Chapter 25

“And that is why you should never marry outside of your own race.” Jeila and her father were enjoying a peaceful evening in that hut of theirs again. Over a few cups of tea, one of them had just finished listening to the other’s explanation of something dealing with some of the justices and immoralities of life as well as its relationships and its variety of different people.

“Yes, Papa,” Jeila responded. Her father took another sip of his drink while his daughter took a look at some of the jars, containers, and other such things the shelves around them consisted of. She saw that one of them was filled with some type of gunk she recognized, and decided to raise some other issue. “Papa?” she asked.

“Yes, sweetie?” the parent replied, putting his cup down onto the floor.

“Why is it that there’s no safe way to dispose of voodoo dolls?” she inquired. Her father evidently gave the question some thought. He had an answer. He took a breath and let another explanation come out.

“It’s because they’re designed to look like certain people,” he said. Jeila’s eyes widened, quizzically. The father elaborated. “They look like the people they look like because they’re made by people (often witches) who hold grudges against those people. Each doll is made from at least one personal possession of the person these people wish to harm. With a little help from a little magic...” The holy Yoshi made his left arm wave around to imitate some spellcasting. “Voila! Instrument of torture. They can stick needles in these, they can hold them over open fires, but it won’t be the dolls that’ll take the damage; the people that look like them will.”

”That’s awful,” Jeila commented.

“Mm-hm,” her father agreed. “So if you find one laying around in your home, it’s best not to get rid of it. Don’t throw it into the water, or rip it up, or anything. Who knows? Someone miles away will probably inexplicably drown or spontaneously combust.”

”Ew,” Jeila winced. Her contorted face returned to something more questioning. “But what if it’s a bad person that deserves it?”

”We are not in any sort of position to judge others, Jeila, my dear. No one on this planet is truly fit to decide who deserves what and how, sweetheart.”

Jeila looked confused. “But... What if the doll’s missed? Wouldn’t it be right to return it to its owner?”

”No, that wouldn’t be right, because it would only allow the owner to do more wrong. Besides: keeping it away from them would serve as their punishment for being such evil-doers in the first place,” her father responded.

Jeila looked even more confused. “But... Papa... Isn’t that the same as saying we ARE in a position to judge who deserves what and how?”

Her father just chuckled. He leaned closer to her so he could put a hand on her shoulder. “Jeila, dear, someday you’ll be the mistress, but that won’t be until later. Until then, give it time, hm?” His hand patted her shoulder, and he removed it so he could lean back and drink some more tea. Jeila still looked a little befuddled. She gently stared at her father who only smiled in return.

“Okay, Papa,” she said. She then took a sip of her own tea and thought of other things, things like what had happened, what was going on, and what was probably going to happen. She set her tea down and let the night carry on...

Meanwhile, Boshi was still busy walking along an unfamiliar path somewhere in Mario Land. Thoughts of anger, frustration, and confusion still flowed through his fatigued mind. It had been a long road. It wasn’t getting any shorter, and it wasn’t leading him to any place to be recognized.

“I hate this, I hate this, I hate this,” Boshi grumbled to himself. “I just wanna go home, but ever since that big explosion, things have just been... Ugh...” He shook his head in an attempt at getting rid of some of the weariness that weighed him down. In spite of the fact it didn’t work and that he didn’t even know what he was struggling to do anymore, he kept on walking. However, pretty soon, he was able to see, on the horizon, something that was gradually getting closer and closer to him...

Pish was running around like crazy through the village back on Yo’ster Isle. Others may have been trying to get some shut-eye, but items were still on his to-do list. Once he got past one house and then the other, he came to find that he was not the only person with his optical receptors still wide open. Two Yoshis, one pink, one blue, were standing before the hut of a brown one. Deciding a little break was far from harmful, he ran up to the little duo and slowed to a halt.

“Hey, Pish,” said Pinky. “What’s up?”

”Nothing much,” Pish responded through a few pants. “What about you guys?”

”Ah, you know. Same ol’, same ol’,” Pinky replied. “We’re still here, making sure no one comes and starts robbing Xoshi’s house, is all. But, you know, I’m beginning to wonder if there even are burglars worth guarding his house from.”

”There aren’t any burglars because WE’RE here,” Oshi informed.

“Aye,” said Pinky with a quick nod.

“Well, keep up the good work,” Pish said, beginning to stretch his muscles. “I’ll catch you guys later. Right now, I’ve gotta keep myself in tip-top shape.” Pish suddenly stopped, folded his arms, and looked at his two friends through squinty eyes. “You know what am I’m sayin’?”

”Er, yeah,” said Pinky. “Well, good luck with that.”

”All right. See ya!” Pish waved a little and got himself back into the jog.

”Later!” Oshi called. Pish kept running through the village, probably with other destinations in mind...

With a strange flower resembling a pink ball surrounded by gossamer wings in his hands, the quirky Prof. E. Gadd walked down a certain lane in the middle of the night. He vocally expressed his intrigue towards the plant.

”Hohoho. You, little friend, could quite possibly be the next to further my studies in the field of ghosts. Unquestionably!” The strange professor continued walking until something in the distance seemed to catch his attention. He lifted a small hand and placed it over his eyes to adjust his vision somewhat. “What’s that I see? Another person out at a time like this? Intriguing...” With that in mind, he continued his waltzing as the person coming towards him did as well. This was what was going on in the current situation of Prof. E. Gadd...

While continuing to run around, Pish managed to bump into someone else. It appeared as though he, a red Yoshi, and maybe a few other people were still walking around at this hour. The two of him and this new person stopped before each other to have a little chat.

“So, how’s it going?” Pish asked.

“Well and good,” Rachi replied. “Azure’s keeping an eye on the stronghold. I’m still trying to figure out what the deal is with that one thing that interrupted the race.”

Pish suddenly put his fists against his hips, looking at the red Yo’ster accusingly. “Are you saying that race was rigged?”

”No, just that I’ve still got some research to do,” Rachi exclaimed. Pish seemed to lighten up.

“Well then... What have you found out so far?” asked the purple Yoshi.

“All that I can confirm is that these things just tend to pop up out of nowhere. Other than that, I really can’t say.” Rachi gave his shoulders a shrug.

“Hmm... Well, you keep at it, then.” Pish started preparing himself for the jog again. “Anyways, I got some exercise to do.” Pish made another weird face. “Keep it real!”

”Yes, sir,” said Rachi. With the conversation having been come to an end, the two Yoshis could return to their duties. While moving his legs quickly and being carried here and there as he was doing this, some contemplating got to be done by him.

So Rachi and Azure are guarding Xoshi’s house, while he is somewhere out there on Isle Delfino, enjoying himself with Yoshi, Yazzee, and Boshi, Rachi and Azure still have some scientific research to conduct, and here I am, trying to walk, or rather, run in Boshi’s shoes, he speculated. I hope he’d be proud of me... The purple Yo’ster disappeared into the night, making his legs a little stronger all the while...

That Pish had better not be screwing things up while I’m away, Boshi thought to himself. ’Cause if he is... POW! Boshi just kept on walking. For a while now, the figure he saw had only been progressively becoming something more and more clear. Finally, he could see it was some little person in a white labcoat. At first, this individual didn’t ring a bell, but then it all came together. He most likely realized this upon seeing the facial expression of this guy lighten up from the sight of him. Boshi decided not to waste another moment, and ran up to the man.

Boshi skidded to a stop right in front of him and let him have it. “YOU!” he yelled, pointing a reptilian finger at him. “Everything was fine before you showed up! Yoshi, Xoshi, Yazzee, and I were still in one piece. Then the whole freakin’ ship blew up, and now I’m stuck in this crazy place! Tell me what is going on, right now!”

Gadd just laughed. “No need to get so worked up, friend. I’m afraid your troubles are all thanks to a completely different being.”

”Chyeah, right!” Boshi scoffed. He edged closer to the scientist. “You’ve got something to do with it. Come on, you, fess up!”

Gadd laughed again. “I’m afraid you and your friends were being attacked by ghosts. For the sake of science and helping you folks out, I came by with my special invention, and took care of them all for you!”

”Something blew up,” Boshi pointed out. “That was your fault, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?!”

Gadd let loose another chuckle. “That in the dark, hm?” He looked Boshi straight in the eye through those shades of his. The blue Yo’ster was noticeably ticked. The professor chuckled once more. “Come on,” he said, letting one hand hold the flower so he could use the other to pat Boshi on the arm. “This isn’t the time or the place to be discussing such things.” The intellectual then walked around Boshi and started continuing down where he was originally headed.

“Oh, right. Like YOU have any clue where to go?!” Boshi fumed.

The little man gave another laugh. “You didn’t.” Boshi looked even more angered. Prof. E. Gadd stopped, turned around, and pointed to where Boshi was originally headed. “That way leads away from civilization. We need to go this way.” He pointed to where he wanted to take the Yoshi. Boshi took a look at that direction and sighed.

“How do you know all this, anyway?” he asked. For an answer, all Boshi got was a laugh.

“Come on,” Gadd said. He turned back around and gestured with his hand. Soon after that, both hands were holding the flower again. Boshi just watched the man walk a little more. He let his anger burn him up a little more, and then he drooped his head and sighed once more.

So I follow this guy around, and I make him talk, he thought. Well... Better than nothin’, I guess... At last, Boshi got over it and slowly began to follow this new companion. He hoped dearly that things would start making sense again...

The gigantic castle was right before their eyes. It was huge, made of brick, had towers and flags marking it in different places, possessed windows wherever needed, and owned a giant M in the middle of a circle. Such a symbol bore a strong resemblance to something the father wore around his neck. He, his wife, and his children had finally returned from a disastrous vacation. The Mario Land Grand Castle was theirs to live in again.

”Well, dear,” said the king, “it looks like we’ve finally made it.”

“I know,” his wife replied. Mario and Luigi were asleep in her arms. “They’ll be very happy to see the babies. I know it.”

“They will be,” said the father. He looked at the humungous building a little while longer, and then began to adjust his grip on the briefcases. He turned to look at his spouse. “Shall we?”

”Yes, let’s,” the mother agreed.

“No birds, no space aliens, no airplane incidents will stop us now,” the king declared.

“I know,” said his wife. Without allowing the wait to take any longer, the four family members finally got started on the small number of steps that would reunite them with their home and all their royal servants. They were undoubtedly going to turn out to be an ecstatic bunch, which was something not contradicted the second the foursome got through the front doors. A while afterwards, murmurings could be heard. These quiet voices started off small, but then the escalating began. Pretty soon, the Mario Land Grand Castle was a huge building in the middle of a country somewhere out there that had uproars of pleasure and adoration coming from within. At last, at long last, the king and queen had made their triumphant return, and they did so with two new bringers of joy for the land to begin loving. The Mario Bros.’ new life of royalty had begun....

