A Star In The Clouds
By: Virtualboy2558
Disclaimer: Super Mario RPG is Copyrights of Nintendo, Square, and Shigeru Miyamoto. I do not own, nor profit, from any or all of the characters mentioned.
The rush to the hospital was thankfully short and non-problematic. It wasn't every day that someone goes to a fast-food restaurant and ends up with food-poisoning. Your chances were more likely if you go to a filthy diner with an even filthier cook, who scratches his back with the spatula and uses it to flip your cheeseburger.
But it was one of those rare moments of meat simply spoiled and slightly undercooked, that Valentina happened to encounter on after ingesting her chicken salad at Mc Boosters.
"Someone call an ambulance!" Geno shouted, trying to get one of the staff members after he saw his team mate drop to the ground, a greenish hue tingling on her face.
The trainee Toad ran to the telephone in a panic, and dialled 9-1-1. In no more than 5 minutes, a large, white cloud in the shape of an ambulance halted in front of the establishment. Two Lakitus with a stretcher barrelled down the doors of Mc Boosters, coming to a stop in front of the cashier stand.
"Who's the one that's poisoned?" asked the first Lakitu.
"Right here, doc," said Geno, pointing to Valentina.
"Clear away, clear away! Give the lady some room!" called the second Lakitu. He had bluish hair, unlike his colleague, who like most Lakitus had stringy black hair.
Mario, Peach, Geno, and Bowser stepped aside from their table, so that the para-Lakitus could do their work. The one with the blue hair had gone wide-eyed.
"Oh my Stars, Frank… I never seen somebody with a physique this… this "shapely" in all my life," he whispered. The blue-haired had apparently been staring at one of Valentina's "womanly" body parts.
"Snap out of it, Jerry," said Frank, who seemed to be the more professional Lakitu. "We're not here to oogle at a woman's whats-its. That's what they tell you at medical school. Now help me carry her feet, while I carry her head."
Understanding the situation, Jerry went to Valentina's white shoes and start lifting them. Frank, in the meanwhile, was carefully holding up Valentina's pretty head. Though he was trained to take his job seriously, even Frank was eying her bosom with a little surprise.
"Geez, are those even real?" he thought, while he helped lift Valentina onto the stretcher. "I wouldn't be surprised if she gets back-pains from those. Sigh… alright, Frank… just do your job like you did it a hundred times before…"
The two Lakitus carried out the now unconscious Valentina outside and set her inside the cloud ambulance. In no time at all, it puffed away with rapid speed before it disappeared in the sky.
The pink-haired girl was fast asleep in her hospital bed. Mario and the gang were now right beside her, excluding Peach, who said she wanted to use the bathroom (though it had been already 20 minutes since she left). The team remained quiet ever since after the incident at Mc Boosters. Even Mario was more silent than usual.
The team's silence was disturbed when a middle-aged Toad with glasses, stethoscope, and a doctor light came into the room. He was carrying a medical chart.
"How is she, doctor?" questioned Geno.
The Toad doctor looked up from his chart and smiled. "She's going to do alright. It was Salmonella poisoning, and fortunately, it was only minor symptoms. She's a little dehydrated and delirious, but I think she'll be up and ready in about a couple days."
"Well that's good to hear," said Bowser, eying Valentina with a sort of smug look. "She was making me go crazy with her cheerful happiness!" And after that, he thought with a grin, "Now I could go probably kidnap the Princess while plumber boy isn't looking."
Mario elbowed Bowser out of his thoughts, who's face in turn went back to a look of mock-concern.
"Are you family or friends of this girl, by any chance?" The Toad doctor asked.
"Just friends, " explained Geno, filling in for Mario (he was never one for conversation). "Valentina hasn't mentioned anything about family though…"
"I see… well, you'll have to leave Valentina for now while she's sleeping, and come back in the morning for visiting hours," said the Toad doctor.
"Okay. I guess we can't really do anything else now. Come on, Mario, " said Geno.
