The Tale of Burushi

[Sky]

Well, this is it, my first fanfiction, still incomplete. I hope you guys will like it! I'm currently writing up chapter 8 of it, so the first few chapters will arrive faster than the rest. Enjoy!

...

Chapter I: A Surprising Youngster

The sky cloudless, the gentle sea breeze blowing through the numerous palm trees throughout the island. Another perfect day to just sit back and take life easy. This way of life is just how the inhabitants of Saurus Island like it. These inhabitants are none other than Yoshis, dinosaurs that come in multiple colors and personalities.

Saurus Island, a tropical paradise perfectly suited for these beings. With the abundant plants and fruit bushes, not to mention what seems to be an ever-lasting supply of different sea creatures around the island, more notably the Kipp and Blooper, the Yoshis never have to worry about finding a food supply. Surrounding the island are beaches that stretch for quite a while, encircling the island. Even with the very high temperature the Yoshis must endure almost every day, there are many palm trees just waiting for a tired, dehydrated Yoshi to just lay down under it and dose off. Going towards the interior of the island the palm trees become more bunched together and a small forest of these trees is at the center. In this particular forest, there is also a clearing, with many little, hard white balls with green spots on it. These are Yoshi eggs, laid and arranged in a very organized fashion in many nests that are spread through the ground.

It was well passed the part of the year where the Yoshis' lay their eggs and soon the time would come where a new generation of these dinosaurs will be born. During that time, the adult Yoshis take turns to tend and safekeep the eggs while they are preparing for the big day where the little Yoshis inside will come out. And of course, that time came.

An adult Yoshi is lazily sitting close to the nests and is dosing off in this comfortable environment. Then that's when it happened... first by the small movements of the eggs and then by a little cracking sound. The Yoshi, one minute about to fall asleep, now is jumping in the air and calling out for the rest of the population to come quickly. Many Yoshis began to appear from all directions towards the clearing, eagerly awaiting the coming of the youth to the world. Every adult is looking on with great interest at the eggs, for every adult will have to take care of every youngsters, as it has been done for many generations. After only a short while, there came the first baby of the batch. All watched anxiously as the process of life took its course. All one could see was a small pair of sneakers coming out of the cracks, then the small yoshi found his way out of its egg. The first newborn was a red yoshi. The adults looked at each other, each knowing what the other was thinking. The good thing about Yoshis is that it is easy to determine its personality by its coloring.

The red yoshi, they knew that it would be a handful. Even though the like to do everything any yoshi would do, these Yoshis have always been known for their short tempers. To see any yoshi get angered is rather rare, even for the red yoshi, but it will get angered more frequently. Apart from the red yoshi, more and more Yoshis began to pop out of their eggs at this point.

The dark blue yoshi, this one would be yet another handful. These are known as troublemakers and don't like to follow the dinosaur pack's rules, they'd rather be doing what they want and how they want it most of the time.

The yellow yoshi, not as bad as the other two as for the disciplining tends to go, but another one the adults will have to tend to. This is not because of them causing mayhem on the island, but rather because the yellow yoshi tend to act impulsively and on instincts rather than common sense, often leading them to trouble. Jolly and happy by nature, these yoshis tend to do anything pleasing, such as having fun or enjoying a nap under a palm tree.

The pink yoshi, this one is indeed the one that the adults do not need to keep an eye out for. These Yoshis tend to be more responsible than the others and cares a lot for every other yoshi on the island, they don't like to see any fellow yoshis get in trouble and ultimately, get harmed.

The green yoshi, a great portion of the islands population is green, so more than every, they knew what this one would be doing all day, seeking adventure. More than anything, the green yoshis would travel around the island to look for anything out of the ordinary, something interesting to do.

With all the eggs but one left to hatch, the adults quickly started to tell each other what kind of yoshi would come out. Some said green, while others said yellow, and some others did not care which color it would be. While the conversations were taking place, the egg started to move. Little by little, cracks started to form along the egg's surface, and out came the infant. All went silent, every single adult in the clearing could not even mutter any words from their mouths from the sheer shock of the situation. Even though Yoshis come in different colors, no one on the island had anything knowledge of this.

What came out of the egg was a light blue yoshi...

[Toshi]

I never really read your stories YW, and this is so awesome and really interesting, bring on Chapter 2 for me to read!

The dark blue yoshi, this one would be yet another handful. These are known as troublemakers and don't like to follow the dinosaur pack's rules, they'd rather be doing what they want and how they want it most of the time.

Hehe, so why isnt Toshi like this? XD

[Sky]

Heh.. there's a saying that goes to the effect of, "If the writer wants to make something that was never specified, than it's his story and is allowed to do so" or something like that. Furthermore, this is Saurus Island, away from it, the same colour Yoshis could be different, who knows? I just know your not from there Toshi ... Okay, since you asked Toshi, and I always ask constantly for viewing new pics once they're done, I'll post more

...

Chapter II: Journeyman Competition

Boy it's hot today, even hotter than the previous few days. Most, if not all, of the yoshis seeked refuge in the refreshing shade that trees had to offer. This, of course, was no different for my best friend and I, already under a nearby tree no too far from the water's edge. I was on the brink of dosing off until a familiar voice prevented me from falling asleep.

"I'm bored!" a yellow yoshi exclaimed beside me.

"Kiiroshi, you can't stay still for more than five minutes." I replied with a chuckle.

"I hate sitting around doing nothing when I'm not tired, you know that."

The conversation continued on, but I was lost to memories while we were talking. I remember, five years ago, when Kiiroshi and I were but small yoshis, going about playing various games and exploring our island. We were inseparable, and still are. Actually, Kiiroshi is the only yoshi on the island that doesn't feel like I'm different from everyone, me being the only light-blue yoshi after all. Every other person would either treat me specially, while others would ignore me until we talked or something of the sort, and I hated that. All I wanted was to be treated equally, not to be treated specially or being ignored. Kiiroshi is the only yoshi, and that is why he is my best friend. I have great respect for him, because I know he respects me the same way.

