Published on June 18th, 2011.
Replaced (ver.1) on November 26th, 2015.
Chapter 36/60
Fire! Lava Piranha!
Hot, Hot Times on Lavalava Island Arc (4/5)
Near the core of Mt. Lavalava, everyone, except Goombario, found Kolorado hyperventilating and looking around like a mad man. "We're very close!" Kolorado said. "My treasure-hunting senses is off the chart! It must be over there!" He ran through a cavern, which made most people sighed in frustration and chased after him. Bow noticed another path that led to another floor below. While running, they noticed the tracks from the Spiny Tromp on the ground. When they reached the end, they found the Spiny Tromp stuck on the wall. "It's another dead-end... Forgive me, but I can be wrong on occasion."
On occasion? Bow thought, raising an eyebrow.
"I will stay here for a little while. It must be around here somewhere." The team decided to head back with no leads. They found a Thunder Bolt, Super Mushroom, and a Maple Syrup inside the floating blocks.
"We looked everywhere and we haven't found it yet!" Eddy said in frustration.
"It is possible the information Twink told us was fake?" Mario said. "Maybe he misheard it."
"Everyone," Bow said. "I believe there's one more path left." She pointed to the rocky stairs, next to the Heart Block. "There's a good chance it's down there."
"Let's give it a shot," Sushie said. Everyone recovered their energies with the Heart Block and proceeded down.
A Putrid Piranha spotted the team. "Red alert! Red alert!" it said. "Mario and the Eds are still approaching! Identified as searching for Star Spirit!" It burrowed down after that.
"Guess I'm right," Bow said, smirking. Everyone moved forward with caution as they entered a wide area. The area almost resembled the number "8". The space in the "8" were filled with a pool of magma, and the outer edges was filled with magma as well.
"I just remembered something, guys!" Ed said.
"What is it?" Kooper asked.
"Didn't Twink told us about a scary Piranha in here?" Everyone thought up about that for a second.
"Now that you mentioned it...you're right!"
"That boss Twink was referring must be that scary Piranha," Mario added.
"Guys!" Bombette said. "There's something bubbling inside that pool!" Everyone scanned closely as the bubbling grew more intense. An enormous Piranha Plant emerged out of the pool while everyone backed away from the scattered magma. Unlike the rest, this one had white ring markings on his head, and its stem was spiky. Two more came out, but there were a smaller version of it. The Piranha Plant licked his lips with his large red tongue before speaking.
"You've finally made it!" it saod. "Look at those delicious foods!" The Lava Buds licked their lips feverishly.
"Wh-what are you?" Mario asked, being horrified. "Who are you?"
"I am Lava Piranha, the last enemy you'll see in your sight! Bad guys come to steal Star Spirit!"
"Bad guys?!" Sushie asked. "We are not the bad guys!"
"Bad guys who come here in my volcano will get burn and eaten! No exceptions! Time to turn on the heat!" The team changed into their fighting stance and broke into smaller groups, surrounding Lava Piranha. Mario noticed Goombario was not present, but Mario had to focus on this heated battle. Lava Piranha swept Ed's team with its giant head. Ed, Kooper, and Bow were smacked away to the ground, struggling to stand up. Mario charged forward and pounded Lava Piranha's head vertically. It shrieked in pain, and retreated back. The Right Lava Bud fired a fire blast to Mario, but he rolled out-of-the-way.
"Taste hammer, you foul plant!" Ed said, using his Hammer Throw Badge and throwing his hammer to the Right Lava Bud. On impact, it shriveled up, unable to fight back.
"Come and taste this!" Eddy said, gaining Lava Piranha's attention.
"If you eat me, you'll have a bombastic taste!" Bombette said, taunting as well. Lava Piranha could not resist them, so it diverted away from Ed. Lava Piranha slammed his head down to Eddy and Bombette. Bombette rolled out-of-the-way, but Eddy jumped up to avoid it. With his hammer in his hands, Eddy pounded hard on Lava Piranha. While immobilized, Bombette lit up her fuse and exploded in front of Lava Piranha's face. Lava Piranha screamed in pain even more. Although Eddy and Bombette celebrated their attacks, the Left Lava Bud seized Eddy. "Eddy!" She watched him screaming, which felt like the spikes were piercing his body.
