Me: Well, home sweet home!

(Wally puts a welcome mat on the front porch. Otto stares at it, and fires a small bolt of energy at it, etching the words 'TO LEAVE' underneath 'Welcome'.)

Wally: OTTO!!! We want to make people feel welcome, not freak them out!

Otto: It was a joke! (Chuckles.) Honestly.

Ace: (Groans and slaps her forehead.) Those two are like cats and dogs, they almost never get along.

Me: They are polar opposites after all… (Turns back to the screen.) So anyways, we now have chapter 13 of LotSR, 'IT'S – What's his name again?' In this chapter, Mario is given his first Star Spirit Power, but soon has a rematch with everyones favorite neighborhood bully, Jr. Troopa! So you can expect more Jr. Troopa burning during this chapter! We also have the very first Dojo fight, as Zane squares off against Chan. ENJOY!!!

Chapter 13

IT'S - What's their names again?

The view opens up outside Koopa Bros Fortress front lawn. Mario, Zane, Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette were now standing before the Star Spirit Eldstar, who was taking this time to take a couple of deep cleansing breaths. Although he was a star, he still needed to take this moment to relish in his freedom. He was somewhat old, after all. "Ah, fresh air… So good to finally be free."

Bombette walked up and took a deep breath herself. "Tell me about it." She said, acting as though she was finally at peace.

Eldstar looked down, and, after figuring she was trapped in the fortress herself, chortled slightly. He turned to Mario. "Mario, I think you and your friends for freeing me."

Mario blushed a little. "Hey, it was-a all in a day's work."

Eldstar smiled with a squint. "Anyways, I have a gift to give to you Mario. As thanks for helping me." Eldstar lifted up the points that would've been considered arms, if he was human, and Mario was graced by a grand looking light. After the light circled him, it gave one last flash, as if telling everyone it was done. "What I have given you is a small portion of my power. It gives you a new ability."

Zane became interested immediately. "A new ability? What does it do?"

Eldstar smiled at his curiosity. "It is called 'Refresh'. When used, it will restore a bit of everyone's health and magic." He turned to Mario. "Go ahead Mario, give it a try. All you have to do is wish for it."

Mario nodded. "Okay!" He reached deep within himself, and put his hands together as if he was praying. "Refresh!" A small bit of light exited from him…

All of a sudden, Eldstar went poof from where he was and reappeared right next to the group of heroes. He gave them a reassuring wink, and started to fly in circles around them. Lights poofed near random places of the hero's person, and Eldstar flew upward after a few more lights appeared, seemingly exiting to Star Haven.

Kooper looked at himself after the show was over. It was only when Goombario said, "WHOA!! Kooper! Check out your shell!!" that he realized what happened. Earlier in the fight with the Koopa Bros, Black had managed to slam his shell into Kooper's, making a rather noticeable scuff that reached his shoulder area. Yet now, when he looked… He saw that the scuff was gone. "The bruised area on your shell! It's gone!!" Goombario finished.

Kooper saw it himself. "Wow… Ain't that something?" Kooper asked, feeling that area of the shell himself, and felt no rough indent of a hit.

Zane looked at himself for a second and realized that the small cut that he got on his arm when he went rocketing through the tree's during the fight was gone too; completely healed. "Now THAT… Is something else!"

Eldstar once again appeared with a poof before the heroes. "Yes, Refresh sometimes also heals small bruises and cuts, as well as restore your health." He looked to Mario, who was looking at himself as well, checking for whatever small bruises or cuts he might have sustained in his past adventures. "I hope that ability will be of use to you Mario."

Upon seeing a few the indents of his past adventures gone, Mario turned to Eldstar and nodded. "Yes. We'll-a make good use of it."

Eldstar nodded at that. "However, there's a cost…" Mario stared at him confused. "By being given this ability, you are given a new energy that you must look after. It is called Star Energy. You've used all the Star Energy you have so far, but make no mistake, it will refill in due time…" He looked up to the stars. "The process can speed up slightly, if you make a wish to the stars… Do you understand?" Mario nodded. "Well then, I suppose now that I'm free of Bowser's spell I better retreat to Star Haven and start resting up…" He said, looking ready to leave… Before a thought suddenly struck him. "OH! I almost forgot!" He turned to Zane. "I have something for you too Zane." He raised his arm-like points again, and a small light poofed into existence. A small object appeared out of the light and fell landing in Zane's open hand. Once the light died down a little, Zane looked to see what it was… He started to get confused when he saw it was a small Dark blue gem shard, no bigger then his index finger, and no thicker then his pinkie.

Zane stared at Eldstar confused. "I don't get it… What is this?"

Eldstar chortled, obviously seeing this coming. "It may not look like much now, but this little gem is very special." He floated down to Zane. "However, it is incomplete." Zane was now even more confused then ever. "You see boy, each Star Spirit carries a piece of this gem. Apart they are nothing, but together… It becomes a great gift." Mario and friends stared at Eldstar questionably. "Actually it will give you three gifts… In order to receive the first gift you must free two more Star Spirits, they will give you the gem shards upon being freed."

Zane nodded ecstatically. "WOW!!! A gift straight from the Star Spirits!?! SO COOL!!!"

Eldstar nodded. "Yes, it is very cool." His face turned stern all of a sudden. "All I ask is that you never lose it… Keep it some place safe." Zane was now giving Eldstar a look of concern. What would be wrong about losing it?

He nodded regardless. "Okay… hold on, I'll find it a nice safe place." Having said that, Zane pulled his backpack off his shoulders and opened it. After removing a few items he had picked up at Toad Town Store, he found what looked like a small box. He slowly opened the box and found it empty, with a white cushion thing inside.

There was a note inside it.

I thought you would find something small and fragile on your quest, so I give you this box to hold it in.

I hope I've been of assistance!

Goompa

"Good old Goompa! Always thinking ahead!" Goombario chuckled.

Zane took the small gem fragment and placed it inside the box, closing it afterwards. He put the box in the box's front pocket and, after packing all of his items back up again, closed up the bag completely, putting it back on his shoulders right after that. "You can count on me to look after that gem! And I'll be sure to get the others!"

