Chapter IX - Windows to the Media
Yoshi entered his house and opened his fridge for something to eat. He took out a plate of watermelon, the special red Fire Melon brand to be exact. The Fire Melon was a type of watermelon grown on the Islands that is known for its heat, spiciness, and ability to make the eater belch flames temporarily should they be too weak to handle the flavor. Yoshi was never really able to fully handle the flavor, but he always liked the kick it had - better than that of a regular watermelon, anyway. What he was going to do was just eat the melon and get back to the site; he didn't want to miss anything, plus he needed to get the artifacts back to Kolorado. He took a few bites out of the melon, and belched out a cloud of fire in response, nearly setting his couch on fire from the action. Shortly after, Yoshi decided to not finish the melon, for fear that he might stupidly burn his house down. "Why are these things even legal?" Yoshi said to himself, putting the melon away and gathering his stuff to return to the pipe, "I mean, I can only imagine how many people have burnt themselves (and others) with these melons."
After drinking a few shots of water to relieve his tongue, Yoshi grabbed the artifacts and hurried out of the house, starting to feel that taking the artifacts might not have been a smart idea. He jogged down several dirt paths, beyond the Town Square, and straight to the scene of the disaster. However, to the green dino's horror, the area was swarmed by teams of men with cameras, women carrying makeup, and various people in suits talking to the cameras. It was they - the media. Uh oh, Yoshi thought, Is the secret out already? He tried to make his way through the crowds, hoping to get back to the pipe, but was blocked off by security. They claimed that this was a closed set and didn't even care about what Yoshi had to say about the scrolls - they just laughed at him and pushed him aside. It looked like he wasn't going to go back into the ruins for a long time.
"Heh, look at them," a familiar voice said, scoffing at the teams of media. Yoshi turned to see it was his old rival from many years ago. He was a dark blue Yoshi sporting dark shades that were similar to that of the types a Monty Mole would wear. His red shoes were cut off at the ends, revealing his long talons tapping in the dirt, and wrapped around his neck was a spiked collar. He smirked at Yoshi, entertained by the fact that the dino had even tried to break through the media team. "I never imagined you of all people would want to get in on the media."
"What do you need, Boshi?" Yoshi grunted, dusting himself off. He seemed a little unhappy to have been able to meet up with the blue baddie.
"What do you mean? I just stopped by here to see what all the fuss was about," Boshi replied, eyeing the cameras. "I'm guessing it's about that stupid hole blown into the mountain. Something about a warp pipe, right?"
"You know?"
"Everyone knows, man."
"But so soon? I mean, it was only a couple of hours…"
"That's all it takes, I guess."
"Yeah, but I have to get back to Kolorado!"
"What for? It's just some stupid pipe that probably leads to the Mario Brothers' stash or something."
"No, you don't understand."
"Why do you care so much about that pipe anyway, man?"
"Well, I just have to give something to the professor…"
"Like what?"
Yoshi pulled out the scrolls he had taken and showed them to Boshi. The blue punk opened the parchments and observed the text. He took off his sunglasses and squinted at the paper before giving them back to Yoshi. He placed his shades back in front of his eyes and scratched his head.
"So what's it say?" Boshi asked, confused by the text.
"I don't know," Yoshi commented, "I'm trying to figure that out."
"To be honest, it kind of looked familiar…"
"It does? How?"
"I think I saw it in a game once… an RPG or something that I tried over at a friend's house." Boshi chuckled a little about his friend. "He's a smart guy, and is even studying a few languages from what I heard. You ought to talk to him."
"I kind of doubt even your college friend knows this language - Kolorado couldn't translate it."
"Bah, Kolorado is a kook!" Boshi scoffed, knowing of his many adventures. "My pal knows exactly what he's doing. He can crack that thing in no time!" The crews were getting louder as they were setting up the area. "Hold on, come by my house later and I'll give you the full specs about the guy. Be sure to come soon, like in an hour, because I'm planning to leave for Dry Dry Desert to visit another pal of mine before nightfall." And with that, the shady lizard walked away.
Yoshi knew they may have been rivals, but their relationship had been patched up over the years. He was more along the lines of a friendly rival now, since Yoshi was able to stand his ego now. He doubted Boshi's friend could actually decipher the language, but it was worth a try - Yoshi didn't have a booked schedule, and it didn't look like he was going to meet Kolorado again for some time, judging by the media. He decided to hang around in the shopping square for a while until he felt it was the right time to go visit Boshi. Yoshi then approached a house located to the east, not far from the media, as this house was atop a hill. It was actually a nice part of the town. Boshi was probably able to afford it during his reign as the fastest Yoshi a couple years ago, when he became greedy for cookies. He walked up to the door and knocked, the door opened as Yoshi saw his blue counterpart gnawing on a cookie of his.