BANG! SHUNK! KSCQRDSDT! The night was getting older and the contest between Yazzee and King Carrot only got longer. In spite of this, a crowd was still about. They found the skills and the luck of both these gamblers to be quite impressive, especially since they had come so close to getting triple-sevens so many times in a row, which only resulted in creating more mountains of money, which was also found awe-inspiring by the audience. After their cursing was over with, ProZD rose his gun again for the two competitors.

“One... Two... THREE!” BANG! SHUNK! The wheels got to their spinning once again. All the spectators went on with their excited watching. This did not exclude Boland, Kohler, Carro, and Boscis. All four kept their eyes on the game intently. This changed, though, once something behind Carro started to make some obnoxious sound.

BEE-BEE-BEEP! BEE-BEE-BEEP! Some of the viewers, including Boscis, turned and raised some eyebrows at the orange guy. KSCQRDSDT! The audience let out another cheer and Carro made a small device hover out from behind his back. With it floating in front of him, he used his strange ability to look at its screen and push at its buttons. Boscis looked at him and the device curiously. Boscis became even more concerned once he saw a look of horror fall over his comrade’s face.

”What’s up?” Boscis asked.

”The base,” Carro breathed. “We’re under attack.”

”We are?! Lemme see that.” Boscis yanked the little machine away from Carro’s invisible grasp and poked at a few buttons to see for himself. Afterwards, he reached a conclusion. “This is... not good,” he replied.

“I knew we shouldn’t have left,” Carro dwelled. “What are we gonna do?” he asked.

“We tell the boss,” Boscis answered.

Carro looked unsure. “Now?”

”No... not now,” Boscis added.

“One... Two... Three!” BANG! SHUNK! KSCSCSMRDXT!

”Now,” Boscis said. The two minions hovered up to the side of King Carrot. This caught the attention of a few people.

“What do you want?!” King Carrot demanded. “Can’t you see I’m busy here?!”

”Boss, we’ve got a little problem,” Carro said.

King Carrot scowled. “Can it wait?!” he growled.

“No, boss, it can’t,” Carro said.

King Carrot looked around himself. He noticed that a lot of people were glaring, including Yazzee and ProZD along with his two companions. King Carrot looked at his two underlings to talk some more. “All right, make it quick.”

“Well, we just got a reading that our base is being infiltrated by two... things,” Carro explained. “I don’t know what they are, but... they’re wreacing havoc, boss. If we don’t return to the base and stop ‘em now, who knows what could happen?!”

King Carrot took a few seconds to take this new dillemma into deep consideration. He looked at the worried guises of his minions’ faces, then at the impatient ones of Yazee, ProZD, Boland, and Kohler. Their judge was tapping his foot.

“Are you done?” he asked. The audience watched and waited.

King Carrot bit his lip, letting it quiver. He looked down at the hairy tip of his oddly-shaped body. He looked up at the slot-machine and the huge pile of money bags it had won him. He carefully observed every inch of them, thinking hard. He looked back at the floor, blinked his eyes a few times and closed them. He rolled out a long sigh. Finally, he looked up, turned around, and faced ProZD. “I forfeit,” he said. The crowd gasped. They started muttering about this turn of events.

“So you admit you lose?” the man in the white tuxedo said. King Carrot hesitated. Eyeballs everywhere were glued to him. After that pause, he answered.

“I admit it.” This got the people in the room to start talking even more.

“You do know what this means, right?” ProZD elaborated. “All that money you earned fighting to the finish?” He gestured to the forfeiter’s hill of cash with his cane. King Carrot looked at it. “It all belongs to your opponent now. You’re the lesser gambler. Do you accept this?”

King Carrot’s unattractive face twisted into something even more frightful. It scrunched into a 100 percent ticked-off facial expression. “I am NOT the lesser gambler.” King Carrot growled out this sentence so harshly, his voice-box was about to explode in a mass of pulpy juice. “I only lose THIS time,” he said just as fiercely. The audience was getting rather scared of this man and his attitude. King Carrot spun on his stool to face Yazzee, who had a very bewildered look on his face. “You, Yoshi boy,” said the carrot, “you’ve won the battle, but the war’s not over yet! We’ll meet again...” King Carrot thrust himself out of his seat and hovered away from the yellow Yo’ster. SPOWT turned its head towards him.

”He said, ‘Good game! We should play again some time.’”

Yazzee’s mood brightened. “Oh, really? That was nice of him...”

King Carrot caught up with his two fellow orange people. He looked at them, and then at the huge pile of money he had worked so hard to win. This was the last time he’d ever be able to see it. He looked at his boys again. “Well,” he said, “it’s a pity, really, but right now we’ve got something more important than money to worry about.”

”Right, boss,” said the two of Carro and Boscis at the same time. The three of them hovered around the bunch of bags, past the casino’s famous giant roullette wheel, and down the aisle of velvet ropes. Everyone had witnessed this carefully and had not missed a single beat. Then they all looked at Yazzee, who was just sitting on his stool, looking at the crowd nervously. ProZD smirked and used his cane to walk up to the yellow Yoshi. Yazzee looked at the man without blinking.

“Yazzee Yoshino,” ProZD said, “I declare you the winner.” He extended his right hand. “Congratulations.” Yazzee looked at the hand for a moment, then grabbed it finally. The two people shook, and the crowd went wild. They even started chanting his name.

“YAZZEE! YAZZEE! YAZZEE! YAZZEE!”

Yazzee’s face looked stupefied like he was in a dream. Wow... he thought. So this is what it feels like... An image of Boshi being praised in a similar fashion showed up in his mind. He giggled at it, and the two hands of him and the judge left one another. Perhaps he’d be able to make his homeland proud after all...

ProZD walked back up to Boland and Kohler. The two men looked at their superior expectantly. “My work here is done,” ProZD said. “Come on. Let’s get out of here...”

“All right, boss,” Boland said.

“Right, boss,” Kohler agreed. Pretty soon, another trio had left the room. Yazzee was left behind, still basking in all the glory of being the winner...

Somewhere outside Hotel Delfino, the carrots had yet another journey to embark on, and it was just getting started. Should anything happen to the base... thought King Carrot, it’ll mean trouble...

The four people that had released a town from the rule of a certain imposter had been walking all night through the woods. At last, after a long session of crunching through sticks and leaves and weaving through branches and shrubs, they had reached an opening.

“Shy Guy,” said the one that resembled a bug, “how much longer ‘til we reach the temple?”

”Big Guy,” the oversized 8-Bit corrected.

”Fine then. Big Guy.” The other man played along. “How much longer?” The other two were probably thinking the same thing.

The muscular leader of the group, suddenly came to a stop. He folded his arms. The others stopped as well. “What is it?” the gray one asked.

The one being asked this extended a huge arm and pointed. The other three turned their heads. Something was there on top of the hill. It was a strange building being held up with pillars and a few staircases. The most unusual thing about this building was that it was covered in black and white tiles. The masked man smirked with satisfaction. “There it is, guys,” he said. “The temple we’ve all been waiting for.”

The boy of the group looked overwhelmed. With excited, wide eyes, he said, “Are you serious?!”

”Positive,” said the muscleman. His trio of cohorts all jumped up and down in triumph. He let them bask in their glory for a while, and then he had to calm them down. “All right, people, time to rest.”

The bug and the boy objected. “What?! But we’re so close!” argued the younger one.

“My normal self is just moments away... Let’s keep going!” said the other one.

The enormous club-wielder just folded his arms and shook his head. “Nope. That’s enough for today. We rest,” he insisted.

“I think he’s right,” said his fellow ex-Shy Gang-member. The other two breathed sighs of disappointment.

“All right,” the insect man conceded, “but first thing tomorrow morning, we raid that place!”

“Yes!” said his shrunken companion, pumping an arm.

“Agreed.” The bodybuilder unfolded his massive arms, stretched, and yawned. “Well, Laser Snifit, Chogun, Davey,” he addressed them. “It’s lights out!” They all nodded and began preparing themselves for another night of sleep. Surely, the next day, they’d be able to get what they wanted...

Back on Lavalava Island in a location where a rough battle previously took place, two Yo’sters had finally caught up with each other. They consisted of a magenta one and a dark orange one. The magenta one spoke first.

“So, Glishy, how are the lessons going? Is he catching on?” Fyooshi asked.

”Yeah, he knows a few words and phrases,” Glishy responded. “He’s a fast learner.”

”That’s good to hear,” Fyooshi commented. “Maybe someday we’ll be able to learn a little more about him, like who he is, where he came from, and how he got here.”

”Yeah,” said his multilingual friend. He looked at his feet thoughtfully, and then he looked back up. “Say, Fyooshi? How do you think he got here? Do you think it was aliens, or something?”

This rang a bell to Fyooshi. It wasn’t a very pleasant one. “Probably,” he solemnly stated.

“A U.F.O. just left the island a little while ago,” Glishy pointed out. “What do you think that was all about?”

”I’m not sure,” Fyooshi expressed. “Raphael told me a little about them, though. He said he was abducted by them once.”

Glishy looked shocked. “He was?!”

Fyooshi nodded. “Yeah, he was. He said they keep going around, capturing people, but only if they’re really strong, like him,” the cowardly Yoshi explained. “He said their leader has hypnotic powers. He can put people into these deep sleeps where they have nothing but bad dreams that are kind of like flashbacks, but stranger. He said they have to fight in these dreams, otherwise, when they wake up, they become his slaves.”

Glishy was interested in this explanation, but also a little concerned. “Now, why would he want to do that?”

Fyooshi shrugged. “I don’t know.”

”Hmm...” The dark orange Yoshi scratched the back of his head. “Well, whatever it is, it’s definitely trouble.” The worldly Yoshi craned his head back and got a good look at the stars. “Something tells me... that Ren was just the beginning of our problems...”

Fyooshi let these words sink in, and gulped. “But... but...” he stuttered. “Ren is gone for good... right?!”

“Yeah,” Glishy said. “I guess so.”

Fyooshi nervously alternated between tapping one foot and the other. He looked at the ground in a sweat, and then at his friend again. “Well, um,” he started, “I think we should be going to bed now.”

Glishy looked perplexed. “Ren’s gone.”

Fyooshi gave a quick nod. “Yeah.”

”You don’t need to follow a curfew anymore.”

“I know,” Fyooshi said. “I just think we should be going to bed now.”

Glishy’s face still looked weird. “Okay,” he said.

“So, then,” Fyooshi stammered. “Goodnight?”

Glishy slowly nodded. “Yeah. Goodnight.”

”Okay.” Hesitantly, the two Yoshis turned around and started walking away so they could hit the hay. Upon ambling about, Fyooshi had to get some speculating done.

Ren’s gone... but so is Noshi and Naji, he thought. And those aliens... they’re still out there. The magenta Yoshi’s walking continued. They had something to do with their disappearance. I know it, he reasoned. And they’re about to do something worse than what Ren did... Way worse...

