episode9b

Grodus and Lord Crump sat in their rocket, sailing through space and headed for Tallon IV. While Grodus was patiently awaiting their arrival, Lord Crump was squirming about uncomfortably in his seat.

�Are we there yet?� asked Crump. �I really have to pee.�

�I told you not to drink so much,� remarked Grodus. �We�re almost there. Another few minutes should do it.�

�Good,� replied Lord Crump. �I really gotta go.�

Grodus just stared at Crump ridiculously. Crump just stared back in silence. A high-pitched voice pierced the silence in the rocket via the intercom.

�Sir Grodus,� it said.

�Yes, Beldam?� he replied. �What is it now?�

�Be careful, sir. Several of our enemies are headed for the Phazon Mines as well,� said Beldam. �Also, the Mario Bros. are in your Moon Base undetected. They beat the security team.�

�Well can�t you guys handle them?� asked Grodus. �You outnumber your enemies seven to two, pretty good odds I say. The least you can do is capture them and wait until I return.�

�Very well sir,� replied Beldam. �We won�t let you down.�

�We�re here,� said Grodus. Lord Crump jumped up and down ecstatically.

�What�s his problem?� asked Beldam.

�He�s gotta take a leak,� remarked Grodus. �Small bladder, I�m afraid that one.�

�So do not,� protested Lord Crump.

�Whatever,� said Grodus. �Well, we�re here now. We�ve gotta get going, so bye Beldam. Take those fools down!�

�Will do sir, will do,� replied Beldam.

�Excellent,� said Grodus. �Goodbye.�

The intercom flicked off and the sound of lasers hitting the rocket from outside could be heard.

�Umm�.Lord Crump,� stammered Grodus. �Is the rocket supposed to make that noise?�

�Not normally,� Crump replied.

�We�re under attack!� shouted Grodus, facing the inevitable.

�..

�This place-a is so big-a,� said Mario. �You�d think-a they�d have-a a bathroom,�

�Well they don�t-a,� replied Luigi, glancing at the floor plan. �Kitchen, rec-a room, swimming pool-a, but no-a bathroom.�

�Grr-a,� remarked Mario.

�Where-a do you think-a Grodus is keeping that-a weapon?� asked Luigi.

�I don�t know-a,� replied Mario. �Let�s-a look at the directory on-a the wall again-a.�

�Danger, keep out-a?� asked Luigi to no one at all.

�I�ll-a bet it�s-a in there-a,� thought Mario aloud.

�Yeah-a,� Luigi added. �To scare-a people way-a.�

�You-a would have been scared-a,� remarked Mario.

�Yeah right-a,� blurted Luigi. �Me, scared-a?�

�Forget it-a,� said Mario. �Let�s-a go!�

The Mario Bros. headed down the hallway toward the room on the map that said �Danger: Keep Out!� When they got there, they found that the door was locked.

�Wonder how-a you open it-a,� said Luigi.

�We�ll-a figure it out-a,� said Mario assuringly.

�Don�t you dare touch that door!� screeched a voice Mario and Luigi recognized.

The corridor became pitch-black. Mario and Luigi started fires in their hands to have a source of light.

�Ouch the light, it burns,� said the voice again.

�Guh, huh,� said another.

The three Shadow Sirens surrounded the Mario Bros., Beldam in front of them, Marilyn and Vivian on either side, their backs to the wall.

�Well, well, well,� cackled Beldam. �Looks like you two fools are cornered.�

�No chance-a,� shouted Mario, leaping over Beldam�s head and pushing her towards the door. Luigi used a Luigi Cyclone move to sweep Marilyn and Vivian on top of Beldam. The Mario Bros. approached the three sisters from either side.

�Look who�s-a surrounded now-a,� remarked Luigi.

�Grr,� hissed Beldam angrily. �You fools will never get into that room. Grodus will get the phazon, destroy the Earth, and kill you guys for good when he returns.�

�Oh really?� asked Mario. �I doubt-a he will-a.�

�Yeah-a,� added Luigi. �He-a won�t even get-a back with-a the phazon.�

�You�ll see when he returns,� threatened Beldam. �The joke will be on you!�

�Guh, huh,� laughed Marilyn.

�Shut up,� hissed Beldam.

�Why are you so mean, sis?� asked Vivian.

�What�s your problem, runt?� asked Beldam.

�Stop it.�

�You�re so annoying, you can�t do anything right. When we go home, it�s time for your punishment. Long overdue if you ask me!�

�But sis��

�Guh huh.�

�Please don�t punish me.�

�No it�s too late for that now. You�ve simply pushed me over the edge. Now you�re in trouble.�

�Nooo��

�Guh huh..�

�Umm excuse-a me,� interrupted Mario. �Hate-a to break up your-a family squabble, but we�re-a still here-a.�

�Oh what?� asked Beldam incredulously. �You didn�t head off somewhere else while we were arguing?�

�Nope-a,� replied Luigi bravely.

