Chapter 21: A New Friend From the Forest
Hello, everyone! Pikmin-Volt is not dead! Just throwing that out there for those of you who may have questioned the lack of updating (probably all of you). I've come back with one more surprise chapter, but before that, I just want to apologize. I know I said I would get the sequel to this story out this month, but it doesn't seem like it's going to happen this month or next. I've been so busy with getting ready for college and taking time off from this due to stress that I've forgotten to update! I'm so sorry! However, I AM coming out with a side story that will have some involvement in the sequel, so stay tuned for it, for THAT one will definitely come out soon. What is it? You'll have to read this definitely final chapter to get a clue! Of course, Nintendo owns all characters and elements of its own; not me.
At the entrance of the forest that I had gotten those berries from, a blue Yoshi and a red one were trotting along. As they skipped happily, their hats bounced on and off of their heads. They sang songs that sounded like the most heart-melting of lullabies as they made their way into the sea of trees.
"I can't BELIEVE that Chris messed up AGAIN!" the blue Yoshi joked. "Not that I'm complaining, of course. What about you, Red?" he asked his brother.
"Nope! I missed flutter-jumping!" the red Yoshi mused. "This is EXCELLENT! THERE'S SO MUCH TO DO IN 7 DAYS!"
"EEEEEE! I know!" Blue squealed like an overjoyed toddler. "I wonder how the OTHERS are taking this."
"Bet they're… eating their own words from yesterday, eh? Eh?" Red spoke with a witty tongue (Eh? Eh?)
At that, Blue broke out into laughter before Red joined in. No one could have even SEEN this demeanor coming from our blue hero. Just yesterday, he showed anger and depression. It seems that shedding his humanity worked after all. They continued to talk non-stop to each other, eventually beginning to find fruits along the way. Without a second thought, they both devoured any peach, plum, watermelon, etc. in their path, becoming more elated as they did so.
"Can I just say how much being a Yoshi makes me APPRECIATE fruit?!" Blue beamed in joy.
"I know, right?!" Red joined in as he scarfed down some cherries. "Come on! Let's see what we can find in the woods!" he cheered.
With that, the two brightly colored dinosaurs ran into the dark forest, hoping to find a BANQUET of a meal in there.
As they ventured through the depths, they found even MORE fruits, swallowing them the instant they found them.
"MMM! This stuff's AWESOME!" Red cheered.
"I KNOW!" Blue replied. "IT DEFINITELY MAKES ME FEEL MORE… STRONG!" he triumphed in a pose.
"Hang on, though," Red said. "We should probably bring some back to the others. You know… like… as a peace offering!"
"Good idea," Blue started. "'Cause I'm SURE Vio's psyched with looking cute for a week instead of 'cool.'"
Blue then asked how that would be possible, as they had no baskets of any kind. As they stood there trying to ring up a plan, suddenly, they heard rustling in the bushes.
"Um… Do you see that too, Blue?" Red asked, inching closer to him timidly.
"I-I do," Blue said, slightly unnerved.
As they looked at the moving shrubs, they suddenly saw a creature with a red hood and a mask with a blank facial expression leap out of it.
"AH!" the two Yoshi brothers shouted, Red jumping into Blue's arms.
"Well isn't this something?" the hooded menace asked. "If it isn't the two little annoyances that pummeled our leaders? MEN!" he suddenly called. On cue, more of the secretive enemies jumped out of hiding and began to surround the two terrified dinos.
"Oh, what's the matter?" the leader jeered. "Suddenly not so confident without your little squid friend, eh? Don't worry… We'll make sure we take her in too. After these words, they all circled around the frightened pair and prepared to jump them in an effort to capture them.
"W-We're outnumbered," Red stammered.
"If- if this is the end… Red," Blue started, unafraid to show his fear. "Th-then please know that I am SO SORRY for all the times I mistreated you!" he sobbed.
"It's okay," Red voiced. "I- love you… Blue."
" I love you too," Blue wept.
"Oooohh! How TOUCHING! Just makes me wanna CRY!" the leader of the masked marauders spoke. "LET'S NOT DELAY! SEIZE THEM!" he cried out.
Only, as the soldiers were about to pounce on the two heroes, everyone stopped moving when a deep voice called out.
"HALT, SHY GUYS!" it spoke.
"Oh no," one of them said, suddenly in fear.
"Not this AGAIN," another added.
"Why does it have to be NOW?!" a third one asked.
"WHY?!" the voice responded. "YOU HERE ARE THREATENING MY FRIENDS! MY KIN! GO NOW, AND YOU WILL BE SPARED FROM MY WRATH!"
Huddling together, one of the Shy Guys spoke.
"R-Remember Kamek's teachings. D-Don't r-run a-away."
"DON'T RUN AWAY?!" the voice mocked them. "WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO STAY IN THE FACE OF… oh… I don't know…" the voice grew quiet, but only for a moment.
