With Big Shells and Wings

Summary: Some of Bowser's troops begin to flee from the castle; Shannon loses it after being constantly berated by some of Trowzer's soldiers; Hooktail finally fights Dracolin, determined to end the dragon's atrocious ways.

Run Turtle Junk (Part 9)

A/N: Throwing in another gore warning here for the sake of giving all you guys a heads up. This might be the last warning though, so I'll just warn you in advance that there's probably gonna be more bloody stuff in future chapters.

Ferore and the other Yoshi kids made sure to stay back from everything. Dracolin and Hooktail were fighting out of their field of vision, but they could still see their shadows on the cave wall. All the kids were whimpering or shielding their eyes, waiting for all the madness to cease. The dragons were roaring and snarling at each other, clawing and biting each other viciously. One or two of the kids tried to see what was going on, but she didn't dare get close to the action. All they could do was watch the shadows and hope that the red dragon would come out alive. Hooktail got bitten on her leg and yowled from all the pain. Moments later, Dracolin slammed the dragon into the cave wall, causing the area to shake. All the kids covered their eyes as dust and rocks fell, but once the shaking stopped, their eyes were open again. The kids heard Dracolin laugh evilly moments before he yowled in pain. There was a lot of tussling and biting going on, followed by a disturbing crunch. Dracolin shouted again before he attacked the red dragon and slammed her against the wall again. There was a loud thud, and part of Dracolin's tail landed in front of the Yoshi kids.

Dracolin yelped when Hooktail dragged him away from the kids again. Ferore and the few kids still watching the shadows on the wall saw one dragon bite another on the leg. The dragon must've bitten down hard, because a loud crunch followed afterwards and the dragon collapsed. Judging by the deep voice, the kids guessed it was Dracolin who had been bitten. The yellow dragon panted and tried to attack Hooktail again, but she side-stepped him and bit down on his hide. Dracolin shouted and swore at the red dragon, still trying to figure out how she could've become this strong. There was another seismic thud; one of the dragons slammed their head against the wall and collapsed. Dracolin was on the cave floor, breathing heavily and bleeding from various areas of his body. Ferore and some of the other kids looked at the shadow and saw Hooktail flip Dracolin's body over, exposing his underbelly and throat. Hooktail placed her claws on Dracolin's torso and ran them down his scales, tearing open his belly. All the Yoshi kids—Ferore included—shut their eyes or covered their ears when the cave was filled with nightmarish screaming. Everyone was glad that they could only see the shadow of the fight; if Hooktail and Dracolin had been fighting directly in front of them, they would've seen Hooktail disemboweling Dracolin.

The screaming went on and on; Hooktail looked down at the pathetic yellow dragon thrashing around and wondered if she should just leave him there to die. But Hooktail wasn't as cruel as Dracolin; even though every inch of her was perfectly fine with letting the dragon die from exsanguination, she felt it was only necessary to cease the monster's terrible screams. One of the kids slowly opened one eye and looked at the shadow on the wall. The red dragon snarled and bit down at Dracolin's neck. Dracolin started to scream more and more as she dug his teeth into his flesh and began to pull hard. Dracolin's screams suddenly became muffled and gurgled, as though he were drowning or choking on his own blood. There was a strident crunch and gushing sound that was so revolting one of the Yoshi kids who hadn't covered his ears gagged. Blood splattered against the cave wall, and then all the screaming stopped. Hooktail breathed heavily for a moment before she spat out a chunk of Dracolin's throat. She stared at the yellow dragon's mangled corpse and exhaled harshly. The murderous dragon was finally gone.

The kids were still shaking and covering their ears, pressed up against the cave's wall. Hooktail waited a long moment before she finally began to walk. Ferore and another kid noticed a pool of blood oozing across the floor from where the fight was taking place, but no one bothered peeking around the corner to see what had happened. Hooktail slowly walked over to the group of kids again, still breathing heavily. But the kids were still visibly upset and backed away from her.

"…You don't need to be frightened," she said quietly.

The blue Yoshi who was concerned about the pink Yoshi Dracolin had crushed was still on the floor crying. "No! Just go away and leave us alone!"

Hooktail looked down at the claws on her right foot and noticed they were covered in blood. She didn't even realize that blood was dripping from her chin and was all over her teeth.

"I'm not going—"

"Save it…we all heard what you did to that other dragon," said Katy, the red Yoshi Eddard knew.

Hooktail closed her eyes and lowered her head. "I just…I had to do it. He couldn't live for another moment; you have to realize that. I was just protecting you."

"So the mean monster is gone now? He-he won't be scaring us again?" asked Ferore.

Hooktail shook her head. "No. Now I need all of you to get on my back, all right? It's obviously not safe for you here; I need to fly you somewhere more secure."

The red dragon turned around and lied on her stomach so the kids could climb onto her back. But all of them were still reluctant and didn't move.

"How do we know we can trust you?" asked Katy.

"I guess you don't. But if it hadn't been for me, Dracolin would be eating all of you right now. I don't expect any of you to like me, but I'm trying to help you. If you don't want my help, then I'll leave."

The kids were still scared of Hooktail and her power, but she did stop Dracolin, and she didn't seem eager to eat any of them. Besides, none of them wanted to spend the rest of their time stuck in a cave with a mutilated dragon's corpse. So all of them gradually climbed onto Hooktail's back. The dragon stood back up and began to walk out of the cave.