�Well you shall not pass,� she fumed, quickly raging back into battle-mode, tossing some blobs of dark energy and ice at Mario and Luigi. The brothers jumped over everything and retaliated with fireballs.

�Guh huh�� said Marilyn and lightning struck Mario and Luigi.

�Excellent work Marilyn,� praised Beldam. �At least someone in this family can amount to something,� she remarked, while looking directly at Vivian.

Vivian stared at the floor and began to sob again. Marilyn rushed over to comfort her younger sister. Beldam just stayed put and stared at her icily.

�Never mind her,� said Beldam to Marilyn. �Not worth your energy. But they were.�
She pointed to Mario and Luigi lying on the floor. �Excellent job taking them down.�

�Who�s-a taken down?� asked Mario, leaping to his feet.

�Not-a me,� replied Luigi.

�Grr, this is ridiculous,� said Beldam. �Take them out this time, Marilyn.

Marilyn zapped them again. Nothing happened. She zapped them several times, but nothing happened.

�What�s going on here?� asked Beldam.

�Guh huh,� shrugged Marilyn.

�Your attacks-a are weak-a,� remarked Mario.

�Or not-a,� added Luigi, showing off his rubber gloves and a piece of rubber inside his hat. Mario did the same.

�Rubber-a,� he said. �An excellent insulator-a.�

�Rubber or not, you two shall perish!� cried Beldam, launching a barrage of powerful attacks at Mario and Luigi. Both brothers deflected them using their capes right back where they came form, knocking out the Shadow Sirens. �Ugh,� moaned Beldam. �What pain,� she said, collapsing.

�Guess we win-a,� said Luigi.

�Yes-a, but now we must-a open that door-a,� Mario reminded him.

�Shoot-a,� replied Luigi.

�..

Link, Yoshi and Ganondorf sailed through the galaxy in search of Tallon IV and Grodus�s rocket. When they found the rocket, they locked onto it and followed it into the atmosphere of the hostile planet known as Tallon IV.

�Ready. Aim. Fire!� shouted Ganondorf as he locked onto part of the rocket.. With precise aim, he hit it dead on.

�Nice shot,� commented Link.

�No problem for a pro like me,� replied Ganon.

�Get closer,� said Yoshi. �The lasers will have more effect that way.�

�Good point,� said Ganon, charging up a shot. �Here comes a big one.�

The shot made contact with Grodus�s ship, blowing it to pieces. Grodus and Crump spilled out of the shop in a painful, exhausted heap.

�I told you we were under attack!� shouted Grodus. �Why didn�t you listen to me?�

�I still have to pee,� remarked Lord Crump.

�You may have destroyed my rocket, but I always come prepared,� said Grodus, hopping into a spare spaceship, smaller than the rocket itself intended to be used for emergencies.

The ship flew straight for a few feet. Then, it began to use a drill to tunnel its way into the ground.

�Smell you later, losers,� sneered Grodus.

�Ugh, they got away,� said Ganon frustrated.

�Don�t worry,� said Link. �Samus probably has a map of Tallon IV in her ship. We�ll just use it to find the Phazon Mines, stop Grodus and get out of here.�

�Yeah,� added Ysohi. �The odds are in our favor. There are only two of them and three of us.

�Yes,� replied Ganondorf. �But I feel that Lord Crump may have brought Magnus von Grapple along.�

�In any case, we�d better hurry,� said Link.

�The map says Phazon Mines is directly accessible via Tallon Overworld,� read Yoshi from the map. �To get there, we need to go 10 miles northeast, park the ship and go down.�

�Good,� said Ganon. �Let�s go.�

Once the group arrived at the spot, they got out of the gunship and began to look for the entrance.

�Says it�s in the Great Tree Hall,� stated Ysohi.

�This tree�s pretty big,� said Link. �Must be the Great Tree.�

�Yep,� said Yoshi. �We gotta find a way to get into the trunk. The entrance to the mines is at the base of the tree, but it�s inside the tree.�

�Right, here�s a hole,� said Link, spotting a small hole in the tree. He stuck his sword in and made it bigger, ripping off more bark to allow them to enter.

�Excellent,� remarked Ganon. �We go all the way down, right?�

�Yeah,� replied Yoshi. �Not like there�s much else to do, seeing as we�re falling.......�

�No one said this tree was hollow,� commented Link.

�We didn�t know,� said Yoshi. �At least we�ll have no trouble getting to the bottom.�

�You guys got that right,� said Ganondorf.

With a loud splat, the group landed at the bottom.

�What was that?� asked Grodus.