Mario nodded, and he, Geno, and Bowser left the ward. Along with Peach, of who was finally finished in the bathroom (with a big relief on her face for some reason), the team check into the nearest Inn that night.
"Mom? Dad? Where are you?"
Many twists of blue and black blurs filled her vision. She had been search for 3 hours now. But they were nowhere to be seen.
"MOM! DAD! HELP ME!"
Her eyes were full of tears. She couldn't stop crying. She had to find them.
"MOM! DAD! Don't leave me here!"
No one came to her rescue. No loving mother. No caring father.
She was all alone.
Alone…
There was a dusky, but welcomingly pink light tingling in the early morning sky. It shined weakly through the Inn window and into the bedroom where the team was sleeping. Mario was snoozing away in a peaceful slumber, while Peach rested her head on the plumber's lap. Bowser was on the couch, murmuring in his sleep about something that sounded like torching Toad's head off.
Geno, on the other hand, was the only one wide awake. Being a star spirit possessing a wooden puppet, he didn't really required sleep like the others. He kept on guard like a watchdog, monitoring his companions for the slightest case that something may go wrong. After Valentina falling ill from food poisoning, he was a little more wary than normal, and wasn't going to let the others suffer a similar fate. After all, the future of Star Road and everybody's wishes depended on it…
The pink morning light grew a little brighter, and was now shining down on Mario's face. Mario squirmed a little before opening one bleary blue eye to the now rising morning sun in the window. He grunted while he tried to get up slowly without waking Peach on the bed. He rested his feet on the carpet floor while he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Good morning, Mario," Geno spoke quietly, giving a bow in front of the plumber, and a small smile on his wooden face. "Slept alright?"
Mario shrugged. He never had much of an opinion of where or how he rested during the night. From very soft royal beds to hard concrete floor, and everything in between, it all felt the same to him. He would be knocked out as soon as his head hit the surface of whatever he was sleeping on without complaint. And upon waking, he would feel ready to take on anything during the day.
"I don't think breakfast starts until another hour, so you're going to have to wait, I'm afraid," chuckled Geno.
Food, on the other hand, was something that Mario always had a say in (even if he didn't say it at all). One of his mottos were, "Never start the day on an empty stomach". And unfortunately, his belly grumbled loudly with hunger. Those breadsticks and ravioli dish felt like ages ago…
Digging out of his pack, Mario pulled out a Honey Syrup and squeezed all of its contents out in one gulp. He then went to put on a new set of clean overalls, t-shirt, gloves, socks and underwear. Fully clothed and with his stomach feeling a little more satisfied, Mario walked past Geno, greeting him on his way out of the bedroom. He tiptoed down the stairwell quietly, and was finally outside the Inn, ready to do a brisk jog.
After a hearty breakfast, the team went back to the hospital to check on Valentina. At the reception room, Peach told the other that she needed to use the bathroom.
"Again? Sheesh, Princess!" Bowser huffed. "At least I go when I REALLY need to!"
After a swift kick in the shin, and a very irritated Bowser holding his leg with pain, the Mushroom Kingdom's Princess went down the hallway to find some privacy. Mario and Geno said nothing, but had identical surprised looks on each others faces.
"Uh…," spoke a female Toad at the reception table with uncertainty," Are you here to make an appointment, or are you here to see some one?" The two males snapped their attention to the hospital clerk. Bowser cursed while he sat down on a chair, tending to his damaged appendage.
"Um… here to see someone," Geno mumbled. He was still a little stunned by Peach's "rational" exit to the bathroom. "We're visiting Valentina today?"
"Valentina… Valentina…" The female Toad clerk scanned through the medical records. "Ah yes. You'll find her in Room 204, second door to the right."
"Thank you very much," said Geno, bowing his head. He and Mario went to Bowser and they asked if he needed help walking.
"No way, pasta freak! I can walk just fine on my own! I don't need help from both of you!"
