Two chapters in one day?! Guess I'm really on fire about this story! Or perhaps it's because I really like this chapter that I decided to churn it out as fast as possible? Either way, I'm sure you're happy that this chapter came out so soon!

Now if only I can have the same motivation for Justice of Two Worlds...

Chapter 14
Happy To See You Again

Rushing through the hospital halls as fast as they could, Mario and Luigi hurriedly looked for the ward that the green Yoshi they owed their lives to when they were young was currently staying at. They were accompanied by Yoshi and his friends, not to mention the zombies. Even though the latter didn't know who this Yoshi was, the fact that someone their friend knew was dying was still enough to make them concerned.

When they finally arrived at the entrance of the ward room, Mario and Luigi stopped in front of it while breathing heavily to catch their breaths. The others eventually caught up, and Yoshi went up to the door to knock on it. When he heard someone inside telling him to come in, he told the brothers that he would go in first and then they would come in later.

"Please be all right... Please be all right..." Mario quietly said over and over. Seeing his concern, Luigi placed his hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

Yoshi then opened the door and told them to come in, so they did. The others decided to wait outside.

When the brothers went into the ward room, they saw an aged and wrinkly Yoshi lying on the bed, and there were various medical equipment and IV tubes connected to him. "Yoshi...!" Mario said to him with a look of concern.

The ill Yoshi turned to look at the brothers, and a smile appeared on his face. "Is that really you, Mario?"

The brothers took off their hats as they went up next to his bed. "Eet eez us," Mario said to him. "We're sorry for not seeing you all theez time..."

"It's all right, because you're finally here," said the ill Yoshi. "I'm so glad to be able to see you one last time before I leave this world!"

Bending down next to the Yoshi's bed and grabbing his hands, Mario said to him, "Please don't-a say that! You will definitely recover! I believe you will!"

"No, my time is coming to an end soon," the Yoshi said to him. "I may not have lived the longest life, but I still lived my life to the fullest! Protecting you and making sure that you see your parents... Those were the proudest and greatest accomplishments of my life! Nothing can make me happier than to see the child I took care of all those years ago becoming the world's greatest hero!"

He then looked at the equally sad Luigi and said, "And you too, Luigi. We may not have interacted with each other as much, but saving your life was still my priority, and it is good to know that you are now a healthy young man!"

"I'm not as courageous or as strong as Mario," Luigi told him. "I may have ended up being a disappointment..."

"No, nobody is a disappointment," the ill Yoshi told him. "The fact that you are still standing alongside your brother and making accomplishments with him is proof that you have succeeded in life and that I did the right thing in saving your life, and more than once!"

The others were still outside the ward room, waiting for something to happen, perhaps Mario coming back out. They were silent and didn't know what to talk about, perhaps not even wanting to talk about anything, given the rather grim atmosphere of the current situation.

Sakura broke the silence, however. "You know... Thinking about it, I've never had a relative, family member, or friend who's been hospitalized before. Even though the person in there is someone we don't know, I still feel concerned for his well-being and am even scared that the worst might happen... I know I died right away when the truck hit me, but I still imagined that I was still taken to hospital for verification, so I'd imagine my parents were equally worried that time when waiting for the doctor's final verdict on me."

"I didn't die instantly after getting struck by lightning," said Ai. "I still remember being sent to the hospital and being in the emergency room for a few minutes before I finally died from cardiac arrest. I can also imagine my parents and friends being in great panic as they waited to hear my condition..."

"Lily is sure her father took her to hospital after she died, and he must've felt the same thing Lily is currently feeling..." said Lily with a sad face.

Just then, the door opened, and Luigi poked his head out. Looking at the zombies, he said to them, "You girls mind coming in? Yoshi wants to see you."

"Us?" said Sakura curiously.

Luigi nodded. "Yeah, we told him that we came here because we were bringing friends over for a trip, and he wants to see what sort of friends we have made over the years."

The zombies then went into the ward room and saw Mario, Yoshi, and the ill Yoshi there. The zombies gathered around his bed, and Sakura said to him, "It's nice to meet you, sir!"

The Yoshi said to Mario, "So these are the friends you've made?"

Mario nodded. "Yes, but we've only met them a few days ago."