Although, we do have our differences. He, being a yellow yoshi, is prone to act out of curiosity and impulse rather than thinking of what he will do. This has lead to many inconveniences. For instance, one time I tried to warn him that the fruits he was about to eat were bad, but I was too late. He, being too hungry to even think about what he would catch with that tongue of his and gulp in, he ate to his hearts content... also leading to a very bad upset stomach. Remembering this incident caused me to laugh a little.

"What? Did I say something funny?" asked Kiiroshi while giving off a small spurt of laughter of his own.

That was another one of his traits, he would almost always be in a good mood, even when being a tad confused at times.

"Wha... oh. I was just thinking."

I knew what he was thinking there, that I think too much. That would be a good way to describe me. Everytime I'm not doing anything or the like, I'm thinking. Thinking of what I could be doing rather than nothing, thinking of random thoughts that would pass through my head, or thinking about why I was different from everyone and trying to figure out why. This leads others to conclude that I'll almost always be daydreaming or zoned out. And, whether I like it or not, their right.

"Hey, I was thinking..." I started to say, but was promptly interrupted by something he always says in this situation.

"When don't you, Burushi?" he stated sarcastically while giving me a friendly wink.

I couldn't hold it back, I gave off a good laugh before I could even continue my train of thought.

"As I was trying to say, with the days becoming longer and the temperature being hotter, do you think that it will be held soon?

"It? Oh, you mean that. I heard that it's going to start in two days time, you in?

"Of course, what about you?

"No, I don't want to."

To this I rose and stood from my seating place and gave off "Yellow-belly." before chuckling and running off.

"Hey, that wasn't nice" said Kiiroshi as he lumped up, while laughing at my remark, and began to chase me down.

The "it" we were referring to was what we called the Journeyman Competition. This event started from even before I was born. About eight years ago, the yoshis from our island found other yoshis stranded on the northern shore. They were taken in and tended to, and rapidly the newcomer yoshis became friends with the yoshis of the island. When someone asked where they were from, they replied that they came from Yo'ster Isle, another island with yoshis on it. They talked a lot about their island during their stay, about being connected to a kingdom filled with various inhabitants, about their popular racetrack where they would have what they called a mushroom derby, and about their leader, a yoshi named Yoshi. They said that although he didn't want to be their leader and wanted everyone to be as equals, they regarded him very highly. Because of its vagueness, many versions of this Yoshi is heard nowadays. Some say he can sprout wings at will and fly, some would say he could drink the waters between their island and the kingdom and hold it in his mouth long enough for every yoshi to cross freely, while others state he is about twenty feet tall and all-powerful. Some believe these versions, but I find them rubbish.

After staying at our island for two years, the newcomers decided to try and make it back home, even though they were not sure in which direction they came from. We had found them on the northern shore, so they set out from there. We never had any news from them since, so we hope that they made it safely.

Ever since their departure, we had this event, to determine which one of us had the skills and endurance to survive the trip across the ocean, for the island elder had forbidden anyone not qualified to set out. I have been questioning myself whether or not I would like to enter this event. I like adventuring, to see new places, to make new friends. Although I always wondered if I really wanted to do this because of adventure, I knew that that was not my reason. My reason was simple, to see this Yoshi with my own eyes, to see if all yoshis could actually live as equals. That was my motivation.

The next two nights were rather restless, the last time I was about to fall asleep was when Kiiroshi exclaimed his boredom. I was too anxious to get some rest. My thoughts and excitement gave me insomnia, and the worst part is that even without rest for two nights, I wasn't feeble and tired

***

The day I awaited was finally here. I really wanted to make an impact and be eligible to leave and search for the person who could give me answers to my questions, Yoshi. This competition was divided in four categories: the jump, the shell, the stomach and the throw. Unfortunately, I wasn't adept at jumping and throwing, so I had to work extra hard on those. All in all, I was ready.

[Toshi]

Wow...this is really great stuff...why the hell have i not been reading these? Keep it up dude!

[Teo]

Aw man, it's a shame I'm sneaking on right now. I can't read them. Maybe tommorrow.

[red.yoshi]

i like how you described each yoshi. the story around though, i think needs more description. great job, its a great story in progress even though i only skimmed it!

[Sky]

Well, time to add chapter 3 up... heh.

EDIT: Forgot the chapter title...

...

Chapter 3: Pre-Event Jitters


I walked slowly towards the clearing which was the meeting place for all yoshis, apart from during the egg-laying season, before important events. We were all going there to listen to the elder make a speech before the competition, as he has done many times before. Funny how this morning I was so excited to compete in the events, and now I was nervous, very nervous. My thoughts were something along the sort of: "Do I have what it takes?" "Will I be able to pull through?" These and many more thoughts were rushing through my head, I was somewhat worried that I got myself way over my head by participating in this competition. I knew, though, that it was well worth. I needed to pass through these.

As I arrived close to the clearing, I could see that I was one of the last ones to arrive, most of the others were already awaiting the elder to make his entrance. "At least, I'm not late." I joked at myself, which made me be at ease a little, which was a relief. After several minutes and a few late yoshis later, the elder made his appearance to the crowd. He was the oldest yoshi on the island, being the most wise and filled with life experiences, thus being given the title of elder of the island. He stood proudly in front of us, looking at everyone before making his statements. Everyone had great respect for him, not only because of his status, but because he's wise enough to do what is good for everybody. By now, everyone, including I, had given their complete attention to him everyone had great respect for him. for this was something special, it happened once every time the weather heats up again, the Journeyman Competition would start right after his words of wisdom.