Shoving Mario and Geno away, Bowser limped down the hallway, growling about how he would treat a certain Princess next time he kidnapped her. The staff and patients down the hall stared at him while he ranted on, until he gave them a fiery look.
"What are you looking at, eh? Never saw a giant turtle in public before?" Immediately, the bystanders ran out of Bowser's way, while the King of Koopas went back to limping on his bad leg. Mario and Geno looked at each other, both shrugged, and walked quickly after Bowser to make sure he didn't have the next poor client end up in the third-degree burn ward.
When the three men finally reached Valentina's room, she was already awake with a happy smile on the group of visitors at her doorstep.
"Hi, guys! I'm so glad you came by to see me!" cooed Valentina. The bubbly girl bounced in her bed with great enthusiasm.
"Just checking up to see you get better," Geno said, smiling kindly. "How do you feel?"
"Much better, actually. I guess that's the last time I'll have a salad with meat in it! I'm going all-out vegetarian!" Valentina cheered, pumping her fists in the air.
"Ugh… at least YOU'RE happy. I make the only honest comment I've ever said in my life, and I get whacked by the pink dress that I kidnap for a living!" Bowser grumbled.
"Speaking of Princess Toadstool… where is she, by the way?" asked the curious Valentina.
Mario and Geno looked at each other again, unsure of how to break the news to her.
"Uh… she had to step outside for a while," Geno lied. "She said she… um… needed to clear her head with some fresh air. She gave you her best wishes, though…"
Valentina smiled brightly. "Well that's nice of her! And here I thought she was still holding a grudge on little ol' me," she giggled. Mario and Geno laughed with her, albeit not as sincere as she was. Bowser, still his grumpy self, muttered something barely louder than a whisper.
"I got a Dry Bone's skeleton to pick on that little blonde head of hers…"
Mario gave Bowser a quick stamp on his already injured clawed foot to shut him up. Being in enough pain as it is, Bowser held back the tears in his twitching eyes, while he found a place to sit down. By then, the same Toad doctor from yesterday came in the room.
"Ah, I see you're awake again… and how are we doing today, Miss Valentina?" he asked.
"All better, doc! Can you give me a lollipop before I leave, pretty please?" Valentina said, holding her hands and gushing like a little kid in a toy store with their parent.
The Toad doctor chuckled. "Not yet, sweetie. You still need to have a physical done before I can give you a clean bill of health. Now… I hope you don't mind if I examine your body while naked, do you?" he questioned with a bit of hesitation.
"Nope, don't mind at all!" Valentina chirped.
"Or mind if I take pictures of you… just for medical records, of course. They'll be kept confidential."
"Okay with me!" she purred.
"And you aren't afraid of me taking any samples from you… for tests only, I presume?"
"If you want a sample, you could just take the whole package, mister!" Valentina said, clearly very excited of having the physical. The Toad doctor's cheeks were at this point burning scarlet with both shyness and surprise. He never met a patient in all his years of practice who was this spunky and positive, not mention feeling all so comfortable at taking the examination while in the buff. Most of his clients at least ask to keep some articles of underwear to cover their "unmentionables".
"Well… if you are certain, Miss Valentina, then I can assure you'll feel… ah… no discomfort while I examine you. Come with me, if you please."
The pink-hair girl eagerly held out her hand to be lifted out of her bed. The Toad doctor led Valentina out to the hallway to the examination room.
"Ah… you three could sit down and wait here, if you like," the Toad doctor said to Mario, Geno and Bowser, before leaving them. "Hopefully, it won't take long."
"Don't worry, we'll wait," said Geno, as he sat down on Valentina's bed for the time being. Mario sat down on a chair beside Bowser. The big Koopa looked down at his arch-rival with a furrow in his brow.
"Look, just because we're on the same team together, doesn't mean I'm required to buddy-buddy with anyone, especially with you, linguini breath. So don't try to put a smart one on me. Got it?"
