Paper Mario X
Chapter 24: The Secret that Comes from the Heart
Previously-
In the next hall, the stomping could belong to none other than Tubba Blubba himself. Kirby quickly hid Bow behind him. Bombette took cover behind Link, Kooper had a spas attack, and Goombario almost had an accident. Mario, Link, and Kirby stood their ground in front of the monster.
"Mmm…What's this? Sniff sniff…" Tubba Blubba boomed. "I smell something very fishy…"
He continued his romp down the hall. Kirby gripped Bow's hand, even though he didn't realize she was invisible. The monster Blubba came closer until Goombario thought he was going to explode.
Mario however, swapped from Parakarry to Goombario to tattle on Tubba Blubba. They were all surprised to find out he only had 10 HP, but his defense was a mystery. The next thing Mario did was run away! They piled out of the room, but Link said they had to get past him. Bow also added that if something went wrong, she would hide them. Mario gave a nod, and then pushed through the door. Tubba Blubba tried to catch them, but he was too slow. The big door at the other side was locked, so they took an alternate route in a small door to the left. At least seven Clubbas were fast asleep in that room. Goombario gasped, but Kooper slammed his hand over his mouth to keep him from waking them all up. Mario walked quietly to get the key while everyone else thought it would be safer to stay by the door. Kirby realized they could have used Parakarry to fly over there and get the key. Heads were smacked.
"We are dumb."
Link smacked Goombario as Mario grabbed the key, but the sound of the smack woke all the Clubbas up. The partners screamed and ran out the door. They prepared to escape through the other door, untillthey remembered it was locked. What made tmhe nearly pee their pants was the thunderous steps of a monster. Tubba Blubba was coming to eat them when an angry, beat up Mario emerged out the door. Everyone grinned sheepishly while Mario got rid of the lock. Before he could even open the door, his friends shoved him through the entryway. Mario grunted that that was just assault.
"Quiet Mario. You didn't have to cower in a corner while that beast thought you were an entrée!" Link murmured. Mario put on a guffawed face. He fought five of the seven Clubbas after all, but it didn't really compare to being in Tubba Blubba's presence. The room they were in had a Life-up Box, which meant something bad was going to happen. Mario bashed the box, leaving everyone at full health. Entering the other door, there was another bridge above the entry room, only even higher than the last one. They crossed it with speed, went into the next room, and a book was open on a table. They couldn't jump on the chair to get to it though, so Mario explored a little more and found a chest behind a large bed. Just as he was about to open it, the room rumbled and Tubba Blubba was on the prowl.
"AIIIIIII!" wailed Goombario.
"Quiet!" snapped Link.
Tubba Blubba burst through the doors.
"Hmmm…I might be in trouble…that Star Spirit ran away…and now I think someone suspicious is in the castle…I sure don't wanna make King Bowser mad. He's scary." he stated. The gang quivered behind the bed. "He did make me invincible, but if I screw up, he might change me back to normal…"
This new info intrigued the group. They strained to hear more. Too bad Tubba Blubba was making his way over to them. He stopped just before the gang could enter his sight. They were holding their breath.
"…time for some beauty rest!" he exclaimed. With a big leap and a giant bubble, he was fast asleep. Everyone could breathe again except Parakarry. Mario turned and opened the chest to find a key…named Yakkey. Oh no.
"Hi there! I'm Yakkey…a faithful and chatty follower of Tubba Blubba! My very important job is to guard his valuables!"
"Way to go, Mario!" hissed half the gang. Mario sweat dropped.
"But…you don't look like Master Tubba Blubba at all! That means…you have come here to steal me, the magical key that unlocks the door to Windy Mill at the foot of Gusty Gulch? Furthermore, your goal is to find out if there's a secret inside that Windy Mill? "
Mario stepped back. He had forgotten all about the Windmill.
"What do we say Mario?" Kirby asked cautiously.
"I don't think it will matter…say yes!" Link input. Mario nodded to Yakkey.
"…you're a very honest person aren't you?" Yakkey asked. "…"
He then burst out, "HEEELLLLLPPPP! Master Tubba Blubba! A THIEF!" Parakarry woke up from his pass out and he and Goombario went to high tail it, with everyone else shivering in fear. Tubba Blubba sat up from his nap.
"Grrrr…Hmmph? What's all the noise?" Tubba grumbled. "Five more minutes Mom…"
"Oh no! He's awake! We have to run!" Bow yipped. Kirby couldn't agree more. Surprisingly, Yakkey hid in Mario's pocket when they turned to leave. Goombario and Kooper were already out of the room, but the others weren't far behind. They were halfway down the suspended hall when Tubba Blubba finally got out of bed.