Eldstar nodded thankfully. "Thank you young man." He floated backwards a few inches. "I pray that you save the next Star Spirits, heroes!! We are counting on you all!" A magical looking energy appeared below Eldstar, and before the heroes knew it, Eldstar started an accent to Star Haven. He was gone in but a few minutes.

Bombette walked forward to the place where Eldstar was floating seconds earlier. "So that was a Star Spirit… He sure was a nice old guy." She turned to the others and smiled a little. "So! What do you guys say we get moving? I'm ready for the next adventure!" the other heroes smiled, knowing Bombette was already enjoying the full extent of her freedom, and acceptance into their little group.

The group was off after that. As they went, they couldn't help but notice the natural beauty around them. Without Bowser's troops there, Koopa Path was so peaceful… So beautiful… Zane was so caught up with the sights, that he didn't even realize his friends were having a conversation. "So, where do you think we can find the next Star Spirit?" Kooper asked curiously.

Goombario thought about it. "Good question… We could ask Merlon where we need to go, but I'm not sure I could take another story. I mean sure I can listen to my Goompa go on, but Merlon just goes on… And on… And on…"

Mario decided to be realistic. "We may have no choice. Asking Merlon, helped us find the Star Spirit here in Koopa Path. Asking him again could point us in the right direction."

Zane was paying no heed to this conversation. He just continued to look around at Koopa Path. Right about now, they were passing the fork in the road, where one path lead to Koopa Village, while the other would lead to Toad Town. The group took the Toad Town road and found themselves walking down the path that was right next to a babbling brook. As Mario and friends walked, Zane couldn't help but stop. He saw another one of those curious looking yellow gems he had been collecting. As Mario and friends continued on, they were unaware that Zane broke away from the group to collect the gem.

Once the toad had walked up to the gem, Zane took a closer look at it, and reached to take it… Someone else's hand appeared as well, and Zane's hand and the new one touched. Zane, with his arm and hand frozen on the spot, looked up to see who the new character was. He saw a pair of Neon yellow eyes staring at him from a dark hood, with ocean blue hair poking through the back, right in front of him. Zane's eyes widened at the new visitor. The Neon Yellow eyes widened as well. Zane took a better look at this visitor; from where he was sitting, he could see this stranger was wearing a cloak almost similar to what Merlon wore, he could almost see some feminine details, thus making him theorize that this person was female, he couldn't see her face, save for her glowing neon yellow eyes… It was right then that Zane could've almost sworn he saw a blush coming from this strange visitor. He blushed himself, not sure what to think.

"ZANE!!!"

This alone made him pull his arm back from the mysterious girls hand and turn his gaze away from her. He looked behind him to see his friends were now a good distance away, just now noticing that he was gone. Zane figured that if they saw him they'd be unable to see this strange female. Zane's mind popped back into attention; and speaking of mysterious female… He turned back to the visitor… Only to find she was gone. Zane looked around a little bit. "Whoa! Where'd she go?" When he looked down, he almost balked when he saw that the strange yellow gem he was just about to pick up was accompanied by one other; and Zane distinctly remembered that there was only one.

"ZANE COME ON!!!" Came a voice; he recognized it as Bombette's voice and she was sounding impatient. Zane looked for that strange girl a second more then collected the gems, storing them in his bag. With a start, he broke into a run to catch up with the others. As he did, his mind traveled to that rather weird moment with that strange girl.

Which brought up this thought in Zane's mind; was she even there to begin with? Did his mind just make up the whole thing? He took a look at his hand, the hand that touched that strange female. Her hand felt so soft, so fragile… Somehow… Zane knew there was no way in Hell he imagined that.

When he finally caught up to the others, it was as the toad expected. "What held you up?" Kooper asked curiously.

Zane just shook his head. "Sorry guys, I thought I saw a useful power-up item back there, but I guess I was mistaken."

They seemed to accept this, and the heroes were off again…

Some distance away from them, the very same figure that Zane had seen was sitting behind a bush… And to be frank, the poor girl was BLUSHING LIKE MAD. Meriee couldn't believe the meeting she had with that toad. Thoughts she had never experienced before in her life came to her mind, and the girl was staring at the hand that had touched Zane's hand. 'His hand…' Meriee thought, thinking solely of Zane's hand. She blushed even more turning her whole face red… She shook off those thoughts in a hurry. "Stop thinking such things!" She looked at the path ahead, and saw Zane getting away. She blushed bashfully some more, but started to chase after him.

As the group walked, Zane stretched a little and put his hands behind his head. "Man, if there was one thing I needed right now, I'd say it was some sleep."

Goombario stretched a little himself. "No arguments there."

Mario took a quick look at his watch and saw that it was around 6 pm. "I'd like to-a stop and-a rest as much as-a you guys, but we have to find-a out where the-a next Star Spirit is."

The others nodded, knowing this was true. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, MARIO!!!!!" Everyone jumped at that sudden outburst. They turned to some bushes next to them to see nothing at first… That is until a familiar figure suddenly jumped into view. Zane and Mario recognized the figure immediately. "I KNEW I'D FIND YOU HERE IF I WAITED LONG ENOUGH!!!!" He chuckled evilly. "I told you I'd be back!!! NOW I'LL GET MY REVENGE!!!" The little koopa ran out of bushes at Zane and Mario, trying, as it looked like, to tackle them…

Mario and Zane however, sidestepped the charge. Jr. Troopa couldn't put on the brakes fast enough and he lost his balance, causing him to fall off the overhanging just behind them, and into the river. "GWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 'SPLAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!!'

Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette could only stare at the hopeless sight, absolutely confused… A sopping wet hand reached back over the overhanging and Jr. Troopa pulled himself back up, sopping wet himself. Once he took a second to catch his breath, he ran on the path in front of the heroes, and pointed at them angrily. "I've got you now! AND I can PROMISE you that this fight will be much different then before!!!"

Zane knew that somehow, Jr. Troopa meant what he said when he said he'd be back. But still running into him now was a surprise, a rather humorous surprise cause of Jr. Troopa's dip in the river, but a surprise none the less. "This kid… Wants to challenge you, Mario? He's kidding right?" Came Bombette, now more confused then ever, though she was enjoying the thought that this little punk was even thinking he could take Mario.