Mario nodded with complete understanding.
While in the examination room, Valentina was sitting on the table, completely nude and cool as a cucumber. Her warming smile doesn't go unnoticed as the Toad doctor gave a smile back in return. He first started on doing the neurological examination, also known as the reflex test.
"Now, Valentina. I want you to stay perfectly still for me, okay?" the Toad doctor asked.
"You got it, doc!" she boldly replied.
The Toad doctor pulled out his tomahawk hammer and gave a gentle, but firm tap on Valentina's left knee cap. Her left leg immediately bounced upwards with reaction to the tap. He did the same for the right leg, and it too bounced with the same response and speed.
"Excellent. Your nerves are working beautifully, I see. Now onto the vascular examination. I want you to lie down on you back nice and slowly…"
Valentina lied down on her back as she was told. The Toad doctor then turned on his doctor light and started examining Valentina's skin for any trauma or muscle tissue damage. He touched down from her formidable bosom all the way to her little feet. By then, he checked every inch of her skin.
"Very good, Valentina. You take very well care of yourself," said the Toad doctor, while turning off the doctor light attached to his forehead.
"I always like to keep myself pretty for the boys…" Valentina spoke, smiling.
"Now… I want you to stand up again, and I'll check your pulse. You don't mind the cold, do you?"
"Not at all."
The Toad doctor adjusted his stethoscope's plugs to his ears, while he carefully places the bell piece onto Valentina's chest. She yipped all of a sudden, and the Toad doctor withdrew quickly.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he said, his voice faltered a little from the sudden surprise.
"Oh no, doc. Just testing!" Valentina smirked.
A little flustered, the Toad doctor sighed. "Okay then. Now just relax and breathe deeply…"
Valentina sucked in as much air as her lungs could allow it, and let it out with a big whoooosh. While she did this, the Toad doctor went onto placing the bell onto different parts of her chest, first hearing her heartbeat on her left side, then the middle and then the right. All the while, her bosom heaved slowly up and down.
"Well done. Your lungs are working remarkably well and I can't seem to find any problems with your heart," the Toad doctor concluded.
"I do try to use ALL of my heart…" giggled Valentina, before a hint of sadness trembled into her voice. "…but there's some people who don't seem to accept it, though." A tiny tear leaked from her eye. Her smiling face turned into a look of sorrow while she hung her head with grief.
"Aww… I'm sure they just need a little more time to get to know you better, that's all," said the Toad doctor, feeling empathetic. "I assure you that you're a good person to know. And I guarantee that it'll all work out in the end." He handed a tissue to the crying girl in front of him.
Valentina gave a sincere smile while she took the tissue and dabbed her eyes. "Thanks, doc."
It was an hour later, and Valentina was still not back from her physical yet. At that time, Mario and Geno were passing the time by playing cards on the floor. Bowser, meanwhile, was in a relaxed state in his chair, eyes closed.
"Got any fours?" asked Geno, holding his cards in front of him. Mario shook his head.
"Guess I go fish, then…" He pulled out a card from the deck and resumed contemplating his hand.
At that point, the door creaked open, and a pink head popped out with a smile.
"Hey, guys! I'm back!" Valentina chirped.
The sudden loud and sweet voice made Bowser jumped from his sleep, ending up snapping his chair into kindling from his large weight. A sour look fell on the big Koopa and glared at Valentina.
"Humph… just when I was having a good dream of torturing Toad. Figures…," he muttered to himself. Bowser got up from the wooden mess he caused. Geno, cards dropping from his hands, went a little wide-eyed. If he had a real throat, he'd gulp loudly at the thought that that could have been him under Bowser. Maybe he shouldn't have taken a form that was so flammable or easy to break…
But he quickly discarded the thought, as Geno got up to give Valentina a hug. He regretted it already, as the overjoyed girl squeezed him in a flash, her large chest up heavily against his wooden torso.
