Chapter 13-Don't Be Shy
At about the same moment Wario was munching on a red cooked crab claw, Luigi was shaking a live and clamping crab claw off of his finger. It finally fell off into the shallow water, and scurried away with its creepy crustatious legs. He winced and held his ring finger tightly in his other hand to numb the pain.
The Marios and Toad were not pleased at the current situation. There was no sign of Peach or Daisy anywhere. Still, many were counting on them to make it to Shy Island and destroy what was being held in the complex. They stuck to their mission, knowing it couldn't wait. Over half of the Mushroom Kingdom was covered in a thick green fog, spawning more black vines and flowers. People were running out of space in which to take refuge, and plants were popping up and choking out other plants. And yet this epidemic which was threatening the life of and on the planet itself was all supported by the Shy Guys, Ninjis, Goombas, Boos, Troopas, and unbeknownst to the Marios, the mob. Whoever was at the head of this had quite an agenda.
The boat they used to get to Shy Island wasn't much. It at least had a decent motor, but since the Mushroom Headquarters was tied up with the flower problem, it was all they could provide on such short notice. Mario, Luigi, Toad and Yoshi arrived in one of the three small boats. Behind them were two boats, each was carrying three Mushroom soldiers. They knew they had hit the right island. They wished they were wrong. The jungle in front of them was thick and dark. The wet beach they were standing on was crawling with unfriendly creatures. The men could see the mammoth ancient Shy Guy statue that was standing at the foot of the temple. Everything on the blueprint that was found in the secret file was correct. There were seven floors, a lava moat around the base, and large living roots running up and into the walls of the building. They were connected to the HUD for all of the black flowers that were spreading like a deadly virus. It was no coincidence. They knew what they had to do.
Manpower wasn't the only purpose the Mushroom soldiers were to serve. They weren't, by any means, experienced combatants. They didn't even have the basic Mushroom military uniform on. They were more skilled in computer hacking. Though it was an ancient temple, the Shy Guys were employing the use of technology to guard what they held the most valuable. When studying the blueprint, it appeared that there were six systems, and all were connected to a security mainframe. Each system toggled one of six locks to a door on the top floor, behind which was unknown. It was only blank space on the diagram. The specialists were needed to try their hand at getting past it and toward another piece in the jagged puzzle. Though, all six men were needed. They were trained in six different sects of cracking into security programs. They had no idea what kind of electronic help they would need.
"MMMhhhmmm!" A war cry that sounded more like a wheeze shot from the woods. A green Shy Guy tumbled out in a somersault, and landed with his boomerang in hand. Two more came out with spears. They knew exactly why the Marios were there. Accompanying the Shy Guys were the members of the gang of vertically challenged martial artists, the Ninjis.
The masked man in green threw his boomerang. Then Mushroom militia was very light, informal, and poorly equipped. It consisted mostly of volunteers. The man the boomerang was targeting had only a handgun. He ducked quickly and stuck it in the air. To everyone's surprise, as he was hunched over with his eyes shut tightly, the boomerang collided with the firearm and snapped in half. The thrower looked on in confusion.
The two groups had fought each other hundreds of years ago, but it later became a mass partnership in which they occasionally served the Koopa dynasty, but mostly worked independently as assassins. Their most known moment was their brief affiliation with Wart. The latest activity the Ninjis and Shy Guys had been involved in up to this point was the labor and combat force in Smithy's factory. Other than that, they had dispersed. But now, they were serving the head of a master plan. They were two ancient villain tribes contributing to whoever it was that wanted the black flowers out in the open.
The two Shy Guys with spears each let out a loud war cry. About five more masked Shy Guys and five black hooded Ninjis poured out from the trees brandishing bamboo, slingshots, and even machetes. Mario and Luigi gulped hard. Toad made a weird and untimely noise. Mario was able to put two quick punches to a charging yellow Shy Guy. He then jumped out of the way, using a rare super jump technique. In less than a second and in one quick move, another man from behind wrapped Mario's legs in tight vines. His arms also became caught. He had nothing to break his fall, and his face plunged right into the wet sand. He felt discouraged, but that feeling later joined hands with understanding. He noticed that four of the Mushroom soldiers were already captured. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luigi riding on Yoshi in an attempt to trample the myriad of Shy Guys that were approaching. It didn't work. A dart pierced the side of Yoshi's neck. He held his shoulder with his small hands, but couldn't keep himself from falling unconscious. Toad was struggling with two Ninjis. His effort against the prominent fighters was not even close to realistic. He was trying to hide his trembling, and to appear powerful, but he had clearly lost before he hit shore. Within fifteen minutes, everyone was sitting in a jail cell.