Goombario took a closer look at the koopa, thinking he looked slightly familiar. Kooper agreed with what Bombette said. "I agree with Bombette, how could any koopa, regardless of size, even think taking on Mario?" Goombario looked like he was about to say something, but Zane stopped him and gave the kid a wink, letting him know that he would handle this.

"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jr. Troopa said with a shout. He turned to Mario and Zane, whom had walked up. "YOU two, Mario and 'What's your face'!! You should know who I am!!!!"

Mario almost visibly winced at that. He just knew Zane was going to do something about that… Zane walked up and appraised the koopa. "Hmm… A tiny little koopa, wearing his egg shell like a diaper…" Jr. Troopa started to steam at that. "Acts worse than one of those bratty bastards that Bowser calls his kids…" Jr. Troopa started to turn red as his temper skyrocketed, while everyone started to chuckle. "Is more persistent, die-hard, and thickheaded then a cockroach…" Like last time, Steam started to jet out of his nose and ears, like an overheating machine. "Nope, sorry doesn't sound familiar."

"GRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Zane started laughing at Jr. Troopa's response. "YOU DO TO REMEMBER!!!!!!!! THE NAME IS JR. TROOPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He steamed a bit more. "AND AFTER THIS BEATING I'LL MAKE SURE IT'S A NAME YOU ALL WILL REMEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(Jr. Troopa's battle theme plays in the background.)
The heroes got into battle position just as Jr. Troopa continued on his tantrum for a second, before finally calming down. "Don't think I'll be so easy after our last fight! I've improved and even learned a new skill during our time apart!" He said pointing at Mario to make himself look serious. "MORE POWER!!!" He shuffled his feet a little bit… Mario and the others prepared themselves for whatever trick Jr. Troopa had up his sleeve… He suddenly pulled into his egg shell and used the part of the egg shell he wore as a hat to close it up, making it look like a whole egg with a small crack going across it, near the top. He just sat there a little bit. "HA!!!! DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING DID YA?!? NOW YOU CAN'T EVEN TOUCH ME NOW!!!"

It was silent for a second…

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Jr. Troopa popped out of the shell and started to steam up. "WHAT'S SO FRIGGIN FUNNY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Zane was the one who answered. "AFTER ALL THE TIME YOU COULDA SPENT TRAINING, THAT'S THE BEST YOU CAN COME UP WITH?!?!?!?!?!?!? MAN!!!!! AND I THOUGHT I COULD BE UNORIGINAL AT TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He continued laughing.

Bombette answered as well. "AWWW!!! You looked so cute tucked into your eggshell like thaaa- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She said but couldn't finish as her laughing cut her off.

Jr. Troopa started to really get pissed. "SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DO NOT LOOK CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He pulled into his eggshell again and charged, slamming Bombette in anger.

Bombette was surprised by the force of hit and flinched. "OWW!!!" Jr. Troopa pulled back quickly.

"SEE?!?!? THERE'S NOTHING CUTE ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jr. Troopa shouted before tucking himself back into his eggshell.

Goombario took a look at the place where Bombette was hit. "It seems that eggshell of Jr. Troopa's is a lot tougher then it looks." He pulled back, "We better be careful."

Zane cracked his knuckles, "CAREFUL, SHMAREFUL!!! It's about time I showed this punk what happens when you mess with the best!!!" The Toad charged forward and threw a punch at Jr. Troopa.

'POOOW!!!'

"YEEOOOWWWW!!!" Zane said, pulling back examining his hand which was slightly red. 'Goombario wasn't kidding!! That shell IS tougher then it looks!'

Mario suddenly charged forward, and slammed his hammer into Jr. Troopa's hard shell. It seemed to do a bit of damage. "OWW!!!" Jr. Troopa pulled out and was swaying a little from the hit. "Who knew Mario had such battle skills?" He shook himself out of his daze. "GRRR!!! I'm just getting warmed up!!" He pulled back into his shell upon saying that.

Zane seeing his punches were no good, went in for a kick. He lashed out a powerful 'Triple Kick' which hit Jr. Troopa, hook line sinker, and sending the little eggshell flying. To help with this, Bombette lit her fuse. "Zane, give me a boost!!" Zane complied by grabbing Bombette.

"ALLEY OOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Zane shouted with a grunt, sending Bombette flying right after Jr. Troopa. Jr. Troopa who was still flying, pulled out of his shell to see what was going on… Only to see Bombette fast approaching, fuse lit.

"OHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" 'BBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

Jr. Troopa went sailing to the ground and hit it hard. When the dust settled, it revealed that Jr. Troopa just barely retreated into his shell before Bombette went off. The shell took a lot of damage regardless. "MAN, THAT STUNG!!!" Jr. Troopa said inside his shell.

He didn't have any time to move before Kooper slammed into his shell, sending it flying again. As the shell went flying, Mario and Zane appeared in front of Jr. Troopa's flight path. When Jr. Troopa came his closest, Mario hammered him away like a baseball. Instead of being sent flying, he landed on the ground, got back on his feet and charged Mario. Mario was hit by the attack, while Zane dodged. The toad looked at Jr. Troopa and growled. 'That koopa's starting to become a real 'pain in the neck.' Zane thought as Jr. Troopa continued his attack. The other heroes were putting up a good fight, and he had a good feeling they could take him, but they would need his help. His thoughts raced, 'My punches are a no go as they'd just hurt my hand… Triple Kick could work, but I can't use the same move over and over, Jr. Troopa would expect it.'

Suddenly his thoughts immediately turned to the 'Charge badge' pinned to his jacket. He smiled a little. "Increasing my attack power huh?" He looked at Jr. Troopa, and began focusing his energy…

Jr. Troopa, meanwhile, was actually faring quite well against the heroes. His defense was quite surprising with his eggshell. Bombette blasted away at Jr. Troopa when she got the chance. It damaged Jr. Troopa, but he kept right on going and plowed through her. Goombario stood back, from the battle. His head may have been as hard as a rock, but he knew with how speedy Jr. Troopa was, along with his hard shell, trying to attack him would've been hard.