"Hee hee…I missed you too, Geno!" Valentina purred, as she gave her companion a tight hug. Geno's twig-like arms (they may as well been twigs) bent a little from the great pressure of her strong arms.
"At least I don't have lungs, " Geno thanked mercifully in his mind. Valentina finally released him after what seemed like an eternity. She then went to Mario and did the same. Luckily for Mario, he wasn't an ordinary human being, and had been through tighter squeezes in his adventures than this.
The Toad doctor came in after Valentina hugged everyone but Bowser, who just plainly stated, "I'm not the "huggy" type of Koopa, missy. My shell will be sure to leave some holes in your forearms if you dare to." Valentina simply shrugged and just resorted to rubbing her skin on Bowser's belly like a cat. Bowser rolled his eyes.
The Toad doctor pulled out his glasses and read through his charts. "Well, I've checked her top and bottom, and she seems to be ready to check out now," he said.
"That's great!" Geno spoke with optimism, while tending to his wooden arms for any breaks or cracks. "Now we can get back on the road again. We've already spent our welcome here." He, Mario, Valentina, and Bowser were about to head out the hallway, until the Toad doctor held up his short arms in response.
"Whoa, whoa! Not just yet, I'm afraid. There's some things I'd like to discuss with all of you involving Valentina," he proclaimed.
"Huh?" Bowser questioned, his voice a little miffed. "But you already said the pink chick is fine and well! So you've been yanking our Chain Chomps this whole time?"
"Oh no, no, no… there's nothing concerning Miss Valentina that require medical attention, Mr. Bowser," the Toad doctor hastily replied. "However, there is something that I just want to bring up before you go on your way. If you would all come to my office, if you will…"
A look of confusion on everyone's faces (even Bowser's face was peaked with curiosity), the team followed the Toad doctor to the end of the hall, where a door labelled, "Dr. Segar Freud - PhD" was there. Dr. Freud led the others through the door before closing it.
"So what's this about, doc? Is there something wrong with me?" asked Valentina. You could tell she was a little frightened.
Dr. Freud shook his head. "No. Like I said before, there's nothing about your health that you need to concern about, Valentina. All I want to do is ask you some questions and you answer them to the best of your ability."
"Um, okay," said Valentina, her face blushing brightly. She held her hands in her lap when she sat down on a chair. The others followed suit.
"Now, Valentina… I want to ask you… do you know your parents?"
Valentina's face blushed even brighter, if that was possible. "W-what do you mean?" she asked.
"What I mean was… do you know anything about them? What they look like, what were their names, and are you currently living with them? I assure you I'm not interrogating, or trying to make you uncomfortable, if that's what you're thinking."
"Oh… okay," Valentina replied meekly. For some reason, she felt a little uncomfortable about being asked these personal questions, but knew in her heart that Dr. Freud was her friend and can trust him. She breathed slowly and spoke calmly.
"Well… to tell you the truth, I don't have a lot of memories of my parents. They ended up losing me on a family vacation when I was a child…"
Everyone in the room was dumbstruck. Mario's moustache had twitched once or twice while he ran this through his head. For the short time that Mario had knew her, he never thought that Valentina was once an orphan. He and Luigi had to leave their old lives behind when they came into the Mushroom Kingdom, but that felt close to nothing when he heard this girl spoke about her being abandoned at such a tender age.
"Oh my… that's terrible," Dr. Freud said, his face forming pure concern for the girl. "When did you lose them?"
"…I was about 5 or 6 years old when I was left alone," Valentina spoke. Her eyes formed tears while she talked, and slowly fell from her face.
"Did your parents happened to be human and Nimbian-related, perhaps?" Dr. Freud asked.
"Uh… yeah, how did you know?" questioned Valentina, a little surprise by the Toad doctor's question.