"I want all of you to close your eyes until we get outside," said Hooktail.

"Why?" asked Ferore.

"Because I said so," she answered, a bit more harshly than she intended.

The kids didn't want to make the dragon angry, so they shut their eyes until they were outside and could hear the waves crashing against the beach. Everyone slowly opened their eyes and relaxed a little bit. Hooktail made sure to take them away from all the charred bodies she ran into on her way to the cave and let them jump off and land in the sand.

"I need you guys to stay here until I get back. Can you do that?" asked Hooktail.

"Where are you going?" asked Katy.

The dragon blinked. "There's…something I need to do first."

Hooktail reentered the cave, hoping none of the kids would follow her inside. She walked over towards Dracolin's mangled body and stared down at it with disgust. She thought about spitting on it or messing with the exposed organs, but that wasn't fitting, especially given how disgusting Dracolin was. As she looked at the dragon's head, his mouth partially open and the eyes half-closed, Hooktail figured out the proper message she could send to anyone who found his corpse. The dragon turned around and backed up towards the corpse before she squatted down, her posterior just a few inches above his head. Hooktail gritted her teeth and farted a few times. She grunted twice before she finally defecated on the dead dragon's face. The dragon exhaled and stood back up, using her left hind foot to kick dirt onto Dracolin's body.

"Hmph. Not so funny now, is it?"

Considering all the disgusting jokes Dracolin played on her, she knew it was only fitting if she had the last laugh. The dragon walked out of the cave and returned to the Yoshi kids.

"Do any of you know a safe place I can take you?" asked Hooktail.

Katy nodded. "Monkeys' Favorite Lake. Eddard and I would hang out there a lot; no one seems to know about it besides us Yoshis and the monkeys."

"Okay. I'll give you a lift there then."

The Yoshi kids climbed onto Hooktail's back and held on tight as she took flight. Most of the kids were still distraught over what Dracolin had done, but there was nothing they could do about it. Now wasn't the time for mourning, especially with the island still occupied. They'd grieve over the victims once they were safely at the lake.


Some of Bowser's troops had given up. The group that Larry was currently leading was slowly but surely getting smaller and smaller with each attack from Trowzer's army. Most of their chief members were either dead or missing, and after the incident between Murray and Larry, many members were starting to lose all hope. Larry seemed to be dragging his feet across the floor, unable to be the proper leader that his troops wanted him to be. The blue-haired koopaling pushed open a set of double-doors leading into another atrium and led the group into the center of the area.

"We'll stop here and rest," said Larry, more softly than usual.

Murray scoffed noisily, but he didn't say anything. The rest of Wendy and Larry's army healed most of their wounds and did another body count, checking to see who was still alive. Tubba Blubba was finally well enough to stand up on his own, but he still limped occasionally when he walked. Larry and Wendy leaned against one of the walls before the male koopaling started to mull over everything that had happened, over what that white clubba said moments before he left him in that staircase. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he shook his head.

"We can't win," Larry said, as if the words were physically hurting him.

"Hmm?" Wendy was busy thinking on her own too.

"We have to retreat. If we stay here, we won't accomplish anything; we'll only put more troops in harm's way."

Wendy scoffed. "I'm surprised at you, Larry! After all the bad situations we've gotten ourselves out of—"

"Stop letting your pride get in the way of your logic. Just think, Wendy. Think. Look around you and then tell me with a straight face that we have even a slight chance at stopping Trowzer from taking over this castle."

The female koopaling blinked and looked around the atrium, noticing how few troops they still had left. The only high-ranking members still alive in the atrium were Tubba Blubba and Murray, neither of whom seemed fit to keep up this hellacious battle.

"…There's still Junior, General Guy and his army; we still don't even know where Wario and Roy are. They might—"

"Wendy, stop. …Just stop."

The female koopaling wanted to punch Larry in the face or call him a coward, but deep down she knew he was right. She couldn't even muster the strength to give Larry a snarky remark. She just exhaled and leaned against the wall beside her brother.

"Maybe you're right, bro. But we can't—"

"Sir, I think it's time for you and the others to leave. We've rested here long enough," said a clubba.

Larry blinked. "What do you mean 'you and the others'?"

"Well…given the circumstances, we can't keep running away from Trowzer at this pace; they'll catch us. So I think it's best if Tubba Blubba and the rest of us clubbas stay here and push them back a little."

"Hold on, hold on, when did I decide this?!" asked Tubba Blubba, who heard the conversation.

The clubba sighed. "What else can we do, sir? This castle's lost; we might as well try to save as many as we can instead of leading them to slaughter with false hope."

"But why do we, specifically I, have to stay behind?!" whined Tubba Blubba.

Larry huffed and shook his head. He moved away from the wall and stood in the middle of the atrium so he could address everyone again.

"All right, it's time we start moving again. I know…this won't be easy for any of you to hear, but…we don't have any more options. We have to retreat; we can't win this battle."

As expected, there were a lot of surprised gasps and quiet murmuring in the background. Some of the soldiers lowered their heads, already coming to that conclusion a while ago. Murray folded his arms and scoffed beneath his helmet.

"Of course we're retreating. The best thing you do is run away, Larry," said Murray.

Larry didn't respond, in large part because he thought Murray was right.

"Shut up, Murray. We don't need this right now," said a magikoopa.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were a (censored) idiot. Did you not remember what Larry did to me?! How he left my wife to be slaughtered?!"

