Adventure of the Mini Goombas 3: Tourist Trapped

Things were going quite peaceful in Rougeport ever since the Shadow Queen vanished, especially for the citizens. One of those citizens was a Goomba with a red cap and square glasses on him, named Goombilly. He was currently slacking off of research for the ten millionth time, since the defeat of the Shadow Queen made the citizens go back to their regular duties.

Suddenly, a seemingly old Koopa, due to the long beard and glasses, came up to him.

“Why me? I’m just a researcher, so can’t you get some other person to help you?”

“Everyone is busy. Zess. T is baking a cake for a wedding, Ms. Mowz is running her badge shop, and McGoomba had his credit card stolen…again.”

Well, this was a tough situation. Should he help or what? Well, if he did help, there was probably a reward involved, so…

Goombilly smiled as the old Koopa said that. He hadn’t felt this happy to help someone since stopping Princess Peach from succumbing to darkness from some time ago. Of course, he almost got digested by an evil spirit inside Peach’s mind that time, but he luckily made it out alive.

Watching the old Koopa walk away, Goombilly started to think of a strategy for catching the Bandit.

“Well, how do I catch it?” he thought. “I don’t have anything with me besides my hat and glasses, so I should probably…”

He never finished the thought, for he accidentally bumped into another Goomba while he was lost in thought. This Goomba was pink, had a ponytail, and an archaeologist’s hat on.

“Goombilly, what the heck are you still doing here? You’re supposed to be in Petal Meadows researching the different types of flowers there!” the Goomba exclaimed.

“Sorry Goombella.” Goombilly said to the Goomba. “I’m in a bit of a rush.”

“What excuse do you have this time? You’re always pulling this sort of thing” the Goomba, apparently named Goombella, asked.

“This is a first.” Goombella thought. “Usually his excuses involve not arriving on time or not getting all of the directions. The look on his face seems to be telling the truth, so I might as well play along until I figure it out”

Snapping out of thought, Goombella decided to play along with his story until she figures out if he’s telling the truth or not.

“Well, by the looks of it, you wouldn’t stand a chance going alone.” She said to him.

This was a true statement. Goombas are among the weakest enemies in Mario history, and going up against a Bandit wouldn’t change it. The best Goombilly could probably do is a very weak Headbonk, which most of time he fails at doing.

“Maybe you should come with me.” Goombilly said. “That way we can even those odds. Plus, you and Mario took out the Shadow Queen!”

Sighing with grief, Goombilly dragged Goombella so they can start searching for the Bandit. They looked all over Rougeport Plaza for the one specific Bandit, but no matter where they looked, they couldn’t find him. After about thirty minutes of searching, Goombella noticed something from the corner of her eye.

Noticing a pair of trash cans moving on their own, they started heading over to them. Suddenly, a bright blue Bandit burst out from them in surprise. Knowing its hiding spot was exposed, the Bandit makes a break for it.

The Bandit makes its way to the harbor, and quickly gets in an unoccupied boat. He is followed by Goombilly, with Goombella sticking close behind him now that she knew Goombilly was telling the truth. Unfortunately for them, the boat started to swerve as the three got on the boat. It was enough to unravel the rope that was holding the boat, causing it to disconnect from the pier and drift out to sea.

Goombilly and Goombella chased the Bandit around for a good ten minutes or so with no luck on getting it. They were so focused on catching it, that they failed to notice they were drifting out to sea.

Soon after those ten minutes, the two Goombas took a moment to catch their breath.

“I think I know that Bandit, his name is Larson.” Goombella said, in between breaths “He’s one of the most wanted Bandits in Rougeport, and is famous for swindling others out of their money and possessions.”

Meanwhile, Larson was near the front of the boat, hiding from the two Goombas that were chasing him. Being caught red handed by Mario was one thing, but getting caught by some weak Goombas was NOT on his agenda.

“Heheheheheh, those Goombas think they can catch me, the Great Master Bandit Larson? They must be out of their minds!” he thought.

Suddenly, out from the corner of his eye, he noticed Goombilly running straight for him. Larson rolled his eyes at his stupidity.

“Coming right at me in plain sight? These must be the stupidest Goombas on the planet!”

Seeing Goombilly, Larson high tailed it away from him, heading in the opposite direction. He was so focused on looking back to see if Goombilly was following him that he never noticed Goombella right ahead of him, causing him to run into her.

“You should really watch where you are going! I thought you were smart for a Bandit!” Goombella remarked.

Noticing Goombella was blocking the way, Larson started running in the opposite direction, but his path was cut short by Goombilly, who blocked his way. Realizing he was boxed in, he decided that there was only one way out…

Shooting a quick glance at Goombilly, Larson revealed two things, literally, up his sleeve: Two sharpened pocket knives, really to cut some skin and bones. Goombilly and Goombella were taken aback by the revelation.

“Think again, mushroom boy! I’d rather go down fighting than be taken by you weaklings!”

Goombilly and Goombella knew this was going to be a “do or die” situation, so they did the only thing they could do; get in a fighting stance and fight him. However, before all three could start fighting, Goombilly broke the ice by questioning:

“This has been bothering me, but if we’re the only ones on the ship, who’s driving it?”

After a moment of silence, all three of them went wide eyed and felt as if their hearts just stopped, as they knew the answer. Also, as if on cue, the ship starts to sway.

The three looked from the sides of the ship, and noticed a huge whirlpool ahead. All three of them went wide eyed again.

“It’s too late! We’re too close to it, so we better hold on tight, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!” Goombella exclaimed.

The three could only yell as they were sucked in, blacking them all out on the spot.

Goombilly woke up first. The other two, Goombella and Larson, were next to him, slowly waking up. Looking around, Goombilly noticed that the three of them have somehow crashed into some weird island. The sand was all blue and sparkled in the sunlight, and massive trees loomed behind Goombilly, which appeared to be palm trees. The tide the three were near was low, almost seeming a bit soothing to be by.

While Goombilly looked around at the scenery, Goombella and Larson finally jolted away, and noticed the landscape Goombilly was looking at.

“What the, where the heck are we?” Goombella wondered out loud. “I haven’t seen an island like this!”

“What do I look like, an atlas?” Goombilly replied back. “I have no idea where we are!”

“Maybe you should have paid more attention back at Goom University when we needed to study maps!” Goombella exclaimed. “You always slacked off when it came to research and schoolwork; in fact, you’re still doing it to this day!”

“Oh, so now I’m the bad guy?” Goombilly exclaimed back. “I’m just one simple Goomba!”

