Episode II: Seeds of Sin – The Creation of Metal Mario

He floated alone in the dark, infinite space with vengeance lingering in his evil thoughts. His marble-like, crimson eyes were filled with hatred and anger, remembering his last epic battle many years ago. The taste of defeat was still there as if it happened yesterday. He had let his master down by not exterminating his enemies. Thusly, his sentence was life away from the living world. He was now in a world of his own, a cell with no door as he referred to it. If it were up to him, he would've picked death as his punishment instead of living in this lonely hell.

He liked absorbing the pain of his memories and storing it in his empty heart; a black heart with no feelings and no happiness…just pain...satisfying pain. His feathery, jet-black body had a tingly sensation each time "he had a chat with himself". It was the only way to get used to this loneliness. He knew he was going mad but he didn't complain. Strangely, this time his so-called subconscious alter-ego was the one who initiated a conversation.

"Are you just going to sit there and not do anything?" A voice asked.

"Leave me alone. You don't understand," he answered coldly.

"You'll die if you don't find a way to go back to Earth."

"I do not need to go back. It feels better here," he answered back coldly.

"You are nothing but an emotionless bird that'll never be remembered!" The voice screamed angrily.

"You are so right, my friend," he laughed with his yellow beak wide open. "I will never be remembered. That is the best part because I will never be bothered."

There was a momentary pause, until he heard the voice chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked angrily.

"I take back what I said. I bet that you are in the thoughts of many people at this very moment," he sneered.

"Leave me alone!" The bird yelled, holding his head as if he had a headache.

"Remember your master. Remember your enemies. You were one disgrace of a monster. Every time they think of you, they laugh. They laugh themselves to death!" the voice yelled.

"You lie! Why would anyone remember me?"

"No one would ever forget how you lost against a puny dinosaur and a baby. You were worthless and you are still as worthless as junk!"

"No! Lies! All Lies!"

The booming voice was getting the better of him. The bird held his head weeping like a baby.

"Get out of my head!" he kept yelling in pain. Tossing and turning in dark space, he tried to free himself from this emotional prison, but to no avail. The voice continued to whisper in a dark, menacing tone.

"You will be remembered…You have to take action…You must seek vengeance..."

All of a sudden, he stopped screaming and lowered his hands from his forehead. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets.

"Must seek vengeance...Must eliminate those who think of me…" he kept repeating these words as if he was in a trance.

"Yes! Yes! You have done well, my feathery friend!" The voice echoed. "It is time for you to receive my powers!"

Bolts of lightning struck the helpless bird out of nowhere, causing him to scream in pain. This wasn't ordinary electricity though, for the bird felt that he was obtaining even more power as lightning continued to hit him. The sound of thunder echoed throughout this mysterious dark vortex. White fog surrounded the bird momentarily. Then, everything stopped as fast as it started. The fog cleared soon after, revealing the bird in all its glory.

"What about me? What about RAPHAEL THE RAVEN?" He asked himself. "Never more, never more shall I stand the pain and suffering. I shall vanquish those who stand in my way. I will kill." With that, he let out a maniacal laugh and started floating towards the planet he was exiled from. A huge hand-shaped shadowy entity appeared behind him, watching its evil scheme going according to plan.

Where did I go wrong?

A short man stood in the middle of a scrap-infested field, furiously and rapidly smashing his big hammer on a large chunk of metal. His gray, thick beard covered most of his face, and his blazing red eyes were the only parts revealed to himself and everyone else. Using the long sleeves of his torn and bloodstained black cloak, he tried to wipe out the mixture of sweat and blood off his forehead, but to no avail. Indeed, this man could easily be mistaken for an old homeless beggar who was beaten out of an alley. Ironically enough, this description was closer to the truth than one would think.

How could one man do all this? My factory, my beautiful factory…all gone.

He observed his surroundings; scrap and metal filled the land as far as the eye could see. Smoke and dust, byproducts of what seemed to be a great battle, enveloped the earth, triggering a fog-like effect in the air. Miraculously, javelins of light radiating from the oval-shaped sun were able to penetrate this so-called smoke screen and reflect off the metal piles causing them to sparkle brightly. It was as if this scrap was the new light source of this world.

I hate you. Someday you will pay for this!

He glared at the statue of metal he had just created, making him even madder than he originally was. He was about to swing his hammer for the finishing blow, but he was cut off by a deep, cold voice…

"Your attitude will not help bring your factory back or defeat your enemies."

Frustrated, the bearded man frantically scanned the area trying to find the voice's owner. "Whatever you are, no one tells me what to do!" he called out, "now buzz off and mind your own business!"

"Temper, temper Smithy, my good man. I'm just here to help you."

The bearded man was shocked that the owner of the voice knew his name. He felt that the sound was echoing from behind him, so he immediately turned around to face the unexpected…

Raphael stood before him crowing sinisterly.

"How did you know my-"

"Enough small talk!" The Raven interrupted him. "Let's just say that you and I have something in common."

"And what would that be?"

"We have the same adversaries, and we have the same motivation: to eliminate them from the face of the universe!"

Smithy wasn't surprised at all; instead, he grinned as the thought of killing his foe lingered and lingered in his mind.

"What do you have in mind?" Smithy asked, showing interest in the words of the Raphael.

"I'll kill that plumber for you if you tell me where to get…power," Raphael stated in a sinister tone.

Smithy's hatred took the best of him. His other emotions were too weak compared to his fury. He knew that it was too risky to give him the secret of the power, but it was a risk he was willing to take. Anything to get rid of his enemy is worth it.

"The rod…the Rod of Starlet. It's the relic that controls the power of The Seven Stars, which are the guardians of the Mushroom Kingdom. Many tried, but failed to control its enormous energy."

"No need for little details Smithy, my good man. I shall find this rod you failed to control. Now here's my side of the bargain."

Suddenly, Raphael formed a dark ball of energy floating above his wing, and threw it towards the statue Smithy just made. A strange force surrounded the metal statue as soon as the ball made contact with it.

"Allow me to introduce to you Metal Mario, the terminator of plumbers," the Raven said. "Where are your manners, Metal? Why don't you shake hands with Smithy, your new master?"

Unexpectedly, the metal statue that was a carbon-copy of Mario's looks—and possibly had Mario's strength—extended its hand to Smithy. Overjoyed, the blacksmith shook its metallic glove. What a grip this pile of junk has, Smithy almost thought aloud.

"I want that plumber dead! Now go, my hyper Metal Mario!" Smithy ordered it. Soon after that, the 'terminator' disappeared out of sight.