Sling Shys, or Shy Guys who specialized in slingshot wielding, guarded the cells. Mario and Luigi shared a cell, as did Yoshi and Toad, across from the Marios. The Mushroom men were nowhere to be seen. Mario remembered the last time they were trapped in a cell, just two nights before. The only reason they had gotten out was because someone unlocked the door for them. This time, it was a little trickier.
Toad eyed the one of the four guards facing his cell, as he looked out with his hands on the bars. He always wondered what was behind the mask. He knew it was a face similar to his, but the mystery killed him. What frightened Toad about Ninjis and Shy Guys was how closely related they were to the Mushroom people. The Goombas had evolved in a different direction, both physically and mentally, and were sworn enemies of the Mushroom people. The Boos were just Goomba ghosts. The Koopas were reptilian. But the only way to tell a Mushroom man from a Shy Guy or a Ninji was by their outfit. That, and their agenda. They talked, but avoided it whenever possible. He tried to measure the Shy Guy's demeanor, but the shrouding guise wouldn't yield any information. His eyes narrowed, and he trembled with anger. He felt the hand of Yoshi grip his shoulder. He heard his mouth move, and knew that he was whispering something, but couldn't make head nor tail of the inaudible speech. "Hm?" Toad asked quietly. Yoshi repeated the same string of half-words, only slower. He even exaggerated the movement of his lips and syllable rhythm, but Toad still didn't understand. The Shy Guy that Toad was staring at let out his savage voice. First, he said it calmly.
"Get the fuck out here." He pulled out a key and opened the cell door. He yanked Yoshi between the door and the iron bar wall. He held him in place by his neck so he couldn't run away, and so Toad couldn't make an exit. "Bombers? I heard that! I know exactly what you whispered to him! 'The bombers will be here soon.' When will they? Tell me everything, now."
Yoshi tested the Shy Guy by blowing blatant lies in his face. "I told him the lobsters would be deer soon." Very quickly, he lost patience. He slapped Yoshi in the face.
"Don't fuck with me! Tell me now!" Toad had no idea what to think. The Mushroom Kingdom was a peace-loving nation, and couldn't provide such heavy firepower or aircraft even if they wanted to. Only Bowser was known to use airships in waging heavy battle. But still, bombers could have been on their way from somewhere else. He just had no idea where else they would be from, or why they would come to rescue the Marios. Yoshi stared blankly as the masked man interrogated him once more. "WHEN ARE THEY COMING!?"
To everyone's surprise, a long red rope of flesh and muscle stormed out of Yoshi's mouth at lightning speed. It curled to the left and wrapped itself around the Sling Shy's head. He pulled back, and in one quick motion, pulled the entire body into his mouth. His jaw grew to about three times its original size. He also compressed the Shy Guy's body for that tight squeeze. He wasn't hurt or killed, but he was definitely captive. The seven remaining guards were frozen in shock. Yoshi knew they weren't prepared for another move, so he let them have it. After he was finished feeling around for a certain small metal object, he tucked it to the side of his cheek, cocked his neck, and with fury in his eyes, he pushed out with his lungs and tongue. Covered in spit, the Shy Guy flew out and across the small room. He also knocked two more Shy Guys into the stone wall in the process. Five angry men drew their high powered slingshots just as Yoshi spit the metal object upward and across the room. It nearly hit one of the bars on Mario and Luigi's cell, but hit the inside wall, and bounced to the floor. Mario picked it up, stuck his hand out and quickly unlocked the door. He kicked the door open and nailed another guard with it. There were only four guards left. Two of them already had slingshots drawn and aimed. Though standing at an inopportune angle, Toad dropped quickly to land on his hands and bottom, and pushed up to put leverage into kicking a Sling Shy with both his feet. He hit the enemy's legs sharply, and he fell to the floor wailing. Mario felt a heavy pellet strike him in the forehead. The blow was only enough to stun him, but it would have killed him if it were fired at full speed. He felt pain in his entire body, and blood was rushing to the traumatized area. His face turned red and he fell to the floor. He fell next to first Shy Guy who had been sucked in and spit out. Luigi glared in absolute fury at the armed attacker. He crouched, and built energy to the point where he felt it coarse through him. He pushed up with his legs, and jumped nearly