Chapter 9
The Monsters of the Shadows
I woke up in a room made of stone with a lantern hanging on the wall next to a door. I tried to get up and leave but I discovered I had a leash on and it was chained to the wall. I finally realized who put me here and I didn't want to stay to see them, so I began digging into the wall to pull the chain out of the wall, I tried to bite the chain to dull it enough to pull it apart, and I tried to use Dragon Tail to break the chain, but everything I did failed. I started to yell for help...that's when I heard the door unlock and saw a familiar face.
"What do you monsters want from me?" "You know what we want you feathered lizard." "No, no I won't betray the king! There is nothing you can do to me that will change my mind!" "Nothing huh? Mmph. Maybe she will help you change your mind." I didn't know what he was talking about when he said that. Two more of them came in and held my arms tightly while their leader unlocked my chain. They dragged me out of the room and took me outside their castle.
I demanded them to tell me what they are going to do to me, but instead of telling me, they knocked me out. When I finally woke up, I was tied to a tree somewhere deep in the forest. I looked around to where the monsters are. I saw no sign of any of them. I knew that they were hiding somewhere, watching me, waiting for me to try to escape.
A part of me told myself to bite the ropes to set me free but another part of me said if I do break free and the monsters are hiding somewhere, they will come out to kill me. As I sat there, thinking of escaping, I saw someone. At first I thought it was one of those monsters, but as I squinted my eyes to see who it was, I discovered it was another Archeops, but not just any Archeops, it was my wife, Victoria. "Victoria? Victoria! Victoria wake up!" She eventually started to move and groan, as she was groaning I heard her say my name. "...Mario...where are you?"
She was looking for me? How long was I gone? What do they want with my wife? "Let my wife go! Do whatever you want to me but let her go!" I shouted. I shout like this for while but it seems like they aren't even there, I eventually stop when my throat started to hurt.
I don't know how long we were tied to the trees, but I feel something watching me. I start to look around to see if it was someone to help us, but in the distance, I see three pairs of blue glowing eyes staring at me. I started trembling while those blue eyes just watches me.A while later,three Zoroark emerge from the darkness. One of them started to talk,"Hello Mario. We want to ask you a favor. You are the only one who knows more about the King of the Grasslands than anyone else. All we ask is for you to tell us everything you know about him and his family." The nerve of these monsters. How dare they ask me to betray the closest friend I have ever had. "I will never betray the king or his family! Why do you want to know about them?" The Zoroark in the middle, the one I presume is the leader, steps towards my wife. He looks at her for a moment then looks at me. "What we want with the information you know is not your concern. You can tell us what we want to know then we'll let you and your wife go."
Victoria was still unconscious. I couldn't tell them what they wanted to know, but I couldn't let them hurt Victoria. I had an idea. "I will tell you what you want to know, but you must let my wife go first." He glared at me, my idea is working, then he sighed, "...Fine...". He called the other two and whispered something to them.
The two Zoroark headed towards my wife and one of them pulled out a knife. At first, I wanted to scream at them to not hurt Victoria, but then I saw they were cutting her ropes. Victoria was still unconscious, so they both carried her away. I watched as they carried my wife away, waiting for the right time to act out my plan to escape and carry Victoria back to the kingdom. "All right, I did my part in our deal now you do the same.", I nodded. "Ok, let me tell you about the King." I said.
I finally broke free from the ropes and I was already in the air. "Haha! I would never betray the king! Next time you better think twice before you kidnap a warrior of the Grasslands!" I was amazed by how easily I was able to trick him! As I started to head in the direction of his goons and Victoria, I heard screaming that gave me a chill and I hoped it wasn't from who I thought it was.
I flew as fast as I could to Victoria, hoping she is okay and that we both will fly back home to Ginger and Ruby. I hope they are okay too. I saw those goons with their backs turned facing me and they were standing above something. When I flew close enough to them, I swing around and hit them with my tail. After sending them flying into the woods, I turned to see what they were looking at.
I couldn't believe what I saw... my eyes started to water... I fell to my knees and started to cry. I couldn't think clearly, all I could think is "Why is this happening?", "Why wasn't I able to protect her?", "Why was she involved in this?", and "She didn't deserve to die...".
Sorry for taking forever on this chapter. I hope you guys liked it even thought its sad.