The Hills Have Eyes (But Only in Grass Land)
Chapter 1-3: Ghost Lake
-The Chief's House-
Mario, deciding it best not to stick around, goes down the stairs of the house and out the door. Outside, he sees three Ganadors, as well as another Ganador that looks very much like the masked one from earlier, the only difference being that this Ganador is 2 inches shorter than that one. The pickaxe wielding Ganador rushes forward, swinging wildly at Mario before taking a blast in the stomach with the Laser Gun. No dice. The Ganador swings quickly, with Mario ducking and causing the pickaxe to shatter one of the other three Ganadors. Alas, that also causes the other two to grab him.
Mario struggles to break free as both hold him for the masked Ganador, but to no avail. The Ganador swings, only for Mario to perform a backflip that not only causes the strike to miss, but launches the two holding Ganadors into the stone wall of the house, shattering them. While the masked Ganador's weapon is stuck in the ground, Mario takes advantage and shoots another three rounds from the Laser Gun into him, then tosses that gun down and gets to work with the Super Scope. The first shot from the Super Scope sends the Ganador flying to the ground, and a second ends the fight, killing the creature. Mario grabs his Laser Gun and puts it up, then walks away, following Iggy's advice from earlier to leave the moss alone.
-The Village House-
Mario walks into the locked in building in town, having fought his way through the villagers (they had returned earlier) to get there. Once inside, he looks around, seeing that it is an old, dusty building with a sheet of paper lying on a table, next to which is a typewriter that the note on the paper was likely typed with. Mario picks it up and begins reading, but not before noting that there is a second note lying underneath it.
"As instructed by Lady Cackletta, I have the man from the Mushroom Kingdom in confinement, alive. Why keep him alive? I don't fully understand her intentions at the moment. I would think she would want them separate, however, instead of keeping them together. I don't believe Iggy would be willing to trust him but if he were, things could get complicated.
If for some reason my suspicions of a third party are correct, I don't think they would be stupid enough to pass such an opportunity up. But maybe it's all the Lady's plan; make ourselves appear vulnerable, and strike when there is an opening. Hard to say.
This may sound foolish, but if there is a third party our plans may already be ruined. I guess the lady thinks it is worth the risk. We will trust her call as always.
-Bitor Esmendez"
Mario stashes that note in his case with the other he found earlier, then picks up the second note and begins reading it.
"CLOSURE OF THE CHURCH
Regarding the two fugitives, the apprehension of Iggy is by far our top priority. The Mushroom Kingdom man is a much-distant second. What Iggy stole is of far more value to our plan than the girl- even if we keep the girl, without it the whole plan is destined to fall apart. If it winds up with someone else, the careful planning of Lady Cackletta will be for naught, and all will be ruined for us.
No matter what it takes, Iggy must be found and dealt with. Either way, the girl is not going to be let go so quickly either- the man from the Mushroom Kingdom must not get his hands on her, or all will fall apart anyway. To ensure the safety of the plan, I have locked the church and only Cackletta and a few guards remain within it. Anyone who wants in must first gain approval from the lady. There is a key beyond the lake, but that's not going to be a problem. The Mass Bass has already been awakened, and all who attempt to cross the lake will be devoured.
In addition to this, our blood runs through the veins of the man from the Mushroom Kingdom. Even if he does somehow manage to escape with the girl, it will only be a matter of time before we have both him and her and in our grasp once more.
-Bitor Esmendez"
Mario's first reaction is to put the paper away then call Toadsworth. "Toadsworth, it's me. I've found out where they've got Peach, and that Cackletta is definitely behind this, and now all I need to do is find out how to get inside."
"Wonderful! Try to get the Princess out of there as soon as possible, Master Mario." Both sides hang up, and Mario goes back further into the house. There, he sees a ladder heading into an underground cavern. With no other leads, Mario climbs down, finding himself in a cave being illuminated by lanterns stuck in small holes in the cave walls. Mario walks forward, noting that there's about three inches of water on the cave floor, and eventually reaches an open area with a ladder in sight. Standing next to the ladder is the boy.