"Ah… I happen to know more than a handful of cases such as yourself with similar results, Miss Valentina," said Dr. Freud, putting down Valentina's records. "You see, many Mammanerains tend to be highly adventurous and active as kids, so much so that their parents need to chase them down before they do something dangerous. In rare occasions, the parents' child may end up somewhere where the parents can't find them, and the Mamma becomes unintentionally abandoned."
"…w-what did you call me?" Valentina asked. She was not sure she heard right.
"You're a Mamma, Valentina," Dr. Freud said with utmost seriousness.
No one said anything for about 10 seconds or so. Everyone was letting the words sink in. Finally, Bowser started to snicker and tried to hold it in, but he found he couldn't. The big Koopa began laughing his head off. Geno too was trying to hold back the giggles, but not even an ancient star spirit such as himself could keep himself under control. Even Mario was unable to keep himself from laughing, despite the seriousness of the situation.
The only ones not in hysterics were Dr. Freud and Valentina, her face looking like Van Gogh's "Scream" painting.
"I'm a mama? But that can't be right! I'm not ready to give birth!" she yelled, horrified.
"Well it had to happen sometime, Mama Valey!" Bowser roared, his eyes closed and his face red with laughter.
"Don't call me mama!" Valentina shrieked.
"I'm sorry, Valentina! We didn't mean to make you mad! We just want to nuzzle you… no, wait… hee hee, I mean nurture! No, wait… hahaha! I mean learn what's going on, mama! Oops… hahaha!" Geno couldn't keep a straight face, nor could string what he meant to say. He just fell back, uncontrollably laughing.
"STOP CALLING ME MAMA!" bellowed Valentina. The poor girl's face was twisted with anger and embarrassment.
Mario evidently said something, but no one understand what his words were. Apparently, he was speaking Italian, and Valentina could only assume that it involved her in some way. The presumed "mother-to-be" couldn't keep her anger in any longer, and stamped the ground with both feet, making her bosom bounce. The room shook with a loudness in her voice that had not been reached since she once tried to take over Nimbus Land.
"I AM NOT A MAMA!"
By then, every eardrum within the hospital was more or less ringing in everyone's heads, and Mario, Geno, and Bowser had finally snapped out of it. Now they were just staring wide-eyed at their fellow female team-mate. Valentina was now huffing and puffing, her eyes spitting out venom on the three men and a vein threatening to burst in her temple.
Again, no one spoke for another 10 seconds. No sooner than that, Valentina relaxed her posture and sat back in her chair.
"…I'm sorry about that…," she whispered, her face very red from making a fool of herself. "…I… I didn't know what came over me…"
It was a while longer before anyone else spoke. "…I'm sorry too," Geno apologized finally, feeling ashamed. "I guess that… we got carried away…"
Mario nodded in agreement, looking forlorn. Bowser didn't say anything, however, so Mario nudged him hard with his elbow. Bowser cleared his throat.
"Fine… I got carried away as well…" he fake-lamented. All three went to lift up their seats and sat back in them.
A little "ahem" was heard, and all eyes went to Dr. Freud, who until now was silent the whole time.
"I… um… I didn't implied that you were pregnant… um… Miss Valentina," he shyly explained.
"Oh…," went everyone else in unison. Now Valentina felt very embarrassed of her outburst.
Dr. Freud then went on to explaining with a little more confidence. "I know that it's very easy to mix the two terms, which is why you're not the first to yell at me, Miss Valentina. Basically, a Mamma is the special term used for when a human and one native to Nimbus Land conceive their child. The child, in question, would be referred to as a Mamma, not the parents. Understand, so far?"
Everyone nodded. The Toad doctor went on with the explanation.
"The mix of Nimbian and human genes is what makes a Mamma, or "half-cloud person". Like I said before, Mammanerains, or simply Mammas, tend to be very hyper and energetic, even through adulthood."
"So that's why little pinky is always so cheerful all the time?" Bowser asked. His answer was met with Mario jabbing hard into Bowser's left arm. Bowser glared at him. "What? It's an honest question!"