As the two continued to argue, Larson decided to take a chance at escaping from the two. While he had no idea where he was, he thought anywhere was better than staying with the two Goombas, so right when they started arguing, he made a quick dash away from them. His run was short lived however, for he immediately bumped into something in his path. It was a group of Shy Guys, all in yellow garbs, holding spears, and had red marks over their masks. They were the tropical Shy Guys, Tribal Guys.

The Tribal Guys started to make odd noises, almost like moderate honking, before grabbing Larson and bounding him in ropes. He tried to get out his pocket knife, but his arms were too bound to the ropes to move.

Unfortunately, the Tribal Guys didn’t respond due to not understanding what Larson was saying. With Larson tied up, the Tribal Guys proceeded over to Goombilly and Goombella. Noticing the Tribal Guys coming for them, Goombilly attempted to warn Goombella, but by the time he was about to tell her, the Tribal Guys bound the two in ropes.

“Mmmph! Mmmmmppph!” Goombilly’s words were muffled by the ropes, as well as Goombella’s and Larson’s. The three could only wait while the Tribal Guys carried them through the island’s jungle.

A good ten minutes later, the Tribal Guys reached a clearing through the trees. The three captives could only watch as the Tribal Guys pass the trees and into it. The area appeared to be some sort of an altar, with pillars and torches leading up to a giant pillar in the back, which looked like it hasn’t been used in years. Mold, grime, and muck were all over it, and it looked like it was made of grey rock with odd pictures that resembled hieroglyphs wrapped all around it in an eerie fashion. Height wise, the pillar looked like it was around one-hundred feet, casting a shadow over the Tribal Guys as if it was midnight. Suffice to say, Goombilly, Goombella, and Larson were quite intimidated by it, as it looked like it could squish all of them if it tumbled over.

Once the Tribal Guys got in front of the pillar, they released their hold on the three captives and untied them, while forming a circle around the three so they couldn’t escape. The three would have tried to fight back at that point, but see as how quick they were to tying all of them up and the fact that they didn’t want to get on the Tribal Guys bad side, they decided against it, well, except for one of them.

“You bozos better have a good reason to kidnap us, or I’ll slash all of you necks over with just my bare hands!” Larson exclaimed. He was then promptly smacked by Goombella across the face.

“We better not agitate them. It’s just the three of us against the many amounts of them. I don’t think we have much of a choice but to go with the flow and find out what they want.”

Growling under his breath, Larson crossed his arms and turned his back on her, very angry, but obeying her command. He didn’t know why he was obeying her, but it seemed she knew what she was doing, so he thought that was a good answer.

The Tribal Guys then started to make odd noises and smack their spears against the ground repeatedly, which caused the pillar to, very slowly, start to turn around horizontally, revealing a gigantic figure behind it. After the pillar turned completely around, it turned out the pillar was none other than a gigantic throne, with the figure sitting on it. The figure was a gigantic Toadette, but with a white cap, two white braids, and shoes instead of the trademark pink. Her sheer size, which appeared to be a few feet shorter than the throne, intimidated the three captives more than the throne did, with Goombilly being the most intimidated, causing him to slightly shiver at the sight.

The Tribal Guys all opened their arms and bowed at her figure, and the gigantic Toadette looked down and noticed Goombilly, Goombella, and Larson, which the Tribal Guys have captured.

“Well, this is a surprise. It appears that there are others here besides all of my Tribal Guys.”

Her voice was soft and sweet, it almost sounded like a bunch of small birds if they could speak. Larson was completely hypnotized by her voice, so much so, that he completely forgot his anger towards Goombella and put on a face that only the very relaxed of people could put on.

As for Goombella and Goombilly, they were actually quite astounded that she spoke the same language as them, instead of the odd language the Tribal Guys use. This struck up a few red flags in Goombella’s head, but she didn’t know why.

“Well, you’re kind of right there, miss. We kind of got sucked into a whirlpool and somehow ended up here. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what happened, I swear!”

What Goombilly said roused up a bit of chatter with the Tribal Guys, in their odd language nothing less. Surprisingly though, the white Toadette didn’t even seem astonished at what Goombilly said, she just had on the same coaxing smile on the entire time, although she did giggle a bit.

“Yeah, that happens a lot around here. Those whirlpools have a habit of bringing others like you to our island. You’re actually very lucky, for there were a select few that never made it that far.”

“Well, I guess we were INCREDIBLY lucky we didn’t die.” Goombella thought.

“Ummm, if I don’t mind asking, do you know if there is a way off this island? We don’t want to disturb you or your people with our presence.” Goombilly asked.

While watching the Toadette’s face as Goombilly said that, Goombella felt like the giant white Toadette was a bit upset behind that smile of hers. Of course, the smile the Toadette had on was speaking otherwise, but Goombella couldn’t shake the feeling that it was just a cover-up.

“Yes, I’ll be glad to get something that would get you back home. I did so with the others that shipwrecked here, you know.” the giant white Toadette said to the three of them. “Of course, it will take a couple of days to get the materials we need, so I will take you in until then.”

“I don’t actually live out here, you know. I have a comfy home not far from here on this island, which is where all of you will stay until my Tribal Guys get the materials needed for your departure. I assure you, all of you will be safe until then.”

Goombella and Goombilly knew they didn’t have much of a choice on the matter. It was either starve to death, or stay with a gigantic white Toadette until the Tribal Guys got the materials they needed to leave the place.

“Fine, we will stay with you, as long as we have a chance to get home!” Goombilly replied.

“I had a feeling you wouldn’t say no.” the giant white Toadette said. “Allow me to show you my residence.”

With that said the giant white Toadette got out of her throne and lowered her right hand down to the ground, prompting the three to climb on. Not wanting to reject her, Goombilly and Goombella hopped on, with Goombella dragging Larson on, still in his relaxant state. The giant white Toadette then raised her hand and brought the three up to her height, while the Tribal Guys made way so they wouldn’t get in their goddess’s way. However, one Tribal Guy couldn’t make it out in time, and was squashed by the white Toadette’s gigantic right foot, leaving behind a red smudge where it once was. The rest of the Tribal Guys hooted and howled in a positive way, as if they were completely oblivious to what just happened.

Meanwhile, a figure, hiding from behind one of the pillars leading up to the throne, saw the entire thing. It just shook its head in disgust before heading back into the jungle.

A short passed since the threesome left with the giant Toadette, and soon enough, a gigantic hut, from the threes point at least, formed out of big slabs of rock, appeared over the horizon. Like the throne from before, they appeared to have odd hieroglyphs indented in them, and scaled up to the giant Toadette’s size. Brown slabs of rock served as the roof, and a black rock served as the door, almost making the entire structure look like a giant sized version of one of the houses from the Land of the Cragnons.