"Now drag him down into my pool!" Lava Piranha said to his Left Lava Bud, which began to pull Eddy down. Eddy struggled to set himself free.
"I'm too cool to be burned alive!" Eddy said, then screamed even more.
"I've got you!" Bow said, grabbing Eddy and veiling away. Both of the enemies tried to eat the air, but Bow had already placed Eddy next to Bombette.
"We've got to save them!" Kooper said, retreating back into his shell.
Ed prepared his Ultra Hammer. "Have a taste of Power Ed Shot!" he said, sending Kooper to Lava Piranha. It recoiled in pain as Kooper landed back to Ed. Now the enemy focused its attention to Ed's team. Bombette and Bow looked at Eddy in pain.
"You need first aid," Bombette said to Eddy, who was lying on the ground.
"I...have a better plan" he replied He clasped his hands and focused his Star Power. "Refresh!" Eldstar, for the first time, finally reappeared above Eddy. Eldstar noticed Eddy clutching his stomach.
"Don't worry, Eddy," Eldstar said in a humble voice. "You'll be good shape very soon." He circled around Eddy multiple times as Eddy was enveloped by white mystic sparkles. His injuries around the stomach cleared up, though there were still marks on him.
Eddy put up a weak smile. "Thanks... You're the man, Eldstar."
"Be careful from now on, Eddy." And with that, Eldstar warped away. Meanwhile, Ed and Kooper dodged fire blasts from Lava Piranha and the Left Lava Bud. They eventually retreated back to the other side.
"You can't reach us!" Ed and Kooper said, making funny faces to the enemy. When they closed their eyes for four seconds and opened them up, the Left Lava Bud was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the Left Lava Bud emerged from the second pool of magma, shocking Ed and Kooper. Lava Piranha and the Left Lava Bud continued to shoot fire blasts to them.
"Dance, you bad guys! Bleck hyuck hyuck yuck!" Lava Piranha said, shooting more fire blasts. Mario jumped forward to the Left Lava Bud, with the Power Jump activated, and landed down on it two times. Just like before, it shriveled up as Mario landed on the ground safely. "You will pay for that, Mario!"
"We'll see about that!" Mario said, then he whispered to Ed and Kooper. "I need you two to distract him. Sushie and I have a move that will take Lava Piranha down."
"You got it, Mario!" they said with thumbs-up, joining the fight with Eddy, Bombette, and Bow.
Sushie hopped next to Mario. "I hope this trick will work," she said. "After all, I've practiced it for months and it's still not ready."
"I'm sure it will work with two upgrades today," Mario said. Sushie began to blow herself, concentrating her unison move with Mario.
"Hey, over here!" Ed said, which grabbed Lava Piranha's attention. Bow slapped the Lava Piranaha from behind five times.
Bow scoffed. "Don't take me the wrong way," she said, showing off her red bows. Lava Piranha tried to swallow her, but it was interrupted by a hammer attack.
"Eat me, instead! I taste like gravy!"
The boss growled. "I had enough of this foolishness!" Lava Piranha said, roaring out.
"Hey you!" Mario said, grabbing the enemy's attention. Sushie blew out a concentrated water ball out of her mouth. Mario held his hammer in a golf position. "Had you ever tasted water before? Taste Mario's Water Gun!" He smacked the water ball, sending it off to Lava Piranha. Ed threw his hammer to Lava Piranha's head, which made his mouth open. The concentrated water ball went inside its mouth as it shrieked louder than ever. All three of them began to sink down into the magma.
"All right!" everyone said, celebrating their victory. Their celebration was cut short when the room began to vibrate. All three of them came out of the pool, only this time they were literally fired up. They showed off their red tongues as if they ate spicy foods. Everyone else gasped; some backed away.
"No way!"
"It's not over yet!" Lava Piranha said. All three of them shot out flamethrowers around the half of the "8". Unfortunately, Ed's team, Eddy and Bombette were located around Lava Piranha. The circle split up into three section, separated by three streaming flamethrowers. They screamed as they ran around, but if they ran too fast, they will run straight into the flames. If they slowed down, they will be caught by the other flamethrower.
The only ones left were Mario and Sushie. "We've got to prepare another one, Sushie!" Sushie blew another concentrated water ball. "Mario's Water Gun!" The water ball splashed directly to Lava Piranha, which disrupted his attack. This allowed everyone else to escape from the inferno.
