"Are you sure you'll be alright out there? I don't want to find out that you lost all your gear and had to find shelter in a creepy cabin!"
"Oh don't worry Nana, we'll be fine! We're all adventurers and outdoorsmen here!"
Nana, the heart of the Ice Climbers duo, reluctantly stood down as Popo reassured her. It was the weekend at the Smash Mansion and many of the fighters were off doing their own thing. Some liked to visit the nearby city or family while others stayed at the mansion to train or spar with willing partners. For Popo, he had the grand idea to pack up camping equipment and spend the weekend in the woods with a few close friends. There was Toon Link, Ness, the male Villager, and even Lucas. This whole camping trip, in fact, was organized to celebrate Lucas' return, as all the boys were overjoyed to see him back.
Though Popo and Nana were not participating in this year's tournament, they stopped by every now and then to catch up with old friends.
"Status report! Toony, no problems with the tent?"
"Tent and sleeping bags are primed and ready!" Toon Link exclaimed with gusto.
"I got the axe, fishing rods and bug nets!" the male Villager cheered. "I even brought a shovel in case we find something cool!"
"I-I have the m-map and compass, and other things," Lucas said as he struggled with his backpack.
"Okay! And I've got the water and food," Ness added with a nod of his head.
Popo clapped his hands and pointed to the woods beyond the Smash Mansion. His antics went unappreciated by Nana and the female Villager who stood nearby to make sure they all were really ready for the woods. Though everyone was happy to see Lucas return, it was Popo and Toon Link's idea to gather all the boys to celebrate out in the woods. And, seeing as they were boys, that meant no girls allowed. It was nothing personal of course. Boys will be boys!
"Alright everyone! Let's move out!" Popo ordered. With a wave of his hand the group began to make their way down a forest trail. "So long you two! We'll be back Monday morning!"
With a hearty whoop and the beginnings of a scout song the boys trudged down the forest trail and soon dipped out of sight. Nana sighed and looked after them, tempted to follow them along just to make sure they would be alright. She noticed the pink-haired Villager next to her and took comfort in her usual bright smile. Like many characters from Animal Crossing, the female Villager was no stranger to seeing good friends go away for awhile. She patted Nana's shoulder and turned her away to head back into the mansion.
"They'll be fine. Uno knows how to handle himself out in the woods, and I'm certain everyone else does too. The only thing they'll have to worry about is the weather, but if they're smart, they'll camp often," the female Villager, Hoa, replied.
"I guess you're right," Nana agreed. "Plus, if they run into any wolves, Ness or Lucas could scare them off with their PK powers."
"Aye, that's the spirit! You just gotta keep thinking positive." Hoa shrugged her shoulders. "I mean seriously... These are five stubborn boys who know how to handle themselves in the great outdoors. What could possibly go wrong?"
"Hmm... Poison ivy, splinters, insect bites, bee stings and terrible colds..." Dr. Mario looked down from his checklist and to the five boys occupying a bench in his clinic. "Looks like you boys had plenty of fun!"
Yes, what could possibly go wrong did in fact, go wrong. After the weekend was over and Monday morning rolled along, Nana and Hoa found the boys trudging back up to the Smash Mansion with mud up to their knees, bites and rashes over their skin and a distinctive lack of equipment. They looked like they had just been through hell and back instead of having gone on a lovely camping trip. It appeared that the boys had suffered too many setbacks out in the woods and got themselves lost while losing bits and pieces of valuable equipment. It was a relief that they managed to get back to the mansion at all!
Every boy gathered had something wrong with them from Toon Link's cold to Uno's stung face. Only Lucas seemed the most well-off out of the bunch with just a mild poison ivy rash.
"I'm afraid most of you will have to miss out on smash battles for a few days, at least until you're all better," Mario explained. He looked over to Lucas and Popo. "I don't-a want to keep any of you waiting for me, so... Lucas? Popo? Why don't you both go and take a nice warm bath and put on some clean clothes? The oil sticks well to clothes and skin, so wash well and come back."
"Ugh... I think I got a cold too," Popo whined as he sat up with Lucas. Both couldn't fight the urge to itch. "Nana's going to give me a stern talking to when I see her again."
As Popo and Lucas scampered off to take a bath, Uno the Villager looked to the others and groveled.