Once they arrived at the door of the hut, the giant white Toadette opened the door and the inside was revealed. The room they appeared in was what looked like a kitchen, and it looked like this was only one of the many rooms of the house, since about two doors were near the back of the room. The middle of the room consisted of a giant table and chair, with a few small chairs and table on top of it, likely for the Toadette’s Tribal Guys in case they dropped by, all nicely made out of stone. A row of what looked like stone cabinets lay on both the left and right sides of the room. However, because likely the island never invented glass, the contents of each of the cabinets remained unknown to the three captives.

“I have to admit, this is a nice place you got here. Rocks never really fascinated me, but your hut looks expertly crafted from them!”

“Yeah, it does look pretty impressive, doesn’t it? The Tribal Guys crafted it for me, and while it did take a few months for them to finish it, their work is very remarkable.”

The giant white Toadette then placed the threesome on the giant table, where Goombella and Goombilly took a seat in one of the small chairs on it. It was at this point that the two Goombas noticed the chairs and table had brown markings on them, almost looking like stains. Of course, Larson was still in his relaxed state, so Goombella smacked him across the face with her foot to snap him out of it. Larson stood dazed for a moment for waking himself up, and quickly noticed the different surroundings.

“Alright, you have ten seconds to tell me what’s going on with this before I slash your neck open!” Larson replied.

“To make a long story short: We’re stuck here until the Tribal Guys make a craft to get us back home.” Goombilly said.

“Well that’s just great. Now I have to hang out with the idiot Tribal Guys until then! They better not tick me off or I’ll-”

Before Larson could finish his sentence, the giant white Toadette sat down in the giant chair across from them, alarming him to stop. Not wanting to tick her off, Larson uttered a low “Ugh” before taking a seat on a small chair like Goombella and Goombilly.

The giant white Toadette then looked at the three with her curious azure blue eyes. They made her look like a curious puppy just waiting to be loved, causing Larson’s body to act up. Just looking at her cuteness was making Larson’s body go limp, because in his entire life as a crook, swindling people and stealing things, he had never seen something just so magnificent in his life. Money, riches, and many other valuables weren’t even close to the beauty he saw every time he looked at the giant white Toadette. Of course, he couldn’t let the giant white Toadette, or worse, Goombella and Goombilly, know about it, so he tried to stay on par with Goombella and Goombilly in mood, which, given his acting skills with swindling, was not a problem for him.

“Well, how do you like the inside? Not something you see back at your home right?” the giant white Toadette asked the three.

“I say it’s very impressive!” Goombella replied. “Of course, with you being the god of the Tribal Guys, it’s likewise you would get a place like this this!”

It was at that point that the giant white Toadette’s smile turned into a slight frown. She sighed deeply, which to the three houseguests, felt like a giant gust of wind, causing the three of them to hold on to their seats to avoid getting blown off the table.

The giant white Toadette started twiddling her fingers and lower her head in embarrassment.

“Well, errrrrr, I sort of am their leader of sorts.” The giant white Toadette stuttered out. “But, well, I’m actually just like you, not from here.”

This caused the three houseguests eyebrows to rise in astonishment. Giantesses like her, not originally from this island? This started up many questions in their minds, but seeing as how the giant white Toadette wasn’t done speaking yet; the three kept quiet and let her continue.

“Well, I originally was from a small islet off the coast of Pipe Land, a rather tight but refreshing place, called ‘Lookout Island’ for the place served as Pipe Land’s headquarters for looking for enemies and armies coming in to invade. Our way of doing this was through the ‘Grand Lighthouse’, a gigantic lighthouse that some say was over twice as big as the islet, with a light that they say pierces the heavens. For years, the Grand Lighthouse served as a way to look for incoming enemy ships and planes that were coming to invade Pipe Land, well, until THAT day.”

The giant white Toadette covered her face with her hands for a few seconds, sniffing a few times as well, like she was shedding a few tears that she didn’t want to show. After those few seconds, she continued on.

“Pipe Land was caught in a surprise attack by Ludwig von Koopa, under the orders of Bowser. They completely took over Pipe Land by storm, even managing to completely destroy the Grand Lighthouse, only leaving a pile of rubble behind. I was only a little girl when this happened, and as a last ditch effort to keep me alive, the remaining Toads of the island strapped me to a boat, along with many others, and sent me out to sea. I could only watch as the island I grew up on was completely wiped off the map, along with everyone that was on it.”

“The Toads that were on the boat with me didn’t socialize with me that much. Of course, it was only for one day, due to all of us landing on this island overnight. I was still asleep when we arrived, and the Tribal Guys ended up waking me up. I immediately noticed the dead bodies of the Toads that were on the boat with me. Their bodies were all deep blue in color, just like the sand. However, my mind was still too young enough to fathom the idea of death, so I never actually noticed the bodies that much.”

“The Tribal Guys all hooted and howled, which was their native tongue, forcing my curious mind off the boat and onto the sand. Immediately as I touched the sand, I glowed blue slightly and my body started to expand. It was slow at first, but I then started to rocket in inches by the second, as the Tribal Guys all hooted in excitement. I soon reached the height I currently am now, and the Tribal Guys all swarmed near my feet, very eager to serve me.”

“The years went by, and soon I had learned the language of the Tribal Guys, and I even learned English from, well, a friendly Tribal Guy. Now I’m grown up and even met some others like you that got stranded here and ended up, with me and my Tribal Guy’s help, going back home to their home safely.”

Now that she was done with her story, the giant white Toadette then started to weep slightly, covering her face with her hands, likely due to the fact that it reminded her of her original home. Goombella and Goombilly got out of their seats and went over to the giant white Toadette to cheer her up. Larson stayed where he was due to his entire body feeling like jelly after watching the giant white Toadette go through her story. He never listened to the story; he was too busy looking at her face to listen.

“It’s alright.” Goombella said to the giant white Toadette, while dodging her gigantic tears. “You went through a lot to be where you are now. You should just be happy you survived the entire ordeal, for nothing is more precious than life.”

The giant white Toadette then wiped a few tears off her face before looking at the two Goombas.

“You’re…you’re right. I should be glad that I am alive.” The giant white Toadette replied. “And I’m happy that you’ll be staying with me until the Tribal Guys make a boat to get you home.”

With that said, the giant white Toadette picked up both Goombas and Larson before going into a room near the back of the kitchen area, for it was late outside and she needed to get to bed. Meanwhile, a shadowed speck near one of the giant table’s legs came out of hiding just as the giant white Toadette left with the three houseguests. It noticed a skull and a pile of bones near him, which made the shadow shake its head in disgust.

“If only they knew what really happens…” it said, before rushing out of the gigantic hut. It needed to tell those three the truth before it happens, but not while she is watching over them.