Kooper charged at Jr. Troopa, slamming his shell into the eggshell and leaving a dent in it. The little bully countered with a tough head butt. Mario countered this by swinging his hammer. It hit Jr. Troopa with a pretty good result. It sent him flying a little ways and he landed on the ground. Inside his shell, Jr. Troopa was panting heavily. Even WITH his defenses Mario was starting to pull ahead! "GRR… Mario IS NOT going to get ahead of me this time!!!"

"HIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Before Jr. Troopa knew what was happening, his feet suddenly left the ground after a ground sweeping kick knocked him into the air. Before he could right himself, he was grabbed by his bottom shell and the top of his hat. He peeked out to see that Zane was holding him… And he was glowing! "WHAT THE?!?!?"

Goombario saw this, "He must have used the Charge badge he picked up!! I recognize that energy from a book I read!"

Before Jr. Troopa could try and stop him, Zane suddenly lifted his knee… Before viciously cracking Jr. Troopa's eggshell against his knee. The attack power was powerful enough to cause Jr. Troopa to break out of his defensive position and cause a great amount of damage. "YEEEEOO-" He never had time to finish as Zane, still hyped up on the 'Charge Badge' power up energy, plowed his fist into Jr. Troopa's face. Mario winced because that hit looked like it hurt and he had no doubt that it would hurt even WITH the shell defending him.

Jr. Troopa went hurtling throughout the air, Mario dodged his flight and swung his hammer upward knocking the little guy into the air. Kooper flew through the air and slammed Jr. Troopa. Goombario and Bombette was riding on top of Kooper's shell tied to it once again. Goombario flew at Jr. Troopa and slammed him with a Headbonk, with Bombette pulling him in after the attack was finished. The next attack came from Bombette who jumped herself. She first collided into Jr. Troopa with a 'Body Slam' attack. Jr. Troopa had the wind knocked out of him, and when he looked up, he saw Bombette still in the air... Her fuse now lit...

"OHH..."

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jr. Troopa rocketed back to the ground. His decent was stopped by Zane, fist outstretched upward. It collided with his gut, causing the Koopa to lose a big breath of hot air. This was followed by Mario suddenly appearing, and swinging his hammer into the Koopa's body. The koopa went flying again, but landed with a skid back on the ground. His foot twitched but he didn't get back up.

Zane approached Jr. Troopa and saw that the poor creature was out cold. "Way too easy." He said with a smirk.

(The Jr. Troopa Battle theme stops, and the Paper Mario; The Thousand Year Door victory theme plays in the background.)
Jr. Troopa groaned in pain as he continued lying there. Zane shook his head pitifully. "Weird... I actually hoped he improved somehow during our time apart..."

Kooper responded to this. "Not really surprising actually. I guess you would be hoping for a challenge, a warrior always does."

Zane nodded; Kooper had the point exactly. "Come on lets get going." Zane said, walking past Jr. Troopa.

Goombario took a look at Jr. Troopa. "Don't you think we should take care of Jr. Troopa? You know take him to a Toad House, or something?"

Zane took a look at Jr. Troopa, who was still groaning in pain. The toad rolled his eyes, not believing he was about to do this. He walked over to the koopa and put him in a piggy-back hold. "Fine, I'll take him to a Toad House..." He turned to Goombario, "Happy now?"

Goombario smiled nervously. He knew he was having Zane do the right thing, but still there was that little voice deep in his head that told him to drop Jr. Troopa and leave him.

Zane was clearly having the same debate... And that devil side of him was shouting louder then the angel side. About the only thing that kept him from dropping Jr. Troopa was the fact that what he was doing was right, and it would make him look like a jerk if he just dropped him now.

They continued walking until they arrived in Toad Town minutes later. Zane, not wanting to be around when Jr. Troopa woke up, quickly dropped him off at the Toad House. It wasn't easy talking the toad working there into looking after Jr. Troopa, (He knew his reputation and didn't want any trouble.) but Zane insisted that they do this chore, at least this once. The toad was hesitant at first but agreed.

Zane walked out of Toad House, Jr. Troopa-less, thankfully. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It wasn't easy to talk the toad into doing it, but he agreed after a few rounds." He turned to his friends, who must've been waiting for him to come out. His gaze turned to Goombario particularly. "I can not believe you talked me into that... I hope you realize he's NOT going to be thankful in the least for it, regardless of what we did."

Goombario shrugged, "What? Jr. Troopa may be a creep, but it was the right thing to do, anyways."

Kooper nodded in agreement. "He is right, you know."

Mario nodded. Even if Bombette voted that Jr. Troopa was better off left behind, he still would've lost this argument. "Fine, it was the right thing to do... But that doesn't mean I needed to like it. Let's leave it at that, shall we?" The others nodded, guessing that was about as close as they were going to get without pushing Zane's nerve.

"MAAARIOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The group jumped at the sudden noise. They looked up, since the voice sounded like it came from the sky. They found themselves right about their assumption when they saw a familiar sight flying towards them. Goombario, Zane, and Mario smiled, recognizing their new visitor as Twink, flying down from Bowser's castle. He flew in front of the group giving them a big smile. "Me and Peach heard that you managed to free the first Star Spirit! I thank you so much for it!"

Mario took the praise in with stride. "Please, it was-a nothing."

Twink shook his head, which was more like his whole body, "Oh but it was something! Thanks to you, we've taken our first step towards beating Bowser!" He chuckled giddily... Before he took on a look of excitement. "Oh by the way, I know where the next Star Spirit is!!!"

The heroes stared at him surprised. "You do?!?" Kooper asked excited.

Twink nodded. "YEAH!! You see Peach and I managed to sneak out of the room she was being held in, and find out where the next Star Spirit is."

Bombette chuckled. "Do we even WANT to know where you found the info?"

Twink took on an awkward look. "Not really... But that's not the point." He floated just a little closer. "Okay, the next Star Spirit is in Dry Dry Ruins, in the middle of Dry Dry Dessert."

The heroes gawked. "DRY DRY RUINS?!?!? IN DRY DRY DESSERT?!?!?!?" Goombario asked in a shout.

