Next chapter done!
Enjoy! ;)
Chapter 11: Shopping in Wakeport
As they were exiting the desert, something came on Jewel's mind:
"You know, I think I might know why Dreamy Luigi suddenly grew big before fighting Robo-Drilldigger."
"You do?" Yoshi piped up.
"It seemed that when we were all in grave danger, Dreamy Luigi was willing to protect us despite the danger. His love that he shares with all of us, mixed in with the fear and worry for us allows him to 'outgrow' himself to overcome his fear and to protect us."
"That actually make sense! It's his dreams, after all."
Soon, they finally exited Dozing Sands and were back to Mushrise Park, where they heard a Shelltop's voice:
"Now taking applications for the Mount Pajamaja tour! Visit us in Wakeport! Accepting climbers of all skill levels!"
"Mount Pajamaja climbing tour? Do we need to register for it?" Luigi asked.
"Oh, you folks are interested in the climbing tour? Yes, only registered climbers are allowed on Mount Pajamaja. You can register for the tour at the tour center in Wakeport! I hope you can join us!" the Shelltop left.
"Tour…center?" Dreambert raised an eyebrow. "What sort of thing is that?"
"Welcome to the modern days, Dreambert." Sonic sassed.
"A tour is a journey for pleasure, during which you visit several different towns, areas and etc." Jewel explained. "And it sounds like joining a tour is the only way to climb Mount Pajamaja."
"Things have sure changed since I've been gone…"
"The tour center is in Wakeport, right Jewel?" Starlow asked.
"Yes. Wakeport is located just west of the park, so it's not too far." Jewel told.
"Say… I'm kinda feeling tired after wandering in the desert for too long…" Yoshi said. "I'm gonna go relax at the castle."
"I'll go with you too, Yoshi." Silver offered. "Good luck, everyone!" he and Yoshi left.
"Well, we're back to eight again." Mario said. "Let's head to Wakeport!"
They all nodded and went all the way to the west of Mushrise Park to reach said port.
Wakeport is a city area located west of Mushrise Park. It was previously known as Wake Isle at the Pi'illo Kingdom era. Today, there are many houses and buildings around, so we could say that this area is considered the most populated one on Pi'illo Island. Ruins are left around the town to maintain the historic symbols of the town, and is also used as a way to attract tourists. There is a hotel district, a shopping district, a food stand district and an event plaza. The name is a pun on 'wake', from the term 'wake up!'
"Whoa! This place is amazing!" Sonic exclaimed. "It sort of feels like I'm at Apotos again! Now all that's remaining is that Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supreme!"
"Suddenly, I feel like I wanna shop…" Ribbon Girl spoke up.
"Gee, this is making me enjoy more our vacation…" Luigi said.
"Too bad we have more important things to do right now." Mario reminded.
"Well, the tour is going to take very long; it begins at 12 o'clock. And it's still 10 o'clock." Jewel checks her watch. "So let's go register in the tour center first and then we can relax a bit until the tour starts."
The group wandered around all the way to the west to look for the tour center. That is, until they came upon a house where they heard a voice:
"Boo! Boo, I say! There's supposed to be treasure in this dump! But it ain't here, see? I've been bamboozled!"
"Wait… I know that voice!" Sonic piped up.
"I know it too!" Mario added.
"And me!" Luigi finished.
"…Who?" Starlow asked.
Just then, a very familiar Beanish came out of the house and bumped into Mario, Luigi and Sonic in the process.
"Yeeeowch!" the Beanish yelled in pain, dropping all of the things he had stolen. "Watch where ya goin', ya clumsy mugs! Ya think ya can just bump into the Great Popple? COME OFF IT!" Popple calms down a bit and spoke: "Criminy… You're lookin' at a legend, see? A LEGEND. I've swiped treasures from every corner of the world! THE SHADOW THIEF! THE BARON OF BURGLE!" everyone looked at each other in confusion. "I give up. I know shmoes like you three." He directs to Mario, Luigi and Sonic as he picks up the stolen treasures. "Yeah, I met me some fat-stached and animal palookas… And they're TROUBLE! Trouble, I say! YEEEARGH! Just rememberin' that gets on my last nerve! Those punks, gettin' in my biz in the Beanbean Kingdom! Ooh, I hate 'em! Those drips! Those beardy and skunky bumbleheads!"
"And he was just a loser back then…" Sonic thought while secretly smirking.