The night went by without any major trouble. There were a few times when the giant white Toadette shifted a little in her sleep, causing her three small guests to wake up prematurely a few times, since she decided the three would sleep in her arms for the night. Larson got a bit cranky after each time, but decided it wasn’t worth it and went back to sleep each time.

Goombilly stopped his sentence prematurely as he saw the intense darkness around him. He couldn’t see a thing, and for some reason, his feet were feeling incredibly hot. He also found it actually pretty hard to breathe, almost like he was being fumigated alive.

“Am I inside a volcano or something?” Goombilly thought. He knew he had to get out, and fast. Before he could do so however, he heard the shriek again. This time, he could the voice loud and clear, but he wasn’t sure who it was. He then dashed toward where the shriek was coming from, his feet feeling like they were being burned with every step. His feet made a “sploosh” noise for every step, like he was running through a gigantic puddle. As he traveled through the darkness, coughing as he started to lose air, the shrieking got louder and louder, and he soon found out who was shrieking by recognizing the voice. This made him want to get to the spot now more than ever.

Soon enough, the shrieking stopped, and Goombilly hadn’t arrived at the exact spot yet, but he knew there still must be something ahead, so he continued through. Soon enough, he tripped over something, causing his face to start burning as the he hit the ground, also causing a “sploosh” sound as he hit it. Immediately picking his face up in pain, he took a short bit to calm down before feeling around, in the darkness, what the object was. It felt dome shaped and very rough, like sandpaper, and he felt some parts of it start to fall off. Was it made of paper or something?

Suddenly, as if on cue, a light shown on the mass, and the sight of it caused Goombilly to scream.

It was a gigantic skull, hollowed out, with a familiar archeologist’s helmet next to it.

The ground then started to give Goombilly’s feet an even more burning sensation, causing him to scream even more, and then, he could no longer feel them. The ground started to suck him in, burning his waist and started to make its way up to his face. Goombilly continued to scream as nothing more than his face was left. Just as he was about to get sucked into the burning ground, a black image appeared before his eyes. He felt like he had seen it before, but before he could recognize it, his entire body was sucked into the ground as the burning sensation went over his entire body.

Goombilly’s eyes immediately jolted open. Sweat dripped over his body like a waterfall as he looked frantically around his new surroundings.

Goombilly breathed heavily in relief, for he knew it was just his brain making illusions during the night. He looked next to him and noticed Goombella and Larson were just waking up as well. A happy feeling went over Goombilly as he noticed Goombella wasn’t dead, for she was the only one that ever paid a lot of attention to him, even if it was just to scold him for slacking off on research.

However, when the giant white Toadette started to wake up, the three sleeping on her would immediately jolt upward as she yawned with incredible volume, eliminating the last forms of drowsiness from them. Larson was infuriated for his sudden awakening, and was going to lash out at her, but before he could do that, Goombella gave him a nasty glare, where he got the message and stood down.

As she opened her blue eyes, she looked down and saw the three others that were sleeping with her fully awake, causing her to smile in a rather cute way.

“Good morning you three.” she said in her sweet voice. “I see all of you are awake. I take it you slept well?

Larson decided to speak up for once, but because of his intense attraction to the giant white Toadette, he found it incredibly hard to do so.

“Errrr, uhhhhhhhh, we did sleep, ummmmm, uhhhhhhh, really good, miss, errrrrrrrr, Toadette.” he managed to croak out.

Despite his sentence being rather hard to decipher due to his massive stutters, the giant white Toadette, along with Goombilly and Goombella, were able to figure out what he was saying. To show agreement to Larson’s statement, Goombilly and Goombella both nodded their heads.

“That’s good to hear.” The giant white Toadette replied. Just then, she gasped in sudden astonishment, causing the three minis to almost lose their footing on the giant white Toadette’s stomach.

“Dear me, I completely forgot to tell you my name yesterday! I was so caught up with having others on the island that I completely forgot to do so!”

She then scooped up the three, which they were fine with, and placed them on the gigantic mattress of the bed, acting incredibly flustered in embarrassment doing so. She then got off the bed, very red in the face, and bowed to the threesome.

“I’m so sorry about not introducing myself sooner; it’s been a while since I had visitors, so please forgive me!”

“Oh, it’s fine with us. We actually forgot to introduce ourselves as well. Must have been the sudden change in environment that made us forget!” Goombella replied, trying to calm the giant white Toadette down.

“Well, I guess you’re right…” the giant white Toadette said back. She then immediately picked herself up, and shook herself a bit to get rid of the red on her face.

“To formerly introduce myself, my name is Reina, and I would tell all of you about my history, but I kind of already did that yesterday.”

She giggled as she said that, putting a smile on the three mini’s faces as they knew she was back to being her cheery self. Soon enough, they started to introduce themselves to her

“Well, my name is Goombilly. I’m a researcher to the great Professor Frankly, but you probably never heard of him.”

“I’m Goombella, also a researcher to Professor Frankly, but more serious that that bozo over there.”

Goombilly started to say “heheheheh” under his breath in response to Goombella’s sentence, all while sweating in embarrassment, which caused Reina to giggle again.

“Errrrr, ummmmm, and I’m, uhhhhhhhhhh, Larson.” he said, still stuttering in attraction over Reina.

“You alright there? You sound like you’re catching a cold.” Reina asked.

“It’s, uhhhhhhhh, nothing.” he replied back. Reina wasn’t sure about that, but decided to let it go.

“Well, okay then. I’m sure it’s probably nothing.” Reina said. “Besides, it’s time for more important matters. You three ready for breakfast?”

This caused all three of the mini’s eyelids to strike open. They haven’t eaten a thing since they arrived on the island, so naturally, they were all famished.

“Good, for many of the Tribal Guys here are surprisingly good cooks! Let me bring all of you to the table.”

Reaching out a hand to let the three on, the three did so, and Reina started to walk toward the door to the kitchen. Before she could open it, Goombella decided to ask Reina something.

“Hey, I just noticed that you sound completely different than yesterday when you were around the Tribal Guys. Is there a reason behind that?”

“Oh, it’s just because I have to act formal around them. As their leader, I have to act ‘godly’ to win them over and to assert authority.”

With that said, Reina opened the door and went into the kitchen with the three. While she did that, Goombilly couldn’t get over the nightmare he had last night. Just thinking about it was causing him to cringe, but he couldn’t drop the feeling that it meant something. He decided to stop thinking about quickly and started to think about what Reina possibly could have planned for their breakfast…

Breakfast was absolutely astounding to the three. The Tribal Guys seemed to like combining many different fruits into exquisite dishes, such as mangos and bananas coated in sweet honey, and bowls of durians mixed with oranges and pineapples. Goombilly and Larson started immediately stuffing themselves the moment they got their hands on any one of the dishes, while Goombella decided to take her time eating.