"Yes, we know. But playing the blame-game isn't going to bring her back and it isn't going to make you feel better. So stop bitching. You know if you were in Larry's shoes and his sister was standing outside the door, you would've slammed it in her face too."

"No, I wouldn't have. I'm better than all of you cowards. I don't leave men behind; I don't let my best friends or their loved ones die!"

Wendy walked over to Murray and turned him around. Then she shoved him forward, causing him to grunt.

"Fine. You're a big, brave man. Trowzer and his gang are still coming for us; he's somewhere through that door we used to get in here. Since we're all cowards, I guess you'll have no problem facing them head-on. So go on, shoo. I'm sure your ego and that armor you're wearing will protect you."

Murray turned around and looked at Larry and Wendy. Then he looked at the door again and started to breathe heavily beneath his helmet. The terrapin made his right hand into a fist before he growled to himself. Murray unclenched his fist, turned around, and walked away from the door.

"That's what I thought," said Wendy.

Larry faced the rest of his troops and said, "Everyone, follow me! We're gonna find the rest of the survivors and get out of here!"

"Shut up, Larry."

Larry didn't bother saying anything to Murray. He just looked down at the floor dejectedly. Wendy flashed an angry glare at Murray before telling everyone else, "Let's go. Tubba Blubba and his group will stay behind and fend off Trowzer's gang."

"But-but wait! Can't we have a vote on this or something?!"

"You're only slowing them down, sir. It's probably best if you stay here anyway," said a clubba.

"But—"

No one was listening. All the other troops were walking up a set of stairs and out of the atrium. All that mattered now was getting everyone home unharmed.


Trowzer and his army were making good progress. They hadn't run into any of Bowser's chief members since they killed Big Lantern Ghost with ease. The only enemies they did run into were small groups of koopatrols or Hammer Bros., all of whom were taken out with no effort. Drazzik was being Trowzer's second in command with Shannon no longer there, but the giant koopa seemed to be acting different. Drazzik could see that Trowzer was gradually getting angrier as time went on. He was walking faster, panting audibly, and nearly stomping on the floor. The one-eyed Fire Bro. blinked and moved back a little, hoping that the blue-shelled behemoth wouldn't abruptly snap at him. Meanwhile, Black and Red weren't walking side by side through the corridors. Both of them were chatting with a female koopa they made acquaintances with during the assault. Red was still talking to the koopa he mistook for a lesbian, while Black was walking next to a red-shelled koopa troopa with rosy cheeks.

"This has certainly been a crappy night, hasn't it?" asked the koopa troopa.

Black shut his eyes and sighed. "If I had known it'd get this bad—"

"I know. I just feel like rewinding this whole story too."

Black turned and faced the koopa troopa. "Oh, I remember you now. You're Shelley, that chick who used to be one of Bowser's koopatrols."

Shelley nodded. "I got tired of standing around guarding doors and cells, so I went back to being a regular koopa troopa. At least we get sent all over the kingdom looking for Mario and aren't holed up in one spot."

"Right. I think my brother talked about you."

"Which one?"

"The one who got so nervous when he tried to ask you out on a date that he threw up on you."

Shelley remembered instantly and grimaced. "Yellow."

Black nodded. "Yes…Yellow…"

Shelley looked at Black's sullen face and could tell that memories of his late brother were starting to flood his mind again. Red and Green had seemingly gotten past Yellow's death, but everytime someone mentioned him around Black, he was always the one who took it hard.

"I'm sorry."

Black shook his head and huffed. "What happened to us, Shelley? When did this story get so dark and depressing? What happened to the good ole days when this story was filled with randomness and comedy and a bunch of unnecessary and tiresome fart jokes?"

Shelley shrugged. "I honestly don't know. At this point I'd rather be stuck in a bathroom with a bunch of dragons with chronic diarrhea than having to deal with all this death and shooting."

Black smirked a little. "I don't know. Those dragons know how to make a mess. You seriously wanna be caught up in that?"

Shelley was beginning to smirk too. "Good point."

Elsewhere, Trowzer's radio was beginning to create a lot of static. He took it out of his shell and began to speak to the koopa on the other line.

"What is it?"

"Sir, where exactly is your team? We're almost on the same level you said your army was traveling on. I think we're getting close to you."

Trowzer started to grin after hearing Mel's voice. "Is that so? I suppose we should just wait here then and let you come to us. We're in one of the corridors not far from the atrium that leads to the elevated skyway. You know where that is, don't you?"

"Yeah, we're actually right under you then. Stay put until we get there; I know of a staircase that leads to you guys."

"Copy that. EVERYONE! WE'RE GONNA TAKE ANOTHER BREATHER!"

Most of the troops exhaled with relief. They hadn't stopped walking ever since they killed the Big Lantern Ghost. Shelley and Black continued to talk to each other while Trowzer laughed evilly to himself and sat down near one of the pedestals. Drazzik was about to approach Trowzer until he heard the giant koopa giggle like a child.

"I'm coming for you, brother…hehehe, that's right. You've been running this show for far too long; it's time for someone better to step in, brother! Hehe, and that's me…I'll show you brother. I'll show you that I'm better than you when I wring that fat neck of yours! I'll show you that you can never be as good as me!"

Trowzer's mood suddenly changed. He began to grind his claws against the floor, growling to himself and snorting like a bull.