Twink nodded his face now panicky. "Yes I know! I couldn't believe that a Star Spirit could be hidden there myself." He floated backwards a little. "I hope you can save the next Star Spirit. We need to save them as soon as possible."

"Then it's-a settled." Mario said, walking forward. "Next Stop, Dry Dry Dessert."

Twink smiled. "Thanks, your the best!" He looked back into the sky. "Well, I should get going! Can't keep Peach waiting for too long!" He waved the point that could've been considered his hand. "See you later guys!" Twink then flew off. His destination, back to Boswer's castle.

Zane thought about what they had just heard. "Dry Dry Ruins, eh? That means we'll need to prepare for the desert."

Bombette looked more startled then the other heroes when she heard the Star Spirit was in Dry Dry Desert. "Yeah, I guess."

Kooper noticed that Bombette's tone was quite hesitant. "You okay Bombette?"

Bombette snapped out of her look and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine!" Kooper and the others stared at her confused, but shrugged.

Mario looked out to his friends. "So-a anyone, know a way to-a Dry Dry Dessert?"

Goombario was the one that answered. "There's a train in the South part of Toad Town that rides straight to Mt. Rugged. It's a mountain that sits alongside Dry Dry Dessert."

Zane smirked. "Mt. Rugged, eh? It's been a while since I been there."

Mario looked back to Zane. "You know it Zane?"

Zane nodded. "Me, my dad, the master you know, as well as Lee and Chan, used to go to Mt. Rugged to train. And to rock climb for a bit of training as well."

Bombette looked at Zane. "Master? Wait a minute, you live at the dojo?"

Zane nodded. "Yeah, anyways, we know the train will cost a bit of money, but I could get us on board easily with the Dojo Master's help."

Kooper smiled. "Well, what are we waiting for? Lets get going!"

The heroes, after making that decision, walked to the dojo and thankfully found it open. Zane explained the situation and what had happened on Koopa Path to the Dojo Master as Lee and Chan listened in. The Dojo Master nodded his head, understanding. He coughed slightly. "I see, so you need to go to Mt. Rugged do you?"

Zane bowed respectively. "Yes sensei."

The master thought about this for a second. "Well you could take my 'Train Pass'. It's what allowed us to go to Mt. Rugged before, free of charge." The master pulled out a small ticket. Zane smiled and reached out about to take it. The Master pulled it back at the last minute. "But..."

Zane frowned confused. "But? But what?"

The Master shook his head. "I would like to test your abilities. If you win in a duel, you get to use my train pass. You lose... Well I'll think about it." He turned to Chan. "Chan you will be facing Zane this time."

Chan jumped at this. "Really?!? Me?!?"

Lee shook his head. "No, the other Chan that's in this building..." In a goofing fashion, he playfully slapped Chan upside the head. "OF COURSE YOU!"

Chan gave Lee a glare then smirked a little. He walked toward the arena in the center and prepared for a fight. Zane smirked, "You guys just stand back, I can handle this." Zane walked to the opposite end of the arena. He put up his dukes and prepared himself for a fight.

Chan prepped himself. "Okay Zane! Time for you to get lessons from 'Chan the Man'!"

(The Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Mid-Boss theme plays in the background.)
Chan pulled into his shell and shot forward. Zane dodged quickly, and grabbed Chan's shell. With a spin, Zane threw Chan to the other side of the dojo. He bounced off the wall, and shot back to Zane. The toad was ready for him however. As Chan came flying, Zane reeled his fist back and punched Chan as soon as he came close.

Chan was sent flying back at the wall where he bounced off of it, and went flying back at Zane, who punched it again. It soon became a a big game of 'Tennis' as the shell ricocheted across the room, the shell bouncing on the wall and Zane's fist. It continued for a while, until Zane grabbed Chan's shell and slammed him on his back. "Ow! How dishonorable..."

Zane did a dance-like twirl, and swung his foot downward to hit Chan while he was down. Chan managed to right himself and dodged before the attack could connect. Chan launched forward and attacked Zane slamming him in the gut. Zane winced, as Chan bounced off him and went across the room, stopping after a seconds slide. "I gotcha' this time Zane! You can't beat me!" He pulled into his shell and launched forward.

Zane smirked as Chan came forward. The next few moments happened almost in slow motion. Zane ducked the attack, as Chan went flying by. Zane grabbed Chan's shell, and slammed his stomach against the floor. "YEEEEEEOOO-" He never had time to finish, when Zane threw him back in the air, and smirked.

"SOMERSAULT SLASH!!!!!!!!!!!" Zane followed this with a gigantic backflip kick which sliced through the air, and nailing Chan in the head. Chan went flying, backflipping like crazy and landing on his back, out cold. Zane backflipped a few times and landed back on his feet with the grace of a cat. He smirked a little. "I win!"

(Instead of the victory tune, the Mini-Boss theme plays a second more then fades out.)
As soon as Chan woke up, the Master walked up. "Enough, Zane is the victor." He turned to Chan. "Chan you have a lot of training to do if you wish to match Zane."

Chan panted a little. "Dangit... Zane whooped me..." He turned to the toad and smirked. "I have to admit you learned a lot during our time apart. But I will train and get stronger, and I WILL beat you one day."

Zane nodded and gave a slight bow, letting Chan know he was honored by the match. Chan bowed his head, seeing as how that was the best he could do. Once this was finished, Chan walked back over to Lee, knowing he would have to expect training later. The master walked up to Zane. "You have gotten stronger, Zane." He reached into his pocket. "Here is the 'Train Pass' as promised." He pulled out the ticket and gave it to Zane. "Also, as is the tradition of the dojo, I give you this as well." He then pulled out a small card with the words 'First Degree' at the top. "It's proof of your victory against Chan here in the dojo." he smiled an old man smile. "I wish you luck on your quest."

Zane smiled "Thank you father." Zane bowed respectfully. The master bowed as well. Once raising himself back up he smiled slightly. "Well we should be going, Dry Dry Dessert's calling our name, and we need to answer that call."

The master smiled. "Of course, Zane." This was followed by a big coughing and wheezing fit. "Do your best son." He said with a smile.

The group left shortly after that. Zane made sure to put both of the cards in a safe place in his backpack. The heroes walked back through the east side of Toad Town and was now on their way to the Train Station.