"HEH! But I'll make a fresh start on this island! I'm leavin', see? Off to filch my next treasure!" Popple then scurries off.
"What was THAT all about, huh?" Starlow questioned.
"How come Popple didn't figure out that WE were the ones who he was referring to?" Mario puzzled. "He doesn't remember us at all?"
"Well, whatever. I think it's best for him to not figure out. I don't wanna go through that again!" Luigi protested.
"Yeah, even if that guy was a sore loser, he was still a pain to us…" Sonic muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Starlow asked.
"That guy was Popple, who calls himself the Shadow Thief." Mario explained. "We encountered him multiple times at our adventure in the Beanbean Kingdom, and he was always interfering us in many ways possible."
"Oh, right. You mean that adventure that became a movie? Gosh, now I really wished I've watched it…" Starlow sighed. "Anyway, let's find the tour center!"
Just then, they spotted a familiar face right up ahead near the bridge.
"Wait! Is that…?" Sonic breathed.
As they approached the person, he turned around and saluted:
"Yo, Sonic!" it was Knuckles!
"Knuckles? What are you doing here?" Sonic didn't believe that Knuckles didn't get imprisoned.
"I've heard about the Mount Pajamaja climbing tour, and boy, was I excited! I felt that as an opportunity to test my climbing skills! So I went to the tour center and registered. And now I'm just relaxing here until the tour begins!" Knuckles explained.
"That's exactly where we need to go! Where is it, Knuckles?" Jewel asked.
"It's just right there, past this bridge! It's a green building with a suitcase. Are you joining the tour too?"
"We are. In fact, we need to get to Mount Pajamaja for another reason."
"Sorry for cutting in, but what happened to your Red Chaos Emerald, Knuckles? Do you have it or not?" Sonic interfered and asked Knuckles.
"Uh… About that…" Knuckles replied embarrassed. "I ended up dropping it somewhere as I was gliding to this place."
"You…" Sonic's eye twitched. "You LOST IT?!" he yelled.
"Sonic! Control your temper!" Jewel warned. "Plus, the people around here might hear you!"
"It's not my fault! I didn't notice it falling off!" Knuckles protested.
"Knuckles… I oughta…" Sonic muttered.
"We can worry about that later, Sonic. Let's just register and relax." Jewel offered. "Anyways, thanks for telling us, Knuckles!"
"No problem!" Knuckles replied.
The group made their way to the building, which was green with a suitcase above the entrance. They went inside.
"Welcome to the tour center!" a Shelltop greeted. "We employ specialized guides to offer you various fun tours! Please don't hesitate to talk to our staff at the counter!"
They thanked and went to the counter.
"Hey, super to see you!" the Shelltop Worker greeted. "And what kind of tour's on your ask list today?"
"We want to register ourselves for Mount Pajamaja's climbing tour." Mario responded.
"Ah… I see, I see. You're dialed into Mount Pajamaja? Great. Well, one of our key learnings is that it's a real challenging climb! Yeah, that's a common reaction, but the mountain's serious…"
"NOT FOR THESE GUYS!" Starlow exclaimed. "They're stronger than they look! And two of them are the famous Super Mario Brothers!" she pauses for a moment before continuing: "I've gotta say… This song and dance feels familiar… Guess we have to…" she turns to Mario and Luigi. "Bros? Do your thing."
Both nodded and demonstrated their famous jump, shocking the Shelltop crowd in the tour center.
"Off the charts!" the Shelltop Worker exclaimed. Mario then tosses his hammer in the air and catches it on his hand perfectly. "H-hammer mastery?!"
"Come on, older me!" Baby Luigi whispered next to Luigi.
Luigi tosses his hammer in the air, but instead of catching it…it flattened him. The heroes sweatdropped at that.
"He didn't…" Baby Mario breathed.
"Oh, not again… DON'T BLOW IT." Starlow spoke.
Just then, the whole scene plays in slow motion as the hammer flies off of Luigi, who runs after it and manages to catch it this time. With that, everyone cheered for him as confetti falls down from the ceiling.
"Yes! I did it!" Luigi fist pumped.
"Yay!" both babies cheered.
"Hey, great job! You did it…this time!" Starlow complimented.
"Heh heh heh… Hoh hoh HOH… BAAR HAR HAR!" the Shelltop Worker guffawed. "I got you! I hear you!"
"Does he really have to laugh that loud?" Sonic thought.
"I've got good visibility on you all! You're burly! Just like that red echidna! I can give you access to a core-focused tour!"
