Chapter 9: Migration
After Birdo's plan backfired, Luigi and the herd were back on square one. They decided to regroup at Blacky's cave for a moment.
"What do you mean we gotta pack up and go?" asked Waluigi. "I thought everything was fine."
"I already told you!" Birdo snapped. "Nicky dropped the egg and it exploded. Darn it, Waluigi. Don't you listen to anyone?"
"Yeah. Of course. His name is Wario."
"Hey. Don't drag me into this," Wario was in a pretty bad mood. During all the time he's been on the island so far, he hasn't found a hint of treasure.
"What's going to happen now?" Yellowy asked his father.
"I don't know," Bluey sighed.
"Don't worry," Redy tried to assure the two. "Luigi will know what to do."
"Leave Luigi alone," said Mario. "He's already a nervous wreck."
Mario was absolutely right. Luigi was cowering in the back of the cave and shaking with frustration.
"All I know is that we can't stay here for long," Birdo told everyone. "There must be some place we can go."
"I might have an idea," Mario mused. "According to something I read, there's a certain kind of bird that goes into the mountains when it's being chased and the foe ends up getting lost. I suppose we could try that. What do you think, Luigi?"
Luigi didn't say a word. He just gave Mario an annoyed look that made him feel uneasy.
"On second thought. It might be a Pokémon that does that. It's a Pokémon, isn't it? Um... Forget I said anything."
"Please focus on the problem here, Mario," Birdo said flatly.
"Yeah. My dad is stuck in the mountains," Yosheta frowned.
"Yosheta, it's not safe," said her worried mother. "We can't just rush over there."
It seemed like every time Yosheta spoke lately, Luigi felt a pang of sadness. Now more than ever, he wanted to help her and the rest of the herd. The hero picked himself off the ground and cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.
"As the leader..." he began. "I've decided that we migrate into the mountains and try to find Yosheta's father. We shouldn't have anything to worry about if we all stick together. Hopefully we can also ditch the zookeepers and they'll leave us alone."
"Right," Blacky nodded in agreement. "I suppose that for now, we'd better eat up and get some rest before setting out."
Everyone decided to follow Blacky's advice. The yoshis dined on the last of the fruit while the humans ate some of the food that they had brought from home. Mario was about to bite into one of his cookies when he noticed Yellowy. His color gave Mario an idea.
"Say, Yellowy," Mario said to him. "I heard that yellow yoshis love to eat."
"Well, of course," he answered. "Who doesn't?"
"Good point. I was just wondering if you were interested in this," Mario continued as he held out a cookie for Yellowy.
The yoshi sniffed at it curiously. "Mmm, it sure smells nice. Are you sure I can have it?"
"Go right ahead. I've got a few more."
Yellowy extended his tongue and grabbed the cookie. He moaned with pleasure as he kept it in his mouth and savored the sweet taste.
"Thank you!" he said happily after swallowing. "I never had anything like that before. I suppose the closest thing would be a heart fruit. Speaking of that, I've been smelling one around here lately. I'm sure that if you Ground Pound in just the right spot somewhere, it'll pop right up. You should give it a try."
Luigi had been quietly resting in a corner with his eyes closed. They shot open when he overheard Yellowy's comment, but he said nothing.
"A secret, huh?" Mario thought to himself. "Interesting. How many yellow yoshis have I done that little trick with now? Three, I think?"
"If you want something really good, you oughta try this," Wario butted in and handed Yellowy a clove of garlic.
Yellowy was repulsed by the scent of it. "That doesn't look very yummy at all."
"Just give it a try," Wario forced the garlic into the unsuspecting yoshi's mouth.
"Bleh! Yuck!" Yellowy gagged. "Gross! Luigi! Yellow Mario just made me eat something yucky!"
Luigi was still trying to relax and didn't enjoy being bothered with something so silly. "Now that's just rotten. How would you like it if I slam-dunked a grapefruit in your mouth?"
"Yeah. Keep the nasty stuff to yourself, Wario," Mario added.
"Would you like some of this awesome eggplant?" Waluigi asked Purpley just for kicks. "It's purple like you."
"Go away," she said without even thinking about it.
After they ate, everyone settled down for awhile. Luigi was fast asleep. Mario listened to one of his CDs. Birdo kept a watchful eye outside the cave. As for Wario and Waluigi...
"This sucks," Waluigi said unhappily. "We've been out here for a few days already and no treasure yet. And there's no doubt that Luigi expects us to go with him to the mountains."
"I'm not too worried actually," Wario seemed strangely calm.
"How do you figure?"
"Well, you usually find jewels in mountains anyway. Not in forests. If we can just get away from Mr. Yoshi Leader here, we'll be in treasure town in no time."
"Yo, dudes," Mario said with his headphones still on. "You're crampin' my style. Go make yourselves useful and get some fruit."
"I ain't cramping nothing," Waluigi grunted.
Wario nudged him in the stomach with his elbow. "Oh, shut up. This is our chance. Let's go."
He grabbed a couple of sacks from his suitcase and tossed one to Waluigi. Both of them leave.
At around this time in Sarasaland, Daisy walked around in her castle aimlessly when she suddenly wondered if Luigi had returned from Yoshi's Island yet. Eager to find out, she picked up a nearby phone and dialed his number.
On the other end, the phone rang four times before being picked up.
"Hey there, sug-" Daisy began.
"You've reached the Mario Bros. residence," said a voice that sounded like Luigi. It is, of course, only an answer machine recording. "Mario is too lazy to pick up the phone right now."
"What do you mean I'm lazy?" Mario retorted. "You're the one that plays games all day, every day."
"Oh yeah? Well, why didn't you pick it up then?"
"I told you to do it!"
"Look, neither of us can get the phone right now. Just leave a message and hopefully Mario will call you back."
"What's that supposed to mean? Oh, for goodness sake. Just leave the message already!"
"Nice one, guys!" Daisy shouted after the recording was over. "Luigi, call me back when you get your butt home! You know who this is!"
Daisy slammed the phone down, but then her rage suddenly faded and she regret what she just did. She decided to wait a few more days as Luigi did seem to be attached to the yoshis...
