Chapter Thirteen: Mario's Clone
"Which way, Mario?" asked DK, looking down the hundredth intersection they had come across.
"Why do you keep asking me?" said Mario, getting annoyed. DK kept asking him questions about a place he never been to before. It was so irritating to hear the same question asked over and over again.
"You're the smart, heroic one, aren't you?"
"Oh, shut up."
"Pika!" cried Pikachu, pointing to a door marked 'Clones.'
"DK, Yoshi, why don't you check that room out. Pikachu, come with me. Let's check the end of this hallway," said Mario, trying to get rid of DK. It worked. The ape and dinosaur entered the room. Mario and Pikachu headed down the middle hallway.
In the room was a large machine. It had buttons and switches all over it and a conveyor belt to the side. On one side of it was a computer. DK looked at it for a few seconds and turned to look at something else. Yoshi was on the other side of the machine, looking at some of the switches. One of the switches had the word 'Metallic' under it. Another had the word 'Mario.' Next to all of them was a button. Yoshi was curious at what that did. He pushed it. Nothing happened.
Yoshi looked at all the switched and decided not to mess with them anymore. He backed away and started back around it. The machine, then, started to vibrate and make mechanical sounds.
DK on the other side, was on the conveyor belt, looking into the hole where something came out at. Suddenly, the conveyor belt started to move. DK fell off to the side and landed hard on his back. The machine's noises became more irritating, whistling a high pitched scream. There was a final blast from the machine, before it stopped. The conveyor belt was still going though. This time, there were twelve people on it. Purple Men!
"Yoshi, get them!" cried DK, jumping up to knock one of them away.
"Wait!" said the one that looked like Fox.
"We mean you no harm!" said one that looked like Mario.
"You're Purple Men. You captured us and brought us here," said DK, getting ready for a sneak attack.
"That wasn't us if it was people like us," said one that looked like a small child.
"Okay, but why are you the way you are, then?"
"We don't know, for we only have the knowledge given to us during your fighting," said Purple Link.
"That wasn't really me fighting against Mario. I was under the control of Master Hand at the time."
"Are you now?" asked Purple DK
"No, but are you?"
"No," said Purple Mario.
"Then what exactly are you?"
"We are the Polygon Team!" they all said in unison.
"Right," muttered DK. "So, what is your job being here?"
"We don't know, we only fulfill the wishes of the master," said Purple Samus.
"Who is that?"
"He is!" they said, pointing at Yoshi. The dinosaur looked confused at this.
"How could he be your master?" asked DK, who was as confused as Yoshi.
"He started the cloning process that made us be what we are."
"Yeah, but why him? How did you know?"
"You were on the conveyor belt at the same time it started the cloning process."
"So? I could have hopped on there really fast."
"We have video," said Purple Link, pointing up at a video camera.
"Oh, but what now?"
Yoshi just shrugged his shoulders and pointed outside.
"Do you know where everyone else is?"
"Yes, we have video footage of them, also."
"The exit?"
"Yes, it is in fact five hallways away."
"That's great!"
"Exactly fifty stories up."
"What? Exactly how big is this place?"
"It is the size of a small planet."
"And that is?"
"Three million miles."
"That's not a small planet, that's an extremely large planet."
"Not to Maxwell Hauteur."
"Who, if he is a who, is that?"
"That is the real name of Master Hand."
"That is strange name."
"He likes Master Hand better, though. His child-like mind is what created this place."
"What do you mean?"
"Your are not real, or, at least, not real enough. You are but a toy to him, and this is your world now. The only true exit is a quick death in the incinerator."
"Which is fifty stories up and five hallways away?"
"Yes, would you like us to take you to it?"
"No, that's okay, but you can take me to where the others are."
"Mario and Pikachu?" asked Purple Mario.
"Samus, Fox, and Captain Falcon?" asked Purple Samus.
"Link?" asked Purple Link.
"Kirby and Ness?" asked Purple Child, who was probably Ness.
"Luigi?" asked the Polygon next to Purple Mario.
"Jigglypuff?" asked the Polygon next to Purple Pikachu.
"All of them," said DK.
"Yoshi, shall we do the bidding of the hairy one?" asked Purple DK. Yoshi shook his head yes.