"Good day, my fellow yoshis." he started, "The time has come to start the competition as we have done many times now, to determine the yoshi that will be the most capable of crossing the ocean to make contact with the other island. The rules have not changed, the events have not changed, this time will be no different as the pervious times. The competition holds four events, starting with the jump, then going with the shell, then the stomach and finally the throw. And as you all know, if you fail one of the events in this competition, you cannot continue to the next...

I winced at the comment. How could I have forgotten such an important detail as this one. Reminding myself of this rule did not help my state of mind one bit. I became very nervous all of a sudden, but I tried to get myself together. "All I have to do is pass 4 events to qualify, I can do this." I kept telling this to myself over and over again, trying to calm myself a little. By the time I got back to listening to the speech, the elder was closing it off.

"So, I know you will all try to do your best and don't forget, even if you don't make it this time, don't get discouraged, there will be a next time. The jump event starts in a little while, competitors should use this time wisely to prepare themselves. Good luck to you all."

I wasted no time, I left the clearing as soon as the speech was over, trying again next time was not something I was terribly fond of doing. I didn't want to live through another many days of being ignored or being treated special, I wanted to find this Yo'ster Isle where yoshis would finally treat me as equals. As I was thinking of all this, I knew where I needed to go before the jump event would start.

***

All the participating yoshis were present and everything was ready to start. The jump event was held on the on the eastern banks of a small river that starts from the beginning of the forest in the middle of the island and end in the ocean at the northern shore. The jump was to be made from one side of the river to the other side, crossing a distance of about 2 trees' height, not to mention that the distance from the ground to the river was about one tree's height, meaning that if one would fail the jump, the yoshi would fall down into the river, disqualifying the yoshi and ruining any chance of making the cut this time around.

The event was underway, and thankfully I was not the first one to jump across, this gave me the time to see how other yoshis would fare and actually see some yoshis jump the gap before me, which could help me out in the process. Time just seemed to fly by, and it was already my turn. I looked nervously at the gap, it was long, I don't recall ever jumping that far in my life before, which was bothersome, but I had to make it. I stepped backwards, far enough to give me enough room to run before jumping across. I gulped, trying as hard as I could not to think about what would happen if I failed here. I tried to concentrate on what I did earlier on...

***

"No, not like that." Kiiroshi stated after watching me jump. "Like this." And as those words left his mouth, he leapt gracefully through the air.

"Well, it looks easy, but it's not." I replied. I tried again, landing further ahead and marking it on the ground how far I jumped.

"See, you're getting better already!" Kiiroshi exclaimed gleefully.

I knew that Kiiroshi was an excellent jumper, maybe the best around. After the elder's speech, when I left the clearing, I came up to Kiiroshi and asked him for help, to train me before the event. He gladly accepted and we practiced this for a long while, until he thought I was ready for the jump.

***

I started to sprint towards the edge of the gap, trying hard to put into practice what Kiiroshi told me. My feet were pounding on the ground with every running step, it felt as if time slowed down before I arrived at the jumping point. Then I reached it, and jumped off and into the air. If everything was in slow-motion beforehand, the time I was in the air felt sped up. All I remember is that my foot landed on the edge of the bank and I tumbled forward and a tree halted my tumble. From another yoshis point of few, that might have been hilarious, and I did hear a few spouts of laughter in the background, but there was only one thing going through my head at that time... "I made it."

[Toshi]

w00t, chapter 4, here we come! Keep 'em comin YW! I'm hooked!!!

[Teo]

I finally got to read those chapters and I have to say that those are GREAT! I think I've heard of yo'ster isle in another story. You're a great writter!

[Sky]

Heh, thanks guys, appreciate it! ;D

...


Chapter 4: Burning Desire

"I made it." That was the only thing on my mind then, but now the I had time to recover from the jump event, I know that this is only the beginning. There are three events left, with the shell coming up in a short while. After my recent achievement with the jump event, I felt a little more confident in my abilities. I felt like I really had a great shot at this. The shell event is to determine the defensive capabilities of each yoshi, with the better half at withstanding the damage taken will advance to the stomach event, while the other half will get eliminated from the competition. With all my attention on making it, I hadn't realized that we were only eight yoshis left, so the better four will carry on.

As I came within seeing range of where the shell event was, I looked over the setting. There was a difference this time around compared to the last. Last time, the yoshis would place themselves inside their shells and other yoshis would headbutt or ground pound on those shells until the yoshi could take no more. This time around, there was a large stone stand maybe one foot off the ground, which lead me to confusion. Why would we have to stay in our shell on this large stand? I kept trying to figure out why it was there, and when the event started, I still had no clue.

The eight remaining yoshis, including I, took our places on the stand. When the signal was given, we formed our shells around us and waited for the punishment to begin. It was dark in my shell, it always surprised me because there's no real reason to get inside ours shell usually. I was still perplexed with the reason of us being on this stand, I really - ugh.. The yoshis outside started already. Pound after headbutt after pound kept banging on my shell, I was all right for now, but I don't know how long I can last if this keeps up. The worst part for now is something I just realized. I'm in my shell right now, I can't see through my shell, meaning I can't see my competitors, also meaning I cannot know if I'm still in danger of not making it if I come out.

I kept my ground rather well, it's been a while that the other yoshis have been giving me damage and I can still hold for another while. Of course, who knows how the other competitors are doing, are they fairing well, are they - odd. The yoshis that were busy giving me damage stopped. Why are they doing that, what's going on? It's then that I felt it - heat. The bottom of my shell was heating up slowly but at a steady rate. Oh no, that's why there was a stand for us to sit upon with our shells, they lit a fire under us! This turn of event wasn't welcome, I was all right with yoshis pounding me, but this heat is different. I tried to stay inside my shell for as long as possible, it felt horrible, the heat was intolerable, it was far worse than any hot day I have every been in.

