Part 4: Departure

Heavy panting and wheezing filled the cockpit of the Starshroom. But besides the dreadfully shaken nerves, everyone was unharmed. Wiping a film of sweat from his brow, Captain Leon turned to Reginald.

"Turn on the surveillance cameras."

With a flip of a switch, the ship's monitor was divided into twelve separate windows. Each of the windows was too dark to show any details of the ship.

"Activate night vision."

With another flip, the windows took on a green tint and the interiors were shown in ghostly, but concrete details.

"Seal off the observatory."

Click. Through the cameras, Leon saw the steel doors closing off the horrid place and its hallways.

He sighed.

"Well, we got that over with."

"But what now?" asked Toby impatiently. "How the heck are we going to get out of here?"

"What do you mean? We just sealed off the area. The creature is inside and we'll let Mario or someone deal with it when we fly back."

"Captain, me and Reginald saw something in the generator room! That's on the other side from where the observatory was! Whether it's still the alien or not, there is still something roaming the ship!"

"Then let's check your handheld computer for foreign heat signatures."

"I dropped it when the ship went dark and we all stomped on it by accident."

Leon sighed.

"Are you sure you weren't seeing-"

"Tell him, Reg."

The blue headed Toad swiveled his chair to face the Captain, looking grave.

"I'm afraid he's right, Leon."

Leon rubbed his red cap slowly. A full minute of tense silence went by, occasionally interrupted by Jeremiah's soft snoring.

"Gather around."

Zeus nudged Jeremiah awake and the five Toads were in the center of the cockpit.

"Reginald, will we be able to get this ship moving right now?"

"Unfortunately, we may have to wait at least an hour for the power to sufficiently charge up the engine again for a return trip."

"Alright. This is what'll happen." Leon looked at his teammates and spoke almost in a whisper. The dark bags under his eyes heightened the intensity of his glare.

"Each of us will watch a section of the twelve windows on the monitor and report anything that seems suspicious. We find out what room we see it in and I'll go and investigate whatever the heck it is."

"Captain!" interjected Zeus. "You're not thinking of going alone are you?"

"Even with my headlight, I won't be able to see much going on. That is why you guys are assigned here to continue watching the video cameras."

"But it's dangerous. Captain! For all we know, that thing could be some bloodthirsty alien-"

"And for all we know, it could be a rodent! I'm the Captain and I will be going alone. Is that understood?"

Zeus fell silent. Reginald looked at Leon in awe. How was it possible that this was the same captain from a few previous hours ago? What transformation has taken place here! Then, Reginald looked at the faces of his fellow comrades. They were all haggard and sweaty, etched with paranoia of the slightest shadows, even in the comfort of the cockpit. Even Jeremiah, sleeping upright once again, had a contorted expression in his slumber, as if in a nightmare. Then, Reginald understood. Captain Leon cared too much for his teammates. He too noticed the anxiety written so clearly on their faces from their scares in the Starshroom. To subject them to another walk through the interiors would torture poor Leon's conscience too much!

Sure, Captain Leon wasn't the strongest or the most disciplined Toad out there. But by God, how dedicated he was to the well being of his crew! How much he thought of their needs and how much he wanted to protect them! Reginald looked at Leon's face and noticed it was even more weary then his teammates. No doubt he too was scared to leave the comfort of his fellow comrades. Reginald's heart was filled with adoration for this brave Toad Captain.

"Zeus, you get the first column of three videos. Toby, you get the next. Reginald, you take the third. And I'll have the last column."

"We're really gonna let Jeremiah just sleep?" asked Toby, looking at the unconscious, yellow capped Toad in exasperation and envy.

"Well, I don't really trust him too much to look at a video screen intensely for a period of time. Let him sleep."

So the four Toads stared at their own screens silently, watching for any suspicious activities that may be triggered in the halls of the Starshroom. But nothing happened on the monitor. Pretty soon, the Toads found themselves actually drifting to sleep, despite being in the midst of terror!

Toby was just about to close his eyes when he noticed something in one of his video windows. It was a dark shape at the very bottom of the screen. For all he knew, it could have been there since the beginning. He was too tired to tell if that was the case, but he felt idiotic nonetheless for not pointing it out sooner.

"Hey, chief." said Toby. Leon got up from his chair and went to the Banktoad. The others leaned in to listen.

"What is it?" said Leon.

"Well, I'm not quite sure how long this has been there, but take a look at this." Toby proceeded to point it out to the Captain. Leon looked closely at it.

"If it has been there for a while, it's probably something on the camera that's obstructing the view." replied Leon.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. But still, why haven't I noticed it earlier...?"

For some odd reason, Leon felt compelled to look at the screen even closer, despite the fact he was a hundred percent sure it was just an obstruction.

Slowly, the black mass at the bottom moved up, filling the frame with a distinct outline of a head with long hair.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH SHIIIIIIIIIT!" Leon screamed. The other Toads all fell out of their chairs and onto the floor, screaming and cursing wildly. Jeremiah woke with a frightful start and he too screamed and cursed with the rest.

The video was soon blacked out, replaced with eerie static and white noise. Leon remained gasping and wheezing, holding a hand to his thumping heart.

"I don't like that shit… I don't like that shit." he murmured to himself crazily. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he turned to Toby.

"Where was the footage taken, man?"

Unfortunately, Toby was unconscious in his chair from extreme shock to his fragile nervous system. Reginald quickly looked at the green Toad's monitor.

"Just outside the observatory hall."

"You mean that thing escaped our barricades?"

"It could have been the other creature for all we know."

Leon turned to Zeus, who was in charge of the cameras set in the observatory.

"Zeus, did you see anything in the observatory at all?"

"Negative, sir. Nothing to report. "

Leon put both of his hands on top of his cap.

"So now we have two things roaming in the ship. Our seals did nothing. Goddamn."

Leon took the stun stick out from his pocket and headed to the exit. The conscious Toads looked at their Captain, who was about to expose himself to untold risks and danger. Despite their affection for Leon, none of them were too willing to explore the ship for an unknown life form. This was also coupled with the fact that some of them were physically incapable to do so (i.e Toby was unconscious, Jeremiah would just fall asleep in the halls alone and probably be eaten or something).

"Keep your walkie on the entire time. And always look at the monitors and warn me of anything."

"Aye, Captain." replied Reginald, Jeremiah and Zeus. The three all looked at their captain, realizing this might possibly be the last time they see him unharmed and with all his limbs still attached. Each of them had no doubt in his mind that whatever these things were, they were on the ship with a malevolent purpose.

"Why are you guys looking so grim?" Leon asked with a slight smile, masking his own rampant nervousness. "I'll be back before you know it."

With that said, Toad Brigade Captain Leon turned and exited the cockpit, venturing into the sickly green lit halls of the Starshroom.