“It’s like those two switched personalities with a Yoshi.” Goombella thought as she took another bite out of a crispy peach.

As for Reina, she had to immediately take her leave from the kitchen to another room, saying it was “Tribal Guy worshipping hour.” Goombella couldn’t help but feel that her statement wasn’t completely true, but with Goombilly and Larson’s messy eating habits going on, she couldn’t think straight.

“This haf to be the greafesf breafasf ever!” Goombilly exclaimed, face full of honey mangos.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” Goombella replied back. “That’s disgusting!”

“Youf fould lisfen fo her.” Larson said, also with him mouth full. “Ifs imfolife fo falk wif your mouf full.”

Goombilly caught on to the sarcasm that Larson, causing the two of them to bawl over laughing, showing off their chewed up food. Goombella had to look away to avoid seeing the grossness of the two.

Just as she finished the thought, a loud creaking sound echoed throughout the room, causing Goombilly and Larson to stop munching down and turn their direction toward the noise, along with Goombella as well. It turned out to be just Reina, back from doing her duty as ruler of the island. However, Goombella noticed a very small detail as she came out: She did a relieving motion with her left arm across her face, like she was wiping something off of it. Of course, she could have just been tired and was just wiping off sweat, so Goombella gave her the benefit of doubt.

“Sorry for not arriving sooner, my followers are persistent little guys.” Reina said as she came out.

“I can relate to that.” Larson replied back. “Once you become an outlaw like me, the police will always be right behind you.”

Larson fought the urge to gawk at Reina’s beauty, and he started to get the hang of it, but there was still a small hole in his unbreakable wall, but he wasn’t showing it.

“That reminds me, we still have to turn you in once we get back to Rougeport!” Goombella said.

Larson chose to ignore her little statement. He didn’t want negativity coming his way as long as he was on the island. The more he stayed, the more time it was away from prison, and the island was better than prison by a longshot.

“Well, now that I’m back, I thought of something that we all might enjoy. How about all of us go for a swim?” Reina asked.

The three guest’s jaws nearly hit the floor, including Goombilly and his mouth full of food. Did she seriously have a pool that could fit her entire body? Compared to her though, the pool to them just might be a gigantic lake! With that thought, Goombilly and Larson both rapidly shook their heads in agreement, and Goombella also did so, but not in a frantic manner. She really only agreed because she didn’t want to disagree with someone that could literally squish her without noticing.

“Good, for I’m sure you’ll enjoy the water. Now, if you three don’t mind…”

She then laid her right hand on the table so the three could hop on, which the three did so without trouble. With the three safely in her right hand, Reina went out the front door of her gigantic house, and into the dense jungle of the island.

Reina arrived at the place in less than ten minutes. Pushing the tall leaves away with her left hand, she allowed the three guests to take a look around. Right in front of them was the pool Reina spoke about, and its size was something the three kind of expected. In perspective, the pool could easily fit about ten Reinas at once, leaving plenty of room for her to swim around in, and with the crystal clear water to boot. A tall shack, from the three’s perspective that is, was next to the pool, which was about one hundred fifty feet away from it, but for Reina, the distance was way shorter.

A large group of Tribal Guys would be standing right next to the pool, hooting and howling and Reina’s arrival.

“They knew I would be here, just so you three know. I can’t leave for one second without a group of them right behind me, but I don’t mind that much.” Reina said. “Of course, what we need for all of you right now is an inner tube so all of you can stay afloat.”

With that said, Reina laid Goombilly, Goombella, and Larson on the ground, and as quick as a flash, a Tribal Guy was right there with three inner tubes, made of very rubbery leaves.

“Boy, for an island with little resources, they sure are making use for them.” Goombilly thought.

Not wanting to keep Reina waiting any longer, Larson threw his tube into the water and jumped on top of it. Surprisingly, it stayed afloat like an actual tube, almost as if it was made of authentic materials.

“Woah, this water feels nice! Hey you two chowderbrains, come in, the water is great!”

Normally, the two would have ignored Larson’s statement, thinking it was just a way of deceiving them just so he could slip away, but because there was literally no place to hide while under Reina’s watchful eye, the two went into the water after him, floating on their tubes so they don’t drown. Reina slowly sank into the water next, likely so she doesn’t cause large waves to form for the three, given how big she was to them.

“Such a shame that I only have plain clothing for everything, for I never once got to wear an authentic swimsuit.” Reina said as she settled into the water. “However, it doesn’t bother me much, for the Tribal Guys made many duplicates of my attire, and even wash them like little butlers.”

“We kind of expected that.” Goombella replied. “Given how they do everything for you.”

“Well, when you rule over something, there are benefits to it!” Reina said. “By the way, there’s something I always wanted to do, but never had the chance to do so. You mind staying right there?”

Looking up from each of their tubes, the three in them each nodded their heads in agreement. Reina then proceeded to dive under the water, and due to their bodies being in a “laid back” position, the three couldn’t move their bodies upward to see below them without rocking the tube and potentially falling off.

A good fifteen seconds went by without Reina surfacing, leaving the Tribal Guys by the sidelines to say faint “Ooooohhhhhs” as it happened, and the three in the tubes to wonder what was going to happen. Suddenly, Reina’s white cap started to slowly surface from behind Larson’s tube. Goombella and Goombilly’s tubes were facing towards Larson’s, causing to two to become wide eyed as they saw what was rising behind him.

The two never answered, for they were too stunned to reply. It wasn’t until a shadow started to cast over him that Larson noticed something wasn’t right, so he turned his tube around to face behind him…

Larson felt absolute fear for the first time since he arrived on the island, his face turned white, and his eyes nearly blacked out at the sight. It felt like the end, a fate worse than prison, one that was permanent and could not be recovered. The chill of being down under, the Shaydes started creeping, and the ceiling of Reina’s maw came down…

The Tribal Guys watching started hooting and hollering, presumably in rejoice, at the display Reina showed. The three in the tubes felt like their hearts just skipped a beat, more notably from Larson’s, for he was just a few inches away from meeting Queen Jaydes in person.

“I always wanted to act like a certain shark one traveler who came here told me about. Just one sight from it would cause fear!”

“Well, you…sure…got…us…” Larson managed to choke out, causing Goombilly and Goombella to nod their heads rapidly in agreement.

“Teehee, I can see that! Your face was completely drained of everything the moment I surfaced. Now I know how that shark felt!”

With that said, the sun started to set, causing the sky to light up a bright orange color, indicating the day’s halfway point.

“Wow, time sure flies quickly doesn’t it? You mind if you three stayed there while I get dried clothes?”