"That was crazy!" Eddy said, panting a lot. Everyone remained unburnt from that trap. Both the Lava Buds moved to the other pool, which meant the team was trapped both ways.
"I don't like this situation one bit," Bombette said, eying closely at them.
A familiar voice echoed the area. "Never fear! Kolorado to the rescue!" he said. Everyone turned to the entrance and saw Kolorado charging forward with a flying kick. Unfortunately, the Lava Buds moved out-of-the-way, which caused him to kick straight to Eddy's face. Eddy yelped in pain and fell down on the ground unconscious. Kolorado noticed the team staring at him with irritated expressions. "Uh... Oops?" He chuckled nervously.
"Eddy! Eddy!" Bombette said, trying to wake him up.
"Nice going, Kolorado!" Bow said, resisting the urge to slap. "Eddy was a great asset in this situation and you just-" She dodged a flamethrower from the Lava Buds. The inferno continued as the team dodged more flamethrowers. Bombette and Bow miraculously took Eddy behind rock where they would be safe; the rest "danced" around the "8" shape.
"They just keep on blowing!" Mario said, ducking down to avoid another fire blast.
"Wait!" Sushie said, remembering something as they continue to avoid. "There is this one move I could use that I haven't mentioned to you! I can turn the tables!"
"Then do it!"
Sushie hopped behind a rock and inflated herself bigger than before. "Tidal Wave!" She flew around the room with amazing speed while launching water attacks everywhere. It struck the enemies, which they became stunned due to a water attack. The whole room began to fill up with steam, but not completely.
"Everyone, attack!" Mario defeated the Right Lava Bud with his Power Jump. Ed threw his hammer to the Left Lava Bud, thus defeating it as well. Sushie and Bow attacked the Lava Piranha with their powers. Kolorado, however, was making fighting poses in the steam. The steam finally cleared up, but Lava Piranha returned to his flame form. Lava Piranha growled and unleashed his most powerful attack.
"Mega Fire Breath!" Lava Piranha said. The team quickly tried to find a hiding spot. Mario and Sushie, however, could not find them in time. A big flamethrower raced across the room to Mario. Mario widened his eyes as he tried to shield himself. A loud explosion occurred.
"Mario! Sushie!" the team said, gasping. Lava Piranha could not help but smirk at this scene. The black smoke started to fill up half the room.
"What...happened?" Eddy asked, finally awake. When the black smoke cleared, everyone gasped again. Mario and Sushie were lying on the ground, surrounded by a Water Block. However, they looked severely injured from the blast.
"So you've both survived," Lava Piranha said, frowning. "No matter. I prefer if I gobble you up." It started to extend forward until a shout echoed the room.
"Not so fast, you giant flower!" someone said. Everyone turned to the entrance and saw what they had never expected.
"Goom...bario?" Mario said while lying on the ground. Goombario's body was flowing with rainbow energy; the air around Goombario looked very destructive. Goombario walked to Lava Piranha and stood in front of it. However, every step he made cracked the ground.
"Another one?" Lava Piranha asked, but regained its composure. "Like it matters. You're just a pathetic small Goomba. I bet you were being a coward and a stuck-up foolish Goomba."
"I am not a coward nor foolish!" Goombario replied, narrowing his eyes. "I may have been a foolish person before, but I...have been reborn!" His aura started to become destructively violent, even his team felt his extreme power.
"Once a foolish person, always a foolish person! Your powers are just a bluff!"
"Goombario!" Bombette said from behind the rock with Eddy and Bow. He turned around and suddenly caught Eddy's Ice Power Badge. He saw Eddy with a weak thumbs-up. Goombario smirked and equipped it onto himself.
"Prepare to be eaten alive!" Lava Piranha slammed his head down to Goombario, but Goombario leaped up.
This is it! My true power! Goombario thought as he twirled around in the air and dove down directly to Lava Piranha's head. "Multi-Bonk Charged Times Ten!" He bounced off of Lava Piranha with unimaginable force. Its head slammed directly to the ground, leaving huge cracks on the ground. Goombario repeated the process ten times over with catastrophic force. He bounced away from the head and landed next to Mario and Sushie. His aura began to fade.