"Okay. The closest one to us right now would be Luigi. Who is right behind you," said Purple Samus. DK turned around, but was knocked back into the conveyor belt. A slim man in green overalls lifted DK up and threw him onto the conveyor belt.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said, before using his elbow to make a dent into the conveyor belt.
"Uh, oh!" said DK. Luigi pulled back his arm and flung a green fireball at DK. The ape jumped off the conveyor belt, dodging it. Luigi then jumped over the conveyor belt and at DK. Some of the Polygons jumped down to grab Luigi, but that failed. Luigi was strangling DK.
"Yah!" cried Yoshi, head-butting his so-called friend into a some computer equipment. DK, Yoshi, and the Polygon team fled.
Link thanked Mario, again, for his help. Mario and Pikachu had found him lying in a pool of his own blood. Who ever did that to him had a good blade. The wound wasn't going to stop-up. Pikachu electrocuted the wound to seal it, but there was still some blood coming out.
There was shout from down the hall. Mario, holding onto Link, led him into the 'Mezzanine.'
"Pikachu, stay with Link. I'm going to see what happened to DK and Yoshi. Okay?"
"Pika," said Pikachu, giving him the peace sign. Mario then left.
Luigi pulled himself out of the computer mess and walked over to the cloning machine. He pushed some of the switches and turned a dial before pushing the button Yoshi had pressed before. The machine started up and then quit. Luigi gave it a kick and it started up again. There was a metallic clank as the machine stop again. Luigi smile and looked at the new clone.
"Go find DK, Yoshi, and the remaining Polygon Team and eliminate them. Go, now!" said Luigi to what looked like his own reflection. It was gone in a second with a heavy clank followed by smaller clanks.
Mario saw it rush out of the room and stare at him.
"You are not DK, Yoshi, or the remaining Polygon Team. Leave while my master says you can live," It said in a metallic voice, before running down a different hall. Mario would have followed it, except his brother had just walked out of the Cloning room.
"Is Luigi still following us?" asked DK, leaning against the wall.
"No," said one of the Polygons.
"Good," said DK, before collapsing onto the floor.
"A Mario Clone is in his place."
"Oh, no!"
"He is Metal Mario, I believe."
"How do you know this?"
"We have a video link to the cameras all over this world.
"Then find us a place to hide."
"Yoshi?" The Egg layer nodded his head yes.
"Follow me," said Purple Fox, running down a hall. "You need to know something, though."
"Yes?"
"Metal Mario has all the powers Mario had when he was controlled. The place I'll take you, will also give you back your power."
"That's great, but the last time I had powers, it kind of backfired."
"You'll be in your own control."
"Better, but am I more powerful than this Metal Mario?"
"Not really, but you will have help from our master and us. Even then, he could be more powerful."
"That's not reassuring."
"Hey, I'm giving you the truth and it's not my fault you hate it!"
"Sorry."
"Yeah, right!" said Purple Samus.
They ran for a little longer, before coming to a large double door.
"It'll be small, but that'll give us the advantage to push this heavy guy off. Ready?" asked Purple Fox, looking at DK with his blank, dead eyes.
"Yeah."
"Okay," he said, pushing the doors open. They entered.
"You weren't kidding when you said there wouldn't be any room," said DK, looking at the wonderfully designed stage. The floating platform looked like a broken train track, and the bottom part looked like a bent up one.
"I like it though, but it should have been larger."
"It's just a prototype for the Polygon's stage. Our predecessors' stage was a small, plain platform with three smaller, floating platforms. The two lower platforms were equally leveled," said Purple Samus, standing on the bottom platform.
"Right," muttered DK, looking around some more. There was a loud, metallic clank and a scream. Metal Mario had arrived and had thrown Purple Samus off the platform.
"You ba-" started Link, before being knocked off himself.
"Anyone else?" he said in his metallic voice.
"How about me?" said DK, before landing hard on Metal Mario's Head.
"Get off, me you fool!" he screamed, tossing DK off. Purple Mario jumped down and was knocked off the platform.
"Yah!" said, Yoshi, doing a hip-drop. He landed hard on top of Metal Mario's head.
"Argh!" he cried, grabbing Yoshi and throwing him into the other Polygon's on the top platform. Purple Ness, Luigi, and the big round one went flying off. The big round one floated back to the stage safely, but the other two didn't make it.
"Jiggly!" it cried, charging Metal Mario. He just laughed. He did a back flip, kicking 'Jiggly' up and out past the stages reach. She died.
