A New Secret
Episode 10: A Paper Halloween
This is the special Halloween episode. Check the notes after the ending to see what happened in episodes 2-9.
It was the morning of October 31st-Halloween! Mario, Goombella, and Lunastar weren't thinking about holidays, though. They were thinking of one thing-where they were to go next. It had already been a few days since they returned from Mibala Island, as they hadn't realized until now. They had taken the time to rest from that adventure. By this time, everyone was rested up, and Goombella's leg had finally healed. But now was not the time for reflection on the past. It was time to go talk to Goomel and find out their next destination.
So they put on their swimming gear again and went through the underwater tunnels. They came out of the water at the giant room. There was Goomel above the third circle of the giant ring. "Hello," he said, "So you have returned. I will now tell you about where to find the fourth spirit. You must go to a town called Zalshi Town. In my time it was just like other towns, but now it's full of machinery and wide technology. There you will find the spirit of Koopyn, the Koopa. She will be the next to guide you. Good luck." Then he disappeared.
"Let's talk to Prof. Frankly," said Goombella. So they all went back to Rogueport and to Prof. Frankly. They told him about what Goomel had said.
"Hmm, interesting..." said Prof. Frankly, "I've heard of that place before, but I don't see why an ancient spirit would be trapped there." He got a book and looked in it. "It looks like the entrance to Zalshi Town is in the ancient town, in the room next to the Thousand-Year Door."
"Oh! So we'll go there." said Lunastar.
"Oh, I just remembered something," said Prof. Frankly, "Everyone keeps saying they heard strange sounds down in the Pit of 100 Trials. It is Halloween, but I don't think that has anything to do with it."
"Really?" said Lunastar, "Sounds interesting. Let's go check it out." Mario and Goombella agreed.
"Be careful," said Prof. Frankly. So Mario, Goombella, and Lunastar left. They went to the ancient town and then the entrance to the Pit of 100 Trials. There was something they never saw there before.
A Gloomba wearing a bow on her head and a necklace was standing there. "Hello there! I'm Gloomy," she said, "This is my home."
"Hello, Gloomy," said Lunastar, "I don't remember seeing you before."
"I'm new here," said Gloomy.
"You haven't been making any sounds, have you?" said Lunastar, "We heard that people were hearing strange sounds from here."
"No," said Gloomy, "I've been quiet, and I haven't heard anything down here."
"Where do you suppose the noises came from?" Lunastar said, confused.
"Maybe they came from enemies farther down in the pit," said Gloomy.
"I don't see why they would make sounds...but you're probably right," said Lunastar. Gloomy nodded and went to the entrance leading to the room with the Thousand-Year Door in it.
"Well, I'm going to go to Rogueport for a minute," she said, "See you soon." Then she left.
"Hmm...something doesn't seem right," said Lunastar, "What could be making those noises?" Suddenly, something strange happened. The dim light in the room flashed into darkness and back.
"Whoa!" all three of them said at once.
Then there was a strange sound. "Ooooooooooh," a strange moaning sound filled the air, "Ooooooooooh." Mario, Goombella, and Lunastar got closer together.
"Oh...what's...happening?" Lunastar whispered with fright.
"Ooooooooooh!" The sound grew louder. This time it sounded like some angry thing.
Then, black shadows appeared on the ground. Strange black ghost-like things came from them. Mario, Goombella, and Lunastar huddled together, trembling, frightened. The ghosts surrounded them, still moaning.
"AHH!" yelled Lunastar.
"EEK!" yelled Goombella.
In Rogueport, Gloomy heard their shouts. "Oh! That sounds like those people in my home!" she said, and dashed off toward the Pit of 100 Trials. As soon as the ghosts noticed she was coming, they disappeared.
Then Gloomy came in the room. "Are you okay?" she said.
"AHH!" Lunastar screamed. "Oh, it's just you, Gloomy," she said. The three friends knew the ghosts were gone, but they still trembled.
"Oh, we're okay," said Goombella, "just VERY scared!"
"Why? What happened?" said Gloomy.
"There were GHOSTS in here!" Lunastar said, waving her arms.
"Ghosts?" said Gloomy, "I know it's Halloween, but I don't think there were ghosts in here."
Just then, the ghosts came again. "YIKES!" said Gloomy, and everyone ran out of the Pit of 100 Trials, all the way back to Rogueport. But the ghosts followed them. Everyone in Rogueport hid as the chase went on. After a while, the ghosts finally disappeared. The four who had been chased all finally realized that, and they stopped. Tired out, they fell over. Everyone was quiet for a short time, until Gloomy suddenly jumped up. "Hey, those ghosts didn't seem to mind being in the light," she said, "Something just doesn't seem right about them."
"You're right," said Lunastar, "But they were still pretty scary."
"I wonder if Prof. Frankly would know anything about this," said Goombella.
"It's worth a try," said Lunastar. So they all went to Prof. Frankly.
"Prof. you HAVE to hear this!" said Goombella, "We went to the Pit of 100 Trials, and ghosts that looked like shadows came out of the ground!"
"Ghosts, you say?" said Prof. Frankly, "Are you sure they weren't just Boos?"
