Author's Note: And here's the remainder of the interlude! There are lots of characters introduced in this chapter, and I'm really excited to start writing the next actual chapter. Prepare yourselves and pay attention in the reading, because the next chapter's theme is Mystery Novel :D


Interlude One Part Two :: Air Aestasi

"I can't believe we're going on a cruise," said Jennifer. "I'm buried waist deep in student loans for the university, so I could never afford something like this." Jennifer was going through her office in preparation for the cruise. She practically lived there. "Now, where is that sharpener..." she said as she opened up several drawers in succession, glancing briefly into each one. Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth and Violet just stood awkwardly in her office in anticipation. Even on a vacation, Jennifer couldn't pass up taking notes about everything. It was her passion, and she was good at it. "I found it!" she exclaimed, and put it in a small bag with the rest of the items she was bringing. "I'm all set to go now if you are." Everyone nodded. On the way out, they passed by the Lightning Flower exhibit again. Mario and Luigi eyed it admiringly.

"Don't even think about borrowing one of those power-ups," said Jennifer. "They're still in the development phase."

"Actually, they're in beta testing now," said a Goomba wearing a small pair of spectacles. "I'm Goomley by the way. We worked out the kinks and side effects. Mostly, at least. You shouldn't die if you use it now."

"These two could be your beta testers," said Jennifer as she pointed to Mario and Luigi.

"Yeah, we're power-up pros!" said Luigi.

"Hmm, you two do look like the power-up type...burly, muscular...and you've both got great staches," said the Goomba. "Alright, but I'll need you to sign these waivers. Oh, and these liability papers. And also the master contract." He handed them a thick stack of papers each. "Sign here, dot there, and we're good to go."

"Okey-dokey..." said Mario as he signed the papers.

"Glad to have you on the team," said Goomley. "I'll give you one Lightning Flower each, as they're quite powerful. All I ask is that after you've used them in your adventures, report back to me alright? Great, thanks."

It was now time for them to make their way to Aestasi, the summer region. Unlike Verion, Aestasi wasn't within walking distance, unless you had lots of time on your hands. So, they ventured over to the southeast quarter of Tempora Town to get to the hot air balloon depot. It was noon, and there were several hot air balloons floating high above them. Swirly designs, suns, leaves and stars decorated every balloon uniquely. The hot air balloon depot was a monstrosity of a building. It was an elongated building with a curved glass roof and openings of different sizes for the balloons to fly through. A large stone staircase trimmed the entire width of the building and led up to the three grand entrances. Inside, there were hundreds of different people of all different shapes, sizes and races. Goombas, koopas, toads, bob-ombs, boos, yoshis and so much more.

"There's a sign for Aestasi," said Jennifer. They followed the signs and eventually found themselves at the admissions gate for a hot air balloon ride.

"Hello and welcome to the one and only hot air balloon depot of Tempora," said the woman at the ticket counter, rather monotonously. "It'll be 20 coins per person, human or creature." Mario handed the woman 100 coins.

"Thank you. Please continue forward into the boarding zone." Ahead of them was a larger hot air balloon, or more accurately, a blimp. A yellow shining sun decorated the balloon to represent that they were going to Aestasi. They entered the blimp and sat down in their seats.

"Good afternoon passengers, this is your captain speaking," said the captain over the intercom. "The total flight time to Aestasi seaport is approximately four hours. We will be providing a complimentary mushroom and beverage service as soon as we reach proper elevation. Our meal today is a Spicy Mushroom and Tasty Tonic. Thank you for flying Air Aestasi and we hope you have a pleasant flying experience with us today."

"I've had the Spicy Mushroom," said a woman in front of them. "It's absolutely terrible; they should be ashamed of it being on their menu at all." The woman talking was a pink Boo wearing an intricate diamond necklace and a fancy purple hat.

"I beg to differ," said a Koopa sitting back and to the left of them, in a white lab coat with safety goggles around his neck. "The spiciness of the Spicy Mushroom perfectly balances with the sparkling citrus flavor of the Tasty Tonic."

"Oh, and I suppose you're a food connoisseur, right?" responded the Boo.

"No, I'm a scientist, but I know good food when I taste it!" responded the Koopa.

"Well I think—" The captain interrupted on the intercom.

"We'll now be lifting off and heading to Aestasi," said the captain.

"Excuse me," said a Yoshi with a slow, soothing voice from way in the back of the cabin. "But I happen to be an actual chef, and I have to say I agree with the Koopa in the lab coat on this."

"Ha!" exclaimed the Koopa, pointing at the pink Boo.