"Hey you! Thief! Stop!" ordered Tubba. He slammed his big butt on the ground, making it rumble. The floor collapsed underneath them. Link grabbed Bombette to protect her while Kirby leaped onto Bow to protect himself. Mario took a ride on Parakarry, but he was too heavy to stay in the air. They landed on the middle hall, but that crumbled too. Luckily, they managed to get out of the way before they were crushed to death by a piece of the floor. Bombette was on the verge of an outburst, Kooper needed an inhaler, Goombario was breathing off, Bow was grabbing Kirby as hard as he was grabbing her, Link had a stubborn face, and Mario wished Parakarry was stronger. Even though they were on a lower part, Tubba Blubba was still hot on the trail.
"RUN PEOPLE!" shouted Goombario who couldn't hold his breath anymore. They didn't need to be told. They sprinted down the many stairwells, headed into the lobby where all the U.F.O.s were smashed under the weight of hall pieces, and dashed to the front door. Half the gang stopped breathing.
Outside, a little team of Boos arrived.
"At last, we've arrived at Tubba Blubba's castle. Are you ready everyone?" the leader asked. "Be brave! We must do all we can to help the Lady Bow!"
"But…what can we do?" one Boo wondered.
"This is no time to lose our nerve, fellow Boos! Our dear lady is fighting against Tubba Blubba himself! We mustn't hesitate!" Leader boomed.
"Come back here!" they heard Tubba Blubba growl from inside. The Mario gang toppled outside, landing in a heap thanks to Goombario. Everyone glared at him until all the Boos gasped. At that moment, five of the six Boos flung themselves onto the door. The last Boo needed to talk to them.
"Wha…wha…What's that noise?" he asked.
"Tubba Blubba bringing down the house!" Link snickered.
"Not now Link!" Kirby grunted.
"Tubba Blubba's chasing you?! And he's right on the other side of the door? GULP!"
"We need to go to the Windy Mill to find out his secret!" explained Bow.
"You might be able to find out Tubba Blubba's weak point? Oh, of course, the windmill at the foot of the hill…" Mario nodded. "You must hurry! Run as fast as you can to the Windy Mill! We'll hold Tubba Blubba here!"
"It's too dangerous! He's a madman! He'll eat every last one of you!" Bow cried.
The ground shook even more, and everyone felt like they were going to flop over.
"GUURRGHHH! Why won't this door open?" Tubba Blubba bellowed. The last Boo quickly went to help the others.
"I…don't know how long…we can keep holding this. Don't worry about us! Keep going, for all our sakes! Don't look back!" the last Boo ordered.
"Good luck!" Kirby called.
Mario and co. raced to the Windy Mill in a flash. Just as they were about to leave the front door, Tubba Blubba smelled the ghosts. Bow gasped and turned away. Kirby urged her to go on so they could save them, gently took her hand, and led her away. The gang was getting incredibly tired from all their running, but kept going forward no matter what. Flying past all familiar land and completely bypassing enemies, they reached the windmill in record time. Mario shoved Yakkey into the lock and opened the door in a whoosh. Mario quickly broke a Spin Jump pad. The group piled down into the room. It only had a spring and a door, so using their common sense they entered the door. A long corridor lay before them. As Mario led his friends, he found a sigh that said:
No entry Allowed.
"Well, we're not allowed in there, we should LEAVE!" yelped Goombario.
"There you go again!" Link moaned. "So gullible…"
"Quiet! I don't want to DIE you know!"
"We're not. You just need to have a little courage!"
"Share some of yours with me. You have enough to go around!"
"It's only for important people, like Bombette!"
"Aw!"
Goombario rolled his eyes and groaned. Bombette was going to blow up in his face again, but Mario put her fuse out. They found another hall with another warning sign and Goombario had another speech. The next hall had a Hyper Goomba, but they ignored that, another sign, and Goombario. Finally, the next room was actually a room with a giant, pulsing, red feltish heart sitting a pedestal.
"Who are you?" it barked. Mario told it. "What! Mario?!"
"And Link!"
"And Kirby!
The thing glared at the other two who quickly hid their faces.
"Did someone…tell you I'm the secret strength of Tubba Blubba?" it asked. Mario shook his head no, but the red glob kept going. "Someone spilled the beans that the Tubba Blubba in the castle is just a hollow shell and…I'm controlling it from here?"
"eh…"
The thing bopped up and down. "You can't trust anybody!"
"Tell me about it!" piped Goombario.
"I can't let you out of here knowing the secret of my "invincible" body! Sorry, but here we go!"
The heart (that's what it was shaped like) went in to attack, causing Goombario to scream a bloody scream.
BOSS BATTLE! Woo! I kinda've enjoyed this one. But anyway, we're really close to 40 reviews soooo...if you can make that possible, you can see them kick some butt Sunday. Give it 110 percent!
Next time-
The team of heroes get ready to take down the true villain, Tubba Blubba's Heart. Will they provail? Shall Bow be eaten before? Is Kirby gonna have a melt down? Shrug...:D