"You won't stop me—no! I'm faster and stronger than you—you know that. I've spent too much time doing all of this to be defeated now! You won't stop me…nothing will stand in my way! This is my night, Bowser. This will be the night I kill you. Do you hear me? Tonight's the night—"

"Sir?"

Trowzer glanced up and noticed that Drazzik was standing in front of him. He quickly stood up and wiped off some of the drool coming out of his mouth before he started to breathe heavily. The oversized koopa looked down at the Fire Bro. and grinned widely.

"What is it, Drazzik?"

The one-eyed Fore Bro. stared at Trowzer's evil grin and his burning red eyes beaming down on him. Drazzik noticed that Trowzer was breathing heavily and trying to force himself not to snort. Given that he just caught Trowzer talking to himself, Drazzik figured it was best if he didn't bother him.

"Uh…nothing."

As Drazzik began to walk away, Trowzer firmly planted his left hand on Drazzik's right shoulder. Drazzik grunted; it felt like someone put a cinderblock on his shoulder. Trowzer stepped dangerously close to Drazzik. The Fire Bro. looked up at him and realized just how short he was compared to the mighty beast.

"If you didn't want anything, then why did you come upon me?"

Drazzik swallowed hard. He knew how unpredictable Trowzer was in these situations. He had to choose his words carefully or else he'd end up getting his head lopped off.

"Sir…ever since we took out Big Lantern Ghost…I feel as though you're not stable."

"Stable, huh?"

Drazzik nodded. "Yes, sir. That wasn't the first time I caught you talking to yourself. You seem angrier than usual; you're distant from the troops."

Trowzer started to walk towards Drazzik. The Fire Bro. instinctively moved backwards until he was backed up against a wall.

"Are you saying I'm insane, Drazzik? Hmm? Is that it?"

Drazzik shook his head. "No, sir, of course not. But I feel as though this obsession over beating your brother is getting to your head and causing you to think erratically."

Trowzer exhaled heavily and patted the Fire Bro.'s helmet. He chuckled softly, but he still continued to grin and look down at Drazzik like he was about to slash his throat.

"You wanna know why I like you, Drazzik? Because you're honest with me. You don't get on your knees and kiss my ass if I instruct you to. Shannon's not like you. Don't get me wrong; I like having a pathetic sidekick who says 'yes' to everything I say and agrees with me all the time. But it takes guts to be brutally honest to my face."

"I'm just concerned about you, Trowzer. We all are."

Trowzer growled and lowered his head so he was staring directly into Drazzik's eye. "Now that sounded like a lie. Was that a lie, Drazzik?"

Drazzik's heart couldn't stop beating so fast, but the Fire Bro. remained firm and didn't show any signs of fear. His voice didn't even stutter.

"No, sir. You're our leader. Without you, this siege would be a failure. We need you."

"Hmph…I suppose you're right. Thank you for showing your 'concern,' Drazzik. I'll be fine. But for your sake, you'd better not lie to me in the future."

Drazzik inhaled sharply and started to breathe audibly when Trowzer put his thumb against Drazzik's good eye.

"If you do, I'll take my thumb here and jam it deep into your eye socket. Understand?"

Drazzik didn't want to say anything else, so he just nodded.

"Good!"

Trowzer removed his thumb and walked away from the Fire Bro. Drazzik stood near the wall panting heavily before he slowly walked over to the rest of the troops and sat down on a bench.

"So is he doing all right?" asked a dark koopa.

"No. He's losing his (censored) mind. I've seen him get this way before; our best option is to be careful when we talk to him, or to just not talk to him altogether."

Trowzer's team waited in the same corridor for another ten minutes before there was a loud bang from one of the side doors. Everyone was immediately on alert; they got their weapons ready and aimed it at the doors. There was another loud bang; the doors moved slightly. Trowzer growled, ready to gun down whoever or whatever was on the other side. After the third bang, the doors swung open, revealing a dark koopatrol and dozens and dozens of soldiers. Mel, naturally, didn't show any emotion whatsoever.

"Glad to see the rest of you are doing well. Can't say the same for us."

The rest of the soldiers walked into the corridor, laughing or sighing with relief, happy that they were surrounded with their old friends and coworkers again. Black and Red searched throughout the crowd, hoping they'd find their brother safe and sound. But Green was doing the same, searching within the sea of thugs and heartless reptiles who'd kill their own parents if someone paid them enough coins. Green blinked before he saw Red and Black leaning up against the wall near the bench Drazzik was sitting on. He didn't smile, but Green's mood was suddenly lifted.

"Red?!"

"Green!"

Considering everything both of them went through, Red and Green ran over to each other so they could embrace. They hugged each other tightly, almost smiling, glad that everyone was still okay. Black didn't join in, mostly because he was still mulling over everything and didn't happen to notice Steve. Red looked out the corner of his eye and noticed a Boomerang Bro. was looking at them with a raised eyebrow. The ninjakoopas quickly pulled themselves away, feeling embarrassed.

"Yes, well then, uh," Red cleared his throat and chuckled meekly. "It's good to see you again."

"What? You thought I wasn't coming back?"

Red and Black stared at Green. They knew he was trying to joke about the situation, but none of them laughed. Black looked around Green and realized that Steve still wasn't there.

"I noticed Steve didn't come back…"

Green didn't bother explaining. He just sighed deeply and looked down at the floor. "No…he didn't come back."

