Disclaimer: Not only do I not own Yoshi or any other character of Nintendo, these particular Yoshis are not wholly mine either. This group of Yoshis I found from a web quiz on Quizilla: "Which Yoshi Are You?" by BluPhnx12. Then again, perhaps some minor character changes have been made by my writing this particular story.

Criticism welcome. MST's encouraged.

Somewhere out in the ocean, far away from other lands, there is an island—an island of paradise. This is known as Yoshi's Island. The inhabitants of this land, the Yoshis, live a fairly peaceful life, cultivating the land and enjoying the fruits provided by the earth.

There are some, however, that are more ambitious. These are the individuals who dare to confront danger head-on and lead adventurous lives. This is the story of one such group of Yoshis, who usually kept to themselves atop a small hill, some distance away from the villages. Every so often, a quest would present itself to them in one form or another, and they rarely hesitated to rise to the challenge. Little did they know, today's adventure would change everything forever…

ALL FOR ONE

A green Yoshi took a deep breath as he relaxed on the patch of ground, looking up at the sky that overlooked Yoshi's Island. It was a beautiful day, as it usually was on the island.

"Hey there, Melon!" said a yellow Yoshi, stepping towards him.

Melon looked over. "Hey, Sunny," he replied. Sunny was the optimist in the group, so her name fit her color and personality.

"What are you doin'?" Sunny asked.

Melon looked back up at the sky. "Just relaxing."

But Sunny looked at Melon knowingly. "Uh-oh—I know that look," she said. "What are you thinking?"

Melon looked back at Sunny, smiling. "If you know the look, you should know what I'm thinking."

Sunny then replied, "We're going on an adventure, aren't we? What do you have planned?"

"I don't have anything planned," Melon answered.

Now Sunny was confused. "Then… what?" she questioned.

Melon once again turned back to the sky. "I don't know… I just have this feeling. One way or another, we're in for some excitement."

"Oh, that's right," said Sunny suddenly. "Sky wanted to see you about something."

Melon, intrigued, sat up. "Yeah? What?"

"Something about a new invention… You'd better come see for yourself."

"Alright, then," said Melon, and the two set off.

Sky, the light blue Yoshi, was at work, putting the finishing touches on his invention, when he heard Melon come in with, "What's up, Sky?"

Sky turned expectantly to Melon and Sunny. "Oh, hey, Melon!" He got up and greeted his best friend. "Glad you could make it!"

"Hey, I never want to miss an opportunity to see what you've come up with lately," Melon answered.

"Well, you definitely won't be disappointed this time," said Sky excitedly. "Wait 'till you see what I've cooked up now!"

Just then, a voice countered, "Well, I certainly hope it isn't as half-baked as your last invention."

The three turned to see a red Yoshi enter the clearing. This was Orchid, considered by many to be the "brains" of the group, not only because of her high intelligence, but also because of her reading habit. She was usually shy and cautious, yet she was never afraid to criticize Sky's inventions, whether constructively or not.

"Very funny, Orchid," retorted Sky, obviously insulted.

Melon just chuckled. "C'mon, Orchid, give the kid a break."

"Don't worry," said Orchid, smiling. "I'm just as intrigued as you are, anyway. Go ahead, Sky, let's see it."

"Right," Sky exclaimed, recovering. "Fellow Yoshis, feast your eyes on this!"

Sky gestured toward what seemed to be a platform with a hand-crank and handles protruding from it, and blades of some sort on the bottom. The handles were in front, and the crank to the side somewhat.

Melon nodded, then asked, "…What is it?"

Sky announced, "I call it…the personal hover-copter!"

"Hover-copter, is it?" said Orchid, a touch of worry in her voice.

Undeterred, Sky went on, "It's quite simple, yet I'm sure it's very revolutionary. Here, allow me to demonstrate." He stepped onto the platform and put one hand on a handle, and the other on the crank. "It works not unlike the helicopters we've heard of in outside lands. All one needs to do is turn this crank here," and here he did so, "and the blades at the bottom start spinning."

Indeed, the blades began to rotate, slowly at first, then gaining speed. The others could feel the air rushing from the copter.

Continuing to crank harder and harder, Sky muttered, "Once you get…a sufficient speed going…"

And then, almost as if by magic, the platform started to rise into the air. The other Yoshis, even Orchid, responded with awe.

Sky was obviously pleased at the result, and the reaction. He added, "You can then move about simply by tilting in the direction you wish to go." After hovering for some seconds, he slowed the crank, and he and the platform descended. Sky stepped off, and finished with, "And it even folds up, for easy storage!" And with that, he folded his hover-copter into a compact size.

The other Yoshis burst into applause. "Very nice, Sky!" exclaimed Melon.

"Indeed," Orchid seconded, very impressed. "I believe you've finally invented something functional and practical."

Sky responded, "Hey, I try."

Suddenly a call rang out. "GUYS! GUYS! EVERYONE, COME QUICK!"

Orchid turned. "That's Night!" she exclaimed. She and everyone else ran toward Night's insistent yelling.

When they got there, they found the blue Yoshi in his usual spot: atop a high tree, overlooking the land below the hill.

"Night! What is it?" asked Grape, a purple Yoshi, running forward.

