have that good of an aim…
Without thinking twice, she hurled the knife. The magician was still unfazed as it headed towards him, as it was clearly going higher than him. However, his eyes widened when he realized what was above him.
Before the Wizard could react, the dagger sailed right over him, and sliced the cable effortlessly.
The Wizard instantly fell down about ten feet or so before he hit the ground. Well, not exactly the ground. He instead hit the table where the cauldron rested. The small wooden table was smashed instantly, and the black cauldron flew up into the air. The Wizard sat up among the rubble, and rubbed his head.
"Ooooohhhhh…what happened?"
Then the cauldron fell right back down and hit him on the head, knocking him out instantly.
As the Wizard crumpled to the ground, the cauldron bounced right up to Madison.
"Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be." She mused as she picked up the cauldron.
She then turned and walked out of the lair, grabbing the other torch before she entered the tunnel. After the walk back through the tunnel, she reached the end of it, where the light still shone down form above. At first, she was stumped, faced with no way out.
However, this time, with the illumination from the torch, she could clearly see the wooden later against the wall that she could never have seen in the dark.
Tossing the torch down, she climbed up the ladder with the cauldron in hand.
When she reached the top, the light was almost blinding for a moment, although she soon adjusted. She noticed that the huge drawbridge was still up.
Now she was truly stumped.
"Oh, great! NOW how do I get across?"
She looked at the huge moat, still too wide, obviously, to jump across.
Maybe, just maybe, I can swim across it…
That idea was instantly debunked when she saw four alligators rise out of the water and glare at her.
"Yeah. Terrific."
Suddenly, another threat appeared.
"HEY! It's her! The intruder!"
You have got to be kidding me.
She looked back up at the roof, where the horde of guards was still posted.
"Get her!"
They disappeared from the edge of the roof once again.
"This is just GREAT!" She exclaimed.
The entrance to the castle itself was blocked by a huge iron gate; she couldn't get out that way. She looked back at the moat, where the hungry alligators still lurked.
Then, the most dangerous, most daredevil, most insane idea ever popped into her head.
"No."
She looked at the alligators, their teeth so huge…
"No…"
She looked down at the cauldron, remembering how it bounced around so easily in the lair, yet it was still heavy enough to knock one out…
"NO…"
"HALT! Ye are under arrest! Seize her, now!"
She saw the guards approaching fast now.
She had to try it. It was the only thing left to do.
Madison, holding the cauldron in one hand, reared back, aiming at the nearest alligator.
"I hope the angle is just right…"
She chucked the cauldron at the nearest alligator. She watched it soar through the air, straight towards the hideous beast. It hit it right in the head. The gator instantly slumped in the water, but remained floating anyway. The cauldron bounced off of it, and headed for the next one. It also hit the target. The gator was knocked out, and its unconscious body floated in the water.
Madison watched with great surprise, and relief, as it bounced off all of the gator's head, knocking them out, and then landing on the opposite shore.
Madison then jumped onto the nearest gator. It started flipping at first, but she regained her footing, and quickly bounced to the next one. She hopped across all of the gators until she reached the other end, where the cauldron was.
She picked up the cauldron, then turned around to smirk at the gaping soldiers before turning and running off towards the village.
She ran back down the trail, and through the village, ignoring the now-stunned looks of the villagers as they stared at the cauldron in her hands. She raced right into the stable she had come from, dashed past the cows, and through the huge door in the back.
When Madison emerged in the Film Lot, she didn't even bother to stop and look around; she went on a beeline straight for the finish line and crossed it.
"Phew! Am I ever glad that's over!" She exclaimed as she handed the cauldron to Luma.
"So who's left?" Wendy asked Luma.
"Looks like Pauline and Rosalina are the last two. By the end of the day, one of them is going home!"
Pauline; Modern-day
Pauline sat and waited in anticipation as the elevator rose higher, drawing closer to "50."
"No turning back now, eh." Pauline muttered as it reached the fiftieth floor.
Pauline slowly and cautiously stepped out from the elevator. She looked around at the huge room she was in as she walked through it. There were filing cabinets and graphs and charts all over the place. Stacks of papers dotted the floors, and there were many briefcases. Brown, black, white, but none silver.
Pauline approached the massive desk against the far wall, with the huge window behind it, overlooking the surrounding city skyline. On that desk was the item he was searching for: the silver briefcase.
Pauline slowly approached it, expecting the worst.