twice his own height. He dealt with the Shy Guy in a way that he had before. He landed on his shoulders, and grabbed at his head. He feigned a fall from him, and caught his body in his arms as he landed safely on the ground.. He lifted the small but able Shy Guy above his head, and tossed him like a barrel. He slammed into the face of another Shy Guy, and the two fell back in a chain reaction. At the same time, the last Shy Guy was slashing a samurai sword at Toad's shins. Toad jumped over the blade, and the falling pair toppled the Shy Guy with the sword. The momentum sent all three of them hurdling into the wall with a thud. In about thirteen seconds, the Marios, Yoshi, and Toad had escaped from their cells and immobilized the guards. The eight men lay dazed and beaten. But, the Shy Guy whose clothes were still torn from Yoshi's teeth used the last of his energy to push himself up and raise a knife. He eyed the blue pant legs housing the tendons on the back of Luigi's legs. If they were injured, he would never walk again. The Shy Guy lunged as Yoshi and Toad gasped, with no time to warn their friend. But this motion was interrupted. The hand thrusting the knife was crushed between the frame of a jail cell door, and Mario's shoe. He still stared to the side and into space, with his eyes wobbling, but his target was a hit and success. Yoshi already had an arm around the neck of the Shy Guy who had been interrogating him.
"Where are they? Tell me where the men are." Yoshi asked.
"Die… dinosaur." choked the Shy Guy. Yoshi tightened his grip and his tongue popped out. He coughed and sputtered. Yoshi loosened just enough to let him talk.
"One on each floor in cells. Except top floor. One through six." He rasped.
"Give me the master cell key." Yoshi tightened the grip again even tighter to let the Shy Guy know that lying wouldn't be a good move.
"One that the red guy has. It's the Master key." He managed to sputter. Yoshi dropped him and he fell unconscious. The four exited the room.
Fifteen minutes later, a few hundred feet across the temple, a large room with nothing but four large pillars and an elevator opposite the huge entrance and a jail cell in the left wall was silently guarded by two Shy Guys. It was also silently occupied by four visitors. The guards faced the entrance. One looked at his watch.
"The relief fifteen minutes late. I'm not waiting any longer."
"Alright." The second Shy Guy replied as he looked at his watch also. "Let's go see where they are. This guy isn't going anywhere." They walked toward the entrance quickly. One walked between the first and second pillar, and the other walked between the third and fourth. Mario inched around to the left of the first pillar and Yoshi inched around the right side of the second. Toad and Luigi did the same with the third and fourth. They weren't seen or heard at all.
They waited for the guards to leave completely, and Mario ran to the jail cell. He opened the door and the first hostage darted out. "Alright, let's get the others and open the door."
Luckily, the next five cells weren't guarded. Long hallways wound through the gigantic temple. They whirled the heroes in circles, and many a time they were almost caught by patrolling enemies when turning corners. Ducking into crevices and empty rooms solved this. Within an hour, ten men were riding in an elevator on their way to the top floor. The floors had gotten smaller as they approached the top, but this was the biggest room they had found. It no doubt made up at least half the entire floor. Six gigantic mainframes lined the walls, and on the wall across from the elevator, a vertical hatch that stretched to every corner sat closed and locked. Each of the hackers ran to the console of a supercomputer. They slid in the cards attached to their decoders and began to work. Six large blue lights at the top of each computer, along the ceiling, switched to green one by one. The middle right light stayed blue though. The Mushroom man working that mainframe was sweating and looking worried. He punched buttons and tried everything he could think of. He paused, smiled, and made three last keystrokes. His lock unlocked. Airbrakes sounded and gear cranked. The enormous door slid open. They saw a railing that they soon realized was at the top of a balcony which went all the way around the room. About ten feet down, the black monstrosity throbbed. The petals stretched almost to each wall and were thick as tire rubber. There were more buds growing in the center. They looked like they weighed hundreds of pounds. Thick vines covered the ground under it. The largest flower any of them had ever seen sat planted in the floor, which was entirely soil.
"Should we do it?" asked one of the men that opened the door.