That was just another straw added to the camel's back. Anymore and Black had a feeling he'd have a breakdown. Red and Black tried to disregard Steve's death, but Green could tell by their faces that it hit them almost as hard as it hit him. They just weren't openly expressing their feelings.

"Green, can I see you for a moment?"

Green flicked his eyes to his right and saw Shannon coming towards him. "I'm talking to my brothers, bitch-boy."

The dark koopa roughly shoved Green away. He was breathing deeply and looked agitated.

"This is not a game. This is not high school. Stop the goddamn name-calling! I'm your superior and I demand you show me respect!"

Green scoffed. "You earn respect, genius. You don't get it because Trowzer gave you a promotion."

A couple of koopas were crowding around Green and Shannon, as were Harry and Barry.

"Stop talking, bitch-boy. This is gonna end with you lying face down on the floor and getting it in the ass from Trowzer," said Barry.

A few of the crowd members snickered. Red and Black found themselves in a very awkward position; they didn't know what was going on between Shannon and Green.

"Face it, Green. You're just mad because you're little boyfriend Steve died in your arms. You just need someone to blame."

Green's nostrils flared, but he kept his cool and smirked. "And how would you know if Steve was my boyfriend? Were you spying on us having sex? Is that what you do Shannon? Spy on people having sex because you're so lonely and you can't get your own girlfriend or boyfriend?"

Harry stifled a laugh, and his older brother actually laughed out loud and shook his head. "Bitch-boy's getting owned again!"

"You listen to me—"

"No, you listen to me. You killed Steve right in front of me because, what, he irritated you with name-calling?"

"I told you: it was an accident! When I took the chain chomp tooth out of his neck, you told me to put it back in! I just stabbed him in the wrong area!"

Black blinked. "So…you're saying you're stupid?"

Barry burst out laughing and fell on the floor. His brother couldn't bottle it up anymore, and the next thing everyone knew, Harry was laughing too. Shannon was sweating, breathing heavily and feeling like a kid who just wet his shell in front of everyone at a school play. Everyone was laughing at him, mocking him, treating him like a pariah. The dark koopa was seriously considering taking out his knife and slashing Green's throat right then and there. But what good would that do? Killing Green would only confirm the kind of person he was to the group.

"YOU—"

"So what's the problem?"

Green and Shannon blinked and noticed that Trowzer was walking towards them. Both koopas calmed down a little when the giant koopa stood next to them. He looked down at Shannon before looking over at Green.

"Nothing…sir. We're just, you know, talking," said Shannon.

"I don't think Green wants to hear about your numerous failures."

More snickering. Shannon's eyes grew wide as he looked up at Trowzer. "Sir?"

"You forgot already? Because of you, Benson, Konley, and Steve are dead."

"And Bradley," Green added.

Trowzer growled without opening his mouth. "And Bradley."

"Wait, wait, that's not fair! Mel was the one—"

"Sounds like you need someone to blame, Shannon," Green said.

"I wasn't talking—"

"Shut up, Shannon," said Trowzer. "Your first big assignment and you've gotten several of my troops killed, two of whom were high-ranking lieutenants. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't make you clean toilets once this is all over."

"Because I'm loyal, sir. I-I'll do anything to make up for all the trouble; you have to believe me."

"Like bending over and taking it in the ass?" shouted Barry.

At that point everyone was laughing or grinning. Even Red and Black couldn't help but stifle laughter after hearing what the blue Yoshi said. Mel's mouth twitched a little—his definition of smirking. But otherwise, the dark koopatrol remained silent. Shannon couldn't help but blush, forcing himself not to have a breakdown in front of everybody. What really shocked Shannon was Trowzer's reaction. He was grinning with all his teeth showing; he looked like he was daydreaming about what it'd be like if Shannon was his butt-buddy. And then Shannon began to think about the same thing, and the reptile realized that in the future, he probably shouldn't bend over when Trowzer stood behind him. They just stared at each other before Trowzer chuckled, not explaining what Shannon could do to prove himself.

"All right, all right, that's enough! Let's get back to our mission! Bowser isn't going to wait for us to come by and defeat him!" shouted Trowzer.

"Doesn't he always do that?"

"Shut up, Ashley."

Trowzer started to lead the army to the next atrium, while Shannon stood in the same spot, breathing heavily and making a fist with his right hand. Everyone walking near him bumped him on the shoulder or snickered at him. Barry, like always, called him "bitch-boy." Green, satisfied over Shannon's humiliation, regrouped with Red and Black and followed the army into the atrium. But this was the last straw for Shannon. He wasn't going to take this anymore.


The atrium Trowzer and his army were in was surprisingly quiet. No one seemed to be around and there were various metal crates positioned around the wide-open space. Sara, a female koopa troopa with a green shell, sighed heavily and lowered her gun.

"Ten bucks says Bowser's army ambushes us in three seconds."

"ATTAAAAACK!"

Sara took two steps backwards. Several clubbas in Tubba Blubba's army got their slingshots ready and fired razor-sharp chain chomp teeth at her. All the teeth missed and hit the floor instead.

"Okay, so we hide, we shoot, everyone dies, and then we keep going?"

"Pretty much," said Drazzik.

