Soshi watched as Strobel quickly withdrew from the main hall. The uniform made her look very official, but underneath her harsh, business-like exteriorwas something else. Something Soshi couldn't quite place his finger on. Something that comforted Soshi.He shook the thought from his head, dismissing it. He turned around and headed for the door.
Outside, he was met with many soldiers, all awaiting his command. Soshi felt kind of awkward, with all these soldiers dressed in uniforms. As he slowly made his way in front of the crowd, the soldiers all stared ahead at him, watching his every move. Soshi decided not to be put off by this and just do what he needed to do.
"Soldiers of the Toad Town Army." He said. "Today we begin your training. I'm aware most of you have received rigorous training, however, now we are against a new enemy. An enemy of the kind none of you have ever faced before." The croud was silent, but Soshi could feel the apprehension boiling inside every individual. Still, he continued. "We will be covering defense tactics, surprise maneuvers, and aerial assaults. Paratroopas may have an easier time with this. We will begin now." Soshi moved through the croud and began attacking one of the Toad soldiers. He yelped a cry and before anyone saw what happened, Soshi had him by the leg. He snickered and released the slightly rattled Toad. "As you can see, I will be the one fighting you all. Learn to defend and attack back."
Through the day, Soshi ran a rigorous training regimen through the army. Paratroopas followed formations to the letter, skills with weapons were increased by the land forces, and the Koopas were taught the best defense that Soshi knew. As the sun set, Soshi was winded a little. He had packed all the training he had learned in his life into eight hours. He sat down to rest, when he heard a rustling sound. He picked up the source of the sound immediately, before anyone figured out what was going on. From a bush, he could hear shaking. As he approached, the whole army followed him, as if tethered to him. All of a sudden, Soshi turned toward them.
"Get back!" he yelled and ran in the opposite direction. Instantly, a black spider-like shadow came after him. It took the army by surprise and headed straight for Soshi, who had anticipated this. He stopped abruptly, took off, did a loop in the air, and crashed, talons first, into the spider-like shadow. He and the army looked at it. It was nothing more than a black spot on the ground. Soshi heard another sound, looking out to the horizon, he could see hundreds of the same black shadows, making their way steadily toward them.
Everyone took defensive positions. "They've been lying in wait for us. Paratroopas!" he ordered. "Form a sky line behind me! Everyone else, fight as if your life depended on it!" Soshi took off once again, and the two armies met. Instantly, the clink of swords striking claws, and the sound of claw striking flesh could be heard. Soshi dived into the midst of the battle, wings stiff. He took out a whole row of the creatures, but more quickly replaced them. Each paratroopa in the line did the same, but they, too, had almost no effect. Soshi made the mistake of landing. Since he didn't have a weapon, the creatures swarmed him. He could feel each claw tearing off part of his skin. He knew he didn't have much of a chance. Soshi closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.
Suddenly, the pain was gone, Soshi quickly opened his eyes to see General Strobel diligently hacking away at the intruders. Soshi didn't have time to thank her as another spider-like shadow jumped him. He managed to tear it off, while at the same time reaching for his secret weapon. The screams of many Mushroomers could be heard in the distance, but Soshi tried not to think about that as he brandished the Radiant Ruby. That was Soshi's second mistake. As soon as the red gem caught the fading sunlight, the creatures stopped their assault on the others and assembled straight for Soshi. Instinctively, he flew up, blasting them with energy from the wand. More still came-there seemed to be endless numbers. Eventually, one of them caught on to his tactic, and climbed on top of another, claws raised. It managed to scratch at Soshi's side, causing him to lose his concentration. The end result was that Soshi could not keep his elevation. He desended into the throng of ravenous shadowy spiders. The army was decimated. They could only watch helplessly as their new leader was fruitlessly trying to fend them off with his weapon.
"It's OK." Soshi said weakly. "They only want me. They'll leave you all alone." Before his vision was completely blocked he turned to General Strobel. "I'm sorry…I couldn't be of more help." Soshi felt a tremendous pain as the creatures overwhelmed him. And then he felt…movement. They weren't going to kill him. They were taking him away. He couldn't see where he was going. He didn't know where he was being taken. Soshi couldn't fight the sheer exhaustion any longer. He let his eyes close.