"Let's surround it first." Toad instructed. Two people stood on one side, and one stood at each corner. "Aim for the centerpiece's edge that's closest to you, everyone! Crack'em!" Each person took out his compact explosive material. They looked like Burger King toys, but they were so reactive, it only took two to blow up a small bar and an apartment. They were miniature Bob-ombs. They were weapons that could only be acquired from underground dealers and from Bowser's army, the Koopa Troop. The men twisted the winders to start the three-minute timer, and tossed them down to the mother flower.
"Now let's get out of here!!!" Mario screamed. They all ran to the elevator and quickly hit the ground floor button. It took forever for the elevator to come to a stop at the first floor. They stepped out and were finally safe. The explosion had no way of reaching the first floor. Just as they were getting used to not seeing any guards, they heard the footsteps of two Shy Guys. Instead of running toward the front of the temple and out to the jungle, the caravan had to get to the back and out to the ocean. Mario and Luigi busted through the doors and saw nothing outside but a dock, twenty half-empty crates of bullets, a crane, and a large boat. They all looked at each other hesitantly, and Mario made the decision for them.
"Yeah… get in! Let's go! Hurry, before they get out here!" Each dove into one of the crates and pulled the lid closed. Chains were around each crate, but they were tied loosely enough for everyone to lift the lid about two feet and squeeze their bodies inside. A few beats went by, and the top floor of the temple exploded. The doors opened again. A few minutes later, the two Shy Guys came out talking.
"We're still going!?" One of the Shy Guys asked.
"Yeah, they said we still need to get these over there, we're gonna have to help them deal with the flower later.
"Where we taking these?" One asked.
"Donkey Kong Island. K. T. and his guys need them." They got into the boat, and from a drill hole, Luigi saw the crane attached to the temple start to move. It lifted up each box and placed it on the deck of the boat. It sped off toward its destination. Sitting in the crates, not one stowaway knew why in the world the Shy Guys would be delivering ammunition to a person named K.T. at Donkey Kong's home. All they had left to do was hurry up and wait for destiny. Though they didn't know if they were ever going home, they had infiltrated the Shy Temple and saved the world from the virus-carrying flowers.
At about the same moment Wario was munching on a red cooked crab claw, Luigi was shaking a live and clamping crab claw off of his finger. It finally fell off into the shallow water, and scurried away with its creepy crustatious legs. He winced and held his ring finger tightly in his other hand to numb the pain.
The Marios and Toad were not pleased at the current situation. There was no sign of Peach or Daisy anywhere. Still, many were counting on them to make it to Shy Island and destroy what was being held in the complex. They stuck to their mission, knowing it couldn't wait. Over half of the Mushroom Kingdom was covered in a thick green fog, spawning more black vines and flowers. People were running out of space in which to take refuge, and plants were popping up and choking out other plants. And yet this epidemic which was threatening the life of and on the planet itself was all supported by the Shy Guys, Ninjis, Goombas, Boos, Troopas, and unbeknownst to the Marios, the mob. Whoever was at the head of this had quite an agenda.
The boat they used to get to Shy Island wasn't much. It at least had a decent motor, but since the Mushroom Headquarters was tied up with the flower problem, it was all they could provide on such short notice. Mario, Luigi, Toad and Yoshi arrived in one of the three small boats. Behind them were two boats, each was carrying three Mushroom soldiers. They knew they had hit the right island. They wished they were wrong. The jungle in front of them was thick and dark. The wet beach they were standing on was crawling with unfriendly creatures. The men could see the mammoth ancient Shy Guy statue that was standing at the foot of the temple. Everything on the blueprint that was found in the secret file was correct. There were seven floors, a lava moat around the base, and large living roots running up and into the walls of the building. They were connected to the HUD for all of the black flowers that were spreading like a deadly virus. It was no coincidence. They knew what they had to do.
Manpower wasn't the only purpose the Mushroom soldiers were to serve. They weren't, by any means, experienced combatants. They didn't even have the basic Mushroom military uniform on. They were more skilled in computer hacking. Though it was an ancient temple, the Shy Guys were employing the use of technology to guard what they held the most valuable. When studying the blueprint, it appeared that there were six systems, and all were connected to a security mainframe. Each system toggled one of six locks to a door on the top floor, behind which was unknown. It was only blank space on the diagram. The specialists were needed to try their hand at getting past it and toward another piece in the jagged puzzle. Though, all six men were needed. They were trained in six different sects of cracking into security programs. They had no idea what kind of electronic help they would need.