Lava Piranha screamed so loudly that the stalactites, pointy rocks hanging from the ceiling, started to fall down to the ground. It failed around crazily, banging its head on the wall, the ground, and the magma. Finally, it stood up straight and drowned itself back into the pool.
Everything was silent; the area was calm. Lava Piranha did not came back like last time. Then, everyone cheered loudly. Ed and Kooper grabbed Goombario and threw him up and down while everyone chanted his name. Goombario laughed out loud, and was later set down. There were numerous questions about Goombario's disappearance and his power.
"Wait wait wait," Goombario said. "First of all, I was pondering so much before that everyone left me. When I found you all, I saw the whole battle. So...I decided to use my Charge move 10 times and my second upgraded power: Multi-Bonk."
"I'll say!" Kooper said, grinning. "That was super powerful, man! You totally rock!"
"I bow down to your skills, o mighty Goomba warrior!" Ed sais. He bowed down to Goombario, which made him laugh. A ball of light floated out of the pool and landed on Goombario's hand. It transformed into a card that has a pink star on it.
"Go ahead, Goombario," Mario said, smiling. "You deserve the right to free that card." Goombario was so eager to release it. He held it up in the air and released it, showing a beautiful pink star with a yellow ribbon on her head. Her amazing looks captivated most of the males while the females were either amazed or jealous.
"Man, you've got one hot chick Goombario," Eddy said, still staring at her. Goombario blushed from the compliment. He had to admit it: she made him see stars.
"I'm finally free from that prison," she said, looking at the team. "My name is Misstar. Thank you everyone, especially you...little courageous Goomba." She kissed Goombario's forehead, which he blushed twice the amount than before. Eddy turned around with a jealous look, but noticed something wrong here. Suddenly, the whole room started to shake violently. The team thought Lava Piranha was back, but this shaking was different from before. The entrance which the team came through was blocked by intense magma. Rocks started to fall, and the magma bubbled furiously.
"What's going on?!" Sushie asked, struggling to stand up straight.
"It must have been Lava Piranha!" Goombario answered. "By defeating him in this magma chamber, we triggered a volcanic eruption!"
"Eruption?!" everyone said in fear.
"Quickly, everyone!" Misstar said. "Through that other cavern!" While the team rushed through the collapsed area, Kooper noticed something off.
"Where's Kolorado?!" he asked. When they reached the next area, Kolorado was already there. The team ran up the rocky stairs while Kooper seized Kolorado.
"What are you doing, ya old chap?" Kolorado asked as the Koopas jumped up the stairs. Kolorado saw Misstar next to the team, though he ignored the earthquake. "Is the Mt. Lavalava's sacred treasure? It looks some sort of a starfish."
"Sorry, but your treasure exhibition is over! We have to get out of here or the magma will consume us!"
"Never! The adventure's never over until the real treasure is found! I must have overlooked it somewhere!" Kolorado headed back down the stairs until he gasped. The magma has already begun to rise, consuming the lower level.
"We're trapped!" Ed said, hands on his cheeks.
"We're stranded!" Kooper added, but then they looked at each other with a happy expression.
"Now this is an adventure!" they said.
Bow slapped both of them in response. "Quit fooling around!" she said.
Misstar saw a crack on the wall. "I could feel a draft through this wall!" she said. "There must be another room. We need to destroy it!"
"Go, Bombette!" Eddy said, pointing at the cracked wall. Bombette lit up her fuse and blew up the wall. Misstar was right; there was another room beyond. Everyone rushed through and up another stairs, but reached the final dead end.
Kolorado quickly saw a treasure chest on top of a pillar. "There it is!" he said, frantically jumping to reach it. Eddy had always seen Kolorado how he was desperate to gain it. Seeing that, Eddy felt that it belonged to him and no one else.
"It's mine!" Eddy said, using his hammer to knock the pillar off. The treasure chest fell to the ground, and Kolorado and Eddy grabbed the treasure chest. "Hands off, pal! I did all the hard work!"
"No fair! I've been searching for this since day 1! I'd risked my life for this!"
"Knock it off, you greedy miscreants!" Misstar said. The magma from before started to flow up faster.
"What do we do, now?!" Bombette asked. Everyone tried to find anything they could escape to, minus Eddy and Kolorado who were still arguing.