"THIS?!" it screeched as a sudden apparition jumped out of the shadows. It looked like a Yoshi, but there were many different features on it. It had a mix of colors, varying from red on the limbs to purple on the body. Even more so, it had a jack-o-lantern smile on its stomach that almost had a lifelike grin that glowed crimson. The most startling thing, however, was its eyes. They shone a deep shade of red, and were pointed down on the Shy Guys in the most menacing of ways.
The Shy Guys suddenly felt faint, and, try as they did, could not resist their fear for even half a minute. In short time, they fled from the red and blue Yoshis, cursing themselves for not being able to withstand this sudden paranormal occurrence.
As the last of them exited the scene, the ghostly image of the Yoshi fainted, though there was still laughter. Red and Blue, meanwhile, stood in silence, trembling with fear while holding onto each other.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" the voice laughed in amusement. "THOSE PUNY ANTS STILL HAVE A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT MESSING WITH MY FRIENDS! ISN'T THAT RIGHT, GUYS?!" he said to Red and Blue, who at this point, had only one thing on their minds.
They tried running back the way they came from, only to bump into each other in a few seconds, stumbling and falling over.
"Ow!" Blue said.
"AAHH!" Red wailed. "PLEASE DON'T EAT OUR SOULS!"
Calming down, the voice gave some reassurance to the duo that was scared witless.
"Ok, first of all, it's brains," it pointed out.
"And second of all…" it began as the voice began to take the sound of a genuine Yoshi.
"I only like FRUIT. Well… that and all the other stuff that ISN'T BRAINS for the record."
As it finished telling them this, the owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light where Red and Blue could see who it was.
It was a Yoshi that had the same appearance of the apparition that they had seen earlier, only with the changes that the red on his body was gone. His limbs were green, his jack-o-lantern was a dull black, and his eyes were pure white, glowing in the darkness.
Working up the trust and courage to speak, Red asked, "W-Who are you?"
"Me?" the strange Yoshi replied. "I'm just a guardian of this forest who drives out anyone who isn't nice!"
"Y-You're… what now?" Blue asked in confusion.
"I'm a… special sort of Yoshi that's more than meets the EYE…" he informed the blue hero while his left eye turned pink for a moment before attaining its neutral color again. "I-not to shock you-am an undead variety of Yoshi."
"Whoa…" the two brothers cooed. They certainly didn't expect an encounter like THIS on their FIRST day of chibi adventuring! They HAD to tell the others about this!
"Oh… don't worry," the paranormal Yoshi said as he read their thoughts. "This isn't my actual home. I live and hang out with the other Yoshis too! This is just more of a… job… so to speak."
"WOW! THAT'S… AMAZING!" Blue beamed.
"YOU MUST BE LIKE SOME SORT OF HERO TO THE OTHERS OR SOMETHING!" Red chimed in.
"Aww, shucks…" the spooky Yoshi blushed, his eyes turning magenta.
"Your eyes make you look so cute too!" Red squealed.
"Really? Thank you!" he exclaimed. "I'm usually afraid that first-timers will run at the first sight of these things!"
"Well… friend, once you're done with this… job, how about we all get some fruit or something?" Blue offered.
"I'D LOVE TOO!" the Yoshi replied with pink eyes. "Oh! Here's something to get you started!" he finished as he walked over to a nearby tree, and, without warning, pounded his fist into the ground, shaking the tree like a rattle, before dropping various fruits onto the ground. He then concentrated his energy on a nearby rock, and carved a sizable hole in it, effectively turning it into a bowl! The two dino brothers were stunned.
"WOOOO!" Blue spoke. "THAT WAS AWESOME!"
"First you saved us, and now you're giving us a parting gift?" Red asked. "You're a wonderful friend!"
"No problem!" the paranormal dinosaur replied. "Now, do you need any help getting out of here too?" he asked.
"Nah… we…" Blue began before looking around nervously. Usually, he would try to take this into his own hands, but given his change of attitude as of late, he wasn't afraid to admit the truth.
"Actually… we could use a guide," he chuckled.
"Don't worry," their friend spoke. "It takes a long time to figure this forest out."
And so, after showing them the way, the Yoshi bid farewell to his new friends, and, in a few hours, joined them and their brothers for dinner, which, much to Green, Vio and Shadow's reluctance to admit it, was a blast. As Red, Blue and the spooky Yoshi told the others the story of how they met by the fire, they ate up all the fruit they could, laughing and overall having a good time. And so, it looked like things were going to be okay for our heroes after all. But what about their new friend? What was there to him? Find out… in another story… "A Friend in the Undead!"
Well, NOW it's over. It seemed like all was lost for Red and Blue before… surprise! Spooky Yoshi from Woolly World has made his grand entrance! Of course, those last few sentences have probably got you wondering what HIS story is. Enter my latest project: an adventure that explains how THIS Yoshi came to be! I hope you're looking forward to it, as you are the sequel to this story as well. And yes, Spooky Yoshi, among more will be involved in it too! It'll be a Yoshifest! Until then, farewell.