Part 3: Strange Stuff on the Starshroom

A full minute of darkness (and the screaming, shouting and sobbing of the Toad Brigade) passed by before the emergency lights were activated. The interiors were soon bathed in a sickly green glow.

Clearing his throat, the Toad Captain gathered his teammates around him

"Alright," said Leon in a voice one octave higher then normal. "I wasn't expecting that."

"If the power is out, then how are we gonna seal off the observatory?" asked Jeremiah, who was miraculously awake.

"Shit." Leon rubbed his cap vigorously. "The distress signal is still run by the emergency generator, correct?

"Correct." confirmed Reginald.

"Well, let's activate the distress beacon and also check if there is still some power left to close the doors."

The five Toads eventually made their way into the main cockpit. Reginald quickly punched in the distress signal. Suddenly, he slammed his fist into the table.

"Damnit!"

"What is it?" asked Leon.

"Whatever that thing was, it knocked out our emergency beacon too. Look, the distress signal light is off!"

Reginald pointed it to the team and he was right; the distress signal light should be flashing red as soon as the beacon was activated. Instead, it remained inactive. A cold pit formed in the stomach of every member of the Toad Brigade.

"What about the doors?" asked Leon in an apprehensive tone.

Reginald shook his head.

Leon started pacing the floor. The entire Brigade was fixated on the Captain. Even Jeremiah was watching intently. Finally, Leon spoke.

"This is what'll happen: Toby and Reginald, you guys go to the power generator and try to fix whatever is in there. It's critical we get at least surveillance videos up and running to monitor the halls. Jeremiah, Zeus and I will go to the storage and get some stun sticks."

"We brought stun sticks?" asked Zeus sharply. "I thought we didn't bring any weapons aboard the ship."

"The sticks were brought for self defense against things like Goombas or anything small." explained Reginald. "Non lethal versions though.

"Comforting." sneered Jeremiah.

"As soon as we get the sticks and you guys fix the generator, we'll meet back here."

"And what, pray tell, will happen if the alien thing wants to visit the defenseless Toads in the generator room for a midnight snack?" asked Toby in a low voice.

"Use the walkie and we'll be there in a flash, weapons or no weapons. I'm not gonna abandon any one of you. Trust me on this."

Toby sighed a little, his face still etched with worry.

"Maybe we'll be lucky." murmured the Banktoad. "Maybe it's a peace loving creature, looking for affection, kindness-"

A loud, unearthly moan interrupted Toby in midspeech. Echoing throughout the halls, it seemed to encompass the Toad Brigade in an ensnaring web of unnamable fear. It lasted for perhaps three seconds before fading back into the darkness.

It was all quiet, except for the sound of a sobbing Toby in the corner.

Few minutes later, after much cajoling, Reginald and the terrified green Banktoad were walking to the generator.

"I must be insane to go through with this." whimpered Toby.

Their footsteps echoed in the long, barely illuminated hallway that stretched before them.

"How long will it take to fix the generator, Reg?"

"Well, I doubt it's too badly damaged. The impact was pretty far from it so, at most, it probably knocked around a couple of wirings. I'll be able to fix that in a few minutes."

"Thank God. I wouldn't want to- wait. What was that?"

Toby pointed to the very end of the hall, where it was pitch black. Reginald peered into it.

"What was what?"

"Something just moved back there. I swear to God. Something just moved back there!"

Toby's breathing was steadily getting faster and faster.

"You're eyes must be playing tricks on you." said Reginald. "I don't see a thing."

"Oh God. Let's hurry and fix the generator. I gotta get out of here before I lose it."

The two quickened there pace and reached the power room. The generator, cast in complete darkness, was all but a dark outline to their eyes. Reginald activated a low power flashlight and opened up a hatch on the front of the mechanical device. A few moments passed before he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just as I thought; a few of the wires got knocked around and cut off the power. I'll just adjust it here and- wait. Oh. Oh, damnit."

"What? What?" asked a breathless Toby.

"The wire that supplies power to the hallway lights got severed completely somehow. Everything in the ship will work except for those."

"You're telling me that we'll have to walk back through the creepy dark hallways again? Is some deity from above playing a sick joke on us?"

"As long as the surveillance cameras are up, we'll still be able to see what's going on back at the cockpit. Adjusting…and…there. We have power. By the way, the cameras also come equipped with night vision so we'll be able to see-"

"BLAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

Reginald jumped a foot in the air from Toby's bloodcurdling scream. It felt like his heart would explode. The engineer looked at the green Toad furiously.

"TOBY! What the hell was that!"

"I saw something move, Reg! I saw it, it was right there! Oh God. Oh God! Something is in the room with us! Oh God."

"Toby, for the last time; we're the only ones in the ro-"

A solid shadow stirred in the right corner of the room. This time, both of them saw it.

"!" screamed both of them.

With their hearts full of primal fear, the two Toads booked it to the cockpit, their feet barely touching the ground.

Unlike our two heroes in the generator hall, the three Toads had an uneventful trip as they approached the storage closet. Activating a flashlight, Leon looked around for the long, tubes that resembled glow sticks. He found them in the middle shelf, laying in a box titled "Self Defense Only".

"Guys, here they are!" said Leon. He took out the box and allowed each member to take a stick out. He put the remaining two in his pockets for Toby and Reginald.

"So how do you work these things?" asked Zeus, examining the green tubes.

"Simple. Shake it a few times and it will be activated. You'll hear a ping."

The three heroes exited the storage closet, each holding there own stun stick.

"Alright," said Leon. "Let's check up on the other two." Taking out a walkie talkie, he adjusted the frequency to Reginald's number.

"Reginald, my man! Did you activate the power, over?"

"*gasp* Yeah we did *gasp* but the hallway lights were *wheeze* unfixable. We're at the *cough* cockpit, over."

"Good God, what happened to you? Over."

"We were running *exhale* cause we saw something. Just hurry over please, over?"

"Roger that. Over and out."

Leon switched off the talkie and looked at his teammates.

"They turned on the power, but the hallway lights are permanently disabled. Let's head ba-"

"Hold on." said Jeremiah, holding up a hand. "Did you guys hear something?"

Everyone remained still, hearing nothing except the unbearable tension in the air. In front of them was the hallway that would lead back to the cockpit. To the right was the hallway leading to the observatory, the site where the creature was last spotted.

Leon gulped.

"I don't hear a thing, man. C'mon, let's head back now."

The three started walking forward into the barely illuminated, sickly green tinted hallway. Their steps echoed down the empty hallway. Suddenly, a noise, the slightest of noises, caught Leon's ear. He held up his hand and turned to the group.

"You guys heard that?"

Zeus and Jeremiah nodded.

"What was that? Wait, I hear it again. Its getting…louder? But what is it- oh God. Oh God. Those are footsteps. Those are- THOSE ARE FOOTSTEPS! AND THEY'RE COMING FROM THE OBSERVATORY HALL! THEY'RE COMING FROM THE-OH GOD! THEY'RE GETTING LOUDER! THEY'RE GETTING LOUDER! GODAMNIT, EVERYBODY RUUUUN!"