"Yo!" said DK, making Metal Mario look. He punched him hard in the face.
"Yah!" he bellowed, backing almost off the platform. "You just broke my video link, you idiot!"
"Well, why don't you just do something about it?" He did, before DK could do anything. DK was gasping for breath, but he wasn't getting any.
"Hey, that was an illegal move!" cried Purple Fox. "Now he might not have any children. Keep clean for the viewers."
"Sorry, wimp, but I thought this was the adult channel," he said, jumping up and grabbing Purple Captain Falcon.
"Ah!" he screamed, before being ripped into two pieces. Purple blood spewed out and all over the platform.
"Hahaha!" he laughed, looking at Purple Fox, Pikachu, Kirby, Yoshi, and DK. "Whose next?"
"Me," muttered DK, Grabbing Metal Mario and tossing him toward the ledge. He didn't go but five inches.
"I'm almost all metal, you idiot. You can't just throw me off." He then kicked DK to the other side of the stage. He then jumped up and did a double kick, knocking Purple DK off the stage. He then grabbed Purple Yoshi's neck and stepped on his tail. He raised Purple Yoshi's above his and pulled it off. Purple blood spurted everywhere.
"How could you?" asked Purple Fox, putting Purple Kirby and Pikachu behind him.
"It was easy, all you had to do was make sure your foot was firmly planted on his..umph!" Yoshi just ate him and turned him into an egg.
"Way to go, Yoshi!" said DK, quietly. He tried to lift the egg, but it weighed more than a ton. He managed to toss it off the edge. Metal Mario fell.
"Yes!" said Purple Fox, just before the egg broke and Metal Mario jumped back up to the ledge.
"No!" said DK, getting a fistful of metal. He went off and over the ledge. Yoshi was next, followed by Purple Kirby, Pikachu, and Fox.
"I almost died. Better I won't tell master. Stupid ape broke my video link. Doesn't matter. I know where the rest of Polygon's are, anyway." He laughed and then transported out of the stage.
DK was holding onto the edge. Yoshi was holding onto his leg. Purple Kirby was on the other leg. Purple Pikachu was on Yoshi's tail. Purple Fox was holding onto his tail. They were all alive.
"Which way, Mario?" asked DK, looking down the hundredth intersection they had come across.
"Why do you keep asking me?" said Mario, getting annoyed. DK kept asking him questions about a place he never been to before. It was so irritating to hear the same question asked over and over again.
"You're the smart, heroic one, aren't you?"
"Oh, shut up."
"Pika!" cried Pikachu, pointing to a door marked 'Clones.'
"DK, Yoshi, why don't you check that room out. Pikachu, come with me. Let's check the end of this hallway," said Mario, trying to get rid of DK. It worked. The ape and dinosaur entered the room. Mario and Pikachu headed down the middle hallway.
In the room was a large machine. It had buttons and switches all over it and a conveyor belt to the side. On one side of it was a computer. DK looked at it for a few seconds and turned to look at something else. Yoshi was on the other side of the machine, looking at some of the switches. One of the switches had the word 'Metallic' under it. Another had the word 'Mario.' Next to all of them was a button. Yoshi was curious at what that did. He pushed it. Nothing happened.
Yoshi looked at all the switched and decided not to mess with them anymore. He backed away and started back around it. The machine, then, started to vibrate and make mechanical sounds.
DK on the other side, was on the conveyor belt, looking into the hole where something came out at. Suddenly, the conveyor belt started to move. DK fell off to the side and landed hard on his back. The machine's noises became more irritating, whistling a high pitched scream. There was a final blast from the machine, before it stopped. The conveyor belt was still going though. This time, there were twelve people on it. Purple Men!
"Yoshi, get them!" cried DK, jumping up to knock one of them away.
"Wait!" said the one that looked like Fox.
"We mean you no harm!" said one that looked like Mario.
"You're Purple Men. You captured us and brought us here," said DK, getting ready for a sneak attack.
"That wasn't us if it was people like us," said one that looked like a small child.
"Okay, but why are you the way you are, then?"
"We don't know, for we only have the knowledge given to us during your fighting," said Purple Link.
"That wasn't really me fighting against Mario. I was under the control of Master Hand at the time."
"Are you now?" asked Purple DK
"No, but are you?"
"No," said Purple Mario.
"Then what exactly are you?"