After a while, I gave in. I just couldn't stay in there one more second. Though I knew I would regret it, coming out was way too soon. I burst out of my shell and as quickly as possible jumped off the stand. As I winced from the harsh heat I was in, I turned around and prepared to be disappointed and counted the remaining yoshis.

...None. Where was everyone? I looked around, and I saw my competitors already resting on the ground among other things. I was the last one to stay on there? I looked around some more, yes, every other competitor was around the stand and no longer on it. I couldn't believe it, yet the confirmation of that came from a very happy Kiiroshi almost jumping on top of me. As I panted from the beating and enduring the heat, my confidence soared.

The stomach event would be tomorrow, and I was thankful. That last event was a real energy drainer, and I was hungry and tired. I retreated inside the forest to grab some fruit to eat before taking a long deserved rest. I found some juicy melons around closeby and prepared to tend to that grumbling stomach of mine, just as I was about to gulp one full with my tongue, something grabbed it in mid-air. I looked up, it was Kiiroshi.

"What are you doing?" Kiiroshi asked loudly, as if I was about to do something
wrong.

"I wah goin ah eah" I tried to state, but with my tongue held by Kiiroshi, it wasn't really audible.

"You fool!" he said, as he let go of my tongue for a while, "This is probably the first time I'm going to say, but think with your head for a second. Tomorrow's event is the stomach, where you have to eat more than the other yoshis to pass remember? Eat now and you'll be at a handicap!"

Geez, for someone who thinks more with his stomach than his head usually, Kiiroshi really hit the spot there. How could I think of eating when I was going to need all the free space for tomorrow.

I looked at Kiiroshi "Thanks."

With a hearty smile from Kiiroshi, he left me to rest up for tomorrow's events. Thankfully, I fell asleep quite quickly despite my hunger, giving me a much deserved rest after three days without sleeping at all.

***

The stomach event was held in the clearing inside the forest. I had to race towards the clearing because I didn't wake up in time, with only one instance of sleep within three days, I'm surprised I didn't pass right through the next event, surprised and highly thankful. When I got there, the three other yoshis remaining were already ready to commence the event, all that was needed was that I get ready and the event would start. There were melons, grapes, bananas, and many more to eat, it looked like a feast. The only difference is that we're eating this for our ticket of the island and not a joyous event.

Soon after, the event started. I was impatient and raring to go, I haven't eaten anything since I went to this very clearing to hear the elder's speech. I ate as quickly as my tongue could go and mouth could fit, and I really enjoyed every moment of it. The fact that I felt my stomach filling up after being empty for a whole day really made my day, my mind wasn't on passing this event anymore, it was to eat the most I could just to fill my belly up.

***

I fell to the ground, I couldn't take another melon if my life depended on it. The other yoshis were also too full to lay a finger on anything considered food at the moment. Four yoshis, one for each competitor, have been looking at us and counting the fruits eaten up by us. Within a short while, they gave us the results...

***

I walked towards the beach where the last event would take place, finishing second in the eating contest and making it to the finals. The throw event was held on the beach, targets were placed along it, twenty target in all, ten for each competitor. Basically, all I needed to do was to hit more targets than my adversary. If only that was simple, I have one of the worst throws on Saurus Island. I really needed to surpass myself here. Every single yoshi of the island was here, impatient to see the final event.

As soon as everything was ready, the throw event started. I told myself to concentrate only one my targets and not pay my opponent any attention, if I looked at the yoshi to see if he hit or missed, I might not perform better than I could. My first target was ahead of me, I took an egg and threw it, and it hit. I carried on towards my next targets, hitting some, missing some. I got to my last target, I had a feeling that this target was going to make the difference in the end. I was tense, I gulped, my knees started to shake. I took aim and shot my last egg on the last target... it hit! I was overjoyed, I got seven out of ten targets with that one, that was the best throwing I ever made in my life. I looked at my opponent shoot his last target and missing it, that sealed the deal. I was so happy I wanted to dance right on the spot. After a short while, the other yoshis gave the results...

***

I lay there on the ground, looking up at the sky, wondering why. Why did I fail? Why did I get seven and my adversary had to get nine? I was depressed, failing this important competition means I have to wait until next time. Even Kiiroshi failed at trying to cheer me up, I was too down and not ready to feel any better soon. As I sighed under a small palm tree, dark clouds began to form in the sky above. "Great, just what I needed," I moaned as the sky got even darker and rain started to fall. The competition is over, and I'm not going anywhere.

[Toshi]

Aw poor Burushi...i'm waiting for the next one dude!

[Sky]

Chapter 5: Getting What I Wished For

Rain was pouring down hard now, but I didn't care. I still haven't moved an inch from where I first lay, not even bothering to move because it partially rained on me. I tried to tell myself that there would be a next time, that I could try again, but deep within me, I knew this meant that I had to go through a long while not knowing the answers to my questions once more.

Someone came up to me, I didn't even bother to look up to see who it was, but his familiar voice said it all.

"Look," Kiiroshi said in a soft, comforting voice, "Only because you didn't make it his time around doesn't mean you won't succeed next time. You'll have more opportunities, nothing's lost unless we stop trying."

I didn't say a word. I knew Kiiroshi was trying his best to get me back in a good mood, but it wasn't going to happen now.

"Well, if it might make you feel any better, some yoshis were talking about seeing something out in the ocean off the northern shore, might want to check it out, it'll help you get your mind off your woe."

It took me some time to think about it. It did pique my interest, but I made no move, "With this storm about, they probably thought they saw something."

"Maybe so, but I'm going to check it out. Aren't you going to come?

