Chapter 22: Escape from the castle
The Great Fox was approaching the Mushroom kingdom quickly. The kingdom still unaware of the threat. All that the kingdom knew was that communications with Isle Delfino had been lost a few hours prior. As they approached the castles own runway they saw that the Princess had returned safely. The Great Fox landed and they all walked off of the ship.
"When did she leave us?" Kirby asked realizing that she wasn't there.
"I'm not sure," Pikachu responded.
"That doesn't matter right now," Mario said. "We have to plan for the next attack and how we are going to defend against it! Luigi you have to go to E. Gadd and see if he knows anything!"
Fox walked outside to Princess Peach. "Princess," he calmly said. "There is an important matter at hand that we have to discuss."
They were back inside the Great Fox meeting room. "As you are no doubt aware, we were unable to defeat the paint monster," Link admitted painfully.
"Instead we only subdued it," Fox continued for Link. "What ever weapon was used against it the monster slowly grew impervious to it." Fox pressed a button from which a hologram came up on the table. "The source of the paint we know is the paintbrush, which is now inside the monster making more paint as we speak, the paint is also stretching out towards several other places, one being here the Mushroom Kingdom."
Everyone looked at the map as to where the paint was stretching. "As you can see Princess, the Mushroom Kingdom is one of the paints destinations. We have a theory that the paint is coming here because of the power that is available."
"The castle's Power Stars," Mario added in.
"The whole town will be destroyed and the inhabitants may be killed unless you order an evacuation. What are we going to do Princess?"
The town had been evacuated to the nearby place known as Shooting Star Summit. "The stars will protect them," Princess Peach softly said. "We must also evacuate to Yoshi's Island!"
"Not until Luigi gets back," Mario protested.
"Mario!" Luigi shouted out almost as though it was on cue. He was running towards them as fast as he could he collided with them forgetting to stop. "Mario," Luigi gasped for air "the paint is at the shore."
"And E. Gadd?"
"He wasn't there," Luigi grimly responded.
"He might have been all ready disposed of by our enemies," Ganondorf suggested. "I don't think we should stay here much longer."
"And not to mention we can only defeat the paint monster from its source," Pikachu added in. "Any battle we would be fighting against the paint would be pointless unless there was some way to stop it from gaining any of the castle's energy!"
"I think we can do that!" Princess Peach responded. "I can seal away the castle's power into something." She took off a star pendant from her neck. "I think I can seal them into this pendant. It has been handed down through out the generations of my family."
Everyone got off of the Great Fox. "Rob take off!" Fox ordered. "We will meet at the predetermined point."
Princess Peach walked into the castle and everyone followed. She knelt down in a beam of sunlight that came through a window in the ceiling. Link looked up and had a quick vision of falling through the sky. "This will take about an hour," Princess Peach said. "If the paint comes you will have to defend me!"
She placed the star pendant on the ground and golden energy began to circle around her. Link didn't pay much attention and decided to wait outside. From what he could see the paint was slowly coming from the coast and posed no immediate threat at its current speed. "An hour will be done before the paint gets here," Fox laughed.
"I guess all we can do is wait." Link sighed.
Several sharp beeps rang through the air. "An hours done," Fox said. The paint had made progress and was almost completely through the town. They both walked inside Princess Peach was still sitting there with about 30 golden stars floating above her.
"They're the last of the castle's power," Mario said. "But we ran into a few complications. They can't leave the castle. If they do the castle will be destroyed!"
"If they stay here the castle will be destroyed," Link sighed.
Everything was quite for a few moments until Princess Peach stood up. "I'm sorry but I can't do anything else," She said.
"You've done enough!" Fox responded. "I think it might be best if we get out of here now. Rob has told me that the paint is coming towards the castle a lot faster now."
"Then we best get out of here quickly," Link said.
"Right, I'll now tell you about how to get out of here!" Mario began. "If you look up into the sunlight you will be warped to a tower."
"We'll take that escape rout!" Fox announced. "Rob is waiting for us up there anyways."
