Mike Tanner: Part 3

The Second Prequel to a huge story, which will detail Mike and Co.'s collection of the third stone among many other revelations...

18 Hours after Mike Tanner 2, Mike and Co. arrive in the town of
Shelton, and a new link in the ominous chain of events set in
motion since Mike arrived on the island is revealed...

Mike Tanner 3

*********************** = Change of scene

Rain pelted the streets of the Koopa town of Shelton. The lights lit up the desolate streets. No one in Shelton stayed out after dark. By now most of the residents had gone to bed or were watching the football game on the big screen TV in the bar.

A cloaked figure came around the corner and stopped motionless in the middle of the street. Beneath the hood, Yuna thought to herself.

Maleficent said it would be here.

Finding the Keystone of darkness seemed to be a top priority for Maleficent.

The rogue in the Organization had been beaten to the punch by someone else, also searching for the keystone of light. The leader of the organization told Maleficent he believed the Rogue would move onto the keystone of darkness. The team of Yuna, her cousin Rikku, and their friend Paine had been promised and ample reward for turning the keystone over to Maleficent.

Maleficent’s description of the mission now seemed over-simplified. She and her friends appeared to have beaten the rogue to Shelton. They were waiting for her at the bar.

Suddenly she heard something moving behind her. She spun around to see a figure disappear into an alley behind the bar.

The Rogue!

She chased it into the alley. It took until she reached the end to realize the figure was gone. Suddenly two shelled creatures appeared from behind the dumpster. A blast of lightning caused her to lose sight of them. It was just for a second, but enough time for one to come up behind her and clap a rag covered in some sweet smelling liquid over her mouth.

Up the alley she could see 4 people. One wore only a torn a white muscle shirt and a torn pair of jeans and carried a Katana. The other two were the Mario Brothers, no mistaking it. She blacked out before she could get a good look at the other one.

“Where we’sa going Mike?” asked a green dinosaur.

“We’re hitting the bar Yoshi. You do like Bacardi right?” said Mike.

“But what about the Keystone of Darkness?” asked Mario.

“Look, guys, it’s dark and it’s raining, and we’ve been walking for twelve hours. We might as well rest up while we have the opportunity. Besides, Yoshi, you must be exhausted carrying the Mario Brothers everywhere. “

So the four pushed through the doors into the bar. The smoke filled room was empty except for a red haired guy with spiked hair at the front and two girls sitting at the table in the corner.

As Mike and the Mario bros approached the bar, Yoshi trailed off into the corner, after grabbing a pen and paper with his tongue. Mike ordered himself a glass of Bacardi and watched as Yoshi proceeded to hit on the two girls in the corner.

What a dick. He’s married.

A couple stools across from Mike, the cloaked man felt something in his pocket pulling towards Mike.

What’s going on? Why is the keystone acting up like this?

Deciding to play it cool, he scooted over to make small talk with Mike. “Hey, how’s it going?”

It took Mike a second to register the fact that the spiky haired man had spoken to him. Instead of just saying “who me?” Mike pointed to himself.

“Yeah you, who’s got your bet for the game tonight?” He said moving closer. He was now in the next stool beside Mike. The Keystone was pulling itself closer to Mike’s belt, next to his Hattori Hanzo sword.

Mike realized the guy was staring at it. The guy started “is that a…?”

“Hattori Hanzo sword, yes.” Mike finished and answered.

“It’s real?”

“Yah. It’s not for sale either.”

“I didn’t think so. So who you betting on for the football game?”

“I like the Vikings. You?”

The stranger thought for a second, he didn’t know anything about football. “I like the Giants.”

“You wanna bet a drink on them?”

“Sure.”

“Alright, what’s your name, so we can shake on it?”

“I’m Axel.”

Mike shook his hand, “I’m Mike. Mike Tanner.”

By the end of the first period, Yoshi brought over a paper that read

Rikku
654-8089

Paine
654-6784

The Mario Bros. had ordered Brisket and wine and were just sitting down to it, and the Giants were down 14-3, and Mike had downed three glasses of Bacardi. Axel looked at the bulge in his pocket.

Yah this guy has definitely got the keystone the organization is looking for.

Axel then disappeared mysteriously. Mike was disappointed because he had never gotten a chance to say thank you for the drink. He sat down at the table and helped himself to some brisket. “Nice guy, Axel,” Mike said taking a bite.

“Me’sa got numbers!” Yoshi announced proudly, holding up the paper.

“Yah and me’sa got brisket” he said waving it in Yoshi’s face.

“Meh’sa, you’sa just jealous.”

***********************

Meanwhile, out in the rain, Axel was standing in a phone booth, with the phone tightly pressed to his ear.

Come on, pick up.