The Yoshi smiled as he looked at each of the zombies, unaware of what they actually are, even after seeing Lily's partially exposed face and Ai with all her bandages. "You have beautiful friends!" he said to Mario. Some of the zombies blushed when they heard this. He looked at the zombies again and said, "Did Mario tell you that I am the one who took care of him when he was a baby and saved his life multiple times?"

"He didn't specifically tell us this, but we overheard him saying this with the others," Ai told him.

BGM: Story Music Box (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island)

The Yoshi smiled. "Then perhaps you would like to hear a story, the story of how I met Mario and Luigi and rescued them from the hands of Bowser in order to ensure that they are delivered to their parents."

"Wait, delivered to their parents?" said Saki curiously.

"They were delivered by storks to their parents," explained the Yoshi.

"Wait a minute... Story delivering babies...? Isn't that supposed to be stories made up by parents for their children?!" said Ai in surprise.

"Actually, eet wuz a baby delivery service for parents who do not-a have children, and said babies are orphans," Luigi explained to them. "You see, our parents passed away when we were still babies, so the parents we grew up with are not-a our birth parents."

The zombies were shocked to hear this. "Your parents passed away when you were still babies...?!" said Junko, who almost felt like crying.

"And frankly, we don't have memories of them, because we were still too young," Mario said to them.

"But I'm sure Mario still remembers the things he went through as my friends and I tried to reunite him with the captured Luigi and send them back to their parents," said the ill Yoshi. "Those were the good old days, even though we constantly risked our lives... It was not easy trying to get through the evil forces of Bowser and also Bowser himself. Even as a baby, Bowser was a force to reckon with... Let me tell you, he's the biggest rascal I've ever seen!"

"And even today, he's still a menace..." said Yoshi. "Some things never change..."

The ill Yoshi continued to talk about the adventures he had with Mario as a baby. The zombies were even surprised to hear that an adult Bowser traveled back in time to get rid of baby Mario in order change history, and twice, but in the end, the Yoshis managed to foil both his attempts.

After much talking, the ill Yoshi coughed, and Yoshi told him, "You shouldn't talk anymore. You are in no condition to do that, so please rest."

"What difference does it make if I am going to leave this world soon?" said the ill Yoshi. He looked at the people around him again. "Do not mourn for me. Death comes to everyone, whether we like it or not. Perhaps for some species, they are granted a second chance at life, but for us Yoshis, we do not have that privilege. Soon, I will be up there with the stars and look down at you all with a smiling face. I will be going to a much better place soon!"

He then noticed the star accessory on Lily's head and said to him, "That is a beautiful piece of accessory you have there!"

In response, Lily took down the accessory and held it in front of himself. "Thank! I really like it! It makes me feel like I'm a star shining in the sky!"

The Yoshi smile and nodded. "I'm sure you will grow up to become an even more beautiful star!"

"Thank you!" Lily said to him with a smile. If only the latter knew better...

He then looked at Mario and said, "I am glad to be able to see you one last time before I leave this world. Making you the person you are today is the greatest achievement I have ever done, and with my mission complete, I can finally leave this world with no regrets! It makes me glad to know that you are now successful in life and have made many friends! Please take good care of them like I took care of you!"

With tears in his eyes, Mario nodded. "I will!"

He then looked at Yoshi. "Please continue to look after Mario. You can say that you are my successor!"

Also with teary eyes, Yoshi said, "I will! I owe Mario my life too! I will always be at his side!"

Next, he looked at Luigi. "Don't let anything bring you down, Luigi. You are as talented as Mario, even if you may not see it now."

"I won't let you down!" said Luigi, who had perhaps the most tear of the bunch currently.

Lastly, he looked at the zombies. "Mario is a good man. You are lucky to be his friends! Knowing him is the greatest thing you could ask for in your life! Please get along with him. You girls are also still young, so you should live your life to the fullest. Live a long and happy life, doing everything you want to do so that when the time for you to leave comes, you will have no regrets.

Hearing something like this being said to them felt awkward, as they had already died, though it was true they were currently behaving like live people. "We will! We will definitely live our lives to the fullest and not disappoint you!" Sakura, who was beginning to cry, said to him.

"I may have only known you for a few minutes, but I already like you all! If only I have more time, I would take you out to fun places and share with you more about my adventures!" said the ill Yoshi. He then coughed again. Seeing this, Yoshi got him water to drink. After drinking the water, the Yoshi rested his head on his pillow and said, "I'm tired... I want to sleep now... You must be tired from having fun the whole day, so you should go rest as well. It is good for your body."

