Chapter 3
"I can't believe it." Mario said. "All of that happened. The princess, she is gone. How could we let such a thing happen? How could we let evil win? How." "Well, it's to late now. It did happen, the princess is gone, and evil did win." Luigi interrupted. "Evil hasn't won yet," Mario said as he ran off. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen." So, Mario ran off, not saying another word. "I can't believe him," Luigi said. And that's the last of Mario Luigi saw for quite some time.
It was about 10 o'clock. Day had turned to night, and it was dark. He sat down for a quick rest. He felt a chill on his neck something was looming about. Mario turned around, but nothing was there. Mario walked on for more than an hour, then decided to call it a night. Then everything went black. The moon was covered, it could not shine through the shadows passing in front of it. Mario suddenly heard shrieks. It felt like a hammer has pounded on his head. The shriek got louder. Until Mario couldn't stand it anymore, he ran. He ran fast, trying to escape the shriek. But it didn't work. He kept running until he could run no more. His legs became stiff and he fell to the ground, breathing heavily. He turned himself over, pain spread all over his body. He opened his stiff eyes and saw Paratroopas. Hundreds of them were flying in the night sky. Then two saw Mario, and swooped down. Stretching out their claws, waiting until they could grab Mario, and kill him. Suddenly, a bright light flashed and the paratroopas disappeared. Mario could hear talking, a lot of it. "That's the last of them," one of the voices said. Mario got up and he looked around. He saw nothing, but he still heard the voices. He took a step, and then, all of a sudden, the shadows grew and they were coming closer to Mario. The shadows came into the moonlight and took shape. "Hello traveler. I am Rookin the Koopa. I travel around with my band of men, which are called the shadow koopas by others. We also destroy what we can find of Bowser's men. Now, you wouldn't be one of them, would you? Well, if you were, we would destroy you in a split second, leaving no traces of you corpse behind," Rookin said. Mario sat there, not knowing what to say. He looked at Rookin. Rookin was a koopa with a black shell. He had a bandana around his head. He also had a scar that looked like a cross on his left cheek. Fascinated about this strange koopa, Mario asked, "How did you get that scar?" "How did I get this scar? How did I get this scar?" Rookin replied. All of his men laughed. Mario looked around, he couldn't understand what's going on. "No one asks about Rookin's scar!" yelled one koopa. "I'll make an exception this time," said Rookin. "So, there I was, minding my own business in my town, when it all went ablaze. Everyone was running and screaming. Houses were falling down. I had to escape. But how? I couldn't see through all the smoke. So I just ran. I ran to get away from the nightmare. Suddenly, I stopped running. I bumped into something, but not just anything. I bumped into the King, the King of the Koopas. He roared and scratched my face. His claws dug into me, and dragged along. It seemed like it took forever for him to take them out. After that, he let out another roar and sent fire flying from his mouth, onto me. Luckily, I turned around with my shell facing Bowser. That's how I survived. There were no other survivors. That is all I remember, except when I woke up. There was nothing there, except the remains of what used to be my town. So, that is the story of how I got my scar, and how I got my black shell. Are you happy now?" Mario was amazed. All of what this koopa went through. "Also, that is why I'm out to destroy Bowser, his army of koopas and creatures." Rookin said again. "I am also out to get Bowser. He destroyed my town also, and the castle. He has taken Princess Toadstoal. I am also out to save her." Mario replied. "Aye. You're a good man. By the way, what is your name?" Rookin asked. "I am Mario," the plumber said. Suddenly, trees came crashing down in a blaze. "He is coming!" Rookin yelled. " Get ready! Leave no survivors!" Suddenly, koopas in armor started walking towards Rookin and his men. Bowser roared so viciously, you could've heard it a mile away. Bowser's minions marched towards the shadow koopas, ready to spill their blood that night. Bowser's koopas halted, and went into two groups that left a space in between them, so the King could walk through. The ground was shaking underneath Mario's feet. He was coming. "Mario, whatever you do, don't run. The King feeds on fear, and fear only. He can sense you trembling in the corner, he can know if you are frightened. And whatever you do, don't run, he will catch you. There is no point, you have to stand up and fight, no matter what the chances of you losing or winning. Just do your best," Rookin whispered to Mario. "I know," Mario whispered back. "I have faced this foul being before, many times." "Then you must know what you are up against. And you must've survived, seeing as you're alive now," Rookin replied. Then, the king walked forth, into the moonlight. His red hair looked like fire, his horns looked as sharp as ever. "Tonight, is the night," Rookin said. Bowser walked forward in front of his army. "Mario! What a