5B - The Driest Desert of All

"No, thank you. Me and Luigi had omelets earlier this morning," Mario told the conductor, who offered Eggs Benedict to him and Luigi as a late breakfast. The time is now 10:30 AM; 25 minutes before the predicted arrival at Mt. Rugged.

"All right. You want a drink, then?" the conductor asked.

"I was about to ask that. I'll take a cup of regular coffee and Luigi will have a decaf."

"Coming up." The conductor proceeded into the caboose, which served as a small kitchen within the train.

"How are you holding up, bro?" Mario asked Luigi.

"Doing just fine. I'm glad I haven't fell asleep yet," Luigi replied.

"Me neither," Bombette added in. "I've been really active ever since you freed me from the fortress."

The conductor came back with Mario and Luigi's coffee drinks a few seconds later. Even though Luigi's cup had no caffeine in it, the hot temperature was enough to energize him.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen," the conductor announced after making his way into the locomotive 21 minutes later. "We will be arriving at Mt. Rugged in less than five minutes. Passengers heading for Dry Dry Desert or Dry Dry Outpost should proceed directly over Mt. Rugged from the station. It will take time to turn this train around for the return trip to Toad Town, so keep your ears open for the next departure."

Before the Mario Bros. and Bombette knew it, the Toad Express slowed to a halt after approaching the end of the railway. As they exited the train, the conductor also stepped out to give them some parting words.

"I wish you the best of luck traversing beyond the mountain," the conductor said. "Be aware of any traps or enemies in your path."

"Don't worry about us," Luigi responded. "We're 'super' enough to walk the desert."

"Very well. In that case, have a nice late morning."

Without further ado, the group began climbing Mt. Rugged, which was situated at a higher altitude than Toad Town; about 8,400 feet above sea level (Toad Town is at 100 feet above sea level).

Mario knew that climbing high-altitude mountains increased the chances of getting sunburnt because of the atmosphere thinning out. Also, the oxygen level decreases slowly the higher the group went, meaning that they could get dehydrated without drinking enough water.

"Oh shtick," Mario groaned. "I didn't bring canteens or sunscreen with us."

"Well, as long as we hurry across, there might be water up ahead," Luigi reassured Mario. Along the way, the group encountered Monty Moles and Clefts that patrolled the mountain. Unfortunately, the Clefts were too strong for Mario's hammer; he nearly broke it while trying to hammer one of the Clefts.

"If you try to pound another one of those walking rocks, you won't have a weapon with you," Bombette warned Mario. On a ledge next to a steep slope there was a flower sticking up from the sand underneath.

"How is there a flower in the middle of the mountain?" Mario asked.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't pull it out. It's probably the only plant we'll see here," Luigi answered. Suddenly, a creature in the form of a giant onion popped up, startling the group.

"Whoa! Who are you?" Mario questioned the plant.

"Well, hello there. My name is Bub-ulb. I came from Flower Fields, the wonderful land of flowers," the plant said.

"And you ended up on a mountain out of all places?" Bombette chimed in.

"For some reason, yes," the Bub-ulb replied. "But Bub-ulbs like me exist to spread the wondrous flowers of Flower Fields all over your land. You like flowers, don't you?"

"As a matter of fact, we do have a small flower garden on our property," Mario said.

"How lovely. Who doesn't like flowers after all? For that reason, I'll entrust this to your care." The Bub-ulb proceeded to spit out a blue seed which Mario picked up and stowed in his overalls pocket.

"What kind of seed is this?"

"It's a Magical Seed. If it's well cared for, a beautiful flower will bloom. These flowers are delicate..." the Bub-ulb explained. "Only one with a loving heart can make them bloom in beauty. Please take good care of it, for beauty is fragile." The Bub-ulb walked in the opposite direction of where Mario and friends came from.

"How about we keep it in our pad until we find where to plant it?" Luigi offered.

"Sure. Let's hurry along now. I'm starting to feel thirsty." Within three minutes, the group found a small river with a waterfall. "Finally!"

Because Mario and Luigi had no canteen with them, all they could do was jump into the river and stick their heads in the waterfall and lap up a good amount of water before setting off again.

"I can't have any water; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to function like a regular Bob-omb," Bombette said.

It took another 20 minutes before the Mario Bros. and Bombette reached the boundary that separated Mt. Rugged from Dry Dry Desert.

