Toad kicked a rock into the abyss below, watching it tumble and turn until it was out of sight. He strained to listen for a sound – any sound at all. Nothing; Definitely bottomless. The small mushroom boy jumped down from the rock on the end of the cliff, sighing.
Toad was alone; Something he had not been in a very, very long time. Every day, toad would wake up, and take on his duty with his brothers in Peaches castle. Day in, day out, his actions and activities were planned for him: Sweep the floors, wash the dishes, paint the walls, fix the stove. He worked tirelessly for the royalty the kingdom so admired, and now that that was all over, now that he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, he was lost. Without purpose he just... stumbled around, wondering what to do.
Of course, he wasn't really purposeless; After he had entered the game and found himself in his own land with consorts and monsters and a guide, he was overjoyed! He felt like he could finally prove himself as a hero, as something more than a cleaner, a painter, a worker. Expendable. It didn't work out that way, however.
Not more than a few hours after he had entered, his land was invaded, by imps far more powerful than he was prepared for, and he had to flee. Toads-worth sprite and a few of his lizard friends had helped hold them off while Toadette built up his mushroom hut to the first gate. It was a hard fight, but the house was eventually tall enough, and Toad jumped through without hesitation.
Unfortunately, fate wasn't going to give him a break, and Toad found himself falling. Looking above him, seven gates swirled and danced; below him, a one hundred foot drop into a small lake. Needless to say Toad didn't walk away unscathed.
After crawling out of the lake, Toad had taken in his surroundings; A wide expanse of rock, cliffs and small, dark lakes could be seen from his vantage point. In between cliffs were endless drops of jagged rock, thickly hazed by the same dark mist that seemed to permeate the world he had arrived in. Toad had gathered his bearings and set out to find help.
He had travelled for two days straight. Along the way he had stopped at a village, populated by sickly looking grey turtles. They had begged him for food, for water; not a comforting request, seeing as he had come seeking the same. He had left quickly, not wanting to risk being eaten or something. The turtles had stared after him until he was over the nearest bluff.
Toad snapped out of his nostalgic haze as he realized he had come to a dead end while stirring in his thoughts. He had reached the end of a particularly tall cliff, which seemed to look out onto more of the same for miles and miles, dotted here and there by small, rocky buildings. More starving settlements no doubt. Looking higher on the horizon, the purple-black haze melted away into a surprisingly elegant and beautiful sky, a thousand stars shining brightly to light up the bleak world.
Then, Toad noticed something strange; A single star, glowing more brightly than the others. He tried to focus, and realized it was getting closer! Toad quickly realized it was not a star at all, but a ship. Toads stomach dropped as he recognized the stony towers and intimidating roaring visage of the floating fortress; Bowser's castle was coming straight this way.
Toad started running. He wasn't sure where he could go, as there was no where in particular he could hide in this jagged yet frustratingly flat wasteland. Then his luck seemed to change, as he saw a village on the horizon. He sprinted to it, as fast as his small legs could carry him, and took shelter in one of the huts. Three turtles occupied it, sitting on the floor, looking puzzled at his arrival.
"Please, I need help. I need to hide." Toad said, not sure how compliant the starving consorts would be.
The small creatures stared at the mushroom boy for a moment, then exited the rock hut. Confused and a bit frustrated, he watched as the consorts began conglomerating in the center of the village, each holding a simple looking horn. One by one, each turtle brought the horn to their lips, producing a shrill, annoying sound. Soon it was deafening, and Toad had to cover his ears to keep from going mad.
Then it was over. Toad slowly removed his hands from his ears, a ringing still persistent. He crept out of the hut, and to his horror, the fortress was heading straight toward the village! Toad attempted to run, but found he was surrounded by the turtles. They grabbed at his arms and legs, keeping him from running as the flying castle approached.
From this distance, it was even more obvious the consorts hadn't eaten in a long, long time. They're faces pale, their eyes sunken in. Their stomachs were thin, even for a turtle.
Toad struggled with all his might, but couldn't escape the mod of turtles. He resigned in horror as the castle was on top of them now, stopping just on the edge of the village. It hung there for a few minutes, until a small vehicle came whirling out; A half sphere, with a clowns face painted on.
The flying machine came to rest, and out jumped Toads worst nightmare; The Koopa king himself, Bowser. The tyrant threw a sack on the ground, a few dozen apples falling out. The turtles seemed distraught.
"You promised a five hundred apples for the capture of a hero!" Yelled a turtle meekly.
"Ya, we're starving! This will barely last us a week!" Shouted another.
A fire seemed to burn in Bowser's eyes, and he roared, a deafening sound that it could shatter windows.
"You're lucky to get anything at all, peasants," He sneered, "Now bring me the hero."
Toad resisted, but the mob of turtles pushed him forward, until he stood in front of the turtle tyrant himself. Bowser leaned down, his horrid breath causing Toad to cough and hold his breath. He squinted his eyes at the toad, then started to laugh.
"This is the hero you bring me?" The monstrous lizard bellowed. "He's just a toad! He's no threat to me!"
Bowser's face changed to one of deep thought.
"Although, I could use another toad in my castle." He quickly grabbed Toad by the throat, grinning widely and evilly. He hopped back into his flying machine, Toad struggling in hand. He pulled a corded walky-talky from his machine, and pressed the button.
"Burn the village; They have failed to bring me a hero and have wasted my time." He then laughed loudly as he flew off, watching the turtles scatter in fear. Toad watched helplessly as a laser from the ship shot down, setting fire to the village and vaporizing several consorts instantly.
The flying machine took off, and Toad started to pass out from the grip of Bowser's hand. He looked down at the burning village, watching the consorts scatter, and wondered how many other villages the tyrant had burned in search for his enemies.