coincidence you're here. You're supposed to be dead. After all, we have destroyed Toad Town, burned down the castle, killed the Princess, and have taken your brother to my castle, which was not a pretty sight for him. I'm guessing you're here for one last stand against me, and my army of koopas. There is no hope for you and your friends, I've already won," Bowser said. "Y-y-you've killed the princess." Mario said. Suddenly, anger filled Mario's body, and the only thought in Mario's mind was killing Bowser, once and for all. Mario remembered the shiny black rock he had picked up earlier. He took it from his pocket, and started running towards Bowser , but Rookin held him back. "Wait for the right moment," he said. "Ready!" Rookin said again. The shadow koopas ducked down and tucked into their shells. Bowser let out a roar, and his koopas tucked into their shells too. Then Rookin started speaking some language Mario didn't understand. "Il noraye! All the shadow koopas cheered. Then, a split second after that, the shadow koopas and Bowser's army charge at each other. They collided and flew everywhere. It was total chaos. Koopas were running around. The sound of shells hitting each other was heard. One of Bowser's koopas collided into a tree and sent it crashing down into the ground. Bowser was breathing fire, which killed a lot of the shadow koopas. Out of all the chaos, Rookin noticed who he was going after. Filled with rage, Rookin ran towards Bowser, and jumped up into the air. When he came down, he hit Bowser which sent Bowser flying back. Bowser let out another roar, and Rookin charged for another attack. But this time, Bowser jumped out of the way and Rookin stumbled. He picked Rookin up, and swiped at him consecutively with his claws, and then threw him on the ground. Mario just finished throwing a koopa away when he saw Bowser beating on Rookin.
"Retreat!" one of Rookin's koopas yelled. All of the shadow koopas and Mario ran away into the forest. Mario had no choice to run. If he didn't, he would be left alone amidst the battlefield. He wasn't thinking of anything while running, except the thought of Rookin. Mario and the koopas ran on for quite a while, but then they decided to make camp there. All of the shadow koopas looked sad.
"Why did you just leave Rookin there to die? Why did you give up on you leader?" Mario asked and no koopas answered. After a long night, they all decided to rest. Mario awoke and it was in the afternoon. He saw someone sitting on the ground. It was a koopa with a black shell, and a bandana around his head. Mario walked towards the koopa. "Who are you?" Mario asked.
"Your murderer," it replied.
"I can't believe it." Mario said. "All of that happened. The princess, she is gone. How could we let such a thing happen? How could we let evil win? How." "Well, it's to late now. It did happen, the princess is gone, and evil did win." Luigi interrupted. "Evil hasn't won yet," Mario said as he ran off. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen." So, Mario ran off, not saying another word. "I can't believe him," Luigi said. And that's the last of Mario Luigi saw for quite some time.
It was about 10 o'clock. Day had turned to night, and it was dark. He sat down for a quick rest. He felt a chill on his neck something was looming about. Mario turned around, but nothing was there. Mario walked on for more than an hour, then decided to call it a night. Then everything went black. The moon was covered, it could not shine through the shadows passing in front of it. Mario suddenly heard shrieks. It felt like a hammer has pounded on his head. The shriek got louder. Until Mario couldn't stand it anymore, he ran. He ran fast, trying to escape the shriek. But it didn't work. He kept running until he could run no more. His legs became stiff and he fell to the ground, breathing heavily. He turned himself over, pain spread all over his body. He opened his stiff eyes and saw Paratroopas. Hundreds of them were flying in the night sky. Then two saw Mario, and swooped down. Stretching out their claws, waiting until they could grab Mario, and kill him. Suddenly, a bright light flashed and the paratroopas disappeared. Mario could hear talking, a lot of it. "That's the last of them," one of the voices said. Mario got up and he looked around. He saw nothing, but he still heard the voices. He took a step, and then, all of a sudden, the shadows grew and they were coming closer to Mario. The shadows came into the moonlight and took shape. "Hello traveler. I am Rookin the Koopa. I travel around with my band of men, which are called the shadow koopas by others. We also destroy what we can find of Bowser's men. Now, you wouldn't be one of them, would you? Well, if you were, we would destroy you in a split second, leaving no traces of you corpse behind," Rookin said. Mario sat there, not knowing what to say. He looked at Rookin. Rookin was a koopa with a black shell. He had a bandana around his head. He also had a scar that looked like a cross on his left cheek. Fascinated about this strange koopa, Mario asked, "How did you get that scar?" "How did I get this scar? How did I get this scar?" Rookin replied. All of his men laughed. Mario looked around, he couldn't understand what's going on. "No one asks about Rookin's scar!" yelled