Ren, himself, had other things to worry about. Together, the three of him, Razule, and the Goomba they had just recruited had made it to a spot in the woods where the center of attention was what appeared to be a huge, oddly-shaped boulder covered in moss and dirt. Ren didn’t recognize this, but the Goomba seemed to be thinking really hard while staring at it, and Razule was prancing around as happy as all get-out.

“IT’S HERE!” he squealed. “It’s here, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here, IT’S HERE!”

“You know what this is?!” the Goomba asked the crazy Raven-like creature once his dance slowed down.

“EHP!” the black thing grunted. “Less talk, more walk!” Razule then began to make all kinds of quickly-paced movements all over the rock. Every time he did so, it became less mossy and less rock-like. This gradual change made the Goomba seem to find it more and more familiar. At last, all was revealed. The Goomba was very surprised.

”I thought I knew what that was!” he exclaimed.

”What is it?” Ren asked the new guy.

”It’s-“

”RENNY BOY!” Razule yelled. The Raven’s attention was stolen. “This thing has fallen and it can’t get up. It needs your charity!”

“I’m on it,” Ren replied. The Goomba watched as the Raven shuffled off and the Raven-like person stepped back. Two witnesses stood side-by-side watching their third party member getting ready to flip whatever this thing was right-side-up again.

”This is gonna be great!” Razule said. “Pretty soon, we’ll be hopping, and flopping, and bopping around!”

The Goomba just gave his two party members weird looks. Ren looked at his target, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He flexed his muscles, getting ready for the blow. He opened up his eyes, and unleashed his fury.

“Boonnn...” He lowered his head, and flung himself at the prize. “ZZAAAIIII!!!” WHAMM! FWUMP! In one swift movement, he had managed to slam his feet into the thing’s surface at the right point, causing it to flip onto its side, which was actually making it stand the way it was meant to. The three of them got to see this new possession of theirs in its proper manner. It was a big, green boot with a wind-up key in the back. However, that little accessory of it wasn’t rotating as it was meant to.

“With this, we can go ANYWHERE!” Razule said. “Lavalava Island, Yoshi’s Island, Kariboo Island, the sun... ANYWHERE!”

The Goomba took this new advantage into consideration. “It should,” he said. “It probably should.”

”Well, then why all the lolly-gaggin’?! Let’s hop in!” Razule stated. “Just one teensy-weensy problemo,” he added. “No pilot! This thing has a foot, but no brain!” He looked at the Goomba, who was returning the eye-contact with a weirded-out facial expression. “Princy to the rescue! You can give this thing its wings again, right?!”

The one he called Princy stared a little more, then nodded. “Yes. I think I can.”

”Then go, gladiator. Go and smite the troll!” Razule encouraged. The Goomba nodded. He waddled up to the device, looked up at it, and scrunched his feet up. With all his might, he flipped up into the air and into the driver’s seat. Ren and Razule both watched in anticipation. Within moments, the new instrument was up and running again. The wind-up key was twirling around once again and it was ready for liftoff. “YA-HOO!” Razule crowed. “Ren! Our carriage has arrived!”

“Yes, sir,” Ren replied. Pretty soon, the two of them were sharing this gigantic garment of war with the formerly-royal one. With a little assistance from that very guy, the thing even started to jump around, making trees and bushes around them alike tremble at the tremors it relatively created. The Goomba was a little glad to have at least one souvenir from the town, while Ren was astonished by this thing’s movements. Razule wasn’t much different.

“Mush! Mush!” the crazy one said. “Ding-dong! Glory and marshmellows will not get themselves!”

”Razule,” the Goomba said, still making the new transportation device leap through the forest, “where shall we go?”

”To Clubba Road!” he answered. “There, our broken violins await! We must get them before they get us!”

”Roger!” the Goomba said. He continued to let the giant boot stampede through the collection of vegetation. Razule’s obnoxious voice could be heard ringing out.

“LOOK OUT, WORLD!” Razule announced. “THE THREE BOOMBATEERS ARE ON THE LOOSE! THEY’RE COMING WITH THEIR VERY OWN BOOMBA’S SHOE! AND THEY’RE COMING FOR YOU, CLUBBA ROAD! KA-FWEE-HEE-HEE!”

The path to the peak of Shooting Star Summit most certainly was a dazzling one. Xoshi couldn’t help but admire all of the purple, the glitter, and the rainbows this place seemed to shine with. It even appeared to come with stars of its own. He also caught a glimpse of some house along the way, but he thought little of it. He felt like he was on a different planet.

After that part of the walk was over, it was then up to the two of him and White Rose to scale an unusual slope coiling its way around their destination. More of the realm’s beauty had Xoshi in awe. Eventually, the coiling came to a stop and became more of a staircase. The duo stood before it.

This is it, Xoshi, Beel stated. Our journey begins...

The brown Yo’ster had butterflies twisting around in his stomach. Don’t remind me, he said back.

“Well, Sir Xoshi,” White Rose said, “now what?”

Tell him to wait there, Beel instructed.

“Wait here,” Xoshi said, carrying out the order. White Rose obeyed.

Go up the stairs, Beel said. Xoshi did that, leaving the knight of the desert behind. He soon found himself on a wide, purple platform rimmed with seven shapes resembling stars in circles, all of them arranged neatly. Walk to the center, Beel stated. In a very hesitant fashion, Xoshi did that, too. Each step he let his rubber shoes take him got him only so much closer to his destination. At last, he was standing right on it. White Rose watched all this in utter confusion. Now wait... This, too, was an order that Xoshi carried out. He didn’t know how this would help, but he did it anyway. Suddenly, Beel did something very strange.

Star Spirits, the Star Warrior said, I have arrived...

“Well done.” Both Xoshi and White Rose unexpectedly heard the voice of a kindly old woman show up out of nowhere. They both looked around confusedly in search of the source of this voice. Then it materialized. First the stars in the circles lit up in different colors, including green, blue, purple, red, teal, silver, and gray. Then above each star emerged several explosions of various other colors like an array of fireworks. Then some figures began to flicker in where these explosions took place like a set of five-pointed televisions. Gradually, they faded into their true forms. The Seven Star Spirits had arrived as well. “Honorable one,” Nay-Charr said, “we welcome you to Shooting Star Summit. At last, your quest has reached its starting point...” Neither Xoshi nor White Rose understood a word of that. They seemed to speak an ancient tongue. “Everyone,” Nay-Charr said, “the wands.” The others knew exactly what this meant. They raised their fins up high and cast their spell.

Xoshi looked in all directions. Rotating around him, shimmering collections of light were beginning to form. They all seemed to be made out of swirling spikes of rainbows. The colors and the light they all gave off slowly got brighter and brighter. Finally, they erupted in a gigantic flash of spectral madness. Xoshi and White Rose were nearly blinded. Seven shapes of glowing lights shined their way through the two people’s eyelids. Once their eyes were able to focus again, they could see that these strange hues were still about, but they had caused seven scepter-like objects to appear. All twelve colors of the rainbow had brought forth the Seven Magic Wands. Once that had been done, Nay-Charr spoke again.

”Take them,” she told Beel, “and see to it that the oncoming evil shall be defeated.”

I will, Beel responded. At this point, the wands had come to a stop and were busy floating in midair.

”I say,” Nay-Charr added, “that’s quite the interesting body you’ve managed to obtain.” Xoshi’s head was twisting about. The body and mind did not seem to reflect each other. The other Star Spirits noticed this, too. They started murmuring to eachother.

It’s, er, a long story, Beel said, sheepishly.

“You fool,” the green Star Spirit scolded. “You shouldn’t have dragged this creature into this. Now it will take you approximately six months to leave his body, and already five days have gone by.” Her six peers were each sharing various titters with one another.

I’m sorry. Please forgive me, Beel apologized.

“I suppose it can’t be helped,” Nay-Charr said. The other six seemed to pipe down some. Then the high-ranking woman addressed Beel’s body using the language of Yo’ster Isle. “Courageous Yoshi,” she said to the brown one. Xoshi’s head snapped forward and looked directly into the eyes of this powerful person. He listened intently. “Another was appointed to this job. You were not. However...” Nay-Charr closed her eyes and breathed a deep sigh. “It appears there are no other options.” She opened them up again and looked at Xoshi. “You, young adventurer,” she said. “This Star Warrior... You shall be the eyes. You shall be the ears. The arms, the legs, the voice... All of them.” Xoshi stared without blinking, but understandingly. “You have been elected for this,” she clarified. “You shall be guided. The one with whom you share your mind shall do this for you. This is the destiny that awaits you two.” Xoshi nodded timidly, knowing who and what she was referring to. “You know of your mission, correct?” Xoshi nodded again. “Good.” Nay-Charr then took a peak behind the brown Yo’ster and took notice of a man dressed in white standing before the platform, stunned in pure astonishment. “Is this one of them?” she asked Beel.

Yes, it is, her servant replied. Although, I’m afraid there’s a little trouble... Beel then commenced explaining to Nay-Charr about White Rose’s personal plight. She understood perfectly well. She stopped talking to the Star Warrior and started speaking to White Rose in his own language.

“Step forward, White Rose,” she said. Surprised even more, the swordsman complied. He walked up the steps and across the platform, feeling the eyes of the Star Spirits watching him, and stood next to Xoshi’s left side. “Do you know why you’re here?” Nay-Charr asked.

White Rose shook his head. “No, ma’am. I do not,” he replied.

“Very well. We shall enlighten you...” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The other Star Spirits made similar preparations. “We are the Seven Star Spirits,” she began. “For ages, we have been watching over this planet, granting people’s wishes, occasionally with the exceptionally potent Star Rod, but that is beside the point. Lately, we have been having something much more important on our minds...”

White Rose looked puzzled by this powerful woman’s words. To her left, the frosty Blizzarr took it from there. “A while ago, a cold-hearted Magikoopa by the name of Kamek sought out the potential of two babies representing Mario Land. This caused quite a commotion to arise, and only eight Yoshis could put it on ice. Many rejoiced once this happened, and they still are, which is something that shouldn’t be as something even more bone-chilling is on the warpath...”

A feeling of wonder filled White Rose’s innards. Adventurous Earhar took her turn to do the explaining. “We couldn’t just sit back with our heads in the clouds, so we got to work. We used our magic powers to make these Seven Magic Wands here out of air! They must each be given to one person so that they can team up and send that something flying!”

Next, it was the fiery Pyrar’s turn. “You, White Rose, are one of those seven people. I’m quite certain your journey here was a rather difficult one, but I’m afraid that that was only a warm-up. Things will only be heating up for you and your friends from this point on...”

The watery Seastar did the next segment of explaining. “One person was meant to bring the seven of you together. This person was meant to flow into the form of a doll, but a Yoshi was flowed into instead. That Yoshi is beside you now. He was one of the eight. You are to journey across the seas with him in order to help him unite the other six so that eventually the seven of you can take on the oncoming evil and make it drown!”

