Yoshi Underground

Authored by Santuh Klozzy

You've probably read this part before, so I won't bother telling you "I don't own Mario. I do own…" Because you've probably heard all that before, haven't you?

Chapter 3. Incarceration

The journey to Yoshin was a hard one. There were miles and miles of dense river valleys to pass through, and there were miles and miles of woodland littered with massive stones and trees. There was a highway that Helix and Yoshi could of followed, but that was patrolled by legionnaires, which increased their risk of getting caught by ninety percent by Helix's estimations.

On their second day of traveling, they had stopped by a refreshing creek to rest for a bit during midday. There was nothing but boulders around the creek. In the distance there was a small forest. Beyond that a tree-lined ridge and beyond that the valley that Yoshin was located in.

"How much longer do you reckon it'll take for us to get to Yoshin?" Yoshi inquired. His feet were getting blisters after two days of hiking without hardly any breaks. Once they got to Yoshin they'd be able to stop for at least a while as they searched for Ragnarok.

"I don't know. If we keep going at our current rate, I'd probably say a day. Maybe more if we're slowed down." That's rich. Yoshi thought to himself. No chance in hell we can travel for another day like this. "Suppose we should get up and keep going." Helix straightened up and waited for Yoshi to get up. "We've got a long hike ahead of us."

They spent the rest of that day and the next day hiking through this rocky area and the small forest on the other side of it. It was twilight of the next day when they finally came up onto a ridge and saw the ruins of Yoshin rising up in the distance. It was a welcome sight, but the journey there would be harder than the journey to this point.

The longer Yoshi and Helix went, their breaks became much more frequent and longer. They got slower and slower, and every breath Yoshi took and every step he went forward felt like it would be his last. He was sure the same was with Helix, who's breathing had become labored and who trudged along with his feet dragging and his head sagging. Neither of them was accustomed to hiking so much. Yet the hiking paid off as they eventually reached Yoshin the next day around midday.

It was easy to tell that Yoshin was only half of what it had once been. While there were no fires or mounds of rubble like in Barg and Yoshmite, the whole city had the feel that it had been forgotten and neglected. Doors hung ajar, and the streets were littered with trash and scattered tools and weapons. There were no sounds at all in the city; a curtain had fallen over the place, muting it. Yoshi didn't know why Ragnarok would be scouting around here. This city was desolate and abandoned.

It must have been mid-evening when they found Ragnarok. They found him sneaking around the base of an empty guard tower after an hour or two of searching. He was wearing military fatigues and a small backpack full of supplies. At first he was confused when Helix and Yoshi appeared out of nowhere asking for his help in a mission they had. Eventually, after they explained what had happened, he agreed that he'd come with them. Welcome news to Yoshi, who was glad that there would be somebody with them. Things always seemed harder when you were by yourself. He supposed that at least Helix was there, but nonetheless he was glad to have Ragnarok onboard.

"So, how exactly are we going to break them out of the legion's tower?" Neither Helix nor Yoshi had thought of that. They greeted him with silence and he knew that there was no plan. "Any ideas at all?" Ragnarok was starting to think this wasn't the smartest thing they'd ever done. Helix sighed.

"No. We have no plan, really. Yoshi and I were trying to figure on out before we found you but that didn't work out." Helix's eyes darted around, nervously. "We had a basic plan of action figured out but we hadn't really gotten all the fine details, yet."

"Well, what's your basic plan of action, then?" Ragnarok wasn't expecting a very good plan. He didn't get one.

"We figured we'd sneak into Bongo-Kongo and then we'd hijack one of their boats. We'd sail on over to their tower and bust in. We'd locate the dungeons and save Galalc and Sasha. Does that sound like a good idea?" Helix knew the answer before Ragnarok delivered it.

"No. It's going to be nearly impossible to pull off. I mean, we don't know how many legionnaires are in the city and tower, and we don't know where to find a boat and there might not even be one to hijack. Even if we managed to hijack one, there's no guaranteeing we could make it to the island without getting killed. We don't even know how to sneak into the city, so we probably don't have to worry about getting that far. I could keep going, but I won't for time's sake." Ragnarok looked around, shaking his head. "You're going to have to do better than that, please." It was now that Yoshi realized he wasn't that fond of Ragnarok. The guy didn't seem to do anything except critique their plan. He could of tried suggesting something or doing anything that would be helpful to them. Of course he wasn't about to do anything like that. That's not the way Ragnarok worked.