"HEY ZANE!!!!!! HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Zane and the others turned to the right. Right in that line of sight their was a small circular flower garden that looked like it was still developing. What was weird was the fact that there was a big wooden door right in the center of the flower garden. Running up to Zane was a female toad, that had a white hat with pink spots. She wore a short sleeved shirt with flowers imprinted on it, and an apron over it, her shoes were slip-on shoes that were red in color. Zane smiled in a neighborly fashion. "Ah, Minh T!" He said with a welcoming tone.

She stopped and caught her breath. "Heya Zane, It's been a while since you last came by. How are you?"

Zane nodded. "Well, I've been a bit busy. I'm guessing you read the bulletin board in front Merlon's house?"

Minh T. nodded. "Yeah it said Mario was able to save the Star Spirit that was being held captive by the Koopa Bros at their fortress. Not only that, but it said that a certain 'son of a dojo master' went along for the ride!" She elbowed Zane playfully, emphasizing that last sentence, and chuckled. "Yeah I read it, I couldn't believe that you lent a hand in saving the Star Spirit, let me tell you I was pretty surprised."

Zane chuckled, not missing a beat. "No kidding. Anyways, we're gonna be going to Dry Dry Dessert next, we heard that Bowser had hidden a Star Spirit in Dry Dry Ruins."

Minh T. looked surprised. "DRY DRY DESSERT??? Man, I'd cook like a hard-boiled egg if I went out there."

Bombette seemed to cringe at that thought. "Tell me about it." Zane said with a groan.

Goombario walked forward. "Zane, I didn't know that you knew Minh T. ."

Zane blushed slightly. "Oh sorry about that. Minh, this is Goombario, he's my travel companion." Zane said motioning to Goombario. He then motioned to the others. "Along with Kooper."

"Hey!" Kooper said with a grin.

"Bombette."

Bombette looked nervous for a second, but after taking a second to realize someone called her name, she turned to Minh and gave a small grin. "Uh, Pleasure meeting you."

"And I know, you should know Mario."

Mario tipped his hat a little. "Charmed really."

Minh smiled in a neighborly fashion. Zane put his arm around Minh. "And guys some of you should know Minh. She's the town gardener, and she has a real green thumb."

Mihn blushed a little. "Ah I'm not that great."

Zane responded immediately to this. "But you are Minh, nothings going to change that."

Mario stepped into this little conversation. "I'm sorry for-a interrupting, but how do you-a two know each-a other?"

Zane blushed a little. "Oh sorry guys. I've known Minh for quite a while. As some of you know, Kooper and Bombette are about to find out, I was found outside of Toad Town by the Dojo Master..."

He was interrupted by Bombette. "Wait a minute... FOUND?"

Kooper was the same way. "What do you mean by found? Where's your family?"

They ended up hearing the shortened version of Zane's shortened history. Which included how he was found by the Dojo Master and adopted into the dojo. "Zane... I'm so sorry." Bombette said every bit of concern she had."

"Yeah man... I never knew." Kooper said with the same tone as Bombette.

"Ah forget about it." Zane said with a neighborly smile. "Anyways inbetween training sessions with the master back in those times, I would wander around Toad Town. During one of those walks, I ran into Minh. We were best friends ever since."

Minh smiled slightly. "Yeah. Zane almost walked on the flowers, when he came by the garden I managed to stop him."

Zane blushed embarrassedly. "But anyways..." he turned to Minh. "What'd you want Minh? You sounded kinda urgent back there."

Minh blushed slightly. "OH!! I'm so birdbrained..." She turned back to her garden. "I would like you to do a favor for me while out there... Pretty please?" She said, giving Zane a small cute look.

"Like I was gonna say no?" Zane asked. "So, what do you need?"

Minh fiddled with her fingers. "Well, my garden is coming along really great. But I want to make it extra special this time." She approached the big wooden door in the center of the garden. "Have you heard of Bub-ulb's or Flower Fields?"

Zane looked at her confused. Goombario was the one who answered. "Flower Fields is one of the most beautiful natural landmarks in all of the Mushroom Kingdom. It's known as Flower Fields becuase it's a gigantic green paradise, with flowers of every kinds growing there. It's even said that that giant living, humaniod flowers live in Flower Fields. Likewise, the Bub-ulbs are creatures that are commonly found in places of natural beauty." He pulled out a book from his cap. Zane went wide-eyed that a book would be held there, but put it away after a second. "Here's a picture of one Riiiiiiight-" he turned through the pages until he finally stopped on one. "Here." He finished, motioning to a picture in the book.

The creature in the picture resembled a goomba almost, without the thick eyebrows. It had light green skin, little red feet, and a flower on top of it's head. Minh T. nodded. "Yeah that's a Bub-ulb."

Zane took a seat on the ground. "So what about all this?"

Minh T. looked at him flustered. "Well, you see Zane, I was hoping to get seeds from a Bub-ulb tends to carry." She knocked on the big wooden door. "You see, this big door can take anyone to Flower Fields... But as you can see, it's locked." She walked to the flowerless squares of dirt, it came in a sequence that consisted of concrete squares, regular flowers, and flowerless dirt squares. "However there's a rumor going around that if you plant Bub-ulb seeds around the door, then the door will open and Flower Fields can then be reachable." She smiled slightly. "I would really love to see Flower Fields someday. But the Bub-ulbs are so hard to find." She turned to Zane. "So, I figured that, IF you run into any Bub-ulbs during your little journey, you could pick up their seeds, and deliver them to me."

Zane smiled, "Well... I suppose I could keep my eyes open for them, and if they do have seeds... I guess I could pick them up for ya' and give them to you when I have the chance."

Minh squealed giddily. "THANKS ZANE!!! YOU'RE THE BEST!!!" She gave him a big hug, and immediately went back to tending the flowers. "I'll see ya some other time!" She said, waving at Zane.

Zane waved back a small smile on his face. Bombette smiled mischievously. "Ah I see what's going on here."

Zane stopped waving at that. He turned to Bombette. "Wha-what are you talking about?"

Bombette continued giving him the face. "You LIKE her, don't you?"