I shook my head. I wasn't in the mood to find out that what they saw was probably nothing.

"Fine, if you do change your mind, you'll know where we are," Kiiroshi stated.

I nodded and gave Kiiroshi a small smile. This seemed to please him, he did take my mind off of my failure for a minute. With that Kiiroshi left towards the northern shore to see what was about.

***

It's been a while now that I lay there, still feeling down but I did start to feel a bit better compared to earlier. Maybe I ought to go see what's going on at the northern shore. If it were nothing, Kiiroshi would've been back by now. Maybe those yoshis from eight years ago did in fact find their way home and have come back, "Like that would happen," I told myself. "Since they were lost when they found this island, the chances of finding this island again are rather slim." My thoughts continued to flow, but all of a sudden, I heard some rustling in some bushes ahead of me. I looked up, seeing a yoshi pop out of the bushes while tripping in it, falling hard to the ground. It seemed frightened, looking at me with distressed eyes. Then, as quickly as the yoshi popped out, something dragged it back into the bushes. I was frightened, I got up and ran in the opposite direction. I didn't know what was going on, what horrible creature took away that yoshi, and more importantly, what did it do to it after it was caught? I carried my hasten pace, getting farther away from where I had been.

"Burushi!" Someone exclaimed off in the distance.

I came to a sudden stop, that was Kiiroshi's voice! I turned around and ran towards the shout's origin. It came from the northern shore, was the creature catching that yoshi and the "something" the other yoshis saw off the northern shore connected? Whether it was or not, my mind was set. I was going to find and help Kiiroshi no matter what.

I got to the northern shore, and stopped in my tracks. There was a boat on the shore, and most, if not all, of the other yoshis tied up beside it, and with those was Kiiroshi. I ran as fast as my legs could move towards Kiiroshi, and once he spotted me, he yelped, "It's a trap, run!"

I looked around, some turtle creatures were surrounding me, probably planning to take my prisoner also. I wouldn't allow it, my resolve burned strong, I would save Kiiroshi and the others. As one of them approached me, I let my tongue do the talking, gulping it down almost instantly. The other turtle creatures stop in their tracks, slowly backed off, and called out towards the ship. I approached the captive yoshis slowly, while keeping my eyes on the turtles, but then some yoshis yelled out, "Behind you!"

I spun around and saw the weirdest creature I had ever seen, even more weird than those turtle creatures. It looked like those turtle creatures, yet these had shells that were shiny and spiky and covered their whole bodies. It was menacing, and to save my fellow yoshis, I had to take these on also. I tried to grab the closest one and gulp it down as I did with the other turtle creature beforehand. I grabbed it, I took it in my mouth, pain! I released that turtle from my mouth, that shiny shell with spikes hurts so bad, I couldn't defeat them like this. I threw eggs at them, yet none of them were even close to hitting their mark. I tried to headbutt them, but yet again, those spiky shells hurt me too much to continue. I then thought about ground pounding them, but I figured that that too was out of the question. I was running out of options, I began to panic. Then luck shined upon me, there was a melon close to where we were, I gulped it down, and shot the melon seeds towards my foes. It seemed to have some effect, the seeds hit the small portions where there was no shiny shell, and they backed off. My confidence soared right now and I thought, "Now that I found some sort of weak point, I can save ..."

***

I woke up, my head really hurting. I felt dizzy, like if something had hit me behind my head. As I came to more and more, I realized that I too was tied up and with the others. I was scared, what was going to happen to us? Who are these creatures? Why did they attack us? Suddenly, a short turtle with glasses spoke to us. "You insignificant little dinosaurs, you are now slaves of the great King Bowser. Do what we tell you and no one will get hurt, fail to comply and suffer the consequences."

He sounded serious, none of us dared to speak up, never in our island's history have we been faced with such a dilemma. Who was this Bowser anyways? What did he want from us? Why did he make us slaves? I was confused, and my headache from being hit from behind hurt more and more with all those questions.

"Now," screeched the goggled turtle, "You will take down all the tress and gather all the stone, once you get these, bring them to this ship."

This guy's crazy, we would never kill off our island resources. Some yoshis began protesting, mainly the red and blue yoshis, then all of a sudden a lightning bolt hit one of those yoshis and injured him badly. We looked at the turtle with glasses, he grinned and lowered his wand. "This is nothing compared to what I could do to you all, now get to it!"

The revolting yoshis settled down instantly, every one of us were now very intimidated by this unwelcomed newcomer. In our current situation, we had no choice but to comply.

***

It was harsh, really awful. We were beaten, whipped, forced to work non-stop until everything was taken, and now there was nothing left on the island. It was horrible, the forest where I grew up in, the fruits, everything. Everything was gone, we had loaded everything unto their boat, most of us wincing or moaning from our painful treatment we had. It was disheartening, most of us hit rock-bottom in morale. The goggled turtle, though, seemed rather pleased, "Ha, with these resources and slaves, Bowser is sure to promote me well! Now, all of you, board the ship, we're leaving."

We were reluctant, we were scared to move, and yet, we were more afraid of that turtle than the unknown that is our future. We slowly climbed aboard the ship and it departed soon afterwards. Ironic as it was, part of my dream was fulfilled, I left the island, but at what cost?

***

After many days on the boat, we finally arrived at the destination we were brought to. Most of us were happy just to get of that blasted ship, but the scene in front of us was not pleasing. The sky was of the blackest variety that I have ever seen, there was no sign of vegetation where we landed, it all seemed gloomy. We were forced to walk even deeper inside this new realm. After a short while, we came in sight of a stone building off to a distance. The building itself didn't seem intimidating, but what we saw formed on the cliff's edge under the bridge to this building was the scariest thing I have every witnessed. It was more scary than all of those turtle creatures combined. What lay on the side of that cliff was the face of... of a monster.