one koopa. "I'll make an exception this time," said Rookin. "So, there I was, minding my own business in my town, when it all went ablaze. Everyone was running and screaming. Houses were falling down. I had to escape. But how? I couldn't see through all the smoke. So I just ran. I ran to get away from the nightmare. Suddenly, I stopped running. I bumped into something, but not just anything. I bumped into the King, the King of the Koopas. He roared and scratched my face. His claws dug into me, and dragged along. It seemed like it took forever for him to take them out. After that, he let out another roar and sent fire flying from his mouth, onto me. Luckily, I turned around with my shell facing Bowser. That's how I survived. There were no other survivors. That is all I remember, except when I woke up. There was nothing there, except the remains of what used to be my town. So, that is the story of how I got my scar, and how I got my black shell. Are you happy now?" Mario was amazed. All of what this koopa went through. "Also, that is why I'm out to destroy Bowser, his army of koopas and creatures." Rookin said again. "I am also out to get Bowser. He destroyed my town also, and the castle. He has taken Princess Toadstoal. I am also out to save her." Mario replied. "Aye. You're a good man. By the way, what is your name?" Rookin asked. "I am Mario," the plumber said. Suddenly, trees came crashing down in a blaze. "He is coming!" Rookin yelled. " Get ready! Leave no survivors!" Suddenly, koopas in armor started walking towards Rookin and his men. Bowser roared so viciously, you could've heard it a mile away. Bowser's minions marched towards the shadow koopas, ready to spill their blood that night. Bowser's koopas halted, and went into two groups that left a space in between them, so the King could walk through. The ground was shaking underneath Mario's feet. He was coming. "Mario, whatever you do, don't run. The King feeds on fear, and fear only. He can sense you trembling in the corner, he can know if you are frightened. And whatever you do, don't run, he will catch you. There is no point, you have to stand up and fight, no matter what the chances of you losing or winning. Just do your best," Rookin whispered to Mario. "I know," Mario whispered back. "I have faced this foul being before, many times." "Then you must know what you are up against. And you must've survived, seeing as you're alive now," Rookin replied. Then, the king walked forth, into the moonlight. His red hair looked like fire, his horns looked as sharp as ever. "Tonight, is the night," Rookin said. Bowser walked forward in front of his army. "Mario! What a coincidence you're here. You're supposed to be dead. After all, we have destroyed Toad Town, burned down the castle, killed the Princess, and have taken your brother to my castle, which was not a pretty sight for him. I'm guessing you're here for one last stand against me, and my army of koopas. There is no hope for you and your friends, I've already won," Bowser said. "Y-y-you've killed the princess." Mario said. Suddenly, anger filled Mario's body, and the only thought in Mario's mind was killing Bowser, once and for all. Mario remembered the shiny black rock he had picked up earlier. He took it from his pocket, and started running towards Bowser , but Rookin held him back. "Wait for the right moment," he said. "Ready!" Rookin said again. The shadow koopas ducked down and tucked into their shells. Bowser let out a roar, and his koopas tucked into their shells too. Then Rookin started speaking some language Mario didn't understand. "Il noraye! All the shadow koopas cheered. Then, a split second after that, the shadow koopas and Bowser's army charge at each other. They collided and flew everywhere. It was total chaos. Koopas were running around. The sound of shells hitting each other was heard. One of Bowser's koopas collided into a tree and sent it crashing down into the ground. Bowser was breathing fire, which killed a lot of the shadow koopas. Out of all the chaos, Rookin noticed who he was going after. Filled with rage, Rookin ran towards Bowser, and jumped up into the air. When he came down, he hit Bowser which sent Bowser flying back. Bowser let out another roar, and Rookin charged for another attack. But this time, Bowser jumped out of the way and Rookin stumbled. He picked Rookin up, and swiped at him consecutively with his claws, and then threw him on the ground. Mario just finished throwing a koopa away when he saw Bowser beating on Rookin.
"Retreat!" one of Rookin's koopas yelled. All of the shadow koopas and Mario ran away into the forest. Mario had no choice to run. If he didn't, he would be left alone amidst the battlefield. He wasn't thinking of anything while running, except the thought of Rookin. Mario and the koopas ran on for quite a while, but then they decided to make camp there. All of the shadow koopas looked sad.
"Why did you just leave Rookin there to die? Why did you give up on you leader?" Mario asked and no koopas answered. After a long night, they all decided to rest. Mario awoke and it was in the afternoon. He saw someone sitting on the ground. It was a koopa with a black shell, and a bandana around his head. Mario walked towards the koopa. "Who are you?" Mario asked.
"Your murderer," it replied.