Zane's blush was so big, it covered his face and he looked like a tomato. "WHA?!?!? I-I-I don't know what your talking about!" He said, turning his face to try and hide his blush.

Minh, who had overheard the whole thing, chuckled a little at Zane's behavior.

The heroes left Minh's garden once things were cooled down between Zane and Bombette. They once again tried continuing onto the train station... "HEY, HEY, YOU GUYS!!!!"

The heroes jumped at this sudden shout. They turned to their left where the voice was coming from to see a little doogan coming up to them. A doogan was a creature with dark brown skin, walked on two legs, and had two legs, so they were a something of a mixture between Goombas and toads. This little dogan was wearing a red jacket and had blue pants. "HEY!!!"

Kooper sized up the dogan. "What's up?"

The doogan child sized up the heroes. "Your travelers, aren't you?"

Mario nodded. "We are, what-a about it?"

The doogan suddenly took a giddy look. "YOUR PERFECT!!!" He turned back to the little center in front of him. "If your travelers, you'll be interested in me and my dads badge shop! We sell all kinds of badges, check it out!"

The heroes looked at each other but followed the doogan into the clearing. As they came to the clearing, a small wall slid out and opened revealing a fine choice of badges to choose from. There was a small stall at the end of the concrete clearing and the wall stopped at the stall. With a pop, another doogan appeared from behind the stall. This doogan appeared to be an older and taller version of the younger doogan. He smiled in a neighborly fashion. "Well now, look at this! We finally have our first customers!" The heroes walked up to the stall. "I hope you will forgive my son, he still has a lot of things to learn about the business world..."

Mario waved his hands dismissively. "Ah no-a problem. I guess he DID show us this badge shop, and I bet that you have some real useful badges for us to use."

The doogan smiled a little. "Well you've been brought to the right place. My name is Rowf, and this is my son Rhuff." He said, motioning to himself, and his son, Rhuff. "And I welcome all you buds to 'Rowf and Son's Badge Shop'!" He disappeared from behind the stall and
walked out from it. He walked along the wall. "Here at 'Rowf and Son's Badge Shop' you can find badges of every shape, size, and contain different abilities." Rowf said with a proud smile.

As the heroes walked along, Bombette spotted a peculiar looking badge on display. It looked like a toad head surrounded by a fire. Bombette stared at it a little while. "Ah, this one has come to your attention has it not, bud?"

Rowf approached Bombette and took the badge from the display. "This is the 'Fire Shield badge'. It gives people a slight boost in fire and heat resistance. Very useful when walking through a very hot place and you want to stay just slightly cooler then you would be without it."

Kooper looked at Bombette confused. "Why would you be interested in this Bombette?"

Bombette lowered her head bashfully. "Well... I, uh..." She finished quickly. "Going to the dessert!"

Zane stared at Bombette confused. "Yeaaah... So?"

Goombario thought about that for a second, before his face brightened in an enlightened sense. "OH, I GET IT!!!" Goombario walked up to Bombette. "She's afraid of the Dessert heat!"

Zane was still confused. "I don't get it... Why would she be?"

Goombario stared at him. "Don't you get it Zane? Bombette's a bob-omb, some bob-ombs don't have heat resistance." He motioned to Bombette who couldn't meet anyone's eyes. "If dessert heat bares down on her for too long she could blow up, completely by accident!"

The heroes went wide-eyed at that. "BLOODY STARS, ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!?!?" Zane asked in exasperation.

Bombette walked up. "It's true... Me and my family took a trip to a beach once, and when I tried to get a tan, I ended up blowing a sandstorm clear across the coastline area." She lowered her head.

Mario shook his head. "Is there-a anyway to-a work over this-a weakness?"

Bombette nodded. "There is... But I never got around to it... I'm sorry guys..."

Kooper waved his hand dismissively. "Hey don't worry about it."

Mario nodded in agreement. "Yeah, all we-a need to-a do is-a work around those weaknesses until we can-a work on getting rid of them-a." He took a look at the 'Fire Shield badge'. "How much is it?"

Rowf considered this. "Well, considering the circumstances, I guess we could work a small discount. Okay then, 50 coins for the badge."

Zane slammed three blue coins and four red coins into Rowf's hands. "SOLD!!"

(The currency system in the Mushroom Kingdom for the Mushroom Kingdom will work as such:

Gold coins: 1 coin.

Red Coins: 5 coins.

Blue Coins: 10 coins

All cleared? Good. Back to the story.)

Rowf stared at the currency, then back at Zane. "I guess that's a sell then!" He handed Zane the 'Fire Shield' badge. "If you find anymore badges you want to sell, just come see me!"

Zane handed the badge to Bombette. "Here, I'm not sure how well this is going to help you, but I suppose it's good enough."

Bombette stared at the badge. "No Zane, I couldn't. I mean you bought it..."

Zane held it out for her kindly. "Yeah... For you."

Bombette stared at it for a second, and took the badge. "Thank you. I'm sorry you had to waste money for this..."

Zane smiled cockily. "Ah it's no prob. I have plenty of money anyways."

"Still... I mean, you bought that with your own money. I should pay you back." Bombette said.

Zane shrugged. "Well you really don't HAVE too... But if you think you should, then fine." Zane looked around, and saw a badge that looked like a spiky ball that was outlined by a pink color, and had yellow in the center. "What kind of badge is this?"

Rowf took the badge off display and examined it. "Ah yes, this is the 'Speedy Spin' Badge. It increases the power of any spin attack you use."

Zane looked at it interested. "How much Magic does it take to use this badge?"

Rowf laughed. "That's the beauty of it Bud! It doesn't take any magic to use the badges effects!"

The toad gawked. "For real?!? Wow! I'll take it! How much?"

Rowf seeing the deal, smiled. "50 coins, and it's yours."

Bombette walked forward and handed Rowf the coins. "And that makes us square!" Rowf took the coins and smiled giddily.

Rhuff spoke out for his father. "Our first sales!! We're on our way, huh dad?"

Rowf nodded. "I'll say bud!" he turned to the heroes. "Anything else I can get you guys?"

Mario answered to that. "I don't believe-a so. We've shopped enough for the-a time being."