"What do you see, Night?" asked Melon, also coming forward.

Night tried to catch his breath for a while, then finally panted, "It's—it's Storm!"

Everyone gasped. They knew that when Storm, that black daredevil Yoshi, was involved, it was more often than not something risky or dangerous.

"What's happened? Night, what's Storm doing?" asked Melon.

Night just shook his head and muttered, "I—I told him not to… I didn't think he'd actually do it, I…!"

"Night! What's happened to Storm?" Melon insisted.

Again, Night paused for breath before answering, "He's—he's gone to… the Bone Dragon Pit!"

This news shocked everyone. The Bone Dragon Pit, as everyone knew, was forbidden to every Yoshi that valued their life, sanity, and very being.

Yet Melon knew what had to be done. "We have to go after him!"

Most everyone else was surprised at this. But Sunny seconded, "He's right. We have to rescue Storm!"

"But we can't go in there!" exclaimed Pinky, a pink Yoshi. "It would be suicide!"

"Right," said Cloud, a white Yoshi. "Storm's as good as gone in there."

"And good riddance if you ask me," said a mean voice.

This line struck a nerve in the group. "Who said that?" asked Sunny indignantly.

"Who do you think?" said Melon dryly. Along with everyone else, he turned to stare at the newcomer.

This was, of course, Boshi, the mean brown Yoshi, the biggest bully on Yoshi's Island. His name was short for "bad Yoshi", a name he earned himself for his constantly negative attitude.

"What are you doing here?" asked Grape. "Come to stir up trouble?"

This made Boshi chuckle. "Looks to me like you have enough trouble already."

"We do seem to have a situation on our hands," retorted Sunny, "and we don't need you adding to it."

"Nevermind him," Sky pleaded. "What are we going to do about Storm?"

"I've already said what we're going to do," said Melon. "We're going to follow him and get him out of there!"

"And how do you plan on doing that, Melon?" Boshi countered. "That tunnel is riddled with pits and traps, not to mention it's the native home of Spikes, Nipper Plants, and the ever-popular Bone Dragons. Storm will never survive in there…and neither will you."

Orchid seconded, "I have to agree with Boshi on this one. I'm afraid Storm is a lost cause."

But Melon wouldn't have any of it. "Noone's a lost cause on my watch!" he shouted. "Now, we are going to save Storm, and we are going to do it together!" Melon then forced himself to calm down before continuing. "Don't you understand? We're a team. We have to look out for each other. It's all for one and one for all; out of many, one. And if we don't stick together, we're all lost."

Sky agreed, "He's right. We can't forsake even one member of our group. We must watch over one another. United we stand, divided we fall." He stepped up to Melon. "I'm with you."

Night, who had jumped out of the tree by now, spoke also. "I warned Storm not to go. I know as well as anyone that any Yoshi that goes in that cave doesn't stand a chance. But no one said anything about a group of Yoshis. Count me in too."

Grape chimed in, "You know I hate to be left alone. And I wouldn't leave any of you for almost anything."

Orchid finally relented, "You're going to need to keep your wits about you in that place. And I'm just the Yoshi to provide them."

One by one, each of the Yoshis pledged to join Melon.

Finally, one was left.

"Well, you have fun with that," said Boshi, and turned to leave. "I won't wait up for you."

"Oh, no you don't!" Melon retorted, stopping Boshi in his tracks. "You're coming with us."

A chorus of "WHAT?" came up from every Yoshi, including Boshi.

"No!" protested Night. "Out of the question! He can't come! It's unacceptable!"

"What did I just get through saying?" Melon admonished. "We're all in this together! And yes, that includes the killjoy," he added icily, indicating Boshi.

"What the heck do you want with me, Melon?" Boshi argued. "What use could you possibly have of me?"

"What use?" Melon laughed. "Come on, Boshi, even you know that! You're the strongest of all of us. I'm sure there will be a few times when we'll need your brute strength to get through some of the obstacles we'll encounter."

"Like I'd ever help you," Boshi growled.

"Dangit, Boshi, what's it going to take?" Melon actually screamed. "I feel like I'm losing two Yoshis here!"

"Give me one good reason why I should go with you, Melon!" challenged Boshi.

Melon just stared for a while. Finally, he said, "Because we need you. Look, Boshi, Sky said it best, I don't want to lose even one member. Each one of us has different abilities, and I believe that's what makes a truly great team. That's how we can overcome anything that comes our way." Then he smiled. "Besides, leaving aside the argument of whether you'd survive on your own, I also want to make sure you wouldn't make any trouble while we were gone."

Boshi didn't speak for a long time. Finally, he said, "Your persistence pesters me to no end."

Melon just waited.

Boshi continued, "I never did have any defense against it. You win, Melon. But after we rescue Storm, I'm outta here. Got that?"

Melon conceded, "So be it." He then turned to the others. "Alright, gang, we've got a long way ahead of us, so we'd better head out now. Come on! Move out!" With that, he started walking.

The others couldn't help looking at each other as they quietly followed. They knew, of course, that Melon was steadfast in his beliefs. Once he got a thought like this into his head, it was hard to change his mind. There were no two ways about it: everyone, including Boshi, was going along to rescue Storm from the dreaded Bone Dragon Pit.