Finally, a person with a snivelly voice picked up. “Squint, where the hell have you been?”

“Sleeping,” Squint said with a yawn, “it is 3:30 in the morning you know; any normal person would be asleep.”

Squint knew from the silence coming from the other side of the line he had said the wrong thing.

“In case you’ve forgotten squint, nobodies are not actually people. Anyway, I just met this guy at the bar

“I’m sorry sir, I forgot.”

“Yah it’s not a problem Squint. Meet me atop the Citadel in an hour. I need a favour.”


Hours later, Axel stood atop the Shelton citadel, checking his watch impatiently and muttering to Squint, who was obviously not there.

The Citadel was once Bowser’s old fort, from his childhood. Since The Yoshi who brought baby Mario there in search of his brother defeated him there, the fortress was now abandoned.

Nearly 28 years of abandonment had given it a creepy disposition. The sight of it at the top of the hill Shelton was built on did its job unsettling citizens who looked up at it at night. It was a place no-one dared to go. It was ideal for people who didn’t want to be found to hide.

Axel stepped onto the balcony atop the citadel. There were no lights on in Shelton. No-one was awake. As Axel began to feel the empowerment Bowser must have felt staring down on this kingdom everyday of his infancy, Squint’s snivelly voice cut through the thick black silence of the night.

Axel was so startled he almost fell over the railing of the balcony. “Squint! I didn’t see you there!”

“Yah,” Squint shrugged, “nobody ever does.”

“Aw come on Squint, you made it sound like I just called you a creeper or something.”

Axel began to explain his suspicion of Mike having the Keystone of Light and how he wanted Squint to lure Mike up to the Citadel so he could fight him for it.

“Ok, now I have a question, suppose this does work and he does come, are you sure you can handle someone who wields a sword made by Hattori Hanzo?”

Axel answered as he looked at the encircling Bowser statues atop the Citadel, “Oh you just have faith Squint, I can see he’s just a foolish American who likes to play with samurai swords. It’ll be no problem.”

Yoshi sat by the phone in the crew’s room at the Shelt-Inn (Bad pun), wondering who he should call. As he put it, he liked Rikku. She was pretty, had a nice smile and didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that he was a dinosaur. But Paine, she was gloomy and hard-edged and didn’t talk too much, which Yoshi found strangely attractive.

He had dialed the first three numbers and then got cold feet and hung up. He’d try the next day.

***********************

The next day the two girls had begun to search for Yuna. She had been gone way too long to have gotten lost. They met in the park after searching for an hour as they’d planned.

Squint spied them from the bushes he was hiding in. He had just found the opportunity he needed to make Axel’s plan work. He interjected right then, “I may have seen your friend. If you like, I can show you."

They nodded and followed Squint in the direction of the citadel.

***********************

Meanwhile, Mike and company had gathered at the only place in town that would have any information regarding the Keystone of Darkness: the library.

Their search eventually led them to find that the Keystone was kept under guard in the chamber of commerce. Yoshi brought in Mike's coffee and the newspaper. Mike opened right up to the comic’s page and began to read the first panel of Garfield.

Before he could get to the punch line, Yoshi began to jump up and down excitedly, knocking over the coffee. Mike jumped up and dropped the paper on the floor. It landed front page up revealing the headline: BREAK IN AT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Mike read it and looked at Yoshi. "Is that what you were so excited about?" Yoshi nodded and added

"Me'sa bet I know what they'sa stole."

"You're probably right too. Let's go. Mario! Luigi! We're leaving!"

Mario and Luigi we're upstairs looking at the pictures in a book called Mushroom Kingdom History: The past 200 Years. "See, you're in this one too," Mario said to Luigi. Luigi told Mario it was time to leave, not even taking a look at the picture.

The Chamber of Commerce sat in the very centre of Shelton. The building was pure glass and blindingly shone in the midday sun. Police still in the process of investigation had blocked off the site and denied all access to the chamber. Knowing this, Mike and company decided they would come back when it was dark.

***********************

"Are you certain this is where you saw Yuna?" Paine asked Squint as they walked up the steps of the Citadel.

"Yes she was right up there" Squint pointed.

Suddenly Rikku became very annoying. She spent the whole walk up the steps trying to get the attention of Paine, who would not take her eyes off the shady Squint.

It was only until they entered the fortress that Paine finally snapped, "What is it Rikku?"

"We never even told him what Yunie looks like! How could he have seen her?"

Rikku was right. Paine turned around ready to demand the answer to that question from Squint. What she discovered when she turned around shocked her more than Rikku's revelation.

Squint was gone.

***********************

The commerce chamber did not have its same splendor as it did during the day. Instead the night gave it a new type of splendor. Instead of glowing the building glittered in the moonlight, thanks to the little flecks of gold in the metal framework.