"Please rest and get well soon, Yoshi," Mario said to him.

Looking at Mario again, the Yoshi said, "Stay healthy, my boy. Continue to be a hero and make me proud, even when I'm gone." After that saying that, the Yoshi laid back properly and then closed his eyes.

Everyone looked at him in silence, fearing that he had passed away, but their fears were subsided when the Yoshi began snoring. "Phew... He's only asleep..." said Yoshi.

"But da point still stands that he will die eventually..." said Luigi. "I hate to sound-a negative, but he may very well neva wake-a up from theez sleep... Eet may be his last-a one..."

Mario moved his head close to the Yoshi's head and silently said to him, "Good night, Yoshi. Even afta you're gone, I will neva forget-a you!"

Soon afterwards, the group left the hospital and were heading for the tour bus the Yoshis got for them. Mario stood outside the hospital and looked up at the night sky, wondering about what happened. Sakura and Saki walked up to him, and the latter said to him, "You all right?"

Mario wiped away his tears and said, "I'm all right-a. Thanks!"

"I'm sure he will get well! Believe, and miracles will happen!" Sakura told him.

"I'm ready for theez," Mario told her. "Being able to see him one last-a time before he leaves eez good enough for me already. Which reminds me... You said-a nobody in your world know that-a you are zombies, right?"

"Yeah, our producer forbids us from making ourselves known, because folks back in our world probably will want us dead, assuming it's even possible we can die a second time," Saki said to him.

"What I want-a to say eez... Well, I'm not-a forcing you to do eet eef you don't want to, becuz I can understand your circumstances," said Mario. "Have you ever thought-a of at least seeing your family members?"

When the two zombies heard this, they felt as if something struck their hearts. The other zombies were close by when they heard this, and they had the same feeling.

"We... We did think of it... but we're not sure if our parents will be able to accept us like this..." replied Sakura.

"Maybe you should eef you really want-a to. I can't imagine any parent not wanting to meet their children again, no matta what da condition of da latter eez," said Mario. "Again, I'm not-a saying you must, but theez eez something you can consider. Perhaps should-a do eet before they die."

The bus suddenly started its engine, and the orange Yoshi poked his head out of the door and said to them, "All right, we're taking off! We're gonna go see those Zombie Guys now!"

"All right! Let's-a go see some zombies!" said Mario as he smiled and headed for the bus, and the others eventually followed suit.

While the bus drove down the road, everyone sat silently for the most part inside.

The zombies were all wondering about what Mario told them.

Sakura had to admit that she missed her parents. The latter realizing that their daughter was killed all of a sudden out of nowhere must've been a devastating news for them. Children walking out of parents' lives just like this... What can be more tragic?

Saki wasn't sure if she actually missed her parents. She had to admit that she never thought much about them or even got along well with them. She had always prided in being able to sustain herself and making her own decisions. In her eyes, she was already an adult the moment she became a part of Dorami. Still, she had to admit that walking out of their lives so suddenly was disrespectful, so perhaps it was time she made up for this?

Ai, too, wondered about how her parents were doing now. It must've been devastating for them to learn that their daughter died out of nowhere without a warning while doing her job. When she was alive, she was so passionate about being an idol that she didn't spend that much time with her parents, and now she felt sorry for never having done that. If possible, she wanted to be able to make up for this now.

Having been dead for over thirty years, Junko wasn't sure if her parents were still alive. If they were still alive, they would be old enough to be her grandparents already. Being away from her parents often was normal for her, considering that her career required her to be traveling from place to place often, and there were only short periods of time when she could go visit them. Even so, she respected her parents and would find every opportunity she could to reunite with them, something she felt like doing now.

Lily had met his father previously, though he refrained from making himself known to the latter and instead pretended to be an unrelated person. He told himself that he was perfectly fine now that he had found peace for his father... somehow, but after hearing what Mario said, he suddenly began missing his father again. As he thought about this, he began to cry.

Yuugiri, who was sitting next to Lily, saw him breaking down into tears, so she wiped away her tears and also petted her. Unlike the others, Yuugiri left the world over one hundred years ago, so by now, all her family members were dead. She did think of the possibility of them having descendants, but would they know who she is?

Sakura, who was sitting next to Tae, looked at her and asked her, "Tae, do you miss your parents too? Assuming they are still alive, that is..."