Like before, the three nodded their heads in agreement. Happy with their response, Reina got out of the pool and started hooting and howling, likely communicating with the Tribal Guys that were by the pool. The Tribal Guys hooted and howled back, running under the gigantic floor of the shack next to the pool, with Reina following close behind. Winking cutely at the three still in the tubes, Reina closed the door tightly. The three of them breathed a sigh of relief once she vanished inside.

“Actually chowderbrain, it was ME that almost was killed. I felt like I was once step away from becoming a lonely Shayde!” Larson replied back.

“Hey, we were practically next to you when that happened!” Goombilly said. “I felt just as scared as you did!”

While the two continued to chat about their near death experience, Goombella took the time to collect herself and escape into her mind. While she did like the hospitality Reina was giving them, she felt slightly homesick, despite the fact that Rougeport was a rundown place. Professor Frankly’s old but smiling face, Merlon’s odd and weird obsession with Shine Sprites, heck, even the mafia wars between Ishnail and Franky’s gangs, she missed all of them.

However, while she started looking around, trying to get the thoughts out of her mind, she noticed that a Tribal Guy in a grey robe was still standing near the side of the pool. Cocking an eyebrow, Goombella asked:

“Ummmm, if you’re looking for your god, she just left for the shack over there.”

The Tribal Guy shook his head slightly, indicating he was here for another reason. Tapping his spear slightly into the ground, the Tribal Guys started to glow faintly blue, and then suddenly, she, along with Goombilly and Larson, started to float out of their inner tubes and into the air. This sudden action snapped Goombilly and Larson out of their argument.

“What the heck, you some sort of magic psycho or something, because you’re starting to freak me out!” Goombilly exclaimed, flailing his feet into the air.

However, the Tribal Guy lifted them out of the pool and right next to him, with the blue glow now vanishing completely. Before the three could ask more questions however…

This took the others by surprise. A Tribal Guy that actually speaks the common language? Not only that, but it had mystical powers as well!

As more questions started to form in their minds, the Tribal Guy took off into the jungle, forcing the others to follow him, wondering just who this is and why it just contacted them…

The walk with the unknown Tribal Guy didn’t take that long, about a good five minutes or so, but the two Goombas and Bandit were really confused as to why the Tribal Guy can speak their language and supposedly have some sort of otherworldly power. The area looked like a generic bonfire site, with burnt wood, signifying where the bonfire went, in the center, meaning that it was used before. A hole was situated a good five feet from the burnt wood, probably where the Tribal Guy has been living all the time.

“Gather around the wood, I’m going to explain why I brought you here.” The Tribal Guy said.

Not wanting to ignore the local, the three sat down on the dirt around the wood, and the Tribal Guy sat right across from them. Right away, Larson spoke up.

“Wait just a moment; you don’t need to be so impatient.” The Tribal Guy interrupted. Slamming his spear against the group, a small mane of embers erupted from the wood, startling the three across from him. It came up the instant he slammed it against the ground, so the three immediately thought it was another bit of his powers that he was going to explain.

“First and foremost, my name is Poitrick. I understand that it is an odd name, at least to your kind, but it’s a common name among us Tribal Guys. I needed to bring you here because I needed to warn you about the danger here without you being under Reina’s watchful eye.”

A few eyebrows were cocked on the opposite side of the fire. Danger? Wasn’t Reina keeping them all safe? Just what was this Tribal Guy saying?

Goombella decided to speak up first, even though Goombilly and Larson both had many questions as well.

“Okay, first things first, what danger are you talking about? Isn’t this island supposed to be safe thanks to your ‘god’?”

Poitrick sighed deeply in response. Even though the three couldn’t see his facial expression because of his mask, they could tell that he was probably a bit sad.

“First off, I know she’s not the ‘god’ our tribe claims she is. In fact, she’s actually the danger.”

“What? She’s been nothing but nice to us ever since we got here!” Larson retorted back. Goombilly and Goombella cocked an eyebrow at Larson’s sudden defense, slightly confused at what he’s doing. They were completely oblivious to Larson’s crush on Reina.

“Then how can you explain the display she put on in the pool? Surely that wasn’t very kind to you.”

The three didn’t want to admit it, but Poitrick was right. The three basically almost got to meet Queen Jaydes in person due to that stunt. Goombilly got slight shivers just thinking about it, and Larson easily backed down once the reality of that incident set in.

“Yes, that display was her wanting to see how you would act when you encounter the greatest type of fear, for she’s planning on doing something like that again, but a million times worse. To truly understand how much of a threat she is to you, I need to explain from the beginning.”

“Do you three know about the lands of the Mushroom World, such as Grass Land and Pipe Land? Such magnificent places to visit, at least that’s what I have heard, for I haven’t actually have been to any one of them. Well, each one has their origins on how they came into existence, like for example, Desert Land used to being a completely lush place filled with thousands of plant life until harsh sunlight settled in for a few hundred years, drying up most of the water and soil, which killed most of the plant life. Of course, it’s not Desert Land that I want to talk about. No, it’s somewhere MUCH different from that; Giant Land.”

The last sentence Poitrick said caused the three across from him to cock an eyebrow in confusion. However, they didn’t say anything and let him continue.

“Back when the world was still new, a group of runaway creatures, led by a Hammer Bro named Shingen, were trying to get away from the tyranny of the great conqueror known as Morton Senior. However, they ended up getting shipwrecked on an odd landmass. They quickly decided to settle there until his tyranny was over, and during that time, quickly noted that all of the creatures and plant life were way bigger than any other place. Shingen, wanting to explore more of the landmass to find more materials to make living there easier for him and the group, proceeded to head into the land alone.”

“While he treaded through the land, encounter the many giant sized creatures, blocks, plants, and pipes, he stumbled across two odd looking objects embedded in the ground. They both looked like the common mushrooms that everyone knows about, but these were different. They sported the festive colors of green and red, and were massive, just barely being taller than himself, almost like another common item, the Mega Mushroom. They were emitting some sort of greenish energy into the ground, which Shingen didn’t know about. However, thinking that one of the gigantic mushrooms could be a good source of food, he pulled out one of the mushrooms out of the ground and proceeded back to the group with it in tow.”

Larson had fallen asleep from boredom at that point, so Goombella kicked him in the behind to wake him back up before going back to listening.

“Before the group could munch into the mushroom, they needed to find out if it was dangerous to eat. Another group member, a Koopa, volunteered to take a bite out of it for the group. Once it did so, a slight pain took over his body, and then he started to grow in size. He stopped growing once he reached fifty feet, and the rest of the group was stunned, knowing that the mysterious mushroom did it. The group ended up calling the mysterious mushroom the Ultra Mushroom out of its growing powers, and knew it wouldn’t be good to eat, so the gigantic Koopa, along with three other trustworthy group members, took the Ultra Mushroom to a new hidden location, in case some of the other group members decided to get greedy and eat it, knowing full well what power it possessed. Once they did that, they came back to the others, who decided to name the landmass they crashed onto Giant Land, after the many giant creatures and structures they have witnessed living among them.”