White Rose looked at Xoshi quizzically in response to this part of the explanation. Xoshi just looked nervous and shrugged. The next part was spoken by the creepy Mummar. “The clock is ticking. As you journey down the road, do not let the days pass too great in number. I fear that will give the oncoming evil more time to fulfill its selfish desires. Perhaps the apocalypse is on the verge. Who knows? Alas, not even we, the Seven Star Spirits, know for sure. Only time will tell...”

Finally, Eldstar took his turn. “But with each wand in the right hands, such an oncoming evil can be thwarted! The three of you can do this, not just for the Star Spirits, but for the entire world! Please. Everyone is counting on you...”

Nay-Charr topped it off. “Each wand comes with an elemental-connection. Each wand and its powers must be conquered by its hero. Once that has been done, the hero shall become the master of his wand. The KING of his wand...” White Rose looked even more perplexed. He didn’t look any less questioning once the wand with a ruby embedded into its head floated towards him. “Take your wand,” she ordered, “and become its king...”

White Rose looked questioningly first at the wand, then at Nay-Charr, then at the wand again. Slowly, he reached for the wand in midair with his right, gloved hand. He wrapped his fingers around its smooth, cylindrical body, and was nailed by something completely unexpected. He felt a tremendous snake of vibrating energy spiral throughout his body. His eyes widened in shock and the grip he held the wand with became even tighter. The vigor had evaporated, but he could still feel a bit of its tingling. He looked at his new magical weapon in awe and intrigue. He gradually lifted his gaze back up to that of Nay-Charr’s, who gave him a subtle smile.

“You accept?” she asked him.

”I never expected anything like this,” the man said, rotating his new wand with both hands, still observing its glory. He looked up at the starry sky. “All this time... I had no idea...” He let his head tilt downward at a slow pace. “But... An oncoming evil... The apocalypse... Seven people... I’m one of them...” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “That’s...” he started. “That’s... quite a predicament...” He opened his eyes, looking at the purple ground, and letting the wand rest in his clasped hands. “But I suppose I have no choice...”

“Indeed...” Nay-Charr said. White Rose looked up.

”I accept,” he said.

“Good,” said Nay-Charr. “Now go,” she ordered. “Don’t let us down...”

White Rose nodded, wand in hand. “Yes, ma’am.”

“That one’s mine,” Pyrar stated. “Use it well, hero. Incinerate all who get in your way.”

The swordsman gave another nod. “Yes, sir.”

The next thing to happen dealt with the other six wands. They all floated to the front of Xoshi. Confused, but knowing what this meant, he took them anyway. At last, they were in his possession. They could finally start playing their role in his quest. Nay-Charr then commenced wrapping up the conversation. She had to speak three different languages in order to do this. “Now we must part,” she said, speaking to White Rose. “Best of luck, hero.” White Rose nodded once again. Then she spoke to Xoshi. “The uniting of the seven is in your hands,” she said. “Best of luck, Yo’ster.” Xoshi made the same gesture that White Rose did to represent his comprehension. Lastly, Beel was up. “Guide him well.”

I will, Beel said.

”Good,” Nay-Charr responded. “Best of luck, Star Warrior.”

Thank you, Nay-Charr, Beel obliged. After that, the two of Xoshi and White Rose were left standing around, watching the Star Spirits slowly fade away with reassuring smiles. They flickered like a collection of television sets once more, becoming more and more blurry. At last, there was not a bit of them left. The world-saving group was left alone. White Rose turned to his companion.

”Well then,” he exclaimed, “shall we be off?”

Xoshi nodded. “Yes,” the Yoshi stated. “Let’s go.”

”All right then...” Another agreement had been reached. Their visit to Shooting Star Summit had been a success. Their real mission was lying ahead of them...

While walking down the hill away from where they had come for, Beel started talking to Xoshi again.

Are you wondering what everyone just said?

Mm, sort of, Xoshi admitted. I only caught a few words, like “Magikoopa,” “Yoshi,” and “White Rose.”

You’re learning, said his instructor.

Yeah, I guess, Xoshi said modestly. Beel? Is there anything you DON’T know how to say?

Beel laughed. Well, I suppose I do know a lot... Xoshi was not the only one being modest. Would you like a translation?

Yes, please, Xoshi replied.

All right... Xoshi then began hearing an explanation of what had been exchanged between the Star Spirits, White Rose, and the Star Warrior. It was basically just a repeat of what he was told that fateful night when he had begun sharing his head with this otherworldly being, but with a few more details. It all got Xoshi curious about something.

Beel? he asked, walking down that glittering, purple path.

Yes? his head-mate replied.

I-

“So, you’re famous,” White Rose interjected.

”Huh?” Xoshi asked.

“The Star Spirits. They said that you were one of the eight Yoshis that brought an end to a great disaster caused by a Magikoopa by the name of Kamek. That makes you famous, does it not?” the knight pointed out.

”Well...” Xoshi said, scratching the back of his head. “Probably.”

”One question,” the sword-wielder added. “What exactly did they mean when they said another person was assigned this task, but you got elected instead?”

Xoshi consulted with Beel about this one. Should I tell him? he asked.

If you want, was the advice.

I don’t.

Then don’t.

How do I tell him that I don’t want to tell him? Beel told him how to do this.

“Um,” Xoshi began. “It... uh... long story. Really long story.”

White Rose stalled. “I see...” The walking continued a little more. Still, the place remained galactic and bedazzling. The knight spoke again. “I suppose we have more important things to worry about, hm?”

“Yeah,” Xoshi concurred. The talking ended, but the walking carried on. At last, Xoshi could return to his question.

Beel? he tried again.

Yes, Xoshi.

You star people... You keep bringing up how this “oncoming evil” is gonna show up and kill everybody, or something, the Yo’ster pointed out. I gotta know: who... or what... exactly is it that needs to die so badly? What’ll happen if we don’t do something about it?

Beel let a pause come after that. Finally, Xoshi got an answer. You really want to know?

Yes. Please.

Beel hesitated once more. Once again, the Yoshi’s words were acknowledged. All right...

“Huh. So that’s what happened,” Boshi mumbled. The two of him and Prof. E. Gadd were sitting down in a booth at a tavern of some sort. The professor had told him all about what happened that unfortunate night when the six of him, his friends, and the two thieves were attacked by nine ghosts and when the ship had exploded, sending a good few of them flying sky-high. Boshi took a cookie off of his plate and took a bite out of it. “It clears things up, that’s for sure,” the shaded Yoshi said beneath his breath. The scientist nodded. Boshi swallowed and said something else. “But what happened to all the other guys? Where’d they go?”

Prof. E. Gadd held out his hands, unknowingly. “Beats me, friend. Maybe they landed somewhere in Mario Land, too. Who knows?”

”So this is Mario Land...” Boshi mused.

“Indeed. Did you know that my friend, Dr. Kamenstein, used to be the royal vizier of the royal family of this country?”

“He did, huh?” Boshi said.

”Yes. Too bad it didn’t work out, though. The three of us and-“

“So what now?” Boshi interrupted.

”Well, now I plan on unveiling the mysteries of this flower,” said the knowledgeable man, holding up his prize. “Surely, it will bring me to a better understanding of the ghosts I find so interesting.”

”Yeah, that’s great. But what am I gonna do?” Boshi demanded.

”Well...” E. Gadd placed a finger against his lip. “You could try and find a way back home.”

”I could do that,” the blue Yo’ster responded.

“Or you could go on a search for your friends, THEN try and find a way back home.”

”That, too,” Boshi said. He ate another cookie. This time, he did so by snatching it off the plate with his tongue like a whip. Prof. E. Gadd suddenly yawned and stretched.

”Well, it’s getting late,” he said.

”Yeah, I guess...” Boshi looked out the window of the booth to his left. He could see a landscape of houses, trees, and roads, all of them dim beneath a starry sky. He looked at the sparkly little white things through his pale reflection and organized his thoughts.

So I just yelled at a guy for ruining everything for me, Yoshi, Xoshi, and Yazzee, he was thinking. Turns out, it wasn’t his fault after all. Some ghosts did this to us. He looked away from the window, saw the last cookie on his plate, and snapped it into his mouth. If only I knew where they were and what they were doing...

With each passing second, the night was getting older, and the three of Carro, Boscis, and King Carrot were getting closer to the place they were in before they'd decided to head off for that casino they had just paid an interesting visit to. Its condition and a few other things were exactly what was on the leader’s mind.

Two things terrorizing the place, he thought darkly. They could be anyone or anything. Still, no use taking any chances. Either we take care of this little problem, or we all suffer. I’ve made MY choice... The journey continued...

Four people were surrounding a campfire once again. For the second time on their adventure, they had a night sky to sit beneath and a nice warm flame to bask in the glow of. Of course, this had been another occasion for the quartet to relax and swap a few stories. The muscular one was taking his turn to do so at this point.

“...So, loudly and proudly, from now on whenever people ask who it was that saved Goomba Grove from the fake Goomba King, they’ll say that it was four great people named Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Chogun, and Davey,” he said, nodding assuredly. The others visibly had mixed feelings about this.

“Whatever, Shy Guy,” said his gray cohort.

”Big Guy!” he corrected again.

”Right.”

“Well, you know what they say,” said the axe-wielder, “names aren’t important.”

“Hmph,” the boy grunted. He tilted his head back, looking at the dark canvas with his arms folded and his face scowling. “I get all the luck,” he said. “I know that technically I’m only about ten years old now, but that doesn’t change the fact I’m a grown man.”

”You’re so cute,” the bodybuilder teased. He got a glare in return.

”Hush,” the boy demanded. Next, it was the bug’s turn to speak.

”Say... Big Guy...” he said.

”Yeah... Chogun?” the other person played along.

“What exactly is it like inside this temple, anyway?”

The brutal 8-Bit shook his head. “Can’t say,” he replied. “I’ve never actually been in there, myself. I’ve just heard about it.”

”Well then, what have you heard?” the insect man asked.

”I heard there are monsters in there,” was the answer. “They probably won’t be wanting us hanging around, so... keep your dukes up, okay?”

The one called Chogun pumped a three-fingered arm. “Yes, sir!” The one he said this to suddenly let out a yawn while waving a hand in front of his face. The others looked at him expectantly.

“All right, everyone,” he said. “Lights out. For real, this time.” The others agreed to go along with this, and so for the second time they began to get themselves ready for a little siesta. The next day would be the big one...

Shy Guy... er, Big Guy... sure knows a lot, one of them thought. Maybe I’ve been too hard on him in the past...

Pah! Monsters. Like they’ll be any different from those Goombas that tried us before, thought another. I’ll be ready. My axe will chop them all down! And then we’ll win our prize...

That muscle-brain enjoys tormenting me, a different one moped. They all do. This has to end, and it has to end soon. He thought about his newfound weapon. It should be a piece of cake with this new gun of mine. I can shoot lasers now... just like Laser Snifit...

I’m such a good leader, the last one thought. Go me...

Raphael, the Raven, looked up at the endlessly stretching ocean of tiny cosmic speckles. Things may have gotten significantly simpler for him and the rest of the island, but still his stomach remained feeling somewhat on the queasy side. Something just plain wasn’t right.