Goomarbio quickly looked up and saw their last hope out. "We can escape through the conduit!" he said, pointing to a narrow pipe above them.
"We can't fly up!" Sushie said. The team started to back away from the stairs, due to the rising magma increasingly flowing up. Goombario suddenly tried to think anything they could fly up faster until he spotted Misstar.
"We need to call the other four Star Spirits we'd saved!" With that, Misstar comprehended Goombario's plan, and called the Star Spirit telepathically. With the hot magma eating half the stairs, all five Star Spirits reported for duty. Eldstar took Mario and Sushie, Mamar took Kooper, Skolar took Ed and Bow, Muskular took Eddy and Bombette, and Misstar took Goombario and Kolorado. Kolorado screamed out as Misstar carried him and Goombario through the conduit. Eldstar, Skolar, and Muskular followed behind Misstar.
"Wait! Take the treasure chest, too!" Kooper said to Mamar, which she stared back. "It's not for greed! It's to fix someone's senses." She seemingly understood him and took the small treasure chest. All the Star Spirits raced through the conduit and finally made it out of Mt. Lavalava. They set the team on the crater as the five Star Spirits positioned themselves around the vent.
Eddy sighed in relief. "Whew! Finally..." he said.
"I don't think you should relax," Bow said.
"Why? We're out of the volcano, anyways."
"Don't you know what will happen after a volcano erupts?" Goombario asked. "The lava will flow here to-"
"To the village!" Sushie said in horror, looking afar. "We've got to evacuate everyone off this island!"
"It's okay, Sushie. The Star Spirits will take of this once and for all."
"You mean...?" Mario said, but saw the Star Spirits forming a rainbow barrier over the vent. The lava tried to escape through the vent, but the barrier stopped it. The five Star Spirit struggled in containing the extreme lava.
"That's nice and all," Bombette said, "but it looks like Mt. Lavalava will erupt any second!" Most people tried to find any kind of shelter.
"Never doubt the Star Spirits' power!" Goombario said over the rumbling. The steam started to leak out of the barrier.
"This is it!" Eldstar said. "Do it!" The vent around began to lit up with white light, causing the others to shield their eyes. After ten seconds, the whole shaking decreased, and there was no trace of the lava. The team came out of their hiding spots, baffled about this phenomenon.
"Wh-what happened?" Sushie asked.
Goombairo looked over the seas. "I think that will answer your question," he said. Everyone saw intense amount of steam near Lavalava Island.
"Okay," Eddy said. "Could someone tell me what's going on?!"
"When lava touches the ocean, it hardens instantly," Goombario explained to Eddy. "The Star Spirits teleported all the lava that was in the conduit to the sea."
"Unreal..." Bow, Bombette, and Sushie said in awe.
"Goombario..." Mario said in astonishment. "Do you mean that you'd already thought up about this before?"
"Of course," Goombario replied with a smile.
While everyone finally sighed in relief, Kooper was still hiding a little further away from them. He finally had the treasure chest Kolorado was desperate enough to obtain it. Kooper opened it up, being the first one to see what was inside. "I knew it," he murmured with a sad tone. "It's time to talk to my...former role model."
Back at Peach's Castle in the sky, Peach and Twink wandered around her room, still wondering about Mario and the Eds.
"Hey, Twink..." Peach said. "Let's try sneaking out again."
"Right now?You know...they're gonna eventually find out about our secret passage."
"It doesn't matter! I want to get out of here fast!"
He gaped. "Princess Peach! You've gotten so bold! And here I thought you were gentle and delicate."
"I am delicate! I'm behaving like a delicate princess, just like the Ministers taught me to! I love to be delicate!"
Yikes! What do princesses learn these days? Twink shuddered from the vociferous, or crying out noisily, princess. "Okay, Peach. You're the princess."
"Excellent. Shall we proceed?" As always, they used the secret passage like before. Peach and Twink carefully navigated through the dark castle, eventually reaching the first floor like their last adventure. They entered a new room, but suddenly stopped in front of a Koopatrol. He yelped when, of all people, Peach entered here. He did not notice Twink hiding in Peach's hair.
"What the?!" he said. "How did you get out of your room?! You can't leave your room!" Peach began to back away, but realized it would be too late.