“Unfortunately for them, a portion of Morton Senior’s army, led by a cold Koopatrol named Lieutenant Kenshin the Second, came across the island and quickly started to land their massive ships on it, wanting to conquer another land under Morton Senior’s orders. The portion of the group living on the island was completely taken by surprise when they arrived, and before they could even react, they were mercilessly killed by the army. A great battle then ensued between the creatures of Giant Land and the army, with the two sides actually being evenly matched. While the army had weapons and vehicles, the Giant Land creatures had a size advantage, rendering many weapons useless against them.”

“During one battle, while the many soldiers and Giant Land inhabitants were on the battlefield, Kenshin came across the spot where the four group members from before hid the Ultra Mushroom the Koopa taste tested, and while he didn’t know what power it possessed, he could feel the mysterious power that emitted from it, and he knew that many mushrooms in this world gave some sort of power up when consumed. Because of that, he decided to bring it back to Morton Senior so he could discover its powers and possibly use them to further his reign. However, before he could lay a finger on the powerful mushroom, Shingen appeared and told Kenshin to step away from the mushroom. Saying that he must bring it to Morton Senior, he grabbed onto one side of the Ultra Mushroom, with Shingen grabbing the other half. The two began a game of tug-o-war in an attempt to take the Ultra Mushroom away from the other side, however, they were so into getting the Ultra Mushroom away from the opposition, they failed to pay attention to the mushroom they were tugging on, which started glow a faint grey color. As they continued to fight over the mushroom and as Kenshin’s army and Giant Land creatures continued to war against each other, the Ultra Mushroom couldn’t handle it anymore, and once its color turned pure grey, it made a massive explosion. Shingen, Kenshin, and everyone on the battlefield could only watch in horror as their bodies were completely consumed by flames, killing all of them instantly, along with any amount of plant life within its radius, which were unfortunately wiped from existence.”

This time, both Goombilly and Larson fell asleep at this point, so Goombella had to kick them in the backside, forcing them to wake up and continue listening.

“Miraculously, the four that hid the Ultra Mushroom, including the gigantic Koopa, survived the entire ordeal. Not knowing how they were spared from death, the four looked over the barren landscape that was the battlefield of the two sides. Corpses, burnt and dead plant life, and charred weapons all lay amongst the mangled landscape. However, one thing stood out: a mushroom with a black top and purple diamond shaped marks on the top as well. It had a design near the bottom of it that looked like a menacing smile with sharp triangular teeth. The eyes on the mushroom had squinty eyes that looked like the ones others make if they crack up laughing. It stood in a spot between two corpses. One looked like it had some sort of helmet on and was holding a mallet in one of its dead hands, while the other had armor on top of it with a shell that had spikes on its back. One of the four members that watched the battle from a distance claimed that the Ultra Mushroom was originally in that same spot, and after observing it, concluding that it WAS an Ultra Mushroom, but now is something completely different. To prevent history from repeating itself in the future, the four hid the odd mushroom, along with the second Ultra Mushroom that was still in the same spot when Shingen first found it, to a top secret location that only the descendants of the four and select residents of Giant Land know of the two mushroom’s location. As for the odd mushroom the four survivors found, because of its dark looks, they called it the Dark Mushroom.”

“If only they knew the other part that happened. What they didn’t know was that once the Ultra Mushroom exploded, it actually split into two separate mushrooms, the aforementioned Dark Mushroom, and another that very few know about.”

This caused the three of them to go wide eyed in astonishment. You would probably do that too if you found out there’s a completely unseen object that grants mystical powers!

“This mushroom formed the second half of the separated Ultra Mushroom, and was actually sent clear over the horizon during the explosion, leaving only the Dark Mushroom behind. It landed in a completely unknown part of sea at the time, and sank all the way to the seabed. While down there, small pieces of the Light Mushroom started to break off bit by bit, and after a few hundred years, every single part of the Light Mushroom formed into a large mass of blue sand, and years after that, plant life formed on its surface.”

“Wait, so you’re saying that the blue sand that we encountered on the shore…” Goombella said.

“Yes, they are all pieces of the broken Light Mushroom, which also formed this very island as well. However, because the Light Mushroom was completely broken up, its power became completely unstable; causing whoever to come in contact with its blue sand remains to experience odd effects, with differing ones for every person. For example, for the Shy Guys that first colonized this island, one couldn’t stop laughing and had uncontrollable arm movements, while another could jump ten feet into the air and couldn’t stop rocking his head back and forth.”

“How do you know about specific Shy Guys getting specific symptoms? It’s like you were actually there!” Larson said.

“Well, if you couldn’t tell by my knowledge already, I was indeed among the first group of Shy Guys that colonized this island.”

“I too was affected by the Light Mushroom’s remains the instant I set foot on the island. Soon enough, I found out that I could move things with my mind, I stopped aging, and later became incredibly intellectual. I even got the history of Giant Land and the entire turmoil there all inserted into my mind because of the blue sand.”

“So you’re saying we might get symptoms too? How come we didn’t get any the moment we arrived here?” Goombilly asked.

“I said before that the effects differ between everyone. Every single creature on this planet will get unique effects; no two will get the exact same ones. With you three not getting symptoms the moment you touched the blue sand, my guess is that they might come later. It’s only a guess though, because due to the instability of the powers of the Light Mushroom’s remains, anything goes in terms of the effects it gives.”

Poitrick then got on his feet and cracked his back after all of the sitting he did during his long explanation.

“Well, that concludes the history of the island and the oddness of the blue sand. I guess I should show you…”

“Wait!” Goombella said. “You didn’t tell us about Reina’s backstory!”

“Do we really need a recap on that?” Larson replied. “She already told us the moment we arrived at her gigantic household! We don’t need to listen about it twice!”

“Oh, I completely forgot about that! I was so caught up in my explanation of the island’s history that I forgot the entire reason I brought you three here! Now, during her take on her history here, where did she end at?”

“She stopped at the part where she said that she encountered others like us before and helped them get off this place.” He replied.

“Okay then I shall start from there then.” Poitrick said. He then took another seat on the ground then proceeded to explain the missing parts of her history.

“Like she probably said to you, she grew the instant she touched the blue sand, which, like I said, was due to the instability of the Light Mushroom. We immediately took her as our god; however, she actually developed a second effect of the Light Mushroom…”

Poitrick proceeded to lift up his right arm, revealing a very greenish spot on its underside.