It’s great to be back, he thought. I have the tree back and everything. However... Another minute detail tapped him on the shoulder. It was being guarded by an odd little creature named Razule. I wonder: who or what was he and where did he come from? What does he want? Where is he now and what is he doing? The huge bird stared at the constellations a while longer, and then he shook his head. Perhaps it doesn’t concern me, he concluded. I have shoes to fill in...

The more trees flew past the trio, the more they could see that soon the forest could be put behind them and the beach could be put in front of them. The Goomba they had enlisted was doing a fine job piloting the new vehicle. Finally, the last two masses of bark and leaves whizzed past them, and soft, crunchy sand could be beneath their giant foot. Ren saw the foamy water lapping against the edge of this place, and got a little nervous.

”Razule,” he asked, “shouldn’t we stop or something? This thing can’t go on water!”

”Au contraire, my dear friend! This thing can do ANYTHING!” Razule retorted. “Show ‘im, Princy!”

”Roger,” said the Goomba. The edge of the water was getting dangerously close to the huge, stomping foot. Ren’s nerves were only getting more and more shot. He watched in doubt and a little fear, and shut his eyes tightly. He waited for the inevitable downfall of this machine. But then... SPLOOSH! SPLOOSH! SPLOOSH! Shocked by the sound of this noise, he opened his eyes and looked around. Had he gone nuts? Was what he was witnessing real? His eyes told him that this gigantic shoe was capable of hopping across water as though it were more land.

He was astounded. Sitting back in pure awe and disbelief, he said, “Well I’ll be!”

Razule chuckled. “Toldja!” Ren looked behind himself. He could tell Kariboo Island was that mass of trees and whatnot gradually becoming even more of a small thing in the background every fleeting moment. He turned his head around and relaxed.

He’s a weirdo, he thought, but he never ceases to amaze me...

The “oncoming evil” that we speak of is a person, Beel said. Xoshi and White Rose were still walking through a sparkly place at the time. Beel’s explanation continued. This person has made some pretty complicated plans and is already carrying them out. This person has already managed to get a good number of people as a faithful crew as part of these plans. Thus, there is an organization somewhere out there on the move. Unless we do something about it, together, they’ll get a hold of a gigantic castle. However, this would be no ordinary castle. It would be one that allows its ruler to do a variety of different things, thereby making it an incredible source of power. Xoshi’s eyes widened at the sound of this. He listened further. Such power should not fall into the wrong hands. Only seven people with seven wands can stop it. That is the meaning of this journey.

Xoshi was still quite surprised by these words. He let a few seconds drift by so he could think it over. Finally, he resonded. I see... he said. Sounds like quite an enemy we’ve got...

Quite... With that out of the way, the heroes could further their journey through the starry place with fewer things on their minds while a certain force out there was at work...

“Oh, really...” Dr. Kamenstein. “And whose fault was that?”

Storko stalled and stammered. He played nervously with the feathery tips of his wings trying to look for words. “Um, uh,” he hesitated. “M-mine?”

The doctor had his back turned towards the stork with his hands folded behind him. The three of them and Marilyn were in the Madscikoopa’s living room talking about what had happened a certain night. Storko was in a cold sweat, standing up, and Marilyn was smothering her face with a handkerchief, sitting down. The labcoat-wearing Terra Pin was also standing. He heard his creation’s answer, grimaced, and swung a fist against one of the walls. He kept it there, keeping his inhaling and exhaling very strict. The woman watched him in discomfort. He shook his head in a somber tone. He removed his hand and walked over to his female guest who was still tearful. He stood before her. “Madame,” he said. The mother sniffled a little more looking back at him. “Tomorrow, I can fly you back to Gana Village. It’s the least I can do.” The woman nodded and wiped more moisture from her eyes. Dr. Kamenstein shook his head. He folded his arms behind himself and walked away from the woman. He went up to the wall once again, looking at the floor.

I spent all these years guarding that strange music box, he thought. All these years... Now Annabyss can walk among us once more... Who knows what will happen...

Annabyss, along with Tessa and the Kamenstein Bros, was back on the Kame Cruiser. Once again, Wario and Waluigi were piloting the ship. Annabyss was in her usual spot behind Wario, but at that point, Tessa was taking up a similar one behind Waluigi. Beyond the windshield, they could see a dark version of Sarasaland and its sand-rimmed edge. They could finally put this place behind them and move on. All four of them seemed to be enjoying the trip immensely.

“Annie?” Tessa said. The prettily-eyed woman turned her head towards the girl. “How long do we have to wait until we get to Uaurpe?”

“It takes a few days, more or less, dearie. You’ll just have to be patient,” the royal silhouette responded.

“Okay,” Tessa said.

“That is, of course,” Annabyss added, “should we not have to encounter any delays along the way.”

Tessa laughed. “What could happen?” she asked.

”Anything.” The two females returned their heads to watching what the windshield had to show them. At this moment, Sarasaland was about to be a thing of the past within seconds. Letting patience overcome her and deciding not to worry about anything, Tessa began to nod off. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to one side. Annabyss, of course, remained staring, wide awake. The two of the creepy Kamenstein Bros. resumed piloting the transportation device with big toothy grins on their faces as usual. Then suddenly...

WHAM! Something hard and heavy rocked the ship. Its four passengers were nearly thrown out of their seats. The Kamenstein Bros. were a little startled and Tessa snapped wide awake, but Annabyss remained calm.

“Annie?!” Tessa said. “What was that?!”

”Someone doesn’t want our company,” she said. “Boys, time to accelerate.”

”Ja, Madame.” The plane then started to fly through the sky at an even faster rate. However...

WHAM! They were hit again. Fear swept the room once again, but Annabyss just looked annoyed.

“Keep flying, boys,” she ordered.

”Ja, Madame.” They did just that. Their speedy method of doing this didn’t last long, though.

WHAM!!! Another hit rocked their world. Annabyss and Tessa could see through the main window before Wario and Waluigi that the sky was starting to disappear from sight. Tessa got worried. “Annie?” she said. “Are we gonna die?”

”No, we’re not.” Annabyss stood up from her seat while Tessa clung to hers. Neither was an easy task since the plane’s center of gravity was gradually beginning to shift.

“Was werden wir, Madame machen?” the boys asked.

“Just hop into my mouth.” Wario and Waluigi hopped out of their seats and turned around. Annabyss had transformed herself into a giant Goomba with colorful eyes. The altered woman opened up a fanged maw and the two brothers hopped right in. Tessa looked at this in pure confusion.

“Are you sure this is- OOMPH!” Wario reached out of the woman’s mouth, grabbed onto the girl’s arm, and pulled her in. The three of them disappeared inside Annabyss’s mouth and let her do the rest. By now the windshield was showing a deep set of ravines with steep walls as something the plane was on a collision course for. Not wanting the ship to slant any further, Annabyss commenced turning around, walking through the door, and down the aisle of seats. She could see that the vicinity was starting to smoke, but had to dismiss it. Once she found the door, she fried the whole thing off with a quick zap from one of her eyebeams, steadied herself, and leapt out.

Two different things fell from the sky, one of them, a flaming plane about to crash into the ocean, and the other, a black-and-white Goomba falling from where the jet just happened to be a second ago. Annabyss was plummetting at first, letting the rocky place below come closer and closer, but then FWOOMP! A dark parachute opened up from behind her, and the massive Goomba woman could begin floating down to safety.

The slow-placed drop to the stone-filled sanctum that awaited her arrival was a long one. What felt like hours seemed to endlessly drag by. In a very sluggish manner, the nothingness surrounding her began to shift from being the air above a gorge with steep sides to being the air within the premises of all that. Tall, flat rocks constructing the valley were all around Annabyss. Finally after the extensive wait, the magical woman was able to land on her feet and let the humungous parachute float down to the ground behind her. It was still flattening itself out once she opened her mouth back up. The three of Tessa and the Kamenstein Bros. at last could hop out and start walking on rocky terrain. Annabyss reverted back to her Anuboo form. Tessa looked around at the vaguely mountain-like area they were then in. She turned around and looked at Annabyss.

”Annie? Where are we?” she asked.

Annabyss walked past her and the two men of the group. “Ganchan Canyon,” she said. “A place of falling rocks. We should be careful.”

”Ohhh,” Tessa moaned. “What are we gonna do now?”

Annabyss glided onward along the rocky path. To her left was a merciless pit and to her right was another one of the ravine’s stone walls. “We press onward,” she said.

Tessa looked a little puzzled by this. Wario and Waluigi turned, looked at her, folded their arms, and nodded. They spun themselves around again and started goose-stepping in unison after the woman. Tessa stayed behind for a while longer.

Annie is strange, she thought. But I trust her... Soon, she started trotting after the other three. Their journey through Ganchan Canyon had come to a start...

This is it. The big ceremony... Dark thoughts went through William’s mind. He was at the end of a large, rectangular, wooden room. The place was rimmed with more Death Sickles, all of which dressed in robes and were sitting down. A good portion of them had gray skin, white hair, and all that. Still, they gave the creeps to the young boy. Like the rest of them, he was wearing one of those strange robes, only the hood was down. He and the powerful Minister Zelm were standing on a platform of sorts. Between them was some type of pedastal with a basin built into it. In the background, a choir was singing some eerie music. Once it stopped, the minister cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Brothers and sisters,” Zelm spoke in his authoratative voice, “we are gathered here today in honor of the newest Death Sickle, a young one, albeit a rather energetic one, overflowing with potential. Soon, he shall be one with us. He shall be the next thread in our woven band of purity. With his assistance, we shall see to it that the Twelve Gods of Chaos will be smitten and peace and glory will once again reign over the lands...” The exalted old man dipped his creepy right hand into the basin and pulled it out with some water filling up his cupped palm. Droplets of the liquid streamed between his aged fingers as he drifted it away from him. “Lower your head, boy,” he ordered. With his eyebrows scrunched slightly downward, William obeyed this. The elderly man took his hand and let the water trickle down onto his black hair. “Let holiness bind you and guide you for the rest of eternity.” Little beads of the water coiled down and dripped off of each of the boy’s hairs, making tiny splashes back into the basin. Zelm got another handful and did the same thing with it as the other one. “May darkness never befall you nor tempt you.” William’s hair became even more sopping wet. Zelm gave him another round of this with the final handful. “May you ensure an everlasting victory in our campaign against the Twelve Gods of Chaos...”

When is it gonna be over? William moped with his hair drenched.

“Arise,” Zelm told the boy. William lifted his head up, letting miniscule projectiles of the liquid fall from his hair and drip onto his robe. Zelm walked around the pedestal and confronted William. “Your hands,” he said. William held them both out. Zelm grabbed them both and placed them together, keeping them sandwiched between his own. He looked William straight in the eye. “From this day forth, your name shall be Hyrg. You shall be the swordsmsan of the ages. The oasis in the desert. A tempest in a small package...”