Then the worst appeared.
A large, six-foot-tall man appeared. He wore a boring, gray business suit with a white undershirt, a gray tie, and black shoes. His hair was gray. He had a similar brown briefcase in hand. Surprisingly and uncharacteristically, he smiled at Pauline.
"So, you want this, eh?"
Pauline, eyes wide, dully nodded.
"Well, nice try, but…YOU WON'T GET IT!" His attitude instantly changed. His face twisted into an evil scowl, his gray eyebrows furrowed at Pauline, and his eyes almost glowed red.
"Now…FACE YOUR TAXES!"
He then reached into his briefcase and pulled out a stack of flat folders. Dealing them all like a deck of cards, he started tossing them like darts at Pauline.
Pauline ducked out of the way as they all soared overhead, burrowing themselves into the wall behind her. Pauline was stunned and wide-eyed at their speed, and how deep they were in the wall.
The Boss Tax Collector then pulled out a calculator; a small, blue calculator with pink buttons. He then pressed a single button on it, and it started beeping. He hurled it at the Goth.
Pauline realized what this meant, and dodged at the last moment before the calculator hit the floor and exploded. Pauline rolled across the floor, stopping in an immediate fighting stance. She was scared out of her wits. She was terrified of this man. But she knew she would have to face her.
"Bring it on, eh!"
The Tax Collector then grabbed a pair of glasses from the briefcase. He tore off the two stems of the glasses, and held them like darts. They were revealed to have very sharp tips. He chucked them both, one after the other.
Pauline ducked as they sailed overhead and hit the wall. Pauline decided to fight back. Grabbing the nearest filing cabinet, she tore out the top drawer and threw it at the evil man. She simply knocked it aside with one swing of his fist.
Pauline grabbed another drawer in one hand, then another in the other hand.
She threw one, then the other right after it. The man quickly struck the other one, but didn't have time to face the other. It struck him across the face.
"Oof!"
He reeled back in pain. Pauline took this moment of opportunity. She dashed over to the desk and reached for the briefcase.
Suddenly, Pauline's extended arm was suddenly at her side, as was her other arm. She looked down to see herself wrapped up in papers, almost like a mummy. She looked over at the Boss Tax Collector, and saw that the roll of paper had extended from his briefcase.
"I've got you now!"
Pauline grinned, then, with all her might, pushed her arms against the paper, bursting out of them.
"Nice try." He reached for the briefcase.
The man, however, had one more trick up his sleeve. He reached into his shirt pocket, and pulled out four very sharp pencils. Spreading them out, he threw them straight at Pauline. They each came in contact with their target, sending him back against the wall. Pauline looked down at himself, and saw that the pencils had pinned through each of his sleeves and his pant legs.
He was pinned up.
The Tax Collector approached him, shaking his head.
"You cannot delay the inevitable, my boy."
Pauline braced herself.
Suddenly, the elevator door burst open, and the familiar chanting instantly filled the room.
"Vote now! Vote now! Vote now! Vote now! Vote Now!"
Pauline and the Boss Tax Collector turned to face the many politicians, who instantly advanced towards Pauline.
"W-w-w-wait! I've voted already, eh! I…have…voted…already!"
They instantly stopped, moving no closer towards her.
"But, uh, he hasn't!" She gestured towards the Tax Collector, who's eyes widened.
"Uh-oh." He muttered.
The politicians then moved towards him.
"Vote now! Vote now! Vote Now!"
They moved in on him.
"EEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAA!" He screamed.
Pauline focused on her situation at the moment. She quickly jerked her right arm as hard as she could, yanking it away. The pencil that had pinned it down fell to the floor. She then reached over and grabbed the other pencil, yanking it out as well. She then reached down to release her legs. She fell to the floor once she did.
Pauline quickly stood up, brushing off her legs, then dashed over to the desk, grabbed the briefcase, then wasted no time in racing over to the elevator, slamming the "Ground" button, and riding down.
Once on the first floor, she dashed through the building as fast as he could, past the cubicles, out the door, and down the street, completely ignoring anyone else who dared to get in her way. She raced down several streets, cutting through alleyways to get there, until he reached "MacLean Lane", where the alley she remembered coming from was. She raced straight between the "Heartbreak Hotel" and the clothing store "MacLean's", and through the dark alley up to the door at the end.