[Sky]

Sorry for the double post...

...

Chapter 6: Yearning For Freedom

I fell to the stone floor while panting heavily, exhausted. The hike from the boat to this castle was harsh, filled with ragged rocks and cliffs. Our capturers would not let us rest at all either, making it worse for us, not to mention that we had to carry the heavy load of the stone and lumber we collected on our island. That made me think of our island ... home. It seemed so far away now, like a distant dream, like we would never make it back there some day. Chills went down my spine, the cold floor snapped me back to reality. As much as the cold floor gave me chills, it was nothing compared to the voice of that accursed goggled turtle.

"Our Lord Bowser's castle sustained lots of damage recently, the walls are falling apart, the floor has holes everywhere, you dinos use the stone and lumber you took from your island and repair it, now!" it shrieked.

"And why do we have to help you?" asked an angered red yoshi.

"You bullied us around once, we won't let you do it again," stated a dark blue yoshi.

"Argh, stop it all with your gibberish. Yoshi-yoshi-yoshi, is that all you can say?" mused the now angry turtle.

This intrigued me, "He couldn't understand a word we said?" I told myself in my head. "Then how did..." My thoughts trailed back to our home, where we protested and he shot lightning at us. If he doesn't understand us now, than back then he didn't either. Most probably what happened was that he figured we were not going to let ourselves be pushed around, and he intimidated us. This might lead itself to a great opportunity. We could come up with a scheme to escape for this nightmare without them even knowing it.

The others that stood up to the authority of our goggled foe were silent now, they weren't frightened of the situation, they quickly realized that they were way out-numbered. There were much more creatures around here than there were on our island.

***

Over the next few days, we got to learn more about our kidnappers. There was the turtles, which we learned were called Koopa Troopas. They're an okay bunch, even if they're our enemies. They also seem to be the main force of their army. The shiny, spiky shelled turtles are merely Koopa Troopas inside some shiny armor, they seem much more frightening in their armor, once they're out of it, they're like the other Koopa Troopas. We saw that there were more of those goggled turtles around, called Magikoopas. They would be formidable foes, their wands being able to shot multiple things such as lightning and more. There were green pipes around the castle also, and we had to be careful for those, namely because of the Piranha Plants, plants with big mouths and sharp teeth. Getting bitten by them would probably be painful. The one that seemed to surprise us the most, though, were creatures called Boos. They would spring up out of nowhere and try to scare us just for a laugh, though their scary faces start to seem more funny than scary now. This Bowser though, none of us has seen yet, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Judging from what we heard, we wouldn't want to cross him.

I was working on a wall in the courtyard with Kiiroshi. We were at it all day long, we were exhausted. Our arms were tired, our legs were burning, we were hungry and thirsty, and to top it off, it didn't even seem like we were making progress of that wall at all, it was frustrating. It was the first time that we ended up working in the same section of the castle at the same time, I was really happy to see that he was okay, well.. as okay as we could be in this current situation.

"I was talking to the other yoshis I previously worked with, and you probably thought of the same thing, but since they can't understand a word we say, once we all get together, we could plan our escape out of this place," I stated, while half grunting as I lifted another heavy stone to place on the wall.

"I had thought the same, and so has everyone. All our minds were on home, on wanting to get back there soon. Though it's going to be hard to organize anything, we are never all together in one place," he replied slowly, obviously tired out.

"Well, I had a talk with a few yoshis the other day, and we laid down a plan which worked out in our favor. You probably heard of the commotion that happened recently in one of the rooms, because of those yoshis all of us will be sent here to rest for the night, so they can watch us more easily. Our time of escape could be no further than tonight," I managed to grin slightly.

"That was your doing? Burushi, you're a genius!" he almost jumped of joy in the air, though I checked him.

"They can't understand us, though they can see our emotions, be careful. If they figure out we're planning something, everything is lost."

He gulped, realizing what a big mishap he could have done. He slowly nodded at me, showing me that he acknowledged what I said and would be careful. We continued working on our wall section for the remainder of the day.

***

We were all reassembled in the courtyard that night, and we couldn't be more overjoyed to see our fellow friends. It took us a few minutes to settle down and regroup to talk of our escape. Patrols of Koopa Troopas could be seen, so we were careful not to seem suspicious. We talked about a great deal of things: since every yoshi worked around he castle, we had a pretty good idea of its layout. We also noticed that there was one moment during the night that the Koopa Troopas did a rotation, some going off to rest while others took their place, this would be our time of escape. We also decided against the idea to split up and taking alternate paths to the exit, hence we wouldn't leave anyone behind. It took us a good portion of the night to pan out the details of our escape, and finally we were ready. All we needed to do now was wait, wait for the moment where we would begin our escape to freedom.

***

I gulped, the last Koopa Troopa patrol was passing by, I was nervous, I really hoped all would turn out well. We couldn't see the patrol anymore, it was time. Everyone got up slowly, looking around to see if there was an extra guard... nothing. We ran out of the courtyard, running through the corridors of the cold castle. One corner come after another, one yoshi would tell the others where to turn and the others followed suit. Kiiroshi was slightly ahead now, he worked around here so he would lead the way. He turned the corner and before anyone else could turn that corner, we heard a scream of pain. We turned the corner to witness Kiiroshi on the ground with one of the armoured Koopa Troopas. Kiiroshi and the turtle had bumped into each other and in their fall, the armoured turtle landed on Kiiroshi's leg, injuring Kiiroshi in the process. The turtle ran off, most probably to warn the others, we had to hurry. I got Kiiroshi to his feet, yet he couldn't walk. This was not good.

"Go on ahead!" I yelled to the others.

"We can't leave you two behind!" protested the others.

"What's there to hesitate about? The exit is close, we'll follow shortly."