I’m not William anymore?!

“You shall be known as Hyrg, you shall be called Hyrg, and you will answer only to Hyrg,” Zelm elaborated. “Is that understood, Hyrg?”

The renamed boy hesitated. “Yes,” he said.

”Good.” Zelm let go of the boy’s hands and stood back. “The ceremony is complete. You are now one of us. Your training as a Death Sickle begins tommorrow...”

The new Death Sickle stood on that platform beside the pedestal in deep thought. The creepy chorus was starting to sing again. So I’m Hyrg now, he thought. I swear, this whole Death Sickle thing just keeps getting weirder and weirder... The moment he had been waiting for had come and gone. Now other things were lying in wait for him. It had been an interesting night for quite a few people, and it wasn’t over yet...

He and Bowser were standing across from each other in the middle of one of the mansion’s hallways. Kamek posed, gripping his wand and letting its jewel tremble and begin to glow brighter and brighter. Bowser only stood in a fighting stance, glaring at the crafty Magikoopa. Then FWOOSH! Kamek fired a swirl of a triangle, a square, and a circle at the tyrannical Koopaling. Bowser merely hopped out of its way and let it blast a steaming hole into the wooden floor.

”Ha ha, Kamek! You missed!” Kamek muttered something obscene beneath his breath. Bowser got back into his stance. “Now it’s my turn!” Bowser puffed his little chest out with his snout raised up into the air and his cheeks bloated.

”Oh, dear,” Kamek said. He turned tail and fled, or at least tried to. FFOOOOOMM! Bowser unleashed a powerful blast of flaming breath, and Kamek was caught in its line of fire, literally. The sorceror suddenly stopped his movements as a magical Terrapin clad in ash-black clothes and even skin. He remained in his mid-running position, wheezed, then collapsed onto the floor with a few dark clouds billowing from beneath his defeated body.

“YES!” Bowser hissed. He jumped up into the air with one arm pumped and then started doing a victory dance.

”I hereby declare Prince Bowser Koopa the winner! Well done, son!” Gorroh had been there the whole time and was quite pleased with the outcome.

“I coulda beat ‘im with one claw tied behind my back!” Bowser boasted while jabbing at invisible enemies with a smug look on his face.

“Shoot! I let my guard down,” Kamek mumbled.

That was when Helga walked into the room. “Honey, have you seen- BOWSER! What are you doing out of bed?! You’re not healed yet!” she spazzed once her eyes had been laid on her prancing son.

Gorroh looked at the woman, holding his arms out. “Not to worry, my dear. Bowser is back in action and with more spunk than ever before! He even beat up Kamek!” Helga’s attention then turned to the collapsed, soot-covered Kamek lying on the ground. She walked a little closer to him.

”KAMEK! What have I told you about beating up my son?! You oughtta be ashamed of yourself!” Kamek didn’t answer. He remained motionless on the floor.

“No, no, no,” Gorroh chided. He walked past his triumphant son and beside his hysterical wife. “You shouldn’t yell at him, dear! After all, he’s taught our son so much! When things don’t go your way, make them go your way! When you get pushed, push back! And the best defense is a formidable offense! Such is the way of a Koopa.”

Helga turned her head and glared at him. “Such is the way that’ll get our son killed!” She then jerked herself around, strutting away from her spouse and up to her enthused son. She knelt down and suddenly ensnared him in a massive hug.

”Hey, hey, hey! What gives?!” Bowser demanded.

“Oh, Bowsie, did that mean ol’ Magikoopa hurt you, darling?” she asked, still having her arms wrapped around her offspring.

”Aw, no, Mama. He couldn’t even touch me! He was a wimp.”

”Oh, thank goodness!” Helga blurted. She gave him another tightening hug and leg go. She placed her clawed hands on her knees, kneeling before the tyke. “How do you feel?”

“I feel gweat!” Bowser started flexing his muscles, still feeling invigorated by his newfound victory. “See, Mama? No more ouchies!”

Helga tilted her head at the Koopa child. Not anywhere on him could she spot a single cut, bruise, or bandage. He was good as new. “Really?” she breathed.

“Yup! I’m weady to get dhose stupid Yoshis now!” he declared.

”Indeed you are, son! However, I’m afraid that’s not ‘til later...” Gorroh walked away from the downed Kamek with his arms folded behind him up to his two family members. Like Helga, he, too, knelt down before the younger one. Bowser looked at him confusedly. “True, those Yoshis did something really bad to us... and you, too! But I’m afraid they are our number two priority.”

”Wha?! Dhen what’s number one?!” Bowser said.

Gorroh smacked a fist into his palm. “It’s those Marios! THEY are our real target! If we don’t get them first, then they’ll come and get us!” Gorroh placed a hand on one of Bowser’s tiny shoulders. “Tomorrow morning, son, you’ll go with Kamek to Mario Land so you can kidnap a few babies and maybe a few other things while you’re at it! That wimpy Magikoopa needs someone tough like you around in order to do it anyway! Isn’t that right, son?”

Bowser nodded. “Yeah! Dhat doofus needs all dhe help he can get!”

”That’s the spirit! Plus, if you pull this off, you’ll have even more wimps to beat up! How does that sound?” Gorroh encouraged.

Bowser nodded again. “Sounds gweat!” He started punching at the air before him. “Lemme at ‘em. Lemme at ‘em!”

Gorroh chuckled. “You’ll get ‘em soon enough, son. However, I’m afraid right now, it’s past your bedtime.” Gorroh removed his hand from the little tyrant’s shoulder and proceeded to hoist him off of the floor.

”Aw, geez,” Bowser moped while being lifted through the air. Soon, he was resting on Gorroh’s right shoulder while the kind carried him up the stairs. Helga was following.

“Dear, is this entirely right?” she asked. “I mean... kidnapping babies?”

”Of course it’s right, dear. I kidnapped YOU, didn’t I?”

”True...”

The voices of the parents trailed off. Kamek was still on the ground and in pain. “Hello?” he croaked. “Did everyone forget about me? It’s past MY bedtime, too...” Unfortunately for the mage, no one heard his pleas. He breathed a sigh and continued lying down. A while after that, Doppel floated into the room with an icepack held against his head. He stopped hovering through his gigantic home once he looked down.

“Oh, Kamek! What a pleasant surprise,” he said. “So, what happened to you? Did you get hit on the head, too, or something? Do tell.”

”Uugghhhh...” Kamek groaned.

“I see,” Doppel said. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but right now, I have some very important work to do.” He then started floating through the halls once more. “Busy, busy, busy!” His voice trailed off, too. The ghost-like man left the vicinity, and the ill-fated Magikoopa was left all alone once again.

“I hate my life...” he grumbled...

Har-Harlequin sat in the middle of the painted Clattagin Woods somewhere. The nine of her and the rest of her party members were in an opening and were all quite motionless, especially Jester, Night Guy, Ba-doyng, Katunk, Taffy Kong, Groove Guy, Groovum, and Rudy. However, the whole lot of them were all encased beneath damp statues of ice, all of which had their fair share of runny droplets of water sliding right off of them and disappearing into the colorful grass of the woods. Har-Harlequin looked at her frozen comrades, then at Ba-doyng’s missing leg, then at the Clown Copter, then all around her at the strange leaves of this forest’s trees. The ugly woman heaved a sigh.

”Well I’m here,” she said, “but the others aren’t...” She continued sitting in that opening, waiting patiently for the other clowns to thaw. Then she heard something. The sound of flopping against the ground was headed towards her. She looked up and saw it. It was a Cheep Cheep with a beret on his head, a paintbrush in one hand, a paint palette in the other, squinty eyes, and skin that was mostly white with variously colored splotches all over him. Somehow, this fish out of water was able to hop its way through the trees, into the field, and on up to the unattractive sorceress. The Cheep Cheep was smiling. The witch only blinked in confusion.

“Hola!” said the Cheep Cheep. “Mi nombre es Pablo Picarpso. Would you like your skin to be a painted a new color? I have everything. Rojo, naranja, amarillo... You name it!”

Har-Harlequin scowled. “I don’t want my skin to be painted a new color. Now beat it!”

“Muy bien entonces,” said the fish. “I shall take my business elsewhere. Until next time, Seniorita, beunos noches!” The eccentric Cheep Cheep turned around and hopped back into the same stretch of trees it had come from. After that, he disappeared, and the female magic-user was alone again.

“Peculiar forest,” she said under her breath.

“Mmm...” Her eyelids flew up. She had just heard a rather familiar voice come from somewhere nearby. It was high-pitched, and it was scratchy. She turned her head to the right and could see that the enormous Rudy was still coated in a layer of sopping, melting ice, but also that he was beginning to twitch. His eyes were blinking and his mouth was squirming. “Har-Harlequin?” he asked. “Is that you? Where are we? Who was just talking?”

”Nobody,” she replied. “We’re in the Clattagin Woods right now. I flew everyone here after that crazy Madscikoopa froze you all! It was a disaster.”

”Really?” Rudy asked. “Hmm... I’d take my hat off for you, Har-Harlequin, but I’m afraid I can’t lift my arms.”

”You’re still thawing,” she said. “Give it time.”

”Yes,” the tremendous clown exclaimed. “And then... we’ll be able to find out where our music box is!”

“Yes,” Har-Harlequin agreed. She resumed her sitting and waiting. The others continued thawing, and Rudy began struggling to get his other limbs moving again.

Tondariya, he thought. We’re coming for you!

All of this was being observed by a certain female Magikoopa. Secretly, she floated above them in the night sky on her broomstick, making careful observations.

“So, clowns are now on the premises of the Clattagin Woods. Look out, Koopa Klan! You’ve got competition! Bleh heh heh heh heh heh hehh...”

“Har-Harlequin, did you hear something?” Rudy inquired.

”I did not.”

“Okay...”

Kammelina and Kammeo were still in their bubbles floating somewhere down deep beneath the waves. They had been searching and searching, but with no luck. It was getting dark, and Kammeo was getting exhausted.

”Sister,” she huffed. “can we rest?! We’ve been at it for days!”

”Just a few more minutes, Kammeo,” her sibling replied. Kammeo groaned and the looking continued. Kammelina’s eyes were getting heavy with more and more bags, but she didn’t quit keeping them peeled for anything suspicious. To her left, there was nothing but water, rocks, and marine life. To her right, there was pretty much the same thing. Doubt was beginning to set itself on her shoulders. Then she saw something on the ground that brightened her mood. “Look, sister! A clue!” Kammeo stopped hovering and looked at the other Magikoopa. She noticed she was picking up a wet broken bottle off the ground. She held it up to her face and took a good look at it through her spectacles. “Do you know what this means, Kammeo?” she asked.

”People pollute?” the younger sibling replied, sarcastically.

“No! It means we’re getting closer!”

”How does a broken bottle mean we’re getting close?”