"All right-y. Here we go," Mario declared calmly. "The ultimate environment with no water around us: a huge desert."

"I hope I don't get blisters on my feet from the sand," Luigi said before the group entered the desert. There was basically nothing but yellowish white sand, small boulders, and occasional brown cacti. "You know they say that a cactus holds water in it?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Mario asked.

"I read online that the cactus water is actually poisonous and can make a human so sick to the point where he could die."

"Wow. I didn't know that my whole life," Mario responded.

"Me neither," Bombette added in. "I guess the 'cactus water' thing was a myth after all."

After ten minutes of walking, the group spotted three Koopa Troopa explorers next to a medium-sized tent. They approached one of the explorers sporting a small mustache.

"Good late morning, sir," Mario greeted the explorer. "What's with the tent here?"

"Well, old boy, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Jesse Kolorado, an archaeologist whose ambition is to travel all around the world for the most exotic treasures ever."

"I'm Mario, and this is my brother Luigi," Mario introduced himself and Luigi.

"Nice to meet you two," Dr. Kolorado said. "I've heard all about your own worldwide travels, not to mention you saving Princess Peach from those evil Koopas."

"Were you gonna tell us about-" Luigi started to ask.

"I'm getting there, Luigi," Dr. Kolorado butted in. "Me and my two assistants are out here to find the Dry Dry Ruins. Legend tells of an Ancient Artifact deep within the ruins, and we're on a quest to retrieve that treasure for our Museum of Archaeology."

"We've attempted to get information from Dry Dry Outpost, which is way to the east," Dr. Kolorado continued. "But, unfortunately, we're having little success and all we need is a clue before we go any further."

"How about me and Mario go to Dry Dry Outpost and get the clue for you?" Luigi offered.

"Why, that would make my day!" Dr. Kolorado exclaimed. "I'll be waiting right here for you and we'll find the ruins together!"

"Deal," Mario replied before shaking Dr. Kolorado's hand. "We'll try to be as quick as possible, Dr. Kolorado."

"Good luck, old boys. Try not to get lost out there, please," Dr. Kolorado said before the group walked east.

Along the way, there were Bandits and Pokeys running around the desert. The Bandits tried desperately to steal any Coins that Mario and Luigi kept as pocket money, but none of them succeeded. The Pokeys in this desert were totally different than the ones Mario and Luigi saw in the past; these Pokeys attacked by either slamming their bodies flat on the ground or throwing one of their body segments as projectiles.

Again, Mario used his "baseball technique" by deflecting the Pokeys' body segments back at them with his hammer.

"I'm sweating buttloads, bro..." Luigi said in a tired tone of voice; his face was damp from his sweat.

"Me too. But at least we're not too thirsty just yet," Mario said while fanning himself with his cap. After another 20 minutes, Mario could barely see a signpost in the distance and squinted his eyes because of the sun reflecting off the sand.

"I can't see that well. What is that?"

"I don't know," Luigi answered. "Maybe it's just an-" Suddenly, Luigi spotted a grassy area with two big trees to his right. "Hold on a second..." Mario and Bombette turned to see the area too.

"No way... That's so not real..." Mario murmured. He assumed that it was a mirage but decided to press onward.

"Mario! Luigi! I found water!" Bombette called out; she ran up to the grassy area and found a pool of water in the middle. Mario and Luigi didn't know about it because their eyes were closed due to sweat dripping down their faces. "Come on. You can open your eyes now."

Mario and Luigi slowly opened their eyes and almost immediately jumped into the pool to cool themselves off.

"That's what I thought," Bombette said to herself. "How does it feel, guys?"

"Refreshing!" Mario replied. "It's about time we found an oasis!" After four minutes of swimming around, Mario and Luigi got out of the pool and studied the two trees. Eventually, they found that both bore lemons and limes respectively.

"What are we gonna do with these?" Luigi asked while he and Mario picked two lemons and two limes.

"I'm hoping when we get to Dry Dry Outpost, we could have someone make lemonade or limeade for us." The group then set off again for Dry Dry Outpost after another five minutes of cooling down. What will await Mario and friends at the outpost?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just so you're aware, I do not plan on including Parakarry in this fanfic because in the original game, he joined the party so that he can deliver letters, which is a lengthy sidequest that is not story-relevant. Sorry about the inconvenience.