For a moment, it was total darkness. Then she opened the huge door, and emerged into the familiar, abandoned Film Lot once again. Glancing back at the huge door, he muttered, "Wow! Am I ever glad to get out of there, eh! I'm never gonna join a show like this ever again as long as I live!"
He then turned away from the door, and almost instantly, she saw Rosalina, standing across the hallway from him, just outside her door. A milk bottle was in her hands. Pauline glanced over at the finish line, where, in a nutshell, every single castmate except for her and Rosalina stood.
Glancing at Rosalina, she made a mad dash for the finish line. Likewise, she also ran. All of the others started cheering them on, encouraging them to come to the finish line first.
Pauline had only one goal in mind: Win.
It took him a moment to suddenly realize that she was trying to beat Rosalina! Rosalina, the girl she liked. Rosalina, the girl she had helped to win in past challenges. Rosalina, the girl whom she felt deserved to win more than she did.
Pauline then did what no one else expected. She ground her feet into the ground, and skidded to a stop.
After a moment, Rosalina dashed past him, crossing the finish line before him.
Everyone stared in wide-eyed shock.
"Did you just see that?" Wendy exclaimed.
"She just threw that challenge!" Madison also exclaimed.
Pauline stood there, briefcase in hand, just inches from the finish line.
Rosalina, after handing the milk bottle to Luma, looked back at the Goth. She walked up to him, and looked right at him.
"Why did you just do that?"
Pauline still had her head down for a moment. Then she looked back up at her and all the others.
"I…I need to tell you guys something, eh."
About ten minutes later…
Everyone stared at Pauline, more shocked and speechless than ever before.
"I…can't…believe it!" Tanooki gasped.
"It was YOU all along?" Mario asked, a slight hint of anger in his voice (can you blame him?).
"Y-yes. It was I. And I alone. I did it to help Rosalina win."
"Why?" Rosalina asked. For a moment, she actually looked near to tears.
"Because…I always thought that you deserved a second chance, eh. Because of the things people wouldn't let you live down. I couldn't stand to see you get voted off early because of that. So I figured that the more times you won, the longer you'd be here, eh."
"But why me?"
Pauline paused, swallowing nervously before she answered.
"Because… … …because I think you're an incredibly girl."
Everyone, even Luma, gasped.
"You do?"
"You're just really smart, and pretty, and not too bad at challenges. I thought you were amazing. I always have. Ever since you actually listened to me in high school. You know, when I told you about my previous boyfriend, Waluigi?"
"Y-yes?"
"I don't ordinarily open up to people like that. But with you…I felt better about doing it. I really think that you're unique…and…just…I can't describe. I'm at a total loss for words right now. Heh, heh."
Rosalina looked at her. Despite not being able to see those eyes, she knew that she was serious.
"Me too."
There was a long pause as a strange silence fell over the six castmates and Luma. Mario was shaking his head at Pauline, arms folded in disapproval. Tanooki and Wendy stared in wide-eyed shock. Madison was also stunned, but was looking more at Rosalina than Pauline. Pauline and Rosalina looked deep into each other's eyes for several long moments.
But, after what felt like an eternity to the castmates, the bearer of bad news himself, Luma MacLean, barged in on the moment.
"Well, I hate to interrupt, but you all know that someone is going home tonight."
"Yeah." Pauline instantly responded. "It's cool, eh; I deserve it after what I've done all this time. I'm ready to accept the consequences."
"Alright, then. But you'll still need to report to the Theatre tonight anyway."
"Why? You want to rub it in more about the fact that I know that I've already been eliminated?" The anger in Pauline's voice seemed to rise.
"What are you talking about? You haven't been eliminated… …yet."
"WHAT?" Everyone asked simultaneously.
"But you specifically said that the last person to cross the finish line is instantly eliminated!" Mario exclaimed.
"Yeah? Well I lied…again. Wow, I'm getting good at this lying thing, huh?"
"You have no idea." Mario muttered under his breath.
Luma heard him, but simply shrugged. "What can I say? Dramatic plot twists bring in the ratings. Anyway, so instead of Pauline being instantly eliminated, the elimination tonight will be just like always: the viewers decide. And what is unique about this particular elimination ceremony: For the first time in the season, there is no Invincibility; meaning anyone can go home tonight! See you all at the Theatre!"
And with that, Luma wheeled away the table with the six items on it (this was the first time the castmates noticed that the table was actually on wheels), leaving the six stunned castmates standing there, still unable to comprehend what the host had just revealed.