”Rrrgg... Never mind!” Kammelina threw the bottle to the ground. It passed through her bubble quickly, but soon became engulfed by the liquid of the ocean. It bounced slowly off the ground of this place, then floated to a stop. “Come on. Let’s just keep looking...”

”Whatever you say...” grumbled the younger one. With hardly any more luck they had a second before that, the two witches continued their search. It was only a matter of time until that Marinotroplan swine’s blood would be theirs...

 “...So then I pushed the button, and we were off! It was amazing, boss,” Crookie explained.

”Yeah, that sounds nice,” Sackle commented. The two of them were sitting on the floor against one of the lab’s walls and next to one of its counters, swapping more stories. This time, Crookie was doing the majority of the talking.

“Yeah, but the best part was when-“

”SACKLE! CROOKIE!” Mad Scienstein interrupted them. He was standing in the middle of one of the doorways, looking very excited. “I FOUND IT! THE WAY BACK! I FOUND IT!”

”Woah!” Crookie exclaimed.

”That’s good to hear!” Sackle said. The two thieves got up off the floor and ran up to the scientific man. “Where is it?” Sackle asked.

”In here,” Mad Scienstein replied. He turned around and motioned forward with his hand. Sackle and Crookie followed. The three of them found themselves inside another one of the rooms of the cave-like place. In the middle of it was something transparent and blue, floating and rotating in midair with two eyes, a round body, eight spikes surrounding it, and sparkles drifting down from it. Its top three spikes had balls sticking out of them. Mad Scienstein watched it in satisfaction and the two burglars watched it in awe.

“What is it?” Sackle asked.

“A magical item,” the scientist answered. “Touch it, and you’ll find yourself right back where you started.”

”Oh, goodie!” Crookie said. “Boss, come on!” Crookie quit standing around and ran towards it. Sackle grabbed him by the collar causing him to fall down. “GWU-OOMPH!”

”Not so fast, Crookie,” said the boss. He let go of Crookie and let the apprentice stand on his own, straightening himself out. Sackle looked Mad Scienstein straight in the eye.

”Yes?” said the taller man.

”Mr. Mad Scienstein, sir, me and Crookie were wondering if it’d be possible for you to lend us one of your Giga Moles. Just for a little while.” Sackle bent down to his knees with his hands folded in front of him and a sorrowful look in his eyes. “Pleeeaaase?”

”Hmmm...” Mad Scienstein lifted up a hand and rubbed his beard with it. “Welll... I only have one so far... It’s a fully-operational prototype, too, and, ummm...” The weird inventor rubbed his scalp and looked at the ceiling with his eyes squinting. He suddenly puffed a quick sigh out of his mouth and dropped his arm. He looked back at Sackle who was still looking desperate. “Okay,” he said. “Just promise you’ll return it.”

Sackle suddenly jolted upright off of the floor and grabbed the man’s left hand and started shaking it vigorously with both of his. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! You have no idea what this means to me, er, us. Really! Mad, my boy, you’re a true friend. A true one, I tell ya. Oh, and don’t worry, you’ll have your precious little prototype back in no time. No time!”

Mad Scienstein returned a strange look to the eager Sackit. “Yes, quite,” he said.

Sackle turned to his younger cohort. “Come on, Crookie. We got a Giga Mole to hop into!”

”Right-o, boss!” Together, the two of them ran out of the room and up to that very robot. Mad Scienstein stared for a second or two, then ran after them...

Somewhere out there, nine people were gathered in the middle of a swamp. They were arranged in a circle on some grass that was surrounded by various bodies of murky water with all kinds of strange plants growing out of them complete with all the trees, moss, bushes, lilly pads, shrubs, and whatnot a swamp could ask for. It was overflowing with different organisms, but it was not a cheerful place. All these things came in brown, tan, beige, and gray rather than the healthy green and jade. Beneath the night sky, one of these people was saying something. Every time he spoke, another person would respond.

“Jax?”

”Here.”

”Holy Troopa?”

”I’m here.”

“Spatula?”

”Ahoy.”

”Cherry Blossom?”

”Present.”

”Yoshiki?”

”Yes.”

”Dorreen?”

”Here.”

”Big Boo?”

”Heheheh... Here.”

”And King Boo.”

”Here.”

”Then we’re all here.” The creepy Yoshi that managed to lure a few Yoshis into an elaborate trap earlier stuffed away a piece of paper and let the meeting get started.

”Ladies, gentlemen,” King Boo said in his freaky voice. All eyes were on him and vice-versa. “We have a rather important matter to discuss...”

The whole crew nodded in agreement, including Jax and his fellow werewolf. One of the members was kind of a nerdy-looking Paratroopa. His shell was sky blue, his glasses were thick, and the arrow-case strapped across his chest and around his back was evident, but his angel wings kept him afloat in midair almost with a majestic air. Another member was the pirate woman, Spatula. Her ghostly tail seemed to be merged with her silky green outfit. She had a very pretty face and long black hair that was tied up in a low-cut ponytail. Two locks of it framed her face, and the top of her head adorned a red bandanna. However, she was more dangerous than she looked. Another one was Cherry Blossom. She had a ghostly tail, too, and it merged with her skin-tight orange and red colored spandex which showed off every other curve of her body. Her eyes were green and she had a matching pair of earrings. Her hair was long, fluffy, and blood-red. Atop her head was a little green crown. She never looked too happy. Then there was Yoshiki. She basically looked like any other pink Yoshi girl, but had no legs. Her Yoshi tail doubled as a specter-like one. As for Dorreen, she looked a little more like Spatula and Cherry than Yoshiki. She donned a green nightdress and wore her long black hair down with no ponytail. One of the few differences between Big Boo and King Boo was King Boo’s glowing blue tongue and his ruby red crown. He continued with the meeting.

“Through Operation Sunshine, we have only managed to obtain so many souls,” King Boo said. “That was thanks to our two werewolves and our ship, the S. S. Dolpic. However, we don’t have a ship anymore. It’s in shambles! And it’s all thanks to that no-good freak in a labcoat and his stupid household appliance.” The ghost curled his fins into fists and let them tremble. “Apparently, we must take our measures even further. Think, people! We’re King Boo and the Eight Spookalings, we’re in the middle of the swamp, and we need souls. Any ideas?” No one answered. King Boo spazzed. “WELL?!”

“Look up there,” Jax said, pointing to the stars. Everyone, including King Boo, did so. Something long, green, and snake-like was swimming around at a high altitude. Their necks and heads turned as this thing swam through the air and off to its next destination. Everyone visually expressed their wondering about this phenomenon. King Boo topped it off.

“No idea what that was...” he mused. He got their attention again. “Anyway, come on, people. Start thinking! If we don’t get those souls, who knows what this world will come to?!” All the morbid members of this gang began to scratch their heads and their chins, and fold their arms, squint, stare, and tap their feet in their effort to come up with a solution for this matter. It was probably not going to be easy.

Whatever, the creepy Wereyoshi thought. One way or another, we’ll think of something... eventually...

“...And remember not to let it run too low on power.”

”Right.”

”Be careful not to confuse the missile button with the eject button.”

”Uh-huh.”

”And whatever you do, don’t mash the force field button, even if it’s-“

”Okay, okay, Mad, we get the picture.” Sackle and Crookie were sitting in two seats that were hidden somewhere inside the Giga Mole’s neck. It’s mechanical head was on hinges of some sort, so the two guys could see Mad Scienstein down below and hear him briefing them on how to run the device. Since that was over with, it was time to initiate the next phase in their plan.

“All right,” Mad said. “Just... be careful!”

”Don’t worry,” Sackle reassured. Crookie pressed a certain button and the head began to put itself back onto its neck with a few whirring noises. Within moments, KA-CHUNK! It was back on. Inside the head, a red light or two was the only thing illuminating things for the two people, allowing them to see a control panel surrounding them and the lab through the window of the eyes that the head included. They saw Mad Scienstein take a few steps back. Sackle turned his head to his left. “You sure you know what you’re doing, Crookie?”

”Course I do, boss! Remember what I was telling you about earlier?”

”Oh, right. That...” Crookie grabbed a hold of two levers and started pulling them back and forth, back and forth. In a few seconds, the Giga Mole was officially alive. It was taking long, slow, mechanical strides through the lab, around the scientist that worked in it, and up to the door that had the magical item behind it. Crookie stopped the machine. He started looking around at the control panel, wondering what to do next.

”You sure?” Sackle asked again.

”Yeah, boss!” Crookie responded. Finally, he found it. He pushed the button and the robot’s left arm lifted itself up. Crookie kept his eyes on their sparkling blue gem and pressed another button. This caused the extended arm to have its wrist and hand to suddenly become conjoined by an ever-growing metal tube that kept stretching and stretching through the doorway until the mysterious object was inches away. Crookie looked around some more, then found the right button. He punched that one as well, and the Giga Mole’s claws flew open. He pushed another, and the claws closed up on the whirling blue thing. Both Sackle and Mad Scienstein watched the whole thing anticipatingly.

All right, thinga-majig, Crookie thought. Do your stuff...

A light started coming from what the Giga Mole had gotten a hold of. Gradually, the light expanded. At last, the whole vicinity was engulfed in light and all anyone could see was white.

Whoo-wee! Here we go!

Naji and his father were still going at it with each other. Only this time, they were doing so in the middle of the dirty path surrounding the rock-filled mountain sticking out of the jungle somewhere. Above their heads was a blood-red sky. Its wispy clouds and setting sun made the whole place seem as though it were on fire. Both fighters were panting heavily. Strands of juicy sweat streaked down their faces. They didn’t stop staring at each other directly in the eyes. Finally, Naji got his wits together and took a deep breath and one step back. He put both hands to one side of himself and sandwiched some air between them. As he began concentrating, the space between his hands started flashing different colors. His old man was smirking with his arms folded.

“Think you can still beat me, Naji?” he said. Naji scowled. His father shook his head. Once the spell was complete, Naji thrust a step forward and threw his arms out. A tidal wave of freezing needles exploded from Naji’s hands and went flying against the parent. Naji’s father was completely covered up by frigid little projectiles. Naji watched and waited. When the storm was over, Naji could see what he had done: nothing. His jaw dropped. His father chuckled. “Pitiful,” he said. He got into another pose, made a few gestures with his hands, focused as hard as he could, and made his retaliation. Naji’s eyes widened. BA-ZZAAAAPPP! Naji’s body got electrocuted from top to bottom by a thousand worms of stinging electrons. His world was rocked. He stood and trembled with the electricity eating away at him. Then the flow of power stopped. He stood steaming, then collapsed onto the ground. His father waltzed up to him with his arms folded. He shook his head. “I give you life,” he said. “I give you infinite patience. I gave you a lot of things, Naji.” Naji’s fingers squirmed while he was lying on the ground. His father held his hands out. “What was it all for?” He gestured towards his son. “So I could be the proud parent of a wad of steaming filth lying on the ground?” Naji’s fingers made claw marks in the dirt as he quickly scrunched them back into his palms. The father shook his head again. “Admit it, Naji. Your father raised a failure.” Naji slowly lifted his head and gave his old man a look that could kill. The older man paid it no mind. He turned around on his heels, kicking dust into the younger one’s face. He was walking away. “Whatever, Naji,” he said. “If you wanna be a loser, that’s fine with me. After all, we can’t all be successes...” Naji pounded his fists against the ground, scowling. His father just laughed. “Go on, Naji. Have fun working for space aliens. It’s probably rewarding. I wouldn’t know; I never got captured...”