"We are the Polygon Team!" they all said in unison.
"Right," muttered DK. "So, what is your job being here?"
"We don't know, we only fulfill the wishes of the master," said Purple Samus.
"Who is that?"
"He is!" they said, pointing at Yoshi. The dinosaur looked confused at this.
"How could he be your master?" asked DK, who was as confused as Yoshi.
"He started the cloning process that made us be what we are."
"Yeah, but why him? How did you know?"
"You were on the conveyor belt at the same time it started the cloning process."
"So? I could have hopped on there really fast."
"We have video," said Purple Link, pointing up at a video camera.
"Oh, but what now?"
Yoshi just shrugged his shoulders and pointed outside.
"Do you know where everyone else is?"
"Yes, we have video footage of them, also."
"The exit?"
"Yes, it is in fact five hallways away."
"That's great!"
"Exactly fifty stories up."
"What? Exactly how big is this place?"
"It is the size of a small planet."
"And that is?"
"Three million miles."
"That's not a small planet, that's an extremely large planet."
"Not to Maxwell Hauteur."
"Who, if he is a who, is that?"
"That is the real name of Master Hand."
"That is strange name."
"He likes Master Hand better, though. His child-like mind is what created this place."
"What do you mean?"
"Your are not real, or, at least, not real enough. You are but a toy to him, and this is your world now. The only true exit is a quick death in the incinerator."
"Which is fifty stories up and five hallways away?"
"Yes, would you like us to take you to it?"
"No, that's okay, but you can take me to where the others are."
"Mario and Pikachu?" asked Purple Mario.
"Samus, Fox, and Captain Falcon?" asked Purple Samus.
"Link?" asked Purple Link.
"Kirby and Ness?" asked Purple Child, who was probably Ness.
"Luigi?" asked the Polygon next to Purple Mario.
"Jigglypuff?" asked the Polygon next to Purple Pikachu.
"All of them," said DK.
"Yoshi, shall we do the bidding of the hairy one?" asked Purple DK. Yoshi shook his head yes.
"Okay. The closest one to us right now would be Luigi. Who is right behind you," said Purple Samus. DK turned around, but was knocked back into the conveyor belt. A slim man in green overalls lifted DK up and threw him onto the conveyor belt.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said, before using his elbow to make a dent into the conveyor belt.
"Uh, oh!" said DK. Luigi pulled back his arm and flung a green fireball at DK. The ape jumped off the conveyor belt, dodging it. Luigi then jumped over the conveyor belt and at DK. Some of the Polygons jumped down to grab Luigi, but that failed. Luigi was strangling DK.
"Yah!" cried Yoshi, head-butting his so-called friend into a some computer equipment. DK, Yoshi, and the Polygon team fled.
Link thanked Mario, again, for his help. Mario and Pikachu had found him lying in a pool of his own blood. Who ever did that to him had a good blade. The wound wasn't going to stop-up. Pikachu electrocuted the wound to seal it, but there was still some blood coming out.
There was shout from down the hall. Mario, holding onto Link, led him into the 'Mezzanine.'
"Pikachu, stay with Link. I'm going to see what happened to DK and Yoshi. Okay?"
"Pika," said Pikachu, giving him the peace sign. Mario then left.
Luigi pulled himself out of the computer mess and walked over to the cloning machine. He pushed some of the switches and turned a dial before pushing the button Yoshi had pressed before. The machine started up and then quit. Luigi gave it a kick and it started up again. There was a metallic clank as the machine stop again. Luigi smile and looked at the new clone.
"Go find DK, Yoshi, and the remaining Polygon Team and eliminate them. Go, now!" said Luigi to what looked like his own reflection. It was gone in a second with a heavy clank followed by smaller clanks.
Mario saw it rush out of the room and stare at him.
"You are not DK, Yoshi, or the remaining Polygon Team. Leave while my master says you can live," It said in a metallic voice, before running down a different hall. Mario would have followed it, except his brother had just walked out of the Cloning room.
"Is Luigi still following us?" asked DK, leaning against the wall.
"No," said one of the Polygons.
"Good," said DK, before collapsing onto the floor.
"A Mario Clone is in his place."
"Oh, no!"
"He is Metal Mario, I believe."
"How do you know this?"
"We have a video link to the cameras all over this world.
"Then find us a place to hide."
"Yoshi?" The Egg layer nodded his head yes.