Trowzer's army found any cover they could, but they didn't really need it. There weren't many clubbas in the area, and most of them weren't very bright. One clubba tried to rush Trowzer's army, determined to bash Trowzer across the head with his club. He was gunned down in only a few seconds. Another clubba thought it was a good idea to throw his club. He did hit and kill the shady koopa standing beside Sara, but now he was defenseless. Mel and another dark koopatrol ran to the metal crate the clubba was crouching behind and shot him five times with no effort at all. Suddenly, Tubba Blubba appeared from the massive crate he was hiding behind and began to sluggishly run forward. He punched one of the dark koopa's in the face before jumping up in the air and performing his infamous Body Slam move. A majority of Trowzer's troops began to back away; there was no way they could take on Tubba Blubba up close. Everyone took cover from the clubbas while Tubba Blubba grabbed a shady koopa's head. No one dared to look and see how Tubba Blubba was mangling the troop's body.

"Any ideas?!" asked Drazzik.

Barry slowly glanced over the crate he was hiding behind and saw Tubba Blubba hiding behind a crate around the same height. The blue Yoshi grinned and took out a large and deadly weapon.

"Don't worry. I stumbled upon this when Harry and I got separated from Team Beta."

"That's a goddamn machete!" said Green.

"Exactly. Not even a guy as big as Tubba Blubba can take a blow to the head from this!"

"Give me…give it to me," demanded Shannon.

Barry glanced over his shoulder, looked at Shannon and scoffed. "Piss off, bitch-boy. Just shut up and pick the sand out of your vagina."

Once again, those infamous laughs filled Shannon's ears. Fed up with it all, Shannon snatched the machete away from Barry and began to walk out into the open.

"Hey, get back here! What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!" asked Sara.

Shannon ignored her. He kept walking forward, ignoring the chain chomp teeth whizzing past his face. He approached the crate Tubba Blubba was crouching behind and raised the machete just as he stood up. Tubba Blubba roared and raised his fists. But Shannon struck first. He planted the machete in the giant clubba's scalp with a loud and squishy-like thud. Tubba Blubba's eyes grew wide; he was in shock. His eyes moved briefly as he looked down at Shannon. And then a thin line of blood began to trickle down Tubba Blubba's face. Shannon removed the machete and Tubba Blubba fell on his back, dead. But Shannon didn't stop there. He stood beside the clubba's body and struck him in the head again with the machete. Then he shouted and struck him again, sending blood onto his face. Shannon struck him again, and again, and again—he started hacking the clubba's head apart. The clubbas still alive just stood and watched as Shannon mutilated their leader's head, letting out feral snarls simultaneously.

"…Holy (censored), Shannon," muttered Barry.

Everyone lost count of how many times Shannon swung the machete. He didn't stop until he was physically tired from swinging too much. But by then, the entire front part of his body was caked in blood. Breathing heavily, Shannon slowly removed the machete from what was left of Tubba Blubba's head before he smiled eerily. The dark koopa started to laugh to himself, the sound of which sent chills up the remaining clubbas' spines. The clubbas glanced at their leader's desecrated cadaver before looking at Shannon. The dark koopa began to take a few steps forward, still laughing in a semi-psychotic state. Realizing what they were up against, the clubbas all turned around and began to run away. Trowzer's army watched as the clubbas left the atrium; it was clear that they valued their lives more than keeping Bowser's army intact. Shannon was still grinning and clutching the big machete, unable to keep himself from laughing. He turned around and slowly started to return to Trowzer's gang.

"Heh. Well, whaddaya know? Guess bitch-boy's a man after all," said Barry.

Shannon jerked his head in Barry's direction and snarled. He walked over to the blue Yoshi before lifting his machete and placing the blade against his throat.

"Shannon, what—"

Shannon snarled again and jerked his head and the machete around. Barry's younger brother was rushing towards the dark koopa and was about to snatch the machete from his hands.

"Go on then…say it. I-I know you want to, Harry. So say it."

Shannon removed his machete from Harry's face and approached the giant crowd. Much to Shannon's surprise, many of Trowzer's troops began to move away from him.

"SAY IT! COME ON, EVERYONE! SAY I'M TROWZER'S BITCH-BOY!"

Shannon stood still and giggled so hard that his body shook unnaturally. He took a few deep breaths before looking left and right.

"Ohhhhhhh, now no one wants to call me names? But you were having so much fun! C'mon, Green! Insult me! Brag about how I'm always taking it up the ass!"

Green just looked at Shannon with disgust and folded his arms. He kept his mouth shut and blinked, realizing that Shannon was just as much of a wild card as Trowzer. The purple-shelled koopa returned to Barry and pointed the machete at him.

"You are not to refer to me by that slanderous name, do you understand me? Does everyone here understand?!" shouted the dark koopa.

But Barry was just as disgusted as Green. He folded his arms and scowled. "Hmph. Look at you. Big koopa with a bigass machete in his hands. I bet you feel a lot safer saying this in front of us when you're waving that weapon around, don't you? But I've seen people like you before, Shannon. You can act all big and bad, but you're still a little pissant coward underneath. …But we'll stop calling you bitch-boy so you won't throw another hissy fit."

Shannon lowered his machete. "Good. And all of you will address me as 'sir' from now on!"

"Yes…sir," mumbled Barry.

Shannon turned around and began to walk through the atrium when he lifted his arm and started to wipe some of the blood off his face. When he turned around, he noticed no one from the army was following him.

"What are you guys: deaf or dumb? MOVE YOUR ASSES!"