"What are we supposed to do then?" Maybe this would get him to say something constructive.

"Don't look at me for answers. You two are the ones who came here looking for me." It seemed Ragnarok wasn't going to be agreeable at all. Yoshi was starting to think having him along would be more of a hassle than anything else.

"Oh don't give me that bull." At least Helix knew what he was doing. "Stop being such an idiot. If our plan sucks why don't you give us your take on a plan?" Ragnarok looked around and shuffled his feet slowly.

"Well…we could go with your plan, but I've got a bad feeling about it-" Helix cut him off before he could say another word.

"Good. Now that we're seeing at the same level maybe we could hurry up and get on with the mission." He turned to Yoshi, "Yoshi, you got any problems with sneaking into the city, stealing a boat and infiltrating the legion's tower?" Yoshi shook his head and Helix turned back to Ragnarok, a triumphant look on his face. "It seems that we're going with our plan. Come on, we've got a ways to go to get to Bongo-Kongo." With that, Helix, Yoshi and Ragnarok set off towards their next destination.

It was several tense days to reach Bongo-Kongo. There were many more dense valleys that had to be crossed, and every one of them brought the chance of an ambush with it. Yet these valleys had to be crossed, and cross them the three Yoshis did. It was at the end of these days that Bongo-Kongo came into sight. It was hard to decide if it was good or not that the town was in sight. On one hand it meant the long and rough journey was over, but on the other hand it meant that now was when things got harder. Eventually they reached the walls of Bongo-Kongo. Now all that was left was how were they going to infiltrate it. This was the hard part, because they had not really figured it out.

"So what now?" Ragnarok stretched his arms out. He was hoping that Helix and Yoshi would have some decent plan. Once again, however, he got nothing. It seemed that this was the most spontaneous mission he had ever been on. After a bit of thinking, Yoshi and Helix came up with a plan.

"Here's what we do." The three huddled and Helix laid out the plan. "We're going to march right in the front gate. I mean, come on. Who would ever expect that? Three Yoshis coming right in through the front door! Seriously though, in all seriousness, that's what we're going to do, right Yoshi?" Yoshi nodded. "If anybody stops us we just act like we're from the city. That's all, really. You got a problem with that, Rag?"

Ragnarok was stunned. He had heard his fair share of strange ideas and plans from these two but that was absolutely insane. He couldn't think of a better one right on the spot, though, so he knew they'd go with that.

"Okay. Fine. Just don't come crying to me when we're going to all be killed." So, Helix thought, it was clear what they'd do. He was surprised at the fact that they were actually going through with a plan that was sure to backfire, but hell, he thought, there could be a worse plan.

And so three Yoshis: a red one, a blue one, and a green one came to the gates of Bongo-Kongo. They were ready for anything, so you can only suspect their surprise when they were greeted with nothing. That's right. Nothing at all greeted them at the gates. A couple of the strange legionnaires glanced at them as they entered but no one stopped them. They saw a couple Yoshis wandering the streets, their eyes replaced with sunken pits that showed only sadness and anger.

"Why do you think they're letting Yoshis wander the streets?" Yoshi whispered quietly so that no one could hear him.

"I don't know…" Ragnarok glanced around and saw two legionnaires studying them. "They might be using them for labor. Or they simply don't care what the Yoshis do. I'm not sure, really."

The next hour was a tense one as grim Yoshis and the legionnaires were constantly eyeing them. They spent that hour wandering up and down the city docks, looking for the signs of a boat or raft that they could claim as their own.

The fates shifted for the shortest second, but it was enough to point them to exactly what they needed: a private marina for the rich, no doubt. No one seemed to need it now, but luckily the pleasure boats and yachts that had been kept there remained, unharmed. It seemed that the Yoshis had found their way to the island.

The marina was a building, closed on all sides except for one that was facing the open bay. It had one door leading into it and was only room. The room was large and most of it was a shallow pool where the boats were kept. There was a short water-filled trench that lead out of the marina, giving the boats a way to leave the confines of the marina's pool and enter the bay of Bongo-Kongo.