"But.." one started.

"If we all end up slowing down, we'll get caught for sure. At least with only two of us, we can get spotted less easily. We'll find a way out, now go!"

The others didn't like the idea, but they understood that lingering here was not a good idea. I tried to carry Kiiroshi on my back towards the exit, ugh, why did he have to be so heavy. I was rather weak from forced labour for many days now, which didn't help my cause. We were nearing the exit, it wasn't too far off now, though Kiiroshi stopped me.

"Listen," he whispered to me. "Something's happening close to the exit."

I diverted all my attention in trying to hear something, and he was right, there was sounds of yelling and resistance of in the distance. This was bothersome, if the others were to be in trouble, I wouldn't dare think the consequences. I looked around, and I found what I was looking for, a decent hiding spot.

"Kiiroshi, I'll leave you here and see what's going on over there, I promise I'll come back for you," I told him.

I knew he understood, nodding at me slowly. I got him to a small corner where it was dark enough for him to hide and went alone towards the source of the ruckus. I peeked around the corner into the main hall and saw all the other yoshis, fending of Koopa Troopas and yelling for freedom. The Koopa Troopas were dwindling in numbers, the ones that took a beating retreated, thankfully by other corridors and not the one is was watching from. It seemed we would get out after all, I begun to turn around to get Kiiroshi, until I heard some screeches from the main hall, this was bad. I looked back at the main hall, to witness what would happen, not daring to go in and help them. There were five Magikoopas against a good bundle of yoshis, they could win, they will win.

[Yoshee&Champ]

This is starting to get really good... I like this story

[Sky]

Chapter 7: The Ultimatum
Part 1

I gazed back towards the dark and barren land which was Dark Land, home of Bowser's Castle. I was disgusted at the sight, wishing never to see it again, wishing that I had never seen it. I knew deep down, though, that this was not the last time I'd go there. That thought saddened me as I turned around and headed out towards the unknown that was the Mushroom Kingdom.

This place was rather different from the gloomy world behind me, the scenery was a mix of greens and oranges, mostly from the flora in the area. Creatures that I have never laid eyes upon roamed in the area, ranging from flying insects to big plants that had large jaws and sharp teeth. I took a mental note not to get close to those green, cylindrical objects called pipes too quickly, not to end up as plant food. This was hard though, as my mind strayed away all the time, remembering all that happened in Bowser's Castle...

All the Koopa Troopas had fled off now, all that was left were those five Magikoopas. I dared not budge from my place outside the main hall, I needed to stay there in order to get back to Kiiroshi as fast as I could when the time was right. I looked at the situation, those five fiends were on their brooms, staying out of range of any yoshi's reach, and since there were no objects that the others could swallow up, they could not make any eggs to throw at those turtles. My fellow comrades tried their best to find a way to defeat those koopas, but to no avail, as long as the Magikoopas stayed up there, the others had no chance. Some yoshis tried to get the main door opened, but it had been locked tight, much to their dismay. The Magikoopas grinned to one another, then one help up something in his hands to show all the yoshis below him, it was the key! The yoshis knew that they had no choice now, if they were to escape from this horrible place, they needed to defeat those koopas. One of the Magikoopas spoke up then.

"You dinos thought you could run away from here without fail and get away with it? You were wrong," said the same Magikoopa who enslaved us back on our island with a horrible laugh.

I began to shake violently, I sent the others to their doom and there was nothing I could do about it, I was afraid of what would happen next. I couldn't move from my spot, I only shook in my shoes. I felt powerless, unable to help them in their hour of need, I felt utterly useless.

"Now you'll all go back and keep working. I know that there won't be any objections," stated that same Magikoopa with an evil grin.

With this, every yoshi began to yell and protest against it, some with a ferocity I had never witnessed in my entire life. That Magikoopa kept grinning though, even with the rebelling hoard of yoshis below ... it was troubling. It looked at its four companions and they all nodded in unison.

"Seems like you all won't go back willingly," it screeched.

With that, that same Magikoopa lifted his wand, then a blinding blue light flashed across the main hall. I was afraid, I didn't know what to expect, what fate would befall my comrades. Soon enough, the blinding light vanished and the scene revealed itself to me. That's odd, nothing seemed to have happened. I was tense all of a sudden, the others inside were also pretty confused to find out that nothing happened at all, this was very odd. I reviewed the situation, and I came to a conclusion, before anything bad would happen to my fellow yoshis, I have to help them out. I briefly looked back towards the hallway behind me, noticing in the corner that Kiiroshi was still there, looking in my direction, a worried look across his face, which I could barely see because of him being in a dark corner. I gestured to him that I was sorry and I needed to go help them out, and to my relief he gestured back to me showing that it was all right. He knew that I needed to try something to help them, and the risks it implied of leaving him undefended, but he showed me to go anyway. I did hesitate though, I didn't want Kiiroshi to get in trouble also, I felt torn apart, but we both knew that I needed to aid the others right now. I gathered all my courage up, and sprung out of behind the corner and ran towards the main hall.

Ugh... That didn't feel good, I said to myself when I was thrown backwards towards the halls I was in, I was literally confused. I slowly got back up to my feet, shaking my head to clear it up a bit from my fall. I went towards the main hall slowly this time, feeling the air ahead of me with my hand. Just a few paces from the halls, not even in the main hall yet, my hands hit something. I was dumbstruck, I could feel something was blocking my way, yet I could not see it. I was getting desperate, I needed to get in there, and fast. I started pounding on the invisible obstacle ahead of me, unsure of the usefulness of actually hitting it. It did not seem to affect it at all. While I attempted to enter, I got a glimpse of what was happening inside.