It was midnight as Mike led Yoshi and the Mario bros. across the Shelton PD barricade and into the building. They stepped cautiously into the foyer, in case the alarms had been reset. They found the vault containing the Keystone had been burned open.

Figuring they were looking in the wrong place, Mike decided for the group that they would check the security tapes. As they tip-toed up the stairs, a security guard stepped out of the office. He had just seen Mike.

He began to shout something, but Mike punched him out before he could finish it. The other guard had heard him and tripped an alarm. An SPD officer also burst from the office and drew his gun and pointed it at them.

Yoshi's tongue burst from nowhere wrapped around the gun and pulled it out of the cop's hand. Then Luigi jumped off Mario's back and jumped on the koopa's head. Mike then punched out the other security guard and dashed into the office.

Just as Mike suspected, they were examining the security tape of the robbery. Hearing sirens in the distance Mike quickly ejected the tape and ran out of the office.

Picking up the gun he motioned for the others to follow him. They darted off toward a wall. Mike fired three shots from the revolver and jumped through the glass. The others followed as the Shelton Police Department crashed through the front door.


***********************

"Mr. Squint?" Rikku called. The little man was nowhere to be found. The pale Crescent Moon was the only light in the Citadel. Paine picked up a vase and tossed it through the window, yelling, "Where are you? Come Out!"

Suddenly, the room became engulfed by flames. Axel's calm, but chilling laugh echoed off the walls. The flame lit all the torches on the wall, lighting the room. Axel descended from the Chandelier and put away his Chakrams.

"Hey, you're not Mr. Squint!" Rikku said pointing at Axel.

"Of course I'm not," Axel replied, "I'm five feet nine inches taller and have 20/20 vision, how could you or anyone confuse me with Squint?"

"She was just pointing out the obvious," Paine said exasperated. Squint emerged from the next room and the two girls realized they'd been tricked.

*************************

Back at the motel, Mike sat on the bed leaning as close as he could to the TV, closely examining the security footage. He was getting to the evening part of the tape from the day of the robbery according to the newspaper. Security guards locked doors and turned off lights. One punched in the code to lock the vault. Before he could someone snuck up behind him and knocked him out.

It was Axel.

Suddenly the phone rang. Before Mike could move to pick it up, Yoshi had picked it up with his tongue and answered it. "Rikku!" he said happily, "how’s it going? Sure we'sa can meet you'sa at the citadel in 15 minutes. All of us? OK, if you'sa insist."

"Wipe that phone after you got your spit all over it." Mike said pausing the tape. Yoshi shot a dejected look at him.

"That was Rikku calling. She'sa wants us all to meet her at the Citadel."

"Well why all of us, she only had one friend at the bar."

"If you'sa guys touch her me'sa kick you'sa ass."

************************

"Rikku that was beautifully performed. You should have been an actress." Axel said closing her cell phone.

"Drop dead." Rikku said, "What do you want with Yoshi and them anyway?"

Hanging by her wrists on the other wall Paine agreed with Rikku about how Axel should drop dead, and how his plan would never work. "Four against two, you won't stand a chance. Just look at Squint, he doesn't even look like he could fight his way out of a wet paper bag!"

"Fighting? How barbaric!" Squint said, proving Paine right.

Axel sighed in exasperation. Clearly he was doing this on his own. But that didn't bother him. Squint would just get in his way. He was better off alone.


Downstairs Axel could hear Mike and them talking. Yoshi thought he was in for a date with Rikku, but he didn't know why she asked all of them to come, making Axel snicker. He had a plan. He disappeared using his ability as a nobody.

Yoshi was now leading the way as they walked up the steps to the second floor of the citadel. Once they reached the top step Yoshi called out for Rikku as he straightened his bow-tie.

What he found was Rikku and Paine both chained to the walls, and Squint standing in the middle of the room hood up, back turned. Yoshi ran over in front of Squint. But Mike told the Mario Bros. to be on their guard and pulled out his sword.

Yoshi was now looking at Squint. He pulled down the hood covering his face. Except no-one was under the hood. No-one was in the cloak at all. Squint was gone.

Yoshi spun around to talk to Rikku. "What is this?" he asked.

Rikku looked sad as she replied, "A trap."

Suddenly the group was surrounded by a circle of fire. Axel spun up from the middle of the floor, chakrams in hand. A wide, evil grin came across his face as the chakrams in his outspread arms stopped spinning.

"You'sa!" Yoshi exclaimed angrily, "you'sa did this?"

"Yeah, he's the one that robbed the Chamber of Commerce for the Keystone of darkness."

"Yeah, and you're the idiot who beat me to Keystone of Light. You're lucky the Koopa's set fire to Tree Top Town when they did. I was ready to take it during the night."