Yet the fates shifted their position once again, this time bringing unluckiness with them. This unluckiness came in the form of the two legion guards who sat at the entrance to the marina. One had a mask that seemed to be in the form of some spider. The other's mask was that of a lion.

"You can't come in here. This marina is off-limits to all Yoshis." The spider-masked one said. "Leave now or else we're force you to leave." He laughed to himself. There was something about that laugh that left Yoshi feeling scared. There was something bad in that laugh. He couldn't place it but whatever it was, he wanted nothing to do with it.

It was then that Ragnarok struck without warning. He drew a hunting knife out of his backpack and slid it into the armor of the spider-masked legionnaire quickly and without a word. Sensing that this was what they should do as well, Helix and Yoshi drew their swords and rushed at the lion-masked soldier, knocking him to the ground and slicing him apart. The two confused legionnaires only lasted a couple seconds before the three Yoshis cut them down and made their way into the marina, unopposed.

They were unopposed, at least, until the two bodies were found by a half dozen legionnaires who were patrolling. They heard the sounds of the Yoshis barricading themselves inside the marina building. The door was locked and anything the Yoshis could find was piled up in front of the door, effectively sealing them in. Now the search for a boat was on.

"Get something to get this barricade down. I don't care if it's explosives or a battering ram, but just get me something!" The commander of the legionnaires started barking at his troops, who followed his orders without a word.

In the marina, the three Yoshis had selected a boat that could fit all three of them. It was small enough to hopefully outrun any legion gunboats that would pursue them through the bay and to the island with the tower.

As they were loading onto the boat, though, the legion commander's wishes were granted and a short series of explosions blew the makeshift barricade to pieces. The Yoshis began to sail down the watery trench and into the open water, but the legionnaires were going to reach the ship and climb aboard before they made it.

"Well guys, it's been fun as hell." Ragnarok looked over the side of the boat and at the group of legionnaires chasing after them. "You do know we won't make it?" Helix, who was steering the boat, nodded. "Well then I figure we're going to need someway to slow them down so we can get to the waters." Ragnarok looked nervously over the side of the boat again. He shook his head. "Now I don't want you to think I'm doing this to be a hero but I'm going down there. It's either that or else we get boarded and killed." Yoshi was sitting behind Helix and didn't know what his expression was.

"You serious?" Helix wasn't too supportive of letting his own brother go down there and get himself killed just so they could escape into the bay waters. "No way. Why can't Yoshi or me go?"

"Because you're the only person here who can pilot this thing and Yoshi would just get trampled. I don't care what you say, bro, I'm going." Those were Ragnarok's last words as he vaulted over the side of the boat and onto the marina floor. He fell against the legionnaires, temporarily halting them. Yoshi wasn't aware of what Helix was shouting. He had just watched some Yoshi he didn't even know that well hurl himself off the side of a boat and down into certain death just so that his brother and some other Yoshi could get out of there and go on what would likely be a suicide mission. Helix was still shouting something, but Yoshi wasn't listening. Ragnarok at least gave them time like he promised and they pulled into the semi-safety of the waters of the Bongo-Kongo bay area.

Back in the marina, Ragnarok was lying on his back on the cold stone floor. He looked above him and saw the legionnaires passing him. He wasn't sure how many he had taken down or slowed, but it did not matter. Yoshi and Helix were safe in their boat. Hopefully they wouldn't get themselves blown up by a gunboat, Ragnarok laughed to himself and felt blood gurgle up in his throat. He was about to die. Then, as if someone sensed his thoughts, a voice spoke to him. The speaker was standing above him, out of his range of sight.

"Look at you. You sad, sad excuse for a 'rebel' or whatever you call yourself. So close to death…" the voice trailed off and then came back with a sadistic tone. "You will not die today, however. You will live." The speaker started saying something else, but Ragnarok's world went completely black and he neither heard nor saw no more. As he was half-dead and unconscious, the legionnaires carried him away while the speaker boarded a gunboat and set off for the tower. He knew why the Yoshis were going there, and he would stop them no matter what happened.

That was how Ragnarok, bloodied and nearly dead, was captured and incarcerated by the enemy and would not be seen or heard from for many a day after that.