"Hey, you again. Wanna buy anything?"
"Have anything new?"
"Sure do! Heh heh. How'd you like to have a Super Sniper? It's a modified Super Scope guaranteed to hit a target 200 yards away. It's even more powerful. Whatcha think?"
"That could be useful... alright, how much?"
"1,000 coins." Mario digs into his wallet and finds he only has 1,100 coins left. Knowing he'll need to come across some more later, Mario digs out 1,000 and gives them to the boy, then puts the rifle in the case with his other weapons. Mario them climbs up the ladder, and the boy watches him leave for a second before trying to leave and noticing he's managed to attach himself to this wall as well.
"Oh come on!"
-The Graveyard-
Mario reaches the end of the ladder and finds himself now inside a large graveyard, rows of aged tombstones lying before him though it does not appear any new plots have been made in years. Mario walks up a hill there, also lined with tombstones, and reaches the top to see that there is an old but well-kept church in front of him. He goes up the front door, seeing a large Fire Flower-shaped hole in the door that appears to hold a key or a release mechanism of some sort. He hears nothing inside. Mario sighs, realizing he has basically met the end of his trail for the time being, but then notices there is another path leading down a mountain with what appears to be a gigantic lake lying at the bottom.
"I'll bet that it's," Mario mumbles before starting to jog down the mountain. He notices it is starting to rain, thunder clashing along with the rain, and the sky looks like it is night (though it is in fact only 2 P.M.). Mario reaches about halfway down the mountain before seeing a large seemingly abandoned fort that must be passed through to continue. He pulls out his Super Scope and walks in, looking around the old dusty fort to notice not a soul insight. Then he sees two doors: an enormous door locked by reinforced chains with growling and snarling emerging from within it, and a normal door that leads to where he is heading. He opens it, and continues on his way.
-The Lake-
Mario reaches the bottom to see nothing but a pier and a speedboat filled with harpoons lying there, as well as a note with what appears to be a gigantic red circle made with lipstick on it. He picks it up and reads.
"Mario
There is an important item just beyond the lake that you may need. It will allow you to get inside the church and obtain Peach. But I'll warn you, the Mass Bass will put up a fight, though I think you can handle it. Also, they've developed a creature named a 'Shrookong', so good luck.
About what's going on in your body, if I could help you, I would. Unfortunately, that is beyond my control."
Mario puts this note with the others and then walks onward toward the boat, getting on and driving it into the river before he sees an enormous figure underneath the boat, seemingly planning to attack. Knowing nothing better to do, Mario grabs the one anchor that is tied to the boat and thrusts it downward, causing the creature to be hit with it and come out of the water, revealing itself to be a gigantic mutated Boss Bass. The Mass Bass launches forward, being hit with another harpoon and as a result diving under just before making contact. Mario grabs a third harpoon, watching for any sign of the beastly fish.
He gets his answer as to where it is at when it comes up from below, the speedboat just barely managing to keep from turning over. Mario thrusts the harpoon at the fish, then grabs a fourth and throws it as well. The fish begins to swim quickly, dragging Mario and the boat about the lake and causing the vessel to slam into a dead tree floating in the water. Mario is thrown off though the harpoons and guns on the ship are fine, and the plumber begins to swim back as the Mass Bass chases him intent on having a snack. Mario manages to get to the boat in time, then grabs another harpoon and thrusts it directly at the fish, hitting once more and causing the fish to stop moving before finally starting to sink. Mario looks in satisfaction until he suddenly falls over, then notices something: the rope that was attached to the first harpoon has been wrapped around his leg!
Mario's first reaction is to quickly dig out his Laser Gun, shooting the rope and burning it before standing up and continuing on his way up the lake.
-The Lakeside Cabin-
Mario walks into a small cabin next to where he parked the boat, having just found the key and put it with all of his other acquisitions. He had also managed to find 5,000 coins in a chest in the cave where he found the key. Inside the cabin, he notices his vision is getting red and blurry. Mario pants a bit, then falls over and passes out on the floor of the cabin.