Tae simply looked at her and made a groaning sound, but despite this, Sakura smiled.

The bus then came to a stop, and the bus drivre, a Shy Guy, said, "All right, we're here!"

BGM Ends

Stepping down from the bus, the group walked down a short path leading to an old mansion surrounded by a fence. There were two Yoshis and a Shy Guy standing in front of the gate. The black Yoshi went up to them and explained their purpose here.

"Curious about zombies, eh?" said one of the guard Yoshis, a purple one. "Well, feast your eyes on the living dead!" He then pointed his hand at the mansion, and they all saw Shy Guys wandering around the outside of the building.

Upon closer inspection, the Shy Guys were covered in dirt. They constantly made moaning sounds while wandering around slowly and aimlessly, even looking like they were going to fall over any moment. "So those are Zombie Guys?" asked Luigi. "Doesn't look as scary as I thought-a they would be."

The zombie idols were the most interested in them. "Oh look, your friends are in there, Tae!" Saki jokingly said to her mindless companion.

"More like all of our friends are in there..." said Lily.

"Looks like you girls have quite an interest in zombies, huh?" the other guard Yoshi, who was colored white, asked them.

"That's because we are zombies ourselves!" Saki told him, but the guards laughed at her in response.

"They're telling da truth," Mario told the guards.

"No, seriously?" asked the Shy Guy.

"Can't you tell by looking at her?" Saki asked him while pointing at Ai. "Anyway, if that isn't enough..." She then placed her hands around her head and pulled it off the neck, a move that shocked the guards. "Good enough proof for you?"

"Fine, you've prove your point... Just don't go attacking us like the ones in there," the white Yoshi said to her.

"Oh, don't worry; we're nothing like them at all," Saki assured him while putting her head back on. "But... I can't say the same for Tae..."

"Are those zombies dangerous?" Luigi asked the guards.

"Only if you wander into their territory," the purple Yoshi told him. "Watch." He unlocked and opened the gate to go into the mansion grounds. One of the Zombie Guys saw him and began moving in his direction, and the other Zombie Guys followed suit. When they were close to him, the purple Yoshi hurried back out, though without closing the gate. Despite this, the Zombie Guys stopped in front of the open door and then turned around to go back to wandering around within the mansion grounds. "For some reason, they never go pass this line."

"We don't know if their bites are contagious, and frankly, nobody wants to experiment this..." said the white Yoshi.

"I wonder if they'll attack us. We're zombies as well, so..." said Junko.

"How about we test it out?" said Saki as she began climbing over the fence.

"Hey! Don't be so reckless!" the Shy Guy told her.

Despite his warning, Saki got into the mansion grounds. However, none of the Zombie Guys came after her at all. They all continued to wander around as if she wasn't there. Wanting to experiment more, she approached one of the zombie Shy Guys and waved her hand in front of his face, but there was response from him.

Turning to look at the ones on the other side of the fence, she said, "See? We're all friends here!"

"Wow... That's a first..." said the Shy Guy.

"They are zombies themselves, so I guess this only makes sense..." said Yoshi.

"Want to come in here and have fun?" Saki asked her friends.

"No thanks... I'll pass..." said Ai, waving her hand, and the others nodded. Tae, however, climbed over the fence as well.

She wandered among the zombies and stared at some of them, but they didn't respond at all and kept on wandering around aimlessly. Tae even walked up to one and smacked her hand on his head over and over, but the Zombie Guy continued to ignore her.

"These guys are even more mindless than you..." commented Saki when she saw that.

"How did these zombies came to be anyway?" Ai asked the guards.

"According to eyewitnesses, there was a thunderstorm about a month ago, and when a lightning struck the ground outside the mansion, these folks started coming out of the ground," replied the purple Yoshi. "It's still a mystery for the most part, such as why a lightning strike would make them appear. Why don't know why they hang out around this mansion as well, not to mention why there are even lots of Shy Guys buried around here in the first place!"

"How about you girls? How did you become zombies? And why aren't you mindless like them?" the Shy Guy asked her.

Ai shrugged. "No idea... All we know is that someone brought us back to life as zombies, but he never shared the details as to how he did it... And I heard that we were originally mindless, but eventually regained our consciousness. Except that one..." She said the last line while pointing at Tae, who was still wandering among the Zombie Guys.