The army slowly began to walk forward, muttering things about Shannon to themselves. The dark koopa continued to grin, snickering and nodding his head.

"Yeah, that's right. Do what I say and keep moving!"

Trowzer grinned as he saw Shannon's bloody face. He walked over to the purple-shelled koopa and patted him on the shoulder.

"Now you're starting to get it."

Shannon turned around and began to walk alongside Trowzer. Sure, maybe he was still a smug coward, but at least he wasn't a laughing stock anymore. All he needed to do now should the teasing start again was use the world's greatest weapon to his advantage: fear.


Hooktail eventually returned to Geno, Kooper, and the other Yoshis. All the rebels and heroes waiting for her to come back sighed with relief once the red dragon landed on the ground. However, when everyone walked towards Hooktail and saw the grim look on her face, they knew something went wrong.

"Damnit…they're all dead, aren't they?" asked Tallard.

Hooktail grumbled and blinked. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"The good news. Then again, if you tell us the good news, then we'll be expecting the bad, and that'll nullify—"

"Shut up, Denny," said Tallard.

"Okay, good news then. Dracolin's dead. We got into a fight and I killed him."

Some of the rebels started to grin and laugh to themselves. Even Tallard found himself smirking, and Geno and Kooper's spirits were beginning to lift.

"Finally! Now all we have to worry about are the ground troops! With that dragon dead, those shady koopas won't have eyes in the sky anymore!" said Tallard.

Bosley abruptly interrupted everyone's fun. "So what's the bad news?"

Hooktail sighed and lowered her head. "I didn't get there in time."

Everyone stopped cheering and frowned. Ned had to force himself not to whimper. "What?"

"But I thought you said you killed Dracolin?" asked Kooper.

"I did. After he burned down the village."

Eddard felt his heart crumbling. His whole body suddenly felt empty and lifeless, as though someone had just broken his spirit. He exhaled sharply and sat down beside a tree, breathing slowly and making sure he didn't burst out in tears. He felt like crying—part of him wanted to break down sobbing—but he forced himself to be strong, despite knowing his home had been destroyed. Eddard sniffled and made a fist with his right hand, not knowing if he should be angry, scared or sad over everything. He had never been overwhelmed with so many emotions at one time.

"What do you mean you killed him after he burned the village down?!" asked Kooper.

"Don't you dare start with me again, turtle. I got there too late. When I showed up, all the huts were burning and just about everyone was dead. I managed to rescue two Yoshis, but other than them, I don't think—"

"Did-did you see a green Yoshi there? A female one?" asked Ned.

"I only saw two adult Yoshis, and both of them were blue and male. Everyone else was charred."

Eddard put his hands on his head and gritted his teeth. He shut his eyes, but that didn't stop hot tears from squeezing out of them. Bosley crouched down beside the yellow dinosaur and tried to make him feel better.

"Ned, I'm sure your mother wasn't there. She probably got out in time."

"It's our village. We live there, Bosley. Why wouldn't she be there?" asked Ned, his voice cracking.

"What about those kids we saved? What happened to them?" asked Geno.

Hooktail paused for a very long time before she blinked and continued. "They're not doing so good."

"Are you saying that monster killed them too?!" asked a female red Yoshi rebel.

"No, no. But, um…they were there when I killed Dracolin. They didn't see me do it, but I know some of them heard. Honestly, I think that's the least of their problems…"

"What could be worse than you scarring a bunch of children for life?!" asked Kooper.

"Dracolin killed one of them. He was chasing after those kids like it was some (censored) game. One of them tripped and Dracolin stomped on her like she was an ant. If you'd like I could go into more detail for you, Kooper."

Everyone went silent then. The group stared at Hooktail with wide eyes and shocked expressions on their faces. Geno exhaled and shook his head while the red Yoshi was noticeably struggling not to cry herself.

"(Censored) Christ…" said Tallard.

Ned wiped some of the tears off his face and sniffled. "Was it Katy?"

"No, some pink Yoshi. Didn't catch her name," replied Hooktail.

"Oh…I think Katy knew her," muttered Ned.

"Did you at least take the kids to safety?" asked Kooper.

Hooktail huffed, exasperated now. "Yes, turtle! They're at Monkeys' Favorite Lake; they told me they'd be safe there. Are you done now? Will you stop asking questions? Or would you like to know my shoe size as well?"

"That's enough. All but one of the kids is all right. That's all that matters," said Geno.

There was a very long and awkward silence. No one said anything for half a minute; the only thing that could be heard was Eddard sniffling and the wind blowing softly. But Tallard eventually sighed and shook his head.

"We still got a job to do. I know this is hard for all of you, being away from your homes and not knowing how your families are doing. But we've hit a breakthrough here. Dracolin's finally dead; he's one of the main reasons why we were having so much trouble sneaking around this island and taking out the commandos. We'll mourn all the victims later; now's not that time. If I remember correctly, there's another ammo dump somewhere near Nep-Enut's Domain. I say we find all the ammo dumps and destroy them. Eventually the commandos will run out of supplies and weapons and will be defenseless. Agreed?"

Some of the Yoshis were still upset over the loss, but they nodded their heads slowly or said "agreed" softly.

"I can fly all of you there if you want," Hooktail offered.

"No, we'll stay behind," said Bosley.

Tallard glanced at the blue Yoshi. "What for?"

"I think Ned's dealt with enough pain for one night, don't you? We're gonna go hide someplace safe and wait until all of this blows over."