"Well, fine then," she responded. "But I want to see some paperwork on you later, mister so-called chef guy." The balloon began to ascend out of the station and up through the roof of the building and into the wide blue skies. There wasn't a cloud in sight as they headed southeast towards Aestasi. After several minutes had passed, the food service made its way down the aisle. When it got to the Boo, she rather rudely declined. The Koopa took the meal and grinned tauntingly at her. A Toad with brown spots wearing a fancy, dark grey shirt sitting across the aisle politely declined the service. He had a magnifying glass placed on his tray table.

"No thanks, I'm much too busy right now," he said. He was staring intently at a notepad full of scribbles and diagrams. "No, no, no. That can't be right..." he said to himself quietly and tapped his pencil a few times. "If the banana peel was found in the supply closet, the bellman couldn't have been the burglar...hmm, this is quite the conundrum." The toad was getting weird looks from a female Pianta with a sunhat sitting next to him. The Pianta shuffled a few inches away. "Unless..." said the Toad, "...unless the burglar wanted the banana peel to be found in the supply closet, in which case...AH HA!" Several passengers in the nearby vicinity of the Toad jumped a little in surprise at the sudden outburst of volume. "My apologies fellow passengers," said the Toad. "Another case closed by The Great Toad Detective known as..." he paused. "...Chris T., or just Christopher for short." He laughed briefly at his own joke. The passengers went back to staring mindlessly at the back of their seats and out the windows.

"So, Chris T," said Jennifer.

"Christopher," corrected Christopher.

"Right, Christopher. What was the mystery you solved, anyways?"

"Ah, I can see the curiosity piquing from your eyes," said Christopher. "I've been working on this case for several weeks now, so I am greatly relieved to have closed it. You see, it was a battle of wits and I was determined to be the victor. The Great Toad Detective wasn't about to be fooled...but it wasn't easy...and...then the burglar...stolen briefcase...banana peel...and then I finally figured out who the culprit was. Miss? Excuse me? Young miss, you seem to have dozed off."

"Oh...sorry," said Jennifer, awoken from a brief boredom-induced slumber.

"Your loss," he replied. "It's a great story."

The rest of the flight was mostly uneventful. As they approached their destination, they could see the crescent-shaped coastline of Aestasi off the right side of the cabin. Sandy beaches packed full with umbrellas and tourists dotted border between land and sea. It was like another world within Tempora, complete with a luxurious coastline resort and various other amenities. But that wasn't where they were going. The blimp descended downwards towards the seaport, a smaller set of buildings compared to the hot air balloon depot in Tempora Town. The blimp touched down like a feather.

"Welcome to Aestasi Seaport," announced the captain. The cabin doors slid open and the passengers all left the blimp in a hurry.

"It's about time," said the pink Boo, waving her arm to fan her face. "It took four hours and fifteen minutes to get here." They left the blimp and walked over to the Comfort Cruise cruise ship. It was rather large. There were four separate levels – the upper deck and lower deck, which were both exposed to open air, and two lower levels. Two big smokestacks ascended high into the air on the backside of the ship. A long wooden ramp was laid out from the lower deck to the ground level where passengers were about to begin boarding.

"It looks like we made it here just in time," said Toadsworth. "Looking back, we probably should have checked the schedule."

"Well, I'm glad we made it," said Luigi. They paid for their tickets, 100 coins each, and made their way up the thin, long ramp. The water far below them lapped against the edges of the seaport and the warm salty breeze of the ocean swept past their noses.


Amori was stranded in the world she was sent to. Ever since Invidus had forced her through the portal, she had been walking and traveling east. It was 10,000 years before present time. In this barren land, she walked and walked. For many years she wandered, with only the loving memory of her Vallus to comfort her. She wondered what he must be thinking, or trying to do to save her, but in her wandering, she came across a dusty old pocketwatch, half buried in the dirt. She picked it up, and dusted it off. There was something familiar about the pocketwatch, she thought. It was the clock face – it was exactly the same as the clock face she saw when Invidus sent her here. Knowing a bit of magic, she attempted to renew the powers of the pocketwatch she had in her hands. The hands of the clock spun around and the pocketwatch shimmered. Something about this is important, thought Amori. She stared intently into it, and the hands began to tick slower and slower with every passing moment, until time itself stood still. The hands stopped at a seemingly random time – 11:55. Now they inched forwards, but time remained at a standstill. Amori just stood stunned at the revelation of what was happening, but by the time she realized what was happening, the time the clock read was 12:00.