"Well… yes and no, Mr. Bowser," Dr. Freud said hesitantly. "Mammanerains are known to be mainly friendly and compassionate in nature to other species. But it's due to the fact that they can be more emotional than humans, Toads, or Koopas alike. The hormones within a Mamma tend to fluctuate and make them either blissfully happy or suffer severe depression, so it can vary from Mamma to Mamma. In few cases, a very large burst of hormones will even dramatically reshape a Mamma's body at any time, to accommodate the changes within him or her. In a way, it's like… ah… going through puberty twice in one's lifetime."
"So that would explain why I have these, doc?" asked Valentina, while holding her bosom out.
The Toad doctor's face became very red with embarrassment. "Um… yes, Valentina. That would explain the reason."
"But what I want to know is, doc," Geno answered, clearly with something on his mind. "Could other species joining a Nimbian can give birth to a Mamma?"
"No, just humans and Nimbians. Like I said, Mamma is a term that means "half-cloud person". Otherwise, it would be another species entirely, but I'm sure you don't want to bother with the details," explained Dr. Freud.
"Just one more question, doctor," Valentina pleaded. She was sounding very sad for some reason. "Is it possible if I could find my parents?"
The Toad doctor went gravely quiet for a while before answering. "I'm not sure, Miss Valentina. Because a Nimbian is born with no blood, just clouds, it is much harder to determine the maternal parent of a Mamma than it is for a pure human, though it is not entirely impossible. However, it could take anything between a few months… to even possibly many years before a match can be found…"
But Dr. Freud's last words didn't even reach Valentina's ears. By then, she rushed out of the doctor's office, her face was covered in tears. Geno tried running after her.
"Valentina, wait! Where are you going? He said it wasn't entirely impossible!" he called out to her. But it was too late. She was gone in a flash. Geno then slumped to a wall in sorrow.
"Oh no… now what are we going to do?" Geno sighed with exasperation.
"I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm going to wait outside until you guys get her!" Bowser gruffed, passing Geno without a look. "I don't do soap operas!" And like that, Bowser was gone too.
Now it was only Mario who was left with the worried possessed doll. He simply tapped on Geno's shoulder and pointed at the direction that Valentina supposedly went. Geno smiled a little.
"Okay then. I'll wait with Bowser until you come back," he said. "Good luck, Mario."
Mario nodded, and the two went their separate ways, both hoping that this won't end up splitting the team apart.
Mario searched nearly every ward he could enter within the hospital for Valentina, but to no avail. Her Mamma influence made it hard to locate her, you could say. But then Mario took the time to stop for a moment and tried being in Valentina's shoes (which wouldn't fit him very well if he actually did).
If he were a female Mamma, who felt very alone and very abandoned just like Valentina was when she lost her parents, where would he go? The idea struck Mario faster than olive oil running down a spaghetti strand, which wasn't very long at all. He took a breath and headed down the maternity ward.
His instincts were spot on when he found Valentina. She was resting herself against a window on her knees, deep in thought. She was still crying a bit. In front of her, on the other side of the window, there were rows of little baby boys and girls in their individual cribs, most of them fast asleep. Some were baby Toads, some were baby Koopas, several were of other different species, and only one or two of them were in fact pure human.
One baby let out a cute yawn, which made Valentina smile for a bit before it faded as quickly as it came. She kept on staring, but felt that someone was watching her. She turned her head and saw Mario looking at her. She blushed hard and looked opposite from him, trying to scoot away at first. And then realized that Mario simply wasn't going to disappear from her sights anytime soon. With a sigh, she held out a hand and pat the area next to her, so Mario can join.
Mario laid down next to Valentina, but didn't looked or say anything to her. He just watched as a tiny baby Goomba was sucking on a little pacifier.
"They're cute, aren't they?" Valentina said, hoping to get a conversation going. "They're so young and adorable, it's hard to believe that they've been in a mother's womb for nine months."
Mario nodded. He just wanted Valentina to let it out first before he did anything, afraid what he might do could end up in disaster.