"No," said Eddard, as he began to stand up.

"What?!"

Ned wiped his eyes again before he took a deep breath and nodded. "It…it sounds like a good plan. I should come along and help you."

"Eddard, you don't need—"

"I'm fine, Bosley. I'll be okay. Like Tallard said…we can mourn later."

Bosley looked into Eddard's eyes. He knew Ned was in pain and was trying to stow it all away. But with pain and sadness comes anger and hatred, and Bosley did not want Ned to be blinded by his hatred over the commandos responsible for everything that's happened.

"Okay then. Let's get going!" said Tallard.

As everyone climbed onto Hooktail's back, Bosley grabbed Ned's arm. He roughly shook it away and kept walking. At that point Bosley knew Ned was anything but fine.


Like the previous dump, only two shady koopas were guarding the place. Both of them were standing near the lake where one of the nep-enut monsters lived. But the lake had been calm all night; the monster must've been sleeping and was fully submerged underwater. Geno, Kooper, and the rest of the Yoshis were hiding near a large set of trees several yards away from the dump. Kooper used the binoculars he found earlier to take a closer look at the situation.

"Huh. You'd think they'd have more guys guarding these places," said Kooper.

"Maybe Trowzer isn't that much smarter than his brother after all," said Geno.

"Let's just make this quick: I'll go over there and fry them with my breath. They're bound to be stupid enough to jump into the lake to cool off, and from that point on we'll let the nep-enut deal with them. Simple and easy," said Hooktail.

"Not exactly. You killed Dracolin; I'm sure his body was discovered by now, and the guards might assume you killed him. Our best option is to have someone—"

"I'll go," said Ned, already getting up and creeping over to the ammo dump.

Bosley got up as well and grabbed Eddard's arm again. "No, you're not! Just sit down and let me handle it; you don't need to put yourself in harm's way."

Ned yanked his arm away from the blue Yoshi. "I told you: I'm fine!"

Eddard quickly walked away from Bosley before he could grab him again. The blue dinosaur retreated back to the set of trees where everyone else was hiding.

"Eddard's not a baby. He can take care of himself," said Tallard.

"You're such a hypocrite. About an hour ago you kept calling him a 'kid' and you clearly thought he would be a nuisance to this team."

"That was before I saw him blow up the last ammo dump. He's proven himself since then, and he's a valuable asset to this rebellion."

"He's not an 'asset,' Tallard! He's a twelve-year-old kid who's clearly in pain and isn't dealing with it properly! Ned shouldn't be put through any of this!"

"What do you care? You're not his father. You're not even part of his family."

"Eddard looks up to me, like I'm his dad or his big brother. I think of him as a son. I constantly checked on him and his mom when his deadbeat father left his family."

"That doesn't change anything. You're still not his dad."

"Shut up, Tallard. What the hell do you know about having a family or raising kids? You care more about protecting 'assets' than you do about Yoshis' lives; no wonder you have no family. The one thing I fear is that one day Eddard will grow up and be like you."

Tallard's right eye twitched a bit, but he didn't scowl or change his expression. Of course, he didn't respond to Bosley either.

"Are you guys done? Jesus…everyone's whining about something in this story," said Hooktail.

No one said anything afterwards. All the heroes just watched as Ned started to distract the shady koopas while hiding in a tree. Like before, he fired small pebbles at them using his slingshot. After the guards came to investigate, he hopped from tree to tree until the guards were nowhere near the ammo dump. Ned was going much faster than usual; he arrived at the dump in only a minute or so. The yellow dinosaur hopped onto the building's roof before jumping down to the ground.

"Damn, that kid's fast," muttered Denny.

Eddard waltzed into the ammo dump and disappeared for a while. The rest of the group stared at the building with bated breath, wondering when the yellow Yoshi would finally come back out. Over a minute had passed and Eddard was still inside.

"Come on, Ned…get out of there!" said Bosley, worried.

A few seconds later, Eddard appeared. Everyone saw the Yoshi sprinting out of the ammo dump; it was obvious he placed a grenade inside like he did with the other dump. The Yoshi ducked behind a bush near the lake, and everyone else took cover as the building exploded. The deafening explosion made a few of the rebels deaf for a few seconds; others could hear the thunderous boom as the ammo dump was set ablaze. Chunks of the building were sent flying into the air on fire. They landed across the domain, splashing into the lake the nep-enut was sleeping in and striking a couple of trees. But no one was hurt, not even Ned. After the fireball dissipated, everyone stopped covering their ears and looked across the field. Eddard still hadn't returned. In fact, he was hiding in the same bush.

"What the hell's taking Eddard so long?!" shouted Bosley.

Kooper stared at the bush through the binoculars again. The leaves in the bush moved, and Eddard slowly began to reveal himself. Unfortunately, the guards had returned and discovered that someone had sabotaged the dump.

"Get your ass back over here, Ned!" said Bosley, thinking Eddard had heard him.

But Ned stepped out of the bush and began to approach the guards, holding something dangerous and black in his right hand. Kooper frowned and dropped the binoculars.

"Oh my God, he's got a gun!"

Now everyone began to understand. Eddard had stolen a gun from the ammo dump so he could use it against the guards when they returned.

"NED, NOOO!" shouted Bosley.

Bosley and the others began to run after Ned just as the yellow Yoshi pointed the gun at a guard's head and fired.