Naji pushed himself off the ground and staggered to be back on his feet. His gaze never left his reproaching father. He started gathering energy into his palms again. “No,” he growled. The light in his hands got brighter. They made the symbol of an orange hexagon. He threw them out, firing a humungous boulder at the man. “BUT YOU WERE KILLED ONCE!!!”

His father didn’t turn around quick enough. He saw something brown and WHAM! He flew back from the blow and went sprawling onto the ground. He quickly tried scrambling to get up. SHWACK! SHWACK! He suddenly felt two whips crash against either side of him. He only saw two blurs of green at this, but could feel dozens of incinerating barbs digging deep into his skin. He looked down and could see his arms were covered with monstrous rose thorns, each of them lodged firmly into his scales. He winced at the burning sensation they were seeping into him. He looked up and could see his son was right in front of him. The younger Yoshi made the symbol of a gray explosion, slammed his palm into his father’s face, and let it loose. His father’s head became engulfed in a sea of surging energy. Naji’s fingers trembled and his face scowled as he poured all of his strength into this attack. Once it was over, Naji could lower his steaming hand and see the blackened face of his father. All kinds of damage had been done to this man. Without blinking, he stared at his son in pure agony, struggling to respirate through a phlegm-infested throat. He coughed and slowly twisted his mouth into a smile. Naji glared back.

“You once told me,” Naji growled, “to never turn your back on the opponent.” Two droplets of a thin liquid seaped out from behind the purple Yo’ster’s shades and trickled down his face. “You forgot your own teachings, Dad,” he choked out.

Naji’s father stared for a little longer and then he closed his eyes, chuckling weakly. He started coughing and he opened his eyes up again. “Well done, Naji,” he said quietly. He was becoming weaker with each passing second. He began to lower himself onto his knees, kneeling down with his head hanging. “You’ve won the fight, my boy,” he said, clutching at his heart. Naji knelt down before him as well, still feeling moisture dripping off his face. He looked into his father’s eyes intently. “But it’s not over yet.” Naji’s eyes widened in shock. “Once that white-haired sword freak’s gone,” he added, “it’ll all be over.” Naji took his eyes off of his father and looked at the red sky. He squinted them in pure anger.

“Don’t worry,” Naji said. “I’ll take care of him. I promise.”

Naji’s father smiled. He closed his eyes back up. “That’s the spirit.” He began to lower his head even further. “Don’t let me down, son.” Slowly, the father turned to his side and curled himself against the stone ground. He lay there with his son still staring at him in disbelief. He watched carefully as the inhaling and exhaling movements of his father’s back got slower and slower. His body dragged out one particularly long one, and remained still. A dagger jabbed Naji in his chest. He winced and slowly drifted one hand up to his eyes. He felt behind his shades and pinched his eyes shut. His lip quivered. He breathed in deeply and let loose a long sigh. The fight between him and his father was over.

“Poor Naji.” Naji recognized that voice. He suddenly became filled with a burning sensation that made his whole body begin to quake. He angrily turned around and saw that his arch-nemesis, Cutlass, was right there behind him. The metallic fiend smirked at the Yo’ster with his arms folded. “He kills his friends, he kills his family...” Cutlass chuckled. Naji was standing up with his fists clenched tightly. “I’m all you have left, Naji. No one else wants you.” The infamous swordsman took a few steps closer to the magical Yoshi. “Come with us, Naji. Come with us and you shall be free of pain and sorrow. The world will become a better place, and it will all be thanks to you.”

Naji thrust his feet and his hands into another stance. “LIKE I’D GO ANYWHERE WITH YOU, YOU WRETCH!!!” the purple one yelled.

Cutlass noticed the wind beginning to pick up around Naji and frowned. “I see,” he said. He ran a hand through his flowing hair with his eyes closed. He opened them up and saw Naji beginning to glow. “If that’s the way you want it, I won’t argue.” He tossed his head back, spread his arms, and let the transformation begin. Various lightning bolts began to twist and coil around his body, each of them making it bigger and more muscular. As the alteration got closer and closer to its completion, more bells rang in Naji’s ears. Finally, Cutlass was ready. He was the same gigantic monstrous beast he was when the two of them had fought for Noshi and Fyooshi. This behemoth version of the man got into a fighting stance of his own and beckoned with one hand. “Now come on,” he growled. “LET’S FINISH THIS!” At that moment, both fighters were preparing fiercely to lay their first blows against one another. The next big battle with the heartless swordsman had begun...

The bright light started fading away, and through their special window, Sackle and Crookie could see that they were back on the grassy path surrounding the volcano that they were on when this all began. Sackle looked at it all in its blueish glow beneath the night sky in satisfaction. He turned to Crookie, reached out, and gave him a nice pat on the back. “Good job, Crookie. Looks like you know your way around after all.”

”Yup!” Crookie replied. He then started looking at all the fancy buttons. “Let’s see here, uh...” He scratched his chin a bit. “Aha!” He found the right button and gave it a push. The Giga Mole mechanically bent forward and started clawing at the ground with its vicious hands. Each swipe caused a large mass of soil and grass to rip out of the ground and be flung behind the giant robot against the volcano. At the same time, the machine was descending into this hole it was tunneling.

“This thing’s amazing!” Sackle commented. “We’ll find that doll in no time!”

”Yup!” Crookie said again. Seconds, minutes, perhaps even hours passed. This was how long it took for the Giga Mole to get off of Isle Delfino and into its unexplored bowels. Watching with a searchlight or two, the duo of thieves were excited by the sight of all the solid stuff they were clawing through. They felt invincible.

Sackle looked at a rotating computer-generated image of their doll on one of the robot’s monitors. “Belome, baby, here we come!” he announced. Sackle and Crookie’s quest for cash was back on track...

The head space alien sat triumphantly in his chair in the middle of that circular room. Wart was beside him ever faithfully and his crew was working tirelessly away to keep things moving. Their leader smirked and looked at his right-hand man. “We can’t fail, Wart,” he said. “We’re the most dangerous people on the planet. Noone can stop us!”

”YES, SIR,” the gigantic amphibean agreed. A few feet away, one of their silvery minions was busy thinking about other things. He turned to his right and started talking to the same man he was with during that one party.

”Katana,” he asked, “what do you think that Yoshi’s dreaming about right now?”

The fellow silver shrugged. “What they always dream about: bad memories.”

Cutlass nodded. “Yup,” he agreed. This whole crew and their tremendous spaceship was busy flying over another stretch of sea. All was going well for the power-hungry people until one of the purple minions had to point something out.

”Captain!” he called. “Something approaches! It has a very... unusual field! I’ve got the sensors going and everything, but I can’t get a clear reading on it!”

His superior squinted his eyes and contemplated. “Go up to Level B-11,” he ordered.

”Yes, sir!” the crew-member replied. He twisted a few nobs, took a good look at his screen, and was horrified. “Sir! It’s a wormhole of some sort! We’ve been caught in its vortex! It’s dragging us in!”

”WHAT?!” the captain blurted. “Well, don’t just sit there! Get your rear in gear and pull us out of it!” The person he commanded nodded and started to do just that. The other minions looked at their leader expectantly. “Well?! He’s not gonna do this alone, you know! Get to work!” He got a mixture of different vocalized answers after that. They all agreed to go along with this and see what they could do. The captain sat in his seat keeping his eye on things while everyone was working frantically to turn this situation around.

At the moment the spaceship was indeed being drawn towards something odd. It was a funnel-shaped thing sticking out of nowhere. It appeared to be made of solid gold, it was bigger than the ship, and inside its mouth was where that very thing was headed. It was useless.

”Captain! We’re going nowhere fast!” another purple crew-member cried.

”This isn’t over yet! Keep moving!” the captain barked. Beads of sweat started rolling down the faces of the room as they struggled to push buttons, twist nobs, and flip switches. At this point, the ship was dangerously close to the hole they were being drawn to. Nothing seemed to be working.

”CAPTAIN!” he heard again.

”RRG!” The leader himself was beginning to get rather frustrated. He let his eyes dart right and left. Wart was just as lost as he was. He took a miniscule breath and prepared to give the next order. He was too late. Everyone in the area began to feel some heavy vibrations all around them.

“Oh my gosh,” one of the aliens muttered.

The captain saw what was coming. “HOLD ON!!!” he bellowed. Those who didn’t obey this order were thrown out of their seats, flung through the air, and slammed into the wall behind them. The ship was then plunging at a faster rate than it had ever gone. People clenched their eyes shut and held on for dear life, beginning to feel themselves liquifying it seemed.

Someone out there hates me, the captain thought darkly. With a sea of screams dying out, the funnel had completely sucked up the ship and begun to close in on itself. It spun around and around, getting smaller all the while. Eventually, it was too small to be seen. Both it and the aliens had vanished without a trace...

Someone out there REALLY hates me...

Xoshi and White Rose continued to walk down the starry path. This had been going on for quite some time, so curiosity began to eat away at the white-garbed knight. He had to voice something and soon. “Sir Xoshi,” he asked. “Where exactly are we headed now?”

Xoshi had to ask Beel about this one, too. It took him a while to get it out, but he said it. “We going to... Clover Kingdom,” he said.

“The Clover Kingdom?” White Rose repeated. Xoshi nodded. “And... how will we get there?”

Xoshi asked about this, too. “Merlinda,” he replied. “She can take us... anywere.”

”Where shall we find this Merlinda?” the knight inquired.

Xoshi pointed to his left. He and White Rose could see a house at the bottom of a pit that the place seemed to coil into. White Rose nodded and the duo commenced going down some steps in order to arrive at this place. A few more paces through glittery wonder later, and they were there. They walked up some more steps and were right in front of the house’s door. There, they saw a note taped on. Xoshi looked at it curiously, but White Rose took it right off and read it aloud.

“Merlinda is out,” he read. “If you have any business with her, she’s gone to Merlon’s house.” He lowered the message and the two of him and his partner thought this over. “Well then,” White Rose said, “I guess we find a place to settle down for the night, and then we’ll seek out Merlon.”

Xoshi nodded. Together, the two of them left the front porch and resumed journeying through the colorful place. Little did they know that they were being watched. A head poked out from behind someplace inconspicuous.

”Uwee hee hee!” the figure giggled. “So many things to water, so little time. And those two... THOSE TWO... they won’t get in my way...” The figure disappeared and the night carried on. It had been an interesting one for a good number of people, and their worries were far from over. This was where things were going for Xoshi and the others...

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