The inside was really nice; the furniture wasn't made up of tropical materials like most other homes on the Islands, but rather a plush material that was soft to the touch. A large TV stood in front of the couch, and speakers were all around the room. In the cabinet below the TV was a stereo and various electronics from the mysterious Nintendo Corporation (while they may be well known here on Earth, Mr. Miyamoto and his men are complete shadows). The rest of the house was styled nicely; some people wondered why Boshi never moved to the richer part of the island, a.k.a. Palm Tree Manor.
"Didn't think you'd show, man," Boshi said, walking over to his safe next to the couch. "Anyway, I didn't call him or anything; I needed to get ready to go out."
"Your pal in Dry Dry Desert?" Yoshi commented. Boshi nodded in return.
"Anyway," Yoshi said, "the media is still hogging up that spot - I don't think I'm ever going to get back in there." The green dinosaur sat down on the couch as he watched Boshi open his safe. Inside were a bunch of cookies, as well as cold air; the safe was also a fridge. Boshi seems to have a rather broad interest with cookies; he doesn't always eat them either, but sometimes sells them to others who share his questionable interest. No one really knows how or why he has such a cookie fetish, and Boshi never talks about it.
"Yeah, the friend," Boshi said, "his name is Andrew Satago, an 18-year-old who lives over in Beachside Village."
"He's only 18?" Yoshi replied.
"Yep, he lives in a blue house on the other side of the island. I'm sure he'll translate that thing for you if you tell him I sent you. You can make it before sunset if you get going, Beachside isn't too far from here."
"Yeah, I guess I'll do that… maybe make an adventure out of it or something… haven't done much in awhile, after all."
"Cool. Oh, yeah- one more thing: his birthday was last week, so give this to him." Boshi handed Yoshi a small box, full of cookies from his safe. "I'm pretty sure those are his favorites."
"Err… thanks?" Yoshi took the box and put it aside from his scrolls. Boshi reached for a gym bag and stepped outside.
"Anyway, I got a long road ahead of
me if I want to make it to Dry Dry Desert in time! I promised my pal I'd
be there to see his band play. Lock the door when you leave, man!" And
with that, Boshi rushed off. The green counterpart didn't stay for very
long - all he did was turn on the TV and surf for a few minutes before
turning it off and leaving as well. It felt weird to be surrounded by all
that luxury, Yoshi wasn't used to it. He locked the door and set off for
Beachside Village.
Chapter X - Roll the Dice… Start the Game!
Well, the real journey was finally starting, and it only took the author ten chapters! Anyway, Yoshi left his hometown and progressed north on the pathway to Beachside. He took in a deep whiff of the tropical air and adored the clear skies, then looked around the island to see the lush, green plains and rich beaches of the island. Jungles weren't a major part of Yoshi Island's geography, but the neighboring island of Lavalava was plentiful in them, as was Yo'ster Isle despite its size. He ran his hand across the tall blades of grass next to the path and his legs picked up pace so his hand could feel the blades whacking against his green skin even more. He liked the way it felt and he kept running towards Beachside.
Well, what with the constant running, an exhausted Yoshi soon made it to Beachside. It wasn't a very big village, at all. In fact, Yoshi could count the number of houses just from where he was! There were only 12 houses total, and even fewer were homes to residing Yoshis. He entered the town and looked at the different houses - almost all of them were a different color, making the town a bit more pleasant. As the name implied, most of the houses were next to the beach with the exception of the shop and one or two other houses. The beach itself was very clean and bright green blades of grass sprouted from its shimmering sand. It was way more beautiful than Yoshiburg ever was.
After asking one of the few residents of the peaceful town where Andrew's house was, out hero soon approached the blue house Boshi mentioned a while back. Before he was able to get near the door, he saw a female Toad leaving the house and locking the door. Yoshi approached the Toad.
"Hey, is this Andrew Satago's house?" Yoshi asked.
"Yeah, but Andrew isn't home," she replied.
"What? Where'd he go?"
"I think he went to see his brother… didn't say where, though. But he said it was a personal matter."
"Personal…?" Yoshi seemed a little baffled about Andrew's intentions for leaving, but didn't want to question it and instead asked how long it would be for Andrew to come back.