“She developed a thirst for blood. I just so happened to be one of the lucky ones, for when she consumed me, I used my powers to lift myself out of her digestive system and escape out of her mouth, but not before the gastro acid of her stomach nearly dissolved my entire right arm, which I’m constantly reminded of because of this scar. I’ve been on the run from her ever since, because she knows that anyone she thinks is food stays as food.”

The faces of the three on the opposite side of him turned white in fear, for they had a feeling they knew what he was saying. Goombilly started to stutter out:

“Yes.” Poitrick replied to him. “SHE ATE EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT SHIPWRECKED HERE, ALONG WITH MANY OF OUR TRIBE AS WELL!”

Looking in the direction of the sound, Reina suddenly came out from the many tall trees, along with a massive group of Tribal Guys by her feet, spears pointing straight at them.

“Woah, you sure know how to make an entrance do you?” Goombilly said, greatly intimidated by Reina and her Tribal Guy army she brought with her. Larson, on the other hand, got hypnotized by Reina’s beauty, causing him to go into gaze at her at not pay attention to anyone else.

“Well, when you’re as big as I am, it’s kind of a standard.” She replied. She then looked over to Poitrick.

“Poitrick, looks like you are still trying to smuggle morsels off the island. I should have killed you on the spot instead of eating you.”

“Even if you did try, you know I always find a way out of it. How do you think I managed to evade you all these years?” Poitrick replied. “Your corrupted mind caused by the instability of the Light Mushroom isn’t enough!”

“The Light Mushroom has given me nothing but a cleared mind.” Reina said. “Life on this island has opened my eyes and showed me what the reality of this world is. I command these Tribal Guys and they serve me, and when the time comes, their lives must end.”

“That’s the kind of words someone with a mind that is corrupted by the unstable Light Mushroom would say!” Poitrick replied. “You shouldn’t let it take over your actions as well!”

“JUST SHUT UP!” Reina exclaimed, causing her voice to echo in everyone’s head due to its loudness. “I’ve spent enough time lecturing you! Followers, capture all four of them!”

With that said, the Tribal Guys surrounding Reina charged forward towards the group, spears pointed right at them. However, as quick as a flash, Poitrick thrust his spear into the ground, causing a bright light to erupt around the area and blind Reina and the Tribal Guy army. Since the light was pointed a Reina and company, Goombilly, Goombella and Larson weren’t affected.

“Quick, follow me!” Poitrick exclaimed. As he dashed off in the opposite direction of Reina, Goombilly and Goombella ran off after him, with Goombella dragging the love induced Larson behind her, still in his trance.

“So how are we going to get away from here? She’s going to find us sooner or later because this island is completely isolated from everywhere else!”

Goombella and Goombilly swore they saw a twinkle in Poitrick’s mask after that sentence, but their vision was being obscured by the incoming bushes and trees and couldn’t make out the sight.

“I actually have a special hidden Return Pipe hidden in one of the trees, which you will use to get back to your own land.”

“Isn’t a Return Pipe a warp pipe that is specifically made to warp you back to the place you were at previously?” Goombilly asked

After more running, the group came across what looked like a completely ordinary tree. Poitrick felt around the bark for a bit before pulling a cover off in front of it, revealing a red pipe with white stripes near its rim.

“I must stay here in case others like you get stranded here. While many of them never met me, for they were consumed by Reina, there were very few that actually managed to escape through here. Everyone that comes here deserves to have their lives intact.”

Suddenly, faint rustling noises starting coming towards them, with many honks and shrieks of the pursuing Tribal Guy army and Reina’s gigantic booms of her feet following soon after.

With that said, Poitrick pushed Goombilly, Goombella, and the love stricken Larson down the Return Pipe, causing them to tumble inside. Goombilly and Goombella could only watch as Poitrick was soon dragged back by many Tribal Guys, but before they could make out any more details, the Return Pipe sealed shut and began to warp them back to their previous location.

The two Goombas slowly started to wake up. As soon as they could make out the details, they soon discovered that they were both inside Professor Frankly’s house. Professor Frankly jumped for joy once he saw Goombella and Goomilly arise.

“Oh thanks heavens, you two woke up!” Professor Frankly exclaimed. “I would have had no idea what to do if my top students didn’t make it.”

“Oh man” Goombilly said, shaking his head. “My head hurts, and where the heck did you come from?”

“Well, I found you two passed out by the Rougeport docks.” Frankly explained. “I also arrived there right as a few cops arrived to arrest a Bandit that was in some sort of odd state. They quietly cuffed him and took him away; while I dragged you all the way back here, and let me tell you, it was quite hard to do with these old bones!”

“I can imagine that professor.” Goombella replied. Just as she proceeded to shake herself away, a small teaspoon of blue sand came out from the top of her archaeologist’s hat and onto the floor.

“Hmmm, what’s this?” Professor Frankly said, taking up a few pieces of the material and put them on his examination desk. After a few seconds of looking them over, his eyes nearly burst out of his glasses.

“Uhhhhh, you alright professor?” Goombella asked. Frankly slowly turned around to face his two students.

“These grains of blue sand…are the same minerals I used…to power the Generator!”

Goombilly and Goombella’s mouths nearly hit the floor in astonishment after that sentence.

“I actually discovered the same type of that sand way before you two came in to be my assistants. A few teaspoons actually washed up on the Rougeport docks, and being the curious researcher I am, I took them in to study them. I actually discovered that they had some sort of mystical power, so I made a prototype engine that would convert these powers into energy, which eventually became the Generator. It actually became a major tool into powering up many machines without consequences, so I decided to use it to power up that security system that Princess Peach wanted, and, well, you two know what happened that day.”

“At least you didn’t need to carry yourself after that happened, for I had to carry you and the professor that day!” Goombella replied to Goombilly.

“Students, let me finish!” Professor Frankly said. “Anyways, after that day, I put the Generator into storage until I could figure out what went wrong that day, but because I couldn’t deduce the problem, I brought it out of storage so you two could help me with figuring it out. Where did you obtain this blue sand, if I may ask?”

Not wanting to tell Professor Frankly about the insanity that just happened, Goombella decided to give him the short version.

“On an island where an inhabitant there said that every single piece of blue sand was actually remains of a fabled Light Mushroom.”

“Interesting, interesting.” Professor Frankly replied. “I need to take notes and research this some more. Goombella, get me my research notebook, and Goombilly, get me a magnifying glass!”

Goombella, not wanting to reject her mentor, proceeded to look through the many book cabinets for the notebook, while Goombilly rolled his eyes as he heard Professor Frankly request his assistance. He knew it was going to be a LONG day.