"Core-focused tour?" Luigi asked.
"Yeah… It's called… MASSIF VERT! A BIG, BAD, BRUTAL… MOUNTAIN TOUR! The tour will begin at 12 o'clock! You're all registered, so take your time around Wakeport until the tour starts. Once it does, head south of town, in front of the clock tower!"
Everyone thanked the Shelltop Worker and left the tour center.
"Well, we are free to hang around as much as we want in Wakeport until the tour begins." Jewel said. "How about we scatter around?"
Everyone nodded and spilt up. Mario and Luigi went to the shopping district to buy some items and Sonic, Kirby, the babies, Jewel, Starlow, Dreambert and Ribbon Girl went to the food stand district to eat something by looking through the food stands. Jewel led Baby Mario, Baby Luigi and Kirby to an ice cream stand and ordered a vanilla ice cream, a chocolate ice cream and a strawberry ice cream with one scoop.
"That's 30 coins in total." The Shelltop said. Jewel paid her 30 coins and held two cones with her left hand and the other one with her right. "Thanks."
"Yay! Ice cream!" Baby Mario exclaimed like an excited child.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped.
Jewel then hands the vanilla ice cream to Baby Mario, the strawberry one to Baby Luigi, and the chocolate one to Kirby. She watches the youngsters having their first couple of licks. Surprisingly enough, they didn't get messy.
"It's yummy!" Baby Luigi smiled.
"How about you both stay with your adult selves while I and Kirby will hang around with Starlow, Dreambert and Ribbon Girl?" Jewel suggested, leaning down to the babies.
"Okey!" Baby Mario nodded. "Where are they, by the way?"
"They must be coming out of the Item Shop at the shopping district. You may find them there." Jewel told before she left with Kirby.
Baby Mario and Baby Luigi nodded to each other before heading to the shopping district and stopping in front of the Item Shop, where they saw their older selves coming out of the store.
"Do you think that's enough, Mario?" Luigi asked.
"I'm sure of that, Luigi." Mario replied. "We've got four Super Mushrooms, four Super Nuts, two Supersyrup Jars, four Star Candies, one 1-Up Mushroom, and two Refreshing Herbs."
"Hiya!" they heard Baby Mario's voice. They looked down and saw him along with Baby Luigi holding each an ice cream cone.
"Oh, hey!" Mario beamed, leaning down to them. "Mmm, you're eating ice cream? How about we sit under that shade so that your ice creams won't melt?" he pointed to a nearby tent. The babies nodded.
The adult brothers guided their baby selves to the shade offered by the tent and sat down on the palm tree leaves on the ground. Mario and Luigi watched their younger selves licking away their ice creams and cracked a soft smile. Then, Baby Mario whispered something in Baby Luigi's ear before both handed their ice cream cones to their adult selves.
"Want some?" Baby Mario asked.
Mario and Luigi gladly accepted the cones from each of their baby selves. They took a few licks, and found the ice cream's flavors very tasty.
"Wow! That tastes delicious!" Luigi exclaimed.
"Indeed!" Mario nodded. "Now I don't know if I like Pi'illo Island's or Gelato Beach's ice cream…"
The adult Mario Bros then shared the two ice cream cones with their younger selves. Upon finishing both ice cream cones, they stood up, but not before Mario and Luigi held their toddler selves' hands and walked out of the shade. However, before they could get any further, they accidentally bumped into a female Koopa.
"YOIKS!" she winced.
"Oh, sorry!" Mario apologized.
"Nah, I should be the one to apologize. I was quite distracted taking photos that I didn't notice you, fellas." She replied. "Anyway, name's Kylie Koopa! Ace guidebook writer for the entire island!" Kylie strikes a pose.
"…Kylie?!" the four brothers said surprised.
"Eh? You know who I am, whiskers? Have we met before?" Kylie asked.
"We have!" Baby Mario answered.
"You were working as a reporter the first time we met you." Mario told.
"You're sure old Kylie was a reporter back when? Fellas, I've had so many jobs, I can't even start!" Kylie replied. "Anyway, it ain't got nothing to do with the fix I'm in! I'm busy as a beaver and ain't got time for yakking… I'm right now taking photos for the island's guidebook."
"Oh, okay. We understand."
"Alright. Sorry about earlier! See ya!" Kylie waved and left.
"Wow, first Popple, and now Kylie? How many familiar faces are there in this island?" Luigi questioned while scratching his head.