"I'm not sure myself," the Toad replied. "He's already been gone for a week. I'm only here because he wanted me to water his plants." The young woman then took out a piece of paper and said, "I got this letter from him two days ago, though if you want to read it."
"Um, okay…" Yoshi was a bit hesitant to read someone else's mail, even with their permission, but his eyes focused on it and he started reading:
I'm sorry I have been gone for so long. I wasn't planning on being away for this long, but there's still a bunch of stuff that I need to patch up with my brother. Wow, it's been so long since I talked to him or the rest of my family… but I thought you should know I'm doing well. Anyway, I still have a few things to do out here, so I may be gone for another week or so. Could you leave my homework on the table? I hope the professor is being lenient with it, but I guess that's doubtful, huh? ^_^;; But like I said, I'll still be at least another week. I hope you've been watering my plants!
Love,
Andrew Satago
PS. If I got any birthday presents, leave them next to my homework! I know I left before my party started, but like I said - I had to. It was very personal. Tell everyone I'm sorry for not making it! I'm sure it was a great party!
"'Love?'" Yoshi chuckled at the little part left at the end of Andrew's letter. The girl quickly blushed and snatched the letter away from Yoshi.
"I… It's nothing!" Her face was turning red, she obviously holding feelings for Andrew. Yoshi felt he may have done something wrong and apologized.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you…" he said, a little ashamed. "But he won't be back for another week?
The Toad's redness eventually vanished. "It's okay… we're just friends, anyway… but from what the letter says, it'll be at least a week. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Yoshi said, "I guess I'll just come back when he gets home." And with that, he walked away from the house. However, before he decided to leave the village altogether, he wanted to check out what the shop had. However, before he could enter the shop, he peeked at the inn and saw Boshi staggering towards the entrance, rubbing his head in pain as if he had just lost a fight with someone. The shop can wait, Yoshi thought as he jogged towards the inn. As he entered, he saw that the inn was also a tavern as Boshi sat at the bar, still rubbing his head in pain. Yoshi walked up to the blue baddie.
"Ungh…" Boshi moaned as he sipped at the Tasty Tonic before him. Yoshi hopped onto the seat next to him, Boshi turned his head and saw the green dino greet him. "Hey," Boshi said. "So, did Andrew help you out?"
"He wasn't there," Yoshi said. "Apparently, he left a week ago to go visit his brother and is going to be gone for at least another week."
"Wow, that long?" Boshi asked. "Man, I've got to get in contact with him more… heh, ow…" He was still hurt and upon close inspection, Yoshi noticed a few bruises on Boshi.
"Did… something happen? You were fine about an hour ago…" Yoshi said slowly.
"As a matter of fact, yeah!" Boshi said, bitterly. "I was on my way off this island when I see this fortress blocking the way. And then these two Hammer guys stopped me and wanted to charge me to cross. I refused and tried to fight them… they won… and I passed out on the ground…"
Yoshi flinched at Boshi's story. "Ooh… I'm sorry to hear-"
"And I landed on a rock… a sharp rock…" Boshi interrupted, "thus explaining why my head hurts."
Yoshi flinched a little more at Boshi's tale, then pondered this fortress Boshi spoke off. Is Koopa at it again? Yoshi thought. I mean, is it that time of the month already? From the way it seemed, Bowser was at it again with his assault on the Mushroom Kingdom. Before Yoshi could put any more thought into it, Boshi finished his drink and scratched the side of his head, feeling a bit better despite the beating he got.
"But you know something?" Boshi said. "That little beating isn't going to stop me! In fact, I'm going to go and teach those Koopas a lesson! They messed with the wrong Yoshi!"
"Are you sure you should try again so soon? I mean, I few minutes ago, you looked pretty beat…"
"Am I ever ready! They're going to get it now!" Boshi cracked his knuckles and muttered about how they "fight unfairly". He rose from his seat and stomped out of the tavern, bumping into a Yoshi couple on the way out. "Out of the way! I have some Koopas to kick!" he yelled as he walked further away. Yoshi apologized on Boshi's behalf to the couple and decided to follow Boshi. He already had a bump to the head, the last thing the blue punk needed was another hit to the head. Yoshi hurried and caught up with Boshi.
"Hey, wait for me!" he yelled, catching up.
"What? You're going to help me?" Boshi said, a little calmer now.
"Eh, well…"
"Good! The more the merrier… for me, at least!" Boshi chuckled, already planning what he was going to do to the Koopas who'd beat him up. Yoshi sighed as the two drew ever closer to the castle.
To Be Continued...
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