"Watching these zombies wander around really reminds me of you all when you were mindless," said Sakura.

"Somehow, hearing this makes me embarrassed..." said Junko while blushing slightly. "I can't imagine myself behaving like this..."

Meanwhile, Saki was bent down in front of a Shy Guy and stared at his face. "I wonder what's behind your mask," she said as she reached her hand towards the mask.

Seeing this, Luigi and the guard Yoshis widened their eyes in horror, and they screamed while jumping over the fence and rushing towards her. "DON'T!"

Their action and screaming surprised Saki, making her pull her hands back. They grabbed the blonde zombie and pulled her out of the place with such a speed that the Zombie Guys never noticed them.

"What's with your reactions?!" Saki asked those three, all of whom were breathing heavily.

Luigi then inched his face close to hers and said, "Never. Remove. A. Shy. Guy's. Mask!"

"You DO NOT want to see a Shy Guy's face!" the white Yoshi said to her while trembling nonstop. "Yesterday, a Zombie Guy tripped and dropped his mask. I saw his face, and I'm still having problems trying to get over it!"

"Their faces are the number one most terrifying things in the world for a reason! You DO NOT under any circumstances want to see it!" the purple Yoshi said to her in an angry tone.

Saki was admittedly freaked out by their attitude. She then turned to the Shy Guy and asked him, "Is is true your kind's face is really scary?"

The Shy Guy shrugged. "That's what they say, but I think there's nothing wrong with it. But then, it's my own face, and I see it often when in private, so I guess I'm used to it..."

"Tae! What are you doing?!" shouted Sakura all of a sudden. The others turned to her before looking at the mansion grounds, and everyone was shocked to see Tae removing the mask of a Zombie Guy. The latter's back was facing them, so they didn't see his face.

Tae's expression became a shocked one as she dropped the mask, and then making a a frightened cry, she ran on all fours towards the fence and jumped over it. She ran up to Sakura and planted her face against her body while making sounds that sounded like a child crying. "Tae! You shouldn't have done that!" she said to her.

"EVERYONE! CLOSE YOUR EYES AND LOOK AWAY!" the purple Yoshi shouted at everyone while closing his eyes. "GUARD GUY! PUT HIS MASK BACK ON!"

"But there are zombies in there!" the Shy Guy said to him.

"JUST DO IT FAST AND THEN RUSH BACK OUT!" the white Yoshi yelled at him while covering his eyes and planting his head against the ground.

The Shy Guy grumbled in frustration before opening the gate. He rushed inside, ran to the Zombie Guy, put his mask back on, and then rushed back out before the other Zombie Guys caught up with him, shutting the gate when he did so. "Phew... All right, you can open your eyes now..."

Everyone opened their eyes, and Sakura said to a Tae, "Tae, are you all right...?" The mindless zombie was still trembling nonstop while making weeping-like sounds.

"I've never seen Lady Tae behaving like this before...!" commented Yuugiri. "What she saw must've truly left a huge scar on her..."

"Even someone mindless like Tae can be this terrified... I can't believe it... " said Saki in disbelief. "Makes me glad I was stopped in time just now..."

"I think-a we have seen enough for today... Maybe we should leave now?" suggested Mario.

Everyone agreed that they had seen enough for today. Saying good-bye to the guards, Mario and co. went back onto the tour bus and headed off.

TO BE CONTINUED

Well, a touching chapter, wouldn't you say so? I had fun typing this emotional and sad chapter. On the happy side, that Yoshi isn't dead yet, but on the sad side, he doesn't have much time left to live...

I particularly enjoyed typing the part where the zombies think about their parents. It's something that I really hope the potential second season explores. Even now, I still feel that episode 8 handled the situation between Lily and his father terribly... It wouldn't hurt to at least let his father know the truth... The conclusion doesn't make sense either... How can a guy who blames himself for his child's death for so many years suddenly be at peace just because a "girl" who looks like his child invited him to her concert? Though to comfort myself, I'd like to pretend that the father actually knows this "girl" is his child, but out of respect for the latter wanting to hide her identity, he chooses to remain ignorant.

I also think the choice of music I used here is incredibly fitting. It has a sad feeling to it, but at the same time also relaxing and soothing. What do you think?

And in case you haven't realized yet, Bowser traveling back in time to change history is from both Yoshi's Island DS and Yoshi's New Island.