"MMMhhhmmm!" A war cry that sounded more like a wheeze shot from the woods. A green Shy Guy tumbled out in a somersault, and landed with his boomerang in hand. Two more came out with spears. They knew exactly why the Marios were there. Accompanying the Shy Guys were the members of the gang of vertically challenged martial artists, the Ninjis.
The masked man in green threw his boomerang. Then Mushroom militia was very light, informal, and poorly equipped. It consisted mostly of volunteers. The man the boomerang was targeting had only a handgun. He ducked quickly and stuck it in the air. To everyone's surprise, as he was hunched over with his eyes shut tightly, the boomerang collided with the firearm and snapped in half. The thrower looked on in confusion.
The two groups had fought each other hundreds of years ago, but it later became a mass partnership in which they occasionally served the Koopa dynasty, but mostly worked independently as assassins. Their most known moment was their brief affiliation with Wart. The latest activity the Ninjis and Shy Guys had been involved in up to this point was the labor and combat force in Smithy's factory. Other than that, they had dispersed. But now, they were serving the head of a master plan. They were two ancient villain tribes contributing to whoever it was that wanted the black flowers out in the open.
The two Shy Guys with spears each let out a loud war cry. About five more masked Shy Guys and five black hooded Ninjis poured out from the trees brandishing bamboo, slingshots, and even machetes. Mario and Luigi gulped hard. Toad made a weird and untimely noise. Mario was able to put two quick punches to a charging yellow Shy Guy. He then jumped out of the way, using a rare super jump technique. In less than a second and in one quick move, another man from behind wrapped Mario's legs in tight vines. His arms also became caught. He had nothing to break his fall, and his face plunged right into the wet sand. He felt discouraged, but that feeling later joined hands with understanding. He noticed that four of the Mushroom soldiers were already captured. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luigi riding on Yoshi in an attempt to trample the myriad of Shy Guys that were approaching. It didn't work. A dart pierced the side of Yoshi's neck. He held his shoulder with his small hands, but couldn't keep himself from falling unconscious. Toad was struggling with two Ninjis. His effort against the prominent fighters was not even close to realistic. He was trying to hide his trembling, and to appear powerful, but he had clearly lost before he hit shore. Within fifteen minutes, everyone was sitting in a jail cell.
Sling Shys, or Shy Guys who specialized in slingshot wielding, guarded the cells. Mario and Luigi shared a cell, as did Yoshi and Toad, across from the Marios. The Mushroom men were nowhere to be seen. Mario remembered the last time they were trapped in a cell, just two nights before. The only reason they had gotten out was because someone unlocked the door for them. This time, it was a little trickier.
Toad eyed the one of the four guards facing his cell, as he looked out with his hands on the bars. He always wondered what was behind the mask. He knew it was a face similar to his, but the mystery killed him. What frightened Toad about Ninjis and Shy Guys was how closely related they were to the Mushroom people. The Goombas had evolved in a different direction, both physically and mentally, and were sworn enemies of the Mushroom people. The Boos were just Goomba ghosts. The Koopas were reptilian. But the only way to tell a Mushroom man from a Shy Guy or a Ninji was by their outfit. That, and their agenda. They talked, but avoided it whenever possible. He tried to measure the Shy Guy's demeanor, but the shrouding guise wouldn't yield any information. His eyes narrowed, and he trembled with anger. He felt the hand of Yoshi grip his shoulder. He heard his mouth move, and knew that he was whispering something, but couldn't make head nor tail of the inaudible speech. "Hm?" Toad asked quietly. Yoshi repeated the same string of half-words, only slower. He even exaggerated the movement of his lips and syllable rhythm, but Toad still didn't understand. The Shy Guy that Toad was staring at let out his savage voice. First, he said it calmly.
"Get the fuck out here." He pulled out a key and opened the cell door. He yanked Yoshi between the door and the iron bar wall. He held him in place by his neck so he couldn't run away, and so Toad couldn't make an exit. "Bombers? I heard that! I know exactly what you whispered to him! 'The bombers will be here soon.' When will they? Tell me everything, now."