"I'm sorry guys, I didn't know about the beehives and insect nests."
"You didn't even hear the buzzing, did you?" Toon Link asked before sneezing. "Th-that was the first thing I noticed when we set up camp..."
"I just thought that someone was hungry, or that mosquitos were around! I'm not in Animal Village, so who was I to know what kinds of bugs there were around here?"
"True, true, but that didn't mean you had to pocket the beehive!" Ness shouted. He too was covered in stings and bites. "You brought a husk of destruction along. Didn't that seem like a terrible idea to you?"
"Hey! I thought it was empty after the first barrage! I was going to take it and sell it off to get some medicine!" Uno said in his defense.
"Well, it didn't work out now, did it?" Toon Link retorted.
Mario took the opportunity to step in.
"Boys, boys! Passing blame won't-a help anybody," he interjected with a comforting tone of voice. He clasped his hands together and looked over to Toon Link. "You should go and take a bath as well. With all that dirt on you I can't figure out if it's only a cold or something else."
The hero of the seas sneezed again and got up from the bench. When he went off, both Ness and the Villager glared at the doctor.
"Hey! Why do they get to go clean up before us?" Ness asked.
"Ah, well, their problems are minor compared to yours. Toon Link has splinters in his skin, but a good bath will help him out with that cold, along with some rest. As for you two, I want to make sure no stingers are left in either of you!" The portly plumber/doctor flicked on a small flashlight to examine Ness and Uno. "When were you stung?"
"I think it was... Sunday morning?" Uno wondered aloud as he looked over to Ness for confirmation. "Yeah, that, then the afternoon when they started coming out of my pockets."
"So it's been more than 24 hours since you both were last stung..." Mario rubbed his chin and hummed in thought. He turned off his flashlight and stood up straight. "I see you tried your hand at first aid. Not the best work, but every little bit counts. Let's-a-go and see what I can do for you."
Mario went off to his medicine cabinet and took out a pair of tweezers, a roll of bandages, some ointment and antibiotic cream. He glanced over his shoulder at Ness and Uno and took notice of how uncomfortable they looked before reaching back into the cabinet and pulling out a few antihistamines for the itching. A part of Mario liked taking care of children. Working in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario had to take care of a few Toad children and found that he enjoyed every minute of it. Though impatient and somewhat annoying at times, they were very grateful for everything that was handed to them.
The doctor came back with his supplies and worked the two boys over with his tweezers getting stingers out. How on earth these boys managed to walk around with barbs in their arms and stingers in their necks was incredible. Luigi could hardly stand having a hangnail and yet these boys were sitting there without a problem. Well, of course they flinched, cringed and cried out when Mario pulled out a few thorns and the like, but on the whole they were troopers.
"I miss instant-use medicine packets!" Uno cried as Mario plucked stingers out of his cheeks.
"And I miss having PSI healing!" Ness added as he too went through the same torture.
"I'm not allowed to have rayguns in the clinic after last year's Franklin Badge incident," Mario reminded them. "And even then, I doubt I would shoot one of my patients, even if it had the potential to heal them."
"Oh! That's right!" Uno snapped his fingers and looked over to Ness. "The Hypoquatic Oath for doctors!"
"It's the Hippocratic Oath, dingus," Ness corrected. "It means doctors cannot harm their patients, and th- Hey wait a minute!"
Mario had already started on giving Uno his medicine and bandaging him up. He looked up from his work and to Ness with a confused, sheepish smile. Oh boy, this was going to be fun.
"If doctors are supposed to 'do no harm', how come you're fighting all of us, Mario?"
"Well my boy, it's quite simple." Mario stood up straight, clicked his heels together and tweezed his mustache. He smiled, though to Ness and Uno, it was an unnerving one. "You see, I do no harm here, but in Smash Brothers... Anything goes!"
The boys gulped at that and toned their complaints and groans down for the remainder of their visit. Toon Link, Popo and Lucas soon returned and received their own doses of medication for colds and poison ivy while Ness and Uno were covered up in bandages and given antihistamines. Pretty soon the boys were looking much better, though in need of some rest and perhaps a lecture. Mario wasn't the type to give the boys the latter. He knew that Nana and Hoa, the other Villager, were going to do that job for him!