"I know, right? It seems that everything changes as time passes…" Mario pondered. "Well, anyway, how about we continue our walk?"
"Sure!" Baby Luigi nodded.
With Sonic…
He was sitting on the rooftops, admiring the view while taking a bite of a chilidog he bought at a food stand.
"Am I glad that this island offers all kinds of hot dogs!" Sonic smiled. "I gotta say, Pi'illo Island is such a nice place to go on a vacation!"
He continues to eat his chilidog and admiring Wakeport's view.
With Jewel, Kirby, Starlow, Dreambert and Ribbon Girl…
They were wandering around and were about to reach the event plaza. Kirby was of course eating his chocolate ice cream. For the others, Jewel was eating a colorful lollipop, Ribbon Girl was having a simple bottle of water, and Starlow and Dreambert were sharing a pink cotton candy.
As soon as they passed by the stage, Ribbon Girl piped up:
"Hey, look! That's the stage where I'm going to perform!" she pointed before taking a sip of her water.
"Oh, you mean the stage where you're going to sing? Looks nice!" Starlow smiled while taking a bite of her cotton candy.
"I've never seen live shows or anything like that, so I'm quite curious about that." Dreambert said. He takes a bite of the cotton candy. "My, the food in this place is so good!"
"Well, we're in the modern days, Dreambert!" Jewel exclaimed after licking her lollipop.
They continued to have a walk around.
One hour later…
It was now 11:59, which means the tour was about to start. Everyone regrouped next to the tour center.
"Everyone, the tour is about to start! Let's head to the place in front of the clock tower!" Jewel said.
"I can't wait!" Knuckles exclaimed.
The group went all the way down, where a Shelltop spoke to them:
"Tourists! You're here for the tour to Mount Pajamaja, yes? The tour center let us know you'd be coming! Orientation is about to start! C'mon, let's go! This way, please!"
The Shelltop guided them to the fountain with a green clock in the middle. There, standing in front of a crowd of two Yoshis, a Toad, three Hooskis and two Beanish, a large Hooski man wearing green clothes and a brown mustache similar to Luigi's mustache was announcing the tour:
"IS TOUR TIME! I am muscled guide for tour of Mount Pajamaja! I am younger Massif Bro! Am called Li'l Massif!"
"You just made it in time! Please enjoy your tour!" the Shelltop exclaimed before leaving.
"Is tough, climbing Mount Pajamaja! Da, mountain separates beef from side salad! Let guard down on mountain, and mountain CRUSH you! Is only one true goal of tour…" Li'l Massif jumps on the fountain's edge and takes a flexing pose while speaking in some sort of macho way: "LIVE TO BEEF AGAIN!" he then finishes normally: "Is end."
With that, the people in the crowd all ended up with nervous looks. The Toad then steps forward and says:
"Umm… Excuse me…"
"Da? Questions?" Li'l Massif asked.
"I don't think I can handle all the…beef. I'm sorry, but I'm breaking out!" he leaves.
"That tour center didn't make it sound as hard as hoo…" the male Hooski remarked.
"I'm hooing out! I don't wanna risk my hoos on some cliff!" the female Hooski shook her head and both left.
"What…do you think?" one of the Beanish asked.
"I'm freaking out, that's what! Do I look beefy to you?!" the other one replied before both also left.
"I just thought I'd find yummy fruits on the mountain…" the green Yoshi sighed.
"But risking my life for it… No way! I'm gone!" the yellow Yoshi refused and both left as well.
"Hoo…" the young Hooski who was left alone panicked while sweating hard. "Hoo… Hoo… HooOOUCH! Aw hoo, sudden stomachache! Can't hoo a mountain in this condition… Hoo bad! Hoouch…" he scurries off last.
A breeze of emptiness blew, until Mario and his crew stepped in.
"Uh? Tourists still here. Is for real?" Li'l Massif was surprised. "Cutlets still want to climb Mount Pajamaja?"
"Of course we still want!" Baby Mario nodded.
"Uh, really?" Li'l Massif murmured. He cleans his throat before speaking: "Da… Da, so then Mount Pajamaja tour begins… NOW!"
"All right!" the group exclaimed. That is, until Li'l Massif paused for a moment. He replies:
"I say this usually, but uh… Uhhhhh…" Li'l Massif got a nervous look on his face while sweating.
"What's the matter? Let's go already!" Starlow blurted.