A Hammer Bro. quickly entered the scene. "Hang on just a second!" he said. "Princess Peach... This is actually perfect timing for you to show up."
"And what do you mean?" Peach asked.
"Why...you're the last person we need in our game!"
"Oh yeah!" the Koopatrol agreed, completely forgotten about that part. "You're perfect for this!" They took Peach down further, much of her dismay and confusion. They gently placed Peach in the middle of the booth, along with two Koopatrols between her. Peach took a look around and saw colorful booths, ribbons, and flowers. They were staring straight at the red curtain.
"Peach, where are we?" Twink whispered through Peach's hair.
Peach tried to remember the layouts of her castle. "I know this room,"she whispered. "This is where-"
"Hello, villains and evil doers!" the Hammer Bro. said. The red curtain was lifted up, revealing Koopas, Goombas, Magikoopas, Shy Guys, and many more in the audience. "Welcome to the 64th Trivia Quiz-Off!" The audience, or more specifically Bowser's troops, cheered while Peach and Twink wondered about the other 63. Peach believed the Koopa Troops already done this before. "I am your host, Mr. Hammer! Today, we have three lucky contestants: Koopatrol number 1, our lovely captured Princess Peach, and Koopatrol number 2!" Everyone cheered again while some muttered to one another about Peach.
"Whoa..." Peach murmured as Mr. Hammer cleared his throat before speaking.
"Here are the rules: there are ten questions. The one who answers the most correctly at the end is our winner. The first to press their buzzer will answer first with one of the three options. The winner will win a fabulous prize!"
Prize?
"Even if you lose, everyone will receive a prize, so everybody is a winner! That's just the kind of show we are!"
What's with these people? Peach and Twink thought, knowing the Koopa Troops were to be feared, but this was ridiculous to them.
"Question 1! What's the name of the boss inside the volcano of Lavalava Island?" Peach knew the answer and quickly pressed her buzzer. She looked down her screen and saw three options: Koopa Bros., Lava Piranha, and Goompa. "Princess Peach, your answer?"
"Lava Piranha," she answered. Her booth shined, meaning the answer was correct. The audience cheered for her, even though she was the hostage.
"Question 2! Where did Master Huff N. Puff imprison the sixth Star Spirit?" Peach and Twink had absolutely no clue, so Koopatrol number 1 answered.
"Flower Fields," he said. His answer was correct as they move along to the third question.
"Question 3! What is the name of the scary round monster living in Dry Dry Ruins?" Peach had a hunch, but Koopatrol number 2 smacked his buzzer.
"Um...Chomp?" Koopatrol number 2 answered. Nevertheless, his answer was correct.
"Nice job, contestants!" Mr. Hammer said. "All of you are even, so here comes the fourth question! How would you get to Flower Fields?"
Koopatrol number 1 answered quickly. "By passing through the Flower Gate!" The answer was correct as the audience cheered loudly. Peach grumbled silently while Twink was collecting information from the questions and answers.
"Question 5! What is the name of the person who King Bowser really loves?"
Peach immediately pounded her buzzer after he had finished his sentence. She slapped herself mentally, wishing for a different question other than that. "Ugh...me," she answered. Her answer was correct. The audience cheered with a mixture of laughter.
"Question 6! What thing is most deeply related to Flower Fields?" Peach, again, had a good guess, but Koopatrol number 1 clicked his buzzer.
"Flowers!" he answered, which it was correct.
"Question 7! What's the name of the most admirable, invincible, most downright cool guy around?"
Peach hit her buzzer, and again slapped herself mentally. I can't believe I'm gonna say this! she thought, wishing to answer "Mario". "B-Bowser?" The audience cheered even loudly than before.
"Let's take a look of the results! Koopatrol number 1 and Princess Peach are already tied up with three points. Sadly, Koopatrol number 2 only has one measly point. You can still stay in the game with this eighth question! What's the name of the ghosts who live in and around Forever Forest?"
Unfortunately, Koopatrol number 1 responded first. "Boo!" he said, playfully scaring the audience. Koopatrol number 1 has four points.
"I'm so sorry, Koopatrol number 2. There's no way for you to win the game, even if you answer the last two. You know what means, audience?"
"Bucket in the head!" the audience answered.