"Yes!" said Goombella, "They looked nothing like Boos."
"Hmm...very mysterious," said Prof. Frankly. He paused for a moment, then said, "You know, I think I have heard about shadow ghosts before...but even I know nothing about them."
Mario and his friends all looked at each other. "Well...thanks for trying, Prof.," said Lunastar, and then they all left. The rest of that day, they could not stop thinking about the ghosts. No one said much. Gloomy stayed with them in case the ghosts were staying at her home. Eventually, night fell in Rogueport.
It was then the ghosts returned. Everyone jumped up and it looked like a chase was unfolding. They ran all through Rogueport again, with the ghosts right behind them. It was dark and hard to see, but somehow they managed to not bump into anything. After running around a while, they decided to go to Prof. Frankly. They ran into his house. "Prof. Frankly!" panted Lunastar.
Everyone rushed toward Prof. Frankly, nearly knocking him over. "Hey, what's the commotion?" he said.
"The ghosts!" said Goombella, "They're back! They're chasing us and...OH!"
She shouted at what happened then. The ghosts came in right through the door, slowly creeping toward them. "AHH!" everyone screamed at once, and started dashing around the room. In the jumble of moving characters, the ghosts became confused. They stopped and looked around.
"Now is your chance!" Prof. Frankly whispered. Lunastar knew what he'd meant. She gulped and thrust herself forward at the ghosts. She went right through them and hit the wall. "That was a bad idea, looks like," said Prof. Frankly.
Lunastar quickly got up and back into the jumble. Surprisingly, the ghosts slowly backed away, right out the door. The jumble stopped. "Let's follow them!" said Prof. Frankly. So everyone ran outside and followed the ghosts. They were led to the ancient town, in the room next to the Thousand-Year Door. They stopped there, to see the ghosts go through a hidden entrance that had been opened, in the wall on the opposite side of the spring.
"A secret entrance!" said Lunastar, "But where does it lead? The very thought makes me shiver!"
"Oh, it is nothing to be scared of," said Prof. Frankly, "I know quite well...that's the entrance to Zalshi Town!"
"What?" said Goombella, "Why would they go there?"
"I don't know," said Prof. Frankly, "It certainly is suspicious. I think tomorrow you should go there."
"We will," said Lunastar, nodding. She was getting curious.
"Well, we should go back to Rogueport for now," said Prof. Frankly, "You should rest up tonight before you have any adventures." Everyone agreed. So Gloomy went back to the Pit of 100 Trials, and everyone else went back to Rogueport. Prof. Frankly went back to his place, while Mario, Goombella, and Lunastar returned to the main part of Rogueport. They knew they should rest in case anything strange happened tomorrow. It sure had been a strange Halloween!
Read episode 11 to see what will happen next!
"Zalshi" is pronounced exactly how it looks, but the "l" is silent in it.
Since the last episode of this series I posted here was episode 1, here is a quick summary of what happened in episodes 2-9:
Episode 2: Mario and Goombella find Lunastar injured again. They find all the other partners but they all get taken away by the villain, except Vivian.
Episode 3: Lunastar reveals that she is actually a princess. Goombella finds an underwater passage. Everyone goes to a place called Mibala Island to find some swimming gear, but they are attacked by the villain.
Episode 4: Mario, Goombella, and Lunastar find a secret room at the end of the underwater passage, and an ancient gold statue that looks like Lunastar. They find the spirit of Merluno, the wizard. He tells them they need to find 6 other spirits and free them. He tells them to go to a place called Crystal Fields to find the 2nd spirit.
Episode 5: They go to Crystal Fields and meet Crystolo, a Creature called a Crysteer. He leads them to the forest, where all the Crysteer are nervous about a "ghost". Mario, Goombella, and Lunastar go to the forest. They find the ghost. He somehow turns Goombella evil. Lunastar is forced to attack her, and then bite her leg to stop her.
Episode 6: Lunastar constantly feels bad about attacking Goombella. She and Mario fight the ghost, and are almost defeated. At the last minute Goombella manages to find strength, and defeats the ghost. They all go back to Crystolo's house, where his mother bandages Goombella's injured leg and lets them all stay for the night. The three of them find the spirit of Merluna, the wizard. Then they return to Rogueport.
Episode 7: They go back to the ancient room, where Merluna is waiting. She tells them to go to Mibala Island again to find the 3rd spirit. While Lunastar leaves for a short time, Prof. Frankly makes some guesses about her. Mario and Goombella go to the ancient town. They meet the villain. They find out that he is actually a giant dragon spirit, and his name is Dragolan.
Episode 8: They go to Mibala Island, along with Crystolo and Vivian. They help a conductor whose train won't run. They find strange creatures in the train. They go to a dark field on the island, and find a cave. But the entrance closes, so they stay on the island for the night.
Episode 9: They finally figure out how to get in the cave. They find out that the creatures they saw are called Haiikis. They meet the Haiiki king, Hayuka. They barely escape a Haiiki attack. They fight Hayuka and defeat him. Then they find the spirit of Goomel, the Goomba. They return to Rogueport.
Happy Halloween!