�The �splat�-type noise?� asked Lord Crump.

�Yes, that,� said Grodus.

�I dunno. Probably someone falling.�

�Sounds like it came from that tree.�

�Nah. That�s impossible.�

�Yeah. Well we�d better get started mining the phazon. This will most likely take all day, so we�d better start as soon as possible, before those fools show up again.�

�The mining will take mere minutes my friend,� said Lord Crump in sort of a lighthearted manner. �Look what I brought along.�

�A portable toilet,� guessed Grodus.

�Close,� replied Crump. �Magnus von Grapple Triple-X.�

�How was that close?� asked Grodus.

�I dunno,� said Crump. �But what I do know is that this thing can absorb the phazon like a sponge absorbs water.�

�Then what are you waiting for?� asked Grodus. �Activate it!�

�Yes sir! Mining sequence on!�

At that moment, Magnus von Grapple began to drill into the floor of the mining tunnel. Within minutes, it had struck phazon and in another five minutes, it had sucked all the energy out of the phazon.

�Is that enough, Grodus?� Crump asked.

�Lord Crump!� replied Grodus. �That�s plenty. Excellent work. I take back that thing about you being incompetent.�

�I�m afraid you have spoken too soon sir,� said Crump dismally.

Link, Yoshi and Ganondorf punched their way out of a hollow tree trunk and stared Grodus down, ready to fight. They glanced at the buckets in his hands and saw Magnus on overdrive due to the excess phazon it had absorbed.

Also, a stone statue of a peaceful, bird-like person came to life and spoke.

�Who are you that dare to trespass on these sacred grounds?� it said.

�It�s a Chozo, the former inhabitants of Tallon IV,� remarked Yoshi.

�You do not belong here. You will perish in doom. You will wish you had not set foot in this room after you feel all the pain and suffering that will result. Brethren attack!�

Everyone in the room expected to see thousands of Chozo enter the room and attack.

�Oh that�s right, the Chozo are extinct,� remembered Ganondorf, �That one�s just a statue!�

�Anti-Space Pirate mechanism activated.� droned the statue in a mechanical voice. �Planet will self-destruct in ten minutes! Repeat! Planetary meltdown occurs in ten minutes! Ten minutes until detonation!�

�Oh no we gotta get out of here!� exclaimed Yoshi.

�So long losers,� said Crump.

�Muahahahaha!!!� laughed Grodus. �We�ve got the phazon and you�re finished. Let�s go Crump.�

They began to flee the area, but were stopped when some rocks dislodged from their positions and blocked the path Grodus had used to enter.

�No!� he shouted. �Help! Someone!�

�Phendrana meltdown complete!� said the mechanical voice. �Seven minutes remaining.�

�Nooooo!!!!!!� screamed Grodus, now shut in his own 4x4 region between the rocks.

�I�ll drill you out, sir,� said Crump. Magnus drilled and Grodus was free. �Hey, I just thought of something: We can just drill out of this, Grodus. Bye losers!�

�Good thinking,� replied Grodus. �They are finished, right?�

�The chance they make it out is slim-to-none.�

�Lord Crump, what is the chance that we make it out?�

�Slim-to-none.�

�That�s what I�d thought. In that case, we�d better hurry.�

�Five minutes remaining. Aquatic condition critical!� droned the voice. �Flood resulting! Make your way to Tallon Overworld immediately!�

�Flood?� asked Yoshi, leading the group through the path Lord Crump was drilling up ahead. �Why would there be a flood?�

�Phendrana Drifts melted!� exclaimed Link. �The ice world! And all that water�s gonna flood the planet. We gotta get outta here!�

�Yeah,� added Ganon. �Because this place is gonna blow in less than five minutes, plus there�s some water�..�

A wave of water cut him off. It splashed into Grodus and the heroes, almost knocking them unconscious into the Tallon Overworld surface. Which began to fill up with water. And more water. And more water�.Holy crap, they�re going to drown.

�Condition critical! Two minutes until detonation!�

�..

�Ah,� said Mario, very pleased with himself. �Open-a!�

�Finally-a!� replied Luigi. �Now-a we can-a stop Grodus for good-a!�

�Yes-a,� said Mario. �Hopefully, the others-a had as good-a luck as we did-a.�

�Yeah-a. They probably did-a fine. Now let�s-a destroy the weapon!� said Luigi.

Episode 9: A Miner Problem

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Last time...........
The heroes defeated the security troops sent against them, although Bowser and Samus are knocked out in the process. They overhear a conversation about Grodus's plan to mine phazon, but are caught eavesdropping and lose Bowser and Samus to a couple of Grodus's fiends. Next, they formulate a plan to stop Grodus and put it into action. Unfortunately for them, however, it is overheard by Cackletta and she sets out to put a stop to it.