"Say what?!" Koopatrol number 2 said as a gray bucket dropped down on his head. "Ow! Where did everyone go?! Oof!" He tripped down to the ground, making everyone laugh.
Peach took a look at the pathetic Koopatrol. I hope it doesn't happen to Twink...or my hair! she thought with fear.
"Our remaining two contestants are Koopatrol number 1 and Princess Peach! Who will win? Question 9! What's the name of the area just to the south of the post office in Toad Town?"
Peach knew the answer straight from her head, so she slammed the button. "The Flower Garden!" she answered. Peach received one point, making the total of four.
"This is it, audience! Only one of them will win the game with this...final...question! Final question! Where is Peach's Cast-" A buzzer sounded.
It was Peach who had sounded it off without thinking. Oh no! I must have pressed it without hesitation...but maybe...I can...deduce from his question. It's about my castle's location...so... She looked down to her three options: on Bower's Castle, in the Ground Water, and Farthest Shiver City. That's it! It's so obvious!
"Your response, Princess Peach, before time is up."
"It's on Bowser's Castle!" A loud "ding ding ding" echoed the area as the audience cheered the loudest as possible, much to their ears and vocals.
Mr. Hammer also applauded. "Congratulations, Princess Peach!" Koopatrol number 1 gave a weak clap while the other one was still having trouble taking off the bucket. "You are the winner of the 64th Trivia Quiz-Off! Today will mark history as the first person, other that the Koopa Troops, to win this game! Accept this prize!" Mr. Hammer gave Peach an orange jar. It was labeled "Jammin' Jelly". "It's a highly nutritious snack, Princess Peach... Aha! I almost forgot! Here is your prize for participating."
Peach gasped when she saw her pink parasol with gold edges on his hands. She accepted the prize, remembering its secret power. My Sneaky Parasol! She examined it closely. It was still in perfect shape.
Mr. Hammer faced the audience. "Well, everyone, today's show has been a grand! We'll come back together in the next Quiz-Off!"
"What this?" someone said. "Why was I not invited?!" Everyone gasped when Bowser entered the stage. Peach and Twink quickly hid behind the booth. Peach instructed Twink to escape and find Mario and the Eds. Twink agreed with her and flew through an opened window.
"M-my Lord!"
Bowser grinned. "Whatever it is, it looks fun! Can I join in?"
"Um...our 64th Trivia Quiz-Off is already over. You'll just have to wait for the next one later."
"Aw, of all the rotten luck..." Bowser turned around and saw Peach creeping toward the exit. She nervously laughed when she's been spotted. "Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing here, Princess Peach?! She sneaked out again?! Guards! Take her back to her room!"
Mr. Hammer and Koopatrol number 1 rushed over her. "Sorry, Princess Peach," Mr. Hammer murmured. They both carried her away out of the room. The audience, however, booed at Bowser and left the room.
Bowser remained speechless, wondering what happened in the game show. "You guys are meanies!" He left the area, but he never thought about the helpless Koopatrol on the ground.
"Can somebody get this bucket off my head?!" he asked through the bucket.
In the original, the area where the Lava Piranha was slightly different. The 64th Trivia Quiz-Off room did not have audience. There is no "bucket in the head".
Level 9
Mario [20 HP | 20 FP | 15 BP]
Badge Points left [0]
Badges equipped [Power Jump (1), Smash Charged (1), D-Down Pound (2), Damage Dodge (3), Spike Shield (2), Multibounce (1), Power Rush (1), I Spy (1), Happy Heart (3), Dizzy Stomp (unequipped)]
Ed [25 HP | 20 FP | 12 BP]
Badge Points left [0]
Badges equipped [Hammer Throw (2), Close Call (1), Shrink Stomp (1), Power Smash (1), D-Down Jump (2), Mega Rush (1), Power Quake (2), Fire Shield (2)]
Double D [20 HP | 15 FP | 18 BP]
Badge Points left [6]
Badges equipped [Pretty Lucky (2), Refund Badge (1), Zap Tap (4), Defend Plus (5)]
Eddy [15 HP | 15 FP | 21 BP]
Badge Points left [4]
Badge equipped [Feeling Fine (3), Dizzy Attack (2), Power Bounce (2), Quake Hammer (1), Money Money (7), Power Plus (unequipped), Ice Power (2)]