Valentina smiled again, while resting her chin on her arms. "Just think… that some of these babies might grow up to live in a happy home, perhaps with an older brother or sister, maybe a family pet if they're lucky. And then they grow up to be adults, meet someone they love, get married and finally… they end up having a baby of their own to nourish and nurture…"
Her face stopped smiling all of a sudden. "But what if some of those other babies don't end up with a happy life in the end? What if they don't get brothers or sisters? Or meet someone and love them? What if… they just end up sad and alone? Sad and alone… like me…"
Her eyes flooded with tears, while she covered her face and sobbed. Mario's heart began to break. He couldn't watch the poor girl cry, feeling all isolated. So he gave her a warm hug around her middle. After some time, Valentina slowly looked up again, and watched her friend tend to her, like a mother would for her baby.
Valentina smiled once more, and gave the plumber a hug in return. She closed her eyes.
"Thank you, Mario," she whispered. "Thank you for understanding. You've been so good to me." Her heart no longer felt empty inside, and was now filled with hope and belonging. Hope that she felt sure that she'll find her parents…
Someday…
After what seemed the longest time, the two finally let go of each other, looking a bit sheepish. If anyone had been watching, they'd think that these two were engaged to each other. Valentina broke the silence first.
"I guess we should get going, huh? That next Star Piece isn't going to find itself, right?" she grinned with enthusiasm.
Mario nodded.
"Oh… and just so you know, I wanna keep this moment quiet, or Princess Toadstool will never let it down!"
Again, Mario nodded. He was sure that the Princess would be chasing him with her Frying Pan if she knew.
"Okay… I'm ready now. Let's go then." Valentina concluded.
The two of them were almost out of the ward, before Valentina spoke again.
"And if you want to chat anytime, Mario… perhaps when everyone has gone to sleep in the Inn or if you feel a little lonely… you can come to me," she said, smiling fondly and holding her hands behind her back, acting more of her old self again.
Mario gave a sincere smile, before nodding once more. And they both walked out of the maternity ward.
"How much longer now? I don't like waiting!" Bowser complained.
"Just a few more minutes. I'm sure it won't be for much longer," Geno stated patiently.
"And what if then? That Smithy could then be trying to take over my Keep again, like last time!"
The Princess snickered. "I'm sure he wouldn't want to use that decrepit old shack for his base again," she replied.
Bowser fumed in anger. "Hey! My home has a quaint, humble charm, and I make sure it's kept in excellent condition just as much as yours, thank you very much Princess!"
"Right…," Peach smirked.
While the Princess and her evil often captor bickered about one thing or another, Geno watched the hospital doors open, and saw Mario and Valentina come out. Geno smiled with relief.
"Thank the Star Road…," he whispered to himself, and went to meet up with the plumber. Bowser and Peach slowly followed behind him.
"So, you finally got everything sorted out?" Geno asked Valentina.
"Yep! The clerk gave me all the forms and I signed everything! I'm as free to go as a Birdo! Hee hee… the clerk was a little nervous when I said he can call me anytime he wants!"
Peach rolled her eyes in disgust. No one noticed this, though.
"Okay then," Geno said, smiling. "We should go to Frogfucius and see if he can tell us the next Star Piece location."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Valentina said to the others, jumping up with joy. "Let's get moving!"
The team started down the road away from the hospital, on their way to Tadpole Pond.
"So, Mario… what were doing while you were gone?" Peach asked, eying Mario with a look of uncertainty.
"You don't wanna know, Princess…," grumbled Bowser. "We were dragged into some quack's office to talk about how pinky here is a Mamma, or something…"
Peach then looked at Valentina with a steely glare. "What does that mean that you've became a mama?"
Valentina looked at the Princess with squinting eyes. "…what did you call me?"
Mario and Geno rolled their eyes in grief.
"Here we go again…" Geno groaned, slapping his forehead.
THE END