"So both of you have what the other side wants." Mario said, "Sorry I just had to sum things up before you two bored the hell out of everyone with you're talking."

"Yah, let's just get to the main event and get it over with." added Luigi.

"Fine, if you insist." Axel said and threw one Chakram. As it flew through the air, a Bowser statue in the corner blew fire on it. The flaming Chakram flew at the group. Mike swung his sword at it. The end of the blade hooked around it. Mike used the sword to swing it back at Axel.

Axel ducked as it flew over his head and out the window behind him. The battle was interrupted as Squint shouted "I'll get that!" Once he disappeared out the door, the firewall came back up and the battle resumed.

Axel still had the other Chakram and tossed it at the Mario bros. They jumped over it and prepared to do their team spin jump. As it came around, they jumped and it sailed under them. As it did, Mario hooked his shoes onto it, and the bros tipped their spin jump horizontal.

Axel had not anticipated this and as they let it go, barely twisted out of the way in time. Mike rushed at him with the sword. Axel caught the Chakram and blocked the blow with it. He disengaged and struck at Mike.

He was going to need something else besides his chakrams. He was not only going to end up breaking them in the fight, but chakrams were not the right weapon against a sword. Especially a Hattori Hanzo sword.

He now began to use the Chakram to slash at Mike, who was starting to back up against a wall. Yoshi then decided to step in. Not just to help, but also because he was angry at Axel for using Rikku as bait. Mike had backed up into the wall and jammed his funny bone on a torch fixture. The nerve shock caused him to drop his sword. But before Axel could throw the Chakram at him, Yoshi used his tongue to trip him up.

"Hey!" Axel shouted standing up, "this isn't a fuckin' tag team!" Suddenly, his facial expression changed from fury, to surprise. He fell to his knees, revealing the Chakram that had gone out the window lodged in his back.

"I do hope that made it back to you sir." Squint's snivelly voice called.

"Yes Squint it did, idiot." Axel said under his breath.

But Yoshi's revenge wasn't complete. He walked up to Axel and glared at him. Then he kicked him in the face. Axel fell on his back as Mike searched his pockets for the keystone. Before long he found it and Yoshi spat on Axel's face.

Squint suddenly entered the room out of breath startling everyone. Mike turned his sword to the door; Yoshi was prepared to hit Squint. Squint ignored them and rushed over to Axel. "Sir, are you alright?"

"I've been better Squint. He got the keystone."

"Oh no! What are you going to do?"

"I can't fight him for it back like this, so I'm going to have to make sure he keeps them away from Volix"

"Volix?" Everyone in the room gasped.

“Yes, Volix. V-O-L-I-X. Volix. Got it memorized?”

"What the fuck is Volix?" Mike demanded.

Axel took a deep breath. "Volix is a multi-national corporation that owns all kinds of real estate properties. That’s only a cover though. The real estate department is a front used to hide their true activities. The real Volix is a secret organization that profits by selling mythical artifacts on the Plad market. They offered Organization X11 money for the Keystones to this island, only they're not planning on selling them."

"What are they planning to do?" Mario asked.

"They want the keystones to get under the mountain and steal Farore's book. That way, they can find anything they want to know. Having that kind of information would be their first step to taking over the world."

"So how do we'sa stop them?" Yoshi asked.

"I had a plan for that, which you assholes managed to fuck up." Axel said angrily in pain from his wound, "I was collecting the Keystones so I could destroy them, and keep the Organization out of the Fountain of Knowledge forever."

"But why would you'sa do that?" Yoshi interjected, "once we'sa use the Keystones once, they'sa no work for another 100 years."

"Well I didn't know any of that, so I just thought I’d do what I was going to do."

Mike paused to think for a minute. "Well we just need one more keystone to open the fountain. I need some information from it. And if what Yoshi says is true, we don't have to destroy them after."

"Right. I follow you so far."

'All I need from you is where the third keystone is. Then you better get fixed up at a hospital, so you can fend off your Organization."

Axel and Squint began whispering back and forth to each other. "Ok, it's in Singleton. It's in the possession of a man named Dave McGuire."

"Thanks Axel. Now get to a hospital."

Axel nodded and he and Squint disappeared out the front gate of the Citadel. Interesting twist we turned out to be on the same side. Mike thought putting away his sword.

"Um, hello? Are you guys gonna get us down or what?" Rikku demanded. Yoshi began to un-chain Rikku from the wall, apologizing for making her wait. He caught her in his arms as Mike and the Mario bros. began to discuss what to do next.

"Maybe we should leave for Singleton?" Luigi suggested.

Yoshi looked at the group, and then Rikku, "maybe we'sa could leave in the morning?"

*****************************