Yoshi tested the Shy Guy by blowing blatant lies in his face. "I told him the lobsters would be deer soon." Very quickly, he lost patience. He slapped Yoshi in the face.
"Don't fuck with me! Tell me now!" Toad had no idea what to think. The Mushroom Kingdom was a peace-loving nation, and couldn't provide such heavy firepower or aircraft even if they wanted to. Only Bowser was known to use airships in waging heavy battle. But still, bombers could have been on their way from somewhere else. He just had no idea where else they would be from, or why they would come to rescue the Marios. Yoshi stared blankly as the masked man interrogated him once more. "WHEN ARE THEY COMING!?"
To everyone's surprise, a long red rope of flesh and muscle stormed out of Yoshi's mouth at lightning speed. It curled to the left and wrapped itself around the Sling Shy's head. He pulled back, and in one quick motion, pulled the entire body into his mouth. His jaw grew to about three times its original size. He also compressed the Shy Guy's body for that tight squeeze. He wasn't hurt or killed, but he was definitely captive. The seven remaining guards were frozen in shock. Yoshi knew they weren't prepared for another move, so he let them have it. After he was finished feeling around for a certain small metal object, he tucked it to the side of his cheek, cocked his neck, and with fury in his eyes, he pushed out with his lungs and tongue. Covered in spit, the Shy Guy flew out and across the small room. He also knocked two more Shy Guys into the stone wall in the process. Five angry men drew their high powered slingshots just as Yoshi spit the metal object upward and across the room. It nearly hit one of the bars on Mario and Luigi's cell, but hit the inside wall, and bounced to the floor. Mario picked it up, stuck his hand out and quickly unlocked the door. He kicked the door open and nailed another guard with it. There were only four guards left. Two of them already had slingshots drawn and aimed. Though standing at an inopportune angle, Toad dropped quickly to land on his hands and bottom, and pushed up to put leverage into kicking a Sling Shy with both his feet. He hit the enemy's legs sharply, and he fell to the floor wailing. Mario felt a heavy pellet strike him in the forehead. The blow was only enough to stun him, but it would have killed him if it were fired at full speed. He felt pain in his entire body, and blood was rushing to the traumatized area. His face turned red and he fell to the floor. He fell next to first Shy Guy who had been sucked in and spit out. Luigi glared in absolute fury at the armed attacker. He crouched, and built energy to the point where he felt it coarse through him. He pushed up with his legs, and jumped nearly twice his own height. He dealt with the Shy Guy in a way that he had before. He landed on his shoulders, and grabbed at his head. He feigned a fall from him, and caught his body in his arms as he landed safely on the ground.. He lifted the small but able Shy Guy above his head, and tossed him like a barrel. He slammed into the face of another Shy Guy, and the two fell back in a chain reaction. At the same time, the last Shy Guy was slashing a samurai sword at Toad's shins. Toad jumped over the blade, and the falling pair toppled the Shy Guy with the sword. The momentum sent all three of them hurdling into the wall with a thud. In about thirteen seconds, the Marios, Yoshi, and Toad had escaped from their cells and immobilized the guards. The eight men lay dazed and beaten. But, the Shy Guy whose clothes were still torn from Yoshi's teeth used the last of his energy to push himself up and raise a knife. He eyed the blue pant legs housing the tendons on the back of Luigi's legs. If they were injured, he would never walk again. The Shy Guy lunged as Yoshi and Toad gasped, with no time to warn their friend. But this motion was interrupted. The hand thrusting the knife was crushed between the frame of a jail cell door, and Mario's shoe. He still stared to the side and into space, with his eyes wobbling, but his target was a hit and success. Yoshi already had an arm around the neck of the Shy Guy who had been interrogating him.
"Where are they? Tell me where the men are." Yoshi asked.
"Die… dinosaur." choked the Shy Guy. Yoshi tightened his grip and his tongue popped out. He coughed and sputtered. Yoshi loosened just enough to let him talk.
"One on each floor in cells. Except top floor. One through six." He rasped.
"Give me the master cell key." Yoshi tightened the grip again even tighter to let the Shy Guy know that lying wouldn't be a good move.
"One that the red guy has. It's the Master key." He managed to sputter. Yoshi dropped him and he fell unconscious. The four exited the room.