Rowf seemed somewhat disappointed by that, but got over it quickly. "Well, if you ever have need for a new badge, you can always come to 'Rowf and Son's Badge Shop' for your one stop badge services!"

The heroes nodded. "Okay Rowf, we'll be sure to come visit when we need to!" Goombario said as the heroes walked off.

Rowf smiled. "Good people."

Rhuff nodded. "And great customers too."

The heroes continued to walk this time making it to central Toad Town. As they walked they passed different buildings, such as Tayce T's Bakery, and Harry T's Item shop. Along with it they passed the warp pipe that would take anyone who jumped in, straight into the Toad Town Sewers. They also passed the bridge that lead to a place called Forever Forest, where, according to Goombario, a gigantic place called Boo's mansion was supposed to be... Somewhere... Zane stopped walking when he saw a peculiar looking flower in the grass. Zane stared at it for a second. "Hey Goombario... Can I see that book of yours for a second?"

Goombario stared at Zane for a second. "Why?"

Zane just continued to insist. "Just let me see it." Goombario stared at him for a second, before giving him the book. Zane, upon remembering the page that Bub-ulb picture was on, turned to that page. He looked at the picture and compared it to the flower he was looking at in the grass. He gave the book back to Goombario. "Thanks Goombario."

Mario looked at Zane confused. "What's-a wrong Zane?"

Instead of answering, Zane fiddled with the flower a little. "uhhh, wha? what's going on?" A voice came suddenly. Mario and the others looked around wondering where that voice came from. After a second, with a light earth moving 'pop' the flower suddenly, STOOD UP, as it looked. It was exactly as Zane expected. It was a Bub-ulb. "What's going on here?"

"Just as I thought." Zane said. "Your a bub-ulb."

The bub-ulb looked annoyed. "Yeah, that I am... What would you want, that would be worth waking me up from my morning nap for?"

Zane got back on his feet, and scratched the back of his head embarrassed. "I'm very, very sorry to interrupt your nap, sir. But I have a friend who's a real fan of Flower Fields, she's collecting Bub-ulb seeds for her garden..."

The bub-ulb's expression changed. His annoyance dropped, and a face of mischief appeared. "She, eh? I'm gathering she asked you to gather up the seeds for her little garden, eh?" He chuckled slightly. "Sounds like quite the chore. Are you doing this expressively for her?" He chuckled some more.

Zane blushed again. "Oh for CRYIN' OUT-!!"

The Bub-ulb wiggled the top of it's flower head. "No need to fuss, here's the seed you're (Clears throat.) Friend is looking for." After a second of shaking it's top, a small seed dropped from the flower, and landed gently on the grass. Zane leaned down and picked it up. It looked like a small pink seed. "Be sure to keep that safe now. It's delicate."

Zane nodded. He then took off his bag, opened it up, and looked around for a good place for him to put the seed. After a second, he found the same little box he had placed the piece of the Star Gem from before. He carefully placed the seed alongside the gem, and closed the box. He slowly put the box back into a secure place in his bag, and sealed it back up. Once the bag was hanging from his shoulders again, he nodded to the Bub-ulb. "Thank you for being so patient. She's going to love seeing this seed."

Bombette looked at him strangely. "Your not giving it to her now?"

Zane shrugged. "Well, we are in kind of a hurry to Dry Dry Dessert. I'll give it to her when we get back."

Mario looked at him strangely. "We aren't in a hurry."

Zane answered to this. "Well the way I see it, Bombette wouldn't have to roast in the sun, if we traveled through the dessert at night fall." The others nodded agreeing with this logic. "And seeing as how, I know a lot of Mt. Rugged's terrain I think I should lead us to the dessert with little difficulty." He said with a know-it-all smirk.

Bombette interrupted him, the 'Fire Shield' badge was on her person. ("Don't ask me how, I'm still trying to figure that one out.") "But even if we do make it through Mt. Rugged, and even with this badge, how am I going to get through this? I mean sure my body is safe... A little... but now it's my fuse I'm worried about."

Kooper gave Bombette a small comforting pat on the back. "Don't worry we'll think of something."

The Bub-ulb gave a small smile. "Well, I can see that my usefulness has ended." He yawned a little. "Well back to taking my nap."

Zane nodded at him. "Yes, thanks for the seed, and I'm sorry to disturb you."

The Bub-ulb yawned again. "Oh think nothing of it. Night." And with that, he immediately burrowed back underground, the space he was standing was replaced by his flower, sitting serenely along the grass.

Mario started walking to the Train station. "Come on everybody! We need to-a get a move on!"

The other party members nodded and ran to join Mario, leaving the Bub-ulb burried in the ground.

They may have had a hectic day in Toad Town, the heroes now have one destination in mind, the Train Station, to go straight to Mt. Rugged, and after that right into the oven that is 'Dry Dry Dessert'. How will that little expedition go? And what will happen along the way?

Me: I apologize for ending this chapter so abruptively, but I felt that I had done enough for it. Let me tell you, this chapter is by far my absolute, undeniable longest chapter. Okay it's not exactly that much longer then Chapter 11, but it still surpasses it.

Otto: Well, I need to be going. (Has a bag slung over his shoulder.)

Wally: Good luck on your training mission mate.

Ace: Yeah, you'll get loads stronger after this, I'm sure of it!

Kuma: And don't you worry, I'll look after things for ya!

Otto: Thanks guys... later. (Walks out the door.)

Me: Well now that this is done... I got some serious- (Yawns.) serious Zs to... (Conks out before I could finish sentance.)

Everyone except Gantz: (Sweatdrops.)

Kuma: Don't worry, I got him. (Picks up Gantz and takes him to his room.)

Ace: I think we should get some rest ourselves. We were so busy fixing the place up, we... (Yawns a little.) I think we need to go to bed.

Wally: Yeah... Well since, Gantz is currently (Clears throat.) 'Indisposed' right now, I'll say his line. (Clears throat again, and does a subpar imitation of my voice.) All in all that's chapter 13 of LotSR. I hope you all enjoyed it! (Gives a peace sign.) R&R People!!

Wally (Dropping the Gantz imitation.) and Ace: Until next update! Night everyone!