"Follow me," said Purple Fox, running down a hall. "You need to know something, though."
"Yes?"
"Metal Mario has all the powers Mario had when he was controlled. The place I'll take you, will also give you back your power."
"That's great, but the last time I had powers, it kind of backfired."
"You'll be in your own control."
"Better, but am I more powerful than this Metal Mario?"
"Not really, but you will have help from our master and us. Even then, he could be more powerful."
"That's not reassuring."
"Hey, I'm giving you the truth and it's not my fault you hate it!"
"Sorry."
"Yeah, right!" said Purple Samus.
They ran for a little longer, before coming to a large double door.
"It'll be small, but that'll give us the advantage to push this heavy guy off. Ready?" asked Purple Fox, looking at DK with his blank, dead eyes.
"Yeah."
"Okay," he said, pushing the doors open. They entered.
"You weren't kidding when you said there wouldn't be any room," said DK, looking at the wonderfully designed stage. The floating platform looked like a broken train track, and the bottom part looked like a bent up one.
"I like it though, but it should have been larger."
"It's just a prototype for the Polygon's stage. Our predecessors' stage was a small, plain platform with three smaller, floating platforms. The two lower platforms were equally leveled," said Purple Samus, standing on the bottom platform.
"Right," muttered DK, looking around some more. There was a loud, metallic clank and a scream. Metal Mario had arrived and had thrown Purple Samus off the platform.
"You ba-" started Link, before being knocked off himself.
"Anyone else?" he said in his metallic voice.
"How about me?" said DK, before landing hard on Metal Mario's Head.
"Get off, me you fool!" he screamed, tossing DK off. Purple Mario jumped down and was knocked off the platform.
"Yah!" said, Yoshi, doing a hip-drop. He landed hard on top of Metal Mario's head.
"Argh!" he cried, grabbing Yoshi and throwing him into the other Polygon's on the top platform. Purple Ness, Luigi, and the big round one went flying off. The big round one floated back to the stage safely, but the other two didn't make it.
"Jiggly!" it cried, charging Metal Mario. He just laughed. He did a back flip, kicking 'Jiggly' up and out past the stages reach. She died.
"Yo!" said DK, making Metal Mario look. He punched him hard in the face.
"Yah!" he bellowed, backing almost off the platform. "You just broke my video link, you idiot!"
"Well, why don't you just do something about it?" He did, before DK could do anything. DK was gasping for breath, but he wasn't getting any.
"Hey, that was an illegal move!" cried Purple Fox. "Now he might not have any children. Keep clean for the viewers."
"Sorry, wimp, but I thought this was the adult channel," he said, jumping up and grabbing Purple Captain Falcon.
"Ah!" he screamed, before being ripped into two pieces. Purple blood spewed out and all over the platform.
"Hahaha!" he laughed, looking at Purple Fox, Pikachu, Kirby, Yoshi, and DK. "Whose next?"
"Me," muttered DK, Grabbing Metal Mario and tossing him toward the ledge. He didn't go but five inches.
"I'm almost all metal, you idiot. You can't just throw me off." He then kicked DK to the other side of the stage. He then jumped up and did a double kick, knocking Purple DK off the stage. He then grabbed Purple Yoshi's neck and stepped on his tail. He raised Purple Yoshi's above his and pulled it off. Purple blood spurted everywhere.
"How could you?" asked Purple Fox, putting Purple Kirby and Pikachu behind him.
"It was easy, all you had to do was make sure your foot was firmly planted on his..umph!" Yoshi just ate him and turned him into an egg.
"Way to go, Yoshi!" said DK, quietly. He tried to lift the egg, but it weighed more than a ton. He managed to toss it off the edge. Metal Mario fell.
"Yes!" said Purple Fox, just before the egg broke and Metal Mario jumped back up to the ledge.
"No!" said DK, getting a fistful of metal. He went off and over the ledge. Yoshi was next, followed by Purple Kirby, Pikachu, and Fox.
"I almost died. Better I won't tell master. Stupid ape broke my video link. Doesn't matter. I know where the rest of Polygon's are, anyway." He laughed and then transported out of the stage.
DK was holding onto the edge. Yoshi was holding onto his leg. Purple Kirby was on the other leg. Purple Pikachu was on Yoshi's tail. Purple Fox was holding onto his tail. They were all alive.