Inside the main hall, some yoshis were desperately trying to stop our foes, while others that were too scared to help grouped up in small packs together, holding their heads down in fear. The five Magikoopas started to chant in some weird language, I needed to act fast. I pounded my obstacle as hard as I could, hoping to break through, but to no avail. The Magikoopas' wands started to glow a menacing red, it was frightening. At that point the five stopped chanting, giving each other one quick glance, and cast their spell in unison. As yet another blinding flash appeared inside the main hall, tears started to roll down my nose, I knew this would end up being horrible for the others, and there was nothing I could do.

[Part 2 in next post, doesn't fit all in one, exceeds 10,000 character limit]

[Sky]

Chapter 7: The Ultimatum
Part 2


The light faded away, and I watched on, the others weren't moving anymore. They just stood there, not one saying a word or muttering a sound. I decided that standing in the entrance of the main hall was not a good idea, so I went back to peek behind the corner. Finally, a Magikoopa spoke up.

"Now, get back over there and work! There's still lots to do!" he screeched.

The others didn't say a word, they just turned towards the hallways and walked away, a few of them coming here. I hid behind the same corner, and when the first yoshi appeared, I grabbed him and tried to talk to him. The yoshi just stood there, not responding, not showing any sign of life whatsoever, and just stared emptily in front of itself. I promptly shook the yoshi hard, but to no avail. This was horrible, the other yoshis had their personalities, their spunk, their everything taken from them. The yoshi I had taken had already left and was probably on his way to work on the castle again. This was unbearable, I couldn't believe this was actually happening. I decided that the best thing to do right now was to head back and help Kiiroshi, I vowed to myself that he would not suffer the same fate.

When I got back, Kiiroshi was still sitting down, and he was happy to see I was fine. I quickly explained what had happened, and his happiness suddenly faded away. I knew that the longer we stayed here, the more chances that we get captured again were high, so I started to approach Kiiroshi and try to pick him up, though a yelling stopped me in my tracks: "There he is!"

I tried to hide in the darkness with Kiiroshi, but it was too late, as I feared, I had been spotted, and as soon as they yelled that, about three Koopa Troopas were in front of me, blocking my exits, Kiiroshi and I were pinned down. I took a defensive stance in front of Kiiroshi, I won't let anything by me. The closest Koopa Troopa approached, so I let my tongue do the talking, yet the Koopa Troopa dodged it and backed off in fear of being swallowed. Out of the darkness behind them, that Magikoopa that captured us the other day appeared.

"You know, you did pretty good at hiding, but you do realize that it was easy to figure out that some were missing, you're the only light blue of in the lot!" it laughed evilly.

I winced at the comment, how dense of me not to have thought about that, of course with the only light blue yoshi missing they'd be searching, but I retorted, "Yeah! But I won't let you passed me! You won't do to Kiiroshi what you did to the others!"

The Magikoopa seemed annoyed, "Argh! You're yoshi talk is really getting on my nerves, speak right imbecile! He then raised his wand, and cast a spell.

I felt weird, that's the first time someone cast a spell on me, but I don't seem any different, so I continued, "What was... that... for...? I was dumbstruck, I spoke differently, it was overwhelming.

It grinned, "There, know I understand! Now, get ready for a world of hurt for trying to hide!"

I gulped, this was bad. I frantically looked around, no exits. I looked back, Kiiroshi was on the ground and couldn't move without help. I turned around and faced my foe, I won't shy away from this bout. We faced off for a short while, none of us actually moving, just glaring at each other, waiting to see the opponents move. Then, a roar was heard, and he floor started shaking slightly, something big was approaching, and the Magikoopa moved aside. I was not anxious to see what was coming, and when it arrived, I knew I was in trouble. I looked at my new foe, and even though I had never seen him, I know all too well that this had to be Bowser. He was massive, he was imposing, and most of all, he looks menacing. I took a few steps back, taken away by the size of my new opponent, but he didn't come forward from where he had stopped, he started talking.

"A Magikoopa told me what had happened to your friends, are you scared that that will happen to you too" he growled and grinned menacingly.

I was frightened by him, and doubt started to fill my mind that I'd be able to save Kiiroshi, but thinking about my duty that I swore to protect him no matter the outcome helped me, and I stood firm and replied, "You not going to hurt us, no way am I stepping down!

Bowser grinned even more, and added, "Well, I'll let you not suffer your friends' fates, but you'll need to do something for me! You see, there's this princess that keeps getting out of my clutches, and since they're most probably expecting me to go kidnap her again, you'll do it for me!" he laughed evilly at this.

I was taken away by this, me, work for him? And kidnap someone? That's unheard of! I won't allow it, "You think I'll really do that?!" I told him.

"You don't seem to realize that you don't have a choice, unless you want your friend back there to end up working like the others!"

He had a point there, if I didn't go along with it, our future was pretty much forced labour. I gulped, and glanced back at Kiiroshi, I couldn't let that happen to him. I.. had to comply. "So be it, I'll do it." I said rather ashamed, I didn't want to do this at all, but I had no choice.

Kiiroshi was taken away to the dungeon level, where Bowser assured to me that he'll be well taken care of if I do my task right. He then went over the details, I was to go to the Mushroom Kingdom, get to see the princess and make sure I got to talk to hear alone, the rest was up to his troops. I felt bad, maybe I wasn't the one kidnapping her per say, but I was part of the plot to do so, it felt awful knowing that I'd help the likes of him. After everything was told, I was set out with two Koopa Troopas as guides until we'd reach the edge of Bowser's lands.

So, here I was, in a new place I didn't know, and for mission to kidnap the princess of this kingdom. I had to do it though, if I could only figure out a way to help everyone at once too, I'd be happy. Though as I try to figure this out, I walk with my heart torn for what I'm about to do.

[Yoshee&Champ]

Very interesting, with lots of action. I love it! You're doing great, YW!