"This is thing… Tour usually run by me and brother, Big Massif. But I am not finding in any of usual places…"
"Whaaat?! The tour guide went missing? We NEED to go to Mount Pajamaja!"
"Hnngh… Gahhhh… IS NEW TOUR!" Li'l Massif announced. "Is change of plans! New tour called… BIG MASSIF HUNT! EXTREME BEEFING! WAKEPORT TOUR!"
"You have got to be kidding!" Sonic facepalmed. "We're wasting our time with this?!"
"What do you guys think?" Starlow asked the group.
"Well, we don't really have a choice… Guess we'll have to locate his brother." Mario answered.
"That's true…"
"OK, look, big guy, we'll find your big brother for you. But when we do, you have to start the REAL tour!" Sonic told Li'l Massif.
"Da, is shameful…" Li'l Massif murmured before replying: "But da, once brother comes, we climb Mount Pajamaja!"
"Alright, I'll wait for you here." Knuckles said. "Turn the town upside down and find this guy!"
The group nodded and went south. They encountered some Hermit Crabs and freed three Pink Pi'illos on the way to gain access to the ruins to the west side. To get in, they had to solve a floor puzzle. Upon doing that, they eventually found Big Massif sleeping heavily on the ground. Little did the group notice that this area was a Dreampoint and was shining just like the ruins in Dozing Sands.
"There he is, huh? Big Massif." Starlow said.
"He's been napping here all along! Are you serious?" Sonic retorted.
"Let's just wake this guy up so that we can continue on." Mario told.
The group approached Big Massif and tried all sorts of things that could snap him awake, like jumping and shouting, but none of them worked. Even Baby Mario, being impulsive as always, tried to whack his hammer at Big Massif's head, but he still wouldn't wake up.
"Wow! This guy won't wake up!" Baby Mario said surprised. "Usually hammering on the head would always work…"
"For ME, only…" Luigi thought while rolling his eyes, remembering back when Baby Mario whacked him on the head to awake him at Gritzy Caves. "But still… I didn't mean to make our younger selves cry…"
"I'm pretty sure something's not right here…" Jewel suspected.
"Yeah, there's no way anyone would sleep all day." Mario shook his head. "Nevertheless, I think he's just in a deep sleep."
"I mean, he DOES seem to be sleeping, true… But he's breathing really slow, right? And I was just yelling, and he didn't move!" Starlow stated.
"HNNGAH!" suddenly, Big Massif groaned in his sleep.
"AAAH!" everyone jumped in startle.
"WAH!" during the startle, Luigi stepped on something, causing him to trip and fall on his butt to the ground.
"What the… Hey! Another petrified Chaos Emerald!" Sonic noticed that Luigi had tripped on another Emerald encased in nightmare. "Wait… If an Emerald is here, that means…"
"Correct. This place is a Dreampoint." Dreambert confirmed. He directs to Big Massif. "This person… He could well sleep here forever!"
"What did you say?!" Starlow flinched.
"The Dreampoints have a very powerful dream aura… It is rare, but sometimes they hold people in the dream. Those who suffer such a fate end up like this one. Except… I sense he has CHOSEN to remain here."
The group gasped by that.
"So he doesn't want to wake up?" Kirby said shocked.
"What's he dreaming about anyway?!" Ribbon Girl questioned.
"Beef… Stronger… Daaa… Muscle up…" Big Massif moaned in his sleep. Everyone went silent.
"…Maybe it's better not to know…" Jewel sweatdropped.
"We have no choice! We must wake him… IN his dream!" Dreambert said.
"Is it possible?" Luigi tilted his head.
"Indeed. First, we must find him in the dream world. Then we must convince him to wake! Luigi, please try sleeping next to him just like how Jewel sleeps next to you. Lay your head on me!"
Dreambert turns into his pillow form next to Big Massif and the petrified Chaos Emerald. Luigi fell asleep on the pillow and the portal opened. Jewel watched her Pillow turning cyan.
"The Chaos Emerald used to be cyan…" Sonic pondered upon eying Jewel's Pillow. "I think I gave this one to Rouge!" he remembered. "Good thing Knuckles didn't come along with us; he's always annoyed by her…" he thought.
With that, Jewel rests on her Pillow and Mario and his crew entered the portal.
To be continued…
Isn't it great to see two characters from the first two Mario & Luigi games returning? Since this chapter would end too short, I decided to add some fun time with the heroes. After all, they do deserve a small break, right?
It's off to the dream world version of Wakeport! Until then! Please review.