Mario nodded in response and he began to think about other escape routs from the castle but before he could think of others the paint smashed through the doors only to be met by the rapid fire of Fox, Falco, Peppy, and Slippy. It was almost as though they knew it was coming.
"I'm afraid right now we are going to have to cut things a bit short!" Mario stuttered. "You guys are going to have to separate!" Link didn't seem too thrilled about the idea, but at the moment it seemed like their only option. "Do you have any explosives?"
"Yes!" Link responded.
"I'm going to give you the duty of protecting Princess Peach! She will show you a painting to an island, you need to destroy the painting after you all get in!" Mario explained. "Luigi will also go with you, since he knows how to get to Yoshi's Island from there!"
"We will take The Great Fox and get out of here once you are gone!" Ganondorf said, ensuring Link that they will be safe.
"And the rest of us will make our way to the top tower where the Rainbow Cruise is!" Mario explained, "You will meanwhile have to find Yoshi, the green Yoshi…"
"Isn't that a bit redundant?"
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!"
Link, Luigi, and Peach ran up to the top of the first fleet of stairs. They then turned right approaching another door. "Hey egg!" Kirby shouted, throwing a Warpstar. "Take it!" Link caught it with ease, and looked at it, currently it was only the size of an egg. The sound of glass shattering on the other side of the door was heard, Link quickly kicked open the door and fired a light arrow at the paint that was now trying to get through the window. The three of them ran across the room and into the next, immediately turning left, Peach and Luigi jumped into the painting.
Following Mario's direction Link took out several bombs dropping them in front of the painting, he then jumped through.
As soon as Link had gone through the door, Mario grabbed Rai. "Come on!" He called to Pikachu, Kirby, and Jigglypuff. They began to run up the stairs that were behind them. They broke through the doors that were in front of them and proceeded to run up a spiral staircase. Coming to another door, Kirby who was in the lead at the moment took out his hammer and smashed it off of the hinges. Mario was able to catch up told them to immediately turn right; they did so running up another set of stairs.
Rushing through the final set of doors they were in a room with a giant clock in front of them. "We don't have much time!" Mario shouted glancing at the clock. "If we don't hurry the Rainbow cruise will leave with out us!" They turned right where there was a giant hole about 8 feet off of the ground. Mario ran towards the wall and jumped up, smacking head first into the wall.
"We don't have time for this!" Kirby said inflating so that Rai and Pikachu could get on. Jigglypuff inflated also and Mario jumped on her. They made it up to the hole, and jumped down another hole that was in the middle of the floor.
They landed on a floating platform. Below them was nothing but clouds. Above them was a giant wooden boat. They once again got onto Kirby and Jigglypuff and floated onto the boat.
"All right!" Mario shouted. "Lets get this boat to Yoshi's island!"
With everyone else gone, Peppy, Slippy, Fox, Falco and Ganondorf, looked up into the sunbeams. The next thing they knew they were on a giant tower that reached up into the sky. The Great Fox was right beside the tower, and after the 5 boarded it took off.
"Where to?" Rob 64 asked over the intercom.
"Yoshi's Island!" Fox responded.
"Sir, Yoshi's Island is currently being infested with the paint!"
"Shit!" Fox cursed, his fist hit the metal wall. "Falco did you put that locator beacon on Link?"
"Yes!" Falco responded.
"At least one thing went right," Fox sighed. "We should be able to intersect them, find their location Rob64!"
Link was ankle deep in water. Surrounded by several islands that just had a palm tree. "This place, is it Yoshi's island?" Link asked.
"No!" Luigi responded calmly. "It's to the east!" He pointed in a direction. Link grabbed the Warpstar from his pocket and threw it onto the ground.
"Then we are going there!" Link said getting onto the Warpstar. Both Princess Peach, and Luigi followed suit. When all of them were ready to go the Warpstar took off at a high speed. Rushing across the water. 'Yoshi's Island here we come!' Link thought to himself.
To be continued…
Wow… this has got to be one of the shortest chapters in my fic… for some reason I really dislike this chapter...