Fifteen minutes later, a few hundred feet across the temple, a large room with nothing but four large pillars and an elevator opposite the huge entrance and a jail cell in the left wall was silently guarded by two Shy Guys. It was also silently occupied by four visitors. The guards faced the entrance. One looked at his watch.
"The relief fifteen minutes late. I'm not waiting any longer."
"Alright." The second Shy Guy replied as he looked at his watch also. "Let's go see where they are. This guy isn't going anywhere." They walked toward the entrance quickly. One walked between the first and second pillar, and the other walked between the third and fourth. Mario inched around to the left of the first pillar and Yoshi inched around the right side of the second. Toad and Luigi did the same with the third and fourth. They weren't seen or heard at all.
They waited for the guards to leave completely, and Mario ran to the jail cell. He opened the door and the first hostage darted out. "Alright, let's get the others and open the door."
Luckily, the next five cells weren't guarded. Long hallways wound through the gigantic temple. They whirled the heroes in circles, and many a time they were almost caught by patrolling enemies when turning corners. Ducking into crevices and empty rooms solved this. Within an hour, ten men were riding in an elevator on their way to the top floor. The floors had gotten smaller as they approached the top, but this was the biggest room they had found. It no doubt made up at least half the entire floor. Six gigantic mainframes lined the walls, and on the wall across from the elevator, a vertical hatch that stretched to every corner sat closed and locked. Each of the hackers ran to the console of a supercomputer. They slid in the cards attached to their decoders and began to work. Six large blue lights at the top of each computer, along the ceiling, switched to green one by one. The middle right light stayed blue though. The Mushroom man working that mainframe was sweating and looking worried. He punched buttons and tried everything he could think of. He paused, smiled, and made three last keystrokes. His lock unlocked. Airbrakes sounded and gear cranked. The enormous door slid open. They saw a railing that they soon realized was at the top of a balcony which went all the way around the room. About ten feet down, the black monstrosity throbbed. The petals stretched almost to each wall and were thick as tire rubber. There were more buds growing in the center. They looked like they weighed hundreds of pounds. Thick vines covered the ground under it. The largest flower any of them had ever seen sat planted in the floor, which was entirely soil.
"Should we do it?" asked one of the men that opened the door.
"Let's surround it first." Toad instructed. Two people stood on one side, and one stood at each corner. "Aim for the centerpiece's edge that's closest to you, everyone! Crack'em!" Each person took out his compact explosive material. They looked like Burger King toys, but they were so reactive, it only took two to blow up a small bar and an apartment. They were miniature Bob-ombs. They were weapons that could only be acquired from underground dealers and from Bowser's army, the Koopa Troop. The men twisted the winders to start the three-minute timer, and tossed them down to the mother flower.
"Now let's get out of here!!!" Mario screamed. They all ran to the elevator and quickly hit the ground floor button. It took forever for the elevator to come to a stop at the first floor. They stepped out and were finally safe. The explosion had no way of reaching the first floor. Just as they were getting used to not seeing any guards, they heard the footsteps of two Shy Guys. Instead of running toward the front of the temple and out to the jungle, the caravan had to get to the back and out to the ocean. Mario and Luigi busted through the doors and saw nothing outside but a dock, twenty half-empty crates of bullets, a crane, and a large boat. They all looked at each other hesitantly, and Mario made the decision for them.
"Yeah… get in! Let's go! Hurry, before they get out here!" Each dove into one of the crates and pulled the lid closed. Chains were around each crate, but they were tied loosely enough for everyone to lift the lid about two feet and squeeze their bodies inside. A few beats went by, and the top floor of the temple exploded. The doors opened again. A few minutes later, the two Shy Guys came out talking.
"We're still going!?" One of the Shy Guys asked.
"Yeah, they said we still need to get these over there, we're gonna have to help them deal with the flower later.
"Where we taking these?" One asked.
"Donkey Kong Island. K. T. and his guys need them." They got into the boat, and from a drill hole, Luigi saw the crane attached to the temple start to move. It lifted up each box and placed it on the deck of the boat. It sped off toward its destination. Sitting in the crates, not one stowaway knew why in the world the Shy Guys would be delivering ammunition to a person named K.T. at Donkey Kong's home. All they had left to do was hurry up and wait for destiny. Though they didn't know if they were ever going home, they had